The Hertak Kobolds

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GM James R

The Hertak Kobolds were a faction of kobolds who found, rescued, and then served the herald of Tiamat known as Corduth.

History

Before Corduth came along, they were led by an old and war ravaged kobold known as King Smazhgl, who was honored to serve under Corduth, and served as the group's leader in public. Originally a small group of raiders in the Diimgard region, the faction found themselves wildly empowered with Corduth's aid, who inspired them to take on larger raids in search of magical weapons. What the kobolds did not know is that they were being used as pawns in Corduth's great search for the Seven Arms of Sin. 

Against the Red Blade Orcs

As part of Corduth's missions, the Kobolds found themselves interlocked in war with the Orcs of the Diimgard region, who considered themselves the biggest and baddest group of wild raiders around. These tensions heightened when word spread that the Orcs had uncovered an ancient magical weapon they were calling The Gift of Gruumsh. Corduth feared the weapon was actually an Arm of Sin and had the kobolds ramp up their efforts to exterminate the Red Blades. The axe was not an arm of sin, and the conflicts between the two forces caused Prince Kaliel to send The Best Around to stop the orcs and retrieve the magical artifact. 

Attacks on Diimgard

With the Orcs stopped, the Kobolds turned their attentions to the cities of Diimgard, finally enacting a plan that was underway for two years. They knew the locations of all the magic shops, and within 48 hours, had launched attacks on most populations in area, spreading havoc domain-wide. The most notable of these attacks was the siege on Leishport in which the Kobold Lieutenant Armghili led a two day long siege that ended with the city nearly razed to the ground.

Tactics

Between 691 and 693 PR, the Hertak Kobolds crafted disguises using real skins of Halflings and Gnomes, and Dwarves to infiltrate urban populations of Diimgard and scout out the weapon shops to be attacked when Corduth made the order.

The Hertak Kobolds also had a chair of elders, many of them over 100 years old with rich draconic blood, who were able to strategize in clever ways typically unpracticed by kobolds. A library within the Hertak hideout housed stolen strategy books taken from various cities over several decades.

The Mountain King

During one heist of a magical weapon, the Kobolds came across an ancient staff known as The Spirit Staff of Naven. Toying with the artifact, the kobolds accidentally inserted the soul of a long dead hobgoblin warlock into the body of a common kobold named Glgnfz. Slightly mad from his years in the afterlife, this Kobold forsook his original leader Corduth and went rogue, declaring himself the all-powerful Mountain King. 

Glgnfz originally set up an outpost in an abandoned castle tower on the Harm River, but was swiftly driven out by Xanenth, Kragnux, and Reesec. Still believing that the Mountain King's staff was an Arm of Sin, the elves of Elin Barad sent The Best Around to track down Glgnfz and retrieve the staff. While the staff was almost retrieved the second time, the Mountain King escaped again after using his magic to charm half of the team and turn them against each other.  

Using the magic of the staff, Glgnfz would also mind control dozens of bugbears, ogres, goblins, and even adventurers, forming a sizeable army he used to attack the Hertak Kobolds and later Dolmvay.  

However, much like the elves, the great dragon Corduth was also hunting the Arms of Sin. After hearing from the elves that Glgnfz had the staff, he would track Glgnfz down on the day of Dolmvay seige. The dragon proved too great an adversary, and the Mountain King would perish in his siege on Dolmvay, killed by Corduth and his forces.