Red March Mistress ICC

[ulgulanoth]

for convenience sake, I’ve placed you all a little into the story, you’ve all meet and have travelled here to this abandoned logging cabin, where you meet a survivor from Scarlet Hope, a woman named Rana, after introductions this is what she has told you…

“A few months ago, a strange man entered Scarlet Hope, he carried with him to maces, his back was bare, tattooed all across it was a giant start. A few weeks after that the chapel dedicated to Asmodeus burned down to the ground, the priestess there hanged herself her red dress stained black by some foul substance. A few days later the school burned down to the ground, all the children died. Not much later than that half of the villagers went mad. My husband returned one night and tried to kill me, I ran from Scarlet Hope, just before I crossed the bridge, a little girl in white appeared. I passed the bridge but tripped on a broken flagstone. I knew my husband would kill me. But the little girl stood in front of him, her eyes turned into black pools of blood and she clawed her neck into a bloody mess, my husband died there and then, his neck clawed out. I saw him hitting the floor, but when I turned to the girl she was gone. I ran into the forest, fearing for my life. I found a few trappers who sent the message to the people’s council as to what happened at Scarlet Hope, and I’ve stayed here ever since.” As Rana gave you this information not once did the stream of tears stop rolling down her face her voice is full of fear and pain. She is wearing an old dress; mud has badly stained it, making it impossible to tell what colour it originally was. Her face is bruised and swollen, and it isn’t hard to notice that her left arm has been savaged and now severely infected.

The cabin is a foul place; it was abandoned due to the walls rotting, and has been a den for wild animals for decades. The floor is a disgusting muck between mud and animal excrement. The roof has collapsed in places, and vines now grow down from these holes. There is a large burrow where the fireplace used to be. Fur and animal bones litter the floor, as claw marks and the gnawing of rodents wallpaper the walls.

so what do you do?

[Earnest Carbrook]

'Things sound worse even than we were told' said Earnest softly to Gharrka, concern writ large on his weatherbeaten face. 'What devil's work is afoot in Scarlet Hope?' he muttered, shaking his head.

Aware that the unfortunate woman before them was looking to this disparate group for answers, help, a glimmer of hope, the investigator smiled as reassuringly as he could at her and said 'these good people, brave warriors all, have been sent by the People's Council to bring Scarlet Hope back into the light. Tell Elendyr all you can about the town and its inhabitants, then rest; no harm will come to you now'. He nodded almost imperceptibly at the quiet half-elf who in the few days Earnest had known him had demonstrated a shrewd mind, and an uncanny ability to say little but learn much.

Stepping back, he quietly enquired of Miriel 'is there a brew that might help her sleep for a while? I think I can do something for that wound, but I'll bow to your knowledge on the best course of action, Malaswyn', he added, looking questioningly at the priest.

He surveyed the interior of the dilapidated cabin. 'How quickly do we move on? Rana can't travel on her own, and I'm not sure it would be wise to take her with us. Having somewhere secure to fall back to gives us options; it will take a bit of work but I reckon I can patch the worst of the holes in these walls, sort the roof and clean it up a bit. Is it time we can afford to spend though, and is this place really defensible anyway?' he said, looking first to the warrior Velios, and then to the others for opinions.

[Malaswyn Tyddewi]

I step forward gently, concern lining my face: "May I examine your wound?"

I examine the would carefully: heal check 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

After examining the wound, I heal the wounds before thinking about tackling any infection CLW 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

I keep my voice soft and fairly quiet: "This should help. You've been very brave."

[Gharkka]

Gharrka nodded at Earnest, visibly worried from what she heard. Then she said "At first I thought that this would have been the deeds of some vicious creatures, orcs or gnolls, as often happens in mountain villages like this one. But after what we listened here..."

She knelt down near Rana, looking at her wounds, badly infected. "These wounds need to be treated as soon as you can." said to Malaswyn.

Then she joined Earnest in the survey of the cabin. "I doubt that Rana will be willing to go back to Scarlet Hope, after what has happened to her". Then, looking at the mud and rotting bones in the floor she said "Yet, we can't even leave her here. She needs a clean place where she could recover from her wounds"

"Maybe we could scout a little around the village, while Malaswyn assists Rana, and Elendyr makes her some questions. We could find a better place to camp, maybe an abbandoned farm or a shepherd's hut. And maybe some clean dress to replace those rags" said looking at the cloth covered with mud and blood that Rana was wearing.

[ulgulanoth]

Malaswyn

Spoiler:

the wound seems a little odd, not something you’ve seen before, you have no idea what could have done it, and the magical healing helped, stitching the flesh but the infection is still rampant and needs to be treated

Rana blurts out, “No need to be so concern for me, good sirs, the town needs your help much more than I do, I can wait here a few more days” her voice is a little more composed now, probably because the pain has subsided a bit from the healing.

