Levelle cocks her head at Relan then slowly unshoulders her longbow. The hunter dares to click at Talaay telling the kite to return to her.
The bird lands quietly on the hunter's shoulder and she nods at the others with her bow in hand...
Vuloo extends a life link to Relan and then crouches down into a defensive position. He listens and watches for any sign of attack.
The party pauses and crouches silently, all prepping breathlesly for ... something, but nothing comes.
Perception Aidon -
Perception Amiculus -
Aidon glances around a good 15 seconds after everyone crouched down and finally notices that everyone is tense and immediately gasps and throws himself to the ground, not terribly subtle
Vuloo whispers, "I don't see anything. Whatever lives in that cave may not know we're here. Let's keep moving and try not to attract it's attention."
He stands and cautiously continues along the river.
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Braelex shrugs, but keeps her crossbow ready.
The party members all glance at each other and with a few wary glances back, make their way quietly away from the cave, progressing further and further down the creek bank until it disappears from view behind them,
They proceed another mile, picking up pace as the swamp trees overhead give way to a large silt-like beach. The beach ends and the party enters a deep bog, ripe with gaseous smells and gurgling noises that bubble up between the expanses of peat moss. Trails are difficult to find and the going is somewhat treacherous, but before long the focused party finds themselves mid-afternoon coming upon the shores of a large marshy pond surrounded by a village of thatch-roofed huts
The village itself is built in shallow swamp, with the huts partially submerged so that only the top halves of the mud-and-twig structures poke out of themire. Firm trails wind through the area as depicted on
the map.
Bog: If a square is part of a shallow bog, it has deep mud or standing water of about 1 foot in depth. It costs 2 squares of movement to move into a square with a shallow bog, and the DC of Acrobatics checks in such a square increases by 2.
A square that is part of a deep bog has roughly 4 feet of standing water. It costs Medium or larger creatures 4 squares of movement to move into a square with a deep bog, or characters can swim if they wish. Small or smaller creatures must swim to move through a deep bog. Tumbling is impossible in a deep bog.
The water in a deep bog provides cover for Medium or larger creatures. Smaller creatures gain improved cover (+8 bonus to AC, +4 bonus on Reflex saves). Medium or larger creatures can crouch as a move action to gain this improved cover. Creatures with this improved cover take a –10 penalty on attacks against creatures that aren't underwater.
Deep bog squares are usually clustered together and surrounded by an irregular ring of shallow bog squares.
Both shallow and deep bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.
You see no signs ahead of you of anything at this moment other than the large campfire which is still smoldering.
Vuloo scowls at the thatched huts and the surrounding bog, "I'm guessing this is the Boggard village. They likely already know we're here. Let's try to appear non-threatening. Andel, can you announce in boggard that we come in peace and that we wish to speak to their leader?"
This is the largest hut in the village. A curtain of brightly colored beads hangs over the hut’s entrance, further emphasizing the building’s importance.
This is the second-largest hut in the village, a bulging, misshapen structure draped with all manner of strange seaweed and bone charms and fetishes.
A patch of firm ground on the shores of a larger pond serve as a sort of village square, although a ten-foot-diameter pit filled with muddy water mars the center of the area. A fence of sticks surrounds the pit, and sharp wooden stakes have been attached to the fence to point inward, making any attempt to climb out of the pit treacherous indeed.
An almost visible miasma of hideous decay hangs about this hut, cloaking the building in a cloud of buzzing flies and the stench of rotting flesh
Relax advances but tries to look more defensive than offensive. Hello? he calls quietly.
Braelex elbows Andel.
Levelle moves through the camp gingerly, trying to keep an eye/ear out for any movement or signs of occupation...
Andel moves up next to Relan, setting him slightly to the left and behind the large warrior. He barks out in a croaking sound that you think at first is his nervousness causing his voice to crack, until you recognize consistent cadence and rhythm and realize he's speaking the boggard tongue.
Andel stops croaking and for a few moments nothing happens at all. Then rustling starts and out of two of the nearest huts emerge a pair of bleary-eyed frogmen wielding morningstars and wearing bandoliers of three fine-looking metal daggers. The one on the right has a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around its head.
The uninjured one croaks at Andel.
Andel translates for you. "Uh, it wants to know why we've come back ... it seems to think we're with the other band. But, honestly, it seems sleepy and confused."
Levelle frowns at Andel and looks at the others, It might be best to use the confusion to move through easier. We could claim we got turned around and then just have them send us back on our way...
Vuloo nods his head, "Good idea Levelle. Andel, please tell them that we've become lost and that we need their assistance returning to the Lady's Light. Please also offer our assistance in healing their wounded."
"Or instead of lying, we could just tell them the truth? I don't mind trying to speak to them, but I have never really liked lying to anyone, seems like mainly mean people lie, and I like to think that we are not mean people...right?"
"We could still offer them aid though, that could be all we need to do to win them over." Aidon smiles, "Well that and my winning personality of course"
Hey, the daggers they carry, they bear the same maker's stamps that the broken one we found earlier.Perhaps offer it to them and describe how we came to find it. Oh, and make sure you let them know we do not like trogs and plan to fight with the other human group.
