Yeah; what the hell.
Right on;.....you can drop one on them.....
Elgan slowly raises both hands, and makes fists, thumbs pointing downwards,...
;)
Oso grins at the scuffle and watches to see how close the rest are to the combat.
"Now would be good."
Altai cracks his knuckles and does a few odd gestures. "This'll get their attention." A small mote streaks from his hand and hurtles towards the unsuspecting birdmen...
There's a fizz and a pop....the fireball goes off in the midst of the campfire. They all scream; four of them go up in flames, and one of those runs out of the radius of the spell, thoroughly ablaze, and goes over a steep escarpment............splap.........leaves a flickering flaming corpse.
The others seem to instinctively hit the dirt. Then five of those get up and high tail it in the opposite direction, down the hill and into the jungle.
One of them sits back up, and sits there, at the fire; glances at his fleeing comrades, then at the mouldering three that fell nearby, and sighs, shaking his head and hanging it in despair.
Nope. Away from you. They're fleeing, except for the one seated at the fire.
"Heh. It does indeed seem like some judiciously applied fire will solve any problem. Let's see what the last guy's up to. He must have a good reason for sticking around."
You guys go up there?
Oh,....and Altai's neutral evil now. J/K.
"Have you made peace with your demonic patron, beakface? You'll see him soon enough."
As you near, it's an old, plumebald or molting kenku; he remains seated. You see his legs look flaccid; they don't work.
"Do I know you?" is all the old ravenkith croaks out.
<before we go and see the old guy>
"Hey, maybe they just warn now. Maybe not so good."
<to the old guy>
"Hey, who you? What wrong with leg?"
"Subtle we aint. Let them warn their friends. Enough of this pussy footing around and bring it on."
When the party get to the ravenkith, Oso tries to keep as many of the party as he can inside the magic circle vs evil.
Beldan surveys the scene, looking for possible cover, lines of sight, angles of approach.
"Hmmm, maybe I can snea -"
Altai cracks his knuckles and does a few odd gestures. "This'll get their attention." A small mote streaks from his hand and hurtles towards the unsuspecting birdmen...
"Never mind."
Beldan sticks close to Oso.
“Know us? Well, you may have heard of us … we kill monsters, demons, pirates and such-like. Um … are you sick?” He stays back, just in case its contagious.
<before we go and see the old guy>
"Hey, maybe they just warn now. Maybe not so good."
<to the old guy>
"Hey, who you? What wrong with leg?"
"I'm ole Cooty....I fell down recently. Real high. Legs don't work now.
The priest promised us all wings, but he has yet to deliver."He looks at Oso;
"Never trust a priest, I've learnt."
Beldan sticks close to Oso.
“Know us? Well, you may have heard of us … we kill monsters, demons, pirates and such-like. Um … are you sick?” He stays back, just in case its contagious.
He coughs a long, drawn out, consumptive affair; "never felt better, aside from my legs not working....
hey, bald Hepman clergy,.....tiny hobbit with two blades....elf that turns inta stuff......you the guys that put the slice on them Baron Housers in the Blue Goose? Yeah; think I heard of you."
"That priest... Is he somewhere on the arch?"
"More like....in the arch."
"Inside the arch? Where's the entrance?"
"The far pillar...inside the loop of the arch."
Beldan looks confused. “So … is this bird guy evil or not?” he whispers to Oso.
He scratches at his dry, featherless scalp; picks off a parasitic arthropod of some type or another; pecks it out of his fingers with his beak.
Beldan looks confused. “So … is this bird guy evil or not?” he whispers to Oso.
Pip hears Beldan's whisper from his spot on the other side of Oso
"I'll check" He whispers
Oso shrugs at Beldan.
"I don't fight no crippled old bird. Kelanen would string me up. But those priests now maybe they is fair game for us." He looks overat the Arch trying to spot a black entrance in the underside of the stone.
Elgan watches everything, peering with undisguised curiosity at the bird-man, and keeping a lookout for trouble. Sharp eyes might notice that he relaxes slightly at Oso's declaration.
Oso shrugs at Beldan.
