GM Woran's Rise of the Runelords

Game Master Woran

I swear, if whatever is the answer becomes my new nickname, I'm going to turn evil.

Making an effort to ignore that last bit, Eoghan answers, "yeah, those are all good points. But still, even if there's a conspiracy going on, our first course of action should be finding the one who's directly responsible for this, before the entirety of Sandpoint is overrun by ghouls. Once we've dealt with that, maybe then we'll be able to look for the bigger picture."

"Right. And if he's within a 3 days walk of the town square, and we optimize a search pattern, and IF we could automatically see him when we were within 60 feet of him, we should bump into him at random in...a year and a half of walking roughly. But I could hide an entire family reunion in just one of those cornfields and you wouldn't know if from the next one over. Figuring out the conspiracy is the fastest way to find him. "

Dayo gets a stern look on his face, "Then what do you propose we do?"

"Check the area for more scareravens. We're here, they're likely. They're a problem. If we run into them, or an underground burrow that says "lair" we check that out. If not, we need to ask about these foxgloves. Find one of the towns shadier businesses, let them know they're being targeted and stake that out. "

"Vitro, can your Raven scout for us?"

The irony of asking a crow to find scarecrows.

"Vitro, can your Raven scout for us?"

The irony of asking a crow to find scarecrows.

After respeccing into Arcanist, he's no longer with us

Love your dicussion! So, here is my proposition. Yes, there are more ghouls in the fields, but without spicing them up a bit, they wont make a dent in Dayo, and probably not much in Eoghan either. And since you now know that there might be living people among them, you wont nuke them from orbit anymore. It would mostly take time, and resources. I would say I just narrate your journey trough the fields to mop up the ghouls and what happens. Maybe a random roll for ghoul fever? Dayo is immune by now anyway. It would save time and keep the story flowing.

"this would be easier if we could somehow detect these undead"

Lol. Snowflake and Dayo have at-will Detect Evil. Even with disguises, that should probably work?

Dayo would be fine spending a night cutting down undead. Goblins are redeemable. Undead are evil spawn.

Love your dicussion! So, here is my proposition. Yes, there are more ghouls in the fields, but without spicing them up a bit, they wont make a dent in Dayo, and probably not much in Eoghan either. And since you now know that there might be living people among them, you wont nuke them from orbit anymore. It would mostly take time, and resources. I would say I just narrate your journey trough the fields to mop up the ghouls and what happens. Maybe a random roll for ghoul fever? Dayo is immune by now anyway. It would save time and keep the story flowing.

Seems reasonable. I'm reasonably easy to hit, but my multiclass gives me a decently high Fort save, and I'm immune to their paralysis. Assuming I hit, I'll probably thwap one Ghoul per round into dust. I'll also become immune to disease next level, so depending on when that is, it's irrelevant. I'm a much easier target than Dayo, I'd say, so maybe I'm overestimating myself, but the Ghouls need to be fairly spicy to make a dent in us, I'd say.

Justin runs a measuring cord over the last "scarecrow" , noting height build gender and clothes.

"Do we want to grab sick guy and head back to town now or take over one of these buildings for the night "

... of the living dead.

"I prefer to sleep in my own bed, rather than an undead-infested barn. Especially since there might still be several walking around; that's just a recipe for disaster. I suggest circling back through the maze, mopping up whatever we find, and bring that guy to a hospital. Preferably one with good locks, in case he turns."

"Yes, if we can't find any more ghouls of the corn then let's bring the guy back so we can keep an eye on his... recovery."

I placed the artwork for this part of the adventure under the map link. This book has some real cool art

You carefully make your way trough the corn field, as crickets start up their chorus in the dimming light.
In the end you encounter 7 more ghouls, several real scarecrows (who bleed nothing but sawdust), and one delirious woman.

United, the young man you found earlier, confirms this is his sister, Lettie.

"Let us take you to safety. You need to rest."

The young man is in tears, altough physically to sick to actually cry. He just clutches her tightly and nods.

