It seems that Father Zantus is slowly accepting that the town is physically safer with the group around, but he still needs to take care of the people's spiritual needs.
The sheriff says "Oh, I see. Forget what I said... It seems you're already on top of it. Please, do rest and prepare. And thank you for the information. I will arrange a heavy patrol for tonight. I think it would be wise to patrol the river, what do you think?"
** spoiler omitted **
The sheriff says "Oh, I see. Forget what I said... It seems you're already on top of it. Please, do rest and prepare. And thank you for the information. I will arrange a heavy patrol for tonight. I think it would be wise to patrol the river, what do you think?"
"Since at least one of the undead used the river to travel to the saw mill it would be a wise idea. And make sure no guard is walking alone. Maybe see if Father Zantus is available to assist; he can help with the undead and disease aspects of the situation. Hopefully we can end this tonight. If any of you are particularly religious now would be the time to ask for divine assistance for all of Sandpoint."
Arrian heads back to The Hagfish to eat and sleep.
With Carol safely delivered to the Cathedral, and Father Zantus’ care, Ethan make his way back to the group’s house. Once he arrives, he makes sure to purposefully lay out his armor and weapons within easy reach. He strips, washes and climbs into bed, softly muttering a prayer to Erastil as he pulls up the blanket and drifts off.
Alicia went to the rusty dragon, wharfed down some food being really angry at self proclaimed ghoul nobility, and had a sufficiently angry dream about ghouls that resulted in her doing a bit more then face planting her bed. Poor bed, it did nothing wrong, and now it has a claw shaped STR 24 hole in it.
The group awakens with renewed strength and resolve.
Ethan rises with the sun, feeling remarkably refreshed despite the previous day's exertions.
He begins the day with his morning prayers, asking Erastil for the strength and resolve to stand in the gap between the ghouls and the people of Sandpoint.
He feels that some new understanding about the nature of Erastil's power has ingrained itself into his mind and heart. He is certain that he could call upon more powerful healing and restorative magic than he could just the day before.
Once his prayers are completed, he washes, dresses and makes his morning visit to the privy. He then comes back into the house and begins the process of prepping his gear for the day: cleaning, oiling, sharpening, and the like.
Alicia rises, offers a quick prayer to Kelinahat to soothe her unjustly and unlawfully destroyed bed, heads down to pay for the damage caused to Ameiko, and then begins to ready her weaponry and armor.
She is certain it will see use.
If that dream came not from Kelinahat, then... Does the Lady in Shadow, or more likely her servants, wish that ghoul king to be dead?
I dont know enough about the relations, or lack thereoff, between the Demonlords of Lust and Undeath... arent there several of either, but its plausible that they are hostile
But there has to be a message in the brutality of that dream... beat the foe with his own arms? Less literally with his own weaponry? That could refer to my new found claws... Of course, if the Nocticulans seek to convert me, they would try to have me use powers that probably come from them.
I still feel to be in Kelinahats grace, so... growing claws is not an evil act in her eyes, yay
I can also, if I embrace my fury, simply punch through a solid bed. What such strength will do to mostly human, in terms of density, ghouls is going to be... a mess.
As the party assembles, Alicia removes her gauntlets, as these would likely block her claws.
Friends She says as the party assembles
I think I found a new trick, when I get enraged my strength goes up by a lot and I grow claws. I would also be unsurprised if my eyes will turn either red, purple or black.
The stench from Arrian's now-empty bags probably reached the bar where Jargie does most of his work.
"Whew son what in the world did you fall into?" Looking at the condition Arrian is in he asks, "Rough night. Get some sleep and we'll talk later."
Arrian dozes off while eating and ends up wearing some porridge.
When he awakens later he curses and cleans up as best he can, grabs a sandwich, and sits Jargie down to explain the whole sordid situation.
"I had a feeling about that Foxglove guy. Make sure one of the town guards stays close to The Hagfish until this is over. I don't know why he took an interest in me; maybe he's like the shaman? Whatever the case I'm not going to lose any sleep over taking him out."
He tries to put on a brave face, smiles, and tells Jargie, "Don't worry I'll be home to wash the morning dishes."
