Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP)

Sera nods " a fair assumption I guess. And I get your consern.  But I am a Cleric of Paladine. And honesty brings my goals and my gods interest much further. I can plainly tell you what we doing here. And even we might have conflicting interests. I am willing to sort it out peacefully. "

Sera keep her behaving calm. Arms down. 

" we are here to lift the corrupting aura emitting from this place. Do we have a conflict?"

The kobold looks at you with a long, unblinking stare. Too long. It feels awkward. Perhaps in her culture, this is not disrespectful to stare at someone for such a long time, but to your party, it's like she's turned into a statue. Finally, she twitches, as if a decision has been made.

"Conflict? I think, no. The magic in this place sustains and empowers us, yes... but there have been concerns about," she gestures vaguely at her jittery, muttering party, "other health problems it seems to cause. Just do not violate the tomb of our dragon mother, and your passage will face no threat from us. We are her stewards and will tend her grave until the last of us no longer breathe."

Buckeran mutters under his breath, "Oooof course you are..."

The kobold blinks and turns to Buckeran. "Your male speaks out of turn. What did he say?"

Buckeran's breath hitches in his throat. He bows deeply, his long nose nearly touching the ground. "My apologies madam! Perhaps the magic of this cave is effecting me as well, haha!"

The kobold speaker looks back to Sera with an air of dissapointment at the loose tether you have on your men. But the expression soon turns to sympathy. She nods... accepting the explanation, even though it came from Buckeran and not the cleric she was asking. "Their minds are not as guarded against the chaos of these cavern walls. It is a burden, as leaders, we must bare. Unfortunately some of our males have fallen so far that we've had to contain them for their own safety. We do not like imprisoning our own, but innoculating them from the magic has proven challenging. Be on your guard as you sleep. Too much time in these caves, and this one," she points at Buckeran, "may attempt to eat you."

She see's Hastos, Merkas, Barkly, and Orr come out of the tunnel. The golem guarding the tunnel has turned back into a crystal wall, and you can hear crystal grating against crystal while it settles back into place. She shakes her head sympathetically, believing Sera is going to have a rough night. 

"The magic poisoning is strongest in the lower levels. It is too dangerous for men to go. Our great mother rests there, and many threats will attack you on sight... including my own people. Many of our preistesses and sorcerers venture down there in shifts to tend her grave and study the magic poisoning, but they also protect the sacred grounds from presumed defilers and grave robbers, like those so called Dragon Soldiers." There's a hiss in her voice at the mention of dragon army soldiers. She does not seem to like them... at all. "I am returning from one such expedition. We are heading north. Do not venture that way, as I cannot guarantee your safety from our males. But when I return home, I will tell them that a healer has come to aid us in our cause. A servant of Paladine is welcome in these walls. The Blue have no immediate quarrel with the metallic dragons. So, with proper preparation, I may be able to convince our tribe to aid you in your cause."

Merkas, having been uncharacteristically quiet for a while since leaving the last chamber, perks up as they interact with the kobolds. He looks at Sera and casts message and thinks to the paladin. “Ask them of they care more about protecting the sanctity of the tomb or solving the magic poisoning. Maybe that can help us know how far we can push before we create make them our enemies?”

Sera gives a nod to Merkas. 

" I be grateful for all help..but tell me. If the sanity of your people cannot be preserved ...that it is caused by the dead dragon...you have a dilemma. "

Sera looks concerded " honoring the dead I understand...but honoring the living is also important. What if you found something living to serve...that not turn you insane?..."

A bold question Sera thought but the priestess must have reasoned they are going to be destroyed by this very madness they protect. 

Hastos eyes Buckeran suspiciously then throws him a subtle wink and a smirk.

In a submissive posture, Hastos slowly walks up behind Sera and whispers in her ear.

 He bows lowly and backs up, returning to his previous position.

The kobold considers your words for a few moments. "You believe the magic poisoning is caused by our Great Mother? Hmm. If you have evidence of this, then we are culpable for the harm done to our males. The body will have to be destroyed, and I do not expect our queen and her preistesses to accept that idea easily."

