Nijena nodded.
"Yes. More than one. But they do not come close enough for me to see them clearly."
"I see them, too. If we're lucky, elves. If we're not, it's pissed off elves. There hospitality is legendary as much for its rarity as its grandeur."
He sighed.
"We could reach out to them. I speak the language. Badly, but still. And frankly if it's not elves, I'd rather know now."
percep
nature
Creatures of the forest perhaps?
Hezar calls out to the pursuers.
You who follows us, please come out and speak. We mean you no harm we only seek to destroy the great evil that lurks here.
Diplomacy
At Nijena's warning, Kevkas draws his sword and looks out into the trees. He mutters to his long-time trail companion, "Which way's the closest, Suki?"
At Nijena's warning, Kevkas draws his sword and looks out into the trees. He mutters to his long-time trail companion, "Which way's the closest, Suki?"
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 4
"Can't tell. They keep shifting." Nijena spoke softly, her gaze shifting from one side of the trail to the other. Her hands remained weapon-free, which didn't mean she was unprepared. Quite the opposite.
"If wood elves are out there, then they might take us for a hunting party. Which wouldn't be good. We should stop and let them come to us."
"Whoever they are they probably saw our fire. That won't beholden us to them. We should keep moving. If they approach us, then they approach us."
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"Try telling them in Elvish why the fire was necessary - and that we used no living wood. Otherwise I agree with Davin. We'll keep an eye out, but we need to keep moving. They don't appear to have any trouble keeping up with us, so I think they could catch up if they wanted to."
Davin spoke up in a soft melodious language.
"உங்கள் காட்டில் எந்த தீங்கும் அர்த்தம். நாம் உங்கள் மக்கள் எந்த தீங்கும் அர்த்தம். எங்கள் தீ இல்லை வாழ்க்கை மரம் பயன்படுத்தப்படுகிறது. நாம் அவர்கள் தீய பயன்படுத்த முடியாது என்று உறுதி செய்ய, எங்கள் இறந்த எரித்தனர்."
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In response to Hezar, a deep, masculine voice calls out, in Sylvan:
A more melodious, feminine voice answers Davin in elvish, though the words are no less menacing:
With Davin getting a response in Elven, Janiries put on her most commanding voice and shouts out her reply.
Janiries draws her rapier, before tossing it to the ground infront of her.
Now, let us put aside our blades and talk face to face, sister."
We are hunting the marauders. We just slew a number of evil creatures, among them a Drow elf. We burned their bodies as one of the enemies we have faced has been raising bodies from the dead. I will not battle one of the fair folk...I have lived my life trying to follow your example. I make my home in the forest and strive to follow your noble path. I too throw down my weapons. If you would slay me that is your choice, but I cannot turn back until we have dealt with the menace to the forest.
"Dwarves want to buy you a drink. Halflings invite you to dinner. Humans, admittedly, could go either way. But elves -- bloody elves -- always threaten you with arrows. Always," Davin mutters grumpily.
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Matthias looked at Janiries in surprise. "Arrows? Are we surrendering because of that? What did they say?" He didn't drop his weapons... not yet.
"I will not fight Elves, especially Elves whose territory I'm pretty sure we're in and are mistaking us for our target."
"They think we're marauders who did injury to them. Whether we are or not, seems not to matter since they can't tell us apart anyway," Davin said while rolling his eyes.
He then spoke up again.
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There is silence for a moment after Janiries speaks; a silence broken by the call of some unknown bird. The figures at the periphery of your vision seem to fade away, though your attention is drawn to the two figures who approach.
One is a short, slender, beautiful wood elf woman, her skin copper in colour and her hair black as night. Clad in darkly tanned leather armour, any exposed skin shows black and green paint. She carries a longbow, but without any arrow at the ready, and is gird with a shortsword.
The other is a tall, heavily muscled male, though his bottom half is that of a large, strong horse. Black haired and brown skinned, his bearded face is noble, yet his eyes watch you all closely. He carries a large, thickly limbed longbow and has an arrow nocked.
The wood elf woman steps forward, less than two feet from Janiries, appraising her before speaking. Your words play gladly upon my ears, noble sister. But this is the deep forest, the hunting grounds and sacred land of the CopperBough tribe. We have had far too many interlopers in our lands, of late. Are you leader of this group of humans and .... looking at Kevkas ..other creatures?
Hezar bows.
Please let Arael have been the exception not the rule...
