Adventure 2004 March 27

3rd Madraday of Corer, late-afternoon

"You've delivered the book, and you've exposed the traitor. The city's in shambles, and the Home Commander slain, but by Tanil, you're heroes! Time for some hard-earned ales, a clean bed, and lots of congratulations. You earned a Hero's Reward! Right?"

We've delivered the book, the city is in shambles, the home commander is dead, but by god, we're heroes. It's late afternoon on the 3rd Madraday of Corer. They allow us to leave the Hall of Command, but ask us to come back in the morning to meet with the provisional council.

As we travel through the city, we see that rebuilding is going very well; there was relatively little damage other than the fire. We realize this was a feint, and not the real battle. Stone heads to help rebuild the temple of Hedrada. Paks tends her horse, then heads to the temple of Madriel. Goldpetal goes to try to help the farmers repair their damaged lands, to heal trees, and to cast growth on the fields. Chuck asks who is in authority in the Vigilants to report to. He goes to the headquarters of the Hornswyth Vigil for information, but is instead put to work. Miriel goes to the temple of Madriel and to work in the field hospital at the colosseum next to the temple. Telryn is exhausted, and heads to the Sleeping Dragon Inn to get rooms for all of us and rest. We all work hard, but the damage really isn't that extensive, and the Sleeping Dragon Inn is miraculously completely undamaged.

The next morning, we go to meet with the council. Thorn is there, he he is the provisonal Home Commander. He introduces us to the others; he looks all of his seven decades today, but still is clearly in charge. He introduces the rest of the council:

Thorn thanks us, says we went above and beyond, can't thank us enough. Awarding us the Bronze Arrow, little pins, which we can use to gain help from the Vigilants. He says we are welcome to go to Charwood Hill and pick armor or weapons, library is open to us (Telyrn perks up), and any training you want. Telryn asks for access to the library and lycaeum, which is granted.

He offers to answer questions. Paks asks if he will reimburse the Captain of the ship that was lost, about 300 platinum. Thorn agrees to help her out. Miriel asks how the studies are going with the book. They're just beginning to decipher it, but the attack has confirmed their fears about the amphora, which clearly contains some of Mormo's power, or perhaps even a bit of her remains. She asks if there is more that we can do to help. He says no, not until the book is translated, but asks us to please keep the story under wraps, particularly about the traitor Vigilant. Chuck asks about the Citadel of Shadows. Delmaron says that was a place of the Scarlians, from before the Titan's War, and we were lucky to get out of there. Also says that he can feel that we have a powerful artifact, and volunteers to help Telryn figure it out, but warns us against it.

Delmaron: And by the way, I noticed that there were at least three entities spying on your progress. Telyrn: Besides you? Delmaron: Yes, and perhaps even more. Chuck: Do you know who they are? Delmaron: Dar-al-annot, a Coven of Mormo Worshipopers, for one. Paks: Yes, we got their address on our adventure. Delmaron: Also some weird druidic magic that I was unable to identify. Paks: Good or evil? Delmaron: Definitely Ill. Goldpetal: Where was it coming from? Delmaron: I don't know, I've never felt anything like that before. Also a freelance sorceror, operating out of Mithril, Corwaith of the Rose. Goldpetal: Were you able to discern anything about the strength of the source of the druidic magic? Delmaron: Very, very powerful. It was this magic I first discovered, which is why I came to see you when you passed through Lave. Chuck: Where can we find out more information about these Sclarians? Delmaron: Just stay away from them. Almost everything to do with them is incredibly dangerous.

Thorn says that Kelemis Dern will lie in state for the next week. Thorn says that now that the Asaathi and rat men have stopped fighting and teamed up, they are much more dangerous. Thorn asks about the questioning of Amra's spirit. Grilliam chuckles and starts to tell the story. She was captured by a group of red witches about five years ago. Somehow they had brainwashed her. Stone asks where the red witches were. In the swamp, and the Hornsaw Forest to the south, where Mormo was slain. It was a red witch named Sysy who actually brainwashed her. Paks tells how we found her and how she was involved in the siege of Kratys Freehold. You had her in your grasp and you let her escape?? We had to save the freehold. Paks asks about the black hunter. Thorn: We've been all over Vesh hunting this guy, but we haven't been able to catch him. He's an excellent tracker. He's Vigilant Enemy #1, we're looking for him. Paks: Is there a Paladin of Corean in town? Yes, a couple, they have a small chapter here. You can go down to their mision and talk to them. Chuck asks if the Asuras family were involved. Why would they be involved? Paks: They were trading with Sysy. Oh, yeah, that's an interesting question. We'll have to investigate any connections. Paks: Where are they going with those poisons? That's a really good question. Perhaps you can help us investigate that end of it.

