[center][color=5ffb01][h1]Voth[/h1][/color][/center]

Following the small group through the mists had proved more of a challenge than anticipated. Voth had been forced to get closer to them than he had wanted to. It had not been long after he first spotted them that they headed into the mists. As the group wandered through the magically dense fog, it was only their smell that had let Voth track them.

That smell had been the only indicator that they were the ones he was after, when he first came across them. While the swamps of Hither were as strange as the rest of the fey wilds, they still ultimately smelled like a swamp. By contrast, the little group he had been following smelled of the Carnival. A mix of sugary sweet and fruity scents that radiated through the air of the Witchlight Carnival and clung to its visitors. If anything, it had been a blessing from Grankhul that he had found them in the swamp. Moist air and a backdrop of earthy smells made that distinct Carnival scent stick out all the more.

When they first emerged, he was upset to see he stood just behind them. Voth had hoped to trail further, but after one of their group had wandered off in the dense mists he knew he would need to stay close or risk losing the trail. At the very least getting this close meant he could match the look of the group to the description he had been given. Admittedly little to go on, but when he looked past and saw the shape of a goblin lying on the ground amidst some flowers he knew he had passed the first of Grankhul's tests.

Before he had a chance to speak, he was addressed. Not uncommon for Voth, being slow to speak up, but hearing the goblin tongue surprised him. If he had any doubts before about this being the group from the carnival, the sight of the speaker put those out of his mind. As odd a place as Prismeer was, he had never seen a gnome in a jester's outfit before. To his mind at least, Witchlight alone was the origin for such a sight.

[color=5ffb01]"I've not come looking for a gnome,"[/color] Voth would reply in the goblinoid language, as he had been addressed. [color=5ffb01]"I'm here looking for a one like me. The word 'round says this group has one. Looks not like they are with you, but if you swear to take me to 'im then I can offer a pact of aid to your band. Not looking for trouble with 'im, or like. Just some questions, then a chance at bargain."[/color]

Something about the gnome caught Voth's interest, and made him feel certain he was on the right trail. While it rarely came up, the three kinds of goblin-kin all spoke their language slightly differently. Hobgoblins had a lot of unique phrases they liked to repeat, and spoke the language the most formally. Goblins varied the most among the three, but in general they all spoke a lot more through the nose in a way those who learned from them usually replicated. Bugbears, on the other hand, cared the least about getting the words right. This gnome was speaking like a bugbear, and naturally enough it sounded like he had learned from one. As odd as that was, it told Voth he was getting close to what he was after.