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Cerebral Paladin's Storyhour (updated 4/22)
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<blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 755513" data-attributes="member: 3448"><p>Thanks for the kind words, everyone.</p><p></p><p>The Gnomish Quarter came out a little more over the top when I ran the game then when I was thinking about it. It mostly came out of an effort to create meaningfully different gnomes, halflings, and dwarves. (Some friends of mine and I have talked about how usually gnomes overlap too heavily with either halflings or dwarves).</p><p></p><p>Anyway, on to the story:</p><p></p><p>Session 2 (cont'd):</p><p></p><p></p><p>The group gathers at the Skyrnath house and shares the information they've gathered. They all agree that Tendros must have been working with Bildorintingallindorf and others to steal the statue. Lhovrik argues that there must have been a priest involved, but when he detects magic on the fake statuette, he determines that there is only an illusion effect on it. Any of hundreds of mages could have prepared it. Dov and Ginara head over to stake out the cath Nortis house to see if Tendros meets with anyone.</p><p></p><p>As they head over, they notice that they're being tailed again. They quickly lose the person tailing them and then head over to their destination.</p><p></p><p>The first hour or two are uneventful. Tendros heads out, and they slip in behind him. He travels quickly, but does not seem particularly concerned. They follow him down some side streets before he reaches the main marketplace. Dov and Ginara watch in disappointment as he makes some routine purchases, and then returns to the cath Nortis house. They watch the house carefully until after midnight, but to no avail.</p><p></p><p></p><p>2/9/752</p><p>Early in the morning, Sister Aurora meets with Father Daybreak to determine if Father Liren might have told the wrong people about the statue.</p><p></p><p>"Father Daybreak, do you know Father Liren?"</p><p></p><p>"Certainly."</p><p></p><p>"Is he a knowledgeable artificer?"</p><p></p><p>"Artificer? Hardly. He's an Ordinary priest. Rather militant; he spends much of his time ministering to the military."</p><p></p><p>"He identified a devotional statue to Galerius as having significant holy power."</p><p></p><p>"Ah. He is a competent priest and has meaningful skills and blessings of Luirta. That would be well within his expertise; while he is not Galerian himself, he of course spends much of his times with priests devoted specifically to Galerius."</p><p></p><p>"Is he a good person?"</p><p></p><p>"Indeed. Why are you asking about all of this, Sister Aurora?"</p><p></p><p>Aurora pauses. "I can't answer that. Is that okay?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, provided you record the information for eventual history."</p><p></p><p>"Of course, Father."</p><p></p><p>A few minutes later, Aurora reaches Father Liren. Father Liren is a muscular, vigorous middle-aged man. When Sister Aurora reaches him, he has been exercising and drilling in the morning.</p><p></p><p>"Father Liren? Were you at a party at Melor cath Nortis's recently?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, about ten days ago."</p><p></p><p>"I want to talk to you about the statue of Galerius that they have."</p><p></p><p>"Oh. I'm afraid I can't talk about that. Why do you want to know?"</p><p></p><p>"Ummm, I can't talk about that either."</p><p></p><p>They smile at each other uncomfortably for a little while, and then Aurora goes to meet her friends.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Ginara has gone to visit Uncle Kinric. After she tells him what they've figured out so far, she gets to the point of the visit.</p><p></p><p>"We want to know how much we can do."</p><p></p><p>Kinric smiles at Ginara. "It's very important that you recover the statue. If you know that this halfling has information about where it is, you should get that information from him, however necessary."</p><p></p><p>"Can you get us out of any trouble? How much support do we have?"</p><p></p><p>"You shouldn't reveal that you're working for me unless you absolutely have to. It would defeat the whole point of working through unknown agents. But if you have to, I can take care of problems. If you were arrested by Inquisitors, for example, I would deal with the trouble. But that would likely mean the opposition finding out about our efforts, which would probably cost us the statue.</p><p></p><p>"You should get the information you need, and recover the statue. I leave the means to your discretion."</p><p></p><p>When Ginara and Aurora share their conversations, the conversation turns to means.</p><p></p><p>"We could keep watching Tendros, but we might not have time," Dov says.</p><p></p><p>"We could make Tendros talk to us," Lhovrik says, looking very nervous.</p><p></p><p>Melania shakes her head, "I don't know; he seemed like a tough nut to crack to me."</p><p></p><p>"There are ways of making him talk," Lhovrik says ominously.</p><p></p><p>Ginara responds, shocked, "Are you talking about torture?"