Bruthazmus Kele
The one, and only, bugbear ranger who works near Aquitaine along the Warden Road.
Bruthazmus
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Bruthazmus' size, gives him a general appearance of being essentially a 'brick' or 'square' shape. However, this isn't quite the truth.
Traveling and working along the Warden Road as a member of Falcon's Rangers keeps him in shape. He augments this with weapons practice, working in his garden, and other activities. This actually leaves him with a well-muscled form that is a bit lean for a bugbear.
Like all bugbears, Bruthazmus has claws that resemble a bear's claws. However, they're not sharp enough to use as weapons. So, he keeps them trimmed down otherwise they'd get in the way of his archery.
Body Features
Bruthazmus doesn't look any different - overall - than the average bugbear. Covered in brown and russet fur ( which the long fur on top of his head he keeps swept back and braided to make sure it stays out of his eyes ), he doesn't show any outward scars or deformities.
The only true mark that there is something different to Bruthazmus, is the sharp gleam in his eye and general calm expression on his face most times.
Apparel & Accessories
Bruthazmus often wears a linen shirt, trousers, and ankle-high boots. The latter he augments with homemade gaiters that help protect his legs between knee and ankle. These padded canvas gaiters aren't much more than cloth armor but they easily protect against thorns and many hazards in the woods.
Distinct items he wears would be an old black waistcoat with four pockets in it. This vest has been repaired and well cared for over the years. Along with the vest, he has a weatherbeaten wax canvas hat that he occasionally uses on trips to keep the sun and rain off his face.
Last is his Falconer's Coat. This is an oilskin longcoat issued to Falconers that helps the wearer blend into their surroundings a bit better, not to mention give them some protection.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Bruthazmus started life like most other bugbears with much the same happy, primitive, murder-hobo result. Being of the typical primitive intelligence of any other bugbear, he worked with his tribe to raid primarily kobold tribes. On uncommon occasions, this also included human or elven settlements.
This was the tribe’s method of ‘harvesting’ or providing an offering to the abyssal, corrupt power that the tribal shaman ranted on. However, Bruthazmus rarely understood what the shaman was going on about. Since the shaman made a mean barbecue, he was often given a pass for being loud.
Until one day, Bruthazmus tried to ambush a lone human wandering along the Warden Road near the ancient tower in the Mosswood forest. His ambush wasn’t exactly a success and the human wasn’t exactly your average traveler. The human was an arch-mage, Aflyn Spindlewheel, also known as Aflyn the Transmogrifier. In a sudden, unexpected turn of events, Bruthazmus found himself gainfully employed for the next five years, yet without pay.
Bruthazmus became what Aflyn referred to as a “Crash Test Magic Tester”.
If the usual magical methods or research failed to identify an item, Aflyn had Bruthazmus use - or attempt to use - said item. The bugbear wasn’t always willing to cooperate, usually between the hours or dawn or dusk, which then required some motivation. This took the form of a well-worded geas or outright magical compulsion to puppet the bugbear. Either way, it resulted in Bruthazmas’ fur or favorite personal extremities suffering the effects of raw magical elements of fire, ice, and so on.
Then came the day Aflyn found the rare “Deck of the Gambler”, a deck of mystical cards invented by the infamous Izor the Mad from Binaket in A’qadia.
Research gave Aflyn too much information and mystical identification too little. So arch-mage set Bruthazmus to work. By the fourth card, there was a series of startling discoveries.
First, it truly was a deck of wonders. Each card produced generated miraculous magical events, changes or other spells. Brooms grew arms, legs and feet then trotted around. Candlesticks turned militant and tried to take over the workshop with magical flame jets.
Also, Bruthazmus’ intelligence - and wisdom - grew threefold. Suddenly, the bugbear had many opinions about his treatment. This ranged from back pay, or lack of proper healer access, to no longer having much interest in discovering if “elveses taste better than those who were not?”
The second discovery was that Izor wasn’t in the habit of letting just anyone shuffle his deck. Therefore, the Deck of the Gambler had its own enchanted security to prevent anyone from using the past three cards. In particular, the deck was haunted by the vengeful spirit of Izor himself.
The third was that Aflyn the Arch Mage was in fact, Aflyn the lich.
The battle between Izor and Aflyn was titanic. The two undead wizards battled throughout Aflyn’s small keep in the Mosswood. Air froze, grass burned, and the stone turned to pudding.
In the end, Bruthazmus settled the matter. Simply put, he tossed the Deck of the Gambler into a Sphere of the Void that Aflyn used as a waste bin. The area around the device exploded like a dozen fireballs as magic shattered.
The Void tried to destroy the cards, instead, it released all the miracles - or curses - at once. The miracles were sped off into the air, looking for a recipient. The curses, such as those that summoned a quartet of Gravewraiths, sought out the closest victims. Which, as Bruthazmus had been shot through a nearby wall only to be caught by the brooms, turned out to be Aflyn and Izor.
In minutes, the battle came to an end, leaving Izor the victor and Aflyn being drug off by the Gravewraiths.
Izor was exhausted, his mystical abilities nearly depleted. However, he saw Bruthazmus for the first time. Realizing what had happened, and proving even a lunatic undead wizard could have a good side, Izor patched up Bruthazmus then sent him on his way. Bruthazmus hadn’t been more than a few yards away when the undead wizard opened a portal, taking Aflyn’s keep - and everything in it - to another plane.
Which one? Bruthazmus doesn’t know. He thought it best to not ask.
More to Come ---
He didn’t offer, and I wasn’t askingWith a new lease and mental awareness on life, he set out for his old tribe. However, Bruthazmus found the hard way ‘one cannot go home again’. Especially when ‘home’ was comprised of furry, maniacal, murder-hobos half-worshiping a corrupting abyssal being. Bruthazmus managed to escape with his life and the fur on his back. Not feeling very welcome, he returned to the Mosswood. Once there, he made his way to the Freecities along the Warden Road, such as Ravensmoor or Aquitaine. He found himself back in the Mosswood a few days later with a powerful need to soothe a few cuts, bruises, and magic burns. After some fishing and deep consideration, Bruthazmus felt that ‘polite society’ might not be ready for a ‘polite bugbear’. He didn’t hold a grudge. After all, Bruthazmus did remember a lot about how he was before. Those were gruesome memories and certainly not something he was proud to talk about.
Rugged, broad-shouldered bugbear man who, on the advice - or pestering - from an elven ranger, took up the mantle of a forest warden. Now, he works as a ranger, helping wanderers not be quite as lost.
Character Location
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Children
Current Residence
His actual residence is a cabin in the woods to the east of Aquitaine
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Chestnut brown
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Light brown to russet brown fur
Height
7
Weight
350 lbs
Bad Day for a Bad Cow... hand...
Grolm 13, 578
The hell hand had gotten free of me. Scrambling out, he got a few steps away, saying that Rowtag and I weren't on his list of targets ... right now. I got the message, I was making it onto his list. He also said something about "between him and his ghost". Was he haunted? Not sure. I didn't want to bother Yathue, she was resting.
There was a demon in that Hell Hand and it was riding him hard. We needed to rip that demon out... somehow. I asked Jessie for a rose wafer but he was out. So was Sephia. Lee? He was nowhere to be seen.
Looks like I had to do this the hard way.
Bracing my stance and Rowtag bracing his on my shoulder, I let the hell hand know where I stood. I told that demon it was time it was time to get outta town ... or drink honey. My hand flew down in the fastest draw I'd ever made. In one motion, I yanked that jar of holy honey out and charged the Hell Hand. He cut loose with a hex bolt that I took in the chest... but I kept going.
Landing on the man, I slammed him to the ground, telling the demon to get the hell out. It was right then that Yathue appeared, pointing frantically to her holy symbol. Of course! It might could get the demon out! Holding the man down, I told Rowtag to grab the holy symbol. He did.
I set the jar aside as Rowtag dropped the symbol of Dkar Po into my hand. At that point, I just kept talking to the demon. Telling it that it was time to get the hell out of town... one way or the other. The instant slapped the holy symbol against the man's chest there was an instant reaction. He shook, trying to yell as smoke poured out his ears. The same reaction when the Hesters took the rose wafers.
It was the demon.
Calling out to Jessie to grab a bottle, I held on. Jessie found two from my pack and put them to the hell hand's ears to catch the demon. Meanwhile his dire bee was warming up with some wax to seal the demon in. All we had to do was hold on. Once gone, we'll get the man some healing and I'll apologize.
After a few seconds, Jessie had the demon bottled. The horns on the hell hand, the former hell hand, started cracking and falling off. It was a damn good thing the man was out cold otherwise, he'd feel that. He had taken a beating from me. I pulled out my kit and set to binding his wounds. Hopefully, this will get him stable.
Looking around, there didn't seem to be much left. Jessie suggested we catching up with the rest. Right then I get a magical message in a bottle... an ominous one about if he dies that I promise to release the dead stormborn in Morodar. Too many problems at a time. First, I needed to get this ranch hand to someplace to heal. Second, track down the others - specifically Miro - and find out what's gone wrong.
We headed south across the mess of weeds and growth Jessie kicked up and found some gray slime. Nothing alive just... gray slime. No idea where it came from or really what it was. Jessie grabbed rocks and other things to make a path we could walk on. That helped since I was carrying the unconscious ranch hand. There was some yelling off to the north but nothing that seemed bad. It was more cheering than anything else. Not something to deal with now. Jessie and I kept moving.
Close to the barn, we found Miro and two more hands. Justice and Mystery Mullins. The Mullins had yet to be cured of their demon problem. Miro had promised them I could take care of it...mostly through getting Yathue to do it. I wasn't sure about how Miro was phrasing that, it made me a little uncomfortable. But I probably could use her holy symbol again. Probably with the staff, too. I did at least learn the name of the ranch hand I had clobbered. It was Faith Harrol. I had to get Faith to someplace to rest.
Before the Mullins ran off to deal with a scared sheep, probably demon-possessed, I told them I'll come back to help them. I hoped I wouldn't have to fight them. That blast from Faith hurt like hell.
The cat in the barn? It turned out to be a rendercoon. Damn rendercoon. At least it wasn't demon possessed. I took it as a positive. Once I tucked Faith in the barn, next to Ranger Horn actually, I talked the rendercoon into leaving the barn. Mostly by explaining the hell cows were gone. At least they looked gone to me. In any case, that rendercoon ran out of the barn. Which should make Chef, a young goblin lady, really anyone in the barn happy. That animal looked to have a mean streak a mile wide.
My chest hurt. That hex bolt burned bad. I knew I had to do something about it soon.
Outside the barn, Jessie waved us over. He had a couple of bottles we could use for the demon trapping. Mystery pointed out the sheep. Yep, demon possessed and ticked off. Jessie and the others kept shooting at it, I ambushed it and slapped Yathue's symbol against the sheep. The demon instantly started pouring out.
But the demon in Mystery took her all the way over and unloaded against Justice Mullins at that moment. Thinking back, it made sense. The demon was watching me do that and knew it was next. As the demon left the sheep, it shrank back to what it should be. A sheep. Scared but a sheep. Jessie raced off back to the others. A fight had broken out with Mystery and Justice wasn't far behind.
Talking softly to it, I quickly stripped the armor off the sheep to get it feeling back to 'normal'. But the problems hadn't solved themselves. It looked like a stand off with the Mullins. Giving the sheep a pet or two, I slipped off and charged the Mullins. Slamming into them from behind, I held them down while Yathue did her work. Jessie caught the demons that boiled out.
I was exhausted. In pain and exhausted. But there was more work to do.
The Mullins I escorted to the barn. They could get their head together and check on Faith. I got some of the rollups Chef had been making, then stepped out of the barn to look for more hell hands or this Ghost person. I found no sign after looking around the barn. At least I had time to bandage up that burn from the hex blast.
At the barn I found Lee Chung trying to move the abyssal weapons, which were aggravating some curse he had caught. I tried to figure a way to move them, but Yathue shooed me away. I gave the others some idea how to move them and agreed with Miro. They needed to be tossed into volcano.
That left Ghost. I searched the bunkhouse with Miro. He showed me where he left Ghost, or what he thought was Ghost. I found sign of everything but her. Where ever she was, she wasn't here. Jesse helped Chica, Princess and the others back to the bunkhouse. We stayed there for the night. It was some rest. Enough to keep going the next day.
There was a lot of rebuilding to do, both with the ranches and farms.
After that? I needed to take Yathue back home. Then get me home.
Womping the Willow Man
Grolm 13, 578
I could hear Miro in his coyote form snarling away at something. My best guess was either another demon cow or Miro had tracked down that damn lich. Either way, it had overstayed its welcome. So, Rowtag and I slogged on through the fog. Something that was as thick as pea soup and not nearly as tasty.
Funny how your mind wanders at the worst times. Right now, mine kept traveling to a couple of places. The first was that I really needed to take up axe throwing and the second was that a few slices of roast turkey on rye bread would taste pretty good right now.
Got no more than three steps under me before Yathue appeared next to me. She looked rough and was talking about something but I couldn't hear. I had to lean closer to catch only some of what she said. It was something to do with 'Death', several directions, and something about how she feels. That last one, I didn't need a translation. she looked rough.
With some Falain Omat, that Samakarii sign language, and what broken Falain Yathue had taught me, I got across that I'd hang onto her staff and she could rest in her amulet. The last that I'd try and stop or deal with the Death going one... I was hoping that came across, too. But I wasn't too sure about that last one. Though I still had hope.
Then the heavens own stampede broke out of the barn and headed my way.
Damn.
Just when I thought it all couldn't get more weird than that holy snow fall and demon cows...
I jumped forward toward Yathue, moving out of the path of the stampede. Which, is vague at best, since a stampede is not from a force of nature. There was also buzzing that sounded like a song. Valkyrie Riding? Damn fog made a mess of everything. It sounded like a bee. Like Wrong Way.
The fog was everywhere. So, I ducked to the south behind a burning hay bale. My idea was that moving south would get me behind the stampede, not accidentally in front of it.
And I ran right into Farvold Kerner. The Lich.
Right there.
I may not can understand a lot of Falain, but at that moment I swore I heard Yathue say in my ear, "Get him!"
Not that I needed any motivation, mind you.
I moved like flowing water. Faster than I remember moving before. Two hits and the lich was laying motionless at my feet. That was when my senses came back and the world stopped being so red. Gulping foggy air, I frowned at the undead body.
"I hate liches," was what I said. I meant it, too.
But damn if the day wasn't over. There was still some demon cows left. How? I had no idea. But they needed to be taken down, too. It was all that I could think of to push these things back to the Outlands.
That was before Jessie, who had transformed himself into a wooly rhino, came barreling through like his own herd of cattle. He hit me head on. Somewhere back behind me, I heard Miro yelp in pain as Jessie slammed into him also. I tossed the lich in Jessie's path, hoping to get the rest of that undead thing pulverized. Less of a body it had the harder time it'll have pulling itself together. Besides, I needed to pull myself together. I hurt.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked out. The lich was gone but there was some real angry demon cows still roaming around. Jessie was back in his human form and looked like hell. Miro looked not much better. Somewhere to the north, Yathue claimed someone was dying, or there was Death, or both. I needed to get there and rescue who I could. Maybe... just maybe... kill a demon cow along the way.
