DEVA AF - War Crimes
Log Info
- Title: DEVA AF - War Crimes
- Emitter: Cryosanthia
- Characters: Seldan, Thurid, Shalethiste
- Place: H01: Kultari Road - DEVA Station
- Time: Monday, January 04, 2021, 3:30 PM
- Summary: Seldan approaches the Blar Airship camp, determined to get to the bottom of some things. Thurid continues to take care of Urtur, and assist with guarding him. Captain Infalia shares what she knows, which is nothing about Urbarra, and very little about Urtur beyond where she picked him up. He was part of a food transport caravan, near the Black Marsh and heading towards Blar. Everyone in the caravan became sick. Thurid joins and adds her thoughts, neither she or Seldan are sure whether the food or the location were the source of the disease. Infalia indicates she restocked from the caravan, so her supplies are checked. They are contaminated with disease. During this, Shalethiste is sitting with Urbarra, hoping to question him, but he stubbornly remains asleep. Thurid's search uncovers another thing, a grenade from Caldera Saute containing the 'Bloody Fingers' disease. This is the proof of War Crimes that Seldan is looking for. It is safely stored and an inquisitor called for.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* H01: Kultari Road *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
From east to west, north to south, the Alexandrosian countryside weaves over hill, valley, and farmland. Kultari Road meanders through it at a comfortable pace. The roadside is lined with curbstones, their surfaces comfortably flat and warm, with sand pressed inbetween. At times construction meanders into dirt, and numerous pathways branch off here and there to different farmsteads.
Along this stretch is a waystation. Over its door is a carved marker with dual symbols of Gilead and Tarien, the patrons of travel and the meeting of wilderness-and-civilization, respectively. Not large, the waystation rests a comfortable ways from the main avenue, with a place for a firepit out front.
Towards the south, the sky and landscape darkens. The Felwood lies there, and an occasional screech from inhuman lungs may be heard.
Towards the east, the shining City of Alexandria.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Appearing, in Order -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Seldan 5'11" 187 Lb Human Male Ginger-blonde human in armor wearing Eluna's symbol. Thurid 7'1" 249 Lb Giantborn Female Bright-eyed, muscular, blond Giantborn woman. Shalethiste 4'6" 96 Lb Shadow Elf Female A copper maned elf maiden, hued in the night sky. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Sirs Only-watching =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Morgan 4'10" 79 Lb Half-Elf Female Short pixy like half elf with fair skin Kira 5'0" 120 Lb Human Female A young blonde woman wearing simple robes. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As the GM -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Cryosanthia 6'9" 291 Lb Sith-Makar Female A dashingly tall, elegant white-scaled lizard woman. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
DEVA Station
It gets dark early now. It isn't yet, but it's closing in. At night the station is lit with torches and Mana lamps. The lamps are there throughout the day, only not as obvious, depending on the day. On one full of freezing rain, switching to sleet with a biting wind from the northeast, like today, the lamps shine as the only spots of brightness in a bleak environment.
It's slippery, ice is building up on everything, encasing it in a transparent shield. The surface of the snow has frozen solid enough it's possible to walk without crunching through. Unless of course, one is as big as Jotun. On a bright day it would be a beautiful wonderland.
Right now, it's miserable.
His day nears its end, but right now, Seldan's mission means that his meal and bed can wait. He steps carefully as he searches out Major Kreemo and Captain Infalia, but search them out he does, a white-silver-gold light illuminating his right pauldron and clearly showing his location in the camp.
He'll be dry later, but the thought does not appear to appreciably improve a serious and intent and not-entirely-pleased mood. Major Kreemo and Captain Infalia are in their respective camps in the east field behind the Waystation. This is, incidentally, where all the contaminated bandages and bedclothes are burned. There is a large, almost permanent bonfire going in the middle of the field which is randomly fed by the people camping out here.
The fire divides the camps, Bludgun tents are North of it, Blar tents to the South, both at a comfortable distance from any burning smells the bonfire might produce. This provides a good spacing between the current enemies. An extra precaution are three fresh Silverguards that keep watch on thet two camps at the fire.
The field isn't that large, but so far the two sides have limited themselves to occasionally shouting things at each other. Both camps post their own watches through the night.
Thurid has taken to enchanting her Icon with the Light spell, to dispel some of the gloom- especially in the evening. And so she carries a light in the dark wherever she travels, the maul of Angoron that hangs from a chain about her neck. The cold doesn't bother her, either, and so her mood is better than many in the camp- marred mostly by being on babysitting duty for a certain Bugbear, instead of treating others who might need her help. But still, she had promised to be his healer, and so she shall. She is in Urtur's tent, at the moment, tending to his treatment.
