"Well d...! Ow." The lanky elf, unreasonably tall as he was, walked headfirst into a low-hanging outcropping from the ceiling in following the others into the larger cavern, best as he thought it safe to stand upright again. Well, as upright as was normal with his abysmal posture. He recovered quickly, however, seemingly just ignoring this bit of misfortune. "Well done, you two. The stage lost two great actors when you forewent it in favor of... whatever it is we do. General heroics."
And on the topic of heroics, Hal lifted up his glowing dagger, casting its light as far as it could reach. Were those poor dwarves anywhere to be seen here?
Once the goblins are tied up and gagged, it almost seems like a bit of a weight is lifted from him. As Hal starts looking around he quickly moves up to him "Wait. Let me check ahead."
As soon as the others are ready he slinks back into the darkness scouting the way for the group.
Kiley waits until Stryn is a few dozen paces ahead then follows after him to give him some backup.
Renae followed the others as they all once more delved into the dark of the caravan, her eyes determined to not to be blind-sided by an ambush.
You enter the larger central chamber. The room appears to be a combination of worked stone and mounds of rubble. It is clear that this chamber is part of a larger, pre-existing complex that wasn't made by goblins, although they have cleared the rubble from the room. Standing in the room, out in the open, is a goblin with what appear to be two canine fangs jutting through his lower lip like tusks. The goblin wields a flaming dogslicer, and shouts at you in Goblin,
"You enter domain of Bramblemouth Tribe! I, Chief Cheektooth, will not allow you longshanks to exterminate us, or take our prisoners! Their knowledge of stone will bring the Bramblemouth tribe great power!"
Henric comes to a stop at the sight of the strange (and probably dangerous) goblin. He holds his staff in front of himself, defensively, while asking, "What is he saying, Stryn? Any chance he's willing to talk?"
[ooc]For the time being, Henric will just using the Total Defense Action.[ooc]
"Probably not. He said he's not willing to give up the prisoners, and I doubt dwarves are willing to teach goblins stonecraft," Kiley answers before shrugging and giving diplomacy a try.
"We're only here for the dwarves you kidnapped, if you do not wish to release them, then I'm very much afraid that we'll be killing however many of you it takes to find one that is willing to do so."
The goblin chieftain looks visibly shaken by Kiley's statement, and he yells back in Goblin,
"Bramblemouth tribe get treasures like longshanks do! Dwarfs are supposed to be good miners! You bring me mining dwarfs, I let them go!"
"Yap yap yap yap yap," the smiling elf yelped in imitation of the shrill conversation taking place between Kiley and the supposed goblin chief, and laughed. He couldn't understand a word said. And while he was content to sit back and let the tiefling attempt diplomacy, the capricious cleric found the high-pitched gibberish that was the goblin tongue too absurd not to ape. "Sorry. Goblin is a funny language."
Life was all about the simple pleasures, and Hal was all about life. Child-like imitation aside, he thought he could see where this brief parlay was heading, which was nowhere at all. And so he transitioned from mimicry into a gobbledygook all his own, namely his prayers. Best to aid the others when time allowed for it.
Henric holds any further action until he knows for sure what's going on.
"What's he saying?" he asks with a little strain in his voice.
"He'll let them go if we bring them dwarves to mine for them," Kiley says, trying not to let her emotions color her expression. "All I can promise them is that we'll try, and I doubt that'll be good enough."
She then turns back to the chief to try anyway if no one stops her.
"I do not think the dwarves would mine for you, even if they were promised and given equal shares of the treasure. They have long memories and even I have heard stories of how the dwarves fought goblins and orcs in ancient times. All I can offer is to try my best to convince them. Even if they did agree, what makes you think there are riches here?"
The chieftain yells back,
"Longshanks on other side of ridge go down here to find riches. If longshanks think there's riches, there's riches. Longhshanks have Dwarf. Dwarves are good at mining, and Bramblemouths have two dwarves, so they help Bramblemouth tribe get riches first."
Renae may not have been able to know what exactly the goblin was saying given the language barrier, but she could at least infer that he wasn't going to give up the dwarves easily if they thought that there was something to be gained by keeping them around to mine.
