With a toothy grin in Veldan's direction, Razz walks over to Highness's corpse with s few curious Kobolds. Approaching the head of their now dead foe, Razz casually takes out his blade, stabbing it into the ground in front of her.
Staring at the body momentarily, he closes his eyes and offers a small prayer for their enemy.
As soon as he finishes, the greatsword is pulled out from the ground and is turned towards the sky. Waiting only a moment, Razz brings down the blade with all his force, smoothly cleaving the head from the rest of the body.
Sheathing his blade, Razz preps the head to be take back above ground, tying it in a harness and strapping it to his back.
"Hm?" He turned to the genasi, then gave a smile. "But of course! What self-respecting Knight-Arcanist couldn't?" With a toss of hair, Veldan marched over to the hoard and sat right in front of it. Taking a breath and staring it down, he focused on these items and...
.. He blinked, shaking off a wave of lethargy that hit him as soon as he sat down. "...oof. I really need that bath." He groaned, slapping his own cheek.
Being starstuck by how his speech had worked...just like that they won. Highness had been defeated and the kobolds viewed them as friends. Tal wondered, when was the last time he had had a friend...not in a very long time and even then those people had only liked him because of his status and his money. His mind went to a dark place and his grip tightened on his bow, there was always....no, there wasn't.
He put the arrow away and followed the group back to the hoard. Upon witnessing the gold before him and seeing the odds and ends he saw Veldan examining some of the more peculiar items. Tal had a knack for finding valuable items as his father was a Master craftsman and merchant in Syngorn but there was something else that had helped him to find traces of magic that he couldn't quite explain. Reaching to the connection within him and muttering a few ancient words in Sylvan he opened his senses to the magic of the material plane. In so doing his eyesight adjusted and he saw faint traces on a few of the items.
Kneeeling down next to Veldan he grabbed the seashell ring and twirled it in his hand examining it and noticed a green aspect to the aura and muttered to Veldan in Elvish, "Transmutation." glancing over at the vial that was near Veldan he squinted and stated, "and that one has Evocation properties." Tal hoped helping Veldan would fix at the very least help mend that earlier...talk they had had. 'Stop burning bridges Thalanil! Use your status to your advantage!' His father's voice echoed in his mind.
As the others moved towards the dragon's hoard, Krenak stayed behind with Erxuk. "Tell me, have you heard about Avandra, the Changebringer?" he asked the new kobold chieftain. "She is my strength, my guiding light, and she can bring good things for you and your people as well." Let it not be said that he didn't try to extol the virtues of his goddess when he found the opportunity. As he talked, he grabbed one of the teeth that Razz left behind, and slowly worked out a scale from Highness' body.
Veldan actually jumped a little when the ranger appeared beside him, forcing him to suck in a breath and tuck a hair behind his ear. He turned his head to him, ready to say something pithy, but his eyes went wide and brows raised as he recognized the Sylvan spell chanting. Staying quiet, he let Tal finish, watching him present two of the objects before him.
"You're not a complete amateur, after all." He remarked in Elvish with a smirk. "I shouldn't have assumed, it's in your blood."
Setting both items a certain distance from each other, the wizard began the process of identification. Because he was low on energy, it would have to be slow. Still, he couldn't let himself be shown up.
Starting with the potion, Veldan raised the finger wearing his arcane focus. It glowed with light purple energy before Veldan began to trace a circle above it, leaving a trail of arcane energy where it moved. Spending most of the ten minutes drawing a glyph in the air above the vial, he slowly weaved a complex array of shapes and runes, with and empty spot in the center. When it was complete, a light smoky essence began to seep from the vial, absorbed into the glyph.
Veldan reached into his pocket and drew out a gleaming pearl. Placing it gingerly into the center of the glyph, it locked into place midair before absorbing the essence that the glyph had drawn out. After a minute, he plucked it back out and pressed the pearl up against his forehead. His eyes flashed with arcane energy as that essence passed in through his forehead.
The experience made Veldan's head jerk back, motionless until the light in his eyes ebbed. He blinked for a moment, then looked back down at the vial. "Ah... this tonic closes grievous wounds. Quite powerful! This is pricey to create."
He remarked, picking up the vial and examining the contents before setting it aside to repeat the ritual for the ring.
"Interesting!" He exclaimed after passing the pearl to his forehead the second time. "This ring activate when the wearer is submerged in water, offering great alacrity!"
