Seeing Pava take control of the situation, Cael walks toward the entrance of the temple. He keeps an eye on the one that raised his fist at him while he is still in range of the man. He first stops about twenty feet from the spot to not disturb any possible evidences and try to find some clues of what happened.
Once his first inspection is completed, he looks over to the group to see if how the situation is going with the witness.
Ahreni remains in the background, slightly uncomfortable with the whole purpose of their mission and more so now that there are a large number of people around. Noticing Cael examining the scene she crosses to stand near him and observes similarly.
Addressing the first man, the one who had raised his first Melani corrects with a disapproving stare You were dragging the corpse. I saw that. Are the two of you not strong enough to carry him with some respect? Pick him back up and show proper respect as you complete your delivery to the jail. To the second she allows a smile and praises Thank you my good man. Please do contact miss Alamar as you planned to do. Your efforts are appreciated. And your willingness to help will allow us to immediately investigate this murder.
The man shrugs, answering to Melani. "We would carry him, of course... and the name is Gervard Moors." He then points to where Cael and Ahreni are standing, looking for clues. "We found him just there..." With this, he and the other man now grab the body properly and leave you to your investigation.
The rest of the crowd takes a little more encouragement before leaving you alone, but they eventually do. Finally, you are able to come closer to the temple's entrance, which is actually just a groove around an earth path. You assume it will eventually reach the temple if you continue in this path.
Satisfied with the arrangements made for the corpse, Vicenzo looked at the path.
He stated, One thing's for sure; this temple will be out of the way. Are we sure that's what we want? Wouldn't a place that is more visible be a better fit?"
He added, "Let's go ahead and see what this temple looks like before turning back though."
--------------
Cael moves closer to the entrance while looking at the ground. He then uses his spear to point at some footprints. Not looking at anyone in particular, he starts talking.
"Someone came in here running. could it be the victim? I don't see any other prints. And look here and there. That's dried blood. Just a few drops and it's dry, so I can't tell how long it has been there. We need to be careful, what got him might still be in there."
Cael then slowly walks down the path. Trying to see if he can find any other clues.
Strangulation does not leave drops of blood. Melani points out. Either its from the beating or maybe our victim fought back? Looking at the footprints she tries to discern it the things that made them work shoes or boots or what.
We've a murder to investigate now Viceno. Lets see where this takes us.
Turning to Cael, Pava asks "Just the one set of tracks, not even any of that group? Well, that does seem to free them from suspicion."
She kneels down to look at where Cael has pointed at the blood, and studies it for a moment.
"Yeah, that doesn't mean anything to me." She stands.
"I agree that we need to investigate. Whether this ends up being a good location for your church," Pava nods towards Melani, "or not, we now have to investigate a crime."
"Another crime targetting the Archbaron's authority." She finishes with a hard look on her face.
Following the trail and the footprints, you are convinced that someone run as fast as it could towards this trail, a fact clear by elongated boot marks. After less than a minute, you reach for the temple itself.
The temple, or the Old Lodge as the locals call it, might have been a beautiful place in its time, but today, after decades of abandonment, is nothing but ruins. All that remains of the church now is four sturdy posts and a mossy roof hanging over a half-sheltered altar in an overgrown thicket. On the ground, you can clearly see a large number of bones of both wild and domesticated animals.
The footprints lead to one of the posts, where a corpse lies still, wrapped in rope. As you come closer, you notice that those are no ropes, but vines instead. Cael and Vicenzo are able to recognize the plant around the body, but are not fast enough to react to it...
All around you, thorny plants wrap around your ankles, brought to life apparently by magic, even if you've heard no one casting anything. Some of you are quicker to react, but Vicenzo and Pava are entangled by the plants, their thorns piercing their flesh.
The gnarled vine, as thick as a man's arm and bearing hand-shaped leaves, convulses across the ground in an unnatural way and reaches for Ahreni while she was trying to escape the entangling plants. She almost loses the air of her lungs after she is slammed by the plant, and immediately latter she finds herself wrapped by the vine, feeling her muscles contracting... she knows she won't last long if nothing is done to save her.
