Ebba hoped there wouldn't be any more fighting for a while. She was not having a good day!
The druid watches as the creature crumbles, its bones finally finding rest. "At least it can now have peace." He moves towards Lightfoot and pats her, his hand giving more emotion than his voice.
"And what of these ruins? What other dangers lay in wait?" He saw the boar, still wounded get up, "We need to be careful should we want to explore further yet."
He grasps the wand and his medical kit, "I believe we should spend some time to treat our injuries. Adriana, you do not look to be in the best of health, though your spirit seems unfaltering."
Jonah rubs his shoulder from the final hit he took from the skeleton, but he is glad the fight is over. he looks through the treasure with the others.
"well that was quite a thing! first we find zombies on the beach and now a giant skeleton! and here i thought we would be fighting dinosaurs and lizardfolk...
Jonah quickly grabs the magical arrows. he will also be willing to carry any of the other treasures as needed.
Breathing heavily as the cyclopean skeleton collapses under the weight of their attacks and only dimly aware of just how hurt she is once the adrenaline starts to wear off, Adriana still can't help but smile in bemusement from Split's words.
"Unfaltering and maybe a little stubborn. But I have magic still, who still needs help?" and then, with a little awareness, adds "I won't neglect myself."
She can't tell much about the kukri, save that it feels well balanced, and the stones she swears she has the knowledge of what they are on the tip of her tongue.
"It's a good knife - and these do...something, I swear." She makes an attempt to collect the glowing stones first before assisting Splits with healing the others.
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”Well, they’re probably historically valuable,” Tonny adds hesitantly. ”Pity none of us are large enough to use that blade effectively...” His eyes fall on the tablets decorating the walls. ”But the better question is how we’re going to get these tablets back to town without breaking them! I don’t suppose anyone can read them?” He pulls a piece of parchment from his pack and starts sketching out the layout of the ruin.
The search of the room reveals nothing more.
After a few hours of work Tonny has a good sketch of the place and the tablets. Time enough for Splits to heal Adriana.
With a bit of work the tablets could be loaded into your canoe and transported to Pridon's Hearth.
After comforting Ebba, Ingolf suggested, "We've found some interesting things here. Why don't we load the tablets into the canoe and return to Pridon's Hearth? I seem to remember that Mr. Blackwell expressed interest in Ghol-Gan artifacts."
The druid takes a few hours to help them recover from their wounds. Fixing whatever is left with magical healing.
"All done, hope that helped. I apologize Jonah, I didn't notice the bone cracking that way until it was too late, I thought it had to do with Rosmary and how she perches on you."
Ebba was looking better after Splits the Leaves' healing. She looked at the druid appreciatively.
With the help of Splits cares and Ariadna's magic, most of the group injuries are healed.
Exploring the remaining cavern in the basement, you only find dead vegetation and animal bones. Most probably the mimic food.
For the remaining of the day you do load the canoe with the tablets and the other treasures found.
Also Tony has time to make sketches of the lizardfolk drawings in the upper ruins of the lighthouse.
The group makes camp for the night and the next day ventures once more into the waters of the Korir River. Although some of you want to visit Jheri's Plantation, it is clearly risky to venture into the small curses of water of the delta without a guide. With the canoe loaded with treasures you realize it would be better for now to just direct yourselves to Pridon's Hearth through the main river course.
After a couple of days of painfully wading up-waters you finally spot Pridon's Hearth houses in the distance.
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Tonny paddles harder at the sight of the houses. "Oh I do hope we haven't missed the last ship bound for Absalom," he says between gulps of air to fuel his rowing. "I've got all those maps and sketches I need to mail off - and I took rubbings of as many of those tablets as I could, so I can't forget to send those as well! Goodness knows it'll be cheaper sending parchment rather than stone. Do you know how much they charge for shipping? Do they do it by weight or by space? Or both? I'm at least pretty certain I got rubbings of all the tablets. I know there were a couple that I copied twice on accident. At least I think I copied them twice. I'll admit it's kinda hard to know sometimes when you can't speak the language. Oh I do hope they don't charge outlandish prices. But maybe that order of paper I placed has come in while we were away! I did remember to put in that order, didn't I..." The half-elf chuckles nervously, eyes scanning the harbor for any larger sailing vessels that might be leaving in the morning.
after a few days of travel back to the colony, Jonah is quite happy to be away from the dangers that the group put themselves in. he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it wasn't zombies and cyclops skeletons and mimics!
luckily, the journey was successful and all of them were returning safely. and he had found one of the dinosaurs he had hoped to see. during their travel back he fashioned a necklace using some twine and beads along with one of the talons from the velociraptor. he now wears it around his neck
When they arrived at Pridon's Hearth, Ingolf sought out Sheriff Adaela and related the fate of the Cobalt Eye, and their exploration of the lighthouse ruins. "We brought back some artifacts that are likely of archaeological interest."
