Lars stared at the priest, momentarily dumbfounded. Was the man being serious? Did he just not see that it was moving? With all of the other insanity assailing them he just didn't know up from down anymore. In frustration he went back to his instincts. In his best watchman voice (is: loud, authoritative and confident) he said "No." as he strode forward. "I have reasonable cause to believe that this is a crime scene. Now let me see the body before I need to take you in for questioning."
Sorry...We didn't want to be rude, but it seems quite...odd to bury someone who's still "alive and kicking", so to speak...Are you sure the one insi.. that Jeremiah is dead?
"Far be it from me to interfere with town business, but we've been searching for a man. Simple as that. " Samantha plies.
"Now if you've got an undead problem I wouldn't mind helping you. Daughter of angels, you know."
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[dice=Sense Motive to tell if the priest is trying to hide something]1d20+4
Lars stared at the priest, momentarily dumbfounded. Was the man being serious? Did he just not see that it was moving? With all of the other insanity assailing them he just didn't know up from down anymore. In frustration he went back to his instincts. In his best watchman voice (is: loud, authoritative and confident) he said "No." as he strode forward. "I have reasonable cause to believe that this is a crime scene. Now let me see the body before I need to take you in for questioning."
[dice=Profession Watchman]1d20+4
"Ahem. I don't recall deputizing you stranger. I'm not sure why you think this is a crime seen when several folks here saw Jeremiah fall ill. I think you better let Father Brucian proceed." says a man dressed in uniform
Sorry...We didn't want to be rude, but it seems quite...odd to bury someone who's still "alive and kicking", so to speak...Are you sure the one insi.. that Jeremiah is dead?
[dice=Diplomacy]1d20+5
"Don't worry, we're confident Jeremiah has passed." Sounds of something trying to escape emerge from the shaking coffin, and the priest turns to lean over the coffin and wave a religious symbol over as he whispers, "Jeremiah, be still."
"Far be it from me to interfere with town business, but we've been searching for a man. Simple as that. " Samantha plies.
"Now if you've got an undead problem I wouldn't mind helping you. Daughter of angels, you know."
[dice=diplomacy]1d20+8
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The man in uniform raises an eyebrow at the latter statement, "If you're searching for someone, you might want to come back once this wraps up. You might want to start at the Full Moon Inn over yonder. But you're going to have to wait until the ceremony is over."
and the priest turns to lean over the coffin and wave a religious symbol over as he whispers, "Jeremiah, be still."
"Are your dead always so... lively?"
The priest pauses for a second before responding, "Not normally, no. You've arrival is ill-timed, I'm afraid. This is just a precaution."
Morthak frowns.
"Precaution for what?"
"There are ways to keep the dead from animating. There's no need to chain them up if you just put them down for good."
"We observe many faiths and respect the Laws of the Land. Perhaps if you attend one of my sermons, you can learn more." The priest then pats the side of the mule, and with a jolt, the cart starts to move. The priest finishes with some closing words and the crowd begins to disperse, heading en masse back towards town.
What is everyone doing now?
The coffin is on a cart being pulled by a mule. It is now making it's way toward the cemetery.
Maybe it's better to let them do their thing? We don't know where we are, or what the rules are..
Morthak turns away, and walks back towards some of the others.
"I can sneak a peek at what happens in the cemetery if you like, while you go back to the tavern." he whispers.
"Lets go. You do that, Morthak. This is suspicious." Samantha says. "This whole place has me uneasy."
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I agree with you... there is something odd here, even if I can't pinpoint what it is exactly. I feel like I'm watching something and my brain can't believe what my eyes are showing. It's strange to see someone who is supposed to be dead-and probably undead-be put in a coffin and buried, and what's even worse is.. How can I say that? That the whole little village act as if this kind of thing was NORMAL. It freaks me out, really...
Morthak heads north, but once he is past the buildings and out of sight he doubles back. He slips quietly towards the cemetery to observe the goings on within.
"I hate to say this, but have we gone mad? We keep seeing things that make no sense. And where are we, anyways?"
So the rest of the party head back to the town center, probably towards the inn while Morthak head to the cemetery?
The Full Moon Inn has a fence that surrounds it and is a large, two-story building with an attached stable.
The village cemetery sits atop a small rise overlooking the town, appropriately dubbed “Cemetery Hill” by the villagers. A 10-foot-high stone wall surrounds the entire graveyard, and an iron gate on the south side provides access. A single path leads to the gate. Instead of headstones, the cemetery is filled with mausoleums.
Morthak observes the procession encountering a man that appears to be the caretaker at the cemetery that meats them at the gates. A large vault is open, with a granite slab lying adjacent to it. The wagon proceeds to the vault where caretaker and a few other villagers begin to transfer the chained cemetery to the vault.
Morthak will stay out of sight and continue to observe until the burial seems to be complete. Then he slips away and heads back to meet the others at the tavern.
Morthak doesn't witness anything else out of the ordinary. The coffin is placed in the vault and the vault is sealed up before the group starts to leave the cemetery.
After that Morthak will head back into the village and look for the party.
The Full Moon Tavern is relatively quiet. The party appears to be the only guests.
Settling in at one of the larger tables, one of the barmaids comes up to serve you.
"Bozour. You're the group that showed up at the funeral today, aren't you? Terrible thing that's been going on here … terrible. Can I get you drinks?"
"And what exactly has been going on here?"
The barmaid begins her story as she goes around the table taking orders.
"Over a week ago, Francois, a local fellow, well he fell dead right here in the common room. I was taking a break in the kitchen at the time, resting my weary feet near the back door. I remember, just before people started hollering in the common room, I got a whiff of some awful odor blowing in from outside. It was kind of like rotten meat-not that we serve any here, mind you-but worse. Luckily, I’ve got quite a strong stomach. In fact, I was just about to go outside to find out what could be causing that odor when the screams began. Then I saw Francois being carted off to be buried. You know, I forgot all about that awful odor until just a few days ago when old Fiora mentioned that she had smelled it, too. I’d lock your door while you’re sleeping if I was you. Everybody in the village does now.”
