Zeldrith manages to breathe slightly easier, though he's still in critical condition.
Arrian draws upon divine inspiration to attack the goblin rider:
Arrian, drawing the last of his strength, draws power from Cayden Cailean, swings this club and hits the goblin right in the jaw. A loud crack can be heard and the goblin falls on the ground, clearly dead.
The other goblins, watch the scene in horror, seeing their strong leader fall. The goblin chanter seems to have expended all his power, and this removes the extra courage from the goblins. They scurry off, trampling each other, screaming.
Arrian uses his wand of curing.
All are awake and breathign hard.
Donimah breathes a sigh of relief as the battle ends and everyone's lives are saved, then thinks a moment.
"HEY, 'FRIEND!' YOU STILL DOWN THERE?!" She calls after the human Juriya had charmed, hoping he hadn't wandered back to Nualia by this point. "The battle's over if you wanna come back!"
Juriya coughs and sputters as she transforms back into human form, no longer needing to bite at foes she flanks.
"Don't you think he might be pissed at us? You know that guy?"
Ano bolts to the downward stairs, peering into it with anger blazing in her eyes.
When an answer didn’t come, the blue arcane energy coming from the catfolk’s spots fizzled out, and she collapsed onto the floor. Her whole body trembled, but not from the wounds she obtained, or the exhaustion from the fighting.
Did she mean it…when she said I was…the worst…?
The second cry was not out of anger…but anguish.
“What are you doing?!” Cherry chirped, finally out of his hiding place once things settled down, “We have to get out of here!”
"Agreed with the bird. We need to flee. Now, before we get stabbed in the kidneys."
Juriya coughs and sputters as she transforms back into human form, no longer needing to bite at foes she flanks.
"Don't you think he might be pissed at us? You know that guy?"
Donimah sighs.
"Oh, he probably will be pissed at us. But I imagine some money would go a long way as an apology. Considering how he behaved when he considered us 'friends' I don't think he's a true believer in Nualia's cause. Besides, she'll probably stab HIM in the kidneys for failing her in this fight."
She looks down the hall.
"You're probably right. Where should we go, though? Straight back to Sandpoint? Or do you wanna make camp nearby and hope Nualia doesn't send a warband to try and hunt us down?"
"Sandpoint will have healers . We don't want to run into a situation like that again. I may be able to heal myself in a pinch, but I haven't tested it. I'm just as likely to throw up as heal myself. Not risking giving any of you shady CLWs from me."
Donimah raises an eyebrow at Juriya's statement, but doesn't say anything.
The man is currently out of earshot.
He was, indeed, not very keen on the mission, so he may become an ally.
The upper floor is now empty.
"Actually. Let me know if anyone needs healing right now," Juriya says as she holds out a wand of CLW, as she uses one usage of the wand to heal herself... not trusting her extracts yet.
"The guy didn't seem very. Keen on the mission. Maybe we can... explain it to himz that we were trying to save our own skin and fur?"
Zeldrith's eyes snap open as Arrian heals him, and he struggles to his feet, raising his longsword in a defensive stance. Noticing the dead goblin and the fleeing enemies, he relaxes, letting his sword drop. "Thanks for the help." Shaking his head, he glances down the passageway where Nualia fled. "Desna preserve us - that's your friend, Ano? I don't know if we can continue like this - we need some help, at the very least."
At Juriya's words, he nods. "Probably just a sellsword, by the getup. Not enough robes or crazy eyes to be a proper cultist, I think. Pay's good, but things start getting strange, you don't know what to do or if you can leave, so you stay on - I mean, with this business, who hasn't been there before? It's all mild-mannered scholars and 'explore the ruins' and 'tenth share of the treasure,' and then all of the sudden you're running for your life through snowdrifts taller than you are with half a dozen madmen chasing after you, all because you didn't step back quickly enough when they asked for a 'volunteer.'"
Realizing himself, he blinks, clearing his throat. "...Not that I know anything about that." After a moment, he moves down the corridor where the man had vanished, calling out for the human. "Look, friend, we can talk this out. You're a mercenary, right? I know the life, and I don't imagine you're getting paid enough for all this cultist stuff. Look - Sandpoint's a nice enough town, and there's a reward being offered to stop your nutty employer. Help us take her down, and you'll get a cut, sound fair?"
After an awkward silence, Zeldrith follows the man into the southern door. It leads to a room from which there are many doors and a staircase going up. There are also a few discarded dog pelt rugs heaped in the northeast corner. The man clearly went upstairs. The tiefling calls up and he can hear the sound of an armored person walking towards him, but stopping, presumably short of the stairs. It seems they may be unsure whether to go down or not.
