Quarry Quarrel, Part 1

It's fair weather for traveling- cold, still. Cold enough that the snow on the ground is showing no signs of melting despite the sunlight, and sits in a powdery blanket over the earth, sprinkles from trees when the light breeze catches them. The sun overhead is bright, and the sky fairly clear. All in all, a crisp but not unpleasant winter day. The group are headed today for a village in the foothills outside of Alexandria, a quiet little place that gets by primarily by the product of its granite quarries- cutting into the flesh of the earth to liberate great blocks to send down the river to forts and palaces and towers.

That is, until a band of Kobolds drove out the workers. Come down from the mountain caverns they usually occupy, kobold raiders are not uncommon. Usually they'll waylay a shipment of food, or make off with gold or trinkets, if the local Militia don't catch them. This time is different- they have occupied the quarry, and fortified themselves within.

The quarry is difficult to assault for the militia- earthen walls on three sides, and a river on the remainder, which is why they have called for aid from the guild of explorers. A small band of adventurers will likely fare better than the handful of pikes and crossbows that the local townships maintain.

And so they press on, towards the village and it's quarry. The village is a few hours walking from the gates of Alexandria, and most of that time has passed uneventfully. The quarry is another hour or so by foot, or less than half of that by boat, further up the river.

Cold. It's an annoying, unpleasant sensation. Also, for some reason Khepri's left knee keeps making a squeaking sound in the chill air. Hopefully it will subside when the temperature rises, but for now the Executor's pace is broken by the metronomic sound of its joint complaining.

"Curious," the golem intones. "This is atypical behavior for kobolds. Perhaps an expansion of territory -- or they have been pushed out of their normal lairs?" The inquisitor pauses, then continues, "Perhaps the township guards have some insight. Even something unrelated might bear fruit."

Reithak was enjoying the relatively pleasant weather as the group travelled along. Having a thick coat of feathers certainly helped, even if theor wings were looking sparser than usual. "You're welcome to some of my wing feathers if you want Thoth, though they might be too big for you." The large egalrin jokes as she adjusts her pack. "Nasty business though, this. Village like this relies on trade to stay afloat this far out, and with no acess to the quarry, that trade dries up. Not unheard of for something to push kobolds out of their normal spots, but that doesn't excuse their actions. Might be worth asking in town though, you're right. At the very least, they're bound to know the caves better than us."

Crik was easily swayed to join the expedition after mention of quarry and mine - but somewhere halfway of the journey he realized what he signed up to do. So the bundle of clothing, with a black beak occasionally poking out, was rapidly poring through a book or another, rapidly flicking its pages. "Greatest victory is that which requires chaos, opportunities multiply without fighting..." He rapidly mumbles to himself.

At some point, Crik hoists his head up. "We should arrange a shipment of food that is filled with stones for the kobolds to steal." He suggests, "Then when they are full and unable to move, we can throw them into the water." He glances at the book again. "... no, not stones. Stoooni...er?" The book is flipped upside down.

It doesn't take much longer before they reach the town- despite their primary export of granite, only the small temple, sharing its dedication between Althea and Deus, near the centre of town is made of stone. The rest of it are lumber and thatch, save the likewise small inn which sports a lumber frame but daub and wattle walls. The village has maybe twenty residences in its central portion, with the occasional more isolated cabin or hutt spreading out into the surrounds. It spans the river, and seems to have built up around a bridge which crosses it- this too is made of locally hewn granite, a simple but sturdy arch bridge wide and solid enough for a fully laden carriage to cross without concern.

There are quite a few people in the village green, trading and bartering for this and that. Fish caught from the river for rabbits snared in the woods, potatoes or wine hauled up from cellars. The arrival of the adventurers draws some attention, folks offering waves or nods or "good mornings".

There's an older- although not quite yet elderly- human fellow in patched but clean and well maintained scalemail armor who waves down the adventurers. "Hail. Are you hear about the bounty?" he calls out to them as his boots crunch along the gravel road towards them.

