I'll spend the hero point I got in the fight with van Beem to reroll that second save.
Still disoriented by how fast everything devolved, Muse is caught full in the face by the arcane fire. Despite any efforts, it's clear that nothing short of the mightiest divine magic will return him to the land of the living.
Kazador was racing Mel to get to Fyrtor when he saw that Brolin wasn’t breathing. He had been in enough battles to see the signs. Fortunately, he was equipped for this. Rune Wardens were a rare breed. Each of them was almost irreplaceable, as learning how to use the runes took half a human lifetime. He reached Brolin with seconds to spare.
”Gromthi! Akrak-an!”
Kazador smiled as he saw the captain cough. ”Easy there Sailor. On yer feet.”
After healing Brolin, Fyrtor pulls a pearl from his pouch and mutters a word to low to be heard. It then flashes and he chants to himself, "Mag jy genees word"
Afterwords he pulls another pearl from his pouch and the second one flashes as the first.
The soaked Dwarven archer walked over to Kazador.
ᛗᛃ᛫ᚦᚨᚾᛖ᛬ᚹᛖ᛫ᚾᛖᛖᛞ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᛗᛟᚡᛖ᛬ᚲᚨᚾ᛫ᚹᛖ᛫ᛏᚱᚢᛋᛏ᛫ᚦᛁᛋ᛫ᛖᛚᚠ᛭
”My thane, we need to move. Can we trust this elf?”
Kazador sighed as he said
ᚺᛖ᛫ᛈᚱᛟᛒᚨᛒᛚᛃ᛫ᛋᛈᛠᚲᛋ᛫ᛞᚹᚨᚱᚡᛖᚾ᛬ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᚹᛖ᛫ᛞᛟᚾᛏ᛫ᚺᚨᚡᛖ᛫ᛗᚢᚷ᛫ᛟᚠ᛫ᚨ᛫ᚷᛟᛁᚲᛖ᛬ᚦᚨᛏ᛫ᛗᚨᚷᛖ᛫ᚾᛠᚱᛚᛃ᛫ᚲᛁ ᛚᛚᛖᛞ᛫ᚢᛋ᛬ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᚺᛖ᛫ᚹᛁᛚᛚ᛫ᚷᛖᛏ᛫ᛏᛟ᛫ᛟᚢᚱ᛫ᚺᛟᛗᛖ᛫ᛒᛖᚠᛟᚱᛖ᛫ᚢᛋ᛫ᚹᛁᚦᛟᚢᛏ᛫ᚦᛁᛋ᛫ᛟᚾᛖᛋ᛫ᚨᛁᛞ᛬
”He probably speaks Dwarven. And we don’t have much of a choice. That mage nearly killed us, and he will get to our home before us without this one’s aid.”
”Alright. Druid’s dead. And we can’t let the Cons get their hands on...” He stopped and glared at Turion.
”Concordant murdered our people. I don’t trust ye enough to say more than if we don’t stop them then a shyt ton more are going to die as well. That could change, but for now that’s what it is. So how ‘bout we get on yon ship and stop them?”
Kazador smiled as he saw the captain cough. ”Easy there Sailor. On yer feet.”
"I blacked out after that fireball," the captain says the obvious, though perhaps he's just trying to sort out what happened for himself - a near death experience is a disorienting thing. "Thanks. That sounds kind of trite - understated. But . . . yeah, thanks for saving my life."
Climbing to his feat, the captain's atypically quiet as introductions are made - he's still regaining his bearings.
At last, he cuts in. "Sorry, I'm out of it. Name's Brolin Muse, captain of the Sonder, and I talk to ghosts. How important is it that you interrogate that druidosaur? Is it worth delaying for?"
On the Elven ship, Mel finds a wide assortment of tools and supplies, both mundane and magical. Chains, locks, shovels, picks, scrolls, potions, drills, magic gemstones, hourglasses, portable bridges, and staves, dried fruits, bread, and ample stores of water. It seems the Elves did not know precisely what would be required to breach the vaults of Kazad Gravr but they decided to be well-prepared.
