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<blockquote data-quote="Zad" data-source="post: 2815144" data-attributes="member: 90"><p><strong>Life's Bazaar - Chapter 1</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Life’s Bazaar</span></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Life’s Bazaar – Chapter 1</strong></p><p></p><p><u>OOC Notes:</u></p><p>Experience is 450 exp.</p><p></p><p></p><p><u>This Week’s Adventure:</u></p><p>I was starting to get worried. Now that I stop to think about it, I don’t ever recall being “worried” before. It was a strange sensation and not really one I enjoyed. </p><p></p><p>Having observed Astrid and Elizabeth for some months now, it was pretty obvious to me that they were worried too. And they weren’t enjoying it either.</p><p></p><p>From what I understand, Elizabeth had run away from the farm and considering that start did fairly well. She tagged along with a mercenary band, first as a camp servant. But over time she learned to fight and a little more. And she became friends with Astrid. I admit at first I was wary of her, and doubly so when I learned her changeling nature. But they were two peas in a pod, and they became friends. </p><p></p><p>So when then the mercenary company they were with disbanded, it was natural that they would stick together, broke and jobless as they were. Elizabeth was at a loss for what to do next but Astrid proved to be a good friend to have. </p><p></p><p>There was a clique of half-orcs in the mercenary band. Generally speaking, they were vile, fickle, and rude. And they certainly didn’t give the girls anything but a hard time and a lot of leering. Of course, after the first time the “girls” cracked a few skulls, the half-orcs learned to keep their paws to themselves and leer from a distance, and not too loudly at that. While the half-orcs were not a problem, there was certainly no spirit of cooperation flowing from them either. Enter Astrid - her… talents allowed her to listen in on the talk of the half-orcs in the mercenary group and they were sure there was work to be found to the south in the city of Cauldron. Armed with that information, and without any better ideas, the girls set out for the city that sprang up in the volcano. And I followed. It’s what I do.</p><p></p><p>The pay they had received was barely enough to get them there. Once they arrived, they took a room at the Drunken Morkoth Inn. I was starting to wonder what a morkoth was (and what happened when it got drunk), but the girls stopped short as soon as they walked in and immediately started to worry. </p><p></p><p>What they saw when they walked in was an inn – patrons, an innkeeper, and so on. This wasn’t, I gathered, what worried them. It was what they didn’t see. If you want to recruit mercenaries, you put on your best weapons and go to a low-class inn, and hang around. And as you recruit, the new blood tends to hang out there drinking until it’s time to leave. And word spreads, and more recruits show up. Any other mercenaries looking for new recruits goes where the others are gathered, and soon you have a giant labor pool of drunk fighters and recruiters all in the same place.</p><p></p><p>And what Astrid and Elizabeth didn’t see were drunks. And they knew right away they had a problem. Personally, I assumed they were just in the wrong bar. But a day later, after following them all over this maze of a town, I started to get worried as well. Nobody was recruiting – there weren’t even any mercenary companies in town. And from what I overheard, the girls were not exactly experiencing a heavy cash surplus – they didn’t expect to be able to eat in another day or two unless they found work. Fortunately, St. Cuthbert saw fit to provide salvation.</p><p></p><p>Which in this case was a scream.</p><p></p><p>The scream came from down an alley. What I was at first was sure was a woman crying out for help was in fact a priest of some sort, the symbol of St. Cuthbert hanging from his neck. The fact that his scream was in a high falsetto could be excused since there were three thugs that were beating the tar out of him.</p><p></p><p>“And stay away from the orphanage! You understand priest?!? Stay away from it!!”</p><p></p><p>There were none of the town watch around, and Astrid and Elizabeth just looked at each other and shrugged and freed their weapons. They both have good hearts, but I think the idea that this might lead to paying work with someone was higher in their minds to tell the truth. Astrid nodded silently to the right of the alleyway at a man. He was sitting on a barrel, with his feet up on another barrel lounging around and eating some kind of meat on a stick. Astrid thought he was a lookout but he seemed as startled by the scream as anyone. He tossed aside his meatsicle and stood up and stretched and in the same motion strung a bow with an ease that was disturbing. With that he moved towards the alley a step behind the girls.</p><p></p><p>As the girls stepped into the alley, one of the thugs who was taking a less active role in the beating turned on them.</p><p></p><p>“Just keep walking. This ain’t none of your business,” he said, his hand hovering near a long knife. The man was of the general common thug variety, but he, like his companions, was wearing black and white makeup on his face in some kind of theatrical style. Not exactly low-profile.</p><p></p><p>From what I could see from my vantage point, there was some interest from other passers-by at the other end of the alley, and a similar threat was made.</p><p></p><p>Astrid looked at Elizabeth and shrugged, as if to say “What about the lookout?” Elizabeth shrugged back, implying “Eh. If he doesn’t run, we’ll pummel him too.” And they charged. Astrid stepped up to the goon and cracked him in the head with her halberd and Elizabeth followed that with a quick cut to the leg and the man staggered on his feet. He turned to run but his injured leg cut out as soon as he put weight on it and he collapsed in the dirt. As he fell, an arrow went whizzing between the girls, loosed by the “lookout”. While it was somewhat close to them, it was a far closer shot to the third thug in the middle of the alley, who just barely avoided getting hit. </p><p></p><p>At the other end of the alley, whoever was there was also not backing down. I could make out a large human, and a young girl. The thug there had drawn his blade and cut the large human, and it was clear neither him nor the girl made their living with a sword.