"Your alternatives are not so. You were hired to kill goblins. To go into their homes and slay them. It is not a pretty job. Not nice job. Maybe it is job you no longer want. But don't delude yourself into believing it is not the job you took."
With those words, Jia sighs and reaches down to break the goblin's neck.
"No, you are right... I cannot, but these creatures are not displaying the behaviour I would have expected of them, I have known plenty of humans, including ourselves who have behaved as badly, worse even and I could not countenance their murder. I am sorry I don't think I can continue with this task under its current parameters. I'll seek out this Proudfoot as best I can and try to see if some better solution can be reached, but at the moment I am deeply ashamed of this whole venture," Terwin says, shaking his head sadly.
"Go?" Shrug. "Stay?" Shrug. "Go or stay, know that town and swamp at war. In war the other side need not be evil spirits to want you dead. If this goblin had returned to his people, then it not just we in danger -- town too. For then the swamp knows that town is willing to send people into swamp to end them. What do they do in response? Fire in the night. Town burns."
"Its the difference between right and wrong. Your course may be the right one, but I have not given up on finding an alternative that is far more palatable. If it needs to be done it needs to be done, but I am not convinced it does."
"It is difference between survival and death."
She works efficiently as she talks two more ears go into the salt.
"No, I really don't think it is, or at least I am not convinced it is yet. If that were true I could swallow my bile and commit genocide, but I will take some convincing. Anyway, the fact remains I am going to seek out Proudfoot, I hope you will accompany me, it was suggested we do so by our employer afterall."
He relaxes his bowstring when he sees Jia's action. "It may not be the action we would prefer, but it the one that is necessary...and it is the job we have come to do."
"I do not argue that, but if you find the task you have been hired for is evil you should surely desist from it. I will continue as long as my conscience allows, but I am close to my limit. So what is the next step?"
"Sadly, I do not see any other option as tenable. To release the goblin would have endangered all. Holding him is a risk or burden to whomever does so, and we cannot take him back to town to simply be killed by the authorities there." He sighs and hangs head. "What a world."
"Is it evil to go to war against the enemy of your community? This job about eliminating goblins and goblin capacity to harm the town."
"I am not sure they are the real enemy, the real enemy is more likely this mind controlling goblin to my mind. There has been relative peace for many years I believe? But we will not learn any more here, let's press on."
Navarro, hanging by his knees from the branch, frowned at the conversation.
"Well, I can't say it's a real pleasure to be on an extermination job, but they are murderous vermin and have to be dealt with."
He rubs his chin, thinking.
"You know, the sheriff did say they were recent attacks, which must make them something more than buisiness as usual. At the risk of taking money out of our pockets, maybe there is a reason we could address that doesn't reqire extermination?
"We should talk to that Proudfood fellow; he lives near the swamp. Hopefully he will have heard something useful."
Without any other reason to speak, Cyrus keeps quiet.
Cyrus would have liked directions and perhaps keep the goblin as a pet or a slave, at least until he gets bored of it and kills it, but maybe he can still bring its head along for a while.
The man contemplates the head before deciding that it doesn't look too nice without its ears.
The party continues forward, leaving the dead body of the final goblin slumped on the ground (much to Terwin's chagrin). The rest of the day passes rather uneventfully—you cross two more bridges, but neither pose the threat of the first.
However, at various points throughout the march through the swamp, Terwin, Orren, and Chance each notice signs of another group of travelers roaming through Brinestump—humanoid footprints, broken arrow shafts, and most obviously the remains of a campfire. The tracks never last long (as if they have been intentionally hidden), so they cannot be followed.
As evening falls, the muddy trail leads up to a swampy lagoon. The open ocean is visible just beyond these shallow waters, while an old two-story building, its walls soggy with moss and its roof sagging with age, sits on the lagoon's eastern (near) shore.
"I suppose we check it out, it seems more habitable than anything else we've seen thus far," Terwin says, "not that that is saying much."
Wilberforce - who has been sulking over his inability to even mildly inconvenience a single goblin, and who may or may not have pooped on their corpses - flies over ahead of the group carefully scanning for hidden dangers from above.
"You are not wrong in that."
"Agreed, though we don't seem to be the only group out here. Someone may have already occupied this structure." He eyes the dilapidated building with trepidation. "Hm, it's preferable to sleeping in the mud, at least."
Wilberforce swoops around the building before flying back to report. He says that he sees no lights on in the small structure, but did notice some movement inside.
"No lights, but some buggers are jiggerin' about in there. I'd have taken them out, but I've got a cramp in my wing..." Wilberforce says landing on Terwin's shoulder.
"Hmmm, company then. I suppose our best plan is to take them by surprise, I've got a spell that can make someone as big as an ogre if anyone is interested? Cyrus maybe? Or I suppose I could try using ghost sound to draw them out?"
"Ooo! I vote Ghost Sound!"
"They may not be hostile. We could try the diplomatic approach. Though drawing some of them out first would allow us to set up a contingency plan."
"We could knock."
