Kemras starts by heading into the center of town to pick up a few things. There's a two-story general store, well built with stone foundations. The inside is a bit crowded with people trying to both buy and sell, mainly by barter. The one running the show is an older Dwarf, of tanned complexion. He has neatly braided white hair, and he walks with a cane.
"You can't counteroffer with something less than what you already offered! No I won't sell a perfectly good perfume kit for two silver. This is from Taldor! Ah, welcome young sir, what can I get you? We carry supplies for any adventurer. I even have a few potions available if you have the coin."
Acoris skips south towards Izabeya's house, using the winds to her advantage. The house in question is a simple-looking thing, one story tall and fairly squat. Izabeya greets Acoris at the door. She's quite young, though Acoris is unlikely to know her exact age. She has long brown hair that reaches her lower back, and wears a brown kirtle over her beige chemise. Her eyes look dark, as though she's had several sleepless nights.
"Oh! Hello Miss... uhm sorry, I've forgotten your name."
Kemras nods cheerfully at the dwarf. "In fact, I was looking for some strong rope, as well as some clothing more suited for this sort of weather." He chuckles. "I'm afraid I'm not quite used to this sort of a climate. It's a bit chilly for my tastes."
"Maybe..." He pauses, looking thoughtful, before shaking his head. "No, never mind. I don't have the money even if you do have such things. That is all I'm looking for." He grins. We'll see if he picks up the bait. If not, no loss, and if so, perhaps I can get to know any local scholars.
Cleo asks the locals for directions, while Furnok scours the town for signs of hog activity.
Cleo learns of a hog who's barged their way into a cellar in the center of town. The owner doesn't dare try to handle the hog themselves, but places their faith in Cleo to speak with the creature. There's no awkwardness in the speaking of said magic, as they are a regular church-goer who's faith is placed in Ol' Deadeye.
--------
Furnok finds an adult male hog on the outskirts of town, just on the edge of Kreegwood. This hog is scrounging around for trash and whatever else it can manage to eat. Being so big, the hog cares little about the wind or the rain, though it has not noticed Furnok.
Furnok decides that he soft touch is needed to start and approaches the hog, making various body language to put it at ease. Bacon also acts friendly around Furnok to show he is hog friendly.
First Furnok puts his left foot in
Then his left foot out
He puts his left foot in and shakes it all about..
"Hello" Cleo grunts "You found a nice dry spot to wait out the storm, but nothing really to eat and none of your friends around. If you come with me then you can have those too."
Wabbit boards Miss Boat and sets sail with Besnik and the crew. The wind threatens them constantly, and while Wabbit does have a good stance to avoid the onslaught, it still feels reassuring to have the rope tied around him. With the help of his light, Wabbit keeps his eyes peeled for what Besnik describes as barrels bobbing in the water. The water is pitch black, which is how lake Coal got its name. Besnik's sons work hard rowing against the wind, so that they're not blown off course.
It isn't long before Wabbit spots the first barrel, bobbing in the water. He can make out a rope tied to the bottom of it, held taught to something in the water.
Besnik gets the boys to row to the barrel, while his friend Petre goes about raising the sail. Besnik grabs his giant crossbow and loads it. "Dey maybe fish, but you'll see ina moment Mister Wabbit. Jussit tight."
Wabbit watches as Petre hauls the barrel onto the ship, and slowly pulls on the rope. It a split second, the rope is pulled hard from beneath the water, and a tug of war erupts!
The Dwarf narrows his eyes as he tries to examine Kemras. "Well spit it out, young man. We might be able to come to some sort of agreement."
Izabeya gives Acoris a half smile and replies "I hope you can help, Acoris. I'm at my wit's end I tell ya. The rain's gettin through the roof, an I can't sleep a wink. If you can take a gander at the thatchin and tell me what's what, well I'd be in your debt."
The inside of the house is a single room with a fireplace on one side. The firelight reflects off the wet walls, and the straw ceiling leaks drops of water from multiple places, about 3 drops a second. Just about everything inside is wet, from the bed to the food stores.
