A red-eyed, worn and battle weary Governor Nighthill stood for a moment looking over the group of adventurers sleeping like the dead in the Greenest Keep barracks. He did not know by what divine circumstance these five had come to his doorstep during the hardest night he had ever lived through, but he was grateful. He just couldn't tell how much he should trust these strangers or how hard he could push them. He contemplated this in silence before sighing and pushing forward while holding a slim hope for the best in the recesses of his mind.
The governor began clearing his throat loudly and shuffling about until he noticed the weary heroes beginning to stir. It was an awkward beginning, but Nighthill didn't want to appear desperate by shaking them awake and begging.
"Once again, friends, the town of Greenest thanks you earnestly for your timely assistance." He spoke loudly the instant he spied one of their eyes pop open. It was the halfling, who seemed always wary. Seraphina Tealeaf silently nudged Shay Davencolt awake as she sat up to meet the governor's bawdy introduction. Behind them, Unka woke suddenly and sprang to her feet with no ceremony, as if springing to one's feet was the most natural thing in the world. Her movement roused both Tross and Rilos, who each sat up somewhat begrudgingly with blank and bleary stares.
"You've saved lives and we can never truly repay you," The Governor pressed on loudly, but then needed a moment to gather his wits before moving into his real reason for disturbing the group: his request, "This is really the issue, after all. We cannot pay you. Or anyone. Our men have been out into the town this morning, assessing the damage and making the village safe. It's not very good news. Most of our homes and businesses are intact, but everything else is... gone. The raiders were very thorough. You must understand, Greenest is a community built on trade. But, without any means to continue... I fear the town may collapse. Many are already speaking of moving on. Well..."
The governor had gathered the adventurers' full attention now, but he suddenly looked lost for words. He stared at the ceiling for a moment and then drew a deep breath to continue.
"I don't mean to bore you with the details, but the fact is that we need to reclaim anything we can from the raiders. I've spoken with the merchants and town leaders about the issue and we are all prepared to offer as reward whatever riches are seen as fair from whatever supplies any mercenary willing to track the raiders might recover. I am bringing this to your attention because your incredible goodwill has not been lost on us. There are none in Greenest who wouldn't prefer to see the lot of you gain most from this predicament - if possible.
"If I'm not being clear, we're putting a bounty on the raiders' heads. You may choose whatever payment you like from any of our possessions you are able to recover. Just stop the raiders, find out why they targeted us and make sure they never return. This must sound like a lot to ask, but it is truly the only way we can possibly repay you. The raiders headed south, and they have about a five hour head start right now. So, if you want to track them, you'd better get started."
Nighthill nodded to himself for a moment, then took a step back to the threshold of the room's doorway. He leaned out into the hall beyond and looked both ways, listening carefully. Then he turned back to the adventurers and lowered his voice,
"I am personally willing to offer each one of you 250 gold pieces from the town treasury if you are able to tell me how many raiders there are, who their leadership is - I want names - where their camp is located and where they plan to strike next. You get me that information and I can use some of my connections to deal with the raiders once and for all. Though the town is suffering, this information is worth all the money in the treasury to me.
"Do what you will, just know that these are the rewards we can offer should you choose to continue to help us."
Governor Nighthill did not wait for the group to respond, but turned on his heel and strode swiftly from the room - off to attend to his town and its many needs. Quietly, the group gathered itself together and rose to exit the Keep. Though they had shared in glorious victories the night before, confusing still hung heavy in their minds.
A young man walked up them as they passed into the bright light of midday. He limped heavily on a bandaged left leg.
"I hear that you intend to follow the raiders and see where they've gone." He drew up to the party, extending his hand either in greeting or merely to stop their progress. The group could not tell.
"I'd like nothing better than to come with you, but in this condition, I'd just slow you down," He persisted, taking it as a given that the group would continue working to help Greenest.
"In the midst of all this tragedy, there's no reason you would have heard about the tale of my master, Leosin Erlanthar, but it's important you know. He is a monk from Berdusk. He disappeared last night, after we fought a particularly savage battle against raiders. A few others and I fought our way to the keep, barely. Leosin didn't make it at all. We went back this morning to look for him, but all we found was his broken staff and this choker, which he always wore."
"And who are you?" growled Tross in interruption.
