As we waited for people to call in, the players were eager to rebuy their equipment, heal up, and get back into the dungeon. However, Brian wanted to roleplay the embarrassing dash from the stairs under the kitchen of the Fishery to our homes. BTO was surprised to learn that Xeeli was to suffer the same fate as the rest. No gear, 1 hit point, and scraps of cloth for modesty. His plans of coming to the rescue were dashed. But first, people wanted to heal up. You never know what you’ll find when you open a door. However, the assumption was that our healing kits were compromised so we could not do Treat Wounds. Luckily, Brisco had a Cure Light at the ready and if he used 3 actions, it became a 30’ AOE. Next, Xeeli snuck into the kitchen and to no one’s surprise, found a sleeping half-orc next to the stove. Her first order of business was to “borrow” some tablecloths or other linens however she rolled a nat 1 luck roll and found nothing. She then slipped out the backdoor and found a clothesline. But it was rigged such that it would be a harder Stealth roll.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party were once again left to wonder while she snuck around. Oakwood led the revolt and said he was just leaving. Everyone else followed and made Stealth rolls. Someone (Clarissa?) missed the roll and Zug woke up. Everyone ran for it, however Xeeli lingered a bit, still hoping to grab something off the line. I think she tossed something to Clarissa but Zug spotted her. “Thief!” Followed by “Borrowing!” And then another Stealth roll through town which most everyone missed. Oakwood was spotted by a guard dashing up the hill. He simply yelled that he was training, which given his Monk backstory was actually reasonable. TerStegen made it home without issue. Clarissa’s mom was out looking for her but a distraction from Brisco got her home. There were some Deception rolls, but in the end, we all got home. We spent the next couple days, resting and rebuying. Aided by some Cure Lights to catch up the big hit point characters. BTO was eager to use his new Make Magic Items feat to transfer the bonuses from the magic weapons we got into magic weapons we wanted. However, Brian hadn’t had a chance to review those rules yet so he held him off. We went back to the kitchen and distracted/bribed the cook with some pastries and headed down.
We zipped to the room with the lizard-like men and were pleased to discover that it looped around such that we could avoid that fountain room. It was mostly piles of hay for sleeping. There were a few Kobald bodies that had been relooted after we had. The only thing of interest was a well-built chest from the Fishery. It was open. Inside, among the junk, was a vial of yellow liquid (turned out to be oil), a decanter and a magic feather. The feather would turn into a 20’ ladder, once. Oakwood scrambled up a rise and saw into the next room. In there was a big pit in the middle with 3-4 Kobalds looking at him. Upon a throne-like chair appeared to be Tammany wearing a big sun hat. Since Oakwood had a torch, they saw him. Initiative. The perceptive casters went first and ran up behind Oakwood. One Kobald threw a vial of oil at a choke point beside the pit. Oakwood ran the other way and climbed up to where Tammany was. TerStegan charged in. They fired and we fired.
It turns out she was a casting Kobald with a Hat of Disguise. She cast Fear on Oakwood but he used a hero point to avoid the critical miss. Brisco unleashed a AOE that took two rounds to cast a full power. Xeeli crit 3 times this night, twice with sneak attack dice which had a big impact. One of them had a smoking-long spear. TerStegen took a lot of damage. However, their tactic seemed to be to attack and then flee and soon enough they were all up with Oakwood. It looked a little dicey since none had fallen. One even had a Wand of Healing which got used up. But when Xeeli crit the caster, they started to fall. And in a round or two, they were done. TerStegan and Oakwood were mended. The items were detected and identified. The wand could be repaired, but at higher levels. The spear was +1/+1 and if you spent an action, an extra 1d6 of fire. The main one had a map however the GM needs to figure out what it’s a map to. All of them had the eggshell necklaces.
We debated whether to continue or call it a night. We continued into the next room to reach the cliffhanger. It had giant mushrooms, some of which glowed. Some Recall Knowledge rolls were made. We could hear something rustling in the shadows. Before we could do much else, a large green dragon jumped onto a mushroom. It roared. Brian read a text about the villages, happily preparing for Founder’s Day, hearing the roar and fleeing to their homes in panic. We stopped there. Is this another threat we’re supposed to run from? Or fight it? (Large is relatively small for a dragon?) If we flee, what happens? Oakwood asked and was told there seemed to be fresh air in this room so there’s probably access to the surface. (Perhaps at the collapsed tavern?) If we don’t fight it, does it fly into the town and start killing people? If it does, could we follow it? Since Climbing moves 5’ per action and each action required a roll, climbing out sounds tough. Assuming the Kobolds moved the egg here and hatched it, better to fight it now than later when it’s bigger. So, are we heroes? Or meddlesome fools? Time will tell.
GM Summary:
The date is Wealday, 25th Gozran, 4719 AR Somal's phase is Last Quarter Last Session...
Note: I admit to being an untrustworthy narrator. Motivations (and sometimes reality) may be interpreted for comedic effect, but I swear it's all true!
Having barely survived a vicious tongue lashing by a Gibbering Mouther, our heroes re-traced their steps back to the basement of the Otari Fishery. Xeeli again volunteered as scout to verify if it was safe for her friends to sneak through the kitchens and thence outside. She immediately found Xug's massive form sprawled beside the stoked fireplace snoring loudly to punctuate his orc-flavored dreams. Ignoring whispered status queries up the stairway from below, she spent a significant time searching the kitchen for just a single extra stitch of clothing she could drape on Clarisa. Despite investigating every nook, cranny, and cupboard, Xeeli found nothing more than dust bunnies to wear.