Urtur is for the moment, asleep. Suffering from the Sleeping Sickness tends to result in that. The care he has been receiving has improved his condition enough that he randomly awakes, which hasn't improved things for others. So far when he's been awake, he's been cooperative and seems quite pleased. He's aware there are Elunite guards, and that he's only seen by pairs of healers, or Thurid. He's taken all this to mean he's a very important patient-not-prisoner, and he does enjoy his bed-baths, sitting through them with a huge grin as if he's a warlord surrounded by servants. For the moment, Thurid is spared his pleasant grimaces and is treated to his raucous snoring.
Seldan takes the time to check in on his fellow Silver Guards, once he arrives at the campsite, asking after them, before calling out either of the leaders, although he makes no secret of his presence. Once he is satisfied as to their status, he turns his attention to the status of the standoff. "What do you see, of the mood here? Do they yet fight, or is all quiet?"
"They don't fight, no..." The senior Silverguard tells Seldan, a very young and fresh looking 'senior'. Possibly he signed up only a year before the other two recruits. "It's not quiet, but in different ways. Kreemo is always shouting at someone or other in his camp, and there's a lot of banging, never hear anyone else. The Airship crew, to the south, they're always noisy like they're having a party, but it stays there."
"Once in a while, the Airship gobbers come up to the fire and start shouting things at the North camp, we either send them back or the Captain comes and gets them."
Thurid doesn't mind stroking the bugbear's ego so long as he behaves, but as he is sleeping for the time being she is mostly checking in on him. Checks his temperature and breathing, general monitoring tasks. With that done, she makes her way back out of the tent, stooping to fit through the door, and offers a nod to the guards outside of it. Ever since the violent awakening, she has been wearing her chainmail during the day- as she is now- though the earthbreaker is too cumbersome to carry with her from tent to tent, so a mace hangs from a loop at her belt instead- in case it is needed.
"I see," Seldan replies with a small smile that is really a smirk. "That well befits the Major, I think. I would have you know this much," and the smile melts away. "There was an incident in the camp this day. One of the patients threw a healer and then swung a kitchen stove at the healers and peacekeepers who came to assist. He might not be fully in his mind, and yet do his words bid me warn you that he claims the blessings of the Wolf Lord." The serious look, and the warning, are directed at all three of them. "He may not be alone. I must speak with the captain, but I would have you be vigilant."
GAME: Thurid rolls heal: (16)+11: 27
Urtur's physical condition is much improved, nearly normal. His heartbeat and breathing is strong. Thurid's attention is doing good things for him.
The guards around Urtur's tent salute Thurid. They're keeping careful watch, they're also silent, no conversation to distract or potentially awaken their bugbear. They're doing their best in the freezing rain.
The silverguards around the fire nod at Seldan's warnings, the senior saying, "Ok. We will be. I can take you to her."
He leads the way to the South Camp. It looks as if the tents were dropped from the sky by a child, one is almost pitched on top of another, all of them are very close and encircle a smaller fire around which a bunch of gobbos sit on logs and lean on each other. They're drinking, throwing things in the fire, throwing things across the fire at each other, cooking things, and making small artifice projects - to throw in the fire. Sitting back, watching, is Captain Infalia. Standing almost directly opposite her on the far side of the fire, is the Airship's bugbear 'Biggie', also watching the gobbos.
Infalia looks over at Seldan, stands. "Something I can do for you Silverguard?"
Seldan being here after dark is quite an unusual thing indeed, and the expression he wears says very clearly that this is not an idle social call. Still is he unfailingly respectful and polite, dismissing the younger Silver Guard with a hand signal and turning to face the Captain. He did not even bother to restore the previous glamer on the armor he wears, and so it looks quite different by the white-gold-silver light on his right pauldron, the metal taking on an opalescent glow. "Captain, I hope to only take a few minutes of your time. Could you speak to me of what you know of Urtur and Urbarra?"
Thurid is glad, of course, that her patient is on the mend- but concerned, too, of course because of his violent outburst. She heads out towards the fire, with some things- discarded dressings and the like- from his room and takes them over to the large central bonfire to be burned. After that, it's on to cleaning herself up, scrubbing her hands and forearms. Then it's emptying wash basins and calling upon minor miracles to refill the butts with fresh, clean water.
GAME: Cryosanthia rolls 1d20+2: (18)+2: 20 (DC20 Intelligence check for Infalia, succeeds)
"Urtur? Urbarra?" The hob Captain stares at Seldan, her eyes wandering from his glowing shoulder pauldron over the opalescent metal of his armour. Reacting to his stiffness, the sense that this is important, she thinks.
Fortunately, Hobgoblins have very regimented brains. "Right, the Bugbear. Urtur. I got a messenger Raven telling me to divert. We went North, followed the Flares. There was a wagon train, we landed, everyone was sick. A relief group was there to take over, and we were to take the sick ones to Alexandria. Urtur was one of the wagon guards."
