As the group started
waking, they noticed something was different.
The air did not have the usual smell of Coffee and bacon from Alosrin's usual
morning cooking. And the Wizard was nowhere to be seen.
They started looking for him frantically with no success. Who they did find however, was the Rainbow Gnome some of them had met before entering the Midnight Mansion.
The gnome told them Alosrin had been called elsewhere, and that they should not
worry about him as he was not in danger.
With that news and their group one person weaker. They prepared for the day of
marching ahead of them.
As they travelled North East, they encountered huge, rotting trees that were
decomposing. Bjørn was able to notice that the area had been rearranged in a
sort of defensive position, and some rudimentary snares and traps had been
placed.
Andromeda spotted
some Kobolds hiding in the tree trunks. They came out without a fight and
begged for their lives.
Their attire suggested they were members of the Cinderclaw Cult. But they were
severely diseased and injured. And while weary, they did not seem to pose a significant
threat to the heroes nor any intention of attacking.
After a somewhat brief discussion on what to do with them, it was decided to
help them, as the group managed to convince Krystoff that they should not be
executed. It seemed as they were pawns and victims themselves.
Krystoff heals their injuries while Andy and Betty their arsenic poisoning.
The Kobolds told them they worked at a mine nearby and had escaped. The cult
used this gold mine as their main source of income for their heinous
operations. But as the gold in the Mwangi Expanse is severely contaminated by arsenic,
the miners often contract its poison and die.
This group of Kobolds were deserters.
After helping them,
they were a great source of information.
The Kobolds told them there was a Dragon Pillar in the mine.
That they were guarded by a giant and extremely dangerous Vulture-like creature
that everyone feared.
The adventurers spent most of the day helping and healing the Kobolds, and
spent the night with the group.