Search Posts
We have made it to the end! Thanks for putting up with me and the grind. I feel like I learned a lot, nd certainly have a bit more appreciation for the people on this side of the laptop. Players: Please PM or post an email address you'd like the chronicle sheet sent to. My goal is to have them in your inbox by Friday sometime. And thanks again!
A brief transaction later, and Anwald admits that perhaps calling Ulisha out to the Red Revolution and the Vessels Between was a bit of an overreaction, even for what she did to 'good folk like the Tullivor family.' Upon returning to Ulisha, she is a bit overwhelmed with gratitude. "It's nice to be free to show my head again, but that said, I'm not likely to hang around Daggermark anymore than I need to. Care if I tag along to Tymon?" She says, with a bit of a grin. [b]"And, also. I suppose I don't need to be selling this," she says, drawing Silverhex, spinning it in her palm, and offering its hilt to you. "Consider it a gift," she says with a smile. The trip to Tymon is uneventful, and VC Smine offers a bit of celebratory snacks and a hearty congratulations for a job well done. Ulisha settles in to a scribe position in the Tymon lodge, and offers to help if there is ever 'anything around the Sellen River you need researched.'
"The Tullivor family has been good people for generations, and that damned half-orc with her damned Silverhex and her damned sticky fingers owes them. Unless you want to pay her debt, I don't see anything you can accomplish. Their mantelpiece chalice is irreplaceable for less than 500 gold. I don't like having to incite violence upon her, but what she did to House Tullivor isn't right, either."
"Getting 'th little one away from me is a good start. But look at brave Anwald, rattled by a child!" A mixture of panic and liquor seem to be affecting his speech. You see him visibly clench his fists, more grasping at inner strength than showing signs of outward violence. "Fie on that stupid scholar and her precious Silverhex!" She's ruined everything!"
A quick jaunt back into Daggermark, and hour of canvassing the city leads you to a small pub where a man meeting Anwald's description is not touching a rabbit cutlet or its accompanying ale. He seems impatient, and you notice him look up each time anyone enters the establishment- -it's obviously he's waiting for someone, and that contact is late. Sense Motive or Intelligence DC 12:
Anwald is beginning to suspect the assassins he paid have failed in their task.
Ulisha nods to Oloch. "You could try and talk some sense into Anwald," she suggests, mixing malice and concern in her tone. "For obvious reasons, I would prefer to stay in hiding. I can offer you some supplies, if that's the route you wish to take." Ulisha shrugs, before continuing. "Hell, convince him to call off his dogs and you can have the sickle for free," she says, tapping Silverhex.
"Pretty slimy deal on both of their parts, but it was a pretty sweet setup for me. It's always nice to profit from making a profit, young one," Ulisha says, with a wide smile. "The Tullivors paid me to steal from the Sarvios. The Sarvios paid me to steal from the Tullivors. Once things got a little too tense, I split, though. I prefer my head where it is, and wherever the final blades are not. The real irony is that this friend of the Tullivors- -a friend of the nobility!- -has claimed I am an enemy of the Red Revolution. I'm hoping this Anwald fellow is as reasonable as the lot of them- -maybe a bit of gold will convince him to back off."
"Rhiannon?" Ulisha raises an eyebrow to Kyra. "The Sarvio runt? Yeah, she's probably not happy that I worked for a rival family and stole from hers. Even though her family paid me to steal from the Tullivors. Both the Tullivors and the Sarvios have enough to feed an entire River Kingdom on table scraps alone. You could finance an orphanage on items resting in their thrice-damned coffins." She spits on the ground, scoffing. "Or pay off a group of assassins."
Ulisha will happily assist with healing, identification of magic items, and application of sardonic wit. "I appreciate the warning. But I have a sneaking suspicion the Vessels Between aren't through with me. The good news, is I found out who hired the guild- -a friend of the Tullivors who goes by the name of Anwald- -apparently I'm an 'Enemy of the People of Galt.' Seems kind of odd to me, since I was pilfering from the aristocracy, but let's not get into semantics." Ulisha looks up to see reactions before continuing. "I want to sell this to pay him off," she say, producing a silvery sickle. "Silverhex is why you're here, right?"
Undaunted, the halfling continues to to his best to dance away from Hakon and Oloch.