Her frown deepens as her brow furrows. "No Urbarra, there or with the other two pickups."
It's during the visit to the bonfire that a Silverguard informs Thurid, "Some of the patients have been waking up and are violent. Be careful. Silverguard Seldan is in the South Camp, if you need more information." After that, she's left to her burning and cleaning up. The washing up never seems to be done, even with miracles.
Thurid nods her head at the direction from the silverguard, "Do you need any assistance in dealing with the unruly patients?" she asks, "If not, I'll go to the southern camp, too." she says.
"None right now," the Silverguard assures Thurid. "We'll call for assistance if we need any."
Thurid offers a nod of her head in acknowledgement, "Alright. I'll go and see what Silverguard Seldan has found out, then." she says, and then begins heading down towards the southern camp to meet with Seldan, Infalla and the others. As she approaches, she of course spies Biggie first- being as she's the biggest- and offers the rather more friendly bugbear a wave as she draws nearer.
Seldan's brows draw together at this information, and he listens gravely, in time for Thurid to show up. "You were ordered to bring them to Alexandria? By whom? And ... Urbarra is not known to you at all? He is then one of Major Kreemo's people, or...?" He lets the question trail off, inviting an explanation.
'Biggie' returns the wave, and grins as Thurid approaches. In comparison to Urtur's, hers is much friendlier even if she has the same number of pointed teeth. She holds up a mighty-sized wineskin and beckons for the Jotun to join her.
Snippits of conversation drift up from around the fire. "Watchya got there Zeg?"
"Think itsa Grenade. I found it on the mountain."
"Oh yeh? A grenade? Pitch it in! It'll blow up real good!"
"Yeh! Imma gonna! Ger-ready!" A fire-lit gobbo prepares to throw.
"By Air Command," Infalia answers, "It's in my log book, the Raven's message, I don't remember the officer. It was an addendum to the medical transport order. Urbarra might be from Bludgun. Then the Major would know about him."
"We knew that, didn't we?" Thurid offers Seldan. "Urtur told us they were bothers, from that border village. On opposite sides of the war." she recalls, "If the Hearthguard's translation was accurate, mind." she hastens to add. She continues heading over towards the bugbear, stooping down to snatch the grenade out of the goblin's hand as she does so. "Not in camp." she admonishes, and tosses it back to Zeg. When she gets close to the bugbear, she offers a grin, "I would love to take you up, but not the best place to be sharing a skin. Mayhap once the diseases are all rooted out?" she suggests to the bugbear.
Then she pauses and turns her attention back towards the command. "Urtur said something about a food delivery. Just before the sleeping sickness started. You have records of that, too?" she wonders.
"Ah, of course." Seldan inclines his head, keeping his thoughts to himself for the moment on the matter. "The Warrior asks a good question." She's also quicker than he is to relieve a gobber of a grenade that was about to be tossed into the fire. "Can you say where you were when you rescued them?"
There's some grumbling, the grenade is put away. The gobbos will have to settle for marshmallows, rocks, snowballs, bits of food, salts and paper flying into the fire.
'Biggie' nods with a grin, giving a thumbs down gesture with her hand which shows off her lacquered wooden nails.
"Yeauh, yes." The hob captain looks up at Thurid as she approaches. While tall, she's on the scrawny side, and has a few nervous tics that keep her glancing in the direction of her gobbos. "We were near Black Earth Marsh. It's farmland now, as far North of Blar as you can get and still be considered protected. The wagons were bringing a harvest, commandeered for the city or the Military. Almost the same thing now. We resupplied, picked up the sick. The crew we met took the wagons on."
Thurid offers her own gap-toothed grin back at Biggie, but her attention mostly remains on the discourse between Seldan and the Hobgoblin. She mulls that information over for a moment, "Don't suppose you have any rations from that batch knocking about anywhere? Or even sacks and such what it was stored in." she says. "Could be the food was tainted- just a hunch, mind." she explains her reasoning. She makes no comment on the location, or its proximity to the border.
"Black Earth Marsh. I see," Seldan nods, filing that one away with an intent look, and a long glance at Thurid. "If the food itself were tainted, I would expect all to have taken ill. One spoke of a special mission in which they ended up feeding a vampire, and being released. All took ill shortly thereafter. Were I you, I would stare closely at the marsh, not the provisions, for it would seem that a vampire lies within. I have crossed swords with vampires, and they are not foes to be trifled with."
"I take such an interest, Captain, in Urtur, for there was an incident within the camp today. He awoke, and became violent, threw one healer and injured a peacekeeper who came to assist. He is subdued, for now, but I deem him dangerous."
Thurid speaks up once more, "Not only Urtur. Other patients of the same sickness have become violent. Most just aren't quite so large." she adds on to Seldan's explanation.
