Hangust realizing they need her alive tries to pulls his blade and hit the goblin with the hilt; swinging high.
Dismoon trying to capitalize on the confusion, swings straight and true. At the last possible second, 'Ekkie' turns just right and Dismoon manages to shave a single hair off her chin.
Zephyr trying to bop her on the head finds her swing much better this try, but still just misses.
Pig finds the gullible guards easy to deal with and stumbles upon a sewer entrance. Realizing this must be the thieve's destination, he prepares for her arrival - certain she won't get passed him.
Alas, poor Luurg finds the stone masonry too different than the trees he's used to. He finds himself cut off from his companions.
"AAAGGRRRR" screams the goblin, finding the taller longshanks refusing to move out of her way.
Hangust
Dismoon
Zephyr
Pig
Luurg
Goblin
Luurg attempts to climb over the wall again, but his foot gets stuck in the crack the nimble people squeezed through.
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As the Goblin attempts to pass Hangust he sees an opening and tries to take advantage of it. He manages to hit the Goblin but not as hard as he's like.
Shouting in frustration Hangust moves to flank then goes to strike twice more, the wily theif dodges the first of his cuts but he hits with the second.
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"Good work, mates! That's right, surround her, wear her down, if she takes a shot at ya I can patch ya up!"
Letting the other two surround the goblin, Zephyr just takes another swing .
"Come off it! You fought good you little runt, but throw down your knives and you'll live out the day! Got no plank hereabouts to walk you off of, heh."
As a flurry of blows fall upon the small creature, her resolve weakens. Dismoon gives her a shocking realization that perhaps it's not in her best interest to keep fighting.
Releasing her weapons, she drops to her knees with hands held high.
She carries 2 potions, finely crafted studded leather, 2 MWK dogslicers, a cloak, MWK thieve's tools, a goblin skull and 3 days worth of horse meat.
A fine necklace with numerous orbs and a wayfinder with the name 'Joadric Heimurl' etched into the side are also among her belongings.
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As the Goblin surrenders, Hangust forcibly calms himself and flops down onto the street exhausted, ignoring all the people walking by.
"Whew, that was exciting! You're pretty quick! Why steal from Pathfinders? Did you think you would get away?" He smiles at the Goblin without any animosity.
"Where's Pig?"
Glancing over to the prone Halfling, she stammers "Ekkie tsis muaj qhia tug lub ntsej muag! RAgraw..No...talky...longshank!"
"Ekkie no tell pale face!"
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Zephyr looks over the gear with only some interest, most of it being too small for her. She wrinkles her nose at the horse meat, then widens her eyes as the wayfinder. "Hey! You! Ekkie! Where'd you get this? Better tell us the truth!"
She samples the potions very carefully, dipping her fingertip in and then tasting the liquids.
"This second bottle is curative... damn, I can't understand that gobber gibberish she's speakin'. Any of you know her lingo? If not, I guess we take her to Sheila, someone's got to know gobbo around here. And what all these do."
Zephyr ties the goblin up securely with rope from her pack.
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"Arrgghh.." Growls Luurg as his foot gets stuck in the wall yet again. He finally frees it just in time to catch a peek through the hole of the little greenskin giving up. He sticks his big fat head through the hole to check things out and give everyone a big toothy smile. "Gud job dare guys! Lemme get out a rope 'eer and get everyone back inside oky?"
He drops his pack to the ground and pulls out a nice length of silk rope and a grappling hook already tied on. Tossing it up on the wall and climbing up with much more ease. From his perch on top of the wall he looks down at the goblin and speaks to her:
Looking up to the top of the wall, she shudders as the man yells. "Tsis nyiag lus. Cov Longshanks phom noj peb!" she whimpers back to the man straddling the wall.
Turning towards her back, she mumbles "Plarg, lub siab phem Longshanks mus noj peb"
Nodding, she adds, "Yog, lawv yog cov! Saib yuav ua li cas lawv nyob nraum nrhiav rau peb nrog Beady me ntsis ob lub qhov muag hun"
A broad grin suddenly appearing on her face, "Kuv paub tias koj yuav tiv thaiv kuv Plarg. Plarg nco ntsoov cia kom Ekkie kev nyab xeeb"
Turning back to Luurg she hollers, meakly "Plarg hais tias kuv lom thiab tag nrho cov kab mob, thiab yog hais tias koj noj kuv, koj mam li lub" and proceeds to stick her tongue out at the man.
"No steal words. Those longshanks gonna eat us!"
“Plarg, the nasty longshanks are going to eat us.”
“Yes, they are! See how they’re looking at us with their beady little eyes.”
“I know you'll protect me Plarg. Plarg always keep Ekkie safe..”
“Plarg says I’m poisonous and full of disease, and if you eat me, you’ll die!”
Meanwhile, as Pig watches for the goblin, the streets seem to calm down. Almost as if, nothing abnormal is going on. The city guard he spoke to earlier gives him a puzzled look as he passes. Stopping, he stares for a moment. Finally, he asks "Was the sewer access what you needed to guard in such a hurry? You might ask for a transfer..."
