The heroes bid goodbye to Jubilost and the rest of the gnomish explorers and follow his directions South towards the lizard tribe. Located in a particularly swampy stretch of land along the Murque River, trekking there proves to be both difficult and unpleasant but eventually the party finds an island of dry land in the middle of the swamp and on it the lizardfolk have built up their village.

The low, muddy hummock protrudes from the middle of the widening river. It isn't very large, only about 150ft in diameter but it does raise up about 10' out of the muddy swamp. In addition it is surrounded by a palisade of outward-facing, sharpened wooden stakes and there is a wooden pallisade that raises up an additional 10'.

From inside the walls thin tendrils of smoke rise from a handful of mounds clustered around a ingle larger mound. The village isn't large but likely holds a couple dozen lizardfolk, although less than a dozen can be spied from observing. The rest might be out hunting or inside the mounds.

A simple wooden gate on the eastern side of the hummock seems to be the only entrance to the fortified island.

Walking up to the main entrance is obviously an option. Climbing the wall would be a DC 15 check, or a DC 30 escape artist to slip between the trunks. For infiltration a stealth check would also be needed as the walls have two guards on it watching for danger.

"Well, nobody is trying to kill us yet. I take that as a good sign. Shall we ask to talk to someone in charge?" Kael suggest after observing the village.

There's little point in skulking around if we are planning to talk to them.

Elena nodded in agreement with Kael's suggestion.  No point in skulking about when they were trying to set up a diplomatic relationship.  She adjusted the grip on her glaive slightly, trying her best to hold the long weapon in as much of a nonthreatening way as she could.

"If they're not willing to play nice, how do we go from there?"  She asked, looking around for the others reactions.  "I mean if they start throwing spears, do we back off and hope to make contact some other time?  Or do we break down the gates and...uh, neutralize them as a threat?  Do we leave and come back with our army?"  The idea clearly made Elena uncomfortable, but it was a discussion worth having.

Cara, that little bundle of positive energy, piped up from well below Elena's sightline.

"Well, maybe we can win them over with grace and charm. We're rulers, nobles even by all accounts. They have a king or a chief or something and we do too. If they are halfway reasonable maybe we can strike up a deal. And if they aren't...well I suppose that's when the army comes in, right?

For what it's worth, I vote we step on up and try a friendly greeting."

She pauses, some of the confidence draining from her voice a bit.

"I mean, its just a though, you know?"

Kael shrugs. "If they don't want to talk, I say we just leave them alone for now. Maybe we can try again later. They have certainly not done anything for us to consider attacking their village or strong-arming them into submission. That could change in the future, but we can deal with that then."

"Kael's right. We will adjust according to their reaction." Borric rode up and dismounted once they got close to their village. "No threats. But defend yourself as necessary."

Elena nodded again, somewhat relieved at the party's agreement to back off if the lizardfolk proved unfriendly.  A hostile tribe this close to Rivermarch wasn't a great situation, but that didn't mean they shouldn't make every effort to do things the diplomatic way.

"Agreed.  I forget, who here speaks draconic?"

"Caramip does, I believe. Not sure anyone about anyone else."

"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.

Elena sighed as the others also started to go along with the lizard's request and disarm.  Reluctantly, she handed over her bow, glaive, and longsword to Caramip and/or Kael, who would be staying outside the gate.

She took Dominic up on his offer to let her carry his shield, unsure whether the lizard chief would object to the technicality or not.

After a moment of thought, Kael decides to hand over his sword and dagger to Cara.

If Borric decides otherwise, Kael can stay outside with Cara. If not, he'll go inside as well. Hopefuly Cara would be ok on her own?

Borric watched as the others reluctantly agreed to join him inside the walls. "Thank you for joining me. I hope that my fears are not justified beyond this wall. Keep your wits about you and keep a sharp eye."



OOC: By all means, Kael should join Borric and the others inside. I only mention for Cara to be outside since the character does have a player assigned :)

The party unloads their weapons to their gnomish diplomat and head inside. If the lizardfolk notice small items like a dagger here or there being carried inside they don't make any concerns about it.

The interior shows a primitive village built inside the walls. There are seven mud huts constructed of various sizes in a rough circle of six around a larger central seventh.

