Reluctantly the half elf obliged Aurora, having thought on it he wouldn't get very far on his own out here in the middle of bloody nowhere. Gabriel grumbled to himself in garbled Elvish but he was still there to mind the drunken sod of a walking carpet.
Gabriel strode alongside his full blooded elf friend with his hands tucked in the pockets of his breaches "You’ve a patience I envy Rory, were I in those shoes of yours I would have walked a mile away." he remarked without looking at her, but he had a half smile on his face. Gabriel couldn't keep himself sane without being in good humor after all and making light of their situation would hopefully lift everyone's spirits.
Jub suppressed a sigh of relief as his teammates moved into position. He had half-expected them to up and leave Brutrumukk at this point, and a part of him wouldn't have blamed them. He gave them a small thumbs up before pointing his wand at the drunken bugbear and casting Hideous Laughter.
Jub casts Hideous Laughter on Brutrumukk. Brutrumukk has to roll a Wisdom saving throw. The DC is 12.
"Stop the conga!" Brutrumukk exclaimed as came to an abrupt halt, causing the rest of the conga line to domino into the bugbear's back.
"What's wrong?" One member of the conga line asked as she righted herself.
"I've just been targeted by a castin' o' Tasha's 'ideous Laughter." Brutrumukk explained. "Now I gotta roll around on the floor an' laugh fer a bit."
"Alright. But don't take too long though." Skobeloff said. "We still need to get Shieldwing."
"Yeah, don't worry." Brutrumukk said. "I'll be as quick as I can." With that said, Brutrumukk dropped prone and began to roll around on the floor and laugh.
As soon as Brutrumukk fell to the ground rolling on laughter, Aurora moved in and started to try to tie the bugbeat up. "Quickly now, I don't think we have long before he snaps out of it. Gabe get his arms."
And so, with Jub's spell and Aurora's and Gabriel's combined strength, they managed to subdue the drunken bugbear and carry him away from the door that led to Bavlorna's study, down the stairs to the first floor, and towards the exit of the cottage.
The exit led to the swampy waters. At first, there didn't seem to be a way across, but Zavakri and Vansel were quick to point out the skiff nearby.
During the trip across the waters on the skiff, Jub's spell wears off on Brutrumukk, but the bugbear's drunkenness remains.
The skiff gets them to an area with a large white tree standing tall. Once the group reaches land, Vansel sighs and he cheerfully speaks, "Thank you for your help and your protection in the Cottage! Until we meet again should the fates allow!"
He turns to walk away and leave, but he stops as he raises a finger. He turns around and has an expression like he just remembered something, "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!"
He first picks up a stick that clearly fell from the tree, and he hands it to Jub. As soon as Jub accepts it a small pink flower blooms on the end of the stick pointed away from Jub. Upon seeing this, the little goblin wizard feels...a little luckier than he did before.
He then looks to the bugbear and he realizes, "Right! The Widdershins! Let me show you how it's done, so you can do it yourselves, since you got me out of there in one piece!"
He clears his throat, and he proceeds to sing again,
"Come and Join the Chase! Nothing could be drier Than a jolly Caucus Race! Backward, forward, inward, outward Bottom to the top Never a beginning, there can never be a stop! To skipping, hopping, tripping, Fancy free and Gay! Started it tomorrow, But will finish yesterday! 'Round and round and round we go, Until forevermore! For once we were behind, Now we find we are beyond! Forward, backward, inward, outward, Come and join the Chase! Nothing could be drier Than a jolly Caucus Race!"
As he sings this song, the party watches as he seems to run, skip, and leap in tight counterclockwise circles near them.
As soon as the song is done, he tells the party, "And that's how you Widdershins! Best of luck to all of you on your adventurers! Share them with me the next time we meet, yes?" With that, the satyr leaves the party.
Zavakri seems to stare wide eyed in confusion and she asked the party, "Wot the Bloody 'Ells just happened...?"
