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Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.





The heavy door takes a couple hard shoves before the iron hinges finally creak shut and the fire starts to warm you again. The large be-furred man who left five minutes ago has returned, already shuffing off a heavy layer of snow.



He wipes the snow out of his beard with a meaty paw, already sidling up to the bar. "Aye, no one's goin' out there for a while, not if they got any brains in their noggin." He shakes his head as he pulls the fresh mug closer, then turns back to you. "Sorry boys, caravan ain't movin' for a while. Best get settled in."

Duvik's Pass may not look like much, but at least they have a bar. A bar. With a shocking amount of miners in it. In fact, given the piddly amount of houses you saw on the way in, you're pretty sure drat near every miner in town is in here.

One goddamn day on the road, and you're already stuck in a frozen hellhole of an out-of-work mining village.

Sounds about right.

Orlaf isn't paying you enough for this poo poo.






So if you guys want to put your character name in bold at the top of your posts, that'd be great. Normal text for in-character stuff, italics for out-of-character. I'm sure you guys know the drill.

Don't forget to roll your Icon relationships since it's the start of a session! For a refresher:

"For now, as a player, you need to know that
when you’re called on to check your icon relationships,
you’ll roll a single d6 for each point of relationship. You
roll 1, 2, or 3 (or possibly 4 at epic level) six-sided dice,
the same number of dice as the points you spent for
the relationship with that icon.

Hope for 6s: If any die is a 6, you get some
meaningful advantage from the relationship without
having complications. If two or three dice come up 6,
that’s even better.

Look out for 5s: If any die is a 5, your connection
to the icon is going to work out as well as a 6 would,
but with some unexpected complication. If it’s a good
icon, you might be drawn into some obligation. If it’s a
villainous icon, you might attract unwanted attention."

Doomsayer fucked around with this message at 08:07 on Oct 14, 2013

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Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Alright, we'll give Comrade Koba another couple of secs to show up and roll, but for now the Icons stand at (spoiled if you don't want to know, also for future reference if/when you roll Icons remind me if you're positive, negative, or conflicted with them):


Sand: 6(+)
Bodhrisin: 5(/)
Augustia: 6(+)
Templar: 5(-)
Nidal: 6(+), 5(+)
Caincakah: 6(+), 5(+)


Also if you could use your name at the top of your post as a link to your sheet, that'd be awesome too. Maleketh and GeneralYeti nailed it, basically.

Also I'm going to tweak the Icon system slightly (maybe, I may have just misunderstood the rules) where having a story relationship like we just rolled doesn't mean that literal agents of an Icon will show up, but rather some of the themes/domains/etc. of those Icons will come up, particularly with the gods. Since most of Circadia's icons are gods, I figured you guys didn't just want to fight cultists 24/7 :v:

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"Oy, is that...?" You hear a voice call from a nearby table. Three soldiers are partaking of the inn's many fine ales. They're unarmed, but their tunics are distinctly town guard-y and are emblazoned with the sigil of Brindonford, one of the nearest cities that still calls Circadia liege. "It is! Erevan, you ol' so-and-so, come have a drink on us!" One of the soldiers is waving Erevan over, an elven woman he served alongside in some little skirmish or other that Erevan could barely recall. The woman herself was memorable, however.



She was a fan of ostentatious jewelry and fad hairstyles, in staunch defiance of military code, yet her personality was so infectious that most couldn't help but like her in spite of themselves. Elfa (her real name is considerably longer and less just her mistaking her own species for a nickname) is a big, strong woman, particularly for an elf, more than happy to spill a few drinks with an old friend. She looks up at Erevan as he approaches: "What're you doin' in town son? Somehow I doubt yer here on the same official business as us, eh?" One of the other men hisses at her in an attempt at silencing her, but she waves him off with a wobbly hand. "Oh hush, he's alright. We're here to help 'em out with the mine and water situation, yeh? They sent us complaints that everyone in town was gettin' sick, and could we please send a doc to help 'em out. Not a day later we get another letter from 'em, sayin' that the drat mine's been overrun with a tribe of kobolds. 'course they didn't actually say that, just said somethin' was wrong with the mine, we had to find out the hard way. Just got 'ere yesterday."

