Gared Naught |
Gared led his companions back to the other's, with the unconscious Tablark over his shoulder and listened to Horven's combination of logic, common sense, and fair bit of charm. He gently placed the bloodied dwarf down on the dusty floor and turned to the rest of the juror's, and combination of smoldering anger and grief in his eyes. "Ye all owe it too each other to do th' best ye can fer yerselves and those around ye. I still don't understand all this mess, but we're all here together now, and ye all need te be trusting us and yerselv's with all yer best efferts, else these deaths and madness be fer naught."
DM Eric |
Ebin's high pitched giggle echoes in response to Ratcliff's suggestion. "Ohhhh...ha ha HA HA HAHA! That's a good one rat boy! For an amateur that is...tee teee heehee HEHEHEHE!"
Rekkart glares at the gnome and is about to reply, when Halgrak soft voice cust through the gnome's giggles. "I'll do it. I'll carry Tablark and make sure he is OK." He turns to look directly into Horven's eyes. "Will that be ok with you? I mean he will slow me down, but it's not like I am a warrior, not like the rest of ya. He should be fine with me keeping an eye on him."
Gared Naught |
Gared nodded approvingly at the half-orc, and let his eyes bore into the gnome appraisingly.
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven gives a sincere smile to Halgrak. "Thank you. We all appreciate it."
Horven resists the urge to throttle Ebin.
Gnomes like him give short folk a bad name...
Ganer Jitesh |
When the others returned, Ganer called them together, Ratcliff, Gared and Horven, for a private chat. When he was sure that they were listening, and that nobody else was, he shared his discoveries with the group. "While you were gone, I tried to come up with a way to contact the ghost, an attempt to hear what he had to say, and I couldn't, because we are not dealing with a ghost." He let them wonder what he was talking about for a moment, and then continued. "I find no reason to doubt that we are dealing with the spirit of Jarbin Mord, but he is no ghost, he is. . .I don't know. I've never even heard of a creature with the abilities he seems to possess."
Ganer looked over at the others, wondering which among them deserved what they were facing, or rather, wondering if any didn't. He turned back to the group, shame in his voice, "I confess that I have been looking at things from the wrong perspective. I viewed this as an investigation, sorting out the truth and finding justice for an innocent man. I was wrong, Mord is so far beyond justice that it is irrelevant, we need to determine who among them is innocent of wrongdoing and help them. I suggest we question Rekkart or Killian, they seem the most upstanding of the bunch."
DM Eric |
Almost as if on cue, Killian approaches your group. "I could not help but overhear my name, as my ears started flaming." He chuckles softly, "I suspect you have some questions for me about that ghastly day. It seems to me despite the...ahhh...lack of trust between us, we...ahhh need to be working together else we all end up like poor Tablark."
Gared Naught |
Gared again nods approvingly at the older man. "Is there any more ye can tell us that might seem useful to all our plights, or more of what happened then if nothing else?"
DM Eric |
The elderly gentleman shakes his head. "Nay, I fear not. My time on the trial was a sore time for me, but all of the evidence I recall hearing at the time surely pointed to his guilt." He is silent for a moment. "If Mord was innocent though....then someone else killed his wife and child." He glances back at the other jurors, "But who?"
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven listens intently, anything that would prevent him from saying more. He still believes Mord, the living man, is innocent and that this spirit is merely lashing out against its torturous fate. However, he knows this argument would continue on and on until this mystery is resolved. He hopes Killian's words would shed new light on matters.
DM Eric |
Killian's eyes widen. "A vision you say? How fascinating! And it showed those four as happy concerning the verdict? Hmmm...quite interesting." He is silent for a moment before speaking softly, "It is certainly possible any of them arranged to have Mord wrongly convicted. But if that is the case, then how can you prove it?"
Horven Graveltoes |
"Well, they're not going to come out and admit it unless they were in mortal peril. Maybe not even then. We're not going to get anything out of Malgrim anymore," Horven ponders. "Maybe you know something about Madge, Patrissa or Ebin that we don't? Patrissa seems failry suspicious with her stroking that necklace all the time. Are fire opals something special around here?"
Gared Naught |
Gared keeps and eye on the other jurors as the conversation, looking for prying eyes or ears as well as uncomfortable faces.
Ratcliff |
"Yes she does and I find Ebin particularly creepy." He looks over at the Gnome and rubs his whiskers. "Then again maybe we are looking at this the completely wrong way. Maybe he was guilty but doesn't believe that he is. I have heard that memories can be blocked by traumatic events... But I doubt we will find the truth until this...thing allows us to, if we can even trust it to show us that is."
