#autumnrun

[heavenscribbles]

Yikes/Husk: Abhorrent Behavior

(D&D story, 4047 words, mid campaign, for clarity Quinn is a skin of Yikes')

Authors: @friendlyforestbeast @hellscribbles

Companion art piece by @friendlyforestbeast <333

CW: Alcohol/drinking, bug mention ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Excuse me, are you a student of Autumnrun?” 

Soft, lilting music from a nearby stage drowned out the clink of glasses and the chatter of voices around the dingy tavern, the dim candle light casting playful shadows across the walls. The overwhelming scent of strawberries magically filled the air Quinn breathed as she stepped next to her accomplice, smiling warmly at the man they’d chosen to question next. 

The half-elven man sitting at the bar looked up from the papers haphazardly strewn in front of him, a grimace etched into his face from countless hours of study only to deepen as his eyes met Emilia’s. Emilia, Husk’s current skin, leaned towards him smiling sweetly, the telltale flush of alcohol across their cheeks but the ears of their half-elven form were alert. To play into their tipsy shyness they began to fiddle clumsily with the long red braid that fell neatly over their shoulder. 

“Yes, I am. Why do you ask?” The man questioned, confusion and mild irritation barely concealed in his tone.

“Well, you see,” they looked back at Quinn with a bright smile and placed a hand gently on hers, “my partner and I were thinking of attending this coming semester and we were hoping to get some advice on courses.” Quinn gazed at Husk with completely unfabricated affection as they began to spin their tale. Their story together for gathering information had slowly escalated throughout the night. The role of Husk’s lover had become quite a comfortable one for Quinn to play over the course of their friendship.

His eyes flicked up and down both of their forms with an air of suspicion before relaxing back, turning slightly in his seat to face them. Quinn stepped closer upon seeing his disposition soften, wrapping an arm around Husk’s waist, turning her affectionate gaze towards the stranger as she rested her chin on Husk’s shoulder. “We won’t take up too much of your time,” Quinn pleaded sweetly.

The man looked at the two of them thoughtfully, then back to his half finished paper. “I s’pose I have the time for a short break.” He said gruffly. Turning back to Emilia, he extended an ink stained hand. “Vanfir’s the name, and you are?” 

Husk beamed at him and lightly took his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Vanfir. I’m Emilia and this is my dearest, Quinn.” They rested their head against her cheek affectionately.

Quinn gave him a wide smile as she scrutinized his form, watching for any shifts in his body language, “Hello, lovely to meet you,” she said warmly.

Quinn did try to keep her attention on Vanfir as Husk began questioning him further on the details of his experiences at that pit of vipers they called a college, but the alcohol she’d drunk and the exhaustion of the last week made it difficult to hide her overwhelming affections for Husk. She suspected that was why their story for gathering information had morphed into playing lovers, it certainly made the deceptions easier for Quinn to sell, it wasn’t quite so anxiety-inducing to lie when it was with Husk. She listened intently as Husk innocently poked and prodded Vanfir about his troubles, expertly guiding the conversation to the information they wanted. Though every so often their eyes caught Quinn’s and they smiled at her warmly.

Quinn’s eyes wandered to the pages laying around the bar as Husk coyly questioned Vanfir on the exact layout of the campus. The swirling handwritten letters were a maze, familiar yet indecipherable. Quinn’s ears dropped an inch as the all too familiar shame of not knowing how to read Elvish bubbled up. It got more ridiculous the older they aged that they had never actually learned to read the language that was so ingrained in them. Now though, the neglect of their native language had potentially become dangerous since becoming an Eladrin for the foreseeable future.

From the corner of her eye, Quinn saw that Vanfir was smiling tightly, he’d gone back to hurriedly writing a few lines in-between answering their questions. She studied Vanfir’s handwriting for a moment longer, a few words were recognizable in the scribblings, the Elven name for some bardic spells and a few dates set a few hundred years ago. 

Vanfir halted mid-sentence to follow Quinn’s gaze on his unfinished paper. “Ah, I see you have an interest in history. I’m a lore bard myself.” He stated proudly, striking a dirty thumb into his chest. “Tell me, what are your thoughts on this?” He questioned as he moved his papers a few inches closer to her, inviting her to read further. 

“Uh-” Quinn recoiled, realizing her mistake as blood rushed to her face. If he was specializing in lore surely such an important project would be history based, remembering the details of history had never been her strong suit. She’d been looking at his paper for far too long to pretend she didn’t know what the topic was. “I-I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Quinn stammered.

