The Viridian Castle

Game Master Kristev

"Maybe we should go around town, ask around and see if trouble comes to us?"

Anyone with knowledge local could make a gather information check I guess.

"I like the idea of asking some questions at the hospital. Marlin talked about 'revenge from the sea'. The castle people have been selecting people through the hospital, among other places. Matty wanted the cup to try undergo some kind of anthropomorphosis which went badly wrong (doesn't have the right genetic profile). I have a theory that at the Viridian Castle, people are being morphed in to some kind of aquatic Uruk-Hai to exact 'revenge from the sea'."

I will make a K(Local) check to walk around town and ask around to see what we can find out about poisonings or new servant hires

K(Local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

No wonder my rolls in other PBP games are awful, I'm using all the good ones here...

Yeah your stat rolls in my game weren't too good. You got decent hp though/

I know i set my alias that time. what's wrong with paizo?

So I see.

You remember that you overheard a couple of woman talking in Red Letter Night's in-house case. They were discussing an article in today's newspaper. Something about a poisoning at the St. Claire house.

Remembering he had overheard something about a poisoning at the St. Claire house, Alfred suggests heading there to investigate.

"Thinking it over, I suggest we go to the St. Claire house. Some one was mentioning there had been a poisoning there, and we should investigate and see if it can lead us to DR. Blumenthal."

"That's an interesting lead. Krastov also shares out the gold that he made from selling the pistol. 125gp each

"That sounds as good a route as any, all paths may very well lead to the same destiny"

Luckily for you, the row of houses here in Pelican Bay belong to vain wealthy people who want everyone to know who they are.

Finding the St. Claire house is easy enough. For one thing, it's the house that has Sheriff Brady and a couple of her cops (blokes you've seen before) investigating on the grounds.

There is also Father Myrrath, consoling Lady St. Claire outside on the gazebo in the garden.

And now I'm going to throw in a twist. Here comes a dwarven woman Alfred and Zacariah recognize to be Dr. Mengoak. She's also entering the St. Claire estate with the escort of an elvish policeman.

Seeing all this, Alfred will go up to the gate of the estate and shout to Sheriff Brady,

"Sheriff, could I have a quick word with you?"

As he does this Alfred will make sure not to enter the grounds or in anyway seem to press into the area marked as a crime zone.

Cathran wanders over to Alfred.

"I wonder if she'd let me have a look later at that cup from Ginny's. I'd like to have a go reading the magic inscription. Also, didn't you think it a bit strange the way Yellow reacted? He seemed genuinely surprised to hear of Ginny's death. Maybe he actually thought he was being betrayed. The girl never saw Yellow shooting Ginny. Maybe she was shot in the back by Matty so he could give Yellow the deeds in exchange for that strange cup? I wonder what the ballistics report says (if there's one)."

Sheriff Brady approaches Alfred and Cathran, pleased to see you both.

"You people are getting so efficient I may just draft you," she says with a smile, resting her arms on the fence. "What can I do for you? Lord St. Claire was poisoned last night, but Dr. Heeger, the hospital's best doctor, can't determine what kind of poison was used. So I brought in a real expert, Dr. Mengoak."

Well then, we should get the good doctor to a the body as soon as we can then. Onward."

"She's already here," Sheriff Brady replied. "My men brought her in just a minute ago. But you know what, if you guys want to help, you can track down Dr. Blumenthal for me.
"According to Lady St. Claire, Dr. Blumenthal brought their son home. He was obviously high on some type of substance Dr. Blumenthal had a treatment for, so they let him stay the night to watch over the son.
"And in the morning, the son was healed, but Lord St. Claire was dead and Dr. Blumenthal was missing. And here's the part I haven't told anyone yet. Grand Dame St. Claire, Lord St. Claire's mother, looks an awful lot like Matty now. Same kind of chalice, too.
"So, I will give you access to the cup. I'd like you to look into who made, or imported, these killer cups and how they came to be in the possession of at least two men who escaped from jail. Can you do that? And if you'd like to find Dr. Blumenthal, he once was found to have a secret lair in the university's underground catacombs. That's been shuttered and boarded up a long time ago, but he may have returned to it."

