Protection of the mind is a difficult thing to achieve. Beyond being strong in mindset and knowing your purpose, I do not know of any ways to do it. I agree that speaking to the brothers in the tavern and speaking to Sybil are very much the ways to go. I am unsure as to whether we have information here that will help up immediately locate a second orb. Elon scans through the pages and the diary once more.
The only other thing that we might have as a lead is that Toby went to the neighbouring town. Perhaps there will be something on that end that might give us a lead. Still, where it will go I do not know.
I did not know. I suspected. But without any further knowledge of what the thing was, I wanted to go in with a more open mind. I realise it was a stupid gamble. It will not happen again.
Ok, diary and pages belong to Sybil, a market trader who has some of my blood. The pages at least gave hints that something was not right with Paul. Spoke about an overly toothy grin and how she had found something out about him. It is why I was so determined to speak to the guy earlier. And we all know how that turned out. We have one orb because of what clues she gave us, and she promised us more if we returned the pages to her when we were finished with them. He pauses to think for a moment.
I belive that that is everything I can tell you that I haven't mentioned before, although I believe it will be critical to go and speak to Sybil. She seems to be a focus in this investigation, and knows an awful lot more than she lets on.
I went after Paul as the following passages tipped me off that something was needed in that area. he uses his finger to underline any passages that he is quoting. Paul isn’t what he seems. I saw him and those idiot dribble brothers walking down the river. They sat by the water for a while. Not unusual in itself but now I cant recall the rest of my night. The next I remember I am sat on the other bank, still hidden but they are gone and it is nearly dawn.Why couldn't she remember the rest of the night? What had happened there?
Then there was this.Paul smiled at me the other day and I saw it. Something off about it. To wide or to toothy. My memory is begging to fuzz again. I need to write before I forget. Maybe it was moving in a way it shouldn’t. but something was off. Paul cant be trusted don’t forget Sybil.which made my hackles rise a little. Something was going on, and I wanted to know what. That is why we went to Paul and confronted him.
Reposting the pages here for viewing comfort
pages:
“Billy and the misses have been arguing for a while. She wants to move, he does not. The lat I heard them arguing so much was just before the Toby incident.”
“The first orb has been moved as requested. Rumors have it that someone is out to get them. As usual the merchants and leaders pay no head. Silly men and there invincible attitudes.”
“the second Orb is now missing. The town is getting worried. Something strange is happening, more and more of Drink 592 are going missing. Well to be more accurate the ingredients are.”
“Only two people know where the Leader Orb is kept, and one of them hasn’t been her for along time. I believe it is an inside job. The city down the river has a lot to gain from this, though my instincts tell me that this is so some one will lose. Not so someone will win.”
“Mr graves can’t tell who did it. We are in trouble this time. He says he is sending for help but I’m not sure they will get here in time.”
“Billy and the misses are up to something. General rumors say so anyway. No smoke without fire and there is a hell of a lot of smoke in their direction.”[i]
And the most recent entry said:
[i]“ ’midnight didn’t come….’ I found that written on the back of my hand, in my hand writing this morning. I have no idea how it got there. But I know I wrote it. I just know I did.
The pages for the middle of the book read like this.
“Paul isn’t what he seems. I saw him and those idiot dribble brothers walking down the river. They sat by the water for a while. Not unusual in itself but now I cant recall the rest of my night. The next I remember I am sat on the other bank, still hidden but they are gone and it is nearly dawn.”
“Paul keeps asking me about combinations of liquids. There is something in his eye. He isn’t the same man who entered the village all that time ago to start his tavern. I am sure of it now. At first I thought he was been arrogant after our encounter the other night but no. That is not the man I spent time with.”
“A lot of my customers are looking tired and withdrawn. I have sold more pick-me-ups than I expect to for this time of year. Also I have sold more treen drinks. The only ingredient they have in common is kale routes. And the butcher is selling more red meats. I wish I knew what was going on.”
“went to see Mr. Graves for the sixth time and yet again I was turned away by that idiot. Though I found a weird receipt in my records not long after that said ‘keep looking’ I can only presume some one else is concerned.”
