Storm King's Thunder

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The swords, still dark as obsidian, feel cold to Ink’s touch. Ink hears no voices, feels no presence. The abyssal inscriptions that had previously marked the blades, respectively, as “Taste Blood” and “Taste Undeath”  have disappeared. 

 Ink sheathes his scimitars, picks up the short swords and gives them a twirl, testing their balance. He smiles softly and places them into a second set of sheathes on his hip.

He looks over at the rapier and curses knowing that it was untouched. He throws it into the bag of holding trying to minimize his contact with it. In the brief contact does Ink feel any wisps of the abyss? 

He then grabs the war hammer, examines it and tests its weight and heft. He sees if there's any infernal script left on it. Assuming it's clean, he carries it over to Flint. 

-----

Noting the Axe's inquiry, he corroborates the high priest's story. "We bit off more than we could chew," Ink admits. "None of us expected a spawn of the abyss to appear in a temple to Moradin. The curse on the weapons must have been powerful because I would not think what I saw possible on hallowed ground."

"As none of us expected this to unfold, none of us were truly prepared to battle something like that. It overwhelmed us, thanks to you, and Moradin, we finally were able to get the best of it. Even I for a time was trapped in that demonspawn's ribs. I was able to escape with help from my friends and luck. Some of your acolytes were not so lucky."

"Although we are beaten and bloodied, we will do what we can to help make things right."

Ink notices Matrix still unconscious, but stable, and takes off his hat to finally get a good look at his face. He then gets a blanket from his pack and puts it under his head as a pillow.

Flint calls the group together next to Matrix and casts prayer of healing:12 before making his report.

"Ye  see, twas  me who talked th' High Hammer inta helpin' me rid some weapons we found o' a cursed taint. Ah do'na  know how it went wrong. By me beard ah did'na  know a demon would attack us fer  it, never 'eard  o such a thing in all me years! Thank ye  fer comin' ta arr  aid, twas  lookjn' bleak fer us."

Crownsguard squats down and begins a detailed description of the events that happened. He draws a small diorama with his finger on the floor. Time for the full story in montage form! He spares no detail!

”You see we entered at this time exactly... then it went boom... chaotic anathema... I went unconscious... I got back up... SCREECH... And now I am talking to you.” Crownsguard will finish his extensive dialogue with the guard, “In conclusion, how has your day been?”

"To be honest, I came along expecting a boring church ritual. The holy men did their thing and then all hell broke loose." he looks down. "I killed that poor man. I didn't mean to, he attached me and I tried to disable him but... I killed him." He trails off starting at the floor.

With a groan Matrix sits up and looks around "huh, your not all dead... better then last time I guess" he absentmindedly rubs his scar a bit before splitting his "thunder dragon" in half, pulls out the empty shells, and reloads the device. "Whatever the dwarf and elf say is what happened, story won't change so don't even bother asking.... hey Gary, long time" the last bit is aimed at one of the Axe of Mirabar dwarves

Ink looks at Matrix then comments to Crownsguard, "Seems like you're not the only one with a mechanical eye." Ink points at Matrix with a head nod as he says this. 

Crownsguard leans over and whispers, “I do not have eyes.”

Ink slowly turns to face Crownsguard...

He comments, "Then what do you call the part of your system that allows you to perceive the world, but has trouble doing so in darkness?" 

Garri, the dwarf that Matrix addressed, eyes the gunslinging bounty hunter with a knowing stare and a contemptuous nod, but says nothing. 

The human Axe captain, after taking statements and releasing the High Hammer to go and perform the sanctification rites for his acolytes, which include a spell of gentle repose. Before he does so, he puts his hand on Don’s shoulder. “Don’t worry son, none of us expected what happened. We’ll see them brought back; their lives and service to Moradin are far from over.”

—-

The Axe captain, meanwhile, says to you all, “A demon appearing in the middle of the secured city is unacceptable. These weapons—we will need to confiscate them so as to make sure there is no more threat to the security of Mirabar or the safety of its citizens. Where are they?”

Crownsguard stands to his full height and he removes his seal from his bag and displays his signet ring, “Excuse me, Captain. I am Crownsguard, of the Order of the Gauntlet, High and Lone Representative of Primus. I would like to discuss something with you in private.”

// Crownsguard go ahead and make a Charisma check to determine the captain's attitude towards you & the Order of the Gauntlet. //

Oh boyyyyy: 4

"The Order doesn't have any standing here in Mirabar, good...eh...sir? What are you, exactly? Construct that talks?" The captain asks, looking Crownsguard over closely for the first time. It's clear that he's been rather preoccupied wrapping up the scene of the attack. 

"Anyway, I'm afraid you'll have to take up any discussions of that nature with the Marchion. He handles foreign policy and the like, and what with the current alliance negotiations, it wouldn't do for us to be chitchatting."

"Captain, these weapons are needed for the task we have found ourselves with. Certainly you have heard of what is going on in areas like Goldenfields, orcs, giants and the like overwhelming the areas. Good people forced out of their homes. We have been tasked by fate to deal with this threat. These weapons could be vital in saving countless lives. We sought the aid to cleanse them so they could be put into service of all.

"Certainly a fine captain like yourself can understand the need for proper weapons when facing superior foes. We just lost a friend to a dragon not far from here. The situation gets worse by the day. I hope we can find a solution before the danger reaches here."

Don speaks earnestly trying his best to be charming and convincing.

//Persuasion: 28

Ink HELPs by offering the following, "And the curse has been lifted. Where once there was abyssal script naming these weapons, there is nothing. I have decades of experience in matters arcane and the nature of enchanted and cursed weaponry has become of particular interest..." He unsheaths the obsidian blades... "Trust me when I say that if these were cursed, everyone here would feel their influence."

With Advantage: 13

The High Hammer agrees, and vouches for you, seeing your confidence. "We banished the spirits from the weapons, at great cost, as you can see, captain." 

He has laid copper pieces over the eyes of the acolytes and set them on stone slabs. "I will send for a more accomplished healer. There will be the matter of payment for services, but seeing as you saved my own life, I will be glad to pay for theirs. I'll likely have to work the mines for some time to pay off the debt, but so be it."

From here, the guards from the Axe of Mirabar allow you to go about your business, but inform you that you are on their watch list from now on. "If you so much as cough, I'll be there with a quarantine order," says the human captain. Begrudgingly, he leads the guards out of the temple. At the door, he pauses. "Many condolences for Ecki," he calls back to the High Hammer. "He was too young." 

Ink slides over to Flint.... "I feel bad, perhaps we can offer something from our coffers, the hammer we found in the ice spider caverns, a portion of the gems and coins Don found on Marav?" 

"Ah thank ye fer suggestin' it Ink, that means a lot, aye, that hammer should go a long way, an ah'd dig deeply inta me own pocket as well. What say ye Crowsguard? Mind if we put that towards good cause? "

As the doors close behind the Axes, Matrix let's out a small cough and flashes a quick grin. "So now what, planning on inviting Tiamat out for lunch? A dance off with Asmodeus?"