"I do as well." Borric looked at the surprised companions. "I was forced to learn this from my tutor. He was a beast. Never need to use it when Caramip was around."

Cara gestured towards the island.

"You're the king, you should probably make the first introduction. If things start  going sideways I can always step in and clean up your mess."

She grinned at him plafully.

"You've got this, Mister King. Go get em!"

There didn't look to be any formal mechanism for  drawing attention and requesting parlay. It seemed like the thing to do would be to just march right up to the island and call out for an audience.

When you do make a diplomacy check.

As the party nears the lizardfolk village, he fills up a cask with swamp water and after a ritualistic blessing offers the others to partake in a drink of the fresh wine Abadar has provided them. (Tears to Wine) As the party discusses eventualities, the cleric nods in agreement with Kael and the others and notes, "As the anointed ruler these people are on your lands, but there in no urgency in having them bend the knee or cause to strain your men yet"--the cleric slaps at some blood-sucking insect on his neck as if to drive home his point--"not for a swamp."

Borric dismounted and walked toward the gate. He called out in a loud voice. "Hello!" Then he switched to Draconic, "Hello, beyond the gate. I greet you... in friendship!"

The lizardfolk at the gates look at one another surprise. It is hard to tell with the unfamiliar features of a reptillian face but it seems like they are worried based on how they grip their spears. One disappears, likely a runner to find their leader while the other addresses Borric.

"Hold fasssst. We fetchesss Chief Vesssket. Stay where..."

Just then the air is pierced by a child screaming in fear. The guard winces from the cry, raising its hands up to cover up its...well not ears but likely flaps or holes where that it hears from.

Just in case anyone was curious the tribe is Indifferent and it is a DC 15 diplomacy check to influence them.

Elena gripped her glaive tightly as the sound of screaming rose from behind the palisade.  That...didn't sound great.  The paladin didn't make any immediate move, but in a moment she seemed to grow slightly taller and more imposing.  Her eyes took on a slightly bluer hue as she looked the remaining guard up and down.

"What was that?"  She asked, her tone carefully controlled.  She didn't want to start any unnecessary violence without knowing what was going on, but the sounds of a (human?) child in danger was quickly making her less eager to leave in peace if the party was not welcome.

OOC: Using my alter self SLA to become a slightly taller version of Elena (and get +2 str).  Using detect evil to scan the lizardman.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Mon 27 June 2022.

"Nothing good." Suddenly this lot seemed a lot less harmless to him.

Dominique's brow furrows and he holds his shield in front of his body to hide his tightening of the straps of his cestus as he comments grimly in agreement, "Nothing good at all." He then looks to Borric for their next move.

While Dominique looked to Borric for a response, Elena locked eyes on the lizard guard watching them from the wooden palisade.

"What was that?" She asked again, her demeanor and tone making it clear that the question was directed at the lizardman, and that she expected an answer.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:39, Wed 29 June 2022.

"Doesn't sound good." Borric waited for a while for the lizardman to return. "Was that a child or a creature?" He motioned for Kael. "Why don't you see how large this fence is?

"There's little to no chance of me slipping away while being watched." Kael indicates the other lizardfolk still watching them from the gates. "But it seems they may at least be willing to talk, so we could hear them out first? And if we don't like what we hear... well, then we can at least say we gave peace a chance."

The lizardfolk looked at one another and leaned in exchanging a private conversation. Finally the lead lizard guard turned and waved his hand horizontally in front of him.

"Itssss nothing. No one issss in actual danger. We do not wassste meat like that. You want to talk to chief? For parlay, right?"

Its attempts at changing the topic was quite obvious.

"Wrong."  Elena's voice was deadly calm as she responded to the lizard guard's evasive answers.  "You're wrong on all accounts.  Right now, I want to talk to you.  Because that "meat" you're talking about sounds an awful lot like a human child.  Meaning that it isn't nothing, and right now you are in actual danger." Elena enunciated these last words slowly through gritted teeth, making eye contact with each of the guards as she did.

Doing her best to keep her rising anger in check, Elena made a formal gesture towards Borric.  "Before you stands Borric d'Tor and his entourage, ruler and protectors of the human settlers within these lands.  We've come here on a mission of diplomacy.  The kobolds of the Sootscale clan greeted us as friends, and we've given them protection and trade, and otherwise left them to their own devices.  The Stag Lord and the Dark Pipers and the Mites of the Old Sycamore tried to threaten us, and were all destroyed."

As Elena let her words sink in, she moved her face into a slightly forced smile.  "I'm not trying to say all that as a threat.  I just want to make sure you all understand the stakes.  Because the five of us are battle hardened warriors with a trail of defeated foes behind us, an army of hundreds at our command, and absolutely NO FUCKING SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE when it comes to our people being harmed!  So, it would probably be a good idea for one of you to go get whoever is making those screams and show us he's still okay, so we can hold a reasonable parley with your leader without our...warm-blooded instincts to protect the young making us do anything drastic or distressing."

00:08, Today: Elena Sazikova rolled 16 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 5.  diplomacy?

Kael steps up to Elena in a show of support and tries to live up to her description of their valorous deeds by looking as martial as possible.

It doesn't really work. Crawling through the swamps for the last couple of days has rather spoiled the effect he was going for.

