With the completion and apparent success(at least temporarily) of his first spell Andrew quickly begins casting once more.
   
    "This time the foe must more than bleed;
    Give it to me, for I've the need.
    The burning power to throw a flame.
    From my hands the stuff to maim."
 
Andrew casts Produce Flame and then begins hurling the balls of fire at the troll.

Throwing even a magical ball of fire thru the twisting and moving vines is nearly impossible, but fortunately the troll makes a large target, and he is moving very slowly.  The small ball of flame flashes against the troll's shoulder, leaving a black charred area, and he yelps in pain.  But the vines entangling him in that area are also burned, giving him a little more freedom of movement.  The bushes, trees and grasses are green and do not ignite immediately.

Having only seldom heard people talk about trolls and surely having never seen a troll before, Avon needs time before the actual seriousness of the situation becomes clear to him. He is convinced that all this talk about fire being the only thing that can harm a troll is just a load of bull. So after overseeing the battle for a few moments he takes aim and fires his first arrow towards the hideous monster. Soon follow by a second and a third arrow. [OOC: 2/round]  Then he takes time to asses the situation.

Avon's first shot is wide of the mark, but the second lands against the troll's thigh, inflicting minor damage.

Moongloom waits , sees that the troll is about 30 ft away, then pulls a red marble from one of his many pouches and rubs it vigorously between his flattened hands,

Friction turning cold to heat,

Those who are not of foot fleet,

Will meet my orb of power and flame,

Thrown forth now to save the dame!

He opens his hands and there is a red glowing orb. He cocks back and throws it at the troll.

The red orb flies thru the air and lands solidly against the troll.  Landing at nearly the same instant as Andrew's ball of flame, the orb explodes in a burst of red heat, staggering the beast for a few seconds.

Before Ven begins the actual casting of his spell, he calls out to Sandros. "Sandy. Moongloom and I can cast spells with fire components, but they will probably only do it a little harm. What we need is for the beast to be covered in oil so that it'll light up like a torch. Can you manage something like that?"

Koprith is lining up the first shot with her elven bow as she hears Ven's suggestion. "There's a couple of oil flasks in my backpack if someone wants to get 'em," she says. Then she settles herself and takes careful aim: *thwinggg* ... she quickly knocks another and aims ... *thwinggg*

Koprith's first shot skims past the troll's torso, leaving a slight scratch, but her second lands solidly.  Unfortunately, it lands solidly in the trunk of one of the trees entangling him.

Jessa can't believe that nasty troll is here already. "I'll grab it (the oil)!" she says to Koprith. If we use my cloak.." she says tearing off a few pieces just big enough to attach to the arrow heads. "and drench it in the oil, i can light it with my flint and we can hit the troll with them and it would also ignite the plants causing one big bon fire!.. hopefully.. but it's worth a shot right? Anyone else with arrows??" She looks around hoping someone heard her over the excitement of the smelly troll.

In between shots, Koprith says, "Arrows ... stuck in the ground.. next shots."
And sure enough, Jessa looks down and sees some arrows stuck in the ground at Koprith's feet.
Apparantly this is some sort of archer's 'trick' to minimize the time needed to prepare for the next shot.

Sandros chuckles. "Time to toss a Troll on the ol'  Barbie, eh?" He grins.  Daggda shudders at the suggestion.  "That vampirism disease must have progressed much farther than anyone suspected.  I wonder who this 'Barbie' woman is and why Sandros would even think of such a gruesome torture for anyone," thinks the dwarven acolyte.

As he moves to dig through Koprith's backpack and find the oil, Sandros finds himself wondering what troll blood could do for a person. "Hmmm...bet it would do wonders for my complexion..." he says outloud, giggling.

