[IC] Wandering Star : Heroes of the Middle Reaches (Part One)

[helium3]

Jorje looks around the mess, that was once one of the most beautiful temples he had ever known.
Who ever did it, will pay for this... and in the best case, somebody will pay me to make him pay. He thinks.
He waits in the background, letting the others do the talk, as he doesn't know the clerigy that much.
Slowly he nears himself the acid-burning letters, trying to indentify what ever has done this.

Getting as close as you can to the smoking letters, the smell of it is overpowering. There's the subtle scent of tallow, though the base animal is unclear. That's probably what gives it the "greasy" look. But the black color? It's definitely not charcoal. You've used that before in some of your research into various rituals and the "paint" isn't gritty at all.

Thinking back, you remember some notes on a Sea Devil ritual you came across during your studies. It required the blood of a weird sea creature found primarily in the waters around Shark Reef. As you recall from the notes, that creature's blood was both inky black in color and quite caustic.

Perhaps that's the other component of this material . . .

 

[Walking Dad]

...

A hint of panic begins to form in his voice, "You must get it back. You have no idea how important it is. Without the Exarch's Feather we are lost."

"I maybe have an idea how important it is. Do you have ever heard of the 'Ritual of the Sea Devil'?" Jorje speaks up for the first time to the priest, pointing at the substance on the wall. "And this looks like the blood of a creature found primaily in the waters around 'Shark Reef'."

 

[helium3]

"Sea Devils?" Petra's face drains of blood. "How could they . . . Why would they . . . Oh sweet Melora help us."

For a moment Petra Shellendo simply stops, his mouth hanging agape in an expression of brainless shock. Then, the befuddlement melts away and some of the old steel returns.

"There's no time to waste. They've stolen the feather for gods only knows what reason. We have to get it back. That relic is the spiritual focus of a subtle ward that protects Helen's Reach and the other towns from the full fury of the worst October Storms. The longer its gone, the greater danger we're all in."

His hand behind her back, Petra pushes the young candlekeep forward.

"Tatiana was in the grotto when the vandals broke in. She hid herself in a small space under the statue of the Sea Witch. When the vandals left, she shadowed them through the city streets back to their hideout."

Petra pats the candlekeep on the shoulder and she beams with fierce pride.

"Unless you have suggestions to the contrary, what I would like is for you to let her lead you to their hideout. Then, take these blasphemers by force and make them pay for what they've done. I am going to remain here and try to bring some semblance of order to this . . . situation. Pieter is going to fetch the Sheriff."

At this, Pieter Anzalli steps forward from the shadows, "It is important that as few people as possible know about the loss of the Exarch's Feather. There are certain . . . forces . . . that would use that knowledge to sow even greater chaos and dissension for their own gain. Whoever did this, particularly if Sea Devils are involved, is beyond what the Guard Watch is capable of dealing with. You are our best hope for recovering the Exarch's Feather before it is lost for good."

 

[Blackrat]

Zarathas kneels before the young girl and places a scaly hand on her shoulder. "You saw the attack, and would take us to their hideout? You are brave. I promise you now and here that these blasphemers will be punished by the fury of The Platinum Lord. And you know my kind always keeps a promise." The low humming voice of the dragonborn paladin was as soothing as he could muster, but still stern and determined.

 

[Redclaw]

Can you tell us anything about the villains before we get to their hideout, youngling? Varilar asks the candlekeep. Any information we have might give us an advantage in our efforts, making it more likely that we bring them to justice. Even as he speaks, his mind is busy searching for any information about locals working for or with Sea Devils in the past.

 

[The Digger]

"Aye, lass. Varilar makes good sense. Even a tiny bit of information could make the difference between success and failure. Think about it as we go and see what you can come up with."

Charlie turned from the candlekeep and checked that all her accoutrements were to hand and ready for a fight, and she hoped she would be able to use her abilities to their fullest. It didn't look as if this job was gonna pay much so the quicker it was done, the better!"

 

[helium3]

The young girl nods approvingly at the Dragonborn kneeling in front of her, then she helps him up.

As you are all leaving Sailor's Hope, one of the temple acolytes runs up and places a warm cloak around her shoulders. She turns to Varilar.

"I remember now. There were four of them. A tall elf, two humans and a little hafling. They were all dressed dirty and smelled bad. Like one of those drinking places. The house they went to was by the Lagoon, but not all burnt down like some of them. They had drakes and they weren't nice ones, either. There were other people inside the house, but I didn't see who."

 

[Walking Dad]

"With no time to gather more information, I suggest to hasten to the location, before the thieves have time to prepare." Jorje suggests to the others.

 

[Sparky]

"High Priest, we will bring the Exarch's Feather back." He bows, kissing his fingertips then touching them to his eyes and brow, as Sister Anhela had taught.

He kneels before that shattered statue and prays silently for a moment before returning to the gaggle of his comrades at the back of the temple. He raises a hand in leave-taking to the elder priests and follows the group out of the temple.

 

[helium3]

If she were fully grown, you'd be hard pressed to keep up with her. As it is, the young girl is easy to keep pace with as she leads you through the dark streets of Helen's Reach. The nightly storms have nearly disgorged their entire burden for the evening, and the rain has dwindled to a slow drizzle. Small patches of stars show in a few places and my morning the sky will be clear but for a few small puffs of cloud. The moon, halfway between new and full, is nowhere to be seen.

She leads you a section of town halfway between Sailor's Hope and the Vault of Years. As she described, the area is in a serious state of disrepair. Helen's Reach is larger than its population needs it to be, and with more folk dying each year of disease, tragedy and despair than are born to replace them, every generation or so a new section of town is abandoned and left to brigands, street scum and vermin. This is such a place. Many of the abandoned buildings are burned out wrecks, the fires set by accident or intention.

The old house she takes you to is in the middle of a small raft of structures untouched by the flames. From its size and the obvious quality of construction, it was probably commissioned by a now extinct family line from the upper strata of the social order. Even now, buried as it is under years of neglect and abuse, the aura of lucrative domesticity the house was meant to convey still shines through.

Little Tatiana brings you all to a nearby spot where she promises you can observe the immoral occupants without, in turn, being observed. She makes good on her promise. From your vantage point deep within the cloaking shadows of an alley across the street you can see the front of the building.

At the top of a wide set of stairs leading up to a sagging wrap-around porch, two guard drakes lay chained to nearby support posts. Beyond them is an empty doorway, the doors long lost to thieves or dry rot. Through the doors you can see a small portion of what appears to be a large room. The room is fitfully lit, perhaps by the guttering flames cheap candles or an oil lamp. You can hear voices and careful attention leads you the conclusion that there are at least four inhabitants. An occasional clattering noise, followed by satisfied laughter, mutters of discontent and the clink of coins leads you to believe that they are playing dice.

Little Tatiana looks up at you, a shark-like grin brimming with wrathful expectation marring the candlekeep's otherwise innocent face. She points at the open doorway, "That's them."

As promised, you don't appear to have been noticed.

[sblock=ooc]Go ahead and roll initiative. Please note that as of now you have the element of surprise.

• The online initiative board can be found here.
• The online conditions tracker is here.
• The encounter map (800 X 600) is here.
• The encounter map (1667 X 1254) is here.

Place yourselves wherever you want in the section of the alley I've marked with the green stripes. If there are any other actions you want to take such as scouting and the like, please tell me after I've got your initiative and the square you're starting in.

Also, if you experienced PbP folks have some suggestions on how to handle encounters, post 'em to the OOC thread.[/sblock]