2. The First Delve

Noticing eyes tracking him Pickles just stays against the wall, still trying to meld with the shadows and acting casual.

Ricard follows suit and steps aside so that the work crew can pass. He doesn't make eye contact but keeps the kobolds in his periphery.

Luther will also move to the side. Never wanting to get int he way of workers.

You stand aside to let the gaggle of kobolds pass. However, there are no such concessions from their side. Quite the opposite. They seem to go out of their way to ensure unnecessary contact is made as they barge their way through. You receive jabs from scaly elbows, your toes are trodden upon and, at a particular low point, one of the kobolds clears its throat and spits quite deliberately at Luther. This causes an outbreak of sniggering amongst its colleagues, momentarily distracting them from their bickering over the bucket.

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Day 2, 6:10 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

Luther thinks to himself filthy little buggers but he will only commit the spitter to memory. You never know.

That dangerous twinkle is back in Pickles eye. As the Kobolds move off the Halfling starts string an arrow, and calms his breath . . .

As the kobolds leave, Gabbro slowly relaxes, loosening his white-knuckled grip on Fenwick's spear and rubbing his side where a kobold elbowed him. "There's clearly a lot going on here in Stonehell that we don't understand. Clearly there's an entire society built up of alliances, rivalries, detentes, and interdependences...all of which are completely opaque to us...or to me, anyway." He exchanges glances with the others. "They say that kobolds like to dig, and they tend to live underground. But those kobolds were acting like a construction crew, not people maintaining their own home. Who's hiring these guys? Where are they mining? How do the kobolds relate to the Open Sores? How do these kobolds relate to the ones at Kobold Korners? It makes me uneasy, not knowing all these relationships..."

Ricard chuckles at the tough-guy antics of the kobolds but makes no move against them.

"Little bugs are lucky we need 'em and their trade post, don't let it bother ya Luther. It's good luck to get spit on by a monster!"

Fenwick frowns at the bullying kobolds but takes no further action and looks to hold the others back from any fighting. This is most unkobold-like behavior in her eyes, and more akin to that of the mad dwarf who lured them into traps and danger--she doesn't want to let the Hellions be baited into anything.

You're between the two crossroads to the south Flaking Room/Trash Heap.

The kobolds came from the south and passed you to continue north.

Just holding to see which version of Pickles, the jolly one or the scary one, gets the upper hand! This could play out very differently depending on whether he shoots that arrow or not ...

The string draws back further to his chin as the squares up the back of the last Kobold, but the Halfling notices that his companions have already moved on. His arms relax and the smile returns to his lips. "I hope one us took down their details. A very unpleasant lot." he says as his arrow slips back into his quarrel and he skips after the group.

"Aw don't worry Pickle," says Ricard over his shoulder,

"Get enough of any one kind of folk together and it's a horse's arse. That's why our party is so great... diversity! Mutts are always the toughest."

The remainder of your journey back to Kobold Korners passes uneventfully. You surrender your weapons at the guard post and enter the marketplace. It’s 6.30 pm when you arrive, and the stalls are all closed for the evening. Compared to the bustle earlier in the day, it’s eerily quiet. Bugbear and kobold guards are the only others present, and the only sounds are those coming from the Kopper Kettle to the east.

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How would you like to play out the evening?

Assuming you stay the night at the Kopper Kettle, we can fast-forward to the morning if you’re keen to resume your explorations. You can be assured (at least until something changes) that Kobold Korners is a "safe zone" and that you won’t be troubled by wandering monsters, etc.

Or, if there are things you would still like to do this evening, we can carry on.

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Day 2, 6:30 pm
Fenwick, Elf 1: 5/5
Gabbro, Elf 1: 4/7
Jessica, Cleric 1: 5/5
Luther, Cleric 1: 5/5 (Lantern)
Pickles, Halfling 1: 4/4
Ricard, Fighter 2: 12/14

Link to Gabbro's mega-maps ...

Luther says to the groupIs there maybe a historian of some sort here? Maybe they could explain the drawing and the sayings we wrote down.

"There might be a historian to consult here in the marketplace, but they won't be available until the morning." Gabbro considers. "Or we could ask the dwarves, I suppose."

Fenwick's curious if there are any signs of more Beggars either drinking or sleeping in the Kettle, but beyond taking a quick glance around for them, she'll simply head off to bed and rest up for morning.

Looks a Gabbro and the others Until morning then. I will go tend to my devotions.