Ehud wakes with a splitting headache. There is a constant pounding.
*Bam* *Bam Bam* *Bam bam bam bam*
The horrific pounding doesn't seem to stop. He groans as he wakes up, holding his head.
"Stop the pounding!" By the gods I am never drinking again!
He then realizes that the pounding is coming from his bedroom door.
"Wakey wakey ya ol' Whiskey Wailer!" Varro calls in from the door as he cracks it open a bit.
"We've gots a bit o' fun ta be havin today! Ya be gettin ya gear and be meetin us downstairs, we be about ta head out ta be findin whatever an Irontooth might be." With that, Varro turns and returns back downstairs.
Ehud with his head still pounding, groggily makes his way down the stairs and meets up with the rest of the group.
Francis, done with his shopping, makes his way back to the Inn just in time to see the group exiting the building.
Introductions are made as the group exits Winterhaven out the East gate and travels once again down King's Road.
Belimir, who has met up with Nuit, join the group as they start out on the road.
Varro doesn't let up on his inquisition of the mage, the whole time that the group heads out of town Varro continues to give the old man time to come up with a good answer. It is that the trip to the keep will be put on hold till Varro gets his answers.
"ya be havin any idea how many ov dos critters dat we be facin in der lair?"
Francis walks near the back of the group. "Does anyone know any marching songs?"
Belimir looks at the little man: "Why not just be quiet? The day is young and the nature is loud enough. And I`ll remind you, wi bi hantn Kobl`ds!" Again, Belimir tries to mimic Varro`s speach.
Francis smiles unctuously. "Are we expecting to surprise them in their own territory? Walking on the road will probably give us away."
"BAH! Let em know we be comin, more fun dat away anyhows." Varro starts up a Dwarven Drinking Song:
well i stumbled in at 2 a.m. all drunk and full of smoke
my wife said i have had enough, im sick, thats it, get out!
so i stumbled down to kellys pub across the edge of town
and i told the boys me story and we had another round
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
and if i see a pretty girl, ill sleep with her tonight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
and mary mcgregor, she was a pretty whore
she'd always greet you with a smile and never lock her door
but on the day she died, all the men in town did weep
for mary mcgregor finally got some sleep
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
and if i see a pretty girl, ill sleep with her tonight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
well i once loved a girl, a child im told
i gave her my heart and she gave me a cold
so now i sit standing here out in the pouring rain
ill stumble back to kellys pub and cry away me pain
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
and if i see a pretty girl, ill sleep with her tonight!
we'll drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink, and drink and fight!
Belimir, clearly displeased by all the noise and singing (he`ll have to get use to it) changes shape into a panther and dissapears in the surrounding thicket.
Francis is at first startled by Belimir's sudden shapeshift. By Oghma, what have I gotten myself into?
He then bellows out a drinking song he'd learned in Chondath. Other than a few mispronounced Dwarven names, he sings it in a stereotypically Dwarven way:
Gather 'round, ye lads and lasses, set ye for a while
And hearken to me mournful tale: a mountain citadel
Let's all raise our mugs all high to friends and family gone
And lift our voices in another Dwarven drinking song
Consumption took me mother and me father got the pox
Me brother drank the Elf-ale 'til he wound up in a box
Me other brother in the Spellplague met with his demise
Me sister has forever closed her smiling Dwarven eyes
Now everybody's dying
So until our tears are dried
We'll drink and drink and drink and drink,
and then we'll drink some more
We'll dance and sing and fight
until the early morning light
Then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up,
and then go drinking once again
Flamegilder fought Darkiron near the banks of old New Breen
He took out his warhammer and he stabbed him in the spleen
Crazy Uncle Htot believed he was a Sorrowsworn -
In fact he's just upset since all his arms and legs are gone
Someday soon I'll leave this world of pain and toil and sin
Moradin will take me hand to join all of me kin
Me only wish is, when the Saviour comes for me and you....
He kills the folk of Akanûl and Mehta Lowpriest too
Now everybody's dying
So until our tears are dried
We'll drink and drink and drink and drink,
and then we'll drink some more
We'll dance and sing and fight
until the early morning light
Then we'll throw up, pass out, wake up,
and then go drinking once again...