</p><p></p><p>The girls rushed the middle thug. Astrid swung but the goon twisted aside. Sadly for him that put him in position for Elizabeth, who decided to make sure the man couldn’t kill the priest. She put her mental energy into her blade as she hit and cut a massive gash across his chest. He too tried to run before collapsing on the ground and bleeding profusely.</p><p></p><p>The “lookout” dashed forward and checked on the priest, making him either uninvolved in the mugging or a great actor. The third thug, scuffling now with three people at the alley mouth, decided to run. There was a brief chase, but the large human managed to get ahead of him and club the man as he tried to run by in a panic.</p><p></p><p>The thug was dragged back to where the priest was recovering his wits. First, he made sure to perform some healing magic on the thugs to be sure they didn’t die. The young girl called the city watch while the others talked to the priest.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you so much for your help. I had thought these thugs from the Last Laugh intended to rob me but they seemed to have been sent to give me a warning instead. But I’m not sure why.”</p><p></p><p>It was what he didn’t say that was more interesting. He was clearly shocked by the amount of lethality they used to save him. He may have been grateful, but his sense of justice did not abide killing these goons for beating him up. </p><p></p><p>There were six people who had stopped to help the acolyte. Besides the girls, there was the large human, who was not human at all. The glowing runes floating about his head marked him as Illumian, at least by reputation. There was the “lookout”, a human in his thirties who handled his bow far too well to have been new to it. There was another human man who had been at the far end of the alley out of sight, and the young girl. She was about old enough to marry and she had the look of an apprentice of some kind. </p><p></p><p>“My name is Rufus Laroe. I’m an acolyte of St. Cuthbert,” he said, still trying to recover his wits.</p><p></p><p>“I’m Astrid Grace MacKenzie of the Bearkiller Clan,” Astrid said, though why she always insisted on that whole name was beyond me. “And this is Elizabeth Cartwright.”</p><p></p><p>The lookout smiled and just said “Krisfallion.”</p><p></p><p>The Illumian was Diamondshard Glyphandar – Glyf – and the girl he was with was Maris. I noticed that Glyf was leading a pack mule and seemed to be a bit too attached to it. The other human was Bellsin.</p><p></p><p>Astrid asked “What is this orphanage they mentioned, and why are they wearing makeup?”</p><p></p><p>“The Last Laugh is the local thieves’ guild. That is what you might call their ‘professional’ costume when they’re doing official business. As for the orphanage, I’m more confused there. I was investigating some kidnappings from the orphanage but I’m not sure why they would care about that at all. Nonetheless I am fearful they might attack again. I thank you deeply for your help but I fear I must ask if you might see fit to escort me back to my temple. I’m sure the acting high-priestess will reward you for your kindness.”</p><p></p><p>The word “reward” was all the girls needed. They would have done it anyway, though they might not admit it. But they still needed to eat. Krisfallion shrugged with the look of a man with nothing better to do, so he was up for the walk. The others were slower to get on board but ultimately they realized it was too late to attend to whatever other business they had and we set off for the church.</p><p></p><p>The girls spread out front and back, and the group tried to look inconspicuous, although this late at night such a large group was bound to attract attention. On the way, Rufus, perhaps feeling the need to fill the silence, explained more about the abductions. “There have been a string of disappearances recently, but these were the most recent. Four children, stolen away into thin air! The orphanage was barred and locked you see, but the children were taken all the same. Two boys and two girls, stolen from their locked dormitories.”</p><p></p><p>“You lock the children up at night?” Maris asked, slightly disturbed by this.</p><p></p><p>“Well, you must understand it is simply to prevent them getting into mischief,” Rufus replied. “But it didn’t stop whoever took them. There was no sign of entry or exit, and nobody saw anything. The acting high cleric of my church has publicly vowed to resolve the matter, even committing a powerful artifact to the effort.”</p><p></p><p>There was more chatter on the subject of the children, but all it really served to show was how little Rufus had been able to discover so far. The most telling bit of information was the one he seemed to be trying to forget – that the Last Laugh had felt this was important enough to rough him up over.</p><p></p><p>We arrived at the church – an impressive building of stone and some wood. Rufus had us wait in a chamber while he spoke to an acolyte who took his cloak. Rufus withdrew and soon enough the acolyte returned with warm spiced wine and bread and cheese. Before too long, Rufus returned with another priest – a woman in her early forties. At her side was a mace that seemed more suitable for ceremony than battle. </p><p></p><p>“Greetings. My name is Jenya Urikas. I am the acting senior cleric here. Our High Priest is currently away on business. I hope you will all accept my thanks for the aid you rendered. Saint Cuthbert will see Justice done on the perpetrators.”