[Game Thread] Fires Over Brinestump

[The Fool]

Reynard looks away from Emiri as Xiao hurries towards the stairs. "Wait! Dammit...Chime, think you can back him up? We'll make sure nothing else comes through the door down here."
Besides, she's well-spoken and not a compulsive liar. I think it's best if she's on hand to do the talking.

[Ehlana]

"Of course, if I can trust you to look after Emiri." Chime retorts with a grin, sweeping upstairs, covered in translucent glitter. Poor use of a spell...but better safe than sorry. Besides, they'll likely rest here for the night to give the healer a chance to heal himself. He's in no shape for more swamp trekking, judging by the way his skin matches her mother's favorite alabaster earrings. Xiao took a nasty bite too.

"Wait, Xiao!" She calls after the man. "I know you were carved out of oak instead of being born like the rest of us mere mortals, but let me come along just on the off chance you need help, hmm?"

[Avelestar]

What Xiao sees after bounding up the steps is a halfling collapsed in the hallway, half in and half out of a secret room. The small bundle of skin and bones raises its head, and you can see that it is Walthus (hopefully the real one). "Did you kill it?" he gasps, skin even whiter than the Stalker Walthus had been. There is a bite on his neck, dried blood crusted around it, and the flesh looking almost...dead. This is no poison wound, or mark of an infection, it looks like the very lifeforce was sucked from his body. That is all the halfling manages to say before passing out once more.

OOC: Other than the secret room Walthus is half in, half out, there are two rooms to your left coming from the hallway. Both doors are shut, and you expect the rooms to be quite small, matching the floorplan downstairs.

[Ehlana]

"Well... I'd guess that's the real Walthus, poor guy." Chime looks down at the badly wounded halfling. "Since he looks like what I expect Emiri would have looked like if that thing had kept sucking on him as if he were a lollypop. He looks a mess... See if there's a bed while you check for other enemies, would you Xiao? We should get him in it, if you can find one." The Varisian girl drops down by the prone form, reaching out a hand to check his pulse. He looks so bad she's half afraid he's dead. "I wonder if Emiri feels well enough to try and treat him..." She nibbles on her lower lip pensively.

[GrimDarkOtter]

Listening to the others, Emiri shouts upstairs to Chime "Can you bring him down at all? I'm afraid I am feeling somewhat woozy to try a ladder." Locating the nearest chair, the half-elf sits down and removes his helmet, dented by the beast's blow. Reaching back with one hand, he pokes and prods the back of his head, but thankfully it seems his skull was not broken by the strike. "Yes, I think I can treat him." the hospitaller says, retrieving his healing kit, "I'll just have to be focused about it."

[orangehatter]

The monk heard something about oak trees and chances, but had nearly taken all the steps up in a couple leaps. On seeing the halfling he ran to his side and crouched down close, taking in what he saw. He responded to Walthus' question with a nod and soft grunt. Then the poor lad went back into unconsciousness.

Xiao took to Chime's question immediately, nearly kicking open the the closest door...

OOC Assuming we don't find any nasty surprises Xiao will check the doors. Breaking them down if he has too.

[Avelestar]

Both doors upstairs doors open easily, and quickly peering into the rooms Xiao finds a bedroom and a room with a bookcase, leather chair, fireplace and chest of drawers containing clothes. Nothing bad is lurking within them, and the secret room is little more than a cupboard hidden in the wall. The monk passes a thin mattress and some blankets to Chime and then carries the halfling downstairs. Walthus is extremely light, lighter than most children even, likely due to his current state. After a few minutes of unconsciousness infront of the fire Walthus awakens, looking around at those assembled. "Thankyou." he gasps with a parched voice, lips dried and cracked. He tries to get up, but only manages to sit before realising he won't be going anywhere just yet. "There are tea leaves, fresh water, bread and some medicinal herbs in the next room. Could you fetch them for me? And please help yourselves, I owe you my life." A sudden shocked look takes over his face, and he strains to look out the window behind him. "Oh god, my babies. Oh no. Oh no." Walthus looks like he is fighting back tears, biting his bottom lip and balling his fists. "Can someone please check on them? Go through the next room, out the backdoor and ring the bell outside? Don't move off the backstep, just ring the bell and tell me how many you see."

