Lupi's gathering of root vegetables had been working out okay and Kenith got a few hours of peace, to be certain. Niu's many hands made making furrows into the dirt relatively easy, to a point. Digging could be slow going...
However, the evening brough with it an eery atmosphere, this time. Kenith, especially, could feel something in his bones... he was being watched, just as he was watching the others work in the soil.
Still clutching her scarf tightly in her fists, Tuich cautiously approaches the spot where their strange assailant had been standing, studying the ground
While staring at the rubble that used to be a monster, she cuts her eyes sideways towards Max's holey holy boot, shivers imperceptibly, and then makes her way quietly and slowly towards the rear of the group, replacing and arranging her scarf as she goes.
They appear to be gems, and quite a lot of them, in fact. Small ones, mostly, but gems none-the-less. A majority are clear, but there are red, green, and amber ones, as well.
Xarl examines the creature inside and out. Even removing pieces that are in his way with his falchion.
There are some runes on some of the inner bone-bits, and a single rusted dagger stuck inside one of the stones that falls to the ground when the piece containing it is picked up, seemingly worthless.
Xarl will pick up the dagger, and the bones with runes on them. After getting it all out he'll carry it to Fajra.
"Can you identify these runes?"
Eliah managed to sleep, but didn't dream. She awoke to a sensation near her head.. something was sniffing her hair... Scales? "Ha, that tickles.." she whispered with a sleepy grin. Slowling turning her head, Eliah finds a faun a foot from her face. She briefly startles, but quickly relaxes and says, in a calm whisper, "A faun? Hey little guy, you're pretty bold huh..." Looking around, Eliah notes a few others in the area. At this point, she finally notices the color of their fur... her breath catches in her throat... golden...Golden deer!... she'd read about them, they were in all sorts of myths and legends, but- but-- "They're not supposed to be real!" she thinks to herself. "Amazing..." she says out loud, though so quietly it is barely audible. "Simply amazing!"
Eliah admired the golden deer ('So awesome!') for a bit longer. She doesn't notice the faun wandering away, or anything else in that direction. Until a short bleat, followed by a wet crunching sound. She definitely heard that. Eliah looked in the direction of her unexpected accompaniment, saw him bite the faun, saw the others flee.
"You damned, foolish, impulsive, head-of-a-lout!" Eliah shouted at the half-orc, proping herself with on one arm. "Do you've any idea what you've done?! They're mythological creatures!"
Salty enjoys the blood he drinks for a second before answering, his mouth red and smiling widely.
"I can get to like this forest. Breakfast in bed!"
He chuckles at his own joke.
"Mythological? Bah! I call them tasty! Let me cook this one for us."
He gets up and starts to eviscerate the faun.
Eliah knows that the deer are mythical and sacred, according to some... but to the god Erastil, and he can hardly grudge a kill made to survive. All the same... best not to eat them in bulk if there's other food available.
Eliah sputters a bit. "Don't you understand? These things shouldn't even exist! If there are golden stags here... hells, there could be anything. All bets are off." She turns away, muttering to herself. Upset at first, but soon taking on a more excited note. Her interest was piqued. "Really" piqued. This could be bigger than the Ruby Jackal...assuming she survived long enough, or even find her way back to the university...
Just then, her stomach grumbled and she reluctantly turned back towards the orc to start a breakfast fire.
"It tasted real good to me, for a non existent animal. Let's see what a little tenderizing and salt can do for it."
While cooking Eliah notices Salty looks in a better mood.
"There it is, hope you like it!"
"Hmm... Yes, yes runes, go boom hehehe.'
Fajra for a moment seems to be taken by a fit of giggles. Then recovers.
"Apologies I was just having a flash back to my youth. If you give me a few minutes to study these I should be able to tell you what they are."
"No use letting it go to waste, you've already killed it. Besides, I'll be able to record the experience for posterity." In her head, she added "Assuming I ever get back to Absolom..."
Eliah accepted the cooked meat when offered, muttering a thanks. It was salty (she was starting to see where the name came from), but edible. It didn't taste much different than non-mythical meat, to her disappointment.
After eating, Eliah packed up her bedroll and slung her pack over her shoulder. "I don't know about you, but I'm anxious to get moving. The more ground we cover, the better chance of finding something recognizable. And who knows what we might encounter along the way." The spark returned to her eyes as she pondered all the impossible things that could be lurking in those woods. If she could get back alive, she could go down in history! "I'll definitely have to keep a record of this... trip." she thought to herself. "I knew I should have bought one of those magic writing desks... she muttered, shaking her head.
"Our best bet is to head down, away from the mountains. No need to make this ordeal any harder than it already is."