He went to find Mr. Blackwell, "I just got back from a most interesting expedition; we explored the ruins of a Gol-Gan lighthouse on the coast yesterday. We brought back some stone tablets that you might like to have a look at."
Tony will ask around the docks and find out sending his maps and sketches to Absalom will cost 10 gold pieces.
The Sheriff frowns upon the news "That's a bitter result, but Count Narsus will want to know about the destiny of the Cobalt Eye nevertheless" Adaela will take the registry of the passengers for you and deliver it to the Count, she comes back in a day and gives you the coin promised, 1000 gold pieces.
"Please remember to visit my cousin Jheri "One Arm" Paet whenever you have time. I still have not heard about him after the Storm and I am a bit worried" comments Sheriff Adaela before giving you farewell.
"Really?! Those are amazing news, I want to have a glimpse at them" Mr. Blackwell follows you to the tablets you brought back and insists to buy them. Provided you accept his offer he pays you 2500 gold pieces for the full collection.
During your stay at town you receive a letter at The Stone Hall signed by financial advisor Hamsa Gadd: I have heard of your return to the colony. I would be pleased to invite you to my private rooms at the count's state for drinks in order to thank you for your bold service to local business."
The druid mostly spends the journey in silence, looking toward the storm int he distance and praying when he had the opportunity. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk, but there was a lot weighing on his mind. In some ways, he wondered how his life would have turned out should he had stayed on the path he had before, would he have ended up in Adriana's shoes, seeking redemption? Or would it have ended up worse?
It was difficult to parse, and much like the storms, never easy to navigate.
Finally getting back to the Hearth, the druid gives a quick nod to the others, "I will be around to meet with Hamsa if you choose to, until then I have to learn more about these weather patterns." The enigmatic druid takes his leave and tries to find a spot where he can see the storm.
What is coming?
Adriana considers pushing to see if they can check in Jheri on their return trip but with their canoe full and on the verge of sinking and their supplies threatening to dwindle beyond even their ability to replenish via magic she quietly concedes that Jheri would have to wait until after they had returned to Pridon's
Having no immediate concerns save to inform Sheriff Adaela of the fate of the Cobalt Eye and the discovery of the cyclopean lighthouse but leaving the details and intricate explanations to Tonny - he was very much the expert - and reassures Adalea "Once we have this sorted, we will check on your cousin. If we have to, can we bring him here?" She asks as she watches Splits leave, and nods to the druid while waiting for an answer from Adeala.
Splits invest the day on checking with the animals and reading the winds. He knows the rains should be shutting down and receding, but unnaturally they are gathering and gaining strength once more. For now he knows the rain will be soft and there will be some sunny moments, but in a few days the rains will get stronger if the unnatural cloud gathering is not stopped.
Adriana's question is answered with a nod "Of course, I would be glad to take care of Jheri here if he has find out trouble at his plantation"
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"And be careful with them!" Tonny calls one last time to the courier boarding the ship for Absalom. Maybe the Decemvirate will listen to reason and reimburse me for the cost of shipping. Cayden's Knickers, I hope they do. His pockets a handful of coins lighter, the half-elf makes his way back from the harbor to the inn to reconvene with his new companions.
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"Oh yes, we should definitely sell what we can to Mr. Blackwell," the scholar agrees with Ingolf over dinner. "Research expeditions don't fund themselves, after all. And I don't see a problem with checking on Jheri - who knows what else we could find out hidden in the jungle!" He frowns as if just remembering something. "Oh, but did we want to take Mister Gadd up on his offer of dinner? None of my professors ever mentioned getting invited to meals with nobles during their own investigations and studies - most of them had stories about getting chased out of town, as a matter of fact - but perhaps Pridon's Hearth is the exception that proves the rule." The half-elf's fallen ears and furrowed brows betray his doubts on this hypothesis.
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Jonah fingers his necklace again, feeling the sharp edges of the talon. quite nice work if i do say so myself. i really like how the polish on the claw catches the light...
jonah agrees with Adriana. once we're done offloading the stuff we brought back from that expidition, let's go check on this cousin. if somethign has happened we don't want to delay too long in finding out
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Ingolf said to the others. "We should accept Hamsa's offer of drinks at the Count's estate; It would be good to hear what he has to say.
"And we should go and check on Jheri as soon as is practical."
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A few days... That seems to be all we have.
