[PbP Gameday VII] GM Ladile & the Pathfinder Society Present: The Twisted Circle - Leshy Madness! (Tier 1-2) (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Okay so I see a proposed 'list' of: weaver, Sheriff Molume, and another visit to Zuri about the items you found in the cave. Which first and when (as in, during daylight hours or after curfew)?

Tacca suggests, "Why don't we visit them now, if there's enough time before curfew."

We can always pay them another visit after curfew... Tacca smiles at the thought.

"Those all sound like fine ideas. The people we dealt with seemed nice enough and the drinks were at least better than the smoggy brews in Alkenstar. With everything we know maybe they will even let us join in the worship of Robori..." Motueka muses.

You alright in there? I don't like keeping you locked up but you put people on edge...being a ghost and all. I don't like it. Secrets mean danger and danger means death. Bring me out before it is too laaaaaate! Soon! Soon!

"How about the Sheriff, then Zuri again, then we try the Weaver's place before curfew?"

Also the 2 of us who hadn't visited Amenira's place yet can attempt to search it.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

As you are discussing next steps, Captain Chlorophyll pokes around the house. He doesn’t seem especially skilled at finding things, looking in obvious places.

When Boom Sticks suggests what order to do things, they say “Great, let’s do that!”

"Good plan... Booooom Sticks."

On board with that order. Back to room by curfew though.

As Captain Chlorophyll and Motueka also take a quick look around Amenira's home, you all continue to hash out a plan and finally come to an agreement: first, a visit to Sheriff Molume seems to be in order, followed by another stop at the temple and then maybe the local weaver's place before curfew begins.

Satisfied with that plan and having been unable to turn up anything new inside of Amenira's home, you all prepare to leave...

"WHOA WHOA WHOA. I had something bad to drink. There is a doll down here...and it is looking at me." the group hears Motueka from under Amenira's bed.

"Hello?" he replies meekly to the doll...apparently scared of the doll even though he runs around with a ghost.

Puzzled, Captain Chlorophyll asks “What do you mean the doll is looking at you?”

"Whya lookin' at dolls?" Bad Seed mutters. "Dolls're stupid."

"Ah, apparently if outsiders eat or drink anything that hasn't been specially blessed and purified, they get sick. I think human outsiders probably mutate like the locals do, but the mutating makes them sick first, then they turn into plant-people. But we're already plant-people, so maybe for us the sickness makes us see things? Did you drink something that wasn't purified Motueka?"

Boom Sticks hypothesises.

"I don't think so...I hope not. Y'all come and look too. It isn't replying to me but I swear it moved."

Cast Detect Magic.

Captain Chlorophyll pauses a moment, then goes over and sticks their own head under the bed to look.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Tacca takes a peek under Amenira's bed. "Hello? Anybody there?"
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"If anybody's hiding under there, please, come out, we won't hurt you."
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Intrigued, Oakley looks.

Feeling self-conscious about following the sheep-plant-people, Bad Seed nonetheless follows.

As everyone now crowds around the bed to take a look underneath it, you all see what Motueka spotted - back in the corner, a doll that looks just like the dolls you found inside the cave by the road. With one exception: this doll's neck hangs at an odd angle, broken.

For a moment, nothing happens and it seems as though Boom Sticks' hypothesis about hallucinogens in the local water and booze supply might have some merit. But then, the doll's arm slowly rises and its' fingers open to reveal a scrunched-up piece of parchment, as though offering it to you. Large, glassy eyes stare unblinkingly.

"I am...Nira," comes a small, shrill voice and with a start you realize that it came from the doll itself! "I do not...know you. You...are not from Mercy. You find...Mercy. You find...murder..."

A broken doll? Why would they hide a...

Captain Chlorophyll twitches slightly in surprise when the doll moves. With concern in their voice, they ask the doll “Are you hurt? It looks like your neck is injured.”

They backout a little, so those more able to help can see the doll.

As Captain Chlorophyll backs away from the bed, the doll begins to slowly crawl forward, towards the perplexed and startled Pathfinders. The motions are awkward, lurching, the doll's broken neck clearly slowing it down.

"Dolls see...they see why children hide..." the doll's voice whispers as it continues to crawl slowly forward. "You...not from Mercy...you...avenge me..."

"Whu? OK, so it wasn't the drink Motueka! Who are you, Nira? Who killed you? And if someone killed you, how are you a doll? Did Amenira make you? Have you seen her?"

"Hi, Nira." Ame-nira? Tacca greets the broken doll. "I'm Tacca. Like Boom-Boom said, my friends and I are looking for Amenira. Do you know where we can find her?"

"And please, do tell us more about what happened to you and what you mean by 'murder'."