</p><p></p><p>She asked them to sit, and she repeated many of the details that Rufus had. “There have been disappearances starting almost ninety days ago. They have received little attention from the city guard, and have disturbed me greatly. The people come from all walks of life and we can see no common link between them. But the children bothered me most. I have committed to brining the perpetrators to justice and bringing the resources of Saint Cuthbert to bear on this.”</p><p></p><p>She drew out the mace. “This is the Star of Justice, enchanted by the Church with the gift of prophecy. Once a week, I may ask a question and receive an answer. I asked where the children could be found. In response, I received a riddle. This is most unusual – the answer is usually very straightforward according to my research.”</p><p></p><p><em>The locks are the key to finding them. Look beyond the curtain, below the cauldron. Beware the doors with teeth. Descend into the malachite ‘hold, where precious life is bought with gold. Half a dwarf binds them, but not for long.</em></p><p></p><p>Whereas most of the others listened closely, Astrid fidgeted while Elizabeth just enjoyed the wine and tried to look interested. They didn’t understand why they were being told all this – they were just hoping for enough of a reward to keep looking for more work or at best a short job. They couldn’t see that they were being set up for something bigger. Luck has a way of working like that. </p><p></p><p>Elizabeth made a clumsy stab at fishing for a job. “You may find it prudent to have Rufus escorted when he goes out on his investigations. It is likely that the Last Laugh will try again, and with more force.”</p><p></p><p>Jenya frowned. “Their involvement is most troubling in this matter. I can see no sense in it. However it has clearly shown that we are ill-equipped to investigate this matter. But I have committed us, and we will see it through. To that end… “ (here it comes, I thought) “I believe we will need agents to handle this.”</p><p></p><p>The girls exchanged a quick look, and they were in. A job was a job was their thinking. I was more concerned however – this sounded dangerously close to “adventuring”, a career path noted for its high rewards and even higher mortality rate. </p><p></p><p>The old mercenary joke goes: “A son says to his father ‘I want to grow up and become and adventurer!’ and the father says ‘Well you can’t have it both ways son – which is it?’”</p><p></p><p>Krisfallion was also in. He seemed the type that liked to try the more interesting road. Glyf had other business in the city and was hesitant. He had some business at the Blue Crater Academy – the local mage guild and Maris was already a student there. Jenya carefully explained to them that the doors of Blue Crater open only to keys of gold, and to pursue their studies they would require money – more money than they had. They were convinced.</p><p></p><p>Bellsin was more difficult to fathom. He seemed lost and not entirely clear on even what city he was in. But he too slowly signed on.</p><p></p><p>Jenya seemed pleased that Saint Cuthbert had provided. “I can offer you these magical potions of healing to help you. If you can find the four children and bring them back, the church will reward you 2,500 gp. “</p><p></p><p>No doubt about it now – this was adventuring. </p><p></p><p>Elizabeth tried to look as if this was merely adequate, but failed miserably. The fact was this was more money than a mercenary was likely to see in a few years worth of campaigning. Whatever their story, the impact was lost on none of them.</p><p></p><p>The group left with the text of the riddle, a list of the victims, the potions, and the promise of whatever help and influence the church could offer. They returned Maris to the academy then the rest of them went to the Drunken Morkoth. In the morning they met back up and set out for the orphanage.</p><p></p><p>The bell was answered by a halfling woman. She seemed cranky at first, but softened when she realized the group was there to help, and had been sent by Jenya. Her name was Gretchin Tashek, and she was in charge of the orphanage. </p><p></p><p>Gretchin was very helpful, but there was little more she could tell. She did mention that the first day after the disappearances, the town guard investigated. The second day, two half-elves were asking questions. They claimed to be from the mayor’s office, and were very smooth-talking. Neither group turned up anything useful so far.</p><p></p><p>The orphanage was quite secure – locked doors and dormitories, and the windows all with bars. The only key was on a necklace Gretchin wore. The locks were carefully inspected by Bellsin, who seemed educated in such matters, and he noted they were very high quality. Almost too high for the orphanage.</p><p></p><p>“The locks were made years ago by Kheegan Ghelve – he’s the local locksmith, and quite talented. They cost a pretty penny too, but they’ve always worked well.”</p><p></p><p>“Until now…” observed Bellsin.</p><p></p><p>Krisfallion wandered off and started chatting with the staff. He settled on the half-orc janitor named Patch as someone of interest. Krisfallion had a way about him, and the half-orc started to open up. Perhaps it was guilt too – we mentioned the attack on Rufus and Patch seemed to feel bad that things had gone so far.</p><p></p><p>“Patch like drink. That not wrong,” Patch said. “Patch like drinking with Revus Twindaggers. He ask Patch to keep an eye on Terrem,” mentioning one of the missing children. “Pay patch fifty gold. Patch not know why. Not say to hurt him – tell Patch to look out for him. Patch not think anything wrong with that.” Patch started talking faster as the guilt began forcing words out of his mouth. “Maybe Terrem’s parents – they both dead. Patch not know. Patch only think Revus mentioned parents because Revus was drunk. Patch keep eye on Terrem for a year now. Patch not think it important.”