Infalia stares at Thurid with a slowly dawning horror, did she make a mistake, have the consequences have caught up? "The food we picked up is still on board. I don't know how the cook handled it. It's mixed in with what we already had."
She looks at Seldan, nods, "It's... well, we didn't go as far as the Marsh this time, I have been. It's been a while. They were, obviously."
"And I don't know, about Urtur. He's a soldier I picked up. I can't command him, any of them. My ship is civilian, we've been commandeered for military service. I... I... I guess they might be violent? They were all sleeping and groggy when we transported them, they didn't react badly to my crew." Infalia's voice gets a little anxious, and she keeps glancing at her gobbos.
At this, Seldan spreads a hand palm-down in what is meant to be a peaceful gesture. "No blame attaches to you for this, Captain, but we still find ourselves in a tricky position. Warrior, how would you tell if the food was tainted?"
"Detect Disease spell should do it." Thurid tells Seldan then, "I can cast it, I'd just need to get into the hold with the food. Should only take a few minutes, though I'll need a bit of time to ready the spell." she says. And then nods her head a bit at Infalla, "It might not be the food was tainted, but the timing lines up. Seems likely they were at least exposed to it where they got the provisions, even if it wasn't the provisions themselves." she explains.
The scrawny hob Captain appears calmer as the conversation turns away from it being her fault to something she can help with. She gestures off into the sleet and darkness, "I can take you on the ship whenever you like. It's grounded and shut down but it doesn't need to be running. It's a..." She looks up at Thurid, "...it's a little low, below decks, you remember. You'll want to watch your head."
A glance at Seldan, back to Thurid, "I'll come, and bring Cookie, she can point out what we loaded better than me."
A pause, "Are you wanting to go the Black Marsh? It'll take a day to get ready to leave. Have to knock the ice off, warm up in the right order."
Again, Seldan inclines his head politely. "This should be discussed with the others, but the previous search for a cure can only be considered a success, and if the tales are true, then the threat cannot be ignored. I shall come to you again, should we decide to seek the place. For now, hold."
Thurid nods her head a bit, "It'd be best to test the food, regardless. Better to be safe. None of you lot have been showing symptoms, though, and it's been more than a few days so if you've been eating it as well I think the Silverguard's thoughts might be more on point than my own." she admits. "And as he said, we'll have to see. I'm somewhat worried about the violent tendencies. They're almost like cruel children, you know? Like they don't know right and wrong." she murmurs.
Shalethiste emerges from the healer's accommodations in a steady humor. Best, she reasoned, to be fresh for the night where few, if any present, have better vision in the dark. So it is that the Mul'niessa ventures out into the miserable weather and makes a point to stop by the centralized Silver Guard to get the skinny on anything she's missed during her rack time.
"Hail!" she greets with a salute to the trio, "How fare you tonight, has there been anything amiss?" while the others discuss matters with the airship crew yonderly.
Captain Infalia nods, "Okay. We've been eating the Temple food, since it was free. One of my crew did get the Sleeping Sickness. He's in the North field now, recovered, being observed. So, I don't know. I want it all checked now, in case."
She looks over at Seldan, "We're still under rated for flying. Let me know what else I can do to help. Our stops were Stone Talon first, Caldera Saute, then south of the Black Marsh, then here."
Three gobbos get up from the fire and start a drunken march northwards to settle a score, before 'Biggie' intercepts and turns them around, and they end up cheering their own fire.
At the central fire, the salute is returned, the 'senior' Silverguard striking a median between standing rigidly tall and having to look down at Shalethiste, "We've been gifted with a great shower of the Dreaming One's tears and it's been keeping the two camps to themselves. Sir Seldan and Warrior Thurid went to speak to the Captain. Major Kreemo has been yelling at his troops."
And if proof was needed, the distinct voice of the ground goblin major issuing indistinct commands can be hear drifting through the rain.
Over by the Captain's fire, Seldan nods. "I do not fault you for the precaution, Captain, and I shall speak with the others and determine what is to be done. But ... I wished to offer both you and the Major the same caution, on the matter of violent patients. The safety of the healers present and their patients is my highest priority. Urtur had to be beaten into submission to end his attack. It is my hope that I will not be required to resort to lethal force to protect the healers." Although the words are spoken gently, the warning is clear.
"Volume is his certainly his gift." the sliver of Silver Guard returns, "Well that it is so." with an easy smile, and a glance skyward to indicate what she means
"May her Light shine on you, will be seeing to the watch of the Bugbear Urbarra, should I be needed." Shelly valedicts with a bow of her head, then she turns and makes her way to the detail making sure nothing untoward happens over that way.
Thurid offers Seldan a small frown at his implication, but says nothing on it, instead turning back towards Infalia, "I'll go and make preparations to test the food. For good measure, I can test your crew as well. I did once already, before we went to visit the Dryad, but I should be able to tell if any of them have picked up an infection since. Except mayhap the plague, as it's treatment resists magic I expect its detection to as well." she says.
