Post by Jade on Mar 14, 2017 9:23:49 GMT -6
Could've sworn this had been posted... oh well, here it is:
DD_Notes.rtf (715.97 KB)
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AVAUNDRA – CHANGE, LUCK, TRADE, TRAVEL (and halflings)
ANNE'S GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AWAKENING OF GORFINAX. BIRTH OF A NEW GOD. USED TO LIVE ON THE SMALL TIDINGS OF THE TRIBES, THE CITY HAS FED IT MORE AND MORE. GORFINAX IS LUCKY, INCITES IMMIGRANTS, DONE WELL FOR TRADE, AND FACILITATED CHANGE.
OH, THIS SHIT ALMOST WRITES ITSELF.
Characters - Rinaldo (Leon)
Ann (Austin)
Jayne (Jess)
Stoneroot Mains
Lord Earlin (of Stoneroot - charge)
Julick - 20 - (Son of Earlin. "sent to school" to be gelded and prepared for Gorfinax)
Emma (Julick's paramour)
Tamsin (Posing as Emma, hires the PC team to find Julick, with hopes to kidnap and ransom him)
Getcher (Toady Quarry master, a rather Renfield type to Earlin's aims)
Fidrick (Earlin's head of the guard - Honest man, but severe & devoted)
Silas – The Enamoured Gate Guard. TO RETURN
BARTENDER COVERING FOR TAMSIN
Danyin – (Head of the Church. Very welcoming to outsiders)
Fallon – Emma & Tamsin's adoptive father
Rotswold
Lonnegan (Headmaster of "the school" Julick has been sent to in Rotswold)
Steisch – Attendant at Pickman
The Robertsons – Earl, Beth, Jack, & Kira
Mayor Gillet – Mayor of Rotswold. Highly suspicious of the school, but not outwardly critical of it.
Sallin – Gillet's wife.
START MINIMUM
Hired by Tamsin (posing as Emma) the PC group is sent after Julick, the son of Earlin and Emma's lover. Earlin (upon questioning) says that his son's
lack of correspondence can be put to Julick's womanizing ways. Probably met a strumpet at school. Investigation of his quarters reveals a singular
interest in Emma though, no other women to speak of. Fidrick will attempt to imprison the players, if they get too nosy. If not, the name of the
school is revealed to them, and the town - not far away, well within letter carrier distance.
The school "Pickman Academy" in Rotswold, is populated entirely by men.
You've been on the road for weeks, and while enough to exhaust anybody, a general air of optimism clings to the refugee march. After leaving your
home town, much of it lost to the great fire, the three of you have come to know each other through the caravan leader relying on the three
of you to keep order among the marchers. Now standing in the offices of the gates of Stoneroot, murmurs of excitement rustle through the crowd outside.
A plentiful city, the famous quarry promises jobs to any of the able bodied, and you wait to hear whether your group will be admitted or not.
The gate officer returns to the office as leisurely as he left it, unhurried to deliver the news to the group of refugees about your admission to the
city. He addresses the caravan leader.
The town of Stoneroot sprawls before you, and strangely you find yourself affected with a certain weariness. It may be that the end of your travels
have finally come and your bodies feel comfortable giving way to the ache and fatigue of journey, but you suspect that it's more a result of the
enviroment itself. You've never seen a city present itself as so weary before. The row houses and alleyways exude a certain sloth, but not one
associated with sleepiness; this atmosphere feels more borne of surrender than relaxation. Dusty quarry workers wind their way through the streets,
spurred onwards with expressions that suggest they would rather lie down where they were and rest themselves were vagrancy legal. Even shop signs hang
with a determined sullen feel, and the areas of cities that normally buzz and spring with activity barely distinguish themselves from dour churchyards
and dim cemeteries. The only centre of activity you find while marching its well kept streets is an inn in the centre of town, but to describe its
happenings as activity strikes you as generous. It's simply that the silent and steady march of off shift workers ends here more than any other place
you can see.
Guards:
AC 16
HP 2D8 +2
+3 to Hit (Damage 1D6+1)
The tavern at the inn's entrance is no more exciting than the barren streets you've left behind to enter it. Quarry dust lays thick across the floor
and tables, sometimes piled, as though the fight against the stone dust was given up years ago. The publican behind the bar casts an indifferent eye
your way, but his gaze lingers on you for a second, studying you for just a second.
Elder Monstrosity in the Quarry? Bargains made.
9/17/15
Emma reveals the name of the school is The Pickman Academy. She's unsure as to where it is. Her letters go to the Lord's house, and she's heard nothing back.
LORD'S MANOR
Lord Earlin's manor stretches out modestly. Its well fortified & guarded exterior seems inappropriate for the underwhelming mansion contained within. While it certainly exudes a presence that seems to predate even the city itself, its lifelessness exceeds even the barest boroughs of Stoneroot you've come across so far. You notice however, that it is exceptionally well maintained, with greenery and water features bordering on obscenity compared to the city. On a second thought though, this obscenity must be more understated than first surmised, considering the only colours you remember seeing while wandering streets are shades of stone dust, sometimes adorning wood. With that thought however, you notice the Earlin's manor appears untouched by the dust. Its age suddenly becomes confusing to you, as though it had only recently become old. ROLL FOR PERCEPTION @ DC10 - Uneasy?
The guard at the gate regards you expectantly.
*CONVERSATION GOALS* - ADMISSION TO THE LORD'S MANOR. BASED AROUND ATTEMPTING TO QUELL SUSPICION THAT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO JULICK. NO OTHER REASON FOR ADMITTANCE. BE PREPARED FOR ROGUEISHNESS.
GREETED BY FIDRICK & ESCORT, HEAD OF EARLIN'S GUARD.
FIDRICK is cooperative, but standoffish to the PCs. He will allow admittance to the Lord, still believing Earlin to be a man of the people, will even defend him against disparaging remarks by accosting the players at their admittance to the city. Still a believer. Not many friends outside of the manor. Was fond of Julick, believed he would be a good Lord someday because of his heart.
*THE LACK OF DUST IS ALWAYS EXPLAINED BY THE IMPRACTICALITY OF EXPENSIVE THINGS IN TOWN. WORKERS CANNOT AFFORD SERVANTS, SO WHY SPEND MONEY ON EXPENSIVE THINGS WHEN CORROSION WILL CLAIM THEM.
INSIDE MANOR
The great hall of the Manor makes apparent the well being of the Earlin family if its well kept exterior somehow kept that from you. Its opulence rushes over you before you even have a chance to examine more than a fraction of its setpieces. It once again strikes you as strange that the manor, while modestly sized, should be so richly decorated in comparison to the sparse town. Fidrick gestures you down a hallway, and walks carefully ahead.
The hallway is adorned with portraits of the Earlin family, dating back for over hundreds years if the plaques underneath each portrait are to be believed. The uniformity of them seems somewhat strange to you, but you aren't sure why. (ROLL DC10 - The past eight or so portraits look uncommonly similar.) Fidrick stops at a door and raps upon it more ceremoniously than your impression of him would let you guess. A comfortable pause, followed by a deliberate series of clicks have him sweep the door open and stride into the room. He introduces you to a silhouette in a chair at the opposite end, a chair facing a strange blazing fireplace, one that seems misplaced. (ROCKS, STRANGELY SHAPED AND SOME AS BIG AS HUMAN HEADS ARE ALIGHT LIKE COALS). The figure stands.
Lord Earlin
The Lord cuts an unassuming figure in his late middle age. He bears no accessories to wealth as you might assume from his surroundings. He's clad in leather and cloth, with a weathered, (if slightly familiar face from the portraits outside) visage. He looks at you unimpressedly, returns to sitting, and gazes back at the fire.
"You're here about my son?"
*CONVERSATION GOALS - HE DEFLECTS, HIS SON HAS A CAPRICIOUS HEART. HIS INTEREST IN WHORES IS NEARLY LEGENDARY IN TOWN, JUST ASK ANYBODY.
- HE NEEDED TO BE SENT AWAY TO SCHOOL QUICKLY.
- THIS EMMA CHARACTER WAS NOTHING BUT A LEECH, ALL THE (LYING) RICHES AND GOLD HE SHOWERED ON HER MADE IT CLEAR HE NEEDED TO BE CONDITIONED FOR LORDSHIP.
- HE PROBABLY MET ANOTHER STRUMPET AT SCHOOL AND IS SPENDING HIS YOUTH ON HER INSTEAD.
- OF COURSE HER LETTERS HAVE BEEN STOPPED. WHAT WOULD A COMMONER DO TO THIS LORDSHIP?
-GO SEE HIS QUARTERS IF YOU NEED ANY EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS AN IRRESPONSIBLE YOUTH.
IF THE PCs get too beligerent, Earlin has a word with Fidrick. There's an arrest attempt after investigating (if any happen). If not, he's happy to boot them in the ass and see them go.
Julick's Room
In contrast to your imaginations, the only word that strikes you as accurate for Julick's room is minimal. It's not a cruel condition of care for the sole son of the Lord of the richest city in the region, but Rinaldo is confident that he's stayed in at least half a dozen nicer inns while paying very little money at that. A small fireplace, a meagerly furnished single bed, and a makeshift open air clothes rack sporting several copies of the same outfit dominate the room. Only a stool and messy table fill the rest of the room.
ON THE DESK ARE A NUMBER OF RIPPED PAGES FROM JOURNALS (THEY COME FROM A BASEMENT ROOM). THESE COME FROM JOURNALS WRITTEN BY JULICK'S PRECEDING SACRIFICES. THEY ARE INCOMPLETE. WE WILL FIND THEM LATER.
"... constantly getting in trouble, the head of the guard cannot stop looking over my shoulder. I am even now prohibited from visiting town outside the estate. While my father has insisted that I am destined for great things, he is incapable of allowing me exposure to miniscule things to understand the totality of my influence." * IN JAYNE'S PACK
Another (DC 15 INT - in slightly different handwriting) reads
"... Cannot take this anymore. There's no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to outlaw purple if I see fit. THERE'S JUST NO REASON."
Another (same handwriting)* in Pack
"Were there birds today? I can't remember. I used to remember things."
Another (DC 15 INT - different from either)
"If I must make known that I own them, they will know that I own them. They will see such gold not even the sun should eclipse such hue. If they do not, then curse them to pieces. I will find others. Not a one of them matters to me not. I am to be a Lord."
*UPON READING YOUR LAST NOTE, YOU SEE A FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER STUCK BETWEEN THE BARE SLATS OF THE TABLE.
Upon unfolding it, it reads "Emma" in an entirely different handwriting than any of the notes you'd seen so far, with a drawing of the woman that you'd met at the inn earlier.
"What have you got there?" Fidrick asks.
*CONVERSATION GOALS - Fidrick is aiming to help Emma. He's fond of her, thinks she's good for Julick, but can't see them together. Just wants her to know he's fine at school, is troubled by the news she hasn't heard from him. IF the party's been beligerent, he will escort them circuitously to THE ARREST. Combat for stats I don't have yet. Yaaaay.
Otherwise he will give them the school location (he escorted Julick there himself - THE PICKMAN ACADEMY IN ROTSWOLD), and let them out and return to his work. This will mean QUARRY WORKERS fighting the trio.
QUARRY WORKERS ARE DISPLEASED AT THE ARRIVAL OF NEWBIES TO TAKE THE JOBS THEY WORK SO HARD FOR. THEY'RE RATHER FEEBLE, BUT VERY DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE. LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, WON'T TAKE NO.
STATS TO BE DETERMINED FOR QUARRY WORKERS.
Upon return to Emma, she's either pleased or displeased, based on whether or not the school location has been gained.
If it hasn't then she's angry, and a little more ugly to them. She needs the party to find the other guards who escorted him. IT'S A NIGHT JUMP. ALWAYS AROUND THE QUARRY.
9/24/15
Approached by the five quarry workers, the players begin to get harassed by them. At first it takes the form of them ridiculing refugees, but soon becomes a little more non specifically unpleasant. Phrases like “You can't take it away from us,” or “You don't know it,” or even “You can't possibly care for it like we can.” When the party probes too hard on what they're talking about, the five Quarrymen attack. With fists first, but then go to weapons if the party draws steel.
Stats:
HP: 7/6/4/10/11
AC: 11 (leather)
No dex bonus for initiative. Strength 15 (+2)
• 2 to hit & Damage
• Unarmed is 1 HP (+ Str)
• 1D4 – Improvised Weapons. Picks and Mining Equip.
Initiative List:
½/3/4
Daffyd - Thug – 17 (Leon) (6/7)
Thug – 10 (Leon) * (0/6)
Thug – 9 (Austin) (0/4)
Austin – 8 (8/9)
Thug -5 (Jess) (0/10)
Jess – 3 (37/37)
Leon – 2 (4/11)
Thug – 1 (Leon) * save v 13 (0/11)
Austin: 8/15
Jess: 9/16
Leon: 4/18
If the party gets their asses kicked, the quarrymen walk off laughing to themselves and continue to catcall them. If the party wins, The final assailant begins to panic, looks confused, claims he doesn't know what's going on and tries to run away. If pursued and tackled to the ground, he remembers nothing since showing up for work that morning. He begs to be let home to his family.
Upon relieving themselves of the nuisance, or getting their fucking asses kicked, the players may want to go about getting some healing. Not knowing anywhere in town, they may choose to wander looking for a shop. (3D8 church spell). 50 gp for healing spells. The church will heal for donation.
Daffyd being interrogated by the Crew at the end of this session
Austin: 13/15
Jess: 16/16
Leon: 12/18
THE CHURCH – TRANSPLANTED TO LATER EVENT
IF THEY ACCEPT THE OFFER
Nightmares!
Anne: Teddy announces it is leaving the Avandran faith, badmouthing your devotion and accuses you of being a charlatan. While hurtful, what paralyzes you entirely is the methodical, seemingly gentle efforts it makes to peel back the soft padding on its paws to reveal mangled humanoid hands that bleed from where the fingernails have been violently crushed.
Jayne: Giant waves of stone crash down upon the earth in the distance. As each wave comes down, the land slowly turns from appearing to be dotted by stone, to simply becoming it. Trees and animals alike are carried up by colossal rock waves and are battered into collapsed and terrible messes against the land as the breaking waves move closer and closer to you.
Rinaldo: You remember only being strapped to a table, naked, in the only tiny lit portion of a pitch dark, and foul smelling room. Beyond the edge of the light, you hear only the sound of a knife being sharpened.
IF THEY DON'T ACCEPT THE OFFER
Lodging elsewhere, or else they have an encounter at night in the woods.
Figures just out of view from the party. Familiar gray clothing. Purposeful gaze. Covered with dust. They move slowly, but with more purpose and specificity than any of you can recall reading, hearing, or learning about the movement of the undead.
Ghoul
Medium undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
13 (+1) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 7 (−2) 10 (+0) 6 (−2)
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature
other than an elf or undead, it must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The
target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its
turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
With their razor-sharp teeth and jagged claws, ghouls
roam the night in packs, driven by an insatiable hunger
for humanoid flesh.
29/22/22 HP – Escalating on the victims of the Quarry Brawl.
Austin: 8/15
Jess: 9/16 (20/37)
Leon: 4/18
Jess – 16
2 – 16 (0/29)
3 – 14 (0/22)
Leon - 5
Austin – 3 (disengaged)
(X)of them. Dressed rather like the (X) men they came face to face with in the street. Running is an option. It may become necessary.
Head on the ground starts to scream again. It burbles and starts to jumble.
Stone Golem
Large construct, unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
22 (+6) 9 (−1) 20 (+5) 3 (−4) 11 (+0) 1 (−5)
Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that
aren’t adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened,
paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator
but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect
that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws
against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The golem makes two slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Slow (Recharge 5–6). The golem targets one or more creatures
it can see within 10 feet of it. Each target must make a DC 17
Wisdom saving throw against this magic. On a failed save, a
target can’t use reactions, its speed is halved, and it can’t make
more than one attack on its turn. In addition, the target can
take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both.
These effects last for 1 minute. A target can repeat the saving
throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself
on a success.
Stone golems are magical constructs cut and chiseled
from stone to appear as tall, impressive statues. Like
other golems, they are nearly impervious to spells and
ordinary weapons.
170/170 God Help them. They have time to run.
ROTSWOLD
The pastoral countryside of Rotswold is a stark contrast to the dusty, gray streets of Stoneroot. The peasantry bounce about their business in jovial routine. Warm contentment inhabits the faces of even the hardest working field hands, and everybody seems to greet everybody else with a pleasant smile and well wishes, including you. No fortified gate stands at the entrance to the town, and you are unceremoniously admitted simply by stepping into it. It's been a long walk though, (especially considering how little sleep you got the night before) and you are weary. A town crier at a nearby corner is listing away the news & plans of the day outside what appears to be the most friendly looking town hall you've ever seen in your life.
– No inn. Strangers welcome to Rotswold are put up in houses of the people who live there.
– Town hall doubles as the tavern. Mayor Gillet bartends.
Rotswold Town Hall
Even though the weather outside is nothing less than agreeable, a warm fire blazes on the inside of the Rotswold Town Hall. The room isn't even a touch above uncomfortable temperature though, and it just makes you want to take a seat. Just as you're considering this, a portly man behind the bar you've just noticed motions for you to do just this. He emits a friendly chuckle as he approaches you with an extended hand, introducing himself as Gillet, bartender, amateur philosopher, problem solver, devoted husband, and occasionally mayor.
“Would you like some ale? I brew it myself! It's just the thing you need after a long journey from... say, where are you folks from?”
– The mayor personally handles the business of the school. The students help around town, and he's not a fan of trouble there, buuuuuuut he does find it a little strange.
– All the students, male students, are unusually calm, overly helpful, really accommodating, even for Rotswold. They just ask to manage their own affairs.
– Offers to introduce them to Lonnegan, headmaster of the school.
AT THE ROBERTSON ESTATE, ABOUT TO HAVE BREAKFAST IN THE KITCHEN WITH THE ROBERTSONS “EARL BETH JACK KIRA”
-Questions about drought, fire, disease, stillborn babies, etc.
10/22/15
The Pickman Academy
The approach to The Pickman Academy is as pastoral and as seemingly genuine as the man leading you. You can hardly believe that the Lord Earlin holds the institution in such trustful, high regard, considering how he refused to even confide its location to you. Gillet leads the way with a spring in his step that his cheerfulness seems to carry effortlessly, despite his girth. He whistles and waves at his constituents, greeting children attempting to play a game of hide and seek on the way. A low hedge wall, about the height of Anne, comes into view. Upon reaching it, the jovial tone of the town, but not its peace, seems to settle.
Beyond the hedges sprawls a bare grounds, some twenty or so meters, with no arbor, decor, or detail beyond its grass leading up to a warm yet austere building. Its pale gray is visually more reminiscent of Stoneroot than the warm earth tones of Rotswold. With a tall central tower that slants sharply into flat wide wings, it evokes a sombre, worshipful tone. While Gillet unhitches the only gate at the hedge wall, a quartet of young men round the front from one of the far edges and pause to regard the four of you. Their faces are too far away to judge their expressions, but their posture gives you the impression of distant alert. Gillet waves, seemingly habitually.
*ANY ATTEMPT AT INTERACTION IS RETREAT*
While approaching the school, Gillet begins to speak of its origins. “I'm not a learnéd man myself, but the men who attend this school certainly set good examples for us all. Even the founder, he came to this place some four hundred or so years ago they say? Town legend says he asked just for the land, and gave some hefty favours back to the town. Laid the roads, set up some supply & trade routes. We've never been short of anything since, even through the drought; not a drop of water missing here, even when other towns were starving, and some even burning to the ground, leaving nothing but ash.”
*IF THE PLAYERS FOLLOW THAT QUESTIONING
“God, you're from Thinmond, aren't you? I'd heard about you lot. Whole town went dry, burned to the ground in less than a day, they say.” Gillet stops, and his expression goes grim for what seems like a heartbeat while he says “I only hope your people have found a right decent place to call home. If you know any who need some help, send them our way. We have plenty here in Rotswold, and there's no scarcity of work for good people willing to put their hands to.” - DONE
*IF NOT
Upon finally stepping up to the front porch of the school, Gillet moves to knock upon the door when it rushes open. A young man, sharply dressed and groomed, pauses his facial expression of surprise for a second too long, and then smiles officiously at Gillet.
“Mayor Gillet! What an unusual coincidence! I was just on my way to visit you myself on behalf of Mr. Lonnegan. Would you do me the honour of coming to see him right now?”
“Yes, yes of course,” Gillet replies “I...”
“Would your companions please wait in the lounge, if that suits them?” The young man replies.
Gillet looks to you with an assuring, but nervous look.
The Young Man stares at you serenely, but with absolute demand in his eyes.
“Well,” the Young Man begins “Do you suppose you could HANG OUT HERE?”
*IF THEY AGREE
You linger in the hall, looking graciously upon Gillet and the new attendant as they disappear up the nearby main stairs at a relaxed pace. Soon their footfalls echo away, and the dour atmosphere of the school descends upon you in full force. Incoherent murmurs stir the air almost noticeably, in a dull drone that populates the air only as busily as insects might disturb the surface of a still pond. The atrium you stand in holds portraits on the walls, each of a stern faced man wearing clothes that one of you might describe as goofy, and two as “indicative of education.” A stone inscription rests above the door,
FROM THE DEPTHS COMES POWER
(FROM THE DEPTHS COMES POWER)
None of you recognize the characters, or language. Soon, Gillet and the young man appear at the top of the stairs, and the mayor motions to you to come up. The attendant introduces himself.
“You must be the visitors Gillet has told us about. Curious about the “WHAT HAVE THEY ASKED OR TOLD GILLET” are you? If you'll walk with me this way please, I'll bring you to headmaster Lonnegan's office. He's always pleased when people take an interest in the good education we're doing here.”
*IF THEY INSIST
The approach up the stairs to headmaster Lonnegan's office is a musty, drab affair. The stonework inside the building continues to be as impressive and familiar as the edifice work on the outside. It also seems to maintain its formal tone, eschewing any attempt at dressing up its spaces with artifacts of warmth or welcoming. Status reigns king here, you conclude as you approach the heavy ornate door bearing the plaque “Headmaster” on it.
Your guide raps on the door politely, and pauses for just enough time to hear what you can only conclude is a faint (or even imagined) acknowledgment from within. The door sweeps open creakily, and you are greeted by something more akin to a richly stocked library and laboratory than an office. A thin, aging man with dark hair and heavy eyebrows pores over a collection of books and papers on what might be a desk, if you could discern it from the sprawling mess covering every conceivable inch of it. His eyes raise to you more than his head, as though calculating the exact amount of effort required to observe you in full.
“Ladies, sir, welcome to the illustrious Pickman Academy. I am headmaster Lonnegan. To what business do I owe the event of your attendance?”
NOTES – ANNE READ THE INSCRIPTION, SPOKE TO LONNEGAN IN ABYSSAL,
Lonnegan’s fists hit the table with some surprising amount of force, judging from the echoing thump that rebounds around the room. “Stop everything!” he exclaims, very nonspecifically. He calmly addresses Gillet, “Mayor, I shouldn’t keep you any longer from your mayoral duties. Thank you for attending me this morning.” Gillet hesitates on his way out of the office, flashing you a look of sympathy before closing the door behind him. With the room left to only you and the Academy staff, his forceful tone reappears. “Who are you people, what are you doing here, and who sent you?”
- A chance for the party to charm their way out of things. If Lonnegan is pleased with the show they make to cover their tracks (after all, the only clue they know anything is the abyssal speaking Halfling).
- If completely charmed by the lie that they are insiders, and possibly even working for the Lord Earlin, he offers them a tour of the facility. The procedure is nearly complete, the boy is ready, they’re only waiting for the date to arrive and things will go ahead as planned.
- If they talk themselves OUT of it, but still manage to stay on his good side, he’ll resume the conversation they started.
- If insufficiently pleased by their attempts to talk their way out of it, he rings a bell in his office: “Before any of you can react, four secret passages (that honestly look pretty blatant once you get a moment to consider them; it would have taken nearly no effort at all to discover these you surmise) in the headmaster’s office spring open. Four young men, dressed exactly like Steisch emerge with confrontational expressions on their faces. Without much ceremony, they advance upon you as Lonnegan retreats into one of the passages, idly instructing the newcomers (as well as the still present Steisch) simply to “Get them.”
STUDENT/MONK LV 6
Strength: 14 (+2)
Dex: 18 (+4)
Int: 9 (-1)
Wis: 14 (+2)
Con: 10
Cha: 6 (-2)
HP: 40/40 (X5)
Expertise Die: 2D6
+4 to attack (1D6 +2)
Hit Dice 6x 1D8
Ki 3x Day
AC 16
Save DC +2
5edndwiki.wikidot.com/character-creation-maneuver-desc
Level 1: Expertise Your extensive training makes you deadly on the battlefield. You demonstrate your martial expertise in the way you move, strike, and dodge. This expertise is represented by maneuvers that you have mastered.
Benefit: You gain a single expertise die, a d4. You can spend an expertise die to use a maneuver that you know.
Maneuvers: At 1st level, you know two maneuvers, Flurry of Blows and Step of the Wind + 1 other. You gain an additional maneuver at 4th, 7th, and 10th level, which you choose from the monk's maneuver list.
Using Expertise Dice: You must be able to take actions to spend an expertise die. At the end of each of your turns, you regain all of your spent expertise dice. As you gain levels, the size of the die increases (from a d4 to a d6 for instance), and you gain additional dice as noted on the Monk table.
Saving Throws: Some of your maneuvers call for a saving throw. If a maneuver calls for a saving throw, the DC equals 10 + your Wisdom modifier + the save DC bonus noted on the Monk table.
Deadly Strike
You find where your opponent is most vulnerable and strike there.
Effect: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can spend expertise dice to increase the attack's damage against that target. Roll all the expertise dice you spend, and add up their results. The damage gains a bonus equal to that total.
Flurry of Blows
You unleash a flurry of unarmed attacks, striking several foes at once or one foe multiple times.
Effect: When you use your action to make an unarmed melee attack, you can spend expertise dice to make additional unarmed attacks. Make one additional attack per die spent, and on a hit, roll the expertise die in place of your unarmed attack's damage die, and add no bonuses to the damage.
Glancing Blow
Even when you miss with an attack, you can manipulate your weapon to deliver a glancing blow.
Effect: When you miss a target with a melee weapon attack but your attack result is a 10 or higher, you can spend expertise dice to turn the miss into a glancing blow, which is not treated as a hit. Roll all the expertise dice you spend. The target takes damage equal to the highest die result alone. The damage is of the weapon's type, but it delivers no additional effect associated with the weapon or the attack.
Level 1: Ki Ki is an energy that flows through all living things. Your intense training and unmatched mental focus allow you to draw forth this energy and channel it into extraordinary effects.
Benefit: Once per day, you can use your ki. You gain an additional daily use of ki at 3rd, 6th, and 9th level.
You gain particular ki abilities as you gain levels. If a ki ability calls for a saving throw, the DC equals 10 + your Wisdom modifier + the save DC bonus noted on the Monk table.
Level 5: Wholeness of Body
As an action, you can expend a use of your ki to magically regain hit points equal to your monk level + your Wisdom modifier.
Level 1: Stunning Strike
When you hit a creature with an unarmed attack, you can expend a use of your ki to try to stun that creature. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. A creature that is a nonhumanoid or of a size larger than yours makes this saving throw with advantage.
Level 1: Mindful Defense You use intuition and your sense of your surroundings to protect yourself from harm. You move a moment before an enemy attacks or steel yourself before a spell affects you.
Benefit: While you are wearing no armor and are not using a shield, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Level 1: Monastic Training Your difficult training placed great demands on you and allowed you to achieve an unmatched level of mastery in some skills.
Benefit: You gain training in two skills of your choice: Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Listen, Sneak, Spot, or Tumble.
Level 1: Way of the Fist You have trained in the art of unarmed combat and excel at fighting without weapons.
Benefit: Your unarmed strike functions as a finesse weapon with which you have proficiency. It deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Level 2: Undaunted Strike Your command of your ki has allowed you to attune your strikes so that they overcome your enemies' resistances.
Benefit: Your unarmed strike counts as being magical, adamantine, cold iron, and silver for the purposes of overcoming resistance.
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Curious about their ties to Julick. Friend of the family? Why not have a letter sent?
– Nonsense about Emma. The young men at the school are not permitted to consort with women. Many graduates go on to become respectful nobility and statesmen, and as such the company they keep is strictly regulated by school rules.
– Responds rather coldly to threats, but acquiesces, citing that they're an institution of learning and have no quarrel to make with any barbarians who might throw their weight around. If Julick is the man they want, Julick is the man they'll get.
– If they persist in diplomacy, Lonnegan has no qualms about them meeting with Julick, so long as it doesn't interfere with his studies. The Lord Earlin holds quite a lot of sway at the school, and wouldn't enjoy being disappointed. He asks them to wait in the atrium, considering Julick's class is over in just fifteen minutes time. They can find time to speak to him there.
ATTENDANT – STEISCH
AT THREAT
Lonnegan snaps his fingers at the attendant and dismissively waves his hand towards the door. “Find Julick Earlin, Mr. Dobson, and be swift about it. There's no telling what awful damage these brutes might convey upon us should we attempt to engage in the unlawful practice of minding our own god damned business.” The attendant wavers at the door for a moment, regarding you with a look of disgust as he slips into the hallway reluctantly before padding away with some haste down the corridor. Lonnegan breathes a sigh of disappointment in the direction of Gillet as his gaze returns to the chaos adorning his office furniture.
After some time, the door opens, and a young man enters. “You asked for me, sir?” he asks, while Lonnegan motions for the boy to come towards him. “Yes, Mr. Earlin – these brash visitors have been unpleasantly insistent upon your company. Do your superiors a favour and indulge them so we might get back to the civilized pursuits of academia?”
The man turns to you and with an expectant tone asks “May I help you, strangers?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Obviously not Julick. Banking that nobody has actually specifically described the young man, he has been replaced by a ringer. All answers to questions about Julick's life require clarification, except for the obvious
– Emma? Emma who, you'll have to be more specific please
– Oh yes, my father was very concerned about my upbringing
– Fidrick? I'm not sure who you mean.
– Starts to ask specific questions about why THEY'VE come to visit at every chance. Using the opportunity to interrogate them in front of Lonnegan.
– Refuses to return, insists he's fine, must return to his studies after he's satisfied he knows who they are, where they're from, why they're here, and leaves at Lonnegan's grace.
“I trust you're satisfied?” Lonnegan drawls after Julick leaves the room. LEAD OUT TO GILLET AT THE ATRIUM BELOW.
AT DIPLOMACY
Not long after re-arriving at the atrium, you find Gillet waiting there for you. Before you have a chance to speak to him, a sonorous bell tone rebounds across the grounds, and the previous murmuring sounds begin to wash away to a somewhat tired hustle of feet. Doors along the hallways begin to brush open, and the students all begin to push out into the hallways.
– Do they remember what he looks like?
– There are more than just a few men in the hallway that resemble the description of Earlin.
– None of them respond to the call of the name.
The hallway empties quickly, its population (exclusively young men) disappear behind doors that close quickly. As suddenly as the bustle started, it quiets again.
Gillet works his jaw nervously, an expression that looks like a distant visitor to his face.
“I think it might be time for an ale. I'm getting mighty thirsty.” His tone suggests something slightly more dire than his desire for ale.
IF THE FIGHT HAPPENS
A loss results in them waking up in the holding pen downstairs, across the hall from Julick.
The first thing you notice, apart from the ridiculous amount of pain you experience in your bodies, is the terrible smell. It’s as if somebody has decided to re-open a once condemned slaughterhouse at the bottom of a tainted well. The dimness to the room comes to you slowly, as though the unpleasant moisture that clings to seemingly everything obscures even the light. A stillness commands the air, which makes the ragged coughing emanating from a nearby patch of darkness that much more remarkable. The cough crawls through the air laboriously from outside the bars you’ve only just noticed.
A win presumably leads them down the secret passage.
The narrow entryway extends only a few feet from the now ruined office. Suddenly, a spiral staircase down winds sharply out of view. Distant steps pad off into silence in a regulated rhythm.
11/05/15
-Party barely managed diplomacy, but FUCK did you have to stretch for it. They recognized the Julick presented as an impostor, couldn't read Lonnegan, are genuinely confused as to the villain (Lonnegan or Earlin), but have found an ally in Gillet, who comes clean that he recognized the Julick character as an impersonator. We begin back in the bar/town hall, where Gillet's about to spill the beans.
Gillet drinks deep enough of his freshly poured draught of ale that you're tempted to call it breakfast by the time he puts the empty glass down. His eyes, a little shaken, and suddenly presenting to you with a vulnerability you've yet to see in Rotswold, purposefully and slowly ricochet between the three of you.
“I'll tell you all I know, but I can't guarantee there'll be anything too useful to it – depending on what you need.”
CONVERSATION GOALS:
– Doesn't know the nitty gritty of the school activities. Does remember from being a young man the last lord Earlin coming to the school, being told by his father that the Earlin's coming to Pickman's was a centuries old tradition. Was puzzled to learn that the last Earlin completed his studies and left the school within a little more than two months.
– Was honestly pretty suspicious of a guy who comes to town telling everybody he's from a country that doesn't exist, wearing a fake ass mustache and glasses... seriously, GLASSES? There aren't even optometrists yet! With a wife come master of state who obviously has trouble standing being in his presence and a “child” who is really closer to middle age than she is to infancy. OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE A RUSE.
– The troubles in the region are beyond his understanding as well. The only news they receive of the outside come from letter carriers from Stoneroot, requesting supplies and managing correspondence with the school.
– Remembers the day that Julick came to town, which was how he recognized the boy. Surrounded by students as far as the outskirts of town, and while they were all quite lively, there was a quiet dread to Julick.
– Curious what their plans are.
– If pressed, he slips the detail that there is a staff/supply entrance to the school. He's never been inside, but they take their own meals at the school mostly and get food delivered to them there. They'll never make it there in the day, though. The grounds are bare as Old Man Leon's head! They'll get spotted from a mile away.
Primary enemy for the school – THE ABOVE MONK. If they're smart, they never get confronted by more than two. Three gets risky, four if they REALLY FUCK THE DOG.
Entry room is locked, but DC 15 broken. The kitchen makes itself apparent, cold and empty, with student uniforms hanging above a large laundry cauldron. The only door out comes to a dining hall, which is much smaller than you'd assume a school would have. There are seats for only some twenty or so, less than they'd seen earlier in the morning.
Okay, there are a lot of options here.
– HEADMASTER'S OFFICE: Nothing unnatural around. If Leon persists in a search for secret passages, DC 15.
11/05/15
– ROOM INVESTIGATING: Determined by random die roll. Possibilities are classrooms (cartography, history, diplomacy, fencing), dispensary, gymnasium, dormitory, and a locked, weak door that leads downwards. Cracking the door runs the risk of alerting dormitory students.
Upon Arrival in the Basement Grounds
The lower you descend, the more you become certain that you've finally answered a question you never asked yourself; whether or not you would miss the taste of unused air. An almost imperceptible dim light crawls up the stairwell beneath you, bringing nothing with it but cold gusts of heavy smells. Bracing yourselves against the walls during your descent in the narrow stairwell, it becomes slowly evident that the walls are carved with patterns. At first they are shallow, seemingly faint as if worn through the passage of time and other hands rubbing along them, but the deeper you go the deeper they go, and it's not long before the gray stone, flickering in the brightening light reveals a landing corridor covered in deep etchings, and a clearly lit straight path ahead.
Dungeon Ahead Notes, following map.
– Guard Room: Nothing of note, except two student monks. Lightly conversing with each other at the time of entry. Heard from outside the door.
– Sacrificial Room: Opposed by a blood gutter leading to the darkness in the floor that stretches through the path, a room with an unpleasantly coloured altar is where the etched walls seem most pronounced. It also appears the cleanest, and even has a horrible echo to it, as though when they speak to each other, their voices are swallowed up, making it sound like they're speaking to each other through a long tunnel. The table evokes fear in Rinaldo, it looks familiar, and for a second you think you hear a knife being sharpened in the corner of the room.
Investigating reveals the presence of a long dagger, somewhat light to hold, focusing light, or reflecting light that doesn't appear to be there. (ADAMANTINE COATING)
– Lab: Orderly and utterly arcane, it's a total confusion to all the players. Book titles, equipment, runes, carved portions of stone, even portions of the wall with frames around it. Staffs, knives, little vials of what looks like blood on small wheeled tables. Almost archaeological. Not much to be found here but details. Lonnegan has been experimenting on the runes. He's as curious as he is dutiful. A locked room in the corner haunts the room.
– Armory: Barely even a weapons room. A line of two dozen quarterstaves, and no armor to be seen. More than its fair share of restraints though, collars, control poles, masks, chains, and a few gruesomely imaginative other contraptions. They mainly seem to revolve around restraint and bloodletting.
– Dungeon: The first thing you notice is the terrible smell. It’s as if somebody has decided to re-open a once condemned, still uncleaned slaughterhouse at the bottom of a tainted well. The dimness to the room comes to you slowly, as though the unpleasant moisture that clings to seemingly everything obscures even the light. A stillness commands the air, which makes the ragged coughing that suddenly emanates from a nearby patch of darkness that much more remarkable. The cough crawls through the air laboriously from inside the dungeon bars you’ve only just noticed.
“So,” a sickly voice addresses you from the darkness, “it's finally time.”
CHARACTER: Julick Earlin
With his words still echoing in the small chamber, the speaker shuffles across the ground on his hands and knees out of the corner, from a pile of what must be his bedding. The young man, obviously under some physical duress, somehow manages to retain his dignity, however, as he climbs the bars of his cell with his hands to a supported standing position. “Well then,” he says with a degree of defiance in his voice, “get on with it.”
– Suspicious at first, but eager for the help.
– Will not brook any talk of them coming from his father.
– Curious about Lonnegan's whereabouts.
– The cell is locked, there must be a key abouts, either with the guards or in Lonnegan's office? The laboratory?
We'll be putting the key in the location they haven't searched yet. IF they've been sloppy, we'll give it to the guards in the guardroom.
Will they go after Lonnegan? Unknown.
The night air stings at your skin as you expose yourself to the air again finally. Julick has followed you on unsteady feet, but quite determined to see it through to the end. It seems as though his will is keeping him on his feet alone, and doing a reasonable job of it. With the door of the academy behind you, the familiar face of Gillet pokes at you from around a corner, and he motions to you hurriedly. “It may not be a good idea for you to stay in town too long,” he whispers, helping Julick bear his weight. “We have a food shipment that's going out to Stoneroot in the morning, I think it might not be too difficult to convince Earl Robertson to send it out a few hours early.” He takes a look at Julick, whose presence seems to wane by the second. “I can see you're not leaving now, though, so we'd better get this fellow to the tavern.”
– The return to Gillet goes without much palaver. (as long as they go the way they came. The stairs upwards lead to a barracks) He suggests smuggling the quartet back to Stoneroot in a grain shipment.
