Mirror, Mirror: The Further Adventures

Game Master Terquem

Keryth takes up the satchel and examines it while asking, Any idea who this might be?

The satchel contains a small pouch for a few material components, but by the look of things this person was not an accomplished master of many spells. It also contains a purse with fourteen silver pieces, nine copper pieces, and two gold pieces.

Niversal will discover a few secret doors, usually linking an office to a bedroom, or something innocuous like that, but nothing else that seems to have any relevance is discovered

Counting on his fingers, Ballar squishes his face in concentration as he reflects on how many mirrors were broken, Ah do'n suppose any o'ya are sup'r-sticious?
The dwarf lets the others decide what to about all the coins but does make the suggestion that all should be confiscated as a matter of public health and be henceforth, subject ta prop'r consecration by those, name-lay us, qual-i-fied. or something like that.
Once all the rooms have been 'discovered' Ballar makes for the cellar in the basement and begins to peruse the various bottles. He selects a few choice vintages - perhaps the ones with nice labels, and slips them into his pack before Bud can take them.

Going to take 20 on the appraisal check

I have neither the time, money, or inclination to properly ward this place from the evils posed by that thing that nibbled on my shoulder. Instead of consecrating this place, I'm going to go talk to the fancy named lady starting with an "H" and tell her this was a bust. Please try not to rob the Baroness's estate because we look to be stuck on this plane longer than originally anticipated and or hoped. We don't need the guards chasing us around. Zaehyra says before turning and heading back to where everyone met with the formally conscious angel and Bud in hopes for finding the Han-na-etc-etc lady.

Bud looks disappointed as no mirror turns up. He smiles remembering the room of alcohol downstairs. He grabs a handful of the funny coins and then heads down to the cellar to find Bellar pursuing the goods. "I see you are picking out the best ones. I'd like some of the stuff I made and a few of the more interesting sounding ones before we leave. We'll meet our contact and get out of here."

After searching the place for any and all valuables Niversal too will go down and try to salvage some better bottles to sell for profit

Keryth follows the others as they ransack the tower, taking nothing himself however.

well lets go find that agent of our mutual benefactor and employer and report and get the flock out of here. Niversal says

While Bud seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of all kinds of fermented beverages, even those that would not seem native to the plane, whatever plan that was, he came from, Ballar has an eye for fine wine and stronger brews, being able to tell a liquor’s promise by its color, and “rhythm” as he calls it (the way a drink moves in the bottle when tilted).

Soon, Bud, Niversal, and Ballar are loaded up, their arms filled, with bottles of various sizes and shapes, and are ready to leave the tower, now that nothing else of any value can be discovered.

Keryth and Zaehyra lead the group out of the tower, Bud, Ballar and Niversal satay close to each other, occasionally using an elbow here, or a wrist or shoulder there, to assist each other as they transport the haul of bottles, while far behind comes Imreal, at last, looking “lost” in a way, as if he has taken a blow on the head that has either cleared things up for him at last, or made things far more cloudy than they already were.

It is still night, well past midnight, and the walk back to the center of town is slow and uneventful, and would be quiet except for the constant

*tink* *tink* *tink*

of the bottles being liberated from the tower’s confinement

Sone the group reaches the Lugubrious Wizard, but as is expected, the place is closed for the night. It is dark, and the doors are shut and locked. On the side of the building there is a stair going up to a second floor and a pale light shines from a single candle which can be seen through a window resting on a small table.

Up the street from the Wizard is a sign hanging on chains from the eaves of a tall and skinny building which simple reads, ”Feather’s Inn.”
Will you try the Inn?

Bud points his chin down the street toward the Feather "You guys may want to try that place for the night if you want to sleep. If you don't want to we can find a nice spot and look at our haul here. I'm up for trying a few of these bottles to see how they've fared."

Not wanting his precious cargo to develop cracks, Ballar carefully places each bottle away in his haversack and summon's up Anders, his invisible politician, to take a few before leaving the tower and heading in to town.

