Chapter 2 - Pesky Skulls

Kobolds

                With the moon setting, and the sun rising on the east, our heroes awake to a new day.  Sleeping without any disruptions through the night, near the cave entrance, the party suited up and attempted another go into the cave. 

                The initial chamber was without peril, except for the smoldering ashes of one Kobold guard.  Walking through the cavern, they walked through the hallway and decided to stay the course and press on over the pit that had lead to the fall of the Druid.  With a little skill and luck, everyone was able to jump across the perilous hole.    Walking a little further down the hall, and taking a quick peak around the corner, the party came upon a storage room containing two treasure chests. 

                After some debate as to who would go first, Embry ,the Elven Ranger, opened the first chest from behind.  This quick thinking lead to  his safety, as the first chest was merely a decoy containing nothing more than an acid trap.   The acid splashed to the floor, bubbling and fizzing.  Alistair, the gnome sorcerer, opened the second chest from behind.   Telling his party that this chest was also empty, Alistair emptied the contents of the chest, including a rare Camp Fire bead, into his pockets without the party knowing. 

                With this room empty, the group left the chamber, walked down the hallway and attempted to jump across the pit again.  Unfortunately, Alandel, the druid,  fell into the pit yet again (seriously, same damn pit.  What are the damn odds on that one?).  This time, however, he was able to brace for the fall and survive with a little life left in him.   The Ranger threw a rope down that hole, and the Druid was able to scale out of the pit.  With the party gathered together, there was only one hallway left to explore. 

                Deeper into the cavern, The company of adventurers traveled forward.   Unfortunately, those pesky reptiles had set traps in the hallway.  With Embry in the front, the first trap sprung to life.  Arrows darted out of the wall,.  However, The Elf was able to roll out of the way just in time.   As he moved forward, a second trap came to life.   Fortune was not on his side, as he took two darts to the knee. Surviving this mechanical ambush, Embry picked himself up, took the darts out of his knees, and carried on. 

                Finding the crudely constructed door at the end of the hallway, Embry kicked open the door and surprised a group of Kobolds gathered around a campfire.  With this shocking attack, The Ranger fired off two arrows and was able to dispatch with two of the lizard men with great ease.  The druid followed and attacked one of the Kobolds, knocking the lizard unconscious.  Alistair and Wyyntr performing a near tag team attack, were able to get rid of the last lizard standing. 

                Searching the bodies,  finding little to nothing except for a spear that the druid took with him, Embry tossed one of the fallen Kobold bodies into the fire.  Creating a dense smoke, a cough was heard from the ceiling.  The group looked up, and saw a Kobold dressed in all black clinging to the roof of the cave.     

                Jumping down, the Lizard hissed at the party.  Embry was able to punch the kobold,  only stunning him a little.  Alandel struck , but only brushed the Kobold’s hair with  his staff.   Embry was able to get a shot off, only winging the enemy’s arm.  The Kobold lunged for the Druid with two daggers in his hands, but only caught his cape, as though they were locked in some awkward dance.   Alistair took his shot, and wounded the enemy, while Wyyntr readied her cross bow.   Alandel struck again, this time finishing the rouge lizard and curb stomping his head into the cavern floor.

                Tossing his body aside, a note fell from the adversaries cloak.  The envelope, ordained with three skulls on the front, contained a note written in Draconian that said “Keep the eggs.  Wait for me”.  

                Looking around the cave, the intrepid troop noticed a door to the side that was well made, far from anything that the Kobolds could construct.  Bad luck, though, as it was locked.  Alistair tried to drop kick it down, but it did not budge.  Same result for the druid.  The third attempt by Embry loosened the door , giving way to a secret chamber.  Embry and Wyyntr walked into the room, and before them stood two chests.  The first chest, opened by Embry, contained some gold and a few wears from the torn apart wagon.  The second chest, Elven in make, was locked.  Wyyntr attempted to open the lock with a spell, but was only able to turn a few tumblers.  Embry asked the Wizard to leave it alone, and suggested they pick the chest up and walk back out of the cave with it in tow.

