Whether the Bugbear's understand Vaundour they seem puzzled by his overly friendly manner. They turn their eyes towards Soren and the word Cardinal seems to give them pause.
As Grumble jumps off of the boat the Bugbear's raise their weapons and step forward to mount a charge. That is until Grumble changes to reveal his true form.
This is the final act that sets them on their heels they pause and the smallest of them responds,
For a few minutes the two groups have a tense staring contest. More of the Bugbears begin to drift towards the docks as if sensing not a battle, at least something of importance will take place with the arrival of the pinkskins.
Soon enough a lumbering brute that towers over all of the others of his kind arrives at the docks pushing past the warriors. He steps onto the dock and looks at the ship as well as all of you on it. Without question, this one is a paragon of his race, standing over 8' tall with muscles that even his hairy hide cannot disguise. His gaze then settles on Grumble. He grins and stomps forward, he speaks in common so fluent it is hard to even match his voice with his appearance, "When you did not return I feared the worst. Welcome home my friend!"
He clasps Grumble on the shoulder so hard that even he takes a step to the side. He turns to the assembled crowd who appear ready (and able!) to storm the ship and eat all of you for lunch, "These humans are my guests. I will deal with anyone who harms them. They are our allies! Those of you who do not remember Grumble, mark his appearance for he is one of us!”
He then turns back to Grumble, "Let's see what you and the Cardinal have brought me eh?"
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Grumblejack grinned, returning the bugbear's clasp on the shoulder. "I do not think you will be disappointed, Chief. We bring steel. More than enough to outfit your warriors."
He looked up at his fellows and pulled his pentacle holy symbol from beneath his clothing, letting it sit on his chest. "We can show our allegiances openly here." he said to the others. "Wear your marks proudly. This is Sakkarot the Fire-Axe! He is chieftain here."
He turned back to Sakkarot, "The ones wearing the Mark of Asmodeus are my companions, the Ninth Knot of Nessus."
He continued in Goblin.
Dropping his guise, Lothyrins Mitra robes slowly fade away as they are replace by colors commonly found on clerics of Asmodeus. He pulls his pentacle symbol out from the cloak displaying it proudly on his chest. "Finally, free to drop that wretched disguise and assume my true colors.
Quickly pulling out the pendant so that it visible as she move to get out the boat. Finally get to be on land. Monsters and there but no more damned boat.
"That sounds like a wonderful I idea Vaundour."
Nate still looks pretty nervous at the big gathering, even more so than normal. These are the kinds of creatures he marched against during his time in the military. Hopefully none of them recognized him...
At Grumble's cue he quietly takes out his holy symbol.
Aurex gives a curious glance at Grumble, but takes out his holy symbol. He glances across the sea of enemies and restrains his malice. Even in his true form, this is too much for him. And that big one...he is more than he seems.
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Alice stands still, not moving her hands. There is movement in her clothes, and a dark crimson viper moves up out of the neck of her dress, a necklace with the five pointed star of Asmodeus tied arounds its body. It drapes itself around her neck, forming a living necklace.
Sakkrot climbs aboard the ship the Captain grins at him as if the back furred bugbear is an ally! He steps near an opened crate he frowns a bit but pulls out an axe with the brand of a fire upon it and throws it off of the ship and onto the docks.
One of the warriors that threatened you earlier drops his club and snatches the axe out of the air. Sakkrot laughs, "Behold, they bring us steel!" The camp of monsters waiting on bated breath unleash a terrifying chorus of growls and cheers. He turns to the Captain placing a hand upon his shoulder, "You have shown great courage and skill bringing your vessel through the treacherous waters of the north. I am my people would honored to have you and your crew for dinner".
Captain Odenkirk nods, "Indeed Sakkrot, it would be our pleasure but we still need to bring the Cardinal's men to Aldencross and it would be best to get a move on and arrive under cover of darkness. Have your men unload the ship that we may leave more quickly".
"We are not going anywhere until after we feast." Grumblejack said with a toothy grin. "You cheated me out of one meal already, 'Kirk. You ain't doing it again."
Soren follows the other off the boat, letting the disguise of her magical circlet fall to the wayside. She brushes a lock of hair out of her face, and tilts her head towards the bugbears as she speaks to Odenkirk. "The ogre's right, Odenkirk. Not to mention, I'd think your men would rather like to have a real meal in their stomachs after the hard tack we've been eating for the last few weeks. We've gotten some fresh meat recently, but I'm sure we could manage something a little more filling." She looks back to the ship, with the sailors still onboard. "Come, give them a bit of leisure time on land. There's not much of a way for them to get in trouble, provided they don't go picking fights."
