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Hobbs heads over to the mess hall to see how many different types of pickles they have.
"So do you have any pickles? What about pickled carrots? Pickled eggs, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, pickled beef, pickled eggs, pickled pineapples, pickled tomatoes, pickled eggs...?"
This goes on for several minutes...
Eventually all he can think of is pickled eggs so he gives up and asks about the cat attacks.
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"Well Zug, that's a nice welcome. Let's go see what you've got to protect the kitch... I mean workers then." Nic Nic says with a smile. Picking up all her bundles together she heads off to look for supplies, I wonder how long we've got to get ready before these kittens appear, maybe leave out some milk for them. Smiling at her own thoughts. She marches over to the supply tent, mulling over in her mind if she could make her fire proof vodka, quite the opposite to what it sounds. Maybe make some Molly Toffee Cocktail. Needs bottles, cloth and me best fire proof vodka. Oh and not forgetting a bit of fire to set if off. They kitty cats won't like that.
With a skip in her step she goes to search the Supply Tent.
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Galilea sees the party spread out and spins around in place for a bit as she looks for something to do. Eventually she decides to mingle with the workers, chatting with them to keep their spirits up and assisting with any tasks that might be difficult for the goblins due to their height.
Passing by any party member, she smiles and shoots out a quick, ”Let me know when it’s dinner time, darling!”
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Briney starts examining everything with his large magnifying glass, occasionally bumping into things or other goblins. However, while examining a rather peculiar rock that kind of-maybe-not really looks like a lion...he spots a goblin foot in a sandal that has lion fur glued to it. He scans the tool up the leg till he reaches a belt...with lion fur glued to it. Obviously, he scans further up to find a goofy looking (more so than usual) goblin that has glued lion fur into a mane around his face.
"RAWR, what are ya lookin' at!" he asks Briney with an offended grimace.
He also notices that there is a trail of fur that has fallen off of the goblin, leading out the eastern gate, where he admits to having picked it up. With someone fairly skilled at tracking, you could probably find other traces to track the cats.
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In the mess hall, Hobbs asks about the pickles and gets a quick reply.
"We just have pickled pickles. Well that is what we call them because we forgot what they were after we re-pickled them a few times. Kinda lumpy but they have a nice kick and the lion's hate them! Or at least I assume they do because they eat us goblins instead so I have been bathing in the juice to keep them off of me." says the chef in a putrid green chef's hat and apron...that were likely white before the brine baths.
When they change the topic to focus on the cats, he gets less animated.
"They always come at night...and somehow get past the fences! I have almost taken to sleeping in the pickle barrels." he says scared.
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Nic Nic quickly realizes the supply tent is not very supplied. There are a multitude of shovels and picks, nails and screws, and excess or mishapen lumber. They could be useful for making repairs or new defenses but nothing else of note.
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The goblin workers tend to get distracted by the human sorceress, following her to make rhymes about the longshank lady, pulling on her clothing, and otherwise walking in imitation to her.
"Longshank lady, are you here to scare away the lions? Can you do it before night time, please? I heard you were zapping those kobolds on the road here!" one asks her while his partner makes odd hand gestures while cackling madly.
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Ogren gives the fighting fan a longing look for a moment, before sighing. "If only there were two! The I could possibly use them like wings!" He does pick up a bola and swings it around causing the metal balls at the end to clack against each other. His grin widens as he gets ahold of how to handle the new toy.
He then takes a look at the Kopesh. "Hrrmmmmm, is that for cutting the skins off fruits? It's really oddly shaped!" While messing with the new peeler, he sits down next to Muckmuck and lays a hand on the goblin's wounds, healing them before meditating on the kinds of pranks he could pull with the peeler or bolas.
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At the goblin camp, Ogren first and foremost bounds up to the river and sees how deep it is and how much air time he would get if he jumped off here. He then springs over to the camp curious as to what defenses they have and how they might be improved, or if her could work in a simple trap to throw sand or confetti in the faces of the kitties.
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After fanning Galilea earlier, seeing Ogren eyeball it, Briney start fanning him too (with the Fighting Fan)!
