Jarvak listens to the man's story intently, shaking his head when he hears about the bugbear...
Yewleaf sighs as he listens to Evans story, "I hate to do this but I must, it is clear you are lying, you are acting odd and nervous in a time you shouldn't be. You are clearly scared but there is something you aren't telling us or that you are lying about. Tell us the truth and we will give you protection, don't and I will personally drag you back to the hobgoblins and let them do what they wish with you. Yewleaf's face is a hardened mask as his voice takes a harsh, sharp tone.
"Well, you see, the way I got out of the inn was that a pixie came and knocked on the window. She said that something bad was coming and that she loved me too much to let me be hurt, so I jumped out the window following her, and I could fly! She led me into the forest, where I watched that bugbear tear the guy apart. Then I couldn't find my pixie friend, and I started running, and I don't know what happened after that until I found you."
Jarvak listens to the story.
"Hmm.. okay now tell us what REALLY happened," he says.
"Agreed, the truth now, or you will not like the outcomes, this is your last chance." Yewleaf stares daggers at the man.
Xakroo just sat there, listening to the man's stories, knowing fully well that he was lying through his teeth. He stayed silent until he talked about a pixie, to which he scoffed, A pixie, a random pixie, coming to some strange human and telling him that she loved you and thus helped you escape? Unlikely. Tell us the truth-now. Or would you rather go and meet the Ironfang Legion again?
Edran sees the doubts in your eyes, and gets up and tries to run off.
Xakroo immediately lunges at the man, pulling out his short sword to try and stop him.
He manages to hit his mark, cutting into the man's side.
Yewleaf also attempts to stop the man hoping to slow him down.
Jarvak casts daze on the man as he tries to run. He gives chase as well.
"Hey there... you need explain story. And I want to meet this pixie! Also, you feeling sleepy!"
Kwiazy leaps at the longshanks and tries to grapple him..."No running away!"
He grabs air behind the man's back and ends up missing the man and bellyflopping onto the ground painfully. He lays there a moment... "Me meant to do that!", he says softly, before rising up onto his feet with a wince of pain...
Morgyn had been half-listening the entire time, but had been keeping most of his focus and attention on the surrounding area - especially the way the man had come from to make sure nothing had followed him and they weren't about to be attacked or something.
Things went very wrong very fast, however. He whipped his head around and the man tried to run away. Morgryn reached out and swung the haft of his polearm, stretched to hit the man in the legs and hopefully trip him but do no damage except to maybe his pride.
Edran shakes of Jarvak's spell and Kwiazy's attempt to grab him and Morgryn's attempt to trip him, but curls up in a little ball as Xakroo and Yewleaf hit him.
"Ok, ok, I'm not from Taldor, I'm from Molthune! I was in Phaendar spying. Then I came to find you, so that I had something to tell the hobgoblins so they would let me go home."
Your followers seem about ready to lynch Edran as soon as they hear he is a Molthune spy.
Jarvak turns to the followers.
"Calm down peoples! Molthune will want the same thing as us. How to defeat the ugly, stinky Ironfang hobgoblins. We need more allies-friends and this man, Edran, if his real name can help," Jarvak says.
Xakroo stands by Jarvak. Yes, listen! He may be a traitor now, but it is not worth it to kill him! I simply attacked him to stop him-it is better to keep a traitor alive as prisoner than let him go or murder him!
"He maybe useful? Knowz thingz we can learn?"
That is correct, Kwiazy, the kobold nodded at the goblin, He may be useful in knowing the area. He may have already past by some threats that could be in our way. Does anyone have any rope? Once we tie him up and heal him of his wounds, we'll interrogate him.
Yewleaf listens to the reasons presented by the group and agrees, he sheathes his blade and rummages through his pack pulling out a fine cord. He steps forward and offers it to Xakroo, "Here, this cord should be strong enough to hold him," he says as he holds the silk rope out in front of him.
Thanks, the kobold nodded, and tied up Edran, then grabs his healing supplies to heal up the wounds.
Jarvak decides to try a different tack. He pulls out his flute.
"Come now. Let me tell you the story of Varja the stranger. He be like Edran. Thought to be be dangerous but he turned out to be an ally and his help turned back Orcs and ogres!" Jarvak says.
He starts to perform a ballad, hoping the mob cools down...
Charzark stays back watching the mob Oh no, mobs are no good for goblins, I've had to escape a few he thinks as he readies a mixture of mud and rat liver that reduces his size in case he needs to hide from the crowd.
Everyone, stop your anger! Xakroo yells, trying to calm them down with some passive aggressive diplomacy.
