stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. II [IC]

[DEFCON 1]

As the group lopes into town, the weight of exhaustion that he had been fighting suddenly crashed down upon the stalker. Slowly Jarrith leads the group to the inn, where he acknowledges the freshly-healed Sir Urik. Giving his best to the man, he begs forgiveness in not staying to regale him with their exploits until he has had time to rest.

Jarrith walks over to the bar and requests a bottle of wine from the man behind the counter, then takes the libation with him upstairs to his room. When he opens the door and walks in, immediately his belt and his pack are off and dropped hard to the floor, the pop of the cork is heard, and a long, slow draught is taken off the bottle.

Jarrith reaches behind himseldf with his foot and slams the door shut on the hallway. He takes another sip off the bottle, then wanders over to the wash basin... where he places the bottle on the floor and pours water into the basin. He spends several minutes peeling his clothing and armor off of himself, then dives into the water, scrubbing, scrubbing and scrubbing the dirt, mud and soil from every crevice in his body. Only when his body is clean does he do the same to the clothes he had been wearing, doing his best to remove what stains he can.

Hanging his shirt and pants over the back of the chairs in the room to dry, he picks up the bottle of wine, polishes it off, drops the bottle to the floor, then climbs underneath the covers of the bed and falls immediately to sleep.

 

[Stormwind]

Ashlyn rides into town along with the others, and like Jarrith she seems on the verge of exhaustion. The toll this last trip has taken on her strength and vitality are obvious for those with the wit to see it.

As she enters the inn, she sees Sir Urik and Huurn, and a smile appears on her face as she winds her way across the floor of the inn to where Sir Urik sits. She stands before her fellow knight for a moment, a sable raven upon her shoulder and a warm smile upon her face. Then with a soft, tired voice she speaks, "Greetings brother, I would introduce both yourself and Huurn to Korppi"

 

[pathfinderq1]

As the group returned to town, Tessa seemed lost in thought for most of the trek. There was so much that had happened, so much yet to be understood...

Once they reached the center of town, though, she began to drag herself from the mire of questions and concerns which plagued her mind. She could see the folk here, both locals and caravaners, descending into despair- the same malaise which wore on her companions, it seemed. But where the Host and the Flame had allowed Tessa and her friends to withstand the pressures, at least to some extend, these common folk were falling to the stress and fear... She shook her head- she wanted nothing more than a bath, and a soft bed, a night of calm and rest. But she had strength left, and she could not begrudge a bit of it- as a priestess of the Host, she would at least try to help.

From who knows where, she summoned a smile, and kept it. For each sidelong glance, she had a soft greeting- for every terse greeting, she had a quiet blessing. She did not try to overwhelm them with piety or fervor, but simply showed a quiet strength- a tiny light to keep the last flickers of hope alive, if they were there at all. But at last, she too sought the comfort of the inn, and a solitary room- while she needed but little sleep, she did need some, and there was quite a bit of work awaiting on the morrow... She had, in fact, made it halfway up the stairs before she realized that some work remained tonight. With a sigh, she made her way back to Ashlyn and Sir Urik. "Lady Ashlyn, once you are done here, might you accompany me to deal with the merchantry? You hold much of our found goods, and our credit- and there are purchases we must make. Some components, most particularly, that may influence which blessings I seek from the Host in the morning." Left unsaid was the idea that even in the boundaries of town, Tessa felt far safer when traveling in company...

OOC: May as well find out if they have Restoration components before she takes the spell

 

[stonegod]

As she enters the inn, she sees Sir Urik and Huurn, and a smile appears on her face as she winds her way across the floor of the inn to where Sir Urik sits. She stands before her fellow knight for a moment, a sable raven upon her shoulder and a warm smile upon her face. Then with a soft, tired voice she speaks, "Greetings brother, I would introduce both yourself and Huurn to Korppi"

The large man looks up as Korppi caws a welcome. His face is a look of pure joy, one of the first seen in Barovia in a long time. Aha! Praise to those that Overwatch! It seems my faith was well founded, Lady Ashlyn. You must tell me of what befell you all in the Castle!

But she had strength left, and she could not begrudge a bit of it- as a priestess of the Host, she would at least try to help.

[Bluff & Diplomacy]

Tessa tried to bolster the spirits of those gathered. While she did hide her tiredness well, she did not connect to the townsfolk as easily as the Stormhand had done. A few nods and a wan smile were her reward. Small, but cherished.

"Lady Ashlyn, once you are done here, might you accompany me to deal with the merchantry? You hold much of our found goods, and our credit- and there are purchases we must make. Some components, most particularly, that may influence which blessings I seek from the Host in the morning." Left unsaid was the idea that even in the boundaries of town, Tessa felt far safer when traveling in company...

As Tessa goes over in her mind what must be done, she recalls something the Cannith scion had said earlier to Jannis before the battle of the Hill:

The artificer's lips purses when Janis mentions diamond dust. I can't rightly say we have any, though I know Master Ochem has some gemstone he be keeping for trading purposes. You might be asking him. That pretty Ireena looks to be the lordly type, they usually carry such wealth."

