Connor sighs and puts down his venison, "I was afraid of that ... we can't help you," he finishes flatly.
He looks straight at Jubilost, "I'm going to be honest with you. We slew a purple-skinned kobold named Tartuk and allied with the Sootscale tribe for the defense of these lands."
Connor lets that sink in for a tense moment, seeing if there's any reaction before he continues.
"This Tartuk has fooled the kobolds into following some make believe god. He was a trickster and we cut him down with the kobolds' permission. We have a journal of his but we couldn't read it ... his raven familiar seemed pretty torqued that we took it with us."
Connor stands up slowly looking among the gnomes, "I understand the plight you're in, but we will honor our treaties. I will have to ask you to withdraw your forces and not return. If you wish that journal, you may come with us to collect it from New Hope. I will go so far as to entreat with the kobolds on your behalf for the body of this Tartuk shaman. He was certainly a kobold when we fought him, but perhaps there was more to that manipulative purple bastard than we thought."
Connor barely doesn't reach for his weapon as he asks, "What say you?"
Veronica's lips tighten slightly but she does not add anything to Connor's words. Clearly, something is going on in her head, but just as clearly she does not want to say it out loud for some reason.
Larisa stands behind Connor, her crossbow in her arms but unloaded. She focuses her senses on the Gnome leader, the message clear. Don't even think about making trouble.
|
Its like this. Those kobolds are our friends and part of our budding community now. We like to be your friends too. Perhaps we can talk to our kobold friend and explain your error. Give you an chance to make it up to them. That's the decent thing to do. Are you gonna do the right thing here or are you gonna let the legacy of your brother continue to do evil in this world? What do you say?
Upon hearing of his brother's death, Jubilost sighs and turns to stare forlornly at the far horizon. He then turns back to you with tears welling in his blackened and bruised eyes. "You see, until recently, Sootscale was not the actual leader of those retched kobolds. Their true leader was my frighteningly intelligent and manipulative brother. Yes, you encountered him as the purple scaled kobold sorcerer named Tartuk, but he was not of the Sootscale tribe, and he was not truly a kobold at heart, at least I pray that he had not completely forgotten his origins. From what I can tell, he came to the Sootscale tribe a year ago from our village, which is east of here in the land of Iobaria. You must understand, Tartuk has always been a destructive force — a murderer and a maniac who found a perverse glee in manipulating his kin, both gnome and kobold, into self-destructive spirals of fear and madness. To my knowledge, he’s ruined two kobold tribes already, and hoped to add the Sootscales to his list. Tartuk’s appearance was as unusual as his loathing of kobold kind — his scales were a deep purple, unlike any other kobold I've seen. In fact, Tartuk was not born a kobold at all - he was born a gnome. He was killed in a fight against a group of ogres whom were tormenting our village, but his accidental, and fully unintentional sacrifice, was enough to give our village a chance to defeat the ogres. The village, sorrowed by Tartuk’s death and willing to forgive him for his sins, unanimously voted to restore him to life. They decided to use a scroll of reincarnation that had sat in the village treasury for years. In an ironic twist of fate, poor Tartuk came back as the creature that we hated the most - a kobold."
"Scandalized, the village didn’t know how to react. Tartuk did — he hadn’t meant to give his life to save the village, he’d actually been trying to surrender to the ogres and offer to help them destroy the village in return for sparing his life, but the ogres crushed him before he got his offer out, and now they’d turned him into one of the most hated of monsters — a kobold! The fact that his new scales were the same deep purple as his hair in his previous life served only to ensure Tartuk’s shame. Enraged, he fled into the woods, only to nurse a deep grudge. He found a tribe of kobolds, joined them, used his magic and manipulative lies to rally them, and led his new army in an attack against our old village. I and much of the miltia were out exploring at the time. The resulting battle was furious, and only Tartuk survived. That was fine with him."
"Since then, my mad kobold of a brother has drifted through several River Kingdoms, periodically haunting towns and murdering gnomes he finds and at other times insinuating himself into kobold tribes, taking them over from within, and then driving them to extinction by forcing them into wars they can’t possibly win. The Sootscales are but Tartuk’s latest project. He used a combination of lies, magic, and his favorite tool — a statue of an evil god from beyond the stars — to seize control of the tribe. He’d become quite skilled at convincing tribes that the statue actually was the embodiment of a dark god, and that it would curse the entire tribe if the chieftain didn’t follow its commands — commands, of course, that only Tartuk could hear."
Jubilost then rubs the tears from his eyes and looks at you matter-of-factly. "Yes, I beg you to entreat with the kobolds to return my brother's body. I cannot negotiate with the Sootscales - too much blood has been spilled on both sides. If you assist us, your kingdom may count the gnomes of Iobaria as allies."
Hearing his stroy Larisa backs down, returing silently to her meal by the camp fire. Down what strange paths life leads us. She thinks contamplativly, chewing on her meal. I wonder where mine is taking me.
Connor lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, "This we shall do. You are welcome to stay in New Hope and await us."
He turns to gather the others and start a plan when he pauses and adds, "I am very sorry for your loss. Regardless of how he acted in life ... either of them ... I understand how hard it is to lose family.
"I believe it would be best for us if we started off now and made our camp away from them. Their emotions are raw, and some times, decisions made in moments like this can be instantly regretted. Let's not give them cause."
"Agreed," Larisa replies, her gear already prepared to go on a moments notice. As they prepare to leave she stops for a moment and pulls Connor aside. "You did an honourable thing today. I know most people wouldn't have stuck by a treaty made with kobolds, I want you to know I'm proud of you."
