Hearing common and finding the worry from the creature on the stairs rather reassuring, Ketra steps into clear view. She sheathes her machete and raises a hand. "Hi there!"
"No, not bonebugs. Just living people. Very glad to see something not trying to kill us though. We had to fight a lot of bonebugs down here." She waits to see if the friendly overtures are having any effect with the figure.
"No, not bonebugs. Just living people."
"Ahem. Speak for yourself, girlie," Zsofia mutters.
Sanduro glares at the phantom and whispers to her in Varisian, tapping his forehead with a finger for emphasis.
"Ne rontsd el ezt, vagy épp ott van."
The figure's posture eases slightly at Ketra's friendly overture, going from immanent flight to intrigued thoughtfulness. "Lives peoples? Fight bonebugs? Is good fighty people then. Hmmm..." The small figure hops from one foot to the other tapping its chin thoughtfully. "Is merkaninny--no, meercatty--no, merchantary? Fight for loot? Rudgib maybe have job need doing."
Having gotten a closer look at the creature, you feel confident that it is a mite. Mites are small, quarrelsome fey who dwell underground. Though naturally inclined toward hierarchical structures they are rarely found anywhere but the on the fringes of the fey courts, their hideous mien and pitiable weakness making them frequent objects of scorn from those who encounter them.
As the conversation continues, Silvia gradually relaxes more and more, until she finally holsters her pistol, her initial suspicion giving way to curiosity. When it tries to hire them, of all things, her eyebrows quickly climb her forehead, and she joins in the dialogue.
"'Mercenary'? Is that what you're looking for? Can I assume that you are Rudgib?" A beat. "What kind of job?"
"I don't know... We need to try to get back to town as quickly as we can, don't we?"
Zsofia interrupts him. "What kind of loot?" she calls loudly. "And how much?"
Ketra raises an eyebrow "Sure maybe. Do you know how we get back to the surface from here?" The talk of jobs doesn't seem particularly important right now, but she figures entertaining the fellow's suggestion might help with learning what exactly is happening inside the tomb right now.
"We're from Roslar's Coffer, have you heard of it?"
The little blue creature rolls its eyes and shrugs. "No, and not care."
Seemingly taking the barrage of questions as interest, if not agreement, he rubs his hands together excitedly and hisses something at the beetles, who mostly subside. "Great loots, yes, this place has many shiny thingies! Rudgib," he taps himself on the chest as his expression grows wrathful. "Rudgib was cappan of this expeedi--no, exeped--uh, job. We best warriors of Mag Tureah! Sent to drive off nasty witches, but witches say--" Rudgib seemingly catches himself, his hideous features contorting themselves into a cagey look.
"Well, not important what witches say. But we come here for special thingy, find bonebugs and awful walky statue thingies. Fight them! Many warrior die, but Barpple--damn him ugly face! Barpple kill bad statue, give himself mighty deed-name. 'Stonebreaker,' fah! It just lucky shot, but Barpple then say him should be boss! Stupid warrior, them all agree and so Rudgib not cappan no more. Told to watch stair for bonebug!"
Rudgib looks angry at the memory, but he points to the group of you excitedly. "But now no more bonebugs, and very good warriors can help Rudgib become cappan again! And then Rudgib show great warriors how to go away!" The small blue man's chest puffs out, and he awaits your acceptance with the smug certainty of one who has made an irresistible offer.
|
"I mean... the alternative seems to be killing him and testing our luck. I don't care for petty politics, much less the murderous kind, but if that means we can escape to Roslar's Coffer faster, I guess it is worth it when the alternative is murder in cold-blood?" Wallace says, clearly not very pleased with their current options. We could betray him if we saw a better choice, but our principles are tested while we are at our lowest. Whatever we decide, I will honor the agreement faithfully. I can't put doubt in the mind of my allies that I would do the same to them!
"Uh, give us a moment to decide Rudgib..."
Ketra draws the rest of the group into a huddle and talks really quickly in common in hopes that the little guy won't be able to follow. "Don't even joke Wallace. We could probably push past him and his fire bugs, but then we've got all of his pals - ex-pals, I guess - up there probably. And this Barpple sounds like someone who likes to smash first, ask questions later. I know the type..."
"So I say we help. Maybe there's some ploy we can play here that can make Rudgib look like an even bigger hero."
Garret says, ”I would prefer to not promise to kill his companions without having met them, but helping him become captain again through other means sounds fine to me.”
