Aspiring Heroes of Faerûn

Chrys, with the axe still slung over her shoulder, squints, then glances at Lumen.  "What's she sayin'?"

"You don't want to know," Kess would quickly interject, but not without narrowing her eyes in understanding towards the new chieftain, making it clear that she was not amused at her insults towards her and her companions. "We should wait until we're to ourselves."

Satisfaction rushed through Nym as she saw her dwarven companion strike down the Chief and watched with blade raised to parry any incoming attacks as the female orc raised her voice. She didn't know what she was saying, but the drow didn't much like the tone. However it seemed to be highly effective in talking down the rest of the surviving orcs into lowering their weapons. Chest heaving as she breathed heavily through flared nostrils, Nym glanced at her party members for guidance and only lowered her own weapon when she saw Kess do so as well. Using one of the fallen orc's clothing to wipe the blood from the blade, she then sheathed her longsword, hovering near the other elf. While she hadn't seen Kessdarra in a lot of combat, this outburst was a first to witness. Nym tries to catch Kess' eyes and then raise her eyebrows a fraction with a slight raise of her head as she murmurs in elvish, "Are you alright?" 

Listening blankly without comprehension to the orc woman's speech, Nym glances between Lumen and Kess for any clue as to what was being said. But at Kess' answer to Chrys' question, the drow glared at the remaining band. "If they haven't had enough, we can make sure they get their fill of our blades." Hand on the handle of her longsword and ready for the orcs to change their minds at any moment but waiting for either word from Lumen or an aggressive action from them. 

Lumen relays that the orcs will be departing, and want the leader’s axe. He asks if the party wants to go, or if the orcs should.

I’m orcish, he replies that the axe is hers, and asks where they will go, suggests they do it shortly.

Chrys grimaces, but hands over the axe slowly, glaring all the while.  

"Feels like a bad deal," she mutters to Lumen, but allows him to continue with his orcish diplomacy.

When Chrys hands over the silvered great axe to the orc who calls herself Ownka Bonebreaker, she responds with a nod, then raises it in the air and says something in orchish, which Lumen hears to be "Red Claws, tonight we begin our journey back to the greatness we once were. We leave this cursed forest and will look back no more upon it, and instead return to the place where we once called home."

With that, Ownka begin to walk forward, and the three remaining orcs follow her out of the grove as they move south, apparently returning in the direction from which they came. In a few minutes, they are gone from your sight, and all is quiet once again in this space section of the forest.

Chrys methodically begins to search the remaining corpses for anything of value.  "Tha' went better than I hoped.  So what now?" she asks the others.  "Campin' fer the night or makin' haste while we know they're movin' in the other direction?"

Searching the bodies of the five fallen orcs, you find that each one carries a handful of silver coins in his pouch. Between the lot, you find 52 sp.

Moving over to the fallen chief, you discover that he carries 60 gp in his pouch, as well as a handfuls of gems of various types, turquoise, onyx and azurite. There are 7 total, each one worth about 10 gp. 

Tucked into a pocket on the inside of his clothing, you find a smooth red stone, roughly the size of a fist, and hanging from his belt, you find a wooden scroll case that's covered with ornately carved decorations. In addition to his axe, which is now in the hands of Ownka, the orc chief also carried a dagger and a few trinkets: things that appear to be trophies from former kills, including a string of ears and about twenty teeth.

Off to the side near his body lie the remains of his discarded chain mail armor, with a few of the straps having been cut through.

Chrys gathers the valuables, to be sorted later (anyone who wants to math out coin and gem distribution can tell us what we got), and then searches through the other items.

"Dagger might still be useful to someone who needs it," she grunts, holding it up.

The scroll case and the red stone she hands towards Lumen and Vesper - "Maybe you kin read some o' what's in this," she requests.  "Or tell if this here stone's magic or somethin'."

