Kevin smiles his best charming smile at Andrea as he attempas to whisper to her. "My dear, a public display of affection? I say, the judges may frown on this, but please do go on."
Andrea's eyes narrow a little.."Put..the..drink..away... you idiot" she hisses in his ear
Kevin binks in suprise at Andrea his smile gone. "O......kay.
Galadan nods in agreement, but wonders why no one has acknowledged that he said the same thing only a moment ago.
"Precisely."
"A thousand apologies. Yes, we do have the mask. I must warn you, though, it is not a pretty sight."
With all due ceremony, Aldous unveils the mask, in all its gory horror.
"We have not yet tracked down its owner, but we have some promising leads. You will understand that we would prefer not to make any accusations at this point, as we currently lack any hard evidence."
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Judge Embreth looks at the mask and then hands it to the other judges
"This item as ghastly as it might look needs considerable skill by its creator."
Turning to the group
"It would be very useful if you manage to find more details about the creator. The skill to create such a mask is not too far removed from the skill to create a flesh golem. We still don't know who created the beast - so either way any information would be of use."
With these words you are dismissed.
Barrister Kapple thanks you for all you efforts. Leaving the court you have the feeling that the crowd s less thankful.
[ooc]You got the address of the workshop. It is 13:00 by now.[/b]
Wren ruffles and preens her feathers as she leaves the courthouse.
"While I could use the sleep, it might be better to address this lead that we have now. Where is this workshop?" Wren asks, stifling a yawn.
"I don't want to rest until I've helped my good friend Stitches today."
Wren will follow/lead the group to the workshop.
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Before you leave you see Barrister Kapple approaching you
"Maybe there is hope after all. Could you look into what happened in Hergstadt later. This is the accusation the Beast faces tomorrow.
The Beast's second alleged crime is the murder of six children in Hergstag, formerly a small, religious farming community in the Dippelmere Swamp. It is approx 10 miles way from Lepidstadt.
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Vorgstag and Grine's Chymic works
A tall, iron chimney belches yellow clouds into the sky from this small brick factory. Large leaded windows arch in a dozen places on its outer walls, but they are so begrimed as to be opaque. A large gate opens onto an inner courtyard beneath a sign proudly proclaiming “Vorkstag and Grine, Chymic Works.” The building has two floors and a tower, topped by a lightning rod.
Wren ponders what she has learned of the Chymic Works in her time in town.
Know (Local)
Wren begins to babble what she knows, revealing the information from the first two spoilers and adding her own scandalous intrigue as well.
"...while they are well respected, Vorkstag and Grine *should* have family by now, right? Especially that Grine one...he's just *wink**wink*...gnomey, if you know what I mean."
"We should be on our guard; Vorkstag and Grine are well-respected merchants. Grine is a peculiar-looking fellow, though gnomes are that way, you know. Moreover, no workers are ever seen going on shift at the chymic works, but the smoke from the chimney never stops. Odd that; I would not be surprised if we encountered a whole heap of zombies when we get inside... We should hit them hard, and fast."
Galadan also detects evil.
Galadan nods to Aldous.
"There is definitely something not right about this place. I sense a dark presence, at least one."
Kevin pulls his hear back behind his neck and ties it into a pony tail with a leather strap. "Imagine that. Evil. Here. Did you go to school to learn that or did it come naturaly?"
The warrior draws his dueling sword and moves towards the door.
Andrea gives Kevin a dirty look then moves behind him and sorts his pony tail into something neater..she then ties her own hair back and nods to the others."Right..so..do we just barge in through the front door or are we looking for another way in?"
She turns towards Wren..
"When we go in..just.......don't touch anything."
Wren looks at Andrea with confuzzlement.
"Oh, don't worry Andrea. Unless it's feathery, I won't touch a thing."
Wren stokes Plume.
I'll have Plumie touch it.
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Getting closer you smell the acrid fumes from the chimney. It reaches 40 feet into the air.
this is a byproduct of Acid and Bleach production.
The outer walls of the building are masonry, made of local brick). All of the windows in the building are so blackened they cannot be seen through
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Courtyard
A twenty-foot-high stone wall, topped with broken glass, surrounds a small courtyard before the workshop. A heavy oak gate bars entry beneath a sign proudly proclaiming “Vorkstag and Grine, Chymic Works.” A bell hangs by one side of the gate.
You don't sense any direct evil aura. Your earlier feeling was more like a feeling of things to come.
Wren looks around.
Perception
Cast Detect Magic.
"Does someone want to ring the bell?"
Kevin stands still until Andrea finishes with his hear then turns and looks at her for a moment in silence before walking over and tapping his sword tip against the bell.