"Quite the ability you have there, Veldan. I suppose we could pocket an item or two before we return the rest of the hoard to the town guard. I think that potion and ring might come in handy." Shaw says to Veldan. "What do you all think?" Shaw states turning around and facing the rest of the group.
Krenak watched the magical abilities of the two elvish men with some curiosity. While he had seen magic before, in battle and out, his inability to use it always sparked a small bit of envy. "Tell me, how does your magic function?" he asked Veldan as they started to discuss divvying up the various treasures they had found.
"How does it function?" Veldan repeated, blinking blankly at Krenak for a few awkward seconds before donning a smile and hopping back up onto his feet. "I am going to pretend that you're inquiring about the identification spell specifically, because otherwise we could be here for decades." He gave a light laugh, slipping the magical goods into the inside pocket of his robes.
"In that case, it's quite easy. It's simply a matter of drawing a divinic reverse-construction glyph that can decode the arcane energy embedded into a given item. Once the glyph is constructed, then the item is put into a temporary state of what arcanists call essence seeping. Typically, seeping arcane essence merely dissolves back into the ether, but the glyph captures the essence and directs it into a focus. In this case," Veldan brandishes a gleaming pearly. "An iridescent pearl! This, for a lack of better term, softens the raw essence into a state that a humanoid mind can comprehend, and voila! Instant knowledge." The wizard ends with a verbal flourish, tucking the pearl away with a big smile up at Krenak.
Krenak stared at the man blankly for a moment before blinking rapidly. "Um...yes, yes it did," he said. "As well as bringing in several more questions. For instance, what is a deevanic re-thingy glaff?" While he tried to not show it, poorly, Krenak was utterly lost with that explanation. But, he was always willing to learn. And who knows, maybe he might learn to use magic himself!
"Avandra? The... Changebringer?" Erxuk croaks in draconic at Krenak. "I've never heard of any Changebringer... You serve this Changebringer? Is she your Highness? Is Changebringer chief in Emon?" He mutters a few thoughts under his breath, but ultimately shakes his head.
"No time for that, now, you must get above ground back to your chiefs. Let me help you find your way. If it is dark, I will surface with you; the sun is not very good for my eyes," Erxuk says in draconic. He turns to a younger-looking kobold that has been following him rather closely. "Okreb, you're my apprentice, so you are in charge until I return... If I return. If not, lead our people out of here and find a new place to live."
"Are you sure we can trust the people above enough to try and make peace, teacher?"
"I think we must try. Too many have suffered under Skreeva and Highness... Hopefully the Emon chiefs will treat us as allies. But in case they do not, make sure you are ready to leave at a moment's notice. Rearm the traps when we go. If they accept us, I will tell you to disarm them. Understood?"
"Yes, teacher."
Erxuk picks up Skreeva's metal quarterstaff and turns his eyes toward all of you. "Whatever happens, I consider you all honorary members of the Emberswipe Tribe," He says in draconic with a smile, then switches to common. "Yous kobold-friends fors ever. Now... Yous ready? Wes goes. Follows Erxuk, yes?"
The inventor leads you back through the tunnels up into the sewer chamber where you fought the lizards. He seems to pay no heed to their fly-covered corpses. Following the old blood trail, you all find your way back to the manhole you went down but a few hours ago. Erxuk indicates for you to go first. You all clamber up the rickety hand grips and emerge from the sewers and find yourselves in the city of Emon. It appears that the storm has let up; the cloud layer has broken in spots revealing some stars peaking through the faint blue of an evening sky. You pull yourselves up on the slick cobblestones and breathe deep the much fresher air with joy. Looking around reveals that someone has cleaned up Irven's body, but Sergeant Talley, the mousy half-elf woman, and Officer Maravall, the forty-something year old human male with a patchy beard, are still present. As you exit the sewers they perk up and begin helping you all out.
"You're alive! It's been so longed, we feared the worst!" Talley says, pausing for a moment to cover her nose.
"Up you get, elf, come on," Maravall says, helping Veldan out. "So, did you catch our- ... what in the gods' names is that?!"
You turn to see Maravall gaping at Highness' head hanging from Razz's back. Talley gasps. "Is this... ah!" She exclaims as Erxuk hops out of the sewer with his staff stowed and his hands up.
"No hurts, big mans. Erxuk friends with big mans!" The little kobold says while pointing at all of you. Maravall puts a hand on his sword, but Talley restrains him.
