Flocking Around
As Helga opened her mouth to scream a warning, into the beam of her lantern flew several Stirges.
Then the rest of the flock arrived.
Li Kung swung his glaive around in a frantic defensive pattern, hoping to cut the creatures down before they reached him, with singular lack of success. The little suckers quickly covered the party like a swarm of dire mosquitos, pushing their probosci (sic) deep into their flesh, preparing to fill themselves with hot, sweet blood. (Mwah, ha, ha!)
Helga tried shooting the few unattached stirges, Gaelle’s arrow sent a stirge off into the darkness as a kebab and Li Kung attempted to pull one of his out of his chest while the rest hacked at the creatures with whatever small weapons they had. With some success as well, thanks to immense strength and cleaving ability.
They weren’t quite successful enough, however, as all of them suffered significant blood loss.
This is where they could have done with a Sleep spell. Unfortunately, the arcanist only knew magic missile. Oh dear.
They could only both desperately stab at and feed the stirges.
Twelve seconds later, covered in each other’s blood from burst stirges, the party teetered on the edge of both an effectively bottomless cavern and death. So, darkness beckoned either way.
They could hear several of the vile beasts flapping heavily into the dark to digest their breakfast.
Seriously shagged, but far too treasure-hungry to give in to near-terminal desangification, the brave party decided to continue down the stair into the waiting darkness.
This decisiveness lasted less than a minute before reason prevailed (Gracientus REALLY didn’t want to go on with 4 hit points and 1 CON) so they retreated back to the top of the stairs.
After some hours of trudging with frequent fag breaks they arrived back at the Hark’s lair, Gaelle and Cord huffing and puffing with fatigue and Seigfried buoyed up only by his enormous charisma.
As they climbed gingerly down the ladder they could hear the squeaking of dire rats and sneaked through the ashes of Helga’s fire and crept out into the daylight, heading back to their inn and a couple of days rest and several good long sleeps.
Helga was very worried that whatever treasure the Hark had (and that they hadn’t found) would be taken by the watchmen who should have cleared out the lair while they were further underground.
“We’ll just have to nick some stuff then.” suggested Cord. “Knock over a merchant outside the town.”
Helga took care of the others and Gracientus supplemented her medical attention with spells, partially restoring the party, but they required 2 further days of complete rest to bring them to enough health to return to the Hark’s lair to hunt for his treasure.
Cord called a meeting on the second day to discuss the pitiful booty they had gained.
“409GP between six isn’t much for all that work” agreed Li Kung.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m in this for personal power and money and I don’t give a toss how I get it.” explained Cord. There was general agreement to his sentiments.
“I don’t mind doing these big jobs but I could probably earn more by knocking off a merchant. With less risk. So, I suggest that we head back to Byzantium and do just that, if one happens to fall across our path.”
Li Kung agreed with the idea but was a little worried about gaining an unfavourable reputation.
Helga also wanted lots of money, but also wanted a base so she could establish a laboratory to research the strange stuff that was happening to her.
Seigfried was happy to make a name for himself bringing lawbreakers to justice. And he didn’t understand much of what was being said around him anyway.
Gaelle, now she had some money, wanted to take a month or so off from bounty hunting to make herself a new bow.
“We have horses,” explained Cord sagely, “so we could have a base somewhere we don’t break the law and travel somewhere else to get what we need.”
Asked his view, Gracientus told them that he had been sent out into the world by his superiors in the Temple of Set to gain experience and prove himself worthy of further training, as well as providing interesting items of treasure for Maxis, the High Priest. Bounty hunting seems to be quite an exciting life, at least so far, and he was very interested in continuing his association with them.
Cord, feeling healthy, went to the watchhouse to report success, much to the amazement and chagrin of the desk sergeant. He had ‘All Killed’ in the watch sweep and would now have to give his winnings back.
Just to be sure, he asked for proof of their success and was shown the head.
The watch captain, alerted to the facts offered his congratulations and 30 silvers pay for the week they had been militiamen. There was also a reward for the Hark’s demise, posted by the Mayor. A not unwelcome 500 gold.
