Tegotha/Tarbu Confederacy

[bridgekeeper3]

The mist slowly fades revealing the shadow of an island, the sea is calm and the sky is grey. Slowly a boat approaches the island, falling apart all the way there. On board are several ruffians hired along the way from various raider clans all guarding precious cargo. At the bridge, on a soft chair sits a disfigured man wearing nothing but the pelt of a griffin. Eventually the ship stops before old griffi grunts for his contact party. The contact party consists of a brutish slyph armed with a club covered in spikes, an elven slave girl acting as a interpreter, griffi's right hand man and two raiders all aboard a splintering row boat. The boat inches it's way onto shore before the brute blows his war horn.

[Pixel]

Something bellowed in the distance, and everyone in the village caught wind of it. It had a distinctly martial tone to it, and the village elders decided to rally together any available men while dispatching a runner to bring word to Numeran. The villagers curled up inside their homes, while a procession was prepared to greet whatever or whoever blew the horn. There was always some possibility that it wasn't Azator's raiders after all.

The village remained on high alert, with patrols and posts and a strict curfew well into the night. Sometime that evening, something rustled in the trees, and a guard in a tower squinted into the darkness, though the same frustrated any chance of spotting something.

A minute later, something stirred, and a burly fey creature appeared from the bushes. The guard blew his 'not Azator' whistle and the welcoming party of militia, elders, and chief villagers ambled over to greet the strangers.

[bridgekeeper3]

The party approached the village as the brute sized up the militia men. The brute bellows out something in a harsh, alien tongue before pointing at the slave girl and grunting.

"we... we come.... we," The slave girl says.

The brute grunts again but the right hand man taps him on the shoulder. The brute nods before walking back behind the right hand man, who takes out a piece of paper from his satchel. The man hands the piece of paper to the slave girl before she starts reading it.

"we come as representatives of the great and magnificent and incontinent and glorious warlord Griffi the griffon in all his magnificence and failure, How mighty are his feathers and how great is his girth. I come to you as guest and servant, we offer your word that exchange for harboring us we will serve you loyally, if my word isn't enough then ask Lord H who has been generous in his business with us. If you agree and trust then make it known, light a bonfire so you may summon our greatness himself"

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The villagers and militia traded looks at one another. It wasn't exactly common practice to light a great fire when meeting with strangers, but if it's what the guests wanted, so be it. They set to work piling timber and kindling in a safe area where it wouldn't spread to the houses and halls of the main settlement too easily.

Once the flames were lit and well-controlled, the most principal of the village elders, Azmire, stepped forward. "We welcome you to our town, and we have obliged your request to meet in the presence of a fire. What is your purpose here?"

[bridgekeeper3]

Suddenly, horns and drums blared out from the distance as a ship emerges from the fog. Several figures emerge from the ship as they fly to shore before a single boat is lowered into the ocean. The boat slowly reaches shore before two men come off of it carrying something. The figures soon approach, disappearing into the brush before two men emerge carrying a cripple on a shield. Disfigured beyond recognition, the twisted form of the once mighty bandit lord clad in the pelt of a griffon bears a smile at the residents who lit a that fire.

"I'm pleased that you followed my instruction"

The disfigured blob soon points to his men and speaks in that alien tongue. The men set him down on the ground before dragging the slave girl away.

"now to business, I have a special tribute offer for your people, you see I am a fairly well respected businessman and some of my products are gleefully consumed by some clients in new numeran, and I have my finest of merchandise back up in that ship and I will give them to you for free, but in return I demand refuge in your lands and if you demand more I will be happy to procure more. These aren't no sicklings either, this is fine stock up in that vessel, the type of stock that will make all of you very very rich and all I ask is a place to stay and protection from raiders who want my head. So what do you say, deal?"

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