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Sorry for ghosting all. Life has been very busy lately with work and family and just not leaving me a lot of free time or mental energy. (On the positive side, the parents are all improving.) We are going to be on vacation next week with what I expect is limited internet access (I know, ideally we shouldn't be doing anything, but its basically a deserted beach, so...) I'll try to check in and post quick updates but wanted to apologize for being such a flake.
Ugh. I'm so sorry, Aarvid. I hope your mom has a full recovery. That sounds scary.
Aldren yawned in the corner while the Sheylnite fussed over the blade. All this was entirely too earnest for his taste -- for a priest of love and beauty, Zachrin talked too much -- but the 'scenery' was nice. And getting rid of that blade is probably good, too.
With delivery of the parchment, Aldren nodded in agreement. "If the rumor mill is already associated with Wex, and Thrune is linking all of these events together... definitely a trap." He thought for a moment, then added, "But with an audience, think of how we might be able to turn it to our advantage. Perhaps there's a way we could flip the table on him."
Back. Thanks for the understanding all, and very sorry to hear about your sister-in-law, Aarvid. Breaks my heart to think about her kids.
Aldren sighed when Lubella waived off the idea of a monetary reward. Later, when they were in private, he expressed his concern to the group. "I realize there are a bevy of altruistic motives in the room and grand plans for saving the downtrodden, but rebellions need coin to function. I'm not sure marching up to the castle and demanding a reward is wise, but let's not be too rash in dismissing rewards." That night, Aldren prayed to Calistria for his spells the next day, including Detect Evil and Detect Curse, both of which he planned to cast on the mysterious blade.
All, I'm very sorry but now in addition to my in-laws having health problems (FIL had a stroke and MIL's best and last close friend just died), my mother is as well: shingles in (or behind?) the eye which is proving very debilitating. It's eating up a ton of emotional energy and time. I'm sorry for the slow updates recently and aim to be back and giving proper focus and attention on March 1. In the meantime, I'll try to keep up but my posts are going to continue to be relatively brief. Snow
Unable to get a read on the woman's motivcations, Aldren continued to keep his tongue still, letting Lubella and Talvek do most of the talking. This wasn't a time for barbs and innuendo, and there was little he could add to their formidable diplomacy.
Aldren nodded in agreement with Sidius. "Rarely trust anyone who says you must make a decision in haste. I agree with Sidius; have her make a show of good faith and take care of the body. If the blade is indeed dangerous, she must understand we won't just give it away without assurances it won't fall into the wrong hands, reward or not. We can assess the blade, then discuss it with her in the future. We could even set a place and time."
When the woman separated herself from the shadows, Aldren paused his exit from the scene. He'd heard the others speak of this particular 'shadow' but had not had the pleasure himself. She seemed less than threatening, perhaps an ally, but hadn't there also been rumors of Thrune hiring people to hunt them down? Can't trust anything. He opted to leave his weapons sheathed or at his hip and merely crossed his arms. That this conveniently put a hand next to his holy symbol -- Just in case -- was a happy not-quite-accident.
Whoever Talvek had spotted, hiding in the shadows as they were, was almost certainly not someone acting as part of the official, public face of "law enforcement" in Kintargo. As such, Aldren's guise of a guardsman would be less than convincing in a confrontation and running a bluff, assuming the person didn't just slip away at his approach. So, the half-elf simply sighed and began walking towards the west.
With some of the team having managed to make their way to the rooftops, Aldren was significantly less mobile. He changed the magical disguise about him to that of a dottari guardsman and stepped out into the street, hoping to head off any unwanted attention. As he did so, he whispered to Lubella through her spell to let her know what he was about.
Hey all, sorry for the unannounced break. I wound up pouring all of my creative juices into another project, but hit the milestone I set for myself. Will catch up on the gameplay and have an update up today.
"Ugh. If only shutting him up would do away with his stench as well." Holding aloft his Mistress's holy symbol, he prayed to hold the slasher where he was. "Hold, wretch!" Aldren wished he had something more fatal in his repertoire, worrying that a helpless opponent would elicit some sense of mercy from the others, but all the noise risked too much attention.
Having not witnessed the initial devastating strike against Lubella, Aldren didn't fully understand how she'd come to have such a deep wound. And while she didn't seem overly concerned, Aldren didn't like the look of it. He advanced further, taking a position slightly behind Lubella and Talvek, then summoned Calistria's power to heal the halfling's injuries.
Having been distracted by the potential of the landlady's windows rotting out around her -- And why am I bothered by this? -- Aldren was slower on the uptake than usual. When he finally heard the sounds of combat, he hurried to make his way around the corner of the building, whip in hand.
Hey guys, I haven't ghosted. Our internet has been s&$$ the last two days along with a lot of my clients (apparently something happened in the northeast or east coast) and I spent most of today just digging out from the work that was piling up. I'll try to catch up tonight or tomorrow morning.
Aldren went over to the landlady's window as a backup plan unfolded in his mind. He then paused to listen.
Oh, my... look at the rot on that windowsill. She better get that fixed.
