Editing Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 2)

{{Infobox_episode|title=Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 2)|published=November 13, 2022|link=[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/11/13/interlude-adventurers-pt-2/ Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 2)]|previousChapter=[[Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 1)]]|nextChapter=[[Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 3)]]|wordcount=32,275|image=IshkrRun by Brack.jpg|imagecaption=Snatcher & Ishkr by [[Fanworks/Brack|Brack]]}}

'''Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 2)''' is the 34th chapter of [[Volume 9]].

== tl;dr ==

* [[Erin Solstice|Erin]] starts to investigate [[Nerrhavia (Queen)|Nerrhavia]]'s curse on her.
* The adventurers in Liscor find [[Stalker]]'s corpse and [[Snatcher]] comes to the surface only to be chased away by [[Lehra Ruinstrider|Lehra]].
* The adventurers at [[Ruins of Albez|Albez]] discover [[Udatron]]'s lab and the loot gets taken underhandedly by some of the teams.
* [[Rasktooth]] and [[Infinitypear]] find the [[Ashfire Bees|Ashfire Bee]] Hive being tended to by [[Grass Shell]].

== Synopsis ==
As the adventurers continued their delves, life went on in and around [[The Wandering Inn]]. [[Lyonette du Marquin|Lyonette]]'s party had evolved into a much longer affair with merchants still hawking their wares and the new connection to the [[Unseen Empire]] extending the party's lifespan. [[Erin Solstice|Erin]] herself went to the Unseen Empire to have the [Witches] investigate her curse. Through a combined effort, they were able to craft her a dowsing charm to point in the direction of what was causing her curse. Other noteworthy events were that [[Liska Coresh Silverfang|Liska]] had gained a new class - [Door Gnoll] - and [[Nanette Weishart|Nanette]] busied herself by exploring the inn. First, she went to spend time with [[Bird]] who appreciated the respect she gave him and regaled her with facts about birds as well as some of his opinions in general. Afterwards, she found her way to the [[Garden of Sanctuary]] and the hill within containing statues of the dead. Erin found her there staring at the statue of her mother, [[Califor Weishart|Califor]]. Distraught by the neglect of leaving Nanette to wander and not telling the girl about the statues, Erin decided to bring her with to bribe her with books and help find the curse. She also brought [[Grimalkin Duveig|Grimalkin]], [[Mrsha]], and Ser [[Dalimont]] along with.

The real focus of the chapter though, was adventurers. Both of the groups mentioned previously and a new one in the form of real [Adventurers] in [[Rasktooth]] and [[Infinitypear]]. The duo had been going on adventures all around [[Liscor]] regularly, subsisting off of Erin's promise of free food as well as any adventuring loot they could find. Rasktooth was carried on Infinitypear's back and Infinitypear himself used a plundered spear from Spearmaster [[Lulv]] of [[Manus]] as a walking stick. On one of these adventures, the two stumbled across the ashfire bee hive from early on. They got too close and the hive was unplugged unleashing a horde of dirty [[Ashfire Bees]]. Just as they were about to be attacked, another much cleaner horde came by and fed the other group until they returned, plugging the hole back up. At the same time as the new horde of bees came in, an acquaintance, [[Grass Shell]], arrived informing them about the danger of the hive and his job of feeding them. Grass Shell had become a [Beekeeper Shaman] and was content with his job. Grass Shell also informed Infinitypear that he had been ordered back to the [[Free Hive]] by [[Klbkch]]. Although it was not allowed, Rasktooth decided to come with, braving the danger together with his friend.

Meanwhile, the other adventurers made their own progress. The large group fully unearthed the staircase which led into a laboratory owned by [[Udatron]]. This laboratory was guarded by dozens of [[elementals]] which were taken care of fairly easily by the sheer number of high-level adventurers gathered. The real issue came from the distribution of loot as the rest of the lab was untrapped, and much of the loot was still in good condition. Rumblings got to a boiling point when an army from [[Remendia]] and [[Ocre]] was sent forth seemingly to strongarm the adventurers into giving up more of their loot. The leaders of the group went forth to meet with these soldiers, but they realized too late that the army was a distraction. While they dealt with the miscommunication as to why the army was here, other local adventurers ran away with all of the loot from the lab. [[Deniusth]] managed to hurry back and kill two of them, and others managed to capture some, but most escaped with a fortune in findings.

