The sun sets as the caravan approaches the sleepy town of Belhaim. The lot of you feel lucky to have signed on with old Silas Gribb, proprietor of the Wipsil Train caravan moving goods through greater Taldor and Andoran. After some fierce negotiations, and some not so fierce, the characters obtained decent pay for steady if not too terribly exciting work. The caravan had not been set upon by brigands for many years, but a strong show of force likely contributed to that luck.
Silas assured the newly hired guards that there first pay day would be upon reaching Belhaim and that there would be many more after that. Ah, best laid plans...
Shortly after arrival, the characters see good old Silas engaged in some heated conversations with some armed men.
"Must be some misunderstanding...I am a reputable businessman! Surely some...arrangements...can be made to sort this all out?"The crafty old caravan master says in a tempting tone leaving little to its interpretation.
A brusk man in official looking town garb snorts and takes hold of Silas' arm "Oh I'll make some arrangements for you smuggler! So it says on this warrant for your arrest, please allow me to arrange for you to spend some time as my guest...I have a nice cell waiting for you." The man motions to his gathered retinue of town guards. [b]"In fact, round them all up. We bringing the lot of you in. Probably all part of this smuggling crew." The man, the apparent sheriff, motions for his men who surround the newly minted caravan guards and escort them to the sheriff's offices. The guards eye the tall green guard warily, but the half-orc reluctantly puts up no resistance.
After a few hours of yelling, pleading and begging, the new guards are able to convince the sheriff, a fair man, that they are innocent of Silas' prior schemes and are released from custody. Unfortunately, the Wipsil Train, Silas and all of his coin included, are whisked away south to Cassomir to face ultimate judgment.
The five new guards, a tall battle worn half-orc, a human man in priestly robes, a woman with a glare that could cut steel, a wispy man that hides his face under a hood and a man in armor who whispers a prayer when faced with the groups predicament. Stranded in a small town without being paid, knowing no one and without lodge or apparent means to travel. The five look out into the night and try to piece together their sudden change of fortune.
As the five stand about on the street, they are approached by a woman. She walks toward the man in priestly robes and speaks "pardon me, I know you are strangers in town and you don't know me but...well...I could not help but overhear what happened. Terrible, I mean...you seem like nice enough folk..and.."the woman lets out an exacerbated sigh before continuing "My manners, I am Talia Orem, the proprietor of the Wise Piper Inn not far from here. My father would call me a terrible businessman, but at lest let me offer you a few nights stay at my inn, free of charge. I have the room and I would feel terrible to see you all on the streets while my beds are empty."
The group eagerly accepts the room and they follow the kindly woman to the inn not far from their location. She sets the five up an a table near the hearth of the common room of the inn and has her staff bring them a meal of fresh bread with cheese and honey, with watery mead to wash it down. The group sits at the long table and contemplates their next move...
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Well that ended about as well as it could be and all
Leaning back I run the oiled rag over the blade of the hand and half sword before returning it back into the white goat skin covered scabbard, bearing the design of a winged eye in a circle with a long bladed sword in a golden starburst.
I guess we bet go and start looking for something to do before the welcome mat gets pulled or we get asked to do something we really don't want to do that might get us killed or burned at the stake. Only a matter of time before "Orcus" and I get blamed for something.....I will go and see what's up at the military garrison or whatever it is they have here along with at the temple of Iomeade.
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Takumi sits quietly at the table, taking comfort in the shadows caused by the fire dancing about him. The brief flickerings of fire light highlight his apparent frail features. His jet black hair is tied in a loose poneytail and reveals many features common to his race. The paleness of his skin seems even lighter in contrast to his dark hair. Although appearing human, his pale yellow, pupiless eyes give away that his ancestors were not of this world.
Takumi stares at the half empty mug of mead as he spins the container around with his fingertips. Without looking up, he addresses the group sitting at the table with him and speaks softly I know we have not known each other for long and I am not one to turn away from aid, but do these recent events seem unusual to any of you? This generosity seems misplaced and nothing is ever truly free. I am not looking to stay for more than a night. Is anyone else looking at departing this place?
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Kell silently eats the bread and cheese while scanning the room for anything out of the ordinary before settling his gaze on the embers in the hearth. He casually looks towards D’Novan upon hearing the all too familiar racial slur against him. He eyes the warrior up for a moment before responding. My name is Kell, not “Orcus”. We can’t choose our heritage, only our actions. He inclines his head in a slight nod. but you are correct, I generally get singled out as the village monster and doer of evil things. It would be best if we find gainful employment soon.