</p><p></p><p>I had never seen a half-orc cry, but Patch seemed mighty close. </p><p></p><p>It seemed that Revus would find Patch, rather than them arranging to meet or anything more formal. It also seemed that Revus was part of the Last Laugh.</p><p></p><p>So they had two leads to look in to – the Last Laugh, and the locks. Finding Revus would likely prove difficult so they first set out to the locksmith. I don’t think they expected much to come of it, but it was something at least to eliminate.</p><p></p><p>They found the shop without too much trouble – turned out to be around the corner from the Blue Crater Academy. They entered and were greeted by Keygan Ghelve.</p><p></p><p>It took me at least thirty seconds to believe what I was seeing. Ghelve was a gnome but he walked around on stilts. His pants were cut appropriate, and he looked like nothing so much as a human child in a growth spurt.</p><p></p><p>The group asked questions, doing their best not to sound like they were accusing the gnome of anything but still watching him closely for any signs of guilt. Astrid plopped herself into a chair and made it clear that she wasn’t leaving until they had their questions answered. Keygan had been in business for many years and had done a great deal of business as the primary locksmith in town. Even if all the victims had disappeared from beneath his locks, they were so prevalent that it couldn’t really be considered odd.</p><p></p><p><em>The locks are the key to finding them Look beyond the curtain.</em></p><p></p><p>Now I should mention that the prophecy of the Star of Justice mentioned locks, but nobody thought too much on it. Questions were asked about underground lakes and such – that’s the way of prophecies; they can’t be taken too literally. But it wasn’t the locks that intrigued Elizabeth and some of the others.</p><p></p><p>It was the curtain. The big, heavy, red velvet curtain that hung in a doorway in the shop. Suddenly it was very important to know what’s beyond that curtain. I have to admit I was curious myself.</p><p></p><p>Maris had an idea for that, in the form of a rat. I had assumed Maris was some kind of spellcaster to be training at the Academy, but the rat made me sure she was a fledgling wizard. And so Penelope the rat was sent around the counter to see what lie beyond.</p><p></p><p>Penelope saw another room with stairs leading to an upper-level balcony. In the room were three chests, and a strange mechanical gizmo with whirling gears and things. Nothing overly unusual to be sure. Penelope returned.</p><p></p><p>Elizabeth couldn’t get over that curtain though. It was too much. And despite not actually being all that bright, she can be rather intuitive at times. “So are there master keys to your locks?”</p><p></p><p>“No. If a key were lost, I’d have to examine the lock to fashion a new one,” he replied, indicating a massive display of keys on the wall of the shop. And then he looked over his shoulders at the curtain, using only his eyes.</p><p></p><p>I was worried Elizabeth had missed it, but she hadn’t. Not bright, but intuitive. “So you know of no easy way to bypass your locks?”</p><p></p><p>“None,” he said. And looked again. “I make such a wide variety of door and chest locks.”</p><p></p><p>Bellsin, knowing there were chests behind the curtain, asked “Chest locks. Interesting. Do you have any examples?”</p><p></p><p>“Right back here,” Keygan said, doing his level best to stay cool. He thought someone was watching and could not even hint now.</p><p></p><p>Keygan began discussing the intricacies of the chest locks with Bellsin while the others wandered about the back room. Elizabeth was intrigued by the gizmo near the stairs. Which seemed innocent enough, until a thin blade suddenly pierced her back and came out her chest.</p><p></p><p>A figure crouched on the stairs, holding the blade. It wore some kind of blue-green fabric all over, or perhaps it was just its hide. It didn’t make even a hint of a sound as it pulled its sword out of Elizabeth who fell back against the wall, staggered.</p><p></p><p>The small back-room was not a good place for a fight, and everyone was tripping over each other as they tried to move back and forth to attack the creature. A number of failed attacks from the front opened the opportunity for Astrid to strike upward through the railing, piercing the creature in the kidney. Even as it died, it still didn’t make a sound.</p><p></p><p>Elizabeth was very nearly dead. She couldn’t risk trying to drink the potion while the creature was alive, but as it fell she quickly swallowed the sweet liquid and the wound closed over.</p><p></p><p>“Oh it’s been a nightmare!” moaned Keygan. “They came into the store and they took Starbrow. I can sense him beneath me somewhere. A mile. He’s frightened and hungry.”</p><p></p><p>“Your familiar?” Maris asked.</p><p></p><p>Keygan nodded and sobbed. “My rat. They threatened him. There were two kinds – ones like that one – taller. And then the smaller ones. They don’t wear clothes, and have no hair. I’ve never been able to figure if they were men or women. They change color and are hard to see. Normally there are two or three here together but only one guards me during the day. They go out into the streets on rainy or cloudy nights.” Keygan was blathering now.</p><p></p><p>“There are skeleton keys. I gave them a set that would open most of my locks. I had to! They were going to kill Starbrow! One of the tall ones carries the keys on a silver ring. They came from Jzadirune.”</p><p></p><p>The group all looked at him blankly. </p><p></p><p>“Oh right. You wouldn’t know. It’s a small gnomish enclave beneath the city. It was abandoned 75 years ago due to a magical plague called the Vanishing. It caused people to slowly fade away into nothingness. I’m not sure if it’s still there or not. But the enclave was abandoned. There’s only one way in and you’re standing next to it. It’d been so long ago I had forgotten the passage was there, until they came.”</p><p></p><p>“Hm,” Kris said. “Well then that’s where we have to go.”