Jen the GM |
Alain looks around the room and it is rather bare, much like any other guest room. Aside from assorted bags and travel gear, there doesn't seem to be anything strange.
Well, the minister gave me this letter, but it isn't unusual. He's given me letters to send on behalf of the king before.
He thinks about the last question.
Nothing really, but I'm just a lowly messenger. I don't know much of the inner workings of the court.
Drest MacAlpin |
Mal ponders Kirsteen's words, then speaks. I'm afraid you're right, lady. I still think somethin's not right here, but I'd rather travel halway through the Ocean before I get called coward and traitor by anyone. He seems very upset, but determined. We rest here, then it's off to France. Unless some of you doesn't want to.
"In that you're wrong, it's not a question of treason or cowardice. We have received a first mission from the King own voice. And the second letter does not say anything about not accomplishing the first mission. It just says to make haste. Plus we do not have any letter of introduction or proposal of treaty to present to the king of France. Do you think he will take time to receive us? Who are we to discuss alliance with a King? What kind of concessions are we allowed to make? This is just absurd. I'm not going to jump on a ship to where-ever this message says without more information. So let's take time to enquire about what's going on here. If this was a false mission, we'll see it soon enough to go to France, and I'll go even, if I find this mission more than stupid."
Alain Lenoir |
Alain bids good rest to the messenger and returns to his companions.
"Well, the messenger did not receive the letter from the King himself, but from a minister, which he, the messenger, did not feel was very unusual. But I do wonder. And what have you all decided?"
Jen the GM |
I have to finish Alain's inquisition of the messenger before we can continue to the next day, so if you'd like, you can ask questions of the various people in the castle or do some other investigating. Remember that the only people there are the household staff though, so people like the servants and the cooks and stable boys and such.
Guy de Lancre |
"Drest speaks truth. We must accomplish both tasks, though it is obvious from the letter that the King, or whoever sent this to us, is desperate to have help against the Norsemen. I think now I find the thought of a new Norse army all to believable. I think for now I'll be asking some questions of the hired help. They have eyes and ears everywhere."
The first place Guy heads is the kitchens. From his experience, the kitchen is a central location for gossip amongst servants.
Malhasturian the Red |
Mal looks conviced by Drest, Razo and Guy's words. Alright, I see. We shall rest here, then. Perhaps my judgement be less clouded after a good nite sleep. He then goes ask an attendant where they could stay for the rest of the day, and if he has something hot to eat for all the group.
Alain Lenoir |
"Yes, I agree. Let's deal with these Witches first." Alain says.
I'm not sure which is worse...
After a moment he realizes he still has his flask in his hand. He downs the last sip. "And I was going to go find the cellar for a refill." he says. "Or maybe a whole bottle." he adds.
Drest MacAlpin |
"Drest speaks truth. We must accomplish both tasks, though it is obvious from the letter that the King, or whoever sent this to us, is desperate to have help against the Norsemen. I think now I find the thought of a new Norse army all to believable. I think for now I'll be asking some questions of the hired help. They have eyes and ears everywhere."
The first place Guy heads is the kitchens. From his experience, the kitchen is a central location for gossip amongst servants.
"I don't want to sound pushy, but while I agree with you idea, you'd be best to take Kirsteen with you. You're but a foreign lord to them and she can help you gain their trust."
"While you all do that, I'll want to have a look at the Thane's and his close counsellors rooms. If there was a conspiracy or a witch influence at some point, they may have been careless and have left clues."
"An other thing for you, Guy and Kirsten. can one of you detect when there is magic around? If so, use it as perople can try to disguise themselves magically or can be charmed by foul magics."
Drest will inspect the rooms, looking for messages, hidden caches and any traces of magic (with detect magic). and taking 20 on his perception check if he can (so a 28 total)
Kirsteen |
Kirsteen nods at Drest's suggestion. "Hopefully my presence with you will calm any of their fears regarding any less than honorable intentions you may have. The maids and cooks down there would likely just assume you were looking for a bit of sport."
Rather hesitantly, Kirsteen responds to Drest's last question. "Uhm, I can usually see when magic is about. I can try to do as you ask while Lord Guy asks his questions."