After laughing, Brutrumukk finds the skiff ride to be quite pleasant despite the fact that it was stacked with not just you and the party, but with the conga line dancers and the drakes too! Some even fell into the water and laughed it off!
Upon reaching the shore, and Vansel does the Widdershins for you, you watch as the Conga Line dancers and the drakes join in and follow Vansel in running the tight counterclockwise circles, singing the song with him.
The party is now at D13 on the Downfall map.
The stick Jub received is indeed magical! Until the flower wilts and falls off in 24 hours, the stick has the same effect as a Stone of Good Luck
And yes, the Caucus Race song is from Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Song
Brutrumukk whiled away his time under the laughter spell by laughing. He then spent some time after the spell wore off enjoying the skiff ride. When Vansel began to perform his final musical number, Brutrumukk desired to join in the dancing. And so he worked to free himself from the ropes the others had tied him with to keep his own sides from splitting. The bugbear managed to free himself after twelve seconds of work and promptly joined the song and dance.
As Brutrumukk capered though, something within him connected with something in the air around him. A combination of the magical hooch he had imbibed, the ambient magic of the Feywild, and his own personal connection to Prismeer through his past with Zybilna all came together and suffused his entire being with wild magic. For a brief moment then, his imagination was imposed on the world around him and the hallucinations that he was seeing became visible to everyone else as well. When the song ended though, the effect quickly faded away, leaving Brutrumukk the only one to see the drakes return to him.
"Well that was fun." Skobeloff said. "But now we should probably head back. Shieldwing is still in the cottage and this little diversion has put us very much off course."
"Right right." Brutrumukk said as he turned towards the skiff. "Back to the cottage then. Conga!"
"Conga!" The conga line called back as Brutrumukk led the way to the skiff, intending to row back to the cottage and find Shieldwing.
Brutrumukk spends two rounds attempting to free himself from the ropes, succeeding on the second round with a 10.
Aurora stood perplexed by both the preformance of the saytr and Brutrumukk. She did not quite understand what exactly he had just done It may have been that she now saw what he was seeing while in the state he was in from the alchol. Rory shook her head to, let out an sharp exasperated breath, and went to grab Brutrumukk by the shoulder to slow him down. "We cannot go back there yet. It is to dangerous for us to go back without preparing. The room Shieldwing is in also has someone who is really powerful and dangerous. You wouldn't want to risk failing Shieldwing by being defeats by this person do you?"
She knew it was a gamble, with poor odds at that, to attempt to persuade the drunk bugbear not to go back to the cottage. The eld hoped that invoking the name she heard him use earlier would cause him to reconsider going back now. "If we can gather a few things we may be able to deal with this person but we need to move quickly. They suspect what we are really here for and are planning to leave before to long." Rory paused and turned to the rest of the group. "It is likely the chores Bavlorna gave us was an attempt to busy us while she flees. Perhaps we can stop by Charm's shop and get supplies then return to the cottage."
Jub's eyes widened slightly as everyone got a brief glimpse of Brutrumukk's hallucinations, and he held the stick Vansel had given him in front of him as if he was hoping it would protect him. When the illusions dissapated, Jub turned to Gabriel, Aurora and Zavakri. "You all saw that, right?" he asked, motioning vaguely around himself. "That wasn't just me... right?"
"Whoa!" Brutrumukk yelped as Shadowflowers put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him to a stop and causing the entire conga line to bump into him again.
"There's carrot toes back there I bet. It is too generous for us to go back without a pear thing." Shadowflowers said. "The room Shieldwing is in also has someone who is really disingenuous. You would want to be bailing Shieldwing by washing the feet of this pear sun do you? If we can lather a few rings we may be able to peel this pear sun but we need to move quickly. We suspect that they are really hare tour and are planning to sneeze before to long. It is likely the doors gave us an attempt to busy us with fleas. Perhaps we can stop by Charm's top and get surprise then return to the cottage."
Brutrumukk listened intently to Shadowflowers' nodding understandingly every so often. Then, once she was done speaking, Brutrumukk looked to Skobeloff. "Any thoughts on 'ow we 'andle this?"