</p><p></p><p>Keygan finally saw some hope. “Oh please, can you rescue Starbrow? I can give you a copy of my father’s map! It’s not marked but better than nothing. Be careful of the doors though – they’re trapped to harm anyone who is not a gnome.”</p><p></p><p>Bellsin was concerned. “Tell us more about the doors.”</p><p></p><p>“They’re giant gears you see. They only work for gnomes.”</p><p></p><p><em>Beware the doors with teeth.</em></p><p></p><p>“Alright. That’s certainly where the trail leads so to find the victims, that’s where we go,” Astrid said calmly. </p><p></p><p></p><p><u>Loot:</u></p><p>Rapier</p><p>Light crossbow</p><p>Thunderstone</p><p>20 bolts</p><p>dark colored cloak</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zad, post: 2815144, member: 90"] [b]Life's Bazaar - Chapter 1[/b] [b][size=4]Life’s Bazaar[/size][/b] [b]Life’s Bazaar – Chapter 1[/b] [u]OOC Notes:[/u] Experience is 450 exp. [u]This Week’s Adventure:[/u] I was starting to get worried. Now that I stop to think about it, I don’t ever recall being “worried” before. It was a strange sensation and not really one I enjoyed. Having observed Astrid and Elizabeth for some months now, it was pretty obvious to me that they were worried too. And they weren’t enjoying it either. From what I understand, Elizabeth had run away from the farm and considering that start did fairly well. She tagged along with a mercenary band, first as a camp servant. But over time she learned to fight and a little more. And she became friends with Astrid. I admit at first I was wary of her, and doubly so when I learned her changeling nature. But they were two peas in a pod, and they became friends. So when then the mercenary company they were with disbanded, it was natural that they would stick together, broke and jobless as they were. Elizabeth was at a loss for what to do next but Astrid proved to be a good friend to have. There was a clique of half-orcs in the mercenary band. Generally speaking, they were vile, fickle, and rude. And they certainly didn’t give the girls anything but a hard time and a lot of leering. Of course, after the first time the “girls” cracked a few skulls, the half-orcs learned to keep their paws to themselves and leer from a distance, and not too loudly at that. While the half-orcs were not a problem, there was certainly no spirit of cooperation flowing from them either. Enter Astrid - her… talents allowed her to listen in on the talk of the half-orcs in the mercenary group and they were sure there was work to be found to the south in the city of Cauldron. Armed with that information, and without any better ideas, the girls set out for the city that sprang up in the volcano. And I followed. It’s what I do. The pay they had received was barely enough to get them there. Once they arrived, they took a room at the Drunken Morkoth Inn. I was starting to wonder what a morkoth was (and what happened when it got drunk), but the girls stopped short as soon as they walked in and immediately started to worry. What they saw when they walked in was an inn – patrons, an innkeeper, and so on. This wasn’t, I gathered, what worried them. It was what they didn’t see. If you want to recruit mercenaries, you put on your best weapons and go to a low-class inn, and hang around. And as you recruit, the new blood tends to hang out there drinking until it’s time to leave. And word spreads, and more recruits show up. Any other mercenaries looking for new recruits goes where the others are gathered, and soon you have a giant labor pool of drunk fighters and recruiters all in the same place. And what Astrid and Elizabeth didn’t see were drunks. And they knew right away they had a problem. Personally, I assumed they were just in the wrong bar. But a day later, after following them all over this maze of a town, I started to get worried as well. Nobody was recruiting – there weren’t even any mercenary companies in town. And from what I overheard, the girls were not exactly experiencing a heavy cash surplus – they didn’t expect to be able to eat in another day or two unless they found work. Fortunately, St. Cuthbert saw fit to provide salvation. Which in this case was a scream. The scream came from down an alley. What I was at first was sure was a woman crying out for help was in fact a priest of some sort, the symbol of St. Cuthbert hanging from his neck. The fact that his scream was in a high falsetto could be excused since there were three thugs that were beating the tar out of him. “And stay away from the orphanage! You understand priest?!? Stay away from it!!” There were none of the town watch around, and Astrid and Elizabeth just looked at each other and shrugged and freed their weapons. They both have good hearts, but I think the idea that this might lead to paying work with someone was higher in their minds to tell the truth. Astrid nodded silently to the right of the alleyway at a man. He was sitting on a barrel, with his feet up on another barrel lounging around and eating some kind of meat on a stick. Astrid thought he was a lookout but he seemed as startled by the scream as anyone. He tossed aside his meatsicle and stood up and stretched and in the same motion strung a bow with an ease that was disturbing. With that he moved towards the alley a step behind the girls. As the girls stepped into the alley, one of the thugs who was taking a less active role in the beating turned on them. “Just keep walking. This ain’t none of your business,” he said, his hand hovering near a long knife. The man was of the general common thug variety, but he, like his companions, was wearing black and white makeup on his face in some kind of theatrical style. Not exactly low-profile. From what I could see from my vantage point, there was some interest from other passers-by at the other end of the alley, and a similar threat was made. Astrid looked at Elizabeth and shrugged, as if to say “What about the lookout?” Elizabeth shrugged back, implying “Eh. If he doesn’t run, we’ll pummel him too.” And they charged. Astrid stepped up to the goon and cracked him