Finch begrudgingly takes her medicine. "Blegh! What's this, catnip?"
"I thought catnip was much shorter. And odorous."
Grog was silent as his bloody-again bandages were cleaned and tended, and he moved up with the rest.
The fact that the treatment wasn’t the best for the fighter changed little. He felt better, and sometimes that is what counts the most.
”’fanks”
Katala laughs at the catnip statement. "Nope! I wouldn't waste that on a non-feline. Although actual catnip has no real effect on me...."
After taking only a few minutes to rest and tend to their wounds, the Wayward Wonders rush to enter the building from its northern door.
This large, dark barn has a row of animal stalls along the west wall and three large cubicles for hay and food storage to the east. A table and chairs are tucked into the northwest corner of the barn, and the walls are covered with hooks and shelves for harnesses and other equipment useful for keeping animals. A loft twelve feet above the floor circles the barn’s perimeter. Two ladders provide access to the loft: one in the southwest corner of the barn, and one in the northeast.
The moment the door opens, a deep voice asks: “Mistress? Is that you? The boys went to the church, they didn’t want to wait for you, but we are still here.”
"The ah... Mistress told me and my friends to take over watch. You should head home." Pandir enters and waves to her hopefully gullible foes.
Grog goes to the door, and pushes on it to open it with his shield-arm.
Grog kicks in the door, shield raised and jumping into the room with the zeal of long-pent-up aggression.
“What? No, that doesn’t sound right, who are you—” and before the voice can say anything else, the orc mountain forces his way into the barn. The group does not understand anything that’s said afterwards, in a language that sounds like gravel being shoved around.
Two creatures small creatures who look like crude statues with vestigial stone wings sluggishly crawl out of a stall and make their way towards Grog as fast as they can.
2. Pandir
3. Grog
4. Finch
5. Earth creatures
The room looks rather cramped, so Pandir has an idea. She calls upon the winds to boost and protect her as she rushes past the moving stone.
Then her arms droop. "The mistress knows much, does she not? Here's a test!"
Grog Strides up to the nearest statue, sensing hostility (and not considering that it might be warranted due to his intrusion), Raises his Shield to hide his coming pick strike, and then Strikes with his weapon (designed to extract ore from rocks and break stone) down at the statue.
Katala follows after Grog. Spotting the two creatures she casts a quick spell and causes an arc of electricity to spark between them.
Grog tries to shield block any attack by the small statues, intercepting any strikes that target his teammates. His movements lack grace, but have the momentum of solid weight and powerful muscles driving them.
Finch moves in to stab one of the stony creatures in the back, using Pandir as a distraction.
While Pandir gracefully jumps over the two creatures and enters her fighting stance, Katala fires an energy bolt from her finger. The two earthen monsters scream and writhe in agony as they are hit by the spell.
Grog and Finch charge ahead; the orc hits one of the creatures at its hardest section and fails to damage it, but distracts the monster long enough for Finch to stab it on the back.
“You bloody squishy things! I’ll kill you! The hairy one is mine, Forg!” One of them yells before rushing towards Katala and swinging wildly; the witch does manage to dodge a particularly painful blow to her jaw.
“You get them bro!” Says the other one before taking a deep breath and spitting a cloud of painful gravel towards Grog and Finch.
“Now, just what the f@%# you idiots doing down there?!” Asks a thin voice coming from above. Seconds later, it shrieks. “Attack! Attack! We’re under attack!”
A similar but different voice replies: “You kill them, I need to watch these humans or mistress will be mad!”
2. Katala -8HP
3. Pandir
4. Grog -3HP (basic ref save DC 17)
5. Finch -3HP (basic ref save DC 17)
6. Earth creatures: green: -17HP / Forg (red): -7HP
Humans? Pandir looks among her friends.
- Mister Grog, a strong friend with quiet jokes.
- Miss Rosefinch, a halfling friend with vulgar jokes and funny words.
- Miss Katala, a furry feline friend with strange words.
No humans here. And a mistress?
Pandir decides to get behind Grog, provoking the Red rock's wrath. She almost crashes into the pillar before bashing the rock twice.
Katala feels the hit and really wishes that she were a heavily armored warrior.... Nah! Then she wouldn't have magic!!! She Side-steps to get some room and repeats her spell from before. "If you run you can live. Stay and we'll have to kill you to save your prisoners!"
Grog raises his shield against the assault.
With a grin at his success in taking not a single hit, Grog lowered the shield, only for a pebble to hit hiS eye.
