Chapter 2: High Road to Krusk

Cordial isn't sure what the group needs from her at this point, but she doesn't yet want to abandon the communications she has had with the worg. She speaks as calmly to the worg as she can, and crouches down toward her, "I don't yet know what is happening here, but I would like to help you. Let's wait to see what my friends have to say."

[Charisma check of 15 + 2 is more than enough to keep the worg from attacking Thokk. - DM]

The worg turns away from you, Thokk, and again looks over to Cordial. She walks over, and squats at Cordial's feet.

"Gharaar draal haaraan maach ghaan," she says, which you clearly hear as, "Master dead, please help me."

The worg, after much concern and uncertainty, appears to finally be accepting your assistance.

"Cordial, would you ask it if it's master is, how do I put this delicately? Can you ask what race it's master is without it sounding horrible? I'll explain what's up in a second."

Cordial nods to Thokk and pats the worg gently, far from its wound, to keep from hurting it. She asks, "I don't know if your master is dead. My friend would like to see if your master is among the injured in the cave. What does your master look like? And, please, tell me your name. I am Cordial. If something has happened to your master, you can come with me." She's not sure if her words will be soothing and feels excessively clumsy in her babbling, but her calm voice does seem to be soothing the worg.

She speaks again.

"Morkan... Huukec talkac... a mor gharaar..." This translates to "Morkan... gerblin shaman... I hurt master..."

The worg wobbles a bit in place, before collapsing at your feet, Cordial. It's breathing very shallow, you can sense the life ebbing from its body. You are able to more closely look at the worg's neck, and see the black arrow shaft sticking out. It is somewhat perplexing; based on your understanding of animals in the wild, a beast this size would not be so easily debilitated by such a small wound, unless poison or arcana was involved.

The worg speaks once more, before passing out.

"A dan huuruukaal rhec mokaar... shuuch khruur shuukuuch mokaar... mel'daal ghakec... o mech mokaar."

Cordial, you hear her request well: "Was poisoned by hunter, could not control hunger, killed many... You kill hunter."

Corial understands now that the worg must be let go. She quietly tells Thokk, "he was a gerblin shaman named Morkan, but the poor beast was poisoned against him, by someone she called Hunter. I think she understands that her master has likely died, and she too must die. This hunter does sound dangerous and we should keep an eye out."

Medicine Check - to determine whether the worg has been affected by poison or arcana. +4

The member 'downwarddawn' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'd20' : 9

[I think your Medicine check of 13 will do it, but in the future the Arcana check will be separate. - DM]

Cordial, you take a small sample of the incapacitated worg's blood from the arrow puncture site, and on review of the viscosity, odor, and color, you determine that the arrow was likely tipped with a fairly concentrated dose of neurotoxin. You confirm this on observation of the worg's generalized muscle fasciculations; despite being unconscious, there is likely residual poison effects, causing fine and gross motor twitches throughout its body. The potency of such a poison would also have had affected the victim's cognitive function and mood, but those affects may have passed already since the worg was coherent enough to communicate with you, prior to syncope.

Of note, you recognize that this poison would have been quite lethal to a human target, almost overkill, really. Hunters that pursue larger quarry would most likely carry these type of arrows, specially crafted, fletched, and tipped by artificers.

OOC: I have to deal with this some time...

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Ezythyr walks out of the cave, carrying the dead goblin. His face wet with shed tears, he places the body next to the worg. "I killed 'im." He whispered. "Killed 'im in cold blood." He wiped his face and cleared his throat. Raising his voice he said, "There's some useful stuff in there. I'm...I'll...go sort it out." He wanders back to the cave.

Cordial tells the others, "this must have been a pretty potent poison, to have felled this beast. Whoever tipped this arrow in poison probably has more in their quiver." She stands up and heads into the cave to speak with Ezythyr. Finding him looking sadly down at the dead gerblin, she pats him on the shoulder, "this has been a sad encounter. The worg said she had hurt her master before we came along. Did the gerblin have any... other... wounds... that you could see?"

Thokk and Eledriar, you are outside the cave, waiting next to Morkan and Dhakec, the dead gerblin and his unconscious worg. It is indeed an unfortunate turn of events; three dead mages in the cave, this seemingly innocent pair of worg and rider, and three dead horses in the area, the evidence is all starting to fit together.

"Hey!"

You both look up the ridge from your location, hearing a man's voice yelling out to you. It's the hunter from earlier, and though he is a little more than forty feet from your location, you see that he is no longer unarmed. He appears to be fully equipped now, astride a white horse, wearing brown leather studded armor and quiver, holding a ebony wood long bow.

"So what was it, " he asks from afar, "do you have some dire wolf paws for me?"

You also see the kobold's head poke over the ridge, appearing similarly armored and equipped, riding a smaller white horse. He reaches into his quiver and nocks a peculiar-looking arrow. He yells out to you also.

