The Treasure of the Tierra Padre... [Knight Otu Judging]

[Pbartender]

Rogier heals Calamar, who regains conciousness. Calamar is still quite pale and weak. He looks deathly ill, though Rogier is certain that he's out of the worst danger and will recover eventually.

The others, too, are looking decidely dissheveled, tattered, bruised and scraped. Luckily no one, outside of Calamar's poisoning, has taken any wounds that won't heal within a few days' time.

Oirhandir finds Norman huddled under one of the horses, tightly clutching a dagger that he must have found amongst the supplies. He says in a very small, quiet voice, "Can we go home now?"

Calamar is at 1 hit point, and everyone has made their Saves against secondary poison damage.

OOC: Alright guys... You two seem to be the only players left. We can either continue the adventure, or quit and head back to town. If you continue, I will send the absent players' character back to town with the poisoned Calamar. Metagame-wise, with only the two of you (and Norman ), the rest of the adventure with be significantly more difficult and dangerous.

 

[Gurdjieff]

OOC: Alright guys... You two seem to be the only players left. We can either continue the adventure, or quit and head back to town. If you continue, I will send the absent players' character back to town with the poisoned Calamar. Metagame-wise, with only the two of you (and Norman ), the rest of the adventure with be significantly more difficult and dangerous.

OoC: How much I would dislike to end this adventure early, with only 2 players playing I think this would be just a bit too much. So my vote would be to return, report to Rupert and see if he wants us to find some new adventurers to go back, or to halt this expedition. Though if El Jefe wishes to continue, I will do so as well.

 

[El Jefe]

Ooc: As a player, I would be interested in continuing so long as it is practical for two low-level characters to continue. But there is another important consideration...there is a large room back at the Red Dragon filled with characters who are all dressed up with no place to go. This adventure deserves some love, and it would be selfish for Venus and I to hog it all to ourselves. So, I hope we can swap out players who are unable or unwilling to participate for some who can and will.

As a character, Oirhandir would regard the snake attack as a minor setback, with no greater loss than an extra day or so spent at the ruins of the mill while Calamar heals up. He would be baffled by insistance on the part of anyone save Norman to head back to town, and would regard anyone doing so as deserting the adventure (and Rupert's contract) without cause. I'd go as far to say that he'd be reluctant to head back to town without a compelling reason to do so, and would insist that anyone begging off would make it clear to Rupert that Oirhrandir did not agree with their decision. Should he be in a position to speak to Rupert, Oirhandir would be adamant about continuing the quest, as a matter of character if nothing else.

So, my vote is to get some new party members back at the inn, even if you have to drag my character there to make it happen.

 

[Gurdjieff]

OoC: Agreed, returning to the inn might be best, both IC and OoC.

Treating Calamar's wounds, Rogier nods.
"Maybe it would be best to return to the Inn. We're only one day away, and with Calamar in this condition he is unable to continue his journey. On a side note, we can bring some extra supplies to make our night more comfortable, so that this will not happen again. "
He takes a look at the others, and checks if they haven't been affected by the poison. "So, what do you say Oirhandir? Agreed?"

 

[El Jefe]

Oirhandir's brow furrows. "But that would be a day to return to Orussus, and another day to get back to this place. I see nothing wrong with Calamar that a single day's rest in this place wouldn't cure."

He ponders for a moment while waiting for Rogier's reply. It would be nice to be able to camp by the Roars free from worry of another attack by the wriggling pests. He hastens to add, "Ah, Rogier, just what sort of supplies did you have in mind? Something to deal with the snakes?"

 

[Pbartender]

Oirhandir's brow furrows. "But that would be a day to return to Orussus, and another day to get back to this place. I see nothing wrong with Calamar that a single day's rest in this place wouldn't cure."

Closer examination of Calamar's wounds reveal that he is reacting quite poorly to the effects of the poison... His the bite wounds show an angry red inflammation his limbs are swelling, and his skin in general has taken on an unhealthy faint purplish tinge.

OOC: Don't forget that Calamar has taken 4 temporary Constitution damage in addition to his hit point damage. It will take as many days to heal that.