We head over to Charwood Hill with the notes from Deleon, for training and gear. As we're showing out notes from Thorn to the authorities, it's getting dark. We're in a sitting room. A Veshan man with dark skin and dark hair, dressed in only a wolfskin, even though it's winter, comes into the room. He's covered in ritual tattoos. He speaks to Goldpetal and tells him it is time to be initiated. He leads Goldpetal outside, turns into a wolf, and lopes off. Goldpetal changes into a panther and follows him. He follows for about two hours, then they reach a grove which Goldpetal can feel is clearly consecrated to Denev. He turns into a man again and starts lighting a fire and burning herbs. [JOSH: rest of story] You must find a totem to protect yourself. He's brewing tea. Goldpetal recognizes most of the ingredients; they are all hallucinogens. He gives Goldpetal the tea, and eventually Goldpetal feels the effect. [More from Josh]. Goldpetal travels the spirit realm, seeing little animal figures. Suddenly he feels fear, and a huge shadow looms over him; it is his totem.

Telryn sees Goldpetal leave, and says he just wants to go down to the lycaeum, and he'll see us back at the Sleeping Dragon later. Miriel chooses to train for Weapon Focus with her short spear. It takes about two weeks of training, and they will train her hard. Chuck wants Combat Poise, but the Vigilant who is supposed to train him curses and says "Train him? I might as well stick a dagger in my side!" and walks away. After a while, they find someone who is willing to train Chuck, despite his loss of two masters in as many months. Stone chooses training in Alertness. Paks asks for weapon focus with her longsword. Stone not only takes the training, but he also keeps working on the temple of Hedrada. The priests approve of his dedication to hard working and are impressed with his ability to function without sleep.

A few days go by. We train hard all day and most of us spend the evenings at the Sleeping Dragon Inn. Stone doesn't sleep, but meets us for meals. Goldpetal hasn't come back yet. Telryn shows up for meals, but always seems distracted, his mind still in his studies. One day when Telryn shows up, he brings Saraya the bard with him. He ran into her in the street, and they've been hanging around together a lot at the university; the bard college is right next door. One day Telryn asks for the dark crystal from Stone and takes it to Delmaron. When he comes back, he does not have the crystal, and he looks quite grim, but won't talk about it.

Paks takes the crystal sword to show the Paladins of Corean; they tell her it is a powerful artifact, created to slay shadow creatures and evil outsiders. She asks them about being a Paladin of Madriel, but they tell her they don't know much about that, they thought that paladins were Corean's special gift, and not associated with Madriel. They tell her about a 24-hour vigil that they hold, but suggest that she talk to a priestess of Madriel for guidance. She offers them her assistance, even though she is not one of their kind. They agree; Madriel and Corean are usually allied, and that would be fine.

The next day when we gather for dinner, one of the servers has a note for Miriel; a patron came in and left it for her. She reads it off to the side, but won't speak of the contents. (I have information regarding your sister. Meet me by the 10th column of Elfred's Aqueduct at midnight. Come Alone.)

Miriel wraps her cloak wrong side out and sneaks out near midnight; it is cold and dark under the aqueduct. A cold wind buffets her as she gazes at the lights of the city about a mile away. As it nears midnight, she casts a Shield of Faith on herself. A man shows up wearing a hooded cloak. He pushes back the hood and holds his hands up to show that he is unarmed. She recognizes him from her childhood, it is Loro the Trader, who sells goods to her parents' inn. She greets him and asks him for information. He says: "I'm glad you came. I'm afraid to discuss this anywhere in the city, they have eyes and ears everyhwere. I've seen Liriel; she was in Mithril about 3 months ago." He leans in close, and looks around, "I don't even want to say their name, but I heard she was working with... aaah" An arrow appears in his throat, and he falls over.

