[Game Thread] Chapter 2C Up a level, Down a level

[Kevin]

After a full night of rest, Stephan, who has Identify memorized twice, sits there smiling to himself as his fellow party members nearly come to blows over whether to try on a powerful unidentified magic gauntlet.

They should be grateful that I allow them to bask in my glorious presence! Being useful is for the little people.

Stephan finishes making notes on the stove while the Xanna prepare his breakfast and pack his gear, Durgor applies more orc "whore paint" to his face (Others also reapply the paint.), and Usko wipes Stephan's ass after he relieves himself.

Having a companion with a reduced wisdom has its benefits, he muses.

After eating some breakfast, the knotted rope is lowered, and the group descends some twenty feet to the bottom of the pit. Xanna goes last, untying the rope and using her slippers to walk down the side of the hole. There's nothing interesting here, a bit of metal slag and ash, but an open crevice is clearly visible.

We'll have to crawl one at a time, but at least I don't see anything nasty, and it looks like nothing has been here for a long time if ever. No footprints in the ash.

With Durgor in the lead, the party crawls some forty feet down a passage which appears to be a natural crack. It descends slightly. Then the tunnel ends in a large hole, which leads to what looks like a crudely worked unlit room below.

Nobody is visible, but I can hear the impact of picks on rocks. People might be working near here.

With the others holding the rope, Durgor lowers himself down. The others follow.

Suddenly, many footsteps are audible! Coming into the room are a dozen unarmored kobolds holding mining picks, plus a very large, mean looking kobold who wears leather armor and holds a whip in one hand, and a warhammer in the other. The kobold speaks quickly.

Brz'ki Tplittstou Dz'gvoggla zi esyzd! Saz'eyt czitok pheataiz eo!

...and the others raise their picks, ready to attack!

He's talking too fast! I caught the word "intruders," though. Then he told them to sneeze on our yellow pig farm, but that's probably a mistranslation. Xanna dutifully reports. [1]



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The hole the party lowered itself down from is about 8 feet up.

The party gets to go first. We're in combat rounds.

K = boss kobold
k = other kobold (unarmored, with pick)

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[1] Yeah, nice try on the language skill. You get to be competent with the language after you get an instructor, or at least a plausible opportunity to learn.

[Adam]

Hey, who says Xanna just *started* learning Draconic? She's a mage, after all, and it comes up a lot in magical texts. Also: Kibbo.

Er... wasn't there something we were supposed to say to them to stop this sort of thing from happening?

She attempts a Diplomacy check to just calm everybody down.

[Lanorolen]

OOC: Did anybody happen to save a link to our instructions as to what to do at this point?

[Theroniac]

OOC: check OOC thread post #133 and #134

[Theroniac]

Try to make some sense, Xanna. Are the pigs yellow or is the farm yellow?

[smirnov]

Earlier Stephan watches Usko & durgar argue over the Gauntlet

"Guys, it's just a gauntlet. Why don't we wait until there is more stuff that need identifying, and I can cast identification then?"


<It's not like it's a staff or something. THOSE have a really cool set of magic. A gauntlet - the only challange there is enchanting steel, and that mostly relies on brute force. Dull, dull, dull>

now:

Stephan leans to Xanna, "say 'Spis Kzat King Psitit' - that's the chalange to duel the king"

[Kevin]

OOC: when posting what Xanna says, please detail the demeanor with which she speaks.

[Lanorolen]

While these folks are yammering back and forth, Durgor steps aggressively forward, slamming his axe against his shield and then pounding the butt into the ground and roars in the faces of the puny kobolds:

Spis Kzat King Psitit

Hopefully he gets the pronunciation right - I would point out that he did practice it back and forth a couple times with the kobold envoy. Also, note that he has an intimidate score of +1 (aren't class skills great? ).

Later he will quietly apologize to Xanna and Stephan Sorry ta have stepped on yer toes there. I know that yer usually the talkers around here, but I felt like that moment needed a dwarf's touch ta really hammer the point home, if ya see what I mean.

[smirnov]

Originally Posted by Lanorolen

Later he will quietly apologize to Xanna and Stephan Sorry ta have stepped on yer toes there. I know that yer usually the talkers around here,

"I'm not a talker, I'm a thinker"

<If I said half of what I thought, I would be in deep doukie>

[Theroniac]

Before his wisdom got drained, Usko interpreted the words of the ritual as being inappropriate to utter outside of the presence of the king of the kobolds. Upon hearing Durgor's challenge to the kobolds, Usko perks up like a hound scenting prey. A single drop of spittle leaks from the corner of his mouth and he starts to swing his glaive with a murderous gleam in his eye.

[Lanorolen]

If possible, Durgor will attempt to catch Usko on the way by - though given that he wasn't exactly expecting that response, he may well be too slow.

Woah. Hold on, bug guy. The king, not every kobold in the bloody place, remember?

[Kevin]

Usko moves before Durgor has the chance to grab him, but Durgor's words happen before Usko brings down his glaive.

I need a confirmation as to whether Usko attacks or stands down before posting anything else.

[Theroniac]

ooc: I am confused why everyone seems to think Usko has to move one iota from the spot he is in to launch an attack.
Usko utters his challenge I get to duel the king! Spis Kzat King Psitit! he screams (+2 to intimidate if it matters) and stops just shy of slicing into the kobolds, but he is clearly on a hair trigger. He readies an action to launch an attack at the first hint of hostilities on either side: Hit the kobold across from him and cleave his neighbor as well: (-2 to AC if he cleaves) glaive: +7/d10+6.
Any unarmed strikes Usko makes against the unarmored kobolds will be non-lethal.


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[Adam]

Before Durgor decided to take over the tone, Xanna was going for polite-yet-unwilling-to-accept-an-iota-of-****. Slaves! Do you wish to be free? Answer now!

After he shouts out his challenge, she massages the crook of her nose and wonders why she didn't take Silence at this level instead.

[Kevin]

Durgor bellows the challenge, as only a dwarf can, his voice echoing through the caverns.

Usko raises his glaive, and Durgor warns him not to attack. The kobold nearest Usko cringes in fear, but Usko does not strike.

Xanna looks annoyed.

A very long three seconds pass. Then the kobold with the hammer and whip snaps out an order.

K'pzast Zechk!

And the pick-wielding kobolds move away from the party, while the one who gave the orders remains. He seems to chuckle, smiles a toothy grin, and bows to the party, stepping to the side and gesturing for the party to proceed up the north passage.

Fizzt Kpalk!

I think he just said "Good hunting." Xanna whispers to the others.


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