As Dark Clouds Roll In IC

[Jacior]

The sky has been slowly darkening all day, and the smell of rain has been thick in the air. Now it has finally begun to fall, accompanied by loud peals of thunder that seem to roll across the landscape. The sun is hidden behind massive stormclouds, and a cold wind blows from the north. As bolts of lightning begin to slam from cloud to ground and pieces of hail begin to strike the earth, the need for shelter becomes obvious.

Ahead in the distance, a large tor rises from the ground, its form illuminated by the occasional lightning bolt.

It seems rocky and solid, and though climbing it in this weather would be folly, it might have some outcropping that would provide safety from the storm. The only alternative is to endure the weather.

Your horse seems vehemently against the idea.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva shielded her face from the wind and rain to help get a better view, looking around for a spot to shelter for the night, especially with her Duster, an elven bred horse, being so against remaining out in the open. She hopped off Duster's back and spoke in elven to calm him down as she guided him along with her to an outcropping she thought she spotted when a lightning bolt lit up the sky.

[Jacior]

The massive tor towers above the surrounding country. A few narrow ledges offer scant protection from the elements, but a closer inspection reveals a massive, arched entryway at least 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide, set into the side of the hill. The ground just outside it slopes away from the doorway, directing the falling water out and away. Given this fact and the sturdy nature of the hill, whatever space lies beyond the door should be both dry and safe from lightning and hail. The construction seems quite sturdy, so the likelihood of collapse, even in severe conditions such as these, is remote.

[EdroGrimshell]

Hightower? Why'd it have to be a tomb? Minerva thought as she looked over the rubble, leading Duster inside and finding a spot for him to be tethered off and fed. A moment later, she pulled a pellet that gave off light from her backpack, using it to light the area and get a better look around.

[Jacior]

The stone chamber beyond the entrance measuresat least ten paces square. Peeling paint and broken scrollwork suggest that it was once decorated with some care, but now only dust remains. Three massive stone doors—one each to the left and right, and one directly across from the entrance—lead deeper into the tor.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva looks over the doors, trying to see if any had been opened recently, and listens to see if there's anything moving behind them.

Search: [roll0]

Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[EdroGrimshell]

With a sigh of relief Minerva returns to where Duster was tied down and took off the saddle. She'd collected some wood in the saddlebag on the way, not enough for a long fire, but enough to warm up and dry out, it'd have to do. Setting up a fire pit was fairly simple, and lighting the fire was fairly quick with her flint and steel, despite some moisture on the wood.

[Jacior]

Soon enough, with some creative wood arrangement, you have a merry fire crackling in the darkness, giving off, perhaps, slightly more light than the small bead your were carrying.

The sound of hissing rain, pounding hail, and howling wind from outside is interrupted only by the occasional loud crack of thunder. Still, this room seems stable enough for the most part. Even when the thunder seems to shake the very ground, not so much as a mote of dust filters down from the ceiling. The doors leading into the tor, however, do show signs of weakness, seeming to tremble with every thunderclap.

Suddenly, in conjunction with a particularly loud thunderclap, all three doors break open at once, falling from their doorways into the room with a great cacophony. Seconds later, the sounds of squeaking fill the air as a pack of rats swarms in from the largest doorway.

Roll Initiative

Rats: [roll0]

The rats head straight for the outside door... which makes it unfortunate that you're right in the way of the swarm. Three of them jump at you while the rest keep scurrying away. One of them manages to squirm its way into a place where it can bite you, but the other two are too panicked to make a real attempt at it.

Take 1 Damage

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva scrambles to her feet at the sudden swarm and flinches at the bite, though it doesn't actually harm her, and grabs her staff to swipe the rats away from her and her horse.

Attack: [roll0]
Crit Comfirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The rats that are scrambling around on you try to gnaw through you again, but only one manages to bite at you again.

Take 1 Damage

Then, they fall off and start scrambling away with the rest of the small swarm, out into the countryside to bother some other poor rain drenched things. You stand there for a moment, but all seems quiet now, except for the ominous thunder. The doors are unblocked now, should you choose to explore.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva looked around, a little jumpy from the sudden attack, but calms down and breathes deeply, "well that was exciting," she says dryly. She sighs, now she'd have to scope out those tunnel openings, again, why did it have to be a tomb?

"Stay here Dust, I'm going to take a look around, okay?" she says to the horse, speaking in elven. She knew he could pull away and get out of the cave if anything came for him while she was away, was better he run away than to find him dead.

And with that, she looked down the tunnels, pulling the pellet to light the way, before heading down one of the tunnels.

1 = Left
2 = Middle
3 = Right

[roll0]

[Jacior]

The hallways is empty, and dusty, but leads into a smaller, open room. This room is empty save for dust and a single, small, stone chest in the center of the floor. Evidently no one has disturbed this chamber for many years.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva blinks, this was just like that set up in the goblin ba- ooooohhhh, well, that made this a bit more ominous. Still, she'd gotten a bit more cautious, maybe she could spot a trap in the chest. She walked in, slowly, and got to the chest, checking it over to make sure there wasn't anything suspicious before opening it.

