GM TOP MOD: Gallows of Madness Parts 1-3 (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master Pete H.

"OUCH! That hurt," Niza says. She pulls a wand (of CLW) out of her pack. Turning towards Dimple she asks, "Are you able to use this on me?" She then looks around the area with a keen eye.

Perception1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Things seem okay at the moment, I'll resume. Wife and kiddo are good, tis extended family issues.

Liet-Gar and Fromagalli converge upon the last hapless beetle, slicing it into chunks of disgusting goo. Niza clutches her injured arm and fishes out a wand from her pack, moving over to Dimple for some assistance. As she does so, she notices thin strands of a purplish-black substance clinging to a nearby tree. A patch of bark beneath the strands has begun to decay, and all of the tree’s fruit has fallen to the ground.

End Combat Result - Niza -2, all others -0

In addition to the info in the spoiler, you all might wish to discuss what your next course of action will be.

Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 17

"Oh, look at those marks. I think there was a fight here. Looks like two creatures... and it looks like the winner carried the loser away that way." She points to the south. "You can see the footprints start over there, and after the fight, the footsteps are deeper." She follows the trail. "Oh. I don't see it anymore." She frowns. "It's getting late. Should we rest up or follow the trail or go somewhere else? I'm not sure."

Just so we don't have a vote for follow the trail that ends up wasted, the trail does end at the edge of the orchard when the muddy ground turns into a well used cobblestone roadway that goes pretty much anywhere in town. I won't stop you all In Character from trying to follow it, but just warning Out Of Character that it is unlikely to lead to anything. However, the other two suggestions are certainly available. I also believe Fromagalli was posting some options earlier as well.

"Yeah, that looks deep Niza. Good thing you have that stick with you." he remarks with a shrug, staring at the tee. "Is that more of that same goo? You know, the stuff we saw at the graveyard?"

As the sun continue to go down, he sighs. "Seems we'll have more searching to do in the morning. Why don't we give the priest a heads up and see if the Mayor has some quarters for us tonight. Short of confirming the source of the letter, we've not a lot of leads at this point."

Already forgetting the infernal insects that just attacked, the bard is nearly awestruck. "You have a real...magic...WAND?!?! That is so amazing. Of course I can use that. Well, I think I can. No, sure, it should be simple. Its ah...just that...well, I have never actually seen one before in real life. A magic wand that is. I mean, I have seen sticks. Look around, there's trees all over, am I right? Wow you are still bleeding, you should get that patched up. Right, the wand. I am totally on this." Holding the wand with some reverence, Dimple offers a brief prayer to Desna before activating the healing energy.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"DID YOU FEEL THAT?!?! I was all like 'I'm gonna heal you' and the wand was like BAM, and my arm was like 'OUCH' and then like a huge static shock just went WHOOSH! and then your skin was like with a nasal muppet-esque voice 'I'm all better now'! That was so cool. We should do that again. I mean, well, yeah, getting hurt is bad, but the healing was SO FUN! Oh, so you are taking the wand back. Yeah, no I get that. Still, that was pretty neat."

She looks at the others for a bit before, "So, the temple?"

Niza shakes her arm out. Taking the wand from Dimple, she tucks it back in her pack. "Thanks for that. My arm feels much better now. Should I, or maybe even one of you, get hurt later on, I'll let you use the wand again. Sound good? Also, heading to the temple sounds like a great plan."

Minor Bot to answer the character's own question.

Liet-Gar thinks for a second, then pulls out the cold iron morningstar he forgot he had, swiping it against the tendrils hanging off the tree. The tendrils have the same reaction as the goo in the graveyard, shriveling up and turning to a white powder that blows away.

The group heads through the dark and quiet streets towards the Temple of Erastil. Ildris Ruvarra, the local priest, comes to greet you as you enter (presumably hearing the creek of the front doors opening. His eyes turn towards concern as he takes in your slightly disheveled appearances, including the muddy boots, and he quickly asks, "is everyone okay? It looks like you've been quite busy since you left. Did you find Nolaria?"

Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

"No, we didn't, and unfortunately we don't really have much in the way of news, either. We've visited a couple places the kids were known to gather, but didn't find anything that gave us any answers."

Bluff: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 (To conceal that we did learn something about the goo and bugs, but Kasvot doesn't want to let on about that yet.)

