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The confusion, anger and fear rise within the remaining two rioters as they struggle to understand exactly what's happening to cause them to attack one another!
|||| INIT ||||
Eris
Ingrid (4 dmg)
Karik
Vaelor (28 dmg, unconscious, stable)
Brogol (26 dmg, unconscious, stable)
Yellow rioter (charmed, fled)
Blue rioter (3 dmg)
Green rioter (3 dmg)
"Asmodeus awaits!" Ingrid growled as she launched herself at the closest rioter. They had betrayed their country and their rightful God. She could think of no reason to show mercy to the traitors. She hoped that Asmodeus was watching and that he approved of this sacrifice before the conquered altar.
The final remaining foe tries to batter Ingrid with his club, but his swing is so wild that she's easily able to step aside.
|||| INIT ||||
Eris
Ingrid (4 dmg)
Karik
Vaelor (28 dmg, unconscious, stable)
Brogol (12 dmg)
Yellow rioter (charmed, fled)
Blue rioter (10 dmg)
"Asmodeus will feast upon yer soul." Ingrid said, her eyes wide with religious conviction. The blood of both an angel and the worshipers of the hypocrite goddess covered her. Drenched in gore as she was, she easily stepped to the side of the club and reached out, grabbing the worshiper by the arm. Her claws dug in, cutting through flesh and sinew. She pulled the man forward, her other hand grabbing him by the face. One clawed finger managed to get into an eye as she pulled him down to her height and sank her teeth into his exposed neck. With a viscous twist she ripped the man's throat out and spat the remains on the ground, even as she let the body fall.
Brogol sits up to find Ingrid literally covered in viscera, Eris cackling and twittering with glee. "I see things went alright then?"
A momentary pang of conscience wells up in the driver, and he forces down, deep in himself, and buries it. The townsfolk brought this on themselves after all. Stupid Dannik, Elsiasia, Casia. Poor stupid bastards. Well except for Merytl. Fook that guy.
Standing, he looks about for any survivors, and if he finds none, goes to drag the elder Allamar boy back into teh church.
"Tilvia mentioned a fort. Wonder if they have any information about it here? If not, the boy outside is still alive."
With the final combatant torn to pieces, you're left surrounded by bodies and blood. Kellek rushes to Vaelor's side to aid her, ignoring the state of the rest of the battle.
Combat Over
Brogol moves between the bodies, checking for pulses. Although the townsfolk have been slain, he finds that Tileavia Allamar and Loran Allamar are both still alive (though unconscious). The angelic creature creature seems to be still and unmoving, though it may never have had a pulse.
"Chase!" Brogol yells, sprinting back out the church and pausing for a second, looking for someone - anyone - trying to slip into the shadows or running down the darkened streets.
”I’m wasted on running and would just cause a panic. Go on without me while I wash this off.” She said, as she made her hands fill with water. It would take some time before she was presentable enough to go out into town.
Brogol rushes outside and spots several dark figures rushing as fast as they can down the street. One of them looks over their shoulder, and then the group ducks out of direct line of sight.
After cleaning herself, Ingrid went about securing any enemies who were still alive. It was always worthwhile to ensure that a defeated foe would not remain a threat. And once finished with that, she began to go through to the bodies, looking to take any valuables and to search them for any incriminating evidence.
Brogol sprints into the nearest shadows, and then follows the disappear figure as quickly and quietly as possible, keeping to the darkest corners of the town whenever possible. He waves at Eris as he goes, his hand's backwards motion indicating that she should follow at a distance.
As Brogol noted earlier, Ingrid finds that the two Allamars in the church's main chamber are unconscious but not dead. She's able to tie them up or finish them off as desired. She also recovers many pieces of equipment:
2x chain shirts
2x mwk light maces
3x silver holy symbols of Iomedae
86 gp
potion labeled "aid"
2x vials silversheen
breastplate
heavy steel shield
mwk longsword
??? pearl
spell component pouches
unadorned silver key
shortbow
What still remains unexplored are Tileavia Allamar's office to the northwest and the back room behind the pulpit to the north east.
