In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 569):

"Titus, no! He... he can't help it," Brennan sighs, gesturing to the wild look in the brother's eyes. "He's cursed. The CUP is cursed, and those who drink from it are at risk of being affected. I know how to handle it, as apparently do Bryce and Deev, but you didn't drink, thus avoiding it. Enrei drank and succumbed to it overnight. These people are clearly under its sway. We have to take the cup from them, for their good and admittedly for ours as well. I wish to study it."

So saying, he walks around the brother until he is behind his head, and delivers a savage blow to the brother's head intended to knock him out. If successful, he'll take possession of the chalice immediately afterward.

"Quickly, find rope in the stables... use bridles if you must. Bind our host and the girl such that they could likely free themselves in time, especially with help from the children. I will see to Melg's wounds before we leave. While I'm doing that, see what you can do to gather our things and make our horses ready to depart."

[First Aid (Melg): 2x8]

"We'll see to the rest of our wounds once we're off. Someone get Enrei onto a horse and steady him there. I want us on the road when he awakens."

He pulls Bryce close and speaks to him quietly.


Brennan will also take the time to collect his arrows before they leave.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:49, Tue 22 Dec 2015.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 570):

Deev hops to and gathers the group's belongings.

The brother attempts to resist but is unable to defend himself.  Once unconscious, the chalice is easy to acquire.

While Brennan tends to Melg (he is able to bind her wound so that it shouldn't bleed out or fester), Bryce disappears into the tent.

He returns a moment later and whispers something to Brennan.


Collecting your belongings and saddling the horses is simple enough.  Getting Enrei into a saddle is far more difficult but you eventually succeed between the four of you in draping him unceremoniously over the horse instead.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:00, Tue 22 Dec 2015.

In reply to GM (msg # 571):

Brennan looks agitated at what Bryce has to say, but shrugs.

"Right, then. Let's be off."

Barring further trouble, he'll be pleased to put this place far behind them.

Once on the road, he'll glance at the cup, holding it up to the sun to study it before bringing it closer for a better look.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:10, Tue 22 Dec 2015.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 572):

Titus bristles at Brennan's explanation and grunts in frustration as he swings the blade in an arc and buries it next to the cup.

Carrying around a cursed cup?  What could possibly go wrong.  It's not like there's a dozen stories that start exactly like this or anything.

Titus continues to grumble and mutter as he helps everyone get loaded back up and on the road as fast as possible.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 573):

Bryce is more than happy to put distance between himself and the keep.

Without much trouble beyond putting up with the tortured impotent howls of the one conscious brother, the group loads its equipment, it's Enrei and is on it's way.

Within a half an hour you've followed the beaten-earth trail away from the walls of the keep and are past the treeline.

The forest becomes dense rather quickly, a mixture of mostly maple and oak trees with the occasional birch.  The trail is thin, just enough for a laden horse and maybe one person to squeeze past it without going into the woods, but well maintained and obviously kept clear either by regular traffic or a few dutiful tenders.

From above, squirrels chatter at you and take cover.

Bryce takes point, stomping over rock and root and muttering to himself under his breath.

In a matter of hours, Enrei awakens and finds himself slung over a horse and surrounded by a mix of large and thin trees.

In reply to GM (msg # 574):

Morning Enrei.  How are you feeling?

Hey Brennan...

Have you felt different since the... event?  I know that Enrei has and I think this is the first I've noticed it.

Titus says his tone indicating he is both thoughtful and serious.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 575):

Deev follows orders quietly in his usual jerky nervous way.

He relaxes visibly as you pass the treeline.

In reply to Deev (msg # 576):

"Different how?" Brennan replies to Titus's inquiry. "Beyond having command of powers far beyond mortal reckoning, I feel no different."

He frowns slightly.

"Or are you implying that much of the violence we've resorted to lately has been caused by some personality change stemming from the event?"

Brennan rummages through his belt pouch, procures a small vial, and dumps its contents into the cup. He swirls it and looks carefully at it once more.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:27, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 577):

Titus taps his nose as Brennan asks about personality changes.  He gets close to Brennan allowing Enrei in as well.  Making this a semi-private conversation... don't want to freak out Bryce.

Enrei had an issues when he was worried about killing the cultist.  He was very upset; remember?  It seems like he has resolved it with himself.

I was ready to pull the arms off of Melg for some... ostensibly innocuous insult that was neither particularly hurtful nor clever.  My blood just boiled, even if we hadn't have dealt with the family so harshly I think I may have fomented rebellion shortly after we left.  I... can't help myself... and most terrifying of all...

I don't know if I want to. 

