Battle for Kazragun

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird, seeing the fight end abruptly also hears the voice of the harbinger in his head; and curiously enough hears a draconic roar that forms "No." Shocked and in disbelief for a second, he speaks back in draconic to the voice, "You and I have much to discuss, but for now I hope you don't mind If I escape for the moment." Baird then begins to run up the stairs following Renna.

 

[Dicer]

Seeing the armored female mammal effortlessly pick up the no longer possessed mammal, Veskassdak ran to the stairs last making sure the others made it to safety. Once he was sure, he swam up against the raging waters to the surface and let the last embers of his rage fade. Immediately the rage fatigue took him and he sat on the muddy ground, breathing heavily for several minutes. He would still keep an eye on the formerly possessed mammal. Once a foe, mayhaps a foe again later. Still he knew it would take a night's rest before he would be able to call on the blood of his ancestors' aid again. Even so, he hurt, but not so much as he would allow the mammals to see.
Turning towards the armored female mammal, he said, "Help you gavesss I ssshowsss kindnessss not ekssspected. Perhapsss kassu bringsss future. Sssee time ssshowsss. Kamelorthos."

 

[Silanon]

The escape proves to be as dangerous as the fight itself - and few things go as expected. First of all, Io only stumbles forward, not much of her people's grace to be seen. Disorientedly, she likely would not have escaped the chamber, if not for the human rogue to drag her forward. That said, it slows Wren down significantly, and time is not on her side - more peddles rain down at both of them, causing minor wounds until at last, they both reach the stairs. It is there that a wave of muddy water hits both of them - while Wren can resist the nature's wrath, Io is in no position to do so. She stumbels backwards, about to fall - but Baird is close enough to catch her in time, before Wren can grab her arm once again, fighting her way up the stairs.

Further behind, Renna's magic can close the most serious chest wound - that said, it will take more help to stop him from bleeding out over time. However, the man's weight proves to be too much, slowing the paladin down to first witness the stony rain inside of the chamber, and then still lose grip of the scout when the water hits her on the stairs. The woman herself cannot keep the balance - but again it is Baird who can lend her a hand, the sorcerer somehow on top of everything. Maybe inspired by this place's magic, or the dragon's voice. And yet, he cannot catch Gordib in time, the man gets washed down the stairs before anyone is able to grab him.

Luckily, there is still one person down there. Veskasssdak waits for the others to make their way up the stairs, ignoring the pain of hitting peddles - there are more severe wounds he took, after all. When the water level is high enough, he dives - grabbing the earlier-possessed human, and pulling him out of the misery as if he had no weight.

You all manage to reach the top of the stairs, where the water still is on knee-level for all of you. A short look shows that things have changed - the wooden palisades are torn apart by ancient magic, the whole place is flooded with muddy water. Maybe it's fortune, or someone watches over you. A single raft is drifting by just a few feet away, a way to escape the swamp's grasp and reach more solid ground. Veskassdak manages to throw Gordib on top of the wooden logs, held together by rather thin cords. Io somehow gets up there as well, with the help of you. She breathes heavily, but is still alive - just like Gordib, though the latter took a beating on his way up and will need more than just a few calming words to survive.

[Veskasssdak takes another 7 damage, reduction accounted for. Wren takes 4, Renna as well. Baird takes no damage, rolled multiple 20's and is likely the only reason why everyone survived.]

 

[Psychie]

It doesn't take a doctor to see that, out of all the party members, Veskassdak is the most badly injured. She leans over to him, and says, "Here, let me ease your pain. I can't do much, but every little bit helps." Renna places her free hand upon the lizard man and murmurs another prayer to her Goddess, then turns her attention to Gordib. I must treat him next. It is no fault of his that he fell prey to the evil down there. Again with a prayer, she uses another Lay on Hands on the fallen man. Feeling drained from the experience down in the hole, she says, "I can heal only one more time today. Who is in the greatest need?"

 

[Sherwood]

Wren clings onto the raft like a cat trying to get out of the water, but is being very careful not to tip it over and plunge the wounded back into the murky water. "Well. That officially sucked." She reaches up to rub a growing lump on her head, wincing in pain. "Ouch. My father always told me that I have a thick skull; I guess this proves him right about that. Ugh. We need to get out of this muck and onto dry land to tend to our wounds and rest up a bit."

