"Well, it seems like we're done here for now....Baron." Prae said, uncertain as to the Baron's health.
"Thinking we'll be taking a visit to that Chandlery you mentioned. There shouldn't be any trouble there, should there?" he asks pointedly.
"Well, it seems like we're done here for now....Baron." Prae said, uncertain as to the Baron's health.
"Thinking we'll be taking a visit to that Chandlery you mentioned. There shouldn't be any trouble there, should there?" he asks pointedly.
"Bah fine!" he said while retreating towards the far side of the room where he began to tinker with a spyglass that he used to spy on the surrounding flora and fauna.
Dario rolls his eyes at the Baron's behavior. "Come, Prae, let's visit the chandlery to see what's going on there"
He bows to the Baron. "We are taking our leave, Baron. If you learn of anything, please send us a message."
After the dialogue with the Baron and the Houndskeeper, the party bound for the Chandlery looking for the man within the Baron's employ. Hopefully, this person would have answers for the party.
Near the southern section of the barony not far from the Temple of Zon Kuthon stood a medium sized rectangular building. A single door matched by a window face one side, while to the east lay a pair of double doors leading to the cellar. A cursory glance reveals that there are no lights on, curtains obscure what lays beyond the window's view, a rolling cloud of black smoke billows from the building's chimney.
Dario walks up and raps sharply on the door. "Sir?! We are here from the Baron. We'd like to speak to you, if you would."
He glances at Zatherin, seeing her come up without nearly a sound. "Did you find out anything else? The Baron is half-mad with all this going on. Seems to blame the Shadows."
As the party stood before the Chandlery, Derio Westone attempted to use his charm and summon the alchemist that the Baron spoke about. After a cursory rap, nothing seemed to happen.
"I did. Mostly that the Baron is losing his mind, and that his manservant is out of touch. The one thing of note is that one of the house keepers was subject to an explosion of sorts that even hindered identification attempts of the body! Something is certainly happening, and it is happening here. At the least, someone wants the Baron on edge, and not thinking clearly. That much has already come to pass."
Dario spends a moment looking about the front door and partially obscured window for any clues of its occupants. Aside from the rolling clouds of smoke spewing from the chimney, it was hard to tell if anyone was actually home. After several knocks, nothing continues to happen. Dario did notice that the front door was locked...
Dario moves around the building looking for any signs that someone may be inside. "We can always come back later. Perhaps we can ask about the man around town."
-Posted with Wayfinder
As the party stood outside of the chandlery, a sick smell seemed to waft from the chimney stack. A plume of yellowish gas seemed to expunge itself into the air and rose like a dark cloud.
Dario glances up at the sickening smell. "Wait, someone is in there." He sighs. "Ok, keep an eye out."
The Professor moves up to the door and takes out two small pieces of metal. He quickly works them into the lock to try and open the door.
Zaitherin turns her back to the Professor, and keeps watch.
"Everyone keep an ear out."
She pinches her nose in disgust.
While Dario was busy with liberating the door of its lock, Zaitherin kept an eye out for any looming dangers. While it was still midday, most bystanders were occupied with protecting themselves from the contagion that was spreading.
A good while passed before a satisfying click brought a smile to Dario's face.
Lluvia approaches slowly while observing the scene, trying to appear more calm than she felt. The nearby temple of Zon Kuthon did not only fill her with unease for the looming presence of the Prince of Darkness Himself, but also as a reminder of how deep in a territory, which was as hostile as it gets for a dancer of the Starsong, she was. The only comfort in all that is that didn't have to lie - she was a free agent and adventurer, looking for riches, contacts in the right places and a way to help the common people in a dark place. Metaphorically speaking that is, for Sarenrae's gaze burned bright in her eyes.
She had her hood cast back and split her cloak with her arms as she approached, only so far that her empty hands could be seen, but it would require a keen eye to notice the mithral armor under her grey tunic beneath the cloak. The longbow on her back, without a string attached, was fairly obvious and anyone who knew what to look out for would notice that she was carrying a sidearm of some kind under the cloak - her rapier.
The group was composed of well equipped adventurers, including a girl, young even considering how short the lifespan of humans was, a strange pale man and who seemed to be the living embodiment what was considered proper in Nidal's society. Behind them appeared to be a half-human, both handsome and graceful in a relatively uncultivated, but charming way. Not that she could make him clearly out.