"... There's two of you now?!"
Juriya slept like a rock, curled up on the dogbed of hay right beside her proper mattress for times just like these, when she was too tired to change forms back to one of her two humanoid forms and just needed to sleep. Once she woke up, however, she started getting to work, immediately improving her bomb manufacturing to the point that the bombs now can even harm tieflings if they get even a lick on them!
Granted, this means she has to be a lot more careful with her bombs now, since she can't just take for granted that Alicia will just absorb the burning, oily fluid like it's nothing. Similarly, she's found a way to create more extracts from the same amount of material, although it doesn't yet allow her to make more powerful extracts.
She's also, much to her parents' dismay given how they're affecting her father, mastered the production of cognatogens, drugs made to enhance the mind... at the expense of her body. Given the state her body is in, she'd decided to use this drug... very sparingly.
Once she meets up with the group of heroes (now once again in her proper human form(, she waves to them. "Hey! I checked the map of Sandpoint and the surrounding areas on my wall, you guys think we should go the farm or Misgivings first? The farm is practically on the way..."
She then notices... she's still got a bit of mouse blood on her mouth, and wipes it off, swearing in Minkaian under her breath.
Ano awoke to something jabbing her face; she groggily snarled at whoever was the cause of it, only to discover it was Cherry.
"Come on, Ano! You're going to oversleep! The others are downstairs!" the bird chirped, already fluttering down to the room. The bird lands on Donimah's shoulder.
The catfolk pulled herself together, washing her face and getting prepared. Every now and then, a sharp pain would come from a random spot, and said spot would flash blue for a moment. She asked as she walked down,
"Hey, anyone know what's going on? A random spot on me keeps flashing blue and I-" She pauses when she notices Alicia's claws. "Wait...are you going through something similar to me?"
As for Juriya's question, Ano remarks, "Let's take the farm first. If there's any farmers left in the area we can save them before anything else. Plus, less ghouls, less danger for Sandpoint."
Donimah, who gets her rest almost immediately upon returning to Sandpoint, rises early to clean herself up, visiting her colleagues to gain the scrolls awaiting her as rewards for their previous heroics.
She brings her treasures back to their shared home, slams her grimoire, the scrolls and a vial of ink down on her desk, cuts herself a fresh quill, dips it in and begins scribing. She'd looked at countless scrolls and spell diagrams throughout her life, but today was different. She felt like while newer arcane insights weren't making themselves known, the familiar lines and runes seemed sharper, clearer, easier to understand and reproduce on the page. Like her power resonated with them more strongly than the average wizard. By the time Cherry arrives and lands on her shoulder, she's refreshed, restored and ready for action. A true Cyphermage at last.
She regards the conversation between Ano and Alicia with detached curiosity.
"Are you having one of these 'flare-ups' now? I might be able to take a look, offer some arcane insight..."
On the topic of their approach, she nods.
"Yes, even if we chop off the snake's head and burn these "Misgivings" to the ground right away, we don't know how many ghouls have been spawned and left behind...ghouls we wouldn't know where to find if they find out their master's home is gone and make the understandable decision to hide. And once they think they've hidden long enough, they'd be free to start a new wave of attacks and spawnings."
Arrian sees if there's any food left; he's a growing half-orc.
"The Sheriff might have more work for us but he didn't mention it after I gave him the full report about Maurice, Carol, and the Hambley farm situation. He's going to increase the patrols including one patrol for the river. I left the heads with him so he can identify the recently deceased. We should check the Hambley farm first and then move on to the Misgivings. Or Foxglove Manor. Whatever that weirdo is calling the place."
He flexes his muscles and his eyes flash as he thinks about the suffering that pompous fool has unleashed on Sandpoint and its surrounding farmsteads.
He blinks at the new abilities of his comrades. Less so Alicia; he's never sure what to expect from her except the unexpected. Ano is a bit more startling.
"Cool Ano! Now you can hobnob with the wizards and look down on us common folk." The grin on his face indicates he's teasing the arcane casters in the group and means no offense.
