"Ravboom tell you no be hurt, Reles not so bright, and Palo even dimmer. If no want to open door, that be fine. We talk through door, yes? We tell you what we know, you tell what you know, 'Kay?"
"Or you come out to come with us to inn. Safer dere. Nessa Nessa has food and bed for us. We talk on the way, yes?" Globlob suggests, as he meanders back over with the others to the Sheriff's Office that is now closed up as tight as a drum.
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Solie shakes her head at the rush of others who have decided to try to talk the other goblin out. They all piled up the offers and sugarcoated words in an attempt to win over the strange goblin who had barricaded herself in the Sheriff's office. Rather than join in the chorus, Solie pokes around the building, looking for a place to peek in and see what's in there.
The ‘diplomatic efforts’ of the group are, for the most part ignored by the voice from within the office… Duh…. Duh… duh.. I can’t be hearing you… you not there… leave poor Knuckles alone…”, until Globlob mentions Nessa Nessa, ”Nessa Nessa still alive? I thought she got all smashed up… You know Nessa Nessa?”
The door, after having something heavy pulled away from it, creaks open… and the mad hatted goblin, necklaces of bone and feather suggesting he is a witch-doctor, peers out… with a quizzical look, he says, ”I is Knuckles… mighty Witch Doctor to Brokebag tribe… Come to see Fatty Jerreth but he not here… and someone blow up his office!!!”
Ravboom nods. "Been a lot of things done lately, very mysterious. Skeletons on fire, offices blown up. Nessa Nessa in inn."
”Nessa Nessa still in drinking n’ eating place? we go there now… maybe she see Fatty Jerreth? Unless he get all blowed up when his office went boom!!! Quick quick.. not let anyone see us – most of tribe gone black-eye crazy – or worse!!! An’ there’s someone throwing stones ‘round here too… not safe… not safe… Let’s go!!! Go!!! Go!!!”, working himself up into a panicked frenzy, Knuckles starts a very quick march back towards Nessa Nessa’s place…
…and, apart from the frenetic witch doctor, everything seems momentarily calm…
As he walks, as quickly as his stumpy legs and ridiculous headgear will allow, Knuckles wonders out loud where Fatty Jerreth went; apparently Fatty managed to ride out the craziness which beset the village and was talking about trying to find Chief Oddle, ”Fatty is clever… Fatty was thinking that maybe bad things happen to tribe ‘cos Chief Oddle went to find falling star… maybe badness come with star?”
Ravboom opens his mouth to reassure him 'Fatty' was not in the office when it exploded, then stops and shrugs and follows along. Explanations are complicated, and he's not sure the goblin is sane enough to understand them anyway.
Globlob perks a brow upward beneath his skullcap and shakes his head at the other goblin's paranoia of their surroundings. It is very strange, to him at least, that he is to see an openly frightened goblin in a remotely lofty position within a tribe. Most scaredy-gobs either got kicked out or whipped into shape by their chief.
Shaking his head gently, he follows along with Ravboom and their new friend before he spots Palo peering around. He steps quietly off to the side and stands himself next to her, trying to do much the same. "Hey. Nice longshanks lady. What you see?"
"It sure seems like it!" Relas pipes up in response to Knuckles. "I don't think we've seen this Fatty Jerreth anywhere around here, though. Nessa Nessa, Globlob over there, those other goblins, and you are the only non-crazy ones we've seen. Still, it's good to see another not-crazy face!"
Ravboom laughs. "Better be silent fool and be thought wise, than open big mouth and confirm what fool one be..."
Nothing stirs in any of the buildings around the village central area as the group, led by the quickly moving Knuckles, rush over to Nessa Nessa's place... Knuckles giggles when he sees Vorthad's body crumpled in a heap outside - but says nothing more of it.
Safely inside, Knuckles asks Nessa Nessa for something "Real Strong... Make me forget all that gone so bad in village... Maybe make me have good ideas like Fatty Jerreth had?"
When Nessa Nessa pours out six clay tankards of a vile smelling liquid, Knuckles proposes a toast of sorts, "Drinking to glory of Brokebags... Maybe strong again one day... Fatty kept map in office - was thinking that might have clue as to where Fatty go... He said he looking for Chief Oddle... But no one seen Chief since he went looking for fallen star". Perched upon a tall stool, the goblin looks downcast...