Ignoring the boisterous songs, Wilam distracts himself with the directions to the kobold's lair. He never was much for maps and always finds himself getting turned in circles when trying to keep track of directions. I should have described the general directions to the druid and had him lead us there. He could probably find the trail through a thornbush.
The group, talkative and having a bit of fun, marches down the road towards where the map shows the turn-off point is leading towards the Kobold Lair.
Brann has been marching alongside Varro, keeping an ear open to the banter but also mindful of the threat that has killed one of his companions.
Can't get my mind too fixed this, I've got to relax. Hmm, maybe I can distract myself by finding out a bit about our new companions.
He drops back to the rear of the pack and tries to engage the halfling at the back, "How're you faring on our quest for vengeance? Would this be something you've done before for a lost companion?"
Francis looks toward the horizon as he walks, choosing not to look at Brann as he speaks calmly. "Vengeance is an abuse against the past. Attachment, whether to objects or to people, breeds hate as much as it does love."
"Weakness..." Ehud turns, overhearing the halfling behind him. He seemed about to start some religious philosophical discussion, but then grabs his stomach and pukes along the side of the road. Retaking his place, feeling a little better, he says over his shoulder, "I do revenge all the time, as is fitting for any living sentient being caught in the paradox of weakness and strength that is existence."
As Ehud retakes his place in the march, Francis faces him. "Revenge is the paradox of hypocrisy. When you indulge in your desire to match an offense, you are expressing that an act is iniquitous by partaking in the very act you find problematic.”
Francis covers his nose as he passes by Ehud's puddle of vomit. "I believe that demonstrates the problem of immoderation sufficiently."
More weak prattle. Ehud sighs. "Whatever. No one said the act was iniquitous, offensive or iniquitous. We kill the guy who killed ours so we don't have to live with our weakness. The end."
"Interesting explanation," Francis says, stepping over a stick. "Though I imagine that doing nothing would be weak precisely because it means tolerating an offense."
Ehud thinks for a bit, then says, "The only offense comes from within, by failing or being weak in the first place, allowing Varro's dragon to die. There is a desire to negate the action like going back in time and ambushing the kobolds before they even knew who we were. The desire is born in the instant of weakness. The desire cannot be quenched-- the desire must be transformed into a desire for revenge. In this way, a person stays true to kin, self, and community. All else is out of balance."
Overhearing the conversation between verses of his song
"Weak, who be sayin anyting about bein weak. I just be pissed off dat da yeller critters killed me dragon"
Varro goes back to his off-key singing:
Gather thee dwarves, there’s cause for a bash
Tap all caskets and find us your stash
Who calls the round? Whose wallet is heavy?
How many pints can this tummy here levy?
Beer, cider, spirits and ales
Listen to the drunk dwarf tell his tall tales
Loosen your belts, cups in the air
The liquor flows free and the barrels won’t care
And all call:
O, ho, finish in one
Down, down
Until it’s all gone!
Hoorah!
Pour another cup, mine appears to be dry
Don’t say there’s no more or a dwarf might cry
All sing along now and sway side to side
No single voice is too ugly to hide
Cheer all ye up, no reason to look grim
There’s no need for dwarven waistlines to be slim
Never mind the weak-stomached one’s snore
Full round bellies make grave spirits soar!
And all call:
O, ho, finish in one
Down, down
Until it’s all gone!
Hoorah!
By Brodon’s beard, another two glasses
Didn’t those bosoms just grow on them lasses?
Sweet lady friend mine, won’t you join me?
My lap is empty and the brandy’s for free
Sorry love, didn’t mean to be rude
No telling the stories when a dwarf’s in the mood
But truth be told I’d not ever choose you
Over a pint of my sweet sacred brew
And all call:
O, ho, finish in one
Down, down
Until it’s all gone!
Hoorah!
Was that a pink elephant that just flew past?
Funny the shadows that cider kegs cast!
Pardon that noise, didn’t mean to offend
There’s no hic-up a bloody good belch won’t mend
Laughing eyes wat’ry and heads a’ swimming
Look at your red nose dwarf! And stop that grinning!
