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Mheenah is barely able to pick the lock on the metallic box. It contains 200 pp, 55 gp, and the following note:
Dorian and Llywillan,
Much has happened in my life since we fought side by side in the troll war. I hope, sometime, to have a chance to talk with you about the many pleasant things.
My purpose now, sadly, is to ask — nay, beg — my courageous comrades to aid my people in a time of dire need, I cannot even describe to you the danger that threatens Orlane, for I know not its true nature. I do know that, unless it can somehow be stopped, this evil will consume my little village and its families, we will vanish without trace into the the dust of history.
A sinister force is at work here, and it is made all the more frightening by the fact that its true nature is concealed in a web of fear and suspicion, I plead with you come to Orlane, lend your skills to revealing this menace, that it may finally be destroyed.
Your comrade,
Zakarias Ormond
Mayor of Orla
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"Hmm. Were Dorian and LLWWLLLNNNLLLWWNNN the elves our masters was supposed to meet? Elly didn't tell me their names. Because I didn't care."
"Anyway, it seems like they might be fightin' the same numbskulls we are. So we could just wait here for 'em. Or maybe we could try and find this pantywaist mayor and ask him to help us out?"
"And we should DEFINITELY find a safe place to hide all this lovely money. You know. So the Undead Snake Cult guys don't get it and buy more snakes." She can't help but rub her little hands together avariciously.
For some reason i find myself not trusting you with money after your joking today...
"You're big and strong, Lorelei, maybe we can figure out a way to tie the box to you!" Spirit suggests. "But I don't think we should wait for the elves. We should keep looking around! Maybe the mayor will be good to talk to!"
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"The elfies might need their money. And I think we should use this cottage as our own base camp, since we can't go back to the Snake Zombie Inn."
"In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think mebbe we should just wait right here. The Mayor's note makes it sound like a lot of the town might be in on this cult, and every time we go out, we risk being spotted by the choads. And the elves are still our best lead on what's happening, not to mention that grumpy old druid specifically told us to look for them."
"If we go out again, I think we should wait until after dark, when we won't draw as much attention. And in the meantime, we lie low here and hope the elfies come back."
It doesn't take Spirit long at all to start complaining about waiting. Not long after that, he starts running around the cottage, looking at everything five times, then finally resorting to rearranging things over and over with his telekinesis.
Finally he can't take it any more. "I'm too bored! I'm going to go looking around!"
Before anyone can stop him he charges out the door and looks around for where has lights.
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Mheenah has a deliciously creative mind for combatting boredom, but most of her stratagems involve petty vandalism and picayune mayhem, so she is also feeling the strain of waiting.
"I'm gonna go look around too. Someone should stay here and guard the money. Unless we all wanna go out, and then I can lock the door again."
Once the various members decide what they want to do, Mheenah will take on her bat form, then flutter about the town, peeking in windows and generally looking for anything interesting, like elves skulking around or cultists wearing Undead Snake robes dragging maidens off to be sacrificed.
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Lorelei and Mr Pitch hang back at the cottage while Spirit and Mheenah look around…
Spirit bounds out and chases after anyplace with light…
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After his drink, he looks around in your general direction…but then shakes his head, pulls his hood back up and continues to observe the temple…
That boy needs to temper his...spirit. For lack of better terms, he rushes in too quickly, it's bound to get him hurt. Lorelei stays to guard, mostly uncaring
"The world may flatten him, if he's not careful", Mr. Pitch agrees.
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"Hey, ain't there supposed to be two of ya? Are you Dorian or Lewninllyynnn?"
"And you didn't answer me--whatcha lookin' for?"
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“I am Llywillan; my brother Dorian is watching over the aforementioned inn…’it’s a shame you arrived on a night where both of us were scouting the temple. I hope your masters are OK; they are probably still alive as the cultists, as you say, will most likely either try to enchant them or enslave them…it was fortunate that you were probably seen as inconsequential to them since you were not humanoid. I’m not certain where your masters might be held, but it may be in yonder temple there…
“Now tell me…how did you discover there were cultists here?”
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”Why would y’all have stayed at the Golden Grain Inn? We specifically warned of that inn in our missive…"
Mheenah shrugs. "I dunno. The druid asked us that too. But I think the Cult was expectin' them, 'cause they seemed really nosey and curious about why we was there. Plus they said they had foul meat, but it wasn't all that foul, if ya ask me."
“Now tell me…how did you discover there were cultists here?”
"When we woke up and found our masters gone, we all immediately knew somethin' was wrong, you know? So we started pokin' around. We heard the innkeeper and Derek talking about kidnapping our masters and about how they was still looking for you elfies! And we heard 'em say they was lookin' for more converts to worship 'HER'. And like I said, we found a trapdoor in the innkeeper's bedroom and it lead into tunnels under the inn where we found a big life size idol of a snake lady, plus some crates that looked like they was used for making dropoffs, plus we found some ghouls lurking in the tunnels and there was snakes in the ceiling droppin' on us!"
