SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: The Troll Toll
Participants: Two or more
Location: Crescent Isles
Post Requirements: 6 posts per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown, Choice of 2 Common crafting materials
Description: The Crescent Islands have been receiving an influx in travelers across the main and outer islands, all moving through out the region for various reasons. This has stirred up a group of trolls that believe they can capitalize on this by taking several bridges hostage and forcing travelers to pay them before being allowed to cross. However, these trolls see no value in gold or coin and instead are demanding random, mundane objects that travelers often leave home without, causing the trolls to refuse passage. Help nearby travelers by providing the troll with a suitable offer, or by dealing with them in a more physical manner.

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Rena tilts her head, trilling softly as she considers the bridge. There’s a troll in wait beneath it, she knows that much. Her murder had been hired to…deal with the beast before anyone gets hurt. The crow cracks her neck, black frost¹ crackling along her fingers as she glances back at her family, her murder.

Bell stands at the ready, amber eyes burning bright as the smoke making up his spectral form courses through his shape. He’s more than happy to help his wife fight, more than happy to protect his murder.

Loci cracks his knuckles, wearing confidence as a mask to diguise the nerves that cause his bones to rattle. He’s gotten more confident of late, but he’s still anxious, still nervous, still worried that he won’t be able to protect his family…

Wind trills softly, going though a series of joint-popping stretches even as her rose gold eye lights scan for threats, the little crow’s bones quivering with nervous energy as she moves.

Whistle sighs, spinning a coin along her knuckles in a long practiced tic, seemingly bored posture concealing her nervousness. She and her family had taken on some…rather tough jobs in the past, but a troll is something else entirely…

Wind seems to be utterly unfazed, idly cleaning his crossbow and whistling a gentle tune as he works.

Mael buzzes through the air around Rena, staying just inside the area covered by her yet unformed shields...The tiny pixie is scared, nervous, worried. They don’t want their new family to get hurt, they don’t want to lose what they’ve gained…not again. Not like last time…with a shudder, the pixie dives down and squirms into Rena’s egg satchel, curling up in one of the empty slots and closing their eyes tight as they struggle to calm themselves down…

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1 - Permafrost
Bringing the following
Maelstrom - Wind Pixie
Tolling Bell - Spirit Guardian Summon
Buzzing Locusts and Wind through Bones - Necromancer Undead Minions
Distant Whistle and Winding Gears - Warlord Minions
two Dancing Chains - flavored as floating shields that crystalize from black ice when and where they're needed

Beist had never seen a troll before. Of course, he'd heard about the problems the WEF was having in the Arid Mesa with some rather dangerous ones, but he hadn't been asked to help with that situation as of yet. Maybe this troll would be more reasonable than those ones. He'd heard it could speak and had been causing problems by requesting tolls of those who crossed the bridge, but not tolls of solars. It asked for seemingly random objects instead, which made actually being able to pay the tolls difficult as most people didn't walk around with buckets, plant pots, magnifying glasses, or whatever other objects the trolls had requested.

Beist would rather settle things peacefully without fighting though. If it took some random objects to get the troll to move on and stop pestering travelers, then that would be fine.

As he approached the bridge, he noticed there were already a few figures standing near it. Were some other adventurers also sent to negotiate with the trolls and solve this matter? Perhaps he and they could work together then.

"Hello there!" Beist called out a friendly greeting, waving a hand in the air as he approached. He hoped these adventurers would be friendly and not so judgmental of his strange appearance. Fifteen and a half feet tall, covered in fur and scales, four arms, a long thick tail, and big branching horns. He definitely stood out in a crowd. The simple moss green robes he was wearing at least helped him loo presentable, he hoped.

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Bringing Pets:
Griffon (Sleigh Bell) in pet pocket
Light Elemental (My Best Friend) in space pocket
Lightning Elemental (Stables) in space pocket
Woolful in space pocket
Raccoon Dog in pet pocket

The crows turn as a unit when Beist speaks, a dozen varicolored eyes - or eye lights, in the case of the two skeletons - staring back…and up…and up…and up at the enormous figure making its approach…and the crows - not a one taller than four feet - panic. Or, well, most of them do. The shorter crows - each one just barely more than two feet tall - scramble into defensive positions, with the skeletons placing themselves at the front, and the two living fledglings taking places one behind the other…the rearmost being the one with the crossbow the same size as him strapped to his back, the enormous weapon now held in two hands and braced against the little crow’s shoulder with the surety and ease of lifelong training…the other living crow in the formation bears a pair of long, slender bayonets…both their weapons glint with frost¹, even under the warm spring sun…