"Heads up, fools!" the kobold shouts.

[Thokk and Eledriar, please roll a Dexterity saving throw. - DM]

Dex +3

The member 'galaxysedge' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'd20' : 9

(OOC: Do we hear what's happening outside the cave? Perception +6)

The member 'downwarddawn' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'd20' : 12

"Th' only wound I gave him was obvious." Ezythyr sighs. "He looked a li'l torn to hell."

"I can't believe ye. Pansy cryin' over a-" Ezythyr scowled and exerted his will to block out the annoying specter. He didn't need to hear that right now.

Instead, he distracted himself, cataloging the items the goblin had been gathering and taking stock of things he might have overlooked. Those staves specifically looked interesting.

And feeling no remorse about these particular bodies, he pulls out the vial that Glissen resides in, planning on stripping them for bones.

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OOC: I want to look over the items in the cave. I won't ignore any further dialogue but I'll be doing this at the same time as any conversation. I want to see what these corpses have on them before letting Glissen do her work.

(OOC: ahhhh! DEX +1)

The member 'Mikegld561' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'd20' : 1

[I'll cover Thokk and Eledriar's activity first, then Cordial and Ezythyr's. - DM]

[Eledriar, you successfully Dex save with a roll of 9 + 3. Thokk, with your Dexterity save roll of 1 (crit fail)... not quite. - DM]

There is no arc to this arrow shot from the kobold hunter, and Eledriar, as you see the arrow fly directly toward your head, you dive off to the side, rolling to a crouching position and quickly draw your enchanted rapier, Jeremy. Eledriar, you hear the Dancing Sword's voice in your head as soon as it leaves the scabbard. "Ooooh, is it time for deft stabbings of an indiscriminate nature?" Jeremy squeals, as the hilt gently pulses in your hand.

Unfortunately for you, Thokk, when Eledriar dove out of the way, she cleared a path for the arrow to hit you square between the eyes. This would be a kill shot for sure... but instead of the cold, black embrace of the Raven Queen upon your death, you feel a firm, blunt knock to the bridge of your nose and forehead, knocking you off your feet and flat on the ground. You take 2 points of blunt damage.

You briefly see the arrow as it drops away from Thokk's face, Eledriar, relieved that it was not tipped with the traditional piercing arrowhead, but with a small, rounded pouch. When the arrow and pouch hit the ground, you both hear a slight sizzling, followed by a sudden explosion of smoke. The area around you is blanketed in a gray cloud, and you both are unable to see your surroundings.

From afar, you hear both the kobold and human hunters laughing out loud. The kobold shouts out, "What a great field test, we've got the best arcanist in all of Faerun!"

"Yes," the human hunter adds, "his 'smoke arrows' are top notch, just like that 'confounding arrow' we sent into the dire wolf's jugular!"

The kobold retorts, "WORG! It was a worg! No matter, we're done here, imagine what we can get a dragon to do with these arrows! What exciting chaos we can cause!"

You both cannot see, but can hear their horses neigh and rapidly gallop away from the area. As the hunters make their escape, you hear one last shout from the kobold.

"The master hunters, Tean and Rawkit, are riding off again!"

[Cordial, with your Perception roll of 12 + 6, you detect the event unfolding outside the cave. - DM]

Cordial, as you console Ezythyr--who has already taken to the task of assessing the items remaining in the cave--your ears perk up and you hear outside the cave a swift distortion of the air, the very familiar sound of an arrow in flight.

When you step to the cave entrance to look out, you see a large cloud of smoke expand around Thokk and Eledriar, covering them and the bodies of the gerbin and worg. You look up to the ridge and can make out the kobold and human hunters, both on horseback, yelling out. You hear their words about an arcanist providing them with enchanted arrows, and quickly deduce that their arrows were likely the kind used to confuse the worg into attacking her master and the mages in convoy with them.

Ezythyr, your inventory of the mages' belongings yields the following:

• One burned-out torch, still somewhat useable
  
• Five scorched tomes, with unintelligible text
  
• One quarterstaff with a gnarled, ruby-embedded headpiece, blackened and dusted with ash
  
• One simple oaken quarterstaff, blackened with soot
  
• Eight common-looking potion bottles, all with contents appearing very similar to that of standard healing potions
  
• Several notes and letters on parchment; you scan the scrolls, but none containing any specific information that would identify the men. You do note a few references to a "magic and arcana proficiency assessment" to be conducted by the "Order of the Many-Starred Cloak"
  
• Three pouches of spell ingredients, which you know to be used in basic Conjuration and Evocation spells involving acid
  
• A small portion of cooked wild hare
  

Morkan appears to have fully looted the three human mages, but had the decency to leave them clothed in their robes.

OOC: Before I roleplay, is there any enchantment on the staves? Should I roll a check?

Arcana +5