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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Zad" data-source="post: 3443858" data-attributes="member: 90">Demonskar Legacy – Chapter 2Demonskar Legacy – Chapter 2OOC Notes:Exp is 815 for 7th level characters, 630 for 8th level. As I sit down to write today, I have no idea how this is going to turn out. My laptop took a dirt nap before the game and I was forced to resort to an antiquated approach of taking notes >on paper<. Pelor help us all.This Week’s Adventure:We could see the elementals were down near the lake. “Grab one of those wands of controlling water and let’s get moving!” Elizabeth said.Jenya produced one of the wands from a desk drawer and declared “I’m coming with you.” She hadn’t moved a step before Brother Duos stood in her path.  “No you are not. As proctor, it is my duty to stop you in this. We cannot afford to lose another high priest.”Jenya drew in a breath to argue, but stopped, realizing Duos was right. “Very well. We will prepare to receive the wounded here.”The Blue Tyger Legion ran to the fire as fast as the sloping and winding streets of Cauldron would permit. They finally rounded another corner to see the fire in its full fury.Two massive elementals – pyres of living fire – were wantonly destroying an inn in this downscale section of town. The inn was the home to most of the half-orc mercenaries, and the half-orcs were furiously working a bucket brigade trying to slow the fire, but avoiding direct confrontation with the elementals.Several yards away, a man – the innkeeper no doubt – was screaming at a half-orc who was barking orders. “Do SOMETHING! Attack them!”The half-orc was a seasoned veteran and was keeping his cool. “What do you want us to do? Weapons are useless!” and to prove his point he held up the melted slag of a sword.Supported with protective magic from Kris, Astrid charged in with Elizabeth just behind her. The half-orcs may not have been able to fight the elementals, but the girls’ enchanted weapons fared better, tearing out gooey chunks of fire from the first elemental and it wasn’t long before it lost cohesion and fell apart into mindless fire. The creature had battered Astrid but she was only bashed, not burned thanks to Kris’ spell.The second elemental either didn’t realize that someone had arrived that could hurt them, or didn’t care, and continued to set fire to anything within its not inconsiderable reach. Through the commotion, Maris made out the sound of a child screaming for help inside, and Bellsin ran inside the burning inn to find him.Maris then turned on the second elemental. She had started by using a haste spell on the Blue Tygers and followed that by slowing the elemental. Astrid, Elizabeth and Grinder, now enchanted for the occasion, tore at the elemental. As the second elemental was besieged, Bellsin found the scullery boy trapped by debris in the kitchen and with some effort managed to free him.The second elemental was destroyed just as Bellsin was emerging with the hurt boy. Maris and Glyph were looking at the “remains” of the elementals. “Why is all this still here?” Maris asked. “Normally when an elemental is summoned, they simply return to their home plane when they’re destroyed. But this one was really destroyed – it’s bits are still here. The only way that could happen…”“… is if someone used a very powerful spell to open a gate,” Glyph finished her sentence. “This is not good.”The half-orcs were having a hard time gaining on the fire, which had taken a firm hold on the ramshackle building. Kris called forth the crater lake using the power of the wand and began putting out the larger gouts of flame. As he did, cold sleet started falling from above, which helped put out the smaller flames and keep the fire from spreading further.The source of the sleet was a new arrival – a giant of a man with blue hair that could only be the so-called “Blue Duke”, the Captain in charge of the half-orc mercenaries. The half-orc sergeant immediately came over and gave a thorough report to him. Just after the Blue Duke arrived, a heavy set man in robes came puffing up and moved towards the wounded. Astrid recognized Kristoff – the High Priest of the temple of Pelor. Despite the commotion there were still on-lookers who were yelling insults at the half-orcs, telling them they weren’t welcome. This was too much for Kristoff.“You people should be ashamed. People have been hurt and killed here, and some of them the very people who have tried to protect you and yours. You should be helping them not yelling insults. Go home in shame and pray to Pelor for wisdom if you can think of nothing else to do but take joy in the pain of your neighbor.”Kristoff’s words were effective, and the mocking stopped immediately. Maris spoke with the Blue Duke briefly who was both thankful and polite, but once the situation was under control he hurried off to consult with the Mayor.Bellsin make sure the boy he rescued was healed and well. The boy had seen a man go into the basement and use a scroll before the attack began. The boy was fearful though and the combination of his statements and his hesitation strongly suggested that the Last Laugh was involved in the attack.It was a full enough night, and the situation was under control, so the Blue Tygers headed home, exhausted. “Why do these things always happen when we’re around?” Astrid asked with a sigh.