Shaani rushes into the building to check on the figure slumped in the chair.
Seeing Shaani already rush to the figure, Pursuit stays more towards the right of the door once she enters. She does, however, turn to look at the table through the archway. Hopefully she will be able to read the notes and books present.
Robin raises an eye. "It seems someone other than ourselves wanted a word with the old man. But it may have cost him his life."
You see the form of a Southern man slumped forward, motionless, dead. His dark skin turned a gray tone, his drying eyes are open and have frozen in them a look of pure terror, rotting mouth agape. On his chest are three large stab woulds horizontally spaced evenly together; the center one has gored his heart and the two others have done the same to his lungs. Blood has flowed out of these wounds for some time. There are scratches all over his arms and face. This ornate white and gold robes have been heavily stained with blood. His fingernails are also dirty with blood and flesh.
--------------------
Those of you who rolled 16 or higher on perception:
You notice there was rack of empty glass bottles under the window that is facing the man's corpse. Most of the bottles are destroyed however. The window consists of a pair of wooden doors and they are closed at the moment, but not locked.
The rest of the room seems remarkably intact, no books from the book shelf are missing. There is a large pedestal for a book here that has nothing on it.
--------------------
Those of you who rolled 16 or higher on investigation:
You notice the documents and books themselves around. The books are various guides on astronomy, history, journals, religion, and magic. You notice a blank space on the desk in front of where this poor man would have been facing, next to it an empty envelope. Next to that is another envelope, made of fine materials and torn.
There is a seal on it, the wax is colored with golden particles suspended within. But it is also empty.
The symbol on it may or may not be familiar to you
Make a history check.
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For Pursuit specifically, regardless of roll:
You find a piece of paper on his desk with some last and hurried scrawlings. It appears to be a poem? It has this written in common:
"Eons ago the old gods vanished, people rejoiced in turn.
Yet some feared that it would not be long.
It is said when the stars are right the old gods will return.
Yet I find that the stars are never wrong."
-----
Everyone make an insight check.
Robin examines the pedestal. "I'd wager that whatever ill came upon the old man wanted something in whatever book or tapestry was upon this pedestal. This was planned by some sort of scoundrel." He picks up the empty envelope. "Strange," he muses.
Pursuit picks up the paper and reads it.
She will continue to look through the other notes and books near the poem to see if she can find anything else of note. While doing so, she looks to Both Robin and Shaani. {So, is this the prophet? Dead, and unable to answer our questions?}
Shaani:
[dice=Insight]1d20 + 2
It occurs to you that these stab wounds are very much like a trident. A trident... just like the sahuagin whom you fought earlier! Could they be connected perhaps?
-----
Robin:
The seal on the envelope is a royal crest you may have seen around as coinage or as a brand on some goods. Whom could Alhazred have been corresponding to?.
-----
Slashiir:
The sight is quite nasty of course. As an adventurer you do however, have to get used to making these types of wounds, at least one in your class. If you catch sight of the royal crest on the envelope you would recognize the seal. It is from the royal family of the once great nation of Hyades, the capital of that country, Carcosa is just South of Berem.
------
Pursuit:
From what you gather around you, yes this is the unfortunate corpse of the prophet Alhazred. Perhaps he knew too much. You see a crystal ball on the table used for diviniation spells and rituals. There is a notepad next to it with some vague but interesting rambles:
"A man who knows too much, his hand cannot bear it, and thus his hand gouge his heart out to cease it all."
"When the mother is gone, the world beccomes his plaything."
"He fills a pool of blood then offers it to the most vile maw I have ever seen."
Shaani gestures at the wounds. "Could it be that the same creature that attacked us off the port came after him? After all we are after his knowledge, it would make sense... They didn't want others to know what he found."
Pursuit makes sure to keep the notepad and note she found. She looks to Shaani. {Come and look at these notes. Perhaps another mind will help me understand these.} As she 'speaks' she gestures to the notepad she found.