The closest are about 4' tall at the top of the mound with an opening for smoke to exit. Their entryways are covered by fur flaps and as the group passes by they can see dark eyes inside staring out at them from the gaps in the hide doors.

They head left towards another mud mound, this one differing from the others by the large number of bones piled near the entrance. The chief uses his trident to lift the flap and gestures for the party to enter.

Inside they see a pair of large lizards hissing and snapping as they struggle against the chains that have them attached against the far wall. Barely out of reach in front of them is the boy looking absolutely terrified. From the bite marks on his arms and legs it seems the chains aren't quite as far out of reach as they should be but otherwise the boy doesn't appear to be in any immediate physical danger. Psychologically though the poor lad is likely only nine or ten years old and this kind of torture would break adults in no time. Who knows how long this has been going on and what else has been done to the boy.

The chief hisses and the lizards give one last snap of their teeth at the boy before slinking back to their side of the tent.

"Here issss the boy. Sssaaffe and ssssound. Take him and....wait..."

He pauses, tilting hiis head to the side as if listening to something. Sure enough there seems to be a soft whisper in the room but it is unintelligable to anyone but the chief, apparently.

The chief frowns and lowers his head.

"The ancesssstorssss sssssay the child cannot be releassssed yet. The sssspiritsss aren't done e with him yet..."
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 05:18, Thu 11 Aug 2022.

Kael is not sure if he is more horrified or just confused by this scene. "What the... WHY? What is the purpose of this? Why would your ancestors want this? Can you ask them this? Can we ask them this?"

Is the child chained as well? And can we tell where these whispers are coming from?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Thu 04 Aug 2022.

Borric entered the tent. It took him a while for his eyes to adjust to the dimly lite interior. He knelt down, expecting to have the boy released to him before the chief changed his mind. Damn these spirits. He looked around trying to see if another figure was inside the tent. "Can you remove these lizards from the tent? Clearly the chains are insufficient. The boy needs some medical attention."

---

rolled 9 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 2.  Perception
rolled 20 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 12.  Diplomacy

Elena stood stock still, staring at the miserable, tortured child in front of her and the lizard chief who blithely stated that such tortures must continue.  If she had her glaive in hand, she would likely have used it by now, plunging it into Vesssket's chest the moment he declared his intent to keep the kid.  She wasn't yet sure whether it was good or bad that such violence wasn't an immediate option.

While waiting for the king's response to Borric and Kael's questioning, Elena focused the senses given to her by Shelyn, seeking out the presence of the (almost certainly) evil spirit leading the tribe into violence and depravity.  Or was the "ancestor spirit" claim merely a ruse on the lizard king's part, to justify...whatever was happening here?

OOC: Using detect evil.  Preferably all three rounds to pinpoint locations.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Sat 06 Aug 2022.

Dominique glowers at the sight of the young boy's torment and soon turns his disapproving gaze on the chieftain--apparently just another backwards heathen using 'spirits' as an excuse to justify his own twisted pursuits. He'll get his judgement in the Boneyard, and by Abadar's blessing Dominique might be the one to send him there.

But this is Borric's domain and Abadar would not look kindly on the inquisitor acting out of turn or against the wishes of the rightful lord. The High Priest looks to the Baron for some direction, and at the mere mention on the boy's need for attention--even if it isn't exactly what the Baron meant--he acts forthwith and marches up to the boy heedless of the lizards or any objections from the chief. He kneels down as he reaches the child to assure him, "It's alright, son. We're here to help," and inspect the severity of his wounds.

The boy isn't restrained but he had been penned in by the beasts snapping at him.

The lizard king frowns as the group starts talking about removing the lizards.

"Like I ssssssaid. The sssspiritssss want him. They don't ssssay why and it issss not my place to asssssk."

He pauses as Borric raises concerns about the boys health and he gives a nod and turns back to the empty space next to him and begins hissing and clicking in his native tongue as he converses with the "spirits".

Based on body language and gestures it seems like he is trying to argue for the boy to be released but the "spirits" don't seem to want to listen to him.

Meanwhile Elena scans the area...
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 05:09, Wed 17 Aug 2022.

Dominique looks to Borric, knowing it is not his place to negotiate here, but offers, sincerely but with a bit of derision in his tongue, "Maybe the spirits will trade for some puppies to torment?"