"Oh I am Nesim Waladra, also a monk, but only an initiate," the young man continued brightly, "Leosin has been investigating these raiders for months. I fear that he might have tried to infiltrate their group when they retreated, or worse, was captured and carried away as a prisoner. No one understands these bandits better than he does, and his knowledge will be invaluable against them. When you find their camp, please look for any sign that Leosin is there. One of my brothers has already departed for Berdusk to bring back help, but it will be many days before help arrives. Anything you can do before then would be a godsend."
"May I see the choker?" Tross asked, taking the leather strap and examining it closely. "I would like to take this with, to show Leosin if we find him."
Nesim agreed, leaving the broken leather ornament with Tross and limping off to attend to his other concerns. As the party attempted to move beyond the walls of the keep, they were again delayed as Saph returned to their side.
"If you please, before you go, I am in need of additional assistance with the paintings you helped me save last night. I have a good idea of the rituals that might be needed to reverse the curse against Oghma's children. I tried a few this morning, after procuring ownership from Mr. Markguth, but I've found something very interesting," She looks down in a manner of adorable embarrassment before continuing, "This is, you see, the first painting I've been able to track down. I haven't actually tried any of these rituals before today and... well, I didn't realize that there would need to be more... souls involved. More participants. I suppose I could recruit just about anyone from the town, but you five were so efficient and helpful last night that you were the first to come to my mind. Surely you would be able to spare a few minutes to help with a simple ritual?"
"What do you mean 'souls?'" Tross barked suspiciously.
"Participants," Saph repeated. "I corrected myself and said 'participants' which is more accurate to what I meant. Yes, of course, it is your soul which makes your participation valuable. But I can see that saying I need your soul is off-putting. I need your participation, that's all."
"I just want to gauge the risk involved," Tross retorted, not at all satisfied with her response, "if you need our souls present for a ritual which you could not succeed at, then isn't there some risk involved?"
"Quite right. The curse that Cyric placed on Oghma's children is old, and powerful. It's been many years and nobody else has managed to break the curse. That says a lot about its power. Oghma has most certainly sent his servants to try to break the prison - those are the types of servants who don't stop trying while they are still alive. Therefore, we might surmise that whatever the curse is which traps the children, it must be quite dangerous indeed," Saph grins excitedly.
"There is also Cyric himself. I am pretty sure Oghma had him imprisoned for his impetuousness. But... Cyric is a crafty god and may well have gotten free again. Or perhaps he was never captured in the first place. It is possible Cyric wouldn't appreciate having his prisons broken open by some meddling mortals. The last thing I'd want to do is encounter an angry god. Then again, I am sure he has bigger things on his mind than simply thwarting our plans.
"Of course, who knows why Cyric would do this in the first place. He is the god of lies, deceit and madness, after all. So, everything we know about this curse might be an enormously entertaining story to him. His aims are inscrutable. He might have cursed Oghma's children just to see how long it took them to get free. Or maybe he just thought it was funny. It's pretty likely the trapped demi-gods are already dead. It's all a big mystery, really! And the only way to solve it is to set some of them free - or at least try to."
"What do you need us to do?" Shay asked, anxious not to fall short in her duties as given by Zophiel.
"I have a challenge for you!" Saph exudes cheerfully, "It's not that important I guess, but I like the challenge. Shall we see if you can identify which of these three paintings is the child of Oghma? I thought it would be easy at first, since Kaax was devoted to nature, but all three of these are nature scenes. It took me a bit of study to come to a conclusion, but I've a pretty good idea of which one is the correct one. I am curious if you will come to same conclusion. It could very be that there's something I've overlooked."
She prattled this as she led them to a small staging are where she had the three paintings leaning against the wall of the keep. The first painting was of a landscape depicting a large black horse cantering through a field of white flowers with a sunset playing across the background. The second painting was a portrait depicting an owl nesting in the eaves of a small woodland cottage, a full moon overhead. The third painting was a portrait of an old living tree tending to a garden of flowers.
In Tross' head, Vilkas was practically shouting about how obvious it was that the second painting, of the owl, was the only possible choice worth considering. Tross furrowed his brow, but pointed at the second painting nonetheless.
