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Illiam is about to run for the tree line when he sees Goruck's blade bisect the cauldron. As he spots the glint of the gold coins, he thinks Not much point in leaving them now, but as the guts held within spill out, and their putrid stench hits his nose, Illiam decides that even he isn't that greedy. Prestidigitation could, of course, return the coins to their former glory, but he would still have to reach into that to retrieve them.
Illiam dismisses his grease, and puts the jar down on the ground. Without opening it, he sloshes the contents around to determine how full the vessel is, then says to no one in particular, You think this is enough? We might as well see if there's any more, now that we don't have to worry about any cauldrons attacking. The full depth of the absurdity of this last statement hits him only after he says it, and he can't help a little chuckle.
That is actually pickled rat tail is it Illiam? And we might as well search the hut for more. Sorry about the lack of contribution to the combat guys, I am no good against kitchenware. Well, I am sure I can't put it to sleep and decided to preserve my spells as the situation seemed well in hand.
With that, Chillel fetches Athena from her backpack, much to the owl's apparent relief, and moves toward the hut.
We got what we needed, right? We need to get moving, fast. Worst o' the storm might be past us, but we're already four days out -- we gotta go get those mushrooms!
Kairon crouches down next to the corpse and examines the body, keeping himself clear of the sludgy decomposition. While the gentle rocking of a boat or raft upsets his innards, he shows no sign of being offput by the stench.
Let's see if I can figure out what happened here . . . .
Finding the rate of decay and the positioning of the remains a bit befuddling, the healer takes a little more time to make his evaluation, as an answer wasn't clear. He hears the clatter of his allies examining what else is in the hut, and the tinks of raindrops on armor, and smiles grimly. No telling what we might learn here. Gotta focus.
The battle ends and Baradim watches as Goruck pulls his blade out of the ruined cauldron, spilling the disgusting insides out onto the ground. With a frown, he'd reach down and without any worry, pluck the gold coins from the terrible mess inside. It wasn't as if he wasn't use to filth, his home wasn't exactly clean and he survived by doing a butcher's work. Decaying meat and stentch was a normal thing for him.
The grease disappears and Baradim looks back at the others, nodding at Illiam's logic. "Indeed. If we can find the mushrooms here, we'd save both time and lives." He would step inside with Illiam for twofold reason. First to see if any of the mushrooms were anywhere to be found within. The second was to keep an eye upon the halfling with the quick fingers. He had palmed his wand off of his hips without him even noticing during a life and death circumstance. That took skills, skills that a thief would have. Baradim didn't personally look down upon most thieves, they were usually poor and desperate people, but he didn't appreciate their choice of trade either and the lives that they could potentially ruin.
"Do not worry Chillel, I am certain we'll have need of your talents later in the day, sadly, if we cannot find any of the mushrooms here." No ruins were ever just abandoned, dereft of life and activity. Nature reclaimed everything that was once empty and would find a use for it. If not Nature, then something else would have found a purpose for the monastery.
Baradim would begin to assist the others in checking over the place quickly, leaving the coin upon a shelf nearby but within eyeshot if someone came in through the door.
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Illiam rifles through the stuff in the hut, looking for more of any of the ingredients, but also for anything of value. It doesn't appear that he's being gentle with things, but somehow everything ends up exactly where it was, as if he was never there. Before he leaves, he'll try to snag the soul speaker without anyone noticing.
Sighing at the fact his blade couldn't even strike down a common cooking pot without getting covered in grime, Goruck steps past the stench with little change in expression. "I would assume such a talented witch would keep quite a store of regents nearby. And most likely a far stronger guardian."
At Chillel's mention, the half orcs waves his blade about, grime and guts splattering of it. "Worry not, no sense in wasting such precious resources against something so disadvantaged."
Glancing inside the room, the swordsman does his best to determine to magical and religious purpose of the ingredients strewn about. Hopefully, at least a few of the ingredients will aide our journey.
"Sorry that I was not more helpful in that battle either my friends. You all seemed to have it well in hand with a good plan from Illiam, so like Chillel, I chose to save my spells for when they might be more useful. This does seem to have gone easier than expected for what was supposed to be an extremely powerful witch. Where is she? And for someone capable of leaving permanent dimension doors in place, this guardian seemed a little ... unimpressive? - Anyways, I agree we might as well search the hut, but do so quickly. Obviously my main goal at this time is to save the town, but I'm getting a taste for this. Going back to working the forge seems dull after this. And if I want to go on with an adventurer's life, the better equipment I have, then the more successful I'll be, and to get better equipment, I need more money! Let's search that hut!"
I believe Kairon is checking if the witch is in her cauldron. Do you think it is her Kairon?
With that Chillel moves into the hut and searches it for pickled rat tail, medicinal mushrooms and anything else worth taking, sweeping the area with detect magic to aid the search.
