That's right! I'll do it, I can watch!
Babs squeaks and takes to the skies, circling over the river.
Jenya nods for the help as she fords across the river, the earth beneath the waters seeming to give her and Murkey just a tiny bit of extra support and guidance that helps get across the river and back multiple times without mishap.
He shrugs, running his hands over the still-dripping wood. "Cass, did you see anything? Something caused those ponies to run into the river, they weren't intentionally driven into it."
I bet they were actually, Cassandra thinks. But since the driver was on this side she might as well get his story. "So how did this happen?" she asks of the gnome explorer.
Unlike the Sootscales, whom you met before, these kobolds have reddish scales.
(I don't know if Babs has a high enough Intelligence to count.)
Jenya manages to convince her horse to cross the river. There's some hesitation, then it plunges in and fords the river. She picks up two of the gnomes and brings them back across to their wagon.
The explorer with whom Cass speaks replies, "Kobolds! A band of them jumped out and startled the ponies. We were more interested in saving the wagon than in fighting. They hurled a bunch of javelins at us, then the ponies spooked and everything became totally chaotic. I suppose we're lucky they ran off."
Scaly ones! Red scaly ones!
Babs feels a surge of elation at having found something that she's certain Korinne and the others will want to know about. She heads back to where she'd left them at the river and begins circling Korinne's head, squeaking triumphantly.
Welll.. Jenya says after all the gnome rides are done While I'm all in favour of going after bandits I think these folks need an escort to safety and that's more important.
Vallen is standing by the shore administering blessings to Jenya's pony rides while the lead gnome explains the situation.
He snorts, shaking his head. "Kobolds are usually little more than scaly vermin... worse than goblins, really, because they're more intelligent. I guess these spooked as easy as your ponies consdering they ran off after attacking."
His moustache quivers,,, mouth forming a flat line when Korrine mentons they're still nearby. "Wonderful. Well, they're obviously very bad at this whole road banditry thing so they're probably not much of a threat. In any case, Jenya's right, we came out here to find and help these folks."
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Jubilost, the gnome leader of the expedition, seems torn about whether to be overjoyed at the timely save, or annoyed at all of his supply wagon getting soaked. Finally he checks several of his maps, notes that they are not waterlogged and destroyed, and settles on "reasonably pleased although he is quite beat up due to meeting some of the rapids with his face before you arrived."
The gnomes are a jubilant, if soaking wet and somewhat bruised and scraped, group of intrepid explorers. They seem well-prepared for traveling in the woods, but the kobold ambush just gave them a spot of bad luck.
Jubilost continues, "What brought you here in the nick of time?"
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Vallen finishes his repair job, and is giving it a last look-over. This wagon was well-made, it mostly shook off that beating... though it could do with a coat of paint.
The priest comments on Jubilost's question as he uses a fingernail to scratch at some algae that had nearly adhered to a wheel. "Torag has a way of taking me to places where folks like yourself need help. The Lord of the Hearth has impeccable timing. In this case, your.... second...? cousin Vax here was worried about you being late and asked us to come looking for you."
The algae seemed to resist his efforts at cleaning, and the frustrated dwarf pulls a dagger from his belt to carefully work at it. "Did you run into any trouble besides Kobolds?"
The algae finally succumbs to Dwarven steel- vanquished, it sloughs off to the ground. Satisfied with his work, Vallen wipes off the dagger with an oil rag and places it back in his belt.
He turns and notices the bruised faces of the gnomes, some nursing arms and legs. The priest grasps his silver holy symbol, holding it high. "Torag has watched over you once already today, but his warmth is infinite. Be well."
Positive energy spills forth from the holy symbol, turning bruises into perfectly healthy, glistening skin.
Unbeknownst to Vallen, the positive energy infuses the microscopic, leftover algae behind him... and it immediately grows right back where he scraped it off.
Yeah you've got a cousin to thank once we get you to safety. Jenya says with an easy grin as she pauses in the middle of getting the gnome's ponies back under control and attached back to the now repaired though moss covered wagon.
What've you been hearing about our new place? she asks Jubilost curiously.
