"Meep want talk good. Meep try tell how to talk goblin. Meep no try before." The little goblin seems a little unsure about being able to hold up her end of the bargain but is eager to try nonetheless. She points to herself and says, "Isem huwa Meep," before pointing to Maidie and asking, "X'inhu ismek?"
"Name is Meep."
"What is your name?"
Moon looks around. "I've been here with Arnama. I think there's a ravine that way. It should keep us out of sight for 20 or 30 yards. Avoid the Poison Sumac."
Maidie's keen ear and language instincts quickly pick up the basics of Goblin.
Okay, so we start of with introductions...that's pretty much universal for learning any languge. I just repeat back what she said, replacing her name with mine.
"Isem huwa Maidie."
And after saying her name, she asked what mine is...so we have the word for "What"...and there seems to be some phonetic connection to Draconic... Let's try learning some nouns.
"Dak x'inhu?" she says testingly, pointing to a tree.
"What is that?"
"Dik hija siġra," Meep says, pointing to the tree on siġra. She beams as she switches back to the common Taldane tognue. "Maidie smart! Maidie know diskors tan-nar fast!"
Meep excitedly continues the lesson, pointing out various things and naming them as well as a few actions. Unfortunately, things come to a swift end as the smell of woodsmoke fills the air and Meep warns of goblin hunters being nearby.
"That is a tree."
"speech of fire"
“So much for avoiding the rest of the tribe,” Casina thought.
“Goblins are definitely a persistent bunch,” she said. “Wait. They’re goblins.”
Casina furrowed her brow as she searched her memory for anything that might be helpful.
“Meep, your tribe probably reveres Lamashtu, right? Like most Goblins?Could we use that against them? Maybe carve a quick symbol of Urgathoa on a tree trunk? That might give them pause to come this way.”
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"I should have said sooner, I can speak Goblin too!"
As they venture closer to the tomb Betzolte takes a closer look at the map.
"Think we can use some landmarks to throw off the scent: Kassen's people looked at several locations for Kassen's crypt, and I think I can mark them on the map. Considering the Bugwumps...or whoever else is in the area...may be aware of where we're going, as the Crypt is the only major landmark in the area they might be aware of, they may be keeping an eye on the most direct route there to catch us, but if we detour to the older locations that didn't get picked, we may be able to bypass them."
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** spoiler omitted **
"Naħseb li diskors tan-nar ħsejjes tajjeb bl-aċċent tar-raġel tal-ġebel. Fir-rigward tal-biża 'lili, jien kont wieħed minn dawk li attakkawek. Ma kellkom l-ebda raġuni biex tafda fija, u għalhekk jibża 'lili kienet probabbilment l-iktar ħaġa intelliġenti li tagħmel. Barra minn hekk, ilkoll kemm aħna kienu tajbin miegħi minn dakinhar. Jien grat għar-rigali li tajtni. Il-libsa magħmula minn Maidie hija ratba u sħuna. Qatt ma kelli xejn daqshekk sabiħ," Meep says, blushing and smiling towards the end.
"I think the goblin tongue sounds good with a dwarf's accent. As for scaring me, I was one of the ones that attacked you. You had no reason to trust me, so scaring me was probably the smart thing to do. Besides, all of you have been very kind to me since then. I am grateful for the gifts you've given me. The dress Maidie made is soft and warm. I've never had anything so nice."
Maidie's idea would have been difficult to pull off in austere conditions such as these without the added pressure of knowing that goblins could be hunting her and her friends. At least the herbs and various reagents she had directed the others to gather are rather pleasant smelling. Grobradon, meanwhile, backtracks and erases the trail that they'd been leaving as much as he can. Casina suggests carving symbols of gods that goblins fear into the trees, something that Meep reluctantly helps with. The process leaves the paladin feeling sick to her stomach, but thankfully not to the point of inhibiting her ability to keep pace. Moon's knowledge of the area along with Betzolte remembering some of her father's stories about how the people of Kassen looked for a site to build Ekat's tomb let the group avoid the more obvious and direct paths to the tomb. In the distance the yipping and growling of goblin dogs announces the start of the hunt, but everyone's efforts have helped keep the band of chosen heroes out of trouble so far.
