Doric moved the grate away and started to mount the ladder. The rungs are slick with moisture and emitting an odor he could barely describe. It smelt like an ungodly mixture of death and dung and wet earth. As he descended, his senses reached out into the darkness. Cedris and then Sasha following him down into the underground, with El-Dris following close behind.
As Doric reached the bottom rung, squeaking and grunting erupted. The sound of arguing lizards echoed can be heard in the darkness. Cedris arrives behind Doric. The light hanging from his shield illuminates the dark chamber.
Before them a path stretched into the inky gloom, flanked on each side bay a murky pool of filth.
It looked as though the Kobolds had been dumping anything they did not value into that dark water, changing it into a toxic sludge.
As they moved forward, the party could see cages placed on the path, the Kobolds moving among them. A Kobold opened the door on the first cage. What appeared to be a ball of fur rushed out. The party could just make out the Kobolds opening up a second cage with more rats rushing out…. heading straight for Doric.
“Here they come” cried Doric, realizing the trap. He brought his shield to bear and readied his new sword.
Cedris stepped up beside him, his club and shield ready for the onslaught.
“Mithras be with us this day,” he intoned and a white light infused the party. They waited readied as the rats faltered, confused for only a mere a second, then resumed their forward rush.
Doric attacked. The first swing of his sword simply sliced a rat in half. Then with a sweep of the blade, the corpse fell aside into the water.
Cedris’s attack missed the companion rat as it dashed to the side and latched onto Doric’s ankle. Sasha held her fire with her bow, conserving her dwindling supply of arrows. El-Dris caught the lead rat in the side with a bolt of fire, stunning it. Doric swung forward but missed, the sword sparking off the ground. Cedris kicked out at a rat, but misjudged the distance and stumbled, his club tumbling out of his hand. He watched helplessly as it rolled across the ground and fell into the fetid water.
“By the Dark!” He cried.
Doric chuckled as he heard the young cleric curse for the first time. “We will have to work on your curses, my friend!” he taunted Cedris.
Again El-Dris called on his mystic arts and flung fire at one of the rats crawling towards the party. In a brief flash all that was left was a smoking grease stain on the stone. Sasha lashed out with her spear and caught the rat nearest Doric square in the chest.
The last rat crazed with hunger, jumped at Cedris scrabbling up his shield and scratched a long bloody furrow along the side of his face.
Doric tried to bash the rat with his shield but couldn’t find the correct angle. He pulled his club off his belt and tossed it to Cedris who scraped the rat off his shield and onto the ground. As it hit the ground Sasha stabbed it and push its remains into the water to sink.
As the party dealt with the rats, the Kobolds retreated further into the darkness. They were trying to get as much distance between themselves and the party as possible. As the sound of battle died down, the party rushed forward in pursuit.
Soon they came upon a door blocking their way. They could hear the sounds of the lizard people on the other side. Doric attempted to open the door but found it locked.
Sasha started to tap upon the door. Up and down, back and forth, finally she said, “Give me some room.” Then, turning to Doric she said, “Let me see your sword.”
The dwarf handed it over doubtfully. Sasha made a couple quick stabbing motions and pushed up. Suddenly the door swung open. She quickly kicked the door wide and handed the blade back to Doric while jumping clear.
“By the beard!” Doric shouted as he deftly gripped his returned sword. He charged forward into the room as a stunned enemy stood before him.
Quickly, with Cedris and the others right behind him, Doric pushed into the next chamber which was filled with Kobolds. With shields in front, Doric and Cedris felt the loud crash of sling bullets bouncing off the metal.
Rushing in, the first of the Kobolds stabbed at them with crude knives. Doric managed to block several of the blows but there were too many and one got through. He grunted as the small dagger scored on his arm. Swinging back his blade, he caught one of the blue tinted Kobolds in the ribs, cutting deeply. The Kobold screeched as it pushed away from the terrible blade of Doric’s sword. Cedris swung his club wildly but only managed to skim one of the Kobolds to his right.