"We could, but would that not negate our potential advantage and leave them in a fortified position? If we draw them out and they seem friendly we can always try talking if it seems appropriate," Terwin responds, tapping a finger against his chin as he ponders the situation.
"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, as they say."
"I will not condone breaking into a house of someone we know nothing about. I agree...knocking is the best plan. There is no reason not to be prepared, as Orren says, but we can not just break in." He says as he looks to the rest of them and back to the two-story house.
"Surely drawing them out with ghost sound would not be breaking into a house? If they come out and are friendly no harm done, if they are not we are set up to our advantage and can take them down more easily," Terwin says,
"If we knock on the door and they attack then we are bottle necked, which means only one of us can fight. Or they can simply fortify, if I make a howling noise like an animal in pain with my spell, annoying enough that they come out to hut it up, then we can get a look at them before deciding on a plan. If they don't respond that might tell us something to. But if one of you wants to knock I won't stop you, I just don't think its prudent - especially for the knocker."
"I can certainly accept the ghost sound, but we have no reason to assume that who is within is out to do us harm. They could have simply seen a number of armed individuals that they do not know walking about and are keeping quiet."
Jia Li sighs, and approaches the house. "Hello? Who in there?"
Orren raps his fingers on his staff, thinking. "Hmm.. I think it's more likely whomever is inside are opportunistic occupants like oursel-- oh." He notices Jai Li's approach and watches the scene unfold.
After a moment, he approaches as well.
Terwin shrugs, and follows,
"Well let's hope this is Master Proudfoot's residence. But honestly something moving around in the darkness does not imply halfling to me. Just... Baffling."
"If we find something distasteful, then that will be handled...easily...by my mind. If we do not, then perhaps we find exactly who we are looking for," Chance says with a quick shrug as he follows up behind Jia.
"Well that's true, but you can use the same logic to justify kicking a wall, does not make it a good idea," Terwin says, biting his nails as he eyes the hut anxiously.
Jia hears some movement toward the door after she knocks, but right when it's about to reach the door, it stops and moves away. Everyone can see a few candles flicker to life through the windows, though they are dirty enough that they can't be seen through.
The movement once again sounds like it's heading toward the door, and the door swings open, revealing a brown-haired, brown-eyed halfling who looks as if he's just woken up—tired and potentially in pain.
"Yes? What do you want?"
"Master Proudfoot? Sheriff Hemlock sent us to ask for some help with our task at hand. Do you think you might be able to talk to us a bit? Chance says as he relaxes ever so slightly.
The halfling hesitates for a moment, still seemingly trying to rouse himself from sleep.
"Master Proudfoot, yes. I...I'm not sure—it is rather late, and my home is quite a mess. Perhaps it would be better for you not to come in. I do not mean to be rude, of course, it's just that I'm not sure how much help I can be."
"It is your home, it is not expected that you entertain us. You had no idea we would be coming to pay you a visit, but I am sure you can be of assistance, since the Sheriff sent us your way. We need to know about the local goblins..."
"Ahh, the goblins. Pesky buggers, aren't they? What can I tell you about them? Dangerous, they are."
Terwin casts light, so he can get a proper look at the halfling - and try to peek past into the hut. If you are just waking up what was moving around in the dark?
Cyrus remains at the back of the group, observing again.
[dice=Sense Motive (Hunch)]1d20+4[/dice]
"Did we wake you up Master Proudfoot?" Terwin asks.
"Wake me? Yes, yes. It's quite late, of course, and it was a very long day; there was a giant snake on my land that I had to run off. Quite an ordeal, that was."
"Ah, in that case, Wilberforce do the honours please," the parrot streaks past the halfling into the hut,
"Please come out Master Proudfoot, there was something moving around in your home in the darkness, but we'll find it and deal with whatever it is. Oh, and is there any chance you are being mind controlled if so try to break the hold, martial your will!"
Sense Motive:
Perception:
Initiative:
As Wilberforce zooms by the halfling, a transformation happens. With a ripple, the halfling transforms into a wrinkled, hunch-backed humanoid creature with mottled brown and red flesh and a spherical head with no true face—only a crooked slit from which a tongue lashes out.
Depending on how high your roll surpasses the DC, I can give you more information.
Terwin steps up besides Jia, a look of astonishment upon his face, his suspicions having been of a wholly different nature. And snatches a handful of coloured sand from his pouch hurling it at the creature. The sand transforms into a spray of scintillating colours as it envelops the bizarre creature.
"Argh, gods what are you? Change back!"
Wilberforce swoops out of the way, seeing Terwin beginning to cast.
2 HD or less: The creature is unconscious, blinded, and stunned for 2d4 rounds, then blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, and then stunned for 1 round. (Only living creatures are knocked unconscious.)
3 or 4 HD: The creature is blinded and stunned for 1d4 rounds, then stunned for 1 round.
5 or more HD: The creature is stunned for 1 round.
Sightless creatures are not affected by color spray.
Terwin withdraws to give those better suited to combat the chance to get stuck in.