Kihlek

Kihlek Vaess

Who really knows what he looks like under the cloak?

Relatives	None
Languages	Draconic, Halfling, Common, Sylvan
Affiliations	TBD
Aliases	Green Fang
Marital Status	Single
Place of Birth	Isonhound WIlds
Date of Death	N/A
Place of Death	N/A
Species	Kobold
Gender	Male
Height	2 Feet.
Weight	25 lbs
Eye Color	Gray

Kihlek Vaess (pronounced Kee-lek Vay-ess) is a Kobold Drakewarden Ranger native to the wilds of Isonhound. He is a character in the Into the Greedy Green campaign.

Physical Appearance

Kihlek is short for a Kobold at just barely 2 feet tall. He has green scales and gray eyes. He weighs about 26 pounds, but doesn't keep track of that sort of thing. Usually he will wear a hooded dark cloak over his armor, with a shortbow slung over his shoulder. Aside from his armor, he wears a necklace strung with beads, small fragments of bone, and 47 (mostly) whole teeth.

Personality

Kihlek tends to fade into the background as much as he can. He prefers not to be noticed, and is quite happy being left to his own devices outdoors. Despite this preference, Kihlek actively seeks not just adventure, but the opportunity to do "great deeds." The more impressive the feat, the more likely Kihlek is to ignore the risks and attempt it. And if he succeeds, he will make sure anyone and everyone knows it and remembers. He keeps a notebook in which he maintains a record of all his deeds and the people who witnessed them. Most of his recent deeds lack witnesses. He also keeps souvenirs of creatures or foes that he slays. That way, no one can doubt the truth of his claims!

History

Hatched in 814 PR as a member of the Ixen Jonal tribe of Kobolds in wilds of Isonhound. Around the year 821 PR the tribe was destroyed in a violent attack by a group of individuals who looted the caverns. During the attack, several of the tribe's members fled or hid, but Kihlek never found any other survivors. In the aftermath of the attack, Kihlek scavenged his home for supplies and collected the teeth and bones of his fellow kobolds in the necklace he keeps around his neck, always to remember them. In the long winter following the destruction of his home, Kihlek struggled to eek out a life in the wilds until he discovered a small community of halflings. While he took great pains not to be discovered, eventually his minor pilfering of supplies and use of the surrounding woods was discovered. Rather than kill him, the halflings adopted him as a kind of strange pet. In a community once more, Kihlek began to develop a reputation as a talented archer and a surprisingly cunning linguist. In an effort to elevate the opinion of himself and his tribe, Kihlek began taking on greater and greater challenges: archery contests, missions to track down missing animals, and even slaying dangerous beasts.

During this time, Kihlek learned the Halfling and Sylvan languages and further honed his skills as a Ranger. He also first learned how to summon Thirku, which made his forest excursions significantly more successful. Despite finding a limited amount of acceptance among the halflings, Kihlek was never truly comfortable as a member of the community. But perhaps most importantly, he began to comprehend the true scale of the world and his growing need to experience it.

Since the Spring of 825 PR, Kihlek finally felt free to travel. He has lived primarily on his own in the wilderness since, never staying too long in one place, seeking greater challenges and the ability to prove his worth to the world. This leads him to his first contact with other adventurers in Into the Greedy Green.

Languages

Kihlek knows Draconic, Common, Halfling, and Sylvan. He is most comfortable conversing in Draconic, and does so whenever possible.

Powers and Abilities

Kihlek does his absolute best to attack with his shortbow from behind cover. He is shockingly quick at finding or creating cover in all manner of circumstances, and is not above using allies as human(oid) shields.

Attacks and Weapons 

Kihlek's favored weapon is the shortbow. He would be happy to use something with a little more punch, or even more range, but finds that heavy weapons like the longbow are unsuited to his size. He hand-crafts his arrows, preferring to use bone tips for the heads when possible, but has begrudgingly found that metal heads tend to be easier to re-use. He keeps a shortsword and a long hunting knife available should the need arise for close combat, but is far happier dealing with his foes at range, where the all-too common size difference is much more of an advantage for Kihlek. Kihlek always attacks in tandem with his companion: Thirku, a drake.

Adventures in the Greedy Green

Selections from Kihlek's record of deeds.

