Chief Sull leans in closer to see. Then his one good eye grows misty.
"That belonged to my son. He left after a disagreement. It pains my heart to see it again, without him wearing it. May I have that?"
Absolutely. Salvatore will hand it over to the chief. If it was your son's it's only right for you to have it.
condolences for yur son der chief. Dis world is full of hard times but hopefully one day da pain passes. I appreciate da lettin us be here or whatever dat big H word Sal used ha ha ha. Yall got my vote to take out da demons! Aint that right sarathiel!?
He holds the brooch with reverence. Abruptly, the old mongrelman stands and walks to a back room. A few moments later he returns holding a morningstar.
"Please, take this. I feared the worst had befallen Kael, but with the brooch, it seems to confirm my worry. We had argued that day about the traitors among our people. The tribe to the south, they have been trying to corrupt our young. Teaching them the ways of evil. Something I believe they picked up from these men in robes."
He hands the morningstar off to Salvatore.
"If your goal is to return to the surface, well, there is only one way that I know of from here. And that leads you right through them. With the loss of our outpost, we don't have enough troops to deal with these traitors. What few guards I have left I will need to send out to bring the loyal ones back to our lands, in case we are needed to aid Kenabres."
He seems hesitant to speak again, but does so, slowly and carefully.
"Those traitors must be dealt with though. I do not think they will let you through their lands uncontested. If you were to destroy them, it would pave a clear path for you and us back to the surface. What say you?"
That you very much for the gift. Of course I would have to confer with the rest of my friends here but I am pretty certain we would be able to take care of the traitors for you. I do have 1 question though, would we be able to rest here to recoup a bit before we head out.
The chief nods to Salvatore. "Of course, you are welcome to stay in the village. If any are injured, you could visit the seer. He can be a bit... eccentric though."
Tak quietly continues to follow Salvatore's lead, having nothing to add to the conversation.
Thank you very much. Salvatore will stand up and reach out his hand for a handshake.
"I appreciate what you did for Crel, and your offer to help with the traitors. Let's see about finding you some accommodations."
well if they evil nothin we can do bout that but we will see where da road takes us. First things first tho chief. Ol darirus here is mighty hungry and could use some refreshments and company if you catch my drift
Chief Sull sends everyone out to rest in various homes in Neathholm (as they don't typically have outsiders, there's no need for an inn). Lann guides folks around the town, and delivers Darius to Seer Opoli's home.
After knocking, there is a grumble from the other side of the door, but it opens in short order. The creature on the other side has the torso of a human male, thick legs of an elephant, the face of a wolf, and arms that look like tentacles. Speaking in an excited, rapid fire fashion. "Ho ho. What is this? How did an outsider get into Neath'? Oh, Lann, did you capture him? Did you need something? Come, come. Let's get inside."
Lann speaks up. "Several uplanders helped rescue Crel from disaster and are looking to get back to the surface. The chief was hoping you could aid this one with a place to rest."
He leans in and sniffs Darius's hair. "Dirty dirty. You need a bath. Stink like sweat and dirt. Maybe even a bit of blood mixed in there. I have a bucket. Go on, strip."
i could go for a cleaning! I havent had a bath since we fell down dis hole
The herbalist nods with approval. "We'll get you cleaned up, and treat your wounds if you have any. Don't want to get an infection now do you?" He reaches out with some of his tentacles and grabs up a handful of something in a bowl. "Here, these will start you on the mend. Eat."
The tentacles pin down the paladin, and work with the efficiency of someone that has raised children and tended them. A bit rough and thorough, without being inappropriate.
Once cleaned up, Opoli looks Darius over. "Well then. Bit of scarring here and there, but I don't see any wounds. Bit of an odd pallor to the skin, is that normal? So strange to meet with uplanders."
Salvatore will go and purchase the equipment to copy Spells from Spellbook to Spellbook. Then will spend the rest of the night copying spells to try to make 2 identical Spellbooks. He will also purchase 3 scroll cases.
most people would find me anything but normal, but as to the pallor yes that be quite normal cher.
Darius will give a slight wink when he says anything but normal, then enjoys his nice bath
Tak makes the purchases he neednto craft 5 paper alchemical cartridges.
Grizst will help out the community in whatever capacity it might need since they were likely affected by the tremors.
Salvatore will talk with the chief to get as much information as he can about this other group. Like amount of people and what they are like.
