"It's time to end Lamm once and for all. He's hurt too many people too many times already.
"Training pickpockets would explain what the old man saw..." He adds, thinking out loud.
"I've been told he has the two kids I'm looking for. I'm in, but I want a few words with the old sack before we do him in."
Yanis will stand up from his lean,
"I will assist you all with this task, I am a doctor after all and it my duty to make sure you come out alive. Plus I may be able to find out more about his drugs and trade use. Help more people."
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"Then I will perform the Harrowing for you." Zellara pulls out her deck, and beings to shuffle it, pulling out nine cards after several movements of the deck. She is definitely a card sharp if nothing else, as she moves them almost faster then the unaided mortal eye can see.
"We begin the harrowing. These 9 cards are the Choosing, where your desires are recognized by the cards. Following this we will see what the past, the present, and the future hold or have held for you this day."
Ok now for the fun part. For the Choosing, all 6 of you get 1 card each, and then each of you roll off to see who gets to pick another. For the first roll, use a d10-1, while for the second we'll use a d12 and highest roll wins for a second card. Depending on how this plays out, you will get Harrow points that can help you in various situations during each chapter of the adventure both from the Choosing and potentially the 9 card spread depending on how the cards go. I'll determine the 9 card spread since I may have to modify things a bit based on background etc. In this cae, Harrow points will allow you to do the following since this chapter is heavily based on Dexterity use in various ways. A Harrow point can be spent to reroll an init check, Reflex save, attack roll modified by Dexterity, or a Dex based check. You will have to abide by that result, but you can save Harrow points to use them for additional rerolls. A Harrow Point can also be used to add a +1 dodge bonus to your AC for one encounter. You can spend up to 3 Harrow points in this manner to get a max of +3 Dodge AC. Lastly, you can spend 1 Harrow point to increase your based speed by 10 for one encounter. This is an untyped bonus, so if you have things that boost your base speed (longstrider, boots of speed, rocket boots, fear of spiders, anime leap, etc) this will stack.
The Black Merlin leans forward to watch the woman work.
Machaera watches in fascination; always interested in the many ways different folk use magic, even if it's difficult to recognize as such, for now she is content to merely observe and not agonize about ways and means.
Io narrows her eyes. She's not a huge fan of magic and its practitioners, but she knows it's highly practical and could save her life sometime.
The Albatross keeps a keen eye for parlor tricks while she performs the reading.
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Zellara's hands dole out the 9 cards. Here is what you receive {make a note of it because there are additional bonuses past the Harrow points)
The Black Merlin: you receive the Dance. This card represents law and good combined, and is traditionally associated with staying in step, so that the dance and the pattern it creates benefits all
Yanis: You receive the cricket. This card represents altruism for the benefit of all (neutral good). It is associated with travel and a quick mind, with treasure found at the end of a journey via kindness and a fast response to danger.
Headsman: You receive the Peackock as your first card. This card represents beauty frozen in time, or the inability to change quickly (neutrality). It will usually signal some form of a sudden personal shift traditionally.
Your second card is the Rabbit Prince, and this one is extremely fortunate for you. The Rabbit Prince is a quirky fellow who represents the given and take of melee combat {chaotic neutral). He is battle personified, and like luck or fate, given to shows of jealousy and capriciousness.
Io: Your first card is the Avalanche. This card represents the ordered nature of an uncaring disaster (lawful evil). It often represents physical danger or the danger of an uncaring entity, like a crowd or a Starbucks queue.
Your second card is the Demon's Lantern. This card is the card of traps and tricks of the mind (chaotic evil). Traditionally, this card is taken to represent an impossible situation.
Machaera: You receive the Juggler card. This card represents those who play with the lives of others, such as the gods, outsiders, and game show hosts. If the Juggler stays with everything handled, good outcomes will prevail (chaotic good), but if he drops the ball, then it all comes crashing down on him.
