Pocky says, “It will be a burden on me as well… a coup de grace would save me a lot of trouble. And she could refuse, which would make me regret waking her. I will kill her if she would rather be with her sisters.
“I would hope I’d make that choice if my convent were attacked, and I was the sole survivor. Boomhand may be blind to the evil in this.” She gestures to the courtyard, surely where slaves kill each other for fun and profit.
Mara got the feeling that Pocky had come to a decision. She said to the halfling, "Helping her take the path of light, out of the darkness, is a righteous thing to do."
Pocky smiles as Mara speaks. “Oddly, this was my thought when she landed a punch dead-center in my nose.
“Please pray to the Dawnflower for me… I do hope Hunter Boomhand will accept what I have in mind.”
Ci Ci stands in the middle of the group and throws her hands wide, intoning, "Succor solaris!"
“Oh! That feels very nice. Is that a new trick, Ci-Ci?”
Allegra weighs in on Pocky's decision as well.
"Mara speaks wisely. Redemption is a noble goal, but it does not, in and of itself, absolve. If you take this one on, you are responsible for her. Are you prepared for that?"
"This new robe allows me to access more of my power without burning myself out. I'm starting to learn all sorts of new things I can do." Ci Ci replies to Pocky.
With regard to the discussion on sparing the gnoll monk. "Slavers are scum. Dealing her a sound beating won't suddenly cause her to grow a conscience. If you attempt to redeem her, be prepared for the likelihood that she will betray you at the most opportune moment. It would almost be fitting if she herself were made a slave, and her free will were taken from her, if only the price of it weren't so high as the cost of your own morals."
Prior to disappearing, Mr. Tickles also weighs in on the discussion.
She will definitely wait for the most opportune moment!
The party emerges from Blossoming Thorn triumphant and with a not insignificant number of freed slaves in their care. Pocky has taken one of the gnolls prisoner, Boomhand, vowing to redeem the gnoll monk from her evil ways. Allegra releases Pocky from her contract so she may devote the necessary attention to this difficult and likely dangerous task.
The residents of Okeno give the party a wide berth for the time being, no doubt because of rumors spread by the Princess Njano. However the party feels the hungry eyes of assassins and slavers on their backs. And others looking to make a name for themselves.
As they consider options on their exodus from Okeno they encounter the ship captain, Junior, gleefully kicking off gnoll sailors as he tries to commandeer a vessel by himself, all the while singing about a danger zone. How he planned to crew the ship is anyone's guess. In a coincidence that Junior claims stretches "narrative believability," some of the slaves had been sailors. Junior happily provides the party passage to the Parchlands in southern Casmaron.
This leg of the journey in pursuit of the errant Count Lowls is uneventful. It lets the party reflect on gravity of what Lowls has done. He has absconded with the lich Geir's translation of the Necronomicon, most recently held at the Mysterium's Soul under the heaviest wards the clergy of Nethys could muster. His goal having something to do with the entity known as Xhamen-dor, a being who gains power from even knowing its name.
Kaklatath, an elderly slave, joins their pursuit. She doesn't speak but communicates solely by telepathic contact. She claims to have been sending dreams and whispers to those in the party and since they have freed her their visions have ceased. Kaklatath explains, "Count Lowls has been infected with the seed of the Great Old One, Xhamen-Dor." Her face twists in pain as she says the name, ”Forgive me. It is difficult to think about such things."
After a moment of rest she continues and points on the map recovered from Biting Lash, "Here. Crater Lake, a forgotten city lies here, it is his goal.”
The journey to Casmaron will take about a month and then there will be several weeks of travel in a trackless desert.
“It may be a fool’s errand, but I’m willing to chance it. Sleeping will be the tricky part, so I’ll do very little of it.”
“But if I succeed, she will be instrumental in freeing slaves. She knows the business. And if my hunch is correct, she lives for the fight, not the cause. Even so, the question that remains is whether she’ll want to avenge her sisters. I know I would.”
Ci Ci takes a moment to say goodbye to her friend, Pocky. She gets down on her knees and gives the tiny monk a long hug.
"It's been quite a journey with you. I wish you the best of luck with your new charges. Take care of yourself, Pocky."
Mara bid the halfling monk farewell, "Good luck, Pocky! The task that you're undertaking will be difficult, but everything worth doing is. May the Dawnflower smile on you."
"Be careful, Pocky. Cerise is right... betrayal is likely... though not quite certain. Miracles do happen. Good luck."
Pocky gladly accepts the hug, and she takes Ci-Ci’s hands. Ci-Ci can feel something being slipped into her palm—a sapphire ring.
“This ring may have made the difference between falling in battle and not.”
“And you fly a lot.” She’s worried Ci-Ci will get shot down from midair. And if Boomhand tries something funny, Pocky won’t jump off a cliff to avoid her.