He shakes off the fatigue of the day and continues. "At this point, we're really looking for a place to rest so that we can continue investigating on the morrow."

He replies, "oh, that's disappointing. I was hoping you would have some word, even if bad."

"Well, actually, Father..." Kasvot begins, catching the eyes of his companions and reading a sense of trust from them towards the priest. "We have found something. I was hesitant to bring it up, as the Mayor was quite clear that she didn't want us to alarm the townsfolk."

He steps closer to Father Idris, keeping his voice low as he takes the man into his confidence. "We've discovered a strange purplish goo in some of the places these kids hang out, and also some very disturbing, enlarged insects. They almost had a fiendish taint to them, if you can believe it. Does that mean anything to you?"

Dimple puts a small hand up, "hold on a second please Mr. Priest Sir, we need to discuss something."

She pulls the group together away from the Priest's hearing and they discuss matters, coming to the conclusion (ooc vote) that they should share their findings with Ildris.

Returning to him, they explain that they have not found any of the apprentices, but have found evidence of fighting between them, one of them luring another to one of their spots, and demon's bile. He asks how do they know it is demon's bile and after they relay the details of it he agrees with their assessment, adding that it can influence people's actions. He says he might be able to cure it if the group can bring anyone infected by it to him.

Finally he adds, "so what do you plan to do to track down whoever is responsible?"

Dimple mulls over the priest's question."Well, we still have to find the kids first. Sounds like they are in real danger. Then we can track down who did it aftersuch. Now, we know all the places they aren't. They're not at work, the Mayor's office, the cemetery, the orchard or here. So where's left? Where could a group of people gather without being seen?"

The priest looks at the group and then adds, "well there are probably a lot of places to hide a small group like that. If you don't want to go door to door checking each building in town, maybe start looking at each of their homes? That's usually where people end up when they want privacy and you've already searched their meeting grounds. And before you ask, no, my daughter Nolaria has not been home since she went missing. It would also probably be best to start with your strongest suspect first."

With a slight nod to the priest, LGZ offers a slight grin. "Thanks for the advice."

Leading his companions back outside, he glances around to ensure they won't be overheard. "Shall we try the ring-leaders house then? Or would you prefer to find somewhere to sleep and set out at first light?"

"I'm a little tired, no pun intended, but I can keep goin' if need be...for the kids."

5 rounds of Inspire left as well as two 1st level spells

"I could use some sleep, but would also continue on, if needed," responds Niza. Walking up to Dimple, she puts a hand on the other gnome's shoulder and says, "You shouldn't be ashamed of your height." Those who hear her are unsure if she is being serious or teasing the other gnome because of the straightforwardness of the comment.

Currently zero votes for anything, but we do have two suggestions of next actions. They are 'try to find Gellion's house' or 'sleep for the night'.

"You know, I wouldn't mind locating Gellion's house and just knocking on the door at least. Then we probably should rest for the night."

Kasvot still has 2 spells left; mechanically he's good to continue. The only reason for rest seems to be story-wise--which is fine too. I vote for Gellion's house, but won't object to rest either.

The priest gives a half-smile of apology, "I'm sorry, I wish I could help with that location, but I don't know enough about the boy. If you do need a place to rest, you are welcome to use the church, though our accommodations are nothing compared to a real inn."

It seems you all want to check out Gellion's residence, excellent. How do you plan to find it in a town this size?"

With a...(fingers crossed)
Know, Local: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Well, someone has to know where takes off his boots at night, right?"

Something that specific would not be something that a Knowledge: Local check could uncover. It is of course true that someone would know where his place to hang his alchemical hat would be located.

"I'm certain someone does." he says with a smile. "Allow me, little one."

Heading back to the apothecary's location, he looks to see if the shopkeep might still be in.

Approaching the store you see that it has been closed for business, however there is a light on inside and you can see movement. A knock on the door is quickly followed by the face of Majara Pricknettle glancing out the front window and then the door being unlocked and opened.

The totally not ashamed of her size gnome ushers you inside, "so the intrepid investigators are back but without my apprentice, what have you found?"

Following her in side, LGZ smiles. "We have found..." he begins confidently, before dropping his head "...a need for more information."

