Farmer nods at Makroo.
Just a bend more and the tunnel opens up into another of the cave formations used by the Blood Vow as tribal chambers. The sweet reek of rotten vegetables and fruit draws ones eyes to the mound of putrescent once-edibles in the middle of the room - although there does appear to be a now-stained leather sack sitting on the garbage heap.
On the far side of the room from the group's entrance, still at first is a kobold. Arms, legs and snout firmly bound with rope and her body lashed to iron spikes driven into the wall behind. When the less stealthy members of the party make themselves known, the reptilian figure starts to squirm and wriggle - clearly trying to draw attention to herself.
"আপনি Nighttail আছেন? আশা করি আপনি দেখতে এবং আপনি আমাদের যে কোনো আঘাত করার চেষ্টা করবেন না যদি আপনি ক্ষতি হবে না." Akatsuki says to the bound figure. She approaches carefully drawing her scimitar. Unless stopped she begins to cut away the creatures bonds.
There's just so many people around walking and talking for Pasara to hear anything out there. At least that's what Pasara tells herself.
Farmer stands within 30' of Akatsuki. Close enough to have a clear shot at the trussed kobold , but not so close as to be in imminent danger from it.
"There are rocks here."
"There are rocks here."
"Look heavy."
"There are rocks here."
"Where?"
"There are rocks here."
"Rocs? Here? Are you sure? How do they fit and why would they want to be underground?" Akatsuki peers into the darkness partly in confusion and fairly sure someone is trying to pull her leg.
"Rocs? Here? Are you sure? How do they fit and why would they want to be underground?" Akatsuki peers into the darkness partly in confusion and fairly sure someone is trying to pull her leg.
Farmer frowns in Akatsuki's direction. "As a former farmer, I can confirm the presence of rocks."
"Rocks, not rocs," mutters Pasara absentmindedly, as she tries to make out what Willem said he heard.
"Oh." Aka says a little sheepishly. Then smiles. She probably knew that. Probably.
"But, you know, rocs would be cool, too," continues Pasara. "I've always wanted to ride a roc."
"Yeah." Akatsuki replies, her attention wandering into thoughts of the past, "Me too." her expression turning wistful.
Farmer nudges Sigrit and rolls his eyes. "Rocks," he says.
There's just so many people around walking and talking for Pasara to hear anything out there. At least that's what Pasara tells herself.
Farmer stands within 30' of Akatsuki. Close enough to have a clear shot at the trussed kobold , but not so close as to be in imminent danger from it.
"আপনি Nighttail আছেন? আশা করি আপনি দেখতে এবং আপনি আমাদের যে কোনো আঘাত করার চেষ্টা করবেন না যদি আপনি ক্ষতি হবে না." Akatsuki says to the bound figure. She approaches carefully drawing her scimitar. Unless stopped she begins to cut away the creatures bonds.
Nighttail's jaw makes a soft popping sound as she stretches the muscles recently released from bondage. Her eyes go just a tad rounder as she looks at the mix of humanoids around.
Her head cocks to the side slightly and her eyes narrow, quickly calculating. A toothy grin, "Always said Roaghaz was going to bring the tribe to ruin by mucking in the affairs of humans, wizards and dragons."
"If you're set on changing things 'round here, I'm the gal for you. I’ve suffered enough at Chief Roaghaz’s stupid whims." A little droop of the snout, "But if you could help me free my friend Hal first?"
She nods, "Then we can both help you."
"And the menagerie grows ever larger,", Willem mutters moving away from the kobolds. The more perceptive party members would notice he's positioned himself to catch both Makroo and Nighttail with a single shot.
"We might ." Akatsuki responds to Nighttail, "Why has Roaghaz persecuted you and who, what and where is Hal?"
"Just don't let the rocks fall," mutters Sigrit back to Farmer. "Never ends well."
"Are you in need of healing?" asks Sigrit as she offers Nighttail some water and gives her a careful looking over.
Nighttail carefully watches the dwarf as she is poked and prodded for injury, but flashes Aka a roguish grin. "Hal is my bestest friend. He is about this tall," putting her left hand about a half foot above her own head. "And he has the most beautiful green and brown scales."
She points down a hallway, "Roaghaz had him locked up down there, where I could almost see where he was but couldn't help. Kinda like leaving all my stuff in my backpack just out of reach." She says this last with a grumpy snarl.
