Teleri attempts to ignore the entangling vines, focusing on her spell.
But once again, the itchy sap on the vines breaks her concentration.
Ives breaks free from the vines but fails to hit the grippli holding a shield. The other grippli lashes out at Ives while his companion heals him and steps away from Ives. But Ives dodges both rapid kicks from the grippli this time!
"Wretched vines," Teleri mutters. "Ives, get that caster!"
Once again, she tries her spell.
"Oh, these vines!" she exclaims.
Ives claws at the grippli but the caster deflects his attack with his shield in the nick of time! The caster then steps back and casts a spell on himself and his ally. The monk then strikes twice at Ives, missing both times, though by a small margin!
Grimly, Teleri tries again to cast her spell.
She glares down at the vines entwining her ankles, wishing she could talk to plants the way Ives does just so she could give them a piece of her mind.
"I'm trying!" Teleri calls out in frustration. "It's these wretched vines! They keep interrupting me."
The grippli continue to move together as the smaller one steps back and clutches its necklace while the larger one stays moves with Ives while kicking and jabbing. The kick misses Ives but the jab catches him in the stomach (6 damage). The scratch on the larger grippli is now entirely gone.
"I'm trying Ives, I'm trying!" Teleri calls, and starts once again.
Gritting her teeth and ignoring the twitching, itchy vines, Teleri casts sleep.
Ives' claw slams into the grippli cleric, leaving it barely standing. Ives follows up with a second claw, attempting to bring the grippli down...
Ives knocks the Grippli cleric unconscious, hard! The green crowd moans. The Monk retaliates, attempting to bring Ives down. And he does so, with a solidly placed kick! The crowd erupts with joy! Surely the Monk can deal with the annoying woman. Then Teleri's spell takes effect. The monk's eyelids droop slightly, fighting to stay open. Then they say and he falls.
A small portion of the crowd erupts loudly with cheers! The elder walks onto the platform and heals Ives and the cleric. Then he wakes the Monk, who leaps up ready to fight. The elder places a webbed hand on his shoulder "Ua maeʻa le taua." The Monk calms reluctantly.
"Yes, Ives," Teleri assures him. "We won. You knocked out the caster, and then I finally managed to get a spell off and put the other to sleep."
Teleri takes a moment to compliment the gripplis for a fight well fought, particularly the annoyingly effective entanglement spell. If they don't speak common, she asks the Elder to translate.
The elder translates to the grippli who hop respectfully and bow. They seem to reluctantly reply and the Elder translates back "They say you worthy fighters too."
You didn't see it happen but a lot of the crowd is now wearing and orangish-greenish mixture with orange forming something of a top layer.
The elder nods again and calls out. "We listen you, now. So humans stop poisoning?"
The Grippli elder eyes Ives uncertainly. "Perhaps... It is hard for us to trust these poisoners... You have just now earned some trust of us..."
"Yes," Teleri says. "The ... err, Elder of the miners has agreed to build a separate pool, to keep the tainted water from the mine out of the river. He wanted assurances that his people would not be attacked while they work on that. So if you could please just tell your warriors to hold off for a few weeks, we'll go let him know and they can start digging it."
She thinks a moment. "It might take some time to finish. I'm not sure how long. Would you like to send a couple of observers who can verify that the miners are honoring their word? They would need to speak common."
The elder nods. "Good. We will stop fighting. They stop poison and we watch to make sure. But don't want to go make friends with them now. You go back, tell them we stop fight."
Teleri curtsies. "Thank you, Elder," she says.
But then she looks troubled. "Elder, I have some questions. Perhaps you know the answers."
From her belt pouch she pulls the red stone that Ives took from the forehead of the giant frog. "This was in the head of a giant frog that attacked us. What does it do? I recognized the magic in it -- giving it a thought. But I'm not sure what the gem does. Can you tell me?"
The elder nods. "Yes I will answer all that is well."
He looks at the stone and seems to recognize it. "Yes. Make spell better. If touching frog, frog can't resist spell."
The elder looks at Ives necklace and nods "Yes those are some stones worn as jewelry. Owners dead now and you part of tribe. You are welcome to keep wearing them."
"The other thing I am worried about happened a few days ago. After encountering the frog, were were ambushed by a pair of people hidden in the trees. They shot at us with these."
She pulls out one of the naiad arrows and hands it to the elder.
"I managed to get a good look at one of them, and it was a naiad. Elder, I do not know much of them, but Ives tells me it is ... not normal for naiads to attack people. Do you know anything of what could have caused them to attack us?"
The elder looks at the blunt arrows in confusion and shakes his head. "No not naiads. Grippli attack bigfolk but not want kill. Just send message. Naiads tell Grippli bad idea and dangerous. Shoo Grippli away. Cover tracks with water."
"Oh, dear," Teleri sighs in dismay. "That means there's something else going on as well. Thank you, Elder. If there is nothing else you need from us, we should go back to the mine now and tell them there's a truce so they can build that runoff pool."
"It was when we first met, Ives," Teleri says. "You know, just a few days ago. They ambushed us from cover, and when they retreated I ran through the mist they'd conjured to try and find out who they were. I saw just one of them -- pale blue skin, with such startling blue eyes. I think it was female, and she gave me such a look. I couldn't read her expression at all, but it was ... intense. And then she slipped into the river and swam away."
