T1: A Visit to Spelding Square [Completed]

[Trouvere]

The halfling cocks her head to make sense of Pendrake's utterance.

"I hoped there might be guards so far up. This is what they're paid to do, you'd think, but they leave us to ourselves, except when they come to arrest someone. But that's about all they can do. I expected to have to run all the way to the Red Dragon to find anyone competent. So, then, by your arms, armour and bearing, meeting you so close is fortunate?"

She extends her own hand to take Quozen's. "Miss Rollfar Lightpurse," she says.

Mention of the great wave makes her twist round to peer up the street again.

"No, not as such. I was up there. I own - owned - the houses there. Spelding Row. I was visiting my tenants. I felt the wind first, shaking the cottages. And then, about a quarter-hour later, I smelled the sea, the tang suddenly stronger, and then after it, a smell of rot and vinegar. Well, I didn't think so much of it. But when I came out a back door into Spelding Square, there was a something there. I think it came out of the sea, with the wave. I couldn't see it, but there was the smell and... noises.

"Well, I did something stupid. I went looking around the Square for it. I only caught a glimpse. I ran, hoping very hard it would stay where it was, and indeed it didn't follow me. But I dropped my lantern and it broke.

"So, I got my tenants out of their homes and sent them away to friends or relatives or inns. I don't think it's safe for them, while that thing is there."

She looks at each of you imploringly, wobbling a little as she looks up at Ngikhnit. "Please, will you... find out what it is? And kill it."[sblock=PCs][sblock=Midias]She seems sincere, and to be telling the truth.[/sblock][sblock=Peladus]Why would anyone make up a story like this?[/sblock][sblock=Quozen]She talks a lot, but you don't get a good sense for her. There's nothing that makes you think she'd be lying.[/sblock][sblock=Ngikhnit]Spelding Square sounds interesting. There's almost nothing more worth doing than taking a look at it, right now. You feel that very strongly.[/sblock][sblock=Pendrake]As Miss Lightpurse asks for help, you feel a tickle at the back of your head... certainly not hostile, but a pressure, that quickly fades.[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Boddynock]

Peladus says, "Well, we came from the Red Dragon looking for adventure, and answers to what that falling star might have been. Looks like we may find both."

Bowing to the young woman he says, "My name is Peladus Bralc. Tell us, what did you see? And what were the noises you heard?"

 

[orsal]

Ngikhnit gets excited. He tightens his grip on his weapon as he hears of this dangerous unknown creature. "Where is this Spelding Square? Let's go now!"

 

[Scott DeWar]

Pendrake bows and says" I say we haf seen oo guardsmen Und I ask for your name. You tell yours, now ist mine turn. Pendrake son of Uther. Noordlander. At your service. Rot und viniger you smell?" Pendrake looks contemplative as he thinks abut the possibilities of what it could be.

OOC: perhaps some sort of knowledge check for pendrake? I think keeping it secret from me would be best

 

[Trouvere]

Rollfar mouths a silent 'Oh' on hearing those names.

"I heard, well, I am not certain. Slithering, slurping, a sound that makes me think of wet leather against stone." She shudders. "I saw nothing I can be sure of - the shadows drawn together into a hunched black shape that I lost in a moment."

"Spelding Square is just on the other side of these houses. Have you heard of it? Fishermen bring their catches to the pier. Fish are gutted right there, and salted or dried in the sun. There's a market held once a week. I'm sorry, that's not important. I'm a little nervous."[sblock=Midias, Peladus, Pendrake][sblock=Midias]The teachings of the Church of Hyrag on undead make frequent mention of the stench of decay by which some undead abominations may be detected, notably the type of ghoul known as the ghast. There is also a ghoul called the lacedon that lurks in water, preying on shipwrecks.[/sblock][sblock=Peladus]Some alchemical texts speak of the distillation of vinegar in an alembic to make a more powerful acid that can sear flesh.[/sblock][sblock=Pendrake]The fishmen that climbed from the underground sea onto the broken bridge to Pedestal smelled noisome, though not of vinegar.[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Boddynock]

Peladus hastens to reassure Rollfar. "Don't be nervous. You've escaped what seems a sinister creature ... and I'm sure it wasn't just by luck! And you've been able to give us some information which could be helpful. Your mention of vinegar reminds me that there are ways to treat vinegar to make it much stronger - strong enough to eat flesh. And so we're forewarned. Thank you."