"I would like to examine the cup." If he is allowed the cup he will study it with detect magic.

Sheriff Brady removes a sealed evidence bag and passes it to the party. It has the cup inside, exactly like the one Matty had.

And Krastov, you find no magic in it.

Don't give up. Not everything is a spell. There actually is something to this.

Cathran examines the cup for any apparent or disguised magical symbols with Read Magic.

She gives it a further examination trying to recognise anything about the cup which she remembers from her knowledge of arcana and religion.

Knowledge(Arcana): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

You notice something that seems religious, but you can't quite catch it. This cup hasn't any typical arcane use.

Read Magic reveals nothing.

While she's at it ...

Appraise: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"Perhaps it was poisoned. I will have to wait till tomorrow and ask for poison detecting guidance from my god. Let's see what else we can find out about it." Krastov investigates and attempts to gather information around town about this cup and others like it.
diplomacy to gather information: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

I'm so sorry. 10's not enough.

Sensing the religious connection, she tries again.

Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

you can't just try again like that with knowledges. Other people can though. Let me.
religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

At 21, you just happen to catch the eye of Dr. Mengoak. She sees you, Krastov, and comes to look at the cup. It's the Gather Information roll.

The female dwarf smiles when she sees the cup.

"So that's how the poison was administered. Notice, there's a gem missing from the sequence. See, this is designed so that a chemical, if it is fashioned to look like a gem and fit into the cup, is released into the cup when it's got enough liquid in it. It just dissolves into what you're drinking and you probably don't even notice."

She pushes through the gap with her finger, revealing the non-magical triggering mechanism.

"It's an ingenious way to deliver poison. Hello. I forgot to introduce myself. Dr. Barbara Mengoak, marine biologist and novelist extraordinaire. Oh yes, you're the man who saved me from that ruffian the other day. How do you do?" she asks to Zacariah.

When a suitable opportunity arises, Cathran will ask:

"Can you tell us anything about the poison: if not the exact substance then, from the effects, the general family of poisons it might belong to?"

"It was just an accelerated form of puffer-fish venom. Really sped up. But it's not contagious and it wasn't long-lasting. There's nothing left to fear."

Then she smiles.

Okay, I wrote this wrong. Let me fix it. You may always make a sense motive check. It's just that if you read her books, you get a +10 to the roll.

I'm going to attempt a knowledge religion check on the cup

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

No. Nothing you can pick up on, either.

"It would appear that the ocean has something to do with all of this. Maybe once we are done here a stake out on the beach may be necessary."

"The ocean won't help you find Dr. Blumenthal," Dr. Mengoak indicates. "He's the one who did this, obviously."

Cathran can't think of a single book of Dr Mengoak's she's read but finds something impalpably strange about her manner.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

"Of course tracking down the one who did this is important, however once our business is complete we may wish to investigate the source of this. There are larger forces at play here."

sense motive take ten: 10 + 7 = 17

if no take ten: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

This entire time Alfred has been quiet, content to let the others do the talking, though he is wondering about Dr. Mengoak.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 10 = 20

Good things I've read a book of hers before

Alfred remembers this. It's a scene right out of one of her own works, "The Toothy Grin," about a killer shark that enters a fishing village and won't go away.

In that scene, the marine biologist was talking to the police chief and the mayor. He was telling the truth about how someone actually died, in this case, Grand Dame St. Claire really was killed by puffer-fish venom, but was deliberately leaving out crucial information about the second death because he wanted to protect the shark from hunters by making people think it wasn't that dangerous. The reason was that the scientist wanted to study the shark, because it was a rare shark that had no business in the waters it was in, and was behaving atypically.

