Dragon's Egg - Act IV

[SeverinR]

Aliron smiles,
"Do not worry, keep your eyes open and you will find enough treasure to make it worth your effort."
Aliron said leaning against a tree, his arrow still noched but not drawn back.
"Sorceresses die just like anyone else. A blade or arrowhead to the heart does the trick. They hide it better then most, but they still have a heart. After she is dead, I do agree we need to burn the body, to ensure no one ever uses magic to bring her back from Hades or what ever evil place she was conceived."

 

[Philster401]

"Are we sure she can even die?" Zoran asked.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart

"She is mortal. She won't fall easily, but if she were so powerful she wouldn't hide behind her armies."

 

[SeverinR]

"There are legends of the lich. Very hard to kill, but I don't think she has taken the path of lichdom. I am but a former street urchin entertainer, so what do I know?"

 

[Philster401]

"Um, I just realized we left two of the children alone in my room at the inn and we are going on another adventure? I see why we are trying to find better homes for them," Zoran stated factually.

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart

"Dalla can handle them for now. I do hope we don't need to take them with us. They're lovely children and they've seen enough bloodshed. Maybe Dalla will stay with them. She's lovely too."

I say to Aliron, "Be glad she doesn't know the bow was Tommen's. She's a pretty little thing, except when she gives you that cold glare."

I tell Bressel, "I hope she gave the kobolds the same look when they tried to take Burnbright. Her glare is more intimidating than that of some of the men I trained with on the mountain."

 

[Steerpike]

The captive orc agrees to lead members of the group to meet his leader, Korgak. He tells Liadan his tribe is across the river, and when the group is ready he will lead anyone who wants to travel to meet Korgak.

Tumi speaks in a low voice in response to Nissa, so that Burnbright, who still stands at the edge of the camp, won't overhear. "What I meant to say is that we've got something she wants. We can draw her out, like. Pretend we're going to make a trade or something, or that we'll take the girl far away if she doesn't bargain with us. Not that we're necessarily going to do what we say, but if we can draw her out or make her change her plans, it may be good for us."

Burnbright, after lingering along the edge of the camp for a few minutes and occasionally dabbing silently at a stray tear, eventually walks over to her pack and gathers up her things, including her spear. "Maybe I should go to her," she says, addressing the group. "Right now, everyone is in trouble. You're thinking up ways to kill her. She's thinking up ways to kill you. Maybe it's all over me. If I was back with her, maybe all this would stop." She shrugs and wipes at her eyes with the back of her arm, her voice a bit rough. "And maybe it wouldn't. I'm not stupid. I don't know what she'll do, or if she really loves me or just wants me for some other reason. I only know that as long as you all have me, she's going to keep sending whatever she has to stop you. If I go to her, I can at least make sure you're all safe."

"I bet that's what Veborg would do," she mutters, mostly to herself. She turns back toward the forest then stops, frowning, and looks at the sky. "Which way is north from here?"

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart

"I know you're not stupid, sweetie, but if your mother really loves you, she won't try to kill us without talking first. She's been silent about what will happen to you when she performs the ritual to save herself. I fear that you are the catalyst for a ritual, and I'd rather die protecting you than do nothing as you march north.

"Why don't you come to the orcs with us? Learn of their plight as they were hunted down by their own kind."

I suggest this, yet I wasn't near her when her mother appeared.

"Is there anything your mother said that persuaded you to come to her?"

 

[AkamaruGames]

Marius

Marius says, "I am no mother, and I have had no mother from which to draw experience from, but if I WAS a mother and we had my child and wouldn't give her back, I would probably kill us first before talking. Kidnappers are not on the top of the list for conversation and I am fairly certain two-week-coin would agree with me. Moms kill for their children. That's what they do right? I mean, it's what wolf moms do anyway. I assume its the same with humans. I am curious though, what do you expect to get out of having the evil sorceress' daughter slash human spell component? You think she is going to give up her master plans in exchange for her daughter? I mean, I have never met the lady, but if I was an evil sorceress, I would wait until I get my daughter back and slaughter the lot of us for the insult. Maybe using some sort of spell that flays us alive and dusts us with a light layer of salt so we are both tasty and in agony when I feed us to my pet dragon. I bet she has a pet dragon, doesnt she."