Khepri may be something of an ominous sort, but the golem takes ministerial duties seriously. And so the inquisitor raises a metal-shod hand in benediction at the greetings. The Harpist gathers all souls to Her Halls, in time.

At the hail, Khepri inclines its head. "Indeed. We were sent by the Guild about your kobold problem. We only seek information before moving on to approach the quarry itself. Numbers, tactics, behavior. Any scrap of knowledge can be useful."

Reithak offers a few cheerful waves to the townsfolk, and while they are tempted to stop and join in on some of the bartering, more pressing matters are afoot. The large egalrin doffs her hat, and bows yo the man who grerts them. "Yes, as my ally here has said. we're here to help how we can." They agree. "Do any of you have any maps of the area? And is there anyone we could talk to about what happened? Appreciate your assistance in this matter."

"Crik, kobolds aren't dumb enough to go eating rocks." The egalrin chuckles. "Not a bad idea to try to draw them out, though."

"You bake them in!" Crik explains - but he then rubs at his face. "My books on sieges are very vague." The book is slipped into his satchels. He glances around the village and then starts to half walk, half hop off to look at the offerings in the square. "I will buy fish!" The corvid calls out then, and then starts to stare at the fishmonger with black, murderous eyes.

"This one learned of a recent event where Kobolds took over a town." Thoth remarks somewhat belatedly, having been rather quiet for most of it after Reithak offered some of their feather wings to replace theirs. It would appear their wings are a rather sensitive topic of sorts.

When it tilts its head up, having been practically moving on auto-mode, it seems almost surprised it is in a village now.

"Which color of Kobolds are they? It may be good to adjust our spells." It chitters idly.

The militiaman's gaze passes back and forth as the group take their turns to make enquiries, and then nods his head. "I'll go fetch the foreman and..." he issues a shrill whistle, which turns a few heads in the green. He waves a pair of young men over, barely adults still long of limb, but ruddy complexions and callused hands speaks to their trade. "Yannis, Gorrick. Come speak with these adventurers, they're here to take back the quarry." he shouts over to them. The two of them head on over.

"I suppose I can sell one or two, but I'm more interested in barter. Least until you get the stone flowing again." the fishmonger tells Crik. "What are you offering?"

The two young lads take in the... surprisngly uniformly beaky group of adventurers, "So what do you need to know? Colors?" he asks, glancing at Thoth. He scratches the back of his head, "Most of 'em was green, but there was a couple of blue one's an' all. They was slingin' magic. The blue ones. The green ones had bows. And there was one all in armour, dunno what colour they was underneath. Riding some... kinda giant toad." "It was a frog." "What's the difference?"

"Green and Blue. This one thinks its fire spells will be viable then." It chimes in, clicking its beak for a moment. "But this one thinks it has a little bit of magic prepared to increase resistance against spells by blue ones." It notes.

It then tilts its head.

"A giant frog?" Green ones. Hmmm. It knows nothing of nature.

Khepri tilts its head, considering what's being said. "Kobolds do not -usually- have such ambitions, but with sufficient leadership... they may have viewed the quarry as an easy prize for a new home." A pause. "No offense intended."

The golem rests its hand on the pommel of its heavy khopesh, yellow eyes glimmering. "If we can extirpate the leadership, the tribe may scatter or devolve into infighting. At that point it would be easy to remove them."

<OOC> Reithak says, "any chance I could try any lore rolls off that info?"

<OOC> Thurid says, "Sure"

<OOC> Thurid says, "Knowledge/Nature or Knowledge/Local"

GAME: Reithak rolls knowledge/nature: (5)+6: 11

<OOC> Reithak says, "+2 if it's for identifying monsters"

Crik stares at the fishmonger - then he quietly unfolds his robe, peels out a round orb. "... I can offer a bomb." The corvid offers, giving the monger a blank stare. "It will blow up a lot of fish out of the river." He was not really a fisherman in that sense.

