Looking around the Sitting Duck, slightly uncomfortable, Ranok finds himself wishing he was out in the wild with Khonsu. Determined to make the most of his situation, he turns back to Lady Cirthana. let's put this new crown to work.
"Do you have a temple here Lady Cirthana? If I'm ever going to go in a temple, I think that I'd like the first one to be yours. Iomadae seems a worthy goddess.
"Yes we do, Ranok. It would be an honor for you to visit there. You are welcome at any time."
"Iomedae is the goddess of righteous valor, justice, and honor. Personal cleanliness as well as an honorable demeanor are both very important for her followers who are known for their sense of justice, swordcraft, and statesmanship. Does that sound appealing? "
"It does sound appealing, but I've not always been the most honorable person. I have a very dark past. I'm fighting to even the score, but I'm not sure that I can always do it in a valorous manner in the wilds." After a slight pause, Ranok's face brightens a bit again as he looks at his clothing and give a delicate sniff."Speaking of the wilds, I'm not sure that I'm always at my personal best in cleanliness. A washing might be in order."
Seeing that Ziera is not feeling well at all he decides to cheer her up and give her some room. He stands and says "I have this preference for older women anyways. Barren and no teeth. You are half way there..." He heads to the loggers table ale in hand.
"Last call for alcohol."
The tavern patrons begin to slowly finish their drinks and wander outside. Gravagos is with them. A few minutes later you follow the directions that Cirthana gave you. As you head east down the bank, the cool night air has caused fog to rise from The Foam River. The fog is being drawn in all directions. As you move east, you look through the fog for Gravagos. One wisp of fog spins before you, not moving like the rest of this fog. It begins to take on a humanoid shape. As it transforms, Gravagos stands before you with small vapors of fog still rising from his silhouette.
Niu collects Neb-en-toti, who gives him a concerned expression. (Seeing a beetle give someone a concerned expression is an odd experience).
Standing, Niu says to nobody in particular, "Well, I think I'll take a walk. Good night all!"
Heading for the door, he goes slowly, giving the others time to catch up with him before he gets to the dock.
"I hear that you have helped this community and now are in need of help yourselves. I am Gravagos, the sage."
"Well meet Gravagos, I am Ranok. It is true, we have done what we can for this fair town. I'm afraid there is more yet to do though, And we are beat down as you have said." Ranok finishes with a nod to the sage.
That sounded pretty good, but I still don't think I'm using quite the right words for these people.
"Pleased to meet you, Ranok. What more needs to be done? Have you unfinished business?"
"We followed a horrible undead abomination inside of the tomb of an Azlanti prince.
During the battles to clear the tomb, we were drained of life and fortitude. Worse yet, we contracted a dread curse that will apparently turn us into undead abominations ourselves.
We also have this stone that was possibly responsible for raising the abomination that led the attack on the town. We have been unable to decipher the magic surrounding it.
Oh, and I am Niu. We promise to tell nobody about the work you do for us."
Niu 30/30(35), Ranok 41/47(67), Ziera 41/50(60) Str 12/14, Rhen 33/39(54) Khonsu 45/45
"Ladies first." He looks down at Ziera and puts a hand on each shoulder. He casts detect magic. He smiles at her. He casts lesser restoration He reaches into his component pouch and casts restoration as diamond dust is flicked into the air. He stands back admiring his work. "Regarding the costs. These spells will cost me quite a bit of diamond dust. Are you prepared to reimburse me?"
Ziera's curse is removed, her strength is restored and her con damage is gone. The pdf states that once the curse is removed, so are its affects. She feels her teeth pushing through her gums to their regular places.
One by one he removes your curses, con damage, and lost levels. He indicates that the cost of the diamond dust to him was 2,300 gold pieces.
"We have gold to reimburse you, Gravagos. Hopefully you have the contacts needed to acquire more dust. I, for one, would be glad to help you find more, if you don't. After the healing is done, naturally."
I believe you failed your check at noon earlier today. If you had not failed it, the level drain would not be showing.
A single casting would not, it took 1 for the level and one for the con. Lesser was Ziera's strength.
You are welcome to look back for that check.
Gravagos accepts your payment. He reaches into his haversack and produces an intricately carved buckler. "A darkwood buckler that I picked up at the market." He hands it to Niu. It is surprisingly lightweight. "It is not enchanted, but will never interfere with spell casting. A souvenir from Falcon's Hollow and something to not remember me by. We never met here this evening." Gravagos turns to fog before your eyes, mixing in with the fog from the river.