Mistaken Identity and the "Green Stag"

Been stopping at a Loxo village for a while to stock up on more travel supplies and see more of the world. Lots of people and places. Many, many clans and rivalries. Helped out Loxo village with some small forest tasks. Word spread that I was the "Green Fang" and was in the area. People came looking for a bounty on someone they thought was me. They were wrong. Turns out there's a large bounty on a dragon known as the "Green Stag" in the area that has been causing lots of trouble and someone is willing to pay a great deal to have it dealt with. That, and someone was just attacked by a dragon in the woods nearby. Left the bounty hunters a note telling them I can track down this quarry and that I am NOT the "Green Stag," but the "Green Fang!" Besides, what self-respecting creature would want to be a stag? Those beasts are little more than meat. Spent most of the evening tracking the path back to where this one man was attacked. Trail seems easy enough to follow, and there does seem to be someone else missing. Maybe this will be a quick mission and get these strangers off my back, then I can continue traveling more safely.

These people are very skittish. Kept pushing me to join their "crew" which seems to be some kind of tribe who lives on a large raft. The one was most insistent that I couldn't be trusted unless I was part of this "crew," but I managed to mollify them and lead them to the site of the attack on the one's boat. Clearly a dragon's lair, but not one that fit for a green dragon. Island in a small lake that looks far more suited to a white dragon, but shows signs of recent changes. Strategized for a while on ways to lure the dragon out and defeat it. Just before we settled on an approach, the strange one who also hides under a cloak and keeps telling people he "sees" them threw a large rock into the water, surprising everyone and starting an attack by a clutch of wyrmlings. The battle was swift and bloody. Many of the crewmembers were dropped as the wyrmlings unleashed a torrent of breath attacks on those foolish enough to get close. Unfortunately, Thirku was also destroyed multiple times during the encounter as well.

In the midst of the battle, some part of the commotion alerted the "Green Stag" to our presence as well. (Any claims that I purposefully shot an arrow into the cave mouth to alert it are patently false!) The green dragon was massive and exuded an aura of great power; seemingly far greater than something this ragtag group could best. Fortunately, the dragon didn't seem interested in fighting either. It instead offered us an ultimatum: tell no one of its presence, or suffer its wrath and die. (It also offered us the uncontested spoils of the white dragon's lair should we accept.) Unwilling to volunteer even these strangers to an almost-certain death, I accepted the Dragon's offer on behalf of the group and told them not to attack the greater wyrm. It still surprises me that it did not simply decide that slaying us outright would be the safer course of action, but I am glad that it didn't try to chase us through the forest and eradicate us.

As the green dragon flew off, we finally finished off the last of the wyrmlings, leaving their carcasses on the side of the lake. Some efforts were made to harvest useful materials from their remains, but as I failed to slay any of them, I permitted the others to claim those spoils. In the meantime, I restored Thirku and had him begin scouting the island. The frigid waters did not seem particularly welcoming to me, so I ran a line of rope from a nearby tree to the island to make a dryer conveyance. The island was comprised almost entirely with a single, circuitous cave. Within we did not find any traps, but did find the remarkably well-preserved corpse of a giant, the recently slain body of a white dragon, and the white dragon's considerable hoard. The group agreed to split the coinage of the hoard evenly, and distribute notable items according to interest. Seeing as we bested at least some foe in reaching the lair, it seemed acceptable to collect the spoils, although the situation was not ideal. I was able to recover a significant amount of white dragon scales and a Dryad's Heart in addition to the monetary reward. It's actually hard to carry this much, so I will have to find some more portable way to transport this wealth. Diamonds and gems seem the most logical.

Having accepted the spoils, it seems that we are indeed bound by our word to the dragon not to reveal his presence. (But I think the Loxo in the village already know.) I declined the offer to join their crew once again; and I don't know why they kept trying to call me a navigator, when tracker seems like a perfectly good word for what I do. The journey continues. And now I suppose I won't have to worry about being able to afford food and lodging anywhere else I find a place to stay. In the meantime, I will look to find materials to craft myself a better bow, or perhaps simply replace the string since it seemed somewhat insufficient. Perhaps I can find some more halflings and get some more good luck to rub off on me. Or at least, some of the bad luck can rub off.

