Legacy of the Patriarchs: the Koblod Den
This is the second map for my Legacy of the Patriarchs campaign. See The City of Jimos and Kobold Den for more information. The map comes from Dyson Logos the compass is from Deven Rue
Party:
Aliedar: Elf (demon blooded) Rogue
Edain: Human Bard
Odrum: Beastfolk (Rhino) Fighter
Terramor: Human Cleric
Vall: Elf Ranger
Zodian: Elf (demon blooded) Warlock
Setting out early in the morning, the party headed for where the map indicated the cave on the southern end of the plateau. After searching around they found a concealed door that was stone on the outside and iron on the inside. The door was a smaller door set into two larger doors about 20 feet wide and 30 feet tall. The doors led to a large cave that contained two statues matching those from the basement of the tower, a four armed draconic figure.
A strong musky smell filled the cave. Vall recognized this as the scent of troglodytes. Aliedar and Vall scouted ahead and discovered troglodyte guards in the next two chambers. Both guards were dispatched stealthily, but Vall tripped over one of the bodies as they continued deeper. The party heard a door open and close, and footprints heading down a different tunnel in the den. Draconic voices from a room further in began talking about intruders.
Aliedar, and Vall continued down the tunnel they were in. Terramor tried to keep up but was not nearly as stealthy. Edain, Odrum and Zodian went down the other tunnel. Zodian stopped to ransack the chief’s room, finding two jars of salve. Aliedar’s group met resistance from Troglodytes and kobolds that had two heads and thicker scales. Edain’s group came down the other side and the party met in the middle room, the communal sleeping chamber. After dealing with the troglodyte leader and the transformed kobolds, the group headed down a tunnel on the map that was a dead end.
The first chamber in the tunnel had a carving of a stone door. Above the carving draconic runes spelled out boja (past). The tunnel leading deeper was labeled papref (future). Deeper in the party encountered three kobold guards wearing leather armor and carrying metal spears. They were flanked by a pair of large toad like creatures known as slurks.
Since these kobolds looked normal, Edain approached the group to speak with them. After a tense moment they revealed that they were the guards of the hatchery. The troglodytes had left them alone so far for fear of dealing with them and the slurks. After almost two weeks, the guardians were out of food and very hungry. The party fed them and rested to heal up.
While they rested the party asked the guards about places on the map and who else might be alive. The guards mentioned a kobold named Theten. He was the father of Theket, and had created the healing salve that Zodian found in the chief’s room. Theten was something of a priest or shaman figure among the tribe. He lived in the shrine room. The guards also pointed out a room above their chamber. They said that screams came from this room.
After their rest, Aliedar and Vall scouted ahead to check the scream room. Cracking the door just enough, Aliedar saw a room with a purple glowing pool. In the room were troglodyte shamans and their guards. Kobold slaves were chained to one wall. Aliedar hadn’t seen the beginning of the process, but a kobold was writhing on the floor. It’s head slowly split in two and it’s scales thickened. When the transformed kobold stood it looked at the shaman like a dog looks at it’s master.
The group tried to enter the room using stealth, but were noticed by the troglodytes therein. Two shamans and a guard were aided by four transformed kobolds. After a hard fight, the party captured one of the shamans along with a transformed kobold, and freed the kobold prisoners in this room and the next.
The group asked the shaman to change the transformed kobold back. The shaman laughed and said that he already had. After more questioning he revealed that they were working for ‘father,’ but did not give any more information. When he saw an opening, the shaman scooted to the edge of the pool and dove in. He writhed for a few seconds, and then went still. His body showed subtle signs of transformation, but he was already dead.
The pool was originally the water source for the kobold den, fed by a spring flowing in through a small pipe that was currently blocked. The party reopened the drain at the bottom of the pool, allowing the purple liquid to drain away before refilling the pool with fresh water.
The freed kobolds referred to the transformed kobold as a tisvelk iejir. Odrum led the freed kobolds to the hatchery where they could wait with the guards until the den was clear. Returning to the transformation room, Odrum managed to lead the transformed kobold like a dog. When he reached the hatchery the slurks pounced on the tisvelk iejir and devoured him while the kobolds watched, apparently content with this end. Upset over the failed attempt to save the transformed kobold, Odrum vowed to try again if the group found any others.
Aliedar listened at the next door and heard what sounded like more transformed kobolds. They threw open the door and Zodian released a gout of flame, killing one of the kobolds instantly. Odrum intimidated the other kobold which shrank back. Odrum then turned to the group to warn them that he would hit anyone who tried to kill the cowering creature. With Odrum’s back turned, the kobold tried to attack. Zodian shot the kobold, and Odrum hit Zodian with his warhammer.
As the group reacted to what had just happened, more enemies came from an adjacent room. Odrum was attacked from behind and hit the ground. During the course of the fight, Terramor went unconscious and fell into the pool. The group managed to drag him out before he drowned. The group rested, ignoring the tension between members for the moment, and prepared to check more rooms.
Aliedar scouted ahead, eventually finding the room where the kobolds tossed their trash. A carrion crawler attacked him from hiding, paralyzing him. Terramor barely managed to notice what had happened, and the group turned toward the new threat. Aliedar and Terramor were both paralyzed during the fight. Ordum tried to find a way around to attack the carrion crawler from behind. He rushed into another room, and came face to face with five troglodytes who were coming to check on the commotion. Before anyone could help him, Odrum breathed his last. With the carrion crawler on one side, and the troglodytes on another, the group fled to the surface.
After resting for the night, the group returned to the den. They were surprised to find the kobolds going about the place and cleaning up. They said that the carrion crawler had killed the last group of troglodytes, and they had managed to lock it in the same room where they had been held captive. The group tried to draw the large insect out so that they could kill it, but their efforts caused it to flee deeper into the cavern.
The group found Odrum’s body in the shrine room. Out of respect for the ones helping them, the kobolds had cleaned him up and prepared the body for a funeral. With the den clear of troglodytes, the group spoke with the kobolds about what they referred to as the shiny chamber. A rust monster and folugub that had taken up residence were quickly dispatched. To their surprise, the shiny chamber not only contained loose treasure, but a vein of mithral in the stone walls.
The group worked out a deal with the kobolds. In exchange for the chance to mine the mithral, they would provide fresh game and other supplies for the den.
The next day was a somber affair as the group prepared for Odrum’s funeral. Those friends he had around the city were present, as well as the kobold tribe. The city constructed a funeral pyre on the southern tip of the plateau. In the course of events the group was introduced to several individuals who had been friends and acquaintances of Odrum’s: Jesper, a dwarven stone mason with a small crew, Zurúk, an orc chief of one of the nearby tribes, and Desmond, a leader of the militia.
Over the course of the next week the group hired Jesper and his group to begin mining the mithral, and hired a few locals to act as guards. (The party advanced to level 3)
Rumors began to spread around the city about mithral deposits in the plateau. Locals began talking about the possibility of exploring other caverns to search for more deposits. At the same time rumors reached the group about an increase in tisvelk iejir activity in the surrounding valleys. There were also rumors coming up from the valley of glass that the miners had dug deep enough to see large shadows encased behind the glass.
About the Author:
Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, corgi, and three cats.
You can keep in touch with him on Facebook and Twitter. Find more on his podcast A Side of Mayo. If you enjoyed reading this consider buying him a coffee or supporting him on Patreon.
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