The string of macabre trophies, she carefully hands to Nym, but only after wrapping them in cloth.  "We're gonna wanna either bury these or return 'em to th' elves... might only be bits an' pieces here, but they deserve a proper burial, an' I'm sure some o' the victims o' their raid are in this mess.  We don't want them kids catchin' sight o' this either."

The broken chainmail she toes over, shrugging.  "I ain't got a need for this thing," she declares.

Finished with her search, she watches the others.  "I ain't feelin' like makin' camp in the midst o' all this death.  Want ta move on?"

Lumen slowly lets out a held breath as the orcs depart, then walks over to Chrys. "I am sorry. That axe, I know you probably wanted it. But I wanted to offer it back to them for two reasons. One, though we did a marvelous job fighting them, even with my mistakes, I did not want to risk more fighting and potentially losing one of you. And two, it seemed to hold a special meaning for them, and Ownka seems like she wanted to perhaps turn her people away from being wool-headed fools who collect macabre trophies, rampage through the forest where they don't belong, and serve a dragon who wants to cause more mayhem. I'll find you a better axe," the half-orc says, grinning winningly.

"Well that went better than it could have," he says as the group collects itself. "Kess, are you okay? Vesper? Nym, thank you for helping us in that fight."

Lumen's fine with pushing on to a better camping spot once the group collects anything of worth from the camp. He picks up the chain mail and wonders if he could fashion it into a chain shirt, which he could wear, rather than the heavier armor with the straps cut. He gathers it into a ball to tinker with when he has a chance.

If the group takes a rest, he'll sing a song of rest to boost their healing by 1d6. He's game for resting a bit farther down the path, then proceeding to their destination, hoping to marshal what he learned to apply to whatever Faerun throws at them next.

Chrys

Nym stares in the direction that the remaining orcs went for far longer than they were visible, hand still on her longsword before she finally showed signs of relaxing slightly, spine still straight but with posture no longer tensed. Looking to Chrys' as she vocalized her queries while poking through the former belongings of the deceased, the drow looks to the others before stating, "I don't think we should travel all through the night, but I am in favor of putting some distance between us." 

Reaching out to take the offered cloth parcel from her dwarf companion, Nym heard what Chrys had said but didn't really process until she opened it and froze. Not blinking or breathing for a moment as she stared at the severed pointed ears and teeth. All strung up...like a necklace. For a moment she couldn't hear anything other than a dull roar and her raising heartbeat in her own similarly pointed ears before she noticed that her breathing had increased to near hyperventilation. Looking instinctively towards the direction that the orcs had retreated to, she knew logically that there was likely no way that she could catch up to them now. But her heart told her that she should at least try. 

A reflection caught on the pommel of her longsword as she took a step and she glanced down, staring at the blade she sword to Eilistraee and took a long breath before closing her eyes and then reopening them on the contents in her hands. "Seeing this will bring their loved ones no comfort. I will make sure they are laid to rest. But not here." Her lip curled as she looked around at the blood soaked camp site. "They've defiled this place with their presence." She spat onto the ground before stating, "I will cleanse it. I need to burn the bodies. Then I'll be happy to move on." She asks for no ones help but simply tucks the vulgar trophies into her pack for now and gets to work piling the bodies together after Chrys has finished looting them and then making the area safe so as not to start a forest fire with her tinderbox. Once aflame, Nym draws her longsword and holds it with both hands in front of her pointing to the sky, flat of the blade pressed against her forehead as her eyes close, lips moving in silent prayer to the Dark Maiden regarding her offering. 

((5sp & 12gp apiece between the five of us. This doesn't include the gems since we'd need to sell those. DM, I assume the ears are all pointed?))

Yes, upon Nym's close inspection, she can recognize most of the ears as being pointed elf ears. 

After watching the orcs disappear from sight, you make the decision to not camp in this place, and instead move a bit further north, where you find another suitable spot to camp in a nice flat spot down by the river bank. An embankment shields it from the main path, so you feel safe enough and potentially out of casual sight of any creatures who would be passing by during the night.