</p><p></p><p>Lhovrik finally lets the rest of the group into his thoughts. "I could cast a spell on him, to make him like me and want to cooperate."</p><p></p><p>Once Lhovrik reveals that he could enchant Tendros, the conversation quickly turns to tactics. As soon as they agree on a plan, they head out.</p><p></p><p>Dov leaves first, with Ginara following shortly after. Dov's tail picks up again, but this time Ginara is in a position to follow. Whoever he is, he notices Ginara following and tries to lose her, ducking down alleys several times. But Ginara manages to follow him and ultimately to hide while keeping an eye on him. Thinking he has lost both the person he was following and the person following him, the tail heads off into the Halfling Quarter. Ginara follows through the small streets of rundown shacks and tenements. Eventually, he enters a human neighborhood within the Halfling Quarter, where Ginara watches him enter a human-sized tenement. Not wanting to draw unnecessary further attention, Ginara heads over to the meeting place near the cath Nortis household.</p><p></p><p>Dov and Ginara silently stake out the cath Nortis house. Meanwhile, Aurora, Lhovrik, and Melania wait in a nearby side street. Tendros went down that street when he left the house the previous day, so he might do so again. Melania puts her hat out on the street and begins playing her harp and singing. She draws the attention of most of the passers-by, so that no one is paying much attention to Lhovrik and Aurora, earning a few coins to boot.</p><p></p><p>When Tendros leaves the house, Dov and Ginara silently follow him. He seems oblivious to them, and they are in luck: he follows the same route as the previous day. After he has left the main roads, he approaches the area where Lhovrik waits for him. Melania crescendoes a little, and as quietly and subtley as he can, Lhovrik casts a spell.</p><p></p><p>Lhovrik then strides over openly the twenty feet to where Tendros is walking. As Tendros sees Lhovrik, his face lights up. "It's so good to see you! How have you been?"</p><p></p><p>With a profound sense of relief, Lhovrik greets the charmed halfling. "I'm well. It's a pleasure to bump into you this way. Why don't you come back to my place with me where we can catch up over a glass of wine?"</p><p></p><p>"I ought to finish my errand. Still, I have plenty of time before the master's dinner; I guess I could spend a little time with you before I go to the market."</p><p></p><p>Lhovrik quickly leads Tendros back to Dov and Aurora's family house. Tendros is a little surprised by the whole group that gathers, but they're clearly friends of Lhovrik.</p><p></p><p>"How have things been, Tendros?" asks Lhovrik.</p><p></p><p>"Very well. I bought my freedom about a week ago. So now I'm planning my new life. I might even be able to get married now to one of the women I know in the Halfling Quarter."</p><p></p><p>"But you're still planning on working for Melor?"</p><p></p><p>"I still need to earn a living. Just because I'm free doesn't mean I don't have to work."</p><p></p><p>"How could you pay for your freedom? Did you suddenly get some money?"</p><p></p><p>A brief struggle of wills ensues, as Lhovrik tries to use the charm to force Tendros to answer. "I really shouldn't talk about it. Let's just say I was saving my income." Tendros looks around nervously at the other people in the room.</p><p></p><p>Lhovrik leads Tendros aside to a side room. "Melor's really proud of the statue of Galerius he has. Pity he doesn't know that it's not the real statue." Lhovrik pauses while Tendros looks nervous. "Isn't his son fighting the kobolds in the North?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, he is. I always liked the children."</p><p></p><p>"It's a shame that Melor Minor won't actually have the power of the statue to protect him. With the statue stolen, Galerius will turn his favor away from the family and might even curse Melor Minor."</p><p></p><p>Tendros looks increasingly concerned. "You think the family's loss of the statue will really curse them?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, definitely. Especially because Melor Major is planning on building a shield so his son can carry it into dangerous battles."</p><p></p><p>Tendros looks very upset. "I didn't mean to endanger Melor Minor. His father was just so excited about how valuable the statue was... I thought that I could get a lot of money by arranging a theft. Sildra, a fence I know, offered to pay me and Bildorintingallindorf 200 gold each to arrange the theft. So the gnome looked at it at a performance at the house and made a copy. And then I made the switch and delivered the real statue to Sildra."</p><p></p><p>Lhovrik quickly gets directions to Sildra's hide-out, and shares the information with his friends. At about this point, an hour has passed since the initial spell. Tendros suddenly shakes his head and looks around in fear. "Who are you? What did you do to me?"</p><p></p><p>"We just cast a little spell on you to make you more cooperative," Lhovrik says.</p><p></p><p>"What are you going to do with me now?" Tendros asks nervously.