The Bloodstone Hunters Stick It To Dr. Stupiferous
The boys are awoken earlier than they like from their rest in the farmhouse by an angry woman carrying a bundle of sticks. She starts yelling about how this is her home, blah blah blah. They don't want to get into it with her, and the sun will be coming up soon, so they decide not to bother. They need to bury Doru anyway.
They look for some good earth for his final resting place. Harlam keeps urging them that they should try to track down Cardinal Valentine, who is rumored to be in the area. Not only could he possibly Raise Doru from the dead, but he also might be able to cure Harlam's curse. Unfortunately, no one knows where he is, specifically. They agree to take it under consideration. As they are about to bury this poor schmuck, a Hydra comes bursting out of the trees. They use up a lot of juice taking him out. They bury Doru, and then a big ol' spider comes down looking to fight. They scare him off.
Without any other clear direction, they decide to go check out this Dr. Stupiferous and see if he knows anything about anything. Mihy leads them to his door. They find the little creepy dude standing in his grim reaper robe in front of his run down shack of a house. He is surprisingly friendly for a maniacal sociopath. He invites them in, showing his his lab and his Flesh Golem. He invites them out to his patio for a drink. They chat casually about this and that. The Doctor owns up to not getting along with most of the muckity mucks the party has met. He scared off this Cardinal Valentine with his Mongrelmen. The Agathersi don't much care for his experiments. While all this is interesting, what they really want to know about is the where abouts of the Bloodstone. Dr. Stupiferous quickly scuttles back in his house and locks the door at it's very mention. It is then that five shaggy looking humanoids (that Mihy call Capcows) start shooting arrows at them. Can throws up a web that puts the stops on that. Ido puts some flames in the house and The Crimson Cutlass nails the door shut. The Flesh Golem and Stupiferous bust out the other side of the house just as Arben Summons a handful of Goblins who swarm Stupiferous. He cuts a swath through them with his Scythe, and the few Goblins that hit him get electrocuted by some sort of defense mechanism. They ask him to give all his info on the Bloodstone and they'll help him put out the fire. Spiders emerge out of nowhere and swarm Cyril. They mention the Bloodstone again, and some wolves come running out. The Doc. advises them to stop saying it. It is then that they realize that if you say Bloodstone, monsters appear. Ido summons a Fire Elemental that ends up punching the shit out of the Flesh Golem. With Arben's Pipes of Panic scattering the approaching Mongrelmen, Dr. Stupiferous realizes that he might have gotten in over his head. He suddenly disappears. Ido searches around for him, but no luck. She does find in his house three potions (one of which is a potion of flight) and a scroll case with a papal seal. She also grabs whatever papers she can find.
Costicu emerges from the shadows and reveals that it's rumored Stupiferous can turn into a bat or an owl or something. Everyone grumbles, wishing that he had brought this up earlier. They head a bit away to find an isolated place to set up Can's Secure Shelter. Harlam stops to take a sip of his mysterious liquid. He flips out. Arben casts Levitate on him and waits for him to calm down. He tells him that if he doesn't tell him what's up, he's not going to let him in the house. Harlam sighs and explains that he was cursed and now has bugs living underneath his skin. He was shunned out of town, but on his way out an old gypsy gave him this earthenware jug. It definitely helps with the bug symptoms, but it never drove him crazy before. Arben agrees to let him down and in the house, but from now on he'll be bound if he wants his medicine.
Once inside, Wirshin investigates the scroll case with the papal seal. Inside there is a letter of introduction from the pope for Cardinal Valentine to Baron Ovadu. Very curious. They rest for a few hours, then go to see if Dr. S has returned to the scene of the crime. Costicu claims they should be careful, as Dr. Stupiferous was rumored to have powers to ward off the undead, and with him gone, they'll probably be swarming. It looks like someone has already dug through the rubble; they probably missed him. They head back to the secure shelter. En route, they hear some shuffling in the brush and find a woman's corpse. Deciding to screw this noise, they double time it back. Cyril is almost in decent condition again; they need a little more rest.
In another couple hours, Mihy agrees they should head to a town, since Can won't have time to re-memorize Secure Shelter. It's about two hours away and they've got two hours until sunset. They start hoofing it. Things seem to be going alright, until a shriek comes from the sky. A Wyvern comes flying down. Cyril warns all to beware it's terrible sting; he is then promptly stung. Wirshin casts Slow Poison, though angered that he can't use his Spiritual Hammer. The rest take the Wyvern down. Ido quickly burns up it's head to Pura Wanaka while Arben peels some skin off to maybe make some scale mail or something. They then notice then sun set rapidly approaching. They rush towards the town. A swarm of Stirges swoop down from the sky. Can and Arben distract them with a Color Spray and a Hypnotic Pattern, respectively. They rush in to town and hold up in an abandoned church.
