"Good idea, it's a rare thing indeed to find nothing here. Maybe nothing isn't so bad." the half elf guffawed before looking in the direction of the other shacks his companion pointed out "Lead the way." Gabriel told Aurora giving the elf a little wave to go ahead.
Zavakri, at last, broke free of her introspective reverie. The chaos of recent times and the revelation of Detara's fate had shocked her into a reservation that had been somewhat uncanny for the ordinarily ceaseless chatterbox of a woman, but the sheer mundanity of discovering a purely empty and literally harmless hut seems to have instilled within her some semblance of balance with the world as-is once more. As the group turned to advance forth on their journey once more, the mathematician tip-toed into the hut to do one final spin of acceptance of circumstance.
"...Hm, methinks 'nothing' is pretty good considering how things have been going." She chimes in at last, before following into step with her companions. "I, er....Cor, I suppose I should apologize. It's rather my fault we're all in this mess, huh? I can normally keep a pretty level head-- panic and fear notwithstanding-- but when I heard that hag mention 'Tara I just lost it."
She blushes faintly, embarrassment gripping her.
"...I guess what I mean to say is...Thanks for still having my back. It means a lot. I know it would've been easy to balance the equations there and then, so to speak, and I would've been left an outlier. I'll do better moving forward. We've all got a reason to be here, and I should keep that in mind."
She exhales a long breath, then reaches a hand out into the air in front of her as that mystical glow of mathematica emanates from within her eyes and projects from her skin once more; equations flowing in the air around them, her hand deftly sliding variables and subtext about until she seemed satisfied.
"There, that should give us all a bit of a boost moving forward. I've got my head back in the game."
She concluded her manipulation of the world's underlying equation with a swift jab of the finger, and as her magic rippled into reality everyone would feel quite bolstered.
Extended Cast 'AID' on the three other persons present; maximum HP Increases by 5 for the next 16 hours. 2nd level slot and 1 sorcery point used.
"I do understand, at least a little bit, what you are going through. At least we know where your sister is and we can plan how to get here out of there. And it isn't your fault entirely. Part of this mess was from trying to keep Brutrumukk from barreling into the room where the hag was in his drunken state." Aurora was sympathetic with Zavakri in the matter of being concerned with her siblings safety. She was also sincere about helping Zavakri get her sister out of whatever predicament she was in. The elven woman hoped that when the time came the others would be willing to help as well.
When the magical energy started to bolster Auroa, she gave a nod of thanks to Zavakri. The extra benefit would be nice when they had to confront Bavlorna. With that, Rory started towards the two other buildings that were nearby.
"Bloody numpty," Gabriel gruffly sighed, muttering under his breath when Rory mentioned about the drunken bugbears antics "Bit my fault too mind..Truthfully, I got the big rug killed." he tried his best to muster up a brave face, but he couldn't look at his companions only his muddied boots.
"Damn spell should have put those...Whatever you call em, to sleep. Bet he'd tear my throat out if he knew." taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and looked up, opening them "So this mess is mostly my fault."
Laughter erupted from the woman suddenly. She pulled her hair up from her face and laughed a deep, full, laugh from her gut as she bundled it back into a short, bushy, ponytail that she tied off swiftly. Her laughter quieted as she wiped at her eyes and seemed to calm herself down.
“Look at us, tripping over each other to take blame! Gods above, I’ll take that as sure a sign as any that we’re at least decent enough folk. If we ever get around to Baldur’s Gate, remind me to treat you all to my Rirvudd’s cooking. Man’s lethal with a skillet. He might even be able to tame Brut with some sausages.”
Jub, Aurora, and Zavakri are able to make their way to the next hut without much incident while they talk amongst themselves. Eventually, they notice something peculiar about the next hut they approached.
Standing just inside the door is a jittery bullywug with a spear, and behind this guard is a wooden crate with hunting gear piled atop it. Huddled in the back of the hut are four more bullywugs. Tension hangs heavy in the air as one of the huddled bullywugs signals you to enter and join their conversation.
The King and his pet baby crocodile both narrow their gazes at Brutrumukk's accusatory words, but before he acts and says anything, Jub comes in and speaks up in Brutrumukk's defense. The bullywug monarch strokes his chin and seems to stare at the both of them. He seems to be scrutinizing the both of them.
