As the party awakens, Boosey remains a little longer in his bedroll. Having slept fitfully, if at all, any sleep he managed was plagued by strange and vivid dreams, and not pleasant ones either. The memories of the dreams fade away as he rises, but little snippets remain; the feeling of talons piercing his flesh, the sensation of his skin being burnt by an intense flame and the impression that his head had been held motionless in some kind of grip or vice.
As he emerges from his bed, he runs a hand through his hair "What the...". As he does so a feeling of icy dread forms in the pit of his stomach, running down his spine. There is a patch on his head where hair has been removed, roughly. He feels sure it wasn't any of the party, he would have noticed someone doing that. Those nightmares though....He looks round at the others who are all busying themselves with the mundane task of breaking camp.
"Anyone got any idea why I've got a serious case of 'bed head' this morning?" he asks the world in general, pointing out his patch of missing hair. "That was a strange night with strange dreams, some of them..." he tails off, seemingly a bit distant before coming back to reality. "There's bad, evil, dangerous magic here. We need to leave, quickly," and he busies himself packing away his gear. His gaze lands on Eku longer than the others. "Do you have an explanation for this, Eku? You know these jungles better than all of us."
Kneeling down to get a better look at what the gnome is talking about, Eku rus her thumb over the space where the hair is missing. She cocks an eye and in surprise says to Boosey, "This hair has been cut." She stands to address the whole party, "Do none of you know anything about this?" When it's clear that no one has any idea what could have happened Eku tells the bard that she does not like this and she agrees that they should move on quickly.
"I can't say I'm pleased to have been a victim of the demon barber of Chult. This is worrying, something out there has a piece of me to do who knows what?"
The party breaks camp and continues their travel down the River Tiryki. Just before noon the seven companions stumble upon a contingent of Flaming Fist soldiers. There are eleven of them in total of varying ranks, most of which appear to be fists (privates). Two of the men hang back from the rest of their group; they pull out a map and begin pointing at it and to the scenery around them. The other men wave to the party and come forward. The obvious leader of the bunch, outranking any of the others, says, "Good day fine people! How are the jungles of Chult treating your bunch?" As they get close enough, he extends a hand with the intent to shake hands.
Allister approaches the Fist and imitates a military salute without taking the offered hand. „Well met. Just the usual. Giant lizards, talking lobsters, more rain than we need. Anything unusual we need to know about towards Mezro? Looks like you guys can tell a tale about the dangers of the jungle, right?“ Seeing the blood on the uniforms but no battle wounds makes Allister suspicious, even more with the threat of the missing pirates looming over everyone’s head. He points at the soldiers holding the map. „You need some help with that? Maybe our guide can have a look and help you. She’s the best there is.“
As soon as he spotted movement out far ahead of the group, Vargach had become one with the vegetation. He stole off within the foliage and carefully preceded to make a round behind the other group. He wanted to ensure that they would not have to face any unpleasant surprises. The bow had once again been strung, though it currently just casually hung from his shoulder in case they had a scout of their own who spotted him. He approached the two men in the back, while staying hidden and attempted to listen in on their conversation.
The man looks back to the pair and shakes his head, "I think we're doing alright. The river here makes for a pretty good guide. Say, do you have any spare water that's clean?" He points to his backpack with his thumb and adds, "Fresh out."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
When the party awakened and learned of Boosey's misfortune, Nenne frowned. She hadn't noticed anyone come into camp during her watch, or sensed any strange presences. The longer she stayed in this jungle, the less she liked it. She resolved to keep a closer eye on the bard to protect him.
_____
Upon the soldiers' unprompted and casual greeting, she is instantly cautious. Over a month in Chult, and this is the first time a passer-by has been friendly. For such open pleasantries to come from the mouth of someone of the Flaming Fist only heightens the peculiarity.
"Spare water?" the cleric repeats. She motions toward the river. "Surely the Fist teaches its men how to survive in their own native terrain." She says it almost teasingly, but not quite teasing enough to lose the demand for an explanation. When she realizes her sharpened tone, she inclines her head. "Apologies. They say officers never retire." She peers critically at the leader to try to gauge his response. (Insight 11)
The notion of a squad of Flaming Fist mercenaries without rain catchers makes Allister even more uncomfortable around these men. He turns to Nenne and says „Listen up, Liara, you are no longer in command. Fort Beluarian is another one´s responsibility, so stop telling every Flaming Fist soldier what to do.“ While talking to Nenne Allister grabs her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Whenever she tries to talk he will try to interject.
