Kobold miner
Level 35
Health 2300/3000
Helga had charged past the burning pile of kobolds and into the room. Just as Alexander finished examining the kobold there, she swung her two-handed monstrosity of a sword and decapitated the monster. Its still-flaming head rolled across the room.
Lugs and Grimble had bashed in the heads of the remaining kobolds as they burned. The entire fight had taken about thirty seconds. Edward took over duties as loot master, looking to make himself useful. This first group dropped a few gold coins, mining picks, rusty knives and swords. Alexander had warned Sasha not to cast Trap Soul on any of the mobs. He didn’t yet trust the new guild members enough for them to know that they could produce soul crystals en masse. He would cast the spell on any boss they encountered, and just pass it off as good luck when a crystal dropped.
Walking into the room, Grimble discovered a pile of iron ore and gems. The Kobold miners had apparently been busy! Alexander instructed him to just leave it there, rather than try to carry it all through the mine. They’d retrieve it later.
Continuing, the group reached the end of the shaft with no further adventure. Heading back, they met up with Jules at the midpoint of the shaft. She’d been hanging back as ordered to keep watch.
“What’d you guys fight? I just got a level up!” She grinned.
“Kobolds.” Alexander smiled back to her. “Seven of them. Mostly mid-thirties. This should be good xp for all of us. Keep a sharp watch, though. Their skin is jet black, and they blend into the darkness. All I could see before the fight were their red eyes.”
Jules nodded her head and went back into stealth mode, following the group as they moved back to the main shaft. Taking a left, they continued down the tunnel until they reached the first right-hand shaft. Again, Jules paused at the junction to watch for mobs. Lugs led the way down the tunnel.
They could hear the sound of metal picks on stone as they moved toward where the first room should be. Sasha called out the same strategy. Lugs and the rest stayed back a bit in the tunnel, while Alexander peeked around far enough to target a Kobold. He was able to see the outline of one close to the door. Hitting it with wizard’s fire, he backed up behind the tank, scooting between the wall and Lugs’ five-foot-tall shield.
Again, the rest of the group ran out, only to be smashed stupid by Lugs’ tower shield. There were eight of them this time, plus the one still flailing away inside the room. Sasha cast thorn trap on the pile Lugs made, and Alexander cast wizard’s fire. This time it was Grimble who headed into the room to finish the lone kobold, as the burning pile blocked Helga’s path. Disregarding the fire, Grimble slammed the bottom edge of his shield down onto the kobold’s neck, turning its screams into wet gurgles. Then he swung his hammer down, crushing its skull.
Helga and Lugs used their long reaches to skewer or crush the kobolds in the pile. When the fire died down, Edward began to loot.
Inside the room, Grimble was looking into one of two mining carts. “This one be filled with iron ore. The other be half full of the same. And there be a pile o’ gems in tha’ corner.” He pointed toward a back corner, where there was indeed a pile of emeralds, rubies, and amethysts. The pile was dust covered, with just a few cleaner gems that looked like recent additions.
“Maybe they have no use for the gems? They only want the ore?” Alexander pondered aloud.
“Aye, looks that way,” Grimble agreed.
Beatrix, who had been standing over the gem pile and drooling, said, “Maybe we just leave and let these guys keep working for a month or two, then come take all the gems!”
Not realizing she was joking, Grimble grumbled, “We be needin’ iron to make weapons ‘n’ tools, lass.”
After a moment of awkward silence, Alexander said, “Let’s keep going. We’ve got a lot of territory to cover here, and I’d like to be back at the keep for dinner.”
They moved on down the shaft. This shaft was much longer, stretching maybe half a mile. They encountered groups of two and three kobolds working in the tunnel as they went. The mobs died quickly, if loudly. In the real world, the lights and the screaming of the dying mobs would bring every monster in the shaft, maybe in the whole mine, running to fight, overwhelming the heroes like in one of the early century zombie movies. But the game mechanics of Io kept a relatively small aggro radius.
The pattern continued through the shaft, and the three more leading off to the right. Kobolds in small groups in the tunnels, larger groups in the rooms. Most of them being just under, or just over, level 40. Each room had carts filled with ore, and piles of gems. Alexander had allowed Beatrix to pick up a dozen or so rare diamonds that she spotted as they’d searched the rooms. The poor gnome was nearly apoplectic having to walk away from so many gems.
Walking back to the main tunnel after clearing the fourth right-hand shaft, they took a short break. Sasha passed around some jerky, and a wineskin filled with tea that gave stamina and regen buffs. Though so far, no fight had even been difficult, it was always better to be prepared. They’d been in the dungeon close to three hours. While the progress had been quick, each shaft was half a mile long, with rooms to clear in each one. So, they’d fought along a path a little over five miles since they entered the mine.
After their break, Grimble led them deeper down the main shaft. At this point, the slope was getting steeper. The shaft slowed downward at about a thirty-degree angle. Alexander found himself thinking it would be hell to push a full mining cart up that slope. He said as much to Grimble.
“Aye.” The dwarf laughed. “But the ride back down be fun!”
