We pick up where we left off; Max has a rod attached to wires stuck in his void, and Balazar has just plucked the feather from Max's hat. Note that Cass's player was absent this session, so we assumed Cass spent this whole period in the castle's training grounds.
---------------------------
Elle wakes after a long comfortable night's rest. She groggily realizes the bed is empty other than her; Cass must be elsewhere. The gnome happily wrapps the bedsheets around herself and set off to find food.
Elsewhere, Fei also wakes, well rested despite spending half the night monitoring her summoned rats. She meditates in her room for awhile, preparing her mind and her magical spells for the day, before venturing forth.
---------------------------
The metal rod draws fully into Max's shoulder. Wires are the only thing still tethering the rod to reality. But Max stares in horror at Balazar instead, as the dragonborn calmly slices the feather from his hat in pieces.
"You're so mean!" Max complains, before turning to the closed door to the Wizard's room. The goblin begins pounding on the door, but there is no response. Opting for a different tact, Max tries to run away from the door, hoping to force the rod out of his shoulder. A high pitched whine sounds from inside the room, as of something being dragged across the floor, and then Max is pulled up short as a thunk it heard inside the room. Sadun walks up and begins pulling on the wire, but is unable to get a good grip.
Balazar walks back upstairs to the food hall and orders another plate of tacos. Elle, wrapped in a bedsheet, walks up to the counter beside him.
"Can I have some meat?" Elle asks.
"Cooked or raw?" the chef asks.
"Cooked please?" Elle says, confused. A large slab of meat on a plate is put before the gnome.
The pair set into their respective meals with relish.
In the basement, Talna walks over and opens the wizard's door. She sees a metal box slowly moving across the floor as Max tries to walk away. The wizard sits at a desk, his back to the door, ignoring all the noises and furiously scribbling notes in a book. Talna takes off her boot and throws it at the wizard. The boot collides solidly with the back of the man's head, knocking him out cold. With a silent curse, Talna casts Healing Word, but the wizard remains unconscious.
Max attempts to run into the room, but trips on the wires and falls to the floor. "Help me take these out?" Max pleads with Sadun. Sadun solidifies her grip, and as Max begins to move the other way pulls very hard on the wires. With a sudden pop, the wires and rod come out of Max's shoulder, sending the goblin tumbling. Sadun finds herself holding a mace with wires attached to it.
"Can I have that?" Talna asks. Sadun hands the mace over. Talna touches the mace to Max's existing arm, sending a shock through the poor goblin and exhausting the electrical charge in the mace before putting her boot back on.
Balazar and Elle hear Max's yelp of pain where they are eating. Elle wraps the sheet tighter around herself, picks up some of the meat, and starts heading downstairs, while Balazar ignores the noise in favor of eating more tacos.
---------------------
Fei walks to the main hall. Several guards standing at the main entrance and the entrance to the King's chambers are the only people she sees.
"Champion," one of the guards says, tapping his helmet in a casual salute upon seeing Fei.
"Where is everyone?" Fei asks.
The guard holds a hand to the side of his head as though communicating telepathically. "Your friends are in the mead hall," he announces after a moment.
Fei wanders off in that direction.
------------------------
"Give me a mountain of tacos and your biggest pitcher of booze," Balazar orders.
The chef looks at him doubtfully. "Alright, but we are running low. You drank half our stocks last night..."
"I don't need to hear this, give me booze," Balazar declares.
The chef piles a mound of taco filling on top of a tiny taco shell on Balazar's platter and fills another mug. "Ok, there you go sir."
"I thought I said mountain of tacos, not one giant taco," Balazar complains.
"You should be more specific sir," the chef replies.
"Well I'm saying now, mountain of tacos, now!"
"It will be awhile to prepare, please enjoy the taco you already have in the meantime."
"Alright, what else do you have?"
"We have another leg of meat like the little one was eating," the chef says.
"Alright, I'll take it!" Balazar says. Meat in one hand, booze in the other, the dragonborn follows after Elle.