 

[Gurdjieff]

Oirhandir's brow furrows. "But that would be a day to return to Orussus, and another day to get back to this place. I see nothing wrong with Calamar that a single day's rest in this place wouldn't cure."

"His wounds, yes, but the poison is in his blood and will take much longer to be dealt with."

He ponders for a moment while waiting for Rogier's reply. It would be nice to be able to camp by the Roars free from worry of another attack by the wriggling pests. He hastens to add, "Ah, Rogier, just what sort of supplies did you have in mind? Something to deal with the snakes?"

"Indeed, something to keep the snakes away, as well as something to make the crossover a bit easier, some more rope, and not very unimportant, a replacement for Calamar."

 

[El Jefe]

"His wounds, yes, but the poison is in his blood and will take much longer to be dealt with."

Oirhandir hadn't considered this. Much longer? Much longer than a day would mean several days. The party could divide, with someone caring for Calamar while the others scouted the swamp, but if Calamar needed more than a few days rest, they might as well take him back to Orussus.

"Indeed, something to keep the snakes away, as well as something to make the crossover a bit easier, some more rope, and not very unimportant, a replacement for Calamar."

The elf found it hard to believe that between Rupert's supplies and the materials at hand, there wasn't enough to built a modest footbridge over the millrace...a real footbridge, instead of Rogier's hasty and somewhat rickety improvisation. And he noted that the paladin still hadn't answered his question as to precisely what would keep the snakes away...a circle of oil, maybe? But ultimately, Oirhandir had to yield to the logic that said the expedition would reach it's goal more quickly by spending a couple of days to find a replacement for Calamar than by waiting while he slowly recovered his health. He hoped the mage wouldn't be too disappointed at being left out, and wondered if the party couldn't be persuaded to contribute a partial share for Calamar out of their own pay, for all his troubles.

Glancing across the river to the swamp, not so much longing to be there as longing for the adventure that lay beyond, Oirhandir sighed. "You're right, Rogier. We'll get there faster by going all the way back to Orussus than we would by waiting for him to heal and pressing on. Do you want to tell him we're taking him back to the city, or should I?"

 

[Pbartender]

OOC: It shouldn't take more than a day's travel to get back to town. Feel free to begin posting in the inn when ever your ready.

 

[El Jefe]

OOC: It shouldn't take more than a day's travel to get back to town. Feel free to begin posting in the inn when ever your ready.

Rogier broke the news to Calamar, who, by all accounts, took it quite well. Perhaps this just wasn't the right adventure for him to go on, or perhaps he'd had quite his fill of tiny little snakes.

In turn, Oirhandir broke the news to Norman, who was quite ready to head for home even before the break of day. Oirhandir gave repeated reassurances that the hireling would be safe until dawn, but the rest of the party's reluctance to forgo entirely a night of sleep probably proved a stronger impediment to the youth's notion of striking out for Orussus on his own.

In turn, Oirhandir implored the young man to intercede on his behalf with his uncle Rupert. Oirhandir was concerned lest this setback be wrongly (in his mind) perceived as outright failure, and spent some time pondering just what he would say to Rupert given the chance. He tried out several variations on Norman, who doubtless tired of hearing them during the ride back, which took most of the next day. He pointed out to the youth that they had succeeded in finding the ruins of the old mill, as well as the remains of the old road shown on the map. Surely, finding the mound that covered the cave Rupert sought wouldn't be too hard to find. And in all of Orussus, nay, even in just the Red Dragon alone, there must surely be a suitable replacement for Calamar!

Oirhandir fervently hoped that his patron wouldn't desert him. They had come so close! Surely, if there was anything of value in that old cave, it would only be a matter of a few more days until it was retrieved.

As the city came into view, the elf asked the youth one more time just where it was most likely that his uncle could be found.

OoC: As for posting at the Inn, we still need to find some in-game way to get rid of Katherine and Eruin. So far as Oirhandir knows, Calamar is the only party member not going on the return trip, and he's worried about whether Rupert will offer a contract to a replacement for Calamar, let alone the other two. Then there is also the matter of getting an embarrassment of supplies, only to show up on Rupert's doorstep 3 days later asking for even more. But if these obstacles can be overcome, Oirhandir is quite willing to help recruit as many replacements as Rupert will allow.