Rise of the Runelords: Chosen of Sandpoint (Inactive)

Game Master polyfrequencies

Madame Shivarlu reads the poem carefully and then hands the journal back to Ro.

"You and I work in much the same way, it seems. For me it begins with a story idea or a character, and then the play grows out of those elements from there."

She looks at the set for a moment lost in thought, then clears her throat and returns her attention back to the young woman.

"I have been thinking that my play would greatly benefit from a bit of music, and I think your music in particular would be particuarly well suited to this piece. There is something about music that touches our minds and our souls in a way that other arts cannot, and I'd like to draw on that. Would you be willing to write a few songs for this production of 'A Nymph or Not'? You could also incorporate any existing songs you've already written into the story if you have ones that would work. I would give you the script as it currently exists so that you could familiarize yourself with the story and the characters and you'd have the opportunities to watch our rehearsals as well, if you so choose. Your songs could be played at the beginning of the play, during the scene changes, or even during the scenes themselves as long as they don't detract too much from the action happening on stage. If you wanted to, we could even incorporate you into the play as a character during the fairy court scene. What do you think? Would you be willing to collaborate with me on this? You would of course be paid for your work."

What Annsa Shivarlu is offering is hard for Ro to get her head around. If she can go from a half-considered walk on performance at a dingy tavern to starting practically at the top (at least it seems so to her given her limited knowledge of music in he city), she would have to be completely out of her mind to say no.

But, if she fails, or overpromises...

"I get the feeling you're well into putting the production together at this point? How much time would I have to deliver what I'd be doing? I don't actually live here in Magnimar. I'm here on some business and I don't know exactly how long I'll be staying. I don't think it will be a very short time, maybe it could become permanent. But since I've some other things that require my attention, I can't work on this exclusively."

"Related to the time question, What is the tenor of 'A Nymph or Not'? Comedy? Drama? Tragedy? What sort of tone are you looking for? Some come more easily, and so quickly, for me than others."

"Hm...Elven, Infernal, and Draconic...", Lia ponders to herself, then fetches some books and withdraws for an extensive period of time.

Amusingly, I did want to put some points in linguistics, but our shenanigans so far had little opportunity to "pick up" new languages - so it's a welcome hook. Plus explains why Lia was pretty much busy/non-existant for a while there after capturing Ironbriar.

Lia, did you want to take a crack at translating of the encoded book? If so, I'll hold off on advancing Karmid's storyline with the Pathfinders.

Madam Shivarlu considers Ro's statement.

"Well, if you are not going to be around to perform your music yourself during the play, that would certainly lessen it's impact. Then again, I want to give you a chance and I am curious to see what you could come up with. Would you be willing to come up with a few instrumentals that you could teach someone else? That would certainly lower your time commitment I'd be happy to pay you for your efforts. For two songs, could we say 100 gp? I'd pay half up front, and half after delivery of the pieces. If this is not to your liking, you are free to give it a pass. I will not hold it against you."

"As for 'A Nymph or Not', I would call it a comedy with some heart. A bit more substance than a pure comedy, but certainly not a drama."

OK, this is very weird. I posted the question to Lia AFTER I posted the post for Ro. Are they switched for you all as well?

Since the last fix a while back time markers on posts aren't matching reality too well.

The most common thing I've noticed is usually having to wait a couple of minutes after posting before the post appears.

Yep. I usually sit and refresh the screen until my post appears so I know it posted correctly.

Same for me. It's for all my games. I do what Karmid does. Refresh until my post shows up.

Karmid returns to Heidmarch Manor a few days later and asks for Sir Heidmarch. After being asked to wait for a few minutes in the gazebo, Canayven Heidmarch walks out of the manor escorted by a guard. He approaches with an expression Karmid can only describe as excited, as he jumps the steps up into the raised platorm and reaches out his hand to shake Karmid's.

