Darkest Corners volume 2

Game Master Harakani

"Actually - there are only nine-hundred-twenty-five paragraphs in the law governing private sector construction. But it easy to see where this common misconception comes from - the Quantium Building Code volume one to sixteen is usually printed at a slightly larger five point font as opposed to the legal common practice of four point fonts. The last twenty-one volumes do conform to the standard however." Ophelia happily sprouts on the way towards the temple. She was glad to have something normal to anchor herself with. "I am told it is due to the verbose language used to describe masonry in the dwarven translations of the law, which are located in the early volumes. Without the increased font size the paragraphs would end up in different volumes or volumes with empty pages - both obviously unacceptable. But scholars have also suggested perpendicular writing in a contrasting colour, which would also increase the efficiency of the volumes. Additionally ..."

The clockwork continues to sprout interesting trivia until they reach the door of the temple, which mercifully seems to shield everyones ears from further "information". "...And that's why hippos can't be considered permanent fixtures. Anyhow-" Ophelia glanced at the weapon rack then at Diene. While unloading her own weapons she nodded at the half-awesome. Are we supposed to leave her on the rack too? That seems unnecessary... "-guard the door?" she tries quizzically.

If Diene wanted to sit this one out AND we were supposed to leave our weapons at the door this seems like the logical conclusion :P

Isama gives up her weapons at the door. She grows thoughtful as Opehlia blathers on. Ya know... there could be a good business here. How d'you feel about us helping out the priestess after all this mess is over Ophelia? Get this place up to code and we could use the rep and experience to start a side gig helpin' places out with this sort o' thing. But... that's fer later

Isama brings herself back to the present So, what do you think? Since your goodess is a guardian of Dreams and such, have you felt any disturbances in that sort of stuff? Cause we've certainly seen a nightmare beast coming into our world. Our Sarge over there beat it to death with her fists.

"Maybe get a Dwarven Architect to take a look? They're cheaper than lawyers, and quite brilliant when it comes to creative solutions that stand up against outside influences. And they're familiar with the building codes...", Mia meekly suggests. It would be a daunting task to have this dome meet regulations, but she was quite certain it COULD be done. Some way.
Mia follows the Priestess wordlessly after introductions were done. When she tells the group to leave the weapons on the rack, her eyes dart to Diene. Realizing Ophelia also glances at their commanding officer, Mia starts laughing:"Can we...phh...can we get a stool, too? Next to the rack? Hhh....Ha...forget I said something, here's my weapon." Still trying hard to get herself back under control, Mia stumbles forward...Even the construct considers her a loose cannon...a biological weapon...
To be clear, those are compliments :) <3 Diene - Also, i had the same idea as Ophelia originally, so I just had to expand on it when she posted before me :P

Haha, love you guys, yup, that's complete what Diene was thinking too.

Diene smiles as the others allude to her physical prowess, definitely one to appreciate the praise, and gives a quick arm pump before moving on, "Heh, tempting guys, but I should probably try to pay attention if I'm supposed to be commanding. I make no promises to my success, but I'll at least try. Even if I'm not overly fond of temples." Diene again tosses her towel in the weapon rack as a jest, as she had done for the lady with the paralyzed bodies and weird dream skills.

She makes some stretching motions, not her usual aggressive knuckle cracking, but somewhat more subdued, as she takes in the temple. Perhaps a way to physically relieve her mental unease?

"Besides, I've got some faith in this plan, I'm sure Isama and the butterflies can get some good intel."

"Oh I'm not sure if that would be ethically right ..." Ophelia murmurs at Isama's suggestion. Not that she was sure about such things anymore - she might have to take some time to think on things after all this. Assuming we aren't all gone she thought cheerfully.