I got back to my feet then hauled Jessie off the ground. Not a one of us weren't beat to all hells and back but there was more to do. Jessie and Miro argued over that portal gate. I really had no idea how to handle that, but there was people in trouble which meant getting past those cows. I charged forward to get past the next hell cow to get at who was needing help beyond it.
Then damn if Jessie didn't transform into a woolly rhino. Again. Only this time he's covered in flaming debris. Ika's damn teeth...
I think I screamed a little when Jessie charged up and head bashed that demon cow. Mostly cause I relived getting trampled a moment ago. At least that time Jessie let out that squeeky bleat that woolly rhinos do as a warning, which got me and Rowtag out of the way. Once hit, that demon cow went sailing back into one of the burning hay bales. That was good enough for me, there was someone needing help to the north according to Yathue. Jessie can go stop out the demon cow. Sephia, too, since I just noticed she had flown in.
Now, Miro? He ran up and hit me with that healing stick of his somewhere in all that. It helped but I was still hurting pretty bad. Yathue tried once more to race north-northwest to get at whoever is in trouble. She didn't make it far but it gave me an idea where to run. So run I did, avoiding another demon cow along the way.
I raced away from the barn until I saw what had Yathue's attention.
Bull and Gore Hester, which meant Princess are nearby. I didn't see the others well but I saw Bull.
He almost looked dead.
Beat to hell and back or not, I forced myself to run faster.
The Ol' Run Around... the Demon Ranch
Grolm 13, 578
Things were a right proper mess... seconds felt like days...
I kept running around the side of the ranch house, intent on reaching the back. I needed to see what was happening behind the house and with Yathue. After that I had every mind to head into the barn and talk down that cat or whatever to see if it needs help getting somewhere safer. That is until I tripped over a root from the overgrowth Jessie conjured up.
Did I mention Jessie's fog spell?
There was a lot of fog.
But it turned out to be a good thing, as I found Ranger Horn. The man was laying sprawled on the grass looking rough. I hauled Miro out of my backpack, hoping he had gotten over whatever terror slapped him, and got him to use that healing wand on Horn. Mostly by yanking Miro out form where he was hiding and dropping him on the grass. I felt bad about that but really... we're in a bad way here with the demon cows.
Anyway, Ranger looked better after that, at least enough that he should make it until we get this cleared up. Hopefully.
But there was still that damn fog. Miro, who could see through it, took point and led me the rest of the way around the house.
We made it barely a few feet before one of those vampiric cabbages rolled up at us! They had gotten larger, this one was as big as Miro. Miro slammed it with a snowball. I followed that by slamming a tonfa down onto the thing. It hurt it bad but not bad enough. It was still coming, bloody tentacles and all.
Those things come in packs but I needed Miro out of the way. I tried to get him to run ahead, naturally he didn't want to, but did it after I kept after him about it. Then I tossed an entangle out into the fog. Hopefully, I caught the rest and slowed them down. If there were any out there. Then I tried to bash this one in front of me in. But I misjudged the distance in the fog and missed. Rowtag tried to take a swipe but the cabbage has some sort of ice on it. Probably left over from Miro's snowball.
I needed to keep moving. But this cabbage thing was a problem... then an idea came to me. A right stupid one, so of course I tried it.
Taking a swing I tried to knock it aside. My idea was to knock it along ahead of me. But that didn't work either. Getting frustrated, I grabbed the thing to haul it over my head and slam it onto the ground. Once that was mashed, I ran to catch up to Miro.
Miro brought up a good point. That portal to the Outlands is standing wide open. He said he's seen nothing new coming through but something might. I didn't like the idea of letting him go slam it shut, especially since he mentioned it might explode, but I can't fault what he's saying. So, I scoop up Miro and plow through the cactus thicket and head for that noise. After I get us there, I'll help him up on the roof so he can go run over the roof and try his stunt on that portal.
The thicket was hell to get through. Jessie did a good job. Sometime along there, Yathue found me and whispered 'bad scroll'. I guessed she meant that book Miro saw. A book he identified, giggled over and is almost drooling about. I don't know what that book is but I'm feeling real certain it's bad news and nobody needs it.
I should've talked with that cat in the barn to ask if it needed help getting out.
At least we found Ranger Horn and helped him out.
Barn Storming
Grolm 13, 578
The fog was so thick you could spoon it into a bowl. But, that demon cow in charge had been knocked in the dirt and wasn't getting back up. So I took that as a good sign to peek into the barn while Lee Chung took care of that demon sheep that jumped off the roof.
I moved inside the barn. It was all quiet given it was a war outside. Starting with the stall to my right, I moved in and looked for any hidden doors. Really, anything that might hold someone since we know the demon cows had been keeping hostages in here. Found stall for a mare and a few other horses. Nothing surprising, other than the horses hadn't been there in awhile.
Second stall in, I heard chains or something hit the outside of the building. At the same time, Rowtag went on edge. Alert and upset. I knew that reaction from him, it meant something was in here with us. I put some distance between us and the middle of the barn. The chain or thump sound bugged me. There wasn't anything big enough out there that I saw to hit a building like that which worried me. With demons around and that lich back up and moving, something could have been summoned. That was the last thing we needed.
Turns out it was some large cat in the barn. Not sure if it was summoned, but it was damn big. Thing's head was as big as Miro's head, so we're talking large. I start moving forward, thinking to dart past the thing. But I came to my senses. I'm in its territory and this is stupid. I'll find another way around. No sense in taking on a fight I don't need.
I back out slow and steady so I don't cause it to chase me. Once out, I'll warn Lee Chung, really anyone else, to stay out of the barn. Jessie or I can go in and negotiate with the cat later.
Leaving the barn, I warn Jessie, Miro and Lee Chung. Then I run around the bunkhouse, or I try to. Miro can't get through the tall grass. So, tossed him on the roof of the bunkhouse. He'll be up high with no grass in his way. I figured it would work well. After hurling him up there, I took off running around the building.
I hadn't made it but a few steps before Miro dove off the roof screaming. Yathue's shriek rattled him and sent him running. Instead of letting him run off wild, I kept ahold of him while I ran. Miro had a lot to say about Yathue. I doubt she had gone full banshee yet, but I had her holy symbol and was tied to her. I also had a rough means to talk to her. Granted, this might involve sticking a sock in Miro's mouth to keep him quiet while I talk to Yathue but ... we all have to make sacrifices.
But I shoved outside the overgrown grass then raced for the back of the building where Yathue was and that bad sound of chains or something that hit the building.
Long Day At Sasparilla
Grolm 13, 578
I was trying to knock some sense into the Hell Hand in front of me. It was like trying to knock some sense into a rock. Rowtag tried to scare the demon-possessed cow hand. He gave it a good try, but demons don't scare that easy I suppose.
That Hell Hand put up on nasty fight. Knees, elbows, anything went. Rowtag even head butted the man once and rattled his noggin. Rowtag got a bit shook up from that, too. I could tell the little guy was getting a bit steamed. To be fair, I was too. We were winning this little range war but damn if the cost wasn't high. Somewhere the other hell cows got wiped out. I wasn't sure by what, but I was glad they were gone. That left Hell Hands and whatever was keeping the Hell Bovines going.
Around me, Sephia brought down the bovine near her, helped the Hesters, then took out to the south-southwest. Jessie went tearing off somewhere after stomping out another of the bovines. That left me fighting with one Hell Hand with Princess and Chica Alston nearby. It took forever but I finally knocked that Hell Hand out. Miro yelled that Lee Chung was in trouble back south. I asked if Princess and Chica needed help. Princess ignored me and Chica gave me sass. As usual. I really regret yelling at her and getting on her bad side. But what's done is done.
Hoping they would be all right, I took off south. Lee Chung found something he couldn't handle on his own.
I made it to the thicket when I came across another Hell Hand. This one was hunting someone... but not me. He ignored me and kept looking around. I thought about knocking them out but the Hell Hands aren't the source of the problem. Taking out the source still seemed like a good idea. Whatever that source was. So I headed for the thicket to move in nice and quiet.
Until that Hell Hand saw Miro.
I wasn't sure if it was Miro or Spiro but the Hell Hand was about to use some infernal hex on one or both. I had no idea if Miro had found Lee Chung, but Lee was in danger down here somewhere. So I had to do this. Didn't want to, it was a delay... but I had to. Rowtag and I took off in a charge. I tackled the Hell Hand with everything I had. Rowtag came in on a power dive just after. To keep the Hell Hand down and not attacking anyone, I did the first thing I could think of... bounce and slam onto him against the ground. Probably break some ribs, hopefully knock the fight out of him.
The man panic scrambled out from under me in between one of my slam bounces. Right after that he used a demonic aura to make me back off a step or two. So Rowtag and I did. Though Rowtag was a bit miffed. I think he liked playing trampoline.
Playing the Dead Man's Hand
Grolm 13, 578
With the lich down and out, I took off north where Yathue was prodding me to go. My business with the lich wasn't done. I just knew it. The fact he came back after the first time he died meant he has a jar or something hidden away. Since he was a plant... maybe a seed? Potted begonia? Whatever it was, we need to set it on fire. But first, rescue the locals who are still caught between a rock and a meat grinder.
There was a group up there. A whole lot of ugly and a few new friends. Found Bull Hester first, battered and beat up. Worst I saw was a shoulder wound. I quickly bandaged that up and asked where Gore, his wife, was. He motioned north. I asked what else was around since the fog had not quite cleared. Bull mentioned the hell hands being nearby. Not good news since I knew there was at least one hell cow nearby. Worse? The hell hand heard us talking.
But by Ika's toes, that was when Miro, Jessie and Wrong Way showed up. Especially Jessie, at least I thought it was Jessie, was in a woolly rhino form. He slammed into the Hell hand, man by the name of Bowser I think, but something made him back off fast. At the time, I hoped it would be enough to whittle down the Hell hand into something I could handle. I didn't want to kill the man since he was demon possessed.
I ran in to knock down the Hell hand but some sort of aura slammed into me. Nothing made sense, I couldn't think. Before I knew it, I was running the other direction in a panic.
By the time I recovered, my head felt like it was splitting open. Yathue had done something, not sure what, but it helped me get my head clear. I owed her for that. That stench of peppers was still in my nose. Hell hand scent. Nasty, smelly scent. I held my head a moment. Then I heard Bull Hester yell out. That was the last straw.
I was mad.
Seeing red mad. I'd been punched, head-butted, stabbed, shot at and missed, and shat at and hit.
Jumping to my feet, I charged across the field right at that hell hand. On the way I saw Miro had his storm armor up. So I barreled right into that hell hand. Bull rushing him up and down into Miro. I knew Miro's spell would protect him and better... should burn the britches off that hell hand. Turns out, it did.
That didn't help my anger. Not one bit. But. It was a damn good start.
Hauling that horned hell hand up by the britches and his collar, I brandished him like a battering ram and roared at the hell cow. Roaring out every bit of my anger. I think that even the demon posessing the cow might have peed a little.
Miro too it from there, charging the hell cow and unloading with a massive shocking grasp spell. Lit that cow up like a dry birthday candle. Jessie charged in right after. Between the two of them, the hell cow dropped unconscious. So I turned my attention elsewhere. Another hell cow in this nightmare herd was a good 30 feet from me and threatening Gore Hester, Princess, and Chica. The trio were pretty banged up but were trying to hold off the hell cow. That was ok. The pain train was coming to help.
I took off and charged at the hell cow, smashing into her and using the hell hand like a battering ram. Neither that cow or the hell hand felt good at all when I was done. But they weren't out.
That's ok. I'd had enough. Time to clean this mess up once and for all.
Strolling Through the Demon Grass
Grolm 13, 578
When I think about going for a walk, usually that's not through thorn bushes while keeping away from demon cows and a predatory potato lich.
Miro still wants that book. But on the long walk through the tall grass I managed to talk him into going to shut that portal down to keep any more demons from getting across. At least for a moment, he'll quit obsessing about the book.
I mean, after all, the stupid thing was glowing green like the demon infused hatbands or the horns on the demon possessed cow hands. I doubt that's just a coincidence.
Moving forward felt like it was taking forever. But using my dagger to cut a way forward was saving me scrapes. Somewhere along the way, I got close enough to talk to Sephia ... and Miro who was still on the roof. Miro had found Chef and they were on the roof. Sephia could see the book and it was still glowing green.
We yelled through the fog, trying to figure out what to do about the book. Miro wants to sell it in Morodar. Yet the book has some of Chef's blood in it and that's what activated the book supposedly. That didn't make me feel any better. After a lot of discussion, no one had a clue other than Miro who really just kept going on about getting the book to sell for money with some side talk about magical knowledge.
I had some holy honey. That might depower the thing if it was demon tainted. Also, I was coming around to just closing the book. It was worth a try. Once closed I'll hand it to someone or just carry it. My next plan was to run back and check on Ranger Horn. I wasn't sure what else to do really. There was a thing in the barn, but I still didn't think it was a threat. There was the Hesters and the others that were out there somewhere.
I really needed to stop a moment and get my head right. What was the right thing to do? What lives were in danger? Who needs help?
There was the book. Evil or not, Chef's blood was causing something to happen. That book needed to be closed or stopped to hopefully protect Chef. That was most likely the next right thing to do.
After that would be the people we came here to help. The Hesters and others. I had no idea where any went except Ranger Horn. I left him hopefully hidden near the underbrush. Next thing would be run back to get him moving. He didn't need to be sitting out undefended. Sure, that would slow me down some. But leaving him wasn't right. My entangle enchantment wasn't going to last forever and he was in the path of those undead plants.
Once Horn was up, it would be time to find Chica and the others. Not to mention check on the critter in the barn.
At least that was my plan. Best I could think of.
While I was cutting my way through, Sephia tried something. I couldn't see what but it shook her up about the book. She wouldn't touch it. So... I needed to try and close the book. Maybe put some blessed honey on it.
Moving ahead, I got to the book. It was glowing nasty green and sitting on a pedestal. I closed it, not that it made it stop glowing, and then strapped it closed. Mostly cause I remembered the books in Miss Melinda's shop being nailed shut, and that seemed like a good idea with what I had. On a thought, I placed the jar of blessed honey on it to see how the blessed honey would react. Sort of 'how bad is this' detector.
The honey tried to boil.
Ok, so really evil.
I put the honey away, then attached the book to a book satchel strap and slung that over my shoulder. Best I could do. By that time, the others caught up with me. Jessie and Lee Chung were looking to get into the main house. I filled them in about Ranger Horn and that he needed help. Jessie was telling me about the barn and the critter in there being upset about its owners.
That was when one of the damn vampiric cabbages attacked me or tried to. The fight was on then, especially since the thing was as big as Lee Chung!
I got a couple of good hits in before it latched onto me. Rowtag tried to stab it but it was Sephia that took it out with a lightning arrow. There wasn't a lot of time to waste, especially since Miro yelled down that the portal had not really closed but "ignored" or "laughed" at his attempt. Not good. What we could do about that, I had no idea. But Miro suggested the blessed honey. It was worth a try as I was getting close to being out of options.
Still, for me, I wanted to check on Ranger Horn. After making sure Ranger Horn was safe, or at least hidden, then deal with that circle. Maybe toss the demon prince's weapons into the circle? Use it to hit the book over the circle? It's all using evil tainted weapons against evil tainted weapons. But then there was the holy honey. Just would it work?