Once he has the flasks, he moves as close to the troll as he can get without putting himself in the spell's area of effect, and starts tossing.  Sandros stands near the edge of the entanglement and tosses one of the three small [pint sized] oil flasks he found.  It lands directly on the beast's chest, splashing oil across the front of the troll, and on the nearby vegetation as well.  Unfortunately, because of all the running around he had to do, Sandros' oil lands well after the flash of Andrew's ball of flame.

Daggda, standing next to Sandros and Jessa as they paw thru Koprith's pack in search of the oil flasks, says, "Well... I met an elven healer on my travel from the Great Rift to Dwarvenholm. She said that troll's blood was a valuable component for potions -- regeneration and such. Do you suppose he'd let us open a vein and take a sample?" She looks over at the creature who is snorting and stomping and tearing at the trees. "No... I suppose not."

Jessa laughs as she hears Daggda's remark. "It never hurts to ask.. except in this case" Jessa laughs a bit and then continues to soak her cloak pieces in the oil she snagged. " Sheesh man! You've taken all but one bottle!"   She says jokingly to Sandros "It's ok though, I know that you men need more than one bottle to do it right" She says sarcastically, but playfully, with a smile.

Seeing that the beast is out of melee range, Daggda helps Jessamyn with tearing cloth, tieing the rags to several of the arrows, and then soaking them in oil.  She watches impatiently as the half-elf works with flint and steel, trying to get one of the sparks to ignite the oil-soaked rags.  "Sure wish we had that 'Flaming Fingertip' trick right now," the dwarf mutters.  It seems like forever, but finally the oil-soaked rag on the arrow bursts into flame.  Holding it by the feathered end, she now holds an arrow with a burning oil-soaked rag aloft, like a small torch.

JessJazza says, "I'm not nearly expert enough with the bow to try and shoot flaming arrows without burning my hands."  She lines up her shot and sends first one, then a second shaft at the troll.  Her hand slips on the first shot, and it goes sailing over everything -- as it turns out, passing somewhere in the vicinity of the miniature red pseudodragon, high overhead.  The second shot is better aimed, but is lost in the thick entangling vegetation.

Tavarak steadies his horse, Steadfast, as he prepares his spell.  "Well, this was lucky for Myridian, maybe it'll be lucky for me too!" he thinks.  Pointing at the troll with his shield arm, he chants:

"Thistle, gristle, sissle-do!

Moldy pocket fuzz, licorice, too.

Rickety, rackety, splish, splosh, splash

How'd you like a missile in your ass?"

And a pair of blue bolts of magical energy shoot from his fingertips.  They zoom unerringly around a tree and thru the moving underbrush that is entangling the troll.  They dip at the last minute, and come up from knee level to bore a hole somewhere in the beast's crotch, and his yelp of pain turns into a very nasty snarl.

Ven doesn't have more time to strategize and begins his spell:

Tangled beast of unholy birth,

Troll most hideous and foul--

I regret my lack of seasonings sweet

because my Esmee loves a tasty treat,

but roasted and toasted is the best I can do,

to make a crispy critter snack of you.

Ven unleashes the spell and a spinning pinwheel of flame appears before him. He reaches out and takes hold of it. Esmee, I need to get close enough to the troll that I don't miss it. Do you think you could distract it from me--fly over its head, sting it in the eye. You know, just be a general nuisance. But be careful, that thing is big. Ven then attempts to approach the troll from as far behind as possible without getting into the line of fire of his companions.  He walks carefully thru the underbrush, aware that he could accidentally set fire to something unintended -- or worse, get caught up in the entanglement.  Eventually he gets behind it.  He looks up, somewhat frustrated, as the beast is now moving -- slowly, of course -- farther away from him.  He's surprised to see an arrow sail over the troll's head near where Esmee is flying and land somewhere behind him [Ven].