On the other side, the [[Horns of Hammerad|Horns]]' group had slowed down immensely once [[Snatcher]] started giving his full vindictive attention to destroying the skeletons entering his lair. They were at a standstill until [[Pisces Jealnet|Pisces]] had the idea to call in help. He teamed up with [[Ama]] and her cabal to get more necromantic reinforcements. It turned out that Scottie the Scout Skeleton was too fast for Snatcher, and was able to outmaneuver it enough to eventually get a full map leading towards the body of [[Stalker]]. Unfortunately, this final view was also a dead end and they could not retrieve Scottie. The death of Scottie was extremely upsetting for Ama and her cabal, but they had helped plan the route. Now, the adventurers needed a plan to get to the boss monster. They recruited the cabal and were discussing their plan when Snatcher, furious at his failure to catch the skeletons, climbed out of the crack they'd been using to send skeletons in. It alerted all of the nearby adventurers, and the city of Liscor, but none of them were able to significantly hurt it. The Horns, [[Colthei]], [[Tessa]], and [[Saliss Oliwing|Saliss]] all attacked it with full strength, and they did little damage. It wasn't until [[Lehra Ruinstrider|Lehra]] showed up that she managed to inadvertently scare it back into the dungeon by showing Snatcher the [[Blade of Mershi]] and reminding it of the [[Mershi|City of Stars]]. Before it escaped, Colth branded it with a brand from [[Roshal]] which would allow them to track the monster in the future. Pisces was horrified, but Colth told him that "It's just a tool. We use every tool we have. It does not define us. Any more than chains or scars." He informed the group that they would hunt down the monster even if they had to bring in all of the name-rank adventurers to do so. [[Ceria Springwalker|Ceria]] also managed to catch that he'd said "[[Azam’du]] says hello."

== Characters ==
( * = First Appearance)

