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Quill puts out his hands, trying to show to the Captain that they shouldn't be kill anyone just yet, let alone them.
"The BearManPig? Uh...uh...he went clubbing," Quill says initially, trying to find a way to explain. "I mean, a club found him and he found himself dead. Poor guy...twas a quick death too. He just splat," Quill makes the splatty-splat gesture with his hands.
"That there is Dieter. He seems to bleed a lot, but otherwise seems like a good guy. He doesn't seem to mind being around us, which is nice."
Quill looks at the halfling, and quirks his head to the right so he can see a bit more clearly the upside down halfling's face.
"Who's that?"
Sander nods.
"And poor Mariana just disappeared in the swamp, after Mawj died and we rescued Dieter. Who your friend seems to know?"
Dieter seems puzzled for a moment. The kind of puzzled feeling people experience when they see acquaintances in a new environment. The brain takes a few moments to connect their faces to a different setting.
"Kipa?"
He holds out a hand in trepidation. "Kipa! Kipa. Stop running your mouth off. The orcs are not my friends. I've never met them. They look jumpy -- and probably for good reasons -- so just be quiet."
He looks to the captain of the barge and raises both hands in a gesture of peace. "I am Dieter Stolzdorf. I'm a mercenary out of Castle Everstand to the southeast. I joined a venture led by two dwarves to uncover something in the vault nearby. We were ambushed by hags and giants. I woke up in the vault, and watched the hag kill my comrades one at a time. These people saved me in the nick of time." He gently waves his hands back and forth. "I'm friendly and helpful and I have no intention of causing trouble."
Dieter points to the halfling. "You are currently holding Kipa. He is a scout with my company. He came looking for me because we didn't report in because we were rather busy dying." He gestures to the woman holding him like a shield. "Madam, you may want to put him down. He is harmless, and being a halfling who knows what you might pick up from him. You might want to wash your hands at the very least."
"Hey! Sander exclaims.
Sometimes I think Tel might be right about how prejudiced everyone is... As if we have anything you could catch. Or are gnomes!
Storn grumbles at the orcs.
"Put the halfling down. We lost two our number int he swamp, and found Dieter who does the Lord in Iron proud. We have more work to do and they're not with the giants. Let's bring 'em with us."
"Sure... catch. You never was able to catch my style or skill with the ladies. And what you did catch I would not want " all this in a tone that to outsiders may sound like barbs between people who do not like one another, but between the two men it is just friendly jokes and banter that they have done for many seasons.
Spotting the other halfling "Well at least there is another of person I can look eye to eye with. How goes it cousin?"
"I am totally not with the giants. Way to tall for my liking. Wait?" looking back at Dieter " This is not your original party you left with? Is this like the Widower's Woods all over again?"
"Can I get on board now?" Molly asks the Captain. "Strike that, can I get on board in a moment?"
Molly drops her pack and any items that might be spoiled by water, and wades into the river. Provided nothing attacks her, she swims a few laps, then dives under. When she finally comes out, the Witch is sopping wet, but looking grimly satisfied -- and much cleaner.
"Bloody finally! I was so tired of smelling like swamp muck! Now, unless anyone needs me, I am going to go change into something dry and eat a huge amount of food, provided we have any left."
Glancing at Kipa, she shrugs.
"Dieter's okay. If he says this guy's on the level, I suppose you'd better not pull his arms and legs out and use him for stew ingredients, guys. Please put him down."
Molly glances over her shoulder at Dieter. "That is, unless this 'company' of yours is the Aspis Consortium or summat? Don't like them."
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"Yeah, let us aboard...please... Quill's voice changes as he realizes he sounds demanding and whiny.
Quill moves past the orcs and gets on the boat, feeling unsafe out in the open despite all the peoples around.
"You do what you gotta do with the halfling," Quill comments to the captain. "But if he's friends with Dieter, he might not be bad. Dieter has bled for us, I'll tell you that. He's a good bleeder."
Quill looks around, makes sure the boat is okay. He eventually goes up to look around from the crows nest.
The Captain looked dubious, but motioned for Kipa to be released. "Very well then, but if he steals anything from my ship or crew, I'll hold all of you responsible. I was paid to take a group of heroes to the swamp and then to the Redfort. That's it. And your back a day or two earlier than expected, which is good. We can shove off in the morning - no sense in going to all that effort for the few hours of daylight we have left. Watches have all been set already, so you can all get cleaned up, eat some food, and get a good night's sleep. You look like you could use it."
