A Tainted World (5/18/04)

[Teneb]

Hopps Spring Eternal
Its been seven years since my self-imposed exile from Zardok Grove, and truth be told the solitude has left me feeling somewhat lonely. I happened upon a young human bard with the illustrious moniker of Linder Goldentongue recently. The boy was quite friendly and asked me to join him on a quest to locate some deceased skald’s hoard. I agreed, and upon our success I earned myself a new spear and a nice ring that augments my natural druidic abilities. Time well spent if you ask me.

Having completed this task, Linder sought to rejoin his adventuring company. He invited myself and Porkchop, my boar companion, to accompany him. Heartened by the prospect of intelligent conversation (Porkchop isn’t very talkative), I readily agreed.

On the way to Harwich, Linder filled me in on his group’s doings of late. A local nobleman named Greely Prime sought the return of his fiance who had been kidnapped; he offered an astonishing 50,000 gold pieces for her rescue. Naturally, everyone in the area was looking for the lass, Ianthe. It turns out that Linder’s group had found the girl, but that she was trying to escape from Greely. He was forcing her to marry him against her will. Furthermore, he sought to kill Ianthe’s brother Edward, who was a local baron. With the baron gone and his only heir married to Greely, Master Prime would be granted total legal control of the baron’s land. This Greely doesn’t sound like a terribly nice fellow.

We reached Harwich where Linder’s friends and Ianthe were hiding out at baron Edward’s estate. Just outside of town we met one of the party members at a pub. Sam was a tough looking monk, but the effect was somewhat mitigated by the fact that the lad had obviously been in the cups. I imagine he’s nice enough when sober.

On our way into the city proper, we were confronted by several men in Greely’s livery; they were thick like flies on a deer carcass. They wanted to know if we had learned anything regarding Ianthe. Linder put on quite a song and dance while I grunted noncommittally and Sam smiled drunkenly. Exasperated, the guard waved us on. As we walked past, I noticed a face peeking out of a nearby building, observing us. I had the insight to realize Greely’s men seemed to be surrounding this same building. Curious.

We made our way to the baron’s manor via a circumspect route and met the rest of Linder and Sam’s group. It is an....eclectic collection of people. Most notable was Gruck, a half-orc barbarian. Being a fellow Wilder, I liked him immediately. Narissa is the group’s spellflinger, a female elf who seemed cold and aloof. I suppose if I faced the Taint with every breath I’d be a bit distant as well. Tarrick is the group’s sneak; a nice enough fellow, if a tad overconfident. Finally, there’s Oskar. At first my spirits lifted upon meeting a fellow dwarf. My enthusiasm quickly dissipated upon learning he is a priest. The Church and Wilders have a contentious relationship, a fact that played no small part in the last seven years of my life. For the moment I’ll tolerate his presence, mainly by ignoring it.

Introductions made, the rest of the group informed us that an assassination attempt had been made against Baron Edward using a poisoned pastry. The staff alchemist discovered it was a two part toxin; both compounds were harmless until mixed. The group had already swept through the bakers which delivered the pastry, fighting and killing the bakers (a powerful rogue/monk duo). Evidence at the bakery implicated Zorrell’s brewery as the source for the second part of the toxin (Edward enjoyed his ale). The brewery was our next objective.

After placing the brewery under brief surveillance, the group moved in at midnight. Tarrick expertly picked the lock on a side door, and quietly crept into the building. Unfortunately, two concealed attackers pounced on the rogue and felled him in a flurry of knife thrusts. As Tarrick lay dying, the attackers blocked the door, enticing us to assault them. Fearing for his friend’s waning health, Sam attempted to summersault over the assassins, but was pushed back into the rest of the party. Becoming angry, Gruck dealt a mighty blow to one of the attackers, while Narissa used a scorching ray to further injure the man. Seeing a bottleneck at the side entrance, I went around to the main delivery door and tried to batter it down after wildshaping into a brown bear. Sadly, I failed and the noise disrupted Gruck, costing him an awful gash in his arm by the hooded attacker.

Desperate to save Tarrick, Sam launched into the man blocking the door, shattering his jaw with a well placed kick while Narissa again used scorching ray on the other attacker, who fell back into the warehouse portion of the building. Oskar healed Gruck’s wound while I continued to try and break down the door, failing (I had a cold). Tarrick was tended to, though in the commotion I’m not sure by whom. Sam pursued the fleeing assassin while everyone (except me, blasted door) crammed into the warehouse. With a flurry of blows, Sam knocked the second attacker prone before he could reach a door to another part of the building. Unfortunately, a third attacker chose this opportunity to drop a shelf full of barrels on Gruck, Oskar, and Narissa, barely missing the still reeling Tarrick. This attacker was eventually backed into a corner and, failing to yield, was killed (only after dropping more barrels on Gruck “barrel magnet” and Sam).

