The formation of the fire creatures catches Ari by surprise, as does the fact they move like, well, wildfire. She stumbles backwards under a blow and flames leap up from it, burning her badly but she is at least able to twist away and prevent them from taking hold.
With Kiley also caught by the flame creatures, and her and Shaggar down the other end, Ari realises that it is only she and Pheliks between the flames and the party's magic users. With no easy route away or to a more favourable position, she grits and her teeth and darts in with both blades, not knowing whether they will even be able to harm something made of fire. "What even are these things?" she asks, a note of desperation in her voice.
Through some feline instinct Pheliks is able to dodge the fire-creature's slam, turning and biting-clawing as he moves to flank (in a couple of rounds) with another party member.
"There's the trap! Selûne Bless us as we fight for your faithful!" intones Sasha as she enhances the party with divine power.
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Rutilux wishes he paid more attention to the Harpels when they went on about this or that odd creature when his family visited Longsaddle. The truth of the matter he'd always been more concerned with his own family gifts as a Freewind. If we live through this I'm going to have to play the wizard and read a lot. Might change the tide of the next battle!
The note of desperation in Ari's voice is not lost on him, nor is the fact her holding ground looks to be putting her in danger while HE has folks to hide behind. He's not against hiding behind tall folk. Halflings are practical folk... but he'll be damned if he does nothing!
Words pop and roll from his tongue, even as he steps to get at least a bit more distance from one of the fire things and make protecting him easier.
There's a SLAM of his furry foot on the ground, and under the elemental nearest Ari a ripple of power erupts.
Kiley hisses in pain after getting slammed in the belly. She draws her sword and goes after the one between her and Shaggar, hoping to reduce the number of enemies they face.
Shaggar's axe dose in fact hit the flame creature, and dims its fiery light somewhat in front of your eyes, proving they can be hit and killed.
Kiley joins her blade with the gnoll's axe, and slays another.
Ari, however, is too surprised by the things emerging so quickly and misses. Rutilux's magic succeeds in knocking the thing over somehow, despite its state of being.
Pheliks scores a few hits on the one next to him, and Sasha's magic will make it easier to hit the ones remaining.
The one that attacked Ari last time strangely ignores her this time, and moves to hit Sasha.
Init:
21- them
21- Sasha
17- Kiley
14- Rutilux
9- Ari
6- Shagga
Rutilux scowls as the one he knocked down earlier, while disoriented, rises and goes right after the lovable feline that has been defending him
"Oh leave the poor creature off, you flame brained brute!" a surge of electricity arcing towards the flaming monster to hopefully prevent it hurting the good beast further.
Kiley turns and sees Sasha and Pheliks both take blows of their own. Knowing she can't cover the distance quickly enough, she drops her sword and pulls out her bow as she circles around the magic circle and lets fly at the one that had gone after Sasha and Ari.
Glancing away to her right, Ari can see Kiley and Shaggar have had better luck and felled their foes, so at least it would appear their weapons can hurt them. Refocusing, she sizes up her opponent but struggles to work out where a being of pure fire's weak points may be. Trusting, then, to luck more than judgement, she darts in once more as the creature turns its attention to Sasha.
After Rutilux's spell shudders and knocks the creature over, Ari takes advantage of the moment to stab at it once again as it rights itself.
Shaggar skirts the magical glyphs as he moves to support the battle cat.
With a wince of pain from Sasha and a fearsome hiss from Pheliks, the pair take painfully hot slams and feel the burn of lingering heat. "Pheliks, flank! Ari, step away from it so I have a clear shot!" cries Sasha as she backpedals and aims down the length of her crossbow. Pheliks follows his mistress' direction and pads to the side, putting the elemental squarely between him and the tall gnoll approaching from the other side.
After Ari moves and Sasha fires, the oracle reloads her crossbow with somewhat practiced motions.
Kiley and Sasha take shots at the second to last fiery creature, and somehow manage to extinguish its light.
Ari, however, continues a remarkable streak of bad luck, and Rutilux's spark show goes wide.
