Lope takes the reaction of Gurta but decides not to dig further in there as the other folk seem to answer positively to the group. The monster statement rings a string on him "A monster? Problems with hand and leg?" the man seems troubled by the thought of a demon or an spider eater, but tries to remember any kind of creature that might have these traits.
He looks at the others "Are we prepared to face a demon? Might it be the Baron has been possessed or commanded?"
"A demon, perhaps, but not one with lofty aspirations, by the sound of it. Lounging around in Baron Telus' estate and frightening the help. Sounds almost harmless."
"Now we can talk safely", Katrina said with a smile, "I trust your journey was uneventful? Good. There's been a change of plan, something spooked Sir Gusairne, he sent our Mr Remington a fairly large sum of money via the banking house of Valint & Balk. Remington has been has been discreetly, or at least what he thinks of as discreetly, searching to hire an assassin... Gusairne is a nasty vindictive piece of work, so whatever plan he has needs to be stopped."
"He's contacted a woman called Vyrenne, a hack albeit a vicious one. Their meeting is planned for the eleventh bell tomorrow at his favorite cafe, the Sly Duck. I'll ensure that Vyrenne is indisposed and take her place at the meeting. I'll need you to delay Mr Remington for as long as you can in case Vyrenne is uncooperative. You're still in for this right?"
She looks at you questioningly.
Triphylla answers Lope's question to the best of her ability. "We're unlikely to learn anything else here. Why not travel to the Baron's estate and see for ourselves?"
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"Baron Telus is known to have some innate magical talent, so it's possible he might have been able to retain his spellcasting ability after undergoing whatever physical change the people are referring to."
She nods at Tryphilla reply "I agree with Tryphilla. I think it's unlikely that we might gather any more information on the baron from the people here."
"Thinking a bit more on what we've already heard, I suppose the baron could have summoned a demon with his magical talent for whatever reason, and could be suffering from possession or other forms of mental domination, if he failed to take the proper precautions. But that brings into question what exactly this demon's goals are, as Tryphilla so sharply pointed out. Or, if we assume the baron is still in possession of his free will, what he himself was trying to accomplish and why he doesn't seem to have done much since."
"From what they say, the Baron might have been transformed into some kind of aberration related to spiders" Lope ponders the words of the Beggarwoods residents "I have heard about hags punishing humans sometimes transforming them into different types of wicked things, but never came up with something like this before"
The Aldori nods energetically after Triphylla's words "Indeed. Let's move on to Telus estate and check things by our own." and also acknowledges Diana's thoughts "A troubling theory. I have nothing to protect us from mental control. But I guess we will have to find out"
SPELLS
CL 5, Concentration +9 (4 Int, 5 CL)
Cantrips (4)
acid splash
dancing lights
detect magic
mage hand
Level 1 (4+2/day)
color spray (Will DC 15)
shield
shocking grasp
vanish
pearl of power I
pearl of power I
Level 2 (2/day)
spider climb
flaming sphere (Ref 16)
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"We do have that wand of Protection from Evil we found in the chest from the pump house." Diana says as she ponders their options. "Doesn't have many charges left, and the protection won't last too long. But it's better than nothing."
"Hmmm. A hag taking revenge on the baron does fit better. Transforming the baron into some manner of beast and scaring away the help could have been her goal and not a means towards something else. Which would explain why there has been no further actions from herself or the baron. That might indeed be what we're up against."
The decision is made to visit the Telus estate, this actually quite a long journey since the beggarwood is at the eastern end of Meratt county and the Telus estate is towards the western border. There is one semi-direct road which goes north and then west through Stachys then further west through New Towne and from there onto the ruins of Jambis and the Telus estate.
The first leg of travel to Stachys is uneventful, however the weather turns for the worse as you head towards New Towne with heavy rain. The road is elevated and the reason for this becomes evident when the low lying areas on either side become flooded. The next couple of days travel is cold and damp so by the time you get to New Towne you're itching to get out and stretch your legs.
Less than a decade old, New Towne itself is a desperate, hardscrabble little village situated in a gentle valley. The area looks deprived and the residents miserable. There's no inn. It's late afternoon, do you want to talk to anyone in New Towne or push on towards Jambis and the Telus estate?
