-Posted with Wayfinder
The retort of Xerexis' firearm is startling, though most think it to be an echo of thunder from Teena's lightning bolt. Conn grasps his side, and stumbles, nearly falling, but grits his teeth and takes another step towards the sylph, who weaves more magic and summons another lightning bolt.
As the flash of light from the powerful spell fades Conn Conan lies face up in the yard, dead eyes staring at the sky.
"CONAN!" Madugh roars and tries to break through his companions, but is held back then wrestled to the ground.
Myhm turns back with a few steps towards the other wildermen, ready for another round.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I apologize for that display, but I'm standing around while one of my squad gets chopped to pieces.". Slowly looking at the others, she moves toward the downed Druid, preparing to administer some healing to get him back on his feet again.
Madugh still shouts for his fallen friend as Oleg moves to stand before Myhm, holding out his hands. "That's enough Myhm, no more! Too much blood already spilled here today!"
The Vagabond stumbles away from the table, putting some distance between the dogpile on Madugh and the bodies in the yard. "Arh.. think ya damaged my ears. Ringin something terrible, they are."
After seething for a few more moments, Myhm finally calms down with a final grimace at Madugh. Looming over Troxell, he hands Teena a liquid vial.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Teena takes the potion and administers it to Troxell.
CMW
After seeing Troxell to his feet, she turns toward the lumbering Mhym. "So what's your story, Myhm? You need to earn some money? I could use someone with your ... Strength."
Madugh's cries continue as Troxell is healed and Myhm recovers. Just as he's about to break free again the wildlander he had sent to the stables steps up behind him and knocks the man senseless with a sap to temple. Once he's down the old wildlander steps towards Troxell, Teena, and Myhm.
"I'm Cosgrach Shaw of Camrigg. These are men on my caravan. Now one's dead."
"This is The Ent." Oleg interrupts with a scowl. "He's also called Myhm, the Lord's Brute. Your men started a fight with a personal friend of the Baron."
Shaw considers Oleg's words, and lets out an annoyed breath. "I knew one day Madugh'd bark up the wrong tree. This was the Wildland Coast, you'd be payin for killin the lad. You see, Conn Conan was Madugh's kin, so he won't let this go. I got business here for another day or so and I'd prefer not to keep him tied to a tree." He turns to follow as the other wildlanders drag Madugh and Conn Conan's body out of the fort. "You got business elsewhere, you should get to it."
As Troxell awakens, he startles and crawls away briefly from the group, but his senses recover quickly and he takes a long confused look around until his eyes lay on his would-be murderer meeting death instead of him. The smug look on his face is washed away by the threat of violence in the future from this same group.
"Thank you..." He whispers to his new companions as he walks away from the group to heal himself a distance from the angry wildlanders.
"I go find Brue. He followed Doven. Doven a bandid friend." Myhm says to Teena, then looks at the darkening bruises and scrapes, "First need medicine.
"Wait a moment." Oleg says, observing Troxell and Myhm tending to wounds. "I have a some things in the post that you should take." The gruff trader walks back to the main structure, pausing for a moment to scratch his head and sigh at the still smoking ruin of the shed blasted twice by Teena's lighting. A minute later he returns with a few odd flasks. Two seem to be re-purposed ceramic perfume bottles, labeled crudely with the common symbol for healing, while two more are fine glass vials stamped with a flowing seal and stoppered with a waxed cork. "These two are healing potions." He explains, indicating the ceramic bottles. "These are magical restorations, useful for curing other conditions, such as fatigue or certain magical maladies I'm told."
"Ah, I recognize the writing on the two exquisite bottles. Those are to restore any damage you take more than a few bruises or bumps. ".
"Well Myhm, you seem to be in luck. Our newly formed little group intends on looking for that same group, if you'd like to tag along. We'll pay you for helping."
"Let Myhm keep the potions, he'll need them if I get waylaid like that again." The half-elf suggests, guard still up as Xerexis challenges the wildlander group.
He then uses his personal Wand on himself and Myhm.
Myhm takes the medicines from outpost master with a thankful nod. "Myhm go now, Oleg."
