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The grippli sits down on a crate with a heavy sigh. "Whew...I'm tired. No, I'm tired, but that's not my name. I'm Gwellik and I'm just a humble trader." The grippli reaches over to a weapon rack and picks out one of the short swords. He holds the blade up to the sun, admiring the edge before putting it back. "We had quite a lucky break. I met some nice friends who wanted to trade with us. We got a pretty good deal on these weapons. Good steel is hard to find."
Gwellik pulls out a flask made from a hollowed out gourd and takes a long swig out of it. "You guys don't look like traders. I don't see any trade goods. What are you doing here?"
When Laafdahni mentions the relic, the grippli perks up. "Relic? We don't have any relics. Oh wait...do mean the weapon? Is that why you're here?"
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Gwellik becomes excited and hops off the crate. "Yes, yes, yes! Its a clay ball! I need to take you to the elders. Mother Bogwyne most of all. They'll want to talk with you! We can make a deal with you!"
Gwellik shouts up to a pair of gripplis in the tree house above. The two amphibians lower a rope ladder down. "Come! Come with me! The ladder is for you!" The grippli begins climbing the tree itself, his webbed fingers and toes sticking to the side of the tree as he scrambles up to the platform in the trees.
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Bask kneels down to Salim who looks like he's excited to try following his friends up the rope ladder, scratches him behind the ear, and says.
Salim doesn't look very happy about it, but he does what he's told and sits on his haunches. Bask follows up the ladder with suprising speed given his bulk
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The party climbs up the ladder one at a time as the gripplis above watch in interest. Up under the canopy of the large trees there are six large tree houses connected to each other with a series of rickety rope bridges. In the forest beyond, there are more huts in the trees but they are appear abandoned and are overgrowing with branches and vines.
Gwellik leads the party to a large tree house in the center of the village cluster. Inside the house there three older looking gripplis with mottled gray-brown skin sitting around a fire. They are passing around a well made looking sword, sized for the grippli's smaller hands. Gwellik steps forward and lets out a modest croak to get their attention. The three gripplis turn towards the party.
"Oh elders, there are more visitors here who are interested in the weapon. I thought you would want to know right away." Pointing to the elders, Gwellik introduces them to the Pathfinders. "This is Mother Bogwyne. She is the lorekeeper for our tribe and the chief elder. That grippli is Finyik, our huntmaster. And finally, there is Diblop. She is our brew-mistress and our tribe's work of miracles."
Mother Bogwynne, the largest of the gripplis, slowly gets to her feet and hands the sword to the trader. “Thank you Gwellik. You have done well in our time of need, bringing both weapons and travelers from afar to lend aid to the Krihirik.” The energetic young grippli gives a deferential bow and departs.
She pauses and looks over her guests in the meetinghouse. “So, you seek a weapon to fight against the guardian of the Bandu Hills? Word of our tribe’s secret seems to have reached many ears of late. The Krihirik have such an object, but it is a treasured possession, entrusted to us long ago—one we could not surrender lightly. However...”
She looks to Finyik, the hunt-master, whose old bones creak as he gets to his feet to speak. “We are fewer in number with each season, for we are hemmed in by enemies on all sides. Those who would seek our remaining weapon would do well to bring us one in return, and this is the same opportunity we gave to those who came before you. Travel to Deepblood Ridge, where two beasts of the Kaava Lands reign, and bring back one or more of their eggs. These we can nurture as our own, far from the hungry talons of the lizardfolk who fear the beasts and would eat their young. Do this while surviving the dangers of our forest home, and you shall have our gratitude and our respect.”
Finyik sits down, and Diblop, by far the oldest and grayest of the three, speaks. “The great scaled ones are mighty creatures, the king and queen of the Kaava Lands’ many beasts. But the lizardfolk—may curses haunt their breed to the ends of the jungle— chased them off, leaving the nest vulnerable. Now is the time to strike! Those who can defy the lizardfolk and aid us now will be most fit to wield the weapon the dwarves gave us so long ago and end the vile guardian’s threat once and for all.”