Darius is able to resist the effects of the magic mushrooms and does not take a trip while getting washed up. At the end, the herbalist nods in approval and takes the paladin's clothes to be washed as well. Some time later, the freshly cleaned gear is returned and the paladin is gives a space to rest for the evening.
Salvatore and Tak are able to make their purchases, though the materials seem to be non-standard. Wood doesn't seem to be plentiful down here, so the scroll cases seem to be constructed from a firm mushroom material.
Crel escorts Grizst around the village and while most folks are uncertain of having an uplander lend them aid, a few have minor tasks that they just haven't gotten to yet. As for damage in the village itself, there is almost none, though the villagers do say they have felt the shaking as if from a distance. Scrounging up food supplies is as easy as heading to the pool of water and catching some fish. The species down here are a bit different than any you have seen before, but Crel assures you they are quite good.
The party is able to rest for the evening and recover some HP through natural healing. The next "morning" Lann gathers everyone to the chief's home. Chief Sull stands in the doorway of his house. "I wish you luck on this endeavor. It won't be an easy thing, but it must be done. Don't push yourselves too hard though, if things are too difficult, you are welcome to return here to rest and heal your wounds."
With that, the group is able to head to the southern gate, three of the guards pull the heavy stone door open enough for you each to slip through. The gate is then closed, cutting off the soft glow from Neathholm and plunging everyone back into darkness.
Salvatore will use Dancing Lights to light the way ahead.
well I don't know bout yall but I am all for going back and getting me some more hospitality!
Darius will take lead with a pep in his step
Tak packs up and follows his companions out the gate.
"Thanks for the hospitality." he says, tipping his cap in a gesture of farewell.
From the hamlet of Neathholm, the tunnel winds mostly in a southeast direction for about 2 hours. After that, it narrows down to a 5-foot-wide passageway, the walls carved with picks and chisels.
With the purposeful nature of the digging here, it's a good bet that you are close to your destination.
Well we might want to be a bit careful from here forward. Looks like we might be getting close to the group.
i vote we try da peaceful way first maybe a bit a talkin could get us through
Approaching the end of the tunnel slowly and keeping an eye out for dangers, you spot the mongrelmen there as they spot the light moving closer. A grunting shout echoes in the cavern as they pull out their weapons.
Round 1
18 Salvatore 10/10
17 Darius 22/22
15 Yellow
14 Grizst 17/17
13 Tak 16/16
10 Red
03 WalMir 14/14
Hey der woah fellas! We come in peace and mean no harm. We fell down dis cavern durin a demon attack on da surface, we just trying to get home.we don't want to fight ya we just trying to pass on through. Would ya mind just letting us pass to get to da surface again. I would be mighty appreciative!
Salvatore will delay because of Darius wanting to talk to them.
From behind the door a horn sounds. Yellow seems to be bracing himself for an attack.
Round 1
18 Salvatore 10/10, delay
17 Darius 22/22
15 Yellow
14 Grizst 17/17
13 Tak 16/16
10 Red
03 WalMir 14/14
Grizst will wait to see if Darius' words calm the mongrelmen
Tak looks around, a bit incredulously, with pistol at the ready.
"Really? We're waiting for them to mount an attack..." Tak readies an action to fire at the first target hostile to himself or any of his allies.
Yeah, it don't make no sense but for now we're partners, and you always back your partner's play
Red steps closer to the door and keeps his weapon ready
Round 1
18 Salvatore 10/10
17 Darius 22/22
15 Yellow
14 Grizst 17/17, delay?
13 Tak 16/16, ready
10 Red
03 WalMir 14/14
Salvatore will use a full round action and spend a point from his Arcane Reservoir to change out Bungle for Obscuring Mist.
Arcane Reservoir Left: 4/5
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Darius will start to walk towards the door [b] so can we come through we obviously mean no harm eh? [B]
as darius moves forward he will use detect evil on the people
Grizst will put his scythe away and take out his club as he follows Darius
Round 2
18 Salvatore 10/10
17 Darius 22/22
14 Grizst 17/17
15 Yellow
13 Tak 16/16
10 Red
03 WalMir 14/14
Walmir attempts to talk, though they seem uninterested.
Salvatore swaps out his spell.
Grizst and Darius move closer, with the paladin checking out red and finding the creature is indeed evil.
Yellow seems to hesitate.
Tak double moves forward.
"This is ridiculous. Stop overdoing the nice guy thing. They're stalling for reinforcements."
well da guy der (points to red) is detecting evil so do what you want. I have to try my best ya know