Gully Travels
Janella visited Janus the next morning, to learn more of his story. He told her he was going on a trip for Sandine as soon as he was strong enough, and she decided to come along, for the sake of the story and to give him a helping hand.
Sandine took them north of the city a ways and pointed out a low ridge of hills, at the peak of which they could just make out the cave entrance. She told them that it would probably be easier to access the cave via the gullies on the north side. At Janus's request, she left them her bag of magical odds-and-ends to hold the bat guano, and returned to the city.
Janus made an expert survey of the countryside, and picked the best gully to walk through to get them the closest to the peak. Soon, however, the ground sloped up, and the air became thin. They decided to make a dash for the entrance, running most of the distance before collapsing and crawling the rest of the way to the cave.
Inside the cave, the two blinked as bats bit them on the head. The bats didn't seem particularly aggressive; just thirsty. And blood happened to be the only liquid nearby. Janus tried to calm them, but the stupid creatures kept attacking. Janella decided to throw them her waterskin. She did this; it hooked neatly onto a stalactite and tore just enough for the bats to get at it. A few bats fluttered over to it and began drinking. Janus threw his as well, and it landed on the floor, and soon the other bats ripped it open too.
With the bats satisfied, Janus looked around for the bat guano. It was piled pretty high in the back of the cave. While he was looking, he also noticed a skeleton half-buriend near the cave's entrance. Next to it were shreds of old leather armor and two bottles, one broken and one whole but empty. Janus took the bottle to scoop up the bat guano, but ended up pouring water out of it. He abandoned the bottle in suspicion and filled the bag with the guano instead.
Meanwhile, Janella took the bottle and added a little water to the waterskins. The bats seemed to suffer no immediate ill effects, so she kept the bottle.
The two dashed back to the gully, again collapsing - but this time Janella passed out. Janus crawled quickly to the lower ground, caught his breath, and hauled the gnome into the gully before she could permanently injure herself. As the two panted and recovered their breath, they heard a snuffling sound approaching them.
They were being sniffed out by a small silver dragon, who was so intent on following the trail that his eyes were closed. He came right up to Janella, and then opened his eyes in surprise.
"Hello!" he said, and the introductions began. Aldie Jr. was tracking his Daddy's letter. He begged Janus and Janella to come back with him, because his Dad would be so proud. Janella agreed, and Janus said that he had to go finish an errand first. Aldie said he'd come with him. Fortunately, Janella remembered that Aldie would probably be detained if he went into the city, because of his father's business with Baredo.
Aldie complained he was hungry, so Janella took him back to the bat cave, where he ate three of them, and helped Janella get to safety despite passing out again.
Meanwhile, Sandine took the bat guano, and, in exchange, determined the location of Oka: 20 miles north and 15 miles east. Janus didn't write it down immediately, but fortunately Sandine was able to recall the result of her divination again.
Janus purchased two more waterskins and left the city to meet up with Janella and Aldie.
Experience:
Joining Forces, Flashback-style: 50
The gullies: 100
The bats: 250
Befriending Aldie: 400
Oka's location from Sandine: 50
or
Aldie's Lunch: 50
Total Experience: 850
Sandine took them north of the city a ways and pointed out a low ridge of hills, at the peak of which they could just make out the cave entrance. She told them that it would probably be easier to access the cave via the gullies on the north side. At Janus's request, she left them her bag of magical odds-and-ends to hold the bat guano, and returned to the city.
Janus made an expert survey of the countryside, and picked the best gully to walk through to get them the closest to the peak. Soon, however, the ground sloped up, and the air became thin. They decided to make a dash for the entrance, running most of the distance before collapsing and crawling the rest of the way to the cave.
Inside the cave, the two blinked as bats bit them on the head. The bats didn't seem particularly aggressive; just thirsty. And blood happened to be the only liquid nearby. Janus tried to calm them, but the stupid creatures kept attacking. Janella decided to throw them her waterskin. She did this; it hooked neatly onto a stalactite and tore just enough for the bats to get at it. A few bats fluttered over to it and began drinking. Janus threw his as well, and it landed on the floor, and soon the other bats ripped it open too.
With the bats satisfied, Janus looked around for the bat guano. It was piled pretty high in the back of the cave. While he was looking, he also noticed a skeleton half-buriend near the cave's entrance. Next to it were shreds of old leather armor and two bottles, one broken and one whole but empty. Janus took the bottle to scoop up the bat guano, but ended up pouring water out of it. He abandoned the bottle in suspicion and filled the bag with the guano instead.
Meanwhile, Janella took the bottle and added a little water to the waterskins. The bats seemed to suffer no immediate ill effects, so she kept the bottle.
The two dashed back to the gully, again collapsing - but this time Janella passed out. Janus crawled quickly to the lower ground, caught his breath, and hauled the gnome into the gully before she could permanently injure herself. As the two panted and recovered their breath, they heard a snuffling sound approaching them.
They were being sniffed out by a small silver dragon, who was so intent on following the trail that his eyes were closed. He came right up to Janella, and then opened his eyes in surprise.
"Hello!" he said, and the introductions began. Aldie Jr. was tracking his Daddy's letter. He begged Janus and Janella to come back with him, because his Dad would be so proud. Janella agreed, and Janus said that he had to go finish an errand first. Aldie said he'd come with him. Fortunately, Janella remembered that Aldie would probably be detained if he went into the city, because of his father's business with Baredo.
Aldie complained he was hungry, so Janella took him back to the bat cave, where he ate three of them, and helped Janella get to safety despite passing out again.
Meanwhile, Sandine took the bat guano, and, in exchange, determined the location of Oka: 20 miles north and 15 miles east. Janus didn't write it down immediately, but fortunately Sandine was able to recall the result of her divination again.
Janus purchased two more waterskins and left the city to meet up with Janella and Aldie.
Experience:
Joining Forces, Flashback-style: 50
The gullies: 100
The bats: 250
Befriending Aldie: 400
Oka's location from Sandine: 50
or
Aldie's Lunch: 50
Total Experience: 850
posted by Captain Shar | 9:34 PM
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