Glancing out the back window, Xeeli finally understood the cause of her predicament. Tammily was on another cleaning spree. Every tablecloth, towel, washcloth or any type of fabric was recently washed and either hanging to dry or folded and stuffed into laundry baskets. Again, ignoring the growing levels of anxious energy from the basement where her friends were in the dark in more ways than one, Xeeli exited via the back door with some wild notion of saving the dignity of her friend Clarisa. Her search for fabric could not be stopped by a single closed door to the backyard!
In the basement, the remaining heroes were at their limit. It certainly seemed like at least 30 minutes since Xeeli left. As was typical, she completely failed to set boundaries on expected updates let alone actually supplying the group with any timely updates. A quick word to let them know of the deeply snoring Xug was completely out of the question considering her current quest. Xeeli was on a Clarisa-Must-Be-Clothed Jihad and thus she gave zero thoughts or priority to letting her friends know what was happening.
While she was distractedly searching outside through hand towels and washcloths, the rest of Xeeli's friends snuck past Xug and out through the gaping back door. Clarisa was the last to leave. Ever the epitome of manners, Clarisa "closed" the backdoor with sufficient force to wake both the dead and the Xug. Roused from his slumber, Xug peered out the window at the commotion in the backyard. His bleary eyes briefly locked gazes with a startled Xeeli who was now clutching a small handful of clean laundry that would be supplementary apparel for both herself and Clarisa.
From here each member made their way home individually:
■ TerStehgen jogged through the town with little notice and not even a single comment. We can surely surmise a bit of streaking by the eloquent Orc was a common enough pastime that none found it strange.
■ Oakwood took a shortcut up the hill behind the Otari Garrison. A guardsman shouted complaints at the retreating teens back, but it seems this was a common route used by many of the Menhemes children. Oakwood continued up the hill, to the back of his house and through his bedroom window.
■ Briscoe strode confidently into his own home where he quickly dove under covers and swapped into sleeping clothes.
■ Nextdoor, Clarisa's mom Lux noted the nighttime activities of Briscoe, but her wait was for Clarisa. Seeing her mom awake and waiting out front, Clarisa tied tight the towel provided by Xeeli and marched forward to begin the great Lux gaslighting. The commotion was such that Briscoe's parents became briefly engaged and concerned that perhaps their darling Briscoe was somehow involved. A quick consult with Briscoe proved their little, cuddly snookums would never be out so late on a weekday night without telling them. After confusing and gaslighting her mother, Clarisa went inside and to her own bedroom.
■ Xeeli entered her home to find Wrin engaged in a bit of herbal relaxation. Wrin grinned and waved happily at Xeeli before returning to her medication...er...meditation. Xeeli floated to her bed and slept.
While psychological scars are forever, it only took 3 days and a gallon of mouthwash to remove the physical signs of the encounter with Mr. Teeth and Gums. Having spent a good portion of the coins found below to replace any missing equipment, our heroes again proceeded to the Otari Fishery and through the hole in the basement. Surely a mastermind was behind the missing fish as not even the few Kobolds so far encountered could explain the quantity taken from Tammily's celebration stash. While passing through, Xeeli returned Tammily's now clean laundry to a startled Xug who seemed hesitant to interact with the ruffian lass.
Our heroes made their way to the back entrance of the kobold sleeping area. The area was searched to reveal a few overlooked items left behind in the now abandoned caves. Having had enough of Xeeli's "scouting" (aka glory hounding), Oakwood strode into the next room to find a mute Tammily surrounded by Kobold toughs. Her face hidden by a floppy-brimmed hat she motioned for the heroes to go away. Taking this as an invitation to put Tammily's life on the line, the group charged in to attack We will rescue you!", yells the group as Tammily stands and hits TerSteghen with a Magic Missile...er...I mean Force Bolt barrage.
The battle rages in the room as various actors skirt the 20-foot-deep pit. TerSteghen faces the hold-out group of Kobold bandits head-on...and in turn, has his head nearly taken off. Oakwood attempts to flank Tammily's Kobold kidnappers. However, the heroes quickly clue into the fact that it isn't Tammily they are facing in combat. A closer inspection reveals this Tammily is a fake. A fear spell is attempted on Oakwood, but he shrugs it off. Clarisa and Briscoe press forward to take pressure off TerSteghen. From a distance, Xeeli launches one after another 3 perfectly placed arrows toppling the Tammily somewhat-but-not-really-lookalikish foe, causing her to topple forward dead. Maybe Xeeli should have been allowed to glory-hound this one alone?!
Adding a few more scraps of treasure to the groups coffers, all breathe a sigh of relief. The Kobold Boss was slain. While the mystery of the egg shards has not yet been answered, it surely can't be that important. It's only an egg. One final room stuffed with large and small glowing mushrooms awaits exploration prior to putting this Kobold-led fish raid to rest. Still, that was an awful lot of fish for a few Kobolds. And why did they decide to shatter the fish barrels in the mushroom-filled chamber. Oh well, a quick search and then home. Thump! Something landed on a giant mushroom. Something big. Something with a loud roar heard all the way up through the ground in Otari itself. Something dragon-shaped.
A Dragon?!