"I don't fight no crippled old bird. Kelanen would string me up. But those priests now maybe they is fair game for us." He looks overat the Arch trying to spot a black entrance in the underside of the stone.
You can see it; the inverted "u" has one of it's arms out a ways on a sandbar; it's interior to the curve. About 6 feet tall, there's a small cave entrance down there.
Beldan looks confused. “So … is this bird guy evil or not?” he whispers to Oso.Pip hears Beldan's whisper from his spot on the other side of Oso
"I'll check" He whispers
You sense that he's definitely evil; though not serial killer material, nor is he possessed by the otherworldly, or otherworldly himself for that matter. "Faint" traces of evil on this one.
"Say, fellers; I've a banger I was roasting in the fire there; I think it's getting over done. You wouldn't get all shaky if I reached over and plucked it?" He starts scooting towards the fire, where some sausages are cooking on spits.
"Help yourself. Speaking of meat, you wouldn't happen to know who killed Dagbarr and Hamfist's sorceror sidekick and took their hearts, would you? I just know it was a kenku, and it would be good to..., you know, narrow the parameters a little."
"I have no idea who killed them....."
Then, "Tatcher's dead? Or you talking about Xever(?) Xever, right? There's hardly any killing Tatcher....Xever's dead?"
"Yeah, Xever's dead. Someone ripped his heart out, stole all his clothes and then hung him up to dry on a greatsword." Altai's ready to move on, before the kenku's words catch his attention. "What do you mean that Thatcher can't be killed? Is he some sort of self-perpetuating haunt taking fleshy form?"
"No, he's just tricky. He should've been killed lots of times. He has his tricks though."
Oso shrugs at Beldan.
"I don't fight no crippled old bird. Kelanen would string me up. But those priests now maybe they is fair game for us." He looks overat the Arch trying to spot a black entrance in the underside of the stone.
“Yeah, you’re right. We shouldn’t kill a cripple … I guess.”
"Who would kill Xever? Well, he had lots of gambling debts....."
“Yeah, you’re right. We shouldn’t kill a cripple … I guess.”Oso shrugs at Beldan.
"I don't fight no crippled old bird. Kelanen would string me up. But those priests now maybe they is fair game for us." He looks overat the Arch trying to spot a black entrance in the underside of the stone.
Looks at you askance;
"that's rather human of you, sirrr."
"Meh, me have no problem kill cripple. You want me do it?"
“Nah … man’s eating a sausage. Bird, whatever. Anyway, you can’t kill someone while they’re eating a sausage. Besides, if we go in there,” Beldan points to the arch, “and kill everything inside, we might have some questions that need answering later, and this guy seems pretty chatty.”
"Could have been someone like Xever. A double or something magic maybe, just to throw everyone off the trail."
Oso looks across at Gittik, "no thanks, mate. See that hole, that's where the wrong'uns are."
"What's your name again, kenku? And how do you get about? I mean if you dont mind but those legs are not much use, are they?"
Detect magic....he's not magic; just a molting birdman.
His ring=abjuration; there's evocation up both his sleeves, and on his back, hidden from plain view by his cowled cape.
"Meh, me have no problem kill cripple. You want me do it?"
"Oh, gor....what got this wee knifey critcher on a hobbit? Wait, I don't want to know, as I'm cyclopsing my own doom as we speak."
"What's your name again, kenku? And how do you get about? I mean if you dont mind but those legs are not much use, are they?"
"Well, my mates carried me out here out of some comradery I suppose,....though they left me to Wee Gruesome's cruel ministrations there.....I usually pull myself about in a little box with wheels on it anymore. Though that's no good for the jungle.
It's a long haul back to Sasserine *RAAAAAAAAK!!!*My name's old Cooty, it is."
"You know, Cooty, despite my better judgement I'm starting to take something of a shine to you. How about this deal: I'm an experienced prosthetics-maker, and can probably fashion something for you that'll let you walk more or less normally. Give us some valuable information about the Arch nd what lurks inside it, and I'll make you some new legs once we get back to Sasserine."
Without skipping a beat;....."can you.....make me some wings? I've broken into every building in Sasserine worth breaking into except one. Tell me what you need to know."