"We did our job." While saying that, Razz drops the Highness's head at their feet, before stepping up right in front of them and sayin, "Your welcome."
"Sergeant. Officer." Veldan cleared his throat as he did his best to fix his robes and hair on the spot. "My apologies for our blunt associate." He shot a look at Razz with pursed lips, then beamed a smile at the guards.
"The situation was a bit more complex than the job initially posited. This is Erxuk." He motioned to the kobold. "He is the leader of a kobold tribe that resides below Emon. Apparently they have been living down there, peacefully, for quite some time. That is, until, this thing showed up." Veldan scoffed at Highness' head. "It was forcing these kobolds to gather it a hoard under threat of death."
"Yes, this is Highness, unholy spawn of the foul Thordak," Krenak growled out. Shaking his head, he looked at the two guards and said, "My new friend Erxuk here would like to make an alliance with the city of Emon, to hopefully prevent something like this from happening once again."
Tal tried to smooth things over, "Erxuk here was instrumental in stopping this threat. He lost many of his people defying this wyrmling. Many more would have been lost had he not stepped up and worked with us end her tyranny. Way more than just noble's lives were at stake here, how long before that wyrm would have lived up to her father's name and destoyed Emon?!" There was more to the tale of course but Veldan, Krenek and Razz seemed to have it handled for the most part.
Officer Maravall and Sergeant Talley look stunned. "A... spawn of Thordak?"
"Oh, gods... and you all killed it? With this kobold's help?"
"Withs all kobolds' helps!" Erxuk says with great assurance. The two guards look to each other. Maravall scoffs and shrugs. Talley nods.
"This... This needs to be reported to the Council right away. If there are more of these things... all of Emon is in danger. We cannot let anyone see that beast's head though, it will only cause panic. Could you cover it up with something, sir goliath?" The sergeant asks. "Oh, also..."
She pulls out a small, thin piece of wood and begins waving it over all of you and muttering arcane incantations. A sparkling energy cleans you from head to toe and leaves you smelling of fresh linens. Erxuk very reluctantly accepts the same treatment.
"Sorry, I just really did not want you to smell like an otyugh nest anymore..." Talley says as she puts the wand away. "Adventurers... Erxuk... come with us. We need to report this to the precinct commander. I suggest you keep your kobold friend close."
Erxuk comes over to Krenak and stays close to his fellow draconic humanoid, grabbing onto part of the zealot's armor like a child. Even though the sun has just about set, as soon as he steps out of the darkened alley onto the street in front of the Dying Drake, the kobold winces and tries to use his hand to shade his eyes from the light. As you pass the tavern, a familiar face steps off of the porch.
"Sir Veldan! You've returned!" says a wood elf man in green Syngornian garb with a slightly dubious look on his face. It is Adran, Veldan's retainer. "I'll admit, I was a little worried about you heading into that sewer, but now that you're back I want to tell you how foolish it was for you to risk your life and overall scent by journeying into that filth-hole... Wait, where are you going? Oh, for the love of the Moonweaver, wait for me!"
It's only a few blocks to the Azalea Street Arms Precinct. Walking around with a kobold gets you some strange looks from the populace, but no one accosts you. After a few minutes you arrive at a two-story stone and timber structure with the symbol of the Arms of Emon emblazoned above the door. Two guards stand outside of it and they nod to Maravall and Talley as they enter. Within it is not very busy; a few guards mill about, chat, and work. Some functionaries scribe scrolls, take orders from officers, and so on. Sergeant Talley flags one down, a young human male no older than sixteen, and requests an urgent meeting with "Commander Broodfist." The boy looks confused, but takes you upstairs to ten foot wide hallway and a door at the end of it that bears the title "Precinct Commander Werydd Broodfist." The functionary knocks on the door and a gruff female voice hollers back.
"Come in!"
The functionary holds open the door for all of you. The office is rather spacious. The taller people in the group have to duck slightly to get through the door. The ceilings are tall and the office is adorned with metalwork, ceremonial weapons, and utilitarian art, all of dwarvish make. A ten foot-long red carpet with symmetric designs leads to a wooden desk. A dwarf woman with intricately braided brown hair, round features, and a scar running down her left eye, leaving it discolored, looks up with surprise at the crowd that has made their way into her office.
"What? Sergeant, who the hell are all these people and what are they doing in my office?" Commander Broodfist says, rising from her chair and setting down her work.
