Cyrus looks as Zorah, then Valoria, then Aris'ta and Andalon and asks, "Was that a yes to your offer of gold and food or is it time to do battle."

Rook rides along with the group and keeps as silent as he had with the first, though this was a curious silence. It afforded him the opportunity to watch how everyone interacted. He paid particular attention to the treatment of the horses. Everyone went their separate ways to provide for the camp and he helped to secure their mounts in a comfortable spot for light grazing.

He pays particular attention to the Westward path when they arrive, but doesn't speak up when Zorah mentions the other trail. As they decide on a watch order, he volunteers for the last two watches of the night. Sitting down at the fire with the others, he provides them all a tea to drink in hopes it will help foster a sense of closeness with their shared meals.

While Zorah did her training, the young man settled on his bedroll and produced a small woodworking set from his pack. Using a blade, he idly carved the beginnings of a second holy symbol from a blank of wood. His eyes were beginning to get heavy and sleep called for him when he was startled by the presence of the lizards. He put down his things and stood slowly, one hand moving to the symbol that dangled around his neck.

Valoria continued to smile and quickly responded to Cyrus. “It's going well. This is Nuzes everyone. Please be friendly.” She then looked back at the lizard creature in a friendly manner. [Language unknown: “I wil nti avewitate ati andha, Eeitlo u k Ecchul whieaupre ta mo oveioutin no asit, estar o os ni m whiaveugh.  Adilul ad ei Meosil er sa oerthasaneve undvornot, chomad out si reofesca ti hi anch. En ithul tinte ilisusng oullwi. Ionouryin aint we ev un ou elai onesi u les san ma t antwasthu ecat pend me o m caetpa."] Valoria takes a few more steps towards the kobold, offering gold and food.

Nuzes wears leather armour, specially sized and shaped to fit around his  tail, and carries a spear in his hand - he thinks for a moment, as he digests Valoria's words, although about the only thing the rest of you can make out is Henry de le Maistre's name.

After a moment Nuzes says [Language unknown: Ieek acioto hasestera cheethic.] and scuttles back to where the other kobolds are still hiding in the grass.  A few moments later he returns holding out a small bunch of root vegetable towards Valoria in exchange for the coins and food.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:54, Fri 13 May 2016.

Valoria give a small bow at the offer and takes the trade. Handing over the coins and food, taking the radishes. [Language unknown: “Ch ous hall ca tercomter etthe earni ulus setpl? Il itni icstfi meac omacun ad ur a el haekicte dayer eltio mi."] Valoria then introduces each member of the group. [Language unknown: “Wer o Eveve, Sencon, Somhounce, Ndheis ast Herateout. Evestinte u ck oreinteve.” ]
This message was last edited by the player at 06:18, Fri 13 May 2016.

Nuzes backs away, towards his compatriots, now that the trade is done.  However, he answers Valeria's question by pointing in various directions and speaking in draconic.

[Language unknown: “An m lin eneiac redson'witrom at ofis ulpall, waac whte roofni utinmi (entundvenich ughandsan).  Iten m ta  korcon'ousdin m erca ceil plchos lo il iepl ectticineyin (estounratlat ntewilhou) rom ionch me aible yinoulherthu m loat tehari iveevence oun p ith whithurea ichtioine (hoekcean ntpr) lapr eau ei thi bepoto mi erres ilati k u art wilingout (amebutdayher ta).  Peie thus ta wil Tenesies es ul iveal toted (meninederble lecath)  N wa u as  ereaveout seolnd somlatorenti herortlat a un ive to. (hatdin'oveeau pa evlaie)”]

Zorah thanks Nuzes in a gesture she hopes is interpreted correctly.  She slowly approaches Valoria and offers to take the radishes in order to let the diplomat continue on with the conversation.  It was good to hear everything was going well, considering practically anything could have been said and Zorah wouldn't have known any different.

Valoria hands the radishes to Zorah and tries to get just a few more answers from Nuzes [Language unknown: “Tinwaseve laom.  Nde, P uses tepritfi io et intlo arwi ecttinsanrea dichno we laliho o o i sewetrilat oul ectvirdinone prssol ma t di ndmi? A hielut in ntheto o pa waom foom heal recaha ntonca pl re, mahas es asteraand pre enma urrest. Ouneauhat we mese mi linle ingwheenccon hever? Be as ic ine riwibe pr e fopl utelwa, ilour comev ispldi.”]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:36, Fri 13 May 2016.

Nuzes takes a few paces towards his compatriots, and there is a quick conversation between them.  [Language unknown: Naer one asin-urivnt p itpo om oul is li Eserfi uladat roonev ove essineter encmantinher, ion essi ul whi as en ic nc estthuous   "Ivestrstr? ... Ei ...  rutsomith ich rockhe"] before Nuzes turns back and addresses Valoria  [Language unknown: Ion redughbut ca arin mahepo we ce olpeme latstrstr k les ternd ver onsil wiho ca il ardsheatince.]

And with that Nuzes withdraws another a couple of paces towards his colleagues hiding in the grass.

A disappointed look comes across Valoria's face. If she had more coin, she would offer more. Sadly, she did not. This adventure was quickly putting her in the hole, with no pay off as yet. No pay off at all. [Language unknown: “N ted, pohito K nceviress trnifoli ckenta. Ofalckal, Teicti.”] She then sat down by the fire and opened her tome, the same bored look from before returning to her eyes. “They know about the bandits that the other group went after and the trading post. They mentioned a swamp and a boat to the west and orcs in a ring by an old bridge to the east. There are also mites in an old tree, also to the east.” Valoria let out a deep sigh, as if frustrated by something.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:40, Sat 14 May 2016.

"It sounds like our friends here have been very helpful, Valoria, why the long face?" Cyrus asked after watching the back and forth without understanding any of the items being discussed.

