Henry places his hands on his hips. "Well, looks like you get to prove you can jump across that gap yet Bireli." He offers an encouraging smile.
womp... womp... wommmmp. thinks Otoro to himself as the boat sinks.
"Hmm." Bireli stares down at the water filling the boat. "That'll take more time to patch."
He looks over at Henry and returns the smile. "Alright! I've got this! But I'll need your help. C'mon!"
Returning to the broken bridge, Bireli retrieves his rope and then stows his shield on the back of his pack. He wraps the rope around his waist and ties it off. "You all will catch me if I miss my landing," he says as he hands the trailing coil of rope to Henry.
Once enough people have their hands on the rope, he runs towards the end of the bridge and propels himself into the air with all he's got.
"Haven't tried this before, but I think I can make this work."
Puddins casts her spell, trying to summon the shallowest possible set of stairs to bridge the gap.
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"Wait, I'm not sure this IS A GOOD Elder Ordwi shouts as Bireli leaps across. She breathes a sigh of relief as he skids to a stop safely on the far side, having cleared the gap with a few inches to spare.
Puddins, meanwhile, concentrates on what she's learned in her Gorumite studies, calling upon the favor of the Lord in Iron to shape her magic into a more useful form. It seems she's in her god's good graces at the moment, as a long, shallow set of stairs appears, bridging the gap and providing safe passage for the rest of the party. Ordwi raises an eyebrow, approvingly. "Well done, Puddins!"
Henry shields his eyes with his hand. "Hey Puddins?" He points towards a ledge. "YOu see that there. Looks like something is up there but I can't tell what it is."
Bireli turns back toward the group, grinning, only to be met by the magically manifesting stair. He laughs, "Oh, well, now I just feel silly!"
Otoro shrugs "I liked the boat plan at least."
"Sure wish I saved my ladder for this. Oh well, may as well go up the hard way."
Puddings shrugs and heads up the embankment.
Bireli trudges over the rocky ground. "Better make sure there's not another fey troublemaker hiding up there," he says.
Demonica reluctantly sheathes her big sword in order to scramble up the embankment. She's too short to reach the first ledge and, after jumping a few times, she quietly asks Puddins for a boost.
Otoro lets the water flow around him uses it to ease the scrambling.
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Initiative:
As Birelireaches a level where he can see on to the ledge, he can see a small lean-to constructed of driftwood and scrub brush. Emerging from it is a bleary-eyed small humanoid figure with ashen gray skin. She shrieks and shouts something in a language none of you understand to two giant arthropods with far two many legs, curled up beside the lean-to. She reaches into the rickety structer, emerging again with a small crossbow which she fires at the approaching Bireli before quickly reloading!
The bolt whizzes past Bireli's ear as one of the giant insects begins to stir. It uncurls itself, scuttling over toward Bireli and snaps at him with its mandibles!
It, too, is unable to connect as Bireli nimbly dodges the attack!
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"Ah! Ah ha!" Bireli cries out as he is assaulted by the ledge's inhabitants. It is not a very knightly sound.
He keeps his shield in a defensive position and bats at the arthropod in front of him. "Take that!" He casts a glance over at his traveling companions and flashes a grin. "We've got this! Puddins! Squash this one just like you did the last one!"
"Varmints! I hate varmints!"
Puddins casts Weapon Surge and moves in, swinging at the big bug.
henry ducks as the bolt whizzes past. "Stop, that! Are you crazy?" A small portion of Henry's mind finds its way into the ashen gray humanoids mental state.
HP 16/16
AC 15
Spells: 1st 3/3
Focus: 0/1
Otoro panics a bit and stumbles out "This should help" as he puts both his hands together and tries to wash away the vermin."
Seeing his skin drying out Otoro wastes no time gathering up his water aura and hitting the closest remaining enemy.
Demonica finishes getting up to the ledge, pulls out her greatsword, and swings!
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The woman doesn't seem to understand Henry's quip, but even with the language barrier she seems to shrink back from his obvious anger.
Bireli takes down the first centipede with one neat strike as Demonica rushes forward and does the same for the second . Henry thoroughly distracts the remaining figure while Otoro assaults her with various watery blasts.
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Elder Ordwi, understanding the effect Henry's words had on the humanoid, trudges up the hill and glares at her as she mutters a prayer to Cayden.
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The gray woman fires another crossbow bolt, this time at Demonica, then reloads as she backs away.
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Ordwi
"Demonica beat you to it, Puddins!" Bireli says with a laugh that is cut short as his sister is grazed by the tiny flechette.
