"Heydidjyou guys shee Salelu on the shieling?"
"What, really? Are...you sure it wasn't just the drinks? How would she even get up there?"
"Tie him up and put some dogs on a chain near him, say we'll release the hounds if he doesn't tell us where his chieftan is!"
"That's a pretty good idea. We could string it up in the stables overnight while we get some sleep and I'm sure it'll tell us all about their tribe come morning."
"What do you say boy? a celebratory drink and then sleep?"
"I don't mind having a few more..." Liam glances at Belaria. "She looks pretty smashed though."
Ameiko claps Havi and Daji on the shoulder and laughs.
"Normally, bar's closed this time of night. But for the new 'town heroes', I can make an exception just this once."
She glances over at Belaria.
"But if she pukes on my floor, you're cleaning it up sis."
"What, really? Are...you sure it wasn't just the drinks? How would she even get up there?"
"Hey, I was sober as a churchmouse's teats when I saw 'er up there! And wha'dya mean, 'how'? She can climb a tree faster'n a flight of stairsh, an' she's skinny enough to hide behind your pinky!"
"That's a pretty good idea. We could string it up in the stables overnight while we get some sleep and I'm sure it'll tell us all about their tribe come morning."
"Sounz like a plan! Who wants to do the stringin'? It prolly won't take too much strength to keep the lil' turd in place."
"I don't mind having a few more..." Liam glances at Belaria. "She looks pretty smashed though."
"But if she pukes on my floor, you're cleaning it up sis."
Bel pouts. "You guysh don't gotta refer to me in third pershon when I'm shtandin' riiiight here!" she points at the ground emphatically. "But don't worry, Ammy, I can hold it down. I'm alsho very prone to the plashebo effect, so jush gimme some water or juice or sumthin' an' don't tell me itsh not alcoholic."
Liam hangs the goblin from it's feet in the stables and then leaves to party with the rest till the next day. In the morning, we'll go grill the goblin for details on where the tribe is and how to get there.
"Good, let's see if he has somthing to tell us come tomorrow."
Daji seems happy with the goblin situation, She hates the little green monsters so this is better than it deserves.
"Alright, lets go to back to the Tavern, first round is on the house."
With that Daji goes back to the Tavern, drinks a little and sleeps, ready to get right to work when morning comes.
Havi, took his drinking horn from his pack and had it filled, already signing the end of Olfi's tale.
Olfi returned victorious and bloody,
Old he grew, wealthy he rose,
ruling with honor, love, and compassion,
vigilant are his sons, ax in hand, ever ready.
So drink! Drink to the fight, Drink to the rage,
and of course to old Olfi!
With song now sung, and saga complete,
Rest now old King, your sons are of age.
The song ends and he toasts with anyone drinking before gently playing his tagelharpa for the group, low enough to not interrupt conversation,
Bel tries to sing along, not to be discouraged by minor complications like not knowing the words, or her utter lack of musical talent.
"Olfi, victorious and rummy...grew his rose...his sons had an ax...Drink, drink a lot...sing the songs...while I marry all your sons...HEY!" she returns Havi's toast.
"Hehe! You guysh're great...I can' wait to kill a buncha gobbos withyou tomorrow!"
From the bar, black ears twitched as a female Kitsune finished of the drink she had in her hand before turning towards a table where she caught a familiar drunken voice slur something about fighting goblins. Kyomi gets up from her seat and walks over to the group, tail swaying behind her as she approached.
"What's this I hear about fighting off gobbos tomorrow? Need an extra hand?"
Bel's smile widens, and she raises her mug towards Kyomi.
"Heeeyyyyyyy, Kyo! How are ya? I didn' see ya at the festival or the meeting, I woulda' come looking for ya if I knew you were in town! You're not hurt, are ya? You don't look hurt...Liam can patch you up if you are! C'mere, have a sit." she clumsily pats the seat next to her.
"Oh! And this ish Liam, Daji, and Havi!" She turns towarnd the group. "Dunno if you've met my younger sis, Kyomi, but she's real good with a bow, an' she can like-" she thrusts her hand forward "-bzzeewwww! Make magic come out of it or somethin'! It's really cool!" She turns back to Kyomi. "Anyway! Yeah, Sheriff 'Emlock put out a bounty for any goblins we find, plush a big one for their big fat leader. And yeah, you should join us! We're gonna interrogate one tomorrow to figger out where they live!"