</p><p></p><p>"We just want to get the statue back. As long as you promise to not warn anyone, we'll let you go."</p><p></p><p>"Alright. But I'm going to pack my things. If I ever see you coming back to the cath Nortis household, I'm going to run before you can have me punished as a thief."</p><p></p><p>"Don't worry. We won't be going back there."</p><p></p><p>Melania looks a little disappointed. "I guess this means I'm not going to have my performance there after all?"</p><p></p><p>The group lets Tendros leave and watches as he runs off into the afternoon.</p><p></p><p>End of Session 2</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cerebral Paladin, post: 755513, member: 3448"] Thanks for the kind words, everyone. The Gnomish Quarter came out a little more over the top when I ran the game then when I was thinking about it. It mostly came out of an effort to create meaningfully different gnomes, halflings, and dwarves. (Some friends of mine and I have talked about how usually gnomes overlap too heavily with either halflings or dwarves). Anyway, on to the story: Session 2 (cont'd): The group gathers at the Skyrnath house and shares the information they've gathered. They all agree that Tendros must have been working with Bildorintingallindorf and others to steal the statue. Lhovrik argues that there must have been a priest involved, but when he detects magic on the fake statuette, he determines that there is only an illusion effect on it. Any of hundreds of mages could have prepared it. Dov and Ginara head over to stake out the cath Nortis house to see if Tendros meets with anyone. As they head over, they notice that they're being tailed again. They quickly lose the person tailing them and then head over to their destination. The first hour or two are uneventful. Tendros heads out, and they slip in behind him. He travels quickly, but does not seem particularly concerned. They follow him down some side streets before he reaches the main marketplace. Dov and Ginara watch in disappointment as he makes some routine purchases, and then returns to the cath Nortis house. They watch the house carefully until after midnight, but to no avail. 2/9/752 Early in the morning, Sister Aurora meets with Father Daybreak to determine if Father Liren might have told the wrong people about the statue. "Father Daybreak, do you know Father Liren?" "Certainly." "Is he a knowledgeable artificer?" "Artificer? Hardly. He's an Ordinary priest. Rather militant; he spends much of his time ministering to the military." "He identified a devotional statue to Galerius as having significant holy power." "Ah. He is a competent priest and has meaningful skills and blessings of Luirta. That would be well within his expertise; while he is not Galerian himself, he of course spends much of his times with priests devoted specifically to Galerius." "Is he a good person?" "Indeed. Why are you asking about all of this, Sister Aurora?" Aurora pauses. "I can't answer that. Is that okay?" "Yes, provided you record the information for eventual history." "Of course, Father." A few minutes later, Aurora reaches Father Liren. Father Liren is a muscular, vigorous middle-aged man. When Sister Aurora reaches him, he has been exercising and drilling in the morning. "Father Liren? Were you at a party at Melor cath Nortis's recently?" "Yes, about ten days ago." "I want to talk to you about the statue of Galerius that they have." "Oh. I'm afraid I can't talk about that. Why do you want to know?" "Ummm, I can't talk about that either." They smile at each other uncomfortably for a little while, and then Aurora goes to meet her friends. Meanwhile, Ginara has gone to visit Uncle Kinric. After she tells him what they've figured out so far, she gets to the point of the visit. "We want to know how much we can do." Kinric smiles at Ginara. "It's very important that you recover the statue. If you know that this halfling has information about where it is, you should get that information from him, however necessary." "Can you get us out of any trouble? How much support do we have?" "You shouldn't reveal that you're working for me unless you absolutely have to. It would defeat the whole point of working through unknown agents. But if you have to, I can take care of problems. If you were arrested by Inquisitors, for example, I would deal with the trouble. But that would likely mean the opposition finding out about our efforts, which would probably cost us the statue. "You should get the information you need, and recover the statue. I leave the means to your discretion." When Ginara and Aurora share their conversations, the conversation turns to means. "We could keep watching Tendros, but we might not have time," Dov says. "We could make Tendros talk to us," Lhovrik says, looking very nervous. Melania shakes her head, "I don't know; he seemed like a tough nut to crack to me." "There are ways of making him talk," Lhovrik says ominously. Ginara responds, shocked, "Are you talking about torture?" Lhovrik finally lets the rest of the group into his thoughts. "I could cast a spell on him, to make him like me and want to cooperate." Once Lhovrik reveals that he could enchant Tendros, the