dm night-shade and friends' Carrion Crown (Inactive)

Game Master MayDay

"I'm sorry, Gilderoy," Toni says. "It's a habit of mine to be rather formal with people. All part of the mercenary job."

Gur and Gabi arrive at the Baily home. The Twins are asleep, it's about 9pm. You can see Mrs. Baily in the light of the living room through the window. If you knock she answers and greets you warmly.

(back at the tavern)

Talon will fix the bartender with a suspicious glare, "If I were to order an ale, would you be serving me somethin' that glows some unnatural color?"

Rasgraton will walk over to the woman with the harrow cards.

Excuse me.His voice deep and slow.Are those Harrow cards? I have never seen then in person before.

Barkeep Bianca: You mean like that blue sh&^ they serve over at the Laughing Weakling? No. You sit down right there in front of me, 'twill be easier for me to keep your mug full...Where are you from, stranger?

The lady pours a thick red ale into a mug for you. The smell of hops fills the bar.

The women speaks with a thick Ustalov-ian accent, full of 'V's and 'ISK's:
Indeed, Rock Man, this is the Deck of Many Things. I do not normally entertain questions about such things, but you are a very interesting creature. Who are you and what is your nature?

Rasgraton sits across from the black haired woman.

I am Rasgraton Cleric of Torag. My race is Oread. I am not surprised you do not recognize my kind we usually live closely with dwarves. When Torag was forging the dwarves on his anvil the raw materials that were left over made the Oread's. That is why we look so much more like stone and why there are so few of us. Please tell me more about this deck of many things. That name sound so familiar...

Barkeep Bianca: You mean like that blue sh&^ they serve over at the Laughing Weakling? No. You sit down right there in front of me, 'twill be easier for me to keep your mug full...Where are you from, stranger?

The lady pours a thick red ale into a mug for you. The smell of hops fills the bar.

I'm not sure of the geography but he'll tell her the name and general direction to the Dwarven stronghold where he grew up

Talon will watch suspiciously as she pulls an ale for him but his expression will turn to rapture after he tastes it, "Ay lass. That's the proper stuff. Send some around to the rest of them."

Wait here. The mysterious women rises and walks behind you. She pulls a curtain closed around the area under the stair well. You are now alone with her in the dark. You smell the sulpher as she strikes a match and lights a candle on the table.
It is interesting to me that you say your race came from the raw materials left over from the forging of dwarves. If that is true than your race is purer than that of the dwarves: unworked, even by the gods. You are made of the stuff that was there before the gods and that which the gods use to make what they make... I will make a deal with you. If you tell me about yourself, your backstory? and then If you answer me one question, I will tell you of my Harrow deck, agreed?

With a warm smile Bianca leaves as instructed, pushing a hard ale into the hands of your friends-in-arms.

Talon will go and join the rest at a table, wiping foam from his moustache, "There's hope for this town after all."

Gil nods as Toni speaks, responding slowly. "Well, thankfully, we're not mercenaries or these days would have turned out much different. And I'm not sure if it would be in a good way."

The young sorcerer heads for the bar and sits down. "I could use something potent."

Bianca hands the tall man a menu with a wink. See previous spoiler for selection. She may also have something 'special' with the proper rpging and diplomacy?

"So did you hear about that one lady to the south? I heard her name was 'Mad Liz'. They said she got pretty angry at the men in the town trying to use her bar as a brothel. Contracted an alchemist and a wizard who mixed her up quite a nasty concoction. Left the men who were causing trouble quite a number of embarrassing issues, really. Made them really no interest to any woman, from brothel or otherwise." He chuckles quietly, winking at the woman.

"I'm not going to get anything like that from drinking your brews, am I? I must maintain my manly figure, after all." It is obvious Gilderoy is trying to recover from shock as best he can, hoping the jittery brew will help him a bit, as well as the jokes and tall tales he's sharing

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Toni nods at the proffered ale. "I'm still quite the mercenary, Gilderoy."