"Perhaps buying horses would be the better plan? I'm fast, but they are even faster. If the group wants, I'd be willing to spend for the horses out of the 500 gold I have to offer you."
Troxell almost heals Myhm the rest of the way.
"I have not the money nor the real need for a horse, but if the group prefers I'll take one out of the reward money. I suggest we travel north on the paths, it's the quickest way and I'm quite comfortable navigating the wilderness."
Teena walks up to Oleg. "You have horses for sale here? And how about an elephant for big Mhym over there," she laughs.
"I sell horses on behalf of the Order of the Shield," Oleg says, then points out the gates. "They operate that corral outside the Post. Not sure they haven anything big enough for the Ent though. Would you like a simple horse trained for riding or one trained for combat? The Feralwood can be a dangerous place."
"I defer to your knowledge about the types of animals we need. Horses are outside of my area of expertise."
Myhm hunkers down against the side the staples; his gear already packed before the journey to the outpost.
Across the Old Empire Road from Oleg's Trading Post is a new, but small wooden structure with a gated corral behind it. There you meet a mixed-blood Ascari man named Tomin Hanvaki. Though only a squire in the Order of the Shield, Tomin handles purchasing, stabling, and selling horses trained by himself and other more experienced cavaliers of the Order to support its growing presence in the region. He currently has 8 horses available.
3 light riding horses 75gp
2 light horses trained for combat 110gp
2 heavy riding horses 200gp
1 heavy horse trained for combat 300gp
"I don't need a combat trained horse. It'd be really hard to cast spells on the back of it, so a regular one would be fine for me, I believe."
"I mean absolutely no offense, but please allow me to inspect the horses for quality before we purchase any. This way, I can choose the best for our needs." Troxell asks, examining the light horses available if allowed. "If they are suitable, I won't need a combat trained one."
"Of course." Tomin nods to Troxell. "The Order collects only the best horses, treats them well, and trains them in the style passed down by the elven knights of Alandril. I am confident you will like what you see."
Troxell examines the horses and believes them to be well-handled and healthy. Troxell and Teena end up with two Syracan blue roans called Nightshy and Starbloom, and Xerexis finds himself with a battle-trained Aradhellan dun courser called Riddle. Saddles cost another 30 gold, but Tomin throws in a few bags of feed for free.
By mid-day you are headed north from Oleg’s Trading Post, following the remains of an old road, long fallen to disuse and weeds, but still helpful in this area. Shortly before twilight you pass the hut of a local hermit called Bokken who supplies minor potions for Oleg to sell at his post. From there you leave the road and travel west for a short time before making camp in a light wooded area. The next day you enter some hills, and follow a stream upriver to Bixen’s Grotto, a small village of gnomes named after the brewer Bixen who lives there. Bixen knows Myhm personally and offers a soft bed of grass next to his tree for you and your horses, as well as some excellent ale and wine with a dinner of beets, bread, and cheese.
Leaving Bixen's Grotto you cross a small plain, enter another wooded area, and make your way to the Shalm’s Tree, a landmark in the area bearing the wood-shaped face and symbol of the God revered by druids and devotees of nature. It is a safe place to camp, and you spend a very peaceful night with other travelers on pilgrimage to the nearby Temple of the Old Gods.
Just before noon on the fourth day out from Oleg's you cross into the territory of the Sootscales, a tribe of Kobolds made into allies by the Baron a year past. There, you come across a small kobold hunting party on the trail. From a position on large rocks overseeing the trail, they don’t give the friendliest greeting, jabbering angrily at Myhm in draconic.
Teena immediately takes up with her small stallion. "Starbloom, you are such a handsome fellow," she purrs to him when she first greets him. If an apple tree presented itself during the travels, she would have collected several of them in her bag to use at treats for the horse when the group took a rest.
"Does anyone understand them? I don't speak their tongue," Teena whispers tot he rest of the group, upon spotting the kobolds.
Troxell bonds quickly with Nightshy because, like, that's what Druids do. He also gives his approval to Teena when she treats her horse well.
