Iron Crisis Part 2 (IC)

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- With a nod, Sam leaves the gnome to his sisters and goes to the next coffin. Feeling a little more confident down that it's not trapped, he opens it - perhaps more carelessly than before, but he still stands to the side just in case. And he'd rather not have a body flop onto him...

[Amnestic]

The boots don't seem to have any specific arcane markings or design to them - instead they're quite plain leather boots, albeit well worn. Whatever magic they hold, their enchanter didn't see fit to make it clear when actually creating the boots, for better or worse.

The second coffin opens much the same as the first, though the body the flops forward from this one opening is a bit heavier than the gnome, and a bit more active to boot. Coughing, spluttering, struggling for breath, an elf man with long golden hair (albeit marred by dust and dirt) dressed in rags looks up at you all, his hazel eyes blurry. His right arm is missing, cut off just below the shoulder leaving him with little more than a stump. His other arm, and what you can see of his body through the tears in his ragged clothes, is covered in scars. He mumbles something incoherent, shuffles back away for half a foot before slumping over unconscious.

Spoiler: Medicine

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Spoiler: DC1

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He's dead. Just like the gnome. The breathing and heartbeat is just...uh...deathrattle?

Spoiler: DC8

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Chicken soup and bedrest cures everything. Including this.

Spoiler: DC13

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Dry lips, gaunt cheeks, sunken skin - all the hallmarks of extreme starvation and thirst. The effects of the coffin preservation magic (if that is indeed what it is) may have been different on the two occupants.

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- Caught off guard by the sudden live captive, Sam rushes forwards and grabs him as he starts to pass out, lowering him to the ground. "Senna!"

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: Light (on holy symbol) Concentration: Detect Magic (8ish minutes) Lay him gently on the ground, Sam. Elevate his head. He needs water, later food. Senna takes charge, and she does not discuss now. Caelyn, please fetch me some calming herbs. I assume his stump is inflammated. Vala, please get us a simple food with much nourishment. Small portion size. The cleric kneels down, lifting the elf's mouth to slowly let him drink out of her waterskin. Slowly, we cannot afford to send him into a shock. If he is stable, we need to bring him outside.

[Amnestic]

The elf responds well enough to the immediate treatments - certainly doesn't get any worse - though he doesn't look to be stirring any time soon. "I can hoof him out if you want to press on, can't be much danger if our first two fights didn't get its attention." Vala offers, shifting her backpack to make room to carry him over her shoulder. "Maybe there's some spare wizard robes or something for him down here too." She plucks at a strand of his rags, "Say what you like about the red wizards but their clothes are at least well made."

[purepolarpanzer]

Caelyn Syol'arael Wood Elf Druid AC: 15 HP: 39/39 PP: 17 PIv: 10 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentrating on: Caelee reached into her herbalists pouch and removed some lavender she'd gathered with hopes of making tea. You can have this. If you need something more effective I'll have to go look for it. I've been gathering poisons for the last few days, not medicine. Sensing urgency, Caelyn runs out of the room and towards the exit, bent on finding something that would be helpful for the starving man. She shouts over her back Don't forget the boots!

Spoiler: OOC

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(1d20+7)[20] Medicine check and (1d20+7)[20] to hunt up something useful real quick, even if it's just nutritious food.

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: Light (on holy symbol) Concentration: Detect Magic (8ish minutes) I am glad for your offer, Vala. But I dont think we should snoop around if there is a life in danger. At least I should not. Caelyn has a last bit of magic left. I am completely out of it. Let's proceed upstairs.

[Amnestic]

Vala shrugs as she scoops up the unconscious elf with one arm and casually holds him over one shoulder. "Thought you'd want to keep dungeon diving, but I'm sure Sam and I can handle whatever dustbunnies jump out at us." Unlike Caelyn, she doesn't rush upstairs. She takes her time on the stairs, careful not to knock the unconscious man too hard as they make their way up. By the time Vala and Senna emerge out of the trapdoor, the young elf druid has returned with a small collection of wild fruits suitable for pulping or mixing into porridge to feed to a weakened person.

With the formerly coffin-bound captive gently let down onto a bedroll, she heads back downstairs, a little more spring in her step without the load of a person on her shoulder. "Right then, shall we?" With little left in the coffin room to investigate - and no real rush to deal with the gnome - Vala moves to the south bound door, spear in hand. She makes the move to head through the door this time, taking point.

