Hey, what the hell are you doing? Do I look like an orc to you? Well, alright, Bel does, but we're not here to hurt you! Arlan yells indignantly, treading carefully to close the distance.
Varin pushes forward, to the front of the group, behind Arlan, and does his best to block Beltzer from view. "Probably safer to stay to the back right now Bel, this one don't seem too in her right mind."
Lys shouts uncoherently as Arlan is shot. "Uh. Guys? Do tell me if you want me to start shooting back!", she shouts, raising a crossbow towards the dwarf. "Alles ist im Ordnung , wir sind nicht grünhäutigen! Nur schmutzig und schmuddelig! Leg es hin!"
Nerak kept himself from firing but just barely. If the dwarf was addled then it was a job for Beltzer. But he kept his distance and ready just in case the dwarf could not be dealt with non lethally.
Right, been a while since my skin mattered to someone. Some things never changed.
Beltzer draws some of the pain away from Arlan.
He then moves away from the group wondering if that may draw his attention away. He gets a storm ready if the group decides to fight the dwarf anyway. "I'm not your enemy!" Beltzer pleads.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing? Do I look like an orc to you? Well, alright, Bel does, but we're not here to hurt you!" Arlan yells indignantly, treading carefully to close the distance.
Varin pushes forward, to the front of the group, behind Arlan, and does his best to block Beltzer from view. "Probably safer to stay to the back right now Bel, this one don't seem too in her right mind."
Lys shouts uncoherently as Arlan is shot. "Uh. Guys? Do tell me if you want me to start shooting back!", she shouts, raising a crossbow towards the dwarf. "Alles ist im Ordnung , wir sind nicht grünhäutigen! Nur schmutzig und schmuddelig! Leg es hin!"
Nerak kept himself from firing but just barely. If the dwarf was addled then it was a job for Beltzer. But he kept his distance and ready just in case the dwarf could not be dealt with non lethally.
He then moves away from the group wondering if that may draw his attention away. He gets a storm ready if the group decides to fight the dwarf anyway. "I'm not your enemy!" Beltzer pleads.
The dwarf screams and launches two MORE arrows at Arlan, which sail passed him.
Arlan = 44/52 HP & AC 21
Beltzer = 35/40 HP & AC 16
Lys = 44/44 HP & AC 18
Nerak = 32 HP & AC 14
Varin = 51/51 HP & AC 20
"Uh, she's got something wrong with her head. Like, actually crazy, and not just her messed up haircut!", Lys speaks with a loud whisper, getting ready to duck the arrows. "Any of you mystical people have something to help with that? Arlan, can you knock her out, if it comes to that?", she blurts out rapidly.
What do you mean 'if it comes to that'? Arlan says wryly, ripping the arrow out of his chest. The soldier cracks his neck and knuckles as he steps up to the archer, trying to knock her unconscious with a kick to the head.
Varin gritted his teeth and pushed on, seeking to help Arlan or atleast take a missile or two for the man instead.
"Good hit Arl. Oi ya mad old bint we aren't green are we? We're from Trunau!"
Nerak remains on alert but restrained, non lethal was not his thing with his spells prepared at the moment.
Lys stares at the fight, muttering. "Five gold pieces on the tall one, any takers?", she blurts out half-heartedly, waiting to get a word or two in-between the fists and arrows.
Beltzer lets a storm burst out to help Arlan with the non-lethal strategy here.
"What do you mean 'if it comes to that'?" Arlan says wryly, ripping the arrow out of his chest. The soldier cracks his neck and knuckles as he steps up to the archer, trying to knock her unconscious with a kick to the head.
The team comments.
The crazy dwarf eyes enlarge to the size of saucers. She drops her bow and starts to run away. Arlan trips the stable dwarf with his spear.
Dwarf AC 18 touch 12 CMD 21 not counting prone
Arlan = 44/52 HP & AC 21
Beltzer = 35/40 HP & AC 16
Lys = 44/44 HP & AC 18
Nerak = 32 HP & AC 14
Varin = 51/51 HP & AC 20
Arlan steps up driving his elbow into the addled dwarf's temple, but fighting a prone, half-crazed opponent leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
Varin walks up to the woman and draws back his hammer before frowning and dropping it. "No... not for me to do. This is too big, I might kill her!"
"Oh just knock them out so Beltzer can drain the crazy out."
Honestly it was a single mad dwarf, this was just plain shameful.
"You make it sound like craziness is some sort of ichor I can remove from his head!" Beltzer replies.
Arlan steps up driving his elbow into the addled dwarf's temple, but fighting a prone, half-crazed opponent leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
The crazy dwarf jumps to her feet clearly shaken by the monster that is Arlan. She draws a dwarven waraxe and a handaxe and screams,
Dwarf AC 18 touch 12 CMD 21 and shaken
Arlan = 44/52 HP & AC 21
Beltzer = 35/40 HP & AC 16
Lys = 44/44 HP & AC 18
Nerak = 32 HP & AC 14
Varin = 51/51 HP & AC 20
"May Pharasma have mercy on your soul!"