Esmee leaps into the air, and quickly gains altitude.  She issues a fierce shriek and dives at the beast's head, noting the arrow without concern.  She doesn't even get close to the troll, however, before the upper branches of the entangling trees grab her and entwine around her small dragon-like body.  Esmee is now entangled about 30 ft off the ground, approximately 10 ft from the back edge of the entanglement zone, where the troll was.  She is held fast, unable to move at all.  The pseudodragon screams in indignation and fear, and her telepathic shriek stuns Veneron.  "AHHHHHH!   HELP HELP HELP!!  Something's got me.  It's the trees.  MAKE THEM LET GO!  I have to get out!  It's going to get me."  Her screams throb in Ven's brain.  He releases the flaming pinwheel and slams his hands to his ears, as if trying to shut it out.  The pinwheel remains in place, hovering 4 feet in the air near the back edge of the entanglement zone.  "It's getting tighter.  Stuuu-piiiid bushes.  LET GO!!"  She vocalizes audibly with a very high pitched scream of terror, and Rei begins barking excitedly.

The troll does not even notice Esmee until her final scream, and then he just looks up for a second and continues to fight thru the grasping underbrush in front of him.

The other members of the party cannot see Esmee at all, just another tangled mass of tree branches and leaves.  They hear her audible scream and the wolf's barking.

[OOC:
Attached map is start of R2

Spells:
Andrew 3xL1, 2xL2
Daggda 3xL1
JessJazza 3xL1
Moongloom 1xL1, 1xL2
Tavarak 1xL1
Veneron 1xL1, 1xL2

Damage:
Jessamyn -3 ]

 

Andrew who is completly unaware of the problems Esmee and Ven are having continues by throwing the second of his flame balls at the slowly moving beast. Noting that the group has been inflicting moderate pain at least he nods his head and carries right on. As the second ball appears in his hand he marvels in the power of his goddess and smiles as he uses it to rid the world of one more monster.

The small ball of flame sails on a straight course, landing on the troll's torso.  As before it bursts into a bright, brief flame, scorching the beast, and igniting the oil that Sandros had thrown.  This produces a good sized flame, and the troll roars.  He bats at his chest with his huge paws trying to extinguish the flame.

Ven tries to calm Esmee down as before and then throws his flamespin at the troll as soon as possible. He is gratified to see his magical  spinning flamedisk fly thru the air and land solidly against the back of the troll.  His elation at this success turns to a grim thought as he watches in horror as the flamespin remains in place, and begins scorching the bushes with which it comes in contact.  Rather than try to go get Esmee, Ven will try to get near Andrew--so that he can let him know that Esmee is trapped and that if the whole thing goes up in flames to dispel it.

"Alas", says the Druid, "it is not something which I maintain from turn to turn.  Something like that I could dispel.  But once the entanglement is cast, it must run its course.  We must hope for the best, since I cannot dispel it...it only lasts 10 minutes, and I doubt there would be enough of a fire in such a short time to harm your friend, for the growth is lush and green."

"That seems to have done ok...I certainly wouldn't want to get a magic missile in that particular spot," thinks the Bard. Tavarak, points at the troll once more..

 

As the troll crashes heavily to the ground, Ven begins preparations for his next spell. Before he actually begins, however, it occurs to him that the last time he cast this particular spell he lit Sandros on fire, so he calls out. "Stay clear for a moment. I've got something special for our friend." Having warned his companions, Ven casts Otiluke's Boiling Oil Bath

Forger! We cannot wait 'till later,

Help us now, we need Your water.

And with those words, a large splash of water cascades down over the burning plants, putting the fire out.  In another 5 minutes, Esmee is freed from her entantlement as the trees return to their normal state.  There is a large charred area centered on the animal trail.  The bones of the troll are all that remain.

The pseudodragon swirls thru the air, eventually settling on Veneron shoulder.  "Just distract him, says he!  Poke him in the eye, says he!   Zoom around his head, says he! ..... WELL, don't you worry about little Esmee, she'll be just fine.  Caught up in all that smoky air... I never!  Got a cinder in my eye, and all those nasty twisty tree branches."  She curls her tail around her own feet, and Veneron misses the now-familiar feel of it around his neck.

