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Dozens B. McCuzzins 2022-08-17 12:26:14 -06:00
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@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ src/epistolary/00004.md
src/epistolary/00005.md
src/epistolary/00006.md
src/epistolary/00007.md
src/epistolary/00008.md
src/bestiary/index.md
src/bestiary/blahoblin.md
src/bestiary/egre.md

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---
title: 00007
created: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
updated: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
created: Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600
updated: Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600
public: yes
syndicated: yes
---
### xxxxx
### 00007
Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage.It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.
> Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to the party. "Do you think they've cleared most of the gnomes by now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal then?" Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees, Inky continued, "One of the old miners back at the tavern said there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The gnomes don't waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing someone's already been through them. Chances are there's only one exit, unless this mine is a decoy."
It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, "Your shoes look clean. You can enter." And it steps aside.
Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70 approach the kobit caves.
The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.
The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug several alternative, secret entrances since then.
Kobits are vaguely mammalian, slightly reptilian bipedal creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in burrows and tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge eyes, and long fine whiskers at the end of their snout, all of which help them find their way around in the dark. They also have long, thick, course, drooping mustaches which are mostly decorative. The overall effect is that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled cowboy extras from the set of some old spaghetti western movie.
Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge, muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.
It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be arguing back.
The egre gestures angrily at the gophers' feet, shakes its head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.
They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle together briefly and then start slowly climbing the scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.
"Oh yeah," the foreman remarks absentmindedly. "There's an egre guarding the kobit caves."
The egre below preens and struts about proudly having chased off the gophers.
"Stubborn things," the foreman continues. "Easily provoked to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though."
WHAT DO YOU DO
[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00003.html)

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---
title: 00008
created: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
updated: Wed, 17 Aug 2022 11:26:49 -0600
---
Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage.It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.
It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, "Your shoes look clean. You can enter." And it steps aside.
The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.
Kobits are vaguely mammalian, slightly reptilian bipedal creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in burrows and tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge eyes, and long fine whiskers at the end of their snout, all of which help them find their way around in the dark. They also have long, thick, course, drooping mustaches which are mostly decorative. The overall effect is that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled cowboy extras from the set of some old spaghetti western movie.

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www/index.html
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@ -205,6 +205,7 @@
<li><a href="#section-3">00004</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-4">00005</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-5">00006</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-6">00007</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
</ul>
@ -449,6 +450,21 @@
<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="section-6">00007</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to the party. “Do you think they’ve cleared most of the gnomes by now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal then?” Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees, Inky continued, “One of the old miners back at the tavern said there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The gnomes don’t waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing someone’s already been through them. Chances are there’s only one exit, unless this mine is a decoy.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70 approach the kobit caves.</p>
<p>The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug several alternative, secret entrances since then.</p>
<p>Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge, muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.</p>
<p>It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be arguing back.</p>
<p>The egre gestures angrily at the gophers’ feet, shakes its head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.</p>
<p>They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle together briefly and then start slowly climbing the scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah,” the foreman remarks absentmindedly. “There’s an egre guarding the kobit caves.”</p>
<p>The egre below preens and struts about proudly having chased off the gophers.</p>
<p>“Stubborn things,” the foreman continues. “Easily provoked to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00003.html">www</a></p>
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
<p>

