Depends where those lodgings would be. Tomorbataar says, shrugging.
"They're my friends, and I've never even met you before in my life. Which I'm very happy for." Ziphora answers firmly. "Remove the flame seed, and let my friends stay, I'll come with you. Those are my terms."
I don't think we need to finalize terms yet since we could get more information first. Tormobataar says, not contradictorily.
The elf sniffs disdainfully. "Bah! I'm not here to bargain with beasts! Any of you who stay here will burn. If you would join with me, seek my servants to the northeast. Otherwise, leave or die!"
And with that, he vanishes.
"What a dick."
"Lets see how to fix this mess...anyone of you know anything about it?"Ziphora examines the flame seed. "Do you know anything, Sir Tolgrith?"
Sir Torlgrith is staring up at the glowing gem in the sky above when Ziphora addresses him. He shakes himself slightly at her question and turns to face you.
"I've heard of these things before. If he's telling the truth, the only way to disarm it without it incinerating the fort is using the matching gem... which he likely has with him, wherever he is."
"Oh d@mn s&*!. Where did that son of a b*tch go to?" Ziphora growls under her breath, cursing, as she attempts to look for any trace of the mage.
"If what he says is true - then you'd better vacate the fort while we hunt that sorry b@stard down, then trample him down under our feet. Ziphora snarls.
Ziphora votes to make the hydra body rear up, then come down with a huge thump, to show her displeasure
We know how to find him, though, and we also know that we'd likely be welcome. Would probably be a problem to steal the matching gem, though, since we're not to sneaky.
Any idea how powerful someone would have to be in order to use an orb like this? Think we could fight him? Tomorbataar looks around at the others.
Tomorbataar also votes to showcase their size and strength.
Your fort is pretty mobile, right? So it's not that big of a deal to move away?
Beachhead goes along with the vote, also.
Suddenly, an overlooked greenish head with a prominent, sturdy nose horn speaks up.
Bah! What's all this about negotiating with some eighty-pound coward of a wizard that will nae even show up to execute his threats in person? I say we go to his lair and show him a proper hydra rending! We shan't have a scrawny weakling tellin' us what to do!
Grash also totally votes for angry stomping.
You rear up, then come back down with a very satisfying . Sir Torlgrith seems a bit unnerved by this, though glad enough that your anger isn't directed at him.
"No, it's... it would take months to tear things down and set them up elsewhere, at least with the men I could spare for it." He looks nervously up at the angry red glow above. "He said a week. If you're not back in six days, we'll evacuate, and just lose anything we can't carry. For usage... well, he'd have to know magic. How much, I don't know, and we don't have any wizards with us to ask."
He did show up, and he was pretty big, I'd say
who're you? Tomorbataar looks suspiciously at the hydra body, then back up at the new head.
Eh? What? Ye don't remember me? I'm Grash Varazson! Teller of the sagas of the Many-Headed People! Beater of the war drums! How can ye not remember me?
"Urm..new heads come and go all the time, Tomorbataar," Ziphora adds uncertainly. "No matter. We got a problem and we need to fix it.You see that flame seed over there?" Ziphora points using her head. "What do you know about that thing?"
Grash looked over at the ominous floating fire thing.
So the yellow-bellied wizard left something behind did he? Didn't even have the courtesy to just blast things and be done with it. Let's see, I'm sure there's some old hydra lore about this thing...
Right, well, I just um...nevermind I'd just been afraid this would happen, is all. New heads popping up and rubbing all over everything.
War drums eh? With doom we come and all that? I can't say I've ever heard of you before, but you're uh...well...you're welcome.
Grash is pretty sure what the human said is correct, but knows nothing more.
"By daylight, we ride - hydra heads side by side,
With teeth barred, heads held high - our fangs and scales shine
Hail to thee, our hydra heads - still brave facing the threat grave
All sworn the eternal vow, the time to strike - is now"
Ziphora chants as she tries to get her brothers into the groove for WARRRRR!
"I remember you, um, Grash. Of course I do. I don't know why these others don't. They act like they don't remember me, either. Anyway, between us I'm sure we can figure out how to stop this flame bomb with the anti-flame anti-bomb. Let's go kill the elf. This is our home, not his."
Beachhead turns to Sir Tolgrith. "I'm going to want my black headband with eye holes after this."
Grash snorted at Ziphora's song. "Not bad... for a beginner. THIS is how ye get a hydra of heads in the mood fer war!"
With that, Grash summoned up a couple of large, hide-covered drums, and began rhythmically bashing his head into them, using different parts of his head for different notes.
He's actually really good at it.
"Nothing like a good war-drumming! Now lets good find something ter fight! WARROAR!
I remember you, Beachhead, but I don't remember you from before a little bit ago. The same is true for Grash, except thte little bit is less long.
Tomorbataar seems to like the drums, bobbing his head to the rhythmic bashing. But uh, we're not going to tell them we've come for war, right? Because we want to be more subtle, right?
Subtlety? You know what that its?
Tomorbataar votes to go sleep so they can be ready to go in the morning.