Nenne looks at Allister. After a moment, her skin starts to ripen from chilly blue to a burning magenta. "You will release my arm," she dictates, voice low and every syllable deliberate, "and you will take one step away from me. I have nothing more to say to any of you."
Allister releases her arm, holds his hands up and takes a step back. „Ok, just calm down, please.“ Turning to the commander he says „Let me get some for you, my water skin is pretty empty, too.“ He goes to Funderburk, who still has the sending stone, and says „Give me your water, please, and the sending stone.“ The last part he just whispers.
One of the men to the side begins to say something, "Sir, we have-" but the man in charge cuts him off with a sharp look. The flame (lieutenant) takes a step back warily eying the party as a whole. Very suspiciously, he says accusatory more than asking, "What sort of trouble are you making way out here? Liara? Make any sudden moves and I'll kill every one of you. I hold th-" His man interrupts him again, "Sir?" but the outranking soldier gives him another look that leaves no room for discussion. He looks back to the party hatefully.
The field cleric at the rear of the opposing party seems to have taken notice of the commotion and comes forward some asking, "What is the hold up? Is something the matter?" The flame draws his longsword and says, "This woman has betrayed the Fist!" pointing at Nenne.
“Ok, hold your horses. Stand down, this is not Commander Liara. I told you that to get a reaction. Give me one minute and I’ll explain what just happened here. Captain Horace would be most annoyed if this got out of hand. See, I will sit down, on my hands, no need for violence.“ Allister sits down, his hands away from his weapons. „We are the people who exposed Liara´s treachery. I used to her name to see what kind of soldiers we are dealing with. Obviously you are the honorable type. We also were responsible for the capture of two pirate ships, but one got away. It could have reached this part of Chult by now. You have definitely seen battle, but I see no wounds or scars. You are out of water, with no rain catcher or a cleric capable of providing fresh water or cleaning the water from the river. Unusual for the mercenary company that has so many camps in Chult. Now, if you were in my shoes, would you think it’s possible you were dealing with imposters? Are you accusing me of being careful? By the way, Liara is a middle-aged human woman, not an eladrin.“
The leading man shakes his head through the second half of Allister's speech, seeming to be wrestling with his own thoughts. When the fighter is done speaking, the man raises his gaze from the ground to the fighter saying, "Maybe it's you who have betrayed the Fist? Men! Put them in irons. All of them." His men look very unsure of any of this and move with much hesitation, looking from the flame to each other. The field cleric seems totally confused.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Nenne slowly extends her wrists. "I am not who you think I am. Yet, if it will make you feel better, I will allow you to take your anger out on me to spare anyone else from injury. I will not have bloodshed over a ploy this asinine."
„Dammit, Nenne, stop your self-destructive martyrdom for one second. You don’t have to suffer for whatever you think you did. Just step back.“ Allister slowly stands up, his hands still away from his body. „Look at your men, commander, they are as confused as we are. You are not making sense. And that is coming from me who messed up this whole situation. We betrayed the Fist? You got dehydrated or what? If we did, why didn’t we just leave you alone? Why not attack you? Why not give you water and leave? Why tell this admittedly dumb Liara lie? We are friends of Captain Horace, man. And mostly importantly... if you know about Liara being a traitor, why don’t you know that she IS NOT AN ELF??? Stop behaving like I did and act smart.“
“EVERYBODY STOP!!!” Funderburk managed to yell during a pause in between everyone talking. He looked at the commander, “We have nothing for you nor nothing against you. For you to make an immediate order on your part is truly a disappointing way for my friends and I to be introduced to Flaming Fist Officers. My name is Funderburk, all my friends want is to pass so we may get to our destination. We gave you our water skins, and that is all we can help with.” Funderburk looked at the officer with a cold glare, “Now. I suggest on everyone’s behalf. You let us through.”
Persuasion 17 (Portent roll)
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Made you look.
