Agrippa nods as Filbert speaks Indeed. Our prior "reputation" might grant us an audience with the Magistrate.
Lizzie looks at Filbert, then back at the cautious woman, as she describes what he almost did.
"Wait, what? Filbert almost decapitated someone?
That is totally unlike him now."
But she doesn't interrupt the woman in the least, calmly listening.
"Miss, we have promised the innkeeper to do honest work on her behalf, and we will see it through. Sarenrea be my witness of saying this."
Answering Filbert's question Cesadia agrees, "You're right I visit Fort Hailcourse quite often and I know Magistrate Padgett fairly well. Can't say I particularly like him, but he's always been rather scrupulous which is as much as you can wish for in a magistrate round these parts. Something very odd is going on, mark my words. Lets hope they do let you in, because that place is nigh impregnable otherwise."
Lizzie's words startle Cesadia and for a moment she looks like she doesn't quite know what to say and eventually nods.
Momijii smiled slightly and said, "Elgior won't be a problem anymore, he's been dealt with." She paused as she thought, "He was actually quite informative, he mentioned a couple of other people we could talk to, though he said one of them was dead already, burned in his house I believe his name was McGregor?" She thought a moment more before continuing, "I believe the other one he mentioned was Tli Remsatter. Apparently Toli has been having dreams too and after what happened to us at the asylum I don't think passing dreams off as delusions is a wise idea right now."[/b"
Cesadia listens to Momijii's story with one eyebrow up, "Oh now that is interesting. Now I don't know about anyone burning to death but about a week and a half or so ago the McGregor burnt to the ground. It was arson for sure, although there's no motive I'm aware of. It's a ways up in the hill if you want to check it out but I doubt you'll find anything."
She pauses to catch her breath before carrying on, "Toli's a fisherman I've met him once or twice, Thrushmoor isn't a big place everyone pretty much knows everyone. He's pretty dour and stoic, so if he's been spooked by bad dreams I'm tempted to believe it. Normally I woudn't be interested in dreams, but given what happened on Briarstone island there might be something to it... Would you mind talking to him and see what you find? Given the weather the water will be very choppy today so I doubt he'll be out fishing, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in Stein trying to drown his sorrows."
Momijii nodded and said, "Elgior won't be bothering the townsfolk for a while. He was afraid the Gov'ment," Momijii mouthed the strange pronunciation carefully, "would be coming for him and Bo, curly-mo, jack and big Jake. He was scared They," the word carried a weight of title, "would be coming to squash Bo, curly-mo, jack and big Jake to silence him." She smiled slightly, "I told him we'd deal with the problem and that he should take his friends and leave town for a while so that they would all be safe. He agreed and left."
Filbert listens to Momijii and Casedia, happy to hear the Elgior had left town at a little prodding from Momijii.
"Nice work with Elgior, I wasn't in a listening mood this morning when he was yelling outside the window. Did he say what the Gov'ment was doing? That scared him so much."
Giving Momijii a chance to reply, Filbert continues...
"Should we check on Toli first and then check on the house in the hills. With it burned, I doubt it's going anywhere."
Indeed. Fine work Momijii. Agrippa agrees
Yes Master Springbit, that is a wonderful idea. Let's find this...Toli. And do not forget our promise to Mistress Cesadia, we should go to the fort.
You say good bye to Cesadia for now, and follow the directions she gave you. As you retrace your steps to The Silver Wagon, you slowly get soaked by the drizzle. Cesadia had muttered something about it raining for weeks on end round here.
The dry warmth of The Silver Wagon looks mighty tempting but that's not your destination, instead you follow the road south west past the creaking sign outside the Healers House and towards the outskirts of town.
There you spot a smallish building with signage proudly proclaiming it as The Stein. The tent isn't up but there looks to be a decent crowd inside.
anyone in town can remember. The proprietor, Emman Gulston, has
long been something of an emotional anchor for his fellow citizens.
When the weather is clement, Gulston is famous for rolling out a tent on the lakefront and mounting a few tables on a newly constructed patio. This increases the capacity of his small tavern and offering lunch at midday. If their pockets allow it, many customers enjoy the friendly ambiance after dusk, although no one dares to return home too late at night.
You walk in to a blast of warm air and the smell of beer and fried food, and just like last night the conversation stops. The proprietor an elderly but still powerful man called Emman Gulston frowns at you but after a pregnant pause he calls out, "You going to stand there letting the weather in, or are you going to order something?"
Inside the tavern is a long polished oak bar with a set of twenty optics, and five different ales on tap, all local brews. There are ten weather beaten locals on stools propping the bar up and half a dozen tables all but one of which are occupied. Of course the unoccupied one is the furthest from the fire...
Filbert smiles as he pulls shut the door behind him. "Just waiting on the tall ones to make room, keep moving Agrippa. A cold table is better than this cold wet doorway." he finishes eyeing the fireplace table placement.
