I'm stepping away from doing PBP stuff on Paizo. Personal reasons. I don't want to leave my games in a lurch, two of them have been rescues I picked up from other DMs who quit, because I know it sucks for a game to end prematurely. I feel awful ruining things for you guys. So I am hoping, perhaps, some of you might be willing to pick one or more of my games up. If anyone is, I can hook you up with all the pdfs, any notes I've made, plans I was brewing, whatever. I joined a patreon for this game and have tons of extras.
I'm really sorry. Never wanted to be the one posting this message.
I'm stepping away from doing PBP stuff on Paizo. Personal reasons. I don't want to leave my games in a lurch, I know this one already hit one and I snagged it from Lief, because I know it sucks for a game to end prematurely. I feel awful ruining things for you guys. I don't suppose Lief suddenly has the time to take the reins back over?
I'm really sorry. Never wanted to be the one posting this message.
I'm stepping away from doing PBP stuff on Paizo. Personal reasons. I don't want to leave my games in a lurch, two of them have been rescues I picked up from other DMs who quit, because I know it sucks for a game to end prematurely. I feel awful ruining things for you guys. So I am hoping, perhaps, some of you might be willing to pick one or more of my games up. If anyone is, I can hook you up with all the pdfs, any notes I've made, plans I was brewing, whatever.
I'm really sorry. Never wanted to be the one posting this message.
I'm stepping away from doing PBP stuff on Paizo. Personal reasons. I don't want to leave my games in a lurch, two of them have been rescues I picked up from other DMs who quit, because I know it sucks for a game to end prematurely. I feel awful ruining things for you guys. So I am hoping, perhaps, some of you might be willing to pick one or more of my games up. If anyone is, I can hook you up with all the pdfs, any notes I've made, plans I was brewing, whatever.
I'm really sorry. Never wanted to be the one posting this message.
The above, I'm copy/pasting into all my games. You guys, though? My still-unnamed guardians of Breachill? I love you guys. We almost made it to a year. I commissioned a student to illustrate the party as a surprise -- it's not done yet, but I'll still share it once it is. I will miss you guys, and I'm sorry to cut short your attack on the mine after like 3 weeks of planning >.>
I'll check in over the next couple days to see if there are any takers on DMing. I'm sorry again. <3
Belor gives Diego a look that speaks volumes. "This is Justice Ironbriar, from Magnimar. It seems that my pleas failed to net me additional guardsmen, but arresting the man responsible for the goblin attack on our city at least got the attention of the courts."
Ironbriar gave the slightest bow of his head in greeting. "The man who allegedly was responsible for the attack, Sheriff. Or is Sandpoint in the habit of denying its citizens a fair trial before guilt is decided?" He peered at the two captive women. "Now, it seems, you're accusing someone else of the same crime?" He made a soft tsking sound. "It's a good thing I came along, it seems."
Lief may have heard of the man, as he is a senior member of the judiciary in Magnimar.
The night passes without incident, the sounds of mining picks on stone a constant background percussion as the cultists seemingly have shifts work even in the darkness.
Morning comes, and rain comes with it. The overcast sky is still light enough to see unimpeded, but fat, heavy drops fall from the sky to make for a dreary, drenched start to your day. On the up side, the sound of the rainfall will mask the sounds of you moving through the foliage. +10 on stealth checks. On the downside, it's likely to make the ramp down into the quarry more treacherous, not to mention that muddy patch to the northeast of the clearing.
You recall the Sheriff returned shortly before you departed for Thistletop, and was the one who asked you to investigate, since Magnimar wouldn't send backup. Feel free to chime at any or all points below.
You all seem in agreement and head into town, Nualia and Lyrie manacled and gagged behind you, and as predicted, the town gossips start whispering and dozens of eyes linger upon you all as you pass.
Ameiko is sweeping the walk in front of the Dragon, her bruises mostly healed at this point, just a few discolored spots on her face remaining from her brother's beating. She looks intensely curious, but refrains from bombarding you with questions. "Welcome home," she calls. "Glad you all made it back!"
-----------
Daviren Hosk, the fellow you runs the Goblin Squash Stables, frowns upon seeing the horse as you pass his establishment. "Have you been neglecting that animal?" he calls out.
----------
News reaches the garrison ahead of you, and Belor Hemlock meets you in the courtyard, with a half dozen other guards you don't recognize right behind him and a rather imposing looking elven fellow to his right. "You're back," he stated the obvious. "And it seems your mission was successful."
