Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti [IC]

[Stepfan]

Alan listened with rapt attention as their guide went over the tale of the ruins. It was almost to good to be true, he had come here almost an a whim chasing a vague hunch and this seemed almost confirmatory. Even if the Plane of Shadow wasn't immediately tied to the city, the veil between realms was almost certainly thinning here and such things as mass death and dark bargains reeked of shadow magic. He glanced at Cedric, he hadn't been worried originally that any one else would catch on or even be interested in the darkness haunting the ruins but perhaps here was a possible rival... better to continue keeping on eye on him for now. Ideally the old man would just leave with the others, or possibly be distracted by whatever called out to warlocks. Warlocks who seemed to have healing magic of some sort.... what a strange man indeed.

"Perhaps but we must be careful, we would hate to make the situation worse or attract the attention of whatever foul gods killed the original inhabitants. But I agree that understanding these rituals could be of benefit to counteracting them assuming they are related to the current blight. And recording them for prosperity could help prevent incidences in the future.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Spellcraft on Cedric's healing since Alan continues to be a paranoid bastard(1d20+12)[31]

[Mercurion 2]

Pisco nodded as the group discussed the fallen city, but then his head turned sharply as the guards posted on the edge of the camp shouted a warning. Out in the darkness, something was approaching.Karan drew nocked an arrow to his wintermoon bow. He swiveled his aim towards a faint clank that issued from the darkness, then watched as a small, stout figure appeared at the shadowy edge of the light from the campfire.It was a dwarven woman, iron cap pulled down over a weather-beaten face and silver beard hanging in tight plaits almost down to her waist. A waraxe was held ready in one had while in the other the firelight reflected off a steel shield set with crossed silver battleaxes against a blue background.

[Fitzroy95]

"Hello the camp, I'm comin' in, don't nobody get edgy with any arras !"

The elderly dwarf moved slowly further forward into the light, one hand gripped the leads to a similarly elderly mule, laden with saddlebags, the other clutching her dwarven waraxe in a relaxed manner, clearly not expecting to need to use it.
"Hey Thorik ! that you?"

the waraxe was raised briefly, but only to shield her eyes against the bright light of the campfire as she peered into the brightness to identify faces.
"Thought you wuz gonna be here. Durgan said you'd probably be along."

She stumped fully into the firelight and dropped the reins to the mule.
"You stay right there Patience. Don't you be wandering off nowheres."

the mule, completely ignoring her admonitions, quietly dropped its head and commenced grazing on the sparse jungle grass, as the dwarven Priestess straightened, rolled her shoulder to relax them and gazed around the diverse group.

"Evening all, Pleased ta meetcha. Me name's Axwheel. As ya kin see, I'm
a lowly cleric of the Battlefather, me Lord Clangeddin Silverbeard."

She indicated her gleaming shield, clearly emblazoned with the crossed battleaxes of Silverbeard.
"Was too late ta catch up wit you lot afores ya left town so thought me an Patience here would just wander along and catch up eventually."

She jerked a thumb back into the distance behind her.
"What'n the hells happened with them spider-monkeys?
Sure looks like they been dead for days, but they jumped you back there ?"

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Spoiler

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Thorik is likely to remember her as a clan member who had gone "townie" when she and her city husband had opened the "Glimmer" iron mine, and as the mother of one of the warriors who had returned to the clan while the rest of her children stayed and ran the mine. From what he remembers, she's older even than his own mother.

[A.A.King]

"An unexpected but welcome surprise, with all these talks of bad gods it is nice to have another spiritualist among us. As a fellow follower of faith but someone more local, what can you share about Ojala?"

[Fitzroy95]

For those watching closely, it was possible to discern a grimace crossing the age and weather beaten face, although most facial expressions were fairly significantly concealed under its heavy layers of hair and whiskers.
"Ojala is scum and a curse on this world."

Her arms spread to encompass the entire surrounding landscape and everything, and everyone, within it.
"Only interested in death, and sufferin', and corruptin' everything he touches."

