Jacob was tired of slimes, while on the way to the area controlled by the Earth Splitter tribe he and his party had run into a small swarm of the monsters and had been fighting them for the last 20 minutes. Using a sword on slimes didn't work out too well for him. His sword arm and Shield were covered in the leftovers of slime goo. They had seen the light at the end of the "tunnel" though. Just ahead of them where the entrance to the kobold areas, a couple torches and about a dozen heavily armed and armored kobolds were there. "Hello travelers, come into the light and be recognized. Befriend or foe." a kobold called out.
"Hello sir, I am Jacob Longstrider of the Tomb of Eternal Night. We were requested by one of your kin, Draxus Earthcracker, to present ourselves when possible. As you can see we encountered a slime swarm on our way here and if possible would like to get cleaned up before seeing your Chieften?" Jacob asked.
The kobold guard looked Jacob and his companions, both Jacob and Brox were doused with slime remains while the rest of the companions just looked dirty and weary from the travel. "I think you will be fine just as you are Immortal. The captain told us that you would be coming and to let you pass. I will escort you personally to see the Chief, I am Antrus Earthbound Captain of the city guard." with that the captain turned and signaled for two others to join him before leading Jacob and his companions down the tunnel.
The tunnel took another 15 minutes to traverse, including two more checkpoints before they were lead into a large cavern. The city was on a smaller scale then the Tomb, the whole city was the size of the Inner City but from what he could see they had room to grow. The city was backed against the far wall with three walls beside the walls of the keep. Between the first and second walls, no buildings had been built, a killing field for anyone trying to attack this place. All over the cavern hundreds of floating globes of light wondered over the city. "Welcome to Kiera'tan, City of a Thousand Lights. Seat of the clan Earth Splitter tribe. The youngest of all kobold cities." the captain said as he led them down into the cavern. Jacob was impressed, the city was beautiful and heavily fortified. He would hate to have to attack it, it would be a difficult fight, to say the least.
About 20 minutes later they approached the outer gates, about a dozen guards with 4 earthen golems were waiting. The captain nodded to the lead guards and the passed between the gates and into the city. The killing field was being used as training areas, he could see hundreds of guards and dozens of golems marching in formation, sparring, and mock battles. The inner gates were open and they walked into the city, hundreds of kobolds ran everywhere with an occasional Orc, Drow, or Goblin thrown into the mix. As they made their way through the city, Jacob and his companions got more than one look, Jacob especially. He was sure the kobolds were surprised to see a 'Blood Walker' here in their city or it might have been the slime. The entrance to the keep had even more heavily armed and armored kobolds and the earthen elementals had glowing crystals and armor on them. I.E. complete and utter badasses that he didn't want to mess with.
As they entered the main hall the captain called out "My Chief, may I present the Immortal Jacob Longstrider and his companions Brox Bonecrusher of the Bloodfang Clan, Snaggletooth Stormcaller, June Moonshadow, and Shigna Firecaller." a larger kobold that had been looking over some maps on a table with other kobolds looked up when the captain called out.
The Chief looked at a more familiar kobold, Draxxus, who smiled at Jacob before walking over. "This Chieftan was the Blood Walker I told you about. He and his people are very skilled and without him, my caravan would have been wiped out. I was thinking about recommending him for that particular problem we have had."
Jacob quirked his eyebrow at Draxxus before slowly walking over to the Chieftan and extending his hand to shake "Hi, I am Jacob Longstrider of the Tomb of Eternal Night. How can we help you?" Jacob asked.
The Chief looked at his hand before grasping it "Hello, I am Chief Braxus Earthcracker, leader of the Earth Splitter Tribe and Kiera'tan. What my son was referring too are some rebels that have broken from our tribe. One of my former captains Angrak Earthsbane and my former sister Shinna Earthcracker split from the tribe. We have found a hidden path into their fortress, I want you to eliminate Angrak Earthsbane and any other leadership he might have. Capture my former sister if you can, if you cannot eliminate her too and bring back her head."
FACTION QUEST ALERT!!
Quest: Earth Split
Description: The leader of the Earth Splitter Tribe, Chief Braxus Earthcracker, has requested that you infiltrate the rebel stronghold eliminate the rebel leadership and kill or capture his former sister that has joined the rebels.
Alert: this is a Dungeon and has a recommended level of 10+, with a minimum party of 4 to enter
Kill: Angrak Earthsbane 0/1
Kill or Capture: Shinna Earthcracker 0/1
Bonus Kill other Leaders: 0/?
Rewards: Friendly status with Earth Splitter Tribe, 1000 Experience, Unknown
Jacob nodded his head in acceptance, "Chief I also need to inform you that the Drow clan Sisters of the Damned have a fortress under construction within two hours travel of your city. It has some artifact or jewel that raises and enrages the dead to attack anyone. This has proven to be a threat to the region, would you and your tribe be willing to assist in eliminating this threat?"
