Amelia notices Jethop's problem and gazes past Jokum at him curiously. "Is he alright?"
"I'm not sure that any of us are alright, but I suggest we get moving if we are done here."
Cid fled as soon as Faeleen revealed herself to the leprechauns. But Amelia knows the land, by description anyway.
"Very well then," she says briskly, trying to ignore the shuddering of the Ravener and hoping he doesn't spontaneously attack her. "Road's this way, right?" she points in the direction you all came, where you remember a north-south road running. You can see the sky beginning to lighten slightly as the sun approaches the distant horizon.
Linus ponders silently.
*Awaits Amelia 'Getting on board'...* (^_^)
Faeleen pushes Amelia out of the way and hops into the back of Grrazz. "My turn now! Onwards, my brave steed! Woohoo!"
Satisfied by the take of brooches, Jokum fastens one around his next and offers the other two to other party members. "These will allow you to fly, similar to the one that Jethop has in his possession. Unlike the other two we found earlier, these are not trapped and will degrade from use. When we have time, I will safely deal with the others so they can be used without degrading." He turns to Amelia as she speaks, torn between amusement, disgust and skepticism. Why would such a small frail child be host to such a significant evil? What does the devil gain from such a bargain?
Setting aside his misgivings (for the moment), Jokum smiles and nods to the little girl, "Yes I suppose we will aid you. We're off to Outsea, to see this cult that you're talking about." Wandering closer to Beleste, he asks in a whisper, "Do you truly think we stand to gain anything here? I'm skeptical that a child would attract the attention of a denizen of the lower planes." As he waits for an answer, Jokum watches Faeleen's drunken antics in amusement.
[B]"Miss Amelia ...your plans and destinies intrigue one inoculated against such. Perhaps ...elaboration would help us ...served."
Amelia glances over at Linus as the party begins walking through the woods back to the road. "What do you wish to know, tiefling?" she smiles - it's as if she enjoys being center of attention once more. Again, your minds touch on the difficulty of reconciling the girl's childish behavior and her fiendish goals.
Meanwhile, the sky above continues to grow lighter by the second, and you can hear birds chirping at the morning all around you in the woods, oblivious to the evil of some of their neighbors. Off in the distance, you can hear the distant squealing of a sow. Jethop, the sound is one you are intimately familiar with from your past life, before you were captured and experimented on, and tortured. It triggers a rush of memories you hadn't experienced since Kabriri the Ravener began to cloud your mind.
Faeleen, assuming Grrazz allows you to ride it, make a DC 10 fort save not to be sick by its rollicking gait.
"I will not talk down to your supposed age.I will ask your endgame, and mine own role and place their in ."
"We've just met!" Amelia begins, in a pleasant, singsong voice, before continuing, darkly, "and you my escort. It'll take a little more than just asking to learn Lord Asmodeus' plans, and what little I know of them. I am just a mortal servant to His infernal wishes." She shrugs as she climbs over a tree root. "Besides, I barely know any details of what the actual ritual entails...save that," she continues in clipped, professional tones, "it will be painful, and it will be...worth it."
"Of course, mi'lady."
Linus moves back near the Ravener.
Grrazz grunts as the full weight of Faeleen lands upon their back. Even as the furry teifling begins to turn, the wiry, lithe, feline teifling wriggles into the harness upon Grrazz's back and begins thumping their heels into Grrazz flank.
Slowly Grrazz, laboring under the weight of the fully grown teifling cavorting on their back, tries to keep pace with the rest of the group.
Despite being completely drunk, Faeleen is able to stay on Grrazz's back quite comfortably. "Hey, stop acting! I'm not that heavy!"
*Groan...*
"Wuff!"
"Whine..."
By the end of the ordeal poor Grrazz is barely dragging themselves along under the weight of the fully grown teifling that's been on their back all night....
Jokum walks along, conversing with Beleste in an undertone, but after a time he calls to Faeleen, "Leave off and let the child ride. We may need the beast in fighting form before too long. We should also consider stopping as the day goes on. I don't think we should attract more attention then we must."
