[Game Thread] Fires Over Brinestump

[Ehlana]

"Owlbears don't knock politely for all I've ever heard. But there's no problem with giving our soon to be host warning of our approach either." Chime states, tossing her head a little impatiently at the men's debate. "It's this headless boar -I'm- concerned about. That sounds a lot more like an -unnatural- mystery to me. Unnatural mysteries have a bad habit of -eating- people. And being eaten doesn't qualify as fine, in my book. So I'm going to worry, just a little, itty bit." She peers through the mist in the direction Reynard is looking. "Still, Walthus Proudstump might be able to tell us about it.... which is better than stumbling around blind. If he doesn't have anything to say about it though... I want to get a look at that dead boar."

[The Fool]

Reynard nods to Chime. "Agreed...but no more shouting please. Whatever's out there mutilating animals, I'd prefer not to draw its attention until it's on our terms."

[Avelestar]

As you approach the house you can see that it is quite dilapidated, but still looks serviceable and mostly dry. The walls are made of stone, wooden structures would rot far too quickly in such an environment, but then finding dry enough land to build such a heavy structure is challenge enough. A thick layer of moss covers the entire two stories, and most of the sagging roof, though the windows are immaculately clean, as though the owner looks out of them very regularly. Walking along the shore of the lagoon makes quite a bit of noise, the ground is as mucky as the rest of the swap, but littered with small stones washed ashore from the sea. Each step is a mixture of a squelch and a crunch, one would need to fly to be silent in this environment.

As the house draws nearer those of you with sharp eyes see a small face pop into one of the ground level windows. It squints at you and then a few seconds later the front door opens. Standing on the step is a halfling, a mess of unwashed brown hair on his head, unshaven and with large, concerned looking brown eyes watching you. He stands holding the door open with his left hand, ready to spring back inside and shut the door at a moment's notice. Whilst the group is still thirty feet or so away he calls out, voice sounding very dry and slightly strained. "Who are you and what do you want?"

 

OOC: Make whatever checks you want if you feel they are appropriate. I will only ever prod you for rolls if they are absolutely necessary, and even then I'll likely roll them for you to save time (e.g. initiative, hidden perception checks).

[The Fool]

Reynard steps forward, giving the halfling a sweeping, grandiose bow. "Felix Licktoad, at your service," he lies, unable to resist the compulsion this time. "I've recruited this batch of adventurers to aid me in destroying the Licktoad goblins, who have slandered the name and honor of my family with their actions!"

[Ehlana]

Chime shakes her head and steps forward, albeit with a grin curving her carmine lips. "Actually, that's Reynard and he's a buffoon." She smiles sweetly at the halfling. "But we are here to take care of the Licktoads. They've been attacking caravans ever since they got hold of some fireworks and I'm sure they've been a bother to you too. We were sure that you could help us find our way out here, since you're such an expert." Her tone is gently Diplomacy:

Dice Roll:

1d20+8

(17)+8

Total = 25

complimentary and she gives Walthus an appealing look.

[The Fool]

Reynard laughs and gives Chime a self-effacing grin. "Oh, come on, that was good!" he protests with good humor. "And anyways, that comparison is quite insulting to buffoons. Discriminatory, even!"

[GrimDarkOtter]

"It seems quite reasonable, now shush" Emiri says, scowling at Reynard, "And my companion speaks true, we have need of your expertise. For this effort, the swamp may be just as much our enemy as the goblins. For instance, we saw a rather disturbing corpse on the way here."

[Avelestar]

As you get closer you notice that Walthus seems to be leaning on the door frame, his skin is a pale white and there are dark marks under his eyes. He looks exhausted, but his eyes are still bright and alert. Chime's kind words calm him some, though he looks at Reynard in alarm when he mentions Licktoad. "Uhh sure come in, I've got some snapjaw stew left." Walthus steps back into his house, and ushers you through as quickly as he can. Once the last person enters the house he slams the door and pushes three dead bolts into place. "Never can be too careful." he murmurs whilst looking at the floor and shuffles his way further into the house.