The screeching door gives way to a light, as opposed to the darkness of the last room. Vala holds up a hand to stop as she peers round the door, before opening it fully. The lightsource - a small magical lamp sat atop the sole desk in the room. The yellow, heatless flame flickers inside its glass casing, threatening no fire. Scattered papers litter the desk that's pushed up against the left wall, and two chairs sit near it, though it's barely large enough to fit one comfortably. Alongside the other wall are five beds, all free from dust, and each with a small chest at their foot. None of the chests seem to have locks on them, instead remaining shut solely by virtue of weight and gravity. Only one door remains unchecked, and if your mental map of the area is correct it's one that leads to a room that would leads back to the entry hall where you came in, potentially completing your exploration.

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- Following Senna's direction, Sam lowers the elf to the ground and gently holds his head up for her to tip water into his mouth. As they tend to the man, and he seems to improve, he nods in agreement with Vala. "You two take care of him, Vala and I can handle the rest. Oh- and we need a plan, what we're going to do with him. We can't exactly drag him back to camp, right?" After 'helping' Vala carry the man up the stairs (which mainly consists of supervising that he doesn't slide out of her grip), Sam waits for Caelyn to return. Once assured the man is well taken care of, he returns below with the warrior woman. "Jackpot," he says, voice serious beneath the somewhat jovial expression. Sam walks into the room, approaching the desk to look over the papers. "These must be their notes. Lemme take a look." Like Vala, he's not overly concerned with other threats down here. But he does stop to think, realizing there may be more captives elsewhere. "Peek into the last room and let me know if it's important?" he suggests to Vala while he starts poking through the notes. Spoiler: Rolls Show (1d20+5)[19] Investigation (1d20+3)[5] Arcana in case it's needed

[Amnestic]

The notes on the desk are mostly ritual information which goes over Sam's head. Information about something called 'vestiges' and proper binding practices for them, but the terms used ("phlogostical imperative", "Vermuth's Calculus", "Secondary Infusion Mirror") mean it's of little worth.

The chests offer more in the way of concrete thing you can read, though. Taking each chest in order from closest to furthest, the first one appears to have been Bula's if the armour polish and replacement flail chain is any indication, along with a small bag of coin and a leatherbound journal. A quick skim read finds it a brief summary of recent events - being hired by the red wizards as muscle, and some previous jobs. Interspersed are personal musings, wondering if she were 'good enough' for Okethar, thoughts on how they'd spend their money to get away from the fighting for a bit, just the two of them, and a meticulous amorality to the sacrifice and death of those experimented on, noted down and reported on with clinical detachment.

The second chest is Gazgazgaz's, holding some alchemical tools and some chewed up toys for Marie. His own journal barely mentions the work they were doing. It's less a journal and more a chronicle of alchemical experimentation, in a shorthand that's nearly indecipherable. Still, at least one thing Sam does suss out is how to craft the frozen mixture that Gazgazgaz used on the molten moat.

The three red wizard chests are furthest from the door. Each one contains a journal of their own, along with a spare set of robes and boots. Unlike Bula and Gazgazgaz's journals which were comparatively slim, these are thick tomes. Each one is a mixture of formulae and academic musings along with a timeline of events. A comprehensive read would take days, but a skim of them tells you that the three Red Wizards were Lasala, Diana and Denak - the lattermost being the leader of this intrepid troupe. They had set out to the woods in order to work on their specific areas of magical enhancement.

Lasala, you learn, was responsible for the preservation magics on the coffins and those within. Still a work in progress, it nevertheless drastically lengthened the time they had to work with the raw materials (people) that Diana and Denak wanted to make use of. Originally it could barely keep someone contained in stasis for a day before they expired due to lack of oxygen, but her advancements and modifications of existing magics had changed that, and she was confident of a breakthrough that could keep someone alive indefinitely once placed inside the properly prepared vessel. Alas, her work was never completed.

Diana's work was focused on enhancing and modifying lycanthropy in order to create obedient lycanthrope weapons that Thay could utilise to expand its influence. A recent journal entry notes her frustration that three of her test subjects (noted only as Subject 33, Subject 96, and Subject 144) have escaped, and that the 'useless mercenaries' had failed to keep them contained. While she notes success in creating modified lycans based off of the template ("Subject 01"), ones with drastically enhanced abilities and minds, the actual controlling portion eludes her, making them effective at causing chaos but not actual conquest which was her goal.