She says of the Dawnflower. “Yours is a beautiful faith, Mara. I believe the Dawnflower and the Cloud Sisters would get along very well. Iris and Nephele, anyway. Aella is more the avenge-your-sisters type.
“For Boomhand’s sake, I hope she does not try to betray me.” She smiles at Dervak when she says that, but Pocky is genuinely confident she will not be easily fooled by a fellow monk, and she thinks Boomhand would stand even less of a chance without falchions intervening.
Theophilus sheds some tears at the departing of Pocky.
The White Rabbit hands him a clean handkerchief.
Parting is such sweet sorrow! Loric! Oh, for where art Thou! Woe is me! Like weeping angels on a sunny spring afternoon!
He sadly shakes her hand.
Farewell, for ours is a journey not without further peril. Yours is filled with dangerous happenstance; that will eventually grow into a blossoming garden!
The gentleman tips his hat grandly for Pocky!
Allegra stands before Pocky with her arms crossed, her expression unreadable, silence hanging in the air between them. After a handful of moments, she speaks up. "Pocky, you have performed admirably in assisting and guarding me in my pursuit of Count Lowls. You never shirked your duty, and you have always acted with honor. I hold your contract fulfilled and release you from any further obligation."
She nods, begins to turn, and then hesitates. The tall woman kneels down suddenly and gathers the halfling in a tight hug. "I will miss you, Pocky. Stay safe, and may our journeys cross again in the future. And..."
Leaning in close, Allegra whispers a few words to the halfling, then releases her with a sad smile. She stands up and back off.
Pocky’s eyes start to tear up at the whispered words. “Oh, I will definitely not forget that.”
As sentimental as the moment is, it appears Pocky is trying not to laugh.
When she turns to Theo to say goodbye, she says, “I will miss your magic tricks and your friend, among the few animals not offended by my presence.
“And as for you, silly rabbit…”
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pocky dons her cap to appear as a human child.
“…tricks are for kids.”
The White Rabbit is actually seen eating a big bowl of Trix....
Before you depart you reflect on what you know about the Parchlands:
Mara decided to study a bit about the Parchlands before making final preparations. She adopted her elderly aspect and gathered what information she could.
She told her comrades, "As the name suggests, the Parchlands is exceptionally dry, even for a desert. Best to be prepared!"
Theo--and The White Rabbit look out over the long, dry Desert.
We may need a parasol.
Theo purchase a Wand of Endure Elements; since it is not to the White Rabbit's taste!
Hmmm...it may be a lemon!
Allegra looks up from where she's down on a knee, sorting through her pack. She reaches out a hand. "Mr. Carter, please, allow me."
She'll cast it on him.
She continues to rummage and finds a recent purchase. "Miss Barchetta, a moment?" Once Ci Ci comes over, Allegra presents a thin platinum ring to her. "If you would wear this, I can pledge to protect you and share in your injuries. You are...somewhat fragile, despite your pluck, and we only seem to be going into more and more danger. We are more vulnerable now that Pocky is gone, and this will help to dilute the danger. And...see, it matches my own." She shows off a matching ring on her own finger, and stands up from her kneel.
"Thanks, Allegra," Ci Ci replies. She places the band on her right hand, next to the sapphire ring Pocky gave her.
Dervak will offer his Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend to Allegra.
"Hey. With this, the spell should last two days, right? Can you cast it on yourself and then on me on alternating days?"
Mara examined the map of the Parchlands to determine the best route to reach their destination, and the closest jumping off point before entering the desert. Do we want to acquire any camels? I could supply them with food and water myself. Mind you, the whole exercise might be more trouble than it's worth."
"Camels would speed us up, although I have never ridden one. How much different from horses could they be?" Allegra says with misguided optimism.
"I can use my power to fly for the entire day, but unfortunately, I cannot give someone else the power to fly," Ci Ci replies. "I can act as a sort of aerial look-out for the group as we travel, at least."
"I'm fairly fast on my feet... I'm not thrilled about riding but I will do it if I would otherwise slow you down."
"Can we not Teleport closer to our destination?"
Dervak might want to pick up Phantom Steed in the future...
Theo will cast Lucky Number on everyone.
Theo will Pearl of Power 1st his Lucky Number.
Theo then Hexes his friends also.
Camels? We don't need no stink'n, filthy camels.
The White Rabbit nods in agreement; holding a handkerchief to his nose.
"Can we not Teleport closer to our destination?"
Kaklatath answers in the party's mind, "It's possible. I can describe the place I was in the last time I dwelled within the undercity of Neruzavin." A vision of stone chamber with strange pods floods your mind, each pod contains a sleeping monstrosity, a conical body topped with four rubbery appendages, two end in pincers, a third ends in tubes of some sort and the final ends in a spherical head with tentacles draping down. "I am not familiar with the surface. I should be able to return but I'm unable." As she communicates the last thought the elderly woman's face becomes pained.
