YIKES! A BODY!
(The Game World)
The trek back to the throne room seemed far more tiresome than the journey to the mines. The reason being, of course was the fact the Party felt rather fatigued after their encounter with the Xorn. Regardless, their return was welcomed with the sounds of uproarious cheers and the sounds of blaring horns; each one singing loudly for the outsiders' victory.
The first to greet them at the gates was the cleric, Beris Stonejaw; who felt thankful to the Lord of the Forge for keeping them safe. "I am pleased to see you all alive again, strangers" he said with a soft chuckle, "especially you, Madam Elf." Although the comment was spoken somewhat in jest, it sounded somewhat insulting to Ventris' ears but she was much too tired to think on it.
Without hesitation, she pleaded for Beris to help replenish her comrades' strength lest they risk the chance of death from exhaustion. "Must you be so dramatic" murmured the cleric with a sigh, "come, I shall heal you; then, you will join us for a feast." Upon hearing the prospect of a feast, the tails of the Tabaxi Twins suddenly perked and their stomachs gurgled in unison.
At the same time, Velra urged for everyone to pick up the pace and follow along with Beris; all while pushing them along from behind with her wide palms.
(Line Break)
Within moments; the Party had been healed, their bellies were filled and their spirits seemed to be rising high from the good company around them. "I suggest you rest for the night here" suggested King Karuk, "then, you shall resume your quest on the morrow." Although the idea of a good rest seemed appealing, Ventris was close to declining the offer under the notion that they needed to resume their quest as swiftly as possible.
In the time that passed since they left Avalonis, it was unknown just how much of the land had been ravaged by the Blight. "Ah, yes...that is cause for concern" murmured Karuk, "Beris, see if your powers of insight can look into this situation for us." The cleric bowed his head slightly in submission, got down onto his knees before the court and held his staff aloft.
Soon, he began to recite a Dwarven incantation; which (to the Party's ears) sounded near identical to his Prayer of Good Fortune from not so long ago. Within moments, both Beris' eyes and the jewels of his staff glowed a bright blue light. To the rest of the Party, this all seemed rather strange but to Fatima, it was all quite familiar.
"For the moment, everyone...we must remain quiet" whispered the half-jinn, "I pray whatever visions he may receive will be good ones." Without question, the Party obeyed their comrade's order and watched Beris in silence. Yet this did little to ease the ever-growing uncertainty that swarmed about within them like angry hornets.
At that moment, a beam shot out from the gems on Beris' staff; showing what looked like an orb of light floating above it. "Look into the light, friends" murmured the cleric in a trance-like tone, "look well...and see what has befallen the land thus far." Despite their overall wariness, the Twins agreed to be the first to look into the strange orb.
Upon doing so, however; they were met with a most horrid vision. The images shown to them seemed to resemble those of their jungle homeland. But now; the trees had wilted, the rivers ran black with muck, the flowers had withered away and what's worse, half the wildlife had died. The other half, unfortunately, grew hungry and had no choice but to eat the tainted flora.
As a result, they had either fallen ill with sickness or suffered a fate far worse than that. That's when Ezra saw a creature charging its way through the jungle, one far larger than anything he remembered coming across. He watched in horror as this beast suddenly tackled an ailing water buffalo to the ground.
Under normal circumstances, such a sight would not horrify a druid. But upon closer examination, the attacking beast was actually a baboon. "How can this be" questioned Ezra, "baboons do not attack so viciously unless provoked and it would surely realize the buffalo's unworthy game." While Beris fully agreed with Ezra's viewpoint, he urged him to look more closely and see that (much like the jungle itself) the baboon and other beasts of the jungle have drastically changed.
It was here that Ezra noticed that this particular baboon appeared...different than many of its kin. Outside of its unusual aggression, the creature also appeared slightly larger than normal. When it reared its head back to bellow out a mighty shriek, the baboon finally showed its newfound appearance to all.
