
The storyteller would smile, not yet worry about a weapon and offering his trust to the bugbears those they were considered monsters that many adventurers would kill without thought. He had felt that there would be times not all monsters or monstrous humanoids would want to kill him.
He would look to the Bugbears and say in a friendly, calm tone, "We will go to you and meet you leader, we can discuss things with him." Looking to his companions he would add softly, "Whether or not there might be a trip this is the only possible lead we have, we should take advantage of it."
The Bugbears lead the party up the stairs to the north. At the top of the stairs the party sees a corridor that leads to the west that ends in a door. The Bugbears move past that corridor going to the end and taking a right.
They finally come to a door similar to the previous one, knock, and enter.
Your first thought upon entering is that this room is uncommonly warm - almost sultry, after the ever-present chill of most of these caves. An ancient humanoid, its yellow skin creased in wrinkles and its furlike hair gray with age, sits huddled in a blanket in a stout chair, accepting a steaming drink from a female humanoid. Both have shaved the hair in a strip incircling their necks, leaving a band of pale yellow skin that has the odd effect of making their heads seem almost detached from the body. In addition, the old male has an ugly scar on his left temple, as if a blow from an axe or sword blade struck him and made an actual dent in the skull beneath. The ancient creature takes a restoring sip from the wooden mug and then gestures for you to approach and seat yourselves.
He speaks briefly with the female and she addresses you in broken, but understandable common. "My father would like to thank you for hearing us. He saw that you would come.
Our family… or tribe, has all but been destroyed by the evil humans in the cave complex. We are down to our last warriors. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated."
She stops and waits briefly for your response.
Hunter is amazed by the setup they have going here. He asks the most curious questions first,
"Thank you for having us. How many of you are here and what help do you need?"
After asking Hunter makes a quick scan of the rest of the room without moving from his spot.
Ardo looks at his group of companions and says in common. "I would like to help to rid this valley of the evil priests then move onto greater and better things. I also really want to find the barrelmakers daughter alive or dead and return her to her father. To have some allies in this battle to come would be nice. Does anyone have any questions or objections before we start down this road?"
In response to Hunter's question, the female Bugbear confers quietly with the ancient Bugbear in the chair.
While they're talking to each other, you scan the room and find it quite bare. There is little more than the chair the old Bugbear is sitting in, two beds, and a small table. There is nothing of any particular value that you can see.
When the two are done talking to each other, the female speaks up once again. "There are about ten males left and about 15 females. Our strength is certainly not what it once was.
"We ask that you would clear out the evil priests. Unfortunately, the only thing we can offer is the help of three of our warriors and all the wealth that you can recover from the priests. As you can see," she waves her hand across the room, "We don't have much that we can offer in the way of valuables."
Hunter says, "Fair enough, what are the skills of the three?" He adds, "We need someone versatile with magic and someone with skills of the thief."