12/05/2020 - Mudsliding madness, fighter folk and titillating tattoos

## TL: DR

* Khrom , Kelda, Scribbulus  and Ash  go to investigate the slums, play with some kids on a mudslide, then meet with a halfling woman named Breni who tells them about the “fighter folk”.
* Having got nothing useful out of the Orc Captain (Marfire) in the main town, the other half of the group also head into the slum to find the others.
* The group eventually reunite in the slum’s central plaza and immediately begin arguing about what to do about the halfling situation.
* The group come to a sort-of-decision-sort-of-impasse before enjoying an evening of revelry with the halflings.
* The next day, Finnian arrives and gives the group details of the incoming weapons shipment, introduces them to their guide (Belami) and offers them each a present – a choice of a magical tattoo!

## Into the slum

As Tamsin , Blagden , Kunai  and Elyan  investigated the main town, Khrom , Kelda, Scribbulus  and Ash  went to investigate the halfling slums.  As they wandered over, Khrom  took a peek at the troll head (now named Terrance) hanging from his belt, to find that the bulbous head was now sat atop a tiny inanimate hunk of body-flesh. After thanking the others for sticking with him, Scribbulus  focused his attention on the slums. The sight that greeted him was not a pleasant one. The slum was composed of disorganised rows of poorly constructed huts, interspersed with a mess of quagmire-like paths. Dozens of gaunt looking halflings wandered about aimlessly, seemingly desensitised to the stench of death and decay that permeated the air.

## Mudsliding madness

However, as the group trudged deeper into the slum, they came upon an unexpected blip of happiness within the poverty. A group of giggling children had re-appropriated a steeper section of the path into a mudslide and were excitedly throwing themselves down it. Overjoyed at seeing his kin having fun, Scribbulus  immediately got involved by throwing himself into a full belly slide down the path! His slide was solid, and he emerged safely at the bottom (covered in mud and slime) as the kids cheered excitedly! As Ash  looked on in horror at the sight of her compatriot covered in smelly mud, Khrom  performed a rapid risk assessment, decided that he was unlikely to break anything, and dived in after Scribbulus . Khrom’s  hefty size ensured that his slide was of epic-proportions. With his fur and armour now comically covered in mud, the kids took up a chorus of “do it again! do it again!”, whilst Ash  simply murmured “Oh God”. Seeing an opportunity to get some information, Khrom  turned to the kids and proposed that he would do it again if they agreed to answer some questions afterwards. The kids were very much onboard with this proposal, so Khrom  stomped excitedly back up the slope and with a whoop threw himself back down. Also keen for a second go, Scribbulus  expertly hopped onto Khrom’s  back and surfed him down the slope. This sent the kids into a new wave of hysteria “you guys are soooo cool!”. As the excited kids gathered around Khrom  and Scribbulus , Kelda also took a ride down mudslide, but did so with a much more dignified bottom-based approach, thus ensuring she didn’t get quite as muddy the others.

## Question time

As the kids calmed down, Scribbulus  introduced himself and the others, then handed out goodberries whilst Khrom  began asking questions. His lawyer-like inquisition soon revealed that all of the kids wanted to join the “fighter lot”, and that the adults met each evening for “adult drinks”, dancing and mud throwing. Furthermore, it transpired that the fighter lot were very mysterious and that no one actually knows who they are. However, one kid boastfully explained that his Mum definitely knows who they are, and that he could lead the group to her if they wanted? This sounded like a good idea to the party, especially when it transpired she only lived 20-mudslide-lengths away…

As the others chatted with the kids, Ash , who was still unimpressed with the thought of getting muddy, opted to find a less-slippery route around the mudslide. His wanderings allowed him to do some people-watching, as well as give him the opportunity to help a struggling halfling man fix his roof. Thankfully, Ash  managed to expertly keep his bearings whilst navigating the maze of streets and soon found himself back on the main path just as the others began to follow the kid off towards his mother’s house.