Glancing at Burnbright he says, "And besides all that, most kids are not overly fond of matricide. Are we really walking around with a girl with the intent of killing her mother? How do you feel about all this, girl? What do you want done about your mother? She's obviously bad news, but I imagine you have some mixed feelings about solving that problem through a generous application of deadly weapons. But just handing you back and going off on our way will likely result in you sacrificed and us hunted down and murdered painfully."

Giving a nervous laugh, Marius says, "Funny, I was just having such a nice walk this morning and now I am associated with a group of kidnappers who are going to be destroyed by a wrathful witch. I'd ditch you guys, but then I would probably be hunted down singly for having associated with you. Strength in numbers and all that. Not to mention my solemn vow of guard duty on the angel girl. To think, if I had just slept in for 10 more minutes, I might not be about to go to war against an evil sorceress and her army of orcs with a band of kidnappers while guarding an angel. But that's life, right?"

 

[Steerpike]

Burnbright says to Baldhart: "It was nothing she said, specifically. I mean, I don't know. I don't think anyone here understands what happened to her. Maybe she really does want me. But when I think about what happened to Srilkind and Arendal...I just wonder if there's any good left in her, and if maybe I can bring it out.

"But that's not why I am thinking of going north. It's because she keeps finding me somehow, and whenever she does bad things start to happen. I don't want anyone in this group to get hurt. I've already lost a home and people I can about. Maybe if I go to her, she'll just stop. Veborg would have given herself up if she could save a lot of other people."

She sighs. "I don't know what to do. Going off by myself is scary. And I don't want to leave you, or Branwen, or anyone here."

When Marius speaks Burnbright's back stiffens and she says "It's my mother. How do you think I feel about it? Besides, what do you know. Who are you, anyway?" She tries to put on a stern face and crosses her arms, but there is a tremble to her lip.

Branwen wanders over and looks up at Burnbright pensively.

Masama, meanwhile, emerges back into view of everyone at the camp site. He puts a hand on Burnbright's shoulder. "You should stay with us, child. It is the only way. If there is any hope that your mother can be saved, you are it. Go to her now, and I believe that chance will be lost. You must show her strength, and that you will oppose her if need be. Let us talk to these orcs. Then we should visit the dwarves as planned. We will need many allies before the fighting in the north is done."

 

[AkamaruGames]

Marius

Marius gives a quick bow and says, "My name is Marius. As for how I think you feel about it, I know absolutely nothing about how you feel. I just met you and I am not a wizard. That's why I am asking. If I am misreading the air here, feel free to correct me, but from what I have heard, it seems like the only option we are considering is raising an army to go to war with your mother, presumably to kill her. And well, that's fine and all when you have an oppressive evil sorceress doing whatever evil she does because that's what you DO with evil sorceresses, but from the five minutes I have met you, despite being the daughter of this sorceress, you don't seem all that bad. And if you aren't all that bad, I imagine you don't want to hear about a plan to slaughter your mother, even if she IS icky and wants to sacrifice you in a profane ritual or whatever. My point is this, people around you are coming up with plans to kill your mother and I don't much care for the idea of killing someone's mother. People should have their mothers, even crazy homicidal ones, so I assume you like the idea even less than me. If you have any ideas about how to make her stop without having to start a war to stop her, now would be the time to voice those ideas. The more armies that get raised, the more momentum gets going and you are going to have less of a chance to try to stop this with your mother still alive. The plan better have some details and include some ideas on what to do with her once we have gotten her to stop, because she has gotten a lot of people mad at her and it will take some really strong convincing to get people to leave her alone afterward. I don't want to come up with a plan to get her to lower her defenses only to see her get taken down by an angry mob of peasants with torches and pitchforks. That's counter-productive."

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Nissa

I fly over to Burnbright.

