Good to see you, OP. Feeling a little sick, so I'll try going as far as I can for tonight.

>>17590185
"Turen, humor me; what's the first thing you're going to do when we return home?"

Bump.

>>17590350

"Turen, humor me; what's the first thing you're going to do when we return home?" You ask him, as the group heads further into the tall grass of the swamps, disregarding the symbol that your group had passed a short time ago.

Turen thinks for a moment. "Hmm. Well, the first thing?" The kobold looks up at the sky, thinking. "Step off the boat."

You put your palm up to your forehead, and Turen laughs.

"It's hard for me to even think of home right now, but to be honest I'll probably start touching up these with some paint." He says, taking out a deck of playing cards. The backs appear to have a diagonal black cross on the back, along with two small red dots, each nestled in the top and bottom spaces between the arms of the cross, and backed with brown. The other sides are all much like regular playing cards, but none of them are colored. Most of the playing cards depict humans, but the clubs suit is goblins and orcs, and the diamonds suit is halflings.

"You told me to pick something up to build my dexterity, and I remembered that I liked painting with wet-color when I was little." The kobold winces a bit as he reminds himself of something unpleasant. "Oh, but I haven't been doing it with my left hand as much as I think I should." He points back to the cards. "Anyway, those cards I was told represent Nimenholdt, Shazal, Murgrock and the halflings on the Red Plains. Spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds in that order."

>>17590725
"Very industrious of you; I am impressed."

Can you post the list of who we commandeered for the land party? I forget their names.

>>17590789

"Very industrious of you; I am impressed." You say to him.

"Well, it was more for recreation." Turen says, looking over one of the cards. "But I suppose it's not a bad skill to learn."

Forgot to do this:

Soliders: Irkas, Kadarn, and Goraskok
Herbalist: Akava
Trailblazer: Makald

Details: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/17521915/

As you proceed further inland, you can see the environment steadily growing more and more wet. You reach an old hut that appears to mainly be constructed of mud, frayed twigs sticking out of the dome-like structure. You see no evidence of anyone living in the area at a glance.

>>17591150
"Makald, Irkas; come with me. Let's get a good look at this dwelling."

Proceed inside it for any traces of previous tenets. Also, get Makald's expertise on the area.

"Does this primitive construction remind you of anything?"

>>17591182
Second.
Not much more we can do at this point.
Actually, bring up a Detect Magic real quick. It can't hurt, and we should be extra-careful here on the Surface.

>>17591182
>>17591182

"Makald, Irkas; come with me. Let's get a good look at this dwelling." You say, waving the two on. The older kobold, Irkas, checks his line rifle and steps ahead of you.

Makald gestures towards it, and you notice a small waver of energy travel through the ground from him into the hut. "All clear." He says after a moment. You spend a few seconds trying to figure out what he did as you wander up to the hut, and then finally resolve to just swallow your pride and think on it later as Irkas points his weapon in the door of the hut, and you see the interior is mostly covered in a carpet of leaves, old and cracked, and the floor is about 4 inches below the rest of the house. You can see a few clay pots at one side of the hut, and a ruined rug at the back hanging from the wall. You can see a number of small scratches that look like they were made with claws in the wall, in a pattern that makes you think it was likely a humanoid's doing.

"Does this primitive construction remind you of anything?" You ask Makald.

Makald thinks for a moment. "Well, it's packed earth, has a dirt floor, but they do have pottery," He points to the collection of pots, "Which is the sign of a civilization that's a bit more advanced than that." He snaps his fingers. "That's what it reminded me of! I remember hearing tales when I was a wyrmling of kobolds who lived on the surface in huts kind of like these."

"Wouldn't be this big, though." Irkas says, poking the ceiling with the tip of his rifle as you scan the building once again with detect magic, not getting any strong readings.

"Yes, definitely." Makald agrees. "Whoever lived here was about human sized. In addition, their refuse is buried out back, but grass has grown over it. It's probably been a long time since anyone was here."

"Well, damn swamp holds tracks about as well as you'd expect from water." Irkas says, looking around. "But it looks safe enough, keeps out the wind."

"Wind is everywhere up here, isn't it?" Makald responds, seeming to just have noticed the lack of wind in the building as you hear a gust blow through the trees. You see a bundle fall from the roof of the building to the outside of the front door. It is a number of bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers wrapped in twine.

Last post from me for today, OP. See you in the morning when I'm hopefully feeling more coherent.

>>17591755
>>17591781
"Wind, indeed." Take a moment and smell the flowers, commenting on the fragrance.

"Alright; let's continue on."

