Round 2, HP 30/36
She's only a kiddie! Ach...
"Hold your blows! She's only small! It's, er, probably just a phase!"
Chrystosm opts to attempt to immobilise the weresprog instead.
Chrystosm tries to grabs the girl, trying to hold her still for her own good, but she turns on him, snapping at the arm in front of her mouth. She misses, but the soldier doesn't, though the child continues to snap and growl.
Simon burbles incoherently,
Nimeon sheathes his sword and grabs his bow while the girl is occupied.
"Can she be saved? Dorial?"
Round 3 | Initiative 17
"I can't tell if her affliction is natural or magical. If we can determine that, then I think we can find a way."
hp: 29/29
status: n/a
Equipped: n/a
Available: club, dart x3, light shield
Wind Blast (Su): 7/7
Wild Shapes (Su): 2/2
Spells:
0) Detect Magic, Create Water, Light, Purify Food and Drink
1) Entangle x2, Bristle, Obscuring Mist, Whispering Wind (Domain)
2) Bull's Strength, Burning Gaze, Wind Wall (Domain)
round 3, Init 17
Jeva growls as she tries to get away.... "I're need currrrring!"
but can't shake off the grown-ups' oppression.
Round 3, Initiative 14
Weapon Equipped = none
Conditions = Endure Elements
Arcane Bond = 1/1
Pearl of Power (first) = 1/1
Force Missile = 4/7
Wizard Spells Remaining:
0) Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost*, Spark
1) Comprehend Languages, Grease, Magic Missile* w/ Topple
2) Flaming Sphere*, Glitterdust, Knock, Scorching Ray*
Othoe considers for a moment, then continues on with another Force Missile.
"Stop struggling and let us help you." Otherwise we'll just pound you into unconsciousness and help you anyway…
Chrystosm: ........ 21
Jeva: ................. 17
Dorial: ............... 17
Nimeon: ............ 17
Othoe: .............. 14
Kast: ................. 09
Simon: ............... 04
HP = 32/32
AC (N/T/FF) = 20/14/17
Weapon Equipped = None
Arrows = 48/49
Silver Arrows = 50/50
Cold Iron Arrows = 50/50
Speed = 20'
Lay on Hands = 1/1 (1d6)
Smite Evil = 1/1 (+2 hit, +2 damage, +2 AC vs. target)
Status Effects = None
Seeing the girl struggle against her captors Nimeon sheathes his bow and joins in.
"Remember we need her alive."
There must be a cure. Perhaps...no, I cannot send Dorial into that danger twice.
Round 3, Init 9
Kast surveys the scrum and related discussion about how to cure her with quick thought.
My mother told me this could happen to my palms...what has this child been doing to get it all over!? Mom would faint.
Know (Arcana/Nature) - Cures for Lycanthropy
Kast drops the Iron Quill and draws his silver morningstar and moves next to the pile up.
"Hold her still! I'll try to knock her out!"
to hit; (flank, non-lethal);
nonlethal silver damage.
Kast's blow turns the snarling girl into a limp rag barely held up by those around her. He is fairly certain he's read of some cure for Lycanthropy. Wolfsbane, some sort of herb or root is just as likely to kill as it is to cure. Still, an option is better than a certainty when a young girl's life is on the line.
Kast looks serious as the child falls still.
"Wolfsbane. I've heard tell that Wolfsbane has a chance to cure her of kill her. It's a herb or root. Dorial, Nimeon...do you know it? Does it grow here? Othoe...did you have any for your spells? Or did your gnomefriend, Trixxaford, carry it?"
"Wolfsbane hmm? Let me think."
Wolfsbane does grow in the woods, but not in the middle of winter. It's possible that Laurel or Bricks might have it on hand in a preserved form,though.
"Wolfsbane! Hmm, I can't remember if I have some back at my shop?"
"Is wolfsbane our only hope? Is there divine healing that could cure her of this malady?"
"For Gozreh's twin paths, we got a decision to make, don't we? Go back with this child to save it...or continue on to find more children."
Kast paces back and forth with a limp, trying to think.
Othoe will bind her wounds to make sure she doesn't bleed out, but otherwise stays out of the conversation except to note, "Sorry, I don't know how to cure what ails her. None of my magics contain that sort of power."
He shrugs and goes back to the house and peers into the basement. "Anybody got a light?"
"Let's find out what was in the basement, if anything. Taking her across the river would make things difficult, if the basement is clear let's lock her up in there and come back to get her when we free the others. Either way we should resume our journey as quickly as possible, we're dealing with far more than 4 lost children now."
Kast again makes Othoe a halfling candle by casting light on his head.
"Did you want me to go down first? You follow?"
Kast heads down into the basement.
Othoe the dimly lit bulb follows Kast down into the cellar.
The way into the basement is as dark as any cave, it's stone walls blocking all the light save for that coming from Othoe's head. and the door behind. The stairs sink down, to a landing then turn, the light from the door sliced to a mere sliver.
The stench of rotting meat permeates the place, becoming stronger as those going below sink deeper into the secret heart of Elara's Home for Orphans.
A chipped, blood-stained oaken table rests against one wall, with all manner of blades and barbed instruments laid out on it. A single pair of rusted shackles is bolted into the opposite wall, whose bricks are stained in a bloody account of pain and cruelty.
The robed corpse of a woman on the floor is the source of the reeking stench of decay.
Simon casts resistance on each member of the party, then he scans the basement with detect magic and detect poison.
"Does that stinky corpse look like Elara to anyone?" Simon queries his companions.