After the captain had gone back to his office to continue his hard day’s feet up on desk, Cord asked the sergeant how his lad’s had got on down the Hark’s Lair, only to be told that they had a look around without finding anything. Apparently, the Hark’s lads decided not to stick around.
Back at the inn the rest of the party were still discussing their next move.
“Why was the Hark such a big problem around here? He can’t have been any good with that pitiful excuse for a hoard.” Li Kung wondered.
Looking at the map of his lair Helga had an idea. “What if there was something hidden in the lower level? It would explain the pit and the fungus-thing. There must be something there worth guarding.”
“Obviously, the watch didn’t explore the caverns as they didn’t kill the dire rats and didn’t find any more treasure” added Cord upon his return. In fact, the watch hadn’t actually sent anyone out there. They had lost far too many men to the Hark’s thieves to storm his lair on the say of a bunch of gung ho strangers.
Gaelle suggested that, as they had done the local Thieves’ Guild a favour in taking out the Hark, they might be able to get a refund on their temporary membership fee. Li Kung went out to scratch cant signs around the town, asking for a meeting.
Soon afterwards he was contacted and went to the meeting, which went quite well. Li Kung explained that they had done the Guild a big favour and boldly asked what favours were worth.
“What do you want? Membership?”
“Money. We’re not staying around here.”
The Guild representative had a little think and offered 400 gold as a reward and leaving gift.
Li Kung was feeling particularly lucky and explained that 420 gold would make it a lot easier for them to share out the reward.
Not fully believing his ears, but rather looking forward to seeing the back of these adventurers, the Guild rep agreed, “I’m cutting me own throat, but OK. Anytime you want to come back, you can have membership. I know the others aren’t actually thieves but we won’t hold that against them after they’ve sworn the oaths.”
On the way back to the inn, Li Kung wondered what the Guild in this poxy town could possibly offer that would draw them back. Unless they took it over, of course. Hmm.
Later, with Helga’s aid, Li Kung managed to find someone to repair his nearly knackered glaive.
Helga continued to push for a return to the Hark’s lair to search for the treasure that he must have had.
Eventually the others relented and the next day, restored to full health and stocked with lamp oil, headed back to the caves.
May 25th 1699
Bright and early, well, sometime after a leisurely breakfast, our heroes found themselves outside the Hark’s former lair, pondering upon the weather. It had been sunny and warm for some time. Ever since they arrived in Starros, in fact. They didn’t think it too odd, just that the rain would doubtless return as soon as they were back on the road. Cord was actually considering getting (though probably not actually paying for) a carriage for when they finally left the town.
The smell of burning hay had dissipated over the last few days and there was no sound of rats inside.
Helga headed for where they knew a pit trap to be situated. Unable to find it by feeling around, she decided to gingerly trip the trap and, therefore, discover where it was, hopefully without discovering what was at the bottom.
She managed to set the trap off without overbalancing into the deep hole revealed. She shone the lantern down the hole, unable to see either an opening in the side walls or the bottom. It smelled a bit funny as well.
Not wanting to push their luck at this time, the party decided to return to the entrance and go round the other side to where Philp’s map had “Fungus” marked on it.
They crept round the corner and lo, a strange fungus-thing was indeed present.
Gaelle identified it as Violet Fungus, but didn’t know how best to deal with it.
Figuring that fire normally worked with growing things, Helga used her magical powers to upend a couple of oil flasks over the “creature” while Li Kung retired to a place of relative safety, in case of an explosion.
Gaelle prepared a fire arrow, which she lit from the lantern and shot into the fungus, setting it alight.
The fungus’ tendrils thrashed around, as if in extreme pain, for nearly a minute before it subsided into a stinking, smoking mound. Gaelle put two more arrows into it – just to be sure – and the fungus collapsed into a heap.
After waiting for the fire to die out and the acrid smoke to clear they entered the cavern and had a poke around. Li Kung and Gracientus stayed on guard while Helga hunted about, noticing a small secret door a couple of feet square on one wall.
