---

Tsak has had a bit if experience with Bugbears in the past. There was a few things she had learned, one, Bugbears tend to be stubborn and brutish, bully like. Secondly, if you let them walk all over you, they will! Tsak, young and not the wises, lost her temper. Flying at the large beast man at top speed, she attempted a bullrush, not to harm him, but get his attention.

Tsak's attempt at stopping Brutrumukk did nothing but make the bugbear laugh even harder as he barrelled through the fairy's forceful shove and vanished into the mist, laughing all the way.

---

Tsak hit the ground and growled, hitting the ground, "You gods be damned coward! Pick on someone your own size!" Tsak stood up, rubbing her left arm before cursing in Sylvan and flew up to the sky to scout and calm down.

"Good advice!" A voice from the mist called back.

When the bandits started to flee Aurora thought that would be the end of it. Then Brutrumukk started to give chase loudly proclaiming that he was going to eat them. Gabe, Jub, and Tsak tried to stop him and only managed to make him laugh.

"How long do you think it will take for him to get lost Gabe? This fog seems thick and those rabbit people know this area. Maybe ten minutes before he looses them I think. She was only half serious about the bugbear getting lost. It wasn't likely that Aurora would be able to keep up with him, and less likely that Brutrumukk would be able to keep up with the bandits in this fog. Stowing her bow, she half turned to Gabe. "So what is it that is out here that you are familiar with. You mentioned something about it last night after we got here through the portal."

"Shoot!" Jub hissed under his breath as his spell failed to have any real affect on Brutrumukk. Much to his surprise, however, Tsak didn't take this as an opportunity to back down and instead outright attempted to charge and shove the bugbear. It didn't work, as he predictably barrelled right through her and went running off into the mists anyway, but Jub couldn't help but respect the fairy for her attempt.

After the fairy flew off in a huff, Jub turned to the remaining members of the group, and pointed in the direction Brutrumukk had gone with his thumb. "I'm just going to follow him, make sure he doesn't get lost," he said, slowly side-stepping towards the mists. "Once he's cooled off, I'll send up some fireworks for you to find us." With that, he turned and went after Brutrumukk into the fog.

There is only the sound of singing birds and croaking frogs as Brutrumukk and Jub run ahead into the fog. The rest of the party have some peace as they watch the two Goblinoids run ahead.

Brutrumukk continued to laugh as he ran through the mist in pursuit of the Brigands. The laughter eventually died down as the trail Brutrumukk's prey left in their wake grew thin. Then, when the trail reached its end altogether and with no Brigands to show for it, the smile on his face faded away as well. Throwing his head back, Brutrumukk bellowed his frustration to the sky above. He had been right behind them. He'd been hot on their heels. How could he have lost them? Walking over to the mud-bound raft, Brutrumukk sat down on it and sulked. His disappointment was immeasurable and his day was ruined.

---

Tsak eventually came back down, finding a tree to sit in. While the group waited for the big idiot and goblin, she took out her enchanted note pad and attempted to design a spellbanger for "Magic Missile".

Jub breathed a sigh of a relief once he finally caught up with Brutrumukk, who was seemingly unharmed and coming to the end of his murderous rampage. The goblin considered sending out a flare then and there but, noticing the expression on the bugbear's face, decided instead to approach. "Hey, don't sweat it, Brut," he said. He awkwardly climbed the raft and gave Brutrumukk a small pat on the arm. "I'm sure we'll have, err, plenty other opportunities for battle given..." He gestured to their surroundings. "... you know, where we are. This place certainly seems full of surprises."

Brutrumukk made sad bugbear noises in response to Jub's words before speaking in reply. "Yeah I know we will, but..." Brutrumukk managed to say before pausing to have a crestfallen sigh. "I got greedy. I coulda just chucked me javelin at the leader to finish 'er off. She would 'ave 'ad enough meat on 'er fer me lunch, and 'er 'ead woulda made a good offerin' to Hruggek an' Grankhul. But I wanted more corpses worth o' meat an' more 'eads fer me spikes. And because o' that, I ignored an easy kill an' they all ended up escapin'. One o' the rabbits even took one o' me javelins with me after I got 'im in the ankle with it." Brutrumukk let out a groan and stared down at the ground. "Today jus' ain't me day, booyagh." Brutrumukk despaired.

"I haven't the faintest clue..." Gabriel sighed as he watched Jub chase after their companion into the fog, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to split up in an unfamiliar place but who was he to stop them?

When the elf brought up the question of what he had spoken of being familiar with, the bard was a bit surprised someone overheard his mumbling but if it were anyone it was an elf "Ah, you heard that huh?" he cocked his head to the side considering wether or not to tell her.

"Well, let's just say something an old friend gave to me seems to be here," Gabriel said slowly as if measuring his words "I'm guessing it is no coincidence, what with the give-and-take thing those coots went on about...The bloody dice are here and I know it."