Sense Motive DC 15:
Hemlock's tone is guarded, and there is a touch of strain to his mannerisms. You gather this person beside him might be someone important, and furthermore, get the impression Hemlock doesn't like him much.
Rickety says nothing during, or after, Mateo's speech. The swashbuckler can see the veins in the old man's temple flaring angrily, and Mateo doesn't doubt the man wants to deny his words, but to his credit, the old squibber keeps any argument to himself. He stares after Mateo wordlessly as the Devil takes his leave.
RP anything else you wish for this day, but I believe there was to be a meeting the following morning to sort out the Pegsworthy situation, so once you're ready to move to that...
The tap room of the Commons was cleared out the next morning, and a long table was set out. Along one side, there were seats for each of you. Along the other, seats for Pegsworthy and the officers he'd brought aboard. Rickety took a seat at the head of the table. The only other people present wereThelma, who was bustling about filling drinks and placing breakfast refreshments, little fruit tarts and pastries, in front of everyone, and Veja, who was curled up in his tub, still sleeping.
Can pick up right before the meeting starts, and you don't -have- to attend if you'd be off doing something else.
Demalyn frowned thoughtfully. "Dryads cannot consume alcohol. It does not make us drunk, just very sick. And this party is the only one I have been to."
She tapped her lip, considering. "I have never mated, but one time, there was a man who entered the woods and tried to cut down my sister's tree. She was very cross with him, and used her tree's branches to trap him. She gave him a chance to apologize, but he would not. So she stripped him naked and left him strung up for days. It was not sex exactly, but she did mount him on some vines. I do not think he found it pleasurable, but she said it was very funny." She smiled innocently, clearly oblivious to how dark her tale was.
Mateo would find Rickety overseeing the resumption of work on the ship, though mostly he was standing there, arms crossed, glowering. His workers sensed his mood and kept their distance, while working hard under his watchful glare. The old man did not acknowledge the swashbuckler's approach.
There is no sign of the predatory cat when you take your leave -- aside from a few tracks which, alongside a single pair of goblin footprints, imply the beast may have had a master that fled alongside it once it became clear the rest of the goblins had been slain or run off.
You make your way out of thebriar maze and eventually back to the Lost Coast Road. The horse is eager to graze, once you're back to an area the goblins had not despoiled, so the going is a bit slow. But shortly after midday, you lay eyes on Sandpoint once more. It's only been a couple of days, but it feels like much longer, after all the things you dealt with in the goblin stronghold. But you're finally home.
Lisi will need stealth and diplomacy with the dino. Yasami will need stealth and if she's trying to find the kobold leader, perception.
Any form of fire will blow them up. You can try pouring a trail and risk them kicking the flame out like you did with Gerhard, or you can shoot them directly with fire damage.
The pixies know what's up. Only Vash is faster on the draw, as all three rapidly touch tiny noses in sync.
For a noblewoman, Adela catches on fairly quickly. She grimaces and removes her other finger from Karley's nose, wiping it on the halfling's clothes.
Demalyn, on the other hand, has never heard of this game, and watches in fascination as every else touches their nose, finally, belatedly, mimicking the motion, then pulling her finger away and staring at it curiously. "What is 'debauched'?"
While the horse is definitely in need of a little TLC, he's strong enough to carry some cargo, and you affix the treasure you found to him without issue.
Lanni trails off as he reaches the bar, and cannot see Veja. Short as he is, he can't see past the counter, but he can hear. Thelma has already taken a big washbasin and had some of the local youth, including Cricket, fill the thing with water. Veja is curled inside it, splashing about a bit, having gotten a bit dry since arriving.
Nico's experience growing up on the farm came in handy, and she spoke soothingly to the poor abused creature, coaxing it out. It was a magnificent animal, graceful and beautiful even filthy and underweight as it was. A little care and he would be a mount fit for a king. He's an advanced horse, which is a very silly sentence.<3
The rope bridge could be tied off more securely to ensure it would hold his weight. It's how the goblins got him across, after all. The horse was not thrilled to walk across, but Nico kept reassuring the beast, and with nervous nickering, the stallion followed her lead.
Nualia, still gagged, lets out a very indignant sound at being flung over Diego's shoulder, and a muffled yelp when she's thrown over the trap -- a trap she is well aware of, and understands the danger of.
You return up a floor without incident, and Lyrie is still in the cell you left her in. Her face appears relieved, when she sees Nualia alive, but as you left her bound and gagged as well, they can exchanged nothing more than significant glances.