He worries about it and begins to wander back to civilization, despite his demeanor it is enjoyable to have a warm bath with food waiting. He had missed that, and wondered how much his order would laugh once he returned.
You grew soft! He could hear them say it, the irony being that under the stone faces they all had soft sides. It was the way of the Halcyon Circle.
With most of the group agreeing to accept Hamsa's invitation you proceed that very same night so you can hurry up to your other errands the next day.
Once at Count Narsus State, you are directed to the private rooms of the financial adviser. The young and beautiful woman receives you pleasantly "Thanks for accepting my invitation. It has been a time I am not around true adventurers. You have demonstrated to be capable and useful to the colony"
The dinner is stocked with excellent Chelish wines and candied fruit. She seems very interested on your past life and what moved you to relocate to Pridon's Hearth "I have always found interesting to know what makes to built a true adventurer and moves him to visit such remote places like this one. What were you doing before coming here? Why Pridon's Hearth"
Ingolf inquired about whether Ebba was invited to the dinner as well, "She's well behaved, I can assure you."
He enjoyed the chance for a good meal, after subsisting on hard tack for a few days. "I grew up n Port Peril. It's rather noisy and crowded, and I wanted to be closer to nature. I'm skilled at Cartography, so this seemed like a good place to come and prove myself. I met Ebba on the journey here." He was always reluctant to discuss his curse with people he had recently met.
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"Oh, well, you know," Tonny stammers, carefully looking just past their hostess and trying to ignore the heat rising up his neck. "The Pathfinder Society is always looking for archeologically-interesting items to study and preserve. And, uh, with no agents out here yet, this was a good place to start one's career, yeah? And having just finished my studies in cryptozoology, it was a natural choice. Did you know that tropical rainforests have the highest density of biological diversity anywhere on the planet, and that the multitude of unique micro-environments means that each group of trees or river or clearing could have an undiscovered species living there?" The half-elf quickly stuffs some bread in his mouth before it can continue running away from him.
"Oh! Port Peril. Where your parents pirates or servants to them?" Hamsa asks particularly impressed.
"The Pathfinder Society?" Hamsa frowns then smiles wide "I advise you there are not much tombs to rob in the jungle. But if you are truly interested in the flora I guess you are at the right place"
You feel the woman particularly dislikes the Pathfinder Society.
After listening to the others stories too, she pours some more wine on your cups "Still, there are other benefactors more willing to pay proper salaries than the Pathfinder Society" she makes a pause to look at everyone and Tonny in particular "Have you heard about a Gozreh's cleric apprentice begging around town called Kanjo Arram?"
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Adriana has never been one to turn down a free meal, and one as elaborate as the one provided by Hamsa was one she couldn't resist - the candied fruit alone was worth the endeavor.
Or at least the difficult questions. The others answered with the simple ease of those who had not made questionably poor decisions in their life (that she was aware of) and could leave Pridon's Hearth should they choose to. Not wanting to be rude but not wanting to truly dive into her mistakes, Adriana enjoys a piece of candied fruit as Tonny and Ingolf answer, choosing her words carefully.
"I am here by...poor choices, of a previous life. She holds up her bandaged hand and its missing finger as a way of explanation. "I would not like to elaborate, but the decision to come her wasn't mine. But it was very much a second chance - the rare, true second chances - and I have attempted to make the most of it. It's been an interesting life here."
She keeps her tone neutral, not wanting to elaborate further.
She takes a sip of wine as she listens to Hamsa, something about her tone seemed familiar but she couldn't place it properly and let it slide, instead thinking about if she was aware of Kanjo Arram.
Inglof replied to Hamsa, "Well, not everyone in Port Peril is a pirate or a servant. My father is a jeweler, and my mother is an accountant."
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The druid walked into the house, doing his best to not track in any dirt. It was one thing they never tell you once you join the order, how difficult it will be to manage such a thing.
Waving hello to the others he grabs a seat and takes the drink offered to him. He was a little late but it wasn't late enough to be rude, he wanted to be sure. Telling Lightfoot to hop on his pack, the druid finally settled down.
"I study the teachings of the Old-Mage. Gozreh has brought me here with divine providence, apparently that storm you see on the horizon is enough for the winds and the waves to have taken notice." He sips it a little noting the herbs in his head, "Not that it should worry you, I will do my best to find out its cause, and I feel like the others here may be interested in it as well."
Hearing about the Pathfinder Society gave him a silent chill. Once he had worked for a similar organization, and had done some things that he wasn't proud of, but that was a different life.
"I have to say, Port Peril does sound like a place full of adventure Ingolf. I wouldn't have pegged you to have come from there. Remind me to discuss with you some theories I have about the Eye. I would love to hear about it from a locals' point of view."
