This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As the others search through the bodies, Mica takes a wide berth around the camp, looking for any tracks or signs that could indicate who, or what, was behind the attack and if there were any sign of threats nearby. He turns his head as Meili points out the bird symbol and he tries to remember if he saw similar signs before, especially back at the Port.
He nods at the Captain’s remarks “Could be they were sleeping and ambushed. Any clues to who they were or where they were heading?”
Nalomanterys scratches unconsciously at the scarf around his neck as Ran beheads the dead men. He turns away from the grisly sight until the corpses are burning.
Making himself busy until the fire was ready, Nalomanterys calls over to Danica."Oh Danica, would you like to see what magic ails you?"The wizard begins drawing arcane symbols in the mud with a stylus from his pocket. Nalomanterys draws quickly with a practiced hand, only stopping occasionally to tut and remedy some small imperfections caused by stubborn patches of mud. After 10 minutes, there is a sprawling array of interconnected arcane symbols; Nalomanterys has drawn himself directly into the middle of it all. He flicks his wrist, speaks "Video," and the symbols on the ground flash quickly with silver light before winking out again.
Ran stays busy dealing with the bodies but he does take notice of Nalomanterys and his arcane symbols.
"If you've time mate, mind checking on this damn bird?" Ran says, indicating the colouful bird who may or may not be his sister. "Any magical aura or whatnot around her?"
Before Ranhas a chance to dismember them, Meili and Danica perform a quick post-mortem examination. All of the bodies have blade wounds. Disturbingly, at least one of the men in armor seems to have died from self-inflicted dagger wounds.
None of you, Hewincluded, recognize the bird pattern on the armor. It is obviously a uniform of some kind, but it isn't any of the groups you know to be operating here in Chult (Flaming Fist, Order of the Gauntlet, etc) nor is it a symbol of any of the prominent faiths.
Meili'sinitial hunch that the camp had been looted doesn't look correct. There are a number of supplies here, including sets of armor most likely belong to the two undressed men, packed up inside one of the trashed tents. The tents themselves are mangled and torn, but the following salvageable supplies are found:
Lastly, some of the men have thick slips of paper in their packs or pockets. They are payment notes, dozens of them, redeemable at the King's Forest Bank and Treasury and stamped with the seal of something called the Cormyr Company. Most of the slips are for 5 or 10 silver pieces, but there are three stamped for 100 gold pieces and one for 250 gold pieces.
Mica, in your investigations don't find any tracks but those of the four men coming into the camp. Nothing else, besides your group, has come in or left recentrly. You do see a great deal of ants, however, crawling about the campsite. They don't seem to be present anywhere else on the ridgeline.
With the bodies dismembered and burning, the party sets about in the light of the bonfire, refortifying the site and making camp for the night.
Nalomanterys, you conduct your ritual. Your senses open up to the sights and sensations of the weave as it touches your immediate surroundings.
Initially, your eyes are drawn to some of the gear carried by your new traveling companions.
The cloak, the wooden mask, and the boomerang carried by Meiliall pulse and shimmer with magic. The mask is empowered with magic from the school of divination, the cloak with a mixture of transmutation and abjuration, and the boomerang with transmutation.
The large jug in Ran'spack radiates powerful conjuration magic.
Danicahas a potion in her pack that glows with necromantic energy. You recognize this from experience as the positive side of necromantic magics... almost certainly a potion of healing.
Turning your attention back to the matter at hand, you examine Danicafor signs of what ails her. The results are unsettling. There is an aura of negative energy around her. It is subtle but once you detect it, your eyes are drawn to it. For lack of a better description, she seems to be flaking away. Tiny, infinitesimally small bits of her aura are drifting away with the southern wind, not unlike tiny pieces of carbon floating away from a smoldering campfire. Whatever this is, it is slowly killing her; you are certain of it. You are less sure how much time she has....
At Ran'sinsistence, you pull your attention away from Danicafor a moment and look upon the scarlet bird. Indeed, the poor creature is wrapped in a sticky web of negative energy, much more raw and 'in your face' that what afflicts Danica. The creature is clearly the victim of a curse, one woven with transmutation and illusion magics.
While glancing at the bird, something else catches your eye... the 10 arrows lifted from the campsite shimmer brightly with the touch of magic.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Nalomanterys tries to ignore the apparent murder-suicide scene at the top of the hill as he finishes his ritual. When it is completed, he squints as though there were a sudden light shining in his eyes. Those perceptive enough in the twilight might actually notice his pupils constrict.
The wizard takes a moment, still standing at the center of his intricate web of arcane symbols drawn in the mud, to scan the camp and his companions. He actually puts his hand over his eyes like a visor when he looks at Meili. "My my, we have been busy bees collecting magical items..." He points to the arrows recently collected from the reclaimed campsite: "In fact, there are some more for our intrepid archer." (the arrows are magical... DM, what kind of magic does he sense?) "I cannot identify precisely what they do without a focus. A pearl about yea big. Keep your eyes out, it will allow me to identify anything magical." He indicates the size of a pearl that would cost exactly 100 gold.
