The Dragonslayer's Legacy IC

[whoiam]

Balein's psicrystal seems rather amused as it tells Rohaleen: "Oh, sure. I'll just break out the old opposable thumbs, and... oh, wait..."

[MikelaC1]

Leave it knowing that Balien cant do it anyway we need it on the way out

[Ridai]

The group, as they reach the bottom of the stairs, has to step over an arrangement of sharpened wooden poles (pointed straight up the staircase) among a jagged maw of bones and caltrops on the floor. Rohaleen's keen eye spots thin threads leading to what looks like a wild assortment of hanging goblets and ancient armor pieces, essentially functioning as an alert. She has little trouble disabling the trap. The wooden "spears" are covered in filth and dried blood, same going for the floor beneath them, completing the mental image that started with the blood splatter on the greasy stairs.

The chamber they are standing in has the telltale smell of a crypt, but combined with a desecrating stench. The alcoves in the walls are a mess, many stone coffins having been broken open, bones and rotten trinkets strewn over the floor in front of them. As the group speaks and assembles at the foot of the stairs, some of them hear the faintest noises from beyond the archway in the opposite wall, some 30 feet away. If they had to categorize the noises, it would be tapping, light scratching, and faint guttural noises.

[gremlin-pult]

"Kobold traps..." Madoc muttered as he took in the stakes and makeshift alarm. "I hate kobold traps... But this is a fairly simple one for them. They're probably only set up to take our attention away from the real traps. There's no trickery I'd put past those little pests..." He grumbled on angrily. He had a special animosity towards kobolds. It was one thing that they set up traps, which was dishonorable in itself. It was another thing that they were damned good at it, creative even. It definitely wasn't because Madoc had fallen into the snickering little vermins' pitfalls too many times to count. Knights did not hold grudges. Often.

[whoiam]

Balein comes to land on Rohaleen's shoulder. Even as a bird she wasn't much of a sneaking expert, but her old friend *was*...

"Creep me forward, " the psicrystal suggested for her. "I'm trying to take a peek at what's waiting behind the arch."

[Talore]

"Just so long as you don't dig those talons into my shoulder."

Rohaleen leads the way this time, picking her way through the debris and keeping a low profile. She moves towards the noises, trying to spot their source before their source spots her.

[Ridai]

Rohaleen creeps closer to the archway, magehound and eagle peeking around the corner. It is hard to see anything so far from the stairs, the extended left side of the room pitch-black even with Rohaleen's better vision. The ranger sees a wall of alcoves to the right of the archway, just barely making out the far wall with what seems to be a closed, large door. Listening for the noises, she thinks she can see two, perhaps three small shapes in the dark to the left, moving between the balustrades, raised stone coffins, and old candleholders. They seem to come towards her and do not yet seem to be aware of the ranger. However, with the light of the open catacombs door faintly seeping into the room and the party so far talking at normal volume, that might soon change.

Balein with her touchsight manages to pinpoint three small creatures at roughly 40 feet distance.

Spoiler: OOC

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Rohaleen's high stealth check beat the creatures' Perception, even with the small penalty for the talking.

[whoiam]

The psicrystal relays what Balein spotted to the others.

"Suggest Rohaleen creeps out into the room, then the rest of you approach the archway. They'll come after you, we hit them in the back. Any objections, whisper them to me before you start moving."

[Talore]

Without prompting, Rohaleen moves to the alcoves on the right for cover. She just has to trust that Balein is coordinating with the others.

[MikelaC1]

Eshalyn will wait until Rohaleen and Balien move into position and then will move forward into the archway, readying a magic missile for the first opponent she sees.

[gremlin-pult]

Madoc drew his sword and shield and stepped out so he was in front of the others. He respected their strength and that they could take care of themselves, but he WOULD stand as a shield between them and danger, whether they liked it or not.

[El'the Ellie]

Calliope followed down the stairs in a less than graceful display with slipping on her heels and grabbing the back of Madoc's jacket. At the bottom she winces preemptively: not so much as a magical or psionic sense, but that she knew what was about to happen.
Very lightly to the others, she whispers, "Is diplomacy out of the question with these creatures? It seems a shame to spill more blood on a holy place like this, but in confrontations like these I defer to your collective judgements."

[Ridai]

The group moves into position and as Madoc and Eshalyn step through the archway... no attack comes. Those who are not blessed with better than human visual senses see almost only pitch black in the room except for the very small area around the archway.

Balein, meanwhile, senses that two of them are staying still, while one of them moves back deeper into the room.

[Talore]

Rohaleen impatiently knocks two arrows, stands ready to draw, and calls out to the creatures. "Halt! Identify yourselves!"