Trusting his companions to do a thorough search, and being more interested in whomever died in the pot, Lunarinus stands at the doorway next to Kairon, watching over his examination. What did you find out Kairon?
With everyone but Lunarinus and Kairon searching the hut for anything useful, including ironbloom mushrooms, several things are uncovered. Thing the first, there is a jar that contains a mixture of powders and black salts that Goruck correctly identifies as a rare component sometimes used by witches to summon new familiars. The ritual salts as they are called, cut the money sacrifice necessary in half. Quite valuable. Thing the second, there is a jar of Blackscour fungus, but the mushrooms are suspended in a thick and unctuous jelly, probably to prevent the spreading of spores. Thing the third, also found by Goruck (who knew the master swordsman had such a keen eye?) a tarnished silver statutette in the shape of a fist-sized fly. The statuette's abdomen untwists, and inside, in a leather satchel, a handful small dark green emeralds was hidden. Illiam looks at the statue and gems for a moment and figures their worth to be roughly thirty gold pieces altogether.
Meanwhile Kairon is not having a terrible amount of luck determining who or what was in the cauldron. Just examining the bones tells him it was more than one humanoid, and one of them was of a size roughly equal to Illiam. There also appear to be the remnants of some type of scales in the pot? Fish scales, dragon scales? He's not quite sure.
I found out there was more than one person in that pot, and that's about it. One of 'em was sized like a child, or Illiam. Some scales there, too. Not much else I can learn from that . . . glop.
Kairon heaves a sigh and stands up, glancing into the hut. His eyebrows try to climb to his hairline as he notices all the things his companions have uncovered. Uhhhhhh . . . ain't she gonna be mad enough that we broke down her door, killed her kettle, and ran off with the rat-tail root? It's one thing to take what you got to for the sake of others, but it's pretty different to haul off everything worth something . . . .
And then his eyes focus on the jar of fungus.
That's what this is all about?! That's the stuff? The Blackscour? It quickly becomes clear that there is a new conflict within the physician. He bounces on his feet a time or two, flexing his shoulders to test the weight of his pack. He passes his spear to his left hand, and his right opens and closes a few times. It's taking down a whole town, and nobody was ready for it. I've never heard of it, never read about it, never seen it before. Sun's fire! I might could learn something from it, even preserved like that . . . . Too risky, though. That jar breaks, what happens then? A few moments later, though, he goes still, rainwater dripping off the end of his nose as fresh-fallen drops chime on his mail.
Kairon turns toward the northwest, and calls over his shoulder: Leave the rest. We got what we came for. Time to go.
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I believe Kairon is checking if the witch is in her cauldron. Do you think it is her Kairon?
Oh? Yeah, maybe... Illiam, now curious, though still disgusted, stops for a moment to see what Kaiton is up to. He holds his nose while looking at the remains, which Kairon seems to have separated into two mounds.
Baradim searches the place carefully for more of the Ironbloom mushrooms within. Yet what he found instead was damning of the witch and drew a look of anger across his face.
Blackscour mushrooms, the same blackscour that was killing his home. He was about to speak when Kairon looked into the hut and made his decision. Leave the rest, we got what we came here for. It was a decision that Baradim could approve of.
He would wait by the hut's door, just in case any other surprise would come out after them, enjoying the coolness of the mountain rains. Once the party was ready to go, he'd take the lead once more and make his move towards the monastery; their last stop needed.
As strange as the application of the reality is to fathom, where Kairon was of no help, Illiam is of profound help. Looking at the length and density of the bones, and the color and size of the scales, Illiam is able to determine one of the corpses was that of an elf, not a half-elf, a real full-blooded elf, and the other corpse was a kobold.
Despite the long hours of arcane studies paying off, Goruck is displeased with the results. [i]She could be research how to cure it, or simply protecting herself from her own machinations. Damn, this becomes more problematic by the day."[/b] Kairon's decision made his path easy and clear, and with that the half orc stepped outside.
Taking a moment to crouch down near the macabre pile, the swordsman rubbed his barely stubbled chin. "I would not assume it her simply due to the fact it's often far easier to destroy than create. If such a weak creation killed her I can't help but wonder how she survived so long.",
As the party renews their trek, Goruck aids the others wherever he can.
Lunarinus watches as his allies leave the confines of the hut, reentering the rainy forest. If we've learned all we can, then I suggest we leave. We've still got miles to go before reaching the monastery. Baradim, if you please? Lead on.
Baradim would finally push off away from the hut, looking over each and every member there to ensure they were all accounted for. Once he knew they were, he'd give a nod.
"Let us get going then." The half-orc mumbled, looking up into the sky. "The worst has gone by, it should die down in a few hours time.
