There is a small chest behind the raised chairs that has several precious gems and 500 gold.
It is the end of daylight by the time you haul everything back through to your cart. Do you spend the night in the woods or try to find your way back to the nearby village?
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"I think we should return to the village. I have all sorts of thoughts going on in my head. In point of fact, I understand now. There were people in my church who loved to try and out-do each other. So one day, in a spelling bee, a pair of enchanters were in battle with each other. It was intense, as one cast Charm Person on the other, and the second then cast Sleep on the first. Now I remember how they did it.
"I didn't get it then, but I understand it now. I think I can do it, actually. Yes, I'm sure I can. And one more. Lots of people were throwing Magic Missile around during the bee. And you know what they say . . . oh, no, you don't. When everyone is throwing magic missiles, the person who casts Shield is the clear winner. So I watched the casting of Shield, just to see what it would do. And now, I remember that, too. Shame I didn't watch the magic missilers, but there were so many of them, when I try to think of how they cast it, it's all a big blur.
"But I'll tell you what I can do if you want, boys. I won't prepare healing spells. That's not what I do. But now, if you like, I'll see if I can pen up some scrolls of Cure Lt. for you."
"How fortuitous Hailey! I'm certain these spells of yours will come in very handy. I'm not sure what we would do without your sharp mind and Garekk's warrior spirit. Should we press forward or wait out the night?"
It is around midnight by the time you return to Kotla, only to find the gates barred and the guard unwilling to let people he doesn't know very well inside.
"I... I'm not allowed to open to gates after dark without the captain's permission and he isn't here."
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Garekk steps forward in to the torchlight. "We are representatives from Baron Gelou, sent to investigate the disappearances around here. Now, Get these gates open, and send the watch captain's second to meet us at the jail or whatever facilities that you have present. Do so now."
Garekk calls out grumpily, exhausted after the last few days of rushing to and fro and from his vigilant guard over the necromancer.
"O..O....Ok, I .. I will open the gate in a moment and you... you can secure the prisoner in the stocks. I... I don't know how long the cap .. captain will be."
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Nodding to Hailey, Garekk slowly chooses his words with care. "I am finding how little that me.. or anyone.. really knows about anything... especially something as... nebulous as good and evil."
He stops and thinks for a few moments. "I am beginning to think.. and you are partially to blame for this.. that it may have more to do with opinion than definition..."
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"If that's the worst thing you can blame me for, I am glad of it. But yes, it's mostly opinions. Take magic, for example. Magic isn't right or wrong intrinsically, even parts of necromancy. It's merely a tool, like a knife. It can cut a man or it can cut a steak. Magic's a knife. A very powerful knife."
Swift shifts his weight, clearly at odds with the current conversation, but too tired from the days events to start a deep philosophical conversation.
He let's out a barely perceptible sigh and re-adjusts the weight of his gear. His beard was all messy, he had slight bags under his eyes and his stare seemed to look past what was in front of him.
"Well, Little One.. If you have something that would ensure us a good nights sleep, have at it!" Garekk smiles through a yawn.
About 10 minutes after you are let inside the walls, an older man who has clearly thrown on his clothes limps towards you. He has a longsword sheathed at his side.
"I am Captain Vilovich, commander of the Kotla militia, why have you demanded to be let into the village at this unholy hour?"
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"Because we have captured a murderer. He's killed a woman and a child, and who knows who else, and fed their blood to dogs in hopes of mutating them. Does he not belong in jail, at least for the night until we can resume our trek to the baron?
"And we need a place to sleep in safety until we can resume our trek back to the baron. It's as simple as that."
"Because we have captured a murderer. He's killed a woman and a child, and who knows who else, and fed their blood to dogs in hopes of mutating them. Does he not belong in jail, at least for the night until we can resume our trek to the baron?
"And we need a place to sleep in safety until we can resume our trek back to the baron. It's as simple as that."
"These are troubling claims, but mutating beasts with human blood seems a little far fetched. But Kotla has no jail, you could keep him in the stocks but one of you will have to watch him during the night, my militia is a volunteer force and I will not be able to secure any other guards this night."
"You might be able to find lodgings at The fallen Hero but Thomin has likely gone the bed by this time."
Decades after then. If I am correct the game year should be 4714.
"I can relieve you for the second watch, Garekk. Even without sleep, I will keep a vigilant eye on this miscreant."
The monk turns to face the Captain.
"Captain Vilovich, I can assure you our claims lay in the truth. If you would like, we can show you the place where we apprehended him."
He looks into the man eyes expectantly, trying to gauge his reaction.
"I can relieve you for the second watch, Garekk. Even without sleep, I will keep a vigilant eye on this miscreant."
The monk turns to face the Captain.
"Captain Vilovich, I can assure you our claims lay in the truth. If you would like, we can show you the place where we apprehended him."
He looks into the man eyes expectantly, trying to gauge his reaction.
"As long as you don't intend to hold a trial here I care not. Be gone by midday and all will be well."
The rest of the night passes uneventfully except for convincing the tavern keep to let you in. The morning comes fast and cold, with a stiff wind out of the west.
