Her eyes flash fiercely at the man with the strange plant creature's shouted demand. Keeping in mind her earlier conversation with Quinta, she chooses to ignore the man instead of giving him the tongue lashing her temper demanded. She can't hide the small crease that has appeared between her eyebrows or her gritted teeth, however.
After the chatter and hubbub subsides, and Shalelu calms down, she looks an apology to Belor and Tilo before beginning.
"The Licktoads have gotten their grubby hands on a cache of fireworks, and have been using them in their raids. Their aim still sucks with them, but it's the courage those thrice-damned things give the goblins that's the real problem. I'm sure you've seen a few caravans and traveler's coming into town from Magnimar with some injuries," Shalelu pauses, looking at each of you, "Still, I thought the blighters would never try to ambush me. I guess the mess I'm in is the price of my hubris."
Belor clears his throat and looks, almost glares, at all of you.
"I don't have enough men to deal with this threat, and I'm sure I don't need to remind you what happened a few years ago. I'm reinstating the goblin bounty. Ten gold per pair of ears, another three-hundred for the Licktoad chief's head. You lot get first crack at it. What do you all say? Want to go bash some goblin heads for gold?"
Tshilaba gets bumped and pushed a bit in the confusion and his original statement seemed to get mixed up or missed in the hullabaloo. But on the subject of bounties, his annoyed expression turned pleasant. This was why he was here. "The cards have led me to this place at this time for this reason. I will help. I'm ready to go." He stated with a bit more theatrics than this particular situation afforded.
He then regarded the injured Shalelu on the table and spoke a bit more earnestly and quite a bit less theatrically. "It's the least I can do for you after what you've done for me."
After that he turned his head to the person next to him and whispered.
As she finishes binding the elf's wounds, Shelby's eyes light up at the Sheriff's words. While she was not impartial to the gold bounty, the opportunity to prove herself far outweighed any other reward. Her enthusiasm is dimmed somewhat by the card-reading fool's quick assent.
"I will help in this, Sheriff. These creatures' very nature is an affront to The Inheritor." She then glares at Tshilaba for a bit while waiting to see who else would sign on. She knows her foster-sister's anxiety issues, and therefore purposely doesn't look at her, knowing it will only make things worse.
Archibald responds enthusiastically. Of course! Anything for the Defender of Sandpoint!
"Killing goblins?" Liera asks nervously, looking around at the group. "Well... I suppose I might be able to help..." She bites her lip nervously, taking stock of her abilities. It wasn't much, but she did have some magic...
Lou comes back with a small tray of snacks. (Tien style)
So, you guys going out hunting goblins?
Lou looks to Amieko (if she is there) kind of looking at her wondering if he should go. It has been a bit boring lately.
Datura shakes his head in disagreement when Shalelu mentions her price for pride. He thinks she has every right to be proud, considering how talented, intelligent, graceful, beautiful, and... He comes back to the now, realizing he was lost in thought for a bit.
He turns and looks at the Sherriff, responding in kind, "I will not turn down the offered coin, but it is merely an added bonus. I will go to hunt down these goblins for what they have done to someone I consider a old friend." With his declaration, he peers out of the corner of his eye to see if Shalelu confirms, or at least acknowledges that they are friends, if nothing more.
Jin grins enthusiastically. "Oh, absolutely. I could use a bit of coin."
Anything that might set things right with Jubrayl. If trouble came knocking after her tussle with Jasper, a bribe might smooth things over. She turns to Lou.
"Is Calistria's hive honeyed? Of course we're going. And you're coming with us."
Shelby smiles at Liera as she agrees to the undertaking, nodding her head in affirmation. While the girl signing on for something for the general good was very satisfying for the warpriestess, a portion of her was irritated at the now-present demand to keep the younger woman out of harm's way.
Shelby's smile at Jin when she voices her desire to go is lacking the mixed emotions of the one just flashed at the Iomedaean's foster-sister. She is glad to have the fellow Korvosan refugee's company on the short journey.
Lou was relatively unknown, but she knew from his bouts with Noro that he could hold his own in a fight. He could also cook, which was a definite plus.
The little halfling seemed too enthusiastic to go just for Shalelu's sake, as did the vegetable guy. She rolls her eyes at the two's near worship of the elf, not admitting to herself that she is jealous of the woman's status in the town, a status Shelby herself covets.
