How to get rid of bodies

General Summary

I climb the mountain and carefully peek over the edge. I can see into the temple a few feet off the ground and watch as Gorthas points the Dark One’s Blade at the poor human and with much screaming and shaking he slowly transforms into an Orc. I turn away before the transformation is complete, but I can hear as I climb back to our group him calling for another “volunteer,” I’m pretty sure his voice had an especially cruel tinge to it as he said that word. I change back to human and sit resting as I explain to them what I saw, and the guards standing around the temple and at the edge of the plateau. “I’m not sure we can manage our usual frontal assault,” I said shuddering at the image of the poor man transformed.
We start to head up and Cap yells back, “I don’t think my spells will work on that plateau,” as a bit of a mixed blessing the nearest guards heard and charged us. It was short work to put them down, and as we paused to catch our breath I heard from above Gorthas’ voice, “You’ve come to turn yourselves over to Great Kaylum,” and the dead orcs’ bodies knit themselves back together and they begin to fight again. Looking about in horror we see the crowd of dead starting to stir. “Knock them off,” I yell as I shove the orc body near me off the edge. Cap and Thor start to push as well, and we knock several of the creatures off before they can fight again. “We’ve got to push forward,” Thor grunted as he knocked the orcs back. Cap charges ahead, and as soon as he steps onto the plateau his shield flares and shoots sparks. I can see a dim glow around him. “Hey guys,” Lili said. “Did anyone else hear that voice?” “The giant orc?” I yelled. “Yeah, we all heard that.” “No, the one asking for the scythe.” “That’s all you Lili,” I shouted as another orc ran towards me. “That’s it, I’m done with this mess,” and I summon an aspect of the flame. “Give us the scythe,” and I threw a blast of fire at him. It passed Cap, got about 15 feet beyond him, and withered away. “I guess that’s not going to work,” I muttered. Cap pushed forward towards Gorthas singing some absurd combination of sea chanty and chorale I heard at church once. I saw him swipe at the scythe, but miss. Lili shook her staff and lightning appeared overhead, and a massive wall of air hit Cap, Thor, Gorthas, and some random Orc knocking them all back. Gorthas dropped the scythe. A dark goth fairy, rather like the one guarding the girl in the glass cask stepped out, bisected the giant statue, and picked up the scythe. She takes flight, starting to fly away. “The Morrigan,” I yelled. The ground turned to liquid around us, and the statue appears over Gorthas protecting him with Cap’s trident in his massive hand like a small fork. “Why do you come to my place and hurt one who is precious to me?” ground out of the statue. “We have no quarrel with you,” Cap answered. “He had taken what was not his.” As Cap reasons with the giant living statue, I turned and shot the Morrigan. She faltered and dropped something, clutching more tightly to the scythe. She looks back at me and glares, “I’ll remember you.” I picked up the item, and see a hilt. I’m guessing that would be the burning blade she had earlier, perhaps the Unmade Sword? “Leave now,” the statue warned. “I will pursue you no further, but you have no job up here.” “Happily,” I said. We hurried off the mountain and away from these troubled lands. We had nothing further to do with the legions here, so we stopped at the Duke’s lands where Don Jon and his legions are to inform him of his father’s orders, then stop back at Brandenheim, and the Duke is more than happy to give us passage to Tinhold.