Concerned that it might contain another fungus with tendrils that could whip out at her, Helga took great care in opening the compartment, having not found any traps (after Gaelle prompted her to actually look for them), with the others alert and awaiting attack.
A roughly square area of wall detached itself and swung out, revealing a semi-circular hole, through which Helga spotted a brief glint – though she couldn’t tell if it was a gem or an eye in the darkness.
Lying down on the floor and shining the lantern inside, she could see a great deal of shiny dots within the chamber, possibly crystals in the rock wall.
The rest of the party became somewhat uneasy as Helga exuded a thin film of odourless slime all over her body – she looked like she had been smeared in Vaseline – then crawled silently through the hole. She was worried about another fungus-creature grappling her.
“What the hell are you?” asked Gaelle as the Nordic half-slug disappeared into the tunnel.
Pausing in the end of the tunnel, Helga could not hear anything so stood up in the glittery cave, shining her lantern around. Li Kung followed her, glad that the slime trail seemed to have quickly disappeared, with the others behind.
Helga had a good look around while she was waiting for the others to arrive. She could see quite a few pits in the walls, like small chunks had been removed - perhaps, this was where the Hark got his wealth?
All inside, the party gazed around in wonder at the beautifully sparkly chamber. It was like standing inside a huge geode. After a few moments, they formed up into a line and moved, not particularly quietly, across the chamber to a rough passage and through it into an even more twinkly chamber.
Though making a fair amount of noise, they could hear many legs clicking around them, echoing round the chamber. Gaelle opened up her lantern and stepped in, looking up to see a shape in the darkness above them. Dropping the lantern she grabbed an arrow and shot whatever it was.
Cord stepped past the Ranger and was slashed across the shoulder by the something. Looking up, he could see two monstrous centipedes above them, one of them with his blood on its mandibles.
Li Kung, having seen an enormous mouth appear out of nowhere and take a chunk out of Cord, stepped in and swung his glaive into the darkness above the entrance.
Then the centipedes attacked. A set of massive fangs entered Helga’s chest and exuded some horrible muck into the wound while another nearly bit Li Kung in half. He could feel the vile poison coursing through his veins, partially paralysing him. Helga pulled out of the combat, though not carefully enough to avoid the jaws of the centipede and managed to get out of reach before slumping against the wall.
Seigfried, figuring that they couldn’t react to everything that came close, moved in against the bug that had almost eaten Helga.
Gracientus decided that combat would be bad for his health and Blessed the party.
Gaelle took a small chunk out of a centipede’s chitin, while Cord stepped in and carved a somewhat larger gash in its head.
Li Kung, also trying to preserve his health, banged his glaive on his foe’s head before tumbling out of reach and attracting Gracientus’ attention to his gaping wounds, oozing with dark venom.
Gaelle could only watch in horror as the gargantuan maw closed around her shoulder and her legs felt decidedly leaden as the poison did its work. Cord was also bitten again, though his body was better able to defeat the foul venom.
Seigfried and an almost bloodless Helga drew centipede ichor while Gracientus healed Li Kung.
Gaelle took a step backwards and shot two arrows into the wall.
Cord, imposingly erect in the face of a 35 foot centipede, stuck his enormous weapon deep into the beast’s brain pan, amazingly hitting its brain, and managed to pull his sword free as the centipede collapsed on the floor.
Li Kung tumbled back into the fray and spanged his glaive off the remaining bug’s body.
He did manage, however, to attract its attention. After the centipede had withdrawn its frightening mouthparts Li Kung’s leg was only held on by the tendons and he had little blood left in his venom stream.
Helga struck the monster with a magic missile and Seigfried lobbed a dagger in its rough direction.
Gracientus took Gaelle’s spear and threw it towards Seigfried and Cord, who ran forward, picked up Li Kung’s glaive and startled the centipede into headbutting the wall.
Gaelle shot again, chipping the bug’s armour before it snapped its mouth towards Cord.
Another magic missile from Helga and Seigfried picked up Gaelle’s spear, preparing it for his next attack.