When the paladin asks about who is the most wounded, Wren shakes her head. "I'm ok for now. Use your talents on someone hurt worse than I. Probably a toss-up between Veskassdak and Gordib. Either way, lets get out of here." She looks about to find the quickest route to get to a place where they can make a campsite and lick their wounds.

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak took a deep breath as he assessed his remaining wounds and found them endurable. He rasped, "Aid fallen onesss. Needsss mine fixssed time by. Knowsss I mammal attacked at me resssponsssible not. Him by me hurt greater, care needsss more. Hopesss I fighting done a while isss. Sssurvival now isss important mossst. Travel not wet land goesss usss."
With that he slipped back into the water next to the raft and swam as hard as he could to push the raft to the nearest shore.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Somehow Baird was just as surprised as any when he was able to help so many people, but why was he able to do so well? Was it a sudden burst of inspiration from the Dragon? looking at his hands, and anyone who has seen his claws would realize what he was doing, he began to think about the family legend once more. All thoughts aside, Io seemed to know what the heck was going on with the dragon so he figured he'd ask them. Walking over to Io, he spoke, "Io, back in the cave, you looked as though you knew what the Dragon was apart from all the beings in there. Who is he and why is he "bound until the end of time?"
Silanon Dicer Sherwood Psychie

 

[Silanon]

As Renna heals the two wounded the best she can, she can almost feel Iomadae's approval - her power flows through your veins, closing most of the obvious wounds. Gordib remains unconcious, but his facial expression relaxes a little, making the short, upcoming travel less of a pain. Indeed, with Wren watching out and Veskassdak pushing the raft in the most promising direction, it does not take long before you go ashore (well, it's more of a limping, really). A place, surrounded by a handful of dead trees. Mostly dry, high enough over water level to not fear the mud too much. Not as good as your previous campsite, but it'll do for the moment.

[both lay on hands heal for 6]

As for Baird's question: At first, it seems as if Io did not hear your words - maybe shaken from the happenings, maybe just lost in other thoughts. She sits on the raft's edge, trying her best to stay warm - only when the raft almost reaches its temporary destination, she turns around. "I'm too young to know him, most of us are. But they still tell the stories of his honor and strength. They say his breath could resurrect the dead, and that he spoke to the Gods themselves." She pauses for a moment, mustering the sorcerer. "As for the second part of the question - things didn't go quite his way in the end. A friend called for help, and of course he answered. Leaving the forests, headed northwards, flying over the kingdom he truly loved. It's a long story." She does not seem too eager to tell it right now, slowly freezing to death in her drenched clothes. When you set up a camp, she is the first trying to start a fire, failing miserably with the few branches she finds.

 

[Psychie]

Renna will go ahead and use her last Lay on Hands to heal Gordib as much as she can. Once that is done, and they get to the shore, she will help to gather up some wood and kindling to start a good sized fire to help dry everyone off. With the fire now going, Renna also starts up a pot of stew. With everyone hurt, a good hot meal will do well to help restore some vitality and get everyone feeling more like they are supposed to.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird nodded as Io told what she was willing to tell to him, however, when she was fully capable of it, he would ask again. Soon, they arrived at the shore and disembarked the raft where Io and Renna successfully started a fire to the relief of Baird, and likely everyone else. Seeing Renna once again giving some help where it was needed, he suddenly felt bad about only providing minimal aid to the group as a whole today and yesterday. With this in mind, Baird walked over to Renna as she was starting to begin to prepare the stew and started. "Renna, I don't suppose you would refuse an extra hand?"
Psychie

 

[Dicer]

Veskassdak left the water once the raft was on the shore. While the others tended to a fire and food, he hauled the raft further up the shore to make sure it does not float away during their rest. Once that was done, he turned towards his companions and the new mammals. Seeing that there was not much meat for whatever the armored female mammal was making, he dove back into the water to find prey that would supplement their food supplies for the night. He would worry about the next day when it arrived.