At the first sign of hostility, Rohaleen is ready to activate her Watch Lamp and go to work with Shadowseeker.

[Ridai]

The words feel incredibly loud against the dark silence, and both Balein and Rohaleen can tell that they were neither aware of the ranger nor did they expect a hidden assailant to direct words at them first instead of arrows. Both can sense the kobolds scrambling around their pieces of cover to get something solid between them and Rohaleen, but no hostility seems to follow. Balein, with her various senses, can tell that they are hastily communicating via sign language, and if she'd had to guess, Rohaleen made them go from feeling in control of the situation to feeling pinned down and fearing more unseen enemies. The kobold who had been retreating further into the back of the room has stopped, too. A few seconds pass (with Eshalyn, Madoc, and Calliope only really seeing blackness), before they hear an uncertain, accented "Kobold?" from the back. Balein senses both kobolds in the front freeze up for a moment before hastily gesturing to the other one in the back as if that could undo him or her speaking up (as if that would make them feel more secure).

The group is gaining the upper hand, though the non-elf-blooded parts of the group can't tell much of what is going on.

[MikelaC1]

Tiring of waiting, Eshalyn fires a magic missile into the room. She knows she wont hit a target unless she gets very lucky, but the kobolds don't know that, and a display of magic might provoke them into defending themselves. Besides, this is merely a shot across the bow, her next shot wont require a sight line.

[Ridai]

The barrage of glowing missiles streaks wildly through the room, briefly illuminating stone coffins, alcoves and the like, revealing that there is a open door at the far end, with plenty of cover between the group and the door. Also, the group gets a brief glimpse at three kobolds, none of which look as scrawny and pathetic as the kobolds they are familiar with. There is a surprised yelp, followed by shouts in their native language as the situation comes to a head.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll initiative in the OOC.

[MikelaC1]

Tough kobolds call for stern measures, magic missile wouldn't be enough and she no longer has a line of sight on them. She does have another spell in her arsenal, and one that doesn't cause the sort of collateral damage that a fireball does, so she gestures and a huge cone of icy winds billow forth, draining the room and the kobolds of their heat energy

Spoiler: Cone of Cold

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(10d6)[42]

[Talore]

Rohaleen waits for Eshalyn's magic to pass before springing into action. With a word she activates her magic light, then sprints twenty feet forward into cover before loosing two arrows at once into the nearest kobold.

Spoiler: OOC

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Swift action to activate Watch Lamp, move action at least 20ft to activate greater skirmish and to take cover within 30ft of a kobold, greater manyshot with both arrows aimed at that nearest kobold. Skirmish gives Rohaleen a +4 competence bonus to AC.

Attack 1 (1d20+14)[28]
Damage 1 (1d8+4)[11]
Precision Damage 1 (5d6+2)[14]

Attack 2 (1d20+14)[29]
Damage 2 (1d8+4)[8]
Precision Damage 2 (5d6+2)[9]

[Ridai]

A wave of freezing cold howls through the tomb, Rohaleen's light revealing the white streams of deathly cold air cracking stone and metal in its way, at times explosively so. None of the kobolds are quick enough to escape the fury of the princess' spell, warmth being flayed from their bodies. Eshalyn may be somewhat limited in her magical repertoire, but she knows her attack spells and can tell that her spell should have had a slightly more grievous effect on the kobolds, pointing to cold resistance. Still, even with the resistance, the kobolds are stumbling around in pain, their flesh half-frozen and numb. Rohaleen circles around the kobolds right in the wake of the bitter cold, her shining headband illuminating the air billowing around her, sliding behind a stone coffin whose lid has cracked and crumbled inward from the spell. Hardly needing to wait until she stops into a rock solid stance, she loosens two arrows and both kobolds towards the front drop dead, one falling to the floor with an arrow rising from its head, the other slumping against a ballustrade, felled by a shot to the heart.

The kobold in the back, dimly perceivable for the half-elf as well as Balein, squeaks in panic, trying to crawl towards the exit it arrived through as fast as it can, keeping low and going between the surrounding terrain, no doubt heading towards safety and bigger numbers.

Spoiler: OOC

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All three kobolds fail their saves vs the cone of cold, taking 32 HP each due to their cold resistance.

Rohaleen both of the kobolds closer to the group.

The remaining kobolds is starting to flee towards the far door, now 90ft from the archway.

The whole group is up.

[gremlin-pult]

With his vision severely hampered by the dark, he settled for letting his companions finish of the lizards. Instead he kept his calm and stood vigilant in front of the others, ready to strike at any foe who got too close, and to raise his shield in front of any attack against his charges. "Keep close. While darkness hampers our vision, teamwork is our safest course of action."

