1: Dovedale

Odilo winces, overhearing then conversation. The chief had a taste for sentient, intelligent creatures; a fact which would pit the group against itself again, as the Druid was sure to argue a different, more immediate course of action.

He nervously casts an eye to Maon, hoping that the woodland priest wasn’t about to break the tree line and attack.

Upon hearing the last comment, Malard stays put. The idea that the chief is feeling threatened gives him the impression that if he were to exit from his hiding place then their whole deal might be lost. "Now is not the time to let him realize that this was all a bit of a ruse if he thinks his intelligence is already being insulted," the caster thinks to himself.

Rather, he busies himself with his spellbook and waits for things to quiet down, or Jabrano to give an 'all-clear' sign.

Maon weighs the Goblin's words. He tries to think things through, but he finds it all rather disturbing. His hand on his scimitar he turns to his God, "Ceranus, guide me in this hour of indecision. I need a sign. Do I slay this Goblin where he stands or do I await your judgment in your time? May your will be done Ceranus. So mote it be." He whispers this prayer under his breath.

Jabrano's face went through increasingly incredulous expressions as she heard Oren's bluff, it's unlikely success, and nonsense about the owl. She felt a brief urge to hire a necromancer to raise this old druid that had messed up this entire area, just so she could punch his lights out.

" don't think you quite get the seriousness of your situation. By stopping the river, you didn't just doom the village, you also crippled trade throughout the kingdom. The King, the actual King, not the stupid fish, will send soldiers to fix this. We are the last friendly faces you will see. Soldiers will come, and maybe you get lucky and win the first battle, but they will annihilate your tribe to the last goblin.I"
She gets a mean smile for a moment as she continues, "And that's the good ending, that's the ending where you get to die like a warrior and go out in a blaze of glory. More likely your tribe will realise what will happen, and get rid of you. Because while your wisdom has been very good for the tribe until now, you are not the strongest warrior of your tribe, not even the second strongest. You will get challenged and you will lose. I'm not sure what happens to ex-chiefs, but I' don't reckon it's very pleasant. And all because the damn stupid talking fish used its fairy magic to trick you into capturing the blue lady. Please. You can still fix this. You can come out of this looking like a hero with the gratitude of the village.

All three goblins stare at Jabrano slack-jawed. They seem surprised that the warrior had so much to say. So many words.

"You talk down to the Chief like I'm an idiot. Humans have much much food, and no other king will care about little stream. Besides, the river will be back as soon as you bring me Ironbeak! You talk about me looking weak, but I am strong! I am smart! And none in my tribe are stronger. That's why I'm the chief. You make a lot of guess-guess, but are wrong! You think the fish-king made me take the blue lady? No! That was all my thinking! And now I have you in hand, you will bring me the owl and then YOU will look like heroes. Chief Gravelbeak does not need to look like hero, he is already big and powerful."

Seemingly irritated, the chief turns his wolf around and begins heading back the way he came. Fishbelly hops in step with him, and Grabbo attempts to scurry off to follow. Gravelbeak turns once more without breaking stride. "If you're thirsty, you might want to hurry."

Malard raises his head at the sound of footsteps, but waits patiently.

Odilo sighs, seeing the goblins move away. He looks to his other hidden companions, and speaks low:

"Better to deal with this here, tonight. I say we sneak in and free this Blue Lady ourselves."

But he knows they just wait for Oren and Jabrano to weigh in.

Maon nearly jumps from the treeline, but instead he waits. He understands the wisdom of time. His emotions are a whirlwind of disgust and temperament all at once. He chooses the latter and lets the Goblin escape as he continues to hide, waiting for the all clear from his comrads.

Oren winces at the stern approach Jabrano takes with the chief but says nothing to the contrary. As Grabbo attempts to scurry off Oren grabs him by the shirt collar,

"Not so fast, we shall require our guide now more than ever."

The elf momentarily toys with the idea of dispatching the chieftain harre and now but decides the game is too interesting to reduce to mere bloodshed.

"Great Chief, where shall we find this Ironbeak? And once we have it how then shall we bring it to you?"

Trina bites back a sharp-tongued reply that would compromise her and her friends' hiding place. This chieftain needed to be taken down a peg or three. But, she waits, content to let the others handle things.

