Some distant not yet asleep part of the Skald's brain automatically tries to figure out the accent. It was a useful thing for an entertainer to have an ear for; so one didn't tell the wrong jokes. And had the right people be the butt of them ...
"Oh pardon my manners." Illthir adjusted herself on the rope and tried to find some comfortable footholds on the well-wall. This wasn't how the day was going to go, not in her wildest imagination. "I'm Illthir the Skald. The 'ogre' is, unless there's someone else large down there, my companion Serena. Usually she's more people sized, but there were a bit of magic involved just now!"
She takes a small breath to try and get her thoughts in order. And leave a gap in for the strange woman in the underground pond to introduce herself. After (hopefully) that ... "We're chasing a murderous werewolf. She *might* have gone down here a few hours earlier or so. You haven't happened to seen anything you'd like to share?"
"I am Semistrea and this Tamone." says the strange woman. "Being able to shrink I would imagine be quite useful for an ogre. She's very pretty."
"YOU ARE VERY PRETTY." she says to Serena very loudly and slowly.
"No one has been down here in some time."
Well. That's something! ...If the source was trustworthy. Now, there were different types of lies. Perhaps Semistrea wasn't truthful? Or the more complex thought-she-were-but-wasn't-paying-attention. Hopefully though the strange woman was sure and honest!
"She sounds like Erevenwyg..." Illthir noted quietly to her companions with a pang of guilt. Hopefully their fairy friend would be back at camp waiting for them ...
"I see. Thank you." she replies politely to Semistrea and gave Serena a chance to reply.
Zokon will attempt to get to a place where he can stand, i.e swimming til he's close enough.
He will not engage as he is trying to check out the tactical situation, assuming there may be more undead around.
Zokon can wade up near the beach. From the light in his hat he can make out the long dead figure in the moldering sailor's outfit one skeletal hand clutching a tarnished brass key tied to a string looped around it's neck. He can see the woman too. She is naked and is perhaps the most beautiful being that Zokon has yet laid eyes upon.
A curled up spider the size of Clydesdale tumbles from the canopy as the last peel of thunder rumbles the forest. It crashes into the ground not 20 feet away.
"Well that should do it." says Noah with gusto, looking at the canopy one last time, and slapping his big hands together. "Now I must be off. Mr. Buckley's damn isn't going to fix itself I'm afraid. Tell old Wigglin that I should be back before High Summer."
"Thank you," Serena says in reply to Semistrea, as she moves forward.
Alia jumps down, taking a moment to get her bearings, then swims towards Zokon. Once reaching the shore, she hoped to get a better look at whoever they found down here, but for now, it was imperative that she'd reach her fiance, in case there was danger to them here.
Not undead, maybe. Fey?
"Zokon, should I go back up and keep an eye out?"
Durgan does want to ascend before his Fly runs out, and if Ilvah is not down here then she may be above.
"Thank you," Serena says in reply to Semistrea, as she moves forward.
"And eloquent as well."
"Beautiful.
Zokon spins about in sudden confusion, his long knife clutched in his fist. He flips it around and hurls it at Alia!
The knife flashes inches from Alia's head and splashes into the water.
Round 1! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Zokon confused
__ Alia swimming
__ Illthir climbing, 3 Con damage, -5 hp from Con dmg
__ Fergus monkey fishing
__ Durgan flying
__ Serena enormous
__ Semistrea
Durgan cannot tell that there is an enchantment at work...
"Zokon, what are you doing??"
Fighting already. I knew they needed a pre-nup.
Serena is similarly clueless and moves towards Zokon with intent to subdue.
(+1 size, +1 Strength)
"Uhh, what's going on?" Illthir tries to determine what was going down, but her vantage point wasn't great ...
Serena is similarly clueless and moves towards Zokon with intent to subdue.
Serena grabs Zokon in a bear hug.
Round 1! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Zokon confused, grappled
__ Alia swimming
__ Illthir climbing, 3 Con damage, -5 hp from Con dmg
__ Fergus monkey fishing
__ Durgan flying
__ Serena enormous, grappled
__ Semistrea
Durgan cannot tell that there is an enchantment at work...
"Zokon, what are you doing??"
Fighting already. I knew they needed a pre-nup.
"Uhh, what's going on?" Illthir tries to determine what was going down, but her vantage point wasn't great ...
Durgan flies forward to help, trying to grab hold of Zokon's arm.
"Zokon, be still! What is wrong with you?"
having had more than enough surprises for himself, Fergus decides to try and get to the bottom of what is going on. He casts Detect Thoughts
Try to hold him still. I will try to get to the bottom of this. It will take a bit of time, however.
He does so in a way however, that he catches their new "friends" as well as Zokon.
"What the....", Alia exclaims as she swims further ahead, until she has solid ground beneath her again. She follows it up with a protective spell right after, her eyes darting from Zokon to the two people on the shore and back again:"What is going on here! Zokon? Did you do something to him?"
Durgan moves to aid Serena. Fergus's spell notes the presence of sentience within the cistern. Alia swims and then wades up to the rocky beach, where she is suddenly struck by the startling beauty of the woman seated there at the water's edge, but not to the point of madness. She casts a protective abjuration upon herself. For her part the woman clutches the remains of the sailor protectively against the violence taking place in the water.
Zokon babbles incoherently in Serena's grasp.
