Maybe we can find a wagon and smuggle you through a gate? Or we can get rope and hoist you over the wall, though that would prove painful I bet. Another option would be to ambush a guard post and just walk through when they are defeated. Staying here until you heal is not an option my friend.
Grunthor thanks Ivan for his offer but politely refuses. "If I cannot move I would rather stay here. I belive that I can still move myself but running might reopen my wounds at this time. I would however be willing to compromise. I'm not too proud to accept some assistance. Maybe with my arm over your shoulder I might be able to make better time."
"You can pretend to be drunk. Traveling with a dwarf does tend to make that more likely."
A search of the manor turns up several keys to various doors and windows, although there is no sign of any spellbook. The surrounding streets are still silent. If you plan on sneaking back towards the slums and your safehouse, what are you planning to do with your captive plus her unconscious accomplices?
"If we are going to leave, we should do it now. We will have to help Grunther along as best we can."
Eland then says in hushed tones, "Do we trust the survivor of the bandits to hold down the manor. She could stay with her companions and keep a watch on the estate. She could act as a servant if anyone comes to call, and we would have a semi-secure base in the royal quarter. I do not think the authorities are going to come to investigate. If whoever did this to Antius was doing it in an official capacity the place would be swarming in barbarians and probably burnt to the ground."
"If we decide to go now, I will create some diversions of a more mundane nature to cover Grunther's escape." Eland looks around for some lamp oil and jars/clay pots. He takes some linens from the dining room and proceeds to make some improvised explosives. "I will plan on meeting you at the warehouse this evening. I must visit my master and gain some rest."
Burn the place then? Good. That should help in some disctraction. Possibly we could dress as servants or split up into smaller groups to evade the authorities?
"We could just tie up our captive while we make our get away and then when the others awake they could untie her."
Burn the place then? Good. That should help in some disctraction. Possibly we could dress as servants or split up into smaller groups to evade the authorities?
Anyssa nods. "Dressing as servants is a good idea. Nothing says I'm out to cause trouble like walking around in bloodstained clothes," she says with a grimace, pointing out her own slashed and bloodstained shirt.
My suggestion is to grab some wood, pile it against the wall near the entrance, light it and when the guards go to investigate, exit the quarter.
"Whatever we choose to, let us do it quickly. I do not like how this place feels. My only problems with burning the house down are 1) we may be spotted by someone and described to the Watch, and 2) the garden will take fire damage."
"I say we don't burn the place down. Right now, no-one has any reason to look over here and they won't until the bodies begin to rot. By that point, all the evidence that we were here will have been washed away. If we set it on fire, everyone will be looking at it right now, while we're still here."
Not while we are here, but after we leave, my friend. I believe this will work. Also, I would rather burn these unfortunates than let them rot.
"Garrett is right, I do not mean to burn the place down. I will strike out alone andset a fire of to the east. You will then find it easier to make your way out to the west. If you get my meaning."
To the captive, "I have a business proposition for you my dear. If you stay here, tend to your companions and bury the dead. I will allow you the valuables from the main level, but none of the furniture. The upper floors are not to be touched, on pain of death. You know this to be no idle threat. If you are to follow through, though, you will be considered a 'friend' and we may be able to do business together again."
Damandor says, "I feel that burning down the villa would be ill advised and unnecessary to make our escape. I also feel that we may find that, that we may need to search the villa further at another time."
"Master Ivan, if your concern is for the dead, we could certainly bury them in the garden, and send their spirits to the next life. Or, as Eland has suggested hire our captive and her companions to do it after we have left, I would even be willing to help with the payment if they are willing."
To the captive, "I have a business proposition for you my dear. If you stay here, tend to your companions and bury the dead. I will allow you the valuables from the main level, but none of the furniture. The upper floors are not to be touched, on pain of death. You know this to be no idle threat. If you are to follow through, though, you will be considered a 'friend' and we may be able to do business together again."
"That sounds more than fair," acknowledges you captive warily. "Leave me here with my companions and we will look to bury the bodies before we leave. We won't touch anything - we're swords for hire, not common burglars."
Having taken what you want from Antius's villa, leaving the woman with her unconscious comrades, you head out into the night once more. Slipping through the villa's garden, you creep back into the laneway from which you entered and peer out. Your breath condenses in the cold, night air as you scan the shadows and listen intently, searching for any sign of trouble. There is no trace of the half-orc who fled this way earlier, nor of any other threats or potential witnesses.
Making your way through the royal quarter you head in the general direction of the foreign district. It seems that any of the patrols previously looking for you have either given up or are currently searching other areas of the city. When you reach the guardpost at the boundary between the two districts, it is unguarded and you are able to slip past and into the welcoming darkness of the foreign quarter. Hurrying through the city, you are soon on familiar ground - trudging through the muddy, winding lanes and alleys of Bastion's slums.