With that in mind, the enchantress hoped that a enhancement spell could help change his attitude. Saying a few words of ancient Thassilonian, she tried to spellbound the goblin. Regardless of whether the spell worked or not, the wizard whispered her intentions to her compatriots. "I'm going to try to make our new goblin friend amendable to letting the dwarves go without us having to go out a replace them with new slaves. Here goes."
The Chief doesn't appear affected by Renae's spell. He shouts,
"You cast a spell on me! You will die for this!"
"Careful now, Renae," the elf smiled as the chief's enraged barks made it clear even to him that negotiations were over. "Reasoning with a goblin? Charitable as it was of you to try, I'm supposed to be the mad one."
And yet despite his obviously low opinion of goblinkind, Hal apparently saw no incongruity in aiding his green-skinned compatriot even as he spoke. The cleric laid one disconcertingly long finger onto Stryn immediately before him and imparted some of the Harbinger's obscurity onto the goblin, rendering him more difficult to strike.
Feeling the tension in the air, Henric gathers the energy he may need, causing the runes in his staff to glow with a fiery light.
Kiley sighs and lunges at the chieftain. Her sword flashes in the wan light as her eyes glow blue.
"You can try, runtling."
"Careful now, Renae," the elf smiled as the chief's enraged barks made it clear even to him that negotiations were over. "Reasoning with a goblin? Charitable as it was of you to try, I'm supposed to be the mad one." And yet despite his obviously low opinion of goblinkind, Hal apparently saw no incongruity in aiding his green-skinned compatriot even as he spoke. The cleric laid one disconcertingly long finger onto Stryn immediately before him and imparted some of the Harbinger's obscurity onto the goblin, rendering him more difficult to strike.
Feeling the tension in the air, Henric gathers the energy he may need, causing the runes in his staff to glow with a fiery light.
Kiley sighs and lunges at the chieftain. Her sword flashes in the wan light as her eyes glow blue. Her sword cuts into the Chieftain.
Stryn deftly tumbles past the Chief's searching dogslicer to get behind him, stabbing with his rapier. He's unable to find a gap in the chief's armor, however.
There's a sudden sound of sibilant spellcasting, and Renae begins to feel a sensation of friendship towards the source as a snake-like creature moves from its hiding place and looks towards her.
This is a goblin snake - although this one clearly has some sort of special powers, as they aren't generally known for spellcasting.
The chief begins to cast a spell, but his attempts to evade Renae and Stryn's weapons causes him to lose focus, just as Henric's fire bolt slams into him.
Chief Cheektooth - 21/41
Renae gritted her teeth as it became clear that her attempt at subterfuge had failed entirely. The wizard was on the verge of making an apology to her allies but before she could her eyes diverted to a weird creature in the corner of the cave. "What? What is that?" She said aloud, her mind increasingly getting foggy as the strange creature became increasingly more inviting.
You were about to allow us to be charmed by a goblin snake. A goblin snake of all things! Pathetic. Wake up pretender!
Suddenly realizing that she had just been hit by a charm, Renae shook head free of it and concentrated on unleashing a spell of her own on the goblin snake.
Kiley continues her assault, moving to maximize her effectiveness with Stryn.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The cleric only noticed the newest entrant into the foray upon Renae bringing attention to it, throwing off the malignant spell from the snake-like creature. When he did swivel his unnaturally long and upsettingly thin neck towards it, however, his reaction was not what one might expect at seeing another deadly enemy.
"Oh no," he said in small, chocked voice, stifled by only barely restrained laugther. "Oh no. Look at it. It's a snake with the head of a goblin. Look at its head. Oh no, why does it have a goblin head, ah ha ha ha hah! Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait! How did...? How did this even...? Can you imagine - *SNORT* Oh gods, imagine the congress that led to this creature! AH HA HA HAH! Oh, bless your stupid lovesick goblin parent that approached a snake! Oh, the imagery! HA HA HA HA HARH!"
Tears of sheer amusement had to be wiped away from the enormous black orbs that were the elf's eyes as Hal was near hysterical at the sight of what he believed to be the goblin-snake hybrid. But while his thin form shook with laughter, his hands and feet remained strangely focused, staggering the cleric forward in heaving fits of giggles until he was face to face with the creature, only to then lash out lightning-quick with his dagger.
