"Such a waste of ale!"
Perception
"Maybe we could just ask them what they think is fair on a trade?"
Cole smirks and puts his sword away.
"Sounds like you only needed to bring our resident traveling chef. I hope we can conjure a LOT of food."
"Right I could eat, Also whats Bufo?" She says standing tall and rubbing her stomach.
"Arrrgh! I don't get it!" Hadri looks increasingly frustrated at the prospect of bartering with them.
The goblins look at the party discussing next steps, eagerly at Shintaro, who has earned their respect quickly, nervously at Hadri and Borkandors, enviously at Tura with that 'Bufo' word dropping from her mouth, and with uncertainty at Cole, Rodan, and the paladins.
"So asking what they want and need is a good start and I think Shintaro has ideas on what we can offer them, moving forward. So while Shintaro is being kind now, we may need to intimidate them and be unkind in future, but we don't know the state of our former allies. So maybe they are bound above a portal into the Abyss and should we take action prematurely it will end with their sacrifice and eternal damnation, but as near as I can tell, none of these are the evil-cultist sort of goblin."
"Protecting you will be easier the more goblins we disarm with our words and not our swords. We come together as unlikely allies, with orc and dwarf, sinner and saint, hobgoblin and Minkaian. It's not impossible we can redeem some of these goblins, and if the price is some food, spirits and trinkets, I value your lives more." Lar says with a sincerity that assures you how highly he values you all.
Cole smirks again and crosses his arms on his chest.
"Amen."
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Hadri stands ready to react, ever hopeful the Goblins decide to initiate some form of brawl.
"Daan rhaar zagen oklaagec! Daan magaan ghon dhuul duun tagaan, or zagen dukhaan! Duuc A al dhuul a dreklaagaac kac A magaan dhuuc ar ghuugaan dac takheraluugec, ac dhuul daan tekaan or ghec rhaal'dec o muul o shac don ghaan! Daan al'duun oklaar duun tagaan or al'duul'tuuch, an daan shac gharlelal'dec ghalaan ghuugaan! Ar arlac ghuul khruur rhaan daan talkaan an o muul, rhor A arogaan o ar haar o droc! Daan al'duun oklaar a gharlelach rhaal dar shac shaakhaan a shalkegaan der okec duur, a tuugaan or dhegaan dar dech khraagaar koc or, arlac ac arlac! Ac kaakhor daan den duun maar tuugen or muul o shalkaan duun rhaan maagaan! Alkakaan an der or huugec!"
The goblins seem excited by the offerings, with lips licked and bellies rubbed at the mention of food and alcohol. A few share a chuckle at the belly of Shintaro being evidence of the quality of the offer and magical fire seems to make their eyes dance with delight.
The leader answers you:
The goblins speak with the sort of pride only a new nation, new religion, or a new theocracy can instill.
"What they saying? Hadri looks at Shintaro for a translation. "We just going to stand here?"
Shintaro ignores the dwarf and looks to the gaijin paladins.
"Hm! They were apparently nearly slaughtered by humans or the like, but found a new leader, religious type. They now see our arrival as fortuitous, further proof of the blessings!"
"So there's a prophecy, and we're part of it? So I guess we could get details on the prophecy to better understand, or we could seek to speak to the prophet herself."
"Prophecy has brought us here. That prophecy is a double-sided coin is nothing new. The gods whisper secrets and plans and mortals try to follow them. I'm fine with charging forward but it's not wise. Then again, wisdom and I seem like distant acquiantances recently."
"To be fair, their prophecy seems to be a vague 'follow me and things will get better,' not that that's automatically invalid!"
Cole sighs audibly.
"Technically they ARE better than us. Better off at least. They own this...fortress. We are asking things FROM them. They have the better negotiating position, do they not?"
"I still feel uneasy abou' these creatures been in an old dwarven shrine. It just don' feel right trying to tell them it's all ok. But my fate is not in my hands right now, else I'd be different" He says flashing a slightly pained smile towards So and Lar.
"Creatures? They're sapient beings! They have done us no harm! If you only have racism to say, stay silent!" Shintaro glares at the dwarf and the hobgoblin.
