Pike leans hard on his bardiche and asks "Anyone know what that thing is?"
"Not Walthus Proudstump, we can assume..."
Sam was sounding a bit shaky as he looked at the dead thing bleeding out onto the floor of the shabby cabin. He felt entirely out of his element. Granted, Samton's element consisted of little but books and he was all too aware of this, but he had hoped his first foray into adventuring to not leave him quite so jolted. Never mind the dead monster; it was the near death of an ally that made it all so much worse.
"Mr Pike, you need help..."
The wizard started looking around the house. Surely the place held some answers as to the nature of the creature, or something that could aid the caravan guard. Either would be welcomed right now.
"We need to search the house for some bandages or even potions. Surely we can find something useful here." Tai started to carefully open the first door.
The door closest to Tai opens to reveal an open-air garden, with brick walls about ten feet tall. There is no sign of anything that might be useful to him, though his lack of expertise in terms of herbalism and medicine means that it's entirely possible that there are useful plants out there.
Sam doesn't see anything that is immediately obvious as a potential clue for either the creature's identity or as an aid for Pike's wounds. Instead, he sees a few damaged potted plants, and a few other creature comforts that one would expect to find in a living room.
Before anyone has the chance to search anywhere else in the warden's home, a tiny voice comes from the top of the stairs. "... hello? Is anyone there?" When the adventurers investigate, they see a wounded, scruffy-looking halfling standing at the top of the stairs.
Pike, though his hands are shaking with blood loss, holds his bardiche out at the halfling. "You better not be another one of them things... Anybody know how we can tell?"
Tai was about to check another room, when the group was surprised by yet another halfling hermit. This time they wouldn't be fooled though. "Who are you!" Tai demanded. But he did that more as a distraction while scanning for any evil signs.
"Don't overexert yourself! I will stand guard by your side as the others investigate." Lor-Sinn reaches out to steady Pike as the old man menaces the halfling, a second arrow nocked and her bow half-drawn.
What was happening here? An imminent goblin invasion, three-toed creatures, and, and... whatever this thing had been. Indeed, could they be sure there was only one?
"You better not be another one of them things... Anybody know how we can tell?"
How indeed. Samton didn't know what to think anymore and was justifiably wary at the sight of yet another wounded halfling. His natural instinct was to help those in need, but the group's last encounter with such a halfling had not gone overly well. Despite Pike's confrontational stance, the wizard stepped over to shield the man along with Lor-Sinn. The old warhorse was as tough as they came, but he couldn't withstand any more punishment today.
As he did so, however, Sam stepped into some of the viscous grey blood that had spilled onto the floor from the creature, and realized that the party might actually have a way of identifying the monsters. He looked to the halfling's wounds and then tilted his head over to Lor-Sinn, knowing that her fiendish eyes might be better accustomed to the dim light of the house.
"Hey, Ms Imass... Those wounds - is this guy bleeding red?"
The creature had apparently been able to change its outwards appearance. But Sam doubted that it was able to change its innards.
The halfling looks at the group, holding his hands out palms up. "I'm Walthus Proudstump..." Tears shine in his eyes. "It's so good to see friendly faces..." He pauses. "Well, faces, at least." He adds, looking at the weapons leveled at him, and referring to the lack of features where the creature's face should have been.
Shizuru's guidance reveals no aura of evil surrounding the halfling.
The halfling's wounds do seem to be bleeding red.
He looks down at the slowly oozing creature, grimacing. "That... thing came and attacked me last night. I was lucky enough to get away and hide in a secret room upstairs, but I was too injured to try to escape."
"Uh, yes, his blood does seem red." Lor-Sinn looks momentarily confused, trying to figure out what Samton is after.
Somewhat reassured that the new halfling would not transform into a monster, at least for the time being, she takes a few steps into the house, calling out. "Mister Proudstump, do you have any healing supplies?"
"Our friend was attacked by that thing, too." Tai adds to Lor-Sinn's question and points at Pike.
Pike nods and seems to relax at the red blood. "Good thinking, lad. Aye we could use some bandaging, the two of us. But him first. He looks like he's in even worse shape than me."
Walthus looks at Pike with an arched brow, before looking back to Lor-Sinn. "I have some bandages and herbs, but nothing on the level of magical healing, I'm afraid." He smiles wryly. "Maybe that was a bit of a mistake, looking back on last night..."
