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[Dwarmin]

"Aye, they're all holed up in a gully a bit ways off...safe enough, for now. I was aiming that we should all get together and get out of here...but, there's a complication.

Most the Camp seems to have flown away or fallen dead, but there's a high ranking lady left, with a few mercs, and they're searching for someone. Maybe the monk fellow, for what he's worth...we're likely to have to deal with them, I think...I'm up for a fight, if we have to-haven't used a spell all day, really...amazing how much damage you can do with a few well chosen words that ain't even magical...be nice if we could take her prisoner, though it's really just a feather on a cap that's already pretty nicely tailored...

I'd be fine with scooting out of here before reinforcements arrive, though. Getting away is the important part. I've done a little seasoning for a warring cult factions stew, but it doesn't work out quite as nicely if they figure who was spreading all these damn lies. I mean, the whole plan goes up in smoke.

We just gotta fetch Arwen, huh, that's the easy part...it's not like he'd...do something...foolish and reckless...eh..."

Johanna reckoned on second though that's exactly what he would do.

[My Name is Immaterial]

Arwen:
She clenches her fist in frustration. "I. Know. That. Already. FIND. HIM."

[Culise]

"I see.  I'm afraid I have used my most powerful spells to...ah...handle some disagreements," Mirella couldn't help but glance back at the twisted ashes that had once been the shadowy cultist, "But I still have some magical strength left to me."  If the cause of his weakness seems to be physical injury, she casts Cure Wounds on the man. 

She sighed slightly, plainly thinking of Arwen's misadventures to date as well  "I can likely still heal Arwen if he doesn't get himself too badly injured, but I would much rather get this fellow to your gully before we do anything else.  I'm not inclined to call this area safe, and he won't make it without at least one of us helping him."

[FelixSparks]

Arwen quickly exits before she gets violent. He's in no shape to handle that. He simply heads back to the meeting place.

[Dwarmin]

"I see.  I'm afraid I have used my most powerful spells to...ah...handle some disagreements," Mirella couldn't help but glance back at the twisted ashes that had once been the shadowy cultist, "But I still have some magical strength left to me."  Putting deed to words, she casts Cure Wounds on the man. 

She sighed slightly, plainly thinking of Arwen's misadventures to date as well  "I can likely still heal Arwen if he doesn't get himself too badly injured, but I would much rather get this fellow to your gully before we do anything else.  I'm not inclined to call this area safe, and he won't make it without at least one of us helping him."

"Yeah, let's get the Nine Hells outta here, already."

Action: To the gully! Pick up Arwen along the way if he hasn't been reduced to a puddle yet...I think we're ready to move onto the next chapter almost...

[My Name is Immaterial]

Mirella:
The man, surprising, doesn't seem to have any wounds on him, so Mirella saves her magic for another time.

All:
By the time everyone meets up, night proper has fallen. In the darkness, the cultists assume they're also looking for the monk, and let them pass. The wind starts to pick up, and clouds block out the moon, sending everything into a near blackness. The group reaches the gulley without incident, gathers up the villagers, and sets off, back to Greenest. About an hour into their journey, rain starts to fall, slowly at first, but it quickly picks up to a steady rain. There's no shelter nearby, so the group has no choice but to press on.
(Group Survival Check: Arwen: 2+0, Johanna: 12+3, Mirella: 11+3, Aesalam: 16+1, Two Successes, One Failure, Overall Success!)
Despite the rain washing out most of the tracks, Aesalam is able to follow them back to Greenest. It takes about twice as long to return as it did to travel to the camp, but everyone makes it back in one piece, if tired, wet and hungry. Once the group is inside the limits of Greenest, a patrol quickly finds them, and escorts them into the keep. The adventurers find beds, and collapse into them, exhausted.


In the morning, the party is invited to breakfast with the governor. In the governor's study, a table has been set with a rich display of bread, butter, jams, oatmeal, honey and a small keg of beer. There is a small note on the table, from the governor.

I will be down shortly. Please, enjoy the fruit of Greenest that you saved. You've more than earned it.
-Tarbaw Nighthill

[FelixSparks]

Arwen takes some bread and Jam, tucking in neatly. He looks to his companions, pulling up the loot he'd gotten from that trapped chest.

"So one of you can identify magic, right?"

[Culise]

Mirella settled in quietly, taking a modest amount of bread and honey to break her fast. 