Noticing the smaller one attempting to outmaneuver them, Grog makes an ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY against the one charging Katala.
Effect: You may make a Strike versus the triggering creature (ignores Multiple Attack Penalty).
Grog snarled and advanced, roaring and working himself into a rage and striking the closer foe, before raising his shield.
The creature does not have time to respond to Katala as she blasts its head away with her lightning bolt. Its unlucky friend survives the blast, only to be completely obliterated by a combination of Pandir’s blows and Grog’s rage-filled swings.
“They killed those earthy dipshits! Told you they were both dumb and weak.” The voice upstairs yells to its friend.
The Wayward Wonders see a small creature wreathed in flames peaking from the upper floor.
“If you even breathe the wrong way the squishy humans upstairs die, capisci? What the f%%$ you want here?”
2. Katala -8HP
3. Pandir
4. Grog -1HP
5. Finch -3HP (basic ref save DC 17)
Pandir rocks back and forth, uneasy. "Ah... squishy humans?"
What do we want? The "squishy humans released without harm would top the list.... But Katala keeps silent and watches the others. She has an easy shot on the flaming creature but waits for now.
“Yes, yes…squishy, squishy, flammable humans. You don’t want them to catch fire, do you? So take a few steps back, you know us, we’re so clumsy.” The creature creates a small puff of fire from its hand. “Turn away, go harass someone else, etc, etc.”
"And squish-able, kill-able, fire heads facing us while holding prisoners. You saw how quick and easy we finished off your rocky friends. If you hurt the prisoners you'll be planted in the ground under your friend's remains! But, we'll quite happily let you leave, alive and well, without the prisoners."
"Ah yes. You may leave. But we will take the humans with us. Because they are our friends."
Grog follows his comrades' lead nervously. It was one thing to crush automatons or to push around rowdy circus-goers--another thing entirely to manage a hostage situation with a potty-mouthed elemental literally on fire.
The creature seems to consider Katala’s words for a fleeting moment before shrugging.
“I mean, if you ‘kill’ us we just go back home. Not much to lose. We can just set the humans on fire and have you give us a quick ticket out of here. You have to offer us more, kitty-cat. What do you say about setting something big on fire?! Like a house! That would get you on our good side. Fire is fun!”
"AFTER we get the humans away..." Pandir looks around the barn to make sure there aren't any animals indoors. "Perhaps you can set this building aflame?"
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Finch pipes up from her hiding place. "Oh, you've really not thought this through. We can do so much worse than kill you. Maybe we'll break all your limbs and dunk you in barrel full of cold water—leave you steamin' there for a couple of weeks. Believe you me, I've a lot of ideas..."
"Also, by the by," she adds in a chillingly nonchalant tone, "before you open your stupid mouth to threaten me again... Hostage-Takin' 101: they only work if the other side cares about whether they live or die—I couldn't give less of a sh*t, so long as we can haul back whatever charred-to-bone mangled mess is left. Now, I'll give you one chance to get the f*ck outta here before we come up there and I start gettin' creative. What'll it be?"
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The creature blinks once, then twice.
“Well, that’s very convincing and absolutely terrifying.” A pause. “You should really get some help.” It takes a few steps back, never taking its eyes away from Finch, and yells to its friend. “Hey! We’re leaving. Now, yes. Now. You thought Nemmia was insane? You really don’t want anything to do with these folks.”
It disappears into the upper floor and soon after there is only silence.
"Nemmia is dead." Pandir's voice is flat and decisive as the flames back away. Maybe she should get some help.
But there's so much help to give! Pandir bounds her way upstairs to check on the hostages.
Grog grunts in mild amusement at Finch's success, and marches up to the hostages.
He pauses midway.
"Me finks dat an urkish git loike meself won't star' reassurin' o' 'ostages."
Sherry, Katala, and Pandir--none looked like exactly rescuers. He looks back down to the rest, just as Pandir passes him.
Well, the hostages will have to work with the rescuers they got, not the rescuers they want.
Finch looks almost disappointed as she makes her way up behind Pandir. "The reward better be worth all the effort..."
Very surprised at the success of the halfling's bluff.... Katala runs up the stairs with the others. "I hope we're not running into a trap...."
Climbing upstairs, the group finds three humans—an olive-skinned woman and two teenaged boys who are probably her sons—roped together and gagged. The boys are unconscious but the woman has her eyes wide open and, once the group removes the piece of cloth shoved on her mouth, she speaks gibberish for a few seconds.
