Murob keeps translating the words of the dark folk to the others as the exchange continues. She is glad that at least one other speaks Sylvan, as her own command of the language is not perfect. Addressing Fa'zakar in an aside, she conveys the question aimed at him.
She chooses her words carefully as she addresses the trio again.
"Biz yuxarıdakı bu parça tapdıq, bəlkə bəzi qullar su adamlarından qaçdılar və burada gizləndiklərini düşündük. Su insanlar bizim dostumuz deyillər və bizi və zərər vermədik. Su insanların qullarını azad etmək istəyirik."
”Sonra düşmənim düşmənim dost ola bilərdi.” Victor replies to the dark ones as his demeanor shifts from fearful to friendly and he gives his best winning smile ”Sudan insanlar qarşısında bizim üçün bir tövsiyəmiz varmı?”
"They asked why I talk like a pest? Hahaha! That is a very good comparison! Tell them it helps to speak the tongue of pests so that you can keep them away from your home!" Fa'zakar says with a smile.
Ehiz stays vigilant, but relaxes his grip on his bow now that the situation seems to be under control.
The dark folk respond to Murob and Victor in Sylvan, "Xeyr, burada belə bir insan yoxdur."
"Su insanlar suda yatmalıdırlar. Və onların böyük qulları tənbəl və axmaqdır. Ehtiyatlı olsanız və gecə bunu edərsəniz, onlardan oğurlamaq asandır."
At Victor's statement about "enemies of enemies", the lead one almost laughs, adding, "Xeyr, düşmənimin düşməni qaranlıqda bıçaqlaya bilən yalnız bir nəfərdir."
"The water-people must sleep in water. And their big slaves are lazy and stupid. Stealing from them is easy, if you are careful and you do it at night."
"No, The enemy of my enemy is just one more person who can knife me in the dark."
Though it's difficult to tell through the creature's many wrappings, it tensed up during its last statement. It appears to be lying. Well, about keeping people here. Its advice about the gillmen is simply stiff and cautious.
When the last quip is translated Fa'zakar bursts out a quick laugh and says, "Oh yeah - these are my kind of people! I like them...tell them our knives are only for the water-people and the big stupid ogres. Maybe they can point us in the right direction to do that."
Not following the conversation, Sulan tries to keep an eye on the various exits.
Gwen holds her torch high and leans on her spear, trying to follow what the others are saying.
Murob quickly translates to the others.
"They say that there are no escaped slaves here. they do not seem keen to ally with us against the gillmen and the ogres, but they gave us some tips - it would appear that a night raid is our best chance, as the gillmen need to sleep in the water."
She translates Fa'Zakar's words to the dark folk as well - both about why he speaks goblin and his knife retort, waiting for their response.
Gwem shrugs. "If they don't want to help, we should just leave.
The dark folk in the lead just blinks at Fa'Zakar's relayed words. Soundlessly, it just points towards the exit. "O yolla. Suya yaxın." it says, humorlessly.
Murob gives her thanks - the dark folk hadn't been much help, but at least they hadn't attacked them outright, then turns to leave. She wonders where that scrap of cloth had come from. If it came from escape slaves, did they know what the caves below hid? Did they meet the dark folk and were they turned away as well?
Ehiz follows Murob and, with curiosity screaming at his tongue why it isn't already asking Murob a thousand things about the encounter they just had, he remains quiet until they're out of sight and hearing distance of the dark folk.
Victor follows just a step behind his light source (Ehiz), making sure to keep an eye behind him as they exit the cavern. When they eventually reach the surface he stretches his arms out to emphasize the lack of restraint and loosen his muscles as he visibly relaxes somewhat, obviously relieved to be out of the oppressive gloom.
"That was certainly tense. Glad they seem at least neutral to us so far, neutral can be worked with." he says to no one in particular as he considers the next course of action.
Jim and Arven are waiting for the group when they surface. Excitedly, Arven asks, "What did you find down there? Any gillmen-killing superweapons?"
Tiredly, Jim asks, "What are we doing next?"
"We got some advice from some little dark guys. While the ogres can see good at night, the gillmen can't. So they seemed to think that attacking at night would be better."
"I don't know if that's right though, since a bunch of us can't see in the dark either."
Ehiz stares at Arven. What in Erastil's name made the lad think there would be a gillmen-killing superweapon down there? "One man's weapon is another man's demise, but the blanket of night might still make for the best moment to do what we must. However we do this, we must first agree upon what will be our priority and goal and, upon achieving that, what to do next. We might not have the luxury to discuss that once we're in the thick of it."
Gwen sits on a rock and extinguishes her torch.
"The folk down there aren't interested in helping us. They do some raiding on the gillmen, so there's likely some trails from here down to the city. That might make our way a little easier.
"Now what we need to do is get down there and scout. There's no use making plans until we know more about the spread and where their weak points are."
"Yes, a successful event requires planning and a decent site survey. I can be pretty quiet in the woods so I can go have a look and report back what I see if you want...although it would be better to have a back-up with me in case something goes awty."