Search: [roll0]

[Jacior]

The chest seems both simple and harmless.

That being said, when you open the chest, you hear a click and a wooshing sound. A number of darts fire out from the chest. Thanks to your quick reflexes, you manage to barely dodge out of the way of the dart aimed at you. They bury themselves in the walls and floor.

[EdroGrimshell]

Wide eyed and breathing heavy at the trap, she was only thankful she'd seen it coming. The calm returned, after a time, largely thanks to her ability to bolster herself against harm. She had to be more careful next time.

At least she could see what was in the chest, if anything.

[Jacior]

Inside the chest is a simple leather headband studded with iron rivets, a pair of small, if pretty pearls and a small, worn satchel.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva looks them over, she'd need to get them appraised in town, she couldn't tell if they were magic or what enchantment they might have, but at the very least, she'd be able to store away the pearls. Taking them in hand, she focuses a moment, and they vanish as her mind expends the energy it had held to transport them to a small extradimensional space, then taking the headband, settling it into her pack. The satchel, however, she pulled out and opened it, see if anything was inside.

[Jacior]

The pouch contains a plentiful bounty of coins and a couple dead insects.

Gain 100 GP

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva grins, useful. She'd already made good money on this trip. At the very least, it paid for Duster and the gear she needed for him. And the pearls would be worth a pretty copper themselves.

That thought out though, she stands up and heads back out the door, and decides to go down the door straight across from her (the left door).

[Jacior]

The hallway is equally empty and dusty as the other. The room at the end is only slightly smaller than the room with the chest had been.

The only object of interest in this chamber is a statue at the far end. It resembles a sarcophagus standing upright, except that the head of the figure carved upon its lid looks distorted and seems to have tendrils instead of hair. A pair of batlike wings extends from its temples. Suddenly, its eyes open, revealing the glow of green flames, and the head flies forward to attack!

Roll Initiative

[roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva readies her staff, tapping into her stored up strength for a slight boost, muscles bulking up, before swinging her staff at the undead.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

The creature is sent flying by your sudden, powerful strike. You cannot only feel, but hear the cracking of bones. The head flies away and splats into the wall, cracking it open against the hard stone. It lays there unmoving.

[EdroGrimshell]

With the creature down, Minerva ceases to tap her strength, and breathes out. She takes a moment to calm herself then explores the room to see what the thing was protecting, if anything.

[Jacior]

The room is mostly empty except for the sarcophagus against the wall. Pulling it open, there is naught but a pile of dust and simple ring or what appears to be burnished copper.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva picks up the ring, then hums lightly. She takes a moment and closes her eyes, trying to focus her mind, and, achieving it, immediately ends it to send the ring to her extradimensional pocket with the pearls. She takes another moment to set her focus up again before going back, she didn't want to linger much longer though.

Knowledge (Psionics): [roll0] vs. DC 15 to gain Psionic Focus.

With a sigh at her recharged focus, Minerva returns to the main hall and checks to see if anything's changed, stoking up the fire some to keep Duster warm before heading down the middle path, carefully.

[Jacior]

The room in the middle is much the same as it has been, the fire perhaps needing a little stoking. The middle hall is much longer than the others, and much more wet than you would think it would be. A breeze comes from ahead of you.

The long stone hall ends in a stone chamber furnished only with cracked, moldering tables on which lie rusted implements of iron. Rain falls into the middle of the room from a shaft in the ceiling that must run all the way to the top of the tor. From the bottom of the shaft dangles a rope, swinging slightly. A drain in the center of the floor allows the water to escape, but old, dark stains suggest that it was used to carry away other fluids long ago.

Suddenly, from a doorway on the far side of the room step two burly humanoids. Each stands more than 6 feet tall and has feral eyes and flat facial features. With a roar, the two draw their weapons and charge.

Roll Initiative:

[roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

"Whoa, can we talk first!" Minerva calls out in goblin, trying to hold off an attack with her staff.

Initiative: [roll0]

Diplomacy: [roll1]

[Jacior]

They have no interest in talking. Or apparently in honoring the storm peace as they lunge at you, swinging their short swords with wide chopping arcs.

Hobgoblin 1: [roll0], [roll1]
Hobgoblin 2: [roll2], [roll3]

Take 11 Damage

[EdroGrimshell]

"Fine then," Minerva mutters, tapping into both strength and dexterity, rather than bulking up, her muscle gained greater definition, it wouldn't show past her armor. It would help her against the hobgoblins. And with that, she drops her quarterstaff and draws her longsword, attempting to ram it into her opponent, leveraging it with two hands.

Attack: [roll0] Crit on 19-20
Crit Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

AC up to 16

[Jacior]

Your swing goes wide and one of the hobgoblins snickers cruelly as they swing at you again. One of their blades bites deeply, scoring well.

Hobgoblin 1: [roll0], [roll1]
Hobgoblin 2: [roll2], [roll3]

Take 16 Damage

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva gasps at the sudden gash, then growls as she lets her focus surge and charge up her body, repairing some of the damage done to her, her wounds going blue as they seem to seal themselves. A hard edge entered her stance as she made her next attack, "to the Abyss with you!" she shouts in Goblin.

