14. Minotaur Lair

As you open the secret door you smell the musky, earthy smell of a stockyard. Inside the large room ahead of you are three large, mismatched, comfortable-looking chairs facing a comically small table at the center; a lit oil lantern and a silver teapot rest on the table, and seated in the chairs are three minotaurs drinking from teacups. Each has a large sword leaning up against its chair. They turn and look at you curiously. These minotaurs are not as cultured as they might look, but they all speak Common, having worked as mercenaries for the Duke before coming back here to retire. They are more than willing to parley, but will expect to be bribed not to attack (unless some player character gets an exceptionally good reaction roll). The Duke they served did not care for their proper minotaur names, and gave them the names Fergus, Nando, and Toby. They are so used to these names that they call themselves by them when dealing with humans. Besides the items described above, the minotaurs have acquired some unusual creature comforts: Looking around, you note a strange item in the inner corner of the room; at first, you can't figure out what it is, but eventually you realize they built a kind of cookstove using breastplates from at least three suits of plate mail armor. The slightly dish-shaped cooking surface on top may have been a smallish iron shield; an ordinary looking kettle sits atop it, steaming slightly. Other pans and skillets are piled on a heavy wooden table nearby, and under it you see two pails full of charcoal. Large bedrolls lie rolled up neatly along the wall. Near them you note a small table bearing another lantern, this one unlit, and a number of toiletry items including a curry comb. As you might notice looking at the map, one of the secret doors into this room is quite close to the orc tribe's main lair; the minotaurs do not use this door so as not to reveal it to the orcs, but will use it if necessary to avoid or ambush an enemy. The orcs would like the minotaurs gone; the minotaurs would like the orcs gone; but neither side wants to start that fight. If the minotaurs think they can convince the adventurers to wipe out or drive away the orcs, they will absolutely do so. 3 Minotaurs: AC 14, HD 6, #At 1 gore, 1 bite or 1 great sword, Dam 1d6 gore, 1d6 bite or 1d10+2 great sword, Mv 30', Sv F6, ML 11, XP 500 ea.