"Danica, would you please remove your rucksack? Your healing potion is making it hard to see you. Ah yes, there is certainly something there." He squints at Danica in the dark, as if trying to read tiny handwriting. Perhaps concerningly, his gaze slowly follows a path above Danica's shoulder, and then up into the air, though no one else can see anything there save perhaps some insects. He looks back at the sailor with a frown. "Perhaps you would like to hear this in private?" He ushers Danica out of earshot, yelling back at Ran, "I shall return forthwith to inspect your parrot." He steps all over his arcane symbols, not giving them a second thought now that they have served their purpose.
Once out of earshot of the others, he turns to Danica.
Danica:
"My dear, You are positively... fading away, for lack of a better phrase. Where did you come upon such a malignant affliction? Is this the death curse? This will be the end of you, eventually, I am certain, unless something is done about it. If it is the death curse, good news, we are already on the case. If it is something else... well, if it is something else I am not certain at the moment how to remedy it."
He uncertainly pats Danica on the shoulder, as though he wants to give condolences but isn't sure how to. "I am sure we will figure it out. Knowing is half the battle, my mentor always said."
After conversing with Danica for a few minutes at the outskirts of the camp, Nalomanterys returns and takes a closer look at Ran's parrot. Within mere moments he has a diagnosis: "This is a nasty curse alright. Transmutation and Illusion, mostly. Illusion... that is strange." He reaches a hand toward the parrot and then stops. "Will it bite me?" He asks Ran; then he turns to the parrot and practically yells, as though talking to someone deaf, "I am going to search upon your body for clues that will help me return you to your old form. Please do not bite me!"
On a hunch from the illusion magic he senses, Nalomanterys gets the bird close to the fire so he can see normally as well as magically and 1) feels around the bird for anything hidden by invisibility, then 2) parts the parrot's feathers with his fingers and looks at the parrot's skin for any illusory writing or symbols.
After Nalomantery's detect magic runs its course, he prepares for bed, trying not to think too hard about the smoldering bodies in the campfire. He sets the alarm and heads to bed.
DM:
Nalomanterys died in his backstory. If he looks at himself with detect magic on, would he see the same thing happening to him that he sees on Danica?
Meili checked and re-checked with Danica but finally had to admit her eyes do not deceive her. "It looks like they killed themselves." Even for these jungles, it made no sense and she was about to say so when Mica pointed out the ants.
"Last time we had ants in the camp it was when Sisters marked Inete and took her hair. Could that be the same? Could the hags make people here mad and kill themselves and each other? But why? Not one of those people looks like magic users."
She smiled to Nalomanterys apologetically. "This is what we all meant before when talked about wizards in this place and in our group. I am sorry."
Meili did remark on the wizard's findings about the magic items on her "Not so much collecting as handed over by an entity wishing for me to continue its fight against the undead of Chult" but after that went quiet, letting the Nalomanterys work in peace.
Still quiet she checked the water in waterskins and if it seemed clean, happily handed it to others, not forgetting to drink too - it was a hot and dry day.
Mica squats down by the ants, pushing them around with a stick and grunts in agreement with Meili “The ants are thick at the campsite and nowhere else on the ridge. It could be the same. I remember that night, we were also attacked by undead. No other sign around camp, it looks like this group fell on themselves.”
Mica stands and goes through the equipment, collecting one of the clean breastplates and grabbing the arrows. He looks up as Nalomanterys mentions the presence of magic surrounding the arrows and places them in a separate compartment of his quiver until they can be identified. “Is it safe to camp here, or should we move on a little further? Maybe this group drew the eye of the sisters some other way than magic. Keep the fetish close, Cap’n”
She and Meili take their time glancing over the bodies and their positions first before beginning to move them and peak under their clothing and armor to see the extent of their wounds to be able to determine exactly how they perished. It wasn't reassuring. Staring long and hard at the avian symbol etched into the armor as Mica asked if there were any clues as to who these people were or where they had been heading, Danica finally shook her head. "Not a clue on either fronts. But looks like either they killed themselves but for this fellow,"Tapping the leg of the man with the self inflicted mortal wounds with her boot. "He killed himself. Maybe out of grief if perhaps he was charmed into killing his allies. Killed the one he was on watch with and then the other two before they could rise. Then himself."She shrugs with a grimace, simply conjecturing before freezing at mention of ants.
"Ants?" Having a vivid flashback to the horrifying image of walking into Inete's tent where a hag had been crouching, thousands of ants crawling around both women. Body shivering, the elf looks around and purposefully avoids stepping on any, giving the insects a wide berth. "I'd imagine them certainly capable of getting them to fight each other and don't pretend to know the reasoning they might have for doing such Gods awful things. Might just get a sick pleasure from it."Nodding at what Meili said about wizards and their group, the sailor states, "You see any groups of ants or hear any creepy humming, don't wait to mention it, even if we're asleep."
Then blinking tiredly in surprise at his offer, "Oh, now? Sure, if you're fine with it."Pausing as he mentions about her potion and glances at her pack with a surprised hum before doing as requested and unshouldering it to rest at her feet. It felt awkward to be scrutinized so closely and she avoided direct eye contact though couldn't help but glance up at her shoulder where she raised a hand as if to swat a bug, thinking that was the reason why his gaze was being drawn away, but nothing was there that she could tell after looking between Nal and to the left above her shoulder. At the offer to talk in private, Danica simply blinks, her brow twitching slightly before she says, "Aye, sure." Following the wizard to out of earshot range.