Vuloo nods at Relan, "Yes, Andel let's make sure we mention the dagger and our loyalty to their cause."
Vuloo slowly unwraps the dagger and presents it to the boggards.
Diplomacy roll to convince the boggards to help us.
I have no compunctions lying to these folk, they have a reputation for brutality that I just as soon bypass if a few words will do the trick, but I am fine to follow your lead...
Andel takes your message and attempts to communicate it as best he can.
However, the boggard doesn't move and squints a little more clearly at you. Andel translates,
"You not metal-wearing she humans, but you have knife they give us. Trog give that to you? You come from trog camp direction, but you say you want to fight them? How you prove that to us. Maybe we get Mama Bebella to decide."
He hefts his morning star in front of him and the other boggard's throat expands into a large bubble shape, not unlike a frog. It tenses it's powerful looking legs, but they look at you intensely.
"Uh, I think they want another answer, but I don't get the sense they're happy with the story we just told them."
Andel, what does all that mean? I get they think we came from the Trogs but "Mama Bebella", what is that about?
Aidon looks at everyone and throws his hands up in the air with what would appear to be an 'I told you so' expression.
He then crosses his arms across his chest and says nothing
"I get the sense she's some sort of leader or religious figure by the inflection in their voices and the changing coloration of their skin when they speak her name. It's a sign of reverence, fear, or respect. I'm not certain."
He nods slightly toward the injured boggard, "This one to my right, I believe is preparing a croak. Boggards have the ability to invoke fear in their enemies with their croak, and at the same time alert their comrades. They can't do it often, it takes a lot out of them. Be wary of their tongues as well, they can entrap you with it."
Great entrapping tongues. Well should we take our chances with Mama? Hope that she understanding enough to know we don't want a fight? Levelle looks at the other while simultaneously attempting to ignore Aidon's expression...
Vuloo eyes the boggards nervously, "Yes, let us speak with Mama. Perhaps we can reason with her."
"Could we heal the injured frogs as a sign of good faith?"
Vuloo walks up to the injured boggard in a non-threatening manor, "Let me see if I can assist you, old frog."
If not fully healed, Vuloo will repeat.
Andel translates your words and the first boggard stares at you for a moment and then croaks at the second one before it bounds away toward the second largest hut with the fetishes on it.
Vuloo approaches the second one with Andel explaining, but it raises its morningstar with a threatening gesture as the halfling approaches, vehement disgust apparent in its huge eyes.
"Tell him he wishes to cast a healing spell for his wounds..." Braelex nudges Andel.
"I did. I don't think he trusts me."
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Its probably better to delay any gestures of good will until we get the approval of the leader...besides if we get into a fight its better they are still wounded...
Vuloo backs away smiling with his hands up, "A little paranoid I see. Yes, let's wait for Mama."
Levelle offers Vuloo an easy smile, Sometimes. Just the way of the wild. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. That sorta thing...
As you talk amongst yourselves, doing your best not to alarm the nervous guard that's been left with you, you hear a strange and loud trilling croak that is answered sequentially by other croaks around the village. Your chaperone responds as well, and then turns to croak at Andel.
"You come with us to see Mama."
It hops aside and points to the southwest with its morningstar, tongue flicking out of its mouth suddenly to catch a bug that buzzes by its head.
After Andel translates, Vuloo turns to the others with a look of apprehension, "We may as well get this over with."
Andel croaks a guttural affirmative to the guide.
Braelex shrugs. "Can't be any stranger than following the mite around."
Levelle bobs her head in response, carrying Talaay on her shoulder in an effort not to provoke any hostile response by sending the bird away.
Relan slaps at a random bug absently and follows along glad that they have not had to fight these strange frog men.
Following the direction the boggard points, the party ambles along slowly toward the fetish-draped hut.
Your boggard escort moves wide around the large hut on the east side of the village, eyeing it sidelong until you are past it.
A quick glance into the small pool/pit indicates that something is in there as you see a bit of bubbling and what appears to be a flash of something snakelike or tentacly. Your escort prods you along, so you don't get much time to stare.
The original boggard steps out of the fetish hut, followed by a large armored and feathered boggard. It croaks at you each individually and then its eyes get wide when it sees Vuloo and it burps out in common.
"HAAALLFLIING!"
The boggard's tongue flashes out of her mouth for a moment as it states at Vuloo, and then finally it breaks its reverie by turning and speaking to Andel who translates, "You say you are with the ones who came before, but they were all women and you are less than half women. If you came from them, then tell me, where are they now? Why have we not seen them for days? Hmmm?"
You note that other boggards are emerging from huts around the village, moving slowly as if they too just awoke. Several are wounded.
Levelle looks to the others but does not respond given the minor disagreement between them about how honest to be in this moment...
Braelex sighs, "We are *not* with them. We seek the Lady's Light, which is where we have heard those women have gone, but we are not allied. Indeed, we had no knowledge the Maidens were here until we arrived in the Mushfens, last night."
"We seek safe passage to the lighthouse. We heard you were in conflict with the troglodytes and thought you perhaps more likely to aid us, or we you, than those stanky lizards."