Cassandra mentally chided herself for doubting Vallen and the gnomes. She looked across to the other shore and knew she wouldn't be able to see anything unless she actually got over there. Cassandra shrugs off her pack and hands it over to the nearest person. "I'm going to make sure those kobolds are good and gone or at least not waiting to ambush again." She walks a few feet downstream from Jenya and wades into the water. She is careful of her footing until the water is deep enough. Then she dives in and swims for the opposite shore. Not wasting time, she immediately heads for the trail the gnomes travelled down and looks for kobold tracks. If she finds them, she follows them for some minutes to make sure they are not in the area.
Jubilost says to Jenya, "Ah, word is that there was a new expedition to many of the southern lands. I figured this was as good a time as any to chart these places! I wanted to see the wild before it's all gone."
Vax adds, "He loves exploring. Never one to settle down."
Jubilost continues, "Anyway, the notion that there was room to explore, but also some settlement nearby in case anything went horribly awry, was just too good to pass up."
Meanwhile, Cassie crosses the river and starts tracking the kobolds. They don't seem to be doing anything to hide their passage, and she easily catches up to the short creatures. They are a small group, eight in number, hooting and making a racket in Draconic - probably because of their perceived 'success' against hated gnomes. As busy as they are with their tiny victory, the kobolds seem unaware of Cassie's approach.
Vallen nods crossng hs arms over hs chest. "I've never known a gnome to stay in one place for too long. Well, I hope you've had your fill, because we'll be taking you back to the settlement now. Next time you go out I recommend brining along some guards, these wilds really are dangerous."
Jenya nods along with Vallen There's... things in these wilds that're worse than a few kobolds she says, shuddering as she recalls the dead unicorn We're workin' on making things more settled, but I don't think most of the region will ever be truly tamed.
Cassandra watches silently through the bush she was hiding behind. She considered firing an arrow to scare the off. Kobolds were notoriously cowardly. They might run off and that might scare them into not doing it again. But to much could go wrong. They were too far away from home. They couldn't patrol this far. And they hadn't harmed anyone really. Best they could do is send someone to make sure the kobolds stayed no more than a nuisance. Cassandra watches for a while to make sure the kobolds didn't do anything while mentally calculating how long it would take Jenya to ferry the gnomes. If they do nothing threatening she heads back, satisfied. She swims back across and re-collects her things. "Just eight of them. Too busy celebrating scaring the horses to bother us. No more than a nuisance but I'll send someone to keep an eye on them. Maybe get one of the sootscales to talk to them?"
Jubilost looks anguished when you tell him that you're taking him back to the settlement. "But... there's so much more to explore here! You can't just take me back to town, it'll ruin me! I've sunk all my capital into this venture! Exploring, charting, making connections and blazing trails, mapping, finding out the secrets that this wilderness holds... this is my life's work!"
Vax, looking a bit distressed as well, says to Vallen, "C'mon, now, he got himself into this; he knew what he was getting into. We're just as willing to take risks as you are."
One of the other gnomes pipes up, "Well, I could do with a good stout."
Another says, "And a warm straw mattress!"
Jubilost, fuming, says, "Fine. Fine! But this is my wagon and my expedition and I mean to get back to it."
Vax whispers to Vallen.
Yeah well, next time Jub, we just might ask for a rescuer's fee or something. There's worse out here than some small lizards Jenya warns Jubilost.
"I didn't ask you to come out here-" says Jubilost.
"I did," Vax says, cutting him off. Jubilost glowers at his second cousin.
"Look, thank you for coming and getting my wagon out of a jam! I would've made it all right even if you hadn't showed up. Yeah, I woulda lost the wagon, but I'm an experienced traveler. I have tools and weapons that I carry and I can survive on my own."
One of the other gnomes pipes up, "Not all of us are experienced wilderness survivalists, Jub."
Jubilost makes a shushing motion at the other gnome.
"Okay, so, what now? Do I finish charting this river down to the lake, or are you taking us straight back to... wherever?"
Jenya snorts and rolls her eyes at the gnome. She looks at the others.
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Vallen listens to Vax, nodding and looking to Jubilost. "That's great, really. We need gnomes like yourself to get a handle on what this land has to offer. But you're not going to help anyone if you're dead. It was kobolds this time, but what if it's gnolls the next? You need to hire some guards, or adventurers, or something".
The priest reaches up to stroke his moustache in thought, looking at the ground. "We need to create some kind of bureau that registers explorers in the region so we can keep track of them. For their safety and our records. They get credit and support, we get information, and we can go looking for them if they go missing."
