QUEST TO THE KOBOLD CAVES
A Dungeon Adventure
Part One
Six brave souls trekked through the woods, searching for the caves that housed dangerous monsters. Four of them were human: a wizened, old graybeard in robes; two men in metal helms and chainmail shirts—one wore the Holy Sign of the Sun God on his tabard; and a dark-haired woman in bronze armor and a plumed helmet. The final two members were not human: one was a female Halfling, a child-sized humanlike creature in a plain tunic and breeches beneath her travelling cloak; and a golden-haired male Elf, who wore the green leathers that were typical of his forest-dwelling people.
The thick forest smelt of pine, and the chill air warned of the coming winter. The leaves and needles rustled around the wanderers as animals went about their chores, oblivious to them. Squirrels and chipmunks securing nuts for the winter stores, birds paused on their journey to the warmer climes of the south.
Sunthorn the Elf led them through the woods, his keen eyes ever watchful for foes, hiding and ready to pounce upon his distracted travelling group. He did his best to ignore the clumsy humans and the annoying Halfling in his wake, but failed.
The Wizard, a scrawny old man in sun-bleached blue robes and a wispy gray beard, was griping the loudest. "We should be on the other side of the kingdom," he whined, "that's where things are really happening! Ozbaddin the Hobgoblin Warlord is becoming a serious threat over there!"
"I agree with Gray Dan," the woman warrior in the shiny bronze armor announced. "His raiders are giving the King's men a terrible time. That means there are adventures to be had, and rewards as well!"
"Come now, Pamblyn," the Holy Man said as he pulled on his long mustache. "You heard the words of the aging ranger. This mission we're on will be of great benefit to the King's forces!"
"How big a problem can they be?" Padrelle the Halfling asked. "After all, they're only kobolds!"
The Holy Man, Mediphon, replied: "You know perfectly well how great a nuisance kobolds can become. As the ranger said, if the King was forced to send some of his soldiers to deal with them, it would weaken his stance against the hobgoblins."
"It's true! These kobolds don't stand a chance!" exclaimed the male warrior as he drew his sword and held it aloft. "Especially because our team is led by me: Haldraginor Hardhelm, the hero of Haven Hills!"
The Elf rolled his eyes. Mediphon, the Cleric, slapped one hand over his eyes and slowly dragged it down his face.
"Would you shut up about Haven Hills?" Padrelle insisted.
"It was not a dragon!" Gray Dan flatly stated. "The villagers were ignorant farmers! They thought it was a dragon, but they were wrong!"
Haldraginor lowered his sword. "What's your point?"
"The point is that we should be doing something more important than wasting our time on kobolds!" Padrelle remarked. She turned to the Holy Man and pointed an accusing digit. "The only reason we're stuck doing this is because you agreed to the job so quickly!"
Mediphon shrugged in meager defense. "It will be good experience…and he did promise us a chest full of treasure. Surely you cannot be displeased with that?"
His companions grumbled in reluctant agreement as they trudged through the undergrowth.
"Besides, they're only kobolds!" Haldraginor pointed out. "We'll kill them all in no time at all, or my name isn't Haldraginor Hardhelm, the hero of Haven Hills!"
"We don't have to kill them," the Cleric stated.
"That's true," Pamblyn said as she adjusted the helm on her head. "The ranger merely said that we must drive them from the caves. So the King's soldiers need not be divided to deal with them."
The male warrior's chainmail rippled as he shrugged in response. "Very well, we shall evict them in no time at all, or my name isn't Haldraginor Hardhelm, the hero…"
"Oh shut up!" the Halfling barked.
The Elf came to a stop and turned to his companions. "If you're all finished squabbling, I think I've found the cave the ranger told us about." He narrowed his eyes and dryly added, "If you're not finished, I can wait."
The green, tree-covered hillock sported a wide rugged hole like a gaping wound. The gray rocks and dark brown dirt seemed incongruous against the verdant tranquility of the forest. The six heroes approached with caution and peered within. The dark tunnel was wide enough that four of them could walk abreast and it descended into the depths of the earth at a gentle angle.
"So this is it," Pamblyn said as she peered into the tunnel.
"According to the directions the ranger gave us," the Elf explained, "this is it."
Padrelle looked into the dark tunnel, unimpressed. She looked at the faces of her fellows, and saw trepidation. She rubbed her hands together and jumped into the mouth of the cavern. "Well!" she cried, "Let's go see what there is to see!" As though her words awoke him from a trance, Haldraginor followed her in.
The Halfling stepped into the throat of the hill, her hairy bare feet slapping against the packed earth, as her companions busied themselves with drawing their weapons and lighting torches. Padrelle looked around with wide-eyed awe at the rough walls and the exposed tree roots. Suddenly she felt a thin string-like root snap beneath her foot, and with a rush of air, something soared over her head and the warrior behind her cried out in pain.