When it seemed the stealthier members of the group were settling in, Aldren casually leaned up against the corner of the building. He idly kept an eye out for dottari and other complications but also chewed on alternative approaches if Lubella and Talvek's plans ran into a dead end.
"Clear your cache" is a mantra in my industry.
No worries from me. I've been having problems with the website the last 48 hours so probably couldn't have done anything even if you'd updated. And, to confirm, since Aldren can't sneak, he's letting the others go ahead so no updates from me.
Aldren simply drew his whip and let the others take the lead. If sneaking was the order of the day, there was little he contribute but his spells.
"Hmm? What? No, but I trust your eyes more than mine." "Yes, we should pursue. Perhaps one of us should go into the building, to make sure those inside are safe." Talvek whispers back. "If only one, Kyda should cast that whispering spell on them."
"Streets would be better without such predators but dumb muscle has its uses from time to time," Aldren observed, mostly to himself, as the group left the site of the altercation behind.
Indeed, Aldren was still disguised as a scarred and leathery skinned human laborer. Moreover, he heartily endorsed the halfling’s disclosure. ”As the little one says, we’re associated with the Ravens. They are building an underground network throughout Kintargo. The Thrune’s are bad for business and they’re bad for the city. Not only do they fail to stop the slasher, their curfews are probably also putting a bite on your ‘business’, yes? Help the Ravens and you help yourselves.”
Aldren's lip curled with a twinge of disgust. This fool is growing tiresome... Still, the others may prove more useful. Aloud, he said, "I suggest you drop your weapon and listen to us."
Spell Description: You influence the actions of the target creature by suggesting a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two). The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the activity sound reasonable. Asking the creature to do some obviously harmful act automatically negates the effect of the spell.
The suggested course of activity can continue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do. You can instead specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. If the condition is not met before the spell duration expires, the activity is not performed. A very reasonable suggestion causes the save to be made with a penalty (such as -1 or -2).
"I'm all for a good romp, but really, there's something to be said for foreplay. Let me show you." He walks over towards Green and touches her.
I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately but sorry for my absence. My mother came here for Christmas and daycare was closed, so I wound doing a lot of entertaining. Things are getting back to normal now and I am aiming to get back to daily updates on weekdays. Hope everyone has been having happy holidays.
Aldren glanced at Talvek as he engaged the thugs in conversation, then sighed. Whether it was because of the effort to avoid a fight, or the thugs' refusal of the entreaty, the half-elf couldn't say. "Oh, sweet dolls, just hear him out. We may not want a fight but I'm quite sure you don't." He produces his holy symbol and prays to Calistria for calm.
Aldren grunts softly, a sound of agreement. "I smell it, too." His lips purse, then he looks at the others. "Do we know what this fiend is looking for in a victim? Perhaps we can try some more bait as we did with the tooth faeries."
Aldren had been unusually silent but when the keen-eyed tiefling explained what he'd observed, he said, "I say we try to follow this figure. It's the most suspicious thing we've seen today."
Well possibly good or bad news. My younger son was tested positive for Covid today. So we are quarantined for 14 days. Probably 99% will not impact anything here, but depending on how it affects the family, we could be busy taking care of kids or them taking care of us. I was going to post I'm back, then read this. Hope all goes smoothly for your family. Our son brought it into the house and we all caught it, though we were fortunate in that our symptoms were very mild. I hope your family's are, too. Also, I'm back. I'll try to get caught up on my games today and have a post up in the next 12 hours.
Aldren waltzed into the workspace, dismissing the Locate Object spell when it failed to return anything useful, and instead began to concentrate on the environment. Some sort of co-operative or... studio, if this amounts to art. A plan began to develop but, in the meantime, he scouted ahead of Lubella and the group to see if he found anyone with a limp or who seemed alarmed by the halfling and her odd entourage looking through the stalls.
FYI, my father-in-law had a stroke yesterday. Sounds like it was relatively mild but my husband is flying out tomorrow to get a better sense of what’s going on and help his mother. In the meantime, I’m going to be solo-parenting and trying to work, so my schedule may be off this week. Sorry in advance.
Before the group walked up to the shop, Aldren cast invisibility on himself, followed by Locate Object. He used the information he had gleaned from examining the wounds and what the victim had told them to begin scanning for "a small, curved blade that glows red". Worst case, he was simply invisible and didn't contribute to the scene of a crush of people coming to look for a laundry cart. OOC @ GM: I'm honestly not sure if Aldren knows enough for Locate Object to work. The spell requires:
...a well-known or clearly visualized object. You can search for general items, in which case you locate the nearest of its kind if more than one is within range. Attempting to find a certain item requires a specific and accurate mental image; if the image is not close enough to the actual object, the spell fails. You cannot specify a unique item unless you have observed that particular item firsthand (not through divination). But, with his heal check, I'm hoping he has an idea of whether the blade is serrated or not, maybe how long, the degree of the curve, etc. Completely recognize you may determine he doesn't know enough about the blade for the spell to work, but thought I'd try it anyway.
