Nope.
Zeke is happy for Charles, and smiles at the influx of wealth, but anxious to proceed he begins looking down the different passages. "Let's go deeper," he suggests, indicating the southeast exit. "It looks like there's some kind of hollow up ahead."
"Really Garfaulk?" He points to the cacti with his hammer. "That is a cactus, I saw one ages ago. I hope this Boogeymen of Brindleburgh isn't down here." He shudders. "I'll show him my hammer he can juggle this."
"If we're done searching we should keep moving." He agrees with Zeke nodding in the direction he pointed out.
Ton smokes his cigarette in silence as the others pour over the body and the drawings.
He can see Charles' eyes light up at the discovery of the silverdisks and he admits that so far this was proving a lead well worth following up.
But somehow he had a feeling this was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Hey, Wulf, you ok?" he asks. "You don't seem right."
The party proceeds to the southeast, reaching a large open space in the cave, bigger than they have yet seen.
The ceiling of this vast chamber rises nearly thirty feet overhead. A five-foot-wide ledge runs along the western wall, sloping down to the cave floor ten feet below. Four ramshackle huts made of what appear to be strips of metal, hides, and some sort of fibrous plant matter sit in the cave, while to the south yawns a dark pit.
As you examine the huts and consider who lives there, out of the shadows step one, then two, then many tall, skinny, humanoids. They each hold a short sword, and wear various leathers held on by straps and buckles. One steps forward.
"Hold, outsiders. " It speaks in a low, gravely, voice, in Common but heavily accented.
"More outsiders, more and more come. Will they ever stop coming? First the lady with the purple hair and her followers, then the little ones, then some brutes, then a great mage, then holy men. We kill some, they kill us. Sometimes we don't hide, sometimes we hide. Why so many outsiders? In any case, we have had enough of the killing. Our new leader has told us that she wishes to speak to next outsiders who arrive-- you."
Before Wulf can answer, Ton hears the voice coming out of the gloom ahead.
Instinctively he grips his bow but he does shout back "Hey, you hold back and so will we. None of us want a fight if we don't need to have one.
"Anyone know what those things are, and who that woman with purple hair might be, she local?" he whispers.
Zeke rather obviously jumps excitedly at the mention of "the great mage." He looks around to the others to make sure that they are all on board with speaking to the leader, putting up his crossbow as a sign of peaceful intentions. That's what Mr. Khonnir would have done, he thinks. Make friends with these creatures, learn what they know. Didn't I hear someone say something about a woman with purple hair? Sounds like she might have been the first one through here, right before the fire went out.
He whispers back to Ton: "Not local, I heard she arrived in town a few days before the fire went out and then disappeared. I think it might have been her group's tracks that Mr. Khonnir first discovered going into these caves."
Charles tries to slip behind the others without being noticed. He has never seen anything like these creatures, they're probably mutants.
"The woman with purple hair." he calls across the distance between them. "You kill her?"
"We're friends of the great mage," calls out Zeke, unable to resist contributing.
"The woman with the purple hair; she paid us many shiny coins to pass through. The great mage; he kill old leader in great fireball. But I talk too much. You need to talk to the new leader. She says half of you must come with us. Half of you must stay behind.. Half of us will go with you to leader, half of us will stay behind. New leader wants an accord. All may keep their weapons, but only half may come. "
Chuckling to himself as Wulf believes his absurd tale, he immediately regained his composure when the other creatures showed up
As the other creatures spoke of the variety of people to come through, making note of the order, leaning in to Ton and Zeke "Aye, heard the same. The note about her I here, the more I wanna know-I'd be shocked if she's not involved somehow."
Upon hearing they were being split, the dwarf stepped forward. "If yer leader wants to talk with us, tha's fine with us-most welcome,tha's how we'd prefer it. And she'll be wanton to soak with me, tha's fer sure"
The tall humanoid turns to Garfaulk, taking the charismatic dwarf to be the speaker for the party.