Without waiting for a response, he turns and walks away.
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Luurg laughs and smiles broadly, showing off his gleaming, perfectly straight teeth, then rubbing his stomach in thought. Dis gobbie must be crazy! Luurg don't eat gobbies, yuck! And I wonder who this Plarg is... her brain friend maybe?
He points towards his bunches of fruits and smiles before continuing to speak with the Gobbie, occasionally gesturing to the others around her and sticking out his tongue and spitting.
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No longer exhausted, and completely curious, Hangust looks back and forth between Ekkie and Luurg, turning his head every time on of them speaks.
He clenches his hands into fists and shakes with excitement, restraining himself from pestering Luurg during his negotiations, but every time he turns back to the half-orc his eyes are wider, his lip quivers just a little more.
His body language seems to shout.
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"You're a handy man to have around, First Mate Fruitmaster," Zephyr calls to Luurg. She has a seat on a fountain's edge, unhurriedly picking some dirt out from under her nails as Luurg handles the interrogation. When Pig wanders up, she gives him a nod. "Headin' off at the strait, were yah? Good thinkin'. Good noggins on this crowd. Nice work all around, you lot. Nobody's hurt, yah?"
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"Was Pig's plan," the muscular half-orc confirms. He grins a bit overmuch when his cognitive skills are complimented. "Pig thank Captain. Nobody like Pig's thinking before."
He strides over to the goblin and speaks in harsh Orcish, trying to communicate.
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Hangust, still anxious and unsure what Luurg is speaking about turns his attention to Dismoon.
"Maybe Ekkie is her nickname? Maybe she's Joadric! A goblin Pathfinder wouldn't be so weird, I've seen at least one before!"
He turns to the goblin and smiles.
"Am I right? Are you a Pathfinder? Is your name Joadric?"
Scowling at the others, she turns back to Luurg. "Plarg yuav kuv tawb tij laug. Tsis hlwb phooj ywg. Ekkie nqa tawb tij laug e'ry qhov twg. Nws nyob rau hauv pob siab yam coj!"
Continuing with gusto, and obvious pride, she adds "Ekkie tsis muaj Pathfinder pawg neeg. Ekkie twb Ntxhi Cua, tab sis tam sim no Nightsoil pawg neeg!"
"Ekkie no pathfinder tribe. Ekkie were Whisper Wind, but now Nightsoil Tribe. Er, sposed ter be...Need take thing ter prove Ekkie good!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Luurg chuckles as she gives her answer, and turns to the others speaking in common people speak "Heh, Plarg's her cage brudder? Anyting in dat pack that could be her brudder? She's no Pathfinder, why would she be stealin Pathfinder stuff and run 'way if she was? She be tryin' to prove her skills to new Tribe, Nightsoils so they let her stay..." He rubs his belly a bit "Ain't nightsoils poop?"
He then goes back to addressing the gobbie at hand
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Hangust happily takes the apple from Luurg but his head tilts as soon as he hears the goblin say Pathfinders.
"You understand common!" He says, his mouth hanging open.
Still unsure what to do, Hangust uses what little he knows about goblins and tries to appear as unthreatening as possible. He even hands his apple to the goblin as she speaks.
"We aren't going to eat you, I promise. We just wanted to get our things back. You can keep the rest of your stuff if you give us what you took. Maybe if you tell us why you were stealing, we can help you? But only one of us understands Goblin, so we need to you speak common."
Hangust is earnest as he speaks, remembering his own days thieving for food and wondering if Ekkie just needs to be given a chance.
"No talk longshank tongue" exclaims Ekkie as she nabs the apple from Hangust.
Realizing, she'd just given away any doubt she shakes her head violently. "Give! Give!" She screams at Pig, reaching for the skull he holds. "You no eat Plarg!"
She pets it lovingly. "Plarg ok? Dey no 'urt Plarg?"
After a few moments she eyes you all wearily. Turning to Luurg and looking back to Pig, she lets out an over exaggerated sigh.
"Fine! You let Ekkie and Plarg go though? Take out o longshank home?!"
"“Even out in the swamp, we heard stories about the Nightsoil Marauders—a gang of goblins in the longshanks city. When Murg tried to bite off my ear—again!—I lef the swamp and came to the city to join up. I met some other goblins outside the city and they sneaked me inside. They took me through the smelly tunnels and made me wait outside their lair. An important-looking goblin with a big, dangly hat came out and stared at me. He said his name was Versevosh. I thought he was the boss, but he said that the big boss is much scarier than him. Me never see big boss. Big boss no need deal with Ekkie or Plarg. We gobbies need prove self first. Versevosh said rude things about me and my tribe and said I’d have to prove myself if I wanted to join the gang. He said I’d have to steal shiny things from a tribe of longshanks in the city. He showed me drawings of what to look for.”
"Plarg take round thing when Ekkie take necklace. From little house near big house"
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Luurg smiles and chortles once Ekkie finally starts talking 'umie talk "Dat not so hard eh? So dare's a whole tribe o gobbies in the sewers here? Dis is pretty big place... I bets Bosslady be real glad we found this out!"
