Try as he might, Hurik cannot tell anything more about the nature of the lily, other than its near-perfect condition and loveliness. As he admires the flower, however, a streak of mud stains his face, even though he swears he didn't wipe any there...
Hurik calls out "I don't know if we should take it. It appears to be beauty amid the muck. I am not sentimental but...are we sure??"
From the far bank, the loblobi lets out an exasperated sigh. "Bring the flower fool! Lovely it may look, but the polluted river needs cleansing, and the flower will grow back!"
"I say we should not" - Tharskh pipes in - "What reasons do we have to do what this evil creature commands? Perhaps it hates the flower for whatever reasons?" - he added - "I have no interest in running errands for those I know nothing about"
"Bring it here and let me examine it," she says "We know that the river is polluted, and it seems to have some strange properties."
Seeing the group is divided, and he is the one who divided it, he ponders, then rather than rip it out entirely, he tries to take some of the soil the flower is IN "We cannot squabble forever, I will try to compromise.I will try to make it so we can plant it back after we have looked at it.."
Hurik reaches into the muddy mess, and brings forth the magnificent lily, including enough wet, messy earth to keep the roots covered in case he has to re-plant it. He struggles back through the mire, and shows the flower to Miriani and the others. Hurik's lower half is covered in stinking mud, but he powers through it.
With a closer look, she tries to figure out what it is.
Mirani can tell the flower is magical, but she has to sit with it for several minutes to identify its properties. While she sits and studies, the voice from the river cries out. "Ok, just keep the lily then! Its the bones of a frog I need now! Can you catch a river-frog and toss its bones in? That'll help clear my waters, for sure!"
After several minutes study, Miriani, who now has a streak of brown mud across the front of her tunic, although she never got near the mudhole, says: "It's a mudlily, and has nothing to do with purifying the river."
If you soil a mudlily with some dirt or mud and wear it, you become perfectly clean over an hour. Any new dirt or grime you get in slowly vanishes from everywhere except the mudlily itself.
Each day at dawn, the mudlily comes clean again.
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”Okay, now can we kill it?” Kheyji asks in a whisper.
She listens for a second and then says, ”There’s another one out there. Or something else out there, at least. It’s talking to someone else, joking about these tasks it’s giving us. It doesn’t care about the lily or the frog; it just wants to laugh at us while we do this.”
Miriani will join the whispering. "It is magic, but we can talk about that later. Let's take them out."
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Kheyji nods and whispers, "Sister, we're about to smite some evil, and I know you're into that. Would you guide Tharskh's hand, please? He tends to draw first blood in situations like this." The familiar glow of firelight flickers across her eyes and Tharskh feels a pleasant warmth settle on his shoulders.
"Why don't we simply ignore them, and get back to our task?" - Tharskh questions.
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"Why don't we simply ignore them, and get back to our task?" - Tharskh questions.
Kheyji smiles at you. "Always practical, Tharskh. To be honest, that would probably be smarter. But for my part, Sister will get mad at me if I don't at least try to do something about them, especially this close to the following."
A glower at the voice
"I see."
He's not happy at being played for a fool
"I will not attack them unprovoked Kheyji" - Tharskh reiterated - "But I will follow you if you decide to do so"
As the group makes determinations on how to proceed, the voice on the small island changes, losing any sense of need or help, it booms out. "Empress of Reeds, I gave them every chance to play Kalbo's game, but the fools wouldn't play, and now Kalbo has lost patience with all of it. Aid me in removing these fun-killers!"
If you are watching the place where the loblobi rests behind the rocks of the mid-channel isle, you see him rise, revealing himself fully. "Kalbo rules this river, mortals! And if you won't play Kalbo's games, then you will perish!"
Kalbo's Game - Round 1
23 Empress of Reeds
19 Kalbo
15 Satu
12 Kheyji
11 Tharskh
7 Hurik
7 Miriani
The angry bird-like fey flies across the ash-filled river landing heavily on your bank. As it lands it starts some sort of preening dance puffing and tiding its feathered crest in a hypnotizing manner.
From out of the river, a watery form appears flying from the water. It casts a strange spell and an arrow of liquid acid flies into Tharskh. The blast of acid overwhelms the half-orc dropping him instantly.
"Thrask!" Hurik gasps, then the bird like fae dances...
For now, he holds onto his mind.
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"Oh, crap," Kheyji says.
She waves her hand and points at Tharskh, saying, "Sister, we are going to need him for this. Bind him up and send him back to us, if you would."
Firelight blazes from Tharskh's wounds, warmth spreading across him and seeping into his skin. "No napping on the job," she quips to Tharskh in Jotun. "Bad guys are that way."
Then, having restored her friend a little, she raises a hand in front of her protectively, conjuring a thin barrier of dancing flame.
Miriani yowls in pure rage as this thing attacks Tharshk. She lashes out with water and wind.
(B)
(B)
Hurik moves forward, seizing his maul and closing with the dancing bird thing to strike at it.
"Oh, crap," Kheyji says.
She waves her hand and points at Tharskh, saying, "Sister, we are going to need him for this. Bind him up and send him back to us, if you would."
