When Brutrumukk began his response, Jub immediately tensed up as he was expecting to, at best, be shouted at or, at worst, get beat up. Surprisingly, neither of those happened. While outraged, Brutrumukk took his lack of transformation pretty well, and pinned the needle to his clothes so they could make use of it later. As Jub stared at the small, sharp implement, he got a sense that even though it didn't actually possess the power to turn people into werecreatures, did have some latent magic. In fact, it was not dissimiliar from the wild magic that now radiated from Brutrumukk. "Just... be careful with that," he said after a moment. "I get the feeling that its magic might be on the unpredictable side." He added, under his breath, "Just like everything else in this damn place."
"Yeah, I'll be careful." Brutrumukk said before reaching into his backpack again and pulling out some rations. The bugbear gnome then reached for his belt, and a confused expression formed on his face like the look one would have when something that is usually present is no longer there with no apparent explanation as to why. Brutrumukk looked down at his belt, gave a quiet little "Oh, right.", and then looked over at Jub. "Oi booyagh. Got any water." Brutrumukk asked. "Mine's still in the lake."
Well that was more attention than Brutrumukk had given any of Jub's other warnings, so that was something. Jub was just about to settle down, maybe peruse his spellbook when his friend brought up the subject of water.
Ooh... right. A lot of his supplies were still at the bottom of the lake. Perhaps they should have seen that before they had offed the shopkeepers.
"Sure, I think I still have a decent amount," Jub said, handing the barbarian his waterskin. "Remind me to find a place to refill when we land." After handing the water to Brutrumukk, he muttered aloud to himself, "I know there's a spell for creating water. Seen clerics and druids use it... wonder if there's a way I can learn that."
"I know there's a spell for creating water. Seen clerics and druids use it... wonder if there's a way I can learn that."
"Ah whatever it is, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Brutrumukk asserted with total confidence. "After all, you're Jub the Peculiar. Returner o' Voices. Bane of All Shapeshiftin' Gits. Up an' comin' bestest booyagh in the entire fuckin' multiverse an' laugher in the faces o' gods." Brutrumukk said that last part in the tone of a threatening promise while directing a baleful glare downwards. After a moment, the bugbear gnome threw his head back, opened his mouth wide, and poured a pint of water out of the skin and into his gullet. "Pathetic excuse of a goblin my furry arse." Brutrumukk muttered to himself while handing the waterskin back to Jub once he was done drinking. "We'll show 'em yet, booyagh. Believe you me, we'll show 'em yet."
Aurora let out a short sigh of relief. While she did not expect then to stick with her she was glad that her companions were choosing to. She looked back and forth at the two then at the Bullywugs before starting to speak in elvish. "In all honesty Gabe, I was not anticipating getting involved initially. I did see an opportunity in calling in that favor for helping fight Bavlorna when the time comes. The only issue I see with that is Bavlorna suspects that we are here to kill her. I suppose I could hold onto that favor for when we catch up with Jub and Brutrumukk. Granted it's best not to count on this until after we help them." She paused briefly looking over at the Bullywugs to see if they had overheard and understood any of what she said. After a few moments she resumed speaking elvish to the pair with her.
"Hopefully Jub was able to keep Brutrumukk from getting into to much trouble, and the two didn't wander to far off. I should probably apologize to them both for my outburst. That and we will need their help with fighting Bavlorna."
Aurora looked over to Zav when she mentioned getting larger or smaller helping the plan. "If we had Brutrumukk it might have helped to make him bigger. We still might be able to use it when fighting the current Bullywug king. I'm not sure if it would help Gabe or me more though."
"Ah whatever it is, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Brutrumukk asserted with total confidence. "After all, you're Jub the Peculiar. Returner o' Voices. Bane of All Shapeshiftin' Gits. Up an' comin' bestest booyagh in the entire fuckin' multiverse an' laugher in the faces o' gods."
