Lazare...Just say no.
EVERYONE notices Lazare trying to palm the opium....its up to Lazare what he does about being caught.
After studying the shelves for a bit, you find a variety of esoteric, yet somewhat valuable books (On the Treatment of Ambitions, Disappointments, and Regrets, on Violent Sands, a signed copy of Galdyce's Guest: Feast of the Nosferatu). Each book weighs 2 pounds and is worth 100 gold to the right buyer.
Doctor Losandro's journal is a concise record of her daily duties and observations. It is largely mundane - filled with notes from staff meetings and interviews with families of wold be patients - but in the last year, the names of Haserton Lowls and Count Lowls appear with increasing regularity. You recognize that both names refer to Count Haserton Pragmus Lowls IV, ruler of the County of Versex in Ustalav. He lives in Thrushmoor.
Let us leave the books until we come back. Don't want to weigh us down.
Huh, so maybe something with this Zandalus has something to do with our current problem?
Trevor opens the east(more SEish) door.
This opens into a 50' long corridor, 5' wide, leading to the east. There 2 doors on the north, 2 doors on the south (opposite of those on the north), and one door on the far eastern end of the hall.
Trevor opens the closest Northern door after their faithfulmeatshield manservant looks at it
The room is filled with racks of boxes, notebooks with loose pages, and piles of dusty junk fill this room.
And there are two humans, wearing white-ish robes stained yellow that look up with a gleam in their eyes!
Kill them, in the Name of the Prophet! shrieks one and they both move to attack, clubs raised in high attack position!
They race toward the door.
The players get their standard turn first! A move and an action!
AC12 for the bad guys!
Trevor takes the lead and unleashes pummeling power.
Both of you hit! But the man is still standing (albeit, with a halfling in his same space).
JP still gets to go - he can take a ranged weapon shot at the other fellow before he is engaged, or take a shot at the person Trevor and Lazare have engaged, or anything else.
Giles waits for the doorway to clear so he can do something.
One cultist attacks Lazare, the other Trevor.
And both miss horribly!
The one Lazare is climbing is very hurt; the other not so bad.
The players are up.
To set the scene (without a map), the bad guys are about 10 feet inside the west door. Trevor stands next to both, Lazare is in the square of one of them. JP stands in the doorway, and Giles in the hall behind JP.
Trevor bashes the one that doesn't have a halfling on him.
JP puts a musket ball in the left shoulder of one of the cultists, spinning him around. While he is off balance, Trevor's earth breaker smashes his skull.
Lazare is up!
The remaining cultist is staggering and in terrible pain, yet he winds up a powerful swing at the halfling!
, but misses again.
the players are up!
You ready to stop that?
If the cultist is not, Trevor smashes again.
Trevor misses with his swing, perhaps distracted himself by the gyrating hafling.
JP puts the cultist down with a shot to the head, knocking him to the ground, groggy. He isn't quite out - but JP hits him hard with the but of his musket and knocks him solidly out.
Looking around the room, you hear a murmuring. In the corner is a man dressed in leather armor, well trussed and gagged.
Trevor looks at the downed cultist. Wonder if it would be worthwhile trying to question this one.
You find nothing on the cultists other than their crow bars, few hunks of dry bread, and some meat of dubious pedigree.
JP does notice they each radiate some sort of magic - compulsion, perhaps? Something to do with dreams?
Odd, I have this feeling that the tied up man will be a true comrade.
The professor's eyes go wide with alarm and fear but reasons that nothing could be worse than being tied up by a bunch of lunatics. Right?
Decision made, he starts to struggle against his bonds and mumble as loud as he can. His eyes pleading with these people to free him...
Trevor pulls away his gag. Just who are you?
Trevor pulls away his gag. Just who are you?
The man was clearly relieved, "Thank you. Thank you for saving me."
He thought for second before responding, "I'm a... professor. I think. I don't really know at this point."
He whispered, "Is this a dream? It seems that I'm not sure when I'm dreaming until I wake up..."
He struggled against his bonds to no avail and chanced a request, "Can you untie me? Please."
This is real alright, how about we take you someplace safe first and get you checked out. Trevor looks at the others and nods his head towards the sanctuary.
You can easily go back to the chapel area. The food situation is getting worse - no new supplies have been found.
Winter will ask How are things? Did you find anything that can help us survive, or a way to break the yellow fog?
The Lord of Cats finishes reloading the flintlocks while the brute collects the professor. "Yes, let's go back, we've received little in the way of answers."
