Cerebral Paladin's Storyhour (updated 4/22)
thatdarncat
Overlord of Chat
Fajitas said:And here - have an evil, Vergdunian priest for the campfire, too!
nah, too foul tasting, thanks though!
Cerebral Paladin
First Post
Sorry about the huge delay in posting. Life got busy, and I fell way behind. I'm going to post a write-up of the most recent session, so that my players can use it to remind themselves of what's going on in the game. I'll then try to both stay current and fill in the posts in between the last post and this one. Once I'm re-caught up, I'll try to sort things out so that the posts are actually in the right order. Without further ado,
Session 13
4/25/752:
Having concluded their business in the North, the group prepares for the long trip southward to Lir Sanek. Melor-minor, the captain's aide de camp, informs them that Captain cath Klevit would like to speak with them before they depart. The group dutifully reports to the Captain's office.
"Thank you for your assistance. I hope that the good soldiers we lost pushing the kobolds back was worth it, but it's not my place to question the orders." Captain cath Klevit's expression leaves little doubt about his opinion. "I'm sure that most of the troops will be ordered from here to somewhere they can do more good, but that will have to wait for further orders. In the meantime, however, the Aretash prior here has decided to send one of his monks back to Lir Sanek. Since you're travelling in the same direction, I thought that Brother Moreth could accompany you. The roads around here can be dangerous." The Captain looks at the cath Kalissars. "Give my regards to your father."
After Melor-minor shows the group out, he leads them to a wiry young man, hair cropped short in a monk's tonsure but with a long braid in the back. Brother Moreth wears plain clothing, with a coarse but lightweight woolen top crossing over his torso and unadorned pants. His arms are bare, showing an impressive physique. Aretas is a god of discipline and self-perfection; his followers form the largest minority religion within the Empire, although most only spend a small portion of their lives in his monasteries and abbeys.
"I hear that you would travel with us to Lir Sanek," says Lhovrik after everyone has introduced themselves."
"Indeed. My superiors sent me to assist the imperial troops here in their mission, that I might increase my perfection through martial striving. Now that the kobolds will represent less of a threat, the prior thought that it would be best if I moved on and instructed me to travel to Lir Sanek for further instructions. As we are not formally part of the Empire's military, we do not need to await a command to redeploy."
Sister Aurora smiles. "I'm sure that your travelling with us will provide a great opportunity to exchange knowledge about our respective faiths. How quickly can you be ready to depart?"
"I have already gathered all of my possessions together." Brother Moreth gestures at a small, tightly bound bedroll. "I am ready to leave whenever you are."
4/25-5/16
The trip is largely uneventful. In the early stretches, while travelling through areas that are still more frontier and have problems with banditry and worse, they spend the nights in the small walled villages on their path. The slightly slower travel is worth the peace of mind, at least to some of the travellers. Those who would rather have pressed on grumble a little, but acquiesce.
As they travel, the group spends some time getting to know Brother Moreth better. Brother Moreth is an affable fellow. Dove worries some about the fact that Brother Moreth does not wear boots, but is impressed with his ability to travel quickly and has some enjoyable sparring matches. Brother Moreth fights unarmed by choice; while Dove thinks she would win a real fight, it would be close. Sister Aurora and Ginara are more interested in learning that he has almost reached the level of spiritual development that will make him immune to disease. Melania, for her part, spends some time speaking with him about whether Aretash monks can enjoy the pleasures of good music, food, and close companionship. Brother Moreth responds that, while they are not prohibited from enjoying pleasures, most monks choose to live an austere life, that they may not be distracted from their efforts to improve themselves. With that, he returns to reading his book of scriptures.
