Dellas chants a few words from his scroll, and his eyes are opened to arcane auras. 

Sir Aberlayne regards the feather and golden liquid for a long moment, her eyes momentarily flashing a sunny yellow, and nods.  "There's no malice here, no evil intent.  It seems, at the end, the crow did perhaps want to do some good.  Some only have it in them right at the end."



On the ground, there are several large beetle bodies, heavily painted.  The rest of the gang has been busy.  The other entrances to the kobold caverns are quiet, no rustling disturbs their depths, no scents of recent occupation, no hint of further life residing within.



Thunder watches the entrances warily, but eventually relaxes his stance somewhat.  It seems Thunder is convinced nothing else hostile is nearby, not by his nose.



Bruenor pulls out his own healing herbs from the village, and presses them to his wound, feeling the soothing effect at once. 



Farian listens to everyone's explanation, and ponders for a moment.  "Hmph.  There have been some theories that small gods often arise in response to some need, and could, by the same token, depart or disperse when that need is no longer there.  Perhaps the kobolds were not careful in what they needed, and wrought greater than they knew.  Or maybe there is another answer.  But at the least the crow seems to have abdicated responsibility... and it's own existence on this plane.  It may have left what traces of power were left to it in the feather."

Haazheel shrugs as Mystique wings back down.  "Well, while that may be something that could help in some dire straits, I'm loathe to experiment in its former lair.  Call me superstitious.  But, while we're here, what about these kobold tunnels?  I have a sneaking suspicion their former owners are in no shape to contest."

Dellas smiles and nods "It is magical... just as these mushrooms..." he steps closer and takes the feather slowly and carefully in his hand... looking at the reflecting sunlight and smiles. He puts it away, hiding it in his sleeve and walks over to the puffball mushrooms. He again caefully touches them before collecting several, keeping a few there. "I have to spend more time with these things.. but they might proof usefull later."

Farian's suggestion of exploring the kobold tunnels immediately spark's Averdante's curiosity. The kobolds had made that artificial alligator, so what else had they been working on? What might the crow have given them to say them to follow it?

"The tunnels in are probably trapped, you know," he remarks, "so we'd need to be careful." He glances over at Lantamori to see what she thinks of it, knowing it'd likely be one of them leading the way.

"I don't know if it is worth inspecting the tunnels," Narthian says. "Thunder seems to think that it will be poor hunting down there, and I'm inclined to agree. However, if we must, I can summon allies to scout the way and help find any kobold surprises."

"We were hired to confront the small god," Lantamori stated.  "That job is done.  If you wish to dig in the dirt for kobold treasure of your own, I have no interest.

"I will wait for you in the village and let them know that the crow has gone."

She stepped to what she hoped was a drier clump of grass to see if any would accompany her back to Fen on the Fen.

Bruenor says, "I'm with the elf," passing a crooked grin at Lantamori, and hoping she didn't mind the reference to her race.  "I like to stay where I can swing a sword...and crouched down in little tunnels is not my idea of fun."

Volsh was thinking about what Farian had said about the kobolds somehow being responsible for the crow coming into existence.  If they had done this then he was thinking that they must have been led by a shaman of some kind.  If that shaman was still around then what was to stop him or her from doing this all over again.

"If the kobolds are the ones who were responsible for the crow coming into existence, what is stopping the from doing it again?   What if the next time they bring something worse than a bird?   I am not particularly thrilled with crawling around in the tunnels, but if the kobolds did do this, then they must have a leader who organized the effort.  If we do not address that, the next incident might be much worse."

Sir Aberlayne nods at Dellas, pondering something.  "The golden blood... if I remember correctly, that is godsblood.  Whatever it touched, well, it should be quite powerful now.  We're just lucky no one else was around.  There are some predators that go after such bloodlettings."  She looked down, seeing the others milling around.  "Let's join the others.  It's been a rather exciting morning."

With that, assuming nothing else needs to be done. Sir Aberlayne can help Dellas down from the nest to join the discussion below.

Hearing the opinions from the others, mostly to go, Sir Aberlayne squints into the tunnels and nods.

"There's merit in both arguments.  Most of you longshanks won't like it much inside the tunnels, and there may yet be traps in there.  True we weren't contracted to remove kobolds specifically, but we were contracted to discover what was behind the disappearances from the village. It looks like the kobolds and the crow were working together, and like Volsh said, we don't know if more might move in later to cause more problems."  She tests the edge of her axe and adds, "We did indeed save the village and find the cause of their problems.  We could, if they are still worried, perhaps negotiate a new contract.  I'd hate to go back to Redhaven only to find another of Fen-on-the-Fen's job offers on the board a few moons from now.  Best to clean this out why we can."

