Episode 2

Next morning, the group discussed their goals.

There were three actions that could be taken:

• investigate the dragon burial site that Valthrun described to Walf (to the south west), in the hope of tracking down Walf’s friend Douven Staul;
• investigate the waterfall base of the cultists that Ninaren the elf described (to the south east), in the hope of finding the cult there and destroying it;
• visit the local ruler Lord Padraig, in the hope of gaining information, influence and/or money.

Florence’s group decided they would accompany Walf, Dexter and Artin to the dragon’s burial site in return for them subsequently coming to the waterfall area.

The group decided to visit the lord before either of these things.

Much discussion ensued about the lord. Broadly it centred on whether Padraig was in on the cult (and therefore how much to tell him), and whether the whole group should go on the visit.

Walf pointed out that Padraig will certainly know about the group of adventurers in town, and given the questions they were asking in the bar the night before, he might also know they are interested in cult activity.

Dexter considered sneaking in to the manor house and checking the place out.

In the end the whole group attended as companions of Walf, who as a nobleman was expected to pop in and say hello.

The open discussion covered the kobold attack, Walf’s resolution to seek his friend and former mentor Douven, and miscellanea of the regional nobility.

Dexter spent his time surreptitiously examining the house’s layout, the type of window locks used, the position of skylights, and other things a civilised gentleman adventurer might be expected to be curious about.

Aravin spent his time trying to niggle money or a letter of authority from Padraig. The kobold problem was increasing, and Padraig eventually offered a bounty of two silver pieces per kobold tail tip, and encouraged the group to return after finding Douven to discuss further reward for cleaning out the kobold hideaway that he suggests might be to the south east.

Xagoth blurted out the group’s cult seeking mission before anyone else was prepared to open the subject. Influenced by Aravin’s negotiations, Padraig appeared to dismiss this as some kind of half arsed treasure chasing strategy.

Flo decided to reveal her mission, and Padraig appeared surprised and interested in the idea that there might be a death cult in the area. None of the heroes detected any deception on Padraig’s part.

The group set forth on the Kings Road, following Valthrun’s sketched map.

On the road they were ambushed by a particularly tough group of kobolds, bent on revenge for the group’s recent murder of their fellows.

