Post by sythus on May 12, 2015 21:46:37 GMT -7
XP reward: 950
GP reward: 675
Players:
Theros (Gryphyx)
Oscar (Hobbad)
Kitiara (Crimsoncadaver)
Kasidra (SecretJuice)
Faust (Aiden)
Solerus (Solerus)
Themos (Sythus-GM)
“We’re investigating, yes.. in fact, that is why I’m here.” Hodd explained. There were two others from the warehouse fiasco here. Trevor, and Red, they called themselves. They seemed competent enough. “We’ve done some digging, and found out the owner of that grain warehouse.. A Mr. Leofreck Humes, residing on the outskirts of the farm district. We need info on this man, and would appreciate if you escort him back for questioning. If he does seem in on the ‘group’” Hodd carefully used the word group, instead of cult, as he had been ordered.”.. there may be a need for deadly force, but only if you must.”
The group mulled over the offer, and explained their shortage of companions, which was quickly remedied by the three strangers at the bar. This is sorting itself out nicely, Hodd thought, I’ll be back at the barracks in time for lunch!
It watched them all, it knew the three, Teros, Kitiara, and Oscar. They had served well once, but could pose a problem. As for Faust, Solerus, and Kasidra, only time would tell. It was patient.
Selias was a simple man. He worked hard, and took a lot of joy in that. The temple, which was as much a birthing center, was pretty quiet today. It gave him a chance to scrub the floor, without having to chase anyone from leaving dirt prints on the wet spots. The door to the temple opened, and a bit startled at the adventurer entering, he greeted the man cheerfully.
“Some women were brought here” the man growled, and Selias immediately knew of whom he spoke. The three unique cases, who were carrying with some kind of fertility spell on them. It was all a bit beyond the understanding of a mere acolyte, but Selias assured the man, “Ahh, yes, they are in good hands with Brother Maynard.” Maynard had delivered the majority of this neighborhood in his thirty years at the temple, and if anyone could help the women, it would be him.
“Where are the women?” the man asked, and Selias froze, they had warned him that people might inquire about their location. Maybe even some dangerous people. He was quick to explain that he did not know, but it was in fact Brother Maynard, and the guard who could grant the man audience. The guard would surely sort out any malicious sorts. He held his mop tightly though, if this man did have ill intent, maybe a quick splash to the face would give him time to run for help. The man explained that he had been a part of the adventuring party who had saved the women. Selias was happy to see the man take interest, and wished that he could tell the man where to go, but the guards had insisted that only a select few were privy to that information. It was after all, in the women’s best interest.
The man muttered, and stepped out of temple. Selias praised the Lady, and went back to scrubbing floors. He closed his eyes for a second as the doors opened again, when he looked, he was pleased to see a young couple. The young man, seemed to be a cleric of another faith, and a red haired woman. The man started off with “I’m..” and Selias cheerfully said, “Going to be a father!” as he so often did, and was taken back by the woman’s laugh. The man paused a moment, and said, “No, I’m actually here about the women that were recently brought in”
Selias explained the situation again, and stated that it would be several days to get a reply back from Brother Maynard. The man, and woman resigned to leaving. A curious Selias crept to the front window and saw them talking with the man who had entered earlier. He should probably pass this tidbit along, in case these people were up to no good.
It saw them enter the temple, and strained to hear the words within to no avail. This was a paltry place, but it was weakened none the less. Soon it would see inside, see the women, maybe even tear this wretched little shrine asunder. It raged but for a moment, knowing the futility of such expenditures.
The party arrived at the dilapidated farm to find a sea of waste high grass. with a single stone path branching to a house on the right, and a barn and stables further ahead. All but the tiniest flakes of paint had fallen from the dry rotted boards that formed the small hovel. The broken shutters had been nailed back on, along with various other boards to seal off the house. As the group turned to approach the house, the door burst opened and a wild-eyed man leaned out taking aim with a crossbow. Unkempt tufts of greasy brown hair spilled from the sides of his otherwise balding head, and his meager clothing filthy and unwashed. His voice was sharp, and reedy, with a slight drawl as he said “Go on, git! y’all aint got no biz-ness round here.” The party inquired about Leofreck Humes, and the man replied, “He aint round dees parts no more.” going on to explain his boss had been taken to the hospital more than 8 or 9 years ago. As the party approached, he cautioned them to remain still. With one more step, the man fired off a warning shot wildly past the adventurers and slammed the door.
