HP: 6
AC 14
Lou now up and noticing the creature is not a goblin. well now, this is new. looks like those old tales ring true. well time to end this
Lou does a spectacular flip and is about to come down hard on the creature's head but with barely a shift to the left Lou instead land in the mud patch and sinks to his knees.
Tshilaba smiles as Shelby flanks the strange beast with him. She may act hostile, but when the chips were down she was on his side. At least against this monstrosity. He took a step back and threw the card in his hand with practiced ease and it sunk into the creature's throat with only a white corner still visible as it was slowly stained with the ichor that seeped from the wound.
The fortune teller cocked his head to the side as he watched the creature clutch at the card with a free claw. "Ever the idiot that attempts to best heroes. Night was not a good enough ally against us."
Jin moves to flank the creature as well, stabbing with her slender blade.
Liera rolls to her feet, trusting the distracting hex to keep the beast from striking her, and lets out a shrill laugh, as if in triumph.
As soon as the creature tries and fails to strike Shelby, Datura's command kicks in, and Awd does what she was told. She snaps at the creature defensively, but not hungrily, so it was more of a nibble.
Awd's bite may not have had much force, but it had enough, and with a gurgle the monster keels over dead.
Having heard Lou to his right, the fortuneteller looked over his shoulder when the beast fell to the wet soil. At first he didn't see him due to the fact that the monk was up to his knees in the soft soil of the swamp. "Ah! You gave me a start, O Cunning Culinary Captain. I'd remembered you taller." He reached out a hand to help the man out of the mire.
"The real question I have for you is 'Should we eat it'?" He added the last bit with a bit of a grin to show that he was joking, at the same time, he was willing his stomach to stay quiet. He'd wished he had brought at least a snack along with them for the journey.
Disconcerted at the sight of the beast, Shelby runs it through the heart after it falls, just to be sure. She stares at her foster sister for a few moments, that shrill laugh was weird and full of power, and just didn't seem right. Her gaze then goes to the fortune teller. He certainly had bravery, if little else. And his strange card-flinging was quite effective. Then he opened his mouth and their touching moment ended.
Her cheeks were flush, her blood singing. For all her training, this was the first thing she had actually fought and killed. She was glad it was her watch, since she probably wouldn't sleep for a few hours after this. Everyone seemed fine, so she doesn't waste any words asking after their health. Instead, she sits and takes out a cloth, proceeding to wipe the blood and gore off her treasured weapon before sheathing it at her side.
The last notes of Liera's shrill laugh die, leaving only her own breathing to fill her head. She crouches and gives a short whistle, calling her rabbit from the bushes, and the creature obliges, scuttling back into her arms, small claws digging into the girl's blouse as she stands again.
Turning slowly, the witch catches Shelby's eye and turns her head back away quickly, feeling a tongue-lashing coming on. In her nervousness, she doesn't realize her horns are showing - or worse, her hooves - focusing her attention instead on petting the small creature in her arms, sothing his rapid heartbeat with her touch, cooing softly in a strange, shifting tongue.
Shelby looks up, seeing the girl standing there, calming her pet rabbit. Who would even bring a pet like that out in this dangerous land? She spies Liera's telltale tiefling heritage, her brown eyes softening a fraction. "Back to sleep, Liera. We have a long day tomorrow, likely." Her tone gives the impression of someone used to getting her way with another, although her words are calmly spoken.
Those eyes then turn to Jin, her look accusing, although she says nothing. She has come to expect that those around her don't share the same devotion to duty that she does, but that still did not excuse lapses like falling asleep on watch. The warpriestess rises and starts to walk the perimeter of the camp again, to give her adrenaline a small avenue of escape more than anything else.
Having heard Lou to his right, the fortuneteller looked over his shoulder when the beast fell to the wet soil. At first he didn't see him due to the fact that the monk was up to his knees in the soft soil of the swamp. "Ah! You gave me a start, O Cunning Culinary Captain. I'd remembered you taller." He reached out a hand to help the man out of the mire.