"Commander, forgive my interruption, but these are the mercenaries we hired to investigate the killings from the sewers and... well, the case has taken a surprising turn," Talley says, looking to Razz and nodding. "Show her."
"Show me what? What the hell is with all this cryptic shite?"
Krenak couldn't help but smile as the small kibold got a grip on his priest's tunic. "Come now, little one, it shall be just fine," he said quietly as they made their way to the guard station. "Just keep close and nobody shall bother us."
As they ascended up the building to the commander's office, Krenak went over what he should say. "May the Changebringer grant you her favor, milady," Krenak said with a courtly bow. "My name is Krenak Brightscales, priest of Avandra. My compatriots and I were hired by your guards here to investigate the strange murders and came across a situation most foul. It appears that an unholy spawn of that most evil of red dragons Thordak-" he all but spit out the name, "-had survived her sire's passing and had browbeatened a peaceful tribe of kobolds into gathering a dragon's hoard. We were able to put a stop to her vile plans with the assistance of this wonderful kobold and his friends."
Razz complied with the guards, covering the head in some cloth. He walked, both uncaring and unbothered by the heads weight, but found some annoyance at having to squeeze through the small door in the building the guards led them to.
As Krenak addressed Broodfist, Razz inveiled the head before placing it on the floor in front of her.
"Cryptic shite indeed, Commander." Veldan affirmed knowingly, then crossed an arm over his chest and bowed. "Veldan, Knight-Errant of Syngorne." Introducing quickly, he continued. "These mercenaries and I had quite a time with it as well. If I had to guess, I'd say it was born mad."
From the fresh dragon head being presented to her, to the little kobold waving at her, to the group of complete strangers giving her all of this information at once, Broodfist looks quite shocked.
"Talley, when the hell did this all come up?"
"They quite literally emerged from the sewers moments ago, ma'am. We came from the crime scene directly."
Broodfist stares at Highness' head for a few seconds, steeples her hands, brings them up to her lips, and slowly takes a seat. "So you all killed this... spawn of the Cinderking? And this,"she gestures to Erxuk,"creature helped you?"
"Yes, I Erxuk. Erxuk helps beats Highness. You Ee-mon chief? Must speaks to Ee-mon chief," Erxuk says, stepping forward slightly.
"Not too close, there, little friend,"Broodfist barks. Erxuk stops dead in his tracks.
"Pip... squeak? No, I Erxuk. ERK-zook."
Broodfist scoffs in amusement and shakes her head. "A miniature Cinderking ruling over a hidden kobold tribe..."She mutters, chuckling. "Talley, Maravall, you're dismissed, return to your duties."
Sergeant Talley and Officer Maravall shoot looks at each other. "Ma'am?"
"You heard me. Dismissed. Go file your reports and I'll read them later. I'll take care of our friends, here. And don't breathe a word of this to anyone else." The two guards look to each other, then all of you, nod, and exit the room. Broodfist clears her throat and rises before walking around to the front of her desk before all of you.
"Gentlemen, I think we got off on the wrong foot there. I'm Precinct Commander Werryd Broodfist, former Kraghammer Carver and current officer of the peace here in Emon,"the dwarf has adopted a much more pleasant tone and takes the time to shake each of your hands despite the fact that some of you did not offer; she even shakes Erxuk's tiny claw, an exchange that leaves the kobold with a strange look on his face. "And may I say, it is an honor to host such esteemed company as a Knight-Errant of Syngorn, a priest of the Changebringer, and other such... Esteemed guests! On behalf of the city of Emon, I would like to thank you for the service you have done to our city. Not only for killing this monster whose head now adorns my floor, but for also discovering some... previously unknown neighbors!
"I will see that you are paid your 100 gold pieces upon return of the property stolen by the dragon, which I assume you collected, and promise when I make my report to the Council regarding this situation that I will give you all due mention. Of course, it is late and your little friend will have to stay with us before he can testify before the Council... or should I say 'Emon chiefs,' for it is too late to convene the Council. Rest assured that he will appear before the Council to speak his piece tomorrow; I assume when I notify them about this they will put the matter high on their agenda.
"Again, you have my thanks for your assistance in slaying this foul creature. The city will sing our praises once they hear about this!"
Erxuk looks up at Krenak with a puzzled expression. "Why did she touch me and what is she saying?" He asks in draconic, wiping his hand on his hole-ridden brown shirt.
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With a toothy grin in Veldan's direction, Razz walks over to Highness's corpse with s few curious Kobolds. Approaching the head of their now dead foe, Razz casually takes out his blade, stabbing it into the ground in front of her.
