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Kranston goes from horrified at the scalping to flummoxed by the Captain's question in about a second flat.

"In charge?" he says, looking around the group, "Which one of us is in charge? I never thought to ask...." Looking back to the Captain he adds, "I just write the traveling music."

Montego shows no emotions after the scalping and screaming.

"We have appointed no leader as of yet. That may be why we were late. You can speak freely to all in our group, Captain Rillian."

He looks over at Muldgar, wondering if he still harbors suspicions of Cassius, though he keeps those thoughts to himself for now.

Cassius

His eyes flicker as the drow is scalped. "I am not the leader, but I take responsibility for our delay. We were ambushed and an intelligent cross between an orc and an ogre talked of a drow. I wanted to interrogate it further." He looks down at the bloody and screaming drow. "I would like to be present at the interrogation, Captain. I fear you may be too gentle with him."

Monsieur Rose wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:54 pm Cassius looks down at the bloody and screaming drow. "I would like to be present at the interrogation, Captain. I fear you may be too gentle with him."

At this proclamation, Montego also agrees to accompany the interrogators.

Muldgarr watches as the drow is taken away and catches Montego’s gaze and nods to him. He will follow down to the interrogation room, but stands watch outside it.

The Drow prisoner, once screaming now just whimpering, is led away and the heroes of the border watch follow. The interrogation that follows is quick and bloody, leaving the Drow barely alive and hoarse from screaming. The information he gave up is shocking:
Iuz has set up a secret base within Furyondy. Ten miles southwest of Barduk are the Cragson coal mines, founded nearly 100 years ago by humans. For 70 years the mines served as the top producer of coal in Furyondy. Then disasters struck: cave-ins, dry veins, and rumors of hauntings after several accidental deaths. Eventually, most of the workers left out of superstitiion, and the mines became too unprofitable to maintain.
From this base of operations, the Old One plans to rekindle the war and strike at the heart of Furyondy. He has ordered a series of border strikes to draw attention and to deplete the reserves of the border posts. He uses these diversions to move shipments of cargo and troops into the mines. When the base is ready, Iuz will increase the raids and force Furyondy to move most of its troops to the front. Then, he will strike the vulnerable inner regions with troops from the secret base, capturing undefended territory and cutting off supply lines to the border troops. The hordes of The Horned Society will then swarm across the Veng, pinning down the border troops, eventually joining forces with the inner squads. These united forces of the Old One will sweep overland, crushing Furyondy once and for all.

According to the Drow, there are 30-40 Orcs at the base at any given time, along with a handful of leaders and an Ogre or two "for heavy lifting." There are two entrances: one through a shaft in a small building called "the Chimney" in the middle of the camp; the other is a secret entrance hidden in the forest, a natural tunnel delving deep into the side of the hill.

Captain Rillian steps outside and washes the gore from his hands in a bucket of rain water. "I'm going to assume you are up for one last mission. This secret base must be found and the forces eliminated, else we are up shit creek without a paddle. Luckily, it seems the Old One is not yet ready to descend on us full force. If you can shut down this secret base, it will set him back and buy us time to get word to the capital. When can you leave and what do you need from us to help you in this mission?"

Montego isn’t shy.

“Healing, provisions, transportation, a map of the area, any supplies you think we’ll need, a restock of our ammunition, any extra oil or other flammable fuels you might have, and a safe, comfortable place where we can rest out the night.”

“If that can be arranged, we could leave by first light tomorrow.”

Cassius

He listens to Montego's requests, mentally marking things off and nodding along. "I think that's the lot. Has anyone scouted out the area recently? Do we know how busy the camp above is?"

Captain Rillian nods as Montego and Cassius lay out what they are going to need for this mission. He's sighs deeply and looks at the ground, then back up at the sky as the sun fights against the clouds to shine forth on this battleground.
"We will spare what we can. The mines are only 10 miles away; if you need horses that won't be a problem. Food provisions will be taken care of in the mess hall, and all the arrows you need. As for healing, well, our young priests are going to be working non-stop to tend to the wounded. But...they'll help as they can. Is there not a healer in your group?"

"There's a wart-witch in Barduk, Captain." This from a young soldier standing nearby. "Zamora is her name. She can soothe whatever ails ya." The soldier gives a toothy grin and a chuckle.

Rillian ignores the man. "As for a map...don't have one. Never needed one before, and as far as I know there has been little to no scouting of that area in over a year; been a bit longer since I last took some troops there for archery practice. There are some above ground buildings scattered about with a mine shaft near the middle. I know of no secret forested entrance. But, I can have a crude map to the mines themselves by the time you pull out in the morning."

Sai

After tending to Emeral and making sure her arm is mended. He sets out to find Jetero's gear and spellbook. Making sure there is no names in any memo book or notebook that will link any of the group to be next on the Assassin's lists. He also looks for the Black Blade of the Assassin that was used to do the killing, atop the tower. Once the blade and spell book are in hand he returns to the wagons to get a good nights sleep and read the spell book.

Darklin2 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 2:39 pm After tending to Emeral and making sure her arm is mended. He sets out to find Jetero's gear and spellbook. Making sure there is no names in any memo book or notebook that will link any of the group to be next on the Assassin's lists. He also looks for the Black Blade of the Assassin that was used to do the killing, atop the tower. Once the blade and spell book are in hand he returns to the wagons to get a good nights sleep and read the spell book.

