Bruin nods his head, agreeing with Serolt's reasoning. But he waited for the others to chime in.
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Bruin got an odd look on his face. "We shouldn't burn them in the field--could cause a fire. Let's at least bring them into the road." Bruin then examines the rest of the infected. "They need to go back to the Sandpoint Cathedral. Zantus can treat them there." He then noticed that the sick were barely able to walk, and whispered to Beromar, "I think we should send the guards to take them back to town. But you're the one in charge, what do you say?"
Bruin rushes over and stabilizes the fallen guard. He then pulls out his wand and begins tapping all the wounded.
"Help me get them down," he pleads. The others do just that. They discover the victims are feverish but alive. The scarecrow ghouls had clearly left them there to slowly turn into ghouls.
Bruin grits his teeth in anger, and shouts as he fires his bow.
The shot goes wild.
Bruin levels his shortbow at the same scarecrow that attacked Mruf. "Incoming!"
But he's not used to the weight of his new weapon, and the shot goes wide.
I have 4 holy waters and 4 alchemist fires. I don't think we need to buy any with party funds, unless someone specifically wants a couple.
Bruin shudders. He doesn't recognize the poem, but it's enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Uh, Mister Grump? Could you tell us what you saw?"
Oh, Serolt did you have the wand of identify marked as sold? I meant to claim that. Edit: Oh, and Serolt, be sure to add the extra CLW wand to your gear. You're the only other potential healer besides me. And it turns out that with the additional gold I was able to afford the +1 shortbow on my own. So, Serolt, don't worry about the wand of identify. I'd rather have the weapon.
I'll be taking my 5th level of bard. And I'm seriously considering going arcane archer. But that won't be for a few levels yet. But in the meanwhile, I have decided to switch to a shortbow. I wish I could buy the +1 shortbow in the town, but I'm 800 gold short of that. And I don't want to bankrupt myself. So in the meanwhile, I'll just buy a masterwork shortbow for now. I'll hold onto my +1 crossbow in case we run into anything that has magic DR. I haven't seen any notes on whether or not a light crossbow would fit in an Efficient Quiver--I know the item specifies bows, but wizards have been stuffing those things with wands and rods for years and no one bats an eye. And it's a small crossbow anyways, so I'm just gonna make a call and say it's okay. If anyone thinks that's a little too munchkiny though, I'm happy to hear the argument against. Not much else changes for my character. I will be grabbing Invisibility as my new 2nd level spell.
Well, let's see, here: 3rd level spells: 3 spells * 3 hours = 9 hours
That's a total of 14 hours. Okay, yeah that's a bit much for a single night. Plus I have to imagine the hand cramps would be brutal. So how about instead we just say that Amaya learns either all the 3rd level spells, or all the 1st and 2nd level spells. She can add the rest on another night. Or she can pick and choose individually if she prefers.
Hmm. I suppose there's no reason we can't wait til noon to start ghoul hunting if Amaya needs the extra time to study and rest. That would give the rest of the party time to take care of buying/selling.
We should definitely hold onto the potion of gaseous form. That's one of those cool utility potions that you never find an immediate use for, but sometime down the road it could save our bacon. And we recently bought a CLW wand, but I don't remember who took it. I want to say Serolt did, but I could be wrong. I have my own CLW wand with 48 charges on it. So I don't think we're in dire need. I would actually like to claim the Wand of Identify. It's a nice backup in case we fail a spellcraft check. And frankly with so few charges on it, we wouldn't get much money for it anyway. So we might as well hold on to it. We'll need to hold onto the spellbook for at least a bit, until Amaya decides what spells she wants to learn from it--if any.
Bruin looks troubled. "A ghast is an even more powerful ghoul. But they're not unthinking beasts like typical ghouls are. They can reason, plot, even prepare traps. They are much more dangerous."
Bruin remains silent. Giving a chance for one of the others to handle this.
Bruin laughs and fires another bolt.
; hit!
The Necromancer gasps as he takes a bolt to his back.
***
The Necromancer's hands stop glowing. GM Only: Caizarlu AC 14, HP 32/35
Bruin continues his sermon, reloads his crossbow and fires.
