Medraut shouts a warning to his companions - "Beware, and avoid its touch at all costs! Only magic weapons or spells have any chance to harm it, and even then it is not guaranteed!"
"Our best bet would be divine channeling... but Lirana is nowhere to be seen..." - his voice seems to trail off.
Shaking his head he focuses again - "They are affected by force type spells and effects, use them if possible Adalieh!"
As he informs his companions, the wizard himself goes through the options in his head - Dumb! so dumb Medraut! Versatility, where is your versatility?!
Fiddling in his pockets while he retreats a few steps, he grasps his magical pearl, and invokes its energies to recollect an earlier cast spell.
Shadow 2
Shadow 1
Adalieh
Corso
Both of the shadowy creatures try once again to touch Corso, lashing out from the shadows around the cone of light from the trapdoor.
Adalieh quickly renews her witchcraft on Corso, who desperately tries to escape up the ladder.
Though weakened by the monsters' attacks, he manages to haul himself through the trapdoor on the floor in the room above.
Shrill, disappointed cries can be heard from below.
"We are ill prepared to handle these creatures - and beware Corso, these are incorporeal beings, able to traverse physical barriers - we are not safe behind a simple closed door. We should retreat further outside and make specific preparations to deal with this kind of menace" - Medraut cautions, as he keeps his attention focused all around.
"Incorporeal? Wonderful," Adalieh says hollowly, before she takes a deep breath.
"We need to get out, all of us, now," she says, her tone strengthened, "I will examine you next to the warmth of a hearth - or a campfire if need be," she adds, nodding at Corso, as she offers her arm for support.
"Let us retreat, and recover momentarily - we need to sit down and discuss how we are going to proceed. I have a few ideas that may assist us in dealing with the creatures. Lets go!"
Medraut leads the way as the group returns outside.
You make your way back to the manor and are led by the majordomo Laurentiu to three guest rooms that the Lady has generously offered to you to use as you deem fit. The well-appointed guest rooms smell musty, and moths have had their way with the lace curtains. Nonetheless, the beds are quite comfortable, and the doors lock.
After inquiring "Will that be all?" Laurentiu takes his leave of you.
"Thank you Laurentiu, one additional question if you will - are you aware if the town possesses an establishment where one could procure implements of the arcane?"
Laurentiu replies dutifully: "There is, of course, the temple of Zon-Kuthon, the Midnight Lord, praisedbehisname!" His pious remark does not seem too convincing. "If you cannot find what you desire there, you might want to pay a visit to that Nadia Witch-Blood on the outskirts of town. But I would really not want to encourage you to do business with the likes of her. Very odd lady." He then bows to Corso and leaves.
Adalieh examines Corso as best she can, to get an overview of the damage he's suffered, and spends the rest of the day treating the man.
After treating Corso, first time around, she goes to talk to Medraut.
"Corso's damage is substantial. I would say he needs three days rest to return to his prime. I am growing anxious, Medraut." She sighs. "Laurentiu mentioned the temple of Zon-Kuthon, and Nadia Witch-Blood. I wish to visit this Nadia."
Medraut nods at Adalieh with a somber look - "We can count ourselves lucky, the encounter with those shadow creatures could have ended much more dramatically... I am hoping that Corso will be able to recover fully"
"I agree with you regarding Nadia - I am not usually prejudiced regarding particular religions, but I am not anxious to deal with worshippers of Zon-Kuthon - we can either travel to this witch-blood abode the two of us, or wait for Corso's recovery"
"Perhaps an Augury could work in our favour, then? Is it safe to visit Nadia without Corso? Or something to this effect." She glances at Corso, and then looks apologetic. "I am not very useful in the heat of a fight. I'm a healer, not a warrior. If we meet another one of those shadows..."
She shakes her head quietly. "What say you, Medraut? Should I perform an Augury?"
"Please do so Adalieh - we can only gain advantage by you doing so - let us garner the most information we can, to make the best possible decision"
"Medraut heads to Corso's bedside - rest well my friend, you will be up and about in not time, worry not"
Adalieh nods and clears out an open space. She finds and lights incense, while clutching the marked bones necessary for the spell. She draws symbols in the air, humming gently, before she speaks in a whisper: "Will visiting Nadia Witch-Blood without Corso spell danger for me and Medraut?"
