----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------- Chapter 7: Calming the Villagers -------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------

(DM:)
When the movements of all the deep fried natives have stopped, Silver
extinguishes her wall of fire, lest the adjacent buildings catch fire
(small flames are already creeping along the wall of one building, the
one the natives were originally trying to get into).

(Silver:)
Silver pauses after the battle, and then remembers the scene when the
party encountered these foul natives -

 [They are a group of seven, about to bust down the door to a wooden
  house, from within which you hear the terrified wails of some women
  and children]

She then hears a child cry from the building the natives were trying
to enter, and rushes over to the door, calling out "Please, do not
fear any more. We have vanquished the fiends" as she attempts to enter
the door (which is presumably barred from the inside).  "Please let me
in, I can help any who are wounded".

(Hopefully) the villagers will admit her after looking out to see what
she says is true.  Silver will then take a quick look and tend to
those who are most critically wounded (using the healing skills she
has picked up during her life, not calling upon her goddess unless
absolutely necessary). Once all are stabilized, she will tell them to
remain as hidden as possible, and then rejoin her colleagues. The
villagers should be able to tend to the small fires themselves to
prevent further damage to the buildings. If extra help if *really*
needed, then Silver will stay and help with this task as well.

General Note:
Silver will attempt to stay with the rest of the party unless held up
by attending to wounded villagers/small fires near where we battled
with the natives.

(DM:)
Before you guys leave to pick up your left-behind items, Silver
insisted on helping out the women and children in the besieged house.

After Silver has been speaking loudly at the door, reaffirming the
demise of the natives, and the identity of yourselves, the door opens
finally, and inside you find a group of five women and ten children,
looking frightened towards the outside of the building.  They appear
to be unharmed physically, just in psych shock.

(Shade:)
"Hmmm music can soothe beasts - he sings softly - let's see what I can
do for you my gentle people." Smiling and singing a melodious lullaby
the bard starts to create a bubble of peace in sharp contrast to the
desolated landscape of the scorched corpses of the raiders.

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana helped Silver where she could, assisting the hurt and lost.
As Shade sang softly to the villagers trying to soothe their fears,
Tatiana added counter point to his song and this added to the calming
effect.  She sang of courage and a job well done protecting lives.

(Silver:)
As the music weaves its effect on the villagers, Silver notices this
and, heartened by this help from her friends, flashes them a brilliant
smile. She takes the time to reappraise Shade, and she seems
thoughtful for a moment before turning back to the job of helping the
women and children.



From the remains of Silver's Wall of Fire ....

(DM:)
Kaeyar finds a small round container (10 cm diam) with a stopper. It
seems to be made of some kind of hardened leather, but did not burn.
As Kaeyar shakes it lightly, you hear some liquid sloshing around in
it...... The stopper is closed, but not sealed (You find pieces of
string type stuff suggesting it was sealed at one time).

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Careful with the flask, it probably holds their poison!"

(Arlon:)
Arlon replies "Sounds like good advice to me. We should save it and
show it to the more learned of the leaders here though"

(Kaeyar:)
Kaeyar hands the flask that he found over to Arlon. "If this has
something to do with how they blew up the walls, I'd rather not be the
one carrying it.  I agree, we should show it to the Wyvernspur or his
advisors, let them see what they make of it.  Perhaps if they are very
interested we can sell it to them..." His face lights up with this
last statement.

(Falrun:)
Then Falrun says, "I think we should find Mendahl and see if there is
any help to be given anywhere else and maybe he can identify the
liquid in this bottle.  Perhaps, maybe Dithion, Keilan or Shade might
be able to identify it if it's the natives poison."

(Silver:)
When the time is most appropriate, Silver will ask to hold the bottle
that was found upon the natives. Carefully opening the flask away from
other people (unless they specifically want to be around) - having
taken the precaution of covering her nose and mouth with a piece of
damp cloth, Silver will pull out a small piece of slightly pink
paper/cloth.  Laying this on a small droplet which is still on the
bottle lid, she will say "Please grant the power we need.  Please
allow me, by your wondrous skill, to prevent further damage".

(Arlon:)
While Silver is "playing" around with the liquid, Arlon is getting
impatient:

(Silver:)
Presumably, the paper remains light-coloured, and with appropriate
thanks, Silver will stand and announce that this bottle does not
contain poison.

(Arlon, with a little sarcastic tone to it:)
"Well thank you Silver but I don't think any of us was going to drink
it, plus you can see it is not the same substance as that on their
daggers..."

(Silver:)
Silver was facing away from Arlon as he said this. Those watching
closely would notice that as Arlon said this, Silver became extremely
tense. It takes her a few long heartbeats to relax slightly, and then
she turns to Arlon, bottle in hand.

(Arlon:)
Arlon pauses and may have gotten a stern look from Silver "Sorry
Silver, I am a little anxious at the moment - I just think Mendahl
would at least know someone who has more experience with this stuff."

(Silver:)
Silver says "Of course, Arlon. Without doubt you are correct" in a
flat voice.  She hands the bottle over, and then takes a few paces
back, her hood once more drawn up.

(Arlon:)
"I think Mendahl will probably be busy for a little while; so we
should gather our stuff and heal before we seek him out.  I for one
will need a little healing after being singed."

Arlon then looks around, seeing how extensive the destruction may have
been.

