The water tastes as pure and delicious as you could expect. If there's anything wrong with it that didn't effect the taste and wasn't poison, though, there's no way Max could know, being that his faith protects him from infirmity. :) It seems good, though.
"This water tastes sweet and pure. If there is something tasteless in it that might be poison, unfortunately, I cannot tell. I would still suggest we fill up our waterskins so we'll have water."
With that said, Max fills up his two waterskins and then pulls out his compass to get his bearings and mark the area in his mind for later.
"Anyone have any parchment or something we can make a map on? I have charcoal sticks."
"If you're taking time to do that -- and I think it's wise -- then I'm going to collect some of this wheat. I'll cook up a small bowl of it for myself to be sure it's safe. If I don't fall ill, then we can return later for a full harvest."
Tuich looks back the way they came for a moment. "And while there may be nowhere to spend it, almost a thousand gold is a lot of money, at least where I come from. Perhaps on the way back we should collect all those gems. Just in case things aren't as bad as we fear and we do find a market or merchant somewhere."
She tugs at one of the wheat stalks experimentally and is surprised by how easily its root ball comes free. She launches into the task and within ten minutes or so has uprooted and stacked fully a bushel of the grain.
"Erm... does anyone have some twine or something we can bind this with? It'll be an armful -- literally -- to get it back to the inn otherwise."
Xarl shakes his head.
"I cannot allow you to endanger yourself for the sake of testing the food Hono.. Tuich. Let me do it, so as to protect you from any poisons that might be in the wheat. My only regret is that if it is diseased I wouldn't be affected, and I won't be able to tell you."
Xarl considers the problem of getting it all back before smiling.
"I have an extra-dimensional bag that can hold far more than it appears. Let me carry the wheat around in that."
Pharysene rummages her pack and holds out a coil of rope.
"Would silk rope be of any help?"
"Well if you won't be affected and you can't tell if you would be affected, then there's no point, is there! I'm confident this is as the wild wheat back home, and perfectly safe. I just don't want to put anyone but myself at risk with that assessment. And I shan't die at any rate; Ashava will surely watch over me." If she even has any awareness of this realm, thinks Tuich to herself. "A turned stomach at worst, perhaps. No different from winter sickness."
She smiles. "And thank you for your worry, but methinks we have bigger things deserving of your concern."
"Now, if the dirt remaining in the root balls won't muss your... bag, I think that's an excellent idea!"
"Rope would certainly work Pharysene, but it seems a shame to cut off a length for such a mundane purpose when we don't know if we can acquire more." Then Tuich remembers an earlier comment about repairing Max's boot. "Or... could you mend the cut piece back to the whole somehow?"
"Both Xarl and I are protected by our faith from disease, I carry a poison antidote kit. The issue with the water would be disease, which probably wouldn't kill anyone. Worst case, someone will ride the disease out while we restore any lost health. Unfortunately, my healing mercy just removes fatigue and exhaustion. We have more than enough healing to heal through it. Plus, the spells we might need are just a prayer a way each morning. At least I hope so. I was able to restore my spells from yesterday, but..as I understand it, that may not tell me anything. Let's get the water and wheat back."
Tuich's "birds" certainly react quite violently to the sound of human speech
It takes Eliah a moment to translate the unfamiliar speech. "...pastri-- what??" The incoherent sentences didn't help either. "What is wrong with this bird..? Maybe he hit his head?" She shakes her head and focuses. "Okay, half are distracted, but the rest know where I am, and I have no clothes... Damnit! The interruption of her one comfort in weeks sent her mood crashing down. "Ha g'na tsk shamala l'hem... err... gartanus MOLTO!!" She yells. Which in Thassilonian, of course, translates to: "Bite me you stinkin' poulty!! Also, you look delicious!!
Eliah straightens (not that anyone can see) and snaps her finger. A spark lights up in the grass between her and the remaining cockatrice. She moves next to the growing flames, hoping to discourage the birds from approaching. Or at the least mask her scent. (Plus, it's a little chilly right now!)
Salty hears the commotion and worried about his new companion runs towards her at full speed... completely naked.
"Could you mend the cut piece back to the whole somehow?"
Pharysene smiled.
"Of course! My sisters and I trained for it as girls..."
"Well in that case, let's bundle the wheat with rope and I can carry it. That will save your bag for the gems, Xarl. Not that there are that many," she giggles. "But it will keep things tidy and also leave room for anything else we might come across on the way back."
