Mirel turns to speak with her wounded companion. "Anevia, what do you think of this, as a crusader's wife?" she whispered. "This man says he does evil things... That he is a fugitive! And we are to just let him go?"
Lirrathan nods in agreement with Arc's questions, adding as well "What do you need to finish? Is it something to stop the demons? You said they'd be looking for you, why, did you piss them off like you upset the crusaders? Heck, I still want to know what you did in the first place that got everyone so riled up. This sounds like a tale to tell."
The dwarf looks at Lirrathan sideways when he turns back around. "Why, taking their power of course. The last time Kenabres' was impregnated with demonic presence-well more so than normal-on the Red Dawn Morning, some clutches of eggs were left. It's a well known fact that blood can...influence...the way those eggs hatch. Most demons will do whatever they can to torture a soul whose taken just one egg. The crusaders...hehehehe...are a little short sighted when it comes to winning this war!"
Mirel whispers to her companions, "I don't know that we should allow this dwarf to continue his work..."
Freya listens to the babbling back and forth, finally growing tired of it. "Speak plainly or I'll cut your beard off little man. What are you working on?"
The dwarf cackles madly at Freya. "Plainly, you ask?! FINE! I was taking the blood of the condemned and concocting a mixed race inside the egg itself. Lending my own personal power to it, it would be proof that we could use their own kind's bodies against them. With the blood of a person inside the body of a demon...we could have an army of beings able to withstand the harsh energies of the demons and still have a human tie. The first few were...unfortunate...in appearance and demeanor. I had to recycle them for use in poisons and the like. But my last, before the crusaders chased me down here, was almost ready and I was sure it would be proper!"
Under his breath "Wow. And they called me a traitorous threat."
"Well Mirel, I would have to completely agree with you. Think I still got me rope."
Arc moves closer and maintains his ready while baiting the dwarf. The good dwarf is a genius. Listen to all that he accomplished. And it only cost him a few mostly pitiful lives. Can you imagine the short sightedness of the crusaders? They should have helped. Sit here by the fire and tell me more.
Mirel stands, ready to fight if need be, and glares at the dwarf. "Come with us quietly dwarf, and maybe you will get a trial."
"Well of course he'll get a trial, we're not savages."
The mad dwarf gives a crooked and toothy smile to Arcessentes. "Exactly! Why wouldn't they use any means necessary?! They don't have to violate their code...I'll happily do it for them!"
He glances at Mirel, [b]"Shush down woman. The smarter men are talking." He looks back at Arcessentes, "You understand the power of progress. I can...lure...another demon. Together we could write history as the victors over the demons!"
Lirrathan just crinkles his nose at the whole discussion, trying to get a handle on it. "Now hold on everyone. I don't know that he said he did anything wrong. He was trying to use demon spawn, to fight demons, by making a race of beings born resistant to the demons. I know a lot of this magic hoopla goes over my head, but are we really so determined that we think the only way to fight demons is with the gods of good and their uptight paladins? Or maybe he has a point, twisted as it may seem from the gist I get, but he is trying to fight demons and protect the innocent wasn't he?"
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The dwarf becomes enraged, he points a finger at Mirel and at Arcessentes, "LIARS! I KNEW YOU WERE HERE TO KILL ME!!!!!!
He chants a few words and waves his hand at Mirel.
She shirks in fear for a brief moment...then looks around when nothing happens.
"We actually didn't come here to kill you, it just seems to be the end result." He explains casually, while swinging both weapons at the dwarf. He seems neither excited, nor upset to be fighting the dwarf. He actually just seems resigned to acting on the others' wishes.
Terry squeezes through the narrow opening into the area where the Dwarf's camp was, and lets another arrow fly, hoping for the best . . ..
---
"I have no desire to kill you, dwarf, only to see you answer for what you have done."
Mirel moves within 15 feet and lashes out with her whip.
Freya shakes her head "Why do you fight dwarf? You are clearly outmatched."