“Paul smiled at me the other day and I saw it. Something off about it. To wide or to toothy. My memory is begging to fuzz again. I need to write before I forget. Maybe it was moving in a way it shouldn’t. but something was off. Paul cant be trusted don’t forget Sybil.”
You are a God? But then why are you here on this realm? I understand that you have none of the humours I mentioned earlier, but I do not understand your presence. Your concern with humans and our kind. Why do you want the orbs? Elon looks guarded, and for the moment ignores the questions about the diary.
For one, at the time, Elon got the diary with someone who is now an ex player, and then has not really had the opportunity in his opinion to share said information.
When we then went to the Mill and the footprints happened, Elon's intent was to warn the town of the danger, and thus leave you as a large group for a moment or two.
When you look at in game , there isn't really much opportunity to give the information out, hence it has not been shared. Or rather, when we had the chances, Elon and myself were uncomfortable with giving the information out for free, seeing as he didn't want just any Tom, Dick or Harry overhearing them, especially as the very thing we might have been hunting was listening in.
Seeing as we now have a breather, then we can share EVERYTHING, and go on from there.
I was not intending to keep things from players and thus cause frustration. My apologies for that.
I understand perhaps the need to take you at your word, but I would like to check myself all the same.
Elon will indeed use Detect Magic
Not sure about one of them, but the other bit that just came out of the bag was given to myself and Marcus when we went to Sybil at the Market. She gave us some information
Elon clenches his hand, the leather of the cestus biting comfortably into the skin.
The weapon, as relating to myself is more than adequate. Thank you.
I will most certainly do whatever tests I can do, however I would like to ask a small boon. If you would be able to remove any and all items that might obscure the detections. By which I mean rings and amulets that have been blessed by a priest or equivalent, or even items that have been imbued with your own seemingly not inconsiderable power. I would like to gain an accurate assessment you see.
He will run through the 4 detect alignment spells, one for law, one for chaos, one for good and one for evil. All of them will be held for 4 rounds, to make sure that it is Graves I am detecting, not some randomer.
It might be an idea then to go to Sybil and ask her to give us everything that she knows. For the safety of the town, and of it's people. I am glad we were able to interrupt the creature, although I fear for Eliana's safety. Has she managed to make it through the night? Elon asks questioningly, wanting to know.
The vision is a curiosity, and what it might end up meaning I do not understand. If you don't then that worries me, and makes me question whether we are meant to understand it at all
Are there any new leads on the other Orbs at all? Anything, even rumours might well help us now.
Elon heads to his quarters, and shrugs off the kit and armour that he had been holding onto all day. It felt good to get out of it, to wash off the grime of the day and take it all in. I killed a demon thing today It sinks in finally. Something sent here to claim power, and power alone. To follow the orders of a god. Who are we to oppose such power?
He takes pleasure in looking into the new weapon that Graves had given him. A cestus to burn any enemies that might stand before him, and therefore keep his allies alive.
Feeling the weight of it in his hands, the craftsmanship. The way that the wraps held tight to his arm, but did not crush his fingers, it was clear that this was an exquisite piece. He would be able to depend upon it in times of need.
He tidies up his equipment and then goes to sleep.
I can use this talent as much as I wish within a day, although it requires some concentration and I can only search for a single humour at a time. It would take some time to look at all of the people in this place, but I will do so without issue if you believe that it will help.
There are 4 humours within the body. One that is orderly and lawful, one that is kind and good, another that is evil, seeking to harm life, and one that embodies free will and chaos. I have a talent in being able to see these humours within a person, and when I used one side of this talent, the one that came across most strongly was that of evil. Pure and unadulterated, the air around that man is tainted with it. Does that answer your question?
Gentlemen. Well done on the events of today. It was a long one, and we fought long and hard together. With the hour being so late, and tiredness hanging upon our bones, I would suggest that we sleep and debrief in the morning. Otherwise words that we speak might be ill considered and arguements might start through misinterpretation of intent. What do you reckon? Sleep and then a hearty breakfast and we can sort out the rest later?
Elon smiles wearily. Mistakes had been made, but there was no point in arguing it out. Learn the lessons and don't remake them The words of his seniors rang through his mind briefly.
Elon will help for as long as he is able, even if his skin crawls to be near one with such a strong element of the taint. When his skills are no longer needed, then he will head directly to his own quarters, with the hour being so late, there was not much else that he wanted to do beyond get his head down and sleep.
