Revival of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Cellion

Certainly, it would have taken at least a few minutes to do a search of the above-ground floors in the sawmill. So Flo, you can assume that you made it back as soon as that was done.

Colvyn answers Floredana as she returns. "Yep, we are still here, just trying to decide what to do about the four humans in the bottom level of the mill. What about you, did you manage to follow the raven to its destination?"

"Well best case scenario for them we leave them tied up face-down in the dirt. Probably looks better to the guard if don't kill everyone. Want me to put the fear of Pharasma in 'em?"

"I did!" Flo calls back as she casually walks back to the group. "Tying them up seems fair. We should be quick though, whoever just received that raven is going to be on alert now. The less time we give them to respond, the better."
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I think we should deal with them before we go. If there are three ravens, there might be two OTHER places to get help from. The last thing we want is to have those places on alert too and potentially risk them rallying to reinforce whatever's in the clocktower. Did the raven have a message tied to it?

While Flo is on the way back, Guiness and Colvyn do a sweep of the other floors.

Many dead cultists litter the floor all over the sawmill, each with a set of light leather armor, a hand crossbow, a masterwork war razor, the strange creepy masks each of them wears, and a small pouch of coins. (8x of each of those items, plus a total of 276 gp across all of them)

Additionally on the third floor you find a closet stuffed with assorted supplies. A barrel contains a motley selection of loot likely seized from elsewhere - three bags with 100 gp each, three potions labeled "barkskin" (CL6), a beautiful crystal decanter set with an obsidian stopper worth around 300 gp, and a tiny wooden box containing three poorly cut diamonds worth 250 gp each.

Kellek sweeps the place with detect magic, and takes 10 (spellcraft = 26) to ID anything magical he finds. He has a decent appraise score now, but still rolls for that.

Finding a dry spot to stack the papers and books so they'll be safe and spared further damaged, Kargas goes back up the ladder to await Flo's return.

"Hey Kellek, how many tricks have you still got up your sleeve? Feeling up to finishing this?"

"I only came prepared to help Guiness escape detention and elude pursuit. And most of that I just used on the stairwell. If you are looking for Desnan candles today, there won't be many."

Kellek does have a captured scroll of sleep (CL 1) he could use on the workmen if we think they are just workmen.

Assuming we all head downstairs to deal with the workers...

Knocking the door open so it collides with the wall with a loud CRACK! Kargas strides into the room like he owns in, glaring balefully at the humans.

"Big news, boys! The mill is closing early today, on account of being a haven for cults and whatnot. Our inspector found 'em!" Kargas gestures vaguely in the direction of Colvyn. "A few of the fellows upstairs had some objections to that, but they're dead now." The half-orc's eyes lock on to the nearest of the workers and he grins a very unpleasant grin. "Any objections here?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

A stout dwarf in plate armor and carrying a smoking warhammer follows the imposing barbarian, saying, "What he said."

Intimidate Aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Oh well...

Colvyn follows the others in the room. "I'd listen to the big angry man with the falchion. There isn't much left of the guys upstairs after he was done with them."

Earlier:
While the mill doesn't have any magical auras around the place, Kellek does deduce something very interesting: the masks that each of the cult members were wearing have a faint necromantic magical aura. He's able to deduce the subtle properties of these foul 'skinsaw masks'. (See handouts for a blurb)

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In the basement, you bust in the door to find the four workers in the midst of oiling the machinery fed by the massive wheels. Kargas' entrance catches them entirely off balance. Mouths gape open as he calls out that their fellows are dead already. Two of them reach for pouches on their belts and retrieve leathery masks, while the other two don't even think that far ahead.

You're able to move in while they're still donning masks and drawing razors. In their frightened state and with your whole team ready, the resulting conflict is decidedly one-sided (No need to play it out. Between the intimidation, the knowledge you already have of the area, and their lack of backup, this is in the bag). They resist as much as they can, but you're able to apprehend or finish them off without sustaining any injuries.

What would you like to do with them?

Grabbing a length of rope, Guiness starts helping to tie the defeated and unconscious cultists up, saying, "A few live witnesses will be good for the watch. Let's get this done and head to the tower." When he is done, Guiness tugs at his sleeves and once more looks like a Pharasman acolyte, at least as much as can be seen beneath the voluminous hood.

