Catching sight of Trinil as he walks in, the big fella finds himself at peace, grinning at her and glad to be back home.
Looking up at her with a tired smile, "Hey, Trin. It's been a heck of a day. A heck of a day. Feels like it's been forever though." He reaches out and takes her hand, kissing the back of it before placing it between his own. "Glad to be back," he tells her, giving her a loving squeeze.
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"I think I want to see him." Dario asks, keeping that polite smile on his face the entire time. If his audience was granted, he would mosey down the cells until he finally came across Calmont's prison cell. Grabbing a chair, he would spin it around and sit upon it.
"Hey there shithead. Good to see you again."
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--------At the Grace--------
"Well eat up. A full belly and a good night's sleep can go a long way." She sighed. "I liked Dario. I'm so sorry."
--------With Calmont--------
Calmont skittered over to the bars. "Oh it's you. The hells do you want, ugly? You people already ruined my life, just feel like rubbing it in?"
"I'm actually here to help you, believe it or not." Dario says, putting his boots up on the bars where Calmont ran over to bars before kicking them to get the mud off of them. "See...I know you're shouting the truth. Your boss, Voz, is a hell of a woman and if she is lucky, she'll live long enough to see this cell before being hung. Probably with you...unless...you give me something useful to hear."
"Tell me everything you know about her, her plan, her associates, absolutely everything. If you have something useful, I'll put in a good word and maybe you'll just be exiled from here." Dario said, casually leaving his pistol on his lap as he awaited the best damn story this halfling ever told.
"Dario's fine.", Yasami almost smiles for a change. "But we'll need those shots. I suggest you start a tab. It might be a long night."
She looks at the food, but doesn't eat. At least not for the time being.
"I need to head to the temple. Put in a good word for Alak. Or try to, at least."
She looks at her bloodied hands and clothes. "And to clean myself up a bit, probably. Nothing like a good bath to wash the proverbial and actual blood off your hands." She stands up and turns halfway towards the door. "I'll be joining you later."
"Well eat up. A full belly and a good night's sleep can go a long way." She sighed. "I liked Dario. I'm so sorry."
"Dario is dropping off a prisoner. He will be here shortly." Sulee sits on the edge of the table. "We ran into what looked like a goblin. It wasn't. It ripped Oren to shreds in seconds. Alak ran the wrong way to lure it away and give the rest of us time to leave."
------At the Grace-------
Trin was confused momentarily, belatedly recalling the hellknight who had stayed the night before. She nodded her thanks to Sulee for the information, and moved off to bring drinks as Yasami requested.
-------With Calmont-------
"I've been tryin' to do just that but the idiots won't listen. I hate Voz, no loyalty there. You make sure I ain't gotta worry about the end of a rope I'll tell you anything.
"Knew she was up to shady shit since I started working there, she was always real secretive and hiding stuff, but I found a few things and I was fitting to blackmail her, until I read about the Ring.
"You ever hear of the Red Mantis? They're hunting her, apparently. Some connection there to do with her mother, I ain't real clear on the details, not like she sits around sharing over dinner. But they want her dead. I was gonna hold it over her I knew, like I could turn her over for a bounty. I wouldn't f#!% with those guys though, they creep the hells outta me. I mean who wears creepy bug helmets when you're trying to assassinate someone? What's the point? Tryin' to scare them? If you do your job right they're dead either way, and it's gotta make you stick out like a sore thumb if anyone sees you.
"Anyway so she's afraid they're going to track her down, right, and that's not so far-fetched, thoses guys are crazy good at their thing. So Voz figures she can start a guild of her own. Fight fire with fire, only instead of fire, it'd be her and a bunch of other magic types raising zombies and the like fighting an established order of trained killers.
"So I'm reading through all her personal shit and just about to decide how much she can afford to pay me to keep my mouth shut when I find out she's decided to use this town because she think there's some gateways nearby, the ones under the Citadel. Figures a good way to grow her little guild quickly would be to have fingers in pies all over the world. Me, I'm seein' the piles of gold to be made. I don't know where the gates lead, neither did she, but ain't no point in making portals to places nearby, am I right? So if I can import goods from hundreds of miles away overnight, you can bet I'd be raking in the coin. Breachill don't got enough gold to bother with but Elidir ain't far away.
"But then f*%~ing Warbal starts whining about something going on with them goblins that live in the ruins and suddenly it's part of the Call to send people poking around there. I was close to being able to scope the place out myself, and I didn't want you people finding the Ring before me, so."
Calmont shrugged as he finally ran out of words, just wise enough to not want to end the tale with talk of him setting the town hall on fire and, for all intents and purposes, trying to kill Dario and his friends..
"Dario's fine.", Yasami almost smiles for a change. "But we'll need those shots. I suggest you start a tab. It might be a long night."
She looks at the food, but doesn't eat. At least not for the time being.
"I need to head to the temple. Put in a good word for Alak. Or try to, at least."
She looks at her bloodied hands and clothes. "And to clean myself up a bit, probably. Nothing like a good bath to wash the proverbial and actual blood off your hands." She stands up and turns halfway towards the door. "I'll be joining you later."
"Let me know if you would like company on your walk Yasami, I too would like to go to the Temple. I would like to ask the High Priest if there is somewhere we can all gather to honour Alak before we set out again."
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Yasami nods and beckons Cevendyll to step out into the street. "By all means. Some company on the way would be more than welcome right now."
She steps outside and waits, then starts walking. After a moment of thinking, she looks at Cevendyll. "Cev - did we do something wrong? Did we rush things?"
She looks at the floor as she walks. "I guess what I am asking is - is it our fault?"
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Yasami nods and beckons Cevendyll to step out into the street. "By all means. Some company on the way would be more than welcome right now."
She steps outside and waits, then starts walking. After a moment of thinking, she looks at Cevendyll. "Cev - did we do something wrong? Did we rush things?"
She looks at the floor as she walks. "I guess what I am asking is - is it our fault?"
Cevendyl looks at his friend with surprise, like his eyes have just opened ...
"NO."
He looks pensive for a moment, and then continues
"We can use all the fancy words that we want to try to explain what we do, because it isn't quite as simple as 'farmer' or 'tailor' or even cleric or wizard, BUT, when you get right down to it, adventurers are handlers of the unexpected. This town is the best example; they have a "call" which is itself an outcry for assistance with the unexpected. Oddly enough, we answered."
