Despite the danger and her gnawing nausea, Shunshen can't help but smile as the Tian warrior attacked. She'd seen many tapestries in the Kaijustu estate depicting these warriors in battle....and now she was fighting one...albeit a dead one!
She launches an attack, but her abused vesitbular system decides the activity was too abrupt and makes Shunsen retch violently, making her attempt as clumsy as the skeleton warrior.
Vigny hollers for Flori and Cailyn to hurry on into the room then casts Bless on the party.
Then Vigny advances a couple of steps into the narrower part of the tunnel and takes on a defensive stance to wait for the skeletons to come.
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Flori is very thankful that she managed to move her casting beyond the need for material components - sticking her finger in a pat of warm butter was one of the most unpleasant things Koya ever made her do in the name of spellcasting and that includes the spells that required freshly harvested bat guano!
The important thing though is that the magic works just fine and Flori imagines the slick, squishy feeling of the butter as her mind and magic coat the cave floor in a very similar substance! The moment her spell works she retreats down the passage, sucking her stomach in to let Vigny pass as she goes.
The closest skeleton manages to keep its footing in spite of Flori's magic, but the two behind it slip and fall to the stone floor in a clatter of bones and armor.
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Cailyn has always considered herself a semi intelligent person. Well, in truth, she considers herself a VERY intelligent person but manners come into play so she would always say Semi, even think it even if she KNOWS she is very...
Where was she? Oh, yes.
She isn't intelligent at all.
Or at least she thinks, quite clearly, 'Oh, you are a moron Cailyn Vanderale' as the hordes of undead creatures push together to come to eat her every bit and make her scream every second it takes.
It is not a pleasant moment of realization.
She MIGHT have peed a little.
In truth she might have panicked a little, might have froze in WHAT THE F#@! AM I DOING... but as this gross buttery smell hits her and suddenly the skeletons are on the floor battering themselves for a cook out, she is suddenly shocked out of that panic and runs... with tact and decorum, somewhat.
Two of the skeletons manage to navigate the magical grease and advance on Vigny, but she avoids the lead undead's claws. More of the long dead foes stumble in the area of Flori's magic.
Orchid ducks to one side. Tactics, in the considered sense of the word, aren't her strong suit but wolves are pack animals and the best way to take down a stronger foe is to attack from the sides.
Orchid's claws are having difficulty finding purchase on dry bones. And while its form is improving, Shunsen still manages to avoid the skeletal champion's blade.
Vigny whacks the first skeleton in line with her club.
The Tian warrior's razor sharp blade cleaves the air near Shunsen's head, but she knows it's just a matter of time before it hits its target...her! Gathering her strength, she chops at the skeletal samurai!
Cailyn places her hands on her knees to try and catch her breath, unable to comment on anything for once while she does so. Which makes her pay attention to what is going on around her.
Claws and swords not cutting through bone. Her cross bow could puncture steel, but finding the proper place to strike would be harder.
Bigger though would be better, so she casts ....
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Flori, not knowing what way to turn, trusts that Vigny can hold the narrow gap and instead calls upon her magical might and imagination to help those behind her. Whilst chanting her incantation, a wonderful cloud of pastel pinks and sunshine yellows forms itself into a sturdy looking cheerful pony.
Maybe her friends will not only gain much needed physical support from this companion but it will also lift their morale. Friendship is magic after all.
Vigny's club takes out the lead skeleton and it falls in a clatter of broken bones. Shunsen's strike is closer this time, but still misses the mark. Flori begins a spell of summoning.
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Round 3
Cailyn directs her attention towards Orchid and the shifter's form begins to grow!
The next skeleton advances on Vigny and slashes at her with both claws, one of which draws blood. Some of the remaining skeletons follow up behind it while some still struggle with the grease-covered patch of stone.
Orchid bites and claws but even her increased size doesn't help her.
Orchid's claws, again, scrape harmless against the undead warrior's armor.
The skeletal champion, however, finally reaches his stride and opens up Shunsen's side with a nasty slash from its curved blade.
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Vigny ignores the claw scratch, it's to be expected sooner or later. She keeps on bashing with her club.
On the upside (she hopes) Vigny has noticed a couple of things. If she's right (she hopes) there are a couple of advantages they can play on.
The skeleton with the sword is fixated on Shunsen, even though Orchid is the more tangible threat. That, along with the Skeleton speaking to and pointing at Shunsen, who also spoke to the skeleton before this all started, might be very meaningful.
"Flori, get your horse up here to block the tunnel!"
