Natsume crushes the bug.
Since you are out in the countryside with boars and wolves, you can have weapons in hand by default if you wish, yes.
Giggett gets angry about her bug and decides to fry it. She aims at its head, and make a big electric arc between it and one of its friends (orange).
lightning damage, basic Reflex save DC 17.
Gigget might be angry, but the bug is so tightly attached to her that she is unable to harm it without harming herself--
--but the electricity arcs out and touches the orange one, though it manages to avoid most of it!
A bit frizzled, the orange bug moves forward and tries attach itself to Natsume a couple times, but is unable to.
Natsume's flail, having already busted one bug, pivots and brings her flail through the crackling one in her face--
--before the head whirls around, and she puts her whole body into the windup for the next swing on Giggett's!
Presuming both of the bugs are fallen, she takes a quick step toward the remaining insect, flail circling menacingly beside her as she locks eyes with it.
Giggett screams when the bug completely avoids her spell and starts punching it out of anger!
bludgeoning damage + precision bludgeoning damage.
She literally obliterates the poor creature, tearing it appart rageously... then stops a second to catch her breath.
"I hate moskitoes!"
Giggett hits the beast on her, and does not obliterate it all, but knocks it out, and it drops to the ground, not torn in the slightest, just knocked out.
She hates mosquitoes, but does not want to hurt them in the end.
Natsume finishes the first critter, than moves forward and kills the last one.
As the fight is over, the mayor looks around: "Darn mosquitoes, I cannot see them anymore."
Natsume finished off the last one with a quick, hard thump from her flail-- with it stunned on the ground, it should go easy.
"Hate to think of the bump those bites would leave," she muses.
Drag, do you know what are these creatures?
Asks Tamerius, curious.
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Natsume tells you that these are bloodseekers.
"Ravenous blood drinkers that are the scourges of swamps and damp, abandoned places, often found in humid forests."
The mayor chips in: "Bloodseekers? Farmers curse the creatures for sucking their livestock dry. Around here they are called “stirges”."
Natsume explains that once attached, they then can start sucking your blood, and you have to take them off carefully, or else continue bleeding.
"Damn! How's mine gone?"
Giggett looks at her leg, but she hasn't been hurt, so everything's ok. She then looks at the temple. Is there danger in there?
There are the standing stones, covered in moss and ivy.
In the center of the clearing.
All Giggett sees is where the bloodseekers probably nested.
Then, a bit further back, beyond the trees, is the old wooden church.
In a bad state of disrepair, but somehow cleaned of its ivy and moss, indicating someone might be using it.
"Hope you don't mind, Mayor-- I think our friend might have found something!"
Natsume follows after Giggett-- moving stealthily as well (or "stealthily," depending on how the dice fall).
Then, stealth it is. Giggett doesn't go too much further away from the mayor and the 2 casters. She covers the distance to the temple, hoping to look inside through some hole in the structure.
You both lead the way, the others following, the mayor happy to be out and about so much.
Passing the trees, you see the old church, with its old rotten wood.
Peeking inside, Giggett sees some farm tools, and bags here and there.
Then you enter carefully.
A deep voice sounds out: "Hello!"
You see an aging dwarven farmer, kneeling in the corner, sorting through some bags of seed.
"What are you wanting?"
The mayor looks around: "Metmon?"
The dwarf nods: "Aye, Mayor, 'tis I."
Natsume goes from the Metal Gear Hunch to standing straight, flail hanging over her shoulder instantly.
"Howdy, Mister Dwarf!" she chimes. "Just wanted to check-- someone said this place was abandoned, and it didn't look nearly as abandoned as it sounded!"
'Hello, hello!
Oh, this has not been a church since Father Bolgrist died.
Some 20 years ago. Long time for humans like you, ma'am.
I started using the old church as a barn for almost 10 years now, but I don't have too much use for it these days."
You do see that there are very few bags around.
And that the tools are not numerous, and mostly in bad condition.
Seeing Dragh, the dwarf's eyes sparkle, and he bows.
"Are you a person of Faith, brother?", he asks Dragh.
"You could have the old building if you plan on bringing “godly ways” back to this town."
