Grelda waits a few moments, watching as Miya dispatches the bugbear in front of her.
She shouts out a few arcane words of power, then suddenly dashes forward towards the next bugbear. A multi-hued cascade of images trails in her wake as she swings her club towards the bugbear's head.
If it's still standing, she lets out a growl as she bulges her eyes and sticks out her tongue. "Surrender!" she snarls in between beats of her drum!
Grelda easily slays her target, while Vitranna's barely lives. He falls to the ground, clutching the wound left by her spear, making no move to fight or resist. The one Richard is chasing realizes he can't escape and tosses his weapons away.
The dryad seems to believe you mean her no harm. With the bugbears defeated, she begins to pull bolts from the tree, carefully and methodically, and tosses them into the dirt. Each time, she places a hand over the 'wound' and whispers softly in a language you don't understand. She glances back at you occasionally, but as long as no one gets too close, she continues. Once the last bolt is removed, she will face you properly. "Thank you for saving us. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up."
Lera approaches the Dryad calmly without any weapons.
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Hearing Lera speaking Sylvan seems to relax the dryad a little more, and she responds in kind.
"I will likely need help disposing of these disgusting creatures. Their bodies are heavy and I doubt I can move them alone."
Richard was relieved that the bugbear surrendered. It was not long before the combatant was tied up. He hears Lera speak in some strange tounge. Given that they have not heard both sides to this story yet, It was unproductive to have a secret conversation that only a few would understand. Could we keep the conversation to common please?
Lera smirks at Richard. "What's this? The genius finally doesn't know something. No Fey on your planet? Tut tut tut. She said that the Bugbears hunt for sport and despoil nature for fun. She was surprised by them and needs our disposing of the bodies."
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Lera smirks at Richard. "What's this? The genius finally doesn't know something. No Fey on your planet? Tut tut tut. She said that the creature hunt for sport and despoil nature for fun. She was surprised by them and needs our disposing of the bodies."
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Richard starts to get irritated. Let me get this straight. Some bugbears were killing some squirrels for fun, then she goes out and screws with the lot of them. They track her down and screw with her? This is what we murdered these poor bastards over?
He turns and cuts the rope on his bugbear, and tells him to run. Richard's massive body gives the bugbear cover. He turns back pissed that this was how he was turned into a murderer. I'm done helping.
The big warrior begins to carry the bugbear bodies away from the clearing to a spot about 50 paces outside it. Jolis figures the local beasts and insects will eventually take care of the corpses.
Walking back to the clearing, Jolis hears Lera still taking to the dryad.
The absalomian asks the fey, "Are you injured?"
Lera pinches her nose when Richard cuts free the bugbear. "No, you idiot. The Dryads are the protectors of the forest. They tried to stop the Bugbears and were captured. The Bugbears then tortured the Dryads with flaming arrows." Lera slows down her speech as one would when explaining things to a child. "The Dryads are Good and the Bugbears are Evil. Understand?"
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So under that logic, we should murder Grelda then. He shakes his head at Grelda 'no'. So that she understood he simply was making a point.
He stalks off to leave the others to kiss the Dryad's ass.
"What!? Are you saying you condone torture?"
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It's a tree and it's fine. He yells back
Pulling her spear free from the mostly dead bugbear, Vitranna finishes off the creature quickly so as not to let is suffer.
"And if the season were dryer here today Richard, and the fire caught the forest ablaze with us in it? Would you have objected then? If not, then remind me to tie you up to the nearest tree during the next forest fire that we come across. I'm assuming from wherever you are from they tell you not to play with tindertwigs! How about what the bugbears would have done to the dryad once her tree was killed? Would you have bothered to intervene by then? If not, then make sure and grab a snack to watch the next rape that comes around..."
Vitranna then stalks after the missing bugbear, running quickly to catch it. Over her shoulder, she speaks again.
"Coming Grelda? We have a bugbear to hunt and kill."
