Chapter 2: Killing Some Stinky Trogs

Amongst the various attacks, Ryte remains in his fighting stance, taking advantage of the attacks that he avoids he lashes out a final time. Taking out the battleaxe wielder, he turns his attention to the one with the kopesh.

"What kind of prophesy?" Elspa asks above the roar of the waterfall. She strides up the mound, axe in hand, toward the stranger. "And if they kept you, they must have fed you. What did you eat?"

I was more prisoner than king despite me sitting on a throne. I just kept myself useful to ensure I didn't end up as dinner, and in doing so convinced them that I was a messiah. They didn't revere me, they coveted me, they thought my presence would usher them in a new age. Trust me, they are not capable of love, only jealous possession. They'd rather kill me than let me spoil their idea of messiah...
As for the food... you really don't wanna know...but let me tell you that if I had the choice, I did not take the meat...

Elspa tries to see what might be securing the chains. "How did they think you would make a new age?" she asks.

Moss laughed at the question...
Nothing grand, you see all I had to do is show them a few tricks. Primitive as they are, it was more than enough to impress them. I showed them how to do a basic alarm with pots and rope and healed a few of them that would have died. I managed to study a few of their dead enough to be able to work my arts. But the weird thing is each time they brought me a body to study it it was missing the head. Never telled me why, each time I asked they started praying...

Ygne looks over at Jarveena's canting - the body language, the careful use of phrasing and specific lexicon - and she settles upon her a firm gaze. A series of finger twitches and sniffles; the shuffling of her body; the indicative way in which she cracks her neck and rolls her shoulders says to Jarveena that Ygne thinks Moss is telling the truth, but she isn't so sure about his character yet or not.

"Weird." Ygne chimes at Moss' story, with no hint given at the secret conversation with Jarveena (entirely unaware that Moss can likely pick up on this hidden dialogue), "Weird and gross." She wipes her nose on her sleeve and then gestures to the dead lizards, addressing Moss once more, "You're a bad king."

Afterward she approaches him and adds, "But even bad kings can be rich kings, so you owe me two gold bits for this." She'll then pull out the appropriate tools and set to picking Moss' ankle free.

Thanks for the help, now I'd like to be able to call you all differently than archer girl, axe girl, blades of fury and sneaky child... and since you alrealdy know mine...
Bowing to them all....
Moss, king of the deceased troglodytes...I don't suppose you four would be polite enough to give me yours ?

"Elspa," answers the barbarian, and she sweeps her axe across the weapons of the fallen broodguards. "You good with any of those?"

Putting away her tools after freeing Moss, the 'sneaky child' sniffs and introduces herself, "Ygne the Merciful." She then stares at Elspa a moment, looking confused. When she introduces herself, Ygne nods her head and says, "Oh yeah, Elspa. Oh, and that's Frick, and that's... uhm..."

She pauses and looks puzzled toward Jarveena, mumbling, "Actually, I don't remember her name, neither."

"There's also a coxcomb around here somewhere, named something with an 'R'. He'll give you gold if you listen to him lecture."

With a laugh...
Then I'l make sure to listen long enough to pay you back your two golds !! I don't see him, is he near ?
Then turning to Elspa,
The rapier I could use but even then I prefer to stay away from conflict.
Walking to a hidden crate containing the rest of his stuff...
The rest of my stuff was here, they never wanted me to have my weapons so they left them here...
Taking a backpack, a few pouches and a shortbow from the crate...
Well I'm ready to go and I'd really like to sleep somewhere less...humid...

Frick smiles, standing over the body of the shambling mound, "Guess we got us a tag-along? Fine by me, just don't get in my way in a fight and we'll get along great."

"The pointy-sword, where is it?" asks Elspa.

Jarveena clambers up the platform to claim the rapier with a strength she didn't know she had. She picks it up and holds it to her chest. "Jarveena." she says to the newcomer, Moss. Looking down at the weapon she wonders what to do with it next. Bury it somewhere with Leatha's bones? She imagines the Fishwife would frown on that - this steel is meant to be used. But swordplay isn't Jarveena's style. She looks at Elspa... nope, not her style either. And the rest...well, she just doesn't know or trust them enough just yet. She stows the weapon for now and starts climbing down to see if she can recover any of her arrows. As Ygne mentions Ryte, Jarveena wonders where the man has gone off to.