51)

(Ping)

Staff of Defense

Add a ten percent bonus to defense when used to block

I imprinted the note and send Envoy to pass it over to Molly. Meanwhile outside I saw the other boy who had broken into Iris's house and his two fathers leaving Hector's house. Hector watched them leave before giving the old woman's house a long sad look.

That, may not be good.

Down below, Bee was practically jumping up and down in her excitement of getting her first magic item. At first, I felt glad for her until she began wondering how to attach a shovel head to it without damaging it.

In my day you took your rewards… In my day? Why am I hearing my father's voice coming out of my mouth?

...what happened to him anyways. I was so quick to chase after Alelan, I didn't stop to even ask if my parents, my brother, or any of the other people other than Mirkmire that I had lost over my last life were available to catch up with. Can I take time off from this job?

I guess that was something I would have to ask my wife about later that night after her ward settled in for the night. But for now, her girl was following Iris down a set of stairs down. The first time any of them had seen the next floor.

They seemed a bit baffled to find nothing attacking them. Just a five foot wide channel of water going left and right, the same water that stood twenty feet below the jumping platforms they had crossed earlier. The old woman was especially irritated. "Tark! What had I told you about playing games? Do you expect us to look for some kind of secret door or something?"

Well, at least they gave Molly an idea as she walked over to where the water ended on the right, took a knee, and thrust her racket underneath the wall. Discovering that the water filled channel was the exit.

With a glance to make sure Bee was paying attention, the boy plunged into the water, braced himself, and looked under the wall before pulling his head up in a splash of water that made the concerned young mage jump back with a soft shout. Ernesto almost grinned as she glared at him. "I can see light on the other side. It looks like a big room."

Molly sighed and dropped in. "Don't go by yourself, we need to follow you in."

Reluctantly the old woman and her niece plunged into the chilly water. Iris grumbled about how the cold made her knees ache, but she still ducked her head under and pushed on to the next room.

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Ernesto rose slowly from the water in the next room to avoid making too much noise or a splash. He also waded further into the room to make space for the rest of them as he stood with his pitchfork poised to stab into the thick green foliage covering half the level. Other than the flooded trench that ran around the outer edge.

Iris came up with a disgusted look on her face and glanced around for any dangers before reaching under the water to pull her niece out from underneath it then yanked Molly through as well.

The four of them squeezed in together to whisper to each other. None of them wanted to plunge into the thick vegetation and find out what was going on with the area in the middle that rose up. But then they didn't think staying in the water was a good idea either.

The two of them climbed up but Bee and Molly held back while The boy and Iris began to slowly make their way forward as they checked the ground ahead of them.

Thus the three kobolds mounted on black faced raccoons burst out from under the hill right into Ernesto's legs. Two of the mounts clawed their way up the boy's legs to let the rider stab their scalpel spears into his waist and lower body from the sides while the third mounted kobolds raced around him to come at Iris from the front.

Two problems. I hadn't spent any time training the kobolds to ride, so one of them went tumbling off the back of his mount as it reared up. The second problem was that the one thing Iris had gotten a lot of practice with was kicking.

I believe the term for the kick that send the black faced raccoon and kobold flying was a punt.

Meanwhile, a kobold on each side of the earthen mound came popping up from a pit covered in a pot lid and three inches of dirt. Which put one of them pushing up the lid directly at Bee's feet, where she promptly stepped down on it pinning the poor guy underneath it.

The one on the far side managed to get himself out, as did the one on top of the mound. Just in time for Molly to dash over and jam her screw spiked racket into its throat as if began to rise to fire its toothpick crossbow. She had to lean into it, but she still managed to crush its throat before she had to step back to avoid getting a scalpel spear in the face from the one running up the other side of the hill.

The boy twisted around and awkwardly stabbed down with his pitchfork at the one kobold who remained on his mount, but being so close to him the fork was too long to use. Hopefully, Ernesto would learn to carry around a shorter weapon like a knife in the future to deal with things like this.

While he didn't hurt it, he did manage to pry it off and step back far enough that between him and Molly they could begin to finish them off.

At least until the one on top of the hill jumped onto the boy's arm and began stabbing with one hand into Ernesto's neck. Molly managed to beat on it with the stringed part of her racket enough to stun it into losing its grip then beat it to death.

Bee meanwhile kept looking helplessly from the metal pot lid beneath her feat a metallic tapping sound was coming from the fight in the middle of the room. She didn't want to try to join the fight for fear of letting the kobold out, and shooting fire into the fight would end up with her burning one of the others.

Letting the kobold out and finishing it off never seemed to occur to her. Well, this is why dungeons existed. Learn here at low stakes to save your life later on.

I wonder if I should do one of those after action reports. Or at least suggest to Iris that she should do them herself.

After healing up their various scratches and fairly serious stabbing on the boy, they decided to pull back for the day, never noticing the full sized wooden stake crossbow that was waiting for them underneath the earthen mound.

I would like to say it was mine now, but as they made their way back upstairs I found I could not absorb it. But I'm sure I can find some way to mount it on something, even if would take two kobolds to reload it.

As Ernesto began stripping off his armor, the three women made their way upstairs, chatting away loudly enough that through the open windows, their voices could be heard if not understood. At least from one house away anyways.

Hector came out of his front door and nervously made his way up to Iris’s.

Well, this could be good. Another party of adventurers would be helpful.