Seeing Kyra presenting a holy symbol and wounds visibly close, the halfling decides she should be job #1 (and wishes he had known that sooner).
His arrow lodges itself in a gap in Kyra's armor. "If all of your friends were jumping off a cliff..." Ulisha trails off as she hits the ground with a thud.
Dusting herself off, she stands up. Combat Table:
Hakon: -3 HP
Ulisha: -1 HP Halfling Assassin: -8 HP Global: Bless, Inpsire Courage +1
: Everyone!
The troublesome halfling attempts to put some distance between Hakon and himself, before trying to put the injured Ulfen down.
The arrow flies wide! Ulisha continues inspiration, and casts cure light wounds on Mavaro to top him off. "Don't let the Ulfen have all of the fun," she wryly remarks. Combat Status:
Hakon: -7 HP
Global: Bless, Inpsire Courage +1 Up Next:
The sling stone flies 2-hole over the halfling. He begins circle-strafing Hakon, firing an arrow into his side at the end of his movement.
Ulisha remains inspiring, despite her gallows humor, and double moves to a more optimal position. Combat Table:
Mavaro: -2 HP
Global Effects: Bless, Inspire Courage +1 Up Next:
The halfling remains silent as he pulls back his bowstring and levels an arrow at Oloch's midsection.
A scowl betrays his silence as you get the sense that the archer is certainly frustrated. He hops down to the level below, scurrying behind the cliff for a bit of cover.
Ulisha continues inspiring courage, and moves to hang closer to the group. Combat Table:
Current Global Conditions: Inspire Courage +1, Bless
Oloch<=
Everyone
Mavaro hacks at the approaching assassin, but fails to dissuade his attack. Simultaneously, an arrow flies in concert towards Hakon. The culprit seems to be a halfling, hiding out among the outcropping. for
Ulisha looks to Mavaro, comments "chicks dig scars," and maintains her performance. Combat table:
Current Global Conditions: Inspire Courage +1, Bless Oloch<= Bless
:Everyone
You witness the lone figure gulp a potion down. Ulisha chimes in, "Talking isn't the way if the Vessels Between. They will die if I Do not. So fight like your lives depended on it, because mine certainly does!" Grim jokes aside, Ulisha's words seem to inspire courage. (+1) Up next, everyone else's surprise rounds, Oloch's normal initiative.
Lots of Die Rolls:
The mad rush to warn Ulisha seems to have been just in time. Within the minute, the party, save for Oloch, spots a lone figure approaching, doing his best to remain unseen. This is a surprise round! Combat Table:
Current Global Conditions: None Oloch
*Note: Ulisha will be grouped in with your initiatives, so everyone can go in one group. Kyra!
"...Ulisha," the half-orc replies, finishing Kyra's sentence. "But if the Vessels Between are headed this way, consider talks of business on hold for the moment. Can you fight?" she asks, noticing the weapons at your ready and realizing it was a silly question. "We could likely ambush them," she offers, drawing Silverhex and taking up a position alongside the party. "What? I haven't sold it yet," she remarks with a smirk.
"You made it! I had started to wonder if I hid my trail too well," a happy voice calls out over the crest of the hills. Hopping to her feat is a half-orc in practical studded leather armor, with a shiny silver sickle hanging from her waist. "Hungry? I've got fresh venison and a handful of wild carrots," she says, motioning you guys over towards her campfire. "Get comfortable, and we can talk business," she offers.
With information at hand, the five of you set out to find where Ulisha and Silverhex are hiding out. Following Narngar's map, the trek is easy, and after a couple of hours, the party approaches the end of the path marked on your map. Knowledge Local DC 15:
The assassins of Daggermark are more affordable than other hired killers. They refer to themselves as the Vessels Between, as they take targets from life to death. DC 20:
The more one is willing to pay, the more highly trained the assassin he can hire. The guild doubles as a school for assassins in training, and even these neophytes are available for hire. DC 25:
Assassins sent on missions outside of the city often work in pairs so as to better protect one another. The hill ahead is not much to look at. It gently slopes away from the river. A shallow cave is near its top, smoke from a campfire curling upward in the gentle breeze. The grass wafts slowly along a gently curving path up the southern face of the hill, ending in a few switchbacks as the hill grows steep near the top.