Her contempt and disgust was clear as she continued
"No-one decent worships him, only those what wanta spread disease, or chaos, or to hurt others.
There are some in the jungle who follow him, and sacrifice to him, but he sure cain't be trusted,
and his followers are only happy when they making other people suffer."

Her waraxe twirled suggestively at her side as she grinned, slightly mercilessly.
"I'm sure happy ta help any uv his worshippers ta go an meet 'im, any times the opportunity comes up."

She gazed around the camp, where dinner had been completed, and at the empty pots near the fire and nodded.
"Right, you folks mind if'n I cooks up a mite ta snack on ?"

without particularly waiting for an answer, she turned and stripped a pair of saddlebags from Patience's bag and dropped them on the ground, then removed the rest of the mule's load before looping her lead onto a nearby branch to limit her ability to wander.
Then, leaning her shield against the root of the closest small tree, and laying the waraxe on the ground near her feet, she took the first pair of saddlebags and drew from one of them a small sack, and then started to pull some of its contents out and arrayed them on the ground. A pot, carrots, onions, carrots, flagon of ale, the haunch of something that may once have been a goat or something similar, an array of small pouches, chopping board, carving knife, wooden spoon. Humming quietly to herself, she proceeded to slice a quantity of meat from the haunch, which was promptly chopped into smaller pieces, rolled a combination of salt and pepper which she carefully took from 2 of the pouches, and tossed it all into the pot to brown over the fire. While that started to cook, she proceeded to slice some potatoes, onion and carrots, and added them to the browning meat, periodically stirring it to ensure it all fries equally. with the careful addition of some dried garlic (pouch 3) and rosemary (pouch 4), then added a small quantity of ale and left it to simmer at the edge of the fire for a while while she cleaned and packed everything back into her bag (which looked rather too small to take all of her cooking ingredients and implements).

[Stepfan]

What a strange woman.... hopefully she spends more time chasing down these strange cultists so I can still get work done, I am trying to avoid direct murder as a solution after all and she doesn't sound terribly tolerant of the higher arts.

Alan debated asking the newcomer questions, honestly she was just one more person to keep an eye on, especially as this one seemed more likely to have firm opinions against his plans. She might possibly be more concerning the Cedric, as at least with the older man Alan felt he had some leverage if it came down to it. He should watch and see if there was something similar about this strange dwarf as well.

"So his portfolio involves disease? Is he associated with darkness and shadow, for instance as some sort of malevolent murder cloud, or would that contradict his normal interventions?

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel snorted as she finished off her supper.
"Disease? not specifically. He is minor god, a meddler of evil, of lies."

She waved one arm vaguely at the skies above, her wooden spoon shedding a light spray of ale-infused gravy and vegetables.
"this cloud? I think not Ojala.
Maybe, but I don't think so."

She paused briefly as she shoveled another spoon full of goat stew through her beard before continuing.
"I hear stories that mages in Madaro-Shanti had big power, long before Ojala treachery killed them all.
Power to control weather, power to make rain, power to make wind.
Had magic bowl called Storm Basin. Use Basin in rituals, can control weather.
It's all stories, and legends, and maybe lots of lies like all legends, but
magic bowl existed, and was last heard of in city before it died."

She nodded her head slowly as she shoveled in another spoonful, and masticated carefully for a moment.
"I think magic bowl makes the cloud. Big question is, who controls the magic bowl ?
and how powerful is it?"

Finishing her stew, she collected her belongings and commenced cleaning them carefully before returning them to their carry sack.
"Me, I think that someone got into city and found the bowl, and using it for some magic.
I don't think that's Ojala, unless maybe some worshiper of his."

She shrugged
"Everyone in city died a hundred years ago. Even old priests are long gone,
no chance any of them still alive unless they are dwarf or elf."

She snorted.
"and unlikely to be either of those, or others would know."

