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Josh tears into the meal quickly, shoveling it into his mouth and leaning over his dish like someone is going to take it away from him at any moment.

"Ah dinnit go!" he exclaims through a mouthful of bread. "Jenks ha me..." he trailed off, then stuffed his mouth full of egg. No need to admit to further crimes Jenks might have had him involved with. "... doin' sumpfin'"

He looks over to John and shrugs. "Not long. Cuppa hours mebbe?"

"Hmm. Better make sure we have food for two days at least, just in case, and get going before we get covered in dust."
"How much do I owe you?" he asks the bartender, and pays him the said amount.

"What are we waiting for then, grrr. Let's go!" Xepil kicks up from his chair, all his gear already strapped to his back, with weapons freshly sharpened and ready.

"Let's go kill us a wolf, grrr. Daddy needs a new pair of moccasins, grrheheheh!!" He chuckled darkly and grinned showing all his razor sharp fangs.

"Let our guide finish his meal. It's not like he's eating such food everyday." John guesses from the boy's appearance. He takes the bottle of wine from his table and a nearby dice to kill time.
"Anyone wanting to try and win five gold coins?"

The dwarf smiles and nods as each of the others agree to take an immediate trip to the ancient tomb. Her pack is resting on the floor beside her and ready to go at a moment's notice.

She also worries about the broken lockbox in the square and hopes that the boy will finish his breakfast so that they can be out of town before the vandalism is discovered.

Rae grins at John's question and answers, "Nah, mate, I don' know what yah're ginna do t'the dice!"

It doesn't take the boy long at all to finish his meal as he eats like anything he doesn't manage to get his mouth fast enough might disappear without a moment's notice. Practically before John has retrieved the dice, he's washing it down with a mug of milk, and scraping up the last few crumbs.

And soon enough Rae, Xepil, John, Galiena, Lloré, and Josh are headed out the gates and turn almost straight north. They cross a large stream in a shallow spot and then head into the woods to the north.

A cool mist keeps visibility low and the woods are mostly quiet except for an occasional raven protesting the intrusion.

As they walk, the bard tells them again about how the hound came nearly 6 months ago. And in that time the population of Hirot has diminished from 300 to barely 200 souls.

"Some whisper Sylle Ru is connected to the beast. Others say that the Mad Widow Ymae controls it," he says, more free to throw around rumors that verge on accusations now that they are away from the town. "The old crone is a witch... "





The forest breaks at the edge of a steep slope, revealing a narrow vale below. Set in the center of the valley is a large earthen mound topped with tall grasses and shaped like a long serpent.

Two silvery streams cascade down either side of the serpentine hillock, joining to form a shallow, glittering pool at the head of the enormous mound. Across the pool, set into the earthen mound, is a large circular stone, decorated with serpentine spirals worn by time.

"This's far as we come before," Josh says in a loud whisper.

"Thanks for guiding us. You probably should go back to the village now. Here's your payment - don't tell anyone how you got it and spend only a small amount at a time to avoid drawing attention. We'll be back soon." John tells Josh as he hands him twenty gold coins, hoping the boy will go back since he has no further knowledge of the place and would hinder exploration. John asks the cleric (he's not sure if he overheard her name right)
"You think a benediction would be useful? It seems we're facing a curse and even if the place is simply guarded by spirits, the blessing of a god might make them less aggressive. By the way, what deity do you pray to? I'm quite ignorant of benedictions and protection spells, and have no idea what we could do."

The Hobgoblin is quiet for most of the journey, eyes alert and darting about the wilderness looking for potential threats. His gaze is also kept to the ground, checking here and there for tracks to see if perhaps the Hound has passed through here.

As they arrive to the tomb, Xepil chuckles when Josh announces that he and the bard are ready to head back. He doesn't blame them, and in fact Josh kind of reminds him a lot of himself when he was a kid. He gives them a toothy grin. "Stay safe, kid, grrrr. Let's play some darts when I get, eh? Grrheheh.."

While John talks spellcraft with Galiena, Xepil turns to his fellow martial Rae and starts discussing marching order. "Alright, you wanna take point Rae or should I? Grrrr. No lie, I kinna like hiding behind ya, grrr, ya cover all the important bits and yer just the right height to shoot over yer head, grrrheheh."

Josh hesitates. This feels a little too familiar to when Kej, Stein, & Ilham made him stay behind. And then they probably found all the treasure and forgot all about him. But 20 gold coins is more money than the boy's ever even seen at one time, let alone owned, so he takes it and nods. "Don't forget you said you'd take me too when you leave," he mumbles as a reminder to Galiena, Xepil, and Rae.

"We won't forget," the cleric assures him. And as Lloré and Josh begin to turn back, Galiena considers the mage's words. "I am a follower of Ulesh," she answers. "I've not yet been trained in any specific benediction spells. But still... a prayer for his watchful eye would be beneficial, I believe."

And whether the rest of the party seemed receptive or not, Galiena says a short prayer.

"Ulesh, help guide us today with wisdom so that we may restore peace for the people of Hirot who have suffered under terror of the Hound with the loss of their loved ones. And help us to remember that tranquility is upheld through strength so that we can remain strong in the face of chaos. Amen."

((Clerics have a lot less magic in this version of the game. So she's got a whooping 1 healing spell for the day. Just FYI. ))

((oh.))
"Ulesh. A good divinity indeed." The thought of obscure, chaotic gods made John doubt about the clerics intentions, and he is relieved it is no other god than a fair, honest one.
John takes a look at the priests armor, and realizes his questions futility. She seems to be a better melee fighter than mage, which is for the best since that would mean she and Rae would open the march whilst he and the Hobgoblin would close it.