"Even given that is what we do, and I would say that we are pretty good at it, the unexpected is still UNexpected. In our most recent encounter, we were as cautious as this team has ever been. We split up. We approached rather than rushing in, but this was a time that the unexpected was more than we could handle or react to. We did nothing wrong, and we could not have done anything better, and you have shown yourself to be as loving and loyal a comrade as anyone might want ... even to a Hellknight."
"The only thing we could possibly do wrong now is not to do move forward, thinking and planning and leveraging what we know, and with this group, above and beyond is where we thrive."
Oren takes the food that Trinil puts in front of him, but he doesn't eat it so much as he pushes it around on his plate. He was never much of a conversationalist, and he certainly doesn't become one now.
Desna grants me all sorts of prophetic dreams, but she couldn't give me any sign that this would happen. Damn useless visions.
Caiten also sits at the table poking at his food and not eating much of it. His thoughts running back over the battle and its outcome. Envisioning different tactics and plans - both with the group in the exhausted state as they were, and with them fully rested and ready.
Unexpectedly, he simply announces, "I think the only option we had that would have actually made a difference would be a blitz attack while fully rested. No talking, no investigating, no quarter, no mercy. Simply unload as much damage as possible in as short of a time as possible, and preferably before the enemy has opportunity to react or defend themselves. As well as ignoring anyone that drops in battle, because time spent healing is time lost dealing damage. That might have been sufficient to take down the Barghest. But I am not sure that I would be able to do that. It sounds too similar to what Alak himself described of how the Hellknights operate - and none of us liked that description. While that tactic might be effective, it doesn't feel right."
"Jorell? It's Lisitsei. I know it's late, but there's something I need to look up." Lisi breathes in the warm, somehow tan-colored smell of paper and parchment and dust, wood and leather, binding countless tomes and scrolls and boxes.
Lisi had a habit of coming into the Archives unexpectedly, sometimes at strange hours, and usually Blacktusk was around, but both he and the half-orc kept odd hours when researching something. Jorell could be up and about, or could be sleeping in a dusty nook somewhere, surrounded by books and charts. And probably forgetting to eat. Lisi's own stomach grumbled. Like a clock. It's dinner time, isn't it. Well, I'll start the query and then join my fellow miserable louts at the Keg. No, the Grace. Narine will be at the Keg, or at home. Lisi sighs.
"And if not the Archives, then 'Reliant'. We can rely on that blackheart to keep some more secrets among her books," he mutters.
The door to the Archives opens before Lisi, Jorell still chewing his food. "Ah, hello. Come in, come in, I might have a but of spare mutton if you like, I wasn't planning on a dinner guest."
Joran eats what's in front of him, glancing at Caiten and Oren and noticing they've barely touched anything. Sighing, he places his fork down and wipes his mouth off with his napkin. "C'mon, guys, you gotta eat. Look, there's nothing we could've done, okay? We can't control the decisions others make. That stupid Hellknight did what he did to save us. I don't like it any more than you two do but there's nothing we can do about it now." He shrugs, becoming agitated. "So let's just drop it and eat, okay?! Please?!" he practically demands, his frustration obvious.
Reacquiring his fork, he proceeds to eat a few more bites before laying the utensil back down again and then taking a drink to flush it down. Wiping his hands on his napkin, he leans back, in thought for a moment. "I swear, I can't believe how that creature handed us our butts the way it did. There's like... nine of us and we didn't stand a chance. Not a chance. And I don't think that tactic is too far-fetched, Caiten. I think that's exactly what we have to do. There is no talking to that thing. It's kill or be killed. And it nearly killed Oren. I just don't know how we're gonna beat it," he shrugs, shaking his head. "I just don't know."
Caiten looks over at Joran. "Yes, now that we know its nature, no quarter or warning will be given. But I can't fathom that being our standard approach to unknown people."
"But it is one thing to have a policy like that when it is one's own life being risked. But it is much harder to stay with that moral decision when it is the lives of others that you risk for it."
"Jorell! It's been too long." Lisi gives the half-orc a wide smile. "My apologies on interrupting your meal, and I won't keep you long. I just need to find anything you might have on barghests. We ran into one and it nearly slaughtered our doughtiest warrior."
Lisi pats around for his purse. "I don't have the time to do the research myself, but I'll pay you for your hours. Please eat first, Jorell." He claps Blacktusk on the shoulder with a grin.
Jorell laughes and claps Lisi on the back, slightly harder than he'd have liked given the half-orc's strength. "Come in, come in. No payment is necessary, because no hours are necessary. "
"I've never quite had the moxie to become an adventurer, myself, but I've lived vicariously through them and I know about all sorts of nasty creatures. Barghests among them. Granted, folk tend to exaggerate, but whenever I've thought a tale might be too tall I've done some research to sort truth from fiction. Unfortunately with barghests, the tall tales are usually true."
He led Lisi to the section of the Archives where he resided, and into a small cozy kitchen. It was clear he didn't get company often, as there were only two chairs at the table, and one of them had books piled atop it. Jorell cleared that chair off and bid Lisi to sit, fetching him a plate of food.
Jorell sat down and took a bite before continuing. "You know, they say the creatures came from the pits of Hell, and used to serve Asmodeus. Then Lamashtu kidnapped the most powerful four among them to serve as pets, and their loyalties shifted towards the chaos of the Abyss. They are beings of pure gluttony, wanting nothing more than to gorge themselves on the souls of mortals. They're driven by this hunger, and in feeding upon sentient beings, they never stop growing. The most powerful among them become mutated in various horrible ways. Wings, venom, what have you."
"Usually once they become that powerful they seeks ways to return to the Abyss, gathering followers of goblins and such to worship them as gods and find them the means to travel to their home plane. They can turn into a goblin, or a lupine creature, for that matter, though their true form appears somewhere in between the two, only larger. They can see in the dark and have an excellent sense of smell when hunting prey."
Jorell had forgotten about his food, fulling nerding out about what he considered to be a fascinating monster. "They don't have the power to travel between planes themselves, but they do usually have other spells at their disposal, in limited numbers. The ability to teleport short distances through dimensional doors, to blink between this plane and the ethereal to avoid damage. Many can charm or confuse mortals, and some stories have mentioned the ability to hover off the ground or turn invisible."
"Most tales end in tragedy, as the things are blasted hard to kill. Their origins in Hell ahve led them to resist fire, and only magical weapons are able to harm them much. Though paladins and the like have often been the ones to slay them, as magical of a good or lawful nature seems to be their weakness."
