Day 3, Night
Johannes dragged a whetstone down the edge of his sword, brooding over his thoughts. He had never heard of the Aegypethilius family before meeting Dnaeon, Streleka's brother, and who (according to Streleka) was one of the infamous Pirate Lords of the isle of Perdane. His knowledge of the Pirate Lords was limited to his experience in the city of Herrod on Perdane, where he and a band of other adventures fought against the machinations of the Pirate Lord Alldyde, and ultimately slayed him. The other seven Pirate Lords of Perdane, who together form the shadow government that rules the country, had always remained a mystery to him. Johannes felt perturbed by his lack of knowledge in this field, as well as his inability to read Streleka's intentions. He resolved to ask many questions on his return visit to the isle
{Knowledge, Sense Motive, & Lore Checks}.
The paladin leaned his back against the decrepit cabin of Adwonus and Pyrra, watching Alacor magically raise a separate cabin for their party from the earth. The mage's workspace was illuminated by a crackling fire nearby and the stars above; Ziv and Lerdeth worked tirelessly to keep the fire ablaze and were busily cooking the party's dinner for the night. Johannes smirked when he heard Ziv scolding Lerdeth, saying that a pound of pork was not a balanced meal. He then gazed over at the pond which bordered their campsite; the water was silent and black, blacker than the night sky had ever been. It offered nothing to look at, nothing to distract – only a void for thought.
"
We've lost two of our valued members," said Johannes to himself. His hand holding the whetstone unconsciously fell to his side while his thoughts drifted to the future. "
Are we going to be okay?"
"
Johannes?"
Johannes was startled out of his contemplation and turned to see Andriel rounding the corner of the cabin; her lengthy brown hair glowed orange on one side from the fire's radiance. On seeing him, she paused.
"
Do you wish to be alone?" she asked.
"
No, it's alright," said Johannes, his composure quickly returning. "
I was just thinking. . . Did you remember anything from your studies?"
She shrugged, "
I tried to remember what you asked. I believe the Estraens had a normal moral code, disapproving of murder and theft and the like, but it's difficult to get details on a dead civilization without access to a good library. I presume these morals were extended to lying but, like with humans, I bet it depended a lot on the individual. If you're trying to make sense of Streleka, it's also important to remember that she grew up on Perdane, despite being born here. I wonder if an elf raised with humans would even fit in an elven culture if they had the chance to go back to it {Knowledge & Sense Motive Checks}."
"
That's a good point," said Johannes. "
Perhaps, soon, we'll get to find out."
"
We're out of bacon," said Lerdeth over by fire.
"
Of course we're out of bacon!" shouted Ziv. "
You've been eating a tiger's worth almost every day!"
The last quarter-pound of bacon sizzled on a cast-iron pan propped over the fire.
"
I need the protein," Lerdeth replied, as if that reasonably excused everything.
Ziv slapped a palm to her forehead. "
Could you just get some more wood for the fire right now? We can't let this go out before we're done."
Lerdeth grunted, and then entrusting her with managing the bacon, he walked over to the edge of the woods. A cool breeze drifted from the woods, but his face was kept warm by his scraggly beard, which was getting a bit long these days for his tastes. He made a mental note to cut it later. He reached down and picked up a few of the dead branches that littered the forest floor.
"
Ouch!" he spat, dropping a couple of the sticks. He had pricked his finger. Holding up his index finger, he frowned at the little droplet of blood forming at the tip. Then he carefully picked the sticks back up and examined them: Most were fine, but one was covered with thorns. "
I swear everything on this isle is trying to kill me," he groaned bitterly.
At that, he returned back to the fire.
The smell of bacon was getting strong now as grease filled the bottom of the pan.
"
Is it done?" asked Lerdeth as he added the sticks to a humble woodpile.
"
Not yet," said Ziv. "
Unless you like parts of it raw."
"
Kay."
Without another word, Lerdeth collapsed into unconsciousness, landing face-down on the dead grass.
"
Lerdeth!" cried Ziv, who leapt to her feet and jumped toward him. On hearing Ziv's cry, Johannes, Andriel, and the others came running.