(insight is int. Based right?)
hmmm, mayhaps. Suppose if Twas the same one, at least he has been avenged. I can no recall anything of these tales, I never did take to tha scholarly part O cleric hood. Hehe. Though maybe I should have. Either way. We need to search around, there has to be something left ta us. Surin' he be knowin' folk would come after em' eventually. Has to be he left us somthin' in case O this outcome.
"Where do we go from here? We an hardly dive into the bay and start questioning sahuagin. This note sounds ominous, conforms with the rumors too, but I cannot make any more sense of it."
Pursuit puts the notes she found in her pack for safekeeping. Seeing how she is currently unable to communicate in a language that everyone understands, she merely stands by listens.
She does however, make mental notes on how everyone is speaking and what sounds they are making. She is starting to remember how to speak the common language after hearing it around her so much, but thinks it best to remain silent until she can communicate easily.
As you are all invesitgating the various paraphenelia around you, you hear a knock on the door, even though it's open.
"Hello? What is the matter? Is he alright?" Shouted a young, male voice coming from outside.
Robin decides to unsheathe his weapons and point them threateningly at the door. "Halt! Who has business with this man? Come to return to the scene of the crime, eh?!"
Robin decides to unsheathe his weapons and point them threateningly at the door. "Halt! Who has business with this man? Come to return to the scene of the crime, eh?!"
"D-d-don't hurt me si-sir!"
Before you stands a young, male, blond and beige-skinned halfling in the plainest fashions of townsfolk. He is sweating bullets and backing away from this crazy pirate accusing him of something!
"C-c-crime? Oh my gods!"
Pursuit puts up her hood and still stays silent. No need to make the young man even more scared by a voice entering his mind.
"An amazing feat of diplomacy, Robin.", Shaani says with a hint of amusement. She walks to the front door and looks at the halfling, "No one is going to hurt you. However I'm afraid there has been a murder."
Atta boy Rob! Give em the old one two!
The dwarf raises his fists, I call mine, fookin' A, And Fookin' B! Ha-ha!
He then takes a better look at the lad.
how be it ye know the departed lad?
Robin lowers his swords upon seeing just how underwhelming this young lad is. "Apologies, child, I was expecting something more akin to a band of brigands! You may want to step outside for this. Rather a grizzly scene within this abode."
"M-m-m-MURDER?" The boy stammers again.
"I am...was...his assistant. I saw the door open and wondered what was...going on. Oh no oh no. He was onto a big break! But I always knew he was in some kind of danger but we were hoping to lay low here. Oh nooooooo, I shall alert the authorities!
Thorin:
The boy being pretty honest here it seems, he is sweating and seems like he is about to faint.
At his words Pursuit steps forward to 'speak' to him. The halfling will hear a voice in his mind. Pursuit tries to make it as obvious as possible that she is the source of this voice. {A big break? On what? You must tell me! Can you help me make sense of the notes I found?}
At his words Pursuit steps forward to 'speak' to him. The halfling will hear a voice in his mind. Pursuit tries to make it as obvious as possible that she is the source of this voice. {A big break? On what? You must tell me! Can you help me make sense of the notes I found?}
"AAAAAHHH!!!! PSYCHIC!!!!AHHH!!!" The boy screams, he is now shaking.
"He...he doesn't say a lot of details to...to...me. Even he...he...isn't exactly sure...what...what is going on...was...ahhh! Those? Those notes? They are from his...his...contact with....an...informant...but this informant only speaks in...confusing riddles! The informant was...was contacted...by that...crystal...ball. He then...then was just corresponding to..to..the queen of..of Hyaedes be-because informant said they know something...but even he wouldn't tell me exactly what they said. But...but..the catacylsm....has recently touched the capitol...Carcosa...AAAAAAHHH oh nooo they...they took HIS BOOOK!!"
The halfling points at the empty pedestal.