"Come on down, we aren't going to hurt you -- unless you attack us first. You have my word," Juriya says as she tries to coax the sellsword down. She switches back to her Kitsune form, since that is the one that the mercenary saw.
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The man comes down. He looks a bit confused. Juriya's spell still affects him, but he seems sad about what happened. He has his sword sheathed. It's like he thought of leaving but stopped for some reason. And now he isn't sure where to go, which means that each of his steps is taken with uncertainty.
Oh for Daikitsu's sake -- that spell is one of the ones that last hours, shit. Juriya thinks to herself as she decides what to do.
Donimah follows after Juriya as they find the mercenary and gives a relieved smile.
"Hey there, fight's over. Thank you. We can't just keep calling you just "Friend," though. What's your name? Mine's Donimah, Donimah Southlander of the Order of Cyphers."
"Thanks for the help." Shaking his head, he glances down the passageway where Nualia fled. "Desna preserve us - that's your friend, Ano?"
Ano picked herself up weakly. Her eyes held so much pain as she looked at Zeldrith, not even bothering to care about the wounds Nualia gave her.
“I thought she was…” the amurrun muttered, fighting tears, “Gods, first my mother, now Nualia…? Who else hates me…?” Cherry nestled into her neck to try and comfort her.
The man slowly walks down the steps. He looks like a sellsword who doesn't really care much about his appearances. He is carrying a heavy shield in his arm and his bastard sword is in its sheath hanging from his hip, but his hand rests on it. He says "Are... Are you done killing each other?"
The man slowly walks down the steps. He looks like a sellsword who doesn't really care much about his appearances. He is carrying a heavy shield in his arm and his bastard sword is in its sheath hanging from his hip, but his hand rests on it. He says "Are... Are you done killing each other?"
"Hopefully. My name is Arrian, what's yours? And what brought you to this place?"
Juriya stammers a bit since saying her name might reveal too much, but does it anyways.
"Juriya Arima, alchemist-in-training," she says as she points at an extract of CLW and her bombs.
"Donimah Southlander, apprentice Cyphermage and scholar of ancient Thassilon, at your service," Donimah replies with a small, but no less dramatic, bow.
The man pauses for a moment and announces "Name's Orik. Orik Vancakerkin."
You've heard of this name. It's somehow related to Riddleport
He's been involved with some scandal there. Whatever happened, he had to flee Riddleport.
He killed the brother of a certain Clegg Zincher, who holds some power in Riddleport. It involved a funky "love potion" and a prostitute.
He replies to Arrian "Oh, you know, life. In the end, Nualia pays well for a bodyguard, who am I to complain."
The "complain" part made him shiver slightly.
"Ha. I vaguely remember hearing talk of you. Some hack with a fake love potion, right?"
"We won't be hurting you for complaining, don't worry about that."
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The man clearly wasn't expecting to be recognized. He is immediately embarrassed, with his face turning all red. After a moment collecting his thoughts, he changes the subject "So, I can help you with the layout of this complex, my friend. Upstairs is where the goblins hang out. They only come down once a week for Nualia's special ritual." he points to the ominous double doors to the north.
He continues "Either that or the occasional goblin that Lyrie feeds the cave thing to the east. For documenting purposes, she says."
Juriya notices that he also shivers when he notices Nualia's rituals, and lets out a minor sigh when he mentions the name Lyrie.
He goes on "In this level, there's some chambers like mine, Lyrie's and Bruthazmus', the goblin nursery and their wives. And, of course, the temple to Lamashtu where the rituals take place." He forces himself to continue "Below is where Nualia stays. I'm not allowed down there and... I wouldn't go if I were anyway. I don't know much about what she does all day, but apart from planning her raid, she's trying to solve some sort of puzzle. Whatever comes out of the puzzle can't be good if you ask me."
At this point, he seems eager to leave.
Ano doesn’t look at the man. Her ears are folded and she keeps her eyes to the ground. Cherry decides to speak on her behalf.
“Name’s Cherry, familiar of her, Ano Clovermark. Forgive her, she’s had it rough as of late…”
Hearing about Orik, Arrian feels a sense of sympathy for someone as socially awkward as himself.
"Thanks for the brief layout of the complex. It sounds like there's quite a few residents? Any other frequent visitors?"
Arrian also shares Orik's feelings about leaving Thistletop before the goblins rally and/or gather more forces.
