Yeldrid offers the meat on his pole, hoping that the creature might be pulled away from the tree long enough for everyone to skirt around the bear.
Isamu waits to see what the result of the others' actions is... though he does draw his blade.
I'll amend Yeldrid's last action. That's suss and I would think Yeldrid would comment on that bag to everyone.
The bear shows little in the meat, but is clearly wary of the blade and torch. It does not advance, but does not back down, either.
"Hey!" yells one of the gangles. "You...humans!" He then falls silent. This appears to be the full extent of his Common.
After the explanation, Rex looks up at gangles in the trees. "Does anyone know Gangle?" If not he tries to mime what needs to happen. He calls over to the gangles. He takes his back pack off and holds it to the side. He then points at them and reaches into the bag. He pretends to pull something out and place it gently on the ground. Hopefully they understood.
Wondering if the gangles might understand more Common than they speak, Isamu glances up at them and states, "I believe the best solution would be for you to return what this bear wants."
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The orcs watch Rex in momentary confusion, but his skilled pantomime gets the meaning across. They exchange unhappy looks, then start bickering amongst each other.
The bear lets out a roar and advances toward the party. The argument between the orcs quickly becomes a fumbling squabble to get the bag and throw it down. In the process, they lose their grip. The sack falls, catches on a sharp tree branch lower down, and rips.
A fuzzy little grizzly cub lands in the grass with a surprised squeak.
The grizzly bear turns around, seeing the cub, and advances to give it a little sniff. Seeming satisfied, she nuzzles it and starts to move away from the tree and the party, urging the cub to follow. Within about a half-minute, the beast is gone.
"Crikey." Yeldrid pulls in his proffered meal, and looks to his companions.
"So what are we gonna do about these cub-nappers?"
"What can we do? This is their land," Rex says, scratching his own ear and making his foot thump the ground in time. "I can't even talk to them."
Kit is watching the gangles warily. "What was that about?" he asks, vainly hoping their Common is good enough to understand him.
"I suppose ya have a point. Still, bloody silly thing for them to do. It's like poking a hazidwasp nest. Just asking to get eaten."
The gangles stare levelly at the group for a moment, before Yeldrid starts speaking Goblin. One of the gangles' eyes light up, and it begins to speak.
The orcs scowl. One of them gesticulates a little as it speaks.
Yeldrid wonders if his standard slang doesn't translate well to Goblin.
The orcs pause. They exchange nervous looks.
Yeldrid's frowns, and he relays what the gangles told him to the group. He asks the gangles for directionss towards the other side of the forest. "At least do us that favour."
"Can they elaborate on the 'strangeness'? I am starting to think we might want to take the boat. We haven't even walked that far into the forest."
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"If there's strangeness it might not stay in the forest, though," Isamu points out. "Maybe ask what kind of strange it is?"
The gangle who has been speaking gives a brisk reply, then converses with its neighbor a bit before continuing. The neighbor interrupts to speak one word in Common: "Politician".
"Poly-tishun," says the other gangle.
The orcs grow increasingly unwilling to talk the more Yeldrid presses them on this particular subject, and indeed, he gets the sense they haven't encountered the "strangeness" themselves—only heard gossip.
Yeldrid relays this with a puzzled expression to the rest of the group.
"You think they mean like...a monarch or a warlord or something? This is very odd. What 'politician' would rule in a forest?"
Isamu frowns in thought. "Maybe that's not quite the word they want? It sounds like something they've never met before. Whatever the case, it certainly sounds like trouble."
"Doesn't sound like we are going to get very far using, what is that, Goblin? Thank the nice Gangles and let's get moving. I am sure the ranger and her green friend can give us plenty of warning. And if not that, our noses should help," Rex says confidently.
Yeldrid doffs his hat and gives everyone the thumbs up.
The group departs from the gangle pair, who doff their own hats and climb off.
A half-hour goes by. The sun must be approaching its resting place with the earth, because it is now dark enough that the humans in the party are having trouble seeing. They begin to hear the sounds of a stream up ahead. At the same time, though, they hear sounds of violence, and shrieks in a strange, bubbly tongue.
Isamu's hand goes to his sword hilt. "I believe that's Aquan," he says. "I'll scout ahead," he impulsively adds.
He focuses for a moment... and his form shifts and shrinks, quickly changing from vulpine man to a rather ordinary looking fox. Isamu then darts ahead, ears perked up and head low as he makes his way towards the sound.
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Isamu, in fox form, scurries ahead of the group and quickly makes it out of sight.
The gangles, for their part, seem to be content to take their time. A couple of them have taken blows already, but it is clear they are now having some fun. None of the lot appear to have noticed Isamu.
Isamu takes in the sight quickly, and just as swiftly determines that he little likes what the gangles are doing here. He can't bear to see them tormenting this creature, even though he has little idea of what it is. As loudly as he can, he yips at them, hoping to draw their attention for a moment while the rest of his group catches up.
