Outside Baragon

----> Tharg is occupying himself with his new primate playmate. The macaque's gray fur makes it look like a tiny old man. Tharg is making low, grunting noises and the macaque appears content picking through the barbarian's long hair.

----> Meggana and Alasdair have moved off to further investigate the mysterious hole.

----> The others begin hashing out their decisions.
----> "Bad-bones down there. Monkeys say bad place," Conner says, refusing to enter the temple.
----> Tharg, standing behind him and feeding the macaque some fruit, is oblivious to the conversation. He giggles when the simian takes the fruit from his hand. They seem to be engaged in some sort of primate communication.
----> "I want to enter Baragon, but not while we are so poorly equipped," Alliandra agrees.
----> "My opinion is that we go ahead and go with Tilwic," Cyrdan pipes up, holding his chin in his hand. "Should we leave and then come back, they might not be anywhere around. Besides, with this accumulation of people, we're more of a force to be reckoned with," he argues.
----> "Sheer numbers won't save us from the undead," she replies heatedly. "Even Taer Tilwic must agree with me." She looks to the Blackrobe for a reaction.
----> He stares off at the temple, apparently lost in thought.

----> Continuing to play with the monkey, Tharg laughs and giggles like a child. Turning to the entrance to the temple, a sour look crosses his face. "Tharg go. Safe keep you all."
----> Conner approaches his brethren, a fearful look on his face. "Bad-bones!" he warns Tharg.
----> But the dark-haired barbarians swings his club around in the air once as if daring one of the 'Other' to attack him. "Tharg crush bad-bones to glue!"

----> Tilwic and the marryk are engaged in a conversation in their strange language. At one point, the golden-haired Aegeon shows the Blackrobe a nasty wound underneath his chainmail on his shoulder blade.

----> Conner tries to persuade his friend that entering the temple is too dangerous and entirely unnecessary. Why go building?" he asks with an expression that can only be thought. "Flower no grow inside. Pirates no inside. We no go inside. We get flower and pirates and leave," he sums up, pointing the way the group came from.
----> "The Hydrezzamine only grows in the lightless catacombs beneath Baragonia," Tilwic counters, disrupted from his medical examination of the marryk. "And I'm quite sure your seafaring friends have holed up inside the temple. There's no other shelter on this island that I'm aware of." He looks to the marryk to confirm his answer.
----> "Only caves," Aegeon supports, replacing his armor.
----> Alliandra steps forward and begins to offer help to the tribal elf. Taer Tilwic looks on intrigued as she lays the injured warrior on the grass, belly down, to treat his wound. It is not deep, but festers with a black pus that seems to be spreading. The cleric pushes wisps of blonde hair over her shoulder and out of her view of the ugly slash.

----> Tharg's expression changes from a surly grin to a thoughtful grin. (Which doesn't look right on Tharg's face in the least!) Running off around the clearing, Tharg collects pieces of dry timber, vines, sticks, and grass. He returns to the group with an armful of debris and sits cross-legged on the floor around the pile. He begins to make some sort of conical object. Taking one of the larger sticks, he wraps a layer of grass about its length which he ties with a green flexible vine. Then he adds a layer of sticks. He continues in this fashion until a reasonable looking torch is made. When the first is finished he turns to Alliandra and smiles "Hot light. Each hold."
----> Alliandra stands from where she has finished tending to Aegeon's wound and puts a hand on the Tharg's shoulder. "Good thinking, Tharg," she says. "We'll need a few of those if we decide to enter."
----> Tharg is ecstatic at the pretty woman's approval. "Tharg make more!" He runs about gathering more supplies and sits back down and gets started fashioning more torches. His new monkey-buddy sits next to him.

----> Meggana and Alasdair return from the hole.
----> "So we're looking for the Hydrezzamine, the flower, right?" She turns to the exotic elves. "Well, perhaps those who have been inside have seen flora on any of the levels of the temple they were on?"
----> Alliandra explains that Tilwic said the Hydrezzamine only grows in the catacombs beneath Baragonia.
----> The marryk do not recall seeing any unusual flora underneath Baragon temple.
----> "Since they didn't see any on the upper levels, then perhaps we should use this tunnel," Meggana suggests, pointing over her shoulder at the hole in the ground. "It seems to straighten out a bit at the bottom."
----> "I don't like the look of that hole and I'm not the only one," Alasdair contradicts, poking a thumb in the direction of the pink-faced macaques. "Let's move away and find another entrance."
----> "I agree. We should take the monkeys' hint and avoid the hole for now," Cyrdan adds.
----> "Well, if nothing else, I propose we explore it somewhat." A morbid look broadcasts itself on her face. "I truly don't like to leave a threat at my back, especially an unknown one."
----> The group ponders Meggana's wise words for a moment.

----> Tharg has completed a dozen or so solid, homemade torches. He begins handing them out in anticipation of entering the temple's understructure. He ties the rest in a bundle with another vine and slings the collection over his shoulder. "Light to crush by. Crush bad-bones to glue." Wielding his club, Tharg smiles and looks suggestively to the entrance. "Tharg go? Strong front?"
----> "Not just yet, Tharg," Alliandra stops the barbarian. "I still don't feel confident entering."
----> "Bad-bones," Conner repeats himself uneasily. The blonde northerner looks to the temple with trepidation.

----> Taer Tilwic has a compromising idea. "We'll do both," he suggests. "What say we split?"
----> "But then we are without our strength in numbers." It is Cyrdan's turn to speak uneasily.
----> "We won't split in halves," the Blackrobe shakes his head. "The good cleric can return to the mainland for supplies. Our barbaric friend, here," he continues, motioning to Conner, "can accompany her for protection."
----> "No!" Tharg cries. "Tharg stay with pretty lady. Protect."
----> Alliandra is quick to allay his fears for her safety, pointing out that Conner will be accompanying her back.
----> "Where will she get supplies from?" Alasdair asks. "If she returns to Deepbush, she'll pay the price for those guardsmen."
----> "I will send Aegeon along," Tilwic adds. "I'm sure the marryk will be happy to supply us." Turning to Aegeon, he speaks a few words in the marryk's native tongue. After a momentary exchange, the Blackrobe is convinced that he is correct. "Hai-Shalyk Quigh is anxious to squash this menace."

----> All seem to be in agreement.

----> "There is only one ally here who has seen all of this temple and knows where the majority of the danger is," Tilwic goes on. "And that, my friends, is the macaques. By his actions, we should get a good idea where the danger lurks and, by his actions, when we are lost he will once again lead us to salvation."
----> This seems logical to the group.
----> "Good. Then we'll cage one of the macaques for the delve," Tilwic proceeds to say.
----> "No!" Tharg disagrees again, more vehemently this time. "No cage for monkey! No, no, no!" The macaque on Tharg's shoulder screams an agreement and shakes a small, furry fist at the Blackrobe.
----> "Sometimes the most valuable resource are the ones least resourceful," the Blackrobe addresses the rest of the party, hoping to persuade them.
----> "Tilwic has a point, Tharg," Cyrdan tries to validate the Blackrobe's request. "The monkey's reaction might save one of us."
----> Tharg is adamant. "Monkey go with," he says. Looking hard at Tilwic, he finshes his thought. "But not in cage!"
----> Tilwic resigns himself to Tharg's stipulations on the primate's accompaniment.

----> Having decided on a course of action, the group disperses to prepare for their tasks.