Finally having run out of things to say about them, he took another bite. "Out of curiosity, why the sudden interest? I can't say many folk have even heard of the things."
Dario listens impassively, not reacting to the words of the man. After he stops, Dario taps his finger on his pistol a few times before shaking his head.
"Nothing new, it seems. Shame Calmont, real shame." Dario mutters, rising from his seat as he brushes himself off. "I was really rooting for you, I was. I was hoping you had something useful but no...you're just a greedy, grudge-ridden bastard. Pharasma will judge you quick." He gives the halfling a moment to try and give him more but if it was all the same, Dario would make his way back out of the holding cells.
Yasami nods and beckons Cevendyll to step out into the street. "By all means. Some company on the way would be more than welcome right now."
She steps outside and waits, then starts walking. After a moment of thinking, she looks at Cevendyll. "Cev - did we do something wrong? Did we rush things?"
She looks at the floor as she walks. "I guess what I am asking is - is it our fault?"
Cevendyl looks at his friend with surprise, like his eyes have just opened ...
"NO."
He looks pensive for a moment, and then continues
"We can use all the fancy words that we want to try to explain what we do, because it isn't quite as simple as 'farmer' or 'tailor' or even cleric or wizard, BUT, when you get right down to it, adventurers are handlers of the unexpected. This town is the best example; they have a "call" which is itself an outcry for assistance with the unexpected. Oddly enough, we answered."
"Even given that is what we do, and I would say that we are pretty good at it, the unexpected is still UNexpected. In our most recent encounter, we were as cautious as this team has ever been. We split up. We approached rather than rushing in, but this was a time that the unexpected was more than we could handle or react to. We did nothing wrong, and we could not have done anything better, and you have shown yourself to be as loving and loyal a comrade as anyone might want ... even to a Hellknight."
"The only thing we could possibly do wrong now is not to do move forward, thinking and planning and leveraging what we know, and with this group, above and beyond is where we thrive."
Thinking for a minute, Cev adds:
"Speaking of planning, let's actually talk to Kellen. You never know, but a high-priest may have some insight into how to kill a demon ..."
Lisi frowns. "We just witnessed a...paladin...lead a barghest away from us, in tunnels not far from here. I did say we ran into one, yes? I know, the theoretical often supersedes the practical, at times, but we found one, of flesh and blood, although hmm...first infernal, then diabolical, flesh?"
He takes a bite. "They do sound damnably hard to kill," says Lisi after chewing for a bit, thoughtfully. "But most of what you've described are physical defenses...resistance, limited teleportation or plane shift, and so forth. And they're hungry, very hungry. In that sense, they're like any other starved beast--they will charge, attack, be reckless. That's what leads to maneaters, like the Beast of Meratt--it was a wounded dire lion, you see, and humanoids are easier prey than deer. Hmmm. And this particular one wished to be worshipped. So if some goblins were to offer up a sacrifice...not a real one, that is..."
Lisi stands up. "Jorell, I have to go and tell everyone else."
He slaps down some gold. "For your troubles. Pay a laborer for the day and put your feet up! I have to run. Be back soon!"
Lisi leaves in a whirlwind of book dust and unfinished platters.
-------Dario, with Calmont-------
"C'mon! Am I wrong? Voz ain't no innocent book seller, I'm telling you everything I know here! I can't help give you stuff I don't know. Dammit," he called after a departing Dario, muttering the last word.
--------Lisi, at the Archives-------
Jorell tried to follow Lisi's words, which seemed to him to be largely thinking aloud to himself, and before he knew it his elven guest was taking his leave and tipping him with coin. "Oh I say, there's no need to --" but Lisi was gone.
Jorell shook his head slowly, taking another bite and sliding what was unfinished on Lisi's over to eat it himself. "A barghest. Not far from here, he says." The man chewed for another few moments before getting up and locking his door and shuttering his windows.
----------Cev and Yasami, at the Dreamhouse-------
For a priest of the Goddess of Dreams, Kellen, it seemed, rarely slept. He was busy filling some of the butterfly feeders with some sort of nectar when the two arrived.
"Ah, back so soon?" he asked Yasami, who had been here just a day before with Oren. "If you're seeking solace, feel free to have a seat, or a bed to find your rest. Unless there's something else I can do to help?"
------------Caiten, Joran, Oren, and Renali at the Grace-----------
I just don't know how we're gonna beat it," he shrugs, shaking his head. "I just don't know."
Trin brings over some refills and hears the tail end of the conversation, and quietly speaks up. "My grandfather spent most of his life adventuring. He told me something once, and I know that I really have no idea what you're all dealing with, so maybe this will miss the mark...but from what I gather of the mood maybe it will apply. "
"'Fall seven times and stand up eight,' he told me. He said that when he was young, he and his friends thought themselves unstoppable, but eventually, everybody runs into something that makes them realize they aren't, since no one actually is. He told me that some things seemed like they were going to be impossible to do -- until they were done."[/b]
Renali, who had been sitting quietly so as not to intrude on the personal grief the rest of you were struggling with, smiled at Trin. "Your grandfather sounded wise indeed."
Lisi steps into the Grace and heads to the table with the other Heroes.
"We make an offering to the barghest. Meat. With a healthy dose of a narcotic in it, or a potion, or something. We could even get some Bumblebrashers to come with us, if they aren't swayed over by its power," says the druid with no preamble.
"The thing is so powerful, it probably won't be affected much, but it will be something. We haven't attempted to sway its emotions or its mind, and I think that is its weakness. It wants to be worshipped? Let's worship it. Then, when it's feeling the effects, we trap it and kill it."
He slaps some coin down on the table. "And we have to really trap it. It can phase away into other planes and teleport limited distances. The more confused and drunken it is, the better. Casks of ale, that might help as well. I have more information from Jorell, but that's the gist."
He sits and nods to Trini with a smile.
Dario stalks into the Wizard's Grace, still dirty from their travels and just as tired as he had looked before on the road. He settles into where all the others were, taking off his wide-brimmed hat to run a hand through the messy blonde underneath.
"Calmont don't know shit about her plans. I thought I'd interrogate him, see if he had anything else to add. Nothing, unfortunately for us and for him." The gunslinger would pull out his pistol and unload it quickly before surveying the weapon carefully. Checking it over for damage, wear & tear, and taking the time to carefully try and mend what he could. He would listen to Lisi's suggestion, giving a nod to the man. "There is an option there for sure. Get it drunk & poisoned and we could have a much better chance."