An idea forms in his mind, and he looks to Jubilost. "So how about this. You come back with us, and we'll make you head of the Bureau of Exploration for the kingdom. I'm not expecting you to take a full time desk job; you can delegate the paperwork to your friends here that don't have as much heart for exploring. But this way you can be sanctioned explorers with the backing of the kingdom, and we can track what everyone is doing. You can finish mapping this river once we have the basics set up and you take a few more axe-arms with you out here."
Maybe fer travelling back we can follow the river done back to town ourselves? That way Jubilost and his party can map the river and'll be safe besides. I don't think we're in too much of a rush to get back?
"And you didn't want to be the diplomat," Cassnadra whispers to Vallen. He'd been very vocal about it but was doing an admirable job. It'd be hard to replace him at this rate. "I'm sure we can work something out," she says louder and to Jubilost. "We've only got a simple system in place now but once Bob has a free minute we might get him to work on something more formal and structured."
"Bureau of Explorers, eh? So I get paid to spent my time exploring the countryside?" says Jubilost. "All right, let's give it a try! If I don't like it we can always renegotiate later."
Then he perks up and rushes to the wagon and rummages about. He triumphantly holds up a waterproof scroll tube and says, "You should see what I've found so far! Here, take a look at my maps!"
At a glance, it looks like Jubilost has been pretty busy - his base map has a full picture of the Greenbelt, the forest area, either from his own exploration or from pieces that he's put together in consultation with trappers and hunters in the region.
"Listen," he says, "I'm trying to get a more complete picture of the south. Rumor is that there are trolls in the west-southwestern woods. And I'm curious to see how the Shrike and the Little Sellen converge. Say, do you have any notes about what's out here in the Greenbelt? I'd be happy to share information." He pulls out a journal and unwraps a leather band from around it and opens it up to a very jumbled and disorganized set of notes.
Huh, Jenay says to Jubilost Desna knows I'd love to explore all of that as well and see everything there is to see too.
Later to the others seperately she mentions an idea So we need to be exploring the place too right? Maybe we can take Jubilost and his wagon on as official mappers or something and take him and the others out with us when we do that. That way we get high quality maps and the gnomes get protected while still satisfying their wanderlust.
Vallen blushes at Korrinne and Cassandra's praise. "Er. I don't know, it just seemed logical.."
He takes the maps and gives them a look-over before shrugging. "Not sure, honestly. I'm not the geographer type. But all the surveying we've done so far is publically available information.... back at the castle..."
He passes the maps around for everyone to see. "Trolls, eh? Well, so long as they're not bothering anyone they can stay where they are."
Cassandra takes a look at the maps, impressed by the detail and how extensive the forest to the west was covered. But none of the reports she got mentioned a gnome explorer in the Greenbelt. "I am going to have to talk with our scouts. They need to report everything, not just what they think is dangerous." Clearly they didn't consider the gnome a threat but it would have been nice to know about him. "We've covered most of the Kamelands down to the Tuskwater," she says pulling out their own journal. It is far more organized and structured than the gnome's. "We've seen a number of interesting things including some playful fey. They pull pranks but their harmless. We have more detailed maps back home if you are interested. And I'd certainly appreciate more information about the south. We haven't explored very far that way."
Vallen nods in agreement with Cassandra after considering the maps. "It's clear to me you've seen things we haven't, so this will be a worthwhile trade. Did you collect all this information yourself?"
"Most of it - I've been up and down the forest ridge here for a couple weeks. We discussed matters and decided that following the Skunk River from its source to the Tuskwater made sense; you can always follow a river, and if we could figure out a way to cut through the woods from the west to the Tuskwater, that would be a useful route. I'd heard merchants used to navigate the route with pack ponies anyway, but they stopped when the bandits became too bold out here. So... what've you seen?" says Jubilost. He flips through the pages of his journal, produces a quill, and prepares to take some notes. "Shall we exchange? Say you give me more information about what's between here and the Tuskwater along the river, and I can tell you what I saw further southwest in the woods?"
Vallen never really picked up the cunning businessdwarf genes that ran in his family, but even he could see this was a good idea. [b]"Of course! The more we know about this land the better for everyone involved. I came in at the latter part of the scouting, so I'm not too much help there, but there have been a few dangers you should be wary of.."{/b]
"Well, here we found..."