Varin swings with all of his might at the Dwarfs forehead, aiming to boop it, not break it.
Arlan breathes heavy as he stands above the crazy dwarf who sprawls out next to her campfire circle. Varin could not believe that she kept going after he carefully hit her once with his artifact hammer.
Now, what?
Arlan = 44/52 HP & AC 21
Beltzer = 35/40 HP & AC 16
Lys = 44/44 HP & AC 18
Nerak = 32 HP & AC 14
Varin = 51/51 HP & AC 20
Lys carefully walks close to the dwarf. "Uh. Varin. Remind me not to call you if I need a nail... nailed. Whatever, I can't be funny all the time.", she says, taking a worried look at the dwarf. "I think we got something we can tie her down with, get the bow away and wake her up. We can probably calm her down. If we got booze, that'd be a great help.", she orders people around, taking a long look at the shortbow.
I don't know, maybe she already drank a few before we got here. I think I have just the thing...
Arlan draws out some reagents and starts brewing a fizzy drink for the addled dwarf.
"I'm pretty sure she is not drunk. If she is anything like the dwarves I know, we would see a few kegs lying around."
He does look around her camp and items, he could be wrong and she may have a magical mug with endless ale.
Nerak finds two magical potions and a magic waraxe on the dwarf.
In addition, she appears to have a moderately powerful necromantic spell functioning on her.
Beltzer tries to examine the dwarf to see if it is just an addled mind or something worse, like fey enchantment.
Beltzer is trying to determine if a lesser restoration could help mend her if it is her mind is only minorly damaged.
Nerak the potions are Cure Moderate Wounds and Remove Curse. The waraxe is +1.
After studying the moderately powerful, Necromantic aura on the dwarf, Nerak deduces that she has been cursed.
Nerak picks up the potion of remove curse.
"Well from what I can tell, she has been cursed and this is a potion to remove curses. Why she never took it, is beyond me."
He feeds her the potion unless someone intervenes.
"The curse appears to be paranoia based so it would make sense that it would induce a certain level of fear in her, of the things that might help her, I would guess. Or you know... she forgot!" Varin coughs and moved away, clearly thinking his idea to be ridiculous.
"Go for it, I'll heal her after the potion takes effect. Hopefully it does have some effect." Beltzer shrugs, also baffled by the potion.
:(
The moderately powerful, necromantic aura is still on the unconscious crazy dwarf.
"Damn.." Beltzer shakes his head. "My spirit is not yet strong enough to receive blessings to remove curses. It's on the tip of my grasp but not yet there."
"What should we do now?" Beltzer asks.
He shrugs.
"We can leave her or tie her up and haul her around until your spirit grows a bit. Ether way I am not getting near her until you drain the crazy."
Best to let her be for now, leave her some water and food. We need to try to figure out who, or what, it was that did this to her in the first place.
"If we leave her we will never see her again, mark my words. God is funny like that. We lose sight of someone like this and we will lose any chance of understanding what happened to her. He is a cruel Master this Lord of Dungeons!" Varin pulls out some rope and begins to bind the Dwarven woman from head to toe. "Someone make a gag and I will carry her!" As he says this, Aggrimosh shrinks to the size of a regular Warhammer.
You wander around the marsh until the overhead vegetation makes the swamp as dark as caverns. Varin carries the bound and gagged crazy dwarf over a shoulder. You make camp, post guards, and manage to survive a restless sleep.
When the sun finally starts to light your way again the next day, you break your fast and camp and begin your wandering again looking for will -o wisps to power your ghostlight lantern and the Vault of Thorns that Silvermane told you holds a cache of weapons specifically created to combat orcs.
Eventually, you come to a larger than normal clearing roughly 70 feet by 80 feet. Despite its opening to the unfiltered sun, it feels significantly colder than the surrounding marsh.
Arlan = 52/52 HP & AC 21
Beltzer = 40/40 HP & AC 16
Lys = 44/44 HP & AC 18
Nerak = 32 HP & AC 14
Varin = 51/51 HP & AC 20
"Anyone think the coldness around here is something malicious? Clearly, the place has to be enchanted to do away with the sun's warmth so easily." Beltzer asks.
Beltzer does some simple detect magic while on the edge of this clearing to see if some of his thoughts can be proven.
While he does so he asks "Does anyone know if Will-o-wisps produce a cold aura around them?"
"May not have anything to do with an enchantment. Their are some plants that can create the same effect and this is a swamp. Not to mention creatures."
He cast his magic detection spell and takes a look around just in case.
Varin lay the Dwarf down at the edge of the clearing, before manipulating Aggrimosh in to its regular form. He strolls to the edge and stares out in to the center.
"Well we could go look. Once you Magic people finish gandering that is!"
"Or we can set up a campfire, get a small break and observe before I literally become an ice-hearted b+!$~." She shudders. "Rather than the fire-y hellion you know and love." She sends a lovely smile, teeth grinding from the cold.