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-----Suddenly the thieves hear a noise in the bushes about fifty yards to their left. Between them and the source of the noise is a partly cleared path. Looking up, they see three stooped forms making their way cautiously through the scrub and bushes toward their position.
-----The forms appeared to be human-sized and wearing studded leather. Each appears to carry a shield and a sword. Coarse dark hair covers the top of primitive looking heads with grayish green skin.
-----Seth is surprised to see these primitive looking people. He quickly puts his hand in his pouch and grabs a piece of pork. "Kazel and Gimplefwick DO NOT move forward. Only go back or stay still!"
-----He grabs the pork and moves his hands in a complicated manner. Mumbling strange words, he points at a spot about ten feet in front of him and releases the greasy energy onto that spot.
-----The grass and weeds before him develop a dull glistening sheen.
-----Kazel turns to look sharply at the green men at the noise, her knife already out of its sheath, tumbling once and in her fingers by the tip of the blade. She turns to check where Jim and the wagon is, but waits for Seth to finish his business. She then leans closer to whisper, "If you'd told me what that lard was for, I could've gotten you a barrel of that stuff..."
-----Gimplefwick blinks in surprise at the advancing figures, then whips out his sling and starts letting fly with a stone. The projectile sails straight at one of the humanoids, but bangs loudly off its shield. The reaction from the approaching opponents is one of snarls, gnashing teeth and shouts in some unknown cruel language. The humanoids then raise their swords and begin to charge the three thieves.
-----The trio holds their position against the advancing menace. Gimplefwick quickly draws forth his cutlass. Just as the humanoids reach within twenty feet of them, one of the green skins falls face first and skids. His head stops almost at Seth’s feet. Another one’s feet go out from under it and it lies on its back struggling to get up. The last humanoid starts to slip, but it catches its balance. Its arms pinwheel as it maintains its balance and carefully moves backward out of the enspelled area.
-----Seth is amazed at what he has done, "Wow- look at that! Imagine what a barrel of lard would have done!!"
-----He reaches for his dagger and draws it and attempts to hit the green skinned creature that is lying at his feet in the back of the head. He stoops down and draws back his dagger. Just as his blade descends, the foul creature jerks, moving its head out of the way. Seth’s blade smacks down on an exposed rock on the ground. The force snaps the blade of his dagger in two!
-----Gimplefwick looks down at the green skinned humanoid at Seth's feet. Figuring to help him out, Gimplefwick attempts to impale the creature's head into the ground with his cutlass. He stabs down, but the humanoid must of heard his attempt, for it manages to pivot on one side avoiding the Dread Pirate’s weapon.
-----Not to be outdone, Kazel holds onto her knife with her other hand and draws her short sword in a reverse grip. She then joins in the attack of the creature at Seth's feet. She quickly places one foot on its back putting the creature back on its stomach. She then tries plunging the sword between its shoulder blades. She succeeds as the blade firmly finds its place and the humanoid’s body goes stiff and emits a grunt. The thing then relaxes and lies still.
-----The green-skin still in the greasy area manages to make it up on one elbow, but slips back down failing to gain a hold. The third manages to move back out of the enspelled area and stands across about ten feet away from the thieves. It raises its sword staring at the trio with an angry scowl on its snouted face.
-----Eyeing the critter on the far side of the slippery area, Gimplefwick mutters to the other two thieves, "Keep the one in the grease away from me. I'll start pelting the other one and see if we can scare it off, before the other one gets out of the slippery stuff." Gimplefwick then offers his dagger to Seth, sheathes his shortsword, draws his sling and commences pelting the green critter on the far side of the grease.
-----Kazel studies the dead creature for a brief second, then pulls the sword out and twirls it back into a normal grip. She looks up at the wagon and Jim, and doesn’t see him on the road yet. She then turns back and looks tensely across at the creature in the greased area, and replies to Gimplefwick as she steps in front and between the other two.
-----"Yea, I'll try to keep it away." Her knife is back in her right hand.
-----Seth dry retches a bit as the green skin thing subsides to the ground, sort of glad he missed with the blade. He accepts the dagger from Gimplefwick and places it in his dagger sheath. "Thanks Dread, I’ll try and use my sling this time though!"
-----He reaches to his belt and makes ready his sling. He takes one unsteady step backwards. He looks once at Kazel and sees the determination in the young half elf girl’s shoulders and this gives him some strength. He then turns and looks at the Dread Pirate, skillfully setting and aiming his sling and gains more encouragement.
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