Settling down on the soft sand, you listen to the quiet, calming flow of the river next to you, and relax, while reflecting on the orc battle, which you know full well, could have gone much worse. Who knows how formidable the or chief might have been had he not been neutralized by Lumen's heat metal spell, and his illusion, which confused the three orcs who were bearing down on him.

In addition, there as Lumen's final call for diplomacy, which gave the female orc Ownka the opening to stand down. It allowed her to assert her command over the remaining fighters and save face, as well as save the rest of her tribe. She had clearly stated her objection to the direction that their former leader had taken then, which had decimated their numbers and, in her opinion, would have angered their gods even further. Instead of having them all be killed, she was able to lead them away in an apparent truce, with her word that what was left of the Red Claws would leave this part of the High Forest and return to whatever former place they called home. 

Between Aelar and his Warriors of Sehanine, Calia and her small band of Rangers from Silverymoon, and you, The Pie Pals, it seems as if the threat of the Red Claw orcs in the western High Forest has been eliminated. 

Plus, there was Kess's strange outburst of maniacal aggression during the fight, and whatever possessed her briefly to shift from her normal, graceful, calculated fighting style to a few moments of blind, savage butchery.

And finally, there was the task ahead, which was what set on this course in the first place; saving Lia's children and dealing with the dragon Duskbringer, and whatever strange power that seemed to afflict the black-scaled wyrm. With Ravensglade Keep only two more days walk from here, you cannot help but imagine what fate may lie ahead of you at the end of this river path.

In your mind, you know that you have faced many challenges that have tested your skills up to this point, and you have learned much about yourselves and what you are capable of, especially as an increasingly close-knit team of five capable and good hearted adventurers. You each have shown an incredible amount of dedication to each other, even Nym, who has only been with you a short time... not even a week since you rescued her from the hag Braida. Nonetheless, she has proven herself to be a kind and worth companion, and you have all benefitted from her inclusion into your party. She has made The Pie Pals stronger, and in turn, you have given her more confidence and comfort as well, in this new and foreign place of the above-ground world. 

With all of this in your mind, sleep comes slowly to you on this night, but in time, it eventually descends upon you, and when you wake, you feel rested and rejuvenated, with a new sense of self-assurance that you are indeed ready for whatever lies ahead.

((Great work, everyone!! Time to Level up!))

Aside from noted horror at the grisly trophy around the chief’s neck, Kessdarra’s demeanor is marked by a shocked silence, wherein she would only passively communicate with brief words or grunts. It’s clear to anyone that she was VERY disturbed by what had happened.

She tries to sleep, at first, as is her habit, but finds that the events of the fight just won’t go away. She tosses and turns, moaning fitfully before sitting up, stifling a loud squeak of surprise to avoid letting everything and anything lurking in the darkness of the forest finding the Pie Pals, and then sat up, sweat dripping from her brow.

Kess felt the urge to vomit, but forced it down, instead curling up into a ball on her bedroll.

She couldn’t get over it. She could still see that orc’s face contorted in needless agony, could still feel his blood on her skin, that unholy rage that had gone through her when she sought to defend herself.

In the darkness of the night, Kess began to quietly sob, feeling sick to her stomach at the violation.

(Yay ability increase! Hit better and be hit less hopefully... DM: Nym is going to be keeping an eye out for a nice clearing as they travel in the future.)

As they settled down along the riverbank to camp, Nym took care to refill her waterskin before rinsing her hands and properly cleaning her blade as she set up for her usual first watch. Still stiff and not trusting that the Red Claw Orcs were all that far, the drow kept a careful eye out as the others drifted off to sleep as she quietly hummed an old elven tune to herself. Unable to turn her thoughts away from the ears and teeth in her pack and wondering if such a thing happened to her father. Trying to comfort herself in the likelihood that they likely had already passed before the 'trophies' were taken. Wondering if Eilistraee would forgive her for not going after the rest of the orcs that had surrendered. 

