Silas perks up a little in his hunched squat by the wall of the tunnel. He scrunches his nose up, deep in forceful thought trying to remember the direction of a threat shown to him in a half forgotten vision.
His brain buzzes with a prickling pain, like all the blood bring let back into a cramped limb, and he meditates on this for a moment, leaving the preparedness of a potential fight to the friends around him who are better suited and more alert.
Malachi is even more curious as the discussion turns to the sea, but before he can ask another question he has a blinding flash of pain. The hand on Lancet’s arm tightens its grip and a small gasp escapes his lips as he claps his other hand to his head.
As Ashley sees something wrong happen between the two men, she screams and moves between them. Facing her body towards the Lancet, she shoves him, doing her best to push them apart.
Joren'sgreatsword has been on a hair-trigger this entire time. And to a man (well, half-dwarf) with a greatsword, many things look like... a vile cultist's head that needs to be smashed non-lethally with a greatsword.
Rightly or wrongly, he takes Malachi's sudden averse reaction as the signal to attempt to end Lancet's consciousness. Attacking non-lethally from his echo's position behind Lancet to try to to achieve surprise and advantage.
Malachi feels a burning in his temple, feedback from his connection to Lancet, as the eyes continue to stare into him (9 psychic damage). As Ashley tries to break them up, she sees a mark forming in that spot on Malachi's temple. It looks like one of Razmus's runes. Lancet looks Malachi in the eyes and his face takes on a smile that reminds him of Jon as Lancet grips his arm back and says "You have been mark-"
With a crack, his head snaps forward under the weight of Joren's blow, and Ashley's pries him free and shoves him back against the wall where he slumps to the ground insensate.
Ignoring Lancet now that Joren took care of him, Ashley rushes to Malachi's side, "What does he mean, been marked??" she turns his head so she can get a better look at his temple.
Watching carefully, her eyes narrowed and focused on Lancet, Marion listens to the man answer Malachi's questions. When he talks of marching against the Blue Lady she grimaces, tightening her grip on the haft of her axe, her knuckles whitening as she channels her emotions into the act, lest they get the better of her while Malachi is still getting information from the vile man.
As things turn south quickly, and Malachi reels in pain from something unseen, she moves forward to intervene, but not before Ashley and Joren have dealt with Lancet and laid him low. Joining Ashley at the half-elf's side she adds to Ashley's question: "And are you hurt friend? What did he do to you exactly?"
There on the side of Malachi's head, Ashley sees a set of red, raised markings that look like a fresh brand, but the skin is cool to the touch. The mark forms a rune similar to ones they have seen before.
Malachi:
Malachi feels that slithering presence in his mind retreat back into itself for the time being, and the vision of eyes looking into his soul fades when Lancet falls away from him. However, he can't shake the feeling that he is still being watched.
Silas:
Silas had just started to feel like he was about to touch on something when a commotion with Malachi and Lancet snapped him out of it. He settles back down and tries to regain his composure, but it is a bit trickier to grasp now. Nevertheless, after a few moments he begins to hear the familiar, hostile buzz. He turns his head slowly, trying to sense its direction. Finding the spot where the sound is at its loudest, Silas opens his eyes and for just a moment he is in the mouth of a cave looking out over the Amethyst ocean from the cliffs below the Grand Hall in Talmouth. Then he blinks and is back in the moment with his new companions, though whenever he looks at Malachi now, he feels a tingle in his eyes.
“Argh”Malachi recoils in pain, both hands to his head as he steps away from Lancet. He looks up as Joren and Ashley push Lancet away and knock him unconscious. “Thank you, friends. I am not sure what happened. I saw a vision of eyes. Piercing eyes with dark slits and yellow veins looking into my soul.” He shudders in revulsion at the thought.
“Wait. He said I was marked” He slaps his hand up to his temple, feeling for any brand or raised marking. He looks in a panic at the others “What is it, do you see anything? My beautiful face! What did they do to me?”
He slumps back against the wall, a faint trickle of blood falling from his nose “I am so tired, I need to rest. It hurts..”
"rest, you've done well.." Silas' voice growls as he heaves himself off the ground noticeably not looking directly at Malachi, but not in a way that conveys dislike or distrust. Instead the Goliath wanders over to the unconscious Lancet and looks for an ear filled necklace. "the entity that is coming will come in from the amethyst sea, I saw a vision of a cave below Talmouth's Grand Hall, but from what I know and from what I've been told. whatever is coming isn't coming from anywhere known, there is no landmass out there, so it is either coming from within the sea or from beyond where we can reach, another plane perhaps. Hmmm... I've recently started seeing things that aren't there, worrying but curious..." he mutters the last part mostly to himself before continuing, "we should pool our collective knowledge and findings before we continue, right?"