Dario lifts the heavy bag of coinage onto the table, letting it sit with a thud between them all.
"Seventy gold pieces for the mercenaries in total. I was thinking that we should let the council in on our business as well, let them know what we're dealing with and the severity of that danger. The guard captain thinks Voz might be a victim of Calmont's, so they have no idea."
Caiten listens to Lisi's idea of poisoning the Barghest. "That is an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that. The idea of it escaping and surviving to fight again is concerning."
"Mostly I will be trying to improve our equipment. I can do some of the work. Hopefully I can get the assistance of some of the people in the temples here in town as well to reduce the amount of time we will need."
"Tomorrow, I will need to have Lisi's armor and Yasami's rapier available at Shelyn's Smile. There should be someone there who can develop creation recipes for those runes in a few days. As well as provide workers who can create runes for the rest of our equipment in a few days more."
"While they are doing that, I can work on transferring over some of the runes that we already have. Dario, I would like to do your pistol tomorrow. You don't need to be present for the time, but if you want to keep a close guard over your weapon, you certainly can. Joran, your flail will be the day after that."
"If all goes well, we should all have upgraded equipment within about a week. So for whatever else you are planning, if you can limit it to that amount of time, that would be preferred."
Lisi raises an eyebrow. "You'll have to add hunting to your heuristics. I'm not one for stalking and killing big game, usually, but this is an exception. And yes, it cannot be allowed to escape, nor survive. I'm not sure where I can obtain something that will make the barghest suggestible and sleepy without it smelling such a substance, but I'll look around."
"And I'll talk to Warbal. Maybe they have ideas. Caiten, I'll bring you the armor."
"If it isn't available here...Rosie might know someone. The woman has connections, I'll speak to her about it if you all want me to." Dario adds, finishing the cleaning of his pistol and putting it back together with a speed only endless hours of practice could match. He nods at Caiten when the android speaks up about wanting to enhance his pistol.
"Sounds fair. I'm no magic crafter but I'm used to working with my hands. I'll help however I can."
"We need...a narcotic. For big game. I think I know someone as well. I'll see them for breakfast, and then go to the Bumblebrashers."
Lisi finds a youth to be a runner and pens a quick message on a visiting card. Lumberjack pancakes at the Keg? We're at the Grace. -L
"Send this to Ser Howerdell at the 'Creek, please," he says, slipping them a copper.
Caiten looks around the table at his friends. "Well, it feels better having a plan. I am going to bed now. I will meet you in the Dark Room in the morning."
~~~~~
The next morning, Caiten is up early and goes to the Dark Room of the Wizard's Grace as promised. When Dario arrives, he gets to work transferring one of the runes onto the weapon. "You wanted it inscribed with 'Mirotvorets', yes?" he says, pulling out the rather rumpled paper where he has the word written down.
-----
When Yasami arrives:
"Yasami, would you be able to take Lisi's armor and your rapier to Shelyn's Smile and get a few people to learn how to make the runes that those items have. It will likely take several days. Also, can you get me copies of the formulas and processes for creating those runes. We may need to have those available for later, and they shouldn't be very expensive."
"Also, the process will destroy the existing runes. So if you would rather use your original weapon, you can certainly have runes put on that one instead."
~~~~~~
The next day, Caiten is back in the Dark Room early in the morning. This time asking for Joran's flail to move a rune onto.
"You decided on 'Oaf Warden', if I remember correctly. Like with Dario, you can stay here and help, or at least watch. But if you have something else you would rather be doing today, I only need the weapon to stay here."
On one of the evenings, Caiten approaches Cevendyll. "Would you teach me another of the spells that I have seen you use. Divine Lance"
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"That's the name, alright. Thank you Caiten. I want my baby to be firing as best as she can." Dario says grimly, spinning the pistol and offering towards the android. Dario sits with the man, watching the witch at work as the runes are inscribed upon it. With his weapon improved, the gunslinger would give his thanks and head out to the the edge of town.
For the next few days, there was the repeated sound of thunder as the man practiced speed. Reloading and firing, reloading and firing, Dario practiced until he was out of bullets and powder only to turn around and return back to Caiten's small workshop to make more of it. Burnt and soiled fingers were worn raw spinning the pistol.
"Faster." Dario thought, grimacing through the pain. Alak's sad but resolute look returned to his face as he fired through his target again.
"Faster." The look of defeat upon his friends' faces, that haunted look that he had seen too often on his own kin when they returned from a patrol gone wrong. The pistol misfired, burning his palm but it was ignored as he wrapped his hand and started again.
"FASTER." Another friend lost. Another life burnt away. Another opportunity to excel defeated. Could magic resistant skin stop a bullet hitting a bullet hitting a bullet? Didn't matter now. Now the barghest was living on borrowed time.
The pistol misfired again, snapping on Dario's hand and making the man drop the pistol. Pain ached down from his fingertips to his elbows. He would be scolded by Cev or Yasami when he returned back to the Wizard's Grace to rest and wash his bloodied, raw hands again. Black giving way to raging red under cold water.
The gun was called Mirotvorets. Peacemaker. With a grudge that betrayed the dwarven soul in the young man, Papa Dario would give Alak peace. One bullet at a time.
"I will teach it ... only if you promise to use it!"
Cevendyl smiles at his friend
"Want to know what I was just thinking? Want to know what I have actually been wracking my brain about all afternoon? I know, right? What could the champion be trying to figure out, doesn't his goddess know everything? (She does) The thing is, she wants her supplicants to figure things out, to be honest, I think that's why I met you."
"All of this preparation will help, but what I have been trying to figure out is how we can summon the maximum amount of damage to the beast with the one weakness all demons have ... goodness. Who shows up with my answer? You do, as per usual. In fact, anyone else that we could possibly get to cast Divine Lance with good energy would help. I cannot wait to teach you!"
"Thanks, Cevendyll. Though I think that spell will end up leaking a bit of information." Sulee shrugs. "But probably worth it considering the circumstances."
Caiten sits down with Cev and some paper for a little while. Going over the spell and making notes.
After Caiten has finished his notes, he hands the paper to Sulee. She takes his pen and makes a minor change to the notes, then starts the process of actually learning the spell.
Caiten looks at the notes after her change. "Hmm... I was expecting the Good and Lawful damage, but why is Chaotic damage also an option?"
