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Kheiron bristles when Walfrenden immediately offers assistance. Kid's got to learn. You can't save everybody.
He rubs his now-shaved chin and regards Audrahni, speaking calmly and more quietly than the rest. "This town's problems are not our problems. We're just passing through. Ain't got nothing to do with us. These four are just kids. They don't know how wrong things can go when you stick your nose is somebody else's business."
"Don't go filling their heads with notions of being heroes. They're more likely to wind up in a ditch."
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Kheiron bristles when Walfrenden immediately offers assistance. Kid's got to learn. You can't save everybody.
He rubs his now-shaved chin and regards Audrahni, speaking calmly and more quietly than the rest. "This town's problems are not our problems. We're just passing through. Ain't got nothing to do with us. These four are just kids. They don't know how wrong things can go when you stick your nose is somebody else's business."
"Don't go filling their heads with notions of being heroes. They're more likely to wind up in a ditch."
"Kheiron, is it? Yes, you are just passing through. I am 166 years old. By the time I blink, you will have passed. Both through Roderic's Cove and through life, all the way to Pharasma's Spire. You and they, are just children. 'Kids' as you say. But this is their town. Their friends. Their Varisia. Should they let the two trappers, the one fisherman, and the three unemployed townsfolk lie cold and unremarked in the graves I dug for them last week?" Audrahni frowns, expressing disappointment in the Chelaxian expatriot.
"We must all take responsibility for ourselves, our fellows, our errors, no? I read a poem recently, by a survivor of a terrible massacre in Cheliax. It begins, 'I did nothing when the devils took the Saraenites, for I was not a Saraenite. I did nothing when the hellknights took the rebels, because I was not a rebel,'" she sighs at the last. "In the end, nobody is left to care for the man or his family or his town. Because he didn't take responsibility for his town and country and try to change them, protect them."
"These 'kids' already know this lesson, without having lived it. Good for them. Do you?"
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Kheiron bristles when Walfrenden immediately offers assistance. Kid's got to learn. You can't save everybody.
He rubs his now-shaved chin and regards Audrahni, speaking calmly and more quietly than the rest. "This town's problems are not our problems. We're just passing through. Ain't got nothing to do with us. These four are just kids. They don't know how wrong things can go when you stick your nose is somebody else's business."
"Don't go filling their heads with notions of being heroes. They're more likely to wind up in a ditch."
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"They haven't learned a gods-damned thing yet. You don't learn lessons from stories. You learn 'em by living them, by not dying. If you're dead, you learn nothing. I've seen enough wet-behind-the-ears kids stacked up in the snow, frozen stiff. I listened to them crying for their mommies when their guts were in the dirt."
"Every one of them was there for Queen and Empire and good old-fashioned heroism. At first we covered them with snow because it was too cold to dig graves. Then, we just stopped. We used the heroes for wind breaks."
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We used the heroes for wind breaks."
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Ayita is young and quite idealistic in many ways... She stares at the Bloodrager.
"Maybe fighting for Queens and Empires does not make for a true hero! My Clan fight for survival of kin against monsters from the darkness and against empires ruled by devils as well, and their heroism keeps us safe from the cold every day! Their sacrifice is honored greatly!
(She had had a fair amount of brandy, and it hasn't been that long...) She sways a tiny bit and stands up really tall.
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Walf, two cups of Possum Punch in himself, puts a hand on Kheiron's shoulder. "My friend, a fair damsel in distress has asked us to ask some questions. Surely, we can do that for her. It looks as if violence is going to erupt here whether we act or not. Maybe we can help."
He pauses and thinks for a moment of a way to reassure his worried friend. "What if we all agree to follow your lead? If you think a situation is unsafe or too dangerous, let us know and we will step back."
Realizing that he has once again spoken for others he does not know well, and recognizing they may think very differently from him, he amends his comment. "At least I will. I know you know what you are talking about, and I will trust your judgment. But I feel I owe it to this community to at least ask around for her, and you know I do not have the talents to do that alone."
Walf ruins his little speech by hiccuping and quickly removes his hand from Kheiron's shoulder to cover his mouth.
"It appears two glasses of Possum Punch are too many," he sputters between hiccups.
Roscoe shrugs. "It's all semantics, really. Hero, anti-hero, or just a bunch of folks willing to check things out when others want to stay inside. If we find some treasure along the way, so much the better! Plus--I've got some issues I need to resolve, and I need some answers. Maybe this will kill two birds with one stone."
His stomach growls audibly.
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Ayita blinks.
"Right -- we can ask around for her! I'm happy to help do that! I can go ask the people selling Possum Punch, I didn't try that yet."
