Going to bring us back around for the finale after Gen Con for anyone that is still around. Goal to post between Aug 19th and 21st.
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Yep, playing too. Here's my schedule: Thursday 8:00:00, Play 06-01: Trial by Machine (1-5)
Should have an update this week.
You search Lady Kythra and the dayroom. She bears a morning star and a chain shirt. She also bears a wood-carved mask with a glistening ebon face. Its expressionless features are highlighted in silver. Th only exits from the room are the door where you entered and the door that Lady Kythra was attempting to flee through.
Lady Kythra glares at Suny and gnashes her teeth against the gag.
The darkness gradually fades. Beyond, you see Mishael, Suny, and a somewhat ravished looking Lady Kythra bound and gagged on the floor.
Bloody Flag holds onto his spell, waiting to hear if the woman gets away to see if he needs to release his bats. Desperate to get away, Lady Kythra attempts to cast a spell. The words alone begin to freeze Mishael's limbs in place, but a quick tightening of the azhari's grip causes a whimper from the noblewoman and the spell dies on her lips.
Suny loses her grip, but grabs Mishael's rope and hands it to her.
Suny manages to grasp the priestess herself, lending another pair of hands (and other body parts) to help hold her down. At the edge of the darkness, Karsielle calls on light. It isn't enough to dispel the black, but helps to brighten things where she stands.
Desperate to get away, the woman claws at Mishael's face, attempting to pull herself away. The azhari is too strong for her and refuses to let go in spite of the scratches that rake across her cheek.
Suny's dive for the woman falls short while Silas curses the sudden blackness and Bloody Flag begins casting his spell. Karsielle reaches out to brush her hand against Mishael...
I'll be GMing 6 slots at a con this weekend. Will try to post before I go, but you might not hear from me until Sun night/Monday.
Upon Bloody Flag's "reveal", Mary Black shrieks with fear. Lady Kythra takes a trembling step back. Mary Black cries out, "Its her! She's the leader! I just work for her." You see Lady Kythra cast a spell, she drops a scarf and everything goes black. Spellcraft DC 17:
Darkness Initiative:
Lady Kythra Bloody Flag Karsielle Suny Mishael Silas
Things are good. Just has been busy and I've been working through how to bring this to its conclusion.
Suny begins shredding her clothing and binding the woman on the floor. The woman growls, "We were going to kill her and seize her holdings if not for you fools." Lady Kythra takes a step back from her, seemingly taken aback by the threat against her life. "Gods. Its a good thing you all have arrived. Can a couple of you stay with me in case there are others about and another can get the guards? I'm fearful of being alone if there are more of them about." GM Rolls:
Karsielle: Karsielle, you're sure that this Mary Black is not telling you everything, but Lady Kythra seems sincere.
We can. Sorry folks. Been a crazy couple months. Will see about getting something up before the end of the weekend. We're close to finishing this one out.
Merry Christmas all! I'll see about getting a post-holiday post up on Thursday.
The woman on the ground snarls, "I'm Mary Black...and we would have been successful if not for this damn woman's luck..." She sags noticeably, seeming to give up in the face of both her predicament and your presence. The noblewoman speaks, "It it my home of course. I am Lady Kythra. Young lady, why are you removing your clothes?"
GM Rolls:
Bloody Flag: Something about the way the woman on the ground is acting suggests this is more of a performance than an actual capture.
"Fortunately she tripped on the table and I was able to get the upper hand. Here, help me finish tying her up and we can get help." Pushing back the mask reveals the angry face of a woman.
At long last, the heavy door creaks open. Inside you see an arrangement of small acacia wood drink tables and plush couches and ottomans upholstered in intricate, distinctly Katapeshi brocade face the wall-length row of window panels overlooking the courtyards below. One of the tables has been kicked over, nearby lie several chipped crystal glasses and a half-shattered bottle of wine. Deep red wine pools on the slate floor tiles and seeps into the edges of hand-woven carpets. At the far end of the room, a young noblewoman struggles violently to subdue a hog-tied victim dressed in the ceremonial robes of a cultist and wearing a dark mask. The noblewoman shouts, "Help! This woman was trying to kill me!"
Sorry, just a little late getting my next post up. Should have it by tomorrow.
Suny can hear the sounds of a scuffle coming from behind the door.
GM Rolls:
Karsielle motions Mishael ahead and the azhari darts across to join Suny. As Karsielle crosses, everyone can hear a yelp and the sound of someone moving on the adjacent rooftop. Karsielle can see someone dressed in dark clothes scrambling to drop off the far side of the rooftop. Seconds later, Suny and Mishael hear a loud bang from behind the door and the sound of breaking glass.