As he slammed the door, the fluttering of wings filled the air, and a flock of chickens descended from the roof of the shack. These were no ordinary chickens, but rather zombified fowl. The party seemed torn between laughter, and horror as the flock closed in. The befouled fowl proved fairly incompetent in battle, but succeed in drawing the party’s attention as the traditional humanoid zombies rose from the tall grasses of the farm. They party fought hard, as wave after wave of zombies shambled forward, hungry for brains. With the humanoid zombies falling fast, the party heard horrific groans from the south. They quickly cut down the remaining zombie women, and faced off with a pair of wretched, undead bovines. The party triumphed, and soon found themselves kicking in the door of the farming hovel.
The house was strangely absent the wild eyed old man, and the party turned the place over. It wasn’t long before they found him cowering beneath a bed, as he fired a shot from his crossbow. Kitiara lept on top of the brittle old bed, which held firm, but with a shift in weight, she succeeded in toppling the frame onto the man. He screamed and quickly gave up to questioning.
He was not forthcoming with information, but the party soon discovered he had a strange white version of the black oak tattoo that some of them had seen within the warehouse, and the others had been told about. A bit more discovery showed that his other hand held the very same black tattoo previously described. They were quick to sever the hand holding the black tattoo, in fear that ‘the tree would grow’ and send the foul necromantic poisons into his bloodstream. The man screamed in horror, and the interrogation continued, until by luck they caught Olskanter glance out of the window towards the old well. Investigation soon showed that the capped off well had been mortared shut, and a rope lead down into the darkness.
They lowered themselves into a chamber, with a strange symbol upon the ground. Standing within one of the six outter circular patterns connected by swirling lines, they surveyed a diamond pattern within, encasing a circular bit of white marble, and black marble stonework depicting two trees. Searching for magical auras, they discovered that all three patterns held abjuration magics. The outer pattern had a minor aura, the diamond was moderate, and the circle at the very center had a strong aura. As they crept around for different vantage points, it was soon revealed that standing within more than one of the outer circles caused the swirling stonework pattern between them to connect with a strange bluish glow. With a member of the party in each circle, the pattern lit fully, and the diamond began to slowly glow. Once the glow covered that stonework, the single image of a sword appeared beneath both trees. The image of a virtuous knight, battling a muscular, demon several times the man’s size played out an eerily silent scene. The battle raged on, with the demon toying with the man much like a cat, with a mouse. It’s mouth moved, as it spoke wordlessly at the kneeling figure, and finally came in for the killing stroke, as the knight stood and drove his blade into the demon’s chest causing a brilliant flash of light.
When the party members cleared their eyes, they found another image within the chamber. A large human, with skulls set upon his pauldrons. His image strode forth, and drew the illusory blade from the ground. A black-toothed grin spread across his face, as he strode out of the circle, his image winking out of view.
A startled party questioned their captive, the man they had subdued within the house. He eventually explained that he was simply a caretaker, the former squire of Leofreck Humes, the first, a knight who had lived over a hundred years ago. He explained that ‘they’ had made his master a greatsword, the sword of Bylas, and that when it tasted the blood of the demon, would open a portal into a prison where the beast could not escape. No one had explained to the knight, that he too, would be imprisoned. The squire, Olskanter returned the blade, and was charged with watching over it. He guarded the blade for years, growing a bit older, and eventually the foul knight, Mordreck came from the northeast. Olskanter tried to drive him back, but was no match, and was slain fairly easily. Olskanter, however, did not stay dead for long. He rose again a day later, a shadow of his former self, much frailer, but alive nonetheless. He followed Mordreck as best he could, eventually losing the trail near the mountains. He continued to explain, that the man they came to search for, Leofreck Humes, the third, had simply gone mad, and was taken away to a local asylum. The party returned to Rook to revealing their findings to Lt. Hodd, and collect their precious coin.
It watched them at the farmhouse. These adventurers, they would need to be dealt with.