"What can you tell me about Mr Remington?" She asks. "What sort of woman does he like? If I'm going to catch his attention it would be good to know."
Valeria was caught off guard with the way the villagers acted to their offer of food, it wasn't often that someone would turn down free food regardless of the quality. That they were concerned about strings being attached made more sense and from what they eventually revealed they were right to be cautious.
As they approached New Towne Valeria remembered hearing about this place and how desperate for food they were. She looked to her companions and said, "I remember hearing about this place once. New Towne is a desperately poor place that can't even feed themselves due to the poor soil, lack of seeds, and limited live stock. They have resorted to hunting but are doing too much of it just to survive and it is beginning to cause the animals to disappear. I would recommend we not stop to eat here, or if we do that we provide the food for the meal." She hesitated and then added, "I've also heard about their tribune, Caphridius Vort. He doesn't much care for the people that live here, nor frontier living in general, and tries to spend as much time as he can on opera and acting."
Lope gets out of the carriage and looks disgusted at the mud on his boots "This place is certainly the corner of civilization. It makes you miss the ill plotting corners of Oppara." with a magical gesture he tries to remove the wetness and dirt of the trip with a prestidigitation, though the coldness is biting to the bone.
"You recommend not to stop eat here Valeria" Lope looks around stretching his eyes with worry "What a shame we left so many food at the Beggarwood. These people here seems to need it even more."
"Ok then, let's proceed directly to the Telus estate" the Aldori takes his blade from the carriage and sets it on his belt "We can later talk with Baronet Caphridius Vort depending on what we find in the estate"
"Spent much time in those corners of Oppara, Lope?" Triphylla asks. It's at times like these that she realizes she doesn't know as much about her companions as she might like.
The squalor of New Towne feels familiar to the halfling. At least the cool breeze flushes the air of the acrid stench of the septic streets, unlike those of the capital.
"Beyond the pain of travel, what is preventing these people from traveling to Stachys or even to another county? The town lacks basic availability to supply and trade and adequate farm land. If they are willing to work and re-establish themselves we should provide the opportunity, in my opinion."
When the moment affords she will pose these questions to one or more residents of New Towne.
Triphylla decides to spend ten minutes talking to folk, she find a near destitute potter called Fredrick. He told her a tale of woe, "I used to have a shop and a kiln in Jambis but that all got wrecked when a fire took out the roof and the rain and snow did the rest of it in. I suppose I should be lucky I escaped with my life. My neighbour Markus and his whole family died. The baron? They say he's a monster now, although I never saw it. The tribune Caphridius Vort knows more."
"Moving to Stachies you say? Well I guess I assumed nobody wanted us. Tasha and Hedrig tried to move to Lothedar but Sir Gusairne's men threw them out. Also some folk are stubborn like. You gotta be to live here. We don't have much but it's ours."
"What sort of woman does he like? If I'm going to catch his attention it would be good to know.
Again this seemed to please Katrina who said, "Ah! Yes I see what Molly saw in you. Well Mr Remington is a bit of a creep really, he like Tian Xia girls, likes em young and tarty. You know with the right makeup, a gauzy veil, a little red clutch bag and some fishnet stockings under a more modest skirt you could do a good approximation for his type."
. He's a man of habit and he takes the same route every time to the cafe. There's various shops on the way so you could conceivably be browsing but again you'll upset the shopkeepers if you don't buy anything.
The streets on the northern side of the town are generally cobblestone and the area relatively safe although muggings do happen. There are also more subtle thieves operating in the area, ready to lift the pockets of the unwary.
The cafe itself is a low key affair with seating inside and out under large canvas umbrellas. You expect his business to be conducted outside today which is unusual for him. [/ooc]
Triphylla listens carefully to Fredrick before replying. "I've heard of similar misfortunes in Jambis. Sorry for your trials." She looks around at the hard-scrabble town, then directs her attention to Lope. "Here's a man with skill, Lord Betony. A potter and a shop keep. Surely we can use such a man in Stachys. And the rest here; why, any fellow who would seek a new life here has been unlucky, for sure, but they show resilience, don't they? Perhaps we can make arrangements for temporary housing near the manor while we help them rebuild in that community. We're growing, afterall, and growth means work."