He takes a long pull from the watered-down ale and winces at the taste. I guess beggars can’t be choosers.
After examining the room again, he looks at each of the members at the table. I hear a vote for seeking out employment with the local guard or temple; any other options?
My only way to generate coin is using this… he pats the heavy flail hanging at his hip. I’ve tried to learn a few skills here and there but not many wish to hire me for anything other than muscle. Sometimes I am hired to just to imply the threat of violence; it is not rewarding work but when the stomach is empty, one does what they must.
He picks up the tankard and pulls another drink.
As the group sits at the long table, mulling their current situation, they hear a loud crack and feel the inn shake with t thundering BOOM! Small cries of fright ring out from the gathered patrons as dust from the walls and ceiling trickle into the room.
The sound seems more akin to a massive landslide than anything else.
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Kell spreads his feet apart to gain more stability as the room begins to shake. Seeing the panic sweep across the room, he grabs his ale tankard and speaks to the gathered company. That sounds like a cave in or wall collapse. I don't recall seeing any mines on the way into town so it might be a wall falling over.
He continues to drink his ale while watching the front door.
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Well said Kell...I know the feeling all to well being called a half-breed myself and refusing to worship the new state religion of Cheliax in stead of the older and true ways did not a lot to help....... with the large noise....a drop into a ready fighting postion, as I do my tapered ears show from behind my jet black hair..... by Iomeade...what the hell!!
WHAT THE ..... Looks at the small man and nods grabbing her things and running off after him.... C'mon Boys......lets get the hell out of here before we end up a permanent part of this place!!
Running hard for the door, I push , shove any of the boys that are in my way forward and out the door as I am perfectly capable of multi tasking!!
sounds like a the side of a mountain collapsing....
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Kell looks a little surprised as everyone heads for the door. hmmpf.. I am not sure what all the fuss is about, that quake seemed pretty far off. I doubt we are in much danger.
He brushes off some of the ceiling plaster that fell onto the food before picking up the bread and cheese and stuffs it into a side pouch.
Well, I guess I had better keep up with the crew.
He quickly follows everyone outside.
The group reacts to the commotion as some of them make toward the exit. Takumi is the first to exit the inn and sees a huge plume of dust rising to the northeast. As the fetchling stares the smoke, trying to make sense of what he is seeing, a young villager runs past him into the inn past Kell, Mitchell and the rest of the group as they are exiting. The man calls out to the inn patrons "The tower! The Witch Tower! It has fallen!" The man repeats the news to those who listen or inquire and excitedly points in the smoke plume's direction.
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Witch Tower?.....hmmm.... Ok, I bet that is something that is not good or of at least some importance to these folks. Best we grab all of our kit and and maybe talk to our hostess and figure out what it means.
Spinning on my heals, making sure that we are not in immediate danger I head back into the inn, looking around to make sure that nobody is injured before seeking out Talia and her father even to see what the heck all this talk about a fallen tower of the witch is all about.
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Takumi watches as the young villager sprints past him and back into the inn. Hearing D'Novan speak, he replies Any tower falling is not good and one known as the Witch Tower is more unsettling. I will wait outside to watch for anything else. If you learn of anything from the innkeeper, let me know
Takumi finds a position, just outside the door, that may have a clear line of sight in the direction of the dust plume.
Grrrrrrr goes looking around for any townie I see...... Hey...you....anyone...what the hell is the witch tower?
The villagers rush past the group and head toward the smoke and presumed site of the Witch Tower. Talia among them, she stops to talk to D'Novan but just for a moment "The Tower, long time town landmark...I can't believe...I'm sorry, I need to see this for myself." The inn keeper heads off in the direction of the smoke with the rest of the townsfolk.
The group follows the crowd which leads them to the cause of the ruckus. A heap of rubble is all that is left of what appeared to be a fairly large tower. The crowd continues to grow and Takumi notices a few of the villagers pointing to something lying in the rubble. Following their gaze, the fetchling spots two small scaly corpses strewn about the debris.
You believe the corpses to be kobolds, small dangerous humanoids that dwell in caverns and caves.
Two locals, the group recognizes them to be part of the sheriff's men from their earlier encounter, putter about aimlessly. One wanders about scratching her head, and the other stands with hands on his hips, chewing on a stalk of grass. It is obvious this pair has no idea what to do or how to proceed. A few members of the crowd begin to make suggestions.