Skin of Your Teeth +2

AC is now 18

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

Your blade bites deeper than either of theirs, cutting deeply into one of their odorous forms. A spray of arterial blood makes note of the severity of the wound and the hobgoblin collapses. Seeing this, the other swings again, guessing you can't have much more in you. And totally misses, unnerved by the single strike dispatching of his comrade.

Hobgoblin 1: [roll0], [roll1]

[EdroGrimshell]

Not even bothering to give the hobgoblin a farewell as she did his companion as she shifts the blade to strike.

11/34 HP + 6 Temp HP
AC: 18

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

The sword cuts deep into the hobgoblins neck, stopping only when it meets bone. You pull at the blade realizing that it's stuck, the hobgoblin wrenches it from your grasp as it slumps to the ground. It's still breathing, shallowly, though you seriously doubt for much longer. All is relatively quiet now.

[EdroGrimshell]

With the adrenaline wearing off, Minerva turns stops tapping her extra reserves both, she didn't have a medic's kit, but she'd prefer not to have them die because of her as well.

She takes time to patch their wounds.

Heal: Roll Deleted
Heal: Roll Deleted

I am not checking these. They are secret rolls and the only heal checks Minerva will make here. If they die, then she did everything in her power to keep them from doing so, if they live, then they live.

EDIT: Deleting rolls with GM approval so I don't see them.

With all she could do done, Minerva retrieves her sword, cleaning it with a cloth before sheathing it, then gathers her staff. She begins to look around, they obviously didn't want her here, but that begged the question of why. And that alone made her curious enough to continue on. But first she had to focus again. At least the effects of that ability kept her from bleeding all over her clothes and armor.

A quick glance at the hobgoblins, and she continued on.

rolled a 22 to gain focus in the OOC

[Jacior]

The hallway is damp and dark and stretches only a short way before it splits into two paths. The shorter path only continues a few feet before it hits a door. The other continues into the dark, but the pearlescent sheen of webs reflects in the damp gloom.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva hums, she was still hurt from the fight, so going towards the webs might be a bad idea, but, she didn't want to run into anything that could make them on her way out. Steeling herself, Minerva goes down the hallway with the webbing, being careful and keeping her eyes open.

Spot: [roll0]

[Jacior]

You make your way down the hall slowly, looking at the webbing farther down. Suddenly you stop, as you notice near invisible strands laid all across the hallway. It seems like it was a trap laid out for anything that'd travel down there. You could just knock them down, they weren't made by anything particularly large it seems.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva draws her sword and cuts the strands.

[Jacior]

As you slice and cut the webs down from the doorway, a huge spider drops from from the ceiling and bites at you.

Surprise attack: [roll0], [roll1], roll Fort if Bite hits

[EdroGrimshell]

At first, Minerva tries to turn with her sword, but it gets stuck on the webbing, so she goes back to her staff, using the base of the weapon to thrust at the spider.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

Your attack thuds heavily on the huge arachnid, punching a hole in its carapace. But that just seems to have made it mad. It rears back and fires a sticky spray at you, hoping to just tie you up and finish you off. The binding strands barely miss you, remaining ineffective in our hightened state.

Web: [roll0]

You are NOT Entangled

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva taps a bit of strength and swings with as much power as she can muster.

Spending an Action Point to gain Power Attack

Attack: [roll0] Spending an action point to add [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[Jacior]

Your second blow strikes soundly, smashing the head of the spider in. Slimy ichor spills from the still twitching form. Behind you, your sword still hands in the doorway, and there's a room to be explored.

[EdroGrimshell]

Ceasing to tap strength, Minerva breaths out, before wrenching her sword free from the strands and taking the time to cut through them before going to see the spider's "lair".

[Jacior]

At the end of this hallway is a small chamber whose wooden door lies on the floor. The smell of dust pervades the air, and the sound of thunder is muted here. Numerous body-shaped lumps are visible through the doorway, each wrapped carefully in layers of grey thread like woven mummies.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva shivers at the bodies, but heads over anyway, pulling them out of the heap and laying them down, keeping an eye out for any that might move, if any were still alive, cutting them out of their webbing immediately. Once she had them laid out, she'd cut the webbing to check both the bodies and the what they might have on them.

[Jacior]

The bodies themselves are very, very old. Naught left but bones and tatters of worthless cloth. There is nothing alive in the room, it seems more a dumping ground for the spider's discarded meals.

[EdroGrimshell]

Search: [roll0]

Minerva speaks a short, simple prayer for the deceased before checking the rest of the room.

[Jacior]

After taking a quick once over and find absolutely nothing at all, you take a second, more thorough search of the room. In one corner, you find a small, glimmery pearl hidden under the dust and between the bodies of a pair of rats and what you guess to be an elf, you find an old, decrepit bag with some more coins inside.

Gain 75 GP

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva takes the gold and sequesters away the pearl with the other two in her extradimensional pocket before heading back, taking a moment to gain her focus again (taking 10). Now for the other doorway.

[Jacior]

Through the door you manage to catch the faint, rhythmic sound of chanting. The actual door itself seems plain, if old, built sturdy like the rest of Hightower.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva leans her staff into the corner next to the door and draws her sword, then opens the door slightly to peak inside.

