Tamerius wonders why you do not get some Halflings to do the work.
You look around for something to carry the books in.
Sitril grabs a bedsheet or a blanket and makes a sack out of it.
"A cart of some sort would be better. We could also you some doors for that."
We have more important things to do.
You look at your packs--
--to see how many books you can stuff in there.
And where to deposit all the stuff you will empty out of your backpacks?
You think of how many empty sacks you have with you-- if any?
Sitril grabs a bedsheet or a blanket and makes a sack out of it.
So, Sitril leaves the group and goes back into the entrance-way, with the painting of Etran's Folly, and--
--opens the double-doors there? To exit into the courtyard? Or does he starts breaking the doors of their hinges to use to carry books?
--or goes back up through the tower and out down the exterior stairs?
Then crosses outside over into the hut, and back into the depth of the caves, to start pulling old stinky Orc blankets from the bedrolls.
He finds enough to wrap the library up with.
By the time Sitril returns, Natsume is carrying a stack of...
17 books, teetering and tottering.
”Ope, lemme squeeze past ya there...”
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Instinctively, Natsume grabbed a book with each of her tails, dragging those tomes along behind her-- she is carrying 19 books on alchemy!
Tamerius don't try to take any of the books.
For Amodeus' sake, we have more important things to do!
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”May as well hinder our enemies,” shrugs Natsume. ”Besides, it’s not like the writer for this adventure path wrote ‘if the PCs stop to liberate the books, Vilree gets away.’ Probably.”
Giggett helps Natsume by selecting the books that look the most valuable. Not through her great alchemical knowledge but by details like quantity of dust on it, position on the bookshelf, overall state of the book.
"If we can't take everything, at least get the most valuable ones."
So, you already spent some time sending Sitril to get blankets-- how much time do you want to spend looking through the books?
Then the back and forth to your camp...
Tamerius watches the three librarians with the first librarian who tries to balance a stack of books, the second bookkeeper who brings back filthy stinky orc blankets that have not been washed since Aroden died, and the third tome-worker who is busy reading all the spines, and trying to determine whether "Grand Treatise on Rock Crystal Extraction" is more valuable or not than "Treatise on Grand Extraction of Rock Crystal"!
"You guys wanna set up a moving company after this?" pants Natsume as she hauls books around.
I don't have time for this. grunts Tamerius who moves elsewhere to explore the dungeon.
As Sitril comes back with the blankets, and Giggett chooses books, piling them up to put on the blankets, Natsume peeks over her pile of books to see Tamerius--
--try to open the door to the brood of Black Dragonnets... but the door is locked.
Tamerius shakes the handle, but it seems one needs a key, or to pick the lock.
So-- does someone try to open the locks?
Do the others leaves with the books?
Does Tamerius go up the stairs to the other doors?
Tamerius goes to the stairs and tries to open the double doors.
The double doors push open under Tamerius hands, revealing--
--a room with a double door on the opposite side, and a door to the right.
It is a long chamber, with, standing at the left end, a marble statue of an elven woman holding a flask.
She is dressed in a flowing gown, and liquid tears streak down her cheeks into a small pool surrounding the statue’s base.
Other than the faint burbling of water, this chamber is peaceful and still.
As Tamerius sets off deeper into the fort, and seems to be admiring statues--
--the others are there with their books.
Giggett whispers to the others:
"Looks like someone has serious ego issues. Let's move quickly to our hole, he will stop and join us if we are no more there."
Giggett packs quickly the last books and starts moving on with them.
Tamerius enters the room carefully, trying to see if the statues move or if there is any traps somewhere.
Natsume sets any books she hasn’t schlepped to the hideout already in an easy-to-grab position, in case they need to hustle out.
Does Natsume:
• put her pile of books down, in an easy to take place--
--but does not leave with Giggett towards the forest and your hideout?
• or does she take are pile of books and leave with Giggett?
As for Sitril-- what does he do with his stinky blankets?
You see that the statue must have been sculpted by some professional artisan of some big city.
It is very good work.
There is a little plaque at the bottom: Never count on others for aid.
From a distance, peering into the clear water of the pool, at the bottom, you see a sealed stone box that bears the alchemical symbol-- for life.
Alongside the name: Silwyth.
Natsume hustles out with Giggett and her books!
Tamerius casts Read Aura on the box and the statue.
Guys, there is a stone box here, it seems that it bears the alchemical symbol of Life and a name, Silwyth. Isn't that the name of the "witch" who dies during the plague?
Natsume and Giggett have left with the books-- and will be away for a while.
The shape of two watery sharks take form... and attack!
They open their maws, ready to gobble Tamerius up.
But Asmodeus smiles upon you as--
--you have a surge of adrenaline and act first!
You shudder, and feel in your bones, that, otherwise, you would be dead... not sure why, but something you feel.
Tamerius tries to understand if this place could be the tomb of V's mother.