11:39, Today: Kael Valleni rolled 8 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 7.  Aid another (Diplomacy).

"Bring you chief. We shall see if there is common interest. We also wish to check on the child that we just heard cry out. It sounded distinctly human." Borric called out to the guard that was on the wall.

The two lizards hiss at one another and then the second one disappears.

"Gives usss one ssssssecond to find him."

There is another scream and now that they are listening for it they can tell that it doesn't sound like someone being butchered or mutilative, instead it seems more a cry of fear than pain. There is a second scream and then it stops.

A few moments later a large muscular lizardfolk wearing a headdress of bone and feathers and having his face and chest painted up with charcoal markings appears.


"I am Vessssket. I undersssstand you are the new onessss who will try to claim thisss land. Maybe you will ssssssucceed where the othersss have failed. You humansssss come and then you go when the land revoltssss againssssst you.

We have no quarrel with you. There is no need for thisss talk of armiessss and conflict.

Asssss for the child he wasssss losssst in our landssss. Ordinarily he would be food by now but the ancesssstor ssssspiritssss have taken a liking to him. He isssss their guesssst until they are done with him. Then we will releassssse him unharmed to you. Conssssssider it a great honor that we would give up a meal that way."

"Oh, boy." Kael comments that statement quietly. He does not like the way the chief seems to be putting an equals signs between a child and a meal. If there is anything more likely to lead to a conflict with his tribe, Kael can't think of it.

"How long will your ancestors hold the child? Can we speak with them?"

So, yeah, if we want this to end peacefully I think we'll have to make them understand that a human, and especially a child, even one lost in a swamp, is not a meal. If they understand that, then maybe we can work something out where we basically leave each other alone. Hopefully. I'm still not really down with attacking the village and wiping them all out, their kids included.

"We accept the child." Borric called out to the chief. He turned to Kael and nodded in agreement. "We would like to speak with the child at your earliest opportunity." He expected to be allowed to enter their gates, but he wasn't sure how these lizardfolk would act.

Elena really didn't like the idea of letting the lizardfolk spirits finish whatever they were doing with the boy.  She wasn't as much of an expert in these things as some other party members, but in all the stories she heard, leaving a child in the care of a sinister spirit tended to leave that child changed in permanent and drastic ways.

Still, she kept quiet for now, doing her best to stay vigilant and look imposing as Kael and Borric requested to see the child.

The lizard king gives a nod and motions for his minions to begin cranking open the gates.

"Leave your weaponsssss outssssside. We want no conflict with your kind. Leave them at the gatessss and we will assssk the sssspiritsss to let your child go."

Borric turned to his companions. The expression on his face showed his concern, "You don't all have to enter with me. How about Caramip stay outside with the weapons?" He removed his sword, bow and other weapons. He slipped his dagger deeper into his clothes.

---

rolled 9 using 1d20-2 with rolls of 11.  Sleight of Hand to hide the dagger

"I...you're serious?" Elena stared at Borric in bafflement.  Lowering her voice, she added "This guy just said that they consider humans that wander into their territory to be food.  We're both listening to a child screaming in terror right now."

Elena was hesitant as she continued, uncomfortable to be arguing with her lord in front of strangers, but she couldn't help herself. "Now, you know I've sworn to follow your leadership,and I want to do this peacefully just as much as you, but walking in there unarmed just feels...kinda dumb?  What if the chef talks to his spirits, and the spirits tell him to do the exact same thing to us that they're doing to the kid right now?"

She turned to look at the others, searching their faces to judge their own opinion on the matter as if afraid that she was the one being unreasonable.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:40, Wed 27 July 2022.

Kael is likewise unsure of how to proceed. "I do agree that this is a risk. They are not necessarily planing to attack us, though. I could easily imagine us asking the same of them if our roles were reversed and they were asking to enter our village."

"Uh, look, what if we split up? And have only one or two of us go talk to these... spirits, whatever they are? Preferably those of us that would have the easiest time running away, if diplomacy falls through."

Kael is reasonably sure he could make it out of village, what with his speed and levitate. He could even carry one other person out, if they are light enough. Or he hopes so, anyway. He's not much of a talker though, so if diplomacy skill is needed, he would be back up at best.

Of course, how good idea it would be to split up the party up is another thing altogether.

"Or we could leave one or two outside with the weapons." Dominique suggests as he begins to disarm following Lord Boric's intent--he's not much use with weaponry anyway. After setting his morningstar, dagger, and crossbow and quiver of bolts down, hoping his cestus might be overlooked by the clawed beasts, he looks between Boric and Elena to ask, "Would either of you care to carry my shield for me?"

If Kael can Levitate over the wall he might wait outside with the weapons--and come to our rescue. I'm not sure you can take anyone else with you. Elena or Boric could use Dom's shield as a weapon.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:51, Thu 28 July 2022.

"That could work too, assuming the rest of the party can hold out until weapons arrive." Kael comments Dominique's proposal.

Could work. Though it could still take some time for Kael to find you guys in the village, plus he would need to know you were in trouble in the first place. Don't suppose someone has a horn or something else to signal him with?

Or we just leave our weapons with Cara outside and avoid splitting up. I'm actually in favor of this, just wanted to present some alternatives.