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[Samthere]

Hell, if it's called the Friendly Hedgehog, count me in

[DarkerDark]

The caravan, strung out along the trail through the marsh quickly begins to form up. The Elves of Amanereli try their best to form a quick defensive ring around their pack animals. The beasts of burden naturally bunch up, allowing the Elves to stand shoulder to shoulder in a complete circle around their precious goods.

Amala looks out into the fog and immediately calls out, "Who disturbs the Elves of Amanereli? Be you friend or foe?"



There is a murmur in the fog as several low voices discuss the challenge. Several tense moments pass before a creature steps out of the concealment, showing itself to Amala and the elves at the head of the caravan. It's features resemble that of a man with the head of a frog. It has thick leathery skin, covered in a thin coat of slime.  It stands just under the height of an elf, but it walks bowlegged and with a hunch. It wields a sharpened wooden spear, though Amala doubts that the wood in these lands could match up to the durable wood of Amanereli's Tranquil Forest.



It eyes Amala with scrutiny and croaks before speaking in a very basic dialect of which only Elves can understand, "Want no Amanereli here! You make much noise! Angers god of the marsh! Angry god demand tribute, or crush Amanereli for disturbing rest!"

One of the younger elves leans forward towards Amala, "It sounds angry, do you think they mean to bring us harm?"

Amala lets out a slight breath, keeping her eyes trained on the frogman, "It is an amphibian man of the winding river," she says this with a hint of sadness before continuing softly, "They were once a great tribe who inhabited much of the lands to the south. They were once great friends of Amanereli, of which our people stood united in the defense of nature. Until, war broke out between Amanereli and the human kingdoms of old."

She frowned ever so slightly and continued, "It is a sad tale to say the least... The war was long and bloody, it saw the death of many of our amphibian friends. The humans ultimately took their lands and drove the great amphibian tribe from their river. It was not one of Amanereli's finer moments, long before we had a ruling Queen. The great tribe of amphibian men soon broke their ties with the elves, turning their back to the defenders of nature. Now, they only harbor hatred and resentment for the other races."



Amala's expression suddenly flashed with anger, her words straining in forced whispers, lest the amphibian man hear, "They are quick to turn to violence. They are not to be trusted."

Though the fog conceals the surrounding terrain and the frogmen that lurk within it, Amala has a fairly good idea of the immediate area. Her Ranger ways have done well to bring the layout of the land into her mind's eye.


Note: The entire caravan isn't exactly shown, but you get a general idea of how it's laid out so far. It is also not in scale, assume the distance to the terrain features are greater than it appears.

There are several terrain features that stand out in the Ranger's mind. Currently, the caravan stands in soft ground, flanked by marsh vegetation and bogs.

1. There is a large clearing behind the caravan. Though the Elves of Amanereli would be backtracking a bit, a clear and level field of dry earth would give the spear elves an advantage should the frogmen be looking for a fight.

2. There is dense foliage to the left of the caravan, most likely concealing a large number of the frogmen. The Elves of Amanereli are all used to fighting in such terrain, probably more so than the frogmen.

3. There was a small hill some ways to the right of the caravan. Though it would mean crossing muddy ground, securing the high ground is always an advantage in a fight.

This is all assuming the frogmen are willing to fight. One of their elders asked for tribute, so perhaps a generous donation of caravan goods would prevent an outbreak of hostilities? The amphibian men are irritable and full of resentment, too little tribute and they may be insulted. On the other hand, the elves are all ready for a close quarters fight, the majority of bowelves having swapped their bows for swords. So what will it be, Elves of Amanereli? Fight or Grovel?



Note: If any of you were wondering where the updates have been, remember that I said I'd mainly be doing this on weekends. Any weekday post can be considered a bonus. 

[Acanthus117]

KILL AND ROAST EM!

I vote for 1. Also, keep some bowelves ready to shoot as we backtrack!

Also, the frogmen are awesome!

Yum yum... A kermit sandwich sounds good.

[Labs]

Give em the dead elephant. They will enjoy it's meaty goodness.

[maxicaxi]

KILL AND ROAST EM!

I vote for 1. Also, keep some bowelves ready to shoot as we backtrack!

Also, the frogmen are awesome!

Yum yum... A kermit sandwich sounds good.

thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis

[Haspen]

Do they like elephant meat?

We can giver them the 'Meat of Great Beast of Murder and Tusks' as a tribute. Anyway, before we will reach dwarves, the meat on it will be spoiled anyway.

If they don't like meat, I'm for 1st option. Or 2nd, if there's someone who can talk me into wandering into forest surely full of frogmen.

Also, did I mention that the art is still freaking awesome? And the elves on the last panel look like they're MAGNETS on a MAGNET BOARD.

Severely awesome.

[Cheeetar]

I vote for fight, and 2nd. We're more experienced in fighting in that terrain than them, so once we clear them out with a surprise rush the elves in the foliage would be secure.

[Karnewarrior]

I say we try to give them the elephant corpse. It's a large amount of meat, and unless they are vegetarians or really, really good hunters, they will surely appreciate it.

[Cheeetar]

I say we try to give them the elephant corpse. It's a large amount of meat, and unless they are vegetarians or really, really good hunters, they will surely appreciate it.

Actually, this. We have no real use for the elephant corpse, and it will only rot.

[Julien Brightside]

Do the elves know anything about the god of the marsh?
I mean, it would be easier to appease the frogpeople if we knew what kind of god they serve.

[ed boy]

Given the large amount of effort and elves we lost to the elephant, I wouldn't want to just give it away.

[Lordinquisitor]

Offer them the death elephant as tribute. If it comes to an fight, climb the hill.

[Samthere]

Tell them to grant us passage or feel our flowery wrath, and move towards 1.
We don't want to get bogged down in the marsh, so 3 is out, and despite our advantage amongst trees, the swamp trees are likely buttressed in boggy ground.

OR: pretend to present them with the elephant corpse AND THEN BEAT THEM DOWN WITH IT.

[Cheeetar]

OR: pretend to present them with the elephant corpse AND THEN BEAT THEM DOWN WITH IT.

Best suggestion yet.

[Diablous]

OR: pretend to present them with the elephant corpse AND THEN BEAT THEM DOWN WITH IT.

Best suggestion yet.

This! With one i!