"Colors, tactics, approximate numbers, that sort of thing. Think you covered most of it, so thank you kindly!" The egalring hums, turning to her allies and clapping her hands together once. "Sounds pretty normal for kobolds really, I don't know if they're relocating somewhere though, sounds about right for a warband. Might be going through the area before the rest show up, potentially." The large egalrin relays. "If we find them, they're probably gonna try and attack and flee. But if they're cornered-"

The inquisitor sighs and shakes out their head, fluffing up even more. "They probably aren't actually cornered. Chances are they've got some nasty traps in store, and more than a couple escape plans in store. Best we go in with clear heads and a good plan, you know?"

The FIshmonger scratches his stubble as he eyes the bomb with a little bit of suspicion. Sure, it's a rural village, but it's close enough to Alexandria that the sudden production of an explosive isn't completely unexpected. Especially not from an adventurer. "Khazadi made?" he asks cautiously. "Not interested in any gobber or gnomish junk. Need all my fingers." he adds then. It seems he's not entirely against the idea of a spot of Dynamite Fishing.

It's about then the foreman shows up. She's got youthful features, but older eyes- likely due to the subtle points of her ears hinting at half-sil heritage. "If you're heading up to the quarry, we can lend you a boat. You want my advice, I'd moor it a ways downriver and then walk the remainder. The dock is right in the open. Listen..." her voice grows quieter as she gets nearer. "Obviously, shifting the kobolds is important. But there's a coffer house there. We need that money, we buy most of our grain from down river, land around here's no good for growing. If things get hairy, grab the coffer before the kobolds do. I doubt they've busted in there yet. The door's solid, got a khazad-aul specialist down from the mountains to fit it." she proffers a hefty black iron key. "If push comes to shove, we can quarry elsewhere. But we won't make it through to spring without that coffer." she confides.

<OOC> Khepri says, "Sense Motive on the foreman?"

<OOC> Thurid says, "Sure"

GAME: Khepri rolls sense motive: (3)+9: 12

Khepri regards the foreman with interest, listening -- it seems little inclined to comment on the morality of fishing with explosives. "I wonder if that was why you were attacked," the golem says suddenly. "Not to take the quarry, but to try and hold it long enough to loot your treasury." Khepri turns to look at the others. "I believe the foreman's advice is sound. A boat approach followed by on foot. We need to get moving -- kobolds are nothing if not industrious and given enough time may break into their cofferhouse."

"Yes. Khazadi." Crik states, blankly. It was not. It was in fact Crik-made - which was close enough the same. He pulls out the wick and gives it a light tug. "Simply yank hard to make sure the cord is all out, there will not be any problem." And to add to the statement, he tilts his head and lets out a pair of 'caw-caws', to impart some gloom to the square. "A large basket of fish for the bomb?"

Thoth isn't great with understanding lies, so it is just assuming both the matter of Khazadi made items, and the man before them, are truthful at their core. It looks between Crik and the potential-dynamite-fisher though, and tilts its head. "This one requests you introduce it to the Khazadi at some point." It croons at them.

"It's not impossible if they knew something was there. If they aren't looking to settle in the area, that would make sense." Reithak nods, tapping on side of their beak in thought. "I take it you have a key to get in then if we're to beat them to it?" They wonder. "Sounds like a good plan, and we can figure things out on the way. Sooner we're off, less time they have to fortify after all."

The fisherman considers for a few more long moments, and despite his expressed preference for Khazadi-made, does not seem to know enough about bombs or elgarin or khazadi craftmanship to doubt Crik's words, and then decides, "Done." agreeing to swap the bomb for a basket of fish, packed around the edges with fresh snow to keep them relatively fresh. If there's a time of year to go gallivanting with a basket of fish it is now.

It's the militiaman's turn to speak up, "The kobolds come to raid for food or trinkets now and then. Usually during lean months like this. They aren't that interested in gold, usually. They'd rather steal silverware and lanterns and things like that." he explains. "But it sounds like this band is more organized than usual. Change of leadership, maybe?" he guesses.

The foreman shows them the way towards the dock where a couple of broad, flat river skiffs are moored. One of them still has a handful of arrows sticking out of the wood, making clear how the workers made their escape. "It's upstream from here. Moor up on the forest side just past the sandbar, then keep heading upstream and you'll reach the quarry." she offers.

