If I may Ezra? May I examine you with Magic and look at your hands?
arcana
spellcraft
If I may Ezra? May I examine you with Magic and look at your hands?
1d20+7 arcana
1d20+8 spellcraft
Ezra very reluctantly pulls his hands from the cooling water and holds them up to Yorrick. Although it was not clear before due to his clothing, the skin is blackened and shriveled on his arms, leaving them quite frail already, without the pain of the fire magic. "Be careful please."
Gotin fumes a bit at being ignored, but he follows the others in and grinds his teeth and listens to the others while he counts to 30,000 to calm down...
ev'ry few days now, they don't do much though. If no on's in da streets they just keep walken
but where do they go? has anyone tried following at a distance or tracking them?
and if they're coming from the graveyard, why has no one staked that out to see what happens when they're rising?
more to himself than the others,
this was supposed to be an easy gig, keep my head down, take in some local color, maybe thwart a few goblin raids, just wait for things to die down in Egorian. Zombies.... pheh!
He stares down Glifdore
look, I understand you need help, but it sounds like you don't know thing one about what's going on... can you tell us anything else?
Glifdore frowns, with too many questions coming at him to answer. "We nev'r followed dem, that's what yer her' fer."
Ezra I am sure you cast that spell there are no other auras or he like on you. Perhaps there is something in your subconscious.... He trails off
Ezra I am sure you cast that spell there are no other auras or he like on you. Perhaps there is something in your subconscious.... He trails off
Ezra shakes his head. "I've been blessed with other gifts with Asmodeus, but nothing like this. Am I... no... I am blessed with magical gifts... Amazing... His fear quickly turns into wonder which acts as an anesthetic that blocks out much of the feeling in his arms. "Perhaps I was saved for a reason. Out of all the humans out there, Asmodeus chose me..."
There is one other option
Yorrick rushes out to where the spell was cast and examines it with detect magic
Flynn has been sitting in the back of the Tavern listening to the conversation. He stands and walks toward the group joining the conversation.
Perhaps if we follow the tracks of the undead back to their origin, we can find some answers. Otherwise, we will have to wait until their next attack.
Khron grinds his teeth and clenches his fists, still rather put off by the things they just fought. "I dun loike th' idea, but i's prol'y our bes' option," he admits. "I s'pose if ya folk were lookin' f'r a foight loike I was, well," he pauses, punching a meaty fist into an open palm, "we sure as 'ell got one."
Gotin stares at Flynn and Khron curiously
we know already that they're coming from Tadloton's own cemetery; what we don't know is how or why. I suggest that some or all of us should camp out there, somewhere out of general view and wait for something to happen, figure out what we're dealing with...
The other option, one we may be able to take immediately is to follow those zombie tracks that have left the town and see where they go
Ezra suddenly has a thought and looks to the other guild mates. "Maybe one of you can identify how old these corpses are... or at least how long they have been animated for. Maybe then you can know exactly what you are dealing with before you look for the culprit. If the corpses have been out of the ground for some time, the spellcaster is bound to have created more... but if they are relatively new then you might have a chance to apprehend the fiend before he creates more vile undead." Ezra puts special emphasis on the word 'you' making it clear he expects nothing more than to stay in town while the warriors did all the work. He was a diplomat after all... albeit one that may have a newfound magical talent.
Gotin turns his credulous stare on his countryman for a moment... he sighs, props an elbow on the table and cradles his head in one hand.
Glifdore? Um, how long did you say this has been going on for? and can you estimate how many graves have been desecrated before today? Ezra seems to want reassurances that there's still an army of shambling corpses out there so he can catch up on his body count.
Ezra pales even further than his normal complexion. "B-body count? N-n-no, I just want to... no! If he could, the Chelaxian would shrink even smaller than his countryman. "If there are more of those things, I think the appropriate thing for me to do is convince the Consortium the need for mercenaries, not diplomats... I could stay here and start writing letters right away."
K'leck frowns. He's clearly deep in thought. Finally, his expression clears. "I will let smart people decide best course of action. Just point me in the direction of things that need smashing." He grins broadly.
Khron snorts derisively. "Sounds more loike yer tryin' t' run loike a boar wit' 'is tail 'tween 'is legs," the warpriest says, arms crossed across his chest. "I don' loike th' idea o' gettin' turned into one o' 'ose monsters, but lettin' 'em 'ave the town is coward's talk." He shakes his head, looking rather put off by the mayor's words.
Well that would be one choice, Mr. Mayer.
Or, and this is a good one, everyone will be happy about it. You hire us to find and stop the cause. If we succeed you get to be the hero that saved the town, and we get paid. If we fail then we probably died and then you get to be the hero by ushering everyone out of town. Either way you would be a glorious hero.
diplo
bluff for the hero bit cause that is a lie
string cause he underscores his words, but breaks a string
Ezra casts enhanced diplomacy as his allies are speaking and then bows respectfully to the Mayor. "My new friend Yorrick here is correct sir. As a diplomat I was sent here to speak with you of the importance of a mercenary guild such as this one... but now that I have seen th effectiveness of such an organization firsthand, I must urge you to allow this group to at least try. If they fail, then by all means evacuate, but at least allow these warriors to show you what they can do."
Gotin is unusually quiet as he eyes the mayor critically
K'leck nods at Yorrick and Ezra's words. "Those undead were no problem. More will be no problem. We take care of easy." He grins, looking quite confident. After all, not one zombie managed to land a single blow, why should more be any different?