Spot: [roll0]

[Jacior]

The door opens easily, surprising with how old it was. Inside the room is a figure in a black cloak, facing the doorway and chanting ominously over a dead body on a stone table in the center of room. Candles light the room, and small black stones litter the table and body.

[EdroGrimshell]

Oh, that's not good, Minerva thought before trying to identify the spell being cast.

Take 20 on Check to ID Spell.

Oh, that's really not good Minerva thought before she tapped strength and dexterity and rushing in with her sword to attack the mage.

Attack: [roll0]

[Jacior]

The sword strike causes the figure to lose their place in spell and a gasp of frustration escapes their mouth. "How dare you interfere with my plans!" From voice alone, it's impossible to tell whether the figure is male or female, or even just what race they are. They wave a hand and you're pushed away, back towards the now closed door. "You have ruined my experiment and now you must be punished! This corpse is worthless to me without the spell you so brazenly interrupted. So a lesser spell to deal with you, whelpling." With two gestures, they sweep up a number of the black stones and, intoning a much faster incantation, caress the face of the corpse, breathing un-life into the body. "Kill the woman and then wait here for my return." The figure glares at you. "A just punishment for setting me back tonight. Tomorrow you shall be my experimental subject."

The newly raised zombie stutters shakily to its feet as the figure turns with another incantation, stepping towards the blank wall. With a final syllable, they disappear, leaving you with the shambling monster.

Roll Initiative

Zombie: [roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Zombies, it had to be zombies. Minerva shakes her head. They were impossible to deal with without chopping them up. Oh well.

Initiative: [roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva continued to tap both strength and dexterity, and slashed at the zombie with her sword.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

The blade cuts deeply, but the zombie continues on unimpeded. It draws back its morningstar and swings it with a lurch

Attack: [roll0], [roll1]

[EdroGrimshell]

Ducking under the attack from the zombie, Minerva slashes at it then steps back. Hoping to force the zombie to follow.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Jacior]

You tumble backwards out of the zombie's reach and it stumbles awkwardly after you, closing the short distance but leaving itself wide open.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva grins as she makes another slash at the zombie before moving back once more.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The zombie swung at empty space before stumbling forward again. It seemed like its ankle was broken as it nearly tripped over it.

[EdroGrimshell]

Repeating her previous maneuver once more, Minerva gains some more confidence in her chance to survive this, and stops tapping strength.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2] (missed the +2 from tapping Dex)

[Jacior]

It seemed that was the wrong move, as your sword skitters off the zombie's surprisingly thick hide. No new wounds are added as you slowly lead the zombie down the hallway.

[EdroGrimshell]

Well, that didn't go so well, Minerva tapped into her strength again as she made her attack and moved again.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The zombie loses an arm with this swing and is visibly starting to tremble and shudder as it walks. Still, it can't keep up with your acrobatic moves as you kite the creature down the hall.

[EdroGrimshell]

One more slash, one more move, repeating the process once more.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The swing misses as the zombie unwittingly leans backwards in its attempts to lunge at you. Surely you're running out of hall now, the sound of falling water and thunder grows louder and louder.

[EdroGrimshell]

That's what she got for getting into a pattern, shifting it a little, she goes for a vertical slash rather than the horizontal slashes she'd done so far.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2]

[Jacior]

Teh blade connects, but slide off, the leathery skin of the zombie providing good protection as it mindlessly lurches after you.

[EdroGrimshell]

She didn't have much more room to go through... Minerva had to end this.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Tumble: [roll2]

[Jacior]

The blade slices down and cuts into the zombie's skull with a sickening "sluck" sound, it twitches and reaches for you before the dark light that burned behind its eyes guttered out and it slumps to the floor, dead again. All is quiet.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva tries to calm her breathing, continuous fighting like this was draining, as she stops tapping both strength and dexterity and went to get her staff, cleaning off and sheathing her sword. She then heads back to the room with the hobgoblins to check on them.

[Jacior]

Both the hobgoblins had bled out some time ago, their crimson fluids mixing with the water falling from the hole in the ceiling and diluting it somewhat. It's almost disappointing, until you realize they were probably working with the enchanter that had set the zombie upon you. Then the work of stripping them of their gear becomes much more pleasant.

You head back and check the zombie, making note that most of the equipment is rotted and basically useless. Strapped to its back however, is a longsword that bears no sign of wear or age. It was almost new and very well crafted. In the ritual chamber, you find dozens of coins scattered about as well as a couple pieces of onyx gemstone.

Loot:
2 sets of studded leather armor
2 light shields
2 short swords
2 javelins
1 heavy leather kidney belt with brass studs & heavy buckles
1 Masterwork Longsword
250 gp
2 onyx gemstones

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva hums, she'd have to put the leathers and shields in a saddlebag, the shortswords she could carry though. Javelins... she'd leave those behind. The belt she slipped into her pack to be appraised and identified in the next town. She then looks back towards the room where the mage had been... he was confident the zombie would kill her, he may have left something behind. She shrugs and heads there, stopping to check on what the zombie had.