"Let's try to talk to the boy." Borric suggested his companions. He knelt down and approached the boy. He was mindful of the lizards, but he approached anyways. "Boy. Boy. Tell me your name."

Kael gets closer so he could better hear what the spirits have to say. He's still trying to figure out where these whispers are coming from.

If diplomacy doesn't get us anywhere, maybe stealth could. Kael could later use Levitate to get over the fence and on top of the hut, grab the kid through the opening for smoke and carry him back out. Hopefully.

The big unknown are those spirits, which could possibly interfere.

If Kael wanted to identify where the whispers were coming from, all he had to do was follow Elena's gaze.  The paladin was focused intently on the point of space directly beside Vesssket, where she detected a small mote of evil hovering near the lizard king's ear.  She smiled slightly, tightening her grip on the shield in her hands.  "I see you," she declared softly.

Louder, she continued.  "You realize the spirit whispering in your ear is evil, right Vesssket?  And I'm not just saying that as, like, a judgement of what you're doing.  My goddess allows me to sense this sort of thing, and I sense a small, weak mote of evil floating just to your left."

Turning to address the gathered lizard-folk, Elena raised her voice further.  "You seem like reasonable people.  And if you're living in this dangerous of territory, I know you're no fools.  Surely, you have to know that there are as many evil spirits in this world as there are good ones.  Quasits and imps, spiteful ghosts and cruel fey.  These creatures delight in leading their victims into depravity and evil, then betraying them to their death in order to doom their souls to the lower plains."

Levelling an accusing finger at the mote of evil, Elena declared: "I believe that is the sort of spirit whispering in your ear, Vesssket.  Not an ancestor.  Think, in all your tribe's history, are there any stories of your people doing things like this?  What proof has this creature given you to prove that it's one of your ancestors?"

OOC: Giving diplomacy one last shot.  If this doesn't work, maybe a sneaky jailbreak is in order.
09:14, Today: Elena Sazikova rolled 27 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 16.  diplomacy.

There is a slight pause as the lizard king considers Elena's words. The signs of conflict are clear on his face.

"No...thisss isssss not normal. Even the ssssspirit talkerssss don't know about thissss..."

More whispers on the wind but the Lizard king just waves his hands in the air next to him.

"No! No I am done with thisssss. I had no appetite for thissss when you firsssst came and I have lesssss now. You promissssed much but have delivered nothing! Begone sssspirit! Go sssspread your evil elssssewhere."

There is a pause, a tension in the air as the king expects some kind of angry spirit to manifest and try to drag him to hell or burst upon the rest of the party in a great ball of fire or electricity but there is only silence. The faint rustle of the wind, the hiss of the leaves or the snap of a leather flap catching the wind.

The evil spirit moves fast, too fast for Elena to track but as she studies the room she can't find any traces of that faint evil energy she felt before. The lizard king goes to the other side of the tent and hauls back on the chains of the giant lizards dragging them back and creating space for the party to grab the child without fear of being attacked.

"Take your youngling and go. Just in casssssse the ssssssspirit comesssss back it is better to not be around here. Conssssider it a gessssture of goodwill. We do not want to fight sssssso if you leave ussss alone we will do the sssssame for you and yoursssss."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:05, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

Borric moved quickly to gather the boy next to him. He lead him to Dominique. "Please, Dominique take care of him." He turned to the lizard king, "Thank you for your good gesture. I hope to return later with a gift of friendship. I hope that your people will not be harmed by this evil spirit."

Borric took some time once out of the tent to survey the rest of the lizard encampment. He looked for signs of warcraft or whatever tools that the lizardmen had in their possession. "Let's go."

Kael is all for leaving the lizardmen alone. He does not like the idea of their citizens (or worse, themselves) being mistaken for food. But they did come here with another reason in mind. "Have your hunters ran into any trolls lately? If so, do you perhaps know where they could be coming from?"

Elena nodded in appreciation of Kael staying focused on the reason they had originally come here.  "And not just trolls.  Ogres too, maybe some fey.  Someone is trying to build an army in these forests.  It's...come to think of it, it's possible that the spirit claiming to be your ancestor was one of his allies, here to turn us against each other.  Have you had any encounters with these people in the past?"