He walks down the stairs, past the party and into one of the other rooms. "Now where did I put those..." After a few moments, he returns. "Aha! Now, let's see what I can do for you, sir..."
Biting his lip, he examines Pike. "I'd offer you all seats, but I'm quite afraid that they were wrecked when that thing attacked me. Fortunately, my snakes helped to fend him off long enough for me to survive." He looks up at Pike. "It'll take me a few hours to do what I can here, and I can't do much without even more time."
Pike nods and turns to the others. "Can we wait? Or do we need to investigate now? It seems whatever's happening is serious." He winces at the pain in his abdomen. "I don't want to hold ya up."
Tai looks like he is thinking hard. "Hm. We can't go on with Pike in that status. But I'm not sure it's wise to leave without him. He IS the most experienced one in our group." He pauses to think a bit more.
"We were told you're a real druid. I remember that druids can do healing magic, too. Can we hire you to give us shelter and heal our friend here?" He grabs for his purse but halts. Looking at the druid and at his house, he reconsiders. "And if you don't need gold, we might find another arrangement that suits you better."
"If Sandpoint is about to be attacked by goblins, we cannot wait! We have to warn the town, at least. Mister Proudstump, what can you tell us of the goblins here? Oh, and we found a dead one earlier, with some three-toed tracks next to it, any idea what that was? Oh, hold on!"
Without waiting for a reply, Lor-Sinn hurries to inspect the creature's feet.
"And come to think of it, where did this creature come from? What did it want?"
Walthus looks in puzzlement at Tai. "A druid? No, no. I'm just a... a hermit, I guess, who prefers nature to the town. Nothing personal, of course, but I find this place rather peaceful. Or, at least, under normal circumstances I do."
"That said, I wouldn't think of charging you to stay here!" He looks mildly offended at the very thought. "No, you saved my life, killing that thing. It was only a matter of time until it found me and finished the job. I was going to offer to cook you a meal, and certainly if you wished to rest here for a time you would be welcome..."
The halfling turns to look at Lor-Sinn, clearly bemused. "Goblins attacking Sandpoint? Certainly, they've been bolder of late, what with their discovery of fireworks, but they can't have the numbers to do that..." He frowns. "I'm reasonably sure, at least."
He pauses, arching a brow. "The Licktoads have, as I said, been unusually brave of late, but I don't think they're that brave. That said, their chieftain is something of a warrior, himself. That said, they live in a little village on the Old Fish Trail - that's why it's the Old Fish Trail."
A snort. "Mind, brave for a goblin's about as brave as an unusually large mouse."
He looks at Lor-Sinn again. "Now what's this about a three-toed creature?"
Lor-Sinn's investigation of the foot is fruitless - it looks like a bland, featureless, humanoid foot, where the toes have been fused together, not anything like the birdlike track she saw back in the Marsh.
"Sorry, sir," Sam said, looking genuinely apologetic. The group's initial conduct towards the poor man had been confrontational, but hopefully understandable.
"We're all a bit on edge what with the whole... well, you already know."
Reasonably sure that this was the real Walthus Proudstump, the wizard tried to assist the halfling however possible as the swamp dweller began administering to Ol' Pike. Whatever bandages he needed rolled out, whatever herbs he needed crushed, Sam was ready and willing to help.
"Thank you, Mr Proudstump."
His voice came out muffled due to the bitter medicinal plant he was currently chewing into a paste.
"I think we'd like to take you up on that offer, at least until Mr Pike feels better. And yeah, that makes more sense," he said at the halfling's thoughts on the Licktoads. "The only one talking about imminent goblin attacks was that thing," Sam nodded towards the dead creature. "And we have no reason to believe its words to be any more trustworthy than its appearance. Besides, I think Ms Shalelu would have known if the Licktoad tribe had grown to be such a threat."
The wizard reached into a pocket and pulled out his journal.
"Oh, but uh... Yes, we came across a dead goblin on our way here. There was a footprint in the mud next to it. Do you recognize this, sir?"
Walthus peers up at Sam, a brow arched. "It's true that Shalelu keeps a close eye on all things goblinoid. Sometimes that can mean a bit of blindness on the side, but she's truly an inspiration to us all." He examines Sam's drawing with a frown. "No, no, I don't recognize that, I'm afraid. There've been strange things in the Marsh of late, though - and I'm not just talking about goblins."
Pike winces as another bandage is applied to his broad chest. "Wait... what do you mean? What sort of strange things have been about besides that thing?"
