"Oh zat is a shame. But zere are other zings in life I hear. Maybe we should procure some blessed water? Zat way we can deliver a piece of ze Morninglords scorn anyhow!" Lu suggests. Both since it was useful and she was curious to see if the priest would start to melt or something if she just *happened* to soil some...
"The Morninglord gladly shares the drops of the dawn," Sunmist said piously. "But it is our custom to make praise unto him in their granting."
"Yes of course!" Lu nods in understanding and offers up 25gp from her own purse.
"Yes of course!" Lu nods in understanding and offers up 25gp from her own purse.
Sunmist took the coin and withdrew, returning moments later with a small box bearing an ornate lock carved in the shape of a sunburst. He produced a key and opened it to reveal a velvet-lined box with a padded rack containing a single stoppered vial and several empty spots where others once lay.
"Here you are," he proffered the vial.
“You must be pleased by the devotion of your flock,” Chaïa observed mildly. “Back home those who serve Hanali are kept busy too with asking the goddess for blessings on the waters. There’s more than one reason the temple is called the Fountainheart.”
Her gossip veiled an alarming thought. While she was only guessing at Daggerford’s demand for holy water, she knew that most clerics’ power drew on how closely they were bound to their deities. Only the pure-hearted could actually perform such a blessing, so unless the false priest had some duped underlings that could provide, maybe supplies were running low.
“You must be pleased by the devotion of your flock,” Chaïa observed mildly. “Back home those who serve Hanali are kept busy too with asking the goddess for blessings on the waters. There’s more than one reason the temple is called the Fountainheart.”
Her gossip veiled an alarming thought. While she was only guessing at Daggerford’s demand for holy water, she knew that most clerics’ power drew on how closely they were bound to their deities. Only the pure-hearted could actually perform such a blessing, so unless the false priest had some duped underlings that could provide, maybe supplies were running low.
"I wouldn't count Auric's Band as especially devoted," Sunmist said. "But you and they have similar needs."
"Praise the Sun..." Lu mumbled a half-hearted prayer to the morninglord as she received the seemingly last vial of holy water. And tried not to spill; if this actually was the last then it might be put to better use then spiting an imposter priest. Especially since they hadn't actually talked trough if they were ready for a confrontation or not yet...
A witch was never too ready, nor not ready enough - she was exactly as ready as she desired to be. ...Which, in this case, appeared to be ready to keep listening until the others were done talking.
"Praise the Sun..." Lu mumbled a half-hearted prayer to the morninglord as she received the seemingly last vial of holy water. And tried not to spill; if this actually was the last then it might be put to better use then spiting an imposter priest. Especially since they hadn't actually talked trough if they were ready for a confrontation or not yet...
Lu managed to take the vial without spilling a drop.
Unless there were more they wanted to talk with Sunmist about Lu would make her escape from the church quickly and discreetly. Nothing good could really come from that place, not now at least.
"Right. What now?" Lu mumbled once they were out of earshot.
“Praise the goddess that we escaped with our faces intact?” Chaïa joked, though a slight moue appeared on her lips as she confessed, “They do know who they’ve got to avoid answering questions, though. I haven’t seen anyone so determined not to talk to me since the accident with Suitor Everlove – it took the rest of my novitiate until she softened, and I don’t think she’s ever not going to flinch if she sees me so much as cast a cantrip or recite an orison.”
In all fairness, it was less the blast of lightning that disrupted the party than the additional side effect narrowly missing the high priestess and turning her cousin blue. It took a lot of magic to restore said cousin to her usual rosy colour, and even 50 years ago Chaïa hadn’t been so entirely reckless as to attempt to offer comfort with the reminder that there were such things as blue roses. As it was, she had been grounded for years.
“Anyway,” she said, breaking off embarrassing reminiscences and returning to the moment, “I’m not sure how much harder we could have pressed this creature without causing a scene, even if it does mean we’re not much further ahead. Could it all be related? Otherwise, we have, not counting the original expedition whose remains we found, 1) somebody else who entered the cairn between our visits and set up or tripped those warding blades we saw, 2) something that ate the real Sunmist’s face, 3) some necromancer digging up the bodies of a family whose last trace on this plane just happens to be a ghost haunting the same cairn.”