"I have a plan." Skobeloff said. "Shadowflowers can head to Charm's top to get the surprise we need. Meanwhile, we'll head back and bail Shieldwing by washing the pear sun's feet before the hare tour has a chance to sneeze. You have that pinecone still, and it looks pearish enough to count as a pear thing, so we should be good on the carrot toes front. As for the doors and their fleas, they'll be no problem now we know what they're up to. Once we've got Shieldwing, we'll regroup with Shadowflowers and peel the pear sun."
"Sound's like a plan." Brutrumukk said before turning to Shadowflowers. "You go grab the surprise then. I'll see you once I've bailed Shieldwing. Conga!"
"Conga!" The conga line exclaimed in response as Brutrumukk led the conga onto the skiff and began rowing back towards the cottage.
Rory stood there as Brutrumukk talked to something that only he could still see, asking whatever it was if it had any ideas. She wasn't sure if she could keep her composure with whatever this was. Shortly after he had asked the question, Brutrumukk announced he was going back to the cabin to bail Shieldwing.
"Yes Jub, I saw it as well. I'm starting to wonder if all we did was in vain. Brutrumukk seems to be determined to find whatever it is he is looking for. We might need to gather what we can quickly so we can get back to him soon. Hopefully he doesn't get into to much trouble. Hopefully we can find something useful."
Before Brutrumukk could truly leave, four tiny little thorns seem to shoot out from the tree. One thorn bounces harmlessly off of Brutrumukk and Gabe, but two of them pierce Jub and Aurora respectively. Upon closer inspection, these thorns aren't thorns...they're tiny arrows!
The party hear the sound of hushed giggling coming from the nearby tree.
Several holes dot the trunk of a gnarled old tree that grows on the shore of the lake. The tree has lost all its bark, and a few withered leaves cling to the ends of its twisted, knotted branches. One end of a clothesline is tied to a high branch on the northwest side of the tree. Several old garments hang from the clothesline, the other end of which disappears into the fog hovering over the lake.
The giggling voices could be heard, and a couple of high fives could be heard.
"Nice shot, Bitzi!" "Thanks! Certainly a lot better than all of you!" "Yeah, yeah, you know the dummies are still there, right?"
The voices then turn their attention to the party, their voices now mocking the group.
"Watching you try to guide a drunken bugbear is hilarious an' all, but you should just shove him into the waters if he's so eager to go!" "Yeah! Let the circle of life and death take its course!"
"What is with that little goblin? Is he seriously wearing stars?" "He must think he's so cool! How arrogant of him! Hahaha!"
"That half-elf over there looks dirty and yet his sword is clean. I don't think he's struck anything in his entire life!" "Either that, or he's too clumsy to do so!"
"And look at the elf over there!" "Oh yeah! It looks like she's trying to be so edgy and dark! She must be soooo cool!"
The voices from the tree continue to mock the party.
Brutrumukk hears the giggling and the words, but they don't seem to register. All of the words just come out as nonsensical garbled words he can't understand.
The conga line stops and the people look at each other and speak to each other,
"Wait, what do they mean by letting the circle of life and death take its course?" "Maybe they're hungry and just want some fish!" "Ooh! Maybe if we gifted them some fish, they'll join us in the conga line!" "That sounds absolutely splendid!"
Stargaze nudges Brutrumukk and she speaks to him, "Don't forget Jub! He's your friend right?" She nods towards the goblin in question.
One thorn at Aurora: 19 One thorn at Jub: 21 One thorn at Brutrumukk: 14 One thorn at Gabriel: 11
Aurora and Jub take 1 Piercing Damage and they will need to make a Constitution Saving Throw.
Brutrumukk paused as he felt the thorn bounce off of him, then turned towards the tree as he heard the giggling and the voices. Though he couldn't understand what they were saying, it seemed that the rest of the conga line could.
"Wait, what do they mean by letting the circle of life and death take its course?" One asked.
"Maybe they're hungry and just want some fish!" Another surmised.
