Note: On 1 Erastil, Erasten turns 10 with a small celebration in the Fletcher home.
On 1 Gozran, Gozrek turns 16, again cause for a small party at the Fletcher home.
John lobbies to immediately figure out what is killing mothers. It's a bit of a sore spot for him.
A little behind here, but I would like to catch up with the city.
Augrym casts Ears of the City.
Equivalent to 16 hours of talking to people in 8 rounds.
The rumor mill and word on the street concur: the suspected cult must belong to the minor goddess Gyronna.
Bytor begins to gather information on the cult rumors.
The rumor mill and word on the street concur: the suspected cult must belong to the minor goddess Gyronna.
Bytor has heard of Gyronna, but cannot recall a single pertinent fact about her or her faith.
John asks around, specifically asking Jhod for help. He makes a donation of a few coins as per his usual custom upon entering. After some polite small talk,
"Do you know anything about Gyronna? We are working on a lead to destroy a cult of her worshippers and could use some basic information."
Augrym thinks about his own education and training as it pertains to Gyronna,
Augrym is able to recall that the hag-goddess Gyronna is the goddess of hatred, extortion, and spite. Cults of Gyronna often attract spurned lovers, embittered prostitutes, adulterous wives, and the wives of adulterous spouses. Her flock consists almost exclusively of women.
From your efforts to gather information about town, there are at least a couple dozen women in Solasgaard who fit this profile.
Augrym holds back emotion like only an orc can, but this hearty pat on the back almost squeezed a tear through.
”You are a truly great leader. Your guidance is our prosperity.”
Unrak growls in frustration.
So we've got a cult, possibly made up of women, killing women? Dammit, this won't end well no matter what. We need to get to the bottom of this. Should we try to follow some of the suspects or something?
Over the next week, once the boys have said their prayers and gone to sleep, their father quietly slips out the door. John spends a lot of time in seedier establishments watching and listening while nursing a few drinks throughout the night.
He takes leave of the pubs and taverns late and heads to the darker alleys to relieve himself and again, to watch and listen to the lustful goings on between men and the ladies of the night.
After his reconnaissance, he remembers to return the Duke's magical lenses.
On the seventh day of his nocturnal reconnoiters, John gets a luck break. He follows one of his targets to a ramshackle barn on the edge of town. While he waits and watches from a copse of trees a short distance away, not one, not two, but three of the women he had been keeping a close eye on this week make their way into the barn a few minutes apart from each other.
At the beginning of the week, Taranis casts Animal Messenger, and designates himself, but gives the bird to John.
Taranis asks John to send the bird hen he gets a lead.
"Go tell your master to find his way here with the others little bird." John offers the bird a few seeds from his pocket and gestures for the creature to fly away with all haste.
John waits patiently unless there is an obvious and immediate threat to someone.
If Augrym is given the option, he will suit up and follow Taranis.
After the three enter the barn, Humble John neither sees nor hears any further disturbance in the area.
Bytor willingly follows John.
"John, what exactly are we doing here?"
John informs the group about his surveillance, and that he suspects the three ladies in the barn are connected to the cult. He defers to the Duke for a tactical plan, but appears ready for combat, since his bow is strung and an arrow nocked.
"thank you for the recon my friend. Let me try a little of my own." After patting John on the shoulder, Taranis transforms into a kingfisher, and tries to fly into the barn for more of a picture of what's going on.
Kingfisher Redleaf finds a space between the timbers near the loft of the barn. Inside it is nearly pitch black, given the evening hour and a complete lack of lighting inside. Still, the space looks like a barn should: bales of hay are stacked against one wall, some livestock is penned against the other, and a variety of farming equipment is scattered about.
He sees no women, or people of any kind.
The Duke flies back out to the party, but does not whildshape back. He lands on his brother's should and pecks at him a bit before flying towards the door excitedly. If his brother doesn't understand, he repeats...
John sees what is happening and translates for the group. Everyone enters the barn and prepares for action, except John who stays at the door facing outward peering into the night.
Yes, we head to the barn.
As Unrak slides the big doors apart and steps into the darkened barn, he feels a slight tug at his ankle---from a cleverly hidden trip wire.
The faint sound of a bell can be heard, from somewhere below.
"Well, that's what we get for lacking a thief."
Taranis casts an extended Daylight spell on Toth's armor. he then hastens to the trap door.
With a vile oath, Unrak moves to open the trapdoor while his brother is casting the spell.
John looks and listens for some sign that they are escaping via another egress...
The trapdoor proves to be, well, trapped. It opens without a fuss, but this causes a heavy threshing tool stored in the rafters to come crashing down atop the Redleaf brothers.
HIT
MISS!
Miraculously, it only hits Taranis!
Beneath the trap door is a wooden ladder leading down into the pitch black. Augrym can see a small earthen room with a hay-strewn floor below.
"Can I offer you a light spell?" Bytor asks. Without awaiting for a response he casts the spell on a copper piece and hands it to Augrym to toss down into the darkness.
Taranis the bird looks down at the path the coin takes.
The drop is not far, some 15 feet. The coin settles among the hay on the floor, offering jagged illumination of earthen walls surrounding the small room. A wooden door stands to the south.
Taranis flits down into the room.
Taranis flits down into the room.
The ladder is shaky but sturdy enough to bear the Duke's weight. Nothing jumps out at him at the bottom.
The duke is currently a kingfisher.
The duke is currently a kingfisher.
Unrak slides down the ladder, then draws his sword
Nothing jumps out at Unrak either.
Augrym jumps down to help and looks around.
Taranis also listens at the door:
Bytor climbs down the ladder carefully and looks around when he gets to the bottom.
"You cannot be too overcautious when searching for traps. I suggest you all look around carefully."
Augrym does not see any traps on the door. Taranis hears some rustling on the far side, but nothing more. Bytor finds nothing else in the room but trampled bits of hay.
Taranis can't open a door, so he lets Augrym.... who does.
The door opens. In the cellar are six cultists, each dressed in the characteristics black "shabbles" of their faith---and each sporting a bloody knife. In the center is a simple altar of piled stones topped with a glittering gem that looks like a glaring bloodshot eye. Attending to this alter is a strange pale woman dressed in bloodied white, her nails and teeth impossibly long and sharp...
+2 if Surprise
+2 if Surprise
...to your horror, the pale woman's skin suddenly peels back, revealing a monstrous ancient form beneath. With a bony finger and curved nail, the ragged elder points at Augrym, and he feels his flesh open like a ripe melon.
HIT
The two nearest cultists fall to combat, taking up positions on either side of the door and slashing at Augrym with long knives.
MISS
THREAT No
The others invoke spells to their aid. Two let out frenzied screams as their blood boils with fury. Another points at Augrym and whispers a dream of madness.
The last calls down a profane wind to set the tide in her favor.
Round I
1. ???
2. Cultists
3. Augrym (Will save x2 62/86 hp), John, Unrak, Taranis (55/74 hp, bird), Bytor
"That is disgusting..."
Augrym studies the two targets in front of him.
Adding Bane to his weapon, he attacks.