Quest For Drymera

When he felt he had gotten a safe distance away, Gilgear slides to a halt, gently setting Bria upon the ground. He turned her around to look him in the 'eye', nodding. "Thiiiiis iiiiis iiiiimpoooorrrrtaant..." He winces, the act of speech hurting his throat - and yet, with a few coughs, he closes his eyes in his best effort to speed it up. "I wiill goo baack aand aaid the oothers. You haave no combaat abiility I knoow of. Pleease wait aand obseerve uuntil the threeat is awaay. If yoou geet taangled uup wiith thaat thiing, I dooubt eeven the speeeediest of uus wiiill saave youu in tiime." Opening his eyes, he gives her a worried glance, before ending the conversation with a nod - hefting his weaponry and sprinting as fast as his undead legs would take him.

After a good deal of running, he slides to a halt near the bearded, angry-looking individual shaping something in the mud... Gilgear was fairly certain the man was a magic-user... and thus, moved himself so he was in a proper position to intercept the golem's attacks, should they come near Malvolen. "I maaay nooot knooow muuch, buut I knoow steeel will do veery liittle agaainst rock. Thiis iis an eneemy to be doowned by maagic." A true enough statement, he thought aloud with his rasping, moaning voice. "I wiiill interceeede on yoour behaalf shoould yoour caaasting geeet it's aaaattention."
 
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Annalilly Hawkins


This isn't good...At this rate...

She watched in horror as the stone golem grew angry, retaliating by tossing Captain Ril aside. Thinking quickly, she moved her arms from a diagonal position in front of her and swiped them upwards in a circular motion that propelled a strong gust of wind towards him. The rush of wind was meant to slow his advance and bring him to the ground slowly. The sudden spell left Annalilly breathless, but spurred by a feeling of worry that she had never encountered before, she ran out of the Inn's entrance, her blonde hair fluttering behind her. She passed Gilgear speaking to the magician, slowing to a stop as she approached the furious golem, now taking, slow cautious steps.

She could see the challenging stare in it's eyes; fear slowly built up inside her. She clenched her fists, breathing deeply. It was too late to change her mind; she had decided to protect her companions. They had taken care of her...Annalilly felt it was necessary to do the same for them. These people...They weren't like the villagers back home at all. They had no cared for her past nor ridiculed what they might have known about her parents. They had accepted her as a part of their unusual group and...and they had even looked out for her well being.

She knelt to the ground, her palms inches away from the surface. A small glow of light hovered around her hands. As she rose from the ground, she moved her hands in an intricate pattern, tangling and untangling her fingers until she was standing with her fingers completely entwined, elbows out and palms facing the golem. Vines of the Earth, bind him! Her hands glowed as vines broke out of the ground and rose up to entwine themselves about the golem, traveling up his torso and wrapping tightly around his arms, attempting to hinder his movement.

Eyes narrowed, she watched him closely, afraid he might lunge at her. In that case, she would have to break the vine connection and use a wind spell to carry herself away. She shook her head I can't get distracted. Whatever happens, I'm prepared
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[BG="grey"]"Dammit!" Malvolen muttered as Caid went flying into a nearby bakery.

Then Rilikan appeared and took the man's place.

"Excellent."

Then Rilikan was thrown back through the Inn doorway.

"Dammit!"

Then Gilgear and Analilly appeared.

"Excellent."

The wizard continued working, arranging the blood-soil paste in his hands and shaping it into a crude effigy of the Golem before him. He was chanting as he worked, feeling eldritch forces gather in the air around him.

Then the leper from earlier started trying to talk to him - a rasping intonation that hurt the ears and turned the stomach.

"Yes yes," the wizard snapped, waving Gilgear away with his other hand, "You're supposed to be distracting the golem, not me!" He continued shaping the paste, then changed his mind. "On second thoughts, hold my staff." He thrust his wizard's staff into Gilgear's hand.

There was a magical charge nearby and Malvolen glanced up to see Annalilly bringing vines from the ground. A petty cantrip indeed, but he supposed every little helped. He would have to bat the girl with his staff if she got in the way of his spell.

"Bloody adventurers," he muttered again, and continued chanting.

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The old half-werewolf shook himself after lying on the floor and remains of the inn's door for a moment. Around him, those who weren't already panicking on his last entrance had begun doing so. He realized that he'd gotten a little angry about his sword back there, and insisted on staying in range longer than necessary. Otherwise the momentum would have worked against his enemy, and it could have spun out of control and fallen over.