Vanfir raised a critical eyebrow at her, “You don’t know anything? Didn’t you say you were considering studying here?” It was almost imperceptible but Quinn could pick up on the slightest twitch of Emilia’s ear and their sweet smile was beginning to strain at its edges.

Quinn chewed her lip for a moment, her mind racing with how to proceed. He seemed genuinely shocked at her confusion, it must be something well known then. The college catered to Eloquence bards, their stories were often the most well known and widespread. Quinn let her eyes wander over his notes once again, trying to make sense of the confusing lines for any hint. 

Her eyes caught on a date, the year 1205. Quinn desperately tried to remember anything connected to that timeframe, the only thing that stuck out to her was the story of Fitzgerald, an Eloquence bard.

It seemed like a logical bet.

She leaned back and met Vanfir’s eyes again, reading his expression closely as she spoke. “Uh, well Fitzgerald’s antics were certainly a turning point in our history in Menlin,” Quinn started clumsily, praying to whatever god happened to be listening she was correct in her guess. “He was certainly an… interesting figure.” 

Vanfir blinked in confusion, then scoffed in offense, his ears twitched wildly in indignation. “Interesting?! The man was a visionary! He revolutionized how the Weave could be manipulated with the invention of Vicious Mockery, without his progress we’d still have Thunderclap as our only offensive cantrip. I’d hardly call that antics,” he spat. 

Quinn pursed her lips, lowering her ears in submission as Vanfir spoke. “Y-yes, of course. I only meant that he made bards' lives quite hard in Menlin after he murdered-'' Quinn stumbled, desperately scrambling to remember the name of the royalty Fitzgerald was famous for killing. The royal family’s line was hard enough to remember, even without the warm gin muddling her thoughts. “-that royal,” Quinn finally said, wincing in humiliation even as the words left her mouth. Husk tightened their grip around her arm and was now glaring daggers at Vanfir which he seemed not to notice.

Vanfir tilted his head at her incredulously, “‘that royal’? Surely you don’t mean Horace Dacrald?”

Quinn paused, the name didn’t ring a bell. “Probably?” She said, giving Vanfir an apologetic shrug. Perhaps it was actually kinder that she was drunk for this.

“‘Probably?’” Vanfir mocked her, a thin eyebrow raised in indignation. 

Quinn resisted the urge to shrink further into herself, forcing her shoulders to relax. “A-anyway,” she laughed nervously, attempting to distract from the awkward topic, “you were telling us about the college's facilities?”

Vanfir hesitated before narrowing his eyes, scrutinizing Quinn’s form. “Why did you bring up Fitzgerald? I asked for your thoughts on the progression of magical components and their various applications throughout history,” he said haughtily. “If you were planning to study here, I’d hope you would have some basic understanding of spell components.”

“H-huh?” Quinn said, mortified, heat flooding her face as her ears lowered even further. She tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t dig her deeper, but any explanation or apology she could offer Vanfir would only let onto the fact she couldn’t read the language an Eladrin should definitely know. 

“Seems a rather dry topic for a profession so steeped in entertainment.” Husk piped up, venom dripping from their voice. “Are you sure taking work as a scribe might not be more to your liking?” Their ears were flicked back in annoyance and Quinn could feel they were inching closer to Vanfir menacingly. 

A red hue began to race up from Vanfir’s neck and spread across his face. “Well, I never!”

Vanfir collected his things in a huff and stormed off towards the exit. Husk put a hand to their mouth as if to cough and as the door to the inn began to close behind him, a sharp yelp could be heard amidst an almost imperceptible buzzing. 

Quinn blinked at Husk in surprise before giving them a grateful smile. Embarrassment and guilt nagged at her, it still felt strange to have someone so willing to defend her at any given moment, it felt even stranger to have Husk defend her mistakes, though it was decidedly a very comforting feeling all the same. 

It occurred to Quinn yet again that she was unworthy of Husk’s protection. 

She slumped back down against the bar and took a long sip of her drink. “Gods I’m sorry,” she said with a huff. 

Husk looked surprised as they took a seat beside her. “What for? He was being a pompous asshole.”

Quinn blew a lock of green hair out of her face, forcing the lingering embarrassment out of her body with the breath. “I… misread that,” Quinn hoped Husk wouldn’t think too hard about that. “Pompous asshole or not, that wasn’t my finest sweet talking,” she said with a chuckle.

They tilted their head to look at her, their ears went lopsided which Quinn had come to know meant they were thinking over something, a habit that always made Quinn’s heart flutter. After a moment they smiled warmly, “eh, his handwriting was terrible, I couldn’t read it either.” 