We regrouped, healing those that were injured, and prepared to enter the brewing area. Upon opening the door, we spied a half-dozen workers and a half-orc overseer. After seeing us, they all armed themselves with whatever weapons were nearby and stood in a confrontational manner. At this point, I should point out that I had returned to my normal form. I was frustrated by my inability to break the delivery door. I was frustrated at the beating some of my new friends had taken. I was angry at the pollution this brewery was adding to a nearby stream, which I had witnessed as we waited outside earlier. When I saw a bunch of people standing before me armed, well, I flamestruck the lot of them.

In retrospect, this may have not been the most opportune action. Sam, who is a paragon of law, nearly had a conniption fit. He screeched that he couldn’t countenance such criminal activity and immediately quit the battle. As it turns out, I killed three of the workers outright, and the badly charred survivors quickly fled. Gruck intimidated the half-orc leader, who indicated we should go through the front door, rather than through the brewing area. He kept looking over his shoulder, clearly afraid of someone else nearby.

We all withdrew, with Sam grudgingly bringing up the rear, and went through the front door. Finding nothing of note, we located the stairs and went up. Surprisingly, we found a young boy named Zeke playing in a small play area at the top of the stairs. Linder kept the boy occupied while Gruck and Tarrick examined the two doors leading from the playroom. Several things occur at once. Tarrick went through one door as Gruck told him to go through the other. Tarrick’s track record for walking into rooms at this point wasn’t stellar, and that trend continued as he was gutted yet again by a gnome wielding twin short swords. At the same time, “Zeke” discarded the pretense of being a child and lunged at the distracted Linder. Turns out Zeke was an assassin. Who had been studying Linder’s movements. So he could kill him. Zeke shoved his hand into Linder’s throat and the bard collapsed into a heap of gelatin. Things got ugly from there.

The rest of us went pounding up the stairs while Gruck faced off against the gnome. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I cast heat metal upon the gnome’s swords, hoping to distract him. Narissa flung ice knife after ice knife at Zeke, but he expertly dodged them all. Truth be told, the assassin was slippery as an otter. No one could land a blow against him. I summoned a minor thunderstorm in the room and directed lightning bolts at the assassin, and this thankfully seemed to hurt him a little. Tarrick recovered a little from his second filleting of the night and went after the gnome. Gruck succumbed to his inner fire and became enraged....I could see the gnome cringe from across the room. He didn’t last long.

That still left us with the problem of the insane assassin/monk. In the blink of an eye, he had disarmed Tarrick, back flipped past Gruck, punched me in the face (hey!), and knocked Narissa out cold. Oskar, who was wearing platemail mind you, actually TUMBLED past a few of us in order to help Narissa. Seeing the odds finally turn against him, the monk/assassin retreated past Gruck into the room the gnome was in and jumped through a plate glass window that overlooked the brewing room. We chose not to pursue (ok, he was moving at the speed of light...we couldn’t pursue).

 

[Teneb]

....And All Heck Broke Loose
After clearing the upstairs of opponents, the group got down to business. Sam and I went outside to act as lookouts, while Gruck attempted to debrief the half-orc overseer we encountered earlier. The others began searching the second floor for any incriminating evidence.

Before long a number of town guards emerged from the darkness, arriving at a trot. I stepped forward to try and delay them while Sam stuck his head back inside the building to give the “get out!” signal we had agreed upon earlier. He contemplated fleeing, but a moment of indecision cost him as one of the guards slapped manacles on his wrists. I was similarly subdued.

Meanwhile, Gruck manhandled the half-orc out a side door. The stupid brute refused to run and Gruck was forced to leave him. Upstairs, Narissa, Oskar, and Tarrick scrambled to come up with a plan. Narissa climbed out the window overlooking the brewing floor and headed for the door Gruck had just exited. Unfortunately, the guard who had come to take possession of the stupid half-orc also collared the unlucky sorceress. Oskar also tried to climb out the window, but slipped, attempting a back flip to lessen the impact (again, in plate mail). Seeing Narissa’s capture, Oskar ducked into the small adjoining break room. He was soon confronted by two town guards who were searching the building. The cleric proceeded to lie his holy pants off and convinced the two that he was a newly hired guard for the brewery. Sadly, the facade was broken when he asked for his manacles back, which we had earlier used to bind one of the ambushers when we first entered.

As Sam, Oskar, Narissa, and I were led to jail, Tarrick grabbed a few items from the deceased gnome. Hearing the searching guards coming up the stairs, our rogue opened the other door on the second floor and hid in what appeared to be a small alchemical lab. Unbeknownst to Tarrick, the room had a timed trap on it; by not closing the door he set it off. Several bottles of alchemists fire fell from the ceiling and the entire lab was engulfed in flame. Fortunately, Tarrick had the presence of mind to grab one of the vials he spotted on a nearby workbench before it was consumed. He managed to sneak out of the building and scurry off into the night. [OOC: Linder's player was unable to attend this week's session, so we decided he "went invisible" and stayed that way the whole time.]

