AtD 041: A Dragon in a Cavern

The party rested and gathered themselves. Revitalised, they emerged from their hidden lair and began (cautiously) exploring to the west. Their goal was to find the kobold tribe and exterminate it.

However, inevitably, the heroes got sidetracked when they decided to follow a tunnel leading roughly south. The tunnel narrowed to only five-foot wide and twisted and turned south and then east. Eventually, the narrow tunnel emerged into a chamber. Within the chamber lay six horribly scorched kobold skeletons. A wider passageway led away to the east. It seemed the dragon was near!

This development led to a much-heated debate among the group. Saeldur—bravely—crept onwards and shortly discovered the dragon itself sleeping on an immense hoard of treasure. A soft breeze played tauntingly on the elf’s face, suggesting an exit from the caves lay nearby. With this discovery, the ranger beat a hasty retreat to the party, and his revelation heralded another long conversation about what to do next. Some of the party favoured trying to sneak past the dragon, while others wanted to attack. Still others thought it best to return to the original plan and slaughter the kobolds first so the party would have somewhere to retreat to if fighting the dragon went horribly wrong.

Eventually, the party decided to destroy the kobolds, and backtracked north. Reaching the relative safety of the kobold tunnels, the heroes sent Saeldur and Ozloc ahead to scout.

Heading northwards, the two discovered several things of note. While Saeldur ambushed and slew some kobold guards, Ozloc investigated a chamber cloaked in supernatural darkness that only his celestial vision could penetrate. Within, he could see a skeletal figure lying on the floor surrounded by mouldering equipment. Cautiously searching the remains, he discovered a rotting backpack holding two scroll cases and three potion vials! With this prize in hand, the warlock retreated and slew the final kobold fighting Saeldur. With the last kobold dead, the duo returned to the party. After a brief conversation, the heroes decided—again—to retreat to the room in which they found the dragon-slaying sword to investigate their new discoveries.