Much takes the window that Maddox's lunge provides to thrust her torch at the wooden creature's belly;
...punctuates it all with a nasty snarl.
Thanks to Maddox pointing out some of the limits of the golem's mechanics, Much connects with her torch attack.
The creature, now covered in char and ash, looks ready to fall over.
Haunt sprinkles another pinch of ashes from a particularly devastating fire on his sword before lunging forward to stab again at the wooden thing.
Haunt's attacks fail to connect, and the monster responds to its attackers, identifying Maddox as the source of the fire now vexing it and focusing on him
Maddox takes a shot to the shoulder, and then Laesah attacks with two solid contacts. The heat is too much for the construct and it collapses, smouldering but still.
Laesah and Maddox both take a look at the "corpse" and realize this is a Wood Golem. It has all the typical golem immunities but is weak to fire, slowed by earth spells, and healed by plant spells. Some of the uncharred wood from its body would probably fetch a price from the right buyer.
Maddox also takes a moment to patch himself up.
He offers to heal anyone else that needs it when they are able to be healed.
Much winds her stone rope tightly around one hand as she walks over to crouch near the wooden man.
She scans the room from her new vantage, and then-as if satisfied with whatever she's found-Much sets aside her main weapon, draws her dagger, and begins the slow process of peeling the wooden corpse.
Much comes back with a decent haul after checking the room, finding a sneaky key, two feather step stones, and a rhino hide brooch.
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"Thanks, Maddox, dear," Laesah murmurs to the android.
"Good finds, Much!" she praises the kholo. "That still doesn't answer the question of why a wooden golem is keeping sentinel watch here and attacking anyone who enters. Golems need direction - someone to tell them what to do."
Laesah considers the room.
"First the sekmin, then a golem....what are they protecting? Why are they here?"
The anadi thinks of something.
"Hey guys? What is this building we're in, anyways?"
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Haunt scratches one of his ears for a moment while Maddox binds up his most recent wounds, then answers Laesah.
"Well, as we all know, we came here to the Habebe Building looking for Dookie and his pals - and Goss and Threads turned out to be pretty nice! - at Teacher Janatimo's suggestion that it might be a good idea to find out what brought them to the Academy at this particular time. He even gave us the Crown of Companions to help us learn what we can. Um, I'm pretty sure you've got it on, actually."
The amurrun winces and lets out a hiss as the android investigator pops his dislocated shoulder back into place.
"We heard the new anandi students tend to hang out around the Habebe building and sure enough, we found them pretty quickly. Dookie was Dookie, but Goss and Threads were happy to chat and they told us they were hearing weird noises and getting a strange vibe from the building, so we came in to investigate. As a result, we've been attacked by statues, snake men, and this wood thing, and we found a dead snake woman as well as a secret tunnel that leads pretty far off to the edge of campus."
He tries flexing his bandaged sword arm and gives Maddox a grateful nod. "Nice work, pal. You might want to check Laesah again, though, just to be sure she doesn't have a concussion or something."
Much's eyebrows and ears rise, and rise, and rise at the depth and detail of Haunt's exposition.
"Haunt. That was...truly impressive."
She pauses for moment,
"Who ended with the crown, anyway? It's nice for talking to people, but even better for keeping people alive."
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Much looks at Laesah and returns her sheepish grin with her own before beginning to dig in her own pack.
"Oh, I didn't mean I should have it. More that we should probably find time to empty our packs and figure out who has what."
Her hands finds what she was looking for and she pulls out the Rhino Mask.
"I had forgotten I had this! Should we try it out?"
Much affixes the mask, limbers up for a minute, and charges the remaining door!
Much crashes through the door, reducing it to kindling.
Inside the room are dusty shelves full of what appear to be old reagents line the walls. In one corner is a large pile of broken crates and old hay, presumably for transporting the alchemical equipment here.
Two snakes slither forward, rising up and swaying gently, staring forward intently.
Laesah recognizes these as an Emperor Cobra and a Giant Viper. She also realizes that her assumption is likely correct - These look tamed, by their behavior, or at least used to interacting with people.
They also look hungry, but not about to attack, necessarily. They seem to expect food, and their demeanor would probably change if they get some (or if they don't).
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Laesah rummages in her rucksack.
”Hang on, y’all. No sudden movements. I think they’re just hungry, not malicious.”
The anadi produces some of her rations, breaking and sprinkling them across the threshold of the ruined door for the snakes to consume.
”I’ll create a trail of good that leads them outside so that they can escape into the wild again,” she suggests, disappearing for a brief time to complete the task.
The snakes eat efficiently and follow the food out the door as hoped. When Laesah returns, the group takes in the rest of the room.
Reagents line the shelves of the room. Most of them have spoiled, but some are stable enough to have value. Much is able to salvage an amount she thinks would fetch 150GP back at the Powderpile.