OOC: I'm guessing you moved the corpse, else you wouldn't have any room to all fit in that tiny space. The next room is a general storage room, has a lot of cooking tools, food supplies and the like. You can find pretty much any mundane item and food you need, feel free to roleplay whatever you wish. Emiri need not expend uses from his Heal Kit for any Heal checks made, Walthus has plenty of supplies. Your choices are: Long Term Care for 3 patients (Walthus, Emiri, Xiao) at DC15, recovering 2 hit points each for 8 hours rest, or 4 hit points each for a full day of rest (so leave his shack at midday tomorrow). Or spend 2 hours on each person to Treat Deadly Wounds, DC 20, restoring 1 hp each, or 1hp+WIS if you roll 25 or more.

[GrimDarkOtter]

"Reynard, stoke the fire and start boiling some water," Emiri says, moving over to kneel down and help Walthus sit upright. "We'll start you with some tea and then use the rest of the hot water to start a soup and see how well you keep that down." Standing with a grunt, Emiri goes into the storage room and starts selecting the plants he'll require. Fetching a mortar, he sits down and begins to grind together a bright yellow root and some dark leaves. "Do you have any syrup of ipecac, Warden? I can use boiled water as an alternative, but I would prefer it have a thicker consistency."

OOC 2 HP for you and 1 hp for me! And we'll be here a while....

[orangehatter]

He seems close to the ghost world, wrapped in their blankets of cold.

Xiao had hauled the man down, and used some old cloth strips to bind his arm till the doctor could get to it. He now was propped against the fireplace, arms locked tight across his chest (albeit with a touch of discomfort) while he kept an eye on the real Walthus. What was that thing? The stoic man felt a chill in his gut at the thought that such an ugly creature could invade his own privacy as such.

"There are tea leaves, fresh water, bread and some medicinal herbs in the next room. Could you fetch them for me? And please help yourselves, I owe you my life."

Xiao silently shook his head. The balance of Yin and Yang has been steadied.

"Oh god, my babies. Oh no. Oh no." Xiao's slanted eyes twitch. I thought you were male. "Can someone please check on them? Go through the next room, out the backdoor and ring the bell outside? Don't move off the back step, just ring the bell and tell me how many you see."

Xiao shrugged nonchalantly and languidly strolled to the back door. As instructed, he didn't move from the back step as he located the bell and give it a few good raps.

My bell sounds nicer.

[The Fool]

Reynard moves the body and tosses it out the front door, though not after separating the head from the body "just to be certain". As the others carry the halfling downstairs, he re-bolts the entrance before going to stoke the fire and clears the space for them to lay Walthus down.

He nods to Xiao and follows him to the back door, as the kettle of water is already boiling by now over the fire. "Babies, eh?" he says, curious. "I'm guessing you don't mean that literally."

[Avelestar]

Xiao steps outside and sees a ten foot high stone wall protecting a small garden. A small selection of vegetables are growing, mostly hardy root vegetables and a couple of herbs. The monk spots signs of a fight immediately, several bushes are crushed, dried blood is splattered across the walls and the corpses of two snakes lie broken and twisted close by, one of which is a very large python, its body dark green with a dark brown mottling for camouflage. He rings the bell three times and waits quietly on the back step. After a few moments three small heads poke from under the bushes nearby, three small snake heads. One red and two yellow, they are much smaller than the two meter long python, and their bright colours and small, narrow heads mark them as vipers. They test the air with their tongues, looking at Xiao intently, but they seem content to stay in their bush.

"Oh no, they are my darling snakes." says Walthus with a smile, then quickly adding "I hope your friend isn't afraid of snakes!" He grunts with pain as Emiri examines his neck, but doesn't complain or pull away from the treatment. "Aye, top shelf above the breadbin, little vial marked with an I." says the halfling in response to Emiri's question. "I must ask, though I'm very thankful you did come. What brings you out here? I haven't had a visitor in nearly four years, and that was just a fishermen who got caught in a storm."

OOC: If you decide to stay until midday tomorrow you can double those HP gains, and Emiri will gain back his -1 CON after 8 hours of rest. You'll have to scrounge around for bedding and floorspace to sleep on, but the house is warm and safe.