Kemras scratches the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "I was wondering if you had any scrolls or alchemical recipes in stock, but I don't know if I can afford it all." Well, my initial thought was spellbooks or formula books, but I don't think I can expect that much in this backwater. Plus, moving them to my collection would be... difficult.
tug of war??? Being dex-based with low str Wabbit will be more in the way than of help in tug of war....Of course he'll follow any instructions if he's given any. Otherwise he'll stay out of the way scanning the surrounding area to make sure no danger sneaks up while everyone else is occupied
Furnok tries the gentle approach, entering in a slow and non-threatening way. When he's close enough that the hog has noticed him and Bacon, Furnok begins his signature move; dancing. It may seem a bit strange to an onlooker, but the gruff man begins to groove to an imaginary beat. Soon enough, he's got two boars dancing alongside him, and they start a conga line headed for the tavern.
----
Meanwhile, Cleo starts speaking with the hog in the cellar. The hog has trashed the place in its attempt to eat anything it can reach. As expected, it's bigger than Cleo, and significantly stronger. Should she manage to anger the boar, she may actually be in danger.
Yet unsurprisingly, Cleo says the magic word. The boar looks in her general direction and grunts out a single word.
"Food?"
Wabbit observes as Petre smiles wide and starts pulling hard on the line. He gains the upper hand and starts reeling the fish in, but suddenly the fish pulls real hard, gaining the upper hand itself. Besnik waits with his crossbow loaded, but a look of concern flashes on his face. "You got'im, Petre?"
Petre grunts, but he stabilizes and gains the upper hand again. He pulls the fish closer, hand over hand on the line. As the fish gets closer and closer, it starts appearing near the surface. Wabbit can see that the fish is huge! At least 10 feet in length, and probably several hundreds of pounds, maybe even a thousand.
Suddenly, there's a snapping sound, and the fish disappears. Petre nearly falls backwards. He pulls the line up, showing a steel hook, bent completely straight.
"Damn. He bent the hook." Besnik says, clearly disappointed. Petre shakes his head in frustration and tries to catch his breath.
"Well mister Wabbit, on to the next one. Keep yer eyes peeled."
25ft
20ft
15ft
10ft
crit fail
The dwarf looks unfortunately, quite stone-faced . "Well I may have a recipe or two, but if you can't afford it, it's not really worth discussing, is it?" He says, as he begins to turn to another customer. That's when Kemras notices a small tattoo poking out from the Dwarf's collar. It's the top of the sehidron.
He grins at the dwarf, though the expression doesn't reach his eyes. Guard well your soul, friend. I suspect it isn't wholly yours any more.
"Yes food. Come on, hurry up or the others will eat it all." She'll lead the pig back to where she is supposed to.
Furnok leads the pork parade back to the hog's home.
WOAH! That's a big fish.
Wabbit rechecks the ropes tethering himself to the mast thinking the big fish coulda swallowed him whole
Cleo and Furnok return to the Taphouse at roughly the same time. Galt motions them over to a teenager with short blond hair. The boy says "Thanks sir and ma'm. Me da's got a few more wandrin, so can ya wrestle another one or two? That'd 'elp us right good."
"Aye, I got something in your size. Mrs. Lacinna made this last autumn. Made completely of wool and fur lining, it'll keep you warm in the mountains. Trust me, I'm a Dwarf, I know mountains." He says. "This and the rope are nine gold sails. If you find yourself in some more coin, I'll sell you a climbing kit for cheap." The old Dwarf offers.
Besnik and Petre both chuckle. "If ye tink dat's big, ye should see de turtles, man! Dey eat dese fish in one bite."
Wabbit steadies himself and peers out to the lake. The winds whip past him, making it only possible for him to breathe when facing away. A few moments later, Wabbit gets the feeling that he's being watched. He sinks low and peers around, when suddenly the water breaks, revealing a massive fish with a mouth of jagged teeth, each one the size of Wabbit's waveblade. It leaps into the air, heading right for the halfling. Thankfully, Wabbit is ready. He throws himself backwards into the ship, resulting in the gar falling into the water on the other side. The splash is huge, resulting in Miss Boat rocking from side to side. The boys steady the vessel as Wabbit stands up.