Crik bops his head up and down. "Remember to not lit the fuse too fast." He instructs as he grabs the basket, and before there is time to protest, he is already hopping off towards the rest of the group. Thoth gets a tilt of his head, his beak opens, and he nervously taps his foot on the ground. "Y-yes. The Khazadi. Why do you want to meet the Khazadi? Looking to redecorate?" He asks then.

Then to the rest, he offers his plan, "One of us can pretend to be the fisherman. One of us can hide in the basket. Two of us then can get kidnapped by the kobolds and infiltrate inside the castle." He proudly says, holding up the basket of fish. "... or we can eat the fish along the way."

"This one believes it is important to know capable crafters. In case this one is in need of learning new techniques." The little War Golem answers Crik dutifully, nodding its head a few times. Agreeing with itself. It then notes; "This one can be small enough for a basket for a few minutes."

"Noted, and thank you for the information. We'll do our best to clear the area out, otherwise we'll make sure that the funds for the town are secure." Reithak nods to the townspeople before they're off. And once they're out of eyesight and earshot on their way, the egalrin offers Crik a withering stare. "You can eat that fish, but I won't accept anything from someone who lies about their craft." Reithak states bluntly. "Have some pride in your work, Crik."

The inquisitor sighs, and turns her gaze back downstream. "Putting ourselves in a position to be captured may not be a good idea. Last thing we want is to immediately be imprisoned upon arrival."

Once the group are on the boat and unmoored and they are heading upstream- it's rowing all the way unfortunately- it doesn't take too long for the group to reach the sandbar mentioned. One side of the river is fairly well forested, while the other is sparser meadow with loose copses of trees. The mountains can be seen in the distance, beyond the woods, their snowcapped peaks peering over the canopy of the woods. There is a trail along the river, though it's covered by snow it's fairly easy to find where the brush has been trodden into extinction by boot and hoof. The path follows the river as it slowly meanders. As they draw nearer to the quarry, the trees have been clear cut back. The quarry should be just a bit further along, and this is a good place to moor the boat.

There is nothing untoward about rowing, and Khepri applies itself at the boatsman's instruction. However, as the boat comes upriver, its sulfur stare becomes more cautious, watching intently. Looking for anything amiss. As the boat comes close to shore, the golem turns to look at the others.

"I strongly recommend you make any necessary preparations. I suspect we will be engaged in combat soon enough." Khepri reaches down and draws its ornate khopesh, inspecting the razor edge. "The Harpist watches us all."

Thoth isn't too helpful on the whole rowing thing. It's a delicate piece of War Golem machinery. Instead, it opens the cage in its chest and draws out Ra. As the group rows down, it is communicating with the magical familiar, getting details about the land around them, as they seek for a place to moor. And more importantly, trying to get an idea of if there's any Kobolds lying in wait.

GAME: Thoth rolls Perception+3+2: (16)+6+3+2: 27

<OOC> Thoth says, "+4, rolled my perception instead of Ra's."

<OOC> Thoth says, "So 31 Perception scouting the area near where we're mooring."

Eventually, Thoth notes; "Ra is spotting many bear traps along the trail." Before clicking its beak. "This one thinks we should be careful on our approach."

Crik looks quite taken back at Reithak's sudden statement and he holds the basket tight. "But I didn't make the fish." He protests - but he nods his head towards Thoth. "Disguising as a fisherman can take us closer."

On the trip towards teh quarry though, he was mostly quiet shape under the cloaks, somehow managing to row without rustling his clothing too much. "I can scout ahead the road and attract their attention." He suggests, hoisting the basket of fish over his shoulders and starting to ruffle his cloaks into more... well, he really didn't look too much different. "Stepping around the bear traps should not be difficult."

"You made the bomb though. Not some Khazad. Or do you think your work isn't worth a basket of fish?" They state bluntly. Reithak does manage their fair share of rowing, and when they reach the shore, they are just about to disembark when Ra goes out. "Sounds like they expect people to be coming back." Reithak huffs. "We should be careful on our approach. Keep an eye out for traps, and a low profile. Probably more than just bear traps out here I bet."