Corvus: Your first card is the Locksmith. This card grants the drawer the key to the unlocking of their destiny. However, it doesn't grant knowledge of what or where the lock is to use the key upon [lawful neutral].
Your second card is the Crows. This card represents a violent taking of something that was loved, whether a person, a thing, or even an intagible of life (like getting time back after watching an episode of Friends). When this card appears, be wary of a shocking loss, for the Crows will gather upon you and strip you of something you hold most dear.
Io takes the two cards, and looks at them.
"Impossible danger of the mind and body? Sounds like my kind of party."
She hands the cards back to Zellara,
"So, how exactly did you pull off those illusions earlier, especially if you're no spellcaster? They were as impressive as any I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Also, how many decks do you have? That one, clearly, but you must have an extra, unless the cards you sent to the six of us were part of that deck." She studies the deck for a moment, "But I don't think you'd give a reading with an incomplete deck, would you?"
The Merlin studies his card for a moment. He then takes in all the other cards arrayed in the harrow. He looks out and taps Albatross' second card. 'Crows huh? Seems the bird theme is popular this year.'
The Albatross shurgs, "I would have preferred the Angel of Death for Lamm, but I'll take what I can get."
"The Cricket, interesting I am upset with Lamm yes and I feel that he should die but it will not be my hand. I will attend you on this journey and will do my best to keep everyone in top health."
Yanis will sit in a chair and lean back, exhaustion hitting him hard.
"I'll kill him for you." Io says to Yanis, with a grim grin, "You don't have to worry about that one bit."
Headsman doesn't make much of the Peacock, but cracks a smile at the Rabbit Prince. "I like this one, it looks feisty!"
Machaera laughs softly as she sees what her card is. After all, what’s one more ball to juggle? Magic, swordplay, guilt, homesickness, missing far-off friends, and now, vengeance? Why not? It feels reckless, but it also feels like the universe isn’t giving her much of a choice.
Yuelral save us from the suspicions of the unsophisticated, she thinks, as Io continues to press Zellara for details. It’s bad enough talking to those sorcerers who do seek instruction. Without a modicum of training in common, how soon can we expect to thrash out a way of talking about spellcraft in a way that makes sense to one another? Of course, deep down Machaera is desperately curious, but it’s unlikely her conscious mind would ever admit it.
Zellara now focuses her attention to the past, present, and future, and begins her draws after all 9 cards are reshuffled back in to the deck. To Io she states: "I have purchased another deck, but it's much like using a standard sword you picked up from a dead guard, to the one that you and your family have handed down through the ages and know as well as your hand. As for the illusions, who says that they were? Visions can be created by one's own mind and are as real to you as any spell, or even a real situation."
Past: This draw represents the secrets of the past, as well as law and sometimes goodness.
Present this draw represents neutrality and the events of the present.
Future: This draw represents chaos and sometimes evil.
Draw results in next post in about 5 minutes.
Even as she's ignored by the concentrating Harrower, Io persists, "But.... but... I know an illusion when I see one. My entire life I've been sorting out real from imaginary, and... and... those were... real? In my head? I don't understand! I still don't understand how you made them happen! And why can't you just do that to Gaedren? Oh, I would love to watch him as he thinks he's being devoured by that horrible salamander of his. You said that they can affect just like a real situation, yeah? Then just... oh, I don't know! Make him think he died! And... you're not listening, are you?" She sighs, then watches the master shuffle her cards at lightning speed.
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The Black Merlin-Dance
Yanis-The Cricket
Headsman-The Peacock and the Rabbit Prince
Io: The Avalance and the Demon's Lantern
Machaera: The Juggler
Corvus: THe Locksmith and the Crows
Past
1 Chaotic Neutral Intelligence-The Vision Arcane Knowledge
2 Chaotic Neutral Strength-The Uprising Overwhelming Groundswell
3 Chaotic Good Strength-The Big Sky Freedom from Bondage
Present
1 Chaotic Evil Constituiton -The Waxworks Helplessness and Entropy
2 Lawful Neutral Charisma- The Marriage Union of Persons or Ideas
3 Lawful Good Intelligence -The Hidden Truth Seeing Past the Obvious
Future
1 Neutral Evil Strength -The Beating Attack from all Sides
2 Neutral Good Dexterity The Cricket Misaligned The journey goes poorly (Yanis another Harrow Point)
3 Lawful Good Dexterity The Dance Misaligned Running in lockstep is perilous. (The Black Merlin gains another Harrow point).