Canayven explains that he was able to break the code, but that it was quite difficult. As he first surmised, the code was created by someone with a good working knowledge of Draconic, Elven, and Infernal. He explains that the book is mainly a log of religious, ritual murders committed by the Cult of Norgorber, both here in Magnimar and in a few of the smaller, neighboring communities. He states that the author of the journal never reveals his or her identity. The targets for murder were selected entirely from the city's merchant classes, but that the individuals were not very well-known merchants. Heidmarch states that he is not an attorney, but that he guesses that if the courts allow him to testify on the veracity of the journal and its contents, it will almost certainly guarantee Ironbriar a quick trip to the gallows as long as the journal can definitively be tied to him.

Heidmarch goes on to explain that these murders were not performed at Ironbriar's direction, and in fact, Ironbriar initially disagreed with targeting merchants as he was worried this would draw too much attention from the authorities. Heidmarch claims that the author was directed to perform these murders by someone he calls "lovely Xanesha", who had stolen his heart and provided him with a new method of murder in which he carves a seven-pointed star he calls a "Sihedron" into the victim's flesh before they are killed.

According to Heidmarch, there is not much information about this Xanesha in the journal, but the author does state that he has visited her numerous times over the past few months at a site in northern Magnimar called the Shadow Clock.

Heidmarch explains that the Shadow Clock is a well-known landmark in the notorious Underbridge neighborhood that takes its name from the fact that it lies under the permanent shadow of the massive bridge known as the Irespan. He states that Underbridge is a very dangerous place, and only the most desperate or least law-abiding of Mangimar's citizens make their home there.

Heidmarch clears his throat and lowers his voice so that even his guard cannot hear him before continuing. He goes on to say that the journal author recieved payment from the deadly Red Mantis assassins for delivery of something called "Vorel's Legacy", but that he doesn't know who this Vorel is or what his "legacy" might be. Heidmarch emphasizes that Karmid should not spread this last bit of information to anyone, not even his closest associates. Canayven is clearly worried about the blowback that he could face should Karmid reveal that Heidmarch passed on secret information about such a deadly foes as the Red Mantis.

Heidmarch is happy to give Karmid more details about the murders logged in the journal, but I as the GM will let you know that they are not important to the rest of the campaign. Heidmarch is happy to answer any further questions Karmid might have and will let you leave (with the journal) if you don't. Before you leave, Heidmarch will remind you again of the favor you now owe him, and reiterate that the final bit of information he passed on should not be told to anyone.

Karmid will thank the Pathfinder and assure him he knows he owes an obligation. After that meeting he will return to the authorities and make sure they know about the diary and the Pathfinder's willingness to speak about it at trial.

He then returns to the others and excitedly informs everyone they now have a plan!

"I say we send a Raven to this Xanesha...I am assuming someone on the other end of the Raven's path knows who this Xanesha is...and have her meet us at this Shadow Clock! We then confront her and find out what is exactly going on! We should be on our guard again charms and slaves and such...she bested Ironbriar, and I have my suspicions he could not have been easy to charm. Oh, does anybody recognize the name Vorel? It sounds familiar to me..."

"Oh, does anybody recognize the name Vorel? It sounds familiar to me..."

I'll allow you all to do a search of the thread if you don't remember since it's been a while IRL since you encountered that name.

Ro mulls Annsa Shivarlu's offer for a moment before replying.

"I don't know much about how putting on something like a play works. I'd imagine there's a lot to do to prepare, so you'd start quite some time in advance to get everything ready. If you've already started, do you have a premier date yet? Do you know how long it would run?"

"I think it's safe to agree I can write a couple of songs at least. But I'd like to do more if I can. We've only been in the city for about three days. If I had a little more time, I might be better able to figure out how long I'll be here. If I'm here when the play is running, I'd be game for more of a role in it."

The dwarf is enjoying a quiet brew as he waits for the others to return.

He was already done with the cleaning of the house. It was now at least clean and if anyone else wanted to do decorating, they'll find it easier to do so.

Once Drasven reminds Karmid about the whole 'undead fungus-house' thing, he recoils and jumps back.

"The dead guy who became the fungus?! I mean...EVIL fungus that causes undead stuff to happen? Crap on a lance! What in the Nine Hells did they want with his 'Legacy'? Evil Fungus is NOT a legacy. Its a FUNGUS for the gods' sake!"