Payk smiles and waves to the mayor's retreating back. "You know, there's something weighing down that guy. But,. I know for sure it isn't this bag of coins." The half-elf throws another bag of coins on the table, which appears slightly larger than the rest. With a flourish and a bow, Payk departs the dining room. You can soon here him talking in hushed tones to someone else in the bar *.
"You should have seen it Margerie, this guy was incredible. All he had to do was raise his staff and these bodies would just rise from their graves and move where he pointed. And he had an ogre there to dig up the graves. It was magnificent."
"'at a roight c+&% 'at fella is," Khron comments offhandedly, unimpressed with the Mayor of Tadloton.
Khron notices Payk talking to someone outside of the dining area. The warpriest narrows his eyes as he hears the half-elf speaking, but doesn't say anything. He simply moves a bit closer to the rogue's position, with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face.
perception
Well I thought the idea was a good one myself. I still say we go take care of the creature raising these things.
Yorrick happily pockets the gold
in case it's not completely obvious, the mayor is misleading us and likely the town, and this really was a message to get outa town
looks like we've got a real mystery on our hands, gang
he doesn't understand why, but suddenly wishes he had an ascot
Ezra looks at the gold on the table, unsure of whether or not he should take a share. Technically he had been admitted as a specialist in the guild, but he hadn't done much in the fight except convince that lady to get inside the tavern.
"I wish all the best of luck in your search. I suppose I could try to buy you all a bit more time by speaking with the mayor... If that is in the guild's best interests." He turns to Glifdore for confirmation.
K'leck looks quite pleased with his gain. He begins counting out the gold into his pocket, mouthing the numbers as he does so. "If mayor want everybody to leave, what make him think dead will not simply continue to follow? Running away only expose back to get stabbed."
Done counting, he looks up at Glifdore. "Is there law that forbids exploring town or defending self? What give mayor power to forbid us from doing this thing? Undead may not be work of angry spirits needing appeasing, but should still be stopped."
Flynn has had a grim look on his face while the mayor was in the room. Once he leaves he speaks up. My experience with authority figures is that they rarely have the people's welfare at heart. I would guess the townspeople desperately want our help, so we should provide it. I will gladly volunteer to watch the graveyard for the next several nights and see if any foul rites are taking place there.
to Flynn yes, but not alone. that's something I think you and I may be best suited for, and perhaps Payk, wherever he's disappeared to...
We'll need the others too, but most of you lack a certain... subtlety and should probably station yourselves a bit further off but prepared to act on a prearranged signal.
But first, I'd like to take anyone with an eye for tracking with me to see if there's any way to find out where zombies who weren't stopped here in town may have been headed.
And I think we can agree we shouldn't tell the mayor any of this...
he glances around the room, anybody have any other ideas of how to proceed? speak now, if we go with this plan I'd like to get moving (EDIT:) early in the morning
Ezra stays quiet for a moment while Gotin speaks and then opens his mouth to speak with his countryman. "I.... I think it best that I go with you. Asmodeus chose to show me that I have access to magic, and I think he wants me to use it... Hopefully It is not limited to fire, but only time will tell. Even without magic, I suppose you might want someone who could potentially cool hostilities if we find something other than undead. I believe that the spoken word should at least be attempted before we come to arms. If that fails, I can stay out the way and let you warriors do something about it."
Furthermore, seeing as there is still gold on the table, Ezra counts out 20 coins for himself.
offers Ezra an encouraging smile, excellent, I was getting worried the Prince of Hell had given you fire only to take away your spine
Yorrick shrugs and checks his gear. Anyone have a whetstone?
Yorrick shrugs and checks his gear. Anyone have a whetstone?
K'leck goes outside, grabs a stone, and dunks it in the barrel Ezra was using to cool off his hands. He holds it out to Yorrick, expression completely deadpan. It's not entirely clear if he's serious or making a joke.
"So we sleep now, get up just before dawn, and do some exploring, yes?" He glances at Glifdore, looking for any sign of their recruiter's thoughts.
Ah...K'Leck, you should be careful when you do that. In many lands what you just did was ask for my hand in marriage...
Bluff
Yorrick has a tough time keeping a straight face
K'leck places one hand on Yorrick's shoulder. "Would not be so bad; Many have told me I would make excellent husband." His face is mostly serious, but there's a slight smile and an amused glint in his eye.
Ah...K'Leck, you should be careful when you do that. In many lands what you just did was ask for my hand in marriage...
1d20+8 Bluff
Yorrick has a tough time keeping a straight face
I think you're referring to the Yukyuk goblin tribe of the Mwangi Expanse, and that's no marriage proposal, it's the traditional offer to the temple prostitute in order to initiate a, uh, transaction...
doesn't blink
b.uff
Ah that is what I was thinking of
raises an eyebrow of course
Khron grumbles, an angry noise coming from the back of his throat. "Oi, lads. Shut yer traps for a minute. I'm 'earin' somethin' I ain't loike th' sound of...," he trails off, his fists balled tightly at his sides.
what is it, Khron?
I don't hear anything
K'leck looks about to respond when he hears Khron's statement. His jaw snaps shut and he cocks his head to listen.
But he's unable to hear anything, so instead he takes a sip of water from his waterskin.