Round 3, Initiative 5
Rocking and shaking, the cauldron continues tenderizing Kast, but Chrystosm grabs hold, forcing its mouth wide with the help of Dorial. Simon's flaming hands cool, the flames sputtering to nothing, though beyond that and staring at the cauldron, he makes no other discernible move.
Shocked, Nimeon tries to waken Simon, though that and his horror at the sight of Kast's waggling feet throws another arrow wide and off course, sending it sinking deeply into the wall of the cottage. Othoe, horrified that he might have to defend against such a terror, shoots a force missile, striking the cauldron hard enough to dent it.
A leering, otherworldly grin stretches Simon's face, the crimson glow rising in his eyes, as a dry chuckles rumbles from deep in his chest.
character......Init...........action
Dorial.............24...........aided Chrysto's wrestling (grapple) to wedge the cauldron's mouth open.
Chrystosm.....20...........Chrysto wedges open the cauldron's maw.
Nimeon.................................12...........Nimeon shoots again, the stories of his youth making his ear burn and his shot go wild. He gives a shout at Simon to try to pull him out of his trance.
cauldron................................5...........Cauldron swallows Kast, nom nom nom
Othoe....................................4...........Othoe looks to see the witch, but can't find one anywhere. He does make out the waggling feet of Kast sticking out of the cauldron, though and thus spurred on, he shoots a force missile at shaking cauldron.
Kast.......................................3...........beats on the inside of the cauldron with his knife
Simon.....................................2...........The flame dies down from Simon's hands, and he continues to stare at the cauldron. then gets oddly red faced and happy.
Round 4, init 20
Chrystosm struggles against the ravenous utensil, attempting to keep its jaws from closing in on Kast again while yelling,
"Quick! someone pull him out before... CRAP!!"
Round 4, Initiative 4, Location: entrance of hut
Weapon Equipped = None
Conditions = None
Arcane Bond = Unused
Force Missile = 4/6
Wizard Spells Remaining:
0) Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost
1) Color Spray, Magic Missile w/ Topple
Still unable to see the witch from the door, but sure that the cauldron spells doom for poor Kast, Othoe strikes at it again with his Force Missile.
"Kast! Kast! Try to wriggle free!"
He's been in there a long time...
Round 4, Init 3
Kast tries again to cut himself free again.
to hit;
damage.
Round 4 Init 12
HP = 11/11
AC = 15/12/13
Weapon Equipped = Mwk Longbow
Speed = 20'
Smite Evil = 1/1
Status Effects = None
With no clear shot and no idea what else to do, Nimeon carefully sheathes his newfound bow and advances to the hut while drawing his sword.
"Wish I had a hammer for this. Going to ruin a good blade."
Dorial and Chrystosm continue struggling with the cauldron, when suddenly it slips free from their grip, its mouth opening wide to take a bit out of the closest one. What evidence of Kast that was still sticking out, is gulped down in the same motion, the man completely engulfed within the cauldron.
Nimeon, seeing another arrow wasted, puts away his lovely new bow and draws his sword, moving into the cramped cottage to see what he can do.
Flinging another force missile at the thing, Othoe screams encouragement at Kast, though hope that the man can still hear may be fading fast. Still, tiny clinks and clunks come from inside the cauldron as Kast tries to cut his way free, though in it doesn’t seem to amount to much.
The cauldron rears up, opening wide and spitting a battered and bruised Kast out at Simon’s feet with his dagger still in hand, then just as suddenly as it first attacked, the cauldron stills completely, as if it had never been more than a normal pot to begin with.
character......Init............action
Dorial.............24.............tried to aid
Chrystosm.....20.............lost his grapple on the cauldron
Nimeon..........12.............puts away bow, pulls sword
cauldron..........5.............The cauldron shakes free of the grapple, snapping at the closest likely target, rattles Kast for another hit point of damage, then spits him out like day old gum.
Othoe..............4.............shot another force missile (second for the day?) at the cauldron, chipping a small hole in it. Flashes of flesh and blood occasionally press against it.
Kast.................3..............continues beating on the inside of cauldron
Simon..............2.............
Kast rapidly rises and bounces on his good leg, his dagger still pointed at the cauldron.
"What the heck just happened!?" Kast says loudly and angrily.
Kast looks ready to defend himself from the cauldron again.
Othoe peers into the room through the door, trying to see what's going on between everyone's legs.