Quinn laughed, the tension in her shoulders easing in relief, “If I’d pegged him as a lore bard I would have been more careful. Most of ‘em are sweet, but the bad apples among them are the most rotten you’ll find.”

“Ah I see, so he was immune to our sweet talking because there is nothing sweeter than the sound of his own voice.” Husk laughed, taking a swig of their own drink which was toxically sweet and unnaturally green.

“Bards are like that,” Quinn shrugged. “I do adore my fellow minstrels but we can be almost as insufferable as Paladins on a bad day, the level of intolerable mostly depends on their specialization.” Quinn said lovingly, despite the harsh words she was saying. The infinite flavors of abhorrent behavior was what Quinn loved the most about her profession.

Husk snickered into their drink. “I must admit, I’m not too familiar with the different bard specializations. I can perhaps take a guess at what a Lore bard might be, but I think you mentioned this town was filled with Eloquence bards?” 

“Eloquence bards are the most sharp witted of us,” Quinn finished off the last of her drink, the alcohol settled at the bottom of her glass stung her nose as it went down. “I’m sure most of them are sweethearts, there is an inspiring side to their abilities. They’re just often the ones who give bards a bad reputation,” she shrugged, “their magic tends to appeal to the worst kinds of people. Though, I mostly dislike them just because it's fun,” Quinn admitted with a chuckle.

Husk nodded with a laugh. “It can be a kindness for someone to lay your faults before you, though in the wrong company a quick wit should often be matched with quicker feet.” They stirred their drink for a moment before taking another hearty sip. “There is something fun about petty rivalries. Druids are the same, we have some opinions about other circles” Leaning back, they tilted their head and grinned at Quinn. “And you know me, Quinn, I do love to be petty.” 

Quinn smiled, leaning closer to Husk, eagerness getting the better of her. “Oh, please do tell! I’m afraid I don’t even know what all the circles are. Druids are pretty rare in Menlin.” Quinn tilted her head at Husk, “You’ve mentioned spore Druids before, what’s their deal?”

“Well for one thing, you’d smell a spore druid before you saw one!” They declared in mock outrage. “They give the rest of us druids a bad name when it comes to hygiene. Druids are no strangers to rolling around in dirt, sure, but Spore druids embrace it and make their own bodies homes for all kinds of fungus.” They gave an exaggerated shudder and a hand wave. “No thanks.”

“Oh, oh that’s horrifying,” Quinn mimicked the shudder of horror, the thought of mushrooms infesting one's skin enough to make her feel ill. She turned her ears towards the band playing to help push the sickening images out of her mind, focusing instead on the soft melodies filling the bar, bouncing a crossed leg in time with the beat.

Quinn’s mind wandered to Husk’s own abilities. Quinn was lucky to know more about Druids than most, but Husk’s specific magic was a mystery to them, she’d never seen anything quite like it. “If it's comfortable to answer, you’ve said before your Druidic abilities give you a second sight?”

Husk grinned again. “I haven’t perfected my craft yet but when my sight develops I’ll be able to control my visions and tweak fate.” They pulled out their augury cards and placed a few on the table face down. “These help me channel my connection if I concentrate but I still have a ways to go before I master it.” Their ears dipped in mild frustration. “For now I can’t always control or understand the information I see.”

Quinn leaned in to get a closer look at their cards, eyes wide in curiosity. “That’s so exciting! You’ll truly be able to influence the outcome of events? That's a wonderful talent!” Quinn praised excitedly. “What does it feel like to get information like that? Does it feel like anything?” Eagerness and admiration hung on Quinn’s every word, Husk’s company and the alcohol washing away the carefulness she usually had to embody.

A blush crossed Emilia’s features at Quinn’s praise and their right ear fluttered. “It’s… hard to explain exactly. When it comes in dreams there’s a feeling that sets it apart from regular ones, like a sense of urgency? But other times it’ll blindside me, like… blurting out names I shouldn’t know.” They grimaced apologetically. 

Quinn listened intently, then waved a hand dismissively at Husk’s sheepishness. “Oh, please don’t feel bad about that, you having a cosmic vision of my ex's name inorder to fake being my husband is more ridiculous than anything else.” Husk choosing that name had been quite a shock at the time, it had been less than three months since they’d dashed out of a restaurant wearing Cedric’s engagement ring. Something about that name coming to Husk in that situation still nagged at them, but they decided to shove it away again. “A familiar name probably sold our theatics better anyways,” Quinn laughed.