The last remaining...thing turns to the new threat but just as it looks to see what is approaching it, claws rake it from behind and it dissipates like the rest.
As the last fiery form disappears, the chains slowly disintegrate as well. A bright light exudes from the far end of the chain, burning ever quicker until it reaches the center of the room and finally release the werewolf at the center of the magic circle.
It falls to the ground, landing on its knees in the dead center of the archive room. Its head is hung low, obviously confused about its surroundings for the time being.
"What," Kiley asks, her voice flat as she sees the werewolf is now free. She shakes her head and slaps her cheeks to try clearing her head, and finds that, nope, the werewolf is still free.
"Um, pardon the intrusion," She says as she walks around so the werewolf can see her. "Are you alright? Can we get you anything? Water? Food? Sc--" Her mouth closes with a click before she says scritches and her cheeks redden with embarrassment at the faux pas she almost committed.
With the fight over in spite of her poor contribution, Ari looks at her new blades with a slightly wary eye. Maybe she's not used to them yet, or maybe it was poor luck, or simply an inability to find a weakness in the way that she usually can. She's hurt but still standing and that's ok, though she chides herself for being caught off-guard and not staying mobile - she has neither the stamina nor the hide of a dwarf to go toe to toe. She offers Leira a silent prayer, tacking on one to Selûne too given the location.
Against all her instincts, Ari sheathes her blades - there's no need to clean them, at least, she note sardonically - and steps carefully over to support Kiley. She pats the sheath strapped to her forearm, at least secure in the knowledge that her silvered dagger is but a flick of her wrist away should she need it. "Yes," she chimes in, flashing a quick smile as Kiley's words appear to dry up. "You look like you could use some help so lucky for you, we're here to do just that." She decides to keep things simple and try and gauge the situation before launching into anything more complicated.
"Indeed. Believe it or not, we're normally a peaceable sort. We just like to be ready for trouble."" He adds.
Shaggar works his way around the outside of the magical circle to stand next to Kiley, axe ready in case this conversation becomes a confrontation.
The werewolf finally looks up after a moment, seemingly noticing your presence for the first time. He finally speaks, which reveals it as a he in the first place. His voice is deep and gravelly, as if he hasn't had water for quite a while.
"W...water would be nice, yes." he says, pointing to a vase sitting on a nearby table laden with books and scrolls.
After he has had a drink he stands up, revealing that his height closely matches Shaggars'. His voice is still deep when he speaks again, showing age, but the dryness in it has left.
"I am thankful for both the rescue and the water. Might I inquire as to who you are, exactly? And how you came to be here, of course."
Sasha helps get the wolf-man water, silently and cautiously looking at him as she considers the wounds she and her allies are carrying. "We're faithful of Selûne, sent by church and vision to help the faithful trapped in this village. My name is Sasha and the tiger is Pheliks. Are you Verik, the Keeper? And do we need to be concerned for our safety or are you blessed by the moon and able to maintain control of yourself in this form?" Sasha answers, bluntly but with a smile as she gives the tall figure a drink.
"I'm Kiley," she says, forgoing her family name for the moment as she slides into the conversation. "We probably have a lot to talk about. Can you tell us the last thing you remember? It'll help us know where to start."
"Rutliux Freewind, and yes, Kiley is right, we have a lot to talk about." He says
"Ari," the tiefling offers, leaving it at that so as not to bombard the werewolf with too many questions all at once. Although it looks like they will just be talking, she remains alert for any sign of threat.
Are you Verik, the Keeper? And do we need to be concerned for our safety or are you blessed by the moon and able to maintain control of yourself in this form?
The werewolf nods, seeming slightly disturbed.
"Yes, I am the Keeper of the Glade here, much good that seems to have done. You do not have to worry about me losing control of myself, I only remain in this form because I was forced into it and, uh, destroyed any clothing I may have had on at the time." he admits sheepishly.
Can you tell us the last thing you remember? It'll help us know where to start.
"Yes, right, of course. Lucina was helping me research a way to commune with Selûne herself, here in this library."
He shakes his furred head a few times, as if trying to clear his head.
