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The party hears assorted jeers from those gathered around the make-shift ring, either for not joining in the betting or even more so toward those who chose to stay away. In the end, Muddy Lyza tears poor Cornugon to pieces and those around the ring exchange money, but not without a suitable amount of complaining. Otherwise the evening and night pass uneventfully. Morning arrives and with it your caravan is on the trail again. Another day and evening pass without incident. On your second day out of the trader's camp, the trail skirts the northern border of the Laughing
Sense Motive DC 20: Something is amiss, as if the villagers’ cheerfulness is just a façade.
Hana chooses to stay back closer to the caravan, while Mum and Dereje make their way to the make shift ring. "Ah just in time." Rickets says. "Would you be wanting to place a bet? First fight is just about to start." Looking in the ring, you see two birds, a speckled pea-comb called Cornugon and a brown single comb called Muddy Lyza. "One will get ya two if you place your bet for Cornugon...of course just the opposite for Muddy Lyza...that's one tough bird."
With Athyra's parent laid to rest and the mine pass-through cleared, your caravan is off and running again. First through the mine and then through the jungle pass on the other side, you find yourselves out on the open plains of M’neri. Amivor comments that based on his interpretations of his charts and the stars, that you are at least a day and a half, maybe two days ahead of schedule. Needless to say, he is most pleased with the outcome.
After following the shortcuts provided by the salt mine and Athyra's guidance, you are back on the standard trade route between Kalabuto and Eleder. Not too long after that your caravan comes up a merchant caravan camped for the evening. The inhabitants of the merchant camp have set up an impromptu arena for cockfighting, a popular pastime among both the merchants and their guards and porters. On a good night, bets can climb above a thousand gold pieces, though goods and other valuables are often accepted as payment. The fights are run by “Rickets” Perga, a slender and sickly looking Garundi man who claims to hail from Rahadoum. Rickets keeps a number of coops within a decrepit wagon drawn by two nags. Nearby, a ring has been cleared and caged off to serve as the cockpit. The merchants welcome you to join their camp for the evening. Soon after the you, Rickets sends his bookies to invite them to attend the cockfight.
In a relatively short period of time, wood is gather for a pyre and the remains of Athyra's parents are set upon it. Having been handed the locket, the wild, young woman sits quietly in contemplation before uttering, "Thank you. I...I'm not sure how to repay you." Thinking a while longer she adds, "I am familiar the terrain for quite some distance around area. Would my help as a guide be of use to you?"
Pushing open the doors, the party moves through, the air becoming fresher as you press on. After a hundred feet of rough-hewn cavern, you emerge back into the jungle. Now that the mine has been cleared of undead, you imagine this will take a fair amount of time off of the journey should you choose to have your caravan travel through.
Lawdrak pulls Hana's fallen form from unholy aura of the orb, while Dereje and Estietre's wight continue their assault on the vile object. Claws scratch and create a nick in the orb's surface just before the paladin's next shot shatters the orb into thousands of pieces. With the orb destroyed, the bodies of the wights, including Estietre's pet dissolve into dust. Among the ashes of the Blue Warrior, you find the wight's magical pick and a tarnished silver locket.
Hana slams her blade into the pulsating orb, putting a small crack into the object, but it continues to ebb energy. Sharpmaw drags the remains of the blue warrior away from the orb. Once the body is roughly fifteen feet away from the orb, the blue warriors wounds cease closing and the body crumbles to dust.
Estietre blasts the blue skinned wight with a bolt of radiant energy. Her pet wight's few wounds seem to heal as it approaches the orb. Dereje and Sharpmaw feel drained as they step onto the island and get closer to the orb.
Seemingly emboldened by the orb, the blue warrior strikes at Sharpmaw, sinking a pick deep into the t-rex's leg.
DM Rolls:
(orb)
Estietre: Your pet has a +4 to attack, damage, and AC while within 15 ft of the orb. Not that it matters unless you choose to turn against your allies, but the DC of the saving throw to resist it's desiccation increases by 2 as well.
Dereje blasts the female wight into oblivion, leaving Sharpmaw to chomp down and destroy one of remaining wights. The blue skinned wight again steps away, taking position behind ominously glowing orb on the island. The energy surging from the orb seems to close some of the wound made in the creature's body. The remaining salt wight not controlled by Estietre, swings harmlessly at Hana before the samurai-ko lops the head clean from the creature's shoulders. DM Rolls:
Dereje takes aim at the blue warrior, blasting a hole into the walking corpse. Estietre's wight misses its target, but Mum's bolt of radiant energy does not. Meanwhile, the female salt wight takes advantage of the flank she has with one of the other wights, clawing at Hana and scratching the samurai-ko.
DM Rolls:
(flank)
Savras lays motionless, but stable in the salty water as the salt wights claw at Lawdrak and Hana, while the blue warrior swings his pick at Sharpmaw. Only the red-clad wight flanking Hana manages to land a blow. Following his attack, the blue warrior steps back toward the pulsating orb on the island.
DM Rolls:
(starlight) (flank)
Dereje blasts a hole into the chest of the female salt wight, resulting in a cloud of salt dust, but the creature still stands. Lawdrak and Sharpmaw move in, and attempt to finish off the female wight with a combined attack, but only Lawdrak manages to land his strike Savras moves around his target, moving into a flanking position with Mum's pet before striking at, but missing the salt wight. The salt wights move to attack Savras and Hana, both landing their attacks. Savras is badly wounded by the attack and obviously woozy. The Blue Warrior turns his attention to the rogue and plants his pick into Savras's back - dropping the rogue face first into the salty water. DM Rolls:
(flank)
Neither Estietre nor her pet wight are able to land any significant blow on their target while Hana cuts another serious gash into the desiccated, animated corpse she had attacked. The female wight claws at Hana, narrowly missing the samurai-ko. Savras moves in and attacks one of the wights with his spiked chain, landing a solid blow. DM Rolls:
Sarvas runs up along the banks of the stream, before diving in and beginning to swim across to enter the battle. The salt wight injured by Hana claws at the samurai-ko, while another wight and the blue skinned salt wight move in to attack Sharpmaw. Fortunately for the party, none of the attacks seem particularly skilled, although the heavy pick swung by the blue skinned wight does seem to be significantly more deadly than the wight's claws. DM Rolls:
Knowledge (Religion) DC 19:
The blue skinned wight is a Cairn Wight
The party slowly continues deeper into the mine, the edge of their light (and the edge of other's darkvision) reveals a small island rising out of the shallow water in the center of the drift. Part of a large, translucent blue orb protrudes from the surrounding earth, pulsing with a pale blue glow. The globe is cracked in several places and shards of the strange, glass-like substance lie scattered across the islet’s surface. A sizable hole is smashed into one side, revealing a hollow interior. Shambling across the islet are a trio of salt wights, closer to you along the southern wall of the chamber is another.
Lawdrak and Sharpmaw move into position to attack, but fail to land a meaningful blow on the salt wight. Dereje takes aim and blast a hole into the increasingly surrounded creature. Savras lashes out at the salt wight with his spiked chain, but swings wide.
Hana finishes off the wight in front of her with a quick, clean slice, while Estietre misses with her spell, but her controlled wight lands a solid blow against the lone remaining enemy. The wight lashes out at Savras, tearing into the tiefling's flesh. DM Rolls:
- pass
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