With Zarzuket in place, he begins charging to the gorge. And as he's going, he feels the stone shift beneath him.
As the rock shifts under him, he puts a little more oomph into the leap. But he's still just inches short.
But he grabs hold of the other side.
"should have swam." he mutters.
Kragga sheathes her sword and takes a running leap, but doesn't quite make the distance! Like Krachton, she catches herself on the edge, then struggles a bit before hauling herself up. The orc grunts before drawing her weapon again.
"Uh, Kragga, can you help us up, please? We're still dangling from a cliff here!"
Krachxton begins pulling himself and Zarzuket up. "Well, that gets the blood flowing."
Quatar moves to the edge where his comrades are hanging.
”Oh. Give me your hand, I will pull you up”
Pickle Tooth remains on the other side, watching the warriors barely managing their leaps across the rift.
Quatar - all 125 pounds of himself - readies to help Pickle Tooth catch the ledge in the event his long jump falls short!
When Krachton finishes climbing up, Zarzuket thanks him again and gets off him. He then offers to cast guidance (which fortunately has a 30-foot range) on Pickle Tooth and Elder Ordwi as soon as they're ready.
Pickle stood there watching as the others made it across the gap.
“This one is regretting that extra helping of sausage this morning…” he muttered.
"This one is not so suited for jumping gaps. This one will try but does not have a good feeling."
Pickle Tooth mistimes his jump, leaping far too early. It becomes evident to the party that he's not going to make it, and luckily they've prepared for this exact situation. Standing by, Quatar is there to reach out and help him grab a ledge.
Pickle Tooth misses the jump, but catches a ledge and is pulled up by Qatar.
On the bridge's eastern side, a single bolt from a hand crossbow is embedded in a wooden post near the bridgeworks. An examination of the bolt confirms it to be the same size capable of inflicting the wound found on Blanton’s body.
As you move along the road, Kragga notices a hard-to-spot ledge above.
”Up there. Let’s check it out,” Kragga says, starting up the slope.
Zarzuket examines the crossbow bolt, casting scholarly recollection.
He feels like he’s on the brink of remembering something important, but it eludes him.
He clambers up the ledge. If nothing immediately happens after ascending the ledge, he spends 10 minutes praying to Nethys.
"Oh!"
Quatar removes his armor, unstraps his backpack, and lays down his weapons and other implements, quickly leaps back across the gap, hoists Elder Ordwi in his arms, and leaps cross-side once more.
"What do you think, Elder, up the ledge or down the road? It is here that we fork" he nods "I agree - let us hike up!"
Re-donning his effects, he yells ahead to Kragga "Hey you! Wait up!" scrambling to make up for his time lost...
Fortunately I failed the check anyway, so it doesn’t make much difference.
With Quatar's assistance, Elder Ordwi is helped across the rift without any ledge-catching.
As Kragga, with her keen perception, spots the hidden ledge above, she leads the party upwards. The climb is challenging; the steep slope is covered with loose stones and debris. With careful footing and determination the party makes the climb without incident.
Upon reaching the top, the party finds themselves on a shadowy ledge concealed by an overhanging lip of stone. The cool, dim environment contrasts sharply with the sunlit path they left behind. While offering a strategic view of the surroundings, this vantage point also serves as a perfect hideout.
There, in the shadows, they encounter a peculiar and somewhat unsettling figure. This creature has a gaunt and pained appearance. Its skin is marred by burns, suggestive of overexposure to the harsh sunlight, and it looks weakened, almost haggard. Nearby, the body of a similar creature lies lifeless, clearly having succumbed to the same fate.
The creature, upon noticing the party, reacts with a mix of surprise and fear. Its eyes, wide and alert, flicker between you and the world outside the ledge. It clutches a hand crossbow, evidently its only means of defense, while a couple of giant centipedes skitter around, seemingly ready to respond to its commands.
The creature turns to face you, issuing commands to the centipedes in a strange tongue. Raising it's crossbow with shaky hands, hostile intent gleam from its eyes.
"Wait, wait!"
