Enemy Among Us (DM: Stringbean2142, Judge: TwoHeadsBarking)

[CaBaNa]

The dark figure on the roof rests on it's haunches, much like a gargoyle would. When Bell jaunts through the shadowstuff Veruzak's eyes widen considerably. The surprise remains etched on the rune tattooed face... Then the eladrin seems to recover as he breaks into a wide smile, beaming the warmest radiance his countenance had worn in decades.

Oh child, where did you say you came from? He glances at the pooling grey matter, My spell can't do that, I doubt yours would have left the head intact yet melt the brain... I would say it's safe to assume the death of these men was not our doing. Veruzak doesn't break his smile, Well, where did you say you came from?

The second track was playing loudly through Veruzak's mind *Find the magic, GO ON, FIND IT! GO GET THE MAGIC! Bell and Martelai may be able to help locate the source of the static, tell them, no don't, tell Bell she is a member of the IAC. Yes tell Bell, we're already alone.*
Suddenly the wizard blurts,
We need to find the magic, thing... Below us, I felt it during the battle. Almost without pause he continues And the source of this damnable static! It's as if the whole of the earth is pins and needles in my mind! The words are slightly frantic, but still tinged with the happiness of earlier, and whispered.


[sblock=OOC]

Arcana to identify Bell's origin after her use of Shadow Jaunt (includes +2) 25



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[Atriden]

Seeing that the group is fine, he picks up the wounded man. With ease, He carries the man towards the house where he last saw Yurians wife. Suddenly, he is ambushed by a little critter from behind and turns around. He discovers a little girl clutched to his leg and he gently pads her, not knowing what else to do, and continues to move towards his intended location.

Entering the house he asks calmly " Is anyone hurt " and he gently puts down the man on the floor. " I need a resting place for this softling " and he indicates the man to Yurians wife. He stays to check if someone has any wounds he can tend to before joining the others outside.

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

Oh child, where did you say you came from? He glances at the pooling grey matter, My spell can't do that, I doubt yours would have left the head intact yet melt the brain... I would say it's safe to assume the death of these men was not our doing. Veruzak doesn't break his smile, Well, where did you say you came from?

Suddenly the wizard blurts,
We need to find the magic, thing... Below us, I felt it during the battle. Almost without pause he continues And the source of this damnable static! It's as if the whole of the earth is pins and needles in my mind! The words are slightly frantic, but still tinged with the happiness of earlier, and whispered.

At first she breathes a sigh of relief, content that a powerful arcanist found no truth in fears but as he kept speaking she began to question the man before her. She stares at the wizard oddly as if trying to consider his words, in reality considering much more. After a minute or so she answered.

"I came from the street below Veruzak, just like you."

[sblock=Actions] First a standard Action on Veruzak to Identify Magical Effect via Arcana.Identify Magical Affect (1d20+9=14)

Then a one minute action to Sense the Presence of Magic which is six squares all around me. Sense the Presence of Magic (1d20+9=27)

And, of course, a history check to compare what I've just seen and garnered to what I've read. History (1d20+9=16)[/sblock]

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Kendrick is slightly disappointed at the abrupt end of the battle. Suddenly a child rush him and he reflexively raises his sword above his head to avoid cutting the kid.

Little brat. What does she... oh. She's grateful. She thinks I am a... hero?

-Uh, kid, you are making it hard to sheath my swords.'' he says uncomfortably.

 

[Neurotic]

"Come here, little one. It's better not to run around too much, we may need to look carefuly everything around. You don't want to step into something unpleasant."

With that, Martelai hoists the girl up and carries her back into the house.
"What's your name, little one?"

After receiving the answer he lowers her down and patting her on the head says
"Thank you for your thanks, <name>, now go and help mommy clean your neighboor. I'm sure you know what to do."

He retreats into shadowy corner drawing shadows around himself and then standing still wrapped in his cloak. He senses the presence of magic, but he's still little bit shaken by that archer and it's hard to concentrate with people bustling about.
Detect Magic (1d20+8=14)

He goes out and searches for Veruzak to tell him about Bacarta. He keeps an eye out for the halfling.

OOC: maybe Dungeoneering might help instead of Arcana if these are some kind of abberation 'brain parasites' (something like mind flayer goo)

 

[Stringbean2142]

[sblock=OOC]Just a quick post, something came up today that will probably keep me from posting until tomorrow. Sorry for the unexpected, folks, but it's one of those "real life" things...[/sblock]

 

[Stringbean2142]

[sblock=OOC]Apologies again for yesterday; chalk it up to my idiot friends. Now, back to the fun...[/sblock]
[sblock=Veruzak]She's shadar-kai. And with your passive insight, you've got a feeling she might not be lying about her past. That's all I'll give you, though, everything else should be roleplayed between you and Bell.[/sblock]
[sblock=Bell]First, an OOC aside; that Shadow Jaunt tipped Veruzak off to Belle's origins. I confirmed he'd strongly suspect in-character that Belle's a shadar-kai, but from here on out it's tied to your character history so you'll have to run with it as you will.

Now, IC stuff. There's nothing you can pick up from Veruzak, but you have read of stories where wielding mental magics, such as what you've seen Veruzak use, can twist the wielder as much as the target. As for the check of the square, Lt. Rayn's got something magical on him but from here you can't tell what or where exactly. Mainly because I still haven't decided. I really need to get that worked out in the next hour or so...[/sblock]
[sblock=Kendrick]The big, bad warrior, put off by a little girl? Do you know how hard it is not to be an evil DM and use that? Oh, why do you tempt me so![/sblock]
[sblock=Martelai]I'll buy that, but you'd need a hellacious roll right now to get anything from it. With more knowledge, that will definitely drop to a more legitimate idea (or not, if the knowledge contradicts your idea).[/sblock]

Atlas moves into the house after patting the girl, finding Yurian's wife tending akwardly to the young woman first attack by the scout. Both of the young woman's arms are broken, and tears carve out rivers on her face from the pain.