The inside of the dome is - somehow - a hothouse riot of flowers. Pollen all but drifts from the stem-wrapped walls. The Priestess prepares them some hot tea, sweetened with pollen.
"Dream Spiders, in Qantium?" she asks with surprise, then shrugs "Anyway, there's been no infestations of spiders. You're right, Butterflies would've told me. Well, not told me, but I sleep, and dream, in here at night. Butterflies dream as well, did you know? Most animals don't, but butterflies do." she points around at thousands of chrysalises stuck to the walls and plants. "They defend their young in the Dreamlands. Make pockets of safety. That's the reason they're so beloved by Desna."
She slurps some tea "If there'd been an infestation of spiders hunting butterflies, their dreams'd be full of them. They aren't, so I reckon you've got it wrong."
The Priestess looks thoughtfully out the window "There is... Nah, probably a coincidence... but... I heard tell there was a Spider Cult in the city. Long time ago. Supposedly a Desnan offshoot, though I don't believe it. There was something about... a book, I think. Studying dreams. The... Paginarum Lethargica? Some sort of journal." she shrugs "I suppose its possible the book had some sort of variant Shiver recipe."
She looks over "That any help?"

Making Shiver without spiders? Isama exclaims with surprise That'd explain why there's been so much Shiver flooding the city. Getting the venom from the spiders is the hardest part of the whole business! But there have been nightmare beasts popping up in the city. Is it possible to track, er, dream distrubances or something like that?

Ophelia looks around the dome in wonder. So many flowers! She wondered how anyone could stand watering them all. It really was a shame it would have to be torn down. But that wasn't why they were there.

"Or hand feeding the spiders then." Ophelia notes. "But yes - an artificial supply would explain the sudden influx."

"Do you know any more details about the book? Something ... very similar seems to have been in circulation recently."

"We most definitely saw...surreal spiders.", Mia thinks back to the events in the alleyway, before Diene fought against the ghostlike-creature.
"They may not be hunting butterflies, but be well fed, hidden.(in Perdido Street Station, maybe? *smile*) We did learn about the book, though...to be honest, I believe we had hoped to aquire the help of some butterflies...I think our friend here would be rather capable of getting them to assist in scouting the city for any disturbances of the dreamscape we may need to investigate-..."

Isama nods. I'm a druid, so I think I could speak to 'em. Even if not. Maybe they'd consent to travelling with us in a cage or somethin' so they can tell us if we're getting close to something that's not right dreamwise? We'd let 'em go of course if anything dangerous happens and they can fly back here.

Thinking like canaries in a coal mine

Aw.. man.. Things don't seem to be working out. Looks like we've got some back up ideas, but things aren't great. Diene looked between everyone, and her shoulders were a little low. Didn't take a great master of social investigation to see she was a bit disappointed in how the lead was panning out.

Of course, anything short of a "here's the door to bust down" would likely be a disappointment to Diene.

The Priestess looks troubled.
"The book? You're lucky I know that much. I could ask around, I guess." she looks frankly at Isama "Look, you helped me out, so if you want to talk to 'em, fine. If you want to camp out here to sleep here for a while, fine. If you want to use the sacred animal of Desna as some sort of expendable scout - no. If there is danger in dreams, and they get too weakened, then they won't be able to protect the next generation."
She thinks "They said there was something in the area ages back, tried to get in. A Baka, I think. That means there's one out there, somewhere."

Alright well, I'll have a chat. Seems to me they must be able to point us to part of the city at least.

Isama heads towards the butterflies and holds her hand out, palm up to try and commune with them.

Wild Empathy: 1d20 + 3 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 6 = 10
Huh if -4 applies then it's a 6. Looks like another dead end!

You can wild empathy them given time by taking 10. Wild Empathy is an empathic link though, right?
Eventually a butterfly lands on Isama's hand. The haustellum extends and pokes at a tiny dot of pollen.
*Bravery/Pride*

Isama smiles at the brave little butterfly and casts Speak with Animals to try and commune with it

Wild Empathy is actually just a way of making animals friendlier. Like making a guard dog docile. You still need Speak with Animals to actually communicate.

*Thankfulness/Admiration*

*Ask/New Danger?/Dreams Danger?*

Ophelia observes her companions attempt to communicate with butterflies with some interest. Her mind however was elsewhere. If there are no cult, the butterflies would be fine. If there is a cult, wouldn't the impeding doomsday outweigh the future prospects of the butterflies - seeing as they would have no future? However the priestess seemed unreceptive of logic and it would be unwise to get thrown out before they had gotten a chance to learn as much as possible!