The next side shaft they came to branched off to the left. They were in an area that had been created in the time after Grimble left the mine. Grimble examined the walls as they went, running his hands along, tapping occasionally with a soft hammer.
“There be a silver vein here. Big one,” he reported.
Moving down the shaft, they came upon its first room. As per usual, Alexander hit the first kobold he could see with wizard’s fire. A mass of the creatures began screaming and running for the door. There were at least twenty of them!
“Grimble, form up next to Lugs!” Sasha called out. “Helga! Fill the space left over! Don’t let any of them through! We’ll burn them down.”
“Count of three,” Lugs said, talking to Grimble. “1…2…3!” the two tanks slammed their shields forward in unison, knocking back six or seven of the kobolds, causing a massive pile-up as the others crowded in behind. Sasha cast her aoe thorn trap in as wide an area as she could, extending a circle out nearly twenty feet in diameter. Alexander immediately began casting wizard’s fire. He started with two mobs at the top of the pile, then cast it four more times at roughly the cardinal points of the circle.
There were four kobolds that were far enough to the side of the tunnel that they’d not been caught in the trap. Helga was flashing her five-foot-long blade back and forth, holding them at bay. As Alexander watched, she stabbed forward and skewered one of them, before stepping back into her defensive stance. Grimble moved over to assist, as the other kobolds weren’t going anywhere, and the heat was a bit intense. Once the dwarf had picked up the three remaining loose mobs, Helga moved to the kobold pile and used her long sword and long arm to stab and slice at the burning and helpless mobs trapped in the thorns. Lugs used his even longer arms and three-foot-long hammer to bash and smash indiscriminately. Alexander cast magic bolts at the three loose kobolds, doing moderate damage. He’d need to remember to upgrade that spell. Suddenly all three kobolds fell to the ground, thrashing wildly. Beatrix had entered the fight. A globe of water had formed around each kobold’s head, cutting off their oxygen supply. The three little monsters were drowning on dry land.
Edward took the opportunity to jump into the room and finish off the first mob that Alexander had hit. Alexander, briefly panicking, threw a magic shield around the boy, and ran after him. Helga and Lugs finished working their way around
the edges of the pile, and it looked as if all the kobolds there were dead. The last three struggled weakly as they drowned on the tunnel floor. Out of pity, Sasha drew her dagger and plunged it into each of their hearts.
Inside the room, Alexander approached Edward as the boy cleaned his newly forged dwarven sword with a rag.
“You do that again, and I’ll teleport you back to your father with a note that says he should ground you for a month.” He spoke very quietly.
“It was one small kobold, almost dead already. I’ve been in here three hours and not even swung my sword!” the boy protested.
“And if you didn’t need it to defend yourself in case of an emergency, I’d take it from you right now!” Alexander’s voice was getting louder. “You were told to stay with me. Come out here.” He stomped back out to where they’d been standing during the fight. The boy followed, sullen.
Turning to look at the room, he pointed at the door. “Tell me what you see.”
The boy snorted. “I see a doorway.”
“And beyond the door?”
“I see a wall, and a corner. And another wall.” The prince was beginning to sound annoyed. He didn’t enjoy being treated like a child. But Alexander had a point to make.
“Exactly. How many corners does that room have? Have many walls?” he asked the boy, nearly growling. Fibble stuck his head in the door, looked around the room, and held up three fingers, saying “Five!”. Alexander struggled not to smile at the helpful little goblin.
The prince looked surprised. Then the point hit him. He mumbled, “Four corners. Four walls.”
“And how many of those corners did you check before you dashed into the room alone? Did you even look anywhere besides at your target?” Alexander scolded.
“You’re right. I didn’t. It was stupid. I apologize.” The prince bowed his head. “I got carried away, and didn’t think. It won’t happen again.”
Alexander was surprised by the boy’s humility. And impressed with the king’s parenthood. It was rare for a teenager to so quickly admit their mistakes.
Softening his tone quite a bit, he patted Edward on the shoulder. “We’ve all done exactly what you’ve just done. Except Sasha. She’s always just hung out in the back.” He winked at the prince. “The point is, we all make noob mistakes. It’s how we learn. I apologize for the harshness of the lesson, but I made an oath to your father to protect you.”
Grimble handed the boy a cup. Then he handed one to each of the others. After pouring a shot of clear dwarven spirits into each one, he raised his cup. “To yer first kill!”
The others raised the cups as well. “First kill!” The prince blushed, but downed his drink with a smile. The dwarf collected all the cups and put them back in his bag. “It be a tradition among me people. And since ye blooded that fancy dwarven sword, I figgered it were fitting.” This caused a few chuckles. Lugs made a plea for more spirits. The cup had looked comically small in his giant hand. Edward began looting the corpses.
Moving into the room, they found more of the usual. Four carts this time, filled mostly with silver ore. Another pile of gems, including a large diamond which Beatrix quickly scooped up. But one thing was different. In the center of the room was a large hole. From the center of the hole rose a rope attached to a pulley that hung from the ceiling. Grimble approached carefully, looking down into the shaft. He’d turned off his headlight. Dwarves could see just fine in the dark.