“It was quite the performance.” They agreed, their smile returning. “Still, I’ll hopefully figure out how to keep that in check in the future. It would be nice to divine a straight answer for once.” Husk looked thoughtful for a moment and tried to suppress a small laugh. “Oh gods, come to think of it, Star druids might be the most pretentious of the Circles. We have a habit of using our divination magic to cheat our way through tasks on the first try, but we must look pretty pretentious from the outside.” They then turned to look at Quinn very solemnly, though the curl of a smile threatened the corner of their lips. “Dearest Quinn, would you still love me inspite of my pretentiousness?” 

Quinn paused, then leaned in close enough to feel the heat of Husk’s alcohol soaked breath brush across her face, “Oh my darling, I love you because of your pretentiousness,” Quinn teased, “isn’t that what makes life fun?” Quinn whispered sweetly, dropping her voice to a seductive purr.

Husk feigned a dramatic sigh of relief and playfully took Quinn’s hands in theirs. “You are so right, my dear. It does spare us from a boring existence.” They were trying hard to suppress a tipsy giggle.

Quinn turned their hands so their fingers linked together, the condensation from holding their drink making Husk’s hand chilled to the touch. “I wouldn’t worry about ‘cheating’ though, truly it's a wonderful thing to pick up skills and talents faster. I’d hardly call using your abilities to improve your quality of life cheating,” Quinn tried to reassure. 

Their ears went lopsided for a moment but their impish grin remained. “It has gotten me out of a pinch more than once. In my line of work, I don’t have the luxury of taking my time learning new skills.” They squeezed Quinn’s hands as a soft lilac light emanated from their palms. “I am glad it’s something I can share, I’d hate to hoard it all to myself.” Husk’s magic washed over Quinn, singing through her veins in a delightful hum, soothing the exhaustion filling her mind.

Quinn’s own ears lowered an inch. Curiosity still nagged at her, she had a good enough idea what Husk’s life had been like before coming to Menlin. Husk’s voice always held such shame when they spoke about the life they’d had to live, it made Quinn’s heart ache. 

Time wasn’t a luxury she had access to either, she assumed she had even less of it now, but compassion had been in abundance throughout her life. She suspected tenderness hadn’t been afforded to Husk in a long time. 

Quinn chewed her lip, she really hadn’t known Husk that long. They were everything she had looked for all these years, they had provided kinship and security Quinn had never experienced before. Their friendship felt relaxed, safe and sincere. The ache to return all that Husk gave her had gotten increasingly hard to stifle. She wanted to treat them gently, to care for them in any way they would allow her to, to soothe all the pain they carried with them, even if such a task was impossible for her to accomplish. 

“If you’ll allow me to, I’d like to try to give you an abundance of time.” Quinn said hesitantly, “I can teach you to play the pan flute as slowly as you’d like to.” Quinn prayed she wouldn’t be made into a liar. 

There was a slight pause as Husk’s ears fluttered again. Then a genuine, grateful smile slowly grew on their face and they squeezed Qinn’s hands again, bringing them closer to their chest. “I would love that, Quinn.” They hesitated a moment before speaking again. “Thank you.” They whispered softly, there was a weight to that phrase that only another fey could know. 

Quinn grinned, delight alleviating her worries for a moment. “Well my love, shall we put some of those grandiose powers to the test?” Quinn teased, nodding towards a man loudly hitting on an uninterested woman. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was late. The streets of Dradow were spinning slightly as the two of them made their way back to the Eclipse and Husk still felt the exhilaration of a night filled with mischief. It was uncharacteristic of them to throw caution to the wind and befriend someone so quickly, but in the few short weeks they had come to know each other Yikes had seen them at their lowest and still accepted them. They felt undeserving of his unwavering kindness, but cherished every moment they had together.

Now out of the city’s center, only the soft glow of the street lights guided the two fey’s path back to the circus, as Quinn and Emilia held each other by the arm to prevent the other from careening into the bushes. Husk giggled with Emilia’s sweet voice as they tried not to teeter into a nearby bench while excitedly recounting the night’s events. “The look on that man’s face when his drinks kept disappearing!” 

Quinn quickly wrapped her arm further around Husk in an attempt to course correct them both, laughing as she did so. It was an excited cackle high in their throat, the beginning of the sound was Quinn’s musical tone, before morphing into Yikes’ velvet voice for just a moment. It was a rarely heard laugh from them, though Husk was hearing it more and more lately and adored it. “Poor fool probably spent sixty silver on drinks alone tonight, you’d think he would have caught on after the third one.” 

“And you were incredible, Quinn!” Husk turned their head to look at Quinn and caught her golden eyes illuminated in the lamplight, their heart fluttered warmly as she smiled at them. “You had those bards wrapped around your finger so quickly!” It had been a long while since Husk had an accomplice in mischief and Husk was in awe of Yikes’ ability to steer a conversation and hook others’ attention so completely. 