Jub's words do not appear to have swayed the king, because his beady eyes narrowed even further when he recalled Brutrumukk's accusation, and he speaks once more, "Am I to understand that you spoke with Bavlorna, without the blessing of the Soggy Court?! This is an offense of the highest caliber! Guards! Seize them!"
The guards immediately move to apprehend Brutrumukk and Jub, while some of the other nobles there look to each other and watch as this occurs.
I'm gonna need a Persuasion Check from Jub for his attempt to calm His Majesty down. I'll edit this post accordingly to the roll.
No, Brutrumukk will not be able to use the Help Action this time.
Rory stops a few feet back from the door. "I think these may be the hunters Bavlorna wanted us to pick up a taxidermy project from. I'll go in first and check. Hopefully this will be easier than dealing what ever those things in the water were."
The elf stepped forward into the hut cautiously unsure of what would come of this. She stepped lightly ready to attempt to avoid being struck by weapons in the event this was a trap.
"Greetings, is there something you need?" She asked the bullywug that motioned for them to approach.
Aurora uses the dodge action to impose disadvantage on attacks against her.
An angry growl rumbled free from the gaps in Brutrumukk's clenched teeth as the frog king gave his orders. "That's 'ow you wanna do this then?" Brutrumukk said. "Fine by me. First them. Then you!" With that said, Brutrumukk 'shifted' to his 'hybrid form', drew one of the daggers he had taken from the darklings, and charged the nearest of the approaching guards with a bestial roar and murderous intent.
Bonus Action: Brutrumukk enters a rage. He rolls a 5 on the Wild Surge table, triggering the following effect: Whenever a creature hits you with an attack roll before your rage ends, that creature takes 1d6 force damage, as magic lashes out in retribution. Object Interaction: Brutrumukk draws one of his daggers. Movement: Brutrumukk moves to the nearest bullywug guard. Action: Brutrumukk recklessly attacks the bullywug guard, rolling a 18 to hit and an 8 to damage.
Zavakri appeared as if she were about to speak, but they come upon their destination swiftly and she bites her lip instead. She eyes the bullywugs with some incredulity, only just now fully comprehending the sheer strangeness of this wild fey land. Oh how she missed a place where logic held sway! She reaches over and reassuringly pats Gabriel on the shoulder a few times, equal parts awkward and understanding, as she steps forth with Aurora- far less suspicious and cautious, however. Aurora's greeting rings out, and Zavakri gives a more confident and brighter smile as she perceives the hospitality of the gesture.
"Er, hello there." She says as greeting, before adopting a dutiful silence and gesturing for Aurora to be considered the primary speaker on her behalf for now.
As Aurora and Zavakri enters the hut they see more bullywugs inside. They seem to be wearing rags that resemble clothes of nobility. The nobles look up at the two of them and they could be heard whispering to each other,
"...Who invited them here?" "They aren't with you?" "Are they fellow revolutionaries?" "Dammit Jerry...! Why did we make him the door guard?!" "...He needed something to do!"
Then the bullywug nobles then look to Aurora and Zavakri and the leader of them asked, "...You aren't with King Gullop XIX, are ya?!"
Brutrumukk didn't need to charge at the Bullywug Knights, because three of them were quick to charge at him first! With seemingly practiced military formations, and swift swings of their glaives, they united to deal a significant amount of damage to the little gnome.
Naturally, Brutrumukk goes into his rage before the other two bullywug knights could charge in and attack him. His dagger does find purchase in a weak spot in one of the knight's armor. The knights don't seem to be the least bit intimidated by Brutrumukk and Jub.
Bullywug Knight 4's turn. He will move up to Brutrumukk and make two glaive attacks on him! Glaive Attack 1: 15 to hit Damage: 4 Slashing Glaive Attack 2: 24 to hit Damage: 4
Bullywug Knight 3's turn. He will also move up to Brutrumukk and make two glaive attacks on him. Glaive Attack 1: 15 Damage: 7 Glaive Attack 2: 11. That's a miss.
Bullywug Knight 5's turn. He moves up to Brutrumukk and attacks with his glaive. Glaive Attack 1: 18 to hit. Damage: 4. Glaive Attack 2: 9 to hit. That's a miss.
