Lost Trails Chapter 15 The Mound

[ewancummins]

THE LIGHT OF DAY....

is fading fast. If the party does not choose soon, it won't have acted before sunset.

[ewancummins]

IN THE MOUND

VIEW CONTENT:

The female prisoner hears her captors scuttling about inside the earth-and-timber structure that surrounds the pit where she remains trapped. It sounds as if they are doing some sort of heavy labor, moving bulky things.

Then she catches a whiff of woodsmoke and hot oil blowing over the lattice, and at the same time hears a dull crackling roar that grows in volume.

Red firelight glows somewhere above and beyond the wooden frame fastened to the top of the hole that holds her and her wounded companion.

Sibilant voices rises in a hissing chorus as a slow rhythmic stamping echoes from the Mound's interior.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

ALWINA, her blue cloak pulled snug about her slim figure, slides closer to Klokulf.
"They have a big fire in there; are they cooking a feast? Is it just for warmth? Lizards grow sleepy when it's cold, out, don't they? Like snakes? We had little snakes at the Palace, in the gardens at summertime. Pretty, harmless things."
She smiles wistfully and then sniffs.
"I fear I'm catching a chill."

Klokulf puts one arm around Alwina to grant a little extra warmth. "Heat for cold-bloods sounds likely enough to almost be given, and it only seems practical for them to cook with it as well. I cannot say for certain why beast-men act as they do, however."

"If this isn't a warband, these lizardfolk might parley." She continued. "But they are a secretive and intensely private people, favoring seclusion above most other comforts. Even if this is naught but a homestead ... it is likely we will be seen as unwelcome guests."

"I fear that blood will be shed either way ... but I am willing to hail the steading. At least then they would have to leave their warren and greet us -for good or ill - in the light of day." She continued. "Who knows what traps might lay within that darksome mound?"

He addresses their new companion, rider of the unnatural horse, "Would you be able to estimate the size of the community that would construct such a mound?"

[alhoon]

"Parley?" Raen thinks. "Does anyone have a spell to at least understand their language? It is better to not make enemies if we don't have to. Also, do we have anything to trade? Do you think they will be interested in that black dragon scale?"
Turning to Rowan he asked "Could we perhaps spare some food?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

In the mound:

VIEW CONTENT:

"Oh, crud!" she curses as she struggles to her feet, struggling to free her hands. "Get up! UP!" she hisses at the man. "They're getting ready to fry us! GET UP!"

OOC. Another escape artist attempt.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

"Parley?" Raen thinks. "Does anyone have a spell to at least understand their language? It is better to not make enemies if we don't have to. Also, do we have anything to trade? Do you think they will be interested in that black dragon scale?"
Turning to Rowan he asked "Could we perhaps spare some food?"

"If they have any association with the dragon, they may well speak its tongue," says Klokulf, "in which case, we will not need magic. I do have a spell prepared to comprehend them if need be, but I won't be able to speak back to them."

[ewancummins]

DRUMS begin slowly thudding inside the Mound.

Five horn blasts sound, each successive blast louder and longer than the one before it, and as the last note fades the noise of the drums increases.

The smoke out the vent grows to a tall white-gray column, undershot with red light from the fire below.

The sun slips behind low clouds in the west, turning the mistbound marshes orange.

Cold winds howl down from the north.

[ewancummins]

In the mound:

VIEW CONTENT:

"Oh, crud!" she curses as she struggles to her feet, struggling to free her hands. "Get up! UP!" she hisses at the man. "They're getting ready to fry us! GET UP!"

OOC. Another escape artist attempt.

VIEW CONTENT:

The injured man groans in response to the woman's words, but doesn't get to his feet.

She tries to loosen her bonds further. Just a little pressure, then twist, a little more...
Her feet get caught in something--everything spins around her and in an instant she's face-down, sucking mud on the pit floor.

Her wounded companion groans again.

Rolling over, wiping muck from her eyes, she sees a second vine tangled around her ankles like a fowler's snare.
Wood creaks.
Looking up, she sees six reptiles glaring down at her from around the pit rim. The lattice has been removed.
Two of the creatures begin spreading something over the opening overhead, a net set with huge thorn barbs.

[SkiBird]

Meela had just finished relaying the probable size of the encampment when the drums began to sound.

"That's never a good thing ..." She said ominously.

[Adam]

"Yes, I expect the decision is about to be made for us, one way or the other."

Bennedict looks to Klokulf. "Let's try and hail them, and if they don't speak the Draconic language and it looks as if things are going south, we can at least withdraw and find someplace safe to camp for the evening. "

[ewancummins]

"Yes, I expect the decision is about to be made for us, one way or the other."

Bennedict looks to Klokulf. "Let's try and hail them, and if they don't speak the Draconic language and it looks as if things are going south, we can at least withdraw and find someplace safe to camp for the evening. "

…

Soon...




Benn waits for a lull in the drumbeats and then hails the Mound, shouting at the top of his voice in the hissing, sputtering language of dragons.

The music stops all at once.

Lights appear in a latticed entrance, shining through translucent fish skin curtains.

The entryway opens and a green, scaly figure emerges to cry across the small crescent lake, replying to Benn in Draconic.

Benn doesn't understand everything--the accent, idiom, and distance, but he thinks the lizardman just said:


"Welcome to the feast! Come on in!"

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

"I certainly hope we are not being invited to be on the menu," Klokulf states sotto voce.

[alhoon]

When Klokuf answers in draconic, Raen nods. "The same for me, here" he says.
When the lizardmen invite them in, as one of the several people able to communicate in Drakonic, Raen is ... cautiously pleased with the turn of events.

[kintire]

Kat nods.

"we are being invited to be the feast. Unless we are being mistaken for someone else. no one is this friendly to unexpected strangers."

She looks them over with an assessing gaze.

"Maybe I should stay covert, add a possible surprise factor? If I'm wrong, I'll miss dinner, but I'll take that risk"

[RocEter]

Unsure of what is being said in the exchange with the creatures, Clive remains silent but ready for a fight.

Kat nods.

"we are being invited to be the feast. Unless we are being mistaken for someone else. no one is this friendly to unexpected strangers."

She looks them over with an assessing gaze.

"Maybe I should stay covert, add a possible surprise factor? If I'm wrong, I'll miss dinner, but I'll take that risk"

"I agree, if things get out of control I will provide a distraction to make an attack from the rear easier." Clive says.