Braxus face darkened at the mention of the drow clan, "Although I would like nothing better than to eliminate this threat, after the recent rebellion our military has had to recruit a lot of new warriors and we are training them up now. Until the threat of this rebellion is eliminated we cannot afford to take on another threat. From the looks of you, you and your companions could use a bath and food. Feel free to stay here and rest before dealing with the rebel threat. Thank you for your assistance." With that, the Chief turned back to the table and ignored the Vampire.
Draxus smiled at Jacob before leading him away to a communal bath "You and your party can get cleaned up here, leave your armor and weapons near the entrance and we will have them cleaned. The dining hall is right down this hallway and you can get food there any time you want."
Before he could leave Jacob caught him "And my female companion, she would like a private bath?" he asked Draxus. Draxus slowly blinked and considered his request before waving June to follow him. Jacob noticed that she was smirking at him as she walked out...he would never understand women in any world. He and his remaining companions stripped off their arms and armor before stepping in the heated water to soak the grime of the road away. They still had several hours left of 'daylight', he was going into the dungeon blind though and had no idea how long the Dungeon Dive would take.
30 minutes later Jacob and his friends got out and got dressed. The armor was laying there waiting to be picked up, his companions put their armor back on but Jacob just threw his in his inventory and would strap it on later. June was already waiting for them with Draxus, several other kobolds were in the dining hall eating various foods. Jacob and his friends would eat before heading out to try and tackle the dungeon. While they were eating Draxus pulled out a map of Kiera'tan and the surrounding area. He pointed out the location of the rebel stronghold and the main entrance and the secret path that they needed to take.
An hour later Jacob and his group arrived at the secret tunnel. If they didn't know it was there, they would never have found it. Buffs were initiated and they went into the dark tunnel, Jacob just hoped they didn't run into anything or anyone. 20 minutes later they reached the rebel fortress and buffed again, Jacob didn't want them to run out during a fight. The secret door moved to the side and 6 kobolds turned around in surprise, SHIT!!! Aura Blast and Energy Storm ripped through the surrounding Kobolds and caused them all to scream in pain and rage, Jacob fired off a quick analyze
Kobold Rebel Warrior
Level: 12
Abilities: Power Strike, Thick Skin
Health: 250/300
The health of the warriors was steadily dropping due to Energy Storm and the rapid attacks of Jacob and his companions. He really needed to get an AoE taunt ability, the Energy Storm ability was a nice supplement but it almost felt like a waste. 3 minutes later the last one gave up the ghost. June started looting the corpses for anything useful. Great, they were in a prison of sorts, hopefully, it was not a foretelling of what was to come. 20 minutes later they had cleared most of the prison except for the last room and inside was the first mini-boss.
Prison Warden
Name: Dirk Swordbreaker
Level: 13
Abilities: Pierce, Thick Skinned, Whirlwind, Frenzy
Health: 2000/2000
"Ok people we got our first officer, buff up and hit him hard. Brox this guy has some Whirlwind ability, so if it triggers the ability pull back DO NOT stay within range of the attack." With that Jacob cast Energy Blade and Charge, the kobold yelled in surprise as Moonlight slashed into his hide. The Wardens spear glowed and suddenly it felt like his shield got hit by a truck. It had to be his Pierce attack, Brox roared and joined the fight with the rest of his companions. 10 minutes later the Warden died and despite his warning, Brox had almost died due to his AoE attack
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20 minutes later they had cleared the first floor and all of Jacobs companions had gained a level and June and Shigna were halfway to level 12. They had barricaded the main entrance and Shigna had done something to warp the stone around the entrance to help keep it closed. The stairs led to the second floor and from what he could see of his dungeon map both hallways led to dead ends. So one hallway probably led to Angrak Earthsbane and the other led to Shinna Earthcracker, the only choice was which way to go first. He flipped a coin and led his party down the left hallway and the shorter one.
10 minutes later they had cleared out 12 more guards and stopped at the doorway and re-buffed, the inside was a bedroom with a single occupant. Jacob fired off an analyze.
Rebel Chief-Unique
Name: Shinna Earthcracker
Level: 14
Abilities: Earthen Blast, Rock Storm, Call Elite Earthen Golem
Health: 2500/2500
A powerful spell caster that could call a pet, he did not want to fight her. So he did the smart thing he unequipped his armor and made some rope from nearby drapes and wished he had a rogue to do this next part. He snuck into the room and hoped that Shinna would not wake before he had a chance to bind her and gag her. 5 very nervous minutes later he was hiding the rebel chief under the bed after asking Shigna if he needed to do anything else to make sure she couldn't do any magic while they were gone.
20 minutes later the other hallway was clear and the room was occupied by Angrak Earthsbane and a shaman eating.
Rebel General
Name: Angrak Earthsbane
Level: 14
Abilities: Pierce, Whirlwind, Rally Call, Thick Skinned
Health: 3000/3000
Kobold Rebel Shaman
Level: 13
Abilities: Earthen Strike, Earthen Golem
Health: 500/500
"Ok people the primary target then Angrak Earthsbane. If that shaman calls up the Earthen Golem, we will be in serious trouble. We have to kill that shaman ASAP." His companions nodded before everyone cast buffs, and stepped into the room and hoped the fight would go quickly.