Staring at the body momentarily, he closes his eyes and offers a small prayer for their enemy.
As soon as he finishes, the greatsword is pulled out from the ground and is turned towards the sky. Waiting only a moment, Razz brings down the blade with all his force, smoothly cleaving the head from the rest of the body.
Sheathing his blade, Razz preps the head to be take back above ground, tying it in a harness and strapping it to his back.
"Hm?" He turned to the genasi, then gave a smile. "But of course! What self-respecting Knight-Arcanist couldn't?" With a toss of hair, Veldan marched over to the hoard and sat right in front of it. Taking a breath and staring it down, he focused on these items and...
.. He blinked, shaking off a wave of lethargy that hit him as soon as he sat down. "...oof. I really need that bath." He groaned, slapping his own cheek.
Being starstuck by how his speech had worked...just like that they won. Highness had been defeated and the kobolds viewed them as friends. Tal wondered, when was the last time he had had a friend...not in a very long time and even then those people had only liked him because of his status and his money. His mind went to a dark place and his grip tightened on his bow, there was always....no, there wasn't.
He put the arrow away and followed the group back to the hoard. Upon witnessing the gold before him and seeing the odds and ends he saw Veldan examining some of the more peculiar items. Tal had a knack for finding valuable items as his father was a Master craftsman and merchant in Syngorn but there was something else that had helped him to find traces of magic that he couldn't quite explain. Reaching to the connection within him and muttering a few ancient words in Sylvan he opened his senses to the magic of the material plane. In so doing his eyesight adjusted and he saw faint traces on a few of the items.
Kneeeling down next to Veldan he grabbed the seashell ring and twirled it in his hand examining it and noticed a green aspect to the aura and muttered to Veldan in Elvish, "Transmutation." glancing over at the vial that was near Veldan he squinted and stated, "and that one has Evocation properties." Tal hoped helping Veldan would fix at the very least help mend that earlier...talk they had had. 'Stop burning bridges Thalanil! Use your status to your advantage!' His father's voice echoed in his mind.
As the others moved towards the dragon's hoard, Krenak stayed behind with Erxuk. "Tell me, have you heard about Avandra, the Changebringer?" he asked the new kobold chieftain. "She is my strength, my guiding light, and she can bring good things for you and your people as well." Let it not be said that he didn't try to extol the virtues of his goddess when he found the opportunity. As he talked, he grabbed one of the teeth that Razz left behind, and slowly worked out a scale from Highness' body.
Veldan actually jumped a little when the ranger appeared beside him, forcing him to suck in a breath and tuck a hair behind his ear. He turned his head to him, ready to say something pithy, but his eyes went wide and brows raised as he recognized the Sylvan spell chanting. Staying quiet, he let Tal finish, watching him present two of the objects before him.
"You're not a complete amateur, after all." He remarked in Elvish with a smirk. "I shouldn't have assumed, it's in your blood."
Setting both items a certain distance from each other, the wizard began the process of identification. Because he was low on energy, it would have to be slow. Still, he couldn't let himself be shown up.
Starting with the potion, Veldan raised the finger wearing his arcane focus. It glowed with light purple energy before Veldan began to trace a circle above it, leaving a trail of arcane energy where it moved. Spending most of the ten minutes drawing a glyph in the air above the vial, he slowly weaved a complex array of shapes and runes, with and empty spot in the center. When it was complete, a light smoky essence began to seep from the vial, absorbed into the glyph.
Veldan reached into his pocket and drew out a gleaming pearl. Placing it gingerly into the center of the glyph, it locked into place midair before absorbing the essence that the glyph had drawn out. After a minute, he plucked it back out and pressed the pearl up against his forehead. His eyes flashed with arcane energy as that essence passed in through his forehead.
The experience made Veldan's head jerk back, motionless until the light in his eyes ebbed. He blinked for a moment, then looked back down at the vial. "Ah... this tonic closes grievous wounds. Quite powerful! This is pricey to create."
He remarked, picking up the vial and examining the contents before setting it aside to repeat the ritual for the ring.
"Interesting!" He exclaimed after passing the pearl to his forehead the second time. "This ring activate when the wearer is submerged in water, offering great alacrity!"
"Quite the ability you have there, Veldan. I suppose we could pocket an item or two before we return the rest of the hoard to the town guard. I think that potion and ring might come in handy." Shaw says to Veldan. "What do you all think?" Shaw states turning around and facing the rest of the group.
