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While most hid Ekaterina decides to take the full brunt of the boars. Ra'uf steps out willing to put his safety on the line and help her. His greataxe cuts deep into the boars flank.
Quetzhal shocks the wounded pair, killing one of the boars as the shock stops its heart. Fran hurls her hatchet into another boar's neck while Estes wings miss.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
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Quetzahl
➤ Jack
Fran
➤ Ekaterina
Charlies
⠀⠀Estes
Boar (Green)
Boar (Yellow)
Ra'uf
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Jack stabs one boar to death as it squeals all the way down while Ekaterina zaps and freezes the second boars feet. It tips to the side, unable to take much more as it flees off into the woods, limping the entire way.
After the boars fall and flee, Maeri shoves two leather flasks into Ekaterina's hands. "Some lesser healing potions. You look like you could use them."
A crate previously abandoned by a traders’ caravan lies in the ditch beside the road. The crate contains bundles of damask silk and embroidered satin.
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Maeri, still determined to get to Devil's Rest before nightfall, orders the group to set out.
The journey to the trading post otherwise proves to be uneventful. After several more hours of monotonous travel the group finally arrive as the afternoon fades into dusk. Devil's Rest is a two-story log building that overlooks the crossroads intersection from atop a nearby knoll. It has twin brick chimneys protruding from its bark shingle roof. Outside of the building there is a vegetable garden and a wooden hitching post that occupy the yard to either side of a dirt path that leads to the entrance. Arlo and Navarre notice that the garden's centermost rows are unplanted and the earth appears to have been disturbed recently.
Maeri doesn't take long to determine her task has been fulfilled-- She unhitches her horses from the wagon and quietly bids the group goodnight as she walks the horses around back to the stable.
Heading inside you find several individuals in the common room including one familiar face--- Kellvan is sitting in the corner. The other four individuals you'll come to learn their names as Annavinia, Dehliana, Nordvick, and Selik. Selik is your contact from the briefing.
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"Evenin', folks," Jack♢ greets the Devil's Rest denizens. He spots Selik, their contact, and nudges the other agents. "There's our mark." Upon hearing that dinner is an hour away, the gambler goes to speak with the other trading post patrons, starting from the big round table where Dehliana is seated, posing the same question to anyone who lends him an ear:
"Before we get to business during dinner, how 'bout a quick game?" He playfully lets a stream of cards from one hand to the other.
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Kellvan takes a drink from his mug before setting it down with a heavy thud. "Indeed, I didn't know you were also headed in this direction or I would have asked you to join me. Safety in numbers."
★ -- ★ -- ★ -- ★
Dehliana smiles eagerly "Of course you can join us. I am Dehliana." She looks to Jack. "What sort of card game are you introducing to us?"
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When prompted for his name, Jack♢ gives his usual answer, laconic introduction, accompanied by a flash of the signature playing card: "Call me Jack of Diamonds."
"Say, y'mind playing for high stakes-" Jack♢ offers, but pauses when Charlies expresses interest. "Sure, pal," the elf tells his fellow agent, though his facial expression subtly tells that he's not entirely happy. Whatever plans the card shark may have had of swindling money from this unsuspecting traveler are now made much more complicated. After all, conning money from one's fellow agent tends to be more trouble than its worth.
"Guess we could do a few low-stake rounds..." the gambler says, sounding defeated. "Ya folks ever played 'siege of nines'? Pretty popular in the Shackles. The goal's to capture the opponent's nines..."
In the end, he opts for a fairly casual game, and even uses fair, unmarked cards.
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Ra'uf watches the card game as Jack begins to teach Dehliana how to play Siege of 9's and having a good go of it.
Fran chats up Kellvan. "Just a little bit of the honey mead. It is quite good." He slides the glass over to her. "Here, have mine I am going to retire to my room for a quick nap before dinner.
