Ploughshares to Swords - RPLOG
From Rusted Promises
Participants
Date
2/11/475
Log
The bounty lists what looks like a quiet farm in an overgrown valley for its location, innocuous enough! It doesn't look like a bandit hideout at all. Still, the orders of the King are rarely wrong, and there must be some reason for such a large bounty being placed. The place is rather quiet, almost an unnatural quiet, disturbed only by the sounds of farmers hoeing the ground.
Mazurek is one of the first to arrive at the farm, the Iguana-dragon having been doing a mixture of flying and walking to get there faster. He looks around after finishing the trek on his feet.
It doesn't take too long for another pair of figures to approach the ominously peaceful farm, a deer and armadillo, both armored and looking a little out of place amongst the peaceful farmers! Felix glances about at the area as he comes to a stop, a frown showing for a few moments "This can't be right, but it's where it said to go." He remarks softly to Walden.
Ixitixl arrives with those on foot, presumably, in his smaller, decidedly less imposing iguana form. Shield strapped to his back and sword safely tucked away in its scabbard, he casts his gaze across the quiet and unassuming farm. He perks as Mazurek lands nearby, stretching an arm high overhead and waving for his attention, though he doesn't dare interrupt the quiet calm of the place by calling out.
Walden shakes his head at Felix and pats him on the back. "You never know. We farmers can get a bit rowdy sometimes," the armadillo teases his friend with a grin. "Besides, the farmsteads tend to be spaced apart enough that people could potentially come and go under cover of night without arousing suspicion. It's... it's actually sorta clever, I think, assuming the information is good."
Mazurek has his arms crossed as he comes to the same baffling conclusion as the others, but keeps his own thoughts unspoken. Noting the wave by the other Iguana he wanders over to him and speaks to the group at large, "I'm experiencing Deja-vu here. I feel like I've been on this mission, or one like it, before."
One of the deer farmers carries his hoe over to greet the menagerie, looking slightly daunted by the armed forces invading what look like peaceful lands. "E-Excuse me? Can I help you? Have you come here to buy fresh produce?" Two more deers approach the group and peer curiously. All three of them are unarmed apart from their farm tools, and completely unarmored. "Freshest produce in the land. We sell directly to the king, even. Not to mention the other noble houses." The first one continues.
"Is that... so?" Ixitixl wonders of Mazurek's comment about deja vu, knitting brows, looking down to his feet, then about just in time for the farmer to come trotting up. He discretely moves himself to the back of the group, or at least as discretely as he may, fixing the swarming farmers with a worried look.
"Oh we'd love to see what sort of produce you all have for sale." Felix offers towards the farmers as they ask their questions, smiling gently as he does so. "What sorts do you grow around here?" He ponders out loud while stepping forwards towards the grouping of deer.
Mazurek is the largest in the group at ten feet, though he is as unarmed and unarmored as they come. He hangs back with the Iguana, deciding to let the other two handle the diplomacy.
Walden raises a hand and wiggles his fingers in greeting at the other deerfolk. "Hello!" he says in a chipper tone of voice, staying near Felix. Sure, his spiny scaled armor might look slightly intimidating, but he maintains a friendly, approachable demeanor to counteract that. "Actually that's not a bad idea," he says to Felix. "Terribly sorry if we've made anyone uncomfortable."
"Some cabbages. Carrots. Potatoes are popular, but those we have to grow in rotation with beans. Tiring to do, and we are simple folk." They suddenly affix the group with weird stares, almost as though they were feeling a little intimidated by the armed forces in front of them. "And what brings you to this sunny valley anyway? It doesn't look like you're here to make business, or on behalf of the king..."
Mazurek leans over and speaks in a hushed tone to Walden and Felix, sticking his head between them. He says one word, "Bodyguards?"
Ixitixl looks up as Mazurek leans in front of him, and ends up leaning as well to peek past the bulky dragon at the farmdeer, grinning sheepishly and wiggling his fingers in a wave to them as he does so.
Walden ooohs, wiggling his fingers in delight. All foods he loves. "You know beans do really well after carrots," he tells the deerfolk. "Or you probably already knew that though. But if you're not working the carrots into your rotation, well, I think you'll get a better yield, personally."
Felix nods along with what Walden says, thinking about what he might be considering doing to get on these farmer's good side. "Aye, it's very important to rotate your crops in the proper manner, and order." He nodnods a bit more!
Despite the replies of Felix and Walden, the deer mutter amongst themselves at Mazurek's comment about bodyguards and nod to one another, wondering if their cover has been blown before raising their hoes in a threatening manner. "No hard feelings, hmm? But we need to make a living too. Sound the alarms! Buy the others time to move the shipments" The apparent leader of the group, well, of the farmers at least, hisses, and the sound of a loud bell rings in the distance. And then, they split up, lunging towards the group.
The three deer thugs fall to the ground, defeated. It was nothing more than a minor scuffle, though the leader is still alive, coughing out his last words. "You'll never...recover the weapons we smuggled...from Firmament...the others are moving the shipments away from the farmhouse...as I...s-speak..." Then he collapses to the ground in a pool of blood, no longer moving.
"Ah! N-no, please!" the iguana had blurted out at the beginning of combat, though he was soon forced to draw his sword and take up the fight. When all is said and done, he frowns and utters a quick prayer for the dead, holding a fist over his heart.
Walden kneels down and checks the vital signs of the deerfolk, shaking his head. "I thank you for willingly giving us information that we did not know. Weapon smuggling. This just got interesting," the armadillo says, looking up at the others. The dead bodies don't even seem to bother him. He's just too hardened these days, apparently.
Mazurek did not do as well as one might have expected, for he is using a new soul gem. He's fighting what looks to be unarmed, using his claws while also kicking. he is very ineffectual compared to the rest of the group, who are more than likely using their more established gems. He sighs as the leader says his final words, "Great." He looks to the other Iguana and rests a hand on a shoulder, "Such is the way of some things."
Felix sure didn't want to end up fighting nearly unarmed bandits, and as the battle comes to a close the only deer still standing lets out a deep sigh. "We'll have to give them a proper burial after this whole thing is done with...Let's go get those weapons." He steels himself and nods quickly "Before they're used to harm other innocent people." Felix remarks as he starts taking off towards the farmhouse.
The farmhouse looked normal from a distance, but from up close, a complex security system of runes and other mechanisms have been set up to lock the door to prevent anyone from entering without knowing the proper way to handle the levers. One more versed in mathemagic, or experienced with such toys might be able to figure out how they work in a jiffy.
