Miralda |
"This is undoubtedly what the necromancer seeks. I have some idea of what it might be, but I would hear from our arcanists. Certainty before speculation, as I previously mentioned."
Miralda touches the egg and concentrates on her detecting magic. After a moment, she shrieks and reels in her chair, falling to the floor in a faint.
She manages, weakly, to pull herself back up and gasps, "I'm sorry, it's... overwhelming. I've never felt necromancy magic so strong."
Miralda |
She looks at Cricket, freshly-returned from his bath, and says, "You are a shaman of greater powers than I am a wizard..." To Caspian, she adds, "And you no doubt have great stores of bardic lore to draw upon..."
"What do you guys think?"
She then turns to Kelgan, Wyvurn, and Jaegr. "And, with those answers in mind, what do we DO?"
Then her mind catches up with her thoughts and she adds, "And, given the strength of that thing, we probably need to make sure Otis doesn't turn into smoke or dominate us or whatever and steal it, because I don't like to think where that leaves us."
Jaegr "Knock Knock" |
Jaegr thinks for a moment, "Well clearly this item is sought after, so we should take it somewhere safer. Now if Fenrift Keep that place? I don't know, but staying here in this town makes me feel like a target in the open. Leaving now may give us the edge before they regroup."
Wyvurn |
"If it's Otis or his like we fear will be after us, I say we set off now while it is still dark and sleep from dawn until mid-afternoon and then travel again. That way we will be alert when the vampires are active."
Caspian Barefoot |
Caspian sitting at a table hoping to compose a message, although it seems likely that the delivery will have to be made in person and had been briefing the Mayor on the story as we know it.
He tries to get as much aid as possible from the Mayor requestioning supplies...."A scroll of prtection from evil that could aid us all at once, or at least potions...."
Eventually though the little hobbit fills his belly and his eyelids droop until he is asleep in a comfortable stuffed chair near the fire.....
Cricket the Sexy Goblin Druid |
She looks at Cricket, freshly-returned from his bath, and says, "You are a shaman of greater powers than I am a wizard..."
Cricket smiles broadly and waggles his eyebrows at Miralda, taking the egg in his hand. He squats on the ground, thrusts the egg beneath his bottom, moves about erratically, squawks like a chicken for three minutes and detects spirits.
During this time, Wolvie watches over Gleed who is still tied up, but cleaner and bandaged.
Kirth Gersen |
On detecting spirits, Cricket is stunned and falls to the floor.
Kelgan Cragbelly |
"Hmmgh. A bad egg indeed. I'll just put that back away for safe keeping."
Kelgan collects the egg from the goblin hen and stowes it back in his belt.
"There's Otis and the necromancer, Anasovin, still out there. I'm not waiting a week for the festival. We should leave for the Keep - Fenrift Keep - ourselves tomorrow morning. We can swing back by for the celebration if there's time, and make another foray near Skarn Keep. I'm convinced that the necromancer has made his home there."
Jaegr "Knock Knock" |
"If we leave tomorrow morning, then I am getting what sleep I can during the daylight today, so I can stay awake at night. All this necromancy sits uneasily on me."
How long of travel to Fenrift Keep?
Kirth Gersen |
How long of travel to Fenrift Keep?
It's a mere 25 miles, but that involves a fording of the Banshee River. A relatively fit human could make it in a single day's march, but for stubby dwarf and halfling legs, it'll take you more like a day and a half, unless you pull a forced march.
Kirth Gersen |
OK -- if I'm understanding correctly, all you guys (except Caspian!) stay up the few hours until dawn, then sleep most of the next day. You stay up the next night and/or rest in shifts on vampire patrol, then depart the following morning, so that people without darkvision aren't trying to ford the Banshee River when it's pitch black out, and so you don't have to worry about encountering werewolves, ghouls, or vampires on the way. By nightfall you'll be well across the river and can canp somewhere within the radius of the keep's patrols, and then you can finish the trip to the keep and report to Fenrift.
If any part of this is off, just let me know.
Kelgan Cragbelly |
"Aye, sounds good. We'll leave with the next sunrise."
Kelgan stands and stretches, doffing his armor and taking out his healer's kit.
"I'm going to go see if anyone was injured when the town hall burned down, or by the bandits."
Kelgan will do just that, treating any burns, cuts, bruises, or broken bones the townsfolk might have suffered in the attack.
Kirth Gersen |
He stands and crosses to the bar for a refill, tossing the crumpled draft at the fireplace, where it bounces and lands unnoticed to the side of the sooty mouth.
