Billy sees the nearest monstrosity way too close for comfort. He wonders where his human shiel... friends are. He flies to (what he hopes is) a safe distance.
He then chants a refrain to cast one of his colorful rays at his attacker.
♫"Hurt Billy? Not today!
This monster makes me sickly.
Hopefully this ray
Will kill it really quickly!"♫
Acid Damage + Dangerous Sorcery: (50) + 6 = 56
As Pine leans out of the way of Red's bite, it's boss's exposed arm is... pretty exposed.
"Think the big one's the real problem!"
Pinebrush wriggles and glares at the creature holding him. "Get that hand offa me, or I'm taking it offa you!"
It's mostly out of his reach, but it's holding him close to its own wrist--rather foolish! He cuts at it before wriggling more to slip away.
Then, letting his whip fall, he tosses his shortsword into the air long enough to quickly apply a salve to his injury. The Juggler is rather helpful.
Billy takes to the air in a move of strategic deftness, rather than fear of being further munched. He turns and blasts the monster that had been bothering him and it is engulfed in acid. Huge lumps of stinking flesh slough off its body exposing bone and internal organs but somehow it is still moving!
Pinebrush twists out of the way of Red which somehow manages to bite its own arm! He promptly stabs the Behemoth in its knuckle which begins to gush with blood and then wriggles free and patches himself up.
Blue, denied its tasty halfling snack, rushes across the battlefield to try and munch on Pinebrush! It snaps out at him but again he ducks and dives and somehow it manages to eat its own tongue. This is simply too much for the poor creature after the massive acid bath and it expires!
CRITICAL, doubled -10
Inspire 2/4
Turn Order
Slick
------------------------------------
Behemoth
Red
------------------------------------
Billy
Pinebrush
------------------------------------
Blue
Bold to act.
Combat status
Slick 72/188
Billy 138/138
Pinebrush 95/138
Behemoth, 224 damage, Used 3, FF end Slick round 3, 3d6 bleed
Red, 10 damage
Blue, dead
Slick prepares for the Behemoth's charge at him, so is a little surprised when the creature decides to swat at Pinebrush instead. "Hey there you large brute! Don't be beating up on my little friend." He flies back and takes a few more cuts at the Behemoth.
If Target <= Huge: The target is flat-footed until the end of your current turn (Powerful Shove & Brutish Shove).
If Target <= Huge: The target is flat-footed until the end of your current turn (Powerful Shove & Brutish Shove).
Slick flies over to the Behemoth and delivers a powerful overhand chop into its skull. He seems to have cut off all of its extraneous flesh and this blow strikes true. It skull cloven in two the massive critter collapses to the ground with a grunt.
Inspire 2/4
Turn Order
Slick
------------------------------------
Behemoth
Red
------------------------------------
Billy
Pinebrush
------------------------------------
Blue
Bold to act.
Combat status
Slick 72/188
Billy 138/138
Pinebrush 95/138
Behemoth, dead
Red, 10 damage
Blue, dead
Slick, expecting his most powerful blows to go unheeded once again, is a little surprised to find that his first slash strikes home and splits the creature's head open. Seeing that he has no time to fly down and strike the remaining scavenger, he instead decides to patch himself up. A silent prayer to Gorum and a touch of his hand to his forehead causes some of his wounds to heal.
Slicks recovers a little of his vitality. Meanwhile, on the ground, Red finds himself with only 1 target! It promptly tries to bite Pinebrush revealing a maw filled with dozens of horribly dangerous looking gnashing teeth! Fortunately he is too nimble for it.
Miss
Critical Miss
Sidestep was already used on Blue.
Inspire 2/4
Turn Order
Slick
------------------------------------
Red
------------------------------------
Billy
Pinebrush
Bold to act.
Combat status
Slick 108/188
Billy 138/138
Pinebrush 95/138
Behemoth, dead
Red, 10 damage
Blue, dead
When Slick mows down the behemoth, the halfling grins, "Nicely done Slick. Just like I taught you." He then turns to encourages the little sprite, "Let's finish him off, Pine!" Billy flies closer to get within spellcasting range. With jagged rocks littering the hillside, Billy sings:
♫"This monster dared attack,
So Billy did take flight.
Time to pay him back,
Together with the sprite."♫
Rejuvenated, Slick looks down at the remaining scavenger. "One more to go." He flies down and takes his sword to the creature.
If Target <= Huge: The target is flat-footed until the end of your current turn (Powerful Shove & Brutish Shove).
If Target <= Huge: The target is flat-footed until the end of your current turn (Powerful Shove & Brutish Shove).
"Slippery little devil this one."
"Of course!" says Pine, using the size difference to his advantage to dart under the creature, "This one should be easy."
Using his wings to hop to an unexpected position, he takes a careful swipe at its exposed... back?
Billy flies forwards and sends a piece of sharp rock slicing into the monstrosity. It rips a jagged hole in the creture!
Pinebrush readjusts slightly, sends the thing in the wrong direction and scores a deep cut across its side.
Slick then swoops down and puts an end to it!
Free of aberrations you can now escort the Captain back to their command post. They are extremely grateful and happily let you take the Trumpet card. They also happily give you some items they found in the ruins. They are, a Marble Elephant figurine, 2 doses of Greater Healing potions and a Panacea. The bottle holding the potions is a beautiful ruby vial of intertwined serpents worth 600gp (details on roll20).
Returning to Harrowheart Baines is, as ever, waiting for you. He takes one look at the disgusting lumps of flesh and rotting blood your are coated in and nearly faints. I, I, err, well, I just have no words...
Slick stands over the corpse of the last scavenger and scans to area for more aberrant enemies. He sees a couple of swarms nearby but they smartly decide not to approach the group. When the captain hands over The Trumpet, Slick smiles. "That's the ticket! That's what we came for." When they hand over the other goodies they found in the ruins, Slick nods appreciatively as Billy tucks them away for later disposal. "Thanks, These are nice too."