Sulee chuckles a bit and turns to Cevendyll. "See what I mean?"
Caiten sits down with Cev and some paper for a little while. Going over the spell and making notes.
[dice=Religion(reroll)]1d20 + 7
After Caiten has finished his notes, he hands the paper to Sulee. She takes his pen and makes a minor change to the notes, then starts the process of actually learning the spell.
Caiten looks at the notes after her change. "Hmm... I was expecting the Good and Lawful damage, but why is Chaotic damage also an option?"
"Well in my case, Yuelral differs from her brethren because she doesn't ascribe to 'freedom' as they do; as a neutral good deity she allows her priests a greater range. All things considered, fighting devils, it makes a difference."
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Cevendyl looks at his friend with surprise, like his eyes have just opened ..."NO."
He looks pensive for a moment, and then continues
"We can use all the fancy words that we want to try to explain what we do, because it isn't quite as simple as 'farmer' or 'tailor' or even cleric or wizard, BUT, when you get right down to it, adventurers are handlers of the unexpected. This town is the best example; they have a "call" which is itself an outcry for assistance with the unexpected. Oddly enough, we answered."
"Even given that is what we do, and I would say that we are pretty good at it, the unexpected is still UNexpected. In our most recent encounter, we were as cautious as this team has ever been. We split up. We approached rather than rushing in, but this was a time that the unexpected was more than we could handle or react to. We did nothing wrong, and we could not have done anything better, and you have shown yourself to be as loving and loyal a comrade as anyone might want ... even to a Hellknight."
"The only thing we could possibly do wrong now is not to do move forward, thinking and planning and leveraging what we know, and with this group, above and beyond is where we thrive."
Yasamina keeps walking with Cevendyl as he speaks. She occasionally nods and tilts her head with curiosity. "Thanks for the reassuring words. I just can't shake one feeling. This already happened to me twice before today.", she pauses and reconsiders her words. "Well, not in this precise manner, but ... two people that were dear to me died, possibly as a consequence of me being- reckless, I suppose. Alak... Alak was on the way to becoming a good friend, it seems. And suddenly-", she stops talking and picks up some dust from the street floor. She gently blows it off her palm. "He's no more. Or at least it seems that way."
She looks at Cevendyl and waves her hand dismissively. She attempts a smile "Probably a coincidence. Let's carry on."
When they pass Posandi's, Yasamina heads for Shelyn's Smile. "Not sure which temple you wanted to see, but this is my stop for now. I want to pray for a moment. And write a letter or two. It's been a while since I contacted my mother or my daughter. I'll catch up with you at the Grace. And thanks for the walk. I appreciate the company."
Yasamina enters the worship wing of the building after what seems like ages to her. The halls decorated with paintings and roses of multiple colours. A feeling of serenity almost washes over her. Almost. But this place will do. She finds an alcove and leans against the wooden steps at the base. She spends time there until her knees start getting uncomfortable, quietly contemplating on various subjects, and occasionally whispering. She cries a few times while in the alcove, just letting the pent-up emotion out. The roses were good listeners. They would understand. And most importantly - they would not tell anyone else. When Yasamina is done, she stands up to see Tarindlara standing nearby. She nods politely toward the elf, but decides not to interact further today. She quietly thanked for the 'time to arrange her thoughts' and quietly left. She heads for her quarters. She writes two letters. One to her mother, one to Viola. She puts some money into both envelopes.
On her way to the Grace, Yasamina stops by a post drop-off and puts the envelopes in. At the Grace, she sits down to listen to the conversation to catch up and starts eyeing the bottles on the table. While she seems in a lot better mood compared to two hours ago, she pours a round and raises it. "To Alak Stagram. May his death not be in vain. So what -is- Ralldar, anyway? And how does it die?"
"Tomorrow, I will need to have Lisi's armor and Yasami's rapier available at Shelyn's Smile. There should be someone there who can develop creation recipes for those runes in a few days. As well as provide workers who can create runes for the rest of our equipment in a few days more."
With a shot glass in hand, Yasamina looks at Caiten and nods. "Okay, well. I'm not sure whether someone there can, but I can ask around and see what I find. Do you want that done like now-now? Should I stand up and head over?"
Do you want that done like now-now? Should I stand up and head over?
"In the morning will be fine. Thank you for taking care of that."
After spending a couple of days working on transferring runes, Caiten decides to go into town. He enters the Wizard's Grace first to see who is there. He sees Renali at one of the tables and comes over.
"Greetings. Have you explored much of the town yet? I am stopping by a couple of places this morning and then I plan to open my shop. You can come with me if you wish."
Caiten spends the morning visiting Shelyn's Smile and asks about the progress of the runes. He also asks to buy copies of the formulas for each of the three runes. He also checks into prices for a wand of level 2 Heal, scrolls of level 2 Heal, and potions of darkvision and invisibility.
He also drops off his armor and pays for them to create a +1 rune on it.
Afterwards he goes to Quarters and Bits.
"Good morning Crink. No, I am not here on assignment from the town council today. I would like to buy the schematics for a reinforced shield. No, just the schematics. ... No, just... No, j..... Just the... ... Just the schematics, thank you."
After his shopping trip, he goes to the open air market area and sets up his booth. He has created a small feathered shawl for Sulee out of some of those feathers that she insisted on getting from the Emperor Birds. He also gave her the magic of flight today as well as speech, manual dexterity, and Skilled(performance). They spend the rest of the day entertaining the children of Breachill who come to the market. Sulee does aerial tricks and dancing, and Caiten shows several individual and group games. Occasionally they even sell some of the toys.
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Renali had never expected her pilgrimage to lead her so far from home. She only had two years, after all. Much as she might want to see the entire world, that was hardly enough time. She was halfway through her journey of discovery, and had learned much about people and places by just watching them.
That’s what she did now, in this exotic land called Breachill, with its largely pale skinned denizens. Even the name of the town was difficult for her, with no ‘ch’ sound in her native tongue. “Ba-ree-shill” was the closest she consistently manage. The plants and animals here were foreign to her, with the exception of the housecats – those had taken over the world, it seemed. The food, industry, and customs all had her a bit turned around. How these families managed with only two web parents instead of three was a question she’d not yet been able to determine.
She spent most of her time watching the individuals who’d led her from the caves, and whom she hoped would return her home eventually.