FUCKING EXCISED. Julick Under Question
Laid down on the bar, Gillet fusses about with his pouring spouts, serving up some ale for the weak man. A few cusses and short shouts into the kitchen and the sounds from within indicate that Callum is in, and cooking up something for the group to eat. While obviously affected by malnutrition and possibly even some atrophy, Julick still manages to keep an alert look about him, maintaining eye contact and responding to questions easily. Some food and a good rest would do wonders for him, but he's obviously not going to be running any long distances or starting any spirited fights.
chance to question Julick about what's going on. What does he know?
– Discovered a library of journals, all young men, all of the Earlin line. Individually scattered of information, but when looked at all together compiled a strange pattern of young Earlin men being sent away to Pickman, only to return three months later with questionable mental faculties. Not many of the journal entries after returning were either coherent or specific to what had gone on at the school, but the effects were obvious. Each one would stop writing journals one year after their return.
– Obviously suspects that his father has something to do with it. Everything about the Pickman Academy was his father's idea. Not sure if it's really his father, or something else influencing his father. He hadn't exactly been acting strange, but all of this happened so suddenly, it was difficult to truly observe what was going on.
– Doesn't trust Lonnegan either. Everybody at the school, which as far as he can tell is actually a monastery in disguise, with only some twenty or thirty monks, possessed of some kind of slavish devotion, except for Lonnegan. He seems to be the only one that has any amount of control over himself. Asked a lot of questions about Stoneroot, did a lot of experiments, took a lot of blood, hair, even a tooth. Needed to figure something out, but wasn't very forthcoming.
– Unsure what the next move should be. Obviously need to get to Emma, but afterwards, they might need to leave the country, which will be difficult given how tense things are with neighbouring Sudkeen. The first step is to get back to Stoneroot in secret.
Gillet ceases his fussing finally and informs you that he's heading over to the Robertsons, to ask if Earl might be willing to send the food shipment a little early, as there's no telling when the school might discover the fact that Julick is missing. The townsfolk will most likely be left alone, seeing as how the school depends on the well being of the town to continue its existence, but he's quite confident that the first thing Lonnegan will do will be to come looking for the suspicious strangers who just happened to show up asking around after Julick Earlin the same day he mysteriously went missing. He urges you to stay inside while he leaves the Tavern, being sure to lock it once he's gone outside. Callum arrives from out the kitchen with some food and drink for the four of you, making sure that Julick gets a decent portion into him at a careful pace.
Gillet isn't away for long when the door unlocks and he re-enters with Earl Robertson in tow. Robertson looks as though he's been roused from sleep, but has a look of concern on his face. He informs you that Beth & Jack are back at the farm, putting the final touches on the shipment, making sure that there's a hidden compartment amongst the food for the four of you to hide. From the way everyone is talking, you get the impression that the sooner you act, the better.
Sure enough, Earl Robertson's ample size cart has more than enough room for the four of you to fit. They've created a pit in the center of the shipment, concealed from vision on all sides, and visibly absent with grain stacked on top of it. While helping Julick into the pit, Earl assures you that the journey shouldn't take too long, and you'll probably reach Stoneroot by the afternoon if you're not too long in leaving.
With the last of you snugly fitted into the improvised compartment, Jack and Earl begin stacking sacks of foodstuff onto a board they employ as a kind of lid – to prevent the weight of the grain from sitting too heavily on you – and in not much time at all, Gillet is whispering through the cracks that nobody will know you've been concealed in the shipment. Peering through the cracks, you see the look on the mayor's face is somewhat strained. He looks as though some very old and uncertain worries have dominated his thoughts, and though his voice still sounds buoyant and cheerful, there is a heaviness to his movements that belies a deep terror of what will come with the morning.
Gillet claps Earl Robertson on the back and walks away slowly into the night. You find yourselves wondering whether or not Rotswold will still be there when the sun sets next as Earl & Jack Robertson's cart begins to trundle down the roadway, its creaking wheels the only noise against the night apart from the fading shuffling steps of a man maybe consigned to death just for wanting to help his town, and some strangers out.
Julick, obviously exhausted, and now recovering with some food in him quickly passes to sleep, and the remaining three of you, while still in good health suddenly become aware of how achy you are, and how strangely comfortable the cart is. You could rest now, if you feel comfortable doing so.
The sounds of the marketplace rise up slowly as you rouse from a deep, intoxicating sleep. Hands are pulling sacks off the top of the cart, when the voice of Earl Robertson comes through “It's okay, we're here now. Nobody's around, you can come out now.” The afternoon light punctures your compartment gradually, as Jack and Earl lift the food from on top of the concealing board. “No trouble from the gate guards,” Earl continues, “they're used to us by now.” The board comes off the top, and the tall, grey world of Stoneroot reveals itself to you once more. Julick, moving with a little more confidence and strength, hauls himself from the cart and scans the area nervously. It appears that Earl has chosen a good location to unpack you, he regards you with some worry in his eyes. “Now, is there anything else Jack & I can do for you? We're a little determined to go back to Rotswold as soon as possible. We left things in a... difficult way when we departed.”
12/17/25
THEY FUCKED IT UP. WENT ROGUE, HID AROUND TOWN, RE-MET WITH THE ROBERTSONS, THEN GILLET WHO IS NOW MASSIVE DISTRUSTFUL OF THEM, AND RETURNED TO THE TAVERN, WHERE GILLET LEFT JULICK. HE OPENED THE DOOR, AND EXCLAIMED “OH NO.”
Upon opening the door further, Gillet reveals a sordid scene covered in the dark of the night. The tavern has been utterly ransacked, a flung open front door, tables upended, chairs strewn about, with smatterings of demolished cups and plates dotting the serving areas. The mood of this messy scene is cut in two with the presence of a serene figure sitting at a table in the middle of the ruined room. Lonnegan, oddly discoloured and visibly out of place from the scene regards you with a disdainful curiousity, and cuts to the
chase immediately.
"Of course it would be you. Where have you taken Julick, you interfering simpletons?"
- Does not seem to take damage, is not interested in a fight, but if they persist, he threatens the safety of the town.
- Is curious about why three non-entities, no ties to the family or such would show interest.
- adamantly refutes any claim of theirs to be with the lord.
- Left his laboratory intact, mocks their cluelessness.
- Refutes any claims that they don't have him, insinuating that no one would care enough... *pause* of course.
- Offers a deal, they have four days to produce the heir, or else Rotswold burns to the ground. Nobody would think twice about another town disappearing up in flames.
All too often an occurrence these days, sadly.
- When fed up, insinuates that without Julick in his possession, he'll have to go higher up the chain, and find who has instigated this incidence, and if it isn't resolved
It doesn't matter much, as it will all be over in less than a month.
He fades from view in a fairly spectacularly effortless manner, as though shrugging his way out of an argument that manifests as the ultimate assertion.
With Lonnegan gone, the tension in the tavern subsides in everyone but the mayor. Gillet's mood takes a turn towards panicked, & he claims a bell from the tavern counter and makes his way towards the door.
"I have to warn the people," Gillet mutters as he reaches an absent hand for the door handle that's been wrenched off the creaking, ajar door.
'Danger!' he yells, stepping outside and ringing up a clamor. 'Danger!' he bellows from the depths of his lungs, 'Danger! Everyone, gather your children and loved ones! Peril!' Your eyes fall on the still dark scene, a mess. An indecipherable mess. An indecipherable mess with no clue. No clue as to what may have happened.
– EXCISED
– DC 5: The scene appears to be completely absent of blood, but the signs of an unpleasant struggle are obviously there.
– DC 7: Some torn cloth, caught in only one location of the regularly haphazardly placed floorboards give you some idea where the struggle took place.
– DC 10: At first mistaken for the grain, soil, and sawdust endemic to the tavern, the struggle area is clotted with a familiarly blanched, fine, grey stone dust, and it's spread across the floor with footprints, and what you can only assume are drag marks leading out the door.
– DC 12: The mess in the rest of the bar looks hurried, with only furniture in obvious positions tipped over, and only the bric-a-brac on nearby flat surfaces within reach are scattered. Anything requiring additional effort to get to, such as the space behind the bar, or some of the corner booths, remain undisturbed. The mess was made in a hurry, and seems more recreational than villainous or intimidating.
The quiet town rouses outside, with Gillet's cries being now echoed by other voices. Even the livestock begin to cry and erupt in distress, with rooster cries signaling either a terrific dawn, or the remnants of an ugly night to follow.
The question is answered quickly by the signs of dim sunlight dotting the spaces between the lush forest, reminding each of you of the dim embers of fires burning out against an unyielding cold wind.
Day 3 (Rotswold burns at day 7) – Spent tracking, a rest at The Long Pull.
ANNE: Teddy's face smolders and smokes. It paces and rants incoherently about the importance of faith, dedication, duty, and promise. At length you are lectured about the importance of solidarity, and the fates of traitors and heathens are decided the moment they betray the gods.
JAYNE: There's something dark inside you. A heavy presence sits in your gut, and you're desperately trying to dig it out of you. The soil of your stomach gives way to your rocky hands as you shovel and dig deeper and deeper into yourself to pull the poison piece out. The closer you get, the less your form maintains its shape. Something in this poison is holding you together, and you're not sure what will happen when you remove it, but as each moment passes your desperation increases. The feeling of dread rises, you dig faster, and as you do pieces of you slough off into piles of earth on the floor.
RINALDO: You didn't want this. The prestige, the fame, the recognition, yes, but you didn't ask for the power, the responsibility. Every day is the same, you awake and worry, fear, plagued with self doubt and stress. Nobody else will make these decisions, though. Nobody else has the strength to sacrifice what must be sacrificed. Your hand falls to the book again, and a familiar voice from the door calls “It's almost time.”
Day 4 -
Day three and four saw the party track the hoofprints back to Stoneroot. It was remarkably easy to track the horses into town, but the tracks were lost amongst the traffic of the main gate. After a night's rest at THE LONG PULL (tavern), the party returned to the mansion of the Lord Earlin. Silas was convinced to bring Fidrick out to the party, where he let slip that he's actually a spy of some kind (they think rebellion) – he's currently setting up a meeting with his “contact” to be held at the evening of day 4 – The party has gone to “THE CHURCH” to look for Emma, who often volunteers there.
12/24/15
Stoneroot's church cuts a modest profile against the evening light. The flickering windows reveal activity within, but it remains as quiet, if not more, than the city surrounding it. The door stands at a not unwelcome half open, and a faint echo of gentle voices from within give you the feeling of reassurance.
CHURCH INSIDES
The simple stone floor immediately parts after a long, narrow entrance, sweeping into a deep three quarter circle that angles downwards in shallow steps. Each of these concentric steps houses a simple stone bench with no back, all converging on a center location that is home to a modest pulpit. A holy man of impressive age, one who carries himself with a quiet air of authority stands beside the pulpit, looking up at the iconography adorning the back wall of the church. (RELIGION CHECK – DC 25 – Nigh Unrecognizable. In the off chance they do, the only thing they can recall is more historical than religion. HISTORY CHECK – DC 25 – Recall the fact that the symbols on the wall were thought to be part of a long dead local group. No data on their membership, rites, or anything else remains extant. Merely some leftover icons – plinths, obelisks, ruined structures, etc.) He turns to regard the party with an amiable expression, and introduces himself.
“Greetings, seekers. I am Danyin, head of our order here. How may I be of service?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
Danyin is quite cagey about what the church is specifically dedicated to, but insists that there are many worshipers of many deities in Stoneroot, and their church was established as community organizing location, rather than anything religious. Some of the lesser worshiped deities sometimes borrow facilities here to conduct rites, or specific ceremonies, if they lack their own structures in town. The Lord Earlin is tolerant of religion, but everybody wonders whether he makes active efforts to stem the creation of new churches in town.
– quick to stress that the church takes care of many of the medical needs the dangerous work in the quarry sometimes requires.
– They feed the homeless, take care of the poor, and use their city connections to provide jobs for the able bodied.
– Recognizes the party's refugee status. Is working closely to find them accommodation and employment.
– Notices some injury, offers to help with only minimal donation.
– Fascinated with Anne's slavish devotion to Avaundra. Not a popular God in the region of late, what with how dangerous it has become to travel.
– Responds to questions about Emma by acknowledging that Emma comes by to volunteer from time to time. She's a lovely girl, wholesome, genuine, charitable, not at all like her sister.
– If they mention Julick, he's quick to inquire after the boy's health. Is concerned with the boy's schooling, recalls the past two Lords, and how changed they were by school. To go from being active participants in the community, engaged by the populace (some more wholesomely than others) and return to sequester themselves completely until taking their father's position to rule.
“Emma's here – she's currently attending to the sufferers of a horrible accident that rather literally shook the quarry a couple nights ago. We haven't seen damage like this in such a long time.”
Danyin gestures to a rather sizable doorway off to the side, behind the pulpit. With a smooth, repeated gesture with his hand, he leads you to the doors, moving gracefully for an elderly man.
The doors part as he reaches his hand for them, whether by magic or manners from an unseen party on the other side is a mystery, but before you're able to determine that, your attention is commanded by a grisly scene dominating an impressive hall.
The noises you mistook for gentle voices upon approach reveal themselves not be pensive chant and worship, but a discomfiting disarray of moans and cries. Excavators of every size, shape, age, and gender overflow makeshift cots, prop themselves up in alcoves, and even lie sprawled on the floor, murmuring and groaning. Two clerics, dressed in sombre gray attend what can only be a pile of corpses in an isolated corner of the hall. From their gestures you assume they are speaking with each other, but they wear masks across their faces, revealing only stern looks in their eyes.
The motionless but vocal are being looked to by several volunteers, bustling about with jugs of water, washcloths, bandages, slings, and splints. As you scan the volunteers for Emma's face something strange occurs to the three of you and you notice none of the injured, and not even the deceased, are marked with blood. Instead, your eyes fall to a rusty mud caking around wounds that should be bleeding. Dollops of it litter the floor, and as you begin to form an idea of what it is, a foot smears some of it in a hurried pace and you find yourself looking right at Emma. She wheels past you at a furious speed, not even casting an eye your way.
CONVERSATION TAG POINTS
– RESISTANT TO EVEN ENGAGING THEM, TOO BUSY TO CONSIDER ANYTHING ELSE
– IF THEY MENTION JULICK, HER ATTENTION DIVERTS, SHE PASSES OFF HER GOODS TO SOMEONE ELSE AND SUGGESTS THEY GO SOMEWHERE LESS HECTIC.
– She leads you to a smaller door that opens into an office, closing it behind you and removing the wrap keeping her hair tightly organized against her head. It's strange, because her hair is much longer than you remember it.
– IS CONCERNED ONLY FOR JULICK'S HEALTH, BUT HAS NO IDEA WHO THEY ARE.
– AFTER A FEW CONFUSED RESPONSES, ASKS THEM TO RECOUNT THEIR ENTIRE MEETING TOGETHER. WHEN THEY MENTION THE TAVERN, SHE'S CURIOUS IF IT'S THE LONG PULL. WHEN THEY SAY YES, SHE CHUCKLES BITTERLY AND SAYS THEY'VE BEEN TAKEN IN BY HER SISTER, TAMSIN. DISHONEST SORT, RUNS WITH A GANG AND MAKES MOST OF HER MONEY AND FUN BY SWINDLING PEOPLE IN TOWN. THEY DIDN'T GIVE HER ANY MONEY, DID THEY?
– WHEN THEY SAY SHE DIDN'T TAKE ANY MONEY, SHE BECOMES INCREASINGLY CONCERNED. WHAT DID SHE WANT? WHAT DID THEY DO?
– AT THE DETAIL THAT JULICK HAS GONE MISSING, SHE BECOMES INCREASINGLY ALARMED. HER FRIENDS! NONE OF THEM ARE DECENT FOLK! THEY INTIMIDATE, EXTORT, BRAWL FOR FUN, SHE SENT YOU AFTER HIM FOR A REASON. THEY DIDN'T WANT TO RESCUE JULICK, THEY WANTED TO RANSOM HIM.
For a brief moment, her crisis-mode hustle gives way to an expression of genuine concern and desperation. “Well I guess I'll just have to go get him my goddamn self,” she says, returning to a determined expression. Putting her head wrap back on, a curt knock at the door sounds and she hauls the door open.
Danyin stands at the threshold, with an envelope in his hand. “Emma my dear, Galin said you had come to the community office with our visitors. A message just arrived for them.” He passes Emma the envelope and bows slightly before setting off back into the cacophony of pain in the hall. Emma holds the door open with one hand and extends the other to you, the envelope in it.
“Noon. You have One Hour. - A.C.F.”
“Anything you want to tell me?” Emma asks.
“Didn't think so,” she dismisses and strides out of the room letting the door shut behind her.
It's the late morning on day Four of Seven.
EMMA GOES TO HEAD OFF HOME TO READY TO ATTEND TO HER SISTER. THE MEETING ONLY LASTS FOR AN HOUR. IF THEY FOLLOW EMMA, SHE GOES HOME AND PUTS ON SOME LEATHER ARMOUR, AND PREPARES TO APPROACH HER SISTER – HELD IN A NOT SO NICE NEIGHBOURHOOD, WITH CLOAKED SUSPICIOUS MEN TO A FORTIFIED HOUSE, RIGGED WITH FIRE TRAPS.
IF THEY DECIDE TO ATTEND THE MEETING WITH THE A.C.F., THE WOMAN THEY ENCOUNTER DEMANDS ONLY TO BE CALLED “A.” - SHE REFUSES TO CONFESS HER ALLEGIANCE, BUT SPEAKS IN AN ACCENT THAT LEON FINDS INCREDIBLY FAMILIAR. SHE OUTLINES THAT SHE REPRESENTS A GROUP THAT FEELS LIKE THE CONSIDERABLE POWER THAT STONEROOT YIELDS COULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE IN THE REGION, AS THE EARLIN FAMILY HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN STANDOFFISH AND ISOLATIONIST, RUNNING THEIR OWN GAME AGAINST A DOWNTRODDEN POPULACE.
12/31/15 – Noon of Day 4 of 7
The clot thickens.
The party has opted to attend the meeting with the Acamorian spies at the Long Pull. Emma has left their presence, while being informed that they would be waiting at the tavern for her presence. Meanwhile, Jayne plots to betray the party in order to supplicate the ambitions of Lonnegan to investigate the heroes and discover more about their pasts... something she is deathly afraid of.
A throng of a crowd populates The Long Pull with food and ale adorning each table plentifully. You pause in the doorway, the note directing you here sitting idle in your pocket when you realize there's no conceivable way for you to recognize the author of the note, and no easy way to poke around the bar looking for “Y'know, the rebellion!” without drawing a potentially lethal amount of attention to yourselves. Frozen in the door in indecision, a cloaked figure easily bumps through the three of you and mutters “Follow me,” without so much as waiting a moment for you to fall in step.
They lead you up the stairs to the rooms, unlock a door secluded from the rabble below and enter it, not shutting the door entirely and making no other sign to their intention.
The door silently swings open into a room much simpler than the one you found yourselves occupying last night. The drapes are pulled shut, and from the sunlight creeping in through the fabric patterned as it is, you're guessing the shutters to the window are hauled tight as well. The cloaked figure sits opposite the door, between the windows and views you with a mysterious intent, much of their expression hidden by the darkness of the room and the concealing cloak that still covers their head.
An atypical voice, calm in its tone, but not immediately identifiable as man or woman speaks with a foreign accent that pulls at Rinaldo's memory, tugging at the soft tissue around wounds barely closed, reminding you of harder times. You find yourself almost lost to these memories for a brief moment before you realize the figure has commanded you to introduce yourselves.
“You may call me A.C.” they reply. “A mutual friend of ours seems to think you might be interested in furthering our cause.”
CONVERSATION GOALS
A.C. IS A SPY FOR THE ACAMORIAN ARMY. DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR POLITICAL POWER ON THE MAINLAND OF THE BYSSIAN KINGDOM THEY HAVE SET THEIR SIGHTS ON GAINING POWER IN STONEROOT, A TOWN UNCOMMONLY WITHOUT ALLIES, DISTANT FROM OTHER FRIENDS, AND IN POSSESSION OF A GREAT DEAL OF RESOURCES FROM ITS QUARRY AND WORKING POPULATION.
– Cagey about the purposes of fueling rebellion. Really for the purposes of gaining power for Acamoros in Byssa, but couches designs under the rhetoric of fighting for Stoneroot's freedom from tyranny
– Is reluctant to accept the party's tales of demon worship. Confesses that they think it's impossible for a town managed by demon worshipers to have such a prosperous town. It's pious, with churches and all manner of clerical services. Demons would require more chaos, bloodshed, and demand sheer havoc. The town's a little too well managed to be controlled by demon worship.
– Questions about destabilizing the Lord's power center on disrupting stone production at the quarry. Pulling the purse strings tight means upsetting the population at large, an upset population means trouble for the guards, trouble for the guards means more opportunity for clandestine operations, and even the chance for more recruits and large scale riots and action, possibly even deserters from the guard.
– Doesn't give a rats ass about Emma, until informed that she's attached to Julick.
– When questioned about Julick, confesses that they thought to use the Earl's son as some kind of leverage and even sent some operatives to the Pickman academy several weeks ago, but they were never heard from, and investigations in the area revealed the people never heard, or saw any of the described operatives anywhere in Town.
– In the end needs to know whether or not the party is on board or not. If they are, the agent demands that they finish a job on the quarry that was bungled a couple nights ago. One of their agents had made their way into the quarry with a collection of explosive vials. They were concocted by an alchemist to react to air in an explosive manner after a certain amount of time. The accident that happened may have very well been some of the explosives, but the accident reports say no explosive noises were heard before the earth just started shaking. The fate of the explosives need to be retrieved, and if they're still intact, the operation needs to be complete in 2 days. An informant in the quarry, DICKENS will be their contact. If they are not A.C. Rises immediately and warns them to stay out of their way before leaving the room.
THE PARTY ESCHEWED PURSING EMMA FOR THE PURPOSES OF INVESTIGATING THE QUARRY. UPON ARRIVAL THERE, THEY PRESENTED THEMSELVES AS HEALERS, OPTING TO HELP THOSE STILL INJURED. AS THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED TWO NIGHTS AGO, THE INJURED WERE REMOVED TO THE CHURCH AND REQUESTED AN OFFICIAL WRIT. FIDRICK PROVIDED THE DOCUMENT, AND THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY THERE.
– THE DROP OFF CONTACT IS IN A NEARBY STATUE, CEASING TO ISSUE WATER.
– ANNE REQUESTED A LETTER BE SENT TO AVANDRAN TEMPLE FOR REINFORCEMENTS.
– IF THEY SUCCEED, AC PROMISED THEM INFO ABOUT JULICK & EMMA AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THEM DISAPPEARING.
– FIDRICK, STILL CONCERNED ABOUT EMMA. POOR KID DOESN'T KNOW THE REBELLION IS A FOREIGN STATE TAKEOVER.
You return to the common room of the tavern and see a few of the tables have opened up.
Loitering at the tables for some time, one of you brooding in a cup of ale, the other wandering down a possibly haunting alley of memories, and the last drawing pretty patterns on the table in the tobacco juice that failed to make it all the way to the spittoon. The remainder of the hour dwindles, and leaves you in the stone dust. Emma is nowhere to be seen.
She does not show.
Options for tracking her down are either Fidrick, who has no idea, or Danyin, who only roughly knows the neighbourhood in which she lives. He willingly directs them there, but when the residents of the neighbourhood are pressed about Emma, most of them ignore the party, and even the ones that speak to the party sardonically reply “Emma, eh? Which one?” before shaking their heads and moving off.
If the party employs the sketch of Emma they obtained, a passerby glances at the drawing you've produced and looks at it a little longer than most, slowing his walk to a stop. “You sure you're looking for Emma, strangers? Her twin sister Tamsin has a way of relieving foreigners of their currency while pretending to be somebody else. Won't give up the facts until they demonstrate they're specifically looking for Emma. If they cite her volunteering at the church, the name of the priest there, he's keen to help. “Well, I can't say that I think Tamsin has ever had the nerve to set foot in the church before, so if you say you've met Danyin, I believe you. Emma's a neighbour of mine. You'll find her home down the street over yonder. It's the one with the icon of Ilmater on the door.”
The squalid street rings in the worst aspects of Stoneroot to you. While growing accustomed to the life of burden the folk tied to the quarry live, the part of town that starts here appear to be the downtrodden, injured, and those left behind by the sort of work that crushes the life out of you. The streets are padded by the lame and poor, with many of the houses not looking like a much better idea than going without one. Surely as you were informed though, in the midst of it all, a relatively well kept, modest house with the tied wrists of Ilmater on the door attract your attention.
A knock on the door brings a late middle aged man with a scar from the top corner of his mouth through a sewn shut eye up into an obviously damaged skull pulls the door open and regards the party with suspicion.
“If you're here for soup,” the man begins “it won't be ready yet for another couple o' hours. Best come back later,” he says and awaits your response.
THIS IS FALLON. AFTER THE GRIEG TWINS WERE ORPHANED (MOTHER DEAD AT BIRTH, FATHER A CASUALTY OF THE QUARRY) HE TOOK UP CARE OF THEM, BEING THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF THEIR FATHER WITH AN IMPROPERLY TIED KNOT ON A BLOCK BEING HOISTED OUT OF THE WELL. THE BLOCK SWUNG OUT, CAUSING UNDUE STRAIN ON THE HOIST, BREAKING THE WOOD SUPPORTS WHICH SHATTERED INTO SPLINTERS AND KILLED ITS ATTENDANTS – COLIN GRIEG BEING ONE OF THEM. THESE DAYS HE STAYS WITH HIS ADOPTED DAUGHTER, EMMA, AND RUNS CHARITY WORK OUT OF THEIR HOUSE FOR THOSE UNABLE TO RECEIVE IT AT THE CHURCHES IN TOWN.
CONVERSATION GOALS
– When he learns that they're looking for Emma, he invites them in, asking if they'd like a cup of weak tea, explaining that Stoneroot's dealings with other regions of the kingdom are, at the best of time, cool, leaving most of the import of goods up to freelance traders, rather than official agreements.
– Has a tendency to ramble. She's a good girl, does her best with what she's been given, a sweetheart really, almost looks after him as much as he's tried to look after her.
– He's seen her today, yes. She came home in quite a huff from the church, rather early too. Went and put her leathers on, which come to think of it, she hasn't done since she got into some bad business when she was a littler younger. Shite, I hope that doesn't mean trouble.
– Has no clue where she could have gone unless the party confides that they were duped by Tamsin into 'rescuing' Julick. “OH BLOODY HELL,” he roars “That miserable twin of hers has been looking for any opportunity to dig her needly little fingers into them every chance she gets! No wonder she didn't say a word to me, because if I had known by Kelemvor that vicious brat of a lass would be begging for the merciful touch of death when I was done with her, why I'll...” he begins as he shoots to his feet and suddenly trails off and seems to lose his balance for a brief second. Placing a hand on his head, he takes a few deep breaths while holding the other out in front of himself, asking for a moment to collect himself. “I guess I'm not so young any more,” he plaintively confesses as he retakes his seat. “But this isn't something she should be facing alone you understand. Tamsin and her crew are thugs, to be sure, but they're the sort that prize being seen by each other as more vicious and heartless than the other, and it's pushed a few of them folks to do some things nobody comes back from.” The hand on his head slips down the scar on his face and settles on the table. “Neither victim nor doer, you see.”
– The guard won't help, many of them in the neighbourhood came up in Tamsin's gang, you know. They made it into the service because they got so good at beating dissent senseless. When gangs are fighting, it looks like hell on paper, but when one controls everything in the area, it looks like everything is right as rain, especially if the folks doing the reporting are neglecting to tell people about the habits of your old friends.
– If pressed, he'll give away the location of where Tamsin hangs out. “Now you three look like you can handle yourselves, but I've still got to warn you to be careful. Tamsin doesn't play games, and she won't hesitate to go for the kill just to teach anybody nearby a lesson. She didn't get to where she was by rolling over and crying when she didn't get what she wanted. There's awful in that girl.” He directs you through some nearby streets to a place not far away, cautioning you that it's likely to get dark soon, and that it won't be too friendly down that street when the sun comes down. With a final plea in his so far stern voice he asks “If she's okay, bring her home, please? It's not the best life for us here in Stoneroot, but we do the best we can, and we try to help the others out here too. I don't know what I'd do without her.”
01/05/16 – IT IS LATE AFTERNOON ON DAY 4 of 7 (1 of 3 for quarry)
My mama said.
The guard at the quarry look damn amused that you're marching back to them. While chuckling just a certain amount to make it clear that they think you're ridiculous, the one who took to demanding a writ the last time takes several steps up to you with an awful smug look concealing his teeth. He holds his hand out.
Without saying anything, he waves his free hand, and the nineteen other guards part very cordially. “Oh, please sir,” “come right in,” “My, my, an entourage,” and similar remarks run through the air as you approach the terrible staircase.
There is a hole in the city. Buildings all around it thrive off it, grow tall and crooked to you sight, but an immeasurable pit yawns up before you. High at the tips, you wonder for a moment if the depth is a result of the comparison, but as much as you struggle with the scope, your brains can't seem to deal.
A toady man and an entourage that holds close to him suddenly bar your way.
“I am Getcher, the foreman, and you will tell me why you should be here,” the twitchy imp demands.
GETCHER – CONVERSATION GOALS
– RESPONDING TO THE WRIT: Even, won't reveal anything. Knows they aren't on the team, but won't bust them.
– “Additional healers? Hm? Looks as though the Lord had a change of heart. Dickens?” A man at Getcher's side steps to the fore. “Would you be so kind to run to the Lord's manor and check on this order?” He hands the writ to Dickens. Dickens examines the writ for a moment and his face briefly emits an uncomfortable expression.
– OH GOD REMEMBER THE DIVINING. REMEMBER THE DIVINING.
– If they don't remember the Divining: “Go on, Dickens. I'll see to the new blood until you get back.”
– OH, DIVINERS? “Dickens, never mind. Come attend the healers. I have too much to attend to.”
So Dickens may or may not leave according to the party's actions. His disappearance leads them to being lost in the quarry tunnels, hands coming out for grapple checks constantly. Getcher being unconcerned.
His presence means alarm. He guides them to the “accident” point, quite nervous himself. Knows about them, A.C. Sent them, is unsure about the state of the explosives. Leads them down a tunnel and refuses to go any further. Points them to the site, says he'll meet back at the entrance.
WITHOUT DICKENS, THE PARTY FINDS NOTHING EXCEPT STRANGE ECHOS IN THE TUNNELS, AND THE HANDS... SO MANY HANDS.
WITH DICKENS, THEY FIND A LARGE STONE CLOSED FIST, CHARRED, GLASS IN THE WALLS AROUND IT, THE SMELL OF EXPLOSIVES. NO VIALS TO SPEAK OF. CRACKS IN THE WALLS, AND SO MUCH DUST.
What you find yourselves being led through appears to be some kind of mixture between a mine and a quarry. Most of the stone appears to have been hauled out of the large, spiral sloped hole you were confronted with when you first arrived. Tunnels shoot off into the earth and the rock with workers scurrying back and forth with tools, or hauling stone or carts along tracks with as much effort as their malnourished bodies allow.
Questions about the construction of the quarry are met with simple answers, how the beauty of Stoneroot's rock is irregular. Over time, to get to the good product, a series of tunnels are under construction. Stay close, the party is warned. It's very easy to get lost underground here, and sometimes people don't come home from the quarry.
Seemingly descending ever deeper, the workers thin out until you're sure you haven't seen one for several minutes. Your guide stops at a particularly ominous entrance of sorts and gestures with their hand.
DICKENS: “You should find what you're looking for down here. I won't go any deeper though. I've seen the men & women they pulled out of there. I'll meet you outside, after you're done.”
GETCHER: “Now, I'm a busy man, and I can't afford to lead you through the entire mine. You should be able to find your way from here.”
GETCHER: The tunnels continue to twist and turn and slope in both decline and incline, but with each step you feel as though you're inching closer and closer to the center of the world. Torches flicker and burn on the walls, but without any amount of confidence and you thank your lucky stars you've got a friend that can conjure light on a whim. It isn't long before you're sure you're completely lost, unsure which offshoots you've taken, or where you're supposed to be. Frustrated, you pause for a second, and in taking light of your surroundings, notice the walls of the tunnel are dotted with small, shallow protuberances that look uncannily like human hands. A cold breeze wafts up the tunnel from somewhere, and the whistling it brings with it carries the sounds of voices; distressed voices from somewhere far away and inhospitable. Any further exploration leads them back to the entryway. As you continue to move along, you're not sure if your minds are playing tricks on you, but you're almost positive some of the wall hands are moving. Suddenly you find yourselves back at the entrance, where you come face to face with a distressed looking Dickens.
Dickens: The tunnels continue to twist and turn and slope in both decline and incline, but with each step you feel as though you're inching closer and closer to the center of the world. Torches flicker and burn on the walls, but without any amount of confidence and you thank your lucky stars you've got a friend that can conjure light on a whim. It isn't long before you're sure you're completely lost, unsure which offshoots you've taken, or where you're supposed to be. Frustrated, you pause for a second, and in taking light of your surroundings, notice the walls of the tunnel are dotted with small, shallow protuberances that look uncannily like human hands. A few corners later, and you come across an unmistakable sight. The smoke and charring along the tunnel walls would be enough to inform you that you've found the right place, but the over-sized stone fist extruding from the walls makes it more than obvious.
A breeze from the crevices in the walls whistle faintly. You're not there for long in the presence of the fist before each of you start to have trouble breathing. Your efforts to do so make you feel paralyzed and lame, as though something has decided for you.
Fighting the laborious breathing, you realize that you probably have a few minutes to investigate the area.
– Along with the charring marks, melted and shattered glass litters the scene, some of it embedded in the walls
– The fist appears to be grabbing something, between its clenched fingers are strips of leather and cloth. Possibly a satchel, possibly clothing.
– No blood or other signs of injury, but that rusty coloured mud you saw at the church is on the ground here, with more of it leading away through the tunnels.
–
Returning to the spine of the quarry, you learn that night has fallen. Fidrick walks down the walkways towards you, a strained expression on his face. Once he gets close enough, and far enough away from any one else, he whispers to you “We are in trouble, and we have to go now before they realize.” He clutches at something in his coat and motions for you to follow him out of the quarry.
Fidrick & Silas may or may not meet them there. Depending on whether or not Dickens was dispatched.
Tamsin has held Julick for ransom. The whole realm is on lockdown. Nobody in, nobody out.
Fidrick or Dickens:
“The Lord is completely furious and inconsolable. He received a message this evening telling him that his son has been kidnapped, and three cutthroat freelancers named Anne, Jayne, & Rinaldo are holding him for ransom. The whole city has been closed, nobody coming in nor out until his son has been found and the perpetrators have been put to justice.”
FIDRICK - “Tell me you haven't been lying to me all along.”
DICKENS - “You shady opportunists,” Dickens says, breaking into a run. “Just wait until they hear about this.” he disappears into a nearby tunnel, and vanishes from sight.
The three have been framed for kidnapping by Tamsin, they might go bloody anywhere.
– Pursuit of Tamsin reveals nothing.
– Emma pursuit only results in the church lead to her neighbourhood.
IT IS NOW NIGHT ON DAY 4 of 7
– A.C. Is bewildered, and can't provide escape plans. Has to wash hands of the players as soon as possible. Only meets as a courtesy, they're a disaster by now.
– When questioned about Avandran presence, the message they receive back is “Anne? No. No. No. No. The woman once found a demon in a glove and pestered a whole church to exorcise it. She wasn't even satisfied that justice was done when she burned the OTHER glove of her own volition. Set fire to the stables during. Forgive us, but we're unmoved to attend her pleas.”
LET'S SEE WHAT HAAAAPAAAAAEEEAAAAANNNSSS!
01/14/16
- Anne heads to church, whilst there, occupying self with helping out the injured and lame, is met by Danyin, who passingly mentions that he's seen her
Druid friend. Last he saw, she was headed to the area of town where Emma lives. Provides the same info if Anne is interested.
- Leon, confronted by Fidrick & guards. Fidrick commands four of the guards to go chase after the LONG GONE Anne. Also instructs the remaining four to investigate
the quarry, looking for the third one. Once alone he confides several things to Leon:
- Circumstances have changed. His group can't have anything to do with them. It'll put too much heat on them.
- He won't be able to provide any more help while Julick is missing. Again, too much scrutiny to risk his position in the guard.
- Asks to be punched in the face. Is either impressed, or annoyed. Charges him with finding Julick. Also warns him to watch out. The increased security might make
his organization tense, and desperate. If quizzed about where to look, indicates Tamsin's area of town. This will hopefully bring the party back together again.
Anne opted to hide out at the church, confessing concern to Danyin that her companions were headed out to battle without her.
Rinaldo let Fidrick have an excuse for him to get away. He proceeded to Emma's part of town and got in a chase with a disguised Jayne. He also got his ass beat by an old woman. It was awesome.
Jayne found Fallon, and managed to convince him to let slip Tamsin's lair. She proceeded there, followed by Rinaldo un-beknownst to her.
01/21/16
Anne rousting Scene:
The door bolts open with a surprising force, proving even more surprising when the aged Danyin runs into the room. Pressing the door closed quietly, and holding it closed with his arms, he turns his face only a little to speak to you. “The city guard are here. They're asking about you. They're looking to speak to me about the matter, but I've informed the church staff that I'm 'unavailable' to anyone seeking me. I've been told they're here though, and I need to know what you want to do.”
Will she fight? There are four of them. Full plate.
AC: 18
A Heavy Crossbowman (1d10) (+2)
Two Longswordsmen (1d8) (+2)
One Trident (1d6) (+2) & Net Bearer (Net. A Large or smaller creature hit by a net is restrained until it is freed. A net has no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.)
Will she hide? Good luck to her stealth, they get +2 to perception.
If she asks about options to run, or just runs, well... She just runs – Marshmallow can get well away from them. We'll give her this one, but next time out come the horse archers.
If she opts to hide, Danyin can only offer a passage from the church. Old and forgotten, the members of the church who enter it swear that it is haunted, ill meaning and desperate. Some say that it speaks to them. There's no telling where it might lead, but the only other way out is through the guards.
The passage indeed speaks. It whispers “It must not be freed at any cost,” but only if concentrated upon. We'll leave Anne there, traversing the dark, wet, copper coin smelling tunnel.
Jayne & Leon:
Jayne's going to have some trouble getting into the bawdy house. The doorman is going to try to get a name, try and recruit. She's a tall, intimidating motherfucker, so why not?
Any lip from Jayne makes this difficult.
“Whoa, Monolith. Hold up there. How come we've never seen you around here? What's your name?” *IS IT JAYNE?
“Ever Looking for work?”
“Nah, lady like you could help secure this neighbourhood. It's a better place than it looks, if you're important enough.” -a city guard wanders to the side of the doorman, who nods her in with a wink signaling recognition- “You here to get a job?”