Machaera does sympathize with Io, so she tries to be gentle, though a bit of teasing creeps in. “Really? You just know an illusion when you see one? You’ve much more luck than I, then.”
She smiles to show she means no harm, and continues less facetiously, her tone even growing solemn, as if remembering some difficult memory. “There are illusions that can kill, you’re right. I’m sure there are things out there that I would die just to look upon, and that’s not even talking about a phantasm shaped to my worst fears. In which case, in what sense would the terror, the illusion, be less real? There are spells, too, that can shape shadow even into light, and fire – not quite real, but not fully imaginary, and they can burn just as well as honest flame.”
“Or consider dreams: they come unbidden, though one can call them, and shape them to a degree, by magic or by alchemy. Sometimes they are true, and sometimes one does well to heed them. The catch is, are they true before one acts upon them? Besides…” Seeing Zellara concentrate on laying out the spread, Machaera twitches her head in the fortune-teller's direction and mouths silently, but as if carefully enunciating, “not a magician.”
As the last card is turned up, the elf witch considers the final results, seeing what possible connections her mind is willing to draw out.
"So apparently there's a dancing cricket, or in this case, doctor, in the future?" asks the Albatross rhetorically and then turns to Yanis, "If you don't mind, please refrain from doing so until the rest of us our well on our way. Although you might find the right clientele for that down in Eel's end."
"Dancing is not one of my specialities but maybe if you are willing to teach me Mr. Albatross I could take it up. Probably make the children laugh some."
Yanis will smile at the Albatross
Io casts a semi-disparaging look at Macheaera, "It was a group of children that rushed forward, turned into flames, and left a harrow card in their stead. Of course it was an illusion! What else would it be?"
“It could have been an elaborate evocation, for example: there are some, to find people,” Machaera offers, her training as a wizard unable to resist the puzzle.
Her hands fanned briefly open from her lap in a gesture of concession. “Again, you’re right – between all of us, we can begin to narrow the possibilities, and safely discard theories of dreams or … drugs, or several other things. All I meant, though, was that to get much further would require the articulation of our assumed ontologies, which, fascinating as it might be, is rather a diversion from our quarry.”
Her eyes turn to the spread of cards. “Perhaps … there might be a time when it is enough to leave a vision a vision. If I have any sense of these cards, there is something that we’re not seeing, but there’s no hint of what it might be, only that it would be dangerous to insist too strongly on a particular way of doing things.” Such as interrogating non-specialists for an explanation of their talents that would likely prove dubious in any case.
"Ladies it would appear to me that you are arguing for no reason really, I could prescribe something to help you both settle down. It would appear we are both on the same side in this matter, so arguing about an illusion whether it was true or not is a matter of perspective. Since that is what I hear Illusion magic is meant to do."
Yanis will look in his medical bag, pulling out a scalpel "No" then a bone saw "No" finally he pulls out a mallet "Ah yes, some of my more primitive fellows use this to subdue a patient before performing surgery. I fell it is a bit to crude, I also hear it helps with stopping a patient form attempting to resist when they really need care."
The smile never leaving his darkened face.
Headsman listens with mild interest as Zellara does her thing, particularly as the Big Sky is brought up.
However, as the discussion turns to the theoretics of magic, he slumps into his seat, clearly uninterested and slowly getting lost in thought.
Eventually, he snaps back to attention, rather frustrated.
