Day 2Taddeo is finishing up the last shift guarding Yala's room. Uncle Tuljan wakes Zaljan up with a feeling something is wrong.
Dom/SlimKop wrote:
Ah, this is boring. No book. No ladies. No mirror.
After a while, Taddeo starts to entertain himself by composing the filthiest poems he can create within the bounds of a sonnet. Unfortunately, he must remain quiet so he doesn't recite them out loud. This gives him ample spare time to keep a sharp lookout for brigands, scoundrels and attractive passersby.
FreakyBoy wrote:
"Somethin' not right," whispers Uncle Tuljan. The present voodoo man sits upright in bed, looking at his spirit guide. "Somethin' wrong," the spirit repeats.
Without applying his traditional face and body paint, Zaljan rises, grabbing his feathered cloak and voodoo mask. He slips the mask over his face and wraps the cloak around his body as he exits the room, heading immediately for Taddeo.
"What da buzz? Tell me what be happenin', mon."
Dom/SlimKop wrote:
"Moistening. How many syllables?"
Taddeo waves at the voodoo man, keeping his voice low.
FreakyBoy wrote:
"Moist'in'. Two," replies the voodoo man, while looking around through his mask.
They discover Yala's room apparently empty, with a note saying "WE HAVE THE GIRL." After searching the room and using Zaljan's powers and Edric's hat, they find Yala.
Stan Cold wrote:
Anthony looks under the bed, thinking it'd be awesome if the girl was there.
inspiration wrote:
Yala attempts to punch him in the eye.
Stan Cold wrote:
"AHH!!!" Anthony reels back, "The brat's under the bed!" He said cupping his eye.
The rest of the party tries to coax Yala into cooperation.
FreakyBoy wrote:
"You don' really think da voodoo mon stupid, girlie. You jus' upset." He gets down on the ground so he can look at her without crunching his knees. "You mad 'cause you don' be in control, got no choice, 'cause you jus' da girlie." He nods a bit, mask scraping the ground. "I know, I used ta be da same, when Unca Tuljan tol' me I be da next voodoo mon. Didn' wanna learn da voodoo. Wanted da fun an' da ladies, instead."
He pauses a moment, and then adds, "Now I get all dat, an' da voodoo too. 'Cause I learned."
inspiration wrote:
"That's just a stupid thing adults say. I'm going to set the oxen free. I'm going to get a mage to curse you. I'm going to pledge myself to the nunnery. I'll never leave with you! EVER! I'd rather be DEAD! Not with a stupid guillble fairy and a stupid ugly dwarf and a stupid fat wizard and a stupid smelly ranger and a stupid scummy rogue and a stupid flouncy duelist and a stupid --"
CCC wrote:
In one of his misguided attempts to be helpful, Sparrow grants Ming's wish and casts a silence spell on Yala. It's more or less the auditory version of invisibility... so most people will now only be able to understand Yala if they know how to lipread.
inspiration wrote:
Whatever Yala was going to say is lost as the spell takes effect.
Dodger77 wrote:
Greenleaf gives himself an inquisitory sniff, but decides the girl doesn't know what she's talking about.
inspiration wrote:
"I think you smell fine," the stablehand stage-whispers to Greenleaf as he exits.
Dodger77 wrote:
Greenleaf thanks him, not quite fully understanding the implications of the statement.
Meanwhile, a note is delivered to Anthony at the inn.
Stan Cold wrote:
Anthony reads the note. He walks towards the room, unshaken. As he puts on his clothes, he thinks of the people who might know his true identity. The strange man outside the bar, the drunk dwarf, the plump comedian, Ginger... He looks at the bed. "Sweetie," he says innocently, "Are you secretly working for a kingpin of crime that possibly wants me dead?"
inspiration wrote:
She blinks sleepily and smooths her hair with one hand. "No," she says, "but I can pretend to be, if you're into that kind of thing."
Stan Cold wrote:
"Nah, that's fine. Just wonderin'." He walks down the hall again, fully dressed and thinking about how he's gonna break the news to the group. "Hey guys. What would you say is your favorite thing about me?"
Stan Cold wrote:
"AN OVERWEIGHT CRIME BOSS WHO WANTS TO KILL ME KNOWS WHERE I AM AND HE'S GONNA KILL US ALL!!!" Anthony says, "Oh, and you really should go to school, or else you'll end up like me."
Sparrow casts an invisibility spell on Anthony and shows an illusory Anthony escaping on a stolen horse.
The party finally leaves town, and comes upon a jailer taking a prisoner named Armander to Doche in a jail-cart. Armander claims that he only stole to feed his family after his father died and their family fortune disappeared. The party is not particularly moved by his story.
Skitzophrenik wrote:
Punchy stands up in the back of the cart and begins shouting at the criminal.
"Now look what you've done you baffoon! Your lies have gone and made this little girl all upset, either out of unwarranted compassion that her pure heart has for your lies, or out of sadness because she misses her own family very much. Either way you're a low man, Armander Chandler, and your punishment cannot be strict enough!"
Then the short man throws a beer mug that he somehow had on his person all day at the bars at the back of the jailers cart, so's he can get some glass on the crying criminal.
However, Sparrow shows Armander some sketches and determines that Sparrow owed Armander's father -- and thus, Armander -- a debt equalling the family fortune. He pays the money Armander owes the court system.
Everyone is affected by a magical scent of flowers and feeling of well-being. Zaljan realizes the road is covered by a strange illusion, and goes further up the road into a swamp to check it out. An illusory Zaljan returns to say everything's okay and they should leave the supply cart behind.
Dom/SlimKop wrote:
"Wait. No. I'm not leaving the supplies."
The scent is swimming in Taddeo's mind, but this isn't the first time he's been . . . of altered consciousness.
"All my stuff is in there. Including the soap."
He shakes his head, and almost stabs himself as he raises his hand to his face.
"Wha?"
The jailer, driver, and prisoner on the jail-cart are hit by a sleep spell. The party is attacked by invisible fairies. Sparrow creates a dragon illusion. Greenleaf, still affected by the well-being spell, tries to climb a tree to get a better look at the dragon.
Anthony uses a magic ocarina to dispel the illusion on the jail-cart, which is sinking fast, and rescues everyone on the jail-cart. Punchy and Edric drag the party's carts to safety. Working together, the group chases off the swamp fairies.
Meanwhile, Zaljan explores the fairies' camp, and meets resistance from its inhabitants.
FreakyBoy wrote:
Since the tree doesn't stop, the JuJu comes out.
The swamp explodes.
Well, not really. But things that are usually still - stagnant pools of water, flows of mud, still air - suddenly burst into a flurry of activity, buffeting trees, fairies, and voodoo men alike. The spirits don't really act with control - they've pretty much been unleashed, and simply do what comes natural. The ground shakes and flows, water splashes and crashes, air gusts and flurries.
Zaljan falls out of another tree.
The party finds a large cache of goods, including plenty of booze, in the swamp. Zaljan gives Armander a rock to hold while he's flogged, so the spirits will protect him. Sparrow travels to Armander's house and gives a portion of the blood debt owed to Armander's husband and children. He still owes them a bit over 100 gold pieces. He also gives them some ideas for a song about elves farting bad smells.
Coming out of the swamp, they meet a trio of pilgrims: Jakob, his pregnant wife Ruth, and their rather provocative daughter Emma. They discuss religion and the miracle at Doche. Eventually, they part ways. Come nightfall, the party finds a field and makes camp.