Nijena said nothing. She'd long ago learned that too many cooks spoil the soup, and worse, too many diplomats cause wars.
Instead, she merely dismounted, keeping her hands free and visible.
Which, of course, kept them ready for defense - or offense.
Well, time to keep up the noble act..
Janiries smiles as the elf approaches, reciting the traditional elven greeting to her before answering her question.
"Fair be our meeting, for our hearts are light and our swords sheathed, we hold peace in our hands and its light guides us."
She pauses a moment, allowing the wood elf to return the greeting, before continuing.
"I am Janiries, of House Shaelara, and I lead this group. We are pursuing a group of demon worshippers, who we believe have intruded on these lands after slaying many humans in their farms near here."
The wood elf woman and the horse/man hybrid (nature DC 10 to identify) exchange glances for a moment. Demon worshippers, you say? she says quietly, slowly walking around Janiries, her small hand slowly trailing around the elven rogue's waist. We have had humans on our sacred ground just days ago. We chased them off, as we always do. Perhaps your demon worshippers are to the south, in the humans land, rather than ours?
The elven woman nods to Hezar.
nature
@ Hezar: A centaur! These large, strong creatures are guardians of the deep woodlands. While not evil, these half man, half horse creatures are usually disinterested in the affairs of men. Their equine hindquarters make them much faster than any man, and their skill as warriors is impressive.
Janiries gently takes the wood elf woman's hand off her waist before replying.
"It is possible that they're further south and we missed them on our way north. We did find evidence of their presence at the sacred glade just south of here.."
Her ears then perk up at the mention of Kane.
"You've spoken with Kane? We think he's involved with the demon worshippers we're pursuing."
Davin can't resist a sarcastic scoff.
"Just don't go revering all of it," he muttered mostly to himself. "Good way to never make another friend."
Seeing that the elves don't pose an imminent danger, Kevkas puts away his sword. He remains quiet, though, knowing he isn't likely to make a good impression on the defenders of the forest no matter what he says.
Nijena didn't speak the language of the elves, and while she was normally skilled at reading the body language of others, this elf seemed to elude her. Perhaps it was the vast difference between the cultures of Nijena's homeland and these wild elves, who had little enough in common even with the local human communities.
In any case, since she could not understand the language or the body language, the foreign woman merely watched the others talk, keeping her eyes on the elf woman's hands, and her own empty and freely seen for the moment.
The centaur speaks, his voice deep and resonant. Kane is no demon worshipper! He has stood against the human settlers, with their fire and their axes, and they malign his name! I shall not allow you to do the same!
Peace, Batarus, and let us spill no blood here today, lest it be in great need. The wood elf woman says this, her hand raised. If you wish to speak with Kane, you may accompany us to our base camp north of here. Be aware, though - he stands with our tribe, and with the inhabitants of the deep wood. Come with words, but do not think we shall tolerate your violence within our territory!
Like all things I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. Let us go and we can speak.
Kev grunts at the centaur's defense of Kane. He looks over at Nijena, knowing the evidence she carries with her, but says nothing. The big warrior was enthusiastic, not suicidal.
Nijena caught Kev's look, and gave him a shrug. Then she silently and surreptitiously pointed out the locations of the six or so hidden archers she could see in the trees and foliage. She smiled, and shrugged again. Then she remounted her horse.
Matthias finally lowered his sword and shield as well. It was clear that Janiries had a good grasp of the situation at hand, and he was content to keep his peace and hear what the infamous Kane had to say.
"I never said that Kane was a demon worshipper, just that he is possibly involved with these people. It's probably just that he ran into them and fought them at some point. Regardless, we accept your offer to go back to your base camp and talk to him."
We shall take you to Kane, then. He is a friend of the tribe, and does not have the stench of demons upon him. Follow me.
You are led, in silence, north about a mile, deeper into the woods. The air grows cooler, wetter; the trees here are tall, thick, and old, and the light of day grows more remote as the canopy of leaves closes in around you.
You come, after a time, to a small clearing, where several tents have been pitched. Wood elves, several centaurs and other fey creatures watch as you enter the clearing. The wood elven woman speaks:
Your wood elf guide points to a large yurt near the centre of the camp. That is Kane's tent, and his man's as well. Announce yourselves at the aperture, and Kane will decide if he will see you or not.
While the group heads towards the camp, Janiries gets in close to Davin and whispers to him, explaining who Kane is while trying to prevent the wood elves around them from overhearing the conversation.
