With all of the grace of a tree falling, Rilkus thundered along with the others as he rushed towards the disconcerting sounds.
N'Dateh frowns and lets the others rush forward while she follows at a slower pace, cautious of her immediate surroundings, wondering if they're not just rushing into a trap.
Toki works over in his head, The Bear's stroke, a blade that left the plant creature cloven in two...
Lil continues near the rear of the party, keeping an eye out for any flanking attacks.
Perception
Always violence as a solution Dur follows, ready to inflict said violence.
Dacknar hurries forward into the clearing. A breeze rustles across the waist tall rice plants. His first few steps into the bright green paddie has him sinking immediately up to his knees in water and mud. Toki and Beordt experience the same thing moments later, the heavy bearkin sinking even further into the water logged rice field. With the efficiency of a tar pit, the thick mud holds the initial three charging companions firmly in its grip while they muster the strength to try and pull themselves free.
As they do, a blue skinned frogkin warrior steps out from one of the huts. He eyes scan the area making a routine check for signs of intruders. At first, the frogkin doesn't really believe his eyes as he registers an elf, a pair of humans, bearkin, iron dwarf, minotaur, and a shorter intruder he can't quite make out. But quickly enough he raps a spear upon his hide shield several times which elicits sharps croaking shouts and sounds from inside the one of the other huts.
Gods, this mire is terrible! the Northman exclaims as he struggles for solid land.
The deep mud did little to slow down the gearforged. As he plowed through it, Rilkus reached down and took hold of Toki and began to pull, unwilling to leave his comrade behind.
Like a drowned rat, Toki let himself be pulled...
The weeds wrapping tight on the legs of Dacknar.
Beordt makes little progress. "Go south you said! Fun, drinks, and warm breezes."
Well, it's warm, isn't it? Toki laughs as Rilkus drags him through the muck. Wait til we get to a town or something, at least! Tor's fury brought us here for a reason!
N'Dateh tries not to smile at her companions' muddy demise. Closing carefully, she suggests: "How about diplomacy until we know more?"
Sure, Toki says from a very undignified position, But diplomacy works best from a position of strength... The way things look, we may look like easy targets...
"Hey! You're as tall as me now!"
Toki, Dacknar and Beordt struggle in the mud and find themselves trapped in the thick muck. Although his weight causes him to sink even deeper in the muddy bog, his powerful limbs allow him to maintain at least some semblance of forward momentum. Iron hands grab the bard and slowly drag him toward the higher, drier ground near the huts.
Is is Lilly's keen eyes that spot what looks to be a hidden stone path a little further south of where the trail exited the jungle. Of course that is of little help to either Beordt or Dacknar who remain caught within the mud's murky grasp.
While the two struggle five more blue skinned frogkin emerge from the hut. Four are very similar to the one who points out Rilkus and the rest of your band to the newcomers. The last is a bit taller, wider of shoulder and wider of head than the others. He is also outfitted in a set of orange and black speckled armor, similar looking to one of the great jungle hunting cats. A necklace of finger bones hangs around his neck and a beaded and feathered headdress sits atop his wide head. No doubt this would be the frogkin chief, Grumph.
Grumph runs a thick finger along the necklace as he mutters something to the others. Immediately two of the warriors raise short bows while the other three ready spears and shields.
"Stop!" Grumph shouts in the same frogkin tongue used by Qwerbrac. "Come no further. You trespass upon the lands of the People and are not welcome here. Go back now or be welcomed to the slave cages."
Toki turns to the others, What was the ugly guy's name again? The one we killed back there? The leader?
"Verrack and Volg, if I'm not mistaken. 'V' for Vanquished..." offers N'Dateh.
Lily points at the hidden path. "Over there. There seems to be a safer way. Let's get these out of the mud, then proceed". Lily looks around for a long branch or piece of bamboo or something to extend to the two mired. If none is available she will attempt to throw her rope to them, and tie it off to a tree, all while hoping that violence does not ensue.
Tell them, Toki shifts uncomfortably on Rilkus' shoulder, Tell them that Verrack and Volg are dead. That they are their own leaders now...
Dacknar leans down to cut the weeds from his legs with his dagger.
Lilly quickly spots several tall stalks of bamboo easily cut to help provide extra leverage to aide her companions stuck in the muddy rice fields. While the minotaur helps Beordt and Dacknar, Rilkus continues to churn forward through the muck with his bardic burden. Unable to speak the frogkin's odd southern language Toki enlists the continued aide of D'Nateh in trying to convince the frogkin chief to end things without bloodshed.
The druid does her best to translate. As she does, Grumph shakes his head and releases a throaty laugh that sounds more like the mating call of a sickly moose.
"*Hoork-hoork*croak*hroak*hoork* Such foolish lies." The frogkin says raising his black stone spear. "The mighty Verrack sits safe and secure in Black Rock. When we return with the missing slaves, he will praise my leadership and gift me and my warriors more gold and maybe even one of the slaves to amuse ourselves with." His hungry eyes squint as he peers toward D'Nateh and runs his long tongue across blue and red lips. "He will be even more pleased should we bring him even more bounty than what was lost."
"This su . . . the mud is very deep."
Cocky little $#!+... Toki mutters as her slides off of Rilkus' shoulder and moves to grab for his pack, before swearing when he remembers that he let it sink to the depths...
He slaps the iron dwarf on the shoulder, Bring glory to your name and make your gods notice you upon Midheim!
He then makes his way around along the path that Lil indicated to help her get his big ursine friend free of the muck...
Dacknar thinks he has cut enough of the weed to clear his feet. But just as he tries to move forward the vines catch on the heal of his boot. So he reaches out and grabs Lilly's hand which gives him the leverage to step out of the muck.