"And for what it's worth, I'm sorry to hear about your losses. Mawj was a freak, but he had a good heart. As did that Mariana girl. May he Lady of Light show them the way to the Farther Lands."
While the group recovers from their adventure in the swamp, Molly takes a bit of time to examine the crown and the jewel-studded cudgel she took out of the place. Not that she really expects to discover anything world-shattering, but just in case.
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Quill takes the offer to rest. He spends his down time cleaning his equipment and checking each of his arrows. He sort them all out and straighten the feathers and count them. He will inspect his armor and clothes, casting Mending as needed.
He will even spend some time praying to the Elf that Hugs the World.
Sander nods tiredly to Kipa. "We're not at risk of being killed right now, so I guess it goes OK. The swamp is nice enough, but I'd rather be home."
He spends the evening sorting out his ingredients he collected from the swamp and getting to work on a potion.
With the new halfling freed from the orcs, Storn stalks over to Kipa and slowly circles around him.
"When I tap you on the shoulder, tell me your name and where you're from."
He taps Kipa on the shoulder with a huge, gauntleted hand.
He looks at Kipa. "No, they're all dead. All of them. I was a few hours from death when they saved me."
He looks at Molly. "Nuh-uh. The Consortium is scum. We don't take dirty work. Or... we didn't take dirty work. Past tense. Because, you know, they're dead."
He boards the ship and takes a seat, ready to set off.
Dusting himself off he looks up the the person who was holding him up "Thank you for putting me down so...gingerly." He dusts himself off. Nodding back to Sanders
To Dieter "Again? Man, you do not make it easy to collect payment. Just kidding my tall friend. But John will want to know about that sooner rather then later. We can deal with that when we get back to a town."
Looking up at Storn "My name is Faindākīpā Haisha but you can call me Kipa. I am from a bit of everywhere but right now I call the guild my home. When I tap you on the the shin please do the same. Circling around him Kipa then taps Storn on the shin with a small leather gloved hand.
Storn barks a raucous laugh. He is a massive, iron-clad man with a gravelly voice and a lilting, Kellid accent.
"I am Storn of Gorum. I come from what southerners call the Realm of the Mammoth Lords but my village is gone now, so I live in Trunau. With me here is Quill who is braver than he looks... or acts, Molly who uses unsettling magics, and Sander who likes plants and bombs."
Looking at each person as Storn introduces them.
"Well met everyone. I look forward to the trip ahead with you. I thank you for taking Dieter into your group. He can be a handful, but he is good people."
Looking over at Quill " He hadn't checked in with our Quartermaster at the main office in a few weeks, so I was sent out locate him and get a status update, as well as assist in finishing any other missions he was in the middle of. Blind Joe is a nutter for paperwork and keeping the books in order. Good man, but sometimes it can get in the way of the good old adventuring. We will be off when we are off, but for now it looks like you all are in the middle of some fun shenanigans, which I can easily explain away to our guild as a continuation of Dieter's fallen party and we all can continue on the way with great ease."
Looking over at Dieter "Just have to do the same trick we always do with the messages and paper work to keep Joe happy as well confuse him some."
Back to the main party " Joe is not actually blind just nearly blind. Just need to write the main thing you want to have him know in large print & shrink the writing to basic chicken scratch as you get to the finer details you do not want him to know just yet. Of course if you ask him, it is from all the adventures he had in dark under lit dungeons. Really, it is because he is so old and stubborn so he never wears his glasses. Actually throws them away every time the doctor gives them to him. But really I can go on for hours about this stuff. Just ask Dieter there. I think I have chewed his ears off so much over the past few years. Isn't that right?
So shall we continue on the way? I can entertain you with tales of a young Dieter."
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" We will be off when we are off, but for now it looks like you all are in the middle of some fun shenanigans, which I can easily explain away to our guild as a continuation of Dieter's fallen party and we all can continue on the way with great ease."
Quill scoffs.