Jynnjun tries to remove a few of the louder people from the mob so that Jarvak will have a better audience. "Hey, if he's running from the Ironfangs we need to check his backtrail and our alarms. Wyna, Bruna, can you check east and west, Gileon north, Aeren you come with me to his backtrail. You wouldn't make me do this all alone would you?"
Kwiazy makes a disparaging face. Me see too many longshank mobs... mostly against gobbos though. Now they against a longshanks! They no listen to gobbo. Still, though he's sure it will do no good, he tries to quiet them enough to hear Jarvak's song.
"You hear song... singer tell it true. Man might be good ally if you no kill him."
"Calm down, every second we spend wasting time here the legion advances on us. Please, you have trusted us this far to lead you to safety, trust us when we tell you this man will help keep you safe." Yewleaf raises his voice trying to carry it to all of the mob.
Morgryn slowly walked over to the downed man. He stepped over him, to stand astride him and turned to face the villagers. He brought the polearm up horizontally across in his arms held out in front of him. "Ye don' wanna do that...'cause ye'll force me t'stop ye. The man made a mistake, that's fer sures an' certains, but the situation has changed and we're all in it fer survival now. So put aside yer dif'rances an' we work together."
Not being the most social of people by a long shot, he didn't push his words on anyone. He just let the others do the real talking.
The crowd seems to calm down a notch. The anger changes to a seething resentment. Aubrin catches the eye of several of the townspeople, and then steps forward to act as spokeswoman. "After the way Molthune has treated us for years, we have very little reason to trust this filth. If you are making yourselves personally responsible for his conduct in the future, we will not fight you. I just want to make sure you realize what you are taking on." Aubrin's stern face softens into a bit of a smile. "Then again, look at you. Who would have ever thought that goblins, kobolds, a construct, and a dark dwarf would save the refugees from a human town. If anyone can save this turd it would be you."
I appreciate the compliments, but Morgryn is right. We need to set our priorities first-Molthune is not the biggest enemy, the Ironfang Legion is. If anything, I bet my life that once those hobgoblins are done with Nimthras, Molthune will be the next target.
Of course, Xakroo was not speaking in entire honesty-this was simply cause he has very little knowledge over Molthune. All he knows about said country is that it's seen as a common enemy to Nimthras; he doesn't even know whether or not the enemy country could handle the hobgoblin invasion.
Is Aubrin's say we all turd? Mm... nevermind... Jarvak wonders.
"Yes, we know what take on. So speak, Edran. You tell us what you know. Else we let mob stomp you into ground like ants," Jarvak says.
"I don't know anything. I ran from town when I saw the hobgoblins attack. I found you, and I thought that if I found out enough about you and told the hobgoblins, they would let me leave and go home."
Charzark barely contains his laughter Thought hobogobbos would let he go, and they says gobbos 'tupid he whisper to himself
...you thought, the hobgoblins would let you go... Xakroo said with some shock, before letting out a big, squawking BWAAAAAAAA!!! and falling to the ground, laughing in complete hysterics.
"I think the hobgoblins would have trussed you up or make you food for their wolves," Jarvak says.
"And now, to cave?" Jarvak asks.
"He crazy longshanks. Maybe we not keep him? He worse than stoopid.. but can't let go, he know where we are, tell hobbogobbos. We keep or kill, yes?" Kwiazy shrugs and watches the human intently.
You put Jet in charge of the captive, and she puts him to work scrubbing pots. She clearly will be strict with him and not let him get into trouble or escape, but you're not concerned that she will be cruel, either.
They you prepare to investigate the caves.
Jarvak seems to get better with his performances. He isn't scaring away the chickens anymore, at least...
Rhyna comes up to you. "Several people have just gotten sick. I think it's filth fever. Vane and I are trying to help them."
"Oh dear. We must examine. In goblin tribe sick just thrown to swamp. Of course we don't do that here. I think," Jarvak says.
Jarvak tries to examine the sick, trying to look like he knows what he's doing...
"You do that, but filth fever means rats, yesyes? We should set snares to catch them." Jynnjun gathers up a trapper or two to this end.
That's true, Jynnjun; where there's filth fever, there's rats. Xakroo says grimly as he tries to heal as many as possible.
"Rats good to eat... catch them, yes! Can feed many with rats!" Kwiazy says, not recalling that humans tend to disparage rat meat.
Although you search carefully, you don't find any evidence of rats. Judging by the symptoms of those who are sick, it's probably something they ate or drank.
Strange, filth fever should have been caused by the rats, but it seems like it's from...the food or water? Xakroo says, confusingly searching the rations to see if any are contaminated.
"Xakroo, let me help you with that." Yewleaf follows Xakroo aiding him in his search of the rations.
Jynjunn asks around to see if the infected people ate or drank something which the others didn't. "Good stream water? Not from downstream of where we wash, yes? Not oldold beer?"