Jubilost excitedly scribbles notes in his journal (in Gnomish) as you describe the areas, and he exclaims, "This is fantastic! I love it!"
He then points to some areas on his map and says, "All right... I've seen a few things out west, too. Here... and here... and here..."
Jubilost describes:
* Along the Skunk river west of here, there's a small group of freelance loggers. The gnomes encountered them while they were following the river, but the loggers set up a logging camp with the intent of floating logs downriver to your new fort and selling the timber. Their leader was a human man named Corax.
* Further northwest, in the deeper woods (south of where you found the dead unicorn), there's a dryad's grove. He didn't meet the dryad, but the gnomes talked to some of the animals living there and determined that the grove had a dryad in residence - probably hiding in her tree to avoid strangers.
* There's another river to the west called the Murque, and at its headwaters there's an abandoned keep. Jubilost and his group didn't stick around, in case something was living there.
* Further south, near the western edge of the Tuskwater, the lake connects to the Candlemere, which is filled by the Shrike and the Murque. There's an island on the lake with some kind of ruined tower on it, visible from the shore.
* ...and he's heard a rumor of trolls somewhere far to the southwest, but fortunately not seen any of them.
What do we think 'bout these freelancers? I figure it'd be better fer all of us if they were more official somehow. Jenys says to the rest of the group. And there seems to be plenty of stuff around that we might want to take a look at, make sure they're friendly
Vallen nods, expanding on his idea of hring the gnomes. "The more people we have keeping track of people the better. Records are the treasured memories of a well-run kingdom. We should make them our Bureau of Cartography and Exploration. Give them some guards, send them out to poke around the borders."
Something in the information they were provided bothers him... "I wonder if that dryad knows anything about the unicorn that was killed. Surely the two knew each other at least? We should keep those loggers away from the dryad grove as well, or one someone might end up dead."
"Loggers and a Dryad close together. That sounds like it could lead to a problem," Casandra says pointing out how close the two are on the map. "The two ruins can probably wait but I agree we should check them out."
You check your map and your current location, and decide that you're close enough to visit the area mentioned as the dryad's territory.
The gnomes ply you with additional food supplies and wave happily as you head one way and they head another, with Jubilost leading his tiny caravan toward your settlement. Quickly, the forest closes around you and all you see are trees, with no sign of the errant gnomes.
You head northwest, following the river, and as you're considering where to break from its northern bend and continue toward the dryad grove you come across the signs of a small logger band. The river makes a sharp bend here, welcoming you into a deep pool dotted with lily pads and fringed with waving reeds. Several freshly felled trees lie beside their stumps on the shore of the pond, their crowns dangling in the water among fading tendrils of mist.
At the edge of the pond is a small group of loggers (seven of them), with two other loggers facing the group with their backs to the water. Out in the water, about 20' from shore, you can see the head of a woman with green skin and seaweed-like hair decorated with shells - the rest of her is underwater.
One of the loggers in the large group cranes his neck over as he hears your horses and shouts, "Hey! Hey! I could use a hand here!"
Vallen was finding this forest diversion to be quite tranquil- no kobolds, tatzylwyrms, dead unicorns... just birds and trees. It's no Five Kings Mountains, but this forest has its own beauty.
The dwarf points ahead of the group as the loggers are spotted. "They were easy to find! We'll see if they can- Eh? What's that in the water? It looks like a human lady... she's going for a swim?"
Vallen waves to the group as they shout at them. "WHAT'S THE TROUBLE?" He shouts back in his gruff, dwarfish baritone. "Seems everyone has some kind of problem today, eh?" The priest remarks to his companions, steering Nelly towards the group of loggers. "Torag has blessed us with plenty of work today."
As Vallen approaches, the logger who spoke up says, "That... water witch has turned my own men against us! She'd have them murder their own friends!"
The bobbing green-skinned woman in the pond shouts, "They destroyed my home! They cut down the ancient trees near my lake! I had to defend myself!"
The woodsman turns and shouts back at the watery woman, "Ye turned friend against friend! You'd have these wood-axes taste human blood!"
"Better than the blood of another of my trees!" she shouts back.
