HP 16/17
Pemsworth feels finally alive again and when he goes outside to help drag bodies, he discovers that he is no longer cold. The rabbit, meanwhile, continues to follow him about and stare angrily at Hektir.
Quinn picks not burning the lodge and thus follows Hektir outside for some pyre building. "I suppose you do have a point about proper disposal. If there is some liquor inside I'll say a few words over the fire, a prayer to Cayden for these lost souls."
"It ain't for them, Tsin. I'd just as soon kill them again if I could. But we gotta bury these bodies. It's about disease and the people that come here next," Hektir spits to emphasize his point.
"Lookee here, we burn...many people burn corpses to prevent disease from spreading. Those bodies, come thaw, them bodies are going to be exploding with pestilence. It ain't proper. We should either burn them or burn down this cabin. Take your pick."
"Those corpses will be perfectly free from decomposition until the thaw, Hektir. Cold storage, don't you see? Unless you think this cold is coming to an end anytime soon, these bodies will keep hunting animals fed till their bones bleach in the sun." Tsin stands in the doorway, watching the boys move the bodies.
"At least you'll keep yourselves warm, watching the corpses burn. Don't stay out too long." Tsin returns to the warm fire inside, and does her best to keep up with Malavarius, and his wandering through the dense copse of gnarled trees which are his carriages of thought.
...
Tsin watches the hare intently. Is it stuck now? Supposed to be his escort to the realm of Pharasma, denied its purpose?
Malavarius spends most of the morning flipping through the book liberated from Rohkar's corpse.
Hektir comes back in from his pyrework, looking to get cleaned up and eat.
"That was pretty good, thanks Quinn, Pems. I appreciate *you* understanding the way nature works," Hektir says as he gives the stinkeye to Tsin.
"And Quinn, those were kind words you said at the pyre...they remind me of the Ewgooggily you gave to Angus Hammersmith. You remember that funeral, Quinn? That was one dwarf who could drink and disarm a trap...sadly he was terrible at doing them both together, wasn't he? He found that out the hard way," Hektir looks sad at the memory of the loss of a fallen comrade.
Hektir spits and looks for a drink.
Here's to you, Angus!
Argentea looks Hektir up and down as he spits. "I'm not royalty," she says almost absently as she considers his words. "Very well, I can hardly argue with an escort back to that village or time to recover."
"It was the cruel, evil bandits," the creature replies in oddly accented Common. "They captured me for their cruel amusements. Please, free me!"
Mal, the book appears to be a spellbook. It contains alarm, chill touch, expeditious retreat, feather fall, identify, locate object, and ray of enfeeblement.
Hektir, you think the liquid in the dagger is centipede poison, but you're not sure what the greenish oil is.
Quinn considers the odd blue creature. "It does seem like another wintery creature, and the sprites, snowman, and ice creatures all tried to kill us, but the story of being held captive sounds plausible."
Tsin listens to Quinn, and his assessment. "Do you trust it?" Should Quinn discourage her from trusting the creature, she demurs with regards to opening the cage.
"If we release you, we won't be very kind to you if you hurt us, you understand. The bandits almost did us in, and there is no tolerance for injury, now that everyone has rested." Tsin describes all those in the party, including Ten-Penny and the Lady.
Tsin cautiously opens the cage, with the key ring if necessary.
Hektir watches the interrogation of the blue creature with interest.
Hektir tries to fashion a cold weather cloak/gear out of the bearskin rug and whatever clothes he can find about the place, hoping to fashion something for her Highness or her Halforcness.
Take 20 Survival: 30 Survival
Quinn places a hand over Tsin's as she starts to open the cage, "Hold a moment, Tsin, if we just intend to let this creature go free, which I do feel is proper, then shouldn't we do that outside rather than inside?"
Leading Tsin away from the creature, with the cage still locked, Quinn expresses his concerns to the group. "It is curious that they should have this creature caged inside the lodge, perhaps the wintery creatures attacked the bandits as well, that evil cleric could have created those chilly skeletons from their wintery foes. Perhaps there is more going on here than we realize? Maybe the kidnapping and the strange winter are unrelated? If the wintery creatures are killing both good and evil people, then maybe this weird winter is an assault against all of mankind?"
"Hold a moment, Tsin, let me deliver a crazy theory..."
Hektir eyes bulge and his breath blows out as he listens to Quinn.