The dwarf pauses to contemplate the choices offered up by Bud. Sleep would be nice. But on the other hand, staying up to drink into the wee hours of the morning also has its appeal. He'd like to ration out his collection, yet having to wait before tucking in might just be too torturous. Ballar looks around at the spot Bud suggested, Do'n ya think som-plas indoors would be mor appro-pri'it? The cleric scrunches up one side of his face as though a bad smell had just floated by. He is not very keen on sorting through all they'd just collected out in the open when the Inn is just down the road. At last Ballar makes up his mind, Me an me bottles'll be head'n ta the Feather. Ah expect ta be popp'n a cork or two before long Bud, jas not 'ere. Tha rest Ah'll be pack'n away safe'n sound. Least for a couple days mind ya.

Ballar will try the Feather's Inn

I don't think I want to add loitering to the list of unlawful deeds today. The Inn is the only place for me and Kamastra. Zaehyra announces as she continues on toward the Feather's Inn.

the inn it is, at least I can store this stuff in a room for the night and loom to sell some to the Inn or the tavern the next day.

Keryth nods in agreement with the suggestion to try the inn...

The four, well, five, companions head to the sign down the street, and when they reach the door they are relieved to find a warm, but soft, light coming out into the night from under the door.

The door is unlocked and opens into a small room with a desk set in a wall opposite the door, and stairs on each side of the desk going up. An old man, with full white hair that fluffs out from his head like a cloud stands behind the desk.

The smiles, and says, Welcome weary… he then gets a look at the whole lot of you, including the tiger and stammers, uh, traveler? Please I don’t mean disrespect, but I can’t let you bring that animal in here. I’ve no stable, but John Hallam, around the corner to your left, and down the block has a barn he can rent out if you need to keep that cat somewhere for the night. Otherwise, welcome to the feather. I’ve got plenty of rooms and the price is discounted, on account of it being the off season and all. I can put up all you folks in private rooms for eight silver pieces, or if you don’t mind bunking together, the common room, which has a large fireplace, can sleep six, and I can give you that one for five silver pieces.

The bargain is soon worked out and the group (once Kamastra is “handled” accordingly) retires to the room or rooms of their choice. Bud, Niversal, and Ballar sort out bottles of wine and other fine liquors and with their best guesses, select a few bottles to sample, deciding that what is left is easily worth four or five hundred gold pieces, if they can get it back to D’Orbna.

Just as the first bottle is opened, and the heady aroma of a smoky, well-aged whiskey fills the room, a knock comes on the door.

The old man is there, and he seems distressed.

I’m sorry folks, to be bothering you like this, but a message was just dropped off for you folks. It looks real important.

He hands, one of you, a folded, heavy parchment, sealed with a wax seal that shows crossed swords over a triangular emblem divided into three quadrants.

If asked about the seal, the old man will look at it closely, and say that it looks, to him, like the seal of the Baroness Ogalvinjonsen, but he isn’t sure.

The letter is checked for magic, particularly of the trap variety, and then when it is determined it is safe, it is opened, it is a short message, and it reads

Travellers, I hope you are well. I want you to know I know what you are, even if I don’t know where you came from. I have your associate, the dark skinned woman, and if you want to see her, alive, again you’ll do exactly what this letter says. There is an alley, to the right leaving this inn, and at the end of the alley I and my men will be waiting. Come at once, and don’t plan on causing any trouble. I only want to talk. When I am satisfied, I’ll return your friend.

The letter is signed, Baron Arnorld Skarda

When the man leaves the room he sighs loudly and says "We've got two choices. We ignore this pissant's demands and continue with our sampling here; yeah I know it's the boss's employee but she's not really our problem, or we down there and tell that little miscreant that if he doesn't release the girl we'll end him and if he complies nicely enough we might just talk to him. I'm sick of having my drinks interrupted."

Keryth raises an eyebrow at Bud's seemingly uncharacteristic outburst. The wine works fast on him...

The letter seems a little scatterbrained. "Hope you are well, but I'll kill the girl. Come meet me in a dark alley, but just to talk," he says scrutinizing the handwriting and flipping the missive over to examine the seal for himself. Maybe this Baron Skarda is a little "askew". Should fit right in with us then.