Shalelu's name serves to reign in the impetuous tiefling a little. The ranger always chided her about rushing headlong into things, so Lor-Sinn forces herself to stop and consider all the information they had.
She starts going over things in her head, but a look in Pike's direction steals her focus and reminds her that there is another compelling reason to not hare off into the marsh - the old man was badly injured and needed medical attention. Sure, they could leave him behind, but what if there more of these creatures lurking nearby?
Besides, they needed to hear all that Walthus had to say about goblins, and the snakes, and the ... wait.
"Your... snakes?"
Despite Walthus denying any knowledge of the mysterious footprint, Sam had to smile. It was hard not to watching the immediate effect Shalelu Andosona's very name had on the animated tiefling. Clearly he wasn't the only one deeply taken with her. This did not inspire much jealousy on the wizard's part. His feelings for the elf warden were very strong indeed, but Sam was too rational to harbor any undue possessiveness towards her and too realistic to expect anything to come off said feelings. Besides, the fact that Shalelu managed to inspire such admiration in others almost validated his own affection. Love might be blind but it was evidently not random. This soothed Samton's analytical little head.
"Oh, you know. Usual rumors of various sorts of beasties. There's the Soggy River Monster, which some think lives here." Walthus answers Pike's question with a shrug. "No one really knows what it looks like, but it's attacked folks around the Marsh and the Soggy River."
"There's also other rumored creatures, like the amphisbaena - a snake with two heads, one on each end. Or even Old Megus, the Swamp Witch. She's not very friendly, but I think she might be dead."
Old Megus did at one point exist. Lots of Sandpoint children lived in dread of her and her witchy ways, but she hasn't been to the city in years.
If anything freaked the Sandpoint children out about Old Megus more than her witchcraft, it was her rat-like creature that she carried with her, wrapped in her shawls.
The halfling looks at Lor-Sinn, brightening. "Oh, yes. I train snakes, you see, and..." He gestures at the door Tai opened earlier. "They live out there. I'll go check on them once I'm done treating this kind man."
Pike's brow furrows at the talk of monsters. "This swamp sounds dangerous. And we still have no idea what that thing is. Maybe we take it back to town to see if anyone knows? Seems serious."
A soggy monster didn't sound very threatening, and the other things that Walthus mentions go right over her head, but Lor-Sinn frowns at the suggestion of returning to Sandpoint with their metaphorical tail between their legs, her own - quite real - tail twitching in frustration.
"We were entrusted with a mission, and we can hardly return without at least attempting to complete it. So the swamp is a dangerous place, but the good people of Sandpoint rely on us to make it less so. We can hardly disappoint them now, can we?"
Pike nods. "That's true. Let's see if we can deal with a few gobbos. Maybe even get some information from them."
"Well, yes, of course. No need to retreat. Any threat to sandpoint shall die by my blade!"
"We'll have to find that threat first..."
Sam stood at the door, looking out into the sodden expanse. Swamp witches, two-headed snakes, firework wielding goblins, shape shifting monstrosities, and now some local boogeyman? Brinestump Marsh was turning out to be pretty rough. His eyes went from the bog over to the injured Pike. Perhaps the best the wizard could do right now was to find as efficient a path as possible to what the group had come here for in the first place, hopefully circumventing all the other dangers the halfling spoke of.
"Did you say the Old Fish Trail leads to their village, Mr Proudstump? I'm pretty sure I can find that."
Walthus nods slightly. "Yes, it should be fairly easy if you leave the Marsh and go around..." He pauses, frowning. "Trying to work within the Marsh might be faster, but it also means that you're more likely to get lost."
Sam's pretty sure that the Old Fish Trail is further to the east of the New Fish Trail, as well as to the south. Continuing on the Lost Coast Road until they found it would lead them right to it. Within the swamp... no, he's not nearly as certain he'd be able to lead the group there. It'd likely involve fording the various rivers that flow towards Sog's Bay from the Soggy River.
He hums slightly as he begins righting furniture and turns towards one of the doors. "Would you like a meal, before you go? I'm afraid I still don't know most of your names, and I would love to offer my admittedly meager hospitality to my saviors."
Of course! She had introduced herself to the abomination, but not to the actual owner of the house and their host! Darkening in embarrassment, Lor-Sinn clears her throat.
"My name is Lor-Sinn, paladin of Erastil and student of Shalelu. We thank you for your hospitality." An errant thought flits through her mind. "You said the goblins are called... licktoads? Is a toad not like a- a frog?" She gives Samton a meaningful look. Those damned frogs again! She knew there was something nefarious about them.
