GM BigBusMan's Rise of the Run Lords and Beyond

Game Master Fedorian Silverleaf

Lorilon stares at Sacerdos with big eyes - trying to discern whether the man is completely nuts or not.

"Eheherm, well.. As long as we beat up whatever comes after us in due fashion - there's no need to be frightened! Tell you what, this is the perfect opportunity to smash chairs and throw mugs of ale at monsters. The way I see it; we've got this man or woman evil-person after the city and now probably us as well - and if he or she sends monsters after us on a regular basis henceforth, that means we get to brawl on a regular basis as well."

The gnome looks up at Spears with a broad smile on his face and his eyes all teary-like. "It's a dream come true, old man!"

"Maybe we'll get a chance to perfect the gnome toss into the middle of the brawl idea we had."

Spears laughs and grabs a plate and puts some food on it.

"And I am not old, short stuff." Spears says teasingly as he begins to eat his food.

I will allow the gnome toss..5' x Strength Modifier!!..LoL

Fastball Special!!

now all we need is for Lorilon to get claws

He does look like the gnomish Wolverine, doesn't he?

OK sorry ive been lax on the posts lately, Been a busy week, I will be getting something up for you guys later on today..thank you for being patient

The Group finds itself in the back room of the Rusty Dragon while they wait for the Sheriff to arrive, the drink and food Ameiko provided is very tasty, however the group grows impatient for the Sheriffs arrival, an hour ticks past, then an hour and a half..just as the group is about to give up the good sheriff enters the room. The sheriff smiles at everyone, but has a discernible worried look on his face, he takes a seat at the table and says:

" Sorry I'm late fella's, My work is never done and it always takes twice as long as I expect it too..anyway, I want to thank you again for your incredible bravery yesterday handling those vermin, and for bringing in the live one..Like I said earlier..i would have had a lot more eulogies to give today had it not been for you folks..Father Tobins had me Busy all morning as it is up there helping with the funerals and such..we just got the last poor soul in the ground not a half hour ago..at least I hope its the last..Anyway, I wanted to meet with you all and get to know you better, a group of hero's could be a big asset to me in this town..so lets start with you guys telling me a little about yourselves, and what kind of plans you have for the near future.."

"Come on Sheriff, you already know me don't 'cha. Lorilon Minkmasher, famous erhem, I mean.. soon to be world famous brawler and smasher of chairs!"

Lorilon leaps off his chair and smiles broadly, extending his arm towards Spears, introducing him.

"And this old man is Spears, my bodyguard - and famous ringer of helms! Now, I don't know what you wanna hear, but we're looking to set out and smash whomever is responsible for unleashing those watermelon-like creatures on this mighty fine town of yours!"

Feeling confident, he places his hands on his hips and assumes an heroic posture - obviously lost in a dream-like state where wind is blowing through his hair and people chant his name.

Bedlam nods at the Sheriff.

Bedlam Bottomland--Ranger and expert trapper. I be letting the winds of Nature guide me steps.

It seems that She has guided meself here to yer town to help ye against these vermin!

When Lorilon gets up during his speech, Spears starts chanting softly,

"Lor-i-lon, Lor-i-lon."

Once Lorilon calls him an old man, Spears starts shaking his head.

After Bedlam finishes talking, Spears stands and says.

"Contrary to gnome opinion, I am not old. My name is Spears Friggin, former city guard in Magnimar. My plan is to find some adventure and now that I've met these fine folk, travel with them as we all adventure. I figure we can find the right balance of trouble and fun. Or at least a lot of both."

Katrin says "Greetings Sheriff, I am Katrin Helgunnr, spearmaiden from the Land of the Linnorm Kings. My travels have lead me away from my homeland to the warmer climates of Varistia in search of mercenary work and adventure. I was actually on a trip to the city of Magnimar in order to find employment but decided to stay in Sandpoint for a few days after hearing about a festival. You Varistian men are nice enough fellows although a bit weak on the muscular side of things, ha ha ha. I gave your best arm wrestler a good wallop at the festival although I've yet to see the man again after the festival. Speaking of which, he left behind his satchel of money and I have been holding into it as leaving it alone in a public square would have made it a prime target for thieves. I am wondering if I can give it to you sheriff so you can find it back into the hands of its proper owner. As for my current plans, I am interested in helping out with this goblin problem you have here. Well so long as the pay is fair for my services."

"Greetings Sheriff Hemlock, i am Anders Trelassion, lately apprenticed to the Night Guard of Magnimar, an august body that guards The Usher's hall and Pediment building at night. I am a paladin of Alseta, chosen as her sacred shield and following the path she has laid before me. I have come seeking fame and glory and the lost lore of Thassilon, and have fallen in with this company that was formed in the hopes of adventure."