Five arrows fly at her, but they all miss. She sees five guys surrounding her on all sides, crossbows drawn. They shoot again, and two hit her. She casts a Sanctuary on herself. Two of them start to back off, while two draw their longswords and rush at her. One reloads his crossbow and comes towards her. The two swing at her, but miss. She looks at the trader quickly, but he is dead, and she starts to run away. One of them tries to swing at her as she passes, but he looks a little dazed and drops his blade mid-swing.

They start to try to surround her again. The two remaining attack her with sword and crossbow, but miss. A figure jumps down from the top of the aqueduct, between two of the attackers. She just sees the figure a whirlwind of black and steel, who slashes one of attackers and kills him outright. She steps around the other guy and slashes at him with her short spear, scratching him slightly. The others shake off the effects of the spell.

The attacker in the distance races forward. The one behind Miriel runs forward with his longsword and swings at her. The nearer one comes toward the new defender. One swings at her and hits her with a longsword. She feels the poison on the blade, but resists it. One of them slices at her defender and hits him, but the other misses. The defender does a full attack, two on the wounded attacker, killing him, then slashes the other one hard. Miriel steps up to that one and slashes at him with her spear, getting him right through the heart and killing him.

Another steps up behind Miriel and attacks. The other drops his crossbow and charges Miriel. One hits her. The defender steps up and kills another of the attackers. Miriel attempts to cast hold person on the last attacker, but he resists.

The attacker swings at her again, but misses. The defender steps around him and kills him. He pulls back his dark hood, and bows gracefully to Miriel. She thanks him profusely for his help. She sees that he is an elf, but not like any elf she's ever seen before. He's dressed entirely in black leather armor and silk, and has an air of nobility around him. He would be extremely beautiful, but something about his eyes seems flawed somehow, almost as if his irises are shattered.

"Your welcome; I am Rath, you can tell Thorn that I have returned." She offers to take him with her, and to heal his wounds, but he refuses and disappears quickly into the shadows. Miriel heals herself quickly and heads back to town. She stops at the guard and tells them about what happened and the body of the trader. They take her to the constable and start interrogating her, bring in a cleric of Hedrada. After all this, it is dawn, and she goes to see the home commander and give him the message. She has to wait a while, but finally gets to see Thorn and tell him the story. "Rath? Rath? No that's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Thorn acts somewhat oddly and seems deflated somehow by the news. He is acting somewhat oddly. She goes off to rest, but first stops to talk to her parents, who have been up for hours getting the inn in shape for the day. She asks them about the trader, who distributes their ale all around. He sells them spices and teas.

Another week goes by and Goldpetal finally returns to this world. He wakes up and his cheek hurts. He scavenges for food, then heads back to town. Everywhere he goes, he notices that people are staring at him strangely. When he reaches the inn, Kendra, Miriel's mother, asks "what happened to you??" "What do you mean?" "Your face!" She gets a mirror and shows him a fresh tattoo on his face; it represents his totem. "My people use tattoos as magic sometimes." She shakes her head..."Elves."

After her training is done, Paks attempts to hold a vigil, as suggested by the paladins of Corean, but she falls asleep partway through.

One morning, the home commander calls Chuck to a meeting and gives him a shiny new medalliion. He's a vigil now. He tells us he has a new mission, but he can't tell us about it in town. He can just tell us that he has to go back to the swamp. Paks and Telryn protest. Chuck says only he has to go. He has a ship full of supplies to take to a garrison in the swamp. Goldpetal suggests a picnic outside of town to discuss it.

It's a bit cold, as it is winter, but it is a lovely sunny day and Chuck and Goldpetal find a nice grove overlooking the sea and build a fire for warmth. Chuck casts Alarm. Goldpetal says he can cast a spell on us, circle of sounds, to make us talk in bird speech. Miriel asks why he didn't do that in town, instead of dragging us out here in the middle of winter.

Chuck tells the story; there may be another traitor, the vigilants are worried. Curtis Strongbow built a garrison in the swamp because he felt they needed to take the fight to the rat men. His dispatches have become very odd, and they're worried that he might be crazy or evil. They're sending Chuck to resupply the garrison and also see what he can find out. Paks asks how close it was to the lizard men, who she still has to tell about the death of Hands of Fire. It's not very close, though. The boat is waiting for us in Southport. Goldpetal asks how long we will be on the river. Chuck says about 3 days at sea from Southport, then 3-5 days up the river into the swamp.