"Alright. That's enough blab. Lamm isn't going to get rid of himself, fun as it would be." He stands and turns to leave.
"Thanks a lot for your help, Zellara. We'll have your deck back before you know it."
Io merely sighs and turns away, looking back to the spread of the cards. While not very familiar with Harrowing personally, she knew the basics, and had to hold back from laughing at just how accurate the spread was.
Attack from all sides.... she thinks. I swear, if one more person betrays me, I'm not sure what I'll do. I imagine it will be quite therapeutic, though. Hmmmm....
The Black Merlin sits back in his chair and ponders the Harrow while the others discuss the finer points of magic, a topic that never held much interest for him. The Past. Arcane knowledge, an overwhelming groundswell, and freedom from bondage. Nothing comes to mind, the Chelaxian troubles were ended by devils allegedly. I supposed devils pouring forth from the Hells could be considered an overwhelming groundswell brought about by arcane knowledge. But that seems to have put the Chelish IN bondage. I never was one much for history or magic. Let's focus on the present. Entropy, a union, and seeing past the obvious. Maybe there's more to this group than it seems? Time will tell I suppose. The Future, isn't that what fortune telling is all about anyway? I don't know why they don't just skip to this part. An attack from all sides, a journey with a poor result, and running in lockstep being perilous. It seems that an ambush will surely end our attack on Lamm. And the Cricket, that was my card, maybe that warning was for me? Maybe I should take a back seat on planning. I hate not having a thorough plan.
Headsman's statements stir The Black Merlin from his thoughts. Well it seems like this big fella wants to take the lead.. The Merlin stands and makes to follow Headsman.
'Right behind you. I'm eager to see Lamm in the ground, or better yet unceremoniously dumped in the river.'
"I mean, I'd rather that there was no body left at all. He has his salamander, doesn't he?" Io cheerfully quips, far too happily for the subject at hand.
1. How many cards of the Harrowing are in the suit associated with the chapter, this being keys. So that gains everyone 2 points since there are two Key cards (The Cricket and the Dance)
2. In addition, each character gets another Harrow point from the card they selected from the Choosing.
3. If any player's Choosing card is revealed during the spread, that character also gains a Harrow point
So the totals are
The Black Merlin 4
Yanis 4
Headsman 3
Io 3
Machaera 3
The Albatross/Corvus 3
Zellara says I wish you luck and the favor of the cards in your struggle against Lamn. May Desna favor you all. With that she gets up and walks outside towards the street...
The Albatross turns to everyone, "Despite the information Zellara's presented, we shouldn't head straight there. We should meet again in a few days after we've had a chance to inspect the place. After all, if Lamm is collecting kids off the streets, we need to know where they are and how many. Otherwise he may use them against us. We might need some equipment to incapacitate without doing real harm or an alternate plan in case he trys to use them as hostages."
A voice speaks, "No you should go now, planning is for wussies!
"Wait, are you leaving so soon? How can we find you later? Where are you going?" Io calls after Zellara as she starts to walk out.
At Yanis’ words, Machaera looks up in alarm from her impromptu reading. She thinks he’s joking, but before she can say anything to make sure, a bored Headsman rises and brusquely takes the assembled’s leave for them. Barbarians, she thinks, I’m surrounded by barbarians. At least this lot hasn’t tried to eat anyone, that I know of. Yet.
It’s a tricky thing to making getting out of a chair and immediately curtseying (in armour, no less!) look normal, but Machaera manages. She makes her excuses contritely, “I do beg your pardon. I suppose what they say is true: one can take a mage out of the lecture theatre, but not the theatre out of the mage. Mistress Esmeranda, Miss Io, Doctor – please excuse me. We do, as you remind me, have a villain to thwart.”
-----
As the – Albatross, was it? – addresses the group after Zellara’s escorted them outside, Machaera considers his suggestion. The voice of a passerby breaks in upon her thoughts with eerily apposite words. “Do you really think so? What did you have in mind?” she asks. There is an awkward pause before she admits in a rush, as if ashamed, “I’m afraid I’m not used to not striking with lethal force.”
