Kyomi looks up into the night sky.
"Interesting that our paths should cross with a crippled Avoral, A sign I think our mystic minded will say. I think we need to think on what woul course an Avoral to lose it wings or have its wings taken away, sin, loss, realign, need so meany ways."
She smiles at the group, you note she dos not eat any of the meat.
"Yes he was alone, yet seemed to have a pack so full pack it seem more then just his needs."
Then thinking of something
"Did he say any thing about what the drink was for?"
"It was some daily regimen he needed to take for strength, and i believe he might have specified strength in battle."
"really, thank you Canim"
As Seinal examines the potions he realizes they are Hunter's Draught a valuable and versatile draught. It seems the hunter who had them held off on drinking them a bit to long.
As Sixth heads into the woods he begins to drag back the bodies with Seventh.
In Canims inspection he discovers the sample has some very interesting properties.
As the dawn returns and the owlbear remains are strapped to the wagons, it becomes clear that Grimward has gone missing. Some short investigation shows tracks almost a day old heading to the southwest. It appears Grimward was complelled by his visions to give chase even through the night. In perhaps a days travel you should reach the coast on a thin strip of road between the sea and a small forest. The dark overcast of cloud and occasional chill wind makes the days travel ominous and eerie at best.
Seinal is in a sour mood this morning. The disappearance of Grimwald bothered him. Damned fool. Thought we were fighting Fate not just haring after her.
He pulls his cloak tight against the wind as he walks and his eyes are downcast.
"Hmm," says Canim, inspecting a small sample of the foul tea the erstwhile avoral had, "I can tell by the smell of this blood that some sort of corruption is in it, foul beyond just decay... Some sort of abyssal or diabolic blood in here, plus some protean element mixed in as a catalyst. If this were prepared a little more properly, one could induce monstrous mutations with this. The protean catalyst would bind the devil and demon blood to one's own, effecting a bodily change toward the demonic or devilish."
After a short pause, he continues, "Coupled with Kyomi's report, I would posit that this "crippled" avoral is trying to get his wings back by using this stuff. Several known species of demons and devils have the ability to heal wounds, and many also have wings..." He trails off, leaving the floor open to discussion.
I thought Avorals were like angels. Seems a little odd one would turn to demon healing to restore a physical ability. Maybe we were sent to stop him from losing his soul! We can track him down, and convince him that he is a good creature and that not having wings is not the end of the world. Then we will save his life... WE WILL BE HEROES!
With new found enthusiasm, Finnigin quickly prepares his back and starts out on the road after the Avoral.
Sixth returns at night with Seventh and the two other Owlbear bodies. Weirdly, the runes that were present in both his and the Eidolon's hands disappeared, and got somehow transported to their foreheads, emanating a soft, weird 'dark' light.
He says nothing about it, tough, working on the Owlbear body, and as soon as the subject moves to the avoral he joins it.
"It seems we're getting the greater picture here, folks. You see, the visions depicted the golden eagle being attacked by devils or demons. The golden eagle we are pretty sure is Andoran and its Avorals. The demons I cannot think of anyone other than the Avoral you met. For having no wings, would probably means he have been banished by the others for doing something wrong. I've read that angels could lose their wings if they did malevolent things. Maybe the Avorals have the same tradition. In any case, the one you saw could be planning to get revenge on the others, transforming into something diabolic, and would be good if we could stop it.
Oh, and one more thing, for the description I would assume the cloak was giving him the ability to fly, not the tea.
"Besides, we would probably need to fly if we meant to help the Avorals, can any of you fo that?
Cilian begins to laugh as Canim explains what he thinks about the Avorals.
"That's the funniest thing I can imagine. The 'great' and 'pure' avorals are trying to get their wings back by drinking the blood of demons! HAHA, and they say that humans are the ones who are weak, and can't hold true to faith."
Cilian laughs for a bit then finally stops. Wiping a tear from his eye he continues.
"Oh too funny.... Anyways let's go find this thing and kill it for being a monster."
