Back with Simon and Ramona, Kip was hardly paying attention. Instead, he was furiously scribbling down different options for baked goods, along with estimates for the list of ingredients and the required quantities to feed the entire colony. "I'll need some assistants if we're going to be able to have this ready by this evening. Someone that won't burn it," he said without even bothering to look up.
"Hondren Ghellen and Kalcora Weems are probably our best chefs. You should see if they're willing to help out--assuming they're not monsters in disguise," Ramona says.
"Yes, of course. We'll need thorough testing... and a new dish of course. Something to catch the faceless stalkers..."
Antona and Sighra quietly get in touch with the four other soldiers that guard the colony: Colson Werton, Tane Carlisle, Edwan Ferry, and Warder Grimes. Each of them pass the food test, so they bring the soldiers into the fold, informing them to keep an eye out for faceless stalkers.
Meanwhile, Kip meets with Hondren and the halfling Kalcora, who each also are able to stomach solid food. So far, it seems the ugothol infiltration is thankfully not too widespread. The grippli works with the other chefs to come up with some delicious baked goods, spending the majority of the day cooking enough to feed fifty people.
As evening approaches, Ramona announces the feast to celebrate the continued success of the colony. All of Talmandor's Bounty comes out to enjoy refreshments and entertainment in the town square.
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As evening approached, Simon had to perform mental exercises to calm the anxiety tying his stomach in knots. Tonight would not be a good time to get sick.
He considers for a while what to wear, finally deciding that he wants to appear more casual. He leaves his armor at the house, donning one of his professional outfits.
He offers the Azlanti longsword to Victrix, in case she wants to appear a bit more subtle.
Strapping on his dagger and whip, he quaffs an extract of Heightened Awareness and heads to the square to make a rare effort to be more social, engaging villagers in small talk.
He asks about their crops/business and shares some small anecdotes about the areas the party has explored so far and expressing his excitement about the bake-off. He doesn't spend much time with any person, preferring to keep moving and meet as many people as possible.
Meanwhile, he keeps an eye out for anyone (or any pet) who seems to be avoiding food or simply holding a plate and not eating.
As Simon does his best to act as a social butterfly, most of the colonists are happy to spare a few moments to converse with the half-orc. Lyra Heatherly remarks how great it is to see the normally taciturn investigator coming out of his shell!
While he makes his rounds, Simon's heightened awareness clues him to a few potential suspects. Soran Vigaldo idly pokes the food around on his plate without actually eating it, while wealthy colonist Andvara Jeclair isn't holding a plate and seems a bit put-off by the whole affair. Finally, Milo Cattenbury appears to be scraping bits of food into the nearby bushes when he thinks nobody is looking at him.
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Recalling that Andvara has lumber interests, Simon figures that he has a possible inroads for a more detailed conversation.
Approaching her during his rounds, he greets her warmly.
"Madam Jeclair, how nice of you to make it out for this impromptu celebration. It is a pleasure to see you here tonight.
I don't think we have been introduced yet. I am Simon Hollybaker, one of the specialists in charge of exploring and protecting the settlement.
One of the tasks we are looking in to may be of interest to you. We have been tasked with tagging lumber for potential harvesting. I wonder, what types of trees would prove most valuable?"
Simon will listen politely, even if the response is rude, and when able will interject, "I notice you don't have a plate. I'd be more than happy to retrieve some things for you."
"That won't be necessary, Simon," Kip said as he arrived, following the half-orc's lead. "Won't you two please be the first to try my newest creation, croc croquette? Victrix was kind enough to wrangle up the ingredients for me just this afternoon." The grippli offered a platter of delicious looking crispy golden balls.
Andvara Jeclair looks at Simon disdainfully. "Cedars, firs, pines and spruce are the best kind of trees to use for construction. I believe that pines are plentiful on this island, so you should try to look for those," she says matter-of-factly.
She wrinkles her nose at Kip's offered food. "No, thank you. This little get-together is exactly the sort of foolishness we should be avoiding right now. Are we just going to ignore the fact that something just drained the blood from several of our goats? What's to stop whatever did that from coming after us next? There are so many dangers on this island, more than just a small team of 'specialists' can handle. The people of Talmandor's Bounty are in extreme danger. That's why I am going on a hunger strike! I will not eat until Ramona Avandth takes more serious measures to protect the colonists from local perils!"
Simon senses something of a lack of conviction in her speech.
Victrix opts to hang on to the offered longsword. It'd look rather odd if she brought a massive axe to what's ostensibly a party.
"Everything going alright here?" She wanders over to Milo, munching on a piece of food.
The Varisian man grins at Victrix. "Oh yes, just fine. This food is simply delicious! My compliments to the chefs!"
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"Ah, yes, the goats. We definitely are taking steps to get to the bottom of that. Perhaps we can go speak with Ramona right now and set your mind ar ease."