After she regains her composure, "The way I understand your kind; He would have made a camp on the surface. And we will surely need to recover the Book." The thoughts are accompanied by a vision of Count Lowls holding the Necronomicon within the Mysterium right before he set of the wards.
Let's go see a guy about some camels!
Theo will purchase 7 camels; complete with all the proper saddles, bags, gaudy tassels, parasols, and heavy amounts of mascara.
Theo leaves 1000 gold pieces near the shredded, burned, and stoned corpses of a pair of large cats and numerous gnolls.
Selecting what the hatter deems the best camels, likely based on the length of their eyelashes, he returns to the party with a caravan complete with tack. The camels only spit on the hatter and White Rabbit once or twice.
Mara is able to keep the party on track as she uses the map to navigate the trackless desert towards Neruzavin. You wind between windswept mesas and gulches carved by long-extinct rivers, your magical protections make you comfortable in even the heaviest of armor and the camels you ride are only mildly temperamental.
After two short days you spot the first sign of habitation: a pair of markers atop a ridge.
Both are rough-hewn, pointed obelisks bearing numerous inscriptions. Impaled on one of the obelisks is the decaying corpse of a scorpion the size of a horse. Looking closer you see that instead of a head the scorpion has the upper torso of a woman. The word "Weak" is inexpertly carved over other inscriptions.
The largest inscription on the other obelisk reads, "These sacred territories contain a slumbering evil. Turn back. The wardens suffer no trespass."
The other inscriptions are in a strange language,
Ci Ci turns towards the others, with her back to the watcher, and her hood raised. "There's someone watching us from that far outcropping behind me. I can't tell whether the watcher is human or of some other race, but it tried to avoid being sighted."
1st lvl (6): Ant Haul, Endure Elements x3, Liberating Command, Unbreakable Heart, Color Spray (spirit)
2nd lvl (6): Barkskin x3, Calm Emotions, Delay Poison, open slot, Hypnotic Pattern (spirit)
3rd lvl (6): Heroism x3, Dispel Magic, Sylvan Hideway, open slot, Daylight (spirit)
4th lvl (5): Blessing of Fervor, Freedom of Movement, Slowing Mud, Spiritual Ally, open slot, Rainbow Pattern (spirit)
5th lvl (4): Baleful Polymorph, Breath of Life, open slot, Overland Flight (spirit)
6th lvl (3): Greater Dispel Magic, Wall of Stone, open slot, Chain Lightning (spirit)
Mara said a prayer and examined the strange language, but couldn't read it. She tried to use her knowledge of other languages to deduce what the inscription might be about.
She replied to Ci Ci, "I saw them too."
She bent down and pointed out some tracks, "Looks like a large-sized scorpion, similar to the dead one. Anyone know what this type is?"
Mara fails to determine the meaning of the inscriptions but wisely recognizes her failure and makes no false assumptions.
Theo writes a note to the former owners of the camels and such.
As the group approaches the boundary, Theo glances about the terrain.
He studies the scorpion-woman for a bit.
He then begins studying the inscriptions.
The Witch is totally engrossed in his work....
Allegra struggles with her camel, but keeps good time.
She is currently in a spat with her camel and much too distracted to be paying any attention.
Dervak rides along. He is not thrilled with the camel. It smells bad, it is uncomfortable, and he isn't used to it. He periodically hops off and walks for periods of time.
Dervak is not unfamiliar with harsh terrain, but he is more used to the cold than the heat. After all, he spent a few years among his father's Kellid tribe in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. He is thankful to Mara and her magic for keeping him safe from the heat.
"Anybody ever hear of a creature like this scorpion-centaur thing? It looks like it had some enemy here... something that thinks it to be weak."
Dervak does not notice the tracks until they are pointed out, but he does spot the lurking figure.
"And maybe that is the scorpion-woman's enemy. Might be a friend to us, might be a foe..."
He uses his metamagic rod to cast Shield (so it will last 24 minutes).
He studies the scorpion-woman for a bit.
She is a girtablilu. A monstrous humanoid, (traits), that guard ancient places and treasures lost to history. They are religious fanatics, though which religion varies from tribe to tribe. They possess a natural empathy for scorpions, which they train as a human would a dog.
He then begins studying the inscriptions.
The rest of the markings seem to be regularly spaced dates, maybe a week apart. They appear to have stopped within the last month or two.
So, this fine looking lady was guarding some stuff. Lowls got here took it, ruined her life, and took off. Looks like a regular timed visitation at weekly intervals; although the last one was roughly month or two.
Theo prepares for trouble, as they begin to continue to move forward.
Mara pondered how much to prepare for a possible attack. They were being watched, but she had no way of knowing when an ambush might occur. She decided to recite a couple of prayers, "We're likely to be attacked by these girtablilus, given the inscription; I assume they're the wardens. Maybe I'll be able to reason with them, but maybe not. Keep your eyes open!"