"You are the funniest thing I've seen in my life, and I'm two hundred years old."
Renae gritted her teeth as it became clear that her attempt at subterfuge had failed entirely. The wizard was on the verge of making an apology to her allies but before she could her eyes diverted to a weird creature in the corner of the cave. "What? What is that?" She said aloud, her mind increasingly getting foggy as the strange creature became increasingly more inviting. You were about to allow us to be charmed by a goblin snake. A goblin snake of all things! Pathetic. Wake up pretender! Suddenly realizing that she had just been hit by a charm, Renae shook head free of it and concentrated on unleashing a spell of her own on the goblin snake.
The goblin snake, being a snake, does not seem particularly disturbed by the grease.
The cleric only noticed the newest entrant into the foray upon Renae bringing attention to it, throwing off the malignant spell from the snake-like creature. When he did swivel his unnaturally long and upsettingly thin neck towards it, however, his reaction was not what one might expect at seeing another deadly enemy. Laughing about how it was the most hilarious thing he'd ever seen, he stabbed the snake, making a tiny cut on it.
Kiley continues her assault, moving to maximize her effectiveness with Stryn. Unfortunately, the goblin is able to fend off her attack.
Stryn continues struggling to strike the Chieftain.
The goblin snake's sibilant hissing and spellcasting takes on a rhythmic sound as it sways back and forth, deftly maintaining its focus as it casts another spell, drawing in Hal, Henric, and Renae.
Fascinated: A fascinated creature is entranced by a supernatural or spell effect. The creature stands or sits quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. It takes a –4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Perception checks. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows the fascinated creature a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a ranged weapon at the fascinated creature, automatically breaks the effect. A fascinated creature’s ally may shake it free of the spell as a standard action.
Henric fascination with the strange species of snake seems to cause him to lose himself in his thoughts. Everything else going on around him seems to just drift away like common refuse.
Henric's fascination with the strange species of snake seems to cause him to lose himself in his thoughts. Everything else going on around him seems to just drift away like common refuse.
The Chief again ducks and weaves as he casts a spell, this time succeeding as he calls out something in Goblin.
"Grant me your favor, Zarongel!"
He then steps out of Kiley and Stryn's flank.
Chief Cheektooth - 21/41
Henric - fascinated 4/4
Renae - fascinated 4/4?
Hal - fascinated 4/4?
Kiley snarls and moves to setup a flank with Stryn again. She waits for her crafty friend to get into position and strikes.
and misses yet again.
While an impressive enough dance recital, the snake-hybrid's efforts were for naught as the hypnotizing undulations and hisses simply ran off the cleric's mind like water down a goose's back. Or would the comparison of pouring water on a grease fire perhaps be more apt? It was difficult to enthrall someone already so full of peculiar notions, after all, the elf's head being something of a mental disaster area. Woe be to whoever attempted to rule it.
"You stop that right now," Hal said sternly to the creature and swiped at it with his dagger yet again, unsure as to the exact intent of the strange flailing but recognizing that it did something funny or other to his hatted companion.
While the snake's hypnotic star is powerful to behold, Renae manages to resist its allure and retain focus on her foes. With the grease having not been as effective as she'd hope, the wizard opted to unleash a sonic wail at the serpent as a fellow up.
While an impressive enough dance recital, the snake-hybrid's efforts were for naught as the hypnotizing undulations and hisses simply ran off the cleric's mind like water down a goose's back. Or would the comparison of pouring water on a grease fire perhaps be more apt? It was difficult to enthrall someone already so full of peculiar notions, after all, the elf's head being something of a mental disaster area. Woe be to whoever attempted to rule it. "You stop that right now," Hal said sternly to the creature and swiped at it with his dagger yet again, unsure as to the exact intent of the strange flailing but recognizing that it did something funny or other to his hatted companion. He again scratches the goblin snake with his dagger.
While the snake's hypnotic star is powerful to behold, Renae manages to resist its allure and retain focus on her foes. With the grease having not been as effective as she'd hope, the wizard opted to unleash a sonic wail at the serpent as a fellow up.
The goblin snake is caught completely off-guard as the high-pitched scream sounds in its ears, dazing it.
Kiley snarls and moves to setup a flank with Stryn again. She waits for her crafty friend to get into position and strikes...and misses yet again.