He considers making the drinky-drinky sign, or the crazy-crazy sign, but realizes that Quinn might be right.
I don't have a better idea.
"What the blazes is all this chatter about? Can't a very old man read a fascinating book plum full of magical promise in peace any more?" Malavarius' rant is heard prior to him appearing around the corner. At which point, he jerks to a sudden stop as he looks from Tsin, to the caged creature, then to Quinn, then to Hektir, and at last back to the little blue person. After a few long moments of silent regard as everyone exchanges glances, he blurts, "Oh! I say, and who might you be? And why are you in a cage? And is it your fault these young fools are being so noisy? Because if it is, I've half a mind to... to... oh, dash it all! Zeno?! Zeno! What was I about to say? Have you any idea? I've a feeling it was rather, well, daring. Zeno? Confound it all, probably off galavanting with that strange rabbit. Now, where were we? Oh! I say, who are you and why are you in a cage?"
Tsin nods as the situation is investigated more fully. "Sarla mentioned a deal being forged between Rohkar and the fey. I don't think they were happenstance targets of the ice creatures."
Tsin looks at the creature. As Malavarius interrogates the blue imp, she tries to watch its reactions.
"No thanks, Hektir. I find myself strangely comfortable in the cold now. Now, if anyone needs me, I need to speak with my hare." Pems moves onto one of the bed and sits nose to nose with the hare. Every few minutes he makes a non-commital noise and shakes his head.
Quinn, you think it is sincere about being captured by the bandits and in its desire to get out of the cage. It's probably not being completely honest about why the bandits captured it.
"I'm called Vrixx, old man. The bandits captured me because they're horrible, evil humans. Please, won't you let me go?"
"I'm called Vrixx, old man. The bandits captured me because they're horrible, evil humans. Please, won't you let me go?"
Hektir spits in agreement, nodding.
"Yeah they were terrible horrible humans...but we're not all that way," Hektir butts in. "But maybe since you've been around here, you could tell us what they were doing and why they were doing it. You must have heard something."
Tsin searches the lodge for Ten-Penny. "It looks like there is a cold fey upstairs, caged. In your time with the Raiders, were you witness to their interactions with the creature, or did the cage remain out of sight?"
"We also met an archer named Sarla, a forward lookout for the Raiders. She told us of a deal between Rohkar and the fey. Wouldn't happen to know anything about that also?" Tsin tries to keep the tone conversational. She tries to.
Quinn questions the creatures capture, "Maybe you can tell us how you were captured by the bandits, seems like a winged creature like yourself could have got away from them easily if you didn't have another agenda?"
"Yes, Rohkar had some sort of deal with the cold creatures; they helped us overrun the High Sentinels and insisted we hold on to the noblewoman for some reason," Ten-Penny tells Tsin. "But I don't think he trusted them. He caught the sprite as a hostage or maybe to interrogate it."
"They tricked me!" the small winged creature replies. "I thought they were friendly and came to talk. Then they used foul magic to knock me out and I woke up to find myself in that cage!
"Please, won't you free me, or ... are you as evil as they are?" he finishes sadly.
"Evil? Evil?! I should certainly hope not! Risking life and limb as we have to save a pretty young lady from forest kidnappers would be quite out of character for us then, wouldn't you say? Evil indeed. No, my dear, Vrixx, we are merely cautious and have had our fill of being peppered with tiny arrows by tiny, frosty fey. Once bitten, twice shy don't you know."
"Thank you, Ten Penny." Tsin returns to the interrogation, somewhat wiser for her conversation with the half-orc.
"Ten Penny mentioned the unsteady alliance between the fey and Rohkar's men, overcoming the High Sentinels. Do we know much about the High Sentinels and their role here?"
"Apparently, this one was caught as either hostage, or unwilling informant." She leans in, and growls a bit at the creature. "Did you help Rohkar defeat the High Sentinels here? Understand that our healer is quite sensitive to lies told."
Pems wanders in, looking vaguely happy and sort of shocked. "I can cast spells. The rabbit's taught me magic!" The hare hops behind, looking smug again and somewhat exasperated.
"Did you help Rohkar defeat the High Sentinels here?"
Quinn waits on the creature's reply to Tsin's important question, his judgement hanging in the balance.
Hektir listens to the conversation with the sprite.
Hektir briefly looks at Pems and the smug rabbit as they walk/hop in.
