Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Westgate Campaign Chronicles - serial
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 7819891" data-attributes="member: 7015827"><p>At dusk, the party met in the common room. Brok-Tul showed the others the perfume bottle he had purchased for Jamal and gave another bottle to Rahnee as a gift. They then split up for the trip to the Rising Raven Annex, Aerikoth making his way directly and unerringly there, while Jokull trailed behind the remainder of the group, who followed an indirect route, to guard against potential watchers. The snowstorm outside continued, a fierce wind blowing against everyone's bodies. At the Annex, the party overheard some mercenaries complaining about the first snow of the season. Rahnee led the group upstairs to the waiting Jamal.</p><p></p><p>Jamal greeted the party, observing that she had not met Marik before and expressing surprise (mostly) and pleasure that Brok-Tul had brought her a bottle of "Divinity" perfume as a gift. Marik was introduced as a former "businessman" in the line of "protecting" Sembian nobles; Jamal commented that it must have been similar to Brok-Tul's former profession. She then got down to business, asking what the party had to tell her. Rahnee said curtly that Jamal had summoned them, prompting Jamal to turn to Aerikoth with a sly grin and ask if that was what he had told the rest. Aerikoth dismissed her statement and asked again what Jamal wished to know.</p><p></p><p>Jamal said she naturally wished to know a lot of things, beginning with why Gondeth had been instructed not to let her near their ancient magic tome. Aerikoth indicated that this was because it was <em>their </em>tome, a fact grumpily acknowledged by Jamal, who said she supposed she could hear about it once Gondeth had finished his research. Brok-Tul interrupted, impatient, and Aerikoth turned the topic of conversation to the murder of Senthur Signe. Jamal naturally had heard of the incident and the 1,000 gold reward offered by the Sembians. She commented that the murder did not seem to be the Night Masks' style. Aerikoth then raised the topic of Istvan Cormaeril, asking if Jamal knew of him. She did indeed, commenting that the "pervert" frequented the Purple Lady down the street from her house and had even propositioned her once. Aerikoth continued, informing her that Istvan had originally been at the Quivering Thumb the night of the murder and had been persuaded not to attend the arena matches. The wizard then asked Jamal what she thought of this.</p><p></p><p>Brok-Tul at this point broke in, saying that while getting the perfume, he had overheard Istvan being muscled by some toughs; Istvan was asked who really ruled his house, his answer being Tagreth. Jamal was surprised to hear this, stating that Tagreth was known as a recluse. She had heard nothing of any Cormaeril involvement in Senthur's murder and was skeptical that it had been done in order to intentionally pin it on Kargerth Cormaeril, which was Brok-Tul's idea. She thought that if this were the case, information would have come to light by now. She commented that the murder had been very professional and no evidence had been left, besides the bloody knife trail under Senthur's chin and the body lying between the Quivering Thumb and the Sembian office. However, she agreed that the murder must have been done to send a strong - perhaps final - message. Marik raised the probability of a connection between Senthur's murder and that of Captain Yar. He pointed out that both were professional jobs, with little evidence, and done in the same area.</p><p></p><p>Jamal promised to make inquiries among her sources about the Cormaerils, but continued to be skeptical that the murders were the work of the Masks. She mused that if the Cormaerils were involved, it might have something to do with the elections for Croamarkh due to take place in three months. She said that House Cormaeril, like most of the other noble Houses, wanted to put someone forward in the election. However, she couldn't see Tagreth being elected, or wanting the position of titular head of the Cormaerils, which she said he had declined when the family arrived in Westgate. Shifting gears, Jamal stated that she had continued her investigations into necromantic activity in Westgate, discovering that people were now whispering of vampires loose in the streets of the city. Brok-Tul thought it must be related to his information that intelligent undead had assumed control of the Night Masks, speculating that there was now a power struggle between them and a new group that had tried to fill the original vacuum left by the destruction of the old Night Mask organization.</p><p></p><p>Brok-Tul then asked Marik to reveal his arm, tattooed with the Fire Knife symbol. Jamal recognized it and commented that it was the same symbol on the card left with Captain Yar's bodies, then seemed at a loss for further words. Recovering, after some smirks from Brok-Tul and Marik, she said that a Fire Knife presence might help explain things, but that the Masks were strong - stronger still if Brok-Tul was right about their leadership - and she couldn't see why the Knives would be so blatant as to leave a calling card. Brok-Tul indicated he might be able to get proof about the Masks, if he could get into the Temple of Mask, but the password had changed and he ran the risk of being "converted" to undead if he came in off the street.<em> (The crux of the matter is once again revealed! The half-orc bumbles about on occasion, but his warnings could not be more clear as to the nature of the real threat to Westgate. --R)</em></p><p></p><p>Mentioning she only had the Annex meeting room for a short time more, Jamal arranged to meet with the party in four days' time at Gondeth's, at dusk, in order to hear the results of Gondeth's research. She also remembered she had forgotten to mention a curious fact about Baron Pahar, for whom some of them had worked previously. She stated that House Thalavar was collecting evil magic artifacts to be passed on to the Baron, and would pay if the party could bring any to them. After eyebrows were raised, Jamal explained that she didn't know why this was being done, the Thalavars not being willing to give a reason.</p><p></p><p>As the party prepared to depart, Jokull, who had remained silent for nearly the entire time, asked Jamal if he could speak with her alone. Surprised, Jamal agreed, and the others left, Marik warning Jamal to keep his secret. Downstairs, Aerikoth set himself close to the fire with a warm drink, seemingly unconcerned about the passage of time, as the first three departed the inn, followed several minutes later by Jokull.