(I/C)
“I’m not just a woman,” Lyra said to Lannis, giving the Magic User a withering glance. “I have a name.”
“And I’m sure you are just great at it!” Lannis replied.
“And as for the salamander…”
“Frog,” Kovid offered.
“Puta?” Abraxas said.
“Aint no frog,” Wyn said.
“No, I agree with the dwarf, it’s a frog,” Lannis said rooting around his pack for something to eat.
“Ahem!” Lyra interrupted. “As I was saying. I guess you guys lost it and it got away? That won’t come back to bite us in the back later.”
The elf sighed, tilting his waterskin back and taking a swallow. “En no, Priestess, we did not find dat scaly putain... ‘ee got ay-way. Eet least we took out most ov dem.” Looking around the room he added, “I recommend we block dis door, ‘eaf up to dee uppa barracks, en wait for Monsieur Salazar’s sight to return while we eat some food. Den we cen resume plan from what seems like days ago... stuck door en den de bug stairs.”
Kovid pushed the stone cabinet closer to the door and then jammed it against the frame. “Ah so the frog slipped through our grasp! We are running up quite a list of faces who owe a visit with Theystra’s silver hammer here...,” he snapped his fingers and pointed at the Fighter, “Master Abraxas, how are you feeling? Still craz... um... hearing voices?”
(Assorted Intelligence Checks: >Abraxas Blue 17, >Lyra +2 priest White 18, >Wyn Orange 14, >Kovid Yellow 17, <Lannis Pink 2, <Brendon Red 12)
“Si, but not now.” He jammed half a length of dried sausage into his mouth and chewed noisily, looking around the chamber with his weird slowing eyes but seeing nothing. “The voice, it was here,” he pointed to his forehead, “en mi cabeza.” Taking a swallow he continued. “And it was chatting and angry, made me teeth hurt.”
“And it said it was Corfard?” Wyn asked.
“Si.”
“Why?”
Abraxas shrugged. “Said it was because one of his Adepts, the frogimanders, had done that puta cabron light blind spell on me so he was touching me.” He shook. “That would be unwelcome touch, I tell you!”
“How do you know its gone?”
Abraxas pointed across the room at the wall. “Because of Senor Kronford over there.”
“I’m over here, Abraxas.”
“Si!” Still pointing the wrong way, he continued. “As you came closer the voice got weaker and then faded and was gone. Tasted like silver and perhaps cool spring night air, you know?”
Lyra (Priest Wis>13 – no roll) nodded her head. “It wasn’t Kovid.” She pointed to the war hammer he was playing with. “It was that. That is a blessed weapon of Theystra, and if she was one of the 4 goddesses that had been here to keep the greenskins of Jector at bay, and Corfard seems to be a minor deity of them, that weapon mutes him.”
“You know,” Lannis mused, “I’m not one for foreshadowing or anything – but that might be important later on at some point.”
“Lady Lyra,” the elf started, “would the problem you felt yesterday have anyzing to do wit’ th’ same problem that Abraxas was feeling?”
Lyra shrugged. “I don’t think so. What I was feeling was a malaise – and it happened twice after the fight with Grilljax and his kobolds.”
“Fucking scum,” Kovid spat.
“Yep.” She shook her wineskin and then put it back on her belt. “It felt like a corruption, and it hit me as something that would also be an offence to Aine.”
“Hmm.”
Lannis took a small nibble of a dried cracker with cheese. “Also, this seems as good of a time as any but I wonder if I know what name the ruined book once had. Loath. Evil spider bitch, and if I were an elf I would certainly keep my books to her squirreled away for many reasons."
“And how did you come to that?”
“Book,” Lannis shrugged, snapping his fingers at the elf and then pulling the prayer book in question out. “See? Blank O Blank Blank H. And she’s the Mother of Monsters, right? Spiders are monsters to some.”
“True!” Abraxas agreed.
“And the Gorgon and the Ape both had “L”’s on them,” Bendon offered. “And a number.”
“Again, we don’t know. And according to the poem on the Eye of Ishtari, all 4 goddesses were needed to erect the ward.”
“But is she bad or good?”
“She’s an evil spider bitch…but I don’t know.”
The group mulled over all that had been discussed as they finished eating. Brendon’s waterskin was empty and Wyn was half full – the two of them had soaked their towels earlier when fighting the Adepts, so some sharing did occur. Kovid commented that they would need water again before the night was on them and the group grunted in agreement.
