Dregs, Borrow or Steal

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 3: Dregs, Borrow or Steal, Orba's mind raced as she lay down to rest after a full day in her Reaper form.  Distant memories came in flashes, some of which were not her own – and it was difficult to cling to details as they came and went.

She had visions of figures in robes… fire… ashes… and a sentence being handed down to a shackled individual… people and places she did not recognize but these thoughts seemingly unlocking past knowledge in her brain – and when all was said and done, Orba had added a powerful new spell to her repertoire.

Meanwhile, Erland was struggling through first watch – the effects of the Wilting Blight making it harder and harder to breathe as the night wore on.  The feeling of dehydration became so unbearable that he had to leave camp and make for the river, where he was finally afforded some relief by submerging his feet in the water.

As he was catching his breath, Erland heard voices and received an ominous warning from two older gentlemen seated by the bank.  Their seemingly spontaneous appearance begged the question: was this a hallucination?  A communion with nature?  We wouldn't get an answer, but the back-and-forth was loud enough to wake Safira – who relocated her bedroll to make sure Erland didn't drift away in the night.

Our rest was otherwise uneventful – and an early rise gave us time to attune to items, cure Erland's blight and check our hunting traps.  A smudge of green paint on a nearby tree gave us reason to believe that the halfling seen earlier (fleeing from a pair of Elatrian Elves) might be keeping an eye on us, but no ambush and nothing stolen argued against an intent to antagonize – so we packed up our things and readied our horses once more.

In a clearing that opened up to a small inlet by the river, we passed by a tiefling artist recreating this picturesque scene on canvas.  It was an innocent enough bit of business, though as we got closer we saw that his jars of paint were unusually viscous and swirling with uneven lumps.

Graven correctly identified the mixture as Gibbering Mouther Dregs – the magically potent remains of a grotesque aberration and something we'd procured a sample of ourselves back on the Acqly Grove Road.  It was undeniable that the dregs helped the portrait come alive, but the artist was somewhat unnerving in his own way – and after learning more about how the dregs are typically used for spellcasting, we left him to complete his masterpiece.

Further up the Stouthill Corridor, we stumbled upon another half-buried box that was sure to be rigged with a dangerous glyph thanks to our acquaintances back at the bridge – but this one posed a particular threat to the forest because of its proximity to several dried-out trees suffering from the Wilting Blight.

Rather than leave an animal or unsuspecting traveler to trigger an explosion, Orba and Graven carefully dug out the chest with the intent of tossing it in the river – though this ultimately proved unnecessary as the glyph deactivated once it had been moved from its point of origin.  With two traps now disarmed, we hoped our good deeds might buy us some favor with the Elatrian Elves – but we'd soon find they were not so easily placated.

When the river began to turn, we finally caught a glimpse of the precious Ironroots growing along the western bank – and just as we suspected there was no shortage of Elatrians protecting their borders.  Safira's attempt to negotiate was met only with warnings to turn back, though the commotion gave Erland an opportunity to swim to the opposite side undetected – thanks, in part, to Orba covering his splashing with stones tossed from the shore.

Avoiding some additional hazards hidden in the brush, Erland snatched the Ferrous Bromeliad and returned to the party in haste.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: one natural one was rolled in this Chapter, by Riley.