Once back in Harrowheart, Slick gives Baines a shrug when the butler pales at the condition of their equipment. "Sorry about that Baines. I tried to the get worst of it off, but there's only so much one can do in the field."
"Eugh," says Pinebrush again, as he digs under the fallen brute to recover his dropped whip, "Maybe I'll just buy a new one..."
He coils and stows the weapon and brings his medic's kit out again. "Okay Captain, now you can let me take a look..."
Back at Harrowheart, he just grins at Baines. "Slick, let me take a look at you, too... Although I didn't know you were a healer!"
He activates the marble elephant, then jumps back startled as the giant animal bursts into life. "Oh. You're very big. Mm. No thank you."
Pine does take the potions, if nobody else does. He does carefully poor them out of the pretty bottle into smaller vials, though. Partially for practical reasons, like the smaller vials being easier to carry and splitting it into separate bottles makes it easier to dose correctly. And partially because Slick is clearly eager to sell the loot.
And he can't blame him. Shiny coins are probably better than a shiny bottle. It's more money then the sprite has ever carried before. Briefly. And then it isn't any more. Easy come, easy go. And those brutes were pretty easy to handle, really. Mostly. It was fine.
After helping Slick recover from their trip (and recovering himself), Pine redoubles his efforts to sneak around the castle without anybody noticing, and then surprising people to catch them off-guard. It's not mischief, it's practice! Mischievous practice!
When nothing immediately comes from their work through the portals, he starts spending some time in Absalom performing. He'll definitely do it better than Billy this time.
At the conclusion of the battle, Billy reaches into his Knapsack of Halflingkind, and retrieves the 4 berry tarts.
He looks around, "Okay, who wants a delicious treat?" He tosses one to Pine, "YOU get a delicious treat ...." Turning to Slick, "And YOU get a delicious treat ..." And seeing the injured Captain, "And YOU get a delicious treat!" With one last tart, he hands it to the captain. "The last one for your troops, my new friend!" Billy bows and, reluctantly, hands the mostly empty knapsack to Slick.
Upon arriving back at Harrowheart, Billy reaches Baines before he faints ... no doubt at the sight of Slick. He quickly says, "But look at me! Look at me!" Not the first time Billy has uttered those words, and he continues proudly, "I didn't get a scratch on me." He grins at Baines and teases, "Who's your favorite, now?" He glances mischievously at Slick.
He spends some of his downtime studying/swapping out spells. And the rest of the time, he can be found performing at The Gutless Griffin.
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The loud sounds of singing, dancing and cavorting echoed in the verdant streets of Absalom's Ivy Quarters. Revelers and performers crowded the streets, each person clothed in dazzling outfits that over-stimulated the eyes. Their voices joined together in a furious cacophony that irritated the ears...Or that's how Sigourney viewed the Ivy Quarters. The tall, blonde lady in a plain purple and white dress had eyes for nothing but knowledge, and this present mystery had the potential to produce a lot of it. Her eyes darted about, two looking to the left while the one on her hat seemed to dart to her right.
"Now, where is that place...The Gutless Griffin. The one with the Harrower?" Sigourney murmured, seemingly to herself.
A tiny white rat poked its head out of her right sleeve. It gestured straight ahead with its pink nose.
"Yes, yes! Straight ahead! Very good, Reginald. I'd hug you, but you're way too cold to hold onto for very long." Sigourney said while shooing her familiar back into her sleeve. Reginald ducked back into her sleeve with an angry squeak.
Sigourney marched into the bar, a serious expression painted on her face. She tried her best to look as intimidating as possible. With her thin, wiry frame and her ridiculous hat, she was not doing a very good job at it. After passing by the menacingly tall bouncer in the front and trying not to look suspicious, she looked around the The Gutless Griffin, suddenly aware of how out of place she looked among the happy crowd. Memories of a misspent youth stuck studying in wizard college flooded back to her...but she pushed them away, sweeping her eyes around the room to seek out what she came here for.
The Gutless Griffin was full tonight. Ale and wine flowed like milk and honey from tap to glass. The bar's patrons were engrossed with a rather engaging performance on stage. Sigourney couldn't help but notice that one of the performers looked really small and fairy-like. "They must employ some interesting magic to produce that kind of illusion...might be worth learning." Sigourney mused.
Sigourney continued to look around, but she could not find anyone that matched the description of a Harrower in this bar. No one was hunched over a table in a dark corner, giving inscrutable advice. She waited patiently until the performance ended and then approached one of the performers - a cheery halfling with a wide smile. Ignoring the music that continually emanated from him, Sigourney spoke. "Hallo there Sir." She addressed the figure. "Do you know where - or who - is the Harrower of The Gutless Griffin?"
Strumming his lute, Billy is finishing his set on stage ...
♫"Keep drinking your meads and your ales.
Bartender is ringing up sales.
....Please come back tomorrow!
....For songs or some harrow!
Rejoice in my glorious tales!"♫
The halfling bows to much applause from the inebriated guests. As he steps off the stage, one such guest approaches him. Fame is par for the course, and he relishes signing autographs.
Billy looks up at the human woman, as he retrieves his pen with a flourish, "Welcome, madam! I'm Billy. But you already know that. Always a pleasure to meet my fans." When she looks confused and asks about a harrower, Billy stows his pen and brightens, "Isn't this your lucky day? You've found him! Please join me." He leads her to his corner table, where a mug of honey mead is waiting. He takes a sip and asks, "So you're here for a reading?" He retrieves his harrow deck and starts shuffling, while studying the woman carefully.