________________________________
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo - up
Cael - up
Round 1
Melani - up
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni
Pava
Cael
"Assassin vine! Everyone get away from it" Cael tries to warn the group, but realise that he wasn't fast enough. He manages to escape the plants trying to wrap themselves around his ankles. His first thought was to run, survive for another day. But then, he realises that this group was worth fighting for. "This thing won't be affected by my lightning, I'll have to go the old fashion way on it."
Cael aims his spear at the base of the creature and stab with all his might.
Cael drops his spear and take out his crossbow, looking around trying to find a good angle to attack the creature.
Vicenzo's alarm was cut short as thick, thorny vines wrap around his legs. He yells, "Help get Ahreni free. The vine will crush the life out of here quickly."
He then grabs the vines and attempts to squirm out of their grip.
----------
Unsure is she can safely reach her friend Melani chooses to release some of the energy channeled from her deity that should both heal Ahreni and harm the plant. Touching the holy symbol a her neck she yields to the pressure that is always there and some of the essence of hell is released.
All of you watch as Ahreni is constricted until she loses her consciousness. With quick thinking, Vicenzo frees himself from the entangling vines, even if there is the chance of being held once more in the close future. Meanwhile, Cale thrusts his spear forward, even if just grazing the plant.
In an effort to save Ahreni, Melani channels her God's power, healing the fallen angel a bit.
With Ahreni unconscious, the vile plant releases it and lashes at Cael... luckily for him, in its eagerness, the plant hurts itself! On the other hand, the entangling vines around you get a hold on both Cael and Melani, leaving Vicenzo as the only one free from the plants, with their thorns piercing the others flesh.
Whiff The attack deals damage to you instead of the target.
________________________________
Melani
Assassin Vine [12 dmg; grazed (-1)]
Vicenzo - up
Ahreni
Pava - up
Cael - up
Round 2
Melani - up
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni
Pava
Cael
Pava exclaims another prayer: "Hell, rise up! Provide me the power to free myself from this murderous plant!", then struggles to free herself from the multitude of small tendrils wrapping around her calves.
Finding herself free of the plant's grip--for the moment, at least--she issues a challenge, feeling a bit... odd... talking to what appears to be an intelligent plant. "And now, you vile thing, you must die."
Challenging a foe requires much of the cavalier's concentration. The cavalier takes a –2 penalty to his Armor Class, except against attacks made by the target of his challenge.
The challenge remains in effect until the target is dead or unconscious or until the combat ends. Each cavalier's challenge also includes another effect which is listed in the section describing the cavalier's order.
Order of the Star: Whenever an order of the star cavalier issues a challenge, she receives a +1 morale bonus on all her saving throws as long as she is threatening the target of her challenge. This bonus increases by +1 for every four levels the cavalier possesses.
Lucky to be freed, Vicenzo grabs a hold of the fallen angel and drags her out of the plant's reach.
"I can't affect this thing. Either kill it or fall back!"
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Cael worries about Ahreni losing consciousness, thinking that the plant might just finish her off. For a fraction of a second he is happy to see that the plant released her. But that joy is quickly replaced by a moment of fear when he notices that he just became the next target. Luckily for him, the plant actually missed and hit itself instead.
Well, maybe we will get through this after all. Distracted by his lucky break, Cael step directly in a thicker patch of vines and he gets stuck. Ahhh @/$%"! % He tries to get out of hit, but the hold is too strong. Well, if I have to go down, it will be while I'm swinging.
He once again aims at the plant and tries to inflict some damage.
Unhappy that the release of evil did not harm the plant Melani casts a Bless spell to help her allies hit. Its just a plant and not some divine guardian. she hisses.
Vicenzo grabbed Ahreni and moved her outside the deadly reach of the plant, almost getting caught in the process. In front of him, Pava called her Gods for their favor, helping her release herself from the grappling plants, but Cael had not the same luck... however, he stroke once more with his spear, harming the plant again.
Behind him, Melani was trying to call her God for help, but the entangling plants broke her concentration, ruining her spell.