If my calculations are correct, then Brutrumukk is now at 4 HP.
Then Brutrumukk's turn goes off with the Rage and attack. 18 just hits Bullywug Knight 5 and deals 8 damage to them.
Zavakri stirs, sensing a potential turning point here. Her eyes flicker briefly and she laughs suddenly- her self imposed resolve to let another speak shattering immediately after she told herself to wait quietly.
"--Ha, chums, not at all." She bites her lip as she swiftly casts her eyes about the room and takes them in, digesting their dialogue around her. "In fact we were less interested in being 'with' a king wotsywoggle and more interested in 'can we help you folks right before us'?"
Jub gave a loud sigh as his words fell on deaf ears. The bullywugs prepared to arrest them and Brutrumukk, of course, escalated the situation. "Why do I even bother...?" he muttered to himself as he once again had to ready his arcane focus for a fight. However, before he could even do anything, several of the guards started ganging up and attacking Brutrumukk, causing the barbarian to suffer serious injury. Having a brief flashback to the incident with the merrows, Jub decided it was best to get the two out of dodge before they could either be killed or imprisoned.
He leaned over to mutter to Brutrumukk. "Going to need you to trust me on this one, Brut," he said. Without another word, he tapped his arcane focus on the barbarian's shoulder, casting Enlarge/Reduce to shrink Brutrumukk down to a much more portable size. He then threw the gnome onto his shoulder before starting to run as fast as he could away from the guards.
Jub uses Enlarge/Reduce to shrink Brutrumukk down to Tiny size, picks him up, uses his Bonus Action to Disengage and starts running for D5.
After hearing Zavakri's answer, the bullywugs look to each other. They whispered and croaked amongst themselves before they finally answer Zavakri and Aurora, "Actually...perhaps you can help us with the revolution! We are going to overthrow that weak ruler, King Gullop XIX!"
The leading bullywug waves the group closer and he proudly shows off a drawing on the mud floor that depicts a crude image of Gullop XIX with a dagger in his eye.
The leading bullywug speaks, "Here's the plan: I will approach the King, pretend to trip into him, and 'accidentally' stick a dagger in his eye! Bing bang boom! The King is dead and I will become the new King of Downfall!"
He then looks to half of the party eagerly and asks, "Well, what do you think?"
The bullywug knights could only watch as Jub cleverly uses his magic to shrink Brutrumukk down to size and carries him away. The knights were surprised as they watched Jub scurry away and one of the knights couldn't help but ask,
"Eh? That was fast!" "What should we do?"
The King could be heard shouting after the knights, "What are you doing?! Go after them! Get them!"
Running! The Knights will be pursuing.
Downfall: Chattering Heads (D5)
As Jub flees with Brutrumukk in tow, they would come across a wooden bridge. And there would be a somewhat familiar sight for Brutrumukk here. Well...Familiar, yes, but comforting? Oh no, there is an aspect to these heads that would take away the comforting aspect for Brutrumukk: The Heads are alive and talking!
This flat wood-plank bridge, which spans an arm of the lake, is lined on one side by rows of bullywug heads on wooden spikes.
At the center of the bridge, a small figure sits with its feet dangling over one side. The figure appears to be talking to itself in bemoaned tones. But then the severed bullywug heads nearby erupt in a cacophony of voices—some indignant, others sympathetic. A few in a more distant row yell, "What? I couldn't hear what they said!"
As Jub and Brutrumukk pass by, some of the heads greet them,
"Oh, Hello!" "Hey, what's the rush?" "We've got a whole musical number planned for guests!"
Rory stood there for a moment processing what the bullywug had explained as a plan. To her it seemed crude and not well thought out. Would they even be able to get close enough to pretend to trip and stab this supposed bullywug king she has yet to meet.
"Would be able to get close enough to him for this to work? I am sure the king has guards and they might notice you holding the dagger that is in King Gullop XIX's eye. While I am not sure how things like succession work here, in my own home lands killing someone on power does not earn you their position. Often times it leads to your own death."
She paused and pondered for a moment. "Before we proceed on this matter I do have a few questions. If we are to help you what do you expect from us and what would we get in return? These are not necessarily simple matters you would involve us in. I know only what you have told me about King Gullop and nothing else to judge his character by. You say he is weak yet give me no examples of such weakness."