"I'll tell my sick crew to be good," Captain Infalia promises, "and... I'll see if there's an officer among the other's they'll listen to." It's the best she can come up with, being responsible for the patients without any authority over them.
Thurid's offer gets an acknowledgement, "Yes. We'd need that. Thanks."
The Silverguards at the central fire smile at Shalethiste's comments, then salute as she departs.
Urbarra, having the Black Plague, is inside the Waystation and as a consequence, separate with the rest of that group from the others in the camp. It's warmer, more protected, and with the exception of the sickly-sweet smell of the patients, overall better conditions exceeded only by Mikilos' magic.
Seldan seems about to say something at Thurid's remark, but merely inclines his head. "That is all that I can ask, Captain. We are here to save lives, and your help is appreciated. I shall not keep you further, and I am grateful for your time." With that, he nods to Thurid, and prepares to make his way from the camp.
The Silverguard heads to the other camp, while the Warrior goes looking for diseases in the airship.
Once the Warrior of Angoron has prepared her detect disease spell, she has nearly an hour to use it. With Infalia and Cookie's help, the airship's stores are examined.
Some of the food is contaminated. Some of that food has been used, and it has all the characteristics of the third disease, the 'Sleeping Sickness'.
All of her crew are summoned to get it out of the ship. At first the drunken gobbos think the party has gotten a lot better, and moved. Their mood turns as quickly as the sleet rain seeps under clothes. They're unloading the ship, and throwing everything in the big bonfire in a not fun way. This also provides a good opportunity to check the crew over again. None of them seem infected with anything, but something unexpected turns up.A concentration of the second disease, the 'Bloody Fingers'.
In Zeg's grenade.
With Icon in hand, Thurid casts her gaze across the stores- slowly but surely examining every inch of it. As each pocket of disease is detected, she points it out. She thanks her lucky stars that the Airship crew were cheapskates taking advantage of the free temple food rather than their own provisions, but sees to it that it is burned. As the work is done, before they are allowed to retire back to their camp, she has them file through her watchful gaze a few at a time. When Zeg comes up before her, she freezes.
"Come over here. What's in your pocket?" she asks. When he produces the Grenade, she sets her Jaw, "I'm going to need you to hand that over. Carefully. You said you found it- where, exactly?" she wonders.
"Well it's worth a few coppers, innit?" Zeg asks, grinning way, way up and suddenly possessive of something he was about to toss in a fire only an hour ago. He waits, waits, "Nah I'm kiddin' you, youse crew."
He drops it in the Jotun's much larger hand, "On the mountain. With the volcano and the tree. Where all them soldiers were shooting at us. Remember? I held 'em off."
"Could be worth a lot more." Thurid says, but only after it's been handed over. "You recognize it at all? Ever seen anything similar? Have any of you?" she asks the assembled crew then- holding the grenade carefully, as though it might spontaneously pop at any moment. She's not especially keen of these sorts of alchemical weapons at the best of times.
There are several answers: 'My uncle makes something like that'; 'I could make that'; 'I've seen it for sale at Gobber's KaBang'; 'that's a type two smoke'; 'no it's a type three sharpnell'. Several others concur that it's a somewhat standard military design, from Bludgun. Plus there's one more useful detail.
"Pins pulled an' the handles popped off. One good smack that should kablooie. Kinda surprised it hasna yet. Gimme here I'll fix it for ya."
Warriors of Angoron do not feel fear. So clearly the stiff, deer caught in a wagon light look Thurid gives the grenade is not fear.
"Is there a risk it will go off while you are fixing it?" she asks. "If so, we should move far away from the camp first. I will hold onto it. And I need a volounteer." she says then, setting her jaw and lifting the grenade high, like that would make any difference if it did go off.
"Yes. I'll fix it so it goes off," offers the eager gobbo, who clearly epitomizes the truism that gobblin lives are short, random and explosive. Some, are a little more cautious and a volunteer asks, "How big will it explode? Will I lose an arm?"
"Don't worry," another says," people get new arms all the time."
Captain Infalia has that same sort of deer-struck stare, coupled with an incredibly patient world weariness. This is her crew. She's quite familiar with them, and sometimes a gobbo is the absolute best person to climb out on a faulty artifice device in a storm a few thousand feet up. And sometimes, they are not right for the job. "It... might be best if you handled it, and put it in a box. I'm sorry. I didn't know that came back with us."