[dice=Heal]1d10+8
"Oh, crap," Kheyji says.
She waves her hand and points at Tharskh, saying, "Sister, we are going to need him for this. Bind him up and send him back to us, if you would."
[dice=Heal]1d10+8
Kalbo's Game - Round 1 - concluded
As Tharskh continues to suffer the wound from the acid missile, Kheyji calls on the healing power of Sarenrae to help him recover from his injuries. The spell revives the fallen half-orc who remains prone, trying to get back in the fight that has suddenly developed.
Enraged by the attack of the river creatures, Miriani blasts the flying Empress of Weeds with a watery blast, catching her totally unaware, with an extra smashing push behind it. The extra-powerful blast is enough to send the mephit flying back 10' landing lifeless on the small river island.
Seeing the fight get really bad really fast, Hurik unlimbers his maul and rushes forward striking the loblobi once for moderate damage.
Satu is fascinated by the preening of the loblobi and cannot act.
End of Round 1
Kalbo's Game - Round 2
19 Kalbo (5hp dmg)
15 Satu (fascinated)
12 Kheyji
11 Tharskh (10hp remaining)
7 Hurik
7 Miriani
Kalbo the loblobi looks quite taken aback as Miriani blasts the mephit out of the air with one shot. He tries to regain his arrogant composure and turns his attacks on Hurik. The fey attacks twice with its beak. The first strike is turned away by the barbarian, but the second hits him in his neck, hurting him badly. After striking, the loblobi jumps, hops, and flies in an ungainly manner around the bole of the dead tree overhanging the river.
CRITICAL
"What happened?" - Tharskh stands up, shaking the black spots in his vision.
Quickly looking around, he grabs his bow, and fires at the creature attacking Hurik.
Hurik snarled in pain at the wound. Then answers "It cast some spell upon you that nearly killed you in one shot, my friend. We can't let it do that foul magic again."
He'd pursue, but realizes the winged creature is flying! Well, that is annoying. Putting his maul away, he draws a javelin, and throws it!
Kalbo's Game - Round 2 - continued
Despite attacks against party members from Kalbo, Satu remains fascinated by the fey creatures beautiful preening movements and still cannot act.
Tharskh recovers from his injury enough to stand, draw his bow, and fire an accurate shot at the loblobi, the arrow sinking deep in the flabby belly of the creature.
Nearer, Hurik sees the fey flying out of reach, and grabs a javelin, hurling it in anger at the enemy, and scoring a powerful strike.
Miriani turns to the other threat, with the power of the storm still rolling off of her. "Are we as entertaining as you hoped? Preen all you want, you will leave an ugly, rotting corpse."
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Kheyji, seeing the creature wounded, decides now might be a good time to get in on the smiting.
"Sister, some fire, please," she says as she levels her hand at the creature.
doing on a hit.
Kheyji's eyes alight with flame, as is typical when she channels Sister Cinder's power. This time, though, actual smoke leaks from the corners of her eyes.
A line of bright flame lances out from Kheyi's outstretched hand, seeking the evil fey.
Kalbo's Game - Round 2 - concluded
Miriani's not done punishing the loblobi. As it perches in the tree, the catfolk lines up a ray of frost that zaps across the open space and scores a direct hit on the foe, doing extra damage as well. The damage is enough to drop the fey creature, which falls from the tree onto the ground at Hurik's feet stone dead.
End of Combat
Hurik is amazed as his wounds heal, "Praise Sister Cinder and her godsmouths" He pulls his javelin out of the corpse, and looks for where he dropped the flower "I should return the flower I suppose. Perhaps these creatures have some thing of value? I am not one for looting the deed but they would have done worse to us, and it may help the tribe."
The body of the mephit lies on the small island mid-stream, but the loblobi lies near the bottom of an old tree on the bank. Searching it quickly, you can see that it doesn't wear clothes or hold any items, and nothing of value is on its body.
"Thank you for your blessings Kheyji - I would be dead otherwise" - Tharskh nodded his thanks at his companion.
"I will search the islet" - he added.
Hurik nods and begins to put the flower back carefuly where it was.
Does Miriani think that the lilly might have something to do with the polluted water? Or could it be further upstream?
Miriani understands the magical properties of the mudlily at least a bit, but she doesn't see how that could cause the river to become ash-filled no matter how powerful the aura was.
Hurik trudges off to replace the mudlily, streaks of dirt and mud caking his arms and hands before he even enters the mudhole.
Tharskh swims over to the small islet and begins searching it. The mephit is quite dead, but carries nothing of value. However, in the center of a hollowed out log, the ranger finds the lair of the fey loblobi. Inside the log is a grim sight -- the crumpled corpse of a Kellid woman in hide armor. The corpse's face bears distinctive burn scars, similar to those seen on the invading hunters in Tapir Grove. Affixed to the front of the hide armor is a strange interwoven ring of dried leaves.
"I would welcome it"
After Hurik replants the magical lily, Kheyji tends his remaining wounds with great skill and care, and the wounded barbarian restores all his lost hit points.
She offers the same to Tharskh when he returns from the island in the middle of the river.