The Closed Eye (DM: Halford, Judge: garyh)

[KenHood]

Hmm

OOC: I'll wait on the guys and see what they suggest.

---

Palindrome casts prestidigitation on the Screamer: honeysuckle, purple, and flatulence.

 

[Halford]

Again the sequence fails to elicit a response, but Palindrome has managed to permanetly put himself off the scent of honeysuckle.

OOC: Works for me.

 

[KenHood]

OOC...

I'm at a loss.

There are three things. We can reproduce them with prestidigitation. We have everything we need to know to solve it.

You guys have any suggestions?

 

[Halford]

OOC: Prestidigitation can produce up to 3 effects at once. You know that Yarg's messages used a varying code. You know that Yarg is a best tenuously connected to the case at hand.

 

[Dunamin]

Woe casually tosses the not even half-eaten batch of grapes into the fireplace, gets on his feet and skims through Yarg’s notes with stirred curiosity.

However, in a stack of yellowed notes he sees a symbol which is uncannily similar to the one which marks the eyes articles.

It appears to be a mere doodle in the margins on a treatise upon the theoretical possibilities of summoning an abyssal parasite, which Yarg has dubbed the Lung Worm - for its tendency to enter and devour lung tissue rendering the host dependent upon the beast to draw breath; Yarg appears to have been quite excited at the potential benefits of such a beast, speculating that it could lend its host the ability to process noxious gases. Next to the depiction of the eye is the following notation,

Veil in isles interior, bears further exploration. Karrimon killed by agents - what of the rest of the party? Persuit dangerous? Tribal religon, pre Daunton? What did they find?

Yarg appears to have suspected the existance of somekind of magical shroud in place in Daunton's interior. As far as Palindrome can tell this is something that the Wizard intended to persue once he had finished some of his more immediate projects, though he cannot uncover anything further in the notes. He does, however, uncover a few passing references to Karrimon which imply that Yarg was in possession of his ritual book after his passing - many of these references carry a derisive edge, and Yarg clearly seems to believe Karrimon to be an inferior practitioner.

“Nice job, certainly looks like something to go on. So, as I understand the notes by the eye symbol, this Karrimon fellow was a mage underling dispatched by Yarg to lead an expedition to this mystical locale within Daunton? Karrimon might have croaked, but any possible surviving members of the expedition could be a valuable informant to find out what this is about.”

Palindrome casts prestidigitation on the Screamer: honeysuckle, purple, and flatulence.

The sound and smell of the last component in the cantrip makes Woe cock an eyebrow at the wizard.

“With tact and manners like that, Pal, I see why you have no luck with the ladies…”

“Worth a try, though, keep doing the alakazam if you have more ideas on breaking the code. I’ll chalk on the board what Tander and I dug up in the meantime.”

 

[KenHood]

“...I see why you have no luck with the ladies…”

"I have excellent luck with 'the ladies': I've managed to avoid their blood-sucking, mind-sapping ensnarement for my entire life."

Palindrome settles into his favorite chair--which happens to be Doddoddod's favorite chair--and scratches his nose while considering the Screamer. He adjusts his posture and with an absentminded air removes Doddoddod's third favorite pillow from the chair and tosses it into the fireplace (where it joins the ashes of the first and second favorite). He pokes the blank spot at the base of the paper.

"Anyone have a guess regarding a smell distinct to halflings--I mean, other than the stink of failure and self-pity?"

He shrugs.

With a wave of a finger, he casts prestidigitation on the paper, reproducing the perfume of the Lady Glasston.

---

[OOC: Should that produce no effect...]

An idea dawns upon Palindrome.

"Oh, that can't possibly be correct."

He casts prestidigitation on the Screamer, creating the sound of a scream.

 

[Dunamin]

Woe opens the panel and pulls the chalkboard out again, grabs a piece of chalk and adds notes to update their list:

To Do List...

• Visit Glasston Residence
  
  [*]Search Arnest's Room for Clues
  [*]Question Servant Girl about Arnest
  [*]Question Spinthresh about Arnest, Screamer, and elf maiden
  [*]Find information about Arnest's elven mistress​
• Visit 'Roots' in 'Undergrowth'
  
  [*]Uncover their connection to Screamer
  [*]Find connection to Arnest
  [*]Get list of recipients of Screamer
  [*]Why does this gang have sole access to the Screamer, now?
  [*]Could the author of the Screamer be a gang-member?
  

  [*]Only about half of gang are halflings.
  [*]Runs protection rackets.
  [*]Mulligans gang once conquered Overgrowth, a few weeks later their members start disappearing and Roots reclaimed their turf
  [*]Mulligan member “Rat-face” escaped to Bacarte – male goblin with dyed hair​
• Visit D'Rawth (Red Herring?)
  
  [*]Question about Arnest
  [*]Question about Screamer
  

  [*]Depressed, busy at work on new project.​
• Visit City Guard
  
  [*]Question about Screamer
  [*]Question about Roots
  [*]Question about any crimes or dissappearances associated with Screamer​
• Visit Lirkash (Red Herring?)
  
  [*]Question about Screamer
  [*]Question about spreading false copies of Screamer
  

  [*]Haverfall family stands to gain significantly from L’irkash downfall and reclaim position as pre-eminent shipping family​

Woe puts down the chalk and takes a step back to run through the entries. He taps on the section about the Roots street gang.

“So, the most seemingly useful bit turned up about this gang. These Mulligans once tried to coup the Roots, and as a result they just vanished without a trace – same as our boy Arnest.”

“All except one. A goblin called Rat-face - supposedly uglier than the norm - escaped the fate of the rest of his gang and works for his uncle now on Bacarte. The Mulligans messed with the distributors of the Screamer, Arnest had an obsession with the Screamer – both go poof. Sounds connected, so a private interview with Rat-face might lead us down the right alley.”

Woe slumps back into his chair, scratching his chin in thought while observing the magical effects being tested against Yarg’s code.

 

[KenHood]

Palindrome stops fussing with the Screamer for a moment.

He nods. "I agree about the goblin. How about we tortu...I mean, talk to him after we visit the Glasstons? They stay up pretty late in Bacarte, and we can teleport via the tavern."

 

[nerdytenor]

Tander paces the room, a neutral expression on his face as usual. Given his lack of useful commentary (or, indeed, any commentary at all), one could be forgiven for thinking he is just getting a spot of exercise.

[sblock=OOC]
I got nothing. But I haven't had much time to think about it, either...
[/sblock]

 

[nerdytenor]

"I'm not known for my intellect," Tander says, without a trace of irony or self-deprecation. "Palindrome, if you can't figure out the magical trigger, I fear none of us can. Perhaps it is not something that can be figured out."

"Perhaps our task, instead, should be to find someone who knows the trigger."

"I agree about the goblin. How about we tortu...I mean, talk to him after we visit the Glasstons? They stay up pretty late in Bacarte, and we can teleport via the tavern."

"I am in agreement - this goblin and the Glasstons are two leads that seems clear even to me"