From behind the wagon, Kanon peeks around to the ensuing battle. He can barely see the little assailant that Petti and Zeratto have engaged, but he thinks he can mimic the spell the elf-a-taur had used on him before and cause the creature, and perhaps one of its allies, to light up for them. He calls out the arcane words for faerie fire, and is a bit surprised when the battlefield begins to sparkle. (Dex save DC 13)

"Get them, Petti!" He yells out from his cover, "FOR GAIA!!" (Bardic inspiration to Petti)

Portia was thinking of attacking one of the kobolds with magic, but seeing how Pettilaen and Zeratto were in the thick of things, she changed her mind. She prayed quickly and cast Bless. It encompassed the two in melee range for sure, but she also tried to apply it to Zina due to being able to put it on three people. Zina had some good attack magic if she could hit.

(Letting the DM determine if Zina can be tagged in the 30' range along with the other two.)

Caught in the open and unable to perform their typical "strike, move to cover, hide" tactic, the trailing kobold chirps a few words in squeaky Draconic and pulls his short sword. His allies leap from their hiding places and rush to his side, enclosing Pettilaen in a triangle of deadly flashing blades. They strike with frightening precision and coordination, distracting Pettilaen's attention with one strike, then surprising him with the next. 

Pulling a trick he learned from a grizzled Paladin who barely survived a venture underneath Citadel Adbar, he shouts an arcane word and wards himself from the attacks, barely warding the vicious thrusts.

(META: Composite 19, 19, and 20 on attacks, all which miss due to Pettilaen's Shield spell)

There's a smack sound as Orst's heavy crossbow looses from behind the cart. It strikes Pettilaen's Shield, preventing a direct hit to his face.

"Whoops," Orst mutters in Dwarven.

Zeratto rears back his blade, and brings it down on the creature with no mercy, slicing it brutally.

(Meta: 17 to hit, 11 damage)

Seeing the rogue's surround him, a slight smile crept onto Pettilaen's face. He had been hoping they'd pull a stunt like this, and he was wanting some serious revenge for killing Gaia. It'd be hard for him to pick a new ow... Focus. First kill them, then think of names for the new owl. Following up Shield, Pettilaen uttered a new incantation, and as his rapier was bathed in green fire, he struck at the kobold rogue which was injured, but not nearly dead, plunging it into its chest and causing green fire to leap towards the pekid kobold rogue. Perfect. "Zina!" he called out. "Finish it off with your lightning!"

OOC: 19 to-hit. 15 total damage to the first, and 3 damage to the second.

Now that the battlefield is lit up, Kanon rushes out from behind cover with his rapier yelling, "Take them down, Portia! Let them feel the might of the Morninglord!" He positions himself next to one of the ugly kobolds, preparing to strike. (Bardic inspiration for Portia and move and dash)

The beam of crackling, blue light intensified, and the Kobold Zina had cast witch bolt on fell. The gnome smiled triumphantly, taking a moment to enjoy her mini victory. "Who's next?"

Portia tries tossing a guiding bolt at the least damaged kobold she can see as they clump up around Pettilaen and even with bardic inspiration it misses. Annoyed by this she moves into melee range coming up on the south side of the kobolds helping to box them in with the other three now in melee range. If they are not dead by the time she gets there to swing, maybe she can get some retribution for the missed spell. At least, some of the party had her bless still working to help them attack.

Despite losing a compatriot, the kobold rogues circle Pettilaen for the kill. One of them stabs at his gut, which he easily dodges, but the other takes the opportunity to bring a deadly overhead chop down on his... shield. The little creature squeaks in frustration as Pettilaen speaks another enchantment to thwart his strike.

Zina, on the other hand, while celebrating her victory, is unaware of a fourth creature that sneaks up beside her, loosens the straps of her pack, and removes her treasured tome. He might have made a clean getaway if he hadn't gotten so excited over successfully stealing the tome that he tripped on a bramble as he tried to rush away. He fell and the prize tumbled from his grasp... Oddly, she still doesn't actually see the creature, though she knows he's there.

(META: Composite 19 and 7 on attacks, of which the 19 misses due to Pettilaen's Shield spell)

(META: Composite 16 to pick Zina's pack, then natural 1 to escape)

Orst fires again, sailing a heavy quarrel well high.

"It's an improvement!" He bellows.

