Drot and Tesswyn let Billy go.
After some moments, you hear the backdoor open and close. Oh! That must he him! Billy? Is that you?, she calls out.
Yes, Mom. I'm here. Is everything ok? Billy's voice comes in from the other room.
I'll be right back., she says to you.
At this point, Drot and Tesswyn return. Charles lets them in and they join the paladin and the knight in the sitting room.
You overhear the conversation from the sitting room.
Oh Billy! What happened to you?
I got jumped by an orc.
An orc? My goodness. I don't even know why they let those beasts in the town. They're not good for anyone.
I know, mom. But I'm ok. They weren't that bad.
Well, son, I've got something for you that should make you feel better. An opportunity! Representatives are here from Commander Rabi, and they want to recruit you.
Really?! Mom! That's fantastic!
Go get yourself cleaned up, son. I'll tell them you're on the way.
Tesswyn punches Charles in the shoulder. "That kid's a regular arsewipe. He had nothing worthwhile to say. We've wasted enough time here already. Let's just go!"
"Well, Charles, this is our opportunity to drag tha' kid out to the swamp. I'm not much for it, really. If Tess n Drot can catch 'im that easily, he's not gettin' away from the hag if we find 'er. 'Sides, we might have to hold up our end of the bargain. You know what they say about scorned women, double so for mothers." Gärwin draws a line across his throat.
"Let's just say Tess came 'ere with important news and we gotta run. We wasted enough time as it is." The knight stands up from the table, setting down what's left of his tea.
Charles looked at Tesswyn with a questioning glance.
"What did you say to him Tesswyn? This is a chance to teach him that certain actions have unintended consequences. Not just that but its a good opportunity to set him straight. If he sees what is out there, then he'll know better and tell others about it. Plus, I think Commander Rabi owes me that much at least. Not that I think she'd object anyway."
He then looked at Garwin.
"Garwin, you've been out there. You know they need more good soldiers. You really don't think we should try with him?"
Tesswyn rolls her eyes. "We're not here for a morality lesson. The longer we take, the sicker those other kids get. You want their suffering weighing on your conscience? You can talk to him all you want after we get back."
Gärwin shakes his head, "He's still a kid, barely got 'is whiskers. I don't see why we should risk his death just for throwin' rocks at some old house. Little Pellius knew when to run, this kid would get 'himself killed. If 'e wants the join the guard, 'e can do it the old fashioned way."
He scratches his beard for a moment before continuing, "I'd rather not risk either of 'em, but I don't know where this house is. 'Sides, the only reason I wanted to wait was to see if we could learn when the hag is active. Figure'd we could ambush 'er or find 'er sleepin'. I'd wager she's active at night though, like most villains. Speakin' of which, we should ask the boy when 'e went."
Charles blinked. "Fair enough, Tess." he said to Tesswyn. Then he looked back at Garwin. "We'll wait to see what Billy has to tell us."
"That wasn't so bad actually, I scare 'em and you ask them the questions... Being around you guys and at the fort, I had mostly forgotten that average folk don't like Orcs, that explains the weird looks."
Drot shakes his head and shrugs, there are worse things.
Drot remains at the door and as he hears the conversation Billy has with his mother he speaks up.
"Maybe I should wait outside, you'll probably have an easier time that way... Bunch of racists."
Drot slips back out the front door and leans against the house until the group is finished. He tries to listen in on the conversation as best he can.
The mother walks back in the room, and notices a new arrival. Oh! Hello! Can I get you some tea? She asks this even as she already grabs a cup and pours it, not expecting anyone to ever decline.
A few moments later, Billy walks in. He is in fresh clothing, and what looks to probably be the best he owns. A good quality cloth WTH a decent cut, tailored to fit. Something a family a little above poor could afford. Hos face and hands are washed, as well.
Good morning, sirs, he says, noticing Charles and Gärwin in their armor. His smile falters when he notices Tesswyn, but he holds his composure. What can I do for you?
If Tesswyn could roll her eyes any harder, they would pop out of her head. Having already reached her b@*~&%*$ tolerance limit for the day, she just stamps her foot impatiently but says nothing.
As it was his idea to come here and speak, Charles took the lead. "Billy, it's nice to officially meet you. Although, perhaps I've seen you before helping to load the supply wagons out to Bleake's Faste before. My name is Charles.
Those of us gathered here have a great deal of experience dealing with unusual threats. The recent troubles plaguing the town are just the most recent in a series of potentially disastrous things we've seen. We've heard a rumor that you may know where one of these things are located. I'd like to say that we take these things quite seriously, and I won't lie when I say our work is often dangerous. But so is the work of a soldier, that goes doubly so for the defenders of Bleake's Faste.
