"I HEARD THAT, YA DIRTY HALF-ELF," the agent shouts as he ducks beneath Ryan's glaive. "IT WASN'T FUN--"
His taunt is interrupted by a crossbow bolt hitting him piercing through his cheek and running clean through his mouth to the cheek, leaving a ominously clean hole on either side of his mouth before blood starts to pour from it.
He barely can laugh, though he is compelled too.
His laughter is cut short, by both Skilganon and Polanco. There's a dead man where moments earlier a living man was.
On the bodies of these Aspsis agents are a
(on Walou)
a potion
a wand
a wand
A light crossbow with 20 bolts
a light mace
12 gp.
and for each of Walou's Escort, there's a composite longbow (+1 Str Rating), studded leather armor, a buckler, 20 arrows each, a sap and a rapier.
They also have in their makeshift camp here three bags of mulue fruit, which both Zephyr and Khellek would know as a Mwangi fruit that reaches a high price in Cheliax and Molthune, primarily due to the liquor that can be distilled from it. The collected bags would fetch 180 GPs on the market.
There's also the matter of the three bound elves that the agents have. All are badly bruised, beaten and even burned.
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"Well, if it was meant to be funny, I wouldn't have been so quiet about it," Zephyr says matter-of-factly to the corpse, even as he scans about for magic. He picks up the wand of acid arrow and twirls it between his fingers. "I believe I'll be taking this in case a similar situation arises. The elixir heals wounds, if anyone needs it, the other wand protects against the heat. Don't think these men be answering our questions, but who needs them when we have nicer people?"
"I'm sure you fine folk fit the bill," the half-elf continues, this time to the beaten elves. "We should release you, you could probably use some healing as well. Are you Ekujae?"
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Polanco takes his cooking knife and cuts free the elves. The Society were the good guys and people needed to know that. Acting like just slightly less evil Snakes wouldn't do any good.
Aye lads, ye look like you were given a right beating - ya look rough and weak even fer Elf-kin. What happened to ya? What were these damnable snakes doin' around here ? How can we help?
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Khellek slumps to the ground,exhausted by the fight.
"Interesting items they have.."
His ears prick up as he learns of the wands properties.
"If it will protect from this heat, by all means let us use it! I'm hotter than a salamander taking his summer vacation in the plane of fire." he adds irritably.
Turning to the elves he makes sure the youngsters are actually freeing them.
"It looks like this is your lucky day. We are here to help repay the debt of a dead man..."
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Ryan will check out and pick up one of the bows with its quiver, as well as a sap: "If that's okay with all? Seems there's enough to go around for those who might be wantin' 'em".
He looks at the untied elves: "Got yourselves in a pickle, heh? Rest up now that we saved your bacon, and have some fruit".
Ryan takes some mulue fruit and munches on it... any good?.
"What's that about the wand stoppin' the Abadar-awful heat? Enough charge to go around with that?".
Ryan will keep an eye on the perimeter...
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Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, Skilgannon feels his sacred rage leave him, with the usual draining feeling it leaves behind. Breathing heavily whilst the others search the bodies he rolls his shoulders to release much of the tension that had built up. Turning to the Elves and removing his War-Mask he nods and draws forth his Ivory wand and hands it to the historian.
"I have no need of it, but if you would heal our new friends?" he asks the man.
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Nerisiel looks over the Aspis captives as shedraws her own wand of Curing and then addresses them in elven
Ryan coughs up the unripened mulue, much too bitter now to be palatable to the human tongue. The aftertaste is even worse and will linger for a while. The pair of Ekujae seem offended by Polanco's calling them weak.
Luckily, the elves seem to relieved that their saviors, rude dwarves not withstanding, treat them with kindness. They confer along with Mitarat on your party's goals. They seem to trust Mitarat, while still somewhat suspicious of these Pathfinders.
"We can take you to the village," one says slowly after they confer with their partner. But be careful.
Mitarat is excited as their paths could cut a whole day of travel time from your voyage.
