D&D 5E (IC) Fitz's Folly

[FitzTheRuke]

A horn blew from the nearest watchtower to alert the camp of the new arrivals, and a soldier up there waved to the Sticks that they had permission to tie off their canoe and to proceed to the gate. On closer inspection, the walled compound was not quite as impressive as it had looked from afar. The timber and construction of the walls was shoddy and make-shift. Still, they had done an impressive job to build the camp so quickly with little in the way of proper supplies. It was evident that they did not lack for shovels, or labour, for the entire compound was surrounded in a deep moat half-full of muddy water.

Particular care and the best of the materials had been given to the gatehouse, which had a large door up a steep slope. Above the door was a room with shuttered arrow-slits, and above that, an open fighting platform. It was there that two guards were joined by an officer, newly arrived to greet potential guests.

"Welcome to Camp Vengeance, travellers." called the officer in a friendly tone, "I am Captain Perne Salhana, third in command. State your business and your health, and we will see if we can open the gate for you."

 

[Fradak]

"Chrysagon of Mir, Iron Brother of the Eternal Order. We are the Sticks and we were sent by Sir Alister Bol, Paladin of Elturel to find you, Perne Salhana. And I thanks Lord Kelemvor who has guided us to you."

 

[FitzTheRuke]

"Yes, that will do quite nicely." smiled Perne, "Welcome Brother Chrysagon and the Sticks. Open the gates!"

As the gates slowly opened, Perne climbed the ladder to meet the Sticks on the ground. Beyond the gates was a beleaguered camp with poor drainage. The ground was a surface of mud, with deep puddles rife with mosquitoes. The great command tent at its centre was flanked by two tents packed with sick people and tired-looking caregivers. On the left was an animal pen that had been built for pigs, but now only held four scrawny goats.

Catching their expressions, Perne said quietly, "Yes, it's only marginally better than the jungle."

 

[Kobold Stew]

Miss Imogen disembarks, soaking the hem of her skirt in the process. She hauls the canoe up out of the water once the others are out, but she stumbles as she does so. When it's finally clear, she wrings out her skirt, and wipes her hands.

She looks around, and decides quickly to see if there is a place she can help. She is not medical, but she can cook, and offers to help in the kitchen. If she's accepted, she will help out there. If not, she will go play with the goats.

When she gets a chance, she asks someone if they can tell her any news about Commander Breakbone.

 

[Ancalagon]

"of course you may string your bow" murmured Rodrigo. "It may be wise..."

He didn't like the look of the camp. The unhurried bodies indicated a dangerous break in discipline, and behavior unlike what he expected from the followers of the Order of the Gauntlet.

"Rodrigo di Castalone, and I too am happy we found you, it was a long journey. Sir Bol is quite concerned about what is going on and wishes to know what has happened to the camp. What are all these unhurried bodies outside your walls, captain Perne? And what happened at camp righteous?"

 

[gargoyleking]

Harb, in his usual way, helped Miss Imogen to handle the canoe. Afterwards, as they were allowed to enter the camp, he saw the sick tents and spoke quietly Perne. "What ails these people?"

 

[FitzTheRuke]

As Miss Imogen slipped off to see where she could be useful, she overheard Perne speaking to Harb and Rodrigo, "Commander Breakbone is in a meeting with some of our scouts. I will introduce him to you soon. This gods-forsaken jungle is rife with threats. Camp Righteous was not defensible enough to stand. Night after night we were, and are still, beset by undead. Not every night, but more often than not. One night there were so many that we were forced to retreat. Here, we are more able to defend ourselves: The body-piles you see outside are the most recent. Still, we are beset by no end of troubles! Both burying and burning the bodies are near impossible tasks: Burning them has attracted great beasts during the day. These enormous carnivores seem to be attracted to the smell of burning meat. To make matters worse, we are very low on clean water, and burying them is thirsty work."

While she spoke, Miss Imogen met the woman who was in charge of the sick and wounded, Sister Cyas. A priestess of Helm, she looked as if she was as skilled at creating wounds as mending them. Today, however, she looked tired. "We've got nearly a third of our folk in the sick tents." she told Miss Imogen after introducing herself, "Two bitten by beasts; one fall from the watchtower; six with the shivering sickness; two cases of mad monkey fever; three with throat leeches. Finally, we have newly arrived, a scout who's poisoned by a pocket of swamp-gas. We've got less than a gallon of truly clean water and all our linens are mouldering."

 

[Fradak]

"The Sticks would be happy to bring their help before continuing on our mission. Kelemvor bless could easily fix your water problem or close some flesh wounds and if needed, care for the dying soldiers. Lets meet your Commander as soon as possible."

 

[Kobold Stew]

While she spoke, Miss Imogen met the woman who was in charge of the sick and wounded, Sister Cyas. A priestess of Helm, she looked as if she was as skilled at creating wounds as mending them. Today, however, she looked tired. "We've got nearly a third of our folk in the sick tents." she told Miss Imogen after introducing herself, "Two bitten by beasts; one fall from the watchtower; six with the shivering sickness; two cases of mad monkey fever; three with throat leeches. Finally, we have newly arrived, a scout who's poisoned by a pocket of swamp-gas. We've got less than a gallon of truly clean water and all our linens are mouldering."

Miss Imogen's instinct was to share.

"Sister Cyas, let me help where I can. i do not have any medical skill. I had hoped to be able to help in the kitchen, but I had no idea the situation was so grave. We will not be a burden on you -- we have water with our own rations. I have some additional water I can share, too. It is not much, but if you have a clean container, I can transfer it to you."

She drops her pack and heaves out the jug with which she had been presented just a few days before. Its rough clay exterior and narrow mouth were not promising, but she knew that its contents were on top of whatever water they were carrying for themselves and their own use.

She says "Fresh water" and begins to pour. Eventually the jug is empty, though it continues to swish around as if it had more in it. She tries again, but nothing comes. She looks at the two buckets that have been filled and shrugs. "I am sorry there is no more."

OOC: Alchemy jug, produces 8 gallons of fresh water over 4 minutes. That's not quite as much as a Create Water spell, which presumably Cyas can cast, but Imogen maybe doesn't know that. It will help at least, though it will also be obvious that it is from a magical source. Miss Imogen is not dissembling. Also, does proficiency in cooking tools give the understanding that boiling water can purify and/or remove disease? Is that common knowledge? It wasn't in England until the 19th c. I know. Also, I imagine it has been almost ten days since they first received the fey blessing. I will assume that she can no longer Jump.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

OOC: I assume that they know very little of the cause of water-borne illness, but they know to boil water. (Well, anyone with medicine. I'll give you cooking prof. can do it too.) Trouble is, they are only allowed minimal fires. There are a few people who can cast spells, including the sister, but they've all been long out since early this morning. Taxed, is how I'd describe them.

"Any help will be of use, my dear." said Sister Cyas, putting a hand on Miss Imogen's shoulder. Miss Imogen shivered and pulled away reflexively. Sister Cyas nodded an let her go, respectfully.

A group of a dozen chultan natives and a clever-looking half-elf scout exited the command tent. The scoutmaster nodded to Perne and she turned to the Sticks and said "Let me introduce you to Commander Breakbone."