Remember everything im saying here I am making up so you can put a stop to it if need be.

Agreed. The Oread people were there when the dwarves started the search for the sky. Only a few joined in the quest. The rest are arguing about it still. I am the youngest of my race I was reborn a mere 1000 years ago. I was happy spending my time studying history. That is until I met professor Hidemarch. His curiosity about me was infectious and I became curious about the world. It was then I became a cleric of Torag.

@ Gilderoy Mad Liz was my second cousin's brother's uncle's sister on my mother's side, dear Sir.

She places a normal frothy Red Dragon's Ale in front of you, but then she looks left and right warily. Then Bianca leans over the table toward you revealing an ample bossom. From this bossom she pulls a small phile. Uncorking it with her teeth she pours a tiny drop of a greenish liquid into the brew.

***POOF!***

There is a thundercrack and smoke. Sparks fly out of the mug. Then everything is back to normal save the rocking chandelier disturbed by the blast. Your eyebrows are singed.

Drink that, Honey.

If you imbibe the substance roll 1d6. Mozltov.

@ Ras. The mysterious women smiles. You realize it is suddenly very quiet in the room. Rising slowly you peek out from behind the curtain to see where your friends have gone and are astonished! There is nothing beyond the curtain but black empty space. The floor ends here and you peer down into a bottomless abyss. Stars and swirling galaxies can be seen in the sky overhead.

Do not worry, Rock Man. It is only an illusion. The cards make different people see different things. I find it facinating that an Oread is induced to see images of the vast sky and empty space. I wonder if there is not more to your heritage than you know. Are you prepared for my question?

I am intrigued as well. Ask your question. Questions are the doorways to knowlege.

Gilderoy licks his fingertips, using the moistened appendages to stop the singed sensation on his eyebrows, grinning at the theatricality.

"Well, I'll have to remember to be on my best behavior then." He winks and lifts the mug to her before taking a deep swallow.

D6 of Doom: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Talon flashes a dark look towards the bar, "On the other hand, it might be that the town is lost. Good drink shouldn't explode either."

Gilderoy, you Hallucinate. You must play out the hallucination. Afterword you suddenly return to your wits, no apparent secondary side effects. Very good stuff.

When Mrs Baily opens the door she tries to keep back the tears as Gur had asked but it soon becomes all too much again. "I'm sorry <sob> I shouldn't have asked" She trails off into more sobs.

Mrs Baily: Gabriela dear, what on earth is the matter?

Ras
Very well, Rock Man. She hands you the deck. You may fan out the cards and look at them. They are quite harmless when handled that way. So long as you do not remove one of them from the rest of the deck. Now my question. Look through the cards. Which of these cards speaks to your heart? Which of them calls to you? When (if) you fan through the cards you do indeed hear whispers in your head. Each card seems to have it's own voice meshing in to a concophony of suggestions and declarative statements. Angry cards, beautiful cards, lustful cards. you see:

2d20 ⇒ (1, 9) = 10 +3; +7
As the deck is fanned Gilderoy (when his trip finally stops) senses a powerful arcane presence in the inn. It is not an alarming presence, more of that strange curiosity that comes when you see something powerful, like a comet or a volcanoe...He knows it's coming from behind the curtain! But cant sense anything beyond that.

Toni downs her ale pensively. "I hope Gabbi's getting along alright. She's been through a lot today."

Gur looks down on the poor woman as the girl breaks down in wracking sobs."What the girl is trying to say is that your husband died bravely trying to defend Lola's final rest. I swear to you, we will slay the bastards responsible. You have my word."

Wha- What? No, no, that can't be...it's
Mrs. Baily looks upstairs to where her twins are reading stories, getting ready for bed. Who would break the news to them you wonder.

What do you mean he's dead?? but i just...how can it be?? How did this happen?

"It should be you who tells them. They will need their mother more than ever now."