"Veborg made quite an impression on you. She made an impression on Brynhild as well. When she fell, there were some who witnessed the valkyries who escorted her soul. I wasn't among them, but I know Brynhild had her reasons for letting others see the valkyrie. What impressed Brynhild is, in part, as you say: she chose to sacrifice herself with the intent of saving as many lives as possible.

"But there's another half: she didn't give up fighting for what she believed in.

"Give your mother a better reason to stop. As Masama says, show her you will sooner oppose her than surrender to her. Make it clear you will not be a pawn in her game, and if she wants to be saved, it must be on your terms."



Baldhart

I cross my arms as the weird little rogue blathers on. "Oh, for crying out loud, Marius. We killed Branwen's mother because she was trying to eat us. Not all mothers are good mothers."

Turning to Burnbright again, I tell her, "Yours was. Ghendra mentioned a demon overtook your mother. From what those who knew her as a priestess say, I can believe that. I wonder if the demon can be beaten out of her. Or… maybe there's a gentler way. My point is, if you save her her way, that's likely a trick from the demon. Or the demon takes you instead, which can only happen over my dead body. If there's another way to save her, and we find out what that is before we meet her, then we have something to offer."

I turn to Callan, Tumi, Zoran, Liadan, Masama… "I don't suppose any of you know how to get demons out of people. I mean without setting them on fire or killing them."

 

[SeverinR]

Aliron
Aliron moves to a new vantage point, so he could see the area behind the group, as always he is listening to the group but also listening for sounds around the camp.

Bressel
"If it can be avoided, I would prefer not killing Burnbright's mother, but we can never forget the deaths she caused by her actions and by her command. Who here would be content with the murderer of your family walking away without a just punishment? She directed horrible murderers to do her bidding and meet her goals. She is not innocent of their actions. She had enemy that have done wrong to her, but her actions have harmed many innocents also. Collateral damage is acceptable within reason, but it seems to me in this case, she is out for blood and doesn't care who's blood it is."
He pauses and then turns to face Burnbright.
"Burnbright, giving your mother what she wants might prevent blood shed, but it also might lead to blood shed magnified by one thousand times. She might turn you or whatever power you have into a beast that kills indiscriminately. You could become what you hate about your mother."

 

[Ireth]

Liadan

When Baldhart addresses me and the others about demon banishing, I think hard, trying to recall if I've heard anything of the sort.

 

[AkamaruGames]

Marius

Marius laughs and says, "Taken over by a demon?"

He then quickly grabs his coin and flips it.

Flip a coin! Heads or tails? [1d2] = 2

Looking rather relieved by the result he says, "Even the two week coin knows that those aren't real."

 

[Steerpike]

Burnbright begins finishes gathering her things. "She doesn't want to sacrifice me," she says to Marius, her voice growing more emotional as the conversation goes on. "And no I don't know what to do about her. I don't even remember her! I don't know if she has a demon in her, or if people did bad things to her and she thinks what she's doing is right, or...or if she's really even my mother and not someone pretending to be. I'm just tired of people getting hurt and I thought if I went to her maybe she'd stop!"

She takes a deep breath and composes herself. "You're all right. It's too risky. And a shield-maiden doesn't abandon her friends." She picks up the last of her gear and says "Can we just drop this subject and go see the orcs?"

While Burnbright is still engrossed in getting her things together, Callan moves over closer to the rest of the group and says "Demons, huh? Do you really believe there are demons in the world? Most of time, when you hear folks call something a demon you'll find it is just a strange creature, as mortal as any of us. If you travel the seas between here and the southland, there are a race of fish-like creatures that live beneath the waves. Smart, and cunning too. Locals call them "demons," but they're no more demons than that orc."

Masama frowns a moment, then speaks in his deep voice. "I believe that demons do wander the earth. They come at night, when Asra journeys through the underworld, and they hide from her when she climbs the sky during the day. It is not impossible. Were there priests of Asra here in the north, we might consult them. I do not know how to cast out a demon, but dragging it into Asra's light would be a good start."

