The Awakening
I awoke this morning, my head still foggy from the turn of events from the night before. I found myself standing in the central square of Hlint. There were none close to me other than Captain Trent, who continued his steady patrol. I spoke to the local pawnbroker but had nothing to exchange for gold, nor did I truly feel that I had any need for it. I even spoke to the Town Crier who, in turn, greeted me with a fine hello and that was all. Could there truly be nothing more happening in Hlint? I wandered the city with the intention of finding someone to converse with, but alas there were none within the vicinity. Feeling frustrated, I decided to speak with the tired Captain Trent. At least he would have a tale of some sort to tell me. or so I hoped.
Captain Trent and the Kobolds Magic Stick
When I approached Captain Trent he greeted me with a smile and told me of the kobolds located in a field not far off. He went on to say that they keep attacking and that one of them holds a magic stick. Further to that, he said that others have defeated the kobolds and have retrieved the magic stick, but it keeps re-appearing. He made a light-hearted joke about it, saying that they must have these sticks growing on a magic tree. he asked me if I would be interested in retrieving the stick for him. I'll be quite honest here, the thought of kobolds, using a magic stick, frightened me. I'm not very familliar with magic and the thought of it being used against me was unnerving. Would I be reduced to a smouldering pile of ash?
Against my own better judgement, due to boredom, I accepted the quest as posed to me by the Captain. Quill in hand and notebook at the ready, I set out to find these kobolds, to retrieve their magic stick for the Captain and to document it in my book.
Searching for the Kobolds
I spent the remainder of the day looking for those nasty kobolds, to no avail. I had started the day frustrated and had found hope that this boring day would soon come to lead me into excitement. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I was about ready to give up on my search when I was approached by a women. She greeting me pleasantly and I explained my frustrations to her. She smiled and told me that she would help me with my search. She had heard rumour that the field of kobolds was located Northwest of the city. She, too, had heard the rumours of the magic stick.
On our way out of the city, the woman finally introduced herself as Talia. We wandered through the fileds, making steady progress to the Northwest. The entire time that we walked, Talia and I discussed the task at hand. She explained to me that she may not be of much help as she is only a healer. I told her that maybe we should find someone else to get into harm's way because I doubted that I would be of much use either. We had a small laugh over that and then were upon the barricade that separated us from the location of the kobolds.
The Kobold Fields
Talia started talking to me about the weave and asked if she could bless me with it. Before I realized what I was agreeing to, Talia started to explain to me that the blessings would help us with our dangerous task. She knelt on the ground and began to pray. After a few words were muttered, that I didn't completely understand, I felt a tingle and noticed that my skin had changed to stone! Talia re-assured me that the blessing was only temporary and that we should move quickly.
We entered into the field and were immediately set upon by kobolds from every direction. I, with my bare fists, took down the first 2. Talia, with a flaming mace, easily dispatched the others. She suggested that I search their bodies for items of value. I did as she suggested and found only gold pieces. Drat! No magic stick yet. We pressed on, dispatching kobolds as we moved. I found myself cornered by 2 kobolds and had been separated from Talia. I was landing blows with ease, but so were they and I quickly found myself in a situation that I could no longer handle. A blow came in from my flank and knocked me unconscious. next thing I knew, Talia was standing over me, a soft smile on her face. She told me to be more careful in the future; that losing my life to a kobold was no way to be marked down in history. Corpses lay scattered all around us and a quick search of them revealed the magic stick. I quickly stuffed the item into my pack and made haste for the entrance through which we had come.
Talia and I made our way back to Hlint where I could find Captain Trent and give him the magic stick. Before we parted ways, Talia told me to try looking around the sewers for a job. Apparently there's some sort of rodent problem over there. I thanked her for her help and for the healing salves that she provided me with before making my way to the Captain.
Capatin Trent was pleased with my accomplishment but he sighed and told me that others before me had completed this same task. It seemed to him that no matter how many magic sticks were taken from those vile creatures, they always seemed to end up with another one. Perhaps, though, this time I had succeeded in taking their last one.
Now I need to go investigate those sewers, like Talia suggested.