---------------------
In the basement, Max stands up, recovering from the many shocks of the morning. As Talna puts her boot on, he walks over and looks at the bottles of potions on the unconscious wizards desk. After a moment of thought, the goblin grabs all four bottles of differing colors and puts them in his pouch. Then Max takes the wizard's notes, kicks the unconscious man in the shin, and walks away. The notes turn out to be written in a language Max is unfamiliar with.
"Can you even read those notes?" Sadun asks Max, coming into the room and seeing him flip through the pages of the notebook.
"Well, can you help?" Max asks.
Sadun takes the book. "It's not a language I'm familiar with, but we could ask the rest of the party. Talna is a scholarly type, she may be able to help."
"I was hoping not to have to ask her, she doesn't share things with me."
"You're looking for a solution to your arm, yes? If it helps you get that back, so you will stop annoying her so much, she may be willing to help."
"Alright," Max says reluctantly, handing the notebook to Talna.
"This isn't hard to read, it's under common," Talna says.
Opening to the most recent entry, Talna reads 'Man came here today, has hole in arm, shoved mace in arm, need more notes.'
"It says he needs more notes on your hole," Talna says aloud, flipping back through the rest of the notes. They mostly seem to be notes on experimental health potions, including the four potions Max picked up. The notes on those four read 'Too scared, need guinea pig.' "Max, I think those potions will be really helpful for you," Talna says, convincingly. "Apparently he's trying to create a new healing potion." She puts the notebook back on the table.
The wizard begins to stir, and Talna and Max leave the room. Sadun walks over and writes a note in the notebook in draconic which reads 'it is very rude to shove rods in people's holes without consent. We have taken your potions in recompense. Next time, ask first.'
Elle meets Talna and Max on the stairway. She moves to shove Max down the stairs, but the goblin ducks out of the way and trips Elle instead. The gnome falls down the stairs and gets tangles in the sheet she is sill wrapped in. Her meat lands out of Elle's reach.
"Sadun, Elle fell down the stairs!" Talna calls out with a sigh.
Sadun emerges from the room and untangles Elle from her bedsheet. Elle immediately wraps the sheet around her again, and picks up her meat.
------------------------
Fei walks into the mead hall. The hall is mostly empty, but even if it weren't the eye would be drawn immediately to the large pile of taco filling on a plate near the kitchen door. The chef, staring at the abandoned plate, sees Fei walk in and shakes his head sadly. At her questioning look, the chef simply points down the stairs where Balazar and the rest had gone.
"Thank you," Fei says quietly, and heads in that direction.
-----------------------
Elle attempts to sneak up on Max on the stairs, but trips again on her bedsheet. She rolls back down the stairs, once more tangles up.
"Sadun!" Elle cries out.
At the top of the stairs Balazar watches the spectacle with evident enjoyment. Talna stands next to him, watching the debacle with an exasperated sigh. Fei emerges behind her.
"Good morning everyone," Fei says.
"Good morning," Talna says.
"It's been busy?" Fei asks.
"Someone help!" Elle cries out. With a sigh, Sadun carries the tangled form of the gnome to the top of the stairs, with the meat in her other hand.
"When I said we were all going to die I wasn't joking," Fei observes.
"I'm not dead yet!" Elle calls out.
"Yet," Fei says.
Talna turns to Max, and pushes him down the stairs. Sadun catches him on her way up with one foot, as her arms are occupied. "Can we move on from this staircase please?" Sadun asks plaintively, as Elle struggles to kick Max from her bedsheet cocoon.
"Welcome to the group Fei," Talna says, satisfied.
"Actually, regarding moving on, when are we going to... continue our journey?" Fei asks.
"Once we get her out of those bedsheets," Talna says.
Balazar puts his meat down and draws his short sword. "I can do that!"
"Does anyone know what this is?" Fei asks, ignoring Balazar and holding up the broken pocket watch she had received from the king.