She scratches her chin in thought, then approaches you to stand within 30' of you, a sign of trust in her community. "Will you aid in our study of this phenomenon, after your males have had their rest? If we can provide irrefutable proof that our Great Mother's decaying form is indeed poisoning the land, then perhaps we can find an agreeable, and reverent, way to dispose of her remains."

Buckeran taps Sera. "Er... mistress. I believe I can be of help here. I have worked with other scholars to come to this conclusion. There are notes, documents, and even cursed relics that support this claim," he whispers to Sera. "Most of those relics are back in Santekh, but we do have a few relics on our person that support this claim." His eyes gesture towards the tooth that Sera is keeping safeguarded.

Sera follows his word and see what he looks at...a slow nod. She is glad this might be possible to solve withiut bloodshet...

" thank you... I will bring my males...and tend to them...I try learn them manners too" She say with a smirk  at the guys adding a pretend bossy attitude. 

" then we return to this spot and meet up in half a day to get proof of the sickening. We show you...lets go males"

Sera smack Hastos ass as she comands them. 

"Vavla... you may call me Sorceress Vavla. If you encounter any of my kind on the way back, tell them you are here by my permission." She says as you prepare to leave. She watches you depart in the correct direction... away from her tribe, then orders her party to prepare to finish the trek home.

With Hastos's legs fluttering underneath, he has a hard time staying behing Sera, but he manages to slow himself enough to keep pace. Merkas and Buckeran, on the other hand start straggling behind. Barding is a bit easier to take off than it is to put on, so it'll have to wait. You pass by the first crystal outcropping, and noticed more bones of deceased adventurers. It would appear not everyone escapes a kobold patrol unscathed. Then, you round a bend and find a natural staircase that leads down into the myconid home, and acts as the territorial demarkation for the two communities. The myconid community is much larger than what you saw before. There's about 20 in all, and at least half of them are sprouts. Though they are soundless, their expressions seem quite forlorn. Their heads are wobbling and if you had to guess, they're trying to figure out how to restore their precious mushroom grove. Two adult Myconids are doing their best to console the cluster of Sprouts waiting in safety away from the grove. Their attention seems to be on each other, and they haven't noticed you yet.

Hastos examines the dead adventurers, mostly to get a sense of who they might have been, and to see if there was anything of value left behind. (Investigation: Nat 20 + 1)

Hastos kneels and carefully examines the remains.

”These guys didn’t stand a chance. They got hit with a lot of of magic… and hard.” He says grimly, then looks back at the group. “We should consider smashing these bones to make sure they don’t revive as undead. Who knows what could happen with all this tainted magic in the air.”

Sera nods. "I try give them some rest...should we scare away the fungi people? " She starts to pray and leave it to Merkas and Hastos find a way get past the fungi. She focus on incinerate the bones and praying for the dead. To find peace. Holy radiant fire engulf the bones

( use sacred flame on the remains)

The bones crackle and sear until they break apart like fire logs until they're nothing but crackling coals. The sacred energy from you magic does appear to have a startlingly powerful impact on the spoiled magic soaking into them. And once purified, any residual magic that could've been extracted from them is gone. You are confident the bones will not rise again.

The Sprouts are milling about. Some are testing the soil... scooping it up with their club-like hands and shoving it into their mouths, and the adults seem pleased by this proactive, hopeful behavior. Mushroom colonies can spring up pretty quickly in an environment like this. It won't be more than a few weeks before their grove is back in full bloom. 

Merkas and Bucky can be heard now and then as they pass the straps and reigns back and forth as they re-saddle Barkly. “…Here, now I need…is this?…no that’s backwards…oh that’s what that’s for… how bout we try…” 

“Why’d everyone stop?” The kenders ask as they catch up to the front runners. “Yeah, maybe though they been here a long time and still didn’t wake so maybe we’re good?” Merkas shrugs and glances further down the stairs “Oh! Hmm, we already know they don’t like talking, is it best to just finish them off? I don’t like it but this so far seems to be the safest route right?” 

