"Locked rusted doors, giant spiders, and now randy singing..." Aster whispers "This can't be good." grasping her love-tapping mace, she waits to see if Tarnagius' head gets snapped off.
The first thing that Tarnagius sees upon entering the room are human skeletons. Their armor remains wrapped around them like grave blankets. Moss and lichen lie in wait within the first few feet of the entrance, giving a bed for which the skeletons rest. Some of the moss seems to move with the sway of Tarnagius' light. This large, pillared room has many half-open doors on almost all sides.
The song continues uninterrupted
Devoid of colour, your vision can make out an empty, partially destroyed podium at the end of this room. It bears a symbol on its front, but the damage makes it hard to recognize. All of the rooms with half-open doors are small bedrooms, but one door at the far end where the podium is has been shut. Ruined tapestries line the walls between bedrooms, and silk curtains have either fallen down and degraded, or are the homes of tangled masses of spider webs. All sorts of arachnids, worms, and other vermin can be found skittering about. Most of the wooden structures such as the podium and the hardwood floors are infested with mold or bugs.
Tarnagius signs back to Kethaera. I'm going in, wait for me to get caught before sneaking in.
He drapes his backpack over his shield to limit the light going ahead of him before slipping into the room.
Well, I'm the distraction anyway.
"I will follow you from the shadows" - Ederion replies, his voice definitely different, more guttural and hoarse than usual. He seems to have just finished drinking something from a vial, and is carefully putting it away again in one of many available spots in his bandoleer.
As he turns to face Tarnagius and the others, they all notice additional, subtle differences in the elf - his eyes are nothing more than slits, like a cat's, his limbs seem stronger and more fluid of movements, and his canines show a pronounced if not exaggerated elongation as he smiles and shrugs - "A simple tonic, is all"
Tarnagius was completely oblivious when nature turned against him. The moss stretches upwards the moment Tarnagius steps in, and glows blue before shimmering and producing an eerie ringing. A howling from a corridor to the right grabs Tarnagius' attention, leaving him vulnerable to attack as one of the skeletons opens its mouth wide to spray him with yellow gas. The gas has a sweet, pleasant aroma to it, and Tarnagius is lured into a state of fascination.
1. Everyone except enemies and Aster
2. Enemies
3. Aster, poor Aster
Knowledge (arcana) +7
Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7
Knowledge (engineering) +7
Knowledge (local) +7
Knowledge (nobility) +7
Knowledge (planes) +7
Knowledge (religion) +7
Knowledge (Geography) +3
Knowledge (History) +3
Knowledge (Nature) +3
Ederion recognizes the ringing moss as a shrieker, while the other moss is called a yellow musk creeper. The shrieker is a carnivorous plant that alerts predators of nearby prey, while the yellow musk creeper uses living fauna as a means of reproduction. Specifically, it makes the prey docile by spraying it with a yellow musk, before injecting its tendrils into the creature's brain.
Ederion skips around and past Tarnagius, to try and pull the man away from the mossy embrace.
"Burn them with fire or acid! Or hit them with bludgeoning weapons!" - he warns the others as he tumbles.
"Snap out of it man!"
"Uhhh..." says Rexandi unhappily as she casts about for some way to hurt the creeper, then she simply settles for her mithral dagger again since she has nothing else.
Ederion nimbly dodges around the moss with the skeletons. Good thing too, as one of the skulls opens up to unleash a whipping tendril to lash at the elf, but Ederion is too fast. He grabs Tarnagius and successfully drags the opposing man out of the fascination area, which shakes Tarnagius back to his senses.
Between fight or flight, Rexandi picks fight. She draws her dagger and rushes in to kill off the hostile moss before it can do any serious damage. Though her dagger skills might not have much oomph in them, cutting through the moss seems to be reasonably effective.
Bazzle whips a ball of fire seemingly from nowhere at the nearest muskie.
Kethaera sings a tune to give the group a boost in morale.
The strange moss creature beneath the skeletons start to char thanks to Bazzle's fire magic, but it will take more before the moss is completely eradicated. Kethaera begins to sing to bolster the party, and to her surprise the singing from earlier quickly matches in harmony. A howl echoes from the hall, followed by the scratching of nails on stone. A humanoid creature races into view on all fours. Its skin is tightly wrapped around its rib cage like a starved dog, and it drools mindlessly with a long, almost serpentine tongue.
The moss under the skeletons lash out at their nearest target: Rexandi. A tendril shoots out of the skeleton's mouth and stabs into Rexandi's arm.