Shintaro blinks a few times at the hobgoblin, and then simply turns back to the paladins. He was working with criminals, after all.
"And Hobgoblins look good on pikes, Humans are fierce breeding stock, Elves are vile tricksters, Halflings are great slaves and goblins are bringers of fire! So Don't judge them by what we were taught but what you see for yourself. Personally, they seem to be sitting pretty and they haven't tried to attack us, and seem eager for the chance of food!" Tura says bored with all the discussion about the Goblins and there worth.
"So lets' get them to tell us more and move on, I'm itching to get past this talk and get to the good part, you know fighting, then the celebratory feast after a victory! Over the spoils and your enemies dead!" She smiles eager to be done with all the talk, either lets fight or let's eat is her motto.
Rodan just stands back and watches the bickering. He then looks at his mark of justice thinking:
How bad can it be , if I just walk away who would notice. No those paladins would make it some kind of holy quest to come after me. I guess I am stuck for now. But if something does happen, the goblin who is doing all the talking will get my arrows first.
As he studies the speaker.
"So Tura votes for a feast now, and Shintaro also, Cole is I believe open to the idea, while the other position is we're too nice to the goblins." So says, surveying the group.
"Kindness costs us little and may gain us much. Foot soldiers tend to think with their belly while generals may be more disciplined, and I believe that holds true for religious organizations. 'Join the church and we'll feed and protect you' is a universal promise of faith. Sarenrae does a better job than many in fulfilling it. Shall we go and fetch a light picnic or should we wait until we've moved to a higher echelon of the congregation?" Lar asks.
Cole shrugs.
"Should we hunt some food for this feast? I hear goblins eat a lot."
"Let's get further inside this place, if we have to feast, let's not waste our effort on the bottom rung of the ladder"
"Pfft I bet I could out-eat a goblin or two" She says with a snort and chuckle looking at the men then the goblin and smiling showing her huge canine teeth.
"So Shintaro, it seems like we should offer a feast but we need to meet a prophet or someone more firm in the prophet's graces so as to conserve our supplies."
"Huukec khraar-dhec ac dhegaan-tagaar! A duuch rhaan kaalken khruur duun akekhaan or Huukhaar duun hagalaan, haar agaan men huugen ac or har der mel rhec der daan kec or men dhegaan!"
[Spoliers=common]"Goblin near-friends and fire-sharers! I would be remiss not to invite your Prophet to partake, great are his glories and your path with him bright with the light of his fire!"[/spoilers]
"Let's see how foolish these creatures are" Hadri chuckles to himself
The goblins look between themselves at the request and finally, one nervously says, with emphasis on the first word:
"Dar an a zaagec kaaruukakaan aluulkuurthakhec! Daan den okec khruur duun oklaac!"
The goblins are really unprepared to be treated so nicely, and after a pause to decide how to respond to such kind manners, they answer:
"Dar an a zaagec kaaruukakaan aluulkuurthakhec! Daan den okec khruur duun oklaac!"
"What's he saying?"
"He is going to fetch a priest, who then will either answer out questions and join the feast or determine that we are worth interrupting the prophet for!"
"Priest of what? This place reeks of Hadregash - no offense to our hobgoblin friend - but one of the tenets of that faith is tribal loyalty. We haven't seen that here with the intermingling of tribes. I don't know that any of the other goblin hero-gods would unite across tribes. This whole prophet structure is difficult to reconcile with my understanding of goblin religion."
"This seems to be remnants of tribes held together by this new prophet. We may well be the first to encounter them. Let us be careful."
Tura shrugs and looks at the goblins and smiles."Why these guys seem fun little drinking buddies"
Unperturbed, shrugs and Cole merely comments again, arms still crossed on his chest.
"As long as it isn't the 'eat anything alive' kind of religion, we should be OK."
Tura thinks about looks about and shakes her head. "No I bet you all are grislely" She says looking every member over and contemplates a little more before shaking her head.
Shintaro pats his big belly and winks. "How dare you!"
"Hrmph. How long we got to wait for this priest?"