Bella bites her lip and moves back into the fray, determined to distract the brute maybe just enough for someone to finish it off. Fran tries to curse the brute, but living a life of undeath is all the misfortune it needs, fighting the spell off.
Roark hikes up his tail feathers and rushes in, darting under and around, looking quite flashy as he does so. His sword lashes out, deflecting off hardened flesh, but it catches just enough to slice off the other ham, dropping the brute in a pile of burning, rotted ogre flesh.
Bella 8/21 Wounded 1
Fran
Roark 5/17
Nicole
After a few moments of silence you can hear the other members of the caravan stirring. The half orc siblings call out "Is it safe? Are they gone?"
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Nicole hands over one of her minor elixirs of life to Bella.
”Miss Bella, are you alright? Here take this.” she asks her as she gives the elixir.
”Is everyone alright?” she looks around for the others to see if they need healing or something. ”I think, it's dead. I think we are safe now.” she tells the half-orc siblings.
One by one the travelers make their way out of the wagons, some hold daggers, others clubs, all with a look of nervousness as they wade through the fog towards your voices.
"Now that's no campfire I wanna cook over." Comments Eigil as he looks at the smoldering zombie brute's remains. "Sooner we pack up and git the better." That sentiment is shared across all faces as they turn to finish packing at warp speed.
"We'll hook the horses up, you all stay vigilant, just in case." The wagons are prepped with all haste and camp is broken in record speed, despite the still heavy fog.
---
The last leg of the journey to Otari is luckily uneventful, but indeed slow due to the fog. By late afternoon the fog finally starts to lift on the outgoing tide and your journey to Otari comes to an end.
Arak counts out 4 gold pieces for each of you "You've certainly earned these. Thank you for all your help getting us here in one piece. May your roads always be dry and your mugs wet."
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Bella smiles as Madame Flames attempts to be polite. "Please, offer this to Mister Thunderbird. He took the initial brunt. A good night's rest is all I require."
She pauses for a moment. Maybe the pain is making her delirious. Maybe she's impressed with Madame Flames and her bombs. Whatever it is, she pulls out a mirror. "My sister, Khari, is from the First World. Scholars refer to such creatures as Fey." She smiles and looks at the mirror, listening to a one-sided conversation. "Yes, Madame Flames is skilled with alchemy. I owe her my life."
She angles the mirror. "Khari says hello. I can see her using reflective surfaces like pools of water or mirrored glass." Madame Flames can see her reflection against the glass but not much else. "Khari thanks you."
That evening, in her tent, Bella keeps her mirror open and writes a story detailing the Pathfinders' journey and their brush with death. She also expresses curiosity about these corn dogs. Not exactly a delicacy, but the salt is quite tasty.
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”Oh, interesting,” is Nicole's response to Bella's revelation. When she is given a chance to look into Bella's mirror, she cannot understand what she sees but greets hello back. ”Uhm, hello too, Khari. It is nice to, uhm... see you. It is nice to see you.” she says as she waves her hand to the mirror. ”No worries, we are together to help each other.” she adds.
You take your leave of the caravan, pockets now stocked with an extra 4 gold pieces and packs each stocked with a day's worth of assorted corn dogs, courtesy of one zealous corn farming Dwarf. A thank you gift that keeps on giving, if you happen to come across any interested individuals...
The town of Otari stretches out in front of you, as far as the eye can see... So long as those eyes are old and filled with cataracts. Otari looks like just another fishing village, this one benefiting from close proximity to the great Absalom. Its a surprise it hasn't been gentrified yet, but it IS 75 miles from the city with a borderline road system that seems to be currently dealing with thick fog and wandering undead. (3 less wandering dead mind you).
All different sized fishing piers dot the main low road along the immediate shoreline, many of the smaller vessels now tied securely to the weathered wooden planks. A couple dozen larger vessels all point to the west with the low tide, attached to underwater moorings out in deeper water.
