Dolgrin wades forward anxiously, and casts a blessing on the group!
Not like this! NOT LIKE THIS! Lucius hopes he filled his lungs with enough air to survive killing this thing, but his ribs were being crushed. He thrashes around, both trying to get his bearings and stabbing at his captor with his daggers.
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Standard: Maintain Grapple, success = Free Constrict Damage
The pool calms, and a moment later, the pool turns red with blood, and the large body of the chitinous creature floats to the surface, which frightens Govannon briefly as it passes. A moment later, just to the side of it, Lucius’ body surfaces...unmoving...
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The nobles pull Lucius body to the far shore, gingerly rolling him over. His eyes are open and unblinking, he is not breathing, and his torso appears terribly mangled.
Dolgrin leans down over his body, placing a hand on his chest, then an ear to his mouth. ”E....E’s nay breathin’,” Dolgrin mutters. ”By Torag’s beard trimmin’s, e’s dead!”
He shakes his head before he grasps Lucius’ shoulders and shakes him forcefully. ”Lucius! Wake up!”
Govannon helps to push Lucius onto shore... "I couldn't get to him in time." he murmurs under his breath as their healer takes stock and makes his pronouncement.
He can't help but think of what Lucius told him. He decides he must try and keep the man's secret, and will travel there when this is done to help hide any tracks of his alter-ego.
He sighs heavily...
Stepping back Flaith starts a summoning spell.
"No, no, NO! You won´t get away with this!"
Galendir says a quiet prayer.
"My wife Aayalla can bring him back. Some scrolls of restoration will be needed. Shall we abandon our search here and return once we have our fellow baron back?"
Suddenly, with a loud gasp, Lucius sits straight up. He scans the area in a panic, and sees his companions. "I ...I ..." he seems almost a different man, but his usual poise eventually returns. "Well, I've always said I'll try anything once, but THAT I HEARTILY do not recommend. I mean, the goddess lapdance was nice, but the rest was rather unpleasant."
Govannon leaps back and makes Pharasma's sign to ward off undead as Lucius rises from injuries that should have killed him - would have killed Govannon.
"But... You are dead!" he says by way of explanation for his slack jaw.
"Well, I was. I didn't care for it."
Dolgrin flops back on his rump, his armor clanging on the impact. ”This...this nay be any ord’nary magic a’ work ‘ere...this be a true blessin’, lad!” Dolgrin says, his face pale. He slowly stands and reaches to help Lucius to his feet. ”Wha’ ‘appened lad? Do ye feel yerself?”
"I always feel myself. I ...well, I met a beautiful female in the void. She said her mistress wasn't done with me. She ..." Lucius feels around his neck and produces a holy symbol of some sort, made of Mithral and what seems to be diaphanous insect wings. "Is this ...this is new. Is it magic?"
"By the gods. Glad you are back. You are back and yourself right?"
"As myself as ever I am. I always suspected I was god's gift but now I know!"
Dolgrin works a spell and looks at the medallion, wincing at what he sees as he squints his eyes. He dispels the effect and mutters, rubbing his eyes ”It be magic, alright! Powerful...” he says as he blinks to clear his eyes before looking nervously to the river.
"Can someone figure out what it does? Is it cursed? Whose symbol is this? I never paid much attention in religions class."
Govannon approaches carefully and pounds Lucius on the back, "Welcome back!"
"Let's see what you've got there..." He examines the symbol, and casts Detect Magic, trying to identify it if it is magical.
Lastly he thinks about what little he knows and shares any knowledge with the group.
Govannon reels back and closes his eyes a moment. He rubs them free and comments, "Well bloke, that's more powerful than anything any of us carries I think. Dunno that I recognize the symbol, but treat it with respect."
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Flaith quickly aborts the spell.
"Well in any case, you are back. That is what counts."
Dolgrin nods, the Queen’s words reminding him of the task at hand over his fascination at the sight he had just seen.
Govannon, still a little awed at what just went down, moves to the next building.
As he checks each house he wonders at the power he just witnessed. What does Calistria want with Lucius?
The group moves onward, starting up the bank towards the next house. As the men all move ahead, Faith spots something odd in the ground they all just passed by. Upon closer examination, she realizes that it is, in fact, a spiked pit trap that the men had luckily all narrowly avoided!
”Tha’ nay be right,” Dolgrin mumbles. ”Somethin’ ‘ad ta put tha’ ‘ere after they vanished. Nay sane folk jus’ be puttin’ these ‘round fer narry a reason...”
Continuing your search, the rest of the houses in along the river appear to be more abandoned homes.
Govannon wonders if he should fly more as he eyes the trap Flaith points out. He decides that would be selfish, and resolves to try and be more observant.
"Shall we?" he suggests buildings 12, then 13, then Northeast of 13 before dropping to 14 and 15. He leads with his scimitar out, as if that would have helped with the trap...
Shaking her head and releasing the trap Flaith looks at the others.
"This is strange. Why a trap here, and I sincerly doubt that the ones responsible for the disappearances put up the trap. I fear something has infested this.!"
"Fear not, I, Baron Lucius Pence, called "Luscious," Chosen One of Calistria, shall examine this trap ...for clues!"
Galendir follows along. Happy Lucius is alive but pondering what happened and why?
