Hello D&D doo dudes! How have you got on gathering berries? Ah beautiful! They'll make a lovely
breakfast along with these mushrooms I picked. And Fiffa's off getting craggots. We met Fiffa
last time. She's a big mole thing burrowing under these fields. She's invited me, Tagk and the
boulder to breakfast with her. Lovely. Here, why have I got this bit of string tied to my finger?
Something to do with my dream last night, wasn't it? Ah yeah, I was dreaming about the boulder and
how it came to be rolling through the woods. What was it? I don't know. There's just so many things
to think about right now. We've got to see if we can track down Tagk's stash yet. It's gone, see, and
there's just a big ole where we buried it. There's a burrow right there and all so hopefully Fiffa
found it and knows where it is. But we best take care because apparently there's a grumpy farmer
about and Fiffa said to watch out for him whatever we D&D doo doo. Laters! Right now Tagk, I've been
told the farmer on this land is a bit of a bad'n. I mean I've not met him yet, you know, so I don't
quite know what's what. Okay. But I think if we just like keep a bit quiet and you know be quite
stealthy. We haven't had a long rest. We only had... He'd be able to do his cantrip. We've only just
come out of the fight with the mudboils and I've only had a few hours sleep. I've been up all night
really as it feels like it anyway. I can give it a go but I don't know how much I've got. How about
you? Well, Fiffa, the creature I met, they were asking if I wanted to go and have breakfast with
them. So they did sound like a good sort, you know. I could just explain that you know we're
really tired and if they've got a bit of a burrow or something then maybe they'd be kind enough to
just let us sort of settle down for a little bit. You sure they can be trusted? Well, can I make a
bit of an insight? I mean, Fifa came across really well but just to get a bit of a... Yeah, roll for insight.
Yeah, insight is plus two. Right, six. Nix, when he thinks back there's nothing he can think of that
would give him any cause for concern. Yeah. I think Nix is naturally predisposed to assume goodness
until proved otherwise. Yeah, I mean if someone's gonna invite you to breakfast that's like
besties mates already, isn't it? Unless you're a wolf. Well, yeah, I don't think they were wolf-like though.
They like mushrooms, that's why she gave my toe a little nibble, she thought I was a funny mushroom.
Yeah, and berries, they like berries. So maybe if we get a few little bits. Let's just go and size up
the situation but if we need to make a hasty retreat we will be primed to do that, okay? Yes,
absolutely, Tagk. Let's do it. Yeah, you spot on. Right, so I think I'll do my little dance. Okay,
you start dancing. Tagk looks at you but he's got nothing left. This is the new normal, Tagk. Well,
yeah nothing happens for a little while. But the smaller shrubs in the orchard, you start to see
they just jiggle a little bit in an advancing line towards you until through the hole,
Fiffa emerges. Hello, I can smell both of you now. Hello Fiffa. You found the stressed thing then?
Yeah, yeah. Hello stress thing. Here they are. Tagk, this is Fiffa. Fiffa, this is Tagk. Hi Fiffa. This is going to be really strange.
I just, oh, a little bit of tiredness have come over me. I'm just gonna sit down over him and be quiet for ten minutes.
Don't you dare! You have a little chat. Is he always like this? Yeah, he is. What's the most annoying thing about him?
Well, it's hard to choose really. Alright, yeah, yeah, so, you know, Fiffa, Fiffa, Tagk, Fiffa, Fiffa, Tagk.
I found him. He was sat on my wantitump. Weren't you? You sat on my wantitump. I was, I was sat on your wantitump.
Yeah, they're very comfortable. Anyway, breakfast. Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Right then.
We've not had much sleep through the night, you know, it's been a real rough one. Right.
But more, especially for Tagk here. Is it alright if, you know, we'll first have a little nibble and just like have a bit of a rest and...
Yeah. You know, oh, that'd be wonderful. Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Great.
I'm sure we can, we can find a little spot. And she disappears back in and she keeps talking, but, you know, she's in the tump.
So I managed to get some cragots and I was just pulling back out. She's pulling this large monster carrot.
It's not as orange. It's more of a parsnipy or swede sort of colour. It's really gnarled and tuberous.
Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's a nice veggie, Fiffa. Yeah, I love these. You've got to watch out for the farmer.
Yeah, yeah. Do you have a lot of trouble with him? Well, yeah, it's a long standing thing between the welves and the farmers, you see.
We've got to turn up the earth. Yeah. Make it all like, what, like fertile? Yeah, you've got to put the air back.
Yeah, yeah. You've got to put the air back in the soil and you've got to keep the beetles down. OK.
Erm, but you see, then some farmers... That's a fine job. Yeah, and then in return we would get some cragots. OK.