"... wouldn't go quite that far, but thank you," Jub said, not entirely sure how to react to such a strong vote of confidence. Or seemingly taunting the powers-that-be in his honor, for that matter. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to lead on from his companion's words. "So, err..." he began, taking back his waterskin and returning it to his bag. He glanced over the edge of their transport to see what was going on in the world below. "I wonder where this is actually taking us, now I think of it."
Jub rolls a Perception check at disadvantage and gets a 15.
"The 'eads said that this thing'd take us outta Downfall. So I doubt we'll be goin' too far." Brutrumukk said as he took out his bedroll and set it up as best he could in the balloon's basket. "Either way, I'm gonna get meself some shuteye. Grankhul ain't sappin' me energy no more, but after everything what's 'appened, I'm on me last legs even so. Wake me if we land." With that said, Brutrumukk settled onto his bedroll and commenced a long rest.
As Brutrumukk lies down to try and sleep, and the both of them go quiet, they both hear something unusual reach their ears. The sound slowly becomes more apparent over the sound of the wind as the balloon floats through the air
It's the sound of...purring?
Brutrumukk would know that the purring isn't coming from him. He doesn't believe he's a Weretiger anymore! Jub would know it's not the balloon. The Swamp Gas Balloon is a hot air balloon. It just needs the balloon and hot air to fly, no mechanical parts needed! So what is causing that purring...?!
"Twas Brillig and the Slithy Toves... Did Gyre and Gimble in the Wabe. All Mimsy were the borogoves And the Momeraths outgrabe,"
A third unknown voice purrs above them! The both of them look up to see the source lounging above them very close to the balloon fabric. It is a strange cat with a wide grin on its face.
The cat speaks again, the smile never disappearing from its jowls, his voice practically purring with delight and curiosity, "What fortune for me to wake up to from my cat nap. My instinct to sleep in the Balloon has paid off,"
The cat looks forward towards the sky from his perch and his grin seems to widen, "Now all this balloon needs is a simple...push,"
The cat then flicks out a claw in his paw. In that brief moment, Jub and Brutrumukk have that sense of dread whenever anyone sees a cat about to push a glass of water off of the counter. Before they could do anything though, the Cat had already created a small tear in the balloon, and seemed to fade away into nothing!
The last thing Brutrumukk and Jub see is its wide grin before it vanishes and the two are whipped about wildly in the winds as the balloon loses air!
Near Hither?
????
Eventually the wild whipping about in the balloon does come to an end, and the gnome and goblin are deposited unceremoniously, with the basket and balloon draped over them!
The floor below them seems to be rock, covered in pristine tiles. When they get out from under the balloon, they see that they are standing on a large floating island amid endless skies! The large floating island is supporting a grand palace, and the two of them are clearly in a vast garden...
Brutrumukk was just about to nod off when the purring interrupted him. His sat up on his bedroll and blinked his eyes a few times. "You 'ear that purrin' too, right?" Brutrumukk asked Jub as he looked around in search of the sound's source.
"Twas Brillig and the Slithy Toves... Did Gyre and Gimble in the Wabe. All Mimsy were the borogoves And the Momeraths outgrabe,"
"Eh?" Brutrumukk said in confusion before looking up to see a cat the size of an ogre lounging on the balloon. "What the f-"
"What fortune for me to wake up to from my cat nap. My instinct to sleep in the Balloon has paid off," The cat spoke again before the bugbear gnome could finish. "Now all this balloon needs is a simple...push,"
A claw flicked free of paw, Brutrumukk took on a look of mild annoyance. "Oh for the love o-" Was as far as he managed to get before the hole was made and the balloon was sent flying.
When the balloon finally landed, Brutrumukk took a moment to collect himself before fighting himself free of the deflated canvas. "Well now we know what 'appened to that little dragon's balloon." Brutrumukk said before looking around. "Where d'you reckon we've ended up then?" Brutrumukk asked once Jub had also crawled out from under the balloon "This ain't the tower what the first balloon landed on. I don't remember seein' any floaty islands in the sky either."