Metmon has a symbol around his neck, that is easily recognizable as being that of a worshipper of Abadar.
As he looks at Dragh, and then the others, what religious symbols might he see, if any?
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Dragh stands behind the mayor's wheelchair when the insects show up. He says
"Beware Mayor! These are no mosquitos. I will make sure that no harm happens to you."
He turns to think about what would be the best way to scare them away. When he sees, Tamerius, Natsume and Giggett going ham on the big bees.
Dwarf stands with his mouth open as Natsume swings her flail at those bugs. The fighting is over before Dragh is able even to begin casting. He is still in shock what seemed like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but method was effective.
Tamerius question wakes Dragh up from his shock, but he once again does not get a chance to answer.
He pushes Mayor into the church.
"Morning Master Dwarf, Pleasure to meet fellow kinsman. My name is Dragh Goldenoak."
"I am Metmon. A pleasure meeting you. My family has been living outside Etran's Folly for a long time, thus I go by Metmon of Etran now.
Good to meet you Dragh Goldenoak."
He holds his hand out to clasp Dragh's.
Natsume's apparel is pretty devoid of religious bearings. At best, her flail may now have a symbol of Iomedae on it, but odds are good her glove's covering that.
Dragh shakes his hand. Saying:
"I am not. But there are few worshipers of Abadar in Goldenoak brewery. Tell me Master Metmon do you know Bort Bargith?"
"Good! Maybe you want to make a Temple of Abadar and Brewery, or Barrel Barn and Temple, here. We can help.
Young Master Bargith, aye. I bought some things from him now and then.
Very sad about his loss..."
Tamerius proudly bears the symbol of his god.
Plaseaure to meet a person of faith Metmon, I'm Tamerius Archilus of House Dulifer, priest of the great Asmodeus.
Says Tamerius
"Well met, Master Tamerius Archilus.
'Tis a fine and Lawful Deity, this Asmodeus.
Maybe you too would be interested in getting the church back to some Lawful faith?"
If I had the time, I would like to, but ... before finishing his sentence, Tamerius stops as he was thinking of something.
After a short silence he continues Frankly, I don't know yet. It seems that part of my heritage is from here and depending of what I found, I could come back here and help you rebuild the Faith of this town.
Giggett gets out of the shadows at the same moment Natsume did.
"Hello, I'm Giggett. I'm not sure you'll particularly love my faith, as I'm a follower of Calistria."
Giggett has a very visible (and expensive!) symbol of the Savory Sting around her neck.
"Is it possible for us to take a few minutes of rest inside the temple, as we just met bloodseekers and need a dozen of minutes to catch our breath?"
Metmon greets Tamerius: "Well, if you find time, come on back. My farm is just over yonder."
He points to a farm a little away.
"Hello, and well met, Giggett.
Aye, you are right, of course personal freedom is important, but I do believe law is crucial, so we all function together. But to each their own."
He then gets upset upon hearing about the boodseekers.
"Oh darn, they are back?
I will get my son Edfur, and we'll go eradicate their nests.
Are they around the old rocks and such?"
Metmon waves you in: "Mister mayor, friends..."
He pulls some empty bags out, and starts to remove the dust from them, but it raises clouds, so he stops.
"Have a seat, have a seat.."
You rest a little while here, refocusing and collecting your wits.
Tamerius can use his kit to try and patch Natsume up .
And you discuss things a bit with Metmon.
It seems that clearing out the church and repairing the roof would take about three weeks of work to complete.
And with Metmon and his son Edfur helping, this might be reduced to two weeks.
Metmon has tools and wood and such.
You do confirm your feeling that Metmon is very interested in your beliefs, especially the Lawful faiths.
The mayor gets a bit antsy, and mutters about not dawdling and getting on with the walk, so, after a while, you bid Metmon goodbye, and you set off on your tour once again.
You set off towards the south, exiting the woods and moving through fields again.
"You know what", says the mayor, "there used to be sheep here. Sheep pastures. Now its all fields!"
You move on down the Drunk Shepherd's path, passing two junctions where you could take a path towards the village, but you keep on going south, since you want to check out the old house and Etran's Hill.
