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Aphonion Tales: Ravenskrag and the Shadowline, a preteen D&D game (lightly edited notes, COMPLETED on 1/20/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8364581" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>Session 17 (November 14, 2020)</p><p></p><p>20 Zar (evening/night)</p><p>They’re in the mausoleum of the Doge.</p><p></p><p>Runor searches the body of the Doge’s son carefully for bite marks, and finds a concealed, repeated wound in the calf of the leg, as if he were fed on repeatedly but with the attack concealed. Runor speculates that Delbambi might be a vampire. He also speculates that the albino figure who tried to hire the Hidden Guild to kill the Doge might also be the vampire.</p><p></p><p>Ulgorio suggests that they question Delbambi, but make him go outside for the questioning, with no shade. They also discuss finding out if Delbambi looks like a classic vampire.</p><p></p><p>They discuss the palace. The palace is defensible—it’s not a castle, but it is defensible, and most of the windows face into the courtyard and are heavily shuttered.</p><p></p><p>They put the body back into the casket, and they seal it up as if nothing had happened. They close the mausoleum back up, and then they travel back to their inn for the night.</p><p></p><p>21 Zar</p><p>They travel to the palace. There are public areas of the palace that they can enter. There are clerks at work, armed guards, and the like.</p><p></p><p>They ask one of the guards if they can meet Delbambi. “He’s a member of Lady Lillian’s entourage. You’d have to go to the private wing for that.”</p><p></p><p>The private wing is more heavily guarded. There are more guards, and a single clerk with a large book (and a set of books) behind a heavy desk. They ask after Delbambi. “He’s presently waiting upon the lady. He should be available to meet with visitors in the small sitting room in about half an hour, when the Lady meets with the Council. Is this a personal matter or business?”</p><p></p><p>“Personal.”</p><p></p><p>“Who shall I say wants to meet with him?”</p><p></p><p>“Adventurers.”</p><p></p><p>He raises an eyebrow. “Very well. I must say, he has many more visitors recently than he ever used to. Corporal, lead them to the sitting room and make sure a servant offers them tea and bread.”</p><p></p><p>After a while, an older looking gentleman, dressed in elegant clothing, with garters and leggings. Ulgorio can tell that in addition to wearing elegant clothing, he’s heavily made up, including enough base to change his skin color. “How can I help you gentles?”</p><p></p><p>“We were wondering if you know anything about the possible murder of the Doge’s son.”</p><p></p><p>“It was a disease, not murder. Not like the Doge's death. I feel absolutely confident that my master was murdered, but it’s not something to be bandied about. I do not see anyway that the spells on the balcony could have failed, to allow him to fall.”</p><p></p><p>“We were wondering if we could allow any sunlight into the room.”</p><p></p><p>“If her ladyship ever ends her mourning, yes, but while she mourns, she refuses to allow any windows to be opened, nor any mirrors to be left uncovered.”</p><p></p><p>“Can we go outside?”</p><p></p><p>“I won’t go about the city, but we can go into the courtyard.”</p><p></p><p>Aleep prestidigitates a mirror, which he uses to check Delbambi. He appears in the mirror. He also doesn’t seem to mind the sunlight, but he is clearly aged—he’s probably more than 80, but made up to look like he’s 60ish.</p><p></p><p>“We saw the doge’s son—he became a vampire spawn.”</p><p></p><p>“A vampire spawn? A vampire spawn? No wonder the priests couldn’t heal him. That damnable merchant. Not bad enough that he allied with that outsider.”</p><p></p><p>“What merchant?”</p><p></p><p>“Recently, some merchants sought to pressure the Doge to make changes that would hurt the city, and would hurt its standing in the trade federation. When I was a young man, the head of House Fooblu was a blood-drinker, but I thought he was destroyed—the Church sent hunters. You have earned your pay—which of the groups I approached sent you to investigate this? Never mind—you have brought me this information.” He hands them a gold sovereign. “I will pay you for your service. You must hunt down who is responsible.”</p><p></p><p>Aleep asks Runor quietly, “Can we accept his money as well?”</p><p></p><p>“It’s a different quest, a different goal, so yes.”</p><p></p><p>Runor asks, “Was there anyone else who would have regular access to the son of the Doge once he sickened?”</p><p></p><p>“Not once he sickened. He kept to his room, and I was the only one who brought him food and drink, and it was within the palace. That raises questions, doesn’t it… Will you examine the boy’s room?”</p><p></p><p>“It might be helpful to solving this.”</p><p></p><p>He leads us to a young boy’s bedroom. “I will remain without, so you can examine it more thoroughly.”