I guess Hana’a’li’no’na didn't make it to Ridge Pole then. I say let's go see what this chap has to say.

Niversal looks across the table having a sip of particularly good whiskey and he says blandly why the nine hells do we care about her anyhow? I would come for one of you, but her? We need an extradimensional bag just to carry our loot and we still need a lead on the mirror. then Niversal sighs and says fine let's go

Ballar lifts his pint of exceptionally fine ale in agreement with the wizard, Tha lass issinna spot, sides she was a'look'r. Ah'm game far'ra good damsel'n dis'ress run! Slamming his mug flatly on the table the dwarf just as quickly lifts the tankard to his lips and downs the lot in one long steady drink. Ahhhh! Right, less go!

Kamastra is no different than the wizards familiar as far as your room policies are concerned. That and if we happen to be directly responsible for destroying the room, we've plenty of coin to cover the cost of repairs and lost revenue. Zaehyra countered the old man.

Later upon revealing of the message, Zaehyra simply smiled and nods in agreement to whatever Ballar just said.

After a few opinions are expressed, Ballar and Niversal lead the others out of the Inn and round the corner to a narrow dark alleyway.

The alley ends in a wide, open area closed in by the sides of several buildings. There is no obvious way out, other than the way in, save for a short flight of steps going up to a door in the wall of one of the buildings on the right, near the center of the dead end.

To the left of the stairs stands a tall box, with a black cloth draped over the front of it, and to each side of this box stand men with studded armor, carrying ready and loaded heavy crossbows. Kneeling on the ground in front of the cloth draped box is a woman, with a dark brown sack pulled over her head. Her hands are behind her back, and though you cannot see if they are tied, you can see ropes around the woman’s legs. Where her skin is exposed, it is the same color as Hana’s. Her clothing also seems familiar. On the ground next to her is a large lantern, which fills the dead end with yellow light and wicked shadows.

To the right of the box, men, and woman on the ground, are three more men, huddled close together, one of them also points a loaded crossbow toward you, and the other two hold spears.

Sitting on the steps, near the box, is a small, slightly thick man with fine clothing. His complexion is pale, with slight splotches of light brown, suggesting he is old, but his hair is dark black, as black as coal, cut short, and neat. He holds a rope in his right hand, which runs across the steps, then down, and toward the woman on the ground.

Thank you for coming so quickly. Can we do business, you and I?

well if this is business tell your nervous friends to lower their crossbows, as the surest way to end business is getting shot or stabbed. Secondly, since we are doing business I must tell you that the goods you have are barely of passing interest to us, but if you show us her face and give us a fair price perhaps we can all make a profit? Niversal says with his most slimey low life rogue voice possible. bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Leaving the comfort of their room behind, Ballar commands his political servant, Mr. Anders, to accompany him. Upon arriving at the alley, he pauses a moment to let Nivers enter first, Best let tha experts set off tha traps.

While the elf does his song and dance routine for a little coin on the side, Ballar sizes up the opposition's muscle. The dwarf keeps his hands on his Dorn and his stance relaxed, positioning himself behind one of the others in the party.

Intuition: Are these guys a bunch of low level mooks or just as dangerous without the crossbows?: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24
Appraise: How much would these bodyguards set this guy's payroll back?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Summons unseen servant prior to leaving the room

Before heading out, Zaehyra blesses Niversal and Ballar with the one true god's divine Aid magic and conceals herself with an invisibility spell over a mage armor so that she can pretend to not really be there, though Kamastra's presence would betray that to anyone familiar with the party.

Aid Niversal: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8hp
Aid Ballar: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8hp
+Temp Hp, +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves against fear effects

Arriving in the alley and taking in the scene, Keryth stands behind the others, barely listening to whatever con Niversal is trying to pull, and completely ignoring the arrayed men with crossbows and spears, the woman and even "Baron Skarda". Instead, Keryth's entire focus is upon what he surmises is the most dangerous thing in the alley, the cloth draped object. Just as quickly he averts his eyes, sensing real danger, and making sure to avoid looking in its direction entirel . It's a trap! he hisses.
initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

As the man listens to Niversal’s demands, he does not display any change in his expression, and seems neither impressed nor intimidated.