As you rest for the night some of you still feel the danger of the jungle diseases.
Khellek wakes up feeling like the worst has passed, while both Nerisiel and Ryan feel like the jungle's fetid roots are sapping their strength.
As the party moves forward, following their Ejukae guides and Mitarat, they follow a "trail" which is hard to distinguish from the nature that they were in before. Both Ryan and Khellek are surprised when an arrow lands at the feet of their guide, but the rest of the party is already looking up at the canopy of trees over head, as they heard the branches creaking. Mitarat holds his hand up and urgently whispers at anyone who draws weapons "Don't. Not yet."
Standing in the trees are four Ekujae warriors. One in front calls to her brethren on the ground.
Your Ekujae guides hurriedly shout to warrior,
The lead warrior turns up her nose, "Tell me outsiders, why are you here, intruding on our hunting grounds?"
The four Ekujae
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Did she not just hear her friend? Zephyr ponders, already grumpy from the jungle and its associated annoyances. "Like he said, we are here regarding a late mutual ally, Nieford Sharrowsmith. We have been led to believe he was in your debt and we were sent to follow up on and learn about it. I'll leave the details to the more eloquent among us."
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The elderly scholar starts reciting some histories of the Taldan medical corps. As he does so remembers odd remedies that may be appropriate and applies them to the injured.
Khellek clears his throat, and replies in elven.
"Indeed, indeed. The society has only recently become aware of some of the commitments that the late lamented venture captain Nieford Sharrowsmith had entered into. "
He puts on a sad smile.
"And the Pathfinder society is always one to make goods its commitments. As such we have been dispatched to come to your..."
Here he struggles a bit for the right adjective, finally settling on "warm" he nods to himself. "Warm homeland to make good on them."
"We have already rescued some of your people from the hands of the vile Aspis consortium, and look forward to seeing what additional aid we may bring."
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Ryan spits the bitter mulue, and munches on some hardtack to get rid of the taste.
He sighs, when he sees Mitarat getting excited: "The 'guide' finally found someone to guide us...".
But he has no idea where they are going: "Are we heading back?"
He nearly jumps out of his skin when the arrow lands at the feet of their guide, but recovers his wits: "Darn, they missed!".
Hearing talk of aid, Ryan rubs his painful muscles, and whispers to himself that he himself could do with some aid himself.
While some of Khellek's formal Iadaran Elven idioms are unfamiliar to the Ekujae the leader seems to be much less tense. They must continue their patrol, so they give the assembled parties a nod, a few words of warning about a recently spotted crocodile, and send the party forward.
A broad, shallow stream cuts across the path, flowing
around the edge of a 10-foot-tall boulder. The air is slightly
cooler and there are few insects flying about. Sitting astride the boulder is something truly unexpected, a half-elf of Ekujae descent. "I am Fola Barun, speaker for the Ekujae," she says in heavily accented Common, "Are you more of the travelers that the patrols have mistaken for Pathfinders?"
She glances at Nerisiel's belt, spotting the wayfinder, "No, no, you actually are Pathfinders. You two, go rest, and then back on patrol. Meycho guard your heels."
She accompanies the party forward, and while she keeps a respectful distance, and still seems a bit wary, Fola seems intrigued by both Zephyr and Skilganon.
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Khellek smiles at the half elf. "And my Ketephys aid your hunt."
he replies in elven.
He politely nods to the other two half elves. "The Pathfinder society has many people who don't always fit into the society they grow up in. While many are scholars such as myself, there are the more adventurous types as well who often lead expeditions to exotic locations."
He gestures to Zephyr and Skilganon. "Perhaps you could tell Fola about your own stories."
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"My own tales are not my strong suit, as there is so much still to happen, but I can give it a shot," Zephyr smiles a bit uneasily. "Since joining the Society in search of additional knowledge and arcane power, I think I've accomplished a fair amount. On two separate occasions, we were hired to clear massive crypts and mortuaries of the risen dead. The latter mission also sported a crazed heretic looking to create such things using alchemy, who we had to put down for the good of all."