"Watch yerself, Mister Wabbit. Yer like a lantern to a fly!"
Should I put my light away? Is it disturbing your fishing? Or should am a helping lure them in? Wabbits head is truly on a swivel, adrenalins up. This is WAY more fun than fishing with a rod.
With that out of the way, the half-elf scholar moves out into the foul weather once more, his steps leading him towards the place that Galt mentioned would be his destination. This is truly one of the silliest actions I've ever taken. If I get hypothermic out here, I will be most peeved.
Cleo goes out hog hunting again, asking around is anyone has seen any.
Furnok starts checking the trash heaps around houses and inns Maybe some young rebellious hoglets are smoking under a bridge.
Cleo asks around for more hogs, and learns that a few men are around the town helping as well (one of which happens to be Furnok). There's a passel of hogs hanging out at the dump near Ashwood, where most of the men are heading. When she arrives at the dump, she finds three rugged men and a dog present. One of the men introduces himself as Simir, one of the hog keepers. He explains that there's probably a half dozen hogs in the dump, and he'll need as much help as he can get to finding and herding them.
Furnok has some trouble searching in the howling wind and stinging rain. As he gets battered, he notices an overturned boat. Under the boat are many eyes staring at him, reflected in the little light afforded in the storm.
Kemras was quite smart to buy cold weather gear for his stake-out. He secures himself to the dock just in case, and waits in the storm for signs of a ship. Still, the cold rain seeps into his thin frame, giving him some chills.
Wabbit is reassured that the light is very important for finding the lines. None of the people on board have elf blood, so the dim lighting is hard to work with unless Wabbit is there as a beacon and lookout. Still, Besnik is a bit shaken up that Wabbit was just face to face with one of the garfish. "I don't want no good soul t'end up as bait, Mister Wabbit. It's good you can take care of yourself, though."
Soon after, Wabbit finds the next barrel bobbing in the water. The sons paddle over to it as carefully as they can afford. Petre goes to pick up the barrel, while Besnik uncovers his loaded crossbow. After just one tug, the line pull back, and the battle begins!
Petre expertly pulls hand over hand, dragging the fish closer to the boat. It's a tough process, and just before the fish gets close enough to the surface for a shot, it fights with every last bit of energy it can muster. So much so, that Petre is almost pulled right into the water. Fortunately, the powerful fisherman keeps his footing, and pulls the large garfish right up to the side of the boat. It breaks the surface, and Petre pulls its head up into view. That's when Besnik finally takes his shot, targeting the vitals. The large crossbow releases a bolt the size of a javelin faster than eyes can track it. It goes right through the head of the garr, killing it in a single hit.
Besnik puts away his crossbow and helps Petre haul the aligator garfish on board, which is a process in and of itself. Wabbit is absolutely correct that a fish of that size could swallow him whole, and the sharp, backward facing teeth do not help in the slightest. At last, they drop it in the crate and put a lid on it. Both of them catch their breath, then Besnik chuckles and claps Petre on the shoulder. Besnik then goes to reload the crossbow. Reloading seems to take a very long time.
"Alright Mister Wabbit, let's see if we can't find one more fore we head out."
25ft
20ft
15ft
10ft
5ft
Since food was such a motivator last time, Cleo will yell out as loud as she can "FOOD, LOTS OF YUMMY WARM FOOD, FOLLOW MY VOICE FOR FOOD" in pig.
Kemras ties himself down, shivering despite himself, and tries to wait out the storm - if only because he is stubborn, at this point. Still, the chill bites into his bones. ”Keep me worm,” my ass. Maybe it’d be worse without it, but it’s damn bad with it. Hooded One take it…
Despite his hesitance and general irritation with the circumstances, the half-elf does try his best to keep an eye out for any oncoming ships. If I’m ever trapped in something like this again, I’m going to get some sort of spell to help me deal with it.
Furnok is rather wary, since he doesn't know what is under the boat. He checks the ground for hog tracks and sniffs along with Bacon to see if thar be hog in them hulls.
The farmers are amazed as Cleo gives out a few loud snorts, and suddenly four hogs come out of the dump, trudging towards Cleo.
