Battle for Kazragun

[Silanon]

At first, the person seems not inclined to answer - even though you see pointy, furred ears twitch when you speak the words, she continues in her doing. From the features you can see, including a furry tail, she does not look like a member of the ratfolk. In fact, her body, roughly human-sized, looks like a mixture between a human and an animal - the arms and hands are humanoid, though covered by a thin layer of the same silvery fur. At some points, you can see suntanned skin instead - as soon as you speak, however, those spots seeem to vanish as if fur would grow there within split-seconds. It's not the only change you see - underneath the skin, muscles seem to grow thicker, the hands slowly shift into claws in a smooth, steady fashion.


You then can see how she picks up something she most likely freed from the alligator's jaws, and puts it into a small pouch carried on a belt slung over her shoulder. Then, finally, the creature slowly stands up, clearly handicapped by the wound she received. For a short moment, she turns her head - amber-colored eyes muster you warily, glowing in a face that reminds you more of the head of a hyena than of a human. When her jaws move to form sounds, the birds around fall silent; as if to make sure you can understand her properly. "I do comprehend your words, human - but my doings are beyond your grasp of this world." The creature's voice is neither high nor deeep, but filled with an angry, wild melody. In addition, she spits out the common words more than pronouncing them properly, making it sound as if she'd detest herself for even answering your question. Before she turns around, you get a glance at somthing hanging on a cord around her neck: A flute made of blackened wood. Then once again, all you see is her back as she limbs forward, stabbbing one of the dead goblins with her dagger before kneeling down almost devoutly next to another alligator, soon enough breaking one of its teeth out of the lifeless jaws.

 

[Ritzy]

Aeon gives a another wordless shrug to the others. "Well that's nice, I suppose. Are you the leader here? Are there any more goblins attacking you? You seem rather...preoccupied. Wait, you're hurt, I can heal you..was it your music that we heard last night?" He walked towards the figure carefully. Hands up


The rat, alligator, woman, thing was obviously off her rocker. He leaned back before he left and spoke quietly to Baird. "Was it some sort of magic Baird? Bardic perhaps?"

 

[Orikanyo]

Findil


"...She kinda looks like a gnoll to me." the halfling commented to nobody in particular, before giving a shrug to the whole situation. "Not that'd I'd ever heard of silver gnolls, only know what i read up." his words more then likely fell on deaf ears, par for the course for this group it seems. Only two that were even slightly interested in one another is the holyman and the sneaky woman. 


Figures.


What'd he expect though? Not like he was anything to interesting. Just a man whos damn good with a sling.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren calls out, "We are not your enemy, and perhaps we can be friends. I am called Wren, and these are my companions. What is your name, and what brings you to this swamp?"

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird also calls out to back up Wren's attempts at peace whilst holding out a hand leaving his crossbow held in his left hand, "My name is Baird and we do not mean you harm." 

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak kept his silence while the others talked to the furry being. His people had no tales of her kind. However his instincts told him that she was no danger unless provoked. Such were all creatures in the swamp.


Still he did not let his guard down. Preparedness was next to survival for those who lived in the swamp. He continued to survey the area just in case.

 

[Silanon]

Continuing in her doing, the creature answers without turning around. "Too many intruders enter the swamps these days, knowing little to nothing, and still try to solve its problems. Keep your filthy magic off of me, human, it does not belong here."


Another pause follows as she concentrates on her work, breaking one of the giant teeth out of the alligator's jaw and putting it into her pouch. She then stands up, looking around warily before slowly approaching your group.


"You ask many questions, but half of them are irrelevant. A name is just a word if you do not comprehend its meaning. All beings, except the foolish ones, live at the place where they belong. And the orcs and their minions will hunt me til one of us falls, for I am the last one who remembers."


Now that she is closer, you can get a better impression of her: The comparison to a gnoll is quite accurate, though both the silvery fur and her shifting appearance indicate that she might be more than that. In fact, even now her facial features seem to change, becoming more humanoid until they look more like the thin face of a woman, grotesquely twisted as the animalistic features do not vanish entirely. The other portions of the body remain unchanged.


