The campaign continues

It's been a while since the nerd blog posted anything.

This is a story that Geoff has been writing about the campaign. please read and give comments:)

Tales of Dromar
*Chapter One*
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The reign of King Dumah has left the land in relative peace. A fair and just ruler, he is loved by his people and respected by all. The disparate races came together in this time of prosperity and live in comprehensive harmony such as was never known before. He even keeps an agreement with the reclusive Elves, who live in the vast forests and glades to the North of Dromar, sanctioning a road for safe passage for the other races of the realm through the Elven forest to the human-ruled towns and cities in the North.
The Elves that inhabited the expansive forests rarely, if ever, leave the safety of their woods, opting the seclusion and security of the ancient, gargantuan trees over being citizens of the state of Dromar; so much so, in fact, that the Elves enacted laws making it illegal to leave the forest. Therefore, the only elves one sees in human lands are exiles and those who were able to sneak out of the forests of their own will. Conversely, any other race caught inside Elven forests are no longer protected by human laws and rights and become open to the wrath of the fiercely protective Elves. This aversion to integrate or even so much as interact with other races has created quite a bit of mistrust and even open hatred of the Elves. To this day, it is common for exiled and vagabond Elves and even Half-Elves to hide their identities to prevent prejudice and even personal harm.
It is to this backdrop that our heroes enter. Recently, an attempt was made on the King’s life, and rumours of riots and whispers of rebellion in the eastern reaches of the kingdom have made their way to the city of Dromar. King Dumah has sent out recruiters to find able-bodied adventurers to answer the call and find the source of the trouble to the East. As a testament to the King’s overwhelming popularity amongst his citizens, many came to be recruited, but only a very few have been selected. Four adventurers came to Dromar, from very different walks of life and backgrounds.
Adara, a young human woman, waits to be briefed and acquainted with her cohorts. She keeps to herself, making no attempt to strike up a conversation with anyone passing by in the barracks as officers and soldiers of the King patrol the hallways, and periodically check on her. Her reluctance to interact is not a result of shyness, but for her thinly-veiled disinterest in the goings-on. Despite her seeming lack of concern, an intelligent spark hides itself within her bright blue eyes as she keeps track of the faces and their activities simply to pass the time. She idly wonders what is taking so long as she blows a rebellious lock of her fiery red hair away from her face and tugs at the grey soft leather choker around her neck. She wears small plugs in her earlobes and two matching pairs of helix earrings in her upper ear cartilage. She is of average size for a human female, and attractive, but is dressed plainly, not wishing to draw any unwanted attention to herself.
Down the hall a ways, a short but obviously muscular man enters from outside and begins speaking with the first officer he comes across; a tall, neatly dressed Lieutenant. His face is partially hidden by a hooded cloak and he seems almost reluctant to be speaking with the much taller man. Her interest strangely piqued by this newcomer, she looks him over and compares him with the Lieutenant as the two men converse. He appears to be more than half a foot shorter than the tall officer. They are too far away for her to hear what they say to each other, but the hooded man clearly treats the officer with little respect, much to his chagrin. She figures the smaller man is here for the same reason as she is, and becomes sure of it when the shorter fellow dismisses himself politely and good-naturedly and begins strolling towards Adara. As he approaches, she can see his face clearly, lit by the early morning sun. He is strikingly handsome and carries himself confidently and gracefully. His black hair, streaked with a mossy dark green, pokes out from under the hood and strays unobtrusively over his face. He sits down on the bench directly across from the identical one Adara occupies. He pulls the hood back from his head, careful, even to a strange degree, not to disturb his already messy, not-quite-shoulder-length hair. As he sits, he opens his long cloak and pulls it to one side so as not to sit on it, revealing the rest of his body. He wears a white sleeveless tunic with the collar untied, the strings and fabric hanging loose over his chest, and comfortable plain dark green pants. He sits for a moment, silent, then leans forward and speaks.
"So, you answered the call as well? ‘See the world, they said!’, and all that?" he rests his elbows on his knees and his sharp, clean-shaven chin in his hands, clearly interested in starting a dialogue.