"The real question I have for you is 'Should we eat it'?" He added the last bit with a bit of a grin to show that he was joking, at the same time, he was willing his stomach to stay quiet. He'd wished he had brought at least a snack along with them for the journey.
Lou just looks up and gives a smile. and takes the offered hand out of the mud. one word of this back in town... and Lou makes a mocking fist at Tsh.
best let it sink into the swamp. I wouldn't even know how to cook something like that.
lou trudges back into camp and removes his wet clothing to dry. he then curls back up for some rest.
Lier's eyes seem to flash with a strange yellow light as they flick to Shelby, before the spark fades, and the girl nods. One hand drifts to her hair; at the feel of exposed horn, she gasps, immediately ducking her head, as if it will hide it. With a sharp nod, she heads back to her bedroll, carefully sliding in, hooves first. She staysstill for some time, one arm draped over the rabbit nestled into her bosom, staring at the dead creature. She's one of the last to fall asleep again, soothed to sleep by the flickering shadows, rising dutifully when woken for her watch.
Datura just cringes slightly as Awd continues to nibble on the creature. She seems apprehensive about eating it, but once comfortable with it, continues unabated. He decides to clue the others in, "As a plant, Awd does not sleep. Normally, I sleep through the night and rely on her to protect me. Since she will eat just about anything," He points to her munching on what they just killed, "once I put her to guard, she has no issue attacking anything that comes near the camp." With that said, he directs her back to the center of the camp, and commands her once again, with what is apparently an order to guard.
Archibald needs a few moments to calm down after the fight, but once he does he crashes hard. He makes mental note of things like the horns on the shy one and Awd's strange abilities, but he really just wants to pass out, so he goes to his bedroll under the tree and doors so.
Morning comes with no further incident. As camp is broken, the trail the beast took can be easily found.
Normally, Jin would have filed that little secret away for later use, but she resisted the urge. She wasn't in Korvosa any more. She didn't have to play those games. Instead, she wandered back to where she had been seated during her watch and focused on staying awake and not looking at Shelby.
Shelby's judging gaze softens as she glances at Jin, and she finally smiles at the woman reassuringly, although she is not sure her friend sees. The warpriestess sighs, saying a quick prayer to Iomedae as her watch ends before laying down to a troubled sleep.
Come morning, she goes about her routine briskly, her schedule much the same as at home. She rises early, and not needing to strap and buckle on her armor, she grabs her whetstone and starts to work on her sword. Reaching up, she huffs in exasperation as she can feel the cowlick in the back of her head, no doubt giving her a disheveled appearance. Not wanting to appear vain, she tries to ignore it, focusing on her sword's already sharp edge.
Datura rises with the dawn, performs an ablution to Gozreh, and readies himself for more travel and hunting. "This thing has left a trail that Awd and I could follow by moonlight, but do we want to do so? I imagine it could lead to a lair, but I doubt we will find goblins there. It has probably eaten a few itself. I say we stick to the trail." With that he limbers his bow, and prepares to move. Not used to his plans being debated by Awd, he isn't expecting any rebuttal.
As her watch ends and everyone begins to wake, Liera stifles a yawn and finds a nice shadowy space to sit, stretch out her legs, and begin her own morning ritual. Her eyes flutter closed, and in her lap, her rabbit mimics the gesture. A strange hissing language whispers from the girl's mouth, accentuated by long pauses, patterns drawn in Speckle's fur, and twitches of her eyelids. After an hour, whatever strange happening was taking place is done, and she stands, stretches, and coaxes the small creature back into the heavy satchel at her hip. She then looks around at the others, ready to move.
The fortune teller raises his hands in surrender to Lou's mocking fist and heads off to his own spot to rest, hoping his stomach would quit bothering him.
In the morning, he does a little stretching but generally just sits against a tree and shuffles cards while watching everyone else get ready. Shelby was being as dedicated as usual, while her sister was being more enigmatic than before.