As he looked at the dented sword, he felt he had a right to be a little angry. "Didn't even know golems had spit," he muttered, going out and washing it off in the rain while he waited for his back to quit being so sore. It was a good thing, Rilikan thought, that one side of his heritage was less breakable than humans, or he might not have ever gotten up. He turned his head to watch the party's young mage doing exactly what he'd asked about a minute later than he'd intended, and also managed to make out Gilgear having a staff thrust on him by the old wizard that had gone by him earlier. It seemed he was interested in being helpful after all.

Prospects were good, Rilikan thought, that he would not have to jump in again. He began trying to carefully bend the dented blade back into place with his foot, watching and wondering how long it would be before he could get the aid of a proper smith.
 
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[dash=#6C9189]Bria No'el

Bria was reluctant to just stand there and wait as the others tried to fight off that rocky monster. However, were she to get herself in to danger there would only be more trouble for them! With a worried huff, she only moved to try and get to a better vantage point to see. This was where she found the Captain Rilikan picking himself up off the floor after being thrown through the Inn door.

"Captain! Are you all right?" she rushed to his side, finding the man frowning at his sword. The piece of metal was bent so badly, even she blinked at it in surprise! But for the most part, the Captain didn't seem to be injured, which gave her some relief.[/dash]
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"Bloody...h..*cough*...hell..." Caid slowly began removing the rubble of the demolished bakery off of him. As he moved the last large piece of wood off of himself he winced in pain as he felt something pinching his lower back. His hand reluctantly reached back and found a large splinter of wood impaled close to his kidneys. Caid sighed in annoyance then tried getting up, but found it difficult as he realized he was covered in baked bread, and also found that it was also what broke his fall through the front of the bakery, although it was hardly a relief.

"I make one minor comment about the taste, and this is where it lands me? Knocked into a pile of mediocre bread from a stone golem? It seems the fates have an ironic sense of humor..." Caid rolled over on his left side and slowly rose back to his feet then stumbled back outside through the rubble he created upon his surprise entrance. He leaned over with his left hand holding him up against one of the few posts still standing from his crash landing, then reached back around and broke the splinter at the entry point, leaving the leftovers in the wound until he could properly treat it later. Glancing back out towards the middle of the street, Caid saw Annalilly entangling the golem in an earth spell, a good tactic to hinder its movements briefly. Looking back towards the Inn, Caid could see the groups other female aiding Riliken, and further back on the road the undead soldier was assisting an old mage who seemed to be shaping the likeness of the golem with clay and blood.

"You normally play in the mud? Hurry up old man, you know those vines won't hold it forever!" Caid shouted out to the old wizard then looked back at Annalilly.

"You're doing great! Keep it up!" Caid limped back out to the creature and stood behind it, chains in hand. He then looked back at Annalilly.

"Stop when you have to, and don't exhaust yourself, unless you want me taking care of you again!" Caid smiled briefly then focused back on the golem. "I'll slow him down should he break free, then you can escape." Caid stood firm, ignoring the shifting of the splinter every time he flexed his back muscles, waiting for when he would have to latch on to the beast with this chains should he need to.
 
Rilikan nodded. "Miss Bria, pirates and werewolves are made of tougher stuff, else I wouldn't be standing. This blade is enchanted against rust, staining and scratches, but apparently not outright bending...I've got another, but they're supposed to work as a pair. What I'm getting at..."

At that point he was interrupted by Caid's shouting, and shouted back: "D*** it, magic is a delicate process and he's already in a bad mood, don't upset him further!"

Turning back calmly as ever to Bria, he continued: "What I'm getting at is, I'll need a trip to the blacksmith, soonish. Like after we drop this golem off in a good, deep lake."
 
[BG="grey"]"Shut up!!"

Caid cupped his ear, trying to hear the Wizard from the other side of the courtyard. "Eh?"

"SHUT UP!"

"I can't hear you."

"I said SHUT UP!"

"Come again?"

"STOP DISTRACTING ME YOU BASTARD SON OF A WHORE!"

"Oh."


Not even bothering this time to mutter about adventurers, Malvolen finished shaping the blood effigy. He then placed his other hand over it, holding the blood and soil in place. Then, like some kind of praying monk, he got back to his feet and started circling towards the entangled Golem.

"Come, come!" he said to the leper fellow, "Bring the staff!"

Shuffling around the courtyard, dodging flying rocks and militiamen, the Wizard started to get closer, his hands tingling with energy.

