Erik stands covered in blood, none of which is his own, and cleans his thin songblade with an arcing swipe that sends the blood splattering along the stone of the monastery before sheathing back at his side.
He walks over to join Perigia and Hobbes and offers his cleaner shield hand to the newcomer for a warm shake.
"Thank you for the help. Without you there likely would not have been enough good talent in this whole place to take down these monsters. We owe you a debt of gratitude. My name is Erik Annadar, a songwriter and a fighter."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Hobbes," the genasi says with a smile. "My name is Perigia."
Kelgan approaches the others. "I'm Kelgan. There's no need to thank us, Erik. They interrupted the funeral, and they paid for it. Does anyone here know what those were and why they came here?"
Kel rushes over to Ceara and begins binding her wounds but manages a smile and a nod at the mention of his name.
Erik plumbs his vast knowledge of history to try and remember some tale of similar creatures.
Erik realises that whatever the creatures were, they're highly magical.
Erik
Your recollection does fit with what you know of Volkanth and his insane desire to call down spellplague and you recall that Margant's tomb emitted blue light then the relic was replaced there. Possibly it acted as some kind of beacon to the sharn.
"Sorry I can't help, I never paid much attention to the lectures given at the Silvanus chantry where I grew up."
Ceara sits up after her wounds are bound. "Thank you." she says, and the chuckles softly. "Well, that was someone embarrasing."
"I believe the big one was called a sharn, and the others likely followed it," says Erik as he looks back across the room at the strange creature. "I thought they were just superstitious stories out of the spellplague but I'm quickly learning not to take anything for granted."
"If it's not one thing it's another" With a sullen look on his face he swings the blood from his blade. He walks out of the chapel with no word.
"I apologize for my friend," says Erik to the newcomers. "You can tell by looking at him that the recent events have been particularly difficult in his case. To be honest it's been a lot for all of us, and I've only been with this group for a few days myself."
"Is it common for those sharn things to pop up in temples?"
"Are more going to follow it?"
"I smell adventure?"
"Where do we go, who's comming along?"
"This is going to "
"The blue flames from the relic may have called it. That was certainly a strange sight. It left me with a very eerie feeling."
"You always smell adventure, Kel." Hobbes says with a smile. He looks back to Perigia and Erik and says, "The girl is named Ceara. She has some.... interesting powers. She wasn't with us on the road, but she seems alright. But who is the sulking eladrin and that big guy?"
Kelgan approaches the others. "I'm Kelgan. There's no need to thank us, Erik. They interrupted the funeral, and they paid for it. Does anyone here know what those were and why they came here?"
"Well, we don't know anything about that Sharn creature, but Cassie reminded me that the wraith creatures were fell taints, creatures from the Far Realms. As for why they came here, Erik's explanation seems most accurate. The Void Callers taints seem to be gatekeepers of some kind. Maybe they held the door open for the Sharn to come through?"
"Did you notice how it talked to itself? Very creepy." Hobbes says with a chill. Then he appears to be listening to his right hand. "True, I could see why someone would think that, but you're a real person, Cassie."
"Hobbes, could you turn that tattoo back into a cat already? Keep talking like that and the nice people who helped us are going to think you're crazy."
"Certainly, Kelgan. We don't want to give these nice people the wrong impression. Come, Cassandra." Hobbes says as he rubs the tattoo on his right hand.
A small black cat springs to life from the tattoo and curls itself around Hobbes legs possessively. Casssandra meows a couple of times and Hobbes chides her in a strange arcane langauge. He looks up at the others.
"This is Cassandra, my familiar. She doesn't do much and she can be quite annoying at times, but she's mine." Hobbes smiles and picks Cassandra up into his arms. Cassie purrs as Hobbes pets her while he holds her. "Be nice." He tells her.
Amelia/Cale
You hear footsteps and worried voices as the monastery's inhabitants make their way towards the chapel.
Caine looks anxiously after Brujo before extending a huge hand in greeting.
"Caine. You did well there and we're grateful. That was Brujo. He escaped from Thay and he's running from that spellscar of his. Good in a fight, but a hard man to know. I should go after him. He's chancy in this mood."
Poised to leave, he turns to Erik and Perigia.
"Tell them about Fia. They've earned it, fighting that thing. Her sister," he adds by way of explanation to the newcomers.
Caine
Rev/Cale
Ceara walks over to the group. "As was said, my name is Ceara. Do you normally have such interesting days?" she asks. As she talks, she reaches out to pet Cassandra's head, if the cat lets her.
Cassandra sniffs Ceara's hand and then looks at Hobbes and meows. Hobbes answers back in his strange arcane language. "She's not sure about you, but I think you're okay." He smiles at Ceara. "When we get a moment, I'd like to ask you about some of those moves of yours."
Hobbes looks over at Erik and smiles as he says, "You're the storyteller. Tell us a story." then he looks questionly at Perigia. "But it's about your.... sister, is it, Lady Perigia? Perhaps then you should tell the tale, unless it is too painful for you."