Thurid lifts the grenade high overhead at the assurance the Goblin will set it off. "No, no, no, I thought you meant fix it so it is stable." she says, exasperated. She looks over to infalia, "Silverguard Seldan needs to be informed as soon as possible." she says to the pilot. She's trying not to spell things out, to avoid causing a panic, but the goblins are clamoring around her. "Go back to your bottles. You're all healthy, I... I'll deal with this." she says and casts a wary glance at the grenade. "I'll take it a ways away from the other patients. Could you send a runner, ask one of the teamsters to bring over a strong lockbox?" she asks Infalia.
"Oh no, chemicals mixed, can't un-mix 'em. Mebbe drill 'em out. Dunno if it has a cord-fuse or a mana-spark fuse, or just a bam-whammy cap. I'da fixed it so it blows up good right when we want to see it now. No? No."
"No," says Infalia, making a wide-armed herding gesture and pushing her crew back towards their camp, "I'll get safer fire works tomorrow, we'll shoot those off."
"At Kreemo's camp? Oh yeah!"
"No, just up." Infalia says, very calmly, "back to the fire. Drink. Drink."
The haggared hobgob stares at Thurid, her hunched posture is back and she didn't even thump her head once while in the ship, "I'll get a lockbock. I'll find the Silverguard for you."
Thurid nods her head at Infalia once more, and then moves to begin heading away from populated areas of the camp. Downwind of them, too, if possible. And she holds the grenade as though it is a newborn, in both hands. Or- you know- an unexploded munition. Which it is.
With the usual greetings out of the way, Shelly has met with her support and gone on to relieve the detail guarding Urbarra, getting a brief rundown on the day, and she makes her own advisories based on what was in turn relayed to her. That done, she ventures a quick peek inside his tent to see how the bugbear is doing, quietly, in case he is resting to retain his strength.
"Safe fireworks is an oxymoron. Theyz only fun when they're unsafe." Goblin wisdom is imparted as Infalia herds them away.
A lockbox is sought out, as is Silverguard Seldan. The harried hobgob captain is successful with the first, and not the second. Somehow she ends up locating Shalethiste instead. She carries the box in, soaked from the sleet and shivering slightly.
Urbarra has the Black Plague. His health has been improving, and with it he's been sleeping more. As far as Bugbears go, he's pleasant, which means he doesn't respond with immediate hostility to everyone. He's still sleeping when Infalia finds Shalethiste.
"Warrior Thurid has a grenade she wants to put in this box, and she wants you to do it. I think. I've lost track." Infalia looks tired.
Blink.
The copper topped silver guard pulls her head out of the tent and closes the gap to lessen the draft and looks to the Captain, "Pardon? She found a -what?-"
She massages the inner corners of her eyes, then, "Nevermind, I'll see to it." She softens some, seeing the fatigue ruling the woman, and she reaches out for the box, "Thank you, Captain. Please, you should get some rest, you look exhausted." She affords her a kind smile, "Where is Thurid, now?"
"She's south of the camp, I'll take you there." Infalia hands over the lockbox.
It's heavy! It might just contain an exploding grenade. She waves and leaves a wet trail as she heads out into the sleet, taking Shalethiste to the safe location Thurid has chosen.
"I found one Silverguard. The others said I shouldn't go into Kreemo's camp, it would cause problems, they're getting the Silverguard you want." Infalia reports.
Thurid is sitting on a rock out in the sleet and snow- that doesn't seem to bother her. The grenade she's holding, pin and handle removed- does. She looks at it like it might blow up any moment, "Shalethiste." she says, offering a tight smile. "I think I've found just what Seldan was looking for. Thanks, Infalia. Please make sure if they discover any other grenades they have 'found' they don't toss them in the fire?" she asks, though she offers a reassuring smile to the long suffering Hobgoblin.
Shalethiste gives a soft, "Thank you, captain, " and helps as best she can, though, no doubt their differences in size and strength make things a smidge awkward in the snow and sleet. eventually, as they arrive and see the Warrior, she takes in her situation and she nods calmly, "let's hope this news can stay good." That said, the Mul opens the box and steps over to the Jotun, "And you want me to put it in for you?"
GAME: Seldan rolls acrobatics: (4)+0: 4
It takes some time to track Seldan down, but eventually he comes, at the run, lit pauldron and all. Unfortunately for him, ice is slippery, and running on ice is ill-advised. Thus does his entrance come less at the run than a slide on his armored rear end in the direction of both ladies, a thing utterly without grace or dignity. Their best warning is an "Agh!" from the direction where a white-silver-gold light bobs, and that light assuming a much lower orientation as it comes towards them.
"They don't tell me everything, even when I ask. So I'll try, yes, no grenades." Captain Infalia makes a sort of salute-wave to the two then heads across the field towards her camp. The snow is hard enough to walk on and holds her up, so she's almost skating there.
