The Last Breaths of Ashenport

Game Master FabesMinis

"We must remember where we are here and not to reveal our plan..." Grafire's eyes dart around the room. "There could be listeners..."

Akahale's eyes roll with mutual paranoia. "Wisely spoken Grafire. Let us leave."

So, Extended Rest at the Inn? In your rooms I assume?

Room. We had to share, to Akahale's disgust. But yes, extended rest.

Extended rest in the front room.

"ZZZzzzz,..."

In the front room, under IT's watchful eyes.

Seram dream of fighting an army of fishmen. But it quickly ends as with one blow he lops of their heads...

Rowan briefly prays for guidance before turning in.
"So who's keeping watch?" he asks and then notices everyone is asleep.
"Dumb question," Rowan sighs.

Akahale snuffles back to wakefulness at Rowan's words.

"I shall join you in watching for abominations," he whispers gleefully.

Akahale snuffles back to wakefulness at Rowan's words.

"I shall join you in watching for abominations," he whispers gleefully.

"Well at least we'll have to wait for when the tides go out before heading back down there, whenever that is," Rowan sighs as he settles to keep watch until relieved.

Day 2, roughly 10am

You have all now had an Extended Rest and are in the Common Room of the Smooth Sailing.

It is morning. Or at least, you think it is, for it is almost as black as night outside. Storm clouds still lour over the town.

Manny stretches and yawns, his back and joints audibly popping as he crawls towards wakefulness.

"Aw man,..." He whines as he looks outside. "Someone forgot to light the sun. I ain't doin' it again. I got yelled at last time,..." He grumbles as he stumbles towards the kitchen, scratching at his back.

Waking shortly after Manny, Seram also heads down his stomach craving food as he craves battle.

Akahale greets the new day with a preparatory eye whirl and wonders if he will live to see the end of it. He hopes very much that there will be seafood for breakfast. Kippers are appealing for some reason.

Rowan wakes up in good humour, noticing the ebon blackness doesn't discourage him as he has a full breakfast.
"So does it look like rain any time soon?" he asks Manny.

It observes.

It continues to rain.

Akahale advances cautiously into the dining room, wondering if word has spread of the massacre earlier that morning.

He politely greets any merchants sitting there and does his utmost to look innocuous and enthusiastic about the forthcoming fair.

"I am most anxious to commence commerce."

How are the staff behaving?

There are no staff, no locals (you didn't see any when you got back either). It's as if they all upped and left.

Some of the merchant guards are around, guarding their employers' rooms. No one is dining and Akahale's words peter out to an empty room.

There are no staff, no locals (you didn't see any when you got back either). It's as if they all upped and left.

Some of the merchant guards are around, guarding their employers' rooms. No one is dining and Akahale's words peter out to an empty room.

So what skill do we use to cook our own breakfasts then?

Akahale goes to reassure the guards that they are being guarded from abomination before returning to the kitchen and hunting for kippers with Rowan.

"I propose that we make further exploration of the village this morning. The disappearance of the local population is perturbing for many possible reasons," he muses.

"Mumble, grumble...darn stinky fishmen..." Grafire rubs his eyes and wanders to the common room. "Well looky at what we have here... Hmmph nothinn at all. All them scaredy cats up and left huh??"

Do we have any knowledge on the tides?

Yessir, we do. Low tide is the evening. Caves only accessible at low tide.

"Hmm, I wonder if there is an alchemist in town? Do any of you recall seeing one? I think it would go a long way if we could pick up a health potion or 2."

Remember folks, you all start the day with 1 action point. Any extra vanish.

"I am unsure of our reception even if an alchemist exists,"

Akahale looks cautiously around the room, and lowers his voice. "We have demolished the village elders and the residents may not see the obvious merit in this course of action. Retaliation is possible."

"Should we be in a position to purchase potions, I would recommend testing them before imbibing. Possibly on Mr Zal who is constitutionally blessed."

"Ah, yes you do have a point. I guess it to be best that we not tempt fate here, as our fate is not our own just yet. Something has this town under its spell... Damn it, I grow tired of these mystical mumbo jumbo powers twisting the minds of the people. I wait in anticipation for tonight." Grafire slams his fist down on the table. The floor boards quake and food crumbs trickle out of the cracks between the table boards and fall silently to the floor.
Grafire stands up from his chair and straightens him self out. His eyes scan across his good friends.
"Bahamut will be by our side as we slay this unearthly beast and send it to the under world were it will lay, trembling in fear and hopes that it will never lay it beastly eyes upon us again. The rules of war state that you never give the enemy a reason to fight. Well this beasty has got a war on its hands and we have a reason. We will bring it ease of suffering and a quick death. We must be precise and strike hard. We be unrelenting. It will beg for us to bring it a quick end and when all is quiet again this town will once again rise from these ashes. The people will rejoice."
Grafire once again takes his seat and quietly ponders different aspects of military might and victorious maneuvers.

"Yeeeaaaah,..." Manny drawls out slowly in response to Grafire's bold declarations. "What he said."

