Revision as of 22:11, 1 August 2016

Participants

• Fenris
• Rokarion
• Shira
• Zuri

Date

1/8/479

Log

There is a genteel cough from behind the little salamander. "I shouldn't go that way if I were you," comes a thick, wet voice from behind Zuri, "Nasty stuff that way." Standing in the spot that Zuri had just vacated is an enormously fat boar in well made traveling clothes!

Zuri pauses at hearing a rather familiar voice behind him. He turns on a dime, pivoting to smile up at the familiar porcine spirit. "Mister Olloch!" His tail flits about happily, the salamander taking a step forward to move closer to the spirit he is so fond of. "Huh. Nasty stuff?" He looks over his shoulder at where he was heading, before returning his attention to the spirit. "If you say so Mister Olloch! What kind of nasty stuff?"

Shira finally catches up with Zuri. She might be fast but information does not always reach everyone at the same time. She stops as she reaches salamander and boar and looks them up and down. Not having heard the conversation so far she gives a friendly wave and addresses the pair. "Hey! You two here because you heard about the caravan?"

Rokarion saunters around the swamp, hand busy jutting down words on his notebook as he explores the region. The youth stops as he arrives next to the unlikely party, raising a brow at the odd collection of beings, and others. "Ah, I didn't know that you were heading here today Zuri." the plant being says in a chirpy tone.

"Certainly nothing you want to involve yourself in, my fine little friend!" Olloch says pleasantly, waddling over to pat Zuri gently on the head with a ham sized hand. "If you want to try THIS direction," the boar snorts, "I can show you a most remarkable flower that-" The immense boar is interrupted by Shira's arrival and he turns a pleasant, tusk encapsuled smile on the mouse. "Caravan?" he asks, "No, I can't say that I was here about any sort of caravan. I was only about to show my friend Zuri here some interesting flora native to Saltide with some exceptional qualities." He looks at the newly arrived Rokarion, second and third chins jiggling with the movement. "Something I am sure taht our mutual friend her would appreciate," he finishes.

Zuri smiles brightly as Olloch steps up to his side, letting out a little giggle as he's patted on the head. He nibbles on his lip. "Huh. A fancy flower with exceptional qualities?" He beams a smile towards Rokarion. "Hi Roka! Yea, I was just off exploring, and look, Mister Olloch is here and he wants to show us something interesting! A flower of some kind! Maybe it will be like that mushroom we found that time, the blue glowy one." He smiles at Shira. "Hi there! Dunno about a caravan, I'm just exploring. Or was."

Shira raises her eyebrows at this. "Huh. I read something on the bounty board about a caravan being kidnapped by cultists in this area." Her eyes dart between the other three. "Am I the only one here for that?" She shuffles her feet. "This is kinda my first mercenary job...I mean I am great and all..but I thought I would be having backup on this."

Rokarion nods his head at Olloch before moving to stand next to the amphibian, "An interesting flower? Very well, I would not mind seeing if he is true." the plant being adds.

"I am sure you are mistaken, Miss," Olloch says with a damp sort of chuckle, "Come along, you are more than welcome to join us. I am sure that this will be an education for all of us." The obese boar indicates a little game trail. "Right this way," he says, then leads the way, waddling down the narrow track. "It is called a Carrion Flower," he explains as he rolls along, "Not like the strangle vines you usually find, it is named more for the smell it puts off than for any actual relationship with carrion." Seems that the boar is more than happy to avoid whatever conflict Shira thinks she is looking for.

In fact, he seems to be leading directly away from where the mouse was instructed to go.

Zuri follows along with the porcine spirit happily, his tail flitting behind him curiously. "Oh, Carrion Flower?" He blinks and makes a -bleh- face as it's scent wafts past her. "Ugh.. yea.. I can.. I can see why." He crinkles his snout as they slink past the flower. "I didn't know you liked exploring the wildnerness too Mister Olloch!" He smiles brightly at him before turning his attention to Shira. "Ah, your first mercenary job. Interesting! Well, if you need some help myself and Rokarion know a thing or two about mercenary thingies."

Shira stays a bit behind the others, but reluctantly follows so she can continue the conservation. "It would be much appreciated, I do not know their numbers, so I am reluctant to go there alone and risk being overwhelmed." She blinks, realizing something. "Oh! Them being a group or something that took a caravan hostage. Nasty stuff."

Rokarion rubs his chin, eyeing Shira. "A group of cultists have kidnapped a caravan around here?" the plant being asks, glancing over towards Olloch, then looking back at the would be mercenary, "Was that a Freesword contract?"

"Yes, Yes," Olloch says, waving a hand under his own nose with a grin, "Foul smelling thing, isn't it." The porcine Spirit does not seem to even acknowledge the talk of cults and mercenary work, instead indicating the enormous flower generating the smell of rot.

It is nearly the size of a cart wheel with broad, waxy leaves and long, triangular petals that curl outward from a central, flat knob. The petals are the reddish brown of rotting meat and shimmer with rather unhealthy looking oils. "The thing likes to attract carnivores and scavengers," he explains, "They take a chunk out of the nasty thing and haul it away. Leave spores behind when they pass it. Clever plant, eh?" He points at the glistening, waxy petals. "The oil it secretes also has a calming effect and is mildly narcotic, if you are interested in that sort of thing." Nothing at all about cultists or caravans.

Zuri holds his snout with one hand to help manage the stench, but he still nods appreciatively at the botanical lesson. He seems quite happy to go on this side safari with his good friend Olloch and leave the mercenary work for a later time. It's rare that he gets to spend time with the spirit! "Pretty clever!" He says in a semi-nasal voice thanks to his plugged up snout. "Calming effect huh? I bet you could use this in medicine thingies. What do you think Roka?"

