Moving up in front of his companions, but not too close to the bear, Wilhelm tries to ignore the prickling oddity as he feels Iomedae's protection settle in. Is this a divine mandate? Should this beast not be killed? I don't think it will allow us much choice in the matter... Setting aside the conflicting theological thoughts to be sorted through later, Wilhelm advances in front of his companions and prays for divine favor, "May your Hand guide mine, my Lady!"
Lanya moves a little closer, 10 feet behind Wilhelm and possibly Dante, so she can have a direct line of sight with the malformed creature.
"Dante, Wilhelm, make sure he can't reach me."
She then stares deep into the eyes of the bear in front of them.
She mumbles something in her serpent speech before nodding to the bear.
"You know it's me you're after, look into my eyes and know it's true."
Lanya's eyes glow up a light green and the others might see her trying to not break eye contact with the bear. In some way or another Lanya seems slightly more feral and intimidating in this pose.
Rowan watches the confusion cross Wilhelm's face and he begins to question what they were doing. He takes a few seconds to pray to Old Deadeye for guidance.
Erastil, I ask for your guidance. Did we disturb the guardian of your temple or is this beast trespassing on your sacred grounds? Should we slay this creature?
Rowan feels a comforting presence and although the words are not actually spoken he feels as though he has received a message. Be merciful. Relieve it of its misery.
Rowan gives a quick prayer of thanks before concentrating on calling storm clouds to appear overhead.
"Wilhelm, we need to end this creature's suffering." He speaks reassuringly.
Wilhelm feels the Strength of Iomadae fill him as the miracles he asked for occur. The skies begin to suddenly cloud up and thunder rumbles as a thunderhead quickly begins to form over the battle. The bear's gaze seems fixed on Lanya, he can't break away. That doesn't stop him from running up to Wilhelm and taking a bite.
The bite grazes Wilhelm but does no real damage
Dante takes a readied action to move so that he and Wilhelm flank the beast for the next round. Argos valiently stands between Lanya and the monstrosity.
Now in position behind the bear, Dante swings his great sword with a practiced hand.
Slicing a great gash in the bear's flank.
"Keep him locked down!"
Lanya keeps her gaze fixed on the bear and lets slip a spell of her palms without losing sight on the bear.
"I call upon you my ancestors; let this malformed creature slip and find peace through our weapons. Let him fall and let him sleep forever."
Grunting and stepping back from the force of the glancing blow, Wilhelm looks at the bear warily as he circles slightly to divide the beasts attention between Dante and himself. Hearing the reassurance from Rowan, Wilhelm nods and says, "If the beast is in pain, and its life should end, I'm happy to comply." Shouting wordlessly, Wilhelm strikes in a succession of overhand blows, doing his best to end the threat quickly.
"By Erastil's blessing, may you finally find peace."
Two bolts of lightning race down from the clouds above.
Dante's blow barely penetrates the beasts armor but he leaves a gaping wound.
The ground under the bears feet becomes greasy from Lanya's spell but the bear is currently not noticing it.
Wilhelm's first blow connects, but the second blow does not get pass the armor.
Two lightning bolts strike the bear from the clouds. The bear roars in pain, but finds he still can not avert his gaze from Lanya. He stumbles 5' towards her.
He swats at Argus between him and her to knock the annoying dog out of the way. He tries to bite Wilhelm at the same time, but this proves too much, as he breaks eye contact and suddenly finds himself blind. (For this round)
The bear hits with both claws, and Argus and Wilhelm feel fortunate that he was merely trying to bat them out of the way (He was unwilling to take the grappled condition)
Grunting under the more powerful impact of the monstrous bear's heavy paw, Wilhelm touches a hand to his chest and mutters a quick prayer to Iomedae. As his wounds close, he winces at the pain in his chest. That'll likely leave a bruise tomorrow. Seeing Argos under assault, Wilhelm shouts to Lanya and Rowan, "Circle around, as this monster seems like he can just go through Argos." Fending off the beast's swatting blows, Wilhelm waits a moment for Dante to move into position before renewing his assault. Eschewing trying to hack into the bear, Wilhelm begins a series of slicing blows in an attempt to weaken the rampaging ursine monster.