DM Eric |
Time: 8:15 pm, T plus 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Horven Graveltoes |
"Well, from what I can judge, that necklace isn't a cheap trinket and fairly rare to come across. I think that may be a starting point, as strange as it sounds. Maybe I'll have a word with her about it," Horven says, trying to sound profound.
Gared Naught |
Gared spoke up softly.
"I'm not very talented with words, but I'm not bad at reading people. It's been a long time since I've done more than exchange nods with a stranger, so perhaps I'll let you do the talking."
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven grins widely. "Ah, we all have our own talents. Pray that I don't screw up."
Horven walks over to Patrissa. "I've been meaning to ask you, dear lady, about that necklace of yours. I have a bit of an eye for exquisite jewelry and have never seen a necklace that striking. It must be quite a rarity. To my point, I am looking to...er...woo a certain girl and I think a necklace like that would melt her heart. I am not asking to buy yours, heavens no! I could not ask the sun to relinquish its radiance nor could I ask you to part with something that makes your beauty incomparable. But if you could indulge me, where did you come by such a treasure?"
I'm leaning towards Bluff on this, so:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
DM Eric |
Bluff 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Horven's words have the desired effect on the beautiful woman, despite a few seconds where she eyed the halfling, trying to determine if there is any ulterior motive. Figuring he is just trying to make conversation she responds in a girlish tone, Oh, this trifling thing? It was a gift to me from my...paramour. Do you like it?"
I need Sense Motive checks from all of you please.
wolfman1911 |
Ganer rolled his eyes, if the necklace was as rare as Horven had implied, then her paramour must be a member of the Grand Council or perhaps a leader of one of the many guilds in Absalom. He wondered if he should confront her, or leave it to Horven. He decided to sit back and watch.
DM Eric |
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven glances at the necklace, then refocuses his attention on Patrissa. "Quite. Has your 'paramour' told you where he acquired it? I simply must know, else I would not be a worthy suitor."
DM Eric |
It is clear to everyone that Patrissa is overly obsessed with her Fire Opal necklace. "Well, my good man I must confess he did not tell me where he acquired MY necklace from, but I know he must have moved heaven and earth to provide it for me. I know he certainly loves me very much and would do anything for me!"
Gared Naught |
"Aye, that he must." Gared wasn't able to read the woman, so he cleared his head and followed a different track. "Would ye mind if I took a look at it?"
DM Eric |
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Something in his tone must have reassured the lady because she nods reluctantly. "Oh, very well. BUT only for a minute." As she hands the fire opal necklace over, the dwarf can readily see why she treasures it so. It consists of 12 fire opal gems set in a silver chain. While he is no gem cutter, he can tell the necklace is worth many thousands of gold pieces.
With a "Hmmph!" Patrissa snatches the necklace back from Gared and moves away from him, as if fearing the loss of the necklace.
Gared Naught |
Gared is surprised and humbled by the woman's willingness to part with the magnificent item at his inquiry, and he responds with an embarrassed respect of sorts.
"Tis a very fine piece indeed, and I can understand yer love for it. Might I be askin' who yer lover be?"
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven lets Gared deal with Patrissa, thankful he didn't have to continue on with all of the sappy conversation. He walks over to Madge.
"How are you holding up?" Horven asks casually.
DM Eric |
Patrissa eyes the dwarf with a guarded look in her eyes. Then almost when he is sure she will refuse to answer him, she does reply softly tears welling in her eyes. "He....his name is Alister. He was...not a nice man to me."
Madge looks up to him and Horven can see she is quite scared. She manages a half-hearted smile. "I...I wish I was doing better, Horven, but I think...I hope we can escape that evil spirit's clutches!"
Gared Naught |
Gared is again caught off-guard by the woman's response, baffled that anyone would confide in him and pained by idea of harshness between lovers. There is nothing but grief and empathy in the dwarf's crystal blue eyes and deep voice as he spoke reverently to the woman.
"The whole of the earth must have rumbled with sadness when ye were treated with anything less than love and kindness, Patrissa."
The dwarf's eyes focused on hers, and did not turn away.
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven looks at Madge and smiles. "We will, Madge. I have a question, just to get our minds off of this horrible mess. Tablark said that you are a performer and he's seen you before. So what do you do?"
DM Eric |
Patrissa sighs softly and brushes a lock of hair from her eyes. As she moves her hand away from her face, Gared thinks he sees moisture glistening in her eye. She puts a hand on his arm and says simply, "Thank you for listening. We really need to find a way out of here though."