You follow Walthus to the dining room, noting that his house is very small and cramped, not to mention the inside pretty much matches the outside. A fireplace with a hanging pot, a small table and a single chair make up the furniture in this room. The five of you squeeze into the room with just enough space left for Walthus to move around and heat up some stew. After he stokes the fire and stirs the stew around a bit, he collapses into his chair and says. "So what is it you want? Goblins? They aren't this way, you need to follow the old fishing trail. Nothing bad up this way, just some fishermen and little old Walthus."

[The Fool]

Reynard looks around the hut, taking in every detail as he walks in, as as Walthus speaks, he narrows his eyes as if trying to puzzle something out. "If there's nothing bad up this way...why do you have three deadbolts on your door? I mean, I understand you're being careful...but that implies there's something to be careful of, yes?"

[Avelestar]

"Uhhh..." says Walthus, his back to you as he stirs the soup. "...they were already on the house when I got it. Three bolts for a good night's sleep seems like a good deal to me." He pours a small amount of soup into three small clay bowls, they have many chips around the edges. Looking around for a moment, he grabs a clay mug and pours another serving into that. "Here, fresh snapjaw and onions." Snapjaw stew is a local favourite, the turtles live in Brinestump, as do the sweet onions Walthus has served them with. His stew however is extremely runny, and smells slightly of old socks. "I expect you'll get going after you eat, yes? It's a long walk to reach the old trail, unless you want to go across the swamp. Better get going as soon as you can!" he asks, nodding rapidly at the last sentence.

[orangehatter]

Xiao looked at the hut with interest, lazily following the others inside and quietly partaking of the food while the others chatted away. This Walthus, though, set him uneasy. Anxious...does he know something? He glanced about the inside of the small abode as well, wondering how this man...err...half-a-man could dare stand to fair in comfort. For now, he'd let the others to the talking while he supplemented his meal with the sake from his gourd.

Warning: rolls have been deleted from this post.

[Ehlana]

Despite the cramped space, Chime manages to pose artistically, dark curls falling just so across her bare shoulders. She toys with her spoon in a way designed to draw attention to her graceful dark hands. "You don't look so well, Walthus." She notes. "Are you ill or something? We might be able to help. We don't intend to intrude on you long, you know, we just want to know about what sort of things we can find in the swamp. Like the headless boar Reynard mentioned." She gives the halfling an entrancing smile. "Surely you wouldn't want something nasty to come and eat us."

[Avelestar]

Xiao notices that Walthus has been favouring his left leg, the right has a slight drag to it. Upon further inspection you see that his left boot is untied, and the thin strip of skin you can see looks very red and puffy. "Okay, okay." says Walthus, letting out a sigh. "Kind of embarassing, I got bitten by a large snake yesterday, was trying to chase him out of my garden. Snakes and goblins, that all the southern part of the swamp has." His wide eyes flash with hatred, and spittle flies as he talks. "If you see any snakes, kill them for me. Stomp on them, slice their heads off, burn their tails!" He finishes his rant by quickly staring at the floor and coughing just once.

[The Fool]

Reynard takes the soup and sits at the table, eating with every sign of enjoyment. The young kitsune has never been one for being picky about his food, as his food has always been "whatever he can catch himself", so he barely even notices the runnyness or the smell of old socks. When he notices the red and puffy skin of the foot, however, he looks concerned.
"Hey, Warden, that looks pretty serious," he says, then turns to Emiri. "Hey, you're a Hospitaler, right? Would you be able to help him with that?"

[GrimDarkOtter]

Emiri politely sips at the provided soup but keeps his eyes on the Warden as he rants and prevaricates. "Of course, Reynard" the half-elf says, setting down his meal, "Warden, if you could show me precisely where you were bitten and tell me how it happened? And which species of snake, perhaps?" Emiri makes a show of taking out his healing kit as he carefully listens to the halfling's reply.