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Trouble With Kobolds

The felifox ducked as an arrow flashed overhead, splintering off the magical shield of the otter behind him. The jagged shrapnel cut into his arms, drawing dark blood that spurted onto a crimson patch amidst his charcoal fur. He stayed low as a firebolt flew over his head in retaliation, coming from the white fox on his back left. Mordie, Zephyr, and Isca had been adventuring for a while together.

This should have been an easy vermin extermination. Kobolds were plaguing the nearby village, scaring off or killing cattle and stealing chickens, 150 gold to clear the nearby caves. Yet these kobolds were organized, they had traps and ambushes set up near the entrance.

Nothing fancy but still more trouble than the party expected. Mordie wiped the blood on his jerkin while Zephyr swatted out the burning areas on his robes, one of the kobolds had a vial of alchemical fire and decent aim. Isca was leaning heavily on her staff, having taken a club to the ribs, no breaks as far as she could tell but there was some bruising.

They were deep enough into the caves that light spells were required. They had already dispatched a few dozen kobolds and there was no telling how many were left.

"I think we should rest here for a few minutes," said Mordie after cutting through another with his shortsword. "These damn kobolds just keep coming. I thought this was supposed to be a milk run."

Zephyr leaned against the wall and huffed, slightly out of breath as his shield spell faded.

"Yeah, it was supposed to be, what has got these things so riled up?" he pondered.

"No idea, but one of the little shits clubbed me in the ribs. A break would be good to help ease that pain so I can concentrate on my spells," said Isca as she lifted her robe and pulled a poultice out of her backpack. She hastily applied it over the bruised area, rubbing it into her fur. "Gods, that hurts."

Mordie started wrapping bandages around his cuts and said, "We'll all be visiting a temple when we're through here. Whatever is leading these things should fetch a nice bounty on top of the original price."

After a few minutes of resting and preparing the party set off again. The occasional skirmish group of kobolds popped up and were dealt with accordingly.

Zephyr scanned the surrounding tunnel, "Is it just me or are the walls getting more... refined?"

"Yeah. The walls are being reinforced," said Mordie, tapping one of the dusty logs with the hilt of his dagger.

Isca looked at the supports and said, "Kobolds are miners but they usually don't get this sophisticated with their tunnels. Could it be whatever is leading them is teaching them, showing them how to mine more efficiently?"

"Who cares? We kill them, kill this 'leader' and get paid," said Mordie, smirking back at his companions.

"You two wait here. I'm going to scout ahead a bit, see where some of these tunnels go, I can see better in the dark than you two can." With that Mordie pulled his hood up and flitted off into the shadows, his feline lineage allowing him to move with an uncanny silence.

Mordie shifted from shadow to shadow without a sound. Quickly coming up behind a patrol and putting a dagger through one's heart and a short-sword across the other's throat. Moving the bodies to the shadows and scouting on. Following the sounds of movement up ahead, he skipped side passages. Disabling tripwires and noise traps further in. Shortly, he came upon a large cavern.

Lit with braziers and large bonfires, the ceiling arched overhead, massive, and hazy from the thick smoke. He could barely make out the large double doors at the backside of the cave through the throng of kobolds in the way. Large piles of ore and rock were stacked near an opening on the right side, and masses of tents and lean-tos along the left wall indicated sleeping spaces. Around the middle of the room was a large, wooden cage containing some cattle and a few chickens. No sign of a leader so he padded back into the shadows and returned to his companions.

While Mordie was off scouting, the two casters rested, keeping watch for more patrols. Both had their spellbooks out and were memorizing a few spells for upcoming battles when a kobold patrol opened a small side passage in the wall and came out.

The fox and otter looked at each other and gave a nod, both touching their thumbs together and splaying their fingers, pointing their hands at the new enemies and muttering a quick incantation. Once they had finished their respective chanting, flames erupted from between each of their hands in a fifteen-foot cone, taking the group of kobolds by surprise and scorching them.

The smell of burning leather and scales permeated the area as Mordie walked up, his nose twitching in disgust. "Looks like I missed the party," he said, surveying the carnage.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Isca replied, flipping through a few more pages before shutting her grimoire.

"Right, though I think it was a bit overkill, both of us using a Burning Hands spell," Zephyr said, smirking.

"I think we should get out of here. I heard their screams as I was coming back down the tunnel, I'll tell you what I saw on the way there. I hope you two have some good spells prepared because it's going to be a rough one," said Mordie, stepping over a still-smoldering corpse.