</p><p></p><p>There’s a large bed. There’s a highboy dresser with hanging clothes and drawers. A chest, a window leading into the courtyard, and a couple of small rugs. Only one door enters.</p><p></p><p>As they look around, one of them notices that the wall behind the highboy isn’t quite even, as if there were a door. They move the highboy and they can find that it’s definitely a stone door.</p><p></p><p>Ulgorio asks Delbambi if he knows how to get the secret door open. “That’s not something that’s in the maps. I’ve studied the maps. This must be part of a secret escape path—I didn’t know that the palace had one. But I had no idea—and this has been a child’s room for generations.”</p><p></p><p>Eventually, above the lintel of the door, they find a stone that can be depressed just a little, which causes the whole door to move open a fraction of an inch with a click.</p><p></p><p>The door now can be pushed open.</p><p></p><p>“So… It was coming in and out of the palace through this. And draining the boy’s blood after I was going to my own rest. What will you do?”</p><p></p><p>“We must go in and find where it goes.”</p><p></p><p>“I will post guards. I must go back to wait upon my lady.”</p><p></p><p>“Does she ever go into the sun? The courtyard, or the parapet during the day?”</p><p></p><p>“Not while she has been in mourning.”</p><p></p><p>“We’re worried about whether she may have been attacked and turned as well.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m going to assume not…. But she went through no sickness. And if she had been turned, would he not already have control of the house? But tell me if the passage also reaches her chambers. If you find evidence, though, you must bring it to me. And not just me—the bishop must know as well. I’m not sure I would have the strength to act against the House if it were necessary.”</p><p></p><p>Father Runor prepares a note for the Bishop, reporting what they have found: "Doge’s son was slain by a vampire, Delbambi assisted us and is not a vampire, some suspicion about Lady Lillian, going to explore secret passageway into the Doge’s son’s room."</p><p></p><p>They secure stakes and 10 vials of holy water before going in, in case they meet up with the vampire, plus a small waterskin full of water from the holy font of the cathedral. They also get torches.</p><p></p><p>By the time they return, there are some guards looking official there. The guards don’t look very capable, but they’re dressed in pretty uniforms.</p><p></p><p>The passageway is about 5 feet wide, and it winds through the walls to stay concealed. After a while it reaches a peephole, looking into an unused bedroom. It then continues, splitting left and right. They go left. Ashaltir is in the front of the group, Mereep, Runor, Ulgorio, Aleep, and Bartix bringing up the rear. It goes perhaps 30 feet left, and then the corridor gives way to stairs down, still only 5 feet wide.</p><p></p><p>The stairs go down and then end at what appears to be an iron or steel door with a barred grate that can be seen through. Beyond it, they hear water running. There’s a locking mechanism that can be manipulated by hand—at least from this side. It opens onto a metal grate over moving water. The grate looks old and rusty. The water stinks—probably a sewer. Once the door is open, the grate goes in both directions—left towards the body of the city, and right towards the outer walls and wards and the bay the city is situated on (where the sewer probably empties). The group think that the main part of the city might be more likely to lead to Sir Clarence or House Fooblu. There are some tracks, mostly going left towards the main part of the city. Some did come from the right, though. (They shim the door.)</p><p></p><p>They continue to the left. They pass another steel door, but this one seems unused for many years. Then, suddenly several figures rise out of the muck to the right and fling a half-dozen javelins at the group. Runor and Bartix get hit by the javelins, which do damage and have poison on them. Runor makes his saving throw.</p><p></p><p>The attackers immediately sink back into the water. Those were definitely grippley. They are capable of remaining underwater for a long period of time, and moving around under water well, though not capable of breathing water. They tend to be mercenaries, though some are in service to various evil powers. They are also often cowardly. Aleep casts web, into the water and catching the whole area but not the walkway.</p><p></p><p>They travel on, seeing a thin greenish light ahead, both in the air and on the walkway as we approach, from the ceiling down. Aleep is pretty sure that it’s a magical barrier. It should also be at roughly the outer edge of the circle around Sir Clarence’s estate.