"
What's going on!?" yelled Johannes.
"
I don't know!" Ziv answered as she fell onto her knees next to Lerdeth. Using all her strength, she rolled the barbarian onto his back. His face was pale and his eyes were shut, as though he were fast asleep. "
Someone help!"
Adwonus, the half-orc ranger, came as well, and together with Johannes and Alacor carried Lerdeth onto a bed in the party's cabin. They stripped off Lerdeth's armor and saw that all his skin had become very white. He had also begun to sweat, stricken with a sudden fever.
"
Adwonus, do you know what's wrong with him?" asked Johannes frantically. Worry crept into his face.
Adwonus' eyes swept over Lerdeth. "
The symptoms are familiar to me. He's obviously been poisoned."
"
Poisoned! How!?"
Adwonus narrowed his gaze on Lerdeth's hand and turned it over for the others to see; unnatural black veins crept over it.
"
If it's a poison, that means we can simply cure it, right?" said Alacor.
"
Perhaps not," inserted Pyrra, who had just appeared in the doorway and began to approach the bed.
"
Is this your doing?" asked Ziv suspiciously. She set a hand on hilt of her dagger.
"
You misunderstand me," Pyrra replied. "
Not all poisons are so simple. For instance, if your barbarian here was to be touched by any poison in my own possession, in all likelihood he would resist it due to the strength of his physique. I have a hard time believing that a man of this size could be taken down by a common poison so quickly. No. More likely it was a supernatural poison."
"
Supernatural poison?" said Alacor.
"
Yes." Pyrra examined Lerdeth closely. "
This poison bears all the signs of an AFK-poison, one that only occurs under certain 'conditions'. The good news is that it's non-lethal and that your friend should recover in a few days or so without any ill-effects. The bad news is. . . it cannot be cured before then, unless your friend were to overcome it on his own."
The party exchanged glances with each other, both relieved and concerned at the same time.
A half-hour later they were having dinner around the campfire; Adwonus alone was absent, tending to Lerdeth's fever in the cabin. The bacon had been slightly burnt.
"
This day was so eventful," said Ziv. "
I can't help but miss the quiet village life every now and then."
"
I feel you there," replied Alacor, who sat on one of the stumps they were using for chairs eating his dinner. "
But good things have happened as well – like finding Steve here."
Alacor gestured to the staff leaning on his shoulder, whose gem in the headpiece glistened in a lively way.
"
I'm happy to be out of that god-forsaken tomb, if that's what you mean," said the staff. "
Though I thought the surface would be a little more, ah, what's the word? Scenic. We'll go with that." The staff seemed to lean a little in Pyrra's direction. "
Though I guess not everything looks so bad. Hubba, hubba."
"
I'm taken," Pyrra replied sternly.
"
Damn. Shot down instantly," said Steve. "
I gotta work on my lines. . ."
The party chuckled, feeling their mood elevated a bit.
But then suddenly a cold wind wafted over the party, a very cold wind. Within seconds the party could see their breath as an icy fog. A large branch cracked in the forest.
Johannes' eyes widened as he fought back a rush of light-headedness. "
Oh no."
"
Weapons!" cried Streleka, taking command with a surprising boldness. The party knew what this meant.
The group leapt to their feet and drew their weapons; Johannes sprinted to his horse Fury and threw himself into the saddle; the archers primed their bows; and everyone assembled into formation. Another branch cracked in the forest and everyone aimed themselves at the black edge of the wilderness.
"
Get ready!" cried Johannes, clutching his lance so tight that his knuckles were certainly white.
A figure then emerged from the forest, but it was not the figure they were expecting.
Crispina walked out from between two trees and stopped, staring at them, her black hair messily hanging down her shoulders. Her expression was ghost-like and frozen in a look of horror.
"
Help me."
Suddenly a massive, black hand stretched out from the forest, wrapped its fingers around Crispina's body, and pulled her off her feet into the woods, disappearing into the abyssal darkness in an instant.
The cold chill faded away within moments, but a trail of red flowers remained where Crispina had disappeared. It lead into the woods. . .
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:45, Mon 22 Jan 2018.