Witch and Alchemist

General Summary

After defeating the group of marauding ogres, our protagonists decide to investigate the attack site. While Trygve opens up the giants' stomachs, hoping to recover the victim's remains, Kushala extracts gastric juice from the monsters and Fionna attempts to salvage whatever she can from the encampment. As they wrap the various corpses, their worst fears come to pass: there are no survivors.   The girls decide to head back to camp, to convey the ill omens to the dwarf they had met. Upon finding the fate of his group, the man insists on seeing his old companions, despite being clearly distressed by the situation. As they meet Corvino and the others, the dwarf lies near his wife's corpse, weeping, while Trygve silently places the other corpses on top of the only functioning cart. Meanwhile, Kushala and Amelia attempt to make sense of the deformed ogre, searching for the possible cause of his sickness, but are unable to come to any conclusion. The group eventually assumes the pair of ogres were the ones responsible for destroying the village they had recently come in contact with, to the north, so they cut their heads off, as trophies to be shown to the local authorities. Following a few minutes of silence, the dwarf carries the body of her beloved to the cart and Trygve pulls the wagon towards their own encampment, where they find Hallie resting on Lyssele's lap. Exhausted, Corvino collapses in his tent and rest of the group resumes the night's watch, which proves uneventful.   A new dawn arrives and the various members of our band go about their various morning rituals: Trygve cooks a warm meal, Hallie paints on her sketchbook and Lyssele takes a morning shower in a nearby stream. However, as it gets late into the morning, the group starts to get worried over Corvino and the dwarf they had met, as both seemed to take their time to wake up. While Corvino was simply exhausted, the dwarven man they had just taken in slit his throat over the night, now resting in a puddle of blood. Trygve curses the man's cowardice and decides to tell Hallie the fate of their newly met companion, despite the reluctance showed by Fionna and Amelia. Surprisingly, Hallie took new the news coldly, commenting she'd only be sad if it was one of the others who had died.   The group resumes their march southward, hearing in on rumours of captured Darkling children in Vog Thurum, but eventually reach Kilturum Fort early in the night. As they take the Test of Iron, the group informs the fort's garrison about the roaming ogres they met on the road, using the severed heads they transported as evidence, as well as mentioning the topic of the abandoned village they had sighted. The report prompts the guard to call Captain Ebdam Flintgranite, who listens to group's story and offers a proper burial to the victims of the attack. Trygve asks the friendly captain to buy the ogre's trophies, but Ebdam suggests they try to pawn the heads in Vog Thurum.   The group decides to pass the night in the fort, renting rooms at Inn Way Too Deep and meeting its playful owner, Bretna Graybelt. As they dine, a group of rude and loud locals, led by Morman Frosthand, start harassing both Bretna and patrons alike. The group prepares for the worse: Amelia takes Hallie to her room and Kushala unsuspectingly loads a pair of heavy crossbows. Despite the building tension, Morman tries his luck at seducing a lonely human woman in the building, but he's given the cold shoulder. In a fit of rage, the dwarf strikes the woman and the group intervenes, only to be surprised when the assailant's arm turns into an icy sculpture. As the dwarf tries to retreat, he's intercepted by our heroes who force the vandal to whimper the phrase "Thank you for my potatoes." before allowing him to escape.   Impressed by the sorcerer's display, the group chats with the woman for a brief while, eventually learning her name: Acantha Amara. After tipping a large sum to Bretna, Acantha leaves the establishment, but not before Trygve catches a glimpse of the woman doing some sort of complex hand gestures.   While taking care of Hallie, Amelia receives a telepathic message from a mysterious woman, instructing her to step outside, alone, to talk about the tattoo Amelia bore in her forearm. Spooked, but compliant, Amelia heads outside, passing by Corvino and Fionna on the way. Seeking to ascertain the integrity of their wagon, Fionna heads outside as a cat, unbeknownst to Amelia.   