"I may be wrong, but I think that's a manifestation of the same kind of bloodrager stuff that Ano has. Everyone here has access to some kind of magic, even if it's in a bottle. That's hilarious. Ano, think you can cast spells finally?"
"I may be wrong, but I think that's a manifestation of the same kind of bloodrager stuff that Ano has. Everyone here has access to some kind of magic, even if it's in a bottle. That's hilarious. Ano, think you can cast spells finally?"
"I remember in school all the kids thought you had magic and could infect them with cooties."
"I mean, I have magic now, but most of it is either form-changing or in a bottle extracts.
Granted, Charm Person feels like the most 'cooties' spell in f%+%ing existence, ehehehe. 5/10, back still aching, would not recommend that method of getting magic!"
"It is a blessing that we have all found new reserves of strength and power," Ethan says. "I have a feeling it will require all of it to be equal to the task ahead of us. If the Hambley farm is on the way, we should probably see to clearing it out of any ghouls that might still be there. I do not like the idea of passing them by, only to find they went out hunting while we confronted their master in Foxglove Manor."
"Oh right yeah, that's today. Definitely going to need a Shield and a Reduce Person. We're dealing with Ghouls, right? Why were we not blessed by the gods with an elf or a half-elf? They'd be quite useful right about now, immunity to ghoul paralysis and all."
Ano blinked, “Magic? I mean, I don’t…I kinda feel like there’s magic in me? But I don’t know how to cast it.”
Internally, she’s panicking. She’s hoping you-know-who won’t ever catch her casting magic. Sandpoint will go through more hell in that case. And that is not something this town needs right now.
Juriya asks something out of nowhere "Ano. Do you know what your maternal grandparents look like?"
I think mine is a bit... different from Anos
As she turns on her rage, her posture changes, her muscle cords become more pronounced, her eye color switches to red, and sleek, predatory claws extend from her fingers. It is almost certainly not Ghoul related, her claws look like something you could conceal as *extensive manicure*, but there is a certain vibe of extreme aggression around her.
Arrian and Ano would be almost certain that her movements in that form are easier to anticipate, making her easier to hit, although, as trained fighters, you think her constitution may have also improved..
Considering all he's seen in the past week Arrian isn't fazed in the least by Alicia's transformation.
"It's always something in Sandpoint. Maybe it's the water?"
The group walks through Sandpoint, and its residents seem a bit worried. Maybe some word of the lumber mill killings got out, maybe some hurtful rumors about the heroes are being spread, or maybe it's just word of a certain pregnant lady being passed around. For whatever reason, the group welcomes the calm of the road. The sun has come out and the spring warm begins to set as the group makes the way back.
As they arrive near the Hambley farm, they notice quite a few scarecrows hanging around.
Ano, do you feel fatigued after useing your abilities? I do after mine. Probably... like I expect a drug hangover would be?
Alicia asks as her claws retract, her corded muscles relax and her eyes become a quite pleseant blue again.
Alicia is definitly a bloodrager. While there are a few different bloodlines where claws would manifest, such as Sphinx, Shapechanger etc. given her ancestry you are fairly certain her bloodline is Abyssal. The eye color change, and the extreme aggressive vibe are pretty significant tells.
You would also known that the Bloodline does not impact alignment or is governed by alignment. Someone with an infernal or Abyssal bloodline can be good, someone with a celestial bloodline can be psychopathic mercenary bidding his services in the outer planes.
Alicia, wielding her trusty polearm, looks at the party members who have ranged weapons
Shoot some of the scarecrows? Ammunition supplies permitting?
"Anyone wanna cast detect Undead? All my extracts are taken."
Juriya asks something out of nowhere "Ano. Do you know what your maternal grandparents look like?"
Ano’s ears folded. “No. I never met them. My aunt told me stories about my grandparents, but that’s all I know about them. My m-Fosyo-didn’t want me to go to Magnimar at all, so I never got the chance to visit them.”
”Ano, do you feel fatigued after useing your abilities? I do after mine. Probably... like I expect a drug hangover would be?”
“Every single time. Unfortunatley I can’t really control when it will and won’t show up.”
