The Otari Misfits - Session 7

Ollie

Igni grinned gleefully as he put the silver goblets in his pocket. Amid the carcasses of the spiders and the spiderheaded monstrosity the Otari Misfits were far from safe. But they were gaining ground.
The others put their ear on the barred door leading north, but beyond there only seemed to be silence.
"I don't think there is something behind this door.." Mortarion uttered in his usual, labored breaths.
The kobold tugged on the straps of his backpack. "Then more to explore we have!"
"Do you want to explore this room first?" Avdiy asked, eyeing his companions.
"We are here now.." Mortarion suggested.
That was all the confirmation that Glandallin needed, he grabbed the wooden planks and braced himself. Blood still seeping from some of his sustained wounds. And with a quick tug he pulled the nailed planks from the doorframe.
The room beyond seemed free from cobwebs. A stone oven in the northwest corner marks this spacious room as a kitchen. Cabinets and tables line the walls, and a wide washbasin stands next to the western door. Several of the cabinet doors stand open, and pots and long-handled spoons lie scattered across the floor. Two doors stand in the east wall—one to the south, and a heavier door in the west wall. The shutters over the north window hang askew.
"It seems deserted..." Mortarion heaved from under his helmet.
"Spiders don't cook?"
"Do they?" Mortarion asked dubiously.
Avdiy glanced around the room. "Where to next? Lead the way."
Glandallin stepped over the pots and pans to reach the upper eastern door. The door beyond revealed Shelves line the walls of this narrow pantry. A few empty crocks and boxes are all that remain on the shelves. A heap of empty sacks and broken crockery lies on the floor.
From his vantage point, lower to the floor, Igni saw a small hole from the wall in the pantry leading east. Too small for even him to squeeze through. He scuttled over to investigate. Next to the hole he found tiny translucent scales and a brightly colored feather. He scooped them up in his clawed hand and showed it to the others. "I recognize these feathers. Could be a Couatl. Some of them are big , but this one is small. They are good natured."
"It's winged serpent from my Harrow Deck, is it not?" He then reached for his deck and showed the card to his companions.
"Sounds nice.." Mortarion's words, well intended, came out as a hiss.
The kobold crawled towards the hole and peered through. "This bedroom is starkly appointed. A wooden bedframe has slats but no mattress, with a battered trunk at its foot. On the other side of the room is a small, simple table holding a ceramic pitcher and a matching bowl full of leaves. Light streams in past one of the shutters that hangs slightly ajar. I see a room there.. We have to go around."
"Around or through?" Glandalin said with a bouldering chuckle.
"Can we make a door?" Mortarion asked his dwarven friend.
"I think I see a door there, on the right.." Igni said.
Glandallin rolled his eyes. Now was not the time for demolition in their new home. "Let's go around."
Glandallin opened the lower eastern door. It led to a hallway some five feet wide, the north wall held two doors, beyond the hallway curved south. He reached for the first. "This is the door that you mentioned?" the dwarf asked Igni.
"Should be, yes!" the kobold eagerly replied.