At some point during Kelgan's rounds, Jed finds him, leans over, and murmers to him, "Just wanted you to know -- I found that note you'd tossed at the fireplace on the floor. I managed to burn it before the bandits noticed."
Kelgan Cragbelly |
Kelgan gives Jed a very serious look.
"I am doubly in your debt, Jed. Keeping that message out of the bandit's hands was as important as delivering it to the Keep. I'd paid you for the messenger, but your quick thinking deserves a reward of its own. Name your favor, and I'll grant it if it's within my power."
He thinks for a moment and continues.
"In addition, I'm always in need of perceptive people with discretion. If you'd keep your eyes open and send a message on to the Keep when you see something I'd like to know about, I'll pay you for your troubles. Both offers stand, independently. You can think about them first, no need to answer now."
"I'll be leaving tomorrow, and I'd like to know if I can rely on you by then. You can ask your favor at any time, though it might take longer to reach me once I've left."
Kirth Gersen |
"The other one got to the keep -- Ritchie got back about an hour ago. I gather that Count Fenrift is in a big hurry to see you now. Hey, tell you what -- I can't walk too fast, because of my leg, but I can still swing an axe, if you guys need a, like, henchman or something."
Shameless plug for someone to take the Leadership feat -- 5th level is coming up soon! So if someone wants a fighter/barbarian cohort, here's your chance -- you'd get to play him yourself. If not, he'll totally understand.
Male human barbarian 3
Melee greataxe +6 (2d6+4/x3) or Power Attack +5 (1d6+7/x3)
Str 17, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12
SQ: favored terrain (forests) +2
Raging: Str 20, Dex 11, Con 17, Int 7, Wis 16, Cha 15
Jaegr "Knock Knock" |
Jaegr will help where he can after he gets some rest and before nightfall. I was thinking we would probably hole up the best we could at the inn the full night. Is there a good vantage point to keep an eye outside? Jaegr could at least peer out during the night.
Kirth Gersen |
OK, you guys get plenty of sleep, then spend some time helping clean up -- Jaegr's pickaxe is great for breaking up barricades, for example -- and this kind of stuff earns you an awful lot of goodwill from the townsfolk.
When night comes, you return to the inn. From there, you can see the back of the town hall ruins, and up and down the N-S running street (see map). You can't get a view east or west along the E-W running street (including the cemetary, mayor's house, front of the town hall ruins, etc.).
Caspian Barefoot |
Caspian having gotten more than his share of sleep, he had wakened once from his stupor to use the bathroom and stock up to hibernate again by eating cheese, meat, bread, along with wine and a half gallon of water, he had returned to sleep some more......
His rest was rudely interrupted by local yokal idgiot knocking and yelling. He is about to reply that there's no hurry he isn't going anywhere but instead he looks around the Inn for his companions.
I was not sure where everyone is currently
Kirth Gersen |
When you get there, you find the mayor's son unharmed but shaken; he has no recollection of events. The mayor's body is hanging upside-down from a chandelier; thankfully, this isn't too messy, as the body has been drained of blood. The wood elf houseboy was beaten to death. There's some junk on the floor of the main hall, which you identify as defiled religious iconography from Victor's farmhouse.
Jaegr "Knock Knock" |
Jaegr scowls as he sees what happened to the mayor, "Our presence here is endangering the town. Caspian, do you know if what was done to the mayor will....make him come back again to trouble this town>"
Kirth Gersen |
The son looks very weak, as if you could push him over with a feather. Still, he attempts to rally himself and says, "I don't know... there was a knock on the door, and my room is downstairs and the houseboy was asleep, so I remember getting up to open it. Then I'm drawing a blank... I vaguely remember... red eyes! After that, nothing until it was all over."
Jaegr "Knock Knock" |
Jaegr is oblivious, "I would never suggest a bath with Cricket, looked at what happened to that poor thing." Jaegr points to the wood elf houseboy.
Wyvurn |
Wyvurn will gently pull Cricket up from his knees and draw him aside.
"I feel for your loss, my friend....
Much quieter,
"The best thing we can do for them is to destroy this monster. See if Wolvie can pick up a scent on the body so that we can perhaps track it to its lair and drag it into the light of day."
Kirth Gersen |
Wolvie barks once, then happily follows the scent outside and around to the side of the house behind a tree, looking at you as if to say "Look how smart I am!" Unfortunately, he then begins to whine and grumble. Tentatively, he lifts his nose in the air and tries to jump vertically; when this fails to allow him to fly, he settles for turning around three times, lifting his leg, and watering the tree.