"Not take too long, them might hear us talking!
Silvia looks thoughtful while the others talk, finally joining the conversation after some time. "If they were sent here to clean out the ostovites, they couldn't be all that bad. They might even have been able to do it, if Rudgib's subordinate hadn't mutinied. Plus, he's the friendliest thing we've met down here." Granted, that's a very low bar.
She glances back up the stairs at the creature and his bugs. "Besides, he reminds me of this dog I saw in Vigil, once. Tiny body, with a head that was so ugly and weird shaped that it wrapped all the way around back to being cute again. I like him."
Sanduro frowns. "I don't know. I'm not saying we shouldn't do this - he might be our best way out of here, as Wallace said - but I have a lot of questions about this group. For example, what is Mag Tureah? Who are the witches, and why won't he talk about them?"
"And how much loot are we talking about?"
After a moment of thought, you recall that Mag Tureah is one of the larger and more notorious realms of the First World. A subterranean mirror of the powerful fey courts of the surface lands of that plane, Mag Tureah is a cruel and violent realm ruled by mysterious giants possessed of strange magical abilities.
Silvia waves off Sanduro's concerns, saying "Questions don't help us get out of here, but our little blue friend might!"
While the rest of the group are talking, Ketra breaks out of the huddle to wave to Rudgib "Hey there, I think we like your idea. How do you think we can help you become captain again?" She narrows her glowing eyes "Because, y'know, if you're thinking of having us kill someone and then double crossing us..."
"Maybe we can bring up all the dead bonebugs and you can tell your clan you personally killed them all. We'll even back you up. I can tell a mean story when I put my mind to it."
"Rudgib did kill all bonebugs," the small creature says with a hideous wink. "Rudgib too smart to fight with big folk who beat a thingy warriors of Mag Tureah still fighting! Barpple maybe not so smart, lucky shot go to him head..."
Rudgib considers the plan for a long moment before speaking again. "Mighty deed good, kill bonebugs help convince some. But get shiny thingy witches want? That make sure Rudgib become cappan again! Even know where shiny is!"
** spoiler omitted **
"So the loot you promise is the shiny thing we keep? And we just give you the credit so you can be captain of your group again? Plus you tell us how to get out of this place? That works for me, although my companions may want to know how valuable this item is," volunteers Garret.
Ketra chuckles at how quickly the little guy gloms onto the idea that he was the big "hero". "This shiny's down here somewhere? Or up above? What are we looking for?"
While she waits for a response, Ketra thinks about what exactly these little creatures are likely here for. Not to just kill 'bonebugs', but to rob the tomb. That doesn't sit too comfortably for her, though when she has to choose between getting out to help her sisters and making sure some long-gone warriors keep their baubles, the choice is clear enough.
|
|
Wallace nods his heads and exhales. That's a much better arrangement. Fetching a "shiny" in exchange for a way out is more palatable than murderous politics. "Frankly, I think we're above being errand boys and girls, that's a paltry price to pay for freedom. I say we accept and get moving," he suggests, getting a little antsy now that a plan of action is rapidly becoming clearer.
Silvia waves off Sanduro's concerns, saying "Questions don't help us get out of here, but our little blue friend might!"
Sanduro raises an eyebrow in response but keeps his thoughts to himself.
"Don't look so sour, boyo!" Zsofia tries to slap Sanduro on the back out of habit, but her hand passes right through his chest. "This is a great idea! Following Whatsisname to help him in his mission from who-knows-who, in search of who-knows-what, for who-knows-why -- what could possibly go wrong?" The phantom gives him a big, gap-toothed grin. "Sure, at first he said he didn't know anything about how to get back to town, but now he says he does! What's the problem?"
Sanduro rolls his eyes and checks to make sure his bow string is tight. "Garret, I'd like to have one of those healing draughts now, if you have any to spare. Just in case."
Sanduro rolls his eyes and checks to make sure his bow string is tight. "Garret, I'd like to have one of those healing draughts now, if you have any to spare. Just in case."
"Shiny stone up, up here! Found it already, but it very hard to touch." Rudgib gesture vaguely behind himself at the level he's standing on. "Barpple looking for way to move but him not have secret weapon: great fighty peoples like you!" He claps his hands together in a gesture of finality. "So! We has deal? Rudgib get shiny stone and become cappan, mighty big folk get other loots and go?"