Round 2! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Zokon confused, grappled
__ Alia
__ Illthir climbing, 3 Con damage, -5 hp from Con dmg
__ Fergus monkey fishing
__ Durgan flying
__ Serena enormous, grappled
__ Semistrea
"Do... Uh people usually go mad near you?" Illthir asks and ponder what flavour of cursed maiden this was. Or, possibly, how much lead there were in this well.
Regardless... "I don't *think* this is intentional from Semistrea..."
"Let's just get out of here. No reason to stay. Maybe getting Zokon away from her will break the effect."
Durgan will start flying back up to the top of the well.
Serena continues to hold Zokon tightly, dragging him back toward the rope.
"Do... Uh people usually go mad near you?" Illthir asks and ponder what flavour of cursed maiden this was. Or, possibly, how much lead there were in this well.
"Oh! Mortals have such strange concepts of beauty." says Semistrea. She seems to diminish, as if whatever internal candle that was illuminating her had suddenly been snuffed out. "It has been ever so long since we have had guests."
Durgan backs peddles through the air above the water.
Serena begins hauling Zokon back into the deep end.
"Do... Uh people usually go mad near you?" Illthir asks and ponder what flavour of cursed maiden this was. Or, possibly, how much lead there were in this well.
"Oh! Mortals have such strange concepts of beauty." says Semistrea. She seems to diminish, as if whatever internal candle that was illuminating her had suddenly been snuffed out. "It has been ever so long since we have had guests."
Fergus will simply concentrate on the spell, still suspicious.
Illthir peers into the vague gloom and realizes something has indeed changed. Hopefully for the better! She still probably wanted to Concentrate on her dancing lights spell - and Zokon looked subdued - so she'd pass for now.
"Thank you. I don't suppose you want to come up to the surface right?" Strange maidens in ponds usually didn't, but it felt right to ask. Just in case they were too polite to raise the issue. Mmm... Hmm. "Zokon will be all right right?"
Illthir peers into the vague gloom and realizes something has indeed changed. Hopefully for the better! She still probably wanted to Concentrate on her dancing lights spell - and Zokon looked subdued - so she'd pass for now.
"Thank you. I don't suppose you want to come up to the surface right?" Strange maidens in ponds usually didn't, but it felt right to ask. Just in case they were too polite to raise the issue. Mmm... Hmm. "Zokon will be all right right?"
"Who?" Semistrea says and looks about to see who Illthir might be talking about. "And I cannot leave my beloved, even though he spurns my attention, and remains as silent as fish in the sea."
Meanwhile, trapped in the bear-hug as he is Zokon slams his head repeatedly into Serena's helm dazing himself, and annoying the red-haired giantess. The battering seems to shake him from his fugue.
"Oh I see..." Illthir squinted into the dark. That fella looked pretty dead. But - she wasn't quite sure how the strange woman would take the news. Or worse; what if he was just some sort of undead or undead-looking critter? The skald decided to give it a rest for now. "Thank you for your hospitality still."
"Fare thee well." Semistrea waves goodbye.
After a moment she looks down at the corpse in her lap and adds "Are you so angry at me that you will not even say 'farewell' to our guests?"
"Goodbye." She begins to weep.
The party ascends from the depressing well up to the surface, and Illthir makes ready to climb one of the cobwebbed trees. There is no sign of any living giant spiders in the area, just their blasted, macabre remains curled in upon themselves amid the ground cover.
"Illthir, wait a moment, would you?"
Durgan will use his Scroll of Lesser Restoration on Illthir.
He will use his wand on Zokon.
He uses his Pearl of Power to recall Shield.
"Thank you." Illthir mumbles as shes readies herself to climb. Shaking her head she tried to focus on the task at hand; not falling on her ass as she attempted to scale one of the trees. Not being therapy for some strange fae. And certainly not being a snack for some spider either!
Serena bids the woman goodbye and begins the long climb back up.
Serena bids the woman goodbye and begins the long climb back up.
*sniff, sniff* "Most eloquent for an ogre."
"Ummm... please let me go , I think i'm fine." Zokon tries to relax to show his control
"You sure?" Serena says, loosening her grip on Zokon's arm.
Backing away from the woman slowly, without turning her back to her, Alia says her farewells:"May your relation be happy and eternal." - when the water gets too deep to stand, she casts some Light and dives for the Dagger Zokon threw at her previously - if the water was not too deep, it wouldn't make sense to leave it behind down here.
Successful or not, she then waits her turn to make it back up the rope - despite her magically enhanced speed, she wants Zokon out of the strange Womans sight before she even considers going up herself.
When she makes it back to the surface, she joins Illthir in climbing a tree, waiting for Durgan to provide what cover he could while his Fly spell lasted.
Alia dives into the 8'-deep murky waters beneath the well head. And after a moment finds Zokon's lost dagger resting before a big wooden chest, large enough to put a halfling inside, bound in bronze. It looks as though someone dropped it down the well long ago.
"Well lets see if I can climb." Zokon will see if he can grab a hold to climb
As she surfaces, Alia calls out to her companions:"Hold a moment. There's a large, bronze-bound chest at the bottom here - seems to have been here a long time, but I'm curious now...where's that wand capable of enlarging people?"
"Another ogre! Or are you a strange spriggan, or duergar's wife?"
The chest is lacquered and doesn't seem to have much if any water inside, though it certainly has something inside by the sounds of it. It has a built in lock that appears to be engaged.
Above, Illthir patiently waits to mount one of the trees to have a look around the gloomy canoy.