With his keen halfling eyes, Billy notices a corner of a fine harrow card peeking out from her pocket. "Madam ... is that ....? Where did you get that?" He retrieves his favorite card, The Carnival, and shows it to her. He explains, "My friends and I have found ourselves collecting such cards to keep them out of the hands of evil-doers." He looks to the doorman and motions for Slick to join them. "It's been dangerous, but rewarding."
When the fighter arrives, Billy introduces them, "This is Slick. He helps make sure we don't die." Turning to the woman, "And this is ... I'm sorry, madam, but I didn't catch your name?"
Slick watches as the tall thin blonde with the purple and white dress passes by him as she enters The Gutless Griffin. He frowns a little. "Not the usual type of customer we get in here. Maybe she's lost or something." But some gut-instinct stays his hand from tapping her on the shoulder. Instead, Slick decides to keep an eye on her in case she gets herself into trouble. When she gets together with Billy for a reading, he sighs a little easier and gets back to his work. A moment later, he catches Billy waving him over, and seeing no other trouble brewing in the tavern, moves to join his friend. When Billy introduces him, Slick puts his hand to his heart and gives a small bow. "At your service, madam." Then, he too leans it to hear the woman's story.
"Hello Billy. No, I'm not here for a reading." Sigourney admits to Billy. "Personally don't believe in that stuff. But I do know magical items when I see them and..." Sigourney is cut-off as Billy notices The Fiend poking out from her pocket.
Sigourney sighs as she realizes that Billy was more perceptive than he seemed. She nods to the Aiuvarin in greeting. "Greetings, Slick. I am Sigourney. I am a mage of some repute, if I do say so myself." She joins the group at their table, taking out a small flask of water and sipping from it before continuing.
She takes out the Fiend and places it on the table. The disturbing image emblazoned on the card, a green monstrosity swallowing a humanoid creature, is clear for all to see. Sigourney takes a deep breath and starts talking to the pair in a low, quiet tone. "Until very recently I was a librarian in the Forae Logos. Two weeks ago, this card mysteriously showed up on my desk. That's where my life took a strange turn. For one, no one has been able to identify this card. I know it's magical, but I have no idea what it does or if its cursed. And that's related to the second problem..."
Sigourney takes a second, longer drink from her flask before continuing. "My life seems to have been upended since I've received this card. My rat ate over 300 gold of scrolls and caused me to lose my job, even though he's never done that before. I've been stalked by strange creatures and fiends, all of whom keep yelling at me in my mind to give up the card, whatever that means. I've even been swallowed whole by one of those creatures and THAT was truly unpleasant!" Sigourney raises her voice and almost yells the last part in equal parts anger and excitement. She calms herself down, and takes a 2-second long Deep Breath before continuing.
"It's as if my Fate was Stolen and brought out of its intended path because of this card." She points accusingly at the Fiend.
"That brings me to why I'm here. Since you guys have been collecting these cards and keeping them out of the hands of evildoers, you all must have some idea what this card does. I'd like to know what it does, why you all are collecting these cards and what kind of magic does it unlock?" Sigourney asks the group.
Slick leans back after hearing Sigourney's tale. "Your story isn't that different from ours. We all mysteriously came into possession of such a card and our lives were immediately upended. It appears that regardless of how we might feel about it, we've been recruited to track down all the cards of the Deck of Destiny, presumably to keep them out of the wrong hands. Seems to me like you've been similarly recruited, so welcome to the club."
After further consideration, Slick adds. "As far as what these cards can do? If you look deep into yourself, I think you'll find that you already know. Whenever we come across another of these cards, we magically seem to know exactly what it does and how to use it."
After being grabbed for a "filler," Pinebrush makes his way over and hops up on the table with a drink that's rather large for him.
"Still don't know why they give you more coins then me," he grumbles.
Seeing the newcomer, he looks over her card. "Oh, are we showing cards?" Setting his backpack down, he pulls out his rolled-up cards and lays them out flat. That would be disastrous for normal cards, but these are powerful magical artifacts so it's probably fine. And even if it isn't, nobody's shuffling and drawing these cards anyway.
"A juggler can hold three items in two hands, and when I have this card so can I. If I think about it too much I drop things, but if I just do it, it works. Each card is different, but the entire set... seems important, somehow. They're scattered all over the planet--at least."
Standing up, Pine holds out a hand to Sigourney. "I'm Pinebrush. You can call me Pine! Don't call me Brush."
After taking a week to retrain, Slick returns to his job as bouncer at The Gutless Griffin mainly to make sure that his friend Billy doesn't get himself into any trouble, but the extra cash doesn't hurt either.
A crit failure at Level 10 is good nothing.
A failure at Level 10 is good for 0.7gp per day.
A success at Level 10 for a Master should be good for 6gp per day.
A crit success at Level 10 for a Master should be good for 8gp per day.
The crit success result for 21 days is 21 * 8gp = 168gp
Listening to Slick, Sigourney's expression darkened as she realised the scope of the adventure ahead of her.
"By Nethys' broken halves...what a mess I've inadvertently gotten into." Sigourney muttered to herself.
Her expression brightens up after Pine introduces himself and shows off the cool effect of the Juggler. She makes to shake hands with Pine, although given the size difference she extends her pinky until it fits inside Pine's outstretched hand.
"Aren't you such a cute little thing!" Sigourney cooed. "Hello Pine, I am Sigourney, a witch. Oh! You should see Reginald! He's the same size as you!" At her words, Reginald leaps out of her left sleeve and stands on his hind legs, staring Pine down and sniffing at him.
Around 10 minutes pass as Sigourney stares at the card, trying to invest it and understand its effects.
"This...fiend represents the inevitability of evil and of bad omens to come. How morbid. More importantly, I think it provides a bonus if you perform multiple non-striking actions in succession. Could be useful..."