While Aldren was continuously impressed with Talvek's breadth of knowledge, he was no longer surprised by it. A genuine smile and grateful nod were his simple reaction to the revelation. However, to Hetamon, he does add with a wink, "Though, as he said, he won't refuse the gift." To the others, "This seems like a promising lead but we should still be cautious. Invisibly scouting the area or clockworks might be advisable once we get there, but yes, please, lead on." Given that they were once more heading into the heart of Kintargo's impoverished neighborhoods, he changed his visage to that of a human male with a heavily weathered face and patchy blond beard.
Nodding to Hetamon, Aldren said, "It should help quite a bit, though I think we should be somewhat circumspect in how we ask about this. We don't want everyone with a limp suddenly turned into a suspect, nor do we want the actual murderer to go underground. Although..." His lips pursed in thought, then he shrugged and put the idea on the table, "A short curved blade that glows red... I haven't had much luck finding Rexus's cane, but this also seems a rather specific type of item that we might be able to search for, particularly if the murders have happened in a better defined area."
I also agree it's unlikely. (Very.) Just brainstorming. But sometimes long odds payoff.
When Aldren when he showed up a few minutes later she asked, "Everything went OK at the old HQ? Octavio and his crew are at the new place, and they'll be listening for a knock at the top of the stairs. We'll have to buy some more food on our way back, and pick up some more cleaning supplies." A soft nod and lazy smile came in response to the question, "All seems fine and the teams are on their way. We magically surveyed them for any signs of disloyalty, just to be safe before giving them the new location, and everyone was clear."
Aldren frowned at his inability to offer anything new from his examination of the body. An exercise in futility, this is... But when Hetamon indicated he had the necessary spell already prepared, Aldren nodded appreciatively. "That is good news. I'm glad we're of the same mind, and if you share her beliefs, you'll be a better conduit for the magic than me." He then joined the others in discussing the best questions to ask with their limited opportunity.
Brainstorming on questions:
After squaring things away with the teams, Aldren (and Sidius?) went to meet the others at the Devil’s Threads. When he entered, he couldn’t help but think it was time for some additional outfits. The hat provided a welcome degree of versatility, but it didn’t change the feel or touch of a fabric. Focus, Aldy! When the opportunity arises, he examines the body with an eye for anything physiologically abnormal (beyond the multitude of slashing wounds) that a casual inspection wouldn’t reveal.
As he examined the body, he commented, ”Master Hetamon, if you would be willing to let me, tomorrow I could pray for a spell that would let us speak with her spirit. It may be in the moments before she died she saw or heard something that could help us.”
We just canceled our Christmas plans to fly out to see my in-laws. They're in the Midwest and there are no ICU beds left in the entire state.
"*snip*... though it's best we're gentle about how we ask the question - as to avoid having people feeling accused, and potentially alienated." Aldren's lip twitched into the slightest of grins -- And that would not be you, Aldy! -- and he said, "Ah, yes. In that case, it might be best if you explain what we're doing. I'm always a bit rough on the whole 'gentle'-thing."
Zone of Truth: Creatures within the emanation area (or those who enter it) can’t speak any deliberate and intentional lies. Each potentially affected creature is allowed a save to avoid the effects when the spell is cast or when the creature first enters the emanation area. Affected creatures are aware of this enchantment. Therefore, they may avoid answering questions to which they would normally respond with a lie, or they may be evasive as long as they remain within the boundaries of the truth. Creatures who leave the area are free to speak as they choose.
Before giving everyone instructions on how to find the Lucky Bones and begin evacuating the nest, Aldren asked Sidius (and Laria) a question, "While we have everyone here and before they scatter, I can cast a spell to force those in the area to speak truthfully. It's short, just a few minutes. But I could have the teams come by in groups, affirm they will not disclose the location to anyone other than another Raven, then they could be told where to go. Anyone who evades the question we may have to hold."
Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating it.
Aldren was thankful Sidius volunteered to also head to Longroads. He'd been hoping for a chance to talk with the curious spellcaster since they first met a couple days ago. On the way there, "Do you mind if I ask how you came to this little enterprise? I mean, you look like you've spent time in the Greens, too, and you've mentioned a difficult time with your own father. If you don't want to share, I don't mean to pry. I'm just curious. I've a nasty penchant for jumping to conclusions about your type, our friend from last night being another example."
After casting Helping Hand, Aldren adopts the disguise of an unremarkable human male and heads to Longroads Coffee. ”Be careful,” he warned, ”There is no telling what he has disclosed to the Thrunes.”
Perfect. Thanks for the confirm!
As Octavio recounted the prison layout and likely defenses, Aldren kept his thoughts to himself. They were all retrospective and unhelpful in plotting a future path. He glanced at Arcos and Sidius to see if they had any thoughts, then said, "We can split up if necessary. Some of us assisting Octavio and his team, the others going to the Wasp Nest with instructions. Then we can regroup at Hetamon's. I'd like to go to the Wasp Nest. If the shrine is threatened, I should be there." |