“Who are you? Thank you! Please, free us, take us away from this terrible place, oh, gods, please!”
Nearby, the Wayward Wonders also see a smelly cot, a circle drawn with multiple runes and symbols and what looks like a bundle of bloody clothes.
The circle is a summoning circle mixing sigils associated with Gozreh and demonic runes.
This bed hasn’t been used for sometime. It is covered in old rat droppings and its smell brings back memories from Nemmia’s recent attack.
A closer inspection reveals the blood rags are not clothes; or at least not only. There are two sullied grey robes, yes, but also empty human skins. The only gruesome explanation the group can think of is that something ate those humans from the inside, bones and internal organs included.
Beneath the disgusting bundle, the Wayward Wonders also find two holy symbols of Gozreh, both defaced with jagged runes.
Grog follows the rest, staying behind and looking meek to avoid causing the woman to panic at his sight.
His orcish nose picks up the scent.
A lot of bloody clothes and a circle--nothing special.
Maybe the kidnapping was done for money?
"Get them free and let's get out of here. Somebody has been trying to summon demons. And these remains.... Maybe they succeeded? Something ate there way out of these, skins."
"Gozreh isn't connected with demons!"
"Oh! Of course, good friends!"
She takes the symbols of Gozreh. "I am much more concerned for the circle of druids than I was yesterday."
She looks at the cot. "Ah, Enemy Nemmia's preferred way to sleep."
She turns to the humans. "Let us leave. You live near the big wheelhouse, correct?"
"Yup," says Finch, nodding at the summoning sigil, "it's a cult all right. Called it! Didn't necessarily expect demons, though..."
She walks over to the hostages, cutting through their bindings with one of her dirks. "Yeah, yeah. Stop your whinin'—this is a rescue mission."
The woman seems only partly aware of what is happening.
“Please, help us, please,” she continues saying even as Finch cuts her bindings. When Pandir mentions druids, she begins crying.
The two boys remain unconscious and seem slightly malnourished, but healthy otherwise.
A few minutes later, the group sees Tave poking her head on the ladder.
“Figured y’all’d be here. Boss asked to get in touch with you.” She sees Seirah, nods, and continues. “There’s some weird stuff going at the Abadar temple. Someone…or I guess something, crying and laughing. Funky smell coming off it too. Aaaand,” she throws a round wooden emblem at whoever’s ready to catch it, “this belongs to the k-lady. The priest didn’t like the koiaistor that much, so it’s extra weird.”
Katala reaches to catch the thrown emblem. She glances at it to see what is wrong with it.
"Weird stuff at the Abadar temple? No comment, but of course we'll check it out. What sort of smells?"
"Well then. Tave, you should help these people. And get a hold of the runner."
Pandir looks at the ruined holy symbols, comparing them to Nemmia's symbol. Were they defaced the same way?
“Well…uh…rotten stuff, I think? Like eggs and such?” She looks at the cowering, traumatised woman and frowns. “This here’s the koiaistor’s sister, isn’t it? Does she know where k-lady is?”
Pandir, meanwhile, notices that the runes on all three symbols of Gozreh bear the exact same marks.
"Curious." Pandir looks at Nemmia's pendant. "The symbols are wrong, but in the exact same way." She shoves the amulets into her foliage and faces Tave. "One mystery after another, friend Tave. We must make haste to the temple, then."
"Er, maybe we should take a moment to recover from our wounds, first."
Grothog needs only minor touches on his bandages, woven under the dwarf-forged armor he wears.
He otherwise marches along the rest once they are sufficiently healed, preparing himself for the worst, whispering some orcish phrases under his breath.
"Now, I am feeling much better." Pandir performs a few squats. "Ready!"
Finch rolls her eyes and grumbles. "They'd better be payin' real good if they want us to start solvin' more problems. If those cultist *ssholes hadn't made this personal by offin' one of ours, I'd be pretty damn through with this backwater b*llshit..."
Before leaving the hostages to be escorted by Tave, the halfling steps up to the panicky woman. She deftly switches to a faux-caring tone, noting that her mark likely will not respond well to more threats. "Hey. You're Seirah Badem, right? It's all right, we've gotten rid of all the monsters. Any idea where we might find your sister? She might be in big trouble, and we're tryin' to help..."
Grog carries the hostages who can’t walk, stepping down and out of the cursed stronghold of evil.