Krallek, let the man through, but keep your eye on him. Eliana needs healing, and she can't speak for herself right now. Yes she might have been harmed thanks to Argius, but if he is the only one who can save her then I will take that risk. Will you be needing assistance Argius?
The man speaks the truth, or at least he believes that he does. I cannot tell which it is. Although the fact he snuck into this room implies foul motive.
Rounding solidly at Argius and moving towards him, Elon will take his staff, whipping the point of it to the nock of the Adam's Apple of Argius.
Those who skulk in the shadows and obscure their presence are never up to good in my experience. Why do you hide yourself? Why is it that the taint of evil appears to flow through you more strongly than I have ever come across? And why is it that you were here in the presence of your employer and did not declare yourself? What are your motives?
I will rest when the patient is stable and well. Till then, the work has only just begun. It will be a long night. There might well be contamination from that creature that will need to be cleaned out of her system, and those wounds are not insignificant. Combine that with her being in the fire in the mill, I worry as much for her body as her mind.
He begins working on the patient, cleaning the wounds out fully and then slowly beginning the process of suturing the wounds. He has the curing energy flowing through him, and chose to use it immediately. Might as well give her the best possible chance.
Using detect alignment throughout the night to detect any shifts in her core. The creature detected as evil, and thus any contamination would have that same taint. It was worth keeping an eye out for.
Basically he has a suspicion that she will turn into whatever the hell that thing was if there is enough taint in her or it is not dealt with. He has the power to give her a bonus to saving throws, and I suspect that any such transformation will involve such a throw, ergo I want to make her chances better. However, I don't know myself when such a throw would be needed, and I am assuming he would know when the symptoms are occuring, therefore am going to leave it to his judgement as to when to use that power.
I am sure that we will continue the investigation, not only into the orbs but into these new events. In the meantime, I have some small knowledges of the diseases of mind and body, and am able to shore up a patients defences against such things. Might it be possible to help these priests with the care of Eliana? My own wounds are insignificant in contrast to how much the lady clearly means to you, and thus I would like to give her every chance that I can.
Elon's face is just as serious as Graves', there is little doubt that he is concerned about something, most likely the patient.
Before we go any further with this, I have an apology to give you all. I have at times thus far held information back from you all. This might have led in part to the difficulties that we faced in this investigation. I ran back at the mill because I saw huge footprints that looked like the creature that made them might have been a danger to the town.
I also held back information that came about thanks to the private diaries of an informant we found, and whose pages I will need to return sooner rather than later.
Ultimately we got to the right conclusion, retrieved an orb and were able to save Eliana's life, so no harm came of it. Still, it made life much harder than it needed to be.
The creature lying there is one of the three sent to this world in the vision that we saw. I would not like to hazard a guess as to which one, but of that conclusion I am certain.
Perception check:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Liguistics:1d20 ⇒ 17
I have some small wounds, but I can wait to have them seen to.
I can't do much for her beyond stabilizing her for the moment and making it so that she can be moved to the temple in order to be taken care of properly. Let us do that
He will cast a small spell, and her wounds scab quickly and fully. She is still badly wounded, but is fine to be moved.
perception 1d20+6
Just for the record, I used Stabilize in my previous post.
I can't do much for her beyond stabilizing her for the moment and making it so that she can be moved to the temple in order to be taken care of properly. Let us do that
He will cast a small spell, and her wounds scab quickly and fully. She is still badly wounded, but is fine to be moved.
Figuring that this creature might well kill them if it ever comes around again, Elon will do what needs to be done, although it is distasteful to him. He takes the quarterstaff, and striking rapidly and surely at the creatures throat, he attempts to compress the airway to kill the creature.
Coup de grace action on the creature. I believe that according to pathfinder CDG is an auto crit, therefore damage is done on that basis.
Damage:2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 4) + 2 = 10
I believe the creature now needs to make a DC20 fort save or else die. No doubt it will be fine though. :D
If the creature is in fact killed, then Elon will search the body for anything that might identify it.
To Carth Check for the woman, make sure she is still alive. Then we take this body to Graves
The divine power that was healing his wounds have died away now, and will no longer heal him, at least not till the coming of the next sun. There was work to be done, and a hunt to master. The other orbs needed finding.