"More recently, I disrupted some Aspis trade operations in faraway Goka," the half-elf continues, hoping this will find favor in Fola's Ekujae tendencies. "And months ago, I helped a Kalistocrat - you likely don't know of them, us, we are powerful businesspeople - named Temel Passad rescue some friends of his. Because of this, a team of Pathfinders including myself were invited by him to the Kalistocracy's home in Druma, where we once again fought the Aspis."
"Things are very different there. When I say we fought, it was nowhere close to the direct combat you and I may be more used to. My team maneuvered about at extravagant feasts and parties, convincing people incredibly powerful in wealth and magic to outbid the serpents' emissary. We nearly managed to shut her out of the city up for auction, in which she now has minimal power. This significantly hampered their operations in the area and helped earn me a place in the lower Kalistocracy."
"Much of my time in the Society, however, is spent looking to remove the curse this ring-" Zephyr holds up his right hand, on which an ornate golden ring set with an opal lies, "-set on me. While it amplifies my already considerable magical power, it has also forever bloodied my eyes for whatever reason. I dare not remove the cloth covering them, but suffice to say each morning it is soaked in blood and requires prestidigitation. I can see normally, though, I do not know how. The normal curse-breaking magic utilized by the Society has yet to work on it." He spreads his hands wide as if to effectively conclude his speech, but he is already chiding himself mentally. You were too verbose. A person of her standing would not comprehend such grand words and places, not to mention concepts such as the Kalistocracy. And why would she care about the curse, even if it were her business? The things I do for the Society....
Zephyr and Khellek both get the sense that Fola's got a little lost trying to follow Zephyr's story. There's simply too many proper nouns that she had never encountered before. But her eyes do sparkle at the notion of a wider world than she's known, and she seems to warm to both Zephyr and Khellek.
The appearance of the jungle shifts subtly here over the course of a few hundred yards, moving from thick undergrowth among towering trees to subtly organized rows of berry bushes and small fruit trees. Several small buildings formed of woven branches and grasses sit on the jungle floor
In the surrounding trees above are many other buildings that match the style of those on the ground, although they seem to flow even more gracefully from the vegetation. A series of vines hang from branches throughout the area. Some are short enough only to swing from one treetop building to another, while others reach all the way to the ground.
Colorful birds and noisy monkeys call out from all around, yet their calls are fainter here than those in much of the surrounding jungle. As the party approaches, three more Ekujae scouts rappel down from the tree tops, but with a few words in Elven from Fola, they begin climbing back up without any further confrontation. (The Elven in particularly, is slightly non-sensical to those who only learn High Iadaran Elven, but a few thousand years of linguistic evolution will do that)
As you move through the village, you see some sights that have never been recorded in the Pathfinder Volumes. Daily life in a Ekujae village. There are children playing, swinging from branch to branch and from vine to vine. Alarmingly, they seem to be playing a game where one child swings away from the rest, while the rest try to cut the vine with small knives. If it weren't for the laughs and hoots from all of them, including the unarmed one, you would suspect you were seeing bullying.
On the ground, Ekujae artisans grow replacements and modifications to their buildings. Its clear that while there might be an Ekujae village here six months from now, its quite possible it will look entirely different.
There are old elves sitting with a circle of young elves sat around them. As outsiders like you approach, whatever story they were telling stops, and all eyes turn to you suspiciously until you move on.
Near the center of the village is a 60-foot-wide area where the canopy does not block the sunlight. This space has been cleared of underbrush, and a single, 20-foot-tall tree with a straight bole, smooth gray bark, and a wide crown of emerald leaves stands alone. Arranged in a seemingly haphazard way around the tree are a series of smooth river stones, each two to four feet in diameter. Fola tells you to take a seat on one of the stones.
Soon thereafter, two elves, both venerable in age, one male and one female approach. "I am Elder Kalwe, and this is my husband Elder Nolanu" the female elf says.