Jen the GM |
Razo finds priest in the castle's tiny chapel. He seems relatively young, thirty or fourty, but he carries a defeated air around him. As Razo approches, the priest places his hand on the bench to support himself to stand up. I have seen many horrible things in my life. Men, women, and children butchered by invading armies, the Norwegians and the English before them. And the dreaded mist, where I have seen visions of hell itself. But I ne'er caught a glimse of one. He slumps back down onto the bench.
Meanwhile, Guy and Kirsteen head into the kitchens. Today it is quiet, as there are no military men about to devour huge amounts of food. There are various servants walking to and fro, apparantly commanded by a short and inexperienced cook standing on a stool, though not many seem to be listening to him. They don't notice your arrival. Kirsteen detects that everything seems to give off a faint vibe of magic.
Mal stops an attendant and asks him. After he spots Mal's large weapon and realizes that he is a fighting man, he quickly offers accomadations for the night and tells the cooks to prepare some food.
Not sure what you're doing, Alain?
Drest begins to snoop around the rooms, but doesn't find anything alarming. From what he can tell, the Thane is rather religious, sporting numerous decorations and a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, the whole castle is giving off a faint vibe of magic.
Alain Lenoir |
Alain is looking for the cellars where the liquor might be stored. He'll fill up his flask and perhaps snag a bottle of wine or whiskey if nobody's watching. Also he'll look around for anything unusual.
Stealthing if necessary. 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Perception if necessary. 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Drest MacAlpin |
Drest begins to snoop around the rooms, but doesn't find anything alarming. From what he can tell, the Thane is rather religious, sporting numerous decorations and a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, the whole castle is giving off a faint vibe of magic.
What colour/school would that be?
Jen the GM |
It comes from the sea and the forest. Every time that a great disaster comes, a mist precedes it.
The priest begins to clutch at the air as if something was there, and then begins to cower. Razo suspects the priest has lost his mind.
While Alain searches the cellars, the most unusual thing is that there is no supply of any alcohol, even though castle cellars would usually be well stocked with it.
Mainly abjuration mixed with slight necromancy and tinges of the others as well. It's hard to tell whether the magic is coming directly from the castle though.
Alain Lenoir |
Stopping in one vaulted cellar, Alain stands with his flask in his hand. He looks in one direction. "Hmm..." He turns forty-five degrees. "Hmm..." Turns again. "Yes, I see... Another turn. "Ah..." Returning to his original orientation, he says "Well, it's settled then. I'm in hell. And not just the 'I'm in Scotland' type of hell." He makes his way back upstairs and in the kitchens he walks over to Guy and Kirsteen. In a whisper he says "Something is terribly wrong here... This is Scotland and there isn't a drop of liquor in the place."
Drest MacAlpin |
Drest comes down to find the others in the Kitchen:
"I haven't found many interesting things. This castle seems to be under a sort of spell or the lingering aura of one. It looks like a spell/effect was cast either to protect or hide something and there is a faint whisper of necromantic arts and others. This does not sound right, but I'm wondering if it could come with the fog. Oh and one last thing, I've found a letter from an Englishman. From what I can make out, it is from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Can somebody read it?"
Drest will give the letter to whoever can read English and will try to look outside to cast detect magic on the fog.
Malhasturian the Red |
Mal is still wandering around the castle, trying to talk to the few and suspicious people here. He doesn't like this place. There is an eerie atmosphere, something is not quite right. And when he asked for something strong to drink to warm himself up and forgot the bad feeling, and they told him there wasn't any, his jaw dropped in disbelief.
He rejoined the others just as Drest was asking if somebody can read a letter. I can, though I'm no declaimer. Give it to me.
What's in it?
Jen the GM |
To the honourable Thane of Glamis,
I have spoken with the the King regarding the matter, and he has taken an interest to it. With my backing, the King has concluded that the threat in Scotland must be stopped there, before it spreads to England. Our analysis of Scottish diplomatic movements has concluded that someone in the Scottish administration has been influenced by or has dabbled in the occult. The mood of the Scottish court seems to change monthly and the other royal courts have noticed.
Be on guard for strange activity and avoid travelling to the royal court. On the subject of this strange mist, the King has created a task force that will hopefully arrive shortly. Also, be aware of royal correspondance that may have been tampered with prior to arrival. Rely on your own messengers or travel there yourself.
Archbishop of Canterbury, overseer to the lands of the English church and supreme leader of all that swear allegiance to the church, direct representative of the Pope in English lands.