Its limbs had grown longer and more twisted, it showed signs of a hunch upon its back, patches of the baboon's fur appeared to have fallen out; revealing the sickly skin underneath. But worst of it all, the baboon's facial features had somehow been twisted into something...otherworldly. Its mouth had somehow grown longer, almost resembling that of a wolf's snout.
Its tongue slithered out like that of a serpent's, sleek and coated with what looked like green saliva. Its teeth had grown sharper than normal and more shockingly, its eyes glimmered with an unholy red glow. With a terrifying roar, the baboon leapt atop the fallen buffalo and began to sink its fangs deep into its hide; ripping and tearing madly away at the flesh.
As horrid as the baboon's new featured seemed, the display before him seemed far worse by comparison to Ezra. "TAKE IT AWAY! TAKE IT AWAY" he cried, "BY THE GRACE OF NULA, SHOW ME NOTHING ELSE!" Without pause, Beris quickly ended his trance and the viewing orb disappeared soon after that.
As it seemed, the cleric appeared equally mortified by what he had been shown. "I...I am sorry for all that, young Druid" he murmured apologetically, "it would seem that the Blight you told us about is still spreading across the land. Although they had only been shown one vision, the rest of the Party feared that what was happening to the jungle lands...may be happening to their own homes as well.
Mituna felt particularly worried for her fellow Tortle folk, fearing that the creatures there may have also been twisted by the Blight. "We must move quickly, then" Ventris proclaimed, "we must continue our journey to the Bloodstone Keep and stop Melaena from further corrupting the land!" While no one argued with the mage's conviction, the rest of the Party were quick to point out a fatal flaw in her notion; the exact location of the Red Waste and the Keep.
"You must go to Semora" said King Karuk, "the wizards and archmagi who reside may provide you the knowledge you seek." The Party bowed their heads in thanks and were mere moments away from leaving when Beris suddenly spoke up, urging for them to listen. "Even if by some chance the magi can help your cause, you must tread carefully" he said firmly, "even down here, deep within the mountains, word of Melaena's power and villainy is known to all."
With these words, the dwarven cleric warned the Party to not go into battle unprepared. Should they fail in their quest, the realm and all the lands beyond would be forever twisted by Melaena's influence.
(The Real World)
"SHEESH! Talk about building up the pressure there" Lynn interjected, "I mean...we know the quest is important but we almost got our butts and tails handed to us by a bunch of mine mutants!" Lucy fully sided with her older sister's words of displeasure, adding that it sounded almost as bad as Coach Pacowski's lectures before the Nationwide Fitness Test in Gym Class. As if sensing this, Albert openly apologized to both his granddaughters for inadvertently making them feel uneasy.
"You all understand the severity of things, now" Huggins stated, "do you not?" All ten Sisters nodded silently in unison; their minds still haunted by their Pop-Pop's description of the "mutated" baboon, even Lucy's. After a while, they were ready to continue and Albert took the floor, once again. "After a hearty meal to celebrate your victory against the Xorn, Karuk offers you the chance to rest for a spell" he explained in his Game Master voice, "during this time, your health and magic points replenish to full capacity.
"OM GOSH! I totes forgot that happens whenever our characters sleep" exclaimed Leni, "come to think of it, have they slept since leaving the Arena Battle behind?" As Lori and the rest of the group prepared to make a response, much to their surprise...nothing came to mind. So, they ended up standing in place with mouths hanging open like a group of dazed frogs.
Yet again, they were left dumbstruck by something their supposedly absent-minded sister had said. But Lori wasn't willing to let her know that...not yet, at least. The Game Masters, meanwhile praised Leni for her memory and resumed the game.
"In addition to the feast, Karuk also offers you the chance to rest for the evening" Rita said in her Eliana voice, "he knows that you're rather pressed for time but a good night's rest would certainly do you a world of good." Before answering, the girls all huddled in closely and whispered to one another. This lasted for only eight seconds before they finally broke apart and faced the Game Masters.
Much to everyone's surprise, Lori openly agreed with Leni's notion to rest. If what she said was true, the Party's spells and HP both be at 100% capacity by morning. The Council smiled at her for such a decision and continued on where they last left off in the session. "You humbly accept Karuk's invitation" said Lynn in his Acheron voice, "you spend much of the night feasting, drinking and in Velra's case, playful brawling."