Yurian's wife motions to a pallet for Atlas to place the man and happily steps back as he bends to work on the woman's arms. They need splints, but luckily should heal just fine with time.

As Atlas finishes his work with the woman, Martelai enters with the little girl, who happily tells him her name is, "Annie, mister hero man!" It's obvious she wants to say more, but following his advice she settles down and rejoins the other children. Still, her many glances at Martelai and Atlas suggest the team has a fan in young Annie.

Outside, Kendrick has managed to resheathe his sword without young girls crowding him. It looks as though whatever killed the archers has also done some damage to the three unconscious men, and it's not definite when they will awaken or what state of mind they will be in. On the rooftop, Bell and Veruzak find themselves wondering about the other, and have both caught a hint of something magical in the area.

Elder Frin, sleeves rolled up to reveal blood on his hands and forearms, emerged from the tavern and waves for the party to gather around. He looks at them and concern clouds his face. "The earthen warrior, he is ok? Where is he?" Atlas chooses that moment to rejoin the others outside. A smile chases the clouds of cencern away. "Ahh, excellent.

"I have the badges here for those who don't have them already." Her he grins at Kendrick, obviously amused at the man's earlier antics with the badge. "Please, do what you can and quickly. Where will you start?"


[sblock=Update]Hmm, I just looked at my notes and realized you all managed to save everyone, and even those you took down were only knocked out. Beyond the two archers, no one died in this attack. That's worth a bit of bonus XP I think, once awards are given. Not a lot, but I want to acknowledge you fought like heroes, even if that's not quite you character concept!

Also, I've realized that the Investigation log below may start to get rather large. I'll do what I can to prune, but if/when things change I'll make sure to highlight them red in the log.[/sblock]
[sblock=The Investigation]2 SUCCESSES

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...
- Whatever is going on caused two men's brains to explode.

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, Mart, and the archers. Arcana, Nature, Heal, or give me a good reason for something else. Different skills may reveal different things.
- Talk with Rayn and the scouts once they have regained consciousness.[/sblock]

 

[ScorpiusRisk]

Bell gives Veruzak another brief look, and unsure what to make of the situation, decides to move on for now. She motions towards the archer on the roof.

"What don't you start up here sir? I've got a pull towards the big man." She looks around for whatever method the archer used to get on the roof in the first place and makes her way downstairs.

Heading over to Lt. Rayn as Elder Frin emerges. She eyes the blood on the man's hands but gets distracted by the badge which she gladly scoops up.

"Please, do what you can and quickly. Where will you start?"

"Here sir. We start here." Bell bends over the body of Lt. Rayn and carefully looks him over for anything that she may have missed. She then reaches out into a the streams of magic all around then and tries to pinpoint the cause of the magic she sensed from above.

[sblock=StringBean]No worries DM Sir! I knew full well that he would get another try with a bonus when using the Jaunt. But he Fey Steped up and she was in a rush so Bell did it too.

Who says we can't advance our character stories even at 1st level?

IC is done so that's a Perception Check +4, and an Arcana Check +9. Oh and if necessary to get off the roof a Acrobatics Check +4.

IC's BackUp!
Perception (1d20+4=16) Arcana (1d20+9=16) Acrobatics (1d20+4=21)
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[CaBaNa]

Veruzak watches Bell, as she climbs down the building, and joins the group standing around Rayn.
*She doesn't know... Hmm... * the moral implications are quickly considered... *Later... when we are alone again, she must be told.*

The wizard continued to sit on his haunches starring at the pooling liquid, letting his brain go where it pleased. Daydreaming often paid off in moments of clarity... he turns inwards, walking the corridors of his mind, doing his best to commune with his watcher that watches the watcher.

[sblock=OOC]

Veruzak is actively zoning out... Before we move to the next area he will actively seek out the magic concentration he felt below, but for now he is a space-case.

[/sblock]]

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

"Please, do what you can and quickly. Where will you start?"

-''Well, mister Frin, I am a lazy, lazy man. I will start by investigating the lieutenant since he is right here.'' Kendrick says, indicating with his hand the fallen Rayn. He half draws his utility knife, intending to cut away the unconscious man's clothing, when he realizes that the crowd, including several children, is still thick around the scene.

-''And of course, this investigation will be conducted in a proper environment. We are not savages.'' Kendrick says, muttering 'mostly' under his breath. Releasing his knife, he grabs Rayn's arm and easily lift him over his shoulder in a fireman carry. He then stops near a dumbstruck villager to ask about the location of the herbalist's house, for he remembered that's where the other bodies were stored and it was as good as any a location. Getting the needed direction, he sets toward the house.

[sblock=Check]
Once in the cellar of the herbalist, kendrick cuts opens the clothing to examine the bodies naked.

1: Perception 2:Nature (1d20+7=20, 1d20+7=11)

Perception is to examine the body and see if there are any suspicious wounds. Initially I was thinking a wound or even a scratch that could indicate an animal wound but in light of recent development I am also looking for so much as a needle prick, especially near the neck... Even to an uneducated man like Kendrick, it feels as if someone got to these man's brains. Either it's pure pychic power or it was done in a 'invasion of the body snatcher' kind of way.

Nature is for... well I, rolled 11, so who cares?
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