Drakkoths attack Hallasen (a village near Seglock)

Approached the town of Seglock mid-afternoon on the [10th of may]. There was a commotion and confusion - in part because some of the travelers I had joined seemed to have displeased a previous employer (something about a Dryad and a Satyr - NOT involving the heart I acquired on my previous excursion), but the situation didn't turn dangerous. The other source of commotion was centered on the town library, where a number of refugees were gathered, and triage was being done on wounded individuals. While some of my new companions sought information from old women, I took a command decision to interrogate the nearby guards. As a result, we were able to not only discover the source of the attack - an "army" of Dragon-like monsters we later identified as Drakkoths - but I was also able to secure our party a bounty for eliminating the threat. Hearing that some people were still in the village, we made ready to set out immediately. Claiming his mother was still in the village, a priest who said his name was Echamus joined us.

As we arrived, we took advantage of my stealth and keen vision to assess the situation and plan an attack on the invading Drakkoth. And I took position atop a roof to rain death on the foe, while others ran into the fray. During the heat of combat, Grandmush located and rescued a number of civilians from a burning building. Meanwhile, despite claiming he would stay back, "Echamus" the priest joined the fight, immediately turning into a white-ish dragon and killing one of the invaders by flying into the air with him and dropping him from the sky. The remaining six Drakkoth quickly fell, but not before some strange attempt at a courtship ritual involving Tokax. Seemingly satisfied, "Echamus" never flew back down, and instead simply abandoned the field, although it would not surprise to me find that he was somehow involved in the attack. Before the final Drakkoth fell, it claimed that "the one who waits will see you soon," in some attempt to be ominous. But with its innards quickly becoming outards, it wasn't entirely clear how threatening this other figure could be. Gathering the remaining survivors and the seven Drakkoth bodies of proof of our accomplishments, we then returned to Seglock.

Guard captain Visio was surprised and impressed when we returned, although he didn't seem to understand my request that he "promote" me. Instead he offered me some kind of trial corporal-ship in the guard rather than acting as a reference and spreading the word that smart people should hire "The Green Fang" for their tricky and dangerous tasks if they want them done right. But this guard work should provide a useful opportunity to keep an eye on the refugees from Hallasen and see if the dragon "Echamus" tries to make contact with any of them again.

In the meantime, we gathered some more information on "the one who waits" and on "Echamus" who is apparently a fairy tale figure. Echamus is the name of “The Moon Child”, or son of the moon dragon Eros. Madame Webe, a Lunalen priestess provided some scant information about "the one who waits" claiming he was just the local boogeyman figure meant to frighten people. It dwells in dark places, preys upon those who stray from the blessed light of the moon, and will one day come into the light and bring with it a series of catastrophic events. (In all, something to watch out for, and keep a note of, but only if a future event seems more significant.)

Guarding Seglock

The corporal position with the guard provided me with ample opportunity to keep an eye on the Hallasen refugees to see if any disguised dragons made contact with them. (Just in case Echamus was actually interested in some of their well-being.) The villagers are simple folk with the primary goal of reclaiming their home and returning to it. This is a goal I can respect, and I have done my best to support the rebuilding efforts, both for the peoples' benefit and my own purposes. Spending so much time with them has let me grow close and respected among them, and even Thirku is a welcome sight in the village despite my initial fear that his presence would be a reminder of the recent losses. There haven't been any particularly suspicious events yet, but I will continue to keep my eyes peeled in case something untoward occurs.

With word of a new artifact intended to protect Seglock from dragonkind, and with the people of Hallasen able to return to their village, I will go with them both to help protect the village as it rebuilds, and to continue my watch for more hints of why Echamus was interested in ensuring our party got involved in saving the villagers earlier.

Protecting Hallasen

This post is generally quiet, and there haven't been any new incidents of Drakkoth attacks, or any trace of the burgeoning threat of "Cheshire" creatures around Hallasen in particular. I've spent most of the time ensuring there is not a lot of dangerous wildlife too near to the village. Eliminating or driving some of the more threatening animals further away so that people can roam the woods even at night in relatively safety. I also spent some time teaching the people about setting up early warning alarms around the perimeter so that they can be aware if unknown and unwanted visitors approach the village from odd directions. I think one of the children might have a talent for magic, because she seems like she might even be able to fully cast the Alarm spell through the ritual steps I showed her. While that only covers a small area, any early warning can make a huge difference in saving lives.