Ro: I'm going to summarize your work on the play a bit so that we can move the story forward, if I may. You have three days to play with, since that's how long it took Canayven Heidmarch to break the code on Ironbriar's journal. In those three days, you may spend as much time as you like at the theater to watch the rehearsals and write your songs. It takes at least a full day of doing so to get enough "background" on the material to make decent Perform skill checks to write the songs, but you may also spend all of your time there. The theater is full of interesting people, not just performers, technicians, and other creative types, but also the people who work for the Ordellia District Council, as the Rose and Rake also doubles as the main governmental building for that neighborhood. If you like, you may summarize your time at the theater in a post, telling us about who you met and what kind of experiences you had (good or bad), or we can just "hand wave" that.

At the end of that period, you can make four (4) Perform checks; two for each of the songs. Each roll will be for a different aspect of the songs. These will determine the final outcome of the pieces you produce for this performance. You may not "take 10"; IMO, inspiration does not work like that. You may reroll any of the rolls as many times as you like, however, but each additional attempt will take you an additional 1d3 days while you struggle with rewriting the songs.

Everyone: Karmid made a suggestion of how to approach Xanesha (the raven thing). You should discuss how to move forward, and might want to include a response to all of the information that Heidmarch discovered from deciphering the journal. Secondly, all of you should write a quick post (it can be as long as you want) about what exactly you want to tell the guard about what was happening at the sawmill when they interview you.

Karmid: Heidmarch gave you back the journal. I forgot to mention that. You'll have to give it to the watch if you want them to use it in prosecuting Ironbriar, and you'll have to include a rough translation of the relevant parts, since the guard won't be able to translate it.

As long as the Diary has no more use for us, then Karmid will hand it over readily to an official high ranking guardsman...and he will insist on a receipt for the evidence as well. He will answer any magical questioning to its authenticity, and will include the rough translation and the name of the Pathfinder who provided it.

You all know how I want to move forward: Raven message/Ambush at the Clock Tower.

Obviously surprised and shaken Guard:
"What did you see? What happened Mr. Groundbreaker?"

Sitting on a half-sawn log (covered in blood, sweat, and vicera) Karmid leans on his hammer 'Angela, and sighs.

"Evil sir. Lots of evil. A CULT! A murder cult in YOUR city! My friends and I...we just gave you a win on a silver platter. Justice Ironbriar! Whooo. Those masks? HUMAN skin. Can you believe that? Wow. I'm just glad they gave up when they did, I was about to start getting tired bashing their brains in..."

I'm pressed for time right now, maybe I'll do a retro-post in a couple of days if I get the time to think about it. Right now I'll just say Ro spends all the time she can of the 3 days at the Rose and Rake, subtracting whatever time is needed for figuring out how best to use the ravens. I'll go ahead and make the skill checks. I'll included Archaeologists Luck, just subtract the +2 if she can't use it in this situation. Both Perform Sing and Strings is at +11 so I won't differentiate between them in the rolls.

Perform (Song 1) #1: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 11 + 2 = 18

Perform (Song 1) #2: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 11 + 2 = 26

Perform (Song 2) #1: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 11 + 2 = 30

Perform (Song 2) #2: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 2 = 25

Ro: Your work on the music goes well and Shivarlu seems happy with the results, although you receive some feedback from her as to small changes in style and tone. Whether you are happy with it has more to do with how critical you are of your own work. Some artists never seem to think they can be good enough, while others are able to step back and see their own creative product more objectively. The response from most of the actors and staff at the Rose and Rake is also positive (although not uniformly so). As the play is still in rehearsals, there is no feedback from the generaly public yet. As you don't know how long you'll be remaining in Magnimar, however, you think it wise to spend some time teaching the music to someone else. You're welcome to continue delving into this particular plot, or we can tie it off here if you prefer.