Sigourney puts away the card in her sleeves. "Well, since we are working together for the foreseeable future, I'd like to get to know you all better. How would you describe your strengths and weaknesses? This would help us plan out optimal battle strategies." Sigourney tries to request this information from the party.
Sigourney asks this in her best teachers' voice, honed through years spent in Absalom's academic circuit.
Slick lets out a short laugh. "Battle strategies? I don't know that we have a lot of those. When we run into potential bad guys we can't talk our way around, then basically I run up to them and whack away with my sword until they stop moving... permanently. Pinebrush flies around and chops at them from behind while Billy helps from a distance with his spells. That's pretty much it. Seems to have worked out for us so far. Ha, ha."
After hearing Sigourney's story, Billy nods knowingly. "We're happy to meet you." When the witch's rat pops out, Billy smiles broadly, "Is this Reginald? I love animals! And they love me. But who doesn't?" He quickly adds, "Hey! Maybe Reginald would like to chat with us?" Billy strums a chord on his lute and sings,
♫"I knew right from the start.
We'd be talking heart to heart."♫
Billy casts Comprehend Language so the party (including the rat) can speak Common. Turning to Reginald, "I'm Billy. Are you hungry? Something to eat?"
After the engaging conversation with the rodent, Billy answers Sigourney, "My strengths? People say my music is inspiring. So I sing courageous anthems ... ideally from a safe distance. Oh, and as Slick said, I have offensive spells. Along with helpful magic involving communication!" He nods to Reginald. "My weaknesses?" He flexes his flabby arms.
When the conversation dies down, Billy says, "As Slick mentioned, it seems that fate would have us work together. Care to join us?" Once she agrees, Billy looks to the others, "I can't wait to show her Harrowheart!"
At the end of the night, Billy sees the proprietor, Fronsac Shim, paying Slick. The halfling raises his eyebrows and nudges Slick, "So my copper-pinching friend is finally paying you? Congratulations. It's about time!"
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Reginald looks up at the (comparatively larger) halfling with curious eyes. He clears his throat and coughs. "Hello?" Reginald ventures, speaking in a deep, low voice. "Oh my, you can understand me!" He exclaims with amazement.
"Finally, Sigourney took the familiar ability that lets me speak - I mean, wow, this is amazing! I am Reginald, I'm her familiar, and yes, I am truly FAMISHED! I uhh - I could go for a plate of bacon and eggs - maybe a beer or three - oh do you have any scrolls? Love eating scrolls." The small white rat is quivering with mirth.
Reginald will eventually flag down a waiter and order up some food and drink for himself and Sigourney - pulling out silver and gold coins half as big as he is from Sigourney's sleeves.
When the topic of strengths and weaknesses come up, Reginald will excitedly answer on Sigourney's behalf."I've seen Sigourney's magic for a good part of our lives! It's AMAZING! She can heal, cure ailments, call down the elements on her foes...It's like she's got Primal magic at her beck and call! Unfortunately..." At this point, Reginald looks somewhat apologetic. "We both have a uhhh...employer of sorts. We are contractually obligated to act on tasks assigned to us. We apologise in advance if it messes with anything, but..." Reginald catches an angry glare from Sigourney and promptly stops talking about their patron.
"Oh we would LOVE to join you all!" Reginald exclaims. "We're going to be heroes, Sigourney! Stopping evil and finding magic seems like something both you and the Man can agree on! We're in!"
He seems desperate to have a meaningful conversation with anyone and continues talking to anyone who would talk to him.
Sigourney holds her head in her hands in annoyance.
"This is why I don't let you speak."
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Pinebrush shakes Reginald's paw. "You'd tell me if she was up to something, right? I can--hmph." He sticks his tongue out at Billy as he casts his spell. "I can already talk to animals," he says.
Rolling up his cards and returning them to his backpack, he says, "I used to watch out for adventurers starting out. I stayed hidden and kept an eye on them, and rescued them if they got into trouble. Along the way I sort of became an experienced adventurer myself by accident.
"I'm Wingless--that means I was born here, in this Universe. Wingless sprites are... a little different, and not just because we're born without wings." Pine indicates his back, where there are currently no wings.
"We're, um, mortal like you. Fey can be really influenced by their surroundings, and born here in the mortal world we're more... solid. First World Fey can be flighty, but they don't really change much. We can die, but it's not all bad because we can also grow. And as we get stronger, some of us learn to manifest wings after all. I can't quite do it all the time yet, but I'm getting there! You probably saw, I used my wings when I hopped up on the table. They're magic, and they exist when I use them.
"Um, let's see. I'm quick! Nobody can hit me, except maybe that one giant monster. And nobody can find me when I hide, except maybe Slick. But I've learned a new trick for that! I'm no witch, but I have a few magical tricks."
And he vanishes from sight.
"Oh," says the empty space, "and I'm really good at eating cakes."
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Slick looks down with some surprise as Reginald starts talking. "Huh! A talking rat. Will wonders never cease." He'd never been much of an animal lover and leaves most of the ratty interactions to Billy and Pinebrush.
When Billy mentions Harrowheart, Slick nods. "Yeah, Harrowheart is definitely some nice digs. We get our own rooms and all the food we can eat. Best of all, Baines takes care of all the cleanup after our outings. No more staying up late trying to remove all the entrails and brains from our armor." He pauses in thought for a moment. "I just wish the other..." He raises his hands to do air quotes. "...'people' there were actual people, but you can't have everything I guess."
Addressing Sigourney directly, "If, as it appears, you've been chosen by the Deck like the rest of us, then you'll find that you already know how to use the cards to travel to the Harrow Court and back. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it."
