Giantslayer: The Hill Giant's Pledge [IC]

[Admyral]

"This is beyond my ability to heal, but I may be able to slow it down..." Gharmez explains. "Provided I have enough time to prepare."

She finds the quietest place she can and begins to meditate.

Spoiler: reallocate spell slots

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Replace all four 2nd Level CL slots with Slow Poison
Replace all five 1st Level CL and one RA with Remove Sickness

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar picks up his plate. "We should save this and see if we can determine if it was poisoned. Get the cook up here." Looking at his group, he asks "Does anyone have any specialized knowledge of poison?"

[lostsole31]

"Specialized? No, but I am an herbalist and a healer," says Cici who quickly descends upon Abenor, giving him some manner of purgative. "But we've talked before, Aasgar, and you and Abenor are both capable field healers. Start helping people purge the poison! Poisons like this ... even if 'poison' is tainted food ... are slow and insidious. So don't assume people are fine. Go check on the captain, Aasgar."

"And I an alchemist and a physician," says Galakhar, who head over to Gharmez. "My lady, we have not time for that now. There are many who ate the food, and where you no longer have magic, you still have knowledge."

Galakhar begins to treat poison on Gharmez as Cici gives Abenor a cure-all remedy of her own devising.

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar crosses to check on the Captain and offers aid if needed.

[Admyral]

Gharmez waits for Galakhar to finish his treatment and then starts to check on the others that may have left the room already to make sure they are aware, using the purgative techniques she observed Cici doing to treat poison on as many as she can.

[lostsole31]

At the end of the first minute ...

Thanks to the timely intervention of Cici using a cure-all on Abenor, Abenor makes his first save as well.

Galakhar stops Gharmez from moving around, as doing sympathetic Heal checks doesn't work ... Galakhar wants a "good patient" who will let him do his job.

Coxswain Halrex takes an antitoxin and rallies, but begs someone to see to the captain. "He's had liver damage and years in Urgir's fighting pits makes him susceptible if this is a poison, and not just bad food!"

Aasgar sees to the captain, and is expert in anti-poison measures, but the captain does feel the effects anyway, likely from what the coxswain said.

A healer can't do everything by themselves. They can only prime the body to better be able to fight for itself. Cici's herb lore keeps Abenor from succumbing to the poison (for now). But for all of his medical expertise, Gharmez could do nothing for

A minute after the first pangs washed through the encampment, all of the other unnamed crew members are fine. Uncomfortable, and they will have some GI distress, but otherwise fine. It is as if they ate a different batch of a thing that only had minor tainting.

However, as for the "named" folk .... Captain Bloodtusk and Gharmez become weakened.

Spoiler: Weakened

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Weakened: A character weakened by Strength poison suffers a –2 penalty on Strength-based attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, and ability checks. Her carrying capacity is divided by 3. She is always considered to be carrying at least a medium load.

---

That said, NOBODY from the main group is fine just yet, as there is still significant discomfort, so things still need to happen.

Galakhar treats Gharmez, but this time, he administers an antitoxin to her as well as normal medical procedures.

Gharmez, you must take this time to "be a good patient" and can't administer aid to anyone while someone is administering to you. Roll a Fort save with an additional +9 bonus.

Cici goes over to administer herbs and medicine to the captain. "See to the coxswain."

Aasgar, do you go to the coxswain as Cici directed? Assuming so, roll a Fort save but also a Heal check.

[Admyral]

With a little grumbling about being useless, Gharmez submits to the weakness and sits. "Thank you, my friend," she says graciously and lets Galakhar do his work.

Spoiler: tech info

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Fortitude: [roll]d20+6+9[/roll]

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar will go check on the coxswain as recommended.

Spoiler: Technical Information

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Fort Save: (1d20+14)[28]

Hardy (Ex): +2 racial bonus on saves vs. poison, spells, & SLAs.

Heal Check: (1d20+10)[23]

[lostsole31]

First Minute Complete, Second Minute ...

Despite all of Galakhar's brilliant medical attention and the significant help from the antitoxin, Gharmez had completely emptied herself today of spells in assisting the crew's task, and her body is "primed" to accept the secondary effect of the tainted food .... and she falls unconscious.

Aasgar's dwarven constitution holds so firmly, that he burns off the remains of the poison in his body (no more saves needed). Dwarven persistence helps, and Aasgar doesn't "let" the coxswain fall unconscious. But she isn't out of the woods yet, still fighting off the secondary effects of what is surely a poison, rather than simply tainted food. Some type of sedative, it would seem.

Thanks to Cici's remedy, Abenor need fight no longer, and he attends to Kurst. With the help of elven medicine hybridized with desert healing, Kurst is now fully in the clear.

Cici makes and administers a quick remedy to the captain, and the effect ends. Unfortunately, she was so focused on the captain, that the poison catches up to her and weakens her. Worse, her little weasel familiar Lucette now feels it, and is weakened.

Galakhar's not a tough older man, but he is clever, and it is his cleverness that finally and fully clears the poison in his system.

So, to recap ... Aasgar, Abenor, Galakhar, Kurst, and Captain Bloodtusk are clear, though Abenor and the captain are weakened.

Cici, Lucette, and the coxswain are weakened and still fighting, though the coxswain might pull through clear if Aasgar stays with her.

Aasgar, what do you do?

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar remains at the coxswains side giving aid.

[lostsole31]

Second Minute Complete, Third Minute ...

Galakhar lets the encampment know that the poison is NOT deadly ... that it is a sedative. So if someone goes unconscious, move to someone you can help.

Aasgar continues giving aid to Coxswain Halrex. With his help, she is finally clear!