"What happened after that is less clear...murky. The chains I remember, but I do not know what happened to Lucina. Have you seen her? She is a priestess sent from the Gate before you, arrived yesterday."
As Councilor Verik begins to explain what happened here, Kiley feels her cheeks heating from secondhand embarrassment. Still, it seems that things are just as complicated as even when he finishes his brief tale. Ari and paranoia would say not to trust him. Kiley, though, decides to play a hunch.
"We were hoping to find that out ourselves. No one has seen her since she came in here a few nights ago." Kiley says as she goes to pick up her sword and retrieve the book that had caught her curiosity before the elementals demanded her attention. She hesitates a moment before carefully picking it up to avoid losing the page it had been open to.
"When I touched this, some fiery creatures came out of the chains binding you," she says holding out book for Verik. "Was Lucina standing over there," she asks as she points to the spot where she'd seen the book.
"And what else can you tell us about our mysterious missing priestess?" Ari asks. "Nobody else has been able to tell us much about her." She omits High Initiate Lena's dismissive comments about her when asked, more because she doesn't want to colour Verik's opinion than through any concern for the priestess they have actually met.
Shaggar takes off his bisht and offers it to the keeper since he needs clothes. ”This building, was it here before the village?”
While the others talk , Rutilux looks over the library, and it's many books, seeing if there are any titles of interest.
And, on an odd chance, if any books radiate magic.
Books on history might also be welcome
"We were hoping to find that out ourselves. No one has seen her since she came in here a few nights ago." Kiley says as she goes to pick up her sword and retrieve the book that had caught her curiosity before the elementals demanded her attention. She hesitates a moment before carefully picking it up to avoid losing the page it had been open to.
"When I touched this, some fiery creatures came out of the chains binding you," she says holding out book for Verik. "Was Lucina standing over there," she asks as she points to the spot where she'd seen the book.
The book Kiley picks up is titled Lunar Whispers and seems to deal with trying to commune with Selune. It's opened to page 77, in a chapter named 'Rituals and Ceremonies'.
'Oh Selûne, goddess of the night,
Shine your silver light upon me,
Guide my spirit with your radiant glow,
And whisper your wisdom into my soul.'
Feel the moon's energy enveloping you, opening your heart and mind to Selûne’s presence. Allow her messages to flow through you, bringing clarity, peace, and divine insight..."
Verik looks incredibly confused at Kiley's words at first, but sudden realization cross his face.
"I must have been in that...state for way longer than I thought. The last thing I remember is Lucina standing in that spot, reading that book." he says, confirming Kiley's line of thought. "I am trying to recall where I was, what I was seeing, in that trance. But it is slow going, I will need time to gather my thoughts and remember. What kind of fiery creatures?"
"And what else can you tell us about our mysterious missing priestess?" Ari asks. "Nobody else has been able to tell us much about her."
"She was a wonderful help, actually. I remember her being so nervous when she first arrived, but once she got to this very archive she dove into doing research on our unique problems." his voice takes on a certain admiring tone that gives you the impression that Verik cares for this priestess.
Shaggar takes off his bisht and offers it to the keeper since he needs clothes. ”This building, was it here before the village?”
The werewolf gratefully accepts the offer of clothing, wrapping it around himself. "This building, no. The lunar well was here before any of us found it, though. Stories tell of the first generation to settle in the Glade nearly a hundred years ago, and how they were drawn to the area through visions from the Lady of Silver."
"Would you mind if I changed back into my more...natural form? The process is quite gruesome to watch, I have heard, so I must warn you."
While the others talk , Rutilux looks over the library, and it's many books, seeing if there are any titles of interest.
There are a few scrolls here and there that detect as magical but as far as the vast archive goes, Rutilux gets the idea that he'd need to spend many hours sorting through the books and scrolls and records here before getting anything of use out of it. Verik could probably help, but even he likely doesn't know everything that is held here.
He makes a note of the scrolls that radiate magic, then answers to the werewolf "Creatures made of literal fire... or so it seemed. Nasty to fight." Then "And would you prefer if we turned our backs to give you more privacy while you changed?" SURE, they COULD be stabbed from behind, but it would show trust to offer.
