@ Kirk:
The frogmen are perfectly suited for a life in the swamps. You think they're strong swimmers and can hold their breath for a long time. Additionally, their gray-green skin is a very good camouflage in the swampy terrain around Karcau.
@ Solaric:
I arrived about an hour ago, just to learn that back here in Karcau the s~@% is about to hit the fan. he spits on the ground and eyes the frogmen with disgust.
A list? i can tell you their names from the top of my head:
Gornod
Pawelja
Kosanko
Victajin
Elkoran
Samara is gone! She went into the swamps to search for herbs, but she hasn't returned and as I was looking for you at the academy I saw three dead boggards. I fear the worst, please...could you...could you accompany me into the swamp to search for her?
Pitr immediately puts a comforting arm around Swan upon hearing of her troubles. "Certainly! Don't worry, we'll find her. My companions were on the way to the Academy. Do we have time to get them?"
Swan huddles against your chest and her warm body and sweet perfume nearly make you think of other things then rescuing her mother...
Yes sure...I mean...thank you Pitr.
A list? i can tell you their names from the top of my head:
Gornod
Pawelja
Kosanko
Victajin
Elkoran
"That sounds really helpful! I presume that all of these families are in the marble district? Do you think they would mind answering a few of our questions?"
Pitr carefully adjusts his sword and then rushes to the Academy. Upon finding his companions in the yard, he shouts, "The kids can wait! This beautiful maiden's mother has been abducted in the swamp by- oh, is that what these frogmen look like? I don't think they should be any problem. Let's go!"
Victoria immediately thinks of making a snide comment about if the maiden looked more like the frogmen would Pitr be in such a rush to be gallant, but then chooses against it out of respect to the lady present.
Instead she readies for swift departure to the swamp.
Dumitru was just about to answer Solaric as Pitr turns up. He gives the yong warrior a confused look, then he notices Swan and grins.
"I must remember this, if there is a damsel in distress, Sir Jendarne can be very motivated." Solaric smiles as resumes his conversation with Dumitru. " I suspect we will get to investigating these families very soon, but I believe we will be going to the swamp first. However, before we leave, please tell me what you were saying. Will we be able to find the families in the Marble district easily?"
Yes, upon your return, I will have prepared a note with the adresses of all those families.
Looking to Pitr and then south over the lake, Dumitru thinks aloud
Now, we have a missing person in the swamps? Not good, I hope this whole frog thing isn't growing over our heads.
Turning from his companions and not particularly paying attention to Dumitru, Pitr addresses Swan. "Good! Quickly then- Swan, can you take us to where your mother disappeared?"
Swan nods and after you have all mounted your horses, Pitr leads the way with the help of Swan's orientation.
The sounds of the galloping horses are strangely muffled by the drenched streets and you have to be especially careful since the cobblestones are really slippery. After you have passed the southern gate and followed the road for about ten minutes, you notice a changing of the landscape. The fields become meadows then flood plains and in the end swamps. It's a gothic sight: even though it has rained the whole day, there is still radiation fog hanging heavy over small islets and murky pools.
The swamps of Karcau are a area nearly untouched since attempts to cultivate the area were ended by bloodhed about a hundred years ago.
You feel that your horses are becoming uneasy. Those of the less experienced riders even start to prance...
Swan lays her right hand on Pitr's shoulder and says
Mother always searches for Mandragora and Blueleaf on the islet over there.
Kirk shifts uncomfortably in his saddle, unable to calmly tolerate the uneasiness of his horse. "We should be careful," he says, adjusting the reins, "Those frogmen evolved to suit this area, they will be much more adept than us in this terrain. The good news, it doesn't seem they can breathe under water, so we at least have a chance at spotting them before they ambush us, if that's their plan."
Kirk drops into the murky swamps with an annoyed glance at the mud, then says "I'll scout ahead to that islet if you follow close behind."
Stealth
Perception
Acrobatics (to avoid getting too wet where possible)
"I'll scout ahead to that islet if you follow close behind."
"We are right behind you ready to rush in to your aid as needed."
Solaric looks around carefully for anything strange or unusual that may be driving these frogmen from the swamps.
Perception
Pitr quickly dismounts motioning Swan to stay put. He then follows Kirk looking for tracks on the Islet.
Survival
Stealth if needed
Victoria stays closer to Solaric, keeping a good view around them with her excellent vision in the dark...
"I am glad to have you close, my Grace! Please keep your eyes and ears open to see if we can find anything unusual. How is little Naga doing? Does the swamp remind her of home?"
"Home to us is within the warm confines of civilisation, neither of us particularly love the swamps. Naga finds them cold, and I am not the sort of crone who savours their offerings"
"The only unusual thing I have seen so far is Pitrs unflinching chivalry"
The sawmp is treacherous, sometimes you can easily stand on one of the grassy spots that float on the watery surface, sometimes you imediatley sink into water or mud.
Kirk is very careful and able to find a row of solid spots that lead to the island.
Solaric dismounts from Dart and looks across at the route Kirk takes. " I will not leave you to find these fiends alone, my friend. I am behind you, but I will be taking my time, I am not quite as nimble as you in this armor.
Acrobatics
Pitr follows right behind Kirk and scans the island for tracks ignoring the thrashing paladin behind him.
Victoria simply looks on, not keen on getting into rough terrain that little favours her slight frame unused to such activity.
After Pitr, Kirk and Solaric have gotten to the island without getting wet, Pitr begins to search for tracks. After some moments of quiet pondering he
finds the tracks of a rather light-weighted human, who after walking around on the island for some time, left it southbound, deeper into the swamp.