<OOC> Thurid says, "So is the plan for Crik to head along the path? Ra can mark out the beartraps so stepping around them is fine."

<OOC> Khepri nods. Have Crik scout ahead, while we negotiate the beartraps and avoid them.

<OOC> Crik will disguise him as fisherman

GAME: Crik rolls disguise: (2)+12: 14

<OOC> Crik is not very good fisherman

With the traps pointed out by Ra, it's not too difficult to avoid them. While the snow has covered them up somewhat, there are telltale mounds and ridges where steel teeth wait for unsuspecting feet. A little ways up the bank, a structure comes into view. A dock, with a crane tower next to it. Wooden buildings up the hill, and a gentle slope flanked by steep stony edges marks the entrance into the crescent shape cut out of the hillside to reach the granite below.

<OOC> Khepri says, "Looking around. Any movement?"

<OOC> Thurid says, "Give me perception checks."

GAME: Crik rolls perception: (13)+11: 24

GAME: Khepri rolls perception: (15)+11: 26

GAME: Reithak rolls perception: (7)+13: 20

Khepri gives Crik room, as the rest of the party cautiously picks its way along the path. The golem is well aware of its own limitations, after all. But as the beaky group comes closer to the quarry, creeping in, Khepri stiffens. "Movement," it grates quietly. "One of the huts up ahead. In the window."

Thoth halts when Thoth gives that warning, slowing next to Khepri. "Understood." It remarks, as Ra lowers its body and lands on Thoth's shoulder. The two of them peering at the hut to get a better look at what is over there. If they can see if it's a kobold, or maybe just a trenchcoat fluttering in the wind.

GAME: Thoth rolls 10+3+2: (4)+10+3+2: 19

GAME: Thurid rolls 5: (9)+5: 14

"No, but people should not know I make bombs." Crik replies to Reithak with a blank stare. Still, he doesn't waste time heading out, hobbling along the snow, as he subtly avoids the traps. When the corvid nears the crane though, he stares curiously at a spot in front of the docks - before he makes gestures with his hand again. Like flinging a stone over his shoulder, repeatedly. After a moment, he continues on, slowly moving towards the crane, head peering underneath the hood.

<OOC> Thurid says, "Attempting to disable device?"

<OOC> Crik says, "Is there an easy way around?"

<OOC> Crik says, "If not, yes. ._."

<OOC> Thurid says, "Yeah, you can go around the crane base and the trap poses no threat unless someone steps directly on the snare"

<OOC> Crik nods, "I will leave it alone then!"

<OOC> Thurid says, "You should be able to move your own tokens."

<OOC> Thoth says, "Thoth is gonna peer in that window."

<OOC> Thurid says, "Are you attempting to approach stealthily?"

<OOC> Thoth says, "Yes."

GAME: Thoth rolls Stealth: (4)+8: 12

GAME: Thurid rolls 5: (17)+5: 22

<OOC> Thoth says, "_attempting_"

<OOC> Thurid says, "Gimme a perception check Thoth"

GAME: Thoth rolls perception+3+2: (18)+6+3+2: 29

As Crik continues on his way, he sees one figure that is making no attempt to hide. Sitting astride a giant, frog-like creature covered in warty growths and slimy secretions is a diminiuative figure in battered scale-mail armor. Clearly it belonged to someone a different size or shape once, but it has been modified if not expertly, then at least resourcefully, to fit the kobold rider.

At the same time, Thoth half walks half scrambles up the sloped and rocky side of the quarry to peer into the window of one of the smoking hutts. And inside are a pair of kobolds, picking at chicken bones. Their gazes meet, and there's a shout of alarm from the Kobolds.

As Thoth reaches the window, alerting the Kobolds, it puts a finger to its beak. Which means moving its hand all the way to the tip of its beak, and miming 'shhh'. This does not go as it was hoping, as they shout for alarm. And it looks pitifully to the other Adventurers.

"This one believes this one has been spotted."

TO BE CONTINUED...