While Van suspected they might find information at the Peak's Shadow, Merrick was in the mind to knock on doors and see what they could find (since for all they knew Torrent could be just inside any one of the nearby houses). Van suggested that it might be better to investigate the effects of the curse than go poking through houses at random, but accepted the plan. Karuna and Alain followed without input, content to 'go with the flow'.
They knocked on a house, unanswered, and went in. Beset by the curse, the occupants had forgotten to eat. One man was dead in his chair and a woman, his wife, perhaps, sat staring off into space, wasting away. Merrick spooned some food into her mouth.
Assuming that this scene was indicative of the whole town, they knew they had to act fast. Van was assertive; the Peak's Shadow, and the soldiers congregating there, was a lead that needed to be followed up on.
They headed in that direction, only to come across a group of bewitched Ragesian soldiers. A couple guardsmen momentarily glanced their way, but then went back to idle tasks like endlessly sharpening their blades.
As the party began to move by them unopposed, Merrick spoke up. "This is our chance. If we kill them now, we won't have to fight them once we deal with whatever is causing this."
Van shrugged, surprised by the halfling's callousness. "They're defenseless. Besides, we don't have the time. The longer we stay here the more likely the curse is to affect us. We can deal with them later if it comes to that."
But Merrick was just getting started. "The way I see it, as of now, this curse is an ally. The Ragesians here aren't a threat, the monastery is safe. The best thing we could do is go around town and kill every single one of the soldiers while they are unable to defend themselves."
"...and people are starving in their homes. We don't have time for this. We need to find Torrent, and find out what's going on here."
"But this is an incredible opportunity. Once we deal with the curse these guys will come to their senses and we will need to fight them all anyway."
"If it's so important to you, go for it. You can meet up with us at the inn."
Merrick balked. As always, he wanted to reach a consensus, and continued to argue his point.
"If you want to murder these people, no one's stopping you, and we're wasting time arguing about it." Van chided, but the halfling would not take the initiative or concede the point, until Van snapped, shouting "Fine! If this is the only way to get you to shut up about it..." and drew his dagger to slash a guard's throat.
Emerging from torpor as the knife touched his skin, the guard jerked away from Van's assault and hefted his well-honed blade. A few of the other guards responded in kind, but a couple of them remained completely oblivious to the ensuing chaos.
The fight was a slaughter. Unsurprisingly, the half-starved, befuddled soldiers were no match for the powerful arcane spells wielded by the so-called Heroes of Seaquen. Throughout the battle, Karuna stood oddly disinterested off to one side, instead of fighting.
"Can we get moving now?" Van remarked, feeling quite dishonorable. He hoped they could get out of town before it was too late, especially now that Karuna was exhibiting some behavioral warning signs. However, despite everyone in town acting like stoned-out geriatric patients, Merrick felt it was necessary to hide the bodies. Van was fed up. "We'll see you at the inn" he said, and stomped off, hesitating for a moment to order the addled monk to assist Merrick.
When Alain and Van arrived at the Peak's Shadow, they found many soldiers milling around outside, but ignored them and headed inside. The inn was crowded with patrons, Ragesians and townsfolk alike, just sitting there in a silent daze. The bartender approached in a semi-lucid state, greeting them and offering to get them something. Van urged the man to divulge anything he could about the terrible curse; Alain ordered a drink. Merrick and Karuna came in, having hidden the bodies.
The bartender couldn't focus. It was difficult to get information from the poor fellow, but when pressed, he seemed to snap out of it momentarily and recognize what was going on. He divulged that Torrent and her companions had come through town a few weeks ago, when the Ragesians came and trouble started: Everyone began to stop caring. It was vague and foreboding. It was as if everyone was compelled to take the path of least resistance.
Finally, the bartender mentioned that Torrent's group had sought out the baker, whatsisname, who could be found at his bakery in the neighborhood to the north. With no better leads to follow, the party set out, hoping that the bakery and the darkened cellar where Torrent was might be one and the same.
Along the way they were beckoned into a house by a strange figure. They entered, but the place appeared empty, but for odd curtains hung about the place. A woman's voice wafted from behind a curtain. "We are balance. You've met our kin." Then, from behind a different veil, a man's voice: "Your actions go against our nature, which we will not tolerate (or somesuch)." But no one was behind the curtains.
Indomitability and Deception. Madness. And now, Balance. What could these strange forces be (besides being ever at odds with the party)?
Taking it as a dark omen, the party hurried on to the bakery. The baker was in the same condition as the bartender: Blank and unaware, except when the heroes took pains to make him understand the urgency of the situation. At last, he broke free from the effects for an instant and announced that Torrent was hidden within. He led the party to a secret door, blocked by a pastry cart, before returning to a hazy, passive composure.
They were happy to find Torrent, who, despite being in rough shape, seemed relatively alert. She explained that they had come to the town and been turned away at the monastery (just as they had heard), and slowly fallen under the curse. After realizing one day that all of her companions had simply disappeared, she decided to hide out in the bakery to be safe. Glad to have found her before she starved to death, the party, especially Van, decided it was time to get out of town. As soon as Torrent was ready, they headed outside and toward the long road up the mountainside to the monastery.
It became clear as they walked that Alain also was beginning to show signs of Balance's influence.
Then their path was blocked by two air elementals, which swooped at great speed over the icy crags and pinned the party down with frost, quickly wearing the heroes down with incredible crushing blasts of wind.