"To the sea then!"
Salty grabs his meager equipment and goes on, trying to smell the sea,his home while looking for the next meal.
The runes look similar to those you've seen used in circles made to bind unwilling outsiders... though there are a few differences in design. They have more detail than those used now.
Har! You are all going to die.
Between the two of you, you don't get lost. You manage to find a little bit of food, too, though not much, and it took someone nibbling on one of the berries to prove it was, in fact, a harmless chokecherry and not a horrible, blighted poison
Passing by the point where the rest of the elk carcass had been shows that only a few scraps remained, and large prints lay across the ground which Salty is immediately able to tell are feline-esque. Whatever it had been, however, is gone now.
After a couple of hours, the two come upon a steady stream surrounded by tall grass. The water, while not of the sea, makes enough noise to catch attention, and looks and smells fresh and clean.
"Water! Not Salty enough, but if we follow it we will reach the sea! "
He dives in the water to bathe himself, and feel his skin wet as he likes it.
The sound of the alarm spell going off rips through the air. Lupi drops her current carrot in shock.
The cloud seems to bunch up a bit more densely for a few moments, and its voices are silent.
"Alright! Now we're getting somewhere!" exclaimed Eliah at the sight of the river. Agreeing with Salty, "We can, and if we're lucky, it'll come sooner rather than later." The half-orc, however, was already running towards the river to bathe. She sniffs at her shirt, and wrinkles her nose. "A bath would be welcome.." She glances back her new companion in the stream. "Salt!" she yells, cupping one hand by her mouth. "I'm going upstream. Trusting you not to be a... (Voyeur? No, he might not know what that means) ...a pervert! Don't disappoint!" With that, Eliah heads upstream to find a relatively secluded spot nearby.
Eliah first tries to wash her shirt as best she can, laying it out to dry somewhere flat. She washes herself quickly and dons her spare shirt. Scratch (the lizard) finds a tiny patch of sun to relax in after snacking on a few insects in the grass. It feels good to be clean again!
" These appear to be runes to bind unwilling outsiders to this realm. They are a bit different than the ones I am used to working with though."
"Binding outsiders? That seems to be a very serious crime. Maybe we should investigate this."
If no-one objects Xarl places the bits of rock, and dagger into his bag. Xarl then looks at where the sun currently is.
"If we have the time."
Max thinks for a bit.
"Is it a crime? Who knows if it is here. Still, it bears investigation. I am not sure I want to be out here after dark, who knows what might lurk, if this is what lurks during the day. Plus I don't want the fey to worry too much about me."
Max grins when he says the last comment.
Max looks up at the sun, too.
"Not sure how long daylight lasts here, but looks to me like we have a few more hours to explore before we have to head back. Anyone object to pressing on?"
Tuich mutters almost inaudibly to herself, "The lurking I don't mind so much, it's the attacking that bothers me."
Not wanting to squander what's left of the daylight, she shakes her head at Max's question.
You're looking at about 900 gp worth of gems.
So pleased are you by the water that you cease to notice naught else.
No sooner is Eliah stripped does she notice the sounds of clucking in some nearby reeds. In fact, it sounds like there is a small flock of chickens nearby. She assumes, more or less, that there are 6 of them. Everything is fine... but a rooster caws, and there is something not quite right about the sound.
Because it sounds like a voice speaking a dead language (Thassilonian).
Saying something that directly translates to "pies aplenty, come right in".
There is nothing else that exceedingly excites during the rest of the evening's venturing, except for in as much as the party encounters what looks like wild wheat growing around crumbled rocks that might have once been part of a settlement. There is also a small stream running through said wheat, too shallow to contain anything larger than tadpoles.
Lupi motions to Kenith and begins a reluctant trot back to the inn.
"We have a duty to protect what they're coming home to, Niu! I'll bet that's the alarm!"
As the group resumes their trek from the site of the encounter, almost as an afterthought Tuich squats down at the rubble pile and rummages through it for a nicely shaped and not-too-large red gem.
"Red," she mutters. "For inner strength." She stands, pockets the solitary gem, and then takes up a position at the back of the group.
Her interest piqued when the group reaches the wheaty rocks, Tuich wanders about the area looking for clues as to who or what might have lived here and how long ago, any remaining artifacts, and the like.
"Precisely why I'm finding materials to rebuild this place."
Locating a private spot upriver isn't too difficult, and with the half-orc splashing happily, it's not too hard to keep track of him. Eliah is almost giddy, the prospect of cleanliness after being dumped from one stinking jungle to the next is a welcome one.