Nira finally pulls herself out from underneath the bed with slow, jerky movements and climbs to her feet. She's silent as she seems to ponder your questions, then her wooden body gives a small shudder.

"The shadow...put out the light...Ame...nira's...light..." she finally responds, sounding rather disoriented. "Our...light..."

"What shadow? My shadow? Why is this doll talking?"

"Nira, tell us more about the shadow. What was it? Where did you and Amenira see it? How did it put out your 'light'?" Tacca asks.

What's wrong with this creature? What animates it? How is it connected to Amenira?
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Disable Device: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Tacca stares intently at Nira, trying to determine what powers the strange doll and how. There's definitely no strings attached and he doesn't hear or see any obvious gears or other mechanical parts - it's almost as if she's simply animated under her own power like any living creature would be. Except she's surely not alive, not in the technical sense...right?

"The shadow...that lurks in the night," Nira answers cryptically, her speech becoming less stilted as she does. "It dances...across the rooftops and along the altar of the Chaos That Lies Behind the Stars...the mad shadow..."

Nira takes a step towards the inquisitive leshy, arms outstretched in a gesture that's strangely imploring. "Consumed, swallowed up by its darkness we were....Nira and Amenira. You, strangers...avenge us...Amenira and Nira...us...us..."

The doll's arms suddenly drop, hanging limply by her sides.

"Avenge me."

Captain Chlorophyll is surprised by the doll’s insistence on vengeance.

“Mad Shadow?”

Confused, they look to the others. “Do any of you know what Nira speaks of?”

"A crazy space ghost did it! BOOM! Wait, how are we going to bring the crazy space ghost to justice? I think we're going to have to break curfew. You can't see the stars in the daytime."

"I am never looking under a bed again...but still drinking. I have no idea what it is talking about but the question is did the villagers do this or something else? Nira is the shadow a villager? Are they involved?" Motueka says still under the bed more sober than ever before.

He begins muttering to himself and a minute or so later the form of Dauswil appears under the bed as well.

"Does any of this make sense to you?"

"I told you this place was no good. Look at this thing...suffering here." he moans but listens to the words closely.

Knowledge (Planes)?: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18

Tacca gently picks up the doll. "Let's hang onto Nira until we get to the bottom of this. Seems there's a connection between her and Amenira. And we'll definitely need to conduct a night recon. Seems somethings only come out at night."

He's ready to move. "Sheriff, then Zuri again, then we try the Weaver's place before curfew, right?"

"Lead the way," Oakley says as he nods. Not entirely sure what is going on, he at least senses there is a need to break the rules, and he is struggling internally to come to grips with that.

"Why is there a curfew? Can we get permission to be out?"

“This town has secrets, and a curfew helps them keep the secrets.”

"This crap is WICKED." Bad Seed announces, imagining the kicka$$ album cover the broken doll and the murder lyrics will inspire.

Dauswil's scrutiny of Nira also fails to reveal a concrete answer on just what she is or the nature of her construction, but it does help to narrow things down a little further as he's fairly certain that she's not any sort of extraplanar being - at least not one that he's ever heard of.

When Tacca picks the doll up, she doesn't resist. In fact, she almost seems eager to accompany you. "Not the adults. Not the children. Keepers of secrets yes, but...not murderers. Not shadows," she replies to Motueka.

Feeling more assured that you've now discovered everything of potential interest inside Amenira's abandoned home, you all make your way back outside and set out to track down Sheriff Molume. You're able to learn from a passing villager that the good sheriff can usually be found tending his garden from mid-morning to early afternoon and are sent on your way with directions to the carriage house where he lives.

It isn't long before you all emerge into a small open square featuring a stone well as well as a few benches scattered here and there. On the far side of the square sits a large carriage house with what appears to be a small bell tower attached to the building's southern side. An enormous, fenced-in garden runs the length of the carriage house's eastern side, similar to the other gardens you've seen scattered about the town, only much larger. And within the garden you see the familiar sight of Sheriff Molume, busy with watering his plants. At the sound of your approach, he glances over his shoulder and sets down his watering can.

"Well, hello there," he nods, tipping his hat to you. "Enjoying the town? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, we're still investigating, Sheriff," Tacca says with a wave hello. "Big garden you got. Big family?" Tacca tries to engage the man in conversation.

He glances over at the stone well. "Say, does everyone draw their water from the same well?" Tacca asks. Might be a source of the strange blight. Should check it out.

"BOOM! Good question, Tacca. About the well I mean. Hey, Sheriff, we hear you're all plant people too! Why do you keep it secret? Nothing wrong with being a plant-person you know. We're all quite normal."

"...some of us are awesome..." Bad Seeks mutters.

He lights a small flame in the palm of his leaf and lets it dance there, whispering in the breeze.