After moving south some more, between turnip fields, and the mayor pointing out that: "Ah, it's all turnip fields. When I was young there were pastures here, you know. Sheep all over! That was nice!"
And then you come up to Etran's Hill.
On top of Etran's Hill, looming to the town’s southeast, you spot the ruins of the Bolmere estate.
You approach carefully since the place is entirely overgrown.
The mayor mutters: "This hill was the site of the first home built in the area.
Etran spent his fortune founding the town... only to die in a fire that consumed him and his family because the house was too far away from the well and the river. This is how Etran’s Folly got its name."
You do spot but much of the scorched and crumbling stonework, that you can still see under a layer of moss and ivy.
Natsume will spend most of her time guarding you, checking out that no bloodseekers appear, or wild boars or wolves.
Spurred along by Tamerius, who is very curious about what the mayor talked about, Giggett and he thoroughly search the ruins.
Dragh helps, but, like Natsume, he is busy with the mayor, and talking about turnip fields that used to be, did you know that: "Sheep pastures!"
So, after an hour of pulling ivy away, Tamerius and Giggett come upon what used to be the main fireplace, and which is now a crumbling chimney, set into the estate’s north wall.
There, pulling out a loose piece of stone masonry, you find--
--behind the stone: a copper lockbox covered in a green patina.
Giggett carefully checks it, and then pulls it out, checking the lock and such again.
"It is all rusted and broken."
Tamerius religiously opens the lockbox, finding, inside--
--an old, leather-bound book and a tarnished silver amulet!
Leafing through the book, with all looking on, Tamerius sees it is a piece of the Bolmere family history, listing births and deaths going back several hundred years.
Looking through these names, Tamerius does confirm a distant relationship between House Dulifer, the Bolmere family, and Targen and his daughter Delma!
It seems that his family had people in Taldor before. The main link is through the side of his family of his cousin the lawyer, the one he is off to visit.
Lifting the silver amulet, and checking it out in the light of the setting sun, Tamerius sees that it is a neck chain, with a simple silver devil's head dangling from it.
Oh... and there is something carved into the back--
--the word: “Karvasalon”.
The mayor nods: "I knew you looked familiar! House Dulifer! Maybe they want to invest in the village?
Bring sheep back?"
During the trip, Giggett nods when the mayor speaks about sheeps then starts to roll her eyes. At some point, a little bit annoyed, she asks him:
"Why are all the sheeps gone if you like them so much? Is it any easier to grow turnips instead of sheeps?!!?"
During all the exploration, Giggett is very thorough. She has her weapons drawn and stays as stealthy as possible while progressing.
When Tamerius pulls the loose piece of masonry, Giggett frowns:
"Is it classical for your family to hide things inside chimney masonry? Let me check for traps, I have a keen eye for them. "
After handling it back to Tamerius, Giggett stays silent while the cleric browses through the book. When he gets back to reality, she asks:
"How do you feel about that? You haven't ever really talked about your family, besides your cousin that you seem to disprove for his choice of place of living and means of living. Do you want to search for more information about your family history? We can come back here tomorrow when the sun will be brighter. Maybe we can find more inside this ruined castle?"
Dragh talks with Mayor in a polite way.
"Sheep you say, great animals. Their wool is warm and isolates great in the mountains. Meat is not that bad either."
He looks at the box found and asks:
"What do you have there? Anything interesting?"
The ruins are very basic.
You know the place burnt down.
So there are only some bases of old walls, about knee-high at the maximum.
And you spent an hour moving ivy and such, and found no opening to a basement.
The tallest thing you find is the base of the fireplace, about chest high, and the broken chimney protruding from it.
It is more like the remnants of a house, where you see the line of the walls, not ruins with old rooms and such.
So, nothing to explore, it is just pulling herbs to try and find a cellar-- and there is none. And checking to see if anything left at the base of the few walls left-- nothing other than the broken chimney.
The sun is still giving off light, it seems to be sinking slowly, giving you just enough time to finish here and then reach town just as it will go dark.
"I don't know. I like sheep. At first there were turnips to feed the sheep. But crop is better it seems for farmers. Easier to manage, more regular."
Turning to Dragh:
"Yes! Great animals indeed! And there are so smart!"
