"I'll see if I can get them up," Adrien says, flying down to the bushes where the Tatzylwurms fell.
Naki smiles and moves rapidly down the cliffside, he grins at Adrien, "Together we should be able to get them back up. I don't seem to have much trouble climbing at this point..."
The Tatzlwyrms, being medium-sized creatures, are pretty heavy. However, since the switchback trail leads down to the valley floor, the group has no problem getting to them, even if Peacock has some trouble dragging them both back up.
Naki effortlessly descends the slope and reaches the corpses about the time Peacock alights near them. The bodies of the creatures have little value in the way of meat or skin; however due to the rarity of the creatures their taxidermied heads or full bodies might be worth something as curios or objects of study.
Jazzai's scent ability would allow her to track the creatures back to their lair, though the path she follows winds up the side of the cliff further upstream, and would probably require some assistance from Naki or one of the flyers of the group to reach it. The entrance is beneath a great tree whose root system has been exposed through erosion. It's a narrow fit, barely big enough for a medium-sized creature to fit through and definitely one at a time.
"I'll go have a look. I should have an easy time getting in, and if something's still lurking in there, I should be able to hide from it without a problem."
Naki nods absently, at Adrien as he pokes and prods at the specimens, attempting to extra the poison.
She would turn her head this way and that.
"I can follow you Adrien. I might not be much help but I can at least feel if danger is coming. And if we find anything we can stuff it in my bag." Smiles as she carefully makes her way after Adrien feeling her way.
Jazzai can sense nothing moving about inside the warren. Peacock has to tuck his wings back in order to navigate the cramped confines. The entrance leads up, into the bole of the tree itself.
Naki learns that the tatzlwyrm's poison is gaseous, and is able to extract a sac from each which would work as a splash weapon, exposing the target to the poison.
"We lucked out!" Adrian blurts out at the sight, letting Jazzai know what he found. Curious, he opens the scroll case and takes a look at what is inside.
There are two arcane scrolls, one with summon monster III and the other with blink.
"Well, this may as well be Aklo." Adrien comments, rolling the scrolls back up. "'fraid I can't figure these out."
"I am guessing you are reading something by the sound of vellum. I am sorry I can not read things myself." She would take her over the shoulder back and opens it taking the things Peacock handed her or she found by feeling around into her bag. "If this is everything I can take it out. I am glad I am kinda small.
Jazzai would crawl back out with everything before putting everything out for people to see. She would look over it with detect magic to see if anything besides the scrolls were magical.
"Well, do we have anything of value out of their bodies themselves? That is worth carrying I should say. If not let us leave them and move on. We are slow as it is with me walking." Giggles.
"We are in no rush. Take whatever time you need." Kane rumbled quietly.
Adrien seems pretty mesmerized by the pile of coins he and Jazzai found.
"Wow... I've never even seen this much money."
With the degenerate dragons' lair sufficiently looted, the group moves across the valley floor. Fording the river is a time-consuming chore, but not a dangerous one.
After finding a place to camp and rest, the next obstacle in the journey is to find a way back out of the valley to the other side.
Jazzai's keen awareness picks up a faint trail leading up the steep slope, but she also detects something else: the faint traces of carrion lingering along the path.
"I'll scout ahead," Adrien whispers, gliding down from his vantage point above and vanishing behind the gentle breeze.
"Carrion ahead. Could be like those creatures when we first met? Or something else be careful."
She would hold Sunflower's lead stroking her face.
Looking up naki realizes he has lagged behind and skitters off after the group to try and catch up.
Peacock flies up and scans the area above the small, overgrown trail that leads to the hard plateau above. Looking around, he surveys the rugged terrain that stretches to the east. Much of the land is relatively featureless, just hard scree and rough scrublands stretching for miles, but from his vantage, Peacock can spot a small collection of huts nestled amongst the foothills.
"I see huts ahead!" Adrien shouts back. "Looks like some kind of village!
Jazzai hears this. "Wonder who lives there." She would sniff at the trail seeing if the carrion scent was like those Carrion dogs like before.
"Do we want to go near it or avoid it?"