Gracientus, one eye on the bug, reached out and called upon the holy power of Set to knit Li Kung’s horrific wound.
Gaelle, feeling out of position, tumbled away and ricocheted another arrow off the centipede, which leaned forward and swished its mandibles past Cord’s head.
A third magic missile from Helga and Seigfried poked the bug with the spear.
Gracientus, trying to increase Seigfried’s strength, was not careful enough and received a set of teeth in his arm for his troubles.
Gaelle hit the wall twice more, before Cord put a crease in the bug’s head. It turned its attention to Seigfried, its teeth scraping across his armour, before he stuck the spear into the creature’s body.
An arrow from Gaelle and Cord carved the centipede’s face in two, venom and ichor spraying across the cavern.
Luckily Cord was able to roll Li Kung out of the way before the centipede’s body hit the floor.
“That’s a coat ruined. Bastard!” moaned Li Kung, gritting his teeth against the pain and moving in a straight line like Mr. Blobby.
“Where’s my glaive?”
“Under that” answered Cord.
“Start digging” suggested Seigfried, helpfully.
After Gracientus had dispensed his quota of Set’s healing power, Helga looked up at the two holes some twenty feet above them and wondered if they were full of centipede babies. At least it would be an easy climb, even easier for a Wererat.
Gaelle, thinking that they couldn’t both be treasure troves, hunted around for signs of the Hark visiting one of the dark, quiet holes. She eventually saw past all the gargantuan centipede trails to find faint wereratty prints, leading to one of the entrances.
“You going to go first, then,” asked Helga, “only I’m down to a pint of blood here.”
The ranger, feeling surprisingly fit and with a new twinge of magical potentiality (she went up a level), led the way up the twinkly rock face to the obviously natural opening, followed by the others. It wasn’t a difficult climb but, thanks to all the crystals embedded in the rock, it was a bit painful. Not that Helga minded.
The short tube opened into a chamber without gemstones in the wall. Strangely dull after the technicolour sparkle of the geode, and containing two lumpy sacks and a chest.
Kneeling quietly for a few moments (and for a change), Helga concentrated on discerning any magical emanations within the chamber, noticing the pulse of dweomer within the chest.
Turning her normal sight to the sacks, she attempted to find evidence of traps and actually found one, in the cord that secured the top of a sack.
Using her magic she untied both cords, lifted them away from the sacks and deposited them on the other side of the chamber, all without touching them. She then opened the sacks in the same manner and peered inside.
One sack contained several small pouches, found to contain gems when Helga used her Mage Hand to open one. Her spell effect brought one of the gems to her so she could appraise its worth – an amethyst worth a couple of gold pieces.
The other, rather lumpier, sack also contained pouches along with assorted gem encrusted gold tableware.
Woo hoo. They KNEW the Hark must have had a stash.
Turning her attention to the chest Helga ineptly checked it over for traps, barely avoided bending her favourite lockpick AND took a fusillade of darts in the face. Luckily, her body was able to shrug off the poison that coated them.
At this moment, the centipedes’ poison took further effect. Li Kung turned an interesting shade of green as, with Gracientus’ help, he barely avoided being paralysed (0 DEX).
Helga fought through a wave of weakness and realised that there was no chance that she could pick the lock in her condition.
Considering carrying it out, Gaelle decided to chuck it out of the tunnel into the geode, thereby forcefully opening it.
Li Kung suggested that anything breakable inside might be rendered useless, which stopped that idea in its tracks.
“Bring a thief along and she turns out to be bloody useless,” whinged the thwarted ranger.
“Good for some things, but not this,” defended Helga.
“Your Healing is much appreciated,” admitted (grudgingly) Gaelle before tying a rope around the chest and lowering it over the edge, down to the glittering floor.
Cord suggested battering the hinges off the back, while Helga reckoned it was worth much more whole than in pieces and tried to “disable” the hinges with her light tools. Gaelle reckoned that the casket was worth good money so was reluctant to see it damaged unnecessarily and suggested getting Helga some better quality lockpicks when they got back to town.
“I need heavier tools for this. Maybe later” decided Helga.