Justins keeping his nose out for either of them turning.

And for some bright pretty flowers to send them to look at.

I'm assuming you want to head back to sandpoint? Bring them to the temple?

yup

"Is it true what the Varisians say? That you can smell whether someone is sick?"

"Is it true what the Varisians say? That you can smell whether someone is sick?"

"Yes, as much as I wish that wasn't true this week"

Horran and Lettie sink in and out of concious during the trip. Both are weak enough that its easy for Eoghan and Dayo to have the kids ride double with them.

Both kids are hot with fever.

Its properly dusk when you arrive back at Sandpoint, but at a knock, the temple opens for you. You are emeditately rushed inside. Father Zantus rushes in, not bothering to change out of his night clothes. He sets to work and issues short and sure commands, and you are deputized to help care for Horran, while he wakes a female accolyte to help with Lettie.

The kids get stripped out of their filty clothes and their body washed with cold clean water. The bite wounds they suffered get disinfected with strong alchohol and then bandaged.

Father Zantus gives them both some healing magic, and the kids are put in a clean cot in the side building of the temple.
With the frantic activity over, he sits down on a bench, sighing. "Thank you for your assistance. Desna willing, they will make it. Poor poor children..."

He stand up, and stretches. "Well, there goes my nights rest. I'm wide awake now. Why dont you all go back to the Rusty Dragon, catch a few hours of rest, and I'll inform the sheriff that you're back and that we have patients here."

Dayo pulls out one of the bags of silver and offers it to Father Zantus.

"This belonged to the community where the children came from. They had many of them, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind parting with it in exchange for your services. It's stitched well, and I'm sure it would prove very useful to you."

Then, as if in afterthought, "It's full of metal discs right now, but if you have no use for those I understand."

"You're going to want someone here in case...and I don't take up much space. If those doors don't lock from the outside I can rig up something fast enough. "

"Really? you're going to make her do all the work herself while the four of us help you whyy... " the rat face palms. "Oh that. For the love of... " He says a few arcane words, shrinks a little, their fur gets sleeker, and hops into a pair of skirts and starts carrying water for the female acolyte.

"You people are weird... "

Father Zantus blinks slowly at Dayo. "What? Oooh... You found this at one of the farms? You can leave it with me, yes, for safekeeping. I'll make sure it goes to the rightfull owner."

He is silent for a moment and swallows hard. "Or the next of kin of the rightfull owner."

Eoghan gives Father Zantus "the look."
Sense Motive to see what he intends to do with the money.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

"Of course, we're very grateful you're willing to work this late to help these poor souls, and we'd be happy to repay you. Personally, I don't mind if you take a little for services rendered, but do keep in mind we give this to you in good faith."

That bag is 10gp. I think it barely covers one 1st level spell.

We've told him there's more. Don't want him getting any ideas.

"as an abadaran it pains me to say this, but the dispensation of the money is irrelevant except as it relates to our larger concerns. " they plop two blankets onto a pew, take their clothes off and neatly hang them over the back. "Do you have any idea how the farmer would have 3,400 silver pieces? And why they would have exactly 3,400 silver pieces?" "

With that the rat plops onto one of the blankets, pulls the other over themselves and may not be awake for the answer.

Dayo contemplates the question, as if it were directed at him.

"Because there were thirty four bags of one hundred coins each?"

Eoghan nods, as if that's all the reasoning he needs.
"Justin suspects a bigger conspiracy behind this. Which might be the case, but not directly relevant to us. If that's all you need of us, I'm going to hit the hay as well. Been awake far too long for my liking."

Father Zanthus scratches at the stubble at his chin. "Well, old Hambley is... was... known for being extremely thrifty. The farm did well enough, but that is a lot of money. Although I could imagine he had squirreled it away during his lifetime." He looks at Justin.
"No offence ment to your fellow rodents. Squirreling away is just an expression. Anyway, I saw old Hambley fish food out of the trash on more then one occasion at festivals. Not because he could not afford the prices. But more because he was too greedy to pay festival prices."