</p><p></p><p>The group returns to the doge’s palace, and this time follows the path the other direction internally. The hidden doors are very obvious from this side. There are chain ladders that go up to upper floors. There are two more secret doors on this floor, that do not appear to have opened in many years. Both have peepholes; one enters an elegant bedroom with suits of armor decorating it. The other is obscured completely.</p><p>[End session 17]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8364581, member: 7030144"] Session 17 (November 14, 2020) 20 Zar (evening/night) They’re in the mausoleum of the Doge. Runor searches the body of the Doge’s son carefully for bite marks, and finds a concealed, repeated wound in the calf of the leg, as if he were fed on repeatedly but with the attack concealed. Runor speculates that Delbambi might be a vampire. He also speculates that the albino figure who tried to hire the Hidden Guild to kill the Doge might also be the vampire. Ulgorio suggests that they question Delbambi, but make him go outside for the questioning, with no shade. They also discuss finding out if Delbambi looks like a classic vampire. They discuss the palace. The palace is defensible—it’s not a castle, but it is defensible, and most of the windows face into the courtyard and are heavily shuttered. They put the body back into the casket, and they seal it up as if nothing had happened. They close the mausoleum back up, and then they travel back to their inn for the night. 21 Zar They travel to the palace. There are public areas of the palace that they can enter. There are clerks at work, armed guards, and the like. They ask one of the guards if they can meet Delbambi. “He’s a member of Lady Lillian’s entourage. You’d have to go to the private wing for that.” The private wing is more heavily guarded. There are more guards, and a single clerk with a large book (and a set of books) behind a heavy desk. They ask after Delbambi. “He’s presently waiting upon the lady. He should be available to meet with visitors in the small sitting room in about half an hour, when the Lady meets with the Council. Is this a personal matter or business?” “Personal.” “Who shall I say wants to meet with him?” “Adventurers.” He raises an eyebrow. “Very well. I must say, he has many more visitors recently than he ever used to. Corporal, lead them to the sitting room and make sure a servant offers them tea and bread.” After a while, an older looking gentleman, dressed in elegant clothing, with garters and leggings. Ulgorio can tell that in addition to wearing elegant clothing, he’s heavily made up, including enough base to change his skin color. “How can I help you gentles?” “We were wondering if you know anything about the possible murder of the Doge’s son.” “It was a disease, not murder. Not like the Doge's death. I feel absolutely confident that my master was murdered, but it’s not something to be bandied about. I do not see anyway that the spells on the balcony could have failed, to allow him to fall.” “We were wondering if we could allow any sunlight into the room.” “If her ladyship ever ends her mourning, yes, but while she mourns, she refuses to allow any windows to be opened, nor any mirrors to be left uncovered.” “Can we go outside?” “I won’t go about the city, but we can go into the courtyard.” Aleep prestidigitates a mirror, which he uses to check Delbambi. He appears in the mirror. He also doesn’t seem to mind the sunlight, but he is clearly aged—he’s probably more than 80, but made up to look like he’s 60ish. “We saw the doge’s son—he became a vampire spawn.” “A vampire spawn? A vampire spawn? No wonder the priests couldn’t heal him. That damnable merchant. Not bad enough that he allied with that outsider.” “What merchant?” “Recently, some merchants sought to pressure the Doge to make changes that would hurt the city, and would hurt its standing in the trade federation. When I was a young man, the head of House Fooblu was a blood-drinker, but I thought he was destroyed—the Church sent hunters. You have earned your pay—which of the groups I approached sent you to investigate this? Never mind—you have brought me this information.” He hands them a gold sovereign. “I will pay you for your service. You must hunt down who is responsible.” Aleep asks Runor quietly, “Can we accept his money as well?” “It’s a different quest, a different goal, so yes.” Runor asks, “Was there anyone else who would have regular access to the son of the Doge once he sickened?” “Not once he sickened. He kept to his room, and I was the only one who brought him food and drink, and it was within the palace. That raises questions, doesn’t it… Will you examine the boy’s room?” “It might be helpful to solving this.” He leads us to a young boy’s bedroom. “I will remain without, so you can examine it more thoroughly.” There’s a large bed. There’s a highboy dresser with hanging clothes and drawers. A chest, a window leading into the courtyard, and a couple of small rugs. Only one door enters. As they look around, one of