We’ll stack them mugs unto the ceiling
Of their seats the dwarves are keeling
And all call:
O, ho, finish in one
Down, down Until it’s all gone!
Hoorah!
"HOORAH!" Ehud shouts and begins to sing along with Varro.
Hmm, this talk of weakness and he can't handle a little debate. Francis faces Brann. "In answer to your question: no. I haven't lost a companion, though I have sought criminals for misdeeds."
As the party converses about their quest of revenge, and Varro, accompanied by Ehud, sing boisterous songs, you come across a familiar bend in the road. And all is exactly as the party found it the first time....full of kobolds!
War cries break from the underbrush as several small figures dart from hiding places. They are similar to the creatures you fought earlier, but three of them carry longswords and shields.
The kobolds have taken the party by surprise and attack swiftly!
A kobold skirmisher shifts into position, moves into the road, and launches a spear at Wilam, unfortunately for the kobold, the spear falls far short of its mark.
The three kobolds weilding short swords and shields all move into position, charging towards the party, yelping and howling as they move closer to engaging combat.
A kobold dressed in feathers and bark moves into the road far behind the rest of the group and begins casting a quick spell. An orb of pure force races towards Belimir, landing square into his chest.
After the sudden ambush by the kobolds, the group is able to react.
Varro recovers quickly from his surprise, But doesn't let up his Singing but instead incorporates it into his attack
Varro raises his Mighty Greataxe and charges the Kobold with the shield and Shortsword.
"Beer, cider, spirits and ales
Listen to the drunk dwarf tell his tall tales
Loosen your belts, cups in the air
The liquor flows free and the barrels won't care"
"O, ho, finish in one
Down, down
Until it’s all gone!"
"Hoorah!"
The panther roars in anger, rushes forward and roars again. A swarm of a thousand locusts spring forth and attack the kobolds.
The attack catches Wilam completely off-guard. "Hrmm? What's goin... Oh!" he exclaims once he realizes the group is under attack. You knew this moment was coming, fool, now do exactly what you had planned! ... Well? What are you waiting for?
Taking a deep breath, Wilam holds his tome infront of himself with straight arms and energizes the flows of Nature and Arcane energy around him. He focuses his eyes on one of the center kobolds and mutters an ancient Word. Suddenly, the air surrounding the kobold turns blue and frigid.
The cloud also targets the three adjacent kobolds.
Wilam watches to observe what effect the magic will have and forgets his feet completely. He finds himself marveling at the swirling mists he's created and wondering if they will prove to be effective.
Francis, equally caught off guard, moves around the road when he sees Belimir attacked, drawing his handaxe as he does so. He focuses on one of the Dragonshields, issuing a divine challenge. Both he and the kobold momentarily appear illuminated with a flash of light.
Nuit, seeing several kobolds under control moves through the road taking a long way to stay out of reach of the kobolds, swearing an oath of enmity against the caster.
He then charges at the caster with whirlwind charge.
Seeing his companions charge in Brann rushes in with a swift word to Moradin and focuses his sights on the Kobolds crowding around Varro.
"This should help you with those dirty Kobolds brother", as shafts of light stab towards one of the Kobolds and stream back to Varro.
Varro rushes forwards axe held high, charging with a dwarven war song on his lips.
The dragonshield to his right swings out with it's shortsword but falls short of the dwarf.
Varro swings with his axe, but the shifty kobold, easily moves out of the way of the slow moving weapon, although the dragonshield next to him was not quick enough to escape the tip of his axe and takes a small hit on his shield arm.
The panther roars in anger, rushes forward and roars again, swarming the area with the familiar locusts of the druid. The angry creatures bite and sting the kobolds, dealing significant damage to two of the dragonshields, but having almost no effect on the others caught in the cloud of wings.
Varro notices the enemy's distractions and will have an easier time attacking them.
The air around the kobolds, Varro, and Belimir grows incredibly cold. A thin mist begins to form around them, and the cold increases, freezing them to the bone. Unfortunately, the magic is not as potent as the wizard would have hoped, and only seems to harm the kobolds slightly.