"Who knows," she says with a smile, "maybe Lupi has a huge pile of root vegetables waiting to be carried back to the inn!"
"I have a cantrip of detect poison as well as a bag that is bigger on the inside."
Fajra ruffles through said bag for a bit.
"Yes and some twine and string!"
"My haversack will carry a lot too, so we should be fine for now. I suggest we all fill our waterskins, I don't recall water near the inn, but I confess I didn't look around much."
Eliah is able to perform her new action even as the forerunning three birds make a ...beeline... for her. One of the hens warbles in surprise at the gout of flame, but it will still take a minute or so to turn into a perfect inferno. These creatures might be smart, but they aren't knowledgable in physics, so Eliah was pretty sure they'd just roll with the fire's punches.
On the subject of running, Salty soon joins the fray as nude as the day he was born, having heard the noise.. However, being that the archeologist remains invisible and four of the birds have congregated around something that looks, at least from a distance, to be Eliah, he might go after the wrong group.
The three birds know the approximate area in which Eliah is standing, but none quite touch her body with their beaks and talons. The rooster cocks his head (pun intended) and responds to the human's earlier sound with a retort in the same dead language.
"Get out of here, you g&@&@%ned birds!"
It dawns on Eliah that the words she's hearing are parroted and possibly reappropriated...
Kenith can smell the battlefield near the scratch for a moment... or perhaps it's just a hallucination brought on by adrenaline. Regardless, he sees nothing.
Lupi gives a nervous chuckle.
"Ay... if they're not going to attack us outright.. maybe we've still a bit of time... um, I'm going back for the carrots. Come with me?"
The team is able to gather a bushel as Max scribbles on the appropriate mapping gear. The evening air is pleasant, to say the least. Crickets come out as they make their way back home.
The away team manage to come back to the inn, laden with wheat and gems.
Lupi looks up from the spigot where she's washing one of twenty carrots with relief.
"Run into anything with pointy claws?" she asks, laughing nervously.
Eliah notices the half-orc's approach, and his conspicuous lack of clothing. "Oh for the love of...wonderful." she mutters to herself. She notes the odd pattern of speech the cockatrice shows, but shelves that idea for the time being. "SALTY! YOU'LL PROBABLY WANT TO CLOSE YOUR EYES!!" Eliah dives towards her gear, deftly snaking a small paper envelope from one of the pockets and tossing it towards the growing flames in one fluid motion. "Hey look, free pies!" She attempts to shield her eyes with her free hand, knowing what comes next. After a moment, there is a loud BANG! followed by rapid-fire pops as colorful sparks shoot out from the fire in the grass. The force of the explosion extinguishes the flames.
"What? Arg! For the %#$*&! "
Salty makes a encyclopedic enumeration of sailor curses while blinded!
Seeing that Lupi's okay... and washing carrots... Tuich giggles from sheer relief. "No, but the thing we ran into got our attention just fine without them, thanks. Lookie, we found a patch of wild wheat to add to our resources! And we have some bartering power now too, if we ever find a market."
She drops the bundle of wheat and stretches. "So, you got carrots and stuff, and I saw a good start on the cultivating. Everything went smoothly while we were away, then? Kenith didn't get too bored, I hope."
[spoiler=Eliah and Salty]
Only a few of the birds are effected whilst the adventurers are forced to deal with the crippling effects of the well-intentioned trick.
Two are rather stricken, but the remaining birds continue on their merry, murderous way.
"PIES?!" the cockerel screams in Thassilonian.
Max wanders into to the inn and checks around to make sure everyone is here.
"We ran into a little bit of trouble, seems an extra-planar elemental decided we might be a good meal or whatever. I apparently forgot how to shoot arrows and shot myself in the foot. Found another source of water and some wild wheat. Oh and some interesting gems and a dagger, I think. Anyone skilled at sewing or leatherwork? I have a hole in my boot."
Pharysene smiles brightly, brushing wheat chaff from her hair and clothing.
"A hole in your boot? That shouldn't be a problem. I'll fix it when I fix my rope." A sharp gust blows her hair over her face.
Lupi sniffs at the wheat a little bit, then gives a brief smirk of satisfaction. This fades, though.