"Yes! I agree. Oghma is the wise god and owls are symbols of wisdom. It is the one painting that stands out as pointing to Oghma directly. Kaax is definitely one of Oghma's children, so this correlation is the only one that makes sense! It's not that I doubted myself, it's just exciting to see that the correct painting really is as easy to spot as I thought! Now come, we shall perform the ritual in an open area so that we don't accidentally disturb anyone. I imagine the town is still fairly uneasy after the raid last night and this is a risky task."
Saph led the party to a clearing where she had carefully set up a small garden, filled with flowers, bushes and climbing plants of all colors. It is amazing how quickly she was able to set up something so wonderful. Even birdes could be seen nesting on boxes attached to nearby trees. Squirrels, also, dashed to and fro through the undergrowth.
"I am hoping to bolster Kaax's strength by surrounding the painting with nature," she explained, "Maybe he can help us to free him. It's been a long time - we will probably have to do most of the work ourselves even if he can help."
Saph busied herself further arranging the plants around the garden, marking small symbols in the dirt and on the pots and muttering incomprehensible incantations. She paused in her efforts to speak,
"As much as I know about the painting, there is also much I do not know. I think I have just the ritual to accomplish our task, but any help you can offer would be most appreciated."
Rilos busied himself studying the arcana of the area, muttering some incantations of his own based on his observations. Meanwhile, Shay placed her hands into the earth surrounding them, taking a few moments to carefully prune the leaves of various plants and flowers until all was arranged in the healthiest manner possible. Seraphina, Tross and Unka set themselves to calming the animals scurrying about through the space.
As they worked, Saph lost herself in the ritual, swaying back and forth and drawing her hands through the air crazily. Strange shapes formed in the air around her, humming with pure energy and as she moved vigorously, these changed and wavered with rapid energy. Rilos found himself pausing in his efforts to stare at the strange ritual in fascination. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Tross, also, found himself looking up and attempting to decipher the strange flashes of light which were now connected somehow to the very edges of the painting's frame.
Two giant wolf spiders skittered into the garden at that moment, rushing at Saph, who was completely unaware of their present focused as she was on her ritual. The adventurers leapt to action, abandoning their helpful efforts. Powerfully ugly, the spiders posed little challenge for our heroes, who cut the creatures down quickly, avoiding any real damage to the ritual area.
No sooner had they dealt with the spiders than a giant wasp dove into their midst. Again, they reacted quickly, cutting the aberration from the sky before it had any chance to impact the ritual. A baleful roar shook the ground as the wasp fell, signalling an attack from an enormous dire wolf which jumped at the party only to be cut down with ruthless precision. The beast thrashed at them momentarily before falling before the fury of their blades. Just as the dire wolf breathed its last, the frame of the painting crackled loudly and then exploded as Saph's arms came to rest.
The canvas rumpled to the ground and Saph gazed at it tentatively. A slight glow emanated from its surface for a few minutes while they all stared in silence, but then the glow faded away.
"Did it work?" Saph whispered, mostly to herself. Suddenly, a voice echoed within the heads of all gathered round.
"Where am I?"
Saph started in surprise, then knelt and placed a hand on the surface of the painting. "Kaax? I am not sure yet, but we are here to help."
"I..." the voice echoed again, "I can't see anything. Who are you, child? Your voice is unfamiliar. Is Kamerynn there?"
Saph looks sorrowful for a moment, but appears to catch herself and brightens considerably. "I am Saph, just a scholar. But perhaps I can help you. Who is Kamerynn? I shall find her."
"She is an earth spirit and a friend. Why... we were just talking about a battle she once had with... when..."
The voice is quiet for some time, but none dare speak for fear of breaking the spell.
"I remember a shadow fell across us and everything twisted suddenly. Yes. But now... all is black, yet I can hear you speak. Where is Kamerynn? Is she alright?"
Saph absent-mindedly caressed the canvas, saying "We do not know, Kaax. We can search for her, though. Perhaps she knows something else about what has happened."
After a few moments of intently listening for more, Saph rose to her feet and turned back to the party which had assisted her with this task.
"Well, that was less effective than I'd hoped, but this is good! We know what needs to be done now. Or... at least part of it. I am going to find this Kamerynn. I don't think you can help me with this. However, if I find any answers while you're still in the area, I will certainly include you again!"