Cici takes one of her own remedies while giving normal medical aid to Lucette, though her weasel still falls unconscious. Her remedy does fully heal herself though.

And that is the end of it.

Crisis Ended ...

Galakhar studies Gharmez and realizes that the sedative will keep her unconscious for a few hours ... there's no "slapping her awake" or anything like that; she's unconscious, not asleep. Also, he can expect her to feel pretty sick for about a day afterward.

[BuckGodot]

”It seems we were meant to be rendered unconscious for a reason. I suggest we double the guard for the night and be at the ready.”

[lostsole31]

Galakhar gathers Aasgar, Abenor, Kurst, and Cici to him for a quiet conversation. "I've taken a look at the remains of the food and I've identified, as I've mentioned, a powerful sedative ... a sedative not meant for something as small as us, mind you, but for something far larger. I think that whatever the captain uses as a simian tranquilizer for his girallon was put into the meal. The main crew was not as badly affected, though most feel a bit weakened, where the rest of us .... we who are the passengers, but also the two officers, were most affected. I was not helping in the kitchen today as I normally do, as I was needed to supervise the dam removal efforts. All of the other crew members save one were in the working party, but Gashnakh ... the cook ... still stayed in the scullery to see to his duties as cook."

[BuckGodot]

”We should inform the captain before we take action but not delay in doing so.” Aasgar says awkwardly as he draws his axe.

[lostsole31]

"I'll go with you," says Galakhar.

Galakhar and Aasgar go to the captain, who looks up at the two of you ...

[BuckGodot]

”Captain, after researching the cause of the crew’s ailment, we have determined that it was some of the sedative you use to calm your simian. By reasoning out who was present in various places, we have reason to believe that Gashnakh may have more information about how the sedative came to be in the food. We wished to inform you and to ask what you would like the next course of action should be considering he is one of your crew?”

[lostsole31]

He looks at his coxswain and then nods slowly. "Question him. Not the whole crazy lot of you, mind you. Just one or two of you. He's not to be killed, regardless of what you learn."

[BuckGodot]

Nodding to the Captain Aasgar turns and takes Galakhar to the side. "Coincidentally enough, I have just learned some skills that may aid us in an interrogation. How are you at determining if one is lying?"

[lostsole31]

"I need a minute of observation or conversation with a subject to note only analyze their tells, but also to get an insight into how best to interact with them," Galakhar answers. "After that, I'd like to think I'm ... adequate."

[BuckGodot]

"Excellent. I can engage him in conversation while you analyze him. You?" he points to the coxswain, "Kindly remain quiet, please." and turns to head for the galley.

[lostsole31]

You won't find him in the scullery on the keelboat, but back ashore amongst the other sailors. And like the other sailors, he also appears under the weather.

Spoiler: OOC

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Note, again, he's with other sailors, not in a quiet space himself.

[BuckGodot]

Turning to Galakhar Aasgar says, "If you can act as though you're examining a sailor near him, I'll try to get him away from the group and offer to help him. Then you can observe our interaction. Sound plan?"

[lostsole31]

Galakhar shakes his head. "I should be the one to chat with him. I worked with him in the scullery, previously. I will be the one to bring him away as you check on the sailors like a caring general (with some medical skill). Gashnakh doesn't know you, so you rolling up on him might spook him. I'll subtly wave you in when ready. How is that counter-plan?"

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar nods his agreement and heads toward a sailor near Gashnakh offering his aid but subtly watching the interaction between the two.

[lostsole31]

Galakhar goes up to Gashnakh and asks to speak to him to the side, and does so. They seem to converse for about a minute when Galakhar does a "beckon" hand signal behind his back.

As Aasgar comes up, Galakhar goes, "Hey, Aasgar! I don't know if you ever actually met the cook, Gashnakh. We were both trying to figure out what went wrong with the dinner. Gashnakh, what were you telling me?"

Gashnakh begins talking. As he does, Aasgar ... are you doing anything?

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar will use his keen insight to try to determine if Gashnakh is trying to deceive us.

Spoiler: Technical Information

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Sense motive

[lostsole31]

"Oh, I poisoned the meal," says Gashnakh plainly and flatly, even helpfully, as if it was five o'clock on a Toilday eve at the pub and he was ordering his first pint of the day.

Galakhar looks at Aasgar with a smile, "See? He poisoned the meal," before turning back to Gashnakh. "And what was it? It was pretty effective."

"Ohh, uhh, it was the monster drug that we use to dope the captain's cargo-beast."

Galakhar looks at Aasgar, staunching an incredulous smile, "Simian tranquilizer, you mean?"

"Yeah, that's it," says Gashnakh, with Galakhar still looking at Aasgar with that goofy grin.

Galakhar turns back to him, "Whose idea was it?"

"Oh, my idea .... yeah-yeah, my idea."

"And .... why did you drug us?"

"Don't ... remember? Seemed like a good idea at the time?" questions Gashnakh with his porcine face screwed deeply in thought.

Spoiler: Aasgar

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Your keen insight gives you nothing.

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar looks surprised. ”That was too easy… he says aside to Galakhar. “I have no proof but I believe he was mind controlled somehow. The fact that he struggles to remember why and that he claims to have come up with it on his own are all suspect. What are your thoughts?”

[lostsole31]

Galakhar mutters to you in the aside, "Not a question. I wouldn't say 'mind-controlled' so much as I would say 'charmed,' which is much harder to detect, but...." and here Galakhar lists some very specific "tells" for how he is absolutely sure Gashnakh was ... is ... charmed.

[BuckGodot]

"Is there a way to overpower that effect or counter it? I am not familiar with these mystical ways."