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While Gilgear, shield in one hand and sword in the other, could not 'hold' the rather rude wizard's staff (Gilgear attributed it to stress and ignored it), he did allow the staff to lean on him while the magic-user did his work. Rather content to just stand there and take the verbal scolding than allow his easily wounded pride to endanger everyone else.

He followed slowly after Malvolen, sword returned to it's sheath and staff in one hand. After his momentum was gained, his stride brought him slightly ahead of the wizard, enough to swat away larger rocks, and more accurately-flung militiamen. It was, after all, his word that he'd protect the wizard - and that was just what he'd do.
 
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Annalilly Hawkins



Caid's carefree words made Annalilly blush, the color rising in her cheeks as she held the vines steady, running sideways so that she was out of the way as the wizard prepared his spell. Shaking away the funny feelings that Caid's comment had on her, she glanced at him behind the golem, "You shouldn't worry about me when you're the one limping, Caid." she retorted, concentrating on strengthening the vines. Waiting for the wizard or the golem to act was really annoying; Annalilly could feel herself getting impatient.

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[BG="grey"]"GAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!!" roared the Golem as it struggled in the vines. It swung its massive arms but fell short of Annalilly and Caid, who ducked and weaved around him. And as it raged, Malvolen and Gilgear snuck around its blind-side. The wizard had his hands cupped, like someone carrying a spider out of their house.

"You bastards owe me!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Gilgear asked.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" the Golem roared as it got a leg free.

"I've been saving these spells," Malvolen muttered, "Special hunting trip - all planned. Ruined now! Bloody adventurers!"

"Hurry up!" Caid yelled as the Golem started freeing its other leg.

"I want compensation!" Malvolen told Gilgear.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!"

"Peeeeeeeeeerhaaaaaapss thiiiiiiis iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis nooooooooot theeeeeee beeeeeeeest tiiiiiiiiii..."

"Hurry! It's getting free!!!" Annalilly squealed as she fled from the beast.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRROOOOOOOOCK!!!"

"You people have no idea. No idea about the Arcane arts - the sacrifices - the hard work!"

"Shut up and do it!!!"

"Do it!!"

"Dooooooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOCCK!!!"

The Golem broke free of the vines and swung towards Gilgear, raising its arms for a crushing strike. And at the same moment Malvolen darted forward, opening his hands and blowing on the blood and soil. It shot out like crimson dust and into the Golem's eyes, making it roar and recoil. Its stone body twisted and warped into a fleshy substance, and for less than five seconds the entire creature seemed to become to wrapped in skin.

And in that moment, Malvolen turned. "THE STAFF!" He grabbed the wizard's staff from Gilgear's hand and slammed it on the ground between the Golem's legs. There was a second discharge of eldritch light and then something tore out of the air.... a chain of dark metal. It struck the Golem around the throat, wrapping and piercing the limbs. The Golem groaned as the Adamantine skewered its body and sapped its strength.

With a final resounding thump the golem slammed to the ground, tangled in the adamantine chain.

Another nearby house collapsed under the vibrations, and as the dust cleared the Wizard was seen scowling.... the scowl of a man who had given up something very precious.
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"GRAAHH! GRAAHH! GRAAHH!" Garrock yelled, struggling against its chain. Using both its arms, the golem tried to get up, but couldn't rise higher than its knees. The beast continued to pull at the chain, cracks forming in the ground at its effort. It swung at Caid, but couldn't reach. It pounded its fists into the ground in frustration.
"GAAAARRRROOCKK!!!"
It reached for Malvolen, only succeeding in splashing more mud on the wizards robes. It smacked at a nearby boulder, sending it crashing through a window. The golem became even angrier as the villagers began to come out from their hiding places. They began to gather into a crowd. Garrock lunged at them, managing to rise a few inches above the ground before the chain brought it down to earth. More cracks, but the beast was still held down.

Weak, Garrock turned and lay on its side. It didn't have the strength to attack anymore, though the beast's growling breath sent shivers through the town.
 
It was interesting watching the old wizard work his magic. Caid had never seen anything like it before and was almost jealous of the chain that entraped the golem, half wishing he had a couple like that for his daggers, but remembering the task at hand he gained his focus back.

Caid half smiled at Annalilly's comment about him limping. Then the creature throwing a fit, lashing out at anyone close enough. Caid was first but due to the Wizards' magic, he didn't have to do much to avoid the slow attack, but his minor side step was enough to make him wince at the splinter still logged in his back. After the brief moment of pain and the golem settled down, Caid looked towards the wizard with a half impressed expression.

"Ok...now what?"
 