Stryn steps into position for a flank and strikes, as well.
He also misses.
The goblin snake is too dazed from the scream to do anything.
Henric fascination with the strange species of snake seems to cause him to lose himself in his thoughts. Everything else going on around him seems to just drift away like common refuse.
Chief Cheektooth swipes at Kiley with his dogslicer.
He has no such trouble striking Kiley.
Chief Cheektooth - 21/41
Henric - fascinated 3/4
Kiley - 6/17
Kiley cries out as the goblin's blade bites deep and causes her to stagger. More desperate to end this fight quickly, she tries again to land a hit on the goblin chieftain.
"Wakey-wakey
Gob and snakey."
Henric was rather rudely resuscitated from his reverie by a tug on his ear. With the serpent-thing dazed and momentarily harmless at the hand, or perhaps tongue, of Renae, the elf had taken the opportunity to bring their hatted companion back into the fight. He now smiled down on the man, uncomfortably long fingers still on his earlobe.
"I apologize, my friend, but the situation requires your magic and aid. You can yank on my ear later if you please; there's plenty to take hold of."
Hal happily flicked his own long, elven ears as he turned back to the battle.
Hearing the sound of Kiley's scream echo in the cave, Rense knew that this fight needed to be ended as quickly as possible lest their party endure another near catastrophe. While the wizard wanted to unleash a sleep spell on the goblin chieftain, the presence of Stryn and Kiley in the mix made that far to dangerous of a prospect.
Instead, Renae conjured forth a minor enhancement cantrip that would hopefully put the goblin out of commission if only for a moment.
"Wakey-wakey Gob and snakey." Henric was rather rudely resuscitated from his reverie by a tug on his ear. With the serpent-thing dazed and momentarily harmless at the hand, or perhaps tongue, of Renae, the elf had taken the opportunity to bring their hatted companion back into the fight. He now smiled down on the man, uncomfortably long fingers still on his earlobe. "I apologize, my friend, but the situation requires your magic and aid. You can yank on my ear later if you please; there's plenty to take hold of." Hal happily flicked his own long, elven ears as he turned back to the battle.
Hearing the sound of Kiley's scream echo in the cave, Rense knew that this fight needed to be ended as quickly as possible lest their party endure another near catastrophe. While the wizard wanted to unleash a sleep spell on the goblin chieftain, the presence of Stryn and Kiley in the mix made that far to dangerous of a prospect. Instead, Renae conjured forth a minor enhancement cantrip that would hopefully put the goblin out of commission if only for a moment. Unfortunately, the chieftain appears to be too strong to be overcome by her spell.
Kiley cries out as the goblin's blade bites deep and causes her to stagger. More desperate to end this fight quickly, she tries again to land a hit on the goblin chieftain. Her greatsword strikes the Chief, but he still fights on.
Stryn stabs at the chief from behind.
He finds a chink in the Chief's armor and stabs him.
The goblin snake shakes off its daze and looks about before, again, beginning to sway sinuously as it speaks words of magic.
Chief Cheektooth - 7/41
Renae - fascinated 6/6?
Kiley - 6/17
While ruminating about the theories of Thassilonian magics in his own mind, Henric is abruptly pulled back into reality. "What..? Huh? What's going..." he mumbles briefly before suddenly remembering that they were in the middle of a fight. "Oh my! I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He then notices the snake that caused him to lose focus on the current situation. "Nasty thing. Time to teach you a lesson."
Henric sends a destructive ray of fire at the Goblin Snake.
Standard Action: Energy Ray
While ruminating about the theories of Thassilonian magics in his own mind, Henric is abruptly pulled back into reality. "What..? Huh? What's going..." he mumbles briefly before suddenly remembering that they were in the middle of a fight. "Oh my! I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." He then notices the snake that caused him to lose focus on the current situation. "Nasty thing. Time to teach you a lesson."
Henric sends a destructive ray of fire at the Goblin Snake.Henric's fire ray strikes the swaying serpent, singing it slightly.
The further injured chieftain again attacks Kiley.
This attack is incredibly clumsy, however, and she easily bats his dogslicer aside.
Chief Cheektooth - 7/41
Ssesseleck - 30/39
Renae - fascinated 6/6?