The dwarf happily parts with 200 gold and a bag full of vials in exchange for the spiderbits. He gives them a closer once-over, then looks to you guys, a signifcant look of relief on his face. “A fair trade’s a fair trade. There was a half-orc blathering about some important blade or sword or something she found. Moonsilver, Sliverhex, or somesuch. Kept going on about its history to any who would listen.” The merchant leans in conspiratorially. “Well I have it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak, that she won’t be needin’ that sword where she’s headed.” Ninefingers draws a hand across the neck, making an unpleasant sound. “The Vessels Between will have that one soon enough. You just need to go out there and grab that sword once they’re through, and I happen to know where they found her little camp.” Ninefingers draws a scroll from under his cloak and sets it on the bag of vials, before excusing himself. Knowledge Local DC 10:
The Vessela Between is one of many Daggermark assassin's guilds. The bag contains 5 alchemist's fires, 5 potions of cure light wounds and a crude map that shows a path to a cave entrance north of Daggermark.
The dwarf stammers a bit, before his eyes flash a glimmer of hope(?), and he seemingly instantly perks up. "Yar, this could be perfect. At least, perfect enough," he says, trying to mask his interest, before looking over his shoulder out the window. "I can do ya for 200 gold, a bit of miscellany that I was hopin' to stave off the collectors with, and can tell ya a bit about a magic sword, if'n yer parting with the spidery goods." Narngar points at a bag on the floor filled with vials. That hand is missing his pinky finger, instead showing a grisly scarred nub. "Best I can do. How about it?" DC 11 Sense Motive:
While it doesn't seem like Narngar has anything else to offer, he doesn't wish to part with info until the deal is accepted. DC 16 Sense Motive:
He's legit. DC 21 Sense Motive: He's still legit.
While keeping knives out of your back isn't easy in a city like Daggermark, the party does a respectable job in finding Narngar Ninefingers, in a seedy tavern on the outskirts of the city. Inside the tavern, a halfling with a harmonica sings blues in one corner of the bar. The air smells of smoke, pilsner, and fatty meat. A bartender keeps a couple of patron's glasses full. The only dwarf in the establishment, Narngar sits alone at a rickety table with two empty beers and two empty shot glasses. DC 15 Sense Motive (Cannot Aid Another): Narngar is visibly on edge, and terrified that debtors have come to collect.
So, at the very beginning, I wanted to wait to start this after Final Exams were in. As it turns out, it's significantly easier for me to update while school is in session. Heh. Summer semester starts up next Monday, (and we're almost done), so we will likely be finished by the end of the month. Sorry about the slow pace- -I'm not sure I'm really cut out to do PbP GMing- -Thanks for putting up with me!
Kyra expertly harvests the silk glands from both spiders. With two intact glands and the egg sac, the party travels back into Daggermark proper. Ulisha's note mentions a possible buyer- -one Johannes Vox- -but mentions that he doesn't pay well. The citizens of Daggermark exist in a state of perpetual tension, but it is certainly possible that you may be able to find a more lucrative buyer- -though keep in mind that your actions in Daggermark are always observed by someone, for good or for ill.
DC 15:
A gnome would-be apothecary, Ezmerlilly Vanderpoof, recently failed to deliver some promised goods to the Poisoners’ Guild. She needs something to appease the guild before they decide to drastically renegotiate their contract. DC 25: Though he has a reputation for being a fierce negotiator, dwarven merchant Narngar Ninefingers has run up quite the gambling debt. Debtors tend not to last long in a city of assassins, and Narngar is growing desperate for something he can sell to important patrons to prove that he’s worth keeping around.
Mavaro puts the finishing blow on the spider that Kyra maimed, and the coast is clear! DC 12 Perception:
That pumpkin-shaped knot of webbing is an egg sac, covered in fresh adhesive. DC 15 Heal or Survival (can only be attempted twice, as a group): You are able to harvest a silk gland from one of the dead spiders!
Hakon and Oloch hack and power their way through the webbings! Mavaro and Kyra connect with their attacks on the spider. Yoon is less than successful.
The brown spider fights desperately to stave off Mavaro with minimal success.
The other spider descends to engage Kyra. Attack of Opportunity: Kyra!
combat table:
Conditions:
Active Effects: bless, inspired rage Spiders(Both on the Ground): Bitin'
Kyra (+ an attack of opportunity), Everyone Else
|