Dante shifts up towards the bear, cautiously stepping in its own footsteps where it sank through the grease to the ground. With a silent yell he swings again.
He hacks with his sword trying to bring down the beast.
Argos bears his teeth and growls as the bear comes towards him. As soon as the giant beast comes within reach he barks and bites twice.
"Lady Lanya, you should move back." Rowan advises calmly, prepared to step forward as soon as she moves. He calls upon another bolt to strike down from above and then draws his cold iron sickle.
"I will, thank Argos for me for protecting me so diligently."
Lanya dismisses the Grease with one flick of her hand and moves to the area 10 feet from Wilhelm, just next to the basin of water.
She then waits for the bear to recuperate and Fix its gaze again on her.
"You looked away from our staring contest, let's try again."
She says as she forces the bear to once again look only at her.
Dante flanks the bear with Wilhelm. Both of Wilhelm's attacks hit as does both of Dante's and the bear collapses under the strike of Rowan's lightning stoke. It gives an almost human sigh of relief as it falls and its form shrinks into an old wizened man lying at Wilhelm and Dante's feet. Thank you for freeing me from my curse. Don't...Don't ever let the Green Lady help you." With these cryptic last words he falls back his body quickly decomposing into a skeleton and then the skeleton to dust. A transformation seems to flow from where his body fell, as flowers begin to bloom throughout the vale and the stagnant water in the pool turns clear and algae free.
Panting from the exertion, Wilhelm nods to the old man as he speaks. The beginning of his response turns into a shout of alarm as the man's body disintegrates. "That was... alarming... to say the least. Are all of you well?" Barely noticing his own hurts, Wilhelm takes a moment to look over his companions for injuries. "It seems like we got off fairly lightly. Gather closer and I can heal us all in a burst."
Chanting quietly for a moment, Wilhelm finishes his prayer with a resounding, "...let it be as my Lady wills!", as a burst of white light rushes outwards from his hands. Wounds close even as aches and bruises fade as if they'd never been there. Nodding in satisfaction, Wilhelm looks around the glade's newly restored state and quips, "Well, it seems that was more effective than I thought, clearing up all that scummy water and such. That last bit, about the Green Lady, who is this woman? And why do so many who want to kill us talk about her?" Cleaning and sheathing his blade, Wilhelm checks is other gear.
Lanya gracefully slides off of her horse and kneels beside the flowers that sprang from the old man's corpse. Looking at the colours and the renewed pool of water, she contemplates his words for a few moments.
"He talked about a curse. Turning someone into something else is pretty strong magic from what I know. It seems that her powers as well as the followers of this 'Green Lady' are not to be trifled with. I guess from the man's words he got cursed after he'd gotten 'help' from her, we'd better heed his words to not fall for that trap."
She picks one of the flowers from the new flower patch, then holds it close to smell it. "This smells sweet, in just a moment this place feels like a burden has been lifted from it. Someone appreciated the gesture it seems."
"I'm fine and Argos is healed completely. Thank you for that." Rowan says, glad that Argos is fine and also proud of his canine for not backing down. "I have not heard of this Green Lady, but if this is the 'help' that we can expect from her then I'd hate to see what she does for harm."
Rowan crouches down among the flowers and takes in the scent. "It is wonderful. One of the many blessings of nature that I'm glad to enjoy." He dismisses the rest of the chain lightning spell and the weather clears up immediately. Rowan then takes a moment to offer his thanks to both Erastil and also to Iomedae for her blessings to Wilhelm. He calls Argos over to his side and rubs him down and gives him a treat as thanks.
