Most of the wound on Conner's cheek heals while part of Evelyn's temporary health disappears.
"ខ្ញុំអាចយកការខូចខាតទៅនឹងរដ្ឋធម្មនុញ្ញរបស់គាត់ជាមួយនឹងក្រាំងខ្ញុំបានយក, ប៉ុន្តែខ្ញុំត្រូវប៉ះគាត់និងមិនធ្វើឱ្យខូចទំនាក់ទំនងសម្រាប់ដប់ប្រាំបីវិនាទី!"
Eostre nods.
"You heard the lady!" she barks at Ekan.
"Get'im over to her! She's got a scroll that can mend the venom's damage!"
Ekan drags Conner back over to Evelyn for healing.
Eostre's spell causes the earthen walls to shake, spilling stones and dirt down upon the tentamort's head!
And if that wasn't enough, Nicat's grease spell coats the walls it's clinging to!
Well, was clinging to. The tentacled creature scrabbles for something solid to cling to, but plummets to the floor in an undignified manner.
"Ha HA! Perfect spell coordination! Great work, Nicat!" Eostre crows.
Conner grits his teeth at having to be pulled out of a fight.
The last of the tentamort's venom burns through Conner's stomach. His insides feel like they're on fire.
The tentamort struggles to its feet and starts limping through the grease and the rocks.
Nicat grins in excitement as the dual spells ruin the tentamort's day and Eostre exults about it all - though his smile fades a bit as he realizes he's now in the front line against the tentacle monster!
He decides to take a risk, dropping his sling and drawing his blade. He slashes at the tentamort, then steps into the hallway to the north, calling out, "Ekan, come help me fight this thing!"
Ekan returns to the fight, charges forward to attack the Tentamort
Both Nicat & Ekan inflict serious injuries on the tentamort--the halfling's sword rakes across its eye and Ekan's fist crushes sinew and cartilage with a meaty *THUD*.
Evelyn pulls out the required scroll and moves up to Conner.
Evelyn places one hand on Conner's shoulder while she starts the incantation of the spell on the scroll, which just so happens to have been written in Aklo.
"Stand back, boys!" Eostre hollers as she fishes another ball of tallow, brimstone and powdered iron from her pack. She mutters her spell and it starts smoking and sparking.
Conner just keeps the shield up between himself and Evelyn, and the tentamort
The tentamort gets singed by Eostre's summoned sphere of flame, but it's not enough to deter it from lashing out at Ekan with everything it has!
The stinger narrowly misses Ekan's stomach, and its tentacles flail wildly without even so much as scratching him.
Knowing what this horrid tentacle monster managed to do to Conner, Nicat does all he can to help Ekan fight the thing. With a bit of a mad fling around the corner, he swings his blade at the tentamort, trusting in Desna's blessing to help him hit hard!
Nicat's sword goes right through the tentamort--straight through a serious bruise the beast sustained in its fall without realizing. The creature collapses and goes inert, a pool of black blood mixing with the grease & gravel on the floor.
Nicat's sword goes right through the tentamort--straight through a serious bruise the beast sustained in its fall without realizing. The creature collapses and goes inert, a pool of black blood mixing with the grease & gravel on the floor.
Nicat raises his gore-covered blade in triumph, cheering his victory! "I did it again!" he exults. "Can't wait to tell Shay about this one! First a massive mutant goblin, now this tentamonkey! 'Using my powerful magics, I brought my foe crashing to the floor,' I'll say when I tell the tale at the tavern! 'With our armored warrior downed, I strode into the hall, blade flashing, and cut, and cut again, my wit inspiring my companions all the while!"
He pauses, a very slightly thoughtful look coming into his eye, as he quietly repeats something he's said, "...armored warrior downed...How's Conner?"
Eostre does a golf clap as the sphere douses and begins to dissolve.
"Excellent teamwork, everybody."
She looks at Evelyn and Conner and nods.
"Conner should be fine for now. We've cleared Thistletop of everything except Malfeshnekor himself, and Evelyn should have the spells needed to repair any lingering harm in the morning. For now, Conner, you should get some rest. It just hasn't been your day."
"Physically I'm fine, emotionally I will be conflicted for months about why we needed to fight this thing."
"Contemplation is good for the soul," Ekan assures Conner witha straight face.
Evelyn stops reading the scroll's incantation before the magic can really get started, and puts the scroll away.
"I'm not sure how many times I'll have to cast my spell to fully heal Conner. It may be wise to spend more than a single night recovering, if I have to use a large number of spells."
She smiles kindly at Nicat. "Well done, Nicat! I bet Shay will indeed be very proud of you!"
"And your father-in-law as well," Evelyn can't help but remind him, still smiling like an angel. "Have you already decided when the wedding will be, by the way?"
In the morning, once everyone's awake, Evelyn moves over to Conner and starts healing him up.
