Drot shrugs "Sure. If not I should be able to kill it from here with my dart spells."
Drot thinks for a moment, it's been a while since he's had to put together a sentence in Dark Tongue but it doesn't take long to remember.
"Brawd, allwch chi ddeall fy ngeiriau? Beth yw eich enw a pha le mae eich cartref?"
The noise coming out of the Orc's mouth sounds clumsy and flows in unexpected directions. When he finishes he glances at his companions, a wave of familiar feelings comes flooding back. The feeling that those around him thought he was just a thoughtless, brute. He shakes his head and sighs, waiting to see if the goatman responds.
The fomor bleats like a goat as it speaks back to Drot in a similar language to the one he spoke.
A little surprised Drot turns to his companions and speaks in a whisper.
"Well he can understand me and can talk. He said the farmer locked him in here prior to him actually doing anything so I'm willing to help the creature but I don't think we can really trust it to just leave and not come back."
Drot shrugs as he says this and seems indifferent about the situation as a whole. He looks expectantly at the two, waiting for suggestions.
Tesswyn shrugs as well. "Honestly, I don't really care about the beastman or the farmer. Guess it's your call, Charles. What's that New God of yours telling you to do?"
Charles looked at the beast man with a mix of distrust and maybe pity.
"Well he certainly looks helpless and trustworthy, doesn't he Drot? I'm sure the big bad farmer tricked him into falling in too." Charles said with a derisive snort.
After a moment he sobered himself. "But really, you should be careful about believing what someone says to you.
We have the advantage of time here. Since you can talk with him Drot'ook, we're going to get more information from him.
Ask him what he's doing here. I want to know if he came here of his own volition or if he was forced to. I want to know if there are more of his kind nearby and if so how many and where they are.
If he resists or seems unforthcoming with answers, tell him we'll let him out.
I can answer that for you, interjects the farmer. There be plenty of beastmen around. They plague this forest. In fact, the local keep has a bounty out. Five copper pieces for every one killed. Gotta bring in the head for proof.
You can read about them in description section on Page 220 of the core book. Your character knows all this information. Your character does not know the status block.
If you don't have a military profession, then you know this through stories. If you do, you know it from training and/or personal experience.
Tesswyn scowls as she recalls the stories the druids told her. "These beastmen used to be humans, long ago, but the Old Gods cursed them for blaspheming against their faith. They're servants of the Demon Lord now, twisted and evil to the core. My father's company ran into a few of them during their campaign. They're craven when outnumbered, but they become incredibly dangerous in large packs."
She peers down at the cringing fomor. "I say we learn what we can from him, then put him out of his misery. We track down the rest of the clan and take them out before they do the same to us."
"That does line up with what I've heard before. But I want to hear what this thing has to say for itself. Drot, ask the questions."
He then looked at Tesswyn and whispered.
"If we can somehow convince this one to cooperate, I'd rather not hike through the forest trying to stumble upon their lair. If it was kicked aside it might even have a grudge to settle."
Tesswyn crosses her arms over her chest. "Fine. But the second it turns on us, I'm bashing its skull in."
Drot relays the questions to the beastman, his tone is sympathetic. Drot wouldn't mind help the creature but he knows better then to trust anything feral and touched by corruption.
The creature sounds very petulant.
Tesswyn wrinkles her brow at Drot's translation. "Rights? This doesn't sound like any beastman I've ever heard of. Something's strange about this situation."
"It has rights? Do those include coming to a human settlement to feed on livestock and... agh, this is frustrating! I want to speak to it directly.
Drot tell it that it can earn its freedom by simply agreeing to take us to it's home and answering our questions."
After the long talk, Drot relaxes and shrugs his shoulders forward. He grabs a nearby rope and makes a slip knot, holding it in offering to the Beastman if he wants to show us the way... On a lead...
The creature grabs the rope and climbs out. As soon as he reaches the top, he grabs Drot and shoves him back into the silo pit.
Drot tumbles forward, falling into the silo!
Then he takes off at a full sprint towards the forest, rope trailing after him.
Charles hand shifted near to his blade as he watched Drot'ook work.