Could it work?
I wasn't sure and I didn't have a lot of it.
Ranger Horn was where we left him. He still hadn't come round, so I carefully hauled him up to bring him along to keep anything from killing him while he was vulnerable. Jessie caught up but ran over to the house when Miro started yelling for him. Now that I had Ranger Horn, it was time to head toward the house, toward that circle. Find some shelter for Horn.
Mostly cause Jessie mentioned that Farvold the Lich was trying to get some ritual going to banish the demons. Proving some experiment and saving the ranch land. That sounded far too helpful for my tastes. Then there was the sound of someone using that demon prince's weapons. But first I need to get Horn to someplace to let him rest up and collect his wits. After that, I'd hunt the lich and those demon weapons.
On the way around I came across Jessie. He was going to run down Miro but agreed to take Horn to safety. That left me running down Miro. I headed out.
Then ... all something broke loose. Snow blasted into that bunkhouse from out of nowhere. Miro took off in dire coyote form then attacked something in the fog. I changed direction, then slipped off after Miro. I rounded a haybale... probably the last one not burning... and found one of the Hess brothers just standing there. Calm. Like some pacified butler but still a hell hand?
Something is REAL wrong. I couldn't place it, there's been too much going on.
I knocked him down and headed in looking for what Miro's fighting to help.
Between a Bad Cow and a Rough Sheep
Grolm 13, 578
... Evil Sheep to the left of me, Demon cows to my right, and I'm stuck in the middle with you...
Ha! I ought to be a bard. It might be safer.
But I figured that I needed to stick with my day job, since there was demon farm animals trying to end me.
I put down, or mostly so, one off the hell sheep. Yathue flew off toward a hell sheep off causing mischief on its own. I heard it scream as she well ... ended it. Not something I want to think about, what with her being a banshee and all. If she needs to talk about it later, I'll give her a good ear to talk to.
So, I shift my route and turn for the barn... just when a damn forest springs up?
This has GOT to be from Jessie... especially since there's a clear trail right to a door. No sense turning down a well cut path. I race for the barn door. Lee Chung isn't far away. Worst part is that sound of someone shouting "I live" back in the undergrowth ... I'm not liking that one bit. But I've got a list of problems and that one is pretty far down right now.
Racing down the path, I fire a quick shot at the big demon bull prince and taunt him. My hope is to get him all turned around and distracted. He took my arrow in his back, though it sounded like me calling him out pissed him off more. Good. I get him out, I have a dumb idea.
Which of course are the best kind!
Just then he slams that big hammer down. The thing glows a nasty, vile green, screaming all the way. When it hit the ground, it burned out a good ten feet of plants around him. After that, he got ready to charge. Yep, gonna be a tough one. If the timing works out though...
The bull prince bashed his way out into the path and Lee Chung beat on him like he was tenderizing a chuck roast. Lee Chung was fast as lightning and in two moves, had that demon bull flat on his face. Even tossed one of bull prince's weapon off into the bushes.
Lee Chung said to toss the bull prince's hammer off, but I had a better idea. Or maybe it was a bad idea that might work. To be fair, I was just working from moment to moment.
I cast entangle on the prince to lash him down. Then I proceed to beat him about the head and shoulders with my tonfas while taunting the Outland hells out of him. But we needed to get him out of commission, or now that he's down and entangled for the moment, disarmed. I had the thought to hammer on that wrist to snap it or make him let go of that hammer. Either Lee Chung or I could knock it aside after that.
But the big bastard shoved his way upright after snorting fire all over me. That hurt! Bad enough he smells like a walking stench pile.
So I hit him with another entangle spell. Then I slammed him in the forked end to try and stun him into submission. I mean, I had no illusions about this fight. It was going to be hard and ugly. But I couldn't leave Miro alone with this big thug.
I stood toe to cloven hoof with him, swapping blows. My saving grace was that the bull prince only had that hammer, so I just had to concentrate on keeping that thing off of me. It meant taking that demon bull down a small piece at a time. But I was just trying to buy time for the others to get there. This was a fight that would take all of us to solve, not just me. That bull demon was way too nasty for just any one of us.
Miro pulls his sorcery together and launches a massive blast of magical lightning. Burns the hell out of the bull prince. But the damn dirty demon stays standing... though I figured by not much more than spit and wind.
The fight had gone one for so long that the enchanted 'frost fog' had covered everything. It was so thick, you couldn't see much of anything past 5 foot in front of your face. Good trick. It seemed to work both ways for the most part. But it meant that it would drag this blood bath out longer and I was starting to feel my wounds. I had an idea, maybe I could use the fog to my own advantage. Slip up and surprise them.
Them was a sheep that had climbed over the barn to stamp out my entangle spell and that bull prince. I didn't think it would take much more to finish him off. That sheep might be another thing entirely.
Just then Lee Chung moves in, avoiding the sheep but hammering the cow prince like an iron mallet. That demon prince drops like a sack of rocks. That still leaves the demon sheep... and what to do with the unconscious demon prince. Right now? It wasn't the best time to discuss it... even though the others were starting to....
We had people to get loose of this mad house. I used the fog as cover and quietly headed for the inside of the barn. Lee Chung would be able to take out the sheep. I'll let them know where I am once I get to the barn and take a look inside.
Bad Moo Rising
Grolm 13, 578
Things were about to get interesting which was saying something since we've been dealing with demon possessed cows and undead vegetables for most of this week.
Slap in the middle of the evil in the ranch, we had raced up to the barn to free Chica and anyone near her. Demon cows and sheep were to our north and west. Hell Hands were at our backside. Then there was some big side of walking beef in front of the barn.
That last one had me the most worried.
But we had to tackle this one problem at a time... and we needed allies. So I hurled an entangle spell at the Hell Hands. Waving Lee Chung in, I raced after him. My thought was that Lee Chung could get some rose wafers into the Hell Hands. Afterwards, I quiz them to see if they were willing to resist the demons. If so, I help them up. Otherwise, I try and knock them out.
It was a plan anyway.
Naturally things went sorta sideways.
With the hell hands was a bunch of other people. Being questioned? Not sure. It was a bit more than I had planned on but with everything going on, well, I was bound to miss something.
The first Hell Hound spit out the wafer then tried to hit Lee Chung. I ran in to hit the guy to distract him but missed. Looks like it was going to be a bad fight.
Back at the barn something bad was happening but I was too busy to deal with it. In front of Lee Chung and myself, we managed to free one Hell Hand from the demon. Another two seemed to free themselves? Or at least chose themselves over everything else. But this means they were getting the innocents out of range of the fight. So, that's something.
That left one Hell Hand.
So, I took the direct route and bear rushed him. I hit him like a runaway landslide. Lee Chung follows and we grab the hell hand. Lee tries to shove a wafer in the man but it didn't quite work.
Meanwhile Yathue raced out and away from me and for Rowtag. That's when I remembered ... we didn't prepare anything to catch the other demon that we did shake out of the other hand. Yathue grabbed the demon and yanked it out of Rowtag. Once out, she chained the thing with a holy spell.
Which gave me an idea. I grabbed the Hell Hand and dragged him toward Yathue and the ice chains.
Meanwhile, the demon prince? Leader? Laughed then ordered his people to kill us. No surprise there.
I tried tossing the Hell Hand at the holy ice chains, but couldn't tell if the holy magic did anything. But Yathue did a bunch. She took the staff from me then proceeded to beat the ever loving snot out of the demon and the Hell Hand. I yanked the ranch hand out but he was battered enough that he wasn't a problem now. But through that, I earned getting my heel sliced up by the damn hand.
Were we winning? I couldn't tell. It was a war and I wasn't sure we were winning. On a good note, Lee Chung did use logic on the hell hands which got them debating about what to do. That left the demon cows and demon sheep.
It was going to be a long fight. Hope it wasn't about to be our last.
Right Way to a Demon Thumping
Grolm 13, 578
It took a day and pocket of patience but we got ourselves back on the road.
I caught up with the others then we got the survivors back to Arjory pond. The Hesters, Princess and the rest of us? We made camp first at one of the abandoned farms. Good thing we did, as it gave us time to try this "Rose Wafers chases out Demons" idea. It was a sound thought... and it worked! The Hesters were free of the demons. As for the demons? Those got bottled.
Unfortunately, I lost track of who picked that up.
But we got the Hesters free of the demons in them. All save for their hatbands? Things glowed green and all. I scooped those up in a bag and stuffed them in my pack. I figured to get them cleaned, or burned, later. In any case, while at Arjory pond, we found Miss Melinda's list of how to un-demon the cattle.
Basically they get basted. With injection.
Yathue had some choice opinions on that. I agreed with her. We try and simply injecti0n baste those cattle, we'll be the ones roasting. But for now, it was the plan... which meant it best to find another, BETTER plan.
We started to gather supplies. Miro and Jessie headed to Miss Melinda's workshop. I scoured the nearby farms for herbs. Sephia headed out to collect the buried bottles from the caravan. We'd need to them to capture demons at the ranch. The others stayed at the farm house to fix it up, see to the animals, and Lee Chung to cook up as many Rose Wafers as he could.
I should've known it was going too well.
I get back to learn Sephia went to the workshop cause Miro and Jessie never came back...and she never came back. Damnit. So the Hesters and I figure we should go get them.
We found the workshop locked up like a vault. But between the Hesters and myself, we broke in... and there they were. They had triggered some trap? Something and it froze them in place. Lucky it was kinda obvious. The candelabra that Jessie had picked up. I shot that out of his hand and it broke the spell.
From there we... or they... searched the place. I gave it a quick once over but didn't care much for things there. Until we got to the basement. It seems, to no one's surprise, Melinda was up to more no good. Princess' brothers were in cages down there. We got them out right away. They were starving but alive. So the Alfredo family was alive and could take possession of the ranch. Aside from that, I studied the root cellar some and a desk while the others kept busy ransacking things. I didn't pay them much mind, or really most of the smelly workshop, until Miro found a chest he couldn't open.
Miro had found some small room with an old beat up chest and a shepherd's crook-like staff. I broke the chest open for him and kept the staff. I was running low on arrows and since there's no good place to get more... I'd need a backup weapon. That would do.
The others kept rummaging, Lee Chung cooked up what he could and we slept in the workshop. I wasn't happy with that, did I mention it smelled and glowed? But traveling at night was out. The demon cattle would be out looking for anyone stupid enough to travel at night. So we stayed at the workshop. I learned to deal with the smell. We did set up watches... apparently the others figured out the house could magically move or portal itself around. Not at all what I wanted to hear.
Fortunately, nothing came through the workshop's portal.
Next morning, after breakfast, came the planning. This always takes the most time, but given we're about to try and deal with a herd of demon cows, it's probably necessary. Turns out we'd need to have a brand on us or the ranch's alarm will go off. That can be branded on bone or leather then worn. That's a lot of brands. But instead of us, we cut up some oilskin leather from a chest near the front door. Those strips could be branded and we wear those.
There was so. much. talking. Mostly around "should Princess go or not". Though Sephia came up with a great plan. She sets the alarm off and we ambush the stampede... might work. Better than no plan.
What bothered me worse was that Yathue wasn't around, neither was the Stormborn's spirit. I blame the workshop. This place has so much strange magic running around...it wouldn't surprise me there isn't something that alchemist set up to block undead. I'll have to check on the both once I'm out of this place.
Anyway, I helped Gore Hester make some brand before patience wore thin over the arguments. Too much tiptoeing around when there was a problem to solve!
So I grab a branded strip, my gear and head out. On the way I tell the others "time to kick some ass!"
What do you know, it worked.
Except Miro didn't sent the Alfredo brothers to somewhere safe... he left them to "be safe" in the workshop... which has a broken front door... and portals...
So! I sent the others on ahead. I used Miro's donkey to head back and collect the Alfredo brothers. The donkey won't work for me to ride but the Alfredo brothers can take turns. I quickly grabbed up what I could, handed them some of my rabbit jerky and bread stuffed in a bag, and traveled with them in the right direction to the best place of safety, a farm to the north in the hills.
The Alfredo brothers say its the Ayrshire farm. They aren't thrilled and call them weird because they do naked dancing mid day to help their crops grow. I pointed out that's better than staying in the place where the alchemist figured out a way to stuff demons into their cows. They saw my point. We agreed, they would go there and stay and I'd catch up to them when this mess was over.
I handed them plenty of rabbit jerky, bread and water. They handed over mimic jerky to me in trade, then headed off on the donkey toward Ayrshire farm.
Once they were on their way, I ran to catch up to the others.
By the time I caught up, they were discussing what to do. Jessie gave me what was going on. Sephia had the herd running around leaving not much left. So I jumped in the cart, and called giddayap, to get this ranch raid going! Sure, the cart was pulled by donkeys, and donkeys don't run like a horse, but we make solid time.
Half hour of good riding we make it there to Sarsparilla Barn, coming in from the east, heading west. I jump out of the cart, bow ready. It might have been a mistake, but it was all I had to go with.
Leaping off, I heard a cow let out a "It's all fun and games until someone loses their soul!" Don't know what that is, but its on the list of problems. The pack of what looks to be hell hands to the southeast... those were the closer problems!
Now, if we could just get Rose Wafers into them ...maybe they'll help?
Rocky Road to Reflection
Grolm 10, 578
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Famous last words, I suppose. This is the first time in a day, though it feels like its been a month, since I got to sit down and put my thoughts on paper. Granted, much of that I've been hauling my furry ass over and under the gods' own unforgiving ground most that time. So I've been a bit busy.
The next morning we rose, got our things together and set a plan into motion. Naturally, it took some argument to iron out most of the wrinkles. But I'm coming to understand that's how the SNAFU guild does things. It's noisy, messy, but it works for them.
But it made me miss getting a chance to talk to Scaevola before she took off to get some scrolls that'll let her move her tree where the Ministry can't find it. I hate that I didn't get to talk to her but damn if I don't wish her luck.
Anyway, the plan. The whole idea was simple. With Miss Melinda not stirring the soup on one side, that left the lich on the other. He was dug in and set, spreading out his influence like a sickness. So, I figured he would sense us coming.
To counter that, we had to whittle down his numbers and distract him. Sephia, Chung, and myself set out North then West to scour the canyon walls and find those crops of blood sucking cabbages and other necromantic plants. We burned any we came across.
Meanwhile, Jessie, Miro, Chef and Chica headed out West then North to take a wagon that we could use to carry the stolen townsfolk back home. My thought was that the lich had set up at a waterfall. There were two, so if he wasn't at one, he'd surely be at the other.
Turns out, I figured that part about right. The rest of the plan? That was a work in progress.
Those of us burning the crops did our job. Wiped out dozens and dozens of the things. A pack of those pumpkin golems nearly ended us, but Chung is fast with those healing potions when needed. Exploding golems took down Sephia and nearly took me down. Chung pulled us through. It was also where I learned something real important about the banshee I'm trying to help get some revenge and peace.
But more on that in a bit. Back to the plan.
