I am so very sorry to hear it. No worries for us - you be where you need to be.
More coming in PM, but we're all with you.
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Yes on roll20 - use that a lot. Never used Discord. I'll play wherever!
I'm back - sorry, all, crazy weekend.
Kaz grimaces - unseen - in frustration, pondering his course of action. Finally, he opens the door as quietly as he can, just enough to peek through into the room.
(If you will permit a light retcon) Kaz keeps his hand on Zed's shoulder as the pair makes their way into the temple. Seeing the meditating priests, Kaz pauses, listening intently, seeing if they are muttering anyhtign that he can understand.
After a few, he gently tugs on Zed's shoulder, steering back into the entryway (e2), then north to the unopened door - assuming that Zed comes with him. If so, he will check for traps or alarms, and press his ear to it to listen for any motion behind it.
Before going in, Kaz will cast heightened awareness Heightened Awareness:
School divination; Level alchemist 1, bard 1, druid 1, inquisitor 1, psychic 1, ranger 1, shaman 1, sorcerer/wizard 1 CASTING Casting Time 1 standard action
EFFECT Range personal
DESCRIPTION You enter a heightened state of awareness that allows you to notice more about your surroundings and recall information effortlessly. You gain a +2 competence bonus on Perception checks and on all Knowledge checks that you are trained in. If this spell is active when you have to make an initiative check, you can instantly dismiss this spell and gain a +4 bonus on that check.
I am amused by the material component..I think I've got that one covered... So that perception would be a 32.
"And, one wonders how much the laity knows about what they are worshipping. Do we have a cadre of priests slowly corrupting them, or is it a town full of demon-cultists? Either way, once we are free of here, the Count should be made aware. But that is not for tonight. Zed, do you want me to come along, or will I slow you down?"
Kazamir ponders the findings as well.
AS afternoon winds toward evening, Kaz turns to his friends, "I'm afraid that I have no further ideas until nightfall. My own abilities do not include much to augment stealth, but does anyone else have access to such? Invisibility, for instance? In any case, I think Zed and I - more Zed, really - are best suited to do the actual sneaking, but hopefully we can select a spot for the rest of us to be close by. After Pyth and Zelda scout, of course,", he adds, nodding gratefully to those companions.
Kazamir will pass through town several times during the day, attempting to keep an eye on the church without looking like he's keeping an eye on the church.
"I'm also not opposed to some good old-fashioned skulking and sneaking. A clandestine look at the temple might not go amiss."
Kaz's obsequious demeanor vanishes like a puff of smoke on a windy day, and his flat, businesslike mien returns. "We will need a list of those that have disappeared, any information commonly known about them, and their last known whereabouts," he says, fishing his journal and pen from his haversack.
I have had a hard time getting more than a few minutes of free time at a sitting for the last few months, so my apologies that Kaz hasn't been incredibly active. That being said, this is very much my favorite PbP, and I am definitely interested in keeping it going as long as humanly possible.
"Many gratitudes, your Honor: In pursuit of our mutual goals and the interest in the tranquility of the community and harmony between us, and, with all respect due to you and your community by us as humble and appreciative guests, we will briefly summarize our objectives and desires, so as to facilitate a rapid and uncomplicated return to the most desirable status quo that this settlement enjoyed before our untimely, if unintended, disruption to its tranquil idyll."
detect thoughts: DC 16 You detect surface thoughts. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject. 1st Round: Presence or absence of thoughts (from conscious creatures with Intelligence scores of 1 or higher). 2nd Round: Number of thinking minds and the Intelligence score of each. If the highest Intelligence is 26 or higher (and at least 10 points higher than your own Intelligence score), you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends. This spell does not let you determine the location of the thinking minds if you can’t see the creatures whose thoughts you are detecting. 3rd Round: Surface thoughts of any mind in the area. A target’s Will save prevents you from reading its thoughts, and you must cast detect thoughts again to have another chance. Creatures of animal intelligence (Int 1 or 2) have simple, instinctual thoughts. Each round, you can turn to detect thoughts in a new area. The spell can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it.