Mia had kneeled next to one of the Butterfly nests, holding perfectly still and her hand stretched forward to see if any want to sit down on her:"Expendable Scout? You must have misunderstood. We want them to do Desna's bidding, no more, no less. I doubt the Lady would be happy about Dreams being abused in such a way, about a city getting corrupted from within by those dealing in nightmares, and, if your guess is right, a spider cult establishing itself here. We expected the Dreaming Wanderer would be opposed to that, and let her beloved winged children help out, by pointing towards where the cancer infested the city, so that we might cut it out and let it heal...rather than fester and endanger all who call this city their home...dreaming or otherwise-", Daria attempts to convince the Priestess to not hold any help(including butterflies) back.

Diplomacy+Timely Inspiration: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 12 + 1 = 30

On reflection this seems very similar to Commune with Birds. That makes me inclined to make Isama jump through a lot less hoops!
The butterfly takes to the air, flitting among its fellows. A second later, all take flight - a whirling tornado of flitting beauty and colour.
The priestess breathes in "Hold still." she warns. "Don't crush any! They're more delicate than spun glass."
The butterflies whirl, and whirl, spots of darker colour growing in the hurricane of butterflies - as butterflies and even moths from outside are drawn to the area.

As suddenly as they started, they stop. The entire floor of the temple covered completely in open-winged butterflies - save for the very edge. There the shoreline was delineated by a patch of closed-winged butterflies.
From somewhere near that point, a single butterfly took to the sky. Then another, near it. Then another, then another, in a growing area spreading out in all directions. Finally the butterflies seem happy, a dark floored area barren of butterflies stretching out all through a crude representation of this area of the city.

Another moment, and the whole crowd of butterflies takes to the air as one, like leaves falling, but in reverse.

The priestess breathes out, sharply. "A miracle" she murmurs.

Isama smiles and lets the butterflies do their work.
Take 10 possible on Knowledge? otherwise roll

Geography: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Unlike many of her vocation she had never felt disconnected from nature, even deep in the slums of the Nex. Everything that wasn't planar or arcane was built off of the rules of nature after all. Still, this was special.

I think I know what the butterflies are tryin' to tell us. she says. And then with a nod and a wink to the priestess she says We're off to do Desna's work I think when we head to that place. Got anything that could help?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Know(Geography): 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 7 + (5) = 29

"Oh I see." Ophelia chimed in and nodded. Another clue! With an glance at the somewhat dazed priestess she murmured to her companions. "Maybe we should leave her be?"

Diene nearly takes a step back in surprise before the priestess warns her, barely keeping her balance as she tries to freeze.

"Er, so, where to, Isama?"

"Aye. A miracle granted by the Lady. She knows what's at stake here.", Daria nods in agreement to the priestesses assessment of what just happened.
"Great job, Isama!", she thanks her friend and co-Guard...Mia had seen exactly where the Butterfly left I literally can't fail those rolls., but this was Isama's gig, so she looked at Diene and shrugged:"Sorry boss, was too busy to look at them pretty Swallowtails, got distracted."

The Wall. A massive construct created by the war. Towering far above the outside world, and massive enough at the top to have a road where supply wagons and siege engines to traverse freely.
At the underside of the Wall runs Hook Street. Eclipsed by the towering stone structure, Hook Street gets wan sunlight for only a few hours a day. Where much of Qantium is high density apartments, here on Hook Street the land is cheap enough that old style houses still stand.
One such house is your target.
An imposing three story stone facade three should presents an appearance of power - but the house slumps against the wall like a tired soldier at the end of the day, the builders taking advantage of the massive buttressing provided by the fortification to save money on walls. Makeshift shanties and tenements seem to wind around the house, stealing its own stability for their own, just as the house steals from the Wall..
The house is decrepit. Signs of rusted attachments and shattered stone gargoyles suggest at one point it had a certain grandeur - but those days are long gone. Dwarfed by the Wall at first it is difficult to realise the size - nearly a hundred feet across, almost as many deep, and three stories tall. It has space, in a city that has none.

It is here, if the butterflies are to be believed, that the dreams originated. Here, at this House on Hook Street.

Well this place feels all sorts of unnatural Isama says to the others of her squad as they stare at the foreboding structure they've been led to.

Kn:Local any info about this place: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Knowledge(applicable): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
"Yeah, not ominous at all. This looks like a place where street kids dare each other to spend a night to prove how tough they are - if it's not presently occupied by a drug-dealing gang, that is.", Mia adds to Isamas comment, then looks at Diene:"Orders, boss?"