"I can't fly, that's for sure. I can start looking into a flight spell but I imagine it'll be awhile."
"I haven't mastered that magic myself, either."
Seinal glances up at the new runes on Sixth and Seventh's foreheads and starts to say something, but then stops himself. He'll talk about it if and when he's ready.
Byron pops his head out of his wagon.
"You finally said something interesting."
He hops down wearing what almost looks like part of a climbing harness around his chest with extra supports running over to his right hand. A thick glove covers his hand and a thin slab of metal lays in his palm.
"I can't fly but I can reach that Avoral of yours. If he has any metal on him I can ether bring him to me or insure I get to him... I just need a bit more time to sure up some calculations"
This will make a good test.
Kyomi stands thinking for a long time, then says simple
"This could all be about revenge"
"Yes, but revenge for what? And seriously, one demon-blooded avoral against a pack of them? Not likely to happen..."
"If that man was the demon I saw in that vision, he's more than powerful enough to take out the rest of them. At least once he's unleashed the full powers of hell."
"This is getting troublesome. We would have some trouble fighting one avoral. Fighting a whole pack of them would be too much. And fighting what could beat them? Whoa that's dangerous, I like it! But we cannot even fly!" He looks to the gnome. "No offense Byron, it is just that flying creatures usually do not wear heavy metal parts."
"He may be a servant of a more powerful demon that could fight the pack of avorals."
"Or he could react in an undefinable way with the mutagens, or he might poison the other avorals with his brew."
"Both are in the realm of possibility, yes."
"We could have just missed our chance to end this with one strike, o well if it was essay it would not be fun"
She then get ready to move on again.
He was a good guy, I have a hard time believing he would want to kill us. And why are we talking about killing Avorals? That would make us... anti-heroes. That's not right.
Finnigin continues to try and hurry people along.
Edited
Kyomi walks up to Finnigin and gently takes his chin in her hands, she looks into hi face.
"Some times Finnigin, what the Bard Story's say about Heroes is not all true, to you we would have killed a nice Avoral, but ounce we have done paying off bards to tell our tale, he will be a 12 foot tall evil possessed haft Demon half devil monster, and our dagger in his back will become a epic fight that nearly cost us our lives lasting days. A Hero Finnigin is only as good as the tales you hear about them."
She takes her gentle hand away and walks over off to collect her sister.
Finnigin gets a sad look on his face as though he were a child, and santa clause was revealed to be fake.
But I want the stories they tell about me to be true.
He gets teary eyed, but turns away quickly to wipe them off before he thinks anyone can see.
Byron almost laughed at the absurdity of what he was seeing. It was like the court jesters show at the wizard's council all over again, except these people were serious. He offered to cut them in on a valuable research partnership, they ignored him. He offered a solution to their quandary, they dismissed him.
He could think of a thousand reasons why his plan would work but it didn't matter to any of them.
Oh well. He thought to himself and made up his mind to walk away but something grabbed him from his gut. The old anger was coming back, his knees locked up, his heart pumped thickly and the words poured from his mouth.
"Your all pathetic. You play at greatness but shy away from it. Your like the court wizards who care only for their own egos. If this were a boat, a competent captain would through you all overboard."
The last line felt like it came right from Byron's dad. It took Byron back and made him wonder.
Am I becoming my father?
"To hell with you all!"
Kyomi stops when she hears what affect her words have had on the Finnigin
she looks back at him.
"The secret to being a true Hero Finnigin is to know all that and yet still try and do good thing.
She smiles at him sadly then turns back and carry's on walking away to find her sister,
Finnigin smiles at Kyomi, and he knows that she is right. He begins remembering the stories that were told to him as a boy, but that is quickly ruined by an outburst of which he has no idea where it came from.
Finnigin looks at Byron with a confused look. He shrugs thinking that Byron couldn't be talking about him. Wonder why he said that, are the others privy to something I am not?
Not wanting to feel left out, Finnigin quickly blurts out something to check the situation.
