Maudie bows her head low a few times, and in a crackling voice, replies to the guard, "Oh sir, forgive old Maudie, but we was told to come up here."
She leans in and whispers, "Now you didn't hear from me, but the young handsome Captain heard things about them - missing silverware and candlesticks, I think it was. Them servants, well, the Captain has had eyes on them, yessir. Those rascals weren't even the ones supposed to come up here during the mass neither. They just did it on their own! So like I be saying, you didn't hear from me, but some people don't trust them cleaning the Lord's chamber!"
She stands back up, "Maybe you two will show us in so we can ask who told them to come up here? Want to make sure good Lord Havelyn still has all his small clothes and silver!"
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Lord Havelyn's chambers in a 5ft grid
Ae = Aerent, Or = Oret,
G1/G2 = Guard1/Guard2,
S1/S2 = Servant1/Servant2
Guard1, the rude one, looks at you in a funny way, trying to determine the truth of your words.
And of course he believes every word of it.
He suddenly decides to take his responsibility : "right! Wouldn't want to have Lord Havelyn robbed on our watch. In fact, not at all... You ladies wait here for a moment." and as he turns to his colleague, he continues: "Jonas, you put the big one in a chair, I'll grab the blonde."
The guards open the doors, and Jonas moves rather forcibly puts a plump servant into the chair at E2.
The 'rude' guard runs to grab the blonde servant who's working in Lord Havelyn's bedroom -by far the prettier of the two- and puts her in the chair at D2.
Guard1 then calls to Aerent and Oret to enter, and moves to D1, behind the servants who are looking very flustered and stunned. As soon as you two enter H3, Jonas moves from E1 to H3 to block the exit.
Looking at the guard moving to the door (Jonas), Maudie grins at the guard, "Nicely done, young man."
Reaching back over her shoulder, she apparently pulls a trident out of thin air, and gripping it in both hands, thrusts it toward the unsuspecting guard!
Oret moves quickly to silence the second guard, then directs a second attack at the blonde servant.
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If you have brought some personal items from the site of their self-inflicted accident, (such as the officer's emblems from their uniforms) and used those in your disguise, you'd get a bonus on your disguise roll.
Hmm, while we're on the subject of taking stuff from the dead captains; is it just me, or did you honestly forget looting them? I'll be happy to retro-hack this once, but the next time you'll have to walk back and get it :) perhaps the captain's loot should go in the discussion thread...
the blonde girl watches from her chair, as the soldier who manhandled her friend into a chair is brutally slain by some servant they've never seen before.
To her horror, an unknown 'handicapped girl' then runs at the other guard and punches him so hard on the throat that his bones break - but somehow he remains standing.
Who are these servants? What could possess them to do these terrible things?!
But Oret doesn't give her much time for contemplation, because her friend's neck is snapped in two right before her eyes, and wide-eyed, she starts trembling and screaming her head off, while her mind breaks down in shock.
one round later
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A few seconds later, muffled shouts sound below. Apparently, the screaming wench and the shouting guard have roused more guards. But, given the distance, it'll take them some time to arrive upstairs.
voice 2:"let's kick them off. I'll call for backup, then come up."
voice 1:"Right, but be quick!"
The sunday service has *not started yet*. Cala and Sindran are just outside the church with Father Donnagin.
Father D is near the doors, waiting for the last few to enter the church so he can start.
And in the mean time, Aerent and Oret are on the top floor of the keep, fighting some soldiers.
Oret moves once more, his fists a blur, finishing off the guard and the second servant.
Timaeus idles outside, leaning against the wall. He watches Father Donnagin and the crowd with attention.
Aerent quickly shifts his form to match that of the guard who just died.
Looking to Oret, "I doubt their screams went unnoticed. Want to have a bit more fun?" he says with a grin.
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As Oret efficiently silences the guard and the servant in a single blow, he turns to see the recently diseased guard risen once more - until Aerent winks and speaks.
Disguise: 1d20 + 9 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 10 = 39
moments later, 4 guards come running up the stairs, two of them carrying shield and sword at the ready, the other two with halberds. You recognize them as the guards from the 2 floors below.
