The evening passed uneventfully as each member went their separate ways to contemplate the choice ahead of them. Akash spent his time passing out the rations he had remaining from their last restock in Greenmeadow, which wasn't much, but was more than most of the families he helped had. Once his personal supplies were exhausted he found a small patch of dirt in the mostly stone cave and knelt down beside it. After repeating a quick incantation several times a waist-high plant emerged and produced several dozen large, dark purple berries which he quickly picked and handed out. Eventually Akash ran out of food to give and so he instead searched for a location to pitch his tent in the cramped cave.
Waking to darkness was a somewhat new experience for Akash, while the cave was dimly lit by various torches and candles it held no comparison to the morning sun. After tidying up his bedroll Akash got dressed, grew another handful of the berries from the previous evening. As he roamed the cave looking to meet up with his compatriots he handed out the extra berries while he ate one for himself. Akash eventually ended up heading to the command pavilion where the rest of the party met up shortly thereafter.
"So, now that we are all here, let us discuss our next steps." Charles began as Hal brushed into the pavilion. "I believe that making a push into Velling is our best course of action. However, I also believe we can help here before we leave. As of this moment you are hidden, but should this cave be discovered by the enemy you are woefully unprepared."
"What exactly are you suggesting?" asked Naivara's father.
"If we can get our hands on some spears then I can help teach those who are able bodied some simple drills so that you aren't completely helpless."
"I can probably help with the spears." chimed in Akash. "If I can just get some branches I should be able to form and harden them into serviceable spears without too much difficulty."
"Great, that sounds great to me. I can also help Charles with the training." Added Halimedes. "I may not have quite his level of training, but I have some good experience to lend to the cause."
"So, it sounds like most of us are onboard," said Charles. "Naivara, do you have any thoughts? These are your people after all."
Naivara hesitated for a moment, slowly rotating the cylinder of her pistol, the clicks filling the silence of the tent. "I…think that we should go to Velling." Her father's eyes cast downward at her declaration. "I do also like the idea of arming the people of Nestrin. I can help Akash gather branches for the spears. But at the end of the day we need to leave, because we need to find a way to stop this, hiding in this cave just isn't enough."
"I just want you to be safe. I'm not happy about it, but if you all really feel this is the best course to take I won't stop you. I do appreciate the offer to help us train though."
"Happy to do what we can. Now, if Naivara and Akash want to go collect some branches, Gnoll, Hal, and I can start asking around for volunteers and clear out a training field." Said Charles.
As they all turned to leave the tent, Naivara's father reached out to her. "Wait, before you go I want you to have this." He reached into a small satchel at his side and produced a sleek steel cylinder engraved with small runes. "This will help with the noise that makes." Gesturing at Naivara's gun at her hip. "It works pretty well with mine," motioning at a large rifle propped up in the corner of the tent, "but I think you will have more use for it than me in the near future. Good luck, I love you."
"I love you too dad, thank you." Naivara replied, accepting the gift.
Splitting into their groups the cohort spent the next several hours on their tasks. The training group rounded up nearly 30 villagers who were both willing and able to train for the defense of their small haven. They were also able to squish together some tents in order to open up a small training field on the eastern edge of the cave.
Meanwhile Akash and Naivara scavenged several large bundles of branches from the edge of the forest just outside the cave. Once they brought their findings back into the cave Akash sat down at the edge of the new training field and began the slow process of reforming the branches into spears. Gently running his hands along the length of each branch they straightened and grew into stout staffs under the soft green glow of his magic. Once the staffs were formed he began to focus on the tips, his magic took on an intense red as the tips sharpened, hardened, and blackened under his magic until it became as strong as any iron spear-tip.
Distributing the new spears went well, and while the villagers were very clearly untrained, under Charles' keen instruction they showed a measured improvement. Once evening rations began getting distributed to the refugees the new trainees dispersed to eat with their families. The cohort formed their own small circle at the edge of the training field and discussed the progress of the day.
While they talked Halimedes noticed a kobold skulking at the edge of the torchlight by the cave-wall. He had seen several throughout the day, they would scamper around camp snatching little bits of metal then disappearing back into the dark tunnels that nobody else would enter. This one however, was different, it was slightly larger than the others and instead of being clothed in scraps of leather armor it wore a polished breastplate. The breastplate was clearly too big for the small creature as its knees tapped the lower edge of the plate with every step it took. As Hal watched the kobold he began to be drawn to the breastplate it wore. His gaze narrowed on it, trying to discern how he recognized it, as he did so his sword began to vibrate in his scabbard like it wanted to take flight. Looking down, he took hold of the hilt and broke the trance that attracted him to the breastplate.
"Hey, you okay Hal?" asked Gnoll, noticing his friend's shift in demeanor. "Was your sword doing something weird again?"
"Oh, yeah I'm fine, it's nothing." he replied dismissively. "I'm going to grab some shut-eye, I'll see you all later." He gathered his gear and disappeared into the camp.
After he was out of sight of his companions Hal doubled back to track down the kobold from before. He was able to pick up the trail right as it went down a tunnel behind the command pavilion. Sticking to the shadows he slid down the tunnel after his quarry. As the tunnel wound into the depths the gentle slope turned into a wide, shallow staircase and the walls wore away to well crafted brick. After several more minutes of walking the hall opened under a massive carved archway into a large room packed with kobolds.
The normally chaotic creatures were aligned in neat rows, with heads bowed in reverence to a tremendous dragon skull. A kobold dressed in fine regalia led the scaled congregation, preaching in what Halimedes could only describe as a rough approximation of draconic. Kobolds came from the edges of the cavern, bringing forth scraps of metal to a stone dais that had been erected in front of the skull. Many of the items were small scraps such as belt buckles, silverware, the odd horseshoe even. The priest accepted the offerings, presenting them before the great skull before handing them off to another group who carted them to an adjacent chamber. Unfortunately Hal lost track of the kobold he was tracking among the crowd. Frustrated, he quickly took note of two of the adjoining chambers, one filled to the brim with ancient tomes, and the other heaps scrap metal in a makeshift armory before he feld back up the tunnel to avoid being spotted.