Digging for victory

In the tunnel, the lead Gnome glances back over his shoulder at the man crawling in the gloom behind him.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes Criz, I’m sure.” responds the man. “By now, the Vedic forces will be spread too thin to stop us. Hopefully the map's correct and we can save your children while avoiding any more violence. If we do encounter any more resistance though, let me take the lead this time. You’re already wounded and I promised your wife I wouldn’t let you get killed.”
The grizzled, bald-headed Gnome scowls, but continues to move forward.
Looking at the map, he stops and rubs his well groomed beard… “Now where do we knock through again?”

Little problems behind

Scurrying back across the pit room, Velinsk is dragged back through the door by his fellow kitchen slaves.
“What did you see?” snaps one of his fellows.
Wide eyed, Velinsk responds…
“They’re all dead. Scores of them! Frick was able to tell me that it was a mixed band of adventurers. They came up through the washrooms and slaughtered everyone. In his dying breath though, he mentioned that one of them was a Dragon-born.”
Several of the Kobolds spit on the floor in disgust.
“They think they’re so much better than us. Bigger doesn’t mean better.”
The one that had asked the original question though, looks slyly down the corridor.
“Did you say they came up through the, corroded shut, down pipe?”

Big troubles ahead

On hearing the order, the massive creature heaves itself from it’s reinforced bed. Its begrudging spine, cracking with the unwanted movement.
Gripping the bedpost, it rises slowly to its feet and gropes around for its weapons amongst the armour and helmets lying in the corner of the room.
“Where mees needed?” it asks in a deep and gravelly voice.
Once instructed by the cowering Vedic, the lumbering creature heads off after it to crush the tiny invaders, beneath the spikes of its twin giant maces.
“Hurry up. Big clubs wants to squash little skulls!”

Summon the Crettin!

High Vedic Liebniz is sitting on his stone throne now with his clawed fingers, white with the pressure of his grip on the rough armrests.
He looks up sharply as yet another of his minions rushes in.
“What is it now?” he chitters to his underling.
“There’s been another attack my lord.”
“Where?”
The red robed Vedic shuffles his feet nervously.
“The secondary vault.”
High Vedic Liebniz is on his feet, faster than the messenger can see,
“When? How many guards did they get past?”
“Perhaps less than half an hour ago… They killed the two guards at the vault door.”
“Only two guards? On whose order were these Vedics relocated?”
“On Pascal’s my lord. He needed them to secure the possible entrance points from the cavern below.”
High Vedic Liebniz sits back down to consider.
“Where is Pascal now?”
“Dead sir.”
High Vedic Liebniz sighs…
“Well I suppose that’s punishment enough. Tell me, who have we between us and these various factions of what now appears to be an invasion?”
“Well my lord, we have all of the Vedics stationed in strategically defensible positions, but…”
“But what?”
“Well my lord, these invaders have cut a swath through our ranks. We are not a match for them and they kill everyone they encounter… Even the slave kobolds!”
Sighing again, High Vedic Liebniz comes to a decision.
“In that case Gauss, I think it’s time our idiot earns his keep… And send the remainder of our reserve soldiers to protect the primary vault.”

New character, Dungeon Master and what’s for sale Magical debate

As my adventure’s coming to the end and I’m starting to think what magical goodies I’m going to ‘buy’ for Vogir, I’ve come to the realization that we haven’t really set any rules for any of this stuff.

How about this:

New characters: I’m not sure about this. They certainly should be able to choose whatever they want… but… They shouldn’t really have much as the characters that have ground their way up the levels. These characters won’t have had the option to choose their magical items so should offset that by having more. I can’t find any rules about this so need some help/criticism/debate.
(I always assumed the 'character builder' on your PCs gave you a set amount...?)

Dungeon Master bonus: An equal amount of gold of the average Party member total got is allocated to the DM who can then spend it on whatever he chooses. (No limits).

Buying: As an easy rule, why not say we can buy anything of half our experience level or less (assuming enough gold to afford it)?

Selling: Sell whatever magical item you like for 1/5 it's book value. (Or sell it to another Party member for whatever you agree on.)

A (Brute) Force for Good?

Puffing from the exertion of the battle, Dokan looks around himself. The defending forces are all dead. Even their leader lies dead in the corridor ahead.
He should feel happy, but instead he feels a sinking dread that he’s been responsible for the deaths of scores of mistreated Kobold slaves and worse, the death of a mind-controlled human boy.
Something else as well…
He feels hot and a little giddy.
Meanwhile, Ghanash has busied himself pulling the hoods from the faces of several of the red robed figures. They’re some sort of giant, bipedal rodent…
They’re familiar somehow…
It’s only when he notices the pale and shaven headed child, that his memory serves him.
He’s seen these collars before. Over a year ago, just after he’d met up with the human Vogir.
Opening his mouth to speak, he realises that none of his fellows were with him back then. Adventurers and mercenaries tend not to last too long in this world.
Orestes looks uncomfortable. Although he relishes a fight, possibly a ‘little’ too much, their current path seems certain to draw the attention of all the Vedic’s forces.
They couldn’t have been less subtle even if they’d taken the main entrance…
Could Niema have been captured and given them away?
Still, a fight’s a fight. The worse the odds, the greater the glory!
Rudha-an glances up from his effort to separate the dead boy from one of his pallid ears.
His teammates don’t look happy.
Don’t they realise that the child had gone for him?
In the corridor, Lucas telekinetically drags the body of Pascal back towards the others. The corridor he was in lead to a flight of stairs going up. No rush now though as the Vedic’s surely know they’re coming.

Treasure:

From the Otyugh’s fetid lair:
(The dead from disease and asphyxiation dwarf)

Dwarven greaves Lvl: 7 (2,600)
Holy gauntlets Lvl: 8 (3,400)
Helm of battle Lvl: 9 (4,200)
Battle-axe +3 (Frightful) Lvl: 12 (13,000)
Battle forged plat email +3 Lvl: 15 (25,000)

From the Kobold slave quarters:

Bizarrely nothing.

From Pascal and the Hamstermen/Vedics

9 x Long swords
9 x Crossbows
8 x Chainmail armour
Iron skin belt Lvl: 15 (25,000)
Stoneskin robes +3 Lvl: 13 (17,000)
Potion of healing Lvl: 2 (50)

Spreading the Red

Another of the Redrobes rushes in to the see the High Vedic.
“We’ve just got word from the inflativator, that a group of people were seen heading toward the abandoned Gnomish village.”
Leibniz shifts in his massive stone chair. Although it resembles a crude throne, he’d never refer to it as such.
“How many were seen Bernoulli? Was it an army?”
“Apparently not, but from where he was, it was hard to tell.”
Scratching his chin, High Vedic Leibniz considers the problem.
“How many troops have you sent out already?”
“About two dozen so far.”
“Send out another group from the hanger to have a scout around and another squad out the top on foot.”
The red robed creature bows and retreats from the room.
“At once sir.”