We worked out way across the canyon. I'm not sure how well or poorly it went for the others, they never said. But Jessie, Miro and Chef met us at the second waterfall at the far end of the canyon. Chica had, against my advice, gone off on her own to deal with demon infested cattle at Sarsaparilla Ranch. I honestly can't blame her. Not ever had someone special or hardly any real friends - I might have maybe less than a handful - but I understand it. Chica wanted her wife back. Tracking down if Chica is safe ranks high on my future plans for later.
However, as I said, we met up at the waterfall on the far side of the canyon. Turns out that was where the lich was dig in and that waterfall? Yep. That was the dead Stormborn. Now dead, he had been trapped in his purest form of elemental magic which was raging storm and water. Naturally, the lich was using the sorcerer's soul for some sort of source of power or something.
The trapped soul wasn't outside in the canyon but underground. Seems the lich had found some crystal lined caves and did some reworking to make them more what he wanted. He also had plenty of those Fey warped plant things running around as guards, too. A lot of them. They caught us by surprise outside the cavern entrance.
It was a horde of those Fey things. Briar Seed Children. Nasty creatures that are from the Feylands part of Outland or so I'm told.
To my surprise, we handled it. It was some quick thinking on Jessie's part that confused them, then got the Briar Seed Children fighting among themselves. We slipped away into the caverns.
I have to admit, inside the caverns was the most beautiful I've ever seen. Glowing crystals dotted walls and ceiling. There was one big one in the entrance that glowed with its own light. Sephia didn't trust it, which isn't a surprise, she doesn't trust much of anything. But it turned out to be safe enough. So we spread out to look around for any of the stolen townsfolk, then the lich.
We found all that and more.
The townsfolk were being used as slave labor to support the lich's "plant army" and whatever plans he had for the canyon. As for the lich himself, a yokel named 'Evilseed', he was where I expected. In his laboratory cooking up who knows what. That's when we finally ran into a few wrinkles.
But so was Padre. The poor priest was being used as a power source in some experiment the lich cooked up to put an end to the demon cattle. Padre was glowing with a soft light. The lich called it 'Angelfire'. I've heard of that. It's sort of like a sorcerer. Where a sorcerer is born with elemental magic in their blood, Padre's kind was born with deific magic in his. Real rare. Yet, here it was.
The other wrinkle was Jessie. He was still under the binding he stole off Scaevola. That was when it needed to kick in. Jessie went up to the lich and presented himself, looking to help his new 'boss'. A boss that promptly tried to send him out to get control of the land and deed for the demon cattle ranches. Unfortunately, the lich had no idea that involves actual written deeds and contracts. So when Jessie came back to us, we had a thing or two to say about that.
Mostly it was Miro. Of all the times for that pirate's love of contracts to come in handy, that was the moment. Jessie mentioned having to leave and why, Miro jumped into action with contract fine print, triplicate signatures and more. Jessie was so confused he had to go back to Evilseed to get some things cleared up.
This let Jessie's dire bee companion, Wrong Way, do an interpretive dance to help let us know the layout of Evilseed's room. What we couldn't figure out from that, Jessie was all too eager to translate Wrong Way's dance for us, what with Jessie being such a bee aficionado. It was a huge advantage and we took it.
Jessie was a nice distraction and we rushed the lich before he knew what hit him. We caught Evilseed by surprise and away from his defenses. That let us wipe out the lich before he could cause serious trouble.
Now, that doesn't mean the lich is destroyed. Oh, no. That takes tracking down whatever he's bonded his life essence to. Sometimes its a still beating heart in a sea chest, other times its a gemstone. Once I heard it was an old wine bottle. Thing is, its different every time.
We still haven't found what Evilseed bound his life force into. Not yet.
Also, we thought that would be the end of the trouble there. The Fate muses just didn't want the music to play that way. After doing away with the lich for the moment, we freed the captives, then promptly ran right into a new wrinkle.
The demon cattle had sent two demon possessed cattle hands to attack the lich.
Why? Who knows why right then. Maybe it was planned all along? Or maybe the demons got wind of what we were up to and decided to take advantage of it. But the fight went real sour.
See, those 'hell hands' have some mesmerizing song. Saps the mind right out of you. It got several, including myself. I blacked out just floating on a sea of hell-fueled bliss. Naturally, that meant at the end of that floating I would've been in for a lot of pain but I'm glad I never found out. What happened after I blacked out got told me to by the others.
It seems, the banshee that I swore to help? She jumped in and possessed me to keep me away from those hell hands. If anyone was to tell me that a banshee would help me, I'd not have believed them. But that's exactly what Yathue did. Yes, I know her name. But, that's not something for right now.
Yathue, doing her best even though the only one she could talk with was Lee Chung, worked with the rest of the SNAFU guild Pathfinders. The whole fight was ugly. It sprawled over the entire main chamber and nearly got some of the captives killed. Namely 'Princess' who Chica had been looking for! Yep, we found her, which meant Chica was off on a fool's errand.
Anyway, the fight was getting real bloody when somehow one of the hell hands forced Yathue to back off and lose control over me. She pulled back and I came to. Naturally, I was fighting mad, so I laid into the one hell hand in front of me. I really took after him when he nearly burned Chung alive with some sort of demon-fueled punch. But, I must be scarier than the little monk because the hell hand tried to run from me.
It was right then, that the Fate muses decided to play a tune just for me.
This hell hand had feelings for the lady hell hand across the room. Married? Just sweethearts? Don't know, don't care. Drawing my bow, I didn't end the hell hand, I threatened his lady love. Telling him I'd end her if he didn't knock it off. Though, if he wanted to keep fighting, I sure could do this all day if he wanted to. I gave him a glare to let him know I wasn't bluffing, not on any of it.
My words got through to him. He backed off. So did his lady love. As a result, we learned a few things!
First, the captives were infected with griefgall parasites! Nasty things. Live in swampy areas and burrow into a host quicker than anything. Then they feed off a person's emotions until they use them up. Second, these hell hands may not have had a good choice to get possessed. Instead, it was the best out of real horrible choices.
The talking helped. Nobody trusted anybody right then but they were talking. That led to an uneasy compromise. Real uneasy since they thought Jessie was the lich, a moss-lich supposedly. Rare, nasty kind of lich. But it made sense what with the necromantic plants. I remembered enough after the fight with the lich that Jessie had snatched up the lich's robe for some plan to fool the Briar Seed Children again.
As I said, it led to an uneasy compromise. After some heated arguments, of course. None of us knew how to help the hell hands but Lee Chung had a quick conversation with Yathue, who said a sharp cold like from a blizzard would kill the parasite off. Naturally, those infected would need care from hypothermia but that's easier to manage that the damn griefgall.
That led to the next wrinkle. Where was Chef?
Sometime during the fight with Evilseed, the little kobold had gone missing. What with the mess of the fight then me getting enspelled by the hell hands, I didn't see what happened to him. Thing is, no one else did either.
Miro and Spiro went looking for any last captives we missed and Chef. They found the last of the captives but no Chef. Lee Chung was, of course, worried. He wanted to go look and asked if I would help. I told him I would but said he needed to go with the others. Chung had been hurt far worse than he was wanting to admit. Just one solid punch and he'd drop faster than if he'd been spit on by a scursal. He didn't like the idea but agreed.
Hell hands, horses, captives all trailed out of the lich's cavern through a concealed back way with the SNAFU guild riding escort on them. Me? I stayed behind. If I was to try and track Chef, I could do that best by not having any of the SNAFU guild asking me every few minutes "have you found him yet?" I knew the bunch would be fine. Sure, Miro and Jessie were worn down and Lee Chung was almost burned about to death. But Sephia was keeping an eye on the lot. She's a damn fine ranger. So I knew she'd keep them all alive and not let them kill each other.
Once they had gone, I turned my attention to the lich's lair. Miro, Jessie, and Chung had ransacked the place. I had grabbed a few things, too, so I wasn't one to throw stones. But it made tracking Chef harder than it should've been. I was losing daylight, and cavern light as the glow was fading from the crystals, so I lit a torch and looked around for Yathue. True enough, she appeared in the shadows.
I still couldn't talk to her but I managed some pantomimes to explain what I was about. She got it and so we set to work.
Chef's trail ended in the lich's chamber, so we kept our focus there. We learned a good bit more about what was going on.
The SNAFU guild had already discovered that Evilseed had trapped Padre in a crystal and was using the man's life and Angelfire to power ... something. It was also the light in the cavern's crystals. That was why it was so soothing. But that led us to look real close at where Padre had been kept before the SNAFU Pathfinders shattered that big crystal to let the man out.
We found the cap that went with the bottle holding the dead and trapped Stormborn. I had the bottle at the moment, something I had gotten my hands on during the fight against Evilseed, so I recapped it. I didn't want any of the poor man's essence spilling out anywhere. He'd been through enough. The cap had been on a rock shelf over where Padre had been caged.
That was where I last found any sign of Chef. My gut said Chef had been yanked away by magic of some kind. How, I didn't know. That's not magic I understand other than I know it can happen. Yathue and I searched the room again. Finally, we sat down and I pulled out a bag of trail rations. Popped corn mostly. To my surprise, Yathue sat down next to me and ate some when I offered it to her without thinking!
We sat there thinking, not able to talk to each other because we didn't speak the other's language. Until she had an idea. Swatting me on my shoulder, she had me turn over the Stormborn's bottle. She pointed at the maker's mark on the bottom, pointed at the exit and hugged herself. I didn't get it at first and started to search the exit. A few pantomimes later, she got her point across. The bottles. It was all about the bottles.
That set us to ransacking the shelves. I mean really ransacking them. Jessie keeps saying he wants to claim the caverns as a kind of druid grove. I hate to say it, Yathue and I left a big mess for Jessie to clean up. I'll have to apologize t him later.
But, we found what we were after. Two more bottles with the same mark. One had been cleaned but they had both been used a lot.
You see, what Yathue realized and I agreed with her on, was that the Bichierri caravan had been attacked for the damn bottles. They were of high, maybe masterwork, quality. Such a fine quality, those could hold anything.
Even a person's spirit.
Now, one of those two we found had bone dust in it. Did that belong to Evilseed? Chef? Someone else? No idea. But I left it in the bottle to figure out later, because I knew it was important. This also suggested that what happened to the Stormborn in the caravan was something Evilseed was trying to figure out. Trapping a person's spirit. It's also something the demon cattle side of the problem - such as Miss Melinda - had been working on as well.
If Yathue's and my guess was right ... the attack was for the bottles and this 'capturing spirit' part was an accident and it required both sides to use the right kind of magic to cause it to happen. Something like that was happening during the fight with Evilseed I think. Chef had been yanked away. I was thinking to the demon cattle ranchers. It was a place to start looking.
We kept searching for a few more hours. I would've kept going until Yathue indicated I needed to stop. She had been right. Killing myself didn't save Chef. It didn't settle what needed to be done here. So we grabbed a few things we found, namely some enchanted waterskins of oil then slipped out.
The rest was long gone by the time we reached the surface just as I hoped. But right then, something else caught my attention. The sky. Overhead was full of stars and the two moons were riding high overhead. I stood there for I don't know how long, just staring. Then I noticed a bit of motion beside me.
Yathue was 'standing' there next to me, looking up at the stars, too. There was a smile on her ghostly undead face. I nodded at her then started a fire not far away. A small camp to rest the night at.
I had not idea if a banshee 'slept' or 'rested'. Most of my studies were around a lich and they don't exactly 'sleep'. It's more like a meditation or 'short hibernation' or something. But when I set down and ate some trail rations, Yathue joined me in the shadows next to me at the edge of camp.
Not being able to talk to her had worn thin with me. She was doing her best here, despite being a banshee. That undead elven lady could've killed the others quick as a wink but didn't. Hell, she had protected me more than once over the past day in fights. So it was past time she and I built a bridge past that language problem. So I pulled out this journal and got started.
First, came our names. I mean pointing at something and saying a word is a terrible way to teach any sort of language. But my hope was that she understood that I was saying simple concepts first. Yes. No. Bottle. Fire. Rock. Boot. Just simple words.
I spoke in Hareno, my own people's language, then repeated it using Hebar, our sign language. Then again in Common. After a moment she did the same in her own language, Fa'lain. This went on for a few hours until I was too tired to go on. The next morning, we started breakfast off with another round of that.
It wasn't a lot, but we learned each other's names and a few important words like 'yes', 'no', 'maybe' and so on. I don't expect to recite poetry in Fa'lain. But it was a start on the two of us being able to talk. Given we needed to see if the others had taken the wagons or... gods forbid... went on foot overland, we'd have plenty of time to practice words. Maybe, hopefully, we'll get to phrases.
I don't know if it helped. But, I can say now as I'm about to pack up for the day so we can track down the others, she still is a banshee. She's still elven undead, being only in shadows and such. But she looks a bit more radiant. There's anger in her eyes but not 'rage'. To me it looks like determination. She looks... more... I don't know. Like she's getting more 'whole' little by little. Like she's not so lost anymore.
All I know is that before breakfast was done, I taught her a pretty important word among my people, the Nodin.
I taught her the word for 'friend'. Not sure how I know this, but I get the sense she understood me and what I was trying to communicate.
Anyway, now if we can just find the others before they find trouble bigger than Sephia, or really the whole of them can get out of, the better.
Overstaying our welcome
Grolm 9, 578
Grolm 9, 578
At least I think its the 9th. Might be the 10th. At this point, I don’t recall, so I’m going with the 9th until someone tells me otherwise. We’ve heading for Arjory Pond and hopefully won’t make a pain of ourselves to the dryad who cares for the place.
It’s been a long two or so days, with this being the first chance I’ve had to stop and write anything down about it.
Good intentions and roads and all that aside, the plan was sound. To, maybe, bring a halt to this range war the idea was to set the devil possessed animals against the undead vegetation. Let both sites whittle their numbers down to something more manageable. It almost worked. Only we underestimated how fast the cattle and sheep were being taken over by demons. We underestimated a lot. Including each other.
We had rescued one barn-load of captives. Farmers and what might have been ranch hands. Including one Chica Alston, the spouse of one of the family that had caused part of this mess. She was angry, hostile and I didn’t help things. Little sleep, lack of solid progress left me irritable. I’m ashamed to say I vented at this lady. So her hatred of me was earned. Sadly, this seems to be a trend.
I questioned her some, what I got out of her was that she got shuffled off to the barn to help and oversee the “Process”, only to wind up being slave labor herself. She had no idea where her wife was or any of her family. Lee Chung reported the devil possessed animals seemed to be calling the shots. What I had studied of arcane lore filled in the gaps in my mind. The devils possessing the cattle did what they always do. Once they got a foothold, they took control. From the sound of it, that happened long back and no one realized it.
So that was one problem. Zheng Sephia had found the other.
See, over part of these two days we met with the lady in charge of the undead plants. Only, she wasn’t responsible. She’s some half-devil, half-dryad that had been bound to some … by all accounts … lich. At least from hearing the way Sephia told it, that is some sort of lich with a plant fetish. Which meant the lich was responsible for the murders, the dead Pathfinders that had been hired by the caravan, and all that.
We were set to kill her until finding out she had been enslaved to the lich. That, and her attempts to gently and magically convince us to leave, changed things. At least it changed for Jessie. He fell for her pretty hard. I’ve seen stranger pairings but not by much.
To my surprise the dryad, one Scaevola Aemula, seemed to be set on her heels by Jessie. Who knew?