"We're not in the middle of *fun* shennanigans. People are dying. People are going missing. We lost half our town. I saw a pigman get smashed before my eyes. I've seen Dieter almost die, on his last rasping breaths, TWICE, you piddlespotting halfling. Nothing about this is piddlespotting shennanigans," Quill huffs, getting angry at the memory of his fallen home and comrades.
"And if you stay with us, you'll probably die too. We're trying to stop giants, Kipa. BIG GIANTS. And they will love to eat you, I'm sure. You'll better off to go find ol' Blind Toe and find other work. This is deadly...and likely doomed."
"It's shenanigans, arrigh', just not fun ones," Molly corrects Quill.
The Witch gravely extends a hand to Kipa.
"Still, we can use more warm bodies to throw at 'em. Like the kid said, it's a rotten mess, but we're doin' it anyways - the cause is good, an' there might be some rewards aside of stoppin' hordes outta Belkzen from sweepin' south of the border an' conquerin', pillagin', rapin' an' burnin' everything in their path."
In a serious tone (different that the last few moments) "We all go at our time. It is how we lived during the moment we are born & the moment we die that matters. I have watched my family killed by giants just because they were small and in the way as they walked. Treated the way you would treat an ant. Their bodies crushed and broken. Unrecognizable. My home and those around it were destroyed because it was fun to knock down buildings with people in them. I was the 3rd oldest of eight children. Now I am the only one who carries my name.
The people you travel with knew what they were getting into when they picked up their weapons, learned their first spell and took this job. I know it could be the end of my days the moment I left to find Dieter. It is part of the life we live.
You have two choices how I see it. You can carry that burden your whole life and welcome more of the same. Or you can morn the fallen, remember what they have taught you, and carry on. Do the first and more will fall much in the same ways as before. Do the latter and no longer be the ant. "
Back to the jolly tone you first heard from him "Now Blind Joe is a different subject. Blind Toe would work. That man bangs his big toe on every damn thing he passes. Probably more so then when this big guy enters a new town isn't that right Storn?" punching him lightly on the shin in order to not incite a fight.
Looking at Molly and taking her hand "Well, I will help where I can and keep my fair cut and give a few fair cuts to those we face as well."
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Quill looks at Kipa, shaking his head.
"You don't even know what we're doing...much less why we're doing it. If you don't mind me saying so, you seem awfully flippant in wanting to join us. And they way you talk about old Bland Roe, I worry about bringing you along only to have you missing like Mariana ...just wake up one day and you'll be gone. Especially after someone dies. Then maybe you'll decide to go someplace else." Quill's eyes dart to Dieter, to whom his comments also apply.
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"Well the way I see it, we both need a ride out of here. That boat is the way to do it. On the way, we talk, we laugh, we joke and we get a better idea of one another. If at the end of ride, if either of us think that the other will not help our own journey in some way, we take different roads with no ill feelings to be had. If, on the other hand, we decide that I would be of help to you on this quest of yours, then you know my price and you will know where I stand, no matter how short it is."
"And for Blind Joe. Well, he is easy to deal with just shot him a message at a town now & then and he is happy. Now was that Roe as in R-O-E or Row as in R-O-W? Because that old nutter was a fisher men in his younger days. His brother Micheal use to row his boat to the middle of the lake for Joe to catch some massive fish and then sell their roe for good gold to a guy named Lu Yea in the A hall of the guild when he first joined.
He was sick one day & asked me to give his brother a hand. The directions were rather easy.
Micheal rows his boat ashore
Hall A
Lu Yea"
Looking around at the rest of the group "The way I see it is that Dieter here has joined up with you, and say what you will about the kid, he is not an dummy when it comes to knowing which parties to join or where to apply his strength. Some social graces...maybe...paperwork, god yeah totally mucks that up. But adventure, this kid has a knack for it. The way I see it, if he has joined your troupe then you all can not be a bad lot at all."
Oblivious to the fraught emotional conversation outside, Sander works on his potion in the ship .
When it's finished, he hands it to Molly.
"Here. I thought this might be helpful. In case we come up against any more crazy orcs on the boat who try to shoot us all. Or Quill goes bad, I guess..."
Lacing his fingers behind his head "Now, If something is following you, we should be moving on. Stron, tell me all about these Lands of the Mammoth Lords as us southerns call it. What is that like? What do you guys call it up there?" he starts to walk towards the boat at this time.
