Avendryl slashes at the gnoll in front of him, but misses yet again.
Saiga takes out a potion and drinks it after getting hit. His clothes were slightly burnt.
"Is anyone going to kill the bomb tossing dog. Or would you like him to burn down the place."
He noticed Arcturus lack of concern for his well being. He would remember that.
Crying out in pain as the second of the gnolls deftly slips it's blade in past his defenses and leavs a bleeding gash trailing along his side in it's wake, Tolias turns his pain into anger and his cry into a wordless howling oath of vengeance as he brings his blade to bear.
The twin strikes of Tolias cut down the Alchemist and the other Gnoll. The final Gnoll sees his compatriots fall and pulls something out of his clothes, firing it into the air before turning and running.
After a moment the sky lights with a sickly orange light, momentarily bright enough to light up the town.
The Gnoll survived Avendryl's blow, albeit it barely. It made a bee line for the cliffs, away from the party.
Saiga was not about to let any of these dogs go. He intended to make an example of the lot for the others. Gnolls spoke a language less about words and more about actions and he knew it well.
"Well done Tolias I owe you a drink. Seems we got a runner."
He flicks his hand and a translucent serpentine dragon finds it's way to the fleeing gnoll without fail.
"Any of them still breathing. Getting some information would help."
Spying the gnoll force leaving, he is unsurprised. It was both good and bad, which one more so would become apparent sooner or later.
"Looks like their reinforcements are cutting their losses. Guess that was a scout team or something. Alchemist are not common among gnolls, that they would risk one. Means they could afford to lose him or they were foolish, I hope it was the latter."
The sonic missile punched the gnoll to the ground with a yelp of pain. He doesn't rise again.
Rock has stayed out of the way; they didn't seem to need her help anyway! The lurking half-orc comes out once the bombs have settled down, to help collect gnoll bits and clean up.
"Any more coming?"
"No, that seems to be it," Elie replied as she returned. She looked at the dead Gnolls. "Thanks to you folks, from the look of it. They look like Shattered Glass Gnolls. They're why we have guards on this bridge, but it looks like we're going to need more..."
The Half-Orc shook her head sadly at the pile of bodies near the bridge's entrance. "Thanks again. While I'm sure you were simply protecting you investments," she grinned and nodded to Saiga, "Some investments prefer not to wake up in slave chains. Thanks again. I know a lot of you guys haven't had much of a chance to get set up yet, so I'll make sure you have rooms at the Inn for the night if you want them."
Saiga was already looting the dead gnolls. Placing anything of value to the side. He speaks while working.
"I have dealt with gnolls, everyone does in Katapesh at some point. They don't respect anyone outside their kind unless their stronger then them. Even then they need a reminder from time to time."
He produces a dagger and starts cutting off one of the gnoll's head.
"Any poles laying around. Put some of these up and they won't be so eager to return."
They could not afford to be seen as weak, gnolls saw those as slaves. Equals or stronger meant they would be seen as possible partners or be avoided. Ether was better in his eyes. At hearing the half orc he pauses and looks at her, shaking his head.
"Miss Elie, if I was interested purely in investments. I would not be here waist deep in foul smelling gnoll. As for this Shattered Glass tribe, would you happen to know anything of them?"
"I'm...sure we can find something for you to stick heads on. Wooden poles are too valuable to waist on Gnoll heads." Elie looked at the headless Gnolls. "The Shattered Glass are weird. They showed up about twenty years ago. I've heard a couple of rumours - some say they got driven out the Mana Wastes and Katapesh didn't want them, some say some Gnoll Cleric tried to give the Gnolls an upgrade. The Shattered Glass are smart. Smarter than Gnolls should be, that's for sure. We've even seen them use firearms, although usually only the high ranking ones. The more normal Gnolls don't like 'em much, but they're scared of them too."
Saiga finished gathering the loot while listening.
"Well that's good news. We are dealing with one tribe that is not allied or part of a bigger group. If they have higher intelligence that could mean that they will figure out quickly it is best not to be our enemy. Granted it's wishful thinking but I certainly would not be opposed to a truce or alliance dependent on terms."
He looks at the pile of loot.
"Unless someone is opposed I think anything we can not use ourselves go towards those on guard duty. Miss Elie I do not have your knowledge so I will defer to you. Would any of this be of use to the guards or do they have their own equipment?"
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Drake will walk about the gnoll corpses and get if anyone of them are still alive.
Finding any that are dead, he will murmur a quick prayer to Pharasma to make sure their spirits are properly looked after in the boneyard. Standing up he will slap the dust off his hands and moves to the party.
"Anyone injured?" He will look them all over to injuries no matter what they say.
Elie nodded. "We can always use more gear. It's mostly a bring your own sword type affair, nothing formal, so a few folks are under-equipped. The extra can't-" She pauses in mid sentance and looks over, muttering, "Aw crap."
A tall figure with glowing yellow eyes, auburn hair with more than a touch of red and almost metallic red skin strides towards you all. His clothes are rags and scraps of bright cloth sown together and his hair is braided in strange ways, each brain wrapped around some object or another.
