D&D 5E [D&D 5E] Tattered Memories: An Adventure in Tethyr (COMPLETE)

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue shook her head no. "No. We don't know who might have done this, at least not yet. But I don't think it was Janelle. And the rest of the ale kegs at the Nymph checked out, so I think the ale is OK to drink. Whatever might have been tampered with--if it was tampering, and that's still a big if--has already been drunk and the damage done." Brue watched Vials work. His instruments were queer, and she was curious. "I'll leave the pail of water with you, then. I need to return to Greycastle, let him know where we're at with the water. If you could please keep word of this quiet until Lawkeeper Greycastle says otherwise, I think he'd be grateful. We don't want anyone else to take sick, but neither do we want to spread a panic."

Brue moved away from Vials, clearly heading for the door. "I'll come back, if that's alright. But first I need to jaunt down to Greycastle and let him know it'll be several hours. He may want to station someone outside the well so that folks don't drink from it quite yet." The genasi waited for Vials to give his ok to her request to return to him. "Do you need me to fetch anything for your tests?"[/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

OOC: Brue's instincts tell her that the gnome is being forthright in his concern about the discovery of contamination in the ale casks and the possibility of the discovery of contamination of the water supply.

Boddynock seemed to give Brue's offer some thought. "I have everything I need for the tests on the water here, but if you could bring a sample of the waterkeep wood, I might be able to identify what was in it. Might help me identify if the same substance is in the water in the event it avoids my testing methods."

Shaking his head, the gnome finished, "I don't envy Greycastle trying to keep folks from the well. If we don't have water, there's bound to be a riot. I guess it is, in a rather morbid way, fortunate that we had so many dead last night. Fewer people to riot..."

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue took out her piece of waterwood and broke it in half. She kept half and gave half to Vials. "Here. You can have this. Use it wisely, it's the last of the waterkeep I found in the keg's false bottom." She opened the door and made to leave, but paused. "How many folk died in the night?"[/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

"Ah, wonderful!" Vials said, his intellectual curiosity superseding his decorum. "I can work on this while the water boils."

At Brue's question, the gnome hung his head and said, "Double the night before... if it keeps going at that rate, we'll basically lost half the village by this point tomorrow."

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue blanched. "So many?" She let herself out the door and hurried for Greycastle's. [/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

Brue hurried back to Greycastle's house, intent on reporting back. Upon entering the town square at the intersection of the Main and the Trade Way, she realized she wouldn't have to go that far, the paladin was standing next to the well. Janelle's unloaded cart stood next to the tavern. Apparently, she had already returned from the provisioning.

Spotting her, Greycastle motioned Brue over. "I spoke with Holt. He said his men haven't redirected any halfling merchants from the north. I would have expected him to have headed back this way by now, but word may have reached Murann of the plague here and he may have just headed east towards Brost."

"What did Vials have to say?"

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue said quietly, "Vials examined the water for particles, I think was the word he used. He didn't find any, but he seemed to understand that it was a serious matter and said he would do some kind of test on the water and the waterkeep from the keg lid. I gave him a spare piece of the lid so he could do tests on it. He said he would need two to three hours to do the testing, though." The genasi's brow crinkled. "I think you might want to station someone by the well to turn folks away until Vials is done with his tests. I can do it. Or I could return to Vials to observe his tests. If we shut off access to the well, we'll need to tell people something when they come to draw water, some reason why they can't. I think it's best to tell folks the plain truth, that the water's being tested for purity--you don't have to say what kind of impurity you suspect--but that kind of message might better be delivered by someone folks're comfortable with." Brue let the last bit hang, sure that Greycastle would pick up on her uncertainty about her not fitting in with the populace. [/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

Greycastle cursed. "We can't wait two to three hours. I convinced Holt to provide us with a few barrels of clean water. Told him the winch on the well was broken, which is what we've been telling the folk who showed up to use the well while you were gone. But the water isn't going to last through provisioning at this rate."

"The town's a blasted brushfire waiting to happen, just needs a spark." With a hard look, Greycastle said, "No, we need to be in front of the problem and waiting for Vials won't put us there. The well connects to a large underground reservoir, I want you to go down and look into it. The druids normally go down once a year to make sure everything is okay; they've told us the water is only knee to hip deep most of the time. I can supply you with torches, flint, and a weapon. If we move quickly enough, maybe we can at least get an answer to all this and talk Holt into relaxing the quarantine."

"What say you?"

 

[CanadienneBacon]

[section] Brue nodded. "Yes, I'll go down and look. A length of rope would also come in handy. Where can I go to provision myself?"[/section]

 

[Forged Fury]

"Time is of the essence. Janelle has torches, flint, and rope. You can take my longsword." Greycastle said, unbuckling his weapons belt. Brue accepted the finely made blade, briefly wondering how many had met their ends on the point of the weapon.

Entering the tavern, Brue asked for Janelle and was directed to the kitchen. The woman was working over a large pot, but stopped her efforts when Brue explained her purpose. Nodding, Janelle quickly gathered the requested supplies and shoved them into a worn leather knapsack. "Good luck," she said, with a final nod.

Returning to the well, Brue waited for Greycastle to direct one of the townsfolk to the tavern for water. Once inside, the two were left alone in the town square, although that was almost certainly not going to be the case for long.

"Ready?" Greycastle asked.

OOC: To head down the rope, roll two Strength (Athletics) checks. Take advantage on each roll as you can brace yourself against the walls of the well with your feet and back.