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"Dunno," replies Oleen. "I still say it's that ol' witch Ymae... been dealin' with those evil things long enough and now she's turned into one! It's gotta be! I'm surprised the Jarl hasn't strung her up yet. Prolly skerred of her! Coward!" He said heatedly, as if he wasn't just as much of one.

Jenks raised his brow to Vilod. "You ain't thinking of doin' something daft like goin' after it, are you?"

"Yeah, Vilod," Catkins says, suddenly worried over the elf. If there was one among the bunch that worried more about the other members than himself, it was Cat. "You best leave well 'nuff alone. We just gotta lay low, like Jenks says."

"Yes, yes I know. But imagine it! Think of the riches that thing has in its dwelling! A creature like that has to be something born of the Gods." excitement overwhelms me a bit, just imagining the gold and all the valuables it has... "Listen, if I were to get my hands on some of it, if it's there, we'd be set for life! We could get out of this dammed place. Have you not grown sick of sleeping with vermin? Oh, and the stories to be told of it. The Jarl might even pitch in on it!" maybe I was getting too excited, a bit over my head. Still, just the thought of it, it's sure to be any thief's dream to live like kings.

Well, that was not expected! Too fast to catch a spell, better fight it with the dagger.
He dashes towards the snake right after Rae's attack, hoping to gain an advantage by attacking it on the side, an ancient, dark dagger in hand.

((AdoniVae, roll a charisma check with your next post, which is a 20 sided die, to see if she's convincing any of them.))

"You really think so?" Cat asked. He'd never even considered before that such a beast might be hoarding treasure somewhere. But he was sure imagining it now. Heaps and heaps of gold coins and jewels that would just be there for the taking...

Oleen scratched his head, probably itchy where a flea had bitten him. "Eh.... I dunno, Vilod. That thing's tough, ya know? Remember Barrow?"

Barrow was the Jarl's most experienced hunter and falconer. He'd worked with two others: Iraco and Archer.

"It killed him," Oleen said matter of factly.

---

John's dagger finds the snake, plunging into it and it writhes madly, lunging at the first thing it sees...

Edit: And misses its mark, fangs closing on thin air

I get chills just thinking of them. "Yeah, everybody remembers them. All I am trying to say is, as foolish as it sounds, we could get rich." I pause for a moment. I did this kind of thing all of the time, stealing from kingdoms, even royal families. What makes this different is the fact that this creature might kill me by the first swing of its paw.

John striked again, this time aiming for the head, not waiting for the snake to prepare another attack.

Galiena raises her mace to take another crack at the thing, but John is quicker. The serpent, already bleeding heavily, is impaled upon the mage's dagger. It writhes in its death throes, sprinkling John, Xepil and Galiena with its blood, getting the most on John's robes as its back half curls up around his arm for a few moments before its wild thrashing ceases and it falls limp, its fanged mouth still gaped open.

"Anyone hurt?" the cleric asks once it seems the serpent really is dead.

---

Jenks shook his head at them all that they were even considering it. Worse, he might lose his entire crew to this thing. "Listen, not one of you is to go out looking for this thing. We're staying put! If that treasure pile is there, we'll go find it once the Jarl kills the thing!"

He turned and headed back up the stairs, the bag of treasure from Vilod grasped tightly in his hand.

Oleen and Catkins, however, were both still thinking about Vilod's words. It was hard to deny the appeal of the idea of that treasure. "But how?" Oleen the Imp asked, warming up to the idea. Cat might be able to knock some heads or swing a weapon if needed, but the stunted man was certainly no warrior.

"I don't know... But I am going to face that creature. Jenks doesn't own me, and my life is my own to boss around." I say lowly to the two. Of course, I wasn't giving a chance like this up. I might need to wait until everybody is asleep, slip out. "Maybe I should talk to the witch, Ymae. She of all people would know about this thing, I think." I raise my hood over my head, crossing my arms. "Unless, of course, you know someone else who knows the monster?" I ask them, looking around cautiously for anyone who would rat me out to Jenks. The man knows well, but I can still make my own decisions here and there.

"Aww come on! Grrr!" Xepil covered himself with his arms as snake blood sprayed everywhere but managed to get sprinkled with it anyway.

"I don't think so, grr.." He said as Galiena asked for any injuries. "Yer first kill, well done, mage, grrr.." Said the Hobgoblin offering a rare compliment to John.

He knelt beside the snake trying to see what kind of snake was it, magical or otherwise.

Oleen's mouth dropped open and he stared for a few moments at the elven girl before finally finding his voice. "You're just gonna go talk to her?! What if... what if she just casts some spell on you... puts you in a jar in her cellar... or calls up the hound..."

Cat rubbed his face in thought, glancing back and forth between Vilod and Oleen, but still holding the mental image of the treasure as motivation. "I'll go wit ya, Vilod. Iffin' the old hag's gonna kill ya, she'll have ta deal with me first..." he said seriously.

Oleen rocked back in his chair with an exasperated sigh. "Well if he's goin', I'm goin'."

