Lumen looks at the lake-man and tries to see what has changed. If anything. Does he look like a regular person who has just been Through Some Stuff, or is he giving Lumen the heebie-jeebies.
Everything about this place is giving you the heebie-jeebies. The eerie, foggy, slime covered, spider-infested landscape, the deathly silence, at least now that the birds are gone, the fact that you were attacked by a murder of big black ravens and a terrifying scarecrow that came to life and brought fear to even your tough-as-nails, battle hardened dwarf friend, the withered, ugly, emaciated, sopping wet and apparently beaten man who just crawled from the lake and the, fact that Chrys detected a fey somewhere in the brackish water...
Yea, you guys are totally creeped out by all of this.
Nonetheless, Lumen looks at the man, who has slumped to his knees. He just kneels there, looking towards you with an almost pitiful expression, and mumbling something, although in his weakened condition, his words are very hard to hear.
Lumen steps forward, listening to and watching for anything else in the lake. He speaks in a low, cautious tone. "We might be able to help you. We just took apart that thing. But you have to tell us what you know. What was that? What else is in the lake? Is it causing the slime and the grossness out here? Attracting ettercaps and vermin?"
He pauses, takes a deep breath, and calms himself further, speaking in a friendlier manner: "Who are you, friend? Where are you from? I assume you were not born in this lake."
Chrys shakes out a bit of holy water from her flask onto a scrap of cloth and kneels down by the man. She takes a hand of his and carefully rubs some away some of the muck from it, checking to see if there's any sort of adverse reaction to the cleansing.
The withered man answers Lumen in a soft, raspy, labored voice. "Scarecrow... evil watcher... guard, not letting me move freely. Keep me prisoner. You kill, so me free, but not entirely. Many things in the lake and many things in the swamp. Evil things that cast spells and bring darkness and fog... and vermin."
"Swamp and lake is my home. I live here long time, many lives longer than regular peoples. Many many years in forest and around lakes and lake trees. I am old man of the lake. Not born in lake, but I likes the comfort of nice cool water and safety of trees," he says, pointing to the elaborate, twisted bundle of branches and massive root structure of the Cyprus trees as the edge of the pond.
"Who are you peoples and pretty elves?"
Now that you get a close look at this strange man, you can see that he is old... very old. His skin is withered and wrinkled, and sunken around his deep, dark colored eyes, and his hair is long, stringy and tangled.
At first, he pulls back his hand instinctively, perhaps out of fear and misstrust, when Chrys reaches for it to carefully rub away some of the filth from his fingers, but when he senses that she is being gentle, he relaxes. There seems to be no adverse reaction to the water, and he looks at her and says, "Thank you, kind child."
Chrys
As Chrys is rubbing her hand, she can feel the roughness of the man's skin and his long, broken fingernails, but strangely, as her hands briefly touch his, the texture she feels seems a bit different than she might have expected. His skin feels rougher, perhaps even scaly beneath her fingers, and his fingernails seem even sharper and more a bit more rounded than they appear, almost like claws.
"Ya been through a lot, just like all the other locals here," Chrys replies kindly, handing him the cloth in case he wishes to continue cleaning himself. "I ain't sure what ya are, but I've seen lots o' things in this forest that I ain't never seen in my life before, and I'm guessin' you're just another one of them forest peoples bein' hurt by all this rot." She hesitates. "If yer puttin' on some kind of a glamour or spell to keep from scarin' us, I'd like to ask ya what ya are, and ta let us know what ya really look like, 'cause I can tell ya ain't human. We need to fight them evil things causin' all the trouble, an' I don't want ta be aimin' at the wrong things jus' cause I don't know what the folks livin' here look like. I mean, are there more folks like ya in that lake? Are they also trapped? Can ya tell us how we might be able to get ta the bottom o' this lake an' find the thing makin' all the trouble here?"
As she talks and probes the man, she still searches him as best she can for signs of his sincerity thus far: Insight 11(rolled in game log)
"There are no more like me in the lake. I live alone for many many years. I know most things in lake, some friends, some enemies, mostly fishes, some more dangerous creatures, but it not be other lake dwellers who make the unnatural things you see. It is creature on other side of lake. Witch lives other side. She bind me here with scarecrow and send many evils across swamps. Witch gain power, control many of the evils and monsters, spread slime and fog and send them across land here."
"You right, I am not human, child. I am elf. Like them..." he says, pointing to Vesper and Kess. "But live in water and land. Water elf am called. Very very old. Once look very nice, like them, but no more. Was cursed by lake witch many year past, now live with ugly face. Please... do not want to show you true self, for I am even more hideous than I show, and do not want to frighten you. I wish I could make look like handsome elf, but cannot..."