If he finds a necklace in his search, Silas will raise a finger in a 'hold for a moment' manner toward Joren and Ashley, who have been efficiently destroying the previously encountered necklaces, then in one swift motion he will remove the necklace from Lancet and places it around his own neck, tilting his head as if waiting to hear something or feel a pull.
Ashley gives Silas an odd look when he puts the necklace on, but then shrugs her shoulders. "Agreed. We should pool what we know and take stock of everything that has happened since we've arrived at this awful place. Right now though, we should head back to the Inn. For one, so Malachi can get some rest, and two, to check on that man that has tracked you here. I hope Rana is doing alright holding the place down."
She looks at the stronger of the group, "can one of you carry him? I think that might be best." She looks at Lancet and back to the other one that is tied up and back to the group, "Shall we put these captives in the cages back in the lab area? A tiny taste of their own medicine."
As Silas closes the latch on the necklace, he feels a little snap of magical force and the buzzing in his head intensifies. From what he can tell though, with the rat-men dead, the necklace is currently inert. Like holding a seashell to his ear, the necklace gives off an acute emptiness.
Samir feels outside of the goings on, listening and watching but not really involved. Whatever the social mechanisms and games that Malachi seems to be adept at turning against this Lancet fellow are, they are beyond the artificer's own. It is not until his friend draws back in pain that Samir moves to involve himself in the situation. As the others talk of dealing with the unconscious cultist, the jalf-orc kneels next to Malachi, his eyes trained on the strange symbol, studying it.
"If I can suggest, perhaps no one should use any sort of magic that involves mental connection to these cultists. Their... over-mind connection, if you will, seems capable of lashing out through such, I would wager."
With gentle hands he turns Malachi's head a touch to study the rune a bit more before stepping back. "It is... interesting, but does not seem to be instantly fatal, at the least..."
After his non-lethal attack on Lancet, Joren stands by, a bit sheepishly, feeling in his bones how much he needs a short rest now that the adrenaline has worn off. He methodically double-checks that the cultists are all tied up and fully disarmed, including their necklaces.
Was I really daring Daniel into self-exploding to re-raise his bluff? And is that all that I am bringing to this party and all I am good for? Smashing people in the head with my greatsword? I - and I think everyone else - we are all sensing that this goes much deeper. A god sending its minions over the ocean to invade Cambria? To war against Marion's Blue Lady? I am not of this place, so why do I feel so committed to be standing against such? Feeling close to my new friends, I am. And being repulsed by the vileness of the Razmus slaver-cultists, as we all are.
He squats near Samir, fascinated as he always is at the skill with which the spectacled half-orc studies things, but too distracted to help much himself, and too disturbed by the import of the new runes on Malachi's skin. And Vilus seems to sense something as well. If only I had swung my sword sooner...
"Falling back for a bit of rest, should we be? These cultists mentioned getting the message back to their friends, so there must be others. Catching the last messenger-rat, I think Ashley did. The one which the final man was sending. But at some point, they may be coming in force to discover. Should we be retreating all the way to the Inn? Or perhaps re-build the cave-in as a barricade and guard there? And after resting, should we be taking the battle to them through these tunnels, trying to gain surprise?"
Malachi touches his temple gingerly, and a little fearfully, as Samir inspects it “Is there a mark, then? What does it look like?”
As the others start discussing plans, he shares what he has learned from Lancet “Yes, probably from another plane, if there is such a place” he nods to Silas “he said the tattoos and markings were a divine language that helps him work his will”Malachi chuckles, spitting up a bit of blood “I doubt he will find my mind a very welcoming place.” He looks over at Marion “they aim to fight against the Blue Lady. I know not why.”
Malachi nods at Ashley and Joren “We should secure these men and find out what else they know. We don’t know where these tunnels go or how many other ratkeepers are ahead of us. If we have a month before Razmus arrives we have time to find out more and warn the authorities.”
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Silas perks up a little in his hunched squat by the wall of the tunnel. He scrunches his nose up, deep in forceful thought trying to remember the direction of a threat shown to him in a half forgotten vision.
His brain buzzes with a prickling pain, like all the blood bring let back into a cramped limb, and he meditates on this for a moment, leaving the preparedness of a potential fight to the friends around him who are better suited and more alert.
