Stonehell: Kobold Korners

Session 24 was played on 1/13.
Wilhelm, drunk Dwarf 5 (Julia)
-Helmut, war dog
-Xerxis, Human Fighter 1 (Henchman)
-Yolanda, Human Fighter 1 (Henchman)
-2 torch bearers (Z, A.A.Ron)
-6 men at arms (O, Siri, T, U, V, W)
Nilbog Dracon, human wizard 2 (Matt)
Sarin the Ugly, Human Fighter 1 (Josh)

Stayed in town
Tink, a pretentious Elf (but I repeat myself) and former barkeep (Hanna)
Shelly, a vegetarian recovering alcoholic halfling Thief 3 (Nadia)
Frank, halfling 1 (Emily)
Yaqen, elf 1 (Shaun)
Karlaih, Human Thief 5 (Mollie)
Leroy, human fighter 3 (Mike)

Nilbog spent some time in the forbidden section of the library, and ended up cursing himself. For 2 days, all wine that he came anywhere near became vinegar, while fresh water became blood. Thankfully the curse wore off before he was found to be the culprit.

After hiring another bunch of troops, Wilhelm and company headed to the dungeon. Returning back to the orc territory, the smoke and bodies had mostly all been cleaned out. The stains remained. Continuing to the south the came to an octagonal room completely painted in a single mural of a idyllic forest, complete with some piles of dirt on the floor. Laying sobbing on one pile was a human in leather armor and a sash of yellow and black checks. Wilhelm tells Yolanda to go talk to him. Turns out that Yolanda is a rather charismatic woman (rolled a 16) and she manages to coax out that he was sad to have lost a glowing gem, a pink diamond... Feeling a great sense of caution, his arms were tied before they headed out to find the gem. Beyond the forest room, Wilhelm spotted a poorly concealed pit trap. At this point, the inconsolable man screamed in anguish, and a wave of despair washed over most of the party.

Wilhelm and Yolanda push him into the pit where he lands with a thud.

It's a long few minutes before the party recovers. Once they push on they reach another chamber with murals, this time showing a stunning mountain top vista. Down a side passage, just at the edge of the torchlight they heard some figures shuffling around, and spotted a kobold watching them. Nilbog tried talking to them in draconic, which didn't work, but Sarin happened to know some of their reptilian tongue (owing to an ill-fated relationship back in his teen years with an exchange student). Turns out the kobolds were on their way home to the Korners. They offered to show the way for a fee of 5gp. The party agreed, and then 7 more kobolds showed up and expected their share.

The Kobolds lead them through the halls to the entrance of the Korners where the rules were explained to them (no fighting!), and they had to hand over all their weapons. With some grumbling, they did, then were brought in to the main merchant hall.

The bustling commerce of all the mixed races was more diverse than even the relatively cosmopolitan town! Goblins, hobgoblins, humans, a gnoll, and even an ogre could be seen at the various stalls. Of the humans a couple at the snack/drink booth (serving a cheap weak mushroom beer) wore black and yellow checked sashes. Wilhelm, Nilbog and Sarin went to talk to them and bought them a round of mushroom beer. They explained the weeping guy they'd found, but they didn't recognize his description. They did offer to hire them into the Ghost Beggars gang, but Wilhelm declined.

After leaving the snack stall a corpulent kobold in a fez and wearing a monocle introduced himself as Trustee Sniv, the proprietor of the Korners, and offered to help them with whatever they needed. For the right price, of course. Nilbog asked about buying magic items, but Sniv informed him that they weren't generally available. Locations of specific items could be bought for a price, or contact with someone who could make/find one... Mention of a fighting arena peeked Sarin's interest, and he offered to fight in the ring. It didn't take long for a fight to be arranged, and the market to close for everyone to go watch.

Stripped down to his boxers, Sarin found himself facing a muscular naked hobgoblin. The red skinned humanoid rolled his head, flexed his impressive muscles, and grinned. They approached each other with the roar of the crowd cheering them on. Most bets were placed in favor of the hobgoblin, Jayquelin D. Nice, and for good reason. His fist snapped into Sarin's chin before Sarin could even think about blocking. Seeing stars Sarin tried to swing back but found himself flat on his face in the dirt. Jayquelin grabbed Sarin by the hair, hauled him to his knees, and then slammed Sarin into his crotch before tossing him backward. Sarin never felt his head bouncing on the hard packed dirt.

The crowd cheered Jayquelin's victory, even though the fight was so speedy and one sided.

Nilbog returned to the market when it reopened, and checked with the tailor hoping to get a suit of spider silk robes. The tailor told him to come back later, as he'd need to source the silk. The party rented the only private room in the inn, and grabbed dinner at the restaurant.

Gains: Access to the Kobold Korners
Kills: None (defeated 1 doom lure)
Losses: None

This was a weird session where role playing ended up being the predominant activity. It's going to be interesting seeing how this, plus the destruction of the orc clan impacts the upper level of Stonehell.