[Grigs]

Sylvia conversed with the child-like grigs for a bit, not giving away any vital information but sharing enough so she wasn't being to cryptic. After a while they departed and she watched after them smiling faintly. "I liked them, always nice to meet something so seemingly innocent." She spoke mostly to herself, and kept that faint smile for the rest of the day.

[Kobolds]

She jumped, not out of fright or worry but because she was dozing and the sudden rush of voices and stop of the cart had jolted her. Achuak was the center of attention right now and the poor kobold wasn't able to get a word in edgewise it seemed. "Woah woah, slow down there, please your going a mile a minute!" She spoke in draconic to keep things simple for the minute. "I'll play translator or the tallest of us can for the rest. I consider Achuak a friend he has been a great boon to us with our troubles. We have promised to help him in return. Who is Mikmak? What is the sacred statue? And where did he go, to recover said statue? Any information you can provide to us would be of great help." She hopped down from the cart and bowed politely to the kobolds.

"Forgive my manners I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sylvia, I promised to help my friend Achuak, we come bearing some news of our own but for now. How can we assist you?" She turned her attention to the rest of the group and cleared her throat. "They lost a sacred statue and a friend, I don't know where yet or what the statue is. I've asked if we can help them since they know Achuak and we have promised to help him. If you object please speak up." She spoke kind but quick, time seemed to be of the esscence. She waited, attention back on the other kobolds.

[Grigs]
For the most part, Achuak was silent through the encounter. He didn’t trust them – they were fey, and fey were something of a menace to him. It seemed that Sylvia at least wanted to scrounge up some sort of good relations with them, so the kobold kept his beak closed.

“I will stay on guard, make sure that no other fey-creatures are roaming nearby. Those demandable mites may be nearby still.” He left the party to scout out the surrounding area – and he did so as silently as possible.”

[Kobolds]
“Brothers! It warms my heart to see you all alive! May I quickly introduce you to these great warriors of the surface. I have seen them in action, and know that they may be trusted among our kind!”
Achuak proceeds to introduce all those he knows from the kobold band with the PCs. After which, he goes on to talk about Mikmek.

“I am sorry, but I have not seen Mikmek in my travels as of late. Indeed I have not seen many of my kind. But worry not, for we have come to save the tribe of Sootscale from that disgraceful Tartuk! That is, if Sootscale will speak to me. Please, you must have Sootscale come to me so that we might discuss the situation as a whole. If not, I fear the whole tribe will be either killed off or enslaved by this mad one.”
(The following can be intertwined with Sylvia’s speeches, though I am presuming the kobolds will listen to Achuak more than a stranger.)

Ack: “Brothers! It warms my heart to see you all alive! May I quickly introduce you to these great warriors of the surface. I have seen them in action, and know that they may be trusted among our kind!”

Sly: Sylvia jumped, not out of fright or worry but because she was dozing and the sudden rush of voices and stop of the cart had jolted her. Achuak was the center of attention right now and the poor kobold wasn't able to get a word in edgewise it seemed. "Woah woah, slow down there, please your going a mile a minute!" She spoke in draconic to keep things simple for the minute. "I'll play translator or the tallest of us can for the rest. I consider Achuak a friend he has been a great boon to us with our troubles. We have promised to help him in return. Who is Mikmak? What is the sacred statue? And where did he go, to recover said statue? Any information you can provide to us would be of great help." She hopped down from the cart and bowed politely to the kobolds.

Sly: "Forgive my manners I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sylvia, I promised to help my friend Achuak, we come bearing some news of our own but for now. How can we assist you?" She turned her attention to the rest of the group and cleared her throat. "They lost a sacred statue and a friend, I don't know where yet or what the statue is. I've asked if we can help them since they know Achuak and we have promised to help him. If you object please speak up." She spoke kind but quick, time seemed to be of the esscence. She waited, attention back on the other kobolds.
The kobold scout looked at the tallfolk warily, but as with Oleg, he was willing to trust them on good recommendation.

Ack: “I am sorry, but I have not seen Mikmek in my travels as of late. Indeed I have not seen many of my kind. But worry not, for we have come to save the tribe of Sootscale from that disgraceful Tartuk! That is, if Sootscale will speak to me. Please, you must have Sootscale come to me so that we might discuss the situation as a whole. If not, I fear the whole tribe will be either killed off or enslaved by this mad one.” 
The scout on the left let out a tiny gasp and all three looked about as if afraid they might be struck down simply for hearing such heretical words. When no retribution came, the leader of the party spoke again, but in hushed tones.

“You are brave as they say, Achuak.” He looked to his two companions, then around once more. “It is true, Tartuk has been a terror to this tribe—we are less than half what we were before he arrived, but we cannot do anything so long as the Curse of Old Sharptooth hangs over us. I can deliver your message to Chief Sootscale, but I fear it would be too difficult for him to get away without being noticed.”