Sheriff Molume does a double-take as Boom Sticks blurts out the town's secret in broad daylight. Clearly Zuri hasn't had a chance to speak with him yet about the conversation you and she shared earlier.

"Wha...who told you that?" he hisses, beckoning you all close. "That's not something we talk about with outsiders for a reason. Do you think the folks back in Alkenstar would think we're 'normal'? Did they think you were?"

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "Look, we just want to live our lives in peace, okay? We're healthy and happy here, we have all the food we could ever want and protection from the mana storms. That's not so hard to understand, is it?"
______________

Not ignoring Tacca's question! He'll get around to answering it but Boom Sticks just hollering out town secrets kinda grabbed his attention first ;)

"Good spirits too. I don't have a problem with it and if you don't want people to know you are plants then I won't go gabbing. Heck, I carry around a ghost...we are all weird...that is why I drink!" Motueka adds to hopefully alleviate any tension.

"They seemed to like me in Alkenstar! Even though I didn't have enough gold to buy anything from them, the gunsmiths told me lots of useful stories. Did you know there's a vampire out in the Wastes?

Hey, we don't want to upset your way of life. But Amenira's been murdered and that happened here in your town Sheriff. A crazy space ghost did it! And we've got to bring that crazy space ghost to justice! Will you help?"

Tacca rolls his eyes. "His momma dropped him on his head, when he was a wee bulb."

"Seriously though, Sheriff, have you seen any strange creatures within the town's walls or creeping around the perimeter? Shadowy things, maybe, difficult to see sometimes?"

I’m not weird. It is the mammals that are weird! On the other hand, having that conversation with yet another mammal isn’t likely to help us figure out what is going on.

“Honestly, I find it generally isn’t worth a lot of time worrying about what some stranger thinks of me. I am what I am, and I’m comfortable with that.”

"I...what? A space ghost? Maybe you all should start from the beginning - or take it easier the next time you visit the Hoop & Grapes," the sheriff responds, clearly quite confused at this point. But when Tacca finally asks a more direct and relatively sensible question, Sheriff Molume is eager to latch on to it.

"Strange creatures? Nothing much, really," he replies, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Sometimes we'll get a stray gnoll that gets too close to the walls but that's about it. As far as vampires go," he gives Boom Sticks a withering look, "that's just a rumor with no evidence that I've seen to back it up. There sure are a lot of bats though. The cashew fruit draws them in. I hate the little flying rats," he shudders.

"Oh and to answer your question about the well, we do," the sheriff adds. "Why'd you ask?"

At the sherif’s quizzical mention of a space ghost, Captain Chlorophyll points to Nina on Tacca’s shoulder and explains “They called it Mad Shadow or Chaos Beyond the Stars.”

With a shrug, they add “It didn’t make sense to us, but we were hoping you might have an idea.”

Sheriff Molume pauses, staring from the doll to Captain Chlorophyll and back again.

"Wait...the doll said this?" he repeats, slowly. "Uh...son...are you sure you folks didn't have too much to drink over at the H&G?"

Laughing, they admit “That was our reaction at first.”

With a shrug, they add “It did give me perspective on the reaction some people have given me,”

Looking up to Nina, they tell the doll “You can jump in here any time now. This fellow might be able to help,”

"Nina, can you tell the nice sheriff what you told us, please?" Tacca props up the doll.

"Cap'n C, can you test the water in the well?" Tacca asks the alchemist. "Maybe it's tainted.

He turns back to the sheriff. "Water might be fine, but it can't hurt to check, right?"

For a moment, Nira is silent and you wonder if her earlier movements and actions were some sort of strange dream or illusion. But then, her head swivels around on her broken neck to stare at Sheriff Molume - who jumps backwards in astonishment and quite possibly even fright.

"Murder...murder stalks the streets...on black wings..." Nira intones. "Avenge me...Sheriff Molume..."

The good sheriff pales, as though seeing a ghost. "Amenira...?" he whispers. He looks to the rest of you, now thoroughly unnerved as he removes his hat with shaking hands and wipes at his brow.

"I...okay. Where'd you find this doll...Nina? Nira?" he finally asks, now prepared to take you much more seriously. "Go ahead, have a look at the water if you want. And tell me everything, from the start."

"They didn't believe me at first! I didn't believe it at first either...the doll was under the bed at Amenira's house. It's not that I look under every bed but I have a good relationship with the ground when I am too dizzy to walk." Motueka adds the circumstances of where he found the doll.

Smiling, Captain Chlorophyll mentions “This is a discussion we may not want to have in the middle of the street.”

Having said that, Captain Chlorophyll tastes a drop of the well water.
Profession: Herbalist: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 Probably not,,,

“Sorry, I can’t really tell.”