 

[Scott DeWar]

Pendrake shakes his head, "It soud like fishdevils I foauge in underground zee. But they are smelling of vinager, Just . . . " he scrunches up his face as he he recalss, "blech! rotted fish?" he shrugs his sholders, causing more water to drip off of him and a piece of kelp that was hiding somewhere.

 

[orsal]

Ngikhnit is impatient with talk. Vinegar, rotten fish, whatever. I will go kill it! Rolfar Lightpurse, I am Ngikhnit. I do not know this town at all, but this flail is made to destroy such damnable creatures wherever I go.

He starts off eagerly in the direction the halfling indicated, not waiting to see if anyone is following him there.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Quozen smiles. "I will gladly assist in bringing peace to Spelding Square."

 

[Trouvere]

Spelding Row is in better repair than the street you have just come up. The buildings are stone, with slate roofs. If they look like fishing village cottages that once lay outside Orussus that have since been swallowed up by the spreading slums, that's because they probably are. Architectural and historical town planning matters aren't of the greatest importance right now.

Down at the far end of the street, moving away slowly, are two figures - a tall thin man, and a dwarf woman, carrying tiny tiny children, one apiece, legs dangling.

"I half expected the Ironforge-Millers to come back as soon as I left. Good people, took in two gnomish orphans, but stubborn," says Rollfar. "They're rather loitering, don't you think? I should go along this way, and make sure they don't get any foolish ideas. I'll tuck them into inn beds myself if I have to."

She points. "It's through here. Oh, do be careful." She hurries after her tenants, leaving you alone.

The indicated entrance to Spelding Square is a broad alley that splits the Row into halves. It is wide enough for two carts to pass abreast. The near end of the alley is lit by two more oil lamps on high brackets, but where their light is blocked, the Square is utterly, utterly dark.
[sblock=Maps]P=Peladus and Pn=Pendrake, of course. You came up the street that's in the lower left. The sea lies to the west. Spelding Square is directly north. Those things sticking out of the wall are lamp brackets, with the lamps not in easy reach.[sblock=Midias,Peladus,Pendrake]

[/sblock][sblock=Ngikhnit,Quozen]

[/sblock][sblock=Notes]I intend to make full use of illuminating only those portions of the map that each PC can see, with his appropriate vision type. If individual PCs can see substantially different things, I'll provide personal maps. It'll be a lot more fun if you don't peek at maps labelled for other characters. It's only 30 seconds' effort to update a map, so don't worry about spreading out to cover more ground (muhaha!).

Let's stick close to the rules for keeping track of who has what in hand – if you're using a weapon in two hands, you can't simultanously carry a lantern, for instance. But you have a lot of options for light sources, so that should be fine.

A practical difficulty is that nearly everyone is likely to have a move, and certainly a double move, greater than the radius of a light source, so that they may wish to move into a part of the Square that's not initially visible on the map. This may not turn out to matter much, and don't worry, I won’t have you unexpectedly walk into a wall or anything. If something of interest comes into view part way through a move (like Rollfar's gang of heavy crossbow-wielding halfling thieves creature, for instance), I'll do a quick map update, and you can restate your PC's subsequent actions from that point, if you wish.

For example: "Peladus keeps walking north." (one quick map update later) "After moving 30 feet, Peladus spots the shadowy edge of a stone wall ahead of him, marking the north-east corner of the Square." "Peladus turns west as soon as he sees the wall."

Hopefully this won't come up too often and won't slow us down too much. It likely won't matter after a certain point anyway.

Oh - I meant to also add a pointer to the rules on Listen and Spot, particularly noting that to try to spot or hear something you previously failed to notice is a move action.

That said, I'll be going away on holiday on Saturday morning, and won't have any internet access. I'll be back on the 31st. Let's see whether we can reach a cliffhanger before then.[/sblock][/sblock]