The Sisters all laughed loudly, feeling that such a scenario seemed rather typical for someone like Lynn Jr. But they felt rather grossed out, when they heard their Pop-Pop describe (in rather vivid detail) the amount of ale Lynn and Lana chugged down during the feast. By the time it was over, the Council proclaimed that Ezra and Velra were so drunk, they needed to be carried to their quarters for a good night's sleep.
"Hours pass and the Adventuring Party is seen slumbering soundly in their respective chambers" Mrs. Johnson described in her Agathe voice, "but then, this idyllic scene is suddenly disturbed by the blaring sounds of horns echoing in the air." The moment this was mentioned, Mrs. Bernardo suddenly appeared; horn in hand and looking as giddy as a kid on Christmas Morning. The Loud Children yelped in alarm and plugged up their ears, fearing that she might blow her horn at any moment.
But just as the drama teacher took in a deep breath, Principal Huggins quickly intervened and stopped her lips from touching the mouthpiece of her horn. "Thank you...Mrs. Bernardo" grumbled the elderly principal in a mildly respectful tone, "but we have something else in mind." As if sensing or anticipating this, the rest of the Council pulled out each of their phones and pressed a button.
Seconds later, the whole room echoed with the sound of...rather familiar brass instruments. To the ears of those like Luna; she could recognize the tones of a tuba, a French horn and more obscurely a sousaphone of all things. What truly blew her away (figuratively and literally) was the fact the Council played each of these instruments' melodies in perfect unison; creating a rather thunderous blare.
Luna's other siblings, meanwhile didn't quite feel...as keen about the sound as she was. With annoyed grumbles and horrified shrieks, they plugged up their ears as tightly as possible to block out the noise. "Okay...First of all, OW" Lori cried painfully, "secondly, what's with the horns and third, how can the dwarves tell it's morning...they literally live underground?!"
After taking a moment to check if their hearing hadn't popped, the rest of the group asked the very same questions with Lola adding that one should never disrupt a cat when they're sleeping. Principal Huggins only smiled at them with a sort of smug expression before showing a rather strange image on his phone. At first glance, it looked like some sort of odd-looking pot or a pitcher of water.
Only Lisa seemed relatively curious about what it was and she went about doing a web search of her own. That is, she did so after asking permission to use one of her siblings' phones beforehand. One quick series of thumb clicks later and Lisa had found what she wanted. "AHA! Just as I suspected" she proclaimed, "it's an ancient water clock!"
Upon hearing these words from her second littlest sister, Leni scratched her head in confusion. "Um...I think you're mistaken, Lise" she murmured, "clocks don't usually work underwater, right?" The wee genius was mere seconds away from explaining to her sister her "error," only to see the Council beat her to it.
"Actually, dear...a water clock is an ancient device that was once used by several ancient cultures like the Greeks and Egyptians" explained Mrs. Johnson, "inside the pot are lines, each one representing an hour of the day. Back then, they would fill these with water to determine the time of day." For a moment or two, it seemed as though this information might've flown over Leni's head. But somehow, she seemed to understand all of it; much to Lisa's surprise (as well as Lori's.)
However, there was one small detail that confused her...how were the dwarves able to tell what time it was with such a tool? "Simple, sweetie...you know how guards stand on duty during the night in castles" asked Albert, "well, the Dwarves do the exact same thing but they keep a guard or two near the clock to oversee how much water fills it and thus what time it is." All of this seemed to click rather well with not only Leni but the rest of her group.
But they still questioned why the dwarves had to blow horns so loudly in the morning. "Well, they don't exactly have alarm clocks in the D world" Zach chuckled, "I mean...my character could whip up a steampunk one but still."
(Line Break)
Having been unceremoniously roused from their slumber, the Party reconvened in the throne room; where King Karuk had something to aid them on their quest. In his hand, he held the map bestowed upon them by King Acheron and on it was what looked like a series of dots and lines. "The line shows you the best possible road towards your destination" explained the king, "the dots you see are a series of villages you will come across, should you require a place to rest and replenish your supplies."