Thurid blinks at that, and shakes her head, "No no, I'll put it in there. You two stay clear, though. If it does go off, I don't want to expose anyone else." she says to Shalethiste as she rises to her feet, and approaches the lockbox ready to carefully set the grenade inside of it. And then Seldan comes sliding towards them, and she braces herself- rather than scrambling to get out of the way, it seems safer to dig her heels in and hold the grenade high out of reach incase he collides with her.
Shalethiste frowns a touch in consideration as she looks to the troubling contrivance in the Jotun's hand, "Ah, I see. Sky Dancer's light guide your-!"
Agh!
"...path..."
The Sliver Guard edges out of Thurid's path, seeing the shining knight sliding their way, starts to move in that direction to perhaps head off any unfortunate collisions and help the man to his feet.
She's at least a hundred pounds with her gear on, it'll be a snap!
Fortunately, the ice isn't _that_ thick, and it ends abruptly with a fully armored Seldan sinking _through_ the layer of ice and into the snow beneath, about five or ten feet away. After all, he's much heavier. He picks himself up out of the snow, the snow on his armor already vanishing, although it clings stubbornly to him everywhere else. "Forgive me, my ladies. I perhaps should have hurried less," he goes on, brushing himself off. _I totally meant to do that._
"I am sent for?"
Thurid nods her head at Seldan then, "Are you... alright?" she wonders of him, but she is not distracted long, shaking her head, she recalls the dangerous parcel in her hand. "When I was scanning the foodstuffs and the crew, I discovered that the food was infact tainted. I didn't want to speak of it in front of them, in case it provoked hostility- but given how close to the border they were, I feel like it might have been deliberately contaminated, but that is just a wild guess." she admits. "This, on the other hand." she lowers the grenade to show it to the two silverguards.
"This, I discovered while examining the crew for infection, is a grenade. It contains the Bloody Fingers disease. I think it was designed to deliberately infect people. Zeg says he found it at the Caldera." she explains. "I thought you would want to know right away. It's already active, but it seems to have not gone off."
The weather is miserable. A cold wind, freezing rain that comes down as often as not as sleet. Darkness. It would love to spread that misery, but the Jotun is immune and the Silverguard's comforting armour and heritage protects him, leaving only the Mul'niessa Paladin for it to lavish affections upon.
The icy-wet finds a way to seep in everywhere, and when it seems unbearable, a cold gust hits.
Shalethiste helps so much as she can if allowed, but otherwise manages not to so much as bat an eyelash as to Seldan's recent slip. "Well met, Ser Seldan." she offers politely, instead, then turns with studious scrutiny as Thurid begins her explanations....
Curious...
Soaked to the skin...
focused...
Ashiver.... wow, it's cold!
All color drains from Seldan's face as the implications of what the Warrior is saying sink home in Seldan's mind. "It is impossible to say whether the food merely passed through an area of disease, but I shall see what I can learn. Which of the diseases does it harbor?"
He ignores the cold, the rain, the sleet, the wind that rips through his cloak and whips it around like a child's toy, instead entirely focused on the Warrior. "As for the grenade, I think it no ordinary grenade. I would house it within a pocket dimension, within the lockbox, until it can be taken. I know who I shall inform of this, and it shall be done at once. It is my hope that it will survive intact, but I dare not risk it exploding in the camp without warning."
He taps his chin with a finger, clearly thinking, then snaps his fingers. "Have either of you a rope handy?"
The Silverguard had earlier determined that everyone who had Bloody Fingers was at Caldera Suate, from both sides of the battle. No one who had it, besides airship or Caravan crew, was from anywhere else.
Thurid nods her head, "The food is contaminated with the sleeping sickness- those who are ill with it grew ill shortly after receiving the shipment of food. But you're right, of course, it might have simply been exposed at the same time that they were, rather than intentionally. The grenade contains bloody fingers- both of those diseases affect the Blarites more than the Bludguni, do they not?" she asks him. "I usually carry a rope, yes." she says.
Shalethiste listens to the senior paladin's analysis of the situation and she nods, looking gravely to Thurid as she elaborates on her findings. "I can fetch mine." She steps back and turns to make her way toward the healer's lodging where her equipment is stored. From afar, Aimarra nodnods.
"I need but an armspan's length or so," Seldan tells the other two. "I can conjure an extradimensional space for the box, that does it explode, it shall be confined and none within the camp shall be harmed. It is my hope that it will not do so." Morgan has connected.
Thurid nods her head and sets the grenade in the box, then closes it up carefully, while she waits for Shale to return with the length of rope. "I think I'm beginning to get an idea of what has happened, in regards to these two diseases at least. I couldn't say for the others, but I suspect the Bludguni have been employing both as a tool of war, and their own troops being exposed is an accident." she says to the paladin. "As for the other diseases... I don't know, mayhap it goes both ways."
The weather does not follow Shalethiste as she heads to the healer's lodge. It is on the way. It is already there. It is on the way back. Icicle fingers and wet trickles and the suspicion that Paladins are truly meant to be tested dog her the entire trip.
