Throwing good after bad Raun hurls another spear at the retreating silk wyrm.
on the crystal
As Grit tends to the tigone cub, Raun keeps an eye out for the silk wyrm. A few minutes after hiding under the ledge, the wyrm - still cloaked in some form of psionic camouflage - makes a break for it, flying down the wall of the ravine toward another, narrow cave far below. Raun flings a spear at the fleeing creature, but it doesn't come close to hitting the wyrm before it flees out of sight.
As far as healing goes, the kreen will take care of everyone's wounds up to half and then let natural healing run its course, preserving as many PP as possible.
Raun lets out a string of curses that seem rather mild, the half-giants vocabulary for naughty words quite limited. She glares down at the wyrm as it disappears into another cave, before turning to face the others, unstrapping her shield as she does so. "Need to go get sled. Make sure nobody take anything else." she mutters angrily, before starting to climb up the rock next to the cave and trudge her way back to where she abandoned her supplies.
Once retrieved succesfully she will pull it back to the cave, and after some thought, starts to dig away a patch of sand and collect rocks, putting the second shield over the top of the sled, piling rocks on top of it, and the smoothing sand over the whole lot to camouflage it. Then she climbs back down to join the others in the cave for the night.
His tembo sword broken, Gorkhan picks up the longsword and gives it a few practice swings before sheathing it at his side. He then gathers the burnoose. Perhaps this will help with my stealth, since I seem to be having some difficulty of late. {Understatement!} He then stumbles a bit as the weakness from the poison rears once again, causing him to plop to the ground. "Maybe a good night's rest will help clear my body of the poison."
Grit dotes over the cat. But he pulls himself away from the wounded animal to request that someone go and fetch his shield, dropped when the halfling was attacked. He will also prepare Detect Magic as part of his new day's spells and cast it as he look over the found items.
Of the other items found he notes I can use this spear, if no one claims it. It is of better make than the one I carry. Who among is is an archer? And Safia, were you wanting a sickle? If so trade me that scimitar for this one. If not I will use the sickle. and please take this tembo sword Gorkhan. I grabbed it in case someone might need it.
well-made leather cuirass
leggings
boots
sand-colored burnoose of a style favored by elven runners.
A finely-crafted longbow and quiver of arrows
well-honed iron sickle
intricately-carved agafari spear
After a few moments Safia appears from the pile of old cocoons with a bone fetish in her hand. She rips some silk from the freshest cocoon and twists it between her fingers until it resembles a cord before tying it to the fetish. Once that's done she sits down in the middle of the cavern, both the fetish and the templar's medallion in front of her before she begins to chant softly.
The group squeezes into the former lair of the silk wyrm and beds down for the night. The group consumes about 8 pounds of food and several gallons of water, but Grit and Safia's spells are able to restore the water consumed as well as some of what leaked out during the silk wyrm's attack.
As Nnn'tkklik'l tends to party members' wounds, Grit gathers the items recovered from the wyrm's previous victims and begins examining them.
The bone fetish, found hanging from the neck of the dead elf, appears to be protective in nature, thickening a warrior's skin and improving her resistances and awareness in battle .
Grit is unsure about the properties of the bone sword, other than that it carries at least a basic enchantment and seems to be very sharp.
The blue crystal is a mystery.
Examining the slaver's medallion, Grit determines that it can be activated to grant the wearer great insight into others' thoughts but appears to cause a lingering pacifism .
Gorkhan lays claim to the sword, as well as the elf woman's cloak .
Safia, meanwhile, scrounges among the older cocoons and emerges with another piece of carved bone that had been overlooked earlier. She's unable to make heads or tails of it, other than feeling that it is somehow connected to the Grey.
The halfling trudges into the cave after the rest of the crew had been there for a few seconds. He wasn't really winded, he just knew how the lot of them were just a bit faster with their long legs. Hopefully no one would comment on it. He took a look around the cave and then took a quick look at his own wounds. A good night's rest would help, but he didn't know how long some of the deep punctures would take to heal, but he wasn't going asking either.
After a suitable search of the cave to make sure they wouldn't be surprised, he panned the large items and pocketed the coins.
Raun climbs back down to the cave, tossing Grit's shield to him and looking at the pile of items. The bow catches her attention, and she picks it up, giving it a couple experimental draws, before putting it back on the pile. "Too flimsy..."she mutters, looking around at the cave for the first time, figuring out the best position to settle down. She tosses a fur brought back from the sled onto the ground and puts her back to the wall, setting her weapons down beside her and curling up on the fur,head towards the entrance. "Wyrm still out there. In cave further down, might come back."