Finding their places at the table, Filbert searches for the barmaid or keep and offers to pay for the 1st round. "something to warm the insides, this drizzle has the cold down to my bones"
Filbert orders a round and soon five pints of frothing pints of dark cloudy amber wheat beer are upon the last table. The brew turns out to be surprisingly good, just the thing when you've been enduring the local weather. Conversation picks back up once the crowd senses there isn't going to be a confrontation.
Agrippa sips his brew and listens carefully. He walks over and engages with the locals
Indeed. Does this "artist" have a name? My friends and I are...well acquainted with "alternative" means of persuasion. Perhaps we might be of use?
"That's a good brew, mister. I honestly can't remember having tasted something like this before."
"You hear that too right, Agrippa? Disappearances at night.
Briar witch related perhaps?"
Emman seems pleased by the compliment, "It's a local brew, made just for us by the Iron Side Brewery up the mountain. You'll not find it anywhere else. If you're staying for lunch you'd best get your orders in soon." He hands you a menu which has typical pub fair at reasonable prices.
The local men give Heinrich a withering look, but the tone of his voice seems to mollify them and one of them told him, "It's that Lelwyn, always looking down his nose at us and sneering when he thinks we're not looking." There's a general round of, "Aye" from those nearby. The man continues, "All we want is for him to stop defacing our town! Is that too much to ask for?!" The comments from those near by give you no illusion that they're happy with the situation. "If you want to 'talk' to him, he's probably still holed up in hist studio opposite the New Chapel."
Indeed. Agrippa says and then gives a sardonic half bow to the men I bid you farewell and good luncheon gentlemen.
Agrippa returns to the table and asks Have any of you witnessed a lynching?
"Not in the last week, can't say much for before that" Filbert answers with a wry smile. Studying the menu Filbert eyes Agrippa "Lunch going to be a problem, we're waiting on the gent we came here to meet, remember?"
I do not believe the need is pressing. Agrippa says to Filbert.
And I make no recommendation about intervening. We simply do not have enough facts.
Time passes slowly at first but the warmth of the distant fire, and the very good brews served by the house soon drive the cold of the drizzle away from your bones. Before you know it a hearty lunch is served! There was a choice of breaded catch of the day, deep fired and served with large potato wedges served in delicate spices, or slices of roasted calf steak with gravy and fresh roast vegetables. Simple fair but done well with the freshest of ingredients and all washed down with local beer for a surprisingly reasonable price.
There are various comings and goings and once your meal is almost done, a young fisherman comes over to your table. He says, "Name's Toli. Emman tells me you wanted to have a word? What can I do for the Count's Agents? I'm sure I'm up to date on taxes..."
"Good I was thinking the calf steak and gravy sounded grand."
The food was just that too, once it arrived. When Toli joins their merry table...
"Taxes?, Count's agents? Hmm we'll get to that another day. Sit down, sit down, Master Emman will bring you a pint to slake your thirst and I always found it easier to speak without the bit of dry mouth that comes from meeting the tax man; which we are NOT today"
After the young man has had a moment to sip his drink and get introductions from the group, Filbert looks toward Agrippa or anyone else for that matter to question the young man; his own specialties leaning more towards scaring the fool out of the young man. (intimidation)
The man searches Filberts face, looking for any clue towards what this is about. Not finding anything in the poker face gnome, he asks everyone rather pointedly, "I appreciate a free beer as much as the next man, but there's always a string attached. If this isn't about taxes, I'm mystified. What do you want?"
Indeed. We are aware of our prior "reputation" but becalmed good man, we are here because of your nighttime reveries. and when the man looks at Agrippa flatly Agrippa continues Dreams my good man. Dreams. You shared a particularly impressive one with our resident madman Elgrior We would like to know the contents of this dream, and the source of both your and Master Elgrior's oneirophobia.
Momijii felt a glow of pride at the compliments from her companions at getting Elgior to leave town peacefully and it left her in something of a daze. The pleasure was very different than what she got from torturing that cultist and driving him insane. Not that the act hadn't had it's own kind of pleasure but it was a dark and vicious kind, one more suited to the woman she wasn't and she decided that, between the two, she preferred this pleasant warm glow of doing a good deed, of not taking the easy road. It took discipline to resist that dark urging and if there was one thing she had in abundance it was discipline.
While they were at the tavern Momijii was quite distracted mulling over her thoughts and missed much of what had happened there. It wasn't until the young fisherman came up to them and spoke that Momijii seemed to come back to herself. She noticed his unease and smiled at him pleasantly as she said, "A great many things have changed about us and we aren't goign to hurt you without just cause. We're not working for the count anymore...at least I don't think so." She gestured to a seat at their table for him to take.
Toli seems rather relieved as he says, "Oh I see..." Unconvinced by Momijii's words he replays with a sarcastic, "If you say so..." He listens to Agrippa and seems bamboozled by the long words replying, "Wait, onei-what-ophobia?! Look I'll tell you what I told Elgrior just to get you lot out of my hair. Ten days ago or so, before everything went crazy I noticed a glowing light in a small cave along the shore a mile out of town. Nobody slept well that night, all had dreams of being snatched away or of things coming up from the deep to steal the town away. I thought it was just some strange dreams but Elgrior put me right. He reckons I saw the Briarstone witch returned to once again take everyone in Thrushmoor into the bay! Might be something in that, lots of folk have vanished since then, just not the whole town."