I'd like to offer you the chance to help us with this and learn in the field with experienced professionals. You know the location of the Witch's hut yes? You don't have to say yes to helping us, but if you do, your mother tells us you are interested in joining with the soldiers at Bleake's Faste. I can help get you there. But we will need your answer rather immediately I'm afraid. If you'd rather not come with us, the location of the witch's hut and the time at which you went will suffice."
The offer made and Garwin's concern levied, Charles looked at the youth waiting for his answers.
Billy looks confused for a moment, and you see him mouth the words, "the hut?" Umm. Yes, Sir Charles. Of course I'll go. Is.. um, I mean, is your servant coming with us, or is she staying to tend the household?
"Servant? Who... Tesswyn?! Never!" he snapped. Then he quickly regained his composure. "No. There are no servants here." he looked at the young man and seemed to take notice how well dressed he was. He then glanced at Garwin.
"Well, I suppose there might be now. Garwin here is a knight. He could squire under under you, isn't that right, Garwin." he said looking pointedly at the Dwarf.
Without waiting for a response, Charles smiled. "Well it's settled then. If you're coming with us, grab your bag. We've got one small stop to make before we leave for today."
Of all the pig'eaded...Gärwin gives Charles a flat look. "I suppose I could take err... Billy, was it? under my wing. It's not quite the same as guard duty tho'." His usual jolly self returns as he continues." I think first thing we need to do is teach 'im how to treat a lady! Tess 'ere is something like a scout, real important to our, ehm... planning."
The dwarf waits behind as Charles takes his leave. I 'aven't known 'im long, but something's wrong with Charles. Probably better to leave it to his friends. Gärwin turns to the mother."Might I have a little chat with the boy? Privately. I'd like a chance to really talk about 'is squireship."
Gärwin holds up his hand, one missing it's index finger. "I've almost died more times than I can count, and I'm a trained warrior. So It's best for both of us if this hag isn't real, then I can train you up right 'n proper. But if she is, and you don't run, you'll no longer be my squire. Either for disobeyin' my orders or your own death. If you do run, I'll find you afterwards and we can get to trainin'. I'm tellin' you this now to give you a choice. A knight's duty only ends with 'is death, and any man should choose how their life is spent."
I wonder if it was like this for Ser Henrik.
After that, he takes your leave and grabs his pack and wooden sword.
A few minutes later, Billy exits the house with some sturdy boots, sensible clothing for hiking in the swamp, a full pack with some food, some extra clothing, rope, and a healing potion (likely all packed by his mother), and a wooden practice sword.
Sir Gärwin, Billy asks in a low whisper, are you sure we can trust the orc? They're the betrayers of the empire. They're the reason we live here now; we fled from Caecras when they invaded and assassinated the Emperor, and not all of my family survived.
You make your way through the village, you pass by a house with a certain woman sitting on her porch, glaring at you. She does not speak.
At the edge of the town, Pellius is there waiting for you. He's dressed in simple shoes, the same ragged pants and shirt he was wearing last night, the same head cloth holding his hair back, a long knife attached to his belt, a small backpack, and two six foot poles tied to each other.
He waves eagerly with a wide smile, which falters a bit when he sees Billy. Hi Miss Tesswyn! Are we ready to go? I've got everything I thought we might need.
Gärwin's not sure what to make of Billy, he hopes the boy has put more thought into this than he appears to.
The dwarf tries to put Billy's fears to rest."Well, it's alright, Drot there's proven 'imself to be plenty reliable. 'Sides we're not in the Empire anymore, not really." As he spots Pellius, he continues, "We gotta work together out 'ere, specially you 'n that boy. 'E might be a weird one but he's got more heart than he looks. He's talent for sniffin' out trouble, and it's always good to know somebody like that. Heck, might even save your life." Gärwin lets out a laugh, but his tone is entirely serious.
He points his good hand at Tesswyn. "That girl there might look like little more than a servin' girl, but she's a real beast in a fight. And if it weren't for her trackin' skills there'd be a heck of a lot more fae causin' trouble. Just cause some bloke's not as strong as you or looks funny, doesn't mean they're useless, a'ight?"
Tesswyn is about to snap at Billy when Charles steps in to defend her honor. She gives the priest an enigmatic look...
Later, she nods at Pellius. "Yes, we're finally done wasting time. Lead us to the hag's house and we'll do the rest."
She casts oak skin as they head into the wilderness.
Nice sword, Pellius says to Billy.
You keep that mouth of yours shut, you little twirp, before I rip it off with this club. Billy retorts.