After about three weeks of travel, the group reaches the prosperous town of Lir Galdra. Lir Galdra is a major river port where land trade routes meet up with the trade on the River Sanek, and they should be able to book passage on a ship or barge to take them to Lir Sanek. As they arrive in the town, they rent rooms, one for the men and one for the women, in an inn and then disperse to take care of several errands. Ginara, Sister Aurora, and Dove go to visit the baby kobolds that they left at the temple of Lurdana and have a nice visit with the unruly orphans and a very harried looking priest, while Brother Moreth heads to the local Aretash priory to pay his respects to the prior. Melania heads to the docks and gets price quotes on the different options for travelling down the river. Lhovrik, who lets everyone who will listen know how much he wants to get back to Lir Sanek as quickly as possible, stays at his room.
Everyone reassembles at the inn. Upon Lhovrik's firm urgings, the group books passage on the first convenient vessel to leave town, which is scheduled to depart on the 17th around nightfall. Brother Moreth excuses himself from his comrades quickly after returning to the inn and spends the evening reading scripture. While several people worry that something upset him, they leave him to his readings. When Lhovrik goes to bed, he can see that Brother Moreth is already asleep on the bedroll that he laid out, eschewing the beds as too soft.
In the morning, Lhovrik notices that Brother Moreth's bedroll is empty and cold. Brother Moreth rises early, but it is unusual for him to leave without telling anyone. Much of the day passes without him returning, and Ginara, Melania, and Sister Aurora begin worrying about him. A brief conversation with the inn's staff confirms that he slipped out during the night. Although Lhovrik is unconcerned, saying that he'll either return in time for their departure or find his own way back to Lir Sanek, the others insist on looking into the matter.
The group begins by travelling to the Aretash priory. They ask the oblate on duty whether he has seen anyone matching Brother Moreth's description. The amused lad gestures to his own head and clothes, which are the same as they have described. "A fit young monk with typical clothes and the standard haircut doesn't provide me with much information, I'm afraid." After some further questions, they confirm that Brother Moreth spoke briefly with the prior, who looked at his certificates and told him to continue on to Lir Sanek, as he had planned. Brother Moreth spent a little time after his conversation meditating in a chapel but did not return to the priory after heading back to the inn.
The group eventually asks after Brother Moreth at a local guardhouse. The sergeant on duty takes them to a back room. Brother Moreth's corpse lies on a table in the room. He was obviously in a fight; his body has several wounds and is soaked in blood. Sister Aurora checks his fists; while it is hard to tell because his training regimen gave him pronounced calluses and enlarged knuckles at all times, she thinks he may have struck blows before being defeated. The sergeant asks them to not discuss the matter amongst themselves, and takes each person aside in turn to question them. The sergeant is very conscious of Lhovrik and Ginara's rank, and begins with Lhovrik.
The sergeant begins by asking Lhovrik several questions about Brother Moreth. Lhovrik truthfully describes his brief acquaintance with Brother Moreth. The sergeant asks Lhovrik whether he knows the cath Kalissars who live in Lir Galdra and Lhovrik responds that they are distant cousins and that he has not had the opportunity to visit them on this trip. After a few minutes of questioning, the sergeant gestures down a different hallway. "If you would accompany me, m'lord? There is one more thing I would like to ask you about." The sergeant leads Lhovrik into another room, where a different corpse lies on a table. "Can you identify this body, m'lord? It was found at the same place as your companion."
The sergeant repeats the same process with Ginara, Sister Aurora, Dove, and finally Melania. None of them recognize the second corpse, but some of them notice a few interesting things about the body. The corpse was a heavily-built, muscular man of early middle age. The body is dressed in padded clothing; Dove is positive that the padding is meant to be worn under armor, although she can't tell whether he was wearing armor at the time of his death. A few of his examiners notice a tatoo on his right shoulder, of an eagle in flight with a spear clutched in its claws. Under the eagle, a Celestial motto is written on a scroll, which Sister Aurora easily translates as "Valor, Honor, and Victory." Below the motto is the numeral "IV." The body clearly has many wounds, and may have been hit with both bludgeoning and piercing weapons, although armor can make slashing wounds look like bludgeoning. The back of the padding is soaked with blood.