Obviously, I was unaware of all this at the time. My compatriots and I were locked into the local jail; I was in the wilderness alone for seven years, but being locked in that iron and stone prison made me long for a bath for the first time since leaving my home. Buildings make me nauseous.

The next morning, we were publicly charged with robbing the brewery, as well as the local bakery (which technically I was not a part of, but no one seemed inclined to listen). Furthermore, we were charged with the “murders” of several “prominent citizens”. I distinctly recall hawking and spitting at that point. A cleric of Suldane named Katra was presented to judge us. She cast a spell (we presume it was Zone of truth) and we told our side of the story, leaving nothing out. Katra informed the mayor that every word we spoke were lies, and promptly left. I should take the time to point out that Oskar is also a priest of Suldane. My opinion of the clergy grows by leaps and bounds.

The mayor promptly ordered us hung, to be carried out at noon. We were escorted back to our cells for the few hours remaining to us. Sam ineffectually slammed at the iron door to his cell, while Narissa fiddled with her manacles to no avail. Oskar chatted up the guards and managed to discover that they were tipped off to our activities at the brewery - that’s how they arrived so quickly.

Word unexpectedly came to us that our execution was to be postponed. Gruck and Tarrick had made it to Edward with proof of the plot against him. Edward called in a favor with the mayor and we were given a stay of execution so that further evidence could be gathered. We were still held, but at least we were still alive.

Shortly after receiving the relatively good news, another guard entered the jail. He didn’t quite smell right, and we pestered the original guards until they finally questioned the newcomer. It turns out this was the monk who escaped us at the brewery in disguise. He killed one of our guards outright, and was clearly a superior fighter when compared to those that remained. All the while, he looked at us in our cells with murder in his eyes. It was clear he intended to silence us forever.

I had taken quite enough by this point. Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I wildshaped into a squirrel and walked between the bars of my cell. The homicidal monk didn’t pay much attention to me, knocking another guard unconscious in the meantime. Then I wildshaped again......into a bear. I grabbed the little nutter in a bearhug, and bore him to the ground. He was a slippery bugger, and nearly escaped my grasp a few times. Introducing his skull to the stone floor several times took the fight right out of him, and he slumped unconscious. I changed back to my dwarven form and raised my hands to my sides, indicating my surrender to the guards. Sam whispered some invectives at the fallen monk (I think he wanted a rematch) while Oskar pleaded to aid the fallen guards.

 

[Kalendraf]

A Mayor's Dilemma

Being the mayor of Cossor was certainly not an enviable job. Most of the time, there was little actual governing to do in this small town. To make matters worse, as of late, the Baron Greeley Prime of Harwich seemed to be having his say in all too many of the matters of importance in this region. Greeley was persuasive, and he'd found it was best not to get in the baron's way. Right now, the Prime guards were everywhere in Cossor, outnumbering the town's own city guards by almost two to one. Of course they claimed to be searching for Greeley's betrothed, Ianthe, but there was no doubt that a few of those squads would stay behind even after the missing bride-to-be was found.

The mayor had found solace in a warm cup of brandy as he sat by the fireplace. He'd been reading well past midnight once again, and it was time to hit the sack. His wife had long since given up calling him, and his excuses of working late on "city business" had worn thin. Suddenly, rapid knocks at the door were followed by loud voices in the hall. He headed toward the ruckus and saw the town guard captain speaking to one of his personal guards.

Could the news get much worse? In the last day, three prominent townsfolk had been murdered. A respected baker and his helper were the first to be discovered butchered in a backroom at the bakery. Now the brewery had been broken into, and its proprietor slain. Fortunately, the guards had managed to round up the thugs that had done these dastardly deeds. Reminder to self: make sure the captain of the guard gets a medal for this.

After writing a quick note to summon one of the priests from the temple of Suldane, the Mayor of Cossor handed it to his messenger, Padris, and finally went to bed. The trial would be in the morning, so he needed sleep. By the time he finally did fall asleep, it was over two hours past the witching hour.

The 's crow woke him at dawn, and he hurriedly washed then dressed in his judicial fineries. His wife gave him a rude look, obviously not appreciating the late night noise and his even later coming to bed. "There's been three murders, but they caught 'em dear. Do I have this on straight?" Finally, she helped him straighten the outfit, but never spoke to him.

He arrived at the town hall which served as court for matters such as this. After a few quick accolades for the guards, he caught a glimpse of the priestess, Katra. She'd been sent by the temple of Suldane a few times before this. Long ago, the mayor's of Cossor didn't rely on outside help in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused. But the temple had made some very persuasive offerings, and ever since it had been customary to have a priest on hand to oversee the proceedings. Of course, he didn't really need their help as he had a knack for seeing thru lies and bluffs. In fact, ever since he'd been mayor and had overseen this court, he had almost never missed noting such things. He continued to wind his way to Katra, to greet her, but then was intercepted by one of the guards. "They are ready for you sir."