The elf maiden indicated a nod. "Good day, miss, good sir", she addressed them in formally in Taldan, and added in elven to the half-human: "The sun shines over this intriguing encounter." Even though she was not sure whether a half-human would understand she made a subtle gesture indicating her curiosity and asking permission to approach - elves take privacy very serious and obtrusiveness is most disgraceful.
Continuing more business-like Taldan: "My name is Lluvia. The guards kindly pointed me to you, as we seem to have a common interest in following the Baron's call and unraveling what is behind the recent... disease or whatever it may be. I would like to offer a cooperation in that matter." Her training as a diplomat helped her radiate more confidence than she felt and her green eyes looked steady in the sunlight.
It did appear as though the group wanted to avoid unnescessary attention, so she kept her voice as low as she could while making sure that she was clearly understood.
Dario straightens suddenly, the woman's voice startling him as the lock clicks open. His eyes shift to the side to try to catch Zaitherin's attention. He whirls around suddenly, trying to hide what he was doing. "Ah...well...excellent to meet you. I, um...I mean, we are interested in the sickness too. Perhaps we can meet at the inn later on to discuss things."
Behind him, the door creaks open loudly. Dario winces at the sound.
Zaitherin whirled around, startled she had missed the arrival of someone.
'And what a terrific lookout I turned out to be...' She grumbles to herself.
Forcing a smile upon her face, she looks at the newcomer.
"Um...yes. We should absolutly meet up and discuss things...compare findings...and whatnot..."
Rounding a corner and strolling into sight, along the same path as the elven woman - but a long stone's throw behind her - comes another interloper on the team's questionable endeavors. The olive skin, dark hair, and loose smile identify him as a Varisian. But his clothes peg him as a practical traveler - from his stained and worn boots up to the unkempt ponytail curtailing the excesses of his hair. As an after-thought, he deftly unties the simple leather thong holding his hair back, re-gathers his mane, and quickly reties it. Satisfied with his presentability for an introduction, the Varisian smiles genially. "Hiya. I'm Hawkren. Folks call me Hawk... well some folks, at any rate. It seems that we may all be here on related errands." He turns his keen, dark eyes on the creaking door the team appears to be shielding, "We going in there, or what?" The question is curious, not challenging, and the smile sits reassuringly on his face.
Lluvia nods a welcome to Hawkren and turns back to the adventurers at the door. "As you wish." she remarked smoothly. She left open what exactly that was referring to. She gestured towards the open door to direct attention there. Now that sunlight fell into the building which was otherwise curtained anyone inside would have immediately noticed that the door had been opened, and Lluvia wasn't sure whether that had been intentional.
Zaitherin smiles, and her hand reaches back to tap Dario's leg urgently.
"So get back to work!"
Looking back at the new arrivals, she nods.
"I appreciate your discretion in this matter. We need to get to the bottom of this, and if we don't act soon, we'll never figure out what is happening."
The party was greeted with a common sight as light crept into through the doorway. There stood a storefront where many of Karpad's citizens could purchase their fight against the darkness - candles - from their very own local tradesman. The storefront was very cramped, leaving enough space for customers to barely walk in. A thin layer of dust caked every surface of the stop save for the floor. Candles of every shape, size, and color line all available surfaces, poking out of crates and perching precariously on overstuffed shelves. Barely visible from a stack of boxes stood a door to the south east.
The Varisian raises an amused eyebrow at the young Kayal woman. He says lightly, "Oh, I think we're past discretion at this point. I'm not familiar with all the local laws here but I'm pretty sure we're now complicit in this... investigation." Hawk pokes his head curiously through the doorway, marveling at the sheer amount of wax in the shop. Erring on the side of caution, he mutters a quick spell and sweeps his eldritch gaze across the room.
Dario shakes his head. "Get inside!" He quickly ushers everyone in and closes the door. "Now, who are you exactly?"
He rolls his eyes at Hawk. "Fine, just don't get in the way. We're trying to figure out what's going on here. The Baron told us the chandler was looking for a cure."
Lluvia was curious what was going on inside there - it didn't seem like making candles was all there was to it given the locked door and the curtained windows. But for now she would not force herself upon the group.
She nodded to the investigators and took a step back in silence. Then she put the hood of her cloak back over her head, moved to a more shadowy corner, arched her longbow around her thigh to attach the string. While she was not strictly hiding she was strangely unassuming and easy to be overlooked for someone who did not expect her.
Your cursory glance of detect magic reveals no magical auras from within this room.