You are forced to move slowly, due to Grunthor's serious injuries. When you reach the warehouse it is a welcome sight. The cold is seeping into your bones, making those who are wounded ache. Being sure you are unobserved, you unlock the padlock and slip inside, sliding the heavy, wooden door closed behind you. The crate is still buried in the warehouse next door. Given the late hour and the cold, the thought of digging it up is not an appealing one.
Once the party arrives at the warehouse, Damandor begins to treat Grunthor. Using his healing kit and his skills, he does what he can for the wounded barbarian.
"Anyssa, Garret, Eland, would you also like me to see to your wounds. Hopefully, with my aid and with some rest you will heal faster then normal."
"Thanks, Damandor. I appreciate it." To the others, "Retrieve the chest in the morning? Cause I just don't know if I'm up to it tonight."
"Anyssa, I would be glad to assist you." Damandor then bandages Anyssa's wounds.
Grunthor thanks Damandor and lies down on his bedroll. It isn't long before the sounds of his snoring informs everyone he has fallen asleep. He will sleep until at least noon, giving him eight hours of sleep and 2 hp back.
Anyssa laid down on the floor, too exhausted to care how hard it was. She was almost awake enough to envy the half-orc for having a bedroll, but not quite. After tonight the cheap boardinghouse she'd been living in looked like the lap of luxury. She was fast asleep before she even had time to think about anything else.
Ivan stretches and finds a place off the floor to get a couple hours of sleep. Alot of digging to do in the morning.
"My wounds could use a bit of tending too." Garret then lays down in the corner and falls asleep.
"Be right with you Garret, let me just finish taking care of Anyssa, and then I'll get you bandaged up."
"Thanks."
The rest of the night passes uneventfully and you all sleep through until late in the morning. Today is uncharacteristically warm, there are very few clouds and the sun is shining on the city as your group begins to stir.
Ivan finds something to eat, does calisthetics and kata, then digs up the crate.
Flint wakes, prays for his spells, then assits Ivan in uncovring the crate.
After seeing to everyone's wounds, Damandor spends some time in meditation and thought. He seeks guidance in selecting his spells for the coming day, and rests to regain his divine power granted to him by Corellon.
Damandor periodically checks on the party members that he is caring for, while resting through the morning, finally waking around noon.
After waking, Damandor asks, "Will we be continuing to rest? I believe that those that are injured could use some more time to heal. I can use my powers granted to me to speed their recovery, but will then lack that power if we go out today to try and discover what happened to Antius, and who would have done this to him."
"Also, could I please examine the items that we retrieved from Antius' villa."
If Ivan has anything Damador wants to see, he hands it over.
Damandor takes the items that Ivan recovered from Antius' house and casts Detect Magic while concentrating on the objects for some time, trying to ascertain as much as possible about them.
Eland finds a place to rest after having Damandor tend to his wounds. He tries to sleep and reorganize his mind and replenish his spells.
After awakening and studying spellbook, he rejoins his companions and examines the crate.
Eland finds a place to rest after having Damandor tend to his wounds. He tries to sleep and reorganize his mind and replenish his spells.
After awakening and studying spellbook, he rejoins his companions and examines the crate.
"Eland, let me assist you in bandaging those wounds so you may rest better."
Gathering around the crate, you watch as Garret examines the lock for any trap. Declaring it safe, he inserts the key you found in Antius' library and turns it, the padlock springing open. You release the opening mechanism, the four sides of the crate falling away to reveal its contents.
The largest item inside is a large, old book. Its cover is some kind of hardened hide, decorated with precious metal threads woven into intricate patterns. It is strongly reinforced at the corners and spine, sealed closed with a clasp shaped as a dragon chasing its tail. Beside the tome is a shortsword in a plain scabbard. Pulling it free, you can see it is of exquisite workmanship, the blade seems silver, although as hard and sharp as steel, the pommel is designed also as a dragon - the silver gleaming and set off with two small saphires as eyes.
Next to the book and sword lies a sealed scroll tube and an odd shaped metal bar. It consists of two 'figure eights' set at right angles. It is made from some unknown, black metal. Assembling all of the items you have collected, Damandor concentrates on determining which radiate a source of magic.
The letter and the sealed scrollcase are not magical. Nor is the pouch containing one hundred and fifty gold coins and forty silver pieces. Everything else detects as magical, however.
Three scrolls (faint auras)
Two potions (faint auras)
Large book (strong aura)
Silver shortsword (moderate aura)
Oddly shaped metal bar (faint aura)
"So is somebody going to read the letter at least? Maybe that will give us some idea what some of this stuff is."
She shudders remembering the state she last saw their former employer in.
"And whether it was worth it," she mutters.
What to do with all this?
"Damandor, we should combine our magical talents to study these items and determine their uses." Eland gazes longingly at the tome and silently curses himself for not having the foresight to prepare any 'identify' spells.