His voice booms across the ground between you, calling out in a different tongue each time.
Finally he stopped and knelt before the party. "Hail, worthies all, and know the words of Xandius."
Saiga hid his winch at the figures words in draconic, he was sure he was not the only one that spoke it. He had hidden the symbol on his mark for a reason, hopefully no one would focus on his with their own to deal with. Looking at Elie and Xandius.
"Well now Miss Elie, who do we have here?"
Avendryl cocks his head, somewhat confused by the appearance of the the metallic-red skinned man and slightly more confused by the few sentences understood by Avendryl.
"Sovereign? Blood? Master of the Blade?"
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Drake looks confused for a moment, Scion? A descendant of the sun? what did he mean about that? And why is he referring to Circe as the Daughter of the Darkest Night?
Drake shakes his head, "What do you mean when you speak of the birthing chamber? I'm not sure what you mean, you may have the wrong person."
The man looked up, looking slightly blank. "Sorry, what? Who are you?" He glanced over at Elie and whispered, "I did it again, didn't I?"
Elie nodded sadly and patted him on the shoulder. "Yes you did. Xandius, these are some folks come to stay. They're going to tackle the Towers. Folks, this is Xandius. He's an Aasimar-"
"Peri-blooded," Xandius added.
"Yes, Peri-blooded Aasimar Oracle. He's also a Prophet. Two very annoying things about what he said - they're most likely right, even with Pharasma's recent issues, and he's not going to remember what he said to you, let alone be able to explain it futher." She sighed. "As I said, very annoying."
Saiga shrugs.
"Well then little point in worrying about it. Just cause you have inside information on something does not mean it will change the outcome as I see it."
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Drake chuckles at the futility of his inquiry, Guess I will need to find out my fate on my own...
He holds out his hand to the new comer, Xandius, good to meet you, I am Arcturus Drake, some also call me an oracle, but I prefer to be known as a doctor. And I believe we also share the same racial parentage, although I am not aware of any type of "blooded" that I am.."
Well, that was certainly strange...
"Nice to meet you Xandius. Does this, prophecy thing happen often to you?"
Circe will keep her distance from the Aasimar until she can figure out what he thinks of her. Too many of his kind have a dim view on her kind.
Looking not unlike a slightly pathetic puppy dog please at all the attention, Xandius replied, "All the time fair lady. It never does me much good though. I'm walking around, then suddenly I wake up having a screaming Halfling jumping up on down on my head, yelling that she can't possibly be marrying a woman." He snuck a glance at Elie. "I was right, though. How is the wife?"
Elie chuckled. "She's fine, thank you."
Looking over at Arcturus he added, "But yes, I'm bright red with yellow eyes and am very good at setting stuff on fire. A quick peek in most books on celestials and -ta-da!- there I am. Which was nice. A lot of folk in my home town insisted I was a demon or something though, so I healed everyone in the hospital and ran away. It seemed the thing to do after getting my ass kicked."
Rock just eyes the herald suspiciously, crossing her arms over her chest. She doesn't reply in orcish or anything, but her eyes skitter around at the others gathered, perhaps wondering what he said to them.
She frowns to herself.
"It was," Xandius replied, "Especially since I lost my healing magic soon after. I dunno why. Just woke up one day and...pow. No healing. But the Alchemist and his kid can do most of it, so no problem, really."
Catching Rock's look, Xandius added, "Uhh...whatever I said, miss, I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems."
Saiga starts dragging the loot towards the inn. Having little to add, it was late and he was tired after all.
Retiring for the night seems wise. Although the town is certainly more on edge than when you arrived slave raids are a common enough occurrence that it doesn't seem to have bothered them, especially since the gnolls were repelled with limited losses and no slaves taken. You do notice a great deal of candles in the windows that night, as thanks is given that no one has been taken and those who've been taken before are remembered.
The next day dawns bright. Not surprisingly many of the townsfolk are up and bustling, taking advantage of the coolness of dawn to get work done before the merciless sun makes it too hot to stay outdoors for long. You do notice the town folk seem to be setting up in the main square - apparently the locals are holding the monthly fair.
As you sit for a breakfast of assorted fruits, breads and cheeses Azerna joins you, the inkeeper Duval outback taking stock. "Does anyone mind if I talk while you eat?" she asked without preamble.
Saiga eats far more then his size seems able to support. In between taking bites of a cheese wheel larger then his head he speaks.
"By all means, certainly it would not be unwelcome by me."
"Uhhh...right." Ignoring the small reptilian being apparently trying to eat the Half-Orcs weight in cheeses, she began.
"I don't know if any of you realized, but I'm a Dryad." Azerna smiled slightly. "One of the masters of the tower was a druid. He wanted to study a Dryad. So he traveled across the ocean, found me and my tree, and brought us both back. He used magics to keep us both alive on the journey. Did you know Dryads don't do well at sea? You have never seen anyone be so sea sick."