After the sergeant has worked his way through all of Brother Moreth's companions, he informs them that they are free to leave. After a little badgering, they convince the sergeant to tell them where the bodies were found. They thank him and head out. While Lhovrik still advocates leaving immediately, his friends insist on investigating Brother Moreth's death. They begin by looking through his meager possessions. The only thing that seems even remotely interested is his book of scriptures. The book is well-worn; within the cover, it lists a series of monks who have used the book, ending with Brother Moreth. There are two different bookmarks in the book, each in a different section. The Aretash scriptures have three parts: narrative descriptions of the deeds of Aretas and of the great followers of Aretas; an epistlary collection which contains important writings from great leaders of the faith; and a psalter. There is a bookmark in the narrative section, in the middle of what seems to be a heroic tale of a great monk of Aretas on an important quest. The other bookmark is among the epistles, and is next to a letter describing the structure and hierarchy of a well-run monastery.
The group then headed to the scene of Brother Moreth's death. The bodies were found in an alley behind a different inn. In addition to the piles of sawdust covering the blood where Brother Moreth and the stranger were found, there are several other piles of sawdust. Dove searches for tracks, hoping to figure out more about the fight and also to find where the survivors may have gone. There were clearly a substantial number of people involved. She is able to find some tracks leading up to one of the other bloodstains and then leading away; the tracks to the bloodstain have a much longer stride than the tracks away. Unfortunately, she is unable to follow the tracks away from the scene of the battle.
While Dove finishes her search, Melania goes into the inn nearby. She talks briefly with the staff, but the conversations do not go well and she is unable to gain much information.
The group then travels to the priory. They quickly convince the oblate to take them to see the prior himself. Sister Aurora takes the lead in the conversation. "We were travelling with an Aretash monk named Brother Moreth. We're sorry to tell you that he was killed last night."
The prior displays no emotion in his response. "I'm sorry to hear that. Based on the reports of those who had overseen him, he was a fine monk. It's tragic that his progress towards perfection was cut short. Do you know who killed him, or why?"
"We were hoping you could tell us. He left our inn last night and was killed while he was out. Do you know what he might have been doing?"
"I do not. We discussed his plans, and I agreed that it was sensible for him to take a boat downriver to Lir Sanek, to join the abbey there."
"We noticed that he was reading his book of scriptures. Were there specific readings assigned?"
"I did not assign him any readings in particular. While novices are always told what readings will further their progress the best, we allow monks who have reached a certain point in their spiritual development, such as Brother Moreth had, to determine their readings for themselves. He would read whatever seemed appropriate to the challenges he faced, or perhaps work through sections of scripture systematically to deepen his understanding. I would appreciate it if you would return his scriptures, so that another monk may benefit from it."
"Of course. Thank you for your time, Father. We're sorry about your loss."
The prior nods. "Thank you for informing us. We will request that the authorities deliver his body to us for proper treatment. Should you learn more about the cause or circumstances of his death, I would appreciate being informed."
End Session 13
Session 13
4/25/752:
Having concluded their business in the North, the group prepares for the long trip southward to Lir Sanek. Melor-minor, the captain's aide de camp, informs them that Captain cath Klevit would like to speak with them before they depart. The group dutifully reports to the Captain's office.
"Thank you for your assistance. I hope that the good soldiers we lost pushing the kobolds back was worth it, but it's not my place to question the orders." Captain cath Klevit's expression leaves little doubt about his opinion. "I'm sure that most of the troops will be ordered from here to somewhere they can do more good, but that will have to wait for further orders. In the meantime, however, the Aretash prior here has decided to send one of his monks back to Lir Sanek. Since you're travelling in the same direction, I thought that Brother Moreth could accompany you. The roads around here can be dangerous." The Captain looks at the cath Kalissars. "Give my regards to your father."
After Melor-minor shows the group out, he leads them to a wiry young man, hair cropped short in a monk's tonsure but with a long braid in the back. Brother Moreth wears plain clothing, with a coarse but lightweight woolen top crossing over his torso and unadorned pants. His arms are bare, showing an impressive physique. Aretas is a god of discipline and self-perfection; his followers form the largest minority religion within the Empire, although most only spend a small portion of their lives in his monasteries and abbeys.
