Shards of the Titanswar

Game Master EldonG

Cauis shakes Doran awake with his boot, ready to jump back if the half-orc lashes out, remembering his start this morning.

That should do it...Doran wakens abruptly.

The last visible cultist is following Antonio...

Will: 1d20 ⇒ 7

...who sees ALL of you alive, and turns to run back into the woods...

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Impulsively, Antonio runs after his attacker and tries a trip attack.
CMB Trip attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Reiko sees Antonio has the last cultist under control, so he goes to inspect the stone.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Knowledge:Arcane: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

The final cultist runs back into the trees, but finds himself sprawling when Antonio knocks his knees out from under him, from behind.

You can't stop it! It's too late! Just kill me, it won't matter!

He doesn't seem lucid, quite...

Perception 9+5 = 14

Aya casts Detect Magic and concentrates on the stone.
Arcane Knowledge 5+6 = 11

Spellcraft 20+6 = 26 yea :)

I read about these, in the arcane college's library. It could be a type of summoning stone, keyed to a specific creature, or entity. The passage was very vague, but I do remember reading that the ceremonies vary, and are usually tied to the entity being summoned. What kind if foul creature could be summoned with a ritual involving blood? We need to try and stop it, if we can!

Knowledge:Arcane to see if I know how to stop the summoning: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

New Knowledge Arcana on summoning 13+6 = 19

I will next try to intimidate the cultist into telling me how to stop it, since I don't remember jack squat, apparently.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

How do you stop this! Tell me, or so help me Lady Iomedae I shall start disemboweling you with the most blunt rock I can find!

Doran shutters to his feet raising his axe looking to cut low the many cultists that he last remembered just out of his reach. He pivots back and forth inspecting the woods but sees no alive cultist remaining. Doran turns to Cauis.. B0llocks! What the hell happened to me?

Antonio will pin the cultist's arms behind his back while Reiko makes his point.

The cultist quails from your words...he knows the fate of too many of his co-conspirators...Stop it? If...if the ritual is complete...there...there's no stopping it! Really! I swear! But...I never knew...all of the ritual...we just chanted...he...he did it!

A pathetic sight, so recently part of a grisly murder scene, the cultist is cowering like a beaten dog.

Doran waits until he is satisfied that there is no more useful information available from the cultist. He walks up to farmer Gotson and whisper in his ear. Sir, one remains alive the decision is yours if you want this vile creature to serve trial or be dispatched with the rest of them? Please give Doran permission to swing his axe well sortof....

If Farmer Gotson wants the prisoner to be taken back to town and brought up on charges, Doran will honor his wishes helping the others to tie him up and led him back to town once the farmer's family has been buried, and all religious rites have been met.

If Farmer Gotson desires the debt paid with blood, Doran will be a little more creative.
Doran approaches the cowering cultist motioning for the others to back away. He crouches down and whispers a few words into his ear while placing a dagger in his hand.intimidate: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26 Doran makes it very clear to the cultist that he is going to die regardless. But gives him the option to impale himself with the dagger making that seem to be the best way to go. If he refuses Doran will take the knife and thrust it into the cultists side muffling his screams as he slowly dies. its a little sadistic but seems a fitting end for a person who helped murder a innocent family

I am fine with either option. Farmer Gotson, what is your wish?

Give him the same mercy he gave my Edie...

With that said, Farmer Gotson and Miriam both break out in sobs and hold each other tight.

Antonio shakes his head reluctantly.
"Come on now, we have to drag him to the Sheriff! This took organization and right now he's our only link to who else helped do all this."
He points out the tabards we're wearing.
"We're wearing his uniform too."

Doran ignores Antonio's request, and continues with his task, When it is finished. He looks up Antonio as he wipes the blade on the cultists robe. Sheriff said and i quote " try to not kill anybody...atleast...nobody anybody will miss", Hell i don't miss him do you?......I don't want to disturb the town with a murderous cultist in the midst of the festival parading him around town would cause a blind hysteria. This needed to be resolved now, plus it was obvious he was off his rocker he wouldn't been of any help to us and probably even more of a liability. Think with your head kid not your heart... Doran will search the area for any clues that could help make Antonio feel more content about his decision preception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Antonio drops the cultist corpse with disgust.
"I WAS thinking! This guy was a loose thread we COULD have tugged on to unravel their whole organization! YOU need to stop thinking with your damn axe!"
He stomps off looking to see how Miriam was doing.

Doran quickly comes to realize that two are simply sleeping...