"Some creatures follow my advice - does that make me a leader in your language? Perhaps. It does not change anything. I am fullfilling my duties, until at last, I reenter the cycle. Last night was no different."

 

[Silanon]

"But enough of your questions. The Old One told me he helped you cross the gap. And the wasps are humming that you just passed by. There is one of the lizardfolk among your group, but noone else who has business here. Tell me, what are you looking for, in the midst of nowhere? If you wanted to help, you are two years late. And if you're here to pillage, you took the wrong path - nothing other than dirt and mud can be found after the orcs destroyed what was left."

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak spoke up, "We come ssstop green mammalsss, orcsss. Pillage not goal of usss. Drive green mammalsss, orcsss, from ssswamp. Hurt not you. Me help kassu sssurvive ssswamp."


With that said, he waited for the rest of his party to tell their tales.

 

[Sherwood]

Wren nods in agreement. "He speaks truly. We are here hunting orcs. We desire no conflict with you or yours. Do you know where the orcs are massing?"

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

"He does indeed speak truly," Baird began, "We wish to push back the Orcs as they have become a growing problem for us as well."

 

[Ritzy]

Hmm. Obviously a hater of magic. Or of humans and halflings. Or of both. Aeon stepped back carefully. "If you don't want us here then point us in the direction we need to go." He gave her a general idea of where the next camp was. "We offer no harm. We are here to help, not invade. I doubt you'll get that same offer from the Orcs. You seek to protect your home. We seek to protect ours."


Aeon knew broken people, pushed beyond the limits of sanity. He had seen it many times in the Mannor. This woman was obviously not quite sane as she refused the offer of help. I mean who turns down healing aid when hurt? 

 

[Silanon]

She first turns to the lizardman, mustering him from head to toes. "Your tribe should have fought when there was still a chance. Now the cave dwellers march forward, neither respecting this place, nor its dangers. In the name of their Goddess, they will tear this world apart."


The creature then turns to the humans, a wild gaze in her eyes. "The orcs have grown tired of hunting me down. They send their minions to search the swamps." Her left, claw-like hand points at one of the ratlike creatures, the other one stabs a dead goblin in front of her with the dagger. "These gathered further north, where my people once made camp. An hour, maybe, if you take the right path." Pulling the spear out of the corpse between your group and her, she points its head at one of the openings in the surrounding trees. "The swamps allowed you to enter, so I will not throw you back. The orcs, however, group up in Kazragun, behind walls of wood, stone, and blood."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren manages to mutter out, "Thank you. We will be on our way, then. Unless you wish to join us on our efforts to p push the orcs back. Another person would be welcome."

 

[Ritzy]

My Goddess has no intention of destroying anyone." Aeon said dryly. He took note of how they would get there. He wished he had a map, for all the good it would have done him. Things change in swamps.

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak snorted at her opinion of his tribe. "Arsu'sayp Nohprem," he began, "only war when war come. War to tribe protect. No war come, no war do. Green mammalsss, orcsss, no find tribe. Me here for ssshaman sssay to."


With that he waited for the others to be ready to move onward.

 

[Silanon]

For a short moment, it seems as if the creature considers Wren's offer - then however, she shakes the half-human, half-hyena-like head decidedly. "There are moments to strike, and moments to hide. We gathered together at the holy place, certain it was the right moment. But we were wrong. Thousands of our friends and allies died, and still, the ritual was not finished when the orcs reached the pole. Now the battle is lost, and there is no point in hunting them down anymore."