Andrea sniffs the air.."Hmm..Acid..bleach..nasty stuff,so everyone watch out for vats being tipped over or something like that.."
Andrea looks up at the individual who apears.."Ah Good Day to you Sir.Am I adressing Mr Vorgstag or Mr Grine..My name is Andrea Greenholt and I and my associates would like to discuss some business with you"
Bluff 19 if my good looks count with this man.
Galadan remains near the back, a look of dreadful seriousness on his face.
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Grine seems to stay in the shadow of the doorway.
"I'm afraid we are currently booked out and can't take any more orders. Come back at a more opportune time my lady."
You have the feeling that your charm seems not to sway the man in the slightest. He surely isn't human in regard to his reaction and you wonder what he actually is.
The 'man' in the doorway seems to avoid the daylight as if it could hurt him.
He has extremly pale skin, nearly white. His face shows multiple scars as if he was mauled by a beast.
Perception
Sense Motive
Andrea takes note of the mans behaviour and appearance and frowns slightly before sighing deeply.."Very well Sir..we will return at some time in the future...can you give us an indication of when would be convenient?"
ALdous maintains his silence, although he cannot help but note the... chilly... nature of Grine.
Hmmm... Avoiding the sunlight? Is he some sort of Vampire?
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"Come back next week. At the moment it is very hectic here - with the Beast burning soon we have many customers from afar who have ordered ahead. This should settle down once they have all left."
He seems to laugh when he mentions the Beast burning.
Adlous seems to be dazzled by the light and can't get a closer look of the creature.
Perception:
The creatin seems to be avoiding the sunlight. Maybe he is as hung over as I am.
Perception :
"My friends and I really need to talk to you, right now. Later may not be an option my friend."
Kevin's sword is still in his hand, he will attempt to flash sunlight from the blade into the mans eyes.
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Kevins attack hits Grine flat footed and no armour helps him against the light.
Kevin - ranged touch attack improvised weapon
The daylight reflects of your sword and you see his hands go to his eyes - as if blinded. A moment later he disappears from sight - a big could of shadow and darkness filling the courtyard and seemingly centered around Grine.
Edit: The shadows seem to grow and engulf the whole courtyard and even you as well. The bright sunlight suddenly drops to very dim light. Only blackness can be seen where Grine stood in the shadowy doorway.
Kevin looks from where the man was standing down to his sword blade then over his shoulder at his companions. "Well that was unexpected. Shall we see if we need to render aid?
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Kevin looks from where the man was standing down to his sword blade then over his shoulder at his companions. "Well that was unexpected. Shall we see if we need to render aid?
Grine didn't see it coming (literally) but you din't see much either ;-) at least not any longer.
Please see Edit above - you are also now in dim light.
"Galadan I don't think he's human..and he's been savaged by some creature his face is a Mass of scars."
Andrea moves her ward to Kevin(Free Action) then casts Mage Armour on herself
Wren coos with interest at Kevin's clever trick.
I wish I had thought of that.
As it happens, Wren pulls out her crossbow. (surprise round 1)
Wren will load it on her next turn and move to the back, staying in the sun.
I need rest. I have little magic left for things like this.
Spellcraft on the cloud
Wren purses her chicken-like lips together tightly at the darkness.
"It seems that Mr. Grine possesses some unnatural talents but I cannot discern whether it is innate or learned," Wren says unhappy with the situation.
"I do not recommend entering that if you value your lives."
Kevin stands right at the edge of the darkness and uses the tip of his sword in an attempt to make swirls in the unnatural substance.
"Cheater."
Aldous looks off into the distance, his eyes gradually unfocusing.
"H-hastur...?"
Wren ponders as she stares idly at Mr. Aldous.
"This darkness should fade in a while...say an hour or so? Maybe we should wait for that man to come back?"
Wren walks over closer to Andrea, making sure to stay in the sun. Wren leans in to whisper conspiratorially with Andrea.
"You know dearie, maybe we should come back more properly equipped to handle that kind of darkness. I'm sure the markets here have oils and scrolls that might make our job easier."
Andrea nods "Aye..but that gives them all the more time to prepare now that someone.." she glares at Kevin "..has decided to force our hand"
She remains alert ready to cast a spell if the strange man appears again whilst her mind works on trying to identify his origin.
Knowledge Arcana
Knowledge Nature
Knowledge Planes
Kevin still stands at the edge of the darkness poking at it with his sword. "Come out, come out, where ever you are."
Wren will load her drawn crossbow.
"I know that there are some things that can see quite well in the dark. Does anyone have a way to create fog or mist? That might help even the odds if we decide to run in there."
Wren is tired, her voice is more screechy than usual.