"I actually have seen that in one of the books I read when I was in training." Talna says, "there was a blueprint for a magical device but I didn't know anyone had ever made it. That watch absorbs magical energy regularly, and you can draw that energy into you. But if you don't use that energy within an hour, your arm explodes. And if the number there ever reaches 20, you lose your arm no matter what. It looks like it's on the 10, so you would have 9 safe uses."
"Can the goblin lose magic? Is that how he lost his arm?" Fei asks.
"He lost his arm gambling," Talna explains. "With a god."
"Two wishes," Max mumbles.
"Ah, champions, I've been looking for you!" says a guard, approaching the group. "The king would like to speak with you once more before you set off on your next daring adventure!"
"Last time we talked to him he gave me this," Max says, holding up the blackened ring.
"What did you do to your ring! The wizard worked very hard to make those!" the guard exclaims.
"Your wizard is terrible," Max says coldly.
"What do you mean he is terrible? Wizard!" the guard calls out, descending the stairs. "Wizden, Wizden!" presumably the wizards name, then the group hears the door open and the guard say "dear lord, what happened!"
"He was working so hard he fell asleep!" Max calls down the stairs.
"Again?" the guard says, shaking Wizden awake. "Did you work yourself asleep again?"
"Did I?" comes Wizden's voice. "I just know there was a man with a hole in his arm... my notes!" Wizden glances at his notes and sees Sadun's note. "Guard, can you read this?" he asks.
"I told you he was terrible!" Max shouts.
"Oh yes, that's draconic, I took that when I was training," the guard says, looking at the note. "Champions! Did you lie to me?" the guard says in a hurt voice, ascending the stairs again.
"No," comes a chorus from Elle, Talna and Max in response.
"I didn't tell you anything to begin with," Balazar points out.
"Lie about what?" Fei asks.
"What are we lying about?" Talna asks.
"You said he overworked, this note specifically says that you apologize for stealing his potions!" the guard says.
"You wrote that?" Max asks Sadun.
"No, I said we took the potions as recompense for him assaulting my friend," Sadun explains.
"Oh, that," Max says.
"Why don't we just have them fight it out?" Fei suggests.
"That's not how we do things around here," the guard says, appalled. "We must have, A TRIAL!"
"Is it by fire?" Balazar asks.
"After it is by fire, but first it is a TRIAL!"
"Why not just do the trial by fire first and be done with it?" Balazar says.
"Sorry sir, I'm going to have to put these on you," the guard says to Max, holding up a set of shackles.
Max squirms away from the shackles. "This is not how we treat champions!" he protests.
"But we have proof," the guard says, holding up Sadun's note. He notices Elle squirming in Sadun's grasp attempting to steal the note from him. "What do you have there?" he asks.
"Uh, I am baby?" Elle says.
"You stole a baby?" the guard asks in astonishment.
"No, this is Elle, the gnome," Sadun explains patiently.
"Oh, I see. Well come here goblin, we need to shackle you for the trial," the guard says. Max ducks away again. "Don't make this worse, you may be a champion but you are not above the law!"
"I stole nothing!" Max protests.
"Ok, then let me search your bags!"
"No, these are my personal affairs."
"If you say you did not steal them then let me search your bags and I should find nothing."
"You could just trust me."
"You already lied to me once sir."
"I didn't lie, that paper could have been written by anybody!" Max says.
"That's actually very true, do any of you know who wrote this note?" the guard asks.
"How much are the missing potions worth?" Sadun asks.
"They're priceless, never before tested miracles of nature according to what the wizzard tells us," the guard says.
"Wizard, wake up," Sadun says. "How much were those potions worth?"
"Well, I used a potion of healing in all of them, and the other potions, probably about a thousand gold for the whole thing!" Wizden explains.
"The champions should be able to get whatever they want though, right?" Elle asks. As she does so, Max stealthily drinks the purple potion. He instantly turns to stone. Elle wriggles free of the blanket and drops to the floor. She begins walking towards the petrified goblin.
"You know if you push him over it will kill him, right?" Talna asks Elle.
"Goblin!" Elle protests.
"Are you trying to kill one of the champions?" the guard asks, horrified.
"No," Elle says.