She does not presume Lope's answer but offers the chance for the local to speak his mind on such a proposal. "What say you, Fredrick? Are you up for change of scenery? No one can promise you prosperity; you'll have to do that for yourself, but at least Stachys has opportunity."
"Yes, sure. Triphylla is right, there are opportunities for skilled professionals in Stachys. And we are restoring the water pump and building a new market. We need labor willing to work hard to make a better place of Meratt." Lope tries to promote the idea " Maybe we do not have lodgment for everyone at the moment, but we just made harvest and we have food for those willing to work with us"
Diana adds her voice to Tryphilla and Lope's as well.
"That you all strive to make a living on these harsh conditions alone speaks volumes of your resilience, hard work and dedication. If Stachys is to grow into the prosperous town Lord Bentony envisions, we'll need people like you. I realise moving again after you were forced to do so so recently might seem daunting, but I do believe it will be worth it."
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"Well now." said Fredrick, "You've certainly given me something to think about. That you have!"
As if for the first time Fredrick looked at the houses, or rather what passed for houses. They were made out of whatever was to hand at the time, bits of carts, undressed tree limbs, canvas and twine. They had never looked much even when they had first gone up and time hadn't been kind, there were signs of weathering and rot everywhere.
Sounding more than a little choked up he whispered, "Who are we kidding?! My roof is a leaky tarp and my herb garden is full of weeds. Every year we get thinner and thinner, one bad winter and we've had it. The only clay is in Jambis and nobody goes there. To stay here is... Well there's no future here..."
Louder he said, "Stachies is building is it? You'll need tiles I guess, I can make those, nice and straight. Bricks too and cups and plates and vases, the glazed ones too if only I can get a kiln and some clay and pigments."
"That's the spirit!" trumpets Triphylla. "Now that you've made up your mind, stick with it. We're on to investigate the matter of the Baron, but on our way back through we can assist with organizing a caravan to Stachys. Please do not tarry; opportunity awaits but winter is coming. And should you arrive in Stachys and find yourself in need of capital, we can help there too."
"No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune." the Aldori smiles at the man's decision "Stachys new homes will be happy to have you around, I am sure"
Lope is kind of ready and can move to visit the estate of the Baron when others are "It seems the people here do not know much else about the Baron. Maybe it is time to pay a visit to his manor."
From New Towne the journey goes west along the road towards Jambis. Close to New Towne the terrain is hilly and you slowly climb as you travel along switchbacks before eventually cresting the hill which gives you a glorious view over leafy Meratt County. The road from here is straight east, but by early afternoon it ends abruptly. A stone bridge once crossed the canyon, providing the only easy travel between east and west portions of southern Meratt, but a small earthquake collapsed the long-neglected bridge decades ago, leaving only the watchtowers on either escarpment. From here onwards you must travel on foot!
You notice a footpath winds its way down towards steep stairs carved into the rock next to the old bridge, you can also see stairs on the other other side of the canyon leading to a footpath that joins up with the road. The canyon itself is a staircase-style ditch some 30 feet deep, 80 feet wide, and nearly 10 miles long, with a shallow body of brackish mineral stained standing water at the bottom.
"This explains some of New Towne's woes, and further confuses why there would be any resistance to staying. Good thing they saw the reason of our argument."
She frowns at the chasm. "I suppose there's only one way to cross..."
The halfling equips herself with her backpack, potions, extracts, etc. Using her sickle as a climbing pick, she cautiously descends into the ravine.
Valeria kept to herself while the others persuaded the villager to move to their territory. She was the absolute wrong person to have try and convince a good person of anything and this one seemed like he was a good man. They were quite successful, and she felt a wash of relief when the man agreed to come and hoped he would convince others to join him.
As they continued on their journey Valeria was rather dismayed at the fact the bridge was out and even more so at what she saw about the only path forward.
"I know of this place," she said thoughtfully, "It is minor, unofficial, pilgrimage stop for worshipers of Abbadar because it used to be an old gold mine. They say that they can find their god's approval of them by counting the number of gold flakes they see in the water."
"I can't speak for them, of course, but Frederick did say they thought they would be welcome no where else." Diana replies to Tryphilla's comment "I can see how it might be hard to consider leaving what little you have behind in that case."
She listens attentively to Valeria's words on how the followers of Abadar view the place.