conversation quickly turns to tactics. As soon as they agree on a plan, they head out. Dov leaves first, with Ginara following shortly after. Dov's tail picks up again, but this time Ginara is in a position to follow. Whoever he is, he notices Ginara following and tries to lose her, ducking down alleys several times. But Ginara manages to follow him and ultimately to hide while keeping an eye on him. Thinking he has lost both the person he was following and the person following him, the tail heads off into the Halfling Quarter. Ginara follows through the small streets of rundown shacks and tenements. Eventually, he enters a human neighborhood within the Halfling Quarter, where Ginara watches him enter a human-sized tenement. Not wanting to draw unnecessary further attention, Ginara heads over to the meeting place near the cath Nortis household. Dov and Ginara silently stake out the cath Nortis house. Meanwhile, Aurora, Lhovrik, and Melania wait in a nearby side street. Tendros went down that street when he left the house the previous day, so he might do so again. Melania puts her hat out on the street and begins playing her harp and singing. She draws the attention of most of the passers-by, so that no one is paying much attention to Lhovrik and Aurora, earning a few coins to boot. When Tendros leaves the house, Dov and Ginara silently follow him. He seems oblivious to them, and they are in luck: he follows the same route as the previous day. After he has left the main roads, he approaches the area where Lhovrik waits for him. Melania crescendoes a little, and as quietly and subtley as he can, Lhovrik casts a spell. Lhovrik then strides over openly the twenty feet to where Tendros is walking. As Tendros sees Lhovrik, his face lights up. "It's so good to see you! How have you been?" With a profound sense of relief, Lhovrik greets the charmed halfling. "I'm well. It's a pleasure to bump into you this way. Why don't you come back to my place with me where we can catch up over a glass of wine?" "I ought to finish my errand. Still, I have plenty of time before the master's dinner; I guess I could spend a little time with you before I go to the market." Lhovrik quickly leads Tendros back to Dov and Aurora's family house. Tendros is a little surprised by the whole group that gathers, but they're clearly friends of Lhovrik. "How have things been, Tendros?" asks Lhovrik. "Very well. I bought my freedom about a week ago. So now I'm planning my new life. I might even be able to get married now to one of the women I know in the Halfling Quarter." "But you're still planning on working for Melor?" "I still need to earn a living. Just because I'm free doesn't mean I don't have to work." "How could you pay for your freedom? Did you suddenly get some money?" A brief struggle of wills ensues, as Lhovrik tries to use the charm to force Tendros to answer. "I really shouldn't talk about it. Let's just say I was saving my income." Tendros looks around nervously at the other people in the room. Lhovrik leads Tendros aside to a side room. "Melor's really proud of the statue of Galerius he has. Pity he doesn't know that it's not the real statue." Lhovrik pauses while Tendros looks nervous. "Isn't his son fighting the kobolds in the North?" "Yes, he is. I always liked the children." "It's a shame that Melor Minor won't actually have the power of the statue to protect him. With the statue stolen, Galerius will turn his favor away from the family and might even curse Melor Minor." Tendros looks increasingly concerned. "You think the family's loss of the statue will really curse them?" "Oh, definitely. Especially because Melor Major is planning on building a shield so his son can carry it into dangerous battles." Tendros looks very upset. "I didn't mean to endanger Melor Minor. His father was just so excited about how valuable the statue was... I thought that I could get a lot of money by arranging a theft. Sildra, a fence I know, offered to pay me and Bildorintingallindorf 200 gold each to arrange the theft. So the gnome looked at it at a performance at the house and made a copy. And then I made the switch and delivered the real statue to Sildra." Lhovrik quickly gets directions to Sildra's hide-out, and shares the information with his friends. At about this point, an hour has passed since the initial spell. Tendros suddenly shakes his head and looks around in fear. "Who are you? What did you do to me?" "We just cast a little spell on you to make you more cooperative," Lhovrik says. "What are you going to do with me now?" Tendros asks nervously. "We just want to get the statue back. As long as you promise to not warn anyone, we'll let you go." "Alright. But I'm going to pack my things. If I ever see you coming back to the cath Nortis household, I'm going to run before you can have me punished as a thief." "Don't worry. We won't be going back there." Melania looks a little disappointed. "I guess this means I'm not going to have my performance there after all?" The group lets Tendros leave and watches as he runs off into the afternoon. End of Session 2 [/QUOTE]
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