He stands and moves beside the woman on the ground, his hand moves toward her hood, and then he hears something hissed from one of the heroes standing behind the dwarf

The men with weapons grow tense, their eyes flash toward the man who spoke, as he slowly raises his hand away from the woman’s head.

Hold the man orders calmly, and then turns toward the party, showing both hands

I am quite perplexed, he states. Are we conducting a trade, a hostage for information, or is your friend intent on starting something neither one of us might want to finish here and now. What will it be? Do you want to see the woman’s face or not?

I do not intend to start anything, Keryth says in a characteristically menacing voice. And I care little about her face. What I do care about is what you have shrouded behind her. For your sake it had better remain covered. Otherwise something indeed will start. Having spoken, the spellbinder watches the man keenly...

Ballar's stomach rumbles nervously.

my friend says you are up to something so we are leaving this alley te way we came. No one gets anything they want.

Wait a second! Zaehyra interrupts from atop Kamastra, though she's still invisible, We came out here so you could talk, like the letter said. Permission to do said talking was implicit with us being here. So stop pointing weapons at us, show us the dark skinned one alive, and do your talking. Let's get that done at least before someone needlessly dies. Though preferably no one has to get hurt.

Ah, a wise druid among your group I see, One who has taken the form of a nimble but ferocious cat. Well said, great druid. If there are no more startles, I will ask the men to lower, but not unarm their weapons.

The man gestures with his hand and the armed men lower the crossbows, but keep them ready by their sides.

He then reveals the woman’s face, by removing the hood over her head and you can clearly see it is Hana, though she looks as if she has taken a beating, and her mouth is gaged.

Now, here is what I want to know. Did you find what you were looking for? As I said in the note, I don’t know what dimension you came from, but I know you are not from this world. I suspect you are looking for a mirror, but I also suspect you did not find one. I was not able to get much information from this one, but I am loath to force much more harm on her to see if she has a breaking point or not. I don’t have any desire to come to blows with such great heroes as yourselves, but I would like to know who sent you here, and why you are looking for my mirror? Tell me, did the fiend in the tower chase you out finally, or did you simply give up searching?

The poor girl. Tsk tsk, beatings rarely produce desirable results. Honey over vinegar. Zaehyra says dryly upon seeing Hana. As to your question, perhaps. Now before you read too much into that immediate answer, know that information is valuable, and we've been in the business long enough to know the value of things, such is why we sell magical armaments for no less than fifty percent of its market price. So we will answer true to the three questions you're asking in exchange for Hana's freedom and guaranteed safety. Beating her more will only serve to deceive you, and I'm sure you'd rather spend your time acting with certainty and clarity based on our new information and facts. Do we have a deal, Sir...?

Keryth listens as the "Baron" butters up Zaehyra, and to her proposed solution, but remains ready to act should things take a turn for the worse...

Niversal also prepares and is ready for trouble but stays relaxed looking
bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

The man makes another gesture with his free hand, an innocuous and non-threating gesture, and two of the men hustle to the woman on the ground, bring her to her feet, and begin to loosen her bonds

The deal is acceptable, the man says. I will free her into your custody now, and you will tell me what you know. Specifically, who sent you here, why you are looking for a mirror, and what is the situation with the fiend in the tower?

When Hannah’s bonds are free she immediately reaches for the gag around her head and pulls it free. She turns toward the man, as she is shoved toward Keryth and Ballar, stumbling weakly against them if they reach out to support her, and she says

You don’t have to tell him anything. He already knows who sent you and why you are looking for the mirror. I’ve told him, over and over again, but he won’t accept the truth.

