Merric saw the Kobolds first. In general, Merric walked a few yards ahead of everyone else when they were traveling together. He was good at spotting ambushes and having him out front gave everyone else a few extra seconds to deal with whatever traps he sprung. These Kobolds weren't very good at ambushing though. They were mostly standing to either side of the road. Merric saw them as soon as he rounded a pile of boulders on the side of the road.
He held his hand up like an ax blade and gestured to either side of the road. Then he drew a dagger from his belt and ran down the road. Kobolds ran toward the road from either side. Some of them in front of Merric and some behind. He was between two groups. Excellent. He liked to be in the middle of things. Merric looked back up the road just in time to see a Kobold let fly with a sling. A clay pot hurled from the sling hit him square in the stomach. The pot shattered apart and long tendrils of gluey resin fell to the ground. Merric immediately tried to move but the tendrils held him firmly to the spot. Merric sighed and started slashing at the tendrils with his dagger.
Merric ducked as a character from Mika's strange language streaked by his head. The letter, Mika called them characters, looked like it had been drawn with a paintbrush and black ink on a glowing white oval of parchment the size of Merric's hand. It spun through the air as it flew leaving a trail of white sparks in its wake. Mika's attack struck the Kobold with the sling.
Baern and Torrin were fighting Kobolds back up the road. Varis was hanging back using applying Bahamut's power were required. Mika kept pounding away with her flying alphabet. Merric cut a final strand and he could move again. He looked up to find someone to take his irritation out on just in time to see another clay pot smack into his shoulder. Well, at least this one was just filled with flaming oil. Merric swatted at is as he ran toward a Kobold that Baern was attacking.
***
In the end, the Kobolds didn't fare very well. Merric searched through the Kobold's gear for clues. Nothing really. Just a little coin. The real question was why were there Kobolds ambushing people within a days travel from Winterhaven? Risky behavior for an unorganized bandit party. It didn't make sense. Things that didn't make sense made Merric's ear's itch. Merric scratched as they continued toward Winterhaven.
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