Mama sees the foul wave coming and guards her eyes with a sleeve. Cover and strike, boy! she barks to Yas and the command carries the weight of elder authority!
The archer turns in time to avoid catching the worst of the foul blast in her face. Growling, she advances a little closer and fires two more arrows at the beast. The first flies wide. The second buries itself deeply in the bell.
The pig continues to bleed out and - if it were conscious - being blinded by the stink cloud would add to its issues.
At point blank range, Xing gets a full open-mouth, equally open-eye blast of the “discharge”. Unsure what else to do, she dives backwards, trying to create space from further attacks.
Sabelina, Xing, and several civilians are blinded by the foul attack. Xing is able to withdraw safely from combat range with the floating violation of nature.
The archer and Mama Cookie manage to shield their eyes. Mama calls out to her protector Yash, hoping to give him enough warning to save his vision while the archer continues her offensive, pushing forward to cover the monk's retreat.
"AHH, MY EYES!" Yash bellowed.
Even as he stumbled forward, grandfather's axe continued to assault the floating pile of beaks and tentacles. Yash staggered along towards the last spot he had saw the thing, bouncing off people, crates, and wagons alike. He growled as he moved, the stench almost unbearable, and it even seemed to get worse the closer he got. When he couldn't stomach the smell anymore, he raised his axe and swung, listening to the voices of the spirits around him.
Cookie’s words of warning come a moment too late for the half-orc as he too is temporarily blinded. Yash's blades strike furiously but catch only air as the creature nimbly dodges the blind assailant.
And perhaps it is better that so many of its opponents can't see...
Since the beast prefers to attack helpless game, in an almost Pavlovian response, the three vulture heads begin to drool as they decide which prey to pursue.
How a beaked creature can drool is something Cookie and the archer get to contemplate as the only witnesses to this particular horror.
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – 1 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing (blind – can save – 2 of 3 rnds)
Pig (dying, blind - 1 of 3)
Senna
Cookie
Yash (blind – can save – 2 of 3 rnds)
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 17/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 15/20
Yash 20/22
Pig -5/9
Sabelina cries out due to the surprise of being blinded, then gasps at the grossness of the stuff on her. She listens for a direction behind her that seems open, dead of sound, and and dances back that way making herself as difficult a target as possible. She also starts fumbling for the handkerchief stuffed up under her sleeve.
The beast’s prey-drive is strong as is the pull of chaos in the core of any aberrant creature such as this.
The monster casts all three sets of eyes on the raging orc and the ghostly blade that constantly threaten it. The beaks strike sharp and fast. Three quick pecks and the half-orc’s body shows three bloody and deep gouges .
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – can save -- 2 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing (blind – can save – 2 of 3 rnds)
Pig (dying, blind - 1 of 3)
Senna
Cookie
Yash (blind – can save – 2 of 3 rnds)
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 17/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 15/20
Yash 2/22
Pig -5/9
Oh no you don't! Get away, Birdiefish! Mama cries. She steps up next to Yas and uses her spear to fend off any further strikes from the monster!
Yash's bellow of frustration and panic morphed into a roar of pain and anger as blood flowed freely from numerous wounds. As his vision cleared, the grip on his axe tightened and his fury unleashed.
Grandfather's axe took one last swing at the creature before fading away.
Xing gags, dry-retches, and wipes her eyes clean .. only to find the great orc being mauled. She dives back in, bringing her staff to bear in a two-handed strike.
Xing wipes her eyes and races back into battle, bo-staff whipping. A dry-heave at the smell of the creature ruins her aim at the last second.
Senna winces at the blows the orc takes. She’s more impressed that he is still on his feet afterwards. That would’ve dropped me like a whore’s drawers! Trying to encourage this unlikely ally, she calls out in her loudest and most gutteral Orkish. ”Pozostań silny, bracie! Będziemy ucztować na ciele dzieci tego potwora!”
With that, she presses forward again, takes careful aim and sends another pair of arrows at the beast. And again, only one arrow hits the target, doing little damage. Displeased with her accuracy, the archer mutters beneath her breath…
Like a protective mother, Cookie rallies to protect her ally and distract the jellyfish by smacking it with her spear.
Eyes clean and fueled by a combination of anger and pain, Yash’s blow cuts deeply into the bell of the jellyfish.
The pig stops bleeding like, well, a stuck pig. Its breathing stabilizes, no longer sounding like a labored wheeze.
The battle has taken its toll on the jellyfish. It looks close to dying.
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – can save - 2 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing (sees!)
Pig (stabilized, blind - 3 of 3 rnds)
Senna
Cookie
Yash (sees!)