Smug rabbit tastes the best. Cooks up nice.
"Master locksmith, perhaps you should lie down for a longer spell. You've very recently almost died."
Tsin points at Zeno. "Zeno is able to talk, hence a magical creature. Obviously. Your rabbit found your fleeting body warmth comforting, and it's imprinted on you."
Tsin looks the rabbit over. "I don't discourage you from keeping it, you know, in case our luck turns bad again. I can even teach you how to defur it, if you want."
Tsin, you think you remember possibly hearing of the High Sentinels, but certainly not many details. You think they were meant to be looksout for Qadiran intruders in Taldor.
You're not sure if the sprite is the same one you faced earlier; you didn't get a good look at them and they look fairly similar to your eye.
"Please, just free me," the sprite says. "Are your hearts so cold you'd leave me in this cage?"
"Don't distract from the question, little imp, we carry cold iron and we'll gladly run you through in this cage. Did you or your kind help defeat the High Sentinels?"
"Cold hearts? Cold hearts?! Why I assure you that we are not reptiles if that's what you mean. Warm-blooded through and through we are. What a silly thought, 'cold hearted'. Ha!" He nods at Pemsworth's entry then, "The rabbit taught you, you say? Hmmm. Curious. Curious indeed. Zeno's far too dull-witted to know much of anything; that must be quite a remarkable rabbit!"
From elsewhere in the lodge,
Malavarius calmly and simply shuts the door behind Pemsworth, blocking out any remaining screeching produced by Zeno. "There. That's better. Now what were we talking about again?"
"No, no, I'm fine really! The rabbit is some sort of spirit guide, I suppose. Fascinating, really, but when I was lying so close to death, something reached out to me, and I think the rabbit is its messenger. I'm not sure, but I can feel the winter outside. I can feel and the cold doesn't bother me anymore. And I can heal, and call light and I think I can summon the snow. And the rabbit showed me how, so no eating it. It's like Xeno, only less talkative, I think. And I think whatever touched me in the void would be very cross if we were to eat him."
Tsin nods politely as Pemsworth elaborates. He's madder than Malavarius, when I thought that impossible.
"Well, this has certainly proved to be a mind-opening trip for you then, master locksmith." We'll need to keep an eye out for him. Especially if he starts to talk about more than one rabbit.
With some reserve, Tsin tries to walk the line of politeness, and reinforcing the delusion. "Does it have a name, Pemsworth?"
Hektir looks at the rabbit again, giving it a good stare, and listening hard at it.
Nope, seems like a normal rabbit to me. Not talking or anything.
"Well, we'll see how you feel about the rabbit after a while. It might be that you tire of it or it tires of you. You never know. I had a friend like that once...a young boar. We hung around for a while until it ate the truffles I was collecting. Well, it was about then that we didn't see eye to eye...and well, it was a good dinner that night."
"The hare's name is Flash. Or something like that. It's less a name and more a feeling of speed. It doesn't speak, more communicates in feeling. And it really doesn't seem to like the talk about eating it, Hektir. It keeps shooting me feelings of anger. Anyway, check this out!" Pems holds up his hand and murmurs a word. Suddenly his hand is limned in light!
"Yes, yes, that's all very impressive, but perhaps we could talk about this after you let me out of the cage?" the sprite interjects.
"Why is there a tiny blue thing in a cage berating me?" Pems peers at the little sprite. "Is this the same creature that attacked us? If so, shouldn't we just throw the cage on the fire?"
Tsin's right about why the Sentinels were set up. Over time, however, the continued lack of hostility with Qadira dulled the sharpness of the Sentinels, and most of the unit’s decorated veterans either retired or moved on to other posts, leaving inexperienced citizens of Heldren and the nearby cities of Demgazi and Zimar to fill the rangers’ ranks. The Sentinels turned their attention to more local matters, hunting down bandits who used the forest to attack trade routes in the southern prefectures of Taldor.
Malavarius squints at the creature within the cage, his piercing blue eyes studying Vrixx very intently, "Tsin-Quinn, why do you suppose our inherited prisoner likes to dodge questions so, hmmm? Alright, Vrixx, perhaps a more straightforward approach, yes? 'Answer ye these questions three // both forthright and honestly // and then ye shall be // perhaps... err almost nearly // close to being free.' Ha ha! That was good wasn't it. Yes yes. Right off the top of my head that was." He chuckles softly to himself before focusing again with a harumpf.