Rook tilted his head, leaning back slightly as Valoria returned quickly to the fire. Eyebrows up, he rubbed one slowly, transitioning to scratching his forehead thoughtfully. "Uh, before they leave, could you ask them where they live? They're on foot, it has to be close. I wouldn't want to surprise them during the exploration."

Aris'ta watches the interplay carefully, not making sudden movements, and not speaking up as she wishes not to interrupt. "Most curious. " she mentions more to herself than anyone as they begin to pull further away. "Perhaps we will be in luck and they will spread word that we are friend and not foe, though one can never be sure what to expect. " she says after a time, slowly releasing her bow beside her.

Valoria looked up from her tome and locked eyes with Cyrus. “Disappointment in my own  diplomatic abilities. I wanted them to act as our guides for the next few days, but I feel I did not offer them enough coin. Alas, handsome Cyrus...I am almost completely broke....Never had to worry about money in my life, till now...” She then looked over to Rook and Aris'ta. “I did ask them where they lived and they simply said, the forest. I was hoping they would take us to their chieftain, after meeting up with the others...the less enemies we have, the better.”

Cyrus considered the situation further and then asked Valoria, "How much gold do you think would have been required to garner their favor?"

Making sure they did not get far, Valoria calls out. [Language unknown: “Ter al usncmo etnore, Fordayoer! Ad le ierut saneraion acnghe ng nese ortoreset beevnc. Een atfoll stol locknc anhe il, lat? Icaat ssun waat wh a a hoch ee moncnole?”] She then looked back to Cyrus. “I offered them two silver pieces each, plus food and water per day. I think a little more then double that, five silver each would be sufficient. I could still pay for a day of that, but no more.”
This message was last edited by the player at 17:23, Sat 14 May 2016.

"My purse isn't limitless by any means but I will pay for a few days of their service, especially if they know all that you say they do."

"No, no, save your money." Rook shook his head and hand simultaneously. "They have families to support, we shouldn't take them away from that. Pay them to draw us a rough map based on where we are now. That way you can still give them money, make them more friendly, let them go home where they belong, and give us directions we can't forget."

As an afterthought, the young cleric looked around the group. "I can believe de la Maistre couldn't find a map-maker."

While the discussion about how to negotiate with the Kobolds continues, it is too late.  When Valoria returned to the fire, Nuzes faded into the grass alongside his colleagues, and they moved back out of your sight range so that you can't see exactly where they went.  Although you catch occasional disturbances that make you think they cross the  few hundred feet to the forest's edge.

Not a bad evening's work.  The Kobolds confirmed the description of bandit bases that Rook had heard from Pipre, gained new information about Mites that live to the east, and you have a bunch of vegetables that look like Radishes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:45, Sun 15 May 2016.

With a shrug Rook settled back down, now removing his shirt and boots in preparation for bed. The holy symbol remained around his neck. "Zorah, if you would, wait until we get back to the post before preparing those radishes. I'd like to try and use the bottoms to grow more for seed." He cleaned up the wood shavings from his work and tossed them into the fire, putting his tools and the unfinished piece back in his bag.

Seeing the lizard men leave, Cyrus realized Valoria might have set her goals to high and wasn't seeing all that she had done. "Well I guess you won't be needing more gold now but I think you were able to garner quite a bit of information with what you did do. Henry will be pleased and the information may save us hardship in the coming days. You should be proud. Not concerned."

Aris'ta has been watching Rook carefully since they journeyed. On more than one occasion she has seen behavior that is most surprising to her. With the danger gone, she removes the string from her bow to let the wood rest awhile and turns a curious eye towards the young man. "The Radishes will make good for a new settlement. " she comments off-handedly, running a hand along the wood as she checks for any obvious signs of damage. She looks around her, not wishing to overlap conversations and when given a moment, she leans closer to ask. "Forgive me the intrusion, but what is it you were doing just then?" she has an idea, but wishes not to assume. Some men whittle while others bloom and she is curious to know which the young man before her is.

Like Andalon, he appear to carry a symbol of his faith, though he doesn't present it so heavily as the other and that she finds slightly unnerving.

"Yes, they will." Rook replies to her initial comment with a grunt as he flops down on his bedroll. "Root vegetables are the easiest to grow in a new place. They're real hardy. And since the lizards grew them, I know they'll thrive. You can eat the leaves as well. They're peppery." He stretches his arms high above his head, trying to push the tension out of his shoulders and neck. A yawn fought its way out of his mouth and he covered it with a fist, biting down on it at the end. He blinked, wiping water from his eyes and looked over to Aris'ta as she leaned toward him. The young man props himself up on an elbow, the wooden symbol hanging on leather falling forward.

"What, that with the blade? The whittling? I'm just working on another one of these." He shook the cord around his neck lightly. "I figure one day something'll happen and I'll wish I had another. Might get busted or maybe I meet someone who needs it more than me. Picked it up when I needed something to do after dark, before bed. Keeps my fingers nimble and it soothes me."

A smile, albeit a weak one, flashed across her face at his answer. "Something to do with the hands? My father used to do something similar. He said it brought him joy to bring out the hidden beauty within. I never understood what he meant, until now. " the smile faded and she turned away. "I'm sorry, you were readying yourself for sleep, I did not mean to keep you. " She watched the flames, before slowly rising and stretching. It was to be a long night, she supposed, but the darkness to her was a friend, one which would not turn on you.

Valoria thought about Cyrus's words while she sat back down. “I do suppose you are right, Sir Cyrus. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, you see. I often set my goals too high. I am also glad to know my years of study have paid off. The information will come in handy...I thank you for your kind words.”
This message was last edited by the player at 07:46, Mon 16 May 2016.