* The Wandering Inn’s Goblin and Antinium staff
** [[Peggy]] (''Name Revealed'')
** [[Inkpaper]] *
** ? - Antinium Soldier
** ? - Singing Antinium Worker *
* [[Erin Solstice]]
* [[Bezale]]
* [[Gothica]]
* [[Relc Grasstongue]]
* [[Pisces Jealnet]]
* [[Colthei]] / Colth
* [[Yvlon Byres]]
* [[Ksmvr]]
* [[Ceria Springwalker]]
* [[Ishkr]]
* [[Calescent]]
* [[Numbtongue]]
* [[Octavia Cotton]]
* [[Snatcher|Snatcher / Facestealer]]
* [[Liska Coresh Silverfang]]
* [[Rivel val Lischelle-Drakle]]
* [[Bamer]]
* [[Krshia Silverfang]]
* [[Lism Swifttail]]
* [[Yolden|Yoldenites]]
* [[Qwera]]
* ? - Qwera’s Drake [Stall Keeper] *
* [[Rasktooth]]
* [[Infinitypear]]
* [[Mrsha]]
* [[Lyonette du Marquin]]
* [[Sest]]
* [[Nanette Weishart]]
* [[Bird]]
* ? - Rose hatted Human woman *
* [[Badarrow]]
* [[Snapjaw]]
* Icecube - Wyvern
* [[Dalimont]]
* [[Traffle]] (''Named'')
* [[Rie Valerund]]
* [[Oliyaya]]
* [[Nerrhavia (Queen)|Nerrhavia]] (''Indirectly Mentioned'')
* Oliyaya’s apprentices (x3)
** Coise (''Name Revealed'')
* [[Mavika]]
* [[Alevica]]
* [[Eloise du Havin]]
* [[Agratha]]
* [[Saliss Oliwing]]
* [[Grimalkin Duveig]]
* [[Ekirra Silverfang]]
* Scottie the Scout Skeleton
* Ama’s Coven
** [[Ama]]
**Rodden (''Deceased'')
* Albez's adventurers
**[[Ylawes Byres]]
** Waterborn Raiders (x16 → 2 ''Deceased'')
*** [[Foeer]]
***? - Male Raider (''Deceased'')
***? - Female Raider (''Deceased'')
** [[Dawil Ironbreaker]]
** [[The Pride of Kelia|Pride of Kelia]] (x7)
*** [[Nailren]]
*** Kelthe *
** [[Vuliel Drae]]
*** [[Dasha]]
*** [[Insill]]
*** [[Anith]]
*** [[Pekona]]
*** [[Larr]]
** [[Falene Skystrall]]
** [[Moore]]
** [[Deniusth]] / Deni
** [[Eldertuin Terland]]
** [[Viecel Cohex]]
** [[Halrac Everam]]
** [[Jelaqua Ivirith]]
** [[Typhenous]]
** [[Seborn Sailwinds]]
**[[Orchestra]] (x15)
*** [[Gores Caneth]]
*** ? - Cello-player
*** ? - Drummer
** [[Variable Fortress]]
** Distinguished Staves
*** ? - Captain
** [[Revi]]
**[[Briganda Rishaw]]
**[[Soew]]
**Solar Strikes *
**? - Female Gold-rank archer *
* Udatron's Elemental Guardians (x27 → ''All Destroyed'') *
** Wind Elementals / Air Elementals
** Fire Elementals / Flame Elementals
** Earth Elementals
** Water Elementals
* [[Thresk]] (''Mentioned'')
* [[Udatron]] (''Mentioned'')
* [[Nerry]]
* [[Ferkr Shallenside]] (''Mentioned'')
* [[Grass Shell]]
*[[Remendia|Remendian army]]
**Illthe - Watch Captain *
**Leir - Commander *
**[Negotiators] (x2) *
**Penec - Remendia’s Adventurer Guildmaster *
*[[Stargazer’s Promise]]
**[[Lehra Ruinstrider]]
**[[Emper]]
**[[Suxhel]]
**[[Elgrinna Geostrand]]
*[[Ushar]]
*[[Tessa]]
*[[Saturniel Cometscale]] (''Voice''; ''Howl'')
*[[Zevara Sunderscale]]
*[[Azam’du]] (''Mentioned'')

== Locations ==

* [[Izril]]
** [[Floodplains]]
*** [[The Wandering Inn]]
**** [[Garden of Sanctuary]]
*** [[Liscor's Dungeon]]
****??? - City
*** [[Liscor]]
**** Shivertail Plaza
*** Fox cave
***Ashfire Bees cave
** [[Riverfarm]]
** [[Ruins of Albez]]
*** Udatron’s laboratory, library, and armory
** [[Invrisil]]

== [[Undead]] ==

* Skeletons
* Undead mice
*Frostmarrow Behemoth

== Creatures ==

* [[Rock Crabs|Rock Crab]]
* Redfin Swallow (''First Introduction'')
* Garbichug Revolter (''Deceased'')
* Moving Suits of Armor
*[[Ashfire Bees]]
*[[Flesh Worms|Flesh Worms / Crypt Worms]]
*??? / Infested - Fleshy humanoids

== Plants ==

* [[Krakk Trees]]
* [[Sage’s Grass]]

==== Normal Plants ====

* Spider plant 
* Aloe vera

== Items ==

* Bracelets with [Lesser Strength] (x20)
* Snazzy hat with [Far Sight]
* Adamantium-tipped Spear
* Dowsing curse-sensing charm
* Golem Shield
*[[Stalker]]’s corpse
*Burned spellbook
*Dragonblood crystal sword
*[[Blade of Mershi]]
*Broken off enchanted [[The Traders of Roshal|Roshal]] branding iron
*[[The Putrid One|Putrid One]]'s Circlet

[[Category:Chapters]]
[[Category:Volume 9]]