Hawkseer merely slumps exhaustedly where he stands, uncharacteristically quiet while the plans are being made.
As Dannad continues to uncoil his rope, he gauges the distances.
"I don't think this length'll be enough...."
He looks at the rest of the group.
"I reckon we should tie two lengths together."
Galad pulls a coil of rope from his pack and hands it to Dannad. "Here. Now, I must tend to the wounded." Galadheads over to the former slaves and begins to examine their wounds.
Dagobert also hands over a length of rope and goes to help his comrades with their wounds.
"You're looking quite peeky there, Hawkseer. I don't hold with poison." He looks hard at the avenger, trying to assess the chances of helping him to recover.
- Heal to try and identify the effects of the poison and help out.[/ooc]
"Which is not to say that in my line of work I haven't used them, but it's what you might call a last resort."
Dagobert quickly surmises that the poison is not of this plane and not subject to normal treatments. Its antidote must be extremely rare.
Aside from the failing old man, the rest of the slaves are in fair health aside from a few bruises and scrapes. The lady in the torn finery and her companions stay very close together, and the companions are very suspicious of anyone trying to examine the older woman.
The dwarf is silent and impatient, obviously wanting to leave as soon as possible.
The rag adorned beggar is all smiles and thank yous.
The old man is barely aware of his surroundings. The young half-elf woman by his side cares for him with almost daughterly concern.
From all the traps, hazards, and monsters you've fought and slain, your party earned a total of 750XP, a very hard won fight.
To celebrate out 6 month anniversary and apologize for the drawn out encounter, I'm also awarding a 100% XP bonus for this encounter for a new total of 1500 XP.
Individual XP: 300XP
New Totals: 1375
Dagobert thinks hard.
DM
Dannad manages to fashion the world's longest attempted lasso with a bit of dexterous knot work.
"Oh, dear. Bad news, Hawkseer. Let's hope Dannad can find that antidote."
"Erm." He looks doubtfully at Dannad semi-swathed in lengths of rope. "Maybe if our for - Vandis held onto the other end?"
"Of course it's bad news. It's always bad news."
Dannad nods at Dagobert's suggestion.
"'Avin' someone to hold onto it might make it easier, aye."
The halfling drops his pack and starts to remove the camoflaged cloths from his armor.
"'Though I'm thinkin' ifin I need to play the part of a fish that having someone standing by to haul me in would be just a bit intelligent."
"I was wondering if we could use the pulley really. Then we can just winch you out once you've reached the body and retrieved whatever you find there. He might have been lying of course, which isn't a pretty thought, but one which should be faced up to, him being a poisoner."
Dagobert gestures vaguely at the winches used to haul the cage from the floor above.
Vandis grunts his approval to use the pulle, and will assist in whatever way the others see fit.
Dannad looks at the pulley while coiling up the free end of the rope.
"Might'n be a right brainy idea...."
Dagobert surprises himself with the depth of his knowledge, possibly spurred on by the disconcerting nature of Hawkseer's affliction.
"Errmm. I don't really like to tell you this Hawkseer, but you might not be with us much longer. In the physical sense. Not that I want to spread alarm and despondency, but it's better to you know."
The pulleys are dismantled and refurbished by the party. Dannad is swung over and lowered a little over halfway to the water. The body with the antidote now lies about 25 feet away.
The slaves look around with fear, waiting for the next group of slavers to arrive. They are anxious to leave.
"Alright, I can see the basket." Dannad calls out. "Lower me slowly, mind."
"Lower me down an' give me some slack. I'm going to try to swim it."
Dannad goes into the water and those on shore are forced to immediately pull tight against the current. The halfling squirms around ungracefully in the water until he rights himself. Without the aid of his allies, he likely would be trapped up against the portcullis like the bobbing corpse at this point.
Letting a bit of the room loose a few feet at a time Dannad eventually makes it to the body of the fallen rogue.
Fighting against the current, the thief tries his best to locate the vial.