Liam leans back in his chair with a tankard of mead in his hands and his feet propped on the table. He gives Kyomi a sleepy wave.
"Hey! Is the whole Andosana clan coming at this rate? Nice. Uh...I don't actually have much left in me so if you ARE hurt, y'might wanna go get checked out by Father Zantus."
<Mayyyybe slow down on the drinks.>
"Don't tell me what to do!" Liam barks as he downs his cup and gets another.
As the party winds down, you all retreat to your own rooms, or homes and get a good night's rest. In the morning, you convene back at teh Rusty Dragon Inn, and check in on your prisoner.
While still unconscious, he appears alive, thankfully; this goblin is made of sturdy stuff.
Having finished his horn he pats Kyomi on the back with a hearty cheer
The Andosana family seems to make them brave. I personally am honored to have as many as will come to slay these goblin!
Despite his joyous tone and clear passion for celebration and inebriation Havi didn't drink much more, just enough to help him sleep. While he played the music low he kept his ears open, quietly worried about more goblins.
"Though they are cowards, in numbers they can be dangerous."
He flirtatiously thanks Ameiko for the drinks and aided in getting Belaria to bed, and putting some water on the table in her room, before retiring to his own, humming a unique tune that seems to stop suddenly, waving his hands in frustration as he can't think of what to make for the next part.
Havi looks at the goblin in disgust
You, creature, do you speak
he takes a bite of some food, getting himself prepped for the day while they interrogate the goblin.
Make this painless so we can get on with more important things. Where can we find your tribe?
He stands, leaning against the wall, arms crossed with food in one hand. ( I assume I can find a small rusty hatchet but if not ignore this next bit ) and a small rusty hatchet he had found in the stables. gently tapping the dulled edge on the wall just hard enough to make a noise.
Belaria comes into the stables with a mostly-empty glass of water, and pours what's left on the goblin's head to get his attention. She shifts her posture to appear more imposing, showing off her stocky but muscular frame.
"Good morning, little one! Remember me from yesterday? How are you feeling? Still got a headache?" She casually brings her fists together.
"Well, if you don't want me to make that headache even worse, you'll answer his question right now."
Liam resuscitates the goblin by giving it a temporary burst of vitality.
"Wake up Anklebiter. You've got some answering to do."
Liam shoves the goblin so it swings back and forth on the rope, hopefully rattling it when it swings near a horse in the stable.
( forgot to roll for intimidate)
The goblin starts awake and then groans.
He bares his teeth and hisses.
"Me not Anklebiter. He dumb goblin. Want everyone to share. Dumb."
"Me smart. Me not tell you NOTHING. You just kill me anyway."
He tries to fold his arms and look tough, but the way his eyes dart around the room belie his fear.
"You've got it backwards. If you DON'T tell us where your tribe is, we will DEFINITELY kill you, and I'll personally make sure it's as painful as possible."
"But if you do tell us...we might decide to bring you with us, just to be sure you aren't lying. Since you're so incredibly smart, that would give you ample opportunity to escape, or kill us in our sleep, on accout of how dumb and gullible we are."
The goblin smiles widely.
"You go all by yourselves? Bring me with? You nice." it laughs.
"Escort back home and fun show when Big Bite chomp-chomps your head off in one gulp. Will be a fun time."
"Sure. Me tell you." it says, breaking down into a giggling fit again. Eventually you get the location, deep in the Brinestump Marsh, of the goblin's village.
"We need rope and cloth, to make a harness and tie him up."
She leans in close and looks over the goblin's face which makes her cringe in disgust.
"We can leash him, like a dog."
She taunts the goblin with her words, knowing treating him like a common hound would be a grave insult.
The tied up goblin spits directly in Daji's eye, then cackles. It smells FOUL, like a camel's spit.
<Do we really have to kill ALL the goblins? That seems...wrong.>
"We really just need to kill the Chieftain. Once we do that, the rest should scatter. Where the goblins go after that, I don't really care." Liam suddenly says offhandedly.