After checking the side passages for potential enemies the group made their way to the kobold colony. Mordie stopped the two wizards a few feet from the entrance.

"Hold up, something isn't right," he said as his ears twitched, listening intently. "This area was bustling with activity earlier. Now it's too quiet. Are we sure we took care of all the patrols?"

Zephyr rubbed the pendant around his neck and closed his eyes, a spark of arcane energy traveling from his fingertips to her temples. "I thought we did, but my detect thoughts only go out so far. I can feel a faint trace of activity further in the cave, just no specific locations though."

"Something got through then or heard our movements further back. We weren't exactly quiet while we took out the few patrols we did come across," said Isca. "There's not much else we can do but go on. None of the side passages we searched lead here."

"Alright, I'll go take a loo--," before Mordie could finish his sentence he was blasted back down the passage by a blinding white flash, the thick smell of ozone in the air. His hair and fur all standing on end as he rolled over and groaned, twitching as the electricity from the lightning bolt made his muscles spasm and contract.

Isca dove behind some barrels and shouted, "Caster! Everyone down!"

"He's out of range of the thought detection, did you see where the bolt came from?"

"No, I didn't, there was no verbal component either could have been a wand. Can you get to Mordie?"

"I can try, just prepare to counter-spell if you see the caster."

"Got it, get Mordie to cover."

Zephyr ran over and grabbed the spasming felifox by the collar of his jerkin and pulled him behind some crates. He gave him a once over and pulled a small vial of thick, blue liquid out of her satchel.

"Drink this, it will help the spasms and pain," he said as she popped the cork and pressed it against his lips. He clamped his teeth around the mouth of the bottle and quaffed the potion. He gagged on the thick liquid but kept it down, closing his eyes as a soothing pulse of energy suffused into his body.

"Gods that stuff is vile, thank you," He said, sitting up and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Now where is this spell-slinger so I can get some payback?"

"They're still out there, Isca is trying to pinpoint their location," Zephyr said as he offered Mordie her hand and pulled him up.

Isca pulled out a pea-sized ball of bat guano covered in sulfur. Her eyes turning into burning slits as she muttered an incantation, circling her hands around the now floating ball. As she finished the ball started to glow and streaked off to the back of the room, followed by a deafening explosion and a wave of heat. The blast nearly knocked Mordie off his feet again, debris flying through the air and adding more cuts to his already bandaged arms. Zephyr sank back against the wall with a grunt of pain as a glowing green arrow flew out from the smoke and sunk into his stomach with a sickening hiss.

"A-a-acid! A-acid arrow! Oh gods it hurts!" he screamed. His hands shaking around the arrow as he doubled over in pain.

"Shit! Isca take out that caster!" Mordie shouted as he dragged Zephyr to safety behind some crates. He looked down at the arrow and watched it dissolve. Spilling more acid over Zephyr's robes, causing him to scream out in agony.

"Gods I hate spell casters some times, where's a cleric when you need one," he growled pulling a vial similar to the one she gave him earlier from his belt pouch and popping the cork before jamming the bottle in Zephyr's mouth. He sputtered and coughed as he drank the potion, cringing in pain as the wound started to close.

"You need to get to a cleric, can you get back to town?" Mordie asked.

"Yeah, I've got an item to get one of us back in an emergency, left it with the barkeep actually," Zephyr grunted, pulling a small stone from his belt pouch.

"I'll see you in town, I expect at least a portion of my cut." He stood up on unsteady legs and patted his companion on the shoulder before closing his eyes and concentrating. With a flash and a whiff of ozone, he was gone. Leaving Mordie and Isca to finish the job. Isca growled, the fur on her neck bristling as she hid behind some crates, flipping through her spellbook rapidly.

"I've got to have something to pinpoint their location," she said.

"I'll find him, distract them if you can and buy me some time," said Mordie.

Isca gave a nod and closed her grimoire with a snap, setting it back in its satchel and gathering components from her various belt pouches. She closed her eyes and started casting her spell, the piece of obsidian she pulled from her pouch starting to vibrate with her arcane intonation. As her spell finished the room in front of her cracked, the floor erupting and showering charred earth and stone everywhere in a 20-foot area. Causing barrels and crates to crack and splinter, sending a rather large, winged kobold flying for more cover.