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 17/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 15/20
Yash 2/22 (Raging 6/26)
Pig -5/9
Sabelina finally manages to get the kerchief out of her sleeve and starts wiping her face. She also takes another step back.
Sabelina’s lacy kerchief proves more decorative than useful at clearing her stinging eyes. She instinctively retreats another step.
The grievously injured monster is beset on all sides. It lashes out – heads striking at both the Soul Keeper and the martial artist. With Cookie’s able help, the first head smashes into a cart rather than Yash. But the second head is more wary, dodges the halfling’s strike, and sideswipes the half-orc’s skull, delivering a staggering blow . The third beak snaps on Xing’s forearm, leaving a bloody triangular slash .
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – can save - 2 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing
Senna
Cookie
Yash (staggered)
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 17/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 11/20
Yash Rage 0/26 (normal 22)
Pig -5/9 (stabilized)
The archer’s streak of a hit and a miss continues as she puts one more arrow into the beast.
Stay strong, sonny! It's almost down!
Mama lays a hand on the large warrior and he feels death retreat, if only slightly.
Xing may be a survivor, but she could see the big orc was a killer. She stepped into a healing kata, pin-wheeling her arms to gather energy, then bringing her palms together before bringing one foot down hard.
STOMP
A wave of energy radiates from where her foot landed, giving every living thing a trickle of vitality back.
Xing's stomp squelches into a puddle of some sort of protoplasmic goo dripping from the creature, dulling the healing effects of her martial powers.
Mama Cookie heals the half-orc greatly. Both efforts get Yash in fighting shape. Now, it rests on the half-orc's shoulders to bring the battle to a quick close or will they have to fight on for a few more heartbeats?
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 18/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 12/20
Yash Rage 10/26 (normal 22)
Pig -4/9 (stabilized)
Yash felt himself teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, the darkness slowly closing in around him. For a brief moment, he feared the blindness was returning, but as healing energy poured through his body, he felt invigorated and pressed the attack.
There was more than enough power in Yash’s smash to kill the monster, but the blow skitters off the creature’s steel-hard beak.
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – can save - 3 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing
Senna
Cookie
Yash
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 18/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 12/20
Yash Rage 10/26 (normal 22)
Pig -4/9 (stabilized)
Sabelina holds her ground wiping furiously at her eyes...
Feeling the wash of holy magic, the monster targets the martial artist with all of its heads. The razor-beaks descend on Xing! She dodges the first strike but her arms come away blood-splattered and bruised from the other two .
ORDER:
Sabelina (blind – can save - 3 of 3 rnds)
Monster
Xing
Senna
Cookie
Yash
The back of the bell is starting to resemble a pincushion with all the arrows sticking out of it. The archer adds another arrow to the collection but fails to stop the monster.
We need to end it! Attack! Mama shouts. Get in here and make your Mama proud, girlie!
It's not clear if she's referring to herself or to each of your individual mamas as a group, but regardless her words carry special weight for Sabelina.
As the creature turned it's focus away from Yash, Yash grew angry, even angrier than he had been. He was insulted that it chose another prey other than himself, and that just added more fuel to the fire that was his rage. With a roar to make the spirits proud, Yash raised his greataxe and brought it down with as much fury as he could muster.
Yash returns the monster's previous abuses with interest! His greataxe cleaves the abomination in half sending the disparate halves flopping to the ground in an exhalation of seawater and ichor.
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 18/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 2/20
Yash Rage 10/26 (normal 22)
Pig -4/9 (stabilized)
Heedless of the brackish water, the archer drops her bow and rushes to her pig. She raises and cradles the porker's head, keeping it above the pool of the dying monster's fluids even as she sits in those same noxious fluids. She pats the face of the pig that almost dwarfs her in size. Her eyes never leave him, even as she speaks to you, clearly moved. "I can't thank you enough for saving Sausage here. He's my constant companion. I owe you more than I can express, so... it's a life debt between us. If there is anything I can do for any of you, name it."
Xing sways on her feet as the abomination falls. Struggling for consciousness, she focuses her mind, completing the kata she started only moments before ... only this time working it to full completion.
This time, the wave of energy that flows from the woman rushes over everyone's skin, pulsing in time with their quickened heartbeats. After a moment, she relaxes from her fighting stance.
She gives the smaller woman and her porcine companion a scowl. "You named your pig Sausage?" She looks over at Sabelina, the group, then back to Senna, her face confused. "Is this a Taldan joke? Sometimes I still can't tell."
