Page 154 of 289
Posted: Thu May 07, 2015 2:51 am
by Bob the Hamster
"Mmm... We should get two omelettes for Kalar"
Rob calls the waiter and places a double order of extra large Omelettes du Fromage Quatre, to-go. He also asks for the bill.
"I think that either going to Perigon or visiting Moriamis, or visiting Helena are all equally good options. I hope you don't mind my accompanying you on your travels?"
After paying for the food, Rob intends to quickly fetch Stumpy so he will be ready to go.
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 1:34 am
by Gizmog
"No reason you couldn't. More people we have, the quicker we can all go home." Voulton looks around for approval, but figures it's a done-deal. The man bought BREAKFAST, for cryin out loud!
As they walk, Voulton's thoughts turn to the silver potion entrusted to him by Tammy. He'd been told to keep it safe, true, but if it were merely a question of keeping it safe he could bury it in a deep hole where no one would find it. A thought that had occured to him a few times! If there really were a religious significance to it, as Tammy seemed to imply, wouldn't it have been safer to stay on the shelf somewhere? Clearly it had some role to play in the events to come, but Voulton isn't sure what.
He had been inclined to drink it if the battle had turned against them, but who knows what that might've done? The silvery potion Moriamis gave to Kalar hadn't done him any favors. "To truly protect it, I have to understand it" thinks Voulton. When they get to camp, he's going to propose an experiment.
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 5:24 am
by Spoonweaver
The party took their time regrouping. It was almost noon when they strolled into the forest in the general direction they thought Kalar might be. They found him hard at work on another magical item of some sort.
They began sharing their thoughts on what their next move should be on their quest to break the curse.
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 5:51 am
by Gizmog
Voulton pauses and removes the silver potion from his pack. "Before we do anything else, I want to know what this stuff is. Tammy seemed to think it had some religious significance."
"I'm thinkin' some kind of poison, personally. We oughta find out before it's important, though. Been thinkin about it ever since I got it. If it's poison, we gotta test it on somethin' alive. Obviously not one of us. But if it's a religious thing, we don't wanna murder someone with it. If it's some kinda blessed oil, we oughta try it on something inanimate, but if it's some kind of acid we might not want to use it on our valuable weapons."
"To me, that means one thing: Say some prayers and splash it on a tree. Can anyone think of a reason we shouldn't do that?"
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 9:04 am
by BMR
"I can. For one, if it does have some religious significance, which I'm sure it does, then as you said it stands to reason it has to function on something alive. However, I must add that I'm fairly certain it would have to be on something alive and sentient as well. Though more probably it would need sapience and not just sentience.
"That said though, the act of a sapient creature using it on something might be enough, so I won't stop you from attempting it."
Kalar leaves out the part where he now has three vials of the stuff. No need to say anything about it just yet. Perhaps in the future it will be relevant, but for now, best to keep it under wraps.
"In addition, I suggest we head north. After we defeated the colossus and while everyone was celebrating, it seems Bill vanished. Hrulgin tells me that he just walked off. Voulton, that large onyx talisman you acquired, I believe it is some phylactery of some sort, and it may have functioned to allow Nathaire to control the colossus. Or perhaps even allowed him to be the colossus. My theory is that after the colossus was destroyed, his control jumped to the next most powerful undead in the area, which would have been Bill.
"I've discovered that Bill is heading north, and if Nathaire does have control of him, it might be a good idea to follow and try to capture him. Right now he is weak, and if he is weak, it might be possible to get information from him.
"Further, Helena did mention that the dragon she traveled with is in the north, along with two green dragons. As dragons are fairly long-lived, it might also be of interest to seek them out, but that can wait until we are ready."
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:20 pm
by Bob the Hamster
Rob slaps Kalar on the back.
"That is what I like about you, Kal! You always have the great plans! Hunting down Natheire sounds like a blast! Here, this is for you. Are you hungry?"
Rob shoves a large folded paper box full of cold eggs and cheese in front of Kalar's face.
Then to Voulton, Rob says "I don't follow all of what you are saying, but why don't you try the stuff out on an acorn, rather than a whole tree! More portable that way!"
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:41 pm
by BMR
Kalar decides to keep quiet about the fact that his plans do tend to have a high casualty rate. Besides, this fellow may prove useful.
