Post by David on Aug 26, 2005 16:19:56 GMT -5
The party regrouped after slaying the larger vishap. Ling and Shareena took two horses and rode back to the fortress in order to get more mounts. Meanwhile, the rest of the group remained at the oasis and set to work. Harbinder remained on watch while Herrod and Sabuto butchered the slain horses for their meat. Flint and Isaac built a massive funeral pyre for the bodies, gathering the slain remains of the inhabitants.
It was at this time that Flint and Isaac spied a blood-soaked little girl watching them work. When Flint tried to speak with her, the girl ran off into the tule grass. Later, Isaac found the girl's corpse among the slain. He and Flint turned around only to see the girl behind them, watching them place her body on the funeral pyre. When Sabuto tried to scare her away, the girl fled. That's when the spirits of the rest of the villagers came out of the tall grasses...
With Oerth cut off from the gods, as the heroes already discovered, the spirits of the dead cannot move on. Many watched as the heroes laid their bodies to rest.
Later, when the party gathered at the body of the slain vishap, Harbinder was suddenly ambushed by the smaller vishap. The monster nearly killed the psionist, but before it could leap away, Herrod scored a hit on it. Then, as the creature fled, one of Isaac's arrows brought it down before it could escape. Sabuto approached to deliver a coup de grace to ensure the monster dead, when suddenly the spirit of the creature split out of its body and struck the martial artist! Although not physically wounded, Sabuto was shaken as if by psychic trauma when the creatures claws tore into his flesh. He struck back, dissipating the creature's essence.
That's when the villagers again emerged from the grasses, weapons in hand. The party had a tense moment as the phantoms charged Sabuto, only to realize they spirits sought revenge for their untimely deaths. The heroes lit the funeral pyre near sunset, just as Ling returned with Mahara and a new guide from Commander Faroul, Subatai.
The heroes returned to the fortress, healed, and tended to their wounds. They spoke at length with the mystic, who explained some of what was going on and seemed rather curious in the party's quest to recover the Kingdom of Lions from Al-Anwahr. As Mahara's village is along the way, the aging mystic agreed to accompany the party that far.
In the morning, Subatai looked for additional mounts as a favor to the group, discovering none worth buying at the fortress' caravansary, but locating a hatchling hippogriff instead. Sabuto purchased the beast as well as the two nags (for hippogriff food!) for only 1550gp!
Meanwhile, Flint cast detect magic to find out which items were enchanted as well as read magic in order to discover the runes on the miniature-staff-in-the-shape-of-a-wand the group recovered from the ogress-witch. Both spells elicited a surge, the second one revealing the general nature of EVERY magical item in the party's possession!
So, it's late morning, everyone is healed, Flint is down a few spells but the group knows what they have. Now, do they seek out the vishaps' remaining treasure, hunt the two illithid in the wadi, or set off with Mahara across the Haunted Lands to Al-Anwahr...?
It was at this time that Flint and Isaac spied a blood-soaked little girl watching them work. When Flint tried to speak with her, the girl ran off into the tule grass. Later, Isaac found the girl's corpse among the slain. He and Flint turned around only to see the girl behind them, watching them place her body on the funeral pyre. When Sabuto tried to scare her away, the girl fled. That's when the spirits of the rest of the villagers came out of the tall grasses...
With Oerth cut off from the gods, as the heroes already discovered, the spirits of the dead cannot move on. Many watched as the heroes laid their bodies to rest.
Later, when the party gathered at the body of the slain vishap, Harbinder was suddenly ambushed by the smaller vishap. The monster nearly killed the psionist, but before it could leap away, Herrod scored a hit on it. Then, as the creature fled, one of Isaac's arrows brought it down before it could escape. Sabuto approached to deliver a coup de grace to ensure the monster dead, when suddenly the spirit of the creature split out of its body and struck the martial artist! Although not physically wounded, Sabuto was shaken as if by psychic trauma when the creatures claws tore into his flesh. He struck back, dissipating the creature's essence.
That's when the villagers again emerged from the grasses, weapons in hand. The party had a tense moment as the phantoms charged Sabuto, only to realize they spirits sought revenge for their untimely deaths. The heroes lit the funeral pyre near sunset, just as Ling returned with Mahara and a new guide from Commander Faroul, Subatai.
The heroes returned to the fortress, healed, and tended to their wounds. They spoke at length with the mystic, who explained some of what was going on and seemed rather curious in the party's quest to recover the Kingdom of Lions from Al-Anwahr. As Mahara's village is along the way, the aging mystic agreed to accompany the party that far.
In the morning, Subatai looked for additional mounts as a favor to the group, discovering none worth buying at the fortress' caravansary, but locating a hatchling hippogriff instead. Sabuto purchased the beast as well as the two nags (for hippogriff food!) for only 1550gp!
Meanwhile, Flint cast detect magic to find out which items were enchanted as well as read magic in order to discover the runes on the miniature-staff-in-the-shape-of-a-wand the group recovered from the ogress-witch. Both spells elicited a surge, the second one revealing the general nature of EVERY magical item in the party's possession!
So, it's late morning, everyone is healed, Flint is down a few spells but the group knows what they have. Now, do they seek out the vishaps' remaining treasure, hunt the two illithid in the wadi, or set off with Mahara across the Haunted Lands to Al-Anwahr...?