[IC] The Wild Beyond Witchlight

[XxFellsingxX]

Jub the Peculiar

Jub looked at the bugbear increduously. "Did you not hear what Miss Aurora just said?" he shouted down, somewhere between annoyance and bewilderment. "Do you want us all to end up in servitude to a coven of old, witchy fey?"

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"The both o' ya are bein' paranoid!" Brutrumukk called back up. "If any o' those things up there belonged to the 'ags, I'm fairly certain they'd 'ave a little more defense about 'em than bein' stuck on top o' some big fountain! Now quit yer whinin' an' bring 'em 'ere!"

[Lurking Krog]

Aurora

"They might unless they were using it means to tie beings into unexpected deals because of greed. Whether it belongs to the hags or not we know it is not ours, I will have no part of whatever conquences you reap. If you want them so, maybe you should climb in the geyser to try to reach them rather than risk Jub..." Her tone was sharper than she had intended though it seemed that Brutrumukk was determined to gather these items. What bothered her more is that what she had said reminder her some of what she was told when she was still a child. "Brutrumukk please listen. I do not think that taking these will help us. If you had the intent of returning them to who ever they belonged to I would not see a problem with gathering the items."

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"Returnin' 'em!?" Brutrumukk repeated with a look of disgusted incredulity on his face. After a moment though, Brutrumukk's expression then turned thoughtful for a time, before an approving grin finally settled on his features and he nodded at Aurora's words. "Yeah... Yeaaah. Returnin' 'em. Of course. Of cooourse" Brutrumukk agreed eagerly. "We will take the things up there with us, an' I will 'old onto 'em until we find their rightful owners. At which point, I will most gray-shoes-lee return the things to the owners of the things." Brutrumukk then looked up at Jub once more. "You 'ear that, booyagh!? We'll takin' the stuff with us to find their rightful owners! That sound good to you!?" The bugbear called up to the flying goblin.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Hither

Gushing O'-Well

Sir Talavar speaks up regarding the two newcomers, "Ho! I recognize the satyr, friends! It's Feras! He too serves my liege, the Summer Queen!" He then cheerfully greets the satyr, "Feras! It's good to see you again, but what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training back home?"

Sir Talavar is silent as the group converses until Aurora looks to him for an answer. He looks to the items in question and he answers, "Well...A lifetime service for mere trinkets? The owner of the trinkets would have to give you more than those if you were giving a lifetime of service...

Remember that the Rule of Reciprocity calls for an equivalent exchange. What you give doesn't necessarily have to be services. It can be objects of equal value too,"

He then mentions, "Though, I would only worry about potentially serving one of those blasted hags if you were interacting with them directly, or you're interacting with someone who made a deal with them,"

---

"There is no need for that. They are already with their rightful owners,"

A man's voice, distorted and echoing, answers Brutrumukk's attempt to persuade the others into taking the items on the geyser. Behind Brutrumukk, a blue ethereal flame sphere appears.

A green ethereal flame sphere appears in front of Jub and an energetic girl's voice echo, her voice just as distorted as the blue flame's, "Hey you! Back off! These are ours!"

A purple flame appears next to Aurora and a prim and proper young lady's light hearted, yet distorted, voice could be heard, "Our apologies for the scare, but we despise dishonorable thieves, such as Agdon Longscarf and that bugbear,"

Lastly, a crimson flame appears in front of the well, trying to face all of the party, and a confident young man's voice could be heard,

"Unless you wish to trade, then you shall not have our items!"

OOC

Four Will-O'-Wisps appear!
While they are upset that Brutrumukk is trying to convince Jub to steal the items, they are not attacking, so there is no need to roll initiative...at least not yet,

Swamp Conditions

The swamps are now at High Tide!

Depth. The water's depth is 5 feet. Creatures that don't have a swimming speed move at half speed through the water.
Visibility. Visibility underwater is 10 feet.

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"Oh come on!" Brutrumukk exclaimed in frustration as the Will-O'-Wisps appeared around them. After a moment though, Brutrumukk took a breath and spoke again. "Alright then. A trade. Sure." Brutrumukk said as his experience in getting things without using violence on the owner kicked in. "You said you don't like this Agdon guy, yeah? Well if you gimme the silver things, I'll go kill 'im fer ya. Then you lot can sleep a little easier at night knowing that 'im an' 'is won't be about to steal the rest o' yer stuff. That sound good to you?"

[XxFellsingxX]

Jub the Peculiar

Jub looked thoroughly unconvinced by Brutrumukk's claims of good intentions, and was just about to say something when the four will-o-wisps appeared. "Woah!" He put his hands up in front of him and fluttered backwards a little. "Sorry, sorry!" he apologised frantically to the green flame in front of him. When none of the flames made moves to attack him, he lowered his hands. "I must say though, if those trinkets are so important to you, you might consider putting them somewhere a little more secure than say..." He carefully gestured towards the objects. "A geyser in the middle of nowhere." He folded his arms. "Surely you folks have heard of a bag of holding? I've heard they're rather good for storing one's valuables."

When Brutrumukk put forward his offer to go kill this Agdon Longscarf the wisps had mentioned in exchange for their shinier objects, Jub shook his head. "Really now, is that your answer to everything?" he muttered. "We've already got things to do. We can't waste time going on some wild goose chase just because you want some shiny objects."

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"Eh, it ain't like gettin' that key's gonna take all that much time." Brutrumukk said to Jub with a dismissive wave of his hand. "We can get that done an' then 'ead off to go get Agdon's 'ead." Brutrumukk then looked back at the Wisps. "So what say you lot?" The bugbear asked. "You reckon yer willin' to swap silver fer blood?"

