Hi all, play happens in this thread.
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Curtains of water fall from the sky as you traverse the labyrinthine walkways of Sharn. The stone and wooden paths wind around and between the towers and spires high above the ground, forming a complex latticework that can be very confusing on evenings such as this. The rain falls hard, running off higher walkways and balconies in drenching waves, making it difficult to see much more than a few feet ahead of you. The distant glow of everbright lanterns, barely visible in the soaking gloom, does little to light the paths on this warm, wet evening.
Suddenly, a massive gorebrute shifter, that clearly has boar-like features, appears.
His skin is covered with black-grey-pink fur and he has two boar tusks!
It is clear that the more bestial aspects of his animalistic ancestors dominate his appearance as his feet resemble hooves and his hands are rather claws.
The shifter is wearing a breastplate, has a morningstar at his side, and some other weapons on his back.
Kaine wandered the streets of Sharn. He welcomed the rain and the isolation it gave. His mood matched the weather, gloomy. His thoughts, as they often did when he was in these intospective moments, chased each other in seemingly endless loops.
Kaine? Even that name sparks nothing. I wear it like an unfamiliar cloak. The priests of Boldrei said there is no discernable reason for my memory loss, yet I can feel nothing blocking me. I cannot continue to just bide my time here. I must find purpose.
Her minds half focused on her surprising mission and the excitement and fear that goes along with it and the other half hating this rain and watching for threats on this last errand before she is set to leave, Lia almost runs into a large Shifter.
She wears a hooded cloak over her normal armor and gear from under the drooping hood her slightly odd voice, a little higher but more powerful than the average human female, comes out,"Apologies, stranger. Could this weather be any worse?"
The shifter looks at Lia and then at the sky.
"Yes, it could be. Obviously. And they say that I am dumb. That was a dumb question. Or are you trying to somehow trick me? I don't like tricks. Tricks are taught to animals. I am not an animal. You are not animal. So ... ehh ... what were we talking about?" the Gorebrute says and looks at Lia while scratching his head.
Escher realizes that it's time to get going and sets down his journal. The notice on the adventurers wanted board was clear about the time. He looked over across the warehouse of warforged. Arvaldo used to run a flophouse for organic beings, but he then figured that it was less trouble to offer space for warforged. They usually had less money, but they usually stood so took up less space. He stepped out into the aisle and headed out into the rain.
His ectoplasmic sheath was better than any cloak at keeping the rain off, and he had no reason to hide his identity. A few people were startled at seeing him com out of the rain, but he rarely had trouble walking through the lower reaches of Sharn. After a couple thousand stairs and three bridges he reached the area listed in the notice.
Through the rain, he saw a couple figures. From his outline, one reminded him of a shifter he had seen at the job boards. Well muscled with some solid tusks and claws. The other figure was slim, and their cloak looked to be Aerenali style.
Lia stares at the shifter for a second and then sees more movement. She squints at the newcomer.
Escher, wasn't it? We have met."
She takes a step towards him, lowering her hood for her Elven features to be visible.
The Shifter looks at Lia with a confused look on his face.
"Hey elf, I am not Escher!" he says and points at Escher.
"That is Escher!" he says and shakes his head while looking at the Warforged.
A few moments earlier, a half-orc had been walking in the rain with Usgar. The half-orc had seen something interesting and turned aside momentarily, urging his friend to keep going, and that the half-orc would catch up. Now the half-orc makes good on his promise and joins the small, growing crowd.
"Sorry, Usgar. There were pretty lanterns in the shop window. My mother would like something like that in her house." He looks at the others and dips his head, "Who are your friends?"
Bedraggled sums up the half-orc's appearance. He doesn't have a proper cloak, and the rain has slipped past his wide, conical straw hat to soak through all his clothing. Heavy and clinging, the rough homespun hangs from his limbs. His plain leather vest looks stout enough. Could it be a piece of hide turned inside out? A knife rests in a horizontal sheath across his belly; it's supported by his rope belt is knotted at his left hip. On his back is a large itinerant peddler's pack, although it sags mostly empty. Two long wooden staves are tied to the pack and loom above his head. The pack clanks of metal knocking on metal when he moves.
The half-orc's features are almost mild enough to pass for human, and his long, lush hair supports the inference, but a prominent lower left canine that just slips out from under his upper lip, and a faint greenish tinge to his skin, barely discernible in the gloom, proclaim a different ancestry.
Usgar nods at Karsh'e.
"No need to say sorry! I love my mother as well but she is dead I heard so ... " he says and scratches his head again.