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Upon being introduced, Laafdahni bows respectfully to the elders. After they finish speaking, she muses: "Hmm... You say that news of this weapon has reached many ears. How many, exactly? --You see, we are trying to find a dwarven man who went missing. Per our last knowledge, he was traveling alone. We found his abandoned journal, which lead us here. Our hope is that if we follow in his footsteps, we will find him. However, during our search we have come across some people who would think nothing of harming him. That's why we're interested in knowing how many people have come seeking this relic recently, and who they claimed to be."
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Jang steps forward. “I am sorry for the hardships you are enduring!“
He looks at the elders.
“This weapon was entrusted to you by my kind?“ he asks.
“And who else is involved in this? Any information would be valuable. But I can already tell you that I am willing to do anything to receive your blessing and the heirloom of my kind!“
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Mother Bogwyne replies, "We do not know much of the guardian beast, only that our dwarf allies feared it. We have been holding on to their weapon for many centuries, waiting for the time when they would need it. If you prove yourselves worthy we will tell how we came to have this object and what you must do to use it."
"Ah, you are curious about the other group who is seeking the weapon? They are a small group of explorers Gwellik brought back from a recent trade expedition. They seemed eager to help us with our problem.”
When Sinaryn asks if they are Aspis, Mother Bogwyne replies, "we do not know very much of the tribes that lie outside our lands. Most of them were human."
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Bask listens quietly to the conversation, sitting cross-legged so as not to tower over the Gripplis by too much. He lets his more social allies lead the conversation and tries not to look too imposing, but he can't help but as about these beasts.
"The beasts of the Kava lands whose eggs we will retrieve, what kind of creatures are they? Do they breathe fire? The lizardfolk that chased them off, are they a warlike tribe? If they chased them off and would eat their young, why have they not already?"
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Finyik answers Bask's question, “Your kind calls them dinosaurs. They are the mightiest creatures for miles in any direction, dangerous and
untamable. The lizardfolk must have suffered great losses in chasing them off.”
Diblop speaks up when Bask asks about their lizardfolk enemies. The elderly grippli trembles with rage as she speaks, “They are cruel and disgusting creatures who eat the flesh of anyone they can get their claws on—including us. We have warred with them for many generations, but now they have the upper hand. They think only of resources, and any threat to their food sources is their enemy. If they find the eggs first, they will simply eat them as a way of eliminating a future competitor.”
Mother Bogwyne places her hand on Diblop's hand. "We have lost much in our conflict with their kind and unless we can get an advantage we will continue losing until there are no more of our people left."
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Laafdahni allows the conversation to flow around her as she ponders its implications. They want us to get an egg for a large dinosaur to defend them against the lizardfolk. If defense is all that they do with it, I suppose no harm done. But if they turn the tables and the lizardfolk end up on the brink of extinction... Still, by reputation, the lizardfolk seem less likely to be truly threatened by these people, even if they had several dinosaurs at their disposal. Hmm...
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"I wouldn't be surprised if there are plants that try to easy us here." Sinaryn jokes at Bocke's suggestion.
She thinks about these lizardfolk and nods, "If they are giving you trouble then I say we deal with them. I don't care how hungry you get...when you start eating other humanoids, you cross a line. Only thing they are getting their teeth on is lead!" she says, throwing her support fully behind the grippli.
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Mother Bogwyne says, "If you want to catch up to the other group, your party should get going. Finyik can give you directions."
The hunter Finyik leaves the hut with the party and explains the route that they would need to take to reach where the dinosaur nest is.
[ooc]The party can make Knowledge checks. In place of making a Knowledge check, PCs can also spend time talking to the gripplis and use Diplomacy instead.[/ooc[]
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"Deepblood Ravine, sounds lovely doesn't it? If we stick to the eastern half we can avoid some of the scaleheads but if we do run into them...we might just get away without a fight but it is doubtful. Their violence is sure to overtake this village if we don't help them out." she says sharing the information she had learned about the area.
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“Look on the bright side. The lizardfolk tribe used to be much bigger before the dinosaurs drove them out.”
“It does sound like the other group is Aspis. They are led by someone that the locals have taken to calling Fiveknives. I’m not sure that he is Aspis, but there can’t be that many organizations that use metal badges with snakes on them.”
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Bask knows little of society and less of talking to folks, but he listens attentively as the others explain what they know. When he reunites with Salim he gives him a cut of meat from that days hunt as a reward for staying as he was told.
"Do you know what language the lizardfolk speak?" Bask asks Sinaryn and Guy when they explain things.