The group heads into the next and, it turns out, last room. While the shelves against the walls contain messy and disorganized jumbles, a table in the center of the room holds an orderly arrangement of vials, tools, and several jars of insects.
Searching the room reveals many interesting items.
Two vials of weak acid sit on the center table. Laesah recognizes it as an acid similar to formic acid, which is naturally found in ants and some bees. A clay jug contains a powerful solvent that can neutralize acids and, according to Maddox, is likely the reason the formic acid in the vials is so weak.
Tools are neatly arrayed on hooks and stands, various implements for prodding and scraping and sampling. "These would be good for examining rocks or something extremely hard," says Maddox. "Which does not explain these." He holds up two jars of grasshoppers, alive and agitated, jumping around the glasses and smacking the sides with many dull, but audible THAPS. Forceps and probes sit by the jars, clearly for handling the bugs.
While the rest of the pack comes back with this intel, Haunt finds a couple nice trinkets. A Ring of Acid Resistance and a striking rune get added to the party's collection of odds and ends.
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"I confess that I've coveted one of those for some time for my hand wraps...."
Much, arms loaded with reagents, turns to Laeasah with an apologetic gaze, and drops her ears.
"Oh Laesah, didn't you know, the stone rope is so powerful it actually needs two striking runes, so I'm gonna need that one too..."
Much barely finishes the sentence before she is overtaken with a loud, giggling laugh.
"Oh, you should see your face."
Much bends her large frame over to pull Laesah into a friendly one-armed side hug.
"If you had had all of your eyes out to shoot daggers at me, I bet I would have fallen where I stood."
Much giggles some more at her own joke and looks to the whole team.
"I do think we should take an evening with some wine, dump out all of our gear in the dorm, and see who has what. Maybe we don't trade anything, maybe we do, but at least we can remind each other to actually use all the cool stuff we already have."
She pauses to tap her rhino mask.
"I mean, I forgot I had this. Can you believe that? Did you see me go through the door?!?"
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Laesah unravels into a fit of giggles.
"Much....you're such a.....doofus!"
"I mean, I forgot I had this. Can you believe that? Did you see me go through the door?!?"
The anadi somehow looks different in the brief span of time after Much released her. She indeed DOES have more eyes, and more limbs as well!
Laesah squints her eyes, fixes Much in her gaze, then charges the laden kholo, tickling her with her multiple limbs, eventually chasing her around the room, giggling still.
Much finally breaks away giggling from the multi-limbed attack.
"Let's make our way to Jantanimo, report in, and then find a buyer for this golem!"
"That all sounds good to me! Laesah, I'm happy for you to take the Striking rune, but I'm going to need to buy one myself pretty soon if I'm going to keep up!"
As the Pack packs up the goodies they found, Haunt picks up one of the jars of live grasshoppers. "What do you think? Should we bring these back for Pelaksana?"
When you report to Janatimo, he is pensive. You don't know the teacher well, but he seems more contemplative than is typical. He steeples his delicate fingers together, tapping the tips in a nervous rhythm. His arched brows draw together in worry.
"This is distressing," he says. "We have spies. This is not uncommon, for we have secrets and knowledge here, and such things will always attract spies. But usually spies take the knowledge they steal away. These spies were studying something here. They set up a lab."
He locks eyes with Maddox and sighs. "But that is not the source of my discomfort. Ot summons you, Maddox. It appears your work for him is not concluded and you will leave for the field again tomorrow. This is... disruptive to the narrative we are establishing here."
He pulls open his book and points to the iridescent words on the pages. "There is a structure in place. You are four. It is the right number for an undertaking such as this. The dynamics are perfect - roles are fulfilled. Three has charm, but it disrupts the balance of the events you are central to. It just doesn't work as well..."
He stops and thinks again. A minute passes. He smiles.
"I've got it. Guest stars. You have made friends with some of the other students, yes? They have their own stories to tell. Not as compelling as yours, of course, but perhaps they will make up for it in novelty. When you go back to searching for information about the griffons that attacked our new anadi, take one of your classmates with you to adventure. I'm sure most will be willing, and all have skill, or they would not be students here. You shall be four again."
"I'll defer my ongoing share of the treasure until you have one of these, too.
"Me too, Haunt! I have everything I'll need for a while, I'd say."
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Laesah's eyes flash a bit (at the delicious idea of Okoro travelling with them!) when her fellow cohort of students comes up in conversation. Out of the blue, her face falls a bit at a realisation and she turns to face Maddox.
"I'm not sure where you need to be, but you need to hear that there will always be a place for you here, with us, when you return, Maddox," Laesah pronounces with solemnity.
Maddox nods at Laesah and says, "I never expected to find anyone to miss, but I will miss you all. I hope to see you again in the future."
He gives each of you a quick, uncomfortable hug, and then shoulders his bow and heads out.
"Wanna see if Okoro is around and about?"
"My thoughts exactly! They have a better grasp of tactics than any other student we've met, I'm sure they'll be an asset."