4000 gp in mundane equipment and supplies (may choose specific items if you wish. All may be sold for 2000 gp upon return to civilization, if that happens)
Staff of the scout
Staff of understanding
Potions:
Bull's strength (potion)
Hide from animals (potion)
Cure serious wounds (potion)
Magic vestment +1 (oil)
Magic weapon (oil)
See invisibility
Aura sight
Scrolls:
Clairaudience-Clairvoyance
Earth glide
Stone shape
The Avinoax captain raises an eyebrow at the well-stocked ship. "Well then. It appears they were mounting quite the inland expedition." He gazes briefly at the captured Elven prisoners as his briefly glow a crystalline blue color "They were told nothing of the nature of their expedition. We will take them with us." He turns to Brolin when he mentions speaking with the druid "Yes that may prove useful. We have accomplished our primary objective but we always welcome intelligence on the plans of the Council."
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Kazador rifled through the loot, picking up a light buckler. He smiled sadly as he did so. His runes had dimmed after bringing Brolin back. Such magic was powerful, and it would take his hammer several years to fully recharge itself. Still, it was worth it. A life was a resource of value that could not be overestimated.
Hearing the captain, he said ”Then sail us where we need to be. The equipment they brought is nothing compared to what they sought, and what we did here will not stop them.”
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The Avinoax captain shakes his head. "No. We will not journey farther into these lands. They are a strange and dangerous place. We are not afraid but we won't seek danger without reason. You may take the Elven ship and proceed."
"Well, Captain," she says to the Avinoan captain. "Though I confess myself curious as to why you were so intent on pursuing yon dead druid, I understand completely if you prefer to say nothing further on the matter. We all have confidences to keep. Thank you very much for your timely assistance -- and the spare ship! That will be far better than our previous mode of river transport."
Fyrtor while rumaging through the supplies jumps in on the conversation, "I don't know if we can sail this ship. There's only the six of us and I believe Captain Muse is the only one who has any real time as a sailor. It shouldn't be much further. You have come far, and we have helped each other. Surely you could go a little further to spite the Concordant. After all we only need transportation, you and yours would be free to leave immediately after dropping us on the bank."
The captain considers Mel's question and turns to Turion. "I will leave that up to you as you were closely involved."
To Fyrtor he smiles politely but shakes his head. "No we must return soon to report in person. It is not mine to ask my men and women to risk themselves further."
Fyrtor sighs, "so be it, I understand. As Mel has said you have been quite generous."
“We could sail it with the six of us, I think - if we were willing to do hard labor around the clock. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but with divine restorative magic we could probably make it work.”
The captain kneels next to one of the fallen Concordate, closing the elf’s eyes. “Conversely, these fine fair folk in all likelihood have decades of experience at sea on any one of us. I know a spell that’d animate their remains, sailing expertise fully intact, though their murderous mission would be thankfully forgotten. They’d serve us for a week, ferrying us wherever we need to go.”
Muse stands. “It’s not a spell I’m altogether comfortable casting, though desperate times have called for desperate measures before; once off the coast of Feldnost the ship I was mate of at the time had a nasty plague of pox - we lost more than half the crew to it, and their skeletons sailed us home. Or, to a port, at least.”
The captain grunts and makes his way off back towards land. “But first things first; there’s a dead dinosaur to interview. If someone’d be so kind as to tie me down, I’ll begin the seance.”
"I will ask, for the third time, where is your goal, where was their goal? I wish to learn more about the reason for this expedition - but you are asking us to sail on blindly."
"I may have an idea, but I'd rather hear it from you. If so, I would gladly accompany you, if only to make sure their plans are foiled."
He turns to the Elven Captain: "I understand you need to report back soon...it is also in my interest. After we are done, do bring Gael's body back with you to prove he was responsible. Elaran will make sure justice will prevail. I would return home with you, but there's more to all of this, and I fully intend to lift the veil."