My name is Carrion, and I am currently residing in the Rusty Dragon Inn, and am an associate of Ameiko Kaijutsu. I came here years ago under the care of the Hawthornes, such is my path, and have come to like this town, and it's people. I am an apprentice in the magic shop selling their wares.
When I was young I lost my family, and while it was bleak at times, I knew this was my destiny. I have been close to death multiple times, but my inborn abilities have provided for me, and I've escaped with nary a scratch.

Slight Pause.....
I am fascinated with Thassilon, its history, the rumored Runelords, and anything I could learn I have thus far. I have plumbed the library and archives, and read all that I could. Their story could well be ours, the hubris, advancements, and unbridled magic ability could have caused their downfall, plus rumors of Starfall is always of interest. The history of this world.

Another pause.....
I seek to find my true path, where the fates direct. As of now I am aligned with these fellows here (indicates the party), aiding Sandpoint, finding the goblin tribes and locations, and seeking the identity of this individual directing the goblins who I believe to be human. While I am with this company I will do what I can to protect them for that is where my power lies and I can control that. Perhaps I will have more control later, but that is to be seen.

Carrion drinks a glass of water heartily.

Sacerdos smiles, his words filling inthe silence left by Carrion's words. "I am Sacerdos Echthileon, cleric and servant of Empyreal Lord Ragathiel. I hail from Magnimar as well, my father an Inquisitor of the same order. While he has journeyed to the Worldwound to take part in the Crusades, I am embarking on a Sojourn. It is my goal to learn the importance of my calling, develop the talents given me by the blessing of my Lord. If Ragathiel wills my success and my survival, then I will join my father in the North and battle at his side."

He pauses and looks about the table with obvious pleasure. "My master and Lord has truly blessed me in arriving here in Sandpoint. And He has blessed me with new comrades." He raises his mug of cider, saluting them.

The he refocused on the Sheriff. "To be truthful, I had intended to learn more about what evil tortured your town several years ago. Perhaps this new threat and that of the old are related?"

The Sheriff listens intently to everyone's story,when they are finished he sits back in his chair for a moment and looks around the room..

"So Are you guys planning on sticking around standpoint for awhile..then?..with all this Goblin Business, its looking like I could use a few more able body deputies around here..the Jobs yours if youd like it..the pay is..."

Suddenly the door flings open in Father Zantus rushes in..followed by a quite disgruntled Ameiko..you can hear her yelling at them from the hallway about it being a closed meeting..Father Zantus upon entering the room looks at the Sheriff with a panicked look on his face..

"Sheriff, Im sorry to bust in like this, but i need you to come right away..I have found something i need you to see..as I was closing up the graveyard i was doing a walk-through and noticed that the tomb of the Caretakers has been disturbed..the stone in front of it has been moved..Please come quickly..I did not stop to check it out further..I came straight here..please come quickly.."

The Sheriff jumps up and looks at the Group..

..well No time like the present lets go check this out shall we?

"Certainly Sheriff. I'm up for helping you with the troubles in the graveyard. I'm ready to go when you are."

She grabs her gear and prepares to leave.

Bedlam pushes his chair from the table, standing up with purpose!

There be more to this then we be knowing, I'll wager!

Looking over at Spears, Lorilon gives him half a bow and speaks: "Want me to bring me your cane, old man? Haha! I'm just kidding, let's go!"

Lorilon pursues the Sheriff.

The cleric stands and follows the others out the door. "Ragathiel guide my eyes and ears to perceive clearly the threat before this town." He prays.

Spears playfully pushes Lorilon out of the way. "Get my cane? Why you couldn't carry my cane whippersnapper!"

As the group follow the sheriff and Father Zantus, Spears looks around at the group. [b]"While we walk, anyone have any information on the Caretakers and care to make a guess as to why someone might break into a tomb? I am assuming that there wasn't a large haul of treasure in the tomb, so there's probably another reason?" he asks, directing his question to those who have knowledge of religion and/or knowledge of the local area.

Father Zantus replies to Spears:

"The tomb in question holds the remains of my predecessor Father Ezakien Tobyn, and some of the temples acolytes and caretakers..why anyone would break in there is beyond me..all I noticed is that the stone in front of the door had been moved, and not fully replaced..not wanting to disturb any evidence or have a confrontation with anything that might still be inside..i came for the Sheriff straight away."

"Well you know goblins. They're not above grave-robbing to get more loot into their grubby little hands."