The kobold scratched his chin with one black claw in thought. “We can do nothing until we hold the magic statue for ourselves—then no one need fear the curse. If Mikmek does not return soon we will have to send another raid.”

“Perhaps,” said the kobold on his left, revealing herself to the tallfolk to be a female kobold, “we could ask Achuak and his companions to retrieve the statue?”

The leading scout looked from her to Achuak, the gears turning in his head considering the proposition. “Would you? Would you go to the den of those accursed little devils and bring back our magic statue? We are in dire need of great warriors to fight for us in these dark times.”

(Lol, expected more chatting with the grigs, but nevertheless you get your rewards.)

Sylvia nodded again speaking in draconic for their benefit. "You have my aid. I need to speak with Sootscale after as well if I'll be allowed the honor. I assume by 'little devils' you mean the corpses of those...things we have been seeing strewn about?" She spoke solemnly, as much as she wished to offer her condolences for the fallen kobolds she would do so later for now though, it was time to hold up her end of a promise.

"It is good to here that you are willing to aid us in this mission." Achuak said, bowing at her response. "Indeed, I was worried that I may have to delve into that hellhole by myself, for I do not expect any of you to follow. It was not apart of the initial deal we had made, so I did not wish to ask any of you do this task. But now that Sylvia has offered her hand in this quest, may I boldly ask for the rest of yours as well?"

Another humble bow was given. "It is to my understanding that the charter which you came with was to rid the land of as many threats as possible so that your kind might settle here. If that be the case, then these mites will certainly be a good start towards the monster slaying. Furthermore, in riding us of our hated foe, I am sure that Sootscale will be far more willing to follow you, and not see you as a new enemy hostile."

The green kobold then pointed a claw to the north. "If we head in that direction, we should soon be able to see their nest: a grand tree that has since withered away. My clan has a tale that tells of a necromancer that took various forms of decay and lay it at the foot of that tree when it was fully prospering. From that pile of death were created the first mites which were designed for the sole purpose of destroying first the tree, then the rest of the land. It will be very hard to miss."

"I don't see why not. The more we take care of before the charter's completion, the less work we'll have to do later." Aria noted, "I am in as well."

Junn growled slowly falling from his painful high

" Why not sounds like it'll be great fun to fight a bunch of things in a big tree just what I always dream of doing since I was alittle boy"

He rolled his eyes then smiled half heartedly and got of and began to ready for the trip

The kobold scouts seemed very pleased by this turn of events. “As soon as we have the statue, we should be safe from the curse! Return quickly, or who knows what may happen!” The lead scout addressed the rest in common. “Much thank-you!”

Pharast 9
Northern Kamelands
The Old Sycamore – Mite Warren
It wasn't difficult to find the warren of the little blue monsters—even if there hadn't been a clear trail of corpses littering the twelve mile span between. The greying behemoth of a sycamore tree that marked the site of the warren towered above all the hills in the area, and it's highest skeletal branches—stretching up to a hundred feet in the air—could be clearly spotted from several miles away.

As the group approached and Achuak came closer to the tree than he had ever dared in the past the tiny kobold realized something he had never noticed from a distance—the tree, though barely clinging to any semblance of life, was not yet actually dead.

They brought their wagon to a halt a short distance downhill from the tree itself. The horse happily received a feedbag to munch on while they were away. Before climbing the hill, each prepared his or herself for combat, drawing weapons and loading crossbows.

There was at least one further of those troubles-that-come-in-varied-groupings. When they made it to the base of the old sycamore, there was no clear sign that anything lived in the area, much less an entire warren of mites. They were not delayed for long, though. Junn noticed a suspicious gap between the roots of the tree and Achuak spotted where the grass had been disturbed by habitual passage.

Using his acute vision, designed for exactly the kind of conditions found deep underground, Achuak peered into the gap. He confirmed that it was, indeed, as suspicious as it seemed. Concealed just below was a narrow root-lined shaft dropping almost ten feet below the ground. By his judgement, the roots would be strong enough to support their weight, and covered the shaft densely enough for an easy descent. Looking back at his companions, though, he realized the tallfolk would likely find the situation somewhat cramped.

(Assuming no one objects unduly to crawling in a hole barely large enough to fit you. You don't have to like it, but I'm operating under the assumption that howevermuch complaining goes down, you get in.)

Aria drew a lightning-bug from her pack and cast a light spell on the locket of Takahashi's sheath, causing it to shed illumination around the samurai while Achuak's natural vision provided a rearguard.

- - - -

Only a few moments after the last party member hopped into the hole, a stranger riding through the area stopped by the wagon. It was already getting late in the afternoon. He decided it was worth having a look around, and dismounted.

