“I agree, we should return to the compound.” Boosey looks round the group. “We’re looking pretty beaten up”.
His face takes on a look of genuine concern. “We should let Orvex know we haven’t abandoned him, he could get himself into deep water if he says the wrong thing to that Wizard. She gives me the chills. Still, I say we worry about them once we have all the cubes. They will miraculously find us once we have them, I dare say”
It doesn’t take long for Boosey to see what he needs to, and he silently returns to the group without being noticed. He takes a deep breath.
“I...I’m sorry Nenne.” He looks at the cleric with concern and pity, knowing what he is about to say will wound her deeply. “It’s ghouls. Seven of them. They have dug up some of the bodies.” Gently, he puts his hand on Nenne’s arm. “Funderburk is not amongst the ones...” and he tails off, not wanting to voice what he’s seen.
His voice takes on a steely tone “We should deal with this now, and destroy these monsters, rest or no rest. Evil knows no bounds in this hell hole it seems.”
The cleric turns a deep mulberry at the mention of ghouls, and a stream of elvish invective pours out of her mouth. Her mace is out in an instant and her holy symbol starts to glow.
Boosey relates that they are down the wide alley just where they were buried. He points the direction and it seems Eku is just as determined to rid the world of ghouls as Nenne is. A simmering call to retribution burns in her eyes.
Boosey doesn't waste any time as soon as the ghouls are in sight. The gnome waves one hand over his other upturned palm as he performs the incantation required to bring about a storm. A small, swirling storm cloud appears above his palm, which he throws into the air. Storm clouds gather in seconds and lightning zaps down, catching the ghouls by surprise. Two of them are fried instantly, and many badly wounded. Eku fires one arrow after another down the wide alley between the building and the compound wall. Due to the semi-tight confines of the alley, Boosey's second and third lightning strike deal detrimental damage to many of the creatures before they can even make it to the party. A lone creature is all Allister has to swing at as it closes into melee range. Two holes later, the ghouls are finished and unmoving.
"Ghouls." Lemon said with disgust. "Ye know. Befer I came to be in the company with yeselves, I was huntin down ghouls." He examined where they once were. "Lucky fer us they weren't that strong..."
Once the dust settles and the ghouls are dealt with, Nenne rushes to the barracks to check on Funderburk. She is relieved to see his body unscathed. She kneels beside him and says a prayer of thanks to Kelemvor for his continued vigil over the fallen wizard, then brushes some dust off his coat that she notices when she opens her eyes. "Apologies, my friend." She frowns and lets out a weary sigh. "Be patient with me a little longer. The Fair Judge has shown me it's possible. I simply need more time. So rest, and I will protect you." She rises and rejoins the group.
"These had the sigil of Ras Nsi on them as well," Nenne points out, indicating the ghoul corpses with a disdainful jut of her chin. Her eyes narrow and she glances northward.
Once the dead are reburied, the party ends the day inside the compound. The familiar sounds of the jungle accompany the six companions through the otherwise undisturbed night.
„We now have 5 of the possible 9 cubes. Where do we want to head next? Do you think we should help the besieged grungs? They could be allies or at least create diversions when we explore the other shrines.“
"I think first we should speak with Orvex," Nenne says. "I would rather not stumble into those red mages so soon after our last meeting. Perhaps he can provide us with more information on their goals, as well. Which of you has the other sending stone?" She looks around at the group.
Allister give the sending stone to Nenne. "Make it clear that he has to make it short and simple or he will babble through the 25 words without telling anything useful."
"There is the snippet of story we are missing that we need to retrieve, from the second shrine we visited, wasn't it? It seems so long ago now." Boosey considers for a moment. "There are two other shrines, here and here," and he points to them on the sketch of the city. "They aren't under attack, but are close enough to the ones that are to allow us to scout ahead if needs be. Grung and Yuan-ti we should avoid for the time being, until we can find out more about their situation."
He gives Sthara an apologetic look, with a small grin. "Perhaps the wizards did have a good idea. Sthara may prove her weight in gold should the situation arise. She may even be the key to defeating the Yuan-ti!" He waves a hand in the air at Sthara. "It would be your decision to take, of course. We should only consider that course if you were happy with it."
Nenne turns the stone over in her hand as she thinks. "There's also that evil presence in the north I sensed," she says to the group. "While I am hesitant to go anywhere near those despicable Thayans, I fear we will need to confront that presence at some point. Perhaps we can do some careful reconnaissance if today's expedition takes us northward? See whether any of us can glean more information."
She raises the stone to her lips and says, "Scribe, it's Nenne. Where are your masters today? What are they doing? We'd rather not interrupt their business. You may respond mentally. Be terse."
Nenne's face wans as she receives Orvex's reply. "He told Zagmira," she says, shooting a concerned look at Allister. "She knows of the cubes and seems to have had a breakthrough. They are headed east to a shrine; he did not relay which." She runs a hand through her hair, which is rapidly silvering. "We just lost our advantage. We need to move quickly."
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„Sounds good, I’ll glady doff my armor and let my chest heal.“
“I agree, we should return to the compound.” Boosey looks round the group. “We’re looking pretty beaten up”.