them notices that the wall behind the highboy isn’t quite even, as if there were a door. They move the highboy and they can find that it’s definitely a stone door. Ulgorio asks Delbambi if he knows how to get the secret door open. “That’s not something that’s in the maps. I’ve studied the maps. This must be part of a secret escape path—I didn’t know that the palace had one. But I had no idea—and this has been a child’s room for generations.” Eventually, above the lintel of the door, they find a stone that can be depressed just a little, which causes the whole door to move open a fraction of an inch with a click. The door now can be pushed open. “So… It was coming in and out of the palace through this. And draining the boy’s blood after I was going to my own rest. What will you do?” “We must go in and find where it goes.” “I will post guards. I must go back to wait upon my lady.” “Does she ever go into the sun? The courtyard, or the parapet during the day?” “Not while she has been in mourning.” “We’re worried about whether she may have been attacked and turned as well.” “I’m going to assume not…. But she went through no sickness. And if she had been turned, would he not already have control of the house? But tell me if the passage also reaches her chambers. If you find evidence, though, you must bring it to me. And not just me—the bishop must know as well. I’m not sure I would have the strength to act against the House if it were necessary.” Father Runor prepares a note for the Bishop, reporting what they have found: "Doge’s son was slain by a vampire, Delbambi assisted us and is not a vampire, some suspicion about Lady Lillian, going to explore secret passageway into the Doge’s son’s room." They secure stakes and 10 vials of holy water before going in, in case they meet up with the vampire, plus a small waterskin full of water from the holy font of the cathedral. They also get torches. By the time they return, there are some guards looking official there. The guards don’t look very capable, but they’re dressed in pretty uniforms. The passageway is about 5 feet wide, and it winds through the walls to stay concealed. After a while it reaches a peephole, looking into an unused bedroom. It then continues, splitting left and right. They go left. Ashaltir is in the front of the group, Mereep, Runor, Ulgorio, Aleep, and Bartix bringing up the rear. It goes perhaps 30 feet left, and then the corridor gives way to stairs down, still only 5 feet wide. The stairs go down and then end at what appears to be an iron or steel door with a barred grate that can be seen through. Beyond it, they hear water running. There’s a locking mechanism that can be manipulated by hand—at least from this side. It opens onto a metal grate over moving water. The grate looks old and rusty. The water stinks—probably a sewer. Once the door is open, the grate goes in both directions—left towards the body of the city, and right towards the outer walls and wards and the bay the city is situated on (where the sewer probably empties). The group think that the main part of the city might be more likely to lead to Sir Clarence or House Fooblu. There are some tracks, mostly going left towards the main part of the city. Some did come from the right, though. (They shim the door.) They continue to the left. They pass another steel door, but this one seems unused for many years. Then, suddenly several figures rise out of the muck to the right and fling a half-dozen javelins at the group. Runor and Bartix get hit by the javelins, which do damage and have poison on them. Runor makes his saving throw. The attackers immediately sink back into the water. Those were definitely grippley. They are capable of remaining underwater for a long period of time, and moving around under water well, though not capable of breathing water. They tend to be mercenaries, though some are in service to various evil powers. They are also often cowardly. Aleep casts web, into the water and catching the whole area but not the walkway. They travel on, seeing a thin greenish light ahead, both in the air and on the walkway as we approach, from the ceiling down. Aleep is pretty sure that it’s a magical barrier. It should also be at roughly the outer edge of the circle around Sir Clarence’s estate. The group returns to the doge’s palace, and this time follows the path the other direction internally. The hidden doors are very obvious from this side. There are chain ladders that go up to upper floors. There are two more secret doors on this floor, that do not appear to have opened in many years. Both have peepholes; one enters an elegant bedroom with suits of armor decorating it. The other is obscured completely. [End session 17] [/QUOTE]
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Aphonion Tales: Ravenskrag and the Shadowline, a preteen D&D game (lightly edited notes, COMPLETED on 1/20/23)
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