"Shoot, I was hoping that would work." Zareby gives a mockingly-formal bow before speaking in a harsh, hissing tongue.
Dayle realizes that whatever that voice is, this is clearly some kind of amusing ruse to whoever is doing this. Normally, he probably laugh it off and move on...but all the trouble and fatigue of the last 12 hours is starting to wear him thin. His face shows developing irritation in the situation, and he grows more intense.
Slowly drawing his sword, he pauses to see if Zareby's harsh, strange words produce some result - magical or mundane - with the "dragon."
"I'm getting tired of this joke...If your words don't make something happen, Zareby, I'm going over there and knocking that thing's skull aside to see who's behind this," he speaks lowly.
Will's eyes get as big around as melons when the voice first bellows. His temporary paralysis proves his good fortune, as he neither blurts out that the skeleton obviously isn't that of a dragon, nor runs screaming back into the rain. The moment passes, and he draws breath again, noticing the other's movements and preparations. He mentally makes his own preparations, idly noting where would be a good place to dive for cover, as he waits for 'Degala's' response to Zareby's hissing smooth-talk.
'His pronunciation is a little off, or at least odd from what I learned, and I had NO idea those verbs actually conjugated,...' He thinks to himself,...
"Herral Hinn of no homeland, and I have no associations except these people here and they don't really count. I just met them!"
The halfling's curiosity and the fact that someone is approaching the cave get the better of him and he follows quietly.
"OK, enough playing. You bore me." Addy doesn't wait for Dayle, draws her rapier, and gives the skeleton a kick with her boot.
The voice takes on a decidedly different tone, more like a petulant child, when Addy kicks aside the skull. A small form retreats to the rear of the cave and in the magical light you catch a glint of brass.
"Fine! Be that way! If you've no sense of humor, you can sleep in the rain. Zareby and Herral can stay, but the rest of you can take your chances outside! Out you go, miss fancy pants and you better put that pig-sticker away before I quit playing and REALLY lose my temper!"
"Hey now, how about everyone just calms down, alright? We don't mean any harm, we just want to get out of the rain, and we've had to deal with too much stuff already today. Besides, it's not very polite for a host to not greet his guests in person, right?"
"And I've never met someone who has killed a dragon and stolen its voice. Who are you? And how did you know my name?"
"You can read minds!"
"OK, yeah, how in the world did you know their names? What are you? And no need to pout, you know. Can't expect everyone to have a sense of humor when they've been traipsing about the countryside all night!" While she doesn't sheath her rapier, Addy does lower it a bit.
"I happen to have an exquisite sense of humor." Will murmurs softly.
"Though it usually seems to border on being too subtle for the average person to catch. For example, I know this one about 3 scribes,... erm,... maybe later,..." He mutters off after catching a dagger-filled glare from Mal.
"Though that IS an excellent question, how DID you know our names?!?" Will continues louder after a (very) brief respite. He peers past the others, trying to get a good glimpse of the skeleton and it's supposed mighty inhabitant,...
Herral lights up a stone and throws it deep into the cave. "That should help a bit."
The moment of tension having passed, Dayle relaxes a little. Will's mumbled exclamations bring a amused smirk to his face. He kneels down to hopefully be on better eye-level with the occupant of the cave, and waits to see if she/he/it responds to any of the others statements/questions.
If no response is forthcoming, he'll add in a casual tone,
"Well, Neighbor...seeing as you know who we are, can we at least have an introduction before we get ushered into the rain? Is it Degalla, or is that just part of your fun?"
Diplomacy:
“Weerl,” Malatar drawls, rubbing his aching knee, “I’m guessin’ our invisible friend has ears to hear with, heard young Herral introduce himself. And Zareby might well have told his name in that hissy speech he made. Meybe all our names.”
The warrior has been silent up till now, looking warily around for the source of the voice with his sword raised, but after saying his piece he lowers the blade and leans against the wall.
“Degella,” he speaks to the cave at large, “name’s Malatar Kane, mostly from Andoran, and like Zareby said, we’re Pathfinders … mostly. Now friend, we’d really like to stay out of the rain. What do you say?”
A dragon the size of a large dog climbs atop the pile of bones, her head down and wings splayed in a state of readiness. Her scales gleam like brass in the light.
"I am Degalla, thank you and this is my cave. And if you don't plan on murdering me and taking my stuff, why don't you put those pigstickers away?",she says in her most imperious-sounding voice,"There's still plenty I can do from right over here, so don't try any funny business!"
