Fucshia tumbles through the slime then draws a weapon and strikes.
Friends of yours...? Yuturr asks, harkening Asta's words and drawing his mace insread of his trusty rapier. He steps up and tries to assist Fucshia in taking them down.
Fuchsia and Yuturr both lash out with bludgeoning weapons, easily striking the pile of goo.
Jelly 2 has nowhere to go, so it delays.
Initiative!
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 1, -13 hp
Jelly 2
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Zarke draws his maul once more as he steps forward and plays squish the ooze.
Zarke whistles and the sound of large leathery footpads comes closer from the outside.
Action 1+2: Cast Aqueous Orb
Action 3: Sustain a Spell (moving the orb)
Jack reaches deep within himself, pulling from a strange fey magic deeply embedded within his soul. He shapes it, manifesting a large, spherical ball of roiling water atop the nearest jelly! With a casual flick of the wrist, he commands the ball to roll out of the establishment!
Zarke joins in the ooze smashing party and calls for a friend to join in the fun.
Jack brings out a large ball of water to try to engulf a jelly!
Jelly 2 waves its little pseudopods frantically as it is engulfed by the aqueous orb!
The solemn Grisshuk cracks a smile at the sight.
"Well, you might be doomed to turn into oozes yourselves, but I can help you in the meantime."
He draws a greatclub, moves in next to Fuchsia, and joins in smashing the ooze.
The first jelly is none too happy about being pounded on.
It reaches out a pseudopod toward Yuturr.
plus
It just barely hits and grabs the catfolk!
plus
DC 23 basic Fortitude save
The engulfed ooze tries to swim out of the orb.
And it does! Not wanting to go back into the water, it starts climbing up the wall of the next building!
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 1, -38 hp
Jelly 2
Zarke lets out a shout of draconic rage and repeatedly clubs the ooze.
T’gon’l makes it to the doorway on his own and peeks his head in.
"Ahh, you made it!" shouts Zarke with glee inbetween smashes.
Fuchsia swings her hammer!
She then calls out to the grabbed catfolk: I didn't mean to call cats liars, but I meant it about nine lives!
She snaps her dealing scarf through the air at the ooze.
Asta grimaces as he tries to find a weak point in the ooze. There's nothing to them, but they sure can take a lot of punishment.
Not seeing any obvious weak points, he steps in and swings his mace anyway.
Yuturr is held fast, but appears most worried about his cloak. Oh, I shall *never* get this clean...
Still, the pain is real, and Yuturr is not fond of the ooze's embrace. Ugh! It's sucking my will to live!
Action 1+2: Ray of Frost
Action 3: Sustain a Spell
Jack once more draws from the well of fey magic within his leshy soul, and with a gesture of ray of cold lances out towards the jelly still in the room.
He then mentally manipulates the sphere of water, rolling it forward and over the same ooze!
Asta hits with his mace, despite not seeing any particularly weak points.
Fuchsia hits it again, and gives her allies some inspiring words!
Yuturr struggles to get free but can't.
He gives it a good whack.
Zarke swings repeatedly, crushing ooze into the ground. Nevertheless, it lives on!
Jack first sends out a ray of frost and then brings in the aqueous orb.
It completely engulfs the ochre jelly! The ochre jelly loses hold of Yuturr!
Grisshuk outright grins, and whacks at a pseudopod hanging out of the water.
The ooze tries to Escape from the water!
And succeeds!
It crawls out and then lashes out a pseudopod at Asta!
plus
The other jelly drops down and tries to attack the friendly lizard!
plus
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 1, -139 hp
Jelly 2
"Ouch! We need to finish this thing."
Tired of staring at this blob, trying to find weaknesses, Asta instead just wades into it with his mace.
Asta takes it out!
Zarke moves up to the door and uses his maul to vault onto his lizard's back before penduluming it around on top of the ooze.
The lizard meanwhile tries to free itself.
Fucshia moves through the around the orb, then pauses before tumbling through the ooze, landing on the far side of in the rubble and swinging her hammer!
Free of the ooze by virtue of its demise, Yuturr strides to the door and tries to help the second meet the same fate!
Then he quickly whips up a small disc of force for protection.
Fuchsia tumbles through to reach the far side of the ooze and gives it a smack!
Yuturr smooths out his fur and heads for the ooze for another whack!