A few small shops are scattered along the opposite side of the dirt street, most dealing with basic living staples, boating gear, or fishing equipment. There is one place that catches your eye: The Rusted Anchor, a half decent looking watering hole that likely serves something that hasn't been cooked over an open fire pit.
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The first difference: The smell. Uncooked fish assail her nose.
The second difference: The sights. Where is the fashion district? The amphitheater? Parlor Row?
The third difference: The touch. Bella keeps her hands in check as she picks up a layer of dirt, fish guts, rotting undead flesh, or all at the same time.
Looking at her mirror, she can't help but chuckle. "Oh yes, the Nuckelavee WOULD go on a rampage here... I feel so lost already. Everything looks the same." She snaps the mirror shut and continues to skip along.
The story turned into a poem. Mister Thurnderbird was able to maintain rhythm, Madame Rosemont gave more detail about the undead filth, and Madame Flames was able to truncate and proofread the poem.
It was the perfect ingredient to help Khari's ritual. Halfway there, sister.
Bang Bang Bang
A middle aged man hangs a poster on the job board with weary determination. His clothes, while clean and well-kept, seem to be from another era. He turns to see the quartet of adventurers "Looking for work yes?" He asks, his accent thick, pointing to the freshly nailed signage.
Immediate Assistance Needed!
Hello intrepid adventurers. I require a competent crew to
check out an abandoned building, track down a wayward
servant, and clean out some disgusting pests. Please inquire
at the Rusty Anchor.
—Zarzan
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What pest could that be? Nicole asks herself. He looks at the man who posted the signage. He looks different, is that the new trend here? she says to herself.
”Hello, good sir. Where can we find this Zarzan person? Where is this Rusty Anchor? Is there food in that place? I am hungry actually. And would like to take the task as well. Hehe.”
"Well those are both good questions with simple answers." The man states "I am Zarzan, and this place here is the Rusty Anchor. The food is plain but the seafood very fresh, yes?" He points to the entrance and waves you all to enter. "Come, let us sit and talk about what needs to be done." He leads you inside a rustic tavern, walls decorated in nautical themes: various old anchor styles, strange old lures and floats, even a poster with various fish and record lengths.
You all gather around a well worn table to talk. Zarzan speaks in heavily accented Common "Let me share with you my tale, it sounds quite the tall one, but I swear it is truth."
He clears his throat and begins "I was once an apprentice to the great wizard Meave the Enchantress in the Thassilonian realm of Bakrakhan. While on an errand to retrieve rare supplies in the capitol, Xin-Edasseril, Earthfall stranded him outside of time, a fate shared by many other Thassilonians. When I find myself in a new time and place, I traveled far south to see if teacher’s home and study were still standing. Much to my happiness I found Meave’s home on a nearby island the locals here call Gull Island, but putrid oozes infest the place." He turns and spits on the floor in disgust. "Unable to eliminate the creatures I hired a local mage to conjure an ooze mephit to convince them to leave. I sent the mephit to handle the oozes, but the slimy servant is overdue, and now we are here." He holds his palms face up matter of factly.
"I ask of you two things: clean out any remaining oozes, and the ooze mephit as well. As a reward, I offer four gold piece each, to be paid here when done. What say you to this, any questions?"
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Every day these commoners take on a job. When do they have leisure? When do they take a break?
Bella takes her time to look at the drawings of the fish.
Some of the catches are quite impressive, if the measurements are accurate. Mother would take her fishing, sometimes, to get some peace and quiet from the day to day responsibilities inside the castle.
"Enchantress Meave was evicted? Are there any keepsakes of hers we should retrieve?" She keeps her gaze fixed on the catches.
There are indeed some impressive sized catches listed. Most of the species are what you've come to expect from the warm seas of the Inner Sea region, often recreational targets: barracuda, assorted sharks, yellow fin tuna, and trevally. The trevally actually seems to have been recently updated with a name of Kulrin Hulfheen.
Zarzan patiently answers any and all questions asked, eager to get the ooze problem corrected once and for all.
"Vile oozes yes. They resemble a heaping mess of sewage. The smell alone was almost enough to make me give up on ever reclaiming my master’s home." He again dramatically spits on the floor with disgust.