Spoiler: OOC

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Since Madoc can't see much, he readies an action instead of moving around. If an enemy should suddenly appear, he will use his readied action to use the "Elder mountain hammer" maneuver on the enemy as soon as they get within range. Should an attack suddenly come towards any of the ladies behind him, he'll use the "Shield block" maneuver, which is an immediate action, to try and protect them.

I am well aware that no one is currently attacking us, quite the opposite actually, but madoc doesn't know that.

[Talore]

With a snarl, Rohaleen pushes the offensive, chasing after the surviving kobold and loosing two arrows at its back.

Spoiler: ooc

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Move 40ft forward, greater manyshot.
Attack 1 (1d20+14)[16]
Damage 1 (1d8+4)[10]
Precision Damage 1 (5d6+2)[26]

Attack 2 (1d20+14)[25]
Damage 2 (1d8+4)[5]
Precision Damage 2 (5d6+2)[22]

[Ridai]

Madoc becomes a living fortress, ready to crush anyone daring to try and get close to the archway.

The first shot goes wide, bouncing off of a coffin lid the kobold ducks under, while the second finds its mark as a pained yelp from the panicked kobolds announces, hit while it was rushing from cover to cover. The creature stumbles and slams against stone steps, life quickly leaving it's body.

Meanwhile, off to the side, a cracked, frost-covered coffin explodes outwards, though no one is in range to be harmed. Likely, the effects of Eshalyn's spell led to setting of a kobold trap.


Combat over.

[MikelaC1]

With the threat ended, Eshalyn proceeds into the room. She casts a light spell on a torch, and holds it aloft to illuminate the room and check to see what else might be present.

[Ridai]

Eshalyn reveals more of the tomb, only one part of the catacombs. No more enemies seem to be present. One curious thing they find is that when they get a closer look at the kobolds (who were no doubt simply scouts, not full warriors), they see hints of white scales. By far not enough to make them half-dragons or even draconic, it's more like they assumed light draconic aspects of sorts, explaining the resistance to cold. There have been rumors of some kobolds pursuing their alleged draconic heritage, but so far, that has been just that, rumors. The kobolds wear nothing magical on them, just well-made mundane equipment. There is a door opposite to the archway on the eastern side of the room, and another door at the far, western end through which the kobolds entered the room.

[gremlin-pult]

"These are odd kobolds..." Madoc muttered, looking closely at the bodies. "I have never seen any that where so... well fed. They are usually scrawnier, not to mention those odd scales. This could be much more dangerous than we thought."

[whoiam]

On Rohaleen's shoulder, Balein covers her eyes with one wing, apparently trying to shield her night vision from Eshalyn's light.

"So... do we go back along the kobolds' trail, doubtless to run into their colleagues? Or take the other path, hoping to find what we want without further conflict?"

[Talore]

Rohaleen retrieves her arrows, searching carefully for any more kobold traps.

"The less fighting, the better."

[El'the Ellie]

Calliope approaches and inspects the kobolds, turning them over and searching for anything that might give clues to their identities.

"I disagree. The other creatures in here must be here for a reason. The quickest way to discover what that is is to meet this presence head on."

Spoiler: knowledges

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Just rolling some knowledges that might be applicable to the kobolds and the things they carry. If not applicable, go ahead and ignore.

Religion (1d20+22)[25]
The Planes (1d20+11)[24]
Arcana (1d20+11)[17]
Nobility and Royalty (1d20+11)[23]
Nature (1d20+9)[21]
Dungeoneering (1d20+8)[19]

[Ridai]

In her studies, reports about kobolds have come up from time to time. Usually, they are represented in a very unflattering light, often equated to vermin with only the most basic intellect, cowardly and mean-spirited. They are often described as scrawny, frail creatures, their supposed distant relation to dragons often scoffed at and dismissed. Theories claim that the chromatic dragons sometimes destroyed any pockets of kobolds they could find due to the insult of being compared ever so slightly to them. Calliope has also read ancient reports and rumors of so-called dragonwrought kobolds, members of their kind who manifest undeniable and very obvious draconic traits, but no report that could be proven exists of them. What she can tell is that despite all this negativity, the topic of kobolds and a relationship with dragons has sparked debate and myths as long as historic documents reach back in time.

In a more immediate study of her deep knowledge pertaining to the current situation, Calliope recognizes that the kobolds' equipment is of decent craftmanship, and made for them and their needs, rather than having been scavenged together from gnomish and halfling armories. As for the scales, the oracle cannot claim absolute knowledge, but has the feeling that they have not necessarily have evolved naturally, but perhaps have been assumed in some way, as they also do not radiate magic. Kobolds are known to be ressourceful, and most claim it is a good thing the vast majority of them never have the faculties, the opportunities, or the means to achieve more.