"I didn't know they placed such importance in this place. It makes sense, I suppose. Gold Canyon, as it's known, is man made - it's actually the remains of a strip mine from four thousand years ago. Primarily for mining gold and quartz, although it kept being used as a quarry for mining granite a few centuries after the veins ran out."
Diana looks down at the path winding down and considers her options.
"I can't say I'm eager to follow that path down, but the locals have little trouble crossing this way, so it should be relatively safe. I could fly across, but it's probably a waste of magical energy to do that now. We should think about restoring the bridge, though. The lack of crossing options for carriages and livestock has hurt Stachys economy as well."
When the carriage halts, Lope gets out and takes a long breath while adjusting his belt and sword "We better follow on foot from here on." he turns to the carriage driver "If we do not make it back in a couple of days, please, go back home and look for help" he takes a couple rations from the carriage to ensure some food.
"Good observation Diana" Lope nods agreeing with the cunning woman "If we restore the bridge and build a small shrine to Abadar here, we can make the economy boom in the region, and improve also the things in Stachys"
"But those arrangements can wait for when we are back to our state." the Aldori directs himself resolved to the ravine and starts the descend "Let's move on now while the sun is strong up in the sky. If we are lucky the Baron will receive us with some hot soup and a cup of wine"
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You carefully pick your way down the stairs carved into the rock which thankfully are not overly slippery. At the bottom you eye the water which looks to be several feet deep and brackish.
The goldpebble is a stony-scaled water snake that came into existence thanks to a greedy Taldan alchemist of a forgotten time. This ambitious experimenter attempted to create a fecund creature whose body would turn to gold after it died, ensuring an endless supply of wealth with little effort. She found a water snake that bred in shallow pools and produced dozens of offspring, and its biology responded well to her initial tests. The original snake’s scales contained trace amounts of minerals and served as a clever camouflage in the wild, and the alchemist combined magical techniques with selective breeding to coax the species’ scales into naturally producing nuggets of gold.
At first, the experiment seemed to be going well; early generations demonstrated traces of gold in their scales, and as they sloughed away their skin with age, the cast-off scales contained enough gold to justify the alchemist’s efforts. However, the snakes grew in size with each generation, and soon the breeding pools the alchemist had created could not contain them. Worse, the amount of gold each snake produced didn’t increase, but rather seemed to decrease until only glittering flakes remained.
Frustrated, the alchemist redoubled her efforts and saturated the breeding pools with transmutative alchemical reagents, mercilessly culling any snakes that failed to produce new growth. While this did little to increase the mineral content of the creatures’ scales, it did invest them with a supernatural venom that causes victims’ blood to slowly turn to water. When the overzealous alchemist next came to harvest her treasured pets, the goldpebbles struck, killing her and escaping into a nearby stream; they can now be found all across the Inner Sea region.
A fully grown goldpebble is about 12 feet long and weighs 250 pounds.
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Just as Triphylla is about to wade into the water she notices that is is both brackish and deep. While she pauses to consider whether Lope would carry her on his shoulders if she asked, she notices a golden glint in the water. At first she feels excited but quickly realizes the gold is moving, and it's attached to something large and dangerous.
"Wait. There, you see? A goldpebble snake! Only a Taldan alchemist would think it was a good idea to create a large venomous snake that was itself imbued with actual gold. Should have stuck with lead, but now here we are. Still, she was at least partially successful in her effort." Triphylla can't help but feel a sense of awe at the power of her profession.
The halfling imbibes an antitoxin and just in case, she also drinks her extracts Shield and Expeditious Retreat.
Then draws some quicklime from her pack; she casts the white chalky substance into the water in the area of the snake.
"Hopefully we can scare it away."
"A gold snake? Is that some kind of gem?" Lope inquiries with curiosity, looking right and left without actually noticing what exactly Triphylla is seeing "Let's try to avoid it, but be prepared in case we do not"
Lope has confidence the ranged specialists can deal with the creature, but nevertheless, he readies his dueling sword and uses the wand to cast mage armor on himself.
Diana stops at Tryphilla's warning and spots the the snake's golden shimmer under the water.
"Tryphilla's right, I see it as well. And I agree, I'd rather we scare it away instead of fighting. It's got a nasty supernatural venom that will slowly turn your blood to water. Be careful, everyone. Probably best if we step away from the water. It will be easier to fight it on land if it comes for us, right?"