A nice longsword, she'd have to see if there was any enchantments on it before she started to use it, but it was a higher quality weapon than her own. The gold she put with the rest of her gold, and the Onyx she transferred to her extradimensional space. It was getting crowded, she wouldn't be able to store anything else in there now.

And with all of that done, she heads back to the entrance to wait out what remained of the storm.

[Jacior]

The storm lasts clear through the night, growing only worse till you would guess it's about midnight before starting to taper off. By the time morning came, the clouds had all but cleared out and the sun rose from the side of the distant ocean. The air is humid, but the breeze blowing in promises a cooler day.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva is stiff as she wakes, even with the bedroll she'd been sleeping on a rock floor, and that was annoying. Didn't stop her from getting ready to leave, saddling Duster after he was awake and had some time to eat, then starts to store up strength, weighing her down with her gear. She'd used a lot of her stores in here, she'd need to replenish it pretty fast.

"Let's go Dust," Minerva said as she mounted the horse, ushering the horse back out into the open and away from the massive tomb. Hopefully they'd find a town where she could get her equipment appraised, identified, and sold soon.

[Jacior]

The day is quiet as you travel along the road. Mid day even passes quietly, as you stop to eat and let Dust graze and drink from a small stream. The breeze from the sea is keeping what would otherwise be a hot and humid day peacefully cool, the smell of salt a constant reminder of how close you were. It's not until late in the afternoon that anything started to present itself going wrong.

Dust starts getting nervous as you enter a wooded stretch along the road, shuffling anxiously and twisting his head from side to side.

Roll Spot, Listen, and anything you want to

[EdroGrimshell]

The entire time Minerva had been traveling, she'd been trying to charge up a second focus, she'd found only having one a hindrance when she may as well try for a second. Only an hour prior, she'd been able to do just that, and she now possessed to focuses.

But now, Dust was unsettled, she tries to calm him down, looking around to see what had him so rattled.

Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

[Jacior]

You can't see anything, but you can hear something shifting the leaves ahead of you in a slow, constant motion.

[EdroGrimshell]

Hearing whatever it is coming towards her, Minerva spurs Duster into a run, trying to spot the thing before it got to them, knowing where to look now.

Spot: [roll0]

[Jacior]

As you urge your horse forward, towards the sound ironically, your eyes shift focus and the huge, unnerving outline of an enormous praying mantis comes into clear view. It's unfortunate that you don't manage to notice this before you can shift Dust to the other side of the road, as the monstrous insect lunges.

Attack: [roll0], [roll1]
Grapple (if hits): [roll2]

Dust Grapple: [roll3]

Dust manages to avoid the beast itself, propelling you both past the lunging mantis. It looks at you with what you would presume to be either confusion or disappointment as you outrun it. It heads back into the woods, turning near invisible again as the leaves surround it.

[EdroGrimshell]

Where in the nine hells had that come from!? Minerva thought even as Duster took her under the beast. She'd heard of BOUS before, but she'd never seen one. It was time to get out of here.

[Jacior]

The rest of the day and the night passes uneventfully, though you're understandably on edge, sleeping only lightly in the night. The morning comes with less of a breeze than the day before, the heat coming early in the morning and growing steadily through the day. By late in the day, you're hot, sweaty and covered in dust from the road. You're definitely feeling most welcome of a bath. And with the road growing more well kept, you can only assume that town is close at hand. Suddenly, a bright blue monstrosity appears in the road and lunges at Dust!

Attack: [roll0], [roll1]

Roll Initiative

[roll2]

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva cries out in alarm as the beast attacks, Duster dodging the attack and yanking Minerva to follow, leaving her a bit off balance.

[Jacior]

The creature resembles a bipedal lizard with a sinuous tail. It's most disturbing feature would have to be a lack of a distinct head, instead, a gaping maw surrounded by three powerful mandibles. Gleaming, jet-black teeth line the inner mouth and a trio of small eyes ring the maw, placed neatly between the mandibles. It takes another terrifying bite at Dust and then vanishes.

Attack: [roll0], [roll1]

[EdroGrimshell]

"Dust, get us out of here!" Minerva cries out, getting him into a run even as she pulls a bow from one of the saddlebags, knocking an arrow as she tapped dexterity.

Readying an Attack on Opponent if it shows up again

[Jacior]

The horse speeds you forward and past where the creature had been, leading you further down the stretch of road. The creature doesn't make an appearance again. Dust seems fairly well wounded and when he finally stops, huffing and frothing from the run, he shudders and shakes, soaked in sweat and blood. He didn't appear to have any broken bones, but he was slashed up pretty good. Blood still leaks from the wounds.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva dismounts Dust to examine the wound, then pulls out a bottle of bitterleaf oil and applies it gently to clean out the wound, and bandaging up the horse, walking alongside Dust for the rest of the way to town.

[Jacior]

Dust can't help but flinch and twitch as you clean the wound and apply the oil. It would leave an ugly scar, but he'd live, at least. Though on edge, the rest of the trip to the small town is quiet.

