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Deep waters is to the north, but... Well, doubt the monster is living there. Best not to go there. she says The bar is largely empty, and while all eyes are on you, they are curious eyes, not hostile ones. Clay and Baros notice that the barwoman's son seems to go pale as they start talking about the monster.
The woman's eyes go wider. Ah, I see, Mummers. she says. Well, there's been a boy snatched, as well as two sheep and a dog. It comes at night, stalks the outlying farms. It comes from deep waters it does. Lots of odd things come from that place.
The woman raises an eyebrow at the pair of halfling and the 20-something offering to deal with the bandits. Yer here to deal with the bandits? and I suppose you'll kill the monster as well? she says scornfully
The proprietor of the pig and bucket, a matronly woman who raises an eyebrow as you enter. Oh, strangers in town. I'm Malorie. You ain't with the harvest travelers, are ye? she asks, getting off her stool. Dinner won't be ready for an hour, but we got some breakfast cold, and beer from the brewery. Behind her, a boy, maybe 12, and a man 20 years the woman's junior are stealing glances at you as they cut potatoes. The room at large is cool, the fire not large enough to fully warm anything but the kitchen. the hearth in the common room is out. A number of children's toys sit in one corner, but the boy in the kitchen is the youngest person you've seen. a half-dozen tables sit in the room, with a handful of chairs around each of them, and there is a counter for more space. what do you do?
Moving on, leaving the spirit in the house, you find the town easily enough. it is a quaint place. A windmill sits atop a hill, and there are a few easts of burden lashed nearby that tell you it is in use. beyond, you smell the rather rancid smell of beer being brewed and can find the brewery near the mill. You walk along the main road and pass a physician, a general store, A Smithy, and a constable's office. then you reach the main square. On one side, there lies The Pig and Bucket Inn, on the other side, a large and rather oppulent house.
Silas moves slightly forward, hiding in the grain. He circles the one wall that is left, though only about 7 scorched feet of it, peers into the house proper and he sees it. A humanoid figure made of ashes. it moves over the remains of the house, apparently agitated. in it's hand, you see a scorched... something. it flops around like cloth but you are too far away to draw conclusion. what do you do?
The farm seems to be abandoned, there's no people here, yourselves excepted. What was not apparent at first, but now barrows unclaim realize, is the smell of smoke lingering. It was perhaps two days ago, but something near here burned, something big enough to be a house. It's barrows who notices the remains of the house first, it's almost mistakable, through the grains that were planted closer to it, for a few scarecrows or the like, but it's the burnt out husk of the foundations. And there's something moving in there.
As the road goes on, you start walking by a farm. the fields are full of cabbage and legume, perhaps a week from harvest. The cold wind of night has mercifully given way to a day warm enough you could believe it to be late summer. Everyone give me a perception Challenge roll.
The night passes mercifully quiet. The dawn finds you beside the ford. It is lowering, you know it was higher in the night, but it is still deep. It is almost noon when you finally are able to cross. The road is straight though, and you have nowhere to go, but forward to Mournhaven, or back to Granville.
It is not hard to make a blanket-rope, and for people with your level of physical fitness, it is trivially easy to climb out on it. The town is already dark, sticking to the shadows is easy, getting past the guards is a simple matter in a town without walls. it is well past midnight when you get to the ford. A small campsite beside it tells you it is sometimes impassible, and the simple shelters there will afford you your best opportunity to get rest. Clay, it is there that the rather forward men from the bar rejoin you.
The crowd is taken aback, their eyes appraising. they know you could cut them down, several of them each, if it came to a fight, particularly as you are armed and they are largely not. Sorcerers mutter a few. Hellspawn another group shout at the transforming Clay. More brandish Rowan and Iron charms. Baros moves forward a smidge and watches a few onlookers move to scramble back, while the charmed man calls for peace. Silas' Naked blade further discourages anyone from getting brave, and Clay, wrapped in flesh once more, can retreat a few steps, behind cover, in case of any more impromptu missiles. You are quite sure You will not get another night's sleep in this town, but you think you might be able to stop the mob long enough to get into your rooms, grab your things (and perhaps a few of the inns), and be out the window.
The crowd murmurs and rumbles. Some people rush for the exit, others grab nearby objects in defense. People shout. Things are moving toward panic quickly. Silas quietly Casts a spell
And you hear someone shout Sorcerer! As he finishes. His speech is not enough, the crowd is turning on him. one man throws a chair at Clay
Everyhting is going poorly.... what do you do?
