Rise of the Runelords: Chosen of Sandpoint (Inactive)

Game Master polyfrequencies

Drasven steps up, letting Karmid handle their paraylsed companions.

With his holy symbol, the aged dwarf begins conjuring forth water on the barn, making sure it stays wet enough not to catch on fire. Following that, he aims to push the fires away from the Barn letting the fire be a pyre for the ghouls in time.

"I'll do what I can."

"Keep the exit open Drasven! Please!"

Ro hurries into the barn, taking Matrim with her. They do a quick search inside the building for human survivors.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Drasven's water combined with the general high moisture content of the soil and air helps you put out the barn fire in only a few minutes. It looks like the barn doors have gotten scorched, but they should still be usable.

A quick look inside the barn reveals a grisly scene with bits of carcasses (both human and animal) strewn about. It's obvious that the ghouls have been feasting here for a while.

The farmhouse is less grisly and contains only a single male corpse, now bloated and swarming with flies, but no other inhabitants. The seven pointed Sihedron Rune that the Sage Brodert Quink told you about has been carved into the man's chest, just as it was with the bodies of the confidence men from Galduria and Banny Harker at the lumber mill.

A single piece of parchment with writing on the inside has been pinned to the man's tunic.

"I'll keep watch here in case the fire starts up once more." Drasven calls out as he monitors the fires to ensure that they are put out.

Lia opens the parchment and reads the note, then shouts in reply to Drasven: "They are all dead. It may burn just as well - nobody will return here after what happened. It will be an abandoned house, with stories told to children to scare them into not wandering off. It will be looted, then remain a haunted place, where young couples go to seek privacy, and others to test their mettle. It will fall into disrepair and be demolished before someone is hurt...Eventually, some outsiders will be granted the patch of land and build a new home, then be accused of witchcraft when their fields, who had time to rest barren, carry more fruit than those of their neighbors. When they eventually produce a child with blood bearing Arcane power, they will become stigmatized and find themselves forced to let the child be raised under the guidance of the cathedral. She will grow up under the guidance of the gods, then, as adult, head to Absalom to take the test of the Starstone."
Having walked back outside, she hands the note to Rojava, then continues: "This outbreak is contained. We will need to look for more humancrows to make sure - then I am going to the Misgivings. I'll look after the horses."

Karmid will go ahead and move the mutilated still human bodies to cover and basic preservation for identification later.

"I'd throw them on the pyre too, but anyone who survives will want to know who really died here."

The bodies all are dressed in the simple, homespun clothes of farmers. The only exception is that of the still stinking ghast, who is dressed as a noble servant.

Hooking a thumb at the ghast, Karmid looks around.

"Anybody recognize this guy? He's not a farmer."

He then begins rifling the non-moving corpse for any intelligence or valuables.

Karmid searches the bodies but doesn't find much. The well-dressed ghast has a large key around his neck that bears a heraldic symbol of a rose surrounded by thorns on it.

Karmid's face screws up in memory at the failed hunt.

"Foxglove? That 'Bore' of a Boar hunter? This guy worked for him? Ro? What do you think about this?"

Karmid hands her the key.

Knowledge (local/Nobility) via Breadth of experience 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

"A Foxglove it seems. I'm not sure if this is the hunter that went out and failed to return or one of his party."

It also raises suspicion as didn't one of our party members got a little close to A Foxglove?

Her search in the barn leaves Ro feeling sick and, well, old. She seconds Lia's opinion. "There's no sorting among the living and dead to do. Everyone who was here is dead, and identifying who was who from what's left won't be possible. Might as well let it burn."

She doesn't know if all of Lia's predictions about the place will turn out to be true, but she figures they're close enough in the short term that the details won't matter.

A look at the note, the carved sihedron symbol, and the ghast's possessions foreclose any further doubts for Ro. She replies to Karmid's question in the affirmative.

"Lia's figured it was Aldern Foxglove for a while now. It made some sense to me, but I think now there's no real doubt. The notes have all been aimed at Lia, and he was the one who was taken with her. We saw that clearly. Now this one, dressed like a personal servant and carrying the family crest is here, not just as a ghoul but leading the rest."