Rena and Bell, meanwhile, glance from the bridge to the stranger, then bob their heads, Rena speaking after a moment, ”and ye’d be the ‘elp the client said we’d ‘ave. wasnae expecting a troll, but I suspect ye’re quite a bit different from these ones…or even the ones down in the Mesa. we were jus’ plannin’ our attack, but if’n ye want t’try diplomacy ‘fore we go in, I’m certainly game. Easy job’s better’n a hard one”

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1 - Warlord - Enchanting Sigil - Ice

Beist let out a yelp and held his hands in front of him defensively as crossbows and bayonets suddenly aimed directly at him. He had been hoping to settle things with the trolls peacefully, and now he was being threatened not by the supposed dangerous creatures hiding under the bridge, but by the people he thought were fellow adventurers here for the same purpose as him. How could this mission already have gone so bad?

Beist lowered a hand and looked at the one that spoke. He could see now all of them were birds, crows. And he also saw some of them were definitely undead, be it skeletal or spirit. He wished he'd noticed that earlier, but even then, it probably wouldn't have helped. He was used to being judged for his appearance, and so, tried not to judge others or else be a hypocrite. Having some slightly spooky followers didn't mean someone must be evil, just like his monstrous appearance didn't mean he was a feral beast. And beside that, he had his own entourage of companions hidden away.

"Oh, no, I'm actually not a troll. I suppose I do resemble one though, don't I? I can understand the confusion, truly. My name is Beistmild, but please call me Beist. I was hoping to settle things with the trolls peacefully. They- well, they have been causing trouble, but they haven't harmed anyone, unlike the trolls in the Mesa. Please don't attack them. Or me." Beist said, trying to keep smile and a friendly demeanor as he greeted them, but obviously revealing he was a bit frightened.

His ears drooped and his long, snake-like tail curled forward around him into a defensive posture without him realizing. He never wanted to harm magical creatures unless it was absolutely necessary. The trolls were intelligent enough to be considered people, but still, he didn't want to harm them.

He continued walking forward, approaching the group with some hesitation. He nearly tripped on his curled up tail. He still wasn't used to just how long it had gotten and its behavior. It was like it had a mind of its own sometimes, a very snake-like mind. He walked over to the bridge and stopped just before it before placing one step onto the cobblestone.

"You've got to pay the troll toll!" A voice suddenly called out from beneath the bridge just before a troll climbed out from beneath it, pulling itself up over the side and standing in the middle of it. He looked confident with a wide grin until he saw the massive beast man standing before him. The troll was tall, standing at nearly twelve feet in height, but even the troll was dwarfed by Beist.

Rena blinks, tilting her head at the news that the stranger who’d just joined them was not, in fact, a friendly troll. The feathers around the crow’s beak ruffle in an avian frown as she retreats a little ways into her mind to go back over her memories of the description of a troll…eventually coming to a conclusion, steps up behind Beist, gesturing for the others to remain in formation but to stay close.

The crows shift focus from Beist to the actual troll as the beast clambers out from under the bridge, Wind and Whistle keeping their weapons at the ready, this time pointed at the ground but in easy position to bring to bear on the troll.

Bell moves to stand behind his wife, a pleasant smile in the ruffling of the feathers around his beak as he allows his aura to expand out around him, the translucent smoke thick and choking…to the troll.

Loci and Wind both settle into defensive stances between their family and the troll, bones still and eye lights sharply focused as they move.

Rena, meanwhile, begins to channel the unmelting ice of her curse into her hands¹ before reaching back to touch the bamboo rod and the sheathed sword strapped to her back, then allowing a pair of bayonets to drop from her sleeves and into each hand. Each thing that she touches with those hands becomes coated in black, swirling frost.

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1 - Permafrost, Cold Touch

"Hello there! It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard about this toll, and I and my fellow adventurers behind me are here to discuss the issues this toll is causing to travelers." Beist began his diplomatic speech, motioning one hand toward the group behind him that had neglected to give him any of their names after he introduced himself, so all he could introduce them as was fellow adventurers.