Jub knew the moment that he saw the cat atop their balloon that this was going to end poorly... and he was right. All he could do as the balloon started whizzing about was let out a long drawn out sigh that slowly morphed in a high-pitched shriek the more violently they got tossed around. Eventually, they seemed to land - if that's what you could call it.
As Jub fought of the deflated balloon, Brutrumukk can hear him start to speak. "You know, if anyone asks me 'Hey Jub, I've heard you've been to the Feywild, sounds like a lovely place, I would like to go there, got any advice' I would say 'Yeah, here's my advice: don't go there! The locals are weird, it's full of giant talking animals that want to kill you for no reason, and worst of all, two random shopkeepers might tell you you're going to be a dad one day!" On that last sentence, he seemed to finally gain the burst of strength necessary to fully free himself. He shoved the balloon off, pushed himself to his feet, and for a whole moment just stared at his surroundings. He didn't even seem to register Brutrumukk's question as he just gazed out into a seemingly endless sky full of floating islands. "... I don't think I can take much more of this," he said quietly. He put his face in his hands.
Just taking in the scenery in front of them, Jub and Brutrumukk notice that a lot of things from the Feywild seem to be missing here. There is a grand palace in front of them, beyond the vast garden. There is also a large, ornate fountain with cascading waters serving the centerpiece of the garden of variously colored flowers and trees. The surrounding winds seem to be at a calm zephyr now, with blue skies above them.
Should either Jub or Brutrumukk take a closer look around nearby, they would find cat paw prints! They're heading towards the palace. Could the cat from earlier headed there?
If they are to look closely at the fountain, they would see something red on the fountain. That's...a bird? A red macaw to be precise!
"... I don't think I can take much more of this," Jub said quietly before putting his face in his hands.
"Ah don't you worry yerself, booyagh." Brutrumukk said as he began looking about. "I'm not sure why, but I've got this feelin' that this is meant to be some kinda break from everythin' what's 'appened so far. Aside from the giant smiley talkin' cat, things should 'opefully be a little calmer 'ere... Oi. What's that." As he had been speaking, Brutrumukk's gaze had wandered its way over to the fountain and noticed a patch of red among the blue water and grey stone. Brutrumukk moved to get a better look and saw a majestic red macaw perched on the lip of the fountain's bowls. "Ooo." Brutrumukk ooo'd in wonder. Remembering after a moment that he could speak to small beasts now that he was a gnome, Brutrumukk pulled out some rations and attempted to communicate to the macaw the idea that sitting on the gnome's shoulder would result in receiving food.
As Brutrumukk approaches the fountain to interact with the bird, he can hear the macaw mumbling to itself in Common! It moves about on the lip of the fountain bowl as though it were pacing,
"...Stupid, stupid girl! I just had to get ripped from the Feywild to serve some stupid, wannabe wizard of a girl! And what does she make me do? Help out with chores...!"
When Brutrumukk holds out food and beckons to it to land on his shoulder in exchange for food, the macaw notices and seems to roll its eyes while looking up,
"Oh great! And now some jester schmuck thinks I'm some stupid parrot who would do anything for food!"
Jub, you do not need to think hard about this magical anomaly. You have this spell in your spellbook! You realize that the macaw is no mere macaw. This is somebody's familiar!
After a moment, the macaw seems to widen his own eyes in surprise, before he speaks, "Wait a minute! How'd you get here?!" He doesn't even allow time for Brutrumukk and Jub to answer as he squawks and takes flight,
"AH! Aaliyah! Aaliyah! We got weirdos in the courtyard! I repeat: Weirdos in the courtyard!!!"
The party was able to rest for a good hour, and plan the assassination of the king in relative peace, with the Bullywugs willing to provide any information the party needed. Eventually it soon became time to head out. The bullywugs told the party,
"Follow us. We'll lead you to him,"
Downfall: His Royal Majesty King Gullop XIX (D6)
The bullywugs led them around the circle of fog around the hut, and soon came to where King Gullop sat with the large tome in his lap. He looks angry at his five guards. Three of them look exhausted and are still panting, while two of them look fine but abashed.