Pursuit thinks for a small amount of time before 'speaking' again. {Do you know how he used the crystal ball to contact the informant? It would very useful to speak to them.}
"The...the informant and the Queen are two diff-different people, ma'm. The informant, I...I don't know...he seemed to want to remain as anonymous as possible, but he always gave me the willies. I don't trust him, somehow he managed to communicate by projecting images into the crystal ball, and that's what the notes are! It was a recent development, this past week. I wonder if he's a fiend or celestial of some sort...most likely a fiend! He just showed up last week! But he was right, the Queen of Carcosa did respond that she had some information regarding the events, and....oh my gods! I remember now! She told Alhazred not to trust the mysterious informant! Oh nooooo!!!"
The halfling catches his breath again.
"Sorry I haven't introduced myself! My name is Jeremiah Peaslee."
"Shaani Hareem. Do you think it would be possible for us to have an audience with the Queen?" Shaani continues to speak with the halfling in a calming tone and puts her hands on his shoulders kneeling in front of him: "We are trying to help. We may be able to retrieve your master's book and put an end to whatever is going on here."
"Shaani Hareem. Do you think it would be possible for us to have an audience with the Queen?" Shaani continues to speak with the halfling in a calming tone and puts her hands on his shoulders kneeling in front of him: "We are trying to help. We may be able to retrieve your master's book and put an end to whatever is going on here."
"Thank you, Thank you so much Ms. Hareem! All of you! I must run off to alert the authorities now!"
Jeremiah wipes the tears from his face and starts heading out.
The police arive at the scene and see the hideous scene. They rule out the party and Jeremiah rather quickly by looking at the giant trident stab wound and one of the detectives noted the fishy odor in poor Alhazred's fingernails. They tell the party that sahuagin and kutoa have been spotted more frequently in the area, and wondered if they attacked your party earlier to distract you, because the estimated time of death was approximately at the time of your arrival!
Alhazred's body is currently preserved for more forensic study but actually because the community grave yard is "out of order" so to speak. Nobody seems to want to talk about the details on this matter.
It is now mid afternoon, the sun is beginning it's descent. People everywhere wre beginning to rush their pace a little faster, eyeing the clock towers, pocket watches, sundials, and other available time pieces.
Jeremiah calms down and has invited you all to the tavern to speak, in a private room upstairs of course. He brings with him a briefcase that be has set aside on a table, and starts shuffling through the papers.
"There seems to be more going on in this town, Jeremiah. I think it would still be good if we could talk to the Queen, but there are other questions bothering me as well, what is going on with the graveyard?" Shaani cuts right to the chase.
"There seems to be more going on in this town, Jeremiah. I think it would still be good if we could talk to the Queen, but there are other questions bothering me as well, what is going on with the graveyard?" Shaani cuts right to the chase.
"I agree about the Queen...the same day that Alhazred contacted his mysterious informant, I believe the curse touched here and since has touched. At night the dead rise from their graves...but they don't attack anyone...they just seem to mindlessly do things they did in life..."
Jeremiah trails off and begins to lay out his notes.
She shudders at the thought, "T-the dead walk? How could something like that happen?"
"You've never seen undead? Have you? Sometimes they naturally occur due to cirmunstances of the person, sometimes it's some necromamcer, sometimes it's an omen of things to come."
"Undead? And they don't attack, but just go about their previous lives' businesses? That's somehow more unsettling than a corpse that just attacks. At least you could predict those. I think this is also worth investigating. We will need a plan how we proceed."
Pursuit looks between Shaani, Slashiir, and Jeremiah as they talk. Afterwards, she attempts to speak herself. Actually speak! "These undead... She pauses momentarily to think. "Do not.. Attack? Why deal with this? We should go to queen, deal with root of problem and remove undead this way."
"The queen is definitely priority. As long as the dead remain docile we can focus on the larger issues, but we should remain vigilant. They could turn hostile at any point."