Still in nothing more than his own smallclothes, the big man scratches at his powerfully muscled and impressively hairy chest as he stretches. "We can't all stand around here while the ladies dress. Why don't we meet you and the mayor at his office later this morning? After we break our fast. Kazamir can hardly move most days until he's had a cup of that dark bitter tea he favors." Kazamir's head comes up, a slightly petulant, wounded look on his face, but it quickly settles into a sheepish, resigned acceptance, and he nods ruefully.
Kaz takes a step forward, bowing deeply. " Good Morning, Mayor. We are honored by the gift of your time and attention. How may we be of service?"
I wonder what THIS is all about?
Sorry, all - I forgot to give my games the heads-up that I would be out of touch last week. I'll be caught up shortly...
Kaz has only stony silence and a long stare out to sea to add to the proceedings.
I think Kaz is also not inclined to interfere with local 'justice'. It goes against the grain as 'not the way we did it in Caliphas', but he would probably assume that some semblance of a process was followed. He is, though beginning to have some deep 'Lovecraftian outsider in Innsmouth' kind of suspicions about this place. As intended, I'm sure.
Good luck, JZ!
Kaz lets his eyes drop, as if in contrition, and mutters, just loud enough for the shopkeep to hear. "We would hate to give offense and cause problems. Who is this Watcher in the Bay, and how can we avoid its presence?"
Kaz joins Vala, waiting patiently as she and Pyth work their magics. Offering an elbow with a slight bow, he says, "Mistress Cross, would you care to join me in perusing the fine local wares and fare?"
"We should see what shops or businesses are at least nominally open to the public. We can make the rounds under the excuse that we are re-provisioning for a journey. The locals may be slightly better disposed to us if they think we are leaving..."
My apologies, guys - a lot of life going on, and I have not been at my sharpest here on the boards. I'm going to go back and re-read everything since Kaz and Hazel dies, get up to speed, and I should be posting again by Monday. If Kaz is desperately needed in the next 48 hours, GM, please feel free to NPCbot him. Thank you all for your patience! EDIT: Though with that Sense Motive, Zed, you might be all covered...
Kaz steps forward, his face nearly contrite, and says, in a voice much softer than his usual carrying tone, "Of course we have no wish to intrude or inconvenience you, sir. We merely need a roof over our head - you know, have us all in one place rather than wandering all over willy-nilly. And of course, we're happy to pay well above going rate. You'd be doing us quite the favor..."
Kazamir is quiet, but seemingly at ease as they make their way through town. He walks along calmly, nodding slightly and politely at the sparse company on the streets. Only after travelling with him for these months is it obvious that the investigator is cataloging every sight, every sound, every - judging from the occasional flare of his nostrils - smell of their surroundings. He stops with his friends in front of their dubious lodgings, his lips thinning ever so slightly at the figure depicted there. "Well, it wasn't likely that we were all going to sleep well anyway," he mutters. Though I'll be checking under the bed for stirges...
I think this sailor's dilemma is pretty far out of Kaz's wheelhouse. Any ideas?
"This will not end well!" Kaz shouts over the wind as he begins to spur his horse toward the quay. He squints through the tempest to see what he can tell about the unfortunate sailor.
Kaamir heads out as well.
"If our rider is bound to Illmarsh, it would be unlikely he could take ship from there - it is not much of a port of call. His head tilts to the side a moment. "We should be alert for Stirges, though - It was the home of the ill-fated Piper whose ghost we fought in Ravengro."
"We did not, sir. Though he, too, mentioned the riders," Kaz replies, trying to probe without surrendering too much information of their own. "Do you know him? Was he a resident?"
Kazamir steps forward with a small, crisp bow. "Good Morrow, sir and madam. My friends and I just arrived in Thrushmoor, not an hour ago. As this person was advising us as to lodging, he drew and attacked my colleague," he gestures to the blood evident on Hazel's clothing, "and, summoning allies, proceeded to attack us all. Obviously, we overcame them, and we set off at once to find the proper authorities to which to report the attack. We would be more than happy to show you the site of the attack, and fully co-operate with any investigation."