Bruin takes careful aim, and is sure that he manages to hit one of the images dead-on, but it seems to shift suddenly, and the bolt flies wide. "I can do this all day!" Bruin calls out.
Bruin dives through the Necromancer's legs, standing on top of the grease--as if it wasn't even there. He winks at the befuddled mage and then fires his crossbow. [b]"For the mysteries of the night, belong to wonder and joy. And any who would defile them with horrors, should be shown the errors of their ways.
The bolt seems to fly true, but hits a copy of the necromancer instead.
GM Only: Caizarlu AC 14, HP 35/35 (mirror image x2, displacement, vampiric touch)
Bard Spells Known (CL 5th; concentration +8)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
Bruin conjures magical grease under the multiple mages.
All 4 figures waves their arms comically in the air, and fall flat on their faces into the greasy floor. "Learned that trick from an old friend."
Bruin takes a deep breath and scurries his way through all the terrible smell. Once he breaks through the cloud, he is standing on the other side of the wall. He glares at the necromancer. "Sweet Starsong, give us the strength to fight the horrors that lurk in the night."
Bruin continues his sermon to the Starsong, and makes his way down the steps.
Mruf: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 {nauseated}
Bruin is hesitant to move into the noxious cloud. And so he simply continues his proselytizing.
Bruin stays where he is and begins another sermon to Desna.
"You need a sword, or an axe! They need to be cut to pieces!" Bruin calls out.
"Worth a shot," Bruin admits as he is finishing tying up Grayst.
Spells Cast Bard Spells Known (CL 5th; concentration +8)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
"It wasn't a ratfolk. It was a cursed human known as a wererat--a lycanthrope." The halfling stares at the open doorway. "He came from downstairs. And the doctor was signalling someone. We need to prepare before we go down there." Bruin casts a spell to increase his speed.
"Removing disease is a very potent clerical magic. And one that I personally know is beyond Father Zantus. Beyond me as well," Bruin says guiltily. "But you're right. We need to get him out of here. If we're lucky, Zantus might have a scroll we can use. And if not, he can still heal him with more traditional means. Healing his mind though--well, it's not impossible. I have heard of clerics who are that powerful. I've never met one though."
"With some healing magic, he'll regain consciousness. But that might not be the best idea given the state he's in, Mruf." "As for you, Doctor, no matter what you suspected, you still should have treated his disease--or at least, consulted someone. He's suffering from Ghoul Fever. If he's not treated immediately, he'll die, and become a ghoul. No one deserves that."
"Bero! He's not a zombie, just sick!" Bruin shouts. He then marches up to the grayst and tries to knock him out with a mace strike to the leg.
But the halfling's attack is wide off the mark.
"Careful! He's dying from some disease!"
Bruin picks up a ball of yarn, and absently tosses it from one hand to the other.
Bruin leans against one of the tables and waits patiently.
"I agree. Sheriff, we'll make our way there now."
Bruin examines the letter and then produces the one that was addressed to Beromar that was found at the sawmill.
"Yes, I think we can say that there's definitely a connection," Bruin agrees.
"They have a home here," Bruin says. "We should step lightly if we want to confront Titus Scarnetti. He has money and influence, and isn't shy about using either to his advantage. As far as them having contacts with the Sczarni, well I wouldn't know anything about that. But still theft is a potential motive." "So where to next? Ven Vinder? Titus Scarnetti? Or do we investigate the barn murders?"
"Ibor, we were appointed to aid in the investigation by the Sheriff, himself. We're sorry for your loss, and we don't want to cause you any more distress. We just want to get justice for your friend."
"I agree with Serolt. This was methodical. And while I still don't believe this symbol meant anything to those goblins, it certainly does mean something to whoever killed Harker and Katrine." Bruin gets a look on his face. "There are spells that can be used to identify magical objects. We never did that with that weird pool below the Glassworks. I suppose that's an option now--but we bricked it up. So maybe leave that as a last resort, for now? Not sure Amaya and Ameiko would appreciate unnecessary holes in their walls. Besides, we still have some leads we can follow up on--like the barn attack. What does everybody else think?"
"We should still speak to Ibor Thorn and Ven Vinder. But unless one of them is a necromancer, I think we can safely rule them out as murderers."