Skeptical about coming to see the boss right away, has a good laugh. Invites in for a drink and tells her to go see “Quits” inside. He's at the bar.
Leon gets in with no bloody problem.
The doorman looks at you as you approach hesitantly, but as you get closer, something resembling recognition slowly molds his expression. He waves his hand warmly, welcoming you inside.
At the bar, Quits is mostly drinking behind it, responding to requests for other drinks with “Get it yourselves.”
Confronts Jayne with questions about where she's from, who she's worked for, what she's good at, but is REALLY touchy about questions about their operations.
JAYNE'S GLAMOUR MUST EXPIRE. SHE FLICKERS FOR A MOMENT BEFOREHAND.
Jayne can push as far as: Looking for work. Anything else, and Quits starts to get uneasy. Further movement in the club gets increasingly secure. All the doors are locked, and if by some measure of magic or trickery – that door is unlocked, a cadre of staff are inside.
Mentions of Julick come to head shaking, talk of nobody knowing what you're talking about. You'd better leave. It's a rough place.
Again, Leon blends right in.
Possible episode work:
– If Jayne goes IN for work, she's told to go to the church, and find a volunteer there who's been making their lives difficult. Her name is Emma. Haven't been able to find her, for some reason. Just check in on her whereabouts. If Jayne lets go that she already knows, Quits gets his back up. Why the hell should you already know about Emma?
– If she creates a distraction, panic ensues, gets a chance to investigate.
– Neither Tamsin/Emma is Present
– Julick is present. Will be killed if disaster affects the tavern.
– ON THE OFF HAND THAT SOMEHOW THEY CONVINCE TO GET TO JULICK, LET THEM DO IT. GETTING AWAY WITH JULICK, IF TOGETHER, LEADS TO A CONFRONTATION WITH THE GUARD. IF SEPARATE, OH BOY OH BOY.
Further information on the bar has an upstairs, many bedrooms and men and women of the night, with a locked door (guard and all). It goes to Tamsin's office, which if admitted to looks all around incredibly messy.
Julick is held in the basement, intensely guarded by a couple of the city guard, as well as a reluctant teenage assassin, instructed to kill him if anybody approaches without permission. He may be convinced.
If he is not entirely convinced, Emma sprints out of the shadows and stabs him in the neck just as soon as Julick's throat is slit.
He is dying. She is desperate.
01/28/16
So, here we go, here we go. Time to roll out the bandits and see what the heroes have in store.
Quits, still keeping his distance, and eyeing you with an evaluating expression begins, “Our collective has done fairly well amongst our competitors in Stoneroot, but that doesn't mean that we operate with total autonomy. There's been a good deal of diplomacy we've conducted with the authorities in the area, I believe you passed by the quartermaster for the district as you walked in the door, but we're still looking for the resolution to a couple of conflicts that, despite our best interests, dog our moves to higher and more profitable affairs. We have a couple of opportunities for a sort like you – it depends what you'd like to do. Are you more into sales, diplomacy, real estate, or asset assessment?
RUNDOWN:
– Sales is about arms moving to the Acamorian outfit. “You'll accompany a 'troupe' of salespeople to The Long Pull. They've got a customer there looking for an impressive supply of inexpensive, well made weapons. Access to the quartermaster has, for some time, allowed us to line our stores with some of the most impressive weaponry to grace the streets of Stoneroot. Some of it is even army grade, and most of our boys 'n girls have specific preferences about what kind of hurt they like to administer. We figure it's a good sale.
– Diplomacy is about letter dropping to several areas of town. One of these letters will be the ransom demands. The others are missives about threatening guard families and some about payoffs from local shopkeepers. The ransom note reads as follows: “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb of Gorfinax to the Quarry tomorrow night. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” The note, predictably, is forged with the signatures of Anne, Jayne, and Rinaldo.
– Real Estate is arson. “We've got some people who have been unusually cumbersome to us lately. One of them works at The Church. It wouldn't be the first time it was burned down, the people there are like bad mimics, keeps opening their mouths at exactly the wrong time and getting themselves hurt for it. Doesn't seem to thin out the population though. There's a woman who volunteers there that needs to get the message that we aren't to be trifled with. Make it messy.”
– Asset assessment is, luckily enough, guard duty. “We've got a VIP in the house tonight. A real mover and a shaker in high society in Stoneroot circles. He's not going to be staying with us for long, and we're going to need a couple of staffers to make sure that he's properly cared and accounted for while he avails himself to our services. Do you think you're up to the task?”
BEFORE ANY THING HAPPENS AFTER HER CHOICE THOUGH, QUITS BEGINS “Oh, before we get started though, you said that you had something you needed to warn Tamsin about. I don't need to know your story, or where you heard her name, it's pretty much on all the street signs around this part of town, but not anybody gets to see the boss when they like. Even if they did, she's a bit busy at the moment setting some opportunities up, but we'd feel much better, as an organization, if you'd own up to the information right now. I can get it to her just fine, and if it affects her, it affects the all of us. What's the score?”
If met with resistance, Quits tries to wheedle some info out of her. He runs a charisma of 16 (+3). If she resists, no dice, she has to admit some real information or submit a lie. He gets +3 to Insight checks as well. Lies get her taken down to the basement and tied up next to Julick. Checks get her what she needs to get her job done.
Quits is cagey, but not totally secretive.
On a good run, he asks “What's the boy's name, downstairs? He looks like a tawdry piece, something like a Lionel, or a Leon. Ahhh, doesn't matter, they all take new names anyways when they get round to new places. I assume he'll be under our care from now on out? He's got a good gimmick going – fellow like him looking like he actually knows how to use those morningstars, I imagine if he ever swung them he'd hit nothing except his own self-worth. Any case, don't you worry, we'll make sure he's well looked to. Let us know if there's anything special he needs to make things more painless around here.”
Jayne is invariably paired up with 'Blister'
“You're going to be working with Blister tonight, don't be off put, she doesn't have the nickname due to any particular disfigurement or feature. Rather that even in the best of moods she's a pain in the ass and when she explodes, it gets messy and nobody in the room likes to see it. She'll make sure you're taken care of.”
BLISTER
HP: 33/33 +2 wis
ATK/DMG: + 1 (1D8 RAPIER)
AC: 16 (STUDDED LEATHER +4 DEX)
3D6 SNEAK ATTACK (AGAINST ADVANTAGE HITS)
DASH, DISENGAGE, HIDE EACH TURN AS BONUS (HIDE +4)
ASSASIN: ADV. ON ATTACK ROLLS ON NON-TURN TAKEN COMBATANTS. ANY HITS AGAINST SUPRISE = CRIT.
UNCANNY DODGE = VISIBLE ATTACKERS DO ½ DAMAGE.
We'll have to improvise from there.
As for Leon, we're going to have to improvise entirely. After Jayne leaves, some staff come to set him up with quarters, we'll give him an opportunity to talk to some of the other boys and girls.
The nice ones are Folly and Hope, boy and girl respectively. They are aware of the “VIP” in the basement, but are also quite aware that there is next to no way to reach them. The room in which Leon is put (with Folly and Hope) has a window that overlooks a nearby rooftop.
It's “Dire-Ferret” close.
– If they start a fight, The some 30 people in the tavern go at her as hard as they can (2d6 sneak attacks). Just start inventing dice rolls. Many of them disappear up stairs, etc.
– If she creates a distraction, panic ensues, gets a chance to investigate.
– Neither Tamsin/Emma is Present
– Julick is present. Will be killed if disaster affects the tavern.
– ON THE OFF HAND THAT SOMEHOW THEY CONVINCE TO GET TO JULICK, LET THEM DO IT. GETTING AWAY WITH JULICK, IF TOGETHER, LEADS TO A CONFRONTATION WITH THE GUARD. IF SEPARATE, OH BOY OH BOY.
Further information on the bar has an upstairs, many bedrooms and men and women of the night, with a locked door (guard and all). It goes to Tamsin's office, which if admitted to looks all around incredibly messy.
Julick is held in the basement, intensely guarded by a couple of the city guard, as well as a reluctant teenage assassin, instructed to kill him if anybody approaches without permission. He may be convinced.
If he is not entirely convinced, Emma sprints out of the shadows and stabs him in the neck just as soon as Julick's throat is slit.
He is dying. She is desperate.
02/04/16
Oh my god they did it. Rinaldo, having realized that he was being sold into sex slavery turned a career of miserable rolls around in the blink of an eye. It was downright incredible.
Anne first?
Anne is making her way to Marshmallow. Marshmallow is tracking down Leon. Leon is in some serious fucking trouble.
“Oh... shit,” Blister whispers, staring down at the mess of what used to be Jayne. “Cullen!” she calls to the burly fellow at the door. “Ring the bell.” Taking positions up against you, the presence of lethally pointy things is suddenly made clear to you through tactile information in what you'd consider to be dangerously vulnerable places. Cullen nods and reaches to the side of the front door and swings the clapper in a vigorous manner. As you find yourself swiftly relieved of your morning stars, the crowd shifts, with the pure patrons and the people who work the house gradually separate from each other, the group of the latter gradually sifting the former to the exit. At the sound of the bell, Quits appears at the balustrade and looks curiously at the mess below. He echoes Blister's exclamation and surveys the scene soberly as one of the crowd, familiar to him, approaches and begins to recount the events to him piece by piece.
Once silent, he eyes Blister, urging her to search you thoroughly and then bring you upstairs. “Oil, Graves, accompany her. The rest of you clean this mess up.”
Your Morningstars, & Hand Axes are taken, and your mustache is badly fussed with.
Led upstairs to a room obviously designed for better times, the room is quickly cleared out of its inhabitants (Allana) and you find yourself being chained tightly to a rather sturdy chair.
It's a reasonably lavish room, compared to the décor you were exposed to downstairs. You'd be rather impressed with the quality of the furnishings if your attention weren't entirely dominated by the painful looking instruments being carried into the room by the young man you saw Jayne colluding with. He sits decently out of reach from you, and regards you with more than just a dash of disdain.
“Rinaldo? Is that right? One of my associates heard you rather loudly exclaim downstairs that you wanted everybody to... 'do the Rinaldo.' Is that you then, Rinaldo?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Obviously trying to discern whether or not he's 'THE' Rinaldo they've conveniently framed for kidnapping. Small amounts of torture employed if they get the feeling he's lying, like about his identity.
– “Well tsk, tsk, tsk Rinaldo, don't you know it's dangerous for characters of ill repute like you to stick around town these days? Rumour has it that you've been complicit in the dastardly act of kidnapping Lord Earlin's son. Upstanding citizens like us here might have to do something about that. The one you turned into floor paint, that must have been Jayne, right? Where's the little one?”
– “So what were you planning, because it doesn't seem to have gone very well. One of you is about to be fed into a hole in the ground in several pieces, the other one is about six inches away from what I can only imagine is a very threatening, burning hot surgical instrument, and the third one is at mass? What were you planning on doing?”
– Is a little incredulous that the whole plan came together like it did. Will press for more questions, but when he's convinced that Rinaldo isn't much more than pretty muscle, he's done.
Quits wanders to the door and motions for Blister to come outside for a moment.
Quits exits the door and confers with Blister in front of the girls. “I'm not comfortable offing him here without the boss' say-so. The PLAN was that we'd have some patsies to pin this whole affair on and get away clean, much, MUCH CLEANER than the floor downstairs currently is. It'd give us a little bit of room if we gave him to one of our friends at the city guard after the fact, but if we kill him dead, we lose him for good. Keep him separate from the other one, do your best to keep him upstairs completely I figure. I don't think the boss is going to be that long. Maybe get the girls to get any of the things they need out of that room. Have Oil & Graves watch the door, I have too much shit to deal with tonight.” He wanders to the top of the stairs and disgustedly calls downstairs inquiring about the condition of the “mess on the floor.” The voices that pile up from the common room are tinged by the tone of people who are totally fed up with something unexpected.
Blister turns to Allana and indicates that they're going to need the bedroom for the night, she gruffly instructs that you're going to have to bed in another one of the rooms, which shouldn't be too much of a problem considering that most of the business appears to have left for the night while 'renovations' are underway. “If you need anything, you'd better go get it now, because big things are happening over the next couple nights and the options look like gettin out of the way or gettin stepped on.”
*Any dialog between Allana & Rinaldo*
A sound drifts up from the alley through the small window that sounds like a portly man giggling in strange, short breaths. You're pretty sure he takes a moment to hiss, though in a weirdly playful way rather than a vicious way.
Looking out the window and down, an uncommonly large ferret has clung to the side of the building, and stares at you in the eyes with a curious expression on its face. You notice it is wearing what looks like a child's saddle. It purrs.
Is Anne tracking to the quarry? Should we murder Fidrick? Might be something that the ACF do to protect themselves. They don't really give a damn about life, they're just trying to create a situation & maybe feel that Fidrick's involvement with the trio of kidnappers is way too dangerous for them to deal with. Maybe they feel like they could off the head of the guard and blame it on the trio again, all the ills in town coming from the same poisoned well?
Upon arriving at the quarry, you notice an unusually vibrant crowd. There are lots of talk of alarm, and people telling each other that 'he was a good man, looked to his station with honour and integrity. Not an ounce of evil in the man, no sir. A real pleasure to deal with. He'll be sorely missed.'
Anne may push through the crowd, or ask somebody nearby what happened.
With a few steps and a couple careful pushes, you step to the front of the crowd and see Fidrick, throat slashed, lying on the stone roadway. His face appears unsurprised, but disappointed, tinged with sadness and a hurt that runs much deeper than the wound along his throat.
“Cap'n of the City Guard's been killed. Nobody's quite sure what happened, but somebody seen a fella punch him some time earlier. Right in the face, and ran off that way. Nobody thought much of it, seeing as how it didn't look so much a punch as one quarter of an embrace. Still, that vagabond run off that way (he points in a direction) and Fidrick sits himself down here. Next time some of his guard come to check on him, he's cut ear to ear, not moved an inch but dead as dirt.”
upon approaching the church, the odour of smoke lingers in the air
Bullet points for 2/11/16
- Church has been set ablaze. The place is crawling with guards, but Danyin lingers on the edge, an ashen piece of torn up paper clutched in his hands. The note appears to be from “The Stonerotten,” Tamsin’s gang. Danyin knows this, and relays this information to the PCs. The gist of the note is to discourage anyone from messing around in their business. The wording of the note is particularly personal, as though directed at a very specific person. “I know you’re going to want to do something, but you’d better remember that just because we don’t want to hurt you, doesn’t mean we won’t hurt plenty people you know. How’s dear old dad, by the way? – The Stonerotten” – Danyin can’t recall seeing any suspicious characters. Upon entering the main room of worship, some very strategic fires had been set, not to do any real damage, but enough to clear the place out and give people some breathing problems. The Church will be fine, but most of tomorrow will wind up cleaning it of burnt pews, ashen tapestries, and some other superficial damages. It was a statement, not an attempt to destroy. The dagger is unaccounted for. Only a straight up natural 20 will find it. Each of them get one try to find it, and if not, Danyin assures them that he’ll be looking for it the next day.
- Danyin is worried about Fallon. He’s a kind man who ministers to the poor when staff from The Church are unable to attend to the poor. Isn’t completely sure that Tamsin would go so far as to hurt her foster father in order to intimidate Emma, but wouldn’t put absolutely anything past that girl. On the other hand, he muses, it could just be a trap to draw Emma’s attention while she works other angles. Emma has not been back to the church since she disappeared earlier that night. There’s no clue to her whereabouts.
- A trip to the Long Pull in an attempt to speak to the revolutionaries (or to rest) involves them stumbling into an arms deal with the Stonerotten. If they persist into the meeting, Blister is currently dealing with AC. Weaponry all over the room. If they play it bogart, a contingent of the Stonerotten march out the front door, not noticing them, with what looks like a lot of weapons in tow. Blister carries a hefty cash purse, with a very smug expression on her face. (There are FIVE of them).
- A trip to the Lord’s mansion gets them arrested and thrown in the dungeon. Lonnegan appears to interrogate them.
- If they decide to rest at the inn (or elsewhere), the buzz the next day is delivered by Silas. He’s extremely nervous, as the one guardsman in town seen the most with them had his throat slit last night. He’s also privy to some of the details. In contrast to gang and small time criminal slaying, Fidrick’s death was nearly perfect. He was unalarmed, suggesting he was familiar with his killer (or taken completely unawares), they’re certain the knife used in the attack was not only well sharpened, but rather small, smaller even than a short sword. His body was not marred by any other marks either, there was no fight, the only wound was the killing blow. Nothing else was found on the body – if Silas had any better ideas, he’d still be uncertain that it wasn’t a professional assassination, but can’t figure why someone would want the head of the guard killed like that.
- He’s also in possession of a copy of the ransom note, delivered late last night, still wary that it bears the names of Anne, Jayne & Rinaldo, citing that the only reason he came to talk to them is that he can’t possibly believer that Rinaldo is responsible for such horrific acts. The note reads as follows “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb and Fang of Gorfinax and ten thousand gold pieces to the Quarry tomorrow night. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” – It will be day 5 of 7 for the fate of Rotswold.
- Approaching the gang reveals a completely deserted bar. The Twist is empty.
- AC is also not here too. Nobody at the Long Pull recalls renting a room to the character they describe.
- Attempts to enter the quarry are rebuffed by guards. Sneaking in is a possibility, to lie in wait for the big deal.
- Danyin still cannot find the Fang of Gorfinax. The day grows long, and as evening approaches, their time runs short.
- Fallon, roughed up a little bit, asked questions about where Emma is. Nobody seems to know, but they weren't interested in hurting him too badly.
2/16/16
Allana has returned to The Twist. Greeted by Cullen, she's been invited to settle down for the evening.
Rinaldo & Anne are hiding outside of the Lord's manor, attempting to get the attention of Silas, perhaps their only friend left in the city.
THE TWIST
You aren't inside your room for long before you hear the door shut loudly downstairs, and voices murmuring. Their volume is well controlled & quiet, but beyond it you sense a tension in the words being spoken.
Upon entry into the upper landing, you see Quits & Tamsin speaking at the bottom of the stairs. Upon noticing you there, they go quiet, not regarding you with any particular malice that you can read, but there's a healthy dose of curiousity in their expressions.
“Allana,” Tamsin begins, cordial as ever, “We weren't sure if you were coming back or not. Care to tell us what happened to you last night? Quits has been very concerned.”
Quits eyes you with something resembling a pleading look, with just a hint of warning.
CONVERSATION GOALS
Tamsin is especially curious about Allana's adventures. The well being of the remaining duo are absolutely instrumental to her plan, and if anything were to happen to them, it would HAVE to be secret.
– Where has she been?
– Where is the troublemaker from last night?
– What are his intentions?
– What about the halfling? Have you seen the halfling?
– Any idea what they're planning on doing?
– Cagey about details involving the son. He's not on the premises at the moment, they've moved him to the quarry location, ready to set up for tonight's “exchange.”
– Doesn't mind the idea of her shadowing Rinaldo & Anne, but warns her that she's likely going to want to be as far away from them as possible by the time nightfall comes. Things aren't going to be very friendly for them.
– Is curious about Allana's intentions. She's not very dangerous, so Tamsin isn't too concerned with her walking away for any reason other than she's worth good money. That's about to be taken care of though, presumably.
“Well,” Quits begins, “perhaps we should head to the office, boss. Make any final adjustments for the project tonight.”
Tamsin nods, still eyeing you with a curious intensity that doesn't so much come across as dangerous, but assessing, as though there's some untapped worth to you that she just hasn't figured out how to access. The look feels as though it lingers on you even after she passes out of sight, not leaving you alarmed, but certainly feeling a weight of wariness.
(attempts to listen in on the conversation in the office reveal a little bit of information. “Our on site agents are making sure the space is clear, giving us enough time to properly set up. If we're here, they should be entering this way. There isn't any short way around to reach us, so if they try anything we have more than enough time to cut the supports. It'll give us some time to escape while they preoccupy themselves trying to stop him from falling. Nobody will be able to touch us, boss. We can keep our people here, here, and here. We'll get plenty of coverage from them. When we finish, we all just disappear into the woodwork, head to ground for a little while, and meet up in a week or two, we'll have some of the small ones run some info gathering for us, see how cool things are.”
The office has a map in it, with locations marked on what appears to be an assessor's map of the quarry.
Anne & Rinaldo
Any approach to the mansion by Rinaldo results in the guard attempting to make an arrest. They continue to come out of the woodwork if the gang tries to face them down. Groups of four appear every two rounds or so. They are not attempting to kill, as they still don't know where Julick's being held. They need that info.
Silas is, understandably, wary of being seen in front of the manor with the two most wanted “criminals” in Stoneroot, but his affection for Rinaldo compels him to at least lay all of what he knows on the counter. He consents to meeting the party at The Long Pull to discuss things there.
Looking especially nervous, Silas appears in the doorway. He skittishly surveys the room, being so distracted that you see his gaze pass you over more than once. On the third time his look crosses your presence he starts for a moment, as though you had just appeared magically in front of him. Still warily, he marches over to you, checking over his shoulder with a regularity approaching uncontrollable tic. He sits across from you and begins “I don't know how much help I can be to you, because things have gone completely upended of late, and I honestly have no idea how much of it you're responsible for, and how much of it is hearsay. I just can't believe that you'd,” he takes a moment here to deliberately engage Rinaldo in eye contact, “be the ones who killed Fidrick. I've heard some awful things about you this past night, but I can't bring myself to believe it all.”
– the buzz is delivered by Silas. He’s extremely nervous, as the one guardsman in town seen the most with them had his throat slit last night. He’s also privy to some of the details. In contrast to gang and small time criminal slaying, Fidrick’s death was nearly perfect. He was unalarmed, suggesting he was familiar with his killer (or taken completely unawares), they’re certain the knife used in the attack was not only well sharpened, but rather small, smaller even than a short sword. His body was not marred by any other marks either, there was no fight, the only wound was the killing blow. Nothing else was found on the body
– if Silas had any better ideas, he’d still be uncertain that it wasn’t a professional assassination, but can’t figure why someone would want the head of the guard killed like that. He’s also in possession of a copy of the ransom note, delivered late last night, still wary that it bears the names of Anne, Jayne & Rinaldo, citing that the only reason he came to talk to them is that he can’t possibly believer that Rinaldo is responsible for such horrific acts. The note reads as follows “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb and Fang of Gorfinax and ten thousand gold pieces to the Quarry tomorrow night (tonight) at midnight. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” – It is day 5 of 7 for the fate of Rotswold.
While seated at the table, saying your goodbyes, the door swings wide open and a face very unwelcome to you makes its way into the barroom. Blister walks into the room, and a swift pang of panic makes its way into the front of your head before you notice that she isn't especially interested in her surroundings. She isn't scanning faces, looking at the patrons, or even looking vaguely distracted by anything around her. Directly behind her, four more rough looking characters make their way into the bar and head straight for the stairs. One of them carries a bundle of sorts, and you're 100% certain that its contents are weapons – more weapons than they could possibly use themselves. Without dawdling for even a split second, the party is up the stairs and, judging by the sound, inside one of the rooms without even speaking to the barkeep.
Listening at the door reveals a familiar voice to Leon. He can make out Blister's voice, discussing matters of “the merchandise,” throwing numbers out “five hundred of these, certainly at ten apiece, we'd be capable of delivering as early as this evening. They're all the same manufacturer, we have a few connections in the city armed forces. It gives us some supply opportunities you won't find with our competitors.” “These are excellent,” a familiar voice with a very specific accent responds. “We had not hoped to find such readily available supplies on site. Ever since the city gates have been closed, my options have significantly reduced, you understand.” “Yes, of course,” Blister responds, “but it's at times like these where good business relationships ought to be forged. Sure, greedier, more opportunistic business people might take this situation as free license to charge whatever they like, but we prefer to start our dealings more honestly – better for you to come back to us if you ever need anything else in the future, such as any muscle, maps of the outlying area, say architectural information, info, anything... you might need?” She's not doing a very good job of disguising the fact that she's fishing. “Oh, if we need anything, we'll be sure that you attend to us, most definitely,” the familiar accent retorts. “For the moment though, I think we'll settle on this transaction by itself. You'll take payment with delivery, of course.” “That should do just fine. We'll just shake on it, and I'll go about making the arrangements. Where would you like delivery to be made?” “The square at Light's Landing should do. Load them into the back of a cart, keep them hidden from sight, and I'll have one of my associates there with the appropriate funds.” “Excellent,” there's a shuffling inside the room as people previously at rest begin to rouse “it's an absolute pleasure doing business with you.”
FUTURE BUSINESS.
Attending the square at Light's Landing, it becomes obvious right away when the Stonerotten arrive on the scene. While making all the efforts to present a professional exterior, most of their “staff” are pretty distinguishable from the mostly middle to high class characters that normally populate the area. The exchange happens without incident, an apparently heavy chest making its way into the hands of the cart holders, who sulk off into the evening with their prize. The people now taking charge of the cart behave a little more strangely. They sit in place for fifteen minutes, when without any vocal exchange are approached by ten men who promptly each remove a weapon from the cart and walk off into the city. The cart then starts, and begins to move through the city. The continues to happen.
WHAT A BUNCH OF TURDS.
THE LIBRARY
The stone, contrary to all the other structures in the city, looks dark and slick. You aren't sure if this is a trick of contrast to the dry, gray monotony of every brick on every street you've ever seen, but something smooth and somewhat shiny suddenly looks dangerous to you. The people on the streets shy away from the Library as much as possible, even avoiding eye contact with it. When the two of your approach the stairway leading to it, much of the traffic around slows, looking at you intently, with talk and whisper replacing the sound of feet and hooves hitting the road.
At first, the door appears locked, but budges slightly on your last try. A nervous & skittering voice peals from within at the heavy sound of the door shaving a layer of wood off its bottom. A sudden puddle of oil appears at the base of the door, and the voice encourages “Move it back and forth! You have to move it back and forth, now!”
The swollen groan of the door dissipates into a choked moan with a few strokes of the arc it opens by, and as if it were never stuck before, it flies open revealing a small and diminished man behind a cowl, diverting his eyes & blinking in a hesitant manner at the daylight.
“Yes, yes, yes. Excuse me, I'm sorry, our visitations aren't what they used to be, it's been a hard, uh, I am Bunks, I oversee these, uh, books, it's never a trouble to welcome knowledge seekers, forgive me, it's not a usual circumstance. Can I offer you some... paper? Would, uh, do you have any? Sorry, I just, if you're here, you might, if you want, if there's anything that you, wait. What can I do for you?”
While talking, you notice he had produced some sheafs of paper and gestured, mostly to himself before offering it to you. After the offer however, and the pause in his thought, he holds it out to you in some frozen icon of hospitality. His eyes, dart back and forth between the two of you, and a few other places too – you get the impression he doesn't see too well.
NOT A LOT FOR THEM HERE.
– IF THEY ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
– Oh yes, plenty of history.
– Gorfinax, yes. But not much. A worshiped deity by some impenetrable cult that precludes the inhabitants of Stoneroot. There are books of historical record that attempt to record their appearance, disappearance, rise, fall, assimilation, and so on, but it's been a difficult road to record. The Edit always sets us back some time.
– The Edit: is a ritual that occurs every time a new Earlin takes charge of Stoneroot. We are the most exhaustive store of knowledge in the whole realm. Our reputation brings new works into the collection all the time, sometimes from the strange and unproven, but we read through them all and sort through the nonsense and figure out what needs to be recorded. When a new Earlin reaches the age of term, we present our histories to him and they come under edit.
– GORFINAX: Most of the texts that reference Gorfinax come from pre-history of Stoneroot. Come this way.
– Bunks: Bunks? Oh, they call me that because I sleep here.
The air in the library is musty, with a particular weight that brings almost as much scent of blood as it does history. The light from windows breaks through the heaviness with impunity, as though it struggles to force itself into the darkness. Bunks brings you to a sparsely stocked portion of the library and gestures to a single shelf, with three books laid upon it.
*SQUEAK APPEARS - “LAYING HERE LOW, FOR AWHILE.”
These are the only texts we have left from the period prior to the founding of Stoneroot. A journal, a geological survey, and an anthropology book.
– JOURNAL: Becky Piripipi, bard extraordinare. Looks to be ancient.
– Geological Survey: Commissioned by Quentin Earlin. The newest.
– Anthropology Book: Religions of the Caldhough Regions
If they try to escape, Bunks recognizes Anne.
If they study, we cut to Allana anyways
“You. I recognize you, you heretic. You blasphemed! You abandoned the church! You were the reason we were burned out of town! You burned that man!”
He runs
“GUARDS! GUAAAARDS!” you hear echoing down the confusing hallways of the best source of knowledge you know of.
ALLANNA
BOOM There's a crash at the door. You hear a cry some seconds afterwards.
Nothing follows immediately afterwards, but a gurgled cough and whimper fill a lot more air than it should have half a minute later.
A stern voice cries “Somebody had better come talk to me.”
– PLOT POINTS
– AC has come to The Twist, checking to see if any other nations (or if indeed Stoneroot) has come into learning their plots.
– Alarmed at the burning of The Long Pull with her at it, she's come to look for the culprits.
– Cullen is dead at the front door.
– If Allana leaves, she encounters Blister, who is badly burned, looking for AC. There's no time for this shit.
We might not make the ransom exchange tonight. Soldiers will hit the Library(?), AC and Blister will finally meet for business. It's getting late.
It's getting laaaate.
– Allanna. Some fire gets that shit out. Faith gets out, but no hope. Cullen dead. Investigates cellar, finds a reinforced door. Where Earlin was. She denies to investigate. The Twist burns. She waits, corralling survivors.
– Leon & Austin. Gone to look for Druid information. Ain't find nothing. It's turning night on 5/7. Secretive Druids – guardians of Gorfinax. Don't know it.
3/3/16
So here we go. Anne's reading the Geology book. Leon is reading the Anthropology Book. Jess is throwing down a support group outside a fire.
ALLANA: Fires in the neighbourhood have historically gone under-attended. You're not tremendously optimistic that there's going to be much aid in the area, especially considering how taxed the fire brigade has been in town for the past week. (There have been a few street criers exclaiming something about the fire frequency, but you haven't really paid too much attention). It's during this train of thought, that the only home you've known in Stoneroot will burn to the groud, that You become bewildered that as the sun sets, a group of people pounce into action, seemingly out of nowhere, to attend the flames and the victims. You suddenly find yourselves nearly overwhelmed with benefactors. Those who have fallen from windows are finding medical aid, people exposed to fires are being attended to with cold cloths and water, and even a few clerics (not in city worship gear, but mostly dressed for the road or combat) are committing their powers to severe injuries. The crowd of onlookers, mainly arrived just to watch the building burn, gradually turn their attention to an extremely pretty man, whom you have only noticed is midway through an impassioned speech to anyone who will listen.
SPEECH: … high time the tyranny of the Earlin family is lifted from this jewel of a city! They are a blight on our neighbourhoods, our homes, our friends and families! They beat our backs for our lives, and give us less money than the blood we spill for them weighs! You see now that terror, murder, and fire threaten our livelihoods but they are nowhere to be seen! We must stand up for ourselves friends! We must learn to look after our own!
----------
His speech, incredibly well practiced, does distract somewhat from the fact that many people, none of which are organized, are suddenly attending the fire. Some of them are even gesturing to the nearby, especially the horrified or impotently enraged looking, beckoning them to come give them aid – directing them here and there with buckets and totes of water. Many of these people are struggling to bring bundles out of the doors and windows, legs splaying out of blankets and half conscious people with smoke stained faces struggling to observe their surroundings.
What fascinates you more are the other benefactors, moving swiftly and calmly into the cellar door you managed to open, and emerging just the same, effortlessly moving around the corner with blanketed bundles away from the showman and his crowd, out of sight, before returning in very conspicuous manner no less than a minute later, empty blankets in hand.
– Every attempt made to stop Allana from the basement. First the speaker, then some “volunteers,” then some threats.
– If she tries to loop around, make it look like she's walking away, she'll get access to the cart scene. Just about every goddamn weapon in the basement, we're talking hundreds of good looking, decent weapons making their way into the backs of carts. No way to tell how many.
– If she waits, the “volunteers” put out the fire, and the speech maker makes a congratulatory round, applauding that the neighbourhood was capable of taking care of itself, that the help of the Earlin's wasn't necessary, that “we” could do without a ruler like him, and learn to govern themselves, or learn to love a ruler who truly invested in the people, rather than just the profits of their labours.
– Investigation of the basement reveals no weapons, less liquor, and a reinforced door that looks like it has weathered some assault, but it's uncertain whether or not its due to the fire or due to other interference. It's a mystery as to whether or not what is inside is still intact, but there are some structural problems from the flooring upstairs that indicates there's been some collapse and warping. (she's unable to get the door open regardless).
– If she follows the cart, it leads to an industrial part of town – might be a good time to check in with Leon & Austin. Tannery, with access to sewer washaway, a shit-ton of horrible chems, and not many bystanders. It's very large, and at a glance you might assume it would be large enough to cure leather enough for every person in town. What's unpleasant is the amount of people there waiting for, and welcoming it.
LEON & AUSTIN
ANNE: A GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE CALDHOUGH REGION – Cal Ephelis
LEON: A STUDY OF COLLOQUIAL RELIGIONS OF THE CALDHOUGH REGION – The Pitura Institute
Anne: A Geological Survey of the Caldhough Region: You feel like you're in store for a real snooze fest, until the first page of text reveals that the author of the book reveals that it was commissioned by a Jacob Earlin. The survey is easily the newest book of the region, with some notes written in the edges in faded handwriting, mostly illegible.
– The book describes mostly porous soil, very little substance underneath. Unlikely to actually support any real weight upon it, with small hints at large possible caverns underneath the surface. The general gist of the book is that the bluffs of the Caldhough region are utterly unfit for settlement, and generally expresses amazement and confusion as to how the settlers of the area have managed to not die in terrible landslides.
Rinaldo: A Study of Colloquial Religions of the Caldhough Region: The tome you've chosen to browse reads more like a history textbook than any real current book. You've come across references to testimonials from Killian Earlin, Becky Piripipi, and subsequent mentions of Lucas Earlin, and Malcolm Earlin.
– It discusses the religions of the area, many a small chapter dedicated to passing groups, either rising in power through economic trouble and waning in times of plenty, indigenous groups rising up against structures prepared to rebut them, and even a cult or two wrapt around the short lived love of some opportune messiah whose rise to power or fall from it follow clichés so closely it's hard to believe it even warranted belief.
– Druidism is curiously absent, no discussion of circles is made at all.
– A rather lengthy chapter opens near the end of the book about what the authors deem “The Caldhough Covens.” They make clear that the groups weren't groups of witches, or even proven to be interested in occult practices. Only ever accompanying each other in small groups of a permanent membership of ten to twenty, they seemed to operate on their own, but always spoke to outsiders with alike opinions. They never claimed to speak for their whole people, but each encounter with any group met with the same hospitality and demands. They were incredibly protective of their routines, rituals, as well as their land. There was a strict, devout love for the areas that they settled, and while generally gentle to outsiders, their protective nature could take over at the snap of a twig leagues away if they heard it. The land, they described, did not belong to them, but to someone else, and needed to be protected. The chapter concludes that the Caldhough Covens disappeared rather suddenly, if the writings passed to the Pitura Institute are to be believed. It's clarified that much of this is thankful to the honorable donations and cooperation of the Earlin family, and that it will hopefully be of use to universities and hobbyists alike.
It's getting late, boys.
Upon your exit of the Library, you notice that the sun has dropped, and it's likely quite late in the evening. The city itself, though, it somewhat wrapped up in a furor in front of you. A small contingent of smoke ridden women and men parade Light's Landing in front of you. There's a bustle around them, but not exclusively. Night has seem to brought a lively discontent to the area.
One of the sign bearers approaches you, and hands you both small cloth badges. A flame appears on one. “You're with us, right?” she calls, and returns to the brigade. You notice the signs are mostly about the stress, danger, and lack of resources for the Stoneroot Fire Attendance Volunteer Group, who appear to have had a sudden up shoot rate of casualties and are feeling quite dismissed about the removal of extra staff to deal with the missing young Lord, when more pressing matters affect the well being of the city.
The acrid smell of smoke, and a few distinct impressive plumes of smoke accentuate this point – given the fact that many of these protesters aren't alarmed about it at all.
One of these plumes of smoke comes from the area of town Leon knows as The Twist.
The other, larger one, comes from the area of The Long Pull.
– Long Pull: TOTAL FUCKING BEDLAM. BUILDINGS ON FIRE EVERYWHERE. WOMEN AND CHILDREN SCATTERING, ANIMALS DYING IN THE STREETS, AND weirdly a handsome man delivering a speech while intrepid strangers (who look well armed) work to put the fires out, rescue people, all so very much played to an audience. The speaker runs his mouth off about the evils of the government while the 'brave' souls behind him do their best to look exhausted in between brave endeavours into the buildings.
– THE TWIST: We'll let Allana field this one, as the heroes walk up to an extinguished building (or not, if she's arrived at the tannery) to observe what they find. Pissed off people.
PLEASE DON'T FUCKING GO TO THE QUARRY.
Quarry approached with all three in tow. Marshmallow distracted a contingent of horsemen and is being pursued. Silas was approached and is now almost certain the party is utterly and totally insane. End of the episode occurs on the appearance of a flare, and the exclamation of “EARLIN, I HAVE SOMETHING OF YOURS.”
3/8/12
It isn't long after the call goes out that every guard at the entrance turns heel and begins to hustle their way into the quarry. Earlin himself loses no time whatsoever, and breaks into the most noble-looking substitute for a sprint you've ever seen. A silence hangs in the air for a few seconds before the guardsman in charge realizes that no orders have been passed, and most of his men are confusedly running to the source of the yell, now accompanied by muffled cries of panic and help from a different voice. The commanding guard springs into order mode and starts to organize his men, instructing them to move into the quarry with more structure, but his fight against the panic appears to be quite a tough one. It isn't long before all the guards previously watching the entrance have repositioned themselves inside the quarry, to either ready themselves for action or get a better vantage point of the proceedings. You think you might be able to slip in during the bustle, without acquiring too much attention.
DC Roll?
You're greeted with an uneasy sight upon entry to the quarry. Upon a high bluff some ways away, Tamsin is accompanied by a cadre of somewhere between ten and twenty modestly armored, mean looking ruffians, grouped around a sturdy crane, arching out over a deep chasm of the quarry. Hung not too low from its extended end is a young man dressed in familiar looking rags, struggling against the ropes that bind him more in fear of the long fall underneath him than a legitimate attempt to escape. Nearly each of the standing figures bears a torch, with at least one never moving too far away from the ropes, and several varieties of weapons. It's difficult to guess how far away they are from the hastily positioning guards who can't seem to decide to advance on the kidnappers, or freeze in place in fear they might be held responsible for the ensuing action. But it looks as though to completely access the area, some precarious wooden stairways must be navigated upwards, each one providing a substantial obstacle, likely giving any interested party plenty of time to burn or sever ropes before high tailing away into the night.
