Daseem was a little surprised but in a good way when the creature seemed to come back as if from the dead! With more glee than skill he attempted to cut one of the heads off, again. He thought, 'this is fine!' At last a foe that doesn't give up too easily. It wasn't as if he had anything else pressing to do either!
”You’re right, Ivan. This beast can regenerate its wounds, but that can be stopped if we apply fire or acid. Scrabbler, go ahead and light it up.”
Daseem steps into the water, and chops off a head of the wounded, unconcious beast.
Then I've got jus' the thing I'm thinkin'.
Ivan moves up to the severed neck left by Daseem, hefts it up, and pulls out a vial of alchemist fire and then attempts to pour the liquid down its throat.
'ave a taste O' that ye overgrown lizard.
Ivan can see the flesh withering as the fire burns in the beast's throat. After carefully watching with the weapons at the ready for a few minutes, all are persuaded that the beast is finally and persistently dead.
"Yay!?" the small woman tells as all turn relieved away from the beast. "Hello, let me introduce myself. I'm Amira Ravenheart. I'm a collector of stories and heroic deeds."
"Unfortunately some unlucky turns of events brought me here. But it looks like my luck changed to the better now. And you are?"
Daseem gave Ivan a long suffering look before cleaning his sword thoroughly with a rag. Letting it rust would be sacrilege. Once he was satisfied, he sheaved it and waded ashore. He glanced at the halfling and replied rather lamely, "Err, n-no one really. Name's D-daseem."
Daseem was quite interested in what she was doing here, but as usual once the combat had stopped and he could no longer hear his Lord in Iron's celestial harmony, he became tongue tied.
Scrabbler tried his best, but all his fire-making sticks had gotten wet from the swamp. He spent so long trying to light a bomb that he didn't get to ride the giant monster at all. He looked damp, and sad but he waved to the newcomer.
"Me Scrabbler. Me a circus."
"I am Menrozzar Vyrlock. We come from Trunau. How did you come to be in the Ghostlight Marsh?"
"Nive to meet you." Amira tells.
"Those ugly orcs dragged me with them. You might have come past those bastards. I was on my way to Trunau as the bad luck of crossing their path had befallen me."
"As they prepared some kind of ambush they didn't watch me and I fled. But I didn't get far."
Ivan looks the lass over. Wary still from the happenings the past few days. He scrutinized her as she spoke, but non-dwarves were always hard for him to read.
Well, Trunau's a tad far away, what business brought ya to that town? An' across such a dangerous path?
After pausing a moment, he adds. Ah, apologies, Names Ivan, Ivan Ironbrow
"I was on my way to Trunau as the bad luck of crossing their path had befallen me."
That remark caused an involuntarily raised eyebrow. It had taken quite a while for them to get here from Trunau...
Daseem nodded at Ivan, for his suspicion seemed warranted.
The little goblin puts a hand on his chest, introducing himself, "Bupkis. Greetings to Amira Ravenheart! Where find he-row-ick deeds?"
"I visit taverns and talk to the adventurous types and ask for their stories. I traveled from Urgir, through Freedomtown to Vigil. And no matter what the heroes bragged about there was almost always someone telling that this is nothing compared to the courage and heroism you find in every man or woman in Trunau. So I wanted to get there. I know it's dangerous, but I'm small and stealthy. And why would someone kill me? Besides that many headed beast, who considered me lunch."
"Also this dangerous path is much faster than traveling by boat. And cheaper. Well it would have been faster, if I'd actually reached Trunau. But on the plus side I have now a heroic story of my own."
Ivan grunts when the lass asks why someone, particularly the brutes around this area, would kill her
Well, I'd warn that ye take care. We are headin' towards danger, an away from Trunau for now, otherwise I'd offer ta' help ye get to the town. Though lettin' ye go on by yerself would be sendin' ye into a lion's den.
Menrozzar nods. "We have business to take care of before we head back to Trunau. It is likely dangerous for you to continue on, however. If you wish, we have a ship back at the river. Perhaps the Captain will allow you to wait there for us. We may be able to escort you back to Trunau once we have finished."
"Dangerous is no issue, as long as big folk is around to hide behind." Amira replies with a smile.
"Is what you're going to do brave heroic and worth of telling a story about?"
Bupkis tells the halfling woman, "Bupkis doesn't know if good story. We find spirits of druids that guard marsh before. Tell us where find Vault of Thorns; in vault we get things to fight giants!
"After, go Redlake fort — stop Twisted Hearts giants and orcs from attack Trunau again."
He looks around at Scrabbler, "But goblins not big enough to hide behind."
"Tell us where find Vault of Thorns; in vault we get things to fight giants!"
"Aye!" grinned Daseem with a worrying level of enthusiasm. The prospect of fighting Giants approached something of a religious experience for the impressionable young lad. Surely there he would find the glorious combat he coveeted.
"Sounds good enough, I'll tag along." Amira tells as a matter of fact.