"If the mephit causes trouble or won’t leave, do what you must to get him out of the way. He has his uses, but he is tiresome. I can’t have him interfering while I am investigating the ruins. I do not wish to squander the money I spent to conjure him, so if he is alive and willing, I would have him continue to serve me rather than be slain."
"I suggest you eat before you embark on to this island, for the smell will for sure ruin ones appetite. Other than that I do not know, the mephit was supposed to be most helpful, but obviously has not been so."
In response to Bella he merely shakes his head in the negative "I can't say for sure she was evicted or what happened until I am able to fully explore her home. Please leave her keepsakes as they lay, just remove the pests."
After a bit of an awkward silence Zarzan nods "Well then I guess you speak for your companions then and accept." He offers up a handshake to each of you while finalizing the details.
"I have a man with a small boat that will take you out to Gull Island and wait while you... work. Do not ask more of him, he is a fisherman, not an adventurer like yourselves. He goes by the name Snickers and will meet at the 2nd pier at sunrise." He nods to take his leave.
---
The grumblings from Nicole's stomach soon calls over the inn's waitstaff, bringing you whatever you may want. As you eat and process the task ahead of you, some of you know a thing or two that could be relevant.
You've heard these islands are haunted by strange ghosts. Those who dare set foot on them are cursed to dwell in darkness.
Fran has spent more time than one might find healthy reading up on oozes. Some call it a healthy zest for knowledge, while others just find it a bit weird.. She knows the following:
Most oozes are mindless creatures driven only by hunger. They can survive lengthy periods on minimal food. Oozes have no discernible anatomy and lack vital spots to attack.
Many oozes have acidic attacks that can degrade flesh and even stronger materials. The putrid oozes Zarzan describes are most likely sewer oozes, which commonly plague the tunnels beneath cities and spray filth to hinder their prey.
Ooze mephits are a type of elemental creature. Weaker than their elemental kin, they usually serve the whims of more powerful beings. They can fly and their bodies are made of slime, but they have no special power over oozes, or any other creature, for that matter.
For those of you that aren't morning people, dawn comes early. For the people of a fishing village, dawn is practically lunchtime. Which, come to think of it, makes a lot of sense why the Rusty Anchor was basically empty past 7. Early to bed, early to rise.
Many of the small boats tied to the docks yesterday afternoon now float out on the moorings, replacing the larger vessels. A stringy looking fellow smoking a rolled up cigarette sits on a barrel with an old rod in hand, looking down into the still morning water. A 16 foot wooden dingy is tied up nearby.
"You all coming from Zarzan? Name's Snickers." He grins and chuckles a bit before breaking into a hacking smoker's cough. "Climb on in, fishin' stinks anyhow." He doesn't exactly wait for you to answer before stowing his rod and readying the warped wooden oars. "Pull that bow line off eh? Sooner we get goin' the smoother the ride!"
The seas between Gull Island and Otari are calm and pleasant this morning. The sun rises slowly over the water to the East, groups of birds fly about in all directions, eyes peeled for their morning meals. Some chase after distant fishing boats, while others circle higher on the look out for pods of bait fish breaking the surface of the water. Snickers works the oars with the practiced ease of someone that grew up on the water. His wiry frame stronger than you'd expect. He too watches the birds, looking for signs of good fishing. "So how long you thinkin' you'll be out here? I ain't spendin' the night, that weren't part of the deal.." He chuckles a bit for no apparent reason, lighting up yet another cigarette.
After about an hour's time Snickers rows the boat aground on a small patch of sand between a number of large rocks along the shore of a small island. Gull Island is one of many similar islands in the waters nearby, some of which boast dilapidated ruins. A building of wood and plaster stands at the peak of the hill-shaped island. Despite its supposed age, it looks to have withstood the passage of time. "Here we are, don't ferget yet packs. I'll keep close to the island so you can see me, just give a shout or send up some sorta magical flare or smoke or whatever you folks do. Til then I'm gonna hunt me up some slipjack, or sea bass." He flicks the burnt remnants of the cig into the water and rows away.