Earlin, rooted to the edge of a drop addresses the kidnappers boldly.
“You aren't who I was expecting.”
“No, I don't imagine we were. You needn't worry about our three friends, though, they aren't likely long for this world if they keep on about the course they're on.”
“Not many of you are long for this world if you persist in this endeavour. You still have an opportunity to walk away from this, and get away with your lives; lives to be lived somewhere other than Stoneroot, to be sure, but you have the chance to avoid complete and total disaster right now.”
“This entire city is a disaster, Earlin, and the only people who have ever had the opportunity to avoid it have been your family. Instead, you've done nothing but spend generations exploiting the people who live here, the people who come to this city for work and a 'better' life. You don't get to talk to me about 'avoiding' the disaster that has been the lives of every one of the people you walk over to stay safe and well-fed in your gated mansion, hoarding and protecting every little grain of sand you might see some inflated value in. You don't get to talk to me about disaster until I'm convinced you know the value of sacrifice.”
“Don't presume to lecture me about sacrifice, child. I have given up more in my entire life than you could even possibly earn.”
“Well it's time to give up a little more. Did you bring them?”
The voices, both loud between Earlin and Tamsin and quiet murmurs among the crowds break, this strained quietness accented only by the creaking of ropes and the frantic whimpering of the dangling victim. Earlin slowly reaches into a satchel at his side and produces a grapefruit sized globe. For a moment, you think the orb is glowing, as the objects and characters in its vicinity seem to get brighter, but looking at the hand with which Earlin holds it, you realize that it's just that the immediate area surrounding the orb seems to be sucking light in. He stares at the globe with a mournful expression, and for a moment appears to lose awareness of his surroundings.
“Well?” Tamsin calls out.
“Well, I haven't decided I'm going to give it to you yet. One hundred thousand gold coins.”
Some murmuring from the Stonerotten at the base of the crane starts, nothing discernible, but you can see Tamsin gesture dismissively to her companions, who go silent in response.
“I don't see the fang.” She says
“I didn't bring the fang,” Earlin replies. “I'm sure you're capable of some degree of negotiation. One hundred and fifty thousand.”
The murmuring starts up again, with Tamsin choosing to ignore it entirely this time, calling out “The note didn't read, 'The orb & fang and ten thousand pieces, or whatever works for you, I'm really open to suggestions.' It was clear.”
“I believe you can see a better deal when presented with one. The orb and fang aren't of any use to you.”
“It isn't what I can use, you tyrant,” Tamsin yells, for the first time with some angry emotion colouring her tone. “It's about what you deserve to lose!” she says, cutting one of the four ropes keeping Julick suspended above the abyss below. It snaps, audibly, and the young man swings away precariously, bobbling in an uneven circle before coming to an uneasy stop.
Earlin stumbles and raises his free hand in objection. “Wait! Stop! Don't!” he cries, and for a second Tamsin looks pretty pleased with herself that she's finally affected him. The murmuring surrounding her rises to disgruntled objection once the first rope snaps. With no hesitation, she turns to her nearest companion, stabbing him in the complaining throat before thrusting his gurgling body off the edge into the pits below.
“Oh God, no!” Earlin cries, strangely, suddenly holding onto the orb with both hands and stepping back from the edge. No longer concerned about the current situation, he spends a few seconds staring intently into the orb, as if trying to read, or make something out from a great distance – he squints and clenches his jaw. Everybody pauses, confused, and shares a strange look with one another. Seemingly satisfied, Earlin turns away from the orb and re-addresses the people present.
“No more bloodshed, please,” he asks, seemingly earnest.
“You know what I want,” Tamsin replies, even her a little confused by his reaction.
“I don't have the fang,” he says “reports tell me that your three little new friends stole it from me. I haven't been able to get it back from them yet.”
There's more conferring among Tamsin's group.
“The orb and a hundred thousand, and we promise to deliver the halfling and the idiot if you let us leave the city.”
“What about the druid?”
Tamsin smirks. “Your guard is going to find her body in tin-town. You aren't going to recognize her face. You won't recognize any face.”
“Did she have the fang?”
“Would I be asking for it if she did?”
There's a pause.
“I think we have a deal. Silas, Carl.”
“Which Carl, sir?” comes a voice.
“Kurz, Carl Kurz. Here, please.”
The two men step to the side of the Lord, who motions to some sacks that had been sitting there beforehand. “Two of them,” he requests before opening open and exposing a handful of gold coins to the crew at the crane. The coins go back into the bag, and he places the orb into the satchel at his side, which he removes and gives to Silas. He quietly whispers to the two guards, who nod solemnly and set off on the lonely path to the crane.
– So here's where shit will get weird. If they go to interfere with Silas and/or the crew, Lonnegan will appear to crib the Lord Earlin. He makes a swift statement “Your unwillingness to explore these powers are a great downfall, Earlin. It's such a shame that it's taken such a long time for you to meet somebody like me. The world we live in could have been such a different thing by now.” The Lord is stabbed. Lonnegan disappears, and the Lord is badly injured. A copious amount of his blood hits the stones of the quarry and starts to be soaked up by the ground. He curses and the ground starts to shake.
– If Anne investigates the mansion, she finds it utterly overrun with Acamorian agents. Lonnegan is nowhere to be seen, but the remnants of the household staff and guard are pretty viciously murdered.
– If they take advantage of the opportunity to attack the Lord, Emma appears to fight with Tamsin. Both are wounded, with Tamsin rolling off the edge into the pit. “Don't you know Emma? It's the crane that killed father,” NOBODY HEARS. Earlin is horrified and does everything to try to stop it. She is too far away and falls to her death. This is a problem for Earlin, who calls for the orb to return to him. Silas & Kurz are assaulted by the remaining thugs, who see fit to take what they can before disappearing at the death of their leader. Emma cares not at what they're doing, she's trying to take care of Julick. The ground begins to shake, and Earlin yells for absolutely everybody to get out of the quarry. A stairwell collapses, and Silas is stranded. Earlin begs him to throw the satchel to him and to run the other way. He does.
– If the party decides to do nothing whatsoever, both things happen at once – with Earlin poisoned by Lonnegan's blade, he is unable to save Silas, or the orb, which collapse into the darkness of the shaking ground after Tamsin's fall. Earlin is capable of moving to the exit, though, cursing Lonnegan's betrayal and the loss of the orb. THE ORB IS A MOOD RING OF SORTS FOR GORFINAX, IT HAS TO BE READ BY SOMEONE EDUCATED IN ITS MATTERS (WHICH AT THIS POINT ARE ONLY LONNEGAN AND EARLIN), TO MAKE PROPER MEASURES ABOUT THE STATE OF THE BEING. IT'S LIKE WATCHING SOMEONE MOVE THROUGH A DOOR, ONLY THAT DOOR IS THIS DIMENSION AND THAT SOMEONE EATS FUTURES.
– ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT:
– Upon arriving at the entrance to the quarry, only a dozen guards get through, party and all (Tamsin, Emma, Julick, Silas, etc. all missing) and the doors are slammed shut to an army of well armed foreign soldiers, led by a cloaked figure who introduces herself upon removing her cloak.
“Lord Earlin, I hereby declare you the first arrest of the new Acamorian city state of Stoneroot. I am Phiro, Acamorian Lady, the Younger, and general of the Acamorian Conquest Expansion. Welcome to my kingdom. Guards, take them away, and put as much fire into that quarry as you can.”
– Unconcerned with the rumbling, guards move to throw as much conflagration into the quarry as they can. Molotov cocktails for everybody. The screams peal into the darkness. The rumbling is dimissed as “usual for the region.”
Shit be poppin' off, yo.
AT A RUN TO THE MANSION
You aren't too far away from the Mansion when something begins to bother you. A slow rising sound starts to soak the air around you, like a low, deep torrent of rain falling, but never hitting any ground. At first you mistake it for wind in the distance, but it only gets stronger, while the air around you fails to stir.
The Mansion
The smell of smoke strangles the air around Earlin's mansion, and it starts to cause only the smallest amount of difficulty breathing. The temperature in the air appears to be rising with the crowd, who beat barrels with clubs, pound on the closed gates with bare fists, and scream curses with abandon at windows, doors, and the closed up guard post. There don't appear to be any guards outside of the Mansion at all.
NOTES
– Difficulty finding an entryway. Closed bars, locked gate, not a lot of ways in. Exquisitely groomed grounds, spiked fences some fifteen feet tall.
– The crowd could be whipped into a frenzy. They're already angry, storm the gates and push them over.
– Let them get creative.
– The doors are locked, but not difficult to break down. The windows, too, are easily broken. If they explore the grounds, there is a ladder propped up against a pillar, and an already broken window.
– The house is dark, no noise, no light, all of the guest rooms are dark, and unoccupied. The servant quarters/work areas have blood in them. There are a pile of bodies in the pantry, off the kitchen. From their garb, all of them appear to be servants. The noise in their ears persists.
– The Lord's study (been there before), is empty too, though the fire still rages. One of the previously closed doors is ajar, and voices can be heard beyond.
– IT'S ACAMORIAN SOLDIERS. Rinaldo recognizes their garb. There are two of them, and they immediately attack the investigators.
Acamorian Fighter
Str 18 (+4)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 19 (+4)
Int 11
Wis 09 (-1)
Cha 10
HP: 44
AC: 19 (17 Arm) (2 shld)
Longsword +6 Atk 1D8+4 Dmg
4D8 Superiority Die
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Disarm – One creature hit must make Str save or drop something they are holding.
Precise Strike – Gain A superiority die to an attack roll
Riposte – React when missed by a melee attack to attack back and deal superiority die extra damage.
If the kids are killed, well, so be it. If they aren't, they find the mansion entirely empty, and the buzzing in their ears becomes a rumbling.
Austin & Leon failed to confront the Acamorian soldiers, by botching some stealth checks and warning them of their presence. They were visibly identified, leaving the mansion, but Anne has picked up their trail. The rumbling continues to grow, and they've seen smoke pluming up from the quarry. REMEMBER THAT THE HORSEMEN CHASING THE FERRET ARE STILL FREE, AS ARE THE JAILORS AND GATEKEEPERS.
03/17/16
Okay, the survivalism leads the party to the scene outside the quarry. A slightly less impressive plume of smoke issues from the closed and chained gates that lead to the quarry. There's little to no activity here in a distinctly unpleasant way. Beyond the gate, dull moaning and the echoes of screams from far away call out to you. Not being able to see through the gate, only the smoke, the whimpers, and the smell of burning meat give you any clue as to what's on the other side.
Other side: Upon entry, the dull moans stop, and it is revealed that two dozen or so deeply charred corpses, all strangely dry, but caked with that light rust coloured mud you saw earlier at the church. The rest of the guard are nowhere to be seen, but panicked voices issue from deep within the quarry tunnels – sometimes punctuated with screams or cries of anguish. Further adventuring into the quarry leads to more and more bodies – all burned, some worse than others. After some time, if they go deeper, the ground starts to vibrate around them. Allana is nowhere to be seen.
If they leave, a beggar steps out of the alleyway and confronts them with what he knows, asking for money. (J. TOMBRELLO GUARD BADGE)
– He saw the Acamorian troops come on the scene and arrest Lord Earlin, who was bleeding pretty badly. Him and a dozen of his guards, plus some others were escorted away by a woman calling herself the new ruler of Stoneroot. They were instructed to take the Lord & company to the sanitarium. The beggar is willing to point the way. He fiddles with his ears the entire time.
– The group decided instead to go to the church to have Tamsin's daggers identified by Danyin, and sleep.
– The sanitarium is a grim place, even for Stoneroot's normally joyless neighbourhoods. Even without the chaos, it stands, claustrophobically strangled by encroaching structures around its sides, like mushrooms growing against one another trying to find the most prosperous advantage over one another. Amidst the chaos of the city, it appears downright frightening. Nearly every window of the gothic building lies open, and the curtains for each flap and lick at the outside world in asynchronous rhythm to the shrieks and moans that stem from within. Unseen, desperate hands fling pieces of furniture out these windows, where guards in Acamorian garb stand underneath, setting up barricades and generally fortifying the area. As if on cue, a jagged slice of lightning carves through the dark sky, signaling the beginning of a rainstorm.
– Might be able to sneak inside. Leon might be able to use his Acamorian accent to talk his way in. Also, because of the nature of the crowded architecture, they might be able to go from the rooftop, and lever their way in through one of the many open windows.
– Inside, they'll find a terrified medical staff, wherever they are, not priests – people who specialize in madness, diseases of the mind, and the like – damage that isn't normally healed by the church. They're quite frightened by what's going on. The Acamorians entered the sanitarium and immediately instructed the repurposing of some of their cells to house political prisoners. Overhearing them, it would appear that the city dungeon has not been seized yet, and they figured this would be an easier place to take control of. If the party describes Allana, the doctor in charge DOCTOR Eric Kimball confirms that he has seen Allana brought in with the Lord. If they insist on visiting, he encourages them to please not mess with the patients. They're excitable enough with all this going on.
– Upon passing by, some of the disturbed call out to the party, whispering “It's eating us.” “We can't escape.” “We're trapped and it's eating us all.”
– Entrance to the door that was indicated has two guards monitoring the hallways. They're not easy to talk down to. Allana and Earlin are kept in separate rooms, with only small metal doors at eye level to discern who is inside. The first door they investigate is Earlin, who is badly wounded, looks unwell, and really very distressed. He interacts with the party reluctantly, blaming them for all of this, but also seeing opportunity in them helping him. They did, after all, fuck this up for him so well. He just needs to be convinced that he isn't working for the Acamorians, nor Lonnegan.
– The second door they investigate is Allana. She's a little roughed up, but otherwise seems to be okay.
– Be ready for combat.
– Phira is not in the building, she's relocated to the guard headquarters, basing her operations from there for the time being.
Allana's been rescued, along with the dozen guards from the Lord's personal entourage. The gang has stabilized Earlin from his poisoned state, and he confesses that he's been trying to kill Gorfinax for six hundred years.
04/09/16
Well, here we go.
Earlin's story.
– First came to the area six hundred years ago, at the behest of a wealthy benefactor. They were interested in settling the region.
– There was concern over the stability of the region, so they investigated the natives.
– Simple group of people, very attuned with nature, but with a strange and inexplicable religion. They were wary of their provider, like a dog who is beaten by their master. Human sacrifice was the word of the day, but they wouldn't choose just anybody – only the strongest among them.
– Some investigation revealed their god to be an underground dweller, which was strange because every geological investigation found the ground to be unstable, and cavernous. One day though, curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to watch one of their sacrifices from afar.
– Something reached up and took the dying man. Deep into the ground, something horrific.
– In haste, my company and I decided to try to kill it. Nearly everybody died, a few of the natives got away, and in a fit of desperation, I imprisoned it in the rock.
– What followed was a long period of study, trying to figure out what it was, what it wanted, how it might be killed, much of these questions still unanswered. For the moment, he's attempting to systematically, physically de-construct it under the guise of mining it out. Yes, the mined stone is actually the beast, imprisoned. They've mined almost five hundred years worth out of this beast, and it hasn't yet died.
– HOW HAS HE LIVED SO LONG: Mostly magic, but he suspects that there's more to it than that. Gorfinax has a tendency to provide, somehow. Stoneroot was originally conceived of as a military station. For some reason though, prosperity ensued. It seems to either be very lucky, or not as trapped as he'd hoped. It's even possible that Gorfinax and Earlin are linked somehow, but he's never found any evidence to suggest it.
– QUESTIONS ABOUT JULICK: Julick is less of a son, and more of a construct. He's got some essence of the Lord, having leveraged some of his immortality to create him. Nobody seemed to think it odd that he didn't even have a mother.
– THE SACRIFICE: Over time, he came to realize that Gorfinax didn't so much eat the lives, or even souls of his victims, but that he actually eats their futures. That's why the natives fed only their proudest and strongest to him. He's motivated entirely by hunger it seems. After first trapping it, he thought that the stone would hold it in prison for good, but it turns out that as it gets hungrier, it also gets more powerful. During an incident in which it nearly broke out years ago, it managed to get a hold of one of his aides, and promptly calmed right down again. It was clear that it needed to be fed, but he didn't want to sacrifice whole lives to it. Through research and experimentation, he discovered that he could give just enough of a future for it to eat, by creating, raising, and then castrating heirs – versions of himself. After the ceremony, they live on for some time, oftentimes in a fog, but become extremely fragile, and succumb to disease long before they grow to be old men. Earlin simply redresses himself, and takes their place – feigning the ascension of a new lord to the position.
– THE KNIFE AND ORB: The knife is directly linked to the beast. The sacrificial ceremony must be performed with it for the castration to feed it – otherwise it will need to kill to eat. The orb is a window in, a way to keep an eye on it from 'afar' so to speak.
– THE BUZZING: The deaths in the quarry have seemed to stir it. It's almost time for it to be fed, and having so many people die so close to it, it's like ringing a dinner bell on the other side of its bedroom.
– LONNEGAN: He has maintained an order of staff at the school to help him keep an eye on the beast and feed it. This is Lonnegan's first time as head of the order, and it looks like he has different plans for the beast. He doesn't know what, but always found Lonnegan rather devious. Places he might have gone: If he plans to commune with the creature, or take control of it, or even raise it, he could have gone back to the school, or possibly Earlin's own laboratory in town. It's close to the quarry.
– PHIRO: The Acamorians, ever since discovering the interesting properties of the stone, have become progressively greedy regarding it. He doesn't know if they know the source of it, but they've been increasingly pushy and demanding for the past few decades. He normally has the resources to keep them at bay, but he's been exceptionally distracted for the past few days. While carting him away, the general talk was that the last bastion of serious resistance in the city would be the city Dungeon – commonly referred to as The Butchery.
– (Phiro, regarding Rinaldo. Phiro is Bossar's younger sister. Also having served in the home guard, as Rinaldo's superior, she was one of the first people to discover Rinaldo's affair with Bossar. Bossar insisted that his sister was supportive of the affair, but Rinaldo remained suspicious. He has no proof, but suspects that Phiro was responsible for leaking the affair to their father at the time of Bossar's engagement in order to scandalize the boy, and advance her own contentions for leadership of the city. Rinaldo remembers her as cold, goal-oriented (even at the cost of ethics), unmoved by emotional pleas, and disinterested in other people's problems.)
Whip some shit up on the fly if they have other questions.
Earlin's convinced that he will not be able to leave the sanitarium without creating bigger problems for the group. None of his guard are armed, and they're unlikely to be able to face up to whomever is left to look after the place. He's too weak to do anything that might require physical effort to escape (i.e. leaping out windows, climbing, magic, combat, etc.). It could spell the end of him entirely.
If Rinaldo decides to kill Earlin, well, when they leave the sanitarium, while the rain falling from above is clear and water, puddles at the foot of buildings created out of stone are uncharacteristically dark. The stones forming the walls, too, have taken on an especially dark shade. Investigation reveals that the stones are bleeding, and actually seem to be losing some of their hardness.
The players might decide to investigate the lab (looks a little ransacked, but no sign of Lonnegan. There are some signs that a magical spell was conducted here, with things that look very representative of The Fang. Lonnegan has headed to the church), or head to The Butchery, which is indeed under siege, but in a very uncommon way. It is, quite literally, in the ground.
The Butchery is a rather modest ground structure, decently fortified, but leads to an old mining operation, and is an entire prison deep underground. Earlin knows a secret way in, off the cliff sides that overlook the bay. It looks like a drainage chute from the outside, but actually connects up to the warden's office. He suggests showing the warden the ring that Rinaldo has taken, and he's likely to help.
If they decide to rest in the interim, Anne has a dream about the rumbling and the meat city again. Throughout the whole dream though, the rumbling rises in her ears, until it gets so loud she can barely hear. The rumbling seems to compress though, as though coming together to form a sound. Seemingly without having a start, middle, or end, the rumbling becomes a low, frightening voice, speaking her name almost affectionately.
If they go to the church first, looking for the dagger, Lonnegan hasn't yet appeared, but the church is under watch, with four guards checking it out.
So the gang managed to get Earlin to a herbalists shop, and treated with something that will eradicate the poison from his system. There, they left Earlin, Doctor Andrew/Cash-Money and the twelve guards to convalesce some. They then proceeded to Fallon's house, and came face to face with Emma, Julick, Fallon, and Silas.
04/16/16
– Emma not well. Cut up pretty badly by Tamsin
– Silas unconscious. Has not woken up. Him, Carl, Emma and Julick all escaped together through a terrible climb along the city walls. Some kind of earthquake marred their descent, Silas lost his footing and fell.
– They have the orb. It speaks to Anne.
– Carl is out for the moment, looking for medical supplies.
– Julick is terrified. Untrusting of everybody.
– They won't be much help.
– Laboratory – ransacked. Obvious evidence of Lonnegan using it to find the fang.
– The Butchery continues to be under siege.
– The church has already been raided by Lonnegan. Danyin has quite a tale to tell of him bursting into the place, frying assaulting guards, retrieving the dagger, and leaving.
– No knowledge of where Lonnegan might have gone. Earlin will suggest the school. It was built on the grounds the natives performed their rituals at.
– Rotswold is burning. The monks are killing everybody, and the town is dying.
– Jayne's ghost? Yet? Maybe at the lab.
Looking for Druids that know about the orb, the gang went to the Twist, hopefully hunting down Colin, a refugee that started working there after the migration. There, they are confronted with the ghost of Jayne. She tells them that the druids know Gorfinax, and that he's unstoppable. Jayne warns Anne to not give in to evil. They return to Earlin with the orb, who confesses that it's not necessarily good that Rinaldo & Allana have touched it. It goes blue in Earlin's hands. They leave, with the orb, to find Earlin's Lab and hopefully... Lonnegan.
– The Lab: More impressive than you might think. Disguised as a property tax office, and kept in a well to do neighbourhood, with plenty of security. That security appears to be dead, for the most part though. The outside grounds are littered with the corpses of the Stoneroot guard, all bearing the marks of general weapon wounds. The insides of the lab are eerily quiet.
– Inside the lab: The lone tax assessor lies dead at the base of a secure door which hangs ajar off its hinges. (All traditional wounds)
– Further investigation into the building brings mixed corpses. The next room is an office that looks very much like a gauntlet. Tall tables, protective wood, less paper than knives, etc. It's here where we see the only Acamorian corpse. But only near the only other door. He is not wounded conventionally. A medicine check reveals a series of unconventionally shaped knives.
– A stairwell, filled with the bodies of Stoneroot. Spacious, nice, all with regular wounds. Open door.
– Some kind of anteroom. Weapons, shields, door is reinforced on the other side. Really hard. Steel, heavy, strange inside locks, sort of miraculous that it's just hanging open. The other door, though has been smashed to pieces from the inside out. FULL of Acamorian and Stoneroot guard. Acamorian on top, more irregular wounds.
– Only the Stoneroot lie dead here, but nothing looks like a knife, club, these are the most unusual corpses you've ever seen. Curving, tilting wounds, jagged cuts that sink deeper more precisely than they tear outwards. It is the end room. There are no doors, some burns on furniture, equipment, books, etc. There's a doorway in the wall. It reminds you of something you saw somewhere before. (hinty hinty)
– A few more moments to investigate. The doorway will start to come alive. First an eye, and then some ambitious reflections. Let's get some discouraging things going. Maybe change up the striking stats every time they roll? That'd be fun. They'd better run. They go for the orb, i.e. Rinaldo. Maybe they get it, ooo, that'd be bad. It might get into other people's heads.
– Then what? Earlin? Getting on his feet, sure. Rotswald? It's a day away, and Earlin's doors are closed, it seems, or maybe they go back and check it out if it didn't go wild the first time. Phiro? She's going to keep being a pain in the ass. Back to Fallon? Carl has arrived and is treating Silas. Emma sleeping, Julick gone? Yeah, maybe Julick's sick of this shit.
Lonnegan has used the bridge to teleport to the location of the knife, which has actually brought him to Gorfinax. The party bands together to find the Fang.
4/28/16
Okay, so we're going to play it fast & loose this episode, because there's no telling what the crazy fuckers are going to do. Go check on Silas? Look for the knife? Attempt to confront Lonnegan? Maybe they'd all fancy a nice cup of tea? I honestly have very little clue. They still haven't figured out that the orb not only acts as a localized tracker/'mood-ring' to Gorfinax. Nobody kept a bloody eye on it during the “Tax Office” escapade, only afterwards. Anne's the only one that can really talk to it anyways, but she's smart enough not to touch it... which is a weird thing to say about Anne. That she's “smart enough” for anything.
– Carl has returned with the medicine. Ointments, some ice to reduce swelling, and some magical charms. Silas looks worse, though. He appears to be emaciating at an increased rate. Boy's getting eaten, I'd say, but what do I know?
– Emma's still out of commission. It's conceivable that she could be looked after, but she's wary about wandering the streets, and Anne likely won't have enough spells to cure her.
– Earlin might insist to see his son. He has raised him, after all. There's practically no use in trying to fight it anymore – his plans to keep control have been ruined. He might just want to see his son.
– Locating the dagger brings the group to the church, via the forked twig that Earlin provides the group. It leads to the room where Anne first lost the dagger. Something is different though, and an entire stairwell has appeared where there was none. It does not appear to cohere to the architecture of the church, however, with stones missing from the archway and a cold slimy moisture spreading from within. Danyin is baffled by its presence. The stairwell leads down, in seemingly random uncharacteristic patterns, slippery and unpleasant, hot, revolting air moving towards you in invasive, intimate gusts. When the steps finally end, after a several minute descent in total darkness, the opening reveals a chamber of soft muddy ground walled by bricks that appear to be seeping blood. The copper heavy scent of the room reinforces your assumption. The fork vibrates and glows heavily, informing the party that this is indeed the location of the fang. A dripping from the ceiling of foul fluids point to a blob of terrible in the ruddy ground, coated in mucus and blood. The brave one removes what looks like an actual tooth, thin and jagged, crudely attached to a handle that resembles the dagger's handle exactly. The tooth will continue to ooze for the rest of the adventure of its usefulness. Upon removal, the ground unsettles itself, like some kind of series of strange waves. Gurgling, sucking sounds soon reveals itself to be a small hole in the floor that opens very slowly. The floor waves push towards it. Escape up the stairwell has it gradually shrink, pressing up against the party, also pulsing waves through it that massage them downwards in an attempt to corral them back to the platform.
– Rescued by Danyin, the crew awaits in the office at the Church.
Danyin – LVL 11 Cleric
Str 10 (0)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 14 (+2)
Int 19 (+4)
Wis 20 (+5)
Cha 17 (+3)
HP: 80
AC: 13
Spell Atk +9
Spell DC 17
(check sheet for other advantages, if necessary)
Mace +4 Atk 1D6
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Lvl 1: Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Command
Lvl 2: Lesser Restoration, Spiritual Weapon, Hold Person
Lvl 3: Beacon of Hope, Revivify, Create Food & Water
Lvl 4: Death Ward, Guardian of Faith, Freedom of Movement (spent)
Lvl 5: Mass Cure Wounds, Raise Dead
Lvl 6: Blade Barrier
– Upstairs, everything looks fine, apart from more slime and a reddish tinge to the stone that lines the entryway of the staircase they just escaped from. Dilapidated statues surrounding the nave some with no heads, single arms, nine of them prominently, start attempting to climb down off their plinths. At the parts where they detach from the plinths, blood begins to stream from stretching and tearing thick cables that look like veins and arteries. They will pursue.
Stone Golem
Large construct, unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85) 136/178
Speed 30 ft.
STR: 22 (+6)
DEX: 9 (-1)
CON: 20 (+5)
INT: 3 (-4)
WIS: 11 (0)
CHA: 1 (-5)
Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that
aren’t adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened,
paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator
but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect
that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws
against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The golem makes two slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Slow (Recharge 5–6). The golem targets one or more creatures
it can see within 10 feet of it. Each target must make a DC 17
Wisdom saving throw against this magic. On a failed save, a
target can’t use reactions, its speed is halved, and it can’t make
more than one attack on its turn. In addition, the target can
take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both.
These effects last for 1 minute. A target can repeat the saving
throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself
on a success.
Stone golems are magical constructs cut and chiseled
from stone to appear as tall, impressive statues. Like
other golems, they are nearly impervious to spells and
ordinary weapons.
– They pursue. To the City gate even, where the uh-oh starts.
- The crew has elected to attempt to leave the city, Earlin in tow, in disguise, attempting to leave through the gates. A decision hangs in the balance where Allanna has to decide between Rinaldo's plan of starting a riot, hoping that it will distract the guards for long enough for them to slip through, or Anne's plan of kiting the golems from the church to do the same. She appears to be appealing to the audience for help in the decision.
– An attempt to leave the city will have them confronted by Acamorian guards. Long attempts to bluff their way through, will result in the appearance of Phiro. She recognizes Rinaldo immediately and insists on their arrest. Prolonged presence at the gates in this case results in the shambling statues arriving. Oh there's going to be fights. Oh there's going to be blood. More than there already is, anyways.
10/11/16 – Rinaldo Catches a Break.
Well, it looks like there's going to be a rumble of sorts. Who knows how gross and terrible? THE SHADOW KNOWS.
Well, they're going to run along and try to find the golems. After not finding anything for a while, we're going to get them caught up in a pretty fire ridden part of town. It is practically deserted. Buildings are aflame, when a pair of mangled golems walk through a burning wall like butter. When they recognize Rinaldo, they pick up speed a little. As they pursue, they find little worry for buildings and other solid obstacles in their way – line of sight does not seem to be a problem for them detecting his presence. As a result, they pick up some burning matter. By the time they arrive at the gates, they look like a pair of mangled angels on fire, robes burning, moving at a deliberate pace in whatever direction Rinaldo(or the keeper of the Fang) is headed. If he peals for the crowd, they flip the fuck out. People run in all kinds of directions, and the guards have trouble controlling them.
– If the party manages to shake the guards, they occupy themselves with the burning golems. Shit gets messy, but the party manages to escape, and a great cost to the Acamorian presence at the end fight.
– If they don't attempt to shake the guards' attention at all, the golems continue their pursuit of the knife bearer. The Acamorians pursuing the party are slaughtered by the golems in their concurrent pursuit, but the army quickly learns that they're going after the party.
– Phiro learns of all of this, regardless of how it plays out. Her interest in the apprehension of Rinaldo “for her family's honour” convinces her to pursue him. She is additionally motivated to leave by all the crazy shit that's going down all over the city. If they spend too long at the gates, she appears to pursue him personally.
– Marshmallow? SIIIIIGH – Marshmallow is still in the dungeon, which is under siege, and also kind of transforming.
The chaos in the area spreads to the gates outside, with the city stables being hastily re-manned and re-assigned by guards attempting to discern what's going on inside, and others attempting to flee or re-inforce, according to the events on the inside. If they let most of the other horses stay, there's going to be trouble.
– If the horses get loosed, or they get stopped, the group faces the dilemma of giving the dagger up to an unknown, hoping that the golems will be distracted by it (they will) while they fruitlessly pursue a final battle with Lonnegan at Rotswold.
– Earlin's a little trepidatious. He's been gunning for Gorfinax for 600 years. He's worried about his son, and the rest of the people in Stoneroot – between the fire, the occupying army, and the city, he's not sure if anyone will make it out alive. It was never meant to be a city anyways, he reasons. It's just a shame that it has to end this way.
– Anne dreams of Marshmallow, consumed by fire, unable to escape a bulging prison turning slowly fleshy, deep in a dreary dungeon, alone, confused, and scared, smothered by smoke. She awakes feeling his absence.
– Rinaldo dreams of nothing but a gibbet, a rope made of intestines, and the catcalls of the crowd around him, taunting quips of perversion and deviancy.
– Allanna dreams only of walking the earth, up an eternal hill, each foot she pulls out of the soft ground brings up a well of blood, flowing behind her, drowning all those she has left behind and leaving them to die.
The trip to Rotswold goes with/or without as much trouble as they invite. Upon arrival, the pastoral, scenic countryside remains as unmolested as they recall it being. It's particularly quiet there, moreso than before, if they care to notice.
We'll give them a chance to investigate the school, if they see fit. It's largely trashed, with Lonnegan's office particularly ransacked. Secret passage wide open. Any further investigation reveals the underground wracked with calm looking statues of young monks in the altar room. The chasm that the blood gutter lead to has been bent and puckered outwards, as though something came careening out of it at an unpleasant speed and angle. Standing nearest the gutter hole is a supplicant, relieved looking monk identifiable as Steisch.
On their way out, they approach a statue in the middle of town that's unfamiliar in its placement to them. It looks like a man carrying a box of some kind, facing away from the party walking towards the mayor's inn. Upon approaching, they recognize that it's Callum. He is not entirely statue though, with much of his head still mobile, and able to speak. He speaks in his rather minimalist, blunt tones.
– Earlier in the day, Lonnegan appeared to walk out of the school, caked in a bloody mess, with a long, seemingly tense cable attached to his spine. It didn't drag behind him, but actively moved to prevent impediment to his movement, and even seemed to become interested in people. Underneath the blood, he looked pale, and much older than he seemed to be the other day. Wandered around the town, pawing at people, Even poked Gillet right in the face, after what he done to him too, half talking at them behind distant eyes. They'd all thought he'd taken fever with some kind of illness. He was pallid, discoloured, skin cracking. A few of us villagers came to check on him, see what was going on. I was watching over the proceedings, don't trust that feller, no, but when Jack come round he started to get all more alert... more focused. Boy wasn't too near him, but I'll be damned if Lonnegan didn't try and knock eight of us over tryin' to get at the boy. Smart boy that he was, ran like hell, but Lonnegan grabbed my leg tryin' to struggle by me and it started to hurt like hell. Lost feeling in it soon after, and then, well... it all started to go difficult on me.
– Lonnegan panicked after losing sight of Jack. He ran off in the direction of the town graveyard.
If the party pursues, we're going to get some serious showdown action going on. Gillet will be there, halfway towards a freshly dug grave without even a name carved on it, mostly turned to stone, head focused on the grave, crying silently, refusing even to address the party except with a sad gaze.
When he recognizes Earlin, he spits in his direction, claiming that his dark magic is why this has happened to them all, and if he ever gets to feel the pleasure of running ever again, it will be running to choke Earlin to death.
Earlin is penitent that things have gone this far, and he never meant for any of Rotswold to be harmed. He apologizes on behalf of the party.
Phiro will appear with a contingent, shocked at the presence of Earlin, and ready to imprison, or massacre Rinaldo if so needed. She feels like this will give her a leg up, after losing most of Stoneroot to the fire, and some strange curse. She blames him for it.
Earlin has a few choice words for Rinaldo, and then for Phiro, thinking that she can callously waltz into a situation so effortlessly and think her strategy was behind it all. Confesses that it really is all Rinaldo & company's fault, but what the hell, no use in weeping about it now.
Phiro's guard moves to attack.
The ground rumbles.
The Final Episode-ish?
Lonnegan “exits” a headstone – seemingly unwell.
There's some guttural noises, as hands splay from separate headstones, numerous ones, but once a head pushes through, the stone giving way like the skin on a stew left out for days, the multiple arms retract and Lonnegan is somewhat birthed out of the headstone of Sallin. He doesn't slump onto the ground, but comes out curving upwards, and steps onto the ground neatly, propped up. His mouth begins to move, but the words that come out don't match his lip movements, and they sound closer than they are.
“I have found you, at last. I have found you.”
He lurches towards Anne, the orb starts to bleed.
“Traveler, Luck, Trade, Futures!”
Earlin suddenly becomes weaker.
LONNEGAN BOLD UNDERLINE THE LONNEGAN
Str: 19 - +4 mod/save
Dex: 19 - +4 mod/save
Con: 19 - +4 mod/save
Int: 27 - +8 mod / +11 save
Wis: 06 - -2 mod / +01 save
Cha: 02 - -4 mod / -04 save
Proficiency: +4
+8 general staff/dagger, but he's half meat wheel, so whatever.
This is going to be the clusterfuck.
The artery will move.
Cutting the artery of Lonnegan will make him vulnerable. He will keep talking, weirdly, at Anne, constantly, until she dies. He strikes just fine with his hands.
Phiro
Ac: 20
Prof: +3
Str: 10
Dex: 20 (Mod+5/Sav+8)
Con: 13 (Mod/Sav +1)
Int: 17 (Mod/Sav +3)
Cha: 13 (Mod/Sav +1)
Earlin is going to be disabled at the get go, Lonnegan is going to spit him. It will make him vulnerable, we'll see if they get it.
Anne needs to be killed with the dagger.
Gods and gods. Gods and gods and gods and gods and gods.
Acamorian Fighter
Str 18 (+4)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 19 (+4)
Int 11
Wis 09 (-1)
Cha 10
HP: 44
AC: 19 (17 Arm) (2 shld)
Longsword +6 Atk 1D8+4 Dmg
4D8 Superiority Die
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Disarm – One creature hit must make Str save or drop something they are holding.
Precise Strike – Gain A superiority die to an attack roll
Riposte – React when missed by a melee attack to attack back and deal superiority die extra damage.
Well, I guess that's the end.
Congrats to some, and fuck the rest.
No,
Fuck everybody, and congrats to some.
This shit is going to get real, REAL fast.
THIS IS THE BREAK FOR THE CURRENT SCRIPT
LEAVING AND RETURNING OUTSIDE OF TOWN RESULTS IN AN UTTERLY DESTROYED ROTSWOLD – NO PICKMAN ACADEMY, NO FOLIAGE, NOTHING, JUST ASHES AND ROCK STRUGGLING BETWEEN PALE GREY SHADES AND DARKER EARTHY TONES.
(A WEEK'S TRAVEL) ANNE'S SUGGESTION TO TRAVEL TO A TEMPLE AAAALWAYS RESULTS IN THEM BEING FLAT OUT TERRIFIED OF HER, AND UNWILLING TO HELP. SHE'S UNTRUSTWORTHY, IMPULSIVE, CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEMON AND A SINNER. THEY WANT TO SHUT HER OUT AS MUCH AS THEY CAN.
(WE'LL SAY IT TAKES FIVE DAYS) JAYNE MAY GO TO THE DRUIDS. THEY ARE RATHER DISTURBED BY THE DESCRIBED EVENTS, NOTING WEAKNESSES IN THE STONE AND FEAR IN THE EARTH – A GENUINE FEAR TO GROW.
RINALDO? OH GOD, LET'S SEE IF HE COMES UP WITH ANY IDEAS.
CAMPAIGN NOTES
*Julick's been gone for two months. (THE START)
*Stoneroot church based on old worship ground
*REWARD 25 GOLD
*Jess is in possession of two journal entries. Neither are of Julick's authorship. (Noted with asterisks on page 5)
DD_Notes.rtf (715.97 KB)
---
AVAUNDRA – CHANGE, LUCK, TRADE, TRAVEL (and halflings)
ANNE'S GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AWAKENING OF GORFINAX. BIRTH OF A NEW GOD. USED TO LIVE ON THE SMALL TIDINGS OF THE TRIBES, THE CITY HAS FED IT MORE AND MORE. GORFINAX IS LUCKY, INCITES IMMIGRANTS, DONE WELL FOR TRADE, AND FACILITATED CHANGE.