When Billy asks about Slick's wages, the half-elf looks down at his friend with gratitude. "Yeah! Thanks to you apparently. Not sure what you said to him, but Fronsac suddenly seems very eager to have me hanging out at the Griffin as much as possible." He shrugs. "Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. I can always use the extra pocket money."
Sigourney is furiously writing down as much information as possible into a small notebook.
"Harrowheart...rooms and food...Baines?...people that are not people?...Harrow Court...a library!" Sigourney slams her book shut.
"I'm in! Let me see that library!" She exclaims. "But first, how do I use the cards to travel to this Harrow Court..." Sigourney thinks to herself. She stares really hard at the cards, as if willing them to activate and take her to the "Harrow Court".
"GREAT SCOTT! You can speak with animals? That's crazy!" Reginald exclaims with happiness upon hearing Pine's claim. "That means you can speak with me often - oh me, oh my, I've NEVER had a conversation partner or anyone to talk to - this is so exciiiting!"
Reginald's jaw drops as he listens to Pine's story. As Pine literally disappears in plain sight, he claps with glee. "That was amazing! That's so magical! So cool! So...rare! I wish I could fly like that!" Reginald continues to gush over Pine.
"Cakes! Oh yeah, we must celebrate our auspicious meeting here! Waiter!" Reginald snaps his fingers and yells into The Gutless Griffon, trying to call over a waiter. "Give us delicious cakes and frothy beer! Tonight, the tinyfolk will drink and be merry!"
Billy reminds Slick, "Well, yes, he's a talking rat..." after pausing to check the time, "...for about 45 more minutes." He grins at Reginald. "And good thing too, because apparently, he has a lot to say!"
When Pinebrush starts speaking to Reginald in rat-speak, Billy raises an eyebrow. "Well, we didn't know you can speak with animals, Pine! I'm impressed. And envious, since I need magic to do it." He looks at Pinebrush with newfound respect.
Billy turns to Sigourney as her rat is scarfing down cakes, and grins, "I think Reginald will really make something of himself if he just learns to come out of his shell."
Then he turns somewhat serious, "I must have misunderstood, but did you say you didn't believe in the harrow? You injure me. However ..." The bard flashes his affable smile and assures her, "I'm quite certain that you'll be a believer in the harrow, once you experience the magic of the cards ... and when you see the wonderful carnival!" Billy again displays The Carnival card (with the creepy jester and and strange man on stilts) and, indicating the sprite, adds, "Pine's not as impressed ... yet. But the magic carnival gives us visions of the future -- a true representation of what a harrow deck can offer!" Billy tucks the card safely away, cringing slightly when Pinebrush rolls his back haphazardly.
Having been shown how to make use of her card the group is able to magically transport themselves to the Great Hall. As ever, you arrive facing the now dark portals set into the back wall. As ever, Baines is waiting behind you, regardless of the time of day or number of trips you take.
What is not usual is how he is dressed. He wears a frock coat, significantly less dusty than usual, a frilled shirt, ruff, top hat and white silk gloves. He appears to have both washed and combed his hair!
As you turn to face this extraordinary sight he gives a deep, creaky bow to Sigourney. Welcome to Harrorheart Madam, it is a pleasure to have someone of your class in charge at the Castle once more. He tries, and fails, to suppress a glance at Slick. I have gathered the staff to present themselves to you. Indeed, there is a small crowd of people standing behind in a line, waiting to be introduced. They appear to have all been told to wear their Sunday best.
Baines escorts Sigourney down the line, each staff member bowing or curtseying. There are several who are new to Slick and Billy.
Molly and Anna are your chambermaids, Rufus and Thomas here act as footmen, Eric is our groom and handle the Hounds. Do you hunt Madam? We have a fine stable and an excellent pack of hounds. The woods beyond the castle are rife with game. Lydia here acts as archivist and Governess to any children who might be present. This is Emile, he is the cook. Emile gives Baines a vicious glare. Lastly, may I present to you Mrs Prendeghast, the Housekeep.
Charmed I'm sure Ma'am the woman says but her focus is clearly on Baines as she smiles at him like a lovestruck teenager.
A suite of rooms has been prepared for you Madam. They have been decorated in your preferred style but of course anything can be changed for you. You will find the castle well provided for in terms of libraries and workshops. If there is anything that you need I have detailed Rufus to see to any request. He will show you to your room where a bath has been prepared and fresh clothes provided.
With that he bows and leads the servants out of the Great Hall. Rufus, a tall, dark haired young man with deep grey eyes waits to escort Sigourney to her chambers.
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With Sigourney's masterful knowledge of Society she realises that she needs to approach this situation with a level of genteelness normally reserved for nobility. Inwardly wishing that she wore a better dress, she takes out a fluffy fan, opens it and positions it in front of her mouth, fanning herself.
"You must be the majordomo, Baines. Slick spoke well of you to me. I am happy to receive your welcome and gratefully accept charge of the Castle." She declares as she returns Baines' bow with a shallower one. "It is my pleasure to meet the staff of this castle. Go ahead and lead the way." She sweetly says as she fans herself.
Noticing the side-eye given to Slick, she realises that acting too bourgeois could create a rift between herself and Slick and quickly sends a Message to Slick.
"Slick, I'm not actually accepting ownership of this place. I'm just playing along."
Sigourney takes the time to stop in front of each staff member as they are introduced to her. She nods her head in acknowledgment and flashes each one a smile as she calls them each by name.
Turning to Baines and Messaging him, she rattles off comments on the staff. "Yes, I will require the services of Molly and Anna, Rufus and Thomas will need to run around and assist me with my errands. I do on occasion summon Marvelous Mounts and then Eric will need to take care of them. No, I don't hunt, but if there are facilities available here I don't see why I shouldn't give it a try. In fact, please provide me a list of available game around here."