>>17591781
Have Akava take a look at the flowers, see if they hold any kind of medical use.
Also, if this was really abandoned, wouldn't those flowers be shrivelled up by now?

>>17591927

"Wind, indeed." You say, levitating the bundle with a cantrip. "What can you tell me about these flowers, Irkas? Medicinal uses?"

"Well, in this area, I don't believe I can recall hearing of a yellow flower that was medicine." Irkas says, looking them over more closely as you guide them to him. "But I did hear from the halflings that flowers up here tend to be used for other things as well." He checks the bundle, and with a triumphant "hmph", he reveals a small clay object tied in with the flowers. It appears to be a small design of a crocodile, imprinted as though by a stamp. The clay is dry, and forms a small ring around one of the flowers.

"Well, I dunno what that means." Irkas says of the clay bit. "But it could be placed here as tribute."

"Like to a god?" Makald looks around the room, nervously, as though to spy one listening at the door.

"To the dead." Irkas says, and Makald now looks over at the rug in the corner.

"You don't think anyone... Died there... Did they?" Makald asks, pointing towards the rug in the hut as he takes a step towards the door.

>>17592098
"Most likely not. If they had, we'd have smelled it by now. As it is, there's really nothing here of value to us. Let's get moving."

Get back on our journey, this little diversion is over.

>>17593895
Agree'd

>>17592098
Morning bump.

>>17593895
This.

>>17593895

"Most likely not. If they had, we'd have smelled it by now. As it is, there's really nothing here of value to us. Let's get moving." You say, growing irritated. Makald reaches for the flowers, but you slap them away as you head for the door.

You find your wits a moment later, looking back at the stunned kobolds in the hut. Irkas says nothing, but gives you a stern look. Makald looks surprised, seeming not to understand what had happened. He mumbled "Sorry, magistrate," snagged the flowers and left quickly over to the place in the hut's clearing where the trail next lead.

You curse the dragon's blood, wondering why it acted up just then. But, as you look back towards the group, the look Tayn gives you is one you know from the scouts, from long, hard nights in dank, cold caves.

You are being watched.

The rest of the group does not see this. Irkas will, in all likelihood. It is a thing some soldiers have dealt with as well.

You don't want to let the rest know. They might panic, especially Turen. But, you wonder, why hasn't the sorcerer noticed? You look over at the shuddering kobold at the end of the path, where the party has started walking. You along with them. The sorcerer stays farther ahead as you go on, but always within view. Up a slightly muddy hill, you find stone land, stacked high with huge stones that were perfectly flat, round, and shaped for throwing.

"Riverstones!" Turen shouts, pointing at the rocks. "That's the same shape as the famous halfling weapon. Some families even use it in their emblem."

Across the other side, you can see another hill and the top of a high, red building. You can also see white smoke drifting into the air in a large area around it.

"Some sort of settlement, perhaps." Irkas says from behind you. He walks forwards of the group, keeping a steady pace.

The larger kobold, Goraskok, turns his wide face towards his back for just a moment, turning around and looking up. He puts a hand on his rifle, aiming it with one hand, the other gripping his axe. He growls, the low animalistic sound causing a shiver to go down your spine.

As you look back, you already know what you're going to see. You see a number of hunched figures, covered in reed-woven coverings, with even the gloves having reeds on their grip. The face is lengthy, and covered in a wooden mask that has been frayed as though to look like yellow grass or reeds, the eyes of the mask not obscuring the vertically slit pupil of its wearer from your gaze. You see one nestled high in a tree, a longbow in hand, arrow nocked and ready. Looking around, you see three more in similar costume, one in lighter camoflage with a heavy, dark bow crouching in the boughs of a willow, only his top half visible among the hanging leaves. Another is a dark, angry red in hue, with similar camoflage, but dark leather in places where the armor does not cover, and in a long skirt around the waist hanging in strips.

The last is a deep violet colored figure hanging from a canopy, upside down, only the top half of him visible, aiming agily with his arms.

>>17596545
>>17596772
Oh snap; we should take this slow.

Raise our hands up, palms outward. Make ourselves the focus of attention, leaving our riflemen to open fire if things get nasty. Start in Draconic; if Draconic doesn't appear to ring any bells with them, switch to Common.

"...greetings!" Smile. "...we are simple travelers, hear on a pilgrimage. We mean no harm; we only wish to talk!"

If they start firing arrows at us, wall of force to deflect the arrows.

>>17596870
>hear

I'm dumb for not catching that.

Also, bump.

I'm hyped up on cold-medicine, so one more bump!

>>17599383

And I will post in a bit here. Just went out for lunch and then gone for like three hours.