Farian shakes his head slightly.  "With the kobolds gone, and the tunnels empty, the people of Fen-on-the-Fen should be able to take care of this themselves.  Whatever resources lie within they may need to rebuild their village.  They lost all of their animals, including their trained alligators, and whatever wealth the kobolds accumulated should belong to them, rather than being used to pay us.  The villagers have the Stone Tree once again uncontested, and it should be able to help them collapse the tunnels once they're scoured.."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:51, Thu 02 Mar 2017.

Dellas  watches his sister getting ready to climb down again before also turning and following her. He catches the last arguments and smiles grimly "I say we go through them now and save some more lives. Do you feel comfortable to let farmers and tanners crawl through Kobold territory? We are much better equipped to deal with whatever is inside then those poor people. I'd hate to hear the girl or the boy have died while enjoying an ale in Redhaven."
He looks around at the others "How about you guys?"

"I think that we will find only traps and dead things in there," Narthian says. "But I trust in Sir Aberlayne's wisdom. I will go into the tunnels." He sheaths his weapon and pulls a lantern from his pack, checks the oil level, and lights it. "I am ready when you are." He makes eye contact with Lantamori, slipping into his native tongue with the fellow elf. "[Language unknown: Ectee eenhi mi enclatall? M whe is ingnceman la u enngul ro hou latbleere.]"

Volsh had raised the issue, so he of course agreed to follow though.

"I will return to the town," Lantamori replied in the common tongue to Narthian's query.  "They will be anxious to learn of our success in dispelling the threat.

"I will wait for you there.  There's enough mud in this swamp already that I don't need to go crawling about in it.

"I wish you luck and a speedy return."

Averdante watches Lantamori refuse to go as he slings his bow over his shoulder. Yesterday's mud had washed off. Today's would, too.

"Cramped quarters or not," he remarks, "the little beggars did something to draw the attention of the crow. That's probably not something that should be left lying out for the next creatures that wander in there to find."

Not to mention, they'd created that fake alligator; what else had they created, that might still be in there?

... Of course, considering how that contraption injured him, perhaps he should hope anything in there wasn't fully functional....

"I'll go with you!" Haazheel said, and turns back to the others.  "I'm not terribly good with traps or small spaces, and I'll have Mystique fly over here frequently to check on you.  If you need to send word back to town, just send a message with him."  Haazheel brushes his owl familiar's head, and he hoots affectionately.  "I have some magic that could be useful in helping the village, and undoubtedly they are waiting to hear from us."

"Fair you well, both of you.  We will be careful and hopefully not too long," Farian says, and waves as the two take their leave.  He squints at the small tunnels, regards it regretfully, and grounds his mace.  "I think it might best stay outside.  My armor and shield would be more hindrance than help, and there would be precious little room to swing a mace in there.  I will keep watch for anyone coming in, or out, that isn't you." He digs about in his bag, and produces a pair of sunrods for the others to take.  "Probably is blacker than the inside of a hat in there.  May Pelor's light guide you."

Dellas takes one with a smile "I shall stay behind my sister. While I can see in the dark my sister can't. I shall light her the way."
He then takes the sunrod and looks at it first, holding it sideways and upside down before activating it with a keyword.
He smiles at his sister "After you."

Sir Aberlayne smirks a bit at the sunrod.  "You know you just have to hit that thing against a hard surface.  None of the keyword business, oh mighty wizard," she teases, and slides herself forward, axe at the ready.  She looks back at all of Volsh's lofty six feet and eight inches of height.  "Maybe you'd best bring up the rear?  You can always shove back with your spear if anything tries to get past you."

Back in Fen-on-the-Fen

Lantamori and Haazheel take the long trip back to the village, blessedly uneventful.  Their feet are still firm in the mire from the blessing of the Stone Tree, and before the noon sun has risen (barely visible as it is in the constant mist and low clouds of the swamp) the palisades are visible.  A hand waves from the top as you draw near, and you vaguely recognize one of the other villagers.  The gate is swung open for you and you're ushered into the center building from before, where Eldest Kine is waiting for you.

"There is a sense of relief today from the Stone Tree, a profound sense of peace.  Tell me, please, what passed with the Spirit of the Air?" she asks, her gnarled hands closed around a knobby wooden staff.

---

In the Kobold Tunnels

Sir Aberlayne leading the way, Farian staying outside, the group carefully enters one of the kobold caverns, trusting on Thunder's nose to pick up any sense of living danger, and their own eyes to pick up traps.  What you find is curious.  There are a few tripped pit traps, one or two with large beetles trapped within their smooth sides, with planks thrown over their tops.  Averdante spies another, untripped one, and brings a halt to the party before the larger members can crawl over it.  It hadn't tripped under Sir Aberlayne or Dellas' weight.

"Clever trap, that.  Only catches longshanks," Sir Aberlayne says, finding another board to bridge the troublesome stretch.