"We'll... try to arrange something," Sir Torlgrith responds to Beachhead's statement.
"Of course I do! Subtlety is when ye sneak up behind yer foe afore ye roar and charge and crush and trample and rend! We dinnae have to tell the scrawny wizard anything, we just smash in, tear him to pieces, and be done! I certainly won't even pretend to work for a stuck-up coward like him!"
Grash seems to get more and more fired up the more he talks about rending things.
"I second that. He hurt my friends. And no one does that and gets away with it! To waaaarrrrrr!" Ziphora gives a high pitched yowl.
Declare warrr on the wizard and March onwards to victory!
But...he definitely didn't hurt our friends. Or behave like a coward. And he might be strong enough to totally destroy us. And it's not a good time to be charging off since we'll arrive tired and sleepy. We've got a whole week before anything bad happens so it's not like we need to go charging off anyway, I'd much rather sleep for the night and head out in the morning. Tomorbataar looks around at the others for a moment, shaking his head gently.
Subtlety is clearly beyond us.
"Well, it's not like we'll make it to this guy in one day. Let's travel away from the seed-made-of-FIRE until evening, hunt, and then sleep for the night.'
Fine, we can hunt now, but I'm rather full, so we'll have to keep the food for the morning. Which will attract flies.
Can't we just sleep now and wake up early?
"Oh, wait. I just now realized that it's evening, and we have an hour or two before nightfall.
"Let's do it Tom's way."
Beachhead slithers his head around so that he's facing Tomorbataar.
"But if the fire bomb goes off tonight because the elf is a practical joker, I'm blaming you when we eventually regenerate, someday."
Do you mean thanking me because we've regenerated nice and smooth and clean?
"No, that's... that's the opposite of what I mean."
"I think we'd better march a safe distance from the flame seed, then nap down there. I don't want to be roasted."
Ziphora votes to go marching somewhere not at the epicentre before going to bed
You'd thank the wizard? That's...strange.
I don't have a problem with moving over a bit.
Tomorbataar votes to walk some distance away then sleep.
Grash simply snorted at the fastidious Tomorbataar. "I guess we could sleep before trampling... but we should march for at least an hour first! I could eve'n get a good marchin beat going if someone carries the drums! Or I could just grab the drums and thump them on things."
Grash votes march, then maybe sleep if he has to.
"You don't have hands. How are you going to grab the drums?" Ziphora looks at Grash curiously.
You start walking away from the fort, Sir Torlgrith wishing you good luck as you go.
"With my jaws, of course! Though, then I would nae be able to regale ye with tales of heroic hydras o' the past... Hmm... Mayhap ye'd prefer I do that instead of drumming? But drums are better for marching..." Grash considered the conundrum.
"Could you maybe juggle the drum in the air bouncing it off your head like a hackeysack?"
Ziphora blinks for a moment not comprehanding, "Sure, you COULD grab the drums with your jaws if you don't perforate the leather, but what are you going to beat them with?"
I think he means to beat them with the body. Probably some extra strong leather. I'd rather hear a story, though. Tomorbataar then turns his head out, to gaze across at their surroundings.
Tomorbataar votes to begin marching northeast.
Hack a sack? With an ax? He probably couldn't use an ax too well, I think.
"I'd grab them by the outside bony body part, and then beat them on heads what annoyed me. But if tale tellin' is what ye'd all prefer, I could do that instead." Grash eyed Tomorbataar during theh first sentence.
"I'd like to see you do it," Ziphora challenges Grash, with a grin on her face.
What have I ever done to annoy you? Tomorbataar asks, genuinely surprised.
"Ye were talking about sucking up to that scrawny, self-righteous wizard! We are a proud hydra, not some elf's pet!"
Grash appears to have strong feelings about this.
"Helll Yeah! Death to all scrawny wizards who hurt my friends! Freedom from Wizardry threats! We'll Huff and Puff and blow his tower down! With him in it!" Ziphora cheers on enthusiastically. The rest of the hydraheads get the impression if she had hands, she'd pump a fist into the air.
Tomorbataar shakes his head slightly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut before opening them. He speaks slowly and deliberately. I was talking about pretending to be on the wizard's side in order to later betray him, thus honoring our agreement with the humans, who at this point are still clearly unharmed and will suffer at most a loss of property. Tomorbataar raises his head slightly, looking at the others. Is there any confusion?
"Probably.
"But pretending was my idea."
Grash looks around at all these crazy heads. Maybe he'd just drum on all of them. "Bah. Whatever, it nae be important right now. What matters is that we be headed toward glorious combat! This reminds me of one of the adventures of the great Hydrasseous, when he went marchin' off to war with a nasty witch what tried to turn his heads into pigs..."
Grash then continued to recite from the Hydrassey as they marched.
Tomorbataar raises an eyebrow at Beachhead, but falls silent, listening intently to Grash. After walking for some time, Tomorbataar seems lost in thought, eyes closing from time to time.
When they arrive at a suitable spot, Tomorbataar hefts out the large four poster bed they've been carrying and prepares to sleep.