"Our granddaughter has told us that you outsiders have come to Jalunth to settle the debt of Sharrowsmith," Nolanu says. Both seem skeptical that the assembled party is up to the task. "There is an evil, whose source is in Dehu Inu to the east. Sharrowsmith had once told us that he would investigate but he never did. We have been forbidden to there by the stars. If you wish to make the Ekujae and your 'Society' on even terms, go there and stop the evil within."
While skeptical of you, they will entertain questions.
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"This is a most unique village." notes Khellek, scrabbling around for a pen, ink and a blank book. His fingers tangle in the crossbow, and he curses slightly as he fumbles around.
"Interesting, there is an almost total absence of magic here... not what is normal in the elven villages I have seen before."
Turning to the elder he asks "What more can you tell us about Dehu Inu... and how the stars forbid your visit."
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Oblivious as usual, Zephyr follows the rest of the team about in wonder. "Even I can't say I've seen anything like this. Nor can I think of any human culture whose children would partake in such games."
Upon meeting the elders, the half-elf bows respectfully, conflicted about whether he should have worn his finery. "Indeed," he responds simply to their request. "What is the nature of this evil? The types plaguing the world are beyond count, sadly."
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By stars? Polanco spits to keep himself from laughing at the superstitious nonsense!
Earth is earth and wood is wood, are yae daft!Of course we'll go and settle the debt ole Sharrowbutt left. Yer good ken up here. Why did you even send him! Yer skinny little elffolk get eaten by monsters or some such up that way?
Polanco means well but....well he means well.
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Ryan stomps through the village, grumbling about why these savages cannot build houses like civilised people, sighing when seeing the idle old folk, shaking his head upon realizing the kids do not go to school... before remembering he never went near a school.
Coming up to Elders, he nods to them: 'Hello granny, hello pops!".
Having listened to Kalwe, he moves his polearm to rest on his shoulder and turns to trudge off: "Fine by me, let's go stop this evil in dah Hu-innu while you talk to our stars, and then we get back to civilization, thank you kindly".
Ryan takes a few steps, stops, looks around, takes a few more steps in another direction... before shrugging, and calling out to no one in particular: "Which was is East?".
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Nerisiel smiles wryly but keeps her thoughts to her self
Nerisiel addresses the elders in Elven ” Greetings Elder Kalwe , elder Nolanu. I am Nerisiel of the pathfinder society. The lack of magic here is slightly unnerving but perhaps that is because sometimes we outsiders are too quick to use magic and end up unprepared for true trials” Nerisiel breaks into another coughing fit
In common ”Ryan! Please be seated. I will show you the way East in good time” she taps the wayfinder around her neck
Resuming in elven ”swordplay come easily to Ryan diplomacy not so much. Could you tell us the tale of Dehu Inu as you told Sharrowsmith”
The elder elves seem to appreciate Nerisel's elven formality, though they frown at Ryan's impudence. Still, they seem to trust the party more with Nerisel's words.
"Dehu Inu is a cave that I can --" Fola says before being cut off with a raised hand from Kalwe.
"It means, in your tongue, Blood Maw," the elder says, "The tale of the stars is a long one and would require full trust between the teller and listener. I can say this: the story says that none of Ekujae blood may enter Dehu Inu. We do not know exactly what resides there. From time to time, creatures of darkness, usually ones that hide under cover of night, emerge from Dehu Inu and bring increased danger to the jungle. Before now these threats were easily dispatched outside its boundaries. Lately, however, the attacker has become clever and specifically targets Ekujae. Entire families have gone missing. The first sign of this trouble was when a patrol led by one of our best scouts, Kaghaze, disappeared several weeks ago. That is when we decided to call in the debt of Sharrowsmith."
Nolanu steps forward "Since our stories tied to this place tell us of great battles in the past fought by heroes wielding yellowheart weapons, you may wish to take these." A young warrior, unseen to everyone, hidden behind the great tree, steps forward and presents weapons.