You notice that while there are many gulls flying around these islands, none seem to perch on this one in particular. Perhaps it is indeed cursed!
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Bella passes the time talking to the fishers about their catches and the tales they spin. Their dialect is broken and crass, but Bella knows to always respect the host.
Also the fish was quite tasty despite the lack of herbs. If only they would learn some manners at the table. And where are the other 3 forks? Is she supposed to use this single fork for the entire meal? Khari reminds her local customs are local.
The bed is quite uncomfortable and Bella spends the morning pulling hay out of her hair and dress.
Snickers' breath reminds her of the messy parlors she would pretend to enjoy. Half of the patrons are focusing on who to keep down, while the other half haven't though of anything past marriage. They'd try to bind her to the boring life and she would rebound with a witty tale, or slap the first suitor who came her way. That was fun.
The quite trip is also fun. Mother Chrissy stayed quiet on the fishing trips while Bella bounced between identifying fish and crying for her sister. Now it was Bella's turn to keep quiet and enjoy the scenery. Let Snicker's coughs provide music.
"Thank you got the transport, Mister Snickers." Bella scans the island. "With luck we shall return by the evening. May you get an impressive catch today."
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"I think what I heard is true that this place is haunted and cursed. As you can see, there are on gulls flying around seems to perch in this place. This place is indeed haunted by ghosts. I don't think we should go to this place." she tells the others, anxious of the place they are into now. "This place is cursed! We should not go." Nicole warns the others of the impending doom that awaits them.
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"U-um...I don't know about being cursed, but since we're dealing with oozes, I can tell you what I know," Fran offers. "So, most oozes are mindless creatures driven only by hunger but they can survive a long time on just a little bit of sustenance."
"Like you'd expected from the name, oozes don't really have a discernable shape...so there's no obvious vital spots to attack. And a lot of them are acidic, which lets them dissolve flesh and other material. It sounds like these might be sewer oozes, from what Zarzan said. They usually lurk in, well, city sewers and tunnels, and they spray filth to slow down their prey."
"Oh! And ooze mephits aren't really oozes, but they're a type of elemental being. They're weaker than most elementals though, so they're usually servants for more powerful beings. They can fly and their bodies are made of slime but they don't, um, have any special power over actual oozes or anything."
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”That would explain why gulls fly around this place but do not perch, else they will be attacked.” Nicole ponders. ”But we should be vigilant. We don’t know what lies in this place aside from oozes. Maybe the curse part is still true.” Nicole adds, now worrying she might be grabbed or something into darkness. She stays beside Roark. No, she moves toward and stays beside Fran, she seems reliable about the ooze things.
Nicole's keen bird watching eyes puts the group on high alert, something(s) on this island don't seem very friendly. A quick walk up the hill sets the group in front of a large complex of buildings, complete with a wide open front door (cue ominous music of doom) and several open air spaces within the complex can be noticed due to the lack of a full coverage roof.
A lone table faces the entryway in this windowless chamber. The floors are slick with moisture, and a putrid smell hangs in the damp air. A trail of filth leads to an open door opposite the building’s entrance.
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Dagger in one hand, alchemist's fire flask in the other, Bella enters first. She wishes she had a third hand to hold a handkerchief up to her nose. Reminds her of her sister's fur right before taking a bath- she tracks too much mud for mother's taste.
"The trail of filth- is that what the oozes produce?"
Before anyone can even step foot inside the building, everyone but Fran notices the faint outline of a trap door in the floor, just inside the entrance.
While Fran does not notice the trap door, she does get a slight lingering magic reading from the building itself. Considering the age and relatively good condition of the structure, it was likely reinforced with magic to prevent decay.
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"Hold." Bella raises a hand- she tucks her flask first and then raises her hand. "Someone has trapped the entry way. Excuse me."