The tinted blush over Quinn’s cheeks and nose deepened as she looked away shyly. “A little suggestion to loosen some tight lips never hurt anyone,” Quinn said with a flustered chuckle, raising her hand and flicking her wrist. A little puff of magical orange smoke danced between her fingers for a moment, but was quickly swept away by the wind. Husk watched her magic in giddy admiration. 

Quinn gave them a wide smile, “it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to be a menace to strangers like this. You’re certainly right that it's a wonderful way to blow off steam,” she laughed. 

“I’m so glad you think so,” they beamed at her, unable to stop the excitement from bubbling up within them, they squeezed her arm affectionately. “And this is just the first act! Professor Winteron will never see us coming.” They momentarily lengthened their ears and let their teeth get pointed for dramatic effect.

That same high pitched cackle greeted Husk’s ears again, “I can’t wait to plan his demise with you… when the world isn’t spinning-” Quinn’s words were slightly slurred as she leaned more heavily on Husk, the now familiar scent of her vanilla perfume filling their senses. “I hope we get to do this many more times,” she whispered, intoxicatingly sweet.

“Me too.” They whispered back in delight. “At this rate, we could comfortably scam every town between here and Runecaster.” Quinn only snickered in response. 

A pang of guilt struck their chest. Only a few nights ago they swore they would be there for Yikes for as long as he needed them, despite knowing they could be dragged back to Llaethpotel within a moments’ notice. They couldn’t expect Yikes to follow them back there but they wouldn’t dare break their promise to him either. 

Husk tightened their hold around Quinn’s arm, trying to quash the tiny voice at the back of their mind becoming more and more difficult to ignore. They hadn’t wanted to admit that despite the assassins, werewolves and dark mirror gods, this was the safest they had felt in over a decade and it was in no small part thanks to Yikes.

They glanced at Quinn’s face, she smiled and rested her head on their shoulder, humming affectionately, the heat of her cheek stark against the cool morning air on Husk’s skin. Husk released Quinn’s arm and moved their hand down to hers, intertwining their fingers. Their heart felt full but as much as they wanted to tell Quinn how grateful they were for her, the words failed them, lost in a blurry, alcohol fueled haze. 

Was it selfish of them to not want to return home for a little while longer?    

[thegraveyardshiftdnd]

The Plot so far (pt. 3)

Continuing the plot summary of the Graveyard Shift now on the new blog for it! If you want to read what happened previously, here are parts 1 and 2, along with a link to the masterpost!

Picking up from Yikes and Azule waking up from the nightmare, there's a collective panic as those who were in the nightmare ensure that their friends and coworkers are who they say they are. Frizzle (one of the NPCs from the first arc and was in the dream) confronts Todd, and Yikes and Azule confront Husk. Thankfully, no one's actually been replaced, and they hurry to finish traveling to Dradow.

While Yikes was recovering from the 4 levels of exhaustion from the werewolf bite and the dream, there was a bit of downtime. During this, Yikes and Husk talked to Anzor and confronted him about various suspicious things that he had noticed him doing. It culminated in them both asking if Anzor was undead, which Anzor unhappily confirmed, showing what was under the bandages covering his body: mostly dead flesh with ever-open wounds slowly oozing blackened blood, and an open, exposed torso devoid of all organs except for a glowing red stone replacing his heart.

BACKSTORY TIME: He was used as an experiment for a necromancer looking to unlock the secrets of lichdom by tying a soul back to a dead body to live in undeath. While the necromancer succeeded with Anzor, he wasn't able to figure it out for himself before paladins of Kelemvor burst in and arrested him. Anzor was almost killed, but one paladin stuck up for him, saying he was clearly sentient, a person with a soul, and deserved a chance at life. Being taken in by the temple (although unable to enter it due to Hallow), he studied and prayed for hours and days to Kelemvor, hoping for an answer to help him. Kelemvor responded in a vision, bestowing powers, an oath, and an enchanted pendant that would ease his suffering and cover the fact he was undead. He entered the temple for the first time and was officially a paladin to Kelemvor.