Dayle decides to plop himself down at this point - sword nowhere near threating as he does so and all the tension easing out him.
"Well then...we just want to sleep a spell before moving on...so if you don't plan on having us as some kind of bedtime snack...I think we can come to a deal."
Diplomacy:
Malatar whistles, a low amazed tone. “Well eff me,” he mutters. “She is a dragon…”
The warrior slowly and carefully slides his sword back into its scabbard, and nods his head respectfully to the scaled creature. After all, she might be small, but she is a dragon…
“Didn’t mean to disturb you your dragoness,” he says. “But we really need some kip, out of the rain by preference. We’ve been trailing a band of goblin slavers all through the night…”
"Well, son of a ..." Addy whistles, as she sheathes her rapier. "Ok, I can now chalk up meeting my first dragon. Sorry I was a bit cross earlier; like I said, we've been out all night. Tired, cranky, and what-not. But let me ask you: why the hiding and pretending you're a skeleton? Just the fact you're a dragon should scare most folks if you don't want to be bothered, you know."
"For one thing,"she responds,"I thought it would be really funny. And this was my cave first, after all."
She idly crawls through the gaping eye socket of the huge skeleton, appearing again from inside the mouth.
"And for another, it's not like I'm a huge grown-up dragon yet. Some of you meatbags are greedy, some are stupid. And if you get enough stupid, greedy pink meatbags together they start thinking to gang up on little old me in the hopes of getting my hoard. Not to mention owlbears and bulettes and bigger dragons. Lots of trouble out there if you aren't careful!"
"All right, I'll let you stay. But you have to tell me about what you're doing out here! And why you're after those slavers! And where you come from! Say..."
She retreats a little.
"... you're not dragon slayers, right? Just goblin slayers?"
“Just goblins,” says Malatar, settling himself down on the floor. “Never met a real dragon before. Goblins are working for some sort o’ fish-men, and have taken away a whole bunch of people. Not sure that they’re slavers truth to tell – maybe they just want to sacrifice them all.” Mal shrugs, reaches into his pack and retrieves some dried rations, offering a stick of jerky to the room (cave) in general, including the dragon.
“Either way, we’re trying to find out what’s going on, get the people back if we can.” A grin brightens his homely, scarred face. “We’re the good guys.”
Zareby chuckles as the dragon makes itself known. "Always nice to meet a distant relative. So, mind if we start a fire in here?" After camp is set, Zareby takes back his card and pulls out the whole deck. He then sits down and begins to idly shuffle it. "Well, if you want to know why we're all here, it's best to begin at the beginning. There was a party being held at Lady Vestang's estate, and we were all there. Most of us were invited..." Zareby continues on, recounting the night's events to the dragon.
"Any other time, Degalla, I can think of a few gnomes who would love your pranks," Dayle utters as he starts to settle in. Looking out at the coming storm, he ponders their trail and the rain. Hopefully, the train of nobles has left enough of a track that the rain won't wash it away when we start up again
While Zareby and Malatar recount the evening's events, Dayle settles upon his pack; snacks on the rations offered; and listens to the events of these folks. He should be excited to meet a dragon, and certainly their story is amazingly bizzare...but days of riding and running have just left him exhausted instead.
As he begins to doze off, a jumble of thoughts come to mind...he pulls on Will's cloak to get his attention, mumbling to him: "Ask her about ruins...maybe the fish-men are hiding in one...got to watch for Qadi patrols... too near border to be seen...dragon..." and then he's solidly asleep unless someone wakes him.
Will gapes, staring at the appearance of the dragon.
He then grins like a schoolboy in a candy store.
"A true pleasure to make your acquaintance! I'm William, or Will, if you prefer." The happy magus chatters away.
"Oh no! Not dragon-slayers! I'm not a slayer at all, actually, I'm a historian and researcher,..."
Will mumbles off, for once perfectly comfortable to let others do the majority of the talking. He happily fills in details where he feels like, and the rest of the time he is happily jotting notes and sketching in his journal,...
he pulls on Will's cloak to get his attention, mumbling to him: "Ask her about ruins...maybe the fish-men are hiding in one...got to watch for Qadi patrols... too near border to be seen...dragon..." and then he's solidly asleep unless someone wakes him.
Will nods, unaware that Dayle has already passed out, and coughs gently into a lull near the end of the tale.