"Food! Where's food? Food? Want food." They start burrowing their noses into Cleo's clothing and bags.
The farmers are about to laugh and congratulate Cleo, when suddenly there's a loud squeal. A blood curdling cry of a hog getting attacked.
------
Furnok is sure he sees a hog track, but he doesn't realize it belongs to Bacon.
Bacon gets a good whiff of whatever's under the boat, but it doesn't smell like hog.
Aided by his low-light vision, Kemras is able to scan the lake far better than any human could. Another hour passes by, but thankfully Kemras's clothes start holding in his body heat. It's still very uncomfortable.
At the end of the hour, Kemras spots a man step onto the docks. The man looks pretty old, and is wearing regular peasant clothing. He stares up at the storm, ignoring the drops of water hitting his eyes. He's holding something in both of his hands, but Kemras can't see what it is.
Cleo laughs loudly as the assault begins, which is shattered with the screaming. "please stay here" she asks the pigs, then runs toward the sound.
Well, at least things are looking [i]somewhat up compared to earlier. I'm not freezing to death... yet.[/i] Kemras sighs quietly, before blinking at the man on the docks. "Now what are you doing out here on a day like this?" He asks himself, aware that the man cannot hear him. Hm... I think I'll go investigate this. It seems just as interesting as waiting for a ship to sail in, anyways.
He slowly (carefully) unties himself from his position and lowers himself to the ground. I think I'll get a little closer to him before announcing myself... it never hurts to keep in practice, after all.
Despite his best efforts, Kemras knows he could be doing better in this regard, but still approaches the man carefully, attempting to discern more about him before revealing his presence. If he's up to something suspicious, I would like to know what it is. If he's not, I still want to know what he's doing.
Wabbit looks at the dead garfish on deck warily making sure not to step near the mouth. He's heard sometimes even dead fish have reflexes that make them clamp their mouths shut in random spasms. Curious but not curious enough to test out the rumor yeah I can take care of myself with wood or solid ground beneath my feet....but in that water it'd be another story. These are the biggest fish I've ever seen
Bacon squeals and bumps Furnok.
What's that boy? Timmy has fallen down the well?
BWEE!
Those aren't pigs?
Grunt
Furnok steps back wartily and grips his longhammer. No sense tangling with whatever is under that boat.
Cleo hurries over the landfill to see two figures in the dark, each standing on four legs, with the heads down. Then, one of them stands up on its hind legs, and howls with all its might.
The two creatures approach closer, coming into view. Straight ahead of Cleo, about 30ft away, stands a tall, strong, and naked man who's bodyhair has turned into matted fur. His eyes are wild, he carries a rusty axe, and is wearing a collar. His fingers end in short, but sharp claws, and his mouth looks like a dog's snout, and holds sharp carnivorous teeth. The other figure is that of a wolf, which is circling around Cleo and is about 40ft away to her left.
Cleo notices that Aggah is standing behind her, using Cleo as a shield. Two of the men have followed Cleo, including Simir and his dog. Simir's son is armed with a boar spear, while Simir only has a lasso and a dagger.
-----------------
Furnok backs away from the boat, and starts moving towards the dump where he'll find hogs.
Cleo's heart drops in horror. To the men behind her, she says in a shakey voice that rases to loud and firm "run. Run! "
To Aggah, "find the others, it is our only hope, please" she doesn't have much hope that Aggah can find them in time, but maybe she can at least delay them.
Her eyes dart to the wolf circling her, hoping the creature is just a wolf. If she thinks it is or can't tell, she prays to her god to help claim it for her own for a bit.
Otherwise, she'll cast barkskin on herself. Either way, she gets her shiled on as quick as she can.
Cleo is relieved to know that the wolf is truly just a wolf, and a fairly young one at that. Her domination spell easily overcomes its willpower.
She's also well aware of Lycanthropy, or werewolves as they're commonly called. Men who've been afflicted with a powerful curse that turns them into savage beasts. A single bite can inflict just about any humanoid with the curse, which surfaces on the full moon. A spell from a very, very powerful priest can remove the curse, or continuously chewing Wolfsbane, but if three days pass, there is no cure. It is said that werewolves were created by Gozreh in revenge for Abadar's encroaching war of civilization.