She pulls out a dead bloody snake she's been carrying around, then does her upper routine and speaks in a silly deep voice. "Asps. Very dangerous. You go first."
She tosses the snake away and resumes her tale. "So we put together that there was a cult at work--then the grumpy druid confirmed it, and acted like it was totally obvious, which ain't really fair, since we ain't from around here."
"So does the cult use that temple as their hideout? I'm super sneaky--I can fly and get invisible, and if I get close to Elly, I'll be able to sense her. Want me to try and sneak in and look around?"
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”Hmm…I wouldn’t recommend going in there alone…if this be their main base here, they have high ranking clerics among them who might be able to see your invisibility…
“We were unaware of the secret tunnels you found underneath the inn…good to know. We should travel to our cottage…follow me, I’ll show you the way. I’ve summoned my brother to come as well…we should talk over some things…”
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Spirit warily follows the cloaked figure who enters the Elvish cottage…the ferret dashes in as the door is opened…
Llywillan nods as the cloaked figure enters and removes his hood, revealing a face with sharp Elven features. ”This is my brother Dorian…now that we have everyone here, we can better discuss this situation that we’re facing…
“Mheenah here has told me about your masters answering our note and then went missing from the inn. We knew the father of the young ferret’s master and knew his son had taken up his father’s craft which we thought might prove useful to us here, hence the letter we sent. When he replied that he would come, and could bring help, we were encouraged…
“As you know, a cult has taken hold here but what we don’t know is how extensive it may be…before we tell you what we know thus far, can you tell us anything that might help us track your masters? Their appearance, what they were wearing…and any ideas of how they might’ve been kidnapped without your knowledge?”
"That's the really strange thing! They disappeared in the middle of the night from the rooms we were sleeping in!" Spirit seems excited by the mystery of it all. "It did seem like they had secret passages in the inn, but none that went to the bedrooms! So maybe they used magic! We did find a weird shrine underneath the inn, and some zombies. And the innkeeper and this one funny guy seemed really interested in our masters!"
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The Elves nod their heads in unison, Dorian speaking this time. ”Magic could be a possibility…if you ate and drank their fare there, it’s likely all who did may have been drugged. Your masters were not the first to disappear from that inn…”
Llywillan continues. “Here is what we have learned: an evil cult is somehow controlling the minds of certain citizens, including the two clerics of the temple (21), the proprietor and regular customers of the Golden Grain Inn (6), the constable (2), and the blacksmith (15). These are just the ones we are aware of, there are likely others…
“It will be safer if we are not seen together; you can sleep here tonight but, if you stick around, you might try either the stables or the Inn of the Slumbering Serpent. We will continue to stake out the other inn and the temple…you can easily get into places we cannot; you might try other establishments and see what you can find. Mheenah here can use her invisibility to tell us what you find as well as get information from us…
“Any questions before we call it a night?”
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Yeah, I got a few questions. How many people are in this crap town? Your little mystery is very interesting and all, but I don't wanna spend the next month working out who worships wild snake women and who doesn't. Our masters are in trouble!"
"Oh, and is there anything special about this place? Like why the cult sprung up here instead of the pigsty 20 miles down the road? It CAN'T be a coincidence that the other inn is literally named for 'the Slumbering Serpent'-- that seems like a reference to something!"
"And it seems weird to me that one Inn in town is completely given over to the mooks, but the other is totally safe so far? Especially if you already control the constable! I think we should investigate the other place, but we shouldn't openly interact with pretty much anyone -- anyone could be in the cult, and they have a kill order out on us!"
"Oh, and you asked about what our masters looked like. Well, you can't miss Elly--she's my mistress. She's very beautiful. She's about 16 years old, human, has nice pale skin like she's been living in a basement, which she mostly does. And she dyes her hair black as Mr. Pitch and wears a lot of black clothes and big black boots with big silver clasps running up the leg and lots of silver jewelry and pretty black makeup on her eyes and lips. A wonderful sensitive innocent girl!"
By the end of her description, Mheenah is practically wailing with grief and anxiety, and snuffles into her claws, her bitter tears filling the little room with the faint smell of sulfur.
"My master is really cool! He's smart and clever and he feeds me and he can do really cool magic..."
Spirit goes on like this for a while, but somehow avoids saying much substantial about his master beyond how much fun they have together and the fact that he's tall... which given the ferret's height could mean just about anything.
"But anyway I suppose we should probably sleep but it's hard to when we don't know where our masters are maybe we should try sneaking into the temple? If I was an evil cultist that's where I would take people I kidnapped!"