5:30 am. Neth, Fireday. four days until the full moon.
Moonset: 2:27am, Sunrise: 6:12am, Moonrise: 3:11pm, Sunset: 4:51pm
High 52, Low 48 Cloudy all day. Light rain begins at 9:30 am, showers by 10:00am ending abruptly at 10:30 am.
Niu 35/35, Ranok 46/67, Ziera 46/60, Rhen 38/54 Khonsu 45/45
You have a day in Falcon's Hollow as the Jurin Kreed will not leave port until daybreak tomorrow.
Accepting the shield, Niu looks at the straps, then attempts to hold the thing, immediately droppimg it on his toe.
"Um, Thank you? I'm sure with some practice, I might be able to figure this out."
And right after that I posted the current effects correctly. Picked up some old data along the way apparently.
In the morning, Niu takes out the stone one more time to attempt to determine its properties.
Detect Magic:
Read Magic:
Rhen stumbles along with the group, his heavy boots landing silently despite the apparent weight of them. Once they reach the sage Rhen keeps his mouth closed letting those more wounded physically and mentally than himself go first. Rhen sits on a rock closing his eyes for a bit.
Rhen wakes at the light touch of the sage, pulling his dagger quickly but then realizing who it is. "Aye here ye go." Rhen produces the coin needed. Once the sage is gone Rhen closes his eyes and goes back to sleep till the morning
Feeling much better, Ranok thanks Gravagos and heads back to town. He looks to keep his word about visiting Lady Cirthana at her temple before leaving town. He contemplates calling for Khonsu to accompany him, but decides that the tiger would probably like some down time before joining the group again. With that settled, he heads back to town in search of a temple.
After dark, you head to The Sitting Duck for supper.
Mary seats you and lays a menu on the table. "Something from the bar?"
Quail eggs
Strawberries
Coarse rye bread
Leg of mutton
Duck eggs
Leeks
Currants
Catfish filet
Black beans
Succotash
Rice
Walnut cake
5sp
Snacks
Quail eggs
Strawberries
Coarse rye bread
Chicken eggs
Raspberries
Cirthana is at the bar with Bill and Eddie. They have eyes and teeth. "So, Ranok, what did you think of your visit to the temple today?"
"It seems like a nice place for like hearted folk to gather. I can't say that it spoke to me, I must have a different spiritual dialect, but I liked it."
"What was your most spiritual moment in this life so far? If you are uncomfortable with that, I understand. I am simply attempting to guide you with any knowledge I may have." She takes a sip of mead and glances around the entire tavern.
Ranok's eyes glaze over a bit as his mind drifts. "When the moon, and the lake, and the forest all spoke to me one evening. The evening Khonsu found me. I've never had a more magical experience. I've had other positive spiritual experiences as well, but that has been my anthem. Ahem, How about yourself?"
"Temples are not for you, Ranok. That is not a bad thing. While I suspect you will find favor in many of the good deities, they will not be yours. Your spiritual journey will be filled with mystery. I wish you well in that regard." She raises her mead glass to you and gives you her unique glowing smile.
Seldlron leaves the lumberjack's table and approaches Ziera. "I hear you are boarding the Jurin Kreed for Almas at daybreak. That barge is filled to the brim with lumber and men. No privacy anywhere. That is no place for a lady like you. It would be my honor to accompany you and Festia on horseback should you choose." He looks at her and smiles "Teeth again? So be it."
Tharfynn sets up in front of the warm hearth. "This one goes out to our heroes who recently battled wights, wraiths, and many an undead."
"Another one for our new heroes. I'm still working on the words"
No Quarter
Jalene serves Niu a warm mulled muscadine wine. He gets the feeling she is studying him in some way. "I understand you like this when it is cold outside."
Niu accepts the mug with a grin, holding it between his hands and taking in the aroma of the spices.
"A weakness of mine, perhaps. One that the sun was not able to burn out of me.
We humans are interesting creatures, in some ways. When it is chilly, we long for warmth. When it is warm, we long for coolness. Rarely do we ever just enjoy what we have but constantly seek something else."
