Lost Trails, Chapter 16: A Scream in the Night

[ewancummins]

In the Trees, south of the lake
KLOKULF
ALAIN
RAEN

Klokulf rushes toward the scream. Alain and Raen trails behind him.

The priest reaches the hiding spot in the tree line first.

Alwina stands with her back pressed to a pine’s trunk, white-faced in the moonlight, her blue cloak pulled snug about her.
A little distance behind the lady, Theophilus peers out from behind a bush.
Karathos prances before Alwina, snorting and stamping.

And off to the right about a dozen paces ahead of the unicorn, a figure covered in mud, blood, and thorny twigs, kneels in the dirt and gasps for air as if at the end of hard-run footrace. Tonio.

Alwina says to Klokulf, “He frightened me; I thought for a moment he was one of those lizard sub-men.”

The unicorn falls silent and still, now watching Klokulf with luminous eyes.

Alain enters the trees and casts about, but finds no threat.

Raen arrives as Tonio gets to his feet.

The young man stares at the three who have come from the Mound-fight, and then jerks his head away to stare into the darkness of the deeper wood. With his (empty)sword-hand, he clutches convulsively at his empty scabbard.

-----------------------------------------


Meanwhile, the Mound
BENN
KATRIN
EVERLINE


Katrin and Benn secure the two reptilian prisoners. Cords from the net that had earlier held Everline, once taken from within the mound, make handy bonds.


Informed by Everline that a wounded man may be found inside the Mound’s prison-pit, they go and recover him. An injured boat-guard, from what Everline says. The man is feverish, passing in and out of consciousness, and certainly cannot walk on his own. Dried blood cakes his festering cuts.
Benn knows he can heal the man, but there may be disease to consider as well as wounds.

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

Alwina stands with her back pressed to a pine’s trunk, white-faced in the moonlight, her blue cloak pulled snug about her.
A little distance behind the lady, Theophilus peers out from behind a bush.
Karathos prances before Alwina, snorting and stamping.

And off to the right about a dozen paces ahead of the unicorn, a figure covered in mud, blood, and thorny twigs, kneels in the dirt and gasps for air as if at the end of hard-run footrace. Tonio.

Alwina says to Klokulf, “He frightened me; I thought for a moment he was one of those lizard sub-men.”

The unicorn falls silent and still, now watching Klokulf with luminous eyes.

Klokulf takes a deep breath and calms down, though the gaze of the horsefiend makes him uncomfortable. With a gesture and some mystical phrases, he causes the disturbing, black metal spikes he called upon to retract back into his skin. "Good that it is only that. I was . . . concerned." He makes eye contact with Theophilus, and bids him to come out of the bush with a snap of his fingers and a jerk of his thumb.

The young man stares at the three who have come from the Mound-fight, and then jerks his head away to stare into the darkness of the deeper wood. With his (empty)sword-hand, he clutches convulsively at his empty scabbard.

Klokulf looks to the knight's slave. "What are you looking for? What has become of your sword?" he asks.

[ewancummins]

Alwina, seeing the blades have gone, grabs hold of Klokulf and presses her body close to his side.


Theophilus scurries from the bushes and crouches at his master's feet.

Tonio turns to face the priest.
He keeps his eyes lowered, face half-hidden in the moon shadows cast by the trees.
The former smith's apprentice roughly clears his throat.
''I fled when you others stood. And I dropped the sword Sir Clive gave me. I've never run from a fight before....but the dragon...it...'' A shudder runs through him and he takes a deep breath.

[Adam]

"First thing's first," Bennedict says, channeling some healing energy into the man. He then looks him over for signs of disease or infection.

[ewancummins]

THE MOUND

---------------------------


BENN
EVERLINE
KATRIN

THE INJURED MAN

TWO BOUND LIZARDMEN



Benn treats the injured man's wounds, reciting a prayer he gleaned from a crumbling old psalter.
The theurgic formula works, at least enough that the man opens his eyes and comes to a sitting position.

''Thank you for your aid...and well met." The man wipes sweat and grime from his face with a relatively clean patch of his torn tunic. Sharp-featured with a faded tan and sun creases around his watery blue eyes;
Benn might guess his age at about thirty.
His ratty beard could used a thorough combing, he stinks (so does Everline, though not as much), and he has the lean-muscled look of a strong man who has fasted for several days.
"I'm called Hojah. I was on the Dancer when the wyrm attacked. Made it off with help from the Lady Everline, here."

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

''I fled when you others stood. And I dropped the sword Sir Clive gave me. I've never run from a fight before....but the dragon...it...'' A shudder runs through him and he takes a deep breath.