"Ooh! Maybe if we gifted them some fish, they'll join us in the conga line!" A third suggested.
"That sounds absolutely splendid!" A fourth exclaimed.
"I suppose we're off to do some fishin' then." Brutrumukk said as he drew a javelin for use as a fishing spear.
"Ok. But let's try and get this done fast though." Skobeloff said. "We still need to find Shieldwing."
"Right right." Brutrumukk confirmed with a nod. "Don't worry. This shouldn't take too long. Cong-"
"Don't forget Jellybean Starfish!" Stargaze interrupted the resuming of the conga. "He's your friend right?"
"Right right." Brutrumukk said before heading over to Jellybean Starfish and hoisting him onto his usual spot on the bugbear's shoulder. "There we go. Now then... where was I?"
"Conga." A member of the conga line reminded him.
"O' course. Cheers." Brutrumukk thanked the conga liner. "Conga!"
"Conga!" The conga line exclaimed in response as Brutrumukk led the conga onto the skiff and rowed out onto the water.
Once there, Brutrumukk threw a day's worth of rations into the water to serve as bait, took up a ready position with his javelin, and waited. Then, when he saw a tasty looking fish swim close by the skiff, Brutrumukk struck.
Their words much like their thorns barely scratched the half-elf, in fact they elicited a bemused snort from Gabriel "Ha, for forest spirits your words cut like a childs insults." to add insult to injury as he passed by behind Brutrumukk the bard hawked some spit at the trees "Pathetic really." Gabe said, with a smirk on his face not even looking back to see if whatever had insulted the party reacted nor to listen for a retort.
Once they were far from the trees Gabriel could only watch as their idiot of a companion proceeded to throw a days worth of rations into the water, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead he muttered "God's be good, we should've left him in that witches abode." which also reminded the half-elf that they had failed to do what they promised that fair innkeeper, ah well Gabriel would rather be rid of the feywild at this point.
A thought did form in his mind though, turning to Aurora the bard scratched his beard thoughtfully "You know Rory it just occurred to me, we have absolutely no idea where we are going do we? I mean we have a job but, it seems we are quite lost and are just walking in whatever direction our fancy takes us." yes the honorable Misters had a job for them but quite honestly they'd been left without any direction whatsoever.
And almost all of the denizens of this realm thus far have been less than helpful, Gabe shook his head "It's no wonder that stories of adventure aren't filled with all the details."
Aurora and Gabriel see Brutrumukk, with Jub in tow, row out to go fish. All of them would see two large shapes swim to the rations set out as bait. Aurora, Jub, and Gabriel notice that these are medium sized creatures, and something about them seems...humanoid?
By MaÄŸlubiyet! Those are the biggest catfish you've ever seen! You and your friends are going to be eaten good today!
Brutrumukk throws his javelin in an attempt to pierce one of the creatures, but they easily avoided the shot. After a quiet moment of stillness, a splash can be seen and heard as the creatures below retaliate!
Two Harpoons shot out of the water and were heading straight towards Brutrumukk the drunken fisherman! One of them manages to find purchase, while the other goes completely wide.
WOAH! Did the lake just...multiply your javelins? You also got free rope!
Brutrumukk barely felt pain, but he does feel...warm. There's confetti coming out of where the harpoon struck him!
He then feels tugging from the rope. The water is inviting him in?
The group can see that something is trying to use the harpoon that found purchase on him trying to pull him into the water!
Jub, Aurora, and Gabriel see humanoid figures start to rise from the water. These guys look more fish than human with ugly sharp teeth, and catfish like tendrils on their face along with fins. The first being that struck the harpoon into Brutrumukk is trying to pull him in, while the other is ready to strike again.
Meanwhile, the voices from the tree laugh at the sight and speak again,
"Oh. My. Gods! Now this! This is way better entertainment!" "Hey, anyone got some popcorn?"
"No Gabe the do tend to leave the details out. Granted I think you are selling us short, we do know where we are going, least somewhat. The path that leads there however is far from being strait and simple. I suppose we aught to save our goblin companions again."