"I guess you could say that, yeah," Adara casually replies, looking away, although she can‘t help but to look back, noticing something odd about his appearance she can‘t quite place. His slender face would seem almost delicate if it weren’t for his slim but deceptively sturdy frame. He smiles at her charmingly, but it belies an almost palpable intensity.
"I’m Eledrin," he offers, sitting back up, then bowing in his seat, one hand over his heart.
"Adara," she replies, tilting her head to one side and nodding slightly. Eledrin soon realizes he isn’t going to get much in the way of conversation from her, but his concerns are rendered null by a disturbance down the hall back where he had entered not long before. A human male, dressed in long brown robes and about the same height as the officer Eledrin had spoken to, enters the barracks and loudly addresses all those present;
"Hail, good servants of our King!" He is followed shortly by a rather diminutive fellow, obviously not human. The short fellow, a gnome, speaking as gruffly as is possible for such a small creature, addresses the Lieutenant directly, purposefully standing very close and looking nearly straight up to look him in the face, only accentuating his height (or lack thereof). As the other soldiers smirk at the human’s zeal, the Lieutenant takes a step back from the gnome, leans over, hands placed on his knees, and gestures towards Adara and Eledrin. The little fellow turns on his heels and begins walking at a brisk pace towards the pair already seated. With a bemused expression on his little face, he approaches the tall folk on the benches, sizes up the benches and their occupants, then moves towards Eledrin and hops up, with only a little difficulty, onto the bench obviously not crafted for the smaller races. The gnome stands at least two feet shorter than the others, and is dressed in comfortably fitted clothing and wears an assuredly sly smirk on his face most of the time.
Soon after, the robed human moves to join them on the benches. His sandy brown hair curls gently as it falls over his head and politely frames his face. His simple robes are secured by a plain rope tied around his waist. His demeanour seems much like his appearance; simple. He radiates an almost fervent energy and obviously has a great deal of respect for the figures of authority he encounters as he walks towards the small group sitting near the end of the hallway. The Lieutenant follows the man down the hall, as Eledrin asserts,
"I guess that’s all of us, then." He turns to the gnome, and offers his hand in greeting, "Eledrin - and you are, good gnome?"
"Jebeddo’s the name. Nice to meet’cha!" he smiles slyly as he replies and shakes Eledrin’s hand firmly.
"I am Jerek," the robed man bows as he reaches the other three. As they exchange greetings, the Lieutenant follows close behind and, standing militarily at ease, begins to explain their purpose.
"As some of you may already know," he begins, "there have been certain rumours circulating about increasing illegal and…how shall I put it…insurgent activity in the eastern reaches of the kingdom. You’ve been brought here to be deployed as agents of the King, to go and investigate where regular soldiers and officials would be recognized. Now-"
"Spies, you mean?" Adara interrupts him, with the slightest hint of excitement in her voice.
"Something to that effect," he replies, then continues, "You will be paid upon returning with evidence of your affecting - or intelligence regarding - these disturbances. As agents of the King and the government of Dromar-" Eledrin scoffs, then apologetically gestures for the officer to continue. "-You will be expected to help in keeping the peace and aiding the citizens of the nation of Dromar should the opportunity or need arise. However, your primary mission is to find the cause of the disturbances and ultimately, we hope, the fiends behind the attack on His Majesty."
"-And we’ll be paid…handsomely…for our efforts, hmm?" Jebeddo inquires furtively. At this, Jerek tosses a foul look at the gnome, as if to say, "Doing such a service to the King should be reward in and of itself!"
"Well enough for a servant of the King." The Lieutenant answers flatly. Jebeddo raises an eyebrow disappointedly at the man. "You’ll be given money enough for supplies and equipment. You must leave as soon as you are ready. You will be travelling on your own, but rest assured that we will hear of your progress one way or another. Use whatever means you deem necessary, within the limits of the law. Visit the quartermaster on your way out for your equipment allowance. Any questions?" The four shake their heads in unison. "Very well. You are dismissed. When you are ready, take the road east out of Dromar, towards Welfall."