In short order, you're back in the courtyard, just outside the shed where the half starved horse is held.
"Aww, Des...I already hated you," Syl said sweetly. "But then, I hate most of you. In fact if all the people I hate would please leave, I got stabbed, twice, and I heal faster when I'm not angry."
What had begun as a quite ridiculous encounter ended as a very merry evening.
You helped Adela clean the home she'd let fall into disrepair while under the effects of the curse. The place had the potential to be quite cozy, once the spoiled food, cobwebs, and such were cleaned out. She still had various food staples in her pantry that had not gone bad.
Adela set the fairies to a game -- a race to find the most berries. They came back with prize after prize, and the former Duchess baked a delightful pie, explaining she'd always loved cooking, in spite of having servants to do it for her. Warm food, dry surroundings, and laughter at the pixies' antics made for a peaceful evening.
Willow used her key out in the clearing, and a cottage sprouted up beside Adela's. Feel free to describe the appearance -- it's very small, just one cozy room inside, ten feet to a side, but your imagination creates the details. She and Nuruk take their leave, and Adela finds blankets and cushions for the rest of you, welcoming you to find a spot in her common room.
RP the night all you wish! Downfall is near enough to reach tomorrow, so enjoy the respite while you can...
Waving my DM wand a bit, and nudging things past the current hurdle...
Investigating thoroughly, you find that Nualia's pendent does indeed appear to match the arcane seal on the southern door. Pressing the seven-sided star against it should fi perfectly, should you decide to face the creature within.
A similar panel just inside the room, beside the doorway you opened, bears the same signal, and appears as though it will close the door again, if similarly activated -- the person closing it will need to hustle out before it closes, but then a pair of coins should work to open it again. The coin slots are less well hidden, with the illusion gone, but on the flip side without the pile of coins, there was no hint as to what the slots were for.
For a very long moment, Rickety stood unmoving. You could cut the tension in the air with a knife, but Syl refrained from doing so, which showed remarkable growth, really. A pre-Mateo Syl would likely have thrown a dagger through the man's throat and been done with it. But that Syl would not have protected the man to begin with.
Finally, the old man spoke. "You took a life from me. Now you gave one back," he growled softly, voice strained. "I put a king's bounty on your head. Now I'll take it down. On one condition.". His face broke into a look of anguish. "You tell me why. Tell me why you killed my boy."
Syl set her jaw and stared coldly at Rickety. "No.". The weird was spoken with finality.
The old man seemed surprised by the refusal. "You'd rather keep living with every bounty hunter in the Shackles after you than give a grieving father closure?"
She said no more, just stared.
Rickety's angry look returned. He returned her stare with one of his own. "We'll finish your ship. Then I want you gone. The bounty stays. The only part of you allowed back here, ever, is your head.". He stormed off, leaving everyone standing around awkwardly near the open doorway.
"If I may..." She starts hesitantly, glancing in the direction of Mateo and Syl's room. Her face hardens a bit and she reaches out a hand to stop Rickety's ascent. "She's part of our crew. She saved your life."
"You may not." Rickety replied shortly to Atia's first comment, brushing away her hand. "You stand on my spit of land, in my Commons, where I have my own business to conduct at present. Kindly refrain from interfering."
Destinie chimed in with an attempt to appeal to his rational side, but he didn't respond. Terry watched as a veritable parade ascended the atairs -- Rickety, Atia, Des, with Lanni trailing behind and Joran hurrying to follow Atia.
Mateo heard the cacophony of footsteps coming. Then the door flew open, and the old man stood in its frame. He was unarmed, and did not enter -- just stared at Syl a long moment, his face stony and unreadable.
Syl's expression betrayed nothing either, as she returned the stare.
Dario shares the snippet he overheard, one of the cultists complaining loudly. The ape man had been upset about "grubbing around in the muck to pay the Scarlet Triad" instead of keeping the gold for themselves.
Disable device, or if you have any clever ideas you can pick a relevant skill to use, I'm open to options. You would already know, from the power of the illusion aura before, you won't have the means to rehide it -- closing it may be an option though.
Rickety doesn't pause or look back at Des. "I was paralyzed, lass, not deaf," he says curtly, waking briskly. He's not leaving the Commons, though. He's making his way upstairs. Towards the room shared by the crew's most dangerous duo.
--------
Pegsworthy nodded amicable to Terry. "I understand completely, lad. Your welcome among us while negotiations are arranged. Let's have a nip down at the bar, shall we?"