"Meep no hear Khalakakan. Meep hope good thing," the little goblin says as the howling dies away close to mid afternoon.
Betzolte: Knowledge(History)
Bimbur: N/A
Casina: Knowledge(Religion)
Grobradon: Survival
Maidie: Craft(Alchemy)
Moon: Knowledge(Geography)
Meep: N/A
Bimbur carefully looks for the described landmarks and and balances across some branches to get to a high perch to observe the surroundings.
Betzolte: Knowledge(History)
Bimbur: Perception
Casina: Knowledge(Religion)
Grobradon: Survival
Maidie: Craft(Alchemy)
Moon: Knowledge(Geography)
Meep: N/A
Watching Casina and Meep's efforts, Betzolte's eyebrows rise and she strokes her chin.
"Ħej, Meep! Sibt idea! Taf li l-kliem ma jistax iweġġgħek, u jien naf dan, imma ma jafux hekk. X'jiġri jekk inaqqax xi kliem fis-siġar bħas-simboli ta' Casina, imma nagħmel qishom. kliem maġiku speċjali, biex jilagħbu s-superstizzjonijiet tagħhom?"
"Hey, Meep! I got an idea! You know words can't hurt you, and I know that, but they don't know that. What if I carve some words into the trees like Casina's symbols, but make them look like special magic words, to play off their superstitions?"
Betzolte draws her clan dagger and starts carving magic words into the trees, none enough to be actual spells, but perhaps just enough to make superstitious goblins think twice about approaching.
Grobradon growls, "Easy on the trees @$#@ it. Don't carve too deep, or you'll kill them." He knows they're trying ideas to save them all, but this is a matter of his faith "Druid here. Remember? Would you carve up an altar?"
”Great idea, Betz! Here, we can use these, it’s both quicker and less harmful for the trees.” she says, glancing at Grobradon as she pulls sheets of parchment, pens and ink from her pack.
She then quickly scrawls the name and symbol of some of the nastiest places in the known universe onto a page in red ink. She writes the name in infernal for extra scaryness.
"Mmm, thanks, Maidie" Still not crazy about it, but glad she at least down grades it. "If the trees REALLY go evil, I'm blaming you all. Just saying."
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Betzolte: Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Arcana)
Bimbur: Perception
Casina: Knowledge(Religion)
Grobradon: Survival
Maidie: Craft(Alchemy), Knowledge(Planes)
Moon: Knowledge(Geography)
Meep: N/A
Meep pales, but nods her head when Betzolte offers her suggestion.
"Li jista 'jaħdem. Jistgħu wkoll jaħarqu s-siġar 'l isfel."
She then stands on the tips of her toes trying to reach Betzolte's ear, but her head still fails to crest the dwarf's shoulder. THe color comes back to her cheeks and the tips of her ears as she gives up and just says what she was going to whisper where everyone can hear.
"Tista 'tikteb il-Kap Hosskill Bugwump li huwa manikin kbir u Warrider Lugruk irwejjaħ bħal ħmieġ taż-żwiemel? Oh! U tista 'tpoġġi gnomi ta' Rooshi KISS!"
She giggles nervously before explaining, "Jekk il-kliem jistgħu jpoġġu l-ħsibijiet fir-ras, forsi nistgħu nġibu wħud mill-kaċċaturi biex jibdew jaħsbu dawk l-affarijiet jew saħansitra jgħiduhom. Huma jkunu daqshekk ġenn jekk semgħu lili ngħid xi ħaġa minn hekk."
A pang of guilt shot through Casina. “I…I didn’t think about that, Grob.” She took a step back to eye their markings and felt uneasy again at the images.