<Well that doesn't sound so bad.>
"Honestly, we don't even need to take this goblin with us. I'm sure Shalelu, if she doesn't already know where they live, could pick up the trail within a couple hours. Hells, she might be beating us there! Let's get going already!"
"Yeah, I'm having second thoughts about bringing him." Belaria looks at the goblin, then at Liam. "Can I talk to you alone for a sec?"
Assuming Liam agrees, Bel leads him out of the stables and some distance away.
She then rolls up both of her sleeves, showing large but faded burn marks that cover the full length of her inner arms.
"You've heard about...what happened to me when I was little, right? These are some of the burns I got that day. These particular ones are from when I found my parents trapped under burning rubble, and I was too small and weak to pull them out. Believe me, I tried..." She blinks back tears. "Prob'ly would've died right there if Shalelu hadn't plucked me out of the inferno." She rolls her sleeves back up. "There are a lot more burns, but I'm not drunk enough to show 'em off to ya right now." She tries and fails to smile at her own joke.
She takes a shaky breath, and points back toward the stables. "That one wasn't part of the group that did that, obviously, but I'm sure he would've done the same thing if he had the opportunity. Because that's just what these things do. They kill and destroy whatever they can get their grubbly little hands on." She puts her hands up, as if preemptively shutting down a response. "Look - You don't have to kill all of them, if you don't want to. If that makes you feel like you're better than them, or whatever, then fine. But don't assume they'll stop being a problem after we kill the chieftan. That's like expecting not to be swarmed by hornets after you smash their nest. Personally, I'll be crushing every single goblin that gets in our way. The more I can take down, the better. And I'm sure Shalelu is going in with a similar plan. It's the only way to be sure that Sandpoint is safe."
Liam winces at the sight of the scars and he hears a gasp in his head.
"Bel...I don't know." He shakes his head. "Well I DO know what some of that is like. Mr.Hemlock is great, but he's...not really my dad. But that's different. I just don't think trying to wipe them all out is a good idea. A few get away...they remember. I don't think anyone got killed last night. Let's count our blessings for that..." Liam trails off as he struggles to find something to say.
<Liam, let me talk to her. Tell her what I say please.>
"People do horrible things too, but we don't lump everyone together when one commits a crime. And if you never show what the better way is, then the ones who come after will never know. Those goblins...made a mistake. They attacked Sandpoint and what did they get for it? A lot of them died. The rest are probably wondering why they even bothered." Liam keeps talking in a trance, the words tumbling out automatically. "I'm not saying we shouldn't find who was responsible for it in the first. That's right. That's just. Maybe we'll find the goblins who took your parents. But I think you should ask yourself if it's revenge for your parents you're looking for. Because if it is, then killing every goblin you see will never get you any closer." Liam stops talking and looks down.
Damn sis, she's going to think I'm a huge a##$%+$ now.
"Sorry Bel. I'll help out wherever I can. I'm not really living for myself anyways." Liam gives Bel a quick hug.
Bel sniffles a little when Liam hugs her.
"Thanks, Liam. And...sorry. I thought I was over all this, but the moment I saw those goblins yesterday, all that grief and rage came rushing right back. I guess it's clouding my judgment. "
"Every goblin I've met seemed more interested in killing and maiming than their own survival, but maybe the super-crazy ones are a tiny minority. Guess we'll find out once we get to their tribe. As for the ones that killed my folks...I guess I've given up on finding them. If Shalelu knows what happened to 'em, she's not telling me. I'm not even sure if I'd recognize them now. Maybe I'm just trying to stop what happened to me from happening to anyone else. Killing the chieftan should accomplish that, at least for a while."
She rubs her forehead. "Man, now I need a drink, or I won't be able to think straight on the road. You wanna join me? My treat!"
Gets nailed in the face with a glob of goblin spit, Tearing away and cursing as she wiped her face with her sleeve.
"Ugh, bastard."
Gross, but she did sort of ask for it. Oh well
Havi gets off the wall he was leaning against, grabbing the goblin by his ear with the rusty hatchet to it.