Razz, finished with his harvest of Highness's corpse, catches up with the party just as Shaw asks his question.
He gives an indifferent shrug, "They payin' us either way, no? It doesn't really matter to me."
Krenak watched the magical abilities of the two elvish men with some curiosity. While he had seen magic before, in battle and out, his inability to use it always sparked a small bit of envy. "Tell me, how does your magic function?" he asked Veldan as they started to discuss divvying up the various treasures they had found.
"How does it function?" Veldan repeated, blinking blankly at Krenak for a few awkward seconds before donning a smile and hopping back up onto his feet. "I am going to pretend that you're inquiring about the identification spell specifically, because otherwise we could be here for decades." He gave a light laugh, slipping the magical goods into the inside pocket of his robes.
"In that case, it's quite easy. It's simply a matter of drawing a divinic reverse-construction glyph that can decode the arcane energy embedded into a given item. Once the glyph is constructed, then the item is put into a temporary state of what arcanists call essence seeping. Typically, seeping arcane essence merely dissolves back into the ether, but the glyph captures the essence and directs it into a focus. In this case," Veldan brandishes a gleaming pearly. "An iridescent pearl! This, for a lack of better term, softens the raw essence into a state that a humanoid mind can comprehend, and voila! Instant knowledge." The wizard ends with a verbal flourish, tucking the pearl away with a big smile up at Krenak.
"Did that answer your question?"
Krenak stared at the man blankly for a moment before blinking rapidly. "Um...yes, yes it did," he said. "As well as bringing in several more questions. For instance, what is a deevanic re-thingy glaff?" While he tried to not show it, poorly, Krenak was utterly lost with that explanation. But, he was always willing to learn. And who knows, maybe he might learn to use magic himself!
"Avandra? The... Changebringer?" Erxuk croaks in draconic at Krenak. "I've never heard of any Changebringer... You serve this Changebringer? Is she your Highness? Is Changebringer chief in Emon?" He mutters a few thoughts under his breath, but ultimately shakes his head.
"No time for that, now, you must get above ground back to your chiefs. Let me help you find your way. If it is dark, I will surface with you; the sun is not very good for my eyes," Erxuk says in draconic. He turns to a younger-looking kobold that has been following him rather closely. "Okreb, you're my apprentice, so you are in charge until I return... If I return. If not, lead our people out of here and find a new place to live."
"Are you sure we can trust the people above enough to try and make peace, teacher?"
"I think we must try. Too many have suffered under Skreeva and Highness... Hopefully the Emon chiefs will treat us as allies. But in case they do not, make sure you are ready to leave at a moment's notice. Rearm the traps when we go. If they accept us, I will tell you to disarm them. Understood?"
"Yes, teacher."
Erxuk picks up Skreeva's metal quarterstaff and turns his eyes toward all of you. "Whatever happens, I consider you all honorary members of the Emberswipe Tribe," He says in draconic with a smile, then switches to common. "Yous kobold-friends fors ever. Now... Yous ready? Wes goes. Follows Erxuk, yes?"
The inventor leads you back through the tunnels up into the sewer chamber where you fought the lizards. He seems to pay no heed to their fly-covered corpses. Following the old blood trail, you all find your way back to the manhole you went down but a few hours ago. Erxuk indicates for you to go first. You all clamber up the rickety hand grips and emerge from the sewers and find yourselves in the city of Emon. It appears that the storm has let up; the cloud layer has broken in spots revealing some stars peaking through the faint blue of an evening sky. You pull yourselves up on the slick cobblestones and breathe deep the much fresher air with joy. Looking around reveals that someone has cleaned up Irven's body, but Sergeant Talley, the mousy half-elf woman, and Officer Maravall, the forty-something year old human male with a patchy beard, are still present. As you exit the sewers they perk up and begin helping you all out.
"You're alive! It's been so longed, we feared the worst!" Talley says, pausing for a moment to cover her nose.
"Up you get, elf, come on," Maravall says, helping Veldan out. "So, did you catch our- ... what in the gods' names is that?!"
You turn to see Maravall gaping at Highness' head hanging from Razz's back. Talley gasps. "Is this... ah!" She exclaims as Erxuk hops out of the sewer with his staff stowed and his hands up.
"No hurts, big mans. Erxuk friends with big mans!" The little kobold says while pointing at all of you. Maravall puts a hand on his sword, but Talley restrains him.