"Karsh'e, this is an elf that does not know ligtning or hail or other bad weather ... the elf thought this rain is the worst, can you believe it?" he again shakes his head and looks at Lia with a sorry look on his face.
"Maybe she has a lucky life." There is no trace of irony in the speculation.
This was quite an unusual grouping, and part of his mind was following the dialogue between the disparate types of people. But knowing that a misinterpretation can sometimes lead to tragedy, he speaks to interrupt the direction of the conversation. Addressing the stranger who asked, he replies, "I am Escher, and this is Lia, who channels the power of her ancient and revered ancestors."
...Another empty and lonely rainy night in sin city. The higher the towers, the lower the morale as it turned out. I hope these streams of water that erupt from heaven will wash away all the blood below, since they cannot wash our souls from the dirt that has soaked everyone and everything here...
A tall man with long black hair gathered in a ponytail and in a long coat is approaching in your direction. He smokes, covering a hand-rolled cigarette with his palm and is immersed in his thoughts. At some point, he notices a group and a couple of familiar faces. He seems to be assessing whether it's an ambush or not, and then a terrible cough literally turns him inside out. It seems so bad to him that even if you decide to stab him now, he will not be able to offer significant resistance. And yet he straightens up and straightens his coat, under which - you could see it literally for a second - hides a powerful multi-shot crossbow with a drum, fastened on straps closer to the armpit.
Lost creatures. Poor people, madmen, foreign adventurers. Renegades, like me. Probably scum smeared in the blood of innocents. And yet an order of magnitude better than those who created the rules of this game.
Hi. The man nods to a couple of his acquaintances. He is still looking around the group, as if calculating whether it's time to shoot, and takes out a new pre-rolled cigarette from a small iron box, because the previous one fell out during a coughing fit.
This was quite an unusual grouping, and part of his mind was following the dialogue between the disparate types of people. But knowing that a misinterpretation can sometimes lead to tragedy, he speaks to interrupt the direction of the conversation. Addressing the stranger who asked, he replies, "I am Escher, and this is Lia, who channels the power of her ancient and revered ancestors."
Usgar looks at Escher and seems confused.
“Lia? Escher knows Lea. Aha!“ he says and looks at Karsh'e, “Do you know Lea as well Karsh'e? She always so confused about the everything … ehh … like me?“ he says and smiles at Lea.
Hi. The man nods to a couple of his acquaintances. He is still looking around the group, as if calculating whether it's time to shoot, and takes out a new pre-rolled cigarette from a small iron box, because the previous one fell out during a coughing fit.
Suddenly, his focus shifts to Beren. “Ahhh, it’s you!! The street wanderer!!“
Are there any chance meetings in this cursed city? Are the gods joking with us, or have the gods died long ago or forgotten about us and we ourselves cripple our fate with strange unreasonable antics and rash decisions?
Yep. It's me. Raindrops are running down the person's face and nose, the hair is absolutely wet. He's obviously still suspicious of you. Glancing at warforged, he asks: Escher, isn't it? Are you still working in that rich house? He passed the cigarette to his left hand so that it would be more convenient for his right to pull back the skirts of his coat and grab a weapon.
Lia pulls her hood back up, takes a step away from Usgar and looks to Escher.
"It is agreeable to see you again. I have enjoyed our short discussions in the past.It sounds as if you know some of these interesting beings.."
As Kaine continues to wander, his thoughts are interrupted by converstaion ahead. He sees a small group of people standing in the road. As he gets closer, he thinks he recognizes one of them. The warforged had hired Kaine on a few occasions as a supplemental bodyguard for his patron. Kaine always repsected him for his forthrightness in dealing with Kaine's peculiar circumstances.
"Hail, Escher." Kaine calls out as he approaches.
"And here I thought that I was the only one without the sense to get out of this rain." Kaine adds with a slight smile.
"Oh, I no longer work for Lord Ir'Tonn, thus I have responded to the job posting that seems to have attracted a coincidently familiar group." He turns to Lia, "or perhaps there is some reason we are yet to uncover." The possibilities were quite intriguing, and he makes a mental note about a mysterious meeting as a possible plot device for an opening act.
At the arrival of yet another person he has met, he nods. "Oh, I have bit of an unfair advantage to keep me dry." He will point out people, "Kaine, this is Lia, Usgar, Karsh'e, and Beren. We all seem to be waiting for the same job opportunity. I assume that you came this way for the same?"
Kaine nods to each of the people as Escher introduces them.
"No, just wandering at the moment, but I am defintely interested in any possible opportunities. I was just thinking that I needed some purpose."