In response to Datura in the morning, Tshilaba does raise a dissenting voice. "It would probably be a good idea for us to track it to it's lair for three reasons. One, it may have treasure from previous victims. Two, it may have some sort of family that should also perish. Three..." He is slightly distracted at this point by a spider making a web near where he was sleeping and he made a rather disgusted face at it. Darn those omens, so vague! He shook his head and continued. "... if we're coming out here to make the town safe, we should check out all threats to the peace of Sandpoint. Who knows? There might be an even bigger reward for this!
Shelby fixes the fortune teller with a cynical smile. Two out of three reasons involved monetary reward...how surprising. Still, the Inheritor would not look kindly on the warpriestess knowingly leaving these creatures in the swamps to harry the town and perhaps kill unsuspecting passers-by. With a look of someone with a bad belly, she calls to Datura.
"I agree with our greedy friend here. If the trail is that easy to follow, then let us quickly track it to its source and make sure there are no more of these abominations left to threaten the folk of Sandpoint."
Archibald is last to wake and is groggy. He moans and grunts add he prepares for the day, but is ready quickly.
As for the group's direction, he had no opinion on the matter, so he says nothing.
Datura turns on the two, irritation plain on his face, directed toward the card player over the woman. "I will tell you why it is not a good idea." he begins using a counter-point to Tshilaba's points "One, we are not here to get rich off the supposed treasure some wandering creature in the swamp may have. Two, take it from a hunter, if it has family they would have hunted together as a pack or tribe. If the others are unable to hunt, then they will die on their own due to the death of this one. Three, we are coming here to deal with the specific threat of goblins with fireworks, who have been a frequent threat to travelers, and more importantly Shalelu herself. The reward we were told plainly about, for those of you only concerned with material wealth."
He points to the simple trail left by the creature, "We have removed the threat of this creature, by happenstance. So we have already done more than expected. The time we waste chasing this trail to its beginning, is time the goblins have to continue to plague travelers, or prepare to use these fireworks. It is also more time we spend out in this place where so few of us are prepared to exist in this environment." It's clear he doesn't have much faith in most of the others to make it out on their own.
He turns to Shelby, explaining to her a little nicer, likely based on her desire to do so out of responsibility over personal gain, "We are here to protect the town, but the threat we are here for is the blatant threat of the goblins. The creature we faced was, up until now, only town folklore. The trail may be easy, for Awd and I, but doesn't mean it will be short or not lead us way off our course. The longer the goblins exist, the greater chance of them becoming a bigger threat."
"A one track mind, like any man. For him, the prospect of financial gain. For you, the prospect of making sure your precious Shalelu is avenged and is safe once more." She scoffs, but offers no further protests. She sheathes her sword, getting her pack ready to go with a sour look on her face. To agree with that MAN, only to be rebuffed by the tree hugger!
Well. Someone woke up with a nettle in their stocking...
Archibald considers trying to cheer the grumpy warpriest up and immediately decided that it is a fantastic idea!
But how? He does not embark on this quest immediately, but waits until the get going before falling in beside Selbarina and proceeding to cheer her up by any means that can be accomplished on horseback which really boils down to talking a lot.
Shelby turns her head to the halfling, the distraction briefly welcome as they start following the hunter once again. She is quickly reminded why the two never struck it off in town after Archibald's arrival, and he is quickly downgraded to impatient head nods and the occasional "Mmm hmm." Still, it has the effect of dulling her irritation towards Tshilaba and Datura, so in a way Archie has some success.
Archibald believed he was the last to wake, but it is not unheard of to miss the drunken cook as he lay in a small patch of now shade, as luck would have it with the rising sun. Lou's spot to rest was nice and shaded.
The conversation eventually awaken him. and Archibald realizes he was in fact not the last to rise.
He seemed to miss the entire conversation and calmly gathered his things and made his way to the group as they start to head out.
where to now? You sure the goblins are down this way? indicating the trail.