The rest of the group hears a high-pitched yipping from up ahead. They hurry forward to see what's going on. Meanwhile, the gangles whirl around, seeing this little creature. They exchange uncertain looks.
Inits:
Seeing the orcs distracted, the turtle lets out an angry burble and takes two swings at the gangle in front of it. It leaps up and delivers one solid sock to the jaw, but the orc only growls and spits out a tooth.
Jerm's head cocks. Without warning, he turns and takes off into the bushes.
"Jerm? Jerm, come back!" Baylily looks between the group and her familiar, then starts running after. "What is it?"
One of the orcs stays where it is and swings again at the turtle creature, saying something mocking in its hissing tongue. The turtle attempts to block with its bare fists, but the hook catches its right arm. The sound of ripping skin is audible, though perhaps unfamiliar to some in the party.
The other two orcs, however, seem more interested in the newcomers. One carefully disengages from the hollow-headed turtle, edging underneath low-hanging branches to reach Isamu. The other just rushes straight ahead and swings in a vicious arc. Only Isamu's small size causes it to instead slash into the nearby boulder, and the little fox sees large strips of moss and plant life torn away by the enormous hook. It is an uncomfortable visual.
Lanuola hesitates. "She ought not beest alone," she says, reluctantly following. "We shall meeteth back up after!"
Yeldrid looks over to his quickly departing comrades, looks back at the fray, and sighs.
He pulls out his gun and begins preparing the match cord.
The sound of the blast reverberates through the forest. Brief but shaking. An opaque, odorous cloud obscures Yeldrid briefly, drifting through the air.
He begins preparing to reload.
Isamu hops forward, then whirls, his form shifting as he turns. He only flinches slightly at the sound of Yeldrid's gunfire.
He gives the gangle in front of him a toothy vulpine grin as he draws his rapier. "You might consider running, now," he states.
The gangle trying to advance past Isamu suddenly reels back. A spot of red appears on its shoulder and rapidly grows, staining the simple cloth. It shrieks in pain.
The gangles watch Isamu warily, even as they try to work out what Yeldrid just did.
Yeldrid's gun goes off and Rex practically leaps most of the distance to the orcs. In actually fact, his small feet move fast enough to blur He covers the last few remaining feet on two legs and draws his blade as he goes.
The snapping turtle-like creature lets out a last desperate snarl and leaps into the air to release two mighty whallops, catching the orc in twin upper-cuts. The gangle reels back, momentarily stunned, and the turtle takes the opportunity to take a few swings at the orc's kneecaps as it lands, then skitters back.
Hissing, the gangles facing the fox and the hound press their smaller foes, taking brutal swings with their hooks. Rex barely fails to dodge a nasty scratch along his cheek, while Isamu manages to duck under the artless attack.
Meanwhile, the third gangle snarls and tries to finish off the wounded turtle, but its hook only catches in the wily creature's hard shell.
There is a loud rustling from the brush on the other side of the river. [Insert character description here]. One of the orcs turns back and lets out a loud curse. "Lily Shadow!"
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Yeldrid starts packing powder into his gun, stepping for a more clearer look at the gangle now facing Isamu.
The gangle swallows, looking between Isamu and Yeldrid. She seems torn between the two threats, unable to take her eyes off either one to concentrate on the other.
Rex barks something in his own language, both at the damage to his face and on his return shot.
There is a loud rustling from the brush on the other side of the river.
Zyxebrax looks up from her search to see a strange turtle-creature surrounded by gangles and a band of strange people. Is this what they're looking for? No time to ponder the matter, Zyxebrax moves in to aid the poor turtle, rushing across the bridge to take up a flanking position .
One of the orcs turns back and lets out a loud curse.
"Lily Shadow!"
Lily thrusts out at the gangle with her dagger.
Isamu gracefully leaps over to the rock to the side of the Gangle, but doesn't quite land right, slipping a bit and leaving a brief opening in his defenses.
He recovers quickly, however, the point of his rapier darting towards the gangle.
Rex swings, but is still off-balance from the cut, and his target leaps over the blade.
The other gangle lunges at Isamu, nearly putting the kitsune off-balance, but he somehow manages to leap off the hook and land safely on the boulder. From there, he stabs into the orc's shoulder, achieving a critical blow that causes it to shriek in pain.
At that moment, Lily Shadow runs out and embeds her dagger in the shocked orc's shoulder blade. The orc screams and collapses, spasming on the ground.
The turtle creature gives a respectful nod to Lily Shadow, then scampers back onto the bridge, leaving bloody footprints on the grass and dirt wherever it treads.
The two remaining orcs look around, hissing under their breath in the Orcish tongue. They seem to weigh their odds a moment. Then, one of them rushes toward Yeldrid, as the other slashes down at Rex again.