"M-maybe we should get you some clothes, first," Kiley suggests, her cheeks turning red as she looks off to one side. "I-I could go ask the guards if they could send someone to--" Her voice trails off as she is struck by a thought.
Why does Keeper Verik have such a different opinion of Priestess Lucina from High Initiate Lena? The way they speak of her doesn't make sense. Lena spoke of her as someone aloof, even arrogant, but Verik says she was nervous at least until she was here where she could work on the problem. It's like they're talking about two different people.
Kiley shakes herself as she realizes that she'd only said half of what she'd meant to. Her face reddens even more as she apologizes.
"S-sorry! I-I just-- Anyway, I could ask if the guards could fetch a change of clothes for you before you change back," she says. "D-did you tell anyone that you would be communing with Selune?"
Sasha nods at the answers given, apparently trusting their new companion as much as her allies do. She walks over to look at the book in Kiley's hands reading over her friend's shoulder and then gently motioning to take the book from her while Kiley addresses the werewolf and offers to get him clothes.
The oracle snorts quietly at the idea that the transformation would be upsetting. "After seeing Pheliks eat a kill I doubt much could disturb me and there's little I haven't seen. Don't feel uncomfortable for my sake, Verik," she says to reassure him as she flips through the book, looking for a ritual that might have been used to trap Verik and place him in some sort of stasis.
Kiley hands over the book when Sasha silently asks for it.
As for the transformation. It was less the disturbing bits and more the man would be buck-naked under the very thin fabric of Shaggar's bisht. Though, now that she thinks about, she really doesn't want to be reminded of her transformation several years ago when she grew her ears and tail and started glowing under moonlight.
Wait.
She glows under Moonlight.
Uh-oh.
Realizing that she hadn't been as careful staying out of moonlight since the others knew her secret, Kiley pales and snaps her head to the window then down at herself to see if there's moonlight filtering into the room.
Rutlilux looks at the glowing Kiley and blinks a bit "Takes all kinds" he says. One thing about being in sales, or budding friendships, you don't want to burn a bridge just because something weird is going on.
A soft groan mingling dismay, regret, and not a little fear escapes from Kiley's lips as she hears Rutilux's remark and sees the glowing markings on her skin of the back of her hand. At least he had already seen her ears and tail, she thinks, then blushes again as she remembers stripping down to her underwear to help Ari with the totem in the worg's lair.
"I-I'll explain later. Please just-- just don't tell anyone about it. I'll ask the guards if they can fetch you some clothes, Keeper Verik," she says before leaving the library and finding someplace where she can adjust her clothing to hide the revealing, in more ways than one, markings.
Confident that she won't be outing her secret to anyone else, she heads for the entrance and gets the guards' attention.
"Keeper Verik wishes to talk to us, but he needs a change of clothes. Could you send someone to his home to get them, please," she asks them.
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"Kiley, I don't see a damned thing." The Halfling assures her when she asks not to tell anyone. Then a slight smile is given.
"And would you prefer if we turned our backs to give you more privacy while you changed?"
"Up to you. Doesn't bother me either way." he says nonchalantly, seemingly not worried about it.
He is grateful for the clothes when Kiley brings them, however, and does take his more palatable human form when he gets the chance. Whether you turn away or not does not deter him, and those who decide to watch get an interesting lesson in the way 'human' anatomy can stretch when pushed to the limit by supernatural powers. His clothes aren't ostentatious, a white cloth tunic with well-sewn pants being paired with a nice leather jerkin.
"Ah, that's better." he says, and you see his true form is that of a moderately aged man, skin and face lined with the signs of stress. His hair is still surprisingly healthy given his age, but perhaps you should've expected that in retrospect. "Don't worry, I won't spoil the secret." he says, winking exaggeratedly in reaction to Kiley's antics.