"She is a champion," Talna points out.
The guard waves his hands, casting a spell, and shouts "Guards! Guards! We have an attempted murder here!"
"I haven't done anything!" Elle protests.
"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding," Talna says.
"Is it? Were you attempting to push this statue over?" the guard asks.
"Of course not," Elle lies. The guard does not believe her at all, picking up Max and putting him in the corner and surrounding the statue with boxes.
"I think we should leave," Talna whispers to Sadun.
Elle slips up the stairs and begins running away.
"Why are the guards meddling in the affairs of the champions anyway?" Fei asks, "They failed you so many times yet you keep relying on them."
"Well, they are all we have left, we cannot take on the beholders ourselves. But if one champion tries to kill another champion, the murderer must have defected to the beholders!" The guard says.
"Or she could be trying to kill the traitor?" Fei suggests.
"What has he done?" the guard asks
"Lots of things," Talna says wearily. "He practically set the beholders on us already."
"I don't believe that," the guard says incredulously.
"Are you being racist against me?" Talna demands. "Because my skin is different?"
"What are you talking about? Tieflings are the biggest enemy of beholders!"
"I am not a Tiefling! How dare you!" Talna shouts.
"You're not?" the guard asks.
"Obviously she's an elf with a skin defect," Fei observes.
"Skin defect?!?!" Talna spins to face Fei. She turns back to the guard. "I am a drow, sir, a proud underground race!"
"I have not seen a drow before, I'm sorry."
"That does not give you any excuse to be ignorant!"
------------------------
Elle turns a corner and bumps into a group of five guards.
"Champion! I am sorry, you must come with us!" one guard says.
"I'm not the one you're looking for!" Elle says. "She's over there!"
"I'm sorry but they said to bring all the champions to the king," the guard replies.
"I need to go to the bathroom!" Elle shouts, running back to the mead hall.
-------------------------
Balazar sits at a table an watches the show. He is enjoying watching Talna shout at someone else for a change.
"This is culturally insensitive!" Talna says.
"Culturally insensitive!" Elle shouts, running past and back down the stairs towards the wizard's room.
"Tieflings are different than drow." Talna continues.
"I need a refill," Balazar says. The chef hands him a refill, also engrossed in the entertainment.
"Tieflings are well known for their colored skins, for their horns, for their solid colored eyes, their tails. Do I have any of those?" Talna asks.
Five guards pass by the group, running after Elle.
"I, I'm sorry," guard Talna is interrogating stammers. "I'm new to this job, I just got hired,"
"Where is your captain?" Talna demands. "I want to speak with your superior!"
"If I might offer a solution," Sadun interrupts finally. "Our party dynamics are... a little contentious sometimes, but we all ultimately have the same goal. As for the potions, obviously they are untested because you do not have a test subject, correct?" She turns to Wizden. "Might I suggest," Sadun points to the statue that is Max, "that we have a test subject here? Obviously he is willing to test your potions. I will take notes on their effects, and send those notes back to you."
"I approve!" Wizden says.
The guard, still slumped over from Talna chewing him out, looks up. "That sounds reasonable," he says. "If this is true, we shall have our few paladins come in and use their Zone of Truth magic to ascertain the truth of what you say, and clear this up right away."
"I'm ok with this," Sadun says.
------------------
Downstairs, Elle casts Disguise Self, changing her appearance such that her clothing, hair and eyes are opposite colors as they normally are. She walks back upstairs. Everyone looks at her as she does, from where they await the paladins.
"Who's that?" one of the guards asks.
"Call me Giselle," Elle says.
"Are you joking? You're the only one who went down there," the bartender says.
"No, the other gnome is still down there," Elle says.
"I've been here all night and all morning because of this man," the bartender says, pointing at Balazar. "I've seen everyone who comes up and down those stairs."
"Can I have rotten food?" Balazar asks.
"Sure, why do you need this?" the bartender asks, handing over a plate of rotten food.
Balazar just walks over to the statue of Max and hurls the rotten food, plate and all, into the void at the shoulder, which still swirls at the end of the stone.