-------
The various threads came together at roughly the same time.
Terry and Pegsworthy's crew entered the taproom moments ahead of Lanni and Veja, to find a large gathering of survivors in need of a strong drink to fortify their nerves. Across the room through the crowd, they see Rickety strong for the stairs, Des right behind him, Atia and Joran still in the back room he'd been carried to.
Thelma glanced Lanni's way with an overworked expectation that turned to wife eyed adoration. "Would...you ...LOOK at the PRECIOUS little thing!" she squealed, looking at Veja.
The summoning circle is inert now, and disrupting is won't impede them. It is evening of the day you arrived, just before dark, you didn't rest yet. Still a bit of light left.
Adela opened her mouth to answer Vash and Khalil when Karley's odd version appeared. "Err...beg pardon but no. It's MelENgar, and I don't believe that's the way..."
She turned to Khalil. "It's not part of the Feywild, actually. I hail from a world called Elan. Bavlorna brought me here to deal, and...well." She made a 'the rest is history' sort of gesture with her hands. She glanced at the fairies.
"You weren't exactly nice to me these past years," she said, with a fondness that did not match her words. "I suspect that is merely your nature, though, and was not intentional. And were it not for you three I'd have been completely alone." The cake juggled, and the pool rippled. Adela chuckled. "Forgive me. I should have said, I'd have been without conversation."
Her attention returned to the rest of you. "Strange as it is to say...I think my home is here now. It....needs some cleaning, for certain. But I think here is where I shall remain. You're all welcome to stay as long as you like, any time you need to. I cannot thank you enough. It wasn't just my body that was transformed, but my mind, and finding my sanity again is a relief I cannot put into words."
The squibber might be old, but age had forged him into a tough, leathery bastard and as the potion took effect he started slowly flexing and testing his muscles. He waved her hand away. "No, no, thank you." It took a bit of time as muscles that had been locked rigidly were eased by the potion, allowing him gradually more range of motion. "Tell your Captain I'll double his guns," he said, working his jaw back and forth like a rusty hinge. "Either in size on quantity, his choice. More than my life would have been lost without your crew."
His expression was a serious one, grim even, rather than one of relief, and Atia and Des worried about why that might be, given the early misspoken name. He rose to his feet gingerly, testing them out. The potion was effective -- he seemed to be right as rain, minus a stab would where the stinger injected the poison. "If you'll excuse me, ladies. Gentleman." He moved to leave the room past the two of you and Joran.
----
Veja seemed quite skittish after the wasp attack, and followed Lanni cautiously, eyes to the skies, quickly slithering from cover to cover. He was quiet, shy in the strange surroundings, but seemed to trust Lanni at this point.
"Patience and understanding? Well, when you find a child starving, alone in a field of what used to be his people, there are a limited number of options. We chose hope." He shrugs.
"Forgive me," Pegsworthy said with a bow. "I meant you exemplified those qualities in regards to this very civil conversation we're having. My curiousity regarding the...child...was merely poorly timed."
Terry wrote:
"While the Capt here may be new to the game, most of our officers have played for a bit. And we chose him instead of one of us. The little guy will surprise you." Terry looks directly into Capt Pegsworthy's eyes as he says that.
Pegsworthy nodded. "Again, I meant no slight. Rather, that a crew skilled enough to defend this place would already have made a name for themselves were they not early in their careers. I expect all will kno o your Captain, and the rest of you, before long." His eyes lingered on Terry with the familiar look of one seeing the resemblances between the red haired pirate and his famous kin. Not every pirate in the Shackles had the pleasure o meeting Tessa Fairwind, but the look on Pegsworthy's face suggested he had, indeed.
Lanni wrote:
"I was given the role of captain mostly because of my ability to keep the peace." Lanni looks over at Veja and sees that some of the people of the squibbing facility are looking rather nervously in his direction. "Speaking of which, I should probably go get my new friend some better accommodations before more violence breaks out. Let's meet with Rickety tomorrow morning and we can sort this bit of mess out then."
"Of course. we won't keep you. Until morning, then." Pegsworthy led his small band of men to find rooms, seeming quite relieved things had not escalated to violence.
Atia wrote:
Atia squints at Rickety, trying to follow his seemingly-purposeful eye movements.