"Excuse me Degalla, but as you are the authority on the area, would you be willing to share your knowledge? We're wondering where the sea-creatures could be lairing nearby, and where and what the goblins are using for a base. Do you know of any ruins or similar structures nearby? Something the humans and such either don't know about or avoid as a rule?" He asks, eyes still shining with excitement at meeting a dragon,...
"Look like a halfling dragon to me. Maybe a distant relation twice removed and no I never killed a dragon. Wasp yes but not a dragon. What's an owlbear, no let me guess."
Herral prattles away with the halfling dragon, sharing whatever food and rink he can find in his backpack, starting with the last few remnants of the chicken.
"Its not much, I guess someone must have eaten it," the halfling eyes everyone else suspiciously. "Eat your food quickly, Degalla, someone here is a meatbag alright!"
Eventually the excitement dies down and Herral goes to sleep too, snoring like an old saw.
Zareby chuckles as the dragon makes itself known. "Always nice to meet a distant relative. So, mind if we start a fire in here?" After camp is set, Zareby takes back his card and pulls out the whole deck. He then sits down and begins to idly shuffle it. "Well, if you want to know why we're all here, it's best to begin at the beginning. There was a party being held at Lady Vestang's estate, and we were all there. Most of us were invited..." Zareby continues on, recounting the night's events to the dragon.
1d20+5
Zareby recognizes her as a very young brass dragon. Her species tends to prefer dry climates, like Qadira to the south. All of them can breathe a cloud of gas which causes their opponents to fall into a deep sleep. Brass dragons are known for being talkative and curious, though they have a mischievous streak.
Degalla gobbles up any food given to her, gladly listening to your story. Though she takes umbrage at being called a 'halfling dragon'.
"*I* am a brass dragon, MISTER Hinn. Someday, likely when you are very old, I'll be enormous and terrifying to any ne'er-do-wells that would ever menace you little people. So you just remember that for when your arthritis is acting up and you need someone else to handle goblin slavers."
She tosses her horned head regally.
"Ruins, though... there's ruins all over this area. Humans just build places and then ditch them... or kill each other in them and don't bother getting new humans in to fill them up. When I flew over the Jalrune I saw a bunch of sea caves and since caves are a good place to get dry up here, it's probably a good place to get wet down there, so I wouldn't be surprised to find sea monsters there. But I couldn't do much exploring; I don't much care for the water. I'd keep following those slavers if I were you, though. Must be hard for such little goblins to keep that many humans and animals in line so they're probably going in a straight line as quick as they can."
Humans just build places and then ditch them... or kill each other in them and don't bother getting new humans in to fill them up.
“Ayup.” Mal nods sagely.
I'd keep following those slavers if I were you, though. Must be hard for such little goblins to keep that many humans and animals in line so they're probably going in a straight line as quick as they can."
“Fine idea … only we’re near asleep on our feet. Awake all day, walking all night, and I reckon our mage types need some rest if they want to cast more spells. Unless you know some magic way to dispel fatigue, we need some rest.”
“Fine idea … only we’re near asleep on our feet.
ZZZZZZZZZZ....*mumbles something asleep*....ZZZZZZZ
Will peppers the young dragon with the usual academic questions, in between the others actually speaking with her about the current situation. His comments prove that he hasn't forgotten about their purpose for being out here, but that, for the moment at least, he has a higher priority in trying to find out as much about this amazing creature as he can.
"Sleep? No, No. I'm fine, really." Will mumbles half-heartedly, obviously still enthralled at meeting his first dragon. He sketches fast and furiously, and makes a poor attempt to cover the yawn attempting to escape, before finally giving up with a sheepish grin.
"Ok. I guess I am a little tired." He admits reluctantly. "But it is an honor to meet you Degalla! I didn't want to waste such a monumental meeting with something as trivial as sleep, but I really could use a bit of rest,..." He mutters off sleepily. Then blinks, opens his eyes wide, and looks at the dragon again. "Thank you so very much for speaking with us. I hope that I get the chance to have a more casual conversation with you one day!" He says eagerly, before finally succumbing to his bone-numbing weariness.
"buuuzzzzz.....buzzzzzzz...mumble..chicken legs.. mumble....buuzzzzzz."
Addy joins in a little conversation, but the exhaustion of the night eventually overcomes her, and she dozes off.
Mal advocates not resting any longer than the spellcasters need to to regain their magic. “The longer we wait, the harder they’ll be to track,” he says. “If they haven’t already got away from us.”