Stone says lets go. miriel says she has a mission of her own. Stone says even if Goldpetal had a mission we would go. Miriel says what about two missions? she needs to go to mithril to search for her lost sister, this poor guy who got killed came to bring her a message. Stone okay, let's go to Mithril. Paks do we want to split up? Goldpetal what is the nature of the threat against your sister? Miriel I don't know, but her messenger was killed, and that seems a serious threat. Goldpetal says he thinks that we should deal with the traitorous vigil first. Stone questions Miriel more about the message and why she needs to go. She tells him she can't say more, because the messenger was killed. Paks asks Chuck how the messages were twisted, but he says he can't tell her. Miriel says she can't go back to the swamp, she has to go to Mithril. She suggests that perhaps someone else can take the mission to the swamp. She suggests going to talk to the home commander. Chuck says he has to talk to him, and that we should not speak of this.

We head back to town and Miriel and Paks go to the temple of Madriel while Chuck goes to talk to the Vigilants. We meet back at the inn at suppertime. Chuck talks to Thorn, who agrees to send to their agents in Mithril to try to find out more. He says they really need a healer on the trip, and if Miriel won't go, he'll send one, but he'd really rather not. chuck asks if the mission can be postponed. "No, I want to lance this boil now. Kelemis Dern let it go too long." Miriel asks to see the high priestess to ask for leave and her advice on the choice of missions. The leave is granted, and as for the advice, her companions will need her for sure, and she doesn't really know that her sister will. But it's my sister! Yes, but your companions have helped you many a time, and it would be wrong to leave them in need. Miriel grudgingly yields to the call of duty over the bond of sisters, and goes to tell the others that she will go to the swamp, but emphasizes that she MUST go to Mithril after. Chuck reassures her that Thorn will seek for word of her sister while we are away.

Paks asks the Vigilants for advice about preventing rust on plate armor. They recommend that she clean and oil it frequently. Paks writes some letters, to Novalia and Taryn. She buys a lance from the vigilants for a good price. We all go shopping for supplies.

The night before we leave, we're having a last dinner at the Sleeping Dragon; Stone is in the kitchen helping the staff as usual. They are surprised at his skill but appalled by his hygeine. They are constantly reminding him about cleanliness. A large travel-stained man, covered in mud, bursts into the inn and calls for the half-orc.: "HALF-ORC!! SHOW YOUR CONIVING COWARDLY BACK-STABBING UGLY FACE!!" Stone recognizes him; it's Fergus. Fergus slaps a flyer down on the table and shouts "what's this?" Stone puts down the leg of mutton and looks at it. It's a public notice "Count Juvenal hereby proclaims [...]". He is levying a high tax. Stone looks at Fergus and says "I believe the man misunderstood my intentions." Fergus, very angry: "I'm taking this to the top! I'm going to see the home commander about this!" Stone "good, wait a minute." He goes up to his room for a torch, comes back, and holds the torch out. Fergus: "What's this?" "Take this and go away again.." Fergus, his face purple in rage: "When I see Kelemis Dern..." Paks: "He's dead." Fergus goes to see Thorn, Stone follows him. The hall is closed for the night, but the guards ask what they want. Fergus shouts "I have to see him right now!" Guards: "You have to come back tomorrow." To Stone: "What do you need?" Stone explains, and they agree to go ask Thorn to see him. They come back and lead them to see Thorn, who is finishing up his dinner. They explain, and Thorn says he can't do anything. Stone says that he thinks it's a misunderstanding of what he says. Thorn says that the Count will be in town in a couple of months for the election. Stone asks to leave a note for the Count. Thorn says Stone should be back. [TRAVIS - text of note]. Thorn tells Stone not to go around killing nobles.

Stone thanks Thorn and Fergus. Fergus challenges Stone to a duel. Stone says sure, but I need to do it quickly, as we're leaving tomorrow. Fergus says sure, we can do it right now. As the challenged, Stone gets to pick weapons. He picks feet, Fergus says surely he can make it more fair than that, so Stone allows for hands as well. He specfies the location as a dark cellar. Fergus storms off. "We're not through, you and me, Halforc!" Stone goes back to the inn, takes the notice, and sticks it in his pouch.

