Bad Garbage Thing

The day has been absolutely miserable, for the most part. Gray clouds have obscured the sun, lending the chilly air an icy, wet bite. The sun hasn't set yet, and the moon won't be up for hours. Malik moves through the streets of Goblintown, passing a few of the patrols that have all but replaced the guard here, giving them a respectful nod, the hood of his cloak pulled up to keep the rain off of his head.

The slow pace of his steps says that he's in no hurry to get anywhere, though it seems strange that he would be out for a stroll in this kind of weather.

The sound of repetitious shouts can be heard a little up the street. Under cover of one of the vendor stall's awnings is a wee Gobbo. Dressed in a red gi, she methodically goes through a variety of martial maneuvers, calling out HAH! or YAH! Someone from one of the buildings, above, tosses a worn shoe down at her. Failing to hit her due to the awning, her progress is interrupted. She snarls and heaves the shoe back. The sound of breaking glass and cursing is heard soon after. "Woops.", Choler says, and she begins to move off, walking under as much convenient cover as possible.

In this kind of weather, everyone is in hoods and cloaks, or under awnings and roofs. One figure, though, decidedly stands out amid the technology and the plain browns of most people's attire. His obligations done for the day, Seldan walks down the street purposefully, in the direction of a particular inn, the dark blue and silver of his cloak out of place even in the rain.

The curse and shatter of a window draws his attention, and he immediately looks around for the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Malik is easy to spot, as well. He might be one of the few humans, aside from Seldan, to call Goblintown his home. Even with his hood up, it's easy to spot the wizard. His height, and the easy grace with which he moves, tends to make him stand out here, even when he'd rather not. His eyes follow the shoe down, and then back up, the breaking glass and cursing drawing a a bit of a chuckle from the man, the red gi easy to spot even through the gray mist. "They totally had it coming," he whispers to the goblin.

But it only lasts a moment. There's a determined look on his face, eyes flitting down the short alleys of the dead-end street, as if looking for something. Not a stroll -- a search operation. Something has the wizard's attention.

Choler straightens up stiff and stops at Malik's whisper. "Idon'tknowwhatyoumeanitwaslikethatwhenIfoundituhImeanyeahnocluewhatyoumean...", she says in a long stream of words without pauses or breathing. "Er. What are you looking for? That alley has at least three people in it, hoping someone with money in their purse will come along." She squints. "Sorry, four."

It is the presence of another human that gets Seldan's attention first - and that's a figure he'd know in any crowd. He approaches the pair, nodding politely to the gobber. "Malik, what is it?"

"Yes, I know," Malik says, giving the gobber a little smile at the warning. "They've tried before. They stopped trying about a year ago. I think they've learned a bit better by now. My money comes at a far more painful cost." As Seldan approaches though, Malik's head whips in that direction, as if he weren't expecting the man to be there. "I --" But a clanging sound in the alley across the street from them draws his attention even more, followed by the yowling of a cat. "Nevermind," he sighs. "I think I just found what I'm looking for."

He moves to the corner, pressing his shoulder against the wall as he very carefully peeks across. For those perceptive enough, they might spot a few tentacles coming out of a trash pile -- and a fluffy, calico tail that disappears into a fanged mouth inside of it.

The Gobbo follows along behind the man, peering out from behind his leg. "Lost cat, again? Has the adventurer's guild fallen so far?" She blinks a few times. "Oh. Right. Obviously, it's the thingy that just had a kittysnack." She peers up at Malik, and then to Seldan. "Are you two working together? Or competing?"

"What thing?" Clearly, Seldan did not spot whatever it was, so focused is he on the pair in front of him. "Malik and I are friends and share rooms," he explains in the accent of the High Kingdom, following the others. "What is it that you seek?"

Malik sighs, stepping carefully into the alley, trying to be as quiet as he can. "One of those things that they let run loose in the sewers here," he explains in the barest of whispers, feet barely making noise as he moves down the alley, careful step by careful step. "A small one. I thought I saw it the other day, and then again earlier. Like in the market, that day."

