Joriannika gazed at Stone with sympathy. "Well, Shelyn knows that's a noble quest. Let's talk after we're out of here - I'd like to know more!"
The bubbly alchemist moved back to the front to help Hanzo look for traps as they left.
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Joriannika looked genuinely shocked at the idea. "I would never!" As her gaze rested on Stone, her brows came together in consternation. "Is that what life in the city taught you? I'm so sorry! There's no beauty in bullying anyone, and Shelyn would disapprove. I hope whoever taught you such a cruel lesson learns to act with more grace." "I don't know much about your god, though," she continued gregariously, curiosity on her face. "Maybe you can tell me more about him sometime, too!"
Relieved that Thomas was all right, Jori gave him a hug, then glanced through the journal again. "That was a beautiful prayer, Stone!" Jori exclaimed when Stone was done praying. She beamed at him. "Maybe you can write me one for Shelyn sometime!"
"Wow!" Jori marveled, turning to congratulate Thomas, but when she saw his face she took a step back. "Uh... Thomas? Are you okay? You got him, the demon's gone!"
Jori eeped and stepped back behind Thomas with the journal - but there was no time to read it now. Remembering that her bombs had done no good before, she lifted her crossbow and took a shot.
Joriannika frowned at the creature. Surely you could never trust something so evil, but it sounded so pitiful... "How can we even know you'd do as you say?" she demanded. She ventured cautiously into the room, intending to examine the journal on the table. Maybe it had some kind of answer.
Joriannika squinted at the wall, going so far as to go over and peer at it at close range. "Y'all, this shouldn't be here. See those stones, how they line up? I think this is a door."
"I wonder what the wizard was using it for," Joriannika mused as she followed Sheaorlis.
"Well, that's what wizards do with demons, right? They call them up and order them around. To do... stuff." Admittedly, that was the entirety of Jori's "knowledge" of evil wizards, gained from reading a lot of books of adventures and fairy tales as a child. Brushing away her niggling doubt, she went on, "We did find the wizard, though. He's dead. He got crushed when he went down into the tower that the kobolds brought down. Apparently he wanted them to do it, so I'm not sure why he got caught down there when it happened if he was so smart."
Unaware of Thomas' inner dialogue, Joriannika beamed at him as he stood. "You're all right! I was worried!" She gave him a big hug, then began to investigate the room, her curiosity overwhelming. But she took care to skirt the horrible dead demon. "Nice work, Hanzo!"
Joriannika's worried look deepened. Thomas had never been so badly wounded before while they'd been in the same group. She decided to see what leverage her arcane knowledge might grant her.
"Out, friends, get out of the room!" she shouted, hoping that it would be unable to follow. Her sharp mind flickered through what they had learned - regular weapons didn't harm it much and fire not at all. But she had heard stories of demons summoned by wizards... "You leave them alone, or I'll read your name on the wall and order you around like the wizard!" she threatened. Dammit
Joriannika bit her lip. Thomas was down and the monster didn't look like it was amenable to reason - not that they should negotiate with a devil! It hadn't turned out well the last time, either. With a glance at Stone, she pulled a fistful of powder out of her pocket and shook it over Sheaorlis. "Don't be alarmed! It's science!" she called helpfully as he began to grow.
Joriannika yelped when she saw an actual devil appear from the doorway. "That wizard was a bad man!"
Shaking a vial until its contents were fizzing, she hurled a bomb at the monster, angling it to avoid her friends.
"Hmm... let me take a look..." Joriannika peered at the glyphs, careful to keep a respectful distance from them.
Jori did what she could to help. She was quite familiar with intricate mechanisms, though she didn't have Hanzo's experience with locks in particular.
"How do you see magic? Is it a color, or maybe lots of colors? I wonder if I could brew something that could let me see it, too. Shelyn knows that would be amazing! And you'd be surprised at what alchemy can accomplish. Not just that old story about turning lead into gold, I mean real things, things people can do, things of beauty," Jori chattered nervously as Hanzo worked. She prepared to face anything that might leap out once the door was opened.
"Don't get too far ahead!" Joriannika called, checking for traps as well.
Joriannika scribbled notes as they went, letting those with a more experienced eye for appraising judge the value of what they found, and laughing a little at Hanzo's pained expression at not being able to take anything. She smiled, pointing her charcoal stick at the stairs. "I wouldn't mind checking upstairs, but I'm not dead-set on it."
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Joriannika exclaimed, rummaging in her pack for an apple to give him as well. "You must be famished! Don't you worry, we've sent the kobold tribe away. No one will hurt you."
Joriannika gave Sheaorlis a pained look and a shushing motion, aware that both probably would be ignored. "Please. We aren't here to harm you. Would you like some water?" she asked, offering the frightened man her waterskin.
"What did that terrible old wizard do to you?" Jori wondered out loud, gently helping the stranger to stand. "Like Stone said, we can help you - don't mind Sheaorlis, he just thought you might be dangerous. I'm Joriannika. What's your name?" she asked.
At the sight, Joriannika pushed past everyone to crouch by the figure, concern on her face. "By Shelyn! How long have you been in here? Are you all right? Who are you? Why did you block the door?" With an effort, she contained the rest of her questions to wait for an answer.