"We've got a whole musical number planned for guests!"
"Bit busy right now!" Jub called back to the severed heads as he started running across the bridge. Maybe it was the fact they were being chased or just that he had seen so much with the last few days that his ability to be surprised had slowly been eroded, but he wasn't even slightly alarmed by the gruesome sight or even that the heads were able to address him right now. If anything, it just motivated him to run a bit faster.
"Hey you!" Jub called to the mysterious figure in the middle of the bridge, gesturing wildly with an arm for them to get out of the way. "Sorry to bother you, but you really don't want to be on this bridge right now!" As he said this, something occurred to him. "In fact, maybe NOBODY should be on this bridge right now!" He turned slightly, his arcane focus still clutched in his hand as he pointed it towards the end of the bridge they had just come from. "After all, it looks like a real... fire hazard!" With those last two words, Jub sent a fire bolt flying, aiming for the part of the bridge between them and heir pursuers, hoping to set it alight and stop the frogs in their tracks.
... I don't know if I need to roll to hit the bridge.
The half-elf stood a few paces behind his companions with his brows furrowed mouth opened he seemed just about ready to protest 'Seriously?! That's all you have to say?!' internally he screamed yet outwardly he took a deep breath and sighed shaking his head.
Probably for the best, he guessed shrugging a but deflated that the thing he wanted to get off his chest was brushed off.
* * *
Gabriel silently listened to the group talk with the frog people, he wasn't really in the mood to talk after he tried to confide in his allies and they blatantly ignored him.
"How bad can your king be," the bard remarked watching the door "Can't be worse than any I've had to live under."
Things had not gone the way that Brutrumukk had expected them too. The frog king's guards had come up on him faster than anticipated and the weapons they wielded were made of either magic or silver, despite the fact that they looked like neither. Now Brutrumukk was just one good hit away from death. Already he could feel Skiggaret's presence seeping into his mind, urging him to escape this lost battle by any means necessary.
"Going to need you to trust me on this one, Brut," An opportunity presented itself. One that Brutrumukk seized gladly.
"Anything! Anything!" Brutrumukk cried out fearfully, his mind now firmly in the grip of Skiggaret. "Just get us out of 'ere!"
Moments later, Brutrumukk was riding to safety on Jub's shoulder. He looked back as he heard King Gullop command the guards to chase the fleeing duo. Brutrumukk turned back to Jub with the intention of telling him to run faster. But before he could, his attention was caught by a sight that suppressed his terror and replaced it with pure religious awe.
Rows upon rows of severed heads mounted on spikes awaited the two escapees as they crossed the bridge. But while the sight alone was grand enough to the bugbear gnome's eyes, what he felt then paled in comparison to when the heads all started speaking. "The 'eads... They speak..." Brutrumukk whispered in wonder. "Messengers of Hruggek."
"Oh, Hello!"
"Hey, what's the rush?"
"We've got a whole musical number planned for guests!"
"Bit busy right now!"
As much as it pained him to ignore divine messengers, Jub had a point. They didn't have the time to stop for the severed heads. Not with the bullywug guards chasing them. "We'll be back fer yer moo-sick-all number later!" Brutrumukk called out as they continued on. "Tell Hruggek we're sorry we couldn't 'ear 'is message right away!"
"Hey you!" Jub called out then, drawing Brutrumukk's attention to the small figure on the bridge. "Sorry to bother you, but you really don't want to be on this bridge right now! In fact, maybe NOBODY should be on this bridge right now! After all, it looks like a real... fire hazard!"
Brutrumukk was unsure what Jub meant by that at first. But when the goblin wizard began reciting an incantation and making hand movements, everything clicked and the bugbear's gnome's eyes went wide with horror. Jub was going to burn the bridge before they could hear the message! "NO!" Brutrumukk exclaimed before grabbing onto Jub's lips to try and mess up the magic words enough to make the spell not work.
The bullywugs look at Aurora and Gabriel as they ask their questions and ask about Gullop's character. The leading bullywug simply answers them, "Anyone can see that Gullop is a witless buffoon! You wouldn't even question it if you saw him yourself!"
