Picking up where Vixo left off Magnus began to delve into the more esoteric spaces of the house. Roaming from room to room, sometimes he walked back and forth without any seeming direction and others he would move directly to a particular place without hesitation. Occasionally he would scrawl a mark on the wall in some strange looping script. This slow task was punctuated with muttered one sided conversations of which the contents might only be discerned by the sometimes fearful look that crossed his face. When his inspections and preparations were finally complete he moved to the center most point of the dwelling and there he scribed a spiraling mark and sat there at the vortex of the building's essence. Exposing his mind, twisted already by such power, he searched for arcane disruptions.
Moving away from Morvannon, Kamotz comes to kneel near Grakk. The odor of old death, mixes with the smells of the recently deceased, as Kamotz shuffles through his robes. The shifter rummages until he finally brings papers, ink, and quill forward. A deep rumbling breath and then Kamotz looks Grakk in the eye, as he holds the paper up, Let me read you a reminder, "Slardazial, with his last breathe, gave us his thanks for relieving him of his mortal coil, as shadows took his body and soul from our physical presence." The followers of Zal'Ekthees revel in Death, they enjoy it. Look before you at this proof of their joy. We must destroy them, not just in body, but also in soul, by burning them away as Vrrsk't's people do. So that they may not gain power in Death. Death is my power, and it shall not be insulted in this manner.
Vrrsk't only nods in acknowledgment, anger at these dark deeds still boiling up within him, delayed as the light of the sun on it's journey to earth.
Kamotz reshuffles the papers, dabs his ink, and begins taking notes on the various marks, and their placement. He also takes a careful record of the unfortunate girls dental condition. He notes the bindings, before removing them, and the position of each body on the floor. This screamed of a blood ritual, and Kamotz was going to identify what was wrought of it.
We shall take from them more than just an eye Grakk, I promise to help you in this. The shifter continues his note taking, occasionally stepping in the way of Magnus' wanderings, preventing him from trotting on a body, or through pools of blood. Kamotz doesn't manage to stop the dwarf every time, and pretty soon, he notices the spiraling crimson pattern of dwarven footprints. *Does he even know he's doing that?* wonders the Cler'k as he watches Magnus, who seems almost oblivious to his surroundings, as per usual.
Breath Morvannon! reminds Kamotz, checking over his shoulder to make sure Morvannon hadn't gone unconscious from the shock.
EDIT: Kicking job on those wiki entries Cov! I really enjoyed rereading the adventure in such a short synopsis. Also it gives a great spot for linking later on. Thanks!
Grakk hears the words of Kamotz as he continues to stare at the mangled bodies. "Yes Kamotz...I see that you are right. Thankyou for your insight. If I were to do what I had planned, it would have only aided our enemies."
ooc
Grakk's skills aren't that great in the areas covaithe mentioned. Rather than trying something that would cause a failure, can someone explain to me the how to aide another in order to give a bonus to someone else in a skill check?
Use one of the primary skills SPECIFY that you want to "aid another" and hit a DC 10.
This gives a +2 to a primary skill.
Or be creative, and RP another skill. it may be a higher DC, but it has two options. It could "Unlock" new primary skills, or give that +2 to the current primary skill.
Well it has more options than that, Cov is creative...
"Well said, Kamotz. It occurs to me that these people, or at least this girl," Vrrsk't points at the girl with the broken teeth, "might need their bodies cleansed by Apoli's purifying light to prevent them returning as unholy vessels."
The big dragonborn tenderly examines the body of the girl, checking for signs of imminent undeath. He also tries to pick up some kind of pattern in the stab wounds on the various bodies, to see if he can link it to some ritual or cult that he has heard of.
"There are certain ways a body can be written upon at its death -- with blood, with blade, with fire or acid. These writings sometimes protect the spirit of the deceased... but sometimes, these writings corrupt the passing of the soul and dark things occur. We have all seen this recently..."
ooc
sorry for the delay. I completely forgot about this game. Thanks for covering for me, cabana.
"It's not just that," Morvannon says faintly in response to Kamotz's concern. "That business with Slardy-whosis was just as nasty on a physical level. It's that..." he sits and takes a deep breath.
"It doesn't look like these people got to fight back. This wasn't battle, it was torment."
Setting his jaw, the half-elf stands and moves out of the room. "I think I'm going to see what Magnus is up to."
Following the sound of jangling keys, Morvannon wandered through the rest of the house, his eyes unfocused as he remembered Magnus's talks on tracing arcane residue. He let his vision trace over the walls and doorframes as he opened up his senses.
Magnus tries to get a feel for the house's arcane structure, the subtle distortions in the fabric of reality that every building engenders, over time. After walking around it and taking its measure, he sits in the physical center of the house, feeling for the metaphorical heart of its ethereal parallel. Something is off, though; the heart should be near the physical center, if all is as it appears. But Magnus feels a distinct imbalance downward. For a single-floor house with no subterranean structure, this is distinctly surprising.