((No one is able to muster up much knowledge about casting out demons. There hasn't been much done in the way of magic for 1000 years, and nothing other than tales of demons told over a pint of ale. If there are demons in the world, and if there are rituals for driving them away rather than attacking them with sword and bow, it's going to take some research to find out, and that research is going to have to provide access to some very old books)).

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

Baldhart

"Fish demons aren't demons. They're just assholes." In a lower voice I tell Callan, "Tried to eat me while I was having a midnight swim along the south shore last week. Pissed me off."

To pretty much everyone, particularly the skeptics, I go on, "I've known Nissa since I was 16, and when she revealed herself to others earlier this month… let's just say some skeptics we once traveled with didn't know what to make of her when she materialized right in front of them.

"If there are valkyrie, then you must believe there are good gods. And with the terrible magic out there, you must believe not all of the gods are good. If good gods have their faithful servants, then evil gods must as well. Those servants are the ones I call demons. I have never seen one, but I don't believe Brynhild would permit Nissa to walk among us if an evil force hasn't already intervened.

"Whether a demon is…" I stop short of saying in Aslaug, in respect to Burnbright's request. "…going to cross paths with us, I can't be sure. What I can be sure of, given what I know about Nissa, is that if a demon can harm us, it likely has a mortal form which can be harmed by us.

"The bigger our group the better if it comes to that, so as our young shied maiden said, let's go meet Korgak and his tribe."

I approach the orc, and say, "You will not meet Korgak looking like this. Will you permit me to unbind you now? And do you need another bite of meat or something to drink?" I wait for Liadan to translate my question and his answer, then act accordingly.

 

[Steerpike]

The orc indicates, through Liadan, that he will be unbound. He accepts a bit more food and drink and does not try to escape, or to harm any of the party members. He seems to have recovered some of his nerve.

When the party is ready to go, he leads them back toward the road, pausing at the edge of the tree line to survey the area - probably force of habit for an orc in human territory. Seeing no one around, he leads the party out past the road and toward the river.

Tumi keeps a hand on his weapon and a foul eye turned on the orc. Burnbright fans out to one side of the group, near Masama, who walks without a word but keeps scanning the party's surroundings.

As the group walks, Tumi says "I hope you're right about demons. That's a good point you make 'bout there being valkyries and all. If there are demons, I hope they can be killed like anything else."

"For now, there is no worry," Masama says. "Demons will not bother us while Asra watches. Do not weigh yourself down with false fears."

Tumi gives Masama a sideways look and whispers to Nissa. "What's all this Asra business?"

Branwen tags along near Bressel, her doll dangling from one hand. She mutters to herself in child-speak, with her own name and those of other party members popping up from time to time. Occasionally she lapses into humming, but it is so soft it is barely audible.

The orc leads the group to the edge of the river, pushing out through tall grass to get to where water laps at the mud. Then, the orc turns south and follows the curve of the river. It is a wide river - probably three hundred feet across, a little more in some places, a little less in others. The orc continues to lead the party south along the river's edge until the group reaches a sharp bow in the river where the current slows to a crawl across most of its length. The orc leans down near the edge of the water, motioning with his hands. Closer inspection reveals that a thick rope is lashed, just beneath the water's surface, to a tremendous stake driven into the ground. The rope extends just beneath the surface of the water, and looks to span the entire river. The orc leans down and gestures at the rope, then makes hand-over-hand gestures and points at the far side of the river.

"Camp across this," he tells Liadan.

 

[Ireth]

Liadan

I translate the orc's words so the rest of the party can hear, then look from the rope to the orc. <How do we cross? Can the rope be pulled up so we can walk across, or must we hold onto it underwater?>

Cadell

I keep several paces back from the river, wondering how in the world we're supposed to cross via an underwater rope. I can only hope Liadan is asking the orc that very question. There doesn't seem to be a boat anywhere in sight, and most of the party knows I can't swim. Will the rope even support our heaviest members, armor and all?

 

[SeverinR]

Aliron
Staying in the back watching the people and guarding the rear.

Bressel
Remains near Branwen and keeps an eye on Burnbright.