He continues, "If anyone is the rightful King, it would be me! And if you help with this plan, then I will make you high ranking nobility here in Downfall,"
He then asks, "Well, it's clear that you don't think my plan is up to snuff. Unlike Gullop, I am capable of considering better ideas. So, if you have a better plan, then I'm all ears,"
You'd notice that the crate in this hut has Bavlorna's name scrawled on it. The hunting gear piled on top of it includes a heavy crossbow, six crossbow bolts, a hunting trap, and a rolled-up cape of moss.
Upon hearing Jub's warning, the scarecrow immediately hops onto one of the poles with a beheaded bullywug head, only giving a "Woah!" in fear and shock that Jub was going to set the bridge on fire. The scarecrow gives a sigh of relief when Brutrumukk stopped him from casting that spell.
The heads and the scarecrow look towards the sounds of the Bullywug knights shouting at them,
"STOP! By order of King Gullop the Nineteenth, you are under arrest! Stop running!"
The heads quickly inform the pair,
"Oh dear, well that simply won't do!" "You'd best take a swamp gas balloon out of Downfall!" "Unless you wanna end up like us! We can chat forever!"
The scarecrow points to a building (towards D2) and speaks, "You can grab a balloon and escape over there! Hurry!"
After the scarecrow says that, Jub and Brutrumukk would see that the guards have made it onto the bridge and are hurrying after them.
Now that I took a bit of time to familiarize myself with the rules as well as let the NPCs give Jub and Brutrumukk a clear way to escape the guards and Downfall (D2), the Chase can truly begin!
Brutrumukk and Jub start at the end of the bridge in D5 towards D4, while the Bullywugs start at D6 due to their delay. On their initiative, Knights 4, 5, and 6 dash to make it to the middle of the bridge in D5. I am using the Downfall Map as reference. Remember that each square on the Downfall Map is 10 feet.
Since Jub is the one who's running and carrying a tiny Brutrumukk, he can freely use the Dash action a number of times equal to 3 + his Constitution modifier. Each additional Dash action he takes during the chase requires him to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution check at the end of its turn or gain one level of exhaustion.
For this round, Complication Roll was an 18, so there are no complications to impede the chase this time around. ^_^
Brutrumukk sighed in relief along with the scarecrow as the bugbear gnome managed to prevent Jub from casting the spell.
That relief did not last long though.
"STOP! By order of King Gullop the Nineteenth, you are under arrest! Stop running!"
"Oh bugger!" Brutrumukk cursed as he watched the knights approach.
"Oh dear, well that simply won't do!" "You'd best take a swamp gas balloon out of Downfall!" "Unless you wanna end up like us! We can chat forever!"
"As much as I'd enjoy a trip down to Acheron, I'd much rather go on that trip as more'n just an 'ead." Brutrumukk commented. "Where can we get one o' these gas balloons?"
"You can grab a balloon and escape over there! Hurry!" The scarecrow answered while pointing out a nearby building.
"Cheers." Brutrumukk said before turning to Jub. "You 'eard the scarecrow, booyagh! 'Urry!"
As Jub got moving, the sound of birdsong met Brutrumukk's ears, giving the bugbear gnome an idea. Calling upon his newfound gift for speaking with small beasts, Brutrumukk began making sounds and performing gestures that would communicate to the birds that he would give them food if they helped him and Jub escape the knights and make it to the gas balloon.
"A distraction and a skillful shot may work best for you." Rory gestures to the crossbow on the crate. "Less immediate risk for a would be assassin, provided they are able to find a place where they could see their target of course. There could still issues with the guards and others nearby who benefit from Gullop's rule. They would likely resist any change in rule unless you could convince them otherwise." She pauses as she started to consider how much she wanted to be a part of this matter. There was already a number of things that needed to be dealt with and talks that needed to happen just with those she was traveling with. With that was also half looking into the tasks that Bavlorna asked of them to buy herself time to plan her own escape. Rory thought on it a bit more before realizing she could maybe turn this into a step forward with the Bavlorna issue.
"If I help you with this matter I do not seek to have a position of nobility. I just ask that you promise to help me with a task of my own to the full extent that you can, the Rule of Reciprocity being the binder of our agreement. My friends and I will need a place to rest for a short while as well while we continue to discuss our other tasks, and some previous issues. Is the agreement sound enough for you? I will help you over throw, and likely kill Gullop, you help me with a task of equal measure?"
