** spoiler omitted **
Cecil concentrates a moment as he looks into the pit
"AAAHHHH!! He screams as he turns his head away and shakes it as he forcibly keeps his eyes closed.
After a few shakes of his head he seems fine, but he squints hard a few times as he looks around to get his bearings.
Still opening and closing his eyes he says "If you have the power to detect magic, Don't. The aura is overwhelming. It's as if a powerful necromantic item triggered when it entered the pit and it's energy animated these creatures...Perhaps More. As much as I don't want to we should thoroughly search the pit and surrounding dirt."
"What should we be searching for?"
"What should we be searching for?"
"I don't know, but I imagine we'll know it when we see it. Assuming it's even an item and not just a lingering aura. Either way it's not good and we should learn more so we can at least report it.."
"What should we be searching for?""I don't know, but I imagine we'll know it when we see it. Assuming it's even an item and not just a lingering aura. Either way it's not good and we should learn more so we can at least report it.."
Edit:
"We need to make sure these bodies are ash." Cecil/Poe/Owen/unseen servant 1/Unseen servant 2 begin to gather firewood again and place it under any of the bodies in the pit. Please note: Cecil is physically gathering wood also. He's obviously never done manual labor in his life, but he is now. You can tell from his determination he's going to do this even if he does so alone.
When there is sufficient wood Cecil plans to dismiss Owen and summon a fire elemental to speed up the burning process.
Kayla sighs, "Maybe I should start preparing consecrate if we're going to run in to this kind of thing."
In 10 minutes time, the fire is burning mightily. After 30 minutes a fine powder is all that remains in the pit. Moreover, the aura, though still powerful, is getting weaker.
As the aura diminishes Cecil will sift the ashes (using unseen servants) and try to find the source of the aura.
Kayla sighs, "Maybe I should start preparing consecrate if we're going to run in to this kind of thing."
"Good idea."
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Virgil and Raleigh, who have been sniffing around for a while now, are starting to get excited. The are bounding from tree trunk to tree trunk, putting their paws on the tree, sniffing into the air, and barkinking before moving to the next tree. Their path is taking them away from the pit and deeper into the forrest.
Virgil and Raleigh, who have been sniffing around for a while now, are starting to get excited. The are bounding from tree trunk to tree trunk, putting their paws on the tree, sniffing into the air, and barkinking before moving to the next tree. Their path is taking them away from the pit and deeper into the forrest.
Owen Survival
Osslend, smiling at the ingenuity of his hounds, follows them and inspects what they find.
Survival:
"What have you guys found? What's the plan now that we've dealt with the zombies?" Shinami says, wiping his hands after tossing more kindling into the fire.
"The hounds..." Cecil says chuckling and motioning to Owen and the actual hounds who all seem to be furiously sniffing around for something. "...seem to have found something interesting."
Also Cecil is still detecting magic as the aura diminishes searching for the source using the unseen servants to sift the corpse powder.
"Should I go ahead and lay down a Consecrate or hold off since you say the aura is getting weaker?"
"Should I go ahead and lay down a Consecrate or hold off since you say the aura is getting weaker?"
"Let me find the source. That may make your job easier."
Owen looks at the group with his intelligent eyes and says in a harsh growling tone,
"This place smells of the arcane. Something floated through here recently carrying an item of tremendous power. The scent of magic and the stink of undeath hangs around the trees. "
Kayla makes a rather high pitched eeep sound and gives Owen and the Cecil both startled looks. "He talks?"
Kayla makes a rather high pitched eeep sound and gives Owen and the Cecil both startled looks. "He talks?"
Owen looks from Kayla to Cecil.
Cecil says, "Of course he talks, he just prefers not to. Espically with strangers. Though he must have taken a liking to you or he would have just told me to tell you. People tend to ask him the most innane questions. But I digress," Looking to Owen,"Do you know which way it went?"
While watching the bodies burn, Brynn has the urge to pull out his lute. It just seems fitting. As soon as the hounds take off running, Brynn does the same right after them. With Owen at his side, they scour the woods looking for clues, but as soon as Owen rights himself with a suddenly intelligent look and then speaks, Brynn's face turns to a confused scowl. What the...
"Right, uh...good to know. You...talk."