 

[Psychie]

Renna nods gratefully at Baird and his offer. "Thank you. Anything you can do to help will be greatly appreciated." She glances back at the still sleeping form of Gordib. "I've managed to stabilize his condition enough to say with confidence that he will not die from these wounds, but he still needs to rest and get some food in him. Hell, everyone needs to recover from what we just went through down there. I think that Wren came out the least messed up of all of us, and even she is hurt. But, once we get a good fire going, warm up, and get a decent meal in us, everyone will be that much better off."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren does her best to help set up a suitable camp, since she is probably the least hurt out of everyone. How Veskassdak managed to survive from the blows he took is a miracle. Probably would have dropped if it were not for the healing from the paladin. Then there is Gordib. He took quite a pounding, and is still alive. I guess it was from the spirit possessing him.

Once she has had a chance to dry off and relax a bit, with her headache finally starting to fade, Wren remembers that she managed to recover a pouch from the chest down in the pit. Sitting down next to the fire for the best light available, she pulls out the pouch and carefully empties it out to examine its contents, with a polishing cloth to clean the mud and muck off of anything inside.

Spoiler

I have +4 in Appraise, and will take my time in looking over everything, hoping for a bonus to my rolls to identify the stuff inside.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

((OOC, Silanon would Baird notice Wren as she's examining the items? Perception roll))

"Good to hear then, although" Baird looks around for a moment before turning to face Renna again, "I'm not exactly sure what we could make in a stew with what we have." As if to answer his question, Baird noticed Veskassdak dive under the water, "perhaps Vesk knows what to do in this situation. Although I'll help in anyway I can."
Psychie

 

[Psychie]

Renna opens up her pack and digs inside it, pulling out a few small containers. "I have several weeks worth of rations that I am willing to share with those that need it. May not be gourmet food, but it will fill the belly and strengthen the body. Of course, if anyone wants to add to the pot you are more than welcome to do so."

 

[Sherwood]

OOC Wren is not making any effort to be secretive with the items she is examining, so it shouldn't take much more than glancing over to see what she is doing.

Not looking up from her examination, Wren does nod over towards her pack. "I have a few goodies in my kit that you can add to the stew. Its pretty much the same as any trail rations; nutritious, if not that delicious. Just don't take all my chow, ok?"

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

"I also have some rations that I can throw into the pot, but first I want to see what Veskassdak can come up with before we head down that route." Glancing over at Wren as she spoke, Baird also noticed that she was examining a few things in particular. His curiosity getting the better of him for the moment, he turned to Renna and spoke, "Call me if you need some help Renna, I will be glad to help." Baird then walked over to Wren to ask what she was examining, "What do you have there Wren?"
Sherwood Psychie

 

[Sherwood]

Wren holds up one of the mysterious objects from the pouch and shows it to Baird. "Remember that chest down there? Before all the flames and stuff went kablooie, I found this pouch in there. Not quite sure what's in it yet, but I just started to clean the mud off of everything. You are welcome to add a keen eye to check it out."

 

[Dicer]

Swimming around in the murky water, Veskassdak's vision was impaired, but he didn't need to use that sense. He swum into some reeds where he suspected that some large fish would be. Once he had an amount of fish he was certain would feed everyone in the camp, he searched for edible water plants. When he felt he had gathered enough, he returned to the shore.
Climbing up onto the shore, he spoke "Have fisssh and plantsss. Isss ssstew good for. Make meal good eatsss."

 

[Silanon]

Fish is actually quite hard to find - it seems as if the arcane energies mostly drove them away. That said, an experienced hunter always finds his prey - the lizardman ends up with enough to fill your stomachs tonight.

As for Wren and her examinations - do you only look at the pouch, or the other objects as well? Only describing the pouch for now: First off, you notice that the pouch is made out of crocodile leather. It seems old, cracked, and you're pretty sure that you won't get it ever clean, no matter how hard you'd try. As for its content: There are six equally shaped objects in there, and polishing the first one reveals a thumb-sized tooth, certainly not a human one. In fact, it reminds both of you of the alligators you fought and killed earlier, only that this one has fine runes and other lines on it. Elven runes, to be precise - though only single words that do not make too much sense. "Promise", "dying tree" and "again" are some of the words at least Baird can read (not sure if Wren somehow speaks Elven). The other objects turn out to be similar teeth as well, each one of slightly different shape. Three are a bit smaller, another one has pretty much the same length, and the last one is significantly larger. They all share the same runes on it, the very same lines - only the larger one has an additional inscription: "Grognif, the First".