Nalomanterys:
Danica's brow furrows at the news the wizard imparts, but in utter confusion rather than distress. "I...that cannae be right. I mean, I feel cursed for damned sure. But I haven't died. Isn't that sort of a requirement for the 'Death' Curse? I think I would've remembered if...I..."The sentence trails off as her eyes become unfocused as she remembered how she felt waking up. Gasping like she couldn't breathe, like she was drowning... Hand unconsciously going to her throat, the elf swallows thickly, expression shellshocked. Only coming back to herself at the man's awkward pat on her shoulder. She grabs onto his wrist, holding for a moment as she tries to get ahold of herself. "Don't tell them. I didn't die. She would've told me. The stars woul-" Her mouth flattens before she finishes curtly, "I'll tell them. When I'm ready."
After returning back to the group, Danica tries to focus on Nalomanterys' examination of the parrot and was happily surprised at the results. "I tried to use a spell that lets me speak with animals to communicate with her, but she just kept screaming a creepy song." Looking over to Mica before surveying the old campsite, she sighs. "As much as I'd love to just plop down right here, hags be damned, it'd probably be safer to put some distance between us and this creepy place."
In a small group like theirs, any private conversation can not get unnoticed (not that Nalomanterys was subtle about it either). Meili could not help it but to raise brows questionably when Danica and the wizard returned but since the captain obviously did not want to discuss the matter, Meili did not press.
"The bird still can understand and signal "yes" or "no". At least sometimes."It would be great if the wizard could lift the curse but there was little hope in it, considering how bad the hag made the curse sound. Unless the witch lied, of course.
There was a more pressing matter. "Not sure we can afford to be picky. It is getting dark would we be able to find another spot before night falls? If hags are watching, they already saw us. But there is hope, the arrow does not strike the same spot twice. It is disgusting, but I say we stay."
You do your best to examine the parrot (scarlet macaw, actually). It consents to a casual inspection but take umbrage at some of your more prodding investigations. You come away with few answers and a couple of nips.
As far as you can tell, the parrot is a parrot. Whatever illusion magic is involved, it doesn't seem to be related to the appearance. Danica'scomment about the 'creepy song' gives you an idea. Perhaps the illusion is not masking the creature's appearance, but its ability to communicate - even magically - with others.
Taking a brief glance at himself out of an abundance of caution, Nalomanterysis relieved to confirm he shows no similar symptoms to what Danicais experiencing.
...
Wait...
...
Oh dear...
If Danica'ssymptoms were subtle, his are barely discernable. But there it is all the same. The barest hint of decay, of entropy. Near microscopic bits of his aura, his self... drifting away on the southern breeze.... Whatever is happening seems more progressed in the elf, but if what she says is true it may only be a matter of time before he begins to experience the nightmares and weakness she complains about.
Hewlooks out into the darkness around you. "I'd recommend we hold here. The predators and the undead of the jungle have the advantage in the darkness. At least up here, they have to climb up the ridge to get to us. Those blokes would have been alright too, were it not themselves they were attacking."
The water in the skins looks and smells fine.
The night passes without danger. It is hot, as the day it followed had been.
Meili, during your watch, a single monitor lizard, 5' or 6' long, climbs the ridge and circles the camp several times, drawn by the smell of carrion. It never comes closer than the very edge of the firelight, smelling at the air with its forked tongue. Eventually it departs, its caution outweighing its hunger.
Morning brings with it a sudden rain shower. Packing is paused to quickly lay out the rain catchers and refill your skins.
[Be sure to add any items you are taking from this scene to your character sheets.]
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ran watched Nalomanterys poke and prod at the bird with a great deal of amusement. His sister would hate that.
He makes sure to pull out the alchemy jug and if the raincatchers didn't pick up enough water he use the jug to produce fresh water to fill the rest of the water skins (the jug can produce 8 gallons of fresh water).
Looking at the remaining gear, Ran makes sure to pull the extra rations out of the adventures pack (unless someone wants to carry the whole pack, that looked like the key thing to salvage there), and will hang the gourd of insect repellent off his back as well.
And while he's deciding to become a pack mule, he slings an extra water skin over his shoulder and at the last second decides to grab the long bow too. That could come in handy down the road. Or Mica's could break.
"Alright Shephard - bird," Ran says to the macaw. "Any chance you can make yourself useful and fly up and see what's what out there? Squawk or crap on leaf or something if you spot something off?"
"Last time we had ants in the camp it was when Sisters marked Inete and took her hair. Could that be the same? Could the hags make people here mad and kill themselves and each other? But why? Not one of those people looks like magic users."
She smiled to Nalomanterys apologetically. "This is what we all meant before when talked about wizards in this place and in our group. I am sorry."
Nalomanterys does seem disturbed by the signs of wizard-hunting hags so close, but he shrugs, "It is... not ideal. However, I would rather take my chances here against a hag coven than die of dehydration on that mountain top where you found me..."
Nalomanterys also considers the waterskins. "Ms. Meili, you are an expert in herbology, no? There is no substance that could be put in water to make a man do that, is there?" He gestures to the scene of carnage around the camp.
After returning back to the group, Danica tries to focus on Nalomanterys' examination of the parrot and was happily surprised at the results. "I tried to use a spell that lets me speak with animals to communicate with her, but she just kept screaming a creepy song."