Enumerating the difficulties, as her parents had taught her, didn’t yet yield any inspiration. “Back to the Happy Cow or wherever else we might find a mage louche enough to know about necromancers, or our Waterdhavians? I hate to admit it, but that Khellek did seem to know what he was talking about, and it might be worth picking his brain, if we can get him to talk.”
"Would you like a divination on the outcomes?" Saeri asked curiously, looking at Chaia as the elf pondered the group's options. If nothing else, a solid reading might help to point out which of the courses would be better - and prevent them from wasting too much of what time they had.
"Nudging fate for a clue sounds like a plan. In the worst case, it might at least give us another way of thinking about things," Chaïa acknowledged.
Rejoining the others, a safe distance from the morninglords church, Janus nods:"Divinations are always nice to have. More options would be better, but a hint how to go about those we have is always welcome."
Lu made a sour face. But Chaïa was right, even in jest. She muttered to no-one in particular. "Having my face still attached feels like a low bar to set noh? Still, I hope to keep if for a good long while ..."
Saeri nodded and beckoned those who were interested to follow her over to the table. "For this one... I think the Sword will be appropriate." she said, shuffling her deck and turning half the deck to create the alignments. Then, carefully, she spread her mat and placed the first card down in front of her.
"The first card in this spread represents the root of our problem. We see here the Wanderer - misaligned. In this position, he tells us of the inability to see value... rather apt when one is uncertain which route is appropriate, no?"
She set the second card right above the first.
"This is the most important card in the reading, I think - for it says how we should approach our problem. The Courtesan stands for political or feminine intrigue, and certainly suggests that talking to people is a wise course."
With that, she set down the third card.
"The third card represents the challenge to be faced as we strive to overcome the problem." she explained. "The Marriage stands for the union of people or ideas - and in the place of a challenge, it suggests that an inability to do so is our real problem. Either that or the union itself is the problem, and ought to be stopped."
The fourth card and fifth cards were placed down to the upper left and upper right of the third.
"These cards represent things that will contribute to us on our journey. The first we see here is the Trumpet, but he is misaligned. Here, he stands for power for power's sake, and suggests we should not be too hesitant about gathering and using it. The other position is the Joke, also misaligned, which means the joke is on us. Curious."
She set down the last card, directly above the third.
"The last card in this spread represents the outcome if this path is followed - and it is an auspicious one. The Keep is in his normal position, and speaks of being unshakable when threatened. That suggests some danger along the way, but also that it will be overcome."
With that, she smiled up at the others. "So, do you have a better idea of what you should do now?"
Lu made a sour face. But Chaïa was right, even in jest. She muttered to no-one in particular. "Having my face still attached feels like a low bar to set noh? Still, I hope to keep if for a good long while ..."
Lu made a sour face. But Chaïa was right, even in jest. She muttered to no-one in particular. "Having my face still attached feels like a low bar to set noh? Still, I hope to keep if for a good long while ..."
"Sooo - we should talk to people yeah?" Lu tried to summarize their plan. There were still some glaring holes in it but it was the best they had at the moment! "Hmm. If zere really are some necromancers in zis town zey might have gone for ze easy corpses first before realizing zat zey probably shouldn't. So let's check to see if we can't find ze local doctor, gravedigger and such and see if zey have noticed anything weird lately?"
"Sooo - we should talk to people yeah?" Lu tried to summarize their plan. There were still some glaring holes in it but it was the best they had at the moment! "Hmm. If zere really are some necromancers in zis town zey might have gone for ze easy corpses first before realizing zat zey probably shouldn't. So let's check to see if we can't find ze local doctor, gravedigger and such and see if zey have noticed anything weird lately?"
"Sooo - we should talk to people yeah?" Lu tried to summarize their plan. There were still some glaring holes in it but it was the best they had at the moment! "Hmm. If zere really are some necromancers in zis town zey might have gone for ze easy corpses first before realizing zat zey probably shouldn't. So let's check to see if we can't find ze local doctor, gravedigger and such and see if zey have noticed anything weird lately?"
“That does sound like a good start: for all that the religious rivalry in town seems to have turned nasty, maybe there is something else behind it. Failing that, the bad blood might at least have motivated someone to have noticed something useful.”