in the head with her halberd and Elizabeth followed that with a quick cut to the leg and the man staggered on his feet. He turned to run but his injured leg cut out as soon as he put weight on it and he collapsed in the dirt. As he fell, an arrow went whizzing between the girls, loosed by the “lookout”. While it was somewhat close to them, it was a far closer shot to the third thug in the middle of the alley, who just barely avoided getting hit. At the other end of the alley, whoever was there was also not backing down. I could make out a large human, and a young girl. The thug there had drawn his blade and cut the large human, and it was clear neither him nor the girl made their living with a sword. The girls rushed the middle thug. Astrid swung but the goon twisted aside. Sadly for him that put him in position for Elizabeth, who decided to make sure the man couldn’t kill the priest. She put her mental energy into her blade as she hit and cut a massive gash across his chest. He too tried to run before collapsing on the ground and bleeding profusely. The “lookout” dashed forward and checked on the priest, making him either uninvolved in the mugging or a great actor. The third thug, scuffling now with three people at the alley mouth, decided to run. There was a brief chase, but the large human managed to get ahead of him and club the man as he tried to run by in a panic. The thug was dragged back to where the priest was recovering his wits. First, he made sure to perform some healing magic on the thugs to be sure they didn’t die. The young girl called the city watch while the others talked to the priest. “Thank you so much for your help. I had thought these thugs from the Last Laugh intended to rob me but they seemed to have been sent to give me a warning instead. But I’m not sure why.” It was what he didn’t say that was more interesting. He was clearly shocked by the amount of lethality they used to save him. He may have been grateful, but his sense of justice did not abide killing these goons for beating him up. There were six people who had stopped to help the acolyte. Besides the girls, there was the large human, who was not human at all. The glowing runes floating about his head marked him as Illumian, at least by reputation. There was the “lookout”, a human in his thirties who handled his bow far too well to have been new to it. There was another human man who had been at the far end of the alley out of sight, and the young girl. She was about old enough to marry and she had the look of an apprentice of some kind. “My name is Rufus Laroe. I’m an acolyte of St. Cuthbert,” he said, still trying to recover his wits. “I’m Astrid Grace MacKenzie of the Bearkiller Clan,” Astrid said, though why she always insisted on that whole name was beyond me. “And this is Elizabeth Cartwright.” The lookout smiled and just said “Krisfallion.” The Illumian was Diamondshard Glyphandar – Glyf – and the girl he was with was Maris. I noticed that Glyf was leading a pack mule and seemed to be a bit too attached to it. The other human was Bellsin. Astrid asked “What is this orphanage they mentioned, and why are they wearing makeup?” “The Last Laugh is the local thieves’ guild. That is what you might call their ‘professional’ costume when they’re doing official business. As for the orphanage, I’m more confused there. I was investigating some kidnappings from the orphanage but I’m not sure why they would care about that at all. Nonetheless I am fearful they might attack again. I thank you deeply for your help but I fear I must ask if you might see fit to escort me back to my temple. I’m sure the acting high-priestess will reward you for your kindness.” The word “reward” was all the girls needed. They would have done it anyway, though they might not admit it. But they still needed to eat. Krisfallion shrugged with the look of a man with nothing better to do, so he was up for the walk. The others were slower to get on board but ultimately they realized it was too late to attend to whatever other business they had and we set off for the church. The girls spread out front and back, and the group tried to look inconspicuous, although this late at night such a large group was bound to attract attention. On the way, Rufus, perhaps feeling the need to fill the silence, explained more about the abductions. “There have been a string of disappearances recently, but these were the most recent. Four children, stolen away into thin air! The orphanage was barred and locked you see, but the children were taken all the same. Two boys and two girls, stolen from their locked dormitories.” “You lock the children up at night?” Maris asked, slightly disturbed by this. “Well, you must understand it is simply to prevent them getting into mischief,” Rufus replied. “But it didn’t stop whoever took them. There was no sign of entry or exit, and nobody saw anything. The acting high cleric of my church has publicly vowed to resolve the matter, even committing a powerful artifact to the effort.” There was more chatter on the subject of the children, but all it really served to show was how little Rufus had been able to discover so far. The most telling bit of information was the one he seemed to be trying to forget – that the Last Laugh had felt this was important enough to rough him up over. We arrived at the church – an impressive building of stone and some wood. Rufus had us wait in a chamber while he spoke to an acolyte who took his cloak. Rufus withdrew and soon enough the acolyte returned with warm spiced wine and bread and cheese. Before too long, Rufus returned with another priest – a woman in her early forties. At her side was a mace that seemed more suitable for ceremony than battle. “Greetings. My name is Jenya Urikas. I am the acting senior cleric here. Our High Priest is currently away on business. I hope you will all accept my thanks for the aid you rendered. Saint Cuthbert will see Justice done on the perpetrators.” She asked them to sit, and she repeated many of the details that