"The thing that scares me is this was the outcome he expected. We were supposed to make it through all this alive. Otherwise why leave the note where we'd only be able to read it after the place was cleared. So if this was just a show he was putting on to impress us or whatever, how much worse does it get when we find him?"

"I'm going to go check on Lia. We need to get going back to Sandpoint real soon. Ghoul fever will take the two we saved if we don't get them some help."

Ro walks over to find Lia and see how she's handling things. Her comments about the house, on target as they might be, sounded pretty disturbing.

So I think I'm starting to finally get it Mother Moon. You and your pals didn't mark us and put us here because there was some great evil that had to be defeated. We don't pay our dues, get it done, then we're free to go out own ways. It's actually going to be an endless procession of awful, s!$!ty things like this. One problem down, the next just around the corner. Always some darkness on the edge of town. We never get to leave do we?

Sneering, Karmid throws the ghast corpse onto the pyre. The look seems abnormal on his normally smiling face.

"Just promise me I get to help hunt the bastard down! He owes Sandpoint blood...and more."

He looks toward where Lia went and shakes his head.

"Much more."

Jili still paralyzed?

Jili still paralyzed?

No, we're out of combat so time no longer matters, i.e. the paralysis has worn off.

Knowledge (Engineering) 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Drasven studies the foundation of the house as he figures out how to bring the house down entirely. While doing so he helps Karmmid heap the bodies on the pyre and whispers a quick prayer for the departed.

Lia's outburst though disquieting, the aged dwarf puts it down as distress caused by the entire event. They were up against flesh eating ghouls by the scales of Abadar. Were they truly expecting surviors?

Rojava's Revelations shed more light on the circumstances but it did mean that their foe was treating this all as a game with a personal touch. The question they should be asking was, when was the man turned into a ghoul then?

Ro isn't really sure what to say to Lia. She's always found it very difficult to get a handle on what's going on inside the girl's head, and the normal rules of social interaction don't usually apply very well.

She settles on a bad opener, but it's also one that can't go too far wrong she thinks.

About the same as calling a raise when holding two pair I'd guess...

It should at least allow Lia an opening in case there's something she needs.

Ro walks up and puts her hand on Lia's arm.

"Lia, you know we will deal with this right? This is going to end our way, not his."

You still have the diseased farmers you found tied up as scarecrows that you will want to take back to Sandpoint. Anything else you want to do on this farm?

If no one else living inside this barn then, Drasven will rigged it to be demolished by the flames utterly.

I just want to remind you that you actually found the owner of the farm. Just thought I'd remind you as you plan to burn down his farm.

Let's NOT burn down the farm please. I will pocket the key from the servant and we will get back to town with the diseased farmers. We need to try and save them first. Then we finally rest for the night to recover and then we hunt down the bastard on the next day.

Oh Did we find the owner? I didn't note that. Since Lia said let it burn and I had pyromaniac tendencies for a moment.

Sure, sure, just blame Lia, Drasven ;)

Jili sits up for her paralysis and starts to sob. She cries quietly for a few minutes and then gets up just in time to try to stop the burning of the farm. "Please don't burn the farm down. It's that man's lively hood. He may never return, and Lia is probably right about the future of this place. It's not our decision. It's his."

She looks uncomfortable, and then suddenly words burst out, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put everyone in danger. I really thought my fire would destroy the undead that were coming up behind us." She starts to cry again. "Thank you for not letting me die."

Edgar shakes his head, once he can again. "I thought I could protect you as well, it looks like none of us are quite what we thought we were." He collects his sword and shield, putting them away. "These dangers are more than I had considered. I am glad we have such good companions to protect us when we fail." He sounds sheepish, for likely the first time since joining the group. Edgar is usually so certain, it's very unlike him to be hesitant and fearful.

I think things got muddled somewhere along the line. I what I meant at least was to let the barn burn because it was already on fire and full of um, 'parts'. Seemed the best way to deal with that mess. I didn't at all intend the house should be burned down. For whatever reason I'd also not made the (rather obvious) connection about the two people we rescued actually living there.