## Fighting talk

The kid led them through a complex series of mucky streets, eventually stopping outside a tiny wooden hut and shouting: “Mum, the mud people want to talk to you!”. After a few moments a somewhat perplexed looking halfling woman appeared at the door, clearly confused as to why her son was introducing her to some incredibly muddy looking people, one of whom was a 10 ft tall bugbear! After explaining that they had been playing in the mud with the kids, Khrom  described how they had heard of the halflings plight and were keen to help, and that her son had mentioned something about her knowing more of the fighting folk? With a nervous glance at the street, the halfling woman beckoned them inside. As Khrom  struggled to fold himself through the tiny doorframe, the halfling woman told her kids to go back outside and play, silencing their groans of dissent with a fierce raise of her eyebrows. Seeing their downcast faces, Scribbulus  quickly crafted a druid flower and handed it to the kid. After a brief look of confusion (why has the weird man I only just met given me a flower?), the kid seemed to decide it was cool and rushed off to show his friends.

With the kids now out of the way, the whole group made their way inside to find a single room, sparely furnished, with a loose straw floor. After making some formal introductions (the woman’s name was Breni), conversation turned to the plight of the halflings and how things had got so bad for them. Breni outlined how despite them having far greater numbers than the ATC , they were a peaceful people with no weapons, armour, defences or resources to fight. As such, it was easy for the ATC , who had all of those things and more with abundance, to keep them indentured. She also explained how many of the halflings were ill and malnourished, and generally in no state to put up any resistance. Scribbulus  then enquired whether just the threat of resistance might be enough to make the ATC  leave? However, Breni was very doubtful of this, as the ATC  made a lot of profit from the island and would be sure to fight hard to keep it under their control. Hearing this, Scribbulus  exclaimed that surely violence could not be the answer! Breni looked somewhat sad, and said that she used to agree with such sentiments, but is now convinced that a peaceful approach will get them no-where…

She then gave the group a long hard stare and asked whether she could trust them? After everyone replied firmly in the affirmative, she went on to explain that she was actually a fighter herself, that the fighter network is purposefully secretive, but that she reckoned every household had at least one member in it. Khrom  then asked whether all of these fighters \*can\* fight or just \*would\* fight. Again looking downcast, she said it was definitely the latter, with the problem being they had few weapons or training. Ever keen to help, Khrom  immediately offered her some of his weapons and expertise in how to use them. Breni continued that the situation was further complicated by the fact many halflings would probably turn the fighters into the ATC  if they knew of them. Many of the halflings had loved ones in prisons and work camps all over the island, and were desperate to get them back by any means. Khrom  asked where these camps were and how well they were guarded? Breni explained that most were up in the mountains and that they generally weren’t super well-guarded, as it did not take many guards to keep the halflings in line. On hearing this, Khrom  suggested that they could maybe try and break some people out as they were going into the mountains anyway. However, whilst thankful for his bravery, Breni was not keen on this idea because she was worried that the freed people would struggle to make it back alive. Ash  added that the ATC  would surely retaliate harshly for such an offence, and reiterated his desire for a more diplomatic approach. Gimble  (who everyone had once again forgotten was there) then chimed in that these politics were way over his head. Accepting that a mountain-rescue was off the table, Khrom  then explained that they already had an agreement to help the halflings with a guy called Finnian, who they were to meet tomorrow. Breni said that she would find them somewhere to stay in the central plaza, where she was sure Finnian would be able to find them.

