The bullywug closest to Giant slyly casted a spell
You hear a mysterious, whispered voice coming from nowhere.
"Grellik, when did you get back? Hey, if you're gonna try and kill this lot, I've got your back"
You know you can whisper a response
Cavell makes note, but holds his position.
Grelliks eyes flash briefly with surprise as he recognizes Giant, before returning to his mask of defiance.
He tries to quickly assess the new situation.Giant is here! A boon, but also perilous. Don't worry, friend, I have not forgotten my debt--I will not allow them to harm you!
It fell to Giant and Grellik to perform one of these jobs. (And yes, much fun was had at the contrast between their frames). A simple case of a fat merchant with too little sense and too little experience with the Evermoor's distinguished, ah, 'protectors.' Far too lightly defended to need more than a couple of good warriors to lighten the wealthy man's burden.
But necromancers are a paranoid sort, and most of the guards he had at his disposal were hidden in panels underneath the carriage, and in the wagon behind.
They fought valiantly, scattering bone, and cutting the flesh of the living who were hasty enough to get caught within the range of their steel, but they were two against many, with a well defended wizard besides. Surely, it was the end for them, and without Trissae to sing their song.
Though the end did not come, as their continued status of 'living' will attest to. Grellik swears that he owes Giant his life, though to this day he is rather cagey on the details.
Grellik eyes the Bullywug with disdain, pondering briefly. Very well. Though I will not do what you apparently cannot with nothing but a smile and a promise. I will need a show of your good faith--release some of them now, if there is to be a deal." He looks over the mass, finally pointing to Giant, Frug, and one other, hopefully one that looks lieka strong warrior. "That one...that one...and that one. Release them now, and we can come back for the others."
The wug from earlier who cast a spell just winked at Grellik and Ozz. This is also the same one who struck giant with the spear, and who kept the other bullywug from having its turn striking the hanging dwarf when you came in.
"I'm armed, what are you talk-... You think I'm giant, don't you. How in the muck did you confuse me with this doofus?" The voice is exasperated, but amused, clearly finding this to be a good joke.
The bullywug nearest Giant prods the dwarf with the butt of his spear, Giant squirms angrily at the ungentle prod. Then, the bullywug winks at Grellik.
"You terrible, cruel, prejudiced creature! Did you mistake me for just another Bullywug?! Uhraa Urhaa uhrraaaa!" The croaking, mocking frog laugh!
Splotz!
The Jester on the throne hops from foot to foot, laughing it's croaking laugh.
"Hruaa Hruaa Hruaa!!" It cackles at Grellik's attempt at compromise. Clearly, it is so unintimidated that it believes it holds all of the cards. "We outnumber you so many, but thank you for pointing to friends."
It then croaks in its wug-speak. The giant toad in the back moves forward toward Frug and more Bullywugs rouse.
The giant toad opens up its large mouth as if waiting for Frug to drop easily into it. The rest of the bullwugs point spears at the hanging men, an obvious threat. One of the bullywugs next to Giant jabs him with the butt of his spear.
"If you don't slay false king, than your friends die! We'll kill the rest too, just to make sure we didn't miss any! What else choice have you! You are two! Hruaaa Hruaaa!"
[i]"Uhhrraa uhrra, what a joke. Can I kill him, please? I've been following his stupid orders for over a day. I need a bath, I'm hungry, and I'm angry!"[/b] comes the whispered voice again.
The winking wug then turns his back to you, and readies his spear to stab Giant.
Ozz grits his teeth at the sight of giant getting beaten and harassed at spear point, but manages to keep his rage from boiling over into action.
"Boss..." he says, gritting his teeth anxiously, reflectively calling Grellik by the nick named usually reserved for, well, the Boss.
It looks like if not gentled or reassured, he'd be about to jump into action.
Cavell draws his sabers with one fluid X motion and starts attacking the Jester literally out of nowhere, appearing behind him, and attempting to decapitate him and catch the crown to wear it himself, amused at the memory of Triss' story. Once/if the Jester dies, he'll drop down from the platform (SW 1 space diagonally) and start attacking the bullywug nearest the platform, and then the bullywug near giant if that one also dies (N of Giant).
"Can't promise I'll save any for you, Giant!" He shouts to the netted figure.
Adrien appears next to the jester king, quickly and effortlessly severing his head before mowing into the bullywugs toward Giant.