Avon scampers down from his perch.  "Well!  That wasn't so much trouble after all.  I wonder what if anything could have survived the fire."  He strides confidently up to the bones and begins to look around.  "Nothing worth looking at here," he calls over his shoulder.  He bends down, seemingly poking idly about, but his eye had been caught by the glimmer of something shiny amid the charred remains.  He palms the dozen small stones he sees, and as straightens up, the dwarf's strong grip clamps down on his wrist.

"Well," she says, "what did we find here, eh?"

"I was going to share," Avon says defensively, "No need to get an attitude!"

He opens his hand and there is a nice fistful of precious and semiprecious gems.  In the next few minutes, Avon shows off and gives his appriasal of the small cache of jewels.

Topaz - 500gp

Sapphire - 150 gp

2 Pearls - 100 gp each

Azurite - 50 gp

Star Rose Quartz - 50gp

Onyx - 50 gp    

3 Cats Eye Agate - 10 gp each

"Hey, that was a pretty rich troll.. 1030 gp of goodies.  Nice little haul I found.......er... I mean I found for US, of course.  I can keep it safe for us, not a problem."  And he begins to put the fistful of stones in his spare belt pouch.

With one eye on the troll bones, no one is particularly interested in breakfast at this point, so the group mounts up and begins riding down the trail.  Almost as an afterthought, someone remembers that Jessamyn had just come on this trail, and asks her to come along to show the way.

"This trail," says the ranger, "curls around the north end of the river, eventually crosses the High Road, and then skirts the north edge of the swamp."

The afternoon is uneventful and the group stops for lunch near the spring that is the headwater of Shelby's Creek.  There are birds circling overhead, and as the party sits quietly watching the bubbling spring, the natural sounds of the woods are all that can be heard.  Andrew's eye is caught by the hawks circling high overhead, searching for their lunch in the bright blue sky.

By evening they are near the end of the narrow animal trail.  "The High Road's just over that small rise," says Jessamyn.

Sure enough, when they reach the top of the small hill, they can see the smoke from what must be the small city of Riverside to the south, and the broad paved High Road stretching left and right (N & S) in front of them.  It's about 6 pm, and the group is tired, but there's still at least 3 hrs of daylight left.  The road is empty of traffic.  The side where the group is is still heavily wooded, but on the other side, there is little cover, as the ground slopes down and away.  The wind, coming from the southeast, has the distinctive smell of wetlands.

        
[OOC:
Final Status after combat:
*Spells:
Andrew 3xL1, 2xL2
Daggda 2xL1
JessJazza 3xL1
Moongloom 0xL1, 1xL2
Tavarak 1xL1
Veneron 1xL1, 0xL2

*Damage:
Jessamyn -3 ]

A Dark Night

I'm sorry, Es. You know I wouldn't intentionally send you into harms way without warning you, at least. I'm not as old and wise as you are, yet. I'll learn. Ven pats her gently on the head, hoping to elicit one of her purring noises. With his other hand, he withdraws one of the snacks that he had purchased for her at the marketplace.

Not wanter her to have lasting effect from he remaining wounds Andrew offers to heal the rest. If she accepts he will quickly tend to the matter.

Jessa gladly accepts Andrews offer of healing. "Thank you so much, I would apreciate it."

The druid calls upon his goddess as he lays his hands on the ranger's shoulder.  He feels that familiar surge of energy flowing thru him and in a few moments, Jessamyn is completely healed.

Relieved that that went as well as it did the druid enjoys the march in the woods. Often he will be riding with his eyes closed just soaking up the sounds and smells of the forest. Before it is even visible Andrew recognizes the shift and can tell the wetland are close.