<em> (The Cormyrian warrior is at least somewhat discreet with his own agenda, but bold action appears to be his preference, rather than staying completely in the shadows. --C)</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Carlo-One, post: 7819891, member: 7015827"] At dusk, the party met in the common room. Brok-Tul showed the others the perfume bottle he had purchased for Jamal and gave another bottle to Rahnee as a gift. They then split up for the trip to the Rising Raven Annex, Aerikoth making his way directly and unerringly there, while Jokull trailed behind the remainder of the group, who followed an indirect route, to guard against potential watchers. The snowstorm outside continued, a fierce wind blowing against everyone's bodies. At the Annex, the party overheard some mercenaries complaining about the first snow of the season. Rahnee led the group upstairs to the waiting Jamal. Jamal greeted the party, observing that she had not met Marik before and expressing surprise (mostly) and pleasure that Brok-Tul had brought her a bottle of "Divinity" perfume as a gift. Marik was introduced as a former "businessman" in the line of "protecting" Sembian nobles; Jamal commented that it must have been similar to Brok-Tul's former profession. She then got down to business, asking what the party had to tell her. Rahnee said curtly that Jamal had summoned them, prompting Jamal to turn to Aerikoth with a sly grin and ask if that was what he had told the rest. Aerikoth dismissed her statement and asked again what Jamal wished to know. Jamal said she naturally wished to know a lot of things, beginning with why Gondeth had been instructed not to let her near their ancient magic tome. Aerikoth indicated that this was because it was [I]their [/I]tome, a fact grumpily acknowledged by Jamal, who said she supposed she could hear about it once Gondeth had finished his research. Brok-Tul interrupted, impatient, and Aerikoth turned the topic of conversation to the murder of Senthur Signe. Jamal naturally had heard of the incident and the 1,000 gold reward offered by the Sembians. She commented that the murder did not seem to be the Night Masks' style. Aerikoth then raised the topic of Istvan Cormaeril, asking if Jamal knew of him. She did indeed, commenting that the "pervert" frequented the Purple Lady down the street from her house and had even propositioned her once. Aerikoth continued, informing her that Istvan had originally been at the Quivering Thumb the night of the murder and had been persuaded not to attend the arena matches. The wizard then asked Jamal what she thought of this. Brok-Tul at this point broke in, saying that while getting the perfume, he had overheard Istvan being muscled by some toughs; Istvan was asked who really ruled his house, his answer being Tagreth. Jamal was surprised to hear this, stating that Tagreth was known as a recluse. She had heard nothing of any Cormaeril involvement in Senthur's murder and was skeptical that it had been done in order to intentionally pin it on Kargerth Cormaeril, which was Brok-Tul's idea. She thought that if this were the case, information would have come to light by now. She commented that the murder had been very professional and no evidence had been left, besides the bloody knife trail under Senthur's chin and the body lying between the Quivering Thumb and the Sembian office. However, she agreed that the murder must have been done to send a strong - perhaps final - message. Marik raised the probability of a connection between Senthur's murder and that of Captain Yar. He pointed out that both were professional jobs, with little evidence, and done in the same area. Jamal promised to make inquiries among her sources about the Cormaerils, but continued to be skeptical that the murders were the work of the Masks. She mused that if the Cormaerils were involved, it might have something to do with the elections for Croamarkh due to take place in three months. She said that House Cormaeril, like most of the other noble Houses, wanted to put someone forward in the election. However, she couldn't see Tagreth being elected, or wanting the position of titular head of the Cormaerils, which she said he had declined when the family arrived in Westgate. Shifting gears, Jamal stated that she had continued her investigations into necromantic activity in Westgate, discovering that people were now whispering of vampires loose in the streets of the city. Brok-Tul thought it must be related to his information that intelligent undead had assumed control of the Night Masks, speculating that there was now a power struggle between them and a new group that had tried to fill the original vacuum left by the destruction of the old Night Mask organization. Brok-Tul then asked Marik to reveal his arm, tattooed with the Fire Knife symbol. Jamal recognized it and commented that it was the same symbol on the card left with Captain Yar's bodies, then seemed at a loss for further words. Recovering, after some smirks from Brok-Tul and Marik, she said that a Fire Knife presence might help explain things, but that the Masks were strong - stronger still if Brok-Tul was right about their leadership - and she couldn't see why the Knives would be so blatant as to leave a calling card. Brok-Tul indicated he might be able to get proof about the Masks, if he could get into the Temple of Mask, but the password had changed and he ran the risk of being "converted" to undead if he came in off the street.[I] (The crux of the matter is once again revealed! The half-orc bumbles about on occasion, but his warnings could not be more clear as to the nature of the real threat to Westgate. --R)[/I] Mentioning she only had the Annex meeting room for a short time more, Jamal arranged to meet with the party in four days' time at Gondeth's, at dusk, in order to hear the results of Gondeth's research. She also remembered she had forgotten to mention a curious fact about Baron Pahar, for whom some of them had worked previously. She stated that House Thalavar was collecting evil magic artifacts to be passed on to the Baron, and would pay if the party could bring any to them. After eyebrows were raised, Jamal explained that she didn't know why this was being done, the Thalavars not being willing to give a reason. As the party prepared to depart, Jokull, who had remained silent for nearly the entire time, asked Jamal if he could speak with her alone. Surprised, Jamal agreed, and the others left, Marik warning Jamal to keep his secret. Downstairs, Aerikoth set himself close to the fire with a warm drink, seemingly unconcerned about the passage of time, as the first three departed the inn, followed several minutes later by Jokull.[I] (The Cormyrian warrior is at least somewhat discreet with his own agenda, but bold action appears to be his preference, rather than staying completely in the shadows. --C)[/I] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Westgate Campaign Chronicles - serial
Top