Grellik nods to Ozz, and is about to issue the order to attack, then jerks in surprise as Adrien does the job instead. Ah, Cavell, there you are! And what impecible timing as well! He recovers his compsure and begins to take action. "Now then, you fools, you will see what these few sharks can do! Ozz, take the ones on the left, I will handle the foes to the right. focus on getting them off of the captives first!"
Adrien dispatches three bullwugs, including the jester king, as he makes his way over to giant. The bullywug who early cast a spell looks at him with surprised annoyance.
+?
+?
+?
Adrien: 17
+?
Ozz's grinning, oni-mouthed mask nods at Grellik's orders, moving to the left to kill the bullywugs accosting the dwarvern Shield.
He lets out a whooping shriek, his voice loud but raspy. It's his normal raiding battle cry. He marks the closest 'wug with his Hunter's Mark spell.
He chops his way, two-handed, through the wugs, trying to take out as many as he can.
Like in Trissae's plan, this is effectively the king's bodyguards, even though the king has already lost his head. He remembers her story, and searches for more strength to live up to the tale.
The Bullywug who had winked at Grellik, who cast a spell on the sly earlier, and who struck Giant in the side moments ago, turns to Adrien as he beheads his way in his direction. He looks back to see the "king's" head rolling down the throne of walls, blood spattering away with the rain as the body above collapses.
He turns to Adrien, his face puckered with rage.
"ADRIEN! You total dick! Ooorrghh!" he croaks angrily. Swinging a webbed slap at the swordsman's face.
"You knew I wanted to kill him! I know it! You always know it! You total sodding f&@#! I'm going to drown you in mud, you ass!"
The bullywug now recognizable as Splotz, one of the Bogshark Elites, (the small, purple spots on his nose are obvious close up, once you think to look for them) glares at Cavell before turning to point his spear at the bullwugs on the other side of Giant, clearly not meaning Adrien any more immediate harm.
Splotz is a trickster Cleric, a prank puller, and is usually unable to handle pranks pulled against him. He's also the only Bullywug member of the Bogsharks, having fled the swamps of his home when an adolescent because the rest of the bullywugs are "Complete and total morons."
-----------
Ozz chops through two of the bullywugs. The second one gets its shield up to block, but Ozz's next attack sinks through shield and arm and into skull
Cavell Parries aside the Critical Slap with the flat of his blade.
"Splotz?" He asks in surprise, momentarily distracted.
"Splotz, you disagreeable amphibian! Glad to see you!" He closes in on the Wugs holding Frug, sandwiching between the two closest ones.
And he immediately regrets putting himself in quite this close quarters.
"Perhaps you can tell us," Grellik grunts as he swings at the Bullywug[K4],"given your priestly expertise, if Tymora is aiding us, or," he pauses to cut into the other Wug [L3]. mocking us, seeing how fortuitous arrivals," he brings his sword to bear against an incoming attack, "seem to keep presenting themselves, but in response to turns of bad luck!"
HE sneaks a furtive glace back toward Giant, trusting Adrien's expertise, but still worried about Giant.
Grellik wounds one of the bullywugs, while shouting out to Splotz across the room.
The bound and netted shields struggle in the nets in reaction to the conflict suddenly breaking out in the room. They eye the skirmish as well as they are able, but currently stay netted.
Adrien cuts Giant loose, who rolls to the floor in a tied-hand and bound-mouth pile of himself after being momentarily distracted by Splotz.
The giant toad which was blocking the throne notices the decapitated head of its master, lets out an angry "UUrrrhhhRRAAAOK!" and hops to meet Adrien. It opens its mouth and sends its sticky tongue out toward the swordsman.
The toad gets Cavell partially in its mouth, stuck to its tongue.
The other giant toad opens its mouth up beneath frug, reading itself to swallow frug once he is cut down by the wugs.
The bullwug that the Giant toad earlier coughed up (the toad now trying to swallow Cavell) blinks at everything around it. It then gets up, and scuttles for its life out of the room, and down the staircase.
The bullywug Grellik wounded attacks the bugbear back, first with its bite and the with its spear. It bites Grellik , but its spear isn't able to pierce Grellik's armor.
A bullywug closer to the wall moves out and hurls its spear at Grellik from 10 feet away, but just barely it bounces off of Grellik's armor.
The two other Bullywugs around Frug jump up with their froggy hops and cut the top of Frug's net. Frug falls into the mouth of the giant toad. He's between the froggy lips but isn't yet swallowed.