Ventris took back the map and offered her sincerest of thanks on behalf of her comrades, who all joined her in a bow of gratitude. Upon taking another glance at it, however, Ezra noticed that one of the dots was red while the rest were black. "That is where Semora is located, Master Druid" explained Leoric Strong-Jaw, "although I have not visited there for over twenty moons, I still know my way there."
Upon hearing this, Ventris proceeded to question the young dwarven sorcerer on what they might expect from an alleged city of wizards. "It's unlike anything else you lot have encountered, Madame Elf" Leoric stated, "Semora, to many, is rather like its own separate society rather than anything part of a larger nation or kingdom." Although mildly frustrated by the vagueness of such a description, Ventris and the Party felt no less grateful for it.
Sometime later, after finishing a rather delectable meal, the Party was more than ready to resume their quest. However, before departing, the dwarves offered them a collection of goods to help them along their travels (some food, some water skins filled with wine, a telescope from Jaspur, some new sleeping packs and two small chests of gold.) "This is all so much" confessed Fatima, "you shouldn't have to..."
Karuk quickly yet politely stopped the young djinn mid-sentence, insisting that it was all worthy compensation for everything she and her comrades have done. "I do hope you will succeed in your quest, my friends" the king said warmly, "for all of our sakes." The Party shared their thanks with the dwarves for their kindness, said their final goodbyes and went off on their way.
(Line Break)
A week had gone by since their departure from the dwarf kingdom and during that time, the Party had seen many signs of the Blight's influence creeping further along across the realm. One day, after making camp, Ezra ventured through the woods to forage for small berries or nuts to satiate everyone; just to make certain they would not use up their food supply too swiftly. But as he popped one berry into his mouth, the Tabaxi swiftly spat it back out; not because it was poisonous but because of its flavor.
He took a glance at the bush from where he plucked it from and saw that nearly half of the other berries had also shriveled. "Gods above us, this is appalling" grimaced the druid, "I need to tell the others quick before they sample something they shouldn't." Without delay, Ezra speedily made his way back to the campsite and found a most distressing sight.
His comrades were laid out sprawl beside the fire, save for Fatima; who was doing her best to heal them with her magic. When she saw Ezra standing nearby, she felt a small measure of relief. "Thank goodness you've returned, Master Druid" Fatima sighed heavily, "I feared you may have ended up like the others."
For a few seconds, Ezra's mind was caught in a whirlwind of emotion; wondering how things could have become so dire in the brief period he was gone. But just as he felt his worries get the best of him, he felt the tender touch of Fatima's hand atop his head. This was followed by an unexpected and yet rather pleasantly soothing sensation that flowed through him.
After a period, Ezra felt much calmer now and thanked his friend for her assistance. "Think nothing of it...unfortunately, I can only use so much" Fatima murmured, "this all happened after Velra returned with a tankard full of water." From here, the half-djinn explained that Velra offered up a sample of the water to everyone; herself included.
Then, as if in an instant, they suddenly felt rather uneasy; as if some sort of sickness overcame them. "THE WATER" Ezra cried in shock, "it must be the same thing that affected the berries I tried to pick...it's the Blight!" Not long after he said this; the druid began to fear for the worse, after taking a glance at his sister.
He soon noticed that Ursa's whiskers were drooping, her tail had gone fully limp and the usual luster in her yellow eyes had dimmed slightly. But just as he started to fear the worst, Ezra suddenly felt Ursa's hand lightly gripping around his own. As he took another glance at his sister, she gave him a light smile and said "don't drink the water...it tastes worse than swamp muck."
(Line Break)
For almost an hour, Ezra stood watch over the others while Fatima used her healing abilities as best as she could. But doing so proved to be rather taxing, to say the least. While making certain not to bring herself towards the brink of exhaustion, Fatima alternated between each of her ailing comrades every minute or so.