"What was that?" Padrelle asked, dumbfounded. She turned and saw an arrow lodged in Haldraginor's chest.
The warrior was suddenly the center of attention. "What's happened?" "He's been shot!" "What, how?" They surrounded him, examined the wooden shaft that protruded through his chainmail shirt. "An arrow!" "Probably a kobold-trap!" "Are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right," he replied, "It's only a scratch to Haldraginor Hardhelm, the hero of Ha…" His words trailed off into a scream of agony as Sunthorn pulled the arrow from his chest.
Pamblyn winced at her companion's piercing scream. "Would you please die quietly? We're trying to sneak up on them."
Mediphon snapped his fingers, started searching for his holy sign of the Sun God. "I can cast a spell…heal him up good as new!"
"No, not yet!" the Wizard argued. "We're not even in the caves yet. You should wait until he sustains more damage, or you'll just be wasting the spell!"
Haldraginor glared at the wizard crossly. "Thanks, Dan, you're a pal!"
"Hey, don't blame me!" Gray Dan cried in defense, "Blame Padrelle! She's the one who set off the trap!"
The Halfling placed her fists on her hips. "Oh, so now this is my fault? Hey, don’t blame me because I'm unkillable!"
"You're not unkillable," Sunthorn flatly stated as he pulled some bandages out of his pack. "You're kobold-sized. They obviously set the trap for intruders whom they expected would be taller than they are." Pamblyn and Mediphon helped the wounded warrior remove his pack and his armored shirt.
Padrelle harrumphed indignantly, drew her cloak about her. "I'll scout ahead," she said as she pulled the hood up over her dark hair and turned to march deeper into the tunnel.
Moments later, the warrior was bandaged and clothed. His companions, weapons at the ready and torches lit, started into the cavern. The tunnel went straight for two dozen yards then turned left into darkness. They trudged halfway to the curve before the Elf's hand shot up commanding them to stop.
"I…think I hear something coming," Sunthorn said, straining his ears. "Hard to tell…very quiet…not too fast."
Their sword-arms tensed, ready for the inevitable onslaught of the kobold horde. Pamblyn and Sunthorn raised their shields as Mediphon and Haldraginor took up positions behind them. Gray Dan stood behind them all, two fingers pressed against his temple as he considered the usefulness of the spells he'd memorized today.
The Halfling padded around the curve and her companions groaned with disappointment. Nonplussed, Padrelle beckoned them to follow, "Hey, you'll never guess what I found! Come see!" Then she turned and bounded around the curve.
The others followed her to a side-branch tunnel. There, where the wall to the outside tunnel met the side-branch, stood a black pillar. It was smooth black stone that stood the entire height of the cavern, easily nine feet. It bulged wider at its halfway point, nearly a foot in diameter, than it did at its top or bottom. Her companions gasped in befuddlement.
Sunthorn cocked one eyebrow. "Well that certainly doesn't belong in a cave."
"I don't understand," Pamblyn said, reaching out to run one gloved hand down the smooth stone pillar. "What is this? What's it doing here?"
"How should I know?" the Halfling remarked.
"It must be a sign!" Mediphon stated in breathless reverence.
"A sign of what?" Haldraginor asked, with a confused frown.
"Good question! Let's see if we can find out!" Gray Dan exclaimed. He placed two fingers on his temple and recited the Magical Words, his other hand stretched out toward the ebon column. His weird recital finished, he gawked at the pillar with an expectant grin. After a moment, the grin left him. "Well, it's not magical in any way."
"You want to see another sign? One that's easier to interpret?" Padrelle asked. Her companions turned to her with expectant faces and she pointed up at a torch sticking out of the earthen wall across from the mouth of the side tunnel. "How's that?"
It took a moment to sink in. Then, one by one, their faces lit with understanding. They had initially failed to notice the torch, as its light was augmented by the torches they carried. But soon, new questions occurred to them.
"Why would there be torches lighting the kobold caves?" Gray Dan asked.
"So the kobolds can see?" Haldraginor lamely suggested.
"No," the Elf shook his head, "Kobolds can see in the dark, like we Elves."
Pamblyn narrowed her eyes. "They must be working with some…creature that cannot see without light." She looked around at her companions, her expression grave. "There may very well be more than just kobolds here."
Haldraginor nodded. "That's all right, whatever is in here, we can defeat it. Because we have something they do not have!" He punctuated his statement with a short jab at the air.
"And what is that?" the Elf asked.
Haldraginor punched the air again. "The hero of Haven Hills!" His companions groaned in reply.
To Be Continued...
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