OH, THIS SHIT ALMOST WRITES ITSELF.
Characters - Rinaldo (Leon)
Ann (Austin)
Jayne (Jess)
Stoneroot Mains
Lord Earlin (of Stoneroot - charge)
Julick - 20 - (Son of Earlin. "sent to school" to be gelded and prepared for Gorfinax)
Emma (Julick's paramour)
Tamsin (Posing as Emma, hires the PC team to find Julick, with hopes to kidnap and ransom him)
Getcher (Toady Quarry master, a rather Renfield type to Earlin's aims)
Fidrick (Earlin's head of the guard - Honest man, but severe & devoted)
Silas – The Enamoured Gate Guard. TO RETURN
BARTENDER COVERING FOR TAMSIN
Danyin – (Head of the Church. Very welcoming to outsiders)
Fallon – Emma & Tamsin's adoptive father
Rotswold
Lonnegan (Headmaster of "the school" Julick has been sent to in Rotswold)
Steisch – Attendant at Pickman
The Robertsons – Earl, Beth, Jack, & Kira
Mayor Gillet – Mayor of Rotswold. Highly suspicious of the school, but not outwardly critical of it.
Sallin – Gillet's wife.
START MINIMUM
Hired by Tamsin (posing as Emma) the PC group is sent after Julick, the son of Earlin and Emma's lover. Earlin (upon questioning) says that his son's
lack of correspondence can be put to Julick's womanizing ways. Probably met a strumpet at school. Investigation of his quarters reveals a singular
interest in Emma though, no other women to speak of. Fidrick will attempt to imprison the players, if they get too nosy. If not, the name of the
school is revealed to them, and the town - not far away, well within letter carrier distance.
The school "Pickman Academy" in Rotswold, is populated entirely by men.
You've been on the road for weeks, and while enough to exhaust anybody, a general air of optimism clings to the refugee march. After leaving your
home town, much of it lost to the great fire, the three of you have come to know each other through the caravan leader relying on the three
of you to keep order among the marchers. Now standing in the offices of the gates of Stoneroot, murmurs of excitement rustle through the crowd outside.
A plentiful city, the famous quarry promises jobs to any of the able bodied, and you wait to hear whether your group will be admitted or not.
The gate officer returns to the office as leisurely as he left it, unhurried to deliver the news to the group of refugees about your admission to the
city. He addresses the caravan leader.
The town of Stoneroot sprawls before you, and strangely you find yourself affected with a certain weariness. It may be that the end of your travels
have finally come and your bodies feel comfortable giving way to the ache and fatigue of journey, but you suspect that it's more a result of the
enviroment itself. You've never seen a city present itself as so weary before. The row houses and alleyways exude a certain sloth, but not one
associated with sleepiness; this atmosphere feels more borne of surrender than relaxation. Dusty quarry workers wind their way through the streets,
spurred onwards with expressions that suggest they would rather lie down where they were and rest themselves were vagrancy legal. Even shop signs hang
with a determined sullen feel, and the areas of cities that normally buzz and spring with activity barely distinguish themselves from dour churchyards
and dim cemeteries. The only centre of activity you find while marching its well kept streets is an inn in the centre of town, but to describe its
happenings as activity strikes you as generous. It's simply that the silent and steady march of off shift workers ends here more than any other place
you can see.
Guards:
AC 16
HP 2D8 +2
+3 to Hit (Damage 1D6+1)
The tavern at the inn's entrance is no more exciting than the barren streets you've left behind to enter it. Quarry dust lays thick across the floor
and tables, sometimes piled, as though the fight against the stone dust was given up years ago. The publican behind the bar casts an indifferent eye
your way, but his gaze lingers on you for a second, studying you for just a second.
Elder Monstrosity in the Quarry? Bargains made.
9/17/15
Emma reveals the name of the school is The Pickman Academy. She's unsure as to where it is. Her letters go to the Lord's house, and she's heard nothing back.
LORD'S MANOR
Lord Earlin's manor stretches out modestly. Its well fortified & guarded exterior seems inappropriate for the underwhelming mansion contained within. While it certainly exudes a presence that seems to predate even the city itself, its lifelessness exceeds even the barest boroughs of Stoneroot you've come across so far. You notice however, that it is exceptionally well maintained, with greenery and water features bordering on obscenity compared to the city. On a second thought though, this obscenity must be more understated than first surmised, considering the only colours you remember seeing while wandering streets are shades of stone dust, sometimes adorning wood. With that thought however, you notice the Earlin's manor appears untouched by the dust. Its age suddenly becomes confusing to you, as though it had only recently become old. ROLL FOR PERCEPTION @ DC10 - Uneasy?
The guard at the gate regards you expectantly.
*CONVERSATION GOALS* - ADMISSION TO THE LORD'S MANOR. BASED AROUND ATTEMPTING TO QUELL SUSPICION THAT SOMETHING HAS HAPPENED TO JULICK. NO OTHER REASON FOR ADMITTANCE. BE PREPARED FOR ROGUEISHNESS.
GREETED BY FIDRICK & ESCORT, HEAD OF EARLIN'S GUARD.
FIDRICK is cooperative, but standoffish to the PCs. He will allow admittance to the Lord, still believing Earlin to be a man of the people, will even defend him against disparaging remarks by accosting the players at their admittance to the city. Still a believer. Not many friends outside of the manor. Was fond of Julick, believed he would be a good Lord someday because of his heart.
*THE LACK OF DUST IS ALWAYS EXPLAINED BY THE IMPRACTICALITY OF EXPENSIVE THINGS IN TOWN. WORKERS CANNOT AFFORD SERVANTS, SO WHY SPEND MONEY ON EXPENSIVE THINGS WHEN CORROSION WILL CLAIM THEM.
INSIDE MANOR
The great hall of the Manor makes apparent the well being of the Earlin family if its well kept exterior somehow kept that from you. Its opulence rushes over you before you even have a chance to examine more than a fraction of its setpieces. It once again strikes you as strange that the manor, while modestly sized, should be so richly decorated in comparison to the sparse town. Fidrick gestures you down a hallway, and walks carefully ahead.
The hallway is adorned with portraits of the Earlin family, dating back for over hundreds years if the plaques underneath each portrait are to be believed. The uniformity of them seems somewhat strange to you, but you aren't sure why. (ROLL DC10 - The past eight or so portraits look uncommonly similar.) Fidrick stops at a door and raps upon it more ceremoniously than your impression of him would let you guess. A comfortable pause, followed by a deliberate series of clicks have him sweep the door open and stride into the room. He introduces you to a silhouette in a chair at the opposite end, a chair facing a strange blazing fireplace, one that seems misplaced. (ROCKS, STRANGELY SHAPED AND SOME AS BIG AS HUMAN HEADS ARE ALIGHT LIKE COALS). The figure stands.
Lord Earlin
The Lord cuts an unassuming figure in his late middle age. He bears no accessories to wealth as you might assume from his surroundings. He's clad in leather and cloth, with a weathered, (if slightly familiar face from the portraits outside) visage. He looks at you unimpressedly, returns to sitting, and gazes back at the fire.
"You're here about my son?"
*CONVERSATION GOALS - HE DEFLECTS, HIS SON HAS A CAPRICIOUS HEART. HIS INTEREST IN WHORES IS NEARLY LEGENDARY IN TOWN, JUST ASK ANYBODY.
- HE NEEDED TO BE SENT AWAY TO SCHOOL QUICKLY.
- THIS EMMA CHARACTER WAS NOTHING BUT A LEECH, ALL THE (LYING) RICHES AND GOLD HE SHOWERED ON HER MADE IT CLEAR HE NEEDED TO BE CONDITIONED FOR LORDSHIP.
- HE PROBABLY MET ANOTHER STRUMPET AT SCHOOL AND IS SPENDING HIS YOUTH ON HER INSTEAD.
- OF COURSE HER LETTERS HAVE BEEN STOPPED. WHAT WOULD A COMMONER DO TO THIS LORDSHIP?
-GO SEE HIS QUARTERS IF YOU NEED ANY EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS AN IRRESPONSIBLE YOUTH.
IF THE PCs get too beligerent, Earlin has a word with Fidrick. There's an arrest attempt after investigating (if any happen). If not, he's happy to boot them in the ass and see them go.
Julick's Room
In contrast to your imaginations, the only word that strikes you as accurate for Julick's room is minimal. It's not a cruel condition of care for the sole son of the Lord of the richest city in the region, but Rinaldo is confident that he's stayed in at least half a dozen nicer inns while paying very little money at that. A small fireplace, a meagerly furnished single bed, and a makeshift open air clothes rack sporting several copies of the same outfit dominate the room. Only a stool and messy table fill the rest of the room.
ON THE DESK ARE A NUMBER OF RIPPED PAGES FROM JOURNALS (THEY COME FROM A BASEMENT ROOM). THESE COME FROM JOURNALS WRITTEN BY JULICK'S PRECEDING SACRIFICES. THEY ARE INCOMPLETE. WE WILL FIND THEM LATER.
"... constantly getting in trouble, the head of the guard cannot stop looking over my shoulder. I am even now prohibited from visiting town outside the estate. While my father has insisted that I am destined for great things, he is incapable of allowing me exposure to miniscule things to understand the totality of my influence." * IN JAYNE'S PACK
Another (DC 15 INT - in slightly different handwriting) reads
"... Cannot take this anymore. There's no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to outlaw purple if I see fit. THERE'S JUST NO REASON."
Another (same handwriting)* in Pack
"Were there birds today? I can't remember. I used to remember things."
Another (DC 15 INT - different from either)
"If I must make known that I own them, they will know that I own them. They will see such gold not even the sun should eclipse such hue. If they do not, then curse them to pieces. I will find others. Not a one of them matters to me not. I am to be a Lord."
*UPON READING YOUR LAST NOTE, YOU SEE A FOLDED PIECE OF PAPER STUCK BETWEEN THE BARE SLATS OF THE TABLE.
Upon unfolding it, it reads "Emma" in an entirely different handwriting than any of the notes you'd seen so far, with a drawing of the woman that you'd met at the inn earlier.
"What have you got there?" Fidrick asks.
*CONVERSATION GOALS - Fidrick is aiming to help Emma. He's fond of her, thinks she's good for Julick, but can't see them together. Just wants her to know he's fine at school, is troubled by the news she hasn't heard from him. IF the party's been beligerent, he will escort them circuitously to THE ARREST. Combat for stats I don't have yet. Yaaaay.
Otherwise he will give them the school location (he escorted Julick there himself - THE PICKMAN ACADEMY IN ROTSWOLD), and let them out and return to his work. This will mean QUARRY WORKERS fighting the trio.
QUARRY WORKERS ARE DISPLEASED AT THE ARRIVAL OF NEWBIES TO TAKE THE JOBS THEY WORK SO HARD FOR. THEY'RE RATHER FEEBLE, BUT VERY DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE. LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, WON'T TAKE NO.
STATS TO BE DETERMINED FOR QUARRY WORKERS.
Upon return to Emma, she's either pleased or displeased, based on whether or not the school location has been gained.
If it hasn't then she's angry, and a little more ugly to them. She needs the party to find the other guards who escorted him. IT'S A NIGHT JUMP. ALWAYS AROUND THE QUARRY.
9/24/15
Approached by the five quarry workers, the players begin to get harassed by them. At first it takes the form of them ridiculing refugees, but soon becomes a little more non specifically unpleasant. Phrases like “You can't take it away from us,” or “You don't know it,” or even “You can't possibly care for it like we can.” When the party probes too hard on what they're talking about, the five Quarrymen attack. With fists first, but then go to weapons if the party draws steel.
Stats:
HP: 7/6/4/10/11
AC: 11 (leather)
No dex bonus for initiative. Strength 15 (+2)
• 2 to hit & Damage
• Unarmed is 1 HP (+ Str)
• 1D4 – Improvised Weapons. Picks and Mining Equip.
Initiative List:
½/3/4
Daffyd - Thug – 17 (Leon) (6/7)
Thug – 10 (Leon) * (0/6)
Thug – 9 (Austin) (0/4)
Austin – 8 (8/9)
Thug -5 (Jess) (0/10)
Jess – 3 (37/37)
Leon – 2 (4/11)
Thug – 1 (Leon) * save v 13 (0/11)
Austin: 8/15
Jess: 9/16
Leon: 4/18
If the party gets their asses kicked, the quarrymen walk off laughing to themselves and continue to catcall them. If the party wins, The final assailant begins to panic, looks confused, claims he doesn't know what's going on and tries to run away. If pursued and tackled to the ground, he remembers nothing since showing up for work that morning. He begs to be let home to his family.
Upon relieving themselves of the nuisance, or getting their fucking asses kicked, the players may want to go about getting some healing. Not knowing anywhere in town, they may choose to wander looking for a shop. (3D8 church spell). 50 gp for healing spells. The church will heal for donation.
Daffyd being interrogated by the Crew at the end of this session
Austin: 13/15
Jess: 16/16
Leon: 12/18
THE CHURCH – TRANSPLANTED TO LATER EVENT
IF THEY ACCEPT THE OFFER
Nightmares!
Anne: Teddy announces it is leaving the Avandran faith, badmouthing your devotion and accuses you of being a charlatan. While hurtful, what paralyzes you entirely is the methodical, seemingly gentle efforts it makes to peel back the soft padding on its paws to reveal mangled humanoid hands that bleed from where the fingernails have been violently crushed.
Jayne: Giant waves of stone crash down upon the earth in the distance. As each wave comes down, the land slowly turns from appearing to be dotted by stone, to simply becoming it. Trees and animals alike are carried up by colossal rock waves and are battered into collapsed and terrible messes against the land as the breaking waves move closer and closer to you.
Rinaldo: You remember only being strapped to a table, naked, in the only tiny lit portion of a pitch dark, and foul smelling room. Beyond the edge of the light, you hear only the sound of a knife being sharpened.
IF THEY DON'T ACCEPT THE OFFER
Lodging elsewhere, or else they have an encounter at night in the woods.
Figures just out of view from the party. Familiar gray clothing. Purposeful gaze. Covered with dust. They move slowly, but with more purpose and specificity than any of you can recall reading, hearing, or learning about the movement of the undead.
Ghoul
Medium undead, chaotic evil
Armor Class 12
Hit Points 22 (5d8)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
13 (+1) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 7 (−2) 10 (+0) 6 (−2)
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature.
Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage. If the target is a creature
other than an elf or undead, it must succeed on a DC 10
Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for 1 minute. The
target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its
turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
With their razor-sharp teeth and jagged claws, ghouls
roam the night in packs, driven by an insatiable hunger
for humanoid flesh.
29/22/22 HP – Escalating on the victims of the Quarry Brawl.
Austin: 8/15
Jess: 9/16 (20/37)
Leon: 4/18
Jess – 16
2 – 16 (0/29)
3 – 14 (0/22)
Leon - 5
Austin – 3 (disengaged)
(X)of them. Dressed rather like the (X) men they came face to face with in the street. Running is an option. It may become necessary.
Head on the ground starts to scream again. It burbles and starts to jumble.
Stone Golem
Large construct, unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
22 (+6) 9 (−1) 20 (+5) 3 (−4) 11 (+0) 1 (−5)
Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that
aren’t adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened,
paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator
but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect
that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws
against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The golem makes two slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Slow (Recharge 5–6). The golem targets one or more creatures
it can see within 10 feet of it. Each target must make a DC 17
Wisdom saving throw against this magic. On a failed save, a
target can’t use reactions, its speed is halved, and it can’t make
more than one attack on its turn. In addition, the target can
take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both.
These effects last for 1 minute. A target can repeat the saving
throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself
on a success.
Stone golems are magical constructs cut and chiseled
from stone to appear as tall, impressive statues. Like
other golems, they are nearly impervious to spells and
ordinary weapons.
170/170 God Help them. They have time to run.
ROTSWOLD
The pastoral countryside of Rotswold is a stark contrast to the dusty, gray streets of Stoneroot. The peasantry bounce about their business in jovial routine. Warm contentment inhabits the faces of even the hardest working field hands, and everybody seems to greet everybody else with a pleasant smile and well wishes, including you. No fortified gate stands at the entrance to the town, and you are unceremoniously admitted simply by stepping into it. It's been a long walk though, (especially considering how little sleep you got the night before) and you are weary. A town crier at a nearby corner is listing away the news & plans of the day outside what appears to be the most friendly looking town hall you've ever seen in your life.
– No inn. Strangers welcome to Rotswold are put up in houses of the people who live there.
– Town hall doubles as the tavern. Mayor Gillet bartends.
Rotswold Town Hall
Even though the weather outside is nothing less than agreeable, a warm fire blazes on the inside of the Rotswold Town Hall. The room isn't even a touch above uncomfortable temperature though, and it just makes you want to take a seat. Just as you're considering this, a portly man behind the bar you've just noticed motions for you to do just this. He emits a friendly chuckle as he approaches you with an extended hand, introducing himself as Gillet, bartender, amateur philosopher, problem solver, devoted husband, and occasionally mayor.
“Would you like some ale? I brew it myself! It's just the thing you need after a long journey from... say, where are you folks from?”
– The mayor personally handles the business of the school. The students help around town, and he's not a fan of trouble there, buuuuuuut he does find it a little strange.
– All the students, male students, are unusually calm, overly helpful, really accommodating, even for Rotswold. They just ask to manage their own affairs.
– Offers to introduce them to Lonnegan, headmaster of the school.
AT THE ROBERTSON ESTATE, ABOUT TO HAVE BREAKFAST IN THE KITCHEN WITH THE ROBERTSONS “EARL BETH JACK KIRA”
-Questions about drought, fire, disease, stillborn babies, etc.
10/22/15
The Pickman Academy
The approach to The Pickman Academy is as pastoral and as seemingly genuine as the man leading you. You can hardly believe that the Lord Earlin holds the institution in such trustful, high regard, considering how he refused to even confide its location to you. Gillet leads the way with a spring in his step that his cheerfulness seems to carry effortlessly, despite his girth. He whistles and waves at his constituents, greeting children attempting to play a game of hide and seek on the way. A low hedge wall, about the height of Anne, comes into view. Upon reaching it, the jovial tone of the town, but not its peace, seems to settle.
Beyond the hedges sprawls a bare grounds, some twenty or so meters, with no arbor, decor, or detail beyond its grass leading up to a warm yet austere building. Its pale gray is visually more reminiscent of Stoneroot than the warm earth tones of Rotswold. With a tall central tower that slants sharply into flat wide wings, it evokes a sombre, worshipful tone. While Gillet unhitches the only gate at the hedge wall, a quartet of young men round the front from one of the far edges and pause to regard the four of you. Their faces are too far away to judge their expressions, but their posture gives you the impression of distant alert. Gillet waves, seemingly habitually.
*ANY ATTEMPT AT INTERACTION IS RETREAT*
While approaching the school, Gillet begins to speak of its origins. “I'm not a learnéd man myself, but the men who attend this school certainly set good examples for us all. Even the founder, he came to this place some four hundred or so years ago they say? Town legend says he asked just for the land, and gave some hefty favours back to the town. Laid the roads, set up some supply & trade routes. We've never been short of anything since, even through the drought; not a drop of water missing here, even when other towns were starving, and some even burning to the ground, leaving nothing but ash.”
*IF THE PLAYERS FOLLOW THAT QUESTIONING
“God, you're from Thinmond, aren't you? I'd heard about you lot. Whole town went dry, burned to the ground in less than a day, they say.” Gillet stops, and his expression goes grim for what seems like a heartbeat while he says “I only hope your people have found a right decent place to call home. If you know any who need some help, send them our way. We have plenty here in Rotswold, and there's no scarcity of work for good people willing to put their hands to.” - DONE
*IF NOT
Upon finally stepping up to the front porch of the school, Gillet moves to knock upon the door when it rushes open. A young man, sharply dressed and groomed, pauses his facial expression of surprise for a second too long, and then smiles officiously at Gillet.
“Mayor Gillet! What an unusual coincidence! I was just on my way to visit you myself on behalf of Mr. Lonnegan. Would you do me the honour of coming to see him right now?”
“Yes, yes of course,” Gillet replies “I...”
“Would your companions please wait in the lounge, if that suits them?” The young man replies.
Gillet looks to you with an assuring, but nervous look.
The Young Man stares at you serenely, but with absolute demand in his eyes.
“Well,” the Young Man begins “Do you suppose you could HANG OUT HERE?”
*IF THEY AGREE
You linger in the hall, looking graciously upon Gillet and the new attendant as they disappear up the nearby main stairs at a relaxed pace. Soon their footfalls echo away, and the dour atmosphere of the school descends upon you in full force. Incoherent murmurs stir the air almost noticeably, in a dull drone that populates the air only as busily as insects might disturb the surface of a still pond. The atrium you stand in holds portraits on the walls, each of a stern faced man wearing clothes that one of you might describe as goofy, and two as “indicative of education.” A stone inscription rests above the door,
FROM THE DEPTHS COMES POWER
(FROM THE DEPTHS COMES POWER)
None of you recognize the characters, or language. Soon, Gillet and the young man appear at the top of the stairs, and the mayor motions to you to come up. The attendant introduces himself.
“You must be the visitors Gillet has told us about. Curious about the “WHAT HAVE THEY ASKED OR TOLD GILLET” are you? If you'll walk with me this way please, I'll bring you to headmaster Lonnegan's office. He's always pleased when people take an interest in the good education we're doing here.”
*IF THEY INSIST
The approach up the stairs to headmaster Lonnegan's office is a musty, drab affair. The stonework inside the building continues to be as impressive and familiar as the edifice work on the outside. It also seems to maintain its formal tone, eschewing any attempt at dressing up its spaces with artifacts of warmth or welcoming. Status reigns king here, you conclude as you approach the heavy ornate door bearing the plaque “Headmaster” on it.
Your guide raps on the door politely, and pauses for just enough time to hear what you can only conclude is a faint (or even imagined) acknowledgment from within. The door sweeps open creakily, and you are greeted by something more akin to a richly stocked library and laboratory than an office. A thin, aging man with dark hair and heavy eyebrows pores over a collection of books and papers on what might be a desk, if you could discern it from the sprawling mess covering every conceivable inch of it. His eyes raise to you more than his head, as though calculating the exact amount of effort required to observe you in full.
“Ladies, sir, welcome to the illustrious Pickman Academy. I am headmaster Lonnegan. To what business do I owe the event of your attendance?”
NOTES – ANNE READ THE INSCRIPTION, SPOKE TO LONNEGAN IN ABYSSAL,
Lonnegan’s fists hit the table with some surprising amount of force, judging from the echoing thump that rebounds around the room. “Stop everything!” he exclaims, very nonspecifically. He calmly addresses Gillet, “Mayor, I shouldn’t keep you any longer from your mayoral duties. Thank you for attending me this morning.” Gillet hesitates on his way out of the office, flashing you a look of sympathy before closing the door behind him. With the room left to only you and the Academy staff, his forceful tone reappears. “Who are you people, what are you doing here, and who sent you?”
- A chance for the party to charm their way out of things. If Lonnegan is pleased with the show they make to cover their tracks (after all, the only clue they know anything is the abyssal speaking Halfling).
- If completely charmed by the lie that they are insiders, and possibly even working for the Lord Earlin, he offers them a tour of the facility. The procedure is nearly complete, the boy is ready, they’re only waiting for the date to arrive and things will go ahead as planned.
- If they talk themselves OUT of it, but still manage to stay on his good side, he’ll resume the conversation they started.
- If insufficiently pleased by their attempts to talk their way out of it, he rings a bell in his office: “Before any of you can react, four secret passages (that honestly look pretty blatant once you get a moment to consider them; it would have taken nearly no effort at all to discover these you surmise) in the headmaster’s office spring open. Four young men, dressed exactly like Steisch emerge with confrontational expressions on their faces. Without much ceremony, they advance upon you as Lonnegan retreats into one of the passages, idly instructing the newcomers (as well as the still present Steisch) simply to “Get them.”
STUDENT/MONK LV 6
Strength: 14 (+2)
Dex: 18 (+4)
Int: 9 (-1)
Wis: 14 (+2)
Con: 10
Cha: 6 (-2)
HP: 40/40 (X5)
Expertise Die: 2D6
+4 to attack (1D6 +2)
Hit Dice 6x 1D8
Ki 3x Day
AC 16
Save DC +2
5edndwiki.wikidot.com/character-creation-maneuver-desc
Level 1: Expertise Your extensive training makes you deadly on the battlefield. You demonstrate your martial expertise in the way you move, strike, and dodge. This expertise is represented by maneuvers that you have mastered.
Benefit: You gain a single expertise die, a d4. You can spend an expertise die to use a maneuver that you know.
Maneuvers: At 1st level, you know two maneuvers, Flurry of Blows and Step of the Wind + 1 other. You gain an additional maneuver at 4th, 7th, and 10th level, which you choose from the monk's maneuver list.
Using Expertise Dice: You must be able to take actions to spend an expertise die. At the end of each of your turns, you regain all of your spent expertise dice. As you gain levels, the size of the die increases (from a d4 to a d6 for instance), and you gain additional dice as noted on the Monk table.
Saving Throws: Some of your maneuvers call for a saving throw. If a maneuver calls for a saving throw, the DC equals 10 + your Wisdom modifier + the save DC bonus noted on the Monk table.
Deadly Strike
You find where your opponent is most vulnerable and strike there.
Effect: When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can spend expertise dice to increase the attack's damage against that target. Roll all the expertise dice you spend, and add up their results. The damage gains a bonus equal to that total.
Flurry of Blows
You unleash a flurry of unarmed attacks, striking several foes at once or one foe multiple times.
Effect: When you use your action to make an unarmed melee attack, you can spend expertise dice to make additional unarmed attacks. Make one additional attack per die spent, and on a hit, roll the expertise die in place of your unarmed attack's damage die, and add no bonuses to the damage.
Glancing Blow
Even when you miss with an attack, you can manipulate your weapon to deliver a glancing blow.
Effect: When you miss a target with a melee weapon attack but your attack result is a 10 or higher, you can spend expertise dice to turn the miss into a glancing blow, which is not treated as a hit. Roll all the expertise dice you spend. The target takes damage equal to the highest die result alone. The damage is of the weapon's type, but it delivers no additional effect associated with the weapon or the attack.
Level 1: Ki Ki is an energy that flows through all living things. Your intense training and unmatched mental focus allow you to draw forth this energy and channel it into extraordinary effects.
Benefit: Once per day, you can use your ki. You gain an additional daily use of ki at 3rd, 6th, and 9th level.
You gain particular ki abilities as you gain levels. If a ki ability calls for a saving throw, the DC equals 10 + your Wisdom modifier + the save DC bonus noted on the Monk table.
Level 5: Wholeness of Body
As an action, you can expend a use of your ki to magically regain hit points equal to your monk level + your Wisdom modifier.
Level 1: Stunning Strike
When you hit a creature with an unarmed attack, you can expend a use of your ki to try to stun that creature. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until the end of your next turn. A creature that is a nonhumanoid or of a size larger than yours makes this saving throw with advantage.
Level 1: Mindful Defense You use intuition and your sense of your surroundings to protect yourself from harm. You move a moment before an enemy attacks or steel yourself before a spell affects you.
Benefit: While you are wearing no armor and are not using a shield, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier.
Level 1: Monastic Training Your difficult training placed great demands on you and allowed you to achieve an unmatched level of mastery in some skills.
Benefit: You gain training in two skills of your choice: Balance, Climb, Escape Artist, Listen, Sneak, Spot, or Tumble.
Level 1: Way of the Fist You have trained in the art of unarmed combat and excel at fighting without weapons.
Benefit: Your unarmed strike functions as a finesse weapon with which you have proficiency. It deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage.
Level 2: Undaunted Strike Your command of your ki has allowed you to attune your strikes so that they overcome your enemies' resistances.
Benefit: Your unarmed strike counts as being magical, adamantine, cold iron, and silver for the purposes of overcoming resistance.
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Curious about their ties to Julick. Friend of the family? Why not have a letter sent?
– Nonsense about Emma. The young men at the school are not permitted to consort with women. Many graduates go on to become respectful nobility and statesmen, and as such the company they keep is strictly regulated by school rules.
– Responds rather coldly to threats, but acquiesces, citing that they're an institution of learning and have no quarrel to make with any barbarians who might throw their weight around. If Julick is the man they want, Julick is the man they'll get.
– If they persist in diplomacy, Lonnegan has no qualms about them meeting with Julick, so long as it doesn't interfere with his studies. The Lord Earlin holds quite a lot of sway at the school, and wouldn't enjoy being disappointed. He asks them to wait in the atrium, considering Julick's class is over in just fifteen minutes time. They can find time to speak to him there.
ATTENDANT – STEISCH
AT THREAT
Lonnegan snaps his fingers at the attendant and dismissively waves his hand towards the door. “Find Julick Earlin, Mr. Dobson, and be swift about it. There's no telling what awful damage these brutes might convey upon us should we attempt to engage in the unlawful practice of minding our own god damned business.” The attendant wavers at the door for a moment, regarding you with a look of disgust as he slips into the hallway reluctantly before padding away with some haste down the corridor. Lonnegan breathes a sigh of disappointment in the direction of Gillet as his gaze returns to the chaos adorning his office furniture.
After some time, the door opens, and a young man enters. “You asked for me, sir?” he asks, while Lonnegan motions for the boy to come towards him. “Yes, Mr. Earlin – these brash visitors have been unpleasantly insistent upon your company. Do your superiors a favour and indulge them so we might get back to the civilized pursuits of academia?”
The man turns to you and with an expectant tone asks “May I help you, strangers?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Obviously not Julick. Banking that nobody has actually specifically described the young man, he has been replaced by a ringer. All answers to questions about Julick's life require clarification, except for the obvious
– Emma? Emma who, you'll have to be more specific please
– Oh yes, my father was very concerned about my upbringing
– Fidrick? I'm not sure who you mean.
– Starts to ask specific questions about why THEY'VE come to visit at every chance. Using the opportunity to interrogate them in front of Lonnegan.
– Refuses to return, insists he's fine, must return to his studies after he's satisfied he knows who they are, where they're from, why they're here, and leaves at Lonnegan's grace.
“I trust you're satisfied?” Lonnegan drawls after Julick leaves the room. LEAD OUT TO GILLET AT THE ATRIUM BELOW.
AT DIPLOMACY
Not long after re-arriving at the atrium, you find Gillet waiting there for you. Before you have a chance to speak to him, a sonorous bell tone rebounds across the grounds, and the previous murmuring sounds begin to wash away to a somewhat tired hustle of feet. Doors along the hallways begin to brush open, and the students all begin to push out into the hallways.
– Do they remember what he looks like?
– There are more than just a few men in the hallway that resemble the description of Earlin.
– None of them respond to the call of the name.
The hallway empties quickly, its population (exclusively young men) disappear behind doors that close quickly. As suddenly as the bustle started, it quiets again.
Gillet works his jaw nervously, an expression that looks like a distant visitor to his face.
“I think it might be time for an ale. I'm getting mighty thirsty.” His tone suggests something slightly more dire than his desire for ale.
IF THE FIGHT HAPPENS
A loss results in them waking up in the holding pen downstairs, across the hall from Julick.
The first thing you notice, apart from the ridiculous amount of pain you experience in your bodies, is the terrible smell. It’s as if somebody has decided to re-open a once condemned slaughterhouse at the bottom of a tainted well. The dimness to the room comes to you slowly, as though the unpleasant moisture that clings to seemingly everything obscures even the light. A stillness commands the air, which makes the ragged coughing emanating from a nearby patch of darkness that much more remarkable. The cough crawls through the air laboriously from outside the bars you’ve only just noticed.
A win presumably leads them down the secret passage.
The narrow entryway extends only a few feet from the now ruined office. Suddenly, a spiral staircase down winds sharply out of view. Distant steps pad off into silence in a regulated rhythm.
11/05/15
-Party barely managed diplomacy, but FUCK did you have to stretch for it. They recognized the Julick presented as an impostor, couldn't read Lonnegan, are genuinely confused as to the villain (Lonnegan or Earlin), but have found an ally in Gillet, who comes clean that he recognized the Julick character as an impersonator. We begin back in the bar/town hall, where Gillet's about to spill the beans.
Gillet drinks deep enough of his freshly poured draught of ale that you're tempted to call it breakfast by the time he puts the empty glass down. His eyes, a little shaken, and suddenly presenting to you with a vulnerability you've yet to see in Rotswold, purposefully and slowly ricochet between the three of you.
“I'll tell you all I know, but I can't guarantee there'll be anything too useful to it – depending on what you need.”
CONVERSATION GOALS:
– Doesn't know the nitty gritty of the school activities. Does remember from being a young man the last lord Earlin coming to the school, being told by his father that the Earlin's coming to Pickman's was a centuries old tradition. Was puzzled to learn that the last Earlin completed his studies and left the school within a little more than two months.
– Was honestly pretty suspicious of a guy who comes to town telling everybody he's from a country that doesn't exist, wearing a fake ass mustache and glasses... seriously, GLASSES? There aren't even optometrists yet! With a wife come master of state who obviously has trouble standing being in his presence and a “child” who is really closer to middle age than she is to infancy. OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE A RUSE.
– The troubles in the region are beyond his understanding as well. The only news they receive of the outside come from letter carriers from Stoneroot, requesting supplies and managing correspondence with the school.
– Remembers the day that Julick came to town, which was how he recognized the boy. Surrounded by students as far as the outskirts of town, and while they were all quite lively, there was a quiet dread to Julick.
– Curious what their plans are.
– If pressed, he slips the detail that there is a staff/supply entrance to the school. He's never been inside, but they take their own meals at the school mostly and get food delivered to them there. They'll never make it there in the day, though. The grounds are bare as Old Man Leon's head! They'll get spotted from a mile away.
Primary enemy for the school – THE ABOVE MONK. If they're smart, they never get confronted by more than two. Three gets risky, four if they REALLY FUCK THE DOG.
Entry room is locked, but DC 15 broken. The kitchen makes itself apparent, cold and empty, with student uniforms hanging above a large laundry cauldron. The only door out comes to a dining hall, which is much smaller than you'd assume a school would have. There are seats for only some twenty or so, less than they'd seen earlier in the morning.
Okay, there are a lot of options here.
– HEADMASTER'S OFFICE: Nothing unnatural around. If Leon persists in a search for secret passages, DC 15.
11/05/15
– ROOM INVESTIGATING: Determined by random die roll. Possibilities are classrooms (cartography, history, diplomacy, fencing), dispensary, gymnasium, dormitory, and a locked, weak door that leads downwards. Cracking the door runs the risk of alerting dormitory students.
Upon Arrival in the Basement Grounds
The lower you descend, the more you become certain that you've finally answered a question you never asked yourself; whether or not you would miss the taste of unused air. An almost imperceptible dim light crawls up the stairwell beneath you, bringing nothing with it but cold gusts of heavy smells. Bracing yourselves against the walls during your descent in the narrow stairwell, it becomes slowly evident that the walls are carved with patterns. At first they are shallow, seemingly faint as if worn through the passage of time and other hands rubbing along them, but the deeper you go the deeper they go, and it's not long before the gray stone, flickering in the brightening light reveals a landing corridor covered in deep etchings, and a clearly lit straight path ahead.
Dungeon Ahead Notes, following map.
– Guard Room: Nothing of note, except two student monks. Lightly conversing with each other at the time of entry. Heard from outside the door.
– Sacrificial Room: Opposed by a blood gutter leading to the darkness in the floor that stretches through the path, a room with an unpleasantly coloured altar is where the etched walls seem most pronounced. It also appears the cleanest, and even has a horrible echo to it, as though when they speak to each other, their voices are swallowed up, making it sound like they're speaking to each other through a long tunnel. The table evokes fear in Rinaldo, it looks familiar, and for a second you think you hear a knife being sharpened in the corner of the room.
Investigating reveals the presence of a long dagger, somewhat light to hold, focusing light, or reflecting light that doesn't appear to be there. (ADAMANTINE COATING)
– Lab: Orderly and utterly arcane, it's a total confusion to all the players. Book titles, equipment, runes, carved portions of stone, even portions of the wall with frames around it. Staffs, knives, little vials of what looks like blood on small wheeled tables. Almost archaeological. Not much to be found here but details. Lonnegan has been experimenting on the runes. He's as curious as he is dutiful. A locked room in the corner haunts the room.
– Armory: Barely even a weapons room. A line of two dozen quarterstaves, and no armor to be seen. More than its fair share of restraints though, collars, control poles, masks, chains, and a few gruesomely imaginative other contraptions. They mainly seem to revolve around restraint and bloodletting.
– Dungeon: The first thing you notice is the terrible smell. It’s as if somebody has decided to re-open a once condemned, still uncleaned slaughterhouse at the bottom of a tainted well. The dimness to the room comes to you slowly, as though the unpleasant moisture that clings to seemingly everything obscures even the light. A stillness commands the air, which makes the ragged coughing that suddenly emanates from a nearby patch of darkness that much more remarkable. The cough crawls through the air laboriously from inside the dungeon bars you’ve only just noticed.
“So,” a sickly voice addresses you from the darkness, “it's finally time.”
CHARACTER: Julick Earlin
With his words still echoing in the small chamber, the speaker shuffles across the ground on his hands and knees out of the corner, from a pile of what must be his bedding. The young man, obviously under some physical duress, somehow manages to retain his dignity, however, as he climbs the bars of his cell with his hands to a supported standing position. “Well then,” he says with a degree of defiance in his voice, “get on with it.”
– Suspicious at first, but eager for the help.
– Will not brook any talk of them coming from his father.
– Curious about Lonnegan's whereabouts.
– The cell is locked, there must be a key abouts, either with the guards or in Lonnegan's office? The laboratory?
We'll be putting the key in the location they haven't searched yet. IF they've been sloppy, we'll give it to the guards in the guardroom.
Will they go after Lonnegan? Unknown.
The night air stings at your skin as you expose yourself to the air again finally. Julick has followed you on unsteady feet, but quite determined to see it through to the end. It seems as though his will is keeping him on his feet alone, and doing a reasonable job of it. With the door of the academy behind you, the familiar face of Gillet pokes at you from around a corner, and he motions to you hurriedly. “It may not be a good idea for you to stay in town too long,” he whispers, helping Julick bear his weight. “We have a food shipment that's going out to Stoneroot in the morning, I think it might not be too difficult to convince Earl Robertson to send it out a few hours early.” He takes a look at Julick, whose presence seems to wane by the second. “I can see you're not leaving now, though, so we'd better get this fellow to the tavern.”
– The return to Gillet goes without much palaver. (as long as they go the way they came. The stairs upwards lead to a barracks) He suggests smuggling the quartet back to Stoneroot in a grain shipment.
