Hagin's eyes white over and he goes off on a tirade in a sing-song voice in Celestial. The beauty of the language in contrast to the look on his face. After a few moments, he walks away from Feraya and packs his belongings, fussing the whole time. Once he is done he stands on the trail that will lead them to the tomb, silently fuming and waiting to calm down enough to be understood again.
Feraya watches the whole show impassively. Hagin was not helping his case by letting anger get the best of him. Also he saw no sense in packing up his things, traveling now as things stood was most unwise if that was his intention.
Gael bows her head and sighs, the boil unlanced festers, the fear unconfronted grows...
"Hagin, please come back out here. We need to deal with this now or it will become a problem."
"Hagin, we cannot assume that all the dangers we face are tests. Many dangers in this world are very real and can kill us very quickly if we are not prepared. We need you, and we need you ready. There are better ways than sarcasm to respond to criticism. You should apologise to Feraya, and help us to think if there is anything that we should do differently next time."
"Feraya, Hagin made a mistake. Given that the previous attack was in fact an illusion it was a reasonable mistake to make. He then contributed well to the team. You should apologise to Haginand think about other ways to make suggestions so that we can improve."
Gael looks sternly from Hagin to Feraya and back again. Someone has to be the adult here. Sometimes they seem so very young...
Hagin does not come out of his tent. If you look in he is (pretending to be) asleep. If he is 'shaken awake' he speaks in celestial again until left alone, though his eyes don't white over so it's obvious that he's not having an episode. The suggestion that he apologize to Feraya actually sets him off again.
Somehow, Art manages to hold his tongue throughout the idiocy of the children. He tends to Ember, keeping his gaze focused on her or the fire. Occasionally he glances at Gael.
Before long, he mutters his goodnights and treads into the tent, after making sure Ember is okay.
Feraya arc's an eyebrow at Gael.
"If you wish me to lie then I will apologize, but I truthfully do not want or care for an apology and don't see what I have said as wrong. What I have been seeking is an explaination, if he thought these wolves were illusions as you seem to think then that only means he ignored my earlier words this day. If he has learned from this then I am fine with it. But if his only lessons are learned thru blood rather then words, I care not as long as it is his own. As I said before we can no longer be children, we all pay for the actions of one another."
With that Feraya has said his peace and departs for the night unless otherwise stopped. Hagin had ran away like a child rather then face things like a man. Dispite himself Feraya was thankful to Holgast for being so unbending thru out the years, the old man's lessons had been on more then magic. Not that it would stop him from kicking the chair from under him when he confirmed if it was in fact him that created the orcs.
Ember watches the argument with concern. She seems to want to say something, but a look at the faces of the people causes her to remain silent.
She also turns in, but has a ressless night, with dreams that fade from her memory when she wakes.
Gael goes to bed stony faced. Children. Perhaps tomorrow will be a better day.
The night passes uneventfully, although during Hagin's watch there is some howling that can be heard.
When the camp comes back to life with everyone waking, the morning is still cold and windless. The sky is clear, no clouds, and there is no sound, not even that of birds. You all quietly pack up camp and then continue on the trail that leads out of the clearing, lost in your own thoughts about the arguments of yesterday.
After several hours, the trees begin to thin, revealing a field of short, green grass that leads to the shores of a wide, calm lake reflecting the now overcast sky above. A dense fog hangs over the center of the lake, obscuring the far side. Near the shore of the lake, a dark form lies next to the water.
Perception
Feraya tries to make out more of the figure but keeps his guard up just in case its another battle in the making.
Despite the events that transpired last night, Art feels energised. Surprisingly so. His mood is foul, however, barely speaking to the others as they continue onwards. As they approach the lake, Art walks up to Gael, grabbing her by the arm. "May I speak with you? Privately."
He keeps his voice to a whisper, taking the woman aside. Her face is nothing like the cheerful child he once remembered, now that he can see her up close. He glances at the others, taking a deep breath. "What happened last night? Why is Hagin and Feraya on each others' throats? What ... is that by the lake?"
He sees the dark form next to the water, narrowing his eyes. "That's a..."
You have no idea what it is from this distance.
You are fairly certain its a body.
Art catches up with Gael at the head of the strung-out group. She's been walking ahead of the others all day, anger and tension still clear from the set of her shoulders. "They're at each other's throats because they are a pair of childish, stubborn, fools who have no respect for each other or the rest of our team."