"I think we should camp here and enjoy a bit of rest after that day. The cover will do us good. We can hit the trails early on and make up the time. With the cover we can probably even have a small fire to cook," he adds knowing full we that most are ravenous for some real food.
As long as everyone agrees Andrew will help set up a camp, then after tending to the horses he'll head off and see if he can find anything good for dinner.

Sandros is just reaching his high point of the day again, and is fairly bouncing up and down in his saddle as the group begins to speak of making camp. Looking slightly disappointed, he sighs, and dismounts to help the others prepare for the night's rest.

Seeing Jessa, Sandy takes a moment to speak to her. "By the way...I'm betting you'll probably wonder where we're off to, since you seem to be staying with us. You see...I have contracted a form of vampirism, after being bitten by a bugbear that carried the disease. I haven't turned completely over to such a state, obviously...since I've been wandering about in the sun all day." He winces a bit though...for a moment, at the hottest point of the afternoon, he could swear he was about to burst into flames...

"Anyway, we're on a quest to find a certain shaman that lives in the swamp near here. It's our hope she'll have a cure before it's too late for me to be helped." He smiles wistfully. "So...that's what you're in for, if ya want to hang out with the rest of us."

Leaving Jessa to her own devices then, Sandy goes looking for JJ, the bruises from the evening before just a distant memory to him now.  Finding her, he asks her if she's up for another sparring contest before resting. Again, he turns down any food that is offered...unless it's a freshly killed animal of some sort. Then, he's more then happy to eat, as long as it's left a bit...rare.

REST!!! Jessamyn hadn't heard that word in so long! She was rather hungry also. "That sounds like a great idea" she pipes up. She looks behind her to make sure that her wolf friend is still behind her. "Thar Rei. Quen revar, nehel teshuel klathmor." She says in elven. (Good Rei. We are going to rest, you go find yourself something to eat). "I know he can't understand me, it just makes me feel better to pretend.. I can't find many people to speak elvish too." She says to no one in particular so that no one will think she is loopy. "He does recognize certain words though, so all my blabbering is not useless" She smiles.

Tavarak dismounts wondering how such a short time in town could lead to his current state of discomfort. As party members start to go about various tasks the bard constructs a picket line for the horses. After completing the makeshift barrier he gives Stalwart a good rub down before dispensing some oats and water. Having tended the mounts he wanders off into the undergrowth to find some firewood and scout the area for any signs of trouble.

Upon his return Tav sits down and starts the daily ritual of cleaning his gear and making sure his weapons and armour are in perfect shape. "Well it looks safe enough for now, I suggest that we keep the same watch schedule as last night, if that is agreeable to everyone." As he reaches for his sharpening stone he stops suddenly, looking at the sword he starts to chuckle to himself.

"Where does that put me?" Jessa says with wonder.

Koprith suggests that Jessamyn take the watch turn with Andrew, so that she can spend some time with JessJazza. She says she wants to have an opportunity to show her how to adjust her bow use to allow for the extra weight of an oil soaked rag.

Daggda checks with Sandros and asks how he's feeling. She is very concerned as the days go by about the continuation of his disease. Other than that, she's content to make camp early and rest... Altho she does suggest a close watch on the nearby High Road.

Avon is very pleased that no one really objected and he's managed to put all his new gems into his pouch. He's heady thinking what he'll be able to do with over 1000 gp of precious stones. Maybe he could buy a tavern or an inn, stop all this nonsense of running around and almost getting killed. Or... his eyes glaze over as he thinks of what 1000gp could get him at the Silver Slipper.

Andrew accepts Jessa's thanks with a warm smile, "it's my pleasure and my calling to heal where I am able, thank Najela for being so generous to me." After the wound is gone and the horses are tended to, and he sets up a small area for sleeping Andrew picks up his spear and turns to Jessa again.

Having noticed the woman's longing when she spoke elven to the wolf Andrew accepts her offer to come along in her native tongue, and will ask her about herself while they walk away from camp to search for some fresh dinner.