Yeah, you all should be ashamed of yourselves. Letting your... ego fuel you like.. courteous wizards. If I were your captain, I woulda fed you to the fishes long ago!
Still confused, Finnigin turns dramatically away from the others scratching his head.
Cilian looks at Byron.
"Hope none of that was directed at me. I did find you a golem manual, and gave it to you for free. Besides, I don't want to be great. If you're great then you're hunted. If you're perfect they never knew you were there in the first place."
Cilian chuckles at the last phrase Byron uses.
"Heh, knew I was going there since I was born, so no big surprise there."
Cilian then walks up to Norbert, and Balik.
"What do you two think about these Avorals?"
Cilian's words broke Byron's anger for a slight moment.
"Oh no, I did not mean you... or Norbert for that matter. You both have been invaluable in your help. Your contributions will be repaid in full, and then some. But I find it hard to respect some of our other companions."
At the little guy's outburst, Canim replies, " dont look at me, I'm not the one sobbing over here. And while I may not have contributed directly, I'd like to think my knowledge has helped the group. So let's stop the bickering and get something done! I'm hungry!"
"Yes, I suppose you have weighed down the wagon enough to give it extra traction, thanks for your contribution."
Sixth and his partner only watch the discussion as if they were not a part of it at all. The human is most of the time smiling, specially when Byron sends everyone to hell, but eventually he gets tired and comes in full of sarcasm, still smiling:
"Congratulations for being so great Byron! It is good you see you have such memorable projects accomplished! Your family would be proud of you! Anyway, you better be careful next time a Owlbear comes close to your valuable research. I'm pretty sure such pathetic beings like us would not be necessary to guarantee the safety and peace of your study. You see, the problem about the ones who look down on everyone is that, when need arises, no one looks up to see what's going on. They look at their equals to find a way out of the situation. If you're on a higher level, they will be sure you can handle it on your own. So, I do hope you're self-sufficient when that moment comes..." - he looks at the dramatic halfling - "And by the way, Finnigin is probably the only one here who would have saved your life if you just it. Of course, Cilian would do the same just for the fun of killing someone else, Norbert would because he needs you, Kyomi would because she can use you, and many others would have their own reasons. But for a reason aside their own ego, Finnigin would be the only one to do it. That's right, the one who you just can't respect."
He raises an eyebrow, watching hopeful to see the Gnome's anger again.
Byron cracks a smile and bursts out laughing.
"From you?" He nearly rolls on the floor cradling his sides.
"As always the Syth and never the scalpel. Broad strokes that lack any real detail." He stares at Sixth with almost pity. "The value anyone has is what they can provide for others. Finigan would be doing it for his ego as well, because it makes him feel more like a hero. No less valid or invalid then doing it for money or lust."
"Oh and good job Sixth, you kill things." Byron claps sarcastically. "You want a biscuit? A pat on the back? or do you feel that anyone who mercilessly slaughters something that happens to perhaps threaten someone else deserves a free pass on all of their personality defects?
"Well, then I'll no value to you at all. Why should I care about 'personality defects'? No one is talking about salvation here, just arguing about being pathetic or not. But sure, a biscuit would be nice, Seventh loves biscuits."
The Eidolon shows his teeth in a grim smile.
A little doll near Byron claps it's hands,
"again again! this is fun but next time fight for real lots of blood and belly bit! hack off arms and legs! let's see some real commitment to hate, not just blowing..."
She stops as looking hard at her
Kyomi stop in front of her sister
"Have you finished goading the boys, leave them alone and let them get on with working out their relationships with out interference from you sister, now come away! this by the looks of it is a defining moment for Byron here , he's expressing himself honestly for the first time in ages by the sounds of it, letting that horrid vail he keeps on drop for once. It's nice to see he's true pensioner out and about, why he hides his inner-self I can only guess, it probably because if he went around and said what he truly felt no one would like him, he would get no help doing the things he wish's to do, he would be helpless and alone facing the world. Taking that into account you can see why he has such an obsession with making constructs. Maybe deep down he seeks to make beings that will have no option but to tolerate him as he truly is, once he's made such artificial others what need dos he have for acceptance or help from the likes of us who treat the real Byron with such distain and dislike. He will be respected and liked by his creations, and at last feel confutable and free to be himself. You could see how such a life objective would become obsessive in nature, working to that day when one can be free."