The bright young woman carefully gathered up the canvas and made her way back toward Greenest Keep. Our heroes stood by in amazement for a few more minutes, absorbing all that had just happened, before they gathered their own thoughts enough to make their way south from the town and find the deep ruts of the retreating raider wagons.
As our heroes journeyed south from Greenest, following the trail of the raiders, they noticed a cooking fire smoking lazily into the sky in the distance. Creeping up slowly, they came upon a small group of straggling raiders, obviously carrying riches from Greenest in the wagon left hitched but unattended. The group had split into two groups: the eight kobolds which grabbed their food from the cooking fire and moved about thirty feet away, and the four cultists who reclined near the fire, trading jokes at the expense of their kobold companions. The adventurers crouched in the long grass for a few moments, observing this while Seraphina realized the cultists had discarded their weapons in order to relax.
Silently, the rogue approached the camp, doing her best to steal their weapons in preparation for conflict. Her efforts were betrayed when she lost grip on one of the scimitars, causing it to clang and rattle loudly against the nearby stones. It was no concern, though, as the party sprang immediately to action, cutting down the hapless cultists before the group could react. The kobolds came next, skittering into the fray like a group of half-crazed dragon dogs, only to meet their swift demise under the burning retort of Rilos' arsenal of magic.
Gakki, a hearty kobold, was the only one to drag himself away from the smoldering carnage, trying his best to find legs to flee. He was captured then and interrogated by our heroes.
"Why did you steal from Greenest?" Tross placed himself directly before the kobold's snarling snout, instilling a desperate sense of terror in the tiny beast.
"For the hoard for the great queen! Greenest very rich, lots of treasures." The kobold answered quickly and hopefully.
"What is this hoard? Where are you keeping it?"
"The queen requires many riches! We make big piles at camp!" The kobold is eager now, he sees the tension easing from his captors' faces.
"Where is this camp? How many people are in it?"
"There are thousands of cultists, probably on their way right now. The raider camp is a million strong." The kobold glanced about, obviously fearful that he'd enticed the adventurers into seeking out the raider camp.
"A million?"
"Yes, and they are breeding dragons. There are hundreds of them. We'll decimate the Greenfields and then move on. If you show your face in the camp, they will go back to Greenest and kill everyone." The wild-eyed kobold grinned and nodded as he spoke, his expression contorted into something approaching assurance. Yet the creature cringed against its bonds, squirming in a vain attempt to break free.
Rilos shook his head and intoned, "Kobolds will say anything. This is pointless."
Tross shook his head in disappointment before slipping a knife into the creature's ribcage to put an end to its ravings.
Meanwhile, Shay's attention had turned to the horse attached to the raiders' wagon. She wanted to send these things back to the town and spoke softly to the animal as she stroked its neck soothingly. Closing her eyes for a moment in concentration, she commanded the beast to return to Greenest and the horse moved off with a jolt, obediently making its way back to the beleaguered town.
The governor began clearing his throat loudly and shuffling about until he noticed the weary heroes beginning to stir. It was an awkward beginning, but Nighthill didn't want to appear desperate by shaking them awake and begging.
"Once again, friends, the town of Greenest thanks you earnestly for your timely assistance." He spoke loudly the instant he spied one of their eyes pop open. It was the halfling, who seemed always wary. Seraphina Tealeaf silently nudged Shay Davencolt awake as she sat up to meet the governor's bawdy introduction. Behind them, Unka woke suddenly and sprang to her feet with no ceremony, as if springing to one's feet was the most natural thing in the world. Her movement roused both Tross and Rilos, who each sat up somewhat begrudgingly with blank and bleary stares.
"You've saved lives and we can never truly repay you," The Governor pressed on loudly, but then needed a moment to gather his wits before moving into his real reason for disturbing the group: his request, "This is really the issue, after all. We cannot pay you. Or anyone. Our men have been out into the town this morning, assessing the damage and making the village safe. It's not very good news. Most of our homes and businesses are intact, but everything else is... gone. The raiders were very thorough. You must understand, Greenest is a community built on trade. But, without any means to continue... I fear the town may collapse. Many are already speaking of moving on. Well..."
The governor had gathered the adventurers' full attention now, but he suddenly looked lost for words. He stared at the ceiling for a moment and then drew a deep breath to continue.