Ter apparently responds by gripping Ayita's shoulder rather hard...
"Ow!!! " She glares at Ter.
"Ok I'll go ask around some of the teaching areas, some of them have liked our performances and if Ter lets them pet her, I bet they will talk about related local history if I ask a few questions... and act a little scared, that won't be hard... " (She sighs a little, she wanted some punch.)
Knowledge Local? (+5). Or Diplomacy (+2) or Bluff (+6) or also "Handle Animal" to help? (+6) ... .
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Whilst the party discusses the relative merits of idealism and pragmatism, Hatfield gestures to the nearest bartender for another mint julep.
As he takes a sip, he thinks, "Don' care 'bout heroics or drama. Ain't no toleration fer gang wars or dramatic ghosts or anything what might hurt folks in tha Cove."
"Thank you for your offers, friends. As for Roderic's ghost, the obvious place to investigate would be his abandoned house outside of town. Roderic's Wreck they call it. Many have been dared to spend the night there," says Audrahni. "The old building is dangerous. Be careful when you investigate there."
"Young Ayita, if you plan on asking around, you may wish to start with Ladia Kelstrop. She was the first person to find the massacre victims' bodies."
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Roscoe perks up at the thought of Roderic's Wreck.
"I've been there--my friends dared me to go knock on the front door when we were kids. I did it, but we didn't see anything except a bunch of bugs. I hadn't thought of spending the night back then. But--I'm happy to go check it out. I'm very interested in--let's just say the 'supernatural.' I'm in."
"Exploring a historic structure? It's becoming something of a hobby of mine. It may not be Thassilonian but every place has a history. I'm in."
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Kheiron scowls as the other members of the group eagerly arrange their plans for going into harm's way. He sighs when Walfrenden offers to follow his lead. Not what I wanted, either. I led too many kids to war already.
Having said his piece, he stays quiet. If they're going to do this damn fool thing I'll go with them, but I'm not leading them. Not this time.
Roscoe shoulders his pack and head for the door. "Look, I've been here before. I'm happy to go in, but I just need to get back before dinner. Just in case," he says.
Turning back to Audrahni, he says "Anything else we ought to know about this place before we check it out?"
Audrahni, seeing that you're all ready to get moving, asks you to wait for just a bit, while rushes back to her small home beside the graveyard and Pharasmin chapel. She returns with a few potent items, which she gives to you.
One gift is a wand. "It will heal you, but remember that it's holy energies will also harm Roderic's ghost, if need be."
She also hands you a small silken bag containing six vials of holy water. "Useful against the undead, again."
"If Roderic is indeed haunting his home, he may be very dangerous. Focus on exploring the Wreck and looking for clues as to how to put Sir Roderic to rest, rather than directly confronting him"
She looks at Kheiron, as if knowing he'll agree with her next statement, and then she looks closely at the rest of the group. "Do not hesitate to flee the building if things get too dicey—better to flee, regroup, and try again than to die!"
Yeah, I've got the fleeing down, apparently.
Roscoe nods, then takes one of the vials of holy water.
"Sounds like a solid plan."
Designed by a carpenter and architect who accompanied Sir Roderic from Magnimar, this two-story structure was built from local pine. While it was originally a magnificent example of the hard work and ingenuity the people of Roderic’s Cove are known for, time and neglect have settled into the house’s bones, and the structure now sags into the water. Moss grows over the roof and clings in patches to its walls. A light haze of black mold and thin bubbles of moisture creep across both sides of the house’s windows, obscuring anything that might reside within.
The wooden structure stands on pylons driven deep into the earth. However, after the founding of Roderic’s Cove, the river has shifted slightly due to seasonal floods, and its banks have inched their way beneath the building’s foundation.
Approaching the house, it is immediately apparent that Roderic’s Wreck is indeed a wreck. The house slumps visibly toward the water, one corner edging dangerously into the river. Boards in the house’s walls have warped and popped free from their nails, peeling back like bark from an old tree. The front door hangs slightly ajar. The sound of buzzing insects, creaking tree branches, and the river flowing by hangs in the moist air.
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Ayita gets a torch, flint and steel out -- but also knows that some of her companions might be able to create those small "light" spells that seem so much easier... she wants to learn those tricks...
"Anyone have one of those light-making magic tricks?"
She asks Ter to fly around the building -- safely high -- and look for anything odd at the higher levels.
Ter's perception is +14 if this can happen.
Ayita gets a torch, flint and steel out -- but also knows that some of her companions might be able to create those small "light" spells that seem so much easier... she wants to learn those tricks...
"Anyone have one of those light-making magic tricks?"