Simon will offer his arm to escort the woman.
"Won't you reconsider Kip's croquette's? They really are quite delicious."
If she refuses to come, Simon politely says goodbye and will tell Ramona that Andvara bears further watching and should probably be quarantined after the party.
"I am afraid I must decline," Andvara says, quickly excusing herself and walking away.
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Simon whispers to Kip, as the woman walks away. "Kip, go offer some of these delicious croquettes to Soran, I'll join you after I talk to Ramona."
He then walks off to find Ramona and quietly relate the encounter with Andvara. "I am very suspicious. I think we need to hold her and search her house for any signs of violence. I worry about accusing her, though. If she is one of them, she could be very dangerous.
Perhaps you could send a couple of guards to search her house now, and with your help the four of us can corner her after we check out a couple of other suspicious persons."
With the banquet prepared Ema and her little entourage arrived and began making the rounds. She'd kept Alinza and Medrinnah with her since they ruled themselves out as shapeshifters. The party was a much needed thing and seemed to be doing what it was intended to do in addition to raising morale. As they wandered she kept an eye out for trouble and the opportunity to have Alinza scan a suspect individual.
"You got it." Kip replied, and quickly sauntered over to Soran.
"Soran, my friend, how have you been recovering? Have you been getting a good amount of food and rest? Being stranded can be quite draining, and it's important that you take care of yourself if you don't want to fall ill. In fact, would you please try one of my new croc croquettes? They're good, but I'm not certain I have the recipe quite right. Can you think of anything it needs?" Kip asked as he offered up the tray.
"Alright. I'll keep her distracted while the guards do their search," Ramona says. She sens Edwan and Tane to inspect Andvara's home while she engages the colonist in conversation.
As Victrix chats with Milo, Ema points Eliza at the suspicious colonist. The psychic puts two fingers to her forehead and concentrates.
"He's nervous... He's wondering if he can sneak away later to get some more 'real food'..." Eliza says quietly.
Meanwhile, Kip's efforts to get Soran to try his croquettes don't make much headway. "Truth be told, I'm still feeling a little nauseous from my time at sea," the fisherman says. "I think it's a side effect of all that time in the sun. I need to drink more liquids until my stomach settles. Sorry, Kip, but I'm sure your new recipe is delicious!"
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Simon returns to Kip and Soran in time to hear Soran's reply. "I am sorry to hear that, Soran. Maybe you should lie down for a bit? We have a room set aside for medical emergencies. Let me show you where, and I will fetch you some wine or juice."
Lowering his voice, he leans in to Soran. "It may sound disgusting, but my mother taught me an orcish remedy for an upset stomach that mixes orange juice and pig blood. I assure you it works wonders, if you'd like to try it."
Touching Soran's shoulder, Simon begins leading him toward the quarantine room and hoping there are guards nearby.
"Kip, could you ask Victrix to go assist Ramona? She mentioned needing to talk to her."
"Oh. Um, alright," Soran lets Simon guide him towards the government house. The half-orc takes the fisherman into one of the side offices, where Antona and Sighra stand guard.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure you can rest without being disturbed until Simon gets back," Antona says.
Soran looks uncertain, but he goes into the room and lets the guards close the door.
Victrix tilts her head at Milo, remembering what she should be looking out for...
Milo doesn't seem to be acting all that unusually. He's an alright guy!
Kip ambled over to Victrix and Milo, still with a full tray of fried treats.
"Vicki, Milo, surely you two will try my newest creation? No one else seems willing to try them and I'm beginning to worry that no one actually likes my cooking at all! I'll be the first to admit if a recipe needs work, but I can't make improvements if I can't even get feedback."
Victrix shrugs her shoulders. "Sure."
She pops one in her mouth and chews for a bit.
"Sure, I'll bite." Milo pops the ball into his mouth as well. "Mmm! Tasty!"
Kip notices the man slide the croquette into his sleeve instead of actually putting it in his mouth.
"You really think so? You don't think the candied almonds make it too sweet?" Kip asked, knowing that Victrix would know for a fact no such ingredients were included, both from providing the crocodile and actively chewing one at that very moment.
"Oh, no! I think they are the perfect flavor. You really found a good balance here, Kip," Milo says with a smile.
Ema was pleased they had found something of use, even if it turned out to be something other than what they expected. She whispered to Eliza to keep scanning Milo and approached the man. "What's the matter Milo? Don't you like the food tonight?" She approached him closely and said just loud enough for Milo to hear her with out getting into reach of his grasp, "Or do you prefer something more...liquid?"
"Nothing's wrong. The food is great! But come to mention it, I am a bit parched. Think I'll dip on down to the Eagle's Roost for a nightcap." Milo attempts to disengage from the conversation.
Ema hears Eliza whispering a message in her ear. "He thinks you might be on to him. He's trying to get away before you blow his cover!"