>>the cohones

Yes, capcha. It took a lot of cahones to spend two of my hours on lunch.

"...Greetings!" You smile, speaking in draconic. "...We are simple travelers, hear on a pilgrimage. We mean no harm; we only wish to talk!"

One of the four, the red-armored one, looks over at you, hissing a response in a deep, growling draconic. "You have come deep into our lands, and you walk towards our city. Why?"

>>17600177
Be plain with them.

"We have journeyed very far to see a place of Io's providence; a vestige of the Dragons." Walk forward a little bit to get a better view of them. "We simply wish to give worship."

>>17600232

"We have journeyed very far to see a place of providence; a vestige of the Dragons." You walk forward a little bit to get a better view of them. "We simply wish to give worship."

The four do not lower their weapons, but the one hanging from the treeline raises himself back up, speaking. "The henge you seek is under the protection of our people. We have fought and killed many to keep it safe. What makes you think you deserve to bask in its presence?"

>>17601009
They're fellow Kobolds, correct?

"Though we are foreigners, we only come to give worship. We would not think of robbing your people of what is rightly yours. Please..." Cusp our hands together. "...we will gladly offer some of our goods for trade, if you allow us to worship there."

Nothing to see here, just a bunch of well-off pilgrims here to make an offering...

>>17601177

"Though we are foreigners, we only come to give worship. We would not think of robbing your people of what is rightly yours. Please..." You clasp your hands together. "...We will gladly offer some of our goods for trade, if you allow us to worship there." You bow your head to show your emphasis.

You suddenly feel an impact on the ground, and looking down, you can see the same mask as before, looking down at the ground, with its arms holding it up off of the ground. You suddenly notice a short, purplish tail swaying down behind the head that is perfectly coiled into a ball, and then feel a clutching grip on your right wrist as your arm is pulled up. As you look upwards, you see the purple armor fade, and a scaled, steadily more green body, ending in a wide-mouthed lizard-like face, but with two long brown horns that are ridged like tree bark and huge, horrifying scale-coated globes replacing its eyes. You see them turn as the creature levels the center of one of the sightless orbs at your arm. You see a small, black dot at the center, and the creature speaks again, its mouth opening to reveal toothless ridges. "What are you creatures, with these strange magical auras?"

>>17601713
"Let go of that!"

Try yanking our arm down.

"We are Kobolds from below the earth; our auras are...gifts from our Draconic ancestors...special gifts..." It's a lie, but whatever. "And what manner of creature are you?"

>>17601988

"Let go of that!"

You try yanking your arm down, and the creature rescinds its grip, though you notice as you free your hand that its hands, too, are odd. The small fifth finger of its hand seems to be bent sideways at about a 90 degree angle, much like its thumb. The finger bends back to the rest of the reptilian creature's digits, the short claw at the end of the opposable digit about the same length as its thumb's claw. Its other massive globe swivels towards you for a moment, before the first one turns away, towards the back of the creature's face.

"We are Kobolds from below the earth; our auras are gifts from our Draconic ancestors. Special gifts." You check your arm for damage out of reflex. "And what manner of creature are you?"

"I am the guardian of this village, and of the henge." The creature says, its upper half's skin suddenly blooming into lines of red. "One of the forest ghosts, the Maksis. We can see beyond your spirits," The creature says, its upper arm swiveling back to point at Irkas, who had begun taking a step towards you, but freezes as the Maksis continues, "And into the depths of your hearts. We know why you breathe, think, and live. And we know when you will die." His eyes both turn back to you. "Your gift is most unusual, kobolds. These eyes have seen countless things, even from the underground, but never such a thing as this."

He motions to the other sentinels, who lower their weapons, but do not un-nock them.

"You may be small in size, but the power you hold in your blood is more than enough that I know you could pose quite the threat." The Maksis says, its horns wavering a bit closer to your head that you'd prefer when speaking. "In fact, one of the most potent I've seen. And I have killed comparable." You see Tayn watching the creature like a hawk out of the corner of your eye, and it raises its horns back away from your head, its roaming eyes swiveling to the others in the trees. "We will let you into the village speak with Shaman Skallis. But we will watch you." One eye moves slightly, though still focused on you. "Carefully."

>>17602883
>>17602858
"Thank you. We will try to stay out of your way. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment..." take a step out towards our compatriots.

"Peculiar fellows...though they appear at least hospitable. Perhaps they are even worthy of being another link in our diplomatic chain, if things go smoothly..."