With downtime mostly over, Yikes had the party meet up with a contact of his named Bramble, a hyena shifter and bardic professor at the local college. Dradow is a city known for its two colleges of magic, one for wizards called Clockworth’s Academy of Abjuration, and one for bards called Autumnrun’s College for Debators, Orators, and all things Eloquent, which Bramble works at. He's been working on a book for the last 10 years about shapechanging, the races associated with it, and the myths about them. Yikes was interviewed for the book years ago, and now he's taking Husk to meet him to get more information on changelings. During this cheerful reunion, a student comes in and asks if Bramble has seen a friend of hers, Falthrax, an older dwarf who's also a student. After searching where he'd been previously, the party found a seemingly sentient book called The Price of Beauty (yes it's the module from Candlekeep Mysteries). Telling it their problems caused it to open a portal to a dirt path lined by stone lilies in the middle of a jungle. The trees are recognized by Husk as this is part of the same jungle they lived on the other continent in the country of Llaethpotel. The party venture in, assuming this is where the missing dwarf went, and Bramble promises them he will help on the other side. And with that, the portal closes, and they are on a different continent.

Following the path, they find the Temple of the Restful Lily, one dedicated to the god Sune. They are greeted by Saeth, a human man who IMMEDIATELY drew the suspicion of the party. This suspicion increased after Yikes attempted to charm him, and he attempted to charm Yikes right back. They rested in the sauna for a little, where they met Zevi, a veteran from the bordering empire of Ascopia and sent here to recover from a leg wound. Yikes was able to determine the sauna was filled with fey magic and noticed very slight movement in the water. After pushing Zevi out of the room, Yikes and Husk were able to coax the naiad that lived in the pool out of hiding by showing they were fey as well. She introduced herself as Cyrena, and she told the party the temple had been taken over by a coven of hags, and her friend and founder of the temple, Sylvarie, had been missing for a decade, presumed dead.

With a day of investigating, they discovered Falthrax and another victim of the hags in what used to be Sylvarie's tower which the hags use as their home now. They also uncovered cursed paintings that seemingly tied a hag curse to these victims. With the break in noticed by a gargoyle, the party was on a time limit to get these victims out. Zevi stepped up, additionally distracting the hags, and after ordering Bramble to open up the portal using sending, they got the victims through and a fight began. The party killed the hags, but when faced by Saeth, revealing himself to be a cambian all along, Todd was able to persuade a negotiation instead, for a trade of information: the hags' recipe for the cursed paintings for Saeth, and information about the fey and changelings for the party. Saeth reveals there used to be a changeling settlement deep within the forest, which was destroyed 3 decades ago, making Husk question why their archfey, Nonna, who lives in the forest, didn't tell them about that. Saeth leaves with the hags' recipe content, and the party returns to the temple to discover a massacre. The hags and Saeth had killed the other visitors of the temple before chasing the party to leave no witnesses.

It's a somber moment to mourn the dead, but their work isn't over. They find Slyvarie in the basement of the abandoned shrine of Sune, who has been transformed into a medusa and petrified Yikes and Todd. However, Cyrena was brought along per her request, and she quickly convinced Slyvarie everything was ok, and she would finally be safe. A few professors from the bardic college were sent for to un-petrify the characters, and they finally headed back to Dradow.

They received an award from the headmaster of the college for their excellent work saving their missing student and were allowed to keep the Price of Beauty. The party now has a fairly easy way to travel to a base of operations outside of the continent if they ever find themselves in trouble.

And with that, unfortunately, Azule and Todd leave the game here. Azule was almost outed as a necromancer and left the circus, and Todd, with a deadline to fulfill a deal to their warlock patron looming, decided to leave as well.

The party does add one new member to their ranks: the NPC Frizzle! She had been given the ability to not sleep by her patron after the nightmare as a show of good will, and she decided to stop being so scared and stand up for herself and her friends. With that, Yikes and Husk invited her to join them to try to take down Margylia, and while she is still terrified, she agreed.

[cellophanedreams]

Week 4 of iso (with probably about 5 more months to go?), and still running. 💪🏃‍♀️ Completed my 10km run today with this view! Sydney, you're a stunner, you've got one of the best sunsets. Happy Friday. 🖤 #281215move #sydney #australia #homeiswheretheheartis #whitepieceofshitandhisasianslut #makingmemories #archive #archiving #chronicles #covid19 #flattenthecurve #isolation #iso #nofilter #lifeinlockdown #running #pilates #solorun #solo #autumnrun #clockingin #tgif #routine (at Rushcutters Bay) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_E6GfAH7Ry/?igshid=166pw79mg76g5

[battonycs]

Co je cesta, co je cíl? Už mi to splývá...a to je moc dobře 😉 #running #runwithdog #autumnrun #acd #australiancattledog https://www.instagram.com/p/CGXmBLwJxVqPLylRDyWAy2v8kjEXQ323Czg9Pg0/?igshid=519jru82omxv

[thelifesway]