"Hey!" he shouts and advances toward the gray-skinned fey. "You'd better surrender!" He pulls his swing, trying to not kill their foe.
Henry follows several steps behind his Mother as their mental link causes severe distress.
HP 16/16
AC 15
Spells: 1st 3/3
Focus: 0/1
Otoro scrambles up the hill, and nearly panics at Demonica's wound, nearly losing his footing before providing Demonica with some relief.
"I... I can help."
Demonica looks sick as something on the bolt sinks into her skin, though the healing from Otoro helps a lot.
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The gray-skinned woman shakes off Henry's latest assault, but she's not so fortunate against Bireli's "sword". She remains on her feat, but looks like she couldn't take another blow like that. Meanwhile, Otoro acts quickly to tend to Demonica's wounds.
Ordwi
Demonica runs up and swings at the woman, murmuring an incantation.
Spellstrike!
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Demonica's magic sparks to life, seeming to guide her sword as she connects with a vicious blow that slams the woman's unconscious and bleeding form against the slope behind her, scattering her makeshift lean-to with the force of the blow.
Ordwi, seeing Demonica ailing with the effects of the poison, quickly calls out a prayer to Cayden Cailean, sending positive energy flowing into Demonica.
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Within the remnants of the shelter, you find the body of another gray-skinned humanoid, which Demonica can now recognize as a dero, now that she has time to think. Both the combatant and the previously-dead dero seem to have been in bad shape, likely do to exposure to the sun.
Among their belongings, you find two hand crossbows, two aklys, and 6 doses of poison which you might reasonably assume are giant centipede venom.
Demonica looks a little bit pale after the encounter.
"They're...derros? I've never seen one in real life before, only in books. What were they doing here?"
Henry looks confused as well. "Aren't they normally you know..." He points down. "Below ground?"
"Derro, you say, Nica?" Bireli repeats, feeling a small bit better at the diminutive creature's violent passing. "What could have driven them to the surface?" He looks around for--not truly expecting to find--a crevice or cave.
Otoro sees Bireli looking around and notes "Presuambly if they had a cave they would have gone back down. Something stranger is going on, maybe they got teleported up here."
"Yeah let's get back on the road"
"Good idea Puddins." It doens't take long for Henry to grab his stuff and rush back to the road.
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Another 8 or 9 miles of hiking finally brings you within site of a wide but shallow harbor running east to west, boxed in by stony peninsulas. The western shore of the passage into the harbor features a small ruined pier , while the opposite side is dominated by a rocky islet that connects to the mainland only during low tide. Atop this islet stand seven jagged, rusted spires of metal .
The Old Coast Road passes by several tide pools while heading northeast before finally arriving at Iron Harbor proper. A large trireme painted in green and yellow and flying the flag of Xin-Eurythnia sits moored in the harbor. ”Hm, that’s concerning” Elder Ordwi mutters.
As you approach the edge of the village proper, you’re greeted by a muscular woman armed with a greatsword and wearing full plate armor emblazoned with a symbol of Gorum. She holds up her hand, gesturing for you to stop. ”I am Sister Vanda. What is your purpose in visiting Iron Harbor?”
Puddins reveals her holy symbol of Gorum.
"We have heard there's been trouble here, and we've come to help."
"Two of your townsfolk made it to Osprey Cove after that big storm in dire need and with a warning of danger, so we came to help," Bireli says earnestly.
Otoro lurks nervously and tries to nod politely.
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Sister Vanda looks surprised at Bireli's words, but Elder Ordwi steps in to clarify before she can speak. "I think Bireli is a little mixed up. Only one person came, and I'm afraid he wasn't able to tell us much other than there was trouble before he died. It was very sad." Ordwi mutters a Caydenite prayer for the departed, then continues. "I am Elder Ordwi of Osprey Cove. This is my son, Henry, and our companions: Puddins, Otoro, Bireli, and Angeli--sorry, I mean Demonica."
Sister Vanda thinks for a moment, then responds. "That would have been Brother Blanton. He’d grown quite ill and we were trying our best to care for him, but a few nights ago he became violent and fled our care. We’ve been looking for him but had no idea he’d made it all the way to Osprey Cove.
“Elder Ordwi, is it? Good. I’ll need you to come with me to Stonehome Lord Ragnulf would wish to speak to one of the leaders of Osprey Cove about Brother Blanton, but also about the future of the Kindred Coast. There is much to discuss, and we can accommodate you alone at Stonehome for the night, but the rest of you must wait here in town.”