---

The serpent is not quite like any Xepil has seen before that occur naturally in the wild. Its black scales have a purplish tint to them in the torchlight. Its head is disproportionally large for its body and the thing has not just fangs, but teeth as well! It also has the telltale elliptical shaped pupils that usually mark a snake as venomous.

Edit: venomous

"Gross, look at this thing, grrr.." Said Xepil as he poked the serpent with his knife. "That ain't no natural snake. It looks straight up conjured, grrr. Not to mention I've never heard of parasite snakes that live in ghouls' stomachs, grrr."

"Okay, who wants the first bite? Grrr." The Hob continued as he started cutting it up with the intent of eating it.

I laugh, "Have you ever talked to her? How do you know she will curse me?" I say, still very well believing she could. After hearing that they would join me, I smile warmly. "And I thank you two for that. But when will we leave? Now, or tonight?" I ask them. The adventages we'd have at night are slim since we aren't stealing anything. In day time, I doubt she'd try anything, but then again, I don't know.

After having checked on the other party members, he replies. "I'm alright, but my clothes are not."
"Not the first one, Hob. I've dealt with similar problems in the past, but never as close to them."
He looks in disgust as the Hob began cutting it, asking who wanted the first bite.
"Don't tell me you're serious. If that thing lived in a ghouls stomach, the hour after we've eaten it we'll be as good as dead."

Archer sighed and over-exaggeratedly rolls his eyes at the two.

"Fine. Stay if you wish." He states, before gazing upon the landscape before him. "I'd suggest we split up but heading into a place like this alone...I hate to say, but it makes me feel uneasy." He states, taking the dagger at his hip out of his sheath and running a finger along the edge of the blade gently.

"Have you any ideas?" He asks Iraco, turning to face the other.

Archer was feeling very uneasy, and although he was prepared to no matter what rush ahead at any given moment, he valued Iraco's input. This was serious business, and he wasn't about to rule out any possibilities.

((@John, yep, fixed it! ))

"Ugh... why would you eat it?!" Galiena can't keep the grossed-out look from her face. The snake blood and the ghoul guts were disgusting enough. The thought of putting any of it in her mouth... or watch the hobgoblin start munching on it, was enough to make her stomach churn a bit.

---

"Not at night!" declared Oleen immediately. The thought of going to talk to the witch was bad enough. Doing it at night was nearly unthinkable. "Ah, the Hound comes at night," he added, as if it were simply a matter of reasonable practicality.

"Yeah," agreed Cat. "Guess we could go now iffin' you want to, Vilod."

---

Iraco sent an equally annoyed glance at Drogo and Hadden as he chewed his lip a few moments, considering their options.

"There's three of 'em, right?" Iraco asked. Lloré did not correct him. "I dunno, Archer. Even ghosts aside, splitting up is recipe for trouble. They might not come peacefully."

He stared at the large stone across the shallow pool. "Think they'll come out if we open up the front door and yell?"

"I was obviously going to cook it first! Grrr!" Declared the Hobgoblin before rolling his eyes at Galiena. "Oh come on, you humans are just -so- squeamish, grrr. You wouldn't last a day in Hobgoblin military I tell ya, they had us eat freaking anything we killed, grrr. Saved supplies and such."

Xepil dangled up the snake and looked at the black, gooey blood trailing down the carcass, looking more like ink than blood at this point. "Hmm.. on second thought maybe we shouldn't, grrrr. I don't really have my cooking kit with me, grrr." Yes, that was the only reason why they shouldn't eat it apparently.

Archer scoffed.

"Come on, Iraco. You're smarter than that. They won't come out for anything...so we're going to have to go in. How do you propose we enter?" He questions, whilst trying to ease the tenseness out of his shoulders. He'd be no good in any sort of fight if his muscles were locked in.

Her head still poking out from the tunnel above the door, Rae chuckles at Xepil's suggestion and then change of mind. "I'd almost like ta see what happens t'ya if ya eat it! Leave it t'a hobgob t'call sumthin' a demon critter an' then wanna eat it..."

She rolls her eyes before turning her attention to the cleric and wizard.

"Well, guess that tells us where th'skins came from; wish we knew 'bout the rest though... Anyhow, th'tunnel takes a neat turn t'th' west, an' I'm thinkin' it might head north if we follah it far enough. Could take us inta whatever chamber lies b'hind that door..." She gestures to the large door opposite herself.

"Would one o' ya mind handin' me my hammer?"

"Hand it over. I'll stay here and guard the entrance until you're all in the tunnel."
He takes the hammer, muttering under his breath. "How can one even use this in combat when it weighs so much?"
"Oh, and if you're going in, take my dagger. I won't have much use for it hopefully, and it'll be easier to carry in the tunnel."

"They gotta come out eventually," Iraco said with a shrug. Of course, that could be days if they were really stubborn and Iraco wanted to have this all wrapped up well before dusk.

He eyed the heavy circular stone across the pool of water. "Looks like the entrance. You think you and I could budge that thing?"

---

"Let's hope you're right," Galiena said to John about not having much use for his dagger. She kneels down beside the remains of the human. "Though three sons of Hirot entered here..." she reminded him as she put a hand upon the gray skin of the thing's forehead, then bowed her head and muttered a prayer over him.