"D- Agh, no!" Charles yelled as he dived for the rope, attempting to yank back the Beast man attempting to plant him on the ground, or at least stop him.
"Oh, hell no!" Tesswyn curses. She rushes after the beastman and swings her staff at his head!
Charles grabs the rope, and half the fomor's body keeps going forward as the other half comes to an abrupt stop. He lands on the ground with a hard thud.
Tesswyn whacks him with her staff, attempting to daze(?). When all is said and done, the beastman lays there, dead.
Tesswyn shakes the beastman's blood off of her staff. "Bastard. You okay, Drot?"
Once the orc has climbed out of the silo, the rogue spares a glance at Charles. "Well, I guess it's time to hike through the forest and try to stumble upon its lair."
Y'all might want to check in with Bleak's Faste, first, the farmer says. Get a little money for that fomor head. As I said, Commander Rabi is offering 5 copper pennies for every Fomor head. I ain't got much to offer myself, except some food. I'd offer shelter if you don't want to stay in the long house.
Charles nodded in thanks to the man. Then looked to Tesswyn. "A little extra food and a place to sleep that isn't a barn would be nice. We should stop by the fort first too. Getting a layout of the land, more information, and a little income couldn't hurt our situation. I think I'd also like to see about acquiring better armor now. Plus, after what just occurred, I'm not exactly open to trying to deal with these things anymore."
"Alright, I'm ready to go when you are."
As Drot hit the ground he immediately saw red, he shot up to his feet and froze. Realizing the poor choice he made and making a mental note to not trust creatures he's never seen he sighs and begins to climb out of the silo. He remains silent as his two companions discuss their next moves.
"Let's take the head and remove the body. Then we'll go check in with this Commander Rabi at Bleak's Faste."
Charles then turned to the farmer. "We'll take you up on both of those offers." he then turned to get ready for his work.
Bleak's Faste is several days travel through the dark forest. On your way there, the road/path becomes blocked by a large creature who had completely destoryed the habitate in a 30-50 yard radius. The thing is gigantic, easily twice as big as Drot.
It snorts and gruffs as it roots around in the ground with its snout, pushing around on it's four legs. It uproots trees, destorys shrubbery with a flick of its nose - you even see some trampled animal corpses lying about that title seemingly hasn't got to yet.
All in all, it looks like an extremely large pig.
When it hears you, it lifts its head up, snorts loudly, and charges.
The hog's tusks slam into Drot, peircing the orc's skin and impaling him for 8 damage.
Reacting quickly, Tesswyn curses and swings her staff at the pig. Two different outcomes flash before her eyes.
Barlog is watching from deeper in the forest. He sees the orc gored and trampled. His first instinct is to escape. At first he turns away but the sound of the group's battle cries plant him in place. He starts to move around the edge of the clearing toward the injured green humanoid.
I guess this would be fast initiative?
"Drot, get some more distance between us and this thing. Tesswyn and I will surround it."
Charles said, as he drew his icy shortsword and grabbed his circular dragon pendant.
"Back foul creature!"
Drot yells out in pain as the giant pig gores him. He casts a spell and bounds away, creating distance between himself and the creature.
PCs:
Barlog moves around the clearing to get closer to the strangers who have been assaulted by a crazed giant pig.
Tesswyn reacts immediately, skewering the pig, causing it to Squeeeeel! It swipes up with its tusks, attacking .
Enemies:
The pig continues to bounce about, front legs and back legs alternating being on the ground and the air, as it ruts its tusks into another person.
The wild hog digs his tusks deep into Drot, bringing the giant orc down to his knees, bleeding profusely out his stomach!
Charles casts Bless on Tesswyn and Drot.
Everyone up! Declare fast or slow init and your actions/moves!
"Damn! Hang on, Drot!" Tesswyn curses, swinging her staff again!
As the boar reels, the rogue exploits the opportunity and attacks it again!
Barlog continues toward the orc, trying to move during the gaps when the large boar's attention is drawn by the other two strangers. He plans to pull the downed warrior to safety and cast Moderate Healing.
Slow initiative.
