CLOSED Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords, Burnt Offerings
- Thread starter hewligan
- Start date
hewligan
First Post
The Fallout From The Glassworks
The lanky guard vomited. The other was silent, for a long time. When they were ready again they left to get the mayor.
The mayor brought more troops. Her face was lined, ashen. The men with her talked in hushed, fearful tones. They heard the message, understood that they must not spread rumours of what happened in her. Mayor Deverin, normally so calm and thoughtful, appears terribly shaken. "Who, what could do this to these men? Family men. Good men!"
And later, when Ameiko has been escorted quietly out of the back door and back to her own quarters at The Rusty Dragon inn, Deverin takes Jovik, Danth, and Jokad to one side and confides in them "Word will spread. With so many dead, well ... it is inevitable. Word will spread, and for the next few days the people are going to be scared and suspicious. Stay visible, at least until Hemlock returns, and don't be too surprised to hear the rumours spread. It is a small town, and so many deaths ... well it will leak out!"
Later, when the three remaining heroes have persuaded Deverin of the importance of locking the place down and setting a guard on the lower tunnels, she does as they command. "Go now, get some rest. I would like to see you first thing tomorrow morning if possible to do a proper post-mortem on what has happened. Can you arrange for everyone to be at my office by 10am?" she asks, still shaking at the horror of what she has witnessed.
-----
Bethana Corwin, the elderly halfing who first raised the alarm, is delighted to see Ameiko enter the inn, albeit heavily supported by Mandraiv and Kael. The old lady runs forward across the empty main room, and gingerly hugs her mistress. "My wee girl, I thought you were dead. i really thought you were dead! I never trusted that lad ... oh, your wrists are bound, did he hurt you?"
It is not long before the pair of you feel rather surplus to requirements. Bethana starts fussing over her mistress, and when you attempt to ask a question she tuts you down. "Please gentlemen, we are very grateful for your help, VERY GRATEFUL, but the lady needs to rest. Can you return tomorrow with your questions perhaps?" It is said in such a way that you are left in no doubt that your welcome here, albeit brief, has already been overstayed. You head back to the Glassworks.
-----
It has been a long, long day, and by the time you have all finished helping the guards prepare the bodies for removal to the undertaker (and preparing often meant chipping them away from the stonework that they had been melted onto), you are all exhausted, bloodied, and quite disgusted. The task was one of the worst you have all been party to ... cutting men down from hanging chains, with hooks that had to be leveraged out of their bodies, to hacking at thick rivulets of glass that sealed a face to a stone bench.
The goblins you burnt in the still hot furnace, finding 18 silver pieces in total on their corpses, and, on one, a single gold piece. You decide that what you really need now is a hot bath and a hot meal, and Jokad it quick to remind you all that The White Deer offers both of these facilities. It seems like a reasonable way to spend the cash you have found, and will also take you pretty much to the furthest point in town away from the Glassworks.
As you leave the Glassworks the sun is just beginning to set. People are leaving their work at the docks nearby, and you gather more than a few glances as you walk, bloodied, heads bowed, clearly exhausted, through the streets of Sandpoint.
The lanky guard vomited. The other was silent, for a long time. When they were ready again they left to get the mayor.
The mayor brought more troops. Her face was lined, ashen. The men with her talked in hushed, fearful tones. They heard the message, understood that they must not spread rumours of what happened in her. Mayor Deverin, normally so calm and thoughtful, appears terribly shaken. "Who, what could do this to these men? Family men. Good men!"
And later, when Ameiko has been escorted quietly out of the back door and back to her own quarters at The Rusty Dragon inn, Deverin takes Jovik, Danth, and Jokad to one side and confides in them "Word will spread. With so many dead, well ... it is inevitable. Word will spread, and for the next few days the people are going to be scared and suspicious. Stay visible, at least until Hemlock returns, and don't be too surprised to hear the rumours spread. It is a small town, and so many deaths ... well it will leak out!"
Later, when the three remaining heroes have persuaded Deverin of the importance of locking the place down and setting a guard on the lower tunnels, she does as they command. "Go now, get some rest. I would like to see you first thing tomorrow morning if possible to do a proper post-mortem on what has happened. Can you arrange for everyone to be at my office by 10am?" she asks, still shaking at the horror of what she has witnessed.
-----
Bethana Corwin, the elderly halfing who first raised the alarm, is delighted to see Ameiko enter the inn, albeit heavily supported by Mandraiv and Kael. The old lady runs forward across the empty main room, and gingerly hugs her mistress. "My wee girl, I thought you were dead. i really thought you were dead! I never trusted that lad ... oh, your wrists are bound, did he hurt you?"