Kiley - 6/17
Once more the serpent tried to ensnare Renae with its tune, and once more she was able to shake off the mesmerization. Wanting to return the favor, the wizard aimed a sleeping spell at the snake, taking full advantage of the better positioning.
"Hey, what did I just say?"
Somewhat absurdly sounding like a strict schoolteacher, Hal turned on the goblin-snake as it attempted to fascinate the party again. The gall of this silly creature in not surrendering after he had already warned it once. Striding towards it with a mockingly severe expression, he nevertheless touched a single finger to Kiley in passing, her wounds fading immediately like snow before the sun.
"Hey, what did I just say?" Somewhat absurdly sounding like a strict schoolteacher, Hal turned on the goblin-snake as it attempted to fascinate the party again. The gall of this silly creature in not surrendering after he had already warned it once. Striding towards it with a mockingly severe expression, he nevertheless touched a single finger to Kiley in passing, her wounds fading immediately like snow before the sun.
Once more the serpent tried to ensnare Renae with its tune, and once more she was able to shake off the mesmerization. Wanting to return the favor, the wizard aimed a sleeping spell at the snake, taking full advantage of the better positioning. However, the snake appeared to be stronger than her spell.
Kiley swung her greatsword in a sweeping arc, cutting through Chief's midsection, dropping him to the ground. She then steps to face the Goblin Snake.
Stryn circled around behind it and stabbed.
He's able to maneuver through Renae's grease without issue to get close.
He pokes it through the tail.
The goblin snake takes a breath and then burps out a revolting stench.
It then attempts to slither out of its compromised location.
The grease serves as no impediment.
Chief Cheektooth - -4/41
Ssesseleck - 27/39
Kiley - 15/17
Not willing to let up on the putrid creature, Henric sends another blast of fire at the Goblin snake.
Standard Action: Energy Ray
Any good Hal's magic does is almost instantly undone by the horrific stench coming from the goblin-headed snake's mouth. Kiley tries to push past it, but it's too much and her eyes water as she tries to kill the damned thing.
Weaving forward swiftly and fluidly like a reed in the wind, Hal swiped at the snake creature with his dagger once more. Although much like said reed, there wasn't any great force in his strike.
The battle against Chief Cheektooth and the goblin snake sorcerer Ssesseleck is hard fought, but eventually the party is triumphant. Taking a moment to rest and heal, they press on to find Kaggie and Toagus Shalestep imprisoned in a back cavern, guarded by a Goblin with rotting, snaggled teeth, interrogating the Dwarves about engineering and mining techniques in Common. A short fight later, and the goblin is defeated, with both Dwarves incredibly grateful to you for rescuing them. Both are malnourished and terrified, but otherwise unharmed.
Previously found valuable items: 2 x potions of cure light wounds, 2 x potions of jump, 2 x potions of feather fall, 8 x alchemist's fire, 4 x smokesticks, 4 x thunderstones, 2 x masterwork dogslicer (Small-sized), masterwork longbow (Small-sized), breastplate (Small-sized), eyes of the eagle, bag of cracked gems worth 46 gp
You carefully escort the two Dwarves out of the Churlwood and back to the ferry. Hallen Rosker, the old woman who operates the ferry, is pleased to see you, and even more pleased that you were able to save the Dwarves. She pulls you across the river, and then you walk back to town. Galdsbretha Morgmon, the Dwarven weaponsmith, is relieved that you were able to rescue her drivers, and she rewards you with a purse containing 100 gp.
Renae departs the group to go check on her parents.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Hælador? Is that you?"
It was a solemn night in the graveyard of Roderic's Cove, solemn as only a moonlit graveyard can be, though not without a severe beauty all its own. The elven woman navigating the headstones with practiced ease was the dutiful sort, after all; she tended the graves entrusted to her with all due fervor. And yet she wondered whether allowing the creature she came upon now to stay in the cemetery represented a dereliction of that duty. Audrahni wanted to believe him harmless. But as with all mad things, she couldn't be sure.