Using a quarterstaff, as the beast moves past him, he swipes at it.
Attack Roll:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13 Damage Roll:1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Round 3 action.
Even as he swiped at it a moment before, he continues the assualt, divine healing meaning he is able to shrug off the worst of his wounds, and skin and muscle reattaching itself.
The claws of the creature sting as they tear through a weaker point in the armour and his guard. His head reels for a moment, and his resolve falters. Changing the manner in which his divine power infuses him so that it heals his wounds, he will strike the creature once more, again moving around to try and give his allies flanking.
Changing judgement so that it gives Elon fast healing 1
Looks like Carth has this all in hand, so am going to leave it at that. Will be sticking close to him and letting Carth do the talking based upon what he knows.
I suppose if you have no need for more land, then it becomes wasteful to inhabit more land than that. I can see it working rather well for the temple and for the town
I worked in sales with the public a few christmas ago, and I really feel your pain. Still, only a few more days to bear and then the music will be gone.
Reacting to the shush, Elon will make himself quieter and then catch up before speaking quietly. When a plot is afoot? Like hell I am just staying here. Will be quiet though.
As Elon passes through to the market square, he notices Sybil, and makes a note to return the diary pages to her later, he had what he thought he needed from it. In any case, a talk with Graves was in order, and there was something about how Paul had disappeared so quickly that bothered him. Perhaps it would be an idea to talk to the woman they had saved from the mill, she might know something.
More and more Elon was becoming frustrated with how little they knew, and how much seemed to be going on around them that they needed to deal with, but had no idea how to do so. Perhaps going back to the orb would help. Some more of his life force could be used possibly to learn more. Or even failing that, he might go to the temple, find a quiet spot and pray for a while.
Standing just inside the temple, he pauses to make up his mind.
Save the woman, save the world?
Save the orbs, save the world?
Save the prophet, save the world?
Stop talking in riddles and get on with it already?
He goes to speak to Graves, hoping that he might be able to get an audience.
Stunned with how that whole game turned out, Elon will head to the temple, hoping to meet with the others from the party. His mind trying to work out who on earth it might be that stole the orb and took it to the mill, why they burnt it, where the elf comes into it all and what to do with the knowledge that Argius was evil as anything. Oh, and why on earth did sybil want his blood? That was a puzzle in and of itself.
My question is simple, as far as anything is simple on a day such as today. If Paul was here during the day, getting things ready for the bar opening and such like, then fair enough. What I would like to know, is who has a less than steller past in this town? Who are the shady operators basically?
Come on now Gentlemen. Surely if you leave now then the game is over? If I really thought there was a danger to this place or to your families, do you think I would be sitting here so casually searching for information with the locals rather than searching out the beast myself so that it can be slain? It hasn't posed a threat to anyone as of yet, having just burnt down an old building that you have all said was useless to the town anyway, so why the rush?
Elon will stand up as they do, hand tightly gripping the staff. That there was suddenly tension in the air was without a doubt a most interesting development.
"Hmm So people think Paul has a toothy smile. Well I guess there is no smoke without fire. Though I have not noticed it myself. Nor has Kevin here." He looks at the dice. "Three of a kind. Good roll but not quite good enough."
1d6
1d6
1d6
1d6
1d6
"Now my turn. If it is Paul with the toothy grin what do you intend on doing about it."
That very much depends on what happens when we apprehend the toothy man. We know for a fact that there is a monster out there in the forests, and we think it might have something to do with the burning of the mill, and with Paul therefore. Its hard to explain a gut feeling.
You are right. My apologies. These are strange times, and as silly as it sounds I find myself to appreciate the company of those that I can trust. Lets face it, when the old mill burnt down in such a strange set of circumstances, and the world feels tense around you, it is bound to put a man on edge. Rumours were that there is more to Paul than first meets the eye, although exactly who started the rumours I cannot tell you specifically. It was talk i heard in the market the other day.
No worries, I will find out more information and come back to you on that one then. In any case, I appear to have lost my friend, might I be able to postpone this till later on tonight so that I might extricate him from the skirts of whatever wench he might have found?
With that, and assuming they give him his leave, he will head after Carth.