"I don't know for you, Nat', but I'm more and more fed up by Tamerius' behavior. He disagrees, fine, everyone has the right to have an opinion. He doesn't help, ok, you can be a dick, noone should be forced to do something against his will anyway. But opening doors like a spoiled child who doesn't get his toy, that's too much. Between that and yesterday's spell cast in the middle of everything, risking Sitril's life and yours, I no more trust him. What can be his next move? Siding with Vilree? Stabbing one of us because it's fun?"
If Natsume doesn't stop her, Giggett will talk all the way to the hole and back.
The shape of two watery sharks take form... and attack!
They open their maws, ready to gobble Tamerius up.
But Asmodeus smiles upon you as--
--you have a surge of adrenaline and act first!
You shudder, and feel in your bones, that, otherwise, you would be dead... not sure why, but something you feel.
Sitril carries the books to the whole in the ground, Following Giggett. He curses along the way in dwarven language
"To carry the books? Or not to carry the books? Noodles or no noodles? What a bunch!"
He drops the books in the blanket and then tries to find Tamerius.
"Well, I'm ok with him being selfish. In my opinion, everyone's selfish, to some extent. But he's kind of taking all the credit for what we do. Of course, it was very powerful to bring you back. But we had to bring you back because you were protecting us... And Asmodeus. I don't know for you, but it's very far from my philosophy. Kind of opposed, in fact. I have hard time feeling I'm doing anything for the good of Etran's Folly."
Giggett thinks for a second, then smile at Natsume.
"Ho, by the way, it took me a bit of time to understand your 'transformation', but I think Natsume the Champion is more in line with the way you fight than Natsume the caravan guard. I feel safer now when you're around."
She smiles back; her foxy face is pretty adorable when she does. ”Thanks, Giggs. It means a lot to hear you say that.”
And the water took shape-- so, pretty much all the water that came out took the shape of the two aqueous sharks.
There is a little water left in the pool, and a couple puddles on the floor, but nearly all the water is now in the shape of two sharks.
Now, taking some time to think--
--you see that these most be brine sharks, deadly elementals that roam the endless oceans of the Plane of Water.
So, V. must have something with Elementals!
Brine Sharks! Oh, mais bon sang c'est bien sûr...
You remember that they swim quite fast--
--and dive even better--
--but are slow on land!
Knowing that he has no chance to fight these two things alone, Tamerius , armed with the knowledge of their reduce speed on land, decide to flee!
Giggett turns to Sitril:
"You have been with us for a while now, I'd like to know your opinion, if you have one and want to share it."
Tamerius stops running and listen. He waits for a least 5mn before coming back prudently to see if the creatures are still there.
The dwarf nods his head when Nat is speaking. And he rubs his chin when the Gig is saying nice things about Natsume new form.
He recalls the freedom of roaming through hills and the pleasant smell of mines.
When the Gig asks him he responds:
"What? What do I think of Tamerius and Asmodeus? "
He pauses for a moment
"Tamerius saved my life, a couple of times. He had good reasons to do it, but it doesn't change what he did. I hate all religions, they bring nothing good to people. But I believe that everyone should have the freedom to believe in what they want. That is another reason why I dislike Asmodeus, freedom is not on his list of virtues."
He pauses a bit more
"I want to punish the one responsible for Bort's death, Etran's Folly welfare is not my priority. If the villagers want to believe in Asmodeus it is their choice, I have nothing better to offer. "
There is some water on the floor.
Otherwise, everything is calm.
The pool is filled with clear water.
The statue "cries" into the pool...
All is quiet and normal. as before.
Giggett smiles to Sitril:
"Vengeance, I can sympathetize with that. But it's also Vilree's motive. I don't respect her means, but I can clearly understand her end. I even think killing her has a chance to continue this cycle of violence, if she ever has a son or daughter somewhere. Explaining to the villagers what happened to her mother and make them understand she was no witch but a martyr may appease Vilree's wrath. She'll still have to pay for her crimes, but it may be a more civilized way to end this bloodbath."
When at the hole .
"Nat', could you take ten minutes healing me? I'd prefer to go back in perfect condition. Who knows what will await us in the keep, as Tamerius is certainly messing up hard with what's in there."
She lays her hands on Giggett’s shoulder, says something in Sylvan, and smiles as Daikitsu brings her back the rest of the way to full health.
”There you go. And now for my part...”
She finds a nice plant and spends about ten minutes improving its living situation.
"Thanks Nat'!"
Seeing Natsume tending to a plant, Giggett decides to imitate her as she has not much else to do right now.
"I'd love to get magical powers from tending to plants."
And she does it very well. The flower she chose will be more beautiful than ever. She feels more quiet after these minutes of calm. Smiling, she gets back at Nat' and Sitril.
"I don't want to go back inside the keep, smile at Tamerius and make like if nothing happened. He clearly disrespects us by behaving like that, and knowing him, I think it's the exact reflection of how he considers us: henchmen, underlings."
"I TOLD YOU they are witches!
Look, they are going for all the UGLY things in the woods!
FLOWERS-- puke!"
And the two Orcs you last saw leaving the fort, run away deeper into the forest, one of them limping from his fall.
As they disappear-- - "I'm out of here!"
- "Yeah! They are MONSTERS!"