"I hear that you would travel with us to Lir Sanek," says Lhovrik after everyone has introduced themselves."
"Indeed. My superiors sent me to assist the imperial troops here in their mission, that I might increase my perfection through martial striving. Now that the kobolds will represent less of a threat, the prior thought that it would be best if I moved on and instructed me to travel to Lir Sanek for further instructions. As we are not formally part of the Empire's military, we do not need to await a command to redeploy."
Sister Aurora smiles. "I'm sure that your travelling with us will provide a great opportunity to exchange knowledge about our respective faiths. How quickly can you be ready to depart?"
"I have already gathered all of my possessions together." Brother Moreth gestures at a small, tightly bound bedroll. "I am ready to leave whenever you are."
4/25-5/16
The trip is largely uneventful. In the early stretches, while travelling through areas that are still more frontier and have problems with banditry and worse, they spend the nights in the small walled villages on their path. The slightly slower travel is worth the peace of mind, at least to some of the travellers. Those who would rather have pressed on grumble a little, but acquiesce.
As they travel, the group spends some time getting to know Brother Moreth better. Brother Moreth is an affable fellow. Dove worries some about the fact that Brother Moreth does not wear boots, but is impressed with his ability to travel quickly and has some enjoyable sparring matches. Brother Moreth fights unarmed by choice; while Dove thinks she would win a real fight, it would be close. Sister Aurora and Ginara are more interested in learning that he has almost reached the level of spiritual development that will make him immune to disease. Melania, for her part, spends some time speaking with him about whether Aretash monks can enjoy the pleasures of good music, food, and close companionship. Brother Moreth responds that, while they are not prohibited from enjoying pleasures, most monks choose to live an austere life, that they may not be distracted from their efforts to improve themselves. With that, he returns to reading his book of scriptures.
After about three weeks of travel, the group reaches the prosperous town of Lir Galdra. Lir Galdra is a major river port where land trade routes meet up with the trade on the River Sanek, and they should be able to book passage on a ship or barge to take them to Lir Sanek. As they arrive in the town, they rent rooms, one for the men and one for the women, in an inn and then disperse to take care of several errands. Ginara, Sister Aurora, and Dove go to visit the baby kobolds that they left at the temple of Lurdana and have a nice visit with the unruly orphans and a very harried looking priest, while Brother Moreth heads to the local Aretash priory to pay his respects to the prior. Melania heads to the docks and gets price quotes on the different options for travelling down the river. Lhovrik, who lets everyone who will listen know how much he wants to get back to Lir Sanek as quickly as possible, stays at his room.
Everyone reassembles at the inn. Upon Lhovrik's firm urgings, the group books passage on the first convenient vessel to leave town, which is scheduled to depart on the 17th around nightfall. Brother Moreth excuses himself from his comrades quickly after returning to the inn and spends the evening reading scripture. While several people worry that something upset him, they leave him to his readings. When Lhovrik goes to bed, he can see that Brother Moreth is already asleep on the bedroll that he laid out, eschewing the beds as too soft.
In the morning, Lhovrik notices that Brother Moreth's bedroll is empty and cold. Brother Moreth rises early, but it is unusual for him to leave without telling anyone. Much of the day passes without him returning, and Ginara, Melania, and Sister Aurora begin worrying about him. A brief conversation with the inn's staff confirms that he slipped out during the night. Although Lhovrik is unconcerned, saying that he'll either return in time for their departure or find his own way back to Lir Sanek, the others insist on looking into the matter.
The group begins by travelling to the Aretash priory. They ask the oblate on duty whether he has seen anyone matching Brother Moreth's description. The amused lad gestures to his own head and clothes, which are the same as they have described. "A fit young monk with typical clothes and the standard haircut doesn't provide me with much information, I'm afraid." After some further questions, they confirm that Brother Moreth spoke briefly with the prior, who looked at his certificates and told him to continue on to Lir Sanek, as he had planned. Brother Moreth spent a little time after his conversation meditating in a chapel but did not return to the priory after heading back to the inn.