Pursuit turns to Jeremiah after speaking to Shaani, and "speaks" to him. She may be ready to speak normally, but it is far easier to talk with her mind. {Where is this queen, or rather, where is Haydes? Do you know how we would get an audience with the queen in the first place?}
"Yes, yes I agree. However night is coming and with these fish people around, it might be dangerous out there. But you all look like a group that can handle them. You, wee lady, I'm surprised you never heard of the undead."
Jeremiah takes out a large scroll and lays it out. It is the map of the continent.
"I shaded in the areas that from my research the curse has touched. Hyades is very close by fortunately, just South of us. The Queen lives over there in the city of Carcosa. I still find the pattern of encroachment very odd.
Pursuit moves closer to the table, stopping right in front of the map and begins to look over the pattern of the shaded in sections. "Hmm... Not yellow sign." As she finishes speaking the spread's pattern hits her as vaguely familiar. "I may have an idea. Let me see notes you have written on the curse, I must be certain."
After asking for Jeremiah's notes, she begins to get out her own notes from her research. There are some particular documents and writing she will want to cross-reference with his writings.
"This curse is fairly widespread, it always seems to come from the sea... How long of a walk is it to Carcosa?"
Jeremiah shows Pursuit some notes taken from interviewing traders from other parts of the continent and the larger world. He also has sketches of places far away from Berem, and it is written on these sketches that these are actually visions from scyring all over. The results are disturbing.
In the town of Toruga, North of Berem, the sea water near the coast has been covered in a thick, black, icky sludge that never seems to go away. Half of the livestock has died of illness. This town was once prosperious and known for pirates as well but has since been abandoned.
In the South, Bakolin is normally warm this time of the year, but every few days or so, a cold snap seems to hit overnight. Crops and livestock freeze to death and the air becomes even drier than it usually is. The town has mobilized to growing indoors but the populace cannot support it's people with what can be grown indoors. Magical means to prevent the death of livestock and crops have failed so far. As a result, people are emigrating rapidly.
Orokham seems relatively intact, except that it seems nothing can cross planes here. As a result, divine magic does not work, prayers are unheard, healing must be done manually, and even arcane magic suffers here. Even the dead cannot cross, the town is accumulating a population of ghosts now.
Dullsmarsh has experienced cursed rain lately. At first it rained frogs, then it rained locusts, which devoured crops, then it rained fly eggs, which hatched into a swarm as people cleared the streets. Then the week after it rained something damnably odiferous, and reeked all that it touched. Then a few days after it rained tiny pebbles which took a death toll, then it was disease-ridden water, salt-water, and more recently, slime.
Mrak suffers from one of the most bewildering curses. A massive blight has plagued crops and surrounding forests. This blight first manifested as a region of very robust plant growth. Then the plants grew faster and faster and bigger. After a month these plants seemed to live and die overnight, and fruit rotted on trees and even wild animals are aging faster, time can only tell if it begins infecting people and livestock.
And then there was the town of Auchendale, in which the sky is covered in pitch darkness. The sun hasn't risen here for months, and winter has come early. This seems to also be occurring in the other Northern towns, people must travel long distances to escape whatever seems to be blocking the sunlight.
Meanwhile cities that the curse either hasn't reached yet or do not have such a relatively impactful curse are being called to aid, dealing with refugees, and in the case of Hyperborea, whom has suffered great economic decline due to their precious mines collapsing and being infested with monsters, the people there have grown jealous and hostile about the currently unaffected Malfuné City, and hungering to plunder and incite war as the only means of survival.
It seems like the end is near, and the curse's effects aggravate tension among leaders everywhere.
Jeremiah sighs,"Carcosa should be a day or two away on foot or so. If you have mounts or vehicles it would be faster of course."
Robin strikes a pose. "Why we have the Idyllic! Should we leave now with the winds at our backs, we should be in time for afternoon tea! More or less."