Dendillion looks about the rest of the ground floor, which doesn't produce anything until he gets to the last stall. The southernmost cow stall contains two piles of skin left behind by.... something. These remains, each from a middle-aged human male, are clad in gray robes the color of a storm cloud and a wooden religious symbol of Gozreh.
Two bloody tridents lean against the wall of the stall.
The religious symbols have been defaced with jagged runes. The runes are demonic in origin.
Dendillion icks at the sight, but does his best to understand what he's seeing.
Charlie spits out a bit of bile that forms in his throat at the sight of the remains. "Do mephits eat people?" He gives the girl some of his water. "Do you know where Nemmia went?"
"A couple days back she said that she was going to kill the infestation at the circus.... that's it."
Tiny speaks up "Remember... The creatures at the barn worked for her too..."
Chark speaks up. We defeated Nemmia when we investigated the Kembali tent, she says, tapping her chin with her forefinger. Now, we still don't know the whole story, but it clearly has something to do with her taking exception to the presence of Abberton.
"She was crazy. If you've finished her off, I think we're all for the better, though unfortunate that anyone could ever become so.... like her."
Religion (Recall Knowledge) DC 16:
This used to be the symbol of Gozreh, Chark notes, but they've been defaced by demonic runes. It's clear who Nemmia was in league with.
Chark will make sure the party checks the entire barn out. Once that's done, they will return to escort the family back to Abberton.
Tiny asks "Any ideas where else she might have been? There could be prisoners stashed all over..."
"No. I'm sorry. She went off about Abadar a bit. She went off on the circus a LOT. But otherwise, I don't know. She did sleep here, upstairs. Maybe there's a clue?"
Charlie heads upstairs to begin rifling through Nemmia's belongings. "Not like the dead will be needing it." He says dourly.
Dendillion follows Charlie, intent on helping out in the search.
The loft is mostly bare; it contains only a small bedroll and a prodigious quantity of rat droppings showing that many rats once laired here with Nemmia. It looks like she engraved the wood floor of the loft with a detailed circle. There's a finely crafted oil bottle next to the bed.
Chark notes that this circle demonstrates the same corruption of the Gozren faith to demon worship as the (un)holy symbol from before.
And now we know where her minions came from, Chark says, deliberately scoring the wood with her scimitar to break the circle. Den, please check out that bottle of oil.
Dendillion obliges, walking over and picking up the bottle. He first hums a note to help him sense magic, and then sings a different note to see if there's an aura of magic coming from the oil.
Finally, he tries identifying the magic based on the obscure occult histories he's learned from listening to countless tales told by fireside.
Dendillion easily discerns that it's a rather basic magical oil, an Oil of Mending as it were.
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"Could be useful. I'll hang on to it for now if nobody objects."
"Sh..shh..should we let the Mayor know what is going on? Let him know about the remains here. And the demons." Charlie is nervous that he is well out of his depth.
"We should, though perhaps not yet? We don't know why or how they are here, so until we figure that out we're likely to just worry him. He will still ask us to do what we are doing."
Tiny nods, feeling very similarly to Charlie.
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Let us make sure -- check for out-buildings and the like -- before we escort this family back to Abberton safely, Chark says with finality. I do not like that we haven't found Sheriff anywhere, either.
On Chark's suggestion, the party checks the grounds around the building. Searching the scrub reveals some bloody boots and a wide-brimmed hat....
These are all that’s left of Sheriff Ralhain
You also discover a silver chain worth 15 gp and a strange talisman in the shape of a pyramidal spike among the thorns.
Charlie's face deepens. "Demon's get to him?" He picks up the hat, running his fingers along the brim.
Haldan detects to see if the silver chain is magical tries to make sense of the talisman.
"I thought I might know something about this, but nothing is. coming to mind. Dendillion, or Chark?"
"This might take a bit. I need to study it carefully."
Dendillion knows this to be a [i][/i]
Dendillion knows this to be a Savior Spike
The Hawftons gladly turn over the contents of the box to you as a reward. They seem interested in NOT sticking around here either...
Where to? It will be mid afternoon when you get back. You've got tomorrow to do things around town (either exploration or downtime.) After that it's 2 days of downtime.
Charlie thinks for a moment and heads into town. They had demons after them as well as several murders and missing people. He spends the next three days gathering materials to craft a few snares that he used in the woods. "I'll meet you all back at home."