She nodded slowly to herself
"No, I think someone recent, someone new, entered city and found magic bowl
and used that to make cloud.
Don't know if they know what they doing, or not, but they need to be stopped."

[Koral]

Ignasio raised his head as the newcomer approached, watching with interest. His eyes lighted as he noticed it was a dwarf, and a Lady dwarf at that. The other one, Thorik, has been grumpy at best and Ignasio could not help feeling that the dwarf was looking down at him (yes, Ignasio was 2 heads taller, and no, it did not help) but this lady seemed a little more friendly from the look of it. He did disapprove of the Mule, no style whatsoever, but then again, nobody’s perfect.
He jumped up, straightened his clothes brushing off some dried leaves and dust and then placed his hat in just the right angle and walked towards the Dwarf lady, hands stretched to the side in a welcoming gesture.
He was told once that Dwarven language was very similar to Gnomish, in which he was fluent, and he was pretty certain that he could recite the welcoming words he herd the dwarven merchants used in his father’s mansion, yes, he knew it perfectly!
“Mosotruk, borita. Griksta prodos mar’arak” he said with a broad smile

Later on, he joined gladly to the new cooking spot, sharing his knowledge and expertise with the newcomer who was obviously covering for the lack of finesse with much enthusiasm “Here, I think that some of that will fit in perfectly” he graciously offered some of his own selection of herbs “And add some of that wine to the sauce just before serving, but do not boil!”

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel paused briefly at his unexpected greeting as she mentally tried to parse his words. The intent seemed clear, the phrasing, tenses and grammar, not so much. But still, clearly a friendly welcome, so she responded in kind, smiling broadly and bowing slightly as she returned his greeting. She thought it might have been some bastardised form of Dwarvish, but clearly from a distant land where it had changed beyond all recognition, so she responded in that tongue.

when he "offered" his help with her dinner preparation, she was glad to discuss the uses and origins of the different herbs and spices he produced, most of which she was familiar with, and a few others she had never used in the past, which piqued her interest even more. A century of cooking for family and friends had given her a reasonable background in the culinary skills, although preparing anything complex over a campfire in the midst of a jungle trek was something she had long since give up trying. But it was always interesting to help to encourage these young humans in expanding their knowledge of the real world.

and besides, if he was willing to share his wine, she was more than willing to do so.
"So, whats a fine city gentleman like yourself doing in these lands ?
I'm guessing you're not from around these parts.."

[Koral]

“Oh dear” Ignasio blushed “I completely forgot to introduce myself, my mother would never have forgiven me if she knew and as my nanny (god bless her restless soul) always used to say “Never start a discussion without proper introduction!” Died of food poisoning the poor women during the spring festival over in Ra’avalrad, it was the honey cake, they said, mixed with the old dark brew that caused the caustic reaction” He took off his feathered hat and bowed courteously, right leg stretched backwards (while carefully monitoring the hat, sot that the feather does not touch the ground and pick up any dust) “Ignasio Fluentio De San Christobal Guanahato at your service, of the Guanahato cartel of the southern lands” he stood up “You must have heard of my father, Baron Mauro Guanahato, Baron to king Morin III, founder and owner of the Guanahato cartel, a merchant and an entrepreneur. We come from San Christobal, a little east of the Karnag mountain, right where the Durang pass bridge crosses over the river and a bit to the left. And as old Roberto used to say “February at the Karnag is as cold as sleeping with my wife”, it is rather cold admittedly (the mountains, not Old Roberto’s…… never mind) but nothing that a good chinchilla coat and some whale oil cannot handle, have you ever seen those chinchilla coats? Especially the dark ones, what a work of art, and this tailor down at Sambira is such an artist, oh, to die for. Couldn’t take my eyes off his daughter the whole fitting day. She was a real lady you know, my mother, and an excellent cook when she put her mind to it, I believe I got some of her skills with me.
Anyways, those herbs you asked about, now let me tell you…….”

Spoiler: OOC:

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Want some knowledge of the real world? how much can you handle?