Lastly, she again glances at the fortune teller. What skills did he bring to the table? Perhaps he would insist on telling the goblins' fortune, and they could sneak up on them and dispatch them while he amazed the stupid creatures with his powers of precognition. She snorts in amusement at the thought.
"Alright, you lot get first crack at the Licktoads then. If you need anything, get it and get going. The longer we wait, the more brazen those runts will get," Belor tells the group, dismissing them with an impatient wave.
As the sun is just past its zenith the group heads out, south along the road to Brinestump Marsh. After a few miles, you arrive at the ridge over looking the trackless swamp. Though not as big as the fabled Mushfens, it sits there brooding with a menace all its own. You come upon a well worn trail, the New Fish Trail, that leads down into humid mush that slowly fades into the sea.
Archibald goes back to his room and prepares his extracts for the day before making sure his armor is in order and his cane is in hand.
As the party travels Archibald chatters. He talks about just about anything and adds amusing stories from his mischievous childhood as necessary. His cane is used less as a walking aid and more as a tool to augment his storytelling gestures.
Shelby kept looking at him and smiling. Maybe she wasn't all bad. And the numbers they were taking with them was pretty good. He'd never seen any of them in action, but if that plant was allowed to eat goblin, he figured they'd do just fine. Now all he had to do was make sure they didn't leave without him.
"I'm ready now, but I'll be happy to wait for anyone who needs to pick up supplies."
Tshilaba was glad to be able to spot Archie as he left the inn and he kept the conversation lively, laughing at his stories and telling a few Varisian tales as well, but as a people that made their living by seduction and fear of the unknown, they were not near as funny as the halfling's stories, so he lets him take the lion share of the time.
When they got to the crossroads and everyone stopped, Tshilaba piped up. "Is this the right road? I came in from the east, so I've never been here before."[/b]
Shelby gathers her belongings, feeling the unfamiliar bulk of her pack and shield settle onto her shoulders instead of the steel plates of her armor. She was too proud to ask for the others to wait until tomorrow, as none of them looked particularly well-armored, either. She makes her way out the door, explaining the situation to Quinta, excited at the prospect of wiping out these miscreants.
She then waits outside the Inn for the others. As she waits, she starts practicing her swordplay with smaller imaginary opponents. It was much different fighting something three feet tall than six feet, so she would get herself more accustomed to it while the others prepared.
-------------------------------------------
As they travel, the serious woman rolls her eyes at the conversation between the halfling and the fop. You would think this was just a stroll in the forest for these two, an afternoon outing. She stays a distance away from those two, also trying to keep herself away from the strange plant-man and his vegetable companion.
Her eyes remain vigilant as she searches their surroundings for their enemies, conscious of the ambush of Shalelu. As they approach the road, she chuckles, arching her ebon eyebrow at the fortune teller. "I don't know...why don't you go and see if 'goblins are here' is marked on the trail, good sir? Then again, shouldn't you already know?" She smirks at the man, crossing her arms, right foot extended forward slightly. Inwardly she sighs, remembering her earlier conversation with her mentor, but the damage was done and her ego would not allow her to retract the statement.
Liera hurries back home just long enough to hastily throw a pack together, before meeting the others again. She clutches her rabbit close for a moment, before coaxing him into the satchel at her hip.
She keeps mostly to herself as the group travels, walking carefully with her strange, clumsy gait, taking care to keep her skirts hanging low to hide her legs. She listens to the conversation between Tshilaba and Archibald curiously, enjoying the tales in her own silence.
When the group reaches the trail, she shivers, not offering not unless asked. After all, she was used to not being spoken to.
Lou reluctantly agrees to go, but he still feels a little worried what will happen to the cuisine at the Dragon.
he spends a good portion of the time before leaving, making sure all was in order in the kitchen, giving all sorts of detailed directions and making sure whoever was taking over could not mess up anything.
yeah he really loves that kitchen.
He grabs a nice boxed lunch (enough for everyone) and a couple of bottles of sake before joining the others.
As he traveled he stayed near Liera kind of like big brother keeping an eye on his little sister. one could tell he missed taking care of Noro like in the past.
when they reach the trail he looks down to her nervous?