--------
Brogol quietly rushes through the streets, staying quiet and sticking to the shadows. The four figures in the streets ahead remain in sight for several minutes as they run through the town - heading north steadily. Brogol keeps pace with the group as they slip out the northern gate and rush along the trail out of town. They branch off from the trail not long after. As far as he can tell, they appear to be heading in the direction of the hill the group investigated several days ago after Riley Kels' admission.
Brogol pauses, having enough, he thinks, to go on, and waits for Eris to catch up. "Think they're going to the hill. Let's go back and get the others. Four of 'em are probably too much for us."
---
Back at the church, Brogol spends his time going meticulously through the church, especially Tileavia's office. Anything not of use ends up on the floor, which then is - as if a point is being made - trod upon by Brogol's dirt and blood encrusted boots.
Having collected a fairly good haul, Ingrid went into Tileavia Allamar's office, under the impression that if there was going to be hard evidence of traitorous intent, that is where it would be. As she searched, she kept an eye out for anything that appeared to be trapped...
Once Brogol and Eris return, you all head up to Tileavia Allamar's office. All except Kellek that is, as he excuses himself to go look for healing for Vaelor. Ingrid doesn't spot any traps, so you head on in.
A desk, simple set of chairs, and a shelf full of liturgical writings fill the majority of this room. A few wall hangings around the room show abstract images of Iomedae's acts. Brogol quickly spots a locked drawer on the table and Ingrid is able to produce the key from Allamar's body to open it.
In the desk drawer, a simple note lies on top of other documents. The note reads: "To undo wrongs and recover your loss. Do what you must, but after, if your spirit is willing, join us at the old fort in the Whisperwood. The note is signed “L. V.” The note’s broken wax seal contains the impression of a strange symbol—the sword-and-sunburst of Iomedae combined with the encircled cross emblem of Cheliax. The drawer also contains three scrolls of protection from evil.
As far as you know, its been a ruin sometimes infested by goblins or other vermin ever since.
---
Past Allamar's office, you enter into a small storage room and then the nook behind the pulpit. The nook appears to be used as a private shrine. s. A nearly flat kneeling pillow lies before a large low table facing a wall hanging of Iomedae’s holy symbol. The cloth on the low table is stained and smells of rust and earth. A narrow wardrobe stands nearby. Blue curtains separate the shrine from the main room of the church.
The wardrobe proves to also be locked, though the key functions here as well. Inside the wardrobe you find...
a ??? elixir
a potion labeled cure moderate wounds
6x cleric's vestments
a set of antique silver candlesticks worth 400 gp
"Well then. We have a location." Ingrid said. "We just have to find the Fort in the Whisperwood. And we need to hit it before news of what happened here spreads. Catch them before the rats have time to flee."
"I've been beat to hells and back, twice today. I'd like to rest, but if yer alls want to go now, I'll drink some of these potions and get on the way."
Brogol looks at the pile of loot laid out before them. "What are we going to do with this? Can one of yers check this stuff for magical auras, and all that fancy magic stuff?"
With the party lacking an expert in magical items, you're only able to gather up the gear you found and get it ready to present to the Doctor next time you see him. As for the dead bodies, you leave the fallen townsfolk and the angel where they fell and haul out the unconscious Allamars. The trek across town in the night is uneventful and before long you find yourselves at the jail.
As you arrive, the singular guard keeping an eye on things wakes from a light nap and, after a moment to realize who is paying him a visit, gives a nervous nod to your group. You haul the bodies in and separate them. Loran is placed in the office, Lacall in the sole free cell in the back, and Tileavia in the main room of the jail (well bound and gagged).
You also relay the news that the church is a crime scene, which earns a shrug from the guard on duty before he leaves the prisoners in your hands and goes to alert the officers within the Archbaron's personal guard. As the sole guard leaves, you're left alone in the jail. The prisoners are at your disposal.