She takes a long drink from her mug. "Anyway, they ain't payin' us enough to take on a phalanx of green'uns unarmed, and I'm not sure how they expected us to do much doctorin'. S'plain to anyone that they've got a hosed water supply, comes out of the well all brown'n green. Considering that well's fed with snow runoff, I'm thinkin' it ain't exactly natural. But, again," One more draught. "Ain't payin' us enough to do a proper investigation. Now we're just snowed in and tryin' to avoid drinkin' the well water. Hence," she points at her mug.

"How 'bout you?"

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Elfa shrugs. "My CO told me to shave it, and I said f'it's a problem, he needs t' prove it. Guy grabs my hair and yanks back, I break his wrist in six places." She takes another drink. "Probly' not gonna be usin' that hand for a while, but no one else had th' balls to try again, so." She shrugs, then seems to take notice of the table of heavily armed guards at Erevan's old table. "Who're yer friends? Look a bit... unfit for guardin' work, eh? Oh well, beggar's can't be choosin' I suppose." She waves an empty hand over at the table. "Oy! C'mon over here, a friend of Ev's a friend of mine! Drinks all around 'keep!"

The bartender begins filling up several more mugs. She turns back to Erevan: "Brass gave us a bunch 'o cash for room and board and whanot, but oll Griff over there's kind enough t' give us free rooms for the duration, AINT'CHA GRIFF!?" She yells over at the innkeep.
He twitches slightly and responds: "Aye, anythin' for the fine soldiers of Brindonford!"

Elfa winks.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"Pleased to meet'cha, pleased to meet'cha," Elfa shakes hands around the table. "Good to see that Erevan's made some friends, always worried for 'em."

Kerzoro posted:

Ziria
"So, ah, I hope you don't think I was overhearing--not like I can help it with these…" She flicks one of her ears with a wink. "--but I think you were talking about something troublesome?"

Elfa gestures you in close, bringing her voice to a whisper. "Look, I don't wanna alarm the, uh, y'know, fairer folk 'round here, but the situation may be a bit more, er, immediate than I let on. The kobold tribe in the mine is rather sizable. They're splintered for now, rootin' around the mine for food and whatnot. But eventually this cold is gonna abate, and eventually they're gonna run out of food. Because the gods are universally the biggest group o' cocks imaginable, I'm thinkin' those are both gonna happen around the same time. When that happens, this town is kobold chow." She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, as her compatriots sigh again at her giving away classified information. "Now like I said, we're outgunned and outmanned here. But if a group of, let's say, 'concerned citizens' who themselves happened t' be heavily armed could be persuaded to perform some civil service from the-" she coughs heavily, half-concealing her intentional jingling of a heavy concealed pouch of coins. "-goodness o' their heart... well, we'd certainly be very grateful, is all I'm sayin'."

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Elfa watches Erevan leave, then shrugs. "He'll be back. He always is." She turns to Nate. "Big enough that I don't want to do it unarmed. I got a family back home, I ain't goin' back to 'em with a halfspear in my gut. Like I said, they're small and splintered right now. I dunno how much you know about kobold tribology, but they don't survive long in huge groups, they all in-fight and end up dead. They got more of a whatcha might call a feudal system. They split up into subclans when they're not in an out-and-out war. They're smarter than most folk'll give 'em credit for, but if they're not united in cause, they don't tend to group up more than... I dunno, 'bout 10 at a time, maybe?"

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"Look, the hell with it, maybe I'm being too subtle: go kill some loving kobolds, I will give you money when you get back. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think you could do it. Square?"

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"Good, no time like the present then." Elfa points you in the right direction, and before you know it you've trudged through several hundred feet of dense, cold snow. I mean yeah, snow is normally cold, but this poo poo is really cold. Anyway, you're not entirely sure how, but now you're standing in front of a very decidedly empty mineshaft. The torches, unsurprisingly, are unlit.

