The Mauler moves to snap at Sheela's hand as she strokes his arm, but his furious roar turns into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. It is NOT a pleasant sound.
The Pathfinders change tactics and deal blows to the flagging werewolf intended to subdue rather than to destroy the creature. Following this course, Marduk and Serge are soon able to knock the beast unconscious. The Mauler slumps to the ground in convulsions, coarse fur falling out in clumps as his body writhes and warps to eventually reveal a withered old man. By subduing the Mauler, you are able to get Vilk out of his bestial form, but you know this is not enough to serve as a cure for the man’s lycanthropy.
What do you do?
Indeed, with the guidance of your Pathfinder contact here in Ardis, Ryado Erudyta, Luurg was able to concoct a rudimentary extract of wolfsbane for just this purpose. Before he pours the extract down Vilk's throat, however, he recalls that Erudyta had warned that, though the wolfsbane would cure Vilk of his lycanthropy, it was also a potent poison that could kill the retired Master of Blades if he were not treated against the poison's effects.
|
Luurg smiles and nods at everyone's suggestions, he scoops up the man with ease and carries him to a more secluded and comfortable location before laying him down gently. "You guys may not know dis, but Luurg trained long n hard under orc med'cin woman, good med'cin man himself!" He pulls a rolled up crude sleeve of clean bandages and medical tools from his backpack and unrolls it next to Vilk, picking out a vial of some milky substance.
"Dis wulfbane stuff.. its tricky! It can kill his wulf-ness, but den just kill his oomi-ness too, we don't want dat! We gotta work as a tribe to make him live.. ok?" He nods and smiles at Marduk as he gets to work helping.
Luurg pulls out and holds up his apple stick healing wand "When I give him da med'cin, someone need to heal some of his wounds, so den if da poison too strong mebe it not kill him. Ok?" He then holds up the small milky looking vial to someone else "We give him dis antitoxin first, help him resist poison!"
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
After some careful prep work from the two half-orcs, Luurg and Marduk kneel down beside Vilk's unconscious form. Luurg helps tilt back the old man's head, while Marduk pours two vials down his throat: first the antitoxin, then the wolfsbane extract.
Almost as soon as the wolfsbane touches his lips, Vilk gives a mighty convulsion, and a fine vapor escapes on his breath. Far in the distance, you hear the sound of a wolf howling to the full moon above. Yet Vilk's fight for a free life is not yet over. Even as Luurg confirms that he has been cured of the lycanthropy, Vilk's withered form seems to fall even closer to death. His skin pales, his eyes dim, and his breath shortens. Quickly, Luurg sets about applying salves and administering ointments to help Vilk survive the bitter cure.
Once again, Luurg's orcish medicine training helps deliver Vilk through the ordeal of the poison. He is soon able to identify that Vilk is stable, but needs to rest the night. Together, you carry the unconscious Vonran Vilk and bring him to the Pathfinder safe house. There, you report your success to Erudyta, who joyfully congratulates each of you on a job very well done.
Vilk awakes around sunrise, but remains in bed to continue recovering from the ordeal he has undergone. He thanks you, but otherwise remains silent and withdrawn, ashamed of his actions. Within a week, he leaves Ustalav for Varisia, where he eventually settles into the hustle and bustle of Korvosa to live out his final years.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"I'm just glad to be here..." Sheela kicks back a bit. "Clearly, I have more to work on."
The Venture-Captain stamps another space on her community service card and Sheela is beaming. "What's next for you lot? Luurg, do you like picking fruit? I need to test something near those thickets we found along the way."
"Everyone in this town is much too afraid, I say." Sheela mumbles. "That judge we saved isn't talking, to save her reputation. The consort is ashamed to love a killer. Grandmama taught me that you must be proud of your actions, and you must be willing to help those less fortunate." Sheela encounters the thorny brush that she got caught in. "Split, damn you!"
Sheela strides right through the shrubs, as they fold and deform around her. "Oh sure, NOW you do this...Hey Luurg! I found the strawberry bushes you were talking about! I forget, were we going to split these fifty fifty? Oh, who cares!"
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Luurg hands Sheela a bunch of different sacks of different sizes "Don't mix up dem fruits, one kind per bag!" And don't drag em else dey go all moosh! He whispers as he heads out into the darkness with Sheela. Normally Luurg flies along by the seat of his pants/loin cloth, but when it comes to gathering fruit he takes a turn towards a Dwarven Cleric, ready to rap your knuckles if you pick something unripe or diseased.
"Make sure you be kinda sneaky at da next place, real gud melons dare... but farmer gibbin me da stink eye when he saw me checkin out his wife's melons dis morning." He smiles and pantomimes a large cantaloupe with his hands.
|
Marduk is left pondering on where to go next.
His friends from several missions were off on their own business, and he still had to find -that particular person-.
"Hey Luurg, you got anywhere to be? If not, i find myself without anything particular for the time being, and it has been quite a long time, since i had time to sit down for a drink with a fellow half-orc."
|
|
Marduk is left pondering on where to go next.
His friends from several missions were off on their own business, and he still had to find -that particular person-.
"Hey Luurg, you got anywhere to be? If not, i find myself without anything particular for the time being, and it has been quite a long time, since i had time to sit down for a drink with a fellow half-orc."
"Sure ting! Gotta get some fresh fruits first to mix bestest drinks! You can come wid me and Sheela, but if you gets caught you should run away... farmer's and dem pitch forks hurt in yer butt!"
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Serge raises his greatsword triumphantly as Vilk is cured of his disease. "Luurg, your knowledge of herbs and practice with powerful poultices saved the day. It is an area I know little of. Excellent job," he offers Luurg a handshake. "Heroes clearly come from all walks of life, and don't necessarily carry a big sword," he jokes. "Marduk, Sheela, may I join you and Luurg for this drink? It is a joyous day when a life is saved when it may have otherwise been sacrificed."
Serge thinks back to his cousin, slowly becoming a distant memory in his mind, yet the anguish he'd suffered was still as clear as day. Regardless, he'd learned to channel his sorrow into more productive means alongside his worship, and assisting the Pathfinder Society in saving the Mauler's life only served to strengthen his resolve.