"Shunsen, I think you unleashed a curse onto yourself! Withdraw to help the horse up here! I'm gonna get between you and the one coming at you hard! It wants you, so we're gonna keep it separated from you!"
"Oh, yes, rather good" Cailyn says as the Orchid GREW. She was all ready to see the woman batter her opponent to dust, but alas, no change. Sighing she instead concentrates her magic on her own crossbow in hope she can shatter a bone or two when she manages to fire a shot.
Shunsen can't help but appreciate the skill with wish the skeletal champion finally slid by her defense and injured her.
Not wanting to back down, she nonetheless sees the sense in Vigny's plan, stepping back and strategically withdrawing from the champion, allowing Vigny to interpose herself.
"Err....Okay!" Flori nods in agreement, as its a sensible plan and she turns to look at her pony. It was in this moment she had the dreadful realisation that she cannot speak to horses.
The pony swivels on its forelegs and kicks out at the skeleton with its hind quarters - and the power of friendship.
Realising the pony has no idea what she wants, Flori calls out "Shunsen, you'll have to block the tunnel! I cant talk to ponies!"
In the meantime, Flori lobs a ball of luminescent acid at a skeleton in the tunnel.
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Vigny misses the lead skeleton with her club. Shunsen falls back and Flori's pony appears. Friendship being its stock in trade, combat is something entirely new to the summoned pony and it fails to connect with its kicking hooves. The mage's flung acid, however, sizzles and burns at the skeleton next to Vigny. The damage distracts the undead enough for Vigny to avoid the creature's sharp claws.
If at first you don't succeed... do it again harder! Orchid keeps biting and this time manages to lock both teeth and claws onto skeleton bones, at least temporarily.
Orchid bites and claws the skeletal champion and this time manages to inflict damage with both. Even with the shifter tearing off bits of bone and armor, the regal figures ignores her entirely, advancing on Shunsen. Its blade flashes through the air, but the rogue manages to avoid the sharp edge.
Vigny would rather have someone ready to take her place, but she doesn't dare waiting longer. She bolts away from the tunnel, giving the tankard on her belt a caress with her hand as she whispers an appeal to the Lucky Drunk.
Vigny circles around Cailyn to get at the skeletal swordsman and brings The Last Word around in a swing designed to shatter the skeleton's shoulders.
Cailyn WOOPS, a very unladylike sound as Orchid tears into the skeleton champion, though the sounds does end in a disappoint Oh, when it does not crumble into dust. She feels her wish for size on the feral sibling start to wane. So she grabs her amulet and repeats quickly and urgently If only Orchid remains large"
The slathering groaning comes from the tunnel, drawing the scared woman's eyes to the shambling horde just feet away from Flori! Nothing seems to make sense suddenly, certainly note her feet moving her in between the horde and the waitress.
Her eyes mere slits as she fights off another wave of nausea, Shunsen sees that she can't escape the skeletal samurai, raises her falchion and attacks!
Vigny dashes away from the advancing skeletons, avoiding slashing claws, to slam her club against the undead champion and bones shatter. Shunsen finally connects with her blade as well and the statuesque skeleton collapses in a pile of bones and old armor.
The indomitable will that propelled them forward having finally failed, the other skeletons fall to their final peace in solidarity. Silence falls on the cavern with the exception of water dripping, heavy breathing from those still standing, and an occasional huff from Flori's summoned pony.
Combat Ends!
The champion was wearing broken masterwork chainmail and wielding a wakizashi of beautiful design. The sword is etched with images of seven shrikes perched on a coiling branch that runs the length of the blade. The hilt of the sword has not weathered time as well as the blade, unfortunately. The warrior was also wearing a key on a chain around its neck. Conveniently, the key fits the chest the figure was sitting upon.
The chest itself is beautifully carved of cherry wood and decorated with jade inlays. Alone and undamaged, the chest is worth 250gp.
Within the chest, you can see that many objects have been removed from numerous slots in the chest's velvet-linted interior. Remaining are five potions of cure light wounds, two potions of cure moderate wounds, three potions of lesser restoration, a ring of climbing, a wand of identify , a masterwork chain shirt, a masterwork cold iron wakizashi, 11 Desnan candles, and four skyrockets, in addition to 3,820 sp, 421 gp, and various pieces of fine jewelry worth 560 gp total.
Shunsen isn't able to immediately celebrate or enjoy the sudden victory over the skeletons and their warrior master, the sound of bones hitting the floor, for some reason, sets her off on another round of retching.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she marvels at the contents of the chest, but is crestfallen at the condition of the sword, examining the pommel, commenting ,"This is going to take a lot to fix...."