"Good evening, Hal." The crouched figure twitched at the greeting. "Oh, hello Audrey!" it responded with the happy innocence of a child. "How are you, my dear? Well, I hope?" Hælador Færvel rose up from his great arched stoop. And what a difference it made. Reed-thin and freakishly tall, the elven man gave one the impression of a mantis given mortal form. He would have stood even taller still if not for his abysmal, almost misshapen, posture, bending forward so that his back nearly reached higher than his head. Said head now looked to her with its usual mild smile. "Can I help you with anything?"
Audrahni looked to the man's - the priest's - feet. "What are you building this time, Hal?" Obscured by his ill-fitting vestments, she could see the elf's latest project now that he had risen from his crouch. The small stones, big as a fist, were quite pretty, all polished white and smooth as they were. They were especially attractive now, at night. They looked like they belonged under moonlight. Which was probably exactly the case; she had found Hælador's discarded stone-cutting tools elsewhere. "Oh, you know me. Don't rightly know," he replied offhandedly. "When do I ever? Just one of those things that struck me." Yes, the grave keeper knew that the impulsive elf, however well-meaning, was prone to follow whatever idea came to him. Which, given that he was quite mad and a supposed servant of the Harbinger of the End Times, was a bit concerning.
"Why a circle?" she queried. The white stones she had come across in the graveyard had been regularly spaced, but undeniably formed an enormous circle spanning the entire garden. "Circle?" Hal blew a strand of unkempt pale hair out of his mouth. "Oh yes, I suppose they do make a circle, huh? Maybe..." He looked up to the night sky above. "Maybe I meant for old Groetus to see them from high above. Maybe that's what I meant to do. My, what a silly idea. He doesn't give a toss, after all." He let out a light melodious laughter, like pearls falling down a stairwell. "And how fortunate we are that he doesn't. Wouldn't want the End to arrive too soon, would we? So much life left to live! So many things to see. But not to worry. The Harbinger doesn't know about us, our world, our corner of the universe, perhaps not even our reality! Doesn't care! We are wonderfully insignificant, Audrey! Insignificant and perfectly safe! Safe and..."
"Why are there names on them, Hal?" She held up a stone. A name was indeed carved on it. An elven name. The cleric appeared confused. "Why indeed? I don't know, my friend. I'm a teensy bit loony as you recall. I don't know why I do these things. Besides, I don't recognize that name." Audrahni held out another stone. "Hal, they all have names on them." The bone-white stone did indeed have another name on it, this one also elven. They all did. She'd checked. Holding it in her pale hand, the carved little rock almost looked like the moon above them. But then from another angle, they could also have been little skulls. "Are these your family members, Hal?"
Nothing in the black orbs that were the man's eyes showed that he had even heard the question. They remained bright, shiny and free of any pain. Blissful. But she didn't let up. Maybe she could reach him this time. Maybe she could finally help him. "Are they?" Hælador smiled. "Audrey, honestly now. I'm humbled that you would think of me like this, but of course not. Why would I carve my family's names anywhere? They're gone. All gone. And I remain, wonderfully free! It took me time, but their deaths in the goblin mines are well behind..."
"Those were the dwarves, Hal. That was today. Remember? Kiley, Henric, Renae, Stryn and you saved those dwarves from a tribe of goblins."
A tinge of doubt crossed the elf's smooth features. He pushed his thin hair out of his face. "Yes... yes, of course," he smiled. "My confusion, you must forgive me. The boggards, that's what I meant. The boggard warband, they are who took my family..."
The grave keeper shook her head gently. "No, Hal. No. That's what happened to my family. That's how my parents died. Do you recall? I told you that in confidence."
The smile faded. It hadn't done so often in the short month she had known the mad priest, light hearted and perpetually amused by life's smallest minutia as he was. But this was the first time the woman saw something beneath that veneer: a sorrow total and complete, like the silence after song, threatening to overwhelm him. "Do you know," he started, "I think I must leave Roderic's Cove." Audrahni protested. "No no, I must. I am first and foremost a priest after all. I want to help people. And the good citizens of this town, well... they haven't been overly receptive to my gospel of joyous oblivion, wonderful futility, and the ecstatic insignificance of our every action. Can't imagine why. Probably not explaining myself well enough. It's time I move on."
But what of Kiley and Henric? "Oh, they need me least of all!" The smile returned. "It is my mission to help people be happy, and Henric, he's clever. He'll find his way. As for Kiley, she... well, she knows her demons. Knowing is half the battle. She's strong. That'll do for the other half. She'll be fine. They'll be fine. Say goodbye to them for me?"