Juriyas eyes sparkle when Orik says puzzle. "I'm curious now, but we need to go to town to heal regardless. I'd rather die in an alchemical accident and not to be feasted on by goblins."
"Oh shit, you're that Vancaskerkin? No wonder you were seeking work down here in the south. Well, you can rest easy at least, I'm no friend of Clegg Zincher," Donimah says. "Juriya's right, we should retreat and regroup back at Sandpoint. We've bloodied Nualia's nose, so that should slow her plans a bit, give us some time to recover and gear up for a rematch. You're welcome to come with us if you'd like, Orik. We Riddleporters gotta look out for each other. Besides, there's more opportunity for a guy like you; both more palatable and profitable."
She doesn't notice his shudder, instead a little distracted by how his craggy, glum face has a certain charm to it.
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Orik answers Arrian "Well, there's that goblin druid, you probably ran into him when coming in, he has that nasty cat of his. But he rarely gets in here, he's been at odds with Ripnugget lately, so he keeps in the wild, more as a guard than a proper spiritual leader."
Orik then says "Ok, I'll go get my things. I'll meet you guys back here in a sec, then we can go." He starts heading north, where the fight with Nualia took place.
Something doesn't add up. He mentioned this is the level where his chamber is, but the way he's going doesn't have any more rooms, just the way back up the group used to come down, and the secret door that goes down, but he already said he never goes down.
Donimah nods.
"Okay."
Juriya remains oblivious.
Ano doesn’t say anything, trailing behind the group. Cherry once again tries to comfort her, but doesn’t seem to be having much luck.
Donimah stops short when she remembers something that didn't seem important at the time.
"Hang on, there aren't any other chambers that way except where we came in and the secret door Nualia scarpered off downstairs through, but you already said you don't go downstairs?"
Hearing Donimah, Arrian stops in his tracks and turns towards Orik.
Ano's ears perk up, and she hopes Orik can feel her glaring eyes burning into him. After everything that's happened in the last few days, she is not in the mood for any tomfoolery.
Juriya face-claws, her ears deflating when she realizes she missed that bit of information. "Go on, out with it."
Orik freezes and his face goes white. He says "Oh, no, you misunderstand me! I was of course going to get some items from the warriors you've slain in the other room to take with us. Some of them are very valuable! Even Bruthazmus has some things that are not as valuable, but may make some half-elf from Sandpoint very happy!"
He smiles and says "Well, you can look for it yourselves, I'll go get my things from my room."
He starts to move out one of the doors that has a corridor in it.
After he picks up his things, he goes with the group back out.
The air is fresh and a cool breeze is coming from the sea.
Ano keeps his eyes peeled on him-after that little blunder she isn’t so trusting of him. She doesn’t even realize how hard she’s gripping the handle of her sheathed rapier.
Arrian will avail himself of Orik's advice and relieve the defeated foes of anything of value. However he makes sure that at least two members of the group have their hands free (or weapons in them) - just in case Orik tries something else.
Arrian finds the following.
The goblin boss has:
This is a +1 short sword.
Two potions of Cure Moderate Wounds.
A masterwork breastplate.
A dented crown worth 20gp.
A key ring for all the locks on the upper level.
Bruthazmus has:
They are +1 elf bane arrows.
A masterwork composite longbow with 20 arrows.
4 pp.
"Anyone opposed to me behing the one to hold onto the keyring and the potions," she then examines them for a minute, holding them up to the light. "They seem to be Cure Moderate Wounds potions."
Dotting
"We should spread them out. Perhaps Ano and Zel should carry them in case I can't get to them like earlier and then they'd have their own healing?"
"Fair enough, I'm holding onto the keys though," Juriya says as s
he hands each of Ano and Zel a potion of CMW. "Oh, and if I go down, any of you have full permission to shove an extract of CLW down my throat. That one should be labeled."
Donimah blinks a bit as she realizes what Orik was attempting. Then she laughs.
"You can take the man out of Riddleport but you can't take the Riddleport out of the man, eh? Nice try. I'd honestly have done the same were I in your position," she says.
She nods at Juriya's declaration to take the keys, then looks down at the slain goblinoids.
"Think we should take their heads? Pike 'em outside to warn off any goblins coming to join up?"
Ano pockets the potion and then responds, “Waste of time. Sooner we get back to Sandpoint, the sooner we can make a plan on tracking down Nualia.” She then asks Orik, a bit more aggressively than she’d like, “You wouldn’t know of any…hiding places Nualia instructed you all to go to, right?”