With supernatural agility, Karuna delivered a powerful flying kick, only to land on a fragile ice ridge, which broke away beneath him. Into the chasm he plunged...
They knocked on a house, unanswered, and went in. Beset by the curse, the occupants had forgotten to eat. One man was dead in his chair and a woman, his wife, perhaps, sat staring off into space, wasting away. Merrick spooned some food into her mouth.
Assuming that this scene was indicative of the whole town, they knew they had to act fast. Van was assertive; the Peak's Shadow, and the soldiers congregating there, was a lead that needed to be followed up on.
They headed in that direction, only to come across a group of bewitched Ragesian soldiers. A couple guardsmen momentarily glanced their way, but then went back to idle tasks like endlessly sharpening their blades.
As the party began to move by them unopposed, Merrick spoke up. "This is our chance. If we kill them now, we won't have to fight them once we deal with whatever is causing this."
Van shrugged, surprised by the halfling's callousness. "They're defenseless. Besides, we don't have the time. The longer we stay here the more likely the curse is to affect us. We can deal with them later if it comes to that."
But Merrick was just getting started. "The way I see it, as of now, this curse is an ally. The Ragesians here aren't a threat, the monastery is safe. The best thing we could do is go around town and kill every single one of the soldiers while they are unable to defend themselves."
"...and people are starving in their homes. We don't have time for this. We need to find Torrent, and find out what's going on here."
"But this is an incredible opportunity. Once we deal with the curse these guys will come to their senses and we will need to fight them all anyway."
"If it's so important to you, go for it. You can meet up with us at the inn."
Merrick balked. As always, he wanted to reach a consensus, and continued to argue his point.
"If you want to murder these people, no one's stopping you, and we're wasting time arguing about it." Van chided, but the halfling would not take the initiative or concede the point, until Van snapped, shouting "Fine! If this is the only way to get you to shut up about it..." and drew his dagger to slash a guard's throat.
Emerging from torpor as the knife touched his skin, the guard jerked away from Van's assault and hefted his well-honed blade. A few of the other guards responded in kind, but a couple of them remained completely oblivious to the ensuing chaos.
The fight was a slaughter. Unsurprisingly, the half-starved, befuddled soldiers were no match for the powerful arcane spells wielded by the so-called Heroes of Seaquen. Throughout the battle, Karuna stood oddly disinterested off to one side, instead of fighting.
"Can we get moving now?" Van remarked, feeling quite dishonorable. He hoped they could get out of town before it was too late, especially now that Karuna was exhibiting some behavioral warning signs. However, despite everyone in town acting like stoned-out geriatric patients, Merrick felt it was necessary to hide the bodies. Van was fed up. "We'll see you at the inn" he said, and stomped off, hesitating for a moment to order the addled monk to assist Merrick.
When Alain and Van arrived at the Peak's Shadow, they found many soldiers milling around outside, but ignored them and headed inside. The inn was crowded with patrons, Ragesians and townsfolk alike, just sitting there in a silent daze. The bartender approached in a semi-lucid state, greeting them and offering to get them something. Van urged the man to divulge anything he could about the terrible curse; Alain ordered a drink. Merrick and Karuna came in, having hidden the bodies.
The bartender couldn't focus. It was difficult to get information from the poor fellow, but when pressed, he seemed to snap out of it momentarily and recognize what was going on. He divulged that Torrent and her companions had come through town a few weeks ago, when the Ragesians came and trouble started: Everyone began to stop caring. It was vague and foreboding. It was as if everyone was compelled to take the path of least resistance.
Finally, the bartender mentioned that Torrent's group had sought out the baker, whatsisname, who could be found at his bakery in the neighborhood to the north. With no better leads to follow, the party set out, hoping that the bakery and the darkened cellar where Torrent was might be one and the same.
Along the way they were beckoned into a house by a strange figure. They entered, but the place appeared empty, but for odd curtains hung about the place. A woman's voice wafted from behind a curtain. "We are balance. You've met our kin." Then, from behind a different veil, a man's voice: "Your actions go against our nature, which we will not tolerate (or somesuch)." But no one was behind the curtains.
Indomitability and Deception. Madness. And now, Balance. What could these strange forces be (besides being ever at odds with the party)?
Taking it as a dark omen, the party hurried on to the bakery. The baker was in the same condition as the bartender: Blank and unaware, except when the heroes took pains to make him understand the urgency of the situation. At last, he broke free from the effects for an instant and announced that Torrent was hidden within. He led the party to a secret door, blocked by a pastry cart, before returning to a hazy, passive composure.
They were happy to find Torrent, who, despite being in rough shape, seemed relatively alert. She explained that they had come to the town and been turned away at the monastery (just as they had heard), and slowly fallen under the curse. After realizing one day that all of her companions had simply disappeared, she decided to hide out in the bakery to be safe. Glad to have found her before she starved to death, the party, especially Van, decided it was time to get out of town. As soon as Torrent was ready, they headed outside and toward the long road up the mountainside to the monastery.
It became clear as they walked that Alain also was beginning to show signs of Balance's influence.
Then their path was blocked by two air elementals, which swooped at great speed over the icy crags and pinned the party down with frost, quickly wearing the heroes down with incredible crushing blasts of wind.
With supernatural agility, Karuna delivered a powerful flying kick, only to land on a fragile ice ridge, which broke away beneath him. Into the chasm he plunged...