Cassie just closes her eyes as Hobbes pets her.
Hobbes looks over at Erik and smiles as he says, "You're the storyteller. Tell us a story." then he looks questionly at Perigia. "But it's about your.... sister, is it, Lady Perigia? Perhaps then you should tell the tale, unless it is too painful for you."
Cassie just closes her eyes as Hobbes pets her.
"No," Perigia says. "Erik can tell it much better than I."
"While I may have the way with words, Perigia, you quickly forget that I am almost as much a newcomer as these fine folk here. I only learned of your sister before the fight with Volkanth, although I do admit that I had heard of you both long before I left Waterdeep. It wasn't until recently, however, that I figured out the familiarity of your names."
"Who's Volkanth? Why don't we start there?" Hobbes asks his new friends.
"Volkanth was a rather deranged and spellscarred tiefling that we had the displeasure of running into. He stole the Kelemvites' relic and tried to escape back to his cult with it. We followed him to his lair, navigated his traps and contrivances, and slew him before he could finish a ritual to release some living spellplague upon the land. I imagine he was not all bad at one time, but he had to be put down for the betterment of all."
Erik pauses for breath.
"The relic you saw emit the blue light earlier was what we recovered. I fear we've put a halt to one disaster only to find ourselves on the verge of another."
"Kel, I do believe you're right. This does smell like an adventure." Hobbes turns to Kel as he talks. Then he turns back to Erik, Perigia, and Ceara. "So what's next? Is this where the relic is supposed to be? Is it safe here? Will it pose a danger to the monstery? And what does all this have to do with Perigia's sister.... Fia, was it?"
Hobbes
Perigia
Mother Bartha's familiar voice can be heard in the distance berating some unfortunate novice. Muffled apologies seem to be following.
Erik smirks.
"I believe someone is coming who may be able to shed some light on the situation."
Perigia
"Is it that unpleasant woman who runs this place? Sune bless me, but she acts like we're here to steal the silverware." Hobbes sighs and puts Cassandra down on the floor. "Maybe that" He says as he points to the Sharn's dead body, "will get her to treat us with some respect. Mother Bertha, or some such thing, wasn't it?"
Cassie gets bored and starts wandering around.
Kel dangles a spare bowstring before Cassie, "The silverwear isn't complamentary...ooohh?"
"Sounds like there might be remanants of that cult still around or another relic, if we're lucky maybe both."
"Any one got a ritual we can use to trace where the sharn came from or at least the general direction."
"I think I can get Mother Bartha to give it to us in exchange for our absence."
Kel heads off towards Mother Bartha's voice dragging the bowstring behind him.
Kelgan grabs Kel's shoulder as he passes by him. "No need to be running off into trouble. She's already heading this way anyway, and we can discuss it then."
"Yes, Master Keledilinthir, like your friend says. I've found that the old Mother is usually much more amicable when she's disturbing others and not the other way around. She's fussy like that...and ever so moody as well."
"Killjoys."
Goes back to playing with the cat and sticks his tongue out at Kelgan when he's not looking.
Ceara recovers her monk robe and slips it back on before the good Mother can see her attire. Then she slips into the group, strangely eager to see what transpires next.
As they wait she says to Hobbes "You can ask about my moves, but I can't promise to answer."
Hobbes raises an eyebrow at Ceara's once again modest attire, then smiles. "Yes, that's probably for the best." He gestures her off to the side.
Once they are away from the others....
Cassie looks up at Kel and yawns. Then she starts cleaning herself.
Mother Bartha trundles into the chapel, pausing only to bow to the altar.
"Sister Ceara! When I requested you to accompany these people to make their final respects to their friend, I expected a modicum of decorum, even from ..."
Her voice trails off as she takes in the improbably large body of the sharn, but the pause is only momentary.
"Are you responsible for this - thing?" she asks accusingly.
Passive Insight DC18
"Um...sorry about the mess, but came in here on it's own."
"Hmph."
Mother Bartha's snort is mightily suspicious, as though she somehow thinks you contrived to smuggle a twelve foot monster into the chapel on purpose to upset her.
"I see. Well, you'll have to help clean up."
Hobbes walks right up to her and gets in her face. "Look here, Mother Burtha, we did everything you asked us to, out of respect for our friend, who was one of your guys!! And suddenly, out of nowhere, this crazy blue light erupts and this....thing and some of his void caller buddies just magically appear and tried to kill us!! So if you know anything about this thing or why it came here to kill us, you better start talking or I will personally break my foot off on your rear end!!"
Erik shakes his head once again at his group's lack of tact.
"Mother, please, we had nothing to do with this. Several of us were compelled by some magic to come here, myself included. When we arrived we were greeted by that thing as well a few other strange creatures that disappeared into vapor when they were defeated...by us I might add. I saw the twinge of recognition across your face when you saw the Sharn. Do you know something more?"
At the outburst from Hobbes, Ceara chuckles. "It is wise not to bait a spider in the center of her web." She seems to find the mini confrontation amusing.