With that, the Lieutenant salutes the group smartly, then turns and walks off to attend other business. The group exchanges looks, not quite sure what to make of each other, then begin to head towards the quartermaster’s offices. After procuring payment from the quartermaster, the group sets out to the shops to gather equipment for their journey.
Entering a shop, Adara and Eledrin scope out bladed weaponry of every kind. Adara runs her finger deftly along the curved edge of a sharp, cruel-looking sickle. Eledrin, meanwhile, pulls a short sword from its scabbard, expertly swinging, thrusting and twirling the blade in his left hand, testing its weight and balance, then feeling for the sharpness of the edge. After making these purchases, and more, they feel prepared; Adara is now wearing her newly purchased light, unrestricting leather armour, brandishing the sickle, as well as a dagger and a sap she had also bought. Eledrin, in studded leather armour, worn underneath his long cloak, tugs and pulls at it to make sure of its fit, fastening his new short sword to his right hip, and a short bow and a quiver of arrows on his back, as well as a backpack full of gear. Jerek bought only a little equipment and no armour, and for a weapon, now holds a long straight bo staff. Jebeddo wielded a small staff, accordingly sized to the gnome’s stature.
The group, now adequately equipped, sets out to the east, towards Welfall.


*Chapter Two*
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As the four walk at a steady pace on the eastern road out of Dromar, they speak few words, concentrating on the road ahead and on sizing up their new comrades. About midday, they begin to see buildings on the horizon. They enter the town of Welfall in early afternoon, a small mining community, little more than a strip of buildings on either side of the main road.
"What do you say we all take a breather?" Eledrin suggests as he peers up at the tavern, the only building with more than one storey. Jebeddo excuses himself shortly, and slips off between the tavern and the adjacent building. The others nod in consent, and Jerek, Eledrin and Adara enter the old wooden building to the distinct musk of ale, soot and grime, and Dwarven sweat. The first thing Eledrin and Adara notice is that most of the patrons and hands in the tavern are Dwarves. The bar is sparsely populated, but still unusually busy for such a small town. The first thing that catches Jerek’s attention is the clatter of dice at one of the tables to their left. He turns away from his companions with an amused expression on his face, and Eledrin is sure he hears the robed human croon ‘Oooo!’ as he makes his way towards the dice game.
Adara wanders off and takes a seat at one of the empty tables, then perks an ear as she leans with her elbows on the table. With Jerek now occupied intently watching the dice game, Eledrin steps up to the Dwarf-sized bar and greets the bar hand.
"Hail, lad. Just passing through are ye, or would ye favour a pint and a sit-down?" The bartender asks Eledrin, wiping down the bar and pre-emptively placing a mug in front of the man as he sits on the short barstool.
"I don’t see why not, good man. Say, what’s the news around these parts?" Eledrin inquires of the stout Dwarf.
"Oh, nothin’ but bad news here, I’m afraid, laddie. See, the mine’s closed. I’m sure you ‘ave nae noticed, but without waerk, business is gooin’ downhill, even if the miners due spend all day in ‘ere drinking away their hard-earned coin."
"The mine has closed? Isn’t that Welfall’s only source of revenue?"
"Damn strai’ it is! Welfall is goin’ under, mark me words!" The Dwarf exclaims dejectedly.
"Is there anything we can do? I know we don’t look like much, but my companions and I…I’m sure…are very capable." Eledrin hesitantly asserts.
"Well, if yer willin’ and think ye’re able, why dun’t ye speak with the foreman? Ah’m sure he could use yer help. From ‘ere, he’s second ‘ouse on the left as you head east t’wards the mine. Good luck to ye. We all need it, lad!" The Dwarf chuckles as he tends to his other patrons.
Eledrin stands, and motions for Adara to follow. He taps Jerek on the shoulder as he passes, and waves for him also to rejoin the group. As the three leave the tavern, Jebeddo steps up to greet them.
"Where did you get off to?" Jerek asks suspiciously, eyeing the gnome cautiously.