It is not long before the pair of you feel rather surplus to requirements. Bethana starts fussing over her mistress, and when you attempt to ask a question she tuts you down. "Please gentlemen, we are very grateful for your help, VERY GRATEFUL, but the lady needs to rest. Can you return tomorrow with your questions perhaps?" It is said in such a way that you are left in no doubt that your welcome here, albeit brief, has already been overstayed. You head back to the Glassworks.
-----
It has been a long, long day, and by the time you have all finished helping the guards prepare the bodies for removal to the undertaker (and preparing often meant chipping them away from the stonework that they had been melted onto), you are all exhausted, bloodied, and quite disgusted. The task was one of the worst you have all been party to ... cutting men down from hanging chains, with hooks that had to be leveraged out of their bodies, to hacking at thick rivulets of glass that sealed a face to a stone bench.
The goblins you burnt in the still hot furnace, finding 18 silver pieces in total on their corpses, and, on one, a single gold piece. You decide that what you really need now is a hot bath and a hot meal, and Jokad it quick to remind you all that The White Deer offers both of these facilities. It seems like a reasonable way to spend the cash you have found, and will also take you pretty much to the furthest point in town away from the Glassworks.
As you leave the Glassworks the sun is just beginning to set. People are leaving their work at the docks nearby, and you gather more than a few glances as you walk, bloodied, heads bowed, clearly exhausted, through the streets of Sandpoint.
Last edited:
hewligan
First Post
Later, as you all sit in The White Deer, almost too tired to talk, but bathed, and with you clothes at least partially scrubbed, you flick through the journal you picked up off the table in the cellar of the Glassworks. You had noticed the maps and illustrations before, but had not really had time to really get a good look at it.
Amidst the ramblings and mundane, three snippets of text stand out.
After the circled battle map you find the following scrawl:
The raid went about like we’d planned. Few Thistletop goblins died, and we secured Tobyn’s casket easily while the rubes were busy fighting. I can hardly wait for the real raid. This town deserves to be burnt to the ground, that’s for sure.
After the last of the second batch of maps:
Ripnugget’s plan for a single, overwhelming land-based attack is terrible.
We should work with the quasit. We could send her freaks up from below through the smuggling tunnel under my father’s Glassworks. At the same time, we’d invade from the river and the Glassworks in small, focused strikes.
Everyone but Bruthazmus agrees with me. The bugbear’s just contradictory out of spite.
My love’s too distracted by the lower chambers to make a decision. She say’s that once Malfeshnekor’s free and under her command, we won’t need to worry about subtlety. I hope she’s right.
And before the last illustration depicting the girl as succubus:
My love’s bent on doing this thing. Nothing I can say convinces her she’s beautiful. She’s obsessed with “purging” her “celestial taint” and replacing it with her Mother’s grace. Burning her father’s remains at the Thistletop shrine seems to have started the change. I can’t say I like her new hand.
I’m hopeful that when she offers Sandpoint to Lamashtu’s flames, her new body won’t be hideous. Maybe I’ll get lucky. She could become a succubus, right?
(OOC: Mandraiv, I know you had the book, but there is no way that the other 4 are going to not ask to see it)
The night wears on and after a few too many brandies you make your separate ways, agreeing to meet at the mayor's office in the morning.
(OOC: I am assuming you are too exhausted to do anything else tonight, but if you would prefer to go charging off somewhere right now, please just let me know and I will change the above)
Jokad: During your time at The White Deer you learn that the owner, Garridan Viskalai (the Shoanti you met earlier) is a brother of Sheriff Hemlock, but that the two are not best of friends. Garridan tells you that he is proud of his brother in some senses, but that the man has given up all of his Shoanti traditions and wants to be just like the common people. His beautiful daughter is also present, but Garridan generally keeps her out of your way (not that you want her out of your way, but he appears to be being protective). He inquires about what happened to you all, but when you let him know that you cannot discuss it yet he is absolutely discreet and ensures that you all get privacy (he sets up a private booth for you), and he also brings you all a free ale on the house (the proper Shoanti stuff!)
Amidst the ramblings and mundane, three snippets of text stand out.
After the circled battle map you find the following scrawl:
The raid went about like we’d planned. Few Thistletop goblins died, and we secured Tobyn’s casket easily while the rubes were busy fighting. I can hardly wait for the real raid. This town deserves to be burnt to the ground, that’s for sure.
After the last of the second batch of maps:
Ripnugget’s plan for a single, overwhelming land-based attack is terrible.
We should work with the quasit. We could send her freaks up from below through the smuggling tunnel under my father’s Glassworks. At the same time, we’d invade from the river and the Glassworks in small, focused strikes.
Everyone but Bruthazmus agrees with me. The bugbear’s just contradictory out of spite.
My love’s too distracted by the lower chambers to make a decision. She say’s that once Malfeshnekor’s free and under her command, we won’t need to worry about subtlety. I hope she’s right.