Sorry to interrupt, but does that means that this Francois wasn't the first one to die suddenly? And who is old Fiora, if you don't mind me asking?
asks the young hafling
"Anyone *see* anything coming along with that smell?" Samantha asks, "Like any kind of strange mists or lights?"
"Francois wasn't the first. There were others. Old Fiora lives in the cottage south of the church, although she doesn’t speak to anyone much lately, not even me."
Turning to Sam, "Not that I'm aware of... no mists or lights, just the commotion inside. Why? Do you know something?"
Samantha shrugs. "I don't... yet. My ma'd always have stories. Maybe they were embellishments, but she talked about red mists that would kill people it touched, or a yellow fog that did terrible things..." she shakes her head. "Lots of stories, none of them seem useful right now, dammit." She gives her a supportive smile. "But I'm not the kind of person who gives up."
The skinny man from the swamp house appears to be reciting new lines:
Seventh doth suns of son the time rise, to of
lnajira fortunes his make will reverse, dooming
The over shining sky the of light the dead, shall
eternity an to knave the send cries.
the dreaded with live to all curse.
to all turning fail and gutter red.
"Well, then your better than some. There's been a lot of talk of leaving town. Many people are missing, and the sudden deaths don't help."
"Seventh doth suns?" she murmurs. "Seven days? A week?"
She'll turn to the rest of the group, and repeat what she heard. "Any of that make sense to anyone?"
Morthak drifts into the tavern quietly.
"Sounds like his words are all jumbled up again."
Atsushia is startled
Sorry, I didn't payed attention enough. What doesn't makes sense!?
"What doesn't make sense is that we've lost the trail on Trevol." A dark look passed across the former watchman's face. "The bastard who murdered my daughter has got away, and nothing makes any god damned sense!" With a frustrated roar he went straight towards the skinny man who was following them, pure hatred in his eyes.
His fist connected with the target of his ire. At this point he was just looking for something to last out at.
Morthak drifts into the tavern quietly.
[dice=perception take 10]10+8
"Sounds like his words are all jumbled up again."
His fist connected with the target of his ire. At this point he was just looking for something to last out at.
Lars lashes out and knocks the unsuspecting man unconscious, falling limply on the ground. Several eyebrows raise up at the outburst. The waitress screams out, "What did you do?!!!! Luc, are you ok?" as she rushes over to him.
Blood begins to pool on the floor from the man's nose. The man behind the bar starts to rush over. Additional commotion can be heard from other rooms as staff arrive to see what's happening. "Just what do you think you're doing? That was uncalled for! Get away from him!"
Lars makes an exceedingly rude gesture at all present, eyeing anyone who looks at them as if to dare them to do something about it. So long as nobody does so, he leaves the bar and begins walking to the cemetery, muttering about the town being full of either murderers or cowards. In his mind there was either a zombie being buried when it should be put down, or an innocent man trying to get out of a coffin. The strangeness of it all had stayed his hand before, but now he had snapped. Nothing made sense, and he was going to do something. Anything. And if someone got in his way, all the better.
Totally surprised, Atsushia falls from her chair when Lars strikes the poor, innocent man.
She crawls at his side, trying to protect him from any more blows, crying
WHY? Why did you have to hurt him? He's no threat to you! Why do you have to act like a heartless bully?
Morthak shrugs.
"It's done now." He looks over the man now identified as "Luc." "It's just a bloody nose. He'll be fine."
He turns to the barmaid.
"I'll take a mug of ale. And a shot of the strongest thing you've got."
While Samantha stands to her feet, she doesn't immediately move to Luc's defense. Lars has proven to be a less than stable member of the group, but she wasn't going to step in if he stopped at just a punch.
After he uncouthly leaves the room, she will kneel besides the man, shoving past others if she needs to do so. "Move, I can heal him." she says, singing a short stanza in celestial.
"Lars is getting more unstable." she says. "I can't believe he doesn't see what he's becoming."
The maid seems stunned as she watches uncertain for a bit before she starts to react to Morthak's order. Seeing that Sam starts to tend to the man, she recovers and brings back the a mug of ale and a translucent brown drink called a sazerac.
With Sam's magic, the blood flow ends, leaving large flakes of dried blood on the mans chin and clothes. His eyes blink warily, but return to the unfocused blank stare from before.
"Thanks," Morthak says to the barmaid gruffly. But as if an afterthought, he pays with a gold piece. "Keep the change," he says. Tipping well can grease the wheels if you want information.
"While you're here, maybe you could change this to silver for me." Mothak lays another gold piece on the table.
"We're actually looking for someone. He looks like..." Morthak goes on to describe Trevol Greenway. "He is dangerous and it is best if we find him quickly."
...
After the barmaid leaves, Morthak looks at the silver coins she gave as change, to see what country might have minted them. Maybe this will tell us where the hell we are.
Atsushia was still worried about Luc, and tried to help him to get up, not an easy task when you're an halfing.
Could we get him something to drink and eat, please? I'll pay, of course.
"While you're here, maybe you could change this to silver for me." Mothak lays another gold piece on the table.
"Oui. I'll be right back." Taking the coin to the bar, the linen blouse and skirt clad waitress returns and hands Morthak his coins. Examining them closely, they reference a Maison d'Sablet.
"Could we get him something to drink and eat, please? I'll pay, of course."
"Oui, madame. What you like? There's some red beans and rice simmering in the back, and I do believe there Jerald brought back some crawfish this morning from the traps."