Looking up at Wilhelm, he asks "Should we set camp here and rest for the day? I'd also like to take a peak inside and find out if this is in fact the temple of Erastil we've been tasked to find."
It does seem as if some oppressive burden has been lifted from the area. Even the overgrown brambles that surround the place are now blooming and are no longer an obstacle to movement. Rowan, in particular, feels a sense of accomplishment and Wilhelm's healing burst completely heals everyone. After a few minutes of searching around, Rowan finally decides that yes, this must be the lost temple to Erastil. It's been unattended for decades, so it is definitely in need of some repair, but what has been lost is now found.
Listening to Lanya and Rowan, Wilhelm nods in tentative agreement, "It does seem that this woman is formidable and dangerous. Why would someone so powerful be interested in these lands?" Looking around again at the newly blooming clearing, Wilhelm feels at ease despite the fighting only moments before. [b]"Yes, we can stay here the night I think. We'll want to bring our horses in and do a quick search of the area, but it's pleasant here." Kneeling and brushing a hand through the flowers, Wilhelm takes in the serenity of the glade a moment longer.
The temple is devoid of any clues as to what happened, although you can tell the bear has lived here for a long time, more than 20 years. It is quiet peaceful here now, and nothing bothers you for the night. Rowan has a dream however.
It's not the largest battle you have ever heard of, but Rowan sees the closing stages of a clash of armies. The victorious side seems to be barbarian raiders and they rout the more organized defenders. A large squad of the attackers stumble upon this clearing where the old man you glimpsed later stands alone except for a bear companion. He doesn't run, he tries to defend his home versus the smelly barbarians, but it is soon apparent he will lose. Desperate he cries out for help. Time seems to stop for the barbarians and the bear and the loveliest woman Rowan has ever seen steps from the woods. She is wearing green and every step leaves red throny roses in her wake. She tells the man. "The power to stop them lies before you. Claim the power of the bear as your own and you shall easily succeed." Desperate to win the man agrees, steps up to the bear and time resumes and the mans first act is to open up the bear's jugular with his scythe. Immediately, the man grows and transforms into the bear you fought earlier and he falls upon his enemies with renewed vigor. Their morale broken, the barbarians try to flee but find the clearing now hedged in by deadly thorns. They are destroyed utterly. But the man doesn't change back. Rowan feels a sense of great sadness for the man's fate and suddenly he notices that he has been watching this all play out from the point of view of the Elk that adorns the rock face. This revealation wakes him up.
After the fight, Dante brings all of the horses inside to the back of the cave. He then goes about gathering firewood from the surrounding clearing and starts up a nice campfire in the cave mouth, laying out his bedroll.
After getting the campsite in order he begins to remove his armor for the night, unstrapping each piece of the heavy place and setting it down with care.
Sitting on his bedroll he lights up his pipe for a nice smoke and some conversation before bed.
"Well that was intense." he states about the bear fight.
Rowan takes a seat at the fire and pulls out his own pipe and starts lighting it up. "Very intense indeed. It's been a fairly productive day today though." He pulls out a few pieces of parchment and starts sketching out the lay of the land and the location of the temple with a piece of charcoal. After the initial sketches, he looks back up at Dante. "I've been giving it some thought. I know that you're most capable for leading the future army of our kingdom and I've been thinking of setting up some sort of local guard. Like the Sable Marines in Karvosa. What do you think?"
Puffing on his pipe, Dante scrutinizes Rowans map drawing and then rummages around in his pack for a moment, pulling out a inkpen and ink, handing it to the druid. "If there is something I absolutely cannot abide, it is crude maps." he says around the stem of his pipe.
"Well thank you for your vote of confidence, as a local guard is a good idea. It is almost always better to keep civil issues separate from military ones." a moment passes as he points out a note or two on the swiftly forming map.
"Guards are good, they can care about the people and live among them, it's hard to instil that in a standing army."