"Dark up here isn't half as bad as dark down there, I can see just fine by the moonlight." Victor replies matter of factly to Sulan's statement about eyesight "I've always had sharp eyes. I could go with you as backup if you need." he offers to Fa'Zakar.
"I grew up in the woods, but I can't see in the dark. I'm happy to scout by day, but will be a sight less useful at night."
Murob speaks up. "I can see in the dark, but I'm not very good at sneaking around. We should perhaps scout at twilight, and attack during the night?"
"I'm a woodsman," offers Jim, "But like Gwen, I'm only human. I can't see in the dark."
"The trick to stealth is to hit people really hard if they are watching you."
Gwen stares at Sulan, then barks a short laugh when she gets the joke.
"Hah!" Murob laughs at Sulan's joke, then narrows her eyes as a thought occurs to her.
"Sulan, I heard that druids can take the shape of animals. Can you do such a thing? If so, then perhaps you can scout in the shape of the local wildlife so that your presence does not look suspicious even if you are spotted. I can also send my familiar to scout, but unfortunately we cannot communicate very well, only hazy feelings and emotions."
Fa'zakar grins but shakes his head. "The real trick to stealth is not to get too close to the fighters, and have a team ready to take care of anyone chasing you..."
That would leave Gwen, Victor, and Fa'zakar as the scouts.
With their course decided, the group moves closer to the valley floor before splitting up. Fa'Zakar, Gwen, and Victor head down into the valley proper while the rest of the group stays behind in the undergrowth of the jungle's tree line.
The valley floor is flat and beautiful, with tall wild grasses for about a mile from the tree line. The sun dips low on the horizon - a seaside sunset, and the golden light bathes the stone city in the distance in a beautiful quality of light. Even from the plains, the ruined city in the bay can be seen, although not in detail.
As the group gets closer, a few things become clear. For one, the wild grasses give way to mowed and flat ground, and closer to the shore a wire fence crosses the plain. As far as you can see from your position in the middle of the plain, it stretches out of sight. The fence is about eleven feet high, rising nearly to twice Sulan's height. It's not thick, and it appears that with a pair of shears you could probably slice through it in short order.
Behind the wire fence, even taller than the wild grass, a wheat field. The fronds drift softly in the breeze, sending a whisper through the air.
There are no obvious guards or any obvious patrol at the moment, though you can hear a vague mutter of conversation from behind the fence. Probably many people are working within the wheat field.
The second thing to notice is that, as the sun dips lower, a claxon alarm goes out across the plain. Just after that, you can see the fronds drifting from side to side as people walk through the fields back towards the stone city on the shore.
Fa'zakar looks for any ogres - they should be above the wheat fields and easy to spot. He also estimates the distance from the edge of grass they are hiding in to the fence, and the distance from the fence to the edge of the wheat field beyond.
"We should wait for a while after things calm down to see if any guards come by...did you see any ogres or gillmen?" he whispers to Gwen and Victor.
Fa'Zakar can spot a couple of ugly bald heads just above the tops of the wheat, moving around.
" I agree. It would be hard to sneak through here. It's so open. The guards would see any escapees or us. " Gwen surveys the area.
"Depends on how we do it. If we can eliminate the one or two guarding this specific spot without alerting the whole encampment, then that creates a hole we could smuggle people out through." Victor whispers as his eyes scan the wheatfields further ahead, trying to make out any more ogres "Though that relies on us being able to catch the drop on them.."
"Look, I have certain - arcane - skills that I may be able to use to cut the wires while we are still in the cover of the grass. Do you want me to try cutting it now so we can see if the ogres respond to it at all? If they do, we have a good chance of escaping..." he whispers again.
"Too risky I think. That stuff is usually flashy, we can't risk drawing attention right now."
"You're a spellcaster?! Why didn't you say anything on the voyage?"
Surprised by the revelation, Gwen loses focus. "Is it flashy? If it's not very noticeble, why not? The wires may be warded or watched somehow. It would be good to know if there's an alarm if they are disturbed."
"Sulan, I heard that druids can take the shape of animals. Can you do such a thing?"
"Yah, I wish! I never did figure that one out. That's a power I hope to learn someday, though."
Sulan waits behind, waiting for some kind of sign. If something has gone wrong, he will need to close quickly.
"They better not kill all the ogres..." he muses.
Waiting in the treeline, you suddenly feel a great rumble under your feet. Not emcompassing like an earthquake. There's something very peculiar about the feeling of a creature burrowing directly underneath you.
Ehiz stands still and holds his breath, hoping to somehow evade the senses of whatever is burrowing on by underneath them. Curiosity and survival instincts clash, but Ehiz remains quiet. Whatever questions he has will have to wait.
Sulan looks around, a little concerned, but he stands perfectly still.
After a moment he whispers to Ehiz, "Ehiz... can you climb a tree? If you think it's coming up right underneath you, that's probably the smart play."