Strange Words, Foul Airs
Season of Rushing Waters
One can judge the courtesies of a people by the thickness of their hide, you think, shifting uncomfortably on the hard stone floor covered in a layer of fungal detritus and old rags. Xulgath scales, as hard as boiled leather, make for uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, though not half as uncomfortable as the buzz of stranger-thoughts at the edge of hearing. There are no words to them, hardly any sense of direction, but as the shadowless light of embers long put out fills the long low sleeping chamber you find your own dreams elusive.
"Smell getting to you too," Mina whispers in the dark, her own form a heat shadow against the damp cave.
"I can almost forgotten about that... almost," you chuckle. Cob had found a magic armor that fits him among the old chieftain's loot which alone would have been cause for celebration. Alas the armor was
otyugh hide ,all the pustulating reek of the creature lovingly retained by some truly insane magician, or else one blessedly born without a sense of smell.
"Do you think it's goblin armor like Cob says?" She asks settling down a few steps away, wincing a little at the hardness of the floor. It would according to Gorok be impolite to scorn their sleeping spot for one of your own making, an insult to their nest building skills. The longer you lie in the dark not sleeping the less of an issue that seems.
"I think that's a given. Size aside who else would wear the thing, magic or no?" you answer, holding your nose, only mostly for effect. Maybe between the two you it will be possible to convince Cob to wear something else on the journey and only put it with a shake of the head on when there's trouble. A moment later you add: "Any luck with the staff?"
She nods. "It's definitely elven make, though I am not sure if it's your elves or not."
"My elves? Oh no," you raise your hands as though to ward off some evil. "I don't want the drow just because I happen to live a bit closer to their damned cities. To be honest I'm not sure the Abyss itself wants them or it would have claimed them by now with how eagerly they worship demons and their ilk."
With only a slightly disgruntled look at the flippant mention of demons Mina continues. "It's an
illusionist's staff. Didn't do them much good against troglodyte spears..."
Not recognizing the word you ask her about it and learn that the burn-lander word for xulgath is 'cave dweller' at least in those tongues Mina actually knows and does not merely speak though the power of her blood-blessing. "Don't orcs live in caves and goblins and..."
"Languages do not have to make sense, they just have to be understood," she cuts you off. "I think it's because living in caves is all they do, they do not make weapons like the orcs, traps like goblins and kobolds, poisons like the Iruxi, they are just there." Mina sounds melancholy.
For your part though you understand where she is coming from... well there are more important things to concern yourself with. "Did Gorok find what he sought?"
She nods, relaxing a little against the wall of the cave. "There's a lot of schematics about how to build a forge and even how to find and mine iron ore, though I am not sure how ell Gorok's folk can do that. Maybe they can find bog iron I heard the villagers of Dippelmere fish iron out of the water to beat into fishhooks and hoes. Of course I also heard they only have one leg and hop around like toads and that part sounds a bit silly." From the giggle you would guess the 'little' is an understatement of some kind, though you are not sure why. Odd forms and mutations are common down winding and far off tunnels. 'A stranger beast in every hole and stranger tribes down every cleft' the saying goes. Granted it's meant to prevent young caligini from doing... what you have done pretty much, but that is not the point.
Item Identification Rolls: 17, 26
Mina will be keeping the staff and Cob will be keeping the... fragrant armour
What do you do about the latter?
[] Try to persuade Cob to only wear it in battle
[] Grit your teeth and bear it, it is useful armor that will keep Cob from becoming a Worm's breakfast
[] Try to brew up something to cover the smell on your end (Risks damaging yours and Mina's sense of smell)
OOC: I thought about making this a vote about how gets what, but given what you rolled it seemed obvious so I instead made it a vote about what to do with the consequences of said items.