Globlob sticks his tongue out in reply to Biggun's quip, before heading over toward the others to drink away their... Sorrows? Something like it. The newcomer certainly seems to have sorrows. "Or maybe dis gobby knows what da other pin is for! Where you come from, anyway?" He asks, reaching out a hand to point to where one of the pins had been placed. "Here? Or someplace else?"
Nessa Nessa and Knuckles crowd around the map...
"Lemme look... I knows area real good..."
"I knows it better, I be living here since I little goblin...."
"No me... No me.... Lemme look...."
Eventually Solie manages to convince the goblins to take turns looking...and, as it turns out, Knuckles identifies the significance of the pins quickly...
"These both be Longshanks places... 'Bout a two or three hour trek around the lake... Long abandoned places... We not go there no more - closest one is farm or something - looted long time ago... Other one is bad haunted place... Chief Oddle was thinking that star fell in lake near there but he want all glory so no one else go with him to get it..."
Nessa Nessa takes a second look at the map before offering, "Hmmmm, yeah - I was thinking all of the things wot he said".
Ravboom rubs his chin. "If Ravboom were a Chief who wanted all the glory, Ravboom think Ravboom'd tell people Ravboom thought it fell in the lake, and then go check the farm where Ravboom really thought it landed. That way any of Ravboom's villagers that wanted to get the glory first would go to the lake and drown like the idiot Gobbies they be..." The goblin says, staring at the map deep in thought, most of his usual carelessness with words dropping off as he thinks out loud.
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Biggun watched the discussion with a mixture of confusion and contempt. If they knew where the goblin chief went, why are they just standing here talking about it? "If we know where chief go, why say he go to other place?" he asked. Biggun was just too straight-forward for this kind of thing. "Besides, if chief not in one place, then chief in other place. We just check both and find star, then work on bringing down sun."
"You can't get to haunted tumbledown ruin without going past old farm... Maybe take enough food and drink to look in both places? I get you lotsa tasty grub!!!"
Nessa Nessa, from the looks of the map, is right - the tow buildings are on the same trail...
"As long as we're doing something besides sitting here. Whatever this fallen star thing is, we need to try and figure out why it's making people go crazy and put a stop to it sooner rather than later," Relas finally says. "What if it spreads and starts making everything around here crazy, even the plants and animals? We can't let that happen!"
The evidence hanging from the large tree in the clearing – and the testimony of both Nessa Nessa and Knuckles – confirms that the boarded up temple of Zarongel contains goblins of exceptional malevolence… Having agreed that leaving the threat uncurbed will likely mean that Knuckles and Nessa Nessa will be in great danger, the group make their way to the locked front door of the building…
…all of the Zarongel imagery – primarily crude scrawls of a dog’s paw… sometimes in flame, around the building has been crudely scratched out or ‘painted’ over with slops of mud…
Thus far, there are no signs of anyone coming from the building… however, as the group draw closer, they can smell something burning – a mix of wood smoke and meat…
As they carefully make their way towards the Zarongel temple, Relas looks at the others. "I'll go look around the building and see how many ways there are to get in, okay? Be right back!" he whispers before slinking off to get a better look at the building's perimeter.
Ravboom sneaks around with Relas.
He keeps a stone in his sling as he sneaks around with the cat. The two have done this before, and are a good team, watching each other's backs as they scout.
Ever looking to get into more trouble whenever possible, Globlob slinks along with Ravboom and Relas. He cannot be letting the pair have all the fun without him, of course. For the time being, he holds his bow at the ready but does not draw an arrow just yet.
Moving with near silent footfall, Globlob, Ravboom and Relas skirt around the perimeter of the circular building... There are three windows through which it is possible to peer - and see nothing but a smoke-logged room and the orange glow of a fire somewhere near the centre. Occasionally, the sound of chanting...
"Vuelib!!! Vuelib!!! Vuelib!!!"
...can be heard - and, watching for movement, it seems there are four or five figures moving around in the smoke. Within a few minutes of realising there is a fire in the temple, smoke starts to billow from cracks in the roof - the smell of cooking meat... or flesh... getting ever stronger!
Apart from the door at the front - and possibly the cracks in the roof - there are no other entrances to the building.
"Crazies cooking self and temple?" Ravboom whispers to Relas and Glob...