Denak's journal is focused on the vestige binding mentioned in the desk notes, and includes pages detailing how brilliant they are for considering forcible binding via external input rather than having the vestige bound inside the summoner, an inherently risky proposition given the influences they could inflict on the subject they were bound to. While Diana's work seemed to focus on Thay as a whole, Denak is far less generous and intends their magic to be used solely for the better of themselves. With an army of slaves bound to his will, empowered by summoned vestiges, it seemed that Denak's eventual goal was control of Thay for themself and no one else. A goal that, for better or worse, will never come to light.

Vala's investigations are of questionable value but about what you would expect from red wizards. The ritual room was for magical experimentation, and the final room was for physical. A bloodstained work table in the centre of the room dominates her vision. Holes pepper the table's surface, allowing blood to drain to the floor below. Three skeletons, long since made devoid of flesh and viscera, sit chained to the walls, alongside a rack of surgical tools in pristine condition. The smell is wretched, and Vala looks inside long enough only to grasp the contents before slamming the door shut. "Nope, nothing important." If pressed she does describe the room, though without any sort of bardic eloquence.

Spoiler: Loot Acquired

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Gold - 183gp
One set of Alchemist's Supplies.
Spare red wizard robes (three sets if you really want to take them all) including boots.
Notes and journals from the Red Wizards, Bula, and Gazgazgaz.
A fancy looking velvet bag, that requires identification.

Formula for Immediate Ice - Requires 100gp of materials and 1 day of preparation on a DC15 alchemist's supplies check to create a Vial of Immediate Ice. When thrown at a creature, must succeed on a DC17 Constitution save or be Frozen for 1 minute. Frozen grants them resistance to all damage, immunity to cold damage, and enforces the Unconscious Condition. Frozen immediately ends if the victim takes fire damage, or after two non-fire damage sources.

Updated on googledoc.

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: Light (on holy symbol) Concentration: Detect Magic (58ish minutes) Stay attentive then. I've read about sentient feyfolk that animated dust bunnies as their familiars. And I think they're slightly mad. Senna makes sure to check the elf's vital signs. Looking at Caelyn, she does something she rarely does when in the presence of patients she could help physically. She just prays and incants a minor blessing for the suffering. Are you fine with me managing the drinks, and you the food, Caelee? Once he is not comatose, starving and dying of thirst, he can sleep. She looks at the elven ears. Or do sick elves meditate too?

[purepolarpanzer]

Caelyn Syol'arael Wood Elf Druid AC: 15 HP: 39/39 PP: 17 PIv: 10 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentrating on: He will likely be unconscious for quite some time. We will likely have to force feed him this mush and water, and carefully at that. We don't want to risk him choking. Caelee picked a spoon out of her own mess kit and began the slow work of nursing the elf back to health. While she worked she took side glances at the loot that was being pulled up from down below, but whenever she was spooning food and water to the elf her concentration remained on him alone.

Spoiler: OOC

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Medicine check- (1d20+7)[11]

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- The more Sam reads from the journals of the wizards, the more his brow and the edges of his mouth tighten with anger and disgust. Much of the arcane mumbo jumbo goes over his head - it's probably all dark arts. At last, after giving each a quick skim, he binds them together in a stack to haul out for Melian to take a look at. "These guys were some real sick puppies," he comments to Vala as they carry their findings up and out, to the others. "Turns out they did experiment on those guys from under the tree... no names or info about them though. Won't help us find their families at all. 'Least the research probably dies with this guy." Sam looks down at the stack of books. "After I get Mel to double check I didn't miss anything, we should probably burn some of these and make sure nobody picks up where they left off... I guess the stasis chambers might have a medical use though?" he ponders aloud while climbing the stairs.

[Amnestic]

"At this rate we may as well just burn the entire cellar, leave nothing behind," Vala remarks. If she's got any concerns about the party's sudden obsession with burning everything, she's taking it in stride with a glib smirk rather than any actual expression of worry. "Since one of them seems to have killed the gnome, not sure we want to leave them around either way."

Melian, to no one's great surprise, has better luck sussing out the details of the vestige binding process, to the extent that with some additional materials she could probably manage to perform the ritual in question, though it might require some practice, and the notes recovered would only link up to one vestige at most. Whether you want to risk summoning a foreign entity into your body is a whole other matter, however.