Meanwhile, the entangling plants managed to grab Pava once more to her frustration, and thorns pierced her flesh yet again. The assassin vine, now with fewer targets within its reach, tried to attack Pava, but the knight managed to shake the blow thanks to her armor.
________________________________
Melani
Assassin Vine [14 dmg; grazed (-1)]
Vicenzo - up
Ahreni
Pava - up
Cael - up
Round 3
Melani - up
Assassin Vine
Vicenzo
Ahreni
Pava
Cael
It's still moving, it's going to hit me!! Cael braces against an attack that doesn't come. Realising that the plant is now after Pava, he tries once again to break free... with the same result. Come one, I have to get free from this. He looks at the plant and try to find a better spot to hit. Aiming a little higher, he attacks again. "Die!!! Just Die!"
Pava ignores the vines wrapping around her legs and takes steady, slow steps forward until she can strike at the heart of the plant. She swings her sword in a restricted arc, trying to avoid the writhing vines and hit only the center mass of the plant.
Now that he and Ahreni were out of immediate danger, the witch took out a flask of liquid fire and threw it at the plant.
---------------
Vicenzo lobs the vial of alchemist's fire with perfection, hitting the plant right in its middle... and nothing happened. Apparently, this variety of plant is particularly resistant to fire. However, the splah of the substance was able to burn the foliage around it. Noticing the opportunity, Pava broke free from the plants entangling her and stepped forward.
With a clean and precise move, the knight thrashed the assassin vine completely, uprooting it and sending it flying towards the closest stone pillar. It did not move anymore. A victory at last...
Meanwhile, Ahreni was still bleeding behind Vicenzo.
Stand Aside Double damage and push target 1 square in any direction.
Now that the danger had passed, Vicenzo did his best to help out Ahreni. He propped her up and tried to assess her injuries while he called out, "We need a potion or something. Anyone got any magical healing available?"
He then cursed himself, "Got plenty of money but cannot buy what I need in this dammed town."
-----------
Cael follows the plant with his eyes as it goes flying, then he looks at Pava. "Remind me to never get on your bad side." Turning around, he starts heading walking towards the group. "Is she going to be ok?" Then, when he hears Vicenzo. "Sorry, I got nothing also."
Melani moves over to Ahreni and casts Infernal Healing on the woman. You are a faithful servant of Asmodeus. Accept his blessing.
Ahreni wakes with the now familiar burning sensation inside her that she associates with Melani's diabolic healing spells.
"Do we need to get a gardener?" She quips, sitting up. Not her best pun but better than the groaning she feels unable to avoid otherwise.
Pava smiles at Ahreni's bad pun. "The weeds have been cleared." She holds out an arm to help her friend up. "I'm glad to see you're going to be okay."
"So is this it? Is this the temple? It doesn't seem to be quite what I was imagining." She cautiously approaches the body that had originally been wrapped up in the assassin vine, to see if it is recognizable.
Vicenzo frowns, "We need to get healing supplies, quickly at that."
He looked at Melani, "What would have happened if you were the one that was bleeding to death?"
Concentrating at the task at hand, he started to inspect the 'temple'.
-----------
I understand your concern Vicenzo. Perhaps you could appeal to your patron to be granted the healing hex? My devotion to my lord prevents me from healing as well as some clerics might.
"Healing supplies shouldn't be too hard to get, I mean, there are temples in every town. I understand that you wouldn't want to spend gold at the temple here since they are encouraging the social tensions. But aren't there any other merchants that support our cause that could bring such stuff from a more reputable place?"
Walking over to where Pava is inspecting the body, Cael crouches down and also take a look. "Any idea who the poor guy is?"
As you inspect the body, you find similar wounds to those that Nobes sustained. He bears both bruises suggesting some beating, and marks of constriction... taking the creature you just now eliminated, it is quite obvious what was responsible for his death. The only single difference between the two men's wounds are that, this one, is considerably thinner, and, upon close inspection, you notice a couple vines buried beneath his skin, probably the mechanism from which the vine used to feed itself.