(WMC: Red/Black 3) After a long time, Kovid having to fill the lantern again with another flask of oil at some point, Abraxas gasped and the group watched as his eyes dimmed and color returned to them once again. “Huzzah!” He roared, jumping up and dancing around. “I can see! See!! Hahahah!”
The group spun with him in thanks as the Fighter reveled in his reborn sight. “Hokay, new rule. We kill everyone that Corfuck thinks is important and don’t stop until the maricon is broken bloody carcass under our botas!”
“Here, Here.”
The party broke camp and after making sure the hall was clear (>Hear Noise, Red 68), moved the cabinet aside and left the Lower Barracks once again. “To zee stuck door and then zee water room?” the elf confirmed, getting 5 nods in reply. He and Brendon went first, heading to the door across the hall and then the stairs going up. At the top of the steps they looked at the line of grain they had placed there and smiled seeing it had not been disturbed. “Excellent.”
Opening the door they also checked the hall on this side – and again, no disturbing grain. As for the Adepts, they were missing, but blood smears on the floor showed they had been dragged north. Not wanting a repeat of last time, they travelled south, Brendon stopping to listen to each door as they travelled and Abraxas kept up a stead eye watching the party’s rear. (No roll needed).
It took a few extra minutes but the group was satisfied and eventually made their way back to the SITTING ROOM and stopped here. Relaxing a moment, Brendon went back to the last door they could not open on the West wall and listened one last time (<Hear Noise, Red 24) confident there was nothing to be heard. The door was not locked, merely stuck and forced closed.
Kovid grunted. “I really tried, Abraxas. Don’t think I can open it.”
Sheathing his sword and holding his shield high, the fighter clapped the dwarf on the shoulder and smiled. “Don’t worry, mi amigo! I have this well in sight!”
“In hand, you mean.”
“No, manus are good, si? But eyes, sight, that is the best!”
The group fanned out, weapons at the ready, Lannis hissing, “Nipples are twitching, Abraxas. No yelling, and do it quietly, ok?”
“Si!” He gripped the handle and started to push. “Uno for the money…Duo for the show…and Tres!” (<Open Door, Blue 1) the portal shuddered forward, caught, stuck, and then shuddered again before opening with a steady pop and opening to the right.
Revealing what was at one point in time the Castle’s WEAPONS ROOM but had been stripped clean. And the contents though, had Abraxas dance backwards and swear, “Madre de la dios! Bodies!”
“Oh my god!”
There were bodies on the floor, a variety of moderately fresh bodies. Nine of them were elven, four were human; 6 were men, 7 were women. From their ruined clothes and general appearance they were most likely accosted here in the wild as they had the look of travelers, trappers, or hunters about them. But they had been killed within the last few months based upon the rot and smell coming off of them. What was disturbing was all the elves had their ears cut off, leaving bloody stumps on the sides of their heads.
Also, every one of them had their right foot and left hand cut off, but where they were was not known. Brendon was carefully looking around the room, stepping gingerly about to avoid trodding on any of them. “Stinks in here,” he muttered. “The bodies, somewhat wet.” He stopped and breathed shallowly, touching one of them while Lyra was muttering to be careful. Pulling his fingers back he sniffed them and made a face. “Piss. It’s goblin piss.”
“What?”
“Fucking greenskins pissed on the bodies after dumping them in here.” He looked around using the 4’ handle as a prod, pushing clothes aside. “Ah,” he said, pushing one of the clothes a bit aside on one of the elven women. “Traveling priestess.” The group could see the elven women had a wooden holy symbol to Morigaan, elven goddess of the harvest and wheat – the same that had been worshipped here in the Ispan’s castle.
“Those scum,” Lyra cursed eyes scanning the room. She then gasped and stepped in, Wyn trying to grab her as she ducked under his fingers and pulled the side of one of the human woman’s shirt open. The putrifying chest flesh wasn’t what she stopped to look at.
It was the wooden holy symbol on this very dead travelling human priestess’s body. The same looking holy symbol of the red haired goddess that Lyra wore. Aine.
“Mother fucker,” she cursed. “Fucking mother fucker.”
Time now is 1:16
Explore Xp: 15 xp each!
Ok…that is horrible. What would the party like to talk about and where would they like to go?
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