"I don't mean to bore you with the details, but the fact is that we need to reclaim anything we can from the raiders. I've spoken with the merchants and town leaders about the issue and we are all prepared to offer as reward whatever riches are seen as fair from whatever supplies any mercenary willing to track the raiders might recover. I am bringing this to your attention because your incredible goodwill has not been lost on us. There are none in Greenest who wouldn't prefer to see the lot of you gain most from this predicament - if possible.
"If I'm not being clear, we're putting a bounty on the raiders' heads. You may choose whatever payment you like from any of our possessions you are able to recover. Just stop the raiders, find out why they targeted us and make sure they never return. This must sound like a lot to ask, but it is truly the only way we can possibly repay you. The raiders headed south, and they have about a five hour head start right now. So, if you want to track them, you'd better get started."
Nighthill nodded to himself for a moment, then took a step back to the threshold of the room's doorway. He leaned out into the hall beyond and looked both ways, listening carefully. Then he turned back to the adventurers and lowered his voice,
"I am personally willing to offer each one of you 250 gold pieces from the town treasury if you are able to tell me how many raiders there are, who their leadership is - I want names - where their camp is located and where they plan to strike next. You get me that information and I can use some of my connections to deal with the raiders once and for all. Though the town is suffering, this information is worth all the money in the treasury to me.
"Do what you will, just know that these are the rewards we can offer should you choose to continue to help us."
Governor Nighthill did not wait for the group to respond, but turned on his heel and strode swiftly from the room - off to attend to his town and its many needs. Quietly, the group gathered itself together and rose to exit the Keep. Though they had shared in glorious victories the night before, confusing still hung heavy in their minds.
A young man walked up them as they passed into the bright light of midday. He limped heavily on a bandaged left leg.
"I hear that you intend to follow the raiders and see where they've gone." He drew up to the party, extending his hand either in greeting or merely to stop their progress. The group could not tell.
"I'd like nothing better than to come with you, but in this condition, I'd just slow you down," He persisted, taking it as a given that the group would continue working to help Greenest.
"In the midst of all this tragedy, there's no reason you would have heard about the tale of my master, Leosin Erlanthar, but it's important you know. He is a monk from Berdusk. He disappeared last night, after we fought a particularly savage battle against raiders. A few others and I fought our way to the keep, barely. Leosin didn't make it at all. We went back this morning to look for him, but all we found was his broken staff and this choker, which he always wore."
"And who are you?" growled Tross in interruption.
"May I see the choker?" Tross asked, taking the leather strap and examining it closely. "I would like to take this with, to show Leosin if we find him."
Nesim agreed, leaving the broken leather ornament with Tross and limping off to attend to his other concerns. As the party attempted to move beyond the walls of the keep, they were again delayed as Saph returned to their side.
"If you please, before you go, I am in need of additional assistance with the paintings you helped me save last night. I have a good idea of the rituals that might be needed to reverse the curse against Oghma's children. I tried a few this morning, after procuring ownership from Mr. Markguth, but I've found something very interesting," She looks down in a manner of adorable embarrassment before continuing, "This is, you see, the first painting I've been able to track down. I haven't actually tried any of these rituals before today and... well, I didn't realize that there would need to be more... souls involved. More participants. I suppose I could recruit just about anyone from the town, but you five were so efficient and helpful last night that you were the first to come to my mind. Surely you would be able to spare a few minutes to help with a simple ritual?"
"What do you mean 'souls?'" Tross barked suspiciously.
"Participants," Saph repeated. "I corrected myself and said 'participants' which is more accurate to what I meant. Yes, of course, it is your soul which makes your participation valuable. But I can see that saying I need your soul is off-putting. I need your participation, that's all."
"I just want to gauge the risk involved," Tross retorted, not at all satisfied with her response, "if you need our souls present for a ritual which you could not succeed at, then isn't there some risk involved?"
"There is also Cyric himself. I am pretty sure Oghma had him imprisoned for his impetuousness. But... Cyric is a crafty god and may well have gotten free again. Or perhaps he was never captured in the first place. It is possible Cyric wouldn't appreciate having his prisons broken open by some meddling mortals. The last thing I'd want to do is encounter an angry god. Then again, I am sure he has bigger things on his mind than simply thwarting our plans.
