So...this is a point in the adventure when it is necessary for the characters to converse amongst themselves and come to a decision about what is to be done. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come.
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I realize that I forgot to mention the new map being up.
SERMON IN THE SQUARE
C1. Church Square
A few small groups of elderly locals and laborers from nearby businesses have gathered in the square, mostly around the well or along the fence surrounding the churchyard, muttering about what they’ve heard or imagined about Allamar’s announcement. As the time of the sermon gets closer, more townsfolk drift into the square until the crowd is 100 strong. Rumors abound: - “I heard one of Sword Knight Allamar’s sons say she was visited by an angel! This could mean great things for the church and the town.”
C2. Shop
C3. Alley
C4. Seward Street
Razelago chuckles. "As ever, you can do as you see fit, though I imagine setting fire to the church in broad daylight amidst a crowd of the faithful is likely to bring some unpleasant consequences. While that would certainly undermine whatever authority the church possesses, there are subtler ways."
It's clear that between the drunks below and the girls above, the mystery bather will have to remain a mystery. Becky and Eliselda return to the parlor and find a place to curl up for the night. The next morning, Cimri wakes you, telling you that Razelago wants to meet with you again immediately. Razelago’s office is as it was before, only now a small, black lacquered box sits on the table before the paper screens. Once you are assembled, Razelago explains the situation. “With the number of veterans who live in town, it’s not surprising that there’s a church of Iomedae in Longacre. But there might not be one much longer if Tileavia Allamar, its priestess, does what she has in mind.” Razelago’s silhouette clasps shadowy hands. “There’s growing unrest in the empire, and not just in Pezzack and along the Hellcoast. Many of Iomedae’s faithful have begun speaking more boldly of the monarchy’s vices and the rights of citizens. They seem to believe this is Andoran and that the people have only to reach out to seize power. But they are wrong. This is Cheliax, not Andoran, and we know where true power lies." Razelago's silhouette shifts. “Fifth Sword Knight Allamar is gathering all who will listen for a sermon in front of her church this afternoon, only two short hours from now. I don’t know what she has in mind, but I suspect some revolutionary claptrap that can only sow the seeds of confusion and frustration among Longacre’s citizens. That is contrary to my wishes. So I’d like you to attend the rally. In the box are sashes marked with the insignia of Archbaron Fex. Wear them, remind people that the lord of this town is not without supporters, and see what transpires. Afterward, Cimri will report back to me. In return, you will all receive double what you did last night.” Cimri quickly agrees and takes the box, looking to the rest of you.
Seriously. I think, for whatever reason, they've been doing site maintenance a lot more frequently than they usually do.
You still hear faint splashing sounds. Moreover, you don't recall any other doors in Razelago's office. Whatever it is, the quickest path is either through the rubble or through the wall, though in the state of disrepair the house is in, adding more structural damage is likely a poor decision.
Becky and Eliselda, as you ascend the stairs to the upper floor, you quickly realize that the only accessible door is the one that leads to Razelago's office. You're pretty sure you didn't see a bathtub in there. As you pause at the top of the stairs, however, you hear more splashing coming from the opposite direction. Wherever this tub is, it's behind a mountain of rubble. Clearing it away would take at least an hour of work. You hear splashing again. As for the rest of you, looking at where your throws have landed reveals Kali to be the winner of this contest. Cimri is surprised but congratulatory.
Drunken Bullseye Champion: Once per day when making an attack roll with a thrown weapon, you can roll your attack roll twice and take the higher result. If one of these rolls is a critical threat, the other roll is used as your confirmation roll (your choice if they are both critical threats).
Shockingly, the halfling's trident hits closest to center with Cimri and Kali just a handful of inches off. Torgueila's dagger misses the target completely but does manage to bury itself in the wall. You down your drinks and you're all feeling quite drunk now. Your penalty increases to -4. Take your throws.
Unfortunately, as the halfling approaches the mark, he lurches strangely and runs to the corner, vomiting violently.
As these fools are distracted hurling daggers at a wall, Becky and Eliselda hear faint splashing coming from upstairs, as if someone were getting into a bath and then out of it later.
One by one, you each toss your daggers, Kali's landing closest to the center of the target with Torgueila's just an inch or so farther. Cimri, perhaps more drunk than she seems, is clear off the mark, but still manages to hit the target. As you move to retrieve your daggers, a trident sails through the air.
It sinks just next to Torgueila's dagger. You whip your heads around to see what the hell is going on. The halfling, now out of his armor, smirks and turns to pour another round of wine. Cimri looks at the two of you and shrugs, an amused look on her face. You each retrieve your weapons and down your second glasses. Everybody is now feeling pretty merry. Your inhibitions lower, voices raise, and balance wavers slightly. Your attack penalty increases to -2. The halfling, however, seems to be fully drunk. Take your next throws.
Alright! Everybody drains their first glass of the fairly strong wine Razelago has provided and takes turns chucking daggers at the target. At this point, you're all tipsy, so take a -1 penalty to your attack roll. And don't forget the +1 bonus from your fancy new daggers.
