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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9669883" data-attributes="member: 16069">Not KotSSession #008a: Explanations- Fionulla’s Story.The Inspectors.Chromium Malifax aka C-Fax (Rob), Male Silver Dragonborn (Noble) Paladin of Bahamut Level 2Mavis Golightly aka Mave (Sandy), Female Half-Elf (Acolyte) Cleric of Chauntea Level 2Arbuthnot McGow aka McGow (Al), Male Mountain Dwarf (Soldier) Fighter Level 2Snakebite (Kenji), Female Half-Orc (Outlander) Monk Level 2Travis Pickle (Yui), Male Lightfoot Halfling (Criminal) Rogue Level 2Dead PCsThe Inspector aka Spek (Kenji), Male Rock Gnome (Charlatan) Sorcerer Level 1- Killed in Session #2 by Eggnog the Kobold Dragon Priest.To-do list/Quests-#001 Save Dicky Bird aka The Fat Pidgin, and bring him home safely to Edna Gingster, although Dicky is on his way to the Narthex, which is in the Labyrinth, which is near the Seven Pillared Hall- which is in the Underdark- Bugger. Reward: 2000 XP & 1000gp each.<s>#002 Find and investigate the ancient dragon burial site Dicky was looking for, he might be there. Reward: 250 XP.</s> COMPLETE<s>#003 Destroy the kobold menace, including their leader- ‘Chopper.’ Reward: 250 XP & 75gp, with 1gp paid for every kobold tail handed in.</s> COMPLETE#004 Stop Orcus-worshipping Karl’s ritual to bring an undead army to Kirkgate. Basically, save the village, begs (eventually) Lord Crumble. Karl is in Kirkgate. 1000 XP & 250gp reward.#005 Find/Save Cheggers. That's it really, the PCs just need to find/save Cheggers (he’s with Karl, if he’s still alive), for Fionulla (the spy). Reward 100 XP.#006 Find and kill/capture the Bloody Heck- including any leaders. Recover any prisoners they have kidnapped. Find out where Karl is based. Reward: 400 XP & 100gp, with 1gp paid for every member of the Bloody Heck confirmed dead or captured.The PCs can hear screaming.Keep in mind this is ten seconds after the fight ended, and the mist cleared.“Help!”It’s Sister Margaritta’s muffled voice, and it’s coming from the church.There’s a rush to the spot, with C-Fax hoisting up and over his shoulder the unconscious body of Fionulla, the spy. Within the church proper the PCs are led by Sister M’s shouts to her room, she’s locked in, the key is still in the door, and the rest… the rest comes in a rush.In the next hour-and-a-half, or so (in-game) the PCs get through a lot of stuff, a lot of it chatter but also a fair bit of running around.Note, the hour-and-a-half in-game takes well over two hours of real time to achieve, so hang on in there- there’s a lot of chatter, and back and forth with this one. It took me two goes with this write up to put things in the right order, the PCs went a little shotgun here.And so…Sister Margaritta tells her tale- Fionulla came to the church mid-morning, in a terrible state- crying and raging, she told her story to the priestess of Chauntea, all of it- about Cheggers, about his abduction, about a man called Karl- who says that he is has Cheggers, and about the things that Fionulla had been doing to placate Karl. Spying on the villagers, reporting travellers on the roads etc.Sister M, of course, consoled her, pleaded with her, offered Fionulla a way out- tell the truth, do not give in to Karl, but… Fionulla went back and forth- teary and committed to telling everything to the adventurers/authorities one minute, while in the next stating that she would do anything to save her beloved ‘Cheggers’.And it was her rage that won, Sister M could not persuade her, and so- Fionulla locked the good Sister in her rooms, and then… well, the PCs take up the story- their encounter with Fionulla and the undead in the graveyard.Although, there’s a gap here to be explained- Fionulla locked Sister M into the church an hour or more before the PCs arrived at the church/graveyard.But the Inspectors need answers, and keep in mind that Fionulla right now is still unconscious, Sister M gets to work on bringing the spy around, for questioning- but that will take a while.The PCs can’t wait.Who is Karl?Where is Karl?Sister M, alas does not have the answers, although (and after a lot more chatter) there was one thing that the raging Fionulla said that struck the priestess as odd.