"The apprentices as of yet have eluded our search, yet we are confident we can successfully complete this task. Do you know where young Gellion resides? For that matter, the primary home of each of the apprentices could be useful."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Her brow furrows, "so you have no evidence of anything wrong done by my apprentice, haven't found him or anyone else you are looking for and now expect me to give up the private location of my apprentice's residence as well as other members of this community?" She rolls her eyes, "jeesh, I'm super thankful the mayor involved an outside entity for this job, let's hope she didn't pay you up front."

"We know both meeting places of the apprentice crowd have been contaminated with a demonic fungus and we are concerned that Gellion may have collected samples to experiment with without realising its nature. Some of the group are concerned as you can see from this note"

Shows note from tavern

Majara steps up to Fromagalli and with a great deal of concern in her eyes she glares at LGZ, "why the heck didn't you lead with that information about... a demonic fungus!?!"

She looks over the note, calming a bit before adding, "well this is certainly Gellion's handwriting. Where did you find the note and what is the context? I mean, it could be two months old about something other than recent activities. And why do you think Gellion is in charge? I mean, sure he's a bit curious about all sorts of things, but he wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"I...well...umm... I suppose that would be a good thing to start with..." grumbles LGZ before adding, "We aren't saying Gellion is doing anything intentionally malicious. He may not realize the danger of this stuff OR he may have taken it to try and help a friend."

"We only wish to find the young apprentices before anyone gets hurt."

I mean, you can keep rolling and re-rolling diplomacy till the cows come home or you could answer her questions and/or provide additional evidence and move this step along.

Evidence so far provided to convince her to give up the location of Gellion's Home. 1) Enough information about the Demon's bile to show that it may be a danger. 2) A note from Gellion to Morvinar, without context.

Doing some botting, this seems to be a big hanging point here and I can't think of a good reason to drag it out anymore.

Niza steps in and advises, "that priest lady's raven was at the graveyard yelling 'get yellow-foot' and we know that Gellion recently got a nice pair of yellow boots from the boot apprentice as a gift."

Dimple clarifies about the note, "we got the note from the tavern keeper, who had just found it in Morvinar's room last night after he stopped showing up for work."

Kasvot adds, "and if that's all just circumstantial, then we have the word of several of the business owners that Gellion was the ring-leader of their little apprentice group, which means even if we ignore all the other details, we need to find him next to figure out more."

Taken back by the detailed information and collection of clues that certainly seem to show her apprentice in a bad light, the gnome seems to shrink back a bit. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just... I'm worried about him and if he is in trouble I don't want someone coming in and just attacking him without good cause. I mean, we've had our trouble in this town before and adventurers tend to come in, making a bigger mess than the trouble itself. Just here..." she writes down an address and directions, handing it to LGZ, "...if you find him try not to hurt him and if he's snapped or under some evil influence, try to take him alive, okay?"

Wait...we're 'adventurers' now? When did that happen? No, that can't be right. Detectives or Seekers maybe, but adventurers? Like out of bard tales? Pish and posh, that's not who we are."

Thanls for the botting. Been a bit busy recently.

The group heads quickly to the address, hoping to get some concrete information to further their investigation or at least find ONE of the apprentices.

The Vazarro home is a simple, well-kept, two-story structure of bricks, wood, and plain shingles. Smoke billows from a brick chimney, and minimal light escapes from the windows, from which partially closed, thick-slatted shutters hang. The front door bears a tarnished brass knocker.

You are all now on the map page one, please move your pieces or request them moved, good luck! The obvious easy access points inside are a front door and 3 windows.

"Should we have someone wait in the back, in case tries to sneak away? I mean, none of the insects did that. In fact, they were rather ornery. And mean. Or are those the same things?"

Dimple moves toward the front door and listens for any signs of activity.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

She offers the 'all clear' sign to the rest of the team and waves them over.

"Makes sense to me, Dimple. I'll head to the back...once I'm there I'll signal you. Then you can knock on the door and introduce yourself." agrees the half-elf. Heading around the side of the building, he stops suddenly, a mischievous smile on his face. "Just, you know. Let me know if you gain access? Don't leave he standing outside all night."

A few minutes later, you here a *RiB...RIBca..* "Screw it...I'm in position!"