The first mate turns to Odenkirk, "Shore leave Captain, the Tiefling is right, one meal can't hurt and we'll be on the open sea with hard tack for weeks, the seal's all run out!"
Odenkirk frowns at his mate, "You all go get some grub, I will supervise the unloading of the ship".
With suspicious glares at the Bugbears vast numbers the six members left of the crew step off and follow Sakkarot's elite to what appears to be the largest campfire nearby.
As they step away several of the bugbears begin to offload the crates of weapons using a hand off method and making short work of it.
Once the Bugbears complete unloading the ship they too move to join the festivities. Captain Odenkirk looks to you all, "While your half-ogre is safe here, the rest of us are not. I'll stay on the ship. The rest of you retrieve my men so they don't get too drunk or into fights they can't win. We'll pull out once you all return. Tonight I should be able to get you across the lake despite the ice that may lay unseen beneath the water".
'This man nearly killed Grumble without a thought, after quite nearly being cut in half... this isn't a fight I'd like to have, if I can help it.'
As Vandour goes to leave the boat, Soren brushes past him and speaks under her breath. "We will find a way to deal with the Captain... make sure none of his men return to this ship alive." She then gives him a hearty grin and claps him on the shoulder, but her eyes are still devoid of mirth. "Enjoy yourself, Vandour. We'll remain with the Captain for now, drink enough for the lot of us." Soren then gives a slight nod, and lets the half-drow go on his way. She then approaches the captain, her stride still confident and self-assured despite their momentous task. "Captain Odenkirk, do you not wish to rest and relax with your men? Truly, you have earned it, escorting us this far in service to the Cardinal. We could watch the ship in your absence, ensure no harm comes to the Frosthamar while you enjoy the spoils you're owed."
The Captain shakes his head, "Better that we all stay here. Within an hour we push off whether my crew or your half breed friend has returned. The Chief said he would like to have us not invite us for dinner. I am not sure there is a difference and I don't want to find out what that might be if there is. I can find another crew I cannot raise myself from the dead".
He begins to get the ship ready to cast off once again.
"Captain, if you will not partake in some relaxation, at least do yourself a favor and take some well-deserved rest. You have steered us through these waters tirelessly over this voyage, and at last we have a chance to rest." She gives him a gentle smile, placing a hand on his arm. "I understand your concerns about these... monsters, but I'm sure it's unfounded. Grumblejack is bestial, yes--as you've already learned--but he is bound to us by the might of Asmodeus. No harm will come to your men, not as long as he remains amongst the revelry. This Fire-Axe has forged a deal with the Cardinal and seen it upheld, I would doubt he would double-cross us." She sighs, withdrawing her hand and folding her arms across her chest. "The lot of us are more than capable of watching the ship for an hour or so, and you surely need some sleep. We will wake you when the revelry is done and we might finish this voyage." She looks over to Odenkirk with a caring look, one so well crafted that even her companions might believe it to be genuine, even if only for a moment. "Please, Captain. Get some rest."
Perception .
Odenkirk pauses at his duties and turns to Soren his eyes a bit droopy. "Very well. An hour will be helpful. Keep your eyes and ears vigilant. Once the hour is upon us, wake me".
"Of course, Captain. I'll make sure the others know we are to guard the ship while you rest," she says, flashing the man a slight smile. As he lies down to slumber, she goes around to the others, making a show of informing them that they'll be watching the ship while the captain speaks. While her hand movements and mannerisms suggest that, her speech is something else entirely. "The captain's men will die during the festivities, cut down by Sakkarot's bugbears and roasted for their meat. Odenkirk... has been convinced that he needs rest. As we speak, the man is settling in to sleep for an hour or so, while we are supposedly watching the ship. Once he has drifted off, I'll plant the barrel of my pistol between his eyes and put him down." She looks over to him, cracking her knuckles. "One of you may do it if it pleases you, but if not I will put an end to him."
Grumble waited until he heard the thundercrack of Soren's pistol, then waited to see if he heard more violence after. A moment later when all was quiet from the ship, he grinned walked back up the plank to retrieve the Captain's body.
Watching Soren and the Captain start talking but unable to really focus on it. Let me out just in case things do not go according to plan. Stepping away from the group for a few minuets and walking over to the railing. Staring out at the sky and slowly feeling the comforting presence pull itself out of her mind.