When Baros doesn't swing back, it seems to take the wind out of the man's sails somewhat. Throwing the first punch is one thing, it seems, and beating an unresisting opponent is another. A second man akes a nasty face, like the ale he's just taken a swig of had been replaced with vinegar. You ain't going soft on us, are you Hagar? he cajoles the lead man. He's got a good point, bout the runt and his ability to lay with normal folk. the first man says. The third man guffaws, and makes a remark disparaging the halfling's "Manhood". Eh. f!#@ it. they ain't worth it, Arthur. he decides You two, best get come dawn, or else I might come to my senses and finish this tomorrow he says. as a final act of defiance, as they turn away, the second man ("Arthur") tosses his unsatisfactory drink at Silas. He misses by a country mile, and the projectile goes toward Clay, who is just able to grab it... and inadvertently touches the iron band holding the wooden mug together, The Bar erupts into shouts and fear as Clay turns into a weird mud monster almost twice her size. What do you do?
The door opens, letting in the chill late autumn air. Four men, brandishing farm implements and a knife, and moving toward the seated pair and the little changeling. You rat bastard little Runt! the lead man says, hatchet brandished. I'll teach you to Muss around with my daughter. and he takes a swing at you with his fist. and you're pretty sure he's had some liquid courage. What does everyone do?
Time moves forward, and a week and change pass, the stories of that night diluting in the rumour mill. Few details agree with the truth, for example, Baros does not remember leaping to give the killing blow to a demon that looked like a great ape, nor does Silas recall dueling Swiet in a ring of blue fire. But heroism's charm wears thin. More than one townsperson has put together that sorcery was likely used in those caverns, and whispers propagate. Who were these strangers, what were they capable of. The merchants have grown somewhat colder of you, your tables in the bar are less and less full every night. The proprietor of the frozen sparrow seems less and less pleased to have you here, and has been hinting that a merchant caravan will arrive soon, and he will definitely need more space than he currently has. You’ve heard of a nearby town, which has been having Bandit troubles. Perhaps moving toward this Mournhaven would give your little band better prospects than waiting for your welcome to wholly expire from Granville
I am confused, what is going on and what should I be doing? We finished the adventure, so we're leveling and doing downtime. check the discord, we've been outlining downtime there,
You get a single day of peace, before a priest, calling himself "Father Alypius" and a dozen soldiers in Brigandine and sackcloth came to the town. The Blades of Astrid, the inquisition, arriving just 2 days too late to have stopped the demon, but they don't let that little fact stop them from turning the town inside out trying to root out diabolists. While the inquisition is present, the actions, Vigilantism, Gambling, Fighting, Brothel are unavailable. All other actions with a wealth cost double their cost, and any action rolls are made with 1 bane. This does not affect the Pray action, as the inquisition is all for more prayer.
The last cultist drops, and... it's over. blessedly over. people are dead, at least twenty in this hall, and who knows how many more due to the cult's machination, but the demon will remain in the void. the survivors rouse Silas.. and find the pieces of HUIVD. Two guards will not walk out of that chamber. Three more will see this every night in their sleep. Our heroes, some of them, anyway, have walked away from another dread presence bodies intact... though, what of their hearts, minds, and souls?
The mob finally gives, many succumbing to their wounds, and their cohesion lost completely. three remain on their feet, covered in oil and still disoriented.
The mob is hurting now, several of them have given out entirely. still, they fight like men possessed... it occurs to you that they may be. that perhaps this is how the demon will escape. They lash out at the halfling who killed their prophet.
Mob damage/health: 29/31
The mass encroaches further, another flurry of weapons falling on the spearmen holding the line, still furious that the men dared assault their ritual.
Mob stats: 21/34
The mob of cultist push forward, taking wild swings at the spearmen.
Mob Hp for my records... don't look, or do, I'm not a cop: 10/34
As Baros disengages, the cultists take swipes at him
The captain and his men strike down Swiet and Corvence, and with that, the demon above the altar shrieks, and melts away, seeming to take some of the fight from the cultists.
More cultists move to surround the little halfling and the guard, while Corvence closes with the captain of the guard.
three cultists attack the patrollers
And another 4 team up on Baros, trying desperately to bring down the little halfling
And utterly fail to strike him, because it turns out high, naked and crazy doesn't make for great soldiering
Can I make it to Swiet? next round, you could...
The guards bring low the Cultist Baros has been fighting, and wound another. But soon, the little ball of fury will be all but surrounded, and not even he will survive. The one Cultist in reach takes a swipe at him with their knife, a surprisingly quick motion for someone so obviously intoxicated.
Swiet decides that Baros is a threat as well, and that conventional attacks will not avail him here. So he takes another draw from his pipe, and his mind assails the bold Halflings.
The captain knows this path is suicide. Their numbers are a great advantage, and the sorcerer is laying the best of them low. Rordan, what are you doing?