His face takes on a look of genuine concern. “We should let Orvex know we haven’t abandoned him, he could get himself into deep water if he says the wrong thing to that Wizard. She gives me the chills. Still, I say we worry about them once we have all the cubes. They will miraculously find us once we have them, I dare say”
The party returns to the compound to find strange noises coming from the corner where the dead were moved in previous days.
As they hear the noises coming from the compound, Boosey puts his finger to his lips and creeps forward in an attempt to determine the source
It doesn’t take long for Boosey to see what he needs to, and he silently returns to the group without being noticed. He takes a deep breath.
“I...I’m sorry Nenne.” He looks at the cleric with concern and pity, knowing what he is about to say will wound her deeply. “It’s ghouls. Seven of them. They have dug up some of the bodies.” Gently, he puts his hand on Nenne’s arm. “Funderburk is not amongst the ones...” and he tails off, not wanting to voice what he’s seen.
His voice takes on a steely tone “We should deal with this now, and destroy these monsters, rest or no rest. Evil knows no bounds in this hell hole it seems.”
The cleric turns a deep mulberry at the mention of ghouls, and a stream of elvish invective pours out of her mouth. Her mace is out in an instant and her holy symbol starts to glow.
"Where. Are. They. Exactly."
Boosey relates that they are down the wide alley just where they were buried. He points the direction and it seems Eku is just as determined to rid the world of ghouls as Nenne is. A simmering call to retribution burns in her eyes.
„Let’s get this over with quickly.“ Allister nods to Nenne and walks towards the ghouls.
Boosey doesn't waste any time as soon as the ghouls are in sight. The gnome waves one hand over his other upturned palm as he performs the incantation required to bring about a storm. A small, swirling storm cloud appears above his palm, which he throws into the air. Storm clouds gather in seconds and lightning zaps down, catching the ghouls by surprise. Two of them are fried instantly, and many badly wounded. Eku fires one arrow after another down the wide alley between the building and the compound wall. Due to the semi-tight confines of the alley, Boosey's second and third lightning strike deal detrimental damage to many of the creatures before they can even make it to the party. A lone creature is all Allister has to swing at as it closes into melee range. Two holes later, the ghouls are finished and unmoving.
//xp is 358 each\\
"Ghouls." Lemon said with disgust. "Ye know. Befer I came to be in the company with yeselves, I was huntin down ghouls." He examined where they once were. "Lucky fer us they weren't that strong..."
Made you look.
Once the dust settles and the ghouls are dealt with, Nenne rushes to the barracks to check on Funderburk. She is relieved to see his body unscathed. She kneels beside him and says a prayer of thanks to Kelemvor for his continued vigil over the fallen wizard, then brushes some dust off his coat that she notices when she opens her eyes. "Apologies, my friend." She frowns and lets out a weary sigh. "Be patient with me a little longer. The Fair Judge has shown me it's possible. I simply need more time. So rest, and I will protect you." She rises and rejoins the group.
"These had the sigil of Ras Nsi on them as well," Nenne points out, indicating the ghoul corpses with a disdainful jut of her chin. Her eyes narrow and she glances northward.
Once the dead are reburied, the party ends the day inside the compound. The familiar sounds of the jungle accompany the six companions through the otherwise undisturbed night.
Day 65
„We now have 5 of the possible 9 cubes. Where do we want to head next? Do you think we should help the besieged grungs? They could be allies or at least create diversions when we explore the other shrines.“
"I think first we should speak with Orvex," Nenne says. "I would rather not stumble into those red mages so soon after our last meeting. Perhaps he can provide us with more information on their goals, as well. Which of you has the other sending stone?" She looks around at the group.
Allister give the sending stone to Nenne. "Make it clear that he has to make it short and simple or he will babble through the 25 words without telling anything useful."
"Once we know where the wizards are, grung or otherwise, should we run into Ras Nsi, we kill him, agreed?" Sthara says darkly. She turns to Eku.
"I don't suppose there is any chance of the Aaracokra you mentioned coming to our aid?"
"There is the snippet of story we are missing that we need to retrieve, from the second shrine we visited, wasn't it? It seems so long ago now." Boosey considers for a moment. "There are two other shrines, here and here," and he points to them on the sketch of the city. "They aren't under attack, but are close enough to the ones that are to allow us to scout ahead if needs be. Grung and Yuan-ti we should avoid for the time being, until we can find out more about their situation."
He gives Sthara an apologetic look, with a small grin. "Perhaps the wizards did have a good idea. Sthara may prove her weight in gold should the situation arise. She may even be the key to defeating the Yuan-ti!" He waves a hand in the air at Sthara. "It would be your decision to take, of course. We should only consider that course if you were happy with it."
Nenne turns the stone over in her hand as she thinks. "There's also that evil presence in the north I sensed," she says to the group. "While I am hesitant to go anywhere near those despicable Thayans, I fear we will need to confront that presence at some point. Perhaps we can do some careful reconnaissance if today's expedition takes us northward? See whether any of us can glean more information."
She raises the stone to her lips and says, "Scribe, it's Nenne. Where are your masters today? What are they doing? We'd rather not interrupt their business. You may respond mentally. Be terse."
Nenne's face wans as she receives Orvex's reply. "He told Zagmira," she says, shooting a concerned look at Allister. "She knows of the cubes and seems to have had a breakthrough. They are headed east to a shrine; he did not relay which." She runs a hand through her hair, which is rapidly silvering. "We just lost our advantage. We need to move quickly."