The group surveys the room following the fight with the basilisk, to find Arhjan has been petrified during the battle, and his familiar has turned to dust. After discussing their options, the group decides their best course of action is to leave Arhjan where he is, and to try to find a cure to his condition. Ramathorn recalls hearing of a salve that can be created, using the gullet from the oil of the basilisk, that will return someone back to their human form. Dawne wraps Arhjan in a protective cloth, and the group makes their way back out of the sewers, exiting the entrance into the mid-morning sun.
Marvolo goes to The Weeping Comet (the magic shop). Phelorna, Ramathorn, and Kallista go to The Ironclad Traveler (the general store). Dawne goes to the Pantheon of Silence (Temple to Pelor).
Marvolo informs the owner that they found bodies of the townspeople down in the sewers, and tells him that one of her friends is petrified. Although he isn't an alchemist he does have some information.
Marvolo learns:
- There are tales of a wizard nearby that might be able to help, but that they haven't been seen in several years.
- Madison Scully may have information on how to help their friend as well.
- She may be able to take her basilisk scales to Novgradis to be fashioned into armor.
Marvolo goes to The Ironclad Traveler and relays this information to the group members who are there. Phelorna walks up to the merchant, and asks if they have any alchemist kits. They do not, but he mentions that the capital will have some, or possibly the closest fort in Thorum. The group thanks them for their information, and leaves the store. Ramathorn breaks off to join Dawne at The Pantheon of Silence.
Meanwhile at the temple, Dawne walks into a silent building. While admiring the temple, she hears movement behind her. Turning, she sees the same Tiefling that Kallista spoke to the day before, and who also accompanied them all to the sewers. Dawne reintroduces herself, and asks her if she has any knowledge on how to heal Arhjan. Ramathorn joins them partway through their conversation.
They learn:
- Basilisk haven't been seen alive since the end of The War of the Gods.
- The greater restoration spell can remove major conditions, such as petrification. However, she isn't capable of doing so, as it is a 5th level spell. The spell requires 200 gp worth of diamond dust.
- There is a magic store in the capital that sells spell scrolls.
- Madison Scully likes to have breakfast at The Awkward Apple (the bakery), if they need to find him.
They leave the temple, and begin walking to the bakery. As they are entering, the rest of the group spots them walking in, and follows them in to join them for breakfast. The smells are overwhelming, and the heat coming from the back is noticable. They sit down, and are greeted by the owner, Armani James. They inform him that they are looking for Madison Scully. He says he is a little late today, but should be there momentarily. He provides them breakfast for free, for doing such a service for the town, and sends his helper off to fetch ales for the group to wash down breakfast. The group learns that Armani was the apprentice baker until recently, and became the owner when the owner disappeared around three months ago. The previous owner was a veteran of The War of the Gods, and moved here to open his bakery and live in peace.
Madison enters the bakery, and they call him over, and inform him of their situation and the information they have learned. Madison offers to send guards down to identify the bodies. However, the group, unsure of his intentions and if they will protect Arhjan, convinces him to wait until they return with a cure before anyone else enters the sewers.
The group learns:
- The wizard is as large as he is powerful.
- There is a group of orcs terrorizing the pass, that he would appreciate them taking care of, if they have the time
- Not to linger for to long on the journey to the wizard, as orcs are attacking on that route.
Over breakfast, the group begins to talk, and they learn about the other members of the group.
Marvolo
- Doesn't divulge much, but they learn she has a dark past.
- Tries to be a good person despite her past
Phelorna
- She has been traveling the continent for the past ten years
- She is a princess of the Mors Dynasty
- She doesn't have any siblings, and her parents are dead
- Her homeland was at war with a kingdom that attacked from the water
- While out picking for berries, they attacked and wiped out the Mors dynasty and slaughtered the populace, with no survivors (according to legend)
- After returning in secret, she discovered that the king of the other dynasty had requested her mother's hand in marriage when she was younger, but her mother married her father instead, which enraged the king, and sent him on war path against the Mors
- She has a scroll of her lineage
- She says she would need an army to reclaim her homeland (Ramathorn asks "what about a rag-tag group of friends?"
Nordak
- Born and raised in Umix
- Grew up poor, and has lived in poor conditions all of his life. This is part of the reason he chose to become a Ranger
- He is against those with wealth and power who use their affluence to harm others
Ramathorn
- He is from a fishing village in Atros on the west coast
- His village was raided when he was young, during which he hid, and saw his entire family and village get murdered
- While wandering through the wreckage, he was found by a wandering traveler, who took him under his wing.
- Eventually, Ramathorn discovered that the traveler was also a wizard. Showing natural ability, the wizard began to teach Ramathorn
- He then found the raiders and took his revenge
- He is trying to become as powerful as he can, to make sure nothing happens to those he cares about
Dawne
- She doesn't want to fight in service of others, but will still fight for others
- She was in the military
The group raises their mugs and raise a toast. Dawne says, "Good soldiers fight not because they hate what in front of them, but because they love what is behind them", and the group states that they have all turned their troubled pasts into a shared desire to create positive change.
