It took them a while to find a suitable date for their dungeon exploration. They did after all still have chores that needed doing. So they told their parents they would go camping in the woods for the night. They had gone camping before so it didn't raise any suspicion about their true plan, entering the " kobold dungeon ".

They stocked up on food, water and some torches.

Jared brought the various potions he had made during the training session with his father. Thou they may not be the most potent version, since he was still a novice alchemist, they could still cure some poison and related effects. And a few very minor healing potions in case anyone got seriously hurt.

The Band set out early in the morning on their campaign to cleanse the kobold lair as their parents waved them of from the city gate. Oblivious of the plan their offspring had.

They arrived at the location of the tree in a few hours. They first checked to see if the entrance of the cave had been disturbed to confirm the creature was still living inside the cave. The patches of trampled grass in front of the entrance confirmed that it still used the cave as it's lair.

They set up their camp a few miles away from the cave. As Nalia and Jared set up their tents Matthew kept on eye on the entrance from the safety of the bushes in the treeline. They suspected it to be a kobold, but they needed to make sure it was also unclear if there was more than one of the creatures.

They switched out the person watching the entrance every few hours. Jared and Matthew were resting at the camp. The sun was already starting to set and still no sign of the creature. While Jared was getting up to take over from Nalia one of the branches on a nearby sapling started to rustle. This was the sign something was happening at the lookout spot. They had tied a piece of rope to the sapling, if something happened the lookout would tug the rope a few time so the sapling would rustle to alert the other members.

The boys made their way over to Nalia. "Something's moving in the bushes near the entrance" she said as they approached her. They looked in the direction the girl was pointing a small figure stepped out. It's had a short lanky demeanor and brown furry skin. The big snout was a dead giveaway that this was indeed a kobold. It held a crude stone knife in its right hand and the corpse of a hare in the other. It looked around the for a sign of a thread and the scurried into the cave with its meal for the day.

They retreated back to their camping, now knowing their target was present in the cave. They had a meal to bolster their fatigue and waited for evening to fall. The monster would most likely be asleep after having that hare for dinner, which would make it an easier target then charging headlong into it's lair.

The made their way towards the lair underneath the tree. Jared had a dimly lit lantern just bright enough as to make out the lay of the land but too weak to be spotted from inside unless the creature was directly looking outside. They quickly went over their usual battle plan. Matthew would keep the creature occupied with his sword and shield, Nalia would use his frame and shield as cover so it wouldn't see her spear jabs coming directly and Jared would provide ranged support. Their plan in order and their resolve steeled, they entered the lair underneath the tree.