The Call of Lon-Dia

Stone unties Donner and tells him,

"Good luck, stay out of trouble, and don't eat any more dogs."

Penelope hands the staff back to Donnar.

"Here, your friends are yours. I would not feel right bringing them with us.Take care Donnar."

Donnar is exuberant over the word that the abomination Susan has been destroyed, he has his staff back and he got some coin out of the deal. “May Chittr’k’k bless you all for what you have accomplished here tonight.” He seems truly overcome with gratitude. Tears of joy leave streaks on his dirt covered face.

After saying your goodbyes and Donnar assuring you that he won’t eat any more dogs, you start your return trip to the Baernal Arms. It is now the middle of the night and the town is, for the most part, quiet. You hear a few drunks singing an unfamiliar song in the distance, but besides that, the trip is uneventful. 

Once you are arrive at the Baernal Arms, you are greeted with Tial, the elf who met you all when you arrived in Sala. “So, did you meet with success?”

Stone addresses Tial,

"We got the key, but I'm worried that one of us may have contracted a serious illness that will hurt us in our sleep. Before any of us go to sleep we have to be sure we can do so safely. If your boss wants us to keep working for him he should cover the cost of treatment."

Tial takes a step back and tries to hide his repulsion. “Oh, I see. I assume you contracted this during your mission? The master will not cover diseases contracted from...‘extracurricular activities.’ If you all wait here I will fetch a cleric.” He rushes off out the front door of the inn. He immediately turns back around and pokes his head in through the door. ”This may take a little while, it is the middle of the night. If you like, you could have the staff of the inn whip you up a midnight snack.” And with that he’s gone again, into the night in search of a cleric. 

You turn and see that there is a member of the inn’s staff, a middle aged gnome woman, standing behind you. ”Can I get you lot anything?”

Stone addresses the gnome.

"Yes, thank you. I would like a flagon of ale and a haunch of roast. I'm sure my companions here are hungry as well."

"I'll have whatever you would recommend ma'am. I'm not a very picky eater."

(The seriousness of the illness situation has Natasha worried. She turns to the Gnome woman.)

"I do hope the Cleric is a good one. I am starting to feel a little feverish. Do you have any chicken soup?"

“‘Extra’-curricular my ass. We need to have some words with the ‘master’ and set some boundaries.” Jacob scowls, and feeling fine himself, responds kindly to the gnome, “ale and some sort of meat is fine for me as well, thank you.”

The gnome trots out of the common room of the inn, to the kitchen in the back. After a few long minutes of loud clanging and banging, she emerges with two mugs of ale, three haunches of roast, and a bowl of chicken soup.

After you all enjoy your late night meal, Tial returns with a drowsy eyed human cleric in a wrinkled sleep shirt. Tial presents the man to the group. “This is Alen Corby, the best cleric in Sala.”

Alen raises his hand in greeting. ”Please forgive my appearance, I was asleep when Tial summoned me. What seems to be the problem?”

Stone addresses the disheveled cleric.

"Mr. Corby, we were all bitten by a magical rat that could quadruple itself. We've been informed that this may have resulted in us having contracted a doppelling disease that would negatively affect us while we sleep. Natasha here seems to already be exhibiting some symptoms. We need to be sure we are healthy before we sleep."

“Hmm, that is worth getting up in the middle of the night.” The cleric says in response to your story. “The doppeling disease is very serious, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

After briefly examining some exposed cuts on each of you, Alen casts detect poison and disease. His eyes follow an invisible trail that ends up at Natasha. “I’m sorry my dear,” he says using his best bedside manner, “I’m afraid you’ve been infected. But worry not, your affliction is easily cured.”

He lightly touches Natasha on the shoulder and cast lesser restoration. Natasha, you feel a gentle warmth radiate from the cleric’s hand and embrace your entire body. He pulls his hand away. “And that should do it.” He turns to the rest of the party with a smile, “The rest of you were not infected, thank the gods.”

His job complete, he is shepherded out by Tial. Before he is out the door he stops and mentions something quietly to Tial about payment. Tial digs through his pockets and hands the cleric some coins. The cleric then whispers something in Tial’s ear and points towards the kitchen. “Oh, very well,” an exacerbated Tial replies. He walks off to the kitchen and returns with a jug of wine. “Here,” he says as he shoves the jug into Alen’s chest, “Now go!”

Alen gives the party a playful wink and he’s out the door, heading home. Tial turns back to the party, “Now that that’s done, the master is waiting.” He ushers you all back to the penthouse suite where you first met your Benefactor. You find him sitting by the roaring fireplace, sipping from a wine glass. He turns his masked face and addresses the party.

“Have a fun night?”

(Even though she has been cured, Natasha is wrapped up, using her cloak like a blanket, being a bit of a drama queen to get sympathy and attention.)

"If you consider getting a life-threatening disease 'fun', we had a great time."

(Natasha coughs weakly, pouts, and sits down, sighing dramatically.)

OOC: it's been a while - what was it that struck us as unseemly about the quest when we spoke with Donnar? I know we got the idea we were being used, but I'm forgetting how...

Stone marches up to the masked man.

"We got your Key of Zahnaria and defeated Creel and his doppel rat. Now we need some questions answered. How did Creel get the key? Did he know that it could open this Chamber of the Everforge in which you are so interested? Is there anybody else who may know of the Chamber of the Everforge and may also want to retrieve the artifact therein? Why do you want the artifact so badly? What will you give us if we succeed in obtaining your artifact?"

Natasha: The Benefactor tilts his head in sympathy. “I’m sorry my dear, I had no idea that there was a doppelrat living in those old docks. They are rare creatures, thank the gods.” He shivers a little at the mention of doppelrats. “But there is one less one out there, so good job.” He raises his glass in praise of you.

Stone: The Benefactor smiles beneath his mask. “Always so full of questions aren’t you, Mr. Nads? I suppose it’s an admirable trait for someone who investigates and dispenses justice.” He sips from his wine glass. “First things first. Show me the key and will give you your reward.”

"I have it! Here, look."

Penelope will hold up the key for the Benefactor to inspect.

The Benefactor immediately recognizes his lost key. “Perfect,” he says, “I knew you all could do it.” He snaps his fingers.

Tial enters the room from behind you with something in his arms. The Benefactor motions to you all. “Here is your reward for a job well done.”

Tial distributes 150 gp to each of you and holds out a shoulder bag with a slightly grinning face stitched on the cover flap. You all realize that you are being given a bag of holding.

“Now,” The Benefactor says before sipping his wine, “I’m prepared to answer any questions you have. Who wants to go first?”

Stoically taking the coin and stashing it away,

"Everything that Stone asked you moments ago still applies. How did Creel get the key? Did he know that it could open this Chamber of the Everforge in which you are so interested? Is there anybody else who may know of the Chamber of the Everforge and may also want to retrieve the artifact therein? Why do you want the artifact so badly? What will you give us if we succeed in obtaining your artifact?"

(OOC: just copy/pasted to move things along and negate the need for too much scrolling or back-paging)