Des is unaware of Rickety's attempts to communicate, but Atia notices the purposeful way the man is flitting his gaze up and down. It doesn't seem to be simple eye rolls. He's trying to draw her attention downwards on his person, and it occurs to her to check his belt pouch -- where she finds quite the varied array of medicinal potions in tiny vials, neatly labeled. One, indeed, claims to counter paralysis.
Mateo wrote:
"Don't tell lies. You loved it." He murmured back. His feet would push along the uneven floor and move him back towards the bed, close enough for his arm that was was secured to his buckler could reach back and take her hand in his. A gentle squeeze, a small moment of intimacy. "You rest mine. I'm here. Nothing will happen to you."
She squeezed his hand back, and the strength of her grip reassured him. She was quiet then, a long moment, and he thought she might have fallen back asleep, before she spoke again.
"This is only the second time I've ever lost a fight that badly.." she mused, almost to herself. "Both times, I thought I was dead." Should he glance her direction, she was staring at him, blood matting some of her hair, face scuffed and pale, her frequently unhinged look absent. "The last time I woke alone. And it was pure hatred and blind luck that kept me alive." Another long pause, before she confessed, quietly, "I'm glad you're here."
After some back and forth over planning, Yasami and Dario wait for the nearest Vrock to pass, then slink along the edge of the treeline, planning to scout around the camp.
A short distance to the south, near the bonfire, Yasami signals to Dario to be careful-- a creature is roosting in the trees here, a humanoid creature that seems part bat, (more Manbat, less Batman ;) ) hanging upside down from a tree branch it has decorated with the bones of its prey. It is currently asleep. There are four other roosts, but they are currently unoccupied.
scout-only society check DC 20:
This is a sabosan, blood drinkers with deafening screeches that share many of a bat's qualities, like echolocation.
Carefully skirting around it, you hear snippets of conversation from the bonfire. Most of it is mundane, grunted conversation amidst the charau-ka, arguing over duties or commenting on the poor meal that was being cooked. One particularly grumpy individual growled a complaint you both took special note of.
"Rrrr...Boss Hezle greedy since other kobolds leave. She hoarding potions in lab instead of giving to us!”
The others around the bonfire warned him to keep quiet, lest the boss hear him complaining and do something about his disloyalty.
Wanna stick around longer, or circle back, to listen more? A new stealth check for each rumor if you hang out for a while and press your luck.
random rumor overhead...:1d6 ⇒ 5
Moving towards the southernmost building, you can see the boggards on the cots appear to be sickly. Yasami is quick to recognize the symptoms, having helped to treat them quite recently -- they are likely suffering from arsenic poisoning, just like the kobolds you helped were. There are voices coming from inside the building, and you can't make out conversation, but it sounds like it's probably the bunkhouse where the cultists sleep.
You pause in your scouting for a few minutes, moving deeper into the jungle as the second Vrock circles around. Once it passes you move towards the smaller building.
It's a small wooden hut and wafts of smoke are rising from a single chimney in its north wall. West of the hut is a wooden table, on which several objects lie obscured under a leather covering. A bin of rocky refuse sits beside the table. South of the hut, a fifteen-foot-diameter magical circle has been dug into the ground, the grooves filled with dull gray metal and adorned at each point with stubs of burnt-out black candles. You hazard a guess this is where the Vrocks were summoned. The table offers you the best cover for approaching the pit, so once the Vrocks are positioned in such a way as to give you the best shot, you ceep forward and peer over the edge. Revealed it in Roll20.
There was a long spiraling ramp leading down into the quarry, the entrance on the southwestern side of the pit. Charau-ka and boggards alike toiled there, and you found the two missing juvenile elephants -- they were being tasked with pulling heavy carts laden with ore up the ramp, then heading back down for more. Another of the dragon-headed pillars is down there, this one purple in coloration, and strange, tiny, floating worms are orbiting around it. There is a large murky pool of polluted water in the northern portion of the quarry.
DC 15 religion to ID worms, scouts only:
These are voidworms, creatures from the plane of Maelstrom that are drawn to chaos the way flies are drawn to discarded food. They are not especially dangerous, but it makes you wonder what this pillar might be capable of.
Completing your circuit, you find the mud to be the mine tailings, the waste material left over after the gold has been separated out of the rest of the rock. There are some odd burrow holes in the northern part of the mud pile, as if something might be living within. You pass the strange reptile in the cage, and make your way back to the others to report on what you saw.
Didn't have time to reply to Mateo earlier so adding this on.
