The Vudrani raises an eyebrow. "The 'Soggy River Monster?' What is that?"
"No one's sure. It's been around a while. Folks have been reporting seeing it in the swamp for the last three years or so. About as tall as a human, pale, dressed in rags, with legs that bend like a dog's and jaws that split down the middle. It's a carnivore, too, but a bit of a coward. Only attacks lone travelers or small critters. I think it lairs off in some of the old ruins around the swamp. Some folks think it's the cause of some local disappearances, but the Sheriff thinks most of them just took off for Magnimar and parts beyond."
Kayosin looks utterly lost, "Wait a minute. This soggy monster has been preying on the faceless stalkers? And the faceless stalkers, who are usually the size of a halfling or gnome, are what attacked you?"
"Yes, mostly. A normal faceless stalker would be around your size. The ones who lived...live in the marsh are my size. They're almost all evil critters, but the marsh ones tended to leave big folks alone. Soggy may have been preying on them, it preys on almost anything. However, after Soggy appeared, I saw fewer of them."
"Well, it sounds as if this monster isn't so bad if he is preying on these faceless stalkers. Should we try talking to it?"
"The faceless stalkers, the goblins, anything it can catch...I don't think it's a good creature."
He pauses, then looks at the group. "Mind you, while I appreciate you having saved be from that thing, what brought you here so conveniently?"
"Well, it sounds as if this monster isn't so bad if he is preying on these faceless stalkers. Should we try talking to it?"
Kayosin gives the small guy a dubious look, "You're welcome to try, though the description doesn't give me hope that it's gonna listen… or even understand."
"The faceless stalkers, the goblins, anything it can catch...I don't think it's a good creature."
He pauses, then looks at the group. "Mind you, while I appreciate you having saved be from that thing, what brought you here so conveniently?"
Kayo nods when the halfling's response mirrors his own, then slides his blade into its sheath as he listens to the followup question. "Sheriff Hemlock." He answers simply, then considers before elaborating. "Or at least that's one of our agendas. We've signed a contract to help with the Licktoad problem. Hemlock also asked me to look in on Warden Proudstump and Old Megus. Then we've also heard a rumor or two of some kids who've gone missing out by those old ruins." He gives a reserved grin to the halfling, "We were planning on checking in on you, anyway, our timing is just – as you say – very convenient… for us and you. Glad you're okay. You wouldn't happen to have any information on our other agendas, would you? Information is, as they say, ammunition."
"Oh yes. The Licktoads. They've been active recently. I think they raided one or more of those old wrecks around here. Something odd happened the other night, though and except for a few, they've been quiet since. Hm."
He looks at you cautiously. "I had a...friend...there. An unusual goblin I rescued from a trap a year or so ago. I called her Figit, because she's never still. She came by a few times afterward bringing me stuff she's found in the swamp, and, well, I even taught her to read. She stopped coming by a bit before all this started. I hope she's OK. I was going to go check on her when all this happened."
He pauses to acess your reaction before continuing. "Old Megus? I haven't seen her in a while as well. Maybe Soggy got her. Her hut's a ways away, along the shore, kinda."
"Why don't you folks stay the night." he looks cautiously over at Goldilocks and Tanooki."I can make something for all of you. Um, they don't eat snakes, do they?"
"I have a map, I can give you some idea of where stuff is located in the swamp. I don't have one to spare, but if you have one, too, I can mark it for you. Also. I have something, a reward for saving me.
He goes to a closet under the stairs and after rooting around a bit, pulls out a small package, opens it and shakes out a cloak. "This adds some magical protection when you need it against...various things."
The small figure turns to Kayosin. "That may be true, but I wouldn't want to rule it out. Of course if it attacks us blindly, we won't have much of a choice."
Sumisu bows at the halfling, causing Tanooki to readjust on his perch. "Thank you for your hospitality. Tanooki is a smart bird, if you ask him not to eat snakes around here, he will not. He prefers to eat mice and rats anyway.
"Oh yes. The Licktoads. They've been active recently. I think the raided one or more of those old wrecks around here. Something odd happened the other night, though and except for a few, they've been quiet since. Hm."
"How do you know they raided the ships? And when you say 'something odd happened', have you witnessed something odd? Or do you just suspect something strange happened because you've seen a change in thier behavior?"
He looks at you cautiously. "I had a...friend...there. An unusual goblin I rescued from a trap a year or so ago. I called her Figit, because she's never still. She came by a few times afterward bringing me stuff she's found in the swamp, and, well, I even taught her to read. She stopped coming by a bit before all this started. I hope she's OK. I was going to go check on her when all this happened."