Dannad claims the antidote from around the villain's neck and the rest of the party hoists him back to dry land, no worse for wear but not very comfortable in soaking wet armor.
Dannad coughs and sputters as he is dragged ashore, looking like a drowned mouse.
"I should've thought that through more...."
He hands the antidote to Hawkseer before beginning to strip off his sodden armor.
"Very well done there, Dannad. I'm sure Hawkseer will be very grateful."
Dagobert potters off to have little chat with the ex-slaves.
"Now then, as you'll have seen, we're in the process of dealing with a major vermin infestation here. I don't think this is an appropriate place for you all to stay as we are likely to be using methods that may offend sensibilities and bring danger to you all."
"You are brave men all. And clever too. This is good. You are worthy companions."
He looks askance at Dagobert, "Perhaps even you, dwarf."
"Very kindly meant, I'm sure."
Dagobert looks a little doubtful, but smiles benevolently anyway.
"Thank you, Dannad. I am in your debt."
Hawkseer quaffs whatever is in the vial, hoping for the best.
"Yes, let us leave immediately. I have certain slights that I would see rectified," says the lady in the tattered finery with a look of malice on her face.
"Yes, I would have us find a physician for my master as soon as possible," says the young half-elf, still cradling the old man.
The other slaves are silent and only nod.
"Very well. It shall be so." Vandis declares.
"Now then." Dagobert addresses the less feeble of the ex-slaves. "How about giving a hand to the ladies? You can see for yourself they're in need of some assistance."
He suits the words to the deed, going to the half elf and helping her carry her master up the stairs.
Dannad lays his armor out so that it won't deform while he wrings out his clothes. Clad only in his small cloths, he tries to keep the party between himself and the newly freed slaves.
"There was mention of hidden articles. You might want to take a look while you're drying off, Dannad. I don't think they'll be under water."
Dagobert looks at the slaves who blabbed.
"While we're on the subject of vermin, are there any other slavers we should know about?"
"Somethin' worth hidin, might mean somethin' worth findin'."
The halfling lays out his wrung out shirt, trying to adjust the wrinkles before walking over to the cages and poking around.
"Hmmm...."
Hawkseer, still gray, snarls with disgust and tosses the vial aside.
"Right, now what?"
Dannad pokes around the cages but finds nothing but refuse and dirt.
The young half-elf woman looks intently at Hawkseer. "They call it shadowstuff venom. A few people that were caught in their traps have been brought through showing the same symptoms as you. It's one of the secret weapons the Beggar-King has been gathering."
In answer to Dagobert's question, the dwarf slave speaks up again. "We've seen a handful of other goblinkin and a large dragonborn in chain armor. There are likely more, but it's hard to say. We haven't really been here all that long."
"Shadowstuff poison? Not a proper weapon, to my way of thinking, although it seems effective enough. Shall we be on our way?"
He ponders as he plods along.
Vandis' eyes light up at the mention of the dragonborn.
He should prove a worthy foe! he thinks.
"I ain't fond of hearing about a dragonblood workin' for 'em. Not in the least...."
The small thief moves back to his belongings to gather them up, and cringes as he puts his still damp clothing back on.
"Not a poison I've ever seen or heard of and that is unusual, as in my line of work I see and hear of most of them. Next time we run across anyone in authority here, I wouldn't mind asking a few questions you know. I don't think Shul would approve of this one bit."
Dannad settles his equipment about himself and makes his way back to the stairs.
"I don't think we're getting any healthier just standing around down 'ere, an' I'd rather not meet this Dragonblooded bloke unless we're quite ready for it."
The party leads their troop of rescued slaves up the winding earthen stairs and back to the bed chamber where the young girl still sleeps soundly.
The untouched coffer and crown still lay nearby.
"Do you need help getting home?" Dagobert addresses the assembled throng, but his question is aimed more at the half-elf and the old man.
"I can't say that sleeping here is healthful, but he might be better off taking a rest before you set out again. Not that I think the accommodation is very hygienic. It is also occupied ..."
Dagobert rambles placidly.