"I am glad you wish to speak to our new leader. Two more must come with you to form an accord. Who shall that be?"
Not me not me not me not me not me not me not me not me ...
Zeke steps forward. "I would be happy to go with you to speak with your leader." Puckishly, he adds in Undercommon: "You're a long way from home, aren't you?"
The humanoid takes a step back in surprise at Zeke's words. He smiles and responds in Undercommon. "It is pleasant surprise to see an educated man in this surface world of barbarians."
He points at the hole in the south side of the chamber. The party can barely see it from where they are standing.
He continues in Undercommon, "That is the way back to our home, to the Darklands. But we can no longer return. Our leader can tell you more, if you wish. If you strike the accord."
Garfaulk gave a bit of a nod that was also a shallow bow, before turning to the rest of the party, using a more hushed tone "Sure Zeke-hopefully you can explain Baine's actions. And please, stick teh common, I wanna make sure I know what yer sayin, undercommon was never my thing. Ton, you should come as well, might need you to vouch for Wulf,if things go wrong yer a great fighter-and yer limp may buy us some sympathy. Charles-I'm counting on you teh keep Wulf and Varrad from grin in trouble, aright?" There was a little glint of excitement in his eyes-he was trained for situations just like this. He turned back to the other humanoid. "Please, lead the way."
Zeke peers over the direction the humanoid is pointing, and his eyes light up in wonder. He murmurs a polite translation for the others, especially Garfaulk since he is already standing as leader of the group. ("He says that hole leads to the Darklands, but that they can't return. He is pleased I speak their language, and says their leader can tell us more about their home if we make a deal.")
Garfaulk nods, impressed. ("Great-though I have to say, ye translate well. If ya have ter translate for me, Im confident ye can do me justice ")
Garfaulk, Ton, and Zeke follow half of the humanoids through the chamber and then to a side cave, where a tall female of the species is sitting by a ramshackle hut. She looks up, stands, and takes in the new arrivals.
Charles, Wulf, and Varrad are left behind- without a light. Assuming that someone comes up with something, they can take a look around the chamber while they await their friends.
"If you speak their language, Zeke, maybe you better do the talking." Ton says with his usual practical bent. He walks along behind most of the party, his limp as pronounced as ever.
When he sees the leader of the creatures he nods in greeting;
"Hi. You want to talk, let's talk. My buddy Zeke here is your man and he'll have what's what sorted out in no time. There's no need for you to lose any more people and less need for us to have to make a run for it if this turns sour so hopefully we'll work something out." he adds with his best attempt at a charming smile.
Wulf turns to speak to Ton but stops as the group enters the larger area, pulling up his hammer ready for anything.
--
He stood quietly while the others better at talking did their job, he felt uneasy about it all but didn't want to get them into trouble only nodding as the others leave to meet the leader.
Pulling out a torch he lights it up if no one comes up with a better idea. Then moves in closer to the others and makes sure no one can listen in. "This doesn't feel right, but I didn't want to insult whoever these people are." He looks up at Vraad and smiles. "Sorry about earlier I don't know what came over me, I feel terrible about it now."
"Let the talkers talk. Weird skill. But every string needs it. We hear violence we go in. Otherwise just rest. And stay sharp."
Charles didn't like being so loquacious but he was left nannying the two least-reliable members of the string. He looked around the room for a place he could possibly use if things went badly.
Zeke smiles and says in Undercommon, "Blessings of the moon-god upon you and yours." Then somewhat apologetically in Common, "Do you mind if we speak in Common? Not all of us have the tongue of the Darklands, and we'd like to be able to talk with you freely. I'm Zeke, he is called Ton, and this... this is Garfaulk." He says the dwarf's name with peculiar emphasis, like he is introducing a celebrity.