Ingress / Egress: The chandlery is a 20-foot-by-25-foot rectangular building with a single door and windows looking into the storefront, most of its rooms remaining hidden underground in its large cellar. Sixty feet to the east of the building’s east wall, a set of reinforced double doors opens onto a side of the hill, granting access directly to the cellar.
Perception: You're quite certain that you're being sneaky poking around outside of the chandlery. You did notice that the double doors leading towards the basement seemed locked and very secure. You however didn't notice any conversations. Either the basement door or the front door seemed like a good break in.
He rolls his eyes at Hawk. "Fine, just don't get in the way. We're trying to figure out what's going on here."
Hawk leans cautiously against the edge of one of the dusty tables and cocks his head, appraising the other man's reaction. He says drily, "Interesting assumptions. I'll do my best to not trip you up." He nods toward the other door. "Lead on."
Monster HP: 42/42
As Hawk leans cautiously against the edge of one of the dusty tables and cocks his head, something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. A quick strike sunders the table and catches the Varisian off guard!
The party shifts their attention towards the source of the noise - A mannequin donning Nidalese courtier clothes stirred to life and is making their way towards the party!
Hawk staggers briefly from the surprise blow then steps into the demented mannequin and drives an iron-hard elbow into it's head and follows it with a knife-edged hand strike aimed towards what passes for the creature's groin.
Right when Lluvia was comfortable with her observation spot the noise of fighting reached her pointy ears. Gods! Do breathe a sense of subtlety into humans, they duly need it! she thought, abandoned her cover and ran after them.
"Some sort of guardian! Bring it down!" Dario shouts, trying to rally the group. The Professor then speaks some old arcane words and vanishes from sight.
Hawkren's two quick strikes find purchase and make dents upon the waxen creature!
Dario disappears from sight!
: You recognize this creature to be a Wax Golem, a construct that has a humanoid appearance and can gain sentience. From your observation, it seems that this particular golem hasn't been awakened...yet. You also know that it has a particular immunity to magic except for cold and fire affects. Fire would slow this construct and cold would certainly heal it.
The Mannequin held little regard from the Varisian's attack and returned with a powerful blow! Unfortunately, Hawkren's swiftness was no match for the Mannequin causing it to destroy a sizable chunk of the counter, spilling candles, notes, and wooden fragments upon the cramped chandlery floor.
Monster HP 28 / ??
Zaitherin draws her morningstar, a smile on her face. This is what she lives for, after all. She runs to the manaquin,and swings with both hands.
"It's a wax golem! Use fire spells if you have them. Otherwise just hit it hard!"
Zaitherin channeled the might of Gorum and landed a devastating blow upon the waxen monstrosity!
Lluvia hurries reach the building, not entirely sure what to expect and what to do when she reached it. They were breaking and entering from what she could tell - her own modus operandi in such cases was to firstly not get caught and run for it if she did. Hopefully no one got killed. Hopefully she wouldn't be seen approaching the building, being hooded or not.
With relief, Hawk deftly side-steps the mannequin's strike - especially once he witnesses the monster's blow turn a table into kindling. Weighing the few good options, the Varisian presses his attack. He snaps a series of kicks to the creature's chest curious to see how much damage the mannequin can take... even as he prepares to switch tactics.
Spell Effects:
Freebooter's Bane - +1 ATT/DAM
Hawkren side steps the mannequin's strike and snaps a series of kicks. One kick manages to bore a hole through the creature's chest, leaving a sizable chunk upon the floor!
hp 10 / ???
Suddenly, Dario appears on the other side of the wax golem, in mid-swing. He's whirling around with his scimitar in hand, mimicking the dervishes of Sarenrae.
And in a fell swoop, Dario bursts from the shadows and delivers the killing blow to the mannequin!
With the creature defeated, the party now stands within the wreck of the chandlery's store front.
Lluvia arrived just at the moment when the creature came crumbling down. What she saw at her arrival was a cramped room with a broken table countless of broken candles and a big shapeless lump of wax in the middle.
Humans! she thought. How can they survive with such an utter lack of discretion?
It took her deep breath to contain her frustration. She didn't know what happened here. It was better to be not too quick to judge the actions of the other "investigators".
She quickly slipped into the room, grabbed a little stone from her backpack that would have been unassuming, if it wasn't for the fact that it shed bright white light and held it over her head where it began to spin slowly on its own, thus illuminating the room. With the other hand she leaned the door to the frame at the same time. "Was anyone hurt?" she asked.
There was no point saying the obvious: This was pretty bad. She locked at each of the investigators to grasp a reaction and then had a closer look at the lump of wax... which seemed humanoid shaped of all things.
