Quest #10 "Beetle Juice?"

[SirOwen]

Avaala

As Saracen finishes using his god's healing magic upon Avaala, the mage immediately moans. It only lasts for a moment, and is quickly replaced by deep, sharp breaths hissed through gritted teeth. It is obvious the man is in considerable pain.

"I'm sorry," Avaala mutters."I'm trying to be silent." He pauses a moment, and then, "Is it over? Did we win? Monocar? Are you okay? Where's Rollo?"

As Rollo nuzzles him, Avaala seems to calm a bit. He runs his hands over the dog's ears, trying to scratch behind them. "Good boy... good boy."

"Saracen, I guess healing me was your doing? Thank you." He finishes.

[Storm11]

The half-orc nods at the magic-user in acknowledgement of the thanks. ”You were quite far gone wizard. It took two tries to bring you back. You’ll be sore for a while but should be ok. I can’t do much about the scars though, but then, I like scars, look at my face!” he winks and offers that ghastly snaggletoothd grin of his.

”Come, let us get back to Beachtown before anything else befalls us, I am out of light magic and these bugs, little and big, are driving me insane!”

[ChubbyPixie]

Chauncey counts out his gold, anticipating the purchase of some sort of glass containers to store the acid when they get back. "Does the extortionate shopkeeper have glassware of any kind? I forgot to check before we left, so busy was I with my preparations and magical studies."

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Is very happy when his clumsy prayers are answered that he looks as if he may hug the mage, but stops short when he hears the hiss of pain, realizing that may be a bad idea. However that doesn't keep him from grabbing up Saracen in a bearhug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I'll never get tired of seeing you do that! What? Can't what? I can hear you... bree? Oh! Breath! Why not?........................ Oh!" And the big man lets him go a little red faced. "Sorry." he says sheepishly.

To Avaala: he kneels down rubbing Rollo's ears and stroking his back. "Good ole Rollo here did a better job taking care of you then I did, I'm afraid. I'll do better next time. I promise. You want me to take this bandage off your face now? Can you walk? You want me to carry you the rest of the way? I habe water if your thirsty. Food too... I heard there was this fella once that wondered arpund dark castles, and he figured out that if he hit a wall with a whip hard enough, he could break it and chicken would fall out. If he ate the chickeb, his wounds would suddenly heal. I don't know if there is a castle here, but we could make a whip and look for wall chicken if it helps."

To Saracen. "Does Photus have wall chicken magic too?"

He turns to the most adrquate mage he's ever known. "I don't know about extortia-whatever, but his stuff is expensive. I talked to him today, and I think he can't help it. He's a good guy, but everything cost him extra to have it brought out here, and he makes it as available as he can. If he doesn't have glass, maybe someone in town can work with clay and we can pay them for their time. Might be better for making something that will break when we need them to, too. I know I've broken a lot of clay pots in my day..." he grins getting ready to launch into another story.

[Inferno]

Jack, lost boy:

Ghostly pale from blood loss, Jack stumbles again. This time, he is slow to get up. He crawls to the stretcher and lays next to Avaala. If he can, he pulls a blanket over them to shield them from the bugs. "...I'm sorry..." he says quietly.

[Storm11]

Saracen slips up surreptitiously to the adequate prestigidator, and whispers quietly.

”I still have lots of glass shards we recently recovered. You know!” Wink wink. “Perhaps we could shape them ourselves into some kind of container with enough heat? I don’t know much about it all, could it be possible?”

The half-orc squints at the various people he is with with his new shiny stone, and then looks out of it to sea, examining any chances seen through it. He then pockets it secretly within his robes and heft’s the big stretcher, hoping someone lights a torch and smokes the little bugs out of here, and heads back up the Beach to Beachtown.

[Urson]

Luther

Luther scowls at the damage done to his blade. Dammit, Granther gave me that sword. He moves to throw it away, but then stops and sheathes it. Mebbe I can cobble a brush axe out of it.

Anyone else need help getting back to town? OK- let's travel!

[SirOwen]

Avaala

"Thanks, Monocar," answers Avaala. He accepts the water gratefully. He reaches up and slowly pulls the bandages off his face. He gently feels the skin there, noting the swelling and the extent of the damage. "I think this is going to be okay, once the swelling goes down. A little more weathering, for sure, but not too bad." He looks to Saracen again."If this had had to heal naturally, I think it would have been a lot worse. Thank you again."

"Monocar," he continues weakly after hearing Monocar's offer. "I've been studying magic for many years, and I must honestly say that I have never heard of getting chicken from a wall by whipping it. If such a thing exists, I just want to live long enough to see it. As for walking, I'm still pretty tender. I feel a little cooked. If it's possible, I'd like to stay on the stretcher just a little longer."

Jack, lost boy:

Ghostly pale from blood loss, Jack stumbles again. This time, he is slow to get up. He crawls to the stretcher and lays next to Avaala. If he can, he pulls a blanket over them to shield them from the bugs. "...I'm sorry..." he says quietly.