Every seven years it storms

Thanks to the Duke we are sailing to Tinhold on a nice fast cutter. We’ve passed by the dwarven lands when our good luck broke. Out of nowhere a storm pounded our ship, the waves crashed over the bow, and the captain yelled frantically for the sail to be pulled in. “Lili!” I shouted, “your staff. Can it stop this?” “I’m trying!” she screamed over the wind and the waves. “It won’t be quiet.” Cap grasped the tiller as the cutter’s captain sent his crew to pull everything in. “Pull in,” Captain Nautius called to Cap, “it’ll sink us.” Cap steered us into the bay and we found a small village. “We’ll check for provisions for ya, Cap’n,” Cap said as we loaded up into a rowboat. “Very good, I’m patching us up from that storm. We’ll sail as soon as the ship is stable and the weather is clear.” We walked to the village and no one came out to greet us. Nothing moved. Cap looked from place to place and he started to sweat. We turned the corner and it felt wrong. I looked up and lining the road all the way to the town square were crosses. The town had been crucified. As we walk by one by one, Milli and I check to see if any are living. Almost every cross we check holds a dead man. The stench is overwhelming, and the crows are gathering. As we approach the town square I saw a woman with a crowd of small children. She screamed and ran pulling the children with her. I look behind her and see a crowd of men just standing there with their heads bandaged. I shout after her, first in Alorian, and then in Imperial, “We come in peace. We want to help,” but she kept running. “Do any of you speak Rholdam?” “I do,” Milli volunteered. She called to the woman, and she stopped running but did not come back. To be honest, I don’t blame her. I turned to the men in the square and walked towards them talking quietly to them. Behind me, I heard a thud and turned to see Cap collapsed on the ground. I glanced around from side to side but saw no sign of any attackers. I felt Cap’s throat and his heartbeat strongly. I splashed water on him, hoping to wake him quickly. “The pirate, he attacks the poor villages,” Cap stammered as he woke. “Milli, can you find out from these men what happened?” I asked. I helped Cap up. Milli talked to the men for a bit and then translated to us. “They say a large ship came up, and they went out to greet it as was their usual custom when dark painted savages came out of the ship. They were followed by a large man with some of the same markings, and by Rholdam soldiers. We thought we were saved, but they did not come to save us. They started to attack us. Sergeant de Vaco, the finest swordsman I have ever seen, he is famous for his skill throughout Rholdam. He went to fight this giant, but the monster played with de Vaco like he was a child. Then when he was bored, he killed him. At his side was a witch, painted like the savages, and she said nothing. They came and they called for the councilmen. We thought if we came forward they would take pity on us, and spare the town, but they beat us and put our eyes out. Then we listened as they took the older children to their ship, and they hung our town up to die. We listened to their cries of pain and could do nothing. As he left, the monster said, ‘We deserve it for the sins of our kind,” the councilman left off crying. I tried to heal their wounds, but the best I could do was cover over the gouged out eyes. “Thor, help me,” I said. “I want to find those still living, and heal them.” “It might be better, to put them out of their misery,” Milli said. “I don’t know we can heal them.” I ignored her, and she started helping me. We slowly went down the sad sight, and pulled down the living.

