August sidesteps after Jeffrey calls out, giving Jeffrey a clear path at the Worg. With a mighty swing of his sword the warrior cleaves the head off the beast.
"Let me see what I can do." Un'gra says stepping over to Keanan.
Nebdel walks over to the injured Dwarf and lion."Our new friend seems to have Keanan patched up but Balazar is still bleeding badly." Nebdel moves his hands over the lion and begins to pray. His hands start to glow and the lion's wounds stop bleeding. Nebdel makes a rough bandage out of a rag in his pack, placing it over the worst of Balazar's wounds.
"Once we know the wounds will not continue to bleed I will give them a potion to awake them." After 15 minutes Nebdel inspects both Keanan and his lion, shaking his head up and down pleased with the bandages and the lack of bleeding from the wounds. He pulls two potions from his pack and forces Keanan and Balazar to drink one.
Keanan
Balazar
|
When Keanan and Balazar are standing again Jeffrey laughs loudly. "I knew a wolf like this wouldn't be able to get a stout and stinky dwarf like you down!" Jeffrey pats Keanan's back. "Your lion protected you while you were down, but eventually also fell. She's very loyal, shorty!"
Jeffrey inspects the room, and notices the mushrooms are missing. "You already got them?" he asks Keanan. "If so, do you guys have enough now? I'd like to head back to Falchon's Hollow."
Keanan's head is swirling, but the word shorty seems to get it cleared up. "Stoutfolk. Stout. Not short." Keanan takes a look around at the companions and the dead wolves, and is sad. "Wow, thanks for the rescue, so I guess you can call me short. I didn't want to put you in danger, but instead put myself in my friend in grave danger. I was hoping to avoid this kind of bloodshed so I came only with Balazar. Gozreh is testing me, and I'm failing miserably."
Keanan looks over to Balazar, and gives her a big hug. "I'm sorry. And thank you."
Keanan wanders over to the north-west portion of the den. "Oh no, are these stairs? I'm so tired of this place, but I'd be wondering to the end of my days what remains down these stairs. But as you might imagine, I'm a bit weary of going first. Saw the light at the end of the tunnel if you know what I mean."
"Glad you are back Keanan, we thought you were a goner. Do we now have what we came for? While I'm all for exploration, we have sick waiting for us in town, and we must see to Serila. Perhaps we should return when our work is done, and you had a chance to rest. First ale is on me."
"If ya are on your way back to a town, I'd like to come with ya. I could use a night away from the woods and it seems like you have things to do in town."
"Yeah, I know, but, the stairs could lead to riches...Well, maybe we should just go. Whichever, Balazar and I are not in a condition for further fighting."
"Yeah, could be any kind of beast...or any number of gems and gold too. Balazar can smell beasts, but she can't smell gold." Keanan looks at Balazar. "Smell any gold down there?" Balazar looks at Keanan with a strange face as she turns her head to the side, curious as to what he's asking.
Keanan chuckles. "What I said was...Do....you....smell....any...gold?" Balazar huffs at Keanan. "Haha, just having some fun. Do you smell any animals down the stairs?" Keanan points down the stairs and then acts as if he's taking a big sniff. Balazar, not really in the mood for Keanan's games at the moment, sniffs at the stairs, hoping the dwarf will just be quiet.
"As far as anybody else is concerned, these ruins are still full of monsters. If there are riches to be had, they'll wait for our return"
With the guidance of Milon the party fords the river just after midday and reaches Elara's Halfway House, a small orphanage outside Falcon's Hollow, by the end of the day.
The blackened husk of the orphanage lies atop the hill. Charred timbers are strewn among piles of caked ash and the only edifice left standing is
a soot-stained stone arch. A small stuffed doll lies below the arch, her face seared off and her patchwork dress spilling dirty stuffing. Beside
her, a troop of half-melted tin soldiers stand in formation, their bodies twisted and deformed by the blaze that claimed their owner’s life.