Having decided that they had now liberated the Hark’s treasure, Helga disappeared back into the “treasure room” to look for further secret doors.
She hunted for twenty minutes before standing on tiptoe and examining a tiny ledge, all but invisible from below, on which she found a key. Just about the right size for the casket.
Returning to the geode, Helga slipped the key gingerly into the lock of the casket and turned it.
Clickedy-click (the lock unlocking) click click (the trap disarming).
Opening the casket, Helga saw a rather nice velvet lining with a glass flask and a book.
“Idiot’s Guide to Were-Creatures,” suggested Seigfried.
“More likely his spellbook,” reasoned Li Kung, “though he might have trapped it as well.”
Helga couldn’t find any traps from a cursory examination.
Not willing to leave just yet, Helga climbed up to the second opening, finding a small chamber devoid of interest. Oh well.
“We climbed up, we climbed down,” moaned Gaelle. “We climbed up, we climbed down. We climbed up, we climbed down.”
“Well, you had put a few pounds on,” noted Cord, helpfully.
The party decided it would be a good idea to return to the inn for another night, to rest and heal, then leave town in the morning.
As they entered the inn the innkeeper approached them, asking when they would be paying something towards their bill. They had originally said they would be staying for a couple of days and now, more than a week later, he hadn’t seen any of their gold.
Cord assured him they’d pay in the morning.
“Uppity lout,” almost-sub-vocalised Li Kung, to the innkeepers receding figure.
“Why don’t we hire a doctor, to treat our injuries,” asked Cord.
It sounded like a good idea so Helga spoke to the innkeeper about it. She was pointed towards an old woman who lived down the street, who might be available to treat their poison injuries.
“We’d like to hire you to treat some of our companions who have been poisoned”
“Poisoned!” exclaimed the old woman. “Where are you staying?”
“It’s OK, they were bitten by giant centipedes. We’d like to hire you to look after us today”
Reassured that her dinner wouldn’t kill her, the healer-woman said she was busy today, but Cord had a plan.
“We’ll pay you double what the other people are paying you.”
“Lead on,” said the old woman, grabbing her bag.
After the crone’s tender ministrations, and some more of the Holy Power of Set, the heroes felt a lot better the next morning. All except Seigfried, who had a rather unquiet night.
He woke, covered in sweat, with blood dribbling down his chin from a bitten tongue (his own), out of a dream filled with blood.
He was seeing through the eyes of a crazed murderer. Himself.
People were being dismembered before his eyes, by his own hands. Arms and legs everywhere. Entrails formed a fountain around his head.
The worst thing, however, was the laughter. Mad cackling of a deranged man.
His own voice.
When the others saw the blood caking Seigfried’s chin, Gaelle thought he’d eaten someone during the night.
“What was the moon’s phase last night?” Helga asked no-one in particular.
Between them they remembered that Luna had been waxing and was still a few days from full, so Seigfried wasn’t a Wererat. Probably.
After breakfast, Helga sat down to check the casket and its contents for magic.
The book was bathed in magical energy (abjuration), as were both the flask and the casket itself (conjuration).
They still assumed that the book was the Hark’s spellbook.
After parting with gold to pay the innkeeper (following a protracted discussion about what could be considered reasonable cost) they mounted their horses and headed south.
Still feeling a little poor, they agreed that if they came across “an opportunity for remuneration” they would take it. Seigfried didn’t really understand what they were suggesting, and no-one took the time to explain it more fully.
Extraordinarily, they were on the road and it wasn’t raining.
That night, they found a dell for their camp, but were having second thoughts about one of them being a Wererat. Seigfried, specifically.
“Better to be tied up all night than hairy and dead before morning”, suggested Cord.
“Why do I have to be tied up?” asked a worried Seigfried.
“If you are a lycanthrope and you turn, you will become a murderous slavering beast,” explained Li Kung, helpfully, “and we will probably have to kill you”.
“Probably?” interjected Gaelle.
“But I will be tied up out in the open. At night!”