"None of your business." The gnome replies callously. Eledrin clears his throat purposefully, and begins to walk down the road, following the bartender’s directions to the foreman’s house. The short house’s door is closed and locked, and Eledrin knocks on the heavy door. A lock clicks, and the door swings open. A heavy-set Dwarf steps out with a look both exhausted with worry and perplexed by the sight of these three strangers at his door. Three, because when Eledrin knocked on the door, Jebeddo felt the need to hide himself. So well, in fact, that by the time the foreman opened the door, Jebeddo had inexplicably snuck in and hid behind it.
"What kin I do fer ye?" The foreman gruffly inquires, sizing up each of the three tall folk in front of him.
"We heard about some kind of trouble in the mines. Could you tell us about it?" Eledrin asks. The foreman grins, seeing an opportunity.
"Well, Ah’m a little parched to tell ye all about it now…Maybe if ye got me an ale from the tavern, I’ll tell ye the tale…"
"Adara," Eledrin smiles, "If you don’t mind…?"
"Fine…" Adara concedes, rolling her eyes, and walks off back to the tavern. After Adara retrieves a mug of ale for the foreman, the Dwarf invites the three into the house, sits down and pitches the mug back, then wipes his long beard from the drops that spill down from his mouth. Breathing a long sigh, he recounts the event causing the mine’s closing.
"Y’see, a few days ago, we were waerkin’ in the mine, when out of nowhere, came these horrible buggers, and killt more than ‘alf me men! They came swarmin’ out o’ the stonework, I tell ye! It’s too dangerous now, so I closed the mines. I doubt we’ll ever see the inside of those hills again…" The dwarf buried his head in his hands, and the group looked at each other, then back at the foreman. Eledrin leans forward, and resting his hand on the foreman’s shoulder, proclaims,
"Have no more worry, Master Dwarf. We will investigate the mines ourselves, and do what we can to help. Would you be willing to guide us through the mine?"
"Oh, no, lad. Ah dun’ ken ah could step in there ahgin until them fiends are gone."
"Very well." Eledrin straightens and speaks compassionately to the Dwarf, "I think no less of you for it, you’re a brave Dwarf, and we will see you mining under the mountain again, where you belong."
"Oh, thank ye, laddie! If you were to get Dwarves back in that mine, ye’d have me eternal gratefulness, and I’m sure the Magistrate would reward ye handsomely."
"Really, Cuz?" Jebeddo says, popping out from behind the door.
"Ach, where’d ye come from, bye?!" The foreman exclaims as he jumps out of his seat.
"Why, I’ve been here the whole time! What are ya trying ta say?!" The gnome huffed.
"Come on, let’s go," Adara speaks mutedly as she turns to Eledrin, "maybe someone in town will lead us through the mine."
"Okay," Eledrin agrees, as he stands to leave, "You and Jerek head to the tavern and see if you can find us a guide. I’ll take…the gnome…and check out the mine entrance. Meet us there when you’ve found someone. Mister foreman-"
"The mine’s up the road just past me house, headin’ up the mountain. You cannae miss it."
"Jebeddo, you’re coming with me." Eledrin orders, as he bows politely to the foreman and excuses them from the house. Adara and Jerek return once more to the tavern to hire a guide, while Jebeddo and Eledrin trudge up the mining road towards the mountain.
As the pair nears the mine, they notice tracks made by small creatures accompanied by wheel tracks. Strangely, though, it looks to Eledrin as he kneels down to inspect them, that the wheeled object had been lifted, carried, dropped, rolled, then lifted again and again as the tracks move out of the mine and to the left, around to the opposite face of the mountain. From the mine, the pair hears noises and chatter emanating from the caverns and moving towards them.
Eledrin slips into the shadows of the nearby forest surrounding the mouth of the mineshaft to avoid whatever comes out. Jebeddo slips into Eledrin’s backpack and peers over his shoulder. Eledrin, irritated, whispers,
"What are you-"
"Shhh!" Jebeddo snaps, as the creature comes into view. The gnome’s eyes narrow as he immediately recognizes the small, scaled creature, muttering to itself in a language Eledrin doesn‘t understand. "Kobolds!" Jebeddo hisses under his breath as he clenches his hands into little balls of disgust at his sides.