Usgar claps everyone on the shoulders.
“All together!! Like a tribe!! I’ll protect everyone one of!! Yes! A tribe!!“ the tusked warrior says beaming.
...
Usgar looks at Escher and seems confused.“Lia? Escher knows Lea. Aha!“ he says and looks at Karsh'e, “Do you know Lea as well Karsh'e? She always so confused about the everything … ehh … like me?“ he says and smiles at Lea.
...
"She is too fine a lady for someone like me to know." Which isn't really an answer, but is very likely true.
"Oh, I no longer work for Lord Ir'Tonn, thus I have responded to the job posting that seems to have attracted a coincidently familiar group." He turns to Lia, "or perhaps there is some reason we are yet to uncover." The possibilities were quite intriguing, and he makes a mental note about a mysterious meeting as a possible plot device for an opening act.
At the arrival of yet another person he has met, he nods. "Oh, I have bit of an unfair advantage to keep me dry." He will point out people, "Kaine, this is Lia, Usgar, Karsh'e, and Beren. We all seem to be waiting for the same job opportunity. I assume that you came this way for the same?"
Kaine nods to each of the people as Escher introduces them.
"No, just wandering at the moment, but I am defintely interested in any possible opportunities. I was just thinking that I needed some purpose."
"Work would be good." Karsh agrees simply.
That's enough. Make some perception checks: DC 18.
(dark vision if it matters)
[dice= perception]1d20+4 (dark vision if it matters)
Yeah, it matters. :-) Waiting on a few more perception checks -- unless you want me to do them.
You spot a figure in a dark cloak moving quietly through the rain on the
skybridge ahead. It seems to be avoiding the dim pools of light cast by the everbright lanterns, preferring to stay to the shadows. Lightning flashes, and you see a shape on the stone floor of the bridge in the brief illumination. The figure quickly reaches the railing of the skybridge, then slips over the barrier and disappears into the darkness and the rain.
The rest of you were distracted by something.
"Someone out on the bridge! They went over the side.!" Karsh'e sheds his pack over his first few steps, then he accelerates into a sprint. His straw hat flies back, but is caught by the string under his chin. The half-orc skids to a stop where the person went over the railing and looks over the edge.
Lia will; walk over to said bridge.
"This is not some urban challenge or ritual, is it? Some groups in this city do strange things daily."
Usgar runs after Karsh'e to see what is going on!
It's a common thing in our places. They'll come down like a feather. But where... Or from where... Beren slowly heads forward, but looks around more to see if someone was chasing those who jumped down...
Lia will; walk over to said bridge.
"This is not some urban challenge or ritual, is it? Some groups in this city do strange things daily."
Lia, you stumble over a dead body, that belonging to a human in his early fifties.
"Ah. I fear this is an all too common occurrence here. Anyone know this man?"
Escher will begin looking over to see if he can catch anybody where this came from.
"Who's that?" Karsh'e pulls back from the edge and looks toward the elf and the body at her feet. It doesn't take long to reach a conclusion. "Beren must be right. Whoever went over the side is a caster who will land safely, and that body is his victim."
Beren approaches and carefully examines the body. Does he know him? Is the cause of death clear and is there any evidence?
Usgar immediately checks the corpse for any belongings, checks for any tracks around the corpse and also looks for wounds.
Escher will stand guard while everybody is checking this.
Lia will also take a look to see what killed the man.
Karsh'e goes back to looking for the jumper.
Beren approaches and carefully examines the body. Does he know him? Is the cause of death clear and is there any evidence? [dice=Perception or maybe Local]1d20 + 6
You know that the body is that of Bonal Geldem, a researcher at the University. You recovered his identification, and also he's clutching a journal.
Usgar immediately checks the corpse for any belongings, checks for any tracks around the corpse and also looks for wounds.
Perception to search body/surroundings: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Survival for tracks: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Heal to check body/wounds: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Lia will also take a look to see what killed the man.
heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Kaine helps Usgar search the body.
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Your concerted efforts reveals a journal, but the pages are all blank. The journal is covered with leather, and the covers are made of wood. There is a symbol of a hammer and anvil on the cover, encircled by a circle.
He has a stab wound in his gut, and this might be what killed him.
Karsh'e goes back to looking for the jumper.
[Dice= perception, dark vision 60'] 1d20+4
You find that the cloaked figure is on the otherside of the bridge, with two goblin lackeys. "I'll be taking that journal," she says (and she sounds like a warforged!) "For my lord, the Lord of Blades!"
Galahad0430
Joseph Martin 681