“The dragon in the graveyard”, Fionulla said- Sister M repeats the phrase- “the dragon in the graveyard.”It’s not a lot but… just enough.C-Fax gets it. Immediately.And soon after the paladin (semi-)takes charge of the situation.Note, Sister M tells her story without rancour, she’s certain that Fionulla can be saved, the elven ranger is a good person- put in an impossible situation.And so…C-Fax tells his colleagues that they are looking for something with the image of a dragon carved into it- a grave, a tomb, or else- some other structure. The same dragon/image- Bahamut- as seen at Dragon Castle.Note, Sister M is initially very doubtful about this, she hasn’t seen anything like this in the graveyard, and she was born into the job here, her mother was the priestess before her, although she’s held the position for nearly thirty years now.But… even as she says the words, she explains- there’s a dark end to the graveyard- it’s an ancient place, the site was here before the village, as was the church- or else the remains of a church. Kirkgate is properly ancient- for a full history, she advises, consult the local sage- Jefron Puddleduck, it’s one of his specialist subjects.The PCs silently seethe a little, Jefron’s still their number one suspect, but they’re not telling Sister M this, not yet.Sister M goes on-The old part of the graveyard is, as it turns out, where the PCs buried Hagrid, the feral cannibal deep gnome.And so…C-Fax runs out of the door, and then out of the church soon after, the other PCs swiftly following on (somewhat bemused some of them).There’s a fire lit beneath the paladin’s backside- or else he’s figured something/it out. He’s not saying anything more right now but he’s begging his fellow players to go with it/him. He thinks he knows what he’s doing.First job, according to the paladin, is to tidy the undead away, although- there’s not a lot of work to do, the remains of the skeletons and zombie hounds are almost gone, they’ve rotted away, they’re just dark stains on green grass. It’s only Spek’s body that needs re-interring, all other signs of the battle have just about disappeared.Which, of course, is a little odd.But that’s job one done in a flash.Note, Zombie Spek is (less than delicately) chucked in a nearby crypt- Snakebite wants never to see the undead gnome again, she therefore makes sure that the crypt door is firmly wedged back into place.Next, the PCs rush off to the old part of the graveyard, the section in which Hagrid was buried- they know just the spot.And…Well, that’s a turn up.Hagrid’s grave is… sunken, two days ago it was marked by a small mound of displaced dirt, but now- it’s a foot deep shallow (small) body-shaped depression.This oddity is commented upon, and observations offered- Hagrid’s body is gone is the premium suggestion (which is punctuated by loud swearing)- but further investigations will take time (and effort) and the PCs are in a rush. Sister M, when they departed the church of Chauntea let them know that Fionulla will be conscious, she thinks, within the hour. She will also be as weak as a kitten, and so- no threat.C-Fax is, he says, certain.Certain of what he’s just not saying. Yet.The PCs search/investigate the ancient graves, tombstones, and the funerary statuary hereabouts, looking for the image of Bahamut, the Platinum dragon- as depicted on the walls of Dragon Castle, or else something very similar. The DM is looking for very high numbers (in fact- number- singular- a ‘20’ is needed) he lets the players know this.But C-Fax is already on it, he strides off into the overgrown corner of the cemetery, and thirty seconds later stops and points at a seemingly random mausoleum just a little ahead of him.“There is great evil here!” The dragonborn paladin of Bahamut states.[ATTACH=full]406735[/ATTACH]He says this to Snakebite, the half-orc monk (perception ‘20’) found the vine covered mausoleum, with a dragon carved into one of its rear pillars, about twenty seconds before the paladin follows his Divine Senses to the same spot.There’s a door into the mausoleum- of course there is, and it has been opened- recently, and multiple times, the scratches in the stone bear witness to this. McGow has the portal open in seconds, and you must duck to get in but… once inside there’s a hole in the paved floor ahead, and beneath the hole- a set of stairs descending into the dark.The stairs go down. Right down.[ATTACH=full]406736[/ATTACH]Bingo!McGow is roped-up (just in case) and lowered down to take a poke around for a short while, he doesn’t go too far, but far enough to note that the stairs open out at the bottom and spill into a much larger chamber, a constructed- flagged and clad crypt.