"What thing, what day?" Choler blinks. "Oh, you mean him.", she says, gesturing to Seldan. Her ears perk up a little as Seldan speaks. "Oh, you're friends, I see. Sharing a room? Well. And uhm. There's a thing down there that just sprouted a tentacle and snagged a cat for a snack." she points down said alleyway. "Apparently there are others?"

"An otyugh?" Puzzled, Seldan looks in the direction he saw Malik go, which has nothing to do with where he actually went. "It is a long story," he adds, though what he refers to is not entirely clear. "They understand Trade, Malik," he calls.

"I'm not really in the mood to -discuss- anything with it," Malik whispers back, his stealthy approach apparently not going to work as long as people keep shouting down the alleyway. Instead, he stands a bit taller, pulling back the hood of his cloak, the rain turning his wet-sand colored hair almost black as it plasters down around his face. He moves a step closer now, almost within reach of the pile -- but fails to notice the dead rat in his path until he's already stepped on it. It crunches underfoot, releasing a noxious odor... and getting the attention of the pile, which starts to rustle. "Shit," he whispers.

"Ewh.", she says quietly at the mention of the word otyugh. "Those things are gross. Why would you wanna hunt one?" Choler quietly makes her way down towards where Malik is, and peers at Seldan. "Oh great, it can tell you when it's going to... be gross." The Gobbo suppresses a giggle. "No, you weren't going to express your undy... eeewh." she makes a face as Malik steps in dead rat.

"It will always be gross." The rustling and the crunch tells Seldan, finally, just where Malik is, and his head snaps to look down the alleyway. "Malik, give it the most vile thing you can find!" he shouts, hand on his blade as he starts down the alley after the wizard.

Malik only has a second to think. Taking half a step back, he kicks the dead rat at the trash pile just as the small thing explodes out of it, catching the putrid rat in mid-air and crunching down on it, tentacles waving in the wind threateningly. It may be small. But it's still a danger, even if just for the diseases that its bite is known to carry. Malik spreads his hands out to the side, watching the thing warily, then throws up his arms and gives it his best roar, spreading his cloak out on either side.

Which, coming from the unpracticed wizard, looks about as intimidating as an angry puppy.

The thing hisses back threateningly, vile breath filling the air in the alley, completely unphased and now looking angry.

The Goblin squeaks and steps back a little, as the action starts in ernest. "Have you got anything to hit it with?", she wonders. "Probably not a good idea to punch it." She looks to Seldan then, and his sword. "Hold yer breath, yeah?" Choler glances to Malik again. "Are you a wizard? Are you going to fireball it?" she steps closer and takes a stance, waiting. "I'll watch your back.", she whispers.

"Get back!" Despite being unarmored, Seldan doesn't hesitate, drawing his blade and taking off down the alley, making to put himself between Malik and the hissing creature. "Fireball will light the neighborhood afire, try the magic missiles if it attacks?"

Malik manages to get just back enough that he can grab the grated iron lid from one of the nearby, unlit braziers, holding it up as a shield. The thing bounces off of the metal, driving Malik down to the ground as the iron rings like a bell, the tiny otyugh rolling down the alley from the force of the impact. "No!" he shouts. "Bad -- garbage -- thing!" He points an accusing finger, as if chastising a misbehaving pet.

The Gobbo closes her eyes for a moment as Malik is attacked by the ferocious... wait, what? She moves to the downed man, and peers at him. "Bad garbage thing?", she wonders, crossing her arms and tapping the ground with a foot. "That's the BEST you can come up with? Goodness, you're new at this hero thing, aren't you?" Choler looks to Seldan, "Is your friend alright? Bad garbage thing, really? Tell me you have something more ... inspiring?"

Sword still in hand, Seldan looks around the alleyway, and eventually, his eyes land on the dead rat. Choler doesn't get a look or response immediately, but with a comical look of disgust, he picks up the carcass and lobs it in the direction of the baby otyugh. "They are not by nature mean, only hungry," he answers.