>>17602973

"Thank you. We will try to stay out of your way. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment..." You step out towards your compatriots, quickly and confidently. The Maksis shuffles out of the way, its lower body dragging its head against the ground and still not making eye contact. As well as the hornless head scraping the dirt, you can see the tail sway back as the creature turns to face your group.

"Peculiar fellows... Though they appear at least hospitable. Perhaps they are even worthy of being another link in our diplomatic chain, if things go smoothly..." You say to your group in kobold.

"Hospitable? These are the same people who just tried to intimidate us, pointed bows at us-" Tayn starts, shaking his head. "No. No, I suppose that is hospitable considering some of the places we've been."

"Are we gonna be OK?" Makald asks, looking around with concern on his face.

"Long as everyone's good, the big lizard-monster says." Irkas says, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "Stand down, men. Specially you, Gregg." He says, looking at Goraskok, whose hand has been on his gun the whole time.

The larger kobold snorts, narrowing his eye at his smaller commander. "I don't like these guys." He announces, in a raspy, deep voice. "His skin changes color, like a trog's. And I ain't puttin my weapon away for no pissing trogs to shoot me when I least expect it."

"Goraskok, last I checked, trogs didn't live in trees, in the daylight, and have a second body on their underside." Kadarn, the third of the soldiers, responds.

"We'll be alright, Tayn." Turen says, confidently. "They called off their weapons without making us drop ours. They're giving us equivalent representation, which means they view us as being on about the same level as them, socially, which is quite a bit better than we were at the start." Tayn receives this insight with an irritated glare.

<<They know something's odd with your arm. That thing looked at Turen, too. How can they know that?>> Tayn messages you, hotly.

>>17603233
>>17603273
<<This Maksis appears to be magically touched, if only to detect traces of arcane temperance. It's of no real surprise for him to grow intrigued with our prosthetics.>> Calm him. <<However, if they were truly interested in it, they would have made some form of demand or at least proposal for a closer look; for now, they are benign in their interest.>>

Turn back to the Maksis, and bow. "We entrust our welfare to your company; please, guide us into your lands, so that we might converse with you." And give a good, hard mental glare at Goraskok, followed by:

<<Sheath your weapons, Goraskok. We have stumbled through their lands; we don't want to appear any more militant than we already are.>>

>>17603680

<<This Maksis appears to be magically touched, if only to detect traces of arcane temperance. It's of no real surprise for him to grow intrigued with our prosthetics. However, if they were truly interested in it, they would have made some form of demand or at least proposal for a closer look; for now, they are benign in their interest.>> Your words seem to soothe Tayn's anger, for now, but he still watches them closely.

You turn back to the Maksis, and bow. "We entrust our welfare to your company; please, guide us into your lands, so that we might converse with you."

The creature nods, pointing over the hill, where you were headed. "That way. The red tent. We'll be watching." With that, he vanishes, and you hear the other kobolds talk of the other sentinels doing the same.

You give a hard mental glare at Goraskok. <<Sheath your weapons, Goraskok. We have stumbled through their lands; we don't want to appear any more militant than we already are.>>

The larger kobold grunts your way, narrowing his eyes as he slowly tips his rifle back over his shoulder. He falls in line as you and the rest of the group march up the hill towards the city.

You see a number of mud-built buildings, though they are fairly stable in construction, and the clay looks baked into solidity. The creatures walking around in the streets are mostly what you can tell is "normal" for lizardmen, a short crocodilian snout, green scales, and yellow eyes with a wide black slit for a pupil. They are accompanied by a few larger black-scaled ones, you guess at their height, and come up with 8 feet all in all. One lizardman you see is blue in color, and juggling knives in front of a few others outside of a stall with a number of cured snakes for perusal. You can see the red tent clearly in the sky above the town.

>>17604264
May as well go to the red tent.

Also, did we detect any magical auras from the Maksis? Or did their adaptive camouflage appear to be natural in origin?

>>17606031

It seemed like it was pretty much natural. Illusion magic tends to be capable of concealing its own aura from spells like detect magic with its effect, effectively giving you a false reading. You feel a mental nudge from Makald pointing at the area where the Maksis was standing, and then an image showing the head on the ground, but it feels somehow hollow. The hands, which seem to work much with the arms like feet would with legs, push off of the ground with great force, and the presence is gone.

Makald sighs, running his fingers across his eyes as he returns to normal vision. He gives you a look of disappointment, as he could not sense them before.