 

[Stormwind]

"Lady Ashlyn, once you are done here, might you accompany me to deal with the merchantry? You hold much of our found goods, and our credit- and there are purchases we must make. Some components, most particularly, that may influence which blessings I seek from the Host in the morning."

Ashlyn turns her head slightly towards Tessa, "Of course Tessa. I need a few minutes here first, perhaps you might check with the merchants in the caravan first, after all they all reside here at the inn"
She then reaches into a pouch at her waist and pulls out a piece of paper, "Here's our letter of credit in case you need it."

Ashlyn then turns back to Urik and resumes their conversation.

Aha! Praise to those that Overwatch! It seems my faith was well founded, Lady Ashlyn. You must tell me of what befell you all in the Castle!

"It is a tale of darkness ... yet there is still light to be found."

"As we entered that dark place, we were met by the one calling himself Lord Sergei. He seemed intent on dissuading us from entering and exploring the castle."

"We continued regardless into the chapel where a certain lightness and peace can still be found. The chapel was is a state of slight disrepair and covered in dust so we cleaned up as best we could, and then I began my vigil. During that night we were attacked by something that I am certain was a vampire, yet it was able to shrug off magical daylight with no visible effect and more importantly, it did not register as undead to my sight. With what I have learnt since then, I would guess that the latter at least is the result of ancient protections that have been warped to its purpose. Nonetheless we drove the creature away and I was able to complete my vigil. With the dawn, a beam of light to bright to look at shone through the windows of the chapel and illuminated the alter. As the light faded, I saw ... and felt Korppi standing where the light had shone."

"We ventured only a little futher within the castle. Upstairs, the throne room, a study, upstairs again, a dining room, a living room, a bedroom. The bedroom is where we found Gertrude. We dealt with several undead on the way up, ... three deathlocks, a singer of the crypts, two ghostly undead ... and we were forced to deal with a madman ... by the name of Lief. Upon finding Gertrude, we left the castle. She should have arrived back here earlier along with Irene and Janis."

"We plan to return to there again ... there is much more yet to be done there."

 

[EvolutionKB]

Avron enters the inn with the others, not wanting to deal with his own master unless he has to. "You have items to identify? I can try and see if I can come to a sort of conclusion on their properties." After seeing the warlock upstairs, Avron returns. "I have a minor spell that will help us recover in the long term. I can cast it before bed."

I can cast healthful rest to double the rate of healing for us.

 

[pathfinderq1]

Avron enters the inn with the others, not wanting to deal with his own master unless he has to. "You have items to identify? I can try and see if I can come to a sort of conclusion on their properties." After seeing the warlock upstairs, Avron returns. "I have a minor spell that will help us recover in the long term. I can cast it before bed."

Tessa looked at Avron for a moment- the return to town seemd to have mellowed his madness, at least for a time. "If you would like to try identifying some of these things, I might be able to help, at least a bit."

OOC: If you want to take a try, Tessa will use Aid Another to help a bit- though she only has one Detect Magic available (if that is needed).

 

[Stormwind]

[Ashlyn will use both her 1st level spells for lesser restorations in the morning as necessary]

 

[stonegod]

Avron enters the inn with the others, not wanting to deal with his own master unless he has to. "You have items to identify? I can try and see if I can come to a sort of conclusion on their properties."

"If you would like to try identifying some of these things, I might be able to help, at least a bit."

Avron and Tessa clear a table and begin to examine the items with their magic enhanced lore. First, Avron can tell the old shirt of chain is well manufactured, containing a moderate strength enhancement, giving it the protection of strong scale armor. The full plate, less old and marked with signs of Karnnathi origin, bears a weaker protective enchantment. The archivist, however, has little success with the sword.

Taking up the old sword, Tessa's studied eye notes its weak enhancement would not be out of place for a well respected military man, though not a general. Touching the skull-tipped mace, however, sends tendrils of pain down her arm. It does the same to Avron's touch, making it impossible to examine that way. One hour later, Tessa has her answer from the Sovereigns: It is a weapon of evil, its sole purpose to hurt the pure and valiant.

[+2 chain shirt, +1 full plate, +1 greatsword, and +1 unholy heavy mace. Avron and Tessa used one detect magic and Tessa's identify.]

"We plan to return to there again ... there is much more yet to be done there."

Ulrik nods. It is the heart of evil in this land, and one even I fear to tread alone. All else I know is that the bottom of the Castle holds the great tombs of the land: It is there that the Knights were once laid to final rest. But that time passed long ago.

[Feel free to roleplay any other conversations, but let me know when folks are ready to move on to the next day.]

 

[EvolutionKB]

Surely being around people as uneasy as him lightened the archivist's mood, so much so, that his mind seemed momentarily less of an issue. After the items enchantments were determined, Avron speaks a question. "When we bring the items together, should I prepare for a singe adversary? I have some ideas that may give us advantage."