Chrys
Listening to the raspy, labored voice of this odd fellow, you hear things that indeed seems strange, especially to a hill dwelling dwarf, but nothing that seems suspicious.
Lumen digs into the scarecrow, tearing it apart, wanting to know who made it, how, and if there is anything inside it. Chrys seems to be handling the man/elf well, but he's ready to jump into action should anything go hinky.
Kess, roll an intelligence check. And an insight check as well.
Lumen hacks and tears trough the remains of the scarecrow, but all he finds is a pie if sticks, twigs, hay and some shreds of old, mildew-laden cloth and burlap. In his best guess, he figures that the creature was some kind of magical construct, animated by arcane forces.
Chrys nods, though she says "I understand yer hesitation, an' won't ask any more o' ya. You've already given us plenty o' useful information an' a goal. But I hope with all them years ya understand that what makes a person handsome or ugly always starts on the inside, an' not the outside." She smiles as she clambers back to her feet, checking herself over for injuries. There are a few, but she looks over the others first.
"Might be good o' us to take a short breather on this side o' the lake 'fore we go witch huntin' on the opposite bank," she suggests.
As she stands there looking somewhat suspiciously at this strange man, Kess suddenly remembers that she had indeed heard stories about sea elves, or aquatic elves. There not very common, and no one that she knows has ever encountered one, but there is said to be a little known subrace of elves that inhabit coastal regions, and who can breathe in both air and water. And, of course, she knows that most elves have at least some affinity for magic
So, from this realization, Kess finds no reason to doubt this old man’s words.
"I think that would be wise," Kess nods in agreement, relaxing as she recalled stores from her youth about her maritime kin, the Alu'Tel'Quessir."If we're to face such a wicked creature, it would be foolish to go darting ahead without either rest or a plan."
"Yer welcome ta rest with us if ya like, on one condition,"Chrys says to the man. "Ya gotta tell us what ta call ya, sir, 'sides sir." As she surveys the area, she looks around for a good place to sit down and clean her wounds off... preferrably not so close in proximity to the creepy lake.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Lumen turns around and sits down on something not-soggy. "Yes, what is your name? Tell us more about the witch, and the lake, and anything else you know. We are just here to help. What do you eat? We might have some food to share."
With the decision to stick around here and take a short test, you relax and try to take a load off your feet. That said, with all the spongy, slimy ground, you find that this is hardly an ideal place to rest, and you have a hard time finding a dry place to sit. It's not the most comfortable locale, but it will serve its purpose and you're at least able to recover some of your strength and resolve as you continue to talk to this strange man.
"My name... I have not said to anyone in a very long time. It was once Gusof. Now there is no one to hear my name. You first people I see in long time. Peoples not coming here... Sometimes orcs and ogres, but no peoples.... most stay on paths, not wandering in deep woods and faraway swamps. Why you here? Who you are and why you come to lake?"
"Foul witch name Oolga... live on other side of lake in small cave by stream. Oolga hate pretty creatures like beau'ful elf maidens. She would kill pretty elves on sight, eat them, tear skin from bodies, squish eyeballs 'tween fingers and crack bones in her teeth. Spread evils and poison minds of other forest creatures, even elves. She have no love for forest, only for wickedness. I likes forest creatures, deers and water swimmers. Me eating fish from lake. Plenty fish, no needing people foods."
Lumen
Whether it's a result of being totally creeped out by this whole place, being attacked by what essentially was a pile of hay and dead sticks that had somehow magically come to life, or if it's that you find blatant distrust in this strange man's words, you definitely feel suspicious, but about what you're not entirely sure.
Despite the sodden ground, Chrys manages to make the best out of it, and with the aid of Krackle, bandage her wounds. The stripes on her face sting painfully, but at least they won't become infected after being treated. She grins as she feels the rough patches of skin on her face. "Gives a lady character,"she grumbles. "An' it should finally stop ma from tryin' to marry me off now,"she adds as an afterthought.
(Chrys recovers 7 hp using 1 hit die, and is ready to rock again)
Lumen asks Chrys if she needs any more healing from himself or Krackle. He plays an easy background melody, nothing too avant garde, while they have their short rest, allowing Chrys (and anyone else who rolls HD) to roll another D6.
"Gusof, if it's okay to call you that, I did want to ask you about the lake. Are there any rafts you've seen? Or rowboats? Even sunken ones? And if we found one, how dangerous would it be to cross? I'm also curious how far across it is. As to why we're here, well, we're here to help. Make this place nicer. Less scary. Better place to live for you, and for others who live here. Seems like this witch is making things bad. We'd like to get her to stop. How long has she been here? Was she here before you got here?"
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Lumen looks at the lake-man and tries to see what has changed. If anything. Does he look like a regular person who has just been Through Some Stuff, or is he giving Lumen the heebie-jeebies.
