"To kill so many... Do you believe those faceless monsters you spoke of could have done this? And to what end?" Krojun asks as he tends to his own meal.
Eli frowns. "I think you may be right about that, Pirknok. Maybe we'd better look into that more closely." he says. "And the Fort. Something's not right there either." he adds with a sigh.
Eli approaches Pirknok at camp one night. He carries a small case in his hand. "Pirknok, I have something that might be of use to you - what I mentioned back in Magnimar. An alchemical preparation that will give you great speed in small bursts." he says. "With your permission, I want to administer it."
"Yeah, that's true! Maybe we should go check out the place that burned, then we can go look for those rangers?"
Pirknok looks up from where he's sitting doing some stretches. After evaluating the case for a few seconds, he shrugs and indicates the spot beside him. "Wut do ah need ta do?" he asks. Can't be too bad if it fits in a box that size, I guess... I hope there's a way to control it and it's not just random. That would be very awkward...
"Maybe we cud try ta track down sumwun who might know sumthin uhbout thuh boat?" he asks. "Or ah gess we cud go find thuh rangers... seems like there's plenty uv things needin' doin' uhround here. Wut do you all think we shud do furst?"
"They were after the greedy in Magnimar, could be a good enough reason to target a brothel but what if they were after some lustful targets this time?" Ventus muses. "If it makes no difference to you all, I'd like to look for the rangers first. The longer we wait the colder their trail becomes."
Jessamy shrugs. "That's fine with me. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't help the Pixie's Kitten expand back in Sandpoint if they're going after lusty people... Strange, they don't seem to have anything in common."
Pirknok nods at Ventus and finishes chewing his last bite of lemon cake.
"Let's leave in thuh mornin."
"Did you find an inn where we can stay the night?"
Despite only hosting a population of ~450, Turtleback Ferry actually has three different inns – The Bottom’s Up, The Turtle’s Parlor, and The Golden Giant (in order of price cheapest to most expensive). The Golden Giant is where the party is enjoying dinner now. The baroness’s personal chef cooks the meals here which makes it one of the most prestigious (and pricey) places to eat in town.
The party heads to the Bottom's Up for the night. Within, the rooms are cramped and musty, the beds are filled with lumpy moldy hay, and the meal (a greasy stew) is full of questionable bits of meat. At least the vermin are friendly!
The following morning, the party wakes only a little worse for wear.
"Urng..." grunts Pirknok as the group convenes outside the inn. "Ah think... we prolly shud either stay outside nex' time or else pay fer sumthin' uh bit nicer. Ah ain't picky, but that wuz..." he shudders and lets the group fill in the ending from their own memories.
"We shud get goin'."
Krojun laughs and rubs his own sore back from his sleepless night. "The earth would have been kinder no doubt and I believe a spirit of disease inhabited that stew they were serving..."
***
After a bit of asking around town the party learns that Fort Rannick is only a bit more than three hours from town and accessible by an old road leading up along the banks of the Skull River.
The road is rough but not terribly so - the kind frequented by foot-bound travelers and not caravans of wagons. The path crosses an old wooden bridge to the western shore about 3 miles north of Turtleback Ferry. A short distance away an impressive Thassilonian ruin is visible, an immense stone dam that holds back the waters of the Storval Deep.
Ventus, Pirknok, and Kaplan hear a yowl of pain coming from the northwest.
The younger of the two dwarves looks up sharply at the noise. "Sumthin's in trouble!" he cries, turning slightly to head in that direction.
Pirknok recognizes it as the sound of a firepelt cougar - one that's in distress.
"We should see to the creature," Kaplan says,slightly adamant.
Eli opens the case, and resting in a cushion of cloth is a metal syringe with a long needle lying next to it. "This may be unpleasant, but I can assure you it will not harm you other than a bit of pain." he explains. If Pirknok has no objections, Eli draws the syringe out of its case and attaches the needle to the tip. The then asks Pirknok to bare his upper back if it isn't already. "Hold on to something." Eli says. "I'll need some leverage." He then applies a small dollop of some numbing paste to the spot before pushing the needle into Pirknok's spine. There will be a feeling of pressure and some pain deep in the Dwarf's back, and then a slight light-headed feeling as Eli pushes the plunger on the syringe. The procedure is over quickly after that as the Alchemist withdraws the needle and wipes the site of the injection with an alcohol-soaked swab.
"And that's it. When you wish to increase your speed, you need only call on it in your mind." he says. "It lasts only as long as a minute, but you can access it in shorter bursts."
Eli seems in a poor mood the next morning, and he adds a nip of whiskey to his tea. "We'll be marching off into the wilderness?" he comments rhetorically. He then grins humourlessly. "Sounds like fun."
On the road, when the others point out the sound of the creature in distress, he nods. "I have no objection, Kaplan. Let's see to the well-being of this creature." he says, gripping his longspear.
"If you want. Maybe we'll find what's pushing them toward the village."
Eli is confident he can reverse engineer a pair, learn how to use them, and even improve on the design!
Sturdier Frame: Each increment of the wing usage lasts 10 minutes instead of 1 minute.
Swift Release: The wings can be deployed as a swift action instead of a standard. When used in this way each 1 minute increment counts as 2 minutes used.
The party breaks away from the traveled path and heads toward the wild forest edge. After traveling for a couple minutes the whole party hears the feline howls of pain, except this time its followed by the angry barking of even more distant hounds.