Nothing exciting happens for the next hour, and finally two paladins in rather shabby armor come down the stairs.
"Are these the champions?" one paladin asks. At a confirmation from the guards the paladins begin casting Zone of Truth.
"Is it true that this man," one paladin asks, pointing to Max, "is..."
"He's not a man!" Talna objects. "Have you never seen a goblin before? Do I need to educate you as well!?" She explains the difference between humans and goblins for the next half hour.
"Enough, dd this man summon beholders purposefully?" One guard asks.
"No," Talna admits.
"Then why did this man," the guard points to the first guard, who is deliberately not looking at Talna, "say that you said he tried summoning beholders?"
"I said he set beholders on us, not that he summoned them."
"Did he set beholders on you?"
"No."
"Then why did you lie?"
"I didn't lie. I said he tried to."
The guard turns away. "You never said anything so you are free to go," he says to Balazar. Then looks at Elle. "Did you try to kill this man?" he points again to Max.
"Of course not," Elle says smiling. The paladins look at each other but shrug.
"Ok, looks like you were telling the truth. You," the guard turns to Sadun, "you seem to be the neutral one of this party, what happened here?"
"As far as I understand it," Sadun begins, "the statue over here knocked on the wizard's door, the wizard shoved some electrical rod into him without asking first..."
The guard turns to Wizden. "Again? We told you you can't hit maces to people!"
"I feel like you should be talking to your wizard about," Talna begins, but the guard cuts her off.
"We're not talking to you anymore. We don't have time for another of your lectures," he says curtly.
"As I planned," Talna mutters to herself.
"Continue please," the guard says to Sadun.
"The wizard then left our friend with the rod in his arm, I had to help him get the rod out, it was some kind of weird mace with wires on it. We opened the door, to ask what was going on, the wizard ignored us, we accidentally knocked him out with a boot trying to get his attention, Max took the potions, I figured that was recompense for nonconsensual assault, and I left a note explaining that."
"Why did you write the note in draconic?" the guard asks.
"Doesn't everybody read draconic?" Sadun asks, puzzled.
"I do!" the first guard pipes up.
"I thought all civilized people know draconic," Sadun says. "I thought wizards knew about draconic, a lot of ancient spell books are written in the language, I know that much."
"This is true," the guard admits. "Wizard, do you know draconic?"
"No, I said before I'm not the wizard," Wizden says. "I'm an alchemist."
"I think the story turns out straight then," the guard concludes. "There was no murder, just a big misunderstanding."
"That's true!" Elle says.
As the paladins leave, a plate smacks Talna in the back of her head. Turning around, she sees that she was next to Max's void. A couple seconds later, a piece of meat smacks her in the face. Expelled from the same location.
"Can we go now?" Fei asks.
"Yes, meet us in the throne room. We will take this statue there as well," the guard replies.
"This seems like a good plan," Sadun says. "Let us get this over with so we may leave your fair city in peace."
-----------------------
The group gathers in the stone room. Max's form is slowly returning to normal as the petrification wears off, but he remains motionless, pretending to still be a statue. The rest of the party glances at him, but otherwise ignores his antics.
"You are sort of troublemakers, aren't you?" the king says to the group, ascending to his throne and sitting down.
"Who else would attempt to usurp the power of the beholders?" Sadun asks.
"True, true," the king concedes.
"And your wizard is not very good," Sadun notes.
"Well, he's the only wizard we have, so we do what we can." The king changes topic. "I wanted to ask what you plan to do next. Where are you heading after this?"
"We are heading to a wizard a few towns over," Sadun says.
"You wouldn't mean the one to the west, would you?" the king inquires.
"I presume that is our destination," Sadun says.