With the small prick of a small arrow followed by the commentary from the hidden individuals, as well as Brutrumukk still insisting on returning to the cottage and now being in danger again, Aurora had hit her breaking point. For now she would deal with the threat she could see. Once that was done the elf would deal with the ones hiding in the tree.
She knocked an arrow and took aim at the attacker that was ready to strike at Brutrumukk or Jub. Aurora loosed the arrow but it went wide of the target.
Aurora's arrow goes wide and plummets into the water, missing the two aquatic creatures that are retaliating against the goblin fisherman.
The second creature recovered his harpoon and threw it at Brutrumukk again. This time, it also finds purchase, and it attempts to pull the goblins into the water!
Oooh! Look! Another javelin and free rope! More confetti! And the water seems very insistent on having you come into the water!
The bubbles and burbles seem to be cheerfully giggling, "Come on in Brut! The water's great!"
Merrow 2 throws a harpoon at Brutrumukk!
Harpoon 2 to hit: 19 Harpoon 2 Damage: 10 Piercing Damage Merrow 2 Strength Contest to pull Bugbear into the water: 15
@rush99999 Brutrumukk will need to make another Strength check, this time to beat a 15. Failure will mean Brutrumukk is pulled 20 feet closer and into the water.
Gabriel not knowing what else to do in his haste drew upon his bardic abilites, performing the movements required to cast the spell with his blade a wave of exhaustion filled the spell area, unfortunately it seemed the spell had more an effect on his own ally than that of the enemy, noticing the bubbles beneath the water cease.
"Bloody hells." the bard hissed, only able to move to the foot of the dock as he unbuttoned his shirt preparing himself to jump into the water after his ally.
Jub had been about to open his mouth in an attempt to try and persuade Brutrumukk that maybe they shouldn't go back to the cottage right now when the bugbear was attacked and dragged into the water... bringing Jub down with him. The goblin quickly found himself flailing about in the water in an attempt to stay afloat as his mind was cycling through what in the hells he was going to do.
During this time, Gabe used some sort of spell in attempt to incapacitate the merrows that were attacking them. However, instead of working on their intended targets, it instead put the submerged Brutrumukk to sleep instead, as Jub could now see air bubbles coming out from beneath the water. Panicked, he let out a few curses in the goblin language before taking a deep breath and diving under the water to get to Brutrumukk. Upon reaching him, he attempted to shake the bugbear awake.
Zavakri could only watch wide eyed as Brutrumukk and Jub were suddenly pulled into the water, Aurora's arrow had gone wide, and Gabriel's spell had gone completely wrong.
"Blood and Spittle! I can't see them!" Zavakri commented, distressed that she can't intervene.
She looked to Gabriel as he took off his shirt ready to go into the water, and she calls, "Wait a bloody second!"
After she called out to her allies, apparitions of mathematical formulae appear in the air once again. Upon filling the blanks and correcting the formulae, they shine a white light before zipping to the three heroes currently on land and surround them before disappearing. Gabriel and Aurora feel a little bit tougher now!
"OK! Now go!" Zavakri called to Gabriel.
Before anyone goes in though, the three of them hear the familiar sound of fluttering wings. When they turn to look at the source, they see a familiar sight; A familiar friend who had inadvertently got lost and separated from the group!
Tsak Vlos! The Fairy Tattooist from the Carnival!
Tsak, Gabriel, Aurora, and Zavakri also see the murky waters of the swamp water start to turn from green...to red...
Meanwhile, beneath the depths, Jub swims further down through the murky waters until he finally sees Brutrumukk 10 feet away! He swims closer and is able to shake his friend awake. However, after doing so, both goblinoids come to realize three truly horrific facts of their situation.
The first is that Brutrumukk is drowning. It is painful for the bugbear, and he needs air! NOW! But...there are two fish like beings in front of him and Jub! The both of them look similar to, but are much more hideous than, Palasha the mermaid.