Luurg pulls out his own apple and chomps off half of it before mumbling out another question "So dey wanted you to come here? Steal dis stuff. Seems odd, gobbies like lots of stuff from all over. Maybe we let Ekkie go if she show us where deez gobbies live?"
Looking over at Pig with a dubious expression, Ekkie remarks "All no. Longshank like eat goblins!"
Turning back to Luurg, she responds "“The other goblins showed me the way through the smelly tunnels to the horse-killing place. I like that place, ‘cause they cut up horses there and you can see their insides and I got lots of dead horse to eat. The goblins said to steal from the big house then go back to the horse-killing place, then they ran off. It was almost sunrise and I could hear longshanks so I hid. Later I sneaked up to the big house and took some shiny things from the small houses, but then you caught me."
As if she suddenly realized Luurg suggested letting her go, she beams "Yes! Ekkie and Plarg show! Ekkie no remember way, but Plarg know way! We hep if you let Ekkie and Plarg go after! Plarg show!"
Struggling to her feat she looks at you, waiting for agreements.
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Hangust scrunches up his face.
"Horse killing place?" He scratches his head, wondering how many horses could possibly be in the sewers. "I think letting her good might be a good idea! But first, can you tell us how the other goblins knew that necklace was in the manor? Have they been in there before?"
When Pig suggests going back to the Venture Captain, Hangust nods.
"You're right Pig, it might be best to let them hear this too. Our job is only to guard after all." His shoulders slump a little as he realizes they might not be going to investigate the sewers right away.
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Zephyr rolls to her feet and claps her hands together. "Good work, lads! And lass. Let's take it to Sheila, get our sailin' orders proper before we go off into the deeps. Actually I hope they're not really deeps. Sewers should be shallow. Swimmin' full on in muck's not fun..."
She squints at Ekkie. "Right, you heard the man. You might get outta this you cooperate, but you turn and run on us or try and trick us or slip off.... and I'll drill you with an arrow at fifty feet off. Just so we're clear."
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Luurg smiles and laughs yet again, nodding along "Well den! You all get back inside here and we go see Bosslady and den... well... she tell us what to do!"
He pulls the rope up from one side of the wall and lowers it down to the other side for them. He stays put making sure the grapple stays in place and to help anyone that needs it. "Lez go lez go, its 'bout suppah time!"
As you make your way to the manor with your captive, you begin thinking about the local goblin tribes.
Upon returning and explaining to the guards what you wish to speak with the VC regarding, they rush you into the room you'd previous met with her. After a few minutes she arrives, obviously rushing.
"My, my! You are a productive group. Not even on duty yet and you're stirring up trouble! What's this urgent matter...and why is that here?" she inquires, pointing at Ekkie. The goblin is happily petting the skull of her cage brother and periodically spitting at longshanks that walk past.
As you describe the events of your chase to Sheila, her eyes grow larger and larger. "Oh my! Certainly, you should investigate this at once! Find out why they are targetting the Society and stamp out any threat they may pose on us. If possible, retrieve any stolen items you encounter as well."
Considering your information carefully, she adds "Joadric Heimurl you say? He's been staying here. Just told me actually that he's missing a necklace and a wayfinder. Hold on..."
She quickly snaps a few orders to her guards who disappear. A few minutes later, a large robust man enters the room with the men. "Yall found me wayfinder eh? And the necklace?? Yalls AWESOME! Yer know what?! Ya kin keep that dere necklace as reward. Just tooss me meh wayfinder."
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Hangust remembers that goblins sometimes have tribes. He shares this information with his party excitedly and wonders what more they might know.
"He talks like you Luurg!" The halfling says excitedly as Joadric enters the room and tries to claim his things back. He frowns when the Pathfinder identifies the stolen items.
"I wonder if they knew it was a fireball necklace?" He says, smoothing one of his long sideburns as he thinks. "Did you know it made fireballs Ekkie? Did the goblins want to blow something up?"
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Gobbies are everywhere, too many to keep track of!
Luurg looks at the halfman with confusion "Eh dare? I sound like dat? Not in my head, nope. I sound just like dis! And he sound like dat!" He chuckles and gives Hangust a friendly shove on the shoulder.
He then turns to Bosslady and asks "Do you know what deez tings are the little gobbie was carrying? Dey sure look fancy fer a gobbie!" He points to the other captured equipment.
Sighing, she looks at the group. "Really, you can't tell that cloak helps prevent you from catching fire? That armor there is enhanced a bit....now the potion, I can understand. It's a tough one. It causes your very soul to vibrate...they call it 'blur'."
Rolling her eyes as the big people gab, she turns to the halfling. Grinning slyly, she replies, "Ekkie knew boom boom. Ekkie take. Plurg and Ekkie ike boom boom! Dat one boom boom on Ekkie Pretty! But boom boom 'urt."
Screwing up her face at Luurgs question, she finally answers "Udder gobbies give Plurg and Ekkie gear. Say drink if 'urt. Ekkie go take stuffs. You catch Ekkie and Plurg."