Indeed. Glowing lights you say. Agrippa's hand strokes his chin and he retrieves a coin from his pouch, he holds it up to Toli.
My good man. Is your boat still seaworthy?
Take us there, to where you saw the lights. My companion has ten more for you when we return.
Somehow the words of asking about taxes seem familiar to Lizzie.
But with the knowledge her previous self was a mean person, she pushes it back, not wanting to have that mindset creep back in.
"Oh joy back on the water again" Filbert sighs as talk turns to the water once more. "What's this Briarstone witch person, I've heard it from both Elgrior and now you..."
Toli's eyes grow round when the gold coin comes out. He just about manages to say, "Uh it's a fine little boat, but I'm not sure I'd want to go near that cove. Oh... Ten more? Well then, I uh I suppose I could take you. When would you like to go?" How could he refuse more money than he'd earn in a month? It would sort out the arrears he'd gotten into on the rent.
"No time like the present, now that I've dried out and gotten a full stomach; let's head back out into the rain. Unless the others here have other business to attend to first. I rather meet your witch in the cold dreary light of day as opposed to the dark of the night." Filbert replies dryly, eyeing the falling rain it side the window.
Toli looks at Filbert and mutters, "Ye sure? It'll be choppy as anything out there..." The he looks back at the coin and imagines ten more nestled beside it and sighs, "Yer sure... OK right ye are then." He downs the rest of his drink and puts his oiled cloak on and motions you to follow him outside. The weather was still horrid outside, with the sky filled with angry clouds the color of steel, with a steady rain and blustery winds.
Toli leads you a short way down to a pier where his boat, a fifteen footer called Summer Dreaming is moored. He pulls the tarp off and helps you clamber in. Immediately you wish you hadn't for the wind makes the little boat pitch about something rotten. Of course the sail remains down and Toli rows you out of town. Within five minutes of leaving port the town is completely obscured by rain and low hanging cloud. Apart from feeling sea sick while wet, cold and cramped, the trip is uneventful and mercifully it only takes twenty minutes or so for Toli to row you to the location. He drops anchor a short distance from the cave entrance and waits there while you wade towards a small strip of muddy sand choked with reeds. Behind the reeds stands the entrance of a low cave just at the lip of the bay. Scraggly vines drape over the top of the cave and hang like tangled hair over its mouth.
Beware! That's no natural foliage.
"That thing up there? Ok, but what is it then?"
Lizzie carefully reaches for her mace and shield.
Momijii enjoyed the boat ride, doing what she could to help the fisherman get them where they were headed. As they examined the entrance to the cave she noticed the vines hanging down and didn't like the look of them, it was like they were about to reach out and grasp her. It was then that she noticed the one vine that stood out from the rest, she knew what it was, she'd seen one before though she couldn't remember when or where. That was an assassin vine. She prepared herself to do battle if she needed too but she wasn't exactly enthused about it, those things were a dangerous opponent at close range and were best dealt with from afar. "A slithering assassin, how are we dealing with it?"
AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+6 natural, –1 size)
hp 30 (4d8+12)
Fort +7, Ref +1, Will +2
Immune electricity, plant traits; Resist cold 10 and fire 10
Fire into the center of mass! Agrippa says, drawing his crossbow and loading a quarrel
woah nice
Enraged by your presence the Assasin Vine slithers towards you!
Initiative rolls:
Combat order:
Luxina Tenebris
Lizzie “Beads” Tamar
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa Action posted
Filbert Springbit
Momijii
Assasin Vine
Luxina Tenebris, Lizzie "beads" Tamar', Filbert Springbit and Momijii are up.
Lizzie steps up to the plant.
"Squashed spinach coming up."
Don't engage it fool! It'll strangle you! Agrippa shouts at the gnome in exasperation!
Filbert eyes the vines and Lizzie bounding up to it with a grin and a shake of his head.
"Quit playing with the homicidal vegetation Lizzie we have a witch to deal with."
Good Shot Master Springbit! Good Shot Indeed! Agrippa exults in Filbert's exceptional aim.
Luxina deftly tosses a bomb towards the Vine which sets a large portion of it on fire!
Lizzie steps forwards and smashes the vine with her mace, sending bits of it flying.
Agrippa takes careful aim and fires, his bolt sinking deeply into the largest potion of the vine!
<--- HIT
<--- OOPS
Unfortunately the concentration needed to do that was enough for the vine to sneak around and grab hold of his leg. With a sudden wrench it grabs poor Heinrich and dangles him several meters up in the air! This looked bad, but Filbert sent a such a powerful blast, it cleanly severed the creeper holding Heinrich who falls to the floor with a thump. The vine while a nasty sneaky opponent was no match for this sort of damage and it sundered sections shuddered before expiring.