"Wanna see if Okoro is around and about?""My thoughts exactly! They have a better grasp of tactics than any other student we've met, I'm sure they'll be an asset."
“Aw, hey - thank you both! Let’s hit the PowderPile before we head back to the Spire! And I agree - Okoro is a great idea for our first guest.”
At the PowderPile, Xhokan takes your loot without comment, until he sees the wooden golem's corpse. He hisses then spits a gob of phlegm into the dirt.
"Bad magic. Good wood though. A little burned up. 25 gold is fair."
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Xhokan nods at your question and starts counting out coins. Dispassionately, he says, "Golems. Fake souls. Or worse, stolen souls. No mind. No will, just a task. Worse than slaves. No better than necromancy."
He counts out the 25 gold, looks at you all then adds 5 more. "You did the world a favor."
As far as you know you've never heard of Xhokan giving out a single copper more than he had to, let alone extra gold.
When you talk to Okoro about adventuring, he looks nervous and giddy. He starts babbling a little. "Wow. Me, huh? I mean, I get it. I'm up for it, right?"
He looks at Laesah and collects himself, putting on a braver face and answering his own question."Yeah. I'm good. I'll play it like a game." He smiles at her. "We've got this."
He gathers some gear and heads to starts out the door purposefully, then stops and turns back.
"I just realized I have no idea where you guys were going next. So, what's the move?"
"I don't know much about Griffons, but we're at Magaambya, there has to be someone who is an absolute expert on the topic..."
Much's voice trails off as she begins scrolling through her mental list of professors at Magaambya.
Much thinks about what she knows about the school grounds and is correct. There are experts on griffons at the school starting with Ahassunu, the iruxi teacher that Ot had taking care of the surviving griffon.
"These were kept in captivity, for certain," she says. "The only person I know that keeps such creatures in such a state is Oba Eze, the proprietor of Oba’s Wondrous Creatures. Oba does not care of the Magaambya. I return the feeling."
The iruxi's shoulder muscles ripple as she clenches her fists. Much is very aware of the anger Ahassunu is keeping under control as she speaks.
"Don't expect help from Oba if you pay her a visit. And take some care. Her shop is outside of the school grounds, and it can be lawless out there."
Much flinches at the word "captivity" and then nods at Laesah's words.
"Master Ahassunu, one last thing, can you tell us more about Oba and her treatment of the griffons? Her facilities? Anything you can share might help."
"Oba is better at buying and selling creatures than she is tending to them. She's not... cruel, she's just not good enough with animals to take care of the ones she gets, and she doesn't discern who she sells to."
"These beasts are how she makes her money. She doesn't care much past that. Her facilities are as good as they need to be to keep the animals alive and secure, and no better. Her only concern is profitability and it shows in everything. Gates will be strong and locked, but I'd expect many things to be in disrepair."
Haunt scratches his ear, a little confused about what kind of business Oba’s Wondrous Creatures actually is. “So is Oba some kind of unscrupulous creature-selling merchant? Or does she run a zoo (badly)?”
"She trades in animals. Rare, magical, whatever has the most value that she can obtain. She is a merchant."
Haunt makes a face. "That's ... who would buy them? Who're the customers for a bunch of angry hippogriffs - opera villains looking to populate their dungeon lairs?" He shakes his head. "Yeah, gang, I'm in. Let's rob the creepy pet store."
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"I say we go get an idea about the neighborhood directly around it and the lay out of the building before we even go in."
Much's ears and then face swivel to Okoro.
"Okoro, Laesah says you've gotten yourself into a few tricky situations, but always came out on top. What do you think about all of this?"
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Laesah chokes for a second at Much’s words then quickly composes herself as Okoro turns to her, his face reddening.
”….yes, he’s dependable like that. He backs you up well…”
She holds her composure for a split second before breaking into peels of laughter that collapse her to her knees. Okoro smiles good-naturedly and looks to the floor, red as a tomato.
”I vote for going in and interrogating her. We have reasons to believe that her griffons attacked the Magaambya and while we don’t know if she actively sent them, she’s at least responsible for selling them to someone. I think we ask her some tough questions.”
”I vote for going in and interrogating her. We have reasons to believe that her griffons attacked the Magaambya and while we don’t know if she actively sent them, she’s at least responsible for selling them to someone. I think we ask her some tough questions.”
"Nothing wrong with asking her directly." Haunt puffs out his fur and growls for effect, then relaxes with a grin. "Our Pack isn't known for our subtlety!"
The Pack approaches Oba’s Wondrous Creatures cautiously, taking the place in. The approach from the street goes directly to a shop. Inside, the outline of a humanoid woman can be seen through a window sitting at a desk. Behind the shop it's hard to see much detail, but the tops of a few metal dome-shaped cages are visible.
Okoro shifts nervously. He reaches out and puts a hand on Laesah to steady himself. "So, what do we do now?" He whispers. "Should we talk to the lady in the shop? Sneak into the back? What's the play?"