There is a greatclub, a club, a spear, a longspear, a quarterstaff and a terbutje. All are of masterwork quality, and all are made of an usual kind of wood, what you'd reasonable assume is yellowheart. There is also fifty pieces of ammunition made of the same material
"Also, Nerisel of the Pathfinder society, you seem to be under the effects of a sickness. I can attempt to help you and another overcome a disease."
After the pair of elders give directions to where you can find Dehu Inu, they leave. Fola looks conflicted, and seems like she's about to leave, but with a glance at Zephyr, she screws her courage to the sticking point and stays.
"I can guide your group to this place. I want to see it and I want to help you."
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Zephyr hefts the quarterstaff uneasily in one hand. "I suppose I'll take this, then. Hopefully I needn't use it, but it's one of the only ones I can, and there are enough to go around. What such intelligent, nocturnal creatures are native to this area, if any?"
The Kalistocrat looks a bit confused at Fola's insistence but shrugs. "Sounds like a plan. It would be best to have a guide who knows the area. Just try to stay out of harm's way."
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Ryan sits down when asked by Nerisel, but shakes his head at the Ekujae's attempt to heal his fever: "Not the best medical minds here, heh? We'll handle that too, as we handle your enemies".
Checking out the weapons the Ekujae offer, Ryan shakes his head: "That's wood. Metal's better than wood".
He then waits for Nerisel to point to the East.
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Polanco looks over the Terbutje and swings it around a bit. Dis here's a bit of a queer weapon ya got there, but I think I am getting the hang of it.
He decides to take the weapon in hand before pondering something to ask of the wee elvishes.
This Kay-gah-zee, what was he lookin like? If we found him how would we know him? Surely you've got some sort of idea of what this Bloodmaws characteristics are. Does it fly? Burrow? Attack with giant ass tail spikes? or just its nasty bloody teeth? Any details will do!
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Khellek admires the wooden crossbow bolts.
"This is an unusual wood. I don't think I have seen it before. You call it Yellowheart, yes? Does it hurt creatures that cannot be hurt by other weapons? What sort of creatures are they?"
"Anyone else need any ammunition? Bessie here is always keen for some extra teeth." He pats the crossbow at his side. A keen observer might note that first he pats the side that the crossbow is not hanging on, then quickly recovers and locates the weapon.
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Smiling wryly at Fola and patting Zephyr on the shoulder with knowing grin, "Your tale worked wonders friend, maybe you should consider a different vocation." he laughs, hoping to tease his kin as he winks at Fola.
Skilgannon takes the chance to doff his backpack and stretch as the look around the village, his muscled skin becoming tanned under the rays of the harsh Mwangi sun. Keeping his mask on his hip, the Gladiator decides to spin no more tales and leave Zephyr to his fate with the Ekujae speaker. His father had spoken about his time with a similar clan but not extensively and it was interesting to see how his people lived in the wilds.
When before the elders, Skilgannon bows low and recites the proper greeting in elvish, remembering that at least from his father's stories. Listening to the speech he nods as others accept the task.
"Sharrowsmith's debt has been passed to us should it seem within out power and this evil of which you speak seems indeed to be within out grasp to accomplish. I swear it upon my honour as a warrior of the sands." he says gravely, "and on my Father's love for his kin."
Seeing Polanco take the Terbutje, Skilgannon takes the great club and longspear, asking permission to leave his glaive here for the time being. Once they are ready to leave, Skilgannon removes his leather and ritually cleanses and oils his body before donning his breastplate, metal greaves and gauntlets of his trade and affixing his mask.
"If we knew that, we would know the mysteries already," Kalwe says to Zephyr. Then to Polanco, "Dehu Inu is a place, not a thing. The evil inside leaves behind no footprints and nothing but scraps of clothing and blood."
Unfortunately, the yellowheart tree doesn't grow in many places outside Ekujae lands, and they keep their secrets well. Khellek has never come across any scroll or travelogue that mentions these trees.
Once Skilganon is properly prepared, Fola guides you out of the village, further east.