GM Rolls:
Suny easily skips across the causeway and finds herself in a room whose walls are covered with heads of powerful and ravenous looking wild beasts, highlighted by spears, shields, arrows, horns and other hunting artifacts. A curtain covers the south wall and there is a door in the east wall to Suny's right.
As far as you can tell so far, you're on the right path.
It seemed to come from all around you as you emerged from the top of the stair.
The only exit from the room is a narrow causeway, 5-feet wide, spanning the distance between the observatory and the upper floor of the manor.
I had a great time! Hope you did too Bloody Flag. Now exhausted of course, but that goes with the territory.
None of you detect magic on the chain or room. Nor do you see anything else of interest in the room.
Spellcraft DC 17: The voice was created by a magic mouth spell
Since I think Karisielle will be back from Paizocon shortly, I'll give a chance for her to update and then post again Monday or Tuesday.
You begin moving toward the archway and now can see that there are two mountainous sentries opposite you patrolling the doorways at the northern balcony. The thick-muscled guards are smeared head to foot with black greasepaint and wear faceless black leather masks. Knowledge (dungeoneering) DC 11:
The hulking guards are thinly disguised grimlocks. They are not obstructing you path through the archway. Through the archway you can see a broad wooden deck traces the perimeter of the courtyard. Scores of guests wander the walkways, gleefully chatting and peering in the gardens below. A small ensemble plays softly from an open room on the south side of the deck. At the far end, you can see the door the servant directed you to.
Yeah, as mentioned in Carrion Crown, have a great time! Early warning for everyone else that we will take a break for GenCon. I'll let you know when we get a titch closer.
You move up the stairs as directed. Atop the curved staircase, a small balcony overlooks the foyer beneath. Along the north wall, two doors face the balcony. To the east a row of windows allows a full view of the deck and much of the garden beneath. The rest of the room, west of the stairs opens into a grand dance floor. Masked couples dance together in studied deliberate steps to the soft tones of a strong quartet echoing from the open archway to the south.
Karsielle: You know Lady Kythra to be a prominent and extremely well-connected Freeport noblewoman. She inherited a large sum of money from her father and owns a manor house not far from the Goodrest Mortuary in the Warehouse District, always felt to be an unusual location for such a wealthy noblewoman. She is known to throw fabulous parties.
The servant looks somewhat startled for a moment, "Ma'am, she is the lady of the house of course." She seems to gather her composure. "The dayroom is upstairs. Go up these stairs and follow the balcony past the music room. There is a door to the lounge after the balcony turns. Go up the spiral stair, across the causeway to the trophy room. Her dayroom is through the right hand door."
As you begin to slip out the door, you see a young woman dressed as a servant hurrying down the stairs. "One moment..." She hands a note to Karsielle. Note: Your presence is cordially requested in my private dayroom, the matter is urgent. Please hurry. --Kythra.
All, I'm going to take a little break in posting until the weekend. If I get a bit more time, I'll put something up.
Sorry to hear it Suny. I hope you are soon on the mend and your car as well. I should have another post up later on. Going to be a little slow for me too until the end of the weekend.
You move forward into the foyer in time to see the woman moving up a wide curving mahogany staircase and brass toward the second floor. A man in formal clothes and a bear mask holds his hand out to her on the landing and once she reaches him, she takes his arm and the pair move on up the stairs to a balcony-lined tier above. As you move into the foyer, you can see it opens to a high arched ceiling that climbs up past the second floor. In the center, a massive four-layer chandelier splays flickers of candlelight everywhere. To your right you can see a set of double doors that likely lead out of the house. Ahead to your left you can see the foyer opens to a banquet room filled with guests.
You move back into the kitchen. Things seem to be calming back down and a few people are looking suspiciously at the area where Bloody Flag worked his 'magic.' Opening the other door exiting the kitchen, you can see a window out on the garden to your left. It appears the hallway straight ahead leads toward a foyer at the front of the house. Ahead you can see the ceiling opens up and must reach to the 2nd floor or beyond. As you watch, you can see a woman in a fine gown and cat mask make her way from left to right across the foyer.
She's only had one bad incident so far and a few twinges. Really watching what she eats carefully. We're also in the midst of a move to a new home which has to be done by the end of July. We scheduled the family vacation before we decided to buy the house. So, she's hoping to hold off till late summer or early fall. But the gall bladder may have its own ideas. Glad you're feeling a lot better!
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