Karmid and Drasven: After handing over the evidence you have on Ironbriar and the cult, you hear that the case begins to move forward in the courts as it has its first view in front of a judge. There is not much talk about it on the street, in the papers, and in the taverns, which leads you to believe that either they are keeping a tight lid on it, or perhaps it is not as big of a news item that you thought it would be. Do you (or anyone else in the party) want to keep an ear out for further developments or do you want to let it go?

Everyone: a) How do you want to move forward with the sending the raven? What do you want it to say? and b) With a bit of downtime and a chance to reflect on what you have gone through, everyone goes up 1 level! Please let us know what you do for level 7 (including any die rolls for HP) in the OOC thread.

Karmid will try and keep up with the court case as much as he can while still local, but I assume the AP will continue to keep us busy, so my guess is...out of sight out of mind. Unless there is reason to stay nearby and keep an eye on things, Karmid will let it move forward with out much help from here once he gets fully distracted.

Karmid suggests writing the Raven's 'note' from Ironbriar, who has passed the message through a 'trusted' Lieutenant who escaped the massacre and sent the Raven for him. Ironbriar's 'note' requests Xanesha (He doesn't beg...Ironbriar would never beg) to meet with his Lieutenant in order to ask her (negotiate) for help in his travails and possibly even bring her organization's influence to work on his behalf? The meet: High Noon at the clock tower on a specific date...two days later? Karmid knows it will still be dark under the giant bridge, but still, noon might give the group a chance to see at least a little better. Dawn or dusk would be too suspicious since Xanesha seems to prefer living in the dark, instead of working in the light. Midnight would seem too dangerous for the group to Karmid for a meet. Double dark? Yuk.

Drasven will keep a ears out for the development of this case.

Drasven considers the note Karmid wants to send.

He wonders if the note will pass muster though.
He looks to the more erudite members of the group such as Ro, Lia and flutter.

Does everyone agree with Karmid's suggestion of sending a raven to Xanesha with the message he proposed?

OK, didn't get a response to my post, so I'll just move the story ahead.

You send the raven off with Karmid's message and receive a simple acknowledgement in the affirmative in response.

How do you want to prepare for this?

Karmid wants to learn about the underbridge area a bit before the meet, if he can, over the next day. Hire a couple of young kids to show him around...so to speak. Get a good look at the clock tower area too, but casually. Otherwise I suggest we meet as a group near the Clock TOwer and approach it as stealthily as we can. Take whomever this Xanesha is by surprise?

Drasven is gonna look really hard at spell list selection. I should expect more combat rather then utility.

Sorry for my absence the last few days. Every other time I log in here the website seems to be down :(

Karmid: The kids you hire are local street urchin types who live in Underbridge. Children from other parts of town tend not to visit Underbridge if at all necessary. From what they can tell you, the Clock Tower is stringently avoided by all and is said to be haunted by a "shadow giant". One of the kids knows a kid who knew a kid who went in there on a dare and was never heard from again. The block around the clock tower is largely abandoned with only the most desperate homeless squatting in the dilapidated homes there.

Unless there is specific preparation the others want to do, Karmid will gather them together and head out for the meeting in Underbridge.

Let's go!

"Should we take a closer look at the tower? Or just wait for the meeting?"

Genuine question - they'd have home ground advantage, so not sure if it's worth it to wait until possibly Xanesha is also there. Torn between trying to probe a bit early and risk things getting messy, or waiting and going in blind against a potentially superior enemy.

Seems like there is still some discussion to be had.

I would move the story ahead, but we've had a lot of outages at this website lately, so I'll wait another day before I do so, in case someone else wants to chime in and hasn't gotten the chance to.

Ro is more busy working on her commission than contributing to the planning around what to do about Xanesha. She does make her view known though, which itself suggests the specifics of much of the planning don't matter too much.

Given her experience writing poetry, Ro sees no real possibility the message sent will offer any opportunity for deception. Xanesha will sense the message is off for any number of possible reasons, whether she believes it comes from Ironbriar or (probably) not.

"I'm not complaining about the letter itself. I didn't have any better ideas. But we are going to have to assume she knows it's some sort of trick. Without having a couple of messages to serve as models to work from, there's almost no chance she won't notice differences between ours and Ironbriar's."