"I caughts his furs - silly friend here wearing furs to thinking he protected from Big Cats - and so Briney can see it all now. The horror! The Cat - he worse than Dog! - he comes at the night and snatches poor goblins off, biting their poor heads and dragging them away - I know how to defeat Cat now - Briney can see! - Briney says we Follows this Cat!" Taking this Lead and Pursuing it!
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In the mess hall, Hobbs asks about the pickles and gets a quick reply.
"We just have pickled pickles. Well that is what we call them because we forgot what they were after we re-pickled them a few times. Kinda lumpy but they have a nice kick and the lion's hate them! Or at least I assume they do because they eat us goblins instead so I have been bathing in the juice to keep them off of me." says the chef in a putrid green chef's hat and apron...that were likely white before the brine baths.
When they change the topic to focus on the cats, he gets less animated.
"They always come at night...and somehow get past the fences! I have almost taken to sleeping in the pickle barrels." he says scared.
"Of course the lions don't like pickles. That would be ludicrous. Tuna fish on the other hand...well tigers will do anything for a tuna fish sandwich. They're kind of stupid that way. I'm sure lions feel the same. Hmmm..."
He pulls his hedgehog from his shirt and feeds her a pickle while he ponders. After a minute or so his face lights up and he snaps his fingers.
"Eureka! We'll build a tiger trap...erm lion trap...and use a tuna fish sandwich as the bait. Better yet. Multiple tiger traps...erm lion traps. You there!" He points at a nearby goblin. "Make me as many tuna fish sandwiches as you can manage, post-haste!"
Hobbs picks up Erinaceinae and places her underneath his top hat, then hurries out to recruit some goblins and begin making tiger traps around the perimeter of the camp.
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"Waits, sos kitties come into camps, pass walls and fires and everythings else to eats goblins?" Pooka repeats, looking around the camp as she does. She doesn't know much about kitties in particular but the whole thing seems pretty strange.
"Pooka sortas gets it...goblins prolly easiers to eats than other stuffs out heres. But still seems like lots of troubles for kitties to go to, 'specially with fires and stuffs arounds."
When Briney reports back with what he found regarding the dressed-up goblin and the fur leading out into the desert sands, she looks thoughtful. "Trackings might works. Do we haves enough daylights? I can'ts tracks but I's happy to go withs! If not, I go sees what stuffs they got over in the infirmarys tents."
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Galilea answers all of the goblins as politely as possible despite the constant questioning. She even shoots off some sparks in response to the kobold questions. ”Yes I am!- I will surely try my best!-You heard right!”
Once hearing Briney’s discovery, she makes a hasty exit and joins the group. ”I’m not one for tracking either but I’m on board to hunt these cats down. Not sure I could live with myself if they managed to steal away another goblin under our watch.”
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"Tooona? We don't have any of that. The fish in our river are catfish, tigerfish, actual tigers, and actual cats...but catching those usually doesn't work. Maybe just hang these pickles on the fence? Snacks for patrolling and will keep those cats away!" the chef laughs.
Ogren notices the river is fairly deep, enough to cover a goblin easily at least. The water is running fairly quickly and he may get swept further down the bank after splashing in.
Ogren and Hobbs struggle to get any workers to think through any difficult tasks like making traps.
"You wants us to do whats now? We are good at digging and nailin wood!"
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Disappointed that he cannot get the goblins to make a simple tiger erm...lion trap Hobbs consoles himself by reinforcing the wall, grumbling the entire time.
"It's like they actually want to get eaten. It's simple. A pit covered up with branches and a sandwich in the center for bait. A catfish sandwich might have worked I guess. Tuna would have been best though. Ugh! Shenanigans."
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Ogren messes around with building up the defenses when he finds Briney at the front gate, fistful of fur in hand. "Ohhh, tracking down some lions? Sounds like fun, I wanna pet the big kitties! ..... but I've never been taught how to track kitties, so someone else would have to take the lead." He then goes back to pounding the sand dune of a 'wall' with a hammer, and mentally questioning if this is the right tool for the job.
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Nic Nic Cook Cook, comes out of the supply tent and makes sure everyone knows what she found, before complaining that there's nothing she can see to make her special brew. She listens to the suggestion to go lion hunting and starts to look at the tracks, "So you want to find these big kitties?" she asks as she takes a good hard look and starts walking.