As you near the crimson tent, you can see that the spire is mostly a decoration, a decorative flag over a much more reasonably sized red tent, stretched over with skin that has numerous cracks, and goes from crimson to red to bright red to pale white at the bottom, near the surface of the grass-coated hill. The chieftain is visible on the interior, a tall, green-scaled lizardman with a feathered headdress that is almost like a cloak of short red scales ending in orange-yellow tips. You can see he clutches an oak staff in one hand, topped with a small, jagged chunk of shimmering metal that resembles a crescent moon. His body is cloaked in a robe of red, green, and black, the colors seeming to intermingle along his cloth as though they were spun from a whole loom. The lizardman's scales reflect a tone of emerald green along with the distinct yellow burn of the lizardman braziers, each ventilated over the sides. It is pleasantly warm, even on the outside.

"Enter." The lizardman says in surprisingly good kobold. You see that his face shows only the slightest signs of age, and even from outside you can hear him quite clearly.

>>17607609
Waltz inside. Standard diplomatic protocol; speak when spoken to or given the liberty to speak. Be polite, dot our "i"s and cross our "t"s, and make sure to keep to the story: we're pilgrims of Io here to see a holy site heralded to be a point of Draconic magic. Use aliases if need be.

>>17607758

You step inside with your group, finding the warmth inside quite comfortable, nearly what it would be in a sauna. You see that the tent stretches off to your left and right, the throne up against the same red leather wall you saw from the outside, only now you can see the tent flaps tied back to the corners of the wall. The lizardman's features become more clearly visible, and you can see that his eyes are a bright green, even from a distance. His robe's features become more visible, and you see a half-cloak around his upper body, with his body and legs covered by the robe beneath. You note the slight limp in his gait, and he leans on the staff for some support as he steps out between two of the four braziers in this room of the tent.

"I am here on a pilgrimage with my fellow kobolds. We are here to see-" You begin, but the shaman raises a scaled hand, to stop you.

"The henge, yes. My guards have already told me what you seek." Skallis, you presume, points at you with his staff, the head swinging through the air dangerously. "The henge is not a weapon, if that is what you truly seek. None of your kind have ever come before you for such a pilgrimage, kobold. But many have come trying to claim the henge's power." He lowers the staff back down with a soft thud on the earth. "Explain yourselves."

>>17607875
Clear our throat and walk forward of our group.

"We...do not seek a weapon; we only wish to learn and seek worship from Io's providence." Turn back to Turen and Tayn. "These are my friends who also wished to take-part in this pilgrimage. The others are body-guards; as you can imagine, we have journeyed far and wide to reach here."

Kneel down in a display of humility.

"I, on behalf of my group, humbly ask that you allow us to see this shrine."

>>17608029

"We...do not seek a weapon; we only wish to learn and seek worship from Io's providence." Turn back to Turen and Tayn. "These are my friends who also wished to take-part in this pilgrimage. The others are body-guards; as you can imagine, we have journeyed far and wide to reach here." You kneel, in what you hope is a display of humility. "I, on behalf of my group, humbly ask that you allow us to see this shrine."

"Indeed, he was right." The lizardman says, glaring at you with green orbs that grow steadily more green as the pupil becomes a thin black line against the brilliant green iris. You see the grass in a ring around him push away from him, in a perfect circle at about ten feet or so from where he stands. You feel the pang of a protection spell in your mind, like the echoing of a freshly plucked string. "You will explain yourself, or you will not see your stones." He says, simply, though his voice takes on a hissing tone, drawing his staff across the ground in front of him.

>>17608321
Hang our head. "Very well..."

Stand.

"I received a vision that Draconic power rests in this area. The vision was..." recall the stone that told us this from the future "...hazy on the details, but it was very clear." Take a deep breath. "As your Malksis has probably said, I do indeed possess certain affinities within my blood. I wish to see where those limits lie."

No need to mention the Crystal Caverns or the coming war; after all, we did receive a vision, and everything we just said is true.

>>17608400

"Very well..." You say, stepping forwards, towards the blazing heat of the fires. "I received a vision that Draconic power rests in this area. The vision was..." You recall the stone that originally sent you this message from the future in the first place, but its words come out fuzzy. "A bit hazy on details, but it was very clear." You take a deep breath as the shaman raises a scaly eyebrow. "As your Malksis has probably said, I do indeed possess certain affinities within my blood. I wish to see where those limits lie."

"Seeking power for power's sake?" The shaman asks, his eye twitching. "How is that a good motive for such a risk either?" He thrusts his staff down into the ground, the dust spraying up and extinguishing the braziers. The room is dark now, lit only by the sun outside through the upper holes and the tiny slits where the tent is not tied all the way to the ground.

The shaman smiles, his white teeth showing well in the bit of light reflected by his staff's moon ornament, glittering around the room like a smashed mirror.

He steps back, and you feel a chill run down your spine as he fades into the darkness, even past your vision.