Rudgib appears to be holding out on you regarding the "shiny stone". He seems a little bit afraid of it, even.
With Sanduro clearly just as enthusiastic about the plan as her, Silvia turns and gives Rudgib the full measure of her attention. Something about the way he speaks about the stone raises her hackles, and she takes a step forward. When she speaks to him a moment later, it is in a voice devoid of her usual energy or friendly affectations.
"Rudgib, tell us what the stone is, and what it is you're so afraid of. Please."
In this moment, Silvia's expression and posture are more reminiscent of a big cat staring down a deer, than of a person asking a question.
Rudgib, who had descended partway down the stairs, flinches back from Silvia with his eyes bulging out. The three beetles give off warning hisses.
"What? Shiny stone is thingy witches want, them not tell us what is!" He audibly gulps as Silvia stares him down, and hesitantly continues. "But...it sorta...eat a warrior who touch it. Not him body, but him die and then...dry out? Rudgib not sure how shiny should be moved. Barpple too, me think."
Satisfied with this answer, Silvia's posture relaxes and returns to her more congenial self. "Thank you," she says, before turning and speaking over her shoulder to her companions. "Any idea on what might do that?"
Garret tries to think if there is any magical effect or spell that could produce such an effect...
Sanduro tries to what kind of shiny object could kill someone that way with a touch.
Sanduro and Garret are both keenly aware that such a death suggests negative energy was involved; the most common sources of such energy are undead or magic--usually necromantic or otherwise connected to the Negative Energy Plane.
"Maybe it's what that creep was after," Silvia suggests. Doubt it's a coincidence, at least!
”This item is likely of necromantic origin. I can’t be sure without studying it directly, but Zsofia could probably handle it without harm,” surmises Garret.
Ketra nods at Silvia's guess "Could be. The bloke was unnerving enough for it." She ponders the situation described by the little blue guy out loud "Huh, I wonder how the witches imagined this one and his friends were going to move the killing stone?" before snapping her fingers.
Some dangerous stone sure as hell isn't going off to some sketchy witches, if I have any say. Lucky for us that Rudgib and the other guy whats-his-name are dense as clay. Time to lay the groundwork...
In a sly, conversational tone she calls out "Oh, Rudgib? I'm really sorry to tell you this... but I think these witches you're working for didn't expect you'd come back with the stone. They didn't tell you how to get the stone without getting eaten, right? Why would they do that?"
While she's setting this up, Ketra starts heading up the stairs.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"No, no, witches very clear, us must bring shiny stone for them to join Mag Tureah. Them say..." Rudgib stops shaking his head and stands quietly for a moment. His eyes narrow in sudden suspicion. "You think witches want us get killed? Them know shiny stone am trap?! Why, why them nasty skittering--" in his outrage the little blue creature starts shouting in its own strange tongue, clearly an expletive-laden rant even if you don't understand the words.
Pointing at the beetles with a shouted command, Rudgib bounds up the stairs with his pets close behind.
As you crest the stairs you hear multiple thin reedy voices all babbling in the same unknown language, and you see before your a quartet of small blue creatures like Rudgib, arguing and waving their blades about. When they see you their eyes bulge nearly out of the heads and their cacophonous shrieking and pointing overwhelms whatever your new companion was trying to say.
Garret tries to help Ketra cut through the noise long enough for her to speak, saying, "Please, listen a moment!"
Ketra blinks at Garret. Wait, he expects ME to solve this!?
She waves at the group "Hi there little guys. Before you ask, no, we're not dead. No, there's no reason to fight us. And Yes, Rudgib is a cool cucumber and you should listen to him."
'Cool cucumber? What are you Ketra, your dad?'
Sanduro winces as Ketra is barely able to get the attention of any of the squabbling creatures. "Zsofia, could you please make an effort to help here?"
The phantom smirks and nods. "Sure thing, boyo. I think I know what to do."
Zsofia glides forward, deliberately passing through several of the little blue people, before reaching Rudgib. Stopping before him, she bows deeply and intones. "I am here as you ordered, boss! What do you want me to do? Get the shiny? Or deal with, ummm, what's-his-face?" She pauses, then looks back over her shoulder at Rudgib's comrades.
Sanduro puts his face in his hands and tries to sink into the floor.
Silvia raises an appreciative eyebrow at Zsofia's display, but keeps her focus on the group of tiny shouting blue creatures. "Loud little things, aren't they?"