With the skeletons all down and the action over, Vigny takes a moment to collect herself. All she can think to say in the moment is "that pony is really cute."
When she's collected herself Vigny looks to Shunsen's wound, using the last of her spells to mend it.
Orchid, either sensibly or unreasonably depending on your point of view, kicks the fallen warriors head far into the water. Maybe its because there are no ears to take.
Then she heads straight for pony and starts stroking and petting it with every appearance of love and care until it winks out of existence once more in a puff of sparkles. Orchid seems sad once it's gone...
Once the tallying of newly acquired wealth is done she hefts the chest without complaint and heads back into the open air.
"Go home now?" She asks, once they all emerge from the earth. "Head smell bad now."
Flori flashes an appreciative smile at Vigny as she stands still for a moment, giving herself a second.
"Home sounds good. I still feel terrible from earlier and could do with a warm bed and bath. Everything else can wait."
The rotted hands reach for her, reminding her again that being a hero is not intelligent, but just before they grab her and start doing things... they collapse.
"Goodness that was bracing" she pants out as she drops to the floor for a long moment to catch her breath.
Once she has recovered, Cailyn seems eager to take on the task of identifying and tallying each and every coin, marking it all down in a notebook with satisfying hums. In her mind she is imaging all the books she can buy with her share!
"A bath sounds amazing, right after a lovely soup I think." Cailyn's priorities announced, food before hygiene.
"At least skeletons are dry and don't pop like pimples"
"Where's the map? If we're lugging this chest back, I'd rather be doing it out of the marsh and on dry land as soon as possible."
As Shunsen examines the pommel of the weapon closer, she notices that there is a secret compartment in the hilt. Within it is a miniature mithril scroll tube . And inside the tube is a letter.
Unrolling the thin parchment reveals faded Tian hànzì characters.
The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family's enemies have, as I hope, forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the warding box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family's greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun's care, and it shall remain hidden in the secret third vault under Brinewall Castle - obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray. I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing me themselves - if it comes to it, let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you, so that our enemies believe our line ended.
I have instructed Tsutamu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only should I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south, and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not, they will lie in wait forever for your return.
I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you, and I know you will survive this old man's shame. You are strong, and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I am gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again.
Rokuro Kaijitsu
Sunday, 29 Desnus, 4687
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Wanting to spend as little time in the hot, humid, and oppressive marsh as possible, you traverse along the base of the cliff wall eastward until you reach a rarely used trail that climbs the wall in a precarious switch-back fashion to reach the Lost Coast road above. From there it's a couple of hours walking to reach Sandpoint. Bringing you back home just a little after nightfall.
"What's this, then...." Shunsen exclaims as the pommel's secret is revealed.
With a smile of appreciation to Vigny as her side heals, she slowly unwraps the missive and begins to translate for the others...her voice breaking at times at the heartfelt emotion therein.
When finished, she shakes her head, "Rokuro Kaijitsu....that's Ameiko's grandfather! We have to get this back to her!"
Ameiko's response is initially disbelief when presented with the letter.
"Wait ... you're saying that you found a letter from my sofu, my grandfather, in a sword, that was wielded by a skeleton, in a cave, in Brinestump Marsh?" She shakes her head and eyes Cailyn with a suspicious eye. "Is this your idea of a joke?" she asks with a grin. "Are you trying to get back at me from when I swapped the covers around on some of your books?"
She takes the letter with suspicion and begins to read. Her smile quickly vanishes to be replaced by wonder. "This ... this is real. This was from Sofu. That means ..." She frowns. "That means my family actually lived in Brinewall. There's so much here to unwrap. I ... I have to think about this."
Without another word, she exits the common room with the letter in her hand.
Flori, slouched low in a chair in the common room, watches on as Shunsen shares the vital information with her boss but remains quiet, not trying to overwhelm her with the new information.
"What do you think Ameiko will want to do about this?" she asks nobody in particular, as she tries to take a sip or two of the cold water in front of her. "Its not like she got on with her Dad, but this is a pretty big deal. I think we should make sure we don't spread this gossip round town as everyone will know otherwise." Flori looks around the room, pointedly.
"Orchid, do you still have the ears?"
Vigny is quite confused by the drama involving the letter.
"I get it's a nice find. A long lost letter is exciting. But why is it such a big deal beyond that?"
Cailyn looked wide eyed at the cover swapping, remembering the near perfection of the ruse. The book binding alone was worth the jest.