“Good job, Cas,” she thought. “Spread the images of an evil god.”
“I’m going to see if I can get on top of that boulder and see what’s ahead.”
Betzolte: Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Arcana)
Bimbur: Perception
Casina: Knowledge(Religion), Climb
Grobradon: Survival
Maidie: Craft(Alchemy), Knowledge(Planes)
Moon: Knowledge(Geography)
Meep: N/A
Using information provided by Casina and Bimbur from their better vantage points, Moon sneaks into the woods towards the goblin positions then sends an arrow toward the furthest rock outcropping she can see, hoping the snap of the arrow against the rock draws the goblins in the wrong direction.
A pang of guilt shot through Casina. “I…I didn’t think about that, Grob.” She took a step back to eye their markings and felt uneasy again at the images.
"It's what I'm here for. I protect trees and make folks feel uncomfortable."
Unsure what to do next at first, Grobradon gets an idea. Finding some crows at a nearby tree. He takes some bread bits, packs them tight, and launches the prize past them, hoping the corvids will swarm that area and further mislead any scouts looking for them.
Alas, crows are smart, and while he did no harm to them, it's possible they'll return to the source.
Moon slips away like a ghost as Betzolte, Maidie, and Meep go to carve words, symbols, and other things to scare off the goblins that seem to be hunting them. Grobradon growls about the damage the three of them and Casina are doing to the trees, which prompts Maidie to suggest ink instead. The druid's warning about what will happen if the trees turn evil is surely bluster, but that elm over there is swaying a bit more menacingly.
Bimbur and Casina find places to get their bearings and help guide the group around the places they see smoke coming from. Between Bimbur's keen eyesight and Casina's tree and boulder climbing prowess, they keep the group clear of a couple of hunting parties.
Somewhere in the distance, the yipping of goblin dogs and the hoots of goblin hunters breaks the quiet that had begun to settle in. A few minutes later, Moon returns unscathed and looking rather pleased with herself. The goblins had taken the bait and gone haring off in the opposite direction of the party, and Moon had seen another hunting party running towards the commotion.
Grobradon, however, has much less luck. Crows are indeed intelligent, and he's sure he'll be getting an earful later from Olmira for what he does. The corvids see through his ploy and swoop down at him. They don't cause any harm, but they do teach a painful lesson as they chase the druid around for a few minutes before flying off with a distinctly miffed air about them.
Despite the setback, it seems that the young band of heroes has pulled through and managed to through off any pursuit as terrified yowls and gibbering prayers to ward off bad magic echo through the forest as goblins find the symbols and words that Betzolte, Casina, Maidie, and Meep had helped put on the trees. It seems that Meep's warning is more pertinent than Grobradon's, however. Smoke from one stout pine that had been covered in mocking phrases directed at the powerful members of the Bugwump tribe and the symbols of gods, goddesses, and fiends that terrified goblins rises into the afternoon sky. Thankfully, the forest is far too damp for the fire to spread quickly, and the rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally does so as the group of Kasseners meets back up with the main trail heading to the Crypt, ending any threat of a wildfire breaking out.
It's late in the afternoon when you arrive at Snake Gorge and see the path down to the bottom. Meep grabs Betzolte's sleeve and Maidie's pants leg bringing them to a stop as she shakes her head.
"M-meep sc-scare. Scary noises place down, bottom. Meep no want go. Meep no want new tribe go," she explains in Taldane.
Taking Meep's concerns seriously, Moon looks at the map and the terrain from the top of the hill.
"Unless we can find a way around, that's our course."
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Grobradon gets chased around a bit, "Oh come on. I didn't aim at you, just sending the food in a... fine fine, sorry sorry.."
The crows seem to accept the apology and fly off. Later that evening, Olmira learns of what Grobradon did through a tweeting bluebird who heard it from the crows as the roosted near Kassen, but her apprentice wouldn't learn of that for a while yet, and she was too tired after helping save Voronoy's life and arm to worry with it before he would return anyway. That gives her plenty of time to plan out a suitable punishment.