A photo for #Instagram from this morning 10kms #AutumnRun is done and dusted #SamsungRun #FlexYourPassion @SamsungMobileSA #WithGalaxy #Thelifesway #Photoyatra (at The Campus Run Series) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9MIrbXpUTz/?igshid=xn7d81zarvgm

[laurmarianmertea-blog]

Rainy run. #runnerrunner #autumnRun #novemberRun #business #cityrun #BudapestRun #longRun #13k #1000calories #fitbit #inspire (at Budapest, Hungary) https://www.instagram.com/p/B44Xrf4nG02/?igshid=1vyuvqaxaf3rl

[doublel79]

"Offseason" Week 1 (10/18-24) training review: Total time running 8 hours, 47 minutes Total elevation gain 2,831 feet Total distance 58.7 miles ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sunday: debuting my new pair of Xero Prios from @xeroshoes . Zero-drop with a thin sole. You can really feel the surfaces that you are running on in your feet, a great way to get back to be completely present and to also strengthen my feet and legs with complete full range of motion. This was my first run on the Putnam Greenway since paved. I like it. ○ Monday: rest 🛌🏽 ○ Tuesday: back out on the Putnam and through Kingsbridge ○ Wednesday: around Bronx Park, up to Van Cortlandt on Mosholu Pkwy and around the Jerome Park Reservoir. I saw this "❤ Bronx" drawn on the sidewalk in Kingsbridge. Very nice. In NYC, there is no other place that I would want to call home than the Bronx. ○ Thursday: long run back on the trails. OCA (Old Croton Aqueduct) trail up through Van Cortlandt and Tibbetts Brook Parks to Yonkers Ave, then back to Van Cortlandt on the South County and onto the Putnam. Over to the XC, Cass Gallagher and the other trails I have grown to love running in the back woods. Quiet and peaceful 🙏🏽. ○ Friday: rest 🛌🏽 ○ Saturday: tested out the Xeros on some gravel trail and hit some Riverdale and Kingsbridge hills. I ran through a Manhattan College XC team workout in the back hills of Van Cortlandt and it was cool to see them pushing it through the hills. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Offseason is in quotes because road Marathon season is done for me and I am not training for any specific race. I am just training for health and fitness, while getting my trail climbing legs back. I am mapping out new long run routes and have many plans for the upcoming winter. There are always levels above where you're at, you just have to want it and go get it. #bronxrunners #runuptown #runwestchester #runthebronx #runnyc #strava #stravarun #garmin #garminforerunner645 #offseason #newbalancerunning #xeroshoes #altra #altrarunning #zerodrop #minimalistrunning #runningastherapy #basebuilding #autumntraining #autumnrunning #brainrecovery #recovery #cardio #strengthbuilding https://www.instagram.com/p/CGxRWn4nE-m/?igshid=c2x7w6d4idov

[radovanrybovic]

Dalsi z jesennych nocnych behov. Ak sa necitite dobre, chodte si von zabehat. Co vas nezabije, to vas posilni. Bojujme s COVIDom pravidelnym pohybom. 🏃🏼☀️🏃🏻‍♀️Another autumn night run. If you feel bad, go out running. What does not kill you makes you stronger. Let's fight COVID with a regular movement. . . . #fightcovid19 #fightcovid #brezno #slovakia #run #running #nightrunning #nightrun #beh #nocnybeh #dnesbeham #autumnrunning #jesennebehanie #nikerunningclub #nrc #fitness #fitnessmotivation #fitnessfreak #fitnessfreaks #mesto #noc #night #jesen #autumnvibes🍁 #autumnvibes #autumn #geocaching #geocache #geocachery (na mieste Brezno) https://www.instagram.com/p/CW0oXtDtiRN/?utm_medium=tumblr

[valerics-blog]

#thunersee🇨🇭 #autumnrunning (hier: Spiez, Switzerland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CV8fsXuq969/?utm_medium=tumblr

[runbikedad]

My Gatorade Endurance Autumn surprise kit arrived! Kwazii (my cat) loves it. Who wants to go for a run?!?! #gatoradeendurance #genduralliance #formulatedforfarther #endurance #endurancetraining #triathlontraining #marathontraining #fuelyourbody #fueling #catsofinstagram #autumn #autumnrunning (at Brooklyn, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgO6PQnn9o/?igshid=nt68itt8k24h

[antheas-blackberry]

Out early today for #FireBreak4 and my longest (and pain free) run since my calf strain! #instarunners #autumnrunning https://www.instagram.com/p/CHSXmhbA-P3/?igshid=vz6y4e2sea81

[adventureswithtyntyn]

11/20-(5 miles) Hey guys so like I said I would run what I felt like this week. So I woke up and I wasn’t feeling 8 miles at all in fact I was barely feeling 5 miles, but I still went out and just got a recovery run in with my strength after. It wasn’t even that cold this morning in fact it was really nice out, but I think my blood sugar was low when I started and I was in a rush so I just wasn’t really feeling the run and I had to stop a few times. I am definitely going to eat something tomorrow morning before running, even if it’s just a few pieces of cereal.