Nodding understanding at Jessamyn's words of feeling alone and outcast Andrew recount's a bit of his own past to her. The not fitting in and the being different. "I guess those are the kinds of things that make us the people we are. If not for those feelings I never would have spent all my time in the woods and learned to hear the trees talking, I never would have happened across my teacher and learned the wondrous things I have. So now at least in hindsight all that was worth it because it made me who I am."

Pausing for a breath as they walk and to see the picture Andrew helps Jessa pick up her things, only noticing the "Wanted" part he adds, "Don't believe everything you read. There are posters around these parts with bounty's on pixies and druids because the Duke is crazy. There are likely posters with OUR names on them by now because we work against him."

"It's a good thing you happened across us our you'd be disappointed when trying to find Kalban. He and Aami are good friends of mine but they've gone on a bit of a trip and might not be back for some time. If you choose to stay with us then I'm certain our paths will cross again in the not too distant future."

All this talk has been in elven to get them both a bit of practice and it has brought a good feeling to Andrew as they return to the camp for dinner. With their watch passing uneventfully, Andrew retires and thinks of the future.

Moongloom sits down to rest and study. "It's a shame that troll disintegrated, I thought it would be interesting to try some troll meat. I hear it's a delicacy in some places." He stretches and lays back, "A little pepper, some swamp herbs *yawn* who knows...." and he is soon dozing on the ground, using his bedroll as a cushion...

Sandros chuckles at Moonglum's musings. "Nah...I hear that the stuff isn't very filling. Until about two hours later, when your stomach explodes." He grins. "It's like the anti-rice or something."

Jessa looks at him and all she can say is "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The druid and the ranger quickly disappear into the woods, with the silver wolf keeping them company.  The others go about setting up a small campfire and settling in for the evening.  They quickly settle on a watch cycle:

Andrew & Jessamyn 10-12
Sandros & Veneron 12-2
Daggda & Tavarak 2-4
Koprith and JessJazza 4-6
Moongloom & Avon 6-8

Within about a half hour, the hunters are back, with several rabbits and three pheasants.  Daggda and Avon set about to skin and prepare the catch, but Sandros asks to take care of his own food.  He goes off behind some trees.  Concerned, Daggda follows a few minutes later, and is disturbed to see Sandros ripping into the rabbit.  The body was still fresh and Sandy's face and hands are covered with blood.  He looks at the dwarf with a pained expression.

"It's all right, Sandros.  I understand," says the Acolyte of Moradin.  "We'll be finding that Sessassithuss in a day or so... just hold on."  And she returns to the campground.  She sits near Veneron and says quietly, "Do not hesitate to awaken me early if you feel the need to."

The evening was otherwise tranquil and Sandros came back into the camp eventually.

The moon is at its darkest, and the sky, cloudy.  The canopy of trees around the small clearing and the flickering of the small campfire made it seem almost as if they were in a large tent.  No one could see outside the immediate area, and as the evening turned into night, the tired adventurers fell asleep, after reading or studying or praying --- or counting and recounting precious gems in a pouch.

The watches passed uneventfully, and the elven mage, Moongloom awoke with a start as the sky was beginning to lighten.  He jumped up and looked around.  It seemed to be about 7 am.  He was supposed to be awake and on guard, yet no one had called him.  On the other side of the clearing Avon snored quietly.  He went thru the order of the watch in his mind.  Koprith and JessJazza !!  Where where they?  He looked at the fire.  It was cold.

Quickly he woke the others.  Neither Koprith's nor JessJazza's horse was to be found among the picket.  Avon gave a scream of pain.  "My jewels.. THEY ARE GONE."  In a panic, he ripped open his backpack ... everything was there including the harp case.. and the harp was inside.  He congratulated himself that at least he'd had the good sense to use the pack for a pillow.  "Someone cut the purse right off my belt."  Avon was so outraged he didn't even notice the missing party members.  "Who ever it was will pay for this."  His eyes jerked around the group as he drew his sword.