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Briney - not a Tracker per se - but through sheer enthusiasm, because he is "on the case" - is able to consult with Nic Nic as she leads the Track, improving her outcome.
Nic Nic's Survival = now 17
Clue In
"You share information with the triggering creature. They gain a circumstance bonus to their check equal to your circumstance bonus to checks investigating your subject from Pursue a Lead. The GM can add any relevant traits to this reaction depending on the situation, such as auditory and linguistic if you're conveying information verbally."
"The furs see? You can tell by how the follicle formed that the Big Cats clearly came from the North... and further, evidenced by the slightly oily texture, that these plants here grazed this fur hair about 15 hours ago, meaning that..."
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Galilea, not knowing much about tracking, leaves the trackers and starts helping Hobbs reinforce walls; mostly just fanning herself and standing around instead of actually helping. She pats him on the shoulder reassuringly, ”I agree, darling. It doesn’t seem like this is a big brain operation. Let’s just do what we can while we’re here. Hopefully, they track down these gods-forsaken cats, we exterminate them, and we get out of this HEAT.”
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Ogren pulls out the kopesh and shows it to Nic Nic. "Wait this one? I thought it was a peeler? Can you peel a kitty? You wanna use it though, cause I'm not sure I can peel a kitty very well..."
...Hopefully, they track down these gods-forsaken cats, we exterminate them, and we get out of this HEAT.”Before departing, Briney heads to Ogren "Here. You fan magical friend!" relieving himself of the duty.
Ogren gives a giant smile at the honored duty of fanning a friend, especially a magical one. "REALLY? I can fan magical friend? YAY!" He then proceeds to follow Galilea around fanning her from as many positions as he can, a smile of glee on his face.
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Briney quickly studies then slays the jackrabbit with his crossbow and perfect aim.
He brings the the tiny hare across the camp, passing Hobbs on the way "One Tuna-fur sammich coming up!" and bee-lines for Nic Nic "Ok Cook. Cook! Briney help!" and, pulling out his trusty dogslicer, he stands ready to do any task the master chef requires of him!
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Hobbs reinforces the southern wall at the gate and works his way west and north, clockwise.
"Well that should keep those tigers...erm lions from sneaking up on us from the southwest."
He pulls out his pipe and blows some bubbles. After dinner he goes to the northern tents to sleep for the night. Since his hedgehog Erinaceinae is nocturnal she can dig a small burrow near him and keep watch through the night. He will make sure there is a good campfire that should last the night.
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Nic Nic holds up the Jackrabbit, "Ahh, a baby long-eared lion, not enough for steaks." It seems Nic Nic is very satisfied with her attempts at tracking lions, "I knows hows to tracks good." She knocks her hat about as she thinks about a recipe, "So whats we want, big fiery fire, big pot, lots of tasty meaty water, spicey spicy, chilli chilli, and this furry little friend."
When they get back to the camp, Nic Nic looks for a large cauldron to make his Hot Hot Stewy Stew, he sets up a fire in the centre of the camp, to set up a fire to heat a scalding stew. He cuts, cuts the the jackrabbit into goblin sized eatable chunks, fur and all. He raids the kitchen for the other ingredients, leaving a trail of red chilli powder from the mess hall to the cauldron. She accepts Briney's help, letting him cut up vegetables and add stock. "Tasty?" she asks Briney as he stirs the stew.
Nic Nic continues to work early in the evening, as a chef she is used to getting to bed reasonably late and getting up early, between these she sleeps with a resonant snore.
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Galilea basks in the Ogden’s fanning. She even manages to get some actual work done on the reinforcements because of it.
Once the mention of shifts comes up, she immediately yawns and moves to lay down wherever there is ample enough space for her in the southern set of tents. ”I’ll take the last shift, lovelies. I’m an early bird and this day has been exhausting. Good night!”
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The group goes about their preparations before breaking off and getting some rest. Nic Nic has a roaring fire that lasts into the night, with the stew piping hot while Ogren continues to patrol, letting the others get some rest.
The two on shift hear the yowling as three leopards sneak into the camp near the eastern gate. Erinaceinae is scared into his burrow, failing to wake up Hobbs.