Limping forward, leaning on her spear to not lose balance, she passes right through your group, meanwhile continuing to talk. "Maybe the lizard's tribe was right from the beginning - but we were no cowards and opposed our foes." From short distance, you can notice her smell - though the fur is unkempt and full of dirt, the scent of death clinged to it covers the smell that would be expected. There is a distant note of fire in there as well, though - and of resin, like you might have smelled it in older pinewoods that you would not expect anywhere in the swamps. "Watch your steps, humans: Many of your kind claimed to do good, just to turn around decades later and see nothing but ruins along their path. And watch your dreams - the wind carries my music only so far."


With that, she heads towards the same entry you came through. If there are further questions you want to ask, she's certainly slow enough to hear them. Otherwise, you can head off as well.

 

[Ritzy]

"I'm sorry for your loss." Aeon said in sorrow. "I cannot bring back what you lost but by my Godess I shall avenge them."


He knew all too well the pain of losing everything.

 

[Silanon]

"And so the swamps turn red once more, in the name of yet another deity. Your war is not the one they fought - your oath means nothing to my kind." And yet, as she hobbles away, her spear pierces through one of the goblins in sudden anger. She probably won't be too unhappy to see death claim a few of the intruders ahead of time.


It takes a while till she reaches the way through, not turning back once. When her silvery fur is out of sight, the scavenging birds around you get louder once more - before most of them fly up, following her with the shrieking from dozens of beaks. Clearly, death follows her path. A quick look around shows that there is nothing of worth to be found - a few of those iron nuggets at best, as a random sample shows. If someone feels like searching one of the ratlike figures, let me know. Other than that, it is still midmorning - if you want to follow the path shown by the creature, and her time estimate is on point, you should be able to reach your current destination before midday.

 

[Dicer]

"Nothing ssstill here," Veskassdak said calmly. "We go. Ssstay doesss nothing but ssstay."


With that Veskassdak reaches down to one of the goblin corpses and tears a leg off as he moves along the path further into the swamp taking a bite out of the leg. "Good meat."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren nods. "Let us make our way from this killing ground. The stink of all this death is getting to me. I would put this place behind us."

 

[Ritzy]

Aeon regretfully watches the woman go away. "You're right, both of you. I've had enough of this place to last a lifetime." He says with a sigh. "I fear what lies ahead. These Orcs bring nothing but Chaos and Evil." He looks to the others with a tired smile. "We will beat them though. We have to."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren pieces a reassuring hand on Aeon's shoulder. "Fear not my friend, and place your trust in your God. We will succeed. Let's go, everyone." Setting off, she heads for the opening in the treeline, keeping a close watch for hidden threats.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird moved next to Wren and Aeon speaking to the two of them after hearing them speak. "Wren is right Aeon, Your god will show you the way, and we shall fight these orcs together." He then set off with everyone keeping an eye out for hidden threats as well. Baird also contemplated revealing the fact that he had dragon blood to the two of them. However, the two of them were human, unlike Veskassdak, so they would be more apprehensive about someone who wasn't entirely human, but looked it in their party.

 

[Silanon]

As you pass through the opening, it seems like this has been the direction from where most of the attackers came. More goblin corpses lie around, some of them burnt, others torn apart by the beasts that ultimately shared their faith. There is not much of a decision where to go, as the path ahead is rather linear - winding itself between a few old trees and ponding water. It takes about an hour until the landscape changes, though not naturally. First sign of the changes are chopped trees, with the pricky shrubs that tend to hide in their shadows cut down as well.


Soon enough, you can see what the wood was used for. As you use the last bit of cover, you can notice the path ending about hundred feet away, leaving a gap of twenty feet between your side and a wooden palisade, freshly built in the midst of the swamps. The pressure of mud and water seems to slowly press the timber inwards, as if nature would inevitably try to conquer the place back. For now, though, the defenses hold strong, surrounding a majestic tree - its dead branches seem to form a roof over almost the whole interior. On your side of the gap, there is a single raft waiting for new arrivals, and you'd probably be able to climb over the wooden wall without too much trouble once you crossed over. From here, you can't see any guards - but the wind carries yelling to your ears, undoubtedly at least one goblin shouting orders.