“I don’t know,” I remarked, “but we need to start finding trouble that actually pays something.” In the morning, the town criers were out early. Their message had changed slightly as well. They repeated the amnesty for those involved in the riot, and declared that Maavu had been sentenced to death in absentia for his role. The criers also said that while Sir Alek had indeed presented a challenge, that divination magic revealed he was possessed by demons and so the challenge was not valid. They also said that due to the events of the prior night, the half-orcs would be relocating immediately to a camp outside the city. “Interesting,” Kris commented.We split up to attend to various tasks. Elizabeth went to try to find Lord Vhalantruu. She was concerned about the disappearance of Lady Celeste and wanted to see what information he had in case we had the opportunity to follow up on it. She went to the Vhalantruu manor, but the Lord was not at home. Servants indicated he was off visiting various temples and that he might be found at the Temple of Wee Jas but he had left  the manor some time ago. Elizabeth went to the temple where she was greeted (if you want to call it that) by a priest named Vel. When she inquired as to Lord Vhalantruu, the priest declined to confirm or deny his presence and seemed to be making a point of being as rude as possible. He seemed to know who Elizabeth was, and in so knowing was determined to be an ass despite the kind words of his High Priestess at the Demonskar ball. Elizabeth was petulant and decided to linger at the temple for a time hoping either to encounter Lord Vhalantruu or simply irritate Vel. While she had no luck at the former, she was stunningly successful at the latter, and after being fully satisfied that his unkindness had been returned, she set out. She spent some hours criss-crossing Cauldron but had no luck.The rest of us went to see Jenya. The temple was busy seeing to the injuries from the attack and fire, and morning services had been cancelled. Jenya saw us in her study. “I am very worried about Alek. The Star of Justice’s cryptic answer causes me great concern. I would be grateful if you could look into his whereabouts. I wish I could offer you a reward for this but the coffers are sorely drained as it is…”Astrid cut her off with a wave. “There’s no need. We will look into it. He is tied in with these events somehow and we would do well to find him.”“He had been adventuring near Redgorge but I do not know where. As I had said, he was seeking to re-establish the family fortune, and adventured to find treasures to further that goal. I believe most of the things he recovered he sold to Tygot, so you might inquire there.”Once outside, I called to Elizabeth. Meet us near Tygot’s so we can plan our next move.Just as well, she replied. I’m getting nowhere trying to chase Vhalantruu.“If Alek was adventuring near Redgorge, that could be just the excuse we need to go there,” mused Kris. “And we could make contact with Maavu without causing a fuss.”“Very true,” Bellsin said. “Let’s see what Tygot has to say, but plan to leave in the morning.”“I want to go see if I can learn anything from the half-orcs,” Astrid said. “I’ll meet up with you later. You don’t need me to talk to Tygot anyway.”Maris also had something bothering her. “I want to go to the Academy and see what I can learn about the Grey Guild. The hint that Lady Celeste was in contact with them is intriguing. I was warned away from inquiring about them when I asked my instructors so I need to do some discrete research.”So we split up and I went with the group visiting Tygot.After the usual pleasantries were exchanged, Elizabeth got to the point.“Tygot, we have to ask you something that you probably won’t want to answer. Jenya is very worried about Sir Alek and where he’s disappeared to. She said he had sold some items to you, and we wanted to know what they were in case they gave us some clue to his whereabouts. I’m sure you usually do not discuss business with other clients but in this case we were hoping…”He held up a hand. “Nonsense. I respect Sir Alek and if I can help you find him, I am happy to do so.” Tygot went over to a large ledger and began combing through pages of shorthand only he could decipher. “Hm,” he said after a time. “I have three items which he brought in. The first is a painting – Knight in Brown – there it is behind you on the wall. The second is a baboon mask,” and noting what was written, he pulled a case from one of the many drawers on the wall and took out a mask. It was unusual but not really that helpful.“And then… hegemonic plate. Oh yes, I recall now,” and he fetched it from the back. He brought out a large plate of pure silver. It portrayed images on the front of a six-armed creature (a spellweaver, noted Glyph) overseeing the construction of something – a temple or other structure if you ask me. The final panel showed the spellweaver holding an object, and the caption was loosely translated as “starry mirror”. It also included a sequence of numbers – 3 – 4 – 5 – 1 – 2 – 3. The back was far more interesting. It had a map that had been scratched out with a sharp object. It was crude but had more than enough detail to find the “end”, provided you knew where to start. The map seemed to start near an unnamed river at a headless statue, but there was no other reference point.We offered to buy the plate from Tygot but he said we were welcome to take it as long as we needed it. Later at the Morkloth, we examined it again.Maris came from Redgorge. “There is a headless demon statue by the river. I’m not sure exactly where it is – it’s not really of any significance as a landmark. But someone probably knows where to find it.”