“You’re with your friends and companions,” said Cord, hoping the irony escaped the sometimes dense Germanian. “And, if we are attacked during the night, Gracientus could untie you.”
Helga even offered to tie him up. That failed to put Seigfried any more at ease – there was a worrying glint in her eye as she suggested it.
“OK, as long as you don’t do anything weird,” Seigfried told Helga, a little concerned that she might try something after she had him at her mercy.
“Bar tying you up, you mean,” added Cord, helpfully.
Minutes later, Seigfried was trussed like a turkey and leant against a tree (with his back to it as there might be an Uruk in the area and it was apparently common knowledge that Uruks would shag anything).
Cord chose to be on watch when Luna was at its zenith, as he would have the best chance of taking Seigfried out if he both turned into a Wererat and escaped his bonds.
Next morning, Helga untied Seigfried, who had actually managed to get a decent night’s kip.
She then checked the horses, discerning that they had the correct number of legs between them, so they hadn’t missed anything during the night.
And it had started to rain.
By the next evening they arrived back at the bridge over the estuary, where Gracientus asked to stop for an hour so he could perform his devotions to Set. While he was praying, Helga tied Seigfried up again.
Cord explained to Seigfried that they would need to tie him up for another month of nights, just to be sure.
“So, 26 to go”.
“You might get to like it,” suggested Li Kung, prompting much jollity among those of his companions who could understand Graecae. Unfortunately, Seigfried didn’t understand what they were saying, only that the joke was at his expense.
May 28th 1699
Next morning, after untying Seigfried, they rode across the bridge, passing a merchant train going the other way.
“Lucky they met us here,” murmured Li Kung as they passed, heading back toward Byzantium.
Staying the next night in an inn, Seigfried was glad to be tied to a bed rather than to a tree.
He again had an unquiet slumber, wracked with nightmares. First, he was bound and helpless, then the now familiar scenes of carnage surrounded him.
Upon waking, he saw that he was covered in blood and cried out before really waking up, tied to the bed.
Helga, who had been watching Seigfried during the night, asked about his dreams and, after Seigfried described them in detail pronounced, “They are probably psychosomatic. Let’s eat”
May 29th 1699
Pressing on, they arrive back at Byzantium after dark, both Luna and Leos full in the sky.
They found themselves at the Griffin’s Paw Inn, a Watch hang-out, and chose to take rooms for the night.
The Watchmen in the inn sized up the new arrivals, noted their significantly better kit and larger weapons and decided to keep their heads down and eyes averted until the newcomers started anything.
Gracientus thought he’d stay with Seigfried that night to see if he could find out anything about his dreams, though the troubled Germanian had a quiet night.
May 30th 1699
After breakfast, they went to the Hunter’s Guild.
“Ah, you’re back, are you?” said a slightly surprised Herkin, standing up from behind his desk. “Were you successful?”
“This bag is worth 1000 gold pieces to us,” Gaelle told him, holding up a smelly, blood-stained sack.
Looking inside the bag, Herkin agreed that it was the Hark – they had had word that the party were bringing the head back, and it did look like a Hobgoblin.
It would take a couple of hours to get the cash released so they decided to wait around, checking the bounties posted.
They noticed one for the Uruk, Kron, though he was only worth 200 gold. Cord thought that a little high for an unknown, but he was wanted for attempting to defraud the Hunter’s Guild and involuntary slaying of three Watchmen (resisting arrest, including biting one’s arm off).
After they had stood around getting bored for two hours, Herkin returned and handed them a bag of platinum coins. The denomination didn’t worry the party, only the quantity.
They enquired about a reasonably honest person to whom they could offload all the gems and gold tableware they had collected. Gaelle asked Helga to watch Herkin, to make sure he wasn’t sending them to some shady dealer from whom he’d get a commission.
Herkin sent them to Massos, who was capable of handling large quantities of low-grade gems.
Li Kung spent his time scrutinising the bounties posted to find the highest paying one. What he found wasn’t so much a bounty as a “hunting reward” for a number of beasts that had been plaguing farmland to the east, ripping cows up in the fields. From the description, “cats, twice as big as a man, big claws and wings”, they assumed them to be manticores.