Will slaps the cover of his spellbook closed with a flourish.
"There, THAT should be a little better!" He declares to Mal, and repacks his precious tome in his backpack carefully.
Awakening from a deep slumber, there's a slight sense of vertigo until Dayle reorients himself to where he is. He rises - slightly stiff, but not uncustomary given his work these past few months. He glances out the cave mouth, and moves quietly to avoid awakening the others - with only his bow and arrows.
Moving cautiously in the afternoon sun, he decides to check the trail they were following - making sure they still have a distinct path to follow. Once that is confirmed, he scans around - looking for small game to catch - perhaps some hares or iguanas based on the terrain.
Survival:, Tracking: (22)
Knowledge(Nature):
With some luck, he brings enough of a catch to feed everyone - including a plump extra for Degalla as consideration for her hospitality.
"Rise and greet the Dawn Flower. As much you can call it dawn anymore," he exclaims as he goes about the process of preparing the creatures. "If anyone's a cook, I welcome the help...otherwise this meat may be a little tough."
The trail is a bit obscured by the rain, but Dayle would have to be a rank amateur to not notice the huge swatch of brown grass that's been trampled by the passing goblins and hallucinating nobles. It continues a steady eastern course; from experience Dayle knows that the banks steadily rise into cliffs over the next several miles. Thus, it would be wise to fill waterskins now at the river, since southern Taldor has been poorly used over the last decade and is thoroughly barren.
The rain's let up and the afternoon heat is back in full force. Fortunately, some small game have left their shelters from the night's thunder storm, giving Dayle plenty of hunting. Back in the cave, Degalla snores deeply from the rear, sheltered under the ribcage of her distant ancestor in a little burrow she's scooped out for herself in the course dirt.
Addy wakes up and stretches a bit. "Ugghh, my back is sore from that dirt. What I wouldn't give for a nice warm bed, a hot breakfast, and no whacked-out group of nobles and goblins to chase after." Seeing the little dragon in the back, still sleeping, she whispers back to no one in particular, "Aww. They're so cute when they're small, aren't they?" It's a little unclear if she's being serious, or just tongue-in-cheek.
A grin comes to Dayle's face at Addy's comments as he goes about preparing a small fire to cook the morning's catch.
"Well, Lady Adelaine, I can offer you one out of three, as long you're alright with hot rabbit stew for breakfast. The iguana's usually juicy and tasty as well. Personally, I've been missing some Qadiran coffee...bit of bad habit you pickup on the border."
"Let's eat qick and get moving," suggests Mal, checking his pack and his weapons.
Given that the halfling has been slowing them down anyway, he changes back into his customary heavier armour.
"Sounds fine," adds Dayle - finishing off a bit of toasted meat and putting on his pack and sword.
"Give me canteens or waterskins to refill at the river - the terrain will be getting fairly dry and steep from here out. Fortunately, the trail's still pretty clear."
"Dragoness, many thanks for the use of your cave; it's been an honor."
"Mmmm?,... Jus' one mor' quarter hour, tha's all,...Zzzz,... Hm. Hm? Wha?!?" Will mutters blearily as he sits up and looks around, blinking.
"I'm up! I'm up!" He mutters unenthusiastically, smacking his lips and looking for the water skin. The smell of roasting rabbit soon wakes him up for real, and he happily sits to the side, taking advantage of the light coming into the cave to study his spellbook as Mal changes armor. He flips pages with one hand, nibbling on a rabbit leg with the other.
He nods his readiness, tucks his tome into his pack and rises with the others. "I should be a little better prepared today, I think. Thank you for your hospitality, master dragon. I do hope that I get the chance to speak with you again!" He smiles, and follows the others out,...
Finishing off a bit of rabbit, Addy says, "Many thanks, Master Dayle. That does help ... a little, anyway. And many thanks to you also, Degalla. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot; it was very nice of you to share your cave. I hope we meet again, some day soon!" Addy straightens her leather a bit, takes a moment to sharpen her rapier, and fills her waterskin. With that, she's ready to head back on the trail of the party-goers.
"Hey there Degalla, you want to come along with me? These guys are fun, the food is plenty and the drink is cheap, but just think what fun we could have. You.....you could be my familiar, you know? And I'd give you chicken and stuff and we would have a dragon and those goblins faces....!"
Eyes shining bright, Herral thinks of the fun ahead.