We ride down to Southport to meet the ship. It's a quiet trip. It's cold now, definitely winter. We get to Southport and find the ship, The Lightning. Captain Tuven says we can take off as soon as the tide goes out. First mate Jonah. This is a sleek warship, not at all like the riverboat we took up to the blood basin. The prow has a stylized carving of Tanil; the bowsprit is an arrow nocked in her bow. This is clearly part of the Veshan navy.

Goldpetal casts swift water as we travel, to speed our trip. The captain is very excited to have a druid aboard and asks Goldpetal if he knows any wind spells, but Goldpetal says no. The captain is a Vigilant too. He tells us tales of his travels on the blood sea. As we get deeper into the bay, the water gets more and more red, looking increasingly like blood. The captain advises against swimming. During the day, we realize that the first mate, Jonas, is a big favorite with the crew, leading them in chanteys and cheering their work along. The crew is extremely skilled. It is a lovely day, and the ship is moving along at a good clip. We hear one of the crewmen calling "dolphins off the port bow". Stone reaches for his light crossbow before realizing he no longer carries it. The captain calls "battle stations" and they start cranking up the ballista. As the pod of dolphins draws near, we get a better look at them. They're not like the dolphins in the storybooks, but have vicious looking razorsharp fins. Goldpetal asks why attack, and the captain hands him a spyglass. "Arr. Nothin's good that lives in the blood sea. It's all been twisted and mutated. They're bad." As we watch, a dolphin slices a seagull in half with his dorsal fin, and the rest of the pod eat the bird in a frenzy. Luckily, the dolphins veer off. "Stand down, stand down." The crew lower the crossbows and unload the ballista.

"You might think it's an old sea tale about the fish devils that live under here, but I've seen them myself, it's true - they have a whole city under these waves." We watch as the dolphins head off and attack a school of birds. The captain tells us more about how the sloop patrols the bay looking for pirates and fighting the monsters spawned by the blood sea.

Nothing happens for the rest of the day. Miriel studies the book on gems, to learn appraising. In the evening, the wind shifts and dies down a bit. Off to the right we can see the swamp. Even from here, and in the winter, it looks decayed and miserable.

Stone hangs out with the sailors while the rest of us sleep. Goldpetal sleeps on deck, but the rest of us share cabins; the deck is way too cold. Stone asks for a shift in the crow's nest; at first the captain demurrs, but the first mate reminds him that stone can see in the dark.

>From the crow's next, Stone sees some driftwood floating by; the ship is sort of steering through them. He yells to the steersman "Debris ahead, both sides!" The steersman shifts around a bit. Stone suddenly hears a sound beneath him, and sees rat men climbing up on the ship, from the water. "Rat men!" The rat men are 7 feet tall, with black, oily fur. They are armed with great axes.

Chuck comes out of his cabin and heads up on deck. He draws both swords. Miriel gets up, grabs her spear, and heads up on deck. Three rat men attack the first mate. All miss. Two attack a crewmember and hit. He's dead. Two attack Goldpetal, who is still lying on the deck. One hits. One swings at Miriel and hits. Several pile on the two crewmembers at the bow and kill them. Jonas draws his rapier and hits a rat man hard. Goldpetal gets up and attacks a rat man, hitting it. Stone jumps down from the crow's nest and lands next to the mast and attacks one of the rat men, hitting it. Paks jumps out of bed and casts protection from evil on herself. The captain gets up and heads for the deck, arriving behind Miriel. The sailors wake up and start to pour out of the hold, carrying light crossbows. They shoot, and two of them hit rat men.

Chuck steps up on deck and shoots his bow at one of the rat men, hitting it. He shoots again, but misses. Miriel steps up and fires off a sound burst at the rat men. She hits Stone as well, he and four of the rat men are stunned. The rat men pile on Stone, but in the confusion, only one manages to hit him. A rat man attacks a crewman and misses. One attacks Miriel and misses. Two attack Goldpetal, one hits. A third attacks him from above and hits. Another attacks a crewman and misses. Three attack Jonas, but he parries all their blows. Jonas then attempts to skewer the rat man in front of him. Goldpetal slashes at the rat man in front of him and hits it, killing it, then steps forward over the body to make room for Chuck. Paks comes up behind Chuck and casts Divine Favor on herself. The captain bullrushes the rat man in front of Miriel. The rat man swings at him but misses, and the captain is pushed back into Miriel. Two sailors near the stern attack a rat man; both hit. Another steps over to attack a different rat man, injuring it. Two attack another, but miss. Another attacks a stunned rat man, but misses. The last one kills a rat man.