"I do not think that we can turn this man over to local authorities: Even if they are trustworthy, I doubt that there are many cells in a place like Thrushmore that could hold him." Kaz looks down, uncomfortable. " It rather goes against the grain of the whole of my career, but I do not think that we can afford to let him live. I have no doubt that his crimes merit death - it just chafes against me to flout what should be a trial and execution. But I feel we must." "Constantin, my normal course of action would be exactly as you describe - but I feel the risk of his escape - and the harm that he may continue to bring - outweighs the benefit we could bring by properly investigating and closing his past crimes." He straightens, looking grim. "And speaking of the harm he may continue to do, after his death we must take steps to prevent the corpse from rising as undead."
" 'For what did the Whispering Way trade the Seasage Effigy? For what did they need that item? Where did they take it? How long ago did they leave?' "Kaz rambles distractedly as he ransacks the clothing of the old man.
KAzamir draws his blade and moves around the wagon, eyes studying the ghoul beside Hazel.
Kaz's mind flashes through the tortorous sequences of thought tied to bodily motion, and he attemtps to halt the assassin in his tracks.
Flashback 1: Throughout the reunion in Feldgrau, while Kazamir was quite proper with his greetings and expressions of gratitude to Vermundr and Constantin, it was obvious that his mind was elsewhere. He took the barest moment to give his thanks to the restless spirit that had revealed so much, then he was fumbling out another ornately bound scroll and all but chivying his friends into a circle. This second scroll was longer, more elaborate, more complex than the first - necessary, Kaz had mentioned, to move their whole group as one. The agitated investigator had needed to force himself to take a few slow breaths before bringing his considerable concentration onto the task. A moment later, in a blur of darkness and silver, the smell of open water washed over them, and the party stood on a low green hill that sloped down to the green waters of Lake Encarthian. Kaz took a long breath through his nose and gave a wry smile. "We're upwind from Caliphas proper," he said, pointing east. Past a long, curved, rocky peninsula, dotted with wooden and stone towers, the smoke and haze of the city could be clearly seen, just a couple miles away. ", and the air is MUCH clearer here. Welcome to Caliphas - or near enough." The smile dropped away from his face as he turned away from the inland sea. A small, whitewashed, single-story cottage sat at the top of the hill, fifteen yards away, a tidy little garden fenced in beside it. Kaz strode nearer, cane in hand clutched not as a walking-stick, but a weapon. He paused ten feet from the door, magically extending his senses, then gave a sharp nod and progressed to the front door. He raised his cane, but the door flew open on its own before he could knock. Ready for trouble and tragedy as they were, Kaz and his friends all had started and reached for weapons, seeing an ambush...where there was only a small, wiry Ustalavan woman, her iron-grey hair drawn back into a tight bun, a flour-flecked apron over her checked gray dress. Her hands had descended to her hips in the pose of scolding mothers since time immemorial. "Kazamir Rhuul, your father just whitewashed this door last week. We'll have none of your fancy cane scratching it up because you could not be bothered to knock like a decent person!" Kazamir's ducked head could not hide his huge smile of relief. eh took his scolding contritely, and stepped forward to catch his mother in a tight hug. "Mother, please meet my friends," he said, half turning to beckon the party forward."
"Tar-Baphon was the most famous adherent of the Whispering Way, Vermundr - probably how he became known as the Whispering Tyrant - but scholars think that the organization itself is older still than he. I think most of Varisia must be descendants of those who fought him - though, it has been a thousand years since the Shining Crusade that locked him Gallowspire. Lots of time for people to come and go." "The hints we have to the Way's purpose...I have no real basis, but I fear that they want to make some sort of key for Gallowspire, to release the lich on the world once more. We should probably study that verse in greater detail, come to think..."
"These waters hold a history most relevant to our endeavors," Kaz says quietly as they ride along, gazing out in the general direction of the Isle of Terror. "Out there, the first life of the Tyrant was ended. If only Aroden had known what he would become after death..."
Ordinarily, I'd love to play this out, but frankly, I am swamped, exhausted, and still a little under the weather. I'll try to put up a nice long fluffy post sometime soon, but I ma perfectly OK with doing that as a flashback. If everyone else is OK with it, let's rejoin our heroes on their way from Caliphas to Thrushmoor. Sorry if that bypasses anything that you had planned. Also, thanks, everyone for letting Kaz hijack things for a bit. Oh, and that bringing back from the dead thing, too.
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