"I apologize, but I cannot.  Perhaps..." she trailed off, looking at Johanna. 

[Dwarmin]

Johanna grunts. She had slept poorly-her dreams full of blood, war, anger, violence-she had dreamed of a five headed Dragon, glorious and terrible...and she was one of the heads...

She tried to concentrate on the task at hand, drizzling honey into her large, steaming bowl of oatmeal. She enjoyed the stout breakfast beer quite alot, as well. Unlike her companions, she was having roaring feast and was not engaging in modesty. Wizards like herself-those who specialized in abjurative magics, tended to become quite hungry over time-defensive magics such as arcane ward and mage armor lasted so long by subtly sapping energy from the caster, leaving them feeling famished-if, not actually starving. It was a good reason Abjuration Wizards tended to become stout as barrels...
 
"...Aye, I can do that, boy. Not a problem. Just tell me what you need done. Take me a bit o' time, though...after breakfast, hey?"

Action: After breakfast-to help Arwen, use detect magic to find what (if any) items he presents are magical-use identify on those that are. 10 mins for each casting, using rituals.

[FelixSparks]

Arwen shares all the things he found in the chest, and aside from the ring, allows each person to pick one thing before they discuss where the rest goes.

[Dwarmin]

Johanna nods, chomping oatmeal.

"Some of these might belong to townsfolk what got robbed. You sure that isn't a wedding ring, Arwen? A bit cold of you to be waltzing around town with it on your finger, if so."

[FelixSparks]

"It was in a chest in the ritual room where I fought Cyanwrath. And it was boobytrapped. I highly doubt anything that isn't magic would be in there."

[My Name is Immaterial]

Arwen shakes out his bag, and a small pile of loot falls onto the table. It includes a dozen scrolls, a globe made of sea-glass, a pouch with a few small clay wafers, and some jewelry; a string of pearls, a gold-and-sapphire ring, and a pouch containing half a dozen cut and polished precious stones. Only half the scrolls, the globe and the clay wafers are magical. Johanna pulls a few pearls off of the necklace for the spell's reagent, and, to save time, simply Identifies the globe and a wafer.
The globe will light up with a bluish glow when you make a specific series of high pitched clicks, and a very bright light that banishes shadows when you make a certain deep throaty moan. A more melodic moan will cause the globe to float in the air when you toss it up.
The clay wafers will send messages once a day to the bearer of a paired wafer. Judging from the carvings of speaking heads, there are three pairs, and then half-a-dozen ones seemingly without a pair- at least, they have no pair in the pouch.

Halfway through, Nighthall enters his study, and joins you at the table. He waits to speak until Johanna is finished. Once Johanna announces the features of the wafers, Nighthill speaks.
"Let me be the first to say: Greenest is ever more in your debt. You've truly done more than anyone could justly ask of you. Now, if I may, I'd like to hear what happened, first hand. What did you find out? Where are they based out of? How many are there? Who leads them? What are their motives? Where are they hitting next? Did you recover any of the stolen goods?"

[Dwarmin]

"To be honest, Mayor, we didn't learn a whole lot-by the time we rescued all the prisoners, Mirella and Arwen were on their last legs and if we risked a fight they might not have gotten home-or us. The game was up before we really got a chance to learn anything...all we know is that they are a collection of Dragon cults who serve Tiamat, which wasn't much more than we knew before. We don't know much else...though they are minus one leader, anyway...

However, that Monk Leosin seemed important to them-a lady who I believed was named 'Frulam Mondath' was looking for him even as the camp was pretty much ruined. We haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but hopefully he has a story to tell. I suspect the prisoners will also know a bit-no doubt they've been hearing their captors go on and on about the Glory o' Tiamat and this and that. In regards to leads, we've failed on that account-and as for treasure, Arwen took the contents of a chest, but we've no idea if any of it belongs to you or yours."

[FelixSparks]

Arwen leans back, thinking. He should mention the orb. "Cyanwrath seemed to be performing a ritual. I'm no expert in magic, but it looked like it was feeding energy to a black orb in the same room the chest was in. After I cut off his hand, strange purple smoke gave him a new one. I ended up killing him by lifting him up and slamming him into the orb. I think it drained life, regardless of whose it was, if it was touched. If I were a betting man, I'd say they're trying to do something with all that energy."