The druid known as Splits the Leaves gave a thoughtful pause, "I have heard of him, in fact I tried to seek him out but apparently he was nowhere to be found. I attempted to follow him but the storm came and I'm afraid that those tracks are probably long gone."
"I understand..." Hamsa stretches her eyes while looking at Adriana's hand "I am convinced you will found here the opportunity for a better life"
"I see" she responds to Ingolf "It would have been interesting to meet a pirate gnome, though"
As Splits acknowledges Kanjo Arram, Hamsa nods "Well, it seems the cleric has returned. I do not like him scaring the people at Pridon's Hearth and he sure is guilty of the Storm. What a coincidence he disappeared just when the Storm came."
"The best for our community is to make him disappear permanently. Of course this ugly business must be done with the utmost of delicacies, as we do not want people at town to get scared or lead to the wrong conclusions" Hamsa Gad pours more wine in your empty cups "You have already proven to be capable adventurers. I am sure I found the right people. And you will be well rewarded"
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Adriana says nothing as Hamsa makes her intentions towards Kanjo rather clear, instead glancing about at her companions and intending to gauge their reactions, knowing well what the promise of wealth could do to a person and their morals.
And while she knows she has little room to judge, she would make both her position and her intentions known, politics be damned.
"If you wish for Kanjo to be moved on to somewhere else, I can help you." She stands slowly and deliberately so that she can be eye to eye with Hamsa, level in both voice and stance. "But I will not kill him, and I will not let any of my companions kill him." It might not have been the smartest thing to both indirectly threaten her friends and rebuke one of the more powerful people in Pridon's Hearth, but Adriana had never been known as a thinker.
She was socially aware enough, however, to know that she was most likely no longer welcome.
"Your hospitality has been wonderful, and I will not sour your evening further. Excuse me." She says as politely as she can and short of being asked to stay, prepares to leave.
Ingolf felt he had to back Adriana up, "I can't be part of any attempt to kill Kanjo either. I would suggest a more peaceable solution be found."
Hamsa looks at the others then smiles back at Adriana "There must have been a misunderstanding. Let's this not cause a grudge between us"
As Adriana storms away she tries to call her attention and that of the group and offer to sit back "It would bad to let such a dinner spoil. I did not want to trouble you with my worries. Let's move on to merrier topics"
The druid shakes his head, "I do not know what you are asking but I will speak with him if we can find him. I doubt that this would have to come to forcible removal but if he follows the Wind and Waves like I, there is a good chance he knows that what's coming is more than just a normal storm."
He watches Adriana leave, "She is right to be upset you know, but that is not my place to discuss."
The end of the meeting does not come abruptly, but it is clear Hamsa wants to conclude it without spending much more time on it. A few minutes later the woman gives you farewell "I hope your explorations of the jungle go good. Take care, we count on you"
The group finds themselves out at night in the street once more.
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"I mean, the flora is certainly nice and all, but fauna is much more exciting," Tonny confides to Splits the Leaves as they leave the mansion. "They move around and do stuff, while plants just sit there." The memory of the assassin vine plays across his face and he quickly adds, "Or try to kill you - there doesn't seem to be much in between those two extremes." He looks over at the older man with a puzzled look. "And why would she think this Kanjo fellow would be responsible for the storm? Those lizardfolk seem like a much more likely culprit given that we found them trying to destroy the barricades and let the town flood. Do you think she didn't hear about that? I mean, based on the circumstantial evidence she presented we could be just as responsible for the storm since it showed up at the same time as we did, and now we're back and there's another storm coming." The half-elf pauses. "Wait, we're not actually responsible for these storms, are we?"
Ingolf talked to the others after the dinner, "It was pretty clear to me what Hamsa meant. She just claimed a misunderstanding when we didn't want to go along with it."
The druid listens to Tonny and laughs, "Anything can be deadly I suppose... Including politics." He assumed his normal quiet stance shortly after, "I do not know why. Unless we meet with him we would best not assume anything." He looks toward the sky before tapping his chin, "If he is in fact a follower of Gozreh, I don't see how our two disparate paths would lead us here if he was causing it, but it would be hubris for me to assume the reasoning of the wind and the waves."
He feeds some meat to Lightfoot, no doubt it was live no more than an hour ago. "I agree we should find him."
Short after dinner you come back to the Stone Hall for a sleep. There you find Muhdzuzi, the Song'o halfling, drinking milk before going to sleep. He seems very happy to see you and engages in conversation for a time, talking in Polyglot while Splits acts as translator "Your group has been very hospitable. Anyway, it has come time for me to come back to my place. My family will be worried and my leaders need to know what is happening. Could you please escort me to Cashil? My tribe will reward you with rewards of wisdom and courage if you agree"
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Ingolf asked around to see if anyone knews where Kamjo went.