"We does herowik deeds lotsa times. We fight orcses and giants. Daseem yells about something called a gorum, and then chops up all the things. Menrozzorzeror too, but yells not as much. Ivan wears lotssa metal and doesn't get hurt. Oh! And Bupkis magics with his head! Throws stuff hard! Me sneaky and stabby and even rided flying dragon things once. Then falled. But rided first," Scrabbler grinned excitedly. "We very herow."
"Oh, riding a dragon! You have to tell me about that." Amira replies. She is truly impressed by the picture she imagines right now.
"Well, me was up in the bird nest. There not actually birds there. It more like a bucket at top of sail... pole. We was attacked by big flappy dragon lizards," Scrabbler said excitedly. His story was packed with mimework, sound mimicry, and descriptive hand gestures.
"The biggest lizard bited at me like rawr! But me jumped and rolled and grabbed and rode the lizard's butt. It flew, then it.. uh... rolled? And snapped it's tail, and... me fell off into the water. Menrorzzorzer got mes out."
"Perhaps we'll tell you stories as we move along. For now, let's follow the river. It will enable us to easily find our way back to the ship, and we may encounter a trail that will lead us to our destination."
As per Menrozzar's suggestion the group follows 'the river' into the marsh. With the different options the group chooses the widest path, instead of following the smaller waterways that might as well end in the shrubs.
As the water opens up to form a small lake free of marsh plants (at least above the water) a ragged tent can be seen on the opposite site of it.
"Can you describe the dragon some more?" Amira asks, not really paying attention to the marsh around her.
Bupkis walks with the group along the lake shore. "Someone lives here," he observes, seeing the tent in the distance. When they get closer, he calls out, "Hello!", and listens for a response.
A dwarven woman comes out of the tent and lets out a roar-like sound.
Bupkis asks his friend, "Uh, Ivan? Normal for dwarfs do that?"
Daseem loosened his sword in it's scabbard. The day was looking up, it sounded like there might be a fight! Of course it was always good to know how many opponents you might be fighting, so Daseem cast his eyes around to see if he could spot any tracks that might answer the question was there more than one Dwarf in the tent?
Scrabbler roared back. Then waved.
Ivan merely glances sideways at bupkis.
Ye ever seen me roar... Ivan pauses as he recalls fights where he clearly did yell, shout and roar.
er, ne'er mind that, its not a normal greetin' no.
Ivan turns to the woman's direction, and shouts back.
Name's Ivan, what are ye doin' out here?!
Menrozzar takes a step back as the dwarf roars and tightens his grip on lucerne hammer. If it came to a fight, he wanted to be ready. Still, Ivan could take the lead on this one - dwarf to dwarf, as it were.
As there is still a lot of water between you and the dwarf, there is no chance of a fight starting immediately. Until someone takes a bow out. But the female dwarf on the other side hesitates as Ivan calls. The answer come sin Dwarven. "<Brother?>"
He answers in dwarven
Aye, well, a brother of sorts. What are ye doin' out 'ere?
"<Brother!>" the dwarf cries out and runs towards Ivan.
Daseem sighed, there was no tracking anything in this swamp. His attention was drawn to Ivan and what appeared to be another dwarf. He had no idea what they were shouting about but he was a keen people watcher, and he felt he might intuitively know what this the other Dwarf's intentions where...
As she shouts and runs, Ivan scrunches up his eyes before continues in dwarven, slowly.
...aye....?
he looks back to the others.
So uh, what do ye lads think?
The dwarven woman comes closer and as she is only about 30 foot away she suddenly stops. "You are not my brother! What have you done to my brother?!?" She draws her two axes.
Daseem looks at her incredulously, he points his index finger at his head and moves it in a circle while commenting, "She's b-bonkers!" Maybe they'd have a fight after all, oh happy day! May Gorum be praised, et cetera, et cetera...
Ivan raises the hand not holding his shield and makes a motion trying to settle her down.
Aye, I'm not ye actual brother. I ain't done nothin' to ye brother either, ain't seen 'em. Now, why don't ye just calm down, put them things away, and tell us what happened an' maybe we can help ye find 'em.
"It's your fault!" she tells and charges Ivan. Well, it would be charging if the underground would allow it.
The axe comes down with a loud clank on Ivan's armor, leaving a dent.
"Not right in head!", Bupkis declares. He winds up and tries to knock the dwarven woman out without killing her.
Menrozzar decides not to rage against the woman who clearly wasn't right in the head, so he attacks her with the lucerne hammer.
Scrabbler was very confused, but the other dwarf did attack Ivan. That was enough to win her an angry goblin backpack.
Try not ta' hurt her too much! Mayhaps we can help her. He shouts at the others before turning back to the dwarf.
Now look at what ye did, I'm gonna have ta' hammer that dent out!
Ivan aims a blow at her, but with less force than usual.
The dwarf can take quite a lot. And she is good at not getting hit too. Only Menrozzar and Scrabbler get a hit in.
"Get off me ya stinking goblin!" she shouts and whacks Scrabbler with her axes.