A two-story inn stands just off the village commons. A sign above the door depicts a rider clinging to the back of a madly galloping horse with a green mane and a fish's tail extending from its hindquarters. The inn's walls are painted a cheerful shade of yellow to complement the red shutters. As you approach the front door, you all notice a single word hastily scratched into the wood - "NOMEN."
"Well that's inviting." He says with a bit of nervous laughter.
"Shall we?"
"No men huh? Do you think someone has moved in?"
He opens the door carefully, calling out as he does so. "Hello! Anybody home?!"
If there's no response, he'll go room to room with the usual search
"Rude."
As you enter the Waterhorse, you are greeted with the sight of its sole occupant. A giant sized humanoid with pointed ears stands perfectly still in the center of the room. After knee-jerk reactions of expecting an attack, you move about and see that the creature is facing a paper-strewn table in the corner of the room, clutching a book in one hand. The back of the things skull is a shattered mess of blood and bone, though his face betrays no notice of this mortal wound. A shimmering nimbus of amber surrounds its unmoving form.
In the corner of the common room rests the paper-strewn table the creature is facing. There are several books present, including Iobarian Prehistory, The Centaur Skyles of Central Casmaron, The Untold Heritage of the Taldan Armies of Exploration, Secrets of the Rashalka Mounds, and The Ethnography of the Indigenous Tribes of the Iobarian Steppes Volume: 3.
At the bottom of the stack rests a letter:
Greetings and salutations! Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am contacting you regarding an interesting discovery made within the territory protected by my new barony north of the River Kingdoms, known as Varnhold. I remembered from our dealings before that you are a student of the centaur tribes of the region, and I believe this to be one of their artifacts of a bygone age.
A treasure hunter by the name of Willas Gunderson came to my village a few months ago, and during one of his forays into the wilds, he managed to find a jade bracelet on the banks of a small river while scouting the Tors. I believe the markings on it to be of the Nomen centaur. They have been a nuisance and constant thorn in my side since establishing my village here, but finding this artifact abandoned along the river is a peculiar thing. They tend to not leave their things laying about, and I believe this to be a treasure from a hidden trove somewhere that may have been revealed in the recent storms.
I would appreciate it if you would be able to join me in studying this relic here in Varnhold. I will see that the Waterhorse provides you with fine accommodations, and perhaps we can finally share some wyvern tail steak like we discussed back in Oppara!
With hope and anticipation of your arrival,
Baron Maegar Varn of Varnhold
"Hm. It's a spriggan. Violent, malicious little things who lack all sense of love, happiness, and beauty. They resemble gnomes but have an alien, feral appearance. I'm glad it's dead."
Govannon examines the strange body, casting Detect Magic as he does so.
"He's held in place by a spell - a Sepia Snake Sigil. Something he read froze him like this. Dunno about the head wound though."
He leaves through the documents to see if he can tell which was the one that held the Sepia. When he gets to the letter, he scans it quickly, then reads it aloud for the group. "I wonder if this was Maestro Pendrod? I doubt it as these creatures have no love of beauty, but it is weird."
He'll continue to investigate the papers on the table for now, trying to find some connection to the spriggan.
Following close, Flaith looks around, checking for any dangers.
"This is getting more stranger by the moment. This means a magic user did the binding. But the brutal wound does not look like magic to me."
A search of the inn's guest rooms reveals that only one of them was inhabited at the time of whatever happened. Investigation reveals them as belonging to a man named Ervil Pendrod. Among the more mundane possessions in his travel trunk is a small library of further reference works.
The inn's till still holds all of its coin it had collected recently. In all, there is 37 gold, 52 silver, and 114 copper.
Govannon holds up a few charcoal sketches of a heavy jade bracelet bearing peculiar markings. "Hey, keep your eye open for this. It's a pre-migration Nomen Centaur artifact according to these notes. Might mean something, might not, but we should watch for it."
He heads upstairs and downstairs with the others, doing his usual searching
"Quite the scholar." he leaves the books behind but collects the cash for later divvy.
Govannon reaches under one of the beds to pull out a beautiful viola.
He'll take the time to put it on his horse so it's not damaged before continuing with the search.
Lucius also searches the room.
Following slowly behind Lucius and Govannon Flaith quickly weaves a spell to guard enarmor her clothes.
The group fails to find any further clues within the Inn, and moves on to the next building . It is a small church, its whitewashed walls and stained-glass windows gleaming in the sun. The bow symbol of Erastil shines like a beacon above the doors. Behind it on one side sits a neatly kept parsonage, and on the other a low hill holds the beginnings of a small cemetery.
The interior is simply furnished with wooden pews and a humble altar. It appears to have been quite thoroughly plundered by something or someone.
Govannon looks to the damage done to the church and frowns, "Always with the looting." He shrugs. He'll check each room briefly and is ready to move on if the place is found to be empty.
He'll move on to the house behind the church, and then #14 and #15 in that order.
"Place seems proper abandoned. No people. No bodies. Someone has been by since with the looting and traps such, but they seem to have left too, or they're very quiet. Can't explain the Sepia-man though. That sticks out." he says as he continues the search.
"Perhaps it was not looting but they were looking for something? Did they find it and if so what was it? I feel we will have many more questions before we have answers. Let us continue our search."
The next house is a cottage that has cheerful curtains in its windows. A number of wooden children’s toys lie abandoned in the front yard. Inside Govannon spots a half-starved calico cat with a collar hiding beneath a loom. The home is clearly belonging to a weaver.