The first signs of Enrei's return to consciousness is his mumbling of "Did I lose?" into the side of his horse before trying to sit up.  Since he is not yet fully aware of his posiion at this point, this leads to a frantic moment where he tries not to slip off his horse.  Once he realizes where he is, however, he also realizes sliding off the horse and mounting it properly is his only recourse.

"I knew stealing was harder when you fight," he mumbles to himself before mounting up again, then speaks up to answer Titus, "My head hurts." When Titus wrangles him and Brennan together he notices the chalice in Brennan's hands and immediately lights up. "You have the cup!" he shouts as he hugs Brennan from horseback, being tall enough to encircle his waist fairly easily, "We can still help lady in cage!"

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 579):

"Yes," Brennan nods slightly at Enrei. "And the sooner the better, I think. Let me finish studying it first, but I may have divined a way to do just that."

He pauses, furrowing his brow.

"What did she look like, Enrei? Can you describe her form, her clothing, and her cage?"

He turns to Titus while the large man is thinking about this request.

"I have been less patient than usual myself, I'll admit. We need to be more careful. We've made very few friends and a great many enemies lately. We could use more of the former and fewer of the latter."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:15, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 580):

Titus smiles at Enrei's rousing to consciousness and laughs at his first waking comments

Yeah you lost.  I think you would have done better if you had not jumped off of the horse. 

When Enrei sees the cup and asks about the lady:


Lady in cage?

Titus asks completely befuddled.

I'm missing something here...

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 581):

Brennan sighs.

"The cup is cursed, as I said. It is a prison, and it contains something... rather dangerous, I fear."

He gestures to the cup.

"Though I didn't see a vision like Enrei has, I have spoken with it. It agreed to help us if we freed it, which we have now partially done. I hope we haven't made a terrible mistake in doing so, but having something dangerous beholden to us isn't the worst thing in the world."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 582):

Titus smiles broadly...

You realize how crazy that sounds.

He pauses and continues

And I love it.  This is just like a story.  How do I talk to it?

"She looked like a lady," Enrei describes ponderously, "until she looked like a cup.  Her cage was like bones and glass," he continues.  "The ones who beat me pulled off her arms in my dream." He pauses as the subject of the conversation seems to sink in, "And you did not hear her.  When did she talk to you too?"

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 584):

"I only hear her when I speak into the cup," Brennan says. "It is a soft voice, and has given none of the details you described."

He frowns.

"Wait... they were pulling her arms off? Could this be related to the other body parts we've heard alluded to in our journeys?"

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 585):

I'm not sure I follow...

I just literally wanted to pull Melg's arms off... or more to the point cut them off with a sword...

Are you talking about when I was going to wave my junk at them?  Because that isn't really a thing either.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 586):

"No... I think Enrei is saying that in his vision, the woman in the cage was having her arms pulled off by the brothers. Right? I don't think it has anything to do with your murderous fantasy."

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 587):

Rithg... but you just asked if it had anything to do with

He slips into his 'I'm Brennan in deep thought' voice

'other body parts we've heard alluded to in our journeys?'

What body parts?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

"Do you mean bones from first man?" Enrei offers as he fumbles with the many baubles in his hair.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 589):

"No, I mean the bloody Eye of Baal or whatever the hell that demonspawn we saw back near the mill was. There are pictures in the madman's journal that allude to several distinct demons, each with a form and a name similar to a body part."

He glances at the others.

"Or have I not shared that information yet? I could have sworn we talked about it a few towns back."

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 589):

The sun is still shining above and the trail is easy walking.



Bryce bristles when Brennan whispers in his ear.  He looks over his shoulder carefully at the rest of the group before whispering back.

In reply to GM (msg # 591):

Brennan pales slightly for no readily apparent reason.

"Any of you have blood-soaked clothing I could borrow?" he asks quietly of Titus and Enrei. "It might be important."

Enrei finally seems to find what he was looking for as he produces a braid with a metal setting woven into it, strangely bereft of anything set in it.  "My bone is gone!" he fumbles at the other side of his head before securing the other cracked and rotten charm in his other hand, "Maybe it fell.  That is why I lose fight, is not giving me luck.  I should go back, it was gift from my friend," he states with grim certainty as Brennan's talk of demons fails to strike home.

The only blood on Enrei's clothes is the long-dried remnants of his axe wound and wolf bites.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:30, Wed 23 Dec 2015.

In reply to Enrei Omal'i (msg # 593):

"Enrei..." Brenna begins cautiously. "We can't go back. It would be very, very dangerous, and we have put miles between us and them as it is. The charm could have fallen anywhere along the way."

He gathers himself for a moment, a thought occurring to him.

"Deev, are you good at finding things that are lost in general, like a needle in a haystack, or are your skills more aligned with transferring ownership, as it were?"