"Explain yourselves. What the hell is going on?"
"We did our job." While saying that, Razz drops the Highness's head at their feet, before stepping up right in front of them and sayin, "Your welcome."
"Sergeant. Officer." Veldan cleared his throat as he did his best to fix his robes and hair on the spot. "My apologies for our blunt associate." He shot a look at Razz with pursed lips, then beamed a smile at the guards.
"The situation was a bit more complex than the job initially posited. This is Erxuk." He motioned to the kobold. "He is the leader of a kobold tribe that resides below Emon. Apparently they have been living down there, peacefully, for quite some time. That is, until, this thing showed up." Veldan scoffed at Highness' head. "It was forcing these kobolds to gather it a hoard under threat of death."
"Yes, this is Highness, unholy spawn of the foul Thordak," Krenak growled out. Shaking his head, he looked at the two guards and said, "My new friend Erxuk here would like to make an alliance with the city of Emon, to hopefully prevent something like this from happening once again."
Tal tried to smooth things over, "Erxuk here was instrumental in stopping this threat. He lost many of his people defying this wyrmling. Many more would have been lost had he not stepped up and worked with us end her tyranny. Way more than just noble's lives were at stake here, how long before that wyrm would have lived up to her father's name and destoyed Emon?!" There was more to the tale of course but Veldan, Krenek and Razz seemed to have it handled for the most part.
Officer Maravall and Sergeant Talley look stunned. "A... spawn of Thordak?"
"Oh, gods... and you all killed it? With this kobold's help?"
"Withs all kobolds' helps!" Erxuk says with great assurance. The two guards look to each other. Maravall scoffs and shrugs. Talley nods.
"This... This needs to be reported to the Council right away. If there are more of these things... all of Emon is in danger. We cannot let anyone see that beast's head though, it will only cause panic. Could you cover it up with something, sir goliath?" The sergeant asks. "Oh, also..."
She pulls out a small, thin piece of wood and begins waving it over all of you and muttering arcane incantations. A sparkling energy cleans you from head to toe and leaves you smelling of fresh linens. Erxuk very reluctantly accepts the same treatment.
"Sorry, I just really did not want you to smell like an otyugh nest anymore..." Talley says as she puts the wand away. "Adventurers... Erxuk... come with us. We need to report this to the precinct commander. I suggest you keep your kobold friend close."
Erxuk comes over to Krenak and stays close to his fellow draconic humanoid, grabbing onto part of the zealot's armor like a child. Even though the sun has just about set, as soon as he steps out of the darkened alley onto the street in front of the Dying Drake, the kobold winces and tries to use his hand to shade his eyes from the light. As you pass the tavern, a familiar face steps off of the porch.
"Sir Veldan! You've returned!" says a wood elf man in green Syngornian garb with a slightly dubious look on his face. It is Adran, Veldan's retainer. "I'll admit, I was a little worried about you heading into that sewer, but now that you're back I want to tell you how foolish it was for you to risk your life and overall scent by journeying into that filth-hole... Wait, where are you going? Oh, for the love of the Moonweaver, wait for me!"
It's only a few blocks to the Azalea Street Arms Precinct. Walking around with a kobold gets you some strange looks from the populace, but no one accosts you. After a few minutes you arrive at a two-story stone and timber structure with the symbol of the Arms of Emon emblazoned above the door. Two guards stand outside of it and they nod to Maravall and Talley as they enter. Within it is not very busy; a few guards mill about, chat, and work. Some functionaries scribe scrolls, take orders from officers, and so on. Sergeant Talley flags one down, a young human male no older than sixteen, and requests an urgent meeting with "Commander Broodfist." The boy looks confused, but takes you upstairs to ten foot wide hallway and a door at the end of it that bears the title "Precinct Commander Werydd Broodfist." The functionary knocks on the door and a gruff female voice hollers back.
"Come in!"
The functionary holds open the door for all of you. The office is rather spacious. The taller people in the group have to duck slightly to get through the door. The ceilings are tall and the office is adorned with metalwork, ceremonial weapons, and utilitarian art, all of dwarvish make. A ten foot-long red carpet with symmetric designs leads to a wooden desk. A dwarf woman with intricately braided brown hair, round features, and a scar running down her left eye, leaving it discolored, looks up with surprise at the crowd that has made their way into her office.
"What? Sergeant, who the hell are all these people and what are they doing in my office?" Commander Broodfist says, rising from her chair and setting down her work.
