Chocobo Tales: Jade Regent

[Kombinant]

"We can stay here, I guess... I'm still fresh, but I didn't see how well Davros was after you healed him Chad-for-Short, it'd be best if we let him rest a bit from that wound...."

"So any idea what that thing was. old man?"  

[Cowpies77]

Chad-for-Short excuses himself, going to see what he can start up for dinner, leaving the two alone after getting Ryoga to promise to debrief the Tengu and half-orc later.

"First off, I'm only 27, man... I'm not THAT old, am I? Anyway, I think it's called a 'Faceless Stalker'... I dunno where they came from originally, but I've occasionally spotted signs of them in the swamps. They're rather malnourished and smaller than the ones I heard about back in my adventuring days, but still pretty fierce. They're pretty rare out here though. That's the first one I've actually seen with my own eyes."

Lying down on the bed to rest, Walter adds "And you said you were out here for the goblins, right? Yeah, you should take the Old Fish Trail. It leads right down to this abandoned fishing village that they set up camp in. If you need me to help show you where exactly, I'll go with you tomorrow. I don't really know where the little bastards got their hands on the fireworks, but I've been hearing those idiots shooting them off at all hours of the night. It's really bloomin' hard to get a full night's sleep when every now and then it sounds like the Devil's opened a pit and squeezed on out right at ya, you know?"  

[Kombinant]

"Ya can come with if you want. I certainly won't stop you, especially if you've got your own stake in this, but do you know anything of this Chief Gutwad? I don't know anything about him..."  

[Cowpies77]

Kombinant

"Ya can come with if you want. I certainly won't stop you, especially if you've got your own stake in this, but do you know anything of this Chief Gutwad? I don't know anything about him..."

"Gutwad's a lot like any other Goblin Chief. He's slightly bigger and a bit stronger, but not much smarter or braver than any of the other goblins. His tribe, the LickToads, are something like two or three dozen. It's hard to keep track of them, considering they seem to have the lifespans of mayflies. They're historically one of the smaller tribes in the area, so they used to be just a mild irritation."

Stretching a bit, Walter says "I lost a lot of blood to that thing. So I'm not going to horn my way in on anything. If you wanted some help, I'll help. But if you think you can handle it, I'm perfectly alright with staying here and resting."  

[Kombinant]

"In that case, I won't force ya to come. Thanks for the info, Walter. Take it easy, we'll be outta here tomorrow to go after those goblins."

Ryoga then heads down the stairs to check on Davros.  

[Cowpies77]

Davros is washing his hands of blood. While there is no sign of the monster, the table is noted to have several large notches pounded into it, and is still streaked red. Davros seems to have gotten elbow deep in blood and gore before he finally disposed of the body.

Chad-for-short meanwhile is cooking up a rather pleasant-smelling fish stew.

Ryoga fills them in on the intel he's uncovered, and the group enjoys the stew (with Chad-for-short taking some up to Walter). After which, Walter and Davros are both healed up to full with Chad-for-short expending several uses of channeling to heal the group.

Morning rolls around~

Ryoga awakens to the smell of pastries, and finds that Chad-for-Short started baking small meat pies with things he found lying around the house. Ryoga also knows better than to try and guess what the meat filling in the buns is, as they're in the middle of a swamp and being cooked by a bird-man that thinks corpses are good eatin'.
Davros snores rather loudly, having occupied most of the living room with Ryoga as they're both the largest people in a house made for someone about 2/3rds their height.  

[Kombinant]

Ryoga greets the morning well, eating some of Chad-for-Short's cooking without any conscious thought. He prepares quickly for the day and moves outside to wait for the others to be ready, working through a few of his stretches and forms of his martial arts...  

[Cowpies77]

As Ryoga and Davros (after he wakes up for breakfast) do their morning work out routines, Walter comes out and says "Listen, guys. I know you don't need me to come with you, but I feel that I still owe you all at least a little something." Pulling out a nice looking cloak, he offers it to the party, which Chad-for-Short takes and begins to inspect. "I used to be an adventurer, and this was one of the trinkets I used a lot. It's saved my bacon a more than a couple of-"
"Cloak of resistance." Chad-for-Short interrupts. "Imbuned with low grade abjuration magic. Worth approximately 1,000 gold on the open market. Boosts wearer's ability to avoid perils."

Davros, Walter and Ryoga stare at the Tengu for a hard minute, before he says "Some people pick up woodworking or basket weaving or knitting as a way to de-stress. I like to price things when I go shopping."

"Uh... well, yeah. He's right... if a bit sad. Anyway, I want you all to have it. My adventuring days are long gone, so I figure you all could use something like this more than I can."  

[Kombinant]

"Thanks, Walter, we'll put this to good use. We oughta get going now, though, time's a wasting!"

Ryoga plans to debate who has the use of the cloak, later when they're on the road...  

[Cowpies77]

The party travels a bit before Ryoga decides to hand the cloak off to Chad-for-Short, who immediately begins to wear it.

Backtracking a bit, they eventually manage to travel along Old Fish Trail and follow it to the outskirts of the Goblin Village

Quote:

A filthy village-fort surrounded by a crude wooden palisade sits atop a low hummock of solid ground here. A wooden gate in the north wall of the palisade lies in shambles on the ground.

Nearby, a large, algae-filled pool on the northeastern side breaks the palisade and allows a clearer view into the village’s interior, which consists of a collection of ramshackle huts connected by wooden walkways, all built on thick wooden stilts.

 

[Kombinant]

As the party approaches the goblin village, Ryoga begins to pay closer attention to his surroundings. (perception +7)

Upon reaching the outskirts of the village, Ryoga maintains his vigilance and moves cautiously to the nearest building. (though he doesn't bother hiding his footfalls or approach)  

[Cowpies77]

Looking around the scene, the Monk and co. notice that the palisade seems to have been broken down from the inside, heading out.

"Ambush, y'think?" Davros says, looking around on guard.
Smelling the air, Chad-for-Short says "Not for us, I think. I smell carrion. There was a lot of blood spilled recently. I mean, a LOT of blood. Smells like they torched it though." Chad-for-Short's hypothesis is confirmed somewhat as soon as the group passes through the Palisade, and see the whole village in disarray. The village itself is strangely quiet, and Ryoga sees a small green head poking out from one of the houses, ducking down and hiding. Davros says "We... probably should be careful, and not put our junk in any beehives."



Within sight from the gate, to the left (H2) is a pool of algae-filled water. There's a rickety wooden pier that extends about half-way into it.

H3 marks a pigpen that seems to have been repurposed as a giant fire pit for cremating corpses. It looks to have maybe maybe 10 or so tiny little corpses.

H4 marks some high towers with ladders and windows on it.

H5 denotes some just huts and houses.  

[Kombinant]

"Not an ambush for us? Well there's an easy way to find out what happened here, stay here for a bit..."

Ryoga doesn't bother explaining as he moves into a crouch and tries to slink quietly and unseen up on the hiding little goblin.

Stealth +3  

[Cowpies77]

Kombinant

Ryoga doesn't bother explaining as he moves into a crouch and tries to slink quietly and unseen up on the hiding little goblin.

Chad-for-Short looks at Davros, who just shrugs and lets Ryoga wander off.

Pulling out a cardboard box and hiding in it as he tiptoes over to the house he saw the goblin in, Ryoga slips open the door, and sees 3 terrified goblins living in squalid conditions, eyes wide in terror. They scream in panic and immediately lunge at the ChocoMonk with their Horse-choppers and Dog-slicers.  

[Cowpies77]

Oops, this was for Vegetarian Ham (chicken Flavored)