## Lessons in lying

At this point, the other half of the group had made their way out of the main town, inspected the work-assignment tents, and decided that they should find the others. Tamsin  attempted to scout them out with Ellie, but saw nothing other than a large mudslide. As she did this, Elyan  realised that there was no way Wilbur would fit through the halfling streets, so led him over to stay with the horses. Blagden  then pulled Ratty out of his pocket, introduced him to Wilbur, and told him to look after the massive dinosaur. With the dinosaur deposited, the group made their way into the slums, deciding to just head towards the main plaza in the middle. As Blagden  led the way whilst keeping an eye out for any thieves cant markings, Kunai  struck up conversation with Elyan  in an attempt to see where he stood on the question of rebellion. Elyan  outlined how he agreed with Khrom  and Scribbulus  that something should be done, but agreed with Ash  and Tamsin  that perhaps they shouldn’t be doing this on the guilds time, and that it was too big a problem for them to risk angering either the ATC  or the guild. Kunai  went on to say that he did not want them to become “the world police” and that they will never be able to solve all the worlds problems. Kunai  then asked what Elyan  thought of the diplomatic approach, perhaps Rocky could use his relationship with Horden to strike some favourable deal? Elyan  was not convinced by this idea either, pointing out that the provincial captains such as the one they just met clearly hated Horden, and that their deep-seated racism was unlikely to be solved by a banterous goliath. Hearing their conversation, Blagden  piped up to suggest that perhaps Tamsin  could lie and say that her Mum (a Trifecta politician) was going to tell the ATC  off if they didn’t stop being mean! However, Tamsin  immediately poured cold water on this idea (“you know I don’t want to have anything to do with my Mum!”), whilst Kunai  explained that politicians have a certain way of lying and that a lie such as this was far too obvious. Blagden  countered that his lies have always worked until now! But Kunai  counter-countered that this was only because Blagden  had a way of bamboozling people into not knowing what was going on. This caused Tamsin  to chuckle and exclaim that if nothing else Blagden  was good at running rings around people. However, looking sterner than usual, Elyan  leant down to Blagden  and said that he needed to be more careful, that he’d already got Steve killed and that by extension this whole thing was his fault! This earned him a sharp rebuke from Tamsin  (“hey! Don’t be mean!”) and a childish poked-out tongue from Blagden . However, in a more reconciliatory tone, Elyan  went on to say that Blagden  was at least good company. Blagden  somewhat huffily replied that Elyan’s  singing was at least “sometimes ok”.

Thanks to Blagden’s  innate knowledge of the ebbs and flows of slums, the group found their way to the plaza in record time. With no sign of the others, Tamsin  inquired from some locals whether anyone had seen any weird looking people about. After hearing that no one had seen anything, Tamsin  decided to just order the group some maize porridge from a local halfling vendor. However, as she reached into her pocket to pay, Elyan  stepped forward and handed the halfling 2 GP. As Tamsin  muttered that she was going to pay him herself (!) the halfling man just stared, totally shocked by the sight of gold. Tamsin  then asked whether there was anywhere they could stay for the night? He looked at tad concerned about their size, but said that he was sure he could find them somewhere! He then went on an absolute talkative mad-one, jabbering on about just about everything whilst Tamsin  stood there uncommittally nodding. As the halfling explained that Tamsin  reminded him of his cousin “she don’t talk much neither!”, Blagden , who had warily been watching the streets, asked Kunai  if he thought the ATC  cloaks would venture into the city? Kunai  looked round intently before simply replying, “no”.

## Rebellious reasonings

At this point the group in the plaza noticed the unmistakeable sight of a large bugbear lumbering down a nearby side street towards them, led by a female halfling. The reunited groups then spent a while describing the results of their respective explorations. The town-group were particularly keen to highlight just how much of a dick (and possibly a drunk) the orc captain was, and that it was definitely best if they all stayed with the halflings. Scribbulus  was also relieved to hear that Wilbur had behaved and was currently being “looked after” by Ratty.

Kunai  then approached Khrom  and told him that he was of the opinion that the town guards could probably be turned against their captain, if he wanted to try and take the town, but that he would advise against it. This re-started the now seemingly eternal discussion of how best to deal with the halfling situation, and whether supporting a rebellion was sensible. Ash  once again highlighted the merits of the diplomatic approach, suggesting that perhaps they could go away and petition the Trifecta government to do something about it. However, Elyan  and Tamsin  firmly disagreed with this, with both convinced that the higher up Trifecta politicians were almost certainly already aware and probably corrupt enough not to care! Sounding exasperated, Ash  continued that in that case they should go to the common people and make them aware of the issue! And that even if that wouldn’t work, he couldn’t countenance starting a fight as even a small rebellion would surely be quickly quashed. Khrom  countered that this just meant they needed a big rebellion! But Scribbulus  agreed with Ash , citing his concerns that even if a big rebellion was successful, the ATC  were sure to come back and hurt them more. Realising that the group were unlikely to come to a unanimous decision, Ash  asked if anyone had anyway to contact Dr T so that they could ask her opinion. Unfortunately, it was quickly realised that only Ves could maybe do this, and she was miles away. Kunai  added that even if they could contact Dr T, she was hardly likely to encourage them into starting a rebellion on a far away island when she had expressly ordered them to quickly find an object to help the guild avoid imminent financial ruin! Kunai  went on to say that surely the most pragmatic option was to accept that this whole rebellion thing didn’t need to be done immediately – the group could go to other ATC  islands first, gather more information, and then come back do help properly. Scribbles agreed, adding that even just doing their current mission first could give more useful intel. Kunai  then turned to Khrom  and said that whilst his desire to help was honourable, he had to consider that in the long term the rebellion could be much more successful if they waited instead of acting rashly.