Over the next several minutes the Chelexian noblewoman Annavinia departs to her room to freshen up as well. The dwarven keep Nordvick speaks up [b]"I am going to go work on dinner while you all talk." He passes out some last round of drinks as he too disappears into the kitchen to prepare a dinner of roast boar and root vegetables.
After several rounds of Siege of Nines Dehliana smiles. "That was quite a fun game." She thanks Jack for his time as she sees most of you heading towards Selik. "Perhaps we can play a few more rounds later after dinner?" She asks heading to relax in her room as well, leaving you your group alone with Selik near the bar.
Selik passes out glasses of brandy, "I am Selik of the Farheaven clan, and that there was Nordvick the groundskeeper! What can I help you with?"
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"Let's not discuss business before dinner. Would hate for anyone to get cranky from an empty stomach!" Selik gives a hearty laugh and takes a drink. "Now, let us all share some stories!"
Selik is wearing a fur coat and has wavy red hair and a short beard. So far he seems to always have a smile on his face. Selik is happy to share and listen to stories for as long as needed. He has countless tales of his family's exploits around the Sarkoris Scar and will listen eagerly to any story told to him.
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As Ra'uf, Fran, and Selik continue conversation, Nordvick announces dinner will soon be ready and he begins setting the round table for the meal.
Selik passionately shares more tales of what to expect as Nordvick brings dish after dish out from the kitchen.
With the table set, Nordvick rings a bell and the remaining guests (Annavinia, Dehliana, and Kellvan) reenter the room and take a seat at the table. There's so many guests that Nordvick brought in extra chairs for the large table and everyone scrunches in real close for dinner. Nordvick has prepared a dinner of roast boar and a delicious plate of root vegetables. The group proceeds with dinner and small talk while eating.
Annavinia is composed and is expensively dressed. She seems to participate little in the small talk but you do learn that she is conducting scholarly research about the area's history.
Dehliana is fairly outgoing during dinner and she shares that she is a medium capable of piercing the veil between the material and the spirit world.
Kellvan you've met previously and he is happy to talk but doesn't mention his investigation at all while at dinner.
Nordvick is also at the table and is cheerful though as the groundskeeper at Devil's Rest he has little to say apart from the comings and goings of the trading post which doesn't seem to amount to anything useful.
Lastly, Selik continues to share countless stories and listen to any tales.
As dinner dies down, Dehliana places a velvet satchel on the dinner table and retrieves some tools including some tapered candles, a silver dousing rod, and a mahogany planchette. "Who is interested in a séance? Which of you would like to commune with the dead?" she asks the group. "Any volunteers?"
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Dehliana is delighted to have a volunteer and smiles broadly as she ignores any reluctance from Fran and Charlies, "Excellent! And there is no need for coin!" She continues setting her tools, candles, and planchette in their spots as Nordvick starts clearing away empty plates. Annavinia looks uneasy, but she remains seated. Selik on the other hand is completely enthralled and is eager to see what happens as Kellvan continues to rest in his room.
Dehliana lights the final candle and settles into a chair at the head of the table. “Place your fingertips on the planchette. The spirits will speak to us through this quill. Remember, friends, I am here as nothing more than a guide,” she murmurs, gesturing for the participants to follow her lead. Her shoulders relax and she rests her fingertips on the planchette. “Spirits, make your presence known and enlighten us from beyond the veil.”
The room is silent for a few moments. The table rattles as the sound of unintelligible whispers gathers in the air. Dehliana gasps when the planchette moves beneath her fingers, tracing a lazy path against the parchment beneath it. “Spirits, are you with us?” She inquires.
The planchette twitches and jerks of its own volition, darting out from under Dehliana’s fingers. In shaky, cramped handwriting, it scrawls the word, “Yes.” Dehliana smiles and turns to face the group gathered around her. “If you have questions for this peaceful spirit, now is the time to ask.”
