Corax grabs her arrows and rips them out without any concern taking of damage as the thorny barbs are
pulled free.
"You all might want to let me help with those arrows. They're nasty and barbed. Fortunately, I have a fish-hook knife in my healer's kit somewhere."
Poulain is able with a little assistance of Angelo, remove the embedded arrows without hurting himself further. Umodo in dinosaur form after losing his familiar Gaki, seems to have lost his own mind and flies off into the sky to the west.
Shortly after the battle, Hurg the dwarven engineer with arthritis slowly meanders his way towards you and the carnage. He takes point with his large wrench in hand. As you move into the "village on a bridge" you see many different buildings and the corpses of some elves and those of people who obviously worked for Aspis Consorium. The smell is a bit much
DC 15 Fortitude saves everyone:
"There is a reason to execute funerary rites in a timely manner. Augh.."
Corax stares at the dead bodies without compassion. She observes Angelo. "Let your nostrils fill with the smell of death. The stench is there for a reason. Life is precious and fate decides which day to take it from us. This..." she sweeps her arm expansively to reference the scene before them, "is a reminder of the glory of combat and the folly of expecting it to last forever. One day - not this day - we will be lying here. And I want my destroyer to consider my death and his life rather than look to bury the evidence as soon as possible."
There is no emotion in her voice, just a hardness that suggests this is somethign she considers after every battle - if only inawrdly.
"Corax, your words are certainly inspired by Pharasma. It is an aspect of the cycle that I must contemplate further." Angelo appears less jocular than usual, though it's not clear if this is caused by nausea or because of the effect of Corax's words - or both.
Angelo starts to vomit and is now sickened.
Hurg walks into a hut where the door has been broken in and he comes out with a very displeased face.
"This is not good, not good at all" mumbles the dwarf.
Angelo takes a moment to reassemble his composure. He wraps a kerchief around his face. "Lady Pharasma reminds me of my responsibilities. I'll find some sheets and prepare these bodies. Perhaps while I do, some of you others may help Hurg understand what has happened here?"
Angelo sets out to do as he has said. He raids a linen closet, and a laundry if he sees one. He also identifies a river-facing window (or better, balcony), and several body-sized planks. He sets about enshrouding each of the bodies. He assembles a row of them at the river overlook.
Corax stares at the dwarf for a few seconds before Angelo's words sting her into action.
"Hurg, what ails you? As ever, there is no bedside manner to her question - it is very matter-of-fact.
Hurq shakes his head just noticing now the carnage in front of you, and says, Oh... umm, well he then blushes in shame and then continues "The problem is that the arcophage is gone and that is essential to keep the boat operational."
"What do you mean gone?". Corax towers over Hurq, her demeanor suggesting she expects a quick answer.
Corax
engine comes from a rare magical
creature indigenous to the Mwangi
Expanse and only recently discovered.
This creature, known as an acrophage,
is a form of fungal parasite that
attaches itself to mobile plant creatures,
such as treants and shambling
mounds.
Hurg looks at her and says pointing at a shack with a gaping hole where the door used to be, "It is not here, whether the elves took it or not I cannot say but the Captain know better than I what to do next. I am the engineer.
On the bridge village there is one building that still has a closed door.
A tall black man exit one the the damaged house.
he is lightly armored and hold a long 2 handed weapon in one hand while strapping a backpack on the other
Corax immediately takes up a fighting stance, her longsword still dripping with the blood of the elves.
"Stand down and declare yourself - we're in the mood for more fighting if that's what you're offering."
If you offering a one on one duel, i wouldn't mind. What would be the prize?. I am Mogwag Of the Huron Tribe. I was kind of hoping to catch a ride upriver. But it looks like this area has been busy of late. What happened here?
still only gripping his weapon with one hand A rather good stance you have there with that blade
Corax decides to go with the flow. Best to see where this takes her before she tries a different tack.
"A duel you say? If that's what you want. The prize seems obvious - life itself. You see I wonder how someone who was not party to this carnage could be so oblivious to it."
Her voice is cool and calm and with more than a hint of steel in it.
Corax takes a stance that shows she's prepared to initiate combat at the blink of an eye.
Poulain spits more brown liquid. "Why so looking for a fight, Corax? Zis man 'as done no wrong to us so far."