She picks up her sister and puts her away.
"Not that I know anything about the ways of men, I could be wrong in all I said"
With out another word she walks off into the night to keep look out.
Canim laughs at the outburst, "You all sound like a lot of bickering women, and only two of the group have an excuse. Yes, Byron, what one creates is very important. But where would you be without the adoration of those who cannot create?"
Finnigin looks more and more confused as the conversation wears on. But he is regretting his decision to back Byron. Unsure of how he feels, he hides away from the conflict to think about what the others have said and make a decision on how he will proceed with Byron.
Byron takes what Kyomi has to say and thinks hard about it.
"Yes.."
Yes this is the perfect new guise. A much better mask then my previous one. Now I can show a bit of my real self without much suspicion. I was planning to give the golem away once I was done building it but now I may have to keep it around for appearances.
"...I had better get back to my research, almost done now."
As the travel on the road goes with anger and arguments often, the weather turns foul. As the group nears the sea a storm makes travel all but impossible. The group is forced to pull their wagons to the cover of the trees. A small strip of forest barely a hundred feet from the cliffside as the sea rages in the wind. The group is able to pull the wagons up to the edge of the forest which protects them from the worst of the elements as the set up camp. After an hour of miserable camping a flight of Avorals, nine in all land in the small clearing to the side.
Map thanks to Sixth
Whoa, coincidence or not? Don't move Seventh.
Sixth takes some seconds examining them before speaking to them.
"Welcome, noble creatures. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Cilian backs up a bit, and goes behind Sixth.
"Well that's one way to make an entrance I suppose."
Well this isn't going to end well
In fox gos under the wagon and round the back to spy's on them wile flanking.
Byron make his way out to see what is going on.
You can see the Avoral you met yesterday in the center of the group his pack looks much smaller now. The tallest Avoral steps up. "Hello there this storm is quite rough, we had to set down here or we'd have been smashed by the wind. I hope we're not any trouble." The Avoral you met yesterday looks nervous and alarmed when he recognizes you.
"Not a problem at all, I believe. There's enough room for all of us, but I'd be glad to enjoy this lucky moment hearing some of your histories, if you can tell us, and since you're such a lucky sight to Andoran. We've heard about your appearance in the eastern coast, and it is a great coincidence to meet you here."
Since he cannot recognize the one they saw yesterday he keeps up a polite chat, giving the opportunity for the rest to look, scan and wonder what they need to, but only Seventh averts his gaze from the Avorals, looking at his own group.
Finnigin notices the Avoral he met yesterday is behaving strangely, the incident with Byron has made him more aware of things around him. He studies the new group and tries to discern their intent.
Hey there, well met! Nice to see a familiar face. The storm does seem pretty rough, you all are brave to fly around in it. I have seen many birds gets fried in weather like this. Do you all need shelter? It would be highly recommended till the weather passes.
Fearing that the Avorals are not what they seem, Finnigin prepares for a fight by readying a spell.
Byron smiles. and casually walks back to his wagon, when he gets out of ear-shot he pulls some ambient magic together to cast a spell.
He wispers and the magic carries his message to the Avoral he met the other day.
"Ah yes, fancy seeing you again." Canim says to the group, but primarily to the avoral from yesterday.
|
"I'm less concerned about whether these Avorals are 'good guys' or 'bad guys' - but the potion definitely shows this one at least is 'wrong'. Outcome as may occur, the Avoral should be restored or put down, its current corrupt state is an insult to its kind and to natural order."
----
"We have a fire, if you would like some tea. If the storm delays you, perhaps we can dally and exchange some tales of the road."
After a brief moment for reaction, Balik goes to the wagon to retrieve teapot and some form of tea for brewing.