Upon being properly introduced, Garfaulk removed his hat, folding it humbly in his hands. Immediately, his allies would notice a slight shift in his demeanor. Generally speaking, the dwarf usually had a bit of a crazed look in his eye, and up until now, always had sorry of a nervous energy to him. But in this moment, he seemed completely focused, not at all like someone who shoots javelins out of a tube stuffed with explosive powder.
Giving a bit of a bow, he nodded his head. "It's an honor to meet you. Garfolk Sharpstone. We spoke to yer comrade and he told us of yer recent experiences and loss involving outsiders. I assure you, all we seek is passage, perhaps trade if tha's somethin that interests you, and a little knowledge. We have come to retrieve some of the other outsiders, as well as find the source of a disturbance up on the surface." While he still had his accent, he seemed far more composed, and still completely natural, and his name sounded less.. dirty.
Then he smiles a little "Forgive me, I seem to have forgotten my manners. Your name is?"
Diplomacy+aid
With the light of Wulf's torch, Charles looks around the cavern. He sees the ramshackle huts, and the edges of the deep hole. The other strange humanoids watch you, but do not prevent you from moving around, if you wanted to explore a bit in his vicinity. (move yourself in roll20).
Charles finds a comfortable place to sit.
"Our name is Sef. We have battled others of your kind, but you have certainly been the most gracious. That means we are most pleased that yours was the group we had decided to talk to. Perhaps an accord can be reached? I will make my offer short. "
"Ever since our arrival from the caverns below, we have been plagued by short, smelly, troublesome gremlins. These things have been stealing our food and playing tricks on us. They are located just up the cavern, very close by. Here is the accord: If you kill these gremlins, we will answer any question you pose and will show you the way to move beyond these caves. Tell me: Do we then have an accord?"
Garfaulk looked to Zeke then Ton-seemed like a reasonable thing to him, but he wanted to try to see what they thought first, as he was inclined to agree unless they indicated to him that they had an issue with such a task. "Seems like potentially reasonable terms, like sumthin we could take care of. Though how many of these gremlins are there, any idea? Just a rough number, so we would have an idear of what we'd be up against"
Zeke smiles magnanimously to Garfaulk, indicating with a gesture that at least for his part, Garfaulk speaks for him. Then he frowns slightly, as if to say it's a bit of a weak bargain, but then he shrugs like it doesn't matter to him.
Raising an eyebrow at Wulf he cocks his head at the statement, trying to discern what it is he's talking about. After a moment he gives a small tip of his head, "You have done no wrong by me that I am aware. I will accept an apology all the same if it is for your benefit."
Turning to look at the figures nearby he narrows his eyes slightly, "Please excuse me, Wulf. I would like to converse with these people." Stepping forward just a few feet he waves to the nearest of the strange creatures they have met, "Hello. Do any of you speak my language? I would like to ask a few questions if you are able."
Wulf nods at Varrad. "Be careful." He says as he moves to look around the area.
But is distracked as he tries to keep an eye on Varrad and Charles.
Ton shrugs to Zeke and Garfaulk as if he has no preference.
He wonders if they would have run into the gremlins first whether they would have offered the same deal. These creatures were weakened by the encounters with the other groups so he at least felt confident they could fight a retreat through them if they needed.
Something occurs to him then.
"The groups that came down here and you fought. Where are the bodies? Some people on the surface might want them back."
As he is waiting for the answer, he turns to the others and also says;
"What do we know about gremlins?"
She looks at Ton'iel. "The accord is that we answer questions after the gremlins are dead. But as for their numbers.... that is fair. It is hard to say because they disappear as fast as they arrive. Maybe 10? I need to know: do we then have an accord?" She is pushy, impatient.
*************************
Ton'iel, you recall that gremlins are fey, and they are resistant to weapons that aren't made of cold iron. But, they are really small and weak.
*************************
Wulf, you know that the other three disappeared to the north and east.
*************************
One of the guards looks at Varrad. "We all speak some Common, outsider. What you want?"
"Yeah I get the deal, honey." Ton replies churlishly. "I just want to know the terms of it."