Othoe approaches the corpse and examines it trying to see who it was from what's left.
Then he'll join Simon with a Detect Magic of his own and help search the rest of the chamber.
Nimeon takes the scene in, the burden of the little girl in his arms suddenly much heavier.
"We can't leave her here. This is..."
Othoe remembers seeing her back in town when he first got here, but she wasn't someone that was around much that he remembers.
Simon detects both magical auras and poisons on the table full of implements.
Nimeon does not detect any evil, however, it is easy to see that the deceased has been gnawed and clawed to death by a vicious beast; perhaps one kept chained here.
Kast looks around the basement.
"What the heck? This town is cursed..." Kast says in shock.
...maybe even beyond saving. Kast tries to shake the non-heroic thought from his head.
* * *
When others think the body is 'safe', Kast will help bring the body above ground and bury it, saying a quick prayer to Irori over her.
True teachers pray to the Perfect One.
"Look there, on the table. Wolfsbane."
The tall half-elf points to the herb sitting next to the daggers.
"Careful, friends, both magic and poison are present on that table." Simon looks fearfully at the implements as he gathers up the wolfsbane.
Kast looks again at the table.
"That's Wolfsbane? I wonder how to use it? Hmmm..."
Know (Nature)
"Othoe, bring you lightheaded self over here and look at this, won't you? Simon, can we do something with this? Not sure if we want to try now...but having caring for a girl might be easier than keeping the werechild pacified."
Dorial stands in the back of the room, taking in the sights.
"What the..."
Evil fey AND lycanthropes? I wonder if they're related.
Chrystosm looks on guiltily.
I shouldn't have stabbed her. I should have *realised*
Simon's sight eventually pinpoints the twin silver daggers as the source of the magic and of course, the wolfsbane as the source of the poison. Next to it, an old journal holds notes writ in a clean precise hand.
In it, Elara detailed her attempts to "save her from the beast within". The descriptions, while clinical, are horrific, bleeding with the silver magic of the moon to weaken the wolf, then dosing with the wolfsbane poison to try to drive it out.
It is a wonder the girl still lives in either form.
"So now what? If Elara already tried the wolfsbane and it didn't work, what can we do to the beast?"
Othoe stays close to light the proceedings.
"Do you think the girl did all this damage and killing? Maybe Elara didn't use enough wolfsbane. I don't know how it all works, but we have to do something. I don't think we can carry around a werewolf while we hunt fey and children alike. That's just asking for trouble."
With luck, an hour spent properly preparing the wolfsbane still has a chance of curing the lycanthropy, but the emotional damage done by her previous "nurse" may never be undone.
"Perhaps Miss Laurel knows of the method to cure this affliction, or has it in one of her books."
Dorial looks to the subdued girl.
"Maybe we should tie her up in case she wakes up. She didn't appear to be very strong, just agile."
"Sure Dorial, but can we afford to go all the way back to town to cure this one child, while many more are lost - hiding in the forest during winter, slowly freezing to death or worse?"
"Whatever we do, let us do it quickly however and get moving again. ...and yes, by all means, let us tie her up. Does anyone have manacles by chance?"
"Hmmm, I'm not sure what we should do? What hope do we have if Elara failed?"
Heal Check
"Uhm...maybe *we're* supposed to take the wolfsbane and then breathe on her while the rest of us chant or something," Kast offers helpfully.
Chrystosm wanders over, leafs through the notes, then swallows audibly.
"Uh, Elara was bleeding her, poor thing."
He falls silent for a second, looking quite upset, then continues.
"Apparently, if we spend an hour or so preparing the wolfsbane, we can cure her. Can you do that here, Simon, or would you need to go back to your shop?"
Trust Chrystosm to know how to apply a poultice.
"We don't have time to go back to town. We should save the girl if we can, but there are many more that need us too."
"Can we leave her down here? There's already some manacles on the wall."
Simon is fairly sure they can try it here, especially since he has his friend, the cauldron with him.
"Hey, Chrystosm has the right of it, Elara was bleeding her every time! I can try to mix up the wolfsbane here, especially since Cauly is with us!" With a beaming smile, Simon rummages through his pack and pulls out Cauly the cauldron, "Come on Cauly, time for a little brewing, wakey, wakey!" Simon gently rings a spoon against the rim, then after a moment he starts preparing the poultice. "A little fire would be great, Kast, Nimeon, could either of you help me with that?" With the brewing commencing, Simon focuses, putting all his effort into creating a suitable cure.
Ah, there's that missing screw.
"Well, while you work on that, I'm going to go look for any more children outside. I'll be back within the hour."
Baring any complaints, Dorial climbs back up out of the basement and quickly takes flight and spends the next hour looking for other signs of children, werewolves or fey nearby.
Othoe uses the spark cantrip to help Simon get the fire going, and spends a little time gathering dry usable wood and kindling.
Now we're getting somewhere!
Kast helps and gathers firewood from the nearby woods.
Looks like we have a plan. And it involves the cauldron that tries to eat me. What could possibly go wrong?
Kast's face is etched with worry.
It occurs to Simon and the other healers that the poor girl will need to be at full strength to have even a chance of survival. At this point, she's stable, but even the prepared wolfsbane could easily kill her with just a single dose.
*******************************
Kast keeps watch over the fire, standing far from the hot cauldron.
Not much fighting, nor much learning. Lots of walking, lots of watching. If I'm neither soldier nor scholar, what am I?
A philosopher? I should practice that more.
Philosophers think.