So Tiny - So Psychic

                Once outside, the party asked Embry to open the chest so they could see what was contained within.  The Ranger pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the chest.  Inside the chest was a sight to behold, as three dragon eggs were nestled in a silk lining.  A noise from under The elves cloak began to make itself known.  Embry reached into a satchel at his side, and pulled a small lizard from his side.  This was a fire lizard.  A pet of enormous potential.  Small in stature, and unsuitable for combat, these Lizard are the perfect spy and communication tool, with abilities in Teleportation to known people and places and telepathy with its owner, this wondrous creature was a sight to behold.

                With a cry from The Ranger’s pet, the other eggs began to crack.  Out of the box sprang three little fire lizards, opening their eyes to the new world around them and greeting the morning with small caws and yelps.   The baby dragons marched forward and chose their new owners.  With each party member receiving a new pet, the trepid adventurers walked away from the camp, found and hitched the wagon to their mounts, and headed back to Macridi.

                Arriving at the town of Macridi, the troop went in search of Mr. Telhook to claim their reward and deliver the bad news about the wagon and its contents.  Entering the Green Pony,  Embry noticed that Mr. Telhook was passed out at the bar.  Walking over to wake the sleeping drunk, Alistair poked the bar owner, sending his body sliding out of the bar stool and on to the floor.  Checking for a pulse, it was obvious that Telhook was dead, but not for long as his body was still slightly warm.    Wyyntr briefly brought the corpse back to the world of the living.  In this brief moment, Mr. Telhook was able to tell them that he didn’t know exactly who had struck him down, but that he was poisoned and the money in his . 

                With no obvious evidence of foul play,  The Druid went up stairs to search The Bar owner’s room to see if their payment.  The entire room had been ransacked except for an empty envelope marked with three skulls.    With the Druid preoccupied with searching the room, the rest of the party remained downstairs looking for something good to drink and plotting their next move.  Suddenly, three men dressed burst through the door.  One bald man, introducing himself as Captain Picard of the city guard, informed the party that they were under arrest for the murder of James Telhook. 

                Embry gave them fair warning, but the guards would hear none of this.  With the speed only an elf could react with, a dagger found its way into the Captain’s neck.  Falling to the ground with blood spurting forth like a volcano, the Captain was finished.  Alistair and Wyyntr attacked the other guards with some bolts of concentrated magic, blasting them against separate walls.  From the balcony, Alandel leaped over the balcony and finished one guard by crushing his head with a staff.  The lone guard tried to defend himself, but the team was too much, and was quickly finished. 

                While cleaning up and looting the fallen guards, a figure appeared in the doorway.  Announcing himself as the town leader, he politely asked warned the travelers to leave town.  Pulling out his scimitar, Embry took hostage of the strange man and threatened to take his hand if he didn’t tell him who killed Telhook and why.  The Man became quickly terrified of the Ranger and spilled his guts if the troop would get him out of town and take him as far as the city of Greengold in Kyonin.  He had killed Telhook and ransacked the room, taking all money and anything of value. Additionally, he spilled his guts about who he was working for.  A group known as the Three Skulls, and that he was a dead man for just telling Embry their name.

                Splitting  the party up, Embry took the Town Leader by sword point so they could retrieve the money that was rightfully theirs, Alandel went to the store to look for a proper cart pulling horse, and Wyyntr and Alistair stayed at the Green Pony to search of anything left behind (mostly, just looking for money according to the gnome).

                While walking down the streets of Macridi,  The Leader kept begging to leave quickly, and that the Three Skulls were on to him already.  Embry demanded that the man lead him to the money.   Walking up to his house, as soon as he unlocked the front door, an arrow found a new home within the leaders head.  Embry spun around to see who fired upon his hostage, but could only make out a shadowed figure running on the roof tops across the street.   Looking through the house, The Ranger was able to find the missing loot, along with a few rubies, and some extra cash.   Grabbing an owl-bear rug off the floor and rolling the body up, The elf hoisted the hidden corpse on his shoulder and walked back to the Green Pony.

                Meeting his friends inside, Alistair and Wyyntr were able to find a few gold pieces lying around the bar and a whole lot of booze.  Alandel was able to secure a new horse to pull the wagon.  The Party was now ready to hit the road with fresh supplies and a new corpse.

(Notable Treasures found – Camp fire bead, Ring of Arcane signets, Fire Lizard x 3)

(XP Gained – 475 points each)