2. The First Delve

Gabbro hurries after, gripping the spear he's borrowed from Ricard tightly. Will these be residents, more tax collectors, or other adventurers? Staying silent, ::What's that fluttering noise?:: he wonders to himself...

Ricard keeps pace with Swan as the group advances towards the Northern passage, weapons at the ready...

Tiberious moves with the rest of the group he keeps the lantern low so they can see the path ahead, but tries to limit the light reflecting into the northern passage. He keeps to the back of the group, using them as protection against whatever is coming down the tunnel.

I knew it. Knew it! He whispers to himself. I will most assuredly die if we are not more careful Tiberious looks back to the eastern tunnel and prepares to run if need be.

"Oi. We’re trying to stage an ambush here! They’ll hear you!" Bea chides, nudging the magic user with her elbow.

"Keep it down, yeah?" she reminds him, as she hefts her weapon and waits.

Swan comes to a dead stop and turns to glare at both talking Tuberuiys & Bea as she was approaching that passage that probably had the chittering and fluttering sound. She listens to find out if she can still hear their sounds as she is afraid that they might have heard the talking.

Bea makes a don’t look at me, look at him… face and points an accusatory finger at Tiberius as she shakes her head with faux disappointment!

"Like I said: Keep it down!" she whispers to the magic user.

As the rearmost members of the party bicker noisily about keeping quiet, those at the front become aware that the footsteps from the north have come to a halt. A small dog-like humanoid with scaly brown skin puts its head around the corner before quickly withdrawing again. It’s clear that it has seen you, but it is now out of sight again, somewhere up the northern tunnel.

The chittering noises from the north are still audible.

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Day 2, 8:30 am
Bea, Thief 1: 3/3
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Ricard, Fighter 1: 7/7
Swan, Fighter 1: 5/6
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

"Well, they know we're here, think we should say hi?" Fenwick asks the forward members of the party, clutching her spear nervously.

After the face is gone, Swan says to the back, "Why don't you lead and walk into the prepared ambush now."

Everyone turns to look at Tiberious. The young mage is confused by the stares as he did not realize he was speaking aloud. He looks back over his shoulder to see if everyone is staring at someone behind him.

He turns back to the group. North, then? He asks in a whisper. Gesturing a thumb over his shoulder to the crossroads behind them.

"Kobolds. Not much alone, but they travel with numbers."

Ricard keeps his eyes locked on the spot where the head appeared and snugs his shield up tightly...

"It can hardly be called an ambush, if we know we are to be ambushed." Bea whispers with a shrug. "Its just a fight! We aren’t afraid of a few kobolds, are we? If they scare you…" she says to no one in particular! "… well, you’re in the wrong line of work!"

With a touch of aspirations, "Let head south." Appears she doesn't care to go into a ready fight. She will lead to the south side of the cavern where the two passages are to see what is what there.

Amazed that we're stopping short of the passage that we're close enough to touch, Gabbro sighs, "I guess we'll check it out later..." Even though he knows that the lantern light is a surer way to announce the party's presence and eliminate any chance of surprise than any amount of whispered dialogue, all this talk of ambush has the elf on edge. As the party turns away from the corner, Gabbro turns his shield to face north and looks back to see what's in the northern passage, since the corner is only 5 feet away from us as we start to walk south. "Maybe those kobolds will forget about us..."

"He’d forget all about us if you’d let me put an arrow in his throat." Bea quips, wondering who she had thrown her lot in with. She wasn’t an accomplish fighter, by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d made the mistake of sizing up brutes thrice the size of one quivering kobold before.

And lived… That was the important bit!

Cave
As Swan leads The Hellions across the cave towards its southerly and westerly exits, you are able to get a better view of the northern exit and where it leads. A short 10’ tunnel opens out into a second cave. Pressed against the wall of that cave, near the entrance, is a group of seven kobolds. They are all doing their best to remain unseen, without much success. Each is carrying a bucket. Beyond the kobolds, further into the northerly cave, your lantern light also picks out the fluttering outlines of (normal-sized) bats.

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Day 2, 8:30 am
Bea, Thief 1: 3/3
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 7/7
Ricard, Fighter 1: 7/7
Swan, Fighter 1: 5/6
Tiberious, Magic-User 1: 5/5

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

"Huh, kobolds on latrine duty?" mutters Fenwick softly so only her partymates can hear. "And bats usually don't have much interesting treasure, either. Not very exciting. South is probably better."

Swan eyes the Kobolds and their buckets and says, "I wonder if that is oil they planned to dump on the first person coming at them. They have lots of buckets." She keeps an eye on them but doesn't at all plan to get near them and find out what is in the buckets.

She takes a few steps down toward the southern passage before moving to the western one she is thinking to explore. She wanted glance at the southern passage to get an idea of what will be behind her.

Ricard raises a hand in greeting to the kobolds and then continues towards the southern tunnel next to Swan.

Bea watches as the things cower against the wall and almost feels bad for wanting to shoot one a moment before.

"Looking to make friends?" Bea asks Ricard, her tone genuine and unmocking. Maybe there was something to that.