The group eventually asks after Brother Moreth at a local guardhouse. The sergeant on duty takes them to a back room. Brother Moreth's corpse lies on a table in the room. He was obviously in a fight; his body has several wounds and is soaked in blood. Sister Aurora checks his fists; while it is hard to tell because his training regimen gave him pronounced calluses and enlarged knuckles at all times, she thinks he may have struck blows before being defeated. The sergeant asks them to not discuss the matter amongst themselves, and takes each person aside in turn to question them. The sergeant is very conscious of Lhovrik and Ginara's rank, and begins with Lhovrik.
The sergeant begins by asking Lhovrik several questions about Brother Moreth. Lhovrik truthfully describes his brief acquaintance with Brother Moreth. The sergeant asks Lhovrik whether he knows the cath Kalissars who live in Lir Galdra and Lhovrik responds that they are distant cousins and that he has not had the opportunity to visit them on this trip. After a few minutes of questioning, the sergeant gestures down a different hallway. "If you would accompany me, m'lord? There is one more thing I would like to ask you about." The sergeant leads Lhovrik into another room, where a different corpse lies on a table. "Can you identify this body, m'lord? It was found at the same place as your companion."
The sergeant repeats the same process with Ginara, Sister Aurora, Dove, and finally Melania. None of them recognize the second corpse, but some of them notice a few interesting things about the body. The corpse was a heavily-built, muscular man of early middle age. The body is dressed in padded clothing; Dove is positive that the padding is meant to be worn under armor, although she can't tell whether he was wearing armor at the time of his death. A few of his examiners notice a tatoo on his right shoulder, of an eagle in flight with a spear clutched in its claws. Under the eagle, a Celestial motto is written on a scroll, which Sister Aurora easily translates as "Valor, Honor, and Victory." Below the motto is the numeral "IV." The body clearly has many wounds, and may have been hit with both bludgeoning and piercing weapons, although armor can make slashing wounds look like bludgeoning. The back of the padding is soaked with blood.
After the sergeant has worked his way through all of Brother Moreth's companions, he informs them that they are free to leave. After a little badgering, they convince the sergeant to tell them where the bodies were found. They thank him and head out. While Lhovrik still advocates leaving immediately, his friends insist on investigating Brother Moreth's death. They begin by looking through his meager possessions. The only thing that seems even remotely interested is his book of scriptures. The book is well-worn; within the cover, it lists a series of monks who have used the book, ending with Brother Moreth. There are two different bookmarks in the book, each in a different section. The Aretash scriptures have three parts: narrative descriptions of the deeds of Aretas and of the great followers of Aretas; an epistlary collection which contains important writings from great leaders of the faith; and a psalter. There is a bookmark in the narrative section, in the middle of what seems to be a heroic tale of a great monk of Aretas on an important quest. The other bookmark is among the epistles, and is next to a letter describing the structure and hierarchy of a well-run monastery.
The group then headed to the scene of Brother Moreth's death. The bodies were found in an alley behind a different inn. In addition to the piles of sawdust covering the blood where Brother Moreth and the stranger were found, there are several other piles of sawdust. Dove searches for tracks, hoping to figure out more about the fight and also to find where the survivors may have gone. There were clearly a substantial number of people involved. She is able to find some tracks leading up to one of the other bloodstains and then leading away; the tracks to the bloodstain have a much longer stride than the tracks away. Unfortunately, she is unable to follow the tracks away from the scene of the battle.
While Dove finishes her search, Melania goes into the inn nearby. She talks briefly with the staff, but the conversations do not go well and she is unable to gain much information.
The group then travels to the priory. They quickly convince the oblate to take them to see the prior himself. Sister Aurora takes the lead in the conversation. "We were travelling with an Aretash monk named Brother Moreth. We're sorry to tell you that he was killed last night."