Hælador Færvel departed Roderic's Cove that same night. Audrahni did not attempt to stop him as she realized that mad as he was, his gospel held at least one truth: happiness mattered. And the only thing keeping the priest happy were his own delusions. She was not so cruel as to take them away from him.
After everything that has happened, Kiley feels nothing but exhausted. She picks at her meal before giving it to Stryn and heading up to the room she is renting. A few minutes after she has changed into a night shirt, she falls into a deep sleep and dreams.
The wind tickles her nose as she lays under a massive oak. Her tail twitched to and fro in time with the tune she hums as she watches the clouds roll by. The grass on the hill rolls with the wind and her eyes follow the winding road. She wonders what she'll see and learn on this journey.
She finishes the tune and hops to her feet before grabbing her pack and returning to the road. A crossroads greets her and for reasons she can't fathom, a profound sense of melancholy washes over her as she looks down the paths she would not be taking. She sighs, wondering what might have been if those roads hadn't been there. A strange thought for a Desnan, she realizes.
Shaking off the glumness clouding her thoughts she begins to sing a merry traveling song about the increasingly impossible wonders she'll see on her travels. After a little while, she comes to another crossroads and pauses, wondering why she felt hopeful when the last crossing of paths had seemed to her like the end of a story.
Storm clouds gather as she continues to walk and a sense of foreboding comes on the wind. She looks to the north and towards the coast. Something dangerous would come from that way, she could feel it. Her steps come more and more slowly as fear begins to seep in. The sky is coal-black, now, and the wind howls mournfully.
"You should have stayed," a voice she couldn't quite place whispers in her ear. Kiley turns to face the speaker, but there is no one. As she turns back, night falls and the world turns black as pitch. Thunder rolls in the distance, but Kiley feels that something is closer, something dangerous.
Something familiar.
She turns in place, one hand going for her sword. As she completes her turn, lightning flashes and bathes the landscape in harsh, too-bright light. It is over in an instant, but she knows what she has just seen and she lets out a scream of denial and terror as she sees the undead monsters that had been her siblings reach out for her in the strobing flashes of lightning.
Kiley starts awake in a shivering, cold sweat. Thankfully, it seems, her nightmare hadn't caused her to cry out loudly enough to cause a stir. She wraps the covers around her shuddering frame and tries to calm down. It is far too late for her to go to Renae's home and she has no idea where Hal and Stryn are staying, but she does remember which room Henric had pointed out as his.
As quietly as she can manage in her frazzled state of mind, she makes her way to Henric's room and knocks on the door.
"Henric," she calls out as loudly as she dares, an edge of desperation in her voice, "Henric, please! I-I-I..."
Her voice trails away as she begins to imagine a thousand different things that could have happened to the wizard.
Henric startles slightly at the knock on his door. In his sleep-deprived delirium, he's stares into the dark with a confused look before he realizes that his face is covered in the book he was reading when he fell asleep.
Removing the book, he sees that the candle on the bedside table is running low... again. It's then that he hears Kiley's desperate cry. "Kiley...?" he says, confused by the cloud of sleep hovering over him.
Out of pure habit and concern, the scholar gets up and grabs his staff before he opens the door, completely unaware of his state of only half-dress. Henric stands in the doorway, stripped of everything but his breeches, the familiar glowing runes running down the staff in his hand. "Kiley?" he repeats, seeing the tiefling woman huddled in front of him. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" His voice is still a little stuffy from having just woken up, but his senses otherwise sharp from previous training and pure survival instinct.
Kiley almost breaks down into sobs of relief as she sees Henric open the door. Too frazzled and emotional to even take note of his state of undress, she stumbles a step closer on shaky legs and struggles to stay in control of her raging emotions.
"N-nightmare. I h-h-had a n-n... I d-didn't know where, who," she blurts out quietly as she wipes away her tears. She closes her mouth and takes in a steadying breath as she finally composes herself enough to make some sense.
"P-please. Henric. I-I don't want to be alone right now. I don't know where anyone else is," she manages to explain in slow, halting sentences. "Please, c-can I come in?"