Eland opens the letter and reads it aloud to the group.
Monty:
"Eland, I would consider it an honor to work together with together in endeavors such as this, as we both have strength's and weaknesses that the other can accentuate."
"I have been trying to determine the type of magic that is emanating from these items, but I have little training in this yet, but I feel that I may have had some success."
40 pieces of silver! That is a bad omen. My temple nevers gives such a sum as it represents treachery. I will not use any of this treasure! It is sure to be tainted.
DM
Path of the Juggernaut
Brute Strenght (EX) Juggernaut characters can perform acts of great strength due to their extreme muscular endurance. The character adds his BruteStrength score to all Strength checks, grapple checks, and Climb/Jumps checks.
Ignore Hardness (Ex) The Juggernaut's great strength and will to power allow him to ignore some of the hardness of objects that he strikes. When a juggernaut character strikes an object, subtract the amount of this ability from an object's hardness rating before applying damage to it.
Level Ability
1. Brute Strength +1
2. Knock 1/day Range: Touch
3. Ignore Hardness 1
4. shatter 1/day Range: Touch
5. Brute Strength +2
6. +1 Str
7. Knock 2/day
8. Bull's Strength (self only) 1/day
9. Ignore Hardness 2
10. Brute Strength +3
11. Shatter 2/day
12. +2 Str
13. Knock 3/day
14. Ignore Hardness 3
15. Brute Strength +4
16. Bulls Strength (self only) 2/day
17. Shatter 3/day
18. +3 Str
19. Ignore Hardness 4
20. Brute Strength +5
Eland examines the items thoroughly and compares notes with Damandor, hoping to reach some agreement on their purposes.
Scroll 1: 1d20+8= 22
Scroll 2: 1d20+8= 16
Scroll 3: 1d20+8= 14
Potion 1: 1d20+8= 13
Potion 2: 1d20+8= 28
Large Book: 1d20+8= 27
Silver Shortsword: 1d20+8= 19
Metal Bar: 1d20+8= 21
"These items may have a deeper meaning than their physical properties." Eland wracks his brain to try and remember if he has heard any tidbits of tales from his days in the tavern that may relate to what is in the crate.
Grunthor wants to look at the short sword to see if he can determine of what material it is made.
Damandor and Eland confer between them, discussing the magical auras they can sense emanating from the items you have discovered. Those of you unfamiliar with magical theory are soon lost as they discuss things like the ‘etheric resonance’, ‘quasi-attributions’ and ‘transitional subauras of enervated devices’ after a short time, they have made some progress on identifying the sword, scrolls and potions.
Damandor and Eland:
The three scrolls are wizard spells – Eland will be able to determine exactly what they are through using read magic. The potions are both potions of cure light wounds. The sword is a +1 magical silver shortsword. Etched along the pommel, exquisitely carved in the shape of a rearing dragon, is the name ‘Selenial’ – a word Damandor recognises as ancient elven for that moment when an eclipse ends. The metal bar is magical, but you are unable to determine exactly what function it fulfils.
The large book is unfathomable to you at the moment and you suspect it would take a great deal of time to study it in detail. Turning the thick pages reveals a thin, spidery script in an ancient dialect filling the pages. It appears to be a book of history – recounting the actions and deeds of a number of unknown heroes in places you have never heard of. It is very hard to understand, as the narrative breaks off regularly, changing topics mid-sentence and discussing some new exploit, before returning to a previous story.
Ivan:
"well, the sword is obviously magical and would best be used by one of our warriors. These scrolls contain wizard spells. Unfotunately, I do not have a 'read magic' prepared today so it will have to wait until tomorrow to determine which spells each contains." He then scans the book some more. "This will need to be studied by a more learned eye than we possess, my master may be able to decipher its meaning."
"Yes Eland, I believe your assessment of the items is correct. The word inscribed on the sword's pommel is an ancient elvish word describing the moment when an eclipse ends, the word is Selenial."
"Also the two vials are potions of a minor healing drought, that may be used to heal lesser wounds."
"Like Eland I know not any more about the magic contained in the book or the metal bar, but perhaps more can be learned at another time, or through other means."
I could try to srnd a message to my temple for help. They have wise men there trained in this lore. or, we could go see them. Though such undertakings take time.
Opening the sealed letter, Eland begins reading to the rest of the group.
“Honored Kellian
Things move swiftly here in Bastion. The agents I had spoke to you about have collected the package you sent for me. I will study the tome you acquired and report my findings to you as soon as I can. It is exhilarating to be alive at such momentous times! I believe the object you have loaned me is a key to the dungeons beneath C’erat Mour. As you know, the last doomed baron of that place was rumoured to have discovered Pelor’s Heart. When I can be sure, I will ask those heroes to seek it out for us. If it is there, I will bring it to Sander’s Point and we will be able to bring an end to this tyranny and restore justice to the world.
Your servant
Antius”