There was a fight but that wasn’t that important. The important part was brokering a deal that we would work “with” her boss to help solve this. That was how Sephia got to meet the “boss” for a short time and learn he’s obsessed and convinced he’s “doing the right thing”.
So there was the second problem. Third problem is all the people caught in the middle.
Some of the locals had decided enough was enough. Loading up wagons, they headed out for Aquitaine. The town was dying. We were screwing up trying to save the town with every moment. Not encouraging.
Taking it upon myself, I pushed a bit to get people moving. To stop a range war, you ether get both sides talking to each other peacefully or you get one side to stop. This leaves only one problem to unwind. With the lich being well sealed back up in that canyon, I chose to deal with the rangers first. That meant find out what happened to Mrs Alson’s wife and family. Along the way, track down and grab the alchemist or wizard responsible for that half of the mess.
We headed out to do just that but not until getting some odd warning from Jessie’s new girlfriend. The devil animals could “sense” rangers. I had no idea what that meant other than Sephia and I needed to be careful. The others felt that meant we needed to stay and “guard the horses”.
Well, that wasn’t at all going to happen. I don’t understand what possesses the SNAFU guild to think I need protection from harm, and so leaving me behind, but me and that attitude of theirs is coming to a middle.
Taking a buckboard over to the Whitpetel ranch, Chica escorted the others down to the ranch house. Once they were gone, Sephia and I made our own way there. Quick as a whistle we slipped down with no one the wiser, the made it inside. Before we knew it, we caught up with the others at the second floor. That was when things took a sad turn.
From the looks of things, the family had been taken over by whatever devil-fueled plot the creatures were now running. Chica’s wife was gone, most likely to one barn to put a stop to this. Only she never came back. Odds are she’s still at that barn called “Sarsaparilla” over near the waterfall on the far side of the ranch.
But we also uncovered the missing town alchemist, one Melinda Nakinore. The lady who is, in part, responsible for this mess. Miss Melinda was a captive at the ranch house, being held there against her will for what seemed quite awhile. To me that was strong proof that the family wasn’t in charge anymore.
We needed to get Miss Melinda out along with Chica. That would throw a prybar into the gears of what was happening at Whitpetal ranch. It might not solve the problem but it sure would slow it down to something more manageable.
And so we did just that. Getting her out, despite a few devil-sheep running around in the house, proved easier than I worried about. Though the flight to the wagon was a bit harrowing. But it gave us a hint as to what the ‘next step’ in the devil-animal plan was. Either devil possessed ranch hands, or ranch hands turned into revenant undead.
That might seem the worst of it. Anytime else, that would be, only now? It wasn’t.
We rode the wagon back, nursing our wounds. I had mostly bangs and bruises. Only cut I had was healing slow but steady so long as I kept it bandaged and didn’t push things too hard. That last part is getting harder to do.
The thought was that reaching the town would be a step forward. A turning point. Well, it was, just not for us.
Before we had left for Whitpetal ranch, we knew Scaevola had been ordered to collect the townfolk, or those that were left, and bring them back for “safe keeping”, if you could call being held captive by a lich “safe”. I thought that cutting down her forces would have stopped or slowed this down. At least enough we could get back and deal with that. But I guessed wrong.
When we returned to Purgatory Gulch, the town had been surrounded by a huge cactus wall. Getting past that we found the people were gone but the animals were left. Scaevola enchanted the people as commanded by the lich and had them taken away. She stayed to protect the animals using that cactus wall of her own decision.
I wanted to be angry but I couldn’t. Her whole plan made sense and I would’ve done it myself. My anger was really frustration. Frustration at myself and not protecting the people in trouble here.
The others were angry, too. Especially Miro. He’s gone down a dark hole on revenge. It might eat him alive. At one point, I had to call him out before he stabbed Scaevola. Sure the half-dryad had done some bad things and I get the sense she’s not on the side of the heavens at all. But she couldn’t help herself and said so.
There was conviction in her voice. I believe her. But Miro? He doesn’t care. Miro’s not far from just wanting to watch the world burn. I know better than to ask him if murdering everyone will bring back the other stormborn? Wouldn’t get me anywhere. Better to try and keep Miro focused on the lich instead of collateral damage.
If that wasn’t enough, Jessie tried a damn fool stunt. He pulled everything he had to shift the arcane bond from Scaevola to himself. Forcibly. It was a long shot and it worked.
We learned a bit from that, too. His stunt got the attention of what sounded like the one who did the arcane binding. Scaevola said the lich we’re dealing with isn’t strong enough to bind her. So this monster that appeared, threatened us, then vanished? That was at least an archmage and bad news. A ‘Dark Lord’ in a way. But… also a problem for another day.
So now, Jessie’s bound to the lich here in the canyon. The others were upset and Scaevola offered to murder him to set him free.
Me? I see an advantage.
That lich commands Jessie to do something,he’ll have to do it. Or try and do some flavor of it. But Jessie’s own connection to nature will fight back against that. Likewise we get a connection to know when and where the lich is. Provided Jessie figures how to manipulate that. If need be, we can tie Jessie down and stuff wax in his ears. I’d hate to have to kill the druid.
I made a comment about turning loose the vampiric rabbits we found on that field of undead cabbage the lich is using. That wasn’t a joke. Either we do that or set the whole batch on fire. Burn the crops, it whittles down the lich’s resources.
Not sure if the others will agree. At this point, I may talk to Scaevola about where those crops are, then ask Sephia to help while the others sleep.
Rough Riding!
Grolm 9, 578
To date, we’d fought undead-like plant and riled up a whole heard of a thousand demon possessed cattle that started to chase us. I have to admit… I really do think that at that moment, driving a beer wagon chock full of freed prisoners to Purgatory Gulch, we’d leaped up into a whole new, dazzling level of improvisation.
Caught between a Hoof and a Hard Place
Grolm 9, 578
We made our deal with a plant-devil, and so rode out make good on it. I just hope it wasn't to pay the Butcher's bill.
Showdown in Purgatory Gulch
Grolm 8, 578
Running down the person or people behind this would take some planning, supplies, and a little luck. The way I saw it we had some of the first, needed to head into town for more of the second, and I hope enough of the third.
The stop in town took longer than I thought it would. To my surprise, though I'm not sure why, the cookpot Chef had set up was still simmering away over an open fire. Every so often, one of the locals would come by to stir, add an ingredient, or stoke the fire. Chef blew his shout about that, saying people just ruined a good dish. I didn't see it that way. Maybe the flavor was a bit off from the pepper, not everyone likes it, but it was hard for me to miss the symbolism. Community. Made me homesick a bit for my own clan.
But... they're dead. Killed from a combination of infernal magic corruption and a group of adventurers putting an end to them cause they were terrorizing a nearby kobold tribe to death. Makes sense. Best not to dwell on that too much.
I explained my plan about the honey to the others, then set out to meet Padre. He was at his church like before. Good. That cleric has a heart as big as the sky but not quite skilled enough to handle himself in a fight. I asked him for the honey, told him why, and he surprised me by coming up with a way to make it better.
The Padre's idea was to heat the honey, then stir in a bottle or few of holy water. Then mix in some holy incense for good measure and a bit of fragrance. to be fair, something like that would pack quite a kick. Best idea I had all day.
An hour or so of stirring to heat the ingredients and let them get to know each other, then I was on my way with a couple of jars. For good measure, Padre had the idea of soaking some bandages in the mix. Nice idea! that could be used to wrap arrows or wounds in a blessed poultice. I caught back up with the others at the cookpot in the center of town.
The others had been busy, too. Miro bought bottles of liquor to throw. Obviously throw and then set on fire. Jessie got "Dagnabbit" re-equipped along with two wagons. Also got the animal better footwear! Armor-plated after a fashion to protect his feet from sharp rocks where we were going. Nice idea. Feathers got information as did Lee Chung. All in all, we spent out time well.
Though the information wasn't all good. Seems the locals are done with the fighting and supernatural. Most were packing and planning on leaving the area. That's bad for the town, worse for those leaving. They might not make it with the demonic bovines wandering in the plains. The others saw this too, but no one had a better idea other than "we need to stop the devil cows and vampire plants".
So we went over the rough plan to deal with the fiend. We needed to get her attention. Once getting her out in the open, Feathers could hit her from above with arrows. Me likewise from the ground. Jessie could tie up whatever help she brought. Miro could let loose with more direct hits. Lee Chung could sneak up and hit her from behind. Chref? He'd be in my pack and could hand arrows up to Feathers when she needed more. Drawing the fiend out? That'd be Jessie and myself.
It wasn't a great plan but it was workable. The others sort of agreed. Though Feathers is contrary as usual. But I've come to accept that's just her way. With that, we set out for the heart of the canyon.
Once we got closer, Feathers took to the air and looked north. I headed overland to the East. The others took the wagons and Dagnabbit through a western opening that was wider and easier for the wagon to travel.
For my part, the eastern opening into the canyon was narrow but then opened up to about two wagons wide. Even farther as the trail moved into the canyon proper. Looking back, I could some of Purgatory Gulch and, at a rough guess, about a half mile up. Stories of the place so far had me imagining a dry crater that glowed with stray magic from the ancient starfall in the center. I was surprised to find plants growing in dry waterbeds.
The waterbeds looked recent and were probably from the recent rains. But having plants at all stages of growth in large patches all around me? That was suspicious. What the plants were just made it all worse. Small cabbages, tumbleweed thorn bushes in all sizes just like the ones from the Tarntaise Farm. That was too much coincidence for me, so I crept close enough that I could get a better look at them in the dark but still stay well out of reach. They sure looked like the same plants. I backed away to get a better look around.
Up here and all around were tall rock outcroppings. Most taller than me. The way the dryad talked, starfall hammered this place hard. So I can see it. I've never studied starfall but what rumors I've heard this matched what I imagined. Except for the plants. I moved deeper into the canyon to see what else was around.
Just past the outcroppings there were old timbers, signs of construction, and places where someone had tried to level out the rocks. Maybe for farmland or pasture? Not sure. There wasn't much left to tell what was being built. Could have been a barn, a house, who knows? But I memorized the location in case the old wood might come in handy. The only other thing I noticed at a glance was a lot of rabbit holes surrounded by briers.
The whole place had an eerie feel to it. Unsettling. So, on a guess, I went looking for tracks. If this was where the fiend and her boss had holed up, then I figured to find some tracks of plants that uprooted themselves to walk around. Also, there might be hoof prints of the hell bovines since each was the front line fighters in this range war.
Turns out, I was right.
What I was learning to know as 'plant tracks' were everywhere. I didn't have to wonder where they were coming from, though I did wonder where they were going. I assume the ranches to cause mischief. Odd thing was the hoofprints. They were from the hell bovines, and I did pick up the smoked rosemary and garlic scent those beasts gave off. But something was off about that. First, no hell bovines came out. I could guess what that meant and if we found a bunch of cattle bones deeper inside, I'd get my guess proven right. However, there was more than just that smoked rosemary and garlic scent.
Scents of roses, cucumber, pumpkin lingered on the air along with the bovine scent. I had no idea where that was coming from but given the cabbage? I'm sure it was something infernal and perpetually hungry, meant to fight in this bizarre range war. My curiosity wanted to know more but I thought better of it, so I headed back to find the others.
They had been as busy as I was. Feathers found a lot of rocky canyon like I had but also a waterfall? That I didn't expect but there was some sense to it, even it stretched. The rains had been a downpour and a little earth magic could have cut a basin. Not to mention all these animated plants could, too. I didn't want to think about the idea that it might be water from the dead stormborn.
She also saw more plants growing upslope. That was an unsettling thought. What she saw with the plants I found? That's a lot of plants. Also, she confirmed the canyon has just one way in and out. That didn't surprise me. I filled in what I had found, too. It gave us a good idea of what was around. At least that was a start for us to set up for our plan. After double checking healing potions, then prepping the arrows with the blessed honey, Jessie created what he called "War Paint". A druid paint spell to help rattle anyone that attacked us. Good idea really, I think we could use all the help we can get. Once done, we headed into the canyon.
To attract the fiend's attention, I had the idea to set up a fake druid grove. It should get her attention at least. I was right and we didn't have to wait long. Jessie and I weren't halfway done before she melted out of a tree.
She was half-fiend, half-dryad. Which suggested a lot of bad right there. Lee Chung and Miro were hiding, Chef was on the wagons. Feathers was in the air with her bird and Rowtag. Turns out that didn't matter for much.
She came out talking, wondering what we were doing. The moment she realized that Jessie was a druid she focused on him. Before you could swat a fly, she stared at him and Jessie wanted to go to the Whippetal Farm. My best guess was magic. Not good. Our whole plan needed him here!
A little more stalling got at least her name, Scaevola Aemula and that her tree was far south below Samakar. That could mean Copen Shire. It could even be farther like Central Edoya region. My coin was on the latter, since she didn't react to the name 'Faloner ranger'. The conversation did prove out that she had been bound, or pressed into service magically against her will. That I understand but hearing her talk, I suspect she's her own brand of problem already outside of this. She wants loose, which I understand. Once loose, I wasn't sure she could be trusted.
Other than information, the distraction bought a little time to convince Jessie to stay put and fight whatever compulsion she put on him. I thought for a moment she tried it with me, but I can't be sure. I was pretty distracted. Then Scaevola goes and insults Miro. Root and timber... this wasn't going to be easy.
Our plan fell through, completely through but we made a deal with Scaevola to "join" her little army to get at her boss. Catch was we couldn't let on that's what we were going to do or she'd turn on us. All of this, every bit, ground against my better judgement. But the moment Jessie got... whatever she did to him... the plan was ruined anyway.
At least that one. Jessie's impromptu plan of "joining the army" had some serious merit. If we could get close to her 'boss', we could end him and stop one side of this range war. Naturally, we'd have to deal with her after that. But... that was later, not now.
By the time we're done negotiating, her army, or part of it, arrived. Plant creatures from cabbages to a Pumpkin Golem. I'd heard stories of the latter but never seen one. Burning eyes, rusty scythe... I could have gone a long time without getting to see one. It wasn't thrilled at us being "recruits" and argued over it. Jessie called it a "mutineer". Not good. The Feathers put an arrow through the golem. Even worse.
Not her shot, Feathers hit the golem dead to rights and put an arrow through him. Mostly, I mean taking the shot. But the fight was on.
It was over almost as fast as it started. Between the lot of us, we took out most anything that wasn't Scaevola or a few of those vampire cabbages. Somewhere in there, Jessie summoned up a fog to "shield" Scaevola, and hide our decimating her troops. Oh, and he also professed his undying love for her. Brilliant. That boy's got balls of steel, I'll give him that. Ruse or real, it worked. Scaevola was dumbfounded.
With Jessie as our "leader", we take on the task of scouting Whippetal Farm while she reports back. Then at mid-morning before the sun is high, Scaevola said she would be back and head "eastward toward the sun as there will be work to do".
Damn. The only thing that way is the town and in the morning that caravan will be heading out. The town will be vulnerable and so will that caravan.
She did give us a hint about her boss. He's not fond of "the dry", doesn't like "heroes", and doesn't like the "unlearned". So, basically an egotistical scholar. I'm still staying with my lich theory. Only this one just hates being dry. Sure.