As she reaches outside, Amelia is met with furious hostility from Acantha who immediately conjures an ice cage around the heroine. Dumbfounded by the act of aggression, Amelia remarks if this is what the woman considers to be a polite conversation. Ice shards floating in her proximity, Acantha demands to know the whereabouts of her daughter, assuming Amelia was involved in the hideous crime. As the conversation develops, Amelia is brought to tears, defending she, above all others, knows the true pain inflicted by the crow's mark. Taken aback by Amelia's reaction, Acantha dismisses the ice cage and lifts her robes, revealing dozens of dagger scars across her belly, inflicted by a different bearer of the crow's mark, Esmeralda.   According to Acantha's research, the ones responsible for taking her daughter away were a group known as the Obsidians. Assassins, trackers and spies, the Obsidians work from the shadows, their influence spreading across all cities in the continent. While in Nolzir, a Salamander named Kameg revealed to Acantha that each of the Obsidians' leaders bore the mark of the crow somewhere in their bodies. On the other hand, Amelia reveals the tattoo bears a potent curse, a secret which pleasantly catches Acantha off guard.   With little else to discuss, Acantha informs Amelia she will be heading northward, towards Avitoise, where a clue she's following leads to. Before departing, she hands a pair of incantations to Amelia, so they can keep each other in contact if need be. As the wizard leaves the scene, Fionna shows herself, catching Amelia by surprise and forcing her to spill the beans about her past.   With the dawn of a new day, the group makes their way towards the massive tunnel that leads to Vog Thurum, the Ancestor's Road, eventually reaching the metropolis after several hours of travel. When they reach the cavern in which the city is founded, they are surprised to find a large glowing sun standing over the palm of a statue on the southern side of the city, and a large spire erupting from the ceiling, near the central part of the settlement.   Serving as a guide, Lyssele recommends The Large Tankard inn, a local tourist attraction. She also gives Kushala instructions in how to reach the local alchemist, a shop named Earth's Bounty.   While most of our protagonists rent barrel-shaped bedrooms from the barrel-chested Magmir Aleheart, owner of the barrel-shaped The Large Tankard, Kushala meets the somewhat crazed Nyslil, a daring alchemist and apprentice to Kushana, Kushala's own teacher. Nyslil describes how Kushana saved her from a life in the streets, four years ago: she did lose a kidney to the researcher, but that was but a small price to pay compared to the number of lives she could positively impact. She and her mentor had several philosophical disagreements over the years, but Nyslil deeply cares about the Naga nevertheless, protecting the secret of her ancestry from the other citizens of Vog Thurum. Upon finalizing an equivalent exchange with Nyslil, Kushala asks the woman about the whereabouts of Kushana: apparently, she last saw her master about three months ago, when she contracted the Felslayers to escort her to Bern Badur.   Meanwhile, Lyssele temporarily parts ways with the group, announcing she'd be staying the night elsewhere. Despite the late hours, the remaining unoccupied members head towards the Diamond in the Rough, where they attempt to pawn some of the gemstones Corvino scavenged from Thalnar's hideout, as well as the gold signet which he had been holding to. While Heida Opalmace gladly buys the gems, she refuses to buy the signet, mentioning she'd rather not be involved in the contraband of jewelry belonging to a noble family.   Led by Trygve, the group makes their way towards the Runic Academy, in order to sell the ogre heads. While Trygve happily makes his way towards the front entrance the building, the remaining members stop him, as each step he was taking in the school grounds made bright blue runes appear, warning the intruder of a potential explosion. Eventually, the group manages to catch the attention of Kathbera, who summons Granrim to meet the adventurers. Our heroes find Granrim difficult to deal it, as he proved to often doze off, speak loudly or simply act senile. As they made way to his study, he describes the beast-like ogre head as being cursed, but show no interest in acquiring it, which prompts Trygve to storm off with his subordinates, in search of another potential buyer.