When Jingle Jangle was done introducing herself, Brutrumukk took Sir Talavar's cage from whoever was holding it and approached the key hoarding goblin. "I want this cage opened." Brutrumukk said in goblin. "The little dragon inside says you 'ave the key." With that said, the bugbear held the cage out expectantly.
Jingle Jangle blinks at the cage that was shoved towards her, and after Brutrumukk said he wanted the cage opened, she remained silent for a good moment. She silently raised an index finger as though to tell him to wait a moment.
She proceeded to move and dig through her collection of keys on the ground, before finally pulling a small silver key out off from the ground. She gave Brutrumukk and the rest of the party a faint smile again before handing the key over, "Better you should have it than those long-eared brigands. First they stole Jingle Jangle's truffles. Next, they'll want Jingle Jangle's keys,"
As though to accentuate her words, her stomach rumbles loudly in the cave. She looked away embarrassed.
Brutrumukk accepted the key with a grunt of gratitude. Paying no heed to the goblin's words or rumbling stomach, Brutrumukk unlocked the cage and opened the door. "There you go. One unlocked cage. Courtesy o' the Spirit o' the Snorin' Stone." Brutrumukk said to Sir Talavar in common, before dropping the key and holding his hand out expectantly once more. "That'll be one blessed sword."
Jub was glad that Brutrumukk took iniative on the conversation with Jingle Jangle. Giving the wizard's previous experiences with his own kind, he wasn't really sure how to approach this. She seemed harmless enough, though the fact she had given up the key without so much as asking for anything in return was suspicious. He glanced over at Aurora. "Why didn't she ask for anything in return? I thought there was a rule of reciprocity around here," he quietly muttered to the elf. "This just seems a little too easy, don't you think?"
The manner in which Brutrumukk had taken the cage from Aurora had left her in a briefly stunned state. She knew she couldn't have kept as firm a grip on it but the lack of even asking for it to be handed over baffled her. At least until she recalled some of the prior interactions the bugbear had with others.
Jub's question brought the elf's attention back to the present and bringing the matter that nothing was asked in exchange for the cage being opened. "There is a rule of reciprocity though I am unsure of why Jingle has not out right asked for anythingin return. That does make this seem way to easy. "
Aurora stepped forward with some of her rations that she had brought with her and offered them to Jingle Jangle. "It's not truffles but I have plenty of extra food if you want these."
He didn't understand a single word the bugbear said but it was easy enough to understand he wanted the cage opened, at least the aptly named goblin Jingle Jangle wasn't too bothered by Brutrumukk's lack of tact. "Well I needn't unlock happiness I'm afraid I'm as jovial as the next bastard elf. But if you know of someone who can find lost things I'd part with this fine gourd here." Gabe slung his backpack from one shoulder to the ground to procure the dragon shaped gourd from the bag.
Sir Talavar fluttered out of the cage as soon as the door was open. With a flourish in the air he called out in the cave, "Huzzah! I'm Free!"
He looks to Brutrumukk when he asks for payment, and the knight answers, "Of course. I have not forgotten our agreement! Here! You have my sword!"
He then takes off his sheathed sword, and hands it to Brutrumukk with all of the pomp and circumstance he can muster. After he gives the sword, he calls to the party, "As much as I would love to remain in your company for a while longer, I must be off. I have to report back to my Liege! Your valor will not be forgotten!"
He bids them a fond farewell before he darts off, "So until we meet again!"
Jingle Jangle doesn't seem to mind Brutrumukk's rudeness. Her attention was drawn to Jub when he whispered to Aurora. While her gaze was on him, Jingle Jangle looked starstruck. She snapped herself out of the stupor and she answered him, "Milord, Jingle Jangle doesn't have much to offer, but you have Jingle Jangle's hospitality while you are here...Milord," Jingle Jangle awkwardly tries to bow to Jub, but finds it hard to do with the keys on her.
When Aurora and Gabriel give her rations and the guord, the goblin's mood noticeably brightened. She happily accepts the food from both of them, "Oh! Thank you!"
Jingle Jangle looks to Gabriel, and stops herself from digging into the food to answer him,
"Jingle Jangle doesn't know about lost items, but Jingle Jangle does know who steals items,"
She continues to explain to Aurora and Gabriel,
"Those long-eared brigands are led by Agdon Longscarf. He wears a bright blue scarf and he moves as fast as lightning! If you're heading to Brigands' Tollway, you might encounter him there!"
Upon seeing that none of you recognize that name, Jingle Jangle clarified, "Brigands' Tollway are a bunch of old wooden catwalks surrounding a stump! The Brigands camp up there!"
She then realized something and continued, "Jingle Jangle's sorry, but Jingle Jangle doesn't want to leave. If you want a guide, you just need to find Clapperclaw! He's a pincer clawed scarecrow who hangs out at Downfall and he knows the way to Thither!"