The Grave

Using a cantrip to make his voice a bit louder, Moongloom says, "Quickly! Daggda, good priestess I have need of you!! Hurry!!!"

The voice is coming from somewhere nearby in the woods. Daggda stops what she is doing, grabs her weapon and hurries in that direction. Some of the others do also.

When the dwarf gets there, she finds Moongloom looking around behinds trees and bushes, and poking into small of leaves with a stick. As soon as the blue mage sees her, he hurries over to Daggda and leads her over to a shallow grave that had obviously been covered with some leaves, dirt and rock.

Just under the surface is the body of JessJazza. Her throat is cut from ear to ear, and the body is cold. She has obviously been dead for several hours. Her sword and bow are gone, and there is no sign of any of her belongings nearby.

"I was looking for some firewood," explains the wizard, "and I found this branch had a point that was formed with a knife, and covered with dirt. So I looked around and found her. I didn't find anything -- or anybody -- else nearby, tho."

Sandros had quickly followed Daggda at Moongloom's call, sword and dagger in hand.

As JessJazza's body is revealed, Sandros grows pale, and shudders.  To think only hours before, he had been sparring with the woman, and getting soundly beaten for the most part.  And now...someone had killed her as easily as if she were a child.

It was almost too much.  His grip on his sanity already stretched as he found himself becoming more and more vampiric in nature every day, seeing one of his comrades slain in such a horrible fashion nearly sent him over the edge.

As it was, he slowly put away his weapons, and looked sadly at JJ's corpse.  Time was growing short, that much was certain.  And if he didn't stop what was happening to him, he was sure he'd be joining her in death soon enough.

"Daggda..." Sandy whispers to the dwarf, "...keep a close eye on me.  It's getting worse and worse, and it scares me.  If you see me acting strangely..." He pauses, then gives her a slight smile.  "Okay, more so then usual, anyway...don't be afraid to do what you have to.  To keep me from doing THAT to any of you."

His eyes give her an imploring gaze.  "Just do what it takes to keep all of you safe.  No matter what."  Without waiting for a reply, he turns and heads back toward camp, a dark mood once again settling over him.

"We *are* doing what it takes to keep ALL of us safe.  We are getting you cured,"  the dwarf said to his back as he walked away from the body.

Ever since he had been a child, and he had lost his family to the Duke's machinations, Sandros had found himself getting into these dark moods now and again.  Sometimes, it took a lot to keep from exploding outward in violence on those who surrounded him.  And as the days wore on, and the disease was settling ever-growing claws into his soul, he found it more and more difficult to keep from sliding into his darkest moods of all.

Yes, time was growing short.  And already, he had been the cause of one death to those who were trying to help him.  He would die himself before allowing another to fall again, if he could prevent it somehow...

Daggda looked around to see if any of her companions had come.  She turned to Moongloom.  "I don't think there's anything I can do for her.  To resurrect someone who's been dead for a while is beyond my abilities.  I guess we should bury her."  She was uncertain.

Ven is on his way to the commotion in the woods when Sandros bruskly passes him going the other way. Ven is about to continue on, but stops dead in his tracks and turns around to follow Sandy. Whatever it is down in the trees can be taken care of by the others. He jogs and catches up to his friend. "Are you all right, pal? You look a little upset and well, I'm not a priest, but you can vent all you want at me if it'll help."

Sandros shakes his head. "Nah...I'll be okay. Just a little bit shaken up is all. They found JJ, Ven. Someone killed her." Sighing, the dark-haired man bows his head. "At least one of us is already dead, and we've barely even started looking for my cure. This is crazy."

Giving the mage a weak smile, he says, "This'll teach me to accept hickeys from strangers, eh?"

Ven ignores Sandros' expected attempt to change the subject through humor. "Look, everybody here is a volunteer and we all know that there are dangers involved. And, whatever happened to JezzJazza is not your fault--somebody or something else is responsible for that. But, though I didn't get to know her very well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are willing to take risks--even death--to see that things are put right for you."