[Elendyr]

Elendyr waits until Rana's arm has been treated before speaking with her.

Being the suspicious sort that he is, Elendyr is going to be attempting not only gathering information via Diplomacy, but also checking her story via Sense Motive. There may be penalties for trying to be unobtrusive, but I've got time. Some rolls, should it become necessary:

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Follow Up Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Finally, how does her version of the way the news got out (via the trappers) to the way we've been told it got out?
ETA: Knowledge (Local) check for anything about Scarlet Hope that might've been known in Piren's Bluff:

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"Come, let's sit for a while outside and talk. Would you care for some food and water? It's only trail rations, but the water is clean--I don't know how long you've been hiding here, so perhaps it's more than you've had recently. I realize you've been through much, and some matters may be too fraught to speak of now. If you don't want to speak of anything I bring up, tell me and I won't ask further. Also, I don't want to sound like I'm questioning your honesty, but did you see the priestess after she hanged herself, or the man who came to town?

"First, this man--it does sound as though his coming was the start of the terror that's consumed your village. I have some paper here, if you could perhaps draw the design on his back as best you remember it Priest Tyddewi may know something of its meaning. Did the man remain in Scarlet Hope, or move on before the chapel burned down? Terrible thing, to burn a chapel and rob a town of the means to ask for intercession from the Powers. Or were there any other priests in the town?

"I would tell you that however deep my roots in a place, *I* would have been sorely tempted to leave when things started to go wrong like that, especially after the children died. Do you know of anyone who fled the town? Now, I have no children, but such a thing...ach, I'm sorry, I didn't think to ask. Did you lose a child to the fire?

"The People's Council has charged us to save as many as we can. Have you seen or heard tell from the trappers of anyone else still alive in the town?

"Now, your poor husband. Had he shown any other signs of the madness that consumed him before he tried to kill you? Did you see any of your fellow villagers after they went insane?"

That should do for starters; more questions will depend on how she responds to these.

[Miriel Larusiel]

Miriel looks up from a small notebook that she had been furiously writing into as she took notes of what the woman had been saying. She has a look of disdain on her face as her slightly slanted eyes pass over the squalid hut. Her glance turned to Earnest as he spoke to her. While the others turned to the attention of the woman, Miriel says "I am not one to prescribe a sleeping potion to this woman. Such talents are not in my purview. However, I am very much interested in the primary subjects of her story. The tattooed man and the little girl... and the nature of the deaths seem strangely symbolic."

Miriel's voice trailed off as her eyes unfocused, returning to the place in the back of her mind that was always thinking and analyzing. She pulled another larger book out of her backpack and began to flip rapidly through the pages, pulling much of the book from memory. This one filled with much more scribbling and note taking.

Absent-minded she muttered such that only Earnest could hear, "If only I could see the tattoo."

Here are my checks for the knowledge rolls on the little girl, the tattooed man, and the curse. I can post more once I know how much my character knows about these things.

Little Girl: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Tattooed Man: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Curse: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

[ulgulanoth]

Elendyr

Spoiler:

Rana is being very co-operative but she is reluctant to say everything, some of the information she kind of brushes aside as if she knows more but it’s painful remember, though the signs are very subtle and difficult to pick up on

Rana thanks you for the food and wolfs it down as fast as she can; she probably hadn’t eaten for over a week.
“I saw the priestess when she was buried; her dress still had that black ooze on it. I saw the man once, throw a window, he was doing something strange, a ritual maybe. He stayed in Scarlet Hope all the time, I saw him near the school on the day it burned down. There are other priests in Scarlet Hope, one of Abadar, and one of Shelyn, I think they are still in Scarlet Hope.”

She draws you a 12 sided star, it has a strange circular symbol on the top of it, and a more angular symbol at the bottom.

“I-I had a son” she bursts out crying, and takes a minute to regain composure

“When I left almost everyone was alive and still in Scarlet Hope, I don’t know if anyone left the town or if anyone went into the town afterwards, I haven’t seen the trappers since they left.”