Thankfully, it seemed to be working; as Fatima noticed color returning to her friends' faces. "We must do more" she said with a slightly breathless voice, "my powers may help their bodies heal...but we need some sort of antidote to drive out the poison." Upon hearing this, Ezra offered to go back to the woods and search for any herbs and berries that might help.
Although, a small part of him feared the worse that too much of the forest had been corrupted by the Blight. But Fatima urged the druid not to lose hope, proclaiming that even a small paw-full of herbs and berries may be of some assistance. "Very well...I'm off, then" Ezra stated while turning back into the forest, "I'll hurry back as quickly as I can!"
Using all of his senses, both natural and magical, the Tabaxi druid searched all over to find anything that seemed remotely edible. Thankfully, he had been able to collect a good batch of wild herbs but finding non-poisonous berries was a far greater challenge. As he raced along the forest floor on all fours, Ezra suddenly tripped and tumbled about before slamming against a nearby tree.
"GAH! What in the...What did I just hit" he groaned lightly, "seemed far too big to be any stone or tree root." After dusting stretching out his limbs and dusting off all the leaves that clung to his cloak, Ezra approached the object that caused him to stumble. Unfortunately, he was unable to learn what it was due to all the moss and grass that had grown over it.
While exercising some level of caution, Ezra eased in close; hoping to get a better look for anything that might tell him what this object was. At one point, he happened upon what looked like a sort of metal shoulder pad; possibly from a discarded suit of armor. "It seems pretty old" thought Ezra, "wonder if the rest of the armor's under all of this?"
With this thought in mind, Ezra grabbed the hem of his cloak and began dusting away the overgrowth from the alleged armor bit by bit. After clearing much of it from the shoulder-blade, he prepared to roll it over and clear off the breastplate. But upon doing so, Ezra saw what looked like an arm suddenly fall onto his lap.
(The Real World)
Back at the table, the whole room seemed to echo with the terrified screams of the Loud Sisters...that is to say, most of them. The moment the Game Masters made the reveal of the strange arm falling on top of Lana's lap, fear gripped at the group and they responded accordingly. But while this response was somewhat natural, that didn't dismiss the fact that everyone's ears were ringing from the echoing screams.
"OKAY, OKAY! WE GET THE PICTURE...YOU SISSIES ARE SPOOKED" Flip exclaimed from the snack table while plugging his ears up with napkins, "COULD YA STOP WITH DA SCREAMIN' ALREADY?!" After hearing everyone else make similar pleas/demands, the Loud Sisters finally stopped shrieking and fell into each of their chairs. The most surprising thing about this sort of response was the fact that Lori was among the screamers herself.
Several players were quick to take notice of this fact and call her out on it, even those among the girl's peers. "I wasn't scared, okay" Lori responded indignantly, "I was just...screaming because my listers were literally doing it themselves." With knowing expressions on their faces, the likes of Carol and her Gal Pals softly giggled under their breath; all while saying they "believed her."
Meanwhile, the Council quickly tried to bring everyone's attention back to the game; starting with addressing Lana's next course of action. "Right, right...I think I wanna go back to camp and tell the others about it" she murmured, "I mean, if they're feeling well enough to come with me." The Council nodded to one another slightly and went on to describe Lana's decision to the rest of the players, adding that Ezra was bringing back the herbs and berries along with him.
Later, she and Leni (while in character) acted out their characters crafting a healing draught, which they evenly gave to the ailing members of their Party. Thankfully, Lana's character seemed to have gathered just enough supplies for the plan to work but the others still felt a little uneasy. "Once everyone has been healed, you follow Ezra back into the woods" Huggins explained in his Fastred voice, "where you eventually come upon the strange arm he spoke of."
Upon hearing mention of the arm again, Lori and the others each gave a subtle yet noticeable grimace; their bodies cringing just as much. That's when they heard their dad ask each of them to make an Investigation Check. One by one, each of the Sisters picked up their dice and shook it hard between their hands and sent them flying along the table.
When each die finally stopped rolling, a few of the other players looked closely at the results. The girls waited patiently/anxiously to hear what they got.