The lizard king shakes his head at Kael.

"No...at leasssst no more than ussssual. There hassss alwayssss been trollssss around thessse landssss."


The lizard king narrows his eyes at Elena, tensing and rising up.

"It wasssss a ssssspirit of oursssss. Do you think me a fool? That I would fall for sssssssimple tricksssss? I have given you your youngling. I do not harbor your insssssultssss asssss well."

The king storms to the side and shouts out the flap and begins hissing and clicking. There are echoes of hisses and clicks throughout the compound and two warriors approach the tent.

"My guardsssss will esssscort you out. Be gone. Come back when you can ssssshow sssssome ressssspect."

Borric gave Elena a look before he quickly turned his head and followed the guards. He felt that he made a mistake leaving Caramip outside with their horses. She had better finesse at diplomacy than all of them combined.


(outside the gates)
"That could have gone worse." Borric turned to Caramip, "I could have used you inside. My mistake." He paused glancing at the young boy. "He needs help. Anyone have any suggestions on if we should take him?
This message was last edited by the player at 20:41, Fri 26 Aug 2022.

Elena was baffled by the lizard chief's sudden reversal of attitude.  When she first told him that the "ancestor" was most likely an evil creature come to deceive them, Vesssket had seemed to agree.  In fact, it was almost strange how quickly he came around, chasing off the spirit and letting the boy go almost the instant she broached the subject.

Then, not ten seconds later, suddenly Vesssket was fighting mad at the merest suggestion that he might have been deceived.  Elena couldn't make heads or tails of it.  Perhaps she had unknowingly crossed some lizard taboo.  Or maybe the lizard "king" was simply a very unstable character, and such wild behavior was the norm for him.

Either way, she wasn't going to make a big deal of it, especially not with the party's weapons laying outside the gate.  She returned Borric's look with a shrug of her own, as if to say "Eh, what can you do?", then she followed him out of the encampment.

Once safely outside the gate, the paladin turned her attention to the tormented child.  Crouching down to his level, she took him by the hand.  "It's okay," She said reassuringly.  "Nobody is going to hurt you anymore.  My name's Elena.  I'm a knight.  What's your name?  Can you tell us where you're from?"

Kael didn't see what was so insulting in what Elena said either, but then he and diplomacy skill are distant acquaintances at best. Maybe the chief just didn't like to be reminded that he was made a fool? Eh, they got the child, and that was all that was important to Kael here.

Once safely outside, he offers his opinion on this place. "We should probably order our people to stay well clear of this place, at least for now. Just in case the locals have not fully abandoned the idea of looking at humans as a potential meal. There's not much of value for us here anyway, just swamps, bogs and mosquitoes."

While the boy is speachless at first slowly he seems to recover his wits although the trauma of his imprisonment still causes him to shake and look around fearfully. The group learns his name is 'Tig' and he was actually captured near the capital. He had slipped out into the woods chasing frogs and had the misfortune of coming upon a lizardfolk hunting party. He is quite eager to return to his mother.

where to next? You can continue to explore or head back to the castle to handle petitioners and important affairs at home.

The boy's story worries Kael. "Not good, we really need to do something about our borders. If their hunting party was that close to our capital, there's no telling who or what else could just march in. We should put some patrols and lookouts on this part of the border so that we have at least some warning of what's coming, as well as to keep this bunch out."

I'm fine with more exploring, but what about the kid? We can't drag him with us to a troll lair. Should we turn back and hand him over to someone first?

"We've got patrols."  Elena replied, a little embarrassed by this latest failure of her militia.  "But wild forest isn't exactly easy terrain to keep an eye on."

She was worried by Tig's story, as well.  The lizards openly admitted to eating people, and if their "hunting parties" we grabbing children from right outside Rivermarch's doorstep, something would have to be done.

"I'll talk to my people when we get back, warn them about how close the lizards are.  We'll have to make sure that no more of their armed parties get close enough to grab any citizens."

"Let's get the boy back to his mother. Then we can continue with our patrol." Borric agreed with Elena's thoughts on checking with their militia. It seems that they were spending more of their time on managing the men and women but that was something that he deemed must be done. Unless he could recruit some help...