"Are the messages coded, or do they use words euphemistically? Does Ironbriar tend to use short, bare sentences or does he have a more florid style using more descriptors? Does he make different word choices than ours? Do they write in friendlier terms or is it strictly business? Does he mention purposes for the meetings or not? For that matter, does he contact Xanesha to meet or do she decide such things? I could go on and on listing the things we could get wrong, and she would notice."

"The point is though, we won't get enough of these things right to actually fool her. The real question is, what will she make of the attempt to deceive her? If she's confident in the enchantment she placed on Ironbriar, she may think it's someone else. If she's less confident or the message is fairly convincing, she may believe Ironbriar is the one screwing her over."

"At best she comes but is very suspicious. More likely she will expect to find a trap and will be prepared no matter our approach to things. She may well have a trap of her own set. We have be be prepared expecting no advantage at all, and a fight the foregone conclusion. And she may not come herself if she has the toadies on hand to deal with this sort of thing without giving it personal attention."

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

Ro does understand her weakness writing in comedic form. She takes a stab at it, finally producing lyrics for one song. Given the labor involved, she decides to submit what she has on hand to see how they are received before starting on lyrics for any of the other music.

Shirvalu seems very happy with your song, Ro, and thinks it will fit it very well during one of the scenes where the queen of the faeries confonts her dark faerie lover. She does suggest a few textual changes that would make it fit with the storyline a bit better, but these seems quite innocuous and don't seem to bother you too much.

While the details of finding Xanesha and what to do about her are coming together, Ro remains more engaged in her theatrical commission than anything else. Heartened by the acceptance of her first attempt to mesh some lyrics with the play, she goes to work on more.

After a few false starts, Ro decides to try a different tack. If the Faerie Queen has a voice, so should the Dark Faerie Lover. Also their respective lyrics should be in communication with each other, a thrust, parry, riposte kind of duel.

But the Dark Faerie Lover's voice should be quite different from that of the Faerie Queen's, that of a relentless, remorseless Lothario. Fewer words because the Dark Faerie Lover is powerful in a different way, pure magnetism and arrogance, always successful regardless of words.

While the Dark Faerie Lover has only one song, with a simple message and driving tune, the Faerie Queen has a second. Like her first it is mid-tempo, more open, more conversational. Her songs could work with either as the first and the other second, depending on fit.

Just in case she needs to, Ro explains the conceit, the joke of the Faerie Queen's new song to Lady Shirvalu.

"You see the song truly isn't about the Dark Faerie Lover, but about something like an addiction. The Faerie Queen recognizes her conflict is not really with the Dark Faerie Lover, who is only a balm she has used to avoid her own internal struggles. Oh, and by the way, I flipped back and forth a few times between mounting the Dark Faerie Lover on an owl, but decided I liked the more fanciful dragonfly. Either works as well as the other though."

You make your way from the inn toward the Irespan, the cyclopean bridge that dwarfs the rest of the city and covers the Underbridge neighborhood in permanent shadow. Seedy taverns, poorly run brothels, and rat-infested gambling dens compete with salt-blasted tenement buildings and cheap flophouses in Magnimar’s most dangerous district.

To reach the building known as the Shadow Clock, which stands almost in the midpoint of the Irespan's width, you first pass by one its massive supporting pylons, themselves the largest structures within the city where it not for the bridge itself. These pylons are each decorated with immense bas-relief sculptures in which a different animal or other creature is depicted, and after which each is named. This pylon is referred to as the "Gecko", as it is carved with well over a thousand different depictions of the leering, clinging reptiles. You have heard tell that on certain nights, strange lights seem to circle and dance around the piling and unusual sounds like grinding gears can be heard eminating from below it. Unlike the other pylons, this one has an obvious entrance at its uppermost reaches: a single, hexagonal window. Those who have climbed or flown up to it and entered it, however, either never return or else have blank memories of what they experienced within.

You pass through Underbridge as its inhabitants turn their heads to observe you as you are clearly outsiders in this part of town. Their faces display little, although a few can be seen sizing you up to determine if you are an easy mark or a threat to them. Thankfully they decide that you are not worth it, and you make the trip to the Shadow Clock without any interruptions.