“My husband…. He was torn with grief, when, when, “ she stops herself from crying, “I saw the butcher one day cutting up something that wasn’t cattle, he looked at me and I left in a hurry, everyone was looking at everyone else with evil in their eyes, that’s when my husband attacked me”

[ulgulanoth]

Elendyr

Spoiler:

Scarlet Hope was known for being a secluded town, they didn’t like to talk to outsiders much, also the church of Asmodeus had a very strong calling there, the priestess was very popular with the locals, and held considerable power over the town

Miriel

Spoiler:

1) the little girl must be a dead creature, she might be a ghost though her powers are not what ghosts tend to have, you’re unsure as to her precise nature. 2) The tattooed man seems to have a from the picture Rana drew, a symbol of profound good, it’s a very unique symbol that fell out of use a few centuries back used by an order of paladins across the inner sea, the symbol later fell out of use when one of the paladins went mad and slaughtered a village himself. 3) The nature of the curse eludes you, it’s just on the tip of your brain but you fail to make progress on it

[Elendyr]

Elendyr hands the piece of paper with the tattoo design on it to Malaswyn. "Does anyone recognize this design?"

To Rana: "It seems odd, a stranger comes to town and stays so long with no obvious business. Did you or anyone you know talk to the man?"

[ulgulanoth]

“No, I didn’t talk to him, he only talked to the landlord were he stayed”

[Malaswyn Tyddewi]

When Elendyr comes in I quietly speak to the group, trying to avoid letting Rana hear: "Rana bears an infection I cannot cure. If we have an opportunity to do so we must find a priest who can purge disease from the boy."
I shake my head slowly and look toward the door and outside, where Rana sits: "More than that, I fear that this infection may be a part of Scarlet Hope's undoing. Perhaps she will be fine, or perhaps she will change as her husband did."

Knowledge religion checks, first for child, second for tattoo
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

[Miriel Larusiel]

Miriel snaps closed the book she has been reading through as she looks towards Rana, looking over the drawing that the woman makes. Her eyes widen as she recognizes the symbol.

"I know that sign! It was used a few centuries back by an order of Paladins. If I remember correctly... the symbol fell out of use when one of the paladins went mad and slaughtered a village. If this is true, it would be a starting place to investigate," her voice is strangely excited as she turns to Rana.

"Please, tell me in detail, what was this man doing when you saw him through the window?"

[ulgulanoth]

Malaswyn

Spoiler:

the child you have a feeling is a haunt, an impression of pain, a curse left on the land from the suffering it had, these generally reflect how the hideous act was performed some way leading you to think that that child was murdered by having her neck savaged. As for the tattooed man you don’t know anything more about it than what Miriel said

“He was standing around something, waving his arms, there was a strange green glow coming from the floor, I only glanced at it, I saw nothing more”

the information is just enough for an knowledge (arcana) check, but being sketchy it’s a high DC

[Miriel Larusiel]

Well, nothing ventured nothing gained. I'll frame my response around the result of the check and edit this post.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

[ulgulanoth]

Miriel

Spoiler:

this kind of magic is usually for a ritual to bring outsiders into the material world, probably involving magic to hold the outsider in place long enough to bargain with it.

[Gharkka]

While the others kept going their questioning, Gharrka took a look at the drawing of the tatoo, brainstorming on the information Rana and Miriel gave about it.

these are my Knowledge(religion) rolls for the tatoo and the little girl

tatoo: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
little girl: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

[ulgulanoth]

Gharkka you confirm what Miriel said about the tatoo, though you don't come up with anything new, you have no clue on the little girl though

[Miriel Larusiel]

Missed the edit time, have to make a new post.

Miriel sighs in dejection, muttering under her breath as she abruptly ends the conversation with the woman, "Shouldn't have hoped for more... not from peasant stock," then more loudly as she looks up to the sky, "I cannot be sure without more information. How much daylight do we have left?"

Miriel looks around at the rest of the party, mostly towards Elendyr, who seems to have taken the most initiative in this encounter.

[ulgulanoth]

you have about 2 hours of daylight left

[Gharkka]

"You said other priests were still in the village?" asked Gharrka listening about the presence of a priest of Shelyn "Were they also driven mad as the other villagers?"

[ulgulanoth]

“Yes there were 2 other priests when I ran from the village, though I don’t know if they went mad or if they escaped, the priests kept to themselves so I know not what happened to them."

[Gharkka]

"Thank you, Rana, I won't stress you anymore." Gharrka gently took Rana's hand in a sign of greetings, then she turned to Miriel.

"Not much, it will be dark in one hour or two. I renew my advice to scout a little outside the village, maybe we could find some other clues of what is happening, before entering it. Or maybe find a better defendable place than this rotten cabin, if things will get too dangerous."

[Miriel Larusiel]

Miriel shakes her head as she takes another look at the slowly declining sunlight, "While I see the value in scouting around the village, I do not believe we have the time for it. We still have to make a camp before we run out of sunlight, and eating something besides trail rations would not be amiss to my stomach either." Her voice drips with obvious disdain at the idea of having to eat more of that bland 'food'.