As soon as they stepped into the room, the shaman started casting a spell to call his Golem. Energy Blade interrupted the cast and cost the shaman 100 health from the backlash. Charge slammed Jacobs shield into the shaman's face and sent him reeling and the rebel general slammed into Jacobs side to try and throw Jacob off the shamans tail. Brox shouted and joined the battle with Bloody Strikes and blood flew everywhere as the shaman screamed in pain. In less than 30 seconds the shaman died and Jacob and his companions turned on the General.
Jacob had ignored the general and it had cost him almost 1000 life points even with Snaggletooth healing him. He really needed a large direct heal that he could cast at range, not just heal over time (HoT) spells. So he buckled down and cast Power Strike on the general and the general reeled back as Moonlight sliced through his face. Double Slash cut into the generals hide and the general responded with triggering Pierce followed quickly by Rally Call and the general's strikes came more quickly. Brox triggered Enrage and Bloody Strikes, Shigna cast Magma Blast and the general caught fire as the mix of earth and fire slammed into his side. June cast Rapid Fire and 6 arrows sprouted on the Generals side. The Generals HP was sitting at just over 2 thousand now. The General triggered Pierce again and slammed his sword into Jacobs' guts and dropped his health down too just over 500. He grunted in pain and grabbed the Kobolds wrist to keep him close and smiled right in his face. Angraks eyes went wide as Jacob slashed Moonlight across his throat and caused the general to gain a bleed and silence status. The general was losing 100hp per second until his wound healed. Jacob started kiting the general along to allow him to bleed when he heard Shigna chanting the spell for Earth Spear. He got Angrak to get his back turned on Shigna and when Shigna finished the spell the Earth Spear slammed into the rebels gut, take that mother fucker!!! Jacob charged back into the fight and cast Energy Storm and quickly followed that with Power Strike to the rebel's throat opening the wound even further. The general triggered Whirlwind, Jacob quickly rushed Brox and pushed them away before they could take too much damage.
Snaggletooth cast Healing Winds and Rejuvenate, between the two spells Jacob would regain almost 1 thousand health. Angrak was still in the fight but was down to less than 1 thousand points. Energy Storm was still on cooldown, so he triggered Energy Blade and Charge. Charge finally stunned the general and he started hacking at his neck, halfway through the general came out of the stun and tried to fight back but it was too late. Jacob triggered Double Slash and finished severing his head, immediately Snaggletooth rushed over and cast Life Fountain. Both Jacob and Brox were exhausted, Shigna was almost out of mana and June was out of arrows. She immediately started looting the shaman and general for anything they had dropped that was useful and arrows. They still had to go pick up the chieftains sister and get back safely. 10 Minutes later they walked back into her room, she was still there and even more pissed. He made sure all her bindings, gag, and blindfold were still in place.
An hour later they walked into the Fortress of the Earth Splitter Tribe, the Chief was sitting on his throne with his son standing to his right and a robed shaman to his life. His elite guard lined the hall, everywhere Jacob looked all he saw was contempt and hatred in the eyes of every kobold looking at the former clan mate. "Well, well sister, so glad you could make it back to us. We have missed you. Now I have a choice to make, to hand you ever to the clan to be ripped to shreds or simply skin you then slit your throat. Your ambition killed hundreds and no I will not listen to your excuses. You choose yourself over your clan and for that, you will die." Chief Braxus Earthcracker walked down the step toward his former sister, his smile turned into a snarl before he quickly drew his sword and lopped off her head.
Quest Complete: Earth Split
Description: You tracked down the rebels of the Earth Splitter Tribe you managed to capture Shinna Earthcracker and killed Angrak Earthsbane in fair combat. The Earth Splitter Tribe will never forget your efforts on their behalf.
Kill: Angrak Earthsbane 1/1
Kill or Capture: Shinna Earthcracker 1/1
Bonus Kill other Leaders: 1/?
Rewards: Friendly status with Earth Splitter Tribe, 1000 Experience, Shinna Earthcracker equipment, 50 Gold, 10 Gold Bonus for slaying Dirk Swordbreaker, Bonus, the Earth Splitter Tribe will assist you in Assaulting the Fortress of the Damned
"Jacob Farstrider, for assisting our clan in attaining justice you and your house will always be recognized as friends of the Earth Splitter Tribe. After discussing the threat of the Sisters of the Damned with my son and advisors, I have decided to support your efforts to destroy their stronghold. Now excuse me, but we have some planning to do if we are to assist your efforts." With that he turned and walked away, the shaman followed.
Draxus came over and shook Jacobs hand in appreciation. "Thank you, my Aunts ambition in wanting to lead our tribe led to the death of dozens. I have no idea what my father will do with the remaining rebels but without the leadership they had, the rebel movement will dissolve. I expect my father will send about 200 warriors and no more than 20 shamans to assist you. No matter what happens, please come back after I think we can discuss an actual treaty then." with that, he walked away.
Jacob gathered up his party, it was time to head home and get some food and rest. The next couple days were going to be difficult and he didn't know when he would be able to rest again. As he triggered the Ring of Homecoming he noticed several of the shamans staring at Shigna...Odd