As they reach the top floor, they take a moment to catch their breath, as the first guard motions to Aerent he understands the need for silence. He gestures quickly to the door, looking at you expectantly ().
meanwhile, in the garden, outside church...
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...Father Donnagin is closing the doors, waiting for the last few faithful to enter the church.
The great open hall is the center of Sarenraean worship in town. Its vault ceilings soar rising 25 feet. Around the edge of the celing are statues of nine saints of the sarenraen faith, all of them in a pose of singing joyous hymns in praise of the Shining Lady. At the far side of the hall is a great altar, upon which are carved various banal platitudes, which apparently these sheep find comforting. The benches are almost full with citizens and nobility alike, anticipating a morning of joyous hymnes and depressing psalms in praise of Sarenrae.
You're given no time to enjoy the scenery though, because within mere seconds after you enter the church, you feel a strong otherworldly entity, resisting against your presence. What the hell is this menace? Is Sarenrae taking a personal interest?! It's strong though...
if you fail the save, father Donnagin looks at you in sincere surprise: "are you unwell, child?"
Timaeus pauses in mid-stride when he takes a few steps from the door, assaulted by a mental presence.
He closes his eyes and does no more than a brief shake in the head to clear his mind, taking a deep breath before continuing to stay close to Lisandra and Father Donnagin. The distraction leaves him inattentive for the few moments.
Will
Surprised at the onslaught, Talon puts a hand to his head as if he can feel the voices "Yes...yes I'm fine. A bad headache is all"
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"A headache? the celebration will surely alleviate things; and if not, come to me after the service, and I'll get rid of that nuisance for you." the good father offers to Talon.
"Now, please seat yourselves, we should start."
And start, he does...
"Imagine a group of lanterns hanging in the dark... all of their lights are out, except one. That one light is no ordinary light; it is THE Light. Sarenrae is the Light and She has overcome. The lanterns with no light are representations of the state of this generation; lost and in darkness..." is that a reference to the missing captains and their adulterous escapades?
"but even the smallest amount of light will always pierce the greatest darkness. Like a ripple effect, Her light will illuminate the surrounding lanterns." Is he looking at Sindran? at Talon?
"A lantern containing her Light is within your reach. Take hold of it. Protect it. Fight for it. Forge a path into the darkness that intends to destroy you. " Yes, he is definitely looking directly at you; the voices reach a climax - and you should roll another will save vs. DC13 (Talon, DC14 for you, you missed the first one and it gets increasingly more difficult to resist!)
"You are an overcomer... and let the one, true Light restore your hope and lead you home. Let us join in song and celebration with hymne 114."
At times, it's hard to tell if listening to the shouting voices in your head is worse or better than the sermon; at least they give you some distraction.
The only variation in the preachings, are the songs; they are full of hope, and joy, and love, and, obviously, light; but the reason you enjoy them so much, is because the voices in your head stop shouting at you, and join in the singing. At times, the beautiful, hypnotizing sound of the archons is even enough to drown out the lamentations of the talentless citizens, who seem to think 'louder' is 'better'.
After close to two hours, at long last, the service is over, but the mental exhaustion is taking it's toll on you.
singing, the acolytes walk around the sides of the hall, spreading their sickeningly sweet myrr from the incense burners held in their hands, and they open the front door of the church. The congregation slowly gets up, and chatting happily, leave the church hall. They appear to have forgotten their missing captains, at least for the moment.
Father Donnagin is still chatting with some of his flock, but the church is soon nearly empty. He sees Sindran and Talon still lounging near the back, but then he beckons you to come to the altar, and he asks one of his acolytes to go below.
When Donnagin looks at him, Timaeus feigns attention even as he struggles to keep a frown off his face. The moment he diverts his focus, the voices return in explosive volume, forcing him to clench his eyes and look down, perhaps looking to others as shamed when he's trying to block out the voices.
As the service progresses, Timaeus begins to tire but it only seems to bolster his resistance, the man thriving under pressure.
Finally, it is over and he spends some time resting after all the inescapable singing. When Father Donnagin beckons for him, he approaches.