Chuck steps up, draws Hoarfrost ("Hoarfrost") and attacks a rat man, hitting it. Miriel blesses everyone. Three rat men attack Jonas; one hits him hard. One attacks the captain, but misses. One attacks Goldpetal and misses. The one that Chuck attacked attacks a crewmember and misses. Another attacks a crewmember and misses. Another attacks a crewmember and knocks him unconscious. Three attack Stone, but all miss. One attacks a crewmember and hits, knocking him out. Jonas swings at a rat man and hits, killing it. Goldpetal swings at the one in front of him, but misses. Paks steps up and swings at one of the rat men and hits it, killing it, and cleaving on in to the one Chuck is fighting, cutting that one in half as well. The captain shouts something magic and activates the figurehead; we all feel doubly blessed. He swings at the rat man in front of him, hitting it hard and almost killing it. Three sailors attack a rat man, two of them hit it and kill it. Another attacks a rat man but misses. Another steps up near Stone and hits it. Stone flurries a rat man, killing it. He hits another and kills it. He misses the third, though. The stunned rat men recover and attack Stone and a crewman. Of the three that attack stone, two hit. The two on the crewmember both miss. One more attacks a crewmember and misses.

Chuck moves past Goldpetal and gets the rat man in front of the Captain, killing it. Miriel squeezes past the captain, kneels down next to a fallen crewman, and heals him. A rat man swings at that crewman, but misses. Two rat men attack a crewman and one hits, knocking him unconscious. Two attack Jonas, but miss. Goldpetal shoots a flare at the rat men around stone, but they all shrug it off. Paks charges to Stone's aid and swings at a rat man, hitting it and killing it, cleaving into the next one and killing that one as well. The captain moves next to Jonas and attacks one of the rat men, but misses. The crew attack the rat men; one wounds one of the rat men attacking Jonas. The one who was just healed backs away a bit. Stone flurries and kills two rat men and injures a third badly. One of the formerly-stunned rat men tries to jump overboard and escapes.

Chuck steps up past a rat man, which swings at him and hits. Chuck swings and kills it. Miriel dodges past a rat man, which swings at her and misses, and heals another downed crewman. The last three rat men dive overboard. Goldpetal summons a shark to chase them. Miriel examines the other two downed crewmen, but sadly finds that there is nothing she can do for them. She heals Stone and Jonas. Paks heals Goldpetal, and Goldpetal heals himself as well. The crew toss the dead bodies over the side. The Captain says "ah, Foamers, scourge of the seas." He doesn't seem overly perturbed. The crew cleans the ship off. The Captain thanks Miriel for healing the crew and asks her to perform last rites for the two dead crewmembers, which she does.

The next day, we reach a small cove, and Tuven orders the the riverboat lowered. The crew starts loading the supplies from the ship onto the riverboat. There's no real beach; the twisted trees and swamp grass go right down to the water's edge. Jonas will be our guide on the riverboat, and the captain says he'll wait in the cove for a month for us.

We head into the swamp, up the river. It's like moving through a tunnel of green, with thick foliage on either side. Miriel and Telryn keep watch while the stronger members of the party help row. We row up the river for about two hours and round a bend and see a ruined structure, near a sandy beach. As we're about to pass by, we see a rat man running out, waving a piece of white cloth. He yells "Stop, stop! Priestess of Madriel, I want to talk to you! Please stop!" Miriel yells back "What do you want?" "I want to talk to you! I've waited so long to talk to a priestess of Madriel! I've read scrolls, and I want to know more about the goddess of mercy!" Miriel: "What do you want!!!" He seems sincere to us. He holds up a sheaf of papers "I want to show you these!" We agree to talk to him and pull in to shore.

He thanks us profusely. Stone shushes him. He reaches out and tries to touch Miriel, then notices the symbol of Madriel on Paks and fawns on her as well. He introduces himself as Scree. He shows us the scrolls. "I read these and I understand that Madriel is the priestess of light and good - the Titans are gone, but Madriel will redeem us!" He begs to join us. Chuck suggests that we manacle him and bring him along. He protests, but Miriel asks him to submit to the manacles until her companions are comfortable with his presence.

