The Moon in the Well

Verod rises from his catnap to see that he is alone. With a quick scan of the area, he notices the door to the temple is ajar. Enjoying the solitude, he entertains the brief thought of running in the opposite direction. But alas, he slips through the door and finds his crew face to face with a hellish blob. If he had a weapon, he’d have thrown it. The moment of startled surprise gave way to the realization that this thing was talking. And it seemed endeared to Raine. Just when he thought he understood good from evil…

He catches the last words uttered from the slimy mouth and wishes he had food for himself if not to trade. He did wonder if "hard things" might mean weapons and armor, both of which he needs.

Seeing the others pry open the temple door, Bishka dusts off her hands on her thighs and stands up. "Shall we follow the others, Andreas?" She trudges over and enters last. Seeing the liquid creature materialize puts her on her guard, but she almost feels pity for it immediately. "What is it you eat, exactly? We have ourselves only just escaped from our own 'cruel ones' and don't have much, but we would gladly help if you can tell us how."

Andreas pulls the doors closed being the last person in. He looked incredibly tense. Church was the last place he needed to be. A cold chill ran down his spine, and his skin itched.

Andreas took another swig from the bottle. He hid in the shadows of the entryway and observed the interaction with the sentient entity that approached so brazenly. It was more horrifying than the Hell he had only so recently come from. He was prepared to smite it.

"I am hungry, too. Perhaps there is some food inside the building. In any case, when I find some I’ll gladly share. My name is Raine. What should we call you?"

Raine was becoming increasingly curious about the strange creature. What was it? Was it trapped in the fountain, or could it move around freely? Those questions would have to wait for now, though.

"Those other solid creatures. Did they carry hard things with them when they went inside?"

Ostarghi is all for feeding this thing and hopefully gaining some useful items in return, but since he never bothered to pick up any of the edible items at the room outside their cell, there is little he can actually do besides witness the interaction along with Mathias.

Small creatures that come from the sky? What could that be, I wonder?

Raine momentarily forgot his manners as he searched his memory for some glimmer of recognition of the beings that it described. He became aware of his lapse as his friends decided which of them should have which weapon.

"It's generous of you to offer us those items. We'll put them to good use. If you will excuse us now, though, we'll go have a look around inside and see what we can find."

As he left Blimgool's fountain and moved toward the other door he figured that the friendly creature must, in fact, be stuck in the fountain; otherwise, he would've tried to find himself something to eat. Considering his apparent fluidity, Raine began to wonder if, were he able to find an appropriate container, it might be possible for Blimgool to come with them when they eventually moved on from the temple.

When he reached the door he stood quietly beside it and listened for any sounds drifting through from the other side.

" A short sword will serve me very well. Thank you! I’ll be sure to make good on my end of the bargain."
Verod tentatively reaches his claw for the short sword.

"Here, take this tin of beef." Andreas looked into his backpack and pulled one of the few remaining cans opening it and throwing it to the Slime as it became aware it was not in fact hostile. "Probably some rats in here so we will be back with more."

"Thank you, Andreas," Raine said.

With additional weapons on offer, he took the short sword and thanked Bimgool before returning to the door. Before opening it, he checked around the frame for a tripwire or anything that appeared out of place that might indicate that the door had been rigged with a trap.

Raine exchanged a nervous look with his companions as the door swung open of its own volition. He peered into the darkness ahead for a moment then, with his sword in hand, he began inching his way down the hallway, cautiously and quietly.

"Thank you for your help, Blimgool. We will bring back anything you can eat." She walks over to the temple door looking like the world's most poorly equipped soldier with a toilet cover for a shield and a pitchfork for a spear. "I'll be in the front with the spooky guy."

When Bishka stepped up beside Raine, the beekeeper glanced over at her and took notice of the way she carried her shield and pitchfork.

Why didn't I notice that before, he wondered. She looks as if she knows how to use a weapon!

"Here," he said to her, offering to trade the short sword for the pitchfork. "You look like you could make better use of a proper weapon than I can."

He inadvertently proved his point by offering her the weapon blade first; the hilt still gripped in his hand.

Bishka shakes her head. "If I accept that sword right now I won't have any fingers left to wield it," she chides. "I only know how to swing a hammer. I've made a few swords under Hragor's instruction, but never fought with one. I think if you're looking to learn, a sword is the best place to start. Although you might want to hold it like this," and she shows him how to properly grip a weapon handle.