That complicates things, Kayosin thinks before responding. "I certainly won't judge a person's choice to have strange friends. All of the few friends I have in this world have at least one 'strange friend' that I know of." He considers the information, "Unusual, indeed. I thought goblins were afraid of reading…. or is it writing? Either way, is there any way we can identify her on sight? It'd be good to know when we run into a potential ally."
Not to mention avoiding killing a friend of yours if we don't have to, he thinks as an afterthought.
"Pardon, but I think we have misunderstood each other. I did not see a creature such as you described. Instead, we fought two--faceless stalkers, you called them?--of human size, who were actually disguised as humans when we met. I think they had killed the humans they looked like, for we found two bodies and a boat. And some small paperwork in the boat...who has it? The warden may find it interesting."
"Then, what happened here? The creature attacked me, my snakes and I fought back, but I was bitten and...I ran, hid in my secret spot and...blacked out...I woke hearing you.""[/b]
"I do not know, unless 'Soggy' ran off when the larger faceless stalkers came. If so, there should be some sign of that here. Where were you when you were attacked?"
"I was out front, in my vegetable garden. The back garden is where I raise my snakes."
Suddenly, you hear banging on the door and a squeaky voice calling out "Waltus, help, danger, open!"
Walthus calls out Figit?" and rushes to open the door.
A goblin half rushes, half falls into the room.
Walthus takes one look and cries out "Figit! What happened to you?"
The goblin that has run in has her face scarred with marks resembling letters. Her right arm hangs limply, wrapped in crude bandages.
The other goblin, the one you've been holding, suddenly reveals it's awake and yells "You! Stupid Sribbleface! All your fault!"
Figit/Scribbleface looks over and yelps in surprise. "Fenfen? Why here? Chief not hurt friend Walthus! I make stop!"
@Scent: both smell like goblins, not faceless stalkers.
Ajerviskanis watches and listens to the unfolding scene with an obvious surprise and interest.
"This swamp is proving so much more interesting than I was led to believe it would be."
"Definitely 2 goblins and a halfling. No um..stalkers here. Not now, anyhow. I can try to..reconstruct what happened here, if..if you like.", Braydon states.
"We ought to keep those goblins apart, or we'll have a fight."
"What happened to you, little one?" Ajerviskanis asks Figit. "Your friend Walthus was beset by monsters. Were you as well?"
Fibek talks to Scribbleface.
"We are trying to help everyone here. The goblin race is largely misunderstood. Erastil reaches his hand to all."
Figit snorts. "Monsters, yes. Tribe. I find nice stuff in land ship...wrrrecks...tubes and fire sticks and explody things. Run from waking bones, but get. Save some for friend Walthus. Tribe find. Mark face, drive out. Hide from lots-legs-eats-goblin-babies. See tribe send some to other wreck. Not know Vorka live in that land ship. Big fight, land ship burn, Vorka run...nearly catch...burn my arm. Then tribe have big party, and send more...lots of tribe...go to cave, get big, big box. Big party again, shoot explody fire things. Try get Walthus, but Soggy monster hunting more. Then changy monster come to tribe, talk to chief. Send some, same who fight Vorka, to inland with them. Then...I get past monsters, try get Walthus, and tribe shoot off all explody things. Not know why."
All of this is in a rapid fire pace and she finally stops for a breath.
"Oh! Almost forget! Come here. See metal longshanks come, drag Walthus. I follow, find way to help, but not Walthus. Is changy monster. It tell metal longshanks Walthus still in hut, hurt, easy catch. They coming back!"
She looks at all of you consideringly. "Lots longshanks here. Look tough, make metal ones leave Walthus alone?"
"Metal longshanks? You mean a human in armor? Was it bigger or smaller than a man?"
"Big folk, longsha..human size. Yes, metal suit...armor."
He looks to the group, "So, we've got some armored fellow working with a Soggy skinwalker... and they're coming this way. Sounds like a fine time to set an ambush."
"I'm..I'm thinking from what she said, that..the armored people dragged away what they thought was Walthus, but which was one..one of those faceless stalkers. But why would one be..pretending to be you, Walthus?"
Braydon briefly examines the cloak, then turns to Walthus and says, "Thank you for your gift, but if I'm not..not mistaken, we're not done earning it. If they find..they've got the wrong person, they'll be back, and soon."