Madge returns the smile, "I perform out on the streets doing acrobatic stunts like walking on tightropes, jumping over obstacles, and other various things. I am quite good, and my audience really enjoyed watching...me." There is a slight hitch at the end, as if she meant to say something else but corrected herself at the last second.
Time: 8:25 pm, T plus 2 hours, 25 minutes.
Horven Graveltoes |
Horven nods, noting the hitch but not bringing it up. "I can tell. You have a nice...er...um...uh, nevermind."
Despite his personal admonitions, he still found Madge attractive...even if she was a conspirator in a murder. Horven isn't dead inside, just preoccupied.
"Let's see if we can get our bearings and move on," Horven says, gently laying a hand on her shoulder.
Ganer Jitesh |
"Should we return downstairs, or was there another door we haven't tried?" Ganer said, slowly heading back toward the central room, hoping that the others would follow him.
He was becoming frustrated, at every turn, it seemed as though the answer was just around the next corner, and that things would suddenly be explained. Every corner, however, only brought another turn. He knew that one of these people held all the answers, if he only knew what to ask. The fact that Horven, Gared and Ratcliff seemed to either not realize or not care that the ones they coddled the most were the ones that Irori had shown him to be the most guilty didn't help matters much.
Ganer wondered what it would take to get them on the right track. He wondered if revealing his true nature trying to pass himself off as a demon would help. He decided to store that idea away for later.
Gared Naught |
Bewildered by the woman's actions's Gared tried to read into her language and expressions to glean a better understanding of the woman as he nodded in agreement with her and the other's.
DM Eric |
Horven: Yes all of you are back in the lounge.
Ratcliff |
Ratcliff will head to the staircase "Your right might aswell keep moving. If this ghost is aiming to kill or maim someone every hour the quicker we move the better."
I have still been around just didn't have anything to add yet ;)
DM Eric |
Ganer Jitesh 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Gared Naught 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Horven Graveltoes 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Ratcliff 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
? 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
The four heroes led by the ratfolk head up the stairs onto the next floor of the courthouse. When they reach the end of the stairs they discover this attic room is in shambles. A simple double bed is hacked to splinters, the mattress eviscerated of its stuffing and caked in dried blood. No attempt to clean up the slaughter that transpired here was made in the hurried trial of Mord and the flight of all staff from the courthouse. An eerie menagerie of blood-darkened wooden toys in the shapes of carriages, horses, knights, and wizards are strewn near a dark stain on the floor beneath a broken table.
As you all pause to take in the scene, something stirs in the corner...a dark woman, her hourglass figure wrapped only in scant red veils, steps forward into the room. Her jet-black eyes stir the soul with desire. As she moves closer, her head slowly splits at the seam of the axe blow that killed her, a slanted chop that opened her skull crosswise from temple to jawbone. A hellish collection of wriggling brain and gurgling fluids spews forth as she dances her Varisian twirl. Her hands now sport gory stumps in lieu of graceful fingers.
She turns to face you and moves in to attack...and as Ratcliff sees her his sight fades as another vision fills his mind...
out with her knitting needle. The cloaked figure raises a gloved hand to its cheek. The glove comes away bloody, and then the figure reaches for a wood axe hung above the hearth as the woman recoils in horror...
Ratcliff is dazed for one round.
Initiative: Ganer, "?", Ratcliff , Gared, Horven.
Ganer is up. I will post a map later tonight but the attic is 10' by 25'. You are in the SW corner and the attacker is in the NE corner. Go ahead and give me Knowledge Religion checks please.
Ganer Jitesh |
Oops, I forgot I hadn't posted yet, sorry folks.
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Ganer decided to try a different approach. "I tire of this masquerade," he said, irritation heavy in his voice as he slowly unclasped the cloak and let it fall to the floor. Underneath, his features were surprisingly similar to those of a Rakshasa, he had the head of a white tiger, and short, fleshy, claw tipped fingers reminiscent of paws. "There are worse things than ghosts and zombies trapped in here with you." He took hold of the large metal shield at his side, and then turned to the group. "I will deal with this creature, and you will all decide what you wish to tell me about what truly happened during the trial."
With that, Ganer headed toward the undead.
I'm assuming that the creature is more than fifteen feet away. Also, am I going to have to make a bluff roll against everyone for trying to pass myself off as a true Rakshasa?
DM Eric |
Ganer shoulders past the others shedding his disguise at last and hobbles towards the undead spirit. Unfortunately, its true nature eludes him. He approaches the spirit which raises it arm as if to strike at the offending intruder...
Feel free to make an attack roll Ganer as you are now in melee with it.
Initiative: Ganer (standard action), "?", Ratcliff , Gared, Horven.