Syl was quiet but clung to him as he carried her in, flitting in and out of the edge of consciousness. Her eyes scrunched tightly shut, hands gripping the sheets as he cleaned her wounds -- there would be more magical healing available soon, in all likelihood, but many had been wounded, and though Syl was out of danger for now, better to take no chances. Had Destinie hesitated to run in and put herself at risk, he'd have lost her. It was part of why Des's slip of the tongue had been allowed to go unpunished.
Syl groaned in pain and he whispered his words to her, seemingly calming her enough to rest, then he settled in to keep watch on the door.
It was some time later that she returned fully to awareness. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed at him surreptitiously, seeing the way he watched the door, guarding her. "From now on..." she finally said, hoarsely, "I'll wait and save some of the fun for you."
Lanni wrote:
Lanni follows Pegsworthy's gaze to Veja and shrugs. "After being marooned on Bonewrack Isle for several days, this place seems positively paradisaical."
"Bonewrack, eh? Sounds charming."
Captain Pegsworthy glanced at your half squibbed vessel and then at Lanni, and lowered his voice so only Terry and Lanni would hear. "Captain Talimbi, hmm? I am afraid I've not heard of you. Which, given your obvious prowess," he gestured at the dead wasps, "makes me think you might be new to this game. That, and if I'm not mistaken, your ship is... was... The Man's Promise. Which, rumor has it, was liberated from one Captain Barnabas Harrigan very recently. Seems he was quite upset about it missing its rendezvous."
He grinned, and winked. "Since the goal of that particular rendezvous was to beat me to the Strix there, and the lack of a second vessel allowed my own ships to get the upper hand easily, I suppose I should be thanking you."
Food poisoning and middle schoolers did me in for a couple days, sorry for the delay.
"What do I plan to do now? I'm... Not rightly sure." She frowned in thought, and got distracted momentarily as Demalyn, staring at the cake intently with a studious frown, tried to poke it gently with a fork, and it dodged her.
Adela shook the distraction away. "I...I wasn't good at much. There's a reason I got myself into this mess. I was a socal butterfly trying to gain status by throwing galas the other fools would talk about for months. But now? Well even if I find my position waiting for me, I don't think I want to plan another party for as long as I live.". She sighed. "I'm not sure I have a home left to go to."
"You can stay with us, then!", Dapplebloom cheered.
"Yes! You were very fun as an ogre. Maybe as a person, too?" Strawberry added
Other than the items on Nualia's person, Lief finds no magical items in the room she abandoned.
The night passes uneventfully, and from reading her notes, one thing seems clear. This chamber you opened, the one hidden by the false column of coins, was what Nualia sought to open. And the reason she sought it was to free a horrible creature called Malfeshnekor, a barghest, according to her notes. You are fairly certain you know what's behind the ominous southern doors Diego had been investigating, now.
DC 14 knowledge(planes):
Barghests come to the Material Plane to feed. As they consume the bodies of innocents, they grow increasingly powerful. A barghest eventually sheds its skin to transform into a greater barghest, at which point it often seeks out a tribe of goblins or other creatures to rule. They are difficult to kill without magically enchanted weapons.
Sorry for the radio silence. Spent Friday with food poisoning and Saturday with 7th graders at an all day science olympiad competition. Not sure which day wore me out more, lol. Lemme get to posting...
Lanni still glowers at the man, but his tone softens noticeably. "He does. He should recover his health in a day or two."
Lanni looks at the ship still anchored awkwardly out in the bay. "Well, what is done is already done. You might as well bring your ship in to port proper. Or at least disembark your crew so they don't have to sleep on cots. We can negotiate terms of mutual secrecy later, O captain of this lovely and not yet named but obviously legally acquired Chelish vessel."
"Merrill Pegsworthy, at your exceedingly reasonable service, sir. I'd be happy to smooth this little faux pas over. That said, given the state of things, I'll leave my crew where they are, if it's all the same. Doesn't look to be much carousing at the present." He smiled disarmingly and gave a little bow.
Terry wrote:
"With that decided, I will take Capt Pegsworthy and his Mate to go see about finding beds for his crew. You probably know the way, but if you would be so nice as to come with me?"
Terry has dropped the intimidation efforts, and has ACTUALLY relaxed quite a bit. He talks as he leads them to the "inn."
"So that you are aware of the situation, there is a drought here, and the local fauna is beginning to act up as the surface water is drying up. We were dealing with some of that when you arrived, actually. Healers are looking after him, but Rickety was stung. He should be ready to negotiate your needs before his team is done with the current work." I hope so, anyway.