"I agree with that. Having a force that is part of the community that people can look up to and aspire to be would be a dream for me. I'd like for most or all of them to be mounted as well. Most likely on horses, unless we happen to find some native species that would work better as a mount. Train them to respect nature, fey, and the other natives in the area like the kolbolds. What kind of army do you envision yourself leading?"
"The kind that wins." Dante replies gruffly.
But in all seriousness, I will use what is available to me, a good commander see all angles, and can use all resources. Whether it be calvary, casters, bowmen, pikes. The more options you have the better and a army with superior training can overcome an army with superior numbers." Dante taps out his pipe and refills it, lighting with a burning twig from the fire.
"Military violence is a form of expression of the will of rule, and the more eloquently you can express, the less people have to die in the long run."
Having assisted Dante in setting up the camp, Wilhelm strips out of his heavy armor and taking a seat by the fire to clean and oil it. Watching the back and forth conversation between Rowan and Dante with some interest, Wilhelm finishes oiling his gear and sets it aside. Turning his attention back to his companions, Wilhelm opines, "I like the idea of some sort of ranging guard. We're going to be living in a dangerous land and advanced warning of trouble seems worthwhile." Shrugging slightly, Wilhelm continues, "My hope is that we won't need to commit to military violence, but it's better to be capable and not need it than vice versa."
Looking to Lanya, Wilhelm asks, "And what of you, m'lady? What do you wish to build in our kingdom?"
Lanya listens to the conversation between Dante and Rowan with one ear while she stares into the fire.
The Green Lady huh? Her subjects show a healthy respect for her power, though that's only because of fear for her, not respect for her. I'd only want my enemies to fear me if I were a ruler, not my subjects. Though perhaps there is something similar between the two of us, perhaps I'm just too afraid to admit it...
Then Wilhelm starts to draw her into the conversation and she blinks with her eyes for a moment to focus from her thoughts. She smiles at Wilhelm and the others with a slight absent smile.
"Lanya is just fine Wilhelm, we're among friends. If we're in court I would prefer m'lady, but here I'm just Lanya."
She thinks for a few moments, the only sound still to be heard is the crackling of the fire as she peers back into the flames.
"What I would want to build in the kingdom? Well an able military presence to guard us as well as the local militia seems a fine idea, though I'd say we'd need a stable economy for that. I'd like to give the people enough freedom to do what they want, but still under our watch. For instance I wouldn't prohibit gambling or prostitution as long as we know what's going on; our subjects need to have a way to relax and if we don't provide it they could take matters into their own hands. The latter is obviously not what we want."
She pauses for a moment to think of her next words.
"Though I am sure some gods are more interested with the Greenbelt I'd like to make sure the others get a place too. Not to sound like a religious fanatic, but neither Erastil nor Iomedae nor Pharasma are my patrons, if I ever feel the need to worship I'd like to be able to do so as well."
She sees the curious glances in all their eyes, she just smiles and laughs.
"You'll know in due time, it's not an evil deity, which I'd rather stay away from in the first place."
Returning Lanya's smile with a lazily growing one of his own, Wilhelm replies, "But of course, Lanya. I don't know what came over me, I'll be sure to be more familiar in private from here on out." Grinning a little, he sobers listens to her extended and more serious reply. He reluctantly nods a little to her suggestions for managing vice. "I suppose that makes good sense, so long as there are safeguards in place to prevent abuse and breeding grounds for crime."
Her mention of another deity earns the curious glance which she expects, though Wilhelm quickly tries to cover his surprise. Nodding to her with more certainty, Wilhelm says, "That sounds acceptable to me. I'm not here to evangelize for Iomedae, though I'll happily teach those who would learn. I'd like to think that Iomedae's path is the best by which to live one's life, but I recognize that not all will agree with me." Shrugging a little uncomfortably, Wilhelm continues after a moment, "I'll admit to some curiosity about your deity." After casting a brief sidelong glance to Rowan and Dante, Wilhelm clears his throat and says, blushing, "But perhaps another time."