The one called Caiten intrigued her. He was not the same as the others, and reminded her of her own people in many ways. He was in firm control of his emotions, and seemed calm and rational in his approach to the problem of the barghest. He threw himself into his work, gathering a group of people from the town to assist him, bartering for fair prices, and meticulously crafting improvements to he and his friends’ armor and weapons.
-------
Then Caiten spots a boy that looks very much like Roen. Of course, it’s not him. And there are none of the warning signs setting off alarms, as with the other boy. But it still gives Caiten a moment of pause, leading him to reflect on times past.
"Something wrong, Mister?” the child asks.
-------
Then there was Lisi. Renali had liked him from the start, as soon as she saw the tiny entourage that accompanied him. Leshies were held in high regard among her people, and the juvenile predators, while unfamiliar to her, clearly trusted him implicitly. Only a good man could earn the respect of animals and plants thusly. He seemed to deal with the loss of their friend with obsessiveness, talking about poisons as a child might their first web, excitedly rambling on.
-------
------
Cevendyll valued spirituality as Renali's people did, though she had never heard of this Yuelral he spoke of so reverently. He seemed confident, knowing his goddess was with him. A quaint belief, but she supposed the long-lived elves had fewer generations of ancestral spirits to call upon, so they made up deities of their own.
-------
”You know I once heard of one that could fly,” he was saying. ”Breachill is fortunate that our own resident barghest seems unable or unwilling to leave those caves.”
-------
Joran had been the first to approach Renali, and she’d seen the kindness in him then. Since Alak’s death, he had become more withdrawn – except with Miss Trinil, the proprietor here. The two of them seemed to be in the early stages of courtship. How did humans pursue their mates? They did not bear any bright markings to show off, nor could their mouth parts resonate in order to sing the par’arenda to their mates. From what she had seen of the two, it involved a great deal of pressing their faces together.
-------
-------
The only woman of the group, Yasami, was difficult to read. Her initial display of violence, collecting the heads of those slain orcs, had terrified Renali. She had wondered who it was she’d fallen in with. But she’d come to realize Yasami had cared about the man who led the barghest away, and the display had been her grief given form. Since then, she hadn’t seen much of the woman, who came and went from the tavern more regularly than the others.
-------
Yasami was dreaming. At least, she was pretty sure she was. Given she was riding through the woods on the back of a giant warg puppy and calling out for Big Bumble. Perhaps it was her realization that it must be one that caused the dream to shift subtly, because now she was still in the woods but alone – until she heard a snapping branch behind her and spun to face her would-be ambusher.
Alak stood there, grinning that dorky smile that had always looked odd on the face of a Hellknight. ”You’re dead,” you inform him.
”Am I? Well, that explains a lot. Still, if a man’s going to be dead, there are worse places he could end up than in a woman’s dreams. Certainly thought I was heading somewhere much worse.”
”Why are you here?” you find yourself asking.
”Good question. I’m dead, so that must mean I’m a ghost or something. Maybe I have a message for you, from the other side. Maybe this is a vision, like Oren always gets. Or maybe I’m just a weird part of your subconscious. Though hey, if I am, maybe I’m not dead. That’d be swell, wouldn’t it?”
”Swell? Really?”
”Don’t look at me, I’m your subconscious, remember? Hmm. How could we figure out if I’m you, or a ghost?” He snapped his fingers. ”I’ve got it! Let’s ask them!”
You turn around to see where Alak is pointing, and see two other familiar faces…
-------
Oren was a quiet one. Renali wondered if he felt responsible for the man they lost, since it was Oren he’d been protecting, or if he’d always been a man of few words. When he was around, it gave her the feeling one got when your web had been disturbed. An undefinable sensation that something important was about to happen.
-------
For days, Oren had been stewing about the uselessness of what he’d see. Always vague, and other than the one that led him to Breachill, none of them had been of any use yet. He had a sense of timing when he got them. The ritual he’d seen, with the people sacrificing themselves, that had been something from the past. The dragon, calling for his help had been in the future. This one felt very much like the present. Of course, it helped that Voz was a part of it.
”You’re going to have to kill one of your men.” she was saying, to an ape man like the ones they’d fought in the citadel. ”We’re out of food. I don’t much look forward to eating a humanoid but I’m not going to starve to death over a little squeamishness.”
”Rargh! Malarunk lose many men already. Why lose another? Just eat that one.” The ape man, more decorated than the others they’d encountered, pointed, but whatever he pointed at was outside the limits of the vision.
”Because, unlike your men, that one is useful to us. Now choose. They will be coming, and soon, I expect. You all need to be in fighting shape. I would bet everything I own that they found the girl and have the key, and we need to get it back from them. Have the rest of your men continue carving into the wall, so we have a way out of here.”
The vision fades, and Oren awakens.
-------
Then, there was Dario. The only one of them with proper facial markings, he’d harnessed magic within a strange metal device, firing thunder and stone from it to assail his enemies. Or himself, for that matter. He kept practicing with it and returning with hands that were painfully raw, blistered, and burned. It had been some time since Renali was able to practice her arts, but she still had some supplies from back home…
-------
”If you would permit me, I have herbs that will help your hands to heal,” she offered. ”I will be careful not to hurt you while I apply them.”
Lisi smiles around a sip of mulled cider. "Oh, it's true. We slew a brace of Voz' mercenaries, some of them already dead to be begin with. But the barghest was the worst."
His smile faded into a frown. "We wouldn't have gotten away if a visiting Hellknight hadn't lured the barghest away. Alak was his name. I didn't know him long...but he was a friend."
He taps the table restlessly, then waves to the server, who already has the order: many many flapjacks and eggs and roasted vegetables on the side, and bunches of grapes and groundberries.
"I was thinking that the barghest, while a vile beast from the Abyss, isn't that different from a dire boar. Something so big, so angry, it really helps to drug it a bit to cool its ire before luring it to a pit. Narine, we could use your help in choosing a big game narcotic to feed this fiend."
"...just don't put it in my flapjacks, hey?" He puts a hand over hers, both of their callused from their outdoor work.
"Something wrong, Mister?” the child asks.
Caiten snaps from his reverie. "No, it seems not." He pulls out a small square of cardstock. "Here, I'll show you how to fold a paper jumping frog..."
"On the plus side from our little foray, there are no flies nor gnats near the 'Grace. None. Not when there's slops, not even when there's a hide curing out back. Our other new friend makes them disappear," he says with a chuckle.