However, the orange spotted leopard is already rushing up to the infirmary and tearing open the canvas.
A moment later screaming is heard within, startling the camp awake as goblins scatter. The noise wakes the rest of the group.
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Nic Nic seeing and hearing the lions approach, uses his best chef service voice to warn the whole camp of the lions approach. "Wakey, Wakey, Kitty's here, time for a bit of boil the cat action." With that he moves around to the other side of the cauldron. He braces himself to push the cauldron over should a lion get within reach.
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Briney spots his Cat!
"There he Is! He is the one that was here the other night!" The young investigator considers thirteen vectors at once, imagining himself defeating this cat a different possible way each time!
◇) Devise a Strategm vs Orange >
...As for taking the cat down quickly, he predicts only the cold weight of inevitable failure (13 different ways...). So! He endeavors to change his plans, and instead rushes forward, quickly concocts a powerful stimulant, and downs it, ending his turn within the general vicinity of Nic Nic.
"Guess we'll have to do this the hard way..."
◆) Stride
◆) Quick Tincture > Drakeheart Mutagen (Lesser)
◆) Inbibe!
Briney's pupils sharpen into dark ellipsoids and his skin begins to shine, as his frantic movements suddenly seem to acquire an almost regal grace, uncharacteristic for a person of his disposition and stature!
He says to Nic Nic "Don't worry - I'm a professional!"
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"Oh noes! Kitties gots a goblins!"
Pooka draws her shortsword and hustles towards the infirmary tent, ready to help. About halfway there she begins to sing, hoping to inspire her companions - and maybe some of the other goblins, too!
~Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own
He had a yellow cat that wouldn't leave its home;
He tried and he tried to give the cat away,
He gave it to a man goin' far, far away.
But the cat came back the very next day,
The cat came back, we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back; it just couldn't stay away.
Away, away, yea, yea, yea~
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Galilea jolts awake at the sound of the commotion. She bolts upright, slamming into the top of the tiny tent, and takes a second to flounder before casting it aside. She looks around to make sure no one saw her blunder before taking off.
With a fancy hand flourish, a scroll comes out of seemingly nowhere and whips into her hand. She managers to get right next Pooka before having to stop to unravel the scroll and perform the spell. ”Those claws look quite sharp. Better safe than sorry.”
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"I's on it but someones helps Galilea okays!?"
Pooka huffs through the camp and out the southern gate, circling around in an attempt to catch up with Orange before it gets away clean. It takes quite a burst of energy but she juuuust manages to catch up to it before she's forced to come to a stop.
______________
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Nic Nic sees the get human, being attacked by the cat. "Galilea, you behind cauldron, pour over nasty cat." he says as he moves round to protect the silly human woman. He takes his newly acquired kitchen knife and sees if it slices and dices big cats, but the handle didn't feel quite right and the attack didn't seem too effective.
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With the aortic in his heart stoked to draconic proportions, Briney leaps in to protect his new magical friend. Drawing his Dogslicer - Catslicer? - and forgetting his "suspect" for the moment, he steps to the otherside of Galilea, and defends!
◆) Draw
◆) Stride (into flanking)
◆) Strike
"Leave the friends alone, feline accomplice!" He yells to "orange"'s hunting companion!
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The goblins begin to move into position to fend off the leopards, most struggling to strike home but Briney is able to put his catslicer to work.
The red leopard attempts to finish off Ogren who is still firmly in its grasp.
When Ogren goes limp, it turns and pounces on Pooka who is chasing their meal ticket.
It bites onto the next goblin's leg but is too tired for latch on.
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Briney - small even for a goblin - stands inside the beast's mouth, his feet on it's lower jaw, his outstretched arms pushing it's upper jaw, resisting the clamp down with all of his tiny might, while he scrambles his mind for a way out of this sticky predicament, cat breath fogging his glasses (if he wore them)...
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Pooke sends more magical bolts that seek out the red spotted leopard, they crash into him causing it to yelp in pain. The confidence of the large cat seems to fade.
The orange leopard continues dragging the goblin into the dark night, out of vision of the goblins. However, tracking it later should be easier due to the trail of blood.