“Then we would know where to begin. I’m guessing this map indicates where Alek was adventuring so if we can find the start maybe we can find him, or at least where he was. More importantly, we can also take care of other business in Redgorge.” Astrid didn’t mention Maavu by name. She lowered her voice before continuing. “This offers us the perfect pretext for going to Redgorge. While there we can hear what ‘he’ has to say. But say nothing of this. I think we’re all equally suspicious of everything right now, and I for one don’t know who to trust. So let’s not say more than we have to.”In the morning we set out for Redgorge. It was an uneventful trip and by mid-afternoon the basalt fortifications (“Raised by the Spellmason himself” Maris noted) rose into view. The town itself had many empty buildings on the outskirts revealing it had never quite been fully repopulated since the Demonskar war. The town itself was mostly a hub for mining and farming activities in the area and seemed sedate when compared to Cauldron.We immediately headed for Maris’ family estate. If anyone cared enough to be watching the comings and goings of the Blue Tyger Legion, it would have seemed odd had we not stayed with Maris’ family, and Elizabeth was nervous about drawing any attention to the Redhead Miner inn. Maris’ mother was at home and was gracious and welcoming, although with a bit much of the noble attitude. Coming from this background, I was surprised Maris was as class-indifferent as she was.The group had a quiet discussion and agreed that sending the entire company to meet with Maavu would be too risky. Elizabeth, Astrid and I would go to make contact, using some misdirection to prevent being too easily followed, though the details were not discussed. It was assumed that Astrid would use her magical hair comb to discreetly follow Elizabeth.  The truth was that Elizabeth had the comb and would use it to evade notice if needed while Astrid used her natural talents.  But Elizabeth would arrive at the inn as herself first otherwise she might be ignored.The town was small enough that a stranger was immediately noticed. Astrid’s skills were formidable but it didn’t cover the fact that she was a new face. But she was easily ignored in favor of the plate-armored woman, and it helped keep Astrid from over-much scrutiny. The innkeeper was cordial enough, and there was a human bard entertaining the customers, knee-high boots sticking out from a brown robe.After finishing a bawdy song that caused no reaction in Elizabeth, he seemed disappointed. “Well then my dear a riddle for you! What can you bind with water sand and lime?”“It could only be mortar,” Elizabeth said, offering the pre-arranged answer. “Indeed it could!” the bard cried, and went on to a new song. But after that song, he sat down at the table, leaning in close acting as if he was making an indecent offer. “The Foreman looks forward to meeting you, Ms. Cartwright. As do others. There will be a meeting later and we will take you downstairs along with any others you have brought.”“Excellent,” she said, and went to throw the remains of her drink at him in mock defiance. The bard quickly yielded and left the table.As promised, later on a subtle signal was given and Elizabeth went into the back, Astrid in her disguise following after. The innkeeper showed them into a cellar where several stools were collected around a table. The walls were decorated with elaborate frescoes (elaborate for a cellar at any rate) depicting the history of Cauldron. It showed Sundabar Spellmason arriving, a scene of an angel handing him a staff, a scene of him raising the fortifications around Redgorge, of the battle of Redgorge, and finally of Sundabar turning into a mountain. A man entered with graying hair and a goatee wearing a leather apron, accompanied by another man. Maavu entered soon after and was visibly glad to see the girls. The bard also arrived with one or two others. “Where is Alek?” the graying man asked Maavu.“He’s disappeared,” Maavu said. “It can’t be good. I don’t know if Skellerang got to him or something else did.”The Foreman thought on this in silence for a moment, then turned to the girls. “I am the Foreman, and we are the Chisel. We are an organization dedicated to protecting the region especially the artisans and craftsmen. We have few select members, mostly Cauldronites. We have seen chaos at work in the government. Divinations tell us a disaster is coming. And Maavu, you may have done more harm than good with your stunt. It could be just the excuse Skellerang needs to come hunt us down.”“It wasn’t supposed to be violent,” lamented Maavu. “Not at all.”The bard’s voice cut in, filled with a harsh edge. “Oh grow up Maavu. They set you up. The Last Laugh sent assassins into the crowd. How do you think the guards fell so quickly? They set you up and you played right into their hands.”The bard was right of course – the riot was a powderkeg but someone took great pains to make sure the fuse lit.“And what if they send the half-orcs to Redgorge?” asked the Foreman. “What if they find the Hall of Carvings?”“There is only a remote chance of that,” said one man.“But if they do it would be disasterous! The miners may fight to protect it and then what would happen?”“Gentlemen, if I may?” interjected Elizabeth. “Have you had recent word from Cauldron?”There was plenty said, but no one answered the question, which Elizabeth took as a negative. “Then let me bring this word. Maavu has been sentenced to death.” Maavu grew pale at that news. “The challenge has been acknowledged but they claim that Alek is possessed by demons and therefore the challenge is not valid. And before we left, elementals were sent by someone very powerful to burn down the inn where the half-orcs were billeted.”There was a great deal of discussion at all this, but nothing that was directly useful. Elizabeth again interrupted. “So none of you know what might have become of Sir Alek, or Lady Celeste?”There was silence.“Very well. We have a lead of our own to pursue and we will do so. I am not sure what else can be done for now.” The Chisel was unhappy but had no solid plan on how to proceed. They did have knowledge of the headless demon statue, and to find it one simply floats down-river until you see it on the banks. The Foreman offered boats that the Blue Tygers could use in their mission, and the meeting broke up. On their way back to the estate, Astrid asked “Tell me again which ones were the bad guys and which were the good guys?”Elizabeth laughed. “I have no idea.”“More importantly,” I said “which one is paying our fee?”</blockquote>

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