His shade is visible, but only for a moment, and as a dark black on black splotch that you could mistake at a distance.

"Why not test your power on me, then? If you can best me, you may go test yourself on the Wild Lands beyond. But should you lose, you leave. Understand?" The voice speaks, clearly, and you hear it as though it were coming from each wall at once.

>>17608715
"From your tenor, it doesn't sound like I have very much of a recourse..." pick our teeth while thinking of a spell.

"I must warn you, though; I have not meditated in quite some time, so my rationale might slip in the heat of the battle."

If the floor is dirt, turn it to stone. A stone floor makes a lot more noise for footsteps.

"And if you wish to fight me, I prefer if it were a front and center duel."

Light a small fire at the center of the room. With the stone floor and light, I'll assume that sneaking around would require a tad more effort, even with magical abilities; in fact, I'd prefer if he'd use magic since we might be able to detect it.

>>17608715
Don't respond with words. Instead, cast Grease on the ground.
If we've got a levitation spell, use it now.
Also cast Shield as we may need it.

>>17608997
>>17608807

"From your tenor, it doesn't sound like I have very much of a recourse..." You say, greasing his last seen location without any of the words or hand motions associated with that spell. You do not hear the satisfying thud so commonly associated with a successful grease spell, and a curse is the next syllable to leave your mouth. "I must warn you, though; I have not meditated in quite some time, so my rationale might slip in the heat of the battle. If you wish to fight me, I prefer if it were a front and center duel." You say, looking at the shadows in turn.

"A fair fight?" The lizardman snorts. "Do you think your enemies will do the same for you?" You see the soil beneath you start to writhe and change. No going back to the ground now, you suppose. The rest of the party is untouched, from what you can see.

>>17610173
Lick our lips. "I tried being civil..."

Our first order of business in the fight will be discerning where he is...which we'll apparently have to wait for. Prepare a counter-spell for the first thing he throws at us. Nothing too flashy or precise; just enough arcane might to throw off the spell.

>>17610337

"I tried being civil..." You say, taking out a small leather bag, and pulling out a handful of shining, gold-colored powder. You complete the incantation, blowing the powder into the air, where it becomes a huge cloud of shimmering sparkles.

"It may be a gnome spell, but it was one that killed 20,000 honored ancestors in an ancient conflict between their people and ours." The thoughts of Raskakan, one of the ancestors who your tattoos give you commune with, run through your brain as you cast the spell, almost as if the old trapsmith was there with you now. "It blinds, it makes seeing invisible creatures easier, and best of all, it lingers. Easy to see why almost all of the gnome mages would rather have their families boiled alive then tell us the way to use the spell. But then, it was only almost."

You see the twinkling outline of the lizardman in the cloud, and he sends forth a gust of wind, which to his surprise, has no effect on the glitterdust. He lets out an angry snarl and you see the silhouette of his throat expand at each side, springing out like a huge feathered fan at either side of his head. "Sorcery!" He hisses, rushing at you with his hands ready to inflict pain, though through magic or claw, you know not which he has chosen yet, if the snarling six feet of primal muscle and magic is still in a thinking mood at all.

You recoil at first in horror from the angry lizard, then suddenly, you sit back up, laughing. "Glitterdust?" You say, shaking your head. "I'm sorry, is that what you thought I was casting?" You say, much in the manner Raskakan often would to beaten opponents.

"Not a bad one kid. Though it does lose a bit in translation." Raskakan says, and you see an image of him in your mind's eye, smiling through scarred, aged lips. He points at the lizardman just as he reaches the end of the field of shimmering gold sparkles. "Finish it."

You point forward as he does, and just as the lizardman puts his foot on the edge, you snap your fingers. The field suddenly is covered in what, to the outside, appears to be bright white, but on the inside is a light rivaling that of the sun. Or at least, so it appears.

The shaman screams, clutching at his face as he stumbles forwards, swinging his claws out furiously as he staggers, blind, or so he believes, out of the cloud. His body is completely illuminated by a ghostly white flame, enough so that any benefit he gained from his invisibility has been nullified.

>>17610900
>>17610938
He's obviously distracted, so Hold Person should suffice. We'll see if he has any tricks up his sleeve by then.

>>17611184

You make the simple wrapping motion for hold person, but the spell cracks harmlessly off of him. The lizardman struggles to see, armoring himself against elements with a chant as he slowly steps. Fire... Cold... Both would be near useless now.

>>17611265
Hm...we don't want to kill him, but we also don't want to possibly damage him. Plus, he's gaining protection against most point-and-zap elemental spells. That leaves a few options: Baleful Polymorph would be appropriate, but I think that we should just Flesh to Stone him.