Zarke comes to his lizard's aid as he smashes down his maul on the ooze while T'gon'l wriggles free.
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 2, -38 hp
Action 1: Guidance
Action 2-3: Ray of Frost
"Walk with me, Suzy Lee," Jack quietly pleads, speaking to no one who's there. Regardless, he feels a guiding hand direct him. With an outstretched finger Jack draws from the fey power inside his soul, releasing a ray of frost at the remaining jelly.
Meanwhile, the giant ball of water evaporates into a thin mist.
Jack freezes a small portion of the ooze, letting the orb go.
Grisshuk moves in and strikes with his greatclub twice, hitting only once!
The ooze lashes out at Zarke, blaming the kobold for the lizard getting free!
plus
But misses! It tries again!
plus
This time it hits and grabs Zarke!
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 2, -56 hp
Action 1-2: Ray of Frost
Action 3: Guidance
Jack repeats the same gesture, an incongruously furious expression on the leshy's gourd face. With a flick another ray flies out towards the jelly.
"And how walk with my cat friend, Suzy Lee," he says, and a momentary guiding hand assists Yuturr.
Zarke grimaces as the acid burns him.
Ignoring the pain Zarke plays squish the ooze while his dragon-lizard merely snaps at it.
Asta studies the remaining creature, still searching for crucial insight.
Still not finding any key insight, he does spot an opening and darts into the corner, reaching through the doorway to smack the ooze.
Yuturr smiles his thanks at Jack (though it can be hard to tell with a feline face) and goes to work.
Then he conjures up a small disc of force for protection.
The ratfolk decides the best way to help free Zarke is by smashing the ooze.
She then parries!
Everyone beats up the ooze, but it still stands!
Grisshuk joins in.
Even a powerful blow from the orc can't quite stop it! Despite being badly injured, it still squeezes tightly on Zarke.
plus
plus
plus
DC 23 basic Fortitude save for each
Asta
Fuchsia
Yuturr
Zarke
Jack
Grisshuk
Jelly 2, -139 hp
And the ooze bursts with Asta's next hits!
"You're all pretty good in a fight. It's a shame you're probably all going to turn into oozes now, just like those guys." Grisshuk shakes his head sadly. "I just have to hope the Grandmother Grace will redeem me."
So are you. Like I said, don't hesitate to stop and smell the roses along the path to redemption… by punching a slaver or three.
Once everyone is healed up, it's easy to get directions to the Bwamandu Camp. Once a tiny site of tents and huts occupied by refugees fortunate enough to have escaped Usaro, the Bwamandu Camp has recently exploded in size. Fresh upheaval in Usaro has made escaping it easier, and many have fled here. The Bwamandu Camp has done what it can to welcome this influx, but its resources are badly strained.
You see a Kallijae elf with sharp features and a high hairline with straight white hair that she keeps in a tight bun. She greets you, though she looks exhausted.
"Hello, I'm Numu. Do you have a medical emergency?"
Yuturr is unfamiliar with ooze wounds, and his knowledge of Medicine isn't up to snuff.
★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★
"Hello, I'm Numu. Do you have a medical emergency?"
Of a sort, Yuturr says. We keep running into people that transform into oozes, I'm afraid. Which is an emergency, especially for Kibwe, as it seems focused here; but not one we are currently experiencing, if you understand my meaning.
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"Yes, we've had several cases of that show up here. Good thing I carry this, still!" She taps a light mace hanging at her side. "Good for crushing slavers’ heads in Usaro, good for smashing oozes! But look, while I appreciate that it's important, I have tents full of immediate medical emergencies, and I'm the only healer here right now. You're just going to have to wait. It might be a while."
"I appreciate that you have your hands full here, ma'am. What if we were to help you for a little while, maybe help free up a little time to talk to us? Several of us are trained in the healing arts, after all."
I'm no healer. But there's anything else you need, happy to help.
"Oh, well, if you can help, then I can make some time for you. That tent has people who have filth fever, we just have too many people here for the available drainage. That tent has people who got injured in a brawl over in the Bekyar Block. And that tent in the corner has some people who got poisoned, I think from a spider probably, they'll often hitch a ride from Usaro. I'm going to check on the woman having a baby in this tent here. Oh, there's healer's tools in each tent if you need them! Thanks!"
She rushes off.