"A rather strange name. Do you know anything more of them? The goblins, not the toads. Although... Do you think perhaps they have domesticated the toads? Perhaps they have giant frogs that they use as mounts. Or perhaps they have trained them to attack. Hmm."
An image of a huge frog with fireworks strapped to its back fills her mind for a moment, and her upper lip curls in displeasure.
"Tai Kaijitsu is my name. It's an honor to meet you." Tai considers the offer, but didn't feel very hungry. They haven't actually been gone very long and he did have a very good breakfast.
"You're rabling again, Lori. I'm sure toads will not be our problem." Tai tried to laugh and lighten the mood.
Pike nods. "Yes sir. I'm Pike. That's all I go by. Good to meet the real you and thanks for patching me up." Pike nods to the others and gets to his feet. "Well then, let's go look for some Licktoads, eh?"
Samton looked into the ceiling, clearly deep in thought.
"Yeah, I think so. In everyday speech 'toad' and 'frog' are largely synonymous, but it's a point of debate between natural philosophers whether or not they really belong to the same species. If I'm remembering this right, there are some key differences: long vs short legs, smooth vs rough skin... I think there might be some disparity in how they lay eggs too, but I can't quite..."
The wizard's mouth hung open for a second before he shut it with an audible snap. No, he wasn't doing this again. Nope. He was not entertaining Lor-Sinn's strange ideas. He had the uncomfortable feeling that every word he shared in the attempt to clarify the tiefling's bizarre notions only added her absurdity, like fuel to a bonfire.
"Just... Just don't worry about it too much, Ms Imass." Sam's tone was weary and despondent. The paladin was making him second-guess the power of rationalism. It was very disconcerting.
"Samton Verro, sir. Just Sam," he finally added in response to the halfling's query.
"Thank you for the offer, really, but don't exert yourself - you're still wounded. We should go check on those goblins. It's what we came here for. Depending on how long this takes though, a roof over our heads tonight sure would be appreciated. Just take care of yourself and your snakes, sir. We'll be sure to check back here before we leave. I had some questions about the marsh I was hoping you could answer, but that's best left for later."
On his way out the door, Sam grabbed the legs of the dead creature still splayed out over Walthus's floor.
"Tai, will you take the arms so we can toss this thing?"
Kurai offers a short bow. "I am called Kage Kurai. I too have studied under Shalelu. I echo my comrades thanks for your hopitality." he says, with a nod toward Lor-Sin.
"Of course, of course..." Walthus pauses, considering. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all, at the very least. As thanks for your help, and to aid you in your hunting of goblins, I have something of a… farewell gift.”
He turns and rushes upstairs - as rushed as a wounded halfling can get, at least. After several moments, he returns, a bundle of cloth in his hands. ”This cloak has gotten me out of more tight spots than I can count on my fingers and toes. It helps you resist unpleasant effects of various sorts of hazards.”
"In all honesty, I'm not sure why they're called Licktoads, but that is their tribal name. At least, as far as I've been told. I admit, I've never had the chance to speak to one." He smiles. "If you have any other questions for me, I'd be more than happy to answer them."
Recognizing the cloak for what it was, Sam was hesitant to accept it. Between the group and the hermit, it was the poor halfling that looked more in need of protection.
"A-are you sure, Mr Proudstump? Gods know we may need it, but... the cost of enchanted cloth aside, you could perhaps use any additional safeguard yourself. Could be more shapeshifters out there."
Only after the swamp dweller had assured them that they should have it, did the wizard feel comfortable leaving the little hut. Sam didn't much like leaving him wounded, but there was little more the group could do for him. Mentally promising himself to check in on him before they left the swamp, Samton looked to the marshy expanse, to the south-east, where he thought their destination was. The party would have to retrace their steps up the New Fish Trail and circle the perimeter of the marsh before entering the Old Fish Trail. That should finally lead them to the goblin village. It was a bit of a trek, but far safer than wading directly into the mire.
"What a nice man."
The old fellow hoofs it out of the hut, following Samton. Good thing the lad has a head for maps. But I better keep an eye out to make sure I know where we are.
But the twisted trees all around soon leave Pike terribly turned about and unsure where in the swamp they are. Uneasy, he asks "Um... lad? You know where we are?"