[ATTACH=full]406737[/ATTACH]And there are lights down there.Then, he climbs back up to his friends to report back.Because the time isn’t right, not just yet, according to C-Fax.The paladin is now on a mission.This then, at long last, is C-Fax’s revelation.Karl is bringing an army of undead to Kirkgate, where do you get an army of zombies, skeletons and the like from- that’s right, a graveyard.Also, where-else would an Orcus worshipper have his lair?C-Fax doesn’t know why the dragon symbols are on these places but… there’s something in it, it’s all connected, and Karl…Karl’s here in Kirkgate, either out in the village, or else… and the paladin thinks that the following is much more likely.Karl is down the stairs.Karl is someone that the PCs have not met yet, that most likely no-one has met yet, except maybe Cheggers, and a few other unfortunate souls.Karl is laired below the graveyard, and most likely- C-Fax is running with this one- most likely- Karl needs a spy, and Hagrid, and the kobolds, and the Bloody Heck; because… he’s down beneath the graveyard doing whatever he’s doing- a ritual, or else… something to bring the dead here back to un-life.It’s a compelling theory.It makes sense, and the PCs- all of them- are happy with it as far as explanations go.The theory that Karl is one of the villagers- Jefron, Lord Crumble, or else WH Smythe, is losing traction. Karl is down in his hole.The fire is now blazing under the backsides of all the PCs, and so…[ATTACH=full]406738[/ATTACH]They head back to the church, just in time for Fionulla- now awake, but still very tearful- and to begin with thoroughly apologetic, to tell her story.Which is everything that the PCs expected to hear- a longer version of the tale that Sister M recounted, but what’s missing is this- Karl, who he is and where he is.And to make clear, Fionulla didn’t know that Karl was called Karl until the PCs told her.Here’s her story- and imagine me telling it, interspersed with jagged sobs.“I first met Karl, or else I first heard Karl’s voice, in the graveyard here- this was a month or more ago, I was at a very low ebb- Cheggers had gone, and I didn’t know where. I had taken to visiting with Sister M- here, the only friend I had left, and…Suddenly there’s this voice in the darkness telling me that he (the voice) had Cheggers, and if I did what he asked then I could have Cheggers back- safe and well. The first time this happened I ran- as fast as I could, I thought there was someone there- someone coming for me too. But I came back- to see Sister M again, and… to listen to what Karl had to say again.The second time I heard the voice- again- in the graveyard here, but a different place to the first; I had questions of my own to ask.Karl had all the answers, he knew our secrets, the places we had visited in the forest- me and Cheggers, he knew everything about me- everything I had told my love. My Cheggers. I knew it then- Karl had my love, my Cheggers; and thus, I began spying on the villagers here, watching the roads- reporting the comings and goings of travelling merchants.”The PCs are, for a good while, unconvinced- a voice, who’s voice? Where was the speaker? Fionulla is a ranger? The teary elf further explains- “there was never anyone there, just a voice, once- just once, I thought I saw the shadow of a robed figure, but… then nothing. There were no tracks- never any tracks - I looked, and looked- time and time again, nothing.It was only when I was at Dragon Castle with the you that I remembered seeing the same image- of Bahamut, although I didn’t know it as Bahamut- C-Fax told me this. I remembered seeing that same image in the graveyard, just once- when I was searching for the owner of the voice, for Karl. And so, this morning- after talking, and then confessing to Sister M, and then locking her in- I went back out into the graveyard- to search for the dragon image, I knew that I had seen it, and it felt… important. Connected.But then I saw you coming- to the church, and the next thing- the voice/Karl is back, and in my ear- he said ‘your wait is over… you let these fools into my plan, you thought you were smarter than me. Kill these wretched meddlers and you can have your precious Cheggers back, fail… and he dies.’ And with that Karl was gone, the undead burst from the ground and started attacking you and then… so did I.”The PCs take a while to digest all of this, and to ask a few more questions of their own, remarkably they’re all playing nicely here. Note, they learn that Fionulla reported their arrival in Kirkgate to Karl (the first night in the inn), but since then she has been making false reports- all is well, nothing going on here etc. to allow the Inspectors time to do their work.Keep in mind that lots of PCs are making lots of checks here, to assess the truth of Fionulla’s story, and to run what she knows alongside other stuff the villains have told them, and… it’s all checking out; and keep in mind Fionulla- throughout all of the above- is a teary mess.As she repeatedly states- “Cheggers is dead!”McGow and Travis are both already past their desire to exact any form of revenge upon Fionulla, as McGow put it later.“She’s ‘ad a ruff ride, a’ready.”C-Fax however is still convinced of his theory, Fionulla’s story- which all the PCs believe (they all made checks) does little to invalidate his theory, point of fact it backs it up.The only niggle is Karl, every time they remember his speech (in the mirror), or else hear his reported speech- ‘these wretched meddlers’, he sounds more and more like Jefron Puddleduck, the sage.Note, the PCs also think that the shadowy robed figure that Fionulla saw in the cemetery was also Karl, as was the shadowy figure that strangled and killed Hagrid.Much babbling chatter follows- we circle for a while (probably another twenty or so minutes).Then, action- Fionulla is ordered to stay here in the church- for her own good, the church is consecrated ground, the graveyard- well, there are obviously problems there but, the church is a sanctuary. Sister M and Mavis insist.Fionulla needs to disappear, to stay out of sight (and mind) of the inhabitants of Kirkgate, until this is all resolved. The thinking here being- if Fionulla was employed to spy on Kirkgate for Karl, then the likelihood is that Karl needed an extra set of eyes in Kirkgate, or else just a set of eyes in Kirkgate. He therefore wasn’t privy to everything going on in the village. Karl is not all-seeing, the betting is (right now)- he’s down below the graveyard here, sitting in the dark, waiting for the time to be right.The PCs are absolutely itching to find out what’s down the stairs they found.But here’s the thing- the above exchange (and the twenty minutes spent circling the idea) brings about a fresh avenue of thought.According to the voice in the mirror, all the way back in Hagrid’s lair, there were eight days to go before the undead army will come to Kirkgate.That makes it five days to go atm.Why the countdown? And it was Travis who asked the question.Why not bring the undead army to Kirkgate now?The answer must of course be- again, according to Travis, he’s a bright young thing (but menacing with it) the undead army cannot come to Kirkgate any sooner, some other event must take place to bring it here- to raise the dead in the graveyard.Like a ritual, Karl needed sacrifices- already supplied and now must enact whatever pattern is needed to bring the dead back to life.The point being- this really can be stopped.And now the PCs are getting very excited- they really want to head down below.They’ve got it!But, several PCs remember the problems they had in the last fight with regard to piercing weapons and skeletons, basically every one needs to find something that bludgeons, and so… a shopping trip is called for, although mostly it’s a dashed conga of adventurers through the village, which is now alive and awake in the sunshine, to Hammertime; and then to WH Smythe’s.Bludgeoning weapons, in great variety, are acquired.However the PCs have a profile now, and the last time the good folk of the village saw them in the market square they were asking about goblins, or else something to do with a dragon seen in the Norwood. Countryfolk love a story. So, the PCs need to do some chatting, although- it’s mostly Mavis and C-Fax who (initially) go on point for this, which makes things a little more difficult still because the pair are having to dissemble, or else deceive.But here’s the thing, the DCs here are low (DC 11), and it’s not all C-Fax and Mavis, the rest of the PCs swing into action- Snakebite helpfully offering more odd nuggets of un-wisdom.All is well with the world, the dragon in question was a drawing/engraving of a dragon- on an old, ruined castle wall, and not a real dragon. The were a few goblins in the woods but the Inspectors saw them off, although the PCs caution that the Norwood is still dangerous, give the place a wide berth, just in case.The latter amendment is added when McGow remembers again- or else for a second time- there are more members of the Bloody Heck coming to the region, and pound for a penny- the only place they know in the area will be- Dragon Castle in the Norwood. None of this information is shared with the village folk, of course- only, don’t go there. Although the PCs, as it turns out, are probably going to have to revisit this place.Blimey, but they’re busy.The Inspectors escape their interrogators, and their admirers, and then head back to the Inn- briefly, to shuffle through their gear, pay for their rooms some more- eat, and then race back to the church.They must answer a few more questions from concerned locals in the inn- but their story (from their shopping trip) is already doing the rounds, and the DCs are still low.The 2nd level PCs clocked up a whole host of ticks (worth 10 XP each) for good roleplay, clever thinking etc. in this session so far- C-Fax 90 XP, Mavis & Travis 60 XP each, McGow & Snakebite 40 XP each.Next stop, down the stairs to see Karl.But that’s for next time.Cheers goonalan and the Tokyo Massive.</blockquote>

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