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Biggun looked around in annoyance, his chain swinging around in circles beside him. He hated sneaky moments, even if he was fairly good at it. It just seemed so...dull to him. Giving a big sigh, he looked over at Solie as smoke poured from the building. "So, other goblins now be using fire. Think they want sun down too?"
"Cooking themselves or cooking prisoners," Relas whispers back. "Might be why new bodies keep showing up hanging from that big tree over there!"
He frowns. "I guess we'll have to go in through the front...that'll make Biggun and Solie happy at least."
"If they cooking selves, we just wait and not have to go kill crazy gobbies. But me thinkin' we not that lucky. Maybe there prisoners from Brokebag tribe still alive?" Globlob shakes his head and gives a gentle shrug, as anything further is just conjecture. There is no way to tell through the cloudy windows of exactly what is going on within. He does give a quick thumbs-up at Relas's suggestion and turns to make his way back to the others to report what they have found.
Relas nods. "Palo would say that we're never that lucky," he agrees. "Guess we'll go back and get ready to head in through the door. Maybe if we're loud and fast enough it'll surprise them?"
Seeing that there's little else they can do, Relas follows behind Glob as they head back to report to the others.
Rav follows along, stone ready...
Once Globlob, Rav, and himself make their way back to the others, Relas offers their report based on expert observation and tactical know-how. "Unless you want to try a leap through one of the windows or can turn to smoke and go through ceiling cracks, there's only one good way in there and that's through the front door," he announces, quite pleased that they had returned from a scouting trip without causing a major ruckus. "Not sure what they're doing in there, but they're definitely cooking something...maybe prisoners? At any rate, they looked busy so I bet if Biggun kicked the door open that they'd be really surprised!"
As Relas, Globlob and Ravboom return from their scouting around the temple to Zarongel… desecrated as it is… it seems that there is going to be little option other than entering the building through the front door. The group are in the middle of debating the merits of doing this when the doors suddenly crash open…
…stumbling out into the early afternoon sun, rubbing their eyes and coughing out smoke, three gore-soaked goblins blink in surprise at the group waiting outside…
Relas needs no further encouragement and attempts to snag one of the goblins in his powerful jaws.
"There's two more inside in all the smoke!" he warns.
"Whagggha!" Ravboom yells, surprised, and bounces a stone off the head of the lead gobbie.
Globlob gives a yelp of surprise along with the rest of the group, snatching up an arrow without a second thought as he takes a deep breath. All the better to serenade his companions with some vile tunes. Maybe if they can dispatch these goblins quickly enough, there will be some of whatever smells so good inside left over!
"Black-eye, burny, red-slick scum,
We gonna make you pincushion!
Slash with blade and shoot with bolt.
Take from dem all dat dey stole'd!"
Relas' jaws clamp down hard upon the first of the wretches to stumble from the temple... It goes limp and, with an easy shot, Palomia's crossbow bolt ends it... Ravboom, quick ti respond, slings a stone at the goblin nearest the door... with a solid 'thump', the flung rock bounces from the goblin's forehead...
Taken aback by the sudden rushing of goblins out of the temple, Solie’s crossbow (which she had already loaded in anticipation of a fight) goes off with an almost comical ‘twang’… and the bolt thuds into the floor three feet from where she is standing…
A fourth goblin, it’s ragged clothing smouldering as it walks, steps out into the daylight… and, blinking in surprise, starts to unhook a crude sword from it’s belt… as it struggles, a fifth goblin – this one wearing robes and an animal skull upon it’s head – strides out and kicks the struggling goblin in it’s posterior, ”Get ‘em yer scaredy cat!!!”
When Biggun’s chain crashes into the floor next to the goblins, it spurs them into action… both stabbing at Biggun…
"Kill one with skull!" Ravboom yells, knowing how gobbies in charge like to wear skulls.
Though Relas hears Ravboom's instruction to target the creepy skull goblin, he doesn't have the advantage of ranged weaponry and there's still the matter of the other three goblins that stand in the way. "Working on it, but that's a little easier said than done!" he yells as he attempts to bite one of the goblins that swung at Biggun.
Globlob snatches up an arrow from his quiver and swiftly sights toward the robe-and-skull clad goblin, before letting it fly. Maybe if they can kill their leader quickly, the rest will give up? Probably not, but worth a try. "Only room for one skull gobbie here!"