[Goby]

Thorik

As he settles in for an early rest, Thorik hears the commotion back by the campfire, and comes out to see what's going on.

"Axwheel, is that really you? Haven't seen ya in some time, what brings ya out in the woods to join this crazy expedition?
Glad to have ya along."

He listens a bit as the group asks questions of the newcomer.

"Hmm, seems like ya've had some time to study this phenomenon. That's more info than Durgan or any others saw fit to give me, they just told me to watch out for the monkeys with two souls. As ya see in the wagon, we learned that the hard way."
Your idea of someone finding a magic bowl in the ruins seems right, there's always crazy people lookin' for secrets in the jungle. I hadn't heard any expeditions foolish enough to go into the ruins in years, though.

Eventually he returns to his bedroll to rest, still intending to wake for the second watch.

[A.A.King]

"This all sounds very interesting, but for now, I must take my leave and rest. It will be another long day tomorrow" Cederick said, and with that, he retreated for the night.

[Stepfan]

A BOWL??!!?? He'd come all this way, braved this wet horrible place, and she thought it was a damn piece of magical cookware! And weather magic, simple conjuring tricks? Alan felt his rage rising before he forced it back down, ... no no mustn't just abandon evidence because of some old crone of a dwarf. Folklore is often wrong, and a simple control weather shouldn't create such a nasty effect... at least I think. She is probably right about new ritualists intruding into things, but if so they've just saved me some digging time. Oh I'll have to stop them of course, and these fools will probably insist on breaking the tools they've uncovered but if they can learn this so can I, and anything that has been made can be remade after all.

Alan brooded as Ignasio and Axwheel started rambling about food and coats and other such nonsense, before being jarred from his thoughts by Cedric and Thorik announcing their intents to head to bed.

"Ahh yes I believe I shall retire as well, arcane magic does require rest to reset unfortunately. If anyone needs me however, feel free to let me know. I am happy to take a watch after my spells are re-readied."

Spoiler: OOC

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Honestly cannot remember what watch order we agreed to.

[Mercurion 2]

Karan had listened to the discussion intently, and when the others said they were heading to bed, he stood up from the fire and stretched his legs.

"The road ahead tomorrow may be even more dangerous than today from what I have heard here tonight. The darkness is nothing to me, I see as well as the jaguar and the leopard; I will scout the road ahead and see what is to be seen." He checked his weapons, tugged at his belt, and made ready. "I will report back if I encounter anything, else meet you at the ruins of the city."

He strode out of camp and into the dark, ominously quiet, jungle.

Spoiler: OOC

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And so Karan has exited the party, but if his player comes back we can easily re-insert him.

[Mercurion 2]

A dim light crept through the jungle canopy, slowly, slowly outlining the trees with a dull gray illumination. The black cloud pressed down from overhead, throttling whatever sunlight the morning had brought. Pisco began to rebuild the fire that he had banked the previous evening, throwing a fresh pot of the wild bean coffee on the stones as they heated. He looked into the gloom above with pursed lips but a resolute expression on his deeply tanned face.

Nothing disturbed their camp during the watches and the majority of the injuries the group had taken the day before had healed, but several of the party had not passed the night unscathed. Alan and Thorik had been troubled by dreams [1], while others awoke with their injuries from the day before inflamed. Ignasio, Cederick, Henneki, and the porter Mazaro had their wounds close, but angry red streaks of tender flesh had appeared where the dead monkeys had clawed and bit them the day before, and they felt weak and sluggish [2].

<tag all>

Spoiler: OOC 1: Alan

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Alan awakes with a dream fresh in his mind. In the dream, he is surrounded by a darkness so dense that it seems to be a physical thing surrounding him. He is unable to move away, the darkness starts to flow over his body. A deep voice says, “Explore too deep, and this will be your fate. So speaks Cho-Oda.”