It is not necessarily what i want but is what your initial offer was. If i recall you said that you were in the mood for more fighting, that plus your martial stance is pretty much a duel. Now you ask how someone like me was not part of a bloodbath. The answer is rather easy, i just walked in for over there. he points in the opposite direction you cam from with his free hand before putting it back. The slashing part of his weapon is still lowered, held in one hand and the stance is rather relaxed.
Now your stance does tell me that with that weapon in hand that your technique is superior but hey you never know right, you might still loose he says with a grin.
Corax considers the strangers words but takes into account their surroundings. 'There is more to his story than he is letting on - clearly - and we can't trust him.'
Squaring up to the stranger, Corax speaks slowly and calmly. "I am in no mood for clever talk. If destiny dictates I die today, then that was my fate. I'll not be afraid of death by your hand or any other. Your words are not simple and that makes me suspicious. Suspicious enough to start something that only one of our deaths will conclude."
With these words, Corax readies herself for combat.
Poulain draws his bow but does not aim.. "Stand down, chere. You are ze aggressor 'ere."
Hurq walks in between the two and clocks the new man in the calf and says, "What are you doing here? How did you survive this onslaught?"
Me? Mogwag is looking for a way up river and he come from over there, still pointing to the same direction as previously As to how he survive this, Well Mogwag wasn't in combat as he just go here.
He once again shakes the lower part of his weapon who is completely clean.
turning toward the archer is this to signal start of the challenge issued by the woman or do you intend to aim at Mogwag? still rather unfazed, but you can hear a concern in his voice
Round 1
Corax, Mogwag
you can see that Mogwag is still concerned about how every one else will react.
round 1
Mogwag seem to be drinking a potion that drops into his hand, and then in rapid succession an other. He ten replace his hand on his weapon still in a lowered stance after taking one step backward
speaking to the archer Mogwag will not draw blood, he will only use the blunt of the weapon
Corax will not draw first blood, despite the newcomer's apparent confidence.
Corax readies her sword and swings it well enough to appear she means business but not well enough to strike Mogwag.
"I hope not to shoot anyone today. Zis bloodshed, had you any part in it? Look, chere, does he look like those elves we encountered? Ask a gods-damned question before drawing steel!"
Corax does not take her eyes off Mogwag’s hands. ”Poulain, is that your full argument. We can trust a man holding a sword coming towards us because he doesn’t look like an elf?" The contempt in Corax’ voice is transparent.
"Poulain, shoot me, shoot him or shut up. I really don't care which."
"IDIOTE! ASK HIM IF THIS WAS HIS DOING BEFORE CHALLENGING HIM! YOU? ON THE WAY UO RIVER, DID YOU MURDER EVERYONE HERE?"
Mogwag, hasn't killed anyone in the last few weeks.
Corax shouts at Poulain now. "Idiote, idiote? Who's the idiot that thinks a murderer would confess all just because you asked him! Is that our new approach? Did you kill anyone? No, well you can be on your way. Idiote"
"This band of adventurers just gained itself a new warrior. You're welcome to them." Corax drops her sword and storms off in the opposite direction - not caring if Mogwag cuts her down or not.
Poulain spits. "'E said were e came from and his intention ...pfft."
Mogwag doest move from where he is but his breathing does seem to relax a bit as well as the tension in his shoulders
"Well it seems Lady Pharasma has drunk deep enough here today. Our friend will not get far, with the boat in the state it's in. We have some time for tales - the tale of this place, and the tale of Mogwag. Perhaps Mogwag, you can shed some light on what happened here?"
If Mogwag, could, Wogwag would, but Mogwag doesn't know. Aren't you responsible for all the killing done here after all the woman who just left said you were fighting mere moments ago, and her weapon was bloodied. he repiled
"We believe this to be the work of a tribe of cannibal elves - perhaps you know of them. We encountered a small band of them on the trail up from the river. Possibilmente you understand better why we are... on edge."
"I will go now to try to repair the hard feelings your needless bluster has caused. Poulain is quite pleasant company. Forse... none of you get yourselves killed while I soothe our tigress."
Having expended a full quiver of only lightly barbed words on a Mwangi native, Angelo sweeps out in search of Corax.
Yes, Mogwag know's of them, they are rather ruthless and kill anyone entering their land and so on, but they are not the only ones. People from the Silverback King and more...