"Kane is a Malarite, who attacks lone farms and kill the adults there. His companions are an eastern archer, a drow assassin and a spellcaster devoted to Talos."
When the group hits the camp, the Sun Elf shrugs. "Well, we better get on with it. Lets talk to Kane."
"Kane is a Malarite, who attacks lone farms and kill the adults there. His companions are an eastern archer, a drow assassin and a spellcaster devoted to Talos."
Davin blinks.
"And the elves want to protect this guy?" he whispers back to Janiries in astonishment. "Clearly someone's being lied to. Just make sure you're not the ones being taken for a ride."
Kevkas doesn't hesitate. The towering half-orc goes straight up to Kane's tent. "Kane. We need to talk to you."
Nijena was eager for the "conversation," as well, though she was more restrained than Kevkas. She didn't say anything, for example, nor did she immediately draw her sword. Instead, she stood slightly behind and to the left of Kevkas, hands empty, eyes scanning the area around the tent, watching for runners, or ambushes.
A deep, resonant voice responds from within the tent. Enter, then, and let us parley, warriors.
The tent is dark, lit by a central fire, the smoke dispersed through a lattice in the roof. A large man sits, cross legged, on a mat on the floor. Heavily muscled and broad, he has long black hair drawn back into a braid, and a thick, well-tended black beard. His eyes, dark and grey, watch you intently while betraying nothing of his own intentions. Weapons sit close at hand, but Kane makes no move towards them. He gestures instead to a tray, upon which is a tea service, a large metal pot taking up the central place, steam coming from its spout.
Help yourselves, and we shall talk.
Matthias took a good look around the camp when they arrived, looking for Kane's companions more than the man himself. They had to be close, for the man to feel comfortable enough to meet the party, and though Matthias didn't think Kane would attack them here, among the elves, without being sure that the elves were on his side, it always paid to be wary.
He took the measure of the man once inside, trying to reserve judgement on the man since he'd heard so many conflicting stories about him.
Seeing that the man intended to play the polite host, Matthias took a cup of tea, then stood back to make room for his friends. He spoke, rather than drinking.
"My name is Matthias Valbrand. We have heard many things about you, Kane. You and your friends. Yet we have seen things that conflict with what we hear. They say you are a murderer of innocents, but we have seen children that you saved from the demon worshippers. They say you travel with criminals, but we find you among the wood elves. You are a... complex man, I have no doubt. Will you tell us now if it is true that you have slaughtered the settlers at the forest's edge, assaulted a druid by the name of Marius, committed the crimes of a Malarite that we have heard tell of you? Or is your story another?"
Yes time for the truth to come out.
SM
Kev stands to one side of the tent, watching and listening as Matthias engages the man.
Davin remains silent, trying to get a sense of the man.
Nijena entered the tent with the others. She said nothing, but did bow deeply over the tea. Very carefully and formally, she served herself. Still, she said nothing, merely being the polite guest for now. Tea, after all, had some fairly significant meaning where she came from.
Still, she stayed alert, as she sat down across the fire from her host.
Janiries steps into the tent as well, rolling her eyes a bit at the tea being offered. Instead she'd pull out a hip-flask and take a swig from it. Seeing that Matthais had the conversation started, she'd wait for Kane's response while keeping an eye on the going's on outside the tent incase of ambush.
Right to business, I see. Very well. Yes, Matthias Valbrand, I have killed farmers - settlers, if you'd rather. They were warned not to fell the ancient trees for their own purposes, but they did. They were warned to leave, but failed to listen. I made sure they were armed, then I felled them, each and every one. The children, of course, are not involved in their parents' misdeeds so they were spared. Kane takes a sip of hot tea here, seeming to relish the taste.
You may wonder at my actions. I have long worked with the church of Silvanus to protect the wild nature here in the forest. My actions against the farmers were at their behest of the green church. Yes, the very church that now disavows me, that sent you to kill me, ordered the deaths of those people.
Kane seems pensive for a moment. I was one of several parties brought in for this task. Myself and Shiang - whom I love and trust above all others - agreed to work with two other mercenaries hired by the druids. That was a grave error, for those mercenaries had plans of their own for the settlers. Rather than kill them or chase them away, they captured them, sacrificed them to the foul demon lord to whom they belong. While I am no friend of the settlers, I abhor the corruption of demons - coming upon the handiwork of my erstwhile allies shook me to the core of my being. I have declared truce upon the settlers whilst I attempt to hunt down the demon worshippers.