Up top, the one-armed elf is still quietly unconscious, the careful ministrations of Senna and Caelyn ensuring he gets no worse and is instead slowly on the mend. It could be a few hours before he wakes yet, leaving you with the question of whether to start the journey back today or to wait in the - relatively - safe confines of the ruined building.

[purepolarpanzer]

Caelyn Syol'arael Wood Elf Druid AC: 15 HP: 39/39 PP: 17 PIv: 10 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentrating on: I don't know about you all... Caelee says as she slowly spoonfeeds the elf, pushing the food to the back of his throat and then using her hand to manipulate his throat and aid him in swallowing. But I have just enough fire power remaining for the day to start several large fires down there. And I suggest we leave all the notes that these monsters have left behind in the brightest, hottest fire I can achieve. Though the druid's hands are gentle and careful, her words are cold rage. I also don't give a damn about a bonus payment that some bandit filth robbed and murdered to get to us. I don't want to move this man till he's had a chance to rest outside of that sarcophagus.

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- Senna nods and agrees with Caelyn. I will not start on the philosophical disparities, but the mages were clearly novices in both magecraft and the inner workings of bodies. But they are clearly even poor jailors. But what can you expect by a nation of totalitarian wizards? She looks around, clearly making others uncomfortable yet again with her babbling. We should destroy the work done so thoroughly that no one can reconstruct it, not even with magic. I just prefer fire for that, but you can do a bit of decorative confetti if you wish, Vala. Senna then pulls Sam to the side so both can have a private discussion but not far enough so no one can bud in if they so wish. I assume there was some part of magical compulsion to do so, but what exactly made you blurt out what Vyvian told me numerous time already. Do you really think that way too? Senna is clearly hurt but at the same time seems to care enough about Sam's opinion to ask him straight up.

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- "I dunno, I think I could handle a few more deals with dark forces," Sam comments to Caelyn as Melian informs them of the nature of the vestige rituals. Likely getting a less than stellar reactions, he holds up his hands and grins. "Only joking! Only joking. I agree, mostly." Dropping his hands back to his knees, sitting on one of the improvised seats they'd rested on with the false adventurers, Sam shrugs. "The lycanthropy experiments and 'vestige' stuff we should definitely burn. But I mean, if someone with better morals and ethics had the stasis chamber research maybe there could be a way for it to help someone?" he says, optimistically. "Gaz's alchemy notes might be useful for us, too. And I don't think we should tear this place down..." Looking back at the ruins, Sam shudders at the memories surrounding them. "This place is awful. But this guy's going to need somewhere safe to stay, we can't take him back to the camp without risking his safety. This is probably the most secure place he could hole up until our backup arrives, isn't it?" After their discussion, Sam follows Senna aside, looking guilty and avoiding her gaze. "Yeah, that crossbow made me just blurt it out... but it's not like, it wasn't making me lie. The opposite really." He looks down and crosses his arms. "Those poor people who got experimented on, we all thought the worst of them. But you kept pushing and pushing when they were clearly close to snapping, until they attacked us. Then you told Okethar and his group all of our specialties and stuff... and you kept poking and poking at J.J. until he nearly attacked you - and he might have turned out to be a bad guy, but the way you treated him like some kind of inferior being was really awful. And there was demanding a leadership position in the bandits when we just showed up. You just... really don't know when to leave things unsaid, Sen'."

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- I mean, I... Senna stutters, then turns her attention inside for a minute or two. I guess you are right. Still, how is there no divide for you? We murder gnolls and ogres left and right, and we cooperate with kobolds? And you did immediately trust Okethar, but you judge me for disliking the lizard that openly hates what I do? Senna sighs and turns her back onto her brother. You always were different, Sam. You never saw the differences betwenn man and - pardon me, monster races. Your own heritage makes you blind to differences like that, but I am a human. For the most, even the customs of elves are alien to me. But I learned about them. Then we encountered gnolls, and kobolds, and now lizardmen. But Sam, your magical abilities are not what defines you. But they are what defines me. Or at least how I define myself. I am a follower of Deneir, I advocate all ways of civilized magic. Even now, after all that, I can see ways in using the stasis chambers for good. What if you put hurt people in there, until a cleric arrived? Or until the cleric was able to deal with the catastrophe at hand. Often large scale desasters happen, and we cannot help because the healing magic drains us, makes it hard for us to help all immediately. That is why I picked up mundane medicine, to be able to help beyond what Deneir graces me with. And I long for the day where we can rescue all. Give the vestiges their bodies back. Free Okethar's group from the grip of Thay. Imprison the mages to let them see reason and apply their findings for the good of mankind. But today is not such a day.