"She's the kind of humanoid that makes those who eat humanoids run back into the dark, and even then they aren't safe. No, not a drow. You'll have to meet her, or maybe you've seen her around. Renali. We need to get her back to the Expanse. ...it has been a complicated few days."
"You don't need to bow..." Dario said gruffly at first, the pain making him irritable. "...unless...that is just how you greet people. Sorry, I ain't that sociable." He apologized, quick to realize he was letting his frustrations sit on another. She offered to help heal his hands and, with the others busy, there was no reason to deny her kindness.
With a silent nod, Dario would unbandage his fingers and let out a soft hiss of pain. They ached terribly but he would make no sound of complaint as Renali went to work.
"You know, despite the...differences we do have, you and I ain't that different." Dario said, breaking the silence between them as she examined his hands. "We're both a long way from home. I come from Dongun Hold, part of the Mana Wastes on the eastern side of the Shattered Range. Your home is on the western side, right? Closer to Nex, I think." Dario rambles, looking down at his hand.
"I should be used to it, you know. Losing friends. The Wastes are deadly, full of primal magic and monstrosities. Sometimes whole patrols are lost out there but they just never come back. Those are the worst days." His voice fails him for a bit as he stares down at his hands, grimacing again before a sigh fell from his lips. "It never gets easier, you know? Never."
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"I was thinking that the barghest, while a vile beast from the Abyss, isn't that different from a dire boar. Something so big, so angry, it really helps to drug it a bit to cool its ire before luring it to a pit. Narine, we could use your help in choosing a big game narcotic to feed this fiend."
"...just don't put it in my flapjacks, hey?" He puts a hand over hers, both of their callused from their outdoor work.
Narine frowned in thought, but lays her second hand atop his absently, sandwiching it. Her hands were warm, and felt nice, in spite of their roughness. ”That’s not a bad idea. It sounds as though it would need to be fairly powerful in order to work. We don’t have a whole lot of potent stuff on hand – mostly things like you said, to slow a beast down. But from what I’ve heard of barghests, in the tales, they’ll need something a lot stronger.”
The blink of an epiphany changed her expression suddenly, and her hands shifted to holding his in her sudden excitement. ”Have you spoken with Morta? She’s always been a fan of the macabre, and I could swear I heard she has a small collection of rare poisons. I don’t know if it was only a rumor or not, and I’m not sure if she’d sell what she has, but it might be worth a shot.”"On the plus side from our little foray, there are no flies nor gnats near the 'Grace. None. Not when there's slops, not even when there's a hide curing out back. Our other new friend makes them disappear," he says with a chuckle.
"She's the kind of humanoid that makes those who eat humanoids run back into the dark, and even then they aren't safe. No, not a drow. You'll have to meet her, or maybe you've seen her around. Renali. We need to get her back to the Expanse. ...it has been a complicated few days.
”The girl with the braids? Really? She looked human to me. Wait, she eats bugs?” Narine made a little face. The rest of the meal passed quite pleasantly. She was keen to hear of Lisi’s adventures, and offered to help in any way she could. When it was time to say goodbye, she surprised him with a sudden hug. ”Please be careful,” she said, giving him a squeeze. ”If all of you get eaten, we’re probably next. Besides, I’d miss our little get-togethers.” She withdrew and smiled.
"You don't need to bow..." Dario said gruffly at first, the pain making him irritable. "...unless...that is just how you greet people. Sorry, I ain't that sociable."
Renali smiled, taking no offense. Now that he knew she wasn’t human, he could see the slight oddity of the expression. Almost like she was trying too hard. But when one’s natural mouth had mandibles, it was little wonder a smile didn’t come naturally. ”It is a sign of respect. Among my people, our human forms grow as we do. That is to say, when I am old, this form will appear old. We do not cut our human hair, and it grows as we age. It is considered respectful to bow low enough for it to touch the ground, when speaking to one you hold in high esteem. The longer our braids, the more respect we ourselves have earned, and the less deeply we need to bow.” She flashed an apologetic smile. ”Forgive me, you did not ask for a lesson. Let me see to your injuries."
Once Renali got a look at his hands she pulled out a number of exotic herbs from her satchel, along with a wooden mortar and pestle. She ground a mix of them together, then bid him wait a moment and asked Trinil for some cooking oil to make the mashed leaves into a paste. While he spoke of his homeland, she smiled and spread the salve ever so gently onto his wounds.
Similar to the way mint leaves could make one's mouth feel cooler, the herbs she spread onto him soothed the red, blistered flesh. The slightest breeze against his skin felt pleasantly chilled, and within a minute, the pain has been numbed entirely. She took his hand in both of hers. "Let me know if this hurts. It should not, now that the medicine has begun to work. I need to rub it in to be certain it will not fester.” She cradled the back of his hand with her fingers and pressed her thumbs into the meat of his palm, massaging it into the muscles and tendons that were stiff from the repeated kickback of his weapon, loosening his grip as well as easing the tightness of his skin from the burns.
"You know, despite the...differences we do have, you and I ain't that different." Dario said, breaking the silence between them as she examined his hands. "We're both a long way from home. I come from Dongun Hold, part of the Mana Wastes on the eastern side of the Shattered Range. Your home is on the western side, right? Closer to Nex, I think." Dario rambles, looking down at his hand.
"I should be used to it, you know. Losing friends. The Wastes are deadly, full of primal magic and monstrosities. Sometimes whole patrols are lost out there but they just never come back. Those are the worst days." His voice fails him for a bit as he stares down at his hands, grimacing again before a sigh fell from his lips. "It never gets easier, you know? Never."
”You are correct about my home. I have heard of the places you mention, though I have yet to finish exploring all of the expanse on my pilgrimage.” When he expressed his feelings of loss, she ceased her massage and held his hand in hers, both of them slippery from the salve. ”I am sorry I could not be of more help during the battle. I am afraid I have never been much of a fighter. I shall sing for your friend, that his song may join that of the ancestors. I know that does not feel like much comfort, to the living left behind.”
She released her grasp. "There. Leave it be for an hour or so, then you may wash it off. If it hurts again tomorrow, I can apply another batch, but it should heal more quickly now."
With his arms crossed and lost deep in thought, Joran finds himself at a crossroads and is not sure which path to take. He's brought back to reality when Trinil arrives and embraces him. Looking over at her, he smiles and places a hand upon her arms. "Hey, gorgeous. Yeah, sorry about that. Just have had a lot on my mind over these past couple of days. Losing Alak... I sure didn't see that one coming. I still can't believe he did that." He shakes his head, still frustrated about it all. "Wasn't supposed to lose anyone. Not anyone. Not on my watch." He looks off into the distance, quiet for a moment.