He turned and walked into the hall, observing first the guards and what few other spectators had arrived. Then he look squarely at the group accused of murder. There were four of them. A burly man, two dwarves and an elven lass. One of the dwarves had the look of a wilding. The other dwarf wore a symbol of Suldane. Strange. The elven lass was exquisitely beautiful. The man looked rather plain.

The captain read the charges against them. As he did, the mayor kept a very close eye on the group to see their reactions. The mayor had already read a brief report, but there were a few new details. The robes worn by the baker's helper were found in the possession of the man in this group. There were also signs that both the baker and his assistant had been bound and then killed afterwards, probably tortured along they way. There was also evidence of robbery at the bakery. The biggest news was that one of their number had escaped. A certain half-orc with a double-axe was seen running from the brewery. The murders at the bakery and now at the brewery had been very bloody, and the weapons found on these four were not necessarily capable of causing such wounds. This was troubling. Finally, the report was complete, and it was time for the defendants to speak their side.

Katra invoked her truth spell, and then the accused were allowed to tell their tale. They began quite a ways back, indicating they'd headed to Harwich to collect a reward for Ianthe. So they were bounty hunters? They'd headed into the swamp and managed to find her along with a certain healer named Quentin. When Ianthe awoke, she accused Greeley of planning to kill her brother Edward and then kill her after the wedding, in order to gain control of land held by her family. Interesting...such a plot would not be unlike Greeley, but I would never imagine him being that ruthless. Still, it was amazing that these bounty hunters could think up such a tale. After returning to Cossor, they'd foiled an assassination attempt against Edward. His food and drink when mixed had somehow lead to it being poisoned. Quite an inventive story. The half-poisoned pastry had come from the bakery, and so the party had gone there to search for answers. They'd broken in - they admitted that much - and then were ambushed by the baker and his helper. According to the defendants, these were no ordinary bakers, but assassins. There were a few chuckles in the courtroom at this. In the basement they found a lab for making poison, as well as two very large spiders apparently being raised for venom. They also claim to have found notes about combination poisons, and the baker's logbook also had some interesting notation. Of course, they couldn't provide this book or the lab notes, as they claimed they'd taken it back to Edward's mansion.

The other half of the poison was in Edward's ale, so they headed to the brewery the next night to look for more evidence. Once again, they broke in, but this time the night guards ambushed them. Eventually, they headed upstairs to the main offices, and there they were attacked by...a child and gnome with a snake? Again there were more chuckles in the courtroom. They claimed that once again these were assassins. The child managed to escape, but they killed the gnome and the snake. It wasn't long after this that the guard showed up and captured them.

Each of the four took their turns speaking, and the mayor kept a close watch on them for any signs of a lie. Amazingly, they seemed to be telling the truth. Were these four innocent? This case was far more complex than it originally seemed. Katra finished her note-taking and stepped forward. She handed the mayor the papers, and then turned and left.

The mayor watched her leave, and once again took a close look at the party. They didn't seem to be afraid. Perhaps it was the truth. He then looked down at the papers. The words were damning; their story was full of lies. A few things were true, like the break-in and killing the bakers and brewer, but the rest was false. How had he not been able to detect that? They must be quite skilled at deception. There was no going against the church on something of this magnitude. There was only one verdict that would satisfy the town and the church. "Guilty. You will be hanged at noon!" He saw the color drain from them, and noted their protests, but he walked out without looking back again.

Why couldn't he see thru their tale? Maybe it was the alcohol from last night. That could have dulled his senses. Or perhaps it was the lack of sleep. Only getting a few hours of shut eye once again was beginning to take its toll on him. He headed back to the estate, not sure what to do between now and the hanging at noon. Maybe he'd be able to finish his book. He arrived at the estate and only then did he realize he was still clutching Katra's papers. He tossed them on the desk and picked up the book he'd been reading.

As he curled up on the couch, he'd barely gotten thru another chapter before a messenger arrived with a satchel. He looked at it and immediately noted the symbol on the flap. It was Edward's crest. He signed the messenger's confirmation note and then pulled open the satchel. Inside was a book and a hastily written letter.

"Old Friend. I hope it has not been too long. I ask a favor of you. Please delay the hanging of the group accused of murder. Their tale may seem far-fetched, but it is true. I'm entrusting this book to you as evidence to help clear them. The special notes in the border indicate poisoned deliveries. We still need to find hard evidence to link this to the baron. Both of us would like to find a way to rid Cossor of the Baron's presence once and for all, and this may be our chance. However, due to the current situation, I'm afraid I can't risk leaving my mansion. I hope you can help find a solution. Edward."

For a few moments, he thought it might be a forgery. There was still that half-orc out there, and possibly another cagey fellow as well. But that was surely Edward's writing. He knew that handwriting...

And then it struck him like a mace across his brow. The handwriting!

He jumped from the chair and headed to his files where he started digging through some old papers. Finally found what he was looking for. Late last year, Katra had come to help oversee a robbery trial. He'd kept her notes from that case as well. He looked at it, and it confirmed what he now knew. The handwriting was totally different. The previous writing from Katra was very fluid and had wide loops for the letters, but this new paperwork bore handwriting that was very tight and narrow.