Upon hearing that, Nalomanterys immediately stops his search of the parrot. "Ah." He says, "Therein lies the rub. The curse masks her attempts to speak."
There was a more pressing matter. "Not sure we can afford to be picky. It is getting dark would we be able to find another spot before night falls? If hags are watching, they already saw us. But there is hope, the arrow does not strike the same spot twice. It is disgusting, but I say we stay."
Nalomanterys looks slightly nervous at the prospect, but not so nervous to wander deeper into the night-time jungle in hopes of finding a better camping spot. "I am sure everything will be fine. I shall set up the alarm; wake me if you need me."
Danica:
Nalomanterys' mouth twitches, as though not sure whether to deeply frown or feign a smile for her sake. His face settles into a grimace by the end. "Of course. It is not an easy decision to make." He tugs his scarf tight, then adds as an afterthought, "I would imagine." Although Nalomanterys often seems conceited and pretentious, his cracking voice betrays his empathy for the Cap'n. Perhaps he was serious when he said he sought an end to the death curse for magnanimous reasons. "Tell them when you are ready."
In the morning, Meili demonstrated uncharacteristic practicality trying to pack everything there is to pack. She tried not to look in the direction where Ran yesterday put the hacked bodies - no doubts, the beasts (including that lizard) had already devoured most of them. The items would not help the fallen but could buy the group hospitality of the dwarves or an extra day of life.
She still answered Nalomanterys thoughtfully. "A simple alcohol can do that. There are very strong brews making a drinker mad, and there are herbs that can do it as well but I doubt it was as simple as that. The water was clean, and we all drank it. I do not see any traces of some suspicious herbs around either."Yesterday was dusk already and the frightful scenery did not help clear thinking either but she was sure the behaviour of the deceased was not natural at the time of death.
Meili packed her backpack as full as it could hold, including all the payment notes. Cormyr was on the continent. Gods willing, those notes could be returned. Just one more task on the list of impossible things they had to do.
Mica shakes the half-filled barrel of Tej and responds to Meili “Well, they had the alcohol, but I doubt that was the cause. Doesn’t matter, they are beyond our worry at this point. Still, the Tej is worth keeping around, maybe we can bring a housewarming gift to the dwarves.”Mica had developed a taste for the brew back in the port and packed up the rest for the trip along with an extra waterskin. He also grabbed a battleaxe, swinging it briefly to test its balance before strapping it to his back. “It is best to get an early start. How much further, Hew?”
Danica shares a long look with Nal. Returning to the others after her conversation with Nalomanterys, it was unfortunately obvious that she looked troubled so she was doubly glad that nobody pried just yet. Danica purses her lips unhappily at the majority decision of making camp where others killed themselves. Not that she had a qualm with staying at a battle site, more she was worried of lingering hag magic and stared at the ants warily. Beginning to help set up camp with a sigh, she makes sure to grab the rations out of the explorer's pack, as the dead no longer needed them and they didn't appear to be soiled or damaged by insects or rain, counting out about ten days worth for one person. She also inspects the longbow for any damage before gathering the arrows. "Been quite a while since I last used one of these. Might be good to have though."
Looking over to the earth genasi as he shakes a barrel and she realizes what's in it, the sailor chuckles a little. "Still can't get enough of that stuff Mica?"Then hearing out his idea, the elf nods. "Good plan. Long as it isn't too heavy for you to carry." She sets about casting Protection from Evil and Good with the Fetish, still staring at the ants intently. "Probably paranoid, but can't shake the fear that those hags can see us through the ants somehow. Even if the spell works, it means that their eyesight suddenly goes dark, which is attention drawing itself."
Danica stays up for a while, staring up at the sky, searching in vain for something, a serious expression on her face, brow pinched before she finally settles down into a trance, hand gripping her symbol of Selune.
The rain is welcome, even though it makes breaking camp less than ideal, refilling their waterskins was reassuring. As they break their fast and wait for the raincatchers to fill, Danica follows up Mica's question with, "And how long do you think til we get there if we hustle?"
Ran had already grabbed the rations for the group and the longbow - but happy to let Danica have it if she would like it - Ran was just making sure a good weapon wasn't left behind.
And I think the arrows (which have some sort of magic) already went to Mica.
Yes. The only arrows in the campsite were the 10 magic arrows. However, if Mica is taking them, you could always ask him to spare a few of his regular arrows for Danica.]
He looks at the Kobold Mountains rising in the distance and then Hewmutters a curse under his breath. "I'm sure we lost some time yesterday, with the heat. Two days, I would say. We can set a faster pace but it is just as likely to send us headlong into trouble as get us there quicker."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
((OOC: Ah jeez I'm sorry guys, completely missed that and it was plain right there. This is why you shouldn't work 12 hours and then try to post coherently. ))
Danica sees the heavily armed and armored human take the longbow and asks, "Hey, you gonna be using that Ran? If not...mind if I? Been quite a while since I last shot one, but I still know how to string it and shoot well enough. Be nice to have something long ranged that didn't rely on magic. And good call on grabbing the rations out. Don't think the rest is really worth the hassle of carrying, even just to sell."
At Hew's proclomation of how long it would take them to get to Hrakhamar, Danica's lips thin, expression somewhat tense. "I don't want to push anyone to exhaustion, but time is literally of the essence." She brings up, trying to gauge the reactions of the rest of the Seekers.