"While I wish to dwell on what the visions mean, I fear we do not have much time left to act. I know you are most likely tired and probably hungry from your travels and time here, so I'd like to extend a dinner invitation to you. But before we get to that, I think there is something we should discuss first." he says, taking a deep breath as if to prepare himself to speak some uncomfortable truth. "At first, I thought I had entered communion with Selûne. But it didn't feel like her, not exactly. I have spent many a moon in talks with the Lady of Silver, and this was not her. I thought again that perhaps it was Shar, our most hated vile enemy. But I cannot be sure." he says, shaking his head in disappointment. "Something is amiss here beyond what we can see, I am sure of it."
While she appreciates the reassurances from Rutilux and Keeper Verik, Kiley still feels more than a little embarrassed by her carelessness. Most of that fades as she listens to what the Keeper has to say and notices the worry etched into his face.
"Um, K-keeper Verik, do you think that's why Lucina has disappeared," Kiley asks.
"You can just call me Verik. No sense in using fancy titles around here." he says, smiling warmly at Kiley. "I hadn't actually known that she had disappeared up until you told me. But yes, I do believe that may be related in some manner." he continues, answering the question.
"Do you think she was tricked, or do you--" Kiley says, though she isn't able to bring herself to ask what she was about to, or do you think think she's helping whomever is behind this?
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"Or do you think that she has masterminded this whole situation?" Ari asks, finishing what she thinks Kiley may be trying to say. While she doesn't like the situation, the tiefling can't help but admire the deception required to pull off something like this. She is impressed by their adversary's skill, whether that happens to be Lucina, as Ari is now leaning towards, or somebody else. Not that it will stop her slipping a dagger under their ribs if she gets the chance.
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Sasha watches Kiley try to hide the obvious, curious at the tiefling's concerns in the presence of a literal werewolf. With a shrug she returns to the book, hoping to find some clue in its pages...
At the discussion of communing with something other than Selûne Sasha looks concerned. "Do you think we are cut off from the Lady's vision? The moonlight seems real enough, even if the stars and the sky don't make any sense..." she asks Verik.
"Or do you think that she has masterminded this whole situation?"
He sighs quietly, not wanting to say whatever it is he needs to.
"It is...possible that she is involved somehow in the troubles the village is suffering, yes. But she only arrived here after the entire situation started, there's no way she's responsible for the beginning. There is another force at work here." the way he says it leaves it clear that he truly believes his words, and hopes she truly is innocent.she says to reassure him as she flips through the book, looking for a ritual that might have been used to trap Verik and place him in some sort of stasis.
Sasha investigates the book that Kiley picked up off the ground and see that there are a quite a few rituals that supposedly help with a wide variety of problems: infertility in both crops and people, weather altering spells, protective magic, all sorts of things. Doesn't seem to be anything that could produce the effect that chained the keeper in place, must have been an outside spell.
"Do you think we are cut off from the Lady's vision? The moonlight seems real enough, even if the stars and the sky don't make any sense..."
"I...I don't think so, no. Lena, over at the cathedral, still gets her divine power from Selune, so we at least know Her touch extends to the Glade. I have noticed the stars not aligning to what our world's stars should look like but I have no explanation for it." he finishes, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Um, Ke-- I mean, V-verik, when we talked to Lena, she said that Lucina was, um, I think uppity might be the right word. The way she described her was more aloof, I guess? She didn't seem to have a high opinion of Lucina and was almost dismissive about her disappearance, at least that's the way she seemed to me," Kiley says. "And there's what we found in the forest. There was a farmer, a Mr. Amos, he had lost several cows, so he tried to catch what was killing them. It killed him before we reached his farm, and we tracked the monster to its lair and killed it. It was a worg that was bleeding silver. It--" she shakes her head to clear it of the memories from the fight and what the totem had shown her when she touched it. "It looked like it'd been there a long time, and it's not the first creature we've seen that bleed silver like that. We fought a bear on our way here that was large and enraged, almost like it was out of its mind. We tracked it back to the goblin camp it came from, where it had burst its cage and killed the goblins."
She fidgets as she debates saying more. Perhaps she was revealing too much, but they have to trust someone here.
"I didn't think Lucina was the one behind what's happening, but that doesn't rule out her being tricked into helping whomever it is or doing so willingly. I-- I just didn't want to admit it out loud. But I do think there's something wrong here, and has been for a long time."