"Finding some where out of sight to rest would not be a bad idea."
Jethop whines plaintively, "What do you mean? I just want to go home."
You exit the forest and reach the forest kingsroad. The sun has risen, and spears of light pierce the darkness all around you. All of you feel your muscles beginning to ache from your battle-filled recent adventures - and Faeleen has a stomachache to end all stomachaches. There's no likely places to make a campsite that you can see nearby, though.
Choice time. Does your party search the local area for a good place to rest for a few hours, or press on down the kingsroad toward Outsea?
*Pants under the burden they are laden with...*
You look about yourself, your efficient mind tackling the problem. Fact one. Cid's testimony and what you've learned from him so far puts you in the Riverlands, near the river Sellen. Fact two. The traveling cultists you waylaid were traveling from Daggermark to Outsea, putting your current location between those points.
Closing your eyes, you visualize a map you saw years and years ago - a map of Golarion, a prized local treasure. You remember studying it greedily because you had a limited amount of time in that library per day. Your mind's eye narrows and you focus on the Riverlands. Geography...geography...ah! Your eyes open as you recall. There was nothing but green between Daggermark and Outsea. You're likely to be traveling through grasslands for some time, but the area surrounding the kingsroad does have farms and ranches spaced here and there.
However, the recollection of deep memories of the map comes at a price. You recall happier times, before your capture and the interminible traveling of the slave caravan, the horror you felt at descending into the underground, the pain of the experiments, and finally...the murders and mayhem you've committed. A deep, unwanted feeling of longing for your past life wells up within you.
Choking back a gasp at the sudden influx of memories, tears well in the tiefling wizard's eyes as he remembers the simple life he'd left behind. my life wasn't like this at all... why am I remembering these things? The cool analytical voice died down as the images rush past. The camaraderie of the bar after a week of hard labor and the simple happiness of a more rustic life, now lost to time, elicits a sob. Anger and horror begins to swell and pulse as images of his imprisonment and torture rush unbidden to mind. Tears streaming down his face, Jokum snarls angrily shouts casting a hand towards a nearby rock. A stream of fire bursts from his hand to engulf it.
Panting as he recovers, Jokum turns to his companions and says, "Forgive me my anger. Recalling a map I'd seen of this area led me to remembering things I'd rather forget. Damn them... just damn the drow for what they've done to me." Still torn between fighting back sobs and fighting his burning anger, Jokum continues, "If we continue down the road towards Outsea there's little in the way of cover. We should begin to encounter civilization in the forms of farms soon enough. Being low on magic, I'm inclined to suggest we search about for a place to recover before we continue."
Faeleen lies limply on Grrazz's back, alternating between silent whining and whiny silence.
"My stomach... It hurts..."
With the group coming to a halt Grrazz simply deflates beneath the weight of Faeleen.
"whine..." (-_-)
Laying limply on the loam where ever they've come to rest...
Your party trudges on, wearily. The sun rising just serves to remind you of the passage of time, and the battles you've fought, and the chasing down you've had to do, just to get your hands on some damn trinkets to show your master. The sound of birds chirping fills the air all around you.
Your party continues on down the road for some time, leaving the woods behind and entering the wide prairie of the Central Riverlands. You spot a fence along the side of the road, with cows and horses in the field beside you to your right. Off in the distance, you see a man and a boy on the edge of manhood, working together in the field and talking to one another. They haven't noticed you.
Still shaking off the melancholy and dread that had nearly overwhelmed him before, Jokum eyes the pair warily. Another reason to hate the drow. I can't imagine they'd react kindly to a party of monsters like ours. I don't think I'll ever again be able to casually enter a tavern and have a flagon of ale. Sighing in resignation, Jokum turns to his companions and gestures towards the ranchers as he says, "I think we'd be best served by avoiding attracting attention. We stick out like sore thumbs and now's not the time to get drawn into a fight. I figure we should try and find shelter now that we're nearing civilization." Rubbing his sore neck, he glances around the area before continuing, "Besides, it's been forever since we've last been allowed rest. We'll need our energy for whatever lies ahead in Outsea."