Shelly takes only a couple of minutes to gather her rope, as well as an array of pouches about her waist she'd not been wearing before. She presents the length to Seldan, curious what he means to invoke to this end, and spares Thurid a curious look, then back to watch the show. That soft, fluctuating sound is not a tiny artifice engine idling....
It's a quietly miserable Mul'niessa's teeth chattering.
It might be easy to explain why the cold doesn't bother Thurid, but why Seldan seems unaffected might be a mystery - or most might assume the enchanted armor. Whatever the reason, he takes the length of rope with a boyish smile of thanks and takes it between his hands, straightening a section of it. He then begins to draw a series of small sigils over it, chanting as he does so. A final arcane phrase, and he casts the rope to the icy ground, drawing the first sigil one more time in the air before him.
All the sigils drawn alight in a pale yellow glow, and _fuse_, and the five feet of rope he'd selected rises up of its own accord, much like a snake with a charmer. His smile becomes a boyish grin of happy satisfaction, an expression not many have seen the normally appearance-conscious paladin wear. "It is done. The spell is known among arcanists as "the rope trick", but it is far more than a trick, for the rope is attached to an extradimensional space at its top. I believe that the box will be safe there. I will need to re-conjure it twice a day, but I think it will not be long ere we have it in the hands of those who must know."
Thurid nods her head then, and she peers at the rope. She picks up the lockbox- carefully, and then moves over to lift the box to the end of the rope, experimentally, as she seeks the hidden space to which it connects. Once her hands dissapear into thin air, she places the box on a solid seeming surface, and shuffles it back from the edge, before withdrawing her hands with a sigh of relief that she's no longer holding a biological weapon.
Shalethiste hmmm's quietly, "Shada would love that one." she muses in Sildanyari, then, in Trade, "Can you simply cast it in the same spot to overlap the space, or must someone retrieve the chest, first?" she wonders aloud. Once Thurid has secured the weapon, she steps closer to the Jotun and gently alights a hand on her arm, "How are you feeling? Any.... leafy yearnings....?"
"It must be retrieved at spell's end and moved to the new one, but so long as it is done carefully and by one properly protected, it will be well enough for the brief time in which it will be needful." Seldan, too, turns his eyes to Thurid. "Do you take ill, I know you wise enough to speak."
The grenade is safely out of the way. The sleet comes down, falling through extra dimensional opening as if it wasn't there, as things do with one sided-magic. The rope gets wet, will freeze solid and it wouldn't be remarkable if it is noticed standing upright. The grenade should be safe, it survived a couple weeks in a goblin's care, which would either prove it's a dud or bring it to the verge of explosion. In it's own hidey-hole, it can continue to decide what it is.
Thurid shakes her head, "None, yet, no." she says to Shale then, though she does seem very relieved about no longer having the grenade in her own care. "I'm going to go and scrub my hands thoroughly, though, just in case." she asserts. "And then I suppose I should check in on our bugbear friend again. He's getting stronger, which is a good thing, provided he doesn't use that strength to cast any more nurses across the camp." she says.
Shalethiste nods again and, "I see. Well that you know the trick, Ser." she says with a little smile of approval. She considers Thurid's answer, then, "As you say, then, thank you, warrior, for so quickly finding it and securing it in such a delicate state without incident." There is a little glance to the rope, then, "Should we post a sentinel....?"
"In this weather, and with greater violence within the camp, I would not further divide my forces," Seldan says after a moment of thought, "Circulate the word to the camp, instead, that the healers are not to disturb the rope without speaking to me. I shall so inform the shaman, and he shall help to spread the word. For now, though, I must send word, and quickly. Perhaps magic is warranted. If you will forgive me -" He turns to stride off in another direction, presumably to raise the appropriate people.
Thurid glances back at the robe, "I suspect no one will be coming this far from the camp fires without good reason, anyway." she eyeballs the rope once more. And recalls what the goblin was going to do with the grenade before she confiscated it. "I'll come back, after I'm cleaned up, and watch over it." she says. "I don't want one of the goblins to get their hands back on it. Nor do I want whoever manufactured it to get wind that we have it, and make an attempt to have it disappear." she adds then.
And then there were two. The Mul'niessa and the weather. She can leave the rope but the weather will come with so she has company, and stay at the rope too. It wouldn't want to be lonely.
OOC stuff
<OOC> Aimarra says, "Rope Trick. For him it will last 16 hours at a time, but he can conjure it as needed, he has enough spells to do that."
<OOC> Cryosanthia says, "Careful, you'll start a military tradition...."
<OOC> Thurid says, "Guarding a rope in the middle of no where and no one remembers why anymore."
<OOC> Aimarra says, "And yes, he's sending for that inquisitor, NOW."