"Sweet!" Molly says to Sander, grinning, and hands the Alchemist some money. "This'll come in handy, I'm sure of it. Thanks for looking out for me."
Storn looks at Quill curiously for a little bit, the talk of his homeland leading him to recall his mentor's role as the healer of not just minds, but bodies of his tribe. He snaps out of it as Kipa starts talking to him.
"Hmph? We call it Ríki af Loðfíll. It is vast and cold, there are few trees and the wind cuts to the bone. The beasts there are huge, and our leadership is determined by mastery over those beasts. My village, Eskifjörður was in the northeast, near the Tusk Mountains. Near the djöfullinngat or Worldwound in common. The demons crossed the mountains, and slaughtered my people. Which is why I now live in Trunau."
"How far of a trip is was that? It sounds like only the strong and or crafty can make it in those lands. Must make for interesting stories and experiences. What was the biggest thing you've taken down? Did your people have roles with in the tribe? It is tribe right?"
Kipa picks up his pace some to keep up with the bigger man.
Storn thinks for a little bit, not being particularly good at math, and also surprised anybody cares a whit about his homeland. Also that the halfling may be annoying.
"Not sure. Many months of travel by foot, following the Tusk Mountains to the north of us. I bested a long-toothed cat during my rite of manhood. My shaman told me that a loðfíll or mammoth would be within my power, but our village was destroyed before I could make the attack. And yes, tribe is the best word. In our community you do what you are best at, what is needed, or what the Lord wants. I was apprenticed as a shaman. I remember when our Lord captured his giant to the pride of our village. Our people would steal child-giants from the far south, and raise them in our community as a show of might."
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Quill isn't satisfied or unsatisfied with Kipa's response...but he will see what happens as it happens. As the soulless ginger halfling said, he had days to learn of their mission, their struggle, and the likely chance for failure, doom, and death.
Quill shrugs as Kipa and Storn go strolling off. He looks to Molly and Sander, the productive little busy bees.
"Molly, maybe you could..."
"I'd need something a bit steadier than a ship," Molly says, shrugging. "Seriously, this stuff needs a place where I can focus on what I'm doing. A rocking deck, when you're trying to recite incantations in voice and thought and shape matter on two different levels? That's asking for failure or an explosion. Also, I don't have any of the ingredients here that I need. But soon as I can get to a wizard's shop and find a place where I can sit and meditate for a day, I'll do what I can."
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"Interesting. I ask a lot of things because you can tell a lot about some one from the journey they have had in life. And you sir, seem to have had a long and interesting one. Also as some one with out a home land, I know how much it can stink and the memories of it slip away with the sands in an hourglass. Talkiing about mine helps me remember it. Figured it would do the same for you as well."
"Kipa is such an excellent scout because he gets out all of his talking between missions." Dieter gives him a wink. "Also, he likes to embellish here and there. I don't plan on heading back to Everstand any time soon, Kipa. It hasn't brought me good luck.... Where are we off to next?"
"That's fine by me Dieter. Just need to send Joe a message in the next town we head across. As to where we are off to, well for you that is for you to choose. Me, I'll travel with you all of you'd have me and the journey is right. And as for talk I talk the right amount to fill the space between here and there with what may not need to be said but should so that we can all learn from one another." with a wink back, he plops himself up on some of the cargo where every one is gathered, pulls out a dagger from his sleeve and starts cleaning under his nails. "Remember Dieter what happened in the marsh fields a few missions back? We don't want that to happen again. Need to ask questions and learn what we can about our compainions because who knows when the information can be useful. "
As Kipa chattered away and the others got to know him, the night deepened. Rest was on everyone's mind after the last few days, and the boat quieted down.
The night was quiet on the river. Nothing pursued you from the swamp, which made the orc crew happy, and the constant animal and insect noises that disturbed your rest in the swamp were refreshingly absent out here. The night passed and with the dawn came the casting off of the keelboat. The ramp that served as gangplank was raised, and the mooring lines coiled back on the deck.
Captain Bloodtusk seemed to have fully recovered from his poisoning, and was bellowing orders at the crew. Halrax came to each of you with your daily duties, sticking Storn and Dieter in the rowing gallery, Molly and Sander on fishing and galley duty, and Quill and Kipa up on the lookout platform. The coxswain had a malicious grin on her face as she announced the last pairing. Apparently she had heard the two of them conversing the previous evening and wanted to see what might come of it.