[Lurking Krog]

Aurora

Agdon Longscarf? Didn't those bandits mention his name in a song? Something about him being their brigade prince. Is he even still alive?"

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"Of course 'e's still alive." Brutrumukk scoffed in response to Aurora mentioning that the Bunny Bandits had been singing about Agdon Longscarf questioning if he was even still alive. "I 'aven't killed 'im yet."

[Lurking Krog]

Aurora

Rory shook her head at Brutrumukk. "Clearly you have not but who knows if someone else has or time itself has led to his passing." Aurora turned towards the wisp that appeared next to her. "So these items below to you four? I had figured they belonged to someone who had lost them at the Witchlight Carnival. My apologies."

The elf glanced back at the caged dragon. "I suppose I misunderstood the rule of reciprocity. I had thought these were items of personal value to someone which a value can be obscured by emotion."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Hither

Gushing O'-Well

"....Wellll, we would if we could. But you know, we're kinda...incorporeal?" The green flame answered Jub's suggestion a little bashfully,

After Brutrumukk made his suggestion, and while he spoke with Aurora and Jub, ethereal whispers can be heard all around them, as though the flames were whispering with each other despite their distance from each other.

While the two separate conversations continued, Sir Talavar answers Aurora with a shrug, "I can't blame you, My Lady. The rule, as simple as it is, can be complex when thinking it over. But, as long as both parties state their desires clearly, then the Rule of Reciprocity can be straightforward and easier to deal with,"

After Aurora asked her question to the flames, the purple flame answered, "Indeed! They were ours when we were alive,"

The whispering between the flames soon end, and the red flame spoke to Brutrumukk, "....There is one being we fear and despise more than Agdon Longscarf. That rabbit is only a peon we can easily scare off,"

He continues with the other flames falling silent, "If you promise to defeat Bavlorna Blightstraw in our stead, not only will you have our items, but we will also grant you a boon,"

Swamp Conditions

The swamps are now at High Tide!

Depth. The water's depth is 5 feet. Creatures that don't have a swimming speed move at half speed through the water.
Visibility. Visibility underwater is 10 feet.

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"So you want me to go after the 'ag runnin' this place?" Brutrumukk said in response to the Wisps' offer. "Let's 'ear what the boon yer offerin' is before I agree to anythin'. I wanna be sure what yer gonna gimme will make this job worth the danger."

[XxFellsingxX]

Jub the Peculiar

"Oh..." Jub said in response to the green wisp's words. Well, now he felt like an insensitive jerk. "Right, sorry." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

When the wisps instead asked that the group take down a member of this Hourglass Coven they had heard so much about, Jub's eyes widened in alarm. He opened his mouth to say something when Brutrumukk cut in. Surprisingly, for perhaps the first time since Jub had met him, the bugbear seemed to exercising some form of caution. Still, the fact he didn't immediately say 'no' to such an outlandish request was worrying, because it meant he was genuinely considering it. "Have you even met a hag, Brutrumukk, let alone fought one?" the goblin asked. "I haven't, but I've heard enough stories to know it's not a good idea. They have access to all sorts of crazy, old magicks that even some of the most seasoned archmages might not have heard of."

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

Brutrumukk turned to Jub and grinned at the goblin's concerns. "Who said anythin' about fightin' the 'ag?" Brutrumukk asked. "Bugbears 'ave two gods, remember? One is a god o' fightin', an' the other is a god o' cunnin' an' it'll be with cunnin' that I get this done." Brutrumukk then looked back at the Wisps. "So long as I like the sound o' this boon you lot are gonna gimme if I agree to the job, that is."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Hither

Gushing O'-Well

"You've heard of the spells 'Guidance' and 'Resistance', right? Our boon is like that!" The green flame started the explanation,

"Once a day, our boon will aid you when you need it the most,"

"So...What say you?"

Swamp Conditions

The swamps are now at High Tide!

Depth. The water's depth is 5 feet. Creatures that don't have a swimming speed move at half speed through the water.
Visibility. Visibility underwater is 10 feet.

[rush99999]

Brutrumukk

"One magical boost a day when I need it the most?" Brutrumukk asked once the Wisps were done talking, the look on his face more than enough to show that he was very much interested in this boon. "Oh yeah, you've got yerselves a deal."

[Isaac]

"Pardon. Is there anyone else who can take up this job? I'd also like any scrap of magical power I can get while I look for my item. It's somewhere in this muck. I'm just wondering, because there are four of you. Would the boon apply only to....Well, whatever his name is, four of us, or the entire party? Just a thought." He finished, shrugging.

"Anyway, before you go running off, perhaps it would be best to gain more information first. Where is this person located? What abilities should we prepare to face, why is she feared, etc."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Hither

Gushing O'-Well

"Very well..."

The red flame speaks in response to Brutrumukk, before it moves. It slowly moves through Brutrumukk's chest and out of his back. The process is painless, but Brutrumukk does feel as though there is a new fire in his chest, a fragment of power was imparted on him.

When Halander asked his question, the green flame answered, "If you guys promise to take get rid of Bavlorna Blightstraw, we'll grant the boon to you too. Since you're traveling together, the trinkets will belong to you too,"

Swamp Conditions

The swamps are now at High Tide!

Depth. The water's depth is 5 feet. Creatures that don't have a swimming speed move at half speed through the water.
Visibility. Visibility underwater is 10 feet.

[Lurking Krog]

Aurora

The elven woman nodded to the wisps as the green one explained that others in the group could also get the same boon as Brutrumukk. "I believe we are likely going confront Bavlorna Blightstraw, perhaps sooner than we may expect. I promise to help rid Prismir of her presence." The trinkets we not as interesting as the potential help the boon may be when facing the hag. The boon itself could help when the time came to find Bella.