She looks over at the orc and the small, elder woman. "Thank you, Mama Cookie and Yash. This is the second time today I wouldn't have walked away from some kind of mutant monster if it hadn't been for someone else's help." she shrugs, "It's been a weird day."
Yash spit on what was left of the foul creature before falling to one knee as the fury left him. Winded, and still losing blood, he reached a hand up and covered one wound as he whispered to the spirits.
"Grandfather, I have need of your life force yet again." A glow emanated from both his hand and the wound as it slowly began to knit itself shut.
He looked back to Mama Cookie with a look of appreciation and nodded. "Thank you." He rose and dusted himself off before looking around at the others. Spotting the woman with no weapons, and more tattoos than he had, he repeated the words with a nod of his head. "Thank you."
Finally he looked back at the dead beast and wondered aloud "what is that?"
Xing looks down at the deflated, mutated creature. "Ěxīn," she mutters in Minatan before looking up to translate for the group, "Disgusting is what it was."
While Sabelina is still cursing and wiping the last of the goop from her eyes Xing's outpouring of energy heals her arms up completely, which is one less thing for her to worry about.
She tosses aside the handkerchief, giving it up as ruined.
"Argh! Water! I need water to get this stuff off me!"
"And yes, what is that thing? Surely it's odd for something of that sort to be floating around a well-peopled town? I can't imagine it's a typical cellar pest, even for such an unusual place as this."
Sabelina looks about and finds her victim in a man who didn't move quite as far away as the rest.
"Where can I get some water? Is there a well nearby?"
Xing’s healing blasts aid more than just the bipeds. The pig wakes with a start then stands up with a grunt. He shakes the goo from his body with a shiver and regards each of the people around him. The pig wags his tiny tail experimentally.
Senna rises from the goo as well, thoroughly covered from head to toe. She scratches the pig affectionately.
She gives the smaller woman and her porcine companion a scowl. "You named your pig Sausage?" She looks over at Sabelina, the group, then back to Senna, her face confused. "Is this a Taldan joke? Sometimes I still can't tell."
”Actually his name is Lazy Sausage. Pigs have a great sense of irony.” She smiles broadly at the notion that the tall Minatan woman is being kidded. She corrects the martial artist’s assumption unhelpfully. ”Taldan? No, no, definitely not. I’m Varisian. We’re far stranger.”
Finally he looked back at the dead beast and wondered aloud "what is that?"
Senna picks up her bow and slings the muck from it, then crouches down and examines the dead beast, taking the half-orc’s question very seriously. She pokes at the creature with many hmms and hahs. She wipes her hands on her pants and speculates. ”I think it’s a Wangdoodle. No, I’m not kidding. It’s a heavily twisted variant of the Bagiennik, designed to fly instead of swim like a regular Bagiennik.” She frowns, disgusted. ”This looks nothing like a Bagiennik. Someone tortured the creature into this form… F@<king wizards.”
Senna turns her attention back to the half-orc. ”Do you want all that in Ork or are you good with Common?”
"Where can I get some water? Is there a well nearby?"
The archer nods, ”Well, there is the shore, of course. If you don’t mind salt water… but I’d suggest we head to the troughs and basins by the stables. Shall I lead the way?” Senna wipes her face and examines the sparkles coating her palm, and all of you, and Lazy Sausage, and many carts, and several locals. It looks like an explosion at a glitter factory. She bursts out laughing. It’s a high, delighted sound. ”Looks like we all escaped from a cheap brothel. It’s been that kind of day.”
CURRENT HP:
Cookie 24/24
Sabel 26/26
Senna 18/18
Xing 12/20
Yash Rage 22/22
Pig 6/9
"Yes! Lead the way please! I need to get this stuff out of my clothes" Sabelina pleads to the pig woman.
Yes, definitely not a pig. A lamb is much better. No normal person could fail to have their heartstrings pulled by an endangered little lamb. And with a new name of course...
At the mention of water, Yash held up his waterskin in offering. He smacked the waterskin once against his chest before holding it up again. "Make more" he said, and nodded again.
He was quiet as the Varisian examined the remains of the beast, slowly nodding along in understanding.
"Common good. Ork good too."
As she mentioned the stables and leading the way, Yash inquired "czy byłeś tu długo?"
"Have you been here long?"
Senna taps Sausage with her bow. "Hey, let's wallow." The pig grunts then trots off toward an alley, wiggling his tail. Senna follows suit, minus the tail wiggle. Apparently, Sausage knows the way to your impromptu bathing spot.
To Yash, she replies casually, "Nie. Jestem tu od około dwóch dni." And clarifies for the others, "I've been here a couple days so I'm still learning my way around. I'm Senna, by the way."