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Before Dehliana has a chance to respond to Ekaterina the wind outside suddenly picks up, and slams the entrance door shut while also extinguishing all of the lights. The building shakes with intensity to the point that the planchette is knocked off the table. The windows rattle as they seal themselves and now look like the rest of the log walls.
The brass candelabra on the mantelpiece then flickers back to life and reveals a wizened man draped in bloodstained robes standing in the center of the common room. The apparition bellows, “Beware the devil who haunts this place!” He raises a trembling finger to point at each guest in turn and ends at Navarre. Looking at the armiger, “For it serves a cruel master and is responsible for my death! Even now its master lurks within these walls! None shall escape until this night’s end, or till the devil is revealed and the one responsible for my death is brought to justice!”
Dehliana looks at Ekaterina, her eyes wide. "It's not me!" she exclaims as a red-hot poker from the fireplace flies across the room, burns her hand, and then embeds itself into the table as the apparition dissipates.
Selik's eyes are wide open, but he seems to have kept most of his composure. Annavinia and Nordvick both appear to be terrified.
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A drop of sweat trickles down Jack♢'s temple. "Don't think this's some parlor trick, folks..." The gambler takes off his darkened glasses, revealing his onyx-black elven eyes, which are now focused on Dehliana. "For one, scammers rarely include self-inflicted burns in their acts. You okay, hun?" he asks the medium.
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Ra'uf glances at Charlies. "You're welcome to join if you think you could do better."
His criticism is interrupted by the sudden weather - something he is used to enough from days sailing with his father, but not this far inland, and not usually including items flying around inside.
He examines Dehliana's hand.
If healing is necessary, he will provide it. After, he says, "This normal for a seance? I thought we were just chatting."
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Dehliana allows Ra'uf to bandage up her badly injured hand as tears form in her eyes. "No that wasn't normal."
Selik speaks up, "Well, we must get to the bottom of this!"
Annavinia gets up, "I can't take this!" she says as she moves towards the front door and tries to open it. She wiggles the door handle but the door does not move. "Whats---what's going on?! why won't it open?!" she asks with her voice shaking. "I've got to get out of here!" she says as she tries another door to exit the common room ad hide out in her room.
Nordvick, still shaking, has not moved.
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Ekaterina quickly gets up from her seat and tries to calm Annavinia down. "Anna! Calm down! Take a deep breath and release it slowly." Ekaterina puts a hand on Annavinia's back.
"Here, let me try opening the door." Ekaterina guides the woman back to her seat before facing the door. Ekaterina casts Detect magic on the door to check if there are any spells on it before trying to open the door.
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Charlies is taken aback with Ra'uf's statement. He is just trying to help but does not want to participate in the seance. He keeps his mouth mum to not complicate matters but there is something weird already happening around them. "So what is happening?" Charlies asks the medium. "Are we trapped or what?" he is worried they might be cursed, thinking the seance might have angered the spirits. He then follows Annavinia that entered her room, knocking on the door first and will ask her to let him in. "Ey, tell us what happened, maybe we can help you. And maybe you can tell us what is actually happening now?"
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The front door does not budge open at all for Ekaterina. It seems to be fused into the walls. Dehliana looks to Charlies as she stammers. "I..I don't know what's going on with the doors and windows.."
Fran stands up with a hatchet in her hand and Dehliana's hands begin to shake. "I really don't know what happened. Please don't hurt me. I'm not even a real Medium." She begins to cry. "I just use it to try and con a little bit of coin here and there." She points towards the dwarven Innkeeper, Nordvick, with a shaking hand. "If anyone should know anything this is his Inn!"
Not knowing where exactly Annavinia's room is Quetzhal begins to poke around and try to find her and heads into the kitchen. This small kitchen’s central focus is an ancient woodstove abutted by a granite block stacked with dirty plates and half of a carved boar. A copper washbasin in the kitchen’s northwestern corner brims with murky, tepid water. The stacks and stacks of food appear to be absolutely rotten as all of it crawls with maggots. the plates and cutlery in the sink begin to shake and rattle.