Further on, you find one dead pet beetle who had apparently gotten hit by a trapped wire of some sort, and a few smaller ones who flee at your approach into very small tunnels, not much bigger than a human man's fist.  The chambers you go through or by seem to be nesting chambers mostly, a larder of some sort with a small store of dried mushrooms, another room that seems to be a crafting and painting space, and a thick-walled chamber with remnants of eggshells (likely a kobold nursery).

The whole place is a bit dusty and with a great air of abandonment.  The larder with the dried mushrooms is low, with nothing fresh at all, the paints in the craft room are dried out, and the traps you have seen are mostly already sprung.

You walk (or crouch) through the whole place, investigating thoroughly, and finally come to a larger chamber with some panels of rock crystal in the ceiling, flooding the place with light and illuminating the beauty within.

It's a... display seems to be the right word.  Possibly this treasure was scavenged, or maybe they were war prizes, but either way, they had been honored.  The centerpiece is a highly decorated suit of full plate armor, with gold-colored scrollwork and the swoop of red enamel scales highlighting the designs of a phoenix in the helm and across the breastplate.  The armor is sitting on a rock shelf softened with an elaborate tapestry of horses running in front of soaring mountains.  In the gauntleted hand is a detailed silver dagger with a pommel shaped like a coiled dragon.  Around the armor gorget is an embroidered silver cloth, and about the helm's brow is a carefully crafted and neatly folded cloth-of-gold crown.  Dangling about the neck is a crystal pendent of a sun on a golden chain.

To the left, a jade-colored candelabra holds faintly pink tapered candles, a bundle of similar tapers mounded up behind it, smelling faintly of roses.  At the armor's feet are a dozen crystal vials, about half of them green, one gold, one red, one blue, and three teal.  To the right is a brass chest molded with scenes of battle between mermen and sailors.  It is solidly locked and very heavy.

Curiously, at the periphery of the room, is a series of faded sheets and dried vines.  Up above, wooden hooks depend from the ceiling.  After examining them for a minute, it seems that at one point, the elaborate treasure room was shut off from view by cloth and plants, though at some point in the recent past the screen came down.

"By the gods..." Dellas barely can express what he feels, his eyes try to take everything in at once and fail miserably. "This.. can... could someone check for traps? I'll see if I can see any magic here." slowly he reaches for another scroll, his hands seem to have some difficulties to find the right scroll before he unrolls it and recites the last passage. His eyes lighten up and he looks around at the treasure in front of him.

Volsh admired the treasures they had found, but was disappointed in a sense.  There was no one here.  "Are they all gone?  Are we overlooking something?"

"All of the evidence points to long abandonment," Narthian says. "Thunder smells nothing but the beetles and old food." He admires the display, amazed that even the capricious kobolds are capable of such beauty.

Averdante stares at the altar-like display with delighted wonder. He certainly hadn't expected this, and is quite glad he crawled through the tunnels to witness it.

"There may be more to kobolds than I'd thought, if they can recognize and arrange a display this grand. You think they got the idea for the crow god from the phoenix on the armor?" He considers that a moment, then shakes his head. "They were cheated, if that was the case!"

At Dellas' request the display be checked for traps, Dante smiles and tells the halfling, "Gladly." Then he pauses, smile fading, and glances over at Narthian. "Of course, if this goes like last time, will you be sure to send Thunder for Farian at once?" It had taken him almost a week to recover and he had no wish to go through that -- or worse -- again.

He won't make the same mistake, although who'd have thought a contact poison would be viable after half a millenia, anyway? Still, this is all shiny and clean enough to suggest the kobolds had regularly cleaned it, and he didn't think they were clever enough to use gloves.... Nonetheless, he moved closer carefully and made certain to examine the ground before the display in particular. These kobolds seemed to have been very fond of pit traps; placing one to guard this display from unauthorized handling seemed like something they might have done.

Narthian retreats to the entrance tunnel, Thunder by his side. "Of course. Thunder or I will run like the wind itself to fetch you aid, if it becomes necessary."

Dellas opens his eyes to the magical auras, hoping to see something. 



Volsh looks around carefully, wary of additional danger.



There's a strong, earthy smell of mushrooms, but not much else.



Averdante advances slowly to examine the chest and armor (and anything else) for traps the might go off when they move the items.



Thunder stands at Narthian's side, ears up as Averdante advances.

The elf moves carefully, mindful of the sprung traps they had seen on their way in, the pit traps, the tripwires, the poisoned darts.  So far, nothing of the sort.  He picks his way through the display until he can get at the altar more easily.  At that moment, there's a fluttering of the tapestry covering it, and whiff of damp soil.  That's all the warning he has before something heavy and unseen bursts forth from beneath the altar, smelling dirt, and clamps down a heavy set of jaws on Averdante's arm! 

Despite Averdante being tossed about by the strength of the attack, there is no enemy to be seen.  Whatever it is, it's entire invisible!