"My concern is that the goblins were merely a diversion. Something to draw the town's attention away from your hallowed site." The more he thinks about it, the more eager Sacerdos is to get to the location. "Father, if we may be so bold to ask, is there reliquary being held in this tomb? Or perhaps the tomb leads to subterranean levels beyond?"

Bedlam runs along side the group--mumbling:

Aye, these be foul and nasty vermin! The gods know what they be up to?

This new information brings to light the idea this event is tied to the church burning the very celebration interrupted was for, and the remains may be tied to the very person who is behind this. There must be a reason those remains were targeted.

Goblins don't generally rob tombs, not that they wouldn't do so if it was in their path. Does anyone remain of the family of the deceased Tobyn?

I would inquire as to the details of the church incident, people lost, how it started, etc?

The Good Father says to Sacerdos and Carrion:

" No the tomb only held the remains of a few individuals, no treasure and is a simple stone Mausoleum, there is no entrance that i am personally aware of to anything underground..As for the Family of Father Tobyn, From what I understand the only Family he had was an adopted daughter named Nualia, who was also tragically killed in the fire, although no trace of her body was ever found in the rubble..That fire seemed to be the end of the "late unpleasantness"..we hoped it would be the end..As for the Fire, no one was really sure how it started, but it burned to the ground taking the Stables, the White Deer Inn, and three other homes with it..Father Tobyn and Nualia were the only victims of the fire itself..it was very tragic, especially so soon after the "Chopper" incident..what a mess that was..But I digress, we can talk about that some other time..right now we need to focus on the present and making sure everything is where it should be..

As the father finished up talking, the sheriff leans over to Sacerdos and says"

" You know Im starting to think the same thing, a goblin invasion would have made a good distraction for something more nefarious..

Bedlam grumbles about: Dirty vermin poking them noses in where

it ain't be wanted!

"How big a tomb are we talking about, Father?" Sacerdos asks as they approach the location. "You mentioned other acolytes and caretakers were buried here as well. Also, this approve daughter, Nualia, was she clergy?"

As they approach the scene, Sacerdos will cast Detect Undead and maintain it so he can the most out of the spell (see cleric info for details).

To the rest of the group he indicates, "We should scout the area around the tomb before entering. See if there's any fresh tracks in or out. Maybe prevent an ambush if someone is waiting for us."

After the size and description of said tombs are given.....

The "Chopper" incident, I will remember that for later. Shall we?

I rise to leave.

Sheriff, guards are posted I'm assuming, and I can find remaining magic energy if any were used, dependent upon the power of the wielder and the spell. Anything else that is relevant to this matter? If not, I believe we should follow this path.

I forgot about this part. I was thinking "is that added content from the DM?" then I recalled something about it. I forget the why of it, but the whole adventure is very interesting. They do need to reduce the adventures they are producing as they will exhaust materials and ideas. Bring it down to one per quarter and they can have major longevity.

Katrin thinks for a moment and asks, "If no body was found for Nualia, how can you be sure she is dead? Perhaps she was kidnapped or ran away after the event? Was Nialia well liked in the town before the fire?"

When they do arrive at the Mausoleum,
Bedlam will ask that everybody hold back a bit,
so that he can search the area for tracks.

track: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

And he will also look for any possible traps when at the actual Mausoleum.

perception: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 10 + 1 = 30

Being careful be a good idea, friends!

Upon arrival at said mauseoleum I will cast Detect Magic and concentrate to gain full effect (when within 50 feet attempting to find a weak point in the building itself where the spell penetrates, lasts 1 minute per casting). I will move around completely the building covering all angles, depending on its size (huge or too large for feasible timeline).

Detect Magic is a cantrip, 0 level, so I can cast it unlimited times/day.

Father Zantus to Katrin

" I do not know much about Nualia, or Father Tobyn, as I was in Magnimar while they were here, I did not come to Sandpoint until after the Fire and the good father's death, but from what I hear the Townsfolk thought of Nualia as sort of a healer, or good luck charm..a position that I've heard she did not like..but I suppose it IS Possible that she may have run away or been kidnapped, But with the Fire, I believe that they just assumed she had been burned into Ash..

Sheriff to Carrion

"I have not had a chance to send any guards, so we will be on our own for this one, Im not expecting much..perhaps a goblin may have got lost and has hidden in the tomb until he thinks he can escape..I wouldn't think we will find much more than that..if anything.

[ooc]@GM: You may be writing this as I type, but anything on Bedlam's track check our on my Detect Undead? We're doing both once we're near the tomb. Also

Lorilon unsheathes his Bastard Sword, wielding it with both hands as Bedlam looks around. He takes his time to let everyone know that he is hoping for a fight by wearing a large grin.