"I recommend you do not go to the wizard then," the king says. "From reports of all champions who have been there, the wizard is not friendly to champions. He will not let you near his castle or even inside the town. Take my word, it is best to save your trip. Besides," the king pulls out a map. "I will give you this. Our scouts recently discovered the location of one of the beholders!" One of the king's servants scurries forward and takes the map, bringing it to the adventurers. Elle grabs the map and examines it. "I advise you to not waste your time with the wizard when we finally have the location of one of the beholders!" the king exhorts. "And because we believe in you and want to help you in your cause," the king claps his hands again, and servants hand each party member a pouch with five gold coins in it. "A gift to help you out even further."
"Five gold?" Elle mutters in disbelief. "That's all?"
"We thank you for your advice and for your gifts," Sadun says more loudly.
"I thank you for being our champions. Perhaps this time, you will prevail where others have failed," the king concludes.
The party exits the throne room. Max, whose bottom half is still petrified, is placed on a wheeled cart. Elle grabs the rope and begins pulling him along after her. As soon as the group leaves the throne room, Elle hops on the cart and begins skateboarding next to the helpless goblin.
"I want to go home!" Max cries.
"Aren't you enjoying yourself Max?" Elle asks maliciously.
"I suggest we leave the city," Sadun says.
"And never come back," Talna adds.
"We should leave a note for Cassian and Balazar," Sadun says, noting that Balazar has disappeared and Cassian is also missing. "Letting them know where we are heading."
"Can Balazar read?" Talna wonders.
"I'll leave a note for Cassian to find Balazar and bring him to us," Sadun corrects herself.
"Can Cass read?" Talna ponders aloud.
"I will leave a note with the kitchen cook and three guards to find Balazar and Cassian and send them after us," Sadun says with finality.
Max's legs finally return to normal except for his shoes. He walks after the group with a constant thunking noise.
"Take another potion," Talna suggests, as they walk through town.
"Wait, I need to get pen and parchment from the general store," Sadun says, ducking into the store as they pass and quickly emerging with her supplies. The call of "champions get the best," follows her out.
Max pulls out the green potion and swigs it, trusting Talna for some reason.
Sadun watches closely, writing notes on the effects as Max seems to swell with health, but then a vein begins throbbing an unnatural green color on his neck, and he coughs up a little blood. 'Potion has granted extra endurance, but also seems to have poisoned the user,' Sadun writes.
"I appreciate your willingness to help the wizard with his experiments," Sadun says to Max. "How do you feel?"
"Great but bad," Max replies.
"Interesting," Sadun says.
Fei walks up to Max, and as feathers blow in a swirl around her she puts a small cut on Max's neck and the poison drains from his system. Then Fei throws some of her ash for her facial markings in Max's face. She is learning bad lessons from the rest of the party.
"It has been a whole day since he tried to create beholders in his arm," Sadun observes as the group leaves the city. "Maybe we should stop tormenting him?"
"Should we though?" Talna asks.
"What if we put living creatures in his arm?" Fei asks innocently.
"Maybe we should definitely not do anything like this until we are well away from the city," Sadun suggests.
The party successfully leaves the town.
-------------------------
"So the king's advice was to skip the wizard and go straight to the beholder," Sadun says as the group walks along the road towards the next town. "Fei, you have more experience here than the rest of us, what is your opinion?"
"I don't like wizards," Fei says simply.
"Do you think we should go after the beholder then?" Sadun asks.
"At least we would finally be doing something productive," Fei says.
"Fair point," Sadun admits, glancing at the rest of the group. "Any other opinions?"
"I'm a little curious about the wizard," Talna says. "It would be good to give Cassian and Balazar time to catch up as well so we can face the beholder at our full strength."
"Also a good point," Sadun says.
"Technically we won't be at full power until I get my arm back," Max grumbles.
"You shouldn't have lost that gamble," Fei says.
"There was a second town still between us and the wizard, right?" Sadun asks, ignoring them.
"Yes, according to the map the second town is about the same distance that we came from the first town," Elle says. "The beholder is quite a ways to the northwest from here."
"We could make a stop at the wizard on the way to the beholder," Talna suggests.
"Or at least gather more information at the next town before we make a full decision. That would give Cassian and Balazar time to catch up as well," Sadun says.