The group decides to get some rooms at The Silver Cup (the bar/inn) for the night. When they enter the inn in the evening, there are card games, arm wrestling contests, darts, and talk of a drinking contest later that evening. Ramathorn decides to play some card games, which he does pretty well at. Dawne decides to go for a flight to stretch her wings. Marvolo, Phelorna, Kallista and Dawne sign up for the drinking contest. Marvolo plays some darts while they wait for the contest later. Phelorna and Nordak compete in arm wrestling. Nordak quickly beats Phelorna, and Dawne immediately jumps in to try and beat Nordak. After a little back and forth, Nordak defeats Dawne as well. Marvolo walks over and silently sits in the chair opposite Nordak. They begin their duel, and after only a few seconds, defeats Nordak. The teams for the drinking contest are Kallista and Dawne, and two villagers, and then Phelorna and Marvolo with two villagers. Kallista and Dawne's team emerge victorious, and the defeated team leaves the table. They all retire for the evening, and enjoy a peaceful night's rest.
In the morning, the group decides to take care of the orcs on the way to find the wizard. They begin their journey, and decide to set an ambush up at some point on the way when they are ready to stop for the night, to draw some of the orcs out. Dawne takes flight, and Kallista uses thaumaturgy to raise her voice, and begins to act drunk and sing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to hopefully draw orcs out.
After an hour or so, Nordak sees a slobbery warg snout poking out of the edge of the firelight, just behind Phelorna. Before he can react, the warg lunges forward and bites Phelorna in the shoulder. The group springs into action, as javelins are launched from the darkness towards the group. While Nordak, Phelorna and Ramathorn deal with the warg, Kallista and Marvolo begin rushing back towards the group. Dawne lands near Ramathorn to help protect him. As Kallista and Marvolo are running back, they are attacked from behind by two orcs in the treeline. Marvolo turns and launches a scorching blast towards the orcs, and for a moment, the group members nearby swear that they can see wings emerge from her back just before the attack...but when they look at her afterwards, the wings no longer appear to be there. A few minutes later, two more come running out. Although they were the ones who ended up being ambushed, the group does eventually defeat the small orc force. They spare one of the orcs, and after some interrogation, learn that there is a path they can follow to guide them to the orc encampment. The entrace is noticable due to two gnarled trees that are intertwined over the path entrance. The orc does warn them of the leader, Thrugak, who is very dangerous.
The group finds the entrance, and follows it to the orc encampment, with the orc prisoner's help. They give the orc their word that they won't kill him, and determine that he won't betray them. Once they arrive at the camp, they discover that it appears mostly empty. There is a warg sleeping by a fire that is cooking a warthog, and there are two orcs in the camp that they can see. They devise an intricate plan to take out the warg, a plan that almost immediately falls apart due to Marvolo and Ramthorn stumbling through the underbrush, alerting the warg to their presence. The encampment comes to life, orcs coming out of the tents and woods towards the commotion.
Thrugak appears from the largest tent, towering over the rest of the orcs in the encampment. He makes an attack on Phelorna, and then he disappears. Moments later, he reappears behind the group. A long battle ensues, and several members of the group are dealt severe blows. Phelorna comes to within an inch of unconsciousness, and Dawne is knocked unconscious during the fight, Thrugak proclaiming "Anyone else?". Thrugak grabs Dawne and takes her hostage while she is unconscious, leading to a pause in the fight while the group figures out what to do. Thrugak issues a warning, saying "Submit or perish with the rest." Some members of the group notice that he has the same symbol on his chest-piece, that was on the wall of the sewer in Crystal Abbey (the symbol of Torog). He releases Dawne and moves away. Due to some quick thinking by Kallista, Dawne is saved and buys enough time for Phelorna and others to heal up a little bit and regroup to fight Thrugak. Towards the end of the fight, Thrugak turns, looks at Dawne, and says "bring her home" and disappears through a rip in the ground. Surprised and confused, the group discusses what to do next. They decide to rest for the evening, and help themselves to the cooked warthog and treat their wounds.
The following morning, the group exits the forest and begins the trek northwest to find the wizard. They eventually stumble upon a lone cabin, and decide to enter. Upon entering, it appears that nobody has lived in this house for months, if not years. All that is seen is some magic books on a book shelf, a walking stick, and a garden gnome resting on the counter. Marvolo reaches for one of the books, and suddenly an explosion rips through the home. Coming to his senses, Ramathorn sees the garden gnome on the counter through the thick dusty air. Ramathorn takes a swing at the gnome, which suddenly disappears. Marvolo asks the gnome who they are, and the gnome says "Back up, or I will turn you all into chunks on the wall". He demands to know what they want and where they are from. Marvolo replies by saying that are "from everywhere". She mentions that Arhjan needs help becoming unpetrified, which catches his interest.
While discussing things, they learn that the wizard is an accomplished alchemist. At this point in time, Nordak interrupts the conversation and reveals that he has had an alchemist kit the entire time; due to the fact that he has no memory of acquiring it, and was recently in jail after a night that he also does not remember, had decided not to divulge this fact to the group, fearing that they would not trust him. He tells a story of being in a city when he went to sleep one night, where he finished his flask, and upon waking the next morning, woke up in a forest with the alchemist kit in his backpack. Shortly after, he journeyed to Pendleton, where the group found him. He states that "there is always a cost" and vows to do his best to be honest with the group, and to do what he can to protect the group, and his panther, Gloria. Ramathorn asks to be taught how to use the alchemist kit, but the wizard offers him the opportunity to learn a new spell instead.
After a trying several days, the group takes a breath and relaxes in the safety of the hut, awaiting word from the wizard that the salve to heal Arhjan is completed...
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