A disguise? Perhaps a magical one? If their story is true, then there are assassins at work, and they could be anywhere in town, right under his nose. He hastily wrote a note to delay the execution. He went to the hallway and summoned Padris to deliver the note. After the messenger had left, the mayor had another sudden insight. What if they have agents here at the estate? Who can I trust? Padris was one of the only people who knew of the summons request. Could he...no, he couldn't. He's been a loyal servant for years, and there's no way he'd do anything to harm anyone. Perhaps one of the guards is responsible. He glanced at the guard near the door who was looking at him intently. He quickly looked away and headed back into his study, closing the door firmly.

Think. Who can I trust?

 

[Kalendraf]

Background info

This is an OOC post.

I'd first like to thank Shannon for starting this storyhour thread. The campaign has been going on for several months now (since just before the time when 3.5 edition came out), and Shannon has recently joined our group. For those interested, here are some details regarding this particular campaign.

The world is homebrew. It's using 3.5 rules (we made a wholesale switch after the 2nd adventure and haven't looke back). It's like most fantasy worlds, but has a few distinct changes. Most notable is that the arcane spellpool of this world has become Tainted. Exactly how it occured remains a mystery, but apparently it was the result of same ancient ritual gone awry. All arcane casters alive at that time died or became Tainted. A tremendous war ensued with the surviving un-infected peoples barely winning against the army of Tainted ones. Since then, the arcane magics have been dangerous to use, and items crafted with arcane magic often become cursed. Arcane casters risk becoming infected by the Arcane Taint which leads to bizarre transformations, as well as turning them into conduits for raw and unpredictable energies. For a long time, arcane casters, then called witches and warlocks, were actively hunted down for fear of the threat they posed to the rest of civilization. The churches that survived the coming of the Taint gathered together and created an organization called the Witchhunters, and they charged this new order with the disposal of all arcane things: casters, books, magic items, etc. Eventually, the witchhunters orders were changed to only allow them to hunt down Taint-infected casters, but some of them broke off from the original organization and continue to hunt spellcasters. All arcane casters still live very secret lives, fearing that those splinter groups might find them. Bards have been found to be largely immune to the taint, but that is another story. The impact of the Arcane Taint has led to a few strong churches filling the void in the power structure. Most governments answer to the church, and the churches have the strongest armies between their orders of Knights and the witchhunters which still answer their call. In addition, with magic being viewed as dangerous and unpredictable, there aren't as many magical items found in this world. Besides there being far fewer crafters, the witchhunters have destroyed many of the older items of power.

Before the dwarf druid joined the group, there had been 6 primary PCs which are all currently 7th level: Sam (human monk), Gruck (half-orc fighter), Oskar (dwarf cleric), Linder (human bard), Narissa (elf sorceress), and Tarrick (human rogue). Sadly, the player who runs Narissa is unable to continue play due to scheduling problems, so we are back at 6 PCs once again.

The campaign has used a few published adventures alongside several home-made ones. To date, the published adventures have included: Evil's Lesser Minions (by Pinwheel Games), Hobgoblin Outpost (Wizards of the Coast web enhancement), Witch of Serpent's Bridge (Dungeon Magazine) and The Magic Dump (by Monkey God Enterprises). I often make small changes to the published adventures in order to fit them into the campaign. In the most recent one (Magic Dump) I changed up a few of the primary location names as well as some of the NPC's titles. In my version, Harwich is a city in the 4 lakes region which lies just to the north of the town of Cossor. Edward is a noble in Cossor while Greeley is the Baron of Harwich. These small but important changes allowed me to fit this adventure into my campaign without much difficulty.

We try to play an average of 3 weeks out of 4, usually rotating hosting duties among the play group. A typical session starts at 7pm on Tuesday nights and runs 3 to 4 hours. All of us are professionals working in Rochester, MN. Most of us are pretty hardcore gamers, playing a variety of games besides this such as Magic or various computer games.

I hope you enjoy our story.

 

[Teneb]

A Pox Upon Half-Orcs
Things quieted down fairly quickly. I was locked back in my cell as a “precaution”, but the guards realized it was going to be hard to hold someone who could become a squirrel at will. The would-be assassin was unceremoniously dumped in another cell and left in unconscious bliss. Surprisingly, the mayor soon made an appearance and explained to us that he had deduced Katra was a fraud. He was very concerned about the apparent abundance of trained killers in town and asked us to investigate matters. To aid us, he agreed to spread the rumor that the monk was successful in killing us before himself being overcome by town guards. The mayor also deputized us, giving us some official investigative powers; obviously somewhat limited since we’re “dead”.

The mayor feared his household had been infiltrated by a spy, due to the quickness in which our capture was followed by our attempted murder. His personal secretary, Padris, has been delivering the mayor's decrees but the mayor vouches for Padris’ loyalty. All the same, we decided to follow Padris on his next message delivery (which incidentally was to the local church of Suldane, asking to come pick up our corpses). Perhaps Padris isn’t a spy but is being followed or otherwise intercepted.