"Of course, who knows why Cyric would do this in the first place. He is the god of lies, deceit and madness, after all. So, everything we know about this curse might be an enormously entertaining story to him. His aims are inscrutable. He might have cursed Oghma's children just to see how long it took them to get free. Or maybe he just thought it was funny. It's pretty likely the trapped demi-gods are already dead. It's all a big mystery, really! And the only way to solve it is to set some of them free - or at least try to."
"What do you need us to do?" Shay asked, anxious not to fall short in her duties as given by Zophiel.
"I have a challenge for you!" Saph exudes cheerfully, "It's not that important I guess, but I like the challenge. Shall we see if you can identify which of these three paintings is the child of Oghma? I thought it would be easy at first, since Kaax was devoted to nature, but all three of these are nature scenes. It took me a bit of study to come to a conclusion, but I've a pretty good idea of which one is the correct one. I am curious if you will come to same conclusion. It could very be that there's something I've overlooked."
She prattled this as she led them to a small staging are where she had the three paintings leaning against the wall of the keep. The first painting was of a landscape depicting a large black horse cantering through a field of white flowers with a sunset playing across the background. The second painting was a portrait depicting an owl nesting in the eaves of a small woodland cottage, a full moon overhead. The third painting was a portrait of an old living tree tending to a garden of flowers.
In Tross' head, Vilkas was practically shouting about how obvious it was that the second painting, of the owl, was the only possible choice worth considering. Tross furrowed his brow, but pointed at the second painting nonetheless.
"Yes! I agree. Oghma is the wise god and owls are symbols of wisdom. It is the one painting that stands out as pointing to Oghma directly. Kaax is definitely one of Oghma's children, so this correlation is the only one that makes sense! It's not that I doubted myself, it's just exciting to see that the correct painting really is as easy to spot as I thought! Now come, we shall perform the ritual in an open area so that we don't accidentally disturb anyone. I imagine the town is still fairly uneasy after the raid last night and this is a risky task."
Saph led the party to a clearing where she had carefully set up a small garden, filled with flowers, bushes and climbing plants of all colors. It is amazing how quickly she was able to set up something so wonderful. Even birdes could be seen nesting on boxes attached to nearby trees. Squirrels, also, dashed to and fro through the undergrowth.
"I am hoping to bolster Kaax's strength by surrounding the painting with nature," she explained, "Maybe he can help us to free him. It's been a long time - we will probably have to do most of the work ourselves even if he can help."
Saph busied herself further arranging the plants around the garden, marking small symbols in the dirt and on the pots and muttering incomprehensible incantations. She paused in her efforts to speak,
"As much as I know about the painting, there is also much I do not know. I think I have just the ritual to accomplish our task, but any help you can offer would be most appreciated."
Rilos busied himself studying the arcana of the area, muttering some incantations of his own based on his observations. Meanwhile, Shay placed her hands into the earth surrounding them, taking a few moments to carefully prune the leaves of various plants and flowers until all was arranged in the healthiest manner possible. Seraphina, Tross and Unka set themselves to calming the animals scurrying about through the space.
As they worked, Saph lost herself in the ritual, swaying back and forth and drawing her hands through the air crazily. Strange shapes formed in the air around her, humming with pure energy and as she moved vigorously, these changed and wavered with rapid energy. Rilos found himself pausing in his efforts to stare at the strange ritual in fascination. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Tross, also, found himself looking up and attempting to decipher the strange flashes of light which were now connected somehow to the very edges of the painting's frame.
Two giant wolf spiders skittered into the garden at that moment, rushing at Saph, who was completely unaware of their present focused as she was on her ritual. The adventurers leapt to action, abandoning their helpful efforts. Powerfully ugly, the spiders posed little challenge for our heroes, who cut the creatures down quickly, avoiding any real damage to the ritual area.
No sooner had they dealt with the spiders than a giant wasp dove into their midst. Again, they reacted quickly, cutting the aberration from the sky before it had any chance to impact the ritual. A baleful roar shook the ground as the wasp fell, signalling an attack from an enormous dire wolf which jumped at the party only to be cut down with ruthless precision. The beast thrashed at them momentarily before falling before the fury of their blades. Just as the dire wolf breathed its last, the frame of the painting crackled loudly and then exploded as Saph's arms came to rest.
The canvas rumpled to the ground and Saph gazed at it tentatively. A slight glow emanated from its surface for a few minutes while they all stared in silence, but then the glow faded away.