Lincoln: "It looks like Lynn got a 13."
Sam: "A 16 here for Luan."
Paige: "A 16 for Lola as well and...a 14 for Lana."
Haiku: "A ten for Lucy...I am dreadfully sorry about that."
Kat: "Leni earned herself a 19 over here!"
"That just leaves Lil' Lily" Carol gushed adorably while patting the babe on her head, "let's see what'cha got, hmm?" While minding her balance, Carol eased herself slightly over the table and looked closely down at the dice. But the moment she saw what number Lily got, she let out a surprised gasp and almost fell atop the game map.
"Girl...What got into you" inquired Whitney, "did Lily get a good roll or didn't she?" After hearing so many others asked this same question, Carol cleared her throat and murmured "she...she got a...a Twenty-Five." With this soft reveal, nearly every player flew into a frenzy of surprise gasps and mad laughter; all of which seemed to confuse Lily quite a bit.
Meanwhile, the other Loud Sisters proceeded to cry out "foul" or "shenanigans" towards this result; refusing to accept the fact their baby sister came out better than them. "Now, now...let's not get heated, ladies" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "we each have a moment of triumph at the table, regardless of age or gender." Despite still feeling somewhat annoyed/frustrated, the elder Loud Sisters ultimately agreed with the teacher's words urged everyone to proceed.
"Okay...Here wha Lupa do" Lily proclaimed, "Lupa get to da floor an' start sniffing da weird arm, in case it a person." Much to the wee one's surprise, she only saw looks of confusion and befuddlement on everyone's faces. It was here that Leni rose from her seat and offer up a "translation" of what Lily said.
"Lily's saying she wants to sniff at the arm Lana...er, I mean Ezra found in the grass" she explained, "to see what kind of body this is." There was a loud outcry of "OH" from all around the table, which was followed by a series of murmurs; all of which seemed to mean everyone now had a clearer idea of what would happen next. When the Council went about describing the next scene, Rita/Eliana said that Lupa caught the strange aroma of grass and metal from the strange arm.
"HOLD IT, BACK UP A MINUTE" Lynn interjected suddenly, "did you just say...the arm is made of metal?" After receiving confirmation from both her parents, Lynn's mind started to assume that whoever was buried in the grass mound must've had a prosthetic limb; one similar to Zach's character. "An excellent theory, Barbarian" Lynn Sr. said in his Acheron voice, "but while she sniffed about the grass mound, she saw what looked like a helmet buried under the foliage."
With this reveal, the rest of the Party went about tearing off the grass that covered whatever was under it. When the last of it had finally been disposed of, they were surprised to discover neither a discarded suit of armor nor a fallen warrior's remains. Instead, they found what looked like (in Principal Huggins' words) some sort of Automaton.
"Auto...what" murmured Leni in confusion, "you guys didn't tell us cars were in this game." While doing everything in her power to not sound snobbish or spiteful in tone, Lisa let out a soft groan of annoyance and explained to her sister the difference between automatons and automobiles. Not long after that, her parents added that while some form of vehicles outside of carriages and chariots did exist in the game; automotive transport had a more...steampunk flare to it in the game.
"More to the point, hon; the word we used was 'automaton'" Albert explained, "which is a fancy-schmancy word for robot." Once more, Leni was left flabbergasted by such a reveal and questioned how robots could exist in a game like this. "Why don't we let Lisa help explain for us" Mrs. Johnson suggested, "seeing as how the automaton you discovered is actually her character."
This reveal not only caught Leni off guard but her fellow Party members felt just as shocked. Meanwhile, Lisa (much to her own surprise) suddenly found herself feeling self-conscious or inhibited (Street name: Awkward.) These feelings only seemed to get worse, when Lisa saw everyone's eyes looking right at her.
Thankfully, Lincoln took immediate notice of her nervous body language, gave a little whistle and performed a series of breathing gestures. He did this for almost thirty seconds until Lisa started breathing along with him. This carried on for about ten seconds until finally, Lisa seemed perfectly calm.