As if on cue, the shy little Veja slithered forward from the periphery, where you'd left him during the fighting. Pegsworthy raised an eyebrow. "We seem to have unfortunate timing. Not everyone would carry on with the patience and understanding you are showing."
Des wrote:
She was ready to set out and get the supplies, but she also made note on Rickety's eye movements to see what it may mean.
Rickety's back and forth eye motions were a mystery wrapped inside an enigma.
Syl was conscious enough to do an arm around Mateo's shoulders as he scooped her up and carried her back to their room to heal. She was groggy and disoriented after a very close brush with death.
Joran and Atia headed inside with Rickety. The man was indeed conscious, but wore a rictus expression, only his eyes seemingly able to move about.
The men disembarking onto the docks we're forming a defensive semicircle around their Captain. These were not members of the Chelish navy -- these were pirates, here for much the same reason you were. Terry recognized the flag the ship is flying -- Captain Merrill Pegsworthy, a well known Free Captain. The captain wore an old Andoran Eagle Knight coat and epaulets, worn with time and a hard life. His left leg was a stump, a wooden peg leg keeping him upright. His long dark hair was pulled back, his weathered face showing him to be in his 40s, most likely. His hands went up placatingly when Lanni spoke.
"You are absolutely right, my friend. We were unaware there was a ship in port. No one came out to meet us and we were concerned, so we came to investigate." He glanced around at the dead wasps. "It's clear now old Rickety was distracted.". He glances after Joran. "Does he live, then?"
Terry took out one of the remaining wasps, and Mateo ended the last of them. Atia you can hang onto that spell slot <3. A few stragglers buzzed about, but the hardy men of Rickety's Squibs were fighting them off, and had it under control.
Syl, at Mateo's feet, was still being tended to be Destinie. Light and warmth spread from the oracle's hands, and the grisly injuries were closing as if time was being rewound. Finally, the dragon stirred. It wasn't much -- a soft groan, and a sharp intake of breath, her brow furrowing in pain as the injuries were still quite severe. But she yet lived.
The poison from the wasp stings had paralyzed Rickety badly, and the old man would need time or magical healing to fully recover, but he was alive.
Before the final wasp had been rebuffed from the town, before any of you could move to Rickety's side, or do anything more to help Syl, a new alarm cry rose. Could it be more of the bugs? Several people scatter for cover, seeking the danger.
It's easy to spot. A Chelish galleon had anchored in the cove, and a launch of sailors is even now clambering up onto the docks. You know enough about this place to understand -- the value of squibbing is hiding your ship's identity. As such, only one ship is ever admitted at a time.
With the wasps causing a commotion, this vessel has slipped in unescorted -- with the Promise / Good Intentions plainly visible in it's transitional state. Your secret on display to these newcomers. And the man in charge lies unmoving on the ground.
Lief peeks into the open room Nualia emerged from before turning in for the night. Wide stone ledges of red marble line the curving walls of the chamber, which is well lit by four charming, burning skulls that sit in each corner.
Three chairs rest in the room, and both stone ledges are covered with old books, scrolls, teeth, bones, scrimshaw artwork, jars of deformed creatures soaking in brine, taxidermized animals and limbs, and other strange objects. Nualia's notes, and several journals, are scattered around as well -- there is enough there that it will take several hours to sort through it all, but between you all, reading it all while keeping watch tonight should be possible.
To the north, a large round fountain filled with frothy blue water fills the room with the gentle sound of bubbling.
DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check:
The objects on the shelves are various holy texts, scrolls , relics, and objects sacred to the worship of Lamashtu.
DC 15 Perception from folks taking watch shifts:
You can hear a muffled voice coming from the north room of the secret chamber you all opened. It drones on incessantly, and after listening for a while, you can tell it is repeating itself every half a minute or so, despite your inability to make out words through the heavy door. It's not loud enough to disrupt sleep, but one of those things that gets annoying once you notice it.
What you can learn from Nualia's things overnight (super long!):
Sifting through everything, you learn the tragic tale of the unconscious woman you've taken prisoner, as well as her plans for the town.
Nualia was a foundling, taken in by the former priest of Sandpoint, Father Ezakien Tobyn. Unlike Father Zantus, who seems a kindly, warm, compassionate fellow, Tobyn was a zealot. He cared more about her aasimar heritage than her as a person, and was incredibly strict. She did not have many friends, as he kept her cloistered, and even adults in town were awkward with her -- rumors that her touch or proximity could cure warts and rashes, that locks of her hair
brewed into tea could increase fertility, and that her voice could drive out evil spirits led to a succession of humiliating requests over the years.