We ask him about the local rat men. He says to avoid them. We head back upriver. Chuck and Goldpetal speak in undertones. Stone asks Scree about a human outpost up river. Scree starts talking about stirges, which makes Stone queasy. Chuck diverts the conversation, asking how many tribes of rat men are in the area. Scree says "the diseased ones, they're bad." Miriel: "What kind are you?" "I'm kind of a mutt. And then there's the Foamers, and the Gorgers, they freak me out. And the White Wraiths. And then the Red Witches, they're bad. They don't like my Madriel stuff at all."

Chuck asks Jonas if he's been up this way before. "Yeah, I've done it before. Strongbow has quite a reputation as a rat man killer, but I wouldn't want to work for him. If you ask me, he has a weird look in his eye." We talk more as we head upstream. As it gets dark, Jonas starts to pull over to the side, for us to rest, and Stone suggests that he keep rowing, but realizes he can't watch in all directions, so we pull up on shore and get ready to sleep. He plans to stay up with Scree and watch. Jonas gets out some punks and lights them and distributes them around the ship. He explains that while they might attract other creatures, they will keep the stirges away. Stone leaps up to help him.

Stone tells Scree all about Hedrada, and Scree agrees that Hedrada sounds good, but not as good as Madriel. Stone spreads out a blanket on the deck for Scree, who lies down and goes to sleep.

During Goldpetal's watch, a wolf suddenly appears on the deck. Stone leaps up and hits the wolf with a flurry of blows. He hits three times and kills it. He says to Goldpetal "What the hell are you doing?" "Killing a rat man." Paks stands up with her sword drawn. "What are you doing?" "Killing a rat man, what are you doing?" "Saving a rat man." Goldpetal debates the killing of the rat man with Paks and Stone, who say that we did not trick the rat man aboard to kill it. Chuck agrees with Goldpetal that the rat man is dangerous and has no information for us. Jonas stands up and tells us to stop fighting and work it out. Paks refuses to put her sword away while Goldpetal can attack her or the rat man. Goldpetal agrees not to until it's been discussed. She sheathes her sword. The argument continues, with Stone disapproving of an attack on a helpless creature, and on Goldpetal and Chuck agreeing to take action without consulting the rest of us.

Goldpetal: existece is unnaural, burden to world

Paks asks if he can act more good than his burden

Goldpetal: No

P: Could he not kill two of his kind? Would that not balance the scales.

G: I am not sure.

P: If you could convert him to a warrior at your side, for your cause, could he not do more good than his burden?

M: Regardless of whether or not he can be converted, it is wrong to convince a creature to make himself helpless and then to kill him. We did not have to go ashore for this creature, we did not have to take him with us, but since we agreed to do so, and in return he agreed to make himself helpless, we would be wrong ourselves to kill him.

G: Paks, I do not believe that the nature of corruption can be changed in that way.

M: You do not believe that th land can be cured? If the land can, the creatures can.

G: When you heal a disease, when you healed diseased flesh, do you heal the diseased flesh, or do you cut the diseased flesh out?

M: With Madriel's help, I often do heal the diseased flesh

S: We have given our word as men of honor when we brought him on board.

C: When you say we, you mean you and Paks

P: No, I mean all of us

C: I am sorry. I was wrong to think it was a good plan to kill Scree without consulting you. I apologize. I am ashamed. Scree, I am sorry.

Scree is asleep.

M: I do not know if the ratman can be healed, but I do elieve that to effect great change on the world, we must heal both the land and the creatures on it. The gods were created by the Titans as the titanspawn were, and yet the Gods are good.

G: The problem with the ratmen is that they are rats which have been twistesd by exposure to the essence of ratmen. I am not convinced that is healable.

M: That may be, but I still believe that greater healing is possible.

G: Stone's point about honor is not material.

S: G, I am growing short with you. Stay out of my bag. Stay away from things I have promised to protect. I don't like theives in our midst, and I am growing tired of you.

J: Stop it, guys. Clearly the swamp is corrupting everything, even your friendship. Let's decide about the ratman. If you're going to kill him, decide to do so as a group. Lets not have him killed in the night.

C: How long are we going to keep him?

S: I think we should keep him unmnacled. It will cause hesitation among the ratman

M: The crazy guy will kill him anyways.