The elderly mage eyes the plate of kippers proudly placed in the center of the table by Akahale with a wary eye and a slightly petulant pout. He picks up a fishie, sniffs it, and cautiously takes a taste. He 'Hmphs' as he chews, raising an eyebrow thoughtfully.

"Not bad." He finally admits, only a little reluctantly. "But it's not what I was hoping for." The wizard looks at the others with wide, innocent eyes. "Is it just me, or does anyone else have a sudden craving for,... squid?" He asks.

Creel appears, looking first of all tired and then outraged, "What in the name of the gods are you all doing?! How can you sit there calmly eating... kippers?!" he cries.

Dabbing at his upper snout with a napkin, Akahale rises and bows politely to Creel.

"In warfare, as in commerce, planning is considered a vital ingredient to success. We will shortly be departing to eradicate the remnants of the cult. Please finish the kippers."

"Yeah, relax Heel! Everything's under control!" Manny says cheerfully as he slaps Creel on the back with a bony arm.

"And they're really not all that bad, with a little mustard,... and a lot of katsup,... noseplugs don't hurt either,..."

"One cannot be expected to eat kippers in an agitated manner. The oils are pervasive." Akahale's eyes light up at the prospect of imparting knowledge of seafood.

Creel goes back to his room, muttering darkly about madmen.

Terza emerges as well and calls down, "Aren't you going to do something? You realise that we could still be in danger from... whatever it is that's going on here."

"Naturally we are doing something."

Akahale looks at his comrades. "I propose that we investigate the deluded Alderman's home and hunt for the missing villagers. If they are innocent, we should offer them refuge and salvation. If not, then swift doom is a suitable recompense."

"Yeah, Good Idea,..." Manny replies solemnly, nodding blankly at Akahale's words. The elder mage's face then lights up with a grin like a kid who just got reminded it's his birthday.

"Oooo! He might have more books!"

"Oooo! He might have more books!"

"They will be evil."

Mandrake the Mad wrote:

"Oooo! He might have more books!"

"They will be evil."

"Undoubtedly," Rowan adds drily.

"But will they be prepared for the elemental force of destruction we know as Manny?" Rowan asks.

Turning to Seram Rowan adds.
"You're the physical force of destruction in case you're wondering."

"So now we hunt down the rest of this settlement before taking on the real nemesis this evening?" he asks curiously.

"But will they be prepared for the elemental force of destruction we know as Manny?" Rowan asks.

Turning to Seram Rowan adds.
"You're the physical force of destruction in case you're wondering."

"Hmph" Manny sticks his tongue out behind Rowan's back.

""Just because I get a little carried away,..." He grumbles to himself. And IT.

"So now we hunt down the rest of this settlement before taking on the real nemesis this evening?" he asks curiously.

"Hmph." Manny repeats, a little bit louder for those who may have missed it the first time.

"Craven cephalopod is probably using the villagers as human shields, counting on our intrinsic goodness and caring for life to protect him from our direct and deadliest assaults." The old man mutters poutily, idly doodling in a puddle of water on the rough-hewn table.

"Our best chance probably lies in a direct assault during daylight hours, while we are not hindered by the darkness. And he IS hopefully hindered by the light." He blinks, and sets up straighter.

"Oooh! Wait!,... That actually made sense!,... No,... Wait! ,... Nope, it's gone,.."

"So we hunt this day for beasties in town. We will find them and we will make them talk or they shall be deliver to their maker."

"It concurs."

"It concurs."

"Or we introduce them to Seram, well the ones who want to actually fight that is..."Rowan adds.

"Still we should find out whats happened to them," Rowan sighs as he finishes his meal and using a napkin cleans his face and hands before standing.

"Let us venture forth. I am invigorated. The kippers were remarkably good."

Anyone got any preferences where we go?

"Let us venture forth. I am invigorated. The kippers were remarkably good."

Anyone got any preferences where we go?

"Can anyone track? Unless these people were teleported from their beds there should be tracks to trail them and I'd suggest seeing what we find outside here first and then head towards the church before deciding where else to go look," Rowan suggest.

Gah, my precious dot be missing!

Seram gives the odd smile as Rowan mentions him.

I shall give a hefty negative modifier to tracking a town of several hundred people on wet cobblestones.

I shall give a hefty negative modifier to tracking a town of several hundred people on wet cobblestones.

The church however would then have lots of muddy footprints fresher than those we made going back in there, however we aren't looking for one but many and that would leave a trace after all, thats a lot of wet people walking around and it would only be a matter of looking for a convenient sized place for them to lurk within, anyway we can use that time to locate what looks like the best house which should be the alderman whilst we're doing so...

Do we know where Alderman Ritter's house is? If so, let's go there. Unless it's miles out of town, it's as good a starting point as any.

My brand of tongue-in-cheek humour doesn't come across well in text form :D Rosey can tell you of this. You have no idea where his house is. I suggest you all go outside and walk around.

Akahale furtively pokes his head around the door, looking for a hidden mob of villagers.

My brand of tongue-in-cheek humour doesn't come across well in text form :D Rosey can tell you of this. You have no idea where his house is. I suggest you all go outside and walk around.

So its pitch dark and the weather looks atrocious so I assume its also raining? Are any of the houses we see on either side locked up or the doors left open?