"How could this happen?! You idiots! How can a gnome and a goblin manage to outrun you and steal our last balloon!!!"
The knights who could still breathe, bow and apologize profusely,
"We're so sorry, Your Highness! It won't happen again, Sir!"
"...Shmuck?" Brutrumukk asked as the macaw flew away. "...SHMUCK? I'll show you a shmuck you beaky bastard!" With that said, Brutrumukk drew his daggers and charged after the latest bird to rouse his anger in this adventure.
Jub had been so lost in his own stress he hadn't really paying attention to Brutrumukk's attempts to tempt the macaw over to him... that is, until the macaw spoke, in a way that was much more succinct than that of the average parrot.
"Huh..." For a moment, his stress lifted slightly as he realised that the parrot in their presence was actually someone's familiar. Which meant, there was a wizard or some similar spellcaster around, and if they had a familiar, it was likely they had the components for a Find Familiar spell. Which meant...
Before Jub couldn't finish that thought, Brutrumukk apparently got offended by the parrot's words and ran after it as it flew off, likely to speak to its master. "Brutrumukk, hold on!" Jub shouted, giving chase to the gnome.
Aurora took note of the thunder cloud that was to their right as the Bullywugs were leading them to King Gullop XIX. She rembered that Charm had mentioned they had a shop there and it would be something to check out. Hopefully there would be items there they could use.
Turning back to the task at hand, Aurora started to evaluate the surroundings, look for but not finding vantage points. She looked at her Bullywug companions to see how they were reaction to the nearness of their objective. If they started to show signs of falling through on it the elf wanted to know so she could adjust the plan as needed.
"Would you prefer to provide the distraction or would you prefer me to Illig?" Aurora asked the lead rebel bullywug in a low voice so that only they could hear.
Brutrumukk and Jub follow the macaw while it is still squawking and calling for someone named Aaliyah.
"Aaliyah! AALLIYAH! You know what to do with visitors! DO SOMETHING! Make 'em go away!"
Eventually, Jub and Brutrumukk do see another person who was working in the garden. They see that a young human girl, about thirteen years old, stand up from looking at the flowers, and she snapped her fingers. The squawking macaw disappears in a puff of smoke before she looks to both gnome and goblin.
She speaks to them in surprise, "How did you get here...?"
She then seems to realize something and she informs them, "I'm sorry, but if you're here to see Master Ishaan, I'm afraid he's not here right now. But he'll be back soon,"
The bullywugs are clearly putting up a strong front when it comes to the nerves, but they are trembling a bit in anticipation. Illig looks to Aurora when she asks about the distraction, and he answers, "I am fine with either. Which do you prefer, Lady Aurora?"
"I ain't 'ere to see no master." Brutrumukk growled in annoyance. "I'm 'ere for that bird. The feathery fuck 'ad the balls to call me a Shmuck! A SHMUCK! No one calls the Spirit o' the Snorin' Stone a shmuck an' gets away with it! Especially not some bird thing! Bring it back so I can eat it!"
Jub eventually caught up to Brutrumukk, though on top of running away from the bullywugs earlier it was clear that he was winded and had to take a moment to recollect himself. "A-apologies for my friend here, he's, ah, had a very traumatic last couple of days," he said, placing a hand on Brutrumukk's shoulder. He gave the gnome a look, urging him not to say anything further before turning back to address the girl. "But he is correct, we aren't here to see any master or anything, we, erm, actually aren't here voluntarily. We were in a balloon and we got pushed off course and..." He glanced around at his surroundings. "Err, where are we exactly, if you don't mind me asking?"
Aurora considered briefly before stepping forward to catch the attention of the King and his knights. Greetings. I beg pardon if my companions and I are ariving at a bad time but we seem to have been brought to this area against our will by Agdon Longscarf. We are looking for a way to get to someone who could return us home." She tried to keep herself ready to move once Illig makes his move while not appearing suspicious.
1x Laugh