G: Taking him to the crazy guy and having him kill him is a good idea. I hadnt thought of that.

P: Uh, I don't like that plan.

S: People think orcs are evil, but we're not all bad.

C: True enough.

S: You just have to use lots of ketchup.

G: You'll eat orcs?

S: Yeah. If I have to. *smiles*

P: Bringing him to the crazy guy does present a logistical problem.

M: Yes, we'll have to make a decision before then.

C: Shhh. (Listens)

In the morning we head on. Stone hands out some wine to everyone. Jonas complements it greatly, and starts entertaining us with this long tale of boozing, whoring rat men. It's a great story, which leads to the tale of the dead man at the bottom of the sea, and on and on. We forget about the quarrel and the rat man manacled at the bottom of the boat.

Suddenly Jonas shushes us. "Do you hear that?" We hear some sort of chattering, like a monkey. "It's swamp gobblers! Put your food away!" Chuck: "We're food" Jonas: "No, they'll take the easy stuff! Put it away." We look up and see four gobblers in the trees. Chuck pulls out his bow and shoots one, hitting it hard. He shoots again, but misses.

Goldpetal casts Entangle to entangle the gobblers in the trees. Two of the gobblers get entangled. Chuck shoots again, twice, but misses. Jonas says "What are you doing? We could have just gone by!" Miriel blesses everyone. Stone holds until one of the gobblers gets in arm's reach. The three gobblers who are not entangled try to dive into the water, and make it free of the entangling trees. They swim towards the boat. As one gets in range, Stone flurries at it, hitting twice. It bites Stone. Another sees the rat man in the boat and tries to pull in into the water. The rat man struggles a bit and yells and pushes himself away. The other attacks Paks and hits. Paks draws her sword and swings at the one that attacked her, hitting it. She shouts to Scree to take the manacles off, but he can't because they are locked.

Goldpetal summons a crocodile next to the two gobblers in the water. It attacks the wounded one, biting it and killing it. As the crocodile worries the swamp gobbler, the water fills with blood. Chuck shoots at one of the gobblers twice and hits both times. He shoots again, hitting again. Jonas shoots his crossbow at the gobbler next to Stone, but it bounces off the gobbler's hide. Jonas "Hey, what was that, did you feel that in the boat?" Miriel casts a searing light at the after dragging the rat man and kills it. Stone punches the badly injured gobbler and hits it, but doesn't manage to kill it. The gobbler swims away. Paks grabs an oar and says "row!" Just as she screams, a giant worm comes up from underneath the boat. His head comes up and he spits a gob of acid down at Paks, hitting her. Some splashes on Chuck, but Goldpetal and Stone dodge it. Jonas screams "Aiieee! A mire worm!"

Goldpetal directs the crocodile to attack the mire worm, which bites it. Goldpetal moves over to swing at it with his scimitar and hits. Chuck pulls out Hoarfrost and attacks it, but misses. Jonas says "Oh no! Row back, row back!" He comes over to swing at it, but stumbles due to the rocking of the boat and falls into Paks. Miriel casts a searing light at the mire worm and hits it. Stone punches it in the tail repeatedly, hitting twice. Paks swings twice and hits hard both times. The mire worm bites at Goldpetal and hits him. It swings its tail at Chuck and hits. The acid keeps eating at them.

The crocodile bites at the mire worm, but misses. Goldpetal swings at it and hits. Chuck swings three times, but misses twice. Jonas stands up. Miriel reaches into her pack, pulls out baking supplies, goes over to Paks, and sprinkles baking soda where Paks was hit by the acid, to neutralize it. Stone punches the mire worm and hits. Jonas cries out "get away, get away!" Paks swings again and hits. She slices a really deep gash in it and it starts thrashing about in death throes. Paks and Stone fall into the water. Chuck is seared by the acid again and cries out.

Goldpetal grabs an oar and starts trying to row away. The boat moves slightly. The crocodile keeps biting the worm. It stops thrashing around and starts sinking. Stone stands up and leaps back onboard. Chuck helps Stone back into the boat. Jonas grabs an oar and starts poling the ship upstream. Miriel goes and sprinkles baking soda on Chuck. Paks pulls herself back aboard. Miriel heals Goldpetal, Chuck, and Paks. We start pushing the ship upstream. Jonas scolds Chuck.