Excited to be away from the filth of the cauldron and the oddity of the hut, Baradim breathed in, instead, the freshness of the forest. Everything seemed to be opening up, the air was cleaner and fresher than before. It felt good to be moving and they were close to the end of their task. Just one more thing left to take, the ironbloom mushrooms from an old, ruined Dwarven monastery.
"Yes, let us get going. We must find the mushrooms and get back to town as quickly as possible!"
Chillel is scanning the area with detect magic and observes Dolok taking the soul speaker just before Illiam does. She raises her eyebrows thoughtfully, shrugs and then takes the salts, saying:-
Witches use these to summon familiars. I don't think they are of use to anyone else. And Dolok you are right, we must get to the monastery.
Getting a little impatient, Kairon calls out loudly: Come on, you three! There's nothing to gain hanging around here! The witch could show up any moment!
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Illiam calls over to Kairon as he fights the wind, moving to intercept Goruck, I doubt it. The storm's pretty nasty, and it was worse while we were inside. If she didn't come back to seek shelter during that, I suspect she's long gone. If not, she may not survive the storm. If she's around and she hasn't yet encountered the worst of it, then she will before she gets back.
When he reaches Goruck, Illiam says, more quietly and almost sounding embarrassed, Is that whole noble steed offer still on the table?
Giving a calm smile, Goruck nods before quietly responding, "Would you prefer I bow my knee or hoist you up?" As he talks the massive half orc starts to shift his equipment to accommodate his soon to be passenger.
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She's got a chair made out of people's teeth, little man. For all we know, she might dance naked in thunderstorms with pieces of her last meal clutched in her fingers, as she chants to whatever power she reveres. . . . . I just don't like it here, is all. And I'll like it even less if we get stopped by her, askin' 'bout what happened to her . . . "house".
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Speaking up to Kairon, without turning in his direction, Illiam smirks. It's unpleasant, I'll give you that. I suspect our redheaded friend might be able to think of a solution to that problem, if it would make you feel better.
Illiam returns his focus to the problem of riding the mountainous half-orc. I suppose there's no terribly dignified way to do this. Dealer's choice.
Holding out his bearlike palm, Goruck hoists Illiam atop his back when the halfling steps onto his hand. Securing the reinforced sash in a loop, the half orc laughs for a moment, lapsing into a far rougher voice than normal. "When the church requested my services, I wonder if be they knew what their pious gold would traded for.
Giving Kairon a solid nod, Goruck tests his new balance. "Indeed. Let us make haste, for we lost far too many hours to the storm already."
Speaking up to Kairon, without turning in his direction, Illiam smirks. It's unpleasant, I'll give you that. I suspect our redheaded friend might be able to think of a solution to that problem, if it would make you feel better.
"You want me to burn down the hut? I'm certain that I could do that quite easily - and - but, since we would not want it to spread to the rest of the forest, we would then need to wait and watch until the hut was done burning. I don't think any of us want to spend the time for that. ... Anyone mind if I take this statuette of a fly? I'll let the rest of you split the emeralds if I can just have the statuette, with the leather sack included. I don't know why, but for some reason I find it strangely fascinating."
Dolok, are you feeling alright? I thought I heard you turn down the opportunity to set fire to something.
Chillel starts on the last part of the groups trek.
Speaking loudly enough to be heard over the wind, Lunarinus says, Goruck is right, we've wasted far too much time here already. Let's move out! He looks to Baradim to lead the way to the monastery.
Whether or not the forest is actively acting against the group or the gods have just decided to test their resolve, is a moot point. The weather has not been their friend. Making the over eight mile trek through increasingly muddy terrain, with winds gusting strong enough at times to cause people to grab a hold of each other for balance and strength, the constant tinking of rain on metal, and the occasionally, way too close for comfort lightning strike, have morale for the Almas envoy at a low point. To make matters more interesting, though perhaps not necessarily any worse, at one point during the muddy trek the distinct, clear, and loud roar of a dragon reverberated all around them. Knowing that the roar of an adult dragon can be heard over a distance of twenty miles, Goruck reassures the group that just because they heard a dragon, does not mean they’ll see one. Still, adult dragons put no one at ease, therefore, when the trees part, and a clearing opens up, a small sigh of relief is felt by all. At last, their final destination; one ingredient to collect before returning home to Falcon’s Hollow.
Sitting squat at the foot of an imposing mountain, a ruined monastery comes into view between ancient gnarled trees. Made of simple stone blocks, worn smooth with the passage of time, the stout building is falling apart. Sections of the slanted shale roof have collapsed and portions of the outer wall have crumbled. Weeds and wild thorn plants run rampant across the field leading up to the place, leaving only the slightest indication of a path that ends at the ruined front doors. Beyond, an overgrown yard sits in shadow.