She guides the group to the stables and the washing and watering troughs for the animals. It is a short distance from the plaza and abuts the external wall in a small, mostly private courtyard. Senna strips down to wash, without concern for modesty. She has many tattoos. Most are bands of linked foreign scripts and symbols. Some are extremely stylized animals, like something you'd see in an ancient text. Still others are beautifully painted objects in a more realistic fashion - a large tree, a small dragon, a flock of birds, etc. As she rinses the goo from her body, she points with her chin at a section of the wall and says far too casually. "Isn't that curious."
You see what she means. The hillside here is practically a cliff above the stables. The wall curves along the base of the cliff. One of the entry arches is here but it opens directly against, and is totally blocked by, the cliff face. A short distance beyond that, the curved wall directly hits the cliff-face and stops... with the same staggered end blocks like you noted by the waterline near the docks. Your eyes then go up the cliff face. About 70' up, on the top of the cliff, the wall starts again and the end that almost hangs over the cliff's edge is also composed of staggered blocks. You can't say for sure without going closer but it looks like you could hang a plumb line from the upper wall and it would land in the same spot on the lower wall.
Mama Cookie grunts in defiant satisfaction at the THING's demise. Gross. She probably make a nice curing brine out of that liquid though. And soaking of cureing meats, that pig looked... Well crap. It looked fine now. So much missed bacon. Oh well.
She nods her welcome to Yash as the young ones do their best to either freak out or act tough. For her part Mama approaches Xing whose wounds haven't quite been healed. She tuts and quietly insists Come dearie, let Mama see.
Mama runs her hands over the wounds and most of them had over.
The rest will be fine by morning, dear one. Don't you worry. Now, let's go get clean.
Lady appears from behind a sealed barrel and trots along by Mama.
At the cleaning pool mama huffs at the lack of modesty but doesn't say anything. New place, new rules, after all. Instead of cleaning herself first, mama goes around to different sets of clothing and uses minor magic to repair any tears or holes that the monster had made in everyones attire. She then gets to washing and everyone's clothes are clear of monster you by the time they finished washing themselves.
Only then does she wash herself and her own things.
Sabelina isn't nearly so uninhibited as Senna, nor does she need to be. She removes her doublet and gives it a good washing out since it had gotten the worst of the spray. She also washes down her shirt sleeves, face, and hair thoroughly.
For the rest she Prestidigitates liberally to remove any goo or sparkle. Yes, she could have clean up with nothing but magic, but Sabelina has a few quirks where magic is concerned. One of them is not trusting the cantrip over bathing and washing to really ensure cleanliness. She has always considered the cantrip to be as much a coverup as a true cleanser, a stopgap until a real bath can be had. Besides, baths are pleasurable and bring their own reward, the cantrip does not.
To finish her session Sabelina uses the cantrip to dry everything and mends the tears in her shirtsleeves. Her combined process is a quick one compared to the work most of the others must put in, and with her extra time Sabelina strolls over to look at the wall Senna pointed out. She studies it, and what she sees is enough for her to voice what she's suspected since they arrived.
"I swear this town moves around from place to place. When it appears in a new location, it's like it just flops down on top of what was there before. The town is like a pancake laying over berries. The berries can no longer be seen, but the uneven base, bulging upward in some place but low in others shows through where they contort the pancake above."
"You've been here two days you say Senna? We should make inquires into the town's travel schedule if there is one. We could find ourselves extremely inconvenienced if we have particular destinations for our travels in mind."
”The rest will be fine by morning, dear one. Don't you worry. Now, let's go get clean.”
Xing rubs and flexes her arms where the flesh was torn only moments ago. She gives a small smile and nod at the elderly halfling woman. ”Thanks,” she says quietly. And again, when the halfling fixes up the slashes in her clothes, she shakes her head, ”Again, thanks. It seems I’d be leaving pieces of myself all over this plaza if not for you. You work on that caravan?”
She follows as the group makes their way to the alley, quietly listening to the conversation. She squats down as Lazy Sausage begins drinking and bathing in the trough, tentatively patting its hide. ”Another day you would make a fine meal. Today, you instead look like a fine friend.”
”It’s nice to meet you, Senna. I...,” the Minatan says as she looks up at the Varisian, then she stops dead … realizing the newcomer has stripped down. Xing immediately drops her eyes to the ground, obviously uncomfortable. ”I’m … uh … called Xingxun Zhe.” she mutters to the floor, and busies herself by scooping water onto her arms, face, then neck. She’s obviously struggling for something to say, ”You’ve been here a few days? Are they all this ... um ... exciting?”