Ahead the jungle foliage thins and becomes an open area of stunted, low-growing brush and grasses that is nearly half a mile wide. The perpetual sounds of life in the jungle fall silent. A series of worn stone monoliths, each roughly ten feet tall and spaced evenly every 100 feet, marks the perimeter of this clearing. Those who speak elven can confirm that you are approaching "Blood Maw" and that within it, it contains a winged, shadowy evil.
On the northeast border, a 60-foot-tall cliff rises to a plateau above. More of the stone monoliths loom from the top of the cliff. Less than halfway up the cliff, a ledge juts sharply into the clearing.
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Still blissfully unaware of what Skilgannon is talking about, Zephyr nods to make it seem otherwise. He quickly translates the monoliths and gets ready for an attack, but at the cliff, he smiles. "Our way is blocked, it seems. How quaint. Which of us is the strongest?" He raises his ring-adorned hand, which surges with arcane power. "My magic can get you to that ledge, from which you can drop a rope. Or you could ferry the rest one by one, but that is an ungainly and more unnecessarily difficult way to do it. Any volunteers?"
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"Fascinating. This is a very old dialect of Elvish." notes the scholar.
"It is Probably thousands of years old - back in the Age of Anguish. Apparently the Ekujae had some agreement with the old mage Jatembe to ward this area. It would seem they have fallen somewhat over the passing millennia."
He takes some time copying a couple of the signs to use in some of his future classroom exercises.
Looking up the cliff he sighs. "I hate cliffs. I hope one of you is an adequate climber." However Zephyr's offer causes a raised eyebrow.
"Of course, that is a much better way to do it. At least not all elves have fallen from their early mastery of the arts."
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If the cliffside is scaleable - like craggy and the like - Polanco will strip off his armor and put it onto his backpack and try to climb to the ledge half way up to set up a rope for the rest of the party and then continue the rest of the way.
If Khellek has anything like masterwork climbing tools Polanco will take them otherwise
At the cave entrance, a semicircle of twelve wooden stakes, each topped with a severed head, is arranged in front of a wide split in the cliff face. Some are barely more than skulls, their flesh nearly gone, while others appear to be more recent. Two are almost completely covered with ants, busily working to take anything they can eat. The victims appear to be elven. Eleven of the heads have been mounted in such a way that they face toward the split in the rock, while one faces outward toward the clearing.
Eyelids on four of the impaled heads open up and look at Polanco.
On deck
Orange
Zephyr
Khellek
Then
Cyan
Polanco
Nerisel
Purple
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"What... what is going on up there?" calls out Khellek as the cries of alarm sing out.
"Remember, when the Androan people threw off the yoke of their Cheliax overlords they too faced unexpected opposition from supernatural forces. They stood steadfast and persevered!"
Well, apart from the thousands who had their souls fed to devils. But I'm not sure they want to hear that part of the history at the moment.
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As he looks at the cave mouth, Skilgannon frowns as they are attacked by the moving heads. Drawing forth his borrowed longspear, the gladiator thrusts at the cyan tinted skull should it still stand, else he steps forwards and stabs at the one with a purple flame for eyes.
"Floating skulls? How cliche." he sighs, not feeling his foe is worth his holy rage.
for
The cyan eyed skull's jaw starts chattering in mocking laughter as it flies just above Ryan's slashing glaive. It is cut, both in short and in half by Skilganon's borrowed longspear.
Meanwhile, the skull with the orange eyes flies forward and starts screaming.
Up Now
Zephyr.
Polanco
Nerisel
Purple & Green
On Deck
Skillganon/Ryan after Purple and Green.
Fola, unused to undead, seems to be shocked by the screaming skull.
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"Never a dull day in the Society," Zephyr remarks to Fola, Khellek and Nerisiel. "I'll drop a rope, on the off chance you want to get there before those things are dealt with." With that, he casts a spell and hovers straight up to the cliff's edge, from which he racks his brains for information about the skulls. Assuming they are undead, he retrieves a weapon strong against such foes.