Once the brothers are secured, Brogol visits them each in turn, with Loran first. Once Loran is awake (preferably wakened if possible), Brogol drags a chair, slowly, its legs scraping across the floor. Turning the chair around, Brogol sits, resting his arms on the chair's back, and looks intently at Loran until the boy looks away.
"Your brother already talked and told us where the Fort is. And we think the idiot is lying. And here's the thing - we're going to find out one way or another. After we put you down, I tailed some folks from outside your church into the countryside, headed towards the hill up the way. We've got the Baron's men searching the area now, and will find it. Which... brings me to yer brother. If he's lying, then we will kill him. Unless you save us some time. Tell us where the Fort is. So long as we get the real answer, we will allow you both to live. Lie to us? And he will die. And only him. So you get to live with knowing that you could have saved him. And we’ll find out. The Fort will be found.”
Sighing Brogol stops and looks again to the boy, tapping his fingers on the back of the chair. "You've got two minutes to take this offer."
Ingrid walked into the cell holding one of the unconscious Allamars. She waved the guard away, preferring to be alone with the man. The hell-tainted dwarf leaned against the bars, looking down at the chained man. Her tail flicked back and forth.
"Mornin' boyo. Yer finally awake. Took ye long enough. Yer brother. He's been awake for awhile now. Guess we know who'se the tougher now, aye?" She smiled, showing her sharp teeth. "Before ye ask. He's alive, for now. Probably not for much longer. Ye see. The two of ye are bein' charged with some pretty serious crimes."
When finished listing the charges, she said "Well, with that out of the way. Me partner, he gave the lad a deal. Give us Directions to the Fort in the Whisperwood, and we take the death penalty off the table." She chuckled. "Poor lad. Gave us some pretty obvious bad directions. See, thing is, he isn't the only person we asked. Directions didn't add up." Her smiled widened. She kneeled down, to get to eye level with the chained man. "But ye? I think that ye might be the smarter of the two. Gonna ask ye the same question. Answer truthfully, and I won't execute ye brother. We're gonna get to that Fort right quick either way. But whether it be over his death body is on ye..."
Eventually, Loran calls out "Stop, stop! I'll bloody tell you. Just don't do anything to Lacall!"
Once he catches his breath, he says "It's the old Fort Estazano, they went there. I've been there only once myself, but its not hard to find." He describes a deer trail several miles from the hill outside town, then goes on to explain that it leads to the ruins of an old fort that had once been used by Chelish bandit-hunters. Once he's done explaining, he says "That's the truth. Now, let me see Lacall!"
As far as Ingrid can tell, Loran is being honest.
Ingrid nodded. "Let him see his brother, know that he's unharmed. Then keep bring him back to his cell right away. Can't let the two of them plot anything, not when Loran just went through all this trouble to save his brother's life." Ingrid said to one of the guards. It was time to pay Fort Estazano a visit.
You wait a while for the prison's sole on-duty guard to return from his trip to the Archbaron's estate. He returns with a small entourage, some of which immediately split off to secure the church, while others get a hold of the Allamar brothers. They accept Ingrid's orders with tired nods and start organizing more permanent and secure holding areas for the three new prisoners.
Once they have things well in hand, you're able to leave the jail and start considering your next moves.
"I believe that now is the time to hit the Fort." Ingrid said. "The night is deep, and word of the seizure of the church is unlikely to have spread. If we wait, then we may find a fortress empty of both traitors and evidence."
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Not wanting to lose time, you immediately leave town and head toward the hill where Brogol last saw the fleeing townsfolk. Heavy cloud cover and the continued drizzle leaves you unable to see much with precision beyond the range of your darkvision, but the damp conditions also make the bootprints of the fleeing townsfolk incredibly clear. At the top of the hill, you see them heading in the same direction that Loran described.
It takes a couple of hours of travel through the night before you reach the old deer trails the Allamar boy mentioned, but once you do the path becomes clearer. You wind your way through the Whisperwood, the trees around you creaking and rustling with the wind.