We left the jail incognito, and soon hooked up with Gruck and Tarrick who were waiting outside to find out what happened to us. Sam kicked Gruck in the shin to get his attention (which nearly got Sam killed for real) and the whole group moved towards Edward's manor. Unfortunately, said manor was currently besieged by Prime guards. Gruck, Narissa, and Tarrick used our newly acquired badges to get into the manor to apprise Edward of what was going on, as well as pick up Linder who was tousling the maids. Narissa decided her attention was better spent researching the Taint and elected to stay behind at Edwards to do so. (OOC: Narissa’s player has started taking classes and won’t be playing for a good long while; ergo we’ve lost our sorceress. Ouch.)

We decided to split up in order to follow Padris from the mayor’s house to the church of Suldane. Tarrick would tail the courier on the ground while I followed from the air in raven form. The others would station themselves along Padris’ most likely route and watch for anyone following him. Padris set out and headed directly for the church. Unexpectedly, he walked into Tavik’s Tavern on the way, going several blocks off the most direct path to the church to do so. Tarrick followed the mayor’s man into the tavern, joined by Gruck who was stationed nearby. I flew to the roof of the building and watched the rear. Soon Padris, sans Gruck and Tarrick, emerged. Thinking my two compatriots on the ground had whatever was in the tavern taken care of, I followed Padris the rest of the way to the temple, as well as back to the mayor’s house. The rest of the journey was uneventful.

Eventually, we all meet back at the inn we had purchased rooms at. Tarrick and Gruck had been slipped a sleeping potion in the tavern, and were non-sensical for a period of time. Before dozing off, the two were able to overhear Padris meeting with a strange older woman, who told him “You have done well for Suldane and your country Padris”. The woman left through a door marked “Staff only” and that’s all the human and half-orc could remember. We rested for the remainder of the day and went back to Tavik’s to try and discover who the woman was and who she worked for.

A large half-orc guarded the “Staff” door and refused entry when Gruck asked to go past. I wildshaped into a ferret and secretly explored the off-limits area of the tavern. The kitchen and storage rooms were quite mundane, but a sturdy closed door piqued my curiosity. From the sounds coming from the other side, I presumed there was some sort of gambling going on, though I couldn’t confirm it (I wish ferrets had opposable thumbs!).

After reporting back to Gruck, he and Tarrick tried to fast-talk their way past the half-orc guard, whose name was Groth. Apparently all half-orc names need to sound like a form of hacking cough. At any rate, Groth was having none of their chatter and firmly told the duo the back rooms were off limits. Tarrick then hit upon the idea to get Groth drunk. After some initial reluctance (he wasn’t supposed to drink on duty), Groth was fairly well toasted. Linder even tried to help get the brute to move by spreading rumors with the many Prime guards in the establishment that Groth thought they were a bunch of pansies. Several of the guards moved closer to the half-orc while we watched gleefully. Sadly, after seeing Groth’s immense broadsword, the Primers sobered up and backed off.

We were all getting a bit frustrated with the door guard’s obstinacy. Linder cast invisibility on Tarrick in preparation for some sort of clandestine entry into the gambling room. However, fortune smiled upon us (or not) as someone outside shouted something about seeing Ianthe. The tavern promptly emptied of everyone except our party, Groth, and the bartender. With the riff-raff gone, things got interesting mighty quick.

The bartender started singing a song about a sheriff poking around in affairs that were too big for him; catchy little tune, but it didn’t lessen my desire to punch his face in. Unseen by us below, a gnome stepped onto the balcony above and dropped a fireball on all of us. We’re getting really tired of gnomes. It was a pitiful little fireball and no one was injured badly, but the fight was clearly on. Feeling the wizard was the greater threat, Oskar used a spiritual weapon on him while I conjured a thunderstorm in the building and fired a lightning bolt at him; this is fast becoming a favorite spell of mine. Sam raced up the stairs and also sighted on the mage. A barmaid, presumably the person who yelled about Ianthe, stepped through the front door. She raised a shortbow, a most un-ladylike weapon, and feathered Gruck twice.

Oskar raised his voice, beseeching Suldane for assistance against these apparent evildoers. His prayer was answered and our spirits were buoyed by Suldane’s grace. Linder began a song of his own detailing Tavrik’s parentage, which was not flattering. I directed another lightning bolt at the wizard while Gruck laid into the bard/bartender with his double axe. Sam took the mage out of the fight with a sweep kick that dropped the little gnome on his arse.

Things were going fairly well for us at this point. The mage was down, the bard wasn’t really doing anything, the barmaid was annoying (but I was heading for her...can you say “bear”?), and Groth was conflicted and not attacking. We should have realized the other shoe was going to drop. Another assailant came into view as she reached around Oskar’s shoulder and jammed a knife under his chin (OOC Invisible assassin NPC who had been observing Oskar for the first three rounds of combat - save or die attack. Bleh). He crumpled to the floor lifeless and things got a lot more interesting from there.