Braydon finishes tending Walthus's wounds, and heads outside to examine the scene.
"Did they come by boat? We met no one on the road."
Tracking [survival]:
The tracks outside are confused, but you make out several different footprints, both small and large. They go down to the shore where you see a larger mark, much like the mark where the fishermen's boat was.
Inside, Walthus says "It probably wanted my house. If it could pass as me it could prey on folks for quite a while. "
The marks on Walthus resemble those on the fishermen, though smaller.
"It may also have wanted the reward, yes?"
"Such beasts care only for food and inflicting pain, I say. The oldest motives are the easiest to discern, yes?
Walthus looks startled, then sighs. "It would have had to know about it first."
"Well, let us hole up here for the night. Scout the area well. Send out hourly patrols and keep watch. In the morning, we will act aggressively."
"That sounds like a fine plan."
Sumisu takes great interest in the mark, taking a copy of it in his notes. He studies it and references it with the rest of his notes.
"It looks like they came by boat, and are likely to return that way as well. Armor and bogs..don't mix well."
Braydon looks at the halfling's house, and wonders if this party would even come close to all fitting inside.
"Are..are we going to fight these slavers, if they come back? I'd like to know what..what the consensus is. I would never consider turning Walthus over to them. People aren't property."
"Slavery may be legal in Cheliax, but crossing the border under arms is not. I will fight."
With the sun's rise comes sounds from the front of the house as Walthus' front door is kicked in. Three armored figures burst into the room.
Ajerviskanis:
Braydon:
Fibek:
Goldilocks:
Ikshvaku:
Kayosin:
Straehan:
Sumisu:
Volorog:
HK Armiger x2:
HK Commander:
Ajerviskanis=1, Braydon=2, Fibek=3, Goldilocks=4, Ikshvaku=5, Kayosin=6, Straehan=7, Sumisu=8, Walthus=9, Figit=10
Volorog: vs Fibek
HK A1: vs Straehan
HK A 2: vs Figit
HK C: vs Vak
Sumisu weaves through the sudden crowd. Trying to spot the leader, he casts a spell while Tanooki flutters to a corner of the room.
Cooking (for dinner):
Dinner is a rather delightful stew made from local fish and a day's worth of elven rations.
Ikshvaku starts out next to the stairs, doing stretches to work out the kinks from sleeping in armor.
Ajerviskanis will likely be at meditation outside as well, in the morning.
Those of you outside see/smell the group approach, as plate in this area is not stealthy at all.
Two of the would-be slavers, one armored human-sized one and a small figure resembling Walthus, slip around to the back, where the larger one will attempt to boost the small figure over the wall.
A pink, twitching nose and bunch of whiskers poke out of the sleeping bag, enticed by the strange smells. The clanking of armor causes the nose to pull back inside.
The fair elf is eating breakfast with his finicky cat inside.
Ajer: out front, or in the snake garden?
out front
Straehan is in the midst of preparing another culinary triumph using the sex organs from the giant leech killed yesterday, skillet in hand, when the armed man comes bursting through the door to attack him. Luckily, his pan serves as a better shield than a meal provider.
Two of the attackers are out front, while two of them seem to have climbed the wall and burst in from the rear (the ones attacking Fibek and Straehan. One of the ones bursting in from the front casually swats aside Figit as she leaps on him from the stairs.
They do not appear to be in the mood for conversation.
Round 1:
Braydon: armors up, manifests weapon
Kayosin
Volorog: attacks Fibek
HK C: attacks Vak
Ajer
Goldilocks
Sumisu
Straehan
HK A1: attacks Straehan
HK A2: attacks Figit
Vak
Fibek
Kayosin draws and strikes with his wakizashi at the armored figure that just struck down Figit.
The miniscule cook shakes his pan at his armed and armored attacker, looking mildly vexed. "HEY! I'm trying to COOK here!" Then he slides in, twists left to spang his pan high off the fighter's armor before quickly reversing direction and slamming the edge of the pan against the opposing knee with a crack. "Now, sod off before I cook you in that steel shell!"
MODS: FOB
HIT #1:
DAM:
HIT #2:
DAM:
Flare (1):
Prestidigitation (1):
Dancing Lights (1):
Elemental Ray (7):
Elemental Fist (1):
Produce Flame (1):
1st Spells (4):
Spell Effects: None
You grabbing my elf.
The cat jumps after the armored figure, trying to hit it while it has a hold of the elf.
Round 1
Fibek struggles to escape from the grapple.