Taking a few steps back, Diana readies herself to try and stin the snake if it slithers out of the water.
Valeria was surprised when the snake was pointed out, completely oblivious to its presence before. She did not know quite what to do but being ready for it was the best she could do.
"I agree, if it passes on its own so much the better," she agreed, "but best to be prepared." She stayed well back from the water and waited to see what happened next.
Poison (Su) As an unintentional side effect of the alchemical meddling that brought the creature about, a goldpebble’s fangs inflict a dangerous venom that turns its victim’s blood to water. Any creature with blood or a similar fluid that is hit by a goldpebble’s bite attack risks being affected by this poison.
Pebblefang: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 16; onset 1d4 hours; frequency 1/day for 8 days; effect 1d3 Con damage, and when the creature fails a save, all bleed damage it takes in the following 24 hours is doubled; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based.[/dice]
Unfortunately the snake is hungry and you look tasty! With a powerful flick it starts swimming towards you.
[spoiler=Initiative rolls]
Environment: Normal lighting, difficult terrain, so half movement and no 5' steps
COMBAT ORDER:
Lope <----- WE ARE HERE
Triphylla
Snake
Cyrene
Diana
Valeria
Lope and Triphylla are up.
Wanting nothing to do with the large poisonous snake, Triphylla retreats up the slope to where Valeria waits. "If it gets hold of one of us it will take us under and freeze the water around us, causing a nasty state of shock. Honestly, I have zero interest in fighting it in it's habitat. If it chooses to slither up the sodden chasm I welcome battle with it. I'd prefer to spend two days riding around this gulch then risk tangling with it in this crick."
"C'mon Trip! It is just an oversized river snake!" Lope taunts the halfling as she retreats up the slope, but he himself takes the menace very carefully.
Producing colorful powder from his belt pouch as he says arcane words, Lope steps forward with a defensive position for his blade, while a vivid cone of clashing colors springs forth from his hand trying to neutralize the danger without open violence.
"Easy for you say!" Triphylla retorts. You're twice as tall as me. At least if it wraps you up you're head is still above water."
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Not that she cares in the slightest. Whatever 'perverted' things he can come up will pale into insignificance compared to the perversions of the Midnight Isles, and even the tamer delights of Nocticula's new realm. "I'd better go. Good luck." She adds, before slipping out of the Blue Pennant.
The shopping is surprisingly good fun, she hasn't had a chance to get tarted up for ages and it is simplicity itself to morph her features - giving herself higher cheekbones, narrow eyes and short black hair. The young woman lingering on a street corner near Remington's studio the next day wouldn't look out of place in Minkai or Tian Zia itself, a picture of innocence that is only spoiled by the bloodstain a few feet away and the knife that she abandoned in a mugger's thigh. It wouldn't kill him as long as he had the sense to leave the blade in at least.
Would have done a lot worse with a little more time. Cyrene thinks to herself as she sees Remington appear at his door. Show time.
Fortunately it is raining, which makes her 'pitiful waif' look all the more convincing and, as Remington comes hurrying up the street she rounds the corner and walks right into him, allowing herself to be bowled over by his larger frame. She sprawls, deliberately flashing him a view up her skirt before scrambling onto her knees, eyes down like an embarrassed ingenue.
"Solly, so solly." She murmurs, relying on volume rather than tone to sell the disguise. "So solly sir. Mai Hin so solly." She looks up, seeing his trousers stained by the cheap wine she'd been carrying for precisely this reason. "Oh, so solly sir. May I hep you?" Rather than going straight for the short skirt she'd opted for a light robe that, thanks to the rain, clung to her frame rather than concealing anything and the rapidly forming bulge in his trousers showed that her plan was working perfectly.
<--- PASS
Triphylla throws a generous handful of quicklime into the water which becomes milky white as it dissolves. Whether it affected the snake she couldn't really say because it was already slivering out of the water at great speed, and because she was running back up the hill.
Lope however was in favor of direct action. He moved in and completed his spell, suddenly a vivid kaleidoscope of clashing colors jetted out from his fingers and the snake stopped in its tracks!