Returning back to the others once that is done just before Soren returns. Shaking her head, "No I am sure you would be better for this."
The villains wait patiently for the Captain to fall asleep. Soon enough Soren pads over to the old sea butcher and gives him his comeuppance in the form of a single shot ringing in the night echoing loudly off of the water.
Grumble strips him of his gear and carries his now naked form to the campfires in the distance.
As you arrive with the crew who take seats near the Fire Axe's main tent you see that the feast is a brutal, savage affair. As you suspected it might be. Bugbears fight each other with all manner of monsters in attendance. You have no doubt that if you were not wearing the pendant of Asmodeus you would have already been attacked and slain. Your presence keeps the creatures away from the crew, well except for the lowly Goblins who begin to ply the crew with ale.
The highlight of the party is when a great shaggy dire boar captured from the northern woods is brought in shackles. One ton of angry pig is led in by a dozen bugbears who drag the beast before Sakkarot. Sakkarot beheads the already wounded animal in one mighty stroke with his fire axe. The beast is then spitted and roasted in a great open pit.
Some meat of questionable origin is served to the hungry crew who do not hesitate to tear into it. No surprise, these humans are the same sort of uncouth barbarians that the Bugbears are, simply less hairy.
Visibly flinching at the gunshot. Morana would wait for Soren to come up with the body and then quietly follow.
Hearing the shot ring out Lothyrin smiles, "Music to my ears." Seeing Grumble come up with the body Lothyring watches with delight. When he begins to carry it to the campfires Lothyrin hops of the ship following behind him not wanting to miss the festivities.
Sakkarot’s Camp -
The death of the Captain pleases the followers of the Cardinal greatly and as Grumble brings the corpse to the feast, the others follow.
By the time the rest of the Knot besides Vaundour arrive the doomed sea-men are roaring drunk. One manages to notice the Captain's still and naked form draped across Grumble's back. His cries do little to stop the bloodetting that ensues for it seems the appearance of the entire Knot was the signal that Sakkarot's Bugbears were waiting for. A few fight valiantly with steak knives, most are simply slit open from ear to ear or throat to gullet. Vaundour is covered, nay drenched, in blood to the amusement of the monsters amassed near the slaughter.
Large pots are rolled out and large fires set beneath them, it seems this is not the first time the Bugbears have cooked man-flesh. The Captain is placed on a spit and roasted close to the Boar, the line for a bite of him grows far longer than the line for the Direboar.
Though a few eyes do cross to the Knot most pass by quickly as the symbols of Asmodeus are prominent on you all.
Sakkarot's large tent flap opens and he beckons you all with a bellow inside.
As you step in, he is seated alone. Inside the tent are several crude chairs and a table with a map of the Balentyne Watchtower and its environs.
He speaks to those assembled but directs his words to all but Grumble, “You are traitors to your own kind. You must know that. When Balentyne falls and my horde pours through its shattered gates, we will slaughter the Talireans by the thousands. Yet I see no regret in your eyes. Tell me, how can this be?”
Lothyrin speaks out,Those to weak to see the might of our infernal lord deserve nothing but a burning inferno. I do not regret as a blue flame lazily curls its way through his blackened fingers.
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Partaking lightly of the available swill they called drinks, Vaundour none-the-less had an amusing time watching the ship's crew drink away to their doom. Really, they were such uncouth characters, but they did serve their purpose. The revelry came to an abrupt end as the rest of his group arrived with the stripped body of the Odenkirk. At the sight, the surrounding bugbears went into a frenzy, slaughtering all those without the symbol of Asmodeus. Unfortunately, the suddenness of the attack left him with little time to move, resulting in his body becoming drenched with low-born blood. "Really, now, is it too much to eat with manners?" he said to himself as he wiped the blood from his face. Cleaning himself off as much as possible, and lamenting the ruin of his fine clothes, Vaundour joined the rest in Sakkarot's tent. "Honestly, they are not my kind. I feel as little about their upcoming demise as you did that delicious boar."
Alice files in with the others, extremely uncomfortable, and afraid to speak, lest some association with Odenkirk get her killed and eaten (not necessarily in that order), too
Staring at the carnage and not moving until the others had begun heading over to Sakkarot's tent. Looking around and taking her time to answer while others speak "Be careful what you say.
Looking up and meeting Sakkarot's eyes, "They do not deserve anything but misery."
Grumblejack smiled warmly at Morana's words. As warmly as a giant with two rows of needle-teeth could, at any rate.
"I like you." he rumbled.
