How to Spring Traps - 10/15 session recap

The players looted the bodies of the kobolds and found a magic shortsword and set of leather armor. There was also a chest against one wall that contained something magical. Boreas prodded the chest open with his staff, and found no traps. When he moved to stand over the chest and extract the loot, the unstable rock wall beside it collapsed on him. He jumped out of the way, and Xakoraki was able to pull the chest out before it was buried in the rubble. Inside the chest was a set of leather 'blooodcut' armor, which was often worn by dragonborn troops of the empire.

The party debated whether they should go ahead and take the casks or liquor back to town, and whether Boreas should use his Tenser's magic disc to carry them. In the end they decided to clear the "upper" levels more fully before doing anything else.

They returned to the entrance and followed the right-hand passage. It was a narrow, winding fissure with five small alcoves off on on side, each one about 20 to 30 feet from the next. Thoric seemed to think that the alcoves were predominantly natural, but a few of the alcove floors had been leveled to match the passage. Boreas found no secret doors in them. Then Thoric started hearing faint whispers from down the passage.

Carrying a sunrod made it difficult to explore the source of the whispers in a stealthy fashion, but Boreas did create a ghost sound about ten feet ahead of the actual party in the hopes of fooling any enemies. Down some carved stairs and around a curve, the passage opened up into a low room with wide natural columns scattered around that held up the ceiling. Everyone but Ander had to stoop over a little, and it was a little claustrophobic.

Ander moved into the room and up against a column, and Xak followed him. No kobolds were to be seen, and no one could hear whispering anymore. Thoric decided to walk into the center of the chamber, and sure enough, he found the kobolds lying in wait. They sprung forward to the attack, naturally.

After a lengthy fight in which Boreas was almost eviscerated and Xakoraki spent most of her time trying to bash a lone kobold minion, their foes were vanquished. Three were kept alive as prisoners and tied up. One of the kobolds had a magical shield, and the party found evidence that they had been digging a hiding spot for a fair amount of gold and silver.

The party fast-forwarded to the next fight, and vanquished five more kobolds who were guarding some magical treasure. There was an Orb of Sanquinary Repercussions and an Axe of Terror. Thoric found some slightly rusted Exalted chain main on a partially buried dwarf corpse. And there was also an amulet of protection (which wasn't mentioned during the session somehow). There was also a portrait of a dragonborn noble in repose on a divan, but Xakoraki did not recognize who she was.

We left the party tired and almost out of healing surges as they pondered how best to get back to town to rest before tackling the lower regions of the temple.