Meep's concerns are more immediate as Moon sees that not only is this their course, they are almost at their destination, hours ahead of schedule. Before them is the path that leads down into the gorge, and as the group approaches, they can see the entrance to some structure built into the side of the gorge. The keystone over the doorway is carved with the symbol of Kassen, a heater shield wreathed in flame. This, it would appear, is the Crypt of the Everflame, and it appears that there are others here.
"Scary noises place. Meep no want go scary noises place," she says as she hides behind Betzolte and Maidie.
Maidie kneels down to comfort the frightened goblin.
"It's ok, Meep. I know it looks and sound scary, but the young people of our tribe have visited the crypt many times before. You don't have to go if you don't want to, but we have to go inside to get something important. You can either join us or wait for us here." she says, trusting Betzolte to translate if needed.
Then she stands and peers down the gorge.
"Anyone see any signs of trouble?"
Well, they're not goblins. They appear human and are carrying bundles into the crypt, but you can't tell more than that.
"M-Meep g-g-g-g-go," she stammers. "New tribe nice. Help Meep. Meep want help new tribe. Meep scared. Meep go."
"You are very brave, Meep. I'm proud of you." Maidie says. Then she leans forward and squints as she peers down into the gorge.
"Are those people down there? I can only make out rough shapes, but they appear to be carrying something into the crypt. I don't think they are from Kassen."
Moon steps on a few twigs as she tries to creep to the edge of the cliff by the path down. With no one in front of her, they can't see her roll her eyes at the missteps. Given the amount of rain and snow they’ve seen, she probes the path down with her fingers and eyes trying to determine if it is safe. She also takes a closer look at the people below with her keen vision.
Arrows (20): xx
Maidie, it appears, is both right and wrong. There are indeed people down there carrying stuff into the crypt, but they are also people you recognize from Kassen. The oldest of the half-dozen are Gerol and Vark, good friends of Mayor Uptal. You also see Timolt, a tinker and one of the men that works at Renet's Steel, and Anislee, an aspiring clock maker who's mother and father moved to Kassen from Tamran a few years before you were born. Finally, you recognize Roldare and his sister, the fire-haired Dimira.
Moon moves back to the team. "We may have gotten here too quickly. Those are townsfolk from Kassen. Perhaps they are setting up challenges in the tomb? I saw the mayor's friends Gerol and Vark, Timol the tinker from Renet's Steel, Anislee, Roldare, and his sister Dimira."
The half-elf looks slightly flummoxed, "What do we do, go down and ruin the surprise or hide and let them finish? And they can't be the thing that scares Meep... so there could be a real danger down there."
Betzolte doesn't say much in response to Meep's fear, but lets the little goblin hold her hand. She lays her other hand on the wall of the Gorge, feeling the reassuring solidity of stone as they arrive at the Crypt.
That comfort's gone quickly when Maidie spots people already here, and Moon reveals they're some of their neighbors.
"What?" is all she manages at first. "That...that can't be right. There's nothing in the tradition that sends people ahead of the flame-seekers..." she continues, though she sounds more like she's trying to square the expectations she'd built over the years with the reality that's now before them.
She thinks back to the times she's watched the town gather to celebrate the Quest, trying to remember if something like this was normal, and she just hadn't been paying attention before, or if something really was wrong...well, beyond needing to dodge the recently riled local goblins...
After pondering the puzzle before you for a moment, you remember what Maidie's brother, Garth had said about one of them almost dying to the traps set in the crypt. Given Timolt and Anislee's presence, it seems thatthe elders of the town thought it'd be a good idea to disable the traps while the youngsters were poking around inside to avoid a repeat of the experience that Garth's group had.
At least, that's what seems logical.