The cultists begin to close in as Silas and Hund drop, one gets close enough to take a swing at Baros.
Then, HUND explodes, and Corvence almost collapses, barely keeping her feet, bits of Hund's gears lodged painfully in her torso.
Baros' spear ends his cultist foe, the man falls to the ground clutching his throat, but Baros is pretty well surrounded, at least 5 will be around him soon, and they won't keep missing. Rordan, Fast or Slow turn?
Silas' blade sinks into Swiet's flesh, and the man straightens up, sword and pipe in hand. He smiles. I was almost getting bored. Have you brought my sweet Fallon with you? he asks, then he inhales from the pipe, growls something terrible, and Silas' head is split open, as if by a red hot piton.
Hund, meanwhile, inflicts a terrible blow to the scarlet woman, and more blood covers her. The pain does not seem to bother her overmuch, and she takes a long knife and tries to put it in Hund's head.
Meanwhile, Baros stabs at a cultist, spear piercing soft flesh. The cultist retaliates, swinging a sickle around to strike at him.
The archers, meanwhile. choose targets, two joining Baros, and three more targeting the one beside his foe.
You all notice that they seem stronger here, in the presence of the demon, than they would be outside this chamber.
The stairs go down, down, down. perhaps 200 stairs altogether. you hear the chamber before you reach it, a low sound of dozens of moans, with a growing sound over it all. the Smell is next. sweat and semen and less pleasant smells. Eventually, you emerge into a tableau of indulgence, an enormous cavern, with a river going through it, and an altar deeper within. All around, Adepts are coupled or thrupled, rutting with wild abandon, The guards join you, and are almost overtaken by the sight. all around you, the cultists slowly react to your intrusion. Upon the altar, a woman with quite obviously natural scarlet hair kneels astride a young man, his own body contorting wildly as the pair mate. as you watch, still stunned by the scene, he gives one final thrust and groans, and the scarlet woman shouts out in ecstasy before plunging a dagger into his throat, slaying him and covering her stomach and bosom in an arterial spray. As he dies, something of him seems to float up, and hang in the air above the altar, making a figure you can barely make out above it look ever so slightly more real. You gather your senses finally as a man Silas, Hund, and Baros would recognise as Vincent Swiet, decouples from one of the young adepts, all but tossing the girl aside as he takes his sword from his discarded pants. Who wants a fast turn?
The wall cracks, and then swings open. the stairs down here are slick and steep, you will only be able to go down them single file. Something below seems to beckon. even as you know, intellectually, that these stairs are deadly to fall down, a part of you wishes to go down them two steps a stride. what do you do?
Silas spots a manacle that is both extraneous, not part of a set and, unlike most of the manacles, without any blood or skin residue on it. it is almost certainly a disguised lever.
The four youths seem to consider your words for a moment, heaving chests and blood-red faces, before they nod and try to scamper away through the curtain above... off to finish their business elsewhere unless anyone stops them. then you are alone in a kink dungeon another apparent dead end.
Silas finds the passage behind the curtains, though he is quite sure it would have been better hidden had the room been in use. a few moments of shoving, followed by a few quick sword strokes, give you entry to the inner sanctum. Below is a... concerning chamber. knouts, crops, and switches are amongst the more tame tools in here. four tables with straps are in the corner, and more chains are along the wall. No one is, thankfully, within them. nearby those chains and tabes are tools, knives, spikes, a brazier, and more... esoteric tools. Four individuals are here, one being flogged by another, and a young man who is being simultaneously strangled and... stimulated by a young lady. all four take your intrusion poorly and take up what are passably weapons. Who wants a fast turn?
The boy cries out in pain as Silas' sword cuts him open, and he all but twirls to counterattack, the movement bringing him out of alignment with HUND's strike, a madness in his eyes as they turn with hatred upon the swordsman. and it moves like lightning, the first swing missing until it changes direction, and the hook catches upon his side and tears your tunic and skin, perhaps some intestine too. The soldiers arrive after you and pepper the cultist with arrows inflicting bringing him down. What's many? are we facing a dozen, or a hundred? the captain asks Rordan, as he peers behind the fallen cultist, and finds the staircase they were retreating down when you bushwacked them. When someone descends the stairs: The stairs lead down to the basement to reveal a large and comfortable space with several supporting columns. A polished wooden floor holds up couches, divans, and a number of feather-stuffed blankets. Scarlet fabric hangs along the walls. The detritus and garments here indicate many manners of debauchery, and other items still vex you to their use. No cultists are within.
Did the lad I stabbed run?