Well, then the farmers, they'd all change their minds and it was like, no, we don't need you. Stop eating our cragots.
Oh, right. Are we eating our own cragots then? Well, what are you meant to eat then? Exactly. And then if you don't turn up the earth,
then all the cragots die and you don't want any cragots to eat. So it all gets a little bit complicated. Yeah, yeah.
That sounds like a bit of a mess. So I think the farmer gets a bit stressed as well. All right. Got a stressy smell about him too.
Yeah, oh yeah. Right. Well, you know, maybe we can help you out. We've got a bit of an issue ourselves. What?
My mate here, Tagk, he had a stash of coins, right? And it's a real like, prized possession of his. Right.
But it's vanished down one of your holes. Fiffa's nose sort of twitches a bit. Down here? Yeah, yeah, I think so.
That's... It was just here, you see. I buried it here. I can't help but notice and I'm not making any assumptions, but it does seem to connect to your burrow.
What did it look like? Well, it was a sack full of coins of different denominations about sort of this size.
Fiffa really squints and she's having trouble seeing what Tagk's doing. And I'm just going to roll perception to see if Tagk can spot this.
Can I just like take out a coin just to give them the help action or whatever? Yeah, It's like stuff like this, like shiny metal coins.
Ah, OK. Fiffa's going to reach out and she's going to hold it. Yeah. You can have a sniff if you want. It might smell like mushroom, but...
Oh! OK. Yeah, there was something. There was something like this. It was a really awkward bean bag.
Yeah, it's back home. I took it back home. I don't know, until I've figured out what to do with it. Oh, OK. Yeah, that's Tagk's, that is.
Yeah, so what do you want to do? Do you want some breakfast or do you want to come back and...
Well, is there enough space for us to go through the tunnels and come to your place? Yeah, for sure. Oh, thank you very much.
Right come on then. I love being invited to new places. Tagk starts tugging on your sleeve.
Nix, are you sure this is a good idea? Yeah. It could be a trap. Well, I think we're all right. OK.
It might be a bit safer down there at the moment. So... What? Why? Well, I don't know. I've not met this farmer.
He's like round here. I caught a little glimpse of him. All three of you look that way, but you can't see anything. They've gone.
All right, so you're going into the burrow. Yeah, I think... You have to do a bit of a wiggle just to get through.
The opening is relatively small, but once you get through and you drop through, you're into quite a nice chamber.
I'll give it a bit of a sniff around and see what my senses are telling me as well, you know. It smells good.
It smells earthy and quite sort of carotty, which you think is coming from the craggots.
It's, you know, that the type, the sweetness of the earth as well. Yeah, I'm not averse to these smells. It's all right, I think.
It's dark. There's no lighting. Fiffa doesn't need the light to see. She doesn't see with her eyes very well.
If there's a little bit of light on, then my vision's not too bad, but if it's completely dark, then I'm completely in the dark.
Yeah, Tagk can do his dancing light. Oh, it's beautiful. Tagk will do his dancing lights. Nice magic, Tagk!
Fiffa sort of squints up at them. She's like, oh, sparkly! So she can detect light, but she can't see very well.
As you're going along, you find that sections of the wall of the burrow are, they've had all different objects pressed into the side.
Different collections of things have been placed together. So you pass a bit where it's been decorated with little arrowheads, metal little arrowheads,
or animal bones, you know, little small little bones all arranged. There's horseshoes put together, some nutshells.
It's a wonderful collection of items. And some coins you see as well a bit further on. What you touching at?
I'm just admiring your little collections of objects and items. They're very well organized.
She puts out her paw. You see she's got these big claws. In fact, I should probably sort of describe her a little bit.
She's about the size of a large turkey. I say she's got like a mole-ish head with this large scraping tooth.
She walks on four legs, although she's got more weight on her on her back legs. And she's got a short, stumpy little tail.
And she's not hairless. She's not quite like the Gleb. She's got a very light, sort of mole-y down over all of her body.
But very much where you can still see the form of her skin and flesh underneath.
But she reaches out and she kind of touches the wall where she is. And her paw is going against some nutshells where she is.
And you can tell this is how she's sort of looking at it. She's looking at it just by feeling.
Yes, I collected these. There's a big acorn tree over on the other side of the farmhouse.
And I collect them up there and I like putting sorts together. You know, I think it feels really nice on the paws.
Yeah, yeah, it's very nice on the eyes too.
You might want to roll a perception.
OK.
Now that's a twenty.
Oh, right. OK, so you're standing by a bit where there's lots of coins pressed into the wall and Tagk's already looking.
And it's that thing where he really wants something to be the case, but then his face falls.
These aren't his coins. But you follow his gaze and you spot something quite interesting.