Flo nods and helps Guiness tie the cultists up. "Good thinking with the hoods, we should at least try to be consistent," she says with a little smile. "I'll lead the way and be as direct as I can since we're working against time."

Kargas steps outside, closing his eyes and turning his face to the sun as he deliberately slows his breathing. "Alright, let's find this tower and finish the hunt. Sandpoint will be safe."

We're all healed up and ready to go?

Guiness could use a top-off on healing, but other than that, he should be ready to go.

A stout dwarf in plate armor and carrying a smoking warhammer follows the imposing barbarian, saying, "What he said."

Oh well...

"Adorable."

Earlier:

While the mill doesn't have any magical auras around the place, Kellek does deduce something very interesting: the masks that each of the cult members were wearing have a faint necromantic magical aura. He's able to deduce the subtle properties of these foul 'skinsaw masks'. (See handouts for a blurb)

Kellek bundles them up into his bag to keep them out of the wrong hands, and because they could come in handy later.

The trip across town is reasonably quick following the main roads through Beacon's Point and the Dockway. Based on your conversation this morning with Sgt. Korim, the official time of Guiness' trial has likely already arrived. Luckily, the few Magnimaran Guards you see don't seem to pay you any undue attention. Either the Pharasmin priest disguise is working, or a widespread call for a dwarf of Guiness' description hasn't gone out yet.

The energy of the Dockway district immediately becomes muted the moment you enter into the shadow of the great bridge. The businesses and taverns become more run down, catering to a rougher clientele. And as you proceed deeper into the shadow, more buildings have oil lanterns out, burning even during the day to dispel some of the darkness.

Your group begins to attract more stares from the locals, some appraising, others curious, others hateful. The groups standing out in the street openly wear sashes and insignia from one gang or another.

Thanks to Flo's scouting, you know exactly where you're going and you're able to keep moving quickly past any of these groups. You weave through the back streets of half-derelict structures, doing your best to ignore the smells of rotting fish and other waste. After a few wrong turns, you finally manage to join an old winding path that leads to the deepest parts of the Underbridge. You turn a corner around a sodden shanty and see the massive clocktower rising up into the air ahead.

The tower itself looks to be made mostly of limestone, with a tangled skeleton of wooden supports buttressed here and there by iron bands. The stone walls are etched by wind, rain and grime. While at higher elevations there appear to be a few breaches into the interior of the tower, there is only a single large entrance at ground level. A pair of warped wooden doors stand slightly ajar.

Guiness takes a swig of a cure light wounds potion unless one one has offered to heal him before now, then readies his hammer and shield. He approaches the door carefully, seeking signs of traps or alarms.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

He hesitates for a moment to see if anyone else would like to check it for traps as well.

(Kargas also has 9dmg from the previous fights, he'll drink a potion if a CLW isn't available)

Staring up at the tower, Kargas snorts and shakes his head. "Well someone has a flair for the dramatic. Come on, let's go kill them be done with it."

Stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Colvyn smiles at Kargas attitude, but still poke the big man as he points at the slightly open door. "Wait here a second, they could be set to ambush us in there." He slowly makes his way to the front door and tries to take a peek inside without being seen. He also inspects the outer walls, evaluating the stability of the thing and if climbing would be an option.

Note that at the conclusion of the last fight, Flo channeled and healed you all to full.

I did forget that! Let us proceed :)

Colvyn comes on up to the main entrance and doesn't spot any traps. With the door cracked open a little he's able to come up and take a peek inside.

Swaths of rubble and mounds of plaster lie in heaps on the stone floor of the massive, cavernous interior of the tower. A single wagon site in the center of the room, while partially collapsed walls to the north and east appear to demarcate rooms whose doors now hang askew. A wooden staircase to the western side of the room winds up into the higher floors of the tower.

Standing guard in the center of the chamber is a thing of horror, a misshapen hulking humanoid like a monster from a children's nightmare. The body appears to be a jumbled mess of body parts incorporating as much cow and horse as man, and its head in a bloated, drooling mess. The creature is dressed in woven sacks and dung-covered rags that give off a nauseated stench of decay. Bloated human heads hang off its belt as an adornment. It holds a large scythe at the ready. (See handouts for a pic)

Thankfully, the monstrosity doesn't seem to have noticed Colvyn as he approached.