GP reward: 675
Players:
Theros (Gryphyx)
Oscar (Hobbad)
Kitiara (Crimsoncadaver)
Kasidra (SecretJuice)
Faust (Aiden)
Solerus (Solerus)
Themos (Sythus-GM)
"The Investigation"
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Hodd opened the door to the Drippy Spigot, and was almost shocked to see three of the adventurer’s from the warehouse fiasco. He’d been looking high, and mostly low, throughout the slums for them. His whole morning had been wasted, and his feet were sore from the search. He hesitated, the smug spearman was here. He hated when adventurers insulted him for what was a fairly unsolvable societal problem. There were only so many guards, and the decent folk of the city proper deserved their protection a bit more. The people of the slums could hardly be forced to help themselves. He’d been standing at the table only a moment, and the spearman, ahh yes, Teros was his name, had already offered insult.“We’re investigating, yes.. in fact, that is why I’m here.” Hodd explained. There were two others from the warehouse fiasco here. Trevor, and Red, they called themselves. They seemed competent enough. “We’ve done some digging, and found out the owner of that grain warehouse.. A Mr. Leofreck Humes, residing on the outskirts of the farm district. We need info on this man, and would appreciate if you escort him back for questioning. If he does seem in on the ‘group’” Hodd carefully used the word group, instead of cult, as he had been ordered.”.. there may be a need for deadly force, but only if you must.”
The group mulled over the offer, and explained their shortage of companions, which was quickly remedied by the three strangers at the bar. This is sorting itself out nicely, Hodd thought, I’ll be back at the barracks in time for lunch!
It watched them all, it knew the three, Teros, Kitiara, and Oscar. They had served well once, but could pose a problem. As for Faust, Solerus, and Kasidra, only time would tell. It was patient.
*********************************************************************
Selias was a simple man. He worked hard, and took a lot of joy in that. The temple, which was as much a birthing center, was pretty quiet today. It gave him a chance to scrub the floor, without having to chase anyone from leaving dirt prints on the wet spots. The door to the temple opened, and a bit startled at the adventurer entering, he greeted the man cheerfully.
“Some women were brought here” the man growled, and Selias immediately knew of whom he spoke. The three unique cases, who were carrying with some kind of fertility spell on them. It was all a bit beyond the understanding of a mere acolyte, but Selias assured the man, “Ahh, yes, they are in good hands with Brother Maynard.” Maynard had delivered the majority of this neighborhood in his thirty years at the temple, and if anyone could help the women, it would be him.
“Where are the women?” the man asked, and Selias froze, they had warned him that people might inquire about their location. Maybe even some dangerous people. He was quick to explain that he did not know, but it was in fact Brother Maynard, and the guard who could grant the man audience. The guard would surely sort out any malicious sorts. He held his mop tightly though, if this man did have ill intent, maybe a quick splash to the face would give him time to run for help. The man explained that he had been a part of the adventuring party who had saved the women. Selias was happy to see the man take interest, and wished that he could tell the man where to go, but the guards had insisted that only a select few were privy to that information. It was after all, in the women’s best interest.
The man muttered, and stepped out of temple. Selias praised the Lady, and went back to scrubbing floors. He closed his eyes for a second as the doors opened again, when he looked, he was pleased to see a young couple. The young man, seemed to be a cleric of another faith, and a red haired woman. The man started off with “I’m..” and Selias cheerfully said, “Going to be a father!” as he so often did, and was taken back by the woman’s laugh. The man paused a moment, and said, “No, I’m actually here about the women that were recently brought in”
Selias explained the situation again, and stated that it would be several days to get a reply back from Brother Maynard. The man, and woman resigned to leaving. A curious Selias crept to the front window and saw them talking with the man who had entered earlier. He should probably pass this tidbit along, in case these people were up to no good.
It saw them enter the temple, and strained to hear the words within to no avail. This was a paltry place, but it was weakened none the less. Soon it would see inside, see the women, maybe even tear this wretched little shrine asunder. It raged but for a moment, knowing the futility of such expenditures.
*********************************************************************
The party arrived at the dilapidated farm to find a sea of waste high grass. with a single stone path branching to a house on the right, and a barn and stables further ahead. All but the tiniest flakes of paint had fallen from the dry rotted boards that formed the small hovel. The broken shutters had been nailed back on, along with various other boards to seal off the house. As the group turned to approach the house, the door burst opened and a wild-eyed man leaned out taking aim with a crossbow. Unkempt tufts of greasy brown hair spilled from the sides of his otherwise balding head, and his meager clothing filthy and unwashed. His voice was sharp, and reedy, with a slight drawl as he said “Go on, git! y’all aint got no biz-ness round here.” The party inquired about Leofreck Humes, and the man replied, “He aint round dees parts no more.” going on to explain his boss had been taken to the hospital more than 8 or 9 years ago. As the party approached, he cautioned them to remain still. With one more step, the man fired off a warning shot wildly past the adventurers and slammed the door.