“In which case,” Chaïa mused, “perhaps something like this? We ask at the temple of Tempus about strange goings-on and their hated rivals, picnic lunch at the local burying-ground to see if we can spot anything amiss ourselves, a free afternoon, then meet again to see who else looks suspicious at the Happy Cow, during the hours it does most of its business?”
Turning the details of Saeri’s reading over again in her mind, she smiled at the diviner and added, trying to look on the bright side of things, “Courtesans, marriages, and keeps? Choice of words aside, those would seem to suggest that Lady Goldheart will smile upon us in the end. Intrigue sounds, well, intriguing, though I’m afraid it will likely take more than a discreet word over the right cup of tea or a well-timed suggestion to stroll in the garden to resolve the difficulties we’ve got ourselves involved in.”
"Bodies dumped outside of town do seem like a good bet... but a conflict between faiths matches the Marriage rather well, and could be what it refers to there. One way or another, talking to the churches may direct us onto the path."
"Sounds like a plan yeah." Lu nodded and stretched a bit. While she really wasn't much for clergy she had always preferred the Tempus ones to the Morninglord. Even when the later weren't face-stealing abominations. Their outlook was just so fatalistic.
“It should also help us to avoid the embarrassment of being taken for necromancers ourselves, by keeping what we're doing clear and above-board,” Chaïa added. As the group set out, she tried to remember what she knew of Tempurran protocol, to make the ecumenical meeting friendlier. Tempus didn’t have much in common with most of the Seldarine, even taking the queenly art of strategy and defense of the One and the Three into account. For a priestess like Chaïa, whose favoured aspect of Angharradh was Hanali, the issue was only exacerbated.
During the reading, Janus's mind wanders. When Saeri explains about the second, most important card of the reading, the Courtesan, his eyes wander, scanning Lu. when the Marriage announces the 'Union' of people, he snaps out of his daydream and forces himself to re-focus.
But he still was distracted by unbidden thoughts, and happily agreed with Chaias proposed plan, but adds:"One more thing to consider could be for which purpose Undead would be created...I don't think there's been any trouble reported with those...chances are they are to fulfill a certain task. Say, something where tireless servitude in a dangerous workplace could be beneficial. If someone wants to go take a look at the mines during that free afternoon with me, I'd appreciate that..."
It was just a sudden thought, but raised dead would make very cheap, very efficient workers - and there had been some trouble with the mines snd their management recently, as far as Janus remembered...
“True enough. It’s all so ghastly, isn’t it? I suppose it would be too much to hope that villains comfortable with desecration would scruple about aesthetic considerations, but old bones and other bodies ready to return to the earth, really?” Well, maybe skeletons, if arranged suitably artfully… Or some kinds of vampires, perhaps, but it would be a shame to waste them like that.
Chaïa chased the stray morbidity out of her thoughts, only to find another creeping in. Undead workers… It might make some accidents less frightful, but the thought of another generation of miners, say, unearthing an animate skeleton trapped for years under a collapse is horrifying. She shook her head decisively.
“No, I just can’t imagine the train of thought that would lead one to conclude that that would be a good idea, and I have quite a bit of experience with hindsight (though not with necromancy),” she said ruefully. “Alright then, temple, graveyard, mines: trying to catch someone with even less common sense than I have.”
Chaia knows that Tempurrans come in a wide variety of temperaments, from the paladinhood down to blood-crazed maniacs. The Foehammer cares more for victories well fought than causes as such. His clergy think less of those who do not see war as the finest hour and greatest aspiration of all thinking beings. A proper offering and showing due respect to the priest's might could go a long ways, though. Battle-worn arms and armor are the preferred gesture, but offering a few drops of blood to Tempus is also appropriate. Doing so involves giving the priest leave. He would then take the blood himself as a show of strength, roughly but without doing true harm.
"Me personally - zere's certainly a bit of a charm to raising some people just so zey can be slapped around again! Maybe?" Lu adds her brief opinion on undead utilitarianism.
"But I'm not opposed to checking out ze mines a bit, just in case someone really wants to cut down on wagers..."
---
"If you're into that sort of thing." Saeri answered to Lu's first comment. "Actually, now that I think of it, I'm surprised someone doesn't raise the dead for target practice more often... although that's probably how outbreaks get started... hm."