Turning to Gärwin, Billy says, Really? This doofus? We're going to get lost and die for sure.
Pellius pretends not to hear, but you can tell he did.
Leaving the village, Pellius takes point. He says it was a four hour hike, but it may be quicker because they were not rushing last time.
The forest is alive with sounds - birds chirping, squirrels fighting, leaves rustling… even the sun sends glowing beams down through the foliage, lighting up the dust as it floats through the trees.
Back in town, dogs bark and a horse neighs. The sounds of the village fade.
It's been hour(s) traveling through the forest. Pellius easily finds the small deer trail that leads north towards the marsh. The increased humidity promises you're getting close.
Eventually, the trail ends and the marsh meets an area of fetid ground dotted with cypress trees, marking the edge of Grülag’s Swamp. The tangled trees mark the marshes boundary, and provide proof that you've arrived to the correct location.
Traveling through the marsh is hell. Dank muck clings to boots, and the pungent odor of rot assaults the nostrils. Solid ground is rare, so you must push through the muck.
Pellius is unable to find the previous path he took.
Of course he can't, Billy says, but he doesn't offer any better alternatives.
Pellius stops to untie the two poles he's been carrying, and then screws them together to make a twelve foot long pole, which he uses to poke at the waters to determine their depth. He also pulls out a set of waders to keep his clothes dry when the waters get deep.
Everyone else gets soaked.
Pellius tries his best as you make your way through the muck and the mire. He sticks close to the edge, because he doesn't remember going too far in; the edge of the forest was never really out of sight.
Large fish are occasionally seen in the brackish waters, greedily feeding on tadpole swarms or smaller fish that dart out from the thick reeds. Occasional sounds are heard coming from beyond the marsh's edge, as if something is following you by traveling through the cobwebbed branches of the forest.
Drot reaches his hand out to Pellius and shakes it when offered. He says a few words to the boy regarding his safety and when it would be time for him to run, if things got too rough.
He keeps position either tandem to, or along side of, the roguish boy depending on terrain. With hammer drawn and ever vigilant, Drot expects the worse.
He takes the queue from Tess and dons his ethereal armor.
Tesswyn swears quietly to herself as they trudge through the swamp. The dip in the mucky waters does little to improve her mood, and she sulks as her clothes squelch beneath her armor.
When she hears the sounds in the woods, she takes the time to cast oak skin and shillelagh, eyes alert for dnager.
Aw man, the f!~+ing muck! We didn't have to deal with this the last time! Where the hell are you taking us, Pell?
Gärwin lets out a sigh when Billy open his mouth.
"I'm not built for trudging through muck!" Gärwin, being shorter-legged than everyone else, is having a hard time.
Charles just trudged through the swamp near the front. He wasn't happy about it but it wasn't his first time traveling through a swamp in wet rainy conditions. He didn't have waders that time either.
Though the swamp pulled at him, the months of hard work on a farm and training in the weather which had not been completely dry recently so he'd found himself able to simply bear with it.
Tesswyn and Drot place themselves on guard after hearing the sounds. The sounds are coming from beyond the "edge" of the swamp and back into the forest. (It's not really an edge, and is still just as damp and watery). Does anyone physically go there to investigate, or do you push on in pursuit of the Hag's Hut?
"Could be faeries trying to lead us into a trap. I say we stay the course."
"Let's just get out of this damnable swamp!"
The party decides it's best to leave unknowns unknown and continues to move through the swamp. Eventually, Pellius finds a path that goes deeper inwards.
An hour passes.
While wading through a shin-deep pool of water, Drot steps on something particularly squishy.
Fourteen snake-like creatures, each about a foot long, come squirming out from where he stepped. They emit a loud ear-piercing shriek, all of them screaming to their own tune.
Half wading, half swimming through the muck, Gärwin moves to Drot's side. He quickly lights his lantern and waves it at the creatures. 'Shoo you little buggers, go away!" The dwarf is looking pretty tired of the swamp, both physically and metaphorically.
Tesswyn curses when the eels start shrieking. She clutches her holy symbol and renews her oak skin spell. "Shut those f@$*ers up!"
The swamp was proving to be more and more demanding for everyone, Charles included. He kept near the front of the group with Pellius. Though the youth was much better at moving along with those waders.
He nearly tripped over an unseen muck covered set of weeds which would have soaked him all the way through has would he fallen in. He just barely managed to keep his feet steady.
"Watch your feet. There are some nasty tripping spots here." He called to everyone.
Afterward he pulled out his halberd to help him keep his balance better, which was good, as it helped him avoid a surprise drop in the murky water. Seeing that this wasn't going to end anytime soon he decided to slow down and began helping the others when he found a more challenging spot to get across.
