"Dat's good fur us, I tink? Ma man what you say to dis?" Oso looks at Pip to see if he understood Stig's offer as a good one.
If Pip agrees then the black priest gets up and dances a little jig, keeping well away from the limp-wristed Riese.
Pip looks at his friend
"Shure enough that sounds about as good an offer as we're like to get. Sure beats trying to think up tunes glorifying miserly border knights and chatting up dumpy peasant chicks."
Pip unslings Lucille when Oso starts to dance and keeps tune with a lively zydeco riff.
Happy birthday Heath!HUZZAH! me go sleep now. ;)
<Tenser licks Pip's face with the same tongue that he used to slobber all over Otiluke's ass.>
Oh, god....the big 40...
Kinda slammed at work today, if you don't hear much outta my yapbox.
Or maybe not....the boat turns around, chugs back up the river a few hours, and you reach a tributary where a slow-flowing bayou empties into the Hool River proper. It's much less wide, maybe 40 feet across, maybe 60 here and there, and the land slopes down from 10-20 feet, enclosing it like a canyon; the trees like claws arching overhead like a cave. The ground is solider; it's a little bit more of a rise here, you could hoof it or boat.
There's a hunting platform in a tree right at the edge of the tributary; nobody or nothing visible on it, though there is a little 20 foot by 20 foot wooden shack on the platform.
It's about 3 in the afternoon; the lizardman village is about 5 miles upstream...
what now?
oh, and no big hurry or anything....if you guys wanna keep on talking to eachother it's all good...I might get real busy here any time now.
Pip keeps the tune up and begins to throw out a few lyrics as Oso jigs around the Leg-Man's deck
"Never saw a sight so fine,
As fleet-footed Oso markin' time,
As the Leg-Man sailed down the ol' bayou,
With Cap'm Quorkus and his lively crew,
With the Regulators at their side,
Down the ol' Hool marshes green and wide."
Bosum Breedlove kicks off his shoes; starts dancing a jig.
Altai throws back a few more as the boat chugs up the river. Once they stop, though, he becomes rather interested in the platform and the shack on it. "Let's check it out. There might be observers in it, and if it is empty,we can camp overnight there. We could use some rest before assaulting the lizardman village."
Altai throws back a few more as the boat chugs up the river. Once they stop, though, he becomes rather interested in the platform and the shack on it. "Let's check it out. There might be observers in it, and if it is empty,we can camp overnight there. We could use some rest before assaulting the lizardman village."
Yes, but it's got a 20foot by 20foot hunter's cabin on it.
"Dat soun's guud chere'. Ah'll go an take a luuk, See if'n anywon' home."
With that the elf fleetly steps across the deck and leaps out over the water in a swan dive, but halfway to the water he shimmers into a hawk and flies upwards to the platform, circling once to make sure it seems clear and safe before landing and shimmering into a sleek black hunting cat.
Elgan-panther pads quietly up to the door, sniffs around, then peeks into a window to see if anyone is home.
It's got a stone fire pit inside, and there's detritus from a fire. Not too too recent; within the last month or so, but not YESTERDAY...
The place looks unoccupied but serviceable, though some of the thatchwork of the roof has a hole through it from a branch that fell and took it out a little bit.
Disrepaired somewhat, but functional.
<Wipes the tequila off his beard after practically finishing it in one swig.>
"REGULATORS means we wipe uir creases weth anyain fa's feckin' ehvil uur in enie way whatsuhevah criminal - 'en we tak' 'eir mince. Et means we're th' boos. An' fur th' recurd thes Rice fellaw 'ere es a maroon an' probably right bent sae watch yer breeks 'en he's aboot."
<Points at Reise with his thumb then waves his hand around with a limp wrist a little.>
"Anyway. Yoo're welcome tae join us es far as aam concernt."
*hic*
“Well actually we have a bit of leeway where it comes to criminal,” Beldan says an an aside to Pip, behind his hand. “Evil, not so much. So … you think Gittik might be a long lost cousin eh? That’d make for an interesting family reunion…”
It's got a stone fire pit inside, and there's detritus from a fire. Not too too recent; within the last month or so, but not YESTERDAY...