"I wonder oh Jewel of Justice..." he began before thinking, turning his dark eyes toward Shelby with a twinkle in them. "...do you ask for your goddess' guidance on which stockings to wear or what to eat for breakfast? We have a saying among us fortunetellers. 'He who flips a coin at every crossroads tells the highwayman he has money.'"
He turns his attention back to the group. "To be honest, I don't mind which road we take, as it is a fine day for a walk."
Her pretty face breaks into a vicious smile as she starts stalking towards the man. "My goddess provides me with the guidelines of how to live my life in accordance with her wishes. To ask her about those sorts of things would be to insult her with my trivialities." She sweeps her hand towards his hidden decks, "you, however, have the power of foresight, available at your very fingertips! Is there a limit, then, to that power? We are not on a stroll at this point, but tracking dangerous creatures...surely we would have a need to know which path to take. Or...." Her brown eyes burn with pent-up rage at this point...it is obvious to any in the group that this goes beyond this incident.
"Perhaps the swamp has not provided enough incentive for you? I wouldn't have it be said I would ask this of you for nothing." She reaches into her coin purse as she nears, taking out a silver coin and flipping it to him. "Now you can get a proper reading, I'm sure." She stands there, eye to eye with the man, smoldering.
Liera jumps slightly at Lou's words, having been watching the scene unfolding between Tshilaba and Shelby. "Oh! Um, yes, I'm, uh, fine," she stammers, sweeping her eyes to the ground and fixing them there, suddenly very interested in a discarded branch nearby. "It's just... It wasn't far from here that my parents-" She stops suddenly, her gaze locking on her foster-sister. She could tell when Shelby was out for a fight, and running suddenly looked like a very good option.
Datura takes no time to prepare, having all he owns already on him. He is visibly irritated and impatient by the time they all finally arrive to head out. As they do, he says something to Awd, and she takes to his heels, following closely. He adopts a low posture, his bow out, and moves as quickly and quietly as he can down the road with his plant following.
----------------------
Datura emerges from the nearby brush where he had been moving to take advantage of any cover. He admonishes the group in a harsh whisper, "Would all of you just keep quiet? If any of you have sense enough to worry about an ambush, stop advertising where you are with all the talking." He points to Liera, "She's the only one with enough sense to keep her voice down. Are we here to hunt, or take a casual stroll while we share tales of our youth?" He scowls and starts focusing on the ground around where the road splits, touching it, scrutinizing, and smelling the air.
Tshilaba catches the coin easily and quickly slips it into his pocket, smiling at the increase in his fortune. There wasn't any clink of coin that accompanied it's resting place, telling the astute just how much of an increase it was. Come to think of it, he did manage to get out of the Rusty Dragon without paying for his breakfast.
"If it's danger you seek, you can find that down any road, O Beautiful Blushing Bastion of Beneficence. I should have known that we shouldn't fear bandits when you are here to defend us." He continues to smile as she brings her pretty face over to an intimate distance.
Not at all fazed by her tempestuous nature, he continues the discussion in a completely civilized tone. "But having power and using power are two separate things. You don't use a sword to cut your steak. But when you do use your sword I'm sure you would use your whole strength to accomplish your goals." He let the beat drop, then added in a loud whisper especially given Datura's rebuke. "Readings are three silver."
Datura tries to remember what he can about the region and its inhabitants, flora, and fauna, in hopes of helping them with the decision of which road to take.
Her brown eyes widen a bit at his first statement, then narrow at his continued, frustrating smile. Her cheeks do in fact glow red at this point as he finishes, especially with the stage whisper at the end.
She hisses out, "You have a sly tongue, sir, and I won't imagine that I can keep up with you. But it changes nothing. When you weave a web of lies and deceit, you always end up caught in your own strands sooner or later. It's likely why you ended up here." Her lips curl up in a cruel smile before she heads back to her original station, giving Datura a glare for good measure on the way.
Archibald gives a low whistle and rocks back and forth on his heels. You two are perfect for each other. Now, lets get back to the task at hand. As our guide has pointed out, the time for discretion has arrived.