Fei attempts to press a stick across the void to see if it would stay pressed against Max's shoulder through suction from the void, but it does not work.
"Fei, I think you want to put it in the other way," Elle says. Fei turns and slaps Elle with the stick.
"Ow, what the hells?" Elle exclaims. "That is not acceptable!"
"Everyone seems to hit the goblin, and the red dragonborn" Fei says, "I thought this was acceptable among your people."
"The amount of casual violence in our group has certainly gotten confusing," Sadun admits.
The group proceeds along the road without resolving this issue. Sadun walks out front, ignoring the continued antics of the party members shoving various sticks and arrows and magic stones into Max's void, and Max throwing ball bearings in retaliation.
Finally, Max threatens to drink the blue potion. "Go for it," Elle says. Sadun finally turns around, prepared to take notes. Max drinks the potion. The potion tastes of blueberries, but burns his throat as it goes down like a very strong drink. And then Max stops hearing any sound.
"What does it taste like?" Elle asks. Max looks blankly at the gnome, unable to read lips.
"Hello?" Max says.
"So Sadun, I feel like today is going to be a great day," Talna says.
"I think I'm deaf!" Max shouts.
"A great day," Talna says again.
"I feel like the gods included Maximiliano in our group as a lesson in patience and risk taking," Sadun says off-handedly. "I feel it is a lesson we are not learning."
Elle fires an arrow at Maximiliano's void while he is deaf, and suddenly everything freezes in time except for Max, and the god of gambling appears in front of him.
"Wow, they really don't like you do they?" the god says to Max.
"Yeah, I don't know why," Max replies.
"Everything you've done has been great! You take every risk, every chance you can take!"
"Right? Wait, I can hear again!"
"We are supposed to be sending champions, but I worry you will be unable to fulfill the role at this rate, so I will sneak you something," the god says.
"Is it my arm?" Max asks. As he says this, the god turns, and Max sees his arm attached to the god's arm like a third, much smaller arm.
"No, your arm is preoccupied." The god hands Max two six sided dice. "Give them a roll if you feel like it or you feel risky."
Max immediately rolls the dice. His remaining arm glows with green energy.
"Ah, you got a damage roll! Why don't you go hit the one with the bow and arrow about to shoot you?" the god suggests.
Max walks over to Elle and slaps Elle, though nothing appears to happen.
"That's my boy," the god says. "You can only use these twice a day, so enjoy them when you can."
Max rolls the dice again. Once again his arm glows, and he hits Talna this time with a backhanded swing.
"I hope your rolls are high," the god says, and then disappears. Time resumes its course, Max back in the position he was in. His index finger cracks backward with a pop, unusable.
Elle and Talna each rock backward and exclaim in pain as the time-lapsed blows land from nowhere. Elle's aim is thrown off and her arrow flies off into the forest.
"What in the hells!" Elle exclaims. "Sadun, my face hurts!"
"Uh, should we set up camp for the night? I feel like our party may be coming apart at the seams, so we should rest for the night..." Sadun says, as Talna rubs her chin.
Fei pulls Max's index finger back into place with a pop, and as she does, Max's pinky snaps back in the same fashion.
"Does anybody else feel like they got hit?" Elle asks.
"No," Fei and Sadun respond.
"My hand hurts," Max says.
"My face hurts, it is odd that Max's hand hurts at the same time," Talna says.
Sadun begins setting camp. Setting aside the issue of injured faces and egos, Elle scrounges for food in the surrounding brush. Max's finger slowly returns to its normal position.
"I don't know, but I think this has something to do with that blue potion," Max tells Sadun.
"Ok," Sadun says, writing a note.
In the woods, Elle spies a rabbit. She is about to shoot it when a shape swoops out of the sky and grabs it from in front of her. "Gods damn it all!" she curses. All she caught was feathers. "I guess there are some opportunistic birds around here," she says, looking for more rabbits. Spying another rabbit, she quickly fires, killing the rabbit. Something nearby crashes into the trees, but Elle is unable to see what it is, but sees a large and gaping hole in the foliage. The rest of her hunting is uneventful, and she returns with several brace of rabbits.