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 27/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- Scratching the back of one hand with the other, Sam looks at the backs of his hands. "The way I treat people has more to do with my faith than my heritage, Senna. But I do know what it's like to have people look at you like an oddity." He sits back up, stretching his neck and settling back into a relaxed posture. "It's simple. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. That's the most basic tenet of justice. I was wrong about Okethar, and you were right about J.J. being a monster. But that's not always going to be the case. 'If we allow bias to cloud our judgement, our decisions will become like a beast, blind to reason, slave to programming'," he quotes a little of Bahamut's scriptures, quietly, perhaps mostly to himself. And maybe to avoid pissing Caelyn off by talking about 'beasts' like a bad thing. "I think there's wisdom in Vala's answer from earlier. Not everyone can find redemption. We can't save everyone, least of all from themselves. But I can protect the innocent, and I can look for that spark of good that says someone can be saved."

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- I could swear I already had this talk before, like twice. Senna smiles and nods in agreement. Let's get back to our patient. Or better yet... Back with Caelyn, Vala and Melian, Senna proposes the following. We sort through the area. We destroy any info pertaining any soul swapping rituals. We keep the stasis chambers. Okethar's lot and their victims are buried, as are the Thayans. I'll add a small prayer and then we prepare our camp for the night. Any objections? Once our sleeping beauty is awake, we decide what to do with him. But I want his opinion first.

[Amnestic]

The conversation dovetails off as you set to work burning that which requires burning and burying bodies - helped in no small part by Vala dutifully lugging corpse after corpse up the stairs to where there's actual dirt to bury them. She doesn't seem to mind the dirty work, neither touching the dead bodies nor the actual digging, though she does make a point of removing a layer or two as she sweats up a storm. Lacking any way to set fire to things other than mundane torches, she leaves that to Caelyn and Sam.

The prisoner-turned-patient responds well to treatment, and after a long day of surprisingly hard work considering the lack of any sort of conflict, his eyes flicker once more and he awakens. Slowly, steadily, the elf sits up. His voice is groggy when he speaks, though it lacks any sort of fear or concern. He seems cogent enough to recognise you're not a threat. "Where...am I? Who are you? What...what day it is?" He peers around the area, a lack of recognition clearly writ on his features. "The trees...still in the woods then at least."

Spoiler: Identified Items

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Bula's Flail
Hits with this magical flail do an additional 2d6 necrotic damage.

Okethar's Crossbow of Shame (requires attunement)
Whenever a bolt is fired from this crossbow, the wielder must succeed on a DC10 Charisma save or be forced to utter a shameful truth about themselves. Whenever someone is struck by a bolt from this crossbow (and they survive), they also must succeed on a DC15 Charisma save or be forced to utter a shameful truth about themselves. Unless alone, those affected must speak in a volume that can be heard by others.

Gnome's Boots (requires attunement)
While wearing these boots you seem to be just slightly off to one side when attacked. You have +1 AC.

Fancy Velvet Bag
It's a bag of holding.

Also short rest, roll a hit dice or three if you wanna.

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- Calm my friend. You are with friends. It is 15th of Flamerule, you are in the Western Heartlands, somewhere south to Baldur's Gate. Our names are... Senna pauses looking at Sam. my name is Senna, I'll be your hosting cleric tonight. She tries to smile a sheepish smile to improve the situation. Spoiler Show Charisma roll (1d20)[19]

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 34/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- With the dark tomes of forbidden knowledge returned to the ash from whence they came, Sam breathes out a heavy sigh, his breath giving off heat as he sheds some of the sweltering warmth of the day. Sitting down around the campsite, he happily plays a few small idle games with the others to pass the time - minor card games and tricks, jokes, some kind of strange math game involving fingers. When the elf finally wakes up Sam smiles at him, and gives Senna a thankful nod for her careful discretion. "Do you remember your name, how you got here?" he asks the man, just as careful not to give away any unnecessary details this time. Spoiler: OOC Show He'd give Help for Advantage, but a 19 is already hard to top.