"I'm grateful that you brought that back. My people have a meal recipe that requires very little... Erm... about the peacefullness here, there wasn't much, really. We had a visitor, so Kenith was as vigilant as it was possible to be."
The halfling moves to the next carrot.
"Um... it could still be here, in fact, but... it seemed content to scratch the porch, scare us out of our wits, and then disappear. Well, it never truly appeared to begin with..."
VS Eliah. Hen hits.
VS Salty
The creatures fall upon the afflicted duo like a feathered tornado. Eliah can sense that she has been flanked, and receives a thigh-pecking.
"I'll get your change, Deary!" the rooster squacks in that dead language.
Meanwhile, three hens surround Salty and peck him mercilessly. 2 manage to dig into his flesh.
He can thank the gods, though, that they leave the more sensitive spots alone... for now.
Upon hearing the story from Lupi, Max looks at Xarl and Fajra.
"So you had a visitor, that didn't reveal itself? Invisible or you just didn't see it? Where did it scratch the porch?"
"That's a bit disturbing. No idea what it was?"
Tuich squats down by the scratches and runs her fingers across them.
"Get off you stupid #%$$¬@$ birds!"
Tuich is left stumped by this new bit of evidence, and foraying a bit proves that there are no tracks, really, as far as she is concerned, in existence.
Max goes over to where Tuich was examining the porch and looks around.
Max smells something in the rut... he can practically feel the air around it tainted by the same substance.
"Ah! By Calistra's underwear!! Dirty Desnan...@$*!^&!!!" Eliah let's off a line of strangely creative curses. Judging by the sound, Salty hadn't managed to close his eyes either. She hears the cockatrice charge and surround her. She dodges as best she can while blinded, but one of them connects. There's a strange tingle, but after a bit of focus it fades. Ah right, that."WATCH OUT FOR THEIR BITES! THEY SLOW REFLEXES AND MOB THEIR PREY!" Poor choice of words... hopefully that won't be us.
Eliah tumbles out from the surrounding beasts, at the same time murmuring arcane words. After regaining her feet, she makes a brief gesture with one hand before reaching up to pluck a hair from her head. She does this multiple times, and with each strand another Eliah appears.
The cloud continues to assist Lupi in silence, with only a few startled exclamations at the sight of the claw-marks. As the others return, the cloud moves slowly along the ground and stops behind Lupi with a chorus of agreement.
No. Nothing more.
Sorry, that check is just a lil' to low to know what is what.
After a few moments of studying the scratches and searching around, Max stops and looks up.
"There is a scent here. I can't place it, but perhaps Kenith can. It's a strong odor, either marking the territory or claiming or even perhaps a warning. Something is out there. And that something got to right here."
Max points to the scratches on the porch.
Conf? Yerp. That will be 2 due to a rule. Crit:
Eliah maneuvers expertly while blinded and avoids all the pecking that is thrown her way long enough to create those copies she so coveted to cover her proverbial ass. Four appear.
The birds nearby cluck in confusion, and hurtle at her. They only manage to clasp their beaks on air, though, if the maddened bocking is to be believed.
"Why don't you buy something, you ingrates?!" the rooster crows in Thassilonian.
Salty, stiffening, continues to thrash and swear.
The creatures continue to mob him, seemingly unable to miss.
"Watch out birds from the desert Hells! Not on the family pearls!"
"I'll buy something ya damn birds! Just back off!!"
With the cockatrice back on her, Eliah dodges away again , towards her equipment. She spends the remainder of the round trying to locate her short sword.
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"Anything I can do to help anyone? I feel slightly out of place, not being in my House. I always dreamed of going on an adventure but in those dreams I am a lot more useful."
Fajra says a little dejected. She is quite used to being the best at everything she does and is now wondering if maybe all this time everyone was so nice and quick to praise her because her parents are Nobles and not because she was any good.
Tuich thinks she catches a despondent tone in Fajra's voice and tries to smile reassuringly. "From what I've seen of your skills, you're far advanced compared to my abilities. No doubt there will be many times for you to shine. It's not like we've been here very long yet!"
She sighs. "I'd like to think we'll all be back home well before you have a chance to be 'useful' but that hope fades with every minute that passes. Anyway," she says with a forced air of brightness, "you have that adventure you wanted... even if it's not by your choice or how you wanted. Embrace the experience if you can and contribute how and where possible. You'll be fine. We'll all be fine."
Tuich's voice seems to lack conviction during her final declaration.