He proudly smiles:
"My daughter often tells me I have the brain of a sheep!"
None of you know what the word Karvasalon means.
Dragh and Tamerius are quite sure they have never heard it pronounced, or read it.
Tamerius patches the wounds of Natsume quite efficiently.
He thanks Metmon and tell him It will certainly be great to have the place restored as well the faith of the people of this place. I will wrote to the clergy about that. As Cheliax try to improve its relationship with his Isger, it will be a good place to start.
For now, I can't make any promises as I'm engage to continue my trip to ... further south and meet my cousin.
Getting out of his reveries Tamerius says I wasn't expecting something like that here, in Isger... Finally something good happened of this mess, I've learned more about my ancestors.
But I don't disprove my cousin's means of living, quite the contrary, he's an advocate! That's one of the reason I was send to him, to learn about his ways.
Nevertheless, I'm quite interested by the roots that my family could have here, this name. Karvasalon is intriguing and a want to know more. Unfortunately I don't think that this place will give me any more answers to this mystery.
Turning to the mayor, Tamerius asks Do you know if the town has a library or a place that keep some records of what happened in the town?
Natsume chews on some herbs given by Tamerius, and slowly feels her health return fully.
Metmon is happy to hear the Tamerius in interested in restoring the place.
"You will have to tell me more about Asmodeus."
And Tamerius is quite intrigued: a family link to the place, as well as the possibility of setting up a church.
But, sadly, the mayor answers that there is no library, no nothing.
"All the records that were left were sent away 20 years ago, to the capital.
And, since then, it is the judge or judges who keep the papers."
After checking around some more - - you hurry up towards the village.
You carry on south, and then turn north, moving straight into town.
You pass Trin's house - to your right - and then find the path you took to leave the village when you went to Trin's place.
The mayor fell asleep shortly after you left the ruins.
When you arrive, he wakes up and is grumpy: "It took too long. I am late for dinner."
But Delma thanks the you for your help ,before taking her father inside to get him some food.
You go to have your dinner, prepared by Cooky, at the wagons, in the courtyard of the Feedmill.
Giggett speaks with Cooky while eating:
"Cooky, you were in the inn when the tragic event happened. Do you remember anything? Have you been in the kitchen?"
"I already told you what you knew anyhow, I was not in the inn.
I saw Amora, talked a bit, while she was preparing the meal, in the kitchen with her, and then left with some food, well before the meal was served.
I was in my wagon.
And saw nothing special."
Around dinner time, Edra reminds you about getting the rosemary: "Maybe tomorrow morning, the bear should be sleeping.
We won't be able to use the horses if I can't cure the fleas..."
After dinner, it is dark, but not too late.
What do you wish to do?
Tamerius confirms Cooky’s answers as he reads his notes.
After dinner, Tamerius says to his comrades May be we will need to explore more of the city, particularly the abandoned buildings. We could find something there.
"Guys, the mayor spoke about potential 'vagrants' in the dead homes. I was thinking, maybe would it be a good idea to get here during the evening, just to see if there are some lights in there. Unless the vagrants are non-human, they'll certainly have a fire. The dead homes being close to the town center, our H. or even Phinick may be living up there. It may be a stupid idea, I admit, but I'd like to give it a go."
Giggett realized she talked at the same time Tamerius did and with the same idea.
"So, we go for a little bit of night exploration. I and Dragh can see perfectly in the dark. I don't know if you have means to get to such ends..."
Asks she while looking at the two humans.
I can casts light but that’s it.
Says Tamerius
"You don't have a bull's-eye lantern? Anyone? Maybe we can buy one to Tamli, but it's crazy expensive, one gold piece in general"
Natsume scratches at her chin. "Only if I'm using a lantern or something," she says, "which wouuuuuuuld give us away."
"Well, the whole point of the bull's-eye lantern is to direct the ray of light and avoid lighting everything."
"Otherwise, Dragh and I can do the scouting, while you follow us, as long as there is no danger or anything which would require your assistance."
Natsume shrugs. "I could buy one, but if Tamli has one, she might just let us borrow it," she points out. "It's to investigate Bort's death, after all."