She retrieves the blunt arrow from the Elder. "And when I came back and told everyone what I'd seen, you told me that it was a naiad, and seemed surprised that one would attack us like that. I picked up a couple of the arrows as evidence."
Teleri shoots him an oh please look, then hesitates. "I suppose it's possible," she admits. "But if so, I'd like to hear your theory as to who was shooting blunt arrows at me."
Eyeing the small-sized Blu arrow, the elder commemts. "Grippli arrow. Trying send message." But when Ives says "Vold" the Grippli around you fall silent.
A faint chill runs up Teleri's spine. "Elder," Teleri says slowly, "Can you tell us what 'vold' means?"
The elder shakes his head at Ives. "No. Grippli shoot you. Naiads cover up and send Grippli away." He shudders "Naiads hate... It." Teleri very easily picks up on the strong feelings Ives evoked with the word. All of the Grippli look afraid but some have determination mixed in with that emotion.
Though Teleri speaks in a very calming manner, the elder's face turns stony. "Not thing to talk about. You go tell humans now?"
"Thank you, Elder. Yes, we will go back to the town now and tell them of the truce." Teleri curtsies to him.
"Oh!" she says, and turns back. "Uh, is there a way out of the swamp that doesn't go through a stirge nest?" She looks hopeful and sheepish all at once.
The elder nods and sends several Grippli with you to lead you out of tge swamp by an easier route. They bring you to the river soon then fade easily back into the trees. You begin to cross the ford when the water rises up in front of you. A naiad emerges and looks at both of you silently for a moment. Then it speaks in Sylvan "Volden er frustrert. Takk for det du har gjort. Seeren ville snakke med deg."
The violence is frustrated. Thank you for what you have done. The seer would speak to you.
Teleri's eyes grow huge. She shrinks back slightly from the naiad for a moment. Then, in a hesitant voice she says: "Uh, unnskyld meg ... men ... hvilket språk snakker vi? Og ... hvordan vet jeg det?"
The naiad looks quizzically at Teleri. ”Dette er Sylvan, den feies tunge. Hvordan vet du ikke hva du snakker? Uansett, jeg tar deg til den eldste nå.” Then she motions for you to leave any belongings you wish to keep try on the bank then leads you deeper into the stream. She bids you to hold your breath then takes each of you by the hand and swims rapidly while pulling you along. It is dark under the water and you feel the stream rushing past you. Just as your lungs feel fit to burst, you come up out of the water in a cave lit by softly glowing fungi. Several naiads stand observing you quietly. Your guide leads you further into the cave where you meet a very old naiad resting on a bed of moss. She turns blue eyes, milky with age, upon you and speaks. ” Så har du tatt et lite stykke til vårt hjørne av verden?”
1. ”This is Sylvan, the tongue of the fey. How do you not know what you speak? Whatever the case, I will take you to the elder now.”
2. ” So, you have brought a little piece to our corner of the world?”
The trip below is difficult for Teleri -- skirts do not lend themselves to swimming. But with the naiad's aid she manages it, emerging dripping wet into the dreamlike confines of the cave.
"Jeg håper det, Eldste," Teleri says in response to the Elder's question. "Miners leder vil stoppe det spylte vannet, og froskfolket vil slutte å angripe. Men jeg frykter at det ikke vil vare hvis folk ikke snakker med hverandre."
"I hope so, Elder," Teleri says in response to the Elder's question. "The leader of the miners will stop the tainted water, and the frog-folk will stop attacking. But I fear it will not last if people do not talk with one another."
The naiad elder nods gravely. "Ja, ung en. Det er klokt. Men jeg frykter at det vil ta mer for å stoppe jern og tre fra å ødelegge hverandre..." Her shoulders heave with the weight of her burden and she continues "Jeg spurte deg her fordi du har hjulpet mye. Jeg ønsker å gi deg Gozrehs veiledning." The naiads around her murmur in surprise but she holds up a thin hand to quiet them and beckons to one of the younger naiads. He brings her a single leaf in a wooden bowl. She chews places it slowly on her tongue and chews it thoughtfully. Suddenly, her eyes shine clear, blue light and she speaks in a deep, smooth, unrecognizable voice "Jeg ser ... en ung mann fra jernbyen ... han arbeider om og om igjen med metall hele dagen ... han forstår det snu metallet bedre enn noe annet ... han vil hjelpe veden i disse tider av forandring."
1. "Yes, young one. That is wise. But I fear it will take more to stop the iron and the wood from destroying each other."
2. "I asked you here because you have helped much. I wish to grant you Gozreh's guidance."
3. "I see... a young man from the city of iron... he works under and over turning metal all day... he understands the turning metal better than any other... he will help the wood in these times of change."
"Og ... vi skal finne denne unge mannen? Og hjelpe ham?"
The naiad oracle looks at you in confusion and responds "Jeg beklager, den unge, men jeg vet ikke hva du snakker om." One of the naiads near her tells her the content of the vision. She nods thoughtfully then answers Teleri "Det er ditt valg. Mange ting vil skje i løpet av de neste årene. Vil du forme disse hendelsene?" Her eyes, cloudy again, look searchingly at the plant-boy and young woman encumbered by too much wet dress.
1. "I apologize, young one, but I do not know what you are talking about."
2. "That is your choice. Many things will happen over the next few years. Will you shape these events?"
Teleri looks down, locks of wet hair hanging about her face, her pose a study in inner conflict. She says nothing.