"And I did nothing to deserve my persecution. I was just a voice of reason, of pointing out that kidnapping the fleshies would bring adventurers and death. That for proper prosperity we needed to be smart and more trickesy, not dumb brutes."
"Sounds like we have some mutual interest here." Akastuki says with a friendly smile, "If we help you make sure Roaghaz will never be a problem for you ever again, will you make sure your people are no longer causing trouble for Belhaim and those coming in or out of the town?"
Aka glances in the direction Nighttail indicates her friend to be as she asks the question, but seeing only darkness her attention refocuses on the kobold.
Nighttail stands with a smile. "Okay. I go free Hal. Then you meet him."
As she moves to the wooden barrier, "Hal can be shy, and you fleshy types would scare him."
Meanwhile, an ever more nervous Makroo looks at the group especially at the loud flashy weapon of the rat. "I to outside now, okay?"
Akatsuki raises an eyebrow slightly, "Fine by me. No tricks. I'm pretty sure we can take care of anything Roaghaz tribe can send at us." Her bow is held low and pointed down, but she does nock an arrow, perhaps as much to make a point as to be ready in case things should go sideways.
"Makroo. How far to Roaghaz?" She inquires, glancing briefly over her shoulder.
Nighttail heads over to the wooden barrier, the multiple heavy bars taking the small kobold a full minute to shift. She slips through after a violent push opens up just enough of a crack for her slight scaly frame.
There is a scrable of something hard against the stone, then a series of happy whistles and low cooing.
Nervously, Makroo moves into the passage the group used to get to the refuse room. He points to the one other exit of the room. "Then down, maybe another quarter mile of tunnels."
"We are lucky to be running into chatty helpers." She whispers this to Akatsuki as she watches Nighttail scamper away.
Makroo takes the group's general quiet as a sign that it is okay for him to leave, and does so, moving quietly back out towards daylight.
A few more minutes of odd but happy sounds and Nighttail comes back out into the dilute light of the coins her arm thrown around the neck of a baby allosaurus.
"Hak." She says rubbing the scales at the back of the dinosaur's head. "Meet fleshies." She motions for the group to met Hak.
Willem warily gives the new arrival plenty of space.
The allosaurus sniffs the air, his small eyes moving towards the rat, scales pulling back to reveal long, sharp teeth. Nighttail quickly grabs his snout in one hand, "Hak, good fleshies. They let me off the wall, which is more than you did." With no little grumbling in her tone, "You get cows to eat, I get to be pinned to a wall." The dinosaur happily nuzzles against Nighttail's hand ignoring, for now, the smell of the tunnel rat.
She grabs her bag off the refuse pile, wiping off something sticky. A long pause, then grudgingly. "You did release me. If you would like any of my things in compensation, I'd be okay with it."
Pasara gazes at the young allosaurus with a wide, where-can-I-get-one, gaze.
Taking any of Nighttail's stuff as recompense for "rescuing" her seems a bit mercenary for Pasara's taste, so she'll pass.
Medge agrees with Pasara. "My reward is to be seeing that no child shall ever again be losing their parents as I have done."
"Thank you, but I think they probably fit you much better than I." Akatsuki replies, still maintaining her friendly smile, though she seems a little wary of the newest arrival, "...and you may need them in the near future, when we find Roaghaz."
"I wouldn't mind discussing 'rewards' after taking down Roaghaz." Fenyx is still looking over the items that were offered.
The corners of Akatsuki's mouth quirk slightly along with a small tilt of the head, her eyes slide sideways to the elf, then towards the freed kobold as her eyes twinkle. They do not, however, ever completely let Hak out of their field of view.
Nighttail smiles at the nice fleshies, and manages only the slightest aggrieved pout at Fenyx. She pull on her leather armor, dyed a deep blue that hides her in the dark shadows, and attaches the wands and potions. She springs onto Hak's back. "So.... Roaghaz? With as few killing of my brood as can, please?"
Another intentionally twisting tunnel, with a number of branches which Nighttail waves the group away from and the group finally ends up in a double cavern-ed room (kind like a 8 laying on its back). A thick layer of straw covers the floor of this cave. The cave’s northern end hooks around a corner to the east, and is out of sight from the south. Quietly, she points to where the walls of the cavern squeeze in, "Normally we set traps in the narrow."