We decided to camp out then hit Whippetal in the morning before the sun's up. At least one building. I keep quiet and keep my thoughts to myself. While resting, I pull out that busted item that belonged to the banshee. I can't quite see her unless she really pushes herself but I talk slow. I explain what is happening, hoping some word or two gets through to her. Also, I quietly explain my worries and talk though my ideas.
The town's in serious trouble and we're about to go run off to kick over another hornet's nest before we've settled this one. Not the smartest move. If we can hit the closest building hard and fast, we can then circle back and delay? Attack? Scaevola and her vegetable minions. If we're lucky, we can convince her to get us back to her boss to report in. At that point, we can just unload on him at the first chance we get.
Then there are those farms. The ones with the animals that need caring for. With the farmers gone, most of the animals won't really be able to care for themselves. Some will get taken down by wild animals, others by starvation. Not a good way to go and certainly not right. But I can't get back what with all the running around to Whippetal and playing plant army recruits. My hope is that the farms will do all right for a day. But we've got to wrap up enough of this for me to head around and look in on things or find Jackson and get him to help me.
That is, if I survive.
Hopefully, we'll all survive.
This may be about to get real ugly.
Riding the Dark Trail
Grolm 8, 578
I had a bad feeling about this.
We made it to the Tarntaise Farm by 2 am. Homesteads, from my view, take on the sense of the people living there. Almost taking on a life their own. The Tarntaise Farm wasn't any exception. Now? It felt tired. Spent. Like a body giving out its dying breaths. That was an unsettling thought. This place had been alive a few hours back.
I tied up the Mollies and headed with Lee Chung to take a look around the house. The others headed off to check the rest of the farm.
Taking a slow loop around the house, there were clothes on the clothesline. A smell of baked clay was everywhere, enough that it was starting to bother me. I took a long sniff of the air. Exhausted dogs. Old wood fire that had been out for a while. Smells of cooking yeast and then there was the usual farm smells of chickens, rabbits and such. I figured the yeast was the brewing of that rutabega beer they made here.
Then there was the crickets I kept hearing. Crickets sing to the moon, the stars, and each other. These weren't doing that. They were just singing and only stopped when the wind cooled them down. After that, they'd start back up. Crickets don't do that. I warn Lee Chung about that while we move around the house.
I also warn Lee Chung about what I've been suspecting. All this time, we're run all over the country from one bad time to another. I know when I'm being led by my nose. Someone wants us tired and worn out. That says 'trap' to me. After a trip around the house and checking the windows, Lee found an odd flower on the porch. He pocketed that before we eased inside.
Inside the house was still. I'd say people were grabbed in the middle of their late afternoon chores but there was no sign of a struggle. Lee Chung went for the kitchen, I kept nearby checking for any sign of possessed farm animals. I didn't find any but Lee found the fire had been out for at least a couple of hours. There had been food on the stove but it wasn't finished. Had gone bad too.
We moved through the house. The idea was that if the place had been searched there might be some hint as to what happened to the people that lived here. No luck though. Talking through what he had found, what I had smelled, left us with searching the rest of the farm. If Lee was right, the attack came around five in the afternoon give or take. Which meant farm hands might have been in the fields, looking in on that brewery they have or checking on the animals before evening fell.
That was when the screaming started somewhere on the farm.
Stepping outside, we hear Jessie warning us about some thorn bushes that will, if you mess with their berries, will snap shut on a person like a thorn-bear-jaw trap. Nasty. I've heard of those things. But Jessie and Wrong Way set a batch on fire. I looked around and saw some near - maybe - the other scarecrow out in the field. Then Jessie points out the tumbleweeds that weren't moving with the wind but were moving on their own.
Looked like it was time to do some gardening.
The tumbleweed wasn't any such thing but more like some sort of 'land jellyfish'. A big rolling weed with a mouth. Not the oddest thing I've seen since I've been here. But it didn't try and take a chunk out of my hide. Instead, it looked a little confused by the burning scarecrow. So we head out toward the odds sounds on the south side of the farm.
We didn't make it but halfway before Sephia flies up yelling about needing help. She found Jackson Tarntaise. He had been hung and nearly beaten to death. Lee Chung figured out how to slip some healing potion down his swollen throat while Jessie and I looked after his other wounds. We stopped most of the bleeding and got him - at least mostly - back in his right mind. But he was still scared witless and had every right to be. This place was enough to put someone off salads for at least a week. Unless you roasted the veggies first, then it might be all right.
From the roof, Chef let us know something about a critter in the chimney. The description sounded like the tumbleweeds again. Lee jumped up there while Jessie, Sephia and myself hauled Jackson inside the house. He needed a bed and someplace safe. Jackson - being a survivor - would have some idea what happened. Any clue would be some help.
Once he came to, he told us in bits and pieces what happened. There was a banshee wail right before a dead tree - he called it a 'lich tree' - walked onto the farm. He attacked the whatever it is then woke up after getting the hell beaten out of him. But we've seen no tracks or really ... anything. So we've no idea where the others were taken. What he described sounded like a treant gone bad. That would makes sense we've got so many evil plants running around.
Miro found his way back to us about then. Turns out he found and got into a fight with more plant creatures. No surprise. Seems the farm is overrun.
Jackson finally got his wits together, then told us the rest of the story about the trouble between the ranchers and farmers. The farmers got tired of dealing with the ranchers letting their herds loose. They went to talk to Miss Melinda to come up with some sort of plant that would taste bad and act as a natural fence to keep the cattle and sheep out. So she hired someone to come in and help find a solution. They hired an alchemist who came in and created some thorn plant that can attack what touches them to keep the sheep and cattle out. Then the ranchers found a way to have the cattle and sheep to handle eating those attack plants. So then this alchemist came up with something to counter that.
Yep.
This is a big problem.
These locals have kicked off a large mage war, or a fake mage war to make some money. From the sounds of it, Miss Melinda and this stranger she contacted is to blame here. Working a magical con to squeeze money out of the locals? Even if it kills them? Sounds like.
After that hearing that, Sephia, Jessie and myself head for the barn. One last look around before we set down for the night to be safe. The others stayed in the house to settle down for the night. We made it to the barn with nothing bothering us, so we headed inside.
The barn was one story, more long than tall. Plenty of room for storing supplies, and could hold animals if set up right. The chickens were upset given the fire that had been happening in the field. Rabbits? They seemed pretty quiet.
Which, in hindsight, was pretty much famous last words. We weren't too far in before the rabbits jumped out and attacked. They headed for Jessie before I realized the rabbits might be vampiric? Somehow I'm not surprised. Jessie starts beating at them, but really... being tired I just roared. They were rabbits after all, and like rabbits will do, they bolted back into their holes. I grabbed a keg of beer and poured beer down the rabbit holes before showing Jessie and Sephia how to make catch traps for the rabbits.
Then, we finally go back to the house, set some traps and get some blasted sleep.
Next morning, we woke to Chef with home-made sausages. At first we worried Chef killed our riding mounts for breakfast but those had wandered over to the Hereford farm for the night. I really didn't ask about the sausages. Mostly, I didn't want to know.
Out at the barn, I found I had caught the rabbits. They had been altered with blood drinking fangs but the rabbits weren't sure what to do about it. Taking their feed, I pulped it for them. That they could eat. Leaving plenty with them so they can eat, that seemed to let them go back to their hutch for now. Still means they need to be fixed.
Sephia did ask how many farms I'm going to take care of in all this. I almost told her why I'm doing this. Didn't though.
All this - especially since its alchemists, mages, or both - reminds me of how that lich Aflyn used me in his magical studies. Testing out magic items or being a target for his made up spells. I see those rabbits, the cows, the sheep, even those plants... and I see helpless victims under a mage's thumb... or ones that had been under a mage's thumb.
I see me.
The others argue about what to do about Jackson. Some want to get him back to town, others not. Lee didn't understand so I tried to explain why the nyad was important. He didn't seem convinced. A compromise got made. A message to get someone to ride out and collect Jackson, he would have time to pack then take shelter in the town.
We head out - finally - for the nyad's pond. Along the way we pass near the Braunvieh farm. The others are talking it up about what to do, planning - which is good - and some comments are made about the mules and such there. I got the idea they weren't about to stop and really... I wouldn't ask them to. This is my job. So I slip off and take care of the animals on the farm as quick as I can, letting Rowtag get some flight time as well for exercise.
To be fair, it was nice. Quiet. I like the hard work and it left me alone with my thoughts. That was the best 'rest' I've had in days. But I couldn't leave the others alone to face what's going on. So I left the farm and caught back up.
I reached the others by the time they reached the pond. Naturally, Miro had slipped off and paced ahead and was calling out to the nyad on his own. Really, one day that little man is going to get soundly stomped when he does that. Of course, I've not much room to talk.
Sure enough, Miro got her attention. Though, she's not a nyad. She's a cypress dryad! Why she's here of all places is beyond me. Jessie speaks to her in another language. I've heard him speak it before. I think its 'Kayam' or something. An ancient druid language. I don't know a lick of it.
Fortunately, Jessie's a damn fine charming druid and he got the dryad talking.
Through Jessie we learn that Miss Melinda, who is a pisky, and an 'undead thing' and a hellfiend are behind all the troubles. It took some time, but Jessie finds out from the dryad that there is a place called the 'Dead Place'. Some location where a star fell and wiped out a location and killed the ground. She said almost nothing grows there and is to the West. Also, she can't see this hellfiend when its there. From what the dryad says, this 'undead thing' has some sort of control over the hellfiend. Naturally, the hellfiend tried to get loose.
She also dropped a surprise on us. The dryad has some of the survivors from the caravan. They're bad off but not dead yet. We agreed to get some food that will help them. Maybe it was in reply but she warned us that the hellfiend has it in for paladins. Which... could have been helpful... if we had one. Then there was the 'undead thing'. If I understand what she said through Jessie, its a lich.
A lich.
Damn.
On top of that, the dryad mentions that the lich knows Miro, Sephia, and Lee Chung. So, grudge? Maybe. A lich holds a grudge worse than a Geldarian. But, the hellbovines want to hunt the hellfiend. The hellfiend wants to rub out the hellbovines. So... we could use one problem to solve the other. Provided we could draw out the hellfiend. Might even get her to turn on the lich. Which that means the hellfiend might turn on us but the lich would be out of the way. Still...
A lich.
Damn.
Giving 'em the Ol' Run Around
Grolm 7, 578
Evening of Grolm 7, 578 ...
Don't know where we're going but there's no use in bein' late.
My idea, such as it was, to check in on the aminals on Branby farm then maybe collect the others to wander north to have a talk with the dryad had a whole bunch of good intentions. So does sending a candy-gram to a lich. Both seemed to have in common that they didn't go according to plan.
We used Ranger Horn - and his clothes - to leave a trail to lead the Hell Bovines away from town and a merry chase along outside around town. Worked like a charm, attracted those Hell Bovines like a halfling to a bake-off. Problem was ... now, what do we do with them?
I had the idea that we could lead them to a dry lake, get them in the low ground, and us in the high ground.
The horse I'm on, and its partner, wanted to turn and fight. This proved a moment of argument that I was lost for a bit until Jessie's dire bee stung one to get it moving. Well, that worked. The horses got moving and left me behind. Deep root and damn branch!
So, I went back to my best talent ... improvising.
I needed something to ride to catch up with the others. The only thing nearby was the damn Hell Bovines. So, taking advantage of my Falconer's Coat and my own gift for hiding my furry self to make myself scarce ... then I lassoed the trailing Hell Bovine. Because Ika provides.
It bucks like a tornado but I held on until it got tired and we found ourselves coming to a middle. Given the moment, I named it 'Mule' then rode it into the herd to drive the lot of them. They noticed I ought not to be there! So naturally they tried to gore me. I wasn't feeling up to that today so I kicked Mule into a gallop and got ahead of the herd. Waving my hat at Jessie and Lee, I let them know I was ok and was heading their way with the herd. Sort of.
But by Ika's Blessed Bandages, it felt like we had a chance at this.
Jessie and Lee find a good dry lake bed with nice shores up on either side. They ride around while I ride up and on through with plans to join them as soon as I can. When this is done, I'll figure out how to come to a middle with Mule again and see what happens. Either way, it'll be an adventure.
Riding into the bowl, I urge Mule to skirt the edge. My idea was to get the herd to follow me around and set up a better chance for Jessie and Lee. But Mule had his own ideas and tossed me off. I found my feet while Rowtag took a swipe at the herd around me but it didn't help much. Time to roll up my sleeves.
Mule gets ready to slam into me but I let loose with my best bugbear yodel. Mule didn't like it much - which is fair, only Rowtag seems to not mind it - and backs up. This helps as Jessie lets loose with a spell that muddles up the herd knowing up from down and Lee launches sling stones into the mess. Rowtag even gets a claw or two in there.
But more are coming.
Thinking fast, I grab the rope still looped around Mule and run around that pink cloud of Jessie's and trip up a few of the Hell Bovines with a little unwilling help from Mule. I head for the way out of the dry lake opposite side from the direction that the others heading in.
Jessie calls it, time to wade in and knock some sense into the Hell Bovines. Lee, on that onery ride of his, rushes in to get the first swing and ... damn if it doesn't look like he's started a brawl among those devil-possessed cows! I haul Mule forward, dragging him and the nearest bovine out of the cloud. If I'm lucky, then it'll give this herd twice the trouble it had before. Cattle aren't that nimble. Once Lee Chung tripped a few and Jessie tossed a magical ball of fire in among them, they were pretty much corralled.
Here's hoping the others back in town weren't having nearly the trouble we were!
I get my rope back and get the two Mollies under control. Then we head out with Jessie leaving a spell covering our tracks behind us. But. I wanted to head to the Branby Farm while the others wanted to check on the smoke from town. I see their point but... I gave my word about looking after those animals on that farm. Not to mention I really felt strongly about talking to the nyad at the pond to find out what was going on around here.
The town looked reasonably all right, so we made the route over to the farm. It took a good forty minutes there and was a quiet ride. The Branby Farm was dark when made it there. It was a somber sight. We looked around in case anything came after the farm. No hoofprints but something had been in the farmhouse and the grounds. Whatever it was even searched the compost pile. Odd.
Jessie looked for magic, found a few things here and there like enchanted hatbands. Lee suggested asking the animals. I suggested talking to the mules who I got along with before. They aren't happy about the hell bovines... or really cows at all. There was also some warning about rabbits who came back and attacked but the donkey's stomped them back into the underbrush. It sounds like the rabbits had been corrupted. Not good.
While Jessie was talking to the mules, I went checking on any tracks for whatever that was that came back to the farm looking around. Whatever it was didn't check things like a stove or such items but did check wooden trunks. Then I found the root-like tracks near the compost heap. That's some sort of treant. Not sure if a male treant or a lady treant also called a dryad. Odd again. This one didn't search the barn, which makes sense since it wouldn't want to challenge the donkeys - the barn would be the donkey's territory. Jessie thinks its the nyad. I'm not so sure but I've not got a lot of things to point another way.
We talk over heading up to Arjory pond to the nyad but given the hour decided against it since the farm is halfway between the town and the pond. I pointed out that either way we'd be camping out since there wasn't a tavern or an inn. Jessie and Lee were on about heading toward town. But there is the terrified horse that ran off. I feed the donkeys and the horse, refresh their water and brush them all down. Lee and Jessie take care of the chickens. I point out that looking for the lost horse is the right thing to do. That horse shouldn't be left alone. Finding it is the right thing to do. I thought I'd head back south alone but Jessie and Lee agreed.
