Tasha gestures to Ruinë to invoke her wall of fire to enclose them all.
Once the vandals have nowhere to run to, Tasha hopes they'll calm down enough to hold a semblance of a conversation.
The teens turn from the flames and fall to their knees. "Okay! We're sorry! We're sorry! Don't kill us!" the girl, their apparent leader, whines.
"What's your name?" Tasha asks, moving to stand in front of the leader.
"And what's the normal punishment for thieves in this town?" Her second question is asked with a wide grin, showing off her pointed black teeth. "Say, for example, if someone came to your house and stole one of your father's horses? What would he do to that person if he caught them?"
The end of her blade whips through the air and she seemingly focuses her attention upon it.
"Not that I have anything personal against thieves, mind you. Given a choice, I'd just let you go. But 'when in Cheliax' as they say. We do our best to uphold whatever laws have been established wherever we travel."
"Tasha, they're just children. Let's not hurt them, please?" Ruinë whispers to the tiefling in a soft voice.
Still, she keeps the flames burning around them and shoots a ray of fire from her hands into the ground for effect only. You know, it's always about the performance in the circus...
Tasha turns to Ruinë just enough to throw her a hidden wink.
”Anylla,” the girl stammers. ”Normally, thieves would get whipped and possibly thrown in jail. But we didn’t mean no harm, ma’am! We was just out here on a lark. Please, let us go!”
Tasha notes Ashlion's hulking presence, but doesn't turn to look at him.
"So thievery and vandalism are what pass for a lark around here? So then, I guess, murder and arson make for rollicking good time. What a lovely town you have here. I think I'm going to enjoy myself." Her blade whips back and forth before coming to rest two inches from Anylia's face, pointing directly at her.
"What are your parents names?" she snaps out. "And before you even think about lying to me, my girlfriend there can magically detect lies. A lie will cost you dearly ..." she shrugs and shakes her head sadly.
"Now since you've explained to me what counts for a good time in this town, I'm going to let you go ... after you clean the paint off that wagon. Ashlion? Would you ensure that these youths do an acceptable job?"
The mortified teenagers give up their parents' names without deception. They glumly clean the wagon to Ashlion's satisfaction before scurrying off back into town. You doubt they'll forget the encounter soon.
"We'll ask around about our host's haunting and depending on how they receive us ... then we'll decided whether we put on a show here or not," Tasha answers.
The next morning, you depart Kerrick, heading south along the road towards Castinlee. Around midday, the quiet of the journey is broken by the whistling of arrows and the echoing of loud shouts. Three colorful arrow shafts land quivering in the center of the road while the brush on both sides of the road rustles with movement.
A single clear voice calls, “Stand and deliver, scoundrels, or the devils take your guts!” A lone human figure steps out into the roadway clad all in browns and greens and with bits of grass and leaves tied to her clothing to provide concealment among the foliage. She wears a wide-brimmed hat and a mask made of burlap with two eye holes cut in it. She holds a loaded crossbow in each hand.
”Keep your hands away from your weapons and empty your pouches onto the road!”
"'Devils take our guts?'" Tasha replies with a bit of a laugh before stepping out to be visible. "I think, perhaps, that you are a little late with that threat where I am concerned, eh?"
She keeps her hand away from her rapier, but not obviously so.
"Unfortunately I have no pouch to empty. And since we are just poor traveling entertainers, I'm sure you'll have no issue with letting us go on our merry way."
The woman takes a step back, caught off guard by Tasha’s fiendish features. But her eyes narrow and she keeps her crossbows trained on the tiefling. ”You’re from far away, aren’t you? Surely you needed money to cross the sea to come here. You may not have a pouch, but I’m sure you’ve got cash stashed somewhere in those wagons.”
"Oh, but the money in the wagons doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the Family," Tasha replies, her grin growing more predatory and displaying her teeth. "Here's a lesson you should learn when dealing with the circus folk. We're a family. And you never threaten the family. We take care of each other no matter what happens."
Heedless of the warning, she reaches down and draws her rapier slowly.
"Now seriously consider your situation. Even if the rest of our family just sits in the wagons. There is no way that you and your little pin-throwers there are going to stop either myself or my strong friend here, much less the both of us. What do you think your chances will be, eh? Consider your options wisely."
The woman’s eyes widen even more as Ash stalks toward the woman. You hear curses from the bushes as three men there break and run rather than risk incurring the barbarian’s wrath! Tasha’s chilling words sel the deal. ”S#@@! O-okay, okay, you can go! I don’t want to mess with you guys!”