"Thank you, I haven't yet breakfasted, it is most welcome." As Kalar eats the food, he wonders about why he didn't feel hungry at all, even after all the exertion from the previous day and the fact that he didn't eat then either. Perhaps something to do with the silver?
"Testing it out on an acorn seems to be a good idea. At the very least, it will use up less of the contents of the vial. Alternatively, one of us could snare a rabbit or something similar to test it on. We also have the horses pulling our wagon, but might be better to save them as a last resort."
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 2:59 pm
by Bob the Hamster
Stumpy trots up to the wagon horses.
"HI! MY NAME IS STUMPY. I AM A HORSE! ARE YOU ALL HORSES TOO?"
When the other horses do not respond, Stumpy trots back to Ron and whispers.
"THOSE OTHER HORSES ARE SO COOL!"
The implication is clear. These other horses are too cool to talk to Stumpy. Stumpy knows he is not at their level. He accepts this. There is so much in the world that is beyond him.
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:31 pm
by BMR
"Robert, was it? Forgive me if I am being too forward, but it has been bugging me. Am I hearing things, or can that horse of yours talk?"
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 3:38 pm
by Bob the Hamster
"Hahaha!" Rob laughs. "I am glad you like my ventriloquism act!"
"I AM A HORSE, I AM DUMB!" says Rob, in a surprisingly good imitation of Stumpy's voice. Rob's lips, however, do move just a tiny bit.
Stumpy looks at Rob with what might be a hurt expression, but it is hard to tell for sure, because he is a horse.
Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 4:37 pm
by BMR
"I... see..."
Kalar turns to the others and says:
"Before we get going, is anyone suffering from any more injuries from yesterday's battle? If so, see me and I can use this glove to heal you back up. It's not too helpful in battles, but during times such as these I'll be able to get anyone back up to peak physical health in no time."
Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 3:41 am
by Gizmog
Voulton looks sheepish and feels stupid for even suggesting it. "Nah, no rabbits. No acorns. Was stupid to even suggest it. What is a phylactery? Are you saying this thing is something dangerous?"
EDIT: He puts the potion up for the time being.
Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 4:54 am
by Spoonweaver
The party readied themselves for travel. Kalar described Bill as being a day's travel north and still moving.
Voulton put back the special silver potion and took out the massive talisman. It was heavy and taking up a lot of room in his bag. He wondered for a moment if it was really worth traveling with.
The others looked restless almost as if they didn't care where they were going, as long as it lead to more adventure.
Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 5:45 am
by BMR
"From what I know, a phylactery can be used to store a soul of sorts. Most would view it as a moral abomination of some sort, I suppose. However, I believe it allows Nathaire to control or perhaps place himself into the undead. And when we destroyed the colossus, I believe his soul reverted back to the phylactery. But as he would have been unable to do anything there, he went and took control of Bill who would have been the second most powerful undead in the area. It's a sketchy theory, but it seems to fit nicely with the given facts."
Kalar considers his next words carefully and then says:
"We could destroy the phylactery. Should be simple enough. However, I would advise against it for various reasons. First, is that I am not sure if destroying it would destroy Nathaire as well. For all we know, it would simply sever his connection with the undead and cause an angry and powerful necromancer to appear in our midst, not something I would like to risk. Second, he is worth more to us alive than dead. There's some sort of connection between him and Gaspard, and I get the feeling Gaspard might not have been telling us everything. As a prisoner, we could force Nathaire to tell us what he knows."
Kalar emphasizes the last point by manifesting his magical dagger in his hand for a few seconds, and then making it vanish again.
"Third, he is a powerful magic user. A necromancer, certainly, but still a magic user. If we are going to fight against this curse, we will need all the resources we can gather. And if he is, as I believe, fleeing to his stronghold, then gathering what we can from within his base of operations will certainly provide us with said resources."
Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 5:13 am
by Gizmog
Voulton has suspicions about this. Is this transferrence how Kalar has been able to relay messages to the party? Could destroying the phylactery trap this dude in the party pack mule? Anything seems possible.
"Following him to his hideout seems to be kind of a good idea and a bad idea. We should try to catch him before he gets there. He might know stuff, true. But let's not let him give us the grand tour of his fortress. Do you think we can get him out of Bill? Do you think he can get into any of us?"