Zaitherin is impressed, and her face shows it.
"Well done Dario. I didn't know you had it in you!"
Hawk glances at Lluvia and responds quietly, "Nah. It broke the furniture more than anything else." He picks up a portion of the shattered wax face, examining it with curiosity before tucking the piece in a pouch in the bandolier slung across his chest.
As an afterthought, Hawk mumbles a quick spell. A lightly glowing field surrounds him. He explains, "Just in case there are more surprises in this 'simple chandlery'."
Spell Effects:
Mage Armor - +4 AC - 3 hours
Dario puts away his scimitar. "That demonstrates the power of taking your studies seriously. Not only the study of the arcane, but that technique with the scimitar was something I saw demonstrated by the Dervishes in Katapesh. I had a beautiful young Dawnflower teach me the steps. She was quite accommodating. Very lithe." He smiles to himself.
The professor snaps out of his reverie back to the task at hand. "It was a simple wax golem, though it does show that someone had some considerable skill to create one."
"Now, there's supposed to be someone here investigating the disease. Perhaps he's in the next room?"
Having wanted to assess the skills of the newcomers, Prae had intentionally abstained from battle, watching and observing his impromptu test and the participants therein.
Now, finally stepping forward, he addresses a point brought up by dear Hawkren earlier.
"The power of the Umbral Court is absolute in Nidal, or did you not recognize this? I suggest you watch your tongue around its agents, especially when it comes to accusing them of any sort of illicit behavior not backed by the full power of the Court."
"Oh, dear Professor, you mention the Sarenrites? Their flashy style and shiny baubles are not too welcome here, nor is the sun of their goddess. But I have yet to meet a Sarenrite that meant me fell intent, so perhaps we shall get along fine as long as you keep their 'healing hands' of yours to yourself."
He laughs coldly, one hand reaching down to scratch the back of Shadow's neck as he speaks.
"But, enough talk of that. I do believe my old friend is right, there should be someone here who will tell us some part of what is happening here."
A wax golem... Lluvia had to admit, she would have fallen for that, too. No matter how careful one is, some things are difficult to predict, even for the most careful spy. Particularly since it did not appear as though the room had been used in a while, given the dust on everything.
A brief smile ran across her face when Dario mentioned the Dervish of the Dawn, which faded to her nonchalant expression upon Praetorix outburst. She had to remain on her guard, but more importantly, focus on the task at hand.
She doubted that anyone was up here, it seemed more likely that whoever ran this place was downstairs. The actual melting oven was downstairs and the smoke showed that it was in use. Additionally, it did not seem likely that anyone might have overheard the fighting and loud argument. But there was no point in guessing.
She attached the bow she was wielding to the hook on her back, picked up the Ioun Stone from above her had and examined more closely if anything had disturbed the dust near the door to the south east. Or whether the handle had been touched.
Finally she checked the door frame to figure out whether or not the door was locked or whether there were any more surprises attached to it.
Hawk listens to the pale man's cavil and makes another dreary mental note about an ersatz colleague. Turning his attention to matters of more interest, the Varisian tosses an appreciative nod towards the Kayal woman's weapon of choice, "Nice work with that. Thanks." He would have used her name but - quickly scrolling through his memory - he was reasonably certain that none save he and Lluvia had bothered sharing their names. Interesting what passes for civility here. He cat-foots over to watch Lluvia at work, observing her methods with interest, hoping to improve his own skills.
The mannequin was a wax golem created by a low level arcanist. Though the construction of the creature was decent at best, it lacked sentience which would have made it a full fledged terror.
@Perception: There is a faint trail within the dust that leads towards the lone door behind the counter.
@Perception(traps) - The door seems to be unlocked and bereft of traps.
@Perception(listening) - There is no sound coming from beyond the door.
Lluvia hesitated but then decided to draw her rapier - a remarkably silent motion. She had hesitated because she want to avoid the situation to succumb to even more violence, but given the golem the danger could not be denied.
She turned to the others, her face illuminated by the Ioun Stone circling above her again. Calm confidence was radiating from her green eyes. "This door has been used recently, there is a trail within the dust. No sign of traps or anything beyond it. Let me go first, but warn me if you notice any sign of magic, please."
She nodded and made sure that everyone was ready to go on. Then (assuming everyone is ready, otherwise neglect the rest)) she opened the door softly with her free hand and peeked into the next room. Hopefully it wasn't a broom closet, that would be embarrassing. Given the trail it did not seem likely, though.