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Hailey will use her time to find a stray cat and make her her new familiar. I'd forgotten, Gnomes can speak with animals once per day, so that will make it easier.
And, to 'miscast' Comp. Lang. to gain an understanding of Infernal and Draconic. (Not really how it works, but justifiable in-game flavor for how she can suddenly know two tongues she never knew before.)
In the morning, she will introduce the boys to her new friend, Alice.
After she's prepared her spells that is.
Cleric:
0: Create water, Detect Magic, Purify food & drink
1: Protection from Evil, Comprehend Languages, Identify (d)
Wizard:
0: Disrupt Undead, Read Magic, Ray of Frost
1: Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Sleep
Hopefully she gets a bath, so she can be nice and clean. She'll use Prestidigitation to cleanse her clothing.
"Morning, boys. I'm feeling wonderful. And I'd like you all to meet my new friend, Alice."
At the sight of the cat, Swift is hard pressed to hide his emotions .
"Well hello there little one!", he says, scratching the cat under the chin.
"And morning to you, other little one!"
He stands up and goes over to Hailey.
"Did you sleep well? Guarding the prisoner was quite uneventful, thankfully. I just hope I didn't fall asleep while I was on guard."
The sight of a gnome, human monk and a half-orc barbarian is one rarely seen in Ustalav, particularly when they are standing beside stocks that are occupied by a human is robes that make him look like some kind of wizard.
All the locals have also seen several other odd characters leaving the village this morning and yet more are having breakfast at the local tavern/ Inn The fallen Hero. The locals seem very suspicious that there are so many foreigners in the village today.
It is at this point that something truely odd happens. A flock of crows flies into the square in the centre of the village that contains the stocks, they land at various places throughout the square, then a voice begins coming out of all of them at the same time.
Once the message has been delivered all the crows fall over dead.
The people of Kotla are now eyeing all strangers in the village very suspiciously though none of them have taken any hostile action yet.
Flandrion was finishing up a good breakfast of fried eggs, sausage and pancakes. While he did like traveling, he kept thinking about ways he might be able to lighten his pack. Sadly, with winter approaching, he was only able to think of additional items he might need which would make his pack heavier.
Then the incident with the crows happened. Flandrion said, "That's annoying. Guess I better find out what's happening."
Settling his bill with the waitress and leaving her a tip (say 6 Silver pieces total for meal and tip) Flandrion put on his backpack and headed out into the town square. Seeing the small group of obvious outsiders gathered over by a man in the stocks who was dressed like a wizard, Flandrion went over to talk to them. He says, "I was wondering if any of you could provide some insight as to what the commotion is all about?"
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Hailey is shocked at Garekk until she figures out he is merely joking. The reaction of Swift-Palm sets her much more at ease.
But after the crows arrive and this newcomer elf approaches them, asking his questions, Hailey nods.
"Clearly, Mr. Devil doesn't like that we captured one of his friends," Hailey remarked. "Boys, I suggest we head straight to the baron, with our captive, and leave this town at once to shield them, and ourselves, from danger. No, Alice, you can't catch a crow and eat it. These, you won't want to mess with. Besides, they're all dead anyway."
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Another three bit necromancer spouting threats? Really? What is it with this place and the sloppy use of magic. Why, a simple message would have served. Or even a summon. Leaving the birds to die after their message has been delivered is unprofessional, and unsanitary.
Bendalis begins shoveling the crows into a pile.
Don't just stand there looking at them, someone help me set these on fire.
She points at Grint.
You! You look like you're a sturdy enough workman, go fetch some wood.
Seeing hailey she smiles widely.
Thank Shelyn, there's always a priest when you need one, and even a follower of Nethys if I don't mistake that symbol. Fortunate indeed. Would you mind saying a small prayer for these.
She gestures at the now piled crows.
Even if their waste shows the lack of talent of their summoner, they died for magic's sake, and we should at least give them that much respect before we incinerate them.
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"I agree. Ne. . . . Magic can be a beautiful art. This kind of thing is just showy display of power that rather suggests cowardice. And yes, I'm priestess of Nethys. I'll gladly say a prayer, because you are correct that they died for magic's sake.
"But make no mistake. I don't heal people. I hex them. Hailey Besh, pleased to meet you."
And with that, she says a prayer to Nethys for the birds.
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As the booming voice echoes over the town, Garekk moves closer to his companions. "It seems that, as ever, our job is not yet finished my friends. However, Hailey, I do not know if simply leaving will protect these people. The voice said "And free my associate". The town may see this as an either/or situation and decide to fight." Moving over to the prisoner, he pulls the rag out of his mouth once more. Before questioning him, Garekk allows the man to drink his fill from a waterskin Garekk holds to his mouth. [b]"Tell us what we need to know, and you can get some food to go with it. I know that you must be hungry by now. Are you willing to tell us who or what that was?"
At the newcomers command, Garekk looks the elf up and down before raising his eyebrow and turning without a further word. He approaches a nearby house and finding the occupant watching him intently, Garekk bows to the head of the house.