Word of the attack on Seglock came by the other day, and I think it's time I move on from Hallasen and seek more information elsewhere. With three full cycles of the moon having gone by already, I find it unlikely that I will learn any more about Echamus or "the one who waits" by waiting here. If either has had forces reach out to the area since the initial Drakkoth attack, then they did so with incredible subtlety. Even so, the people of Hallasen know they can call upon "The Green Fang" for aid in the future, and they know to spread word of my reliability to others who may be in need.

The apothecary "Mother Love" is apparently having trouble with a Black dragon in a nearby bog, and that task seems as good as any to jump back into. Perhaps this dragon may know more about the other dragons involved in current goings-on.

Solving Mother Love's Problem

After journeying for a few days I reached the crossroads of Apara along with several other adventurers looking to answer the message from Mother Love. After a few moments for us all to gather in the inn, Mother Love arrived and described her problem: a black dragon recently took up residence in the nearby swamp where she normally gathers herbs, and she would like us to find a way to displace it so she can safely continue to use the swamp as before. All of the common people in Apara seemed delighted to see her, almost suspiciously so, but there weren't any problems, and no one else seemed to find it off. She did not offer much in the way of rewards, but did convince several of the others to take up her request with the promise of baked goods. She marked the location of the dragon on a map and gave us directions to the area, and we all quickly went off to deal with the dragon problem.

Several of the group had difficulty making progress through the swamp, mostly due to being distracted by the plant life, and this has made me consider the potential value in practicing skills in exploring this type of terrain in the future, as such skills will likely prove valuable the next time I need to lead a group through this type of terrain. The goblin tinker Pot'tu'N'Kobb seemed very excited when he ate a plant that caused his tongue to go numb, and another self-proclaimed herbalist said the plant should have been a sweet-tasting healing herb. This would seem to indicate that the dragon's influence on the surrounding area is having a surprisingly thorough effect on things, and in ways that are not necessarily normal. Something to keep an eye on with any future dragons.

With the delays caused by herbalism, we reached the dragon's cave a few hours later than planned, but before we lost light, And despite the wisdom of setting camp outside the lair and trying to draw the dragon out to us, Dur'kalak was determined not to wait and to slay the dragon immediately. The seven of us entered the lair without even a bit of stealth, and I kept a good distance between myself and the leading party members to stay out of an impending breath attack. Surprisingly, the dragon did not lay in wait and ambush us, but instead engaged in conversation, taunting us and trying to convince us to abandon our mission as futile. While the aura of dread it emanated did disrupt our initial positioning, during this conversation those who were affected were able to throw off the terror with the well-timed aid of the bards Tristram and Pum and a blessing from the Cleric Linden Rue. It continued talking to Tristram in Elvish even as I started firing arrows at it, but while I could pick out a word or two from the Sylvan I know, I have no idea what he was telling it.

Battle began in earnest when the barbarians Kluck and Dur'kalak charged into the dragon's face and started to lay into it. From that point on (and really, was there ever any chance otherwise?) there was no more talking, only violence. Unleashing a Tiny Hut by way of a Glyph of Warding, Tristram created a safe space in the midst of the dragon's lair in which most of the group took refuge between attacks. I stayed at the edges of the cavern and continued firing arrows, while Thirku was able to just barely reach the dragon before it took flight away from him. As the dragon realized it would not be able to defeat us, it began to flee, but it was not able to escape before we brought it down.

With the dragon slain, Dur'kalak immediately set to tearing into the corpse, seemingly more for personal vengeance than for any practical purposes. Meanwhile, the rest of us began searching for the dragon's horde. We found an entrance to the horde hidden in the floor of the chamber we fought in, and located quite an impressive haul of items. In addition to the considerable wealth--more than I have ever seen in once place before--there were also three black dragon eggs. Pot'tu tried to destroy the eggs on sight, but was stopped before any serious damage was done. Then the party started a heated debate on what to do with the eggs, whether to sell, destroy, or raise them. Eventually it was settled that the eggs would be taken by Linden, Pum, and Tristram, supposedly to be raised as non-violent/non-evil creatures in the future. This is nothing but foolishness (even assuming the eggs hatch, raising a dragon would take decades, and no dragon will be satisfied being raised by a normal person), but if they want to spend time on an egg instead of a practical item, that is on them, not on me. During this debate, a wave of energy exploded in the lair, marking everyone with some kind of dark magic. The scales on my right hand have blackened in an ominous pattern that looks disturbingly close to the word "Death" in draconic script, and I feel a strange new source of energy in my body. It's unclear if this is a result of slaying the dragon or some kind of effect of the ruins in which we fought, but it is somewhat worrying, and I will have to be extra careful until I learn more.