The place looks unoccupied but serviceable, though some of the thatchwork of the roof has a hole through it from a branch that fell and took it out a little bit.
Disrepaired somewhat, but functional.
“They’re probably off performing some demonic ceremony,” comments Beldan, still feeling a little under the weather.
EDITED
Just a few hours have elapsed since the fight...
Just a few hours have elapsed since the fight...
ah, ok, cool.
Your hungover's kinda gone....or forestalled anyhow's.
“Well actually we have a bit of leeway where it comes to criminal,” Beldan says an an aside to Pip, behind his hand. “Evil, not so much. So … you think Gittik might be a long lost cousin eh? That’d make for an interesting family reunion…”
Pip looks up from his strumming
"All hobbits are cousins some way or another. Most hobbits can do their cousins out to the fourth degree. There's usually a common ancestor somewhere."
Pip squints at the dirty hobbit
"You do look real familiar. I'm a weird hobbit in that I don't know my family much. I was an orphan an' I mostly grew up at a Loftwick inn working as a groom and spitjack as a kid. Picked up the bard trade from the visiting minstrels that used to play for meals there."
Pip goes back to his improv zydeco tune
"Then I saw ol' Stiggy grow like a tree,
Then take down a giant one two three,
While Gittik ripped out a lizardman's throat,
Then Elgan keened and lightning smote,
Though the foe were big and ugly louts,
the Regulators put them to rout."
Lucille wails out the lively swamp music as they float along.
Just a few hours have elapsed since the fight...
"So... Continue on or stay overnight? The village's only a couple of hours away."
“How are you magic-men doing with your spell resources? That’s probably the decider … between my healing potion and our new friend’s magic, I’ve recovered nicely from my case of spearitus.”
"I'm low on the the formulas that go BOOOM. Also, I can't make Stig all huge again either. Or fly. Other than that, I'm good." He pauses for a few seconds. "Which probably means I'm pretty useless."
Camping?
"Ah gots 'bout ha'f mah favors frum mudder nature lef'. But ah don' rely on dem as much as dese fellers do. But we kin res' here, bettuh tah go inta dah den fully rested den ha'f tarred."
Elgan shimmers into a sleek hunting cat, and climbs into the tree. He returns shortly with a couple of branches that have enough broad leaves to serve as a temporary roof patch.
:P
You camp.....the boatmen say their farewells. As you're leaving, Oso's paramour appears on the deck......a look of longing in her eyes. She releases a lady's favor, a kerchief; hastily needlepointed into it the words "find me." And she flows off down the river with the boat into memory.
Third watch...who is it?
Then, on third watch, far in the distance....you hear shouting, and screams of the dieing. Lizardmen. It goes on intermittently in random bursts on and off for 10 minutes, and culminates in what sounds like a fight for about 5 minutes straight. It's midnite.
"Bloody hell." Altai straghtens up as the infernal racket intensifies. He nudges Elgan and Gittik awake as it goes on and on. "What do you think, guys? These aren't normal swamp sounds, after all."
"Ah'm hearin' th' bonnie soonds ay lizurds gettin' deid. Back tae sleep."
Oso snores lightly, curled around his bastard sword.
muble mumble umble
DM/Pip
Pip sleeps deeply, dreaming of piles of gold and halfling women with flashing dark eyes
Oso tries not to dream.
“Well actually we have a bit of leeway where it comes to criminal,” Beldan says an an aside to Pip, behind his hand. “Evil, not so much. So … you think Gittik might be a long lost cousin eh? That’d make for an interesting family reunion…”
Pip looks up from his strumming
"All hobbits are cousins some way or another. Most hobbits can do their cousins out to the fourth degree. There's usually a common ancestor somewhere."
Pip squints at the dirty hobbit
"You do look real familiar. I'm a weird hobbit in that I don't know my family much. I was an orphan an' I mostly grew up at a Loftwick inn working as a groom and spitjack as a kid. Picked up the bard trade from the visiting minstrels that used to play for meals there."