You arrive in the town with no fanfare, the few people that are out and about right now spare you only a couple glances, pretending they didn't, before seeing the state your horse is in and scampering off. They didn't want anything to do with whatever did that to you, but you can't help but wonder if maybe they knew that monstrosity was out there. There are few buildings of true note, a smithy, a general store, shockingly a small shop dealing with things of a magical nature. An inn is clearly visible, the weatherbeaten sign a picture of a booted foot tripping over a lump of gold. Several horses are tethered outside and you think perhaps this place gets more travelers than you'd expect.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Come on Dust," Minerva says, walking the horse along, "let's see if we can't find someone that can heal you up."

[Jacior]

You search the small town for a healer, and come to find a small, but well tended shrine to some of the more popular gods of the region, Pelor being most predominant of course. An old woman and a young acolyte seem to be the only occupants of the shrine at the time; the acolyte is tending to the old woman, giving her some sort of drink.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva would have preferred a druid, but a cleric of Pelor would do... or at least an acolyte with access to potions. She eases Dust along, up to the acolyte, but remains quiet until he's finished with the woman he's currently helping.

[Jacior]

As you stand and wait, you slowly gain the prickly awareness of eyes upon you. Turning to look around, you find that a rather large owl perched above the doorway staring down at you and Dust. It's possess a somewhat unnerving intelligence for a creature of its kind and you start to wonder if there are any normal animals in this country.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva looks at the owl, then waves at it, wondering if she could get it to come over to her. She didn't see owls in the day, and they were hard to spot at night.

[Jacior]

"She'll be with you in a moment, dearie. Ms. Tanner has been right suffering with the storms about as of late. Does terrible things to the joints, you know." The owl... says, not moving from his perch, if the timbre of the voice was anything to judge such things by.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva blinks, "A friend of mine back home suffered from something like that... I think he called it... rheumatism?" she says, approaching the bird, "I'm Minerva. I take it you're a familiar?"

[Jacior]

"Oh, I'm not the one to ask about that dearie. I'm not as smart that I know about all that." He says with a ruffling of feathers. "And yes. In a sense. I'm a bit more than that, really." He's clearly proud of that and poofs himself up to look better.

[EdroGrimshell]

"You seem it," Minerva replies, she'd heard of familiars, and that Ravens were usually the only ones able to speak to people, "I wanted to get a familiar myself when I was a child, but there were no teachers for it in my hometown."

[Jacior]

"Dearie, dearie, you must learn magic to obtain a familiar! ... Are you a mage? We get so few mages around here, I'm certain Melissa would want to talk to you about it! I'm certain, very certain about these things you know." He seemed very sure of himself, though you could only presume Melissa was the acolyte still tending to the woman in the corner.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva hesitates, she could cast, but it was... different, according to the few mages she'd talked to, but, it was still a spell. She nods, "I know a spell, and I can cast it quite easily. But... I've heard it's... different. I don't know how, I learned to do it through trial and error, not through being trained."

[Jacior]

"Hoo, hooooo!" He trills, apparently pleased by this news. "There are many types of mages, dearie. Many are self taught you know. But it seems like you're just getting started!"

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva nods with a smile, then checks on the acolyte, "do you think he can help Duster here?" she asks, trying to comfort the horse, "he took quite a gash from some kind of blue monster that appeared out of nowhere."

[Jacior]

The owl's eyes narrow. "Oh that pesky thing again. It's been bothering the roads around town for nearly a month! But no one is willing to go fight something that just disappears like that. I can't blame them really." It flutters nervously on its perch before settling down. "Melissa has half a mind to take care of it herself but I've managed to keep talking her out of it... this might push her over the edge..." He says, looking at the gash on Duster. "But she'll be able to fix him up right as rain, she's our town's only healer you know. Caretaker of this whole shrine."

[EdroGrimshell]

"...If she did go after this beast, she'd leave this town without a healer," Minerva says, "she'd at least need help before heading out," there was a hint there, an unspoken offer.

[Jacior]

"She's not so weak as all that... but I still don't think its a good idea..." The owl seems distracted by that and the girl finally makes her way over, the old woman drinking the infusion with more ease now. "Hello, my name is Melissa, welcome to my- Oh my goodness what happened to your poor horse?!" She rushes to examine the gash. "What did you treat him with? He should be bleeding much more than this..." She sniffs her fingers. "Bitterleaf oil? I didn't think it'd staunch bleeding like this..." She runs her fingers along the edges of the wound before placing her palms across it and summoning a flash of light.

When she takes her hands away, all that's left is a thin line where Dust had been slashed.

[EdroGrimshell]

"We got ambushed by something, I don't know what it's called, but it was blue and had a really big mouth," Minerva replies as the healing goes on, looking on curiously, "I used the bitterleaf oil to disinfect the gash then bandaged it. It was the best I could do in a pinch," she continues, now examining what was left of the wound, stroking Dust's mane, "you okay Dust?" she asks him gently.

Once she's sure Dust's alright now, Minerva turns to Melissa, "Thank you for your help, Dust's saved me from a few sticky situations already, I want to repay the favor," she says.