Of course, in that novel, the biologist is exposed by the town's other marine biologist, a woman who worked at the aquatic park (like Sea World) and was far more willing to be honest about what the shark was and what it could do once she got access to one of the shark's humanoid victims. (Marine biologists can learn a great deal about a shark by looking at bite patterns on victims.) Naturally she told the police chief what kind of a shark they were really dealing with and how deadly it really was once she'd studied the victim.

And, of course, the crooked biologist met his end in that novel by trying to go into the water with the shark alone and not lasting long after he accidentally cut himself.

"Dr. Mengoak, what aren't you telling us? What is it you want to keep studying so badly that you won't tell us the entire story?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Oh boy there's the bad roll...

"It's Dr. Blumenthal. I'm afraid of what he might do to me if I get too involved."

Alfred, you may roll to recognize this scene, too. :)

Again then, Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 10 = 23

You know this scene, too, from "Operation Razortooth," about an army that used scientists to turn piranha into super-killers that could live in fresh and salt water, only to have the piranhas evolve before the scientists could stop them. Then they went on a flying killing spree . . .

The only scientist on the project who survived, largely by not being at the compound when the others were because she knew what was happening (and Dr. Mengoak never quite makes clear if she merely foresaw the evolving of the piranha or caused it on purpose without warning anyone) later tells the heroine of the novel, who challenges her and asks her if she's covering up, that she's afraid of what the army will do to her if she comes forward.

But, of course, as it turns out, she's not afraid. She's an army official's wife, just as in on the project as he is. The conversation, as you remember it, between the heroine and the doctor went like this:

Dr. Tronsam looks at the map alongside Mister Roark, Missus Roark, and the soldiers.

"There is still no hard, factual evidence that the piranha can fly, Mister Roark. The barrier the army has put up should contain them quite well. Then Dr. Tronsam leaves, going to the part of the compound that had been prepared for her and, now that she was here, Missus Roarke.
Not at all satisfied by Dr. Tronsam's answers and quick dismissal, Heather Roarke followed her into the women's section of the compound and found Dr. Tronsam taking off her high heeled shoes to begin going to bed.
"You know as well as anyone that the piranha can fly! Why would you tell the army that?" Heather challenged.
Dr. Tronsam looked up at her.
"We're not going to enjoy being bunkmates after all, are we?"
"Answer my question, Doctor . . ."
"Carolyn, please," Dr. Tronsom requested.
"Carolyn." Heather sat down on her own bed, immediately opposite from Carolyn Tronsam's. "But really, my husband is right. The piranha won't leave the barrier until someone comes near, but this is a popular trail. Someone's going to come near and once they do, the piranha will start flying again instead of staying in the river. We're so close to the beach now . . ."
"Why should it worry you? Piranha cannot survive in salt water."
"We know what Doctor Barnes and his team were into, what they'd done. I'd seen reports on the table, including a review by you, that they survived salt water immersion, so why would you tell me that . . ." Then a lightbulb went off in Heather's head and she leaned forward, staring at Dr. Tronsam. "You're covering up, aren't you? Why would you do that when you know what these things can do?"
Dr. Tronsam sighed and looked Heather in the eye, then began to cry.
"The piranha can do more than fly, my dear. They're nowhere near finished evolving yet."
"Then you have to tell some . . ."
"I can't! If I tell anyone what I know about Dan's project, the army will turn on me! You've seen what they can do! What are flying piranha compared to men like that?"
"Dan? Doctor Barnes?" Heather asked.
"The love of my life," Dr. Tronsom said, glad of the reprieve and the chance to deflect Heather's interrogation. "How ever did you meet Mister Roark, anyway?"