She turns directly to Lydia. "Miss Lydia, as a scholar and archivist myself, I believe I will be calling on your services quite often. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. No children here though - yet. But my familiar Reginald -" She points at the rat sitting on her shoulder - "Is like a child to me. Please take him into your care."
She continues to comment on the other staff to Baines in a quiet voice. "Baines, is there any history of hostility between Emile and yourself that I should be aware off? What about any...attraction between yourself and Mrs Prendeghast?"
As Baines promises that the room would be decorated in her preferred style, she realises that she has never divulged that information. How would they know that I have a thing for mystical Nexian decor? She thinks to herself. She makes a mental note to ask for the locations of the workshops and libraries while also kicking herself mentally for not taking alchemical studies in wizard school.
"Good. Good! Everyone, it has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance. At ease!" She declares. "Baines, could you spare some staff to escort Masters Slick, Billy and Pine to their rooms?" Sigourney quickly messages as the staff leave the room. She then turns to Rufus and asks to be escorted to her chambers, inwardly grateful to have a place to stay.
When Billy sees Baines, he raises an eyebrow. "Baines, you look different. Not everyone can pull off a top hat, but you make it work!"
Billy turns and whispers to Sigourney, "Every time we pop in with more Harrow cards, the place seems to improve little by little." He explains, "For instance, when we arrived the very first time, we didn't have chambermaids. Or footmen." Billy still has no idea what a footman is.
Indicating the dark portals, Billy tells Sigourney, "Each of those portals led to a different part of the world. In each location, we found people who needed our help. We were typically rewarded with a harrow card." He adds, "We had just finished exploring the last one when we met you." The halfling continues to look around the Great Hall, marveling at the improvements.
When Sigourney messages Slick about taking charge of Harrowheart, he chuckles. ”Don’t worry on my account. This place seems quite capable of running itself without our help, but knock yourself out if you like.”
Looking at the now empty portals, Slick shrugs. ”I half expected another portal or two to have shown up by now. Seems the Deck is in no hurry to have us go looking for more cards.”
As he receives his instructions from Sigourney Baines is positively sycophantic. He replies in hushed, almost reverent, whispers, Of course Madam, everything will be done in accordance with your wishes. I shall arrange for Eric to provide a full briefing to you on all of the available sports around the castle.
As Sigourney shows off Reginal to Lydia the woman fails to stifle a cringe but quickly recovers. Reginal hops onto her hand and she visibly shudders and goes pale. I will show him around the library at once ma'am she blurts out before almost running from the Great Hall.
At the mention f Emile Baines almost bristles, Hostility, of course not Madam, Emile understands his place in the Castle hierarchy he says rather archly and well within earshot of Emile who goes bright purple.
He snaps his fingers and Thomas comes to attention. Escort the gentlemen to their rooms Thomas, we wouldn't want them getting lost and wandering the corridors. Sir, Yes sir!
With everyone once again ensconced into the Castle life returns to normal. With the investiture of the Fiend card new rooms appear in the basement, suitable for various summoning rituals. With them comes Mistress Grendle, an elderly witch and devotee of Nethys. Dressed all in black and wearing a thin gauzy veil over her face at all times she haunts the castle like a spectre. The maids are utterly terrified of her but she appears harmless enough.
Inside, the castle is becoming more like a home. One day you come down to breakfast to find the main staircase lined with pictures of your ancestors. Sigourney's are the most prominent but even Pinebrush sees a few figures he recognises from his own past. Beyond the castle, the village at the base of the hill has expanded into a small village. A Town Hall has sprung up and you are visited by Mr Oglethorpe, the newly elected Mayor. A short, fat, man with a red face who wears too tight fitting jackets and an enormous cravat he is very keen to invite you all to a civic reception which is being hosted at his small estate on the edge of town. He assures you that only the very best of society is to be invited and hints that his daughter (of decidedly marriageable age) is keen to meet you all.
However, before the social event of the season can occur you are, once again, called to the Great Hall by Baines. The archways are once again active, at least three of them are. The other three remain utterly dead. This time each of them shows the same scene, rolling grasslands leading to a massive cliff face. A set of enormous stairs have been carved into the cliff and they are flanked by two statues, each hundreds of feet high, carved to resemble an imperious bald man wielding a glaive and holding a spellbook.
You easily recognise the location as the infamous Storval Stairs, a set of giant sized steps connecting the Storval Plateau with the grasslands of Varisia. The statues are of Karzoug, one of the ancient Thassilonian Runelords and the cliff face is carved with many chambers, both open and hidden. The Stairs themselves are strategically important and have been controlled by a variety of groups over the years.
Sigourney feels slightly bad at the way her arrival seems to have shaken up the whole social structure of the castle. She makes a mental note to avoid letting Reginald into Lydia's sight as she does not want to distract Lydia from her primary duty of managing the archives.
At some point in time she messages Billy. "Excuse me, Billy, but would you mind helping me gather information as to why Baines has a distaste for Emile? I'd find out myself but I doubt I'd get an honest answer from the staff." Sigourney asks in a tired tone. Even in a demiplane she has to deal with politicking. She manages to bite down that disdain when talking with Mr Oglethorpe and reluctantly accepts the invitation to the civic reception...Even though she'd much rather stay in the castle reading.
When the pictures of her ancestors suddenly manifest on the main staircase, Sigourney hurriedly looks through them all until she comes across a picture of a human male in his late 40s. Unlike the rest of the paintings of her ancestors, this man's portrait does not depict any magical tomes, implements or staves - in fact, his portrait prominently features flask after flask of strange, bubbling liquids. Sigourney walks away angrily, muttering under her breath about "Crazy Uncle Jerry...squandering his magical potential..." She does not acknowledge that picture again.