Malik gets back to his feet, looking over at the goblin as he crosses his arms over his chest. "If they're smart enough to trade, then they're at least as smart as a dog," he counters. The small otyugh rolls up, those tentacles still waving as it considers the three in the alley, clearly outsized and outnumbered -- but Seldan is holding that rat, and it looks at the thing hungrily, debating on whether to go for it or not. Malik's eyes move to Seldan, frowning even more deeply. "Be careful," he tells the man. "Hungry means dangerous."

Choler takes up her stance again as the creature waves its tentacles at them. "Well. We should kill it, yes? It's going to grow up to be a bigger one of those. And if it can't get the tasty dead things it wants, it will make tasty dead things and then eat them." She looks to Malik first, and then Seldan. "Right? We kill it?"

She turns then and yells, "HIYAAAAAAH", and goes through a few of her katas and stances, standing just to one side of Malik, taking care not to advance.

Seldan ignores both of them, having already lobbed the dead rat to the baby otyugh. "Malik, was someone not studying these?" Sword still in hand, he watches the thing's reactions closely, and places himself between Malik and it if he can do so. "i have seen one of these drunk," he answers Choler

Malik shakes his head. "No, we don't kill it," he tells the goblin. "That wasn't what I was even trying to do. I just wanted it to go back to the sewers before it -became- a problem. How did it even get up here?" He rolls his eyes a little as Seldan stands between him and the otyugh, though the thing seems content with the rat for the moment. "Yeah, I think one of the temples were trying to track them?" He shrugs a shoulder. "Don't really know. Not my area of study. I just don't want to wake up with it in our room." Though he does have to blink a bit, side-eyeing the paladin. "When, exactly, did you see one -drunk-? And more importantly, how did it -get- that way?"

Choler blinks a few times, looking slightly confused. "How on earth.. no, perhaps I don't wanna know how you knew it was drunk or why. But... why not kill it?" She rubs at her cheek. "If it got out before, it can get out again. Maybe one of the bigger ones got out and gave birth up here? That would explain it. Or perhaps someone captured it and it escaped?"

"But again, why not kill it? Tis a monster that will grow up and have to eat people."

Seldan simply stands, watching the otyugh consume its snack, sword still in hand. "A Guild job," he explains to Malik, without taking his eyes from the creature. "We had been asked to get them out of a farmer's apple orchard." He lets that hang in the air. "They had been eating the rotted and fermenting windfalls. They do not need to eat people, and can be reasoned with. Find them a source of food, the more disgusting the better, and they will not trouble you. They even - defended us when the owl bears struck."

Malik nods. "This one seems content with hiding. It does it well enough," he assures the goblin. "But I fear that it might not distinguish between a cat and a goblin if it gets much larger. Or more desperate. It needs to be moved." He looks to Choler, asking, "any idea where the nearest sewer entrance would be? Maybe we can lure it in with something." Though Seldan's explanation makes him chuckle. "Drunken -- garbage-things versus owlbears. That had to be quite the fight."

"Owlbears and otyughs. Some kinda mission, that's for certain.", Choler says to Seldan. She looks to Malik and shrugs. "No idea, I don't go sewer diving." The Gobbo rubs at the back of her head. "Well if they reason, and can be reasonable, then why not ask it t'follow you? Tell it you'll take it somewhere where there is more food, and it won't be bothered. Surely you can do that?"

"Yes, that is a reasonable idea." Seldan nods absently about it being quite a mission, still focused on the otyugh. Slowly, squatting on his heels with the sword still in hand, he tells the creature, "There is more where that came from." Tensely, he waits, watching it closely for a response.

The tiny thing still seems to be unsure. Three large creatures. And a delicious rat. It scoots forward a step, and then back, hesitating. But its focus is on the dead thing, clearly. "Maybe we should get tell someone from the Temple that it's here and let them handle it," he sighs to the goblin. But Seldan seems to have this at least mostly under control, for the moment, apparently an Otyugh-whisperer. Or at least the man holding the rat.

"Well, maybe if we backed off a little. Do either of you have more dead rats to leave a trail for it to follow?", the Gobbo wonders. "Or maybe live ones? Would they eat a live one? Do they hunt?" She looks a bit intrigued by the prospect. "Wouldn't the temple just kill it?", Choler asks of Malik. "I mean, seems to be the easiest, fastest way to fix the problem."