Then, the luminescent, ringing moss greatly increases its volume and pitch, ringing so loudly that Rexandi and Bazzle's ears can barely take it.
You hear the clanking of gears and the squeal of rusted metal, but it only lasts for about a second. It's coming from beyond the corridor.
The starving humanoid is called a ghoul. It is a mindless undead creature that moves quickly. Ghouls are usually created when someone dies from starvation after resorting to cannibalization, but can be created in other ways.
Ghouls have claws that can paralyse, and its bite can spread a nasty disease called Ghoul Fever. For some unknown reason, the paralysis never affects elves. Ghouls have no real weaknesses or resistances, except a small resistance to channel energy.
Bazzle puts his hands on his ears and winces in pain. He calls out. "That's all the Fire I got."
Rexandi flails helplessly with her dagger.
"Someone help me!" she shouts.
Slow to react, the melee is already underway before Aster fumbles forward to do anything. Seeing Rexandi bleeding gets her moving finally and she steps up behind her, touching her on the back and spreading warmth and calmness into her wounds.
Tarnagius runs back into the room and begins bludgeoning the hell out of the moss at his feet.
BAM!! Tarnagius sledgehammers the remaining yellow musk creeper into paste, while Aster comes up to heal some of Rexandi's wounds. The ringing moss is still there, but everyone except Bazzle and Rexandi have gotten fairly used to the noise. The starving human-looking creature just around the corner though may pose a more significant threat.
"I heard some sort of clanking of gears and the squeal of rusted metal from beyond the corridor!" - Ederion informs the others - "I fear this squealing may be warning the entire area!"
"And THAT is a ghoul" - he warns - "Their claws can paralise, and their bite can spread a nasty disease called Ghoul Fever. For some unknown reason, the paralysis never affects elves" - he chuckles - "Just bash it away anyway you can, I'll be right there" - and finishes, moving around and thrusting at the shrieking creature.
Even when armed with a rapier, Ederion deals considerable damage to the ringing moss by piercing the vibrating bulbs in a single lunge. Kethaera comes up and finishes the job by bashing it with her mace. The ghoul charges forwards and leaps to claw at Kethaera, catching her across the her nose. Yet its paralytic filth does nothing, thanks to Kethaera's elven blood.
In the ghoul's wake arrive three of its kin, eager to leap into the fray.
Nope!
Rexandi shifts back slightly to get out of the fray and then glares with an unsettling gaze at the ghoul that clawed Kethaera.
Smelling the arriving hordes, Aster as quick as she can steps in front of Rexandi, hoping her shield will help her withstand the assault better. You bring a person to the most lovely places she teases her new companions with a noticeable a quiver in her voice.
The blow hits hard, with a nice wet crunch, still the thing is undead, head bashing sometimes is not enough. Die, will you!
Tarnagius shifts to Kethaera's flank and attacks the ghoul.
Bazzle slips in. "Gross." Bazzle flips his dagger in his hand and launches it at the ghoul.
Just after Aster bonks the ghoul on the head, her wish is granted as Tarnagius guts it through the heart. Bazzle instead targets the next closest ghoul, which despite having some cover still gets nailed by the throwing dagger. Rexandi targets the same one with her unsettling gaze, which oddly enough unsettles the mindless undead!
Seeing Kethaera and Aster exposed, Ederion shifts his position, trying to spread the attacking ghouls - "Aster, Kethaera, careful" - he warns.
Ederion is relieved to neither see, nor hear any more ghouls. The corridor only extends for another 10 feet before making a sharp turn to the left. The walls bear not but water-damaged paintings and empty torch sconces.
Back at the Wasp Nest under Laria's Coffeehouse, you all sit down and relax to the smell of fresh coffee and pastries. Around you are other tables with revolutionaries drinking or playing cards as they rest from long days of work or fighting. Loud noises are banned from the nest, but one of the coffeehouse halflings plays a folk tune on a halfling-sized lyre. There's no fire to warm anyone in this cold stone room, and the nearby pond of fresh water from the cistern doesn't help either. Yet fire can be found, in the hearts of these proud fighters, or at least after a few stout drinks. For everyone is suffering here in singular purpose: To make Kintargo a better place.
- Fill in Ederion and Aster about what happened before their arrival
- What were you doing before you got involved in the revolution?
- If/When Barzillai is removed from power, what would you want Kintargo to be?
- What do you fear? Both for yourself and for Kintargo should Barzillai succeed?
- Where were you born, and what was your childhood like?
- What do you like to do for fun?