Medraut pockets Corso's money, telling him with a smile - "Thank you for your trust friend - let us see first what results from Adalieh's insight - and then we will decide what best use to make of your money, and ours"
A single word forms in Adalieh's mind after she performs the ritual:
Weal
You take it as a good omen and make your way to the outskirts of town in the direction Laurentiu has pointed you. The alleged witch's hut is not hard to identify as such: A ramshackle one-story wooden building leans against a gnarled old, leafless tree. Two large blazing torches frame the doorway.
You take a deep breath and knock. After a few seconds the door opens just a crack and a raspy voice of an unseen speaker simply asks: "Yeeees?"
"Greetings," Adalieh says gently, doing a small bow. "Me and my arcane companion wondered if you might possibly have some arcane implements and tools? And, if it isn't at all too much to ask for, perhaps some insight in what is happening here in Karpad?"
Adalieh holds out her arm as Greywhisper, having cawed all the way to the hut, lands staunchly on her shoulder.
"By the reputation you harbour I am lead to believe that you and I are alike," she continues. "I, too, have been called a witch. For all the good and ill the name carries."
"Yes, yes", the voice muses, "a witch, that is what they call me. Their small minds need their neat little names."
The door opens further and reveals a woman, advanced in years, with a warm glow in her eyes and slightly pointed ears. Her hair is gray, almost silver, and tousled. She wears a simple brown robe, adorned with arcane symbols, but washed and worn out.
"About the goings-on in Karpad, I don't know too much, I'm afraid. There is a reason I live on the edge of town, you know? People do not trust, what they don't understand. You know, probably.
But what else do you need, sweetie? A love potion?" She glances towards Medraut and adds playfully: "No, no, probably not."
Laurentiu brings a couple of books and tomes to Corso's bedside, along with the Lady's Get-Well-wishes. The subjects range from political, geological, and geographical history to more obscure and arcane topics.
In all of Karpad's recorded history, at least as far as Corso can tell from the books, there has never been anything like this.
Of course diseases struck and plagued the town from time to time, but one as strange as the current outbreak has never been seen.
Medraut bows before the old woman, addressing her in a surprisingly respectful tone - "Master Nadia, we come beseeching your advice, and your magic implements of warding versus the woes we expect to find ahead - mainly disembodied ones..."
"Yes, yes", Nadia replies, "No, no. No need for this fancy speak. Come in, come in, and explain yourselves." She scuttles inside and beckons you to follow her.
You enter the hut and take a look around. The walls are lined with crooked shelves that are loaded with powders, pickled things, strange bones, and other arcane and mundane obscurities. A large cauldron sits over a fire in a corner of the room, opposite of a simple bedstead.
The air is thick with smoke from the fireplace mixed with a sweet odor.
Nadia stirs the murky content of the cauldron and asks: "Yes, yes, my humble abode, you would say. You know? No, no." She smiles as if she had just made a joke to herself. "So in plain Common, what is it you need?"
Adalieh looks at Medraut before she turns to the witch. "A balm or cure for the cursed touch of the shades," she explains. "We are trying to find out what's happening in this village. During our initial investigations, our companion, now bedridden, was assaulted by... shadows. Cold, disembodied shadows. They sapped his strength. It would take days for his recovery to be complete. A part of me worries we do not have the time to wait for him to regain his strength.
"As to the village itself - you say you know little. Does that mean you know something? Anything at all to aid us?" Adalieh watches the woman quietly, before she glances at the shelves and their trinkets, then at the cauldron. "May I ask what it is you're brewing?" she adds, curiously.
"Ah, yes, yes", she turns to one of the shelves and after some rummaging through the various things shows you six small vials, one holding a blueish liquid, the other ones a rather silvery oil. "This will help your friend!" she explains pointing to the blue vial, "And these will help you next time. You will go against these shadows again, no?"
"Apologies for the excessive fanciness of my speech Master Nadia, it is perhaps a reminiscent of my formal arcane training, and the self taught respect for the ones more versed than me..." - Medraut nods and smiles.
"My companion is completely correct in the description she has provided, and you are too - we do intend to face the creatures again, and return them to where they belong. What exactly would be in those flasks?"
Nadia raises an eyebrow and replies: "I think, I told you, no?" She repeats, a little louder and much slower: "This will help your friend, and these will help you against the touch of the shadows!"
