Rissa eyed the gnomes from where she was seated, and spoke the first words she'd said in hours.

"There were twelve of them, twelve."

She let the words sink in, rising with the help of her staff.

"We slew three with flames, but were overrun. Three Elks charged forward to hold them off, but they had surrounded him. I sealed him in ice."

She rose to her full height, an unimpressive 5'4", but enough to tower over the Gnomes.

"I killed him, so that we might escape."

Her words were ice.

Jinx was as exhausted as the rest of the group after the near forced-march. Hearing the regret in Riser's voice, she tentatively put a comforting hand on the other woman's shoulder, "It's not your fault! Three Elks-- hells all of us-- knew the dangers of going after the trolls. You have no more right to blame yourself that I do because I couldn't torch the trolls fast enough!"

Rissa made a cutting gesture. Not that she needed to grovel in guilt and shame, but she wished to show no weakness before the Deep Gnomes. She knew well the judgement of a crowd, and she did not wish to face it here for misspoken words of comfort. They needed to Deep Gnomes to put their faith in them, if they were to have any chance of returning to extract vengeance upon the Trolls. They needed so much, she was still so, so weak, but this Svirfneblin could not know that.

"We fought more than twice our number, and yet here we stand, bloodied but not broken."

She eyed the Priestess of Callarduran with fire in her gaze, daring the Gnimosh woman to find fault with them.

Carmeneren nods slowly as Lucien and Rissa explain to her how Three Elks died. "What happened to your comrade is most unfortunate," she replies. "But I am pleased to hear that you are not deterred, for the road ahead of you is long and arduous.

"We will await your return."

The gnomes recede back into the darkness, leaving the party to rest.

Long rest.

Rissa moved slowly once the Gnomes were gone, the charade of confidence she had put forth gone the moment they were out of sight. She reached into her bag, pulling out the model of the cottage, whispering the words to grow it to its full size. So much Art, more power than she had ever thought to wield, and yet it had not been nearly enough. She prepared her evening meal in sullen silence, nursing the staff with which she had saved them by dooming Three Elks.

She needed to be more than she was.

She had journeyed for so long to try and save herself, to try and stop the thing which even now burned inside her. She barely understood it, barely understood how she could draw on it without incinerating herself. The magic still burned there, but now there was magic in her blood too. A fire that had not been there before, and now this cottage, this staff. Artifacts of legend, and hers to wield.

She needed to be worthy of them.

18:27, Today: Rissa Twiceborn rolled 10 using 1d6+4.  Staff of Frost recharge

Lathan leads the party back through the tunnels to the abandoned mines and then from the mines back to Milborne.

Lucien is also fairly reserved during the rest in the cottage and the trip back to the surface. He can tell that Three Elks' death is affecting everyone, but particularly Rissa. He just isn't sure of what to say, or if there is anything to say to improve the situation. The true cure, in his mind, is to deal with the trolls, but that is something which will have to wait.

The remainder of the trip back to Milborne is uneventful.

The group might have expected Rissa to remain in sullen silence on the journey back. Given how she had presented within the tunnels, such a thing would have been expected. Yet has the first ray of light from the sun struck her face, something seemed to change within her. Not pleasure, not joy, but purpose. She shaded her eyes and squinted into the bright expanse of the sky, and seemed to have come to some conclusion.

"I have been practicing with the flame that burns within my blood."

She declared aloud to them as they hit the outskirts of Milborne.

"I can shape it, but it still feels to be more light than fire. I do not think it will be enough should we face them again."

There was fire enough in her words.

"I will keep practicing, but I think we should seek out more warriors who can call flame to them. Jinx's Art is a blessing to behold, but her alone is not enough."

When they got back to the surface Jinx breathed in the fresh air. She was not unaccustomed to extended time underground but with what happened with the trolls the air felt even lighter.


Jinx looked up at the tiefling and blushed while still managing to smile. "It is only a small thing. I've also been thinking about how to improve it... affect a larger area. I'll need to spend some time putting it together but I hope it will help."

Alisandra was the sullen reflection of Rissa. She had been living with death for a very long time, but it still affects her this way. The loss of her soldiers was the reason she was orignally sent on her long "vacation"; she couldn't get over their deaths and she would not get past Three Elk's death. She had focused on remebering her earlest training and would need new armor and a shield. She would take up the front line, no one in their small troop would die because she was unable to be near them. When they reach the town she went to Rissa. "I need to get heavier armor and a shield. Is their enough in reserve for such purchases?"

