Session 18: Cost of Living (part two)

Game Date: 11/18/07
In Game Dates: Novander 29th, late – Nov. 31st p.m.

That night, Nialia snaps out of her trance to find Quirky gone. She hears what sounds like an explosion and a flash of red light off to the east. She slips into her wolf form and pads silent as fog towards the noise. She hears an inhuman screech, and then all is silent.
She arrives in another small clearing some fifth of a mile east of their camp to see a strange sight. She watches Quirky deliver a death-blow to a staggering elf. Another corpse lies at the feet of a hulking, winged figure. The winged figure and Quirky converse for a moment in a tongue Nialia does not know, but soon the winged creature spies Nialia and gives a cry of alarm. Quirky spins, and after identifying the wolf as Nialia, dismisses the flying creature before Nialia can get a decent look at it. Quirky staggers over, beaten and badly burned. Nialia heals the gnome, who tells her that these bandits lured him away from the camp then attacked. He fears that more might be watching the campsite, waiting for signs of them stirring. They creep back to find a would-be sniper sitting in a tree, watching the sleeping party. Nialia ruins his day with a few well-placed lightning bolts. Rowan and Badger awake quickly enough to finish off the elf before he can recover from his fall out of the tree he was in. In the firelight, the elf is revealed as one of the Dinear Drubdha, “They who dwell apart from the sun,” or more commonly known as Drow. Quirky apologizes for falling for such a stupid trick of these “bandits” and then passes out from the wounds he’s sustained.
The next day of travel is a test of wills for the exhausted party. They finally pay a nearby farmer a few silver pieces to sack out in his warm, cozy barn instead of sleeping under the rain-laden sky again.
Better-rested, the party awakes and travels the rest of the way back to Miel, arriving just after mid-day. They rush to the temple, only to find that Rascal had left two days before and hasn’t been seen by the clergy since. Everyone’s groans of dismay are interrupted by a cough from behind them. Zalaina stands there, and upon hearing that the party retrieved the item, informs them that the bounty hunters caught Rascal trying to escape the city, and have sequestered him under their careful (but not gentle) supervision. She agrees to a hand-off during the dinner hours in the common room at Morwen’s.
Quirky heads off after Zalania leaves, and Nialia follows the cleric. Remarking upon Badgers growing affection for Quirky, Nialia bids him to take the same advice he gave to her a few days ago if he really cares for her. Quirky snaps at her, asking if she doesn’t think he’d lay down his life for her, or do anything else for her to keep her from harm? That’s not what I meant, speaks the Druid. Quirky tells her that he knows he doesn’t deserve Badger, and Nialia asks him about the evil spell he cast, and what deity he really serves, since no real cleric of Pelor could cast such a spell. Quirky does not say, only swears that he serves no evil deity, nor will do anything to betray the party if he can help it. Niaila presses him further, asking what deity would tolerate Quirky pretending to worship another. Finally Quirky admits to not being a cleric at all, but a practitioner of a strange form of divine magic that he can shape to do a variety of things with. Quirky reiterates his commitment to Badger and the rest of the party. He also asks that Nialia keep quiet about the creature she saw in the clearing. Nialia decides to trust the gnome. Finally, Quirky asks Nialia if she can smell what direction Zalania went. Nialia sniffs, points a finger, and the gnome strides off into the city.
While this happens, Badger heads into the temple, seeking Father Tilok. Tilok is glad to see the young gnome, and asks her what he can help her with. Her face beet-red, Badger stammers that she’s developed feelings for Quirky, and wonders if there are any… limitations imposed by Pelor on his followers against, well, um...
With a neutral face a poker player would kill for, Father Tilok assures her that Pelor’s greatest command is for his followers to love, and love truly. He says nothing forbids the priests or clerics or paladins of Pelor from romantic relationships. Badger, relieved and still embarrassed, but feeling more at ease, thanks Father Tilok and heads for Potter’s smithy.
Meanwhile, Grumble and Rowan are already at the blacksmith’s shop, selling some of the treasure they found and getting minor repairs on Grumble’s armor. Potter is overjoyed to see Rowan again, and the adventurers quickly leave to give Rowan and Potter some privacy.
After a few other errands, the party gathers together at Morwen’s, waiting. Waiting. Picking at food. Drinking. Waiting.
After what seems like months, the bounty hunters arrive, Rascal in tow, who looks haggard, but cautiously optimistic to see the party waiting. After Zalania carefully inspects the jewel both by normal and magical means, the massive gem is traded for the gnome without incident. Zalania states that they have no more professional interest in either the party or Rascal now that they have the jewel. As the bounty hunters leave, Zalania adds an aside to Badger that she would have been better off if Zalania had killed Rascal, and not to let leeches like him take advantage of her good heart. With that uncharacteristic bit of personal advice, the Bounty hunter fades into the deepening twilight and is gone.
Rascal, realizing he’s been saved, sobs with relief and throws his arms around Badger. In a quiet voice, Quirky asks Grumble to split Rascal in half with his axe if he so much as touches her again. The party looks confused and a bit alarmed as they see Quirky truly angry for the first time. Quirky tells the party he always wondered how Baron von Hawkmoor found Grumble and Badger so quickly after leaving Blackreach on that caravan. Then there was the matter of the drow, who, Quirky confesses, he knew not to be bandits but the second group of assassins (which fits, since the party found enough poison on the corpses to drop a herd of elephants in their tracks) sent from von Hawkmoor to kill Badger and Grumble. They had to have had been given information as to where the party was headed to be waiting in ambush like they were, and nobody knew that but the party members themselves…. and the one gnome who told the party where to go. Quirky tells the party that he tracked Zalania after their meeting at the temple steps back to her rented room. There he was allowed to ask Rascal questions, which confirmed his suspicions: Rascal had sold Badger out not once, but twice. Apparently Rascal promised the drow that he would lead them to Badger and Grumble if the drow could help him escape the bounty hunters. The drow had demanded information first, and help afterwards. Rascal, figuring that if the drow succeeded or if the party returned successful, he’d be saved either way, had agreed.
Badger explodes, her world going red as she begins throttling Rascal, tears streaming down her face, screaming at him “How could you!? How could you do that to me?! How could you put me and my whole family at risk like that?!” Quirky stops Badger before she can kill him, and to the rest of the party’s amazement, tosses a large bag of gold onto the table in front of the traitor. “There’s two thousand gold in there,” says Quirky in a voice devoid of all emotion. “It’s yours. Use it to start a new, honest living somewhere. Just get out of our sight, because if any of us see you again, it will mean your life.”
Rascal stares, incredulous for a moment, then clutches the bag to himself and slinks away, out of Morwen’s, out of the party’s lives. Badger, still shaking with sobs, stumbles upstairs to her room.
After a few moments of silence, Quirky surveys the group.
“Give her some time,” says Rowan, “she’ll be all right.”
Nialia regards the gnome cleric. “That was incredibly generous of you, Quirky.”
Quirky stares at the door both the bounty hunters and Rascal had so recently left through. “I wanted to kill him,” he whispers. “But I had to do this. I have to believe a traitor should have a chance to redeem himself somehow…”
Grumble sighs deeply. “You did the right thing, Quirky.”
“So,” says Quirky, a brittle smile on his lips, “who wants to get drunk?”