Rurik's Mission I
Death to Xextic
I entered the meeting hall of Lord Lucasson expecting to find a gathering of powerful warriors, but was shocked to find such a motley group of individuals. Compared to the powerful, disciplined armies I was used to this group appeared disorganized and in a word, pathetic. In fact, the closest thing to a fighter in the group was a rather brutish looking half-orc and a rich boy, probably some minor noble’s son, dressed in plate armor. No one else had decent armor or weapons, and they didn’t even look like they could carry such armor and weapons if I were to provide them. Lord Luccason made his introductions, and told us that we were now a special unit to be used to bring prosperity back to his lands. We had the rest of the night to get acquainted. Then, in the morning we would meet with Captain Drellis to receive our first orders.
I took this opportunity to reassess this group to figure out who I might be able to trust in a fight and who I would probably be dragging back to town for burial. The rich-boy was actually a little more interesting than my first impression led me to believe. Solomon was a paladin of one of the human gods. I never could keep their deities straight. He seemed solid enough and healing ability of any kind is always welcome. Fenulla, an elf, had a much wilder look. She was obviously one of those nature worshipers. I didn’t know much about them, and still don’t. Their kind doesn’t often travel to the depths of the dwarven mines. Despite my lack of specific knowledge, I did know that they are also rumored to be able to use healing magic. The half-orc, Korthian, was a bit of an enigma. While I had rarely seen an orc, all dwarves study orcish battle tactics and train to counteract them. I almost questioned my training because Korthian did not fit any of the stereotypes I had learned. First, he carried a longsword instead of the typical crude and devastating weapons favored by orcs. Second, he seemed to have an unnatural interest in the elves of the group. He was constantly pestering Fenulla and Arcadius, asking them about their culture and religion of all things. He was very bizarre. Arcadius was almost as surprising as Korthian. He appeared to be a typical elven mage. He was dressed in robes and had an air of book learning about him. The surprising part, however, wasn’t his appearance, but his interest in Korthian and his ability to discuss religious topics. Though it was obvious that Korthian did not follow his recitations, Arcadius was more than happy to spout his immense knowledge of Corellon. I knew that some elves take their religion very seriously, but mages typically forsake such pursuits because it cuts into their arcane studies. This group was making me reassess all of my preconceptions. There was a human named Seamus who also appeared to be a mage. He also had a surprise for us as he brought out his musical instrument and played a couple of cheerful tunes. While the instrument was very different from the pipes and drums I was used to, I was able to tell that his performance was mediocre at best, at least by dwarven standards. Yet another human, Rigel, was another unusual person. I really couldn’t tell where his specialty might lie. He didn’t appear to be a powerful fighter, but he didn’t seem interested in joining the religious conversations, either. Nor did he try to visit with the mages to discuss arcane knowledge. There was something about his eyes, however, that reminded me of an elite troop of dwarves. These dwarves had the ability to use the power of their mind to alter reality. This made them especially effective for battles in the deeper mines that were infested with illithids and other dark creatures. I was about to leave my new companions to prepare my weapons and armor for the journey that would begin the next day when I noticed a figure lurking in the shadows. She was wearing light armor with a pair of blades at her hips. The most interesting thing was that she seemed to have the same gruff personality as many dwarves I knew. She didn’t seem to have any desire to mingle with the crowd, and actually glared at anyone who tried to make introductions. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable in these stone rooms and hallways, so I presumed her to be our scout. As she was less than forthcoming with a name, that is what I called her. I have yet to be corrected. I left the room with mixed feelings. My original dismay was quickly fading as it was replaced with confidence that this group would be a force to be reckoned with. I was also curious to see what other surprises this group would spring on me. I dislike surprises unless they are bad, then I hate surprises.
I made my way for the kitchen to get ready for the morning. I asked for a couple of pints of ale and headed for my room. I sharpened my glaive, straightened my armor, and drank my ale. I then settled in for a few hours of rest before our meeting with Captain Drellis. The next morning I donned my armor and with my axe at my side, made my way to the meeting room. Our meeting with Captain Drellis was short and to the point. There was a group of kobolds that was harassing the locals. Normally this would not have been a cause of concern, but the attacks were organized and were causing significant damage. Our job was to take out their leader, a powerful kobold sorcerer named Xextic. By removing their leader, the kobolds would return to their disorganized squalor and could be dealt with by normal militia. We were given the location of the kobold’s camp and access to the armory to stock up on supplies. We were also informed of our reward for success, and that we would be rewarded for any captured weapons and armor we returned to the armory. After collecting some rations and loading up on munitions, we started on the road to adventure.
The road to the camp was not a safe one. First we faced a small group of kobolds. This gave our group a chance to try out our combat abilities, and we excelled. Then, during our first night on the road, a second group of kobolds snuck into our camp. Our watch did not notice them until it was almost too late. In fact, I was startled awake by a short blade piercing my shoulder. I struggled to get up and defend myself. I managed to ready my glaive and take out one or two kobolds before taking a more serious wound. Then, with my last ounce of strength, I split one of the marauders in half. The strain was too much, and I fell unconscious. Fortunately, Arcadius was near by. He was able to use magic to wake me up. I got up and helped finish cleaning up the pack of kobolds. All of us took a great deal of damage during that battle and we had to stop for a while so our healers could repair the damage.
Next, we faced a group of rogues. This was a surprise since we were used to and we were expecting kobolds. They tried to take us by surprise, but try as they might, their stealth and acrobatics were no match for our steel. As we neared the kobold camp, we ran into one more band of kobolds. By now, we were adept at slaying these small bands, so this was no more than a brief pause.
As we approached the camp, we studied the lay of the land and made plans to surprise the kobolds. Our archers (Arcadius, Korthian, Scout, and Fenulla) stayed to the south and prepared burning arrows while the infantry (Solomon, Seamus, Rigel, and I) moved to the north side of the camp. We were to attack as soon as we saw the tents in the camp burning. We waited for several minutes, then saw smoke rising from camp and moved to attack. Solomon and I took out the guards who engaged us to the north. Then we moved around the camp to flank the surviving kobolds from the east. The kobold archers were positioned there, so we systematically moved through their ranks until they were all dead or running. Our task was made more difficult by the sudden appearance of a ball of flame. This ball rolled up and down our ranks causing disorder and preventing a total rout. Despite this hostile magic, we were able to finish off the rest of the guards. I assessed the battle field and found that the kobolds were not the only ones to have taken casualties. Several bodies that were much too big to be kobolds littered the field. I turned to the last place that I could still hear the sounds of battle and could see two of my allies battling one final kobold. I started in their direction to help them out, when I felt a blast of heat on my back. The ball of flame had not been extinguished and it had been able to catch up to me. I could feel my skin blistering, and could smell burnt hair in the air. I struggled to keep my feet, but was overcome by the heat and passed out.
My sleep was dreamless. I awoke to the sight of Fenulla working magic over my charred body. I was still in pain, but my beard was no more than singed, so I was able to continue. Our mages were able to defeat Xextic, and they all struggled to group us together and protect us until we were all awake again. When we were ready, we started the march home. The kobolds were disbanded, and we didn’t see any more of those rogues. Our trip was not uneventful, however. As we neared the town, we were beset by a giant snake. We were able to vanquish the beast without too much trouble. We gutted the snake and found a few pieces of metal that the snake was unable to digest. Aside from the bits of armor and rusty daggers we also found some objects of value. We finally made it back to the town. We sold off the captured weapons and reported our success to Captain Drellis. We were given a few days to rest in order to heal up and prepare for our next mission.