The cavern is very dark.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The mine shaft travels a long, long way down into the earth. The shaft splits at several points, each fork spiraling off as it follows a vein, but eventually leads in a dead-end. A lot of them have bits of detritus spread around them, old bones and scraps, signifying something was living there as recently as a few days ago, but no kobolds yet.

It's not easy to get lost, you just follow the mine tracks down the main shaft. After what feels like hours, you finally find something that isn't just the primary shaft. The track leads you into a larger cavern, though still not much taller than your head. The tracks curve to the right and continue downward, but to your left is a simple wooden door set into the stone. At the turn a mine cart has overturned, pinning something underneath it. Upon closer inspection, it's a human body. Been here a couple weeks, at least, judging by how, uh, corpse-y he is. You can't help but note that someone or something has cut off several long strips of flesh with a ragged knife. Or just had some very sharp teeth. At any rate, he has something clutched inside his fist, though you can't see what.

Your torch illuminates the whole cavern, but the trail further is still quite dark. However, you notice a thin shaft of light trickling out from beneath the door.



For now light is relatively easy to come by, and it's fairly easy to get warm in the confines of the mine, but if you need to see more than a few dozen feet from the flickering torch, that's where it'll get tricky.

Doomsayer fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Oct 20, 2013

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

You reach down to pull the fingers away from their treasure before stopping yourself. You were right, you had done this before. And it ended poorly.

You draw your hand back and turn over the corpse's palm. Tucked into it is a Thunderstone attached to a bit of twine. Thunderstones are useful things, provided you're not on the receiving end of them. They're alchemical stones designed to ignite when struck, and when they go up, they go up violently. Bright flash of light, tons of sound, but no shrapnel or fire. It's painful if you're not expecting it, yet it's nonlethal to all but the frailest of bodies.

This one was left here as a trap. You manage to safely disarm the thing and pocket it.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

With your ear pressed to the door, you can just make out the sounds of chewing and tearing, alongside some chattering in a language you don't recognize. You can hear furniture being shifted around as well. If not for the strange language, you'd think someone was sitting down to dinner in a mess hall.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The door smashes off its hinges and rockets inward, landing on top of an unsuspecting kobold. Much to your surprise, a thin rope was holding up a bottle of something on the other side of the door, causing it to shatter against the now-freed door. And then burst into flames. The little guy seems very unhappy to be trapped underneath a large flaming slab of wood.

The room is relatively small for what it appears to be, and that's a mess hall for the miners. Several long tables dominate the room, around which are seated 14 very surprised kobolds. Most of them, perhaps 10, are lightly armored, only wielding small knives and rudimentary shortbows tied on with bits of animal leather and ligament. Three of them seem to have worked their way up the ladder enough to have something actually approaching weapons and armor, by which you mean some half-spears and a pair of pants. The last two seem to be, if Elfa's description of kobold sociopolitical makeups was correct, sub-clan warlords. They have actual bits of metal dangling from their hides, and some stolen rusty shortswords.

They look unhappy to see you, and are currently trying to scrabble up from their benches.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The kobolds are still getting their bearings, and the hail of embers isn't helping their situation any.



Go ahead and roll initiative, but everyone gets a surprise turn to act before the kobolds do!

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The small kobold's skull explodes like an overripe grapefruit.

They seem quite open to negotiation.


There are eight mooks, three fighters, and two warlords left.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The room fills with the roaring sound of thunder and the crackle of electricity, shaking the kobolds off their benches and sending them scurrying across the room. When the dust clears the two clanlords are wiping the soot off their hides, but everyone else seems relatively unharmed.


Book says to make monster stats transparent, so here's their to-hit values and HP so you can narrate your own hits/misses:

Clanlords: AC 18, PD 16, MD 12, HP 32, 30
Warriors: AC 18, PD 15, MD 12, HP 22 each left
Mooks: AC 16, PD 14, MD 10, HP 6 (Group: 47 HP left)

Eventually I'll have an initiative table that has everyone defenses on it for our reference, but I'm working on a presentation and can't do it right now.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

I believe Comrade Koba still needs to go, if my math is correct.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Alright, I lied, I'm skipping Comrade Koba for now, he can take an extra turn later if he'd like. I'm available now instead of grading papers so gently caress it.