Malachi is even more curious as the discussion turns to the sea, but before he can ask another question he has a blinding flash of pain. The hand on Lancet’s arm tightens its grip and a small gasp escapes his lips as he claps his other hand to his head.
Wisdom save: 8.
As Ashley sees something wrong happen between the two men, she screams and moves between them. Facing her body towards the Lancet, she shoves him, doing her best to push them apart.
Joren's greatsword has been on a hair-trigger this entire time. And to a man (well, half-dwarf) with a greatsword, many things look like... a vile cultist's head that needs to be smashed non-lethally with a greatsword.
Rightly or wrongly, he takes Malachi's sudden averse reaction as the signal to attempt to end Lancet's consciousness. Attacking non-lethally from his echo's position behind Lancet to try to to achieve surprise and advantage.
Attack: 25 Damage: 13
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(Sorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(Monk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(Cleric3/Sorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Malachi feels a burning in his temple, feedback from his connection to Lancet, as the eyes continue to stare into him (9 psychic damage). As Ashley tries to break them up, she sees a mark forming in that spot on Malachi's temple. It looks like one of Razmus's runes. Lancet looks Malachi in the eyes and his face takes on a smile that reminds him of Jon as Lancet grips his arm back and says "You have been mark-"
With a crack, his head snaps forward under the weight of Joren's blow, and Ashley's pries him free and shoves him back against the wall where he slumps to the ground insensate.
Silas looks up, watches the interaction and once he sees Lancet hit the floor, he then resumes his thought task...
(Silas give me a charisma check)
CHA check 10
Ignoring Lancet now that Joren took care of him, Ashley rushes to Malachi's side, "What does he mean, been marked??" she turns his head so she can get a better look at his temple.
Watching carefully, her eyes narrowed and focused on Lancet, Marion listens to the man answer Malachi's questions. When he talks of marching against the Blue Lady she grimaces, tightening her grip on the haft of her axe, her knuckles whitening as she channels her emotions into the act, lest they get the better of her while Malachi is still getting information from the vile man.
As things turn south quickly, and Malachi reels in pain from something unseen, she moves forward to intervene, but not before Ashley and Joren have dealt with Lancet and laid him low. Joining Ashley at the half-elf's side she adds to Ashley's question: "And are you hurt friend? What did he do to you exactly?"
There on the side of Malachi's head, Ashley sees a set of red, raised markings that look like a fresh brand, but the skin is cool to the touch. The mark forms a rune similar to ones they have seen before.
Malachi:
Malachi feels that slithering presence in his mind retreat back into itself for the time being, and the vision of eyes looking into his soul fades when Lancet falls away from him. However, he can't shake the feeling that he is still being watched.
Silas:
Silas had just started to feel like he was about to touch on something when a commotion with Malachi and Lancet snapped him out of it. He settles back down and tries to regain his composure, but it is a bit trickier to grasp now. Nevertheless, after a few moments he begins to hear the familiar, hostile buzz. He turns his head slowly, trying to sense its direction. Finding the spot where the sound is at its loudest, Silas opens his eyes and for just a moment he is in the mouth of a cave looking out over the Amethyst ocean from the cliffs below the Grand Hall in Talmouth. Then he blinks and is back in the moment with his new companions, though whenever he looks at Malachi now, he feels a tingle in his eyes.
“Argh” Malachi recoils in pain, both hands to his head as he steps away from Lancet. He looks up as Joren and Ashley push Lancet away and knock him unconscious. “Thank you, friends. I am not sure what happened. I saw a vision of eyes. Piercing eyes with dark slits and yellow veins looking into my soul.” He shudders in revulsion at the thought.
“Wait. He said I was marked” He slaps his hand up to his temple, feeling for any brand or raised marking. He looks in a panic at the others “What is it, do you see anything? My beautiful face! What did they do to me?”
He slumps back against the wall, a faint trickle of blood falling from his nose “I am so tired, I need to rest. It hurts..”
"rest, you've done well.." Silas' voice growls as he heaves himself off the ground noticeably not looking directly at Malachi, but not in a way that conveys dislike or distrust.
Instead the Goliath wanders over to the unconscious Lancet and looks for an ear filled necklace. "the entity that is coming will come in from the amethyst sea, I saw a vision of a cave below Talmouth's Grand Hall, but from what I know and from what I've been told. whatever is coming isn't coming from anywhere known, there is no landmass out there, so it is either coming from within the sea or from beyond where we can reach, another plane perhaps. Hmmm... I've recently started seeing things that aren't there, worrying but curious..." he mutters the last part mostly to himself before continuing, "we should pool our collective knowledge and findings before we continue, right?"
