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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1269591" data-attributes="member: 15470">Issue #2: The Tower. Episode 3After Verenia leaves, we turn our minds to finishing the substantial and tasty lunch supplied by Fox. Paks asks him to look after the cart and horses, and Miriel asks to leave her gold with him for safekeeping. As we finish lunch, a tall, thin young man, perhaps sixteen years old with short blonde hair enters the inn. He looks around the common room, spots us, and approaches our table.“I am the messenger of Grilliam,” he announces, “Head priest of Hedrada, who requests that you come to visit him at our earliest convenience.”“Of course,” Stone says, rising to his feet as the messenger turns to leave. Miriel gets up immediately, and they are followed quickly by the others.As we walk through Southport, which turns out to be quite large, Chuck asks Fergus, “Why did you refuse healing?”“I did nothing for her,” Fergus answers, “So I take nothing from her.” We pass through the large market square, past which the town slopes down to a large wharf. On the west side of the market square is a large white stone building, in a classical style, with four square columns, topped by a giant set of scales. This is the shrine of Hedrada, an imposing building which is as much fortress as temple. As we enter the shrine, one of Hedrada’s priests greets us. “Welcome, travelers!” he says to us with a cheery smile. “I am the Greeter of Hedrada, in the temple of Hedrada, god of Justice! Let us pray to the great Hedrada for guidance!” He bows his head in prayer, and Stone joins him. The rest of us also bow our heads in a semblance of prayer, though only Miriel and Paks can be seen moving their lips.After praying, the Greeter leads us through the temple to another priest. As we pass, we see that, as it is Hedraday, there is a trial taking place. We see Grilliam, the head priest, presiding over the trial. He is apparently chief justice as well as head priest. The Greeter of Hedrada leaves us with another priest, who begins telling us all about the temple, in more detail than many of us might ever have wanted. Only Stone seems interested.Chuck whispers to Paks, “Who is this guy, the Tour Guide of Hedrada?” eliciting a soft chuckle from the taciturn warrior.  The priest shows us the credos and frescos on the four walls of the temple. 1. Obey the laws of the land: On the first wall, there are frescoes of Hedrada giving out the laws. 2. Give to each person what they have earned, for good or ill: The second wall shows frescoes of Hedrada handing out rewards and punishments, which Chuck studies with great interest. 3. Share the blessing of learning: The frescoes on the third wall depict Hedrada in his aspect as a teacher. 4. Respect the bonds of ownership: The final wall has frescoes of Hedrada blessing commerce, cities, and architecture.As the Tour Guide of Hedrada shows us around, we learn that there are many, many, many, many rules of worship for Hedrada. Soon the trial is over, with the accused being sentenced to thirty days in jail for stealing. We are taken to a small office off to the side of the main hall to wait for Grilliam.Grilliam, Head Priest of Hedrada meets us in his office. Seeing him up close, we realize that what looked like a mallet that he was using while holding court was actually a giant war hammer, much bigger than we had previously noticed. Grilliam himself is a very large man, clearly strong enough to wield that hammer at need. We guess that he is about sixty-five years of age, bald, with a salt-and-pepper beard. We recall from Fox’s stories that, as a younger man, Grilliam traveled the area with Fox, dispensing justice personally on many adventures. “Please, sit down,” he says, gesturing at some chairs. “I have sources,” he tells us, “Which have told me of your adventures. It sounds like there are bandits, smugglers, or worse in the tower, which is very strange. I don’t know who they might be, but I’m sure they’re up to no good. Furthermore,” he adds, uplifting one finger before him as though giving a lecture, “Both banditry and smuggling are most definitely illegal in Vesh, so they are also criminals. Speaking as a town elder, I would ask you to go back and investigate the tower. The town cannot spare any members of the garrison, which must stay to protect the town.” Paks glances at Fergus, and asks Grilliam, “Should we bring the bandits back for justice?”Grilliam responds, “Of course. Wrongdoers should be brought to justice, but if they won’t come, you should do whatever you must to stop them. I can deputize you, and pay you as irregulars of the town. I’ll also offer two potions of healing as a bonus, if you accept the commission.”Fergus looks at him, and asks, “Exactly how much will we be paid?”Grilliam answers, “I must confirm it with the other elders, but that you could receive about two hundred pieces of gold, for your entire group. I’ll require a full report. Of course, any loot is yours, as long as it does not consist of illegal goods.”“What about the stone door?” Stone asks.Grilliam looks confused. “What door?” “The stone door,” the half-orc explains, unhelpfully.“I don’t understand the question,” Grilliam tries.“Should we open it?”Grilliam looks at the rest of us for help.Miriel steps in. “There was a stone door, underneath the tower, blocked with boulders. The smugglers thought there was some sort of beast behind it.”When Grilliam finally understands, he looks at Stone again. “All I can tell you is that I know, from previous visits, that there is a crypt underneath the tower.” Stone nods.Chuck asks the next question. “Can we have some manacles to take with us?”Grilliam rings a bell, and an acolyte steps into the room. “Fetch two sets of manacles,” he tells the acolyte.Paks whispers, sotto voce to Chuck, “That must be the Gofer of Hedrada.” She blushes a bright pink when Grilliam looks at her, as though expecting a question.After an embarassing silence, Grilliam stands up and says, “Well, I’m a busy man, and should get back to work.”Miriel, Paks, and Stone stand up to leave. “Before we go,” Chuck says, “Can you tell us about the crime level in the town?”Grilliam looks at him quizzically, and says, “Crime in general has been about the same, but there has been an influx of drugs recently.” “What sorts of drugs,” asks Goldpetal. “Plants? Powders? Potions?”Grilliam looks surprised, and asks, “You've never heard of ‘blackwind’? It’s made from plants found in the Mourning Marsh.” The acolyte returns, carrying two solid sets of iron manacles. He offers them to Chuck, and the young man looks the over with eyes bright. “Thank you,” he says, nodding to both acolyte and priest. “These are very nice.”We are all standing to leave, and Stone and Goldpetal have actually made it out the door, when Fergus asks, “Where should we start investigating?”Grilliam looks like he is about to lose his temper. “The tower, of course!” he explodes impatiently.Miriel thanks him profusely for the help, while Paks takes Fergus firmly by the shoulders and guides him through the exit.</blockquote>

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