The northwest tower that King Saroeun, the dibolt's^ leader, used as his quarters roared with celebration after Marco separated the Saroeun's head from dying leader's body. The gybolt's^^ in Marco's band made the majority of noise and only grew louder as Marko raised the head in front of him and paraded the head till the gybolt's settled in the castle's main hall.
The group, paid by Gundren Rockseeker, lay in various states of recovery in the makeshift quarters between Saroeun's tower and the turret the owlbear was held in. Lecham, the gybolt prince, helped Gundren's cousin and socersor, Austri. Loxly slapped Bosque awake and mocked him for getting knocked out. Wolfenstein, the group's dibolt raised wolf, quickly recovered and was licking the faces of those in the group.
Bosque still in a fog sees a dark feminine shape emerge from the direction of Saroeun's room. Bosque's senses sharpen with hot blood pumping through his veins. Pushes past Loxly as he stands up ready to fight.
"Hold your steps, no farther or face the bite of my fangs!" Bosque yells while barring his magical boomerangs.
The figure steps further, ignoring the warning and showing herself in the light of the oil lantern sconces.
"Hyguier^^^, your fang's are short and bark too loud. Common of your kind and common of my kind to ignore." She said cooly and unthreated.
The group gives their full attention to the women in front of them. She looks to have the features of those from the Islands of Oncet*. Long neck, arms and legs with bald head, long earlobes, spindly fingers and an aura of mystery. The cloak she wears is similar style to that of the necromancer they faced at Old Owl Well a couple of days ago. The cloak, instead of the blood-red of the nameless necromancer, was deep blue with a yellow embroidery trim around the hood and sleeves. Her clothes were impeccable clean, a detail that marks nobles or spellcasters.
Loxly draws his bow and smirks handsomely at the mysterious women, "Darn no further, not a step more. I will not mine to share my love of violence as I prick thee with my shafts adorn with bright festive feathery quills."
She smirks back, "You, I must test your skill in piercing..." Her sentence interrupted by the breeze of the arrow let loose by Loxly. She felt the kiss of a quill on her ear as the arrow point clapped and bounced of the stone wall behind her.
Loxly with a full grin retorts, "I must say she is speechless with how I passed with flying colours. Now, stand still and let us ask questions to peer pass your guise of mystery."
Bosque with dagger in hand points at the women says, "Hands up and let up cut through your vail of perplexity and get to the point quickly." As he approaches, Loxly covers Bosque with arrow aimed and knocked, ready to draw and release. The woman complies with hand raised.
The eynuier^^^^, gybolt and wolf ready themselves on the other side of the road keeping the onceti women in view and using the corpse of the owl bear as cover.
Bosque pulls open the cloak from inside keeping out of Loxly's line of fire and ready to strike.
Bosque asks, "What is your name? I wish to not to just address you as just woman or her as I search you."
"Worra," she replies. "I am the second mailey** of the Rat King."
Feeling the areas that a person can hid most blades and daggers, Bosque is satisfied Worra poses no danger with bladed weapons. As he feels the waist on second inspection, Bosque nods his head to the left and points at the potential area of interest out to Loxly. Bosque steps away and still behind Worra to prevent her from going the way she came.
Loxly admires the long royal blue dress+ under the cloak. He notices the fine black embroidery sewn into exquisite garment. Much of it looking of symbols he cannot recognize. At the waist line he see a flat folded satchel attached her belt that Bosque felt.
"Mistress Mailey, would it be unkind if I ask you of your belt? I hope it is not the lench pin that your entire ensemble in place," said Loxly, stay neatly between cordial and frivolity.
With half smile and lowering her hands slowly to her belt and unwrapping the leather knot, Worra wryly says, "This from only man in the wild I have seen in tights with a codpiece."
The belt she tosses behind her, landing closer to Bosque than Worra. The sound the belt made striking the stone floor suggested something of metal in it.
As Loxly laughs and says something smart, Bosque draws his blade as he lowers himself to secure the waist leather. Bosque does not care for the banter in these moments. He listens, looks and feels for changes in the air that warn him of impending violence.
Bosque focused sight on Worra, listening for the things that matter. Figures locked on a trajectory to the belt. The leather is fine and great quality, his touch examines the pores and cut edges. The craftship is surpasses anything he has worn. He can almost smell the leather master's sweat and oils worked into Worra's leather sash.
Bosque now standing with belt satchel open, sight begins to spin and narrow.
Austri sharply yells at Worra as Bosque steps back then catches himself, "What magic did you cast on my compatriot you onseti vendishona***?"
Before an answer is given Austri is a slow blur. The eynuier charges the onceti^^^^^, his hammer held high in a blue hue cast from within. Confused and unworried, Worra lightly touches the hammer and easily directs the blow away from her. Austri flies hammer first into the feathers and fur of the owlbear.