The would be bandit wisely lowers her weapons, swallowing nervously.
Ruinë nods at the peaceful resolution "Well done, all. Well done." She clasps a hand on Tasha's shoulder twice and calls out to the would-be bandit, "Wise choice! No blood requires spilling this day."
The bandit nods, cocking her head when she sees Ruine's holy symbol. "Um... Are you a healer? I know I am in no position to ask for aid after trying to rob you, but my brother back at camp is very sick. I fear he may not make it another night without aid. It would be a kindness if you could try to cure what ails him."
If the fact that this person was attempting to rob and murder them moments before affects her, she doesn't show it. "I will help your brother, if I can."
Turning to Tasha she says "I would help this man avoid death, if you do not mind."
Tasha nods at her love and then turns to the woman.
"Ruinë here will help your brother. Be warned, though, that if something happens to her, you'll wish that you'd died attempting to rob us."
Tasha will follow along.
The woman thanks you and leads you to a small camp not far away. The other bandits who fled are there, along with a fifth man who appears to be extremely drained and weak. He looks up with sunken eyes.
"Tanner, this priestess graciously agreed to help you," the escort says. He nods and allows Ruine to examine him.
He seems to be in the advanced stages of a plague that is draining his life force...
"Two nights ago I began to have horrible nightmares of a black horse with glowing eyes and hooves of flame. I felt weak upon waking and have only gotten worse since," he says in a feeble voice.
"Be still. Let me have a look."
Ruinë takes a knee by the man's side, looking over his injuries. She puts a hand to his head to feel the temperature and then begins a broader examination, focusing on symptoms that she can identify.
Ruine identifies the man's symptoms as those of Abyssal plague. The plague is usually spread by fiends known as night hags, foul witches who haunt the dreams of sleeping victims.
"Abyssal plague.", Ruinë says after her examination is complete. "I'm quite sure of it."
Turning to face the sick man again she says "It is usually spread by night hags, which explains the nightmares you are having."
"I believe I can cure you and remove this disease. Would you like to try? Yes? I must ask, I would prefer you no longer seek coin through banditry and take up a more reputable and less dangerous line of work. Maybe you should be a gardener? You look like you have strong hands."
The cleric begins her ritual which takes about ten minutes, finishing with a spell that flows over the mans body.
Ruine's magic fills the bandit's body with warmth as it purges the disease. He sighs with relief and nods. "Thank you! Thank you! Truth be told, we only started our banditry a short while ago. With this second chance you have given me, I swear I will turn our intentions toward doing good. Please, take the spoils we have gathered so far as payment for saving my life."
Ruinë turns to Tasha after the reward is given to them, frowning.
She looks uncomfortable and says "I did not ask for payment for services."
Folding her arms across her chest, she asks the tiefling "Should we take this? Is this no better than robbing the owner of these items ourselves? Perhaps we should ask them to return these items instead? Why should we take possession of someoneelses stolen goods for doing the right thing?"
"I see nothing wrong with taking payment from them," Tasha replies. "I'm sure we'll put it to better use then they did. We are working for the common good, are we not? Maybe this is how the gods are funding our efforts."
The cleric nods. "Alright, Tasha. I see your point of view. Yes. Yes, I think that's it. This is the work of the Gods then."
Ruinë humbly accepts payment and says a prayer for the troupe, sending them on their new path of reform before turning to the others and says "Let us continue on our way."
The road from Kerrick to Castinlee follows the Sulwen Hills where they meet the basin of the Swardlands. It is a trip of some 16 miles from Kerrick.
The road passes through a swampy lowland between the hills and the plains here. It’s muddy and furrowed from years of traffic on its soft surface, and standing water forms puddles in the ruts. Willows grow profusely in this area, and between them and the stony outcrops of the rising hills to the north and west there is a shadowy, close quality to the air unlike the bright, open feel of the rest of the Swardlands. It is as if you have taken a step away from the sunlit fields and villages into a darker and more remote land altogether.
The road parallels an iron fence along its north side where the ground rises to a large hillock covered in willows. Spread out in the gloom beneath these trees are limestone and marble tombstones. An open gate in the fence bears an elaborate wrought iron arch bearing the words “Castinlee Hollows Burying Ground.” A track branches off and climbs the hill among the trees. A mournful song comes from that direction.