The skirmisher cluches his chest as the cold slows his heart.
Two of the dragonshields experience a similar pain, both stopping for an instant as the chilling pain wracks their bodies.
Brann, stepping forward as if daring the kobolds to challenge his faith, unleashes bolts of radiant light towards the evil creatures. The light sears the fur of one of the kobolds, strengthening Varro with holy resolve.
Running with a gleam of revenge in his eye, Ehud declares "Now face vengeance in the name of Hoar!"
Another bolt of radiant energy soars across the road, but misses the skirmisher.
The two dragonshields facing the stout warrior both strike out with their shortswords, attacking together allowing them to focus easily on the dwarf.
Both of their attacks land on Varro, inflicting a sizeable wound on him.
The dragonshield facing Belimir slashes the panther with it's sword but misses, swinging out wide, but yelps in pain as the challenge of the divine forces his attention to Francis.
The skirmisher takes aim at Ehud, seeing the bolt of light streak past it. He launches a javelin at the Avenger, and it flies through the air with great percision.
The javelin buries itself deep in Ehud's thigh, instantly drawing blood.
The wyrmpriest kobold, confronted by the Elven Avenger, takes a deep breath, a hint of an evil smirk crosses it's face.
It breathes out, a dripping cloud of green acid to cover Nuit.
Acid explodes everywhere around the elf, grabbing hold of his armor, hair, skin, even the boulders next to him.
Nuit is caught in the cloud of acid as he was making his charge at the wyrmpriest. His senses are overwhelmed with the acid and he misses his attack on the kobold.
The panther swings with it`s paws, raking the kobold dragonshield and passing him on to his friends, sealing his fate. The locusts dissapear from the previous zone. The panther roars again, stands up on his back pawlegsd a second later Belimir stands in his place, back in his human form.
Nuit glares at the kobold in front of him and attacks with bond of pursuit, trying to tie himself to the kobold.
Varro re-grips his axe as he looks to each of the three Dragonshield Kobolds adjacent to him, He then looks to the Holy engraving in his axe blade.
"Kord, Guide me hand"
He then Swings his axe in a great arch.
Francis shifts, blocking the kobold from moving, and unleashes the power of Oghma upon it.
With his back to Nuit, Ehud attacks the Skirmisher with a whirlwind charge.
Brann swears mildly to himself, "We best be ending this soon", and then gathers his energies and blasts light out at the Kobolds.
The panther rakes the Dragonshield in front of it with it's massive claws, gashing it's chest and causing the kobold to fall back a bit.
Belimir shifts to his human form after the attack.
Wilam concentrates and casts another cloud of chilling cold at the kobolds. The cloud is effective and harms a number of the kobolds.
Nuit fulfills his oath and steps in close to the kobold, swinging out with his heavy flail, a deadly look in his eyes.
The flail comes crashing down over the kobold, causing an incredible amount of damage to the priest. Somehow the kobold is still standing, yet staggering.
With a quick prayer to his god, Varro slices deep into the Dragonshield facing him, cutting the creature in half, and clips the kobolds surrounding him in his rage.
Francis, seeing Belimir's tactical move, jumps before the kobold, blocking the shift, handaxe held high.
With a brilliant strike of holy power, Francis brings his axe down upon the kobold, cutting into it's shoulder, dropping it to the ground.
In a whirlwind of steel, Ehud rushes into the Skirmisher, unleashing his fury upon the scaly creature. Slicing with his spear so fast his motions are a blur.
The creature is instantly left with several long gashes across it's body.
The cleric, ready to finish this fight, mumbles something to himself as he gathers divine energy into himself, then unleashing it upon his enemies.
Brann tries to take a step towards his target, but stumbles as Francis moves to intercept the oncoming kobold. The dwarf fumbles his spell a bit and misses all but the Skirmisher, who takes notice of the cleric's assault, but otherwise seems unharmed.
The bone-mask wearing priest, seeing it's companions fall, incites the faith of it's god, granting a surge of energy to it's remainging allies.
As it finishes it's yappy prayer, it lobs an orb of pure energy at Nuit. The elf is unable to dodge the orb and it hits him square in the chest.