She met a boy, Delek Viskanta, a local Varisian youth, and fell in love. Her father would have been livid, so they carried on in secret, meeting in the old smugglers' tunnels below the town for their romantic dealings -- tunnels you recognize as being the ones attached to the Glassworks, where you discovered the compound run by the quasit.
Nualia became pregnant and Delek abandoned her. Father Tobyn berated her, made her pray for forgiveness, and would not let her leave the church. Something happened -- the resentment Nualia had felt for so long boiled into a rage, for reasons she cannot explain, other than to surmise Lamashtu was guiding her. She went into a violent frenzy, and miscarried her child, seven months along. The baby was monstrously deformed, the midwives taking it away from her and burning the body.
She fell into a coma, and dreamt unhealthy dreams -- dreams filled with demons, beckoning her. Dreams that showed her how to expel the angelic taint from her blood and replace it with chaos and cruelty. When she awoke she felt like a new person. She locked Tobyn in his room and burned down the church, fleeing Sandpoint that very night.
In Magnimar, she fell in with a group of Norgorber cultists calling themselves the Skinsaw Cult. They aided her in tracking down Delik, and she murdered him. Her revenge was not satisfied, however. She blamed all of Sandpoint for her rage, and vowed to see the town destroyed.
The mysterious leader of the Skinsaw cult saw her potential, gifting her the seven pointed medallion you took from her -- a Sihedron Medallion, she calls it. The leader told her she had a role to play in coming events, and to follow her dreams. They led her back to Sandpoint, to the tunnels, to the place where she'd conceived her child -- a bricked off wall that led into the ancient quasit-run compound. Erylium, the quasit, was a foller of Lamashtu, and spent months tutoring Nualia there.
During this time, Nualia received another vision from Lamashtu -- a vision of a monstrous goblin wolf imprisoned in an underground room. In Nualia's dreams, she learned that this creature, a barghest named Malfeshnekor, was also one of Lamashtu's chosen. If she could find him and free him, he would not only help her achieve her vengeance against the town of Sandpoint, but he would be the key in cleansing her body of what she had come to see as her "celestial taint." Nualia wanted to be one of Lamashtu's children now. She wanted to become a monster herself.
You find her plans to raid Sandpoint with an army of goblins -- the initial raid, on the day of the festival, merely a diversion to steal her father's body for the ritual that granted her the demonic arm she now possessed. A larger raid had been planned, to burn the town down as an offering to her goddess, in the hopes of being made a half-fiend.
Of particular note, Nualia explains the strange font below the city, the one spawning sin creatures is called a runewell. It is fueled by rage, and by murdering the citizens of Sandpoint, she hope to feed its power and create an army of the monstrous beings.
Nualia regains consciousness somewhere during Nico's shift on watch. She cannot speak with the gag in, but she glares with hatred at Nico and spends the evening struggling against her bindings, to no avail.
Lanni's shot misses and flies wide, but Joran makes up for it, striding forward and cleaving one wasp in half. The odds are beginning to look up, and many of the other creatures plaguing the town are beginning to disperse.
Blocks:
1:Atia, Terry, Mateo, Syl
2: wasp 2 and wasp 4
3: Lanni, Joran, Dreamer 5:Des
Heya Dreamer, hope all is well! I know your life gets crazy busy periodically, I'm not worried about the combat, just hope things aren't too terrible for ya.
"I'm not sure...part of the dream I found myself in. A great hero named Kevin Kostnorf..." She shakes her head again. "Forgive me. My manners have decayed like all else in this place. I am the Lady Adela Isobel Theodora Essendon, High Duchess of Melengar." She looked around, and down at herself, and winced. "Rather, I was. I fear I have been here for quite some time. I'm fairly certain my seat will have been filled in my absence."
She took a steadying breath, and held her chin high. "Call me Adela. Please. You all have saved me from a horrid fate, and I cannot possibly repay your kindness."
The pixies were very interested in this new development. "Seee? Told you she was a person."
Diego you are a DMs best friend for handling inventory things <3
So before I post I want to clarify -- did you take Nualia back to a cell near Lyrie before resting, or is she lying there unconscious in your impromptu camp on the lower level? I'm not worried about rolling to pass the trap, we can handwave it, if that's the route you're going.