"Will you attack us or anyone else in Taldor if we set you loose? Where do you plan to go if we set you loose? Aaaaaand have you seen my favorite hat? This shapeless lump is a tragedy and I haven't seen my good hat in months. Months!"
Quinn draws his rapier, "We'll have none of your shenanigans, we asked you the same question twice and you refused to answer us, so to me that means 'Yes' you did attack the High Sentinels." Quinn jabs his rapier through the bars of the cage, piercing the dishonest creature.
Malavarius bats Quinn's rapier down with his staff, "I say! The girl over here nearly cleaved your head from your neck not even a day ago, are we to run her through too? Honestly, hasn't enough blood been shed already in the last day? If you're tired of talking with the sprite then be on your way. Perhaps you lot will find more satisfaction in speaking with that delightful Hundred Penny girl or the one locked beneath the floor? I don't much care what you do so long as you take your bloodthirsty foolishness elsewhere!"
Hektir shrugs as Quinn does what he thinks needs to be done.
Hektir spits, which may or may not be a sign of his approval.
"Mal, the thing helped kill all the kind rangers that were originally at this lodge, would you like to explain to their families why you let the murderer of their husbands, fathers, and sons go free because you felt charitable that afternoon? I'll not let past bloodshed influence a smart decision now, I don't think we can release this thing from the cage and the only humane solution is a quick death, so let me skewer this beastie and we'll be done with it."
Hektir jumps in.
"At least the half-orc expressed regret and tried to help us. She's even given up true information. There is a big difference between the two of them Mal. If this one wants to speak openly and honestly, we'd let it go free. But it wants to be coy. I don't blame Quinn."
"Bah! You assume silence for guilt. That's a mistake all too many are quick to make and it'll take you down a dark path, mark my words." He spins on Vrixx then, ringing the cage with the head of his staff. "Do you hear that, sprite? Your life is in your hands. Save it or forfeit it! I will leave you to it then. Help and live or... well, don't. It's your choice and from look in these fools eyes you've not long to make it." Malavarius spins back around, offers a disapproving harumpf that causes his mustache and beard to dance, and then leaves in a huff.
As soon as he opens the door, Zeno is heard beyond,
The middle of Tsin's lower lip rises, as the corners descend. "There's a fire in you, isn't there, mage King. Well said. I'll keep an eye on the fools, don't you worry." Tsin moves away from the door, respecting Malavarius' departure. "Before you go, would you be able to educate me about the nature of this fey? Is its nature evil?"
"He spoke of puppeted deeds, and I can't disagree with him. I wasn't myself, if only for a moment. Who's to say this little thing wasn't treated the same way. The creature passes from here without a weapon. Ten Penny will leave with her items as well, and it's just as likely she drew Sentinel blood too. She simply danced like a leaf on the wind, when the winds changed."
"Perhaps the fey's silence is remorse, unspoken. Will truth be its penitence? Or is that enough? Might it know more about this map, might it have heard things in planning, located so close by?" Tsin places a firm hand on Quinn's shoulder.
"Before you throw out the rind, make sure to grind the pulp. There might still be juice to be squeezed." Tsin tosses Rohkar's keys to Pemsworth. "What are your thoughts, Newborn? What light can you shed on this discussion?"
Tsin goes over to the map to study it while the others talk, but doesn't try to hide her interest in the debate at hand.
"Ha! If you kill me, my friends shall do even worse to you! Let me free or you'll wish the worst you had to suffer was a cage," the sprite snarls, anger suffusing its features at Quinn's aborted attempt to kill it.
"Ha, if we kill you then you'll be dead have no cares who's friends kill who. And if your friends were to do anything at all about your capture, then we wouldn't have been the ones to clear that evil cleric from the lodge, more likely your friends don't give a damn about you. My companions may be trying to compensate for past indiscretions by being noble now, but take care, sprite, I have no such concerns and I'll cut your gullet sure as the sun rises. You still haven't answered my questions and if you don't then you be dead before that cage door opens. Your life, your choice, best make it quick." Quinn taps his rapier against the cage to emphasis the point.
Hektir speaks up, still not sold on whether to keep it alive or make it dead.
"Yeah, you better speak up. We have given you ample chance to earn your freedom, but you won't answer the questions."
Hektir awaits an answer.