The kobold skirmisher backs up a step the throws another javelin at Ehud. But because of Ehud's attack, the javelin flies wide and lands in the brush.
The Dragonshield, now bloodied and weak, tries desperately to fight back against the massive force that is Varro Orkenshield.
It slices out with it's shortsword, connecting with Varro's left leg, causing only a slight draw of blood to appear.
With the momentum of his powerful strike, Varro looks straight at the third dargonshield.
"What ya be lookin at Gnoll dung?" Varro taunts the weak creature.
He then fakes a lunge at the creature. The kobold, who just witnessed his fellow combatant get tore in twain by the dwarf's axe, flinches at the ruse. Varro then Slices at the creature with his mighty Axe.
Not waiting to see if the shattered creature lives or not, Varro moves on to face the skirmisher face on
"Yous be next, goblin scrotum"
Francis issues a divine challenge. He then circles around and attacks the Kobold.
Belimir quickly moves through the battlefield, leaving the group to finish the remaining dragonshield. Seeing the wyrmpriest in the distance he stops, and again shanges his shape to a white panther. The panther darts straight at the wyrmpriest and sinks his paws in him.
Seeing his companion take another blow, Brann moves closer to the heart of the combat and calls forth a healing prayer.
He then focuses his mind on the Kobold Shaman close to him.
This battle will be ending as quickly as it started. Wilam focuses on the javelin-throwing kobold and gathers the cold energies from the surrounding area and directs it at the Dragonshield. With a single word, the frost shards assault the kobold.
The wyrmpriest began moving away from Nuit, but swearing his oath aloud, the Avenger moves in for the kill.
With a masterful swing and fancy footwork, Nuit brings his wrath down upon the spellcaster.
The kobold didn't stand a chance against the skillful avenger's attack.
The battlerager taunts the remaining Dragonshield, causing it to grimmace at the dwarf.
With a tactical lunch, the kobold flinches enough to allow Varro to pull up short with his axe, swinging it in the opposite direction, effectively bluffing the kobold, having it lower it's defenses.
The kobold dies instantly with such a heavy hit finding its way to it's soft flesh.
Victory at hand, Varro moves closer to the Skirmisher.
Francis, a bit confused by the sudden death of several kobolds, looks around for the Dragonshield he was attacking, only to spot it dead at his feet.
Belimir, eager to kill yet another kobold, bolts across the dusty road, gunning for the Wyrmpriest, only to stop in his tracks as he see's Nuit take down the evil priest.
Brann, the stalwart cleric, moves closer to his wounded companion. He falls into a short prayer and spreads his healing word over his elven ally.
Brann then unleashes another holy flame at the skirmisher, the searing pain of dwarven faith scalding the kobold.
Wilam begins chanting in a dark language, arcane words spilling forth from his lips, icy shards fly from his outstretched hand at the Skirmisher. The shards embed themselves deep in the kobold, peircing the last kobold's armor and dropping it dead where it stands.
The party, having cleared the road of enemies cleans up the mess a bit.
"Bah! Blasted orc giz'erds! I'm glad dey'r all dead fer wut dey did ta me dragon!" Varro complains.
Belimir, as soon as combat is over, is overly interested in finding a path through the woods.
"Friends, I have found an easy-enough to follow path through the underbrush here. Wilam, does this lead in the direction the maps says?"
Wilam pulls out the map and checks their location.
"Aye it does, if you will lead us, I am sure it will guide us directly to their lair."
The party follows Belimir as he guides them through the forest, following the trail to the kobold lair.
The party, having cleared the road of enemies cleans up the mess a bit.
"Bah! Blasted orc giz'erds! I'm glad dey'r all dead fer wut dey did ta me dragon!" Varro complains.
Belimir, as soon as combat is over, is overly interested in finding a path through the woods.
"Friends, I have found an easy-enough to follow path through the underbrush here. Wilam, does this lead in the direction the maps says?"
Wilam pulls out the map and checks their location.
"Aye it does, if you will lead us, I am sure it will guide us directly to their lair."
The party follows Belimir as he guides them through the forest, following the trail to the kobold lair.