She looks to Shaggar, wondering if he would do what she's about to. She's come this far, and Verik already knows some of her secrets. She takes in a deep breath and takes the plunge.
"D-does the name Malrath mean anything to you," she asks Verik.
"Ah, that's better." he says, and you see his true form is that of a moderately aged man, skin and face lined with the signs of stress. His hair is still surprisingly healthy given his age, but perhaps you should've expected that in retrospect. "Don't worry, I won't spoil the secret." he says, winking exaggeratedly in reaction to Kiley's antics.
The halfling decides this fellow is all right and smiles, then goes somber again as conjectures fly. He's a bright fellow, or so he'd like to think, but this mystery is most confounding even with new information.
Sasha shakes her head at the lack of meaningful clues found in the tome. She looks for a place to put it away, properly, and consider the other tomes in the area.
The gnoll pursues his own line of questioning. "What is the 'lunar well' and what's in it?"
Verik listens to Kiley's explanation of the current situation with an obviously growing sense of unease and worry. "I didn't realize things were that bad...all of this doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, but at least you've dealt with some of the problems already."
His face changes once he hears the name, taking on a look of surprise.
"It does actually. I don't know whoever it is personally, but I have seen it mentioned in some of the village's record books. Had some role in the founding of the Glade, from what I can understand. Why do you ask?"
Do any other books appear to have been used recently or placed out of their proper place? Perhaps whoever trapped Verik used a book and left it behind, but not the one that was out already...?
Sasha takes a look at the vicinity of the magic circle (that is now inert and lightless), and does discover another book that might be what she's looking for: "Circles of Containment: The Art of Magical Confinement". It's sitting open to a page on the nearby table in a chapter dealing with ways to trap specifically werewolves in a magic circle made of pure powdered silver, but has no mention of the floating ethereal chains. Those must be from some other source.
"What is the 'lunar well' and what's in it?"
"The lunar well is the site that this entire village was built for, actually." Verik says, taking a seat at a chair nearby the table Sasha is reading the book at.
"It is-was a holy site, empowered by the strength of the moon to enhance its water. Both in healing properties and the beauty of the area under moonlight. But, now? It's run dry. Hasn't ever happened in the entire history of the town, as far as I know. And this" he says, waving an arm over the archive in disarray "is what I was trying to do to figure out why."
"It is...possible that she is involved somehow in the troubles the village is suffering, yes. But she only arrived here after the entire situation started, there's no way she's responsible for the beginning. There is another force at work here." the way he says it leaves it clear that he truly believes his words, and hopes she truly is innocent.
Ari keeps her expression neutral but doesn't reply to what she considers the keeper's naivete. Instead she settles for the internal eye roll that she has perfected over the years. Well yes, obviously. If she turned up at the same time as everything went to the Nine Hells then naturally suspicions would fall on her. And whoever is behind all this, Lucina or someone else, clearly isn't a moron.
Kiley looks over to Shaggar as she thinks about how to answer Keeper Verick.
"I-- I was nearly killed by the worg. I had a vision where I was reliving one of the worg's memories. I-it and Malrath were attacking a g-goblin den, reveling in the killing." Kiley grabs her arms as she begins to shiver from the feelings recounting what happened bring back. "It was like I was the worg. It was thinking about the future and how Malrath had been told to consume the goblins and grow strong by a-- a paleskin, I think? The worg was there because it had pledged itself to Malrath." She shakes herself as the feeling of never being clean again returns. After a moment, she looks up at Verick.
"W-was Malrath a werewolf," she asks.
"Well, I believe I've found at least some of how you were captured and placed in stasis, Verik," announces Sasha as the werewolf sits near her. She points out the ritual to their new...ally(?)...as she considers his knowledge of the nighttime sky and the new information he has provided. "I think there are good odds that you were trapped deliberately by Lucina...or someone else working with her that was hidden in the shadows. Are you sure it was just you and her in this chamber when you began trying to commune with Selûne?"
"Is it like a water well... a hole in the ground? Have you ever climbed into it?"