  The first door revealed a bedroom that was starkly appointed. A wooden bedframe has slats but no mattress, with a battered trunk at its foot. On the other side of the room was a small, simple table holding a ceramic pitcher and a matching bowl full of leaves. Light streamed in past one of the shutters that hung slightly ajar. The hole through the wall should have been under the bedframe, Glandallin thought.
A figure perked up from some of the debris. A small reptilian head, of a winged serpent eyed the newcomers with curiosity. Its wings were multicolored. "Ooh, we have visitors!" the creature said, its high-pitched voice fitting its frame.
Mortarion pointed. "A bird!"
The creature had no eyebrows to frown with, but its words hardly needed visual cues. "I'm hardly a bird.., but what are you metal-man?"
"...The fuck are you saying?" Glandallin said, a bit dumbfounded by the whole ordeal.
"I asked what the metal-man was," the creature responded. It squinted at Glandallin. "You must be a dwarf I think." the creature guessed correctly.
"I'm Mortarion." the metal-man answered.
"Mor-Ta-Ri-On." the small coatl repeated. "My name is simply Ollie. It's a bit easier to remember I think."
"Ollie?!" Mortarion repeated.
"Yes, my name is Ollie." There was a small pause. "So, it is nice of you to visit. I hardly have anyone to talk to around here. What are you doing here exactly?"
"We are looking." Mortarion needed a moment to catch his breath. "Around this house."
Ollie tilted his head "Okay, and do you like the house?"
"You mean my house." Glandallin corrected quickly.
"What do you mean, your house? I've lived here for a long time!"
Mortarion tried to reclaim the conversation. "Were the spiders your friends?"
There was a quick shudder and the ruffling of colored feathers. "Oh no, no. There is a big bully in the dining room. And he keeps sending his spiders to catch me in their webs. To be honest, if you could defeat them you could also stay in the house... If you want."
"I think we unalived them already." Mortarion answered, more quickly than usual.
"Oooh," Ollie was excited. "Are you sure?"
"They seemed pretty dead." Mortarion answered but before he finished his sentence Ollie fluttered through the air and darted to the dining room.
"That bird is fast..." Mortarion observed, partly correct. "Do we follow the bird?"
The Otari Misfits shared a confused look.
The Coatl returned as fast as it had left. "Ooooh, that's wonderful. I think we will become very good friends. I for one, think you can stay here. You can even pick out your own bedrooms. But obviously, this one is mine."
"I've never had a bird as a friend." Mortarion said.
"Once again, I'm not a bird..." Ollie corrected. "I'm a coatl."
"Bird." Mortarion said.
The flying serpent flew up to the inventor's face "Co-A-Tl." The Coatl corrected, again.
"A coatl?" Avdiy and Glandallin played along.
"Yes, a coatl." Igni said, not quite catching the gist. "I already told you."
"I don't know many birds yet, but Coatl is one of them now." Mortarion concluded for himself.
Ollie opened his mouth but gave in to Mortarion's denseness. "So," the creature curled up in midair. "Have you decided which rooms you want yet?"
Avdiy considered the question. "We have not seen other rooms yet, are they clear or are there more spiders?"
Ollie brought the tip of his tail to his chin. "I know there are spiders in the dining and living room.." His high-pitched voice trailed off.
"Any other hostile creatures?" Avdiy continued.
The beast shook its head. "Hostile? No. Finley is nice. Sad, but nice."
"Who is Finley?" The Varisian interrupted.
"Finley is the ghost who lives in the other corner of the house." Ollie stated matter-of-factly.