The troll was still taken aback by the size of the man in front of him. The troll was thickly built, with dark grey skin and green hair on his head that was tied back into a long ponytail behind him, and more hair covering much of his arms and legs, almost looking like patches of fur with how thick it was. A tail hung behind him with a matching tuft of hair on the end along with a thick matching beard on his face. He was dressed in patches together hides of various animals around his waist and forming a vest and a cloak whose bottom hem only came to halfway down his torso. His horns, a pair of long tusks, and a wide, almost animal-like nose gave him some slight resemblance to Beist, but otherwise it was clear to see they were not the same species at all.

The troll leaned to the side to look past Beist as he introduce the fellow adventurers behind him and he saw the group of birds aiming weapons, casting magic, and generally looking like they were about to attack him. Some beads of sweat formed on the troll's forehead.

"So, we'd like to come to a peaceful solution. Would you mind stopping with this toll business, or at least requesting payment that's more reasonable rather than random objects." Beist finished his speech, not noticing what was going on behind him or just how nervous the troll suddenly was. "My name is Beistmild, but please call me Beist. May I ask what your name is?" He added, hoping to get the troll more comfortable with speaking to him with some simple introductions.

“I-er-m’name’s-” the troll hesitates, wetting his lips and glancing between the ever pleasant Beist and the crows preparing for murder. The troll speaks again, “...Baelgryf. M’name’s Baelgryf. An-” he coughs, blinking at the thick, choking smoke that emanates from Bell, the stuff too translucent to blind, the magic suffusing it insufficient to bind the physical, but more than enough to make casting more difficult for those considered foes…

The troll blinks again, tearing his eyes away from the numerous lambent orbs of the crows to refocus on Beistmild, “ah-I s’pose if’n y’ve got the stuff t’pay the Toll, ye c’n let ye past…b-but…ye c’n only pay fer yer own passage, y’see?” with each word that passes without the crows attacking, the troll grows more confident, “one payment per passage across, regardless o’the quantity involved”

The crows tilt their heads, watching the troll carefully, their eyes shining with toxic light as they gauge the creature’s words, actions, and tells…

Loci and Wind both crack their necks, flexing their fingers as their sockets shine with an acidic, toxic,caustic light.

Whistle and Wind settle into ready stances, Whistle idly spinning a bayonet in each hand while Wind thumbs the safety on his enormous crossbow.

Bell stands tall, eyes shining amber as he smiles at the troll, the embers pocking his feathers shining eerily as he watches, head cocked ever so slightly and the smoke of his aura still suffusing the area.

"A pleasure to meet you, Bealgryf." Beist replied in a friendly manner, happy to hear the troll was receptive to keeping up the peaceful conversation. It must have been a bit hot though, with all that sweat on his forehead. Beist didn't feel it even with his thick fur. Maybe it was the animal hides.

"Well, you see, that's the problem. Only being able to pay for passage for oneself if they have the correct objects is causing most people to not be able to pay such a toll. Most people don't carry around the objects you've been requesting as payment. We were hoping to discuss you relocating so people can get back to being able to use this bridge. People rely on this bridge for their livelihoods, you see. Merchants need to move their wares across it and traveling workers need to be able to get to and from their jobs. It's a big problem to not be able to safely cross this river here. The only other way across is a huge detour that some people can't afford to have to make."

Beist tried to reasonably explain the problem and offer a peaceful solution. If the troll simply moved somewhere else, and stopped demanding this toll, everything would be fine. He looked like he knew how to survive out here in the wild. He could go back to doing that. Suddenly forcing a toll on people just because there was an influx of travelers was similar to merchants price gauging their wares.

"And besides, you don't legally own this bridge. Making people pay a toll to cross it is the same as robbing people on the road. You could be arrested for banditry, thrown in jail, or even killed. I really don't want it to come to that."

Baelgryf’s brows furrow. This…reasonable debate was decidedly not something he’d come prepared for. The troll determinedly keeps his focus on Beist as he mulls the larger man’s words over, “...I…don’ see how that’s my problem? Y’ve gotta pay the Troll Toll, that’s the rule. ‘N with the ownership thing…I dunno ‘bout that…the Boss makes the rules, y’know? So if’n the Boss says we make people pay the Toll, that’s what we do. No two ways ‘bout it. Boss says we own the bridges, ‘n Boss says we gotta make people pay the Toll, so we make people pay”

The crows, meanwhile, are slowly, deliberately sizing up Baelgryf, a dozen eyes of various hues watching the troll the same way a pack of predators might watch their unwitting next meal…

Rena trills softly, eyes shining a cold, bone white as she idly shifts her grip on the twin bayonets held in either hand, her head cocked to one side as frozen mist slowly pours from her beak.

