Delvindra shoots a scowl at Milly. And Tieflings are assumed to be on good terms with fiends...she thinks to herself...although, in my case I suppose it's true.

"HELLO THERE," she calls out with a wave, "no need to hide, we come as friends!"

"Indeed!" adds Duwamilly "You have nothing to fear! Do you want to hear the joke about Yappa the kobold dragon-sitter?"

And if the kobolds accept...

One of the kobolds cautiously pokes its head over the rock to look at Delvindra and Milly... it blinks a few times, apparently not quite sure what to make of Milly's joke. Eventually, it gives up.

"Who are you that come to Glethegar's land with magic?" the kobold asks at last.

"I'm Delvindra Laylee, follower of Ilmater, and this is Duwamilly, a teacher and Cleric of Garl Glittergold."

"...and I'm afraid we're a little lost, Glethegar, maybe you can help us?"

Duwamilly doesn't understand whether Delvindra called the kobold by the dragon's name on purpose or whether she was simply wrong... and, if she did it on purpose, what her plan is... but she still awaits the kobold's response, to decide how to act.

The kobold just looks... very confused and wary of the strangers.

"No... no, I would never claim to be the great Gletheglar! I am Sulba, a mere humble servant of Gletheglar!"

It pauses.

"Strangers... how did you become lost and where did you wish to go?"

(Someone can roll me a Deception check if you wish to convince the little guy that you aren't here to rob the dragon)

Realizing the cute but quite naïve Tiefling will not be able to tell convincing lies, Yasmina steps forward to explain things to Sulba. "We are great admirers of your master Glethegar, we understand he won't have time to give us and audience but since we have pilgrimaged here from far away we would hope to bring something back, nothing much, perhaps simply a white scale?" She says as she kneels slightly to come close the kobold, smiling a heartmelting smile. "I would be so grateful if you helped me with this Sulba."

Deception: 25 Another roll if help is provided: 11 + Guidance if that is provided: 2

[[ OOC: Yes, Yasmina has Guidance, Duwamilly had cast it on her earlier, imagining she would use it when speaking to the guards at the Stronghold ]]

"Indeed Sulba! Yasmina, here," the ex-preceptor nods to the helf-elf with reverence "is the adopted daughter of the great Firion, the Exalted of the Dragon! No one is a more fanatical dragon lover than her and her father! She is promoting the cult of dragons, so that these majestic creatures finally have the recognition they deserve - for this reason she would like to be able to display a scale of your lord Glethegar on the altar of the Dragon Cathedral, so that even white dragons are venerated not less than all the others. And what white dragon could be more worthy of veneration than the great Glethegar? Just help her with her small request and the fame of your master and you, his faithful servants, will expand without limits!"

[[ OOC: Hoping to have given Help ]]

(Okay... I'm not even going to bother rolling an Insight check for the kobolds, Yasmina's roll with Help + Guidance was enough to successfully bamboozle them into believing the word salads are absolute truth)

"Fir... uh... who?" Sulba asks, scratching his head in absolute confusion. "A scale for... what...?"

He seems utterly lost about what to do... until one of the other kobolds pokes its head up over the rock.

"What they want to do sounds like honor to Glethegar... but only the best of our warriors are given a scale from the great and mighty dragon... Maybe we should have them go through the Trial of the Warriors to prove they are worthy?"

Sulba perks up immediately at the suggestion.

"Yes, that would make much sense!" Sulba exclaims. "That would prove you are worthy enough to take a scale from the great and mighty Glethegar! Come, follow us into the tunnels... we can have the Trial prepared for tonight!"

"Now we are talking, friends!" Duwamilly smiles "Would you like some nice warm coffee to celebrate?" she offers coffee to kobolds from her Bottle of Boundless Coffee, to further convince them of her good intentions.

Whether they accept the coffee or not, the ex-Preceptor still inquires: "What does the Trial of the Warriors consist of, anyway?"

"Well, so much for playing dumb and innocent. Hopefully Glethegar isn't the paranoid type," Delvindra thinks to herself despite being impressed by her companions' silver tongues and quick thinking.

"Ah, you are too kind Sulba..." The red-haired Half-Elf says with a warm smile. "...but we wouldn't want to disturb great Glethegar with this. Are you saying you have a white scale then that we could have if we prove ourselves worthy of it?" She asks, then with some hesitation ready to follow the Kobolds into thier tunnels.

Zander considers whether to jump into the conversation and offer to be the warrior, but holds of for now. He is not familiar enough with this group and their powerful artifacts. There are some here that may be much stronger. In Zanders mind, Snicker urges (eggs) him on to throw caution to the wind and step up. He maintains control for the moment and will watch, but be ready. 

"Yes! Our shaman will gift you a scale from the great and mighty Glethegar if you complete the trial... the Elders will need to prepare the trial for you, I do not know for sure what task they might have in mind, but... you probably need to fight something big and mean to prove yourselves..." Sulba says.

[[ OOC: Do they accept Duwamilly's warm coffe? Not that matters very much, but I'm curious ]]

"Lead the way!" Duwamilly smiles enthusiastically "The daughter of the Exalted of the Dragon will not be scared! Our dragon fanatics are the best warriors you can think of!" she waves her small hand in Cal and Zander's direction "We will earn our prize and bring glory to Glethegar!"

Didi grimaces as Duwamilly blithely places their companions in harm's way.

If anything happens to them, she thinks...but manages to stop herself before completing the thought.

"How exciting, a trial, let us go and see your Elders then Sulba." Yasmina says with a warm smile, ready to follow the kobolds although she is wary as she does, the invisible Al-Asfeh staying vigilant on the Half-Elf's shoulder.

Insight to sense trickery: 18
Perception to notice threats with help from Al-Asfeh: 20

Quote from Oberon99 >>

"How exciting, a trial, let us go and see your Elders then Sulba." Yasmina says with a warm smile, ready to follow the kobolds although she is wary as she does, the invisible Al-Asfeh staying vigilant on the Half-Elf's shoulder.

Insight to sense trickery: 11
Perception to notice threats with help from Al-Asfeh: 18

You immediately get the impression that Sulba isn't clever enough to pull off any kind of deception. Nothing immediately jumps out as being particularly threatening as you descend into the claustrophobic tunnels with the pack of kobolds.

For those of you who are not named Duwamilly, it's a bit of a struggle to navigate the kobold-sized tunnels. Cal and Zander especially are forced to crawl a few times. But eventually, you reach the entrance to the kobolds' city:



The pillars that support the cavern look like they are from a bygone era, part of some ancient structure that has been repurposed by the servants of Glethegar.

"I'm glad to be out of those tight spaces. No room to swing your arms or anything." Zander says, brushing off the dust from his hands and clothes. 

"Hard to get in means even harder to get out," Delvindra whispers to Zander nervously while keeping an eye out for alternate escape routes.