Quatar, despite keeping boomerang in hand, and of course clutching his "lucky" ruby, raises a couple fingers "We are passing through - please - lower your weapon, and let us work to a solution" he grins to his comrades, winks at Kragga, and tries to use the distraction of "peace" to gain him the upper hand.
To himself: "This is the man who killed [redacted] "
Flying into a rage, Kragga charges past the centipedes and slices laterally at the humanoid with her enormous sword!
Zarzuket tries to remember if he's familiar with whatever this creature is.
If Kragga has knocked the creature out, and if Zarzuket doesn't identify it as a fiend or similarly unambiguously evil creature, Zarzuket casts stabilize on it.
Quatar calls out, raising his fingers in a sign of pause. His grin, aimed at his comrades, and a knowing wink to Kragga, hint at playing for time.
Before the situation can unfold further, Kragga, consumed by a sudden, ferocious rage, charges forward. She deftly sidestepped the giant centipedes and unleashed a powerful lateral slice with her enormous sword at the humanoid figure.
The strike displays sheer might, cleaving through the air in a devastating arc. The force of the blow is such that it leaves no doubt about the outcome, an overkill in its most literal sense.
Zarzuket recognizes the creature as a dero, known for its malicious nature and often unsettling presence in the underworld. Deriving from a twisted lineage, deros are known for their sinister and often chaotic behavior, frequently engaging in acts of malice and torment. Additionally, they typically dwell in subterranean realms, shunning the light and preferring the cover of darkness, which explains the creature's evident discomfort in the sunlight.
Seeing the creature incapacitated but not yet dead from Kragga's overpowering attack, Zarzuket quickly casts a stabilize spell, ensuring that, despite missing portions of its body, the creature does not succumb to death.
“This one wonders if sticking to the road would have been safer.”
Pickle Tooth cast the same spell from earlier, sending multiple darts flying at one of the centipedes.
The kholo paused after finishing the spell and scratched his chin. "Perhaps we should know what these things are, yes?"
Much as he would prefer a peaceful solution, once fighting has started, it seems unlikely to stop. He steps forward to deal with the northern centipede.
For a moment it appears that time has stopped. It looks like he is standing on the ocean floor as water swirls around him and rock surges up around his body, armoring him in stony plates.
Finally he swings a hammer made of water at the insect.
Quatar looks at Kragga "You are so hasty - how can we ask questions if he is dead!"
Looking at the centipedes, then towards the road "I suggest we try to make the rest of the trip quickly, I can show you a way to arrive by nightfall, rather than waste a whole day camping in the woods. Worse than these creatures here lurk..." he shivers a little...
”They pointed a weapon at us. I struck first,” Kragga says nonchalantly. ”Besides, they’re not dead. They’re just mostly dead.”
”You attacked him while Quatar was trying to negotiate with him!” Zarzuket is furious at Kragga; he didn’t see Quatar’s wink.
Kragga shrugs. ”Okay, I’ll wait till somebody gets shot next time.”
"Not negotiate - but trick!" Quatar clarifies "He was clearly the man who killed >redacted<" looking from Zarzuket to Kragga "In any case, it looks as though we didn't need a leg up. Not with that sword of yours swinging for our Search Party!"
"It seems we have many tempers - hot, warm, and cool - reminds me of how my mother and father used to fight" his brow quizzicals "Looks like we must work on our communication if we are to succeed"
As the centipedes approach, he readies his boomerang!
As the battle against the centipedes unfolds, Pickle Tooth and Drachxton deftly vanquish the remaining two with impressive skill and coordination. Elder Ordwi, witnessing this, can't help but express her amazement. "I had no idea such talent existed in Osprey Cove," she remarks, a note of genuine admiration in her voice. "I certainly feel much safer in your presence."
As the discussion among the party heats up over the use of violence, Elder Ordwi raises a hand, signaling for a moment of calm. Once the group's attention turns to her, she addresses them with a steady, reassuring tone. "We're all in this together, and our lives are at stake. With Zarzuket's timely spells, the creature will live for Quatar's questions. Kragga's quick actions may have saved one of you from injury. Let's restrain it and move it into the shade before I heal it. We need it alive if we're to learn anything."
