#rivervale_lodge

Siv says "Well, Bug Man did send his bug goons and hurt Tove so that counts. We like Tove."

He frowns. “Depending on who is playing judge, jury, and jexecutioner. Some play closer to the word of the law. I mean, not here I’m sure. But, like... there was a Greek myth where a guy wanted to kill someone, but not get Zeus mad at him. So he put them in a box and shoved it into the ocean, and ‘if they drown, it’s the sea God’s fault....” but he is just musing, mainly, it seems, not actually arguing.

"He hurt Tove real bad." She hesitates. "And, I mean, he went after me a few times, direct.."

"Well, sent the bugs..."

Siv says "We'll try to take the bastard alive. Mum can judge him. She's not a sea goddess."

"I was there one time when the bugs attacked Dagmar. I mean, since her dream dance. It was at the Browns' house. They were going to kill her, no question."

"I saw that movie" The cap says "Kraken looked cool"

"And here, when I was sparring with Siv..."

He snorts inaudibly. “The famous chieftain who comes roaring in on a ship to rescue folk? Yeah, I could see sea goddess. I should leave an anonymous note at Firnost and see if s new statue shows up...”. A shake of his head. “Then they... he, also endangered mortals. Right? That’ll tick off the Mountain.” Meanwhile, he is tapping at his phone, taking notes or sending messages, perhaps.

"So...he's gotta be expecting the grown ups to attack, and they're trying to figure out how...but if we go after him, he won't see it coming."

“Maybe there’s some sort of alarm system you could set up, know when his minions are coming to give warning. Or did they capture any of the ones that attacked the Rover? Could question ‘em...”

"And if the one thing he wants is me..." She frowns. "The grown-ups are all... they want me to just hide..."

She shakes her head to Symon. "Mrs. Brown couldn't see the bugs."

"Well, we were thinking... having you, Symon, go get help once we cornered him in a fight. IF we could"

That from Siv

Another head shake. "I think they mostly demolished the ones that attacked Dad. Except the Fir Bholg...he got away."

Dirk processes it all

Slowly

“Can you track him down? Maybe he went crawling back to his boss. Use one of those giant mountain dogs, or that pooka kid. Why wait until they come to you?”

A pause. “Or are they already doing that?”

"I dunno. He seems good at hiding."

"Well, the Fir Bholg can't come again unless he's invited on the Silver. And he got the last invite from the Bug Guy. So we want to get rid of the Bug Guy, but we don't know where he is." A pause. "Dagmar wants to play bait."

Siv says "I was .. ah, thinking that the best time to try this would be when Olgar and others hunted the Fir Bholg Down. While they hunt him, we would be free to hunt Bug Guy"

A thoughtful nod. “The fighters all away running down the snipe hunt, and Dags here unprotected?”

"oh, yes, surely the older trolls won't be offended at being used thusly at all" Flopsy says drily

"But then we couldn't get back up, right?"

"And it depends on who is guarding the Lodge."

"Oh right" Siv froans "gotta balance it'

He flaps a hand at the group. “Because the seaborne warrior, the embassador to the north, an ass-kicking flyswatter-wielding giant and someone who can bite his legs off isn’t enough to take down one slug?”

"Well, we should be." Siv blushes purple

"Well...you tell us, Symon. Do you think we can? And...how do you catch a sluagh?"

Dirk snorts "Look, once you corner sluagh, deck him. Sluagh can't squirm out of punches. You beat em, don't grapple. You can't really break their bones, but if you reduce one to one giant bruise? Coma his ass? The wriggleworms can't do shit about that"

"Siv says they're hard to keep caught... like, to bring him in to Brekke. And killing him is against the law."

“Maybe you can leave a message where he might get it. Make it sound emo enough to have come from a pompous, overconfident seelie teen and he might buy it...’Stop messing with my new family, boo-hoo, if you want me you can come get me, man to man!”

“See, that would be dumb, trying to go up against him alone... but that’s also the type of thing that he might expect an overconfident fledge who is new in her strength and power to say. But then we ambush him, because fuck, he’s already not playing fair, so why should we?”

He swallows, sitting back after a bit of a speech.

Sylvi looks between Dirk and Symon. "Both of those make a lot of sense."

She nods, frowning faintly. "Yeah...."

“Can’t wriggle away if you’re unconscious.” Pragmatic.

"So. Beat him up until he stops moving, but ain't dead."

"Lure him out with a letter, but...where do we send it? How do we get a message to him?"

Siv ponders this. "if he's spying on us, maybe... shit, is he spying on us now?"

Flopsy says "I don't hear chttering, buzzing, or other bug sounds"

"Doesn't mean he ain't."

Sylvi glances around, then relaxes a bit when Flopsy reports.

He shrugs a bit. “If he is, ain’t nothing we can do about it, so let’s say that he ain’t and work from there, because we don’t have any better plan.”

"Practical lad" Siv flashes a smile

"So. Me as bait is still the best idea we have? I mean, the adults aren't willing, and they've not got him yet..."

"Wait...what about...Dagmar, what if we stage having a big fight...and you go off...we all get Fuddled or hide ourselves somehow, but follow you?"

She nods. "That'd be believable, sure. I get in lots of fights."