Chapter 18 - Further Below Strod

[Bluehorse]

Sorry! I missed that. Will wait for AB to make a judgment

[AleBelly]

OK, given the context of events...I think it's reasonable that the party will know what KB's up to about halfway through his scribblings. We'll do simple initiative on this, with KB needed to win by two on a d6 to execute his action. It looks as if Angus will try to restrain him. Yenny too. Any others? Feel free to roll yourselves, or I'll do it when I update late tonight.

So far, I think the PCs are staying true to character. Well done. Let's just make sure to continue to keep conflict in character, please.

[Zhym]

Initiative: [1d6] = 2

[enn.in.me]

Initiative [1d6] = 3

Probably not try to restrain, but definitely interfere.

[Bluehorse]

Kablamicus

Looks slightly more startled than put off, throwing his arms in the air. Whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait! Hands off! See? I think the dank air is getting to everyone. Let's head outside and clear our heads, yes?

[Zhym]

Angus looks at the sunny sky above then back at the increasingly addled-seeming mage. "Do you...not think you're outside?" he asks in the tone of voice one would use with a child who happened to be waving a wand of fireballs around like it's a toy.

We're already outside:

The party escapes the lair with little trouble, dodging the pesky pointing things in the ceiling. They bring the mage outdoors in full daylight.

[onlyme]

Dandelion watches with amusement as the others dance around each other. (She has said she thinks they should take the mage back, but I dont care one way or the other...)

[tkrexx]

Hyde hears a skirmish transpiring behind him, and as he turns sees his party grabbing at each other. Even Kablamicus' robe seems in on the act, yanking itself away. Hah??

Even Kablamicus' robe seems in on the act, yanking itself away.

= Invisi-Yenny!

[AleBelly]

Kablamicus, his flustered face turning red under his floppy hat, quickly rummages through his pack. He pulls out a quill and parchment, and begins to quickly scribble. But he doesn't get far. Angus advances, his beard and hair seeming even more red in his agitated state. But suddenly Kablamicus' arm is yanked downwards, and Yenny appears out of thin air! The metal-armored gnome playfully smacks his quill out of his hand, and Angus nearly tackles him.

Dandelion looks on, bemused, while Hyde offers a confused "HAH!"

The mage squirms and calls to his owl. "Fly - inform my brothers and sisters there's a wizard coming his way!"

The bird immediately takes flight, heading east towards Alleborg. Kablamicus stops squirming as he watches the bird begin his journey.

seow_flight_gth.png (243.2 KiB) Viewed 852 times

[Zhym]

Angus's scowl deepens, turning his leathery face into a topological map of someplace geologically interesting. He reaches for his bow to shoot the messenger out of the sky—then lets his hand fall.

"Damn, but I miss Arnulf," he sighs. "Boy couldn't keep his insides inside, but he wasn't a damn fool jackass. If I paid as little mind to your thoughts as you've done on mine, that mage dude would be a corpse right now. You just think on that."

He takes a deep breath and watches the owl fly away. "Might not even matter. Your wizard 'kin' likely got more of a lick of sense than you. Be hard for 'em to have less. And if they want their turn at Renard here, what the hell. He can get whatever justice the King says he's got coming to him and he can get kicked out of wizard club."

He turns his gaze back on Kablamicus. "But we got us a bigger problem at the moment, what's that we got us a wizard we can't trust. I don't quite rightly know if Renard's got you charmed, if you're just a willful jackass, or both. But we can't have you setting that murdering spell-dude free—which suddenly seems like just the sort of idiot thing you might take a cotton to. You got any notions on how to solve that little problem?"

[enn.in.me]

Awkwardly attempting to reduce the stress level a bit, Yenny pipes up, "Why hello, everybody. Can you see me now?" Then, Angus' words sink in. She turns to face Kablamicus and studies him for a bit, and then looks towards Angus. "I suppose ropes and gags would work as well on Kablamicus as on this fox here. We could turn him over to the wizard's college while we give the fox to the town guard. Or perhaps to the temple--they could certainly see if he is charmed or just stupid. Every time they examined me, they decided I was just stupid. Painful, that."

[tkrexx]

Hyde ducks as the owl streaks by. Wo! Scoutin' him ahead, hah? That be a good plan, yeahh. So, why're we playin' grabass back there?

[Bluehorse]

Kablamicus

Hands still up innocently. I did nothing wrong! Nothing! See? I offer no resistance. So hands off!

[onlyme]

Dandelion continues to stand alert, waiting for someone to flinch.

(can we vote on what to do and be done with it? Dandelion doesnt care one way or the other. She would vote to take him back if she was the tiebreaker, but not enough to sway others that way)

[tkrexx]

I'd prefer not losing him.

[Zhym]

I'm kind of over the whole thing, frankly. I was hoping we'd be done with this Renard dude at least a month ago. Probably two. And I'm wishing Angus had just killed him. So let's just take the dude back to Alleborg and get back to delving. Hopefully without any more "independent thinking," if we can avoid it.

[Zhym]

Angus rolls his eyes at the obstreperous mage. Kablammicus, not Renard. He seems to be beset with pain-in-the-ass mages at the moment.

"Let's get us a move on, already."

[AleBelly]

Late 31 Culling (March), Year 44

The showdown ends in relative peace, perhaps due to Yenny's lighthearted approach to the discord. The party keeps a careful eye on Kablamicus as the wagon transports them and the captured Renard back to Alleborg. Travel along the old road is bumpy, and Galan vomits several times over the side of the transport, still feeling the ill effects of Kablamicus' spell. But nothing else of note happens. Through it all, Renard rides passively, not struggling. He seems resigned to his fate, no matter what it brings.

They pass through the fields surrounding Alleborg as the sun sets.



The air is damp, fragrant with the smells of the new vegetation the warming weather is bringing forth. They reach the gates well after dark.



The burning braziers illuminate the guards' faces as they converse briefly with the driver of the cart. They nod several times and approach the party. "Sirs...madams..." one of the guards adds, bowing slightly towards Yenny and Dandelion. "Driver here tells me you have a package. Yer in the Order, right? Well, it's late, but we best get you to Jobin right away."

The guard leads them towards the palace, and they await permission to enter the grounds. It seems to dawn on Renard that he's in a bit of trouble. He seems to be taking everything in. But no sound comes from his gagged mouth.

After several minutes, they party is led into the room where they first met with the king and Jobin. The big man, this time without armor or weapons, is nicely attired but is disheveled. He has clearly been woken from bed.

He listens intently to the party's story. And then he smiles. He looks over Renard's wounds, and takes note of Kablamicus' burn marks. "You subdued, and did not kill him. Well done." He crouches down next to the mage. "You'll be very informative, won't you?"

Seeming to anticipate Angus' question, he quickly pulls the party to the side and speaks in a low voice, looking mostly at the leather-faced ranger. "We're not going to torture him. But he doesn't need to know that yet. Our most vexing task will be figuring out how to interrogate a gagged wizard."

He sighs. "Well done. For those of you that haven't joined as Protectors of the Kingdom, I urge you to do so. Please come back in a few days. We may have more information of the lair. Or what else lies beyond. Any other business?" asks Jobin.

[enn.in.me]

”If by business you mean sleep and food, then I’d say about half a days’s worth!” Yenny stifles a yawn. ”I think anything else can wait. I’m going to head over to the temple. Should we meet up tomorrow evening at the pub?”

[onlyme]

Dandelion agrees to attend the upcoming dinner party.