Medraut nods appreciatively - "Very well then, in that case I will gladly accept the offer and request that you name us your price for such barter"
Pausing a moment, he adds - "Though... We would also like to know if you could provide us any insight on the current happenings around town - we have seen many nervous people, and were almost witnessing a lynching as soon as we arrived to these parts..."
"Yes, yes," Nadia mumbles, "the tiny shiny things. I say, 30 of the platinum ones will be enough. No? But I do not meddle in the affairs of the villagers, I only provide them with what they ask me for. And lately, there was nothing out of the ordinary, if that is what you want to know. No?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary?" Adalieh repeats with a frown. "Fetchlings getting lynched is a common occurrence in Karpad?"
"What?" Nadia raises a wrinkled eyebrow and falls into a murmured ramble: "No, no, stupid villagers, always running around, bullying what they don't understand. Which is everything, no? But when they need it, they come crawling. No, no, call that civilization, yes?"
"Very well then" - Medraut reaches in his pouch and pays the amount as agreed without any barter.
"Thank you for making these available - I am sure they will make a big difference in the path we have ahead of us"
With a short bow and a nod to Adalieh, the wizard motions to leave.
Adalieh mulls over the witch's word as she gives a stern nod of acknowledge to Medraut. "Yes, thank you for your aid, Nadia Witch-Blood."
When they leave and are out of earshot, Adalieh glances at Medraut with a sigh. "Left me with more questions than answers," she says, glancing at the hut as Greywhisper lands on her shoulder. She runs a finger down the bird's spine. "Kind of her to give a cure, however... what did you think?"
Speaking with Adalieh as they head back, Medraut comments - "I agree - I was expecting to garner some more information here today. We cannot be certain that she actually knows anything more than we do, seeing as the townsfolk seem to keep her apart from their affairs but even so... I could not help but notice that she already was expecting us to come around..."
With a smile he adds - "I guess by now it is irrelevant anyway - if there is a part to be played by Nadia, I am guessing it will come full circle and meet up with us again - but again you are right, she was kind in offering a cure for Corso's ailments, and without many added information - as if to some extent she was already of what had happened - too kind actually... Maybe she does have some part to play yet"
"Let us meet up with Corso and offer him some relieve for his sickness - we will share this with him, and decide how to proceed from there onwards"
To Corso's surprise, he does not wake up to the sight of his two companions. Instead, Laurentiu, another human man and a bulky half-orc are standing next to his sickbed. "I am very sorry, but the Lady wishes these two gentlemen to aid and accompany you, as soon as you feel better." A knock on the door rings through the manor. "I will leave the introductions to you, if you do not mind, as I am needed elsewhere." More to himself, he sighs and adds: "Which I always seem to be these days..."
Feel free to fill in the blanks of how or why you are in Karpad yourselves but I feel like this makes at least some kind of sense.
Standing near the door you see a tall, thick, muscular, pale green half-orc with brown eyes black hair and a black goatee, wearing cloth and leather traveling clothes over a partially exposed breastplate. Strapped to his back, crisscrossing over his shoulders you see the handles of the greataxe and falchion whose tips stick out slightly from his sides. The handles are covered in a cascade of black hair that he has pulled back into a partial knot on the top, letting the hair below it fall freely. Despite his slight scowl due to his racial facial features, his eyes do not look angry or hateful, but slightly stern and a little peaceful, and maybe a bit curious.
When you make eye contact with him, he nods in acknowledgment. ”Hello, my name is Lorzub Skabgrim.” Motioning to his right, ”This is my current travelling companion, Lucky Luke. We we’re travelling nearby and word of strange occurrences brought us here. We were approached by Lady Anya who said that you needed some help with your investigations and that’s how we came to be here in this room." Taking a slightly more focused look at Corso, Lorzub frowns a little more. "It looks to me like you definitely need a bit of something. How did this happen to you?”
Catching a hint of the jealousy and suspicion that Corso seems to be throwing his way, Lorzub scowls a little more. "She merely came out to meet us because we were asking around about the happenings of the town and to the validity of the stories we've been hearing, strange illnesses and people disappearing. It was obvious to her that your being hurt meant that you needed a some help because you couldn't get the job done yourself, so she asked us to come save the day. If that's not the case maybe you should just get up out of that bed and do what you came here to do!" With that Lorzub straightened his stance, crossed his arms, and stared directly into Corso's eyes, the peacefulness in his own seemed to be fading at the hint of suspicion.