Gael isn't looking at the lake, but reacts as Art points. "What do you see?"
Art doesn't pay attention to Gael's minor rant. "There's a body in the lake."
A shiver runs down his spine as he pulls out Elena, loaded with a bolt. He glances at Gael, his face furrowed. He calls out to all of them: "Don't go close to the lake, and draw your weapons. I won't hold back with precautions anymore, and I'll thrice-damn you all if you get hurt again."
He keeps his eyes gauging the body, walking a little closer, but he keeps a good twenty foot distance from the body.
The overcast day mirrors Embers mood, as the tention from the argument and the unremembered dreams from the night before weigh heavily on her.
As the lake is finally approached, she notices Art moving up to talk with Gael, and wonders if they are talking about how much of a burden she is to them.
At Art's shout, Ember finally notices the body at the lakeshore.
Wanting to be useful, she calls out to Art, "Wait, I think I can do something!"
Ember closes to behind Art, and calls forth one of the simple cantrips she knows. Gesturing at a small branch nearby, she slowly moves it over to the body, and uses it to poke at it...
Feraya cast a spell to detect any magic. It would be useless for beast and such but better to know if any magic was involved as soon as possible. He also found Art's warning to be as vague as the long off form, with a hint of distress he never heard from him before. Seemed this little quest was starting to wear away at some, he would have to be watchful.
Upon being poked with a stick and water getting splashed on it...
Nothing happens.
Nothing shows up as magical either. The area is quiet, no noise, save for the gentle lapping of small waves on the shore.
Seemed like nothing was amiss and that someone ran afoul of fate. He moved closer to the body to examine it.
Perception
Ember will remain where she is, and let the braver members of the party check the body.
He keeps studying things about the body in more detail.
Knowledge (Geography, History, Religion)
Hagin is quiet all morning and easily slips to the rear of the group as they walk along. Father Prasst would have scolded him for allowing his temper to flare as it did last night. Hagin knew he would first have to master himself if he was to become the spiritual advisor to others.
Art's call takes Hagin from his reverie. The others were concerned about something by the lake. A body! "Ember, please stop poking him. I'll have a look at him. I can try to tell more about how he came to walk with Pharasma." Hagin calmly walks down to the shore of the lake while mutter a prayer (Guidance). He kneals down and begins to study the body. As the others know, Hagin has done this before, his knack for the healing arts is what guided him to the priesthood.
Heal w/guidance
Perception w/guidance (will have cast again)
Hagin, you notice very clearly several large holes, which are obviously bite marks left on the corpse. You also find a very nice looking short sword along with 87 gold pieces which appear to have come from the new capital city of Tamran. The holes indicate a large snake like creature most likely, and on top of that, its obvious this man has been dead for several months.
Feraya, you can tell once the coins are exposed, that these coins bear the likeness of Forest Marshall Gavrick, the nominal leader of Nirmathas.
Feraya takes the coins looking them over.
"Seems these come from Nirmathas, they bear Forest Marshall Gavrick on them. So whoever this was I doubt he was a local and came from that city, at least he was there long enough to have all his coin come that city.
He takes the time to split the gold into five stacks while he is at it. Geal and Hagin's stack have 18 coins the rest 17.
"Well I dont think he will be needing this any longer. I split the coins in five stacks with two having eighteen coins for Geal and Hagin while the rest have seventeen for the rest of us."
As Ferya and Hagin check the corpse, Ember begins eyeing the forest nervously.
"I wonder what killed him, and if it is still around?" She tries to make sure she isn't surprised by something lurking in the woods.
"He's been dead for a long time, at least several months. From a snake bite it looks. We have to give him a proper funeral. He should not have gone to Pharasma without one."
"That's a good suggestion, Hagin. Did anyone's pack include a shovel?"
"I for one do not have a shovel, yet I remind you we do have business to attend to of our own, not to mention on limited time due to food supplies. If he has been here like this for months then I doubt it matters at this point. If you insist on a burial then feel free to come back here after we have returned from town. As things stand it is impractical to waste our time and energy on this anymore. May we move on."
