Victory among the kobolds

Adventure Log
Tonight I write in my journal hastily, for I'm anxious to return to the common room in Salvana's inn and celebrate with my friends.

Our reunion with Dougal was rewarding and proved to be the first of many great adventures in the lands around Winterhaven. As I mentioned yesterday, we had accepted a commission from the Baron Padraig and were eager to prove our honest reputation.

Kanaan was back in good health, and we certainly needed his support in this raid upon the kobold lair. Before we could pack our belongings and head out, we made the acquaintance of two we'd not care to meet again.

Delphina Moongem is an elven craftswoman in town for the local market night. She seemed friendly enough, but her spaciness and her habit of ending all statements in an airy sigh was enough to irritate Morthos to the point of fingering his dagger.

The other irritating elf we met is by far the more dangerous. Neenar (who is as ugly as his name) feigned interest in our trek towards the kobolds. He suggested that we attack them immediately and boasted of their small, weak numbers. When asked about his own penchant for battle, he claimed that he was a pacifist, belying the deep gashes on his face and his broad caloused hands that have obviously grasped more weapon handles than farming tools. We neither trusted him nor wanted him to know our business.

For that reason, we traveled down the road from Winterhaven again, but this time turning off the worn path into the underbrush alongside the hills. The others found a decent spot to camp, located on a high hill overlooking the valley and the lair of the kobolds. We waited until just before dawn, planning to besiege them as Pelor's light first breaks the darkness. Perhaps the plan would have been better if I were able to keep my tired eyes open so early in the morning. As it was, I stumbled much and defeated all attempts at stealth as Vanya and Morthos slipped through the woods ahead effortlessly.

Finally we came to the location of the lair, interrupting the grumbling cries of "More fish!" from a griping kobold leader who stomped his foot angrily inside a strange runic circle drawn on the banks of a stream. The first few were dealt with swiftly, but one escaped into the mouth of their den. Following the current to a small waterfall, Kanaan led the charge into the cave and the source of the evil. There we fought in a line, slaying the kobolds and bracing for the arrival of one they called Irontooth.

A feisty little guy in enormous chain boots, Irontooth raged like a rabid animal and exhausted us. Morthos pushed him back with awesome strength, and Kanaan knocked out more than one of Irontooth's yellowed teeth. Yet the animal continued to fight, tapping into an unknown reserve of strength rarely seen among kobolds. We were all more than a bit bloodied by the time the wicked creature finally toppled over with a great thump against the cave floor.

We took his head for proof, his boots as a souvenir, and a bit of treasure from a small lock box stored in the back of the den. Now that I am back in the safety of a city and the warmth of a hearth, the battle does not seem as grim as it did just hours before. Perhaps we too can tap into unknown reserves of strength just as Pelor's light finds its way into the smallest cracks of a fortress wall.

"Sol invictus!" -Illumination #3