Chapter 3: Magically Delicious

Gendrew and Andolyn are both relieved that the group has come to their rescue. Upon hearing that they were sent by Leland-Sir, the couple grow excited. "I'm glad he had the foresight to send you all our way!" exclaims Gendrew. Andolyn nods, seemingly preoccupied - after all, now that it has been confirmed that everyone is safe for the moment, the house appears in quite a state of disarray.

As the meal concludes, cleaning commences. With the help of those in the group who are willing and a few servants of the unseen kind, the process does not consume nearly as much time as it normally would. The couple seem rather... experienced at cleaning. Efficient and effective, even. Perhaps there is validity to Alterith's friendly caution after all...

Andolyn seems to have many questions, and gives Gendrew some concerned looks. "Truly, who has done this, dear? Do you know?" She turns to the group. "Do any of you know who would come to do us harm? I know I wasn't the most popular adventurer among my enemies and all, but... that was all years ago..." She sighs. "I just hope my past life hasn't brought ruin upon us... we're used to cleaning up after ourselves, because our... kitchen adventures tend to make messes. But nothing like this..." She casts a remorseful look at Gendrew, sitting next to hear, while the latter places a comforting hand on her robed knee.

If Rasa's skin could turn any paler, his companions would have noticed him blanching with disgust. Squin seems interested in just looking polite, while the others react with whatever is in their minds.

Andolyn turns to Philo. "Young man, I know you have been frequenting these nearby woods. Have you seen any suspicious activity of late?" She turns back to Gendrew. "And all this talk about some foreign substances... we'll definitely have to look into the matter..." She looks at the group, to indicate to them that they are, of course, not obligated to stay.

As Philo answers her question (or not), Gendrew goes to get the box of potions. Once seated again, he holds the box on his lap. It is obvious to the group that they intend to give them the potions.

Rasa takes his salve quickly, knowing full well that it could be trouble without it. after healing his wounds, he's ready to go whichever way the group decides. Though he does keep his eye on those potions. They could prove to be quite useful...... especially the one labeled cat's grace.

Alterith holds up the item he recovered from the imp's body. "Any idea how this came into the possession of the creature that attacked your husband?"

After helping with the cleaning, Krytox mills about during the conversation. He had never been good in social situations, and the fact that they had destroyed sections of this couple's cottage wasn't helping much. His Common still wasn't where it needed to be, though markedly improved since he first joined this odd assortment of adventurers. Still, he mostly just sits back and lets the others do the talking, nodding in agreement as necessary.

When Gendrew brings the box of potions back into the room, it is obvious that Rasa's eyes light up. He was usually quite good at concealing his emotions, but something there had gotten his attention. The lizardman eyes the box more closely, but the more he thinks about it, the more his mind wanders. It didn't really matter to him what the potions were, as long as they could help. They're only an added bonus... Leland-sir is the one paying us for this mission anyway, so anything else we find is just extra fat on the meat*.


OOC: Attempt at relaying the phrase 'icing on the cake' in a way a carnivore might think of it... how many lizardmen think about baked goods in that way?

Philo ponders Andolyn's question for a moment. "Suspicious activity..." she muses slowly. "I have to admit that prior to today, most of my attention has been directed to my own"-- Philo pauses, unsure how much to reveal--"to my own quest." At Andolyn's encouraging nod, she continues. "My friend Tex and I -- oh, Tex is a cat," she explains, noting a few blank looks, "a rather large cat. Anyway Tex and I are just passing through, pausing a few days to gather provisions before we move on."

Philo searches her memory, but nothing particularly helpful comes to mind. "The two of you," she says, gesturing to Andolyn and Gendrew, "were the only ones I saw, before today. Perhaps I can ask Tex, though, when he returns from hunting. He tends to notice things. I..." she pauses again, and frowns, just recalling something.

"I did see some fresh cuttings yesterday evening, in one of the herb patches near the brook," Philo says. "But I figured that must've been from one of you...right?"

Being given potions are an added bonus. He looks over the labeled potions and decides that while the darkvision likely won't help him much, the others are beneficial. He doesn't see a real need or desire for any of the potions at this time, so the centaur is perfectly happy to let the others take what they want and he'll take whatever is left.

Meanwhile, the centaur continues to act polite while trying to think over things carefully. The contentment from the meal was making good hard concentrated thinking hard. For now, he just listens carefully to the ongoing conversation.

Epilogue

The group stays with the couple for a few more days, resting and recovering, and helping them in minor ways around the house, cleaning it up, and applying minor repairs. The couple is indebted, and as a further token of their appreciation, security tokens are given to each of the adventurers. Identical to the pendant Bloodlust recovered from the imp, the tokens will allow the group to visit the cottage in the future without adverse response from it.

Andolyn replies to Alterith's question that she has passed out tokens in like fashion to family, relatives, and friends, and that the imp must have stolen one from one of them. Meanwhile, Gendrew explains to Philo that it indeed was he who cut fresh vegetables from the nearby patches down at the brook in preparation for his creation. During these next few days, Gendrew also spends extra time researching the nature of the strange substances they discovered, while the group trains and finds themselves becoming more experienced.

As the days wind down and the group makes preparations to leave, his face pales slightly as he hands them a scroll sealed with wax. "Please take this back to Leland-Sir," he says. "It will be very important to him."

With some farewells, the group departs back to Sesolston, with Princess Somi's birthday celebration looming just over the horizon.