"You should've seen it, Trin. That beast took down Oren in just a couple of swipes. Oren! I don't care what Caiten does with our weapons, I'm not so sure we can beat that thing regardless." The apprehension in his voice is obvious as he chews on the inside of his lip.
Continuing, and stroking her arm as he speaks, "I don't know, Trin, I'm wondering if this is even for me anymore. I nearly got us all killed and," he pauses a moment, shaking his head, "and that's unacceptable. Heck, it's pretty much unforgivable. And my cocksure self just strides right up to a small army and acts like it's all rainbows and roses and no concern whatsoever. Next thing I know, Alak's down, Yasamina's down, and I've got half a dozen arrows stuck in me. If it weren't for Caiten...," he leaves that hanging in the air, shaking his head again in obvious frustration, drawing his free hand down his face.
Angling his head towards her, "Pops threw some words at me about that too." Trinil's look quickly becomes one of confusion. "Dario I mean. We call him 'Papa' now. Or 'Pops'. Hey, he brought it on himself," he smiles, shrugging.
"Anyway," turning his attention back to the horizon, "I didn't like what he had to say because, well, it was true. If I've learned anything during these past few days - especially on that day - it's that nothing cuts you worse than the truth. A sword may cut your flesh but the truth will pierce you to your very soul. So I wonder, why not just walk away from it and stay here with you?" He looks back at her. "I haven't even gone on a date with you, Trin, and I nearly got myself killed along with half of my team because of my foolishness. That is hard to accept, you know?" Cutting his attention back to the horizon and squeezing her arm affectionately, "I just don't know. There's so much to lose. And I'm just so tired of this weighing on me." He leans his head against hers, placing a hand on the opposite side of her face and giving her a hug.
”Joran Bravestone. I really hate to break this to you. But you are not perfect.” She gave a faux wince, eyebrows up, head shaking slowly, with a sharp intake of breath. ”I know, I know. I went and settled for a man who is slightly less than a god in his capabilities. I really should have higher standards. But you know, you live here in town, so it’s convenient.” She shrugged playfully, and kissed the bridge of his nose.
”Listen to me. No one wins every fight. No one. And no one can know the future. I asked the others what happened, and they told me about the fight with the archers. You tried diplomacy. Should you have charged out there, ready to kill, not knowing if those men were of an evil nature? Sure, there may have been a better plan. But you are not a man of subtlety, Oaf. I can say that with confidence. So I don’t fault you for not considering a stealthier plan might be in order.”
”As for walking away…Joran, I don’t think we can. From the sound of it, there is quite a bit of chaos going on right next to Breachill. Even if you walked away…ESPECIALLY if you walk away…those dangers will find their way here. We wouldn’t be safe here. And could you honestly run, and leave your home behind? I don’t think I could.”
She looked into his eyes. ”I am sorry about Alak. But you are in a dangerous line of work. You put yourself in harm’s way to protect others from it. And every single person with you chose to do the same. Including Alak. He chose to sacrifice himself to save Oren, and the rest of you. He could have run. Oren could have, too, before facing the beast. You all made the choice to brave the dangers. Because that’s what heroes do. And I adore you for it.”
She kissed him tenderly, lips lingering a long time, then she laid her head on his shoulder and held him.
"So you bow for someone you hold in high esteem then, is that right? I'm honored by the gestured, even if I don't feel I am deserving of it." His smirk died when he reminisced about Alak, about death. Though he knew the strange, albeit it mesmerizing, shape she truly had, he found her hands on him to be comforting as she offered her regrets and hopes.
"You don't need to apologize for anything, it wasn't your fight but you still fought it. I...We...appreciate you." In the slippery mess that was their hands, Dario gripped hers with the rough palm that came with his profession. "We'll get you home, I promise. One way or another."
The next day, as Renali wandered the town in awe of the strange customs that these people had, she would hear a sharp whistle to catch her attention. Dario was upon the street and he would gesture her to follow him. Leading her out of town to the edge of the forest where he had prepared a number of stumps and dead trees as target practice, he would finally stop.
"Sit down for a spell. Let me show you something." The gunslinger wore a wry smile as he drew his pistol and blade. Upon them was a blazon, an empty shield reminiscent of a coat of arms. There were three of them, as golden as rows of wheat in the distance. On on the grip of his pistol, one on the hilt of his sword, and the other clearly displayed upon his chest. They radiated power as his weapons shimmered with magical might.
What came next was destruction. Pistol fire blew apart wood and his shortsword cleaved through the dead bark cleanly. The speed of his firing had only improved, his healed hands reacting quickly and beautifully. When the last piece of wood was decimated, both weapons were sheathed with a dangerous quickness. Dario turned towards Renali, tipping his head softly to her.
"Thank you for your kindness yesterday. To make diamonds from coal, you have to wait." Dario said, chuckling as his family's saying probably didn't hit well on the innocent spider-girl. "To become better, sometimes we need patience and need to wait. You reminded me of that. Thank you."
"So you bow for someone you hold in high esteem then, is that right? I'm honored by the gestured, even if I don't feel I am deserving of it."
"I hold all of you in high esteem. Not merely for coming to my aid. I have watched you all since coming here, and all of you act with honor, in your own ways."
The following day, Renali watched his demonstration with fascination, though the sound of the pistol up close caused her to flinch involuntarily. She smiled at his saying.
"We say, 'a web worth weaving takes time.' I believe the sentiment is similar. Thank you for showing me. I am pleased your weapon no longer causes you pain. I was concerned it was in its nature to do so.
"As for thanking me, I am happy to help however I can. I may not be a skilled combatant, but I will find ways to assist you."
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[spoiler=At the Keg]
"I missed you, you know," says Lisi as their embrace ends. "Narine...I don't know where this whole Dahak thing is going to take us. As I said, possibly to Garund and the Expanse. But...I'll come back. I won't get devoured. I'll come back. And then..."
Lisi is at a loss for words at that point. "Ah, I'll probably be very hungry and thirsty."
****
Lisi arrives at Morta's Mortuary. "Hello, Morta! You look sepulchrally fabulous as always. I was wondering if you could help me with a peculiar request. I need to make something very large, bestial, and angry--quite sleepy and stupefied. It would probably have to be stronger than any extract of belladonna, although I'm not certain of that."