Asking a few questions of the local folk, I soon discover that the Nentir Inn is the most... economical place to stay in Fallcrest and made my way there. Securing a room - or more precisely, half a room as the best rooms have two beds - I settle down at the common table to get something to eat. Looking about I see that several of my fellow caravaners had also picked this inn to bed down for the night. As we all were new to the town, we ended up sharing a table as we had supper.
Sliver, Eldacar, Elladen, Valgar, Uhlk, and Extell had all chosen to part ways from the caravan but had no real plans for the future. We exchanged some pleasantries as we ate and checked out the local scene. As we sat there eating, an officious looking individual came in through the door.
"The Lord Warden of Fallcrest seeks brave adventurers to put an end to the kobold raids on the caravans. Those brave enough to complete this task will be richly rewarded!"
With the announcement made, the herald, whom I presume came from the Lord Warden, left to spread news of this offer to others.
We looked about the table at each other. We were all looking for work and I could tell a couple of them were looking forward to the prospect of tearing into kobolds. We agreed that it would be foolish for any of us to attempt such a feat alone and decided to band together - if only for this one task. We set out for the Lord Warden's manor to take up the offer.
The Lord Warden met with us promptly and ushered us into his study. He eyed us over and while I could tell he was unsure of our capabilities, it seemed that he was all to happy to send strangers to their deaths if it should mean a reduction of the kobold threat. He laid out his offer - it was straight forward enough. A ruin some 15 miles from Fallcrest was the home of these marauding kobolds and he wanted them cleared out. A hefty 10 gold for each kobold slain was the bounty - and an additional 100 gold if we could slay their leader. We looked at each other and found his offer more than generous.
We left the Lord Warden's home and made preparations for our expedition. The kobold hall was just to the west - maybe a half day by foot - so provisioning did not need to be extensive. While I finished my own preparations, a couple of the others returned from the armorer's. Apparently Teldorthan Goldcap the owner had lost a cargo in one of the kobold raids and was willing to pay a finders fee for its retrieval. 200 gold for the return of a green dragon hide - of course we accepted that offer as well as we were heading into the heart of kobold territory anyhow. With the group in agreement, we completed our preparations and planned on setting out at first light.