You notice how Io eyes both of you from the other side of the fire, both curious and surprised. "Which key did you use, if I may ask? You did use one, I hope? It'd be rather unsettling if not." She gets interrupted by Veskassdak leaving the swamps, presenting his findings. "More than enough for the night, I'd assume. Wouldn't have known where to find these myself - these swamps are different."

 

[Sherwood]

Wren looks at each of the teeth with curiosity, examining them from every angle, before passing them off to Baird to take a look at. "Strange." She looks over at Io, and nods. "Yes, I found this keyring on the body down there. It was, lets see, this one, that I used to open the chest. Why? Is it important, somehow?"

"Lets see what else I was able to snag out of there."

 

[Silanon]

The elf nods: "It makes all the difference. See, in your stone houses, you probably have one room where you store the food, and another one to put armor and weapons in there. When you unlock the door to your pantry - you wouldn't expect any swords and spears in there, right? Same for the chest: You will only find what is supposed to be in there - in this case whatever the Warden was willing to share."

Apart from the teeth, you found three other objects of potential interest:
First of all, an orb made of glass - enclosing a mixture of mud and branches in there, well-protected from the outer world. There are some runes graved into its surface, but the most noticeable detail on first glance is that the stuff in the interior moves constantly. Forming different shadows and shapes, sometimes reminding you of humanlike shapes, other time of landscapes. Once, you get a glimpse at a hyena-like creature, running between lines of dead trees - but before you can focus further, the shapes have already changed their form.

Secondly, there is the amulet, entirely untouched by the mud. It's made out of dark iron, so nothing too fancy - though it shows engravings in form of flowers, trees and animals like you've seen them in the swamps over the last few days. However, in the middle of it, there is a single, golden scale, reflecting the fire's light brightly as if it'd burn itself. There are letters on there as well, written down in human language: "A Dragon's Promise". Wren likely won't recognize anything else, but handing the piece over to Baird will trigger the feeling of some strange familiarity with the trinket: It's not that you'd have seen it before, or any notion of it - it's more like the way you recognized that yours and the helpers magic down in the chamber are similar. Also, you can safely assume that the scale on there is indeed a dragon scale.

Thirdly, there is the small flask. As you raise it to take a closer look, Io musters it closely. "You certainly do not want to drink that. We call it the Swamps' Wrath - the lizardmen might have another word for it. It can kill about anything in the right dose, slowly, but steadily, just like the swamps themselves. For your kind, a single cut with a poisened dagger suffices to end a life." Examinating the flask more, you can see how the dark liquor in it has already burnt parts of the glass it is made of - you certainly do not want to break it.

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird examines the amulet further and discovers that there is indeed a gold dragon scale embedded into the center. This reminds him of the magic that aided him in protecting Veskassdak and that he understood, and it seemed as though he understood alone, what the dragon spoke. "Wren, I think I want to hold onto the Amulet for a very good reason." Turning to Io, "this reason also concerns why I was so insistent on figuring out what you knew about the gold dragon. The magic in this amulet resonates with me and for a very specific reason. Io, Wren, there's a legend in my family, something that I didn't prove true until two years ago. The legend is that a Gold Dragon bred itself into our bloodline long ago through my mother's side. In the enclosure earlier I also understood that mysterious roar at the end of the fight, it was Draconic. The owner of that roar also helped boost my magic to aid Veskassdak. Now why might you ask would this pertain to me? Well, two years ago, I was confronted by an enforcer in my town and then, to fight him off," Baird conjures his gold dragon claws, "This happened. The magic that resonated with me is one and the same, I have gold dragon blood."
Sherwood Silanon

 

[Sherwood]

Wren looks surprised as she hands over the amulet. "Wow. I had heard stories about people with dragon blood, but I never thought I would actually meet one! Of course you can take the amulet. There will be treasure enough in our future for me."

When Io tells her of just how dangerous that fluid is, Wren makes sure to carefully pack it away. "I am not one to wish to use poison, but there may be a time that it is needed for the Gods only know what. Now, anyone have a thought on the orb? Is it some kind of scrying-thing? I personally have no clue."

 

[Clockwork Syringe]

Baird takes the Dragon amulet and examines it further before turning his attention to the orb. From an initial glance, he can understand that it is an amorphous object that constantly changes what it shows. He notices the Hyena, which he attributes to having relation to the images on the wall, but that's what he can elucidate from an initial glance.

((OOC spellcraft on the amulet and the orb))
Silanon Sherwood