"You guys think there's more goblins inside?"

There could easily be goblins hidden away in the city, the catacombs, anywhere. They are small and hide well. I do not believe we are meant to sweep the city, but we should be wary.

Lorilon, you seem excited for the prospect of goblin dismemberment. I suppose it is overcoming the odds for you, the heroic stand.

"It's not so much overcoming for me, Carrion. It's the thrill of battle is all, the blood pumping, chairs splintering, teeth shattering and groins properly introduced to knees. I don't mind getting myself a good beating, no sir - I've had quite a few - you learn more getting your posterior handed to you than you do from bashing your skull into everyone and everything you see. So, I don't know about the whole heroic stand thing, I just want to hit people with chairs and take it from there."

His grin widens as he speaks, clearly depicting his love for brawling as he rants on.

"Nah, Carrion, he just loves to fight. Like you love to watch the signs and study them, he loves to fight. Spears says as he equips his shield and shortspear.

Holding her massive polearm tightly she says, "If there are any of those goblins hiding in there we'll just have to do some cleanup. I am looking forward to pulping the skulls of more of those vermin. We'll show those green skins what happens when they defile the graves of the dead."

It was meant to be somewhat sarcastic as well. I suppose that was lost in translation. It is good to know you are on your path Lorilon.

OK, my internet is back now, however I will be gone until probably 10pm EST tonight, I haven't forgotten the checks Sacerdos, and I will incorporate them in the next post, right now assume that you are still walking through the streets on the way to the boneyard.

"It seems too suspicious to me. What are the chances of a bunch of goblins just happening across this particular tomb and then taking the time and effort to move the stone that blocks it - which I imagine weighs a fair amount - all while under the threat of counterattack? No it seems to me that it must have been planned all along, with the goblin attack a diversion. They must have known that the goblins would never succeed in their stated aim of razing the town, but if that was never their intention it would have been easy to send the goblins on such a mission as a diversion while entering the tomb. The only question is what did they expect to find in it? The only way to find that out is to go there."

I would venture the belief that we could one day be allied with goblins. Any being can be helpful, we must learn their motivations, understand their minds.

"Well, I'm no Goblin expert, but it seems to me that they would be chancy allies at best. I hear they are a cowardly bunch. There's a reason that Goblins are not recorded as heroes in the stories, but only ever appear as villains, that's probably because they have never been an ally. Of course, there is a first time for everything."

Sacerdos scratches at the stubble on his chin. "True words, Anders. But there's a league of difference between partners and pawns."

Bedlam awaits his search results

As the Group heads for the Bone yard Sheriff Hemlock continues to talk to the group about their future plans, the group gets the feeling that he is sizing them up, and that this trip to the bone yard, may indeed be a test of sorts and that he is doing his best to try and foster an alliance with the group..after all Having an allied group of adventurers is a significant resource for Sandpoint.

As they all approach the Bone Yard, Sheriff Hemlock pauses for a moment and turns to Father Zantus:

"Father, If you don't mind I think the best place for you at the moment would be here at the cathedral, we don't know what we are facing up here and the last thing we need is to bury another priest..so if you could just wait here I would appreciate it..besides it looks as though you still have some mourners milling about and they may need you to speak some words of comfort to them, we will return shortly."

Father Zantus looks a bit offended at the remark, but he says nothing, he Nods at the Sheriff and heads off to tend to the mourners

Hemlock looks back at the group:

"Alright, shall we continue into the Boneyard?..I have no idea what we are facing up here so we need to be prepared for just about anything.."

The path through the bone yard is quiet, there is a slight breeze blowing and all is still..up ahead you see the Vault, which is just a plain 20ft by 20ft stone vault and the door does indeed stand slightly ajar, The ground outside the vault is churned up and Bedlam stops to search the area for tracks, and he discovers that there are indeed several sets of tracks outside of the vault, Several of the tracks are indeed Goblin tracks, but there is also the tracks of what appears to be a larger humanoid..upon further investigation, bedlam learns that there were about six goblins and one human that had appeared to climb over the wall and head straight for the vault and entered.

Crypt Map

As he group moves along, Anders will chat amiably with Sheriff Hemlock; asking him if there is any local experts on the Thassilonian ruins or if he knows of any ruins nearby.

Once bedlam gets to work, Anders will boast of Bedlam's prowess as a tracker, and Sacerdos' ability to detect undead. He will comment to Carrion that now might be a good time to cast "that spell that covers you in force"meaning Mage Armour

Bedlam follows the tracks up to the Vault.

He then begins to search the exterior of the entrance,

looking for traps.

perception: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 1 = 25

He holds up his hand for the others to await his findings.