He starts muttering to himself as he walks. why don't you tell the dryad, how you suffered the tortures of the d@mned riding in a ship made of wood. Or slept in a wood shack a few nights ago. And how you had to control yourself from killing the crew and villagers outright for their outrage...I can't believe this is my life now.
Still muttering Yeah threaten me with violence. Just because they are too dumb to know they live in a rainforest. The fact that she was chained up without being raped, it was a sure indication she would be, of course. It had nothing to do with the dryad screwing with them in the first place. No, we should chase down and murder the unarmed bugbear, because we know for sure they are 'Evil', whatever that means.
"Something else the genius doesn't know: the Dryad's connection with her tree. If they had killed it, it would eventually kill her too."
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Until she bonded with a new one. Yes I'm the idiot...
Richard finally realizes the others needed to justify their kills. Otherwise they are nothing but murderers and not heroes like he knew he was.
"Because her torturers would certainly let her."
Jolis walks over to stand next to Valeriya, and murmurs to the witch, "Please stop this. You two might attract more hostile creatures from the jungle with your arguing."
The big warrior continues to stand quietly and wait for the dryad's response.
The dryad looks back and forth between Richard and Lera, unable to get a word in edgewise. Eventually, she speaks up, raising her voice to be heard if needed. [b]"I did not ask you to kill anyone, though I will not mourn their loss. I only directed them away from my territory - I did not do any real harm.[b]"
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In his haste to get away, the bugbear has not bothered hiding his trail. Vitranna can track him easily enough, though he does have a bit of a head start.
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"I certainly not mourn their loss either. It seems we'll never agree; let's drop this as Jolis says," Lera says clearly still upset.
On Richards cutting the ropes on his bugbear Miya had acted, in a moment she had vanished from sight. While the others talked, she was moving and moving fast.
GM she is going to try and catch up and ambush the bugbear making a brake for it. She has a bow, and can shoot it or being invis shop it with the sword she has in hand. I don't want to slow down game play for the other players with a side combat. So I will leave it up to you if she was successful or not, :)
Miya if anyone cares to look is nowhere to be seen at the moment.
Grelda nods at Vitranna and follows in pursuit of the bugbear. She casts expeditious retreat to speed her steps.
With Grelda's magic aiding the pursuit, Vitranna is able to catch up to the bugbear faster than Miya is. Outnumbered and unarmed, he won't be able to put up more than a token resistance against you.
Comes out the trees now that Grelda and Vitranna have the bugbear.
"Don't kill it, I want to have a word and find out what it knows"
She says to the two.
"Godsspeed, Vitranna. Anyway, we still don't know your name, noble protector of the forest."
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Comes out the trees now that Grelda and Vitranna have the bugbear."Don't kill it, I want to have a word and find out what it knows"She says to the two.
Vitranna looks questioningly at Grelda, but nodding her head in the affirmative. She will then stand nearby, ready in case something unplanned happens.
Grelda grunts assent and lets Miya interrogate the captive.
She moves behind the bugbear and making a complex sight with her hands casts a spell. Then she walks around in front of it.
"Hello there, would you be so kind as to tell us where you are from? Also who lives there. I bet its very impressive. Do you like it there?"
Sbe says ber voice nice a kind.
"Godsspeed, Vitranna. Anyway, we still don't know your name, noble protector of the forest."
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"I am Eilena. Valeriya, Jolis, please have faith that you did the right thing. Wait here for just a moment. I have a gift for you, to show my gratitude."[b] The dryad bows and steps into the tree without breaking her stride. A few moments later, she steps out again, hands clenched together. [b]"I regret that I do not have enough for all of you. I would have liked to give one to the man you call Richard, but I do not think he would accept it. So I will give these to you, so you may decide how to use them. With these, others will know that you are friends to me."
Eilena will ask for Valeriya's hand and press a pair of wooden rings into her palm. Sylvan incantations are intricately inscribed inside of them, too small to read properly.
"Hello there, would you be so kind as to tell us where you are from? Also who lives there. I bet its very impressive. Do you like it there?"
