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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doc Donuts" data-source="post: 7642499" data-attributes="member: 6999815">Session 3, Part 1:Mel thanks Marq for the rescue, and they compare notes on spells for a bit until they both give up, each thinking the other is crazy for how they approach the Art.Vanal offers the ferryman a large tip to help him rebuild the raft. The man takes it and nods his head in thanks, too shaken to say anything.They look around for any signs of what had sent the elementals after them, but cannot find  anything. They are concerned. Neither Mel or Marq specialize in summoning, but they know that creatures of that potency are a good bit beyond them. An opponent that can summon three of that power, and have them stay long enough to attack them like that is a major threat.  They talk quietly among themselves whether or not this was a random attack or whether they were targeted specifically. Vanal brought up the two men who had followed Mel, and noted that the elementals attacked him first. Mel replies “They obviously went after the greatest threat first” then laughs, knowing he would likely be dead if Marq hadn’t rescued him. He is too happy to be alive to dwell on the fact that Marq’s magic proved most valuable in this conflict, something that would normally have bothered him greatly. Marq disagrees, convinced his mule might have been the real target, but says nothing, not wanting to disagree with his new friends. They continue on to Longmont without incident and meet up with Figorna and Ryll. Figorna tries very hard to look pleased to see Marq, but it is obvious to almost all of them that seeing him makes her very unhappy.For his part, Marq can’t stop smiling. It is great to see Figorna again, and he knows she thinks of him as a favored Uncle. He is happy receiving such a warm and loving welcome from her.One of Ryll’s many nephews helps Marq get the mule settled in the barn while the four friends catch up with each other.It turns out that Ryll and Figorna had run into trouble while they were gone. A Frost Drake was seen flying to the west, and the two had hunted it down and killed it so that it would not threaten the village. They talk briefly about Marq. Firgorna’s opinion is that he is an effective mage, and means well, but is more than a little crazy. She tells them he has difficulty in social situations and recommends they get him to leave as soon as possible; Mel and Vanal agree on the crazy diagnosis, but are not as keen on dumping him. He was very effective in the battle with the elementals, and they think having another mage would be helpful if they were targeted again.A few moments later Marq returns and proudly presents some fine cloth he had made himself for the bride and groom, who were still off honeymooning in Avenal.  He apologizes for not making it into clothing himself, but says he ran out of time. Ryll accepts the cloth for the bride and groom  and, while glancing at the unbelievably crudely tailored clothing made of the same fine cloth he is wearing, says that she would be happy to tailor the clothing herself.They spend the evening discussing old times, old gods, the life of bees and other insects (Marq), raising spiders for fun and profit (Marq again), and how beards are underrated for their storage capabilities (Marq again...). Ryll is very excited to learn from Mel that her people once had their own deity. She remembers an old temple about 15 miles away in the remains of a village that was abandoned a century earlier after an earthquake dried up the local spring. She had visited there as a kid and remembered her grandmother telling her to stay away from it, the god there was gone. She told them she found the place interesting because the temple was the only part of the town the forest didn’t reclaim, even though it had been decades since the place was abandoned. Her grandmother had lived there as a child, and told stories about how the place was haunted, and that no one would go on the old temple property at night out of fear. The story in the village at the time was that no would could remember a time that the temple had ever been used.Marq claims he is part dwarf, and that when he was growing up his grandmother had a small shrine to the goddess Helgei in her home.  None of the rest of them know what to make of this. With his short stature and broad shoulders he looks like he might have some dwarven heritage, but none of them had ever heard of human/dwarven crossbreeds, and Vanal in particular was outraged.  With all else that Marq has said that day none of the rest took him too seriously though, particularly after he told Ryll he had halfling ancestry too. They call it a night, and in the morning decide to check out the temple. The trip to the abandoned village will take a day and a half. The road to the village is no longer maintained, so Marq decides to leave his mule and dog behind. The first day is uneventful, and the next day they see the outlines of what was left of the village.The buildings are mostly gone, overtaken by trees and undergrowth, with little more than foundations remaining. Two hundred halflings once lived here, but once the spring dried up they eventually left, with the last resident leaving almost 100 years ago. Ryll leads them through the town towards the old temple. They pass a larger stone building that is still partially standing and don't notice the figure crouched on the roof until they are almost on top of it. With a hideous screech it takes to the air and spits a line of acid from one of its three heads."Chimera" Vanal shouts as he rolls to try to evade the acid. He is only partially successful. Figorna and Marq are badly burned. Everyone scatters and takes cover. Another burst of acid flies out from beside the building and catches Marq directly in the face. "My beard" he croaks in dismay as he falls to the ground.Vanal again partially dodges this second attack and moves in to attack it, glad to have an opponent on the ground where he can get to it. The first chimera flies over another building and spits again, this time at Ryll. She manages to dodge most of it and calmly shoots it three times with her crossbow. Figorna hits it twice too, and Mel, not wanting to feel left out bathes it in lightening. It screeches in pain, lands and turns toward Ryll. She gets gored by one head, bitten by two more and is clawed twice.  In return it eats another lightning bolt and two more arrows. Ryll takes a step back and fires again, and appears disappointed and more than a little concerned that it is still standing. Meanwhile Vanal is getting battered too, and takes his gore, bite and claw attacks like a man. He responds by hitting two heads with his flail. Unfortunately all it seems to do is make his opponent even more angry.  Hoping that he will get some help soon he stoically continues to fight. Both chimeras attack again with their acid attacks. Both Ryll and Vanal avoid the worst of the attacks, but in Ryll's case that means she just is just unconscious, not dead. Covered in chimera acid and his own blood Vanal grits his teeth and attacks again, wondering what the rest of the group is doing and why they aren't helping him. Ryll's opponent can't follow up on its attack though, it falls to the ground surrounded by a halo of lightning. Figorna rushes over and stabilizes her while Mel runs to heal Marq, hoping that Vanal can hold out one more round. Neither one is able to revive their companion with a single spell, but its enough to keep them from dying.Figorna drops her bow and pulls her sword as she rounds the corner and sees Vanal barely standing but still attacking. She slips along side him and he gratefully takes a step back, forcing the Chimera to decide who to attack. Mel takes that decision out of its hands, casting a spell that causes the Chimera to begin shuddering. None of them but Mel realizes this must be how Chimeras laugh, but they waste no time killing it, which takes a while. Behind it they see three much smaller halfling sized Chimeras, which explains why they fought a straight up fight, even the most evil chthonic monster will fight to protect its young. Not wanting anyone to have to face those babies as adults they kill them too.</blockquote>

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