Adventure: Long Arm Of Lauto, Obolus. (DM: CaBaNa, Judge: by covaithe
covaithe
Explorer
The creature within the shadows listens seriously to Cyr's plea for faith. It seems affected, but still indecisive. When Ibram reveals the captured shadar-kai, bruised and wounded and clearly held against her will, it noticeably thaws. The shadows seem to unfurl slightly, and the shape within stands out more clearly, no less monstrous for being less concealed.
I think you right. You beat up witch! Ha! But he right, too, indicating Cyr with a wave of a long, flexible limb of some sort. "Faith in master is what I need. I serve church, serve priest. Should listen to priest, do what they say, not what stranger say. You bring back priest, big priest with funny hat, and I do what he say. You help keep coin safe till then. Yes? Is good!"
Aurak nods decisively. "I will go and fetch a priest of Lauto," he declares. "I will let no one and nothing keep me from my task. I will return shortly." He lopes off a run, armor plates clanging loudly, as if he means to storm the Temple of Lauto itself if need be.
There follows a somewhat awkward interlude. The shadow creature furls darkness closely around itself and withdraws slightly, not in an unfriendly way, but as if to demonstrate how convinced it is to listen only to its rightful masters now. After some halting attempts at conversation are rebuffed, you withdraw to wait as well. Ibram sings a string of soft tunes to pass the time, and it is easy to forget that only minutes ago, you were fighting for your lives.
After perhaps an hour, there is a commotion on the trail leading back towards Daunton. You respond alertly, but there is no need. Aurak returns at the head of a small procession of priests, sweating and red-faced in stiff formal robes of black and white, heavily encrusted with gold braid, riding on tall, pale horses whose bodies are slightly translucent. At the end of the procession, High Priest Belingras Erigard rides in a magically floating palanquin, pulled by four of the ghostly hourses, looking serene and cool in its shade. His robes are even more lavishly appointed than those of his attendants, seeming to be more gold than cloth, but it is his hat that commands the most attention. A towering ceremonial mitre in black velvet and white feathers, encrusted with tiny rubies and emeralds worked into the cardinal points of the many magical diagrams and holy symbols that cover the hat, embroidered in glowing platinum thread, culminating in a perfect astral diamond perched above the high priest's brow. It is clearly a minor magical artifact in its own right, a thing of power and majesty and exquisite craftsmanship; and yet, you cannot quite get out of your minds the sound of the guardian's voice describing it as a "funny hat".
The procession comes to a ragged halt, and the palanquin descends gently to float a foot off the ground. High Priest Belingras stands and steps carefully down. He nods regally to you, saying in a voice pitched to carry, "The Lord of Death thanks you for your good work this day, my friends. You have done a great thing on His behalf, and well earned your pay. Now, leave the guardian to me."[color]
He enters the house alone and closes the door behind him. The attendant priests of Lauto, once they catch their breaths, mutter sullenly to themselves and and glare murderously at Aurak a few times, who in turn pretends not to notice. A small smile plays around his lips.
Shortly the high priest returns, alone, carrying a large, heavy-looking disk of black iron, pitted with age, that exudes a fiercely powerful magical aura. "The Obolus Disk is returned to us," he intones, and the priests raise a cheer that sounds more dutiful than devout. Turning aside, he speaks to you in more normal conversational tones. "Please accept my thanks once again, friends. The guardian spoke most highly of you, in its way. It will return to us by hidden ways; this daylight is not comfortable for it. There are several other items in the cabin that were stolen along with the coin; they must have been abandoned there when the thieves realized they could not persuade the guardian to part with the disk without force. I think that you should keep them as reward for your troubles. I must return; now that the disk is back in our hands we have quite a backlog to clear. There will be a few sleepless nights in the Temple's future. But that is far better than the alternative, thanks to you. Farewell!"