Joriannika came over, concern on her face at Stone's discomfort. "Wow, sensin' magic's more dangerous than I thought! Are you okay?" She considered his words carefully. "What do you mean by holding something in place? You mean like a... a little jailor? Like, for a demon maybe?" She looked around, a bit more nervous at that idea. "I was going to say we should take the bird with us, if it's a key, but if you think it's keeping the plug in something we don't want to let loose... maybe we should just have a quick look upstairs, see what's what. It may tell us more." "And you should take the lead, now that Guru's left, Hanzo," she added with a grin at the rogue. "We're not in the dark, so you can scout ahead just fine."
Jori shook her head mutely, and motioned for Hanzo to follow from where he was hanging back. She took another look around the room, carefully.
Joriannika leaned back again and sighed, blowing a puff of air to move the hair in her eyes. "What kind of man puts a trap like this in front of his own door?" she asked, unknowingly echoing Hanzo's thoughts. "Maybe there was a way to disable it most of the time, so he didn't fall in by accident. ...In fact, that's probably what he had!" She smiled brightly. "Let's fish a plank out of the rubble of the tower and put it over the pit, so we can go in and look for it."
Joriannika gasped with the others as the floor vanished under Sheaorlis' feet. After he confirmed he was okay, she immediately knelt by the pit to survey whether there was likely to be other surprises of a similar nature deeper in the entrance, and whether it was safe to skirt around the pit.
"Strange that a wizard would use such a plain key," Joriannika said, puzzled. "I thought he'd be all about the showmanship." She too looked inside for traps before venturing in.
"I know we said we'd clear the house, but how pressing could that be? The... owner is dead. And that druid and his wife may be in trouble," Jori reasoned. *** The next day, after another bath, Joriannika was feeling good. She tipped the innkeep and tithed to the church of Shelyn, listening to a sermon to lift her spirits. Then she walked into town to see what supplies she might pick up.
Joriannika hugged Mrs. Malak back, exclaiming, "We're so glad we found them, and that Bophre and the others made it back safely!" When they entered the farmhouse, she knelt by Bophre, still giving her a bit of distance. "Hello again! I'm really glad you're safe and sound. What you went through was terrible, but you're home now. If you ever need anything, please let me know." Joriannika was thrilled to stay for supper, getting to know the Malak family better (and glad she'd taken her bath first). She steered the conversation toward lighter subjects, hoping to set Bophre at ease - but she was thinking about what might have happened to that poor druid and his wife. When offered the milk, she accepted it with thanks, and amazement at its quality. "This is the best milk I've ever had!" Lowering her voice, she asked Mrs. Malak after Sheaorlis spoke, "Do you know where the druid and his wife live? Maybe we could take a look for them, make sure they're all right."
"As long as you don't expect me to fetch the water!" Joriannika laughed.
"I'll come too. What about you, Thomas?" Joriannika beamed. She was eager to go make sure the people had made it back safe and sound.
Joriannika nodded, a twinkle in her eye. "I'll help. But I'd like to hear the story of the dragon. It's not one I'm very familiar with."
Joriannika stepped forward and ventured, "I believe they will, especially if we take away their access to the caves they were living in. I can see about collapsing parts of it, if you'd like. The new kobold leader didn't seem to want to go up against any more adventurers."
Joriannika was unusually silent, thinking about the kobolds and the ex-slaves, and the Baroness herself. She did watch the woman carefully, judging her response.
Level up, yay!: alchemist (grenadier) lvl.3: +1 BAB, Will +1 existing skills +1 extract, +1 bomb, bomb 2d6 swift alchemy Formulae: Enlarge person Feat: Extra discovery: explosive bomb
Jori sighed in relief as Guru waved her off. "Looks like you're just fine," she grinned. She listened to Nighttail's speech with hope rekindled that not all kobolds were terrible slavers. "Thank you, Nighttail," she said with earnest honesty. "And good luck with your tribe."
"I'm tickled pink to meet you, too!" Jori beamed. "We all have different paths in life, but once you accept that life is beauty, everything becomes much clearer, doesn't it?" She hesitated a moment, then added more quietly, "Gosh, I sure sound like my mother at times." She turned away quickly, ostensibly to look for the chests Roaghaz had been hoarding, and pulled the donated dry cloak about her shoulders tightly.
Jori helped Hanzo search the cave, thinking about making a tithe to Shelyn and helping the poor people that had been slaves here with her share.
"Thank you, Mr. Stone!" Joriannika exclaimed, relieved not to be burnt to a crisp in the webs. Soaked to the skin, she was nevertheless cheery as she accepted the offered cloak. Swinging it over her shoulders, she knelt by the elf Stone had healed. More quietly, she asked, "Are you all right, Guruthos?"
Jori made another desperate attempt to free herself before the fire got closer.
Defeated, she called out to Nighttail, who didn't seem stuck, "Get me out of here!"
"Arrrrrrgh!" Jori screamed in frustration, the burning webbing getting closer and closer. She flung another bomb at the kobolds' leader, then tried to rip herself free...
...But while the bomb struck better than last time, she simply couldn't free herself! She steeled her nerves for what would come next.
Joriannika's reflexes were good - she avoided the worst of the splattering webbing, but the sticky stuff still held her in place. "This is for those poor slaves!" she yelled, hauling out a bomb and lobbing it at the kobold leader.
But the webbing had gotten onto her arm, and she only managed to throw it partway.
"I think we're just checking to be sure there are no traps," Joriannika stage-whispered back to Thomas.
Not willing to run ahead of the others too far, Joriannika paused beside Hanzo, unsure if the others meant to take one branch of the tunnel or the other.
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