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Tale Two
Aran slumped on his chair and gazed looked at the flagons arrayed before him; then at the faces of the townsfolk surrounding him.
"I guess you heard of my triumphant victory over the kobold hordes and want to hear about it in more detail?" Aran asked with a knowing grin.
Eilian looked at the small halfling from across the table and nodded "Well, ridding us of that menace is worth a drink or two and you got Douven Staul back… my map that got um there it was" said the old farmer.
"Ah yes the map…" Aran smiled as he reached for his first pint "It led to the dragon graveyard but it was not without its peril, there was no mention on the map about the ambush… but we were no weak merchants to turn our backs and flee, we are heroes and we rid the land of such menaces." He drained the drink and reach for the next.
"It wasn't a slinger that led this band, it was an evil demon worshiping priest trying to bring damnation down upon us. But we were not weak of heart, they descended en masse and tried to overwhelm us but we kept the line and while my companions fought off the minions I circled round to face the main threat… the priest."
"He held a staff and wore a skull on his head and threw flaming balls of energy at my friends, that was before I sunk a couple of arrows into him, he didn't like that and pulled back his mask and spat fire at the tree line trying to set them ablaze and me with it. Time for Talon and Fang I thought and charged out of the blazing undergrowth towards him and ripped through his defences to give him a nasty cut."
Aran then scrunched up his face and hunched in an attempt to impersonate the kobold priest "'Miserable halfling you may have dodged my jet of flame but try to duck this!' He called upon his unholy gods and summoned a globe of fire which he launched point blank into my face… I thought I was done for and prayed to Avandra to look after me and then just as the fiery missile left his head a mallard cried out and shot from the tree line and intercepted it. It's true I tell you… and roast duck is a lot tastier then trail rations, a gift from the gods indeed." Aran grinned at the expressions on his listener's faces and carried on to the next pint.
"You should have seen the kobolds face as flaming feathers descended around us, he knew he was defeated then as I pressed the attack and finished him, I can tell you for certain that he was up to no good, he had a nasty idol on him of a very bad god. We then followed the map to the graveyard on found that it was already occupied. There was a gnome with several guards and lizards at the site and I could see movement on the other side of the ridge so made my way around the crest of the bowl towards it. Des tried to talk to them but when we saw the gnome making a throat slit motion and his minion's attack we knew they were of evil intent. They swarmed towards my friends who skilfully fought them off, chopping them down while dodging clubs and slashing teeth. The movement on the ridge was from a halfling that had intended to snipe down on my companions while they fought, I gave him a better option and so started a missile barrage between us, his sling stones against my arrows… no contest. I closed as we traded shots and then moved in for the kill, he was giving halflings a bad name working for villains like that gnome. Talking of the gnome, he had a few sneaky tricks, which he tried on Cass; she was just teaching him the error of his ways when he vanished… just like that. He reappeared soon after but could not get away, Cass knocked him out and we brought him back to the cells. While we had been fighting Des had found someone restrained under a cloth, yep you guessed it it was Douven Staul. Seems they had captured him and forced him to work seeking artefacts amounst the bones. By the time we had got back and dropped the gnome off behind bars it was late and we had a mission for Lord Padraig the following day so I didn't have time to tell you all the adventures that night."
Aran paused to resupply his taste buds and lifted up a strange necklace that he had been wearing. "Seems they found this in the ruins and the gnome had grabbed it, some relic of the olden days, it might sound strange but I feel safer just wearing it.. mind you it didn't help the gnome much. Anyway morning arrived and we followed the directions given to us by the lovely Delphina and after a long trek I heard the yapping of kobolds, so I warned my companions to wait and scouted out the place. The kobolds were using a tunnel system behind a waterfall as a base but they had lots of guards outside. I pointed out the positions of our foes and my companions were discussing our tactics when Theron took matters into his own hands and cast a magical bolt that shot through the trees and hit a slinger that was watching one of the caves. It screamed out for help so we leapt into motion, I ran around the trees and finished it before it could respond and my friends charged through the trees to engage the others. The kobolds had been caught unprepared and even an old magic circle couldn't save them; we defeated them quickly allowing none to escape. We then planned to move in through the north entrance and create a distraction to allow me to sneak in behind them through the waterfall."
"I heard a thunderous explosion from inside and moved in only to find myself in a large cavern filled with kobolds that didn't seem happy to see me. I shot an arrow and moved through the small tunnel to rejoin my companions to help them out."
"The paladins blocked one of the passages making it hard for the villains to flank us while I darted around taking out stragglers and Theron caused their heads to explode with thunderous waves of sound. Then we heard a horn blow and the leaders entered the fray, a huge goblin with a two bladed axe and another kobold that I recognised as the head shaman. Rangrim fell under the weight of the attacks but his dwarven resilience and Des' prayers brought him back to his feet. Now I don't like these evil gods so the priest was my first target so rather then wade through the melee I ran though the tunnels and darted towards him. He fired bolts of power which I must admit packed a fair punch but that didn't stop me and I launched myself at him, hitting him first with Talon then with Fang and pushing back against the wall. Not wanting to risk casting a spell through my web of steel he tried to smack me with his staff while trying to position himself better. Evil worshipers do not escape my blades that easily and a stopped his foul chanting with a thrust through his chest then I turned my attention to the goblin. It had demonstrated some fancy moves but the paladins had stood up to them and struck him back with their holy might, Des threw the verbal book at him which he didn't like and then I pressed in to surround him. Rather then surrender he continued his onslaught but even his impressive stamina was not enough to stay standing for long."
Aran finished the last of the displayed flagons and placed it down on the table. "And that my friends should be the last you hear of those pesky kobolds, with their base and leaders destroyed the roads should be safer now. But I'm not one to rest while foul things walk the land, so next time im back in town bring on the beers as there will no doubt be another tale to tell!"