"Looks like they got you, too, huh, Jack?" Avaala asks, trying to smile past his red, swollen face. "Sorry for what? Everyone out there had a pretty good idea of what we were after. I don't see any of our team missing, and we killed what? Three or four of those things? I get to say 'we' because Rollo helped. And thanks for the blanket. Good idea. I'm cooked, but I'm not ready to be eaten." Avaala lets a pause hang for a moment. "Ain't adventuring great?"

[Inferno]

Avaala

"Ain't adventuring great?"

OOC:

Irony is lost on Jack.

He can't keep his eyes open any longer.

[tkrexx]

Lightfinger

Unaware that young Jack was so sorely wounded, the Halfling pats the Lost Elf Boy on the head as he closes his eyes. You did well, Jack, yes, very well indeed. Rest now. He does what he can for his young comrade's injuries, then begins to examine the slain insects, trying to devise a way to bring them along back to town safely. Accidental after-death reflexes causing more melting should be avoided if at all possible. Checking the gelatinous blob that was once the adventurer they came upon earlier also crosses his mind. Could be some coin to be found there.

[ChubbyPixie]

Monocar
He turns to the most adrquate mage he's ever known. "I don't know about extortia-whatever, but his stuff is expensive. I talked to him today, and I think he can't help it. He's a good guy, but everything cost him extra to have it brought out here, and he makes it as available as he can. If he doesn't have glass, maybe someone in town can work with clay and we can pay them for their time. Might be better for making something that will break when we need them to, too. I know I've broken a lot of clay pots in my day..." he grins getting ready to launch into another story.

"Hmmmm. Clay pots. Not a bad idea at all, Monocar. We may be able to make several small, clay-pot grenadelets, as it were. Hmmmmm. Yes...." Chauncey steeples his fingers as he walks down the beach, staring into the middle-distance, presumably imagining the various ways to melt a sea troll. When Saracen approaches he nods sagely then congratulates the brute on his brutish sword-work."Nice... ah... chopping back there, Saracen. What manner of miracle will you effect with your new lens, sir? I assume it is holy to you in some fashion, and not merely practically useful?"

[Storm11]

The half-orc nods enthusiastically at the wizards words. ”Thank you, nice bit of spell work yourself there! It has a magic all of its own, I know not what yet but I plan to use it for some holy endeavours indeed. We shall see, Pholtus guides my hand! Keep yer paws crossed!” he says with a wink and a nudge.

”The sea troll is perhaps next on our list, but I won’t be going into it tomorrow without a full complement of my light magic, which means there will be no further healing and several of our group will have to attack the creature seriously injured. Or I can use my magic to heal the wounded tomorrow and we can try and lure the sea troll out of hiding the day after, when everyone is at full strength. But using the lord of lights healing gifts and then taking on the sea troll without access to his other magic is beyond foolish and I won’t be a party to it. So I guess it’s up to the rest of you what you plan to do, with what I have just outlined as my final offer!” He looks at the others truly unsure of what they will decide to do, being usually reckless, impatient and headstrong, as those without magic tend to be.

[Urson]

Luther

We'll make further plans when we're all safe. For now, let's just get the wounded back to town, shall we?

[Bluehorse]

Monocar

Muses more as they walk the rest of the way into town. Carrying his side of the stretcher with seemingly little thought. "We need time to get everything ready anyway. A day in town may be a good idea regardless. We need to butcher the bugs and get their butt juice without losing a hand. We need to get some jars. Maybe we could dig a hole in pne of the shacks to keep it all cool...er in. I think while some of us are taking care of that, some others should update the Treefolk about what we're doing and check on Owen. That should give us time to heal up too."

[OGRE MAGE]

Beetle Juice x3
Earthday, The 25th of Reaping
Late Afternoon, Hot, Muggy, Extremely Buggy

Once back at the sand again, the party feels like they have escaped the immediate danger of the deadly beetles. They all breathe a bit easier as they make their arrangements to get back to town. Saracen depletes his daily allotment of magical healing, bringing Avaala back to the world of the living. The half-orc swats away at the intense clouds of insects, actually moving out into the sun to see if that will help. He suggests lighting some torches, hoping the smoke will help keep the insects at bay long enough to get back to town. The smoke and fire seem to help, but only a little.

Jack has had about enough excitement for one trip. His loss of blood and numerous bug bites worsen his current condition, allowing him only enough energy to flop down next to Avaala on his stretcher for a nap. Lightfinger worries about the boy’s condition while pondering the thought of going back into the jungle alone to search the remains of the gooey puddle that was once the last victim of the beetles. Alordan is glad to still be breathing and offers to help with the heavy lifting along the way home.