[Jacior]

The acolyte's eyes flash with anger. "I should have known! That-that... thrice damned whoreson! That tears it if no one is going to take care of this mess then I'll do it myself!" She puffs out her cheeks and pouts. "And don't try to talk me out of it this time Williamson!" She points accusingly at the owl above the door, who puffs up incredulously at the thought of it. It's then she realizes that you're still tanding there and she blushes. "I-ahem, I'm sorry for that little outburst... That creature has been terrorizing use for nearly a month now and no one wants to deal with it!" She stamps her foot on the ground. "Nothing the town is willing to pay is good enough for the greedy pigs that traipse through town like they own it."

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva smiles, "Well, I wouldn't mind helping. Only thing I ask is for help seeing if a few items I've come across recently are magic," she says simply, "You healing Duster is enough of a payment, but knowing if I have some magic equipment that can help in the fight."

[Jacior]

Melissa just looks at you. "I wasn't trying to guilt you into helping me!" She waves her arms in front of her, crossing them several times as they move back and forth. "I just... talk to myself out loud sometimes. Williamson doesn't have much of an imagination when it comes to conversation." The owl hoots above you with a sound of disgruntlement. "Oh hush you." She says with a small smile. "The only place in town that could do that is Teller's shop across the way. He's the only real authority on magic in these parts... Maybe his assistant, but he doesn't talk... ever, if I remember right. Maybe I could convince the mayor to pay for the cost if we get rid of it..."

[EdroGrimshell]

"I like helping out," Minerva says, "I mentioned it to your familiar before you came over," she continues, "and he did pretty well in the conversation, gave me some good information on how I might be able to get a familiar."

"You might be able to get some money for the hide," Minerva says, "it might have unique properties for magic, alchemy, or simply armor made from it... could also see a whip made from it having interesting properties too..." she thinks out loud.

[Jacior]

"I don't know anything about any of that. It's not my place to be making monster armor or what have you!" She says with bit of a hmph. "He can talk... fine, but he's really kind of a one hoot bird." She says with a grin, looking up at the owl who hoots indignantly. "I guess, we could go see the mayor and see what she says anyway. I you'd like to, I mean."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Wasn't implying you did," Minerva replies, "do you know a good place to tie off Dust for now? I don't think the mayor would like a horse in her office."

[Jacior]

"I... Have a small stable around the back. For animals that have to stay overnight. You can put him back there if you want. Or tie him in front of the tavern. You don't have to buy a drink or anything, it'll be fine."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Come on Dust, let's get you safe," Minerva says, nodding in thanks to Melissa.

Once the horse was situated, Minerva returns, "let's go."

[Jacior]

The mayor's "office" is a small, cluttered room in the back of what could be called the town library. You might actually start wondering why such a small town needed a mayor anyway. There couldn't be 400 people living within ten miles. It's not even a minute before a small, mousey woman scurries in from a side door, carrying another stack of papers to add to the clutter. "What, what?" She says, suddenly noticing your and Melissa's presence. Melissa gestures to you to speak for both of you.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Was hoping to discuss dealing with a little pest on the road here, blue thing, big mouth, left a nasty gash on my horse," Minerva starts, "just needed to get some items of mine identified first. And Melissa said you might be willing to help me out with that if we got rid of the little bugger," she continues, seeming a little awkward, "she already told me about Teller's Shop being the only place to get that done, but suggested coming here, too," she says. It was obvious she wasn't used to this sort of thing.

[Jacior]

The mayor stares blankly at you for a few, uncomfortably awkward moments, he head tilting increasingly to the side as she seems to think about what you said. She blinks and slams her hand on the desk. "The marauder! Yes. That... Thing. I'm... sure we could reimburse you for the cost of identifying your magical items if you can rid us of that affront to the common folk of my fair little town!" She says, her bold statements somewhat undercut by her small and unassuming appearance.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva nods with a smile, "we'll get that done and let you know how it goes when we get back," she says, before looking at Melissa, "assuming you'll lead the way of course."

[Jacior]

Melissa nods and leads you out of the mayor's office, the owner of which seems to have forgotten that you exist already as she scrambles around in mountain of paperwork. "You'll have to forgive her, she's very overworked." The acolyte says, blushing slightly in secondhand embarrassment. When you get to the shop, with a simple sign above that says Teller's on it, you can't help but feel a little... underwhelmed. The shelves are tidy and organized, if a little empty. Things seem to be clearly labelled, even if you don't know what they do and everything is clean and swept, with nothing you've come to associate with magical shops in view or in odor.

Behind the counter, a smallish, unassuming man of... upper middle age at the very least is perusing a book, though he looks up when he hears you and Melissa ring the small bell walking in. "Hello again. Is your teacher around here, Mr. Penn?" The smallish man, who you now know as Mr. Penn, nods and rings a bell on the desk which is silent. After a moment, you can hear someone treading a set of stairs. "Yes, yes. I'm coming, hold your horses." From a side door emerges a very much larger man of similar age but far more expressive face steps into the room. He's actually quite big in general and you have to wonder if perhaps he might have some orc in him. "Hello and welcome to Teller's Shop of Magicks, how may I help you?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva nods towards Teller, "I'd like to see if a few items I've picked up have any magic to them and what they do, and I was told that you were the one to talk to," she replies to his inquiry. She'd hold off on retrieving said items from her pack until he replied.