Laying down on his stomach, he looked to Lugs. “Hold me feet,” he said. The half-ogre grabbed the dwarf by the ankles, and lowered him slowly into the hole. After a moment, light emanated up from below. Grimble must have turned his headlight back on. The dwarf waved a hand for Lugs to lift him back up. The ogre complied, setting the dwarf carefully on the floor.
“Thank ye,” Grimble said to Lugs. “There be another shaft below. There be gold!” He grinned. “The tunnel turns a few yards down. I could not see how far it goes.”
Closing his eyes, Alexander used his earth magic. He reached into the stone below, and found the tunnel under them. Following it with his sense, he saw that it curved in a slow descent, ending in a cavern maybe fifty feet down. He shared with this the group.
“That tunnel weren’t curved down, it were curved up,” Grimble said. The dwarf was getting excited. “The tunnel, do it be round?”
Alexander looked more closely. It was indeed round. As if something had drilled through the rock. Confirming this for Grimble, he asked, “What does that mean?
“Rock worm!” Grimble told him. “They feed on ore. That be why the tunnel curves. They follow the vein where ever it leads. Rock worms love the taste o’ precious metal. But they canno’ digest it. They eat, and they shit. And what they shit, it be purified ore. If them Kobolds found the tunnel, they found pure gold. Kobolds got no use for gold. Too soft for weapons. They do not decorate with jewelry, nor do they trade. If me guess be correct, there be piles o’ pure gold in this mine.”
Excited by the news, the Dwarf wanted to delve into the hole right away. Alexander held them back. “We’ve got kobolds to deal with. Whatever’s in the hole is not going anywhere. Let’s clear this shaft and any others, then come back.”
The group moved back out to the branch tunnel, and continued down. They killed several smaller groups of kobolds, then reached a second room. This time, they called Jules forward to have a stealthy peek. To help her see in the dark, Alexander cast mage sight on her. She snuck through the door, and reported in group chat.
“I see fifteen, sixteen… twenty-two kobolds. One of them is much larger than the other. He glows brighter. He’s sitting in the far corner on a pile of… something. He might be asleep.”
“Okay, thank you, Jules. Please come back.” Alexander said.
When she was back, Alexander said, “Okay, Jules, stay here with us. But please continue to watch our backs. There may still be kobolds moving in the tunnel.” The rogue smiled and nodded her head, going back into stealth mode.
Sasha said, “We’ll try something a little different. Alexander, hit the one closest to the door. Do it with a magic bolt, instead of the fire. I want to see if we can pull out a few individuals or small groups. But be ready for all of them to come!”
Alexander crept up to the door, and spotted a kobold not three feet inside it. Taking a deep breath, he cast a magic bolt at its face and rushed back behind Lugs.
The kobold screamed and rushed out of the room. Three more came right behind. Lugs waited until they were all close, then hit them with a shield slam. They didn’t even bother with the vines and the fire. The four stunned kobolds were easy pickings for Lugs, Helga, and Grimble. Leaving the bodies as obstacles, Alexander crept back to the door. The four closest had already come out. He picked one that was near the left corner of the room, and hit it with a bolt.
This time about half the remaining kobolds rushed out. Eight of them, screaming their heads off. Lugs bashed into them just as the leaders were stepping over the bodies of the last group. The result was a tangle of living and dead lizardmen. Sasha cast her thorns, and Alexander cast wizard’s fire.
Once they were sure all the kobolds were trapped, Alexander gave Edward the go-ahead to help cut them down. Helga and Lugs left the ones at the very edge for the boy. Alexander put a magic shield in front of him to keep him from taking fire damage.
Taking a moment to rest and recharge, they discussed the next group. They weren’t sure what the boss kobold would do, so they decided to adopt Brick’s method of hiding in a corner. Lug’s massive shield would protect him long enough for Sasha and Alexander to get the bonfire going, at which point the half-ogre could move away and avoid further fire damage.
But just in case, Sasha knelt down in front of Fibble. “Fibble, we need your help. We need you to protect Lugs. Can you do that?”
Fibble’s eyes got wide. He nodded his head so quickly that Alexander feared his brain would come loose. “Okay, Fibble, when I shout your name, you shoot Lugs with your magic
stick. Every time I call you, you shoot him. Got it?” Again with the nodding. Alexander rubbed the back of his neck in sympathy pain.
Sasha took Fibble by the hand as they all moved into the room. Lugs wasted no time, roaring out a challenge in his ogre voice. He moved across the room toward the boss, swinging his hammer at a kobold as it came in range. Its head disappeared in a spray of blood and brain. When he had the attention of all the mobs, including the boss, he backed himself into a corner, still bashing away with his hammer when he could. With his back to the corner, he set his feet and waited. The boss kobold pushed aside his minions in order to get to Lugs. He waved a sword nearly as big as Helga’s, slamming it against Lugs’ shield. When the minions gathered in tight behind the boss, Lugs hit him with a shield bash, knocking him back, and knocking down several of the smaller mobs.
The Greystone Chronicles Book Two: The Dire Lands Page 23