With a disappointed look on his face Milon turns to the group."I was hoping to stay the night in the orphanage. It looks like it burned down last night. We will have to make camp elsewhere."
|
|
"Hey!" Jeffrey walks over to the pillar in the middle of the room, and picks up some objects. He then walks over to the others. "Check what I found."
Jeffrey shows the others a bag with 354 gp, a light crossbow, a glass vial with tan liquid in it, and a silver etched small wooden stick. "Any of you able to identify possible magic properties of these items?"
-----------------------------------------
"Those poor kids," Jeffrey sighs, and walks up to the burnt building. He looks around to see if there's anyone around, or if he can find tracks of the people who lived here.
"look for any signs of survivors!"
William walks up to jeffrey. "I want to leave this place now. If we march on we can make it to Falchon's Hollow by the time the sun sets."
William looks impatient and rather annoyed. "Milon, quickly help the man open the blasted trapdoor. After that we leave."
Milon moves to help Jeffrey with the trap door. With the added help the door comes open. The stench of rot belches forth from this rank cellar.
Keanan and Balazar stand back. In a loud voice he says, "Anyone alive down there?"
If nothing was heard, Keanan will peer into the hole and take a look, given his special vision. Balazar is also trying to smell
A chipped, blood-stained oaken table rests against one wall, with all manner of blades and barbed instruments laid out on it. A single pair of rusted shackles is bolted into the opposite wall, whose bricks are stained in a bloody account of pain and cruelty. The robed corpse of a woman on the floor is the source of the reeking stench of decay.
"Why am I getting the feeling that this wasn't simply an orphanage" August comments as the strong smell fills the air.
"If ya like, I can go down quick and quiet and take a look around. With that smell I doubt anything's alive but it's your call. " Un'gra says towards Keanan and Jeffrey. If they ask him to, he sneaks down into the cellar.
Keanan nearly throws up. "Oh my." Keanan is a bit stumped for words. After a few more seconds, he utters, "Oh my. Oh my. This is terrible. Someone, or something, uses this as a torture palace."
"You know, there's something even potentially worse. Anyone depraved enough to do this kind of torture, is also depraved enough to poison the water of Falcon's Hallow. There could be a connection to discovering the guilty party of the poisoned water if we learn more about this location. As much as I hate to admit it, but we probably need to examine this place."
Keanan looks around for a second. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is some kind of trap down there, so if you go down and look around, make sure there aren't any traps that go off if someone were to try to escape. Or, we could use my grappling hook and just swing it around down there and see if it sets anything off. That could be safer. Whichever you method you prefer."
"I'll take a look I should be able to spot a trap." Un'gra says, taking a step down while keeping a close eye out for traps.
"Do we have any torches left? Its looks pretty dark."
"Darks not a big problem for me. It smells worse than a goblin camp down there" Un'gra says as he heads down the stairs. Un'gra pulls a cloth out and wraps it around his face.
William sighs impatiently. "Milon, how much longer can we stay if we want to reach Falchon's Hollow today?"
Un'gra takes a look around to make sure he didn't miss anything and says, "Looks like nothing dangerous down here. Light a torch if you like, maybe you can tell who the body was. "
"Me and Balazar will keep a lookout and stay here just in case there is a trap, then I can pull you guys out."
"It will be after dark if we left now Mr. Gudlinck. So the later we stay the dark it will get before we reach the town and the roads are not safe at night." Milon says as he searches the ruins.
"Guys, is there any chance that might have been the witch? I mean, her hut was abandoned. If the person knew we might be looking for a cure, then that person came and took the witch here and killed her. It's possible. There's also some tracks here I can see going into the woods."
Not sure who this lady was torturing, but it looks they got revenge. Awfully fancy stuff to torture someone with, why use silver when iron could work just as well? I'll grab the stuff for now, might sell for a good price." Un'gra says loud enough for those above to hear.
Un'gra heads out of the cellar almost stepping on the herbs. "Don't know what..." Un'gra trails off as he notices the herbs are all over. He grabs one and leaves the cellar, bringing it to Keanan.
"You know a thing or two about plants, eh? You know what this is? It's all over down there."
Keanan takes a look at the herbs and plants from Un'gra.