The bullywug face Ozz attacks back, missing with its bite, but scoring a hit with its spear.
Another bullywug advances on the half-orc as well, but only hits with its bite attack
The bullywug near Giant and Splotz and looks real confused for a second, but then it throws its spear at Adrien. The However, the Splotz is able to confuse the attack, causing the wug to throw wide (ally cover bonus!).
One wug near the throne just stands and stares, croaking uncomfortably at the death and mayhem, trying to figure out which side is winning.
The rest go to the sleeping wugs, shaking them awake.
Init - Round 2
Ozz loses his hunters mark, so grunts another war cry, bringing the mark back onto the one who speared him before attacking again.
and then attacks the other one as well.
and one more for good measure
DM: Ozz manages to just barely fell the two 'wugs near him.
Ozz stands next to the captured dwarf, no longer surrounded by enemies. He looks over and notices Ad--Giant, and runs away from the Shield before having time to release him.
"It's trying to eat Adr-... Giant!!" Ozz shouts, running over to strike the frog next turn.
"Ah hell, this is all falling apart!" Splotz complains.
One eye blinks at Adrien, the other at Ozz, each form the top of the bullwugs head. "Hey, guys. Been busy?"
He then Shouts out to Giant, who is looking grimly out and shouting through the gag. "Hey Giant! REMEMBER THAT TIME YOU PUT BEATLES IN MY SOCKS?! UHHRAA UHHHRAAA UHHRAAA!" he laughs triumpantly, speaking an magical incantation and gesturing at the dwarf who is getting slowly chomped on by a giant toad.
Giant then grows. His clothes melt into his clothes, his skin grows rubbery, and he fills the giant toad's mouth more and more until the creature looks massively concerned as giant completes his transformation.
The frog is now choking on a grey-skinned whale, bigger than the frog itself. His wet body is weakly stuck to the frog's tongue, and it thrashes in the rainwater.
Splotz croaks merrily at the sight of what he has wrought. "Adrien! What's your bet?!" He croaks, meaning he will act as a broker for betting on whale versus toad.
"Storms and Shields, what is that?!" Ozz says in surprise.
"10 gold on the thing." Ozz gestures to what is now Giant.
Adrien starts to run over to save Giant--and then blinks. Nevermind then...
He turns on the bullywug diagonal from Splotz, taking advantage of the confusion---but is far too confused himself.
"Is that seriously a godsdamned whale!? A whale! I bet on the f**~ing whale! Tymora save me..."
"Who will bet on the toad?!" Splotz croaks gleefully. "Grellik? Tris-, hey where's Trissae?"
"No one will bet on the Toad, Splotz! Trissae is..somewhere in this citadel. We were all separated, and I have not seen Triss or Grimgar since then."
Grellik lays into the Wug he wounded before.
He fells the miserable creature, coming at the other with the backswing, narrowly avoiding Frug in the process.
He steps forward into the swing as it falls, fangs bared as blood flecks his face, letting out a feral roar as he attacks the toad now
Grellik cuts through two of the bullywugs, stepping onto the corpse of one fallen and roaring as he slices into the toad trying to swallow Frug.
Adrien tries to attack the remaining enemy 'wug near him, but the shock of the newly grown whale (as well as the difficulty footing caused by the flapping tail) keeps him from landing any serious blows.
The Giant Toad trying to swallow Frug takes the treat of Grellik seriously, and spits the gnome onto the ground before trying to swallow the bugbear instead.
The toad tries to get its mouth around Grellik, but with a quick shield spell, his tongue bounces off of the magical defense, saving the bugbear from quite a lot of damage
The toad which finds itself trying to swallow a whale, recoils in surprise and bites the whale instead.
The bullywugs croaks in alarm, and swamp to try and kill the trashing sea-beast. Several spears find their mark, but the whale hardly seems wounded against such small weapons.
One wug attacks ozz,
The wug sparring with Adrien gives the Whale a fearful glance before failing to harm the swordsman in its own distraction. It then eyes the whale again, taking a less aggressive posture to Adrien almost as if it wants to see how this will play out.
Two wugs are left around Grellik. One reclaims his thrown spear, and they both try to stab and bite at him, fighting against his magic shield. One is able to do so.
Frug struggles from his place on the ground, dripping with toad spit. In a few moments, he has his hands unbound and pulls the gag from his mouth. "I thought you drowned!" It almost sounds like a complaint, or accusation.