Liera flinches at each harsh word, even though none are sent her way. Her mouth sets into a hard line, its wideness disconcertingly apparent, as one hand toys with the hair around her left horn. When the group moves on, she follows, in silence and at the back, occasionally flinching from the daylight.
he group seemed to want to follow Datura's lead for the most part because the rest of them were not suited to the wilderness and would probably get lost out here. It was probably a wise decision, but just leaving the situation the way it was didn't set particularly well with the fortuneteller. Despite all of this, Tshilaba never lost the smile from his face. "I never would have considered you to be a person who didn't stop to smell the roses. Revenge is a shallow business that will leave you empty. But there's only so much one can say to someone who won't listen." They obviously didn't trust him yet. Perhaps someday they would.
He wandered along at the back of the group giving Datura his own space to do as he would. Perhaps they would find the goblins soon or not. Regardless it was a far better and more interesting time to him than spending the day in his tent, hoping someone would come by.
Say what they will about what they think is his reasoning, but they were following, so he didn't need to waste time with a reproach. What did he care anyways? After they resolved the clear and present threat of the goblins and their fireworks, he would be right back to nearby woods, hoping to get a chance to patrol with Shalelu once again like their parents had done.
He grips his bow, takes the lead, and continues along the path scouting for danger.
Awd has no idea of the implications behind any of the tone and or volume of the conversation. She just stands with her petals unfurled, catching swathes of flying swamp insects in droves, only reacting when a command is given. When the talking ends, she returns to following right on Datura's heel, naturally assuming the hunter posture. They were looking for food.
Jin falls in beside Liera as they march along. "So. Liera. I don't know if we've ever actually talked. I see you at the Dragon, but I don't know anything about you. Where are you from?"
Liera glances at Jin in surprise as her attempt to start a conversation. It was a harmless enough question, even if it was unusual for someone to show interest. Her response is slow and hesitant, as if she's not used to talking about herself.
"Well, I was born here - in Sandpoint, I mean," she begins, twirling a finger in her hair nervously. "I grew up here, and I've never quite known anywhere else. I've been on the caravan with Sandru a few times, but I keep mostly to myself - I know about native flora, and I can make shoes." She suddenly blushes and falls silent, as if she's said too much.
After a couple more hours of slogging through the swamp, you come upon a muddy trail that leads up to a swampy lagoon. The open ocean is visible just beyond these shallow waters, while an old two-story building, its walls soggy with moss and its roof sagging with age, sits on the lagoon’s eastern shore.
Jin holds up her hand to try and stop her companions. "I'll take a look around. See what's up." she whispers.
Slowly, careful to avoid noise and mud, she creeps towards the door.
Datura doesn't feel comfortable with the woman approaching alone. But to argue it now would prove to lose what element of surprise they currently have. Instead, he nocks an arrow, and readies it to fire at anything that attacks the young woman. Without taking his eyes off her, he issues a command to Awd, pointing at Jin.
If she hadn't let him know she was going, the fortune teller would have needed to beseech the cards in order to know she even left. He smiled to the others and put his finger to his lips, doing his best to remain silent himself, although a terribly hungry stomach growled its displeasure at this horribly inappropriate moment. The best thing about it was that they were in the swamp and it sounded almost exactly like a frog nearby. He innocently began to look around for the source of the noise.
The warpriestess nods to Jin, giving her an encouraging smile. It was important for people to know their role, and Shelby didn't mind that the smaller, more stealthy woman took the lead on this. She gives the fortune-teller a flat stare as he implores the group to be quiet, as if they didn't already know!
Hearing some of the swamp life, the dark-haired woman relaxes a bit. The local background noise would help mask their presence.
Liera swallows nervously, watching as Jin approaches the door. She jumps slightly at the noise of a frog suddenly croaking in the silence, but stills herself.
Jin keeps her eyes up and focused as she approaches the shack.
"...Stupid hobbitses. Wheres you hiding? Did yous leave? Did yous leave Volorog heres? Or is yous hiding. Is yous with tricksy snakies? Or is yous hiding in swampsies..."
Jin's passage isn't even a gentle breeze as far as the noise she makes in passing. Deathly quiet she makes it to the door without alerting whoever is inside.
Archibald sneaks with Jin. His small size helps immensely and his experiences in youth guide him to the shadows most people overlook.