Shockingly, the ill-armed kobolds are the first to their feet and have scattered across the room, lashing at everything nearby, since you're standing between them and the door. Three of them break toward Erevan, blades flashing through the air. Two are driven off, but one manages to find a weak spot in Erevan's armor and make a scratch. A small one, but a scratch nonetheless.

Another three focus on Shakti, trying their damndest to avoid her trident as only one manages to find the slightest gap in her defense.

The last two show a surprising amount of loyalty to the clanlord and draw their bows, firing on Dynamis in retaliation. Both manage to find their marks and score glancing blows, Dynamis is forced to withdraw behind an overturned crate, lest the annoyances turn into... uh, slighly more annoying annoyances.



3x Mook attacks vs. Erevan: 22, 9, 14 for 3 damage!
3x Mook attacks vs. Shakti: 17, 10, 7 for 3 damage!
2x Mook R. attacks vs. Dynamis: 24, 13 for 6 damage!

pre:
Init:
23 Mooks:          AC 16, PD 14, MD 10, HP 6 (Group: 47 HP left)
18 Dynamis:        AC 13, PD 13, MD 15, HP 27 - 14 = 13
15 Shakti:         AC 16, PD 13, MD 14, HP 24
15 Warriors 1/2/3: AC 18, PD 15, MD 12, HP 22/22/22
12 Giles:          AC 14, PD 14, MD 13, HP 27
12 Erevan:         AC 19, PD 12, MD 13, HP 30
10 Rythin:         AC 12, PD 13, MD 11, HP 27
9  Sidnae:         AC 17, PD 12, MD 10, HP 24
5  Nate:           AC 14, PD 12, MD 13, HP 24
5  Clanlords 1/2:  AC 18, PD 16, MD 12, HP 32/24
2  Ziria:          AC 17, PD 14, MD 11, HP 30
I was most of the way through making this table before I remembered you had already rolled your initiative, but normally I'll be the one rolling everyone's at the beginning of battle anyway so :dealwithit:

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

So yeah that's six more mooks dead :toot:.

No narrative because so much grading :effort:

pre:
Init:
23 Mooks:          AC 16, PD 14, MD 10, HP 6 (Group: 12 HP left)
18 Dynamis:        AC 13, PD 13, MD 15, HP 27 - 6 = 21
15 Shakti:         AC 16, PD 13, MD 14, HP 24
15 Warriors 1/2/3: AC 18, PD 15, MD 12, HP 22/22/22
12 Giles:          AC 14, PD 14, MD 13, HP 27
12 Erevan:         AC 19, PD 12, MD 13, HP 30
10 Rythin:         AC 12, PD 13, MD 11, HP 27
9  Sidnae:         AC 17, PD 12, MD 10, HP 24
5  Nate:           AC 14, PD 12, MD 13, HP 24
5  Clanlords 1/2:  AC 18, PD 16, MD 12, HP 32/24
2  Ziria:          AC 17, PD 14, MD 11, HP 30
Dynamis went so Shakti is up!

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The kobolds shriek as the last few are cut down by Shakti moving into the archers' ranks. The warriors move in to avenge their fallen comrades; or perhaps just because Shakti is again between them and the door. Two of them manage to land panicked blows.


Three kobold warriors attack Shakti!: 15, 18, 27 for 8 damage!

pre:
Init:
23 Mooks:          AC 16, PD 14, MD 10, HP 6 (Group: 12 HP left)
18 Dynamis:        AC 13, PD 13, MD 15, HP 27 - 6
15 Shakti:         AC 16, PD 13, MD 14, HP 24-8
15 Warriors 1/2/3: AC 18, PD 15, MD 12, HP 22/22/22
12 Giles:          AC 14, PD 14, MD 13, HP 27
12 Erevan:         AC 19, PD 12, MD 13, HP 30
10 Rythin:         AC 12, PD 13, MD 11, HP 27
9  Sidnae:         AC 17, PD 12, MD 10, HP 24
5  Nate:           AC 14, PD 12, MD 13, HP 24
5  Clanlords 1/2:  AC 18, PD 16, MD 12, HP 32/24
2  Ziria:          AC 17, PD 14, MD 11, HP 30
Giles, Erevan, Rythin, Sidnae, and Nate are up!