Jessa comes running over after taking a few seconds to finish up quickly with her horse. She sees Moongloom, Sandros, and Daggda looking down into something. She gets closer and sees that it's a very shallow makeshift-grave. "Oh
no.. I was afraid of this.." she says sadly. "While I went to check on Gala, I noticed some footprints.. But it was only *one* set of  footprints, followed by 2 sets of horse tracks.. I had hoped there wasn't foul play, but it looks like we have more than a jewel thief  on our hands now."

She is starting to get a little confused as to what to do. She wants to help Sandros before it's too late (and she becomes prey) but her training as a bounty hunter is calling her to go after the alleged murderer/jewel theif. She sits and thinks to try to recall the night before.. to see if she can remember anything that might give clues. "Daggda and Tav, you guys were on watch last right?? Did you notice anything wierd about Koprith and JessJazza when they too their turn? Did you go right to sleep afterwards? Did you hear anything strange? I'm having a hard time trying to not blame Koprith because she is innocent until proven guilty, but.... i don't know.. I find it hard to believe that if anyone else did this, they would only kill JJ and not Koprith.. and if they did kill her too, then they would have buried her in the same place.. they wouldn't have wanted to waste time digging two holes... unless they were dumb. Anyway, she needs her last rights before we can do anything"   She says looking to Daggda in particular.

Tavarak runs over to see what all the commotion is about. He stops short as he notices the dead woman's body in the shallow grave. "Gods why couldn't I have been right." The Bard kneels beside the body, touching her forehead whispering "Forgive me for doubting your intentions. When this is done I shall try with all that I am to right this injustice."

Waking up to the the yelling and commotion, Andrew check on his things and starts in the direction of Moongloom and Daggda, hearing bits of the story along the way still doesn't prepare him for the sight. Andrew sets out to gather up some rocks for the cairn and will help to build it when/if any communication is done.

Moongloom pulls Daggda aside.  "I know this may seem a bit odd or morbid--forgive me I am too practically minded--but I know some priests have magick that allows them to speak with the recently deceased.  Perhaps we could find the truth of it all.  I fear the others may see this as unholy or evil, but I feel it would be helpful, if you can do it, and if you are willing."  He looks at her sheepishly, wondering if he has perhaps insulted the dwarf or asked of her something she considers wrong.

The Acolyte of Moradin looks thoughtful as she replies.  "I know not if other Gods favor their followers with special 'magicks'  but The All Forger does not.  He answers our prayers, and maybe that looks like magick to your eyes."  She smiles.  "Perhaps everything looks like magick to your elvish wizard's eyes."

"I have seen our priests do as you say... to speak with the newly dead. But I am only an Acolyte Primus [OOC: having 1st level spells] and am not close enough to The Forger to know how to ask this of him.  There are some things I would dearly want to ask this Illuvitarian.  But that will have to wait, it seems.  She will be dead a long time, however, and we may have the opportunity to ask her later."

"No, I think all we can do is treat her with respect as Jessamyn and Tavarak have suggested."  She goes back to camp and returns in a moment with a shovel and some holy water.  She mumbles a phrase in dwarvish and sets to work.  Jessa has never seen a dwarf actually *dig* before -- the dirt seems to actually fly of its own accord.  Daggda looks up and sees the ranger watching with a curious expression on her face.  "Just a little help-work orision [OCC: a cantrip used by clerics] that Moradin allows me."

She sprinkles some holy water in the grave and then on JessJazza's body after it is lowered into it. 

Daggda stands and brushes the dirt from her hands.  Holding her anvil-shaped holy symbol before her, she says, "All Forger.  Guide this priestess to the home of your brother Illuvitar.  She deserved a better fate than this."  And then rapidly fills the dirt and stones again.