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Day 3, Village of Pramayama, sunrise



The night passes, seemingly without incident, and you awake--somewhat refreshed--to the sounds of Pormas readying the raft for departure. Without fanfare, you load yourselves and your mounts on to the raft after a quick breakfast. Other than the mad hermit, and his troll guardian, the village is deserted, what remains of it.

"Mornin' gentlemen, m'lady," Pormas says in greeting. "It appears his holiness had a run-in with a troll last night. You must have slept through the whole thing. I never seen anything over and done with so quickly."

The boatman shakes his head. "Are we ready to go? We'll be makin' 'bout 12 miles per day here on the river, when it's calm. And believe you me, it's always calm."

Aristide 44/44
--Max 19/19
Tasrem 11/15
Taranna 29/34
Zelaz 15/15
Sir Joffrey 49/51
--Zephyr 15/19
Roikos 45/50
--Peny 14/16

Actions? Anything else before we finally get this show on the road?

Aristide - Thief

At hearing the news of the crazy man's apparent demise, Aristide shrugs and says "Hmm... that would explain why it was so quiet. Well then, let's be off, eh? Glory and save the republic and all that!"

Aristide, in his best Errol Flynn impression, leaps on the raft, taking up a rakish pose next to his faithful if not smelly steed, Max.

OOC: LETS GO!

Once you're all safely aboard, your gear and mounts secured, Pormas unties the raft. Plunging a long pole into the mud, he pushes you away from the dock, and into the slow moving waters of the Asanda.

In the stillness of the early morning, you are surprised to see movement in the village. Rounding the corner is a disheveled, stooped, filthy old man. It's the hermit! In one hand he's holding a cracked tea cup. In the other he appears to be holding...Krug's head.

"Your friend proved to be a most ill-tempered house guest," the old man states. "Be careful who you invite to tea. And above all, beware the Malakaz!"

With that, the old man holds aloft Krug's head. Looking it straight in the troll's dull eyes, he wags a cautionary finger. Tossing aside the head, and the tea cup, the hermit then struts into the slow current, his dirt-encrusted clothes trailing behind him. "Here fishy fishy...here fishy fishy."

Pormas chuckles. "Looks like his holiness is having a good day," the boatman confides. "So long, Harold," he shouts. "You're all that's left, so you're in charge while we're gone." The hermit stands up straight in the water, then gives Pormas a snappy salute. Looking down, he notices something caught in his beard. He gingerly removes it, then pops it into his mouth. He lifts his eyebrows in surprised pleasure, then begins searching the water around him for more of whatever he just ate.

Within a few minutes, the village of Pramayama disappears downstream. You pass the remains of a few farms, their burnt out hovels still smoking, their meager fields trampled. As you ponder the forces responsible for such carnage, you remember Sarras' orders and admonitions. In this war, survival and success will require secrecy, stealth and discretion.

The sun rises higher in the sky as the hours go by. You pass one human settlement after another, all of them having suffered the same fate as Pramayama. Buildings lie in ruins. Livestock lie slaughtered on the banks of the river. Humans hang from makeshift gibbets in the remains of the town squares.

Other than a few carrion birds, you encounter no living creatures on your journey.

Actions? Questions for Pormas? Care to stop at any of the other settlements? Drink?

Tasrem whispers at the sight of Krug's decapitated head; he was starting to appreciate the troll, in a way. Once the village is out of sight, the old wizard seats down, relaxes and enjoys the ride.

Taranna - Elf

Taranna will sit relaxed with her bow on her lap taking in the carnage. What can you tell us of Malakaz, Pormas?

Harold, eh? Pormas, was there ever a time when Harold wasn't mad? Has his proclamations ever proven true that you know of? asks Zelaz.

Memorized spells: Charm Person, Magic Missile, Detect Magic, Continual Light, Knock, Web, Fly, Lightning Bolt, Charm Monster, Fire Shield

On ring: wall of ice, charm monster, web, charm person

Joffrey - Older Fighter

Joffrey too flipped a salute to the old man.

"Well, well the old bugger did very well didn't he? I think the first rule of war applies here in a way - never underestimate your enemy!"

Hearing the conversation with Pomas, he chips he:
"What are we likely to face upstream? Rapids? Probably not too many animals but what beasts used to inhabit the uplands?"

Joffrey keeps a close eye on the banks through the day.

Pormas pulls a dusty bottle from within his vest, then takes a long pull of whatever's inside it.

"Harold?" he says. "He been mad long as I can remember, though he's much older than I. Never seemed to get a straight answer out of anyone as to who he really is. Especially from him, if you know what I mean. He never hurt no one, though, so we left him alone, and kept an eye on him as best we could. Reckon I don't know what I'll do with him once this trip is over."

Pormas takes another pull off the bottle. "These days," he says, pointing at the wrecked settlements on either side of the river, along with the occasional bloated cow corpse floating in the water, 'I don't know nothin'. I never thought I'd see it come to this."

The boatman, sensing a favorable wind, unfurls a sail. As the raft heads upstream, he puts down his pole, and takes a seat. "Rapids, sir knight?" he says to Joffrey. "No rapids on this river. None that I ever seen. As for beasts (DM consults module for wandering monster lists), they's lions, hyenas, and sometimes giant robber flies. Those are nasty." Pormas points to the river. "Not much fish to be had there, I'm afraid. Plenty of leeches, swamp termites, crabs and crocodiles, though. And don't you be drinkin' the water, now, less you want to be running at both ends, if you get my drift."

Pormas turns his attention to Taranna. "Malakaz?" he asks with a grin. "That story again. One of his old favorites. No one knows what he means. Now, you ask old Pormas here, it's just a story to scare children. Not that we need it. Plenty to be scared of for real these days."

Any other questions or actions?

Aristide - Thief

Aristide rolls his eyes at the mention of Malakaz. He nods in approval as Pormas debunks the crazy old man's warning. With that out of the way, Aristide gets back to doing what he does best - loafing. He tilts his hat over his eyes, finds some shade and takes a nice nap as we roll along.

After a while, Tasrem tries to find a fishing pole. If he does not find one, he will try to build one with what he finds. If ever he succeeds in one or the other, he will start fishing.