Breakfast was served even as the crew pushed the boat away from the bank, headed upriver towards the Redfort.
"Y'want me to cook?" Molly asks Halrax, surprised. "Egh! Arrigh', I'll try me best. Can't guarantee ye'll like what I cook, though. Mum was too nice ta say, but compared ta me sisters I think I disappointed her."
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Quill takes his lookout duties very seriously, and makes sure the Kipa does things right. Quill points out this feature and that feature and 'that thing to look out for'. He explains how Storn almost became a croco-tizer and the orcs that attacked and the need to quiet.
"...If you're talking, then you're not looking. And if you're not looking, then you're not doing your job. And lookouts are the most important job."
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After the miserable experience of the swamp and losing two companions, Storn is delighted to get to rowing and do some old-fashioned hard labour. This is, of course, after he obsessively polishes his armour and mutters about rust. He takes right to the rowing as he did before, singing traditional songs of his people in a bold voice.
"Það er trjábolur það er trjábolur er það stór að það er þungt að það er viður
Það er trjábolur það er trjábolur það er betra en slæmt það er gott!"
"It's log it's log it's big it's heavy it's wood! It's log it's log it's better than bad it's good!"
"Have fun Dieter and Stron. I know I would be useless in that area... unless you want to see a halfling dangling from the end of an oar. Molly, Sanders good luck on the lines and I am sure what ever you make can not be half as bad as the slop they use to serve at the guild. Looks like its you an me my pointy eared friend. Son, if you can not look and listen at the same time you may need to check the thing between the two. You need to learn how to calm down a bit and look at the world around you with some joy rather then this gloom & doom that surrounds you. You know this one time, when I first took up the adventure life, I was on a mission to find.... " Kippa starts to recant a story about an early adventure in his life.
Kipa starts to climb up to the platform and looking around for anything that could be out of place.
Sander works his lines diligently, though perhaps not as efficiently as he might, his thoughts drifting back to lazy days fishing on the river as a wee halfling, and pleasant meals with his beloved wife. Sure the threat of orc attacks was always there in Trunau, but despite that they usually felt safe, something he certainly doesn't on this horrid journey that has already seen far too much death.
"That's a pretty good working song. Here's one from my people."
Dieter sings with gusto in a deep baritone.
"Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy! Happy!
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! Joy!"
Hearing the singing coming from the oarsmen area, Kipa hears Dieter singing. He recognize this as the work song of Dieters people.
Looking over at Quill, trying to find a way to get to know the elf a but better, in a voice that is high enough to be heard over the wind, but low enough that it will not drown out sounds from the surrounding area "So, what happened to your home land? It seems you, Storn and myself all have no actually home to return to. You know my story, and Storn told me his earlier. What's yours?"
The work was a nice respite from the muck of the swamp and the dangers of the Vault. At least there was no crazy hag or enormous walking bush that wanted to kill you and/or eat you.
According to the Captain, it will take about 5 days of travelling upstream to get you to the closest point he can to Redlake Fort. He also said that he had taken the time to negotiate a safe passage through that part of the River Esk, so you should be unmolested as you moved upriver. All in all, it was about a 50 mile trip.
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"So, what happened to your home land? It seems you, Storn and myself all have no actually home to return to. You know my story, and Storn told me his earlier. What's yours?"
Quill repeats what he said about needing to keep focused while on look out, but also quickly explains that he can talk later, at dinner or when they are not on duty.
"So, what happened to your homeland?"
"Giants and orcs. Some giants and lots of orcs. It was ugly. We had been living in peace for a long time. Then...then things started to get weird, with weird drawings and deaths and then one day, rocks started to fall from everyplace all at once. Then more rocks, then more orcs. They destroyed half the city before we were able to rally and not die," Quill says, shivering in remembrance.
"We faught and we faught, we faught and faught and faught, it was the killy and shabby show," Quill continues. "But, in the end, we didn't all die. Just most of the town. They sent us to try to stop the next attack. We found clues that told us that they would be attacking again. Which is why we're going to attack the Fort."
Quill looks down at his food.
"We're pretty much doomed."
Dieter nods and smiles. "So you're saying there's a chance!