He mounts the palanquin with some difficulty; evidently the coin really is as heavy as it looks. Then it floats gently into the air, and the procession turns and heads back towards Daunton at speed.
ooc: Next, xp and treasure...
I think you right. You beat up witch! Ha! But he right, too, indicating Cyr with a wave of a long, flexible limb of some sort. "Faith in master is what I need. I serve church, serve priest. Should listen to priest, do what they say, not what stranger say. You bring back priest, big priest with funny hat, and I do what he say. You help keep coin safe till then. Yes? Is good!"
Aurak nods decisively. "I will go and fetch a priest of Lauto," he declares. "I will let no one and nothing keep me from my task. I will return shortly." He lopes off a run, armor plates clanging loudly, as if he means to storm the Temple of Lauto itself if need be.
There follows a somewhat awkward interlude. The shadow creature furls darkness closely around itself and withdraws slightly, not in an unfriendly way, but as if to demonstrate how convinced it is to listen only to its rightful masters now. After some halting attempts at conversation are rebuffed, you withdraw to wait as well. Ibram sings a string of soft tunes to pass the time, and it is easy to forget that only minutes ago, you were fighting for your lives.
After perhaps an hour, there is a commotion on the trail leading back towards Daunton. You respond alertly, but there is no need. Aurak returns at the head of a small procession of priests, sweating and red-faced in stiff formal robes of black and white, heavily encrusted with gold braid, riding on tall, pale horses whose bodies are slightly translucent. At the end of the procession, High Priest Belingras Erigard rides in a magically floating palanquin, pulled by four of the ghostly hourses, looking serene and cool in its shade. His robes are even more lavishly appointed than those of his attendants, seeming to be more gold than cloth, but it is his hat that commands the most attention. A towering ceremonial mitre in black velvet and white feathers, encrusted with tiny rubies and emeralds worked into the cardinal points of the many magical diagrams and holy symbols that cover the hat, embroidered in glowing platinum thread, culminating in a perfect astral diamond perched above the high priest's brow. It is clearly a minor magical artifact in its own right, a thing of power and majesty and exquisite craftsmanship; and yet, you cannot quite get out of your minds the sound of the guardian's voice describing it as a "funny hat".
The procession comes to a ragged halt, and the palanquin descends gently to float a foot off the ground. High Priest Belingras stands and steps carefully down. He nods regally to you, saying in a voice pitched to carry, "The Lord of Death thanks you for your good work this day, my friends. You have done a great thing on His behalf, and well earned your pay. Now, leave the guardian to me."[color]
He enters the house alone and closes the door behind him. The attendant priests of Lauto, once they catch their breaths, mutter sullenly to themselves and and glare murderously at Aurak a few times, who in turn pretends not to notice. A small smile plays around his lips.
Shortly the high priest returns, alone, carrying a large, heavy-looking disk of black iron, pitted with age, that exudes a fiercely powerful magical aura. "The Obolus Disk is returned to us," he intones, and the priests raise a cheer that sounds more dutiful than devout. Turning aside, he speaks to you in more normal conversational tones. "Please accept my thanks once again, friends. The guardian spoke most highly of you, in its way. It will return to us by hidden ways; this daylight is not comfortable for it. There are several other items in the cabin that were stolen along with the coin; they must have been abandoned there when the thieves realized they could not persuade the guardian to part with the disk without force. I think that you should keep them as reward for your troubles. I must return; now that the disk is back in our hands we have quite a backlog to clear. There will be a few sleepless nights in the Temple's future. But that is far better than the alternative, thanks to you. Farewell!"