Cue the victory music, because you freed Sir Talavar! Sir Talavar has bestowed his sword to you. However, it is a tiny sword, crafted for a being of his size. This weapon functions as a +1 Dagger in the hands of a small or medium creature.
Brutrumukk watched as Sir Talavar flew away before finding a place on his belt to hang it from and promptly forgot about it once he had. The bugbear then turned to look at Jingle Jangle just in time to laugh at her clumsy attempt at bowing to Jub. He then listened as Jingle Jangle revealed the location of the Bunny Brigands' base and who they could go to if they needed at guide to reach whatever 'Thither' was. Brutrumukk didn't care about the latter, but he certainly cared about the former.
"Guess we know where to start lookin' fer those lost dice then." The bugbear said when Jingle Jangle was done talking. "An' I also think I know what I'm cookin' fer dinner tonight. Always enjoyed me some rabbit stew."
Jingle Jangle looks to Brutrumukk as he spoke, and she looked concerned. She looked back to the rest of the party before looking back to Brutrumukk, "I do think they should know what it's like to be shaken down for once...but, how will they change their ways if they've been turned to soup?"
For a moment, Brutrumukk regarded Jingle Jangle and her words with a confused expression on his face. But after some thought, that confusion soon gave way to realization, before finally shifting to a look of impressed cruelty. "Oh I get what yer sayin'. Took me a moment there, but I get what yer sayin' now." Brutrumukk said in goblin with a nod of agreement. "Khurg's got you thinkin' that these rabbits'd do better as slave meat than as stew meat, yeah? Well I suppose if any o' them decide to surrender rather than go down fightin', I could spare 'em the pot an' bring 'em your way instead. I won't do it fer free though. What's in it fer me?"
Jingle Jangle looks shocked at Brutrumukk's words, and she couldn't help but squeak "Wh-What?!"
She waved her hands and answered, "Jingle Jangle doesn't want that! Jingle Jangle just thinks that shaking them down so that they know what it's like is enough. Killing and slavery is going too far!"
She then whispered clearly confused, "Who's Khurg?"
She then continued, expressly stating what she believes, "Anyways, this is Prismeer! People can change for the better, especially here of all places. All they have to do is embrace what makes them unique! Whether you're a goblin who likes keys, or an awakened hill with talking trees!"
"Khurgorbaeyag," Jub explained in a similar manner to how he would when Brutrumukk didn't understand a word. "Goblin god of oppression and social order." He glanced at Brutrumukk. "I guess things must be different for goblins in the Feywild than they are where we're from." He'd been giving Jingle Jangle the side-eye ever since she'd addressed him and attempted a bow. He had been suspicious of her before, but after hearing her talk, he was starting to get the sense she was harmless. Weird, but harmless.
When Jingle Jangle clarified what she had meant, Brutrumukk's expression briefly shifted to shock before quickly turning to disgust. When the goblin the asked after the identity of her own god in confusion though, Brutrumukk's face became a masterpiece of murderous rage. The bugbear stepped forward, reaching for his morningstar as the beginnings of a bestial roar rumbled within his throat. But he stopped and went quiet when Jub spoke up to answer Jingle Jangle's question, reminding Brutrumukk that his companions were present and that the living trees outside didn't look like a fight he could win. With a frustrated growl, Brutrumukk stepped back and turned to leave before anymore could be said. "Jub an' I'll be at the raft." He said before storming out of the cave, taking his shoulder goblin with him.
Brutrumukk stomped out of the cave and back down the hill towards the raft they had arrived on, ranting to Jub in goblin as he went. "It just boggles the mind, booyagh! Absolutely boggles it! I know goblins can go a bit off track when bugbears or 'obgoblins ain't nearby to show 'em 'ow to be good an' proper, but I didn't know it could get that bad! 'Ow in the Nine soddin' 'Ells could the gods even begin to bring themselves to stomach such a pathetic excuse fer a goblin actually bein' real?!" Brutrumukk growled once more as they arrived at the raft. "But I suppose I should 'ave seen that comin'. What with 'ow weird this place is an' that weird key fetish she's got. Did you see 'ow many keys she 'ad? The fuck was up with that...? It just boggles the mind."
"Oh- okay, guess I'm going too," said Jub as Brutrumukk left the rest of the group. He didn't have any problem leaving the conversation, as he hadn't exactly been participating in it that much, but he didn't like the direction Brutrumukk's mood had taken. As the bugbear started ranting to him, Jub simply nodded along with the occassional "Mm-hmm" and "Yep" when it was appropriate, all the while starting to sweat profusely.
In truth, Jub hadn't exactly been living a normal goblin life before meeting Brutrumukk. He'd been going from town to town, keeping his head down and using his magic to get enough coin to feed himself. When he couldn't get coin, he mostly dug around in other people's garbage to get what he needed. While he hadn't gone so far as to collecting shiny objects, he had done what he needed to do to get by, and he assumed that Jingle Jangle's habit of collecting keys was her way of coping. "Eh, when you don't have a tribe, you try and do what you can to get by," he said. "And I suppose, in a place like the Feywild, 'getting by' involves being really, really weird."