Pharast 26
It seems the weather is mirroring the revitalization of the temple as the day dawns with the warmest you've seen all year. The temperature quickly reaches the 70's and stays there all day long with no rain in sight. Early in the day you come across a gruesome sight. There is a maggoty dead body of a human man pinned under some logs. It appears that he triggered some sort of deadfall trap.
Lanya looks somewhat alarmed as one of the men turns over the dead man's body.
I've seen his face before. He was a guest at Oleg's, perhaps one of the trappers or hunters there. What was his name again? Bernard...Bryan...Bre..Breeg... Yes his name was Breeg, Breeg Orlivanch. We've actually talked a little bit, he told me all about what he knew about the Greenbelt's wilderness."
Stuck in one of the logs above the poor trapper is a masterwork handaxe. Looks like he stayed conscious long enough to try and start chopping through the logs. He didn't make it.
Mouth twisting in revulsion at the smell and state of the dead man, Wilhelm kneels to look him over. Perplexed by the "It's a shame that he's dead, but I can't rightly say how he came to be here. Any thoughts on what may have happened here? Do any of you know this man and, if so, do we know if he has any next of kin?" Kneeling by the man again, he does a quick search of the man's body to see if he has anything else on him.
Standing and dusting himself off, Wilhelm nods slowly, "I'll take your word for it, as I'm afraid I don't recall him at all." The young paladin slowly begins to grin as he glances slyly at Lanya, "Of course, I may have been a little distracted if the only time we saw him was when you were around."
His grin fading as he focuses on Breeg again, "Let's bury the poor fellow and we can try to return his goods to his family if he has any."
He has little of value beyond the masterwork handaxe. There is no sign of the mule Lanya last saw him with or the traps it was carrying. It takes more work to lift the logs off of him then it does to dig a grave but soon the deed is done. Lanya doesn't know if Breeg has any family, but she thinks Oleg would know for sure.
"He doesn't look familiar to me..." Rowan's voice trails off as the rope around the logs catches his attention. "Interesting..." he mumbles to himself as he closely examines the ends, even pausing to sniff them.
"It may not matter much now, since I doubt there is any way to find or even prove that someone is responsible, but I'm fairly certain that this man was murdered. It seems like some tiny creature gnawed these ropes until they snapped and pinned this man to his doom. I don't know any animals that would attempt to try such a thing on their own so it's most likely another druid like myself. We'll need to be careful."
It's been two weeks since the trap was sprung, rained and even snowed, it should be impossible for Rowan to notice any details left, but he does find where the creature clung to the logs to give him leverage to chew through the ropes. Tiny claw marks lead him to believe it was reptilian and there seem to be no discernable tracks leading up to it, possibly the creature flew, but more likely the trail has been obliterated by the weather.
Frowning anew, Wilhelm looks carefully for the marks that Rowan points out. "I can't say I like the implications of this man's murder. A druid you said? That seems like a possibility. There'd be a motive: 'protecting' nature from him. We'll keep an eye out as we continue your explorations. I don't suppose there's any other signs we could follow right now? I'm can't say I'm fond of the idea of a murderous druid wandering our forests."
Talking done, Wilhelm sets into the task of burying Breeg. Stripping out of his armor and retrieving a shovel from Triumph's saddlepack, Wilhelm clears the logs off the trapper's body and digs a grave. After toiling for a time, he finishes the burial by finding a circle of stones to mark the grave and steps back, dusting himself off and stretching out tired muscles. Sweating beading his forehead after the exertion, Wilhelm inquires, "I don't suppose you have some magic for cleaning me up, Lanya? I'd prefer to look presentable if we happen to run into any future subjects." Grinning, he quips, "A disheveled baron dripping in sweat doesn't present quite the same veneer of legitimacy."