Shira nods at Rokarion, still staying back, but more because of the smell of the flower now. "Yeah, it was posted on the bounty board at the guild. I am surprised nobody else showed up for that. Sounded like it was pretty urgent with the hostage situation and what not." She bites her lower lip with her large incisors. "I-I should go there, join me if you like, it would be appreciated, but someone has to go help."

Rokarion rubs his chin, taking a sniff from the carrion, and taking off a piece for later testing, "I guess that means it happened recently. Slightly idiotic to use the swamp as a caravan path." he remarks as he puts the flower piece inside a small pouch. "What say you, Olloch? Know anything about cultists hanging in the swamp?" the jasmine being says with a slight smirk, before returning his gaze towards Shira, "If you know where to go then lead the way, can't leave it be if it is urgent as you say."

Olloch frowns at Rokarion's insistence. "Even if I did know anything," the massive Boar says, "I could not tell you. There are rules, you know!" He turns back to Zuri. "Let them go on their little hunt," he sniffs, "I am sure that we can find other ways to entertain ourselves."

Zuri nods at Olloch, the little salamander's tail whipping about happily. He turns around to Rokarion. "And there's no reason to think Mister Olloch would know anything of what's going on, either!" He steps off to Olloch's other side, looking up at the porcine spirit. "What next Mister Olloch? Anything else fun around here?"

Shira nods at Rokarion. "Yeah, the bounty said the ambush happened in that direction." She points in the direction the ambush did happen and starts to head for it. "Well...have fun you two!"

Rokarion shakes his head and giggles, "Whatever you say dear. I am pretty sure that the cultists would give us the answer for that." the plant being says to his salamander. The plant then nods at Olloch, "Yes, my apologies for the rude question. Forgot about the rules of your games. Now if you would excuse me, I guess I will be off saving lives." he says before heading off into the direction that Shira was pointing at, "Have fun with your picnic Zuri. Don't forget to put on the mosquito-repellent balm."

Olloch watches Rokarion and Shira go and gives a snort. Hard to guess what that is supposed to mean. "Well," he says, visibly shaking himself, "I could show you all sorts of edible plants around here, many with excellent recreational properties, if you get my meaning." He cannot hide a bit of a frown as his eyes follow Shira and Rokarion.

It does not take long to find the scene of the attack after leaving Olloch behind. There are remains of a single, broken wagon in a small clearing on the main road. The other wagons either escaped or have been removed. It also won't take an experienced tracker to follow where the attackers went. A wide, obvious trail leads off into the swamp to the north.

Zuri looks between Rokarion and Olloch, again being forced to choose whom to stay with as one heads off while the other stays. He looks increasingly worried as he watches Rokarion depart, then peers up at Olloch. "I should probably follow Rokarion, Mister Olloch. Don't want him getting in trouble and I'm not there to help out... besides, if there are cultists here, well, we should do something about that, I guess." He runs off after the plant being, hopping nimbly over a toppled tree to cross from one embankment to the other.

Shira gives the clearing the once over as she arrives there. Her tail curls around her leg as she investigates it and she bites her lip once more. "Well, they probably went that way." She gestures to the trail. "Shall we?"

Rokarion looks around the scene of carnage before nodding at Shira, "That way you say? Truly, your tracking skills are impeccable." the flower being quickly adds, before heading off into the direction of the tracks, "Keep your eyes open, they might have left look outs."

Olloch swears in a language that is unfamiliar, but carries his meaning well enough. "No help for it, I suppose," he growls, waddling after Zuri, "But don't expect much help from me!" He mutters something under his breath about not wanting to ruin his image.

Rokarion and Shira have no trouble following the trail of broken foilage and unpleasant, rust colored marks scattered about on leaf and stone. After a short trek through the swampy undergrowth, they find themselves looking over some kind of ragged camp. There are three great cooking pits and two of them are playing host to the large reptillian beasts favored by desert merchants as pack animals. The third has a large fire lit, but nothing is cooking yet. A line of seven bound beings hints at what is to follow the Sand Beast appetizers, though. Twelve shabby looking beings tend the fires and scurry about the camp.

Unfortunately, Rokarion was absolutely right about sentries. A loud whistle goes up from the trees by the path and two shaggy, unkempt wolves drop from the branches overhead, each wielding a crude spear and looking more than a little mad.

Zuri pauses as he takes in the sight from further up, having had some distance between himself and Rokarion still left to cover. As the bound beings come into view, shortly followed by the clearly aggressive wolves, the small salamander draws his weapon and races forward, moving to stand at Rokarion's side protectively.

Shira blinks and jumps back a step as the wolves drop out of the trees. "Woah." She eyes them closely. "So, I assume you are the bad guys? Surrender now!" Getting little in the way of surrendering from the wolves, she shrugs and grabs the weaponless hilt from her belt, which quickly grows a line of lightning that she swings at the cultists.

Rokarion eyes the camp and purses his lips as he takes in the scene. When he hears the whistle, the plant being sighs, "Pity, that ruined the chance of a grand entrance." he remarks to himself as he unsheathes his rapier and eyes the two wolves, "I take it that your are members of the so-called Cult of Hunger? Charmed." he remarks, "Now surrender knaves, or feel the bite of my blade." With that, the plant being takes his duelling stance, letting the wolf take the first step.

The two wolves do not speak. Which is quite rude all things considered. But they do both sidestep the flickering strikes of Shira's galvanic lash, lunging toward the party with inarticulate howls.

The camp has taken notice of the warning signal now. It won't be long before reinforcements arrive.

Not surprisingly, Olloch is nowhere to be seen.