Thanks for posting this > I completely spaced out and forgot about your PM
Getting old, man.

Captain Rillian has the blade but will not turn it over, and Jetero's body did not have a spellbook on it. However, Emerall finds the tome in Jetero's belongings and hands it to Sai. "Perhaps this can help you in your mission."

hedgeknight wrote: ↑Tue Jul 27, 2021 11:00 am Captain Rillian As for healing, well, our young priests are going to be working non-stop to tend to the wounded. But...they'll help as they can. Is there not a healer in your group?"

"There's a wart-witch in Barduk, Captain." This from a young soldier standing nearby. "Zamora is her name. She can soothe whatever ails ya." The soldier gives a toothy grin and a chuckle.

Rillian ignores the man.

"We do have a priest, sir. But he seems to care more for his damn bird than those of us who continue to keep him alive."

"If your priests aren't able to heal us, perhaps our departure will need to be delayed for a few days while we heal naturally. Look at us sir. Do you really expect us to continue in the current shape we are in?"

Montego listens to the exchange about the witch, asking the soldier for the details once they are out of earshot from the Captain.

Captain Rillian shakes his head when Montego finishes talking.
"Delay is not the option. I will...talk with my acolytes...see what we can do for you. You've proven true to your word thus far. For now, we could use some help with the wounded and the dead."

As he walks away, the young soldier is standing there and Montego asks him about the wart-witch, Zamora.
"Oh, well she's a cabin on the outskirts of Barduk. I've been there a few times...er...for healing. Yes, for healing. She, erm, she is in touch with the old gods and is very, erm, skilled."

Upon seeing the spell book, Kranston expresses interest in "getting a peek at it," too.

"I have found that if I see how a spell is done, I can sing a song to counter it," he says. "Kind of a magical wet-blanket, if you will."

Muldgarr had been pacing back and forth during the interrogation. He wants to complete this mission alive, so healing is needed before entering the mine. He overhears Montego talking with a soldier.. I’ll visit this witch, this Zamora with you, if these acolytes don’t want to waste their healing on us! Then we need to do so by some other means! I’m pretty messed up, no way to effectively swing my sword or shoot my bow without it!

By Captain Rillian's orders, the heroes of the Border Watch are given preferential treatment in healing and supplies. The soldiers of Fort Critwall are not happy about it, but are really not in a position to grumble too much, knowing they likely won't survive another attack like the one they just repelled. Iuz's plan must be revealed and Furyondy warned!
Also, the "wart-witch" Zamora is consulted and she provides some herbs and poultices which reduce pain and fevers and help the body rest. By the pre-dawn hours of the following morning, the heroes are healed completely and ready to depart.

The Elves in the group sleep very little, if at all, contented on a semblance of meditation and rest to refresh themselves. During this time, Sai and perhaps Kranston are able to study from Jetero's traveling spellbook. It contains the following incantations:
1st: Burning Hands, Change Self, Magic Missile, Message, Read Magic, Shocking Grasp, Tenser's Floating Disc, Unseen Servant.
2nd: Blur, Invisibility, Melf's Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Whispering Wind.
3rd: Melf's Minute Meteors & Protection from Normal Missiles.

After being well-stocked with supplies (arrows, water, food, etc), Captain Rillian and four others are waiting on you as you leave Barduk in the morning. Two of the men are young soldiers who "volunteered to help find the mines," Rillian says. The other two are the master of the forge, Dorin, and the young 1/2 Orc stablehand, Farkus. Dorin is dressed in chain mail and cares an old battle axe that still has a keen edge. Farkus is dressed in studded leather and carries an axe and sword. If asked why they want to go, Dorin says, "Me father once worked the mines and I would see them again. Perhaps salvage a memory of him from there."
The two young soldiers are named Clint and Rusty, who is also called 'Red.'

Anything else before you go?

Kranston, refreshed, takes a peek over Sai's shoulder at the magical tome, to see if he can learn the secret to unwinding any of the spells with song.

Burning Hands: Chance to Learn New Spell (40%): [1d100]=43

Shocking Grasp: Chance to Learn New Spell (40%): [1d100]=69

It's just a bunch of squiggles, though, to his eye. He regards Sai doubtfully, trying to determine if the mage is really reading it or just pretending to...

"Seems like a bunch of hoo-hah to me, Sai. Are you sure this isn't just some sort of personal sketchbook?" he says.

Sai

Will spend the night trying to learn:
70 % for a 16 Intell.
Burning Hands= [1d100]=97 Burning Hands
Identify= [1d100]=42 Identify
Tensor's Floating Disc= [1d100]=35 TFD

Well Kranston it would appear that some of it works. Must be the bad hand writing. Some of it is almost unreadable. How did everyone sleep? Well I stocked up on healing this morning so who is injured and needs it? We should go back in there as healed as we can. I was out of healing yesterday when We got back so couldn't do much for anyone.

He pulls out his Holy Symbol and waits for the replys.

Montego is glad for the healing, even if the locals were against it.

"We need to get this show on the road, folks! Can those of you who have been to the mines before think of anything else we might need on our journey? If not, let us be off!"

The large ranger seems even more nervous than usual, keeping a close eye on his friends and the newcomers alike.

The game picks up in the new thread: The Secret Base of Iuz
Here: viewtopic.php?f=848&t=11312