A Reflective Transaction, Part 1
Word has reached me of your power and great deeds. I require strong adventurers to carry out an important transaction on my behalf, as I have had a few setbacks lately and can no longer complete it myself. You can expect a handsome reward of gold and treasure in exchange for your discrete services.
- Ezekiel Mendoza
Recap
Nyra, Yulvik, and Rez answer the call of someone who needs help completing a transaction. Nyra, still in her pajamas, enters the world a bit groggily, but Rez and Yulvik take quite nicely to the strange energies here. Upon finding themselves outside a small house in the remote wilderness, Rez immediately tries to walk in and nearly tries picking the lock, but thinks better of it. Knocking does in fact bring a humanoid man, perhaps of mixed heritage, to the door, calling himself Ezekiel, the one who summoned them here.
Everything quickly devolves into an argument as Rez insists that Ezekiel must be up to no good, what with keeping his doors locked out in the middle of nowhere. Everyone collectively thinks themselves he must be a hoarder, though the front rooms where they are granted entry are clean and do show off quality mundane collectibles - which he seems quite proud of, everyone is convinced the back rooms must be positively hoarder status.
After hearing the pattering of animals through a door and rigorously interrogating Ezekiel about it, who insists he cares for wounded animals he finds in the woods, she eventually picks the lock so quickly and expertly that she’s able to open the door to peer in before anyone can stop her. There she sees various woodland creatures trapped in cages, but do not appear to be grievously suffering or wounded.
Threatened with being kicked out after this, Yulvik eventually herds them along their way to complete the mission assigned: Deliver payment for a mirror engraved with 12 eyes from a witch named Tabitha. But watch out! Tabitha collects… exotic pets and when she’s bored with them she frees them onto the mountainside. These could be just about anything. She also likes to lay traps to test anyone approaching her home and Ezekiel says this is just par for the course. Yulvik does collect a letter of confirmation to leave with the payment, a small leather pouch, to ensure Tabitha knows the transaction was complete in case she is not there herself… which is possible. Oh, and she may have guardians they’ll have to fight.
Going up the mountain is slow and difficult, it is high altitude and covered in snow and ice. Right as a gargantuan monstrosity of an experimental-looking centipede begins clambering with surprising dexterity up the mountain towards them, Merrick and Fang crash in just in time to help take it down! After several epic chomps and an intense Psychic Bomb shakes them all to their core, they do manage to bring the beast down just enough for Fang to take one particularly effective bite to its neck, felling it where it stood on the mountainside.
The party catches up Merrick and they manage to find somewhere defensible to camp overnight and carry on the rest of the way in the morning… and as far as they know, the long rest was uneventful.
To be continued…