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As the party awakens, Boosey remains a little longer in his bedroll. Having slept fitfully, if at all, any sleep he managed was plagued by strange and vivid dreams, and not pleasant ones either. The memories of the dreams fade away as he rises, but little snippets remain; the feeling of talons piercing his flesh, the sensation of his skin being burnt by an intense flame and the impression that his head had been held motionless in some kind of grip or vice.
As he emerges from his bed, he runs a hand through his hair "What the...". As he does so a feeling of icy dread forms in the pit of his stomach, running down his spine. There is a patch on his head where hair has been removed, roughly. He feels sure it wasn't any of the party, he would have noticed someone doing that. Those nightmares though....He looks round at the others who are all busying themselves with the mundane task of breaking camp.
"Anyone got any idea why I've got a serious case of 'bed head' this morning?" he asks the world in general, pointing out his patch of missing hair. "That was a strange night with strange dreams, some of them..." he tails off, seemingly a bit distant before coming back to reality. "There's bad, evil, dangerous magic here. We need to leave, quickly," and he busies himself packing away his gear. His gaze lands on Eku longer than the others. "Do you have an explanation for this, Eku? You know these jungles better than all of us."
Kneeling down to get a better look at what the gnome is talking about, Eku rus her thumb over the space where the hair is missing. She cocks an eye and in surprise says to Boosey, "This hair has been cut." She stands to address the whole party, "Do none of you know anything about this?" When it's clear that no one has any idea what could have happened Eku tells the bard that she does not like this and she agrees that they should move on quickly.
"I can't say I'm pleased to have been a victim of the demon barber of Chult. This is worrying, something out there has a piece of me to do who knows what?"
Day 39
The party breaks camp and continues their travel down the River Tiryki. Just before noon the seven companions stumble upon a contingent of Flaming Fist soldiers. There are eleven of them in total of varying ranks, most of which appear to be fists (privates). Two of the men hang back from the rest of their group; they pull out a map and begin pointing at it and to the scenery around them. The other men wave to the party and come forward. The obvious leader of the bunch, outranking any of the others, says, "Good day fine people! How are the jungles of Chult treating your bunch?" As they get close enough, he extends a hand with the intent to shake hands.
Allister approaches the Fist and imitates a military salute without taking the offered hand. „Well met. Just the usual. Giant lizards, talking lobsters, more rain than we need. Anything unusual we need to know about towards Mezro? Looks like you guys can tell a tale about the dangers of the jungle, right?“ Seeing the blood on the uniforms but no battle wounds makes Allister suspicious, even more with the threat of the missing pirates looming over everyone’s head. He points at the soldiers holding the map. „You need some help with that? Maybe our guide can have a look and help you. She’s the best there is.“
As soon as he spotted movement out far ahead of the group, Vargach had become one with the vegetation. He stole off within the foliage and carefully preceded to make a round behind the other group. He wanted to ensure that they would not have to face any unpleasant surprises. The bow had once again been strung, though it currently just casually hung from his shoulder in case they had a scout of their own who spotted him. He approached the two men in the back, while staying hidden and attempted to listen in on their conversation.
The man looks back to the pair and shakes his head, "I think we're doing alright. The river here makes for a pretty good guide. Say, do you have any spare water that's clean?" He points to his backpack with his thumb and adds, "Fresh out."
When the party awakened and learned of Boosey's misfortune, Nenne frowned. She hadn't noticed anyone come into camp during her watch, or sensed any strange presences. The longer she stayed in this jungle, the less she liked it. She resolved to keep a closer eye on the bard to protect him.
_____
Upon the soldiers' unprompted and casual greeting, she is instantly cautious. Over a month in Chult, and this is the first time a passer-by has been friendly. For such open pleasantries to come from the mouth of someone of the Flaming Fist only heightens the peculiarity.
"Spare water?" the cleric repeats. She motions toward the river. "Surely the Fist teaches its men how to survive in their own native terrain." She says it almost teasingly, but not quite teasing enough to lose the demand for an explanation. When she realizes her sharpened tone, she inclines her head. "Apologies. They say officers never retire." She peers critically at the leader to try to gauge his response. (Insight 11)
The notion of a squad of Flaming Fist mercenaries without rain catchers makes Allister even more uncomfortable around these men. He turns to Nenne and says „Listen up, Liara, you are no longer in command. Fort Beluarian is another one´s responsibility, so stop telling every Flaming Fist soldier what to do.“ While talking to Nenne Allister grabs her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Whenever she tries to talk he will try to interject.