And she adds the halfling to the glare list, opening her mouth to remind him that it was his mouth that had been running almost non-stop since leaving Sandpoint. She hated that she had gotten her eyes from her father sometimes. Big and brown, they couldn't look more mild and tender has she been born a deer. Koya used to laugh...hell, still laughed when Shelby looked sternly at her.
Only her desire to not cause any more of a scene keeps her mouth shut, and she boils inside. How dare the little man say that! She didn't even have to look to picture the smug smile on the fortune-teller's face at the statement.
She instead looks at her foster-sister, shrugging. She was not setting a very good example, as Quinta had suggested she start doing. The tall woman sighs, impatiently waiting for a decision to be made.
Jin, who up until this point had been walking quietly with the group and staring idly at clouds, cringes inwardly at Selbarina's anger. The last thing they needed was for her tempestuous nature to bring a horde of goblins down on them. The rogue puts her hand on Selbarina's shoulder and gently tries to guide her friend away from the rest of the group.
When they were sufficiently far away, Jin lowers her voice. "You wanna talk about it, champ?"
When Datura points her out, Liera flinches again, a hand flying to her hair, habitually checking that it's wrapped around her horns properly. "Um, maybe we should just take this trail?" she says meekly, looking back and forth between the others, spaced with glances at the ground again. Her free hand works its way into her satchel, stroking at Speckle's soft fur; the rabbit nibbles one finger in response. "It's... we're wasting time, standing around like this."
I vote this trail as well. Archibald says with utmost confidence. Besides, that tree is Fascinating! I think that might actually be a cottonwood!
Shelby walks with Jin a short distance away, glancing at the other woman quickly before turning her gaze to the marsh beyond. "It's that damnable man, Jin. And me. When did I become this petty, or have I always been like this?" Keeping her voice lower than before, she continues, "I had no reason at all for all that, except pure meanness and spite created by the man's manner and his stating that I am cheap"
She chuckles ruefully, shaking her head. "This is the justice I bring forth in Iomedae's name? Trying to catch fools in logic traps because they hurt my feelings?" She rolls her eyes deprecatingly, but it is obvious she feels a bit better.
"How about you? You've been rather silent and contemplative until now..."
Lou places his hand on Liera's shoulder, your among friends now, nothing to be nervous about.
looking toward the trail, this is as good as any I suppose. I think this one leads toward the sea though.
Datura just rolls his eyes at the continued drama as the others continue to bicker and squabble, just quieter now. He tries to focus on the task at hand, but loses it when the Halfling, of all people, speaks up. "Cottonwood? Are you blind? Let's leave the identification of local plant life to someone better suited to it. That is clearly a water hyacinth." Turning back to his task, he speaks to the others without actually addressing them, "I realize those of you with shorter life-spans are always in a rush, but I would like to actually find the right path if possible, and in the end it could save you all time by not getting lost in the swamp. Give me a moment of peace, could you?"
Datura does find some goblin tracks, but they are too old to glean much from them. He doesn't remember much about Brinestump itself, but he does know that swamps in general tend to be filled with undergrowth and soft, muddy ground. Large fish and crocodilians, such as caymans and alligators make their homes in places like this as well, and have probably done a fine job keeping the local goblins in check. All in all, this trail is just as likely to lead to the Licktoads as any other.
All sorts of people were irritable today, it seems. He thought to himself. Shelby's friend (Jin was it?) was talking her down it seems. That girl probably has a cooler head, which would only be useful in the future. And none of the ladies were hard to look at. It's why he kept coming to the Rusty Dragon, even if the cuisine was a bit exotic.
Oh well, it still beat waiting in a drafty tent all day only to be laughed at when night came. "Not all of us are in a hurry O Wise Woodland Wanderer. Please take your time."
After that he meandered over toward the cook. It was probably good to take care of debts. He holds out a familiar silver coin to Lou and says, "In all the rush and confusion, I forgot to pay for breakfast. Would you make sure this got back to the proper place? I can wait for change."
Archibald shuts up, kind of. He crosses his arms and mutters to himself, bit the words "rude" and "know-it-all" somehow make themselves heard.
As she waits on Jin's response, she spies Tshilaba walking towards her foster-sister and her hackles start to rise once again. She calms somewhat as he walks past the shy girl to Lou, instead, but that only brings more heat to her cheeks as he hands over a familiar silver coin.