Spoiler: OOC 1: Thorik

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Thorik recalls snippets from several dreams, or perhaps one long, disjointed one. He recalls a momentary vision of a room full of statues and a kneeling skeleton in front of them. The skeleton turns its head to face you and says, “Cho-Oda waits for you here.” He then finds himself in the jungle once more with spirits floating about taking on the form of jaguars and elephants, which then dissolve back into mist. Each one speaks the same message: “Our brother is changed. Help him, and you shall be rewarded.” Thorik is aware that the jaguar and the elephant are the totem animals of the nature spirits Toncho and Magalo Hiti.

Spoiler: OOC 2

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Ignasio, Cederick, Henneki, and Mazaro have contracted some sort of low-grade fever and taken some Constitution and Dexterity damage (see Health Status spoiler) and suffer reduced hit points (in the case of Igansio and Cederick) as a result of lower Constitution. They will all be able to make a new saving throw later in the day, but barring other intervention before then they suffer from the effects of the fever.

Spoiler: Health Status

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Health Status:
PCs:
Ignasio 72% has contracted fever [-2 Con, -2 Dex]
Cederick 82% has contracted fever [-2 Con, -1 Dex]
Alan 92%
Niala 100%
Niala’s Cat 100%
Thorik 100%
Axwheel 100%

NPCs:
Henneki (guard 1) 94% has contracted fever [-1 Con, -2 Dex]
Mazaro (porter 2) 100% has contracted fever [-1 Con, -2 Dex]
All others 100%

[Stepfan]

Alan woke up invigorated, the vivid dream the night before was encouraging that he was on the right trail. Who was this Cho-Oda? Most likely some kind of divinity, but I have no knowledge of the local forces. The dream was obviously intended as a warning, but knowing the source would tell him how seriously to take that warning. The so called "good" deities were always trying to stop the proper hunt for power and knowledge while an "evil" force might be trying to challenge or threaten him. And the power of the deity could indicate how threatened he should be, and therefore his level of caution as well. The question was how to find this information. The new woman seemed like she would know, but it was hard to tell how much to trust her. She had reacted quite angrily to talk about the other malevolent diety and the last thing he needed was to isolate a possible patsy... no this would take cunning. He needed to not expose why he wanted to know.

Thankfully he had some time while the others were preoccupied with breaking camp.

[A.A.King]

After waking up, Cedric immediatly noticed the wounds from the monkeys. He had no way or time to deal with it though, first he went to look for a quiet and private place to pray. He didn't want to be overheard. Jacob kept watch while Cederick asked his god for spells. When he came back to the camp he started asking around.

"Does anyone else have wounds like this from yesterday's fight?"

[Fitzroy95]

Axwheel rolled out of her blankets after some of the others were already up, and immediately started to help fuss around the fire as the camp prepared for breakfast.
However it was soon clear that a number of the party weren't feeling as healthy as expected, and in the new light of day, it was clear that a number had been battered and damaged in the fight of the previous day.
Pausing her immediate need for breakfast, she instead moved across to Ignasio (her new "friend" from the previous evening), and asked if she could examine his wounds.

<assuming he allows her to do so>
"Clangeddin's beard, thats nasty ! you should have mentioned this last night.
This come from them dead monkeys? Sure thats a nasty infection you're getting going there."

She rocked back on her heels and gazed around the rest of the camp, noting a number of others looking a little pasty and sore.
"Didn't realize how beat up you guys got yesterday, couldn't see that in the firelight.
Still, better get that fixed up now, otherwise its gonna be worse by tonight."

She turned back to Ignasio
"Now, you got anything against bein' blessed by the BattleFather at all ?
Sure can't do this without his help, but its always your choice to accept his blessings or not."