”Why don’t we stay here for a while and observe them from a distance. If they all go into the crypt, we can move down to the bottom of the ravine and wait for them there. I mean, we don’t want to spoil the surprise if they are here as part of the challenge, but on the other hand, they should be told about the goblins before they head back to Kassen.”
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Betzolte shakes her head.
"I don't think they're here as part of the challenge...at least, not in the sense of a challenge. Remember what your brother said about one of them almost dying to the traps in the Crypt? Timolt and Anislee are handy with clockwork and other devices. What if they're here to find and disable those traps before we get there, to make things "easier" for us?"
She strokes her chin a bit.
"On the one hand, I can't say I blame them...we don't have Culver with us, so we'd probably struggle with the traps on our own. But at the same time I'd be lying if I said I wasn't miffed. We're meant to overcome the Crypt's challenges, it cheapens the victory if someone does the hard work for us."
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Grobradon frowns, "Really? WHere's the trust? Let's go down there. See what's up, and..." He looks over at Meep, "...warn them that any OTHER goblin they see is liable to be trouble and on the path of war."
"Meep think good idea," the little goblin says. "Meep not want new tribe to get hurt. They part of new tribe. Meep think bad things happen if go in."
She keeps to the back of the group, obviously nervous and scared, but the little goblin seems willing to follow the others down into the gorge.
”You are right, Grobradon. Warning them about the trouble is more important. And for all we know, the people who riled up the goblins might still be inside. Lets go down and hail them.”
The party begins their descent into the gorge. As they make their way down the switchback, the people, indeed fellow Kasseners that are recognized as Gerol, Vark, Timolt, Roldare, Dimira, and Anislee, stop and watch as the selected questors appear much earlier than expected.
The past day has been a stressful one as you trekked through pathless woods, battled goblins, adopted Meep, and avoided various goblin hunting parties. Perhaps with so much going on, it's not surprising that some details get lost as you focus on the crisis of the moment. Now, though, with your goal in sight, something tickles the back of your mind at Maidie's comment.
Meep had mentioned that the group that had riled up the Bugwump tribe had gone into the "Scary place" and that she heard scary noises. She had tracked the group that Maidie is worried about to the crypt, perhaps Meep knows if they left.
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Betzolte's eyebrows rise as a thought comes to mind.
"Meep, you mentioned those strangers with masks went into the Crypt. Did they ever come out?"
Grob is about to ask the same question, but sees that Betzolte is ahead of him.
"Jiddispjacini, naħseb li ma kontx ċar ħafna. Wieħed biss kellu maskra. L-oħrajn ma kellhomx maskri. Mill-inqas għaxra minnhom daħlu, inkluż dik mgħottija, iżda ftit biss spiċċaw wara li bdew il-ħsejjes tal-biża '. Il-wieħed mgħotti ma ħareġx. Kienu jiġru jibżgħu. Jien qbadt mill-bieb, u kont ġera meta rajt għajnejja glowing blu kiesaħ li jħares lejja," Meep answers quietly. There's a note of dread and terror in her voice that comes through to everyone whether they speak the goblin tongue or not.
"Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. Only one had a mask. The others didn't have masks. At least ten of them went in, including the masked one, but only a few ran out after the scary noises started. The masked one did not come out. They were running scared. I peeked through the doorway, and I ran when I saw eyes glowing cold-blue glaring at me."
Gerol and Vark step forward as the party reaches the bottom of the gorge and they can recognize the group as the ones picked for the Quest of the Everflame.
"Here a might bit early," Gerol says cheerily before frowning as he finishes his head count. "Ain't there supposed to be more of ye? I think your one short."
Vark doesn't say anything, but Betzolte and Maidie can feel Meep shrinking away from his gaze and trying to hide behind them. The man's eyes narrow as a dark cloud falls over his expression. The others watch curiously, moving closer to hear what is going on as the party crosses the river.