If anyone else wants to approach closer, give me a stealth check as well.

Kellek looks up at the breaches along the outside of the tower, looking for those that might accommodate Kargas's bulk.

"Think we have enough rope to climb up there?" he asks well away from the tower proper. "I doubt the ravens come in by way of the front door. It might be best to avoid rousing the tenants here at bottom-most gate."

Flo follows Kellek's gaze. "That might not be a bad idea... I could knot my rope, and anyone else's, then we could try to get in quietly," she adds to his plan. "Hopefully that doesn't put us between a rock and a hard place, but we could leave the rope there for a hasty escape too."
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Flo won't be trying to approach closer. She is more than happy to wait for Colvyn's safe return :) It seems like we have a little bit of time, with GM approval, I'd like to have Flo prepare a Communal Protection from Evil and Dispel Magic in her 2nd and 3rd level open slots, respectively.

How tall is the tower? Is there a fire-escape style stairway anywhere on its exterior?

I remember him saying something about scaffolding, but that might have only been at the top. P.S., Guiness climb check is pretty low, so even a knotted rope is no guarantee.

"People build towers for a reason: they're easy to defend. Climbing..." he points upwards to the tower's top, "...all that way? We're not a threat at that point, just target practice."

You don't spot any exterior stairways or easy access points, but there are a few breaches in the side of the tower more or less halfway up. These breaches look to be large enough for any of you to get on in between the exposed wooden supports. The tower's total height is a bit more than 180 feet. At the level just under the clock's face is another breach, this one sporting a large section of scaffolding that might be more accessible - though obviously this is very high up.

If you want to size up the structure and have the right skill, you could always attempt a KN Engineering.

Flo, you can definitely take the time to prepare those two spells while the rest of the group is scoping out the approach.

"If we choose the ground-based approach, perhaps we can take this nauseating creature by surprise and surround it," suggests Guiness after Colvyn describes the creature guarding the lowest level of the clock tower. Considering a moment, he asks, "Colvyn, did you see any obvious means of giving an alarm--like a nearby bell or a signal horn?"

"I wasn't planning to have us climbing all the way to the top, but just a few level to avoid that thing on the other side of the door." Colvyn ponders for a moment. "Let me think for a second."

GM, did I?

Guiness looks at the structure doubtfully... Engineering: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 with maybe +2 for Stonecunning?

Nevermind

Colvyn didn't spot any alarms or bells near the creature, but there's no telling what kind of ruckus it might be able to cause in a fight.

"Then let's try and take... whatever it is out quickly and as quietly as possible. We can probably make a better decision once we know more about the structure," Flo says after eyeing up Guiness' armor. He's strong, but that armor is heavy...

Sticking her hand in her pocket, she grabs hold of something before taking a deep breath. "Ready?"
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With Guiness worried about failing on a knotted rope, then I think entering from the groundfloor is our best bet. Although maybe we can add rope climbing to our beard-shaving and hazing event ;) Flo will have her ocean dagger and wand of bless in hand. If we manage a surprise round, she'll bless the party.

If you want to size up the structure and have the right skill, you could always attempt a KN Engineering.

Take 10 for 20.

Kellek can tell that despite the various sections with missing stones, or sections with hanging scaffolding, the clocktower itself is solid. The same can not be said for the outside surface of the tower. Flaking plaster and non-load-bearing bricks and stones would likely make an unassisted climb a tricky thing. Furthermore, the various scaffolds provide plenty of perches for any potential defenders to stand against climbers.

Right now I'm kinda seeing one vote for climbing, one or two for entering the ground floor. I'll give you a moment to settle on the plan before pushing you forward.

I'll defer to anyone who wants to climb and give them plenty of time for it (hopefully no enemies on the second floor!) but otherwise Kargas will give Guiness a nod and head on in.

Guiness is right there with you Kargas. Ready to move in together when the others are in their preferred positions.

We don't need to climb bricks, or loose wall stones. Kellek can just fly up (So technically, I don't think any voted to climb themselves.) with a knotted rope and it's DC 5 climb checks of everyone else. Actually, the rope wouldn't even need to be knotted as folks could use the wall to brace against and it would still be DC 5. And of course folks could probably Take 10, for 8 or whatever. ;)

Works for me!