Everything about this place is giving you the heebie-jeebies. The eerie, foggy, slime covered, spider-infested landscape, the deathly silence, at least now that the birds are gone, the fact that you were attacked by a murder of big black ravens and a terrifying scarecrow that came to life and brought fear to even your tough-as-nails, battle hardened dwarf friend, the withered, ugly, emaciated, sopping wet and apparently beaten man who just crawled from the lake and the, fact that Chrys detected a fey somewhere in the brackish water...
Yea, you guys are totally creeped out by all of this.
Nonetheless, Lumen looks at the man, who has slumped to his knees. He just kneels there, looking towards you with an almost pitiful expression, and mumbling something, although in his weakened condition, his words are very hard to hear.
(I totally didn't realize the scarecrow and the guy in the lake were two different people... reading comprehension skill fail!)
Lumen steps forward, listening to and watching for anything else in the lake. He speaks in a low, cautious tone. "We might be able to help you. We just took apart that thing. But you have to tell us what you know. What was that? What else is in the lake? Is it causing the slime and the grossness out here? Attracting ettercaps and vermin?"
He pauses, takes a deep breath, and calms himself further, speaking in a friendlier manner: "Who are you, friend? Where are you from? I assume you were not born in this lake."
Chrys shakes out a bit of holy water from her flask onto a scrap of cloth and kneels down by the man. She takes a hand of his and carefully rubs some away some of the muck from it, checking to see if there's any sort of adverse reaction to the cleansing.
The withered man answers Lumen in a soft, raspy, labored voice. "Scarecrow... evil watcher... guard, not letting me move freely. Keep me prisoner. You kill, so me free, but not entirely. Many things in the lake and many things in the swamp. Evil things that cast spells and bring darkness and fog... and vermin."
"Swamp and lake is my home. I live here long time, many lives longer than regular peoples. Many many years in forest and around lakes and lake trees. I am old man of the lake. Not born in lake, but I likes the comfort of nice cool water and safety of trees," he says, pointing to the elaborate, twisted bundle of branches and massive root structure of the Cyprus trees as the edge of the pond.
"Who are you peoples and pretty elves?"
Now that you get a close look at this strange man, you can see that he is old... very old. His skin is withered and wrinkled, and sunken around his deep, dark colored eyes, and his hair is long, stringy and tangled.
At first, he pulls back his hand instinctively, perhaps out of fear and misstrust, when Chrys reaches for it to carefully rub away some of the filth from his fingers, but when he senses that she is being gentle, he relaxes. There seems to be no adverse reaction to the water, and he looks at her and says, "Thank you, kind child."
Chrys
As Chrys is rubbing her hand, she can feel the roughness of the man's skin and his long, broken fingernails, but strangely, as her hands briefly touch his, the texture she feels seems a bit different than she might have expected. His skin feels rougher, perhaps even scaly beneath her fingers, and his fingernails seem even sharper and more a bit more rounded than they appear, almost like claws.
"Ya been through a lot, just like all the other locals here," Chrys replies kindly, handing him the cloth in case he wishes to continue cleaning himself. "I ain't sure what ya are, but I've seen lots o' things in this forest that I ain't never seen in my life before, and I'm guessin' you're just another one of them forest peoples bein' hurt by all this rot." She hesitates. "If yer puttin' on some kind of a glamour or spell to keep from scarin' us, I'd like to ask ya what ya are, and ta let us know what ya really look like, 'cause I can tell ya ain't human. We need to fight them evil things causin' all the trouble, an' I don't want ta be aimin' at the wrong things jus' cause I don't know what the folks livin' here look like. I mean, are there more folks like ya in that lake? Are they also trapped? Can ya tell us how we might be able to get ta the bottom o' this lake an' find the thing makin' all the trouble here?"
As she talks and probes the man, she still searches him as best she can for signs of his sincerity thus far: Insight 11 (rolled in game log)
"There are no more like me in the lake. I live alone for many many years. I know most things in lake, some friends, some enemies, mostly fishes, some more dangerous creatures, but it not be other lake dwellers who make the unnatural things you see. It is creature on other side of lake. Witch lives other side. She bind me here with scarecrow and send many evils across swamps. Witch gain power, control many of the evils and monsters, spread slime and fog and send them across land here."
"You right, I am not human, child. I am elf. Like them..." he says, pointing to Vesper and Kess. "But live in water and land. Water elf am called. Very very old. Once look very nice, like them, but no more. Was cursed by lake witch many year past, now live with ugly face. Please... do not want to show you true self, for I am even more hideous than I show, and do not want to frighten you. I wish I could make look like handsome elf, but cannot..."
Chrys
Listening to the raspy, labored voice of this odd fellow, you hear things that indeed seems strange, especially to a hill dwelling dwarf, but nothing that seems suspicious.