Looking up over the mug, Niu notices Jalene's intrigue. His eyebrow lifts up in question. "It appears you have something that you wish to ask. Well, I have nothing much to do except wait. Please, take a seat, if you wish."
With a friendly smile she says "If I had a question, you can be sure I would ask it. Enjoy the wine." She then continues moving again from table to table.
Arching an eyebrow, Niu watches her depart, then shrugs. Understanding people will never be my strong suit
Standing, he walks over to the musician and drops a few silvers in his hat. "You, I understand, or at least the persona you present while entertaining."
Turning back to his seat, Niu pauses when he realizes what he just said. Looking back over his shoulder, he gives Tharfynn a suspicious look. "What secrets are you hiding behind that completely transparent attempt at a personality?"
Sitting back down, he and Neb-en-toti begin watching the musician carefully, waiting to see if he reveals his secrets.
"Thank your, sir." He smiles at Niu's remark and begins to improvise with his instrument. Eventually, it becomes a song and then more improvisation and then song again.
All Along the Watchtower
Sweating after all that, he says "Short break." and heads to the bar.
"I thank you for your concern SeldIorn but I have traveled like that before. My training did make me have to spend close quarters with men and I had little to no privacy. It wasn't Ideal but I handled myself. The bruises stung as did the cuts but I managed to make it out with my virtue intact!" She smiled a broad smile."Yes, they returned, I was cured by a traveling healer. Such a wonderful soul to do that for us." Zeira says taking a drink of her ale watching Festia enjoy herself.
"Tharfynn is it, I enjoy your performance very much, May the Eternal Rose Ever bloom for you and your talent!" She says graciously to the entertainer before she tips him a gold.
5:00 am. Neth, Starday. Three days until the full moon.
Moonset: 3:21am, Sunrise: 6:13am, Moonrise: 3:39pm, Sunset: 4:50pm It rained llightly all night and just quit.
High 66, Low 50 Cloudy all day. Light rain begins at 9:30 am, showers by 10:00am ending abruptly at 10:30 am.
Niu 35/35, Ranok 51/67, Ziera 51/60, Rhen 43/54 Khonsu 45/45
You arrive at the docks before daylight. The Jurin Kreed is as Seldlron described. Filled to the brim with men and lumber. This will be your home for the next nine days until you make port in Almas
Now that he is no longer worried about turning into a horrid undead abomination, Niu has some time to concentrate on the health of his companions.
Spreading the sands of healing around, he does what he can for them.
With so many people and so much cargo on the ship, Niu does his best to stay out of the way.
Sitting in a corner with Khonsu, he attempts to talk to the tiger. "So, you and Ranok spend quite a bit of time outdoors. To hear Ranok speak, it sounds as if the experience is almost religious for the two of you.
Maybe you can tell me about your travels some time?"
Keeping to a corner of the boat. Khonsu has a lovely conversation with Niu concerning everything he has encountered and experienced. It's a pity that Niu can understand none of it.
Ranok thanks Niu for his healing. Feeling better than he has in days, he watches as Khonsu tries to make friends with Niu. This is good. This feels like where I need to be and what I need to be doing.
Content with his situation, he moves to a side rail and puts on his smoldering stare as he ruminates over his current situation.
Unconcerned with not being able to understand the cat's sounds and gestures, Niu continues his end of the conversation.
"Oh, me? Yes, I've spent quite a deal of time outdoors as well, though in the desert it is much better to sleep in a cave.
This sleeping under the stars idea would be a good way to die in the desert, speaking from experience."
Rhen rubs the sleep from his eyes, still a bit stiff from sleeping in the woods on a rock Rhen grumbles at Niu as he touches him and heals him. "Ye ... Next time warn me ye will be doin' that so that i don't be cuttin' yer hand off." Rhen says. After getting on the boat Rhen finds a spot in the middle he can sit down so he doesn't have to look at the water or think of Drowning in the large amount of water they are floating on.
Zeira smiles and nods to Niu."Thank you so much, Niu, you are too kind"
Zeira wears a simple white dress, with rainbow-like accents with feathered tails. She had Festia pull her hair back into a tight middle braid. Festia too was dressed in a simple dress as she stood next to Zeira.
"Rhen you seemed cool and collective back there. I have to commend you for that, I am also impressed that we seemed to be quite capable as a group" she says resting her arm on the hilt of her newest sword. She smiles a warm smile looking out on the ship.
Your adventure continues HERE