"Rodents now are..wzzzzz...kidding....rap... "

Vitro absentmindedly pets the sleeping furball.

"Neat bags of 100 does make sense for someone systematically saving money. Also, there's quite a few stories about how eating your own species' meat will turn you into a ghoul, could that have happened to this Hambley person? Or did I get the names mixed up?"

It's hard to keep track of all these humans.

"As I understood, you went to the Hambley farm? Farmer Grumble, the poor man who ran into town had gone there to investigate some 'demons'. But it looks like those turned out to be Ghouls?"

"Yep, a whole bunch of 'em. And a Ghast, as well. I guess about fifteen or twenty Ghouls, total? Apparently they tied their victims to poles and turned them into living, or rather unliving, scarecrows.
But yeah, a whole lot of undead. I'm guessing more than one family of farmers have lost their lives, and their farms probably need tending to. If that doesn't happen soon, we might have a food shortage next winter."

Father Zantus turns very pale. "That... that is horrific..."

He looks for a moment at the sleeping children. "Where did they come from? The Ghouls. Did the Ghast make them?"

"There was definitely some effort to make more.. they hung people up like scarecrows, to perish from ghoul fever and join them." Vitro looks grim. "Someone was behind this - or is still behind this. I don't know if it was the ghast to begin with. But it has to come from somewhere."

Justins blanket shoots up rises up and he solomlly pronounces one word.

"PHEEFGH"

After a second to re orient himself he takes the blanket off and tried again

"Greed. He's not after any organization or person or revenge. He can sense greed itself in his victims. Which means his next stop might be... we're gonna need some more blankets."

At Vitro's words, Father Zantus turns a little green. "I... I... I'm going to get the sheriff. This is... Just stay here. Keep an eye on those poor kids."

He pulls a cloak around his shoulders, not bothering to change out of his nightgown.

After about half an hour, he returns, Sheriff Hemlock in tow.
The sheriff looks like he quickly put on some clothes, the rest of him dishiveled, and absolutely not pleased to be awake right now.

"What is this about a ghoul army?"

Eoghan rubs the sleep from his eyes, sighs, and explains again. "The 'demons' Farmer Grumble was ranting about were actually Ghouls. They've been turning other farmers into Ghouls by infecting them, hanging them up as scarecrows, and letting them die of ghoul fever. Any passersby will get jumped on and the cycle starts anew. As I said, about 15, maybe 20 people have suffered from this fate. I hope we got them all, but there might be a few still roaming those cornfields.
Anyway, there was also a Ghast presumably leading them, and on his body we found a note indicating Foxglove Manor might be the next place on the hit list.
So earlier today we were examining the killings around the lumber mill, and we discovered a creature, not necessarily a humanoid, might be the cause of all that. Then Sevilla in the Sanatorium was also spreading some kind of disease. And now this. This is probably not coincidence. Someone is targeting Sandpoint for a reason we cannot fathom, and probably sowing chaos through intermediaries."

The sheriff sits down and sighs. Erastil's mercy. This is way more serious then I thought. I feared a pack of nasty creatures had either crawled up from the swamp, or down from the devil's platter. But this is much, much worse. If Foxglove manor is the next place on the hit list, you should head there at first light. While its just Aldern and his wife and a few servants there, he has done much for the town and the orphanage. I'll go wake Vorvashali, see if he has some magical means to contact Aldern."

The small vertical lump under the blanket salutes, and goes back to being a small horizontal lump.

When you look over at Dayo getting ready for bed, you see him reading through his holy text of Apsu.

He looks up, nods at the sheriff, closes his book, and lays down.

Everyone ready for the next day and heading off to foxglove manor? If there is anything you want to do or say before that, you can.

I'm ready. Don't think I need anything.

Justin takes a few deep breaths and looks at the caretakers to see how the kids fared. Then asks snowflake

"This isn't a situation where we can kill the head vampire or something and turn them back if... "

Justin.. may have been missing a few text books from his libraries collection about this sort of thing.

Ready