She asks Ter to fly around the building -- safely high -- and look for anything odd at the higher levels.
Ter's perception is +14 if this can happen.
Ter circles above and conveys to you that the building looks normal... for a dilapidated wreck. The hawk sees nothing out of the ordinary.
Frantino is OK with being at or near the front, greatsword in hand, but he'll ask Ayita to check out the front porch and door for traps (or structural instability that might as well be a trap) before we move in.
He'll give it his one once-over at the same time.
Or not!
Kheiron steps forward to the door and pushes it open with his bardiche. "Wait here," he says. If he doesn't see anything immediately threatening, he advances into the building.
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If possible, Ayita was going to check for traps or just rotted unsafe footing, before anyone goes in...
[dice=Perception plus trapfinding]1d20+3+1
(If Kheiron got in first in front of her, and falls through the floor etc., she can call down, "Well. I think the floorboards are rotten." She will then look get out a rope to pull him up, and look around for more similar dangers.)
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Walf calls on the skills he learned at the academy and encases himself in magic force.
"Wait here."
Walf is torn. He just told Kheiron he would follow his lead, but he's also quietly pledged to himself to watch the pained warrior's back. Deciding now is not the time to stress Kheiron, Walf heeds the instruction and holds back, his earthbreaker at the ready.
Subconsciously, rather than keeping an eye out for danger, he keeps an eye on Kheiron to ensure he is safe.
Roscoe also casts a light spell on the head of his morningstar. But he also draws his everburning torch he just purchased at a steep discount and holds it in his other hand.
"I've done a lot of ruin exploring. Usually by myself. But I've got light covered."
As the others venture forward, he says [b]"Now don't take all the fun for yourselves. He follows as far as the porch.
If possible, Ayita was going to check for traps or just rotted unsafe footing, before anyone goes in...
[dice=Perception plus trapfinding]1d20+3+1
Your previous spells never went off.
Hatfield casts the light spell on his walking stick. Whilst the others make their preparations, he scans the area:
Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11, for the buzzing/local fauna
Profession Herbalist: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26, for the local flora
Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4, for general things
The good doctor hears the buzzing of bees, and perhaps some horseflies. Nothing else.
In fact, he doesn't notice two large insectoid creatures with huge probosces fly out from underneath the steps of the house! Nor do any of the heroes!
SURPRISE ROUND
The two stirges, smelling dinner, flit from beneath the stairs of the old building, attacking Walfrenden and Ayita.
Attached!
Attached!
Ayita and Walf can feel the sickening strike of the stirge's proboscis as it penetrates their skin. They can see the things <gulping> as they suck out their blood!
Sorted Initiative ROUND ONE
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Doc Hatfield: 21
Kheiron: 21
Ayita: 18
Roscoe: 15
Stirges: 12
Frantino: 10
Walfrenden: 2
BOLD MAY ACT
Roscoe's eyes go wide as a creature emerges from the sagging porch and latches on to his ally's neck.
"Why did you let your guard down, you numbskulls!?" he bellows. "You're gonna get us all killed! GRaaaHHH!"
Drawing his morningstar, he swings it at the monster with vicious abandon.
"I knew it,"sighs Kheiron, feeling the rage rise up in him.
Gnnnaaaah!" The old warrior roars incoherently as the fire of his blood rises up in his veins.
Both stirges are killed with single hits, one from Roscoe and one from Doc "Double-20" Hatfield!
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Walf looks at all the blood, some his spattered about. "What is wrong with this place?!" he exclaims. "In Axis, creatures like that are orderly and do useful work. They don't attack random people on the porch!"
He casts prestidigitation and quickly removes the spattered blood, first from Ayita, then from Kheiron, and then the others, finishing with himself.
"It never occurred to me that Golarion would be so...disgusting?" he says to himself as he cleans up the mess.
The deck of the Wreck creaks like a ship at sea, its door ajar, beckoning you inward...
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Both stirges are killed with single hits, one from Roscoe and one from Doc "Double-20" Hatfield!
I think her disease roll of 67 should be ok, whew.
Ayita kicks the disgusting thing and heads toward the door to check the rotten wood footing and other potential "traps", looking nervously for more stirges... She has a swig of blackberry brandy so she at least feels her constitution is better, even if not really.
Any trap-checking she gets to do, if relevant
The light spell winks out on Hatfield's walkin' stick as he casts the spell on a small stone (or twig?) and offers to toss it just inside the doorway. Trying to conceal the worry in his voice, he offers, "This might draw out any more skeeters. Better ta see 'em comin' than git bit agin."
Grim and scowling, Kheiron prepares himself for the next fight. "Well go on, toss it," he says.