The prior displays no emotion in his response. "I'm sorry to hear that. Based on the reports of those who had overseen him, he was a fine monk. It's tragic that his progress towards perfection was cut short. Do you know who killed him, or why?"
"We were hoping you could tell us. He left our inn last night and was killed while he was out. Do you know what he might have been doing?"
"I do not. We discussed his plans, and I agreed that it was sensible for him to take a boat downriver to Lir Sanek, to join the abbey there."
"We noticed that he was reading his book of scriptures. Were there specific readings assigned?"
"I did not assign him any readings in particular. While novices are always told what readings will further their progress the best, we allow monks who have reached a certain point in their spiritual development, such as Brother Moreth had, to determine their readings for themselves. He would read whatever seemed appropriate to the challenges he faced, or perhaps work through sections of scripture systematically to deepen his understanding. I would appreciate it if you would return his scriptures, so that another monk may benefit from it."
"Of course. Thank you for your time, Father. We're sorry about your loss."
The prior nods. "Thank you for informing us. We will request that the authorities deliver his body to us for proper treatment. Should you learn more about the cause or circumstances of his death, I would appreciate being informed."
End Session 13
thatdarncat
Overlord of Chat
sleepily opens the flap of his tent to find that the snows of winter have been replaced with the budding greens of spring. He pokes the fire and brews a warm pot of tea, giving a cup to the wandering storyteller who has stopped to share the fire.
Cerebral Paladin
First Post
Anyone who reads this storyhour may be interested to know that I have started an additional storyhour for a campaign I play in. That storyhour is at Aphonion Tales. I'll be posting about once a week to that thread; I've got the first 3 or 4 posts prepared already, so I hope to be able to stick to that.
As for this storyhour, I've got 3 sessions all written up, but I'm missing the session between the last one I posted and the first of those three. With luck, I'll get that written soon, and then I'll post my way through all 4 of those. So, contrary to appearances, the storyhour isn't entirely moribund.
As for this storyhour, I've got 3 sessions all written up, but I'm missing the session between the last one I posted and the first of those three. With luck, I'll get that written soon, and then I'll post my way through all 4 of those. So, contrary to appearances, the storyhour isn't entirely moribund.
thatdarncat
Overlord of Chat
*pokes the fire with a stick*
Cerebral Paladin
First Post
Session 14
5/17, evening
As the group leaves the monastery, Lhovrik says, "Too bad we couldn't figure out more about that. We have a ship to catch."
Ginara reacts predictably. "Lhovrik! Moreth was a companion of ours, and somebody murdered him. We owe it to him to find out what happened."
"We don't owe him anything. We were just traveling together, and then he got himself killed. The less we get involved, the better. And we need to make it back to Lir Sanek. We've been away for too long."
Sister Aurora looks at Lhovrik sharply. "The Truth of Moreth's death ought to be revealed. It shouldn't be dangerous for us to investigate a little."
Dove chimes in, "It shouldn't take us long to find out whatever more there is to find out. It'll only cost us a day or two."
"You can go back to Lir Sanek tonight if you want, Lhovrik. But I want to investigate further, so if you go tonight, I'm staying behind!"
"Fine. If you insist, we can stay for another day or two. But no more. What are we going to do, anyway? Do we even have any leads?"
Melania thinks for a bit. "I want to ask some more questions at the inn. Someone has to have noticed something."
Melania strides into the common room and orders a dinner, tipping heavily. She strikes up a conversation with the barmaid. "I'm trying to find a friend of mine who was supposed to be staying here. Did anyone leave unexpectedly this morning?"
"Not really... a couple of people checked out in the late morning." She pauses after she finishes pouring Melania's ale. "Now that I think about it... there were a couple people who paid up late last night. They said they wanted to get on the road early in the morning."
"That might be my friend's group." Melania describes the body the guard sergeant showed them. "Does that sound like one of them?"