Jub blinked in surprise at hearing Brutrumukk talk down about himself. "What?" he exclaimed. "No! Come on!" He gave Brutrumukk a light slap on the back. "You're Brutrumukk, spirit of the Snoring Stone! Sure, you may have had a little hiccup, but..." He gestured to the mist surrounding them. "Given the odd circumstances we've end up in, I think that can be forgiven. We're all a little off our game, I think." He then hopped off the boat and looked up at the bugbear. "Tell you what, how about we head back to the others. We'll try and find some town or village near here and I'll buy you something to eat. Good meal and drink, that's all you need, and you'll feel right as rain!" He frowned a little before adding, "Whatever that means. Honestly never understood that phrase, now that I think about it."

Brutrumukk perked up at Jub's words, the goblin's points restoring much of the bugbear's self confidence. "Yeah... Yeah! Yer right, booyagh!" Brutrumukk exclaimed confidently. "They didn't escape because I was greedy, they escaped because o' this stupid fog! Well that won't stop me next time. I'll be ready fer the fog, an' they'll be dead before they can reach it!" Brutrumukk stood up then and grinned down at Jub. "Thanks fer that. I feel much better already." Brutrumukk said happily. "Come on, let's get back to the others." With that said, Brutrumukk reached down to pick Jub up. However, the bugbear paused just before he did so as he noticed the raft he had been sitting on for the first time with a clear head. "Wait a minute." Brutrumukk said as he straightened up and turned to the raft. "What's this wooden thing stickin' out o' the mud?"

"Seems to be a raft of some kind," Jub responded, leaning forward slightly so as to get a better look at the object. "Don't know what it's doing out here and it doesn't seem to have any sign of an owner..." He raises his head once more and took a moment to survey his surroundings once more. "Hmmm... this might be useful for traversing the swamp. I don't know how many of our lot consider themselves strong swimmers, but I certainly don't." He looked up at Brutrumukk. "Think you can pick this up, carry it with us back to the group?"

"Yeah, I could carry this thing easy enough." Brutrumukk said with a confirming nod as he stowed his weapons and stretched his arms in preparation. "Jus' gotta get it out the mud first. Should only take a minute." With that said, Brutrumukk took hold of the raft and heaved it from its muddy confines. Hoisting the raft onto one shoulder, Brutrumukk then turned to Jub, took a knee, and offered his other shoulder to the goblin. "Climb on, booyagh." Brutrumukk said. "I reckon it's 'igh time we got back to the others." Once Jub was safely seated on his shoulder, Brutrumukk then turned back to the mists from whence they came and moved to reunite with the rest of the party.

Gabe seemed hesitant to talk about the matter. It was understandable as it was a personal matter. "If I see some dice I'll bring them to you. Hopefully they are close." Aurora looked back towards the area where Jub and Brutrumukk went. "Think they will be back?"

As if on cue, the group would soon hear Jub's voice calling from the mists, "Hey everyone, look what we found!" which would be then followed by the goblinoids emerging from the fog, raft held above their heads thanks to Brutrumukk. "We..." He gestured between himself and the bugbear. "Have located a means for which to travel through the swamp, without any need for swimming. No need to thank us!" His voice made it sound as if this had all been part of the plan, and that they hadn't just ran off a few minutes ago.

"Sadly, the rabbits all slipped away in the fog." Brutrumukk added. "But we'll be ready fer 'em next time. Jus' you wait an' see!" Having said that, Brutrumukk looked about him before posing a question to the group. "So, uh... anyone got any ideas as to what we should do now? Should we stay put? Should we go lookin' about? Which way should we go if we go lookin' about?"

Zavakri watches in wonder, her brief moment of fury dying swiftly as the rabbits beat a retreat. Watching them beat feet in hasty retreat renders her anger obsolete. She relaxes as Brut heads off on the charge, and as her companions all divide themselves amongst one another (yet again) she finds herself eye to eye with a Giant Snail.

Again.

She places a hand on her hip, meeting the snail's angry eyes with her own even and cool gaze, and snaps her fingers.

"You don't have anything on Quickleaf, buster!" She declares to the snail, before snatching up a nearby head of lettuce- likely abandoned by the Harengon in their panic- and approaches the snail to hold it up.

"Slimy slimy slimy slimy boy~" She cooed at it, waggling the lettuce before its eye stalks. "Who wants a good shell pat? I know it's you. I knooooooow it's you. I know because all you liddle widdle giant snails are all greedy weedy liddle buggers who like shell pats, aren't you? Aren't you?"

She pats the snail's shell as she- turning her head away- offers the lettuce to it, allowing the uncomfortable slimy sensation of feeding the snail wash over her as it ate the lettuce out of her hand. Upon seeing its smiling face, she desperately wished she had access to a cleaning spell of some kind, and she simply smiled back at it and began wiping the slime off her hand in the guise of patting its shell affectionately.

"I'll call you Bob. Guys, Bob is alright."

She turns about and makes a stunned expression.

"Why, is that an-...Mm, quick math..- up-to-1,200-pound-supporting raft? Where in the nine hells did you find one of those? Blimey, you're just carryin' it, ain't you? Built different, you bugbear folk." She says in wonder. "As for where we're going...I say we leave that up to Gabe. Bloke says he has a feeling about this place, and I haven't the foggiest; if we're going blind, I say follow the man's gut. Point a direction and off we march, Sirrah!"