## Halfling revelry

Mercifully (for Blagden  at least, who was clearly restless with all the serious talk), at this point Breni returned, and told them that the evenings fun was soon to begin, the music was about to start, and that she had organised beds and water for them. Khrom  said that they should then continue the discussion tomorrow. As Blagden  groaned at the thought of more talk, Kunai  said that they shouldn’t, particularly in front of Finnian. Seeing the others nodding at Kunai’s  words, Khrom  somewhat sadly said he was going to go and wash then. However, as he tried to leave, a babble of kids sudden arrived and persuaded him to stay muddy for a little longer!

As the evening’s activities began to kick off, Tamsin  approached Ash  and dragged him into a quiet corner. She then said that she knew Ash  just wanted to make a difference, and that if he wanted, she would give him her Mums contact details in-case he wanted to try and appeal to the Trifecta government. Ash  replied that he very much wanted to try, and took down Tamsin’s  mums deetz. By now, the central plaza was full of halflings dancing and singing, providing quite a different impression of the sad looking people to what the group had witnessed earlier. Pleased to see that the halflings still knew how to have fun, most of the group very much got involved with the revelries. Tamsin  decided to show off some sick halfling dance moves one of her parents had taught her, whilst Elyan  performed an absolute banging bongo solo. Ash  even whacked out his bagpipes, which despite sounding utterly atrocious, still seemed to go down well with most people (the notable exception to this being Blagden , who at this point retreated to a corner with his hands over his ears).

As the evening drew to a close, Khrom  went off for a very needed wash, happily whistling “do you hear the people sing” as he did. Scribbulus  also decided to call it a night, and headed back outside of the slum to spend the night with Wilbur. After almost getting lost, he eventually found Wilbur and Ratty snuggled up together, and happily joined in with the cuddles as middle spoon.

## Guides and tattoos

The next day, Breni woke the group and informed them that Finnian had arrived. After exchanging pleasantries and reminding the group of their deal, Finnian said that he had good news. He had found the guide that had led the previous group, and she had agreed to help them. However, before he introduced her he wished to talk about the groups side of the deal. He went on to say that the weapons shipment he wanted the group to smuggle would be arriving in Branxham in three days time. Kunai  retorted that three days didn’t give them long to travel to the moutnains, find the rod, get back and attempt to persuade Horden to offer some good terms. Finnian said that he could probably delay the shipment by two days, but by no more. Ash  says that this was acceptable and that they would ensure they were back in Branxom by then, ready to collect the shipment if their negotiations with Horden failed. With this agreed, Finnian exeitedly said that he therefore had two gifts for the group. Beckoning someone to enter the room, he introduced the first “gift”, Belami, a young halfling girl who was to be their guide. Seeing how young the girl was, Tamsin  asked why their guide was a child (err because children are the best! Piped up Blagden ) and why she wasn’t with her parents. Gesturing towards Blagden  and Gimble , Finnian countered that the group already had two kids, so what was the problem. This prompted an indignant Gimble  to say that he was actually the oldest here! Finnian apologised and went to explain that Belami’s mother is in one of the mines, but that Belami is more than capable of looking after both herself and the group. Scribbulus  and Gimble  then said that they would also look after Belami, so all was well. With this sorted, Finnian then pulled a strange looking jar out of his robes that appeared to be filled with a translucent shiny ink. Finnian explained that this ink was very special, and that there was an ancient halfling tradition by which this ink could be applied to the skin in the form of a magic tattoo! As everyone looked on very excitedly, he introduced a very old-looking halfling lady who showed the group the options and, after everyone had decided what they wanted, got to work!