Mordie seized the opportunity of an airborne target and threw two daggers, one missing the mark by a blade's width and the other sinking into the wing. Causing the flying kobold to crash land in a heap of robes and wings.

He was on top of it in a flash, dropping his weight onto his short sword as he stabbed the creature through the chest. With a hissing snarl, the kobold threw one last firebolt, barely missing Mordie's face, before it collapsed. He leaned on his sword and panted before yanking the blade free and wiping it on the kobold's robes.

"Well, one more down, no telling how many left to go, " Mordie gasped as he slumped against the wall. "I think we need to demand a raise, these are no ordinary kobolds."

Isca walked up and leaned on her staff, wiping the sweat and grime off her brow.

"It looks like there's only one tunnel from here that we can fit into. These kobolds sure love their little burrow holes."

"Indeed. Well let's get on with it," Mordie said as he pushed off the wall and took the lead deeper into the tunnels.

* * * * *

After clearing out the remaining branches of the main tunnel Mordie and Isca came upon a large, yawning opening into a dimly lit cavern. Mordie's muzzle wrinkled up as a powerful stench of sulfur hit him in the face.

"Ugh, something in there is foul. Maybe an old hatchery or something?" inquired Isca through the cloth she had held over her nose.

A deep, growling voice purred from inside the cave, "No, not a hatchery. But please, do come in. You have intruded this far, it would be a shame for you to leave now without bearing witness to my glory."

Mordie raised an eyebrow and cocked an ear to the side as he gave Isca an inquisitive look. She shrugged in return and held up 4 fingers mouthing the words "spells left." Mordie nodded in understanding, tightened his grip on his shortsword and dagger, then strode into the chamber. Isca followed close behind him.

Inside the floor was littered with large bones, shells of eggs, and a large pile of various coins and trinkets. On top of the pile sat a large, red wyrm. The long lithe tail trailing snakelike through the treasure pile as it craned its neck as the two adventurers entered. It's yellow, catlike eyes glowing as it stared at the companions in curiosity and hungry malevolence.

"So, interlopers, what brings you into my home? Terrorizing my servants and disturbing my sleep. Here to steal my hard-earned hoard perhaps?" The great dragon cut off the last syllable with a hiss as its eyes narrowed.

"Oh... you know, we're just here to... to..." Stammered Mordie as the fur on his tail bristled.

"We have come to offer our fealty with a generous gift 'O great one," Isca interjected. Producing a large ruby, nudging Mordie with her staff as she bowed. He quickly followed suit.

"Hrmm, I do believe this would be a suitable compensation for slaughtering my servants," The wyrm snorted. "Now let me return to my slumber, and tell the sniveling human they call 'Mayor' in the town to send more cattle, lest I start satiating my hunger on the local populous."

Isca bowed deeply as she tossed the ruby onto the dragon's hoard. Grabbing the back of Mordie's jerkin and backing out into the corridor, pulling the terrified rogue with her. Mordie let out a shuddering breath as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Well," he said, smoothing back the hair on his head, "that was an experience I would not like to repeat. Though I suspect our reward will be tripled once we get this information back to the Mayor. We'll also check on Zephyr and see if we can find some more help to deal with this."

"That hoard will more than make up the cost of that ruby and buy us some assistance I'm sure," Isca said as they made their way back through the caves.

* * * * *

The rest of the trip back to town was uneventful. Though the pair kept looking behind the expecting an ambush of kobolds. Zephyr was recovering at the Inn, nursing a pint of ale after having visited the local temple for some healing. Mordie and Isca filled him in on what happened after he teleported out.

"Have you gone to tell the Mayor what happened?" Zephyr inquired, taking a swig of his ale.

"Not yet, I believe we'll need to get more help before we try to take out this wyrm," Isca replied.

Zephyr chimed in, "I think I know someone who can help, he's pretty good with a bow, though he lives in the north. I can prepare a spell of messaging to see if he's interested. It might take him a while to get here though, we'll see what he says."

"I think I can get someone as well, she's a pretty good cracksman. Even got a score off of the Baron to the south. It might not be hard to get her up here if she's got some heat on her tail. I'll send word of the work that way," said Mordie.

"Okay then, I'll inform the Mayor of our plans and pass on the wyrm's message. Hopefully, he won't be put off at the fact that we didn't technically finish the job," said Isca.

"Don't forget to ask for hazard pay, we didn't know about that giant lizard but it seems to know the Mayor," Mordie said as Isca got up.

"Of course," she said as she made her way to the door.