When Tak splashes into the water, he finds that the water only comes to his waist. The ground underneath is spongy, and would seem like it should hold his weight.
About half way to the drowning goblin, your foot gets poked by something sharp sticking up through the peat.
When you get to the drowning goblin, you see a rope tied around his waist.
At the water's edge, Grimble watches as Tak slogs through the water, and the goblin whelp get dragged down.
Tak looks at the drowning goblin, disturbed. He tries to figure out the cause of the strange drowning by looking around at the environment.
Grimble lingers near the edge of the pool of water. "Water don't burn. Grimble not like."
Tak sees a rope tied around the goblin, and a log submerged in the water.
The goblin thrashes about, trying to get a grip on Tak...
The whelp attempts to latch onto Tak's arm. Grapple check:
Tak tries cautiously to cut the rope with his teeth.
Gnawing through the rope, Tak manages to free the whelp. The freed whelp jumps away from the log, standing on more stable peat, catching his breath.
"T..thank you save Chuffy. You want biggest toad?"
Grimble shakes her head, she makes sure her torches are dry
"These toads are yours? I came to get. Grimble also needs," Tak says with a gesture towards her, "but she doesn't want get wet."
"Not Chuffy toads." The little whelp starts heading back to shore. "Big Kettlehead send Chuffy to get toads, then tied Chuffy to log."
The goblin stops, not realizing he's started to sink once again. "You no tie Chuffy to log?"
Back at shore, Grimble sees and hears the exchange. The new whelps words are hard to make out over the constant drone of insects around the foul-smelling bog.
Grimble huffs and sneaks around the pool of water, thinking she might be able to get the jump on it
"No, I no tie. Where Kettlehead goed?"
Talking with Chuffy, Tak fails to notice Grimble slinking around the edges of the water.
Chuffy wiggles his eyebrows, and starts chewing on his tongue.
"Gromer steal Chuffy toad and give to Kettlehead. Kettlehead and Gromer go into trees," he says, while pointing into the marshes.
"You help Chuffy get new toad?"
-----------
Grimble slinks around the edge of the water, using the reeds for cover.
She comes up behind a whelp who's watching Tak and Chuffy, scraping a sharp rock across his open palms, muttering to himself. "Gromer no want sit here and watch whelps. Me big warrior to fight monster in Cave of Dark Fear."
Grumble lifts her club and gets a little closer...then she jumps out with a screeching wail. GRIMBLE AMBUSH NOT-SO-SNEAKY SPY!
Before he has time to respond, grimble swings with her club.
But swings a little wide
"There enough toads here for both us."
---
"Wait. Something happen there." He loads his sling while trying to appraise the situation.
Chuffy whirls around after hearing Grimble shout. "There be Gromer. Big Kettlehead friend."
He pulls a rock out of a random pocket. "We bash him up and steal toad?"
Tak turns in time to see Grimble swing her club, and Gromer duck underneath of it, rolling away into the soggy reeds.
----
Round 1
- Chuffy
- Gromer
- Tak
- Grimble
Chuffy holds his rock high above his head, and runs towards Gromer, shrieking the whole way, sending toads scurrying before him.
-----
Gromer sneers at Grimble as he ducks away, revealing his own club, swinging at Grimble's kneecaps. "You bad manners sneak up on Gromer."
Gromer bursts into the laughter at the sound of his club connecting with Grimble's leg.
Tak runs to get closer and hurls a stone with his sling.
Grimble winces and swings her club once more, holding up her makeshift sheild.
But once again, grimble just can't swing a club...
Gromer deftly ducks under Grimble's attack, only to stand up to a whistling coming towards him.
He isn't quite deft enough to move out of the way, and takes a small stone to the back of the head.
--------
End of round 1.
AC 14, t 13, ff 12
hp 6/8
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +0
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee club +2 (1d4)
Ranged thrown rock +4 (1d2)
--- Round 2 ---
Chuffy moves closer into striking distance, holding the rock above his head, bringing it crashing down on the goblin spy.
Chuffy has too much forward momentum, and the rock glances off Gromer's shoulder.