"We just need to figure out how to do so without seeming standoffish," says Veronica, ruminating a bit. "One thing that bothers me - Jubilost said that his group was ambushed by kobolds. That may or may not be true, but if it is, wouldn't that mean that the Sootscales are... well, maybe not abrogating the treaty if this land isn't technically part of the new kingdom yet, but certainly not helping the reputation of these lands for safety. Attacking friendly travelers from neighboring parts is not an enthusiastic endorsement of peaceful, treaty-bound relations."
"Such a terrible tragedy, worthy of a dirge or epic poem, were I a capable artist," Seres adds, shaking his head sadly. "We shall do what we can to make this right."
Connor hears Veronica and nods, "This isn't simple, no. We will have to tread lightly with our alliances and ensure we understand what it is we are signing up to ... and what we can influence the other side to do as well. Our visit to the Sootscale tribe will be more than just collecting the body. We need to define the terms of our arrangement. "
-Posted with Wayfinder
Jubilost nods solemnly. "Aye, we will await you then in New Hope."
You quickly depart the camp and complete your exploration of the Skunk River estuary.
You wake up the next day to a seasonably warm spring morning. Around you the birds sing and the insects buzz. You travel south to continue your exploration of the area around your settlement.
Around mid day the scrub lands on the edges of the Narlmarches turns to swamp as you approach the shores of the Tuskwater. Ominously, you begin finding small bone fetishes tied to the trees. Upon closer inspection you see that the fetishes are small stick figures constructed from animal bones.
Towards dusk, you encounter a dilapidated mud-brick hut. The hut squats atop a small hummock in the middle of a fetid marsh. You note a thin tendril of bluish smoke trickling through a gaping hole in its moss-covered
roof. A wooden fence surrounding the perimeter of the mound is festooned with more crude fetishes crafted out of sticks, feathers, and animal bones. A lone crow caws noisily from the top of a nearby cypress tree.
Seres eyes the blueish smoke with a frown. "Anyone know the significance of these bone fetishes? I'm guessing yon hermit enjoys their solitude."
"Your suppositions seem reasonable," says Veronica to Seres and Ezekial. Then, jokingly, she suggests, "If this keeps up we'll need a horn-blower and an official herald."
There is no response to Ezekial's call. The hut remains silent.
"I'll come with." Larisa says, flipping the hood of her cloak up.
Connor sits astride Cinder quietly and allows the stealthy scouts to do their work watching from a far.
Ezekial and Larisa stealthily move around the perimeter of the rotting fence to find a nondescript area behind the hut. The shack has no windows and only the front door. A cobble stone path leads from the front fence gate to the hut's rotting entrance. Flanking either side of the path are overgrown gardens of herbs and weeds. Within each garden is a meticulously constructed scarecrow. The scarecrows have heads made of jack-o-lanterns that wear black rimmed hats with tall peaks. Both scarecrows wear old artisan outfits and have rusty swords hanging around their waists. One scarecrow has a noose rope tied around its neck. The other scarecrow has an ornate, chained watch wrapped around its stick hand.
The crow caws once more before taking flight and landing gracefully on one of the scarecrow's shoulders. The crow turns and watches you wearily.
"It's quiet" Seres asides to Connor. "Too quiet."
He unlimbers his bow and readies an arrow, just in case.
The crow shifts from foot to foot as it watches you, but it does not respond.
Veronica says to Ezekial, "Please, let me try."
She repeats Ezekial's question in a curious fashion.
The crow tilts its head and squawks at you. "Aye human, the fey witch, Old Beldame, awaits you. If you come closer human, she will dine on your entrails tonight. Leave while you still can!"
As she finishes her sweep and catches up to Ezekial, Larisa spots the man talking to a crow. "Let's leave this place." She says to him, eyeing the scarecrows as Veronica retries the question. "Who ever lives here obviously doesn't want guests."
Veronica looks a bit puzzled at Ezekia's comment and says, "I didn't hear the bird say anything to Larisa. He told me this hut belongs to a witch named the Old Beldame, who would eat us if she caught us, though."
"We need to meet our neighbor ... let's go knock," Connor rides up.
-Posted with Wayfinder
As Connor approaches, the scarecrow jack-o-lanterns ignite from within and turn to regard you with fiery contempt. With a shudder, the scarecrows spring to life.
The crow hastily dives and flies for the hut.
"Hmm, that's not good," Seres comments as the scarecrows animate. Slow to react, he eventually casts gravity bow.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Grabbing his lance and spurring Cinder who leaps to the charge, Connor bears down on the eastern scarecrow, flying past it once he strikes.
Veronica pauses, seemingly thinking something as she regards the animating scarecrows, then she grips her holy symbol and releases a quick prayer for Erastil's aid and protection.
[ooc]Init order: Connor, Larisa, Ezekial, Seres, Scarecrows, Veronica
Everyone but Veronica may take their first round actions.
Connor sallies forward and drives his lance through the eastern scarecrow's chest and sends the construct spinning.
Seres casts an enchantment and his bow takes on a blue nimbus.
The eastern scarecrow moves around the corner towards Connor and stares at him with its baleful eyes .
The western scarecrow focuses its gaze on Veronica .
; 1=E, 2=L, 3=S, 4=V
Seres moves for a clear line of sight on the western scarecrow, then draws and fires.
;
Connor whirls Cinder around catching sight of the creature and immediately looks away, bearing down on the unholy pumpkin-head again.
"Avert your gaze, their look is an evil enthrallment!" He shouts as he does so himself, staring purposefully at the creature's feet.
Yes, that would be your first round action. Please also make your fort save.