I agree with Antonio. We need to take one back to the sheriff, and see what they can tell us about what was going on. We also need to do what ever we can for this poor family. Doran, stay your axe on the ones we left sleeping. But, once we have what we need, I see no reason why we should let them live afterward.

He grimaces in pain, clutching his grievous wound.

Believe me, I want some good old fashioned revenge, too.

Miriam looks pretty miserable...her father is doing his best to console her, but he's pretty miserable himself. He acknowledges your concern with a nod.

Mighty brave, what you did there, son...for my little girl...

Doran notices the two asleep cultists, pointing to Antonio he grabs one and begins to tie him up. HERE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE ONE OR EVEN TWO THERE ARE PLENTY TO GO AROUND

Antonio smiles and tries to comfort the Gotsons as best as he can.
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

When the sleeping ones are pointed out...
"Oh. Ah, sorry Doran, I thought that last guy was the last survivor. Never mind then!"
He will help secure the last of the cultists.

I'm taking Miriam to her aunt's farm, down the road. We can't stay here. Not now. Come on, baby...I have a lot of work to do.

Farmer Gotson gently pulls his daughter away from the scene, and toward the road.

I'll be back soon. You're all welcome to...stay...it looks like there was stew in the pot...plenty of vegetables in the pantry...and storm cellar. I'll...clean up...when I get back.

Please say you'll visit, Antonio...please?

Miriam looks back, still moving, but not quickly.

Antonio waives at Miriam.
"Of course I'll visit Miri!"

He looks around.
"Is there anyone good at tracking around here? I'd love to run down that leader guy."

Reiko watches the farmer depart.

Antonio, I believe the poor girl is quite taken with you. Maybe we should split up. Someone needs to chase down the leader, and we need to get these two men back to the sheriff. Perhaps he knows something we don't. I want to take another look at the stone as well. Perhaps I missed something before. This ritual, whatever it is, must be stopped.

Perception on stone again: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Liandoli takes out a dagger and cuts two lengths of rope. "Those men will not be asleep for much longer."

Reiko goes back to the stone.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 To see if Reiko can figure out a way to stop it, or find out what it's doing.

Quickly, the sleepers are trussed up...they come to as you work on them, but prove to be no trouble.

Farmer Gotson will be gone for some time...time can be condensed, if that's the consensus. Feel free to RP as desired. ;)

Antonio, you said there was blood on the stone earlier? There is none now. What in the nine hells is this thing!?

"Oh yeah. When I got to the stone, the leader guy had cut her (sloppily) so she was bleeding just a little. The guy ran off right before I got there shouting something like 'You're too late! Blood has been drawn!' or some such."
He frowned in thought.
"The really wierd thing is when I pulled Miri off the rock, I saw her blood on the stone bubbling, the green glow get brighter, then the blood was gone. I know, wierd."

Strange... First that, and now it seems like the stone is... Calling something. And it's waiting for an answer. If I could read the runes, I might know what it's calling.

Liandoli walks over to Reiko. "Perhaps I can be of assistance." She casts detect magic.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Reiko casts Detect Magic, and uses knowledge: arcane to determine a way to stop the stone's spell.

Knowledge Arcane: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Reiko, see my response to Liandoli...as to stopping it...*shrug*.

Reiko looks at Liandoli, and smiles grimly.

I'm afraid I'm at a loss as to what to do to stop this, my lady. Your skill in the arcane arts is quite apparent, so perhaps the two of us can work together. Is there a library here? Perhaps the two of us can do some research, maybe we can figure out how to read these runes?

He bows politely as he speaks.

I don't like the sounds of all of this, and I doubt the two we captured will be much more useful then the last. I think we need to find the leader. He was running, and carrying a bloody knife. How hard could it be to track him? Cauis begins to look around the stone in the direction the leader ran off in.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14 perception to find the beginnings of his trail.

Doran nods in agreement at cauis' statement and starts looking around the area as well. preception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 if you want to transport those two by all means I wont stop you, but without the leader the followers mean nothing. Hes the real priority, he will hsve the answers about the stone at the very least

You are right. The leader is the most important. Perhaps we should split up, and someone warn the sheriff and take these lowlifes to him, and the rest track their vile leader?

The beginning of the trail is quickly found... Survival, to follow it?

Do keep in mind that the sun is down.

Doran will light one of the torches from his bag and attempt to follow the trail survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

You follow the tracks through the woods for a little while...then find a big animal skull headdress...likely a deer, with the antlers...and a simple robe...then the tracks double back, heading for the road...

If he's gone to the road, tracking will be virtually impossible.