"If you have anything that might help keep your balance, use it."
When Drot'ook stepped where the snakes came out, Charles recoiled from the noise. Turning back, he saw Garwin trying to run the creatures off.
"No! No! Don't fight them! Just run!" He yelled, gesturing for them to follow and hoping he would be listened to over the din of the screeching snakes.
[Ooc]Retain a record of your current Max, as you'll be able to return to this score later, assuming you survive.
Uhh.. Sir Gärwin, you aren't looking to well. Are you ok?
Drot had settled on being annoyed after his surroundings stopped being interesting. He walked forwards with his arms crossed, pushing through the sludge with steady force.
He was lost in thought, as usual, when he ended up treading upon a nest of... He didn't quite know what. All he knew was the pain in his ears and the adrenaline shooting through body.
He tries to back away from the source while jumping around the snake-ish creatures.
Tesswyn makes sure to re-cast shillelagh as well. Charles's order to run seems like a sensible one. "Let's move!"
She resists the urge to charge ahead, sticking close to her slower companions.
The group casts some spells and tries to get away as quickly as possible.
Billy runs in a south-western direction, doing his best to follow orders and get away from the ear-piercing shrieks. Pellius follows Billy to the best of his ability, but it's clear who the better athlete is here.
Tesswyn flees alongside the boys, hoping to save them from either a monster attack or their own stupidity.
Charles moved west, hoping to escape the shrieking snakes. Thanks to his halberd he was able to move forward without much issue.
Drot moves directly back and then in the direction following Charles.
With a roar of effort, Gärwin pushes through the swamp towards the boys, stopping only to assist Pellius.
The loud shrieking of the eels has attracted the attention of some very hungry creatures.
Charles snapped his head around as the Swamp Trolls came into view.
"Everyone, hurry to me! The power of the New God will will help us through this.
The light of your radiance shine brightly in those who you would see through this hour of need."
Focused on the stupid kids, Tesswyn doesn't notice the trolls until they're almost upon them. She hurries to Charles's side to receive his blessing.
"Stick together! Let them come to us! Focus fire one at a time!" she shouts. Stowing her staff, she draws her bow and fires at the nearest troll.
Exploit Opportunity
The rogue swiftly nocks a second arrow and fires again.
Though Drot was stepping around the eel, he happened to look up just in time to see a figure move in the distance... Then the others spotted more and before he knew it they were surrounded by trolls!
"Tesswyn, do you think you can focus on trying to cripple them as them as they come closer?"
As Drot finishes he takes a step and pulls his arm back to pitch, at Tess' target, a dart of bright energy!
"Imperium; Iaculum!"
"I can try, but if I shoot our their kneecaps, they'll probably grow right back!"
Gärwin pauses for a moment to catch his breath and Shake Off the Fatigue.
Gärwin looks at Pellius then Billy. "Alright lads, gather around Charles, these blessings certainly seem to work."
Gärwin herds the two teens towards Charles, so they can all step in the the blessing.
One of the swamps trolls sniffs the air. A second moves closer to the sounds of the baby screaming eels.
Drot moves towards Charles to get the Blessing, and then fires off some magical pain. Tesswyn does the same, but with physical pain.
When the troll gets hit, it let's out a loud, slow fart.
Charles gathers everyone together and blesses all.
The troll which was hit roars out and rushes towards the group. As it gets closer, you can more clearly see the details on it.
It stand 8 feet tall and looks like it could weigh over 800 pounds. Specks of petrified skin spot the shoulders and torsos. It has webbed toes and hands, a stooped body, a flat nose, and a wide mouth filled with chisel-like teeth, much like a frog’s. It wears animal hides as clothing and carries a large clubs and a net.
It charges at you through the pool of water. While the water slows it down some, it manages to make it all the way to your group.
Damage Chart
Troll 1: 7
Troll 2: 0
Troll 3: 0
Tesswyn's eyes widen as the troll closes, glimpsing possible futures. She drops the bow and draws her staff again, but her swing isn't powerful enough to wound the troll.
Charles narrowed his gaze as the troll ran up to them. He hurriedly reached out to cast a spell. "By the light of your divine grace, blind this monster before us!"
As he spoke, an intense blast of divine light released from his hand flew into the trolls eyes.
As the hulking beast drew up to the much smaller woman, Drot could feel intense fire rising up in his chest. He bared his teeth, growling and moved to meet his counterpart. He began making aggressive, sharp and guttural barks at the troll to seem like a more imposing foe.
"GRRR.. GRAH!... AARG! HAH!"