Facing Mel, he continues:"I would journey onward, and ask for your trust. It is only fair to return that favor. This druid we pursued, a man named Gael, had been active in the area near my hometown for a while. He claimed to be a Seer of sorts, and that the only way for the continued existence of our nation would be peaceful submission to the Concordate - he was also well aware that Nel's pack helped me - and others - patrol the borders in the forest, and fend off intruders."
He pauses a moment, breathes deeply, then continues: "When he decided to depart our lands, he wanted to deal one more blow. He spread rumors about my wolves...then, eventually, turned into one, murdering a young woman in front of witnesses, and dragged her into the woods. He faked a battle, and shaped her corpse into the likeness of his own...and fled. He did fail to mask his scent, though.", he absent-mindedly continues to scratch the giant wolves ears. "We managed to learn which ship picked him up, and it's destination - in that first port he changed over to this one - and we pursued them here."
When Muse offers to commune with the spirit, Túrion is pleasantly surprised:"It would be much appreciated, if you can accomplish such a Feat. I think the most important question would be who gave him his orders. Possibly what they hoped to find, unless you can answer that, and how they intended to use it, if he knew such. The names of other Condordate Agents or Contacts in Avinoax he knows about would be desirable to know as well, and why he left...was it because he received new orders, or because the Concord is getting ready to act? There is much I wish to learn of him, but what is the extent of your ability?"
The Avinoan captain nods solemnly as Turion tells his tale. "Indeed. So we would be most interested in what Gael has to say." As the rocs land, he gestures toward one of them "Hold this man gently but do not let him out. He is attempting to help us." The roc hops toward Brolin and grasps him gently in its talons.
There is no response from the spirit of Gael.
Mel scowls fiercely at the suggestion of animating the fallen elves to sail the ship for them. "These may have been our enemies in life, but not even they deserve to have their corpses desecrated with undeath. And frankly, Captain Brolin, I'm surprised that you'd consider sullying your own soul that way. Making undead is out of the question."
After Turion's tale, she nods an acknowledgement. "The Concordate has been busy all over. May I consult privately with my colleagues a moment?"
Gathering Kazador, Algric, Brolin, Fyrtor and Kelian into a huddle out of earshot, she says "I'm inclined to tell them what the Concordate has been up to, at least as regards the attacks on the southern Bishopric and the reasoning behind them. If the Council has any brains at all, they'll not want to wind up fighting a war on two fronts -- Avinoax to their south and Iustia north. Which means that either they're planning to do something about Avinoax or else hoping they won't notice. Either way, I'm inclined to think we stand to benefit if Avinoax knows what's going on. As for gaining further assistance from them here and now, Kazador, that's up to you. This Túrion fellow seems interested in assisting, but I know you're eager to protect your secrets. If it were up to me, I'd bring him in on it. But it's not. It's yours."
Kazador sighed. ”Algric? What do ye think?”
“That as thane this is you’re call.” The archer said, somewhat pointedly.
”Fine. Fine. Well, this is as good a time to say it as any. The runes of my hammer are drained. Bringing back the dead took a lot out of it. It’ll be years before it is back to where it was. So we need all the help we can get. Wait here, I’ll talk to yon elf.”
”So, mage. I’ll fill ye in. The Concordant is engineering a crisis to justify moving troops to their borders. They’ve manipulated orc attacks for this pretext. Our group is as diverse as it is because the Concordant has harmed all of us in the name of their policies. My home, especially, though all of us age suffered. They had the orcs kill me people when they couldn’t get what they wanted by trade. The ship we just intercepted was going to what’s left of my home to loot it, now that their orc pawns moved on. We’re going to stop them. It seems to me that you’ve got your own grudge. I’m here to put me hand out in friendship. The offer to work together to unravel why the Concordant is fooking with our lives, and to stop them from hurting anyone else. All I ask is you’re oath, that the tomb which is me home remains secret, and that the relics of me people stay in Dwarven hands.”
Mel nods as Kazador goes off to brief Túrion.