As the others search through the bodies, Mica takes a wide berth around the camp, looking for any tracks or signs that could indicate who, or what, was behind the attack and if there were any sign of threats nearby. He turns his head as Meili points out the bird symbol and he tries to remember if he saw similar signs before, especially back at the Port.
He nods at the Captain’s remarks “Could be they were sleeping and ambushed. Any clues to who they were or where they were heading?”
Survival (for signs around camp): 21.
History (for symbol): 15.
.
Nalomanterys scratches unconsciously at the scarf around his neck as Ran beheads the dead men. He turns away from the grisly sight until the corpses are burning.
Making himself busy until the fire was ready, Nalomanterys calls over to Danica. "Oh Danica, would you like to see what magic ails you?" The wizard begins drawing arcane symbols in the mud with a stylus from his pocket. Nalomanterys draws quickly with a practiced hand, only stopping occasionally to tut and remedy some small imperfections caused by stubborn patches of mud. After 10 minutes, there is a sprawling array of interconnected arcane symbols; Nalomanterys has drawn himself directly into the middle of it all. He flicks his wrist, speaks "Video," and the symbols on the ground flash quickly with silver light before winking out again.
detect magic as a ritual.
Nalomanterys looks for signs of magic around Danica and the rest of the camp while he's at it.
Ran stays busy dealing with the bodies but he does take notice of Nalomanterys and his arcane symbols.
"If you've time mate, mind checking on this damn bird?" Ran says, indicating the colouful bird who may or may not be his sister. "Any magical aura or whatnot around her?"
Before Ran has a chance to dismember them, Meili and Danica perform a quick post-mortem examination. All of the bodies have blade wounds. Disturbingly, at least one of the men in armor seems to have died from self-inflicted dagger wounds.
None of you, Hew included, recognize the bird pattern on the armor. It is obviously a uniform of some kind, but it isn't any of the groups you know to be operating here in Chult (Flaming Fist, Order of the Gauntlet, etc) nor is it a symbol of any of the prominent faiths.
Meili's initial hunch that the camp had been looted doesn't look correct. There are a number of supplies here, including sets of armor most likely belong to the two undressed men, packed up inside one of the trashed tents. The tents themselves are mangled and torn, but the following salvageable supplies are found:
In addition to those supplies, the following arms and armor are lying in the camp (or on the bodies of the dead):
Lastly, some of the men have thick slips of paper in their packs or pockets. They are payment notes, dozens of them, redeemable at the King's Forest Bank and Treasury and stamped with the seal of something called the Cormyr Company. Most of the slips are for 5 or 10 silver pieces, but there are three stamped for 100 gold pieces and one for 250 gold pieces.
Mica, in your investigations don't find any tracks but those of the four men coming into the camp. Nothing else, besides your group, has come in or left recentrly. You do see a great deal of ants, however, crawling about the campsite. They don't seem to be present anywhere else on the ridgeline.
With the bodies dismembered and burning, the party sets about in the light of the bonfire, refortifying the site and making camp for the night.
Nalomanterys, you conduct your ritual. Your senses open up to the sights and sensations of the weave as it touches your immediate surroundings.
Initially, your eyes are drawn to some of the gear carried by your new traveling companions.
The cloak, the wooden mask, and the boomerang carried by Meili all pulse and shimmer with magic. The mask is empowered with magic from the school of divination, the cloak with a mixture of transmutation and abjuration, and the boomerang with transmutation.
Turning your attention back to the matter at hand, you examine Danica for signs of what ails her. The results are unsettling. There is an aura of negative energy around her. It is subtle but once you detect it, your eyes are drawn to it. For lack of a better description, she seems to be flaking away. Tiny, infinitesimally small bits of her aura are drifting away with the southern wind, not unlike tiny pieces of carbon floating away from a smoldering campfire. Whatever this is, it is slowly killing her; you are certain of it. You are less sure how much time she has....
At Ran's insistence, you pull your attention away from Danica for a moment and look upon the scarlet bird. Indeed, the poor creature is wrapped in a sticky web of negative energy, much more raw and 'in your face' that what afflicts Danica. The creature is clearly the victim of a curse, one woven with transmutation and illusion magics.
While glancing at the bird, something else catches your eye... the 10 arrows lifted from the campsite shimmer brightly with the touch of magic.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Nalomanterys tries to ignore the apparent murder-suicide scene at the top of the hill as he finishes his ritual. When it is completed, he squints as though there were a sudden light shining in his eyes. Those perceptive enough in the twilight might actually notice his pupils constrict.
The wizard takes a moment, still standing at the center of his intricate web of arcane symbols drawn in the mud, to scan the camp and his companions. He actually puts his hand over his eyes like a visor when he looks at Meili. "My my, we have been busy bees collecting magical items..." He points to the arrows recently collected from the reclaimed campsite: "In fact, there are some more for our intrepid archer." (the arrows are magical... DM, what kind of magic does he sense?) "I cannot identify precisely what they do without a focus. A pearl about yea big. Keep your eyes out, it will allow me to identify anything magical." He indicates the size of a pearl that would cost exactly 100 gold.