When he met up with Muhdzuzi he says, "Of course we'll come with you to Cashil. I would like to meet others of your tribe."
He consulted with the others, "Should we take him to Cashil, and then check on Jheri's plantation? Or do you think we should try to convince him to wait?"
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"Aren't they kinda on the way to each other?" Tonny asks absentmindedly as he turns the map around and around, trying to figure out which way is supposed to be up. "So we escort him back to his village, but detour to the plantation? Or do you think that would make him upset and we should swing by Jheri's place on the trip back? It's just that the plantation's closer to town than the village is, and I'd hate for something bad to happen to Jheri. Aha!" With a triumphant cry, the half-elf flips the map around to look at its backside before placing it on the table.
The druid does his best to gather information about the other follower of Gozreh and his whereabouts.
Eventually he meets the others and the discussion arises from the Song'O.
"I think we should make a quick stop at the plantation, as you said if they are alone, they may not have been so lucky with the storms." He turns to the halfling, "Would that be okay if we stopped to check on someone before we continued to bring you home?"
Answering in Polyglot the Song'o nods to Splits "I do understand you have other things to attend I would be glad to go with you if that helps your traveling"
Visiting Jheri with Muhdzuzi before escorting him to Chasil is decided.
Meanwhile Ingolf talks with other people at the Stone Hall and some of them point them having seen Kamjo helping to fix the bakery from the troll attack in order to earn some coin for a ticket back to Ereder.
Decided to talk with the man, you travel to Island Town. When you are in the proximity of the bakery you suddenly hear a cry for help that is quickly muffled.
Looking around the corner you spot in a dark alley between two buildings and under the shadow of the trees, two men restraining another one who is already in the ground while one of them holds a dagger in the hand he is trying to use to slit the throat of the fallen one. A third man stands on guard looking for passers by and instantly calls the attention of the other two when he spots you.
They unleash shortswords and look at you menacingly "Go away and hold your mouths close, this is none of your business"
They clearly ready attacks to fight anyone approaching while they try to hide the fallen man with their bodies.
"I would recommend that you leave, right now."
Moving a little, he lines up two of the bandits. "This is your only warning."
Ingolf recited a prayer to Gozreh and moved up. "Let that man go, now!"
Ebba moved up beside Ingolf, grunting menacingly. She was just waiting for the order to attack.
It had been something of a long night, with her leaving Hamsa's abruptly and probably making herself a target unnecessarily. But Adriana had left that life behind and was doing her damnedest to make the most of her future at Pridon's Hearth; if it was a short one for taking a stand where before she would have taken money, then at least it was on her terms.
And she found herself fine with that. Happy, almost.
She had however been distracted by her inner turmoil enough to not properly realize that her companions had agreed to help Muhdzuzi return to their tribe, and would have argued to check in on Jheri had everyone not agreed to do both - a slight detour on their way to help Muhdzuzi was a well thought out idea and she took a few moments to clear her head and refocus back to now as they look for Kamjo at the bakery, only finding trouble instead.
Adriana doesn't know if she's feeling rage or indignation or both, but what she does know is that the men threatening them were only as good as the gold spent to hire them; they did not look worth the coin.
Scimitar in hand, blade purposefully turned so that the flat side faced towards the assailants, Adriana stalked forward with barely contained anger.
"Let him go and you leave with your lives." She states bluntly, eyeing the closest man and fighting every urge to not flick her scimitar back to having the bladed edge out - Sarenrae preached mercy, and she would show it. It just would not be gentle.
Splits emits a warning and readies while Ingolf blesses the party.
Adriana stares menacingly at the green clothed thug who shakes when Tonny joins the attempt with a crack of his whip.
Jonah approaches too, trying to intimidate the other thug by pointing him with an arrow.
Despite clearly shaking, the two thugs in the front get outraged by the proof of determination "You do not know whom you are facing eh? You will pay for this meddlers!"
When they move forward to attack, Splits blows them, their clothes and hair move crazily but the strength is not enough to push them back.
But Adriana is ready and dodges both attacks.
The remaining thug tries to quickly slit the throat of the bound and fallen man.
As he starts to bleed and lose consciousness, the thug quickly disappears around the back of the house.
Ingolf wanted to reach the bleeding man on the ground, but had to deal with the thugs in the way first. He barked, "Ebba, flank!", flew into a rage, and backed up to use his polearm.
Ebba moved around behind the nearest villain and tried to gore him.