She squats down as Lazy Sausage begins drinking and bathing in the trough, tentatively patting its hide. ”Another day you would make a fine meal. Today, you instead look like a fine friend.”
Sausage looks at the monk for moment, then leans into the patting and rubs his 100 lbs of body against Xing’s leg.
Xing immediately drops her eyes to the ground, obviously uncomfortable. ”I’m … uh … called Xingxun Zhe.” she mutters to the floor, and busies herself by scooping water onto her arms, face, then neck. She’s obviously struggling for something to say, ”You’ve been here a few days? Are they all this exciting?”
Senna eases the other woman’s discomfort slightly by turning to the task of scrubbing the grime from Sausage with a stiff-bristled brush she apparently has for just that purpose. Now, most of the nudity Xing has to contend with is Senna’s bare back which is largely occupied by an elaborate and delicate tree tattoo with many of the leaves formed from complex glyphs.
Senna talks around the pleasured grunts and snorks of the pig as he is thoroughly washed. ”This is the most excitement I’ve seen. Aside from that, it was just some girl giving me advice about newcomers when I first got here. If I’m being honest, it’s been a bit of a bust, really. I haven’t had any luck drumming up business, yet.”
With the efficiency of long practice, Senna gets the pig sparkling clean and then gets herself quickly dressed. Her clothes are rough, utilitarian, and a bit threadbare… down to her mud-spattered boots. They all say ‘road-weary traveler’ loudly. Senna slings a many-pocketed leather bandolier across her chest. Hanging off the bottom is a kama in a worn blade-sheath. With her pig and her gear squared away, and feeling slightly more human, she offers these strange new companions a tentative smile.
"You've been here two days you say Senna? We should make inquires into the town's travel schedule if there is one. We could find ourselves extremely inconvenienced if we have particular destinations for our travels in mind."
Senna offers a cautious opinion, ”Yeah… I’m not the most charming person, so maybe you can make more headway there. Everyone has been polite but they aren’t saying much to me.”
Fixes and washes… Lady enters…
While she washed herself, the archer watched the older woman mending and cleaning. Having more than enough experience with older ladies and ‘their ways’, she knows any protestations she’d make would probably only earn her a snappy retort or a sharp look. She opts for the path of least resistance, saying nothing. She watches the fox almost as intently, offering the vulpine creature a small wave.
Later, shortly after she’s dressed and shared what little she knows of the town with Xing and Sabelina, she approaches the older woman and takes a knee so that they are close to eye level, with the older woman being slightly superior. Rather formally, she says, ”Esteemed Mother, I thank you for your many services to the clan and for your defense of my companion and myself. Is there some service I may do for you, as a grateful daughter-of-the-road?”
”If I’m being honest, it’s been a bit of a bust, really. I haven’t had any luck drumming up business, yet.”
Xing risks a glance behind her, and — seeing Senna more covered — nods along as she continues scratching Sausage. "What is your business?"
She listens with curiosity to the conversation between Senna and Sabelina, frowning a bit at the pancake metaphor. "So you think this town ... travels?" She shrugs, but doesn't seem fully convinced, "That would account for that old sailor never having seen it before, I guess."
With one final pat to Sausage, she stands to her full height, either unaware or unconcerned with the amount of glitter, guts, and dust still on her. "But none of that puts food in my stomach or drink in my throat."
She looks over at Yash, plainly still trying to get the measure of the big orc-blood. "How about you, *dà gèzi? Thirsty?"
She shrugs, "I'm headed to the slattern." She looks over at Senna, tracing the woman's many tattoos with her eyes, "Unless you know a better place to get decent drinks without fully emptying our purses."
Xing risks a glance behind her, and — seeing Senna more covered — nods along as she continues scratching Sausage. "What is your business?"
Senna perks up at this turn to the conversation. ”Glad you asked! Sausage?” She makes a circular motion for the pig to see. ”Placard”
The now sparkling pig walks in a wide lazy circle among the people displaying his left side to each one. His pale skin is covered in a variety of tattoos of various styles, subjects, and sizes. Text near his spine, in curlicued script, declares:
Tattoos by Senna – prices to be negotiated
She shrugs, "I'm headed to the slattern." She looks over at Senna, tracing the woman's many tattoos with her eyes, "Unless you know a better place to get decent drinks without fully emptying our purses."
”The Slattern is worth a visit. It isn’t the cheapest place but it is the best in Dockside, by a long measure. Since you saved my business partner, the least I can do is buy the first round. Hopefully, Burt isn’t working.”