"Hmm... We don't know if this Malfeshnekor maybe uses a weapon or ability that will inflict more damage to your constitution. The tiny bit of damage you have left now won't get you into trouble if he doesn't, but it may if he does."
"I can either fully heal you by casting one more spell, or we could wait another day and you'll heal on your own. The first option would left me feeling a bit uncomfortable about the amount of spells I have left if we'd face Malfeshnekor today, and the second option... well, what I said before."
Evelyn looks at the others and back at Conner. "Shall we wait one more day before we face him, to make a hundred percent sure we're at full strength when facing him?"
Eostre blinks at Evelyn's words to Nicat.
"When'd Nicat get engaged?"
--1 masterwork short bow, sized for a small creature
--1 ruined horsechopper
--1 suit of dog hide armour, sized for a small creature.
Shalelu approaches the party as they settle in to rest for the evening. "Folks, as much as I can respect your efforts to fully clear out this place, I'm thinking it's time for Orik and I to move on."
"We can use the horse you found to take some of your loot back to town, if you're interested."
"That's kind of you, Shaleulu, and thank you for your help." He says to the elf.
He's still not sure how to answer the Oracle.
Nicat grins broadly at Evelyn's praise, though his smile fades as he realizes what she's said. "F-f-father-in-law?" he says, having developed a profound stutter all of a sudden. "I, er, we, um, she - we're not going to get, um, I don't think he..." His failed attempts at speech are mercifully interrupted by Eostre, and he manages to shake his head 'no' rather vigorously in reply to her question, before turning to give the loot from the tentamort's chamber a very diligent examination.
"This armor - which is made from dog hides, gross - is magic!" he says enthusiastically, very glad to have changed the subject.
"That's sounds like a good idea, Shalelu," he says in reply to the ranger's offer. "We'll head back to Sandpoint soon, once we've sorted that bagnest out."
["I...don't think bagnest is the right word."[/b]
Eostre rolls her eyes at Conner's statement.
"It's never the right word with him, I've given up on corrections at this point. I just pray to Nethys he doesn't attempt higher education. I've met professors visiting the Cypher Lodge from other cities who'd eat him alive for desecrating the Taldan tongue the way he does."
"Nicat is, Nicat," Ekan says, "No point in trying to change him, only he can do that." A pause, "Or perhaps marriage. Marriage might change him." A slight smile at the Father in Law comments, "Shay should be treated as an honest woman after all."
Eostre rubs her chin.
"Now that we've basically cleared this place short of an enemy safely locked behind a door, anyone object to me going off on my own? I want to take a closer look at some of these carvings and make some preliminary notes and sketches of them before we begin an in-depth archaeological survey."
"I do not think we should split apart, you should have at least one other with you," Ekan says firmly.
Nicat messes around with the dog-hide armor a bit, paying no mind to the discussion of him, though he seems to shudder briefly when Ekan mentions marriage [i]again[/]. He does weigh in on the question of Eostre exploring on her own, agreeing with his monk buddy, "Ekan's right, this place could still have surprises. Might as well take someone with you while you're doing your doodles."
"If you do that, don't go anywhere we haven't already checked, we don't know where the bargrest is yet."
"BarGHEST, with a silent h, Conner. If you insist on coming with me, then feel free, but do try to keep up."
Shalelu starts gathering up the treasure the party collected and putting it into what appear to be improvised saddlebags on the horse next to the bridge. The horse seems much calmer now, and better fed.
However, there's still one matter remaining...
"Eostre, how do you plan to get this... giant helmet of yours across the bridge?" Orik asks. "I don't think I can carry that by myself, and the horse sure as the Hells can't..."
"Levitation magic," Eostre replies matter-of-factly.
"Well, uh..." Orik scratches his head. "...you got any left?"
"BarGHEST, with a silent h, Conner. If you insist on coming with me, then feel free, but do try to keep up."
"Wait a second, you can't complain about silent letters, you can't hear them when people talk, they only exist when you're reading!"
"Well, uh..." Orik scratches his head. "...you got any left?"
"Not today, but we can get it out of here tomorrow. Conner has to rest and recover, as his body's been supernaturally drained by a tentamort and several undead shadow monsters."
Shalelu winces. "Ouch. Rough."
Conner shrugs. "It's not so bad once you get used to it."
"Not so bad?! Those shadows nearly killed you!" Eostre says, her voice somewhere between annoyance and genuine concern.
The rest of the day passes without incident...
---------------
Toilday, 3rd of Lamashan, 4710 AR
Shalelu & Orik have left the area, taking the horse and the loot you asked them to carry with them. The giant helmet remains.
Eostre gathers the others in the morning after they wake up.
"Alright. Malfeshnekor. Odds are he's behind that magic door. What do we have in terms of potential keys to said door?"
Searches himself to see if he has a key
"Oh," He pulls out the sihedron key , "Perhaps this?" he hands it to the dwarf.
"Good thinking, Ekan!" Nicat says excitedly
"Before we rush off, Eostre, tell us everything you know about bagroosts."