Summary
The adventurers made it to Winterhaven after some attempts at roleplaying (the gnome jumps on the horse's head, people giggle and say one or two things to each other). The caravan leader negotiates for room and board at the Wrafton Inn as the party explores the town. A locked tower was discovered with the runes "Protection from the shadow [winged beast]" over the entrance, and history related it to an ancient Corymrian keep to the east. Rolen befriended a farmer heading home from visiting Winterhaven and discovered that the kobolds had not attacked Winterhaven or its nearby residents. Caravans had traveled eastward, but nothing had returned from that direction and the attack on the most recent caravan to the west of Winterhaven was a first.

The inn began filling up and Fizzwig showed the party his gnome "brethren", a series of wooden ornamental statues set beneath a rough mural of a nature scene on the back wall of the inn. Salvana Wrafton was unimpressed with Fizzwig's return, he had apparently appeared in town several days ago and was convinced by some regular patrons to try to "rescue" the statues. After trying to steal them she called the Winterhaven Regulars who kicked Fizzwig out of the tavern after which he wandered off and was captured by the kobolds.

Galstaff studied the gnomes and found nothing magical about them, convincing Fizzwig very easily that they are in fact NOT cursed gnomes. In the process he also somehow managed to convince Fizzwig that he was invisible, and the party began to appreciate the naiveté of their companion. This comforted both Fizzwig and Salvana Wrafton, and trying to capitalize on this opportunity Rolen offered to entertain the patrons for some free ale. He cleared his throat, leapt on a nearby table and promptly dropped his drum before singing an off-key a cappella. A thimble worth of ale was all that sent him and the party off to bed.

In the morning the party found Lord Padraig talking with their caravan master. He offered the party 100 gold pieces if they would clear out the kobolds that he suspects are waylaying caravans east of Winterhaven. Hearing this lucrative offer Fizzwig decided this man must be carrying all of the gold on his person, and while Lord Padraig was still talking with the others he lifted Padraig's coin purse from him. Still believing he was invisible from the night before, he started juggling it around behind Lord Padraig, but wasn't noticed before a party member hid him from view.

The party set forth and were ambushed by a small group of kobolds who burst forth from behind a shadowy veil. As the sides clashed Vaunea noticed a dark stone on a necklace around the kobold leader's neck, crying out to her companions that it was obviously evil and filled with defensive anti-javelin magics. Everyone had moments of usefulness in the ensuing fight:

• Fizzwig convinced half of the kobolds there were more enemies over in the bushes flanking them... and then promptly ran over there to meet them single handed
• Baelfius and Pale Noon wadded into the melee, dishing out and soaking up damage in equal measures
• Galstaff's force orb ripped through their front line
• Vaunea definitely was NOT trying to hit the kobold wyrmpriest with her javelin, and instead impaled the kobold behind him
• Rolen found his true calling, letting out a triumphant shout that gave the wounded kobold right in front of him a heart attack

Upon seeing the battle going poorly the wyrmpriest rushed forward and shouted in draconic, "for the true master", then belched forward a large cloud of acid enveloping friend and foe alike. It was not enough, though, and with the last fleeing kobold slain the party proceeded to move all of the corpses off of the road and hid all of the useful looking items in some nearby bushes. Closer examination of the necklace showed it was indeed magical, but rather than the previously claimed defensive properties it was discovered to be the source of the shadowy veil that let the kobolds get into such an excellent ambush position. The symbol of Shar, Mistress of the NIght was the only marking on it.

Vaunea then picked up their trail and led the party back to the kobold encampment. Set in some caves near a waterfall, the party was able to capture one of the kobolds on guard duty when he came to investigate the noises made by the sneaking armored party members. They managed to catch him without raising the alarm, and proceeded to bind and interrogate him about the encampment. Rolen, flanked by the party, made quite the impression and the kobold broke down into tears before spilling his life story in addition to all of the details about the other kobolds. Pale Noon dubbed the prisoner Meek the Kobold, and after gagging him the party moved towards the treeline to the south where they were told the rest of the encampment guard were located. An extremely convincing cry for help from Rolen had the guards wading through the trees only to find themselves ambushed by the party. Caught in the trees turned out to be exactly the wrong place as Galstaff summoned a flaming sphere of inferno which made short work of first the kobolds, and then the trees. In fact, Galstaff had to summon a vortex of ice to combat the forest fires caused by his conflagration as his companions shoveled water from the nearby stream to help. The remaining kobolds are still hidden within the caves, but for now the party rests and keeps watch on the entrances.

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Out of character (OOC)
Fun session guys! Sorry for the awkward start, I think roleplaying the characters is still tough for most of us. Blessing's suggestion to have in character conversations on the forums between sessions met with a good response and should help out in that regard, so feel free to use this thread to talk as you guys put out the fires and keep an eye on the cave entrances. I will be talking with binary and penguin and may open a separate thread to get their story up to the point you guys are at, so don't be surprised if they join you while you are resting. Any OOC questions can be included in this thread with an OOC tag like above, or drop them in your personal threads and I'll look there. Cheers!

EDIT: And since shame may work, Riot get your macros working and all of you that haven't finished and shared your backstories a curse upon your Wisdom score!

• 750/6=125 for kobold ambush

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig

• 575/6=95 for outside kobold encampment

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig

So we've dispatched these kobolds, but there are more inside. Do we want to take the entrance where we found "Meek" chanting? Or another entrance, a la the waterfall or the entrance across the stream?

My thoughts:
The Meek entrance may be like the front door, expected
The back door may be easier, but not much of a surprise.
The waterfall would be a surprise, but the chance for stealth/athletic fail is possible.
Leave here and continue to the east, but that won't win us our 100g-10g prize

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tj95pa6ufjmy8gf/Image1.jpg

My Vote: Back door or waterfall
Pale Noon- Halfling Warlord

(after a consensus is reached, we could roll for movement or whatnot)

OOC tag noob
Am I there? Am I around when they're killing all these chanting kobolds? Roll the dice and see if I'm getting drunk!

Friends, I believe we must discuss our plans for Meek the Kobold. He has given us what information he can and has surrendered completely. Once we have defeated this Goblin King, we must release the Kobold. It is not unheard of for Kobolds to turn from a life of base plundering and turn to the cause of goodness. I believe Meek may join them as a reformed Kobold.

More, I believe our treatment of him, a helpless prisoner, reflects on our honor and our character.

The Elf speaks wisely.

Fizzwig Kettlecrank - Gnome Rogue... or possibly ballerina princess?

Fizzwig: "He said he'd be good from now on, and as you all know, I'm a GREAT judge of character and intentions! I don't believe there's any way he'd ever attempt to double cross us, so I say let the little guy go! He can tell all his kobold friends (Uh... I mean the ones we haven't killed) that they'd be better off surrendering to us and giving us all their shiny loot!"

When is next meeting?

I updated the roll20 site, but same time and day as last weekend!