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[MidnightJaguar]

Investigate the rock formation. Practice with our newly acquired axe.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Find bugs

[Robot Parade Leader]

You lead Throlu on your boar towards the strangely curved rock. Throlu starts to VERY quietly panic and wave his arms to get your attention when you start to move in the direction of the strangely curved rock. He waves you over to him and whispers in your ear,

"It's asleep; shhhhhh."

(Background & metagame, you have run across a slumbering monster. You saved Throlu, so you benefit from his knowledge, gained from his clan, about it. If you didn't, you might have had to deal with it waking up without this info, quite blind. He is a good source of knowledge and scouting. Other choices may have been available had you sided with the smallish reddish orcs.).

You do get a somewhat closer look, but are still at a good safe distance. Though it isn't easy to see if you don't know what you're looking for, the strangely curved rock has a face with closed eyes (thankfully). If you look a second more, then you can see the vauge outlines of arms or maybe forelegs, and perhaps what might be an ear. You can see a couple of fallen trees that might have been pushed down the last time this thing moved, which, could have been a couple of months, you guess.... The overall effect is a rocky skinned looking boulder. It looks like it could do some damage if awakened.

Throlu clearly wants nothing to do with this and urges you to take a detour around and away from it, very quietly. I assume you get away from this thing, at least for the timebeing (you could theoretically go back to it easily enough if you really wanted to).

Once you are at a much safer distance, Throlu relates the following, in a quiet but shocked whisper,

"O Gods! A Slumber Hulk, and this far from the mountains.... There's usually more than one and a group of them is called an Avalanche for a reason.... What could possibly make it come here? We can't. We can't go near it. We have to go around it. We either go detour north, toward Plovin's, or south, to the Kamfi Lands.  I hate Plovin and his ranks, but these are worse and we may not see the next one....

The Kamfi are shamanistic lizards living in the forests and marsh valleys, worshiping the Great Reed God. They don't like visitors, but won't usually kill you on sight unless you piss them off. Whatever you do, don't harm a reed tortoise if you go there, it drives them insane."

You have time to look for some bugs and replenish your stores to the following while you decide:
9 tasty beetles
7 bugcakes
9 tasty grubs

Do you
Go through the straight west route, risking running into other Slumber Hulks.
Go detour South, then west, risking traveling through the Kamfi Lands.
Go detour North, then west, risking traveling close to Plovin's lands.
Something else?

What do you do?

[MidnightJaguar]

I vote North then West.

[MoonyTheHuman]

Bang our head against a tre until we know what to do

[helmacon]

North! I want to test the new axe.

[Robot Parade Leader]

You briefly entertain the idea of repeatedly bashing your head into a tree, but decide against it, because you have both enough bugs and better ways to get more bugs if you want.

Throlu doesn't like heading north one bit but realizes no use in complaining right now. Seeing as there is a bounty on Zuffens from Plovin in the North and Throlu is a Zuffen.... All the same, this does lead to making sure you have plenty of warning about the territory you are about to enter.

"If you're going to go North, then you should know a few things about Plovin's Southern Territories. First, you'll run across a logging camp, carting in his fire fuel. There's also 3 separate lookout outpost towers, but we might be able to sneak around those. Mershin is Plovin's Ogre Lieutenant in charge of the area, living at the logging camp, and owning a lot of slaves. Watch out for his roving raiders or Gods forbid him hunting in person.

Rumor is no slave has ever escaped, but that's not true. Some of them have, except they get written off as dead. Whoever used to live here a long long time ago left the usual ruins and there may be some runaway slaves hiding there or other things. I'm not really sure. Also, there's one camp of sort of favored Orcs. Plovin rewarded an orc friend of his who helped secure this place by giving him his own little piece of it, so there's that to worry about too.

We can make it through but we do have to be careful."

Throlu seems worried but clearly knows what the situation is. Throlu snatches a couple more pieces of the local plantlife to stick in his fur, and tries to remain calm.

As you begin to head North, leading Throlu on the boar, you notice the land slopes down slightly and isn't quite as rough for some reason, for a little ways anyhow. Then you see a small stream, perhaps connected to or the same one you crossed before. You continue over the gentle valley created by the stream.

Three, forward and to the left:
After a while Throlu holds up a hand and fairly quietly but clearly wants you to stop. Looking up, you see Throlu hold up three fingers, and point forward and left.... You don't see anything right now, but it looks like Throlu does or something.... Whatever the case, it seems like he's warning you of something or someone. He then says, "Plovin's Scouts, his slave catchers probably."

You can't read minds, but you can guess the Zuffen remembers the bounty on his kind. Thankfully neither of you have been seen or noticed in any way yet.

What do you do?

[helmacon]

Set up an ambush. It's time to train our boar for war.

[MidnightJaguar]

Set up an ambush. It's time to train our boar for war.

+1

[vkiNm]

Set up an ambush. It's time to train our boar for war.

+1

+1

[Amperzand]

I very much hope this doesn't get us ganked by half a dozen orc soldiers.

[helmacon]

I very much hope this doesn't get us ganked by half a dozen orc soldiers.

I almost hope it does...

[Robot Parade Leader]

Throlu gets off the boar, as all of you get to the right a bit with more covering forest undergrowth. There is no road or clearly defined path. Well hidden yourself, you hear the three of them before you see them. One says, clearly thinking no one is listening,

"Bastard's gone. May not be dead yet, but will be if we get him...."

"Shut up!" declares another.

"What," says the first again, "can't go blaming us if he goes through thorns? Ain't followin him in there!"

"It would help your ugliness!" shouts the 3rd, angrily," Now shut up or he'll hear us and we won't get the bounty!"

Some more mumbling and grumbling is heard before you see them, three humans (though one might be part orc, you aren't sure). They wear metal breastplates, with leather arm and leg pieces. You can see cruel swords hanging on their hips. They are advancing slowly through the brush and if they continue, they will be about 10 ft to the right of your current hiding place very shortly.

You are currently not mounted on your boar, but you could be....
Throlu the Zuffen knows these men want to collect the Zuffen Bounty....

What do you do?

[DolosusDoleus]

Mount the boar and charge, shouting "For Gob!" Thwack humans/orcs in the head with your club and poke them with your stick. Surely nothing could possibly go wrong.

[MidnightJaguar]

Mount the boar and charge, shouting "For Gob!" Thwack humans/orcs in the head with your club and poke them with your stick. Surely nothing could possibly go wrong.

+1 if we change the pointy stick to an axe. We don't have any experience with either but an axe will do significantly more damage if it hits.