She continues with a show of boldness, “Enchantments would be most useful here, but I never made much study of them. Perhaps if we wait until nightfall, then move quickly? I have a few tricks that might effectively distract a guard, but they won’t be quiet themselves. It depends on how likely it is that Lamm and any thugs he’s hired will threaten the children in an attempt to save themselves.”
She throws an uneasy glance at the youngest members of the group, who are gut-wrenchingly the likeliest to know.
"It's almost certain. Really, what we need to do is strike quickly and efficiently. Don't let anyone get away to raise the alarm, and take every foe down within seconds. Alternatively, we strike the ares with children first, and make sure any leverage they might have against us is gone." She cracks her knuckles, "I've been waiting for this day for a very long time, so in my opinion, the sooner the better. Besides, in the day, there will be fewer people- children and guards alike- in the base, so daytime will be our best option. They always send out a few groups out for 'supplemental income.'"
'Why not both ideas? We go now, scope the place out, and then strike however we think best. I'll volunteer to scout.' The Black Merlin looks for a suitable place to take the the roofs. 'We'll make better time and be less likely to be seen if we go in high.'
The Black Merlin scampers up to the roof.
"I hate waiting any longer than we need to. I've got two kids in there and I know any time spent under Lamm is something they shouldn't have to go through..."
He pauses for a moment.
"Okay. We can scout until morning, but nothing more, and I'm warning you all now, if we see Princess and Duke, I'm expecting you guys to help me free them as soon as possible. We're looking for a red-headed girl with freckles about this high and a black haired boy about this high." Headsman explains, motioning at approximate heights, the boy being a foot taller than the girl.
Yanis holds up at hand,
"I am the least likely to draw any attention, since I am known to work around the city I can look distract at the front door while the rest of you look around?"
Yanis turns to Machaera,
"Sorry my dear my Humor is more meant for children then adults. I meant no harm by my words."
"No need, really. Ideally, we won't be seen at all, and having you trying to distract them at the front door will only put them on guard. I'll go with Merlin, and scope it out. Not that I don't do that every day... Then, tomorrow morning, right after the Little Lamms leave for their pickpocketing duties, we strike." She looks up to Merlin, "Race you there!"
Machaera grins at Yanis to let him know it’s all right, then shakes her head as the Black Merlin and Io set off across the rooftops. She can be fairly quick on her feet, but monkeying around and slinking through shadows means spells for her, spells she hasn’t prepared today.
It looks like she’ll be following Headsman’s lead, which is probably for the best, given that he has people to look after. She considers the way the youth carries his massive axe as she weighs tactical possibilities. Very well, he’ll probably be wanting to go in first. Aloud, she inquires, “Do you think the two of them can get clear on their own, if we cut a path open for them? I can hold back a bit to give them some room, but if we’re worried about Lamm taking hostages, the best hope I have to prevent that means closing very fast.”
@Io Zellara speaks, you can find me after the wolves have gone....
"I'd rather not be too far either. At the first sign of trouble, I'm going in. Let's follow them from a bit further."
He adjusts his pack, readying his axe, his bow, and his quiver of arrows, just in case.
The Black Merlin grins at the suggestion of a race. 'Try to keep up, we'd better stop a block or so away so we don't blow our cover. Aaaaaannnnd... Go!' He sets off like a swift shadow silhouetted against the setting sun, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
"You read my mind." Io says with a smug grin. She sets off with a sprint...
... and nearly falls flat on her face. She recovers swiftly, however, and darts off again...
.. this time, she manages to get good footing, and chases after the fast-vanishing Merlin.
'Watch your footing, these roofs can be tricky!' The Merlin calls back good-naturedly as he deftly clears the next gap.
Io mutters something incomprehensible under her breath.
"grumblegrumble...stupid birds...grumblegrumble"