On a few of the coins, you see a particular symbol that you recognize from the dungeon that you used to work in.
Oh, nice.
Your previous employment. It's the insignia of the treasure that was kept in that dungeon.
Right. Oh, hey, Fiffa.
What?
Could I just have a bit of a closer look at these coins?
Yeah, go for it. You can pick it up if you want - as long as you put it back again after.
Oh, yeah, no worries.
She starts munching on a cragget. CRUNCH CRUNCH!
It smells really carrotty and a little bit like it's got that bite to it, like horseradish.
Oh, yeah.
There's a real heat to it as well.
Oh, lovely.
All right, take a closer look.
Here, look at this Tagk, right? This insignia.
So I had a job before I met you and before I was like imprisoned by the Gleb.
Yeah, you mentioned you were in a dungeon.
Yeah, that's right. So, you know, I was sort of earning my keep.
I was working with a few mates, a few, a bit of a goblin crew and we were working for this like wizard.
All right.
You know, I just knew a bit about him. I sort of got the job like friend of a friend sort of thing.
Yeah.
I was like making some traps and like little things in the dungeon... working protection
really.
Oh, you're a security guard.
Yeah, I guess so.
I wasn't. I got a bit distracted though, to be honest.
Really? That's not like you.
No, not at all. Me? What?
But yeah, this is part of the treasure. This belonged to the wizard that was down there.
Fiffa comes over and she takes it off you and just saw, just to kind of look at it really.
And she feels it between her fingers. And you can tell that, you know, even though she's got these
really big scooping nails, her actual like finger pads are really, really sensitive.
Can really pick things up. Oh, yeah, these ones, these ones are right out a ways.
Right out they were. Yeah, they were before I settled here.
When I came away from the colony and I was following my way trying to find a nice spot.
Yeah.
Yeah, and I found these then and I brought them with me. Yeah. And I've got them in me wall.
Nice. Was it, was it like underground or like in a sort of dungeon?
It was, there was like this really empty suit of armour.
Right.
With like some twigs sticking out of it.
Okay. Yeah.
Yeah. And then, and like there was lots of crows.
Oh, okay.
Lots of crows.
I just found it in its pocket.
Yeah. Fair enough. Yeah.
A little suit of armour bum bag.
I've always wanted one of them.
Yeah. But you know, I like to collect things and sometimes I just keep them for decoration
and sometimes I like to kind of, you know, make, make, put them to use.
I'll stick the coin back in the wall.
Cool.
Right. Let's.
Okay. So you carry on through the tunnels and you know, after just a few minutes,
it's quite comfortable. You sort of, you have to kind of bow your head a little bit,
but it's, it's quite deep. And then you come to a bit where it starts to,
you can feel that the ground is sloping upwards.
And then you are literally about to climb out and poke your head out.
Fiffa goes out first. Come on then!
All right.
Nix, out you go, Tagk follows and you find yourself.
It feels like you're in a, you're in a shed.
Right. Okay.
That's got a couple of windows in and it is crammed with all sorts of stuff.
And it's a real hotchpotch.
Looks like this is a Fiffa hoard.
Yeah. Well, welcome to, to Chez Fiffa
Right. Do sit down.
Well, and there's, so she proffers a chair.
The chair is like a little low bookshelf that she's put on its side.
Yeah.
And there's, there was a little table, but it's, you recognize it's the footrest that you get
in a wagon in like in a horse and cart wagon. The tablecloth is a roll of parchment with a,
what looks like a map on it. And there's a watering can,
which looks like it's serving as a teapot. Some spice jars, which are cups.
It's all these different -
- Nix loves this. Just the hodgepodge of like all the found items and it's just like,
oh, his eyes are just, you know, his pupils are wide and he's just taking it all in.
It's like, oh, this is good.
She's basically, she's found things, brought them back and she's put them to a use that
is apparent to her from the properties of what she's got. Not that she necessarily
knows what it was intended for. So yeah.
Yeah. I think I've got, I've got a map here that I think might have where your dungeon is
But she hands you a vase and it's, it's a vase that's got a, like an embossed,
it's a leaf pattern. There's an embossed leaf pattern that's growing around the vase.
And she sort of runs a hand over it. She says, yeah, it's a map.
It must be a map of the countryside. I don't, because it's like the contours of the land.
And yeah. Oh, thank you very much.
Oh, you're welcome. Excuse me. She says, yeah, I just need to pop out for a moment.
Right.
Make yourself comfortable.
Fiffa leaves the room through the window, shuts the window behind her.
Tagk there just holding his little spice jar.
...Nix?
Can I, I'll have a bit of a, just like a look around and say there was a, like a map on the table.
Yeah.
Like used as like a bit of a covering.
There is, yeah.
I'll just take a little idle look.