Cailyn does not stay in the common room, but follows her friend. "Brinewall was destroyed on the first day of Sarenith in 4687" she repeats, her bibliophile memory helping her here "Just a few days after that letter was written." she hasn't told that to the others, keeping it just for Ameiko "No one knows how, if their commander Andril Kortun fell fighting something or not, but now..." the letter had been ominous enough to make it so dangerous.
Orchid nods in silent answer to Flori's question and then frowns. "To Sheriff?" She asks. Once she receives confirmation that yes, the sheriff is the person to see about rotting goblin body parts she leaves and heads for the Garrison. There she makes her way in to see Sheriff Hemlock by the simple expedient of following her nose and deposits a goblin head on his desk, followed by a large pile of ears in varying states of... completeness.
"Money please." She says simply. Flori did the maths involved and told her exactly how many coins to expect and while Orchid is slow with multiplication she can count very well so her large golden eyes watch the sheriff closely, determined to get every coin of the promised bounty.
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"A-me-ko? Have dinner. Be-tha-na said should eat." She knocks again, still gently for the moment. "Flori said must stay till you eat."
A long pause.
"If not get dinner. I sing." Orchid offers in a last ditch attempt. "Don't want that!"
Ameiko nods distractedly as Cailyn passes along what facts she can remember that may be related to the letter. Once in the woman's private rooms, Ameiko pulls a couple of rolled up maps from a shelf and blows the dust off them. Unrolling one of them produces the western coast of Avistan.
"Brinewall" Ameiko declares, placing her finger on a labeled portion of the map. "What's that? Five hundred or so miles?" she adds, examining the map in closer detail. "Cailyn ...?" she begins before being interrupted by Orchid's threat of discordancy at the door.
Rolling her eyes affectionately, she opens the door and invites the shifter to bring the offered food inside. "Thanks, Orchid," she says before setting the plate on a small side table and returning to the unrolled map.
Orchid nods to Cailyn and then lounges against the wall next to the door, ignoring the chair right next to her. Once she realises that Ameiko has a map out though she stalks over to the table, peering at the map with every appearance of interest although she doesn't say anything.
Since no explanations are forthcoming Vigny figures it's none of her damn business and goes to get a bath and change of clothes. After she's all cleaned up, Vigny goes back to the Rusty Dragon for drinks and to tell anyone who'll listen about her (and incidentally their) adventures in Brinestump Marsh.
There's some hella good stories and she can't keep them all bottled up inside. Vigny does show some discretion, leaving out the stuff about the letter because it's apparently none of her damn business. Besides, since she doesn't have any idea what any of it means, she can't really incorporate the letter and so forth into the tales anyway.
Cailyn smiles at Orchid from her spot hunched over the map. Her fingers are tracing the distance between Sandpoint and Brinewall. "Yes, approximately 500 miles, roughly sixteen days by road." her mother's mind is hers, so she is already calculating supplies and costs.
There is a glint in Ameiko's eyes "Do you want to go see if this third secret vault is untouched?" the glint is also in Cailyn's eyes.
"Do in twelve. With good horses." Orchid offers, her eyes following Cailyn's fingers across the map. "Speak to Sandy. He give family rate. Ready in two... three days. If you want." She adds, looking at Ameiko. "Would want to. If me. Knowing pack, important."
Ameiko looks up at Cailyn and smiles again.
"Talk me out of this, Cay," she says with a chuckle. "This is such a stupid idea and I shouldn't even consider it." She turns to Orchid. "Maybe I will talk to Sandy ... unless someone can give me a much more rational reason to just ignore it all."
"Oh, hmmm. The letter is clearly a warning,telling your father..." even with Cailyn's impeccable manners she cannot keep the disdain out of her voice for THAT man "... and in proxy, you, to stay hidden, to stay safe. If this is to be believed, all of Brine was wiped out because of this." the merchant heiress heaps butter on a hunk of bread brought to her friend not her "Also you are happy here. You've fought and suffered to be happy." she chews, melts a little at the yummies, while she lets her words marinate. "But if you don't go, you'll never KNOW" the curiosity, the burning need to know the end of a story is why the two of them get along so well. So Ameiko knew her friend would be no help talking her out of it.
A low rumble rips through the room, signalling her need for her own dinner. She smiles and hugs her friend, waves at Orchid and leaves the two of them alone
Shunsen smiles from where she was leaning against the door frame, "Ameiko-san.... if you don't go I will!" she exclaims, walking over to the map, thrusting one of her green-hued fingers at the little dot called Brinewall, "There is your family's legacy....one even your father didn't know aught of! How can you possibly pass up this opportunty."