[OOC]
basically intends to cast "Cure Disease" and "Cure light wounds" on Ignasio and see if that cures his issues, and then repeat for each of those infected. But only if they agree to accept the blessings of Clangeddin, wouldn't want to offend anyone's personal deity.
Alan just gets a "Cure Light Wounds"

[Koral]

Ignasio slept poorly that night, this whole outdoor adventuring was all very exciting but sleeping on the rough land with only three layers of padding underneath was a completely different matter, and one that he was willing to pass on.
Which immediately led to the idea of a series of small but high quality inns targeted at the discerning jungle explorers.
He pondered on the idea for a while before finding himself scratching an itch, which was not an itch at all. Funny, that scratch from yesterday’s battle didn’t heal. It was not entirely open and there was no bleed but the deep red color and the signs of pus could not be mistaken. This thing was definitely still inflamed.
He got up and suddenly felt dizzy to the point of having to sit back and take it easy. He then got up again, a little slower this time and made his way to the morning fire where he found his newly found friend and co-cook.
The dwarf lady sure knew her way around herbs…..
“Say” he said hesitantly as he approached Axeheel, showing her the inflamed cut on his hand “Do you have something for this?”

Spoiler: OOC:

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Intended to send this a couple days ago, so decided to do so even though Axeheel allready beat me to it. hope you don't mind the little time warp

[Mercurion 2]

Axwheel rolled out of her blankets after some of the others were
[OOC]
basically intends to cast "Cure Disease" and "Cure light wounds" on Ignasio and see if that cures his issues, and then repeat for each of those infected. But only if they agree to accept the blessings of Clangeddin, wouldn't want to offend anyone's personal deity.
Alan just gets a "Cure Light Wounds"

OOC: Fortunately, the afflictions come to light first thing in the morning so Axwheel is able to pray for a fresh set of spells for the day.

Remove disease is a 3rd level spell, and four total party members (two PCs and two NPCs) are afflicted with the fever. Axwheel knows from past experience that cure wounds spells are of no use in fighting the debilitating effects of diseases and that she'll need to cast Lesser Restoration to remove the ability damage is she so choses.

You can repost your spell list for the day when ready.

[Mercurion 2]

Pisco supervised the packing up of camp while keeping an eye on Axwheel’s work addressing the lingering effects of the battle with the dead monkeys and their animating radiant spirits.

While Donnal and Minnee hitched up the mule team and the porters stored the camp goods in the back of the wagon, their guide called the expedition members togather around the quenched remnants of the fire.

“Hunters,” he began addressing the the group, “if we make good time through the dark day”—the look on his face betrayed his doubt about the likelihood of that—“we should reach the gates of ruined Madaro-Shanti in early afternoon. The walls of the fortress town have crumbled in many, perhaps even most, places.” Pisco took a long stick, blackened at the end from having used it to stir the fire, and began sketching in the dirt.

“A gatehouse stands at the end of this road. The temple complex here and the hillfort here,” he said, scratching his map into the dirt, “are nothing but ruins.Tumbled down with no entrances. The palace with its plaza and well still stands, or did when last I was this way.”

He looked up from his crude drawing. “When we come upon the city, the porters and drivers and I will wait for you on the outskirts. Best be quick, I think; this muyal kaxan smothers us even now, I fear.”

Spoiler: OOC

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Below is the map Pisco sketches for planning purposes, though you have most of the day travel ahead of you before reaching the ruins.

Spoiler: OOC

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Also of note, Henekki levels up to a 3^rd level Warrior after his work against the dead spire monkey the day before.

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[Stepfan]

In the morning: "Why I would be happy to accept the freely given gifts of your lord, if there is some cost associated with it, beyond our mutual work towards this mission then I might need a more in depth discussion before hand, but simply accepting his aid through you is no problem at all. Thank you Axwheel,"

He listened as the guide explained the local terrain. It was good to have some idea of the local terrain. "Thank you Pisco, it is kind of you o provide this information. Of course, I don't think anyone expected you to come into the ruins with us." Less meddelers in the way even, this day was starting to shape up.

Alan frowned at the dirt lines, "How likely is it that the ruins of the fort and temple remain completely closed off you think? In my travels lots of less scrupulous persons are willing to unearth such places, or tunnel underneath them to conduct their foul deeds.