"Kast, Kast, are you OK?!"
Othoe resists the urge to cast Infernal Healing on his ally.
"What's going on? Where's the witch?"
"Dead in the chair by the look of it Othoe. What happened right before the cauldron attacked?"
Did I really just say that?
Last stops hopping around and slowly tests weight on his left leg.
"My spear, please." Kast notes his longspear under the feet of others, his arm outreached
"I think I'm fine...that was just painful. Never expected that. I was trying to do the witch the favor of burying her. I'd still like to...it's the right thing to do."
Chrystosm hands Kast back his longspear, if nobody else does so, then speaks.
"Bury her by all means. How sure are we that she's dead, though?"
Last stops hopping around and slowly tests weight on his left leg.
"My spear, please." Kast notes his longspear under the feet of others, his arm outreached
"I think I'm fine...that was just painful. Never expected that. I was trying to do the witch the favor of burying her. I'd still like to...it's the right thing to do."
Testing the strength of his left leg, Kast finds it surprisingly more limber and less painful than usual. Apparently, the cauldron's tenderizing, while painful, had at least some minor temporary benefit.
The cauldron continues to sit lifelessly, any menace apparently drained out. It even seems to take up less space over the last several minutes, leaving a little more room to move about.
Dorial looks nervously at the cauldron, "You don't suppose that could come alive again? Do you?"
Regardless of the response, Dorial begins to search through the room. "If she's not here, then perhaps we can find something left behind. I'd rather not deal with her if the cauldron is any sign."
Othoe peers distrustfully at the cauldron as well.
It reduced in size. I wonder what could make it enlarge?
When he can fit into the room, Othoe casts Detect Magic in the hut. If the cauldron is magical, he studies it to learn what type of magic it is. If it is not magical, he thinks about what sort of magics could make it shrink and enlarge like that.
Kast, finally testing the weight on his leg, smiles with realization that some of his pain has lessened, but he still massages his leg for a moment to be sure.
How strange. Maybe if I get beaten up more, I'll get more healthy.
Kast takes a moment to pray to Irori for perfection.
Healing (heals both lethal and non)
* * *
Trying to pick up the body again, Kast figures out the body isn't as real as he thought and tells the rest of the party.
"Strange that. She might still be around, watching us." Kast will no longer try to bury the body.
Kast will assist Othoe in identifying anything of herbal, alchemical, or magical value in the hut.
Know (Arcana)
Know (Nature)
The cauldron does not detect as magical as far as you can tell. There are several residual auras throughout the tiny cottage, but finding them is difficult amongst the horde of herbs, fetishes, and alchemical agents that fill the various nooks, crannies, and shelves about the place. After a thorough search, you find several statuettes and rare stones, a pouch of rare salts, perhaps used for summoning, and are able to trace active magical auras to a small shrunken head(pings as ullusion), and a clay jar full of what look like bark cookies(pings as abdjuration). You also find a glass jar full of some liquid, stuffed with what look like rat's tails, though closer examination shows they are pickled roots of some kind.
Dorial closely examines the head and bark cookies.
Simon wavers in the trance like state for several moments after Kast has been regurgitated at his feet, then with a rapid blinking of his eyes he snaps out of it.
"Kast, my friend, are you Ok?" The frazzled Simon seems unsure of his own feet, taking a careful step, then another, to approach Kast.
"I had feared the worst when the cauldron attacked." Mindlessly Simon again reaches to put a hand on the cauldron, unconcerned of the potential threat it poses.
Othoe examines the herbs and whatnot in the small hut.
"Dorial, Simon, are the herbs we require among these piled up here? Perhaps we can just take them and go before the cauldron wakes up again. We should be quick."
I need to get someone to teach me more of nature. It seems I'm destined to live in it - I should know something about it.
Kast looks up from testing his leg to answer Simon.
"I'm fine now, Simon, but that was really strange. I'm not sure what happened, but I am sure glad to be out of there now."
Kast gets a bright idea on his face.
"You're right, Simon!" Kast seems to attribute the idea to Simon even though the words never left Simon's lips. "You're right...I should! I should detail exactly what happened here in my journal!"
Kast looks among the witch's belongings for some ink, but, if finding none, breaks out his own ink and quill and begins to document what happened in the hut.
Scholars note.
"I don't know Othoe, let me have a look."
Dorial will look over the herbs that Othoe found and see if any of them appear to be what they came for.