Roldare scowls as he hops off the stone platform that leads to the entrance of the crypt and passes Bimbur and Betzolte to get close to Meep.
One hand snaps down and grabs the front of Meep's clothes. The little goblin cries out as she's lifted into the air to look eye to eye into the man's snarling face.
"A f&!$ing goblin," he spits before he turns to the rest of the party. "Have you gone bloody mad? You should have killed this thing." He pulls out his dagger with his free hand as Meep panics and tries to break free of the man's grip.
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NO! Maidie yells, her hand snapping to her spell component pouch only a fraction of a second slower than Roldare’s to the hilt of the dagger.
As soon as her fingertips register the slick surface of the pork rind, she rattles off the incantation faster than she would have belived possible. The dagger’s handle starts to get covered in grease before Roldare can lift it over his head.
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Moon moves to flank Roldare, hand hovering near the hilt of her killing blade. Her voice is flat.
”Let… her... go, NOW. Her life is NOT yours to take. Meep is under our protection in exchange for her help. I repeat - let her go.”
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"Jiddispjacini, naħseb li ma kontx ċar ħafna. Wieħed biss kellu maskra. L-oħrajn ma kellhomx maskri. Mill-inqas għaxra minnhom daħlu, inkluż dik mgħottija, iżda ftit biss spiċċaw wara li bdew il-ħsejjes tal-biża '. Il-wieħed mgħotti ma ħareġx. Kienu jiġru jibżgħu. Jien qbadt mill-bieb, u kont ġera meta rajt għajnejja glowing blu kiesaħ li jħares lejja," Meep answers quietly. There's a note of dread and terror in her voice that comes through to everyone whether they speak the goblin tongue or not.
Goblin:"Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. Only one had a mask. The others didn't have masks. At least ten of them went in, including the masked one, but only a few ran out after the scary noises started. The masked one did not come out. They were running scared. I peeked through the doorway, and I ran when I saw eyes glowing cold-blue glaring at me."
Betzolte's eyes widen.
"That...that IS scary," she says with a grim nod. "There's two explanations for that, and neither of them are good. Either they woke something up in the Crypt and it killed them, or they got themselves killed by the Crypt's traps and the trauma of their deaths made them come back as monsters. Now we NEED to get the others' attention: they're walking into danger!"
Gerol and Vark step forward as the party reaches the bottom of the gorge and they can recognize the group as the ones picked for the Quest of the Everflame.
"Here a might bit early," Gerol says cheerily before frowning as he finishes his head count. "Ain't there supposed to be more of ye? I think your one short."
"Yes: we found a shortcut and Keth caught up with us. We got ambushed and Voronoy was wounded, so Keth took her back to Kassen and Culver went with him as backup." Betzolte explains bluntly. "That's not important right now, you can't go any further into the Crypt!"
Vark doesn't say anything, but Betzolte and Maidie can feel Meep shrinking away from his gaze and trying to hide behind them. The man's eyes narrow as a dark cloud falls over his expression. The others watch curiously, moving closer to hear what is going on as the party crosses the river.
Roldare scowls as he hops off the stone platform that leads to the entrance of the crypt and passes Bimbur and Betzolte to get close to Meep.
One hand snaps down and grabs the front of Meep's clothes. The little goblin cries out as she's lifted into the air to look eye to eye into the man's snarling face.
"A f&%&ing goblin," he spits before he turns to the rest of the party. "Have you gone bloody mad? You should have killed this thing." He pulls out his dagger with his free hand as Meep panics and tries to break free of the man's grip.
"PUT MEEP DOWN! We didn't spare her life just for you to take it!" Betzolte roars, echoing Moon. "If if weren't for her we wouldn't have known about the danger you lot were about to walk right into! You owe her your lives, and we do too!"
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Grobradon sees the others are protecting Meep, so says, "Meep's a victim. Goblins are on the warpath, You guys maybe in danger. Speaking of danger... what the heck? This is supposed to be OUR test."