Batting away the annoying bugs with axe and shield, Rocko will look over to the unconscious Zia. Although it's likely Yoltzin's spells will be quicker and more effective, he's still stuck on the idea he is in a position to help with his potions.
"Hold strong, Miss Zia! I be gettin to ya!"
He also wracks his mind for ways to lure the beetles to one spot to get them to stop swarming.
These undead have been preserved by spell and spice, and while the Quishat beetles obviously have an instinct to transmit their curse, they also seem to react as living beetles. Rocko is pretty certain they might be interested in properly decaying animal or vegetable matter.
Dartaniel Reflex Save:
Amideo's up in Round 4
The undead still fighting, now prone, lashes out at the crocodile with two attacks, and Dartaniel with the third.
On Croc:
On Dartaniel:
Rest of party (and Amideo, with a held action) may act.
Though his vitality is drained and his mind is slipping to madness, he fights on, swinging at the undead in front of him. Justice must be served.
[dice=Attack]1d20+11+1
[dice=Damage]
Amideo snaps out of his momentary confusion (perhaps brought on by the Qhishat beetle bite) and takes a mighty swing. This, at last, fells his opponent.
End of Combat. At this point, you all take stock of the situation for a moment. Zia is unconscious, Amideo has been bitten, and several of these beetles fly about the room. It is unknown whether additional beetles will issue forth from the bodies now that their undeath has been at least temporarily ended. In some way, the goal is to either remove the curse or end its ability to affect the outside world.
Djack moves to check on Zia. As he touches her neck, he looks over his shoulder... Is this some form of... desecration?
Based on what Rocko thinks might attract the beetles, he pulls what he can out of his stash to make some trapped bait. If they're not swarming, they're not biting.
"Try bein' quiet-like as you help Miss Zia. These buggies be trouble, and I mean to soothe that."
A couple of the insects are lured to Rocko's trap, but most of them are intent on continuing to infect the newcomers.
"I'm...I'll be fine. But we must find a way to remove this curse permanently."
"The corpses!" Dartaniel shouts excitedly. "Remove the curse from the corpses!"
"Of course!" Zia casts Remove Curse once on each of the corpses. For good measure, she casts the last one on the pyramid itself.
Suddenly, Amideo feels the confusion ebb from his mind. The curse has been broken; the disease no longer affects him. The beetles, likewise, are acting as normal beetles again, not rushing to attack the adventurers. At this point, they cluster to the lures Rocko put out.
Does anyone want to take any other measures or actions in the temple?
Should we check for... valuables?
And, should there be some hand behind all of this... a priest dressed all in black or red or gold or something?
Djack starts look around for clues. Quickly he turns to the rest of the group. I'm hungry. Let's get outta here.
There is wealth here that could be taken, gems and gold flaking and such, but Dartaniel cautions that might perpetuate the curse.
Once outside, Rocko figures a way to bring down the collapsing areas, closing up the entrances made by intruders over the centuries.
The sun has already grown quite warm in the sky. The heroes find a safe location to have some lunch and some healing, and begin preparations for the journey back to Santa Merceda.
The elf spends time ensuring that the temple is properly cleans of its diabolical influences, creating the bodies as well to ensure that their otherworldly spirits would be forced to move on from this mortal plane. Much contemplation she had on the matter, determining that these undead were not of the sort to be trusted or admired.
Marcha 29
After pausing to camp at a ranch for the evening, the party continues its trip back to Santa Merceda. The day is hot; summer begins early in Caldova, even in the Eastern portion. Travel is sweaty work; rest in the middle portion of the day is almost required.
By early evening, you find yourselves on the outskirts of the city once again. Making your way through Waterpass, you enter via the Southern Gate, same as you entered a few days ago.
You are startled but also relieved to be challenged at the gate.
A knight from Keep Mesa Norte sits mounted before you, his lance aimed in a way that says he means business.
"Eh? Troublemakers?" a single Kobold walks out of the gatehouse, the same one you'd been holding prisoners in day before yesterday.
"Ah, Rocko! My old friend!"
The Great and Mighty Draconian... Spizz! Djack seems happy to see the sorcerer.
With open arms he approaches, What brings you here? Anything... buggin' you? His smile gives away his wordplay.
Spizz chuckles, seemingly understanding the joke.
"Friend Djack! Seems a member of a group of concerned citizens, who also happened to be a minor wizard, sent his familiar (at great personal peril) over the mountains to inform the Keep."
"We've been traveling since just after this began. Imagine my surprise to find my old friends were already into the meat of the issue!"
"I deemed our knights would be most useful cleaning up here to prepare for your triumphant return!"
After the embrace, Djack stands to consider the current situation.
Is he going to keep... pointing thiat thing... at me?
He stays where he is, letting those in authority and having more knowledge about the actual "curse-ive" goings on explain.
Hmm... I hardly knew the man, but I hope Pious is well.
Yoltzin's faithfully bound companion gives a watery snort towards the pointed lance, coating the tip in goopy blue paint. It stares challengingly at the knight, as if daring him to try something. The elf however quickly brushes a hand up against the skeletal beast, whispering a soothing word in her native tongue. This seems to settle the beast as it turns away from the human after a last dismissive look.
Turning herself now to the kobold, a wry smile upon her dark lips. "It's not been so long since we last parted, has it? It is good to see you here all the same. What has happened in the time since you've arrived?"
Spizz waves away the Knight, who turns and begins surveying the courtyard beyond the gate for any problems.
Turning herself now to the kobold, a wry smile upon her dark lips. "It's not been so long since we last parted, has it? It is good to see you here all the same. What has happened in the time since you've arrived?"