He mounts the palanquin with some difficulty; evidently the coin really is as heavy as it looks. Then it floats gently into the air, and the procession turns and heads back towards Daunton at speed.
ooc: Next, xp and treasure...
covaithe
Explorer
Inside the cabin after the high priest's procession has left, the cabin's single room has a cheery, peaceful glow in the flickering firelight. The corner in which the guardian lurked is now revealed, and contains a small pile of things that would look much more at home in a temple's treasure vault than in a cozy woodcutter's cabin. There are a handful of cups and chalices of worked silver, set wtith semiprecious stones. There are four small gilded platters with ornate embellishments at the corners. There are two tall candles of fine beeswax scented with a subtle, expensive perfume. There is a staff, capped at both ends in polished silver and set with runes of power formed of obsidian. There is a small axe of fine, bluish steel; nearby objects have a thin layer of frost on them. There is a medallion of iron, inlaid with tiny lines of platinum, worked into the shape of a rune of protection.
[sblock=XP]
Encounter 1: the thieves. Total xp 993, doubled to 1986, or 331 each for the whole party.
Encounter 2: the guardian. Awarding full xp for solving it peacefully; 1000 xp doubled to 2000, or 333 each for Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram. The other players weren't present, and their PCs don't gain XP.
Time XP:
Quest XP for successfully completing the adventure: 200 xp each to Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram.
DM's prerogative: another 200 xp each to Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram for your patience with what turned out to be a pretty sloppy adventure. Sorry about that, and I hope it doesn't put you off of the many far more organized adventures in L4W!
Totals:
Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram may go to level 2.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Treasure]Frost Fury handaxe, Staff of the War Mage, Amulet of Shielding.
Plus assorted art objects worth 600g when sold. (Feel free to treat it as cash.)
[/sblock]
[sblock=XP]
Encounter 1: the thieves. Total xp 993, doubled to 1986, or 331 each for the whole party.
Encounter 2: the guardian. Awarding full xp for solving it peacefully; 1000 xp doubled to 2000, or 333 each for Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram. The other players weren't present, and their PCs don't gain XP.
Time XP:
- Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram: 3 and 13/30 months at level 1 is 285 xp and 217g each
- Kryath, Aurak, and Silphyus: 2 months at level 1 is 166 xp and 126g
Quest XP for successfully completing the adventure: 200 xp each to Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram.
DM's prerogative: another 200 xp each to Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram for your patience with what turned out to be a pretty sloppy adventure. Sorry about that, and I hope it doesn't put you off of the many far more organized adventures in L4W!
Totals:
- Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram: 1349 xp and 217g
- Kryath, Aurak, and Silphyus: 497 xp and 126g
Cyr, Rocco, and Ibram may go to level 2.
[/sblock]
[sblock=Treasure]Frost Fury handaxe, Staff of the War Mage, Amulet of Shielding.
Plus assorted art objects worth 600g when sold. (Feel free to treat it as cash.)
[/sblock]
covaithe
Explorer
ooc: Ok, guys, I think that about wraps this one up. I really do appreciate all your patience, and I hope you managed to have some fun during the good bits. If you have any questions or feel the need to tie up any loose ends, I'm happy to do that out of sequence once I've got a bit more reliable connectivity; i.e. in a few more days. In the meantime, don't let that stop you from moving on to the Tavern and whatever else awaits you.
renau1g
First Post
[sblock=Judge-ness]
Approved. I echo cov's comments. Good luck on future adventures. Good news is that Kalidrev is looking to start one based on the Future Adventures thread. [/sblock]
OOC: So, what now? Can I make new character or do I have to wait for Cyr to be approved? Do I link to Judge post for XP?
Cyr follows the ceremony studying both the procession, meaning of variuos parts of clotching and finally a disc High Priest takes out of the shed. Remarkable how such simple item can cause so much trouble.
Entering the shed his eyes are drawn toward the staff.
"I would take this if you don't mind." he says to his companions taking it and studying the runes along it's lenght.
Cyr follows the ceremony studying both the procession, meaning of variuos parts of clotching and finally a disc High Priest takes out of the shed. Remarkable how such simple item can cause so much trouble.
Entering the shed his eyes are drawn toward the staff.
"I would take this if you don't mind." he says to his companions taking it and studying the runes along it's lenght.
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