Meanwhile, Adara and Jerek are at the tavern, intending to find a guide but sidetracked by Jerek’s fascination with the game of dice. Adara stands to one side, impatiently waiting for him to finish gawking at the game and take his nose off the tabletop. Tapping her foot, she finally leans forward and says,
"Why don’t you ask one of them to guide us?"
"Ah! Yes," Jerek blurts as he snaps back to the task at hand, "of course! Good sirs," he straightens and addresses the players, "we humbly request your help. We need a guide to find our way through the mine."
"A guide, y’say? T’go back there! I dun’ think so, lad!" One of the dice players replies incredulously from under his wide-brimmed hat.
"We can pay you." Adara offers.
"Can ye, lass?" The dwarf eyes her purse slyly, as Jerek replies,
"Ten gold pieces!" The miner laughs heartily, seeing an opportunity in this apparently spendthrift human.
"Ach, forget it. I’ll no’ go back there for a lousy ten gold pieces!"
"Jerek, that’s an awful lot of-" Adara begins, but Jerek cuts her off,
"It’s alright, I can handle this," he says confidently as he turns back to the dwarf. "Fifteen." He bargains, raising an eyebrow to signify his final offer.
"Oh’aye, for fef-teen I’ll show ye round that accursed place. Met me at the mine entrance in an hour." The dwarf prescribes as Jerek produces the promised fifteen gold pieces. Adara can do nothing but hang her head in disappointment.
Eledrin, ready to grab Jebeddo by the shirt collar to prevent him from rushing out of hiding to follow and pummel the kobold, finally sees Adara and Jerek coming up the hill. He steps out the trees and onto the road to greet them.
"No luck?" Eledrin inquires, with a dissatisfied look.
"Oh, no, we found a guide. We paid a dwarf fifteen gold and he’s coming to take us through the mine!" Jerek announced proudly.
"Did it ever occur to you," Jebeddo asks crassly, "that he might just take the money and run?!"
"I trust him." Jerek declares defensively, folding his arms across his chest and thrusting his chin in the air defiantly. Adara huffs, clearly fatigued by Jerek’s previous refusal to listen to her protests.
"Anyway, let’s just wait and see if he does actually come." Eledrin suggests. He sits down on the side of the dusty road and crosses his legs. Adara crosses the road to perch on a large boulder, presumably pushed off into the bushes long ago to make way for the wide mining road. Jerek leans on his staff, idly kicking the dirt at his feet. Jebeddo wanders off into the forest in boredom.
"Someone’s coming." Adara states simply to Eledrin from her vantage point atop the boulder. As Eledrin stands, he spots a wide-brimmed hat bobbing on the horizon, coming up the hill, and as their dwarven guide approaches, they hear him whistling to himself as he hikes briskly up the road.
"I told you he’d come!" Jerek declares proudly. Jebeddo picks his way through a patch of bushes back to the road, as Adara hops gracefully off her stone perch.
"Righ‘." The Dwarf gruffly begins, tipping his hat back and raising one bushy eyebrow, then resting his dirt-blackened thumbs on his belt, "Just so ye know, if thengs get too dice-ay, Ah got no qualms with leavin’ yeh on yer own in there. ‘Course, I wouldn’ e’er leave ye totally lost. I made out a map for yeh so you won’ need me help gettin’ out if we get, eh…separated." He pulls from his pack a piece of canvas parchment with a hastily drawn, but surprisingly detailed map, no doubt a result of Dwarven precision and countless hours spent inside the mine itself. Eledrin stretches out his hand to take the map and the Dwarf slaps it into his palm and begins to walk towards the mine entrance. Eledrin stuffs the map into his backpack and follows the Dwarf, right hand on the scabbard of his sword, his left ready to pull it out at a moment‘s notice.
The Dwarf sidles up to the edge of the large hole in the mountain and peers into the mine entrance. Apparently seeing nothing, he marches in as if he owned the place. He chuckles softly, then turns to face the group slowly following him.
