How are you planning to find them? Westcrown is a big city, and you last saw any of them at the meeting with Sclavo in the markets, before you discussed matters at the safehouse.. Are you planning to simply walk around and hopefully bump into them?
Of course, the warehouse they've been training at with Antuin Prous, the merciful gladiator, might be a good starting point :)
That was the last post I'll be able to make before leaving; I'm going to bed now and departing first thing tomorrow morning. I hope you have enough discussion material to manage without me until late on Sunday :)
Edit: In case anyone wonders about the timeline: Derek's dinner happens several hours prior to the group's meeting at the safehouse (which I earlier suggested Derek could be a part of, if he wished).
It's looking to be another weekend of traveling with the assumption of internet at the destination. Fortunately it seems that between Are traveling and Kubla Con, things will be a little slower over the next couple of days anyway.
Say, have anybody in the group mentioned that some of us believe that lady Drovenge could be involved up to her eyeballs? Just making sure here.
Derek wont mention it to Arael until he has been able to convince Appario of her culpability.
And besides, a small part of him does agree that the crone might not be the most reliable narrator.
"As for the shadowbeasts, I believe that they are somehow tied into the other piece of the artifact that Derek is happy to wave about, however, I don't think we know, yet, where that artifact is or where the person who holds it might be. I believe in the Gardeners to control the symptom with their patrols...which might give us the time to find the source and cause of them."
Appario finishes his wine and pauses, wondering what, if anything, he said was wrong or untrue.
Appario might not remember, but the Mother of Flies mentioned that she believed the person responsible for the shadowbeasts resided in the Council guildhall known as Walcourt.
***
My purposes for the Gardener dinner are now complete; apologies for letting it run so long.
It's now entirely up to you which of your myriad of clues, rumors, hearsay, etc, to investigate (remember also the rumors Appario and Yahirma uncovered).
Over the next few days, Yahirma or Derek are able to identify the remaining items from the Delvehaven loot:
flawed nacreous gray sphere ioun stone (protects the wearer from appearing older, but doesn't prevent the ability score reduction from aging; price 1,000 gp)
cracked vibrant purple prism ioun stone (stores one spell level, as a minor ring of spell storing; price 2,000 gp)
My apologies for not being more active this week; as the first week of the summer teaching schedule, the hours have been long and hectic.
I also need to compile what information we know about the current situation into an off-thread location, as I'm having a hard time recalling all of the investigative details. Hopefully once I do that I will have some productive posting to contribute.
Yahirma: That sounds like a very good idea; It would probably be useful for everyone, so I'll suggest posting the compilation in this thread, or a link to it, once you're done :)
My apologies again for my leave of absence. I have compiled some notes, and I will include them both here and in my character's profile. I am catching up on the action, and I will post in the main thread very soon.
Aimless Rumors
- Myrla’s daughter has been burned at some sort of accident at the mayor’s manor. It is said that tieflings live beneath said manor, and everyone knows that tieflings are troublemakers.
- Goblins are larcenous pests.
- The Ciucci family has a bit of dark history tied to Arten Ciucci taking advantage of his niece, robbing his brother, and murdering his sister-in-law to cover up the crimes.
- There’s a shapeshifter in town – possibly more than one.
Rumors upon which we can act
- The Mhartis family has fled its home and moved in with the Ciuccis. The former is offering a considerable reward to any willing to un-curse the estate. The curse carries with it some form of abduction effect.
- There’s a leather-clad assassin named Maglin on the prowl, possibly working for the Council. His knife-maker is known to us, and Maglin is said to live in noble estates part of the time (disguised as a commoner the rest).
- The Council of Thieves is a 400 year old organization formed by several of the families of Westcrown. It staged its own death 250 years ago, and it has been maneuvering quietly ever since. The Drovenge family (particularly influential) tied itself to infernal powers when Sidonai, the heir, sired two children – one by the archdevil Mammon. Believing that his wife had engaged in impropriety, Sidonai killed her and everyone involved in the birth. The children’s grandfather adopted them but kept them firmly under control. They have recently murdered him and taken over.
- Beyond gaining complete control over the region, the siblings seem intent on recruiting a pit fiend by the name of Liebdaga. This is hearsay, but it’s within the realm of reason.
Conclusions/Insights
- The more we can learn about the noble houses directly, the better a sense we may have of the Council’s plans. They manipulate the politics of Westcrown, and any House troubles of late may stem directly from the coup mentioned above.
- Exploring a noble house might even turn up some dirt on Maglin, who is said to frequent private homes for extended stays. We could also do with a bit of a public relations boost now that we’ve gone semi-public as protectors of the city.
- Maglin may be our best link to the Council’s plans. Knowing Yahirma and the rest of the Gardeners’ history, we might even recruit him somehow. That probably wouldn’t go over well with Derek, though, as he seems to have developed a bit of a vendetta against the guy.
Good breakdown (although I'm surprised you didn't mention Walcourt) :)
One tiny correction: It was the Grandfather who killed everyone involved with the childbirth, and then banished Sidonai from Cheliax, due to the shame brought upon the family (first believing Sidonai's wife had engaged in impropriety, but later learning that Sidonai himself had brought the child's fiendishness to pass). Sidonai wanted a fiendish-looking heir.
I'm sorry for my slowness in posting recently; I've had more to do the last several days than I had anticipated. I'll hopefully be back to normal pacing by tomorrow evening, and will continue the shadowbeast patrol then. Apologies again.
I haven't been feeling well this weekend, but I just realized how many days it's been since I posted. Can't risk having this game fall out of people's minds, so I better get something onto the page :)
I've started compiling the information for the artistic depiction. Certainly there are many more aspects to a character's appearance than I would be able to list off the top of my head. It is a lesson in painting a verbal picture, to be sure.
Right, I've recovered from Paizo Con, I've brought several of my projects to stopping points, and I have some free time to catch up and post. Oh, I hope the butler has not been holding his breath for too long...