"Yes, one of them did look like that."
"Could you tell me the names of the other people who were with him? What did they look like? And did they say where they were going?"
"I dunno... if he's your friend, wouldn't you know who he was travelling with and where he's going?" The barmaid looks around uncomfortably. "The owner really doesn't like us talking about the guests..."
Melania slips a gold coin onto the table. "It won't cause any problems. I'm just trying to meet up with my friends."
At this point, the owner notices the delay in the barmaid's rounds and walks over. When the barmaid sees her coming, she quickly heads off to handle other patrons.
"Can I help you?"
Melania smiles winningly at the middle-aged woman who is looming above her. "I just had a few questions about a few of your guests...." Melania slides a stack of coins across the table.
Melania smiled winningly, but not persuasively. The owner glares at her. "The reputation of my inn is worth more than your bribe. My customers expect me to not spread their business about- that can lead to banditry, or worse." The innkeep slides the coins back to Melania. "I think you should go now." Melania notices the bouncer walking over and decides that the time has come to leave gracefully. She rejoins her friends and tells them what she has learned.
5/17, evening
As the group leaves the monastery, Lhovrik says, "Too bad we couldn't figure out more about that. We have a ship to catch."
Ginara reacts predictably. "Lhovrik! Moreth was a companion of ours, and somebody murdered him. We owe it to him to find out what happened."
"We don't owe him anything. We were just traveling together, and then he got himself killed. The less we get involved, the better. And we need to make it back to Lir Sanek. We've been away for too long."
Sister Aurora looks at Lhovrik sharply. "The Truth of Moreth's death ought to be revealed. It shouldn't be dangerous for us to investigate a little."
Dove chimes in, "It shouldn't take us long to find out whatever more there is to find out. It'll only cost us a day or two."
"You can go back to Lir Sanek tonight if you want, Lhovrik. But I want to investigate further, so if you go tonight, I'm staying behind!"
"Fine. If you insist, we can stay for another day or two. But no more. What are we going to do, anyway? Do we even have any leads?"
Melania thinks for a bit. "I want to ask some more questions at the inn. Someone has to have noticed something."
Melania strides into the common room and orders a dinner, tipping heavily. She strikes up a conversation with the barmaid. "I'm trying to find a friend of mine who was supposed to be staying here. Did anyone leave unexpectedly this morning?"
"Not really... a couple of people checked out in the late morning." She pauses after she finishes pouring Melania's ale. "Now that I think about it... there were a couple people who paid up late last night. They said they wanted to get on the road early in the morning."
"That might be my friend's group." Melania describes the body the guard sergeant showed them. "Does that sound like one of them?"
"Yes, one of them did look like that."
"Could you tell me the names of the other people who were with him? What did they look like? And did they say where they were going?"
"I dunno... if he's your friend, wouldn't you know who he was travelling with and where he's going?" The barmaid looks around uncomfortably. "The owner really doesn't like us talking about the guests..."
Melania slips a gold coin onto the table. "It won't cause any problems. I'm just trying to meet up with my friends."
At this point, the owner notices the delay in the barmaid's rounds and walks over. When the barmaid sees her coming, she quickly heads off to handle other patrons.
"Can I help you?"
Melania smiles winningly at the middle-aged woman who is looming above her. "I just had a few questions about a few of your guests...." Melania slides a stack of coins across the table.
Melania smiled winningly, but not persuasively. The owner glares at her. "The reputation of my inn is worth more than your bribe. My customers expect me to not spread their business about- that can lead to banditry, or worse." The innkeep slides the coins back to Melania. "I think you should go now." Melania notices the bouncer walking over and decides that the time has come to leave gracefully. She rejoins her friends and tells them what she has learned.
Cerebral Paladin
First Post
Session 14 (cont'd):
Dove's re-examination of the alley has turned up a new lead. There are some very heavy footprints at the base of the inn's wall in the alley. Dove notices that the footprints are directly beneath one of the second story windows that faces out on the alley. The shutters remain wide open. Perhaps someone exited through a window?