FUCKING EXCISED. Julick Under Question
Laid down on the bar, Gillet fusses about with his pouring spouts, serving up some ale for the weak man. A few cusses and short shouts into the kitchen and the sounds from within indicate that Callum is in, and cooking up something for the group to eat. While obviously affected by malnutrition and possibly even some atrophy, Julick still manages to keep an alert look about him, maintaining eye contact and responding to questions easily. Some food and a good rest would do wonders for him, but he's obviously not going to be running any long distances or starting any spirited fights.
chance to question Julick about what's going on. What does he know?
– Discovered a library of journals, all young men, all of the Earlin line. Individually scattered of information, but when looked at all together compiled a strange pattern of young Earlin men being sent away to Pickman, only to return three months later with questionable mental faculties. Not many of the journal entries after returning were either coherent or specific to what had gone on at the school, but the effects were obvious. Each one would stop writing journals one year after their return.
– Obviously suspects that his father has something to do with it. Everything about the Pickman Academy was his father's idea. Not sure if it's really his father, or something else influencing his father. He hadn't exactly been acting strange, but all of this happened so suddenly, it was difficult to truly observe what was going on.
– Doesn't trust Lonnegan either. Everybody at the school, which as far as he can tell is actually a monastery in disguise, with only some twenty or thirty monks, possessed of some kind of slavish devotion, except for Lonnegan. He seems to be the only one that has any amount of control over himself. Asked a lot of questions about Stoneroot, did a lot of experiments, took a lot of blood, hair, even a tooth. Needed to figure something out, but wasn't very forthcoming.
– Unsure what the next move should be. Obviously need to get to Emma, but afterwards, they might need to leave the country, which will be difficult given how tense things are with neighbouring Sudkeen. The first step is to get back to Stoneroot in secret.
Gillet ceases his fussing finally and informs you that he's heading over to the Robertsons, to ask if Earl might be willing to send the food shipment a little early, as there's no telling when the school might discover the fact that Julick is missing. The townsfolk will most likely be left alone, seeing as how the school depends on the well being of the town to continue its existence, but he's quite confident that the first thing Lonnegan will do will be to come looking for the suspicious strangers who just happened to show up asking around after Julick Earlin the same day he mysteriously went missing. He urges you to stay inside while he leaves the Tavern, being sure to lock it once he's gone outside. Callum arrives from out the kitchen with some food and drink for the four of you, making sure that Julick gets a decent portion into him at a careful pace.
Gillet isn't away for long when the door unlocks and he re-enters with Earl Robertson in tow. Robertson looks as though he's been roused from sleep, but has a look of concern on his face. He informs you that Beth & Jack are back at the farm, putting the final touches on the shipment, making sure that there's a hidden compartment amongst the food for the four of you to hide. From the way everyone is talking, you get the impression that the sooner you act, the better.
Sure enough, Earl Robertson's ample size cart has more than enough room for the four of you to fit. They've created a pit in the center of the shipment, concealed from vision on all sides, and visibly absent with grain stacked on top of it. While helping Julick into the pit, Earl assures you that the journey shouldn't take too long, and you'll probably reach Stoneroot by the afternoon if you're not too long in leaving.
With the last of you snugly fitted into the improvised compartment, Jack and Earl begin stacking sacks of foodstuff onto a board they employ as a kind of lid – to prevent the weight of the grain from sitting too heavily on you – and in not much time at all, Gillet is whispering through the cracks that nobody will know you've been concealed in the shipment. Peering through the cracks, you see the look on the mayor's face is somewhat strained. He looks as though some very old and uncertain worries have dominated his thoughts, and though his voice still sounds buoyant and cheerful, there is a heaviness to his movements that belies a deep terror of what will come with the morning.
Gillet claps Earl Robertson on the back and walks away slowly into the night. You find yourselves wondering whether or not Rotswold will still be there when the sun sets next as Earl & Jack Robertson's cart begins to trundle down the roadway, its creaking wheels the only noise against the night apart from the fading shuffling steps of a man maybe consigned to death just for wanting to help his town, and some strangers out.
Julick, obviously exhausted, and now recovering with some food in him quickly passes to sleep, and the remaining three of you, while still in good health suddenly become aware of how achy you are, and how strangely comfortable the cart is. You could rest now, if you feel comfortable doing so.
The sounds of the marketplace rise up slowly as you rouse from a deep, intoxicating sleep. Hands are pulling sacks off the top of the cart, when the voice of Earl Robertson comes through “It's okay, we're here now. Nobody's around, you can come out now.” The afternoon light punctures your compartment gradually, as Jack and Earl lift the food from on top of the concealing board. “No trouble from the gate guards,” Earl continues, “they're used to us by now.” The board comes off the top, and the tall, grey world of Stoneroot reveals itself to you once more. Julick, moving with a little more confidence and strength, hauls himself from the cart and scans the area nervously. It appears that Earl has chosen a good location to unpack you, he regards you with some worry in his eyes. “Now, is there anything else Jack & I can do for you? We're a little determined to go back to Rotswold as soon as possible. We left things in a... difficult way when we departed.”
12/17/25
THEY FUCKED IT UP. WENT ROGUE, HID AROUND TOWN, RE-MET WITH THE ROBERTSONS, THEN GILLET WHO IS NOW MASSIVE DISTRUSTFUL OF THEM, AND RETURNED TO THE TAVERN, WHERE GILLET LEFT JULICK. HE OPENED THE DOOR, AND EXCLAIMED “OH NO.”
Upon opening the door further, Gillet reveals a sordid scene covered in the dark of the night. The tavern has been utterly ransacked, a flung open front door, tables upended, chairs strewn about, with smatterings of demolished cups and plates dotting the serving areas. The mood of this messy scene is cut in two with the presence of a serene figure sitting at a table in the middle of the ruined room. Lonnegan, oddly discoloured and visibly out of place from the scene regards you with a disdainful curiousity, and cuts to the
chase immediately.
"Of course it would be you. Where have you taken Julick, you interfering simpletons?"
- Does not seem to take damage, is not interested in a fight, but if they persist, he threatens the safety of the town.
- Is curious about why three non-entities, no ties to the family or such would show interest.
- adamantly refutes any claim of theirs to be with the lord.
- Left his laboratory intact, mocks their cluelessness.
- Refutes any claims that they don't have him, insinuating that no one would care enough... *pause* of course.
- Offers a deal, they have four days to produce the heir, or else Rotswold burns to the ground. Nobody would think twice about another town disappearing up in flames.
All too often an occurrence these days, sadly.
- When fed up, insinuates that without Julick in his possession, he'll have to go higher up the chain, and find who has instigated this incidence, and if it isn't resolved
It doesn't matter much, as it will all be over in less than a month.
He fades from view in a fairly spectacularly effortless manner, as though shrugging his way out of an argument that manifests as the ultimate assertion.
With Lonnegan gone, the tension in the tavern subsides in everyone but the mayor. Gillet's mood takes a turn towards panicked, & he claims a bell from the tavern counter and makes his way towards the door.
"I have to warn the people," Gillet mutters as he reaches an absent hand for the door handle that's been wrenched off the creaking, ajar door.
'Danger!' he yells, stepping outside and ringing up a clamor. 'Danger!' he bellows from the depths of his lungs, 'Danger! Everyone, gather your children and loved ones! Peril!' Your eyes fall on the still dark scene, a mess. An indecipherable mess. An indecipherable mess with no clue. No clue as to what may have happened.
– EXCISED
– DC 5: The scene appears to be completely absent of blood, but the signs of an unpleasant struggle are obviously there.
– DC 7: Some torn cloth, caught in only one location of the regularly haphazardly placed floorboards give you some idea where the struggle took place.
– DC 10: At first mistaken for the grain, soil, and sawdust endemic to the tavern, the struggle area is clotted with a familiarly blanched, fine, grey stone dust, and it's spread across the floor with footprints, and what you can only assume are drag marks leading out the door.
– DC 12: The mess in the rest of the bar looks hurried, with only furniture in obvious positions tipped over, and only the bric-a-brac on nearby flat surfaces within reach are scattered. Anything requiring additional effort to get to, such as the space behind the bar, or some of the corner booths, remain undisturbed. The mess was made in a hurry, and seems more recreational than villainous or intimidating.
The quiet town rouses outside, with Gillet's cries being now echoed by other voices. Even the livestock begin to cry and erupt in distress, with rooster cries signaling either a terrific dawn, or the remnants of an ugly night to follow.
The question is answered quickly by the signs of dim sunlight dotting the spaces between the lush forest, reminding each of you of the dim embers of fires burning out against an unyielding cold wind.
Day 3 (Rotswold burns at day 7) – Spent tracking, a rest at The Long Pull.
ANNE: Teddy's face smolders and smokes. It paces and rants incoherently about the importance of faith, dedication, duty, and promise. At length you are lectured about the importance of solidarity, and the fates of traitors and heathens are decided the moment they betray the gods.
JAYNE: There's something dark inside you. A heavy presence sits in your gut, and you're desperately trying to dig it out of you. The soil of your stomach gives way to your rocky hands as you shovel and dig deeper and deeper into yourself to pull the poison piece out. The closer you get, the less your form maintains its shape. Something in this poison is holding you together, and you're not sure what will happen when you remove it, but as each moment passes your desperation increases. The feeling of dread rises, you dig faster, and as you do pieces of you slough off into piles of earth on the floor.
RINALDO: You didn't want this. The prestige, the fame, the recognition, yes, but you didn't ask for the power, the responsibility. Every day is the same, you awake and worry, fear, plagued with self doubt and stress. Nobody else will make these decisions, though. Nobody else has the strength to sacrifice what must be sacrificed. Your hand falls to the book again, and a familiar voice from the door calls “It's almost time.”
Day 4 -
Day three and four saw the party track the hoofprints back to Stoneroot. It was remarkably easy to track the horses into town, but the tracks were lost amongst the traffic of the main gate. After a night's rest at THE LONG PULL (tavern), the party returned to the mansion of the Lord Earlin. Silas was convinced to bring Fidrick out to the party, where he let slip that he's actually a spy of some kind (they think rebellion) – he's currently setting up a meeting with his “contact” to be held at the evening of day 4 – The party has gone to “THE CHURCH” to look for Emma, who often volunteers there.
12/24/15
Stoneroot's church cuts a modest profile against the evening light. The flickering windows reveal activity within, but it remains as quiet, if not more, than the city surrounding it. The door stands at a not unwelcome half open, and a faint echo of gentle voices from within give you the feeling of reassurance.
CHURCH INSIDES
The simple stone floor immediately parts after a long, narrow entrance, sweeping into a deep three quarter circle that angles downwards in shallow steps. Each of these concentric steps houses a simple stone bench with no back, all converging on a center location that is home to a modest pulpit. A holy man of impressive age, one who carries himself with a quiet air of authority stands beside the pulpit, looking up at the iconography adorning the back wall of the church. (RELIGION CHECK – DC 25 – Nigh Unrecognizable. In the off chance they do, the only thing they can recall is more historical than religion. HISTORY CHECK – DC 25 – Recall the fact that the symbols on the wall were thought to be part of a long dead local group. No data on their membership, rites, or anything else remains extant. Merely some leftover icons – plinths, obelisks, ruined structures, etc.) He turns to regard the party with an amiable expression, and introduces himself.
“Greetings, seekers. I am Danyin, head of our order here. How may I be of service?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
Danyin is quite cagey about what the church is specifically dedicated to, but insists that there are many worshipers of many deities in Stoneroot, and their church was established as community organizing location, rather than anything religious. Some of the lesser worshiped deities sometimes borrow facilities here to conduct rites, or specific ceremonies, if they lack their own structures in town. The Lord Earlin is tolerant of religion, but everybody wonders whether he makes active efforts to stem the creation of new churches in town.
– quick to stress that the church takes care of many of the medical needs the dangerous work in the quarry sometimes requires.
– They feed the homeless, take care of the poor, and use their city connections to provide jobs for the able bodied.
– Recognizes the party's refugee status. Is working closely to find them accommodation and employment.
– Notices some injury, offers to help with only minimal donation.
– Fascinated with Anne's slavish devotion to Avaundra. Not a popular God in the region of late, what with how dangerous it has become to travel.
– Responds to questions about Emma by acknowledging that Emma comes by to volunteer from time to time. She's a lovely girl, wholesome, genuine, charitable, not at all like her sister.
– If they mention Julick, he's quick to inquire after the boy's health. Is concerned with the boy's schooling, recalls the past two Lords, and how changed they were by school. To go from being active participants in the community, engaged by the populace (some more wholesomely than others) and return to sequester themselves completely until taking their father's position to rule.
“Emma's here – she's currently attending to the sufferers of a horrible accident that rather literally shook the quarry a couple nights ago. We haven't seen damage like this in such a long time.”
Danyin gestures to a rather sizable doorway off to the side, behind the pulpit. With a smooth, repeated gesture with his hand, he leads you to the doors, moving gracefully for an elderly man.
The doors part as he reaches his hand for them, whether by magic or manners from an unseen party on the other side is a mystery, but before you're able to determine that, your attention is commanded by a grisly scene dominating an impressive hall.
The noises you mistook for gentle voices upon approach reveal themselves not be pensive chant and worship, but a discomfiting disarray of moans and cries. Excavators of every size, shape, age, and gender overflow makeshift cots, prop themselves up in alcoves, and even lie sprawled on the floor, murmuring and groaning. Two clerics, dressed in sombre gray attend what can only be a pile of corpses in an isolated corner of the hall. From their gestures you assume they are speaking with each other, but they wear masks across their faces, revealing only stern looks in their eyes.
The motionless but vocal are being looked to by several volunteers, bustling about with jugs of water, washcloths, bandages, slings, and splints. As you scan the volunteers for Emma's face something strange occurs to the three of you and you notice none of the injured, and not even the deceased, are marked with blood. Instead, your eyes fall to a rusty mud caking around wounds that should be bleeding. Dollops of it litter the floor, and as you begin to form an idea of what it is, a foot smears some of it in a hurried pace and you find yourself looking right at Emma. She wheels past you at a furious speed, not even casting an eye your way.
CONVERSATION TAG POINTS
– RESISTANT TO EVEN ENGAGING THEM, TOO BUSY TO CONSIDER ANYTHING ELSE
– IF THEY MENTION JULICK, HER ATTENTION DIVERTS, SHE PASSES OFF HER GOODS TO SOMEONE ELSE AND SUGGESTS THEY GO SOMEWHERE LESS HECTIC.
– She leads you to a smaller door that opens into an office, closing it behind you and removing the wrap keeping her hair tightly organized against her head. It's strange, because her hair is much longer than you remember it.
– IS CONCERNED ONLY FOR JULICK'S HEALTH, BUT HAS NO IDEA WHO THEY ARE.
– AFTER A FEW CONFUSED RESPONSES, ASKS THEM TO RECOUNT THEIR ENTIRE MEETING TOGETHER. WHEN THEY MENTION THE TAVERN, SHE'S CURIOUS IF IT'S THE LONG PULL. WHEN THEY SAY YES, SHE CHUCKLES BITTERLY AND SAYS THEY'VE BEEN TAKEN IN BY HER SISTER, TAMSIN. DISHONEST SORT, RUNS WITH A GANG AND MAKES MOST OF HER MONEY AND FUN BY SWINDLING PEOPLE IN TOWN. THEY DIDN'T GIVE HER ANY MONEY, DID THEY?
– WHEN THEY SAY SHE DIDN'T TAKE ANY MONEY, SHE BECOMES INCREASINGLY CONCERNED. WHAT DID SHE WANT? WHAT DID THEY DO?
– AT THE DETAIL THAT JULICK HAS GONE MISSING, SHE BECOMES INCREASINGLY ALARMED. HER FRIENDS! NONE OF THEM ARE DECENT FOLK! THEY INTIMIDATE, EXTORT, BRAWL FOR FUN, SHE SENT YOU AFTER HIM FOR A REASON. THEY DIDN'T WANT TO RESCUE JULICK, THEY WANTED TO RANSOM HIM.
For a brief moment, her crisis-mode hustle gives way to an expression of genuine concern and desperation. “Well I guess I'll just have to go get him my goddamn self,” she says, returning to a determined expression. Putting her head wrap back on, a curt knock at the door sounds and she hauls the door open.
Danyin stands at the threshold, with an envelope in his hand. “Emma my dear, Galin said you had come to the community office with our visitors. A message just arrived for them.” He passes Emma the envelope and bows slightly before setting off back into the cacophony of pain in the hall. Emma holds the door open with one hand and extends the other to you, the envelope in it.
“Noon. You have One Hour. - A.C.F.”
“Anything you want to tell me?” Emma asks.
“Didn't think so,” she dismisses and strides out of the room letting the door shut behind her.
It's the late morning on day Four of Seven.
EMMA GOES TO HEAD OFF HOME TO READY TO ATTEND TO HER SISTER. THE MEETING ONLY LASTS FOR AN HOUR. IF THEY FOLLOW EMMA, SHE GOES HOME AND PUTS ON SOME LEATHER ARMOUR, AND PREPARES TO APPROACH HER SISTER – HELD IN A NOT SO NICE NEIGHBOURHOOD, WITH CLOAKED SUSPICIOUS MEN TO A FORTIFIED HOUSE, RIGGED WITH FIRE TRAPS.
IF THEY DECIDE TO ATTEND THE MEETING WITH THE A.C.F., THE WOMAN THEY ENCOUNTER DEMANDS ONLY TO BE CALLED “A.” - SHE REFUSES TO CONFESS HER ALLEGIANCE, BUT SPEAKS IN AN ACCENT THAT LEON FINDS INCREDIBLY FAMILIAR. SHE OUTLINES THAT SHE REPRESENTS A GROUP THAT FEELS LIKE THE CONSIDERABLE POWER THAT STONEROOT YIELDS COULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE IN THE REGION, AS THE EARLIN FAMILY HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN STANDOFFISH AND ISOLATIONIST, RUNNING THEIR OWN GAME AGAINST A DOWNTRODDEN POPULACE.
12/31/15 – Noon of Day 4 of 7
The clot thickens.
The party has opted to attend the meeting with the Acamorian spies at the Long Pull. Emma has left their presence, while being informed that they would be waiting at the tavern for her presence. Meanwhile, Jayne plots to betray the party in order to supplicate the ambitions of Lonnegan to investigate the heroes and discover more about their pasts... something she is deathly afraid of.
A throng of a crowd populates The Long Pull with food and ale adorning each table plentifully. You pause in the doorway, the note directing you here sitting idle in your pocket when you realize there's no conceivable way for you to recognize the author of the note, and no easy way to poke around the bar looking for “Y'know, the rebellion!” without drawing a potentially lethal amount of attention to yourselves. Frozen in the door in indecision, a cloaked figure easily bumps through the three of you and mutters “Follow me,” without so much as waiting a moment for you to fall in step.
They lead you up the stairs to the rooms, unlock a door secluded from the rabble below and enter it, not shutting the door entirely and making no other sign to their intention.
The door silently swings open into a room much simpler than the one you found yourselves occupying last night. The drapes are pulled shut, and from the sunlight creeping in through the fabric patterned as it is, you're guessing the shutters to the window are hauled tight as well. The cloaked figure sits opposite the door, between the windows and views you with a mysterious intent, much of their expression hidden by the darkness of the room and the concealing cloak that still covers their head.
An atypical voice, calm in its tone, but not immediately identifiable as man or woman speaks with a foreign accent that pulls at Rinaldo's memory, tugging at the soft tissue around wounds barely closed, reminding you of harder times. You find yourself almost lost to these memories for a brief moment before you realize the figure has commanded you to introduce yourselves.
“You may call me A.C.” they reply. “A mutual friend of ours seems to think you might be interested in furthering our cause.”
CONVERSATION GOALS
A.C. IS A SPY FOR THE ACAMORIAN ARMY. DISSATISFIED WITH THEIR POLITICAL POWER ON THE MAINLAND OF THE BYSSIAN KINGDOM THEY HAVE SET THEIR SIGHTS ON GAINING POWER IN STONEROOT, A TOWN UNCOMMONLY WITHOUT ALLIES, DISTANT FROM OTHER FRIENDS, AND IN POSSESSION OF A GREAT DEAL OF RESOURCES FROM ITS QUARRY AND WORKING POPULATION.
– Cagey about the purposes of fueling rebellion. Really for the purposes of gaining power for Acamoros in Byssa, but couches designs under the rhetoric of fighting for Stoneroot's freedom from tyranny
– Is reluctant to accept the party's tales of demon worship. Confesses that they think it's impossible for a town managed by demon worshipers to have such a prosperous town. It's pious, with churches and all manner of clerical services. Demons would require more chaos, bloodshed, and demand sheer havoc. The town's a little too well managed to be controlled by demon worship.
– Questions about destabilizing the Lord's power center on disrupting stone production at the quarry. Pulling the purse strings tight means upsetting the population at large, an upset population means trouble for the guards, trouble for the guards means more opportunity for clandestine operations, and even the chance for more recruits and large scale riots and action, possibly even deserters from the guard.
– Doesn't give a rats ass about Emma, until informed that she's attached to Julick.
– When questioned about Julick, confesses that they thought to use the Earl's son as some kind of leverage and even sent some operatives to the Pickman academy several weeks ago, but they were never heard from, and investigations in the area revealed the people never heard, or saw any of the described operatives anywhere in Town.
– In the end needs to know whether or not the party is on board or not. If they are, the agent demands that they finish a job on the quarry that was bungled a couple nights ago. One of their agents had made their way into the quarry with a collection of explosive vials. They were concocted by an alchemist to react to air in an explosive manner after a certain amount of time. The accident that happened may have very well been some of the explosives, but the accident reports say no explosive noises were heard before the earth just started shaking. The fate of the explosives need to be retrieved, and if they're still intact, the operation needs to be complete in 2 days. An informant in the quarry, DICKENS will be their contact. If they are not A.C. Rises immediately and warns them to stay out of their way before leaving the room.
THE PARTY ESCHEWED PURSING EMMA FOR THE PURPOSES OF INVESTIGATING THE QUARRY. UPON ARRIVAL THERE, THEY PRESENTED THEMSELVES AS HEALERS, OPTING TO HELP THOSE STILL INJURED. AS THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED TWO NIGHTS AGO, THE INJURED WERE REMOVED TO THE CHURCH AND REQUESTED AN OFFICIAL WRIT. FIDRICK PROVIDED THE DOCUMENT, AND THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY THERE.
– THE DROP OFF CONTACT IS IN A NEARBY STATUE, CEASING TO ISSUE WATER.
– ANNE REQUESTED A LETTER BE SENT TO AVANDRAN TEMPLE FOR REINFORCEMENTS.
– IF THEY SUCCEED, AC PROMISED THEM INFO ABOUT JULICK & EMMA AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THEM DISAPPEARING.
– FIDRICK, STILL CONCERNED ABOUT EMMA. POOR KID DOESN'T KNOW THE REBELLION IS A FOREIGN STATE TAKEOVER.
You return to the common room of the tavern and see a few of the tables have opened up.
Loitering at the tables for some time, one of you brooding in a cup of ale, the other wandering down a possibly haunting alley of memories, and the last drawing pretty patterns on the table in the tobacco juice that failed to make it all the way to the spittoon. The remainder of the hour dwindles, and leaves you in the stone dust. Emma is nowhere to be seen.
She does not show.
Options for tracking her down are either Fidrick, who has no idea, or Danyin, who only roughly knows the neighbourhood in which she lives. He willingly directs them there, but when the residents of the neighbourhood are pressed about Emma, most of them ignore the party, and even the ones that speak to the party sardonically reply “Emma, eh? Which one?” before shaking their heads and moving off.
If the party employs the sketch of Emma they obtained, a passerby glances at the drawing you've produced and looks at it a little longer than most, slowing his walk to a stop. “You sure you're looking for Emma, strangers? Her twin sister Tamsin has a way of relieving foreigners of their currency while pretending to be somebody else. Won't give up the facts until they demonstrate they're specifically looking for Emma. If they cite her volunteering at the church, the name of the priest there, he's keen to help. “Well, I can't say that I think Tamsin has ever had the nerve to set foot in the church before, so if you say you've met Danyin, I believe you. Emma's a neighbour of mine. You'll find her home down the street over yonder. It's the one with the icon of Ilmater on the door.”
The squalid street rings in the worst aspects of Stoneroot to you. While growing accustomed to the life of burden the folk tied to the quarry live, the part of town that starts here appear to be the downtrodden, injured, and those left behind by the sort of work that crushes the life out of you. The streets are padded by the lame and poor, with many of the houses not looking like a much better idea than going without one. Surely as you were informed though, in the midst of it all, a relatively well kept, modest house with the tied wrists of Ilmater on the door attract your attention.
A knock on the door brings a late middle aged man with a scar from the top corner of his mouth through a sewn shut eye up into an obviously damaged skull pulls the door open and regards the party with suspicion.
“If you're here for soup,” the man begins “it won't be ready yet for another couple o' hours. Best come back later,” he says and awaits your response.
THIS IS FALLON. AFTER THE GRIEG TWINS WERE ORPHANED (MOTHER DEAD AT BIRTH, FATHER A CASUALTY OF THE QUARRY) HE TOOK UP CARE OF THEM, BEING THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF THEIR FATHER WITH AN IMPROPERLY TIED KNOT ON A BLOCK BEING HOISTED OUT OF THE WELL. THE BLOCK SWUNG OUT, CAUSING UNDUE STRAIN ON THE HOIST, BREAKING THE WOOD SUPPORTS WHICH SHATTERED INTO SPLINTERS AND KILLED ITS ATTENDANTS – COLIN GRIEG BEING ONE OF THEM. THESE DAYS HE STAYS WITH HIS ADOPTED DAUGHTER, EMMA, AND RUNS CHARITY WORK OUT OF THEIR HOUSE FOR THOSE UNABLE TO RECEIVE IT AT THE CHURCHES IN TOWN.
CONVERSATION GOALS
– When he learns that they're looking for Emma, he invites them in, asking if they'd like a cup of weak tea, explaining that Stoneroot's dealings with other regions of the kingdom are, at the best of time, cool, leaving most of the import of goods up to freelance traders, rather than official agreements.
– Has a tendency to ramble. She's a good girl, does her best with what she's been given, a sweetheart really, almost looks after him as much as he's tried to look after her.
– He's seen her today, yes. She came home in quite a huff from the church, rather early too. Went and put her leathers on, which come to think of it, she hasn't done since she got into some bad business when she was a littler younger. Shite, I hope that doesn't mean trouble.
– Has no clue where she could have gone unless the party confides that they were duped by Tamsin into 'rescuing' Julick. “OH BLOODY HELL,” he roars “That miserable twin of hers has been looking for any opportunity to dig her needly little fingers into them every chance she gets! No wonder she didn't say a word to me, because if I had known by Kelemvor that vicious brat of a lass would be begging for the merciful touch of death when I was done with her, why I'll...” he begins as he shoots to his feet and suddenly trails off and seems to lose his balance for a brief second. Placing a hand on his head, he takes a few deep breaths while holding the other out in front of himself, asking for a moment to collect himself. “I guess I'm not so young any more,” he plaintively confesses as he retakes his seat. “But this isn't something she should be facing alone you understand. Tamsin and her crew are thugs, to be sure, but they're the sort that prize being seen by each other as more vicious and heartless than the other, and it's pushed a few of them folks to do some things nobody comes back from.” The hand on his head slips down the scar on his face and settles on the table. “Neither victim nor doer, you see.”
– The guard won't help, many of them in the neighbourhood came up in Tamsin's gang, you know. They made it into the service because they got so good at beating dissent senseless. When gangs are fighting, it looks like hell on paper, but when one controls everything in the area, it looks like everything is right as rain, especially if the folks doing the reporting are neglecting to tell people about the habits of your old friends.
– If pressed, he'll give away the location of where Tamsin hangs out. “Now you three look like you can handle yourselves, but I've still got to warn you to be careful. Tamsin doesn't play games, and she won't hesitate to go for the kill just to teach anybody nearby a lesson. She didn't get to where she was by rolling over and crying when she didn't get what she wanted. There's awful in that girl.” He directs you through some nearby streets to a place not far away, cautioning you that it's likely to get dark soon, and that it won't be too friendly down that street when the sun comes down. With a final plea in his so far stern voice he asks “If she's okay, bring her home, please? It's not the best life for us here in Stoneroot, but we do the best we can, and we try to help the others out here too. I don't know what I'd do without her.”
01/05/16 – IT IS LATE AFTERNOON ON DAY 4 of 7 (1 of 3 for quarry)
My mama said.
The guard at the quarry look damn amused that you're marching back to them. While chuckling just a certain amount to make it clear that they think you're ridiculous, the one who took to demanding a writ the last time takes several steps up to you with an awful smug look concealing his teeth. He holds his hand out.
Without saying anything, he waves his free hand, and the nineteen other guards part very cordially. “Oh, please sir,” “come right in,” “My, my, an entourage,” and similar remarks run through the air as you approach the terrible staircase.
There is a hole in the city. Buildings all around it thrive off it, grow tall and crooked to you sight, but an immeasurable pit yawns up before you. High at the tips, you wonder for a moment if the depth is a result of the comparison, but as much as you struggle with the scope, your brains can't seem to deal.
A toady man and an entourage that holds close to him suddenly bar your way.
“I am Getcher, the foreman, and you will tell me why you should be here,” the twitchy imp demands.
GETCHER – CONVERSATION GOALS
– RESPONDING TO THE WRIT: Even, won't reveal anything. Knows they aren't on the team, but won't bust them.
– “Additional healers? Hm? Looks as though the Lord had a change of heart. Dickens?” A man at Getcher's side steps to the fore. “Would you be so kind to run to the Lord's manor and check on this order?” He hands the writ to Dickens. Dickens examines the writ for a moment and his face briefly emits an uncomfortable expression.
– OH GOD REMEMBER THE DIVINING. REMEMBER THE DIVINING.
– If they don't remember the Divining: “Go on, Dickens. I'll see to the new blood until you get back.”
– OH, DIVINERS? “Dickens, never mind. Come attend the healers. I have too much to attend to.”
So Dickens may or may not leave according to the party's actions. His disappearance leads them to being lost in the quarry tunnels, hands coming out for grapple checks constantly. Getcher being unconcerned.
His presence means alarm. He guides them to the “accident” point, quite nervous himself. Knows about them, A.C. Sent them, is unsure about the state of the explosives. Leads them down a tunnel and refuses to go any further. Points them to the site, says he'll meet back at the entrance.
WITHOUT DICKENS, THE PARTY FINDS NOTHING EXCEPT STRANGE ECHOS IN THE TUNNELS, AND THE HANDS... SO MANY HANDS.
WITH DICKENS, THEY FIND A LARGE STONE CLOSED FIST, CHARRED, GLASS IN THE WALLS AROUND IT, THE SMELL OF EXPLOSIVES. NO VIALS TO SPEAK OF. CRACKS IN THE WALLS, AND SO MUCH DUST.
What you find yourselves being led through appears to be some kind of mixture between a mine and a quarry. Most of the stone appears to have been hauled out of the large, spiral sloped hole you were confronted with when you first arrived. Tunnels shoot off into the earth and the rock with workers scurrying back and forth with tools, or hauling stone or carts along tracks with as much effort as their malnourished bodies allow.
Questions about the construction of the quarry are met with simple answers, how the beauty of Stoneroot's rock is irregular. Over time, to get to the good product, a series of tunnels are under construction. Stay close, the party is warned. It's very easy to get lost underground here, and sometimes people don't come home from the quarry.
Seemingly descending ever deeper, the workers thin out until you're sure you haven't seen one for several minutes. Your guide stops at a particularly ominous entrance of sorts and gestures with their hand.
DICKENS: “You should find what you're looking for down here. I won't go any deeper though. I've seen the men & women they pulled out of there. I'll meet you outside, after you're done.”
GETCHER: “Now, I'm a busy man, and I can't afford to lead you through the entire mine. You should be able to find your way from here.”
GETCHER: The tunnels continue to twist and turn and slope in both decline and incline, but with each step you feel as though you're inching closer and closer to the center of the world. Torches flicker and burn on the walls, but without any amount of confidence and you thank your lucky stars you've got a friend that can conjure light on a whim. It isn't long before you're sure you're completely lost, unsure which offshoots you've taken, or where you're supposed to be. Frustrated, you pause for a second, and in taking light of your surroundings, notice the walls of the tunnel are dotted with small, shallow protuberances that look uncannily like human hands. A cold breeze wafts up the tunnel from somewhere, and the whistling it brings with it carries the sounds of voices; distressed voices from somewhere far away and inhospitable. Any further exploration leads them back to the entryway. As you continue to move along, you're not sure if your minds are playing tricks on you, but you're almost positive some of the wall hands are moving. Suddenly you find yourselves back at the entrance, where you come face to face with a distressed looking Dickens.
Dickens: The tunnels continue to twist and turn and slope in both decline and incline, but with each step you feel as though you're inching closer and closer to the center of the world. Torches flicker and burn on the walls, but without any amount of confidence and you thank your lucky stars you've got a friend that can conjure light on a whim. It isn't long before you're sure you're completely lost, unsure which offshoots you've taken, or where you're supposed to be. Frustrated, you pause for a second, and in taking light of your surroundings, notice the walls of the tunnel are dotted with small, shallow protuberances that look uncannily like human hands. A few corners later, and you come across an unmistakable sight. The smoke and charring along the tunnel walls would be enough to inform you that you've found the right place, but the over-sized stone fist extruding from the walls makes it more than obvious.
A breeze from the crevices in the walls whistle faintly. You're not there for long in the presence of the fist before each of you start to have trouble breathing. Your efforts to do so make you feel paralyzed and lame, as though something has decided for you.
Fighting the laborious breathing, you realize that you probably have a few minutes to investigate the area.
– Along with the charring marks, melted and shattered glass litters the scene, some of it embedded in the walls
– The fist appears to be grabbing something, between its clenched fingers are strips of leather and cloth. Possibly a satchel, possibly clothing.
– No blood or other signs of injury, but that rusty coloured mud you saw at the church is on the ground here, with more of it leading away through the tunnels.
–
Returning to the spine of the quarry, you learn that night has fallen. Fidrick walks down the walkways towards you, a strained expression on his face. Once he gets close enough, and far enough away from any one else, he whispers to you “We are in trouble, and we have to go now before they realize.” He clutches at something in his coat and motions for you to follow him out of the quarry.
Fidrick & Silas may or may not meet them there. Depending on whether or not Dickens was dispatched.
Tamsin has held Julick for ransom. The whole realm is on lockdown. Nobody in, nobody out.
Fidrick or Dickens:
“The Lord is completely furious and inconsolable. He received a message this evening telling him that his son has been kidnapped, and three cutthroat freelancers named Anne, Jayne, & Rinaldo are holding him for ransom. The whole city has been closed, nobody coming in nor out until his son has been found and the perpetrators have been put to justice.”
FIDRICK - “Tell me you haven't been lying to me all along.”
DICKENS - “You shady opportunists,” Dickens says, breaking into a run. “Just wait until they hear about this.” he disappears into a nearby tunnel, and vanishes from sight.
The three have been framed for kidnapping by Tamsin, they might go bloody anywhere.
– Pursuit of Tamsin reveals nothing.
– Emma pursuit only results in the church lead to her neighbourhood.
IT IS NOW NIGHT ON DAY 4 of 7
– A.C. Is bewildered, and can't provide escape plans. Has to wash hands of the players as soon as possible. Only meets as a courtesy, they're a disaster by now.
– When questioned about Avandran presence, the message they receive back is “Anne? No. No. No. No. The woman once found a demon in a glove and pestered a whole church to exorcise it. She wasn't even satisfied that justice was done when she burned the OTHER glove of her own volition. Set fire to the stables during. Forgive us, but we're unmoved to attend her pleas.”
LET'S SEE WHAT HAAAAPAAAAAEEEAAAAANNNSSS!
01/14/16
- Anne heads to church, whilst there, occupying self with helping out the injured and lame, is met by Danyin, who passingly mentions that he's seen her
Druid friend. Last he saw, she was headed to the area of town where Emma lives. Provides the same info if Anne is interested.
- Leon, confronted by Fidrick & guards. Fidrick commands four of the guards to go chase after the LONG GONE Anne. Also instructs the remaining four to investigate
the quarry, looking for the third one. Once alone he confides several things to Leon:
- Circumstances have changed. His group can't have anything to do with them. It'll put too much heat on them.
- He won't be able to provide any more help while Julick is missing. Again, too much scrutiny to risk his position in the guard.
- Asks to be punched in the face. Is either impressed, or annoyed. Charges him with finding Julick. Also warns him to watch out. The increased security might make
his organization tense, and desperate. If quizzed about where to look, indicates Tamsin's area of town. This will hopefully bring the party back together again.
Anne opted to hide out at the church, confessing concern to Danyin that her companions were headed out to battle without her.
Rinaldo let Fidrick have an excuse for him to get away. He proceeded to Emma's part of town and got in a chase with a disguised Jayne. He also got his ass beat by an old woman. It was awesome.
Jayne found Fallon, and managed to convince him to let slip Tamsin's lair. She proceeded there, followed by Rinaldo un-beknownst to her.
01/21/16
Anne rousting Scene:
The door bolts open with a surprising force, proving even more surprising when the aged Danyin runs into the room. Pressing the door closed quietly, and holding it closed with his arms, he turns his face only a little to speak to you. “The city guard are here. They're asking about you. They're looking to speak to me about the matter, but I've informed the church staff that I'm 'unavailable' to anyone seeking me. I've been told they're here though, and I need to know what you want to do.”
Will she fight? There are four of them. Full plate.
AC: 18
A Heavy Crossbowman (1d10) (+2)
Two Longswordsmen (1d8) (+2)
One Trident (1d6) (+2) & Net Bearer (Net. A Large or smaller creature hit by a net is restrained until it is freed. A net has no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger. A creature can use its action to make a DC 10 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it, ending the effect and destroying the net.)
Will she hide? Good luck to her stealth, they get +2 to perception.
If she asks about options to run, or just runs, well... She just runs – Marshmallow can get well away from them. We'll give her this one, but next time out come the horse archers.
If she opts to hide, Danyin can only offer a passage from the church. Old and forgotten, the members of the church who enter it swear that it is haunted, ill meaning and desperate. Some say that it speaks to them. There's no telling where it might lead, but the only other way out is through the guards.
The passage indeed speaks. It whispers “It must not be freed at any cost,” but only if concentrated upon. We'll leave Anne there, traversing the dark, wet, copper coin smelling tunnel.
Jayne & Leon:
Jayne's going to have some trouble getting into the bawdy house. The doorman is going to try to get a name, try and recruit. She's a tall, intimidating motherfucker, so why not?
Any lip from Jayne makes this difficult.
“Whoa, Monolith. Hold up there. How come we've never seen you around here? What's your name?” *IS IT JAYNE?
“Ever Looking for work?”
“Nah, lady like you could help secure this neighbourhood. It's a better place than it looks, if you're important enough.” -a city guard wanders to the side of the doorman, who nods her in with a wink signaling recognition- “You here to get a job?”
Skeptical about coming to see the boss right away, has a good laugh. Invites in for a drink and tells her to go see “Quits” inside. He's at the bar.
