We check the body of the giant. We see a bunch of markings, scrapes, similar to the wind being, we see a similar set of symbols. In short order, the giant becomes overgrown and indiscernible from the earth.
The markings we see:
“Go plod as stone.”
Similar to the wind message: “Become step as wind.”
B unlocks that these seem to be curses put upon these beings. Someone gave them life and made them come after us as part of a spell.
Elemental/magic monster encounters:
Fire creatures (we took obsidian shards)
Water creatures (took water)
Stone creatures
Wind creature, writing on it
Monster tree, found writing on the tree: “Traitor, my aid weakens….”
Stone giant, writing on it
The rock giant/wind monster/maybe tree monster? seem different than the elementals. B’s idea: the elementals were sent by the Sun King, but the messages they carried were placed there by someone friendly to us. The wind/stone/tree monster might be sent by someone else. We may have missed writing/other clues here and there. Silas posits perhaps the cursed group might have been sent by someone who resents the Arthyden for some reason, and that might be why they stone giant reacted angrily when he wild shaped (Silas did not wild shape with the wind monster or the tree monster)
The wind and stone monster both had different messages carved into their remains (before eventually fading), “go step as wind” and “go plod as stone”, respectively. These have been determined to be spells inscribed by some unknown, nefarious entity (a different entity than the author of the other messages).
B is thinking about his horn and how it vocalized during the encounter with the tree monster. He seems to understand that the voices he has heard during times of stress and crisis and combat were voices from across the sea, the voices of his enemies, his torturers, his mutilators – and that these voices were unaware that he was listening. In seeking further understanding of the broken horn he wears around his neck, he holds it up to his ear, pointed end first, like an ear horn, and hears… breathing.
SQUIRREL FIGHT.
- Storr borrows Balthazaar’s bronze dagger, two weapon fights and remembers a Red Blade maneuuuuver to great effect.
- Storr gets bit, it seems poisoned. The Abbott water helps.
- Balthazar kills it with an obsidian bolt from his crossbow.
We debate the ethics of continuing to test The Black Water on animals. We agree to try again on some smaller animal. Krambler fashion a cage? Balthazar has some spare weapon he could donate towards the cause.
Insights gained:
- The Abbott’s water helps in healing damage dealt by poison resulting from a black water creature.
- The Black Water didn’t make it stronger necessarily, but more dexterous
- The physical wounds from from a strike were poisonous - The Black Water got into her wound
- When The Abbott’s water is poured on the wound, The Black Water seems to leach out from the wound.
- What else?
B collects some of the black blood that fell from the squirrel. After a time, the black blood separated into normal blood and black water.
Storr throws the squirrel into the fire. There’s a foul smell. We see some things dripping off of it and after a minute, we see what we would have of a normal squirrel.
Storr initiates a desire to learn how to read.