"Hey Mulle! Where is Hunclay? This has some wizard doin' written all over this. Someone go get that weird coot."
Mulle responds "I have no idea where that old wizard is and frankly I don't care."
The other deputy chimes in "I don't know Letha, he may have an idea there.
Mulle shakes his head "Maybe Varyl, but I sure don't want to go looking for that crazy old man, do you?"
Varyl looks a bit sheepish "Well to be honest no, but I think we should." Varyl looks about the crowd as he tries to figure out what to do next.
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Walking over to the heap of the once proud tower and looking the pair of dead creatures.
not sure what they are, two mangled and messed up to really know.
Looking at the deputies. My guess is ya all better send somebody to fetch that old goat of mage. I got a hunch your problems are gonna get bigger in time if your tower fell for no apparent reason and you got funny looking dead things lying about.
Walks up to the total disaster and clueless men.
Wow, what a mess!! I am sure you law and order types have this all figured out right? Chuckles and i walk to the dead things and I tap each of them with a heavy boot to make sure they are dead and not faking it.
Well whomever did this....my guess is they got one hell of an axe to grind with you folks. You tick anyone off lately or in the last decade even that has got it out for you all? Sucks to be you guys. Better hire some help or get that old coot of a wizard to help ya!
Shakes my head at the dumfounded officials and I heft my battle ax up on my shoulder and look through the rubble for any other clues.
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Trying not to draw too much attention to himself, Kell Glances about the area for signs of anyone watching the reaction or actions of the respondents.
Upon hearing Takumi's request for information, he turns to look at the two corpses. Based on his childhood, he quickly realizes the remains of the creatures.
He ambles about the company until he arrives next to Takumi. He leans in and whispers Those unfortunate bastards are kobolds. Who knows what they were doing here.
He continues to listen to the crowd trying to obtain more information.
Mitchell approaches one of the deputies to inquire as to injuries. The man looks askew at Mitchell, possibly recognizing him form the earlier trouble, but just shakes his head dismissively. "Thankfully no one got hurt, which is a miracle in itself..." The man is about to say something else when his partner tugs his sleeve. "We gotta go se about Hunclay"
The man grimaces as a woman approaches "Honestly, I do not know where Sheriff Benhovy finds the lot of you. If you two are too 'involved' to go Varyl, I will go see to Huncaly. He is not going to bite you. Lived here peaceably for years."
The deputy looks sheepish and nods to the woman. "You are right Miss Honas. I will accompany you, come." Takumi can hear the man lean to his partner and whisper "I think working with all those corpses warps a person. Why a lady would run a mortuary is beyond me."
Varyl and Honas head off in the presumed direction of the wizard's home.
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Takumi looks around the devastation and to the surrounding crowd, looking for any signs of suspicious looking characters.
It looks as if everything is under control here. I do not see a reason for us to involve ourselves in this matter unless our services are requested. If the town needs this matter investigated, we may be able to turn this event into a profitable one.
As Varyl and Honas leave the area, more people mill about the ruined tower unsure of what to make of the sudden catastrophe. The villagers perk up as a dignified lady and a young man. The woman, clearly a person of importance, listens to the various reports of the tower's collapse. The deputy, Varyl, soon returns with the Lady Honas. He walks right up to the woman.
"Baroness. Thank you for coming. We are still not sure what happened here. Miss Honas and I went to go check on Hunclay, but we found another one of those lizard man things on his doorstep, burnt to a crisp! The old coot didn't answer his door and I was not about to go traipsing through a wizard's tower to find him. This is getting stranger and stranger."
The Baroness shakes her head in frustration "Shockingly Varyl your skills are no match for this mystery. Does anyone have any good news around here?"
Her eyes bely that the woman is quickly processing information and assessing the scene. Her eyes fall on D'Novan and the gathered former caravan guards. She approaches the group.
"You there, I do not recognize you. You must not live in my city. I am the Baroness Lady Origena Devy and this is my son Arnholde. And who might you be?" The Lady raises an eyebrow awaiting the response from the group.
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I remain calm as the Baroness inquires into myself directly and the rest of our group.
Greetings and salutations baroness I am D'Novan, a war priest of our lady Iomeade and my companions and I arrived on the recent caravan acting as security for the goods. We came to the tower here after hearing it collapse to see if were needed to render aid, treat any injured and search for survivors.
I then do my best to introduce Mitchel Krell, Takumi, and Gabby.
