Having arrived to the Athrosi Tribe on Samarta, the Combative Companions are one fourth of the way through their cartographic journey. To aid in this task however, they've enlisted the help of Uri, the man they had saved from whatever torturous fate the devils had intended for him. Ever grateful, he agreed to guide them to the two remaining villages that hide among the muck and foliage, Syrasi and the Spali.
Together, the group set out through the rain towards Spali, making certain to avoid the gravesites and swamps that may or may not be filled with warrior spirits and zombies, until nightfall began to approach. In need of shelter they find an ominous house complete with runes to protect the sight from rain. To have such a home in the outskirts of the forest seemed odd, but a roof is a roof, no matter where it may be built, so the party approached in hopes of being granted a place to rest for the night. Before they even managed to knock the door, a young woman of golden hair and crimson lips welcomed them in. Her name was Kirke.
This is a trap, protested most of the party at an internal level.
The concept of unconditional kindness is a rarity, but Kirke seemed almost too hospitable, having manifested a bountiful feast that the entire party could partake in. She had claimed her unseen servants had prepared this meal, but how could she even assume anyone would arrive to eat such a feast? Why are there runes and what kind of mysticism is she aware of? Why is there a mural on the ceiling of an abominable woman with multiple eyes and necks that end in mouths? It was all far too suspicious leading to some like Matthias and Bodhi leaving prematurely to “watch the horses”, and for people like Oogi to be utterly terrible guest, interrogating their host and refusing to partake in the feast she had prepared.
Among the party however, the most well mannered was Flayed-Lips, who had left his weapon outside, partaken of her food, and had done his best to be a good guest throughout the entire experience. His good nature was rewarded in the midst of the night when the woman decided to kiss his lips, healing them entirely. With lips un-flayed he told those who he were with him refer to him by his birth-name, Nanok.
After a very paranoid night the party eventually awoken to find that there was no house in sight. There was no trace of Kirke yet despite this, the party did not feel hunger from a meal not had, and Nanok’s lips were still healed. For the first time in a while, the party had a legitimately nice encounter that was completely unconditional. She was almost certainly a witch that might have killed them if they were a little more rude, but that’s beside the point.
After another day’s worth of travel, they come across a band of men as they begin to set their camp for the night. Ever eager to socialize Matthias calls out to the men, but they did not seem to take kindly to the presence of the party. Branding them as Outlanders, the man introduces his group as the Tydu, and despite Matthias’s attempts to be civil, his words are only met with hostility and the demand to duel. Disheartened that they would not duel via riddles and crossword puzzles, Matthias reluctantly accepted and dueled one of the warriors of Tydu, only for him and the opponent to experience a simultaneous knockout, resulting in a draw. With no clear winner, the Tydu grumble amongst themselves as they dragged their duelist away.
There were no major altercations after this point. Oogi had found a blind merchant in the middle of the night and had sold his horse and a chunk of Randon’s silver for a magical orb that apparently drives people mad when shattered, and on the following day they had found a small ruin while continuing their travels.
Having not risked their lives exploring some random complex teeming with monsters in a while, the party decided to enter and see if they could find anything. There was actually a fair amount of treasure for such a small location, with them taking the gems out of the eyes of statues, and quickly coming upon a statue at the end of a long hallway. It was a golden idol of a man in the fetal position with an oblong head and emerald eyes. Being at the end of a long and narrow hall, the party was certain there would be some form of trap that would activate upon them stealing the statue, so rather than have the entire group by mutilated, they had set apart their most hardy man at the time to steal the statue on everyone’s behalf. None other than he who attracts misfortune like his disgusting frog face face repels women, Oogi. He removes the statue, and on cue the walls open to reveal a massive boulder rolling its way down the hall. The others escape, but Oogi is too slow to outpace the bolder, finding himself nearly crushed to death in the process. He survives, but the statue is absolutely ruined as a result of the bolder. But hey, gold is gold.
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