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Sadly, kobolds don't take damage on a miss, making them the clearly superior horde among all the various little green men to be thrown at budding heroes.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Comrade Koba posted:

Didn't know that.

My next character is totally going to be a kobold warrior. :v:


Oh you weren't supposed to, that was me revealing their secret ability that really I probably should've mentioned beforehand :v:

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Speaking of not knowing whether someone is engaged, what do you guys think about me setting up a Roll20 table? Just to use as a kind of active map. I can put the defense table on there, and attach the HP values to the monsters, so you guys can move and deal damage on your own, as well as apply buffs and debuffs. Obviously it wouldn't be the full 4e-style measuring squares and whatnot, but you could move your own tokens around so everyone knows where everyone else is, including the monsters.

It would require more slightly more work for each individual (gotta do that difficult double-digit HP subtraction yourself, or rather tell Roll20 to do it), but I think it would keep battles moving more quickly and saves me a fair amount of headache which results in faster responses from me when I don't have to keep track of everything.

Would everyone be okay with that?

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Alright, we'll go with that then. Since I don't feel like doing it for a fight half-over...

The last kobold falls stricken to the floor. It's quite a scene, debris and detritus strewn across the floor. The doorway back into the cavern stands open and still burn-y. To your left there's a half-wall that leads into a small prep area, presumably for the miners, and to your right is another door, similar to the one you... *ahem* "entered" through.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The good news is, the door isn't trapped!

The bad news is, it's because no one bothers trapping the door to the pantry. It was locked though, which is kind of weird. A couple good kicks brings it open though.

Inside are shelves stacked with rotted foodstuffs. Mostly bread and salted meats, but a couple weeks of disuse has seen most of it covered in mold and rodent bites. At the end of the pantry are three wooden barrels, lids securely attached. The only light coming in is from the lanterns lit in the mess hall.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

With a soft *schlorp* sound, a thick, black ichor oozes out from the three fresh holes in the barrels, the substance is like the blood of some horrific eldritch horror from beyond the very veil of human comprehension.

Upon closer inspection it appears to be lamp oil.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

You find a couple mason jars and empty them of their contents before refilling them with the lantern oil.

There are still two barrels as yet unopened, or you can just return to the chamber and continue down into the mine.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The second barrel has nothing much interesting, just some old rags and odds and ends, nothing valuable or worth taking with you. Shakti eases over the third barrel, lifts the lid, and is immediately hit in the face by twenty pounds of furry weasel. It leaps from the barrel shrieking and attaches to her face, scurrying around in rapid circles, claws scratching at her face:

"AHHHHH! AHHHH! AHHHHH! AHHHHH! AHHHHH!"

It takes you a moment to realize the screams aren't coming from Shakti.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" the weasel continues to shout.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH-*yip*" It cuts itself off when Erevan speaks. It's head swivels and catches sight of Sidnae. He wriggles free of Erevan's grasp and lands on the floor before bolting over to her and scampering up her leg. "Big'un! Big'un of Sand! Must help! Many bad things! Sand send, send me to look. Found darkness here! Can't fix alone, can't help. Green ones found me, tried to eat. Hid. Hid for so long. You help, yes? Help this one?"

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

"Darkness! Dark spreads, poisons the people. Deep, deep down. Closing in. Clouds the mind, clouds the eyes!" It's adorable little paws wave frantically.

This creature is most likely telling the truth. Sand's robust nature and desire for scholarly discourse results in a lot of talking woodland creatures with strange opinions on capital gains taxation and mutual land ownership.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The small weasel rolls its eyes theatrically. "Is metaphorical darkness."

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The barrel is extremely heavy, but with some finagling you manage to upright the cart that was pinned on top of the corpse back in the main chamber and wrestle the cask inside. The cart still seems to function, but if you have to get the barrel somewhere where there's no tracks... that'll be a problem.

