The Sweet Breath of Freedom
Not content to say in one place, particularly with the ongoing tremors, nor wishing to explore the pool just yet to see if it has an outlet to the surface, the adventurers pressed ahead. Farther along some of the other tunnels, they encountered a tall fungus that screeched as they approached it. It was situated in a sort of crossroads with a broader area heading off in one direction. The heroes, of course, decided to investigate that direction.
It turned out that the wider area was a small network of interconnected kobold lairs and the shrieker was their early warning system. To one direction, a set of kobold defenders were up a small incline and sent a slurry of fish oil cascading down the slope. In the other direction was a knot of defenders behind a small barricade, led by the kobold chief. The heroes set the fish oil on fire (very smoky with both Lees and Bob Arby having some trouble with coughing and choking) in the one direction and fought their way through the other direction. The kobolds tried to put up a spirited defense with their mostly stone-age weapons but fell before the onslaught. The kobold chief was defeated with his one prized possession, his metal short sword, now in the hands of the adventurers. A quick exploration of the network of lairs showed they were linked in a ring-shape. Kobold children and women were found in a couple of places, but not harmed. The kobolds who had spread out the fish oil were found to have already succumbed to the smoke.
Pushing on farther, the adventurers found the lair of a large badger (a dire badger) of considerable temper. They dispatched it, however, fairly quickly before exploring further. Later, in their explorations, they found a large cultivate garden of mushrooms that was defended, seemingly, by zombie creatures including a fire beetle, giant ants, and kobolds. The heroes, perhaps wisely, decided to give that area a wide berth.
After a bit more searching for trouble, the band of heroes came into a larger chamber, rent by a crevasse. But these chamber had a slight difference: bats. For the first time, the heroes were finding bats, which suggested to them that there may be an outlet nearby. In order to do so, however, they had to get across the crevasse. Gil took the lead by climbing around on the cavern walls and avoiding the rent floor. As soon as he got across to the other side, he was attacked. A stringy filament shot out from a ledge farther up toward the cavern ceiling, striking him, and sticking fast. It started to slowly reel him in, off the ground.
Tesrae did her best, with a sling taken from the kobolds, to hit the creature that had fired off the filament at Gil. She managed a few very difficult shots from her vantage point, but she was unable to stop Gil from being reeled in alone. Bob Arby also came to her aid with his magical missiles. Kendrick, taking a bit of a risk jumping a 20 foot crevasse, took a running leap further into the room. He too was snagged by a filament by another creature on another ledge.
Eventually, a bit more pelting of the cave fishers from Tesrae and Bob Arby managed to free both Gil and Kendrick. All that remained was a final push through the cavern, a trip through some long but otherwise unbranching tunnels, and the light of day shone on the heroes' faces.
They found they were in a wooded area overlooking Suderham on the slopes of the old volcano. Apparently there was enough of an eruption going on to have set the woods on fire, caused tremors enough to damage much of the city walls and property, and otherwise generate a lot of chaos. To one side, came the sounds of screeching, possibly a beast in some pain or trouble. To another side, the edge of the grassland and fields beyond the woods beckon as that is the likely way to take to easily reach Suderham and possibly revenge on the Slavelords.
Coming soon...
So There I was in the Eruption of Mt. Flamenblut...
It turned out that the wider area was a small network of interconnected kobold lairs and the shrieker was their early warning system. To one direction, a set of kobold defenders were up a small incline and sent a slurry of fish oil cascading down the slope. In the other direction was a knot of defenders behind a small barricade, led by the kobold chief. The heroes set the fish oil on fire (very smoky with both Lees and Bob Arby having some trouble with coughing and choking) in the one direction and fought their way through the other direction. The kobolds tried to put up a spirited defense with their mostly stone-age weapons but fell before the onslaught. The kobold chief was defeated with his one prized possession, his metal short sword, now in the hands of the adventurers. A quick exploration of the network of lairs showed they were linked in a ring-shape. Kobold children and women were found in a couple of places, but not harmed. The kobolds who had spread out the fish oil were found to have already succumbed to the smoke.
Pushing on farther, the adventurers found the lair of a large badger (a dire badger) of considerable temper. They dispatched it, however, fairly quickly before exploring further. Later, in their explorations, they found a large cultivate garden of mushrooms that was defended, seemingly, by zombie creatures including a fire beetle, giant ants, and kobolds. The heroes, perhaps wisely, decided to give that area a wide berth.
After a bit more searching for trouble, the band of heroes came into a larger chamber, rent by a crevasse. But these chamber had a slight difference: bats. For the first time, the heroes were finding bats, which suggested to them that there may be an outlet nearby. In order to do so, however, they had to get across the crevasse. Gil took the lead by climbing around on the cavern walls and avoiding the rent floor. As soon as he got across to the other side, he was attacked. A stringy filament shot out from a ledge farther up toward the cavern ceiling, striking him, and sticking fast. It started to slowly reel him in, off the ground.
Tesrae did her best, with a sling taken from the kobolds, to hit the creature that had fired off the filament at Gil. She managed a few very difficult shots from her vantage point, but she was unable to stop Gil from being reeled in alone. Bob Arby also came to her aid with his magical missiles. Kendrick, taking a bit of a risk jumping a 20 foot crevasse, took a running leap further into the room. He too was snagged by a filament by another creature on another ledge.
Eventually, a bit more pelting of the cave fishers from Tesrae and Bob Arby managed to free both Gil and Kendrick. All that remained was a final push through the cavern, a trip through some long but otherwise unbranching tunnels, and the light of day shone on the heroes' faces.
They found they were in a wooded area overlooking Suderham on the slopes of the old volcano. Apparently there was enough of an eruption going on to have set the woods on fire, caused tremors enough to damage much of the city walls and property, and otherwise generate a lot of chaos. To one side, came the sounds of screeching, possibly a beast in some pain or trouble. To another side, the edge of the grassland and fields beyond the woods beckon as that is the likely way to take to easily reach Suderham and possibly revenge on the Slavelords.
Coming soon...
So There I was in the Eruption of Mt. Flamenblut...
posted by Bill D91 at 12:16 PM
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