Quote from Mingofaust >>

Mortimer glares balefully at everyone.

 Drusk: "Hold still Mortimer. I need to brush some of Jorin's frozen gel from off your head." Raises the mace Joybringer over his head, and starts walking towards the cat.

Mavis gives Drusk a droll stare. Mortimer hisses.

Ignoring the insanity happening, Pascal turns to Criella, “So, cher, what do you make of all this? Oozes and dead elf hands, ain’t exactly a normal Tuesday now is it? How bad do you think we’re talking here?”

Hildigrim finally stirs, as if sleep walking. He stops staring wide-eyed at the half-elf and walks over to Pascal's campfire. "Um ... food ... " He snaps his fingers as if the words just won't come in his distracted state.

Pascal passes him some lamb.

Still looking distracted, Hildigrim begins shoveling lamb into his mouth.

With some encouraging words from Vanja, Beaumont tells his tale of woe. As a young man over a hundred years ago, we was headed down a dark (metaphorical) path, and murdered a rival. Faced with the consequences and aghast at his actions, he repented, joined the temple of Lathander (the Morninglord, deity of new beginnings) and served as an acolyte for many years, trying to make up for his actions. But one day, he ran afoul of a Tiefling cleric named Carrion, a devout disciple of the death arts, who kidnapped him and brought him to his lair. Beaumont lost track of time, for all the torture he suffered at the hands of Carrion, but at some point he recalls the torture and sneering stopped, replaced by a nightmare existence of darkness and hunger, voices in his head and endless exhaustion.

"But, how did you survive so long alone," Criella asks. "What did you eat?"

In a halting manner, Beaumont says, "There was a great eye, and a soothing voice that would bring me food and water. Not often, and it would scream at me in my head os often as not, and sometimes the food would be rotten... sometimes it was still alive..."

OOC > Feel free to ask him questions, or if not, you can sleep, level up, recover ALL your hit points, and set forth again in the morning. If you have any important RP things to do with each other, this would be a good time, as you'll have time to discuss with each other. For example, Mavis and Hildigrim are going to have a little bit of an interaction...

To Hildigrim, but not in Private because it's a small cottage...

At some point, Mavis notices Hildi looking at his prized book. She arches an eyebrow and says to him, "That looks an old bit of knowledge. I've an interest in old books, mind if I take a look at it?" If he allows it, she will cluck over some things in it, make a few "Mmmhm" noises, and hand it back. "That seems quite a puzzle. I spent a little time at Candlekeep. You should visit there, I think you'd like it."

Jorin is sitting back against a wall, his axes are laid out in front him with a few of the smiths tools he had been using arrayed around them.  Their edges gleam in the light of the cabin, setting a stark contrast with the leather wrapped hafts.  His beard and finger tips have a slight sheen to them, either from the oils used to clean the blades or the lamb bone being crunched and rolled around in his mouth. 

"What did you do to raise the anger of this cleric?"

Drusk describes the Spectator that was killed downstairs, and asks Beaumont if that was the “great eye” he encountered. (If not, it might still be down there.)

Beaumont queasily points at one of the broiled eyestalks. "That was it, I think."

He goes on, prompted by Jorin's question. "When he first brought me here, though there was no cottage then," he notes, looking around, "Carrion said it was because I had been wicked, I think he did not like elves, it may be he blamed them for something. It's all very faint to me... but I know when he took my hand, he said he was grateful I was a murderer. When he gave it back, he laughed and laughed..."

Hildigrim watches Mavis as she looks through the old diary. He hadn't even realized he had pulled it out of his pack to study it again before she had asked to see it. When she hands it back and mentions Candledeep, the halfling stammers, "C-Candledeep?" He looks at the book and back at the tiefling with bright eyes. "Can you comprehend it? I've been trying to make horns or hoofs of it since I found it in an old bookshop in Waterdeep. I know it's written in Elvish, but the code ... I can't decipher the entries. I've never been to Candledeep. I mean, I've always wanted to go. I've read about it and heard about it. I met a tortle once who was traveling north and lodged in an inn in town. She had spent a month in Candledeep and told me some of what she had learned. She confirmed that you have to provide the library with a rare tome to gain entry." At this point, the halfling looks downtrodden. "I hope to one day discover such a book in my adventuring so that I might be able to visit the Sword Coast's magnificent library. She was also a disciple of Oghma, and I think that helped." Looking hopeful again, he ends with, "So, do you know what the diary says?"

Pascal thinks for a moment, “Y’all think that Carrion is still down there? Seems like he could be the cause of this whole gâchis... Seems like if we can delve deeper, we can figure out what’s causing all this bad juju and take care of it.”

Drusk: "Sleep now, recover, and explore more in the morning?"

Jordin nods to Pascal, "Aye, if he is down there, then his thread is ours to cut.  Let us sure up the door and get a nights rest."

Wrapping up the evening... Beaumont has little more to add. As he describes Carrion, both Mavis and Criella wince at his being a Tiefling. Criella is clearly worried about her cottage being built on top of a death cleric's (former?) crib, but she is also impressed as you recount your encounters below. She seems confident in your abilities, and grateful for your willingness to help, despite grave injuries. To HIldi, Mavis cryptically says about whether she recognizes anything in his book, "Let me think on that a while, my old head is full of so many things from a long life..."

Morning dawns

You wake in the morning, the air is crisp and cold, the sheep seem to have recovered from their scare, and are bunched together for warmth outside. Nothing untoward happened during the night. Beaumont slept fitfully, with a little bit of a fever, but stirs as you all begin to wake. Criella puts on a pot of water to boil, and apologizes for not having enough crock ware for (counting heads...) six guests.

While breakfast is being made and water boiled, Drusk sits in a corner muttering and chanting prayers. After many minutes, he stops, and pops up with a twinkle in his eye. "A little prayer to Lliira that today's activities find more loot downstairs to be salvaged, and more joy when the evil is purged." He goes around the room, clapping people on the back and trying to cheer everyone up (including Beaumont) as beverages are being served.

Jorin laughs and nods at Drusk's words, "the joy when evil is purged."  He says, "How is it that now, near the end of my K'harn, I have found such companions.  When I have to return to my village, I do hope to see you all again, being warmed by my hearthfire."

Pascal finishes his breakfast, “Well, I just met y’all, but it’s been quite the enjoyable time, I’d say.”

Jorin happily eats and drinks all that is offered -- probably a little faster than the others, but enjoying it no less.  As he is eating the last bites of his breakfast he says, "Seems about time to head downstairs.  No lamb for the lazy wolf."