The majority of Sigourney's time in the castle is spent either reading books in the library or interacting with Mistress Grendle. As a fellow devotee of Nethys, Sigourney respects Mistress Grendle for her lifelong pursuit of magic. "Mistress Grendle..." Sigourney begins in a very humble tone, "As a fellow devotee of Nethys, we both share the desire to propagate magic. For that reason, would you like to exchange spells?" She asks.
Sigourney makes a point of avoiding the summoning circles. Those circles bring back memories of fighting fiends. Fiends that attacked her after she received the card. Fiends that entrapped, slew or manipulated many members of her family. Fiends that...Sigourney slaps her cheeks, banishing those unpleasant thoughts. At the very least, all that ruminating helped reinforce why she continued to work with her patron.
Sigourney is unexpectedly awed by the scene before her in the archways. She is especially impressed by the statue of Karzoug. Secretly, she admires his magical ability and his strength. She thinks back to her Magical History studies in wizard college...
She shrugs her shoulders and prepares to step through the portal with the party.
Reginald is utterly unaware of Lydia's dislike of rats and eagerly hops onto her palm before contentedly nuzzling against her fingers.
He spends all of his time at the library reading books as big, if not bigger, than he is. He seems to gravitate towards dictionaries and thesauri, devouring page after page (in a metaphorical sense).
When the time comes to step through the portal, Reginald jumps into his safe spot within Sigourney's right sleeve of storage and waits for the signal to leap out.
Billy continues to be awed by the improvements to Harrowheart -- and to the top-notch staff that Baines hires. He very much looks forward to each visit after recovering new cards.
When Sigourney asks about the hostility, Billy shrugs, "Emile is from Galt. Baines is not a fan of Galtan cuisine, so he refers to Emile as a lowly cook, not a chef." Within earshot of Emile, Billy adds, "Emile's food is excellent, by the way."
Billy is excited to meet the new Mayor Oglethorpe. "A gala reception? Will there be entertainment?" He strums his lute and asks hopefully, "Would you like there to be?" Billy looks forward to meeting (and making) new fans.
On the morning the portals activate, Billy rushes to take a look. Using The Vision card, he studies the portal.
After Sigourney and Billy share their information, Billy turns to Slick, "It's been a month. Time for another harrow reading." He leads the way to the Parlour, encouraging the others to tag along if they wish. He retrieves his fine harrow deck and prepares to perform his Harrowing ritual for Slick and himself.
When he's done, he offers the next seat to the sprite, "Pine, how about a reading?" And finally, he turns to Sigourney, "I realize you're a skeptic, but give me chance to change your mind?"
With the readings out of the way, Billy announces, "Off to the carnival for a few hours to learn about a future foe!"
Billy goes through his normal daily preparations: He invests his magical belongings, casts Musical Accompaniment, prepares the Staff of Final Rest, uses his new Wand of False Life. He then shuffles his harrow deck and draws a Harrow Omen card.
Billy picks the suit of Crowns as his active harrow omen.
Finally, he activates The Carnival card to learn about whom we might meet later that day.
He strides up to the portal, and says with a straight face, "Good thing that didn't take too long. Everyone ready?"
Pinebrush grumbles a bit as Rufus is introduced. "How come I didn't get one of those?"
He settles for Thomas, and bites back the urge to point out that he already knows how to find his room.
He spends a bit of time during the days in the library, looking over magical tricks. A reception sounds fun, but a "civic reception" sounds less fun. Pine isn't surprised that the mayor's daughter wants to meet him (Who wouldn't?), but he's a little less clear on why he's supposed to want to meet her.
Observing Billy's Harrowing ritual, he's uncertain. "I thought the Harrow was more of a fortune-telling party trick than magic. And some of that is so vague it could mean anything. But... there has to be something to it, I guess, given the whole..." he waves generally at the whole of Harrowheart. "Our cards are obviously magic, but we're not using them for Harrowing, either."
And then the portals are active again--this is the exciting part--and they're waiting. "Come on, come on, come on! Let's gooooo--wait. Baines. Baines!" Pine waves up at Baines, who clearly has not heard him. "What does it mean when there's three portals showing the same place? Why not just one?"
Slick examines the paintings of his purported ancestors. He recognizes his mother, Ashril and assumes that the other elves must be her ancestors. His mother didn't like to talk about her family and Slick's interest in those that had ostracized her because of him, was almost nil. The Shoanti portraits of humans held his interest for longer. He assumed that one of them was his father and the rest his paternal ancestors. His father had always been the anonymous Shoanti warrior that had raped his mother during a raid, and Ashril understandably refused to revisit that event in any detail. Slick carefully memorized their faces so that he would recognize them should they ever cross paths with him. It would be a dark day for them if he ever did.
As to the shenanigans that the staff got up to, or the intricacies of their romantic and other relationships, Slick had no interest. He'd tried to interact with the ever-growing number of denizens of The Harrow Court, but there was something about them that depressed him; it was almost as if they were soulless automatons playing parts assigned to them. Slick far preferred the more real people that patronized The Gutless Griffon, and so spent most his time there instead.
When the archways reactivate, Slick examines the scene they reveal to them. "Looks like old Karzoug certainly though a lot of himself. Seems we're in for a climb. I hope Varisia is nice this time of year." He turns to head to his chambers. "No time to waste I suppose. Let me get my stuff ready."
Before leaving, he lets Billy paint the occult symbols of the harrowing ritual onto his body. The previous ones had faded away. "I didn't get to use all the last ones. Maybe this time will be different."
Mistress Grendle currently remains rather standoffish and difficult to pin down. She floats about the castle and is only seen occasionally, normally just disappearing down a corridor in the corner of your eye. Trying to track her down seems to be rather fruitless, its as if she knows other ways around the castle that you do not. Perhaps the place is riddled with secret passages you have yet to find. Baines utterly denies that such things exist if you ask him!