"Commander, forgive my interruption, but these are the mercenaries we hired to investigate the killings from the sewers and... well, the case has taken a surprising turn," Talley says, looking to Razz and nodding. "Show her."
"Show me what? What the hell is with all this cryptic shite?"
Krenak couldn't help but smile as the small kibold got a grip on his priest's tunic. "Come now, little one, it shall be just fine," he said quietly as they made their way to the guard station. "Just keep close and nobody shall bother us."
As they ascended up the building to the commander's office, Krenak went over what he should say. "May the Changebringer grant you her favor, milady," Krenak said with a courtly bow. "My name is Krenak Brightscales, priest of Avandra. My compatriots and I were hired by your guards here to investigate the strange murders and came across a situation most foul. It appears that an unholy spawn of that most evil of red dragons Thordak-" he all but spit out the name, "-had survived her sire's passing and had browbeatened a peaceful tribe of kobolds into gathering a dragon's hoard. We were able to put a stop to her vile plans with the assistance of this wonderful kobold and his friends."
Razz complied with the guards, covering the head in some cloth. He walked, both uncaring and unbothered by the heads weight, but found some annoyance at having to squeeze through the small door in the building the guards led them to.
As Krenak addressed Broodfist, Razz inveiled the head before placing it on the floor in front of her.
"Cryptic shite indeed, Commander." Veldan affirmed knowingly, then crossed an arm over his chest and bowed. "Veldan, Knight-Errant of Syngorne." Introducing quickly, he continued. "These mercenaries and I had quite a time with it as well. If I had to guess, I'd say it was born mad."
From the fresh dragon head being presented to her, to the little kobold waving at her, to the group of complete strangers giving her all of this information at once, Broodfist looks quite shocked.
"Talley, when the hell did this all come up?"
"They quite literally emerged from the sewers moments ago, ma'am. We came from the crime scene directly."
Broodfist stares at Highness' head for a few seconds, steeples her hands, brings them up to her lips, and slowly takes a seat. "So you all killed this... spawn of the Cinderking? And this," she gestures to Erxuk, "creature helped you?"
"Yes, I Erxuk. Erxuk helps beats Highness. You Ee-mon chief? Must speaks to Ee-mon chief," Erxuk says, stepping forward slightly.
"Not too close, there, little friend," Broodfist barks. Erxuk stops dead in his tracks.
"Pip... squeak? No, I Erxuk. ERK-zook."
Broodfist scoffs in amusement and shakes her head. "A miniature Cinderking ruling over a hidden kobold tribe..." She mutters, chuckling. "Talley, Maravall, you're dismissed, return to your duties."
Sergeant Talley and Officer Maravall shoot looks at each other. "Ma'am?"
"You heard me. Dismissed. Go file your reports and I'll read them later. I'll take care of our friends, here. And don't breathe a word of this to anyone else." The two guards look to each other, then all of you, nod, and exit the room. Broodfist clears her throat and rises before walking around to the front of her desk before all of you.
"Gentlemen, I think we got off on the wrong foot there. I'm Precinct Commander Werryd Broodfist, former Kraghammer Carver and current officer of the peace here in Emon," the dwarf has adopted a much more pleasant tone and takes the time to shake each of your hands despite the fact that some of you did not offer; she even shakes Erxuk's tiny claw, an exchange that leaves the kobold with a strange look on his face. "And may I say, it is an honor to host such esteemed company as a Knight-Errant of Syngorn, a priest of the Changebringer, and other such... Esteemed guests! On behalf of the city of Emon, I would like to thank you for the service you have done to our city. Not only for killing this monster whose head now adorns my floor, but for also discovering some... previously unknown neighbors!
"I will see that you are paid your 100 gold pieces upon return of the property stolen by the dragon, which I assume you collected, and promise when I make my report to the Council regarding this situation that I will give you all due mention. Of course, it is late and your little friend will have to stay with us before he can testify before the Council... or should I say 'Emon chiefs,' for it is too late to convene the Council. Rest assured that he will appear before the Council to speak his piece tomorrow; I assume when I notify them about this they will put the matter high on their agenda.
"Again, you have my thanks for your assistance in slaying this foul creature. The city will sing our praises once they hear about this!"
Erxuk looks up at Krenak with a puzzled expression. "Why did she touch me and what is she saying?" He asks in draconic, wiping his hand on his hole-ridden brown shirt.