She kneels down by the door and draws a packet of tools by her belt. Dented forks, twisted hair combs, some broken picks, and a few fine wires. She looks to the trap's mechanism and begins fiddling with it.
Roark and Bella quickly get to work on the trap door, drawing out a wide range of tools indicative of their own personal training styles. Roark's tool kit is a bit more run of the mill, while Bella has incorporated numerous items she's improvised over the years.
Lucky for the two of them the trap door isn't a complex mechanism. With a little bit of effort and time they cram things into the cracks and hinges to keep it from swinging open, Bella gently steps on it to test it out, followed by Roark.
Before you can fully celebrate though a slowly creeping mass of refuse slides around the corner into view.
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"U-um, good job with that trap," Fran smiles at Bella and Roark. "It's a good thing everyone else was watching out for-"
Fran's eyes go wide as what looks like a pile of slimy garbage and refuse comes sliding around the corner.
"Ah! Trouble!"
Fran moves up a few paces to stand behind Roark and Bella.
"I think it's one of those sewer oozes I was talking about," she cautions as she attempts to nudge fate in her tengu companion's favor. Then, she loads a stone into her sling.
______________
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"Well done, Mister Thunder-bird." Bella slips her tools away. "My sister and I were not above mischief at the castle. It comes in handy sometimes."
Bella wrinkles her nose. "Ah, I see. The ooze."
She draws her flask of lesser >Alchemist's Fire< and hurls it at the refuse.
"I'd rather not get my hands dirty. Does it matter if I slice or bludgeon it?" She prepares to dodge to the side if it gets close.
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Nicole moves inside just to find the green filthy creature. She quickly draws one lesser alchemist fire and throw it into the green thing.
plus 1 persistent fire damage plus 1 fire splash damage
She then fires a bolt with her shortbow into it.
piercing damage
◆ Stride
◆ Quick Bomber
◆ Strike with Shortbow
Fran signals the attack on the slow moving pile of garbage, helping Roark with his luck for the immediate future. Bella tests out some bottled fire on it, while it wasn't VERY effective, it does indeed burn. Maybe it was just a weak solution. Nicole does the same, and indeed it does burn. Roark dances for it, but its hard to tell if it really even notices, but he knows he looks good so that's all that matters. He moves up and sinks his beak in, like a bowl full of quivering slop at the bottom of your bait bucket. Its obviously very easy to land a blow but there's nothing vital to focus on.
Sensing more prey nearby it slides a bit closer before slinging out a wave of filth at anything nearby! Wads of rot and mold fly all over, covering your body, hair, and burning your flesh! Then it reaches back with a slimy protrusion trying to slobber knock Roark.
Each creature in the area must succeed at a DC 17 Reflex save or take 1d4 acid damage and take a –10-foot penalty to its Speeds for 1 minute (on a critical failure, the creature also falls prone). A creature can spend an Interact action to clean someone off, decreasing the Speed penalty by 5 feet with each action.
Roark -4? -10 speed DC17 Reflex
Bella -4? -10 speed DC17 Reflex
Fran -4? -10 speed DC17 Reflex
Nicole
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Green -13 Burning 1
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Not only does the goo get all over Fran, burning in the process, but the force of it is enough to knock her off her feet as well.
"Ohhh this is so grosssss..." she groans as she staggers to her feet and moves into the building, continuing to concentrate on maintaining the magics laid on Roark.
______________
Seems Roark's luck isn't that great. His electric arc manages to mostly hit some old boot soles the ooze ate long ago, half of the energy dissapates.
Bella though sticks her dagger clean through the blob, coming out the other side. She pulls the weapon out with a Slurp
Fran tries to keep her composure, pulling herself back up off the ground and maintaining her magic.
Nicole goes full auto mode, spraying flasks of fire all around the ooze but only splashing it slightly.
This ooze has a fondness for gulls.. Roark sure seems like a gull!
It smacks him around a bit, the smack burning like acid. And, all that flailing seems to have put out the fire.
Roark -13, -10 speed
Bella -4, -10 speed
Fran -4, -10 speed
Nicole
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Green -24