With a sigh El-Dris looked into the room. He brought his hands up and in his sing-song voice chanted, “Fúmë fúmë fúmë!” Five of the nearest Kobolds collapsed into a deep sleep.
Sasha from beside El-Dris, let loose with one of her precious arrows. The shaft sank deeply into lizard flesh. One of the Kobolds, taking cover behind his fellows, flung a stone at Cedris. It caught him on the side of the head with a stunning blow which left him with blood dripping down his face. The glow surrounding the party faded away with the loss of his focus.
Doric yells, “Death comes for you all!”
His blade snakes out lopping off the the arm and cutting deeply into the chest of the nearest creature. As he pulled the blade from the scaly flesh, he slams downward with his shield, crushing the throat of the sleeping figure in front of him, blood splattering. He flicks his blade free of the dark blood and readies himself for more mayhem.
Cedris dashed his own blood out of his eyes, his club crashing down, ending the days of another of the Kobolds. El-Dris shot a flame bolt which crashed off a brazier hiding a cowering Kobold. Sasha, able to flank of one of the green beasts, stabbed with her spear and caught the Kobold through the ribs in its back. The shattered pieces pierced its heart. The creature dropped instantly, its arm still swinging its weapon. The remaining Kobold lost their nerve. With their morale shattered, they turned and fled.
The party forced open the doors to the inner chamber following their fleeing foes. Stepping through, the Gowdown Explorers are confronted with a shout in a hissing command. “And now you diesssssss!”
With the swipe of a sparkling crystal wand, Sasha could no longer move a muscle. The wielder of the wand, a bent and robed Kobold Shaman cackled, motioning its companions to attack.
Doric roared and crashed forward, only to be pushed back by a singular brute of a Kobold, its muscles bulging. Cedris attempted to take a swipe, but the Kobold’s shield deflected the blow. The brute Kobold swung a mighty mace which took one to the planks out of Cedris’ shield. The fleeing Kobolds turned and regrouped, flinging another volley of sling stones at the group.
El-Dris, seeing the desperate straits they’d found themselves in, reached out his hands toward the Kobold Shaman. He violently clenched his hands into fists and three bolts of energy leapt out, crashing into the Shaman bowling him over. Screeching, burn marks deep in its red flesh, the Shaman pointed back at the half-elf, “Fleessssss!”
For a second everything seemed to stop. El-Dris appeared undecided as what action to take next. Shaking his head he said. “Your magic is ineffective on one such as me, darkling.” The Shaman’s eyes seemed to widen as it realized it had made a grave mistake.
The brute Kobold strode forward and its mace crashed down on Doric’s shoulder, pushing his shield arm down. The armor took the brunt of the damage but forced a grunt of breath out of the dwarf. Being off footed from the previous blow, Doric attempted to bash the beast with his shield but couldn’t put anything behind it.
Cedris called to his god as he attacked. “Aid me Mithras!” But his club hit the edge of the creature’s shield and it snapped in two.
Sasha, in a moment of pure will, shook off the magic which was cast upon her. She brought up her bow, but in her haste released early and nearly shot herself in the foot.
“Damn!” she spat.
El-Dris sweating from all the magic he had released to this point, shot a bolt of fire in the direction of the Kobold magic user. It missed as it ducked behind a crypt in the center of the room. Two of the red Kobold warriors stepped up and attempted to connect with Doric, but in their haste blocked one another’s way.
Doing little to add to the wounds the dwarf was easily absorbing, a stone flashed in and bounced off of Doric’s arm. The brute behind it took a wild swing. Doric stepped to the side and with a smirk asked, “What else might you have, little lizard?” He took a swing and the Kobold was forced backward. Unfortunately Doric was unable to connect.
Cedris held his hand up and called on Mithras’s aid and wounds closed on the dwarf’s face and arms. Sasha seemed to melt out of the shadows and with a crack, she broke the neck of one of the Kobold warriors. With a snap and it fell to the floor, writhing in the throws of death.
El-Dris looked straight into Kobold Shaman’s eyes and asked it, “What’s so funny?” With that, the Shaman fell to the ground desperately laughing, unable to catch its breath.