Mayor Oglethorpe is thrilled that Billy is excited about the upcoming Gala. Being rather dense and unobservant he assures Billy that he has secured an excellent group of players from an unnamed but nearby metropolis. He is very excited to hear them play.
At Peinbrush's query about the Portals Baines sighs. I am sure Master Billy could explain Sir he says with a rather world weary slump. However, my understanding is that each portal leads to one of the cards. If three portals are active at the same time and each shows the same location then presumably that means you will find three cards in the area beyond. Under his breath he mutters, Gods preserve us, what will they bring back this time...
The group put their heads together about the region. The Storval Staircase was constructed by Karzoug during the period of the Thassilonian Empire, 10000 years ago. Since their downfall it has been fought over as the main route connecting the plateau with the rest of Varisia. Most recently it was held by a hill giant, King Formach, and his harpy allies. They were killed by the Pathfinder Society.
The region is home to the Shoanti, a clan based people with various animal totem. The Haw Clan is most prevalent but in the are of the stairs but giants and harpies are also common. Who controls the stairs currently you do not know.
Billy once again visits the Carnival. There he is drawn to a tent sitting out on its own. Entering it is dark, a figure sits at a table and gestures for him to sit. They lean forward and he is confronted by a mostly blad woman covered in tattoos who offers to tell his fortune. Offering her a coin she lays out a set of cards unfamiliar to him. The images are dark, indistinct and seem to swim and change. You fate is tangled and uncertain Billy. Despite the ominous nature of the reading Billy is pretty sure he can trust her.
Heading further in he once again enters the big top. There he finds himself in the midst of the clowns performing. They are raucous and chaotic, tumbling about, bumping into one another and howling and screaming with laughter. The audience seems paralysed with terror and Billy soon realises that the faces of each clown are skeletal!
With preparations complete the group steps through the portal. You appear on the rolling plains, a few miles south of the stairs. You are in the middle of a camp of hide tents. A dozen or so Shoanti warriors sit around a camp fire talking quietly. They start as you appear and a bald headed woman Billy recognises jumps to her feet with a smile on her face.
The woman spreads her arms in greeting, Welcome mighty adventurers, I am called Shaldar Falls Far, welcome to our camp. We are happy to greet you, please share salt and meat with us. I assume you are here to rid the stairs of the interlopers?
She then turns to her warriors and says something...
See, I told you adventurers would turn up eventually. Dont they always. We just had to be a little more patient.
Sigourney provides the information about Hill Giants and Harpies to the party. She emphasises the hill giants' ability to make whirlwind strikes and advises hit and run tactics. In particular, she informs Billy about the dangers of a harpy's song.
...
The GM determines what other questions to allow. Usually this is simple as long as you stick to one question. Any question must be about something observable in the game world, not the abstract numbers of the rules. The GM might tell you a lumbering monster’s Reflex save is its weakest—translating a concept your character could understand using the game term for clarity—but wouldn’t reveal the exact Reflex modifier.
Interlopers? What do you mean by that? Are they human or otherwise? Are they magical? Sigourney asks Shaldar and continues to ask her about the interlopers.
Unbeknownst to the others, Sigourney is talking not just to gather information, but also to examine Shaldar with a Biographical Eye. She looks for signs that prove she is really a Shoanti warrior and if she actually lives here.
Slick examines the Shoanti warriors to see if any of them match the portraits of ancestors he'd recently viewed on the walls in Harrowheart. Luckily for them, none do. Nevertheless, he is automatically suspicious of them and keeps having to tell himself, "not all Shoanti." He leaves the talking to Billy, who has a gift for endearing himself to even the most recalcitrant, though given the greeting the bald woman was giving them, his skills might not be needed here.
After spending another unique time at the carnival, Billy runs back to the others excitedly saying, "...and this time, someone gave me a reading! Her head was devoid of my luxurious golden locks, but she was nice."
Then he turns serious, "I know we're expecting giants and harpies, but I saw chaotic skeletal clowns." He muses aloud, "And that's why clowns get a bad rap." The halfling sighs, prepares his things, and enters with the group.
At Shaldar's welcome, Billy nudges the others, "She's the nice seer from the carnival." Unfurling his cloak, he steps up, with his jug in hand, and addresses her. "Greetings, Shaldar Falls Far. I am Billy. These are my friends. And yes, we are adventurers. We don't know about any interlopers, but we're happy to help."
Sitting down to join them, Billy nods, "We'd be honored to break bread with you. Do you like honey mead?" Billy pours drinks and adds, "I have magic that would allow us to speak your native Shoanti. If that's best, please let me know." He sips his mead while listening to her tale.
Did I do well enough to get weaknesses or lowest saves? Per pg 231-232 of Player Core 1, new recall knowlege lets me work with the GM to ask one question - which could also be the weakest save/weakness. I forgot to ask the question before hand but I would probably always ask for saves/weaknesses.
Shaldar grins openly at Sigourney. Yes of course, please, sit and eat with us. We have much to tell you. We have been waiting for a group of adventurers to arrive. Some of us had started to doubt she says, glancing at several of her warriors but I always kept faith.
After the Pathfinder Society dealt with the old "King" we were able to take back control of the Stairs, which are sacred to our people. We kept them open and safe for travellers seeking to cross the plateau. However, several months ago we were driven out by a group of mercenaries calling themselves the "Band of Blades". Most of the Band are humans, half elves and the like but there is a particularly unpleasant dwarf and stone giant amongst them and they have allied with a group of harpies as well.
Most of our clan retreated to other holdings on the plateau but we remained behind to keep an eye on things and wait for a group of adventurers to come along and help us out. It always seems to happen that way and here you are! So, what has brought you here?
Shaldar happily accept a drink from Billy. We speak your tongue, save your magic friend.