You take a few minutes to relax, enjoying the silent company offered by Amanda as she nurses her drink. The manic energy which suffused her post level up has spent, leaving her quiet and, dare you say, content. The kobold who disturbs you, Bulwark, is met with a half-hearted glare.

“We've finished the counting. The Ladies Sapphire and Feathers await you in the entrance hall.”

You nod, dismissing him and causing Amanda, still on your shoulder, to shift. She lets out a yawn that she tries and fails to cover with the back of her hand. You nudge her with your nose.

“Go to bed. Or relax somewhere.”

She nods, pulling herself upright.

“I think I will. Sand got me some parchment and charcoal a few days ago. And someone,” she stresses the word, smirking at you, “needs to design traps that are more interesting than 'big hole go splash',”

You sputter at her retreating back, doing your best not to be distracted by the extra sway she has put in her hips.

“The water didn't come till afterwards!” is your belated retort.

A soft snort draws your attention to the dark corner that Bulwark retreated to. “No, no,” he says, raising his hands as if to ward your attention away, “That was a masterful comeback. Ignore me, I implore you.”

You huff, spreading a thin film of smoke through the room, much to the consternation of Charlemagne and his cleaning rag.

“Well let's go and see what the piper paid,” you mutter, striding past the kobold shield-bearer towards the entrance hall.

Feathers and Sapphire are both waiting for you, lit by flickering torch light that casts their faces in deep shadows. Four pouches lie on the floor behind them. Loot bags. The gobliness smiles at your approach, while Sapphire steps forward.

“We found something-” she cuts herself off, looking into your eyes. There's worry in hers, but mired with something else too. Greed perhaps? “Maybe it would be best if you look for yourself sir.”

You nod and approach the bags. Feathers picks one up as you approach, proffering it to you.

Short bow and ten arrows

Vial of Minor Poison (1/10 collected for Element of poison)

10 assorted Sprockets and Widgets

32 Stone

14 Wood

6 Scrap Ore

2 Iron Ore

18 Hide

1 animal trap

14 Gold Coins

You rock backwards, sitting on your haunches.

Potions can become elements? And why would he be carrying so much stone?

“That is... a not inconsiderable amount of resources,” you say, to break the silence as your thoughts continue to race.

“The Trapmaster I presume? That's going to really help getting things off the ground once more.”

Sapphire shakes her head. “No sir. Look.”

She throws another loot bag at you as the last dissipates.

Icon of Nire

12 Stone

25 Wood

30 Hide

23 Bone

13 Gold Coins

Your browridges raise as a third bag is thrown your way.

Heels of Swiftness (Common): These healed boots increase the wearer's speed, but do nothing for their reaction time or sense of balance.

23 Stone

8 Wood

14 Scrap Ore

1 Iron Ore

1 Sapphire

32 Gold Coins

“This is...” You mull for the right word, “silly.” You finally settle on.

“Why do they have so many building resources on them?”

Feathers, still silent, grins once more as she tosses the final loot bag up and down in her hand before throwing it toward you.

4 Spice Pots

3 Wood

4 Scrap Ore

12 Gold Coins

1 Claimant Crystal

You mouth opens slightly, of it's own accord.

“Another crystal?”

Feathers just bares her teeth in savage joy while Sapphire speaks. “Yes sir. We... don't know exactly what effect it would have if you used it, or what you'd want to do with it otherwise. But perhaps more importantly...”

The rust red kobold pauses, chewing on her words. You get her meaning anyway.

“Why did only one still have one... and why did he bring it all the way out here?”

Sapphire nods. “The inn at the base of the mountain is still there. It looks like it's grown slightly, but not by much. A stables and a small courtyard. I don't... I don't know if when a hero uses a crystal it works differently to us, if they can only build one thing, or if whoever is down there only wants to live the life of an innkeep. It could be that he came out this way in order to add to a new settlement, one owned by heroes. Or.”

She doesn't trail off, leaving the conjunction as its own statement. You nod.

“Or,” you echo. It's a troubling thought.

What exactly can a claimant crystal do?

You produce the gem, and roll it between your claws. It doesn't react, not that you expected it to. It's still a little disappointing that there's no pop up offering to... double your wealth, or something. No way to transform it into animus, which is the one resource you need most at the minute. More loot points would always be helpful.

Speaking of.

“Bulwark?”

The kobold materialises at your elbow and sketches a shallow bow.

“Having repelled a hero incursion, the loot points should have restocked.”

You don't need to say more. He slips away, his strange eyes glittering in the darkness.

While your mind is on loot points, you pull open your menu and access your Resource Node placer, falling into the familiar ebb and whirl of your vision being yanked about by your menus.

With the deaths of those four heroes, you have sixty eight animus to play with. And you need a lot of stone. It's the work of a moment, at five animus each, to select a bakers dozen of stones in the kobold village and give them Poor nodes. If the skeleton's two drop menu is anything like normal, that's just an extra thirteen stone per incursion – a resource which won't help heroes much, if any.

Only once that is done do you pull yourself back into the present to see Sapphire and Feathers staring at you.

“What?”

Sapphire huffs. “You didn't hear a thing I just said, did you?”

You open your mouth, only to close it again. “No, sorry. My mind was... elsewhere.”

Feathers chortles, a strange laugh from the normally stoic gobliness.

“It was good speech, Sapphire. Shame Red Scale missed it. Now my turn.”

She turns back you you, reaching one hand up to grab your chin and pull your head down to her level.

“Been too long since we fuck. Last one to Feathers' bed get tied up and used?”

And then, without another word, the gobliness turn and, very slowly, begins the journey to Goblin Town.