At the sound of Razo's name, the priest seems to calm down. Ah yes, it is good to meet a fellow clergyman. Tell me, what brings you to Glamis?
He seems to have forgotten his earlier conversation with you.
Detect magic reveals nothing
Alain Lenoir |
After hearing the contents of this new letter,"Ah, yes. Well, as I mentioned before, the messenger told me he received the letter he gave us from a certain Robert of Winchester. Mayhap he is the occultist mail-tamperer, but I will trust our own investigations before I will put any more faith in that letter or this new one we have discovered in a possibly enchanted castle." Alain says, then thinks for a moment.
Knowledge: Nobility on Robert of Winchester 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
He looks to the newly arrived Razo. "Razo, my friend, you seem to be the most versed rooting out supernatural menaces. What are we dealing with here?"
Razo of Worms |
The father is not well. I suspect it is due to his advanced age. I detected no magical influence,but a clever witch might find ways of hiding her influence. The priest, though a bit mad, did mention seeing horrible visions in the mists. He did however also later in the conversation claim I was a demon, so I am not sure much stake we can put in that. The priest claimed the mist comes from the ocean and the forest. Mist from the ocean is not unnatural, from the forest however does seem a bit odd, unless there is a large lake nearby. If we are to find the source of the mists, which I suspect is the witches, then to the forest we should advance.
Jen the GM |
One of the attendants goes to lead the priest away.
His life is mostly shrouded in mystery, but there are a few tidbits that you are aware of:
1. Has been the advisor for several kings, dating back two or three decades
2. The current king's most senior adviser
3. Powerful in his own right; owns plenty of landholdings around Scotland
4. Originally from England, but recruited by a long-dead Scottish king to help modernise the counrry
Drest MacAlpin |
Looking rather nervous at the proposed course of action, Kirsteen replies: "As much as I dislike the idea, I agree with Father Razo's reasoning and think that we should conduct a search of the nearby forest for any sign of these witches."
"I agree as well, we should go as early as we can tomorrow. For today, I suggest we take a rest. Even in this place, I would suggest to keep a watch. I don't really trust anyone or anything we've seen up to now."
Drest MacAlpin |
After four people are ready, we'll head into the forest. If it turns out that you needed to do something before you go, then you can just put that in your post and I'll adjucate it before your character heads out with the party.
Drest wakes up at dawn, ready to go and explore the forest, an environment he feels better suited to than the castle.
Jen the GM |
The group heads into the forest early, mainly guided by the druid. Razo hears something strange, followed by everyone else. It's the oinking that seems to be from a wild hog, but those don't usually wander around at this time of year.
Witches are known to be able to imitate the sounds of the local fauna extremely well.
Razo of Worms |
Razo stops and casts Detect Magic in the 60' the sound is coming from to see if he notices any aura.
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 Spellcraft roll using spellsage from archetype in case there is an aura to determine what it is.
No knowledge nature, local or arcane yet, archetype replaces monsterlore so choose some others.
Guy de Lancre |
The night passes normally for Guy, a welcome respite from the past few weeks. The morning greets him as it does any other day, however, and his mood is quickly turning dour as the group heads into the forest. Though the mist remains away for now, he can't help but feel apprehensive.
The sudden noise of a pig brings the response, "A pig? Who lives out here? I had thought these woods were claimed empty."
Drest MacAlpin |
Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Drest moves easily though the woods and undergrowth, paying attention to all the noise around him. At the noise, Drest stop, signalling his companions to be silent for a moment. "Ware, it is know that witches can imitate those kind of noise. We should go slowly and silently"
"Alain, Guy if he wants and I can move forwards to scout while the rest of you follow at a little distance"
Jen the GM |
Razo detects the usual enchantment-necromancy like around the castle, but minus the abjuration, but from all around
Kirsteen looks for tracks while Drest looks cautiously. After some looking as the group moves further into the forest, they find the tracks alright, but the wild boar is close and seems to have noticed, ready to charge.
Either do something out of combat, or roll up initiative bitte
Malhasturian the Red |
Mal steps in the front of the group, ready to attack the boar as soon as he comes near.
I'm hoping he doesn't a can get convinced to go away. Just in case, I ready my attack action and the roll initiative for the following round.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 172d6 + 9 ⇒ (2, 3) + 9 = 14
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16