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@ -5,28 +5,6 @@
<title>BASEMENT QWEST</title>
<link>https://tilde.town/~dozens/quest/rss.xml</link>
<description>Friends having ADVENTURES! Huzzah!</description>
<item>
<title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00002</h3>
<p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion. “Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
<p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
<p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to the dig site?</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that direction.</p>
<p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding, lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing), two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
<p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
<p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a gold necklace.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00003 - polish</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
@ -56,6 +34,31 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00007</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00007 - Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:21:21 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00007</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to the party. “Do you think they’ve cleared most of the gnomes by now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal then?” Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees, Inky continued, “One of the old miners back at the tavern said there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The gnomes don’t waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing someone’s already been through them. Chances are there’s only one exit, unless this mine is a decoy.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70 approach the kobit caves.</p>
<p>The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug several alternative, secret entrances since then.</p>
<p>Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge, muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.</p>
<p>It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be arguing back.</p>
<p>The egre gestures angrily at the gophers’ feet, shakes its head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.</p>
<p>They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle together briefly and then start slowly climbing the scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah,” the foreman remarks absentmindedly. “There’s an egre guarding the kobit caves.”</p>
<p>The egre below preens and struts about proudly having chased off the gophers.</p>
<p>“Stubborn things,” the foreman continues. “Easily provoked to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-08/msg00003.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00006 - gophers</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
@ -80,29 +83,24 @@
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>meta</title>
<title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">meta - Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="meta">META</h3>
<p>This might be a good time to introduce the game mechanic.</p>
<p>For the most part, if you say you do something, it just happens.</p>
<p>But if you want to do something risky, and/or if the outcome is uncertain, you can roll a number of six-sided dice.</p>
<p>I’d like to try using the <em>Shoes in the Dark</em> rules:</p>
<p><a href="https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark" class="uri">https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark</a></p>
<p>Basically, everybody currently has the skill “Do Anything 1”, which means if you want to ‘do anything’, you can roll 1 die.</p>
<p>On a 1 - 3, things go poorly. (And you gain 1 experience point. More on that in a bit.)</p>
<p>On a 4 - 5, you do the thing, but at a cost, or with a complication, or it’s just a partial success.</p>
<p>On a 6, full success!! Yay, you!!</p>
<p>(When rolling multiple dice, you read the single highest roll.)</p>
<p>Here’s where stuff gets fun. If you roll all sixes (so, 1 six on a 1d6 roll, 2 sixes on a 2d6 roll, etc.) then you ‘level up’ and get a new skill. The new skill A) is a subset of the skill/action you just performed and, B) increases that skill by one.</p>
<p>e.g. I challenge a mugwump to a pie eating contest and roll Do Anything 1. I roll a six, so I win the contest! And also I gain a new skill, Belly Of Steel 2.</p>
<p>Finally, every time you fail a roll (by rolling 1 - 3) you gain 1 experience point. You can spend 1 experience at any time to turn any one die into a six <em>for the purposes of advancement</em>.</p>
<p>SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN???</p>
<p>When you interact with the blahoblins, consider whether there is an element of risk. If so, roll the appropriate amount of dice (1, in this case) and include the result in your description. If it’s a success, describe the success. If it’s a partial success or a failure, just describe what you do, and I’ll describe the complication, or how things get worse.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="section">00002</h3>
<p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion. “Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
<p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
<p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to the dig site?</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that direction.</p>
<p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding, lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing), two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
<p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
<p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a gold necklace.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
@ -135,6 +133,55 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>meta</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">meta - Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="meta">META</h3>
<p>This might be a good time to introduce the game mechanic.</p>
<p>For the most part, if you say you do something, it just happens.</p>
<p>But if you want to do something risky, and/or if the outcome is uncertain, you can roll a number of six-sided dice.</p>
<p>I’d like to try using the <em>Shoes in the Dark</em> rules:</p>
<p><a href="https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark" class="uri">https://dozens.itch.io/shoes-in-the-dark</a></p>
<p>Basically, everybody currently has the skill “Do Anything 1”, which means if you want to ‘do anything’, you can roll 1 die.</p>
<p>On a 1 - 3, things go poorly. (And you gain 1 experience point. More on that in a bit.)</p>
<p>On a 4 - 5, you do the thing, but at a cost, or with a complication, or it’s just a partial success.</p>
<p>On a 6, full success!! Yay, you!!</p>
<p>(When rolling multiple dice, you read the single highest roll.)</p>
<p>Here’s where stuff gets fun. If you roll all sixes (so, 1 six on a 1d6 roll, 2 sixes on a 2d6 roll, etc.) then you ‘level up’ and get a new skill. The new skill A) is a subset of the skill/action you just performed and, B) increases that skill by one.</p>
<p>e.g. I challenge a mugwump to a pie eating contest and roll Do Anything 1. I roll a six, so I win the contest! And also I gain a new skill, Belly Of Steel 2.</p>
<p>Finally, every time you fail a roll (by rolling 1 - 3) you gain 1 experience point. You can spend 1 experience at any time to turn any one die into a six <em>for the purposes of advancement</em>.</p>
<p>SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN???</p>
<p>When you interact with the blahoblins, consider whether there is an element of risk. If so, roll the appropriate amount of dice (1, in this case) and include the result in your description. If it’s a success, describe the success. If it’s a partial success or a failure, just describe what you do, and I’ll describe the complication, or how things get worse.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00023.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00001 - we meet in a tavern</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00001 - we meet in a tavern - Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00001</h3>
<p>“Congratulations!” The slightly tipsy hobbit grins and salutes you with his martini. “On Retrieval Team 43’s inaugural mission! I’m so excited for you, I’m sure you’ll do fantastic!”</p>
<p>You are all seated around a table in the corner at Lucy’s Basement. It is dimly lit and fairly noisy. The walls are covered in red velvet curtains, and the tablecloths have little gold tassels. A cloud of purple smoke from candles, cigars, and pipes hangs in the air. Waiters bustle between tables refilling drinks.</p>
<p>“So to recap, the Benefactor has tasked you with retrieving the five fabled Ginnarak Crystals. I, Blavin Blandfoot, will be your case manager. You will be paid handsomely for each crystal you retrieve. And if you retrieve all 5, you’ll get to meet the Benefactor at be their guest at their <em>glorious mansion!</em>”</p>
<p>“The first crystal has been spotted near a Gnomish dig site in the Tammineaux Forest, just east of here.”</p>
<p>“I recommend getting started right away!” He polishes off his drink and squints at his empty glass. “Well, maybe first thing in the morning. Waiter!”</p>
<ul>
<li>Who are you?</li>
<li>What role do you think you will fill on the team?</li>
<li>What do you plan to do with your cut of the money?</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00004 - pockets picked</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
@ -164,27 +211,5 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00001 - we meet in a tavern</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00001 - we meet in a tavern - Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00001</h3>
<p>“Congratulations!” The slightly tipsy hobbit grins and salutes you with his martini. “On Retrieval Team 43’s inaugural mission! I’m so excited for you, I’m sure you’ll do fantastic!”</p>
<p>You are all seated around a table in the corner at Lucy’s Basement. It is dimly lit and fairly noisy. The walls are covered in red velvet curtains, and the tablecloths have little gold tassels. A cloud of purple smoke from candles, cigars, and pipes hangs in the air. Waiters bustle between tables refilling drinks.</p>
<p>“So to recap, the Benefactor has tasked you with retrieving the five fabled Ginnarak Crystals. I, Blavin Blandfoot, will be your case manager. You will be paid handsomely for each crystal you retrieve. And if you retrieve all 5, you’ll get to meet the Benefactor at be their guest at their <em>glorious mansion!</em>”</p>
<p>“The first crystal has been spotted near a Gnomish dig site in the Tammineaux Forest, just east of here.”</p>
<p>“I recommend getting started right away!” He polishes off his drink and squints at his empty glass. “Well, maybe first thing in the morning. Waiter!”</p>
<ul>
<li>Who are you?</li>
<li>What role do you think you will fill on the team?</li>
<li>What do you plan to do with your cut of the money?</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