In desperation, I gave up going after the bowman and instead flamestruck her and the newly visible assassin, doing very little damage. Both the bard and Groth engaged Gruck, dealing a fair bit of hurt to our half-orc. The bowman continued firing at Gruck as well, while the assassin struck at me, grazing my tail. I scurried over to Gruck, who by this time had taken a royal beating at the hands of the bowman and Groth, and healed him a bit. Gruck stepped back from the fray long enough to quaff a healing potion as well. Above, Sam finished off the hapless wizard and prepared to leap down into the battle on the main floor.

Linder broke into a ditty on how humans are inferior fighters to half-orcs, which got Groth chuckling uncontrollably. This eased the pressure on Gruck, who was able to score a number of hits on the bard. Tarrick, better late than never, returned from his search of the back room in time to make use of his invisible state: he finished off the bowman with a well placed sword-thrust . In return, the bard directed a song at him that sent Tarrick into convulsions of laughter. Meanwhile, the female assassin flashed her cloak as a distraction, and everyone lost sight of her. I caught a glimpse and directed a lightning bolt at her. Homing in on that strike, Gruck landed a solid blow and the assassin went down. Gruck hammered on the bard a few more times, and Sam smashed down on him from above, knocking him cold. We gathered around Oskar's limp form and wondered aloud what to do next.

 

[Gruck]

Straight shootin from the half orc.

gruck see stupid singing guy
not like stupid singing guy
always yapping about how Gruck ugly
guess who is uglier, Gruck or singing guy with axe in head
Groth good guy. Wish he would shut up.
Groth and sneaky guy laughing like loons
might need dose of axe to shut up.
bear guy good.
not sure if he knock down holy guy but he make gruck feel good
healing drink taste like donkey crap.
cocky punchy guy always tell Gruck not to smash
gruck play dumb cause he like to smash
got lucky in fight cause sneaky guy not dead
gruck friends suck in fight, keep dying
see man about "make alive again" spell tomorrow
free beer now that singing guy not behind bar
Groth look like he need beer
not drink beer that have poison
which one not have poison????????
gruck find out
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Oskar_the_Dwarf]

A Message from Beyond....

.... all of a sudden the tavern clears out. Things seem mighty suspicious, so I get ready to attack the first thing that harms our party. Turns out to be yet another Gnomish caster (I'm starting to tire of these guys. I don't think I'll ever completely trust anything shorter than me again....) so I evoke a spiritual weapon of Suldane's favored weapon, a heavy flail, and send it againt the twerp. Sam races up to engage him too.

My next action is to aid our whole party and demoralize our foes. I pray for Suldane's aid in this. He graciously grants my request.

I'm thinking that the 1/2 orc worker here, Groth, is a pretty good guy. I'd hate to see any harm come to him becuase he was just following orders of some eveil master. I think I'll hold him still for a while so that he doen't continue hurting my friend Gruck.

** W H A M **

Ouch that hurt! Crit shot... sneak attack too! Impressive, my armor is pretty good.... No big deal, I am tough... whoa, what's this, something REALLY important was hit - I my body should able to fend of this ill wound... I think I can....

darkness overwhelming......
noooooo......................


[OOC: even with a +10 to a fortitude save - rolling a 3 is not a good thing]

 

[Teneb]

(I'm starting to tire of these guys. I don't think I'll ever completely trust anything shorter than me again....

Oskar, we're dwarves...there ain't much that is shorter than us

 

[Kalendraf]

Dovena's Tale, Part 1

As she left the town hall, she slightly straightened her armor. At the moment it looked just like a suit of full plate with the emblem of Suldane, but that appearance wouldn't last for long. A small group of guards bowed at her passing, giving all the respect rightly due to a ranking priestess of Suldane. Of course, everyone saw her as Katra at this moment, so she kept up the ruse and responded, "May Suldane Be With You."

She rounded the corner and quickly pulled herself into a small recess, then waited just a moment to make sure she was out of sight, and more importantly that she had not been followed. In a matter of seconds, she shed the disguise and adopted a new one, that of an elderly woman in tattered rags. It was a disguise she used often to walk thru the town unnoticed. Distinguished people stood out, while the downtrodden were commonly overlooked. She headed back around the corner from where she had come. This time the guards weren't so cordial. Those that even bothered to notice her more or less sneered at her wretched appearance. "Take a bath, old woman! It's hard to keep the streets clean with your lot stinking them up."

It brought back memories of her childhood...a life she hated, but thoughts that still burned to give her motivation. She'd been an orphan struggling on the street to survive. At an early age, she fought the rats for scraps in the garbage, otherwise stealing what she couldn't find. For many years, rags and rusty dagger were her only possessions. Over the years, a few wealthy people and even one priest had taken her in promising to help her. But instead, each of them had abused her in a variety of ways trying to turn her into their personal slave. She'd grown to deeply hate all of them. In her later years, she'd extracted escalating levels of revenge from burglary to murder.