- What do you think should our long-term plan be for defeating Barzillai?
- Why did you want to join up in the rebellion, and what did you leave behind?
- Do you prefer dogs or cats?
Given the chance to relax a bit, Rexandi produces her clavichord and plays a slow piece to wind down.
"You know, as Thrune loses control of parts of the city, someone will need to step in and keep normal services and keep neighborhoods safe from predation. We will need some kind of... I dunno... neighborhood councils or community-organized groups to make sure that the city doesn't fall into anarchy," she says, thinking while she plays.
Tarnagius takes his cloak back from Setrona and sets to washing the grime from his face in the pond and trimming the edges of his beard with a pair of scissors borrowed from one of the laborers.
"You may well be right, but I don't know if we're in a position to do that well. That requires a well-known headquarters unless you just want to rule the streets by fear and violence. Nobody's going to be poking their heads out to do wrong if we keep taking them off." He looks at Kethaera "but that's not a tactic I see many people agreeing to, and it'd divide our attention from what should be our primary objective anyway."
"I'm not saying it should necessarily be us," says Rexandi. "But we should make sure we learn more about local leaders. Respected people. And of course who are the criminal elements - the ones who absolutely should not wind up in charge as Thrune's hold weakens."
"Merchants" Aster suggests after nestling down into a comfortable position. "Especially the ones that sell food because people have to see them many times a week. I think they would be a good place to start. If they are not candidates for these councils, at least they would know who would be and could spread information easily."
"That's a great idea. Local food-sellers and owners of taverns and similar public gathering places," says Rexandi agreeably.
"Oh yes, 'tavern owners' is a good one. Bartenders know more about people around than sheriffs most days. Good thought. Aster gives Rexandi a grin. "Um... if you don't mind a little prying, why are you..." gesturing to the assembled group "… I mean why did you, join up and start this cause? I know it has to be done, but it much easier to join something that has already started, than to start something from scratch. That takes something special... so why?" Aster asks curiously, popping a candied praline from the bag she had bought on the way, offering them as she munches.
"We need either a way to change our image or set this citizen's guild." He reminds the team, "We are looked on as new gang fighting for turf. Some how we need a rebranding or to set up this group independent of us."
"I would hesitate in putting merchants in charge" - Ederion pipes in from the table at the corner, where he is scribbling his notes - "I mean, merchants want wealth, and leading should be way more than that, or at least should not be conditioned by that, right?"
Merchants are people too, meaning some are ambitious and some are just making a living. And I am a merchant, or was until recently, so please keep that in mind before saying we all desire nothing but wealth. Aster points out only slightly miffed at being stereotyped.
"Apologies Aster" - Ederion nods - "It was not my intention to stereotype, and I am fully aware you are a merchant" - and smiles - "I was simply pointing out what is usually a merchant's main concern, and not saying they cannot be inclined to pursue other avenues. Much like yourself" - he continues - "Also... you expressed your opinion, and I expressed mine. Seems only fair no? I would not look specifically for merchants, but instead investigate a tad further who are the pillars of the community - to whom people turn to when in need of advice, counsel or someone to trust" - the elf adds, taking some more notes - "If we find they are merchants, fine by me" - then finishes with a wink at his companion.
Rexandi pauses in playing her keyboard long enough to gesture with her hands. "Look, I didn't say in charge, I said they would be good points of contact to figure out who's who in a given neighborhood. Everyone has to buy food from the local grocer, right? So they'll know who's affluent and who's poor, who gets in fights and who stops those fights, who's on good terms with the neighbors and who isn't."
"Everyone has an agenda. I'm just saying we need to not go into this business of re-forming the neighborhoods blind to those agendas. We especially don't want local warlords cropping up in places where Thrune left, turning neighborhoods into their own personal fiefdoms."
"Then we are in agreement Rexandi" - the elf nods again - "I can place a few questions here and there - try to find who could be trusted, and who may be wanting to take advantage and make a move in"
Aster gives a warm smile to Rexandi's passionate defense. People like her, with obvious enthusiasm and hope, make all this seem Possible.
"Any other ideas?" she'll ask the group.
Rexandi resumes plinking out a simple tune on her clavichord.
Trnagius watches the argument unfold before him, bemused.
"We have to assume that we're not the first people to think of this, so maybe we ought to look into people our enemies are targeting. Groups like the CCL and Dottari are either going to recruit or at least keep tabs on anyone worthwhile in a given area. What about letting them do the legwork for us and just approach people they seem particularly interested in?"