"Did it work?" Saph whispered, mostly to herself. Suddenly, a voice echoed within the heads of all gathered round.
"Where am I?"
Saph started in surprise, then knelt and placed a hand on the surface of the painting. "Kaax? I am not sure yet, but we are here to help."
"I..." the voice echoed again, "I can't see anything. Who are you, child? Your voice is unfamiliar. Is Kamerynn there?"
Saph looks sorrowful for a moment, but appears to catch herself and brightens considerably. "I am Saph, just a scholar. But perhaps I can help you. Who is Kamerynn? I shall find her."
"She is an earth spirit and a friend. Why... we were just talking about a battle she once had with... when..."
The voice is quiet for some time, but none dare speak for fear of breaking the spell.
"I remember a shadow fell across us and everything twisted suddenly. Yes. But now... all is black, yet I can hear you speak. Where is Kamerynn? Is she alright?"
Saph absent-mindedly caressed the canvas, saying "We do not know, Kaax. We can search for her, though. Perhaps she knows something else about what has happened."
After a few moments of intently listening for more, Saph rose to her feet and turned back to the party which had assisted her with this task.
"Well, that was less effective than I'd hoped, but this is good! We know what needs to be done now. Or... at least part of it. I am going to find this Kamerynn. I don't think you can help me with this. However, if I find any answers while you're still in the area, I will certainly include you again!"
The bright young woman carefully gathered up the canvas and made her way back toward Greenest Keep. Our heroes stood by in amazement for a few more minutes, absorbing all that had just happened, before they gathered their own thoughts enough to make their way south from the town and find the deep ruts of the retreating raider wagons.
As our heroes journeyed south from Greenest, following the trail of the raiders, they noticed a cooking fire smoking lazily into the sky in the distance. Creeping up slowly, they came upon a small group of straggling raiders, obviously carrying riches from Greenest in the wagon left hitched but unattended. The group had split into two groups: the eight kobolds which grabbed their food from the cooking fire and moved about thirty feet away, and the four cultists who reclined near the fire, trading jokes at the expense of their kobold companions. The adventurers crouched in the long grass for a few moments, observing this while Seraphina realized the cultists had discarded their weapons in order to relax.
Silently, the rogue approached the camp, doing her best to steal their weapons in preparation for conflict. Her efforts were betrayed when she lost grip on one of the scimitars, causing it to clang and rattle loudly against the nearby stones. It was no concern, though, as the party sprang immediately to action, cutting down the hapless cultists before the group could react. The kobolds came next, skittering into the fray like a group of half-crazed dragon dogs, only to meet their swift demise under the burning retort of Rilos' arsenal of magic.
Gakki, a hearty kobold, was the only one to drag himself away from the smoldering carnage, trying his best to find legs to flee. He was captured then and interrogated by our heroes.
"Why did you steal from Greenest?" Tross placed himself directly before the kobold's snarling snout, instilling a desperate sense of terror in the tiny beast.
"For the hoard for the great queen! Greenest very rich, lots of treasures." The kobold answered quickly and hopefully.
"What is this hoard? Where are you keeping it?"
"The queen requires many riches! We make big piles at camp!" The kobold is eager now, he sees the tension easing from his captors' faces.
"Where is this camp? How many people are in it?"
"There are thousands of cultists, probably on their way right now. The raider camp is a million strong." The kobold glanced about, obviously fearful that he'd enticed the adventurers into seeking out the raider camp.
"A million?"
"Yes, and they are breeding dragons. There are hundreds of them. We'll decimate the Greenfields and then move on. If you show your face in the camp, they will go back to Greenest and kill everyone." The wild-eyed kobold grinned and nodded as he spoke, his expression contorted into something approaching assurance. Yet the creature cringed against its bonds, squirming in a vain attempt to break free.
Rilos shook his head and intoned, "Kobolds will say anything. This is pointless."
Tross shook his head in disappointment before slipping a knife into the creature's ribcage to put an end to its ravings.
Meanwhile, Shay's attention had turned to the horse attached to the raiders' wagon. She wanted to send these things back to the town and spoke softly to the animal as she stroked its neck soothingly. Closing her eyes for a moment in concentration, she commanded the beast to return to Greenest and the horse moved off with a jolt, obediently making its way back to the beleaguered town.