Movement catching her lavender eyes, Nym had fingers wrapped around the handle of her longsword before she could even blink but when she did, she realized that the movement was just one of her companions sitting up from their bedroll. Kessdarra. It was only for a moment before she settled back down into her bedroll again and the cleric couldn't help but wonder if she was alright.

Perception Check: 18

(@SodaSaint: How quiet is Kess being? Enough to not warrant any awake companions checking on her?)

((She's being pretty quiet so as to not draw the attention of everything nearby, but with her elven hearing, Nym would surely recognize the sound of crying.))

Still as a slug, Nym's ears twitched at the painfully familiar sound of a stifled sob, her own throat tightening in empathy as she could hear the other elf's pain. Without a word other than her continued humming, the drow slowly stood and quietly made her way over to sit on the side of Kess' bedroll so that the warrior's back was to her. She would simply sit for a moment, finishing the song and letting a few heartbeats pass in the interim before murmuring just loudly enough to be heard over the bubbling of the river, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Chrys spends the evening turning the red stone over in her hands.  After some time, memory trickles in, and she nods to herself.  "This here stone should go to Braida... but..." 

Seeking out Lumen by the campfire, she pokes him in the arm.  "Oi.  Ya think ye can do that thing where ya cast fer magics on a stone?  Braida wanted this thing, an' she said she'd give us treasures for it.  But I'll be wantin' ta make sure this don't bring no more trouble to the forest if we give it ta her."

Afterwards, she settles down in her bedroll, her brows creased.  Letting the orcs go had been difficult, but the right decision, she knew -- the Pie Pals didn't need to fight to the death here, when there was a larger picture to consider.  The two children being held hostage by an insane black dragon were her top priority, especially considering the massacre the elves had suffered prior to their loss.  Hope could come in small packages, and Chrys was determined to bring some back to Lia no matter what the cost.

Still, seeing Nym's muted anger, and hearing Kess's quiet sobs in the night, she couldn't help but wonder at the price the Pals paid for their victory.  "We'll have our vengeance someday," she mutters quietly to herself, staring up at the stars.

“It was like I wasn’t me,” Kess would finally manage after a sniffle and a few moments awkward silence. “One moment, I was in control, the next I wasn’t. I… it was so wrong. Unnatural. Violating.”

Nym was silent a moment, wishing the moon was more than a simple glow through the thick treetops as she listened to Kess before finally responding, "It looked like it was you. Fought...more or less like you. Unless some unseen force took over your body while we weren't looking. We've been into some interesting things in the few days we've been together, but nothing that I think could've possibly cursed you. It was you. For good or for ill. I don't know your story just as you don't know all of mine. But it doesn't have to shape you."

Nym's hands tightened around themselves a moment before she spoke again, "If it would put you at ease though, I could pray to Eilistraee for something that might help Calm Emotions for you. To help if there is a next time." A niggling of doubt was at the back of her mind still though and the drow turned so that she wasn't facing away from Kess anymore as she looked her over more thoroughly before stating quietly, "If you feel like something is truly wrong, don't be afraid to say something."

As she awaited any sort of answer, Nym couldn't help but think back to the last time she had last felt somewhat similar anger. She was always so careful to try and keep outwardly calm, never wanting to provoke anything. But that hag.... The cleric shuddered, remembering the terrible things she had done, though she did do some good things, as loathe as Nym was to admit it. Gave them advice, even gave Kess a boon-

Sitting up straighter in sudden realization as she remembered back to the last conversation they had all had with Braida, what she had said and done. "Kess. I think you're right, it wasn't you. At least not completely. Back when Braida or whatever she calls herself was trying to convince us to help her, she said that she would give you a boon. Making you stronger the next time you attacked someone. She-She touched you when she said it. That must have been it." Nym tried to offer a shaky smile, "Still yourself at least."