"This really unsettled you guys? Pfft, remind my never to invite you to my hometown." Diene laughs off the aura of spookiness. Built in the shadow of a wall, decrepit giant building? How utterly unimpressive to someone from the City of Strangers.

'splains why you got no problems punching ghosts, boss Isama comments before giving a big sigh. We going in then?

"I believe so." Ophelia chimed in. "Just be on the lookout for areas where the structure is weakened to the point of collapse. This building doesn't look up to code either." she finished with a sighing sound.

"I'll be honest, Ophelia, I am a bit more worried about that than ghosts. I can punch ghosts, as Isama says, but I've got away's to go before I can punch collapsing buildings out of my way." Diene looks thoughtful for a moment, holding her chin in thought. "Of course, the walls here don't look that great, so I can probably smash through 'em in my beastie form."

"That said, we should probably know where the entrances and exits are. Mia, Isama, you're a team, Ophelia with me, we'll probably attract less attention in smaller groups. Get a good view of the perimeter. No reason to poke our head in the door till we've peeked in the windows."

"Affirmative!" Ophelia cheerfully complies. It felt good that her concerns about this deteriorating respect for the city building codes was echoed in Diene.

Disguise/Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 Trying to blend or look like she belongs!

Perception: 1d20 + 15 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 15 + (1) = 20 Keeping her eyes open!

Note: I'm assuming Diene and I are part of the less discreet team that will stay a bit further away, seeing as Mia and Isama are so so much more sneaky.

That would be smart, but neither I nor Diene thought of that.
Disguise: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25

Also, Diene's actually kinda sneaky. In a Gork and Mork sort of way. :P

While decrepit there is very little chance the house is uninhabited. There's a saying in the city: "A square foot is a gold each month", which refers to the high-rise and expensive nature of real-estate in Qantium.

Daria remembers some residents with houses built against the wall like this have tunneled through the wall like rats. Connecting den to den in such a way they can easily move without notice and escape the Guards.

Okay, can I get perception and stealth from Mia and Isama please

Not feeling a disguise would make her snooping seem any more 'in-place', Daria opts for the stealthy approach instead. Using her small frame to her advantage, she scans her half of the perimeter...especially for potential ingress points into the complex...keeping in mind that the wall was probably tunneled into and sharing that insight with Isama, who - unlike Daria - was actually tall enough to have a chance to see through windows.
In the requested order:
Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33
Stealth: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (12) + 17 = 29

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Isama lags back from Mia, knowing that she can't hope to match the halfling's ability to hide in the shadows.

Wow. Clank like a tank but the with the eyes of an eagle

Ophelia looks up at the child but realises that the girl probably isn't addressing her. Darn! While very pretty, sometimes Ophelia was self-concious about all that filigree. This was rapidly becoming one of those times. Let's hope Diene knows how to trick children! Hmm ...

____________________

Scouting out the building, Mia silently whispers(I do assume if we "split" we'll get a Message spell going by default): "Balcony on the second floor could be our entrance. Seems to me there's a small gap there, which means it's unlocked and not fully closed."
There were other options, of course, but without knowing what was inside, the option that put you on solid ground before you found out was the preferable one, to her...

Isama mutters to herslf I'm a druid. I am at one with the shadows but acquiesces to Mia's instruction.

With a wave of her hands Isama morphs into an old man wearing the sort of clothes that are common around this neighborhood then moves back to the street to act like someone taking a simple stroll.

Message: Unforeseen interruption. ... Please refrain from wiggling.

Daria holds her position, observing the building from a hiding spot. Ophelia did not seem to be in peril, nor Diene. Daria could see Isama's alter ego stroll down the street...there was no hurry.

Longer observation gave better, more reliable results. She knew she could not sell that idea to Diene, who preferred having her fists do the Reconnaissance, but more time to observe their target was welcome regardless.

If this works then you should find what you can see of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors.

After departing from the girl with a "Thanks, I'll look into it.", Diene attempted to share info over message while staying a decent ways away.

"It wouldn't be subtle to anyone on the street, but I like the idea of tackling the situation from the top, getting the completely non-metaphorical drop on my foes. Any decent entries from the top floor?"