I hope to not be do forward, but you seem rather distressed at the hired help, perhaps we help you with something concerning this situation? I know we are not a pretty bunch, but we all have a solid work ethic and are presently unemployed you might say.
The baroness bows her head with respect and D'Novan senses that she speaks to the group with sincerity. "Welcome to Belhaim. It is usually much more boring than what you see." She offer D'Novan a smile and surveys the pitiful state of affairs. The noble woman looks over the deputies at her disposal and shakes her head, she turns to the group of former caravan guards.
“Today’s your lucky day. Mulle and Hodd here can’t handle this without the Sheriff to hold their hands, and I want to know what happened here. You seem to be a capable bunch. If you go in there and look through the rubble— and out what happened and why there are kobolds in my town—I’ll pay the lot of you 500 gold pieces. While you’re looking around in the ruins, keep an eye out for any signs of our local eccentric, Hunclay. It seems somewhat suspicious to me that he’s not answering his door. Let me know what you find.”
The Lady Devy awaits your response.
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I look to the Takumi and while I am a bit worried he may have breached some form of local custom, Baroness, Lady Devy, we gladly accept the job offer. Pardon my overly anxious friend here but I am sure a few more weeks of Iomeade's teachings will teach him a little more patience. He does, bring up a good point as to what the task and purpose of the Witch Tower was. If the kobold creatures were involved and are a threat I am assuming by your reactions, knowing the purpose of the tower it may give us a clue as to what they might have been after or why they risked their very lives to destroy it.
YUP...I'm in and exactly what altar boy said about that tower!
The Baroness nods at the groups questions regarding the tower and she seems to grow a bit sullen. "We, we don't really know much about the tower to be honest. An old landmark whose purpose we...well..we never did quite determine." Devy recovers quickly and smiles at the group. "Agin, let me know what you find."
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Kell scratches the stubble on his chin as he listens to dialog between Lady Devey and D'Novan. He watches the reaction of Mulle and Hodd when D'Novan accepts the job offer.
Leaning towards Mitchell, Kell whispers Five will get you Ten that those two know more about this situation than what they are letting on. Perhaps we should try coaxing some information out of them before we see this wizard.
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Takumi looks to the group. It seems we have all decided to continue our journey together and investigate this matter. Perhaps there is some area of this tower than can still be explored. I will head off in this area Takumi points in the direction ahead of him and see if there is anything of interest. Takumi examines the rubble and turns over a few large rocks as he investigates the ruins of the tower.
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Kell shrugs his shoulders and turns to Mitchel as he watches D'Novan wade into the debris field. Umm.. what is D'Novan up to? Should we wait here or join in the search?
He scratches his head and turns his gaze back towards Hodd and Devy. After a moment, he pivots and starts to towards the guards. I'll be right back.
He approaches the guards and looks them over a moment before speaking. As you know, we are now working for Lady Devy so any assistance that you can provide will be greatly appreciated and, if your help leads to positive result, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you.
What can you tell me about this wizard fella?
Do you think he is wrapped up in this mess?
Can you tell me where he lives?
The Baroness looks to the ground and Kell can tell she is suppressing a tear. Mitchell picks up on it as well and his words of consolation seem to lighten her mood a bit. "I am sorry strangers. My husband, he..' the local does her best to compose herself in a regal manner "He died exploring that tower. Ever since I have felt this tower was his memorial. I apologize for being emotional about its demise."
She addresses Kell's queries about the wizard. "Hunclay mostly keeps to himself, though he has pressed me often about taking this tower down. I have rejected all of his requests. I admit the fact that the tower is down and his reluctance to ansker his door is certainly of interest. His tower is not far from here, though I don't think anyone should be poking around it wihtout his permission. I am sure his tower is not without dangers for the unwelcome."
Meanwhile, D'Novan and Takumi scout the tower and find an area that may provide an entry point to the recently ruined structure.
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Takumi makes his way out of the rubble, with D'Novan, and back to the rest of the group. I see you all are afraid of getting a little dirty. You do know that investigating a callapsed tower requires closer examination? Well don't look all solemn faced, we have some good news. We found a way into the base of the tower. Are we ready to have a look?
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I suppose I am ready. I can assist with providing some light. Mitchel casts light on his shield.
Brew, I assume using magic at the foot of a magic tower isn't seen as newsworthy. But if my sense of things is that popping off a light spell might get the locals upset I'll hold off until we're at the door that was found.