Glancing at Gumble and closing her eyes for a moment Where is the..Right not here now. Opening her eyes and offering Grumble a smile, "Thank you Grumblejack."
Aurex barks a laugh. "I owe nothing to humans, I will burn their flesh and crack their bones." The well-groomed human says with a flash of his white teeth.
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Nate lets the others speak quietly, looking down. After a bit, he whispers quietly. "I'm too broken to live with them. So I'll break them so they can live with me."
Sakkarot’s Camp -
He raises his eyebrows at Aurex but does not respond, clearly puzzled by Aurex's statement.
"We all have our scars human", he responds to Nate. Shifting his breastplate to the side he reveals the holy symbol of Asmodeus burned into his chest. He continues eating thoughtfully regarding each of you in turn.
As time passes and more meat and ale is passed the Bugbear becomes only slightly sauced.
“Tomorrow you must depart this camp. It will never be truly safe for you here. You may of course remain if you wish to Grumble as this is your home.
Over the next week, more tribes will rally to my banner. I will promise them blood and give them steel. Then at last I will be ready to march. A week after that – I will be poised to strike. I will move my horde to
the valley just north of Balentyne. There we will wait for your signal.
After we gather, my horde will be idle and start to grow anxious. I can hold them together for another two weeks. After that, I expect desertions and squabbling. Get your work done before then. You have one month to infiltrate and destroy Balentyne"
He then stands and heads towards the back of his tent opening a chest. He hands Grumble a cloth that holds something he has never sen before based on its odd shape.
"Fire this rocket into the air. Within the hour, we will attack. Make sure that the way is ready. Can you do this? In one month can you break the Watch Wall?”
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"My good sir, in one month's time, the Wall will be a gateway to the downfall of the Mitran empire," Vaundour said with a very wicked grin as he took off his disguising circlet, dark skin clashing with the gleam of his teeth. "After a month has gone, we will all be embroiled within a war that shall be sung about for ages to come. Stories will be told of the great Sakkarot's Army paving the way for the great Asmodeus to once more take his rightful place as ruler of this land." Maybe he shouldn't have taken that last glass of alcohol...
"Talirean pleasantries left me to rot and die in a gutter, born to parents so concerned with looking pious that they abandoned their only daughter--their only child--to die." Her voice is as distant as always, but her face hardens slightly, her brows furrowing as she takes a drink from a flagon. She downs it quickly, slamming it down with force. "They have never had another child; Asmodeus promised this to me, that I would be a curse upon my mother's womb as long as I served Him. They have stripped from me my--"she stops, her knuckles white around the handle of the mug. Her voice catches in her throat, and when she speaks again, the cold rage has left her voice and she has a measured tone once again. "I bear no love for Talingarde. I will rip out its bleeding heart and sacrifice it to the Lord of Hell if given half the chance." Soren pours herself another mug full of ale, downing it as quickly as the first. She notices the bugbear's weariness to say more of his branding, but when Sakkarot asks of the Watch Wall, she nearly cackles.
"I will grind the last stone of the Watch Wall beneath my heel after your hordes have brought flame and death to Talingarde. Do not worry, your axe will taste Talirean blood before the month is done. I swear it."
Nate nods along with the others sentiment, lost in his own thoughts. He had never really given voice to why he was doing all of this before. It was kind of eye opening to really look at it this plainly.
Aurex exhales sharply - a gesture that surely would have been a deep snort in his true form. "You are dedicated I see. You know, I had kind of been following along with this whole farce as a means to an end. But Asmodeus continues to impress me with his followers. Perhaps I might become devout after all."
"My dedication is born of loyalty. Mitra left me to wither, to beg for scraps until my body wasted away and died. From the moment I have served Him, Asmodeus has made me strong; He has strengthened my body and steeled my mind, honed me to be His Hand and serve His will in all things. His followers taught me to wield blade and gun, taught me to use my silver tongue to deceive and subvert Mitrans at every turn, and taught me to wield His power... Mitra has never cared for me, but Asmodeus has molded me. I will serve him until His mark is seared into Talingarde's throne, or I breathe my last breath serving him." She locks eyes with the dragon, her eyes glinting with a predatory fervor. "I am a shadowy blight on Mitra's grasp of this nation, and I will bleed that fool god dry and leave the legions of Hell to feast on the seed of his godhood."
"I was talking to our esteemed host, but I know it physically pains you to miss an opportunity to cry your faith." Aurex licks his canine teeth, looking unhappy. "We are aligned in goals and methods, if not ideology. For a kind so stubborn, I would take that in good stride."