Rufus had. “There have been disappearances starting almost ninety days ago. They have received little attention from the city guard, and have disturbed me greatly. The people come from all walks of life and we can see no common link between them. But the children bothered me most. I have committed to brining the perpetrators to justice and bringing the resources of Saint Cuthbert to bear on this.” She drew out the mace. “This is the Star of Justice, enchanted by the Church with the gift of prophecy. Once a week, I may ask a question and receive an answer. I asked where the children could be found. In response, I received a riddle. This is most unusual – the answer is usually very straightforward according to my research.” [i]The locks are the key to finding them. Look beyond the curtain, below the cauldron. Beware the doors with teeth. Descend into the malachite ‘hold, where precious life is bought with gold. Half a dwarf binds them, but not for long.[/i] Whereas most of the others listened closely, Astrid fidgeted while Elizabeth just enjoyed the wine and tried to look interested. They didn’t understand why they were being told all this – they were just hoping for enough of a reward to keep looking for more work or at best a short job. They couldn’t see that they were being set up for something bigger. Luck has a way of working like that. Elizabeth made a clumsy stab at fishing for a job. “You may find it prudent to have Rufus escorted when he goes out on his investigations. It is likely that the Last Laugh will try again, and with more force.” Jenya frowned. “Their involvement is most troubling in this matter. I can see no sense in it. However it has clearly shown that we are ill-equipped to investigate this matter. But I have committed us, and we will see it through. To that end… “ (here it comes, I thought) “I believe we will need agents to handle this.” The girls exchanged a quick look, and they were in. A job was a job was their thinking. I was more concerned however – this sounded dangerously close to “adventuring”, a career path noted for its high rewards and even higher mortality rate. The old mercenary joke goes: “A son says to his father ‘I want to grow up and become and adventurer!’ and the father says ‘Well you can’t have it both ways son – which is it?’” Krisfallion was also in. He seemed the type that liked to try the more interesting road. Glyf had other business in the city and was hesitant. He had some business at the Blue Crater Academy – the local mage guild and Maris was already a student there. Jenya carefully explained to them that the doors of Blue Crater open only to keys of gold, and to pursue their studies they would require money – more money than they had. They were convinced. Bellsin was more difficult to fathom. He seemed lost and not entirely clear on even what city he was in. But he too slowly signed on. Jenya seemed pleased that Saint Cuthbert had provided. “I can offer you these magical potions of healing to help you. If you can find the four children and bring them back, the church will reward you 2,500 gp. “ No doubt about it now – this was adventuring. Elizabeth tried to look as if this was merely adequate, but failed miserably. The fact was this was more money than a mercenary was likely to see in a few years worth of campaigning. Whatever their story, the impact was lost on none of them. The group left with the text of the riddle, a list of the victims, the potions, and the promise of whatever help and influence the church could offer. They returned Maris to the academy then the rest of them went to the Drunken Morkoth. In the morning they met back up and set out for the orphanage. The bell was answered by a halfling woman. She seemed cranky at first, but softened when she realized the group was there to help, and had been sent by Jenya. Her name was Gretchin Tashek, and she was in charge of the orphanage. Gretchin was very helpful, but there was little more she could tell. She did mention that the first day after the disappearances, the town guard investigated. The second day, two half-elves were asking questions. They claimed to be from the mayor’s office, and were very smooth-talking. Neither group turned up anything useful so far. The orphanage was quite secure – locked doors and dormitories, and the windows all with bars. The only key was on a necklace Gretchin wore. The locks were carefully inspected by Bellsin, who seemed educated in such matters, and he noted they were very high quality. Almost too high for the orphanage. “The locks were made years ago by Kheegan Ghelve – he’s the local locksmith, and quite talented. They cost a pretty penny too, but they’ve always worked well.” “Until now…” observed Bellsin. Krisfallion wandered off and started chatting with the staff. He settled on the half-orc janitor named Patch as someone of interest. Krisfallion had a way about him, and the half-orc started to open up. Perhaps it was guilt too – we mentioned the attack on Rufus and Patch seemed to feel bad that things had gone so far. “Patch like drink. That not wrong,” Patch said. “Patch like drinking with Revus Twindaggers. He ask Patch to keep an eye on Terrem,” mentioning one of the missing children. “Pay patch fifty gold. Patch not know why. Not say to hurt him – tell Patch to look out for him. Patch not think anything wrong with that.” Patch started talking faster as the guilt began forcing words out of his mouth. “Maybe Terrem’s parents – they both dead. Patch not know. Patch only think Revus mentioned parents because Revus was drunk. Patch keep eye on Terrem for a year now. Patch not think it important.” I had never seen a half-orc cry, but Patch seemed mighty close. It seemed that Revus would find Patch, rather than them arranging to meet or anything more formal. It also seemed that Revus was part of the Last Laugh. So they had two leads to look in to – the Last Laugh, and the locks. Finding Revus would likely prove difficult so they first set out to the locksmith. I don’t think they expected much to