"Maybe we can help them find a peace with the Grippli? I spent my early years in a roaming tribe in the deserts of Thuvia. When I left to go to Merab and seek my fortune many called me savage. Barbarian. We cut our skin to make wards" he indicates his face which has intricate tattoos and scarification "and many in Merab did not understand why. To the lizardfolk this eating of others may not seem as bad as it does to us. Maybe it is an honour to them, to be useful in death"
He's not very eloquent, but you can see that the thought of killing upsets him. He tries to help by making sure he goes over his Pathfinder Chronicle relating to travel in the Mwangi every day.
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Jangafzaar Kargar spends about an hour talking to the gripplis and confirms the information that Guido remembered. He finds out that the group left about two hours ago, (which makes it three hours by the time he has finished talking with the gripplis). Finyik eventually stops by and surprised that the party is still in the village, he encourages them to wrap up their preparations and start following the Aspis that are ahead of them.
The jungle here has a thick canopy and it is considerably less humid than the Bandu hills, making this area comparably comfortable to the sweltering jungles down south.
The Kaava Lands teem with wildlife, from squawking birds and stinging insects to humongous trees that create a dense canopy above. Vines, roots, and large-leaved plants cover much of the ground. The gripplis’ directions lead northwest through the dark, virtually trackless terrain. The myriad sounds f the jungle grow louder, and the undergrowth grows thicker, as the Krihirik village vanishes into the distance.
As the party moves through the jungle, they spot numerous tracks and signs of the other group.
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"Hahaha!" Laafdahni's lilting laughter trips from her lips like a babbling brook. "In that case, knowing it might come in handy so we can avoid them." She's blithely following along at the tail end of the group, not even paying attention to where they're going. In fact, her mind has been occupied with pondering the secrets of the planes, an esoteric pasttime that often leaves her with a dreamy, far off look.
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Sinaryn takes the lead, relying on everything she has picked up from traveling through the wilderness. Bask feels a little out of place in this jungle, but is able to reliably assist her while Guy and Bocke do a good job of watching for any dangerous looking terrain that could slow the group down. Laafdahni and Jangafzaar are both clearly out of their element, and struggle to keep up with the rest of the party. The party is making adequate progress, but the Aspis party still has a significant lead.
From the tracks they party can see that there are at least six humanoids of Medium size and a smaller set of tracks belonging to a small sized humanoid that is missing two toes on their right foot.
About four miles from the Krihirik village, the terrain suddenly drops off into a deep ravine. The far side of the ravine is sixty feet away, and its craggy faces descend one hundred feet to the ravine floor below. The gap in the jungle allows a glimpse of the sky above, but the trees grow to the very edge of the ravine, and their dense canopy still blocks out much of the light. Several of the trees have massive, shaggy-barked trunks sporting countless twisting limbs. The trees’ strong roots grow deep into the earth and some even dangle over the side of the ravine.
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Guy takes a moment to look across the ravine.
“I don’t suppose anyone has a grappling arrow and enough rope to stretch across? I don’t know if anyone could throw a hook that far.”
He makes a mental note to supplement his equipment next time there is an opportunity. Realizing he hasn’t done so today, he also uses his wand of Lucky Number and offers it to the rest of the party.
If no one has a better way, he starts the long climb down into the ravine.
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"I have 50' of rope. But wouldn't the weight of all that rope be too heavy for the arrow over such a distance?" Of course, Laafdahni really wouldn't know. "Perhaps a strong, competent climber should go last, holding the rope for those of us who, umm, are likely to fall." It's clear that she's feeling insecure about her lack of proficiency. Then her eyes pop open. "Oh! How will Salim get down?"
When it's her turn, Laafdahni grips the rope with sweaty hands and tentatively begins crawling over the edge.
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Bask looks concerned.
"I did just buy a scroll to allow me to safely transport Salim as a small statue, but I hate the thought of being without my friend. I wonder if I could lower him on a rope?"
After trying a few experimental lifts of Salim Bask resigns himself to it. He hugs him and fusses him, then gives him the command that means to receive a spell, before using the scroll of Carry Companion and transforming him into a small statuette. He takes that, wraps it carefully in his bedroll for protection, then puts it in his pack and begins the climb down.