The reward was 2500 gold for removal of the problem.
The bounty on Kron was the best actual bounty.
“If you like,” Herkin said, “you’ve proved yourselves to be accomplished hunters. You could apply for membership of the Guild. You’d get preferential treatment, you can leave kit and stay here. You’d get discounts from certain weapon dealers in Byzantium. All for 500 gold each.”
“We could probably just about scrape that up between us, but I don’t think we’ll take up you kind offer at this time,” replied Gaelle, in an unusual moment of charm and politeness.
Finding Massos’ shop, one of the largest in the Jewellers’ Quarters, they showed him their wares.
Gaelle prompted Helga to suggest that if he gave them a good deal they would bring all their ill-gotten gains to him.
After careful consideration he offered them 1250 gold for the lot. “Please come again.”
Next stop, the Byzantium branch of the Society of Mages, Sages, Alchemists and Other Professional Thinking Persons (generally called “The Mages’ Guild”).
“To discern all dweomers on the contents of the casket will require a deposit of 100 gold, the total charge to be calculated based on the magics necessary to complete the task,” intoned a bored-looking clerk at the Guild.
“Fair enough,” replied Gaelle,” we’ll come back in a couple of days”.
Seigfried wanted them to find out how powerful his armour was, Helga handed over the unknown shortsword and Gaelle fished out two unknown potions, for immediate Identification. A few minutes, and 210 gold pieces of work later, they got their answers.
Gracientus decided to return to the Temple of Set, to get tuition in reading Nhaghashk (the tongue of the more “civilised” Orcs - so he could use the scrolls they had picked up in the mines of Darak) and some conversational Germanic (so someone in the party other than Helga could speak to Seigfried).
“What’s the plan then, guys,” asked Cord.
“Wait a couple of days, collect our stuff then go kill manticores?,” suggested Helga, cheerfully.
“The reward would pay for our accommodation for the next month or so,” added Gaelle.
“The thing is,” considered Li Kung, “when we went up against the Hark, we gained much more from the thieves, in terms of their kit, than we got in money. If we went after the manticores we would get money, but probably no more than that. They’re unlikely to have any treasure.
I wonder; would it be better to find a Wizard’s Tower or Temple to knock over.”
“Well, whatever we do, I want to take time out to make my bow,” explained Gaelle, who had wanted to construct her own bow ever since she got her first one.
“Spending a month resting would be much easier if we had 2500 gold,” said Helga.
“Yeah,” countered Cord, “but that is only 500 each.”
Cord and Li Kung couldn’t see any good reason to laze around not getting any richer while Gaelle worked on her bow, and Gaelle didn’t want to miss out on a month of adventures.
Despite the arguments that they could use whatever money they gained from selling the potions and spellbook to buy a bow for Gaelle, it became clear that constructing her own bow was something she just had to do.
After discussing the issue deep into the evening it was decided that the others would “get jobs” for the intervening time – spending time bodyguarding, doing the odd bounty, teaching merchants’ sons to swing swords, etc.
That evening, Gaelle sat down and seriously considered how long it would take her to make the bow and figured that it would actually take four months. The others weren’t too perturbed with spending this length of time in Byzantium, though Cord was a little concerned that it didn’t further his goal of gaining personal wealth and power.
Two days later, they were called to the Mages’ Guild to collect their items.
The casket had a magical fire trap on it, which was deactivated by using the key, in addition to the poison dart trap on the lock. The book was indeed a spellbook, which was also fire-trapped.
The potion was one of Restoration. A rare and expensive item: much more powerful than the normally accepted maximum for a potion. They would very much like to do some more investigation on it.
------
The summer passed in gainful employ and the shadows had begun to lengthen toward autumn when the party were again ready to hit the road in search of other peoples’ riches.
During the summer, Gaelle had spent a day out in the country calling an animal companion.
After 8 hours of concentration and meditation, a large dog padded out of a field and sat down beside her, waiting patiently for her to come out of her trance and notice him.
------