Aye, it made little sense that specifically the OWNERS of the place would be the last ones to be turned. I figured they were among the first victims, and those we found were later victims from neighboring locations.
My mistake. Can we still burn everything down? *smiles*

As Rojava speaks up, telling Lia things will end their way, Lia wordlessly gazes at the Barn, the piled up dead, the fire:"This is our way?"

Pulling her gaze free from the flames, Lia looks directly at Rojava: "All of this...it's my fault. They are dead because of me."
She sobs, then interrupts Rojava: "No, listen. Aldern wanted to go to Magnimar. I saw...terrible things, there, in my dreams. I begged him to stay. He told me he had fallen for me, and would stay here if I felt for him, too. I told him that I could learn to feel for him and begged him to stay, again. He promised he would not leave right away, and meant to tell me something more, but we never got to talk. But he is here because of me. He is doing all of this because of me. I made things worse. It's all my fault. I should simply have given myself to him to avoid the pain and death of all these people...but I ...I never thought...I didn't know, Ro...I didn't know..."

Hearing Jiliana cry, Karmid clams up and keeps working, focusing on the tasks at hand. When that is done, he will gather the horses and wait patiently until the group is ready to go.

We tried...and succeeded. Why does it feel like we failed?

Saddened by all the death you have experienced in the last twenty-four hours, you gather the horses that you tied up some ways away and retrieve the diseased farmers as well. The journey back to Sandpoint is thankfully wholly uneventful and you arrive back at the familiar shard of mirrored glass that marks the entrance to the town before sunset.

Where do you want to head? Not everyone has to head to the same place, obviously. Jobs to do include taking the diseased people to the Cathedral and the horses back to the guard barracks. Interested in other tasks before the end of the day?

Leaving the healing experts to the wounded, Karmid takes back the horses they borrowed and reports to the Sheriff's office ASAP.

He will then fill the Sheriff in on what happened and whom they expect the true enemy is.

"We have a duty to hunt him down and protect Lia. Can you deputize us? I want this to be official, and I don't think we can bring him back 'alive' either. Too late for that Bastard I think."

Sheriff Hemlock listens to Karmid's report with growing concern, but agrees on the last point. "From the moment I asked you to check out the murders you were already official deputies of the Sandpoint Guard, and I think you are right about Foxglove. I just don't understand how he could have fallen so far so fast, but I guess if he was a ghoul or ghast or other undead creature this whole time, then it makes sense."

Hemlock takes a moment to look at those who have gathered to talk to him. "But I think you should get some rest first. No reason to head out to the manor home while you are all exhausted from the past few days."

Running his hands over his roughly braided hair, Karmid sighs.

"You have no idea Sheriff. I'm to a drink and a warm bed hopefully. Both my hammer and my heart have never felt so heavy."

Not waiting on anyone else, Karmid heads for the Rusty Dragon to drown his pain in mead, then seek oblivion in a rented room for the night.

Ro gathers Lia up and hugs the girl to her chest.

"No Lia, this is not your fault. You're not responsible for Aldern Foxglove. You are certainly not obliged to do things he wanted and you didn't to stop him from acting badly. He's responsible for himself and what he's done is on him alone."

"He seemed like a decent guy to me too, but maybe he wasn't. Maybe if you'd gone with him you'd already be dead and this would still be happening. And honestly if it wouldn't still be happening, if this is really about just you to him, that's the kind of crazy you don't want to have anything to do with."

"This is gonna end our way because he seems to want to turn everyone around here into a ghoul. That's not going to happen. We will find him, and we will put him down."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ro goes with Karmid to see Sheriff Hemlock. She doesn't have much to add beyond what Karmid lays out but for one point.

"I don't think it's possible we could have missed it if Foxglove were a ghoul when he was in town before, and certainly not a ghast. It would be impossible to disguise the stink and differences in appearance. He couldn't have passed given the amount of time we spent close to him. He's turned since then."

By the time Ro can cut loose and move on to her own things she's craving the basics of comfort and security. She retreats to Rynshinn's house to get cleaned up and grab a catnap. Next she talks Ryn into a no muss, no fuss dinner out at the Rusty Dragon. Ro has to beg a little since Ryn is such a saver. The dinner is quick, in a quiet corner along with a bit of wine, and then a bit of applejack.