"Swan, it looks like your mother was here and went deeper into the swamp. No sign of frogmen. I don't know if we should take the horses any farther. It looks like you might have to get a little muddy after all, Countess."
Swan shields her eyes from the rain and gazes over the murky, foggy swamp
The area is dangerous, mother wouldn't have gone deeper into the swamp without an important reason...I wonder what she observed? Pitr, can you tell, if she was injured?
Pitr shrugs, "I don't think she was injured, but I'm kinda new at the tracking thing. I don't know why she would go deeper in, but I recommend that we follow quickly. It might be better if you watched the horses, Swan. I don't want anything to happen to you, too. I'm sure we can find your mother and be back soon."
Pitr, I am most impressed with the leadership that you are displaying as you handle this situation. You appear highly motivated in this task. I am not very good at swimming, but I am happy to accompany you if you think I could be of some help deeper in the swamp!"
Kirk leads the way once more, picking his trail carefully through the swamp.
Acrobatics
Stealth
Perception
The Countess follows behind one of the more able members taking her time to pick through the swamp cautiously, stepping only on places found to be safe...
Swan remains behind and soon her hooded figures melts away in the fog.
As you venture deeper into the swamp you become entirely engulfed by the rising mists. After about fifteen minutes you can hardly see farther than 20 feet, which makes the hazardous terrain even more perilous. And also all sounds and noises seem to get drowned by the white veil that surrounds you.
The islands become smaller the farther you move southwards and as the dwindle away the pools become bigger. By now, you're happy, when only your feet up to your ankles sink into the muddy swamp...
Then suddenly Kirk raises his fist to signal you to stop. He must have heard something and yes, now you can hear it to. Croaking sounds that somehow sound like a language from ahead.
Solaric draws his longsword and prepares for an upcoming attack.
Perception check
His intrigue spiked, Kirk presses forward. As he moves, he draws his short bow and notches one of the sleep arrows. Inching closer to the sound to try and see the frogmen, he steps carefully and pauses to listen and search for the sight of the creatures every few moments.
Stealth
Perception
Pitr watches warily.
perception
Slowly Kirk moves forward through the mist. The others stay behind not to spoil the approach by making a sucking noise when they pull their feet out of the mud.
Kirk vanishes in the fog...
After about 10m the white veil in front of you begins to vanish and you can make out several small domed huts that stand on a larger island and are walled with a thick wooden fence. The croaking must be comng from inside it. You can't tell how big the village is, since there is still too much fog that hampers your sight.
Kirk returns to the group and gathers them around and tells them what he saw in a low, rushed whisper, "There's some sort of village up ahead, on its own larger island. They have a fence, but I couldn't tell how large it was or how many locals there are: the fog is too dense out here. It's hard to tell if these things will mean us harm or not. I could try to infiltrate the village and look for Swan's mother, if necessary, though I'd rather not go alone in case they are in a murderous mood. Or we could just waltz in, hope they understand us, and demand that they release the woman if they are holding her."
Pitr looks slightly annoyed, "Then you didn't see her? It's probably a good idea to at least see what kind of situation she is in before we go on the attack. I'll go," he finishes impatiently and creeps up to the village.
stealth
Kirk gives the rest of the group a sidelong glance, "Whenever there's a girl involved..." he whispers, then turns with a short grunt and follows after Pitr with a sleep arrow drawn.
Stealth
perception
Kirk is able to follow Pitr thorugh the fog and after about a dozen meters they leave the most dense mist and get a glimpse at the village.
The wooden palisade is about 2m high and since there are enough holes in it to place one's foot, easily climbable.
You can make out half a dozen domed huts made of reed and deadwood. After you have concentrated for a moment you can see a gate-like opening about two dozen meters to your right where you think that two or three boggart shades are standing. The fog makes exact observations quite difficult, nevertheless after your eyes have familiarised with the twilight of the afternoon and the mist, you also think there is a much larger shade towering over the opposite side of the village. It must be a large cliff or pyramid-shaped building, maybe even a very high tree.
Pitr points out the large structure to Kirk and then motions that they should inform the others. Once back from the stockade, Pitr calls for a huddle and starts laying out a plan.
"The village is enclosed by a fence that should be easy to climb over. We saw a gate with a couple froggy guards. There are a number of huts and maybe a big structure at the opposite end of the village. The huts are probably their homes. My guess is that the big structure might be the palace, temple, or whatever these slimy bastards have and probably where they'd hold captives. I think we should circle around and go over the fence near the big structure. Then we can look for Samara."
"Sounds good to me, though we should be careful we don't bring the wrath of an entire village down on us--we don't know what these things are capable of."
Pitr snorts derisively, "They're frogs! What's the worse that could happen?"
You leave your foggy cover and skirt the village on its easters side along the palisade. You now begin to realize that the village must be quite big (about 150 huts). And as you're nearly at the looming structure, you reach a second gate with three boggard guards. They were leather armors, turtleback shells and spears. Their bodies are covered with strange tattoos.
Stealth -
Stealth
This is not working! I think the game is up!"
Knowledge, Religion
Although Solaric has his longsword drawn, he does make any aggressive moves and prepares to speak diplomatically should the opportunity present itself.
Pitr grimaces at every clank the armored paladin makes and shakes his head. "There's no way we'll get Solaric over the wall without them noticing. Maybe he should distract the froggies by having one of his little conversations while we watch from cover. Then Kirk and I can always sneak over on our own if they don't appear helpful."
Stealth
"I am willing to go talk with them. However, I am not as pretty as the damsel we are trying to rescue, so if this doesn't work, I hope you will still come and rescue me!"
"I'll rescue you Solaric..."