The Misfits shared a curious look, Tamily's claim of ghosts appeared to be true.
"Is it a ghost bird?" Mortarion asked.
The creature sighed. "It's not a ghost bird and neither is it a ghost Coatl."
"We have not seen yet, Ghost." Igni informed the flying serpent.
"Why are you here? Aside of this being -your- house?" Glandallin said, not exactly thrilled at having this housemate.
"I think that's a really good reason for me to be here." There was a smile on the creature’s scaly face.
"Apparently this was a place that belonged to someone called Tamily Tanderveil." Avdiy started.
"I have no idea, didn't live here that long."
"And Finley never told you." Avdiy concluded.
The creature sighed "Finley likes to talk about himself mostly. But I did see a lot of fishing poles, I've mainly explored the main house, not the outhouses. But my guess is that fishers lived here."
Avdiy nodded. "Used to."
"Ah, and you have hands. Are you good at fishing? I love fish!" Ollie's tail curled excitedly through the air.
"Ah, more flying things, that like fish." Mortarion breathed.
"Really? Are you friends with a lot of birds, Mortarion?"
"No! You're the first bird friend that I have!"
"..Okay" Ollie answered.
"But we have recently a Wyrmling red dragon," Avdiy clarified.
"Like a bird, but different!" Mortarion nodded.
Ollie stopped in midair, intrigued, and a little frightened. "A dragon?"
"Yes, and we need to learn how to fish really quickly. To feed it, and raise it.. Keep it friendly!" the Varisian continued.
The creature nodded along "And to feed Ollie, of course."
Avdiy had no eyelids to blink with and hardly any lips to form an uncomfortable smile. "..Of course."
"Do birds eat fish?" Mortarion asked.
"I'm sure that they do, and so does Ollie." the creature said.
"Coatl," Mortarion corrected incorrectly.
Glandallin spoke "So, what do you do beside talk and eat fish?"
"There is not much else to do here. I used to be very busy with making sure the spiders didn't catch me. They really wanted me in their webs. I sniff around, look at the sea, this place is quite beautiful."
Avdiy had a plan "I heard that Couatls, winged serpents, are powerful and have lots of knowledge. Do you perhaps know how to raise a dragon?"
"I've never tried, but I can help surely. I'm good at making friends!" Ollie answered enthusiastically, but then he continued with some caution. "It was a ..red.. dragon, right?"
The Misfits nodded.
"Was it mean to you?" Ollie continued.
There was a short silence until Mortarion broke it. "No, not really." he said, not all too convincing.
"It was mostly looking for food." Igni added.
"It was defensive at first but we showed that we had good intentions, that we wanted to help each other. So now it's not harmful.. Yet." Avdiy explained.
Igni patted Mortarion on the back. "Gave him a beautiful statue too."
"I'm sure he liked that." Ollie answered. "You are also good at making friends. I will do my best, I will at least try. As long as it doesn't want to eat me like those other things.." He said, remembering the spiders.
Avdiy was encouraging "If you bring it fish, I'm sure it will see you as a friend."
"Okay. But I expect you to do most of the fishgiving."
"We can give you fish to eat and to bring him."
"Then it's agreed. You pick some rooms, I stay here, raise your dragon friend."
"So, after checking the rest of this house, and doing some cleaning we shall bring our friend here."
And so it was agreed. But before they continued, Mortarion stepped forward to gave Ollie an awkward pat on the head with his heavily armored hand. "Nice Couatl bird."
"Nice Mortarion." Ollie sighed.