Perform: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Huh?! Well, I guess I speak frog, because I totally understood that.

With a knock on the door, "Halloo. Any bodies at home?"

The gnome fingers the tools in her pouch. Maybe I'll get the chance to use these. She gets up on her tip toes to look at the lock.

There is no response to the knock. It seems just as quiet as when you listened earlier. The standard wooden front door appears to be locked.

Oh goodie! Now I get to try these out. Dimple slides out a few thin metal slices. She slides one into the lock, then another. She jiggles the rod on top and she slowly twists the other side to side.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Time: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2

The lock easily bends to the will of the gnome, tumblers falling into place and the deadbolt spring back into the mechanism. Tis a good thing Dimple took that locksmithery course!

I'll hold for a bit to give everyone else a shot at posting and positioning, especially since at least one of you has gone to the back. I did move Dimple directly in front of the door cause she was picking the lock, but nothing is currently happening so she can still re-position herself as she wishes after unlocking the door.

Are we looking at gnome sized house or a human sized house a gnome lives in

Fromagalli beckons Dimples over.And speaks in a usher tone. "Now please don't burst out into wild excited screams but I have here a wand of disguise self. Perhaps you could use it

happy to go in first if needed. Also happy to wait for a report back if someone wants to look through a window

The shopkeep is a gnome, I don't think you know the race of Gellion. The house is sized for a medium humanoid.

Slowly making his way along the back wall, he tries to peak in through the window. (or is it a door?)

'I wonder if anyone answered...did they get in?' considers Liet-Gar as he attempts to answer his own questions.

Dimple steps aside so someone...more robust can step into the home.

The windows are shuttered closed at this moment.

The front door appears unlocked and as of yet, no one has answered the knocking or greeting from Dimple.

Anyone opening the door or doing something else?

Kasvot looks up and down the street, checking to see if they are currently observed. When it looks natural to do so, he opens the door and quickly waves everyone inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Kasvot looks up and down the street, no one seems to be around at this time of night. Stepping up and motioning the group to follow he grasps the front door and begins to pull. What happens next is hard to parse, though the results are simple. A gout of fire seems to spray out from the door, reaching a good fifteen feet into the yard and scorching a small shrubbery, which fortunately does not catch on fire.

Kasvot DC 18 Reflex or take 1d6 ⇒ 2 Fire Damage. Missed noticing the trap by 1!

When the burst of flame escapes the door, Niza jumps in a startled reflex. She quickly dashes over to Dimple and pulls her wand. "I guess you're lucky!" Glancing at Kasvot, she quickly says, "Oh, well, maybe you're not. Want to use this again? On him this time." She nods at Kasvot and holds the wand towards Dimple.

Sorry for being MIA. Lots of family drama right now. Hopefully that's mostly settled.

Reflex DC 18: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Kasvot jumps back as the flames momentarily engulf him, then starts gingerly brushing off the soot and examining the burns. "I guess we should have probably expected that... kid's supposed to be an alchemist right? Suppose I was thinking this being his parent's place, they would be our biggest problem."

He nods to Dimple and Niza, accepting the healing. "Of course, with the door boobytrapped, I think it's safe to assume we won't see his parents here. Let's be careful, we seem to actually be on a proper trail finally."

He'll let someone else lead the way into the house this time.

The min cure light wounds can heal is 2, and that's the damage Kasvot took, so there's no need to roll for the healing. Thanks Niza! With only 7 hp, it makes sense to keep Kasvot topped up. He'll pick up a wand of his own when he has the gold/PP for it!

As the gout of flame blasts by, "BY THE STARS!" Her hands go up frantically feel her forehead. "I felt the heat as it whizzed passed me. Did it burn off my eyebrows? Oh pish! I had them just right today too." She initially waves Niza's wand away, "Oh no, I don't think I need that. I can still feel them. What's that you say? Oh Kasvot? Did his hair get singed too? His whole body? Oh well then, yes I should probably take care of that."

She braces for the jolt of healing energy and taps the wand to the half-orc.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Hearing a sudden *Woosh* sound, the half-elf glances towards the side of the house. 'I hope everything is going well up there...I don't see any doors back here though so...'

With a shrug, he makes his way to the other corner of the house and peaks around it. 'Seems a bit quiet...perhaps no one is home?'