As her hand moved instinctively toward the dagger under her outfit, she considered several methods she could use to swiftly kill that guard. Though it would be an easy kill, this wasn't her mark. She kept hunched over and walked very slowly past the town hall, pausing briefly to pull her tattered scarf and re-tie it around her head. Soon another guard rushed out of the building and began speaking to the guards on the street. "Guilty! They're going to hang at noon." The other guards started talking about it completely oblivious to the fact their conversation was being overheard by the old woman. After she'd heard the details, she resumed her slow rickety walk. After a few more blocks, she arrived at her destination, Tavik's Tavern. She looked around, and found the place nearly deserted, and headed toward the back rooms.

"I trust it went well, Dovena.", Tavik whispered just as she'd reached the door. Despite being a bard, his tone and timing always had a way of infuriating her. "Of course. It was easy. The problem will be handled for us just as we planned."

Just then another figure emerged from the shadows. "I still say we should have done it ourselves. Lure 'em off into a nice little trap, and let me torch 'em. Or let my cousin get another shot at 'em." Jador was always impatient, which was somewhat of an unusual characteristic for a gnome. He'd been Tavik's "advisor" for years, but that term was a fairly loose one. He had useful abilities, especially when he could torch something with his burning hands, flaming ray or that big ball of fire he always suggested using. The problem was, his methods were just too likely to attract attention, so they only used them when there wouldn't be any witnesses.

"Easy, Jador. We all are going to miss your uncle Zirel, and I'm sure the town is going to miss his fine ale as well", Tavik said with a slight curl on his lip, as if he'd told a sly joke. Jador looked at him and frowned, but then eased up. "Let the town hang 'em, and that should end this for once and for all."

"There is one small problem, or rather two." Dovena began to tell the parties story, including the fact that the half-orc and their rogue had not been captured. After she was done, Jador immediately volunteered to hunt them down. "Zyten said it was that half-orc that killed Zirel. Let me have him. I'll roast him alive!"

"Wait for the hanging. They might well try to rescue their comrades. We can keep a watch on the proceedings and...assist the guards in stopping them. Nothing too overt, just a helpful tripping here and there to slow them up and let the guards take all the credit." Jador protested, but the plan seemed workable to Dovena and so she threw her support behind Tavic. Elrina walked past carrying some food and then caught Dovena's attention. "Your messenger boy is here."

Dovena immediately switched disguises again, this time appearing in her Matron of Suldane outfit. She'd concocted this character long ago to earn the trust of Padris, the mayor's primary messenger. After some research, she'd learned that Padris' beloved grandmother had been a Matron, and the boy ate up every word she'd told him. She'd convinced him that she was helping the church secretly investigate some urgent matters of state, and any information from the mayor's office may be important. It took several visits, but eventually she had earned his trust. Over the last year, he'd been delivering nearly every important message to her before its intended destination. She walked back into the common room and saw Padris nervously looking about. He seemed to calm down the instant he saw her coming toward him.

Padris set down his case and slid the newest letter toward her under the table. He'd learned that all by himself. Dovena opened it quickly and read what it said. After she had finished, she slid the note back. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. May Suldane be with you." She waited for Padris to leave and then headed back to the others. They weren't going to like this.

"The execution is halted. The mayor suspects something." Her own mind was racing thru the trial events. Had she been spotted?

Another voice from the shadows spoke up, "I'll handle it. I deserve a shot anyways." It was Zyten, who'd survived the attack on the brewery and had come to warn them about this group of bountyhunters. Zyten and Jador were cousins, both of them nephews of Zirel. Besides their hair color and eyes, and the fact they were gnomes, you'd have a hard time picking out family resemblence. Zyten had a humanchild-like appearance, and often disguised himself that way. He was strong and dextrous and was very patient: qualities that he had perfected in his monk's training. Jador was impatient and weak, though he had a certain flare for sorcery.

After a short awkward silence, Tavic was the first to speak. "We need to be cautious.. Zyten may be able to do this, but I think it would be best to wait and see what they know before acting to swiftly." The look on both Zyten's and Jador's faces showed their opinion. Dovena thought about her answer. Tavic was right and she knew it, but Zyten deserved a shot at revenge. Finally she threw her support behind the gnome's plan. Finally Tavic relented. "If you go, then you go alone. Kill the four in their cells. That should be easy. If you're caught, drink this."

It could well be a suicide mission, and Dovena knew it. Zyten was still wounded from his last battle, and this time he wouldn't have as many potions to rely on either. Still, she would have gladly done the same thing had their roles been reversed. As Zyten left the Tavern, she watched Jador give him a pat on the shoulder and overheard something about "for Uncle Z". She looked back at Tavic, encountering his dull stare. "We'd best begin making contigency plans" were his only words. After a brief pause, she slowly nodded.

 

[Teneb]

Industrious little buggers, aren't they? I think we're going to enjoy questioning this bard.