As the group travels, the Half-Elf tends to have an intensity in his expression, as if trying to gain an intuitive understanding of everything he experiences in the forest.
When they meet the kobolds, Troxell shakes his head at Teena's question, then cocks an inquisitive eyebrow at Myhm, "Are we trespassing or did you do something to anger them in the past?"
He then tries to hail the kobolds in Sylvan, then Druidic, in the hopes one of them were multilingual.
The kobolds continue to chitter and hiss in draconic, but Troxell is able to understand a few words in common and sylvan. Unfortunately, most of them are childlike swear words, but it's enough for Troxell to understand the following.
"Chitter hiss stupid fat hiss chitter human chitter caves chitter hiss f@*king spiders!"
"From what I gather, they're agitated by some spiders in a cave. I think they may blame Myhm for them, I'm unsure." Troxell tries to translate for the group.
Out of curiosity, he then asks the kobolds in both Common and Sylvan, "Where is the spider cave?"
"Spiders? Should we be diverted from our mission for extermination duties?"
"Not me - Brue.", Myhm stops along the trail and looks at the kobold group ahead then shakes his head. "Brue calls them friends and stay with them. Myhm calls them ugly lizards. Red haired lord says they're nice."
"Would you think looking into their problem would help us find Brue?" Troxell asks Myhm slowly, then addresses the rest of the group, "I'm interested in their problem, but I'm fine continuing on if the rest of you want to keep moving."
Teena stops short when Brue's name was mentioned. "Perhaps there's a clue Brue might have left behind. Perhaps a short diversion wouldn't hurt anything."
Myhm nods to the idea of investigating the kobolds' plight.
The kobolds usher your group away from the trail you have been following, taking you northeast into a small range of hills. A couple hours later you come to cave opening guarded by two more kobolds crouched just inside. The initial passages are small, and Myhm has to crawl through them, but they soon open into a larger area carved out as a sort of audience chamber that also doubles as a common area for the kobolds. Their you meet Chief Sootscale, a black-skinned kobold wearing scale armor and a feathered headdress. Sitting on a chair made from leather and animal horns, he gestures angrily at your group, growling and hissing in draconic.
"Chief Sootscale is angry with softskins." Another kobold translates from nearby. He also wears armor, but fashioned from red and orange leather, overlapping to mimic scales as well. He seems to know Myhm, and directs his next words to the others in your party. "I am Mikmik, the Firejumper!" He puffs out his chest to appear tough, but doesn't really look all that intimidating. "I talk your language. Speak for you. Big Myhm's brother cause problems, open up nasty spider nest in riverside caves."
"Well met, Mikmik the Firejumper. We are interested in assisting your tribe in this matter, but first, could you give us all the details of what happened?" Troxell requests in a stoic manner.
"Please, tell us what the brother did. Perhaps we can figure a way to make the King less angry."
And find a clue to his whereabouts...
Mikmik translates quickly for his chief, and receives a flurry of draconic from the chief in return. He nods multiple times before turning back to your party. "Ox come here. looking for Dovan and other men. They... visited... with Sootscales sometimes. Not see them for two moons though. They stay in riverside caves. Ox go there, entrance collapse, now big spiders crawling around Sootscale water!"
SENSE MOTIVE
Myhm bends down and jams a meaty correcting finger at the kobold, "Brue."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"He means no offense, Lord Myhm, no need to intimidate him." Troxell says gently, perhaps not wanting things to become unfriendly in a cave swarming with kobolds.
He then directs some questions back to Mikmik, "What were their dealings with your Chieftain and what happened to cause the cave entrance to collapse?"
Mikmik's eyes go wide when Myhm looms over him, then relax a little when Troxell intervenes, but when the half-elf presses for information about the Chieftain's dealings with the Brigand's Brigade, the kobold darts a nervous look at his leader and becomes nervous again.
"Uhh... no dealings. Sootscale let men use Riverside Caves sometimes. That all! Don't know what cause cave-in, but spiders are big problem. Kobolds call them Kurtle-crawlers. Get bit, poison kill you before you can say Kurtlemak!"