Chapter 3: A Dangerous Detour

[Longman]

waiting on Jaali...

[mTeasdale]

Sorry ! Jaali will advance toward the darkness with his pistol in hand, ready to shoot if a ghoul comes out.

[Longman]

Noproblemo.

The cleric switches off the darkness, and the advancing Jaali can make out the two ghouls slipping into the forest. He fires the other barrel of his pistol, and injures one of the ghouls. Good shot.

The ghoul does not die, but it is enough to make the ghouls drop the warrior. Both continue to flee.

Kyo rumbles down the path but the ghoul are too far away for Saracen to fire a magic missile at them. You can still make them out, but they are now running fast into the trees.

If you want to track them down, it would have to be Jaali, Maju, and the rangers, on foot.

Otherwise, you have retrieved the warrior, and the combat is over.

What do you want to do?

[MevlyTM]

Once the warrior is retrieved, Maju would like to collect him and bring him back to the rest of the party.

[mTeasdale]

Jaali won't follow the ghouls in the woods. He w8ll check the leader's corpse to check out for anything odd (or valuable).

[Longman]

I think we're out of combat...The paralyzed folk all wake up between twenty and eighty minutes later. Some of the lesser warriors are extremely injured.

The necklaces on the ghouls are made of silver, badly tarnished. if Yuan Cheng was able, he'd tell you it was from his order, but probably from a different monastery. It could be worth 150gp. One necklace, on the leader, also has a sapphire worth about 50gp in addition. 200gp all up, round tally. Someone note it down, please, and where you found it.

Jaali may have been thinking about wandering off with this, but Kanya is very much on the scene when he gets back there, making an inventory.

Kanya knows a bit about ghouls. It's too early to tell if any of the victims are getting sick and transforming, but you will know by midnight. Best round them up and keep an eye on them all.

[MevlyTM]

Before the end of the day, Maju would like to cast Continual Darkness to create another darkstone.

OOC: Sorry if I wasn't explicit. Maju will not pursue the ghouls as long as the tribesman is recovered.

Noted. If you have Cont Dark memorized, you can easily make another one by day's end. That's done.

[Woe]

Someone note it down, please, and where you found it.

Noted.

Kanya works with Apinya to ask whether Teruk has encountered such creatures before, and whether he's heard of the disease that one gets when bitten. If he hasn't (or maybe even if he has), she will tell him that it's very fatal and instead of dying, the victim will rise up again the following night. Quite a dreary conversation, but the chief should know about what will probably happen tonight. She suggests pyres for any infected. She'd prefer burned at the stake but some people have a misplaced aversion to such ceremonies.

Once the goods have been inventoried and Teruk's men rig litters or whatever for Teruk's men, Kanya's ready to go. (sigh). Back onto Stenchunta.

[quozl]

As Yuan-Cheng comes to, he asks, "Did you slay them all? They were of my order. I must cleanse the disease from this place."

[Woe]

(played before the Kanya/Apinya/Teruk discussion, I suppose)

"No. Three died. Four fled. They are foul Myrkul spawn, no longer your order." Kanya points at the Nanternbo, laying where the ghoul dropped it. "You'll want that of course." She stops, then on a whim, adds, "Here. These too. Also of your kin." She drops the medallions in his lap, then goes to check on some of Teruk's order.