"Apologies, everyone" she murmured with a light bow, "despite my intellect, I am otherwise unfamiliar with the ways of imaginative play." There were light murmurs of understanding heard all throughout the room, most of which were among the other Louds. None of them could recall a time where Lisa indulged in playing make-believe, be it with her own siblings or her best friend Darcy.
In spite of that, however; everyone appeared more than willing to help her along. But for now, they realized that this wasn't the best time for Lisa to make her "in-game debut" just yet. "Let us return to the Party for the moment, shall we" Huggins suggested in his Fastred voice, "what is it that you lot wish to do next?"
Without a moment's pause or hesitation, the group in question agreed to further investigate what the strange arm they found was attached to. "Excellent! I do believe this moment calls for Lana to proceed next" Mrs. Johnson said in her Agathe voice, "how do you wish to proceed, Master Druid?"
(The Game World)
Speedily, the Party began brushing and/or tossing away the overgrowth that covered over whatever was attached to the strange arm. Some among them still held on to the belief this was nothing more than a discarded suit of armor. But after making an attempt to pull it out, they suddenly noticed it seemed much heavier than anticipated. It felt as though they were lifting a full-sized being.
Then, the Party noticed Lupa digging her paws into one of the grassy spots until her claws were rapping lightly against something...hard. "What is it, girl" questioned Ventris, "is there something...or someone buried under all of this grass?" The Frost Wolf pup yipped softly in response, all while lightly tapping her paw against the lump of grass she was digging into earlier.
Ventris got down to her knees, rested her hand atop the aforementioned spot and began brushing it lightly with her palm. It was here that she discovered something smooth and grey was, indeed buried here. At first glance, it seemed to resemble a helmet of some kind. But as she brushed more grass and dirt away,Ventris saw what looked like a jewel.
"Some adventurer must've left behind their armor and riches here long ago" she thought, "I...suppose there's no harm in collecting it for ourselves, is there?" With that, Ventris urged for everyone to resume digging; claiming that whatever was left here could help them buy some food and medicine in the next village. "Never pegged you to be a grave robber, Madam Elf" chuckled Ursa, "I must be rubbing off on you a wee bit."
Just as Ventris was prepared to make some form of a retort, she suddenly heard Lupa give off a startled yelp. When she looked down, she saw something that almost made her faint. The jewel she happened upon was actually a jeweled eye, which was attached to what looked like some sort of strange head.
Once the rest of the grass and dirt had been cleared away; the Party saw that the aforementioned head was, in fact attached to a body.
(First AN: *imitates dramatic trumpet cue* Just when you think things can't get any weirder/more surprising, BAM! What is this strange body the Party found, where did it come from and more importantly, will they be able to make it to the Bloodstone Keep before any more of the Blight overtakes the realm?
Tune in next time, to find out)
(Second AN: In the past, some people asked me how far along in the campaign everyone's in? It's hard to tell in D because no one group's campaign is exactly like the other. Some last for about a few weeks, others a month or so...and one campaign that's still ongoing today has lasted for forty-three years!
That's five years older than I am, people and it's still being played by the same group! Regardless, let's call this part of the story...the Midway Point, not just in terms of their game but also in terms of the cast's Summer Break. I hope that clears away any confusion or concerns among you.
Thank you for your patience/support, happy reading and don't forget to leave a review)
(Third AN: Originally, I had a different idea for this chapter but decided to use it for the next one. The reason being is soon, Lisa will be getting a chance to be introduced within the campaign. As revealed in this chapter, her character is a Warforged...but for the sake of being vague, the Game Masters Council labelled the character as an automaton.
I won't reveal how her character ended up here yet but I will say this. Much like any machine, Lisa's character is out of power or energy and it'll be up to the Party to figure out a way to "recharge" her, next chapter)
(Final AN: For those wondering, no! None of the Party members are going to die after eating and/or drinking that poisoned stuff. The healing power of Leni's cleric character is doing enough to stop that from happening but let's just say that those indisposed will be feeling like they have some major indigestion, by the time she's done)