-------
Turning around to see who hit him, Gromer swings at the new opponent.
Gromer is far too distracted by all the targets and swings wildly.
Tak charges the whelp and bites him.
Grimble growls and swings her club again. nasty spy!
Round 2 Summary
Tak charges forward through the bog, and bites at the whelp spy, tearing off a piece of its ear.
Chuffy and Grimble both flail around like a couple of untrained goblin whelps.
The spy trapped in the reeds swings his club around, trying to keep all the opponents at bay.
--- Round 3 ---
Chuffy raises his rock for another attack, and hits the spy in the forehead. Blood starts dribbling down the whelps face, his cries of pain louder than Chuffy's shriek of surprise.
= 1 hp
---------
Gromer keeps up his attack against Chuffy. The blood in his eyes obscures his vision, making his swing go wide.
Tak knocks the whelp with his mace and follows up with a bite.
Grimble tries desperately to attack, her club whiping the air.
Grimble swings her club around, knocking Gromer down into the muddy shoreline.
The whelp whimpers in his unconscious state, blowing small bubbles into a pool of water his head landed in.
Chuffy dances around the fallen foe. "Not so tough without big Kettlehead." He pulls on the piece of rope still tied around his waist. "See how you like being tied to log."
Grimble smiles and turns the whelp over. She then makes sure the rope is tied well before trying to make the runt not die from his wounds. you be bad! But you not get to die yet.
Now that that's settled...
Tak asks Grimble and Chuffy, "You want go find some toads? I see big ones there."
Grimble smiles at tak showing her croked teeth. Yes, clubing this spy make me happy. Will gladly go find roads with you. she quickly drags the ties up whelp into the bushes where he was hiding before following Tak
Knowing Grimble well enough, Tak looks around to see if there are any good toads in the surrounding drier areas.
There are dozens of toads around the bog. The biggest, most prized ones are croaking away on the large rock at the center.
Chuffy runs around, trying to grab the bouncy toads, yelling and cursing them each time they jump out of his arms.
"I go take toad across stream. You want from here or from there?" Tak asks. He figures that he can try to get the metal when he passes by it.
Grimble shrugs and starts swinging her club at the nearby toads.
Grimble swings her club around, going for one of the toads in the reeds.
When Tak Ventures back into the water, he comes across the glint of metal once again.
---------
Grimble tries to club a toad, but misses
Tak picks up the dogslicer and compares it to his current weapon. Not exactly what he wanted.
He finds a big toad and hits it on its head. Once it's stunned, he tries to capture it. The toad, however, was too slippery.
Grimble sees the dogslicer in Fan's hands and dashes over I can use that! Give to Grimble! she swipes it from Tak and drops her club. She admires the blade, almost hypnotized.
The dogslicer is a little rusted from laying under the water, but is otherwise a weapon that would stand up in battle.
Tak whacks just about every toad in the swamp upside its head, but they all slip away. Finally, he barely manages to capture one in his weak goblin hands.
After a half hour, both Tak and Grimble are in possession of their own toads. Chuffy splashes over, a toad with a missing leg trapped in a rusty cage tucked under his arm. "Go to Cave of Darkfear now?"
"I want go. Grimble want?"
Grimble remembers the tales of ghosts in the cave. ghosts in cave... perhaps they like fire? grimble nods, hefting her lood.
You easily find the trail leading north to the Cave of Darkfear. As you leave the bog behind, the nasty sun is obscured by giant black clouds, which start to pelt you with refreshing, dank drizzle.
After a few minutes of slogging through the mud, you come across a rudely-shaped fallen log blocking the trail.
A weasly green-gray figure drops from the treetops onto the log--Kettlehead the goblin, his polished pot still perched upon his bulbous head. He cries out, "Stupid baby wannabe goblins!" As a pair of whelps from the cage--Culgick and Rempty--clamor up beside him.
Kettlehead waves a mean-looking dogslicer over his head. "You took toads from Kettlehead's special pond, and now you have to pay my price. Give me all your toads! And say you be stupid!"
Tak is not about to give into Kettlehead's demands. He prepares himself for combat, which seems to be unavoidably coming.