You recall the shoonies you encountered telling you about their cousin, the singing gravedigger Booralu.
"Perhaps that is Booralu," Tasha says, noting the singing. "We should seek him out. He may be able to shed light on the haunt."
Taking the sidetrack into the burying ground, you find Booralu hard at work digging a grave on the gentle slope of the hill and crooning a melancholy song that is both haunting and heart-wrenching to hear. The shadows of the looming Sulwen Hills and surrounding willows create a dim grotto where the shoony works, and fireflies dance in the gloaming light. The fireflies gather around Booralu in prodigious numbers and dance gracefully in time with his song. Having heard of the shoony, you can see why the fireflies might be mistaken for dead spirits among the sepulchral surroundings.
Booralu stops his work as you draw near, and the fireflies rapidly disperse. ”Hail, travelers. How may I assist you?” the doglike humanoid asks cheerfully.
"Greetings. We are in search of Booralu. We bring a proposition of employment with us." Ruinë says, opening the door of the conversation. She turns to Tasha to let her do the real talking on this matter though.
”I am Booralu. Employment, you say?” The shoony bows his head thoughtfully for a few minutes. ”Hmm. I don’t mind my work as a gravedigger, but it’s gotten a bit boring and I have been thinking about trying something else. What sort of job are you offering?”
"We are members of the Circus of Wayward Wonders," Grelda says. "We welcome an eclectic collection of various peoples under our tent. Your singing would be a welcome addition to our repertoire. We also had questions regarding any strange events that might be happening around Castinlee. Sightings of haunts, undead, or suspicious deaths, perhaps?"
"A circus! Heh, yeah, that sounds like fun!" Booralu says, tail wagging. "I'll bet my friends will come along, too." He gestures to the fireflies lingering around the graveyard. "They like to listen to me sing."
The shoony scratches behind an ear. "As far as strange happenings, there was an odd death just the other day. A local teenaged girl who had no family, but she was in good health as far as anyone knew. She was found dead in her hovel without a mark on her; she’d just passed away in her sleep. Her neighbors remarked that she’d looked haggard and hollow-eyed in the last few days, and she’d complained about terrible nightmares featuring a little girl."
As you are speaking to Booralu, you hear a voice shout, "Hello! Hello?" Light flickers from between trees to the north, apparently from a lantern. The voice doesn't respond to any hails in return.
"The nightmare again," Tasha says with a significant glance at Ruinë. "We'll have to find a way to meet this ... creature ... in the flesh."
When the lantern-bearing voice calls out, but doesn't respond to their reply of "Hello? We're over here," Tasha narrows her eyes and draws her blade.
The trees rustle, and a lanky creature lurches into sight! It stands 8 feet tall, and the source of the light is apparent as you see its hand ends in what looks like a candelabra!
The creature lurches into the graveyard, stopping 30 feet away from Tasha and Ruine. It sweeps irs hand toward them, flinging globs of hot wax!
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is splattered with 1d2+1 globs of wax.
Failure The creature is splattered with 1d4+2 globs of wax.
Critical Failure As failure, and the creature is blinded until it removes the globs of wax.
Tasha dodges the thrown wax completely and with quick steps, closes the distance to stab at the creature that just attempted to assault them.
"Ah, it burns!" Ruinë protests, scraping off as much as she can before she gets burned again.
The creature seems unimpressed by Ashlion’s howl, dodging his clumsy swing. Before Tasha dashes off, Grelda protects her with a cloak of colors and nudges her fate. The tiefling stabs the creature twice, guided by Grelda’s hex.
The creature thrusts its candle fingers at Tasha and swipes with its claw but the tiefling manages to nimbly dodge it’s attacks!
Ruinë scrapes the last three globs of burning fire from her body.
Grelda nudges her husband's fate before casting phantasmal killer, which the creature resists. Ash is able to smash the strange thing twice before Tasha lands a good hit. The monster tries to attack Ash but does not hit him!
Finally free of the burning globs, Ruinë fires a ray of fire from her fist towards the creature to see how much it likes being burned by fire.
Tasha dances about the creature stabbing and taunting.
While the creature resists some of the fire, Ruine's ray of flame still scorches its body. Grelda blasts it with magic missiles, then Ash bashes it once and Tasha stabs it twice, and the thing falls!
"Nice job! What was that?" Booralu asks, emerging from his hiding spot behind a gravestone.
"Some sort of wicked fey, it seems," Grelda says. "Whatever it was, it is no longer a threat."