It's being used as a, as a tablecloth and it is, it's a, it's a map of Meraki.
Cool.
So it's got Ikiga on, it's got Ka'drik and it's got the Unknown Lands as well.
Yeah, that's a lovely map.
It's a good map. It's, it's, it's a serious bit of kit that she's found there.
Yeah, yeah. We'll see if we can do a bit of a trade.
And it's also, it's covered in multiple mug rings and cheese crumbs and apple cores.
Don't worry, Tagk, we'll get your stash back.
What are we doing? Are we having breakfast or are we having a sleep or are we running away?
And at that moment the door bursts open and it's Fiffa again.
Alright, Fiffa?
But she's wearing a big wide brimmed hat and she's carrying a hoe and she's kind of
stood a little bit more upright.
Doesn't look terribly comfortable for her but she's sort of drawn herself up and she's like,
Oh, what are you doing in my farmhouse?!
Oh what are you doing?! Who are you?
Well, all right, Fiffa.
(Mischievous giggle)
And she sort of giggles to herself.
Oh no, it's this farmer that Fiffa told us about.
Fiffa? Who's Fiffa? You're not that, not that well, not that well, just eating all my crops, is it?
(giggle).
Well, no, I ain't, yeah, Fiffa's all right.
You ain't getting any information out of me, you, you bad egg.
Oh, I don't know, I don't know if I should, if I should let you be here but I tell you what,
I tell you what for now, I'll tell you you can have some breakfast for now.
And she starts getting some bits of craggots and, and apples and things and she lays,
and she looks so pleased with herself.
Oh man, it's beautiful. I'll give Tagk a bit of a nudge.
Tack's eye's twitching. He's saying nothing and his eyes twitching.
You've gotta love the performance.
Fiffa sits down, she's swinging her legs on one of the little tree stumps that she's got
and she bites into an apple. So then, what are you, what are you up to? What are you
doing around these parts?
We're just like, we're traveling around, seeing the lands. It's a beautiful farm you've got here,
Fiffa, uh, Farmer, what, what's your name?
I'm the Farmer.
Alright, Farmer. Yeah, it's got a really nice land here. I like the, uh, the mounds that are all over it.
Oh, those mounds! Those mounds! And she slams her fist down on the table.
Those pesky welves. She's an absolute terror. She's an absolute terror.
But I'll get her one of these days - she's not having my craggets.
You'd want to keep all those to yourself, wouldn't you?
I think Tagk is going to do, um, an insight roll to see if he can get his head around this.
Uh, he's got his rogue expertise, so he's got plus six. Nine.
This is crazy. I'm just, when you've sorted it out, come and find me.
And he just goes back down the burrow and he just hand reaches out, grabs an apple.
Oh dear. Sorry, uh, Farmer.
At that point, Farmer's face crumbles a little bit. The, the, the mask sort of slips a little bit
and Fiffa runs over, sticks her head down the burrow.
Tagk, Tagk, no, come back. It's all right. I'm only messing. It's me, Fiffa.
There's a silence.
And Tagk's head appears and comes back out.
Right. Is it all right if I just have a little lie down?
Yes, that's absolutely fine.
And Fiffa gets some straw for him, there's a pile of straw.
And Tagk curls up and goes to sleep.
Oh, uh, oh, I know what will help. Uh, he, he needs this, um, what was it he was after?
Was that uncomfortable beanbag?
Yeah, yeah, that's right. It's his stash.
Yeah, he really, it's, he's very passionate about it. He's been looking after that
well forever. It's very important to him. Okay. I think I see if I can find it then.
Oh yeah. Do you need an hand? Do you want me to have a little look around?
Yeah, if you could just go and stand at that end.
Yeah.
And kind of hold it up because I'm going to dive in here and she dives in and the pile of stuff
teeters. Yeah. All right. Yeah. I'll just like, uh, run around the edges, just making sure nothing
uh, crumbles to the ground, you know, and you can hear her kind of scrambling around and say, no,
no, I know it was kind of, I just, oh, here we go.
Yeah. It's got lots of shinies in it.
She reverses out and she's holding a large fabric, uh, sack.
Yeah.
Um, it's got a big 'T' embroidered on it in a big kind of kobold script and beautiful stitching
around the edges. Is this it?
Yeah. Yeah. That's it.
Tagk's got that beautiful, uh, craftsmanship.
Yeah. You recognize this is done by the same hand that embroidered his parachute and his pullover
and all the rest of it. So she, she takes it over to Tagk who's sort of curled up on the straw.
I just shove it under his arm like that.
Yeah.
And just, he just puts his arm around it and you can see that everything just falls into place for
him. And he wraps around it and he goes to sleep.
All is right in Tagk's world now.