The dwarf listens keenly to the seeming accusations presented by the bard. Though of little use at this point, she's not keen on dismissing the thought that the Jarl or his little priest-guy may have something to do with the appearance of the beast.

Once Josh and Lloré decide to return to the town, she asks them, "If'n ye've not heard from us by evenin' tomorrow, send someone after us - or what's left o' us."

Rae chuckles at Xepil's sudden urge to not be the "leader" of the group. After Galiena's simple prayer, she replies to him, "Aye, but donnae forget where me helmet's bound ta land if I get knocked backwards, ya know... And donnae yeh be dropping yer aim neither; I'm of no mind t'be made a porky-pine this mornin'... Now, how well kin yeh see in the dark?"

((Thanks for your patience, folks! The move has gone pretty well. But it's also been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster as well, and it's been a little difficult to get my head back in the game. But thank you all, and I'm glad to be back! Let's beat this thing! ))

((Welcome back Rae!))

Xepil tried to appear as solemn as he could for Galiena's benediction. Though he no longer considered himself affiliated to Hobgoblins in any way shape or form, theirs was a highly religious and structured culture and thus Xepil at least remembered that when someone casts a prayer he's supposed to hold still and silent, whether that particular prayer had any effect or not.

Once Galiena is done though, he does mutter something about 'nothing wrong with a bit of chaos' before moving on.

"Tsk, grrheheh." He chuckles at Rae's jab, finding it amusing. "Don't worry, babe, grrr, I got you. No one's gonna touch a hair of yer pretty head. Grrehehe." He even dared to wink at the dwarf, knowing how much it irritated her when he flirted with her.

"I can see just fine in the dark, grrr." Continued the Hobgoblin before glancing to Galiena and John. "Dunno about the humans though, grrr. Anyone brought a torch?"

"Tinderbox, home made torches and a spell of mine shall do. Well, I guess that's all we had to discuss then - anything else or should we go in?"

((Glad to hear the move went well! Welcome back!))

"I have a lantern too, if we need it," Galiena said, though she didn't light it just yet, preferring to keep her hands free to wield a weapon as long as possible.

The party descends into the vale and stands before the glittering pool created by the two slender silvery streams that run down the east and west sides of the grassy mound. The pool itself is about 20 feet across, but appears shallow... about a foot in depth. The bottom is a white sand bed flecked with mica. Across the pool, set into the earthen mound, is a large circular stone, decorated with serpentine spirals worn by time.

((Thanks!))

A gutteral growl rolls out of the dwarf's throat, and she throws a dirty look at the Hobgoblin and his use of the word "babe." The wink really gets her going. Her fists immediately clench around the handle of her hammer, and for a moment it looks as if she might consider using it. Instead, she spits into the ground and turns on her heel. She almost mentions something about his not being able to keep her untouched last night but quickly decides against further acknowledging his ridiculous words and antics.

As they approach the tomb, the first thing Rae notices is the large stone - presumably the entrance. And it doesn't bode well with her. "'Ey, if these lads indeed came 'ere, either they found another way in, or left with stolen treasures. Or somethin' else closed the entrance behind 'em. Best be on the look out for traps - some could'a already been sprung. But there's like t'be multiple layers of 'em..."

John decides to ignore their quarrel and approaches the door.
"Suspicious enough. I think it's more a trap than the action of any living being - the kind which lets you starve to death with no way out but further exploration. Back off, I'll try to see if it's magical and that might trigger something. "
((What's a mages spell per day limit?))

Standing across the pool from the stone, they are a little too far away to tell for sure if the stone has been moved recently, but it appears the grasses have overtaken the edges a little, lending weight to Rae's theory that Kej, Stein, & Ilham did not move this stone.

As John approaches the door through the pool, his foot touches something mostly buried in the sand.





And as he casts his detect magic spell, he does indeed see that the door glows softly with an aura of magic. As well as the pool itself. Their auras match, as if the magic of one is tied to the other.

As he sees the door's aura and the pool's, John touches an object in the sand. By reflex he withdraws his foot and inspects what seems like a leather bundle, which contains an old bronze sword, coins and a damaged skull.
"I've got two news, a good one and a bad one. The bad one is this door is magical and so is the pool, so I'll need to investigate further, and the fact there is a crushed skull right here. The good one is this mighty weapon is now ours, and might even have a link to this place." He exclaims as he brandishes the old sword. "Stay away from the door and the pool, I'll try something."

((Edit: this is the best mage ever. He detects magic but is unable to read it
Edit 2: didn't realize I used a D6 - I'll do another roll))

Rae's face crinkles a bit skeptically when John seems excited to have found an ancient sword and seeming victim of the tomb or hound (or who knows what other secrets lurking about this place...). The weapon hadn't done that poor soul any good, what's the point in thinking any differently for themselves?

"Nah, I donnae have anythin'. What kind o' offering d'yeh give water anyhow? I s'pose this poor fella must notta had the right thin', eh?" Rae attempts lightheartedness but shuffles a bit nervously on her feet. If they had more time, she'd probably suggest rerouting the streams and draining the pool - no water spirit could surely attack then... But there isn't much time if they're wanting to keep the hound away tonight, so she quickly banishes the thought and nods her approval for the wizard to proceed.