Then she swings her pack down the ground and pulls out the two verdigris covered ship plaques and laid them down on the map, "Look...they came here to find you, well, your family....they were your family. Their duty and sacrifice cannot be in vain!"
"They're not trying very hard to talk me out of it," she says to Orchid with a smirk. Moving over to the plate of food the shifter brought, she avails herself of a chicken leg before returning to study the map.
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Part Two: The Legacy's Lure
Moonday, 20th of Desnus, 4711 AR (day 4)
It's two days later when Ameiko requests your presence at a meeting at the Rusty Dragon. Arriving at the private meeting room, Ameiko has already laid out a parchment map across the table.
"Thanks for coming," she says, by way of greeting. "I want to thank you for recovering the letter to my father. It's raised questions in my mind that I can't just ignore." Her lip curls up into a grin and there's an excitement in her eyes that some of you haven't seen there in a long time. "I've already talked to Sandru and he's agreed to my proposal." She places her finger on the map. It's a marked city to the north along the coast. "Brinewall."
She looks around at you all.
"The answers to my questions can only be found here. Sandru's caravan is taking us there ... well ... taking me there and I'd like it ... I'd appreciate it ... if you'd join me. I think I can talk Shalelu into going and when I asked Koya Mvashti for advice, she indicated that she'd like to come along as one last adventure."
Her hand pulls back and joins its twin behind her back as she sways nervously.
"It's about five hundred miles and, according to Sandru, it'll be between two and three weeks each way. It's a lot to ask, but ... you've demonstrated a skill for survival in your mission to the marsh. Skilled hands and perceptive eyes wouldn't go amiss on a trip like this." She frowns and looks away for a moment, her focus on memories playing out in her mind. "This is my life now," she continues, turning back to you. "I've put adventures behind me. My place is here. The people of Sandpoint are my family now. But I want answers and the only place I'll find them is Brinewall."
Vigny is quite happy to be at the meeting, though she's perplexed by the purpose for it. She still doesn't know what's lit a fire under Ameiko, but there's a heightened energy in the room she wouldn't want to miss out on. But, Ameiko's mention of a caravan master names Sandru causes Vigny to lock her attention right in.
If Ameiko has talked to Sandru about so much already, he must be HERE!
She's never heard of the place they're going to, and there's some stuff from Ameiko about family and what sounds like a mystery, also some other people she doesn't know. But that flows right on by barely noticed by Vigny.
When Ameiko is finished making her speech, Vigny raises her hand like she's sitting in a classroom at school.
"Um, you mentioned a Sandru as the caravan master... Would he be Sandru Vhisky? I know a Sandru Vhisky who runs a caravan. Or, maybe Sandru is just a really common name?"
After sleeping like a log, Flori feels a heck of a lot better over the next few days. She ensures she takes some time to write down everything from the trip in her trusty leather bound journal, not wanting to miss a detail. She also takes some time to organise her room and sort her things, double checking everything is in order after her absence. She really didn't like it when her things were moved out of place.
She feels all the more better when Orchid returns with the payment from the Sheriff and drops it in front of her on the counter.
"You got it all Orchid - it looks like he paid you in full - well done! We should look into sorting out the rest of everything that we found out on the trip and finding the others too"
Flori, still without any organised shift for a few days, spends her time flitting back and forwards between the expedition group, trying to work out what they had gained and what they wanted, and any traders she can find, haggling for the best prices. She doesn't seem to worry that there is no work lined up for a few days as this job paid really well. There is no way she would have made this much money in a few months.
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This is the most unusual week Flori has had in quite sometime; she had been bored for a while, stuck in a rut going to work - day in day out. She didn't know what to think about her new found freedom. The announcement from Sheriff Hemlock seems to have changed everything and this was very much unlike herself to head off on adventures like this.
I do want to see more of the world though... Don't I?
"Sandru is our brother." Flori says, answering Vigny's questions, breaking out of her thoughts and motions to both Orchid and herself. It seems very odd since neither Flori or Orchid seem to have any resemblance at all to each other, let alone Sandru. "He is very likely the Sandru that you know, if the Sandru that you know thinks he is hilarious, but in reality is...mildly amusing. He runs a good trade though."
Turning to Ameiko, Flori looks quizzical. "But what about the Rusty Dragon? Whats going to happen whilst we're away? You've put so much into this place, we don't want to see you lose it."
What am I doing? This sounds like a great opportunity to travel and I'm trying to put her off?!