It is a decrepit and sagging clock tower, a dying structure of weathered stone, wood, and rusted metal supports that teeters to an unlikely height of over 180 feet. High above, near the tower’s roof and barely 5 feet from the Irespan’s stony belly, a tangle of scaffolding sits near a section of the structure that has fallen away. The tower’s clock face is frozen in time, defiantly (and falsely) proclaiming it to be 3 o’clock, while above, a stone statue of an angel, her wings crumbling, leans precariously, almost as if she were preparing a final leap from her decaying perch. The tower itself is made mostly of limestone, with a tangled skeleton of wooden supports buttressed here and there by iron bands. The stone walls are etched by wind, rain, and grime. While this pitted surface might seem to make for a relatively easy climb, you can see that quite a few of the limestone blocks look quite loose, which would make such an ascent quite tricky. The only visible entrance near the ground is a single large wooden door, which looks ancient but quite sturdy.

Unlike in the rest of the neighborhood, there is no foot traffic near the Shadow Clock.

Feel free to ask more questions about the Shadow Clock or make retroactive Knowledge (local) or Diplomacy checks in regards to it.

Knowledge (local) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

With hie meagre knowledge, Drasven attempts to pick out more outstanding features of the place......

"This tower looks like trap by itself..." he observes the tower with his wooden supports...

Drasven remembers hearing kids singing a play-song about the "Scarecrow Man", but he doesn't remember the words.

Drasven remembers hearing kids singing a play-song about the "Scarecrow Man", but he doesn't remember the words.

Wow..that was so early in the game...

The dwarf has a vague recollection of a children song but it shouldn't match what he's seeing.

Ro does spend a little time the evening before they're to go asking around about their general destination and its surrounding area.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22

When she sees the the shadow clock tower in person, Ro is so very not impressed.

"What a pile. No wonder nobody comes around, it looks ready to collapse at any time. I'd stay away just to avoid getting squashed when it does."

Ro can also do a K Engineering check due to Bardic Knowledge.

K Engineering: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

From the outside it is hard to tell for sure. Ro has heard tales of structures designed like this standing for ages, and given the overall age of the city it should proabably be okay. Her assessment may have to be re-evaluated once she sees what it looks like from the inside.

Given the Diplomacy (Gather Info) check result, I will allow you ask one question about the Shadow Clock.

So what's next?

Ro will ask around to see if anyone has ever seen the inside of the tower, or has heard about it from someone else who has. What is the tower like inside? Layout? Unusual features?

Ro is good at getting on people's good sides and managed to talk to a street urchin who confesses that she looked in one time when she found the door open and saw that the Shadow Clock tower is mostly hollow with no floors as far as she could see and just a staircase going up that hugged the inside of the building.

Once you have gathered your courage and belongins, your group makes its way to the entrance of the Shadow Clock: a large set of closed double-doors big enough to let a wagon pass through. As you are still a good 30 feet from the doors, you can't tell anything particular about them, other than that they are in pretty rough shape, but not so bad that there are large gaps between the wood.

At what time do you want to do this? Approaching by night is obvioiusly stealthier than during the day. If you wanto approach quietly, I'll need Stealth checks from everyone.

'Scouting' was supposed to happen during the day before (relatively speaking under a giant bridge), not near the actual meeting time. I think we are trying to be 'unobtrusive' but not actually tip-toeing around either. Sort-of quiet tourism...so to speak? Or did you guys want to do the stealth checks? I'm fine either way.

Oh! I thought I'd posted regarding this already but I hadn't. I also though we were scouting one day and going in the next. That said, I don't think it will make much difference. I don't think we'll be catching anyone off guard or unprepared either way.

I guess we're going ahead no matter what. Night requires stealth and I'll fail so terribly I vote for day. Might as well be able to see what we're up against.

We are going to be under a giant bridge. It will be dark regardless of time of day. Question is, how dark do we want to do this?

Day. the rest can't see in the dark I think.