"Danica, would you please remove your rucksack? Your healing potion is making it hard to see you. Ah yes, there is certainly something there." He squints at Danica in the dark, as if trying to read tiny handwriting. Perhaps concerningly, his gaze slowly follows a path above Danica's shoulder, and then up into the air, though no one else can see anything there save perhaps some insects. He looks back at the sailor with a frown. "Perhaps you would like to hear this in private?" He ushers Danica out of earshot, yelling back at Ran, "I shall return forthwith to inspect your parrot." He steps all over his arcane symbols, not giving them a second thought now that they have served their purpose.
Once out of earshot of the others, he turns to Danica.
Danica:
"My dear, You are positively... fading away, for lack of a better phrase. Where did you come upon such a malignant affliction? Is this the death curse? This will be the end of you, eventually, I am certain, unless something is done about it. If it is the death curse, good news, we are already on the case. If it is something else... well, if it is something else I am not certain at the moment how to remedy it."
He uncertainly pats Danica on the shoulder, as though he wants to give condolences but isn't sure how to. "I am sure we will figure it out. Knowing is half the battle, my mentor always said."
After conversing with Danica for a few minutes at the outskirts of the camp, Nalomanterys returns and takes a closer look at Ran's parrot. Within mere moments he has a diagnosis: "This is a nasty curse alright. Transmutation and Illusion, mostly. Illusion... that is strange." He reaches a hand toward the parrot and then stops. "Will it bite me?" He asks Ran; then he turns to the parrot and practically yells, as though talking to someone deaf, "I am going to search upon your body for clues that will help me return you to your old form. Please do not bite me!"
On a hunch from the illusion magic he senses, Nalomanterys gets the bird close to the fire so he can see normally as well as magically and 1) feels around the bird for anything hidden by invisibility, then 2) parts the parrot's feathers with his fingers and looks at the parrot's skin for any illusory writing or symbols.
After Nalomantery's detect magic runs its course, he prepares for bed, trying not to think too hard about the smoldering bodies in the campfire. He sets the alarm and heads to bed.
DM:
Nalomanterys died in his backstory. If he looks at himself with detect magic on, would he see the same thing happening to him that he sees on Danica?
Investigation if needed for the parrot: 23 (rolled in game log)
Ran looks from the bird to the wizard and shrugs.
”I’d give you even odds on whether she nips at you or not.” Ran says. “100% chance if she were human.”
Ran examines the equipment they’ve found and picks up 10 of the crossbow bolts and adds them to his own supply..
Meili checked and re-checked with Danica but finally had to admit her eyes do not deceive her. "It looks like they killed themselves." Even for these jungles, it made no sense and she was about to say so when Mica pointed out the ants.
"Last time we had ants in the camp it was when Sisters marked Inete and took her hair. Could that be the same? Could the hags make people here mad and kill themselves and each other? But why? Not one of those people looks like magic users."
She smiled to Nalomanterys apologetically. "This is what we all meant before when talked about wizards in this place and in our group. I am sorry."
Meili did remark on the wizard's findings about the magic items on her "Not so much collecting as handed over by an entity wishing for me to continue its fight against the undead of Chult" but after that went quiet, letting the Nalomanterys work in peace.
Still quiet she checked the water in waterskins and if it seemed clean, happily handed it to others, not forgetting to drink too - it was a hot and dry day.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Mica squats down by the ants, pushing them around with a stick and grunts in agreement with Meili “The ants are thick at the campsite and nowhere else on the ridge. It could be the same. I remember that night, we were also attacked by undead. No other sign around camp, it looks like this group fell on themselves.”
Mica stands and goes through the equipment, collecting one of the clean breastplates and grabbing the arrows. He looks up as Nalomanterys mentions the presence of magic surrounding the arrows and places them in a separate compartment of his quiver until they can be identified. “Is it safe to camp here, or should we move on a little further? Maybe this group drew the eye of the sisters some other way than magic. Keep the fetish close, Cap’n”
She and Meili take their time glancing over the bodies and their positions first before beginning to move them and peak under their clothing and armor to see the extent of their wounds to be able to determine exactly how they perished. It wasn't reassuring. Staring long and hard at the avian symbol etched into the armor as Mica asked if there were any clues as to who these people were or where they had been heading, Danica finally shook her head. "Not a clue on either fronts. But looks like either they killed themselves but for this fellow," Tapping the leg of the man with the self inflicted mortal wounds with her boot. "He killed himself. Maybe out of grief if perhaps he was charmed into killing his allies. Killed the one he was on watch with and then the other two before they could rise. Then himself." She shrugs with a grimace, simply conjecturing before freezing at mention of ants.
"Ants?" Having a vivid flashback to the horrifying image of walking into Inete's tent where a hag had been crouching, thousands of ants crawling around both women. Body shivering, the elf looks around and purposefully avoids stepping on any, giving the insects a wide berth. "I'd imagine them certainly capable of getting them to fight each other and don't pretend to know the reasoning they might have for doing such Gods awful things. Might just get a sick pleasure from it." Nodding at what Meili said about wizards and their group, the sailor states, "You see any groups of ants or hear any creepy humming, don't wait to mention it, even if we're asleep."