"I can't imagine you have ever fought something like that before either," Klokulf replies. "I understand your fear, but it is your master's place to decide whether or not it is acceptable. Find his sword, and find the courage to face him. It will be good practice for when we must engage the dragon again."

[ewancummins]

''I fled when you others stood. And I dropped the sword Sir Clive gave me. I've never run from a fight before....but the dragon...it...'' A shudder runs through him and he takes a deep breath.

"I can't imagine you have ever fought something like that before either," Klokulf replies. "I understand your fear, but it is your master's place to decide whether or not it is acceptable. Find his sword, and find the courage to face him. It will be good practice for when we must engage the dragon again."

IN THE WOOD'S VERGE

Tonio shrugs, lifts his head, stares a silent moment at Klokulf as at a stranger.
Then he nods and looks north, through the tree line.
With slow, purposeful steps, the young man starts toward the Mound...

[kintire]

Katrin stands guard, looking out and around for the dragon. after the tinge of fear in the fight she is much reassured: the thing is within their measure, although a serious foe. She remains uneasy about its ability to pass under water however, keeping a close eye on the pool.

[ewancummins]

IN THE MOUND


Tonio enters, walking past Katrin without a word or a glance, and begins looking about the floor, in the mess left by the fighting.

The young man kneels, lifting something from beside a slain lizardman-- the broadsword Sir Clive bought for him in Phlan.

Just then,Sir Clive enters the Mound and walks over to Tonio…

[ewancummins]

WHAT THE PARTY LEARNS


From Hojah the Riverboat Guard:

He'd heard dockside rumors of nasty reptilian monsters newly come to the middle reaches of the flooded river valley, but he did not know there was a dragon living in the area, or else he'd have reconsidered his decision to leave his nightwatch job in Mulmaster.

His account of the dragon attack is brief and not detailed--the monster came up from the water at evening and attacked the vessel. It caught him in an acid spittle blast early in the affray and after that it's all pain, fading in and out of consciousness, noise, smoke and screams. He recalls Everline dragging him through the swamp and lizardmen jumping them both. A net...


From the pair of captive lizardmen:

The creatures cooperate, offering hissing confessions (in Draconic). They call the dragon ''The Great Befoulment of Waters'' , but this seems to be a title rather than a proper name. The Befoulment demands regular offerings of treasure and slaves from the lizardmen, and uses them as spies and porters in its raids on the shipping of the 'soft-skins' down the 'Wide Stream'/ The River Lys.
Its lair is in 'the Steaming Pools', someplace northeast of here.
The party might actually have boated past those pools, but the partial and vague directions given by the captives make this unclear.

[SkiBird]

Meela assisted Kat as the young woman entered into a draconic discourse with the captives. As the interrogations proceeded, the ranger lent her knowledge of the lizard-folk to the group to better discern the truth of the matter.

"Unlikely they even had a choice in the matter." Meela said, acknowledging that the options before the lizard men had probably been to aid the Befoulment ... or die.

She leveled a gauntleted finger at one of the lizards, and relied upon Kat to translate the words ...

"If you make war on the soft-bodies ... more will come into the Flooded Forest. More than you could spawn in a hundred summers. It will mean the end of the lizard-folk here. But there is only one dragon, and once it is gone ... it is gone. A memory."

"The Great Befoulment of Waters will be hunted and slain ... it's fate has been sealed. Your people do not have to walk the same path. These lands are yours — always have been — let us both keep the swamp safe. Let us drive this beast from your lands."

[ewancummins]

LATER...

THE PARTY can restock its dwindling stores by looting the Mound. The adventurers find plenty of dried fish and cattails( and for the less finicky some less wholesome things to eat).
It rains the day after the fight, from shortly after sunup until late afternoon.
Skins and pots filled with rainwater ensure nobody will be reduced to sipping out of the swamp.
Some of the party might carry away choice items from the Mounds: ivory carvings, beaver pelts, sacks of coins hidden in pits, and so on.

The party finds a second small, flatbottomed boat that, with minor repairs, can be used to ferry cargo or additional party members.

Hojah asks to join the group. He admits he's scared of facing the dragon again, but says he will help out with the boat and guarding the camp, at least.


Rowan assists Meela in looking for clues leading to the dragon's lair, conferring over crude maps sketched in the sand with sticks and discussing landmarks.
After his noontide prayers, Klokulf performs a curious ritual dance, which he claims gives him particular, definite insight into the whereabouts of the injured wyrm.

Portaging the boat/s over relatively dry stretches of ground and rowing or poling the vessel/s across the dark waters, the party reenters the misty zone of dead trees to the northeast....

[ewancummins]

END OF CHAPTER