He travels through the market to get the metal clasps he needs, then out in the woods to chop off a few branches and vines.
The party has two solid goals before them; put on a killer show in Abberton and travel to the Hermitage to get justice for Myron.
Charlie goes straight back to work in preparation. Haldan tries to pick up any news, but doesn't get anything of note.
Downtime Day 1:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Go
Downtime Day 2:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Go
Downtime Day 3:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Go
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Go
Tiny buckles down and goes to work with the roadies getting everything set up.
A coin's a coin...
Downtime Day 1:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 2:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 3:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Earn Income
The Hawftons gladly turn over the contents of the box to you as a reward.
That evening, Chark uses her healing font to salve everyone's wounds.
Chark will spend one day checking in with the Mayor, including Sheriff Ralhain's bloody boots and wide-brimmed hat, and check for any other leads, information, etc. Then she will throw herself into promoting the upcoming show.
Haldan generates 4 Anticipation!
Downtime Day 1:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 2:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Promote
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 3:
Chark: Go
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Go
Haldan: Promote
Tiny: Earn Income
10 Calistril: Spend time with the circus performers
11 Calistril: Perform at the Mad Mug
12 Calistril: Perform at the Mad Mug
13 Calistril: Promote the Show
14 Calistril: Promote the Show
Upon their return to the circus, Dendillion makes a point to have a day of rest. No wild shenanigans, no danger. He treats it like the day after a long night of drinking, getting up late and starting things at a leisurely pace.
Once he's up and about though, the musician extraordinaire moves about the circus folk, making friendly and checking on how everyone is. He brings a smile and encouraging words to each meeting, doing his best to bring positivity and hope to the members of the circus. In particular he spends some extra time with Mordaine the Magician. In part this is because he finds her attractive, but also because he knows she's a woman with a strong will, and wants to ensure she is comfortable with her place in the circus.
The next two days he spends at the Mad Mug, performing a rotation of old and new material. Classics like The Fishmonger's Daughter and Toss a Coin to Your Ranger, but also some of his new creations like Rat Lady's Fury and Tiny and the Flying Cock. He begins singing Hypergraphian Heroes but it quickly becomes obvious that the room is not enjoying it. It turns out that nobody actually knows what he's singing about, which well... let's be honest, is no real surprise. He keeps the music loud and bawdy, and the audience just eats it up. The coin purse he leaves with is heavy, though Dendillion takes great pains to make sure nobody realizes that.
The last two days before the show the bard sees Haldan about to leave to town. When it becomes clear the card sharp is off to promote the show, he says, "Capital idea! Let me grab my lute and I'll give you a hand!"
Through that day and the next he watches Haldan work, picking up a few things and chiming in to really help sell the show to people. "It's going to be a grand spectacle! Trust me!"
Chark will spend one day checking in with the Mayor, including Sheriff Ralhain's bloody boots and wide-brimmed hat, and check for any other leads, information, etc. Then she will throw herself into promoting the upcoming show.
10 Calistril: Check in with the Mayor, asking about other info learned/leads
11 Calistril: Stevie Nicks to Den's Lindsay Buckingham at the Mad Mug
12 Calistril: Stevie Nicks to Den's Lindsay Buckingham at the Mad Mug
13 Calistril: Pyrotechnics to aid Haldan's Promote the Show check
14 Calistril: Pyrotechnics to aid Haldan's Promote the Show check
Haldan and Dendillion do a solid job promoting the show.
Chark checks in with the mayor who reports that Nellyn is complaining about violations of church sanctity. He seems really upset still. Otherwise you're now the most informed in town.
Downtime Day 1:
Chark: Recon
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Relax
Haldan: Promot
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 2:
Chark: Redo
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Promote
Haldan: Promote
Tiny: Earn Income
Downtime Day 3:
Chark: Redo
Charlie: Craft
Dendillion: Promote
Haldan: Promote
Tiny: Earn Income
Chark makes a mental note to check in on the mayor before the party heads to the Hermitage.
15 Calistril 4720
Abberton, Isle of Erran
1. Purchase Temporary Upgrades:
2. Choose Non-Performer Roles:
Show roles:
Charlie: Go
Chark: Go
Dendillion: Carnival Barker
Haldan: Go
Tiny: Go
Tiny will help out with security.
Charlie prepares for his trick with Goliath, leading him back to the cage and getting the bear a bite to eat before the show.