Leon gets in with no bloody problem.
The doorman looks at you as you approach hesitantly, but as you get closer, something resembling recognition slowly molds his expression. He waves his hand warmly, welcoming you inside.
At the bar, Quits is mostly drinking behind it, responding to requests for other drinks with “Get it yourselves.”
Confronts Jayne with questions about where she's from, who she's worked for, what she's good at, but is REALLY touchy about questions about their operations.
JAYNE'S GLAMOUR MUST EXPIRE. SHE FLICKERS FOR A MOMENT BEFOREHAND.
Jayne can push as far as: Looking for work. Anything else, and Quits starts to get uneasy. Further movement in the club gets increasingly secure. All the doors are locked, and if by some measure of magic or trickery – that door is unlocked, a cadre of staff are inside.
Mentions of Julick come to head shaking, talk of nobody knowing what you're talking about. You'd better leave. It's a rough place.
Again, Leon blends right in.
Possible episode work:
– If Jayne goes IN for work, she's told to go to the church, and find a volunteer there who's been making their lives difficult. Her name is Emma. Haven't been able to find her, for some reason. Just check in on her whereabouts. If Jayne lets go that she already knows, Quits gets his back up. Why the hell should you already know about Emma?
– If she creates a distraction, panic ensues, gets a chance to investigate.
– Neither Tamsin/Emma is Present
– Julick is present. Will be killed if disaster affects the tavern.
– ON THE OFF HAND THAT SOMEHOW THEY CONVINCE TO GET TO JULICK, LET THEM DO IT. GETTING AWAY WITH JULICK, IF TOGETHER, LEADS TO A CONFRONTATION WITH THE GUARD. IF SEPARATE, OH BOY OH BOY.
Further information on the bar has an upstairs, many bedrooms and men and women of the night, with a locked door (guard and all). It goes to Tamsin's office, which if admitted to looks all around incredibly messy.
Julick is held in the basement, intensely guarded by a couple of the city guard, as well as a reluctant teenage assassin, instructed to kill him if anybody approaches without permission. He may be convinced.
If he is not entirely convinced, Emma sprints out of the shadows and stabs him in the neck just as soon as Julick's throat is slit.
He is dying. She is desperate.
01/28/16
So, here we go, here we go. Time to roll out the bandits and see what the heroes have in store.
Quits, still keeping his distance, and eyeing you with an evaluating expression begins, “Our collective has done fairly well amongst our competitors in Stoneroot, but that doesn't mean that we operate with total autonomy. There's been a good deal of diplomacy we've conducted with the authorities in the area, I believe you passed by the quartermaster for the district as you walked in the door, but we're still looking for the resolution to a couple of conflicts that, despite our best interests, dog our moves to higher and more profitable affairs. We have a couple of opportunities for a sort like you – it depends what you'd like to do. Are you more into sales, diplomacy, real estate, or asset assessment?
RUNDOWN:
– Sales is about arms moving to the Acamorian outfit. “You'll accompany a 'troupe' of salespeople to The Long Pull. They've got a customer there looking for an impressive supply of inexpensive, well made weapons. Access to the quartermaster has, for some time, allowed us to line our stores with some of the most impressive weaponry to grace the streets of Stoneroot. Some of it is even army grade, and most of our boys 'n girls have specific preferences about what kind of hurt they like to administer. We figure it's a good sale.
– Diplomacy is about letter dropping to several areas of town. One of these letters will be the ransom demands. The others are missives about threatening guard families and some about payoffs from local shopkeepers. The ransom note reads as follows: “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb of Gorfinax to the Quarry tomorrow night. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” The note, predictably, is forged with the signatures of Anne, Jayne, and Rinaldo.
– Real Estate is arson. “We've got some people who have been unusually cumbersome to us lately. One of them works at The Church. It wouldn't be the first time it was burned down, the people there are like bad mimics, keeps opening their mouths at exactly the wrong time and getting themselves hurt for it. Doesn't seem to thin out the population though. There's a woman who volunteers there that needs to get the message that we aren't to be trifled with. Make it messy.”
– Asset assessment is, luckily enough, guard duty. “We've got a VIP in the house tonight. A real mover and a shaker in high society in Stoneroot circles. He's not going to be staying with us for long, and we're going to need a couple of staffers to make sure that he's properly cared and accounted for while he avails himself to our services. Do you think you're up to the task?”
BEFORE ANY THING HAPPENS AFTER HER CHOICE THOUGH, QUITS BEGINS “Oh, before we get started though, you said that you had something you needed to warn Tamsin about. I don't need to know your story, or where you heard her name, it's pretty much on all the street signs around this part of town, but not anybody gets to see the boss when they like. Even if they did, she's a bit busy at the moment setting some opportunities up, but we'd feel much better, as an organization, if you'd own up to the information right now. I can get it to her just fine, and if it affects her, it affects the all of us. What's the score?”
If met with resistance, Quits tries to wheedle some info out of her. He runs a charisma of 16 (+3). If she resists, no dice, she has to admit some real information or submit a lie. He gets +3 to Insight checks as well. Lies get her taken down to the basement and tied up next to Julick. Checks get her what she needs to get her job done.
Quits is cagey, but not totally secretive.
On a good run, he asks “What's the boy's name, downstairs? He looks like a tawdry piece, something like a Lionel, or a Leon. Ahhh, doesn't matter, they all take new names anyways when they get round to new places. I assume he'll be under our care from now on out? He's got a good gimmick going – fellow like him looking like he actually knows how to use those morningstars, I imagine if he ever swung them he'd hit nothing except his own self-worth. Any case, don't you worry, we'll make sure he's well looked to. Let us know if there's anything special he needs to make things more painless around here.”
Jayne is invariably paired up with 'Blister'
“You're going to be working with Blister tonight, don't be off put, she doesn't have the nickname due to any particular disfigurement or feature. Rather that even in the best of moods she's a pain in the ass and when she explodes, it gets messy and nobody in the room likes to see it. She'll make sure you're taken care of.”
BLISTER
HP: 33/33 +2 wis
ATK/DMG: + 1 (1D8 RAPIER)
AC: 16 (STUDDED LEATHER +4 DEX)
3D6 SNEAK ATTACK (AGAINST ADVANTAGE HITS)
DASH, DISENGAGE, HIDE EACH TURN AS BONUS (HIDE +4)
ASSASIN: ADV. ON ATTACK ROLLS ON NON-TURN TAKEN COMBATANTS. ANY HITS AGAINST SUPRISE = CRIT.
UNCANNY DODGE = VISIBLE ATTACKERS DO ½ DAMAGE.
We'll have to improvise from there.
As for Leon, we're going to have to improvise entirely. After Jayne leaves, some staff come to set him up with quarters, we'll give him an opportunity to talk to some of the other boys and girls.
The nice ones are Folly and Hope, boy and girl respectively. They are aware of the “VIP” in the basement, but are also quite aware that there is next to no way to reach them. The room in which Leon is put (with Folly and Hope) has a window that overlooks a nearby rooftop.
It's “Dire-Ferret” close.
– If they start a fight, The some 30 people in the tavern go at her as hard as they can (2d6 sneak attacks). Just start inventing dice rolls. Many of them disappear up stairs, etc.
– If she creates a distraction, panic ensues, gets a chance to investigate.
– Neither Tamsin/Emma is Present
– Julick is present. Will be killed if disaster affects the tavern.
– ON THE OFF HAND THAT SOMEHOW THEY CONVINCE TO GET TO JULICK, LET THEM DO IT. GETTING AWAY WITH JULICK, IF TOGETHER, LEADS TO A CONFRONTATION WITH THE GUARD. IF SEPARATE, OH BOY OH BOY.
Further information on the bar has an upstairs, many bedrooms and men and women of the night, with a locked door (guard and all). It goes to Tamsin's office, which if admitted to looks all around incredibly messy.
Julick is held in the basement, intensely guarded by a couple of the city guard, as well as a reluctant teenage assassin, instructed to kill him if anybody approaches without permission. He may be convinced.
If he is not entirely convinced, Emma sprints out of the shadows and stabs him in the neck just as soon as Julick's throat is slit.
He is dying. She is desperate.
02/04/16
Oh my god they did it. Rinaldo, having realized that he was being sold into sex slavery turned a career of miserable rolls around in the blink of an eye. It was downright incredible.
Anne first?
Anne is making her way to Marshmallow. Marshmallow is tracking down Leon. Leon is in some serious fucking trouble.
“Oh... shit,” Blister whispers, staring down at the mess of what used to be Jayne. “Cullen!” she calls to the burly fellow at the door. “Ring the bell.” Taking positions up against you, the presence of lethally pointy things is suddenly made clear to you through tactile information in what you'd consider to be dangerously vulnerable places. Cullen nods and reaches to the side of the front door and swings the clapper in a vigorous manner. As you find yourself swiftly relieved of your morning stars, the crowd shifts, with the pure patrons and the people who work the house gradually separate from each other, the group of the latter gradually sifting the former to the exit. At the sound of the bell, Quits appears at the balustrade and looks curiously at the mess below. He echoes Blister's exclamation and surveys the scene soberly as one of the crowd, familiar to him, approaches and begins to recount the events to him piece by piece.
Once silent, he eyes Blister, urging her to search you thoroughly and then bring you upstairs. “Oil, Graves, accompany her. The rest of you clean this mess up.”
Your Morningstars, & Hand Axes are taken, and your mustache is badly fussed with.
Led upstairs to a room obviously designed for better times, the room is quickly cleared out of its inhabitants (Allana) and you find yourself being chained tightly to a rather sturdy chair.
It's a reasonably lavish room, compared to the décor you were exposed to downstairs. You'd be rather impressed with the quality of the furnishings if your attention weren't entirely dominated by the painful looking instruments being carried into the room by the young man you saw Jayne colluding with. He sits decently out of reach from you, and regards you with more than just a dash of disdain.
“Rinaldo? Is that right? One of my associates heard you rather loudly exclaim downstairs that you wanted everybody to... 'do the Rinaldo.' Is that you then, Rinaldo?”
CONVERSATION GOALS
– Obviously trying to discern whether or not he's 'THE' Rinaldo they've conveniently framed for kidnapping. Small amounts of torture employed if they get the feeling he's lying, like about his identity.
– “Well tsk, tsk, tsk Rinaldo, don't you know it's dangerous for characters of ill repute like you to stick around town these days? Rumour has it that you've been complicit in the dastardly act of kidnapping Lord Earlin's son. Upstanding citizens like us here might have to do something about that. The one you turned into floor paint, that must have been Jayne, right? Where's the little one?”
– “So what were you planning, because it doesn't seem to have gone very well. One of you is about to be fed into a hole in the ground in several pieces, the other one is about six inches away from what I can only imagine is a very threatening, burning hot surgical instrument, and the third one is at mass? What were you planning on doing?”
– Is a little incredulous that the whole plan came together like it did. Will press for more questions, but when he's convinced that Rinaldo isn't much more than pretty muscle, he's done.
Quits wanders to the door and motions for Blister to come outside for a moment.
Quits exits the door and confers with Blister in front of the girls. “I'm not comfortable offing him here without the boss' say-so. The PLAN was that we'd have some patsies to pin this whole affair on and get away clean, much, MUCH CLEANER than the floor downstairs currently is. It'd give us a little bit of room if we gave him to one of our friends at the city guard after the fact, but if we kill him dead, we lose him for good. Keep him separate from the other one, do your best to keep him upstairs completely I figure. I don't think the boss is going to be that long. Maybe get the girls to get any of the things they need out of that room. Have Oil & Graves watch the door, I have too much shit to deal with tonight.” He wanders to the top of the stairs and disgustedly calls downstairs inquiring about the condition of the “mess on the floor.” The voices that pile up from the common room are tinged by the tone of people who are totally fed up with something unexpected.
Blister turns to Allana and indicates that they're going to need the bedroom for the night, she gruffly instructs that you're going to have to bed in another one of the rooms, which shouldn't be too much of a problem considering that most of the business appears to have left for the night while 'renovations' are underway. “If you need anything, you'd better go get it now, because big things are happening over the next couple nights and the options look like gettin out of the way or gettin stepped on.”
*Any dialog between Allana & Rinaldo*
A sound drifts up from the alley through the small window that sounds like a portly man giggling in strange, short breaths. You're pretty sure he takes a moment to hiss, though in a weirdly playful way rather than a vicious way.
Looking out the window and down, an uncommonly large ferret has clung to the side of the building, and stares at you in the eyes with a curious expression on its face. You notice it is wearing what looks like a child's saddle. It purrs.
Is Anne tracking to the quarry? Should we murder Fidrick? Might be something that the ACF do to protect themselves. They don't really give a damn about life, they're just trying to create a situation & maybe feel that Fidrick's involvement with the trio of kidnappers is way too dangerous for them to deal with. Maybe they feel like they could off the head of the guard and blame it on the trio again, all the ills in town coming from the same poisoned well?
Upon arriving at the quarry, you notice an unusually vibrant crowd. There are lots of talk of alarm, and people telling each other that 'he was a good man, looked to his station with honour and integrity. Not an ounce of evil in the man, no sir. A real pleasure to deal with. He'll be sorely missed.'
Anne may push through the crowd, or ask somebody nearby what happened.
With a few steps and a couple careful pushes, you step to the front of the crowd and see Fidrick, throat slashed, lying on the stone roadway. His face appears unsurprised, but disappointed, tinged with sadness and a hurt that runs much deeper than the wound along his throat.
“Cap'n of the City Guard's been killed. Nobody's quite sure what happened, but somebody seen a fella punch him some time earlier. Right in the face, and ran off that way. Nobody thought much of it, seeing as how it didn't look so much a punch as one quarter of an embrace. Still, that vagabond run off that way (he points in a direction) and Fidrick sits himself down here. Next time some of his guard come to check on him, he's cut ear to ear, not moved an inch but dead as dirt.”
upon approaching the church, the odour of smoke lingers in the air
Bullet points for 2/11/16
- Church has been set ablaze. The place is crawling with guards, but Danyin lingers on the edge, an ashen piece of torn up paper clutched in his hands. The note appears to be from “The Stonerotten,” Tamsin’s gang. Danyin knows this, and relays this information to the PCs. The gist of the note is to discourage anyone from messing around in their business. The wording of the note is particularly personal, as though directed at a very specific person. “I know you’re going to want to do something, but you’d better remember that just because we don’t want to hurt you, doesn’t mean we won’t hurt plenty people you know. How’s dear old dad, by the way? – The Stonerotten” – Danyin can’t recall seeing any suspicious characters. Upon entering the main room of worship, some very strategic fires had been set, not to do any real damage, but enough to clear the place out and give people some breathing problems. The Church will be fine, but most of tomorrow will wind up cleaning it of burnt pews, ashen tapestries, and some other superficial damages. It was a statement, not an attempt to destroy. The dagger is unaccounted for. Only a straight up natural 20 will find it. Each of them get one try to find it, and if not, Danyin assures them that he’ll be looking for it the next day.
- Danyin is worried about Fallon. He’s a kind man who ministers to the poor when staff from The Church are unable to attend to the poor. Isn’t completely sure that Tamsin would go so far as to hurt her foster father in order to intimidate Emma, but wouldn’t put absolutely anything past that girl. On the other hand, he muses, it could just be a trap to draw Emma’s attention while she works other angles. Emma has not been back to the church since she disappeared earlier that night. There’s no clue to her whereabouts.
- A trip to the Long Pull in an attempt to speak to the revolutionaries (or to rest) involves them stumbling into an arms deal with the Stonerotten. If they persist into the meeting, Blister is currently dealing with AC. Weaponry all over the room. If they play it bogart, a contingent of the Stonerotten march out the front door, not noticing them, with what looks like a lot of weapons in tow. Blister carries a hefty cash purse, with a very smug expression on her face. (There are FIVE of them).
- A trip to the Lord’s mansion gets them arrested and thrown in the dungeon. Lonnegan appears to interrogate them.
- If they decide to rest at the inn (or elsewhere), the buzz the next day is delivered by Silas. He’s extremely nervous, as the one guardsman in town seen the most with them had his throat slit last night. He’s also privy to some of the details. In contrast to gang and small time criminal slaying, Fidrick’s death was nearly perfect. He was unalarmed, suggesting he was familiar with his killer (or taken completely unawares), they’re certain the knife used in the attack was not only well sharpened, but rather small, smaller even than a short sword. His body was not marred by any other marks either, there was no fight, the only wound was the killing blow. Nothing else was found on the body – if Silas had any better ideas, he’d still be uncertain that it wasn’t a professional assassination, but can’t figure why someone would want the head of the guard killed like that.
- He’s also in possession of a copy of the ransom note, delivered late last night, still wary that it bears the names of Anne, Jayne & Rinaldo, citing that the only reason he came to talk to them is that he can’t possibly believer that Rinaldo is responsible for such horrific acts. The note reads as follows “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb and Fang of Gorfinax and ten thousand gold pieces to the Quarry tomorrow night. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” – It will be day 5 of 7 for the fate of Rotswold.
- Approaching the gang reveals a completely deserted bar. The Twist is empty.
- AC is also not here too. Nobody at the Long Pull recalls renting a room to the character they describe.
- Attempts to enter the quarry are rebuffed by guards. Sneaking in is a possibility, to lie in wait for the big deal.
- Danyin still cannot find the Fang of Gorfinax. The day grows long, and as evening approaches, their time runs short.
- Fallon, roughed up a little bit, asked questions about where Emma is. Nobody seems to know, but they weren't interested in hurting him too badly.
2/16/16
Allana has returned to The Twist. Greeted by Cullen, she's been invited to settle down for the evening.
Rinaldo & Anne are hiding outside of the Lord's manor, attempting to get the attention of Silas, perhaps their only friend left in the city.
THE TWIST
You aren't inside your room for long before you hear the door shut loudly downstairs, and voices murmuring. Their volume is well controlled & quiet, but beyond it you sense a tension in the words being spoken.
Upon entry into the upper landing, you see Quits & Tamsin speaking at the bottom of the stairs. Upon noticing you there, they go quiet, not regarding you with any particular malice that you can read, but there's a healthy dose of curiousity in their expressions.
“Allana,” Tamsin begins, cordial as ever, “We weren't sure if you were coming back or not. Care to tell us what happened to you last night? Quits has been very concerned.”
Quits eyes you with something resembling a pleading look, with just a hint of warning.
CONVERSATION GOALS
Tamsin is especially curious about Allana's adventures. The well being of the remaining duo are absolutely instrumental to her plan, and if anything were to happen to them, it would HAVE to be secret.
– Where has she been?
– Where is the troublemaker from last night?
– What are his intentions?
– What about the halfling? Have you seen the halfling?
– Any idea what they're planning on doing?
– Cagey about details involving the son. He's not on the premises at the moment, they've moved him to the quarry location, ready to set up for tonight's “exchange.”
– Doesn't mind the idea of her shadowing Rinaldo & Anne, but warns her that she's likely going to want to be as far away from them as possible by the time nightfall comes. Things aren't going to be very friendly for them.
– Is curious about Allana's intentions. She's not very dangerous, so Tamsin isn't too concerned with her walking away for any reason other than she's worth good money. That's about to be taken care of though, presumably.
“Well,” Quits begins, “perhaps we should head to the office, boss. Make any final adjustments for the project tonight.”
Tamsin nods, still eyeing you with a curious intensity that doesn't so much come across as dangerous, but assessing, as though there's some untapped worth to you that she just hasn't figured out how to access. The look feels as though it lingers on you even after she passes out of sight, not leaving you alarmed, but certainly feeling a weight of wariness.
(attempts to listen in on the conversation in the office reveal a little bit of information. “Our on site agents are making sure the space is clear, giving us enough time to properly set up. If we're here, they should be entering this way. There isn't any short way around to reach us, so if they try anything we have more than enough time to cut the supports. It'll give us some time to escape while they preoccupy themselves trying to stop him from falling. Nobody will be able to touch us, boss. We can keep our people here, here, and here. We'll get plenty of coverage from them. When we finish, we all just disappear into the woodwork, head to ground for a little while, and meet up in a week or two, we'll have some of the small ones run some info gathering for us, see how cool things are.”
The office has a map in it, with locations marked on what appears to be an assessor's map of the quarry.
Anne & Rinaldo
Any approach to the mansion by Rinaldo results in the guard attempting to make an arrest. They continue to come out of the woodwork if the gang tries to face them down. Groups of four appear every two rounds or so. They are not attempting to kill, as they still don't know where Julick's being held. They need that info.
Silas is, understandably, wary of being seen in front of the manor with the two most wanted “criminals” in Stoneroot, but his affection for Rinaldo compels him to at least lay all of what he knows on the counter. He consents to meeting the party at The Long Pull to discuss things there.
Looking especially nervous, Silas appears in the doorway. He skittishly surveys the room, being so distracted that you see his gaze pass you over more than once. On the third time his look crosses your presence he starts for a moment, as though you had just appeared magically in front of him. Still warily, he marches over to you, checking over his shoulder with a regularity approaching uncontrollable tic. He sits across from you and begins “I don't know how much help I can be to you, because things have gone completely upended of late, and I honestly have no idea how much of it you're responsible for, and how much of it is hearsay. I just can't believe that you'd,” he takes a moment here to deliberately engage Rinaldo in eye contact, “be the ones who killed Fidrick. I've heard some awful things about you this past night, but I can't bring myself to believe it all.”
– the buzz is delivered by Silas. He’s extremely nervous, as the one guardsman in town seen the most with them had his throat slit last night. He’s also privy to some of the details. In contrast to gang and small time criminal slaying, Fidrick’s death was nearly perfect. He was unalarmed, suggesting he was familiar with his killer (or taken completely unawares), they’re certain the knife used in the attack was not only well sharpened, but rather small, smaller even than a short sword. His body was not marred by any other marks either, there was no fight, the only wound was the killing blow. Nothing else was found on the body
– if Silas had any better ideas, he’d still be uncertain that it wasn’t a professional assassination, but can’t figure why someone would want the head of the guard killed like that. He’s also in possession of a copy of the ransom note, delivered late last night, still wary that it bears the names of Anne, Jayne & Rinaldo, citing that the only reason he came to talk to them is that he can’t possibly believer that Rinaldo is responsible for such horrific acts. The note reads as follows “Earlin, we're perfectly willing to return your son to you as long as you meet our demands. You're to bring the Orb and Fang of Gorfinax and ten thousand gold pieces to the Quarry tomorrow night (tonight) at midnight. For your comfort, feel free to bring as many as twenty men, if you feel like you need them. Your son's life hangs in the balance. Do not disappoint us.” – It is day 5 of 7 for the fate of Rotswold.
While seated at the table, saying your goodbyes, the door swings wide open and a face very unwelcome to you makes its way into the barroom. Blister walks into the room, and a swift pang of panic makes its way into the front of your head before you notice that she isn't especially interested in her surroundings. She isn't scanning faces, looking at the patrons, or even looking vaguely distracted by anything around her. Directly behind her, four more rough looking characters make their way into the bar and head straight for the stairs. One of them carries a bundle of sorts, and you're 100% certain that its contents are weapons – more weapons than they could possibly use themselves. Without dawdling for even a split second, the party is up the stairs and, judging by the sound, inside one of the rooms without even speaking to the barkeep.
Listening at the door reveals a familiar voice to Leon. He can make out Blister's voice, discussing matters of “the merchandise,” throwing numbers out “five hundred of these, certainly at ten apiece, we'd be capable of delivering as early as this evening. They're all the same manufacturer, we have a few connections in the city armed forces. It gives us some supply opportunities you won't find with our competitors.” “These are excellent,” a familiar voice with a very specific accent responds. “We had not hoped to find such readily available supplies on site. Ever since the city gates have been closed, my options have significantly reduced, you understand.” “Yes, of course,” Blister responds, “but it's at times like these where good business relationships ought to be forged. Sure, greedier, more opportunistic business people might take this situation as free license to charge whatever they like, but we prefer to start our dealings more honestly – better for you to come back to us if you ever need anything else in the future, such as any muscle, maps of the outlying area, say architectural information, info, anything... you might need?” She's not doing a very good job of disguising the fact that she's fishing. “Oh, if we need anything, we'll be sure that you attend to us, most definitely,” the familiar accent retorts. “For the moment though, I think we'll settle on this transaction by itself. You'll take payment with delivery, of course.” “That should do just fine. We'll just shake on it, and I'll go about making the arrangements. Where would you like delivery to be made?” “The square at Light's Landing should do. Load them into the back of a cart, keep them hidden from sight, and I'll have one of my associates there with the appropriate funds.” “Excellent,” there's a shuffling inside the room as people previously at rest begin to rouse “it's an absolute pleasure doing business with you.”
FUTURE BUSINESS.
Attending the square at Light's Landing, it becomes obvious right away when the Stonerotten arrive on the scene. While making all the efforts to present a professional exterior, most of their “staff” are pretty distinguishable from the mostly middle to high class characters that normally populate the area. The exchange happens without incident, an apparently heavy chest making its way into the hands of the cart holders, who sulk off into the evening with their prize. The people now taking charge of the cart behave a little more strangely. They sit in place for fifteen minutes, when without any vocal exchange are approached by ten men who promptly each remove a weapon from the cart and walk off into the city. The cart then starts, and begins to move through the city. The continues to happen.
WHAT A BUNCH OF TURDS.
THE LIBRARY
The stone, contrary to all the other structures in the city, looks dark and slick. You aren't sure if this is a trick of contrast to the dry, gray monotony of every brick on every street you've ever seen, but something smooth and somewhat shiny suddenly looks dangerous to you. The people on the streets shy away from the Library as much as possible, even avoiding eye contact with it. When the two of your approach the stairway leading to it, much of the traffic around slows, looking at you intently, with talk and whisper replacing the sound of feet and hooves hitting the road.
At first, the door appears locked, but budges slightly on your last try. A nervous & skittering voice peals from within at the heavy sound of the door shaving a layer of wood off its bottom. A sudden puddle of oil appears at the base of the door, and the voice encourages “Move it back and forth! You have to move it back and forth, now!”
The swollen groan of the door dissipates into a choked moan with a few strokes of the arc it opens by, and as if it were never stuck before, it flies open revealing a small and diminished man behind a cowl, diverting his eyes & blinking in a hesitant manner at the daylight.
“Yes, yes, yes. Excuse me, I'm sorry, our visitations aren't what they used to be, it's been a hard, uh, I am Bunks, I oversee these, uh, books, it's never a trouble to welcome knowledge seekers, forgive me, it's not a usual circumstance. Can I offer you some... paper? Would, uh, do you have any? Sorry, I just, if you're here, you might, if you want, if there's anything that you, wait. What can I do for you?”
While talking, you notice he had produced some sheafs of paper and gestured, mostly to himself before offering it to you. After the offer however, and the pause in his thought, he holds it out to you in some frozen icon of hospitality. His eyes, dart back and forth between the two of you, and a few other places too – you get the impression he doesn't see too well.
NOT A LOT FOR THEM HERE.
– IF THEY ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
– Oh yes, plenty of history.
– Gorfinax, yes. But not much. A worshiped deity by some impenetrable cult that precludes the inhabitants of Stoneroot. There are books of historical record that attempt to record their appearance, disappearance, rise, fall, assimilation, and so on, but it's been a difficult road to record. The Edit always sets us back some time.
– The Edit: is a ritual that occurs every time a new Earlin takes charge of Stoneroot. We are the most exhaustive store of knowledge in the whole realm. Our reputation brings new works into the collection all the time, sometimes from the strange and unproven, but we read through them all and sort through the nonsense and figure out what needs to be recorded. When a new Earlin reaches the age of term, we present our histories to him and they come under edit.
– GORFINAX: Most of the texts that reference Gorfinax come from pre-history of Stoneroot. Come this way.
– Bunks: Bunks? Oh, they call me that because I sleep here.
The air in the library is musty, with a particular weight that brings almost as much scent of blood as it does history. The light from windows breaks through the heaviness with impunity, as though it struggles to force itself into the darkness. Bunks brings you to a sparsely stocked portion of the library and gestures to a single shelf, with three books laid upon it.
*SQUEAK APPEARS - “LAYING HERE LOW, FOR AWHILE.”
These are the only texts we have left from the period prior to the founding of Stoneroot. A journal, a geological survey, and an anthropology book.
– JOURNAL: Becky Piripipi, bard extraordinare. Looks to be ancient.
– Geological Survey: Commissioned by Quentin Earlin. The newest.
– Anthropology Book: Religions of the Caldhough Regions
If they try to escape, Bunks recognizes Anne.
If they study, we cut to Allana anyways
“You. I recognize you, you heretic. You blasphemed! You abandoned the church! You were the reason we were burned out of town! You burned that man!”
He runs
“GUARDS! GUAAAARDS!” you hear echoing down the confusing hallways of the best source of knowledge you know of.
ALLANNA
BOOM There's a crash at the door. You hear a cry some seconds afterwards.
Nothing follows immediately afterwards, but a gurgled cough and whimper fill a lot more air than it should have half a minute later.
A stern voice cries “Somebody had better come talk to me.”
– PLOT POINTS
– AC has come to The Twist, checking to see if any other nations (or if indeed Stoneroot) has come into learning their plots.
– Alarmed at the burning of The Long Pull with her at it, she's come to look for the culprits.
– Cullen is dead at the front door.
– If Allana leaves, she encounters Blister, who is badly burned, looking for AC. There's no time for this shit.
We might not make the ransom exchange tonight. Soldiers will hit the Library(?), AC and Blister will finally meet for business. It's getting late.
It's getting laaaate.
– Allanna. Some fire gets that shit out. Faith gets out, but no hope. Cullen dead. Investigates cellar, finds a reinforced door. Where Earlin was. She denies to investigate. The Twist burns. She waits, corralling survivors.
– Leon & Austin. Gone to look for Druid information. Ain't find nothing. It's turning night on 5/7. Secretive Druids – guardians of Gorfinax. Don't know it.
3/3/16
So here we go. Anne's reading the Geology book. Leon is reading the Anthropology Book. Jess is throwing down a support group outside a fire.
ALLANA: Fires in the neighbourhood have historically gone under-attended. You're not tremendously optimistic that there's going to be much aid in the area, especially considering how taxed the fire brigade has been in town for the past week. (There have been a few street criers exclaiming something about the fire frequency, but you haven't really paid too much attention). It's during this train of thought, that the only home you've known in Stoneroot will burn to the groud, that You become bewildered that as the sun sets, a group of people pounce into action, seemingly out of nowhere, to attend the flames and the victims. You suddenly find yourselves nearly overwhelmed with benefactors. Those who have fallen from windows are finding medical aid, people exposed to fires are being attended to with cold cloths and water, and even a few clerics (not in city worship gear, but mostly dressed for the road or combat) are committing their powers to severe injuries. The crowd of onlookers, mainly arrived just to watch the building burn, gradually turn their attention to an extremely pretty man, whom you have only noticed is midway through an impassioned speech to anyone who will listen.
SPEECH: … high time the tyranny of the Earlin family is lifted from this jewel of a city! They are a blight on our neighbourhoods, our homes, our friends and families! They beat our backs for our lives, and give us less money than the blood we spill for them weighs! You see now that terror, murder, and fire threaten our livelihoods but they are nowhere to be seen! We must stand up for ourselves friends! We must learn to look after our own!
----------
His speech, incredibly well practiced, does distract somewhat from the fact that many people, none of which are organized, are suddenly attending the fire. Some of them are even gesturing to the nearby, especially the horrified or impotently enraged looking, beckoning them to come give them aid – directing them here and there with buckets and totes of water. Many of these people are struggling to bring bundles out of the doors and windows, legs splaying out of blankets and half conscious people with smoke stained faces struggling to observe their surroundings.
What fascinates you more are the other benefactors, moving swiftly and calmly into the cellar door you managed to open, and emerging just the same, effortlessly moving around the corner with blanketed bundles away from the showman and his crowd, out of sight, before returning in very conspicuous manner no less than a minute later, empty blankets in hand.
– Every attempt made to stop Allana from the basement. First the speaker, then some “volunteers,” then some threats.
– If she tries to loop around, make it look like she's walking away, she'll get access to the cart scene. Just about every goddamn weapon in the basement, we're talking hundreds of good looking, decent weapons making their way into the backs of carts. No way to tell how many.
– If she waits, the “volunteers” put out the fire, and the speech maker makes a congratulatory round, applauding that the neighbourhood was capable of taking care of itself, that the help of the Earlin's wasn't necessary, that “we” could do without a ruler like him, and learn to govern themselves, or learn to love a ruler who truly invested in the people, rather than just the profits of their labours.
– Investigation of the basement reveals no weapons, less liquor, and a reinforced door that looks like it has weathered some assault, but it's uncertain whether or not its due to the fire or due to other interference. It's a mystery as to whether or not what is inside is still intact, but there are some structural problems from the flooring upstairs that indicates there's been some collapse and warping. (she's unable to get the door open regardless).
– If she follows the cart, it leads to an industrial part of town – might be a good time to check in with Leon & Austin. Tannery, with access to sewer washaway, a shit-ton of horrible chems, and not many bystanders. It's very large, and at a glance you might assume it would be large enough to cure leather enough for every person in town. What's unpleasant is the amount of people there waiting for, and welcoming it.
LEON & AUSTIN
ANNE: A GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE CALDHOUGH REGION – Cal Ephelis
LEON: A STUDY OF COLLOQUIAL RELIGIONS OF THE CALDHOUGH REGION – The Pitura Institute
Anne: A Geological Survey of the Caldhough Region: You feel like you're in store for a real snooze fest, until the first page of text reveals that the author of the book reveals that it was commissioned by a Jacob Earlin. The survey is easily the newest book of the region, with some notes written in the edges in faded handwriting, mostly illegible.
– The book describes mostly porous soil, very little substance underneath. Unlikely to actually support any real weight upon it, with small hints at large possible caverns underneath the surface. The general gist of the book is that the bluffs of the Caldhough region are utterly unfit for settlement, and generally expresses amazement and confusion as to how the settlers of the area have managed to not die in terrible landslides.
Rinaldo: A Study of Colloquial Religions of the Caldhough Region: The tome you've chosen to browse reads more like a history textbook than any real current book. You've come across references to testimonials from Killian Earlin, Becky Piripipi, and subsequent mentions of Lucas Earlin, and Malcolm Earlin.
– It discusses the religions of the area, many a small chapter dedicated to passing groups, either rising in power through economic trouble and waning in times of plenty, indigenous groups rising up against structures prepared to rebut them, and even a cult or two wrapt around the short lived love of some opportune messiah whose rise to power or fall from it follow clichés so closely it's hard to believe it even warranted belief.
– Druidism is curiously absent, no discussion of circles is made at all.
– A rather lengthy chapter opens near the end of the book about what the authors deem “The Caldhough Covens.” They make clear that the groups weren't groups of witches, or even proven to be interested in occult practices. Only ever accompanying each other in small groups of a permanent membership of ten to twenty, they seemed to operate on their own, but always spoke to outsiders with alike opinions. They never claimed to speak for their whole people, but each encounter with any group met with the same hospitality and demands. They were incredibly protective of their routines, rituals, as well as their land. There was a strict, devout love for the areas that they settled, and while generally gentle to outsiders, their protective nature could take over at the snap of a twig leagues away if they heard it. The land, they described, did not belong to them, but to someone else, and needed to be protected. The chapter concludes that the Caldhough Covens disappeared rather suddenly, if the writings passed to the Pitura Institute are to be believed. It's clarified that much of this is thankful to the honorable donations and cooperation of the Earlin family, and that it will hopefully be of use to universities and hobbyists alike.
It's getting late, boys.
Upon your exit of the Library, you notice that the sun has dropped, and it's likely quite late in the evening. The city itself, though, it somewhat wrapped up in a furor in front of you. A small contingent of smoke ridden women and men parade Light's Landing in front of you. There's a bustle around them, but not exclusively. Night has seem to brought a lively discontent to the area.
One of the sign bearers approaches you, and hands you both small cloth badges. A flame appears on one. “You're with us, right?” she calls, and returns to the brigade. You notice the signs are mostly about the stress, danger, and lack of resources for the Stoneroot Fire Attendance Volunteer Group, who appear to have had a sudden up shoot rate of casualties and are feeling quite dismissed about the removal of extra staff to deal with the missing young Lord, when more pressing matters affect the well being of the city.
The acrid smell of smoke, and a few distinct impressive plumes of smoke accentuate this point – given the fact that many of these protesters aren't alarmed about it at all.
One of these plumes of smoke comes from the area of town Leon knows as The Twist.
The other, larger one, comes from the area of The Long Pull.
– Long Pull: TOTAL FUCKING BEDLAM. BUILDINGS ON FIRE EVERYWHERE. WOMEN AND CHILDREN SCATTERING, ANIMALS DYING IN THE STREETS, AND weirdly a handsome man delivering a speech while intrepid strangers (who look well armed) work to put the fires out, rescue people, all so very much played to an audience. The speaker runs his mouth off about the evils of the government while the 'brave' souls behind him do their best to look exhausted in between brave endeavours into the buildings.
– THE TWIST: We'll let Allana field this one, as the heroes walk up to an extinguished building (or not, if she's arrived at the tannery) to observe what they find. Pissed off people.
PLEASE DON'T FUCKING GO TO THE QUARRY.
Quarry approached with all three in tow. Marshmallow distracted a contingent of horsemen and is being pursued. Silas was approached and is now almost certain the party is utterly and totally insane. End of the episode occurs on the appearance of a flare, and the exclamation of “EARLIN, I HAVE SOMETHING OF YOURS.”
3/8/12
It isn't long after the call goes out that every guard at the entrance turns heel and begins to hustle their way into the quarry. Earlin himself loses no time whatsoever, and breaks into the most noble-looking substitute for a sprint you've ever seen. A silence hangs in the air for a few seconds before the guardsman in charge realizes that no orders have been passed, and most of his men are confusedly running to the source of the yell, now accompanied by muffled cries of panic and help from a different voice. The commanding guard springs into order mode and starts to organize his men, instructing them to move into the quarry with more structure, but his fight against the panic appears to be quite a tough one. It isn't long before all the guards previously watching the entrance have repositioned themselves inside the quarry, to either ready themselves for action or get a better vantage point of the proceedings. You think you might be able to slip in during the bustle, without acquiring too much attention.
DC Roll?
You're greeted with an uneasy sight upon entry to the quarry. Upon a high bluff some ways away, Tamsin is accompanied by a cadre of somewhere between ten and twenty modestly armored, mean looking ruffians, grouped around a sturdy crane, arching out over a deep chasm of the quarry. Hung not too low from its extended end is a young man dressed in familiar looking rags, struggling against the ropes that bind him more in fear of the long fall underneath him than a legitimate attempt to escape. Nearly each of the standing figures bears a torch, with at least one never moving too far away from the ropes, and several varieties of weapons. It's difficult to guess how far away they are from the hastily positioning guards who can't seem to decide to advance on the kidnappers, or freeze in place in fear they might be held responsible for the ensuing action. But it looks as though to completely access the area, some precarious wooden stairways must be navigated upwards, each one providing a substantial obstacle, likely giving any interested party plenty of time to burn or sever ropes before high tailing away into the night.