"I suppose yer right." Brutrumukk said thoughtfully, having also been forced to adapt to a change in lifestyle after his old gang was destroyed by adventurers. "Though I'm not sure 'ow forgettin' yer god an' yer tongue would 'elp you get by. Even in a place as weird as this." After a moment, Brutrumukk felt the fur on the shoulder carrying Jub begin to dampen. He turned to look at Jub and saw the goblin sweating bullets. "Uh... booyagh?" Brutrumukk asked in mild concern. "Is somethin' wrong?"
"There's a possibility, my good fellow, that she hasn't forgotten the name of her god," Jub said. "But instead that she never knew it. She might have been born here, brought up worshipping whatever gods exist in the Feywild. Fey gods? Archfey? He shrugged. "I don't know. There probably are a bunch o' goblins who were born outside the tribe and... don't worship the goblin gods or even know about them." He waved off Brutrumukk's concern. "I'm fine, just... this place is weird. And there's possibility we might not be leaving anytime soon." He gave a small, nervous laugh. "Just be prepared that we might start going a bit loopy ourselves."
The half elf watched as Brutrumukk and Jub abruptly made their way out of the small cave, he wasn't quite sure what he had been saying but knowing Brutrumukk it was probably something crude by human standards.
"Ah, well it seems we must be off." he said, breaking the momentary silence that followed both goblins departure "On behalf of our merry band I thank you, hopefully this Clapperclaw might be able to point us in the right direction." 'to a tavern if these fey had them' the bard thought wistfully to himself before dusting off his knees and standing.
"And, worry not about our two rather unique friends...We'll keep an eye on them right Rory?" he more-or-less jerked his head in the direction the two goblinoids had gone in a 'lets make sure they haven't left without us' kind of way.
With that Gabe turned, bowing slightly to Jingle Jangle as he casually yet hurriedly made his way put the cave to follow Brutrumukk and Jub.
Aurora was surprised by the angry outburst from Brutrumukk. She had not expected that he would be so offended by the fact the Jingle didn't know what he was talking about. Even Aurora was not sure what he was talking about with Khurg. When Gabriel spoke up and apologized for the outburst, Rory nodded in agreement. "We will do our best to shake down these bandits and see to return what was stolen. At least for those that we can. Thank you for your help Jingle Jangle."
The elf turned and left the small cave and followed Gabe down to the raft hurrying after catching the meaning of his gesture. "I don't think Jub or Zavakri will let him leave without use right away. Though I think you are right to not delay, divines knows how long before he decides to take off."
When Jub and Brutrumukk left the cave they were left alone. In contrast, when Aurora and Gabriel left the cave, the trees moved to surround the both of them. In true Feywild peculiarity, the trees begin dancing around both bard and rogue!
After the both of them finished dancing, one of the trees approaches them and hands them an iron key!
"Thank you for cheering Jingle Jangle up and giving her food! She dropped this in the dirt. We believe that you will need this key,"
They do not explain on why the key is needed further, and let the party continue on their way.
Hither
Random Encounter 3
As the party continues on their travels, the swamp tide lowers to the point where they don't need the raft as much. However, they do come across something.
Something that Gabriel has been longing for...
The more perceptive members of the party hear the sound of squelching, as though numerous pairs of feet were marching in the swamp nearby. It seems to be heading towards them...!
Their paths meet! There are indeed numerous pairs of feet marching in the swamp, but not in the way anyone would expect.
These feet are attached to the bottom of a building! This building is a squat, three-story structure with a slate-shingled roof and worm-eaten wood walls. Dozens of tiny orbs of pale light buzz about the exterior like flies. The structure rocks and heaves while in motion.
As the building passes by the party, they catch the smell of hearty stew wafting from its open windows and see smoke rising in cottony puffs from its stone chimney.
As soon as the inn is close enough to the party, the feet stop and the building lowers itself to the ground so people can enter.
Once everyone was back on the raft, Brutrumukk picked a direction at random and rowed that way until the water level dropped back down to a depth where the raft was no longer needed. Hefting the raft on the shoulder he wasn't carrying Jub on and putting the stilt he'd been using as an oar back in the stilt pants, Brutrumukk then led the way in yet another randomly selected direction until the sound of squelching feet met his ears and the scent of delicious stew met his nose. As the walking inn came into view, Brutrumukk nodded at the sight. "Yeah, that makes sense." The bugbear stated. "Or at least whatever the fuck this place likes to call 'sense' even though it clearly ain't... Either way, I like the smell o' what they got cookin' in there. Let's go 'ave a look-see." With that said, Brutrumukk walked up to the building as it lowered itself down, kicked open the door, and walked inside. "Oi oi!" Brutrumukk called out in greeting. "What smells so tasty in 'ere an' where can I get some?"
1x Laugh