>>17611265
Stone to Mud spell, targeted underneath him.

>>17611496
This works too.

>>17611401

You cast the flesh to stone spell, but the lizard smoothly resists the magic.

"Whoa, careful there, sport. I think you got lucky with the follow-up on that cloud. Just hit him hard and fast! And don't get cocky." The trapsmith's voice rings through your mind one last time, and then you feel his spirit depart.

But you also feel a little present in the form of a trap coming into being. It will be brought into being at 15 feet from you in a few seconds, enough time to cast a spell and move, though you would have to brave the sharpened grass below, which looks thorned all over. You suspect with the bum leg, this guy's reflexes aren't the best, so a direct attack like a fireball is probably best. Problem: He just made it so fireball will do nothing to him. How will you proceed, as you see the shadow of a grinding trap of force coming into being in front of you, ten feet short of the stumbling, blinded lizardman?

>>17611531
>>17611496

Well, shit.

Want to do that next, then?

>>17611579
Yes.

It'll be a bit before my next update btw. So go ahead and formulate a plan to win!

>>17611596

You transmute the dirt beneath the lizardman's feet into mud, and he falls, sputtering and blinded; as he struggles, resurfacing, you can see the mud hanging on the frill around his neck causing it to sag down, making him have a much less regal appearance. "Gaah! Bastard!" He hisses from the mud, struggling.

You've got at least one free turn, maybe two. What do?

>>17611627
The other anon probably just wants the mud to revert to stone. If that doesn't work, then run up to him and kick him in the face while he's down. This is a fight; no one said anything about magic-only. For added effect, use our prosthetic to kick him, discharging some electrical impulse. Hopefully, that'll be enough of a kick to knock him out.

>>17611643

You glide down to the ground, rolling just out of the range of the razor grass and up to your feet. You swing your arm back, feeling the charge build as you punch the lizardman square in the jaw. The surge of lightning runs through your forearm, and you see a surge of bright blue come from your metal arm as you strike, the lizardman being flung back out of the mud, and onto the ground.

>>17613345
Press the assualt; jump square on his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Hold our finger to his forehead in a mocking gesture, then give him a long, hard stare.

A bump!

>>17613598

You pause for a moment, catching your breath, and see the lizardman begin to stir from the ground. You throw yourself up over him, and he reaches up with a hand as you collide with his chest, landing with both knees against his ribs, and you plant the pointer finger of your right hand against his forehead as you land atop him.

"If it's a fistfight you want, you should know I used to lay out recruits twice as quick as you in the army." You say, the lizardman's breathing causing you to rise and fall slightly. The shaman glares at you, your finger still in the center of his forehead. "But whatever that was supposed to prove to you, don't make me prove any more, or you'll be sorry."

You hear a sound from behind you, and Tayn shouts a warning. You turn your head, seeing a blend of purple and green and red as Tayn runs towards you, the Maksis lowering his hand to plant it on your forehead. One large eye swivels back, and it parries Tayn's attack with its other upper arm, a lower one snaking out and grabbing Tayn around the ankle, pulling him bodily off his feet and leaving him on the ground. The creature opens his mouth, and you see a large glob of something wet and pinkish at the back of its throat.

"To prove a point." Shaman Skallis coughs, looking up at you. "There is always someone in a better position, no matter how much you try to get ahead." He looks back up at the Maksis and nods. The strange creature closes his mouth and releases Tayn, who is still guarding himself against it from the ground. "In my case, I happen to have that person on my side."

"These are simple restraint and defense techniques. Anyone could perform them, shaman. Your magic-" The Maksis starts, but Skallis cuts him off.

"-Would be useless had you not been on my side." He says, looking up at you, from where you sit with the creature's hand on your head. You try to stand up, and find yourself unable to move your knees, feeling the hand on your head press down harder the harder you try to move. You twist, but the Maksis' hand swivels with you, almost like a machine.

"That's enough, Kuanshir. Let him go." Skallis says, and the Maksis releases your head, his fifth finger moving back into place.

>>17615354
>>17615374
Remove our finger from the shaman's head, clearing our throat.

"Do we have passage, or must I display skills with more of a bite to them?"

>>17615393

"Do we have passage, or must I display skills with more of a bite to them?" You ask Skallis, as you get off of him.