Nnn'tkklik'l won't stop anyone from taking the crystal, he has no idea what it is.
Wounds mended and thirst quenched, the party heads out as soon as the sun dips below the Ringing Mountains. Sticking to the plateau, the group navigates the broken ravines for several hours before emerging into a narrow strip of sand dunes.
Familiar landmarks soon begin appearing and Grit and Nnn'tkklik'l urge the group to greater speed. You reach the oasis outside Kled just as the rising sun begins to cast a purple glow across the underbrush and dwarf trees surrounding the oasis pool.
It's obvious something is wrong even before you reach the cracked mud flats surrounding the oasis. The tangled vegetation is strangely silent, and the sickly sweet smell of rotting corpses is carried on the desert breeze.
Bones - recently picked clean - and a few broken weapons hint at a battle, but the corpses closer to the oasis pool show signs of less violent death. The bodies of several lizard-like lirr, a half dozen kes'trekels and some kind of crested serpent lie stretched out next to the oasis pool, which is thick with dead insects and other small creatures.
Grit cares for the wounded cat through the rest period, tending to its wounds, feeding it, and giving it water. Perhaps his healing skill has allowed it to heal more efficiently.
If the animal is still wounded he will heal it again, meditating for one extra healing spell if needed. If the animal is well enough it will walk beside Grit and he will make sure it is introduced to each team member as he begins to bond to it and train it. You need a name. he says.
for training.
As the group reaches the oasis and sees the pool Grit cautions. Someone has poisoned the well. If he sees no threat as he advances he will close to 30' and cast Detect Poison.
Raun takes the fetish and listens curiously to Grit's explanation, squinting at the strange item. It certainly sounded impressive. She grabs some scraps of leather from the sled and fashions a thong to hold it, settling it against her chest as she finishes her preparations for the day.
As the approach the oasis hours later the half-giant's brow furrows in confusion at find it surrounded by the silence and scent of death. As Grit examines the water Raun shucks off the tow rope for the sled, hefts her shield and morningstar and scouts slowly around, pausing to examine the bodies and battle remnants as she passes them.
Nnn'tkklik'l makes some very dejected clicks in 'kreen.
He will look over the bodies, look for clues and/or injuries, keep his eyes out for enemies and try to ensure that he isn't getting himself into an ambush or trap. He will also take precaution to avoid contracting any disease that might have done this (if indeed it wasnt the water).
Other than a few small insects and plants, nothing appears to be left alive at the oasis.
An examination of the bodies provides some clues about what might have happened: The humanoid bodies - elves and humans - have been stripped to the bone, but are not yet badly weathered, suggesting they died in combat about a week ago and were then eaten by scavengers. Scraps of clothing and broken weapons suggest the elves were members of the Swiftwing tribe - the same tribe that attacked your caravan - while the humans were soldiers in the employ of King Hamanu of Urik.
Those scavengers and the other denizens of the oasis appear to have died a few days later from what appears to be an unnaturally virulent poison. As Grit examines the water, eddies of arcane energy swirl through the oasis pool - he suspects that the poison would resist attempts to cleanse the taint.
Tracks on the west side of the oasis indicate several dwarves from Kled visited the oasis within the past several days and left with a supply of water. There is no sign of Durwadalla, the thri-kreen druid who watched over the oasis and served as a mentor to both Grit and Nnn'tkklik'l.
"Why dwarves take poison water?" Raun wonders aloud as she examines the west side of the pool. The elves and humans were confusing as well, but surely anyone stumbling upon this would realize the water was bad. Were dwarves that dumb? "Do we follow Dwarf tracks? That's who we wanted to talk to, right?"
Safia walks forth among the corpses and sits down. She takes both the templar's amulet and the carved bone she found before, one in either hand and closes her eyes. Suddenly her eyes fly open but they seem to have turned inward as she meditates.
Those scavengers and the other denizens of the oasis appear to have died a few days later from what appears to be an unnaturally virulent poison. As Grit examines the water, eddies of arcane energy swirl through the oasis pool - he suspects that the poison would resist attempts to cleanse the taint.
Grit whistles softy. Is it possible that the dwarves did not know the well was poisoned? It seems so obvious to us. If Durwadalla yet lives it is possible that he travels with the dwarves. Do we have any better option than to follow them?
Grit will work to examine the entire area, making sure nothing useful to his group was left behind. Can we get someone to detect magic and scan the area?