[purepolarpanzer]

Caelyn Syol'arael Wood Elf Druid AC: 15 HP: 39/39 PP: 17 PIv: 10 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentrating on: Caelyn voices her opinion that the bodies should be left down below to be cremated by her fires, but it seems she is outvoted this time. She sets about her work with no sense of joy or mania like she experienced in combat, and she makes sure to take extensive time between blasts of fire to avoid making contact with whatever dark force she was nearly overwhelmed by when she overheated with flames before. Looking at Senna's burned locks make her wonder at her own, which are frizzed and dry from the inferno she was wrapped in, but not overly damaged. Whatever it was that reacted so strongly to her fire, at least it didn't seem to want to burn her. Caelyn joins Sam in his silly games while they wait, her heart not truly in it, but still enjoying a sense of levity after what seemed like hours of combat, fire, and darkness. When the elf woke, however, she tossed her cards aside and rushed to his side. She doesn't add her voice, not wishing to overwhelm the weakened man, but gives him a warm and friendly smile. Nothing there that could betray them later.

[Amnestic]

"Flamerule?" he utters in mild disbelief. "It's been...no, what year?" Once you tell him - 1369DR - he lowers his head. "Fifteen months." He moves to stand, but stumbles, and evidently thinks better of trying a second time. "Ralaar is my name. I was living in these woods with some others. One night when I was resting the world went black, and then..." He trails off for a moment, before shaking his head to dispel the thoughts. "Were there any others who survived?" A pause for the confirmation, he doesn't need words to know the truth of it. "So they're probably all dead. What do you plan to do with me?" His words are hollowed out, as the soul has left and only the base mechanicals of his body remain, going through the motions.

Vala, for her part, keeps her distance, standing on watch while you deal with Ralaar inside.

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- These woods have been taken over by bandits. We know of wyverns and a dragon. In terms of what you do furthermore, I wanted to ask you what you wanted to do. We are onto something time critical so our idea was to leave you here with a bit of food until you can travel. If you are from around here, you may want to visit Beregost before you continue on your ways. But I for one am unsure if you can take this route in your condition. Senna struggles not to cry for the poor elf.

[RandomWombat]

Cheerful Sam Half-Dragon Warlock | Imp Familiar AC: 12 HP: 34/39 | AC: 13 HP: 10/10 PP: 10|14 PIv: 15|10 PIs: 11|13 Conditions: -- | -- "Once we're finished with our business we could escort him to the next town on our path," Sam suggests. At this point he doesn't really suspect the elf, but he keeps the details loose in case the bandits should get a hold of him and make him talk. "This place is horrible and I don't recommend exploring beyond the bedroom, but it's got a door and that's the most secure you're going to get in these woods, Ralaar."

[Amnestic]

"Oh." He doesn't look particularly sad or put out. In fact it's hard to see if he's having an emotional reaction at all. He barely makes eye contact. "I suppose that makes sense." There's a long pause where he says nothing, staring at nothing, perhaps even thinking nothing. He might have almost frozen - or died - if it weren't for the ragged breathing and occasional blink. When he finally speaks again, it's a quiet statement of fact, devoid of emotional input.

"I don't think I want anything."

[Spore]

Senna Human Arcana Cleric AC: 18 HP: 33/33 PP: 17 PIv: 12 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentration: -- With watery eyes, Senna calms herself and turns to Sam. Now would be a great time for some cards. Keeps the old melon running, keeps us busy until Caelee returns with food. Vala is dealing. Sam would you explain the rules again, for uh, Ralaar and not myself, who definitely knows the rules. The cleric smiles, her attempts at distracting the elf feel a bit helpless.

[purepolarpanzer]

Caelyn Syol'arael Wood Elf Druid AC: 15 HP: 39/39 PP: 17 PIv: 10 PIs: 17 Conditions: -- Concentrating on: After a few hands of cards, Caelee arrives with a large sack of scavenged food. Nuts, berries, mushrooms, and roots. Hope no one was in the mood for meat, the ruckus down below seems to have scared off the local game. She presents the sack to Vala before sitting down, getting out her story staff, and whittling details of their latest battle and rescue into the wood.

Spoiler: OOC

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Caelee got 6 lbs of assorted forest food. Should last the elf nearly a week.