(DM:)
As you ponder on whether the liquid in the container could be the
poison (?) on the blades, you remember that the substance on the onyx
knives was very thick, while this liquid sloshes quite happily and
seem to have a low density.......

(Arlon:)
OOC: Arlon will take the bottle, unless someone else gets their mitts
     on it.  I thought my little tantrum would upset Silver - I forgot
     to write a qualifier that said - Arlon will then use an
     apologetic tone, when he says sorry.  I am not sure if you
     understood that or not - I think you did.  As you will see, Arlon
     can get impatient and be a bit of an intellectual snob.  Boy, so
     far I am doing pretty good - 2 classes I should be able to get
     along with Druid and Ranger - I get them both a little upset with
     me.  Oh well, interaction is always interesting.  Arlon will
     probably make it up to them sometime.

(Tatiana:)
When Silver's and Arlon's nerves were frayed to the point where they
started to bicker she started to hum again.  Something subtle and
unconscious but it had the soothing effect she desired.  She was happy
to see that two of the people she cared for settle their differences
maturely.

(Silver:)
After a moment, (melodic singing in the background) Silver steps
forward once more, rests her hand on Arlon's arm, and says quietly "I
am sorry for acting childishly just then. It was simply that the tone
of your voice brought back some very unpleasant memories which I would
rather forget. Your apology is accepted. Please forgive my tone as
well - the carnage has affected me more than I thought it had."


(Dithion:)
"Relax everyone.  Just remember we are still hyped up from that
battle.  Let's take it down a few notches.  Realizing this will also
help getting upset at what others say."

(Arlon:)
After hearing Dithion, Arlon says: "I am truly sorry Silver, I have
had a lot of magical energy flowing through me in a short period of
time - I get REALLY hyped from that.  I think I need to buy you dinner
sometime."

"Boy, I hope I get rich, I am going to owe a lot of people dinners!"

(DM:)
Silver cast her detect poison spell, and instead of the paper
remaining uncoloured or colour by itself, the piece of paper bursts in
flames! You have never had THIS happen before. The meaning of it
strikes you as some kind of warning, but its real meaning escapes you.

(Shade:)
The drow is a little startled "Never ever seen that sort of effect -
he mutters to himself, then more loudly - be careful guys this ought
to be a strange potion indeed.  Perhaps the best course of action is
to submit these strange things to the attention of Mendahl, as you
suggest but I'd like to have a look at it myself."

OOC: Bards know a little of everything I have a 40% (much less I think
     because of our brand new environment?) to know rumors about this
     liquid.

(DM:)
Then Dithion has a go at identifying the contents of the bottle. He
casts his detect magic on it, and the potion radiates magic strongly.
the aura is of a very distinct alteration type....

(Dithion:)
"Maybe it is a potion.  May I take a look?"

(Arlon:)
Arlon responds in a low monotone: "Certainly Dithion, as you like."

(Arlon to Silver:)
"That Wall of Fire, very interesting I would like to talk .. to ..
you". He hesitates as he notices what Dithion is doing. "DETECT MAGIC
I don't .... does anyone know if there is a lake nearby, I think I
need to take a dip!"

OOC: I am assuming Arlon could tell what Dithion was doing using his
     spellcraft proficiency.

(Keilan:)
Keilan is suddenly short a sheath and offers Arlon a look at the jade
knife since the others seem to have been destroyed.  "I don't know if
it's much like the others.  But it's a good knife all the same."

(Arlon:)
"Thank you Keilan, I would like to show the knife (dagger?) and the
potion to Mendahl, after we are done here, and see what he can tell us
- it may lead into a mission!"

Arlon will seek out Mendahl and give a brief description of the more
interesting things that happened during the battle - the resistance to
magic, the potion etc...

(DM:)
Okay, just to remind you. The knife (dagger) that you do have, is a
jade knife, the ones used by the creatures were onyx, and looked
nastier (serrated edges etc).

(Arlon:)
OOC: Thanks Whisper, I thought there was something different about the 2.

Arlon will give the knife back to Keilan. "If you can't use it maybe
you get some currency for it."

(Falrun:)
Thinking back, Falrun remembers that Arlon was surprised when he said
that Arlon *may* be the most educated of the group.  Catching up with
Arlon, Falrun says "I had an opportunity to study magic when I was
young, but the arcane symbols and the technical aspects of magic
escaped me.  I also realized that any one who studies magic must be
disciplined enough to be able to sit and study for hours at a time.

"I would rather swing a sword or be in the wilderness, but I do
recognize the fact that anyone who would be able to master magic full
time must be of above average intelligence and the schooling comes
hand in hand with the training in the art of magic, more so, I would
assume, than someone who only dabbles in magic from time to time."

(Arlon:)
"Discipline is required for all fields, as for you and weapons
training - I never wanted to take the time to learn weaponry, just
enough to get me by.  I always had a craving for the arcane, the
ancient things, magic was my food and my air - it coursed through me
freely and my control of it was quick and almost effortless. Yes a
keen intellect does help in acquiring a wide range of magical skills
and allow a grasp of the more potent magic."

The bluish tint to his eyes is deeper now and he appears to be in a
trance ...  then he says "You know Falrun, you remind me of a couple
of my brothers - they where also much more comfortable with the art of
melee than I, I do remember them pulling my fat from the fire on at
least one occasion (saying this with a slight chuckle)."