18
www/spoilers.html
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@ -205,7 +205,7 @@
<li><a href="#section-3">00004</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-4">00005</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-5">00006</a></li>
<li><a href="#xxxxx">xxxxx</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-6">00007</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
<li><a href="#geography">Geography</a></li>
@ -454,7 +454,21 @@
<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="xxxxx">xxxxx</h3>
<h3 id="section-6">00007</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down at the hole, and after some time, turns to the party. “Do you think they’ve cleared most of the gnomes by now, or should we wait until they emerge and grab the crystal then?” Gazing at some invisible spot farther among the trees, Inky continued, “One of the old miners back at the tavern said there used to be a natural maw on the southwestern side, but it was blocked when the tunnel caved in many years ago. The gnomes don’t waste their efforts on blowing up things knowing someone’s already been through them. Chances are there’s only one exit, unless this mine is a decoy.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inky peers down the hole and watches Retrieval Team 70 approach the kobit caves.</p>
<p>The maw on the southwestern side did indeed collapse several seasons ago. If you know anything about the industrial and intrepid kobits however, it is that they have probably dug several alternative, secret entrances since then.</p>
<p>Just as the gophers reach the cave entrance, a large erge, muscles rippling beneath its white feathers, emerges from behind a boulder and blocks their way forward.</p>
<p>It raises the feathery crest on the crown of its head, and fluffs up its plumage in a dramatic display. It appears to be arguing with the gophers. All three gophers appear to be arguing back.</p>
<p>The egre gestures angrily at the gophers’ feet, shakes its head, and crosses its arms defiantly. The gophers look down at their own feet and shuffle about as though embarrassed.</p>
<p>They all exchange a few more words and then the gophers retreat away from the egre and the cave entrance. They huddle together briefly and then start slowly climbing the scaffolding back up to the top of the hole.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah,” the foreman remarks absentmindedly. “There’s an egre guarding the kobit caves.”</p>
<p>The egre below preens and struts about proudly having chased off the gophers.</p>
<p>“Stubborn things,” the foreman continues. “Easily provoked to violence. Impeccable fashion sense though.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
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<p>Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage.It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.</p>
<p>It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, “Your shoes look clean. You can enter.” And it steps aside.</p>
<p>The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.</p>