Layaali smiles gently at Rab-rab. "I only had the one, my dear. Perhaps another time."
As soon as Razif ties the rope up and drops the end down to Rab-rab, she picks up Jack-jack, stuffs him in her backpack, and climbs up the rope!
Once she is up on the balcony she pulls out Jack-jack. "Now don't fall down, Jack-jack!" she warns him. Then she turns and looks out the window. "WHOAH! THIS IS HIGH! LOOK AT THE VIEW!"
"Look! That cloud looks like a rabbit! HAHAHAHAHA! NEAT!"
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Razif is easily able to climb the wall at a steady pace with the aid of the extract. Once up at the top of the balcony, Razif can see that the floor here hasn't rotted away as the choir lofts had, providing a solid perch to watch from. Soon after he lets down the rope, Razif is joined by the hyperactive Rab-rab. The sun blazes down from the mid-morning sky on the desert outside the monastery. Over the hills and plains to the north, the walls of the gnoll-occupied city of Kelmarane can be seen plainly.
Your view from the Chapel Loft
Min easily climbs the rope.
"Rab-rab! STOP LOOKING AT CLOUDS! We are supposed to be looking at Kelmarane."
Razif tries to look, but kind of dozes off, having not regained all the energy and adrenaline that he had been expending in the monastery the days before.
He turns to the gnomish siblings.
"So, I understand you two will be joining us into Kelmarane! You two seem very... interesting to be around. Have you ever dealt with gnolls before?"
"Min-Min Bunnis! But the clouds are so PRETTY"
To Razif, Rab-rab says, "Nope! I've never played with gnolls before! They are SO CUTE! And also super naughty!" she waggles her finger as if she were scolding a bad gnoll.
---
Min sighs loudly at his sister. "THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" He looks at the others and says, "My name is MIN BUNNISBELDAR. Do not listen to her."
Min look at Razif. "No, not in a long time."
When Rab-rab says gnolls are cute and naughty, Min sighs. "They are NOT cute, and they are way worse than naughty."
He turns his attention to the window and looks at Kelmarane. He watches it very closely and quietly for a long time.
Oh, boy... What did that crazy sister of mine get me into this time?
Drael calls up to the three atop the wall, Min, Rab-Rab, Razif, do you see anything up there?
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Min, Rab-Rab, and Razif all have difficulty seeing anything more than the basic walls and spires of Kelmarane under the glare of the rising sun. Perhaps in another hour or two, the sun's arc will have passed further up and they may be able to see something more .
As the sun sets and Razif's eyes get used to the uninterrupted light of the sun as he watches, he is able to distinguish a little more...
Layaali pulls out her writing materials and sets to work taking detailed notes on everything the others see.
Rab-rab calls down to Drael, "Nothing yet! Just bunny shaped clouds and some boring walls!"
Rab-rab tells Layaali everything she sees so Layaali can write it down.
"I see..."
Min tells everyone what he sees.
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As the sun rises (not sets) and moves directly out of the gang's point of view, Razif and the gnomes peer curiously towards Kelmarane.
Despite a three hour lookout, nothing is seen from the Kelmarane walls. The watch comes to a crashing end in the late morning as a shadow of a huge bird swoops across the sky, coming lower and lower to the old monastery.
"I feel a sudden chill." Layaali remarks suddenly. Nervous at the ominous feeling fluttering in her belly, she asks "Has something happened?"
When she hears the cries of the geier or someone informs her it's coming, she stands.
"To the garden. Quickly. That's where the bird's nest was. We must ensure none of the others are nearby!"
"WOW! LOOK AT THAT BIG BIRD! I WILL LOOK FROM HERE!"
Rab-rab keeps watch!
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Outside of the monastery, the large desert vulture swoops down in slowly-shrinking concentric circles, eventually coming to land south of the monastery in the scrub hill leading up to the structure. Inside the monastery, some panic besets the new denizens. Garavel blasts into the chapel, fixing Layaali with an irritated look.
"You said that you and your party CLEARED the monastery!" the major-domo growls. "Now we've got a wyvern or some such thing upon us. Back to work with you!" He bellows up to the loft. "Get down from there and come help defend our position!" He awaits no reply and hustles out of the chapel, sword drawn.
As the gang heads out of the chapel, activity seems to be going on all around. You spy the older couple hustling squealing goats into a room and closing the door behind them while two of the male mercenaries run by, long spears bared.
A high-pitched croaking bird call can be heard from beyond the monastery walls to the south, away from the central nest.
"Shhh! Rab-rab! You'll draw the bird closer!"