YUUUUP
Baros' spear breaks a youth's skin, but the cultist is able to mitigate the worst of the damage. 5 of the youths break free and try to run for the exit Rordan reaches out and feels the six in front of him, but he also feels several dozen more, more than he could reasonably count, beneath the farmhouse. The one cultists who kept his wits during HUIVD's attack, a shorter boy, from further south by his complexion, twirls a long blade in his hand. swinging at the metal canine
and drives his blade between the Dog's metal plates.
Strength saves:
Will Saves:
In the entryway, 6 youths stand. 9 more lay in a stupor, unroused even by HUIVD's spell. As HUIVD howls, a sound that bypasses the waking mind, and draws forth the cowering ape of prehistory, clinging to the branches as dark things with yellow stained teeth prowl below. Three of the youths Clutch at their ears as blood trickles out, and all but one steadfast adherent move their eyes to the exit. What do you do?
The moments pass silently, The guards beginning to grow restless. the time crawls, though. A chill autumn breeze cuts right through your cloaks. shadows move across your vision. Above, in the second story, a light is snuffed. is the crowd growing thinner? more seem to have gone in than come out. Finally, as the sun dips below the horizon, and the Black moon rises, you hear a gong ring, and those still outside drop their tools, and file into the farmhouse, like automatons (saving your honest presence, HUIVD). What do you do?
The sun already hangs low as you sally forth. the captain and his 5 soldiers don't quite march in formation, but 3 of them, plus the captain, have the bearing of those who've spent a few campaigns as conscripts,, or maybe even careers. the breeze cuts through your coats, and the low sun turns the branches and bushes to your right into long spindly tendrils on the ground. As you arrive, the last light looks to linger a little longer, perhaps 10 minutes to sundown. More scarlett-clade cultists labout in the fields, more ones come from inside to wash themselves in rain barrels. Last chance for any preparation, before this all begins. what do you do?
Okay, so: there is a serious theory that the Dagda, who is on the surface a supremely masculine deity, had a very feminine aspect that was excised sometime before the myths were put to writing. The evidence includes some feminine imagery in the mabinogi and the names of his harp's compositions. is it true? I have no clue. Probably never will know, but it came up in researching how Eabha would see the issue of genderfluidity/Genderqueerness.
We do have... one thing. It could be loaned to you. he says nodding to the other priest, who disappears and comes back, with a pair of ballroom shoes, beautiful and almost shining. The shoes of the Seelie. they grant a small measure of the grace of their previous bearer. it should accompany your magic crossbow well. he says.
the captain nods. S, we wait for nightfall, and see where they go? he asks Okay men. Bows, shields, spears. sounds like we'll be fighting in the open. Be at the edge of town in a half hour he commands You gents, do the same, get what you can, and meet back at the edge of town.
The captain nods, We've got six men, me included. It'd take a day at least to raise the Levies, so we have who we have here. he says The journal says that the final sacrifice shall be at the zenith of the black moon. the priest answers Baros. Even with my men, we'll be outnumbered 4 to 1 or worse the captains baritone cuts in. You 4 have been there, whats the terrain, what is our best approach?
The priest takes the diary and reads it, eyes going wider and wider as he reads. A demon, by the name of Straggalith, is pulling the Vance's strings. they plan to summon it... tonight. he seems almost out of breath as he says this. You know the Diabolists Lair? you must stop him! the priest says. hard eyes turned to all 5 of you.
The guard backs down. We can figure this out after they've been healed. He decides.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pushing things along, because we've been inching toward the temple for too long~~~~~~~~~~~~` The initiates are willing to offer their healing power, after you explain the situation, and Who Mok is. . The head priest asks to see the diary. What do you do?
The guard goes pale as Silas and Baros admit that Baros slew the men. You.... No. No way can a halfling do that. I couldn't do that. It would take some sort of ma- he abruptly stops talking. Meanwhile, one of the other guards gives up the house as lost, and moves to help HUIVD. Come on little fella he says, in a tone indicating he hasn't heard Hund speak. you're doing good, but we gotta take your orc this way, to the stretchers. Don't want to drag All the way him to the temple.
Silas, Rordan, and HUIVD You arrive... it is a gruesome sight. Mok lays behind the house. uncomfortably close to the fire, and 5 metres away you see a decapitated corpse, with Baros's knife in him, deep enough you think it might have broken through his spine. Further away, another cultist lays, his abdomen and ribcage torn open. the decapitated cultists head sits there. Three guards are there, two of them trying in vain to extinguish the fire, while a third tries to politely arrest Baros.
It's okay the guard says Those cultists are dead. You'l get your weapons after this is all sorted out. he says. he does not say, but it is clear to everyone that Baros is being arrested. |