Ano tenses up, she tries to scout out the area with her nose.
Ano can tell that the scarecrow closest to the group is indeed just a scarecrow. However, further down the road are two ghouls posing as scarecrow. Yet they don't really behave like so and are bound to the post. As in, they would have to struggle to get free if they were to attack the group. Its head is covered by a sack and it seems to be moving its head. Further down are two other normal scarecrow.
She can't really see beyond that because the plants have grown tall, but she can smell that there are more ghouls that these ones.
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Juriya, assuming she gets told about the ghouls, prepares her bombs just in case. "New and improved. Alicia, stay clear, these can probably actually harm you now."
"This is strange. It feels like a trap. Why are ghouls bound up and dressed as scarecrows? Were the people they once were infected, and then bound to the posts? Are we sure they are ghouls? As much as I hate getting close to them, I would feel better removing the sacks from their heads and confirming that they are truly undead. Unfortunately, I think this is part of the trap. Their master knows we have conscience."
Sheer Sadism and a love of suffering? Infect people, tie them to the posts, and wait for them to... ripen? Alicia says with a sneer as her eyes flash red.
Does any of you have that useful mage hand cantrip, to remove the sacks from a distance? The range is 30 feet, and a sack should be removable yes?
Alicia proposes
Huh, why do I know about mage hand cantrips? Never studied the arcane before.
"We have a paladin. We have access to Detect Evil. I'd use Detect Undead, but I actually brewed my extracts in advance today. It's circumstantial, but it's good enough as any... wait. We have holy water on us. If they aren't undead... it's just water to them. If they are, they'll write in pain."
"Luck of the Lucky Drunk. I have an orison which only harms undead. It's positive energy so it won't hurt anything living. Unless someone thinks they're not evil ghouls?"
“This is a trap. I can smell the rot of ghoul from two scarecrows down the way. I don’t know how many scarecrows there are, and how many are ghouls. But we need to stick close and keep an eye out. You never know what will-”
Suddenly her spots rapidly flash, and with a yelp, Ano shrinks.
“Wha-what happened? Why are you all taller?”
“This is a trap. I can smell the rot of ghoul from two scarecrows down the way. I don’t know how many scarecrows there are, and how many are ghouls. But we need to stick close and keep an eye out. You never know what will-”
Suddenly her spots rapidly flash, and with a yelp, Ano shrinks.
“Wha-what happened? Why are you all taller?”
Arrian blinks, "We're not taller Ano; you're shorter."
"Ghouls are uniformly evil. If they were ghosts... I'd ask you to hold off."
Ethan nods in agreement. "Use your magic, Arrian. If it only harms undead, it will be the perfect test."
Arrian approaches to within range of his orison and draws upon the divine power granted by Cayden Cailean:
Considering all he's seen in the past week Arrian isn't fazed in the least by Alicia's transformation.
"It's always something in Sandpoint. Maybe it's the water?"
"Maybe it's the runewell under the town?" Donimah snarks.
Once they arrive at the farm, she looks around at the scarecrows and frowns.
"I suspect they did have an ambush in mind: hide a few ghoul-scarecrows among the dozens out there so they could attack anyone lulled into a false sense of safety by the first few scarecrows being harmless. And once the trap is sprung, making it difficult for their prey to tell which were which so they could keep the element of surprise even when the fight was going on. Had I the power, I'd have just slung a few fireballs across the fields to burn them in their own trap or at least smoke them out. I don't think the planting season has started, but then my family's always preferred to get our daily bread from the sea, so I wouldn't know. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Ethan."
Arrian's bolt hits the bounded thing. It definitely hurts, it starts to wiggle and struggle against its bounds.
It manages to break free, as it shrieks and rushes towards Arrian.
Despite her decrease in size, Ano’s bloodrage immediately activates, and she becomes a blur as she charges at the ghoul.
Arrian waits for it to come into range and strikes at the ghoul.
Juriya specifically does NOT wait for the ghoul to be within range of melee, and smiles as she hurls her new and improved bomb at the creature. "TIME TO TEST THIS!"