The chief sneers at both Oren and Jabrano. "That's easy. Ironbeak is in the Dalewold," he says unhelpfully, gesturing towards the wall of larger trees that mark the boundary of the forest proper. "And little Grabbo can bring you back to me. And don't try anything funny, I'll know!"

Jabrano was uncertain whether the goblin chief was ignorant about the seriousness of his situation, merely in denial, and whether Grabbo had been lying or if the chief was just trying to bluff about his position in his tribe.

It occurred to her that if they were going to do this violently, this would be the best time to start. But that would also likely be the end of the peaceful coexistence of the tribe and the village, and she didn't want to chance that.

Mostly she was getting really annoyed with the old druid that had apparently messed up this entire area with talking animals and other weirdness.

And just as suddenly as he had come, the goblin chief was gone. The only sign he had been there at all was the shiny object stuck in the mud, and the sound of Fishbelly's webbed feet slapping away.

Grabbo turns to Jabrano and says, "I don't really know where Ironbeak is. I don't spend much time in the forest, and that's where he lives. But I'll guide you as best I can!"

Odilo breaks from the woods, now that the parlay is over.

"Perhaps we ought to have ended things here and now. We surely won’t go into the forest to chase a peaceful creature down on that brute’s command." the wizard starts up, sparing no time before jumping right into things.

"I agree,"

says Oren, now reunited with the others,

"It would have been much cleaner to either take the chief hostage or to simply eliminate him here, but then where's the fun in that?"

Oren grins mischievously and pats Grabbo on the shoulder.

"We certainly won't be trading lives to the chief, I suppose our options are to either chase him down now, difficult with him on a wolf, or to simply follow his tracks back to his lair and hack our way in the old fashioned way. Thoughts?"

"Though I do wonder if this Ironbeak might align itself with us, should we inform it of the plans against it. Though I’m surprised the fish doesn’t have allies in the forest he could call upon to aid us."

Still silent, Malard emerges from his hiding place. He listens to the others, considers what the next step could be, and has a strange feeling that something may be a bit off. However, he can't put his finger on what it is yet...

Maon decides to come out into the open. He is furious at the way things have ended. He merely glares into the distance not looking at anyone. He tries to let the cool air calm him. Only then does he speak.

Friends, it seems we are at an impass. We will have to assault the Goblin lair, or...well, I see no alternative. Perhaps we can gather allies...

He looks off into the distance, in the direction of Iron Beak. He decides to ask his spider friend where he might find Iron Beak. He walks off into the treeline calling out to her.

The spider is right where Maon had left it, and is idly waiting on a web that it had created. A small bird seems to have been trapped and subsequently webbed and it slowly being processed. The spider looks in the druid's direction, but is currently unable to communicate with him. Not without magic, at least. And a thought crosses Maon's mind that spiders are not known for recognizing individuals, especially with their hyper-focused intelligence.

---

Grabbo shakes his head as the group discusses finding the goblin lair and taking it- and the nixie- by force. "Bad idea, bad idea. Goblins are smarter and stronger than you think. If you try to attack, they'll be eating you for dinner!" Best you just find this owl like the chief says." It is clear from previous conversations that he thinks highly of his tribe, and truly believes that they are a force to be reckoned with.

The talking trout swims again to the surface, having had hid away while Gravelbeak was present. It seems visually focused on the shiny trinket, but it speaks to the adventurers nonetheless. "I cannot believe I'm saying thi, but I agree with the goblin. They are stronger than you may think. But you also cannot take Baron Ironbeak! He is a beloved life in the forest, and a friend of mine when he visits. Perhaps thinking like a goblin would help here? Being sneaky instead of blunt?"

"Fear not master fish, we will not be trading the life of a sentient sylvan creature for the water spirit. Nor do I like the idea of poaching an ordinary owl and passing it off as the Baron. While I am not fond either of the idea of killing the goblin tribe I see very little recourse here. They have proven themselves enemies of the forest by seeking only rare intelligent prey. I suppose our only options at this point are to either present the chief with an ordinary owl or to sneak into their lair using stealth first and violence as a last resort. I would hear arguments to the contrary..."

Oren looks to Jabrano for a potentially contrasting opinion.