• The kobold group surprised the adventurers
• Four dragonshields charged Walf, two getting through Walf’s defences, one of which pulled a flawless feint-and-slash that did a considerable amount of damage
• Another kobold wearing an evil looking bone mask cast a hissing acid sphere of energy at Flinch, who dodged aside, clearly having learned her lesson from the last fight’s fire bomb.
• The fifth attacker was lightly armoured skirmisher who sprinted toward the remainder of the party.
• Aravin lead the counterattack with a blast of ice that tore through the dragonshield group and froze the ground beneath their feet.
• Two of the dragonshields kept their footing, and replied with additional attacks on Walf while their companions climbed to their feet. Both of which landed leaving Walf barely alive.
• One of those dragonshields was slammed back across the ice by the the invisible force of Xagoth’s diabolic grasp
• Artin’s concern for Walf ruined her aim, causing her crossbox bolt to fly wildly into the air, but giving her the chance to lay her hands, and the blessing of Corellon, on Walf, restoring him considerably.
• The masked kobold wyrmpriest summoned another energy orb, this time striking at Aravin and scoring his face with acid. He followed his attack with a strange barking chant, answered by the other kobold warriors, who appeared to draw strength from the chant
• Flinch fired her trademark two arrows, but her chosen targets sheltered behind their dragon scale shields, avoiding any damage.
• Walf, finally able to strike at his attackers, dealt damage to one of the surrounding dragonshields
• Dexter’s shuriken streaked across the battlefield, damaging the kobold skirmisher who was now approaching the group, spear raised
• John spotted a flaw in a dragonshield’s defences, and attempted an attack to exploit it, but was foiled at the last second.
• Flo blazed suddenly with holy light, and where the light touched nearby kobolds they seemed to become weaker.
• The skirmisher thrust his spear at Dexter, wounding him only slightly
• Aravin sensed the danger of the encounter, and as he drew a breath time slowed for him. He had levitated a rock from behind the kobold dragonshields, which now came smashing down, while he blasted a magical missile of acid onto another kobold. Without pause he also summoned a cloud of stabbing blades of energy onto the same opponent.
• The dragonshield’s early luck has run out, only one of their attacks finding a mark on Walf despite a charge attack from the kobold pushed away by Xagoth’s earlier attack. One unfortunate kobold continued to suffer the acid and dagger afflictions of Aravin’s earlier attack.
• Xagoth’s codpiece blazed forth its dark shaft of energy, striking the same kobold.
• Artin swung her warhammer, dealing a flawless strike against her opponent
• The wyrmpriest darted toward the group and from his mouth a hideous cloud of acid blazed forth, damaging several of the heroes
• Flinch spent her reserves of courage and determination making two attacks, each firing two arrows, at the evil wyrmpriest. He dodged the first arrow but had no hope of avoiding the second, third and fourth, and the previously unharmed kobold was now near death.
• Walf’s next attack was cunningly calculated to be inescapable irrespective of the opponents armour, and it succeeded in removing the head from one of the dragonshields and the first death of the encounter
• Dexter’s flashing blade also found a scaled hide to slice, that of the dragonshield not already suffering from Aravin’s acid.
• John’s eye for tactics picked up an opening and he called to Walf. Walf’s attack found the weakness and killed a second dragonshield.
• Florence’s Lance of Faith leaped forth, damaging a dragonshield already marked by Dexter’s blade.
• The kobold skirmisher, desperate now the tide of battle had turned against him, attempted a sly attack against Artin, but the dwarf’s chainmail turned the spearpoint.
• Aravin blasted a freezing cloud at the kobold Dexter and Flo had attacked
• The frozen kobold missed his next strike against Walf, but he remaining companion had shaken off the acid effects and landed a blow on Walf
• Xagoth’s blast narrowly missed the dragonshields
• Artin saw the lightly wounded skirmisher kobold shaping up for another attack. She sucked in a breath, summoning Corellon’s holy power. She felt the strength of her deity filling the thews of her arms, and time appeared to slow, the noise of the fight receding into silence. Her warhammer felt impossibly light as she stepped forward, spinning on her leading foot and swinging her hammer in a long loop, low, then high as she spun back to face her opponent. The hammer head arced through the air, inevitable, unstoppable, and as it descended toward the skirmisher she watched the creature’s lizard eyes finally, slowly, move to notice the hammer descending on him. Artin watched her weapon smash through the kobold’s raised arm, splintering the bones like twigs, tearing through the creature’s jaw and then ribs in a spray of blood and bone fragments. The force of her stroke spun her around a second time. Her opponent came back into view as the thrumming of Corellon’s judgement was leaving her body. Unbelievably, the kobold was still standing, a fell light in its remaining eye.
• In the last seconds of her holy possession, Artin detected the presence of an unnatural life connection holding the kobold to the world of the living. The source of the connection was the masked wyrmpriest, who hissed a curse as he cast another orb of acid toward John, but an instant later Flinch’s carefully aimed arrow found a gap in the evil kobold’s mask, and he dropped silently to the ground.
• Walf shuddered in distaste as he sliced his blade at the remaining dragonshield, slicing the reptile badly.
• Dexter final attack distracted the dragonshield enough to give John a chance to spot another attack opportunity, and his shout allowed Walf to strike again, finally killing the creature.
• The shambling skirmisher, the final remaining kobold, finally perished in Flo’s lance of holy light.
• The heroes were victorious again
• Aravin inspected the weapons but found nothing worth looting.
• Some coinage was found that Flo took, claiming that she was “looking after on behalf of the group”.
• The Wyrmpriest carried a valuable looking obsidian dragon necklace with a scratched symbol on the underside.
• I can’t remember who, but someone identified the symbol as a symbol of Orcus, a powerful demon lord popular among death cultists.
• The group, excited by their success but kinda bored with killing kobolds, decided to take an extended rest to recover their full potential for the hazards ahead.