Water elf? That raised Kess' eyebrows.
Does something seem off to Kess as well? Has she even HEARD of "water elves"?
Lumen digs into the scarecrow, tearing it apart, wanting to know who made it, how, and if there is anything inside it. Chrys seems to be handling the man/elf well, but he's ready to jump into action should anything go hinky.
Investigation: 14
Kess, roll an intelligence check. And an insight check as well.
Lumen hacks and tears trough the remains of the scarecrow, but all he finds is a pie if sticks, twigs, hay and some shreds of old, mildew-laden cloth and burlap. In his best guess, he figures that the creature was some kind of magical construct, animated by arcane forces.
Chrys nods, though she says "I understand yer hesitation, an' won't ask any more o' ya. You've already given us plenty o' useful information an' a goal. But I hope with all them years ya understand that what makes a person handsome or ugly always starts on the inside, an' not the outside." She smiles as she clambers back to her feet, checking herself over for injuries. There are a few, but she looks over the others first.
"Might be good o' us to take a short breather on this side o' the lake 'fore we go witch huntin' on the opposite bank," she suggests.
History: 17
Insight: 1
As she stands there looking somewhat suspiciously at this strange man, Kess suddenly remembers that she had indeed heard stories about sea elves, or aquatic elves. There not very common, and no one that she knows has ever encountered one, but there is said to be a little known subrace of elves that inhabit coastal regions, and who can breathe in both air and water. And, of course, she knows that most elves have at least some affinity for magic
So, from this realization, Kess finds no reason to doubt this old man’s words.
"I think that would be wise," Kess nods in agreement, relaxing as she recalled stores from her youth about her maritime kin, the Alu'Tel'Quessir. "If we're to face such a wicked creature, it would be foolish to go darting ahead without either rest or a plan."
"Yer welcome ta rest with us if ya like, on one condition," Chrys says to the man. "Ya gotta tell us what ta call ya, sir, 'sides sir." As she surveys the area, she looks around for a good place to sit down and clean her wounds off... preferrably not so close in proximity to the creepy lake.
Lumen turns around and sits down on something not-soggy. "Yes, what is your name? Tell us more about the witch, and the lake, and anything else you know. We are just here to help. What do you eat? We might have some food to share."
Does he seem to be trustworthy?
Insight: 17
With the decision to stick around here and take a short test, you relax and try to take a load off your feet. That said, with all the spongy, slimy ground, you find that this is hardly an ideal place to rest, and you have a hard time finding a dry place to sit. It's not the most comfortable locale, but it will serve its purpose and you're at least able to recover some of your strength and resolve as you continue to talk to this strange man.
"My name... I have not said to anyone in a very long time. It was once Gusof. Now there is no one to hear my name. You first people I see in long time. Peoples not coming here... Sometimes orcs and ogres, but no peoples.... most stay on paths, not wandering in deep woods and faraway swamps. Why you here? Who you are and why you come to lake?"
"Foul witch name Oolga... live on other side of lake in small cave by stream. Oolga hate pretty creatures like beau'ful elf maidens. She would kill pretty elves on sight, eat them, tear skin from bodies, squish eyeballs 'tween fingers and crack bones in her teeth. Spread evils and poison minds of other forest creatures, even elves. She have no love for forest, only for wickedness. I likes forest creatures, deers and water swimmers. Me eating fish from lake. Plenty fish, no needing people foods."
Lumen
Whether it's a result of being totally creeped out by this whole place, being attacked by what essentially was a pile of hay and dead sticks that had somehow magically come to life, or if it's that you find blatant distrust in this strange man's words, you definitely feel suspicious, but about what you're not entirely sure.
Despite the sodden ground, Chrys manages to make the best out of it, and with the aid of Krackle, bandage her wounds. The stripes on her face sting painfully, but at least they won't become infected after being treated. She grins as she feels the rough patches of skin on her face. "Gives a lady character," she grumbles. "An' it should finally stop ma from tryin' to marry me off now," she adds as an afterthought.
(Chrys recovers 7 hp using 1 hit die, and is ready to rock again)
Lumen asks Chrys if she needs any more healing from himself or Krackle. He plays an easy background melody, nothing too avant garde, while they have their short rest, allowing Chrys (and anyone else who rolls HD) to roll another D6.
"Gusof, if it's okay to call you that, I did want to ask you about the lake. Are there any rafts you've seen? Or rowboats? Even sunken ones? And if we found one, how dangerous would it be to cross? I'm also curious how far across it is. As to why we're here, well, we're here to help. Make this place nicer. Less scary. Better place to live for you, and for others who live here. Seems like this witch is making things bad. We'd like to get her to stop. How long has she been here? Was she here before you got here?"