Pip goes back to his improv zydeco tune
"Then I saw ol' Stiggy grow like a tree,
Then take down a giant one two three,
While Gittik ripped out a lizardman's throat,
Then Elgan keened and lightning smote,
Though the foe were big and ugly louts,
the Regulators put them to rout."Lucille wails out the lively swamp music as they float along.
So I draw giant flaming death from nothing and single-handedly take on huge risk and not a word about my exploits?!?! Some song-smith you are......damn fella must be racist against tall-folk......need to hire a proper bard one of these days.......
Oso tries not to dream.
And so.....he doesn't remember his dreams, though whoever was on watch noticed his sleep was interspersed with fits of worry and yelling.
The sun rises, almost visible through the fog.....
Everybody's replentished.
The night was not flavored with battle, well five miles away it was...
The day seems filled with opportunity.
"Bloody hell." Altai straghtens up as the infernal racket intensifies. He nudges Elgan and Gittik awake as it goes on and on. "What do you think, guys? These aren't normal swamp sounds, after all."
"Hm? Oh, Ah'd say dat' soun's lahk we made deh raht choice fer our campin' spot." The elf replies sleepily. HE wriggles a little to get comfortable again, and dozes back off until morning.
Pip wakes up and stretches. He opens one eye and looks about.
"Ahh nothing like a new day in the big outdoors.."
**SLAP**
"Man these Hool skeeters are as big as stirges."
It was a stirge. (just jokes).
"Sooo.... Want to go look at the remnants? One way or another,something happened down the river last night."
"Brave, Brave, Brave Brahave Sir Riese..."
And so.....he doesn't remember his dreams, though whoever was on watch noticed his sleep was interspersed with fits of worry and yelling.
Oso ignores the local insects.
"Ma main man is you gonna ride dem stirges. I got that praying to do. Sun's up and Dat Prince is watching."
Swordplay follows, punctuated by shouts and held poses.
I gotta give you an old white-bearded sensei somehow's.
Pip stretches and then picks up Lucille.
"You do what you gotta do Oso. I'm gonna work on those tricky changes in my new song."
Pip starts strumming.
" I saw Riese throwin' fire like a hose
smacking that giant right upon his nose
With Beldan Vale fighting with the rest
The Regulators stood up to the test."
He looks up at Riese.
"That satisfy you?"
So youse guys wanna take the boat up there, or foot it?
What's up?
“Did anyone else get bitten half to death by midges?” Beldan asks in the morning, yawning. “So what now? Try to take the boat up I reckon…”
"Rice es in lizurd f'rm an' pretends tae be in charge, which shooldnae be hard fer 'im. We aw fake bein' tied up oan th' deck en' knocked oot."
Och! Harr yuih DAAAAFT MAN!
You guys slide up the river....after five miles it's dammed with what looks like a 10 foot tall beaver dam, and the backup creates a pretty good sized pond. on the left flank of the pond is the lizardman village. It's built on turf, with a large turf hill in the middle supporting a great longhouse. The periphery is surrounded by a wall of 15 foot tall tree trunk poles; not enough to stop an advance entirely, merely hinder it, with about a two feet of squeezing room between each pole. There's wattle and daub wigwams all around the central mound with the longhouse.
You see cooking fires, but very little activity.
spot d.c. 12
"Bunch of dead guys lying around inside the palisade. Be alert, everybody."
Pip, enjoying a cigarillo as they paddled along, is oblivious until Altai warns the group. He flips the cheroot into the river and perks up.
"Gothcha man."
“Wonder what happened? Shall we all go in, or do you want me to sneak around and see what I can find out?”
Pip, enjoying a cigarillo as they paddled along, is oblivious until Altai warns the group. He flips the cheroot into the river and perks up.
"Gothcha man."
Elgan!!! Litterbug!!!!! ;)
"That's a good idea. Perhaps you should take Gittik with you, just in case you meet someone unpleasant. The rest of us'll gather up here on the riverbank."