"This is the Sihedron Rune--an antiquated glyph that symbolizes arcane magic once practiced in ancient Thassilon. Seven points for seven sins which also corresponds with the seven schools of Thassilonian magic instead of the traditional eight we observe. They didn't consider divination to be its own school." Bruin shifts from anxiously from foot-to-foot. "We researched this rune last year, after the goblins attacked the town. Some of the goblins were wearing this symbol. As far as we could find, it didn't mean anything to them. We eventually concluded it was just something they saw somewhere and decided to adopt as a clan symbol." "And we also found it in an ancient temple under the Sandpoint Glassworks."
"Maybe we should check the bodies?" Bruin suggests.
When the smell is pointed out to Bruin, the halfling cleric comes closer. The stench is powerful--and familiar. "I think we're dealing with some sort of undead monster. One with a body. And a very putrid one at that."
Bruin makes time to find Zantus and pays him the last 325 gold he owed him. "Thank you for that scroll, Brother Zantus. I think it might have saved our lives." Zantus nodded at him. "Of course, you're welcome, Brother Bruin. I am glad to hear it. It wouldn't do to lose a Hero of Sandpoint." Bruin looked chagrined. "That actually reminds me of something. I wanted to tell you that I'll be leaving in the Spring." "Leaving?" Zantus asked alarmed. "Yes. Originally, I was only ever passing through Sandpoint on my way to Riddleport. I was planning on taking a ship to Absalom and then from there book passage elsewhere--possibly Andoran or Sargava--I haven't decided yet. If not for the goblin attack, I would have kept moving. And then after that I felt I owed it to the town to help rebuild a bit. "But everything is better now--especially now that this business with the Sandpoint Devil is concluded. So there really isn't much of a need for me to stay." Zantus looked sad, but nodded. "Well, Brother Bruin. When the road finally calls you, I wish you Good Journey. Until then, I look forward to having you around. But tell me, do Officer Beromar or Lady Ameiko know that you are leaving?" "No. And please don't tell them. I think Ameiko suspects, but she hasn't said anything. I'll tell them both when the time is right. I worry about speaking too soon because I think Beromar would go with me if I asked, but he seems happy here working with the town. I think Hemlock is grooming him to take over for him as Sheriff someday. And I wouldn't want to disturb that."
You're not keeping the boots and cloak, Bero?
The wand of sleep is a definite sell, I would think. It has like a DC 11, which is just sad. Now the wand of web is not a bad item. I'd lay claim to it, but it's not on the bard list. I think Amaya can use it, but a magus generally isn't much for Battlefield Control. So if she passes, add it to the sell list. I currently have a wand of cure light wounds, but getting a second is not a bad idea. I might be interested in buying the +1 shortbow from the Feathered Serpent if my loot take is big enough. I'd be selling my crossbow.
"Sandpoint does better than you might think for magic items since it has an advantageous position between Magnimar and Riddleport. The Feathered Serpent has a pretty varied selection." "But we're getting ahead of ourselves. We should round up all of the bodies that weren't hobgoblins and take them with us. We can give them a proper burial at least." Bruin then scratches his chin. "Not sure what we do with the devil here, though. Seems pretty heavy, not to mention all the glue."
Oh, I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier. But my house rule is that magical weapons and armor resize to their wielder. I find it really simplifies getting loot. The sword is a very useful weapon. And while I can use it, it would probably be a waste seeing how my character is ranged/support. I personally think the Ring should go to a scout character. Maybe Serolt?
Bruin whistles at the description of the ring. "Sounds useful."
Bruin looks around. Checking to see if anyone is hurt. And he is utterly amazed to find that everyone was all right. "Sweet Starsong! I can't believe that went so well. You all did amazingly." He then looks up the sheer walls that go up and up. There is clearly an opening to the outside world in the ceiling, some hundred and fifty feet up. But there is also a ledge only twenty feet up. "What do you all think? A nest of some sort?" Bruin breaks out a rope and a grappling hook. After a couple of tries he manages to secure the rope. "I'm not much of a climber, who here wants to give it a go?"
Bruin dashes forward while continuing his sermon. He takes aim with his crossbow and fires. But the bolt skids off its flesh.
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