Jazzai catches faint whiffs of the carrion scent as they steadily move up the trail. It is slow going; narrow and treacherous with numerous chances to slip and plummet back down to the valley floor. However, with painstaking care, the group reaches the top of the plateau. After a bit of ranging, Jazzai confirms that the traces of carrion scent do lead off in the direction that Peacock says the collection of huts lie.
"That Carrion smell heads towards the huts you speak of." Jazzai said as she stopped to catch her breath and pet Sunflower.
"Do you want to chance a meeting with them or move on? I don't think we would get a warm welcome there but you never know."
"I'm... not sure. They might be friendly or they might be hostile. A small community like this might be the most welcoming to... people like us, but they might also be the most hostile of all. I think it's worth the risk, but we should be careful."
Naki pulls his nose out of his notes, "Hmm, I agree, at the very least I'd like to document their reactions."
Jazzai would listen to them and nods. "Alright, be prepared." She would walk her nose following the scent of the carrion trail unless they told her otherwise.
Once upon the hard, rocky plateau, the travel is somewhat easier, though the sun bakes down upon everyone.
Adrien flits lightly along the rocky paths, a whisper and shadow compared to the others who can't help but kick rocks, stir up dust clouds, and start small stones tumbling down nearby slopes. Between the skittering of Naki's numerous legs, to the slow and deliberate steps of Kane, and the blind stumbling of Jazzai, no one manages a stealthy approach.
It is because of this, that the group steps around a pair of boulders and suddenly see a group of five carrion-dogs lying in ambush, each with a longbow and arrow trained on you. One of them issues a couple of yips and barks that, in a growling way, sounds like a demand for surrender.
"What do you want from us?" Peacock speaks out in Sylvan before anyone else has a chance to react. "We mean no harm in coming here."
His speech is animated with the countenance the party has come to recognize from the more confident fey, rather than the skittish boy.
Jazzai pipes up. "I think the other one spoke that other flowery language. My the sounds of those growls they are demanding something." (Elven)
She set her spear in front of her more in a protective posture than an aggressive one.
Adjusting his spectacles, Naki looks them up and down, "That is speech? Fascinating." He begins to jot it down until he see's Jazzai's more defensive posture. Frowning he digs through his pack and downs a small vial.
"Do you speak the Elven tongue, maybe?"
What must be a leader steps forward, a burlier-looking specimen with a recurved bow in hand. In a mangled version of the common tongue, he spits out, Weapons down! You in Blood Tooth land! Surrender, you live! Fight, we feast on your bones!
Naki scuttles forward a little, "Hmmm I'm not sure if that would a suitable dietary supplement, but I can assure you I have no weapons. Might I ask why you were out here, this is truly fascinating behavior." He peers at them in fascination.
"We came to visit your people and talk with them. We are looking for an old fort and thought you would be willing to trade information."
Visit? Trade? the leader spits out in contempt. However, his head tilts in confusion as the many-legged form of Naki moves forward. His snarling, aggressive posturing lessens as he studies each of you.
"It's true. We don't mean to be a threat or cause any problems!"
Naki tries to look as harmless as possible and keep's his big mouth shut.
Sadly his leg's will just not behave and kick soil in the direction of the crowd.
The leader snarls and scoffs at the words of the group. While he seems to be spoiling for a fight, the lack of aggressive action by the everyone has given him pause. You want trade? Only chieftain get to say that. Or wise one. Surrender, and we take you before chief! You talk trade to him!
"Sir Kane? Jazzai? Dr. Oru? What do you think?"
Looking back and forth Naki nods, "I do want to see this."
Kane wasn't about to lay down his weapon. He simply stepped in front of Jazzai and stood stoically. They thought they had the advantage with their bows. The best course of action for now was to let them continue to think that.
"They are likely evil." he said quietly from beneath his cowl. "nearly all gnolls are. If we surrender we are as likely to end up as dinner as we are to arrange trade."
The gnoll warriors look to their leader, who appears about out of patience. He snarls, then nocks an arrow. Last chance! he spits out, before slowly drawing the arrow back.