Without looking at Feraya, Hagin responds calmly. "I realize that we are on a schedule. We do not have to bury him. There are some rites that should be performed over everyone who has perished to help insure there soul has moved on. It won't take long. I understand if you do not wish to wait and will not try to hold you here. I will catch up once I am done seeing to the remains." Hagin won't try to bury him, but will look for material with which to cover him.
Gael will stay to help Hagin, and witness the rite of passage. If the lake-shore is stony she will help Hagin cover the corpse with water-rounded stones in a small cairn.
Only when the rite is finished Gael asks, "who can best use this blade? It is very fine and of no use to this poor soul. Art, perhaps?"
Ember will also stay with Gael and Hagin, praying for the poor unfortunate.
Of course, she still watches the forest, looking for the snake that may have killed the unknown man, worried that it may come after them next.
And, naturaly, every large stick in the forest now looks like a large snake to Ember. She realizes that they can't all be snakes, but that doesn't seem to calm her much. She grips the lantern she carries tighter, as if it were a talsman to protect her from snakes.
Feraya waits pondering the absurdity of it all. It seemed they did not listen to what he said, so be it he would speak no more and let the fates have at it.
Art rubs his forehead; the hostility between Feraya and Hagin is giving him a headache. When the issue of the blade is brought up, Art waddles over to the shore, to examine the dagger. "It is well crafted," he says, glancing at it from all angles. "It's better than Ripple, to be sure. The edge is still sharp too, the hilt is smooth and grips well... I could use it, yes. Don't know how comfortable I am using a dead man's arms, though."
Then again, we could have perished last night. If this weapon could keep us safer, then that should be reason enough.
"We're in this together. What do you think?"
After the body has been interred in a cairn by the lake, the group continues forward. The trail leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a maze of twisting trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before you, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley.
A cold rain starts to fall, making the ground slick, and treacherous. The rain begins to seep into each person's clothing, chilling them slightly. The map indicates that the tomb is at the bottom of this hill.
Ember trudges through the cold rain, quietly pondering.
"On a day like this, I'd be warm by the fire. But then, snakes don't like the cold, so maybe they're all hiding now, and won't attack. But I would like a cup of hot tea and a warm spot to curl up in..." she thinks.
Topping the rise, Ember regards the slope with disfavor. With the weight of this backpack, and the lantern... and the slick ground...
"Does anyone have a rope?" she asks hopefully.
Art feels confident about his balancing abilities, taking the lead. "I'll go first. I reckon I got the best feet. If you don't feel too confident, I do have rope."
He pulls out the fifty feet rope from his backpack, throwing it over to Ember. "I'll scout ahead."
With that, he draws Elena from his back, beginning a quick, but flawless descent down to the root of the hill.
It shouldn't be that hard, Ember. Just take your time.
Moving slowly for the +2
Gael is keenly aware of danger posed by the weight of her armor and the treacherous footing. Before descending she finds a suitable tree branch and makes a rough hiking stick -three legs are better than two! Even with the extra support she climbs down slowly an carefully.
I forgot the -2 from my armor. So my rolls would have been 9, 11, and 11. I also forgot Guidance, but I'll leave it up to Stompinator if I'm allowed to retcon that.
Ember struggles with the rope, finally looping it around a tree, and using that to hold onto as she slowly decends, repeating as often as she needs.
Feraya cast a spell on himself just in case he should slip, uses the rope ember set up and takes his time in no rush to fall to his doom sould he indeed slip.
Ref Save
Art, Ember, and Hagin are able to get down the hill easily, although Art does it much faster then the other two. However, Gael and Feraya are not so lucky. Gael missteps, and falls down a 20ft high cliff bruising her pride. However, the fall also puts her at the bottom of the hill as she slides down the rest of the way.
Feraya manages to come up right behind Gael, and sadly also hits the same cliff. Feraya however lands poorly, slamming his head into a sharp rock and a sharp crack is heard. His limp body slids the rest of the way down, and he lies unmoving at the bottom of the hill behind Gael, bleeding.
"FERAYA!" Ember screams, and makes her way over to the fallen elf. Dropping her backpack, she roots around in it, pulling out the waterskin and blanket, and tries to tend to Feraya's injury.
"Feraya! By the nine hells!"
Art rushes towards the elf, tearing off a piece off of his clothes. He attempts to stop the bleeding, though does not succeed. "Hagin, Gael, DO SOMETHING!"
He's certain his voice can be heard far, far away...