Loxly in his mind sides with violence and loses touch with his gift of speech and fires an arrow starving for blood. The bolt of wood and iron is denied by the quick hand of the onceti. The ranger struck dumb can only watch as Worra gracefully spins and land Loxly's shot right into dirt covered stone floor in front of his feet.
Growls and snares echoe in the room. Lecham, the gybolt prince, holds Wolfenstein back by the collar and fists full of fur. The struggle is near comical as Lecham and Wolfenstein circle each other bouncing off the wall, the owlbear and tripping over dead dibolts. The wolf seeks flesh to tear as the iron collar bites further into the gybolt's hands. Lecham's purple blood begins to cover fur, iron, dirt and stone.
A roar. A command. A plea.
"Stop!" Bosque yells.
All freeze. All look. All listen.
Bosque ends the madness. Absorbing it all and concentrating it all within the look in his eyes. Shaking, he holds three coins the entirety of contents of the satchel on the belt. Fire and light from the oil lamp sconces gleam from each gold coin.
Stepping toward Worra, Bosque whippers, "How are these the same? How are these scratched the same? The eques of man on the face, the horned eye on the feathered bird?"
This time the onceti's composure fades to worry. Her eyes water, her eyes dart back and forth, looking directly into the madness of the ranger's face. Worra steps back and trips on the massive claws of the silent unbreathing owlbear. She doesn't catch herself and falls into the nook between the beast's beaked head and outstretched arm. Trying to back away from Bosque, each strike of his boots against the stone floor driving more fear into Worra's mind.
Bosque stops in front of the her never braking contact with Worra's eyes. He takes off his necklace that is no more than a thin lanyard and small sack all made of leather. He produces a fourth coin. A coin that is an exact facsimil. A coin found on Bosque's dead master. A coin that drove him to the Cross continent.
Bosque voice shifting from shock to anger as he says, "How? What magic is this onseti? I swear on my master's grave, you will not leave here if you do not tell me how these three coins are in your possession."
Worra's composure returns as she stands up. She grapes the wrist of Bosque's hand still clasping her three coins.
In a snarl, she says, "Neither of us will leave here if I do not tell you what is searching for these coins."
Worra and Bosque talk, sharing details they hold concerning the unique gold coins and ignore the other adventures. The party listens for a time then get bored then start searching the castle and collect the treasures that are rightfully theirs for the taking.
--------- Results ----------
Treasure List (Total 600 gp)
Weapons (308 gp) = 7 Chainmail; 1 Armor, hide; 12 Longsword; 20 Shields; 1 Javelin; 1 Crossbow, Heavy; 4 Longbows; 13 Shortbows; 13 Scimitars; 13 Leather Armor, Gybolt; 80 Arrows; 5 Spear; 4 Morningstar; 2 Greatswords
Rations/Misc (25 gp Total) = 1 Cask, Small, Dwarven Brandy; 4 Cask, Medium, Salted Pork; 7 Cask, Large, Grain, Rotting; 1 Sack, Leather
Additional Coin (267 gp) = 220 sp, 250 ep, 120 gp
Unique Treasure List
3 Potion, Healing
1 Scroll, Silence; 1 Scroll, Revivify
1 Quarterstaff, Fine (10 gp, Stylized Feathers engraving, light feeling, 1 lbs.)
1 Statue, Gold, Sun Onseti (in crimson cloth)(divination magic, Any creature grasping the statue can ask it a question and receive a telepathic response, as though it had cast augury. Once a creature has asked its question and received a response, it can never activate the statuette again.)
Serasram* Worship Set (330 gp) = 1 Censer, Serasram (120 gp); 1 Chalice, Serasram (150 gp); 1 Knife, Serasram (60 gp); 1 Cloth, Black, Serasram
Notes:
^Dibolt, conventional fantasy Bugbear or Hobgoblin.
^^Gybolt, conventional fantasy Goblin.
^^^Hyguier, conventional fantasy Human.
^^^^Eynuier, conventional fantasy Dwarf.
^^^^^Onceti, conventional fantasy Elf with long earlobe versus pointy ears.
*Oncet, an archipelago of independent nations of the Cross Continent. Archipelago makes up the southwestern area of the Cross Continent. Many arcane and historical colleges are located in Oncet. Majority of the islands have independent truces and dealings with the mainland government of the Cross Kingdom. The Cross Kingdom see the Oncet as part of their dominion and frequently stamp out riot and rebellion within the Oncet.
**Mailey, embody the roles of knight and messenger, many are trained within the Oncet at island of Burning Tower. Mailey's offen wear yellow as a mark of their role within a court.
***Vendishona is a person that lays people in hypnotic trances for pleasure or adventure. Many waste their mortality in the vain pursuits of these vicecasters, training their life energy for fleeting experiences.
****Sarasram, the first gybolt king. Deified for halting the advance of the Seagourds. Seagourds is the name the gybolts gave the progenitor's of the Cross Kingdom.
+royal blue wool facecloth decorated with a scrolling border design in applied slightly purple-blue silk velvet, navy ribbed silk, wide and narrow navy silk braids.
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