Back at the camp, Talna skins the rabbits Elle hunted, and the group prepares a delicious stew along with some herbs Talna was able to scrounge.
After dinner Sadun stands up. "I'll take the first watch," she volunteers.
"I can go second," Max says.
"I'll take third shift, and I'll be awake for the second half of the second shift," Talna says.
Fei casts Darkvision on Sadun to assist in the watch.
As the group settles in, Elle sits down next to Sadun. "Do you have a family back home?" the gnome asks, a hint of homesickness in her voice.
"I have not seen them in years," Sadun says. "I set out from my family about 5 years ago. I have been traveling since then. But my mother and father were well when I left."
"Why did you leave?" Elle asks.
"I felt I was destined for greater things than a simple hunter for my people. I wanted to experience the world, and find my true calling."
"You are destined for great things," Elle says kindly, hugging the dragonborn. "How old are you?" the gnome asks, as an after thought.
"I have seen twenty-one summers," Sadun says.
"You're younger than me!" Elle gasps. "I'm a big sister again! Yay! But you're more like a big sister to me, so you're like the big sister I never had. I have a lot of older brothers. They are terrifying."
Elle falls asleep near Sadun shortly thereafter.
Max drinks wine until he falls asleep.
Fei sits up in the trees, looking at the moon, and realizes the waxing moon is nearly full. Her amulets begin to glow, and she realizes the time for a Druid Circle meeting is at hand. A magical notice of the location flashes across the amulet.
Sadun sits with her back to the fire, looking into the night, alert for any troubles. She notices a dark shape in the sky circling around the camp, but keeping its distance. Sadun keeps her eye on it, in case it comes closer.
As her shift comes to an end, she shakes Max awake. "Something was circling us in the air," Sadun says to the groggy goblin. "Please keep an eye on it."
"I understand," Max mumbles.
Sadun looks at the goblin. "Against my better judgment, I'm going to get some sleep."
After Sadun falls asleep, Max sits staring out in the night. He sees the shape return, circling the group. He notices that two more shapes have joined the first, and looking closer determines the shapes to be griffins. Max continues to watch them. One of the shapes disappears into the tree line. Max takes a drink of wine. He hears sounds from in front of him, and also behind him. The sounds seem to be circling the camp. Max keeps waiting, curious to see what might happen.
Talna emerges from her nightly meditation to see Max staring at something, drinking wine. "What are you looking for? Why are you drinking?" she asks.
"I don't know," Max says. At that very moment a large flying animal comes screeching from the sky, talons out, and just misses Sadun. The animal crashes into the ground next to the dragonborn, knocking Sadun and Elle flying from the impact. The animal lands next to Sadun and Elle.
"We're being attacked," Max laughs.
Talna reacts with a quick chill touch, and the skeletal hand claws at the crashed griffin. The griffin squawks in surprise. Elle stands up, pulling her magic dagger and slicing her arm before plunging the dagger into the wounded griffin. Sadun stands up as well, grabbing her sword from where it fell next to her and swinging at the threat. The Briarblade bite into the griffins side.
Fei looks down at the commotion, jogged from her sleep in the tree. She looks up to the moon, and her eyes turn white, and a beam of moonlight descends upon the griffin on the ground. The beam sears into the griffin, burning feathers in its radiant energy. Fei follows up by hurling a magic stone into the griffin's head. The griffin falls over dead at that last.
Above them, Max sees the other griffins fly away, and hears the sound of something in the trees fleeing the scene as well. Max takes a drink of wine. "Back on watch," he says.
"Ok, everyone back to sleep," Talna says, "I'm on watch now."
Elle grabs some griffin feathers. She ties a feather in her hair, and hands the rest to Max, who sticks one in his hat. As he goes to sleep, Max drinks the red potion. Talna watches him do this while the others fall asleep. The potion seems to heal some of Max's wounds, and then he falls entirely unconscious.
The rest of the night passes peacefully.
TO BE CONTINUED
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