Tent 1: Filth Fever
These people require a successful DC 20 Medicine check to Treat Disease, the expenditure of a remove disease spell, or a 6th-level antiplague.
Tent 2: Injury
These people require a successful DC 15 Medicine check to Treat Wounds, the expenditure of at least three healing spells of 2nd level or higher, or three healing items of 3rd level or higher.
Tent 3: Poison
These people require a successful DC 18 Medicine check to Treat Poison, the expenditure of a neutralize poison spell, a restoration spell, or a 6th-level antitoxin.
Fuchsia lends her assistance in the form of moral support, helping patients stay calm in key moments the bone is set, the wound is lanced, or the charcoal swallowed.
Tent 1:
Tent 2:
Tent 3:
"Zarke, you seem very skilled in these matters. Why don't you start with the Filth Fever? I'll go check on these spider bites."
With Fuchsia's skillful aid Zarke goes to work on the filth fever patients.
First grandmother spider... now spider bites... I wonder if there's a connection thinks Zarke to himself as he helps treat the infected patients.
Yuturr shrugs and slinks over to the injury tent.
Clearly this lot is making much ado about nothing, Yuturr muses to himself. Their contusions and scrapes aren't nearly as serious as they think.
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Jack moves from tent to tent, checking in on the others as they do their work. Went it quickly becomes apparent that they have things in hand, he nods to Nutmeg and the two set up an impromptu jam session in the second tent.
The tiny leaf leshy that is Nutmeg Lily-White twists a big leaf on her body. She seems to hold it taut over her midsection, then begins hammering at it with her first. It has a surprising percussive sound to it. Meanwhile, Jack unslings a beautiful lute and strums a simple, slow chord progression over his sister's drumming. Finally, he begins to sing.
"Your breath is sweet and weak
Your eyes are like
Two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight
Your hair is smooth on the pillow where you lie
But I don't sense affection
No gratitude
No love
Your loyalty is not to me but
To the stars above"
This progresses over several measures. The music itself is somewhat melancholy, and seems to speak of loss. There's a hint of magic in each strummed note, but it's a song meant to soothe, not inspire.
Regardless, the 2 pack up their instruments as Yuturr finishes attending to the wounded.
Asta, Zarke, and Yuturr, with assistance from Fuchsia, easily deal with the various ailments that the people of the camp have.
As Jack and Nutmeg begin playing, a small crowd gathers outside the second tent. When they finish, there is loud applause.
Numu comes out to join you.
"Nicely done. And that was lovely music, too. Well, I've got time, now. Why don't you join me over in my tent for some tea?"
She adds herbs and spices to boiling water and carefully strains it out after a few minutes.
"So the first thing to understand is that this isn't a disease. It's a curse. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do about curses. The very first victim I saw was a woman named Matala. She wasn’t particularly lucid by the time she reached here, but I could tell she was some kind of laborer by trade. I asked her what happened, but she only said “Crimson Asp” before dying. Then all of a sudden, she swelled up into a gelatinous cube! I don’t have any idea what “Crimson Asp” means, but maybe it will help you? I also have her belongings here. There wasn't much left after she turned into an ooze."
Indeed, the scraps of fabric left in the bag don't amount to much, but you do find a small silver key.
"Very interesting! I wonder if she could have meant Crimson Asp Way, in the Brass Block? The first time we heard Matala's name was in connection with another name, Khalibi, and there just so happens to be a caravan house by that name on Crimson Asp Way. Thank you, ma'am, this has been most enlightening."
Jack nods along, agreeing with Asta. "Meg and I had a show scheduled for around there. We'd played in the area before too, so the name bangs a gong in my head."
Let's go. Hopefully, this Khalibi is one: the source of all this madness and two: not an ooze.
Keep an eye on that lot who claimed injury after the brawl, Yuturr advises Numu. They weren't in bad shape at all, despite their yowling.
"Ha, perhaps they wished to make their performance in the fight sound more impressive. I appreciate your assistance, nevertheless."
You head to Khalibi's Carvan House. The Khalibi Caravan House is made of stone in order to remain cool and comfortable even on hot days. The caravan house has no windows; narrow slits near the ceiling allow for airflow.
You see a front entry at the southern part of the building, and three sets of double doors on the Eastern side.
Zarke scratches his head as they travel "Other than this weird spider connection, anybody got any ideas as to what's behind all this?"