[sblock=OOC]First, some bookkeeping. Business is taking me to New York City Thursday through Sunday, but I'll have my laptop so I should be posting as usual. If there's a drop-off, I wanted to warn you. Thankfully, NYC isn't rural Kentucky...[/sblock]
[sblock=Veruzak]A crit on Arcana, huh? That gives a success in the investigation, which I'll explain in a moment. Before that, what you were searching for. No sign of scrying or the halfling. There is a faint magical aura around Elder Frin, suggesting he is a long-time arcane user. Captain Yurian has a decently strong (level 4) magical item on him, but the recent ritual is preventing you from telling what, exactly, it is on him.
Historical, there is nothing that matches what you're hearing yet. Haurton itself is a small fishing community. It's fallen on hard times as it drifts in the Transitive Isles, but used to be much closer to the mainland, before the Empire fell and Daunton was established. With a 21, you know that piracy is not unknown around here, and Daunton would make a good isle to store a cache of goods on, so there may be some evidence of that, espescially on the northern and western parts of the isle. The village, for reference, is in the southeast, on the least volatile waters of the isle.
No connection to the Far Realm that you know of.
Now, the success. Your Arcana shows you something else (and you needed a 30 to get this blind, but it makes sense here because your focus was so broad). There's a subtle magic in the earth beneath you, and it seems to be moving around. You've never felt or heard of anything like it before. It feels wrong in an indescribable way, as though this is power you can sense but could never use. Heck of a roll.[/sblock]
[sblock=Bell]
Arcana, History, Nature for Bell. (1d20+9,1d20+11,1d20+4=[3, 9], [5, 11], [9, 4])
So, an 11 for Arcana leaves you without a clue.This is something very, very new to you. Likewise, a 16 for History reveals nothing to you. There's some vague stories of missing villages, but you don't know enough about what happened in the early days of those disappearances to know if this fits. A 13 Nature gives you much the same results as the Arcana check, which is nada.
Sorry for the crap rolls, but IC goes through periods where it hates me. Might be the start of one of those.[/sblock]
[sblock=Catein]Your insight gives you this tidbit. At mention of the halfling, Yurian seems just a bit perturbed and Elder Igliens is maybe a little nervous, but it's both subtle things. No one else would have noticed, even the two men; it was more a subconcious flinch than a conscious reaction. They don't talk about him, notice.[/sblock]
Elder Igliens chuckles darkly at the mention of Krill Koll.
"By the end of his little episode, most of those in earshot were crowded around. I myself was there for almost all of it, but the words were nonsense. He never finished his sentences, and his thoughts seemed to jump around wildly.
"The sparks...! They're, they're in me, but...
"Her head's all... why does it slope...? Who are... leave me be!
"In... in the sparks... she's in the sparks, in me, in the sparks with them, in me, in... in... oh, gods!
"And that was some of the more intelligible phrases he used. At one point, he was screaming in clicks or something like. Yurian, you were there by then."
Yurin nods.
"Aye, I was. It was sounds like I would not expect a human throat to make. The snap of leather on on leather, or perhaps better the smash of one crab shell on another, but over and over again. His eyes were rolled up at this point, and he was shaking all over. I saw a man once hit in the head. His brain was smashed in in the front, but he lived for more than ten minutes. Krill's movement reminded me of his. It was like he couldn't control his own body."
Igliens gestures with his hand, an almost imperious gesture.
"Ask who you want about it, but the fact is whatever he was talking about, we couldn't see it and we had no, what's the word, no context to understand him in. Maybe you can find meaning in the words, but I'm not sure how..."
Elder Frin broke in.
"Ask anyone whatever you need in this matter. In fact, if there are no more questions, we can get to the contracts and let you get started..."
[sblock=Veruzak, Kendrick]You've got the perception for this; there's the faint sound of a man yelling in the direction the docks. It sounds a bit surprised, but there's no sign of danger in it.[/sblock]
[sblock=Progress]I'd like to give you at least one more round of questions, especially since Catein hasn't gotten a chance yet. So while things might be moving, there's still time for roleplay.
This dovetails into something else that's actually come up in other threads: splitting the party. As a DM in a PbP game, I've found that as long as everyone is working towards something, splitting the party is not as disasterous as in a face to face game, so if you
want to do that I can promise that you won't likely run into something that you would need the whole party for, and if you do I'll make sure to drop anvilicious hints beforehand.[/sblock]
[sblock=The Investigation]
1 SUCCESS
Clues/Facts:
- Three months ago, animals start acting up. It starts in forest, spreads to farms and village.
- Three weeks ago, a farmhand named Rand entered the Sea Foam Tavern and started attacking people. Was killed by a blow to the head.
- A week ago, Krill Kol enters the villages screaming about sparks and strange people before passing out. Has no memory of event on awakening.
- Six days ago, two people killed by an eight year old boy named Mart. Boy subsequently killed by Lt. Rayn.
- Patrols sent out to investigate. Eighteen men disappeared and one was found killed, apparently by a member of the guard. Lt. Rayn was one of the men who disappeared.
- Veruzak may have found something...
Possible Actions:
- Talk with Krill Koll about his episode.
- Talk with the witness that are still around of the events.
- Investigate the bodies of Rand and Mart. Arcana, Nature, Heal, or give me a good reason for something else. Different skills may reveal different things.
[/sblock]
Please roll if you can. At least Arcana and Perception (those are applicable now)