The professor collects his things as he continues to thank his rescuers.
He cleared his throat, "You won't regret this. I want you all to know that I can pull my weight here. I command certain magic and am very well-versed in most subjects."
His curiosity aroused, "Answers? You have answers? What can you tell me about this place? I don't... remember coming here. In fact, I don't remember much at all. I have certain memories but I'm not sure if they are indeed memories or just dreams..."
tag?
We woke up in the basement here with no memory of how we got here. There was some viscous shapechanger torturing another person. After we managed to escape we found this sanctuary and learned that this place is an asylum and as to how to escape the fog..we have no idea and all we can do is continue searching.
Winter, we haven't found any more food, just more of those odd cultists and some rat things.
We woke up in the basement here with no memory of how we got here. There was some viscous shapechanger torturing another person. After we managed to escape we found this sanctuary and learned that this place is an asylum and as to how to escape the fog..we have no idea and all we can do is continue searching.
Lucius adjusts his glasses, "An asylum eh? Then what was I doing in here? I wonder if I was here doing some research or something."
The fog, the yellow fog makes him shudder, "Tell me. Is there someone chasing you in this yellow fog? Does it catch you?"
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Lucius extends his hand, "Pleased to meet you sir. I'm... I'm the professor."
He quickly added, "I can help you survive. I can tend to your wounded and I'll start researching what to do about this yellow fog immediately. Are there any books that I can consult?"
Winter looks a bit frustrated. We have nothing here for research. The answers must be found out there, in the asylum! We won't survive here much longer unless we find a way to escape through the mist. Or make the mist go away
And Lazare had a waking dream when he got near that woman, and learned that the answers were "near you".
The map link is in my title bar and at the top of the page.
There is a library we passed by that had some weird rat creatures, and a woman who seemed paralyzed and breathing out strange smoke. We were about to continue after battling the cultists when we found you.
Trevor concentrates a bit and some of his wounds close.
I can spare three days of rations for your group, Winter. Trevor hands over a few packets of jerky and fruit.
|
Talking politely and calmly to the cultist, he attempts to determine who he is, their numbers and locations, and if the is an enchantment involved.
Sketching out where they have been, he tries to get Winter to expand what they know about the asylum.
-Posted with Wayfinder
I feel like the sleeping lady has more answers for us, than "Its near." Oh so helpful lass... really. Mr. Professor, nice to know ya. Your story sounds like everyone else we've seen here. Nobody knows how they got here and we all hope we were here in an official capacity, not as a patient!
The professor looks offended, "I am most certainly NOT a patient here."
He then turns to Jean and scratches the stubble on his chin as he reads the journal, "You think we're these experiments? I guess it begs the questions as to whether we knew each other before the entire group got amnesia."
He looks around, "We don't have a copy of this book 'The Chain of Nights', do we?
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Never heard of that book. I gotta wonder about smoke lady though, that looks like major nasty magic.
Between Winter's memory and JP's questioning, you learn that the cult is centered on the Prophet Zandalus, located in the northern section of the asylum and in a few of rooms remaining on the second floor.
The description of Zandalus sound a lot like the fellow the Professor saw running around in his dream (dream mentioned in the discussion tab from the period when the Professor was comatose).
You are likely the 4 amnesiacs mentioned in the journal. Which does mean you have a shared, unremembered past.
You have not heard of the book. You DID just leave a library and an area full of records, files, and memorabilia.
Well let us check out that library and see if we can find any information about the book.
Well let us check out that library and see if we can find any information about the book.
Lucius nods, "This seems to be the most sensible course of action. Please lead me to this library."
The professor took all of it in; answers must be here somewhere. He took a brief tour of the books that were available and selected a few as he sat down in a table.
He cleared his throat, "I'm not sure if you have any where to go but I would appreciate someone remain here with me. Who knows if those lunatics will show up again?"
---------
Trevor stands watch as well, this book stuff is a little much for him.
A thorough search of the shelves reveals no more books of interest (well, perhaps of interest, but not with regards to the adventure). Certainly no copy of The Chain of Nights.
The woman sits in the same position, purple - blue smoke wafting from her mouth.
From your description, and conversation with Winter, you believe this woman is, in fact, Dr. Losandro.
If you search the room where the Professor was found, you do find a potion of silversheen, and a potion of align weapon.
That room seems to be filled with a variety of odd, mostly worthless, items - apparently collected from patients when they checked in.