The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford

Sable silently curses as he sees the crab run off with his tarp, but his attention is soon distracted by seeing Wren fighting with something invisible and bubbles leaving Gann in a huge burst.

It's been so long, but he remembers the last time he and Gann were in water like this and that Naiad's favor. Is this the time to use it? He swims towards Wren now, but takes out the silver moss and shoves it in his mouth before he loses too much air.

Gann comes to and is acting on instinct. He grabs a throwing knife from his brace and uses it to stab and slash at whatever has him, then tries to swim back up to the surface if he’s freed.

Gann and Wren

Shocked out of whatever mesmerism had taken hold of him, Gann chokes on a lungful of pond water and strikes with a knife at the water entity that pulled him in. Alas, the blade passes through what would be the ribs of the watery thing and it keeps hold of him… dragging him laughingly to the bottom.

Nearby, Wren is switching tactics as the harassment of the nixies continues. Desperately trying to get the things to leave her alone so she can return to the surface for a lungful of air, she pinches and squeezes back at the surrounding pond fairies, trying to give them a dose of their own medicine.

Further away, Sable struggles to down the moss he hopes will summon help. It’s not easy to eat something under water — especially moss!

Nessa

Two of the little heads Nessa saw before bob up and break the surface of the pond when the young woman gestures with the wand and demands the release of her friends. Devilish grins spread across the features of the pair, and one of them responds in a trilling voice.

"We’re just playing! We won’t hurt them!"

"Promise!" the second one says impishly, but then there is a strange and powerful swirl in the water behind them. Alarmed, the pair turns towards it and sink out of sight, quick as that.

Nessa is alone for the span of a few heartbeats, left to wonder what’s happened — when suddenly Wren and Gann break the surface of the suddenly frothing water, splashing and gasping for air. The nixies and the water weird have fled, frightened off by Sable’s summoning. He surfaces as well, and Nessa sees that he is accompanied by yet another elfin figure, this one with long, dark hair tangled with water lilies. She is pale and nude beneath the water, but reeds and lilipads protect her modesty as she swims closer to the prowler.

A slightly amused smile touches the beautiful naiad’s lips as she speaks quietly with Sable. He knows her, of course. He once saved her.

"The debt, repaid. Amends are made. Bargains struck are slow to fade," she says softly.

Gann spends the next few minutes retching annd sputtering water from his lungs. In the small gaps between, he crawls weakly a bit further from the waters edge.

Wren crawls out of the pond and collapses on the shore, waiting for her breath to return. After a moment, she sits up and laughs. She holds up the two objects for the others to see and says, "Whelp, that was an unwise way to proceed, but, well, we got these at least! And Sable... thank you."

"There are entirely too many faeries in this pond! Are you guys alright?" Nessa rushes towards Wren, Sable and Gann, prepared to grab them in case anything tries to pull them back in to the water. She keeps the wand ready and poised in the general direction of the pond.

Sable bows surprisingly low to the Naiad, grateful for her memory and repayment of the debt. As she finishes her words, he looks back up, but she is already gone.

The man waves away Wren's thanks, but he is grateful that his new companions are relatively safe. He follows Nessa and Kitt away from the shore, stooping down to help Gann up so he can walk away from the edge.

"Greed kills. I've lost my tarp. I can take the tap now though. We should hurry on, but what did you find?"

Within a few minutes, the group has caught their breath and gotten themselves organized — re-dressed and ready for the road. Wren’s plucked treasures seem just that… the silver bangles are set with turquoise stones and must be worth two hundred silvers; the gilded scabbard, even without an accompanying sword, must be worth twice that.

The water, and the witch’s house, are quiet.

Wren shakes her head and says, "Oof, Gann and I got our bells rung. Do you think Vivian might have anything that could help? Hopefully, she will be open to the idea, as a favor to the folks who made her friend Ingrid so happy..." Wren approaches the door and knocks, seeing as how they nearly died in her pool!

"Well, I guess we can use that scabbard if we ever find that legendary sword..."

Sable deftly takes the brass spile from Gann's possession and follows Wren to Vivian's.

"We are rough, but I also don't think the Brother or his remains will last long. Maybe we can find him and then head back to heal before facing this dragon?"

"Well, I am fine, seemingly the only one. So I will leave those kind of choices up to you guys." Nessa says as she beholds the wand. "There is something about this wand, I just wish I knew what..."

Wren knows that she'll be right as rain after she gets a good night of rest, but she's worried about Gann! Alas, they didn't really have the time for him to heal up properly, so unless they find something magical, they'd just have to take their chances. It's worth asking if Vivian happens to have anything, but if she doesn't, then Wren would suggest pressing on!

Let’s talk to Vivian, and see if she has any ideas. But Sable is right, the Brother won’t last. I’ll manage, at least until we see about his safety. I made a promise that I’d look for him.

Wren nods sheepishly, having missed or forgotten the instruction to make an offering first. She steps aside for Gann to head in and then finds a place to lie down on the grass nearby for a nap. She's exhausted!