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[dash=#6C9189]Bria No'el

"You are free to take your sword to a blacksmith right away. This evening or in the morning. If we must we can wait until it's properly prepared." Bria replied to the Captain. The man needed a properly working weapon. ...especially if moments like this were going to be commonplace!

It seemed that the wizard had managed to get the golem stationary. Now that it was safe, Bria approached the others, resting a hand at Gilgear's arm and blinking with a wary expression at the bound beastie.

"That was... um... exciting?" With the tired expressions of her companions (and the completely unamused one by the wizard), Bria coughed! "Well then...! Do you suppose we should set him free out in the forest somewhere? We can't very well leave him tied up in the middle of town." Granted, Bria was tired and the others looked even more so! They needed to decide what to do with the beast quickly.[/dash]
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[dash=#6C9189][BG="grey"]One by one, the startled townsfolk and bruised militia drifted back into the courtyard. They stood in a circle around the chained golem, staring blankly. Then slowly their mutters became louder, till one of the old women - possibly the bakery owner - raised her finger at the adventurers.

"The Strangers! They bring peril upon us! They are bad omens!!"

A drunken customer from the inn joined in. "Yer! Run 'em bastards outta town!"

"Witchcraft!" a boy cried.

"RUN EM OUT! RUN EM OUT!!"

Malvolen hopped up onto the chest of the golem and stuck his staff against it. There was a sound like thunder that startled the crowd, then the wizard pointed his staff at them.

"Do you want me to release my golem again!? DO YOU?!"

The crowd gasped.

"Your golem?" frowned Annalilly, "But..." She shut up as Malvolen poked her with the staff. "Ow!"

"That's right!" the wizard continued, glaring at the crowd again. "I summoned my servant to help me pack my belongings. One of you must have angered it!" He jabbed his staff at the dishevelled militia.

"One of us?" a town guard exclaimed, "But Mister Malvolen - it attacked us!"

"That's enough of your lip, boy!" Malvolen gestured to Gilgear, "Do you want me to unleash my Leper Golem too?!!"

The crowd gasped again. They also took a step back from Gilgear.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" roared the golem, trying to bite the wizard's ankles.

"See! You've made him angry again! Some of you better help pack my belongings, else he'll be VERY upset!"

There was silence from the crowd. The other party members looked uncertainly at one another, then also stared at the wizard. But Malvolen kept his nerve, the scowl fixed on his face.

Eventually, an order was given, and three of the militia sheathed their weapons and stepped forward.

"Good. Room 32. The glass jars go in the red case, and the clothes go in the blue case. Make haste!"

The militiamen hurried towards the inn and Malvolen tapped the golem with his staff. "I'll leave my servant here. If there's any funny business, I'll release him again! Don't think I won't!" The militiamen nodded nervously and headed up the stairs to Malvolen's room. "And the rest of you!" Malvolen snapped, glaring at the crowd again. "My Leper Golem's watching you! If you think the Stone Golem was bad, then just wait till you see HIM!"

He pointed at Gilgear again and the crowd started dissipating, hurrying back to their homes or pretending they had something better to do. As they departed, Malvolen hopped down and approached the adventurers who were standing confused in the courtyard. He jabbed his staff at them, trying to point at the leader.

Surely not the woman... and not the leper either... hmm... the one with wolf-ears was probably a pet.... and the other warrior was dressed like a peasant.

Finally, Malvolen settled on pointing his staff at Annalilly, since he figured the spell-caster was the only one intelligent enough to lead this rabble.

"Right you - listen up! That admantine I just used cost more than three thousand Calliacks. You and your ruffians are going to make it up to me, understand? And unless you want the villagers to rip you to shreds, I suggest you make me a deal!"

He poked Annalilly with his staff again.


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"Well, it's very hard to make a deal with someone when you have no idea what they're after," cut in Rilikan. He wasn't sure why the wizard was prodding Annalilly, unless he was just trying to find the one who was least adept at negotiating. (In which case he had the wrong person: Bria would probably be worse, Rilikan thought.) "I can tell you none of us are rich, but we're already on a quest to find something. It wouldn't be very hard to start looking for something else at the same time. Or, as you've seen, most of us know how to fight. We can't really afford to do anything illegal, since apparently being perfectly innocent gets us accused of all sorts of things, but we could offer protection or at least attempt to slay something for you if you'd like--anything that allows us to continue traveling and searching for our original object." He kept his voice even and cheerful, but not unnervingly so.
 