Later:

Alan grew excited as the shadows darkened, he almost eagerly scanned the heavens hunting for any sign that the muyal kaxan was approaching. He knew he should be more worried about the possibility of death, or the threatening vision from last night, but he could hardly contain himself. This was why he'd traveled here at all, and he was so close he could almost feel the energy coursing through him.

Spoiler: OOC

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Alan will be a little distracted today, hoping he can see something close enough to cast Mystic Reflections on associated with the cloud, though I have a feeling the 30' range will be his enemy in that plan

[A.A.King]

"If you could cure me of my ailment that would be a great help, though I would require no further assistance with regards to restoring the damage already done. My own studies into the divine have thought me how to deal with the symptons of attacks such as these, though further study is needed to properly remove the actual disease" Cederick says to Axwell

"If we still have that much travel ahead of us we better hasten then" Cederick said after listening to Pisco "I want as much time as possible to study these ruins. Last time Karan scouted ahead and I watched the rear, but seeing as he has gone off on his own and hasn't reported back yet, I would like to be in front this time. If nothing else, yesterday's encounter with the spiremonkeys taught us that we always need to be alert" and there is always an advantage to reaching the destination first Cederick thought to himself.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'm going with the same spell list as yesterday. I don't actually prepare any restoration spells, but I can spontaneously convert 2nd spells into Lesser Restoration so that shouldn't be a problem.

[Fitzroy95]

Putting her breakfast on hold for a while, Axwheel moved away slightly from the main camp, laid her shield on the ground (emblazoned face upward) and knelt before it (slightly slowly and creakily), her battleaxe across her knees, and commenced to calm her mind through meditation, before starting to pray to her inspiration and guide. Unsure of the threats the day might bring, she decided on a range of general spells, hoping that their separate skills could provide most of the offense that might be needed.

Spoiler: Spell list

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3rds - Remove Disease (x4), Dispel Magic. Domain (Good) Magic circle against evil
2nds - Lesser Restoration (x3), Hold Person, Consecrate, Cure Moderate wounds. Domain (War) Spiritual Weapon
1st - Bless, Divine Favor, Cure light wounds (x2), Detect Evil, Summon monster 1. Domain (Good) Protn from Evil

Her prayers complete, she returned to the group once more, moving around each of the party to quickly inspect their infected wounds, and asking for Clangeddins aid to remove the disease from them, and to restore them to health (Remove disease to all 4, lesser restoration to all except Cederick).

Then, she quickly finished her breakfast and loaded her gear upon Patience's long-suffering back once more, and hitched the mule to the rear of the wagon, ready to head for the ruins.

[Mercurion 2]

With the expeditionary force patched up thanks to the fortuitous arrival of Axwheel BlueGlimmer, they began moving forward again under the pall of the dark cloud overhead. The great palm leaves and thick vines of the Ambicuaria jungle seemed to sag and wither as the muyal kaxan appeared to thicken with every mile they moved along the broken roadway. The porters glanced up with hooded eyes and muttered superstitiously, leading Pisco to berate them. “You have been paid well for this journey. I’ll have none of your insolence!”

>Alan> "How likely is it that the ruins of the fort and temple remain completely closed off you think? In my travels lots of less scrupulous persons are willing to unearth such places, or tunnel underneath them to conduct their foul deeds.”

Pisco thought about the question for a few moments before shrugging as he walked along. “I do not know, tz’iik. I have never heard rumors of such things, but know that few dared venture into the ruins of Madaro-Shanti, even before the muyal kaxan appeared. It has an evil reputation. Many say that even after its downfall, the city had still the power to ensnare the unwary.”