“Look, Vilify, a friend for you.” He tied up his loyal family steed next to the party's horse.

Now assuming he was right, he just had to figure where they'd gone. He looked around the area once, then his gaze returned to the tree. There was no use in denying it, so he trekked up the hill to have a look around.

- - - -

As per Achuak's estimation, the climb was almost effortless, hardly any more challenging than a ladder. At the bottom of the shaft the roof was low, hardly more than five foot at most, and densely covered with roots grabbing at the party's heads. Only the kobold was spared the need to duck. (All medium creatures are stooped; -2 attack rolls)

From the bottom of the shaft there were two ways to go, each extending down in opposite directions deeper into the earth. See here for a rough cross-section (apparently only text shadow survived the transfer; you should still be able to read it). Have either Marching Order leader (Takahashi), Unofficial team leader (Sylvia out of pure virtue of being the most vocal), or Rite of Democracy determine which direction to go.

Sylvia looked around, it was cramped and irritating she wanted nothing more then to be out of these tunnels. But a job had to be done. "I don't care what direction we go, but, I would like Achuak to see if he can scout ahead of us a bit whatever direction it is, and keep us informed of what we are facing if anything right away."

"I don't care what direction we go, but, I would like Achuak to see if he can scout ahead of us a bit whatever direction it is, and keep us informed of what we are facing if anything right away."
Achuak nodded. “Indeed our minds are thinking alike. I too believe that I should go on ahead and use the veil shadows to our advantage. I will also scour the area for any hazards that might warrant as traps: these pathetic creatures are stupid and unimaginative, so anything that might resemble a trap would have to be of natural forming. None the less, I shall take the necessary precautions to keep the group safe and secure.

Achuak then chose one of the two paths and started to creep about it, moving as silently as possible with his crossbow drawn.

-Descend down to R1

Achuak snuck down the tunnel, leaving behind Takahashi and Aria prepared to face whatever came following him if he was spotted. After a short depth Achuak saw a room at the end of tunnel. He could hear the hated mites inside the room—at least two—giggling in intervals.

The kobold kept low and crept just close enough to get a glimpse of one of the creatures. He watched as one of the mites stood waiting with its mouth open wide. A moment later something small and sharp-looking flung into its waiting maw. Both the mites giggled as the catcher swallowed the object and writhed about ticklishly, then switched places.

Achuak could only see half of the room from his position, but there were three crude workbenches in the centre, each covered with an assortment of tools and metal and wooden hardware. The far side of the room there was another exit, sloping down further.

The next shot bounced off the mite's bulbous head and landed in Achuak's direction. He quickly pulled back out of sight just in case, but not before he saw that the mites were shooting and swallowing metal caltrops.

Achuak froze as he heard the mite sniffing the air loudly like a boar, almost as if the fey was trying to clear his nose in reverse. Thankfully the mite's companion called its attention back to the game and the ugly blue creature didn't put much thought into traces of a scent.

Without further hesitation Achuak scurried up the tunnel back to the party.

“There are two vermin that way in some kind of crude workshop. There appears to be another root-lined shaft at the far end of the room going down like the one we came in.” The kobold's hatred was audible in his voice as he described the room.

Sylvia nodded and poked her head around the person in front of her. "Alright, just the two though?" She thought for a moment, brow furrowed. "I suppose our best bet then would be to simply swing the door open and kill them or subdue them before one can scurry off to gather help. I'd rather us not be backed into a corner on their home turf."

The mites both hissed and squinted their massive black eyes at the intruding light. The latest caltrop launched bounced off the one's bulbous dome skull, only annoying it further. They reached for their knives, but Achuak's trigger finger was faster. He pointed his crossbow at the nearest. The mechanism gave a thunk and the bolt sprouted from the mite's chest (-2dmg Dingetooth). Were it not for the creature's natural resistance to physical harm, it would probably be dying already.

The stricken mite clutched its wound with a gurgling protest. The other standing next to a small catapult-like contraption reached for his sword but instead took a caltrop from the diminishing pile. With a malicious grin it pulled the catapult back and launched the caltrop at Achuak.

The kobold turned to the other mite just in time to take the small spiked projectile on the cheekbone, drawing a shallow cut just below his eye (-1dmg Achuak). Its ears visibly drooped to see the ineffectiveness of a direct strike.

Capitalizing on Achuak's distraction, the first mite charged forth in a rage. Any experienced eye could see that the mite never had a chance to hit the nimble sniper. Behind the mite his companion was already making a quick getaway to the shaft at the back of the room. Without hesitation it jumped onto the root-covered wall and started descending.

Junn, doubled-over almost in half from the low ceiling, made his way into the room. He left his flank open for a brief moment as he stepped around Achuak, looking for a little room to swing his sword. The mite was no more successful than he had been with the kobold. When he was situated, Junn fixed his yellow-and-black eyes on the creature with a grin. The blade of his sword alone was longer than the gremlin was tall. The mite was again very resistant, but not enough for the elf's strength. He rent (-4dmg Dingetooth Dying).