THE RHOLDAM FRIGATE

As we worked a ship came sailing in, I glanced at the flags and cursed. “Rholdam frigate,” I said, “From the looks of it, there’s some member of the nobility on there. Watch your tongue, they take offense easily, and we don’t want to end up a lesson on politeness.” Then I went back to find who could be healed, glancing over my shoulder from time to time watching for the people to be healed. I see the frigate drops 14 boats with eight men each and in the front dressed like he’s on parade grounds stands the freaking nobleman. I think Thor could have used the man’s armor to shave, it gleamed so brightly. I rolled my eyes and continued working. As they neared, I called over to Milli, “Convey to the nobleman, I’m healing his people, and I will talk when I know everyone is stable.” Milli blinked at me after my lecture on manners and relayed what I said. I saw them tense up when they heard my voice, and me speaking Alorian, but honestly, what else could I do? After a few minutes, a soldier, I’m assuming a sergeant, comes over and tells me to report. Their men can take over from here. I nod and wash my hands before following the soldier. “May I present Baron Miguel…. de Vaca … de Silva…. de Santa Maria,” I’ll be honest, I lost track of the names. I always do when they start listing off their 12 names. The Baron speaks to Cap in Rholdam, and Milli translated, “Do you speak for them?” Cap looks confused for a moment. “Forgive us, sir,” I answered in Imperial. “We have all had quite a shock, we were caught in a storm and landed here shortly before you arrived and saw all of this,” I gestured at the village. “We talked to the councilmen and he was able to tell us what happened, but is understandably shocked,” I repeat their story and Baron de Santa Maria’s face grows darker as I talked. When I finished he turned to the villagers and questioned them. It became clear, that even if they could not see, they recognized the voice and the tone of command, for they quickly answered in the utmost respect of the Baron. I’m going to assume they backed me up because the Baron did not throw us up on the crosses. “The pirate comes once every seven years,” Baron de Santa Maria told us, “He arrives in a storm and leaves in a storm. He picks on the poorest villages and leaves them as you see this one. Come, you will help me find him. We will take care of these people.” We followed the Baron, not that we had a choice, and as we left I saw four priests in robes with psalters pouring out scents of incense chanting around us. I could feel the town relaxing and the memories being purged as we walked away. “If you would follow me,” the Sergeant said, “I am Sergeant Velasco. This room will be for the ladies, and the gentlemen will be sleeping with the sailors.” Lili, Milli, and I stepped through the room. There were hammocks hung around the room, which had just room for that. “I thank whoever gave up their room for us,” I said. “I am not sure what the Baron expects us to do.” “Find the pirate.” “I don’t know how,” I said miserably. “Then I would suggest you figure out how for he expects an answer in 30 minutes.” After a few minutes, Cap and Thor came back. “I need 30 gold,” Cap said. “Why?” I asked incredulously. “You are aware we are broke. There is almost no money.” “I need it for a spell.” “More information,” I said. I felt like I was pulling teeth. “I have a way to find out where we need to go, but I need an offering to the Creator worth about 30 gold.” Before I was able to think of an appropriate answer to Cap, Sargeant Velasco was back. “How do we find the pirate?” Baron de Santa Maria asked politely as he sat in his solid wood chair. I looked back and Cap and Lili stepped forward, “I believe I can track his storm,” she said. She concentrated, her eyes closed and when she opened them I could see the storm. Her arm swung around and pointed South, “the storm travels that way. We are about a day behind the ship. It travels fast.” Baron de Santa Maria sent the Captain off and ordered full sails brought out. We followed the ship for three days flying full sail. “I do not be thinkin’ this ship will hold much longer,” Cap said to us that morning. “You recognized this,” I said. “What happened?” “Ay,” Cap said his voice growing quiet. “‘Twas before I knew ye. I found a girl, Amara, she was a wee lass, barely to me knee when I found her. I raised her as me own, but eventually, she had to learn her letters. I left her with a village I stopped at frequently for a few months. I told her I’d be back after two moons. I still remember her hand waving as I sailed away. I can see the mark on the back of her left hand, a wave cresting.” Cap shook for a moment. I think I might even have seen a tear. “I came back and the village was just like that blasted Rholdam village. I searched everywhere and consulted with many different people. Finally, I found some seers who gave me some news. This be what they told me: Fast by Aloria true Thru Achilles flaw Deisul in honor of the Creator Widdershins for caution of the Wild Queens I haven’t found what that means, but that’s what I know.” I looked up suddenly, “We need a map!” I crashed through the door and fell onto Sargeant Velasco. “A map, we need a map. I think I know where we’re going!” The Sargeant brought me a map, and I looked at where we were. I traced the map saying, “If we started here, and have been heading South ever since, we should be approaching the Claw. Doesn’t that look like a foot?” Cap nods and I turn to Velasco, “We need to see the Baron.” He nods, and as we head up to the fo’ecastle, we hear, “Land ho!” I look ahead and see the peak of a mountain, or maybe a volcano. “Sir,” I said inclining my head, “I think I know where we need to go. Cap said he’d seen this before, seven years ago, and he talked with a seer-” “This man consorts with witches?” the Baron sat up straighter and gave Cap a glare. “No, no sir,” I backed up verbally, “He is a cleric of the Creator, and was given this to explain how to find the scourge.” “Oh, he is a cleric, what order is he in?” I glanced nervously at Cap, “I’m not really sure sir,” privately I cursed Cap and his strange calling. “I can only say I’ve seen Cap produce great acts of faith and things I can only call miracles.” Baron de Santa Maria relaxed slightly. “Continue,” he waved his hand. “He was given this poem,” and I repeated it. “If you look at the map here, that looks like a foot, and Achilles flaw was his heel. I believe we need to sail between these two islands, and we might find something.” The captain of the frigate looked uncertain, but the Baron’s glare stiffened his resolve, “As you say, sir.” “Could there be a hidden cave?” I asked. “In the stories, they always talk about a cave that is revealed at low tide.” The captain looked at me dismissively, “I’ve never seen a tide change so drastically that a frigate could hide like that.” I thought good thing Cap can’t understand me. “Wait!” I cried, “Deisul, clockwise! Clockwise for the creator, and counterclockwise. Widdershins is counterclockwise! Counterclockwise for the Wild Queens.” I mentally ran through the fairy queens, oh False Note, is Babba Yaga a Wild Queen? No, no she’s not one, but who is? “Do we choose one?” “Or perhaps,” Thor said from behind me, “You do both.” I glanced back at him gratefully. “That’s it, we sail around this small island once clockwise, and then again counterclockwise.” I saw the only reason the captain followed the orders was his fear and respect of Baron de Santa Maria. As we sailed the fog gathered and deepened until it turned into a gale and from that into a tempest.
Then the storm cleared, and the island had a city on it, and a great big black frigate docked. “Sail us out of sight,” Baron de Santa Maria said, “My lady,” my eyebrow raised at the change in address. “We meet in one hour to plan the assault. By then I should have some word from the scouts.” I nod and keep my face straight frantically thinking about what to recommend.

Report Date

21 Dec 2021