You see brief flashes of a grand palace deep in the jungle. It's obviously been worn down by age in many places, but it still stands tall. Inside, all manner of beings fill the hallways. Goblins, orcs and bugbears are the most common among them. An old crone with a hunched back and sickly green skin. An ashen, grey elf in ornate armor, shield emblazoned by a demonic insignia. A man with sunken eyes and a sickening grin, surrounded by undead. Grand feasts, a throne room full of treasure. And upon the throne-
"Out! Out of my head, witch!" the bugbear jerks away from Miya violently, trying to get away, obviously afraid. "Kill me if you want to but keep that demon away from me!"
"They're beautiful, Eilena," Lera says as she slips one on her left ring finger. She then gives one to Jolis. "What does the inscription say?"
Vitranna will use the butt of her spear to knock over the bugbear and end his thrashing.
"Shut it goblin-blooded! You only live as long as we say you do. What is it? What did you see Miya?"
She tries again but his mind is closed.
"Interesting, I got just a brief flashes, but he and the others are form some old grand palace deep in the jungle. It looked worn down by age in many places, but it still standing tall."
She moves around the bugbear,
"But inside, all manner of beings fill the hallways. Goblins, orcs and bugbears seemed the most common among the ranks."
She shops and closes here eyes,
"I saw an old crone with a hunched back and sickly green skin. Then an ashen, grey elf in ornate armor, its shield emblazoned by a demonic insignia. A man with sunken eyes and a sickening grin, surrounded by undead."
She stops
"They had grand feasts in this palace and at its center a throne room full of treasure. And sitting upon the throne....No he's closed his mind to me. I... Can't see."
Slowly she opens her eyes.
"An evil place full of evil all joined in something"
She ends with.
Taking the offered ring from Valeriya, Jolis notices how small the ring looks.
Well, it's the thought that counts.
The big warrior makes a cursory attempt to put on the wooden ring. When it touches his finger tip, it magically expands to fit on Jolis's big ring finger. Neat!
"Thank you very much", says Jolis to the fey, bowing slightly.
Standing up she looks at the other two, her killer eyes looking at them.
"He can't be alowed to report back that we know this"
She says coldly.
"Agreed. He can't. Not if what you saw is true."
Vitranna looks at Grelda.
Grelda gives a slight nod before bringing her club down on the bugbear's skull with bone-crunching force.
The final bugbear crumples to the ground, dead. Luckily, you caught him quickly, so you are not too far from the clearing. If you look carefully, you can still make out the trunk of the massive tree.
To Lera: "The inscription is an old lullaby, taught to my people by the trees of the First World many lifetimes ago. Or at least, that is what they say."
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The squealing shriek and sudden silence of a bugbear separated from his soul causes Richard to look up at Lera, Jolis and Eilena. Only Jolis and the dryad seemed to not get sadistic pleasure out of the event. Resigned, Richard says with sadness, Heroic.
Jolis looks closely at the inscription on his ring.
Hmm. I wonder if I can figure out what it says.
Checks the bugbear for useful things then walks back to the clearing.
She walked up to Richard, and shows him what she took of the Bugbear then what she had seen in its mind.
"Knowing what we know now, would you say this bugbear equipment is recently made, do they have craft shows at the palace. How well are the organised?"
Who the F@ck cares? How does it get us closer to leaving this island?. He says.
Jolis, Can we go now?
"I know you're upset, Richard but the Dryads are protectors of the forest. They know more about what's out there than we could learn in months of scouting. We need all the help we can get. Besides, from what Miya said, it looks like the Bugbears and their bosses are the ones inside the palace we're trying to get into."
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Richard sighs heavily and examines the bugbear's items, all of them. The mention the of fully stocked treasure room made the request suspect coming from Miya. But begrudgingly Lera had a point. He checks to see if he can tell the region and timeframe of the items make. He checks all the bugbears gear for any clues.
Overall, there isn't anything all too special about the Bugbear's equipment. He has weapons, typical adventuring gear, and a small bit of gold - the first you can recall seeing on the island aside from your own. However, all of his equipment is professionally made, and relatively new.