[GrimDarkOtter]

Emiri retrieves the vial and carefully pours a small amount of the syrup into the bowl, mixing it with the powder to create a bright paste. "Careful, this will sting." he says, picking some up with a small trowel and carrying it over to Walthus. He takes a small amount and smears it around the edges of the bite punctures, then covers it with a swath of bandage. "Xiao, you need some of this as well," Emiri calls out the door as he stands back up with a wince.

Seeking out the teapot, Emiri starts some tea steeping, then pours some more of the water into a bowl over one of his packaged bandages. Setting the pot back on the fire, he starts collecting some herbs from the pantry. "We came for your advice, Warden" he says as he moves slowly to prepare the soup, "The goblins have been making trouble for caravans of late, and our friend Sandru asked us to look into driving them off." Taking out a small paring knife, Emiri sits and begins to peel a potato. "The goblins are a cowardly lot, and if we slay their chieftain, no doubt they will flee or hide for some time to come. The problem is the reeve has reintroduced the Goblin Bounty, and no doubt far more people would be lost wandering the swamp than slain by goblin ambush. I want to stop any foolish deaths that we can. So the question is, Warden, do you know where the chieftain might dwell?"

[orangehatter]

Xiao tilted his head in curiosity at the sight of the snakes and their carnage. As far as he would say, Xiao thought that the term "babies" was the most farthest removed endearment possible. After admiring for a short moment, he looks to Reynard and states, "Those are...abnormal...sentinels."

"Xiao, you need some of this as well,"

He didn't know what this would be, but a grunt and a few steps brought him back inside. The day's excitement seemed to catch up to him as well. He just began to feel the ache in his arm intensify as his mind had nowhere else to focus on. It had got him good. He made to sit by the...by Emiri on a stool somewhat too small for his frame. After unwrapping his makeshift bandage, he took a few healthy gulps out his gourd and poured some out artlessly over his wound.

"As well," Xiao adds after Emiri, his voice mellow and devoid of his standard aloofness "Ts'at ts'ing. Ts'at ts'ing we killed. What waz it?"

[Avelestar]

"Those are...abnormal...sentinels."

"How many friend? How many still live?" pleads Walthus, the grunts as Emiri drips the stinging syrup into his neck. "You're well trained, thankyou very much. I'm afraid that beast might have been the end of me, even if it had left." After the healing was done and tea served Walthus props himself up against the wall, still clutching the blanket tight around his small body.

"We came for your advice, Warden"

"Where are my manners. I am Walthus Proudstump, Warden of Brinestump." He stops and coughs, a harsh wracking sound. "I did not know that the goblins have been raiding, but I do know where they live. The old fishing trail was abandoned almost a decade ago now, and the goblins moved in shortly after. They seem to use the trail to move through the swamp more quickly, there are some caves at the south end that boast some deep pools. Very good for turtles and large fish." Walthus points to the ceiling. "My bedroom is the first door on the left upstairs, I see you already found it. The room next to it contains a bookshelf, there is a map I've been making for the past few years on the middle shelf. Fetch it for me and I can show you more."

"Ts'at ts'ing. Ts'at ts'ing we killed. What waz it?"

"I don't know, but I think it's been stalking me for awhile now." Walthus shivers and takes a sip of his tea. "For the past month I've been finding strange things nearby. Small animals mangled and left on the path, or my doorstep. Weird goo in my garden, as if its been thrown over the wall. And recently I've been hearing snuffling noises outside my house at night, and in the morning when I check there are no footprints, but everything has been sort of dragged over. As if it was trying to hide its tracks." He finishes with a smile "But that should be the end of it."

OOC: orange I like your style of quoting speech, makes it much easier to read. Going to steal it I think . Will update map tomorrow or the day after, not home right now. Valentines day with the girlfriend .

[GrimDarkOtter]

Emiri takes more of the paste and motions for Xiao to hold out his arm. Holding it steady to keep it from weaving, he repeats the same process he did on Walthus, applying first the past then wrapping a bandage. "That should stop any possible infection and speed the healing, but I will need to take it off and replace it with another batch in a few hours." Once the other two have been taken care of, Emiri takes the cloth from the bowl of cooling water and gently squeezes it to remove excess before holding it to the back of his head. "As the water evaporates," he explains "It will help chill the skin and reduce swelling. Xiao, be so good as to fetch the Warden's map, but be careful of your bandage."