It’s nearing dawn by the time head down to collect your reward, which is waiting for you in the parlor on the ground floor, along with eight bottles of a fine Wiscrani barbera wine, several loaves of fresh bread, garlic-flavored butter, and a variety of smoked fish and boar’s meat. It’s a veritable feast, and among the best food you—Eliselda aside—have ever had in your lives. A plain wooden chest sits on a table in this room. Inside the chest is 100 gp for each of you, plus Cimri’s share of 200 gp, as well as three masterwork daggers (one of which Cimri snatches up), a masterwork rapier, a masterwork scythe, and a masterwork trident. Once you’ve divvied up your payment, Cimri encourages you to stay, celebrate with her, and play a few rounds of drunken bulls-eye with her new dagger.
"If there's nothing else, hurry down and collect your pay. There are refreshments laid out, should you wish to partake."
"To be honest, I'd have preferred him alive, but him dead also serves my purposes. Jabral Louislik hadn’t been paying his fair share of taxes. Beyond that, he was also very opinionated. He’d have opposed the cooperation I’d like to see among Longacre’s people. I wanted his influence weakened—and no one trusts a poor man. Now, well, certainly no one trusts a dead man.”
“Excellent. You’ve done well, Cimri, and your associates sound like individuals of rare potential. You’ll all find your payment waiting in the parlor below, along with a gift for each of you. Go, enjoy, celebrate. You deserve a reward for your impressive work. We’ll talk more in the near future.” Cimri nods at Razelago and heads for the door, pausing to close it behind you.
Cimri stands and motions for you to follow her up the stairs. She leads you to a door and waves you in, following just behind. Toppled bookshelves, a table, and some chairs half-covered in ivy suggest this room was once a library. The ashes and pulp of burned, waterlogged books lay heaped amid fallen furniture, creating a large nest of sorts against one wall. A set of folding paper screens divides the room. A lantern flickers on the opposite side, projecting the silhouette of a desk and high-backed chair upon the thin paper. Amidst the nest of book pulp is curled an earless, panther-like beast. As you enter, the beast snarls, the skin of its face twitching, then peeling back to reveal the bone and flesh beneath. At the same time, the light behind the paper screen slowly intensifies, casting the stark silhouette of a bald figure seated at a desk upon the divider. Afer a moment of slow shuffling, a high-pitched voice, sounding as though it could belong to someone either very young or very old, wheezes from behind the screen. “Cimri. Is it done?”
Well, I had been waiting for her to actually enter the house, but I'll just move things along tonight when I get home from work.
Also, It's been more than a week since Eliselda posted. How do we want to proceed?
I assumed it was some weird bug on my end. Strange.
As you climb through the window, you can see that you're in what was once the parlor. Pieces of battered furniture lie here amid the choking scent of dust and ashes. Beneath a mantel crowded with empty whiskey bottles, the fireplace shows evidence of recent use. The scorched, broken visages of curious cherubs leer from atop archways leading deeper into the house. Seated in one of the chairs is Cimri, the box from the tannery placed upon the table. She looks up as you climb into the room.
As you push against the door, it barely budges. You can tell It has long ago settled into the frame. There are windows nearby you could climb through, or you could try to force the door.
The front door of the mansion begins blinking in a very immersion breaking way.
Did Eliselda get lost in the woods?
I'd be interested. As far as votes, literally anything Powered by the Apocalypse gets my top vote. Starfinder and 13th Age are close behind, though.
As you walk through the old iron gates of the manor, you look up at the building. What remains of this manor looks like it could collapse at any moment. Bearing the scars of a decades-old fire, the house is blackened and sags under the weight of its collapsed third floor. Shattered windows pose no barrier to the riot of ivy scaling each gable and invading every cavity. Bent pillars and a cracked granite porch lead to a warped door bearing a rusty doorknocker shaped like a boar’s head.
As you all file out of the counting house, the halfling indicates that one of you should help carry out the loot he's assembled. However you decide to do it, you all slip out of the tannery and into the woods. The halfling hangs back long enough to ignite the oil trail he'd left around the perimeter of the place. Burned evidence is difficult to pinpoint.
Peering out the window, Toegueila can see that the halfling has apparently been busy. He stands next to a pile of armor and tools carefully grooming Gavin and checking him over for wounds.
Cimri pops open the lock as Torgueila drops the keys next to the box. She grins wide and spins the box around. It's filled with numerous small leather pouches. She holds one up and jingles it. It clearly contains coin. She drops it back in the box and closes the lid. "Let's get the f!!~ out of here before someone realizes Louislik is dead."
Cimri moves over and gets to work on the lockbox. Your corpse-looting yields a masterwork crossbow, 8 bolts, and a set of keys.
Torgueila, there are a couple tapestries and some antique leatherworking tools on the walls that might be worth something, and a small lockbox underneath the desk. Also, your hearing is blown for an hour, so pretty much until scene change. =/
Whisper:
"Thrune..." Mary's scythe once again does its job, biting into Loislik's clavicle. The man drops to the ground.