"That was an excellent service, Father," Timaeus lies through his teeth, a smile on his face.
Will
After the initial shock Talon focuses on his meditation techniques and calms his mind, weathering the onslaught. As it concludes he walks up with Sindran "Yes, it was. And you're right, my head feels much better"
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thanks!
The acolyte comes back up the stairway, and gives two items to father donnagin while he's talking to you.
"see? Sarenrae does that to people." father donnagin smiles at Talon, tucking the healing potion the acolyte just brought for was about to give you back in his pocket.
"and here's that assistance you wanted, son. I trust you will be back later today with that offering we discussed." Sindran gets a wand of cure light wounds with 10d4+10 charges left! Oh, and, the good father asks you please pay a suitable amount you can afford, but you can come back later today for that.
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Oret, finally able to have blood on his hands once more, grins evilly. "Unless you've some other plan, I'll take on anyone foolish enough to enter this room. You just make sure they don't run."
With that, he walks to the center of the room and plants his feet firmly on the ground. He loosens his upper body, working the kinks out of his neck and shoulders, then shifts his appearance to that of a masked assassin, dressed all in black, unarmed and unarmored. This wouldn't be nearly as fun if they were scared to approach...
"My thanks, Father," Timaeus says, blocking out another attempt at his mind with ease. "I was not expecting you to be be able to provide so quickly. You must have had it in store." The comment is a passing one, simply a statement of observation. "I will of course return later with the offering. Will you be in Church? I hope the guard will let me through this time."
Will
Glancing toward the tower, Caladwhen glares intently, though she passes it off as though she is glaring due to the sunlight.
Lars, I'll need you to investigate that commotion. After the service has ended, report to me what you have discovered.
Entering the church at the back, Caladwhen is immediately set back by the protective forces there.
Unprepared for the mental assault, Caladwhen steps backward, wincing and placing her hand over her eyes. Recollecting herself as quickly as possible, Caladwhen looks to one of the acolytes not yet in the church
"Send my regrets to Father Donnagin, I won't be at mass today. I'm, ah..." thinking quickly on her feet, Caladwhen puts forth the one excuse no man, including Father Donnagin would ever question "just tell him I'm off with some, well... feminine related cramping." Heading off while gripping her abdomen as though in discomfort, Caladwhen rolls her eyes and quietly curses herself for not being better prepared and providing such abjurations.
Realizing she is free of the mass though, Caladwhen contacts her familiar Lars, never mind... I'm not attending mass now. You had something to report to me; now's the time.
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Confident their plan will succeed, the first guard signals Aerent to open the door, counting down on his fingers. in 3...2...1...*nod*!!
The door opens quickly, and the men charge two steps forward as Aerent closes the door behind them.
Then, seeing Oret's black shadow just standing there, hands lowered, surrounded in surreal light from the light of the western window; the leading guard raises a fist, and the men immediately slow down.
Step by step they approach, as the leading guard commands:
"Well now son - we don't want any trouble."
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Oh - and almost as an aside - the wizard has a vaguely humanoid-shaped clump of ice on a slab in his laboratory, but it isn't melting. Can you guess what it is?
Aerent smiles in appreciation as he sees Oret standing amidst the guards.
The faux-guard takes a 5' step forward and swings at the man in front of him , saying, "Sarge, don't listen! He's in on it, they all are - it's just you and me!"
Oret bursts into action. His fists are a mere blur of motion as they tear through armor and flesh.
"Now I can kill him."
"This fortress must be prepared, you see; and while the Sarenrae may save the minds of the soldiers, during times of strife, their bodies need mending as well."
"That makes much sense. The Church then serves as a kind of infirmary, I suppose?"
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Even being careful like they did, the guards are overwhelmed by Oret's spontaneous outburst. Guard2 is killed in two hard blows, and Guard4 yells in pain as his shield arm now points in an odd direction.
"hey - YEOOWW!"
Guard3 never new what hit him - but it will take Aerent some time to clean the bits of face off the trident.
"what the - huh?! Wow, thanks - Now let's get him!!"
The brave Sarge uses his halberd to trip Oret: but he's too confused, and Oret is too quick.
