"I'm going to talk to the King," says Matthias wanting to clear the party's name.
Morrigu tells him, "We tried that and we couldn't even get past the gates," but Matthias, ever confident in his sociability, takes several members of the group with him to show them how it's done.
The party failed to make it past the gates.
This could be a real problem in the future, but not knowing what to do, the party decides to just let that problem sit at the horizon and put their attention to something else. So, they've decided to head out southwest in search of this Oracle who could potentially help Zanorak.
As the small group of Matthias, Zanorak, Morrigu, and Halthor went through the hills that bordered Dolonia, a voice calls out at them from the horizon, and they can just barely make out a naked woman with fiery red hair, a red necklace, and massive raven wings who was sitting by an olive tree. This figure was definitely nothing to take likely based on her supernatural presence, but she seemed calm to their arrival in her potential domain, so the party approached her. Upon making it closer, they had also come to realize, that "ruby necklace" was actually blood that stained her neck and breasts. Somewhat concerning, but their encounter was still civil as the woman asked of where they were traveling.
And then Zanorak spoke.
Zanorak was already suspicious of the woman and had wanted nothing to do with her, and he was very transparent with that fact as he told her that the party would not fall to temptation or any attempts at "wenchery". Surprisingly, the woman did not take lightly to the implication of being a wench. It's hard to guess why, but she just didn't like it for some reason. She didn't like it so much, that what was supposed to be a civil conversation derailed into her trying to punish Zanorak with a single lashing, him sticking his disgusting frog tongue down Halthor's throat as the party attempted to hold him down for said lashing, him breaking free of the party long enough to shoot the woman through the chest with a ray gun, and the situation escalating even further as the party realized that the woman did not in fact die from that attack. What was supposed to be a simple punishment for being rude ended with Morrigu personally cutting off his nose and gouging out one of his eyes to placate the woman. And then the woman left.
The party knows not who she is, what she is, why she sits on the hill by the olive tree, or what she may have had to offer to the Combative Companions, meaning the entire detour to meet her was now one big waste of time that ended in Zanorak getting further disfigured.
Well, time to continue their quest to help Zanorak.
As the party continued through the rain, they realized that they were dangerously unprepared for the task at hand, as everyone but Matthias begin slowly freezing in the low temperatures, and slowly began starving due to their not being nearly enough food to divide among the four of them. Thankfully, they were able to make it to the village of Filakopa, where they settled for a few days, and bought enough to keep them going for a few more days. They even acquired some additional information on where to go, with their next stop being south to Kalandria.
The party continues south but as they travel through the hills they come across four women who are being attacked by a group of small elephants roughly as tall as the average man. Having taken the time to rest, and feeling fairly confident, the party does what they can to fight the wild beasts and save the women. Everyone but Zanorak. Not having a bow or arrow, and not wanting to use his magic or ray gun, he decides to do nothing instead and watch from a distance. It's only after Matthias is more or less trampled and Morrigu begs him to participate that he actually decides to contribute by casting his spell Drown in Blood. It doesn't actually kill anything however.
Matthias is further gored by the elephants and nearly brought to the verge of death, but with the aggressive prayer of Halthor, he manages to survive. His left arm however, is mangled beyond use. Fully aware that this fight is going to go downhill without Matthias, Halthor loudly announces, "Fuck this!" places his gun to the skull of an elephant, and blows it's skull apart causing the others to scatter. The woman are saved, but they don't seem to be nearly as grateful as the group has hoped as they begin to swarm around Zanorak is curiosity around the fact that he can perform sorcery. They are apparently sorcerers as well, and made Zanorak an offer to ally with their master, who all things considered is probably associated with the Likas. But, they could probably cure him, or at the least aid in his ghastly appearance, as evident by one of the women briefly making Zanorak into a beautiful man rather than the mutilated frog he currently is. So, Zanorak agreed to join them, leaving the Combative Companions behind.
Well...guess they might as well head back to the boat and tell the others the news.
Session 29 Downtime Events
Upon their return to the Dolonian Palace, the skies opened up. Rain fell for 4 nights in such quantities that the water rose to a man's knee. Yet just as suddenly as it started it ceased, four days of clear skies followed with cold winds blowing from the north on the last.
While Morrigu sought out rumors, Matthias sought to find any men who knew how to heal broken limbs. He met a trio of men who claimed that they were the disciples of a powerful healer and for him to follow them. He followed them to a darkened alley, but before he entered he realized that it was an ambush and as such ran away but not before the men swore vengeance.
Halthor sought out the Temple of Athenapalada and asked the priests what it would take for a outlander to follow in the rites of the Goddess of Law. The priest told him that should Halthor parlay with the Erpon Tribe to either obtain their Likasan prisoner and return him to the temple or to gather a warband from the Erpon to strike against Likas. As he returned to his companions, a trio of cloaked men hailed him. They offered to fill his palsm with silver if he and his companions would act as mercenaries. Halthor and his fellow barbarians were to travel to the ruined tower south of the Dolonian palace, and slew the men who guarded it, three sacks of silver would be given to them.
.
On dawn of day 3 of fall month 3 they gathered themselves and again set off.
Rumors gained during downtime:
1) Men from all over Cycladea seek to scale the Mountain of Shrouds to steal riches from the Palace of Arekasadra
2) The Feud between the Sorceresses of Likas has escalated to eleven headless corpses being found on the northern beach of Likas.
What befell Zanorak
Amid the four women, Zanorak traveled southeast towards towards a boat with black sails. Upon the plow of the ship an open mouth was painted by red paint below the eyes. Aboard the ship were a dozen armed men who hailed the women upon their return and they soon set sail south east. They sailed southeast, between a pair of islands, and after two days arrive upon swampy shores. They continued sailing two days east around the jutting penninsula before sailing southwest towards mountains.
Beneath the cover of stone they arrived at a city, where a dozen warships filled the harbor. Zanorak followed the women out of the ship towards and rather than into the ship they traveled west into the mountains. He was brought to a small palace of stone overlooking the city. Four maidens, each holding a sword their eyes blood red, stood at the gates of the palace. Three of the maidens doned their masks and entered gesturing for Zanorak to join them.
Within the palace he was brought to a great throne of basalt stone. Thunder crashed and a naked woman, naked save for a necklace of knives, appeared a spear of crackling lightning in her left hand. There Zanorak traded her the means to call forth Zanorak in exchange for becomming beautiful.
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