"Ah ha, tis a Monkey Belt. It increases the wearer's agility, even whilst climbing, and I think allows for a monkey tail to aid ye for a few moments between sunsets," Luk-Luk shrugs as she picks up the belt to examine it, "I doubt you grow a tail, tis probably the belt. Any takers or do ye think the Pathfinders would want it?"
"Ah ha, tis a Monkey Belt. It increases the wearer's agility, even whilst climbing, and I think allows for a monkey tail to aid ye for a few moments between sunsets," Luk-Luk shrugs as she picks up the belt to examine it, "I doubt you grow a tail, tis probably the belt. Any takers or do ye think the Pathfinders would want it?"
"I would love it ... but I honestly think it should go to Vard. I hope the Pathfinders will be happy with the journal. Perhaps I can help with a few sketches for the society." Fain went about making sketches of the statues, building with overgrowth, and the bodies of the little men.
"I doubt you grow a tail, tis probably the belt. Any takers or do ye think the Pathfinders would want it?"
"Gods don't just hand out gifts without compensation. Do you think it'd be wise to accept this one, when we do not know what the deity expects from us in return?" Thrym grunted, his tone making certain what he believed should be the answer. The shaman lowered his hands from where he had been touching the statue and inspected his handiwork. The invocation had smoothed out some scars from the statue's surface, but it would take long hours of matching pieces from the piles to the effect complete repairs, and Thrym had neither the time nor the patience for such a task.
"First the monkeys help us by leveling the playing field against those two creatures, and now such a powerful relic is just waiting for us to claim? Hardly coincidences, either of those things."
Vard nodded. "Yeah, I reckon we're not out of the woods yet. Or jungle,. The fiends we fought off were proper Evil, but I did feel like someone put 'em there, rather than them popping in on their own. So I reckon there's someone else about, and they ain't likely to be good if they're summoning up devils and the like. S'good to take help when offered."
"Though I reckon someone else should use it. If we do face something bigger, I'm fighting with force more than precision so sounds like it'd help with bows or crossbows more - 'specially if there's a halfling jumping about between you and the enemy." He grinned sheepishly. "A tail would be handy with climbing, but I'll be ok with hands and feet for now."
Fain undid his belt and wrapped the new belt around his waist. I don't see what all the fuss is about with the demands of Gods and whatnot ... they can't begrudge me a simple belt now can they ... can they??? "I suppose if'n this Ragdya wanted somthin from me I couldn't really refuse - belt or no. It fits nice.
"If ye feel indebted for using the belt Fain," she waves a hand towards the defiled statue, "We could take some time to clean up Ragdya's visage. Prestidigitation is slow for large messes but quite possible." It wasn't exactly a time saver for disciplinary clean up back at Almas University, but it had saved Luk-Luk a few calluses.
"If ye feel indebted for using the belt Fain," she waves a hand towards the defiled statue, "We could take some time to clean up Ragdya's visage. Prestidigitation is slow for large messes but quite possible." It wasn't exactly a time saver for disciplinary clean up back at Almas University, but it had saved Luk-Luk a few calluses.
Fain dumped out the find of small melons and berries he retrieved and went back out with his pot to collect water. He returned and started cleaning the main reliquary statue. I thought this trip would be a change of pace but here I am tending to someone else's property. Well, it may be manure bu' it's not gard'ning by half."
Alenka closes the journal and begins to pack up the tomes. "The books are a great find for the Society but I must admit that I was expecting there to be more. I'm thinking that the temple must have been thoroughly looted already. Although I still find it odd that those creatures were here. What was their interest in the temple?"
Vard helped clean out the old temple, while he waited for another enemy to appear. He couldn't help but be a little disappointed when they finished without incident. Defeating the fiends had felt right, somehow.
"Well, it's looking much nicer now. Huh. Perhaps our chums did make their own way here. Or maybe whoever brought them here has already left, or ran into the Baron's tiger?"
With time and magic, much of the rubble was cleared out and the area was dusted off. The statues still remained broken in several places, but the temple as a whole was far more respectable than it had been before. The cleanup was mostly uneventful except for one small event. When returning to the entry of the temple to grab some cleaning supplies, a flash of fur was seen running out the side of the building. The creature disappeared fast into the jungle, but appeared to have left behind two tiny bows.
When you arrived at the temple all the monkeys in the mural had been serenely meditating. But the image has changed slightly. Two of the monkeys are now depicted as kneeling and holding bows as if presenting them.
Otherwise, the night in the temple passes with little event.
"Well ain't that an odd bit a whatnot. Weren't all these statues prayin? These two have changed."