Buckeran fusses with a strap and Barkly tries her best to hold still while they finish saddling her up.

"Wandering back into Vavla's territory may prove a greater risk if we encounter a different group. She did warn us that their males were unusually aggressive, and based on the corpses we saw earlier, competent. The myconids are the known threat, at least."

Orr, exhausted though they may be, has a stern look on their face. "I will not slay children."

Buckeran falls immediately silent. The wall of myconids before you are indeed young. Fighting your way through risks their lives. But the even the Spores have shown themselves to be hostile. Fighting back may be Dawnbound's only option. Hesitantly, he looks over to Orr the Unseen. Softly, he replies, "My dear... of course. Of course we will... think of something."

Orr the Unseen generally goes along with whatever orders they're given, and has no obvious reservations against dealing violence and death. But the idea of harming little ones seems to test their loyalty.

Buckeran quietly finishes the last buckle and pats Barkly on the back.

“I don’t want to either, Orr” Merkas lips curl in a smirk at the play on words before continuing “Maybe if we have Barkly move up so they can see her they will run from the people that blew up their garden houses?”

Coaxing Barkly forward to stand ominously at the top of the short staircase and casting dancing lights as four orbs to illuminate the Giant Strider from behind and tapping her to let her know it’s time to roar 
(Intimidation:8 but unless the prior carnage and lights and stuff cause advantage it would be 17)

Sera who now are done with her rite to give the dead rest joins Merkes. "Yeah we need to show them we will pass here with or without their consent. ...uf we can scare them...perfect. If not...."Sera ignites her shimmering energy blade to bevready 

"We knock out the big ones untill they get the point. Non lethal this time. "

As Barkley the strider she not exactely have a good relationship with since she defeated it goin to try intimidate them she finds herself now aiding the beast. " may Paladine guide you in that..." 

Such irony...

( give Barkly guidance to help out with that action so it can add 1d4 to that 17 in intimidation)

Hastos nods.”We won’t have to. They’ve shown that if we set their food on fire, they prioritize that. It’s not a great option, but if things go badly, perhaps we just set one fire and use the distraction to get us clear of them.”

Glowing with divine radiance and a shimmering halo of multi-colored lights, Barkly lets out a wild shriek, like a massive angry rooster! She spreads her unfeathered wings as wide as she can to make her self big and the Sprouts jump nearly out of their skin in response!

Allowing Advantage and got a 3 on Guidance for a 20 to results.

The adult myconids wobble their heads to corral the Sprouts towards a safe escape. As the tide of mushroom heads breaks into a wide berth from the stairs, only one Myconid remains to block your way. He's crackling with electric energy, but his club-like hands remain at his side.

Orr the Unseen's Loyalty Score increases.

The other myconid adults come rushing up, not to engage in battle, but to protect the Sprouts. Their arms are outstretched and their facial expressions represent fear.

The Myconid Blue you see before you is not the same Adult Myconid you fought before. He appears to be much older. Those with a +1 to Intelligence recognize that he is a Myconid Sovereign. But he appears to have gained some control over lightning magic as well. How he uses that power is as-of-yet unclear.

“Well, maybe this important looking guy will talk?” Merkas shrugs as he moves forward. “Barkly be ready to smash home with that fire bomb of yours if he attacks me okay?”

The small blue kender moves just far enough forward to be in, what he believes to be, range of the communication spore the creature puts out. 

Thinking hard and speaking out loud “Um, sorry about the big mushrooms, we just didn’t want to become food for them. Don’t suppose you all would kindly relocate so that we don’t have to destroy any more of your people?” 

Sera are worried this electric older Fungi might have lighting bolts. 

Just to be on the safe side Sera carefully follow Merkas. Keepin tight agaunt the western wall.

( move 30 feet south as close to the westwall as possible)