Baergon Bluesword honored Tempus Foehammer in a solidly built stone building too small to properly call a castle. It stood just across the way from the Waterdhavian garrison that protected Daggerford from marauders and asserted the City of Splendors' claim to final control over it and many of the blades could be found within at the usual times. A few lingered outside as the explorers approached, scrubbing the walls where someone had thrown something unpleasant in the recent past. They ignored the newcomers and looked thoroughly miserable in their pious duty.
Within lay a worship chamber facing the god's sign, a blazing sword upright on a blood-colored shield. Two aged, much-battered suits of armor stood guard over it. A collection of shattered, hacked, and staved-in shields adorned the flanking walls. Beneath them, racks held a selection of staves and spears. Bows and quivers stood at the reach in each corner.
Bluesword himself sat on a plain bench, his ruddy robes and steel skullcap the same as always. He was a hard-bitten, oddly slight man for one of his strength. That and the slight bluish tinge to his skin bespoke distant elf blood. He had beside him a collection of leatherworking tools, bent over a jerkin and making repairs.
"Halt and speak your names, you who come under the Foehammer's gaze," he said, an edge to his voice despite not having looked up from his work.
Chaïa kept a privately horrified silence as the conversation continued in its ghoulish vein as the group made their way to Tempus’ temple. Apparently they would all have to do more to shake off the effects of exploring the cairn. Must have been something in the air… Or curdled Art, after being left alone so long.
It was almost a relief to enter the fortress-like structure dedicated to the war god. The decorations within were a bit stark for Chaïa’s tastes, but certainly in keeping with the deity worshipped here, so she had no substantive artistic complaints. The resident priest’s command broke into her examination of the space.
“Chaïa Pomala, Trimorphe of Angharradh,” the young priestess said, keeping her full style to herself. Etc. After all, it’s not a formal occasion, and this doesn’t look like a man inclined to show Lady Goldheart or her servants much favour. His loss, but that’s a discussion for another time.
“Come to pay our respects to the Lord of Battles and seek guidance on a matter concerning all godly folk in Daggerford,” she continued, trying to match Bluesword’s direct tone. She steeled herself to shed more of her blood in the name of the local gods. What is it with these people, anyway? Blood this, blood that… Well, if it is for some sinister purpose, bleeding absolutely all over the place might muddy the waters before anything nasty can take hold.
"Saeri, a lay follower of Mystra." The Harrower answered calmly. The Mother of Magic was accepted in most areas - people might eye witches a little uneasily every now and then, but few places (even other faiths) were outright hostile to the neutral goddess.
"Janus Alistair Eden, hoping to find favor with the Princess of Passion.", Janus introduced himself. He was mostly impartial to the gods - but that was often not a good thing to say in a temple, and if he had a favorite among them, it was the Lady of Love.
"Lucrecia Willow." Lu grinned and proclaimed proudly. Now this was more her sort of temple! She hooked her thumbs in her belt and strode towards the priest. "And ze point of zis visit: We saw something that looked *very* similar to a freshly plundered grave a few leagues from town. Specifically - missing ze corpse. Zat is never good news. So we were curious if zere been any undead spotting or corpse kidnappings lately?"
"Lucrecia Willow." Lu grinned and proclaimed proudly. Now this was more her sort of temple! She hooked her thumbs in her belt and strode towards the priest. "And ze point of zis visit: We saw something that looked *very* similar to a freshly plundered grave a few leagues from town. Specifically - missing ze corpse. Zat is never good news. So we were curious if zere been any undead spotting or corpse kidnappings lately?"
"Well met," the priest said after looking them all over for a moment. "Always time to be ready and forewarned. The Lord of Battles gives glad counsel to the worthy. I've heard of no such things, but that doesn't mean they don't happen."
"Well met", Janus echoes, "Even if you've heared of no such thing, have you heared about anything you would consider strange or noteworthy? Rumors are not the best source of information, but any lead could be helpful in unraveling a mystery."
"Even if it doesn't sound important, it might be." Saeri added, remembering the cards she'd drawn earlier. Having more information was always better when you were trying to understand something.
"Even if it doesn't sound important, it might be." Saeri added, remembering the cards she'd drawn earlier. Having more information was always better when you were trying to understand something.
The priest looked them over again and spoke so his voice did not carry far.