As he slammed the door, the fluttering of wings filled the air, and a flock of chickens descended from the roof of the shack. These were no ordinary chickens, but rather zombified fowl. The party seemed torn between laughter, and horror as the flock closed in. The befouled fowl proved fairly incompetent in battle, but succeed in drawing the party’s attention as the traditional humanoid zombies rose from the tall grasses of the farm. They party fought hard, as wave after wave of zombies shambled forward, hungry for brains. With the humanoid zombies falling fast, the party heard horrific groans from the south. They quickly cut down the remaining zombie women, and faced off with a pair of wretched, undead bovines. The party triumphed, and soon found themselves kicking in the door of the farming hovel.
The house was strangely absent the wild eyed old man, and the party turned the place over. It wasn’t long before they found him cowering beneath a bed, as he fired a shot from his crossbow. Kitiara lept on top of the brittle old bed, which held firm, but with a shift in weight, she succeeded in toppling the frame onto the man. He screamed and quickly gave up to questioning.
He was not forthcoming with information, but the party soon discovered he had a strange white version of the black oak tattoo that some of them had seen within the warehouse, and the others had been told about. A bit more discovery showed that his other hand held the very same black tattoo previously described. They were quick to sever the hand holding the black tattoo, in fear that ‘the tree would grow’ and send the foul necromantic poisons into his bloodstream. The man screamed in horror, and the interrogation continued, until by luck they caught Olskanter glance out of the window towards the old well. Investigation soon showed that the capped off well had been mortared shut, and a rope lead down into the darkness.
They lowered themselves into a chamber, with a strange symbol upon the ground. Standing within one of the six outter circular patterns connected by swirling lines, they surveyed a diamond pattern within, encasing a circular bit of white marble, and black marble stonework depicting two trees. Searching for magical auras, they discovered that all three patterns held abjuration magics. The outer pattern had a minor aura, the diamond was moderate, and the circle at the very center had a strong aura. As they crept around for different vantage points, it was soon revealed that standing within more than one of the outer circles caused the swirling stonework pattern between them to connect with a strange bluish glow. With a member of the party in each circle, the pattern lit fully, and the diamond began to slowly glow. Once the glow covered that stonework, the single image of a sword appeared beneath both trees. The image of a virtuous knight, battling a muscular, demon several times the man’s size played out an eerily silent scene. The battle raged on, with the demon toying with the man much like a cat, with a mouse. It’s mouth moved, as it spoke wordlessly at the kneeling figure, and finally came in for the killing stroke, as the knight stood and drove his blade into the demon’s chest causing a brilliant flash of light.
When the party members cleared their eyes, they found another image within the chamber. A large human, with skulls set upon his pauldrons. His image strode forth, and drew the illusory blade from the ground. A black-toothed grin spread across his face, as he strode out of the circle, his image winking out of view.
A startled party questioned their captive, the man they had subdued within the house. He eventually explained that he was simply a caretaker, the former squire of Leofreck Humes, the first, a knight who had lived over a hundred years ago. He explained that ‘they’ had made his master a greatsword, the sword of Bylas, and that when it tasted the blood of the demon, would open a portal into a prison where the beast could not escape. No one had explained to the knight, that he too, would be imprisoned. The squire, Olskanter returned the blade, and was charged with watching over it. He guarded the blade for years, growing a bit older, and eventually the foul knight, Mordreck came from the northeast. Olskanter tried to drive him back, but was no match, and was slain fairly easily. Olskanter, however, did not stay dead for long. He rose again a day later, a shadow of his former self, much frailer, but alive nonetheless. He followed Mordreck as best he could, eventually losing the trail near the mountains. He continued to explain, that the man they came to search for, Leofreck Humes, the third, had simply gone mad, and was taken away to a local asylum. The party returned to Rook to revealing their findings to Lt. Hodd, and collect their precious coin.
It watched them at the farmhouse. These adventurers, they would need to be dealt with.
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