We might not kill you, little goblin, but we can make your every breath painful. In my country, you would be strung along the bottom of a longboat and drug from one side to the other. You might not die, those who didn't had it much worse. We love to exercise our creativity.
cleaning bits of food off his teeth he snorts up a loogy and gives the goblin the same treatment and then leaving a shallow cut where the long ear would meet the rest of his head.
Walking away he hums the grimmer part of old Olfi's tale mockingly.
"You no scare me!" shouts the clearly terrified goblin. "Now hurry, take me home! You see! Licktoad strong!"
Kyomi jumps from her pearch on the rafters above, landing with a thud before she stood up and dusted her pants off, flicking off a leaf from her clothing as she had followed the others from the woods.
Well now, if he doesn't scare you, perhaps I can shift my shape and turn you into my own personal chew toy. Though I doubt you'd make a very good one. Though the fear can be smelled rolling off of you either way.
She hums as she stands and leaves herself, ears flicking as she listened for where the others might have gone.
Bel nods at Kyomi and Havi as they come out of the bar.
"So, what are we gonna do with him? Kill him now? Take him with us? I don't like the idea of leaving him here - if he escapes, he could cause more trouble."
"Taking him with us might be the best plan,. Albeit an unwelcomed plan by some I'm sure, myself included, but we still run the risk of him running off if we do take him with us and cause even worse trouble else where."
She was slightly sure she could track the goblin down but she wasn't completely certain she could either way. But those were her thoughts on taking the creature with them.
"I'm gonna go see if someone has a leash we can strap to him, some of the hunters have dogs last I remembered. Tie up his arms."
With that Daji wanders off to pester one of the hunters to borrow a leash for the "Saftey of the whole town" she would be willing to fork over some silver if they demanded payment for the leather.
Havi sneers at the goblin.
Skin him here and now. I'm sure there are other ways to find these "Lickfrogs" or whatever they call themselves. If you choose to let him live I will understand. I would break all of his fingers and toes first.
Bel stays quiet for a while, taking in everyone's thoughts. She winces a little at Havi's suggestions.
"You've got...quite a vivid imagination, Havi. But I think keeping him tied up with a leash will be good enough - if he was able to get himself free, he would've done it already. But we should at least knock him out before we get anywhere close to the village - otherwise he'll try to alert the tribe that we're coming."
"As much as I'm gonna hate having him around...I can see the value he would bring, for the time being. I say he lives for as long as he's still useful."
Liam blinks in surprise and horror at the thought of skinning something that isn't an animal.
"Right...let's not do any skinning and get going." Liam whips out a pair of manacles he 'borrowed' from the prison and claps them around the goblin's wrists. He keeps the goblins arms tied to it's body still just in case and pulls the leash Daji brought.
You head out, in the direction of Brinestump Swamp. At the edge of the amrsh you see Shalelu, leaning against a tree. She raises an eyebrow at your prisoner (and "guide").
"I see you're already a step ahead. This thing tell you it was going to lead you to its tribe? Well, in any case it's good that you're going off with some kind of plan. Brinestump Marsh isn't the biggest swamp out there, but nobody's bothered to map it out. It's easy to get lost."
"My advice?" she says, looking mostly at her two charges. "Follow the trail for at least a bit, even if the goblin tells you otherwise. I know a hermit that lives out in the marsh, and he's not too deep in. Halfling by the name of Walthus Proudstump. He's a bit jumpy, but a good sort deep down. He'll be able to confirm if the goblin's yanking your chain or not."
She stands up from her lean and stretches, then starts walking back toward town. She takes a moment to put a hand on the shoulders of Kyomi and Belaria, and leans down to speak to them.
Then, she moves on.
"Thanks for the tip, Lu." Liam can't help but overhear their conversation.
Hey! If I do something impressive on this trip, Bel and Kyomi will probably tell Shalelu about it right? Liam glances over at the three.
<You're silly Liam, but it's probably not wrong.>
"Let's go meet this Mr.Proudstump." Liam states as he jerks the prisoner along with him.
Havi waves her off and then looks to the rest of the group
Lets go find and exterminate these Sniff Frogs or whatever they are called
Kyomi looked up at Shalelu before watching the others retreating back before she looked to Bel and gave a silent nod.