Recollecting himself, Brynn thinks on the options. "Alright, should we chase after what the dogs seem to have found, or try to track back to the old man we saw yesterday?"
"How soon till nightfall? Whichever we decide, we should find a place soon to hole up for the night and lock me down."
"Let's at least get a bit further from this seemingly well-traveled gravesite. Which direction we heading? My vote is to chase after the traveler from yesterday."
"Let's at least get a bit further from this seemingly well-traveled gravesite. Which direction we heading? My vote is to chase after the traveler from yesterday."
"We could always bury Shinami with just his head sticking out. That should keep him under control in case he turns. We can just kick him in the head until he passes out." Cecil says in a half jest
Shinami laughs "Not the face! Anywhere but the face!"
Sighing, "I don't suppose the two are going in the same direction are they? At any rate, for when we decide where to camp at for the night, I'm voting against Faelstaff. I have no desire to set foot there again.:
After staying quiet for a while, Osslend finds a moment's silence and adds in softly, "I don't like the idea of not following this trail, but I like the idea of not catching that bastard from the road even less. I say we give chase to him."
"The man was heading the direction that our campsite was in, right? Why not make way back to it, use the same spot to sleep, and head after him at first light?"
Looking sideways at Shinami, Brynn adds, "As for you...what do you suppose we do with you?"
"Not sure, I guess keep a close watch on me? At first sign of change, slap manacles on me?" He shrugs as he looks to the others. "I don't like the idea of sitting around all night with manacles on in the event we get attacked and I DON'T turn into a werewolf. Is there a warning before the first change? Is there time to slap them on before the initial change? Maybe if they were part way on or something?"
"Perhaps we could just put the manacles on you about an hour or so before moonrise and then wait until about another hour after it to take them off if you haven't changed by then?"
"Perhaps we could just put the manacles on you about an hour or so before moonrise and then wait until about another hour after it to take them off if you haven't changed by then?"
"Well, if that doesnt work we can all be on hand to beat him into submisssion as "Plan B."
Brynn chuckles at Cecil's suggestion. "I like our plan b so far. I'll start planning that one out a bit further in my head."
Once we reach the campsite again: "Ok, we'll need to decide watch order and I say put Shinami in manacles at nightfall and take them off shortly after moonrise if he shows no sign of changing.
"Same as before? I'll sleep the first two hours and then stay up the rest of the night. Maybe cuddle my sword up with Shinami for the night."
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The moon rises and Shinami is unchanged! Night passes safely. With the morning sun, Kayla says her prayers and the Dragoons set out once more in pursuit of the old man.
It's nearly midday when you reach Koppolex and it seems to be just as you left it. Bo, Po, and Aya are no longer in town unfortunately.
"Alright, we're here. So how do we go about tracking the fellow in this town and making sure he doesn't do a repeat performance of Faelstaff?"
"Let's scour the town...do some detective work. A good spot that you might want to check out, Kayla, would be any temples. See if anyone has gone in for any kind of healing from bite or scratch wounds. Poe got a good look at the man, maybe he can be doing aerial sweeps throughout the day? Cecil, can Poe see magical things or people, or would you be able to through him? I've heard of such things, just never sure how that worked."
"Dang it Brynn, you didn't need to keep poking me with your sword last night!" Shinami says as he rubs his backside. "I AM glad that there was no change though. So what's the plan now?"
"Let's scour the town...do some detective work. A good spot that you might want to check out, Kayla, would be any temples. See if anyone has gone in for any kind of healing from bite or scratch wounds. Poe got a good look at the man, maybe he can be doing aerial sweeps throughout the day? Cecil, can Poe see magical things or people, or would you be able to through him? I've heard of such things, just never sure how that worked."
Cecil says "He can for short periods of time, however that spell has a limited range. It would be more effective for me to walk around detecting. But, Poe can fly around and look for him independently and report back without a problem. Also if we find something with the man's scent then Owen can track him that way."
As you enter the town, the acting mayor (the old man Cecil talked to last time) hails you.
"Welcome! Welcome heroes of Koppolex!"
he hobbles excitedly over, "How can I be of service?"
"Still on kingdom business, though it's good to see you again. Sensitive matters, you understand." Spoken much quieter and only so the man and party can hear "Has anyone new come into town recently or has anything unusual been going on?"