(META: Composite 8 to hit)

A cry of triump comes from Zeratto as he stabs the little monster and lays it low. He quickly scans for the next target.

(Meta: 13 to hit, 6 damage)

Seeing Zeratto fell the second kobold, Pettilaen quickly shifts his focus on the remaining kobold, causing green fire to dance along the rapier as he plunged it into the final kobold. Uncertain just how dead the kobold Zeratto fell was, he caused the fire to leap onto it as well.

OOC: 14 to hit, 11 damage on the third kobold by us.

"Bad, bad, bad," Zina panicked aloud, casting one of her more powerful spells. She didn't know exactly where the thief was, so she summoned a flaming sphere, larger than she was, beside her. The sphere moved toward where she hoped they were, and she was pleased to hear the yelp of a kobold. "They have it! They have the book! Near the ball of fire!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

((OOC: Natural 2 on the dex save, 10 damage))

With everyone surrounding one Kobold, Kanon hears Zina call out for help. The book!! He turns just in time to see her roll a flaming ball of fire towards something. On instinct, he mimics the spell that he had seen Petti use on Zina in the past, focusing all of his energy on it. (Sleep Lvl 2 - 24 HP)

He then calls out to Zina, "I've put it to sleep; I think! Guard that book with your life!!" (Bardic Inspiration on Zina)

Portia had been moving quickly to the mass of melee and she readies her swing as she notices the bright ball of light, Zina's screaming about the book, and Kanon turning to throw a sleep that way. Not entirely stopped and ready to strike she swings to hit the remaining kobold beating on Pettilaen's shield as if breaking it would reveal a delicious treat. Her swing goes wide as she dances into the melee and decidedly in defensive mode move right out of it again heading toward where the fireball had rolled.

(Meta - rolled a whopping 9 total to hit)

The rogue surrounded by Pettilaen, Kanon, and Zeratto panics and breaks into a run, but momentarily forgets to defend himself. Zeratto and Pettilaen strike him when he tries to escape, felling him before he can get away.

The creature near Zina yips as the flaming sphere burns him, but oddly makes no apparent attempt to retrieve the tome.

(META:  15 combined damage from Pettilaen and Zeratto)

(META: 7 damage to kobold by the flaming sphere)

Zeratto's eyes narrow as he stalks the last kobold, bounding for the spot he suspects the creature to occupy, and swings his longsword in a wide arc, feeling the sensation of a sword hitting meat and bone.

(Meta: Reckless attack, 16 to hit, and 8 damage)

Pettilaen wasn't about to let any of the kobolds get away. Hearing Zina cry out about the tome, he made a quick thrust, his rapier piercing through the kobolds neck from the back and out the other side, as the body went limp. Moving as quickly across the battlefield as he could, he heard Zeratto's cry and the distinct sound of crunching bones. Figuring the kobold was in that spot, he prepares a spell that would punish the kobold if it tried to run, and slashed out with his rapier. The rapier seemed to find its lucky mark, as it slit the kobolds throat, and reappeared before him from whatever form of concealment it used, slumping lifeless to the ground before him. The heat was extreme, and Pettilaen was still pissed off, so he yelled at Zina as he pulled away from the vicinity of the flaming sphere. "Turn that farjiin fireball off! Your tome is fine!"

"D'arvit," he muttered to himself. "I wanted to keep one of them alive for questioning..." He was pissed that Gaia was gone, but at least her efforts of warning weren't in vain. As the flaming sphere receded into nothingness, he reapproached the kobold's corpse, looking for answers for why they targeted them, and how they knew exactly where the tome was.

Searching through the kobold's body, he finds a few silver coins, and some empty potion vials. Looking at Zina, he's about to ask, but then shakes his head, and turns to Kanon, asking, "See if there's any magical residue from the bottles. I have a hunch they're what made the kobold so well hidden."

OOC: Investigation of 18.

The others rush to Zina's position and dispatch the (hopefully) last kobold. Kanon sighs, relieved he didn't have to stab anything. Looking over the three corpses in front of him, he grabs up the best looking hand crossbow and a handful of bolts. It's at about this time that Pettilaen calls for him.  

Kanon rushes over, hand crossbow in hand and rapier in its sheath. "Ummm... sure.  I'll just..." He picks up one of the empty bottles and examines it, tasting whatever liquid remains.

"Both look empty, but this one has something in it," he says as he hands the bottle over to Pettilaen. "Tastes kinda funny though."