OK, the votes for climbing seem to have won out? I've updated the maps to show the upper floors on Slide 2 in addition to the lower ones on Slide 3. Note that RED arrows mean UP, and YELLOW arrows mean DOWN.

Kellek begins flying and takes one end of a rope up to the mid-way point of the massive clocktower, where your group previously identified large enough breaches in the tower's rocky exterior to squeeze in. Upon reaching the level of the breaches, Kellek is able to tie the knotted rope around one of the exposed wooden support beams.

Your mid-way entrance option is on floor four - where you can see what look to be barred windows on all four walls. I've moved Kellek's token to that map to reflect him flying up. The elevation of this level is 75 feet, so if you intend to climb, either show that you can take 10 and hit the DC or give me your rolls.

While the group is beginning their climb, Kellek takes a peek inside the structure. The inside of the tower is dominated by cavernous emptiness. The inner wall is traversed by a winding wooden stairway supported by an intricate network of wooden beams but lacking, for many stretches, a handrail or other enclosure. In certain places, two or even three stairs at a time are partially missing or gone altogether.

Rather far down below, you can make out the ground floor with its guardian. Around 75 feet higher up, you can make out a lattice of heavy wooden beams supporting four immense bronze bells.

With his shield strapped to his back, Guiness climbs with a take 10 for a 12, which should be fine with a DC of 5 or 10.

Flo makes her way up the rope, using the wall to take much of the load away from her arms. Crawling through the window, she spies the bells. "So, uh, I can't help but notice that those bells are above that thing on the ground floor... I say we try to get up there and drop them on it! Don't think anyone will miss them since this tower was clearly left to rot," she whispers. And would save us the trouble of having to deal with it personally. We aren't low on resources, but it isn't like we just replenished them either.
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T10 passes for Flo! Can we drop the bells? Please? Pretty please? :D

Dropping the bells sounds like a great time, let's do it!

Quickly pulling himself up the rope, Kargas slips through the gap in the stonework and steps carefully onto the stairway, testing its resilience with his weigh. If it holds him, he carefully leans out to peer down at the corpse-monster Colvyn had reported, then up at the bells.

Colvyn looks up at the bells when Floredana mentions them. "Yeah... If those bells could be drop on the creature, what is stopping anyone from dropping them on us as we climb the stairs?"

I realized this morning that for some reason the 4th floor map is missing most of its staircase. I've done some very basic patchwork edits to put in the missing sections. The 5th floor and 3rd floor maps are also revealed.

For those of you who haven't yet moved your tokens onto the 4th floor, please do so.

As Kargas steps in next to Flo, the staircase creaks ominously underneath him. It seems to hold for now, but it feels unpleasantly yielding underfoot. Flo and Kargas' combined weight seems to be straining the weakened supports.

Getting his feet under him at the break in the wall on the fourth floor, Guiness hears the creaking staircase and waits for others to move before trusting his weight to the wooden structure.

Does the monster below seem aware of us up here?

Putting out a hand to pause the others, Kargas gestured at the stairs for Flor's benefit. "I'll go first," he says softly before slowly creeping up the stairs, peering upwards warily.

Stealth: 1d20 + 1 - 3 ⇒ (6) + 1 - 3 = 4 Well hopefully the distance penalty does my work for me :/
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Flo gives Colvyn a nod, then turns her attention to Kargas. Once he has gone about halfway around the stairs, she will start moving slowly after him. This is precarious, to say the least... Colvyn's right though, we need to be careful as we move upwards. Those bells could just as easily be used against us!
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I propose we have one person on a stretch of stairs at a given time. I'm defining one "stretch" as the whole length against a wall, so since this is a square tower, there would be four stretches of stairs. Flo doesn't have to go second (Colvyn might actually be a better choice). Kellek is flying, so I think we just have to coordinate a careful approach between the four of us.

Kellek could "walk" across and set up another rope as a just in case measure. I'll get to the map as soon as I can.

While on the stairs and landings, Kellek flies at a height of 1 cm, soundlessly stepping as he does so.

Climb: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Colvyn takes a look at the stairs, and then at the outside wall again. He decides to try to climb an extra level to get ahead of Kargas and pokes his head again inside the tower. He takes another look at the stairs, trying to see if anything is wrong.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24 +3 vs Traps