Another thought occurs to him. "Hey, my fellows. If this thing is useful, one of you should wear it. Gotta stay safe, out here."
"Well, Pike, you're the one that is in most need of protection. I'm protected by Shizuru."
The group exits the shack as Walthus waves them goodbye. Crossing over three bridges they pass by the corpse of the goblin once more. The foliage continues to plague the adventurers' footsteps, tugging and tangling as it all too often does.
Passing by the goblin's corpse, they exit the marsh as the late morning sun blazes overhead. It takes them nearly twenty minutes to progress down the Lost Coast Road, but nothing of major interest occurs. Instead, they find themselves traveling down the Old Fish Trail, descending - literally, this time - into the Marsh once more.
The path winds and weaves - it is harder to follow than the earlier path, and it takes them much longer to arrive at the first bridge across the waters of the Soggy River.
Nothing seems amiss here. Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary.
There's a brief flicker of a pale, vaguely humanoid figure out of the corner of the eye. Nothing major, but certainly alarming in and of itself - especially since when directly looked at, it is gone.
At the young lady suggestion that Pike should be the protected instead if the protector, Pike's brow darkens. He begins muttering under his breath about "Youngsters" and "Know-it-alls." But then he feels he pain in his ribs and sees the bandages poking iut under his armor and begins to laugh in pain. "I guess you're right, lad. Ol' Pike will need some babying today..." He smiles ruefully as he done the cloak.
As they walk down the trail, Pike still stays near the front in case he should be needed. But he's not quite first in line anymore. Still, he tries to keep his eyes peeled for danger.
Alas, Samton was too occupied looking for landmarks to notice anything else. A notably tall tree here, a funny shaped rock there... It all went into his notebook as material by which he could later construe a topographical image of their surroundings.
"Stop!" Kurai says, of a sudden, throwing up an arm. He freezes, looking off to the side. "Did anyone else see that?"
Lor-Sinn starts as Kurai speaks, she had almost forgotten about the cloaked figure, as he had been very quiet in the last couple of hours.
"See what?"
The young tiefling peers closely at the vegetation obscuring their vision on all sides, intent on any movement.
Pike shakes his head. "No! See what?"
There is nothing there save the sounds and sights of the swamp - not any more, at any rate. Perhaps there was once something there, but whatever it was is now gone. There is no sign of movement, nor of anything else in particular.
The slowly moving water of the creek burbles softly beneath the bridge, and the buzz of insects continues through the green-cast sunlight of the Marsh.
Pike is ready to move on unless Kurai thinks its worth investigating. He's the one who saw it, after all.
"Hey, Ms Imass? What's your favorite animal?"
The question could certainly be described as out of the blue, but came in fact out of Sam's mouth. Trusting Proudstump at his word when describing all the dangers of the swamp, the wizard was by now thoroughly unnerved by the group's surroundings, and this latest sighting of Kurai's didn't help matters. An active mind never rested, however, and Sam had a thought. If something humanoid was following them, the likeliest candidate might be another one of those shape shifting beasties. Maybe out for revenge for the one the party killed earlier. And if this was the case, then it would probably attempt to impersonate one of them, much like with the poor halfling.
Impressive as the monster's transformation was, it should be easily countered by any identification not physical. And so Samton's mind leapt to the obvious solution: a password.
"I was thinking... If we're being followed by one of those shapeshifters," he started by way of explaining his earlier question, "then we could adopt some sort of password or phrase only known within the group. That way, should they try to replace any of us, we'd be able to recognize each other."
If the wizard realized he was insinuating a rather dire worst-case scenario despite his light tone, one in which a member of the party was successfully substituted, then he didn't show it.
"Something innocuous would probably work best... So, uh, what's your favorite animal?"
When Kurai saw something, Tai instinctively drew his sword. You never knew.
"an identification? Hm. How clever. What about Shalelu?" He was serious at first, but was grinning now, too.
"Shalelu is not an animal, haha, Tai, you are so silly." Lor-Sinn bursts out, laughing. "Samton was asking about favourite animals."
She ponders for a long moment. "I really like dogs, but "dog" might be too simple, so let's go with... hound! Like a bloodhound, or a foxhound, or a wolfhound, and I think up north in Irissen they have something called elkhound? They're furrier than the hunting hounds we have around here. Say, speaking of dogs, think we should have taken some with us? Maybe they could sniff out the shapeshifters, or the goblins. Oh, oh! Goblinhound! How about that for a passphrase?"