Since there was far too much to carry, a group of us set off back to town to get a few wagons in order to haul the wealth back with us. Upon bringing the horde and the useful parts of the dragon's carcass back with us to Apara, we were greeted by Mother Love. She seemed very interested in acquiring one or more dragon eggs for "medicinal matters," but those who had taken the eggs concealed them and told her that we didn't find any. She seemed a bit disappointed, and voice some common sense concerns about why anyone would want the eggs to hatch. I raised the promise with Mother Love about providing some kind of potions as a reward and not just baked goods, but it remains to be seen what she may be able to produce and whether she will provide anything herself. That said, I have more than enough wealth to deal with currently, so I will have to look into some form of magical portable storage in the near future, as well as ways to use that wealth to further my goals. At the very least I can spread the word that The Green Fang is now a dragonslayer. This should help me open doors and gain access to new resources. And maybe I have enough funds to try to find some more answers about what exactly happened to the Ixen Jonal. Perhaps the Seglock University can tell me if there is a magical way to view the past, or determine what exactly killed my people. And if I know, maybe I can deliver some proper justice to whatever caused it.

Missing Town Leaders and the Protectors of the People

After the attack on their secret base, the Protectors of the People have been moving their base of operations from [location] to closer to Seglock. [Session information to be continued].

Revenge? Drakkoth Peace negotiations for the Order of the Watchful Eye

While details for Kihlek's participation with the Protectors of the People were still ongoing, he took a trip to Gammelgard upon hearing of a request for aid from the Order of the Watchful Eye. Apparently, the Order has been keeping a Drakkoth captive in order to maintain a steady source of blood. Drakkoth blood, when applied to weapons, apparently has an explosive reaction when it comes in contract with Cheshire creatures. Despite the main source of these creatures being eliminated, the Order of the Watchful eye was interested in obtaining significantly greater quantities of blood, and was willing to offer a peace treaty to a nearby tribe of Drakkoth, the Fire Bloods. Drakkoth tribes had recently come under attack from Dragons, and the treaty would offer the Fire Blood tribe of Drakkoth protection from outside forces (including the dragons) in exchange for 5 gallons of blood each month. The order gathered a group consisting of myself, a protoforged named Vessel, the Cleric Arlin, a spellcaster Cecil (who also had many self-appointed titles. A process potentially worth looking into since I could maybe use a title or two.), and Trina the warlock to escort their prisoner back to his tribe, and to conduct the final negotiations and obtain a signature.

There were many irregularities about the situation. First, there did not appear to actually be an official armistice in place for the negotiations, nor was it clear what terms had even generally been agreed upon. It also wasn't entirely clear what authority the Order had to negotiate a treaty in the first place, let alone what authority to change terms during the negotiations our party would have. Second, only the Order was involved in writing the treaty, which they called a "Terms and Conditions" document. This document was not only egregiously long and complex, but it also still failed to address key areas of possible contention or difficulty. There was no summary or short form of the arrangement, and it was unclear how much of it had been agreed to prior to being set down. Perhaps worst of all, the treaty was presented solely in Common, with no authoritative copy written in Draconic. When pressed on this point, the author of the report practically panicked, but both took no responsibility, and did not assist in any way to remedy the situation. The meeting was set for the day we arrived, and the journey would take most of the day, so there was no time to adjust the document or really resolve some of these problems. We were effectively told to figure it out, give back the prisoner, and return with the agreement to provide the order with more blood.

Passing through the forest road in the direction of the Fire Blood tribe encampment, our group was waylaid by a group of lizardfolk bandits who demanded a toll in coin or blood. Frankly, this was offensive. I was fully set to respond in proper fashion by lodging an arrow in the throat of the "Bonehunter" nephew of the chief of their tribe, but the rest of the group seemed to think it would be wiser simply to satisfy the group. Cecil attempted to use his name and boasting to convince the lizardfolk that we were not worth their trouble, but it seemed that his words were less effective after going through translation by me or the lizardfolk's own translator who delivered their demands in common, and relayed our words in Draconic. This translator was a young orphan boy, who had apparently been either taken in or was a slave (it wasn't entirely clear, but when Trina offered him freedom, he didn't exactly seem enthused by the idea).

[To be continued]