The halfling, having tended to his mistress, steps over and ensures the demise of the dog.
Meanwhile, Louislik stares, mouth agape, at Eliselda and a single whispered word escapes his lips. What a shame that the only people in the room with him are currently deaf. Cimri takes the opportunity to swing her kukri at Louislik.
The blade finds purchase in Louislik's side, blood soaking into the cloth of his shirt.
Eliselda, are you holding your action?
The Battle with the Stirge™ lasted two rounds. There was a single round of weepy flailing and then things were finished. This has been a dice rolling disaster from the start. ^_^
I swear, this opening encounter is one of the biggest failfests I've ever been party to. lol
To answer your question, Mr. Torgue, there is no Flanking Position available.
I'm partial to DAZZLE VISION, myself. Totally different, but I can't pass up an excuse to plug them. ^_^
GM Rolls:
The majority of the threat having been dealt with, the halfing rushes to his mistress' side. He tips a small vial into her mouth, taking care to not drown her in it.
The potion does what it's supposed to do, and Eliselda is once again conscious. Louislik is in a more precarious position. He rips Cimri's dagger from his shoulder and hurls it at Torgueila, spitting curses as he does.
The pain in his shoulder spoils his aim. Cimri steps forward with her kukri, looking to end this drawn-out encounter.
To no avail. Being deaf is apparently more disorienting than she expected. Gavin continues to prance about, now examining the courtyard.
Are you just now discovering these guys? They're fantastic. ^_^
Welcome to the Low-Rollers' Table. Trin and I have been here for years. ^_^
Louislik is caught off guard by the dancing of a man he can only partially see and doesn't notice the bomb until it's too late. It catches him in the hip and Louislik screams as it detonates. He's clearly wounded, but still standing with malice in his eyes. Whilst Cimri and Torgueila are dealing with Louislik, the halfling brings his trident to bear yet again.
The halfling's trident finally finds its mark, skewering the dog through the chest. The dog yelps in pain as the halfling jerks the trident out of its body and lunges forward in a desperate attempt to escape certain death.
The dog manages to take a single step before being gored buy Gavin Steadyhooves, but it's Hardgore Mary's scythe that does the real work, biting into the dog's neck until striking bone. The dog falls to the ground. Meanwhile, Louslik takes a step toward his desk and hurls a small stone at the floor in front of Cimri.
It lands at her feet and cracks, releasing a deafening roar.
Cimri shakes her head as her ears ring realizing that her hearing is, at least for the nonce, completely f**&ed. She rushes in and swings at Louislik with her kukri.
Louislik slips just out of her reach. Outside, Gavin capers in delight, bleating out his success.
Precise Shot only negates the penalty for firing into melee, not soft cover. But you can technically just lean over and chuck a bomb without Cimri being in the way.
There is a door, which you and Cimri are by, and a window. That is all you can see.
Well, we got our first Nat 20 of the game. Luckily the crit didn't confirm or we'd have either a dead bard or the first roll on the alternate death table.
Torgueila's bomb detonates behind the terrier and the poor thing drops to the ground with a whimper. Torgueila:
As you pass by the open door, you can see Louislik reloading his crossbow. With the smaller dog now clearly out of the fight, Kali works her magic on the dog still standing.
The dog shakes its head violently, shrugging off the full effect, but still taking the -2 AC for 1 round. Kali's cackling extends that to two rounds. The halfling draws back with his trident again, thrusting at the now weakened dog.
Even with Kali's hex in place and Eliselda's uplifting voice, the thrust misses its target. The halfling curses in an unfamiliar language and moves to block any further bolts from finding their way into his mistress. The dog lashes out as the halfling moves away.
GM Rolls:
Its teeth glance off of the halfling's armor. Not to be dissuaded, the dog charges on the halfling's heels, biting again at the armored thing.
The dog finally finds purchase and attempts to drag the halfling to the ground, the better to savage him.
Luckily, the halfling braces himself as the bite comes in and the dog just can't find the leverage to throw him to the ground. Meanwhile, a sharp twang erupts from the counting house and a second bolt flies toward Eliselda.
Even with the halfling attempting to spoil his aim Louislik's bolt finds its home in Eliselda, catching her in the shoulder. Eliselda drops to the ground bleeding, her song cut short mid-note. Louslik laughs victoriously and slams the door to the counting room. Cimri moves over and throws her weight against the door.
She manages to force it open just before the bar falls into place. She sneers and spits at Louislik, brandishing her kukri menacingly. Gavin Steadyhooves, seeing his opponent vanquished with explosive fire, turns his attention to the other dog. He capers over, leaping through the air to land a headbutt against the hound.
His horns find their mark and the dog howls in pain as they dig into its flesh.
Okay, it's been more than a week. Put out your feelers to the others. Tomorrow after work I'll assume they're holding their actions and move on.
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