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The guards come back from Andvara's house and report to Ramona, who quickly finds Simon. "They didn't find anything at the Jeclair household. No signs of violence or anything out of sorts."
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Continuing his thought, while he watches Milo and Andvara. "It seems that the situation with Milo might be coming to a head very quickly. Hopefully Ema, Kip, and Victrix will be able to handle it.
I think we should try to convince Andvara to come back to the quarantine room to explain the steps we are taking.
If she is innocent, she will realize that we need her to eat something to prove it. If not, she will be forced to lash out or be imprisoned until she does decide to eat.
She doesn't seem to respond very well to me, though. Do you think you could convince her?"
Ema nodded in agreement and then stepped back from Milo and said, still quietly, "I know what you are Faceless One," she smiled viciously, "do you deny it?"
"I'll see what I can do," Ramona says. However, as she starts across the courtyard, Ema calls out Milo. Milo's expression hardens, and Eliza gasps. "Ema, look out! He's--"
The man lets out a wailing, inhuman shriek before his physical form twists and contorts in gruesome fashion, revealing a horrific, faceless visage beneath!
Before anybody else can react, the creature's arms stretch out to impossible lengths as it closes the distance to Ema. It slams the arcanist, wrapping its arms around her and pulling her into a crushing embrace!
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Simon slaps his forehead. We were supposed to confront them in private. Not endanger the entire community.
He quickly looks around for Andvara, hoping to keep her from getting away in the chaos.
"Andvara! Quickly! We have a safe place for important members of the community. Come with me."
Drawing his dagger and reaching out for Andvara's arm, he attempts to escort her to the quarantine room. If there is a second office the guards can watch, he will go to that one.
Kip's eyes narrowed in anger. "Time for a tongue lashing then."
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After his surprise tongue attack, Kip quickly circled around and drew his rapier to distract the faceless monstrosity from Victrix's inevitable attack.
Seeing Milo morph into a faceless stalker before her eyes spurs Victrix's blood to anger, and she roars at the beast. Running pell-mell at it, she draws her borrowed blade and swings at the stalker to hew it apart!
Ema was dumbfounded as the thing's arms reached out to grab her even at this distance and gasped in fear and pain as it pulled her close. She felt her body slam into it hard and those long grasping arms began to crush her body against it's. She knew she was in trouble as there was no way she could cast anything while in a grip like this, even her summonings would be impossible. She was starting to wish she'd figured out how to open that tear and slip through it to somewhere else about now and resolved it was the next trick she was going to learn...if she survived that is. Struggling against it Ema decided to do her best to break free and get away from it if she could.
As the other colonists cry out in shock and fear, Victrix rushes in to help Ema. Her short scrapes against the faceless stalker's rubbery hide, but doesn't slice deep enough to hurt it.
Ema struggles in the creature's grasp, but is unable to escape!
Kip bashes the monster with his tongue, knocking it back, but it keeps its footing, and its arms stretch out long enough to maintain its grip on Ema.
Eliza concentrates and tries to overwhelm the creature's mind, but it resists the worst of her psychic attack.
Andvara looks bewildered as Simon runs up to her. "What is the meaning of this?" She lets the half-orc take her arm and start to lead her away.
The monster that was Milo yanks Ema close again, crushing the arcanist in its grasp. Three long thin tongues emerge from its blank face and stab into her neck, and the horror begins to feast upon her lifeblood!
Victrix madly hacks away at the stalker.
Ema gave an inarticulate scream of fear as the trio of tongues struck out and pierced her neck. The feel of them lapping at her life's blood seemed to trigger something in her. She ceased her struggling and began speaking in a pleading voice as the thing held her.
She hung there in the faceless stalker's grasp, her eyes vacant, as it continued to drain her of her life's blood.
Kip kept the pressure on the creature and menaced it with his rapier before striking with his tongue again.
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Victrix's blade cuts into the faceless stalker, wounding it badly. As Ema whimpers in its grasp, Kip bashes it with his tongue again, but it keeps its footing.
"Let her go!" Eliza intones, eyes turning black as her dark half slips free. She sends a trio of magic missiles into the monster, and it falls, bleeding from numerous wounds.
Andvara narrows her eyes as Simon tugs on her arm. Suddenly, she lets out a keening wail as her body folds in ripples and waves and transforms into another faceless stalker! The monster bashes the half-orc and grabs him, sticking its tongues in his neck to drain his blood!
The other colonists are screaming in panic now, running about to get away from the battle. Ramona is doing her best to keep them from hurting themselves and each other.
"Simon! Hit her in the... tentacle tongue? We'll be there soon!" Kip cried out, then sent a spectral rapier hurtling towards Simon's foe while he checked on Emalliandra.
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"Ema, it's over, are you ok? Simon's in trouble now so we gotta go."