Giant, frustrated and disgusted with his new whale body, lashes out with histail in a random direction.
He hits one of the bullywugs that speared him with a tail slap so hard the 'wug flew into the wall with a fatal crunch.
"AWWWWWRRRUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUU" He sings, his mind limited within the whale brain.
Ozz first moves his hunters mark to the giant toad, attacking at it and trying to get the bullywug in his face with his horde-breaker technique.
He injures both.
"Oh! More backup eventually, or will we need to rescue them now?!"
The whale kills the bullywug, and Splotz' frog mouth drops open. "Whoops, he's enraged. I'm just gonna..." and then the friendly 'wug disappears, his form dissolving into a thin cloud of black smoke.
Cavell moves around next to Ozz, the bullywug, and the Toad--and attacks the Toad.
Grellik calls to Splotz "I don't know! I haven't seen them, though there has been no sign of their capture! As he replies to Frug, he grins beneath his mask. "I won't die so easily, Mr. Frug! Though neither will you, it seems! Where's Mr. Bindle?
He winces as the spear point finds its way past his magica armor, and turns upon the Wug with a growl. Unable to connect he tries for a powerful smash with his blade. He chops through his opponent, letting the momentum carry the sword toward the giant toad
Adrien kills his bullywug foe in an unexpected, last moment swing. The blade flashes through the creature's throat, killing it with nearly another decapitation.
Grellik's first blow bounces off of the Bullywug's shield, but Grellik just turns his attack into a horizontal slash, cleaving through the bullywug beneath its defenses, and right into the toad. The big toad lets out an angered croak as the sword blade bites into its side, injured but not dead.
The Shield in the net by the whale struggles to get away from the thing. He tears at the netting trying to rip his way out, but fails to make any progress.
Adrien then swings over to the giant toad, giving Ozz support. He sinks his cursed blade into the creature's flesh twice, wounding it greatly. Blood oozes out of its massive wounds as it enters a rabid rage as it finds itself between a whale and steel.
The two critically injured giant toads struggle against their fate, lashing out with oversized mouths in one last attempt to defeat their foes.
The Toad croaks in rage, and lunges forward before Grellik is able to pull his greatsword out of its body. He scoops the bugbear up in its oversized mouth, chewing his foe. Grellik hangs out of its mouth by his grip on his greatsword, still embedded in the creatures flesh
The other toad tries to swallow up the swordsman stabbing it repeatedly. It bulls the swordsman into its mouth as well.
Both bogsharks hang out of the toad's mouths, in serious danger of being swallowed if the toads don't die before they get a chance to pull them into their mouths.
The three bullywugs that threw their spears last time realize that they are now unarmed, and run over the "throne" toward the exit, trying to flee from the combat.
The bullywug near Ozz and Adrien continues harrying the half-orc beneath the struggling human bogshark, scoring a wound with a spear.
Two more attack the whale, causing more relatively slight wounds.
FRUG, meanwhile, replies to Grellik's question.
"Bindle!? That a%%@!@* left me behind! When I found myself surrounded by bullywugs, I saw him standing on the bank of the Dessarin! I've no idea how he got over there! The bastard is probably living it up somewhere right now!"
Then he sees all of the fleeing bullywugs. He screws up his face from his position on the cold, wet, stone floor, and shouts out to them as they head toward the stairway down.
"Where the F##! do you think you're GOING?! None of you are LEAVING HERE ALIVE!" the small gnome man shouts, slamming the flat of one hand down to slap against the stone as he works his magic.
The sky booms simultaneously with the thunderous force of Frug's spell, and the room shakes as a wave of destructive thunder sends rain water and bullywug corpses flying.
Frug looks down at the hand he slapped the stone with, as if impressed with the strength of the spell. He looks up into the sky, where the other source of thunderous sound came from. "Huh..."
Giant continues thrashing mindlessly, whipping his tail back and forth.
"ARRRRUUUUUUOHAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He bellows, spraying rain water and air out of his blowhole.
He bites forward, grabbing the toad in its own jaws, hella killing it as the whale begins to try and swallow the toad in a strange twist of irony.
Clearly, a whale with the brain of Giant doesn't quite get what a whale should or shouldn't try to eat, and in a few moments it's swallowing the toad after crunching it in its teeth.
Adrien is released before the toad can get pulled into its mouth, the crushing jaws of the whale nearly bursting the toad and freeing the swordsman.