Abruptly, the trees thin as you hike up a small, flat hill, just tall enough to see over the surrounding patch of the Whisperwood. At the top of the hill lies what looks like a heap of rocks and wood at first glance. As you get closer and the clouds begin to part to provide some moonlight over the site, you can see the outlines of a half-collapsed fort. A small gatehouse to one side still stands mostly intact, though it leans alarmingly to one side. The south side of the Fort is little more than massive piles of rubble.
No light shines from the Fort, nor is there any obvious sign that the place is occupied.
|
As the group approaches the 'Fort,' Eris casts a spell on her father's skull, causing it to gleam with an eerie green light from its eye sockets, but also to float at her side.
"You see something, Dad?" she asks as it swivels toward her.
She nods. "He sees some boot prints leading in and out of the west gate there. Probably at least three more than what we chased out. Good catch--I don't think I'd have seen that myself."
The skull silently turns back toward the trail, casting a pale green light on the footprints for all to see.
Brogol stumbles through the dark and drizzle, his hat pulled low, his eyes all but useless in the dark. When Eris' light-filled skull illuminates the tracks on the ground, Brogol winches at the brightness - and at the light surely being seen by any guards. Still, the driver begrudgingly admits, he'd be useless without it.
"So, do we walk through the Western gate then?" Brogol looks expectantly to Ingrid - the driver had been laid low twice already today, and was leering of going first.
While he waits, Brogol uncaps a couple of potions and drinks them down.
[ooc]I've marked two potions to Brogol from the Loot Sheet.
The western gate is just slightly ajar. You can't see inside, but it doesn't look to be barred or kept closed in any fashion. The sharp eyed Eris notes that the gate looks to be in better shape than the walls or rubble - most likely they were replaced at some point.
"Best nay to give away the element of surprise. Wait here a moment. I'll climb the walls and tie a rope. One to climb up, and another to climb down. We can get in without being seen."
With ease Ingrid climbed the wall and set up the ropes. She motioned for everyone to follow as she went down into the fortress.
Ingrid has no difficulties climbing over the wall and lets down a rope for the rest of the team to enter. You slip over the crumbling walls and onto an elevated walkway around the interior of the courtyard.
Although some of the fort's walls have kept their shape, the structures within the courtyard have mostly fared far worse. The rubble of two collapsed towers to the south spills into the courtyard, as do moldy heaps of smaller wooden structures. Rickety stairs rise to a partially collapsed wooden walkway to the north and east that follows the remaining ramparts and leads to the door of a mostly intact gatehouse in the northwest corner.
From where you are on a wooden balcony, you could easily clamber down via the nearby pile of rubble, but there's no good access otherwise.
To the southeast corner of the fort's courtyard, a dark opening in the massive pile of rubble suggests a tunnel or cave descending into the earth.
Brogol points, silent, at the intact gatehouse and then again to the southeast pile of rubble, a question in gestures. Gatehouse or tunnel?
When the group answers, Brogol makes his way forward, moving as quietly as possible, eyes searching through the moonlight for threats.
"Shush." Ingrid said to Eris. "Ye won't be able to hear yer dad if ye talk so loud. Worse, the people here will hear ye." She watched as Brogol crept forward, glad that the man knew how to move so silently.
Brogol descends into the courtyard, intending to get to the stairs on the other side while attracting a minimum of attention. He moves quickly between the piles of rubble and arrives a a few steps away from the base of the stairs before he notices two things. First, he catches a slight bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. He looks up at the gatehouse and reasons that He looks over in the direction of the movement and reasons that it might've been within the darkness of the building's south-facing windows. Whatever it might've been, as he watches he spots no other tell tale signs of any presence.
However, he does hear something from the "tunnel" entrance - a deep rumbling breathing and the snuffling of something large trying to evaluate a scent. It doesn't immediately emerge.
"Shh. There's something in the south-facing windows, hiding in the darkness. And there's something big in the tunnel with quite a nose. It smelled me coming before I heard it."
Brogol pulls his hat low and looks towards the windows, face set in a strained frown.