Erik Soong's Call of the Netherdeep

Quote from Wysperra >>

Ylis smiles brightly and runs her hands over her "new" armor. She twirls and giggles in delight.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" she then holds out a tiny sack of coin.

Frekor chuckles with a small smile. "Hey, now we are matching. Should I swich or are you ok with having the same outfit?" asks in a joking manner. Even though they both were now wearing studded leather, his was noticeable worn down, showing the multiple blows that the armor kept from ending his life.

He then looks at Galza. "Thank you for the upgrade." says before addressing the group. "We should get moving. Who know how long we have to find Aloysia before she does something bad and hurts Ayo's group."

Sky finds a suit of very nice splint mail armor, and a matching shield.
He brings both to Galza to fit to his body, and also says: "You have to make sure to remove any insignia of the Aurora Watch, because we're not officially part of it."

Galza pulls the large Sky over to her fitting station, where she has a rolling staircase that can swing around a platform stationed in front of three tall mirrors. She swings around, where she makes hand adjustments to the splint mail armor. The large plates of splint are mostly fine, but several slats on the chest bear the symbol of the Aurora Watch. Galza casually uproots them with her thumbnail and flicks them off, pinning on new slats of metal that bear no symbol. She presses them into place by placing her hand inside the armor, gnarled fingers sliding between flesh and armor so that she bears the force of her pressing rather than the relatively fragile Sky. She then massages the rather iconic flared and holed pauldrons down, shaping them like clay into a more common, rounded fashion without holes. It only takes a few minutes before she is done.

"That should do it."

DM: Sky has Splint armor. Basic, but expensive and effective. 

DM: It is just before noon now. What do you wish to do with your time?

Jacaranda looked down at her scuffed and aged studded leather, it would do for a while yet.

She dug through the parties supplies, " Um.....should we put spells in these rings?  Also....what's this pink dust?"

Ylis looks at the sky and nods, "Yup, gotta check in with Foghome." she shrugs, "He might not even need the enchantment but if he wants it, I'm going to give it to him." 

Rubbing her chin she nods, "Maybe if you guys can come with to keep me safe until I get there?" 

Randa looked conflicted between heading after Ayo or escorting Ylis........but who was she kidding, she was always gonna choose Ylis....

" Lets go."

Nivi, still slightly disappointed to miss the opportunity to witness Galza's metal-mashing hands give Morgan a hard back rub, looks from Ylis to Randa.

"I mean, they're your friends.  Gullible Water Girl and her crew.  So you make the call on when we go to pull their ass out of the fire.  But I'm thinking, when we go, we all go.  Bad feeling that Betrayer's Rise is gonna need all six of us.  So until then, I'll tag along for uh... Foghome?"

Nivi repeats the firbolg's name skeptically, as if she does not quite yet believe that he's a real person.  Sounds made up.

Sky thanks Galza profusely and follows after the others.

"I would be happy to escort you to Foghome," Sky says to Ylis.  Along the way, he admires his new fancy, finely-crafted armor.

The walk from Galza’s to Foghome is short and without issue. The sky, ever overcast in these parts, casts the city in a gray gloom. However, the city is as active as ever. Soldiers march about, keeping order and watching for demons slithering about. Civilians ply their trade, pushing wares, offering services, or just getting to work on cleaning up and repairing the city from the last demonic incursion, which from what the party can see, happened while they were under the city.

As the party approaches the ruined temple, the sounds of hammers and shouts of the people fade into the distance. The spiral shape sprouts like a weed over the nearby buildings even before the party arrives, but once they do, they are greeted to Foghome, a massive firbolg, cleaning up some debris in the yard. His eyes are bloodshot and have deep, dark circles, and his posture is stooped in fatigue. A fresh bandage covers the length of his arm and is stained through with blood. However, when he sees the party, a smile spreads over his wide face.

“Ah! It is good to see you again. When you didn’t return the other day, I had feared the worst. And then the demons… I thought you were done for heh. The Wild Mother gave me a vision yesterday of a human woman that sprouted horns and.. peeled a screaming apple? It was an odd image, but I got the impression that it was symbolic in some way rather than literal.” He pulls half a wagon off the road leading to his temple.

“I see you brought some new friends. Welcome.” Foghome looks up at the sky. “Hmmm… you are early. Or late… depending on how you want to look at it, heh.” He then looks at the party with an expectant look on his face. “So…” 

Morgan smiles.
"Hey, Foghome, it's nice to see you again. Your vision is powerful... we are, in fact, the saviors of that apple."

His eyes drift to the firbolg's the injured arm.
"What happened to your arm? I hope you've been staying safe..."

He pauses before continuing.
"As someone once said, 'A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.'" Morgan points a thumb toward the rest of the group. "Unfortunately, I'm with them. And I'm not a wizard. So we're dramatically late."

He flashes another grin but his tone becomes more serious.
"We may have to leave town quite soon, and whatever information the Wild Mother can give us could be a lifesaver." A brief pause. "Literally."