He turns to the others and says;
"Gremlins are annoying little buggers. Fey. Resistant to weapons that aren't cold iron. Even so we could probably take ten of them, Wulf would do that on his own I reckon."
"Yeah we've got an accord, I reckon." he says to the leader. "The bodies of the ones who came down here then, you didn't dispose of them? And anything you can tell us about that purple-haired woman would be good too." he adds, hoping he isn't pushing his luck.
She ignores his questions.
"Then we have an accord. We will await your return in the large chamber. You are feel to rejoin your friends."
The group meets again in the central chamber. You stand outside the gremlin caves, which go to the north. There are two tunnels you can enter, through the north.
The caves to your north are short-- about 5 feet tall. It will be slow going for all of you, except Charles and Garfaulk, who fit through in these short corridors without any problem.
You take a minute to discuss the situation and any strategy you want to use.
Ton turns to the dwarf and says something in his own tongue.
<Dwarvish>"I dont trust her for a second. Reckon she's fixing us to take out the competition and turn on us when we're injured from fighting the gremlins. Let's be ready for that if she does, right?" he adds with a conspiratorial wink.
Garfaulk nods to Zeke,knowing the offer wasnt ideal, but had little doubt that with Wulf, Charles, and Varrad back with them, they could handle a few gremlins. His real worry was that they might be using the gremlins to soften them up. He gives Ton a look as he continually tried to ask questions, but understood that it wasn't the best deal.
He nods to their leader, putting his hat back on. "Aye, an accord we have. We take care of yer gremlin problem,you answer our questions, and show us the way further in the caves without any fightin. Sounds good to me. I'm just hoping tha we are able to take care of this fer ya and can reach a stable peace. If we fall, those that inevitably follow us may not be as reasonable as we are, ye know? "
"Aye,but I think I favor a fight with gremlins over these folk. But I think I have a plan just in case things do get rough He replies in Dwarven
Once they reunite with the rest of the group, Garfaulk gets them caught up on what the deal is, looking to Varrad. "might want to heal that Flesh wound after all, since it looks like we're in fer a fight" He gets his weapons reassembled and loaded. "Who feels like huntin some gremlins? Or at least, chattin with them, gettin their side o things He whispered the last part, but continued with the rest towards where gremlins lay in wait
Zeke whispers, "These people come from the Darklands, but I've got a good feeling about them for some reason. Let's take care of their problem for them, and then see how well they keep up their side of the bargain."
"Let's take both tunnels. Wulf, you up front with Varrad. You guys can rush in and hit them hard, Zeke you back them up. Garfaulk and I can take the other tunnel and have a clear line of fire, Charles you sneak in and take them from the flank." Ton says, checking the tautness of his bowstring.
"Remember, these things are resistant to normal metal. If you haven't got cold iron then hit the buggers hard or else keep them distracted until Wulf and Varrad can do the heavy lifting. Sound good?"
The party starts to push forward through the caves. The low hanging caves slow every down except Charles and Garfaulk. (once you pass the green line)
Wulf
Ton'iel
Charles
Zeke
Zeke bonus: +2 when underground
Varrad
Garfaulk
ROUND 1
1 Wulf 21
2 Varrad 18
3 Garfaulk 18
4 Ton'iel 17
5 Creature 15
5 Charles 11
6 Zeke 9
Go if you are bold!
Wulf bits his tongue but as they start moving he turns back to talk to the group. "I don't feel right about this... Are we just going off their word here? Everything down here seems a lot more... full of everything, I expected a few caves." He continues on as he slowly moves forward keeping an eye out.
Ton moves cautiously up to the mouth of his tunnel, he doesn't go too far so that he can still see by the light of Garfaulk's weird glow.
He grips his bow shaft and mutters an incantation under his breath though. Arcane runes flare in the yew and a tiny crackle of energy runs along it's length. Churlish, stubborn, slobbish maybe, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Charles creeps forward and draws his cold iron dagger.