Avaala, Chauncey, and Monocar discuss the groups next possible course of action, bringing up things like glassware, giant insect dissection, clay pots, and, of all other things………wall chicken. Luther tries to push the group to stay motivated on getting back to town while Saracen continues playing with his piece of round magnifying glass. The head strong half-orc makes his opinions quite well known as the group departs, telling everyone listening that he will NOT be going after the sea troll until he has renewed his full complement of magical prayers. The group trudges on, dragging the wounded and the dead behind them as they make their way towards town.

At one point along the journey, a loud growling can be heard coming from just inside the tree line. The fighters grab for their weapons, silently hoping that it isn’t anything big. The noise happens a few more times, but nothing ever comes from it and it eventually ceases. The trip back to town is grueling in the hot afternoon sun and the pesky insects are far more relentless than they usually are in the blazing sunshine. The tiny bugs seem to really enjoy feasting on the huge dead insect carcasses. After many long hours of trudging along, the party is finally glad to put the trip behind them once they reach the outskirts of the humble beachside town. It is already getting late in the afternoon by the time they arrive and once again, none of them spot any sign of their friends form the other party. It has been several days since Krystal, Bonnie, Ferris, Brufrig, Waes, Franny, and Keilif has been seen or heard from and their chances of still being alive lessens with every passing night out in the jungle.

Go ahead and do your thing now that you are back in Beachtown. I will leave this thread up for anything else that you want to do with the beetles. Please post other conversations, ideas, planning, or anything else that is not pertaining to the beetles in their proper threads. (For example, if you want to discuss the troll battle, or go visit with Randall, please do that in the correct thread to avoid the confusion of me moving your posts around.) If you want to go directly to your shacks so you can rest, that is also fine. Once everyone is ready to call it a day, we can advance this day along to the next morning.

I will get an xp reward for killing the beetles written up for you all shortly. Until then......role away.

Luther R2 19/20
Jack 1/10 CL, DM, RM, 1/1 first
Lightfinger T2 9/10
Chauncey 5/6 CL, DM, RM, 0/1 first
Saracen 11/12 0/3 first
Avaala 3/5 CL, DM, RM, 1/1 first
Monocar F2 5/21
Alordan 3/10

[ravenn4544]

Alordan has only one thought in mind - sleeping.

[SirOwen]

Avaala

Avaala very tenderly gets up from the stretcher. He looks more guilty than anything else. Looking around the group, he says, "Look, I'm sorry for all this. I wasn't much more than a burden this trip out. I'll do better."

He closes to Saracen,"I'm just vain enough to want to thank you again. Your healing kept me from some serious scarring. I'm poor, a bit soft in the muscles, and I keep a dog to help me when I'm in trouble. Being ugly, too, would have been just too much."

"C'mon, Rollo, we need some food and rest." He and the big dog go back to their shack. Once they get there, Avaala strips off Rollo's armor, scoops up handfuls of dirt and sand from the floor, and scrubs the remaining dried acid out of any of his exposed fur, being extra gentle where the fur is missing."You know you're a good boy, right? I saw you tear that damned bug's leg off, tough guy. Good boy..."

Once he is sure Rollo is OK, the two of them head over to the Treehouse.

[OGRE MAGE]

XP reward for this side mission is now posted.

viewtopic.php?f=446&t=6230&p=329381#p329381

[Storm11]

Avaala

Avaala very tenderly gets up from the stretcher. He looks more guilty than anything else. Looking around the group, he says, "Look, I'm sorry for all this. I wasn't much more than a burden this trip out. I'll do better."

He closes to Saracen,"I'm just vain enough to want to thank you again. Your healing kept me from some serious scarring. I'm poor, a bit soft in the muscles, and I keep a dog to help me when I'm in trouble. Being ugly, too, would have been just too much."

"C'mon, Rollo, we need some food and rest." He and the big dog go back to their shack. Once they get there, Avaala strips off Rollo's armor, scoops up handfuls of dirt and sand from the floor, and scrubs the remaining dried acid out of any of his exposed fur, being extra gentle where the fur is missing."You know you're a good boy, right? I saw you tear that damned bug's leg off, tough guy. Good boy..."

Once he is sure Rollo is OK, the two of them head over to the Treehouse.

Saracen nods at the wizards gratitude. ”Pholtus has plans yet for you it seems magi. I have a way you can make it up to me Perhaps, if you are willing. I did not heal you for a favour in return, but perhaps one might be forth coming in the future. Rest now. Our battles and burdens are not yet done. There is a human to save in the treetops and a sea troll to vanquish before hand. Life on this island is never dull eh prestigidator. It’s not very lucrative at all however. I have had not a single count I my name since I got here. Thank Pholtus for the ability to create water and slay the food we need to eat.” With that said the penniless half-orc takes his leave to be about his business.

[SirOwen]

Avaala

"Hey Saracen!" Avaala calls. "I know you didn't heal me for money, but let me make a donation to the church of Pholtus to help care for His clergy here on the island, huh?"

Avaala holds out three gold coins, smiling hopefully.