He spreads his hands.
"So... is there anything we can do to make that thing of yours happen faster? Like... right now?"

"Hello Mr. Foghome sir! We're a little early-late because I wanted to ask if you are familiar with the Moonweaver's blessing of plant growth? I can perform a ceremony that will double the output of all of your plants for a year!" She smiles up at the firbolg, "If you already have it, no problem. If you want it, I can start now and I'll run into the evening to finish."

Hands on hips, the bunny girl inquires, "What do you think?"

DM: Someone will have to remind me where the pink dust came from. I honestly can't remember lol. Part of me wants to say it was pre-campaign.

Foghome holds his arm out, presenting the injury more clearly. “Yeah, the creeps got me pretty good this time. My temple doesn’t often get targeted because the demons slaughtered the holy people who occupied this place about 100 years ago. It’s been abandoned ever since until I rolled into town. I kept my lamp on last night to let you guys know I was still awake and I guess the fiends felt like taking a less common route. I managed to get out in time for a patrol to intercept the demons, but they nipped me pretty good.”

He tries to feign strength by giving the arm a shake. “It’s not so bad though, see?” He winces from taking the shake a hair too far. “Heh. You’ll have to tell me what that apple means though, if it was about you. You wouldn’t think screaming fruit is such a scary thing, but something about the way it was getting peeled made it a particularly unnerving vision.

“Well, I could try to commune with the Wild Mother. I didn’t say this before but the reason I tend to commune in the evenings is because I don’t really get visions at other times of the day. I like to believe it is because the Wild Mother is so busy during the day, that she doesn’t find time for friendly conversation until the sun has set. That a nice chat with a follower, with some tea by a fire is how she likes to end her own day, heh.”

Foghome eyes Ylis suspiciously. “You know, I have been here for months, trying to find something that can survive more than a few days in close proximity to an infection of evil. I don’t mean to doubt your abilities, little devotee of Sehanine, but, well,” he then lowers his voice to meekly communicate some half-secret. “I would be rather embarrassed if I, a firbolg, got chumped by a harengon on matters of botany a day or two after they arrived in a place where plants refuse to grow.”

Foghome sweeps his mouth to the side of his face as he considers his own confession. “But I am here to help the people, not massage my ego. If you can do what I cannot, then I must seek out your help. Please.” He sighs in acceptance and in preparation of what might end up being a personal failure, then gestures for Ylis to join him in his temple as he begins to walk inside.

Ylis follows Foghome into the church with a jaunty stride, ready for some work. 

She looks back and gives the party a friendly wave, "Good luck with the hunt!"

" What she said.", Randa echoed, though the idea of staying here til evening was vexing to say the least....with Ayo and the others in danger.

DM: Okay so the party plans to split, but what are the roamers going to do, specifically, before you head to Betrayer's Rise?

( I mentioned the pink dust solely because I was hoping someone else remembered. :)  )

"Randa, you don't have to stay here, this is just a long boring ceremony. Go out and help Ayo if you can."

Ylis makes a shooing motion.

OOC: I'm fair certain it's Dust of Disappearance. We also have a mystery box from the beginning of the campaign but I was saving it up for something dramatic. 

Randa gave Ylis a long look, " If you feckin' die while I'm gone I'm going to have you resurrected just so I can kill you again."

" Love You, Pain in my Arse."

With that she snatched up her gear and headed out towards Betrayers Rise, not waiting to see who would join her.

Nivi smiles despite herself, unable to help thinking how delighted her annoying, precocious little bard of a sister would be at the sight of the Firbolg.

"I'm Nivi.  It's an honor"  She inclines her head to the huge nature lover, recalling something Tara had once sung.  Niva'ele Farstrider reaches for her voice.

"May your great trees be long in the growing, Foghome, and never by fiendish hand felled."  Her brief smile is gone in an instant, however, and Nivi is back.

"Lady sprouting horns in your vision sounds dead on for Desu.  Clasp b!itch lay down with demons so she could be one.  Took her down once, but she came back worse.  Belongs to the Abyss now.  Thinking peeled apple could be the Taskhand.  Pulled him off Desu's crucifix myself, flayed and all."

Once she realizes that Ylis truly is staying behind, there is a fatalistic cast to Nivi's pale green eyes as she sets off gamely for Betrayer's Rise behind Randa.

"Way I see it, without Dawnrabbit, we don't make it out of the sewers.  Without her now, Straight Arrow?  Won't lie.  More worried about us than her."

Morgan looks around, thoroughly confused.
"I'm a simple man, Ylis. Can you explain to me, using simple words my simple mind can understand, why now is the right time to cultivate some ******* tea?"

He gestures vaguely around him.
"We're trying to save friends while chasing cultists, devils, ancient curses, magical jewels, and whatever other terrible ideas this continent keeps producing..."

A pause.
"And somehow the conversation became about agriculture."