Bell cracks his neck, eyes burning a bright amber as his aura ebbs and flows, seeming to swirl around his wife as though trying to propel her along even as it soaks into Baelgryf, making whatever magic the troll can access feel sluggish and clumsy…

Whistle and Wind adjust their weapons, Wind very deliberately aiming his oversize crossbow for Baelgryf’s throat as his caustic yellow eyes bore into the troll’s own muddy brown orbs.

Loci and Wind remain between the family and Baelgryf, Loci’s bones trembling with anxiety and Wind’s with excitement as the two skeletons mentally prepare themselves to serve as the front line of the murder’s defense…

"The boss?" Beist repeated quizzically. He stroked his beard in thought. He hadn't been informed about any sort of boss that the trolls had been reporting to. This was new information to him, and it made negotiations a bit more complicated. The troll was intelligent enough to speak, but clearly knew nothing about the laws of the land or ownership. Beist had heard more bridges than this one had been suffering the same troll toll problem. It looked like this was a more coordinated effort than just a few trolls having the same idea at the same time. They were actually in cahoots with each other. Thinking too deeply into this wouldn't lead to a solution without actually taking action. Beist stopped stroking his beard and looked at Baelgryf.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to go talk to this boss directly then. Would you be so kind as to lead us to him?"

Baelgryf looked very much like he didn't want to, but with the threatening demeanor of the flock of birds behind the intimidatingly large figure of Beist, he thought refusing to do it would get him killed.

"Sure... Follow me." He said, hesitantly.

Beist followed as Baelgryf lead the way, assuming the crows would follow along behind him. He was glad things were progressing smoothly without any violence or threats, not realizing that Baelgryf had felt threatened the entire conversation.

He lead them off the path and into the forest, to a large cave. It was not that far from the bridge, but far enough that it was out of the way. It was unlikely to be found by accident, but searching for it when someone knew it was around here somewhere wouldn't have been that difficult. On a map, it was fairly evenly located between several other bridges that were also taken over by trolls. This had to be the center of their operation.

The group finds the cave, the space dimly lit by crude torches and lanterns and occupied by piles of random household objects taken from those who’d managed to pay their way across…

…and at the center of it all, on a crude throne carved from a massive stump, sits an enormous troll, nearly taller than Beistmild. This one has a spark of intelligence and cunning to his piercing eyes…eyes that immediately zero in on Baelgryf before locking on to Beist, the crows having tucked themselves behind their momentary partner’s massive frame, “...Baelgryf. And guest…have you come to pay tribute in person? Or are you here to challenge me, as the trolls now under my command have done? No…you’re smarter than these fools…perhaps you’d like to swear fealty outright and spare yourself the shame of defeat?” there’s a mocking lilt to this troll’s voice, a shine of superiority in his eyes, as though he’d never once tasted defeat…

The crows, meanwhile, move into position, an effort of will all it takes to dim their eyes to unnoticeability as they creep around the sides of the cavern, using the Boss Troll’s voice as cover for their footsteps even as they take advantage of their dark feathers in the dim light…

Soon enough, the murder is in position and ready to strike should it prove necessary…

Things were already not looking very promising in the ways of diplomacy. This troll seemed more intelligent than the others, but also far more arrogant. Beist sincerely doubted he'd be very reasonable if he tried to have a conversation with him about property ownership and fair tolls. No, this really didn't look promising at all. Still, he had to give it his best shot.

Beist cleared his throat before he began to speak. He tried to sound as friendly as possible, holding his arms out at his side and offering a smile.

"Ehem. Uh, no, no, none of those things. I'm not here to challenge you, pay tribute, nor swear fealty. I'm actually not a troll despite my appearance. I wanted to discuss-"

The boss got up with a loud roar, cutting Beist off mid sentence. Beist grimaced at the loud noise that echoed through the entire cave, making his ears hurt. He was sure if he had stood closer to the troll boss, he would have been covered in flecks of spit that flew from the bellowing mouth.