Kamotz, with Vrrsk't's capable aid, gives the dead girl's mouth a closer examination. The jagged broken teeth have bits of flesh in them, corresponding to cuts in her lips and gums, but the cuts are completely bloodless. Kamotz concludes that whatever broke her teeth and jaw happened to her long after her death. Perhaps her mouth was pried open? There are traces of wool fiber caught between her teeth. The fibers are long and fine; expensive stuff.
Vrrsk't begins to chant the words of a rite for the dead, trying to ease these poor souls along their eternal path. Halfway through he feels a resistance. The words twist and fall flat from his mouth. It's not that the words have no power; it's as if he were pulling a heavy burden with a strong rope, and the rope began to fray and pull away from the burden. You remember High Priest Belingras mentioning that his priests have had difficulty administering the funeral rites to the murder victims, too.
Morvannon follows Magnus' work, and begins to search for traces of magic in a downward direction. The great hall, the dining room and kitchen, the sitting room and a rather nice library fail to arrest his arcane senses, but in a hallway between the library and a suite of bedrooms, he suddenly stops and finds himself looking at a low fireplace. There is a definite tingle of magic nearby.
status
5 success, 1 failure. Grakk and Vixo are up, if I'm not mistaken. Current primary skills are, I think, Perception, Thievery, Arcana, Dungeoneering, Religion, or Insight.
Kamotz acknowledges both Vrrsk't and Morvannon Vrrsk't, excellent idea, If the writing helps or hinders, it may be possible to alter the symbols, much like we did with the scepter... The shifter catches Morvannon's eye before he leaves, What you say is true, be grateful they were not your kin. Kamotz eye's mist, and a soft, yet high pitched whimper is emitted as well. He collects himself quickly, and returns to his task.
OOC
@Roadtoad, I don't deserve all the credit, Cov had a large amount to do with it.
Grakk notices Morvannon pausing by the fireplace, and moves over there as well. "What brought you here Morvannon?" Grakk says in a curious voice. He traces his fingers along the border of the fire place, as if to look for a secret exit or opening. He then knocks on the back wall of the fire place, testing the thickness of the wall in hopes to notice a hollow area. Thinking that he might have found a spot, he then kicks at it with great force.
Grakk's sharp eyes spot a faint iridescent gleam just above the stones near one of the vertical sides of the fireplace. Suspicious, he gives the stones a good sharp kick, and is rewarded with the sound, not of solid stone, but of wooden planks splintering beneath his boot!
With the illusion identified, it is the work of moments by the party's skilled magic users to see through it. With the illusion dispelled, the fireplace is slightly smaller, and the stones on the side Grakk kicked are really a narrow doorway with a simple latch. Grakk has very nearly kicked the door off; it hangs loosely by one hinge, half open. Through the gap you can see that the space behind the door is a very narrow staircase leading steeply down. Those of you who are large or heavily armored will have to squeeze to pass through.
Vrrsk't, what do you make of this? Kamotz holds out some of the fiber, pinched between hairy fingers. It came from within her mouth, she may have been hiding whatever it was. Her jaw was pried to get at it, or that's what it looks like. The shifter begins to wonder what Magnus could be up to, as the silence had gone on for a while, and that was never a good sign where Magnus was involved.
Standing, and tucking the evidence in a small bag, Kamotz rushes to Morvannon. Seeing the hole in the wall, he slows, and cocks his head to the side.
Good find, let's take care of the dead, and then follow the trail. This is all I have, Kamotz pulls the fiber from his bag and shows it to Morvannon. Whatever it came from was pried from the girls mouth. he turns and heads back toward the entrance.
Popping his head out, Guards, send a runner to the Temple of Lauto. Tell them I have five bodies, tainted, for pick up.
With the dead cared for, Kamotz returns to the pack and the mission at hand.
"Yessir," the guard bangs his fist on his chest in salute and goes to make it happen.
ooc
If (when?) you decide to go down the narrow stair, I'd like a marching order and a list of whatever light sources you use, along with any other precautions. You know the drill.
Kamotz will be second in line, unless someone else wants behind Vrrsk't, whom I'm assuming wants to be up front with the light... He will have both hands on his triple-headed flail, which will be out.
Kamotz has to Squeeze doesn't he? Crap... Can anyone fit without squeezing? I'm looking at you Vixo...
Kamotz will be second in line, unless someone else wants behind Vrrsk't, whom I'm assuming wants to be up front with the light... He will have both hands on his triple-headed flail, which will be out.
Kamotz has to Squeeze doesn't he? Crap... Can anyone fit without squeezing? I'm looking at you Vixo...
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You think Kamotz has to squeeze...what about Grakk!
Grakk will go last, bringing up the rear. He'll have his great sword "biter" out ready to pounce...that's if he makes it out of the cramped stairwell without getting stuck!
What kind of armor were the guards outside wearing? if it is hide or leather, and that would allow Kamotz to avoid squeezing, I'd have him pay them full price.
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