The brute Kobold, wary of the Doric’s attempts to jump forward, lunged, only to flinch back as Doric’s sword swung in a warding stroke.
One of the other Kobolds was able to stab at Cedris as he was distracted, sinking the blade deep into his side. Cedris lost his footing and went down on a knee in pain.
As one of the Kobold henchmen attempted to get a angle on Cedris. Doric lashed out and his blade sailed completely through its neck. Its head landed in the open crypt, with eyes still blinking as if looking around before death could claim them.
Sasha readied her bow and took aim, firing her last arrow. It sunk deeply into the brute Koloid’s leg. It let out a roar of pain. Almost simultaneously a bolt of flame came from the sweating El-Dris and crashed into its arm, causing it to roar all the louder.
Angered by pain and the hits, the brute stepped forward and drove its mace crashing into Doric’s shield. Doric’s arm went numb from the impact. He had no choice but to step back, now on the defensive.
The last of the Kobold guards buoyed by their leader’s assault on the dwarf, rushed forward landing several blows on Doric as well, reopening his wounds. All around the chamber could be heard the sound of horrible screaking laughter of the Shaman unable to catch his breath.
Weakened by the blows, Doric lashed out with his sword, bouncing the blade off the Kobold’s hide covered shield. Cedris reached out and laid a hand on Doric’s shoulder, once again restoring his flagging body by healing his companion’s wounds with holy energy.
Sasha moved up between them and stabbed out with her spear, breaking the ankle of a Kobold warrior. It fell to the ground cracking its head on the stone floor. Flame erupted in the face of another Kobold follower and it fell dead.
The last of the Kobolds lashed out with renewed haste once again catching Doric, this time in the ribs. The enemy sensed the end was near and turned and fled toward the door. Doric swung his sword at one of the fleeing creatures and cut a deep wound in its back. The rest of the kobolds broke away and fled into the darkness.
Doric then stepped up to the laughing Shaman, its face contorted with the effort of breathing. The great pattern wielded blade swung down and opened the Shaman’s body from throat to ankle. Its laughter turned to wet choking gasps, echoing away into a sigh of death.
Searching the room, the party discovered the crypt had been broken open and the skeleton which should of been in it had been removed. Most likely it was now lying at the bottom of the toxic soup in the antechamber.
In the missing skeleton’s place was what seemed to be the combined wealth of the Kobold pack. There was a backpack and a couple small bags full of random coins. There were two small books which El-Dris grabbed before anyone could even say anything. There was a quiver with a half dozen well crafted arrows in it which Sasha also picked up without a word.
Cedris picked up the mace the large brute Kobold had wielded. He slapped it in his hands a few times.
“This should work a bit better for me, I think.” He said out loud.
Doric grabbed up the crystal wand of the Shaman, a few rings and some crystals it carried in its robe pockets.
Doric continue picking up the crude iron daggers all the kobolds seemed to have and stuffed them in a bag.
When they were certain they had everything they might use, they set off back to the entrance, leaving the remaining Kobolds to their fates.
Once they left the crypt, after what seemed like hours, they discovered their fire had barely burned down at all. El-Dris bent down and pulled the grate shut again. Whispering Words of Power, the lock melded back together. They set the fountain back on the grate and Doric jammed a couple of the daggers in to make it harder to remove.
He said gruffly. “That won’t stop much and some dark creature will find its way back out, but maybe the bones which remain down there will serve as a warning.”
Couple of notes:
The stone dungeon is by Devon Jones. He has a huge collection at Masterwork Tools. His tiles are the reason that I started to do 3d printing.
I will roll up the loot that the party got. I cheated and gave El-Dris a spell book. If you haven’t noticed he is a one spell pony for most of the game. I am following the rules of the combat system that I’m using and Wizards without a spell book can’t get their spells back. I could have done a couple of things but it seemed more genuine to do it this way. You can only describe a bolt of flame so many times. He used almost all the spells he had memorized in this battle because I decided he would with the danger involved.
Also I have been asked by a couple people how they can support me I have set up a Pateron if you would like to support me you can find me here.