Then blinking tiredly in surprise at his offer, "Oh, now? Sure, if you're fine with it." Pausing as he mentions about her potion and glances at her pack with a surprised hum before doing as requested and unshouldering it to rest at her feet. It felt awkward to be scrutinized so closely and she avoided direct eye contact though couldn't help but glance up at her shoulder where she raised a hand as if to swat a bug, thinking that was the reason why his gaze was being drawn away, but nothing was there that she could tell after looking between Nal and to the left above her shoulder. At the offer to talk in private, Danica simply blinks, her brow twitching slightly before she says, "Aye, sure." Following the wizard to out of earshot range.
Nalomanterys:
Danica's brow furrows at the news the wizard imparts, but in utter confusion rather than distress. "I...that cannae be right. I mean, I feel cursed for damned sure. But I haven't died. Isn't that sort of a requirement for the 'Death' Curse? I think I would've remembered if...I..." The sentence trails off as her eyes become unfocused as she remembered how she felt waking up. Gasping like she couldn't breathe, like she was drowning... Hand unconsciously going to her throat, the elf swallows thickly, expression shellshocked. Only coming back to herself at the man's awkward pat on her shoulder. She grabs onto his wrist, holding for a moment as she tries to get ahold of herself. "Don't tell them. I didn't die. She would've told me. The stars woul-" Her mouth flattens before she finishes curtly, "I'll tell them. When I'm ready."
After returning back to the group, Danica tries to focus on Nalomanterys' examination of the parrot and was happily surprised at the results. "I tried to use a spell that lets me speak with animals to communicate with her, but she just kept screaming a creepy song." Looking over to Mica before surveying the old campsite, she sighs. "As much as I'd love to just plop down right here, hags be damned, it'd probably be safer to put some distance between us and this creepy place."
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
In a small group like theirs, any private conversation can not get unnoticed (not that Nalomanterys was subtle about it either). Meili could not help it but to raise brows questionably when Danica and the wizard returned but since the captain obviously did not want to discuss the matter, Meili did not press.
"The bird still can understand and signal "yes" or "no". At least sometimes." It would be great if the wizard could lift the curse but there was little hope in it, considering how bad the hag made the curse sound. Unless the witch lied, of course.
There was a more pressing matter. "Not sure we can afford to be picky. It is getting dark would we be able to find another spot before night falls? If hags are watching, they already saw us. But there is hope, the arrow does not strike the same spot twice. It is disgusting, but I say we stay."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Nalomanterys:
You do your best to examine the parrot (scarlet macaw, actually). It consents to a casual inspection but take umbrage at some of your more prodding investigations. You come away with few answers and a couple of nips.
As far as you can tell, the parrot is a parrot. Whatever illusion magic is involved, it doesn't seem to be related to the appearance. Danica's comment about the 'creepy song' gives you an idea. Perhaps the illusion is not masking the creature's appearance, but its ability to communicate - even magically - with others.
Taking a brief glance at himself out of an abundance of caution, Nalomanterys is relieved to confirm he shows no similar symptoms to what Danica is experiencing.
...
Wait...
...
Oh dear...
If Danica's symptoms were subtle, his are barely discernable. But there it is all the same. The barest hint of decay, of entropy. Near microscopic bits of his aura, his self... drifting away on the southern breeze.... Whatever is happening seems more progressed in the elf, but if what she says is true it may only be a matter of time before he begins to experience the nightmares and weakness she complains about.
Hew looks out into the darkness around you. "I'd recommend we hold here. The predators and the undead of the jungle have the advantage in the darkness. At least up here, they have to climb up the ridge to get to us. Those blokes would have been alright too, were it not themselves they were attacking."
The water in the skins looks and smells fine.
The night passes without danger. It is hot, as the day it followed had been.
Meili, during your watch, a single monitor lizard, 5' or 6' long, climbs the ridge and circles the camp several times, drawn by the smell of carrion. It never comes closer than the very edge of the firelight, smelling at the air with its forked tongue. Eventually it departs, its caution outweighing its hunger.
Morning brings with it a sudden rain shower. Packing is paused to quickly lay out the rain catchers and refill your skins.
[Be sure to add any items you are taking from this scene to your character sheets.]
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Ran watched Nalomanterys poke and prod at the bird with a great deal of amusement. His sister would hate that.
He makes sure to pull out the alchemy jug and if the raincatchers didn't pick up enough water he use the jug to produce fresh water to fill the rest of the water skins (the jug can produce 8 gallons of fresh water).
Looking at the remaining gear, Ran makes sure to pull the extra rations out of the adventures pack (unless someone wants to carry the whole pack, that looked like the key thing to salvage there), and will hang the gourd of insect repellent off his back as well.
And while he's deciding to become a pack mule, he slings an extra water skin over his shoulder and at the last second decides to grab the long bow too. That could come in handy down the road. Or Mica's could break.
"Alright Shephard - bird," Ran says to the macaw. "Any chance you can make yourself useful and fly up and see what's what out there? Squawk or crap on leaf or something if you spot something off?"
He then looks around at the others.
"Ready?"
Nalomanterys does seem disturbed by the signs of wizard-hunting hags so close, but he shrugs, "It is... not ideal. However, I would rather take my chances here against a hag coven than die of dehydration on that mountain top where you found me..."
Nalomanterys also considers the waterskins. "Ms. Meili, you are an expert in herbology, no? There is no substance that could be put in water to make a man do that, is there?" He gestures to the scene of carnage around the camp.