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Llywillan listens to Mheenah and Spirit. ”Orlane is a small community; cults sometimes try to infiltrate smaller communities and spread from there. Your masters are likely alive; this cult is trying to charm/convert new members so they’ll most likely try to turn them as opposed to killing them outright. Trying to find them is the problem…and they may not be in town; the mayor said some have went missing only to return but changed…
“As for the other inn, the mayor has vouched for the proprietors and we’ve checked them out…
“We can’t tell you what to do…and you’re probably right about the temple…there are undoubtedly clues to be found there. Getting in is not so easy for me and my brother though…we stick out. You may have an advantage over us though; you were able to penetrate the secret tunnels within the inn, you may be able to do the same in the temple. Mheenah can go invisible and animals, particularly small ones, will be less noted. If you’re determined to do it, I’d go in at night…get a good night’s sleep, and perhaps try tomorrow night?”
"I guess we should sleep now," Spirit grumbles. You get the impression he's the type who just gets more energetic when he's tired right up until he crashes.
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Mheenah goes into her bat cosplay and hangs from a rafter, sleeping for a couple hours. But as daylight arrives outside, she quickly becomes bored sitting around inside the cottage. She asks about where the constable is, and if there is a town jail, then goes invisible and buzzes off to poke around and watch his movements and peer in his windows.
Spirit stays up a little longer before curling up in a corner and falling asleep. He sleeps for a good ten hours or so, and then is up and about. Pretty quickly he's bouncing around again, so when he notices Mheenah is gone he slips out to go find her.
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This nondescript square wooden building has heavy shutters closed over the windows. The door looks stout, but stands open. No people are visible. Behind this building is another long, low structure...
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So, she invisibly flutters closer so she can see and hear them better.
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...and they are utterly unaware of your presence. After hanging around and listening to them you notice/hear the following:
1) The constable opens a desk drawer, reaches into the bag and pulls out a few coins which he gives to the other two men...
2) The constable mentions that he's been spreading false rumors around the village...along with one that's true to make the others more believable. The one that's true is that crocodiles have been straying far from the marsh...
3) The constable mentions the meddling Elves; he mentioned they'll need to confront them soon but they've been able to avoid him and they're friends of the mayor. He says that once more of the village is 'converted', they shouldn't be a problem...
4) The two men mention to the constable that 'she' wants to personally interrogate the Elf friends that were captured in the Golden Grain Inn...
Spirit, not really having any idea where Mheenah went, wanders towards the east, looking at each building over there in turn as he gets to it (starting with the tailor shop).
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Casing this building and looking thru its windows, you see the tailor, an elderly man living here alone…he does not look suspicious but he does look frightened…
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She buzzes away out the door, going to check the long low building next door...
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13. This house is in desperate need of repair. The front door, porch steps, and visible roof supports are missing. The barn is in even worse condition, but the many chickens in the yard suggest that the place is indeed inhabited. You notice a man and an adult son run this decrepit farmhouse; you think it strange that there is no woman around...
14. A wooden board in the shape of a saw hangs before this well-constructed building; you deduce it is the carpenter's shop. The front part of the structure is unwalled, and inside of this breezy area the carpenter is at work. Many tools (saws, hammers, nails, prybars, etc.) are scattered about, and some boards are mounted on sawhorses.
15. This is obviously a smithy, though no sign hangs here. The shop part of the building is unwalled, and two brawny lads operate a bellows while a giant of a man hammers thunderously upon a piece of metal that will soon become the blade of a shovel. Soot and smoke abound. The Elves have already told you he smith is a cultist...
16. The doors and windows of this large building are boarded up. A sign lies face-down in the weeds before the porch, which may be reached by climbing three broken steps. The roof has several gaping holes, and the general appearance of the place suggests that it has been long abandoned. There is a foul smell coming from inside this building...
1. The granite wall around the temple is 20' high. The gates are strong and wooden. Carved into them with precise craftsmanship is an ornate carving of the chaotic good goddess Merikka, portrayed as a beautiful young woman. The temple building itself is made of solid granite blocks, and is completely windowless.
2. During the day, the courtyard is open. A broad path leads to the doors of the temple. The courtyard itself is empty except for a gardener, and its grounds are not well tended.
3. After dark, the gates to the temple are closed and barred from the inside, and two trained wolves are released to roam the courtyard. They are accompanied at times by a servant of the temple.
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The two stores he only gives a quick glance, but the boarded up building catches his curiosity. Why is it boarded up? What's smelling in it? He looks around for a place to climb up onto the roof.
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This musty building is in bad disrepair. You notice a cellar door is visible, hanging on one hinge, and a creaky staircase leads into darkness. The smell seems to be emanating from below...