Perhaps the witch is still alive and is watching us as we speak.. Oh how I hope that isn't true.
Dorial easily makes out that the rat tail like roots in the glas jar are the herbs you were searching for from the witch. Going through the cottage, it becomes more and more apparent that no one has been here for many months, if not years.
As the party looks about the cottage, Simon continues to stroke the lip of the cauldron, again lost in thought.
"It would be great if we could take the cauldron with us." Simon remarks to no one in particular, the glazed look remaining in his eyes.
Finally, he drifts away from the cauldron and begins gathering up every packable alchemical agent, herb, root, jar, vial, and what-not in the cottage, to the point of his pack bulging with goods.
Again to no one in particular, "There now, I've gathered all the items you require. Is there anything I've missed?" Simon looks blankly to the dark corners of the cottage, as if listening to a voice no one else can hear.
Kast looks around.
"We still don't have what we actually came for, do we? Does anyone have any ideas?"
Kast seems reluctant to move on until they find what they came for.
"I think she'll find us if she wants to be found", comments Chrystosm, looking nervous.
He frowns at Simon, a slight tremor in his voice.
"Uh, sorry, Simon. Were you talking to us?"
Nimeon also looks around the cottage, from outside if there isn't room inside.
"Seems odd the witch would leave that effigy and cauldron behind. What's that Simon? Everything ok with you man?"
Simon blinks his eyes rapidly, then focuses them on his concerned companions. "Oh, hmm, what, yes, yes, everything is ok with us...err...me. Yes, yes, just fine." Ho offers a thin smile to comfort his friends.
"We just need a few things for Laurel, elderwood moss, rat’s tail root, and at least seven ironbloom mushrooms. It appears we have the rat's tail root. The elderwood moss might be on the ancient darkwood tree marked on our map. The ironbloom mushrooms 'grow near metal', perhaps at Droskar Ruins."
Simon turns back to the cauldron. "Now the question is, how do we haul the cauldron about with us?" He stands there in contemplation of the cauldron.
Though understandably nervous, the party finds no one else around. Indeed, it seems as if they may be the first people that have been here in a very long while.
The cauldron sits blankly where it always has, though it perhaps smaller than any of the companions remember. It's certainly not much bigger than that creature in the cemetery now, is it?
Nimeon also looks around the cottage, from outside if there isn't room inside.
"Seems odd the witch would leave that effigy and cauldron behind. What's that Simon? Everything ok with you man?"
Nimeon, the effigy within the house seems built similarly to the ones that decorate the yard, which, while much more scary, seem similar to those used by farmers near Falcon's Hollow to scare birds away from their fields.
Seeing Simon gather up the herbs they need Othoe smiles, then frowns.
"I say we gather up just the needed materials and leave the rest behind. That cauldron is not to be trusted, and if it's still active - so may the witch be. I suggest we take only what is required by Miss Planrick and leave the rest well enough alone."
"No need to make enemies."
Othoe eyes the cauldron and offers to carry any of the smaller things that he can manage. He then leaves the hut for the fresh air of the outdoors and waits for the rest of the party before moveing on.
"I find myself agreeing with Othoe, Simon, why would you want the cauldron?"
"Wait! What, Simon? We have the roots we seek?" Kast points to the jar in Simon's hands. "Are those them? They don't look like the roots I was expecting...are they pickled? I love pickles."
Soldiers chow.
"The Cauldron is fine, in fact, it's our friend!" Simon scoops up the cauldron, which has now reduced in appearances to a small object, and cradles it in his arms. A wide smile breaks across his face, the herbalist is genuinely pleased with his new acquisition.
"Look, my friends, it's perfectly safe, I assure you." Simon turns the small cauldron upside down and places it over his head like a helmet without eye slots. Echoing from the cauldron, his mirthful optimism proclaims it safe, "See, no problems what-so-ever.", then a strangled gasp and shout emits from the makeshift helmet as Simon's arms fly to the cauldron, gripping it while he staggers about the cottage screaming. Then the herbalist pops the cauldron off, his grinning face and twinkling eyes full of cheer. Seeing his companion's horrified looks he quickly apologizes.
"Sorry, sorry, seemed funny at the moment, my mistake." Still chuckling at his poor joke, Simon tucks the little cauldron under one arm and walks out of the cottage.