Following her instructions, the party restrains the creature and moves it into the shade. Elder Ordwi then steps forward, her hands glowing with healing energy as she tends to the creature's wounds. The dero stirs, struggling against its restraints as life returns to its battered body.
The party tries various languages and dialects to communicate with the creature, but it seems unresponsive to their efforts. Its confusion and aggression are evident, and the creature continues to resist, showing no signs of understanding or cooperation.
Quatar approaches, sheathes his weapons "You are alive due to Elder Ordwi's mercy. Which means you can answer questions:" he glances across the party, dero blood on the orc's sword, and centipede guts spread on the ground by a pile of needles and puddle of water "Why did you kill >redacted<?"
"And what is the trouble at Iron Harbor?" and finally "Is my mother, and the people that live there - are they okay?"
”It’s a dero, and they live underground, so maybe they speak Undercommon or something? Hopefully there’s someone in Iron Harbor who either speaks the right language or has some magical or alchemical means of facilitating communication.”
Suddenly Zarzuket realizes the potential logistical problems. ”How much will carrying a prisoner along slow us down? I don’t think dero are particularly heavy, but I suppose someone will have to keep an eye on the prisoner to prevent escape.”
”Oh, by the way, Krachton, that water hammer was really spectacular! I think Quatar mentioned that you were an earth kineticist, but I didn’t know you could control water too.”
He shrugs, "I hang out at the shore where the land meets the sea. They just make sense to me."
He'll turn to the prisoner, "Hjo! Goth tho bekna Dwjorgumal?"
The prisoner doesn't react to dwarvish or any other language the party knows. Either it's very good at pretending not to understand, or it is along the lines that Zarzuket suggests; it speaks another language. She shows no signs of attempting to respond to your communications and seems agitated by the situation.
Zarzuket feels a mix of pity and irritation towards the dero. On one hand, the other dero found dead near her was probably her friend or at least comrade, and she was probably in danger of dying of sunlight exposure herself when she had encountered the Osprey Cove party, before being maimed by a greatsword. That would certainly make anyone upset! On the other hand, she had attacked the party, and Zarzuket and Elder Ordwi had saved her life. The least she could do in return was at least pretend to be cooperative!
While he agrees with Quatar that the man from Iron Harbor had been killed by a dero, Zarzuket is less certain that it was this particular dero. It might well have been the dead dero, or even another member of a larger group that these two had been separated from. In any case, someone from Iron Harbor might well have started the fight; deros certainly have a bad reputation, but Zarzuket's impression of Iron Harbor isn't much better. Zarzuket wisely avoids saying any of this out loud with Quatar present.
Come to think of it, what had the dying man meant by "something dreadful"? A couple of short humanoids and their pet centipedes? More likely something more dangerous and less comprehensible; perhaps some kind of aberration or undead from the Darklands that the deros were either servants of or fleeing from.
Suddenly coming to the awkward realization that he has been silently pacing back and forth, Zarzuket speaks up. "Does anyone have a writing set?" It strikes Zarzuket as something Elder Ordwi might have brought. Perhaps some rudimentary communication via drawings might be possible, although it would require the dero to be more cooperative than she seemed to be at the moment.
”I guess we must take him with us - Kragga, Krachxton, do you think you can hold his rope?”
Seeing no means of communication, Quatar offers to extend the mercy until they reach his mother’s village.
If Elder Ordwi didn’t bring a writing set (or if she did but the dero shows no interest in trying to communicate), Zarzuket agrees with Quatar’s plan. ”One more thing: I think she’s sensitive to sunlight. If Krachton is the kind of water kineticist who can heal people quickly, he should probably heal her a bit every hour or so.”
"No problem. I'll keep her cooled off." he says. "The tides are eternal."
Elder Ordwi searches her pack and confirms she did not bring a writing set with her unfortunately.
The party continues their journey accompanied by their uncooperative female dero prisoner. Meanwhile, Krachxton ensures the dero's survival with his occasional use of healing magic.