"Boy, is it good ta be back in ‘ere again." The four companions enter into the dimly lit cavern dug out of the mountain face. With the Dwarves no longer around to maintain the lighting, all the torches and lanterns that usually would have lit the large room are dead and cold. Jerek and Adara reach into their packs, pull out torches, and light them. Eledrin squints and sees in the dim light a number or picks and hammers strewn about, left there by work crews at the end of their shifts, expecting they would return the next day to retrieve them and continue working. A track runs through the middle of the room, on which sits a rail-cart. Two other rail-carts sit idle at the side of the tracks. The ceiling of the room is held up by sturdy Dwarven-crafted wooden beams and pillars. To their left and right, the tracks extend out and curve around until they disappear into matching shafts.
"The mineshaft on the left runs straigh’ to the main chamber, where we do…did most of our minin’ these days. The other is a dead end fer now." The dwarf elaborates.
"Then why were the kobolds going between here and around the side of the mountain?" Jebeddo raises, to which the dwarf frowns in thought, unable to answer.
"Perhaps we should follow the tracks," Eledrin suggests, "find out where they lead."
"We should take our guide here and see what else he can show us." Adara argues, turning to the dwarf questioningly. Jebeddo, however, reaches up and, patting him on the shoulder, says,
"No, I think he’s fulfilled his purpose. Many thanks for all your help. We’ll take it from here." The dwarf raises an eyebrow, and Eledrin turns and frowns at the gnome.
"Uh, actually, Jebeddo, I think Adara’s right, maybe we should keep him-"
"No, no, we can handle things from here!" Jebeddo interrupts him and walks the dwarf out and sees him back towards the road. Jerek and Adara shake their heads at the amount of money they had to pay for a guide to have him released from their service so quickly. They walk back out to follow the footprints and wheel tracks leading around to the right from the mining entrance. Walking slowly, he is able to easily pick out the kobold footprints and the deep marks left in the dirt by the heavy wheeled object. The others follow him around the side and eventually all the way to the back of the mountain. As they reach the other side, they find something they didn’t quite expect.
Carved into the backside of the mountain, another entrance had been built, undoubtedly by the kobolds themselves. It was made obvious by the shoddiness of the construction that it was not Dwarven-made.
"Well," Eledrin announces, "I think we may have found how they got in without the Dwarves seeing them coming."
"We might as well check it out." Adara suggests. Eledrin turned back to her, and nodded purposefully.
"Quietly, now," He whispers, putting a finger to his lips, "We have little idea what to expect in there."
Adara, Eledrin and Jerek sneak towards the entrance. Jebeddo stands back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He pulls out a small book, and flips through the pages. The others enter the crude tunnel, and immediately hear in the distance the chattering of kobolds in a tongue they don’t understand. Just as Eledrin takes the first step inside, he trips on a heavy rock that lays on the floor, and falls clattering to the stone ground, making an awful racket as his equipment rattles and clangs to the floor with him.
"Stupid!" He curses the rock, and immediately hides in the first convenient crevice he can find. The chattering of the kobolds is suddenly silent, as they presumably listen for the source of the noise that Eledrin just caused. The others follow suit and hide in the nearest alcoves they can find to get out of sight.
Meanwhile, on the outside, Jebeddo is standing with his book and a small bat, his familiar, and begins to speak words in an arcane language. Suddenly, the bat grows to an enormous size (for a bat, that is), and begins to glow with fiery lights dancing about it. Jebeddo clears his throat.
"Ah-heh-heh-hem!…" He takes a deep breath, and then…
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!" He screams, as he runs, flailing, into the tunnel, huge flaming bat in tow.
"GIANT BAT! HELP!!!" He shrieks, clambering into the darkness as the lights dancing around the bat illuminate the blackness. Seeing this bizarre spectacle, Jerek’s eyes grow wide in fear and confusion. Seeing this giant flaming bat "chasing" his comrade, he instantly makes up his mind: Kill the massive immolating bat.
"Eyahhh!" He shouts, in a knee-jerk reaction, and, with his staff, swats the poor creature in the head, knocking the enlarged mammal unconscious.