"Greetings. I am sorry that our presence has brought you consternation, but I promise that we will allow no harm to come to you. In the meantime, would you be willing to provide some wood so that we may prevent these birds from causing you further harm? They may be diseased, and we would not wish to leave such things for your people to deal with. We will burn them, if we can find some wood."
Flandrion looks Garekk over and then makes a facial expression as if he had smelled something unpleasant.
She nods graciously at Hailey.
Charmed. Hexing is a bit provincial in kyonin and rarely taught at a high level. We do study the theory of it though, or perhaps you meant enchantments and the like?
She doesn't look like any witch I've ever seen, still the locals are remarkably paranoid, perhaps she's simply cautious.
Greetings to you as well, young one.
She inclines her head towards Alice, then turns as garrek returns with the wood then marches off to the man in the stocks to interrogate him.
Well done, and cleanly so. Still, there is garbage to take out, is there not? Where did you find such a lazy apprentice that he manages to be confined in stocks of all things?
She looks at Hailey curiously, as if sharing a joke.
Didn't he take the time to memorize anything?
I'll have to remember to memorize something myself, that stock looks painful and, ugh, well used.
Following Bendalis and Flandrion, Abbo just nods with the head, confused. Finally, he bounces his eyes on Hailey and Garekk.
- Nice to meet you. I'm Abbo Lyrio, paladin of Sarenrae.
He greets everybody gracefully, and then almost immediately starts detecting evil - not only on the party members around him, but also the prisoners.
Following Bendalis and Flandrion, Abbo just nods with the head, confused. Finally, he bounces his eyes on Hailey and Garekk.
- Nice to meet you. I'm Abbo Lyrio, paladin of Sarenrae.
He greets everybody gracefully, and then almost immediately starts detecting evil - not only on the party members around him, but also the prisoners.
The man in the stocks is evil.
While none of them have approached you yet, a crowd of locals is beginning to gather at the edges of the square.
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"What I mean by hexing is that the energy I channel heals those poor little undead and is harmful to those who cross me, but I have been trained in how to allow it to bypass those I favor," "And I also use hex in its classic term, which is to do harmful magic to someone. For me, this is done most frequently by spontaneously hexing them as an attack on their life force, as where most clerics would spontaneously heal people.
"I can also hex someone's strength by weakening it with one of my new favorite spells.
"As for this man, who gave me the most delightful spellbook and some very interesting discussion, he cannot be more than one and a half to twice as powerful as any one of us, otherwise he'd know the third echelon of power instead of stopping at the second."
She looks at the paladin and shudders, clutching Alice close to her as if to protect her.
A paladin, of a false god no less. Not that Nethys could ever have a paladin, and he certainly wouldn't want one if he could, Hailey thinks. You stay out of my spellcasting and I'll stay out of your swordplay, Mister Lyrio.
"Then maybe we should take this joker back to his place, Garekk? Bring the fight to Mister Devil instead of him smiting the town? You see, madame, we caught this man having murdered a woman and a child and using their blood as part of a necro-biological project that's fascinating and I . . . probably shouldn't be discussing it here in public but let's just say to me, it's fascinating. To the rest of you, it would be seen as perversion."
Hailey then turns to the magician they have captured and speaks to him in flawless infernal.
"Now would be a good time to start talking, sir," Hailey advised. "First of all, how did he know we were here? Can he see through your eyes, or perhaps the birds?"
"What I mean by hexing is that the energy I channel heals those poor little undead and is harmful to those who cross me, but I have been trained in how to allow it to bypass those I favor," "And I also use hex in its classic term, which is to do harmful magic to someone. For me, this is done most frequently by spontaneously hexing them as an attack on their life force, as where most clerics would spontaneously heal people.
"I can also hex someone's strength by weakening it with one of my new favorite spells.
"As for this man, who gave me the most delightful spellbook and some very interesting discussion, he cannot be more than one and a half to twice as powerful as any one of us, otherwise he'd know the third echelon of power instead of stopping at the second."She looks at the paladin and shudders, clutching Alice close to her as if to protect her.
A paladin, of a false god no less. Not that Nethys could ever have a paladin, and he certainly wouldn't want one if he could, Hailey thinks. You stay out of my spellcasting and I'll stay out of your swordplay, Mister Lyrio.
"Then maybe we should take this joker back to his place, Garekk? Bring the fight to Mister Devil instead of him smiting the town? You see, madame, we caught this man having murdered a woman and a child and using their blood as part of a necro-biological project that's fascinating and I . . . probably shouldn't be discussing it here in public but let's just say to me, it's fascinating. To the rest of you, it would be seen as perversion."
Hailey then turns to the magician they have captured and speaks to him in flawless infernal.
"Now would be a good time to start talking, sir," Hailey advised. "First of all, how did he know we were here? Can he see through your eyes, or perhaps the birds?"
"Pikirkan pengetahuan Anda bisa belajar dengan kami satu buta. Sebaliknya Anda memilih untuk tetap di antara buta itu."