Between Terry and Lirrathan's blows, the dwarf crumples over with deep wounds. He is still breathing, but blood is pooling around his body.
Freya looks down with a bit of sadness. "Should I try to save him?"
He is obviously both insane and dangerous. He might have information that can help us but I doubt he will be willing to share it. All things considered I believe he will jeopardize our chances of survival. Arc moves to investigate the camp site as he says this.
Lirratahn looks at her askance, "Why save him? So you can truss him up and drag him along to deliver 'justice'? You guys declared him a threat, so we dealt with him. If he isn't enough of a threat that he needs to live, then why were people so insistent he needed to be stopped? If he's a threat, his death removes that. Not a threat, he shouldn't have been attacked. You can't have it both ways."
"Curiosity made this go wrong. We didn't need to know anything about him in order to get his help. Now he's dead and we still don't know how to get out of here. A loss for everybody. There's got to be a way to improve our situation, though. Oh, yeah! So, what gear did we just gain? Some real food, maybe?"
"He had his chance to surrender. Let him die, and may Pharasma judge him accordingly." Mirel looks around to see if the dwarf had anything useful to them, using detect magic.
Freya glances down at him one more time. Perhaps you would cause more trouble than it is worth. Forgive me Desna.
The magical detection fires off on two potions and scrolls the dwarf is carrying. A book with arcane writing is kept near his cot. You also find that the cloak he is wearing is magical in nature!
Mundane searches turn up a dagger, a light crossbow with 10 bolts, 8 pp, and 7 gp, a ratty bedroll, a small pack filled with dried meat, preserved
fruit, and some moldy cheese (6 days of rations), and a chipped 6-inch-tall marble statuette of a humanoid throwing a spear. You also find fragments of a dirty blue egg shell.
The wizard is pleased to identify the items (he is sort of built to do so) but is not sure he has the authority to divide the spoils. He recommends Terry take the invis. potion and Lirrathan take the CLWs potion while he claims the scroll and book. We could all benefit from the cloak. he says. Who should wear it?
Lirrathan shrugs noncommittally, takes the proffered vial, spins it between his fingers, and tucks it into his pouch. "I don't know if the cloak is my color. What do you mean we can all benefit, what does it do?"
Thank you for entrusting me with the cloak for now. I will also carry these two arcane scrolls for the benefit of the party. I have used much of my arcane ability for the day (2 magic missiles at the dwarf) and hope we can get to a safe place to rest soon.
"Potion of invisibility, hunh? I guess we'll see if it becomes important."
The dwarf breathes his last and comes to move no more on the cold floor of the cave. Whatever evil was in his heart will no longer plague the world.
A steeply inclined tunnel leads upward to the north, its walls lined with numerous nooks, handholds, and dozens of iron pitons that have been driven into the walls long ago.
After 60 feet of climbing the tunnel, it opens into a large cavern, about seventy feet across. Cylindrical rock formations along the walls arch up to make a domelike chamber, but the walls and floor are riddled with cracks. At the center of the cave, a stone tower that may once have reached the fifty-foot-high ceiling has collapsed onto its side.
You notice two...creatures...working at the collapsed tower. It looks as though they are gingerly moving rubble. Once in a while you hear one, who looks like a beautiful man on his right side and snake on his left side, stop once in a while and call out the name "Crel" in a questioning manner. The rubble answers back to the call in a muffled voice. The other...thing...looks like a hunchbacked woman but with a mass of hideous boils covering her face and neck.
Lirrathan moves back to the group slightly behind and quietly mentions what he sees, "Two ugly deformed people up there moving tumbled rocks, and calling out. I think something's underneath. Are we talking or fighting? I can't tell with you guys."
Its a shame your mind cannot grasp the difference between crazy demon summoning dwarves and people trying to help a friend. the wizard rebukes. Lets go help. With that the wizard and his charge begin to make their way into the cavern.