Grrazz continues to drag themselves and their weighted burden along.
Slowly falling further and further behind as the crushing mass exerts its toll.
Faeleen would be slightly offended by Grrazz's bad acting, but fortunately for Grrazz she has fallen fast asleep.
*Snore*
Beleste would nod his head in agreement. "A barn would be a welcome refuge at this point. Hopefully they are a good indication that there is one nearby."
*Stagger, stagger...drag, drag...*
As Beleste is speaking, he rests his heavy palm on the rail of the wooden fence. He finishes speaking and glances in the direction of the ranch. Sure enough, he sees a ranchhouse, barn, and what looks like an enormous chicken coop further in on the premises - a likely place for good shelter, should you enter it undetected. His gaze follows along the interior of the fenced-in area, and sees that there are thick woods on the far side of the field. If your party gave the ranch a wide berth, you could come quite close to the ranch's buildings with good cover.
Following the line of Beleste's gaze, Jokum nods warily. Poking Faeleen awake, he gestures and says, "We've found a place to rest. Best to leave the furball to walk under his own power."
Turning to study the approach, Jokum strokes his beard consideringly before saying, "That should work if we can get there undetected. Give me a moment to clean all of us up in case we are discovered. That is acceptable to all of you?" After pausing to ensure that everyone is ok being cleaned, Jokum casts prestidigitation to remove any meal remnants and dust from each party member.
"If there are no objections, I'd suggest we be off."
"I am in no way stealthy. My gear gives me away, but I have no issue with giving it a try."
Grrazz continues to whine and struggle under their load of inebriated teifling...
"I'm not sure I see any good alternatives. I suppose we could simply stay out in the woods instead of making it into the barn. Would that be preferable?"
"Woof! Whine......" Grrazz espouses from beneath the weight of their load.
Surprisingly, Faeleen actually stands up from Grrazz's back. (stepping onto their paw in the process) Too bad that she isn't actually awake, but just happens to have a tendency for sleepwalking.
*Snore*
Shaking his head in vexation, Jokum walks over to Faeleen and wakes her up. He'll start with a tap on the shoulder and move up to more vigorous shaking. As he's trying to wake her up, he says forcefully, but quietly, "Wake up! We're near where we can get a proper rest."
"YIPE! Yipe, yipe, yipe, yipe...!" Grazz leaps away from the somnambulist Faeleen, dragging their sorely wounded limb and seeking refuge behind Amelia,
"Whine...whine...whimper..." They look at the girl with big 'Puppy-dog' eyes...
"Likely few and weak, in the ranch. One way to make sure we rest undisturbed ..."
The sun rises ever higher in the skies, and a breeze brushes over the grass as the tieflings stand in the road, deliberating. As they consider, all that can be heard is the groaning of Grrazz and the quiet snoring of your rakhasha-kin comrade, still sleeping off her victory.
Grrazz would limp over to Linus and snare the hem of their...pants(?)/Robe(?) and make a shaking/negative motion with their head. Before hobbling back to seek comfort from Amelia.
Beleste would think a moment. "It is farmland so it is possible that no one would find the bodies until long after we left, but if they happen to be found before we have time to put some distance between us it could draw problems. I would say it's better to try to avoid conflict until it is fully necessary."" With his part said, he'll start moving in a fashion so that he could give the barn a wide berth before closing the distance as quickly as possible from the forest.
"I'd also like to add that they've done nothing to us and aren't a threat if we can avoid them. I've had enough killing these past few days, thank you. We've a distance to travel and having the entirety of the countryside looking for us sounds like a poor way to enjoy being free of the drow, for a time." Jokum, having weighed in, follows Beleste, moving stealthily and watching their surroundings warily.
Faeleen follows Beleste and Jokum, still snoring but now also mumbling something about radish-flavoured ice cream.