Fain went over to one of the statues and took a look. He felt awkward, like he was supposed to do something, so he bowed back at one of the statues, then felt awkward for doing so. "Better take these with us."
"They were left as if offerings, and here instead of the foot of the statue, so it'd seem they were intended for us," Thrym agreed, curious at the gesture. Gratitude for clearing the shrine of the two creatures who had made it their home? Perhaps.
Alenka stands after safely storing the books. "I think that we have rescued everything possible that we can from the temple. If those are indeed thank you gifts, and judging from the size I would say they most likely are, then gather them up and let's get going. There's still enough daylight that we should be able to get back to the others before dark."
Fain woke from an excellent sleep and, having remembered no dreams, was quick to get ready for the day. He wanted to get back to the lodge and do some re-writing in his journal. Perhaps his animal observations and sketches could be bound into an attractive binding. Maybe it could amount to something. Something more than a work of personal importance.
He tied together his sac-a-dos and managed a weak coffee. There would be no other breakfast beyond leftover berries. His pot was quite ruined from yesterday. But he was content. He loved sleeping out of doors in the woods outside of Ilsurian and it was very much the same here. All of his friends were well and the trip was, by all accounts, successful. He drank and watched the others cherishing their individual quirks.
When it was time, he gathered his things (intentionally forgetting his Skald dictionary - he was giving up on the language that he seemed not to have the talent for) and merrily watched the path back to the lodge.
He was eager to see the elephant again and hoped, if it wasn't an imposition, he might get a chance to work with the old but wondrous creature. It was quite funny, but, he made very little noise otherwise. Every step he took neared them to the boat and the boat put him closer to being just a gardener again.
"All yours boys," Luk-Luk had no interest in bows. The breakfast was interrupted by the simple fact that Luk-Luk had tried playing with and feeding the monkeys again. Because of course she would.
She kept on talking about how cute the monkeys were as they left all the way to Ilsurian. Luk-Luk even tried the get Thrym involved by asking him about in in broken sometimes correctly accurate Skald. Other times the elf 's attempts were inaccurate, usually being self insulting too. At least the elf was trying.
As they were approaching the boat Luk-Luk suddenly let out a curse in Goblin as she struck her forehead, "I should have set off celebratory fireworks to mark the end of our first adventure!"
She looked around the area before pointing at the beach, "Friends! Do ye think I could set them off down there?!"
Vard hummed happily as they made their way from the temple, bowing in farewell to the monkeys as they left. He kept up his cheer as they met back up with the two nobles and marched back through the jungle to the ship.
A successful trip, all-in-all. Helped a man bond with his father-in-law and banished two fiends from desecrating a temple. He was definitely on a new path, and was excited to see where it would lead. Devils and demons in general were something he'd have to learn more about, he suspected. He'd heard various tales about them around bonfires over the years, but if he was actually going to be fighting them himself, he'd have to learn fact from fiction.
As they reached the beach, Luk Luk wanted to set off fireworks.
"Should be fine, I reckon. Sea can't catch on fire, and jungle's too humid to burn. Just aim 'em away from the boat."
Thrym found it increasingly hard to hide his amusement at Luk Luk's struggles to master his clan's language behind a serious frown. The elven mystic was doing better than she expected, yet her frequent slips in grammar or word selection led to a kind of literary chaos that threatened to make the Ulfen grin despite himself. Some of the ancestral spirits were much more open with their appreciation of the unintended humor, knowing their merriment would remain unnoticed by everyone except their living kin.
At the mention of "fireworks" Thrym's frown became all to genuine. What were those things, and how did you set them off? Vard seemed to recognize the word, and greeted the prospect with some enthusiasm. And his helpful comment about setting things ablaze at least pointed Thrym's thoughts in the right direction. Surely these were the kind of pyrotechnics he had heard about, launched at the height of high festivities to set the sky ablaze in light and color.
"I wouldn't mind seeing a firework," he mused aloud, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Yet Vard, I can nary set water ablaze yet." Luk-Luk had certain ambitions for explosive celebration. With a triumphant fist raised in the air she made for the beach, "I regret I've naught enough to light up the night friend Thrym. But I shall do by best."
And then set of several star candles and fire crackers to celebrate their grand victory upon the sands of the beach.
Back at the lodge Count Mastunda and Baron Rudyham were waiting. Both seemed glad to see everyone return in one piece. Upon returning to the docks, neither had any objections to fireworks. The Baron agreed with Vard that it should be fine, so long as the boat was in no danger. Falroun seemed rather intrigued by the prospect.
Falroun explained to the party, "So, this boat is setting sail for Absalom. You should be able to report to Society headquarters there. Then you should be able to get a ship back home...or just about anywhere that you wanted to go."