With nothing else worth searching in the mess hall, you set off down the main shaft deeper into the mine. Like the first leg after the entrance, there are many smaller shafts spidering off from the main shaft, but they all ultimately lead to dead ends. Unlike that first section, there is much more direct evidence of it denizens, even if they haven't been around for at least a few days. You see evidence of several struggles, blood stains several of the walls, and you see bits of dessicated flesh and bone still dusting the floor. Seems Elfa was right, the kobolds have fallen to infighting which means it's only a matter of time until only one clanlord remains and they realize they'll need to strike surfaceward to survive.

As you proceed deeper, you begin to see series of un-reset traps spread along the lines of the wall. Pit traps, small boulders suspended from the ceiling, broken stakes jutting from the floor. Luckily, you doubt you would've fallen for these traps even if they hadn't already been set off, but someone (or someones) has been blundering through them, though curiously you don't see any of the physical evidence of battle you saw above. There's no blood or scraps on the floor or walls. Perhaps someone has been sent back to clean up, but lacked the skill to reset the traps?

Thankfully, eventually the floor begins to even out and pushing the cart becomes much easier. There is one final turn before the tunnel opens up completely, leading into yet another natural chamber. This one is significantly larger, however, and even by torchlight you can't see the ceiling. Monstrous stalagmites jut up from the floor, towering perhaps fifteen, twenty feet into the air. More than large enough for several humans to hide behind. If there are other exits from this room you can't see them, which isn't surprising considering the walls extend far beyond the reach of your light.

Unfortunately, yours isn't the only light in this room. Far above and to your left, you can see that a small fire is crackling on what appears to be a ledge sticking out from the wall, curving slightly upward. The fire itself and anyone near it is obscured by distance and the rock, but the light illuminates a small tunnel pushing back into that wall.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Sorry folks, my dad's coming to town, so posting may be intermittent.

What's the plan with this ledge?

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

You're reasonably certain no one can see you from the ledge unless they had reason to crawl over and look over the lip.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The lip is high enough that even with torchlight they probably wouldn't notice, noise would be a larger concern.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Looking up from the floor of the cavern, you can now see that there is in fact a rope ladder attached to the ledge, but it's currently rolled up. However, the walls are naturally quite craggy, and it's not too difficult to climb up unnoticed. Peering cautiously over the lip, you can see it slopes downward slightly toward the light, which is indeed a crackling fire. To your surprise, there doesn't appear to be anyone sitting around it. The ledge recesses into the cavern wall somewhat, leaving a low hollow deeper into the rock.

Once you've given your eyes a moment to adjust, you can see that two kobolds are seated near the hollow, watching the fire intently, and yet there is a distance to their eyes. They are almost unarmed, merely holding sticks which you think might once have been spears, given the wood at the top being broken. Their bodies block line of sight any deeper into the small cave.

It can barely be heard over even the relatively quiet fire, but they seem to be quietly mumbling to one another in their native tongue, though you can't understand what they're saying.

They don't seem to have noticed you.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The sentries do not seem to notice the ladder being lowered. In fact, they don't seem to be noticing much of anything. As you watch, you notice that they seem particularly tired and haggard; their spears hanging limply in their hands.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

Despite all the rustling and moving of party members, the kobolds are still sleepily yapping to each other and looking at not much of anything. These ones have clearly been awake for some time, and it's effecting their cognition.

Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

There is a series of delayed, half-hearted yips from the kobolds who bring their "spears" to bear.

"...yooman..." one growls throatily, but they make no other move to attack.

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Doomsayer
Sep 2, 2008

I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never been a problem before.

The kobold who spoke earlier narrows his eyes. He growls again, this time in a variety of draconic you can actually understand, rather than all that damned yipping.

He takes a step toward Rythin, sniffing at him, but keeping an eye on the others. "...<Not of our clan, but of our blood. But not clan...>" He trails off, and yips a bit at his cohort, who only shrugs in return.

"...<You've come to aid? Beseiged, by a darkness. Darkness takes human form.>" He snarls again and brings his spear to bear, but doesn't attack. "<You trust these humans? Humans in this place bring only pain, and blood."

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