Nenne looks at Allister. After a moment, her skin starts to ripen from chilly blue to a burning magenta. "You will release my arm," she dictates, voice low and every syllable deliberate, "and you will take one step away from me. I have nothing more to say to any of you."
Allister releases her arm, holds his hands up and takes a step back. „Ok, just calm down, please.“ Turning to the commander he says „Let me get some for you, my water skin is pretty empty, too.“ He goes to Funderburk, who still has the sending stone, and says „Give me your water, please, and the sending stone.“ The last part he just whispers.
One of the men to the side begins to say something, "Sir, we have-" but the man in charge cuts him off with a sharp look. The flame (lieutenant) takes a step back warily eying the party as a whole. Very suspiciously, he says accusatory more than asking, "What sort of trouble are you making way out here? Liara? Make any sudden moves and I'll kill every one of you. I hold th-" His man interrupts him again, "Sir?" but the outranking soldier gives him another look that leaves no room for discussion. He looks back to the party hatefully.
„Is there a problem, officer? Don’t you know Commander Liara? I don’t know why you are so hostile all the sudden.“
The field cleric at the rear of the opposing party seems to have taken notice of the commotion and comes forward some asking, "What is the hold up? Is something the matter?" The flame draws his longsword and says, "This woman has betrayed the Fist!" pointing at Nenne.
The glare Nenne gives Allister is that of distilled rage. Her coloring darkens to a brutal ruby and she says nothing.
“Ok, hold your horses. Stand down, this is not Commander Liara. I told you that to get a reaction. Give me one minute and I’ll explain what just happened here. Captain Horace would be most annoyed if this got out of hand. See, I will sit down, on my hands, no need for violence.“ Allister sits down, his hands away from his weapons. „We are the people who exposed Liara´s treachery. I used to her name to see what kind of soldiers we are dealing with. Obviously you are the honorable type. We also were responsible for the capture of two pirate ships, but one got away. It could have reached this part of Chult by now. You have definitely seen battle, but I see no wounds or scars. You are out of water, with no rain catcher or a cleric capable of providing fresh water or cleaning the water from the river. Unusual for the mercenary company that has so many camps in Chult. Now, if you were in my shoes, would you think it’s possible you were dealing with imposters? Are you accusing me of being careful? By the way, Liara is a middle-aged human woman, not an eladrin.“
The leading man shakes his head through the second half of Allister's speech, seeming to be wrestling with his own thoughts. When the fighter is done speaking, the man raises his gaze from the ground to the fighter saying, "Maybe it's you who have betrayed the Fist? Men! Put them in irons. All of them." His men look very unsure of any of this and move with much hesitation, looking from the flame to each other. The field cleric seems totally confused.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Nenne slowly extends her wrists. "I am not who you think I am. Yet, if it will make you feel better, I will allow you to take your anger out on me to spare anyone else from injury. I will not have bloodshed over a ploy this asinine."
„Dammit, Nenne, stop your self-destructive martyrdom for one second. You don’t have to suffer for whatever you think you did. Just step back.“ Allister slowly stands up, his hands still away from his body. „Look at your men, commander, they are as confused as we are. You are not making sense. And that is coming from me who messed up this whole situation. We betrayed the Fist? You got dehydrated or what? If we did, why didn’t we just leave you alone? Why not attack you? Why not give you water and leave? Why tell this admittedly dumb Liara lie? We are friends of Captain Horace, man. And mostly importantly... if you know about Liara being a traitor, why don’t you know that she IS NOT AN ELF??? Stop behaving like I did and act smart.“
“EVERYBODY STOP!!!” Funderburk managed to yell during a pause in between everyone talking. He looked at the commander, “We have nothing for you nor nothing against you. For you to make an immediate order on your part is truly a disappointing way for my friends and I to be introduced to Flaming Fist Officers. My name is Funderburk, all my friends want is to pass so we may get to our destination. We gave you our water skins, and that is all we can help with.” Funderburk looked at the officer with a cold glare, “Now. I suggest on everyone’s behalf. You let us through.”
Persuasion 17 (Portent roll)
Made you look.