Earlin, rooted to the edge of a drop addresses the kidnappers boldly.
“You aren't who I was expecting.”
“No, I don't imagine we were. You needn't worry about our three friends, though, they aren't likely long for this world if they keep on about the course they're on.”
“Not many of you are long for this world if you persist in this endeavour. You still have an opportunity to walk away from this, and get away with your lives; lives to be lived somewhere other than Stoneroot, to be sure, but you have the chance to avoid complete and total disaster right now.”
“This entire city is a disaster, Earlin, and the only people who have ever had the opportunity to avoid it have been your family. Instead, you've done nothing but spend generations exploiting the people who live here, the people who come to this city for work and a 'better' life. You don't get to talk to me about 'avoiding' the disaster that has been the lives of every one of the people you walk over to stay safe and well-fed in your gated mansion, hoarding and protecting every little grain of sand you might see some inflated value in. You don't get to talk to me about disaster until I'm convinced you know the value of sacrifice.”
“Don't presume to lecture me about sacrifice, child. I have given up more in my entire life than you could even possibly earn.”
“Well it's time to give up a little more. Did you bring them?”
The voices, both loud between Earlin and Tamsin and quiet murmurs among the crowds break, this strained quietness accented only by the creaking of ropes and the frantic whimpering of the dangling victim. Earlin slowly reaches into a satchel at his side and produces a grapefruit sized globe. For a moment, you think the orb is glowing, as the objects and characters in its vicinity seem to get brighter, but looking at the hand with which Earlin holds it, you realize that it's just that the immediate area surrounding the orb seems to be sucking light in. He stares at the globe with a mournful expression, and for a moment appears to lose awareness of his surroundings.
“Well?” Tamsin calls out.
“Well, I haven't decided I'm going to give it to you yet. One hundred thousand gold coins.”
Some murmuring from the Stonerotten at the base of the crane starts, nothing discernible, but you can see Tamsin gesture dismissively to her companions, who go silent in response.
“I don't see the fang.” She says
“I didn't bring the fang,” Earlin replies. “I'm sure you're capable of some degree of negotiation. One hundred and fifty thousand.”
The murmuring starts up again, with Tamsin choosing to ignore it entirely this time, calling out “The note didn't read, 'The orb & fang and ten thousand pieces, or whatever works for you, I'm really open to suggestions.' It was clear.”
“I believe you can see a better deal when presented with one. The orb and fang aren't of any use to you.”
“It isn't what I can use, you tyrant,” Tamsin yells, for the first time with some angry emotion colouring her tone. “It's about what you deserve to lose!” she says, cutting one of the four ropes keeping Julick suspended above the abyss below. It snaps, audibly, and the young man swings away precariously, bobbling in an uneven circle before coming to an uneasy stop.
Earlin stumbles and raises his free hand in objection. “Wait! Stop! Don't!” he cries, and for a second Tamsin looks pretty pleased with herself that she's finally affected him. The murmuring surrounding her rises to disgruntled objection once the first rope snaps. With no hesitation, she turns to her nearest companion, stabbing him in the complaining throat before thrusting his gurgling body off the edge into the pits below.
“Oh God, no!” Earlin cries, strangely, suddenly holding onto the orb with both hands and stepping back from the edge. No longer concerned about the current situation, he spends a few seconds staring intently into the orb, as if trying to read, or make something out from a great distance – he squints and clenches his jaw. Everybody pauses, confused, and shares a strange look with one another. Seemingly satisfied, Earlin turns away from the orb and re-addresses the people present.
“No more bloodshed, please,” he asks, seemingly earnest.
“You know what I want,” Tamsin replies, even her a little confused by his reaction.
“I don't have the fang,” he says “reports tell me that your three little new friends stole it from me. I haven't been able to get it back from them yet.”
There's more conferring among Tamsin's group.
“The orb and a hundred thousand, and we promise to deliver the halfling and the idiot if you let us leave the city.”
“What about the druid?”
Tamsin smirks. “Your guard is going to find her body in tin-town. You aren't going to recognize her face. You won't recognize any face.”
“Did she have the fang?”
“Would I be asking for it if she did?”
There's a pause.
“I think we have a deal. Silas, Carl.”
“Which Carl, sir?” comes a voice.
“Kurz, Carl Kurz. Here, please.”
The two men step to the side of the Lord, who motions to some sacks that had been sitting there beforehand. “Two of them,” he requests before opening open and exposing a handful of gold coins to the crew at the crane. The coins go back into the bag, and he places the orb into the satchel at his side, which he removes and gives to Silas. He quietly whispers to the two guards, who nod solemnly and set off on the lonely path to the crane.
– So here's where shit will get weird. If they go to interfere with Silas and/or the crew, Lonnegan will appear to crib the Lord Earlin. He makes a swift statement “Your unwillingness to explore these powers are a great downfall, Earlin. It's such a shame that it's taken such a long time for you to meet somebody like me. The world we live in could have been such a different thing by now.” The Lord is stabbed. Lonnegan disappears, and the Lord is badly injured. A copious amount of his blood hits the stones of the quarry and starts to be soaked up by the ground. He curses and the ground starts to shake.
– If Anne investigates the mansion, she finds it utterly overrun with Acamorian agents. Lonnegan is nowhere to be seen, but the remnants of the household staff and guard are pretty viciously murdered.
– If they take advantage of the opportunity to attack the Lord, Emma appears to fight with Tamsin. Both are wounded, with Tamsin rolling off the edge into the pit. “Don't you know Emma? It's the crane that killed father,” NOBODY HEARS. Earlin is horrified and does everything to try to stop it. She is too far away and falls to her death. This is a problem for Earlin, who calls for the orb to return to him. Silas & Kurz are assaulted by the remaining thugs, who see fit to take what they can before disappearing at the death of their leader. Emma cares not at what they're doing, she's trying to take care of Julick. The ground begins to shake, and Earlin yells for absolutely everybody to get out of the quarry. A stairwell collapses, and Silas is stranded. Earlin begs him to throw the satchel to him and to run the other way. He does.
– If the party decides to do nothing whatsoever, both things happen at once – with Earlin poisoned by Lonnegan's blade, he is unable to save Silas, or the orb, which collapse into the darkness of the shaking ground after Tamsin's fall. Earlin is capable of moving to the exit, though, cursing Lonnegan's betrayal and the loss of the orb. THE ORB IS A MOOD RING OF SORTS FOR GORFINAX, IT HAS TO BE READ BY SOMEONE EDUCATED IN ITS MATTERS (WHICH AT THIS POINT ARE ONLY LONNEGAN AND EARLIN), TO MAKE PROPER MEASURES ABOUT THE STATE OF THE BEING. IT'S LIKE WATCHING SOMEONE MOVE THROUGH A DOOR, ONLY THAT DOOR IS THIS DIMENSION AND THAT SOMEONE EATS FUTURES.
– ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT:
– Upon arriving at the entrance to the quarry, only a dozen guards get through, party and all (Tamsin, Emma, Julick, Silas, etc. all missing) and the doors are slammed shut to an army of well armed foreign soldiers, led by a cloaked figure who introduces herself upon removing her cloak.
“Lord Earlin, I hereby declare you the first arrest of the new Acamorian city state of Stoneroot. I am Phiro, Acamorian Lady, the Younger, and general of the Acamorian Conquest Expansion. Welcome to my kingdom. Guards, take them away, and put as much fire into that quarry as you can.”
– Unconcerned with the rumbling, guards move to throw as much conflagration into the quarry as they can. Molotov cocktails for everybody. The screams peal into the darkness. The rumbling is dimissed as “usual for the region.”
Shit be poppin' off, yo.
AT A RUN TO THE MANSION
You aren't too far away from the Mansion when something begins to bother you. A slow rising sound starts to soak the air around you, like a low, deep torrent of rain falling, but never hitting any ground. At first you mistake it for wind in the distance, but it only gets stronger, while the air around you fails to stir.
The Mansion
The smell of smoke strangles the air around Earlin's mansion, and it starts to cause only the smallest amount of difficulty breathing. The temperature in the air appears to be rising with the crowd, who beat barrels with clubs, pound on the closed gates with bare fists, and scream curses with abandon at windows, doors, and the closed up guard post. There don't appear to be any guards outside of the Mansion at all.
NOTES
– Difficulty finding an entryway. Closed bars, locked gate, not a lot of ways in. Exquisitely groomed grounds, spiked fences some fifteen feet tall.
– The crowd could be whipped into a frenzy. They're already angry, storm the gates and push them over.
– Let them get creative.
– The doors are locked, but not difficult to break down. The windows, too, are easily broken. If they explore the grounds, there is a ladder propped up against a pillar, and an already broken window.
– The house is dark, no noise, no light, all of the guest rooms are dark, and unoccupied. The servant quarters/work areas have blood in them. There are a pile of bodies in the pantry, off the kitchen. From their garb, all of them appear to be servants. The noise in their ears persists.
– The Lord's study (been there before), is empty too, though the fire still rages. One of the previously closed doors is ajar, and voices can be heard beyond.
– IT'S ACAMORIAN SOLDIERS. Rinaldo recognizes their garb. There are two of them, and they immediately attack the investigators.
Acamorian Fighter
Str 18 (+4)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 19 (+4)
Int 11
Wis 09 (-1)
Cha 10
HP: 44
AC: 19 (17 Arm) (2 shld)
Longsword +6 Atk 1D8+4 Dmg
4D8 Superiority Die
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Disarm – One creature hit must make Str save or drop something they are holding.
Precise Strike – Gain A superiority die to an attack roll
Riposte – React when missed by a melee attack to attack back and deal superiority die extra damage.
If the kids are killed, well, so be it. If they aren't, they find the mansion entirely empty, and the buzzing in their ears becomes a rumbling.
Austin & Leon failed to confront the Acamorian soldiers, by botching some stealth checks and warning them of their presence. They were visibly identified, leaving the mansion, but Anne has picked up their trail. The rumbling continues to grow, and they've seen smoke pluming up from the quarry. REMEMBER THAT THE HORSEMEN CHASING THE FERRET ARE STILL FREE, AS ARE THE JAILORS AND GATEKEEPERS.
03/17/16
Okay, the survivalism leads the party to the scene outside the quarry. A slightly less impressive plume of smoke issues from the closed and chained gates that lead to the quarry. There's little to no activity here in a distinctly unpleasant way. Beyond the gate, dull moaning and the echoes of screams from far away call out to you. Not being able to see through the gate, only the smoke, the whimpers, and the smell of burning meat give you any clue as to what's on the other side.
Other side: Upon entry, the dull moans stop, and it is revealed that two dozen or so deeply charred corpses, all strangely dry, but caked with that light rust coloured mud you saw earlier at the church. The rest of the guard are nowhere to be seen, but panicked voices issue from deep within the quarry tunnels – sometimes punctuated with screams or cries of anguish. Further adventuring into the quarry leads to more and more bodies – all burned, some worse than others. After some time, if they go deeper, the ground starts to vibrate around them. Allana is nowhere to be seen.
If they leave, a beggar steps out of the alleyway and confronts them with what he knows, asking for money. (J. TOMBRELLO GUARD BADGE)
– He saw the Acamorian troops come on the scene and arrest Lord Earlin, who was bleeding pretty badly. Him and a dozen of his guards, plus some others were escorted away by a woman calling herself the new ruler of Stoneroot. They were instructed to take the Lord & company to the sanitarium. The beggar is willing to point the way. He fiddles with his ears the entire time.
– The group decided instead to go to the church to have Tamsin's daggers identified by Danyin, and sleep.
– The sanitarium is a grim place, even for Stoneroot's normally joyless neighbourhoods. Even without the chaos, it stands, claustrophobically strangled by encroaching structures around its sides, like mushrooms growing against one another trying to find the most prosperous advantage over one another. Amidst the chaos of the city, it appears downright frightening. Nearly every window of the gothic building lies open, and the curtains for each flap and lick at the outside world in asynchronous rhythm to the shrieks and moans that stem from within. Unseen, desperate hands fling pieces of furniture out these windows, where guards in Acamorian garb stand underneath, setting up barricades and generally fortifying the area. As if on cue, a jagged slice of lightning carves through the dark sky, signaling the beginning of a rainstorm.
– Might be able to sneak inside. Leon might be able to use his Acamorian accent to talk his way in. Also, because of the nature of the crowded architecture, they might be able to go from the rooftop, and lever their way in through one of the many open windows.
– Inside, they'll find a terrified medical staff, wherever they are, not priests – people who specialize in madness, diseases of the mind, and the like – damage that isn't normally healed by the church. They're quite frightened by what's going on. The Acamorians entered the sanitarium and immediately instructed the repurposing of some of their cells to house political prisoners. Overhearing them, it would appear that the city dungeon has not been seized yet, and they figured this would be an easier place to take control of. If the party describes Allana, the doctor in charge DOCTOR Eric Kimball confirms that he has seen Allana brought in with the Lord. If they insist on visiting, he encourages them to please not mess with the patients. They're excitable enough with all this going on.
– Upon passing by, some of the disturbed call out to the party, whispering “It's eating us.” “We can't escape.” “We're trapped and it's eating us all.”
– Entrance to the door that was indicated has two guards monitoring the hallways. They're not easy to talk down to. Allana and Earlin are kept in separate rooms, with only small metal doors at eye level to discern who is inside. The first door they investigate is Earlin, who is badly wounded, looks unwell, and really very distressed. He interacts with the party reluctantly, blaming them for all of this, but also seeing opportunity in them helping him. They did, after all, fuck this up for him so well. He just needs to be convinced that he isn't working for the Acamorians, nor Lonnegan.
– The second door they investigate is Allana. She's a little roughed up, but otherwise seems to be okay.
– Be ready for combat.
– Phira is not in the building, she's relocated to the guard headquarters, basing her operations from there for the time being.
Allana's been rescued, along with the dozen guards from the Lord's personal entourage. The gang has stabilized Earlin from his poisoned state, and he confesses that he's been trying to kill Gorfinax for six hundred years.
04/09/16
Well, here we go.
Earlin's story.
– First came to the area six hundred years ago, at the behest of a wealthy benefactor. They were interested in settling the region.
– There was concern over the stability of the region, so they investigated the natives.
– Simple group of people, very attuned with nature, but with a strange and inexplicable religion. They were wary of their provider, like a dog who is beaten by their master. Human sacrifice was the word of the day, but they wouldn't choose just anybody – only the strongest among them.
– Some investigation revealed their god to be an underground dweller, which was strange because every geological investigation found the ground to be unstable, and cavernous. One day though, curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to watch one of their sacrifices from afar.
– Something reached up and took the dying man. Deep into the ground, something horrific.
– In haste, my company and I decided to try to kill it. Nearly everybody died, a few of the natives got away, and in a fit of desperation, I imprisoned it in the rock.
– What followed was a long period of study, trying to figure out what it was, what it wanted, how it might be killed, much of these questions still unanswered. For the moment, he's attempting to systematically, physically de-construct it under the guise of mining it out. Yes, the mined stone is actually the beast, imprisoned. They've mined almost five hundred years worth out of this beast, and it hasn't yet died.
– HOW HAS HE LIVED SO LONG: Mostly magic, but he suspects that there's more to it than that. Gorfinax has a tendency to provide, somehow. Stoneroot was originally conceived of as a military station. For some reason though, prosperity ensued. It seems to either be very lucky, or not as trapped as he'd hoped. It's even possible that Gorfinax and Earlin are linked somehow, but he's never found any evidence to suggest it.
– QUESTIONS ABOUT JULICK: Julick is less of a son, and more of a construct. He's got some essence of the Lord, having leveraged some of his immortality to create him. Nobody seemed to think it odd that he didn't even have a mother.
– THE SACRIFICE: Over time, he came to realize that Gorfinax didn't so much eat the lives, or even souls of his victims, but that he actually eats their futures. That's why the natives fed only their proudest and strongest to him. He's motivated entirely by hunger it seems. After first trapping it, he thought that the stone would hold it in prison for good, but it turns out that as it gets hungrier, it also gets more powerful. During an incident in which it nearly broke out years ago, it managed to get a hold of one of his aides, and promptly calmed right down again. It was clear that it needed to be fed, but he didn't want to sacrifice whole lives to it. Through research and experimentation, he discovered that he could give just enough of a future for it to eat, by creating, raising, and then castrating heirs – versions of himself. After the ceremony, they live on for some time, oftentimes in a fog, but become extremely fragile, and succumb to disease long before they grow to be old men. Earlin simply redresses himself, and takes their place – feigning the ascension of a new lord to the position.
– THE KNIFE AND ORB: The knife is directly linked to the beast. The sacrificial ceremony must be performed with it for the castration to feed it – otherwise it will need to kill to eat. The orb is a window in, a way to keep an eye on it from 'afar' so to speak.
– THE BUZZING: The deaths in the quarry have seemed to stir it. It's almost time for it to be fed, and having so many people die so close to it, it's like ringing a dinner bell on the other side of its bedroom.
– LONNEGAN: He has maintained an order of staff at the school to help him keep an eye on the beast and feed it. This is Lonnegan's first time as head of the order, and it looks like he has different plans for the beast. He doesn't know what, but always found Lonnegan rather devious. Places he might have gone: If he plans to commune with the creature, or take control of it, or even raise it, he could have gone back to the school, or possibly Earlin's own laboratory in town. It's close to the quarry.
– PHIRO: The Acamorians, ever since discovering the interesting properties of the stone, have become progressively greedy regarding it. He doesn't know if they know the source of it, but they've been increasingly pushy and demanding for the past few decades. He normally has the resources to keep them at bay, but he's been exceptionally distracted for the past few days. While carting him away, the general talk was that the last bastion of serious resistance in the city would be the city Dungeon – commonly referred to as The Butchery.
– (Phiro, regarding Rinaldo. Phiro is Bossar's younger sister. Also having served in the home guard, as Rinaldo's superior, she was one of the first people to discover Rinaldo's affair with Bossar. Bossar insisted that his sister was supportive of the affair, but Rinaldo remained suspicious. He has no proof, but suspects that Phiro was responsible for leaking the affair to their father at the time of Bossar's engagement in order to scandalize the boy, and advance her own contentions for leadership of the city. Rinaldo remembers her as cold, goal-oriented (even at the cost of ethics), unmoved by emotional pleas, and disinterested in other people's problems.)
Whip some shit up on the fly if they have other questions.
Earlin's convinced that he will not be able to leave the sanitarium without creating bigger problems for the group. None of his guard are armed, and they're unlikely to be able to face up to whomever is left to look after the place. He's too weak to do anything that might require physical effort to escape (i.e. leaping out windows, climbing, magic, combat, etc.). It could spell the end of him entirely.
If Rinaldo decides to kill Earlin, well, when they leave the sanitarium, while the rain falling from above is clear and water, puddles at the foot of buildings created out of stone are uncharacteristically dark. The stones forming the walls, too, have taken on an especially dark shade. Investigation reveals that the stones are bleeding, and actually seem to be losing some of their hardness.
The players might decide to investigate the lab (looks a little ransacked, but no sign of Lonnegan. There are some signs that a magical spell was conducted here, with things that look very representative of The Fang. Lonnegan has headed to the church), or head to The Butchery, which is indeed under siege, but in a very uncommon way. It is, quite literally, in the ground.
The Butchery is a rather modest ground structure, decently fortified, but leads to an old mining operation, and is an entire prison deep underground. Earlin knows a secret way in, off the cliff sides that overlook the bay. It looks like a drainage chute from the outside, but actually connects up to the warden's office. He suggests showing the warden the ring that Rinaldo has taken, and he's likely to help.
If they decide to rest in the interim, Anne has a dream about the rumbling and the meat city again. Throughout the whole dream though, the rumbling rises in her ears, until it gets so loud she can barely hear. The rumbling seems to compress though, as though coming together to form a sound. Seemingly without having a start, middle, or end, the rumbling becomes a low, frightening voice, speaking her name almost affectionately.
If they go to the church first, looking for the dagger, Lonnegan hasn't yet appeared, but the church is under watch, with four guards checking it out.
So the gang managed to get Earlin to a herbalists shop, and treated with something that will eradicate the poison from his system. There, they left Earlin, Doctor Andrew/Cash-Money and the twelve guards to convalesce some. They then proceeded to Fallon's house, and came face to face with Emma, Julick, Fallon, and Silas.
04/16/16
– Emma not well. Cut up pretty badly by Tamsin
– Silas unconscious. Has not woken up. Him, Carl, Emma and Julick all escaped together through a terrible climb along the city walls. Some kind of earthquake marred their descent, Silas lost his footing and fell.
– They have the orb. It speaks to Anne.
– Carl is out for the moment, looking for medical supplies.
– Julick is terrified. Untrusting of everybody.
– They won't be much help.
– Laboratory – ransacked. Obvious evidence of Lonnegan using it to find the fang.
– The Butchery continues to be under siege.
– The church has already been raided by Lonnegan. Danyin has quite a tale to tell of him bursting into the place, frying assaulting guards, retrieving the dagger, and leaving.
– No knowledge of where Lonnegan might have gone. Earlin will suggest the school. It was built on the grounds the natives performed their rituals at.
– Rotswold is burning. The monks are killing everybody, and the town is dying.
– Jayne's ghost? Yet? Maybe at the lab.
Looking for Druids that know about the orb, the gang went to the Twist, hopefully hunting down Colin, a refugee that started working there after the migration. There, they are confronted with the ghost of Jayne. She tells them that the druids know Gorfinax, and that he's unstoppable. Jayne warns Anne to not give in to evil. They return to Earlin with the orb, who confesses that it's not necessarily good that Rinaldo & Allana have touched it. It goes blue in Earlin's hands. They leave, with the orb, to find Earlin's Lab and hopefully... Lonnegan.
– The Lab: More impressive than you might think. Disguised as a property tax office, and kept in a well to do neighbourhood, with plenty of security. That security appears to be dead, for the most part though. The outside grounds are littered with the corpses of the Stoneroot guard, all bearing the marks of general weapon wounds. The insides of the lab are eerily quiet.
– Inside the lab: The lone tax assessor lies dead at the base of a secure door which hangs ajar off its hinges. (All traditional wounds)
– Further investigation into the building brings mixed corpses. The next room is an office that looks very much like a gauntlet. Tall tables, protective wood, less paper than knives, etc. It's here where we see the only Acamorian corpse. But only near the only other door. He is not wounded conventionally. A medicine check reveals a series of unconventionally shaped knives.
– A stairwell, filled with the bodies of Stoneroot. Spacious, nice, all with regular wounds. Open door.
– Some kind of anteroom. Weapons, shields, door is reinforced on the other side. Really hard. Steel, heavy, strange inside locks, sort of miraculous that it's just hanging open. The other door, though has been smashed to pieces from the inside out. FULL of Acamorian and Stoneroot guard. Acamorian on top, more irregular wounds.
– Only the Stoneroot lie dead here, but nothing looks like a knife, club, these are the most unusual corpses you've ever seen. Curving, tilting wounds, jagged cuts that sink deeper more precisely than they tear outwards. It is the end room. There are no doors, some burns on furniture, equipment, books, etc. There's a doorway in the wall. It reminds you of something you saw somewhere before. (hinty hinty)
– A few more moments to investigate. The doorway will start to come alive. First an eye, and then some ambitious reflections. Let's get some discouraging things going. Maybe change up the striking stats every time they roll? That'd be fun. They'd better run. They go for the orb, i.e. Rinaldo. Maybe they get it, ooo, that'd be bad. It might get into other people's heads.
– Then what? Earlin? Getting on his feet, sure. Rotswald? It's a day away, and Earlin's doors are closed, it seems, or maybe they go back and check it out if it didn't go wild the first time. Phiro? She's going to keep being a pain in the ass. Back to Fallon? Carl has arrived and is treating Silas. Emma sleeping, Julick gone? Yeah, maybe Julick's sick of this shit.
Lonnegan has used the bridge to teleport to the location of the knife, which has actually brought him to Gorfinax. The party bands together to find the Fang.
4/28/16
Okay, so we're going to play it fast & loose this episode, because there's no telling what the crazy fuckers are going to do. Go check on Silas? Look for the knife? Attempt to confront Lonnegan? Maybe they'd all fancy a nice cup of tea? I honestly have very little clue. They still haven't figured out that the orb not only acts as a localized tracker/'mood-ring' to Gorfinax. Nobody kept a bloody eye on it during the “Tax Office” escapade, only afterwards. Anne's the only one that can really talk to it anyways, but she's smart enough not to touch it... which is a weird thing to say about Anne. That she's “smart enough” for anything.
– Carl has returned with the medicine. Ointments, some ice to reduce swelling, and some magical charms. Silas looks worse, though. He appears to be emaciating at an increased rate. Boy's getting eaten, I'd say, but what do I know?
– Emma's still out of commission. It's conceivable that she could be looked after, but she's wary about wandering the streets, and Anne likely won't have enough spells to cure her.
– Earlin might insist to see his son. He has raised him, after all. There's practically no use in trying to fight it anymore – his plans to keep control have been ruined. He might just want to see his son.
– Locating the dagger brings the group to the church, via the forked twig that Earlin provides the group. It leads to the room where Anne first lost the dagger. Something is different though, and an entire stairwell has appeared where there was none. It does not appear to cohere to the architecture of the church, however, with stones missing from the archway and a cold slimy moisture spreading from within. Danyin is baffled by its presence. The stairwell leads down, in seemingly random uncharacteristic patterns, slippery and unpleasant, hot, revolting air moving towards you in invasive, intimate gusts. When the steps finally end, after a several minute descent in total darkness, the opening reveals a chamber of soft muddy ground walled by bricks that appear to be seeping blood. The copper heavy scent of the room reinforces your assumption. The fork vibrates and glows heavily, informing the party that this is indeed the location of the fang. A dripping from the ceiling of foul fluids point to a blob of terrible in the ruddy ground, coated in mucus and blood. The brave one removes what looks like an actual tooth, thin and jagged, crudely attached to a handle that resembles the dagger's handle exactly. The tooth will continue to ooze for the rest of the adventure of its usefulness. Upon removal, the ground unsettles itself, like some kind of series of strange waves. Gurgling, sucking sounds soon reveals itself to be a small hole in the floor that opens very slowly. The floor waves push towards it. Escape up the stairwell has it gradually shrink, pressing up against the party, also pulsing waves through it that massage them downwards in an attempt to corral them back to the platform.
– Rescued by Danyin, the crew awaits in the office at the Church.
Danyin – LVL 11 Cleric
Str 10 (0)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 14 (+2)
Int 19 (+4)
Wis 20 (+5)
Cha 17 (+3)
HP: 80
AC: 13
Spell Atk +9
Spell DC 17
(check sheet for other advantages, if necessary)
Mace +4 Atk 1D6
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Lvl 1: Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Command
Lvl 2: Lesser Restoration, Spiritual Weapon, Hold Person
Lvl 3: Beacon of Hope, Revivify, Create Food & Water
Lvl 4: Death Ward, Guardian of Faith, Freedom of Movement (spent)
Lvl 5: Mass Cure Wounds, Raise Dead
Lvl 6: Blade Barrier
– Upstairs, everything looks fine, apart from more slime and a reddish tinge to the stone that lines the entryway of the staircase they just escaped from. Dilapidated statues surrounding the nave some with no heads, single arms, nine of them prominently, start attempting to climb down off their plinths. At the parts where they detach from the plinths, blood begins to stream from stretching and tearing thick cables that look like veins and arteries. They will pursue.
Stone Golem
Large construct, unaligned
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 178 (17d10 + 85) 136/178
Speed 30 ft.
STR: 22 (+6)
DEX: 9 (-1)
CON: 20 (+5)
INT: 3 (-4)
WIS: 11 (0)
CHA: 1 (-5)
Damage Immunities poison, psychic; bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons that
aren’t adamantine
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened,
paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands the languages of its creator
but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect
that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws
against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The golem makes two slam attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
Slow (Recharge 5–6). The golem targets one or more creatures
it can see within 10 feet of it. Each target must make a DC 17
Wisdom saving throw against this magic. On a failed save, a
target can’t use reactions, its speed is halved, and it can’t make
more than one attack on its turn. In addition, the target can
take either an action or a bonus action on its turn, not both.
These effects last for 1 minute. A target can repeat the saving
throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself
on a success.
Stone golems are magical constructs cut and chiseled
from stone to appear as tall, impressive statues. Like
other golems, they are nearly impervious to spells and
ordinary weapons.
– They pursue. To the City gate even, where the uh-oh starts.
- The crew has elected to attempt to leave the city, Earlin in tow, in disguise, attempting to leave through the gates. A decision hangs in the balance where Allanna has to decide between Rinaldo's plan of starting a riot, hoping that it will distract the guards for long enough for them to slip through, or Anne's plan of kiting the golems from the church to do the same. She appears to be appealing to the audience for help in the decision.
– An attempt to leave the city will have them confronted by Acamorian guards. Long attempts to bluff their way through, will result in the appearance of Phiro. She recognizes Rinaldo immediately and insists on their arrest. Prolonged presence at the gates in this case results in the shambling statues arriving. Oh there's going to be fights. Oh there's going to be blood. More than there already is, anyways.
10/11/16 – Rinaldo Catches a Break.
Well, it looks like there's going to be a rumble of sorts. Who knows how gross and terrible? THE SHADOW KNOWS.
Well, they're going to run along and try to find the golems. After not finding anything for a while, we're going to get them caught up in a pretty fire ridden part of town. It is practically deserted. Buildings are aflame, when a pair of mangled golems walk through a burning wall like butter. When they recognize Rinaldo, they pick up speed a little. As they pursue, they find little worry for buildings and other solid obstacles in their way – line of sight does not seem to be a problem for them detecting his presence. As a result, they pick up some burning matter. By the time they arrive at the gates, they look like a pair of mangled angels on fire, robes burning, moving at a deliberate pace in whatever direction Rinaldo(or the keeper of the Fang) is headed. If he peals for the crowd, they flip the fuck out. People run in all kinds of directions, and the guards have trouble controlling them.
– If the party manages to shake the guards, they occupy themselves with the burning golems. Shit gets messy, but the party manages to escape, and a great cost to the Acamorian presence at the end fight.
– If they don't attempt to shake the guards' attention at all, the golems continue their pursuit of the knife bearer. The Acamorians pursuing the party are slaughtered by the golems in their concurrent pursuit, but the army quickly learns that they're going after the party.
– Phiro learns of all of this, regardless of how it plays out. Her interest in the apprehension of Rinaldo “for her family's honour” convinces her to pursue him. She is additionally motivated to leave by all the crazy shit that's going down all over the city. If they spend too long at the gates, she appears to pursue him personally.
– Marshmallow? SIIIIIGH – Marshmallow is still in the dungeon, which is under siege, and also kind of transforming.
The chaos in the area spreads to the gates outside, with the city stables being hastily re-manned and re-assigned by guards attempting to discern what's going on inside, and others attempting to flee or re-inforce, according to the events on the inside. If they let most of the other horses stay, there's going to be trouble.
– If the horses get loosed, or they get stopped, the group faces the dilemma of giving the dagger up to an unknown, hoping that the golems will be distracted by it (they will) while they fruitlessly pursue a final battle with Lonnegan at Rotswold.
– Earlin's a little trepidatious. He's been gunning for Gorfinax for 600 years. He's worried about his son, and the rest of the people in Stoneroot – between the fire, the occupying army, and the city, he's not sure if anyone will make it out alive. It was never meant to be a city anyways, he reasons. It's just a shame that it has to end this way.
– Anne dreams of Marshmallow, consumed by fire, unable to escape a bulging prison turning slowly fleshy, deep in a dreary dungeon, alone, confused, and scared, smothered by smoke. She awakes feeling his absence.
– Rinaldo dreams of nothing but a gibbet, a rope made of intestines, and the catcalls of the crowd around him, taunting quips of perversion and deviancy.
– Allanna dreams only of walking the earth, up an eternal hill, each foot she pulls out of the soft ground brings up a well of blood, flowing behind her, drowning all those she has left behind and leaving them to die.
The trip to Rotswold goes with/or without as much trouble as they invite. Upon arrival, the pastoral, scenic countryside remains as unmolested as they recall it being. It's particularly quiet there, moreso than before, if they care to notice.
We'll give them a chance to investigate the school, if they see fit. It's largely trashed, with Lonnegan's office particularly ransacked. Secret passage wide open. Any further investigation reveals the underground wracked with calm looking statues of young monks in the altar room. The chasm that the blood gutter lead to has been bent and puckered outwards, as though something came careening out of it at an unpleasant speed and angle. Standing nearest the gutter hole is a supplicant, relieved looking monk identifiable as Steisch.
On their way out, they approach a statue in the middle of town that's unfamiliar in its placement to them. It looks like a man carrying a box of some kind, facing away from the party walking towards the mayor's inn. Upon approaching, they recognize that it's Callum. He is not entirely statue though, with much of his head still mobile, and able to speak. He speaks in his rather minimalist, blunt tones.
– Earlier in the day, Lonnegan appeared to walk out of the school, caked in a bloody mess, with a long, seemingly tense cable attached to his spine. It didn't drag behind him, but actively moved to prevent impediment to his movement, and even seemed to become interested in people. Underneath the blood, he looked pale, and much older than he seemed to be the other day. Wandered around the town, pawing at people, Even poked Gillet right in the face, after what he done to him too, half talking at them behind distant eyes. They'd all thought he'd taken fever with some kind of illness. He was pallid, discoloured, skin cracking. A few of us villagers came to check on him, see what was going on. I was watching over the proceedings, don't trust that feller, no, but when Jack come round he started to get all more alert... more focused. Boy wasn't too near him, but I'll be damned if Lonnegan didn't try and knock eight of us over tryin' to get at the boy. Smart boy that he was, ran like hell, but Lonnegan grabbed my leg tryin' to struggle by me and it started to hurt like hell. Lost feeling in it soon after, and then, well... it all started to go difficult on me.
– Lonnegan panicked after losing sight of Jack. He ran off in the direction of the town graveyard.
If the party pursues, we're going to get some serious showdown action going on. Gillet will be there, halfway towards a freshly dug grave without even a name carved on it, mostly turned to stone, head focused on the grave, crying silently, refusing even to address the party except with a sad gaze.
When he recognizes Earlin, he spits in his direction, claiming that his dark magic is why this has happened to them all, and if he ever gets to feel the pleasure of running ever again, it will be running to choke Earlin to death.
Earlin is penitent that things have gone this far, and he never meant for any of Rotswold to be harmed. He apologizes on behalf of the party.
Phiro will appear with a contingent, shocked at the presence of Earlin, and ready to imprison, or massacre Rinaldo if so needed. She feels like this will give her a leg up, after losing most of Stoneroot to the fire, and some strange curse. She blames him for it.
Earlin has a few choice words for Rinaldo, and then for Phiro, thinking that she can callously waltz into a situation so effortlessly and think her strategy was behind it all. Confesses that it really is all Rinaldo & company's fault, but what the hell, no use in weeping about it now.
Phiro's guard moves to attack.
The ground rumbles.
The Final Episode-ish?
Lonnegan “exits” a headstone – seemingly unwell.
There's some guttural noises, as hands splay from separate headstones, numerous ones, but once a head pushes through, the stone giving way like the skin on a stew left out for days, the multiple arms retract and Lonnegan is somewhat birthed out of the headstone of Sallin. He doesn't slump onto the ground, but comes out curving upwards, and steps onto the ground neatly, propped up. His mouth begins to move, but the words that come out don't match his lip movements, and they sound closer than they are.
“I have found you, at last. I have found you.”
He lurches towards Anne, the orb starts to bleed.
“Traveler, Luck, Trade, Futures!”
Earlin suddenly becomes weaker.
LONNEGAN BOLD UNDERLINE THE LONNEGAN
Str: 19 - +4 mod/save
Dex: 19 - +4 mod/save
Con: 19 - +4 mod/save
Int: 27 - +8 mod / +11 save
Wis: 06 - -2 mod / +01 save
Cha: 02 - -4 mod / -04 save
Proficiency: +4
+8 general staff/dagger, but he's half meat wheel, so whatever.
This is going to be the clusterfuck.
The artery will move.
Cutting the artery of Lonnegan will make him vulnerable. He will keep talking, weirdly, at Anne, constantly, until she dies. He strikes just fine with his hands.
Phiro
Ac: 20
Prof: +3
Str: 10
Dex: 20 (Mod+5/Sav+8)
Con: 13 (Mod/Sav +1)
Int: 17 (Mod/Sav +3)
Cha: 13 (Mod/Sav +1)
Earlin is going to be disabled at the get go, Lonnegan is going to spit him. It will make him vulnerable, we'll see if they get it.
Anne needs to be killed with the dagger.
Gods and gods. Gods and gods and gods and gods and gods.
Acamorian Fighter
Str 18 (+4)
Dex 14 (+2)
Con 19 (+4)
Int 11
Wis 09 (-1)
Cha 10
HP: 44
AC: 19 (17 Arm) (2 shld)
Longsword +6 Atk 1D8+4 Dmg
4D8 Superiority Die
1D10 heal as bonus action (once)
Disarm – One creature hit must make Str save or drop something they are holding.
Precise Strike – Gain A superiority die to an attack roll
Riposte – React when missed by a melee attack to attack back and deal superiority die extra damage.
Well, I guess that's the end.
Congrats to some, and fuck the rest.
No,
Fuck everybody, and congrats to some.
This shit is going to get real, REAL fast.
THIS IS THE BREAK FOR THE CURRENT SCRIPT
LEAVING AND RETURNING OUTSIDE OF TOWN RESULTS IN AN UTTERLY DESTROYED ROTSWOLD – NO PICKMAN ACADEMY, NO FOLIAGE, NOTHING, JUST ASHES AND ROCK STRUGGLING BETWEEN PALE GREY SHADES AND DARKER EARTHY TONES.
(A WEEK'S TRAVEL) ANNE'S SUGGESTION TO TRAVEL TO A TEMPLE AAAALWAYS RESULTS IN THEM BEING FLAT OUT TERRIFIED OF HER, AND UNWILLING TO HELP. SHE'S UNTRUSTWORTHY, IMPULSIVE, CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DEMON AND A SINNER. THEY WANT TO SHUT HER OUT AS MUCH AS THEY CAN.
(WE'LL SAY IT TAKES FIVE DAYS) JAYNE MAY GO TO THE DRUIDS. THEY ARE RATHER DISTURBED BY THE DESCRIBED EVENTS, NOTING WEAKNESSES IN THE STONE AND FEAR IN THE EARTH – A GENUINE FEAR TO GROW.
RINALDO? OH GOD, LET'S SEE IF HE COMES UP WITH ANY IDEAS.
CAMPAIGN NOTES
*Julick's been gone for two months. (THE START)
*Stoneroot church based on old worship ground
*REWARD 25 GOLD
*Jess is in possession of two journal entries. Neither are of Julick's authorship. (Noted with asterisks on page 5)