While inspecting the temple, you find nothing of value or interest. It appears that since it had fallen to neglect, it was thoroughly looted. The state of the construction is also poor, meaning that it would take a lot of time, effort, and gold to bring it back to some use... it is barely something more than a clearing with a couple pillars.
Vicenzo commented, "I don't know who he is but he used to hang around Nobes. Maybe they friends or partners in something."
He then addressed Cael, "Listen. If you can buy a healing wand, I have the money for it. The problem we've had so far was that they wouldn't sell things to us. Not readily anyway. I'm wondering whether we should start to just take it and leave them the money."
tag?
He looked at Melani, "As much as you want to convert this place into a temple, it's going to take a lot of work. Let's look for a better place in town, eh?"
tag?
Looking at Vicenzo. "Is there any merchants that are on our side and willing to trade with us? I would start there. Even better if that merchant is able to import from other cities. We could get a wand of the spell that Melani just used." He nods toward Ahreni. "It looks kinda effective."
Looking around the place, kicking a few stones and ripping out a few weeds, Cael turns toward Melani. "I seem to remember that there was another place you wanted to look at. After we drop this poor fella with the other guy that was killed by the plant, maybe we could go check it out." With that, Cael heads back to the body and try to get him loose and ready for transport.
"It was the old Mayor's house right? I think it was also outside the walls, so maybe we should leave the body here and pick it up on our way back."
"Either way someone needs to keep an eye on what's going on with Nobes and the Church of Iomedae. If I go as Anya then it'll keep us in the loop." Ahreni responds, looking somewhat tired. "I'd prefer to not do anything else strenuous today anyway."
It takes you but a couple seconds to know that the church is once more planning to take advantage of the deaths, going on with the rumors that Erastil was unpleased with the current state in Longacre. Unsurprisingly, the locals are somewhat buying the story... perhaps it would be interesting for you to provide a counter argument or tale to vanquish such rumors, and even some proof of what really happened.
Frustrated, you start to move back towards the jail when a familiar figure approaches you... the same man who was waiting beside your side at the jail when you arrived and who delivered the letter to that other man who was previously working with your current companions. "Mr. Melum!" The man greets you. "I don't believe we were formally introduced... I'm Ingoe Zoags!" Offering his hand, he comes closer to you and whispers. "I'm not sure if your companions mentioned it to you, but we have an agreement... I've been 'hired' to provide rumors about what is going on in town, however, this time, I'm here to offer you another deal..." He taps is nose as he smiles, before suggestion you to walk with him.
"I've heard you are having difficulties to find some items around town... and, as it happens, I'm the responsible for managing the docks and, from time to time, I end up in the possession of some interesting items, if you know what I mean." Once you reach the inside of the jail, he removes an item from within his coat, a long piece covered by a black cloth. Once he unwraps it, you notice it is a black and polished wand, surrounded by reddish runes, some of which are in Infernal. "It is in my full interest to help you to achieve all your goals, gentlemen, so I thought you'd be interested in such item... of course, I'd expect some sort of compensation... I fully believe a 10% contribution is something entirely fair." He smiles at you, expectantly.
A two story building, this house is clearly one of the largest and most impressive homes in Longacre, even if it shows clear signs of abandonment, like a cracked window, dust-covered windows, and a wild and untended garden. Without entering the place, you already know that, at least apparently, this would be a pretty good place for a temple. As Vicenzo rubs his sleeves on a window, he can see that its interior still has its furniture, covered by yellowed sheets... it appears that, against all odds, this place wasn't entirely looted.
All the doors and windows are, however, locked.
This is too good to be true. Melani says as she looks over the manor house. Something must be up. Lets proceed with caution. Melani spends a little time looking for a key and any signs of recent use.
'Anya' clears her throat in a rather fussy manner, the noise elaborate enough to draw the attention of a number of the crowd. "Please forgive me, but this seems like a most unlikely occurrence. From what you have said Lady Sword Knight it appears that we have an unfortunate local vagrant who has been killed by a person or persons unknown. Has anyone actually investigated the building where this man was found? Without doing that it seems a huge leap to suggest divine intervention. While I certainly agree that the Archbaron has become much harsher of late, this does not mean that Erastil is starting to smite the poor of Longacre. Surely he would strike down the Archbaron or his agents if this was the case? Not a local vagrant with little influence. It seems far more likely that someone murdered the poor man, and I intend to petition the new constables to look into the matter at once."
