Andrea addresses the her companions. At last, a reasonable encounter. She then addresses the bipedal frog. Yes, Truce!
Radomir keeps himself at the ready in case this is a trap. The undisciplined and uncivilized creatures of these wilds were prone to tricks and traps. And throwing acorns.
Truce!
Soren remains silent, waiting to see if the frog-man really does want peace, or if it's a trap. His bow remains aimed at the chest of the bipedal amphibian.
The frogman blinks his eyes a few times. "Truce?" Then points at himself. "Garuum." And then seems to have expanded his knowledge of appropriate common words as he croaks a few words in another language.
Alexander chuckles, Indeed...truce. He points to himself and says, Alexander. He then laughs as he looks back at the group, This should be interesting.
He then turns back to the creature and tries to slowly and carefully speak to it, using mostly hand signals and whatever words it may recognize. In the end, he finds the whole thing rather amusing.
Now, what exactly are you?
Though often hunched over, boggards stand 5 feet tall and weigh close to 200 pounds. These creatures live for 50 years, though the harsh swamps and infighting usually cut these years short.
The creature, Garuum, is more than willing to try to find a means of communication with Alexander. His attempt at hand signs is limited due to his one good hand.
Andrea taps herself. Andrea.
She turns to the others. It seems we'll have to find someone who either speaks their language or one of them who speaks ours. If we wait a day, I can pray for a miracle that will allow me to understand what they are saying.
Eduard will attempt to say hello in Abyssal, Draconic, Elven, Infernal, and Sylvan. If the thing seems to at least recognize one of the languages, he'll try to find a way to get it to bring a companion that can speak one of the common languages.
Thaliar had remained silent most of the time. The discussion on where to explore next didn't really bother him as all directions were fine. He simply nodded and made notes.
The weird creature was a more interesting sight. Humanoid toad, curious. As the creature starts babbling away in some strange tongue Thaliar listens closely. After only a few words he he zones out as he appears to focus on some distant point while at the same time cracking the knuckles on both his hands.Once that is done he turns to the frog-man again. "Would you be so kind as to repeat that? I should be able to catch it now."
Garuum, seems a bit startled to hear one of you speak his people's language. He questions Thaliar.
Alexander sighs with relief and smiles. Good thing someone can handle this. I was about at the limit of my skills with 'me' and pointing at things at random.
Thaliar nodded as the Boggart spoke, indication he understood. His replies however came in the common tongue. He spoke slowly"Hello Garuum. We have no intention of settling here at this time. We are here to explore and map the area. Can you tell us anything about this place?" His speech was accompanied by gestures in an attempt to further clarify his words.
Garuum seems a bit relieved to know that your group isn't settling in his territory. In Boggard, Garuum continues to talk about the area. He mentions a few places that your group has already been too, such as the dire boars lair, the temple of the elk, guarded by the bear. He also mentions a few that you haven't been to yet, a statue of Erastil, located to the west his mire and a den of tatzlwyrms, located to the south-west.
Hm..We should check out the statue and make note of it. The Tazelworms might be a threat to the area.
Alexander stands trying to follow the conversation, half in common and half in an unintelligible stream of croaks. Tatzelwyrm? Sounds interesting.
Radomir remains board as Thaliar and and the frogman talk in that weird croaking language. But he does perk up at the mention of tatzelwyrms. Tatzelwyrms? A fight? Yes, ridding this forest of those savages will do much to pacify the region.
Alexander is his usual, not-so-observant self.
So, what do these Wyrms look like?
These creatures speak Draconic. We might be able to enlist them as servants if we tread carefully. They are about our size and are minorly poisonous.
Your group continues down the side of the mire and it soon turns back into just a river with sandy banks on either side. You soon come across several sandy islets that create a ford across this remote section of the river. The sandy islands make for a natural choke point in the river, but the thick piles of rubble, branches, leaves, and dead bodies that partially block the river’s flow are anything but natural.
Radomir holds up his gauntlets fist and points at the creature.
Alexander whispers, What is it?
Andrea shrugs and waits for more stealthy people to come back.
Taztelwyrm
So we can either try to see if we can gain it's service if it is sentient or slay it as a potential threat.
Radomir nods. Aye, that would be correct. He turns to Alexander. My lord?
Eduard drops his bag and whispers, I mean it speaks a language. If that counts as sentient, it is sentient. We can certainly communicate with it...or at least I can if no one else speaks Draconic.
Using Radomir's bumbling as a distraction, Soren attempts to melt into the foliage again, keeping his bow taut.
Worth a shot, yeah? Alexander shrugs and nods to the ridge, I'll go out to speak to them. But prepare for a fight, just in case they decide they're more hungry than curious. He chuckles and gives a resigned sigh. More allies are better than less. I hope. Alexander waits for his companions to be ready and steps forward, speaking Draconic, with his hand held high.
Hello there! I hope I'm not interrupting anything! My friends and I were traveling through the area and...well...we were hoping we could speak with you! He doesn't move out too far, preferring to shout across the water and remaining cautious.
Andrea winces at Ed's clanging.
The Tazlwym's head swings to the direction of Alexander and it gives a snort before charging at him.
Well look at it this way, we can have a dragon head mounted over the fireplace.
Andrea shoots a crossbow bolt
Thaliar stuck around with Garuum a little longer while the others already got moving. He was an odd sorts, usually his kind were more aggressive and territorial. Maybe it was because he was without the support of his kin. Perhaps, if they could become it's new tribe in a way, he could make a staunch ally and a good guide in these lands. Thaliar would first need to figure out how to better converse with him though. He wondered if it was even possible for a non boggard to speak that language without magical aid.
From a distance Thaliar could see the others trying to converse with what probably was the tatzlwyrm and broke into a sprint. Those things were not know for their love of conversation and Garuum also had insisted this one was ill tempered. While running he drew his bow and knocked an arrow, loosing it at the beast.
Upon seeing that the creature is going to attack, rather than hear Alexander out, Soren opts to just turn the hing into a pincushion, rather than hide. He studied the thing for a moment, to see if it has any particular weaknesses, and then looses an arrow.
Alexander draws his sword and readies his shield in response to the creatures assault.
Alright then, a fight it is!
Eduard will cast Magic Weapon on Soren's bow and then move as far back as possible.
Eduard magically charges Soren's bow.
Thaliar shoots at the oncoming creature, but misses.
Alexander draws his sword and readies his shield as he inspires courage.
Tazlwyrm misses Alexander with his bite attack.
Radomir
Soren shoots the creature.
Andrea shoots the creature as well.
Andrea drops her crossbow and draws her spear and begins moving up to aid Alexander.
Radomir lowers his lance and charges the Taztelwyrm.
Radomir pulls out his longbow and fires at the tatzlewyrm.
Then, he guides Czernabog forward towards the wyrm.
Eduard will take out his crossbow and fire at the creature.
As the beast moves in Thaliar swaps his bow for his spear and moves in. He puts a lot of force in his thrust but as a result his aim is not spectacular.