My, my, this is the tank you I get for letting you live, the man says, moving closer to the draped box on the cart. You’re protestation is callous. I obviously want to see if their story will corroborate yours. And I’m also unafraid to allow you to tell them anything you think they should know before they keep their end of the deal. I truly do not wish to have this exchange of information degenerate into a brawl, as I know you must be competent individuals, and I don’t make threats lightly, but if we cannot discuss the situation peacefully, if you force my hand, no one is going to walk away from here unharmed.

Away from that if you would, Keryth interjects as he indicates the covered object.

If this guy isn't going to believe our friend here, he certainly isn't going to believe me what so ever. I shall let one of you decide to tell him what he wants to know or not. I will tell you one thing fellow, I am growing tired of the things coming out of your mouth, and that is saying something coming from me. Niversal says lounging against the wall in the alley quietly like none of this mattered.

Ballar crosses his arms in his best Gangnam Pose and awaits someone intelligent to do the talking.

Zaehyra's tone hardens, determined to carry toward a peaceful encounter, You harm everyone here and you're no longer a man of your word Stranger, and a deal is a deal; Hana's release and safety forward for the questions asked. We were hired by proxy to the Baroness of Rhandilskiburg to recover a mirror of which we did not find inside the tower. We had a brief altercation with the fiend which took his sight and left him no resolve or desire to pursue conflict to a permanent resolution.

Now, who are you, and why does the Baroness want your mirror so badly? What does it do?

The man pauses, seems a bit nervous, as if he might be a little intimidated as each of the heroes grows a bit more impatient with him, and listens to what Zaehyra has to say, and when she finishes with what she has to say, a look of confusion crosses his face, but only for a moment, and then he looks Directly at Keryth.

You might actually give us a bit of trouble after all, I think

he says, and then lunges for a rope by the box on the cart…

The man will pull the rope, revealing a mirror securely held within the box which is open on the side facing you. We will resolve the action in Initiative Order, but you must also be able to correctly determine his actions, if you go before him in the initiative count. It seems like he is reaching for a rope, but until the rope is actually pulled, on his turn to act, you really don’t know what he is about to do. Once the Mirror is revealed, and if the area is not completely obscured to all sight, each of you will have to roll a save, DC 17 versus Will, but can avoid the save if you are keen enough to realize he is about to reveal the mirror, and we will treat this in the same way as a standard cursed mirror that a character is aware of which has a 50% chance for avoidance. First let’s see who acts first in this non-surprise initiative determination

Skarda’s Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Not in the face: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

I had a feeling it was a mirror.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

init: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

Niversal will pull a tindertwig tied to a smoke stick as a move action from his haversack and as a standard action he will ignite the smoke stick filling the entire alley with a ten foot smoke cloud blocking line of sight to the mirror and surrounding himself with smoke using part of the move action to enter stealth.

stealth: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33

Seeing the Baron lunge towards the covered object, Keryth unleashes the spell he had preparing for just such an action, filling the area in front of himself and his comrades with a large cloud of dense foul smelling mist. Within an instant the Baron, his men and the still shrouded object are obscured from view. (cast stinking cloud fort save DC 19)

When the strange man lunges for the rope hanging by the curtain covering the front of the box he stumbles on the stairs a little giving his enemies plenty of time to act

Round 1…

Not altogether sure that everyone knows what danger is at foot, Niversal quickly ignites a smoking bundle of twigs, throws it on the ground and vanishes

Keryth cast a spell he had been keeping close in the front of his mind, and suddenly the alley is filled with a noxious smoke which comes dangerously close to Zae

The figure of the man and his henchmen temporarily disappear in the smoky fumes

At this moment, all enemies are more than 5 feet away from any of the Player Characters – you cannot see them, they have total concealment (roll a d100 for any attack targeting an enemy, if you have a way to target them without using sight – if your d100 roll is 50 or < the attack misses). You can enter the Stinking Cloud to engage the enemy, but must roll a fortitude save, DC 19 or become Nauseated

The sounds of people chocking and coughing can be heard coming from within the cloud.

Fortitude Save, Skarda: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Fortitude Save Red: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Fortitude Save Org: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Fortitude Save Yel: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Fortitude Save Grn: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Fortitude Save Blu: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18