You heard what she told us. Come on. Lets just use what knowledge we do have and find these other goblins.
She then turned towards Liam and nodded her head in agreement, snickering as the goblin was jerked along none to gently it looked like as she walked beside Bel.
Seems i missed a little bit of the fun. I should really start sticking to town more often if you keep finding yourself mixed up with misfits, Bel.
Gets into more road friendly traveling clothes and meets the crew heading out the gate.
"This halfling lives in the swamp? Might be crazy, would have to be to want to live in a swamp."
Bel gives Shalelu a little nod, looking both excited and nervous. She seems to relax a little after Shalelu is gone, and even more so while talking with Kyomi.
"That's why I'm always telling you to hang around more often! There's plenty of excitement to be found in Sandpoint, and lots of great people worth knowing. You missed one hell of a Swallowtail Festival before things got nasty, but there's always next year!"
You spend some time tromping through Brinestump Marsh.
It...sucks. Even walking on the trail, it's somewhat slow going. Early on it's not too bad, as some enterprising soul long ago undertook the endeavor of creating a "road" of sorts through the swamp, and it's drier than most of the place up until you hit the fishing spots; Brinestump Marsh is a popular jaunt for fishermen, though even the most intrepid of them leaves long before it gets dark.
You even pass a few casting their lines as you wander by, and they give you a little wave before going back to their business.
But not long beyond that, wilderness reigns supreme. While there is still a trail, the Soggy River clearly rises high enough to lightly flood it when it rains, and the ground is, well...soggy.
Your progress slows as you sometimes have to wade through shin high water or ankle deep mud to get to the next dry spot and continue on.
By the time you get to Proudstump's cabin, about a half hour after you leave town, some of you might be having second thoughts about this expedition, and what it might be like once you have to leave the more traveled parts of the marsh.
Walthus Proudstump's cabin is solidly built but poorly maintained, and any majesty the two story cabin might once have possessed is buried under layers of moss and swamp slime. Still, it boasts an impressive view of the nearby Sog's Bay; the nearest bay to Sandpoint, and one infamous for being a ship-killer due to its deceptively high sandbeds. An intrepid sailor with a small boat could actually make a fairly quick trip from here to Magnimar if they were so inclined.
Havi aids who he can in the last stretch of the journey to the cabin
"no matter how many times I walk through this marsh it never gets any easier. Would prefer the times I walked home drunk in a blizzard back home."
He does take the time to try and kick off the mud and gunk from his boots to possibly little effect.
"This place has certainly seen better days."
"Looks like bringing the taller boots was the right idea. Eugh." Liam grimaces at the mud sludge clinging to his feet. "It'll be a pain in the arse to fight in this. Goblins aren't that grimey right?"
Liam whistles at the cabin. "Big cabin for just one man. Let's see if Mr.Proudstump is home." He then strolls up to the front door to knock.
If there's no answer, Liam puts his ear to the door to listen for any reaction.
At first, it seems there might be no answer. Then you hear a dragging thump, as someone limps toward the door.
A halfling opens the door a crack and peers out. He looks absolutely exhausted, as if he hasn't slept in days.
"What? Who? Why're you here?" he says, confused.
"I'm Liam, the Sheriff's son. A goblin tribe attacked Sandpoint last night during the festival and we're here to break up this Licktoad Tribe. We were hopin' you could point us in the right direction." Liam jerks the leash and points to the goblin prisoner with his other hand.
<He looks terrible. Ask him if he's been alright?>
"Uh, are you alright Mr.Proudstump? You don't look so good." Liam tries to make a good impression as his sister gives him advice on how to socialize.
"Shalelu sent us your way." Bel adds. "Said you were just the man to make sure we're heading in the right direction!"
Havi looks around, not for anything in particular just if anything catches his eye like maybe some movement near the boat or even if a passing glance through the door crack yields anything
"You must be real sturdy to make it out here! Truly truly, our hopes is to end the goblin threat to our home, on behalf of Sandpoit we ask you good sir for Aid"
Daji does her best curtsey as she adds to the voice of people begging help.