This is when the second realization kicks in for the two: The fish beings in front of them have the same exact expression Brutrumukk had whenever he talked about killing and eating the bunny brigands. Their malicious and covetous grins are directed right at the bugbear!
These guys are ravenous, and they are looking at Brutrumukk like he is an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet. It may or may not be surprising, considering that Brutrumukk is much larger than little Jub. The little goblin wizard may be seen as a green leaf of salad if not a little morsel.
Then the third realization comes to them. The skiff they were on was their best shield. And now that they were here in the water, they are at the mercy of the ravenous merrow in front of them...!
One of the merrow immediately moves! Brutrumukk valiantly tries to block the attack with an arm. However, in trying to do so while flailing towards the surface for air, the claws managed to dig into Brutrumukk's chest. All the surprised and flailing bugbear can do is watch the merrow go for the jugular next.
The merrow's jaws clamp down on Brutrumukk's throat and tear as much out as the merrow could, causing blood to spill into the water.
For Zavakri's turn, she will cast Aid on herself, Gabriel, and Aurora. She expends a sorcery point for Extended Spell, so Aid will last for 16 hours instead of the usual 8 hours. Zavakri's, Gabriel's, and Aurora's Hit Point Maximum and Hit Points increase by 5 for the duration.
As for Merrow 1's turn...
Jub and Brutrumukk being on the skiff ensured that the merrow couldn't multiattack. They could only throw a harpoon (their only distance weapon), try to pull the target closer, and be done before. Their multiattacks are supposed to be for two different weapons, so harpoon + harpoon was a no go for them. But now that the goblinoid heroes are in the water, the merrow can now go all out on their attacks.
Merrow 1 Multiattacks
Claws to hit Brutrumukk: 16 Claws Damage: 11 Slashing Damage. This brings Brutrumukk down to 1 HP. Bite to hit Brutrumukk: Natural 20 Critical Hit Damage: 13 Piercing Damage. This brings Brutrumukk to 0 HP and unconsciousness once again.
@rush99999 You'll be starting your death saves sooner than expected.
Confusion and pain. That was what Brutrumukk awoke to when he felt Jub's hand jostling his shoulder. His waterlogged lungs were screaming for air and the harpoon wounds were all to eager to make their presence known now that the bugbear was able to feel pain again. And to make matters worse, the dangerous situation he had so suddenly found himself in was more than enough to sober him up. So now he was also hungover and could barely remember the events that led up to this moment. Something about... drakes? But there was no time to think about that now.
In front of him, Brutrumukk saw that a pair of monstrous looking fish things that sort of looked like Palasha were bearing down on him with hunger in their eyes. Brutrumukk immediately got the sense that the skiff would be his best bet at survival. But before he could disengage and make for the surface, one of the monsters lurched forward to attack with a downward swipe of its claws. Brutrumukk raised his shield and readied himself to block the blow. But the blow never came. Instead the swipe turned into a grab, the monster's claws dug into the shield and held it in place. By the time Brutrumukk realized its reasoning for doing this, the claws on the monsters other hand were already punching clean through the bugbear's chest. Brutrumukk didn't even need to look down to know how bad it was.
He was already dead.
Brutrumukk wasn't all that bothered by it though. Since Skiggaret hadn't had enough time to take hold of him before the end, Brutrumukk actually had the chance to enjoy the fact that the end had come and soon he would be fighting the Eternal War against Gruumsh's lot, alongside his gods and his old gang. It was pretty annoying that he was dying now though. He had wanted to save his Fairy Godmother from the hags' shenanigans, but he was fairly certain his companions could make it the rest of the way without him. Speaking of...
Brutrumukk took hold of Jub one last time and shunted him back up towards the surface. Using the last of his strength, Brutrumukk had left Jub with a simple ten foot swim to safety. Strength well spent. As the monsters teeth closed around his neck, Brutrumukk closed his eyes and a peaceful yet eager grin settled onto his features.
He could already hear the iron cubes of Acheron clanging together and the din of the endless battle that he would soon join.