No no, you don't understand...how can he be dead??? My husband can't be dead. HE'S UP THERE READING STORIES TO THEM RIGHT NOW!!!

"oh." Gur charges up the stairs.

Gilderoy shakes his head and dusts himself off, tilting his head over whatever is going on behind the curtain. But a closed curtain means one thing in particular: don't enter.

"What's the matter, Gilderoy?" Toni asks, a quizzical look on her face. "You don't seem all here."

Gilderoy screams out, leaping off his stool, his hands in front of him, as though he's trying to escape something. In the process, he knocks over a couple of empty stools and goes sliding across the floor.

"Ay lad. Get up off the floor." He gives the mug sitting on the bar a considering look, "Say what you want about exploding drink, apparently it packs a punch."

Toni considers slapping the sense back into Gil, but instead looks to Talon. "Yeah, no exploding drinks for me either."

"Oh, um, hi there." the sorcerer speaks and is obviously a bit confused. "Was there a pendulum blade swinging at me just a minute ago?"

His voice is slow, as though he's unsure whether he's still in a bit situation or not.

Bianca laughs considerably. I like you, Sir, you handle the good stuff very well. You must have girl friends in every town, am I right?

"No, there wasn't. I think you should stay away from the fancy drinks though," Toni says, standing up. "I think I'll head back to Kendra's. Fancy dresses and fortune-tellers are not my thing. I'll see you guys later."

She walks over to Gilderoy and pulls him up with a strong arm. After making sure he's in a chair and stable, Toni walks into the night.

<grin> We are going to have to stop splitting the party. We're going to give the GM an aneurism."

I know, but I'm just heading to Kendra's. What could happen? :P

I'm tempted to sneak after you just so I can watch :-)

*laugh out loud. really.* what could possibly happen. You guys crack me up!

Gur hits the top step and sees a room, the light of an oil lamp flooding out. Two little girls can be heard inside giggling at the voice of a man. You recognize the voice as Mr. Baily...WTF??

As you peer into the room you see him kneeling between their two beds, roughing up the twin on the left with a pink stuffed gibbering mouther. He turns to you as he sees you standing in the door way. Ah, Master Grosnost, what a pleasant surprise. The girls were just asking me for a bed time story but i've drawn a blank. What do the orcs tell their little ones for bed time stories?

The girls, who you would expect to be frightened of an orc in the doorway, seem intent on the answer to the question. They love stories.

A voyeuristic dwarf? This just sounds like the start of something very bad.

Gilderoy smiles and shakes his head. "I must admit, that stuff does have quite the punch to it. As far as every town?...Well, depends what you mean by girlfriends. If you mean people whose significant others want to try and break my next like a piece of fine china for talking to "their woman", then yes, I have quite a number. My name's Gilderoy, but you can call me Gil, if you like."

He winks and almost takes another drink, but decides against it for that moment. "What's behind that curtain, by the by?"

Gabbi brightens a little or maybe its just the need for action stopping her thinking for a bit and runs after Gur.

Bianca smiles. Oh, that's Furia. She rolled in here about 2 years ago asking for a room. Been staying at the in ever since. She wanders around town drawing in a notepad. I've seen some of her art, very very good. Sometimes a Wizard or Sorcerer from Lipistadt stop in. They act suprised when they see her, like they know her. I've no idea who she is. If you can get her drunk on that stuff i just gave you maybe we can find a few answers for ourselves. She returns the wink and hands the phile to Gilderoy. Then goes about wiping down the bar.

He waggles his finger at the woman. "You are a bad, bad woman! I'm liking you more, the more I'm hearing about you."

Putting the vial in his pocket, he heads for the curtain, looking for answers.

Talon considers going after Toni but decides against it, "Leave her be lad, it's obvious she wants to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. Besides, the beer is tasting pretty good!"

"Hey miss! How about another round of not blue, not glowing beer! And none of that exploding stuff either, I'm too fond of me beard for any of that nonsense! Best start me a tab."