"Drot! " Charles cried out as the beast continued its relentless assault on the Orc. "You're going to pay for that, fiend!" As he spoke a flare of raging light erupted around his blade and he struck back at the monster.
PCs:
Charles and Tesswyn lay in to the oversized hog, seriously hurting it.
The hogs reels at the attacks, bucking back and forth and violently, randomly attacking someone near him.
Enemies:
It eyes Tesswyn with evil intent, and tries to gore her again!
The strange dwarf runs out of the forest and weaves between the combatants, infusing Drot with healing magic!
The boar's sudden fury catches Tesswyn off-guard, and she is too slow to dodge its tusks. She coughs up blood as it tears into her, and the girl crumples to the ground.
“Quick, fetch that one and I can help her, too” Barlog says to the quickly healing orc.
“We can find a measure of protection behind that tree.” He points at a large tree further in forest.
Charles eyed the sudden newcomer even as he gritted his teeth when Tesswyn went down.
"It's too fast and dangerous! I have to kill it now!" Charles yelled, as a burst of light surged and focused into a rush of power that coursed over his blade.
The pig, bugger than a horse, bucks one last time, driving its tusks into Charles, before it runs squeeling into the forest (triggered action to free attack for anyone standing right now).
Tesswyn bleeds on the ground, strange visions assaulting her unconscious mind as she clings to life...
Charles was almost dumbfounded as he took a massive blow, he readied to block against the creatures next attack but it ran instead. His leather coat and shirt he wore were largely torn now as blood ran freely.
He struck at it.
Another surge of light mixed with the icy sheen to cut deeply.
He stumbled forward toward Tesswyn, suddenly feeling guilty that he had tried to slay the thing instead of thinking of a way to save her and Drot.
Letting out a ragged breath he mumbled. "Don't you dare die on me." Then with a moment of focus and insight, he healed both of their wounds some.
He then gently lifted her off the ground and turned his attention back to the newcomer from the woods.
"You, whoever you are, your offer of aid is accepted. You say there is a safer place you know of?"
Tesswyn groans as warm light suffuses her body. Her eyes flutter open as she looks up at Charles's handsome face--
Handsome?!? Gods, I must really be out of it.
"Stupid pig," she mutters. "Not you, the boar," she clarifies a moment later. The girl accepts the paladin's aid and gets to her feet, walking back and forth to test the extent of her injuries. Fortunately, they don't seem to be as bad as they initially appeared.
Tesswyn eyes the newly arrived dwarf dubiously. "You got a stash of healing potions behind that tree? Cause right now that's all I want."
The final blow from Charles is what does it. The pig, in its haste to get away from the pain - now that the pain had overcome its blind rage - started running away. But that last stab did it in. You didn't realize until it was about a dozen paces or so away, when it finally collapsed under its own weight and fell, sliding into dirt and mud until the momentum was lost.
The first seems quiet now, after all that excitement. But as your blood capms down and stops beating in your ears, you slowly hear the background of forest life.
One thing does.seem out of place. A strange laugh. You look around and stop two goatmen - Fomor - on the other side of the clearing, laughing at your situation. When you lock eyes, they turn and flee into the forest.
"Beastmen!" Tesswyn spits. "Charles, if you or our new arrival here have more healing available, you should patch us up as much as you can. We need to follow those a#@%%!+s and find their lair."
The rogue takes the opportunity to cast a pair of spells, turning her skin to hardened oak and infusing her staff with power.
"No, no, wait!" Charles said, grabbing onto Tesswyn's arm.
"Look, I know you're upset Tesswyn, but we just barely survived that thing and we don't have any idea where those two Fomor are going. Maybe their lair or maybe on a wild chase toward another one of those things. Even if they do lead us to their lair, then what? We fight 5? 10? 20 of them?
I can heal us this time, but we need to go to the fort first. We'll get our bearings, figure out what to do after."
Tesswyn's eyes widen when Charles grabs her arm. Her heart beats quickly, though whether it is from adrenaline or... something else... she isn't certain. Regardless, she yanks her arm free and scoffs. "Ugh. Fine, we'll do it your way."