Hand over your weapons

There is no way you could defeat all nine wugs surrounding you without receiving mortal wounds. Reluctantly, you unsling your bow and arrows and hand it over along with your blade. Battlecaller Rippo croaks to his hunters and they begin to escort you into the swampy jungle.

It is a long and treacherous journey through the jungle cannopy. The wugs move very swiftly and with great texterity, leaping over obstacles and crawling like tree-frogs over boulders or cliff faces that you are **** to slowly climb. There is a tension to the journey as well. The wug hunters clearly view you as a burden and there are multiple jaw-snapping arguments with Rippo where he uses his larger size to intimidate them into leaving you alone.

Finally, the wug village comes into view. Large jungle trees containing mud structures surround the flat, open village. Sentry towers of some sort. The village itself is composed of gray and brown mud houses with a curved, disorienting design and embellished with grotesque images depicting wug mating and feasting. You notice that humans seem involved in both.

Wugs emerge from the huts to watch you being led through the street. The smaller wugs croak with excitement. The adults watch, only blinking their bulging eyes as you are paraded past. You arrive at a long mud structure with a thatched roof and a door made from wood. Two particularly large and mean looking wugs stand guard with spears and shields outside the door.

Rippo croaks to the guards and they open the door. You are dragged into the cool interior of the mud long house. Small holes in the ceiling provide light and ventilation as well as two open censers burning with aromatic wood. The room is dominated by a huge, deformed clay idol of a thick-bodied wug with a screaming mouth and powerful arms. This must be their god. And beneath it, you are even more horrified to see what is sitting upon the clay throne: a fat, balding human of great size. His face is painted red and his body is decorated in flower garlands and bone trophies, but he is definitely a human.

"What have you brought me, Rippo?" he asks, his voice sounding deep and yet also nasal.

Rippo answers him in a series of croaks.

"Ah, my lady. We do not often...ehm...receive visitors here. Please, sit." Wooden chairs and a table are brought in by wugs. They set them up before the statue and throne and you are pushed into a chair.

"I am Bloodmaster Koorips. I welcome you to our village."

You hear fearful crying and are stunned to see a man and two women brought in by armed wugs. They are covered in filth and blood and their clothing is in tatters. They must be survivors from the party of the man you met on the road. Koorips looks them over and gestures to a shorter, slightly pudgy woman with filthy black hair. She screams in horror, crying "No! Please!" as they are dragged back out of the chamber by the wugs. You can hear her screams in the next room suddenly silenced.

"Please, have some wine," Koorips says as large cups of wine is brought out for you both. "They destill it from the white berries high in the trees. It is very sweet and potent."

You reluctantly taste the wine.

"I have come from Elohin," you say, judging Koorips for any reaction. His face is like stone, his eyes are heavy and drooping. "My elven masters are riding out to meet an army of the undead. They wish to traverse this route and have no quarrel with you or your people."

"Mmm, yes, elves are an interesting sort. Not many come out here. What can you tell me of your people? Specifically, the lords of Elohin."

You can tell by his studying gaze that his question is not idle chatter. He does not believe your story and he is testing you for the truth. You know some about Elohin, but you do not know if you can provide enough detail to appease this strange human. Perhaps you should tell the truth. On the other hand he is a man, no matter how twisted. Perhaps you could seduce him.