Just as she doffs her last article of clothing, she hears something from the brush. Silently cursing to herself, she thinks "Right at the worst moment. Isn't that always the way..." However, her worry is quickly forgotten as it sounds like just a small group of hens. No problem. She reaches for what's left of her soap, and is about to move towards the water when a rooster calls. Something about the sounds makes Eliah pause, however. Tilting her head slightly, it takes her a few moments to realize (having not heard the language spoken out loud in... well, quite a long time. And who knows how accurate that was anyway.) that 'rooster' is speaking Thassilonian! "Golden deer and talking cocks, this just keeps getting better and better," she thinks with a grimace.
Quickly reaching in her shirt pocket, Eliah produces a small, flat prism that tapers slightly towards one end, making it somewhat triangular. "I thought this might come in handy. I was right, of course!" She speaks a few words before holding it up to catch the light, swiping the refraction up and down her body a few times, which fades at each pass until she disappears completely . Replacing the crystal, she quietly moves from her remaining possessions (if any) away from the stream.
Unfortunately, Eliah trips over a few rocks as she moves.
Worriedly, Pharysene glances to the sky. She clearly is worried about daylight, but nods her assent at continuing on.
The approach, leaving the woman only time enouh to become invisible before they burst through the reeds.
They're bigger than chickens.
Even the orc can herar the cawing and bocking sounds from the direction of his bathing compatriot, now. The "birds" are making quite a ruckus.
[ooc]Remind me, does Niu constantly have detect magic active? I forget.
Despite the worrisome alarm bit, nothing shows up except for a few, small scratches on the stoop that weren't there before by the time the party reaches it.
The wheat seems edible. You've seen wild wheats like this sold in the market before.
Max tastes the water in the stream.
Finding no hints as to who once lived here, Tuich turns her attention to the wheat through which she's been moving. She spreads one of the heads, studying it. Pulling off one of the kernels, she pops it in her mouth and crunches down on it. Satisfied, she spits it out and turns to the others.
"Good news, we have another food source! This is a wild wheat much like what's sold at market in Sirathu. Wheatberries sauteed with spring onions is a hearty dish and easy enough to prepare. And if we can find stones suitable for milling, wheat porridge is within reach... perhaps even bread."
"And I hate to think of us being stuck here long enough to need such, but in Biston I saw wheat stalks being woven into mats and other useful things. It didn't look that difficult."
She chuckles to herself. "Plus, Lupi wants that broom..."
As the clucking creatures emerge from the vegetation, Eliah instantly recognizes them. "Cockatrice! (cockatri? cockatreece? *mental shrug*)" Her fear eases a bit now that she understands the threat. "Not a problem! I've seen these guys before, none too bright and easy to fool," she thinks to herself. "Though they aren't usually speaking dead languages... oh well, let's see if this works! Good thing I was paying attention to some of those illusion lectures..."
Eliah begins to chant a few words and gesture with her hands (which they'll certainly hear, but hopefully not see!) and conjures an image of herself behind a nearby bush, almost nude (to sell the ruse better, and maintain a little decency), and sends the image out into the open, taking a single step and then launching into the air, flying gracefully over the stream and away from her real self. She tries to keep the image in sight of the cockatrice as best she can.
Finally, Eliah moves away from the stream and tries to stay quiet.
While Salty plays with the water (a mother wouldn't call what he does "washing") and hears the" chicken " sounds he starts to think in all the ways he knows to prepare poultry. So much food, so easily available. He starts to like the place, even if it is firm land.
"All the gems together make up about 900gp. What good that knowledge does here I haven't the foggiest."
Fajra declares after some examination of the gems.
"As for the wheat if I concentrate hard enough I may be able to add some flavor to it via prestidigitation. Milling it though I think is a bit beyond prestidigitation scope. Other than never needing to worry about starting a fire or having a light source I am pretty much useless at domestic things."
"We all have our strengths," says Tuich. "Yours just aren't about things domestic, that's all." She looks around at the unfamiliar landscape. "And given the circumstances, I'd say cleaning house and scrubbing pots aren't high on the list of vital skills."
Tuich's "birds" certainly react quite violently to the sound of human speech, with the cockerel letting off an angry cry of "Excellent prices on day-old pastries!" in Thassilonian. Which just sounds like weird cryin' to Salty.
With their amazing senses, the rooster immediately sniffs out the real article, leading two of his hens in tow, the latter hissing and assuming a hunting formation. Meanwhile, three of those who had been baited away fall for the illusion, attacking the nonperson.
One pecks it once, and then bocks, dumbfounded.
Okay. 4 fooled.
2 will attack the image unless forced to deal with something else.