"As for the ship, we don't need to sail it at all. Unless I miss my guess, we're only a few miles from our destination. So we anchor the ship here, walk the last few miles, do what we came for, and then return here when we're done and turn it around. Going downstream is easy -- the water will push us where we need to go. Then we weigh anchor at the mouth of the river and wait for the Sonder to rejoin us. Once they show up we should have enough able-bodied sailors to get both ships back to Helm."
She frowns. "It is a risk, though. There are orc tribes and worse out here. They might discover it in our absence, and I don't think it's wise to leave people here to guard it."
Muse sighs as Gael resists his call. "Well, that happens sometimes. I can try again tomorrow, if it's important enough - and the day after that, and the day after that, if it comes to it. I should probably take," the captain pulls off one of the fallen dinosaurs feathers, "this with me."
Mel scowls fiercely at the suggestion of animating the fallen elves to sail the ship for them. "These may have been our enemies in life, but not even they deserve to have their corpses desecrated with undeath. And frankly, Captain Brolin, I'm surprised that you'd consider sullying your own soul that way. Making undead is out of the question."
Inside Brolin's head, Savvy seethes. In a voice that Muse would describe as 'dangerously low' if he didn't know that that was just Savvy's speaking voice, the mercenary Abadarian makes a coherent argument that she knows will be paraphrased beyond recognizability. "It is not my suggestion that we, by use of onyx and arts necromantic, shackle the souls of these unfortunates (though, truly, their only misfortune is their own poor discretion - they brought this on themselves) to their bodies and thereby add to the number of witless shambling dead roaming the continent - though I would like to add that I see nothing inherently wrong with doing so, provided we take the proper precautions to ensure that no one is unwillingly harmed by our creation - but don't say that aloud, Captain, I doubt it'd be taken well. Instead, I suggest we use a spell, granted by Abadar, who by all rights is a respected deity on this continent, I spell I, while alive, cast on several occasions, owing to it's extreme convenience and utter lack of soul-sullying properties, a spell that creates not ravenous zombies nor malicious skeletons, but simple creatures whose only hunger is a hunger to float our boat. They will not defend themselves, even if attacked. They will hurt no one.
"And what is the alternative? Note that I'm asking for real alternatives, not 'we should sit on our heels waiting for the Sonder's return, thumbing our noses at our extraordinary good fortune, at Abadar's providence, perhaps, in finding a vessel of our own and thereby hastening our return to the Bishopric, at a time when every day is one less day before total war erupts across the continent' plans."
Despite Savvy's asking otherwise, Muse quotes her word for word. That's something of his personal philosophy - give everyone as much information as you can, and then they'll make the decision best for them.
”Fine. Fine. Well, this is as good a time to say it as any. The runes of my hammer are drained. Bringing back the dead took a lot out of it. It’ll be years before it is back to where it was. So we need all the help we can get. Wait here, I’ll talk to yon elf.”
"Oh . . . I'm sorry."
Muse'll spend a round of Spirit Dance and cast false life on himself.
"Let me put it this way, Captain," Mel says. "There are no circumstances under which I would countenance the creation of undead. If you choose to proceed with this anyway, we will be parting company. I would rather take my chances walking back to civilization alone than have any part in it whatsoever."
"As for 'sitting on our heels waiting for the Sonder's return', that's exactly what the plan was originally. And it's a big ocean. If we were to sail straight back to Helm after we finish here, chances are good that we and the Sonder would pass one another mid-way all unawares. Then we would be in Helm, waiting for the Sonder to return, while your crew would be anchored at the mouth of the river wondering where we are. Or worse, needlessly risking their lives by sailing upriver to find us. Waiting for them only makes sense."
Mel nods as Kazador goes off to brief Túrion.
"As for the ship, we don't need to sail it at all. Unless I miss my guess, we're only a few miles from our destination. So we anchor the ship here, walk the last few miles, do what we came for, and then return here when we're done and turn it around. Going downstream is easy -- the water will push us where we need to go. Then we weigh anchor at the mouth of the river and wait for the Sonder to rejoin us. Once they show up we should have enough able-bodied sailors to get both ships back to Helm."