It was a beautiful sunny day out so I just enjoyed taking it slow and stopping when I felt like it. Then I came back, ate a smoothie and eggs and left for the train with my mom to go down to the city. We went to a doctors appointment first, but after that we just went shopping and had fun. All of the Christmas cdecorations were up and it was a fun way to spend the day. At night we met up with my dad and brother and ate some good Italian food, which I am always missing in champaign. There is no good pizza down there I am telling you.

Anyway even though I ate wayyyy to much I had a fun day:)

Lately I haven’t been feeling that much motivation to run….I feel like I just need to take a little break and run whenever I feel and then get back into it…I’m not sure though

Thankful for city lights & shopping days

[laurmarianmertea-blog]

I ran in the town with the oldest European marathon. #runnerrunner #autumnRun #octoberRun #business #cityrun #KosiceRun #CașoviaRun #fastRun #7k #fitbit #inspire (at Kosice, Slovakia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4HOtdtHnhz/?igshid=1v9bw8c696bz

[hashtagrunjennarun]

500! Just one mile today. I had to fight for my mile today. I have some odd overuse pains and pangs. I have a headache today when I hadn’t had one in five days. I was feeling incredibly tired and sluggish. But you don’t let 500 go. I’m not sure what the immediate future holds with regard to anything, let alone my #RunStreak. I am hopeful that I’ll continue, but I’m also watching the local numbers change. Since we don’t have bathroom in the basement, I can’t quarantine with the treadmill if I test positive. I recognize that the next milestone may not be hit and it may not be any fault of my own. I will continue to run as long as I am healthy and it’s safe for my whole family. Today’s one mile keeps my daily average right around 3.2 miles per day since Labor Day 2019. I’m hoping for longer tomorrow and Sunday with a quick mile on Saturday due to cross country. #RunJennaRun #OhioRunner #RunOhio #AutumnRunning #RunnersWithMigraines #RunLikeAWoman https://instagr.am/p/CGGP7ponvuS/

[doublel79]

"Offseason" Week 7 11/29-12/5 Total time running 4 hours, 33 minutes Total elevation gain 2,674 feet Total distance 28.1 miles •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A very light week to start December.  ∆ Sunday & Monday: rest 🛌🏽 ∆ Tuesday Virtual Race: first attempt at the @nyrr Virtual Ted Corbitt 15K in a Pete Mcardle XC 15K style in Van Cortlandt Park.  15Km = 9.321 miles but I ran 9.31 miles so the attempt did not count. 🤦🏽‍♂️ Almost a new 15K PR, but I will have to do another attempt for the full distance before the virtual race time period ends. About the Pete Mcardle XC 15K, it is my favorite NYRR XC race that usually takes place the first weekend of December. It is 3× around the Van Cortlandt 5K XC course with some route adjustments. ∆ Wednesday Trail Run: I have been using the Trail Run Project app lately to search for some trails to run in the area. I was looking past Westchester County and came across the Three Lakes Trail at Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park in Putnam County. 🏕🏞⛰🏔 Connected with the section of the Appalachian Trail that runs through the park, it is a just less than 8-mile loop with almost 1,400 feet of elevation gain. I went into it thinking of running the loop twice for a tough long run with over 2,300 feet of total climbing, but one go on the trail was enough. Forget the Long Path in NJ, this was way more technical. The name of the game was mud pits, lots of rocks, and many stream crossings. ∆ Thursday: Recovery run ∆ Friday & Saturday: rest •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I had an opportunity to try the Bronx Brewery's Oktoberfest, "Das Bronx". It is a new favorite in the Oktoberfest style. 🍺 #bronxrunners #runuptown #runthebronx #runnyc #strava #garmin #garminforerunner #altrarunning #newbalancerunning #xeroshoes #autumntraining #autumnrunning #groundandpound #trailrunning https://www.instagram.com/p/CIfuu_jHY3a/?igshid=7m29y0zg6rtl

[valerics-blog]

#runningmotivation im #herbstlichen #Suldtal 👍✌🏃‍♂️🍂😎 #autumnvibes🍁 #autumnrunning #adidasterrex # (hier: Aeschi bei Spiez) https://www.instagram.com/p/CVK5LN-qkbD/?utm_medium=tumblr