<--- FAIL
Environment: Normal lighting, difficult terrain, so half movement and no 5' steps
COMBAT ORDER:
Lope
Triphylla
Snake
Diana <----- WE ARE HERE
Valeria
Diana, Valeria, Lope and Triphylla are up.
You duck back around your corner and run into him, and as you expected he sent you flying. Naturally you put on a bit of a show, diving for effect but it still hurt. His initial reaction was sour, snarling, "Watch where you're going you stupid wench, that suit is worth more than you earn in a month!"
But then he took a better look at you, his leering eyes undressing you with his mind. "Is that red wine? Damn, that's going to stain. You want to help? I'd say you owe me some expensive compensation miss..."
She does her best to look pitiable and helpless, hiding the satisfaction of a plan going perfectly.
With the giant golden snake now on dry land and apparently stunned, Triphylla does not hesitate. Drawing her sickle, she leaps into the air, flying into a barbarian rage and landing aside the snake while making a fierce slash at its shiny body.
"Nicely done, Lope! Let's see if I can hinder for a bit longer for the rest of you to take down." Diana follows Lope spell with another one of her own, and countless glowing particles cover the stunned snake.
Valeria's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the sheer size of the snake as it came for them. She was not about to get cose to that thing but felt relief when it seemed stunned by the quicklime. She cast a spell at it, invoking her goddess' displeasure and then moved away while pulling out Dignity's Barb.
"As they say, the better part of valor is discretion" Lope smiles as Triphylla makes it back to tear the snake into pieces with a jump over it "But if you go for the attack, make sure you startle your enemy with your violence burst!"
The aldori follows up the halfling with a loud shout while Diana and Valeria's magic falls over the snake supporting their assault.
He gets entangled with the river stones, but nevertheless tries to reach the alchemical beast, even if he takes an attack on the go.
Lope's blade is swiftly enchanted with magic as he ducks below the snake's head and tries to deliver a hard blow on her.
With the snake stunned and unable to defend itself, Triphylla goes full ginsu and soon there's blood and viscera flying. Lope closes to melee range and finishes it off with a quick brutal thrust into its brain.
He grabs hold of you with a vice-like grip and starts marching you towards the nearest watch station.
Triphylla leans against the body of the dead snake. It had happened quickly, but they were lucky this didn't go bad.
+1 Adaptable Luck = 15
Her ears perk up as she thinks she hears a muffled cry.
"Does anyone else hear that? Sound like someone cried out. Is that a cave?"
She moves quickly in the direction of the sound.
"Is it dead? That all happened so quickly... You two handled that quite well. I was worried it would put up more of a fight." Diana cautiously approaches the snake's body, looking approvingly from Lope to Tryphilla.
She stops to listen at Tryphilla's words, and nods at her with a worried expression on her face.
"I hear it as well! There could be more of these things around here, might be someone being attacked by another one. Let's hurry, but try to steer clear of the water if we can."
Diana takes a few seconds to cast her protective spell on herself before following along.
"Well, eviscerated snakes do not have long life hopes. I just put the last stitch." Lope smiles looking at the fallen body and too distracted to hear the muffled sounds "Do you think we can sell the gold skin for coin?"
He is already looking for a dagger to skin the snake when he notices everyone running, and so, he started going after them "Well, what is it? Someone else in help?"
You investigate the cries for help and find Festo Mise lying prone in a small cavern in the eastern wall. He's in a bad way, suffering from exposure and shivering weakly, he has a broken leg which shows several nasty looking puncture wounds.
The man seems delirious but he croaks something recognizable when you first approach, "... Abadar be merciful, save Dradi..."
Diana rushes to the ailing man.
"Those wounds worry me." She points to the puncture wounds. "Might be bite marks from one of those snakes. Could he be suffering from its poison? I'm afraid my knowledge of poisons and healing is a bit limited. Is there anything we can do to help him and ease his pain?" She looks to Tryphilla and Valeria, hoping that between Tryphilla's alchemical knowledge and Valeria's healing magic, they can provide some manner of help.
As she lets the rest of the party try to help the man, she ponders for a bit on his request.
"I heard a rumour a few days back that the abadarian high priestess in Lotheedar was worried about two of her priests who had gone missing. From his robes and prayer, I'm pretty sure he's one of them - Dradi should be his companion. I think we should look for them - if they were both attacked, they could be in bad shape as well and in need of our help."