When Garavel bursts into the room, Min sighs. "Come on, Rab-rab. they want us to fight the bird."
Min tries to climb down the rope.
He follows the sound of the birds. "Come on, Layaali, Rab-rab. It's this way."
Min calmly and slowly walks towards the sounds of the bird. He looks bored.
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Min moves to the rope to descend, but slips as he goes, losing his grip for a brief second. Unfortunately, a brief second is all that gravity needs.
Min thankfully grabs onto the rope and stops his descent, suffering a painful abrasion to his palms as a reminder of gravity's presence, but no real damage. Coming down to the floor of the chapel, the gnome sorcerer looks around, not sure where to go.
Razif moves down and follows Layaali. As the major-domo growls their way, Razif mutters a quick reply back, knowing Garavel is probably gone already.
"Well, it's not IN the monastery, is it?"
Razif readies his bow and looks around. "Are we... missing some people?"
Drael scowls at the majordomo, It wasn't there at the time, but we'll deal with it. He looks around as he draws his axe, replying to Razif, Some are still atop the wall, but I don't know where Uzma is.
As Min fails to descend the rope, Drael cries out and attempts to catch the young gnome. He lets out a sigh of relief as Min lands on his feet, and does his best to steady his new comrade, Are you all right?
Layaali ensures no one is in the garden and then waits there for a while, unsure where the bird is.
"Can anyone hear it?"
Razif hurriedly runs out of the monastery and starts circling around it, trying to get a good look at the geier.
If he sees it, he immediately shouts his location in the hopes his companions hear it.
Rab-rab follows her brother after Layaali.
"Come on, Jack-jack! This way!"
Min sees that the bird is not in the garden. After a little bit of looking bored he sighs.
"I guess I should try to help."
He listens hard for the bird.
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Layaali and the gnomes race to the central courtyard where they find Garavel and three of the mercenaries surrounding the geier nest with long spears out. Garavel announces as they arrive: "We've seen no sign of that winged fiend! By Rovagug's tongue, I hope for all of our sake that it doesn't have the power to become invisible!"
Razif and Drael (I assume), race out of the nave of the monastery into the unforgiving late morning sun of the desert. No sign of the giant bird can be seen from their western vantage point.
Layaali and Razif hear the crow of the bird from somewhere south of the monastery.
"It's south from here!"
Razif dashes towards the south and, as he runs, sees Uzma in front of the geier.
He thinks back to the snake and back to the staff they found.
In a mixture of surprise, annoyance and mostly extremely genuine enjoyment, he shouts, "UZMA! DID YOU DO THIS?", and follows this up with some roaring laughter.
Hearing that it is to the south, Layaali and the gnomes leaves the monastery and look (listen in Layaali's case) for signs of the bird.
"Can you see it?" Layaali asks the gnome siblings.
Drael runs after Razif, axe in hand, as the ranger catches a glimpse of the giant bird. He stops in his tracks as they get nearer, his eyes widening as he looks between Uzma and the geier, Uzma, is it under your control?
"Not yet." Min tells Layaali with a sigh. "Wait up. My legs can only go so fast!"
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With that, the large desert vulture beats its wings and elevates into the sky just as the rest of the gang comes down the hill from the monastery. A large cloud of sand circles around Uzma as the geier takes to the sky, flying north east towards Kelmarane.
"UZMA! DID YOU DO THIS?"
Min opens his book
"Wow! What a BIG BIRD!" Rab-rab exclaims. She waves at it. "BYE BIRDIE!"
Jack-jack runs around her feet, scared of the big bird.
Drael rolls his eyes, Uzma, the caravan guards thought a dragon of some kind was going to attack the caravan because they saw that flying overhead. If you can summon or communicate with creatures like that, you need to warn us next time so we don't think it's something that might kill us all.
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As the gang returns to the monastery, they find Garavel within the nave, peering warily at the sky with a smirk on his face. "Drove it off, did you? Good. We found the thing's nest. I've directed some of the mercs to burn it - that way, the thing won't have anything to return to!"
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Garavel looks confusedly at the rest of the group as the druid screams and rushes for the central courtyard. "Is he alright?" Garavel asks in concern.
Uzma finds three of the mercenaries preparing torches within the central courtyard, but nothing burning yet. They look up in alarm at your level of concern.
"Here now, mate," the moustachioed mercenary named Trevvis suggests gently, "we're just gonna clear this out as we're livin' here now. Don't want no big birds comin' in the midst of the night to carry me off, right?"
"Presently, the geier is a friend," Uzma explains. "It has promised to warn us if the forces of Kelmarane mobilize against us. But if we harm its nest, it will surely exact its vengeance upon us all."