"Before I came to Daggerford, I never heard of the Morninglord doing blood rites. It's as much as gelding a wight to ask him to whip himself. Never heard of it since either. And all started just these past few winters. If there's anything, it's to do with Sunmist, most likely."
He fell silent for just a moment before pressing on.
"Do you know the observatory? Up on the hill outside the walls. Damned fool thing, always fixed on the stars instead of where orcs might come. I think there used to be elves there, ages back. Or maybe it's the Fallen Kingdom. Either way, never knew anyone doing anything with it except when we think there's a raid near. Not sure when that changed, but about a month ago I started seeing lights up on the hill. Thought it was the mayor's men. Might not be."
"Sunmist is an odd piece of work yeah. I'm curious to see what's behind the façade." Lu agrees. "We should check out the observatory zen. Just in case..."
“As Lucrecia says, Sunmist is an odd creature: has he always been this way?” Chaïa asked, wondering how on earth they would ever be able voice their suspicions without sounding mad. For now, gossipy hints would have to do, and she leaned heavily on her training with the clergy of Hanali especially, among the persons of Angharradh. “Thank you for the advice about the observatory: we are recent arrivals to the town, so we’ve yet to place all the landmarks.”
“Stars are dear to at least one aspect of the One and the Three. Let’s take it as a sign that she smiles upon us,” she added, her own mouth quirking into a gentle grin, before continuing, “Speaking of which, as one good turn deserves another, as a token of collegiality among clerics, let’s do blood right. The Queen of Arvandor knows its worth, like the Lord of Battles.”
With that, Chaïa presented her hand in a gesture of thanks for the information, and to invite Bluesword to take a few drops of her blood for Tempus.
Stars, was it? She hadn't drawn any of them in her reading, but she wasn't about to discount the other knowledge that had been given. For her part, however, she didn't hold out a hand. She respected most faiths - goodly and temperate, anyway - but rarely participated in the rites of others.
“As Lucrecia says, Sunmist is an odd creature: has he always been this way?” Chaïa asked, wondering how on earth they would ever be able voice their suspicions without sounding mad. For now, gossipy hints would have to do, and she leaned heavily on her training with the clergy of Hanali especially, among the persons of Angharradh. “Thank you for the advice about the observatory: we are recent arrivals to the town, so we’ve yet to place all the landmarks.”
"His business with the blood is new, only a few winters now. Before, I wouldn't have thought him the type. Time changes men," the priest said.
He took Chaia's blood with due ceremony, making a swift, expert cut that drew forth only a few drops and speaking a brief blessing in trade.
"Thank you.", Janus bowed - quite happy that Chaia offered herself up for the ceremonial bleeding.
"I agree, we should take a look at the Observatory - I have a gut feeling that we are up for an interesting evening later today..."
"A few winters eh?" Lu nods a thanks and offers her hand as well. That corpse didn't look several winters old did it?
"Mm let's go and see what's up zere. And let's hope for nothing yeah ..."
Saeri, alas, was less than totally fabulous at estimating the age of corpses. It wasn't something that happened very often in her line of work... and at any rate, the Harrow disliked questions about death. Best to avoid that topic in its entirety.
Chaïa searched her memory again for an appropriate farewell. Something vague eventually emerged, and with a nod to Bluesword, she said with what she hoped was martial briskness, “I thank you, and I thank Tempus.”
Once the group had left the grim keep of the temple, the mage perked up a bit, no longer assuming a persona more suitable for dealing with the war god’s stern clergy. If the Observatory ruins did go all the way back to the elven realms of old, that might be very fascinating indeed, given her own interests, and at least this time it wasn’t a settled question of burrowing underground into a cairn.
"Do-de-do..." Lu hummed to herself as they headed towards the observatory. She was in a good mood. The atmosphere on the road, as much as it was, felt a lot less oppressive then the one in the strange little town. Or the crypt for that matter. And since that good feeling were unlikely to last past any encounter with the undead raising kind, she hoped to make the most of it.
Janus tagged along, contemplative. Observatories, to maximize their field of vision, tended to be located at hills, overlooking the nearby area. That means any strange lights in a ruined building would be visible from afar. Some hidden cult or secretive meetings would be more 'hidden' in a variety of other locales...that suggested that whoever used the place did not CARE about being discovered. There were several reasons as to why THAT could be the case, and so far, Janus had not managed to come up with one he would have considered positive...