"Much, evidently! When we arrived your deputy up in the tower there, Senor Guimarães, greeted us and explained the situation that placed him in his current position. I thanked him and sent him home for some rest; I had 20 Knights with me, and we immediately started working toward restoring order."
"Sadly, five of them died in the effort, ambushed by crazed rebels. And I'm afraid I contributed the the population of burned buildings by more than one. Then, yesterday, the chaos just...stopped. The men in our custody upstairs repented their actions, and I released a few of them on Guimarães' say."
"I assume you all had something to do with that change in situation? That your mission to foil the curse has been successful?"
Amideo nods to the kobold, "As far as we know, I believe so. Two undead beings, of an uncertain type, seemed to be the source of the curse, a type of beetle that inflicts those near it with a curse of madness."
"Ah, curses! Nasty business. Can't burn them down. Happy you all were able to get it fixed!"
"Fear not Spizz, I've given the bodies a proper cremation." The elf assures.
Rocko had been so lost in thought, it took him a while to realize who it was in front of them.
"Spizz, little dragon friend! How be you doing?"
Rocko would be happy to share what we've been doing since we'd parted ways with the kobold and to find out what the sorcerer has been doing as well
Marcha 30
The next morning is chilly compared to the unseasonal heat of yesterday afternoon, and there are strong gusts of wind out of the Northwest. The party prepares to head out to the mountains west of Santa Merceda in search of this Blue Dragon's kobolds, whom you're supposed to be assisting with some problem related to their mines.
The easiest route takes you across approximately 20 miles of grassland parallel to the mountains, before turning Northwest into the range. The path is unknown; the dragon flies across the distance, and this particular kobold clan has heretofore been unknown, and thus probably don't leave the mountains.
As all involved have horses (or some other relatively quick transport) from the journey to Santa Merceda, you should easily be able to cover the lowland travel in one day, and enter the mountains the following day.
Djack is pleased to accompany Rocko in scouting ahead, his keen sense a complement to the gnoll's skills in this sort of terrain.
He offers Djill to Zia.
About an hour before sunset, Djack notes a pair of antelope grazing about 100 yards away.
Rocko is not surprise, having noted antelope tracks several times along the path recently.
"It is good that we're not leaving this 'request' hanging for long. The Elder Wings are not known for their patience, inspite of their long lives." Spoke the elf, content allowing the two males begin their forays.
The night passes without incident. The next morning is the start of a new month, Aprium.
Aprium 1 There is a relatively strong wind which unfortunately seems to be cutting through the mountains. It's going to make your hike a little more taxing, but not impossible. At some point you might have to leave the horses to graze, but at least initially the terrain is manage-able.
Rocko aims for three visible peaks as features for navigation, and you being your trek inward toward where the Dragon noted the Kobold mines would be.
A full day's hike later...
The land rises in jagged defiance against the sky, a tangle of stone and shadow. The foothills have long since surrendered to the raw backbone of the mountains, their gentle slopes giving way to sheer ridges and weathered cliffs. Here, in the high wilderness of the Eastern portion of the Caldovan Marches, the air thinned and the temperature dropped with every step, crisp and sharp as broken slate.
There is no path, only the suggestion of a way forward—the gaps between boulders, the narrow ledges where the rock has fractured just enough to allow a foothold. Each step is a negotiation with the mountain, an unspoken agreement that the earth will hold, at least for now. Wind surges through the crags, carrying the scent of snow warmed by the sun.
You've been fortunate enough to find paths that the mounts can tread so far. None are having any problems. In fact, Amideo is so confident in Mahouf's sure footing that he rides with the rest climb.
At one point, Zia almost fell down a very steep incline, but Djack, ever watchful of the less physically-adept spellcaster, managed to grab her hand and stabilize her enough to avoid the fall.
The sun has now sunk over the mountain peaks to the west, though light has not yet completely left the sky.
Fire or no fire, tonight? Djack asks matter-of-factly, as he checks on everyone, especially the animals and Dart... cold blooded?
Then takes one last look while there is still some light.
Djack does notice something useful. At the bottom of a cliff just past the area you've chosen as a campsite, is a broken up mine-cart and a glint of copper. One could infer that you're not too much further from the Kobold mining communities, or at least near their operational area.
As far as the party goes, everyone is accounted for.
Yay... we're close. His voice less than exuberant.
I'll take an end watch, when I have a chance at seeing.
The watches of the night are cold up in the mountains, close to freezing. There are no encounters during the night; a couple of times, some rocks tumble down nearby unexpectedly, but whatever caused it does not present itself.
Aprium 2 dawns cloudy and cold, with winds from the north.
The path forward is less forgiving. After cresting the ridge you are currently climbing, you can see down into a pine valley below. In the distance, a cluster of peaks bears a strong resemblance to the area the Dragon had directed you to look for the Kobolds.
You will have to leave the mounts in the valley; climbing will be more treacherous heading into the Kobolds' realm.
Yoltzin:
Rocko:
Djack:
Amideo:
Zia:
It is once again almost nightfall, and Rocko, Yoltzin and Zia have reached the top of a steep rise, when something goes wrong. A rope Amideo and Djack are using snaps. Both begin tumbling down the incline.
Damage:
Is anyone in any position to help them, or is it sudden and done before anyone can react?
Not to cheese, but Rocko does have his raven companion who maybe can say something if he notices it early enough
Losing his grip, but worried for the knight...
Amideo! Fugh... oophf.
Djack reaches out, but can't help the bigger man. All he can do is keep himself from being badly hurt.
Yoltzin hears the snap of the rope, turning around at the worst possible moment to be of help. "Amideo, Djack!" She shouts.
Scraped and bruised, Djack catches himself partway down.
Having gotten some purchase, Djack reaches out to help Amideo.