Upon hearing that, Nalomanterys immediately stops his search of the parrot. "Ah." He says, "Therein lies the rub. The curse masks her attempts to speak."
Nalomanterys looks slightly nervous at the prospect, but not so nervous to wander deeper into the night-time jungle in hopes of finding a better camping spot. "I am sure everything will be fine. I shall set up the alarm; wake me if you need me."
Danica:
Nalomanterys' mouth twitches, as though not sure whether to deeply frown or feign a smile for her sake. His face settles into a grimace by the end. "Of course. It is not an easy decision to make." He tugs his scarf tight, then adds as an afterthought, "I would imagine." Although Nalomanterys often seems conceited and pretentious, his cracking voice betrays his empathy for the Cap'n. Perhaps he was serious when he said he sought an end to the death curse for magnanimous reasons. "Tell them when you are ready."
In the morning, Meili demonstrated uncharacteristic practicality trying to pack everything there is to pack. She tried not to look in the direction where Ran yesterday put the hacked bodies - no doubts, the beasts (including that lizard) had already devoured most of them. The items would not help the fallen but could buy the group hospitality of the dwarves or an extra day of life.
She still answered Nalomanterys thoughtfully. "A simple alcohol can do that. There are very strong brews making a drinker mad, and there are herbs that can do it as well but I doubt it was as simple as that. The water was clean, and we all drank it. I do not see any traces of some suspicious herbs around either." Yesterday was dusk already and the frightful scenery did not help clear thinking either but she was sure the behaviour of the deceased was not natural at the time of death.
Meili packed her backpack as full as it could hold, including all the payment notes. Cormyr was on the continent. Gods willing, those notes could be returned. Just one more task on the list of impossible things they had to do.
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Mica shakes the half-filled barrel of Tej and responds to Meili “Well, they had the alcohol, but I doubt that was the cause. Doesn’t matter, they are beyond our worry at this point. Still, the Tej is worth keeping around, maybe we can bring a housewarming gift to the dwarves.” Mica had developed a taste for the brew back in the port and packed up the rest for the trip along with an extra waterskin. He also grabbed a battleaxe, swinging it briefly to test its balance before strapping it to his back. “It is best to get an early start. How much further, Hew?”
Danica shares a long look with Nal. Returning to the others after her conversation with Nalomanterys, it was unfortunately obvious that she looked troubled so she was doubly glad that nobody pried just yet. Danica purses her lips unhappily at the majority decision of making camp where others killed themselves. Not that she had a qualm with staying at a battle site, more she was worried of lingering hag magic and stared at the ants warily. Beginning to help set up camp with a sigh, she makes sure to grab the rations out of the explorer's pack, as the dead no longer needed them and they didn't appear to be soiled or damaged by insects or rain, counting out about ten days worth for one person. She also inspects the longbow for any damage before gathering the arrows. "Been quite a while since I last used one of these. Might be good to have though."
Looking over to the earth genasi as he shakes a barrel and she realizes what's in it, the sailor chuckles a little. "Still can't get enough of that stuff Mica?" Then hearing out his idea, the elf nods. "Good plan. Long as it isn't too heavy for you to carry." She sets about casting Protection from Evil and Good with the Fetish, still staring at the ants intently. "Probably paranoid, but can't shake the fear that those hags can see us through the ants somehow. Even if the spell works, it means that their eyesight suddenly goes dark, which is attention drawing itself."
Danica stays up for a while, staring up at the sky, searching in vain for something, a serious expression on her face, brow pinched before she finally settles down into a trance, hand gripping her symbol of Selune.
The rain is welcome, even though it makes breaking camp less than ideal, refilling their waterskins was reassuring. As they break their fast and wait for the raincatchers to fill, Danica follows up Mica's question with, "And how long do you think til we get there if we hustle?"
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation
@Danica
Ran had already grabbed the rations for the group and the longbow - but happy to let Danica have it if she would like it - Ran was just making sure a good weapon wasn't left behind.
And I think the arrows (which have some sort of magic) already went to Mica.
[Re: supplies:
Yes. The only arrows in the campsite were the 10 magic arrows. However, if Mica is taking them, you could always ask him to spare a few of his regular arrows for Danica.]
He looks at the Kobold Mountains rising in the distance and then Hew mutters a curse under his breath. "I'm sure we lost some time yesterday, with the heat. Two days, I would say. We can set a faster pace but it is just as likely to send us headlong into trouble as get us there quicker."
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
((OOC: Ah jeez I'm sorry guys, completely missed that and it was plain right there. This is why you shouldn't work 12 hours and then try to post coherently. ))
Danica sees the heavily armed and armored human take the longbow and asks, "Hey, you gonna be using that Ran? If not...mind if I? Been quite a while since I last shot one, but I still know how to string it and shoot well enough. Be nice to have something long ranged that didn't rely on magic. And good call on grabbing the rations out. Don't think the rest is really worth the hassle of carrying, even just to sell."
At Hew's proclomation of how long it would take them to get to Hrakhamar, Danica's lips thin, expression somewhat tense. "I don't want to push anyone to exhaustion, but time is literally of the essence." She brings up, trying to gauge the reactions of the rest of the Seekers.
Nym Durnodel - Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn // Danica Amastacia - Red Dead Annihilation