come of it, but it was something at least to eliminate. They found the shop without too much trouble – turned out to be around the corner from the Blue Crater Academy. They entered and were greeted by Keygan Ghelve. It took me at least thirty seconds to believe what I was seeing. Ghelve was a gnome but he walked around on stilts. His pants were cut appropriate, and he looked like nothing so much as a human child in a growth spurt. The group asked questions, doing their best not to sound like they were accusing the gnome of anything but still watching him closely for any signs of guilt. Astrid plopped herself into a chair and made it clear that she wasn’t leaving until they had their questions answered. Keygan had been in business for many years and had done a great deal of business as the primary locksmith in town. Even if all the victims had disappeared from beneath his locks, they were so prevalent that it couldn’t really be considered odd. [i]The locks are the key to finding them Look beyond the curtain.[/i] Now I should mention that the prophecy of the Star of Justice mentioned locks, but nobody thought too much on it. Questions were asked about underground lakes and such – that’s the way of prophecies; they can’t be taken too literally. But it wasn’t the locks that intrigued Elizabeth and some of the others. It was the curtain. The big, heavy, red velvet curtain that hung in a doorway in the shop. Suddenly it was very important to know what’s beyond that curtain. I have to admit I was curious myself. Maris had an idea for that, in the form of a rat. I had assumed Maris was some kind of spellcaster to be training at the Academy, but the rat made me sure she was a fledgling wizard. And so Penelope the rat was sent around the counter to see what lie beyond. Penelope saw another room with stairs leading to an upper-level balcony. In the room were three chests, and a strange mechanical gizmo with whirling gears and things. Nothing overly unusual to be sure. Penelope returned. Elizabeth couldn’t get over that curtain though. It was too much. And despite not actually being all that bright, she can be rather intuitive at times. “So are there master keys to your locks?” “No. If a key were lost, I’d have to examine the lock to fashion a new one,” he replied, indicating a massive display of keys on the wall of the shop. And then he looked over his shoulders at the curtain, using only his eyes. I was worried Elizabeth had missed it, but she hadn’t. Not bright, but intuitive. “So you know of no easy way to bypass your locks?” “None,” he said. And looked again. “I make such a wide variety of door and chest locks.” Bellsin, knowing there were chests behind the curtain, asked “Chest locks. Interesting. Do you have any examples?” “Right back here,” Keygan said, doing his level best to stay cool. He thought someone was watching and could not even hint now. Keygan began discussing the intricacies of the chest locks with Bellsin while the others wandered about the back room. Elizabeth was intrigued by the gizmo near the stairs. Which seemed innocent enough, until a thin blade suddenly pierced her back and came out her chest. A figure crouched on the stairs, holding the blade. It wore some kind of blue-green fabric all over, or perhaps it was just its hide. It didn’t make even a hint of a sound as it pulled its sword out of Elizabeth who fell back against the wall, staggered. The small back-room was not a good place for a fight, and everyone was tripping over each other as they tried to move back and forth to attack the creature. A number of failed attacks from the front opened the opportunity for Astrid to strike upward through the railing, piercing the creature in the kidney. Even as it died, it still didn’t make a sound. Elizabeth was very nearly dead. She couldn’t risk trying to drink the potion while the creature was alive, but as it fell she quickly swallowed the sweet liquid and the wound closed over. “Oh it’s been a nightmare!” moaned Keygan. “They came into the store and they took Starbrow. I can sense him beneath me somewhere. A mile. He’s frightened and hungry.” “Your familiar?” Maris asked. Keygan nodded and sobbed. “My rat. They threatened him. There were two kinds – ones like that one – taller. And then the smaller ones. They don’t wear clothes, and have no hair. I’ve never been able to figure if they were men or women. They change color and are hard to see. Normally there are two or three here together but only one guards me during the day. They go out into the streets on rainy or cloudy nights.” Keygan was blathering now. “There are skeleton keys. I gave them a set that would open most of my locks. I had to! They were going to kill Starbrow! One of the tall ones carries the keys on a silver ring. They came from Jzadirune.” The group all looked at him blankly. “Oh right. You wouldn’t know. It’s a small gnomish enclave beneath the city. It was abandoned 75 years ago due to a magical plague called the Vanishing. It caused people to slowly fade away into nothingness. I’m not sure if it’s still there or not. But the enclave was abandoned. There’s only one way in and you’re standing next to it. It’d been so long ago I had forgotten the passage was there, until they came.” “Hm,” Kris said. “Well then that’s where we have to go.” Keygan finally saw some hope. “Oh please, can you rescue Starbrow? I can give you a copy of my father’s map! It’s not marked but better than nothing. Be careful of the doors though – they’re trapped to harm anyone who is not a gnome.” Bellsin was concerned. “Tell us more about the doors.” “They’re giant gears you see. They only work for gnomes.” [i]Beware the doors with teeth.[/i] “Alright. That’s certainly where the trail leads so to find the victims, that’s where we go,” Astrid said calmly. [u]Loot:[/u] Rapier Light crossbow Thunderstone 20 bolts dark colored cloak [/QUOTE]
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Zad/Wizardru's Story Hour (*final update 11/12*)
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