Werewolves have tough skin that resists all but silver weapons. They are intelligent, but wild and beast-like. They can see in the dim moonlight, and smell their prey.
The werewolf throws its axe at Cleo in anger, but the severe winds whip sharply south. Meanwhile, Aggah pushes as hard as she can against the wind, but manages to get into town. Simir beckons his son give him the boar spear before fleeing. Simir refuses Cleo's order, and slowly approaches with the spear braced.
Despite Kemras creaking on the dock, the man has no clue due to the heavy winds. With his elven ears, Kemras can hear the man whispering to the sky.
"Li'hk damm nalgoreth, vallemina skollreg. Haallocat shomdorett. Vom Maga vom Magaaaah."
Finally, he slowly begins drawing his blade. Best to be safe in this case. I won't kill you, but I will beat you to near death if I have to.
Cleo looks to Simir beside her, her eyes are pools of worry, but she can't plead for the man to save himself in the wake of such courage. She reaches up to him and casts barkskin to hopefully make it so he will see the rest of his days.
She turns toward the werewolf "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!" she yells into the wind.
Run Away she mentally whispers her command to the young wolf As fast as you can
As it bolts she says to the werewolf again "YOU CAN LEAVE, WE WON'T FOLLOW!"
"Oh yea, they get real big." Says Petre. "Them and the catfish, but we'll not see any of those if we're lucky. These garr are the kings of fish. They eat anythin that bleeds, and only one thing eats them."
Wabbit quickly finds the next barrel, lingering in the water a short ways from shore. When Petre tugs on the line, it doesn't budge. "Huh? Stuck ona log maybe?" He pulls harder, and suddenly the shoreline shakes. Besnik cries out "Let go the line!"
Emerging from the water is the head of a gargantuan turtle, with a beak sharp as swords. Its head rises up, revealing the line leading down into its gullet. It moves its head to the side, to look across the distance and into Petre's eyes. Its own eye is almost as large as the man's head. Then it dives, and the shore collapses into the water with it. Petre lets go of the line, which is immediately whipped underwater.
Kemras suspects some sort of summoning ritual is taking place, yet he doesn't know what spell this could be. Even more disconcerting, is that Kemras has absolutely no clue what language the old man is speaking. Nothing from Aklo, to Aboleth, to Shadowtongue, none of it has any linguistic similarities.
"Va f'thom, Maga. Va f'thom, Maga! Meest fem fromulgatMaga!!"
Though Simir isn't quite sure what Cleo did, he grimly accepts the spell. The young wolf cries out and bolts back towards the forest. The werewolf sees this, and glares at Cleo like she did it an injury. With a snarl, it leaps forwards to attack her, raking a claw over her cheek and drawing blood.
A flash of fear fills Kemras as he realizes he might kill the man outright. If he doesn't die immediately, then I'll stabilize him. Otherwise, well... I'll leave his head intact.
A yelp of pain comes from the little halfling, as she took too long to bring up her worn shield. She doesn't know the make up of Simir's soul so decides she can't bring down her holy god's smite so instead steps back and prays loudly from a lash of shining light to appear in her hand.
HOLY giant turtle....WOW! Wabbit looks around head on a swivel.....
Does it want US? Or just the fish? He asks the crew
How do ya fight something like that IN THE WATER?
Cleo lashes out with a divine whip, electrocuting the werewolf. She can see that it's been previously injured, with a nasty gash in its side. While she steps back, Simir goes forward, carefully stabbing at the werewolf with his spear. Surprisingly, the farmer hits with a powerful strike, and the tip of the steel spear breaks through, into the monster's flank. Blood drips from the wound, with little specks of silver glistening from Cleo's divine whip.
The werewolf growls as it steps brazingly past Simir's spearpoint. It rakes its claws down Simir's torso, ripping flesh from bone, then lunges in for a deep bite to the neck. Simir cries out in pain, trying in vain to pull the werewolf off his neck. With a mighty twist, it throws Simir to the ground, and hunches over him with blood-stained teeth. Yet Simir's eyes are open and his chest heaves for breath. In a barely perceptible gasp, he says "I hunt with the Deadeye."