"Hay frog lips, ye recognize this trinket?!" He calls out holding the silvered flask.
"I've no leverage here. Can some one toss me a rope or branch?"
Toki just about smacks his own forehead and unloops the giant whip from his waist, tossing it to Beordt!
Rilkus looked back at the mud, and thought to himself that it was strange how after all they had gone through it was once again nature which gave them the greatest challenges. Silently he stood by Toki's side, waiting for the others to gather around before advancing.
Beordt makes another attempt to get free of the mud.
Beordt pulls and the slick mud on his paws prevent a good hold. He stumbles and wobbles trying to keep his balance in the mire.
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Beordt makes another attempt to get free of the mud.
[dice=Athletics]1d20+5
[dice=Athletics Advantage with Help]1d20+5Beordt pulls and the slick mud on his paws prevent a good hold. He stumbles and wobbles trying to keep his balance in the mire.
LIl hoping the others have the situation with the frogkin for now concentrates on helping Beordt out of the morass. She sends some more stalks of Bamboo in his direction... then her rope.
"Hold on tight". She then attempts to pull him from the mud.
STR Check
STR Check (Advantage)
But finds her hooves don't work well in boggy ground, and is unable to find sufficient footing to help much.
Rilkus veers south so that Toki can easily reach the path. While the bard hurries back to help the struggling Beordt, the iron forged simply waits, gears clicking and mechanical eyes judging the bests lines of assault against the frogkin.
Quickly cutting lengths of bamboo, Lilly is able to help pull the Dacknar free of the gripping ooze. Soaked and covered with thick mud from the thighs down, the elf manages to flash Verrack's silver flask as some kind of proof of the half-giant's demise. Grumph squints in Dacknar's direction but simply shakes his head, his eyes obviously not good enough to easily see the details on the item from fifty feet away.
Having rescued Dacknar, the minotaur turns to the somewhat larger problem of Beordt who continues to struggle, and sink deeper in the muck. With the mud reaching above his thighs, he continues to struggle and sink deeper unable to free himself from the unrelenting grip of the deep mud.
D'Nateh continues to hang back and translate while Dur lurks in the fields, his bow at the ready.
Grumph starts to grow restless and he leans forward to speak quietly to his warriors. Spears and bows raise. Bulging frogkin eyes watch those across the field and the closer, silent gearforged with wariness and greed.
"I grow *croak* tired of your stalling. How could *groak* ones who can't even cross a simple field have killed Verrack?" He shakes his head. "*croak* Perhaps the slave masters of the spice fields will find your antics amusing."
Toki looks at the others and says with a look of determination on his face, Get him out.
The Northman stands up, and hefts his shield, Try me, you sack of excrement...
Toki saying a silent prayer to Tor, the favored god of the common man, runs headlong toward the frogfolk, readying to loose Tor's fury...
Well, we did try to be nice to them..." Dur waits for the lead frog to be within melee range of an ally.
With a sudden lurch and a sucking sound Beordt surges forward.
Dacknar hold the flask in one hand and his sword in the other pointing to the ground, he picks his way to get closer to the big mouth frog.
"Perhaps if it is closer you will be able to tell that we speak the truth."
Beordt moves to 'dry' land shakes mud from his hide and move along the more firm ground.
Walking forward getting closer to cut this frog in half if this reptile does not give up.
"We just laid waste to your boss and that Witch of his ran scared with her tail between her legs. Now if ye don't lay down yer weapons and give up, my over sized friends will tear you apart and put what's left in a stew pot. So the question you want to ask yourself is do you want to eat supper tonight or be supper tonight. Your move fish lips."
Dacknar says as he takes a menacing step after step toward the frogman.
Beordt continues his trudge toward where his companions are talking with the frog.
The rather large gearforged trudged forward, his gears whirring as he did so. With each ponderous step he got closer, until the living suit of armor loomed over the frogman. Faceless, his head turned towards the frogman, regarding him coldly and without expression.
Lil steps forward with the rest now that everyone is out of the muck, and prepares to translate anything required. Seeing that the others have decided to try and cower the enemy she steps forward with an angry look on her face, and translates Dacknar's statement.
Intimidate
And the patterns of mud on her hide make her appearance even more unsettling.
Dur who prefers to let his arrows speak louder than his words, bides his time.
Rilkus manages to grab Toki's shoulder before the bard can charge forward. The gearforged simply points back to Dacknar striding forward and holding the flask the elf had procured from Verrack's personal things. He then joins Dacknar and Lilly as she to comes marching forward her face boiling with fury and a look that simply says she is looking forward to frog legs for dinner this evening.
Beordt finally pulls himself from the mud and attempts to put on a similar show of righteous fury and intimidation, but the mud dripping from his lower body hinders the effect somewhat.
Yet as Dacknar gets closer, frogkin eyes start to go wide and there's a growing mumbling and croaking among the warriors. Grumph's eyes go wide as well and then narrow in quick thought. His gaze flicks from elf, to gearforged, to minotaur and the bluster disappears faster than a bowl of honey at a bearkin wedding. A smile crosses the chief's face and he ducks his head as he commands his warriors to stand down.
"Ah...I see now *croak* that you tell the truth. *groak* Grumph humbly apologizes to the vanquishers of Verrack and seeks no quarrel. Please forgive my threats. It was merely a precaution which you must agree is justified *croak* given the dangers that constantly *groak* lurk in the jungle. Had I but known, you were folk of such *groak* strength and power....*croak* well be welcome and how may Grumph be of help to you?" He says, clearly quite accomplished at groveling and having no trouble doing so.