Stster Aurora stares up at the window. "We need to check out the room. There might be clues."
Lhovrik smiles. "I know a way that we could examine the room. Come with me, Aurora."
The two walk into the inn. They avoid the dining area and head straight to the desk clerk. Lhovrik steps forward. "We'd like to rent a private room for the night."
"Of course, sir. If you would write your names in the ledger?"
Lhovrik places a coin down. "We would really prefer to not." Sister Aurora's sudden intense blush fits right in.
"I understand, sir. If you will come this way?"
As the clerk leads them upstairs, Lhovrik makes some specifc requests about the room. "Could we have a room with a window? We'd like to be able to get some air. But I don't want a room that faces the street-- too noisy."
As expected, the clerk leads them to the room directly above the footprints that Dove found. "Will this do?"
"Perfectly."
Once the clerk has left them in the room, Sister Aurora frowns at Lhovrik. "You shouldn't have misled the clerk like that."
"What? I didn't lie at all. And I got us into the room you wanted to check, didn't I?"
Aurora looks dubious, but does begin searching the room. The first thing that they notice is that the whole room smells lightly of flowers, as if it had been perfumed. After a few minutes of searching, Lhovrik rolls back a small rug and notices that the floor has been burned recently. The area has clearly been scrubbed, but the lightly charred floor is quite obvious. The burn is concentrated in a small area.
"I wonder what could have caused that?" Lhovrik says.
"It looks like the sort of burn from a brazier overturning.... Maybe they were trying to summon something? It could have been from a magical ritual."
They search the rest of the room, but the only other interesting thing they find is a set of marks on the windowsill. Those are more easily explained: they match perfectly the pattern that a grappling hook leaves when it's used to secure a rope, in another piece of evidence that someone left through the window. They rejoin their friends and return to their own inn, where they discuss what they found before calling it a night.
Dove's re-examination of the alley has turned up a new lead. There are some very heavy footprints at the base of the inn's wall in the alley. Dove notices that the footprints are directly beneath one of the second story windows that faces out on the alley. The shutters remain wide open. Perhaps someone exited through a window?
Stster Aurora stares up at the window. "We need to check out the room. There might be clues."
Lhovrik smiles. "I know a way that we could examine the room. Come with me, Aurora."
The two walk into the inn. They avoid the dining area and head straight to the desk clerk. Lhovrik steps forward. "We'd like to rent a private room for the night."
"Of course, sir. If you would write your names in the ledger?"
Lhovrik places a coin down. "We would really prefer to not." Sister Aurora's sudden intense blush fits right in.
"I understand, sir. If you will come this way?"
As the clerk leads them upstairs, Lhovrik makes some specifc requests about the room. "Could we have a room with a window? We'd like to be able to get some air. But I don't want a room that faces the street-- too noisy."
As expected, the clerk leads them to the room directly above the footprints that Dove found. "Will this do?"
"Perfectly."
Once the clerk has left them in the room, Sister Aurora frowns at Lhovrik. "You shouldn't have misled the clerk like that."
"What? I didn't lie at all. And I got us into the room you wanted to check, didn't I?"
Aurora looks dubious, but does begin searching the room. The first thing that they notice is that the whole room smells lightly of flowers, as if it had been perfumed. After a few minutes of searching, Lhovrik rolls back a small rug and notices that the floor has been burned recently. The area has clearly been scrubbed, but the lightly charred floor is quite obvious. The burn is concentrated in a small area.
"I wonder what could have caused that?" Lhovrik says.
"It looks like the sort of burn from a brazier overturning.... Maybe they were trying to summon something? It could have been from a magical ritual."
They search the rest of the room, but the only other interesting thing they find is a set of marks on the windowsill. Those are more easily explained: they match perfectly the pattern that a grappling hook leaves when it's used to secure a rope, in another piece of evidence that someone left through the window. They rejoin their friends and return to their own inn, where they discuss what they found before calling it a night.