Ro and Ryn don't linger too long because there's not much that's pleasant to talk about. Ryn wants to know what Ro has been up to the last couple of days. Even with the worst of the details left out, Ro's account isn't easy to tell or to hear. They fix the problem by taking each other to bed.

The next morning Ro wakes curled up into a fetal ball with the taller Ryn wrapped around her. The thought of leaving for the Foxglove estate makes Ro want to cry, and she decides to stay exactly where she is for as long as she can before dozing off again.

Sheriff Hemlock listens carefully to Ro's comment, then replies

"Although I am not an authority on the undead, I agree with your assessment: he must have been turned very recently, else we would have detected his state after the attack on Sandpoint at the Swallowtail Festival."

He then turns and walks over to a locked cabinet, from which he takes a small box. He opens it and places in front of those assembled in his office. Inside is a small curved dagger with a wavy blade and a handle wrapped in darkened animal hide. It definitely does not look to be of Chelaxian (i.e. Varisian immigrant) manufacture.

"This is a scropali, a sacred blade of the Shoanti. It is one of the few treasures that I have hung on to since leaving my people. It was forged to fight the undead, who haunt the ancestral tombs of the Storval Plateau. I would be honored if you took it into battle against those who have brought so much misfortune on us. It vibrates when an undead creature is nearby, which might be useful if Foxglove tries to hide himself."

Looking at the Dagger longingly and its marvelous Shoanti make, Karmid shakes his head.

"Can't use a dagger if I'm swinging my hammer and klar. Ro? You take it for now. Seems more your style anyway."

He then turns back to the sheriff.

"Holding out on me huh? Wouldn't happen to have a enchanted klar back there somewhere? I figured not."

It seems clear to Ro that Karmid should be the one to take the dagger. However, at Karmid's direction, she takes it from Hemlock.

"Thanks Sheriff. We'll give it back when this is finished, safe and sound."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ro and Ryn are out of bed later than is Ryn's habit. As Ryn hurries to get ready and open her shop, Ro volunteers to make some breakfast and bring it over to her.

Ro isn't much for cooking, but she can at least make pancakes reliably. As she cooks the cakes and boils water for tea, Ro uses the moments in between tasks to write out a quick note. When she has the breakfast ready, she delivers it over to Ryn in the shop with the note tucked under the plate.

Ro excuses herself, telling Ryn she's almost certainly running late. With a quick kiss for Ryn, Ro heads out the door and toward the cathedral, a couple of pancakes in hand to eat along the way.

"I know...somehow...but if you know what will happen and don't act to prevent it, it becomes your burden, too, even if it is not your fault. And this...is worse. I tried to make it better and made it worse. I know there must have been some way to avoid all the death - and I....nevermind..."
She sobs once more, then stares back at the fire. Suddenly stopping to weep and calming down, she smiles at Rojava: "We should hurry and get the injured back to the cathedral - we can at least do our best to prevent more un-needed deaths, right?"

______________________________________________________

When they return to Sandpoint, Lia will insist on staying with the infected. She will wash them with a vinegar-soaked sponge, trying to lower their fever, spoon-feeding them soup, and keeping up their dosage of sleep-milk to maintain them at the border between dream and waking until it is time to rest. Staying with them most of the night, it is already early morning when she returns to her and Kira's chamber.

Do you want to leave right away? Lia stayed up all night, which means she needs to make a DC 10 Fort save or be fatigued until she gets some sleep? Also, do you want to gather any special supplies for your journey to Foxglove Manor? The manor itself is only a short journey down the coast, a half day at most. People may also want to make Knowledge (local) checks to remember some Lost Coast lore about the location, or else make Diplomacy (Gather Information) checks to ask around town.

When we leave I think is up to Ro. Karmid will simply do his best to be prepared ASAP. I'm assuming we haven't leveled yet. Correct?

Karmid racks his brain trying to find a shortcut to Foxglove Manor.

Knowledge(Geography): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

When we leave I think is up to Ro. Karmid will simply do his best to be prepared ASAP. I'm assuming we haven't leveled yet. Correct?