Once outside the hut, Simon calls out, "Here, Llwynaly, come here." The little fox comes running and with a giant leap it scales right up the side of Simon and settles to rest on his shoulder, it bushy tail wrapped up around Simon's head creating an oddly similar appearance to Othoe's wig.
The grinning Simon, more full of energy than he's been in days, turns to his companions and urges them on in their quest. "Let's hurry, friends, and make for the ancient Darkwood Tree, maybe we can find the elderwood moss. Oohhh, do you guys think there will be spiders there? I sure hope we find some spiders, big beautiful ones with rainbow patterns!" The happy and excited Simon starts in one direction, then stops and faces another, looking confused. "Say, who has the map and what direction is the ancient Darkwood Tree?"
Kast forces a laugh at Simon's antics, worried about the cauldron more than ever.
His fever gets worse. It's only a matter of time before he thinks he's a silly half-orc princess...or worse.
Kast, spurred by his worries for Simon (and Fleur), tries to get everyone moving again.
"We should set forth to the ruins with haste. Come! Nimeon, do you wish point again? Chrystosm, can you take the rear?"
Kast prepares to march behind Nimeon.
Soldiers hurry.
"Well, there could be spiders in the ruins too, I suppose. To the ruins!" proclaims Simon, then he looks around for someone to lead the way.
Nimeon scowls at Simon's growing madness, but says nothing.
I hope Dorial can take care of the poor lad.
"Aye Kast, let us make for the ruins. I'm afraid Simon may try dancing with the trees though, perhaps you can keep an eye on him as we march?"
Isn't he always saying soldiers guard?
After what seems like hours, Dorial looks up from the items she was investigating to answer Othoe. "Yes, those roots are what we're looking for...."
She watches as Simon's personality seems to have changed completely, "and what in the world has taken over Simon?"
She approaches Simon carefully while the cauldron is on his head, "Umm, Simon.. Do you mind if I check you over? Something seems to have come over you."
Simon seems to have gone insane in the last few minutes. What did I miss??
----------
After the conversation with Simon is done she turns back to Othoe, "I think I determined what these items do." She points to the cookies, "These 'cookies' appear to have some sort of healing ability. I would suggest consuming one if someone gets hurt."
She turns to the shrunken head, her nose scrunching up at the sight of it. "And that.. appears to be able to replay a message left by its previous owner." She cocks her head to the right, "And there appears to be a message currently stored inside. I just don't know the requirement for it to speak."
-----------
"I think I would have to agree with everyone else on this Simon. That cauldron swallowed Kast. I don't think it would be safe to bring with us."
"I believe Nimeon was holding on to the map. But never the less, we wanted to go to the ruins next which is in that direction." Dorial points in the direction of the ruins.
Try as she might, Dorial isn't able to get the small shrunken head to loose it's message. Then, just as she's about to store it away once more, the thing starts to speak in an eerily feminine voice.
“Ilzimula isn’t home right now, come again tomorrow. Touch nothing and nothing will touch you back.” the message ends with a low throaty chuckle, the eyes closing once the message is complete.
Simon looks hurt by Dorial's words. "I'm mostly fine, I'm getting better in fact, but you may check me over if you think it necessary. As for the cauldron, it is completely safe, I assure you, and I'm very reluctant to part with it. In fact, I think Ilzimula would have wanted me to have it." he grins feebly, fearful that his companions will take his new prized possession from him. "Trust me with this, I know I've been a bit off lately, even before we entered the cottage, but this is different, this is good for us and will help us in our quest. Please, my friends." Simon gives them all a pleading look while clutching the cauldron to his chest.
"We should set forth to the ruins with haste. Come! Nimeon, do you wish point again? Chrystosm, can you take the rear?"
"Will do!"
"Trust me with this, I know I've been a bit off lately, even before we entered the cottage, but this is different, this is good for us and will help us in our quest. Please, my friends." Simon gives them all a pleading look while clutching the cauldron to his chest.
Othoe rolls onto the balls of his feet Damn shoes, such a hinderance! and fingers his spell component pouch.
"If you feel that strongly about it we'll bring it along, but someone else should carry it. Chrystosm? Kast? Would one of you add this to your burdens?"
I've never seen possession take so strongly, or so quickly. Where were the rituals? Did I miss them? Did everyone miss them? Was he a plant from the beginning? Simon must be watched.
Othoe is careful not to let Simon behind him unobserved as they press onto the ruins.