The rider whose name was Nugget Six-names said, “These weren’t typical kobolds! They used duck and cover tactics effectively and were crack shots! Their attacks were organized and systematic. This morning they appeared out of nowhere near the palisade and lobbed flaming arrows into the quadrangle. We dropped a few before they could get back into the woods. But now we kept busy putting out fires. Then dozens of them charged the gate with a burning log. Our archers felled enough of them to make them drop the log. Flames from the log sent up smoke. Then the blighters charged with ladders and tried to climb the wall. We lost another guard to an archer’s shot. He fell over the wall. They violated his body. Couldn’t stand watching it! When we opened the gate and retrieved his body, six invisible kobolds sneaked inside Dry Creek. Magick was afoot! They came into view when they attacked, but they killed two and injured three of us and also set fire to the livery. We retrieved the fallen guard’s body and saw two highwaymen lurking in the woods. We finally whipped the once-invisible invaders and reestablished the perimeter. Everyone in town was involved in the fight and had to be weary of incoming arrows. Things were looking pretty grim. Sergeant Rorke sent me here to get reinforcements.”
Longbeard asked, “Why didn’t you send someone to Gnome-town?”
Nugget said, “We tried. Sergeant Rorke sent a rider through the gate to the east, but the kobolds smote him before he got out of sight. I went west. The road to the west was guarded too, and highwaymen on large stallions pursued me, but my halvsie Lightnin Bug outran the enemies and I got away. There was a lot of smoke over Dry Creek last time I looked back.”
A miner named Weijia said, “Invisible kobolds! Highwaymen! Magick! A sorcerer is involved. A strange alliance!”
Madam Cecelia Darktop shouted, “What are we waiting for? Let’s get going! They need help! We have Mayard Klarje! No other sorcerer can match him!”
p-Mayard said, “Well, yes, we do… I mean, I am ready to fight. Rhiann can help too.”
Madam Kirkey sternly said, “Mayard, it’s best the youths stay here or return to the mines. There’s greater levels of security here. But we should go! Can you teleport us to Dry Creek?”
p-Mayard remembered real Mayard’s description of the spell and said, “Well, possibly, Madam Darktop, but it wouldn’t help much. We’d arrive naked, I’m afraid. And only as many of us as I can carry. The distance is too great. What do you think, Rhiann?”
benjamintowe 