If he finds a necklace in his search, Silas will raise a finger in a 'hold for a moment' manner toward Joren and Ashley, who have been efficiently destroying the previously encountered necklaces, then in one swift motion he will remove the necklace from Lancet and places it around his own neck, tilting his head as if waiting to hear something or feel a pull.
Ashley gives Silas an odd look when he puts the necklace on, but then shrugs her shoulders. "Agreed. We should pool what we know and take stock of everything that has happened since we've arrived at this awful place. Right now though, we should head back to the Inn. For one, so Malachi can get some rest, and two, to check on that man that has tracked you here. I hope Rana is doing alright holding the place down."
She looks at the stronger of the group, "can one of you carry him? I think that might be best." She looks at Lancet and back to the other one that is tied up and back to the group, "Shall we put these captives in the cages back in the lab area? A tiny taste of their own medicine."
Silas offers to carry anyone if needed, although he gives a wary look toward Marion before taking incapacitated enemies on his shoulder.
Silas:
As Silas closes the latch on the necklace, he feels a little snap of magical force and the buzzing in his head intensifies. From what he can tell though, with the rat-men dead, the necklace is currently inert. Like holding a seashell to his ear, the necklace gives off an acute emptiness.
Silas will take the necklace off and offer it to Ashley for disposal, if she doesn't take it he casts it aside.
Samir feels outside of the goings on, listening and watching but not really involved. Whatever the social mechanisms and games that Malachi seems to be adept at turning against this Lancet fellow are, they are beyond the artificer's own. It is not until his friend draws back in pain that Samir moves to involve himself in the situation. As the others talk of dealing with the unconscious cultist, the jalf-orc kneels next to Malachi, his eyes trained on the strange symbol, studying it.
"If I can suggest, perhaps no one should use any sort of magic that involves mental connection to these cultists. Their... over-mind connection, if you will, seems capable of lashing out through such, I would wager."
With gentle hands he turns Malachi's head a touch to study the rune a bit more before stepping back. "It is... interesting, but does not seem to be instantly fatal, at the least..."
Arcana to study the symbol: 21
After his non-lethal attack on Lancet, Joren stands by, a bit sheepishly, feeling in his bones how much he needs a short rest now that the adrenaline has worn off. He methodically double-checks that the cultists are all tied up and fully disarmed, including their necklaces.
Was I really daring Daniel into self-exploding to re-raise his bluff? And is that all that I am bringing to this party and all I am good for? Smashing people in the head with my greatsword? I - and I think everyone else - we are all sensing that this goes much deeper. A god sending its minions over the ocean to invade Cambria? To war against Marion's Blue Lady? I am not of this place, so why do I feel so committed to be standing against such? Feeling close to my new friends, I am. And being repulsed by the vileness of the Razmus slaver-cultists, as we all are.
He squats near Samir, fascinated as he always is at the skill with which the spectacled half-orc studies things, but too distracted to help much himself, and too disturbed by the import of the new runes on Malachi's skin. And Vilus seems to sense something as well. If only I had swung my sword sooner...
"Falling back for a bit of rest, should we be? These cultists mentioned getting the message back to their friends, so there must be others. Catching the last messenger-rat, I think Ashley did. The one which the final man was sending. But at some point, they may be coming in force to discover. Should we be retreating all the way to the Inn? Or perhaps re-build the cave-in as a barricade and guard there? And after resting, should we be taking the battle to them through these tunnels, trying to gain surprise?"
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Barn(Paladin1): Damian_May's Ereworn Under the Shadow | Lyra(Warlock2/Bard4): VitusW's Silverwood Forest
Dyson/Eleo(Cleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(Druid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(Sorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(Fighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(Monk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(Cleric3/Sorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Malachi touches his temple gingerly, and a little fearfully, as Samir inspects it “Is there a mark, then? What does it look like?”
As the others start discussing plans, he shares what he has learned from Lancet “Yes, probably from another plane, if there is such a place” he nods to Silas “he said the tattoos and markings were a divine language that helps him work his will” Malachi chuckles, spitting up a bit of blood “I doubt he will find my mind a very welcoming place.” He looks over at Marion “they aim to fight against the Blue Lady. I know not why.”
Malachi nods at Ashley and Joren “We should secure these men and find out what else they know. We don’t know where these tunnels go or how many other ratkeepers are ahead of us. If we have a month before Razmus arrives we have time to find out more and warn the authorities.”