.... keeping the tension in the wire as you cut it and then secure the ends so that they won't trigger the darts under the straw.
... or you can just yank the darts out of their launchers.
"And this time is no exception. Tripwire, about waist-high," Willem says, pointing to where the walls narrow. Anyone checking can see that he's referring to his own waist. It's more like thigh-high for the rest of the group.
When Hak appears on the scene, Bakuu lets out a quiet squawk of dismay and moves closer to Willem.
Bakuu looks over the treasures, and clutches her previous shiny acquisition in near anguish as she stares at the topaz. She mutters to herself.
"Is it a trap? No one else is taking anything. Maybe this is a human social thing. A lizard ceremony I am not familiar with."
She takes nothing, and then refuses to look at the treasures, instead staring at the dinosaur.
Bakuu makes a clicking noise in her throat when she sees what Willem is referencing. "As they say, traps are in the narrow." She moves in to take care of the problem.
Anyone observing Pasara will be aware she's only just keeping it together and not rushing over to Hak to pet him and baby-talk him with "Who's a good allosaurus? Who's a pretty allosaurus? You are! Yes, you are!"
"So.... Roaghaz? With as few killing of my brood as can, please?"
"I'm in no hurry to kill anyone," Farmer says as he hobbles down the passageway, clearly not in a hurry for anything.
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"Only a trap in regards to manners. If we had slain her in a fair fight, her things are ours for the taking. Saving her, though infinitely preferable for all concerned, must require no payment," Willem mutters to Bakuu. He shrugs. "The labyrinth of interaction amongst Skins should be undertaken only with care."
"We are lucky to be running into chatty helpers." She whispers this to Akatsuki as she watches Nighttail scamper away.
"Agreed, but I'll take "chatty helpers" over "unchatty, surly and wanting to kill me" any day of the week." Akatsuki whispers back.
Anyone observing Pasara will be aware she's only just keeping it together and not rushing over to Hak to pet him and baby-talk him with "Who's a good allosaurus? Who's a pretty allosaurus? You are! Yes, you are!"
Akatsuki leans close to Pasara, "Despite my thinking perhaps you have a deathwish in your choice of what would make a cute and cuddly pet, perhaps you could ask Nighttail if Hak would mind your playing with him...and if you would still likely retain all of your fingers and limbs if you do." The tone of her whisper is serious enough, though there is still something of a twinkle in her eye. Perhaps she wouldn't mind playing with the overgrown baby lizard herself, or at least be on hand when such playing occurs.
Pasara nods. "That's a good idea, Aka."
While Bakuu disables the trap, Pasara moves closer to Nighttail and Hak.
"আমাকে ক্ষমা কর," she says tentatively. "আমি আপনার সুন্দর বন্ধু আমার তাকে স্পর্শ এবং তিনি কিভাবে সুন্দর হয় তাকে বলার কিছু মনে না হবে প্রত্যাশী ছিল?" She finishes with a hopeful smile.
Farmer tries on some of the strange sounds, then shakes his head. "পর্শশী ছিকর -- not right coming from me."
Bakuu hears what Pasara says to Nighttail and laughs to herself.
"You were close, Farmer! I'd be happy to give you lessons, should you so desire them." The birdwoman says with a friendly clap on his shoulder. "We can start with Draconic Insults and Curses for children."
Farmer gives Bakuu a grudging nod. "Maybe ... if we start with cursing."
Bakuu makes a clicking noise in her throat when she sees what Willem is referencing. "As they say, traps are in the narrow." She moves in to take care of the problem.
Bakuu moves, instead of to the narrow where Willem pointed out the tripwire, to a pile of straw in the room. She brushes aside the sodden material them plucks out the darts which would have been the teeth of the trap.
"আমাকে ক্ষমা কর," she says tentatively. "আমি আপনার সুন্দর বন্ধু আমার তাকে স্পর্শ এবং তিনি কিভাবে সুন্দর হয় তাকে বলার কিছু মনে না হবে প্রত্যাশী ছিল?" She finishes with a hopeful smile.
Nighttail considers the blonde for a moment, then her teeth show in a smile. The kobold rider puts a hand just under Hak's jaw before motioning over the human.
Quietly, "Your use of our tongue is good, but your vocabulary was a little confused. Hak is সুদর্শন or প্রচণ্ড but never চমত্কার."