Okay, well I'm gonna go with Dr. Mengoak and Dr. Blumenthal have a thing, if that's incorrect then oh well

"In all honesty, being afraid of Dr. Blumenthal should be secondary here compared to being afraid of what will happen if this situation escalates. Tell us what you know and we will protect you"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

If I need to make another sense motive check here it is to speed things up Sense Motive: 1d20 + 5 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 10 = 23

"It's the she-orc at the Viridian Castle," she admits with a worried sigh. "She's doing weird experiments and making monsters. What she's doing to those poor little creatures!
"I've seen the evidence in the bodies of some of these mutated corpses. It would take me hours explain my findings in detail, but yes. She's a biomancer in the Viridian Castle and you have to stop her. That's as much as I dare say.
"And if you want to find Ezra Blumenthal, he's at the public beach."

And with that, Dr. Mengoak flees back into the estate.

"Okay then, well off to the beach I guess to catch Bluementhal"

"On the way, I'd like to stop by Gifts From The Sea and spend some loot."

"I knew it was the ocean. We must make Haste, do not tarry too long with your purchases Cathran."

"Fear not, Zacariah: I'm sure Gifts From The Sea - like many boutiques these days - has chairs on the shop floor for the men to sit while the women buy things."

I want to get some +AC before we next see action. If time is of the essence, it can wait.

Zacariah shrugs and quietly follows.

I don't know if there is any actual time crunch but I felt like Zacariah would want to get this over with as soon as possible.

You guys get to Gifts From the Sea.

It's quite a place. It has fishing nets all over the walls, and the stuffed bodies of all kinds of fish. It also has broken pieces of boats all over the walls.

And what wonders. It stocks some mundane things, after all, it is a store. But what it really sells is unusual and magic items. It's an import store, basically. If it's ocean-related, you can buy it here. If it's a magic item, you might find it here.

But yes, you can get wands of low level spells here, and you can get the kind of armor Cathran is looking for.

And while you are shopping, you hear the employees groan.

"Watch your back, Tilly. Here she comes again," the male clerk complains. He was actually very busy at the moment, washing down his register with a rag and some cleaner in the downtime between people to ring up.

"She's not a customer, she's a cost-umer! Why can't we just ban her?" Tilly complains. She's busy working too, at the service desk, sorting out the returns so that they can go back to their proper departments, almost to the point she's buried in them.

"Big Boss safe in his upstairs office said we have to make the curse-tomers feel welcome. All of them. Even when they are liars and thieves."

"But she's a scammer! She's ripped us off at least a dozen times, Max!"

"I know it, Tilly, but she's also quick to fill out complaint forms. You know Big Boss. He always reads the complaint forms but can't be bothered to ask the context."

Another woman employee, the janitor, emerges from the bathroom that she's just cleaned, carrying her mop. Then she sees the woman the hard-working staff are all complaining about.

"Well, there goes this week's profits. Why doesn't Big Boss ever get upset about that?" the janitor asks.

"He does," Tilly replied, "with us. As if it's our fault his refusal to require receipts for returns and whatnot, and bending over backwards for people like her causes the store to need loans from the bank! And you wait until he installs that self-checkout, Max!"

"Not only will it cut my hours so I can't make my rent, he's practically begging to be scammed with it," Max added.

And here she is. She has an entire cart full of merchandise, and a laundry list of complaints with it. Tilly sighs, knowing that half of this stuff won't even register in her computer, meaning it didn't come from here. But she'll demand a refund on it anyway.
What the woman does not have is a receipt to prove she paid for any of this stuff.

As for who this woman is, who could she possibly be? Why it's Penny Pincher!

Zacariah will approach up just behind her.

stealth take ten: 10 + 7 = 17

"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM, YOU'VE VIOLATED THE LAW"

trip flurry : 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
trip flurry: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

if a flurry is not allowed then treat as a grapple attempt with a +3 bonus. If the first trip succeeds treat the second attack as an unarmed strike attack 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Well that's convenient

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Alfred will delay until Zacariah moves forward, follow him and stay about 25 feet behind him then, start up his inspire courage bardic performance.

Take 10 Stealth: 10 + 13 = 23

If you are within 30 feet you get a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls