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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Selm" data-source="post: 131521" data-attributes="member: 1592">Episode 9-1-----------------------------------------------------------Episode NINE - Problems in Hommlet, is it really the end? - PART 1(You know mills are highly explosive. No, really?.)- Godsday, 25th Planting, afternoon -During their return to Hommlet, Lywen and Diane discuss about theassassin. Diane thinks that she has recognized him, he was a merchantliving at the Welcome Wench. As it is now nearly certain that he wasworking for the Dark God¹s cult, everyone linked to him issuspect. Beside, Diane followed him the other day, when they departedfrom Hommlet by the north road, he went out of the Inn just twominutes after them and followed them until he reached the mill, nearthe bridge where he stopped to speak with a man, the millerprobably. Hence the suspicion which starts to grow in Diane¹s mindabout probable spies at the mill.When they enter Hommlet, the party splits. Some are going to reportlast events to Rufus and Brune, while others are worrying for Spugnoir(DM note: Xaod, even if was taken back to Hommlet, is still not somuch loved you see <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  The death of evil cultists is always goodnews and Rufus seems happy, Lywen speaks a bit with Brune about thestrange black stone object that Gandigoot found in some rubbles of theMoathouse. The old mage is not able to give him any information aboutthe stone but he promise to study it as soon as possible (Lywen givesthe stone to him).  During this time, Xaod and Spugnoir corpses weretaken to the keep "infirmary", the same room where Diane and Lywenrecovered a few days ago. Y'Dey, the canoness of the St Cuthbertchurch arrives soon, warned by one member of the party. She studiesthe bodies for a time and accepts to use raise dead magic on themtomorrow.  From the description of their deaths, she is not optimisticabout Xaod¹s fate. He could have been slain by death magic, but shewill do all what she can anyway.But Diane and Lywen have yet an inquiry to do. After having heardtheir thoughts about potential spies in the town, and more preciselyaround the mill, Rufus advises them to speak with Elmo. And so a groupformed by Diane, Lywen and Rousing Fox goes out of the keep. They askfor Elmo and are sent to the Welcome Wench Inn were they found notonly the captain of the guard but also Alahija.  After a short discussion, Elmo accepts to backup their "mission" atthe mill and gather some men of the malice to conduct an interrogationof the miller. Our small group decide to go there as a scouting team,nobody knows what these bad guys could do. They collect Gandigoot on the way.  While Lywen and Rousing Fox godirectly to the mill to speak with the men working there, Diane goesround the building towards the miller house, and Gandigoot knocks atthe old trading post door (DM Note: you know, this fiendish hobbitworking for the cult and spying over the quiet Hommlet community ...as Naddy says ... and Gandigoot is quite found of Naddy ... so...).All things go smooth S at least at the beginning, as it is oftenthe case with our heroes <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />. Lywen starts to question the three menworking at the mill. They explain him that the miller is gone to visita relative in Verbobonc since three days, he should not be back beforeat least a week.  Besides he knows nothing about spies or evilcultists.  Rousing Fox and Lywen search the building but find nothing. The wizarddecides to use a magic detection spell and is now able to spot a faintaura on the ground, near the west wall of the building.  Rousing Foxstudies the ground and, casting the flour away, reveals a trap goingdown. After a quick search he opens it. A small magical flame appearsright in front of him, after a second of surprise, Lywen cries toeveryone to hurry out of the building. No more than ten seconds afterthe mill explodes in a burst of flame caused by the highly explosiveflour dispatched in the air. Everybody gather immediately near therubles, Lywen and Rousing Fox were able to escape with only smallscars, two of the workers were blasted away by the explosion, one ofthem has survived but the second is dead and the third is still underthe wreckage.  Soon Elmo and some militias arrive followed byKillasha, and they all start to search for the last worker.During this time Diane entered the miller house by the window over theroof of the small back building used to store wood and corn. Sheadvances carefully in the dark and is soon assaulted by a strongodor. It seems to come from a room, her rapier in one hand, shesilently opens the door with her other free hand. The odor is evenstronger here, after a tense minute she moves into the bedroom andopens the wooden shutters. A stained blanket lays on the groundsomething obviously hidden into it. With disgust and the distastefulthought that she already knows what she will find, Diane opens theblanket.  Without surprise, she finds two corpse into it, already deadfor several days, probably the miller and his spouse. Disgusted, shequits the house and warns Elmo of their death before rejoining herfriends.The search of the rubble went well. The third worker was found and hemiraculously survived the explosion, protected by a big woodenbeam. They were also able to clear the trap going down and discovereda small pit with a scale.  Soon they are all descended and search a small underground room.  Sixstraw couches lie on the dirty ground. All what remains is a writingtable with a wooden chair, a wooden iron circled coffer and a bronzevase (DM Note: hum in fact not even the bronze vase ... naheulbeukjoke).  After an hour of search by Rousing Fox and Alahija they decideto open the coffer. But they are more prudent this time, and Lywendiscerns magic around this coffer. As they are unable to remove whatthey think is a magic trap, they ask for Brune¹s help. The old wizardaccepts to help them and arrives one hour later. He tries to dispelthe magic but fails (even NPCs can have bad dice rolls <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).They will have to wait until tomorrow for another try.  As they arestill strongly concerned by potential spies in town, they ask Elmo topost guards and Rousing Fox even spends they night concealed under astraw couch (DM Note : such a sacrifice, these monks are reallyastonishing <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ).After this "incident", they all spend the rest of the day whereverthey want. Alahija is at the Inn, obviously. Gandigoot is stillcourting the female leader of Hommlet gnomish community, the wellknown Naddy Tomanloft. While the others are studying, or gatheringinformation about strangers in town since a month or so.  Actually thenight comes and everybody takes a good sleep after such a day !-----------------------------------------------------------Episode NINE - Problems in Hommlet, is it really the end? - PART 2(A mysterious letter ...)</blockquote>

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