After this speech 'Anya' spends much of the day discussing the local rumours with people all over town, inviting a number to lunch at the Drunken Huntsman and generally spreading her message of reasonable caution and action according to the law.
This is too good to be true. Melani says as she looks over the manor house. Something must be up. Lets proceed with caution. Melani spends a little time looking for a key and any signs of recent use.
Vicenzo frowned at his lack of lock-picking skills, "Pava, do you want to try and break down the door? Although I would hate to break something if we are later going to use it."
He looked around for any obvious means of entering and commented out loud, "What if we break a glass in a window? That shouldn't be too complicated or costly to replace."
tag?
----------
Pava walks up and down the front of the house, studying the door and windows. "I agree; I'd hate to have to break the door."
"Though, Melani, you may want to install a more ceremonial entrance anyway, right?" Pava smiles at the cleric and chuckles. "I imagine that's not going to be in the immediate budget, so let's try another way."
She wanders around to the back of the house, just to be sure that they've checked everything.
She shrugs, and looks at Vicenzo and Melani. "I think the front door is what it has to be. I'll try to make a clean break."
Pava approaches the front door, plants herself a couple feet in front of it, and braces herself. She launches a mighty kick at the front door, near the lock, kicking again and again if the first kick doesn't break down the door.
Cael walks around the town, going from one vendor to another, hoping to find if not the healing supplies, at least some merchant that supports the good side. Finding nothing, he stares back at the church... I wonder, how would they take it if I walk in there. Try to bring me into the fold, or kick me out in an instant? Shrugging to himself, he walks back to the jail. When he gets approached by the man, Cael instinctively looks around to make sure he didn't just walk into trouble. Since he was alone, you never what some people would do. But then the man presents himself and Cael vaguely remembers meeting him on his first day in town.
"Mr. Zoags" Taking his hand, Cael studies the man carefully. A merchant's loyalty is more often to his purse them to people. Once they enter the jail, the man takes out what look like a wand and present it to Cael. "You manage the docks? Interesting. I find that people working on ships and docks always share a bond greater than gold. You see, I used to be a sailor myself, and when this trouble times are over, I plan to return to it. Knowing the friendly ports is always important." Cael starts taking some gold out of his bag. "So tell me, Mr. Zoags, How much exactly would you like for this item in particular?"
Alamar isn't happy again but as others seem to agree with the old man, perhaps and important person to have swayed the other's opinions, the Sword Knights sighs before coming towards you. "Perhaps we should do just that! Come, lets take a look at the Old Lodge."
"It is a peculiar item, and it is not common for me to find... 825 pieces of gold is a more than fair price. If I recall, ordering one from the major cities, plus taxes and shipping services would cost much, much more." You don't see any sign suggesting he would lower his price. In truth, he is correct... a commissioned wand would cost much more, without taking in consideration the time involved between the order, the crafting, and the shipping.
The design of this house is not much different from the ruined Ash House, suggesting the same architect might have been responsible for both the constructions. Aside from the usual rooms, lavatories, and kitchen, you also find a quite sizeable hall, large enough no hold a sermon. Surely not ideal, but quite passable.
While inspecting one of the rooms in the ground floor, what appears to be a smoking room, Vicenzo accidently finds a secret door to the basement. After calling the others, you descents a short flight of stairs into the dark. Vicenzo conjures some globes of light and you soon find a quite shocking scene: a conjuration circle drawn in old blood, an altar with a symbol of a diabolic man with three horns, and scattered bones of what appears to be a man and a cat. There is also several stains of blood all over the place, much like as if a human and a cat had exploded inside this room.
Melani quickly identifies the symbol above the shrine as one of Mephistopheles, the Lord of the Eighth, an archdevil known for his contracts and the severity of his punishments.