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"The Church then serves as a kind of infirmary, I suppose?"
"only for the worst cases. When the wounded come in, they first go below, in the barracks." He laughs, "but you needn't worry, my friend; it's been more than a hundred years since evil beings last attempted to break the wall - and now we even have the dwarven siegeworks to protect us. No, we are quite safe here. Heheh."
You can't help but think that he should tell that to the voices in your head. They are absolutely relentless, and their buzzing gradually becomes increasingly annoying and deafening. "repent! sinner! depart! evil! "
Them odds be nice
Timaeus nods, managing to catch the priest's words through the relentless chorus of voices in his head. Exhaustion catching up to him and he seems to be in pain before he gets ahold of himself. "I'm afraid I'll have to go. Thank you again. I will return later."
With that, Timaeus bows and goes to leave the Church.
Oret continues his assault against the guards.
As they leave the church Talon puts his hands on his hips and breathes deeply, then looks at Sindran and whispers "Well I don't know about you but that made me feel so bloody awful that I'm going to go hunting. I just...have to kill something right now. Join me if you wish"
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Poor sarge. May he rest in peace.
Talon and Sindran are two hours ahead of Aerent and Oret - you can't team up. What would you like to do?
Caladwhen, however, didn't go to mass. You're in sync with Aerent and Oret. You could go into the tower and help your mates - I'm sure you saw them enter, so you'd know where they are without need for metagaming. Long story short, the same question for you: what would you like to do?
Looking at the wand closely, Caladwhen marvels at the craftsmanship and smiles lightly to herself. Poor Magister, I should've thought you wiser than to leave such a treasure lying about.
"Good work Lars, this will serve me nicely... and has cost the Magister dearly."
Attention turned towards the Keep, Caladwhen decides to make productive use of her time.
"Lars, fly ahead. Let Talon and Aerent know I'm coming. I'd like to see what the Magister has in his lab for myself."
Long story short, the same question for you: what would you like to do?
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Lars quickly flies into the tower. Seeing niether guards nor trouble, he continues up the stairwell, to finally land on the sargeant's corpse, and starts casually eating his eyes.
"Oooh, eyes... <slobber, suckle> mmhm-mmhmm-MMHM! delicious. Aerent, *caw* you really must restrain yourself when you use that peasant's pitchfork - you completely ruined the other one's eyes. Shameful, really. Oh - you should know that your superior will be arriving soon : Lady Caladwhen is currently climbing the stairs."
Aerent stares at the crow, then smiles, "Good, she'll enjoy this."
Looking at Oret, Aerent muses, "Maybe Cala can raise these guys and hide them inside the good Lord's bedchamber and order them to attack anybody that comes into the room. Just a thought..."
As he watches Lars eat the guard's eye, another thought strikes him. "Or better yet... maybe we should send this group into the rookery to try and destroy the birds in there! The wounds from the birds would help hide the damage we did, and the other guards would have a mystery on their hands, not a simple murder."
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47. Lord's Private Chamber
This plainly furnished room is the residence of the commander of the watchtower, Lord Thomas Havelyn, Knight of the Alerion, protector of Aldencross.
yah.
Thomas’ chamber is as much a shrine as it is bedchamber. There is an oil portrait of the lady Bronwyn of Havelyn. The painting shows the most beautiful woman any of you have ever seen - and I'm not just spraying superlatives. You can tell the portrait does not even do her justice.
The portrait is surrounded by carefully tended candles. The scene suggests that Thomas, When not on duty, is often here communing with the picture of his dead wife.
And there's an ornate Bible of the House of Havelyn on the bedside table.
46. Lord's Council Chambers.
although currently full of dead people.
Lord Havelyn’s personal banner hangs on the western wall – a Mitran sun crossed by sword and key.
Pushed into the NW corner of the room is a large stout chest of oak banded with iron.
45. Guest Room
This small but comfortable bedroom is where official visitors are housed. It is well furnished but empty of anything of great note or value.
I'd like to know if you're going to do anything with the bodies - leave 'em where they lie, or do something to incriminate / confuse? lots of good ideas flying around, would be a shame to waste them.