[Gharkka]

I'm going to take a look around the cabin, then. If we can avoid camping inside here, we will. Ghaarka gives another disgusted look at the rotten rests on the floor.

Then, she leaves the cabin.

Gharrka is looking for a place better to camp, not too far from the cabin. If nothing is found, she get the chance to collect some woods for a firecamp.

Survival roll:

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

[Malaswyn Tyddewi]

I stand on the porch, listening to the sounds of the forest and keeping an eye (and an ear) out for Gharrka.

Perception check, if needed1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

[Mordecai Rand]

Mordecai does not have much to add to the conversation. His heart is torn between pity and suspicion and he keeps close to the door. While he listens he tries to get a little more information.

Curse: Knowledge Arcana1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Suspicion about the woman and her story: Sense Motive1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

A look around to see if it seems reasonable that a person has been living here... Signs of food, or blankets or anything else: Perception1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Information about the ritual Malawyn discovered: Knowledge Arcana1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

[Mordecai Rand]

Indeed Miriel, indeed! Something for the belly that is warm would be most appreciated.

In a lower voice to everyone, I can see no wisdom in staying here. We would be boxed in and would recieve little shelter for the danger this place poses. Let us make a camp some place away from here...

[ulgulanoth]

Gharkka

Spoiler:

there is a nice sheltered clearing not too far from the cabin to camp

Malaswyn

Spoiler:

the forest is eerily quiet, unnaturally so, the only noise being made by Gharkka and something else, something big, far away to be obscured by the trees, maybe a bear, it isn’t getting nearer though

Mordecai

Spoiler:

the curse: the husband died from what seems to be a powerful spell, you think its phantasmal killer , the woman’s story checks out, she isn’t hiding anything, from the surroundings you can see that no-one would be living here, there is no food, it is freezing cold and there is no signs that someone has been living here for long. The arcane ritual seems to be to bring an outsider into the world, what kind you can’t tell.

[Malaswyn Tyddewi]

"Hey, can you guys here that?"

I wait for the gang to fall silent and listen: "Forests shouldn't be that quiet, should they?"

[Mordecai Rand]

Mordecai moves to where Malaswyn stands and listens.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

[Elendyr]

Elendyr does likewise.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

[ulgulanoth]

Mordecai and Elendyr

Spoiler:

the forest is dead quite, this is very unnatural, though you can hear something, something big, in the far distance, it isn’t getting closer

[Mordecai Rand]

ulganoth:

Can I determine the direction? From the area of the town? Does it sound like a big drum? Or more like a crowd at a football game? Many things combined to make one noise, or one thing making lots of noise?

[Elendyr]

In a very low voice, Elendyr says, "There's something out there. It sounds like it's large, and quite a ways away." He stops and looks around. "Where's Gharkka?"

[Gharkka]

@DM:

Spoiler:

Gharrka scouts the area near the clearing, listening and looking to understand if the place hides any danger.

Percpetion:

1d20 + 0 ⇒ (14) + 0 = 14

If nothing is found, she goes back to report the others

[ulgulanoth]

Mordecai

Spoiler:

it sounds like a large beast, heavy breathing, the occasional grunt, the snapping of branches bearing the creature’s heavy weight.

Gharkka

Spoiler:

you don’t find anything unusual, just that here in the clearing its unnaturally quiet.

[Miriel Larusiel]

Seeing her companions moving over to join Malaswyn, Miriel walks over just as the question to Gharkka's wereabouts is asked, to which she buts in on.

"Gharkka went out to see if there was a better place to camp close by," then, Miriel looks behind her to make sure Rana is out of ear shot, "What are we to do with her? I am not unsympathetic but taking the time to see her safely to town is time we can ill afford."

[Mordecai Rand]

Elendyr is right... there is something big moving around out there. I think we should find out what it is at least and if it threatens us or the town we best deal with it in the light. Will anyone join me?

Mordecai takes several steps in the direction of the sound and then turns to see if he is doing this alone or not.

[Elendyr]

Mordecai Rand wrote:

Elendyr is right... there is something big moving around out there. I think we should find out what it is at least and if it threatends us or the town we best deal with it in the light. Will anyone join me?

Mordecai takes several steps in the direction of the sound and then turns to see if he is doing this alone or not.

"I agree, but we do this together or not at all. When Gharkka returns, we go."

Elendyr loosens his rapier in its sheath, then uncases his bow and strings it.

[Elendyr]

"We'll take Rana with us. We may need to learn more from her, and I fear that she would not remain undisturbed here."

[Miriel Larusiel]

With a nod of her head and seeing that two of the men are readying to walