She eyes Raven then drags her away to a more secluded area
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Kazz and his eagle each injure a bandit, blooding each, but neither drops.
Alexio prepares himself for ranged combat.
Zartana drags Raven away.
Akiros continue his furious attacks. He slashes the fingers off the bandit in front of him and runs him through killing him.
I believe we are just waiting on Dregan?
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Right, right.
Dregan pulls back his bow string and perfectly nails a bandit’s arm to his body. The man dies instantly from his wound.
On their turn the two injured bandits turn tail and run.
At this point you guys have killed, or chased off half of the bandits. You’ve veiled yourselves in magical darkness and fog. The remaining bandits see little point in pressing their luck when seven of their comrades lie dead, as well as Auchs, Dovan of Nisroch and the Stag Lord. The remaining bandits also flee. They follow the path of their fellows and quadruple run out of the room and right out the front gate of the fort.
Akiros collapses to one knee, panting heavily.
The day is won!
Kazz strides forward, firing a last arrow at the retreating bandits. The shadow eagle continues to harass the stragglers, ripping into them until it disappears.
Staring after the bandits, Kazz looks over at Akiros with a sneer, "Fool! You've more courage than brains."
He calls back into the mist, "They're broken, get out here. We should do a sweep for stragglers."
Ammanas meanwhile seems to be watching the captured owlbear curiously. At a mental note from Kazz, he moves off to begin sweeping the second level of the fort for any remaining bandits.
Kazz bends down next to Kenaniah, "Someone get out here, Kenaniah's in need of a medic!"
Raven stands, putting a hand on Zartana's shoulder. "Thank you." she says with a whisper. She then walks nonchalantly towards Kenaniah. "It is not yet your time, friend.", Raven says as she kneels down to touch him on the forehead.
Kazz stares at Raven, his head cocked to the side, hand moving incrementally towards his quiver, "What in the abyss happened to you?"
Raven eyes Kazz's hand as it reaches for an arrow. Her eyebrow raises quizzically. "There is no need for that Kazz. While I am not entirely the woman you saw die, I mean you no harm. Are you hurt? The others?"
Kazz raises an eyebrow, giving her a hard look, "I am fine. Not often is one able to talk so casually about their own death. What exactly happened just now?"
Alexio helps to survey the fort for stragglers or other treasure.
Once he gets somewhat close to Raven, Alexio looks at her somewhat sideways. "Yes, that change was unexpected. Is it permanent? It seems to have suited you well, at least."
Raven looks at both men. Arumina knew them well enough, but they were part of a misty memory for her. Raven knew that they were part of what was coming and so were important enough to stay around.
"I.. or the Raven you knew rather.. died. It seems that Death had something more planned for me. My true destiny was shown to me and I have returned to fulfill it." She pauses and waves a hand over the ruins around them. I must trust them in this if they are to help me. "This place is the key. After we are certain that it's inhabitants are truly gone, I will claim it for my Queen."
She then looks at Alexio coyly. "I'm glad you approve. It is indeed permanent." Without missing a beat, she draws a dagger and moves to finish off any bandits remaining that are still breathing. "For you, my Queen.", she whispers next to each one as their last breath escapes the slit in their throats.
Kazz watches Raven finishing the bandits, he speaks with a slight amount of hesitation, "Death...Pharasma? What exactly do you mean by claim this place? This is the most defensible place in the Stolen Lands, it should be stand as a bastion for the living...no?"
Raven finishes the last of the bandits, wiping the blood on her hands and allowing it to absorb into her skin. She stands and walks towards Kazz, replacing the blade in its sheath. "Please, do not take me for a necromancer. By no means do I intend to let any of that filth survive here. Only the living are welcome in Her temple. The living who respect their own mortality."
Raven looks at him, a sincere look in her eyes. "I fully intend on this place being a refuge for the rest of you and the others who are chartered to explore and possibly settle these lands. You can rest assured that no enemy will survive should they come to find you here."
The kayal seems troubled, "What does your Queen hope to gain by establishing a foothold in these lands? Welcoming of the living or not, a goddess of death doesn't always have the best interests of mortals at heart..."
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So a couple things happen all at once here. As Raven reaches down to heal Kenaniah he gasps like a man rescued from drowning, but then begins to thrash flail, wildly. His spine audibly breaks and his eye bulge out of his head. He bites his own tongue off and bloody foam sprays from his mouth. He falls still, dead, but a barely perceptible wisp rises from his remains and begins to circle Raven.
Make of that what you will, a little later, when Raven draws her dagger to finish off the fallen bandits the wisp seems to be trying to help, but only manages to make it harder for her to draw her weapon form where it is stowed.
Akiros seems to have regains his breath somewhat. He cleans and sheaths his sword. He is heedless of the wound he took. "So," he says, "do you want to meet the monster?"
Seeing Kenaniah die in brutal agony, Kazz draws an arrow to his bow and levels it at Raven, violence in his voice, "Is this the protection your goddess offers the living? A gruesome death under the guise of assistance! If death and pain are all you have brought back with you, I should send you back to your queen here and now!"
Zartana smirks, this was a very interesting turn of events. And she wondered if she played a part in all this. Her drow ancestry and drow blood must have something to do with this
Raven is taken aback by the death of Kenaniah, but is not surprised at Kazz's reaction. She stands, not afraid, looking at the growing number of spirits surrounding her. She frowns."I can not claim to know the thoughts of my Queen except that which she chooses to share with me. In this case, I believe Kenaniah must have already been chosen to die and nothing my gifts could do could save him. His spirit is still here with us. Ask him yourself, but tarry not, because She will come to claim him soon enough."
He narrows teal eyes at Raven, "How do I address this...spirit? Kenaniah seemed a man who had only just found a new future. I find it hard to believe he would simply give up..."
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"Kazz, what happened to Raven is sometimes an effect of powerful healing magic. As for the others, we must let go and move on. Building a kingdom is dangerous and cruel, but it provides a better future for everyone. The removal of the bandits is proof, and Raven's existence is more proof that we have a mandate, not only from our patrons, but from other planar existences."
Raven searches her new found familiarity with death and spirits to find a way to communicate, other than simply talking, with Kenaniah's spirit and allow Kazz to do the same.
Alexio eyes Raven more cautiously now that he has seen the unexpected effects of the magic on Kenaniah. He jokes a little bit, "If I ever need healing, do be sure to tire yourself out a bit first."
Once they have finished trying to communicate with Kenaniah's spirit, Alexio relates what he found in the rest of the fort. "It looks like the bandits left in haste. The two horses that were under the watchtower are gone now, so we have to assume word of the fort's fall will travel. The bandits did leave some chests in what appears to be the Stag Lord's room, plus the gear on the bandits themselves and in the armory. I do think we could try to raise a force here and live off of the stored goods for a while."
Alexio tries to search the corpses of Auch, Dovan, and the Stag Lord after explaining the lay of the fort.
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Raven considers her knowledge of the dead and knows that what follows her now is not truly Kenaniah's soul. That has gone on to be judged by the Lady of Graves. Rather it is just an after effect of his thought and memory. It's unlikely it could be communicated with in any meaningful way.
Auchs had two potions of cure moderate wounds, a potions of lesser restoration, leather armour, a club, well made knight and dragon toys and a silver stag lord amulet.
Dovan has already mostly been picked clean but he is wearing finely crafted black studded leather, 3 daggers, a silver stag lord amulet. His ear lobes have been torn as though someone took some earrings off of him.
The Stag Lord had two potions of cure moderate wounds, his armour, a masterwork longsword, an amulet with magical designs inscribed on it and his helm lies on the ground where Raven dropped it.
"Shadows.", Raven mutters, almost to herself. "Short of more powerful influence with the divine, we may never know what happened, but I do know that he is with Her now, awaiting judgement."
She looks at Alexio, half-smiling,"I will keep that in mind. I agree with raising a force here. If Brevoy sees fit to establish a community here, I'm sure my temple would be a deterrent to those wanting to attack the settlement built around it."
Kazz eyes the newly risen prophet cautiously, "I will consider it an unfortunate accident, for now..."
He nods at Alexio's assessment, "Agreed, now that it's ours this is a position of some strength. Holding it will be difficult without help however. We should speak to some of the others chartered as we are."
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For what it’s worth the rapier and bow that Raven acquired also seem enchanted.
Auchs armour and club are of normal value. The toys might fetch 50 gp. The stag pins are worth perhaps 18 gp.
Dovan’s armour is masterwork. His daggers are of normal quality.
The dead bandits all had normal leather armour, short swords, long bows, arrows and an average of 10 gold a piece. (by my count you killed 7 of these, plus Kenaniah who had a heavy flail instead of a short sword.)
Should you like you can build Kenaniah a lovely little shrine. The first martyr to die in reclaiming the Stolen Lands.
As the group decides what to do next, Raven begins to gather up the bodies of those fallen. She drags them to a spot outside the main fort area and then begins to look for wood to make a funeral pyre.
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It will take Raven a few hours to finish up the funeral detail. 7 dead bandits. Auchs, Dovan and the Stag Lord. Kenaniah.
There lots of firewood and other combustible material to be found. The Stag Lord always just threw his casualties over the palisade, but there's more than enough material to organize a pyre.
Having regained his composure Akiros will pitch in as well. Although he will reiterate his offer to introduce everyone to the monster. he suggests that might best wait until after everyone has had a rest.
Alexio's noble birth predispositions show themselves. He declares, "I'll have nothing to do with any of the bandits, save Kenaniah, who helped us. The rest chose their lot in life and deserve nothing more than to be picked over by the crows. "
Intrigued by Akiros' re-offer, Alexio will engage about the monster. "Other than spending time in a cell, what does the monster do? Did it have a master among the men?" He will try to get close enough to observe the beast without getting it upset or agitated.
Kazz looks at the man strangely, "By "monster" you did not mean the owlbear? What lies down there? We had heard stories of a man kept below? Is there danger below?"
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Akiros shrugs. "I've never known him to be dangerous. You'll have to judge for yourselves."
For those who go below the basement level of the fort is miserably damp, and greasy swatch of mold cake the carved stone walls and floor. the ceiling fifteen feet overhead is thick with cobwebs. Three archways in the walls open into other rooms, all of which are filled with mounds of crates, furs, sacks, weapons, and other obviously stolen loot.
From the central area Akiros calls out to the southern room. "Come out monster, your new masters would meet you."
An old man in decrepit robes shuffles forth. He can't stand the light in his eyes and shields his face from you. His skin is pale and mottled with age spots. He is nearly bald with only a few wisps of white hair remaining. He also appears to have been beaten recently and regularly in the past. His body is a patchwork of healing bruises, cuts and scrapes.
"Have you come to kill me?" croaks the old man.
Wary, Kazz holds his bow with an arrow knocked at his waist, his face is unreadable as he looks over the old man, "Not unless you give us cause. Who are you old man?"
Her eyes looked at him from behind the group. If he is so docile, why lock him up? I don't trust this one bit
The kayal cocks his head, "He? You mean the Stag Lord. Why did he lock you down here? I should inform you that he is dead, his followers scattered..."
Dregan is quite obviously unnerved by Raven's change and spends the aftermath steering clear of her and praying to Erastil for guidance. He'll prepare the bodies for burial and check if any of them are his brother. before the group descends when he follows them.