Oh crap, thanks for reminding me. Yes, you should all level up before leaving for Foxglove Manor.

5th level! YES!! New favored enemy: UNDEAD! Yessssss...

Fortitude: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Yes, having stayed up will not be a problem. Ready to go without sleep.

Even though not everyone has updated their PC (at least where we can see it), I will keep things moving so we don't lose any more momentum. I'd also like to retroactively change the timeline of this campaign a bit. Instead of it having only been a few days since the events of the Swallowtail Festival, I'd like to make it several months. Let's just say there was a lot more downtime between expeditions outside of Sandpoint, okay?

You assemble as agreed upon in front of the Rusty Dragon an hour after sunrise to leave for Foxglove Manor. Now fairly certain of whom you will be facing there, many questions remain unanswered: is Aldern Foxglove a ghoul or ghast, or is he another type of undead? If he is an undead creature, was he already transformed when you met him during the Swallowtail Festival and the subsequent hunt in the Tick Wood? Is he a necromancer? Hopefully you will find some answers at the Misgivings.

As you gather your belongings before the Rusty Dragon Inn, you notice that Lia is not present. Wondering if she overslept, yesterday was quite strenuous after all, one of you visits the Cathedral to check on her.

You don't find her in the dormitory, and discover from the other acolytes that she didn't sleep there either. After additional questioning, one of the young women blurts out that she saw Lia heading out in the middle of the night in the direction of the southern Lost Coast Road.

The Lost Coast Road that heads to Aldern Foxglove's ancient manor home.

Swearing in Shoanti, Karmid will shout over his shoulder as he's running for the horses.

"I'll track her! You guys follow as fast as you can! We can't let Lia get there first! Not without us!"

Survival (Tracking): 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 2 = 15

If this is through a forest at all, I get another +2 to the roll.

When Lia doesn't turn up and can't be found, Ro is concerned. When she finds out why, she's apoplectic. Ro swears up and down that as soon as she finds Lia she will absolutely murder the crap out of her.

Ro's reaction is partly worry, but it's also partly frustration with Lia. Ro is almost certain she understands exactly what Lia is thinking, and she's wrong. Lia believes she is the starting point for all this. Ro doubts this, not believing there's anything Lia could have done that would significantly change the current situation.

Worse, Lia has made the mistake of thinking that if she is the starting point, she is also the end point. Thinking she can talk to Foxglove, or surrender herself to him, and that would end all this is just plain wrong. Whatever started Foxglove on the path he's taken, Lia might be a prize, but she's not the goal. Ro is sure Foxglove won't just quit once he has Lia. She could easily wind up dead or worse and it wouldn't help anyone else at all.

Ro gives Karmid a terse nod. "We'll be as close behind you as we can be."

Ro does her best to rush everyone to readiness and get them galloping on the road south.

Hopefully Lia didn't take a horse. We might catch her if she's on foot.

K Local (Foxglove Manor/Lost Coast Road): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Lia, did you take the horse?

Edgar is not quite so distraught as those who had been with Lia longer, but it's still concerning when someone doesn't show up for an intended meeting, and then upon learning she headed for Foxglove Manor, concern is greatly raised.

"This is foolish, to set off alone. We're much more likely to live together." His bravado hides a bit of the fear, though neither emotion seems at home with him.

K Local (Foxglove Manor/Lost Coast Road): 1d20+8

Ro, I'm not sure what you were trying to figure out with this skill check.

Just general information.

Ah, I see. Foxglove Manor, also known as the Misgivings is located about 8-9 miles from Sandpoint south on the Lost Coast Road in the direction of Magnimar. You must first pass the Devil's Platter, Ashen Moor, Ashen Rise, and Brinestump Marsh to get there. There is a turnoff to a side path about 6.5 miles down the Lost Coast Road that takes you over Bleaklow Moor along the Foxglove River to the manor, which is located on a small promontory on the ocean. You've never personally been there, but you know that the manor was abandoned for most of your life. It was reoccupied relatively recently by Aldern Foxglove, a descendant of the original owners. It has a bad reputation, but you're not sure how it got it, other than it having been a creepy, abandoned place for most of your childhood.

That's as much as you know with a 12.