As night falls, cloaking the landscape in darkness, the party finally arrives at the outskirts of Iron Harbor. There, they are immediately confronted by a striking figure. A muscular woman stands firmly in their path, her full plate armor reflecting the faint moonlight. The armor, emblazoned with the symbol of Gorum, adds an air of formidable strength to her presence. She wields a greatsword with practiced ease, reinforcing her martial prowess.
She raises a hand, signaling the party to stop. "I am Sister Vanda," she announces in a commanding voice, her eyes sweeping over the group with both curiosity and a hint of wariness. "What purpose have you in Iron Harbor?"
As her gaze moves across the party, it sharpens when it lands on the bound dero. "And what's this?" she questions sharply, nodding towards the prisoner. Her expression reveals her awareness of the dero's unusual nature. "Explain yourselves, and be quick about it," she demands, her tone firm and expectant of a clear explanation for not only their presence but also the specific circumstances surrounding their captive.
"Ha!" Quatar had never gone through the "front" of his mother's village "This one here don't talk - found her harboring centipedes, harvesting their venom, and shooting people up" he looks around nervously as a hair stands on the back of his neck "From Osprey Cove, me and my crew here: Caught word there was something dreadful happening..." a little unsure of himself "Do you need help?"
Zarzuket nudges Pickle Tooth. "We heard that Iron Harbor was facing danger, and we believe that this dero who attacked us might have relevant information." Zarzuket thinks that Pickle Tooth will be the best person to explain further details without causing offense somehow.
Sister Vanda listens to Quatar's explanation and Zarzuket's additional plea, her expression stoic. "We do not need help," she replies firmly, dismissing the notion of any outside assistance. "And as for this dreadful occurrence you speak of, I'm unaware of any such thing happening here."
At this moment, Elder Ordwi steps forward, introducing herself and providing more context. "An unknown man arrived in Osprey Cove and died shortly after, but not before he warned us of troubles here in Iron Harbor," she explains.
This revelation visibly impacts Sister Vanda. Her initially wary expression briefly shifts to one of surprise, indicating that the news of the dying man's warning is news to her as well.
"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 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, acknowledging Sister Vanda's request, nods to show her understanding of the situation. However, she quickly adds, "I would appreciate a moment to speak privately with my companions first if that's alright." Her tone conveys the importance of this brief consultation with her group.
Sister Vanda, initially seeming impatient at this request, lets out a small huff. After a brief moment, she seems to reconsider and nods in acknowledgment of Elder Ordwi's need. She steps back, giving the party the necessary space to converse privately with their friend and leader.
She adds "Of course. I will take the prisoner to Stonehome where we will question it and find out what information they may have. When Elder Ordwi returns to you tomorrow, she can bring the prisoner or just the information we have learned about the attack and potential dangers."
Zarzuket tries to decide whether Sister Vanda is trustworthy.
He also tries to remember what Gorumites believe about the proper treatment of prisoners.
"Elder Ordwi, I do not think separating is wise, but I defer to your wisdom" concerned, he explains his hunch "Why would this man run? His only illness seemed to be the poison that killed him. Rather, it seems to me that he had knowledge of something that he shouldn't, and judging by Sister Vanda's reaction, she seems more concerned to shut him up than verify his worrisome claim..." he looks to the others, then the prisoner, then back to Ordwi "I do not know Stonehome, and I'd like to see my mother, but, as I am a youth, I know that my own wants are not to be put before those of the community. So, I will do as I must. Please. Be careful. Something seems... off"
Having said his piece, he steps back, listens patiently for the others to chime in.
Zarzuket also tries to remember what he knows about Lord Ragnulf.
“This one agrees,” Pickle said. “Odd that Blanton would’ve felt such a desire to seek help for Iron Harbor when Vandra claims nothing has happened. Stranger still that Vanda would be eager to question the dero instead of dispatching it.” Pickle Tooth scratched his chin in thought.
“A man is unwell. He flees his home. Is targeted by a dero with poison. Then, when his killer is brought in for justice, his sister shows more concern about questioning the dero than the fate of her slain brother? This something is not right, this one thinks. And what of Ragnulf? What discussions are to be had now of all times?...Unless something is dreadful in Iron Harbor!”