[Jacior]

"You've definitely come to the right place, missy. There's not a better place within a hundred miles to have your magical trinkets, doo-dads and baubles." Teller nods, gesturing grandly around the humble shop. "But identifying magic items reliably is expensive work. And we'd need time to prepare the spells. Depending on how many you have, it could cost you a small fortune to get them properly identified." He says this, looking you up and down, as if guessing you don't have a small fortune on your person.

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva smiles, "we'll be dealing with, I think the mayor called it a Marauder? And will be compensating the cost." she says as she pulls all of the items gained from her last little adventure, "a simple detect magic, however, is an easy enough start to simply find out what's magic and with what kind of magic. Anything nonmagical can be appraised and put towards the cost as collateral, both in case we can't deal with the marauder and to lessen the strain it might cause on the town," she continues once all of the items are laid out, even the pearls.

"Are those agreeable terms?"

[Jacior]

The tall man raises an eyebrow at your apparent knowledge of magical arts and shares a glance with the short man at the counter when you mention going after the blue creature. "You're planning on going after the blue creature outside of town? And the mayor actually approved this this?" Teller gives you a more critical eye. "Well then, I'm sure we can work something out!" He mutters a short enchantment to himself, then begins to sort through the pile. In the end, only four of the items were magical. The belt, the strange copper ring, the studded headband and one of the pearls.

"Well this is an... eclectic collection to say the least! Conjuration, abjuration, transmutation, divination." He lists off, pointing to the belt, the headband, the pearl and the ring in order.

[EdroGrimshell]

"That requires four castings of the spell to identify them, right?" she asks, slightly disheartened at the new sword she'd grabbed wasn't magic, though it's masterwork quality still made it superior to her own blade. Still the magic items she had would be valuable regardless what enchantments were on them.

[Jacior]

The tall man nods, still slightly curious about your knowledge of the arcane. "And it'll take four hours to identify them all as well. It's a very lengthy and complicated spell. But extraordinarily useful, in my own opinion." His eyes glimmered with some unspoken mirth about the situation. He glanced over at the smaller man at the desk, whose eyes were wide and thoughtful about something. He motioned Teller over to the desk and murmured into the large man's ear. Even in the quiet of the shop the sound was inaudible.

After a moment, Teller just sighed and nodded. "I didn't forget, I was going to ask her that. But there's a rhythm to these things you know." He straightened up and stepped back over to the girls. "Now, I know the mayor is going to want some evidence the creature has been slain. That's fine and well and all... But, we would like the creatures body. And we're willing to pay handsomely for it, if you're interested in such a thing."

[EdroGrimshell]

"I was planning to ask if you could use it," Minerva says, "I will be sure to bring it back if I can."

[Jacior]

Penn, still sitting behind the counters, bends over and rummages around before pulling out a smallish black object, roughly the size of an apple and only roughly circular, setting it on the desk and looking pointedly at both Teller and you. Teller raises an eyebrow at this but gives you a grin and picks the item off the table, extending it to you. "Apparently, he thinks this'll be useful to you! I can't say I disagree, but he's got some kind of faith in you to just hand it over."

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva tilted her head slightly, confused, but accepted the object regardless, "It's not too rude to ask what it is, is it?" she asks, still confused, but seeming to be grateful that Penn seemed to trust her with something that was probably quite valuable. She really hoped it wasn't one of those 'one and done' magic items, like scrolls, so she could return it after all was said and done, but she didn't know what it was...

[Jacior]

Teller glances sideways at Penn, who gives his head a curt shake and goes back to his book. "It's not rude... Just... I'm not going to tell you. Now, you need to go, we have some preparations to make!" He ushers you both to the door, the bell ringing as it swings open again. "Just remember, the beast is rather fussy, don't be afraid to make it take the medicine a little... forcefully." He smiles and closes the door behind you, flipping the sign to closed.

Melissa gives you a look. "That... is about normal really." She sighs. "Sorry, they can be a little... strange. I think it has to do with the messing with arcane forces better left alone. Not the wholesome magicks of the gods."

[EdroGrimshell]

Minerva laughs lightly, "the gods can be both good and evil, nature magic is the only truly wholesome magic. At least, that's what my neighbor used to say. He studied god granted and druidic magics for a long time, I think he said something like a hundred years, before writing a book on his findings."

She shakes her head, "They remind me of bards, performers, more than the traditional mage."

"Shall we go?"

[Jacior]

"Right now? You don't think it's a little late?" Melissa says looking at the early afternoon sun. Perhaps she was a little more nervous than she let on about this.

[EdroGrimshell]

"I think we can handle it just fine, so long as we get there quickly enough," Minerva replies. She then expends one of her foci to get a pellet of liquid sunlight in her hand, "if it gets dark, I've got two of these," she indicates the one on the cord around her neck, in a little pouch.

[Jacior]

Melissa sighed. "I guess you're right. We should just get going." She stretched her arms up and out, releasing some unseen tension from her body before smiling at Minerva. "It probably won't have roamed very far from where it attacked you so at least we'll know where it is!"