Vallen sighs, pressing his hand against his face and rubbing at tired eyes. Why did I suggest this? I should have just went back to my office. He takes his holy symbol in hand, muttering a prayer to Grundinnar to guide him in these unfamiliar tasks.
Sitting up straight in his saddle, the dwarf inhales deeply and continues to approach on horseback. "Let's all just calm down for a moment. I'm Vallen Silverclasp, Priest of Torag and Head Diplomat of Emeria. We are all representatives of Emeria and the town of River Run."
Now within regular speaking distance of the two parties, he stops and sets his hands on the saddle horn. "We heard there was a dryad grove in this area, as well as some loggers, and we were going to try and head off the inevitable hostilities."
Vallen stays mounted for now- he figures it gives him an advantage in negotiating some kind of peace between these two parties, as well as providing rapid transport if things turn ugly. "Miss in the water, are you the dryad? What is your name?" He looks back to the humans to inquire; "Of you loggers, who represents you?
When he has their names, he continues."Firstly, to the loggers... We of Emeria have no legal jurisdiction over these lands yet, so technically you are trespassing on this dryad's domain, and she's defending herself and her property. Would you not do the a same if a dryad took an axe to your home? You are clearly the aggressors here and I reccommend you do not consider any more aggressive actions in our presence. Secondly, Miss dryad, there are many people, human or otherwise, that are going to be moving into these lands soon, and I would take care not to attack them. We do not want you to gain a reputation as a monster, and some adventurers come wandering in to kill you, hoping for a reward. As our kingdom expands it is our prerogative work with the native inhabitants to ensure that all are fairly treated and conflict is minimized, though at the moment, we are the only enforcers of law in this land."
He takes a moment to rub his face again and gather his thoughts, hoping that the wise words of Grunndinnar will guide his tongue. "I am going to offer you both a solution, which we will finalize in writing. Miss dryad releases whatever hold, magical or otherwise, she has over the humans. The loggers take whatever trees they have already cut down, and float them down the river to sell at River Run, simutaneously and permanently ceasing operations in this grove. Miss Dryad will help us relocate the loggers to a part of the forest that is not her domain, but the loggers can still use the river to transport trees under her supervision. Miss Dryad, we will happily mark out your domain on our maps and warn others not to interfere with your forest unless they have your express permission. In addition, in the future we would be open to using your knowledge to manage this entire forest so all may benefit from it."
Ice-colored eyes glance back and forth between the two parties. "Are we clear?"
"They were easy to find! We'll see if they can- Eh? What's that in the water? It looks like a human lady... she's going for a swim?"
Cassandra looks incredulous at Vallen. "Her skin is green," she says. However stupid she thought the comment was, he more than makes up for it in the accompanying compromise. For the most part she agreed with it but found it hard to believe the creature would allow the logs to be taken down the river. It was probably still angry and would want something in return. Some recompense for the lost trees. "And the loggers will plant and water twice as many trees as they fell before leaving," she added. They should do something to make up for the damage.
The woman rises slightly from the water and gestures with a heavily-webbed hand. Fins grace the sides of her arms. "No, silly! The dryad lives... some distance that way." She gestures vaguely to the northwest.
The watery woman continues, "I just want to be left in peace to live in my home! How would you feel if someone took an axe to your home? These trees shade my pond and provide homes for the insects that my frogs and fish feed upon!" She blinks and wipes her eyes briefly, not the overwrought movement of drawing an arm across her face, but rather quickly tracing her thumb under her eyes to drive off incipient tears. "Five trees are already dead. I need them back somehow."
The angry logger says, "Well my family has to eat, too! We have to make a living and these trees will fetch the kind of price that will put food on the table all through the winter. You faerie-kind, do you even have to eat? You can just live forever in that pond being all... watery! And we poor mortals have to live with your whims and become slaves to your magic spells!"
One of the loggers facing off against the others (apparently defending the woman) says, "That's not very nice, Corax. You should apologize."
"You see what I mean?" the angry logger sputters. "He ain't in his right mind!" He expels a hard breath and says to Vallen, "Look, there's a lot of demand for good lumber to build at Emeria, and if we don't supply it we'll lose the chance to make a living. I am fine with moving on if she releases these loggers from her hold, but I think this faerie is dangerous and you oughta be careful about making deals with one! And we will still need to find another place to log."