"Aye, we need reinforcements," Lathan agrees with Rissa. "Let's hope we can find someone willing to help."

Rissa had been staring off into the distance, and snapped back into focus when she realized Alisandra was talking to her.

"What?"

She blinked, trying to recall what she'd asked.

"Oh, Mother's Black Night, we have so much gold."

She shook her head, clutching the staff subconsciously tighter to her.

"We can outfit you in full plate, with a spare set waiting should you need it, and hardly scratch our hoard. Assuming there is a blacksmith who can fashion such things."

Lucien respected Rissa's passion. When she made her declaration, he put a hand on her shoulder. Not a hardly clap, but an attempt at reassurance and a gesture of solidarity.

After Jinx mentioned that she was working on a new mechanism, Lucien sped up briefly to walk next to her. In a conversational tone, he got something off his chest. "You've shared a lot with us the last few days so you deserve to know. My real name is Lucien. The others have done a good job avoiding mentioning it, which I appreciate. As long as we're in town, I'd appreciate if you stick to calling me Seliar."

In a louder voice to the group at large, he agrees with the general sentiment. "We have not exactly had the pick of the litter for traveling companions in the past." Perhaps realizing how that might have come off, he makes an attempt at an apology. "Not that anyone has been a poor traveling companion, just that we may have to take whoever is willing. Troll hunting is not likely to be popular among the locals."

Alisandra nodded, she now just needed to find a smith.

"A town such as this, it would be too small to possess anyone skilled in laying enchantments and bindings into weapons and items, would it not?"

Rissa asked, the wheels in her mind spinning.

"I am still a novice in such matters, but I know stories of warriors with flaming swords, surely such a thing could be made?"

She hefted the staff of ice that had saved them all, yet doomed Three Elks.

"I can't imagine we will find something of this magnitude, but perhaps we can find something to aid us."

Jinx nodded in agreement with Rissa as she surveyed the town. "Yes. Mundane supplies and a possible local that wants out... maybe someone traveling through with nothing else to do." Pausing, Jinx rubs at the base of her neck, "Hells, if we needed the money I could probably make us some coin with some of the minor works I can put together. Not that we are in need. Or that we're looking to spend more time than necessary here. Yes?"

When the party arrives in Milborne, a couple of local laborers approach them and inform them that Old Grizzler is looking for them. "He said he's got someone he wants you to meet."

Thanking the laborers, Lucien leads the way to Old Grizzler's favorite place in Milborne: The Baron of Mutton Inn.

Old Grizzler is sitting at a table near the fireplace when Lucien and the others arrive at the Baron of Mutton. Upon seeing the adventurers, he gives them a friendly wave, motioning for them to come over. "Good day, friends! You look like you all could use a warm meal and some strong drink... How goes your exploration of the mines?"

Thoroughly back into character as Seliar, Lucien strides up to Old Grizzler and claps the dwarf on the back though an air of somber sobriety comes through in the gesture of greeting. "It's good to see you old man. We've had some trying times down below. We've come back one fewer than we left."

"I sealed Three Elks in a wall of ice as he was being ripped apart by half a dozen trolls."

Rissa said flatly, her eyes daring Old Grizzler (or any of the others for that matter) to challenge her over her words. She clutched the staff fiercely in her hands, the blood draining from her knuckles. The staff had practically become a part of her in the time they had known her, never leaving her side, never leaving her grasp.

"We fought a dozen of them... alone, killed at least three, but paid dearly for it. We need more allies, allies who can wield flame and acid. This..."

She raised the staff.

"For all it's power, it is not enough."

Old Grizzler finishes off his drink in a quick gulp, then replies, "You faced down a dozen trolls? I'll be damned! Old Grizzler's impressed but sorry to hear about your friend." He glances around the inn. "Old Grizzler's got someone you'd like to meet, then. Where in the nine hells did he run off to?" He raises his voice, calling out toward the bar, "Heldig! Did you get our drinks?!"

Alisandra's mood is dour and she remained silent for now.

There's a sharp intake of breath from Lucien when Rissa quite bluntly lays out what happened. He watches Old Grizzler's reaction carefully, but the old dwarf seems more impressed about the trolls than anything else.