No doubt the other was on its way to warn more of its companions about the intruders. If they came up the shaft in force, the room would quickly get crowded with things trying to kill one another.

Achuak 10/11 –
Aria – Hunched
Junn – Hunched
Sordin – Hunched
Sylvia – Hunched
Takahashi – Hunched

Dingetooth – Dying
Uurch – Fleeing down shaft.

(Alright, here's the breakdown: Sordin goes next, but his position at the back of the party means it would take his whole round to make it to the edge of the shaft. He could shoot next round, assuming the mite was still there. Sylvia can move and cast this round. There's no guarantee her cantrip will deal enough damage to take it out, but there's always a hope. Takahashi could sheath his sword and draw his bow as he moves, but he would have to wait like Sordin. Finally Aria can cast some kind of spell so that the humans mentioned have a chance to see the mite in the darkness (Takahashi is currently the only source of light in the area))

(For the record by the way, it's common knowledge by now that the mites have damage reduction (cold iron), so I just wanted to point out that the damage displayed is not the total roll but the result dealt after DR applied. I'll try to remember to keep it as such, unless you'd rather the other way around, seeing the total damage and gleaning from context how much effect was actually dealt)

Map is a lot cruder than you're used to because this particular compy is a pain to paint with and this battle was never going to last long anyway. Link brings you to my dropbox again 'cause I'm not gonna post that on DA
As for that cross-section, once again: Manoeuvred to show more of the room below (R3) so you can make some kind of educated guess what you're jumping into if you should so choose to go thataway.

Sylvia slinked her way into the room and narrowed her eyes. One of the buggers was fleeing ans this was bad, very bad if the ugly thing managed to alert his friends. "Not so fast you little bugger!" She hissed, a ball of magical energy formed her hand, and without taking her eyes off the mite she tossed it to the side. The missle went wide then darted right into the fleeing mite, a gurgle issued from the disgusting thing as it felt the impact, but kept on trucking on his intended course. Sylvia blinked, she had to admit these guys were tenacious little things.

DM Note: Uurch -3dmg Staggered

The shaft was pitch black, impossible to see down for human eyes. Takahashi brought the light with him, illuminating most of the shaft. The trickle of water flowing down the wall drained out of the room down the shaft, dropping thirty feet to the barely illuminated floor below.

The mite turned to look up and hissed at the light, perhaps sensing its end. It clung to the roots half of the way down the shaft, just at the edge of the illuminated area. Sylvia's spell drew a squeal of pain from the gremlin. Its movements were pained and laboured as it tried to catch its breath.

Takahashi sheathed his sword and prepared to start climbing down. Aria behind him cast ahead a light spell into the shaft. The spell created four points of light that illuminated the whole root-lined area.

The Sordin took aim at the mite. The creature slowly laboured its way to the bottom of the shaft, reaching the bottom. It had barely staggered away from the wall when Sordin released. The mite took the arrow near-vertically through the chest, dropping on the spot (-3dmg Uurch Dying).

Junn glanced at the crowd around the shaft and deigned to take his time looking around the workshop instead. The workbenches in the centre of the room were covered with an assortment of tools and poor-quality crafting materials, as well as the makeshift caltrop-catapult.

Everything in the room, though, appeared to be designed with a cruel sense of practical humour in mind. A miniature joke-workshop with murderous intent in every prank. On one wall there was a paper tacked, its purpose unknowable. It was marked with a tally, adding up to seven so far. Whether it stood for some kind of crude inventory or the days since the last serious accident, he could not read it to say.

Achuak 10/11 – Reloadin'
Aria – Hunched, Dancing Lights 1/10
Junn 4/8 – Hunched
Sordin – Hunched
Sylvia – Hunched
Takahashi – Hunched, Light ~1min (Aria)

Dingetooth – Dying
Uurch – Dying

(Initiative will be kept up for now. It's Sylvia's turn next (then TK, then Aria, then take it from the top with Achuak again, Junn, Sordin, and so on). Takahashi is obviously just a few moments from crawling down the shaft, so putting away weapons to follow him would probably be prudent, though getting in front of him probably isn't—though as I think about it, there are enough roots on the walls for him to go past you, and there's more or less no way you'd make it to the bottom before him, to say nothing of the fact that between him and the dancing lights spell, there is enough illumination in the area.)

(As for climbing, the roots make it relatively easy, and if you're good at climbing you can take a -5 penalty to your check to make an accelerated climb (move 1/2 speed rather than 1/4) down, but due to proximity to battle (prior and following) you can't Take 10 to concentrate unless you have a climb speed.)