"If you don't pay tribute or swear fealty, then you challenge me!" He roared, pulling a heavy club that looked like it was thick enough to just be an entire tree trunk. Judging from some bits of bark still clinging to it, it likely actually was.

Baelgryf ran away as soon as the negotiations fell apart, not wanting to be dragged into the fight. He didn't even notice that all of the bird people behind him had disappeared.

It's as the lead troll picks up his club that the crows strike.

One pair of bayonets coated in black frost lances out to drive into the space between his shoulder blade and his spine, followed by another pair that embed themselves in the same spots on the opposite side. Small circles of frostbite begin to spread from the impact sites, stopping at a good three inches radius.

Even as those blades are hurtling through the air, a frost-coated crossbow bolt slams into the arm wielding the club, the frost numbing the limb and rendering it useless for a long moment. In the same moment, Distant Whistle is darting past, slashing her own frosty bayonets across the back of the troll leader's ankle, causing the beast to stagger and collapse as his leg is numbed.

Rena steps out of the darkness, her eyes burning a cold, bone white as she draws a longer, more slender bayonet from either side of the bamboo rod on her back, each blade covered in winding patterns of black frost that seem to drink in the light and suck in the heat from around them, "...eijh'anahr¹, Fulgorid, Usurper King of the Forest Trolls. someone's paid a pretty solar for us to put an end your reign," The rest of the murder's eyes all light up to match Rena's, each pair burning a different color, but all equal in their caustic malice as they stare down Fulgorid from various corners of the room; Buzzing Locusts and Tolling Bell next to Distant Whistle, Wind through Bones between Winding Gears, Distant Whistle, and the troll.

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1 - Translated from Ravenstongue - greetings/hello/good evening

The troll looked with rage at the crow that spoke to him.

"Cheaters! Challenges are one on one! You're all cheating cowards!" He bellowed furiously.

Beist was surprised to see the crows spring their ambush from around the cave, and immediately put his face in one of his palms in frustration.

The troll stood back up and grabbed his club again. The slash on his leg had already sealed and it became apparent that the magical frost that had spread from the bolts was fading much faster than probably expected. He grabbed the bolt stuck in his arm and yanked it out, the hole in his arm closing up right in front of their eyes.

"Oh dear, this is one of the reasons fighting a troll is so difficult. They have incredible regenerative abilities. I was avoiding entering the cave for a reason." Beist sighed from the cave entrance. He looked behind him to see Baelgruf running, the fleeing troll keeping to the shadows of the tree canopy and pulling a leather hod up from the back of his hide cloak. He was prepared and knew his weakness, unlike the boss who had no clothing other than a cloth wrapped around his waist. He must not have felt the need for protection inside his cave.

"Trolls are weak to sunlight! Draw him out of the cave!" Beist called to the crows and backed up, farther away from the cave entrance and to the side, into a sunny clearing nearby.

Inside, the troll boss held the bolt he'd pulled from his own arm and took aim, reeling his arm back to throw it at one of the pairs of glowing eyes that made for convenient, overconfident targets.

Rena cracks her neck, eyes blazing with bone white light as she takes another, silent step forwards...and vanishes. Invisible, the crow circles around the troll before darting up¹ and slashing her permafrost coated wakizashi² across the back of his neck, the black frost spreading from the wound even as she beats her wings to send her hurtling back and out of the troll's reach. those bone white eyes watch the frost recede, noting how the wound doesn't heal properly until after the taint of her curse has been expunged, "...fascinating. capable of healing most any injury, but some take higher priority than others...it's a pity we don't have any fire to work with, I suspect cauterization would make things easier...ah, well, frostbite will have to do..."

Wind sends another icy crossbow bolt hurtling through the air, this one aiming to nail the troll boss in the throat as Whistle darts in to slash at the troll’s ankles again, the frost briefly spreading up his legs to numb them for a moment.

Bell cracks his neck, eyes burning caustic amber as he steps just close enough to bring the troll leader into his aura, the thick, choking smoke wrapping around the troll and weighing down his ability to cast.

A snap of Rena’s fingers sends Loci and Wind into motion,³ the two skeletons letting out angry, bloodthirsty hisses as they rush the troll, talons of bone digging into and tearing at his hide as they harry him toward the cavern entrance.

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1 - Dashing enchantment
2 - Double Strike enchantment
3 - Undying Frenzy