Donning his armor again, Wilhelm takes up a formal position by the grave, looking serious. "Breeg, trapper braving the forest of the Kamelands, lies buried here. I did not know him, but Iomedae grant him rest, Pharasma guide his soul, and I hope he find peace after life of toil." Simple prayer done, Wilhelm pauses a moment to allow the others a chance to say something before he continues, "I think we should continue on. We'll keep our ears open and maybe we can find the man's murderer."
"But of course Wilhelm, you have to look a gentleman if you wish to play the part." Lanya grins before she says the incantation spell and Wilhelm's sweat dries and his clothes are proper again, even so far as smelling a faint scent of lavender.
As Wilhelm finishes the quick rites for Breeg, Lanya starts looking around for a sign of something.
"I might be wrong, but I remember Breeg had a mule if he was laying a Bear Trap here, perhaps his mule was closeby as well. I don't think we can find any tracks of it though, but perhaps we can find more about what happened to Breeg if we find the mule."
Running a hand through his hair, Wilhelm takes a casual look around the area, thinking for a moment. "I guess we could give tracking the mule a shot, though I've never been that good a hunter. I might be able to help out Rowan a bit, I suppose. If we don't find signs of the beast fairly quickly, I'd prefer we continue our exploration and make our way back to Oleg's. Soon enough we'll have a kingdom running, regardless of whether we're there or not."
"A druid in the wilderness can not be found unless he wants to be. Nature can be quite dangerously cruel and as an extension, druids can be as well. I do not like the idea of one of my more murderous brothers wondering around our lands either."
Rowan takes a quick survey of the scene before sighing quietly. Any trace of the mule worth following would take too long to find and they had more important duties to attend to.
"As much as I'd like to go find the mule, it has already been two weeks. It has either wondered a fair distance away or already fallen to a native predator. I'd like to find out more about what happened to Breeg as well but I won't be able to find the trail easily. I will remember this though."
You stop and camp a short distance away. The night is pleasant, for the first time this year it is warm enough to not need blankets.
The good weather continues for the next day. You continue travelling northeast into the forest.
Midnight passes uneventful in Lanya's eyes and ears, she is just busy with talking small-talk with the three men that accompany her.
"Hohh there." She calls out to her horse as she pulls the reins to stop her.
She leans forward and pats the horse on the neck, saying softly to her: "You don't want to hurt your leg now do you?"
She turns around to call to the others.
"Watch your step guys, there's a bear trap laying on the ground here."
Lanya swiftly dismounts and kneels close to the bear trap, inspecting it for any signs, clues or what not. She looks to see if it loos of similar make as the one they found yesterday.
"Not a worry, Rowan. As you said, it's been two weeks. We'll have to keep our eyes open and see if we run into anyone who might know what lives in these woods. If it was deliberate, then someone will know more and we can go looking for the possible culprit. For now, let's continue our explorations."
Later in the evening, though he keeps a wary eye out on the forest, the night of Pharast 26 passes uneventfully for Wilhelm. He converses cheerfully with his companions, though from time to time he looks distractedly into the darkness, frowning and obviously thinking. Who murdered Breeg and why?
Alarmed as he spots the bear trap just in front of Lanya's horse, he starts to shout an alarm but is interrupted as Lanya draws to a halt. Nodding his agreement with her suggestion, he takes a careful look at the ground before dismounting. Watching his step carefully Wilhelm wanders closer to Lanya and kneels next to her as she inspects the trap. "Find anything? I assume these are similar to what Breeg was laying?"
Rowan wakes in the middle of the night with the sense of someone or something watching him. Donning his magic lense, he peers into the darkness and makes out the forms of two small observers. He lays back down and watches until they start to wander off. Rowan then quietly gets up and follows them back to the area where they had found Breeg.
"Tyg-Titter-Tut, Perlivash! What brings you to these parts?" he eyes the fairie dragon closely, wondering if perhaps he was the one responsible. He pulls out an enchanted goodberry and offers it to the two. "It is good to see you two again. I have a few questions for you."