“I do know that of those that explored within the ruined walls, not all came out again. But of those that did, I heard no tale of such tunnels.”

~~~

Later in the day, following the upheaved stone blocks of the road, they passed by another large statue, this of a standing jaguar, its stone cracked with broken pieces littering the jungle floor, and draped with thick vines. Yet still, even in its dilapidated state, the party could almost sense the stone eyes of the 10-foot tall figure watching them warily as they passed by.

Some time later, as the sun presumably passed near its zenith though the party could only sense it through the muyal kaxan, Cederick noticed a lone antelope in the distance, seemingly staring straight at him. There had been almost no sign of animal life since they had started out in the morning, making the distance creature a surprising sight. Cederick seemed momentary mesmerized by the animal, until the antelope suddenly fell over.

Spoiler: Note for Cederick

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The antelope seems to stare straight at you, then speak in a voice that sounds much too close. The voice says, “Beware of Cho-Oda. Rescue Cho-Oda,” before it falls over.

[A.A.King]

Before they left, Cederick cast Lesser Restoration to remove the damage of the disease.

Watching the strange scene with the antelope he turned to parrot on his shoulder and asked quietly, so nobody else could hear "Did you hear something" before rushing over to fallen beast.

Spoiler: OOC

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Burned my prepared Dark Vision to spontaneously cast Lesser Restoration.

I ask Jacob if he heard something to check if what I heard was a targeted message or not. (if it wasn't, other party members may have heard it too)

[Mercurion 2]

The bird looked cockeyed at Cederick. "Hear what?" it replied, clearly oblivious to whatever it is Cederick imagined he heard.

The warlock's sudden dash into the jungle startled Pisco. The guide whopped out his maskab’ and took a few steps into the fringes of the greenery off the road. "'Ware, tz’iik! Do not go far."

Ignoring him, Cederick wove his way around the bases of thick trees and tangles of undergrowth, coming to the spot the antelope had fallen after a short run.

There he found the animal. Dead. Only...the body was decomposed, and surely had been dead for several days, judging by the state of the corpse. It had looked whole and healthy when he spotted it, but now...

[Stepfan]

Alan watched as Cederick ran into the woods... something had caught the attention of the warlock and he was concerned that he had personally perceived nothing... perhaps these spirits that had tried to warn, encourage and/or threaten him were now trying to make the same offer to Cederick, though without greater understanding it was hard to tell if this was a problem or not. Alan had no intention of sharing whatever power was to be seized ahead, but if a curse or threat was instead the meaning of the message he was all to happy to share that burden.

Assuming of course, that the burden couldn't merely be left with the other man.

"You know Pisco, you have refered to both Cederick and myself as tz'iik now and I must admit I am curious about the meaning of the term. Is it possible to translate that into common?

[Koral]

Ignasio smiles shyly and thankfully as Axeheel tended for his wounds and after a rather silent breakfast seemed to becoming his old self as the convoy started moving again, riding back and forth between anyone who was willing to share information of local flora he found interest in (mostly regarding culinary values) or just share some knowledge of unknown lands. He was no beyond mingling with the simpletons, and should the party prove too busy or distracted he would happily join the local helping hands to discuss local cuisine with them.
As they reached the big statue he stopped by for a long few minutes, letting his hand go over the slick cold stone and admiring the sheer size and presence of it. It was so prominent and yet so naturally in place in this surrounding… It took Pisco personally tapping his shoulder, twice, to take him off the place and join the rest down the road.
As the small commotion started following Cederick's excursion into the jungle he sighed, taking off his crossbow and readying it. "What, those monkeys AGAIN?"

[A.A.King]

Cederick examines the dead antelope further, gutting it with his knife to examine the enthralls and maybe find a cause of death before walking back towards the expedition.

"A most curious case of a phantasical appearce" Cederick says after regroupign with the expedition. "I would sworn that antelope was standing upright, alive and well just moments ago yet the evidence dictates that it has been dead for a few days at least."

"Certainly not those monkeys again, but I guess it could be something similar. It might very well have been another case of an external being repurposing the dead for its own goal, it could have been the actual spirit of the actual antelope or a mere illusion conjured up by this smog. It may even be something else"

He turns to Pisco and Axwheel "Are there any other accounts of people seeing the ghosts of antelopes or animals in general? Those the antelope have any special meaning in local religion?"