Goruck helps Illiam down off his back and stretches, he spins his weapon in a series of deft patterns, ending with a wicked forward thrust. All those with weapons bring them to hand, and prepare for whatever threats may be living in this ruined building at the foot of Droskar's Crag.
Chillel takes a rather bedraggled looking and ill tempered Athena from her backpack. The owl hoots and spreads her wings, looking accusingly at Chillel. Chillel strokes her familiar affectionately, saying:-
Sorry dear.
She then points at something high on Droskar's Crag, saying:-
I spent most of my life in a Dwarven Village about there. And I walked down the mountain not far from this monastery alone at age fifteen, how dangerous can it be to this well armed group?
After finishing his kata, the swordman starts to glance about for defensible areas for the more fragile members of the group. "I can not say Chillel, but my duty is to protect. A little caution has rarely harmed anyone."
Giving Kanga a quick pet, he ask Baradim, "Would you mind giving me a hand decyphering safe passage? Nature 'tis not my specialty, unlike yourself."
"Just in case, I'll remind everyone that according to that ranger back at the lumber camp we can expect to find spiders larger than Illiam inside here, and there was something else that did not come down from the ceiling but seemed to make ... let me remember ... I think he said it made leathery flapping sounds? This should prove interesting to say the least. At least as far as I know spiders are not resistant to either fire or cold! So both Chillel and I should be able to be useful this time if needed!"
Soaked, tired, and his body aching, Baradim grins slightly as the forest finally begins to lose its thickness and opens up to a clearing. The dragon's roar is almost forgotten as he imagines them being close to their end goal now, one last ingredient needed before they could return back to Falcon's Hollow. Kanga shakes his fur, throwing water everywhere as Baradim draws out his guisarme. Only the monastery and its strange inhabitants stood between them and home at last.
"Worst things cling to the ruins we leave behind, remaking them into their own lairs. Who knows what brought the end of this monastery as well and what lies within. You should know Chillel, the woods is always ready to take the unwary."
Baradim murmurs, nodding to Goruck before he begins to move carefully forward. He pulls out some of the tools from the kit, enhanced glass and small notebooks for reference.
Goruck takes a quick look around, and, even though the rain has softened the ground and washed away some of the earth, he clearly sees more than one set of wolf tracks going back and forth in various directions. The tracks go in and out of the tumbled gate, right past the broken, ivy and thorn bush covered well, and around the ruined building to the west. As Baradim examines the tracks he sees that one of the sets of prints is much bigger than any wolf tracks, by rights, should be. He also notices that there other tracks, much more hidden, and days old, of some small, bipedal, reptilian creature. Recalling Illiam's earlier discussion of a dead kobold in Ulizmilla's pot, he assumes that must be what made the day's old tracks.
While Goruck and Baradim examine the tracks outside the monastery, Kairon scans the treeline roundabout the group, and the mountains beyond, for any movement or telltale of things to come. Even in the dreary weather, he enjoys the view, but his expression is guarded, for he knows that more challenges await, without and within. Next-to-last, finally. I hope we find enough of them to heal everyone. But there's still a reckoning to come, for some.
"Wolves? Including at least one much bigger than it ought to be? And possibly spiders as well? And maybe something else? I'm getting goosebumps, chills, & excitement all at the same time! This could be ... interesting?"
Peering up from the tracks, the bodyguard frowns. "I believe I could, but I shall not leave you to fend off another incursion of wolves without my aid."
Chillel sends Athena to fly up to take a look in the higher windows, without getting too close. As the owl flies upwards, she says:-
Hopefully Athena can see what lies in store for us on the upper floor.
While Athena flies up to the windows of the monastery's lone tower, Kairon's scanning is rewarded; he sees something metal glint by the well when the sky is lit up by a flash of lightning. Looking closer to see where the glint came from, he sees something buried in the ivy and thorn bushes that have crept up over the sides of the small well. Is that a backpack?
Just as he notices it Athena lands in the top window of the tower, pulls at something with her beak, and then floats down, adjusting once for a brief gust of wind, then landing softly on Chillel's shoulder with what looks like a wisp of old string in her hand. As Chillel examines it further she realizes it isn't string, it's a strip of webbing. So that's where Ardan's spiders are.
Noticing something near the well, Kairon moves toward it, calling out: Here! I think we've got something! He murmurs something that sounds like Phos and touches the head of his spear, which begins to shine with a clear, white light. As he draws closer, he focuses on the area around the well, recalling what others have said about things in these parts not always being what they seem.
Kairon pulls aside the vegetation overgrowing the well revealing a beat-up, holey, old backpack. Inside the pack he finds a week’s worth of trail rations, a set of thieves tools, 50 feet of silk rope, a small coinpurse with 42 gp in assorted coins, and a small blue-glass vial.
Illiam Taal