Jessie did ask about checking in on Sephia and Miro. I understood he was worried for them given the town looked like it took it on the chin a bit. But I pointed out that if things had really gone wrong, the town would've been burned flat to the ground, or Miro would have flooded the whole place out. They didn't seem all that happy but agreed with me on that last part. So we headed out for the horse which was good. I was going either way. Nicer ride with some company along.
We rode through town and saw Chef had set up a fire in mid-street to cook Ika knows what. I kept riding but not too fast. That way Jessie and Lee could stop off to talk to the others and catch up. I trust the others have the town locked up safe and that I'll find out the details later. If it was that bad of an emergency, I figured Feathers would send her hawk for me to hurry back to help.
South of the town, I found the horse but I also found where the Hell Bovines followed the horse, too. However, those bonvines just 'stopped' all of a sudden, stood there, then walked off to the west. No reason for it either. Odd that. I told Jessie. He started looking for magic while I went and recovered the horse to help bring it back home. No magic or anything so maybe ... something called those hell bovines back? Hard to say. Jessie and I had a few theories but went and rounded up the missing horse. Lee caught up with us about then.
We tossed around an idea about the Hell Bovines where they might be enchanted to only go so far from a given ranch. Those enchantments might be in a brand on the animal. Something to check in future Hell Bovines and apparently Hell Sheep. The latter had attacked the town but were driven off. Something for later.
The horse was tired, lonely but fine. Leading it back to town, we didn't get very far before Miro and Feathers were just going on about something at another farm being attacked. It was the farm with the rutabega recipes. Miro - tired and rattled that he was - was rattling on about 'ninja' sheep - whatever a 'ninja' is. That started some argument between Miro and Lee Chung about 'ninja'. Then Feathers got all rattled and Jessie was sniffing around the chili Chef was cooking.
So I wandered off and took the horse to the stables. After all, the others were busy. They'd not miss me. Picking the lock, I put the horse up, brushed him, and got him plenty of food and water. I'd apologize to Mr. Bianchi tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll understand I just wanted to make sure that horse was home and safe.
I did head to the edge of town but didn't seem to notice anything from the ranches. To be fair, they were a good ways out. So I returned to the others.
They had stopped their argument and the chili was done. Feathers was all up in arms about the farms still and a bit exasperated that I wasn't there listening to the argument. I figure if its that important, the others will argue about it again and catch me up. Grabbing a bowl, I got some chili and told Feathers, I was heading out for the farms to check them out tonight since they weren't that far out. Hopefully, that won't take all that long. Maybe. We'll see. Whoever is behind this seems to be in a hurry. If there is a range war, it might be already coming to a head. That, or us beating the bushes have rattled who's behind this. Which is good, that means they might make a mistake.
Ika willing, Rowtag and I can get some shuteye among all this. We could use it. It's after midnight after all.
Yonderin' About Town
Afternoon of Grolm 7, 578
Afternoon of Grolm 7, 578 ...
After wrangling a herd of devil-possessed cows, it turns out the real work was waiting to bubble up.
The driver and guard of the mail coach were busy sorting out the mail - though not too busy to offer up a round of drinks. Not something I would normally turn down but the whole 'devil-cow' ... and that they came in 'more' ... didn't sit well with me. After all, one devil-cow means a wizard sneezed wrong somewhere or is looking for a sound beating for making that. A herd? Well, I wasn't sure what to make of that yet. It turned out the coach had a passenger. She was dressed well, but practical. The callouses on her hands meant she told a long story of her and weapons.
Lee Chung went to the chapel with Padre. The others headed to the saloon to take the coach driver and guard up on their offer. I wanted a look at the coach. Those cows hammered it once or twice. I'm wondering if they left a horn or fur behind. Something with a good scent. A good scent means we might have a back trail and I don't trust that whoever put together that devil-possessed Bad Idea on Hooves will overlook leaving the herd's tracks just waiting to be found.
I find a lot of damage and a bit of fur. Collecting that tuft, I find some bone fragments and some hide as well. Nothing useful right away. I pocket those then check the sun. Being late afternoon, I figure to talk with the coach team, the head out to the abandoned farm to look after the animals.
Inside, I talked with the others. Miro was gone, which was no surprise. I chalked that up to he hasn't found enough trouble yet, so passed the time with some talk. Mostly that was about how to defend the town against a herd of those cattle coming into Purgatory Gulch proper. Tough call. Ditch might do it, timber as well.
Meanwhile, I enjoy a mix of mead and something called Expressed Rage, which is ale with coffee. Tangy taste when you mix them! Almost like a good sipping whiskey.
Then there is a sharp crack. It reminds me of lightning. The others were willing to wait but I'm not. I figured it was Miro and things were going sour for him. I slid back my chair and headed out. He had let loose with a spell and cracked the sidewalk. Saying he's 'found some fun' means trouble. I pulled out my tonfas and stepped forward to get to work.
The fight was a mess. A whole mob of undead scorpions and a couple of sidewinders. Miro and the lady - who I heard was the tax assessor - had the front, so I ran to the back. No back door so I broke through. An undead mob is really not something to take lightly. I also figured that I'd stay to help repair the shop. I pulled out the tonfas and laid into the mob but there were just so many. So I did what often works best for me in close quarters ...
I improvised.
Grabbing the barrel of rabbit jerky, I tipped it over and rolled it toward - and over - the scorpion mob. Squashed several, herded others. Jessie cast thundercloud then shoved it to the store. The others flattened the rest that made it out the front door. The barrel turned out to be a good weapon and smashed the rest.
When it was over, the store looked like a three-day hangover gone wrong. I didn't see the mayor on the first floor and hoped he wasn't on the second since these undead animals were already inside the general store when all this started. Putting a jar over the last undead scorpion, I set to work sweeping out parts of broken undead parts to set fire to them. I was torn over that last undead scorpion thing. On one hand, the thing ought to be bashed cause ... well ... it's undead. On the other, my curiosity is a bit peaked. It's not every day you come across an undead scorpion.
I was in the middle of sweeping when Lee Chung came racing down to stop me from setting the parts on fire. He was concerned the undead scorpions were carrying something stolen from upstairs. It was a good idea but really ... they met the bad end of a rolling barrel and wound up kinda flat. But I searched anyway because you never know.
I find a ledger style book inside a box of cardamom. Not up to date, it was a register book of all ranches and farms in the area both present and past. There were colored designs inside along with the source of each color. Overall the records went back five years, with two weeks on a spread of two pages. The latest entry was just before the giant storm. I slip that into a coat pocket. It might belong to the mayor, it might not. But that seemed like something best not left out in the open. I figured to let the others in about it later.
During the cleaning up, Miro came bouncing through the Assessor lady and out the front door. Miro's got a good heart but by Ika's blessed bandages, he's got a knack for breaking damn near anything including himself. I'll catch up with him later. I can only clean one place at a time. Besides, there's a pending visit to the local nyad and I have to get back to that abandoned farm to see to the animals.
While I cleaned the others had a long debate over where to go next ... either off to take a nap, or to Arjory Pond, or head north to ... something? I'm still best interested in heading to Arjory Pond to talk to the nyad. My gut's still saying she's got a good piece of information we need to know.
The group decided to gather people into the schoolhouse - the 100-year-old and fortified building - for the night. Supposedly the safest place in the area. Problem is that not all the locals will be willing to hole up there, such as one Frederico Bianchi. He won't like leaving his animals and he was already cranky. I'll have to be persuasive.
It turned out that Frederico wasn't that disagreeable about it. I warned him just in case there was an attack, which he said there were defenses he could set up. Then I broached the idea of heading out to the Braunvieh Farm because the farm's been raided and the animals there have been left alone and need help. That got his cooperation. He loaned me a couple of ornery animals, both named Molly - which is probably why he calls them 'fighting Mollies' - to head to the farm and see to the animals there. I was thinking to stay the night but its a hard choice. There's a pack of those cows roaming around and heading for the blacksmith's shop.
The others weren't keen on the idea of heading in different directions. Jessie and Sephia and Lee in the town to secure the locals. Miro? Ika only knows.
From Jessie, the word is that the new pack of hellbovines is out looking for something. As Ranger Horn escaped something that had to do with the hellbovines, odds are better than good they are looking for him. I offered to take Horn with me as I left town, leading the hellbovines away from town. This settled into leaving false trails for the hellbovines to follow - which also gets them away from town. I did remind Jessie that somewhere in there, we'd need to get some sleep. He set out to round up the others, while I was to get more animals.
I can't shake the idea that we just need to talk to the nyad and then backtrack the hellbovine herd. While that leaves Purgatory Gulch vulnerable for a bit ... it might cut down on the problems we have got in front of us. Not sure the others agree.
How really do you defend against a herd of hellbovines raiding a town? Or keep them out? A trough with some flaming pitch might be work. Not seen pitch around though. Not enough time to make the trough, either. But ... could make arrow-based traps that would fire when the herd comes into range. That's worth a thought or two. I know a couple of ways that could work.
I head out with Lee and Jessie to lead the false trail that night. Sephia and Miro and Padre would stay in town in case leaving the false trail just doesn't work.
Hopefully, we'll all get some rest. I get the impression it's about to get rough.
A Little Bit of Deductifyin'
Grolm 7, 578
Grolm 7, 578
The town was so calm, I wanted to check for a pulse.
Heading into the General Store, we met the mayor who also worked at the General Store. A human named Jaeke Blaze. Talkative and friendly. Which helped. Feathers and I headed in and struck up a conversation with the man while I purchased some jerky and two loaves of bread.
Jaeke filled the basket while we talked. Feathers started off gentle, but really if you don't get answers until you ask questions. So, I just rolled out our problem from the small mesa we found all the way to the angry cow walking on two legs brandishing a halberd. That got his attention. Jaeke said he had hoped that the Bicchieri Caravan would have found someplace safe to sit out the storm. But since they might have had trouble, Jaeke did offer to ask around. He suggested we head out to meet the mail coach and see if they saw anything on their route down.
The problem I saw was that the mail coach would be coming in from the north. We came in from the west then up to the town from the south. That struck me as odd. The other thing that I noticed was that the man looked almost frightened to ask around about the Bicchieri Caravan among the locals.
I stored that away for later. It felt important.
Meanwhile, Feathers got down to her own questions. Like the smithy. Most towns have them, where was the one for Purgatory Gulch? Apparently away from town, south over the hills. Jaeke said it was the smell, and I couldn't blame him there as they carried a powerful smell, yet it's far enough off that you couldn't see the smoke from the forge from town? That's a good stretch out. Which makes me wonder if the blacksmith is more for these local ranchers and farmers than the town? That would explain a few things.
And then Jaeke mentioned a squabble between the local ranchers and farmers. Farmers fencing off the land and needing water which puts them at odds with the ranchers. That was an old story I'd heard before. Hopefully, it hasn't come to bloodshed yet. Sometimes it does. Taking to that blacksmith might be interesting.
In any case, farms were to the south and east. If there is some sort of dust-up with the ranchers, that means the ranches are in the same direction, or real close to by. It'd be nice to know the water routes through the area. We know there's a nyad nearby and a lake.
The nyad. The lake. Water rights between farmers and ranchers. Now that - that was interesting.
How, or if, the Bicchieri Caravan is connected to the local fight I don't see yet. However, if the farmers and ranchers are fighting over water rights, she might be the third side in this fight. Her opinion would be the least biased of all three. Being the local nyad, she might have noticed a little about the caravan also. They might have stopped for water.
That was when I realized I had been lost in my own thoughts for a bit. I caught back up with everything in the General Store. I paid Jaeke his 14 copper for the jerky and loaves then followed Feathers out of the store.
I shared my thoughts with Feathers and that while I suspected that while she and I could be fine talking to a nyad, two others of our group would be better: Miro and Jessie. Nyads are water spirits. Jessie, being a druid, probably even can speak to her in her native tongue. Miro, being a stormborn, might get her attention in a positive way. Also, with her being to the north, that was the same direction we were pointed to meet up with the mail coach.
Jessie was still in town. It made sense to wait for him before tracking down the others. We didn't have long to wait. He appeared and had the local cleric, Padre Cirano, in tow.
The two of them had plans to set out south and southeast to look for signs the direction the caravan took after it left town. I explained my own deduction. So after a quick decision, we decided to gather the others and head south southeast to look for signs of the caravan. Then meet the mail coach at noon. After that? Talk to the nyad later that evening. It was a plan at least.
We head down to the livery to get some horses for the rest of us. Feathers can fly. Turns out he's got sedlae, which doesn't like me at all. No surprise. A lot of riding animals aren't fond of my scent. But I wound up with an older horse, half-blind but more docile. She didn't mind so she and I came to an agreement. After that, we headed off in the direction out of town, somewhat the same direction as Lee Chung. Locating his tracks and Chef's aren't a problem. I also found Miro's tracks heading south. Good to remember. We set out to find Lee Chung, then swing south for Miro.
After catching up with Lee Chung, we rode out to Tarntaise Farm. We were met at the front by a couple of the farmhands. The others got some Rutabaga Beer Cheese Soup, I stuck with the beer. Best to keep to what you know sometimes. I followed the beer wth a chaser of bunny jerky. While we ate, we talked a bit with the farmhands and explained we were looking into the missing Bicchieri Caravan. We didn't learn a lot about the caravan, that didn't stir any memories for the Tarntaise family, but Jackson mentioned a cemetery nearby that didn't used to be there with some sort of spirit haunting the place. He didn't seem to think it was interested in anything peaceful.
The spirit was first seen after the rains stopped along with the 'haphazard burials'. That's trouble if I ever heard it. But its also a sign we might be on the right track. Probably a bad track, but I'm not one to judge.
After a long talk, we head toward town until Jessie's dire bee showed back up .. along with Spiro. The little worm slaps into my chest wanting a treat. I give him jerky and Rowtag to keep the peace. Spiro then leads us back toward Miro off to the West. We catch up with Miro a little over a half-hour later.
Turns out Miro had come across a half-dead man who goes by 'Ranger'. The man has some odd brand on his cheek like a triangle. He was in bad shape and mentioned an anvil being stolen along with the blacksmith. Something bad about that but this Ranger didn't explain, just said it was complicated.
Starting out for the town to take Ranger someplace to rest, Miro showed us part of a map he was making. Along the way, Ranger explains that mark is likely the brand for Whippetal Ranch ... and branding hasn't been done for some time in the area. Save for tattoos which are done by a 'Miss Melinda'. Just the mention of her name set the Padre off. He's not fond of her. All he says is that she 'generates trouble'.
By the time we got back to Purgatory Gulch, it was noon. The heat was making the air start to shimmer. We kept the horses with us and took Ranger to the local church to Rhea the Lightbringer, Jasper Chapel. Once the padre treated Ranger and put a salve on the brand, we were ready to head out for this mysterious cemetery ... at least to make it there during the daylight hours.
On the way, Miro checked over some fire poker Ranger had with him. It was enchanted. Given all else about this town, this wasn't the strangest thing I'd seen all day. Maybe all week. Turns out the thing is proof against fire and has some clean enchantment to it. Handy. Something clerical but no one has an idea. Hopefully, what we don't know won't set us on fire.