She frowns. "It is a risk, though. There are orc tribes and worse out here. They might discover it in our absence, and I don't think it's wise to leave people here to guard it."
"Well we won't be able to guard it while inside Kazad Gravr either. If we wait a day I could place a wasp nest to guard it while we are gone. It won't stop a determined enemy, but it should diswayed casual opportunists. I'm not sure whether or not it would be worth the delay however. The wizards we fought must have used many of their spells in the fight. It might be a good idea to push them quickly, before they can recover."
For that second part of the oath you ask...I must ask that you alter the words. Hear me out. Your people were slaughtered - your comrade addressed you as Thane. Imagine if you had a chance to safe them...would you have taken it? You trust me with a secret that is important to you, and I shall do the same...I have 2 lovely daughters back home. Their mothers want nothing to do with me, but they are of my blood all the same. I have friends, family. If there are artifacts that allow me to stop the Concordant and protect my home, then I would betray any oath I swore not to use them. If you and your friend perish, the oath you ask will lock both me and your allies from using what remains of the craftsmanship of your kind. I offer instead an Oath to respect your wishes regarding the Dwarven relics that remain, and return them to their home once mine is safe! You know loss - and for that reason you know I would do anything to keep my home, my daughters safe. Do not ask me to swear an Oath that says otherwise and possibly forsake a tool giving me that power."
Kazador listened, and then said slowly ”I see what ye are saying. But when is a home ever safe? Mine was unknown to all but a handful of ‘trusted’ merchants, who broke their paths and led to our demise. As much as I’d like to argue semantics, I have nay the head of tongue for it. We trusted and paid for it, but that does not mean we were in the wrong. Oathbreakers will pay the price, in the end. Give ye oath to nay use our craft in any way that would dishonor it’s makers, and that when this crisis be over* that they be returned to proper Dwarven hands, and I will be satisfied.”
"Let me put it this way, Captain," Mel says. "There are no circumstances under which I would countenance the creation of undead."
"Then we'll make due without." Which is inconvenient, but . . . probably for the best.
Kelian looks to the others "Well we could leave the ship." then he gestures to the vast quantities of supplies and tools "But it would make it pretty hard to move all this." He shrugs "But maybe we don't need it all."
"The wizards we fought must have used many of their spells in the fight. It might be a good idea to push them quickly, before they can recover."
"Hm . . . but we used a lot of magic too. Mutual disadvantage there - does anyone feel uncomfortable pressing on?"
"You're right, he could be waiting for us up ahead," Mel says. "I'm not really sure what limitations his teleportation spell had. But ... I still doubt it. If he could have teleported directly to Kazad Gravr, he would have. I mean, why spend weeks upon weeks sailing from the Concordat around the Barbarian Lands and up a river through a trackless waste full of orcs when you can clap your hands and just be there? He may show up again, but I doubt he's ahead of us right now."
"If we're taking the ship upstream, we should get to it soon. It'll probably be hard with so few of us and so few of us trained. Fyrtor, do you have any wind spells that could fill its sails the way that other druid did?"
Their talk concluded, Tùrion returns just in time to overhear the last parts of the conversation. "Is there a reason not to press on? The casters most likely fled...if they were familiar enough with their target to teleport there, they would not have gone all the way by ship in the first place. In my opinion, there is a good chance they are expecting reinforcements - more ships may be on the way, to transport what is found in the ruins. If so, the two probably went downriver, awaiting the arrival of a new ship. We'll probably want to press on, not wait for them to catch up again - at least if my read on the situation is right..."
"We did use a lot of magic, but unlike most wizards we are not afraid to fight without magic when the need arises. Whether they are before us or behind us getting to Kazad Grave quickly is probably for the best. Of they are ahead of us perhaps we may catch them unawares, if the are behind us and being reinforced as Turion suspects then the sooner we can get to the remains of the dwarf city the better we will be able to defend it." With that said Fyrtor gazes at the sails of the ship and sighs, "Mel, I'm sorry to disappoint again, there are some minor wind spells I can use, but nothing as powerful as the druid we fought was using. At this point, since we are not far it may be best to travel on foot. I'll happily haul a line or work an oar however if Muse thinks that we can get this ship to our destination in any reasonable amount of time. Turion, you seem to be a man... err... elf sorry, I meant no offense skilled at magic, do you have a solution to this problem?"