And before the last illustration depicting the girl as succubus:
My love’s bent on doing this thing. Nothing I can say convinces her she’s beautiful. She’s obsessed with “purging” her “celestial taint” and replacing it with her Mother’s grace. Burning her father’s remains at the Thistletop shrine seems to have started the change. I can’t say I like her new hand.
I’m hopeful that when she offers Sandpoint to Lamashtu’s flames, her new body won’t be hideous. Maybe I’ll get lucky. She could become a succubus, right?
(OOC: Mandraiv, I know you had the book, but there is no way that the other 4 are going to not ask to see it)
The night wears on and after a few too many brandies you make your separate ways, agreeing to meet at the mayor's office in the morning.
(OOC: I am assuming you are too exhausted to do anything else tonight, but if you would prefer to go charging off somewhere right now, please just let me know and I will change the above)
Jokad: During your time at The White Deer you learn that the owner, Garridan Viskalai (the Shoanti you met earlier) is a brother of Sheriff Hemlock, but that the two are not best of friends. Garridan tells you that he is proud of his brother in some senses, but that the man has given up all of his Shoanti traditions and wants to be just like the common people. His beautiful daughter is also present, but Garridan generally keeps her out of your way (not that you want her out of your way, but he appears to be being protective). He inquires about what happened to you all, but when you let him know that you cannot discuss it yet he is absolutely discreet and ensures that you all get privacy (he sets up a private booth for you), and he also brings you all a free ale on the house (the proper Shoanti stuff!)
Last edited:
airwalkrr
Adventurer
While relaxing at the White Deer that evening, Mandraiv will bring out the journal and relate his tale about the girl he once knew. The old man practically bawls as he explains the tragic story. Perhaps the brandy is making him overly sentimental, but it is clear that he felt deeply for this girl and her hardships. I wish I could have done more. A poor lass like that shouldn't have had to go through so much.
Mandraiv is much too tired for any more activity this evening, so he turns in shortly thereafter, leaving the journal on the table.
Mandraiv is much too tired for any more activity this evening, so he turns in shortly thereafter, leaving the journal on the table.
Rhun
First Post
Danth rises before dawn to bathe again, still feeling dirty from the prior day's tasks. He then greets the rising sun in silent prayer, happily making the required supplications to Sarenae. Those things done, the young cleric spends some time cleaning and polishing his armor and weapons, and then dons those items before heading out for a hearty breakfast. Afterward, he does as the mayor had asked, and walks the streets offering his blessings, making sure that he is visible to the folk of Sandpointe.
At mid-morning, he heads to the scheduled meeting at the mayor's office.
At mid-morning, he heads to the scheduled meeting at the mayor's office.
Friadoc
Explorer
Before the previous night finished, while everyone was cleaning themselves up and taking bathes, Kael will use the remander of his spells to cast mend on everyone's clothing, so as to clean them up that much better.
Kael is very respectful of Mandraiv's feelings toward the girls past and her path to corruption, before the holy man turns in he says, "There is only so much anyone can do, sometimes despite our best efforts fate twists as it will twists, more so when evil involves its self directly."
Kael and Mal will walk around the town the following morning, helping out and making himself available as needed, until he goes and meets his companions, again.
During the discussions, Kael adds, "While we need the ranger's input, I agree that we should explore those caves, as soon as possible. We could always leave word of where we are going, in case she showns up while we're down there."
Kael is very respectful of Mandraiv's feelings toward the girls past and her path to corruption, before the holy man turns in he says, "There is only so much anyone can do, sometimes despite our best efforts fate twists as it will twists, more so when evil involves its self directly."
Kael and Mal will walk around the town the following morning, helping out and making himself available as needed, until he goes and meets his companions, again.
During the discussions, Kael adds, "While we need the ranger's input, I agree that we should explore those caves, as soon as possible. We could always leave word of where we are going, in case she showns up while we're down there."
hewligan said:
Jokad has the stomach of a man used to rendering animals and a short lifetime of witnessing hardship and death on the steppes. Still, this work disturbs him more than he would care to admit. As he methodically swings his hammer, chiseling out the melted remains of the victims of this atrocity, he can't help but wonder who they were. How old were they? Did they have families? Children?
Jokad completes his work in silence and makes sure the lower door is securely locked before he leaves with the others.
None of you know him very well at this point but you can sense he has stuffed his anger away and it writhes about him like an impending storm.
hewligan said:
Jokad can't read but he listens intently to Mandraiv's tale and readings by the others despite his indulgence in several of Garridan's finest.
He has been silent most of the night and seemingly distracted by Garridan's comely daughter fliting about the tables, but as Mandraiv rises to leave Jokad grabs his arm.
"Where is Thistletop?, he asks urgently, "It seems fairly obvious our enemies are massing there."