She shrugged wearily. "When his main experiment was done, for the most part, he planted my tree on the island and made sure it got water. I built an inn around it and everything was fine, for a Dryad out of the forest. Even when the tower fell they left me be - a slave that dies when you take it to market makes a terrible slave, I suppose. But then a ghost showed up. It nearly killed me. Now I live here. Duval..."
She rubbed her eyes. "He knows I have nowhere else to go, and uses it to control me. If I don't work as long and as hard as he wants, I sleep right in the front rooms, the best rooms...and right at the edge of the distance I can be from my tree. Even sitting here isn't comfortable. I need to go back. I took the Dryad's armour, Drakkenhael, when he died. I figured he owed me. Get rid of the ghost and it's yours. But the tree has to be unharmed. Destroy anything else you want. Do you understand?"
Saiga swallowed hard a large hunk of cheese.
"Any information on this ghost would be helpful. While I am no expert, ghost do not simply pop up and claim a place."
Slowly crunching on an apple to finish off his breakfast with an amused grin as he watches Saiga doggedly works his way through the wheel of cheese almost bigger than himself, Tolias flicks his eyes over to Azerna in surprise and makes a quick study of her features as he hears her mention that she is a dryad. The skin of dark polished wood, the soft scent of flowers drifting through the air around her, how on Golarion could I not have noticed this already...
Moving his full attention over to her as she continues her tale, Tolias glares off in the direction of the back rooms as she details how Duval had been treating her, though he before long he again returns his concentration on Azerna and the information she is providing. As her tale comes to a close Tolias rises from his seat and gently clasps her hand.
Azerna looked at Tolias for a moment, her expression softening slightly, then nodded. "Maybe what was done with magic can be undone by magic. Right now, I simply wish to keep living. And to be with my tree..."
She paused, looking away, then turned back, this time focused on Saiga. "I don't know much. A group of people came to my Inn one night. There was some kind of scuffle - the next morning they were gone, but there was signs of a fight. And a lot of blood. We cleaned it up...and that night the hauntings started. I assume that the group killed one of there own, and stashed the body somewhere in the Inn, but we've never been able to find it and put it to rest."
She looks around. "Alright," she added brusquely, "I've left twenty Ghost Touch arrows and three Oils of Magic Weapon in your rooms - that's all the help I can be. I'd suggest you head inside during the day - it can't hurt. So unless you have any more questions, I had better get back to work."
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Drake rises from the table he had been breaking his fast on. His plate was empty but still contained a bit of the yoke from his eggs. He brushed his hands together to rid himself of the crumbs from the crusty roll of bread.
"I would certainly like to treat with these spirits first to see if they are hostile or if they can be reasoned with. I've some experience with ghosts and haunts before..."
Azerna shrugged. "I don't mind how you do it. It's your skin that'll get flayed off if you get it wrong. Take the gear anyway, though - better safe than sorry. If you can solve it with words, excellent. If not..."
She shrugged again.
Rock seems susicious of the dryad, too! But only because she doesn't understand what she's going on about. Hearing that they're going to go fight a ghost, though, she just grunts and shrugs. Fine with her. Punchy punchy! That's her backup.
The Thirsty Dryad Inn stands before you, a large three story building crafted mainly of heavy stone whitewashed in lime. There is a noticeable lack of wood to the building, even more so that most of the buildings of Katapesh, with one exception - interlaced with the building, almost as though the building was grown around it, is a vast tree. A fountain in the courtyard hints at where the plant draws it's water from. In fact, the central island is noticeably greener than the others.
Saiga looks around from behind the others. Sadly their legs are in the way and he can't see much.
Carefully moving forwards into the main room of the inn with his bow readied in his hands, Tolias's keen eyes quickly pick out that all of the furniture that is scattered throughout the room is actually living wood growing out from the ground.
Not noticing any immediately threatening dangers, he turns to the others and motions for them to follow him into the inn "Be careful to mind the tables and benches that are in the room friends, looks like they've all been grown from Azerna's tree and we did promise that we wouldn't harm it." Looking momentarily contrite Tolias gives a quick grin and continues on "Well I guess it was me that promised her that it wouldn't be harmed, but I'm sure y'all won't mind helping me out there though."
Avendryl nods, acknowledging Tolias's commentary about the tables and benches in the room. "No worries about the promise, Tolias."
Looking around the common room and seeing the two doorways behind the bar, the elf says "Well, I'm not seeing much in here, but there are two doors over there. Anyone have a preference about which one we check out first?"
Saiag cast detect magic and scans the area. He speaks as he does his task.
"I do not give my word unless I intend to keep it. I make no promises but will try not to harm anything. That depends on the ghost more then me. As for which way, flip a coin is my suggestion."
Saiga looks up and down.
"Seems we got some magic coming from above and below. Below seems to be something while above a lot more. That being said I would pick below first."
"Sounds like a resonable plan, Saiga." Avendryl says moving as to see into the open doorways behind the bar.