"I apologize, but I have no readily available solution to our conundrum. My magic is more flexible than most, but it is harder to weave the more powerful spells into existence."
His face reddens slightly and he smiles sheepishly while remembering:"And there was an...*ahem*...incident at the afore-mentioned port that forced me to part ways with two of my spellbooks and some more mundane possessions - that and I am more accustomed to the Forests, not the Sea. No graphic details are needed, but suffice to say I weighted more on my departure from home than now - so I never really had a need to consider such needs as ours now."
The Avinoan captain turns solemnly to Turion. "It is your right to pursue this matter if you wish. Those rikolliset can't claim to be acting innocently so you won't be providing their Council with pretext, as long as you are careful." He motions to the roc to release Brolin. "We will load Gael and depart now." The Avinoans prepare to leave.
"Thank you for...everything. Have a safe journey home. Nel and I will find our own way, once we have some answers...", Tùrion says his farewells to the captain and other crew after retrieving the remainder of his belongings from the ship.
"Well, welcome, Túrion," Mel says.
She looks at the rest of the group. "I don't know about the rest of you, but about an hour ago I got shot and electrocuted. It's getting late, and we don't quite know what to do with this ship yet -- let's just camp here for the evening, probably aboard the ship, and see what the morning brings."
"So the plan is to spend the night, then proceed in the morning? I am certainly not opposed, but there is probably enough daylight left to make good progress towards Kazad Gravr...and our dwarven Companion seemed to be in a hurry."
Túrion ponders for a moment, then continues:"If we do rest...I mastered a spell that allows to split the conscious mind from the unconscious, duplicating the restful trance of my forebears. In practise, the body sleeps, the soul dreams, but one remains aware of ones surroundings. I could affect myself and 2 more with such a casting, if we would want to set a watch."
Mel shrugs. "I am perfectly happy to proceed, but we would need to work out what we're doing about the captured ship. Lacking any way to magically power it to sail upstream -- and since it doesn't appear to have oars -- I don't see any good option but to anchor it here and hope it remains unmolested while we're away."
"I will follow the will of that party, but as I said earlier I think haste is our ally. I say, let us make the trek to the ruins today while we have daylight and see what we can find there. Either way, Turion if you would be willing I would ask that you inspect a few items we have collected. They are of a magical nature, but we aren't sure just what the magic is. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it."
"I can certainly take a look. I am no crafter myself, but most magic items willingly reveal their secrets to those skilled in the arts. What do you have?"
Fyrtor gestures for Turion to come closer and starts pulling various things out of his bag. "I think Mel and the others have some as well."
2 potions
A very nice looking chain shirt
2 daggers with jewel-encrusted hilts
2 silver daggers that also appear quite nice
8 normal looking daggers
A nice looking longbow with 20 arrows
A very well-oiled bull whip
A belt with tigers and lions sewn into it in patterns
A nice pair of boots
A very good set of thieves' tools
A spyglass
A magnifying glass
A cloak made out of some odd, leather-like material
A small keg with a fuse that weighs about 1 pound
A sap
A garotte
A rapier
Also
Mel finds many potion bottles scorched and torn with their contents spilled out, belts burnt, wands crumbling into dust, and a headband scorched. Even some of the coins are melted but they look to have retained most of their value. She also notes three rings and two longswords that survived and seem magical. The total value of the coins she's able to find on the pirates (not including Van Beem) and the ship amounts to 5000 gp.
”I believe we should press on. Couldn’t live with myself if a nap meant the elgi got there before us and took it all.”
"All right, then. Let's drop the anchor and secure the vessel as well as we can in a few minutes, and then start walking."
"Sounds like a plan."