Caid plopped on the ground holding a cloth from his pocket over his wound. He knew eventually he would have to pry the splinter out or risk an infection later. But this wasn't his main concern at the moment. The Wizard had deffinitely put them on the spot and there wasn't alot of options, at least that the entire group would agree upon.

Caid spit out some blood then sniffed really hard, wincing a little bit as he pressed against his wound harder. Then he looked over at the Wizard.

"That's a bit of an unfair assessment don't you think? We all know that thing isn't yours. But I see what you're saying though." Caid paused, coughed up more blood then stood back up.

"Riliken has a good point too. Yeah you helped when you didn't have to but what is it exactly that you're after that you could even possibly need to strike a deal with us about?" Caid glanced back at the fallen golem, almost feeling sorry for it. Looking back Caid rather enjoyed fighting with it and had a small feeling this wouldn't be the last time. He then glanced back at Bria.

"And she's right, what are we supposed to do with this thing now?"
 
[dash=#6C9189][BG="grey"]Malvolen poked Caid with his staff. "Were you not paying attention? THREE THOUSAND CALLIACK PIECES! I'm trying to conduct business here and this is the second cost I've incurred because of you rabble!"

Caid batted the staff away before he could get poked again. "Cut it out!"

"What do you mean, second cost?" asked Bria, who promptly got poked by the staff.

"That's right! Those people you killed in the woods - I was paying them for safe passage of my goods. Now they're blaming ME for your bloody heroics!" He prodded Gilgear with the staff... just because...

"The bandits?" asked Annalilly, ducking before she could get poked again.

"Well don't act so surprised! What, you think you can kill a bunch of bandits and there'll be no consequences?! Just because someone has stubble and dirt on their face doesn't mean they're irrelevant! That's just the kind of thinking that got you Calliads into the war with my country!"

He prodded Gilgear again.... just because. Then he started listing on his fingers.

"So. That's two pounds of Adamantine, eleven Ancilian Dragonscales and five quarts of lavendar oil. And that's before we calculate the wasted expenditure on pack horses, room and board for the couriers, tolls for the Surbois Road and the wages of the Basin sherpers. Ten thousand gold pieces at least!"

He waved his staff at all of them. "That's right! CONSEQUENCES! Welcome to the world of business!"


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Rilikan just placed his fists against his hips, waiting for the man to finish ranting before saying anything more. Finally, he said, "Are you done? Good," without waiting for a response in between. He began speaking hard and fast. "I would have you know, as a former pirate, that I am well aware criminals do more than just rob people; and that I am not from whatever country you're accusing, as I am a citizen of nowhere. You're making unsafe assumptions, in other words.

"You want business? I'll give you business. You can't in good faith hold us accountable for defense of self and property, so knock anything to do with those bandits right out of your calculations. For that matter, this golem belongs to neither you nor us, and you know d*** well no damages incurred by it, or your independent efforts to bind it, are in any way our fault. I'd bet you offered to protect this town in return for safe passage of whatever your goods are, and were delivering on said deal, so the town owes you for that, and we don't. But you've gone and ruined that for yourself, as much as I admire a bold lie. Essentially, what you say we owe you is owed by other people entirely, or not at all, but I have little doubt that failing to repay you the perceived debt would only lead to more trouble, and we don't want that, so we're going to pay you something, certainly.

"And, as much as I would like to hand you your money and go our separate ways, as I said before none of us is rich. If you want anything from us, you're going to have to ask for something that we are able to provide--goods, services, that a small search party with sufficient combat ability is reasonably able to provide." He paused, slowing his pace considerably as he came to the kicker: "There isn't time to argue in this situation, so let's just make us a deal.

"I'll ask you again. What are you interested in, wizard?"
 
[dash=#6C9189][BG="grey"]"I'm interested in you SHUTTING UP, that's what!" Malvolen shouted. "You really expect me to believe you killed all those people in self-defence?"

"Yes!" Rilikan retorted, matching the wizard's volume.

"And that a golem just happened to arrive at the same time you did?"

"YES!"

"OH REALLY?"

"YES REALLY!"

After the shouting match, the two men stared at each other in silence. They had clearly run out of things to say.

Malvolen rested against his staff and stroked his beard. "Hmm. Fine. Well if you must know, I'd quite like to get out of this town in one piece, before the bandits you declared war on come and DECAPITATE me!"

"Well, I think we can oblige," the pirate answered.

The wizard poked him with his staff. "BUT I'M STILL MAD!"

"FINE!"


The others looked on, taking note of the delicate business negotiation...



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