Elder Ordwi nods in understanding. "Very well. Please give me a moment to speak with my companions here, then I'll gladly accompany you." Sister Vanda looks annoyed for a moment, but nods in understanding and steps away to give you some privacy.
“Something’s going on here" she says, quietly, once Vanda is out of earshot. "Did you notice how she seemed surprised to find out about our visitor? And that Thassilonian ship in the harbor—that has to mean something as well. Parting ways here for the evening gives you a golden opportunity to learn more. I’ll accompany this Sister Vanda up to meet with Lord Ragnulf, but you all should look around the village a bit. Keep an eye out. Ask questions. Find somewhere to stay the night. Figure out what that Thassilonian ship is here for. But above all, be discreet!”
"Unless they're not very compassionate here in their efforts to stop a sick man from running off into the night, she's lying," Bireli says. "He was shot with quarrels. Maybe the inn first to get a chance at gossip or see some of the visitors while doing something everyone would expect us to do?"
"I am all for getting a room and some drinks." Henry grows more aand more excited that they are here finally.
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Walking around town, you see no sign of anything that really resembles an inn or tavern. People on the street seem more suspicious and less inclined to talk to strangers such as yourselves than you might be used to back home, and it takes a while to gather any useful information. Eventually, however, Bireli manages to strike up a conversation with a passing farmer, who tells him that there is no inn, but that Elsie sometimes takes in travelers for a night in her shop.
Arriving at the red roofed building, you see a sign declaring it as Elsie's and the door propped open, indicating that it's open for business. Within, the main room smells of baked goods and strange, bitter odors one might expect in an apothecary's shop. The room's decor seems undecided about whether it wants to be a tavern, a curio shop, or an alchemist's laboratory. The low shelves that line the walls display a staggering mix of elixirs, unguents, jars of glue, fresh-baked goods, cutlery, mugs, and the occasional smokestick or bundle of tindertwigs.
A moment after you enter, a skinny halfling woman emerges from the back room to greet you. "Oh, you're new, ain'tcha? Where you come from then? You here from that fancy ship? or did another weird ship come floatin' in when I wasn't lookin'?"
Demonica looks around the shop quickly, interested in anything occult. She answers the proprietor, "No, we came from Osprey Cove. What's up with that ship?"
"Yes! We are new in town," Bireli says with a smile. "Like my sister said, we hiked all the way from Osprey Cove. One of your townsfolk washed ashore after the big storm the other day. Brother Blaton, Sister Vanda said. He was is bad shape and didn't make it." He pauses to reflect on the man's mortality and to give the halfling a moment to interject with her own thoughts. "So our elders decided that we needed to see if Iron Harbor needed help. So that's why we're here! The lot of us have skills that could have been useful if you needed help. Even Henry!" He concluded cheerfully. "The elder who came with us is meeting with Lord Ragnulf. I'm guessing he's your mayor?"
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"Osprey Cove?" Elsie says, in response to Demonica. "Nah, can't be. They haven't talked to us in ages. Too busy being stuck up and being part of a cooperative commune and talking to birds are whatever." When Bireli confirms it, she says with a grin "No kidding, Osprey Cove huh? What, did you run out of town for being bad bird farmers or something? Ah, I'm just kidding."
As Bireli continues, her demeanor gets more serious. "Woah, Blanton's dead? You're not playin' a trick on ol' Elsie are you?" she asks. "Not that I knew him very well, but still a bit of a shock. He was one of them Gorumites. I've seen him about town, but less so since them Thasselonians showed up in that big gaudy ship."
To Demonica's question about the ship, she replies "That thing belongs to some merchant, I hear. He and his entourage have been spending the last week in talks up at Stonehome. Who knows what they're up to, but I've seen that there's still some crew on the ship itself. None of 'em have come in to buy anything yet, which is just rude!"
"Lord Ragnulf? He's the leader of Stonehome, the Gorumite temple. I guess you could say he's the closest thing we have to a mayor."
Otoro is used to the cold shoulder, and the lack of friendliness among the locals is par for the course.
Otoro does listen carefully to the Elder's other companions as they ask around and get responses instead of just dirty looks although the sarcastic bird farming comments seem more familiar.
"I know you said you didn't know Blanton well, but do you know if Blanton's got any friends or family?" asks Otoro meekely.
"Hmm well if the temple of Gorum has got a good handle on things, I guess it's not our place to interfere. Still, the whole thing seems a bit off to me. Given one of their own was murdered."
"But we do need a place to spend the night while our elder is at the stronghold," Bireli interjects both because they do need a place to sleep and in hopes that it covers Puddins mention of murder. "A farmer I spoke with said you rented out space to travelers."