"Yes, you may go forwards, provided you keep that in mind." The shaman coughs, healing himself with a single spell. "And that the cost may be more than you're willing to pay for that kind of power." The lizardman's tail sweeps off to one side as he rights himself, and sitting down cross-legged, he comes up to about your height. His verdant gaze grows less filled with the bile of battle, and more with a look of... Pity? "When you reach the henge, if you still want that power, I do not think you will have much difficulty unsealing it. That is, if it even exists anymore." He turns away, getting up on a knee and groaning as he puts his other foot down, and you hear the joints pop and crack as he rises, gripping his staff.

>>17615501
Nod in approval.

"How much farther are these Hedges?"

"Any other hurdles between here and there? Natural obstructions, hostile tribes, or a plethora of unfavorable conditions?"

Assuming that's all, we're heading out:

"Oh, and Skallis...thank you for your hospitality."

>>17615545

"How much farther are these henges? Any other hurdles between here and there? Natural obstructions, hostile tribes, or a plethora of unfavorable conditions?" You ask him.

"I can say with all certainty that the area is filled with obstacles." The shaman sighs, chipping away a bit of the mud that clings to the crescent at the end of his staff with a claw. "Though what they are seems to change with time. Sometimes, even with the race of the challengers." Skallis says, looking around your party. "And as I've already said, I've never had a kobold come and attempt such a challenge." Skallis looks over at the Maksis, who simply stands there, its odd eyes flicking each way. "Kuanshir, take that stupid thing off."

"It did work on them." Kuanshir says, gripping at the purplish half of his body with his upper arms. You are about to say something when he starts to pull the skin back on his midsection, revealing more green scales beneath. He peels away the purplish scales with the lower body as well, finally removing the purplish, scaled costume from his lower body.

"Oh, and Skallis... Thank you for your hospitality." You say, walking out past the Maksis.

"Remind me never to ask you to be hospitable to me." Tayn mutters as you walk out, looking back into the tent to see the shaman watching your group go towards the inner edge of town.

The surrounding area seems surprisingly solid and hilly around the lizardman village, and you can see the forest growing thick with vines ahead.

>>17616140
Grin back to Tayn. "I promise I won't magically blind you; you promise you won't put me in a cradle-hold. Deal?"

Seems like a good place to stop, OP.

Let's refresh on simple supplies like water before heading out, get one last bearing from our guide, and then press onward. See you next week, OP.

>>17616160

You grin back to Tayn. "I promise I won't magically blind you; you promise you won't put me in a cradle-hold. Deal?"

Tayn shakes his head. "Actually, I was taught to fight even while blind. Helps against invisible foes, but they're still damn hard to spot when you haven't been attacked by one. Then, it's easy." Tayn says, confidently.

"What, in the quarter second it takes the bullet to reach your back?" Turen asks, joking.

Tayn steps in front of Turen, quickly, stopping him. "Oh, really? You think that'll stop me?"

Turen looks at him without saying anything for a moment, then makes a short "hmm," and says "Yes, actually, I would think it'd do a fair bit of damage."

Tayn laughs. He laughs harder and harder, looking around at the rest of you, and finally stopping, and coming to the realization. "Wait, you don't know, do you?" He puts his hand to his head and gasps. "Oh, wow, then no, I'd just seem crazy." He looks over at Irkas. "Shoot me."

"No, with that, you just seem crazy." Irkas says, motioning back to Goraskok, the big kobold grunting as he puts away his half-drawn rifle.

"I'll be fine." Tayn says. "They're slower than you think."

Irkas shakes his head. "No. He's completely lost it."

"Well, then throw something at me." Tayn says, gesturing at Irkas with his hand. "Like a rock."

"You want us to attack you?" Turen asks in disbelief.

"Sure. If I was trying, I doubt you'd hit me anyway." Tayn responds, looking out at the others.

"You may be quick, but you're not quick enough to dodge a bullet." Irkas says, turning his back on Tayn and walking into the colorful lizardman market. Goraskok and Kadarn quickly follow, as you expected.

"I'll see what I can learn from them here, sir. Some healing salves and prep for poison and disease sound like just what we need after having gotten a glimpse of that bog." Akava says, pointing over towards the market.

"Guys? No one wants to try it? C'mon, it might be something cool!" Tayn's grin as they walk off one by one becomes more and more fake, until finally, he breaks down and shouts, "Get back here and shoot at me you sons of trogs!" as Makald stops scouting the ground around the group, and with his vision back in his own body, turns tail from the desperate kobold.

And let that be the thread's nightcap. Sorry about the missing episodes, folks. I'm archiving them earlier now, so that shouldn't happen again. I'll be able to remember most of what happened, and may write a bit about it later to explain the occurrences during those threads. For now, you can chalk it up to... Fighting loathingly I'll never do summarily.

Anyway, that's all for now. See you next time!