Before departing he will take a sample of the water from the oasis and try to cleanse it with Purify Food and Drink, and then Detect Poison again, mostly just trying to learn more about the poison. If this spell works he would be able to purify 8 gallons per casting with unlimited castings. The spell would remove all "normal" poisons from the water.
Using one of the empty clay mugs taken from the argosy, Grit scoops up some of the foul water and sits down to mediate. Chanting in a low voice, he seeks to purify the water. Slowly, a cloud of poison rises from the water, which becomes clear. Rather than dispersing, as Grit expected, the tainted vapor flashes with amber light and flies into his mouth.
Safia, meanwhile, takes her trinkets and sits among the bones of the elves and humans. A few moments later, her eyes fly open - showing only the whites - and a low moan escapes her lips. Dark vapor flows from the bone fetish in her hand, curling around the bare bones in the sand before forming into lithe shapes of miniature elves.
Although indistinct, the vague forms can be seen running up to a shadowy representation of the oasis pool, then stooping to gather water. Moments later they straighten and draw blades as other, human-shaped shadows surround them and do battle. The human shadows appear to win, with many losses, after which one form walks to the water's edge and raises an arm to the sky. An amber lion leaps from the shadow's upraised hand into the pool. As it flashes, the templar's medallion in Safia's right hand cracks into two pieces. You hear a faint but menacing voice growl: "Leave well enough alone, specter. Embrace the dark and be forgotten."
Grit leaps back in surprise but the poison, already in his mouth makes him cough and hack. Holding his throat he tries to gather his will to fight off the effects. As the poison begins to take its tole he grabs his water skin to rinse out his mouth and do whatever his healing skill tells him he should do. As he works he looks to the others. Those with healing skill help me. he almost pleads, his voice horse with the effects of the poison
Raun looks over her companions as two of them sit down in the sand by the oasis. When the shadowy figures coalesce around Safia she watches the scene with fascination. "Urik men kill elves and poison well?" she asks, before Grit's coughing draws her attention to him. Her brow furrows in confusion as she watches the last vapours of something go down his throat, while the fool washes it down with some of the poisoned water.
"Don't drink more! Get bad stuff out!" she yells at him, picking him up off the sand and sticking her fingers down his throat. It seemed that at least one of Kjarros's lessons on treating poison had managed to get stuck in Raun's big skull somewhere.
Hearing Grit's hoarse call for help, Nnn'tkklik'l wordlessly springs into action, using his four hands to apply pressure to points to slow the spread of poison while waiting for the half-giant's attempts to induce vomiting to take effect.
Gorkhan watched the little scene play out in front of Safia and then looked on in horror as Grit was poisoned in his attempt to cleanse the fouled water. He breaths a sigh of relief when the poison leaves his system.
"Followers of the lion did this... for what purpose? Was this oasis used by his enemies?" he asked. "Those dwarves are in for trouble if they drink that water, or add it to their own reservoir."
"Then we should go after them." Raun suggests, setting Grit down now that he seems to have stopped dying... and vomiting. She leaves him to recuperate, marching over to the sled and harnessing herself to it again, before returning to the dwarf's tracks and waiting impatiently for everyone else to join her.
Once recovered as much as he is likely going to recover for now, Grit searches the area for tracks. Dwarves aught to be easy enough to follow.
"They're over here short-man!" she calls out impatiently as Grit starts to range around looking for the tracks himself, eager to be after her future employers before they killed themselves with arcane poisons.
Nnn'tkklik'l, somewhat accustomed to the terrible heat, will press on if that is what the group wants.
As the others claim it is only a short distance to the Dwarven hold Safia will press on.
Rather than rest in the reeking oasis, you gather your possessions and head west, following the trail of the dwarves to Kled. The crimson sun beats down on you as you trudge across the dunes, but only about an hour passes before you spy the spherical stone wall surrounding the dwarven village.
Crossing the dunes, you are able to look over the 10-foot-tall wall to see more than a hundred dwarven homes arranged in concentric rings within the wall, eight broad avenues running from the center of the village like the rays of the sun. With walls only about 5 feet high, the roofless structures provide no protection from the sun, which the dwarves worship with single-minded fervor.
Few are in sight when you arrive, however, other than the gate guards. Peering over the crenelated wall, one hails your group as you draw near.
"Who is this who comes under the sun's watch to Kled? Is that Grit, and his kreen companion? Do you bring news of Durwadalla? Is the oasis cleansed?