This lead to explaining to the Padre about our dust-up with the "hell bovine" with the halberd. The Padre hadn't heard about this. I shouldn't have been surprised given Jaeke claimed Ranger's stories of "hell bovines" was a tall tale, but I was.
On the way, we talked over the situation. Jessie brought up a good point that the "hell bovine" might be the result of a curse on the ranchers that might have gotten out of control. That made a lot of sense, especially if this fuss between the ranchers and the farmers has turned into a range war.
Feathers took off to take a look around from above. Mostly cause she didn't want to go with us to the cemetery. I made light of it, but I can't blame her. No one sane really wants to go to a cemetery, especially one that shows up on its own with its own bodies.
The 'cemetery' is a scar on the land. Literal if nothing else. Grass, everything looks dead. A cactus on the edge looks half rotten. Jessie cast a few spells to listen to nature. I just studied the land. No matter how I looked at it, I came back to the same conclusion. Something demonic 'ate' the area. Sucked the life out of it. Only dryads - lady treants - have such a complete touch over nature. I don't like the idea of a dryad corrupted like that. Makes my head hurt.
We circled around to get closer to the center, at least as far as the horses would go. Leaving them tied up, we headed in on foot. In the middle was a cemetery, complete with some shallow graves and busted up caravan sections. Ika's Blessed Bandages ... that's not a good sign. I already feel for the kid back in Aquitaine.
There are markers, but not traditional ones. Rib bones with a bit of fabric on it, a neck kerchief hanging off a cactus quill, a willow branch bent over the grave all are what was used. Jessie went to check the one with the willow branch, I look for any signs of undead. This seemed the right place for it. It also means at least one survivor from the original caravan otherwise there wouldn't be anyone buried.
In checking over the graves, Miro tells us that a stormborn died here. A master stormborn who crafted a storm, but he was murdered he made the storm. Then his storm was 'bottled'. So, we've a wizard involved in this. It could be a necromancer. Though I just know that there's a demonic creature involved also. Maybe an ally? Wizards compel all sorts of things to work for them against their will. I know this all too damn well.
While we searched, Jessie mentioned someone used earth magic and shaped the ground to form the graves. Druid? Stoneshaper wizard? Not my area of expertise. I keep a closer eye out. This doesn't sit right. That was when I noticed tracks of small animals. Or what was left of them. Mice, snakes, and all the little critters here were raised a day or so after all this took place. To make this odder, the willow branch used as a grave marker had been alive when it was put in place as a grave marker. A killer wouldn't have marked the graves. So where'd the survivor go?
I tried looking for tracks but wound up seeing an elven woman with no shadow. A ghost. Well, this day just gets better by the moment.
She started talking, but we couldn't speak her language. Fortunately, Lee Chung showed up from the lessons he had left for some time ago. He could speak Falain and struck up a conversation with her. The elven woman has three conditions. First, she tells us we need to save Agaslaus' soul from the storm while pointing at the thing Miro has been waving around. The rope necklace. So Agaslaus was the stormborn and got trapped in a storm in a container. Second, she says she can't return to the mountain to be at rest. The pieces Jessie has have to go back to the mountain so she can rest. Then she pats me on the cheek and tells us we have to stop them from breaking the land up and 'playing around'.
I agree to take the elven ghost's remains - her amulet - home after all this. Take her back to the mountains of Samakar. It's part of what a Falcon's ranger does. Falconers help those that are lost find their way, and this elven lady needs help finding her way home to her final rest.
We head out around the scar to meet the mail coach and see what they know. I half-listen to the conversations keeping my own council about what happened. Lee Chung and Padre talked about the nyad at the pond, ways to greet the nyad, and so on. I pull out the amulet and check it for a scent to see who left it as a marker.
The elven woman had been in combat for days. Casting spells, fighting. There's a scent of goblin on the chain and amulet she spent a lot of time with. That goblin had the same scent of a storm that Miro does. The scent of her death ... she died where we found her grave. There is the smell of brimstone ... necromancy. Something tried to raise the elven woman after she died but failed to pull it off. Then over everything, there is the smell of a cypress tree in a swamp had brushed the whole thing.
And then I smell rosemary and garlic from the north ... damn.
Miro - who had run off again - found a farm that had been abandoned off to the west. I have a bad need to check to the north. But. The others make a point that the farm should be checked for the owners to see if they're all right.
When we get there, the farm looks abandoned. Old horse and donkeys left out in the pasture, rabbits gone, and the chickens haven't been cared for. Jessie and Miro see after the chickens. Padre and Lee Chung head into the house. I look for tracks outside the house.
I found what I was looking for.
There were four separate groups of tracks. This matched up to that four people lived there. Those tracks headed north, northwest. I had the suspicion that was the four members of the farm being carted off.
After that, I then headed out to the pasture to talk with the donkeys. They told me that a couple of days after the storm, hellbovines attacked the farm then headed off to the place that smells of cinnamon and ragweed. Not long after that, the celery came to live and attacked the farm. After that came an attack from cabbage. I apologize and explain their people were taken. To thank them, I offer to clean out their stall and get them fresh water. Especially since the horse is elderly and being cared for by the donkeys.
I met with the others outside the farmhouse and let them know. They had surprises of their own. Especially Sephia. She spotted smoke from the direction of the mail coach. Like being attacked. We quickly got to work, cleaning up the barn and stalls for the donkeys and their horse. In no time flat, we were ready to head for the mail coach.
Sephia flies off to get us a good look. Before she comes back, we hear four long notes played. She tells us a stampede is literally chasing down the stage. The others follow the Padre, racing off to cut off the stagecoach. I headed after them but ... the horse I'm on is a grand old lady, and running her? That's cruel. I wouldn't do that. I get her to trot her best. She deserves good care even if we're riding into an ugly problem.
The stage was being driven by what may have been Falconers. A passenger was firing a spell at the cattle to keep them at bay. Then, after one gets hit with a spell from the Padre, the cow raises up and grabs a halberd it had slung on its underside. We lay into the herd with spells, slings, and arrows but didn't buy the coach much as a second batch of the cows come running out a side trail and nearly knock the coach over!
Using my rope, I lasso the lead cow, then leap on its back. Slapping its hindquarters with the loose end of the rope, I try and turn the steer away from the coach and back down the trail toward the other stampede. Jessie launches a flaming sphere spell behind me. Between me managing to turn one stampede into the other, spells and slings, we take out the herd.
The stage races onto town. Exhausted, I catch up to the others and head back to town.
I can't wait to have a close personal meeting with a drink and a bath.
A Storm and a Half
Vebel 29th, 578 ILC
The storm was like a punch to the jaw, almost blowing the gray off Aquitaine's stone walls.
Everyone took part and pitched in to keep things bolted down. It mostly worked and our little Stormborn halfling did the most keeping the lightning off most things. The mess of a storm wandered around a bit, making more of a mess than a drunk on a bender before it wandered out of town. Right as it left, as Ika would have it, an exhausted goblin kid on a more exhausted donkey rolled into town. Miro spotted him and shouted a warning. The lot of us ... scattered out as we were ... went running.
I worked with Feathers - Zhang - and Lee Chung to help the kid. The others worked on the donkey and the tarped wagon that it was pulling. The kid was half-awake but ate the jerky I had. Honestly, he looked like his stomach was rubbing a blister on his backbone. A few bites brought him around and set him to a proper panic. That settled down enough that we could get him to the Rusty Dragon Inn.
Once at the inn, we got the kid's name. Dacio Bicchieri. His family's caravan, the Bicchieri company, wasn't due yet. It took a moment before he pulled his wits together. It was after that he started asking for help to rescue his da. I listened in while I risked a ladle to the back of the head from Ameko to head into the kitchen to get some chicken soup for the boy.
Seems his caravan got attacked while traveling in the Longgrass Plains outside the town of Purgatory Gulch over in the Oatman Canyon region. It was some sort of mimic? Whatever it was rattled the hired guards and the kid got shoved into cover and a protection circle got put up. From what the kid said, it didn't do them much good. His da packed him up and sent him to Aquitaine for help when a storm came in right after the attack started. The kid didn't have good numbers to give, he just saw a 'horde'. It probably means too much was happening at once for the kid to take in. That happens.
After hearing the kid's story, I headed off to talk to Shalelu about this and let her know I needed to head out west toward Purgatory Gulch. She suggests the creatures might be angry treants. That's not a good sign. Best case, something got them riled up and that can be settled. If something's corrupted them ... that means taking out their Heart Tree. That's the last thing I ever want to do. I thank Shelalu and head back.
Only to find the kid left with Chef, the kobold. Ika give me strength.
I tried to talk some sense into the kid. Tried. But he gave me a good point. We would need a wagonmaster to help with swapping out teams and to manage the wagons. At least he agreed to stay out of the way if things go sour. Given Chef gave the kid more soup and was standing over him with a ladle until he ate it, I decided to stay and wait for the others.
They eventually got back. Seems they spoke with the Watch Captain and arranged for wagons and such, and supplies. I headed back to the house, collected my gear, collected my owl, and met back with the others. Turns out Dacio gave us directions and was convinced to stay with the local spellmonger. The Master Mage should keep the kid busy.
We take a few wagons. A 'hurry up' wagon, a paddy wagon, and Miro's wagon. I took the lead wagon with Feathers. Jessie had the paddy wagon. Miro drove the last with Lee Chung and Chef. Jessie sent Wrong Way to scout. We'd spell them by myself and Rowtag scouting, then Feathers taking a turn.
It took us about a week ... the evening of Grolm the 6th by the time we reached the place. When we were day out of the campsite when we considered stopping for the night. Discussed it some. Miro wanted to press on - so did Chef - which isn't a bad idea. However, I pointed out that this could be treants ... or their female counterparts, dryads ... that are angry over something. The other options could be corrupt. The latter is worse. Wrong Way went out to look, came back with a bloody rabbit ear. Bad sign there.
The rabbit was one of the local jackrabbit varieties. Something with fangs took after it.
Given Nasilia was a new moon, and Grothor was crescent, we pushed on.
We found the camp. They camped out on a tiny mesa that had been scoured a bit by a storm. Jessie and I got down and checked for trail sign. Jessie found signs that they may have went south. I found tracks - hoof prints - but odd. Like covered in bags to hide the tracks. Could have been the attackers coming in from ambush. The others decided to haul our gear and the wagons up the mesa. They'll get the gear, while I haul the wagons up.
What we found was a mess. Ripped up rusty pump handle. Torn up carts, ripped tents, bones. Nothing looked like it survived. However, it had a concerning lack of wagon tracks. I went looking for scavengers to see if they found bodies. Feather and Jessie went looking for graves and more. Miro went to check for any magic on the junk left behind.
I came up with something interesting. Eastern edge had an arc of protective fire with gaps for the caravan wagons. The fire lasted for days and scoured the rocks. No scavengers, but Rowtag was feeling jumpy so that made this a bit hard. He didn't like the idea of heading north. Anyway, so, maybe a firewall with gaps so they could make a run for it?
Jessie found where the caravan buried its trade goods to come back for later. No food or perishables. Lee Chung looked for messages, but there wasn't any. Miro says the mesa was the 'eye of a hurricane'. Magical one. Like someone set one up and held in place. While we looked, Chef went to the pit and started a fire with Miro's help.
Turns out none of our animal companions liked the idea of heading north. So ... I wanted to check north. Which means Rowtag or any of our animals won't go. So Zheng would have to scout by air. Jessie and I go on land. Miro goes in case there is a nyad and we need to negotiate for water. The first thing we found was a bunch of wild cabbages. Not farmed ... just growing wild. Not real concerning but odd. No farm nearby but the pump handle does suggest someone had a well around here. Maybe for the caravans? Anyway, the well is a wreck by now.
I wonder ... did whoever set up the well as the nyad's permission?
Feathers found debris. It could have been from the storms, no idea. By then, though, Miro and Chef took off without saying anything. Root and acorn! That halfling and that kobold ... they're gonna be the death of someone if not themselves. Feathers took flight and tracked the pair, the rest of trailed along behind.
By the time we get close to catching up, we hear a ... cow? Several cows? Maybe to the north, northwest. We discussed investigating the sound, while others look for water and food ... well ... then we find the cows. Demon possessed cows! Well, that counts as the strangest thing I've seen all week!
The cow came at us on two legs brandishing a halberd. Damndest thing I'd ever seen. It was determined to end us but we managed to take it out. That was when those wild cabbages starting moving, rolling like tumbleweeds. That was the moment we learned why we hadn't seen any signs of scavengers. The 'cabbages' are some sort of bloodsucking cabbage plant. Undead? Maybe? Not sure. Ika's bandages, tomatoes grow better with a little raw meat ... so ... why not?
I will say ... being attacked by a demonic cow wielding a magic halberd is probably the most excitement I've had all week. And that counts helping the locals deal with a hurricane!
Once they were done with the body, they headed for Lee Chung. Miro used a spell to blow them off the other direction. But Jessi and Feathers pointed out ... the field was full of them. Lee Chung was worried that the demonic cow would come back as a vampire. Before we did anything with the dead body, or the - what turned out to be magical - halberd, more cows sounded off in the night.
We pulled back to the mesa and lit some fires. Making camp there, Chef cooked some dinner while we kept watch. More mooing in the night made a good reminder of what was out there.
The next morning, I went out with Lee Chung to check for the body. The body was mummified, the halberd just a burned and salted patch on the ground. The cabbages were gone ... cause someone herded them. Not good. They've got a keeper. The one herding the cabbages came from the northeast toward the taller plant life toward Arjory Pond. Then herded the cabbages off to the north-northwest. I head back to tell the others, only to find Miro and his flying snake gone. Leaving the wagons and ponies - which I'm not all right with - to go track down Miro and his pet.
We did find him but lost the tracks of the demonic cows or whoever was herding the cabbages. That started a discussion over what to do next. Lake? Town? That was a hard decision. I'm not sure why, but somehow it was challenging! I've never heard such debate since the last time I was in the Rusty Dragon Inn when Ameko and Lee Chung got into a debate over what spice worked better in some sort of dumpling soup. Town won the toss. So we went back for the wagons and rode into town. Hopefully, we'll find out a bit more about what is going on around here. The longgrass plans are dangerous but this seems much even for the longgrass. We reached the town the morning of the 7th of Grolm.
Once in town, we saw a schoolhouse, a temple or church, a saloon or inn, basically a small town. No building that we could see for a city watch. There was a lot of talk of asking around but I pointed out that to learn about the town, you ask the barkeep or the innkeeper. Everyone talks to them. So we took the wagons over to stable the ponies and store the wagons. A few silvers and agreed to some rules got them stabled. I kept quiet as I'm not always good with folks. Jessie did the talking.
He asked the stablekeeper about the Bicchieri caravan. The town - which I figure is Purgatory Gulch - was supposed to be their next stop but they haven't come by yet. So the Bicchieri kid's da and his companions are either dead or captive somewhere.
After we got the animals put away, we split up to ask around. Feathers and I headed for the general store. Jessie for the church. Lee Chung for the saloon which would probably be an inn, too. Miro looked for a blacksmith but didn't find one.
So, we'll see what we'll see.
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