The trees eventually give way to a clearing where a large firepelt cougar stands - one of its rear legs trapped in a heavy bear trap. The magnificent feline tugs against the metal jaws when the party approaches. The baying of hounds can be heard again, closer this time.
"Hunters," Kaplan growls under his breath. He quickly casts a spell.
The trapped feline yowls at the wild-eyed dwarf.
Pirknok stares wide-eyed at the creature. "Ah ain't no expert, but that don't look like uh wild cougar!" he exclaims quietly. The younger dwarf watches as Kaplan begins making animal-noises, then raises his eyebrows as the cat actually responds.
"Wut is it?" he asks. "Wut's going on?"
Jessamy looks for somewhere to take cover, pulling her bow in case it's needed.
"We're helping the cat, right?"
"No way to hunt," Ventus growls to himself, signaling Beaks to stay put. Making calming sounds, he approaches the cougar carefully and extends an empty hand. "Just give us a second, fuzzy, and we'll get you out of there."
"Jess? Can you get the trap off of him?"
"You're sure it's not going to bite me?"
The young woman approaches cautiously, putting away her bow, but keeping one hand near her blade as she approaches.
Assuming the cat doesn't attack, she reaches for her tools.
"OK. I'M. GETTING. SOME. TOOLS. OUT. TO. HELP. YOU," she says, speaking slowly and loudly to the feline. "THIS. WON'T. HURT."
"You'll be fine. The cat is tame. Its master is in trouble and there are hunters on the way, that's all that we have to worry about," Kaplan says.
In response to Eli's question in discussion:
"Any person who traps another's companion is no hunter, but a cold-blooded killer worthy of no mercy," Kaplan says to Eli, angrily. "If they have a problem with us freeing this poor creature, I am more than willing to show them the error of their ways."
The cougar growls unhappily when Jess gets close but makes no movement to attack her. The skilled rogue easily undoes the mechanism cinching the jaws shut and the trap comes free.
Despite its injured limp, the feline gracefully trots away from Jess and the disarmed trap to rub its face across Kaplan's shoulder.
"We're following the cougar," Kaplan informs the group. "We don't have far to go."
The cat turns to head east but before it can get far, an enormous figure bursts into the clearing being lead by four massive dogs bound by chains. The brutish creature stands eight feet tall and literally hulks with power. His other hand grips a sturdy spear.
"Kitty!" the brute roars. "Gimme kitty or pappy will be mad!"
The cougar hisses and backs up.
The monstrous hunter releases the chains holding his hounds. "BRING ME KITTY!"
The giant hounds bound toward the party.
"Come get it yerself!" yells Pirknok, drawing his sword and charging the nearest canine.
Ventus rushes the line as well, swinging hard with his new blade.
Jessamy moves forward, between Kaplan and Eli, pulling her swords. Waiting for the dogs to get close, she swings as soon as one's in range.
"Bad doggies!"
Kaplan raises his arms to the sky, holy symbol in one hand, shouts to the heavens and brings down a column of fire centered on the giant man.
;
"Don't kill the dogs unless you have no other choice," Kaplan says as the fire blazes.
Pirknok grunts at the sight of the box's contents, eying the overly-large needle a bit nervously.. That thing looks lethal... he knows what he's doing though... doesn't he? Better not disturb him...
As the dwarf pulls off his armor and tunic, Eli can see that the Shoanti's peacock tattoo has been artfully expanded, now covering almost his entire back and extending partway down his right arm. The dwarf grunts again at the feeling of the numbing paste, craning his neck in an attempt to watch the proceedings. He grimaces slightly at the uncomfortable pressure, but says nothing until the alchemist is finished.
"Jus' "call on it"?" he asks dubiously. "How?"
Besides the painful stinging where Eli's needles pierced his hide, Pirknok feels no different immediately after the procedure is done. A minute passes, then ten minutes. It's not until almost an hour later that Pirknok feels something queer happening - but not feel... hear. Beaks's rumbling squawks are suddenly slower coming. When the savage dwarf looks around he notices that it's not just the hippogryph - all of his companions are moving in slow motion!
The sensation passes a moment later and, when it does, Pirknok becomes aware of how to control this new ability. After a little practice, controlling the alchemy-imbued superhuman speed becomes as natural as flexing a previously unknown muscle.
Eli, seeing the bulk of the party charging the front lines, and Kaplan calling down fire on the large man in the back, looks for a clear shot. He draws a bomb, and with a little fiddling, readies it and throws it at the unengaged canine.
Kaplan asks and the heavens answer. The hulking figure screams in pain as the glowing flames pour over him. "OUCHIE! RUKUS HATES MAGIC FIRE!"
Ventus, Beaks, and Pirknok all connect with their blades (and beak), bloodying their respective targets. Eli's bomb slams into the unengaged mastiff burning it badly and dizzying it with mind-bending fumes.
The hounds snarl in defiance and bite back. The drugged dog stumbles over and snaps at its pair.
Krojun growls and readies his battleaxe. He beats his chest and begins a booming tribal chant. In the distance the crack of thunder can be heard and the party feels their spirits lifted.
With an almost comical frown, the singed giant continues to watch the battle from the distance.
Pirknok roars as he's bitten by one of the dogs, and hacks back at it with a powerful double-stroke.
Despite the dog's massively thick neck, Pirknok's ebon blade neatly severs its head.
Realizing the dogs are focused on her companions, Jessamy rushes forward, lashing out with her sword.
Kaplan gives Pirknok a steely glance before continuing his assault of flame on the large man. The older dwarf mutters an incantation under his breath before releasing a small burning orb from his palm.
;