Besnik yells back "It's angry! It'll fight whate'er it can! Row boys!"
As the boat turns South and starts rowing, there's a loud snap. The sail falls overtop of the boat, covering Besnik's sons. Petre goes over and finds a loose rope. The rope holding the top of the sail burst from the heavy winds.
"Shit!" Cries Besnik as he retrieves a vial from his beltpouch. "Petre! We gotta get that sail up! Gimme the rope, and I'll climb up there an glue the bastard."
But Petre yells back "There's no way you'll get up there in this storm! I say we cut the sail!"
Kemras stabs the strange old man in the chest several times, eliciting a gasp of pain as he reflexively holds his wounds. With wide eyes, he stares into Kemras' face, and calmly states.
"Maga"
Then his eyes roll into the back of his skull, and he collapses onto the dock. Kemras is left with a sick feeling in his stomach, and his arms shake and quiver. A flash of lightning illuminates the man's bleeding body, before a deafening barrage of thunder rumbles through Kemras' heart.
"You don't say." The sardonic reply is as much reflex as it is an attempt to distract him from the fact that he may have just killed someone in cold blood. He swiftly sets aside his disgust - only for now. You can throw up later. Right now you need to make sure you didn't kill him accidentally, save his life if you still can.
Despite his best efforts, the rain and wind keep him from doing what's needed to prevent the man from continuing to bleed out. Dammit, dammit, dammit.
On his second try, he feels more content with the treatment he has performed... assuming the man is still alive. It's somewhat difficult to tell, in the current weather.
With that out of the way, Kemras wipes his enchanted blade on the man's filthy clothing, before looking around to see whatever it was the man had had in his hands. Hopefully it hasn't rolled away yet...
Abruptly, he feels his stomach rising, and vomits onto the dock. "Ugh. Damn... that was... not fun."
"NO!" Cleo screams in grief at another death, bringing down holy fire from the heavens to smite the werewolf.
I got it...Give me the glue. I'll climb up!
Kemras' second attempt at staunching the man's wounds proves successful. He opens the man's clutched hand and is startled to find, the bloodstained eye of a fish.
With a wave of grief and desperation, Cleo's faith parts the dark skies in a holy nimbus of fire and light. As a ray of divine retribution, the holy fire slams itself upon the werewolf and seeks to burn away its flesh. Simir is bathed in the holy light, his skin given a glowing warmth in gentle acknowledgement.
The werewolf screams and clutches its head in an effort to resist, but its humanity is too far gone. The werewolf's fur strikes a golden flame, and it leaps towards the forest, howling in terrible pain. The only thing to remain is the collar it wore, steaming from the fire now put out by the returning rain.
Cleo will rush to the side of the poor man and do everything she can for him.
If she can't, the little cleric will pray over him asking the grandfather to welcome his courage with open arms. Then she'll close his eyes and give him a gentle kiss of farewell and thanks on his forehead.
Looking up and seeing Furnok arrive, she gives him a weary smile. "Could you help me carry him back to town?"
What in tarnation happened? He get mauled by a pig?
"werewolf" she says as quietly one can in a wind storm. "more terrors in this world than not."
Cleo hears the sound of Simir's voice "I'm okay, I'm okay damn it. Cleo, I'm lawful good. The fire didn't do anything. Why did you kiss me? That's kind of weird."
Setting the thought aside for the moment, Kemras gingerly picks up the fish eye, before looking at the fallen man. There's no way in Hell I'm going to be able to pick him up, especially if I want to avoid crushing this thing. He sighs, before beginning to chant and gesture with his free hand, endowing himself with the ability to pull much more than he normally is able to do.
With that, he bends to pick up the old man's limp body, before shouting. "A man is injured! Is there anyone out there who can help?" I don't really want to leave the lookout post behind - if I do, whatever he might have summoned might come without me knowing...
Cleo turns a bit pink, but is happy none the less. "You risked your life to help out a stranger, that deserves a little peck on the forehead, does it not?" she pours some healing into him then says "Now get up, there is still work to do."