Mummified Hands

The Otari Misfits decided to give the colorful little coatl its space and continued their search of the old house.
Their next stop was another bedroom, stuffy and silent, not unlike Ollie’s own little lair. As they stepped inside, someone opened a window, letting in a stream of salty air and the distant crash of waves against the cliffs beyond.
"I think this is one of the rooms that Ollie was talking about." Mortarion whispered.
"Very good." Avdiy nodded, his tone neutral as always.
  Meanwhile, back in the main hallway, Glandallin moved ahead and threw open the next door. It creaked open into what looked to be the master bedroom—larger than the others, and anchored by a mostly intact bed. The space was thick with cobwebs, but notably still. No skittering limbs, no waiting monstrosities. The dwarf smirked.
"Big bedroom, for the big man." he chuckled to himself, drawing the eyes of his companions.
  Avdiy stepped forward, eager to investigate—only to be stopped by a firm grip on his arm. He turned, puzzled, until Glandallin gave a nod toward the webs just inside the threshold. There, almost artfully hidden among the rest, a single thick strand was looped like a noose, hanging at neck height.
"Why are you trying to go in my room?" the dwarf demanded with a wink. "It's dangerous there."
"I wanted to see what was there." Avdiy replied, his thick Varisian accent coating every syllable.
"Maybe there is more evil spiders in there." Mortarion mused from behind them, his voice as ragged as ever.
"Just let me chop this trap away." Glandallin muttered, pulling his axe from its place at his back.
  With a few deft swings, the strand was gone, and the Misfits stepped cautiously into the room, brushing aside layers of webbing like old memories. In one shadowed corner, Avdiy found a table—and to his surprise, a drawer.
"What is this?" he murmured, sliding it open. A few harmless spiders skittered away, revealing their strange treasure: a mummified hand, fingers curled into an eerie gesture, suspended on a golden chain.
"I think that's missing a body." Mortarion commented, leaning in.
"Could be," Avdiy replied, eyes narrowing as he studied the object. The hand was too slender for a human, even in death. "I think you might be right."
"Do you think it belongs to the ghost?" Glandallin asked, his brow furrowed. The idea of haunting spirits made the hairs on his neck rise.
"Maybe." Avdiy said softly, still staring at the hand.
"Does anyone want to get tickled by the Mummy hand?" Glandallin joked, chuckling darkly.
Avdiy ignored him. "Who wants to put an elf hand on a chain?" he muttered. "What a strange taste in jewelry this is."
"Perhaps this is the hand's room." Mortarion said, as though putting together a riddle. "Like Ollie's room."
  Without waiting for the conversation to end, Glandallin took the hand and turned down the hall toward the northeastern door.
"Are you guys coming? I'm moving on!" he called over his shoulder.
  But Avdiy wasn’t done. Muttering a few ancient syllables, he cast a spell to detect magic. Their enchanted gear glowed as expected, as did the crystal light source he carried—but so too did the severed hand.
"Wait!" he called after Glandallin. "That hand that you took is radiating magic."
As he moved toward the hall, another aura caught his senses—strong, and just beyond the door Glandallin was preparing to open.
"And in fact, that door also has something magical behind it."
"Ergh..." Glandallin grumbled, tossing the creepy hand back toward Avdiy without turning around.
  Avdiy perched on the edge of the bed, the eerie mummified hand resting in his palm as he probed its latent magic with practiced focus.
Across the room, Igni busied himself tending to Glandallin’s injuries—his small claws surprisingly deft as he cleaned the angry bites that crisscrossed the dwarf’s arms and shoulders.
Mortarion stood like a statue in the far corner, eerily still and silent. He could’ve been mistaken for a rusted, grotesque suit of armor if not for the occasional sound of his ragged breath.
  Minutes passed in quiet concentration until Avdiy finally looked up, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Is anybody interested in this peculiar magical necklace with hand? That allows you to affect things from a distance by an immaterial hand?"
"More. Magic?" Mortarion rasped. Upon seeing Avdiy’s solemn nod, he added, "I don't use magic."
"You can use it through the item," Avdiy explained patiently. "You don't have to be sorcerer to use this... or psychic." A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"I don't think I need to grab things, you keep it!" Igni chirped from where he was wrapping the last of Glandallin’s wounds.
  Avdiy gave a small shrug and put the gold chain arouond his neck. If anyone needed it later, they only had to ask.

 

Blue Finley

> TO DO < 01:04 to 01:35   Room description The light in this sparse bedroom seems to have a faint blue cast, and the air within is chilly. Wind rattles the shutters over the window. The wooden bedframe holds a moldering straw mattress and sheets, with a moth-eaten wool blanket folded at the foot of the bed.
  As the misty blue light dimmed to non existence Avdiy looked at his companions. "In the end, Groetus takes everyone. But is how it goes." It was an affirmation of his faith. "All he wanted was the honor, the memory of his grandmother." Igni said. "Seems that way" Mortarion looked at Sparkblade, it wasn't steel, it was made from Cold Iron. Then he gazed to Avdiy. "Is this magic?" The Varisian nodded. "It is. But I would need a while to see what it does exactly." Mortarion handed Avdiy the blade without a second thought. The Varisan took a moment to study the enchantment. The faint, delicate etchings of lightning that were across the blade hinted at its function. Once per day it had the ability to cast a spell and unleash an arc of lightning from the blade. Quite potent. "I promise I will put it to good use." Mortarion whispered to himself as he accepted the blade. Then the sentinels decided to explore the rest of the house. A door to the eastern end of the room opens to the outside world. A raised porch, some six feet above the gravel beach, that connects the main house to a large storage building on the other side. The weather has taken its toll on the porch, with many of the wood planks rotting and splintering over the years. The storage building had two doors, there was a dissection between the northern part and the southern part. Mortarion and Glandallin were eager to explore the storages but Avdiy warned them. "Are you sure there are no traps there?"