The price of hubris. A pittance, really, for a lesson learned. She looks away, adjusting her pack straps as they chafe her shoulders. She locks eyes with Jin again, her look long-suffering.
Datura stands upright, dusting his hands off, but not obsessively. He looks at the others, "Not enough signs of any discernable tracks to go any one way or the other. So if you all just want to go this way, we can. I must warn you, a swamp is a dangerous environment, so you all should talk less and be more on your guard." With his warning, he redraws his bow, and skulks off into the brush of the trail moving forward, but not before he whispers a quick something to Awd.
Awd just stares at Datura whenever he speaks, periodically snapping at passing larger insects. When Datura speaks to her directly, she turns and follows him.
Heading down the trail soon brings the goblin-hunters under the thick, steamy canopy of leaves, vines, and hanging moss. The air is hot and muggy, like the breath of some great beast and soon sweat begins to pour from everyone's brow. Things seem unreal in the gloom, and even something as innocent as a songbird's call takes on an air of menace here. Occasionally something will growl throatily in the distance, or something else might hiss close by.
Almost.
Datura turns back to the others and makes odd gestures, some form of signalling to indicate something. He points to his eyes with two fingers, then at the surrounding foliage, holds his fingers like an 'O' to his eye, and then makes an odd circular gesture with his hand palm down between himself and the others. Satisfied that he conveyed what he needed, he continues on down the path.
After sniffing the air, Awd almost looks to slump her 'shoulders' and look a little forlorn, if that's possible. Almost as if she was longing for a different result than the one she got.
After that he meandered over toward the cook. It was probably good to take care of debts. He holds out a familiar silver coin to Lou and says, "In all the rush and confusion, I forgot to pay for breakfast. Would you make sure this got back to the proper place? I can wait for change."
Lou refuses the coin, on the house, just glad to have someone enjoy my cooking.
Later on the trail, Lou stops when Datura apparently spotted something.
Lou returns some gestures, making glasses out of his fingers and covering his eyes the point to his head with a circular motion, he then makes a drinking / drunk gesture, ending the routine with a shrug of his shoulders.
The dark-haired woman cocks her head as the plant-lover starts spasming, making all kinds of weird symbols in the air. Her brow furrows as she concentrates, trying to figure out the meaning behind it. She looks at Jin, then lets out a nervous chuckle, before shaking her head, perhaps the first genuine smile of the day on her face.
Still, better safe than sorry. She quietly draws her sword, keeping her eyes upon the boggy waters of the swamp.
Jin watches as Datura motions to the rest of the group. She gapes for a moment and then proceeds to pantomime the same expressions, trying to look as silly as possible for the rest of the group.
As Tshilaba approaches Lou (and by extension, her), Liera blinks rapidly, looking for something to busy herself with. She settles on Awd, stroking one of the flower's petals curiously as she walks past, taking care to lift her skirts slightly over the muddier parts of the path.
When Datura stops and makes his strange gestures, she tilts her head to one side in confusion. When Jin starts pantomiming the same gestures, she grins and has to stifle a giggle.
Tshilaba doesn't need to be told twice to hold on to his money. In fact it brought out new respect for the young cook in his eyes. [b]"Thank you O King of Culinary Quintessence. I hope to enjoy more of your fabulous feasts in the future."[b] He turned to wink at the shy girl next to him, but she was otherwise occupied, so he turned to follow the company deeper into the swamps.
Tshilaba smiles appreciatively to Jin on her impression, but does not go beyond that to further aggravate the elf. He'd seemed grumpy and ill tempered since the inn for some reason, but perhaps he'd feel better if they killed a few goblins. Maybe he really needed the money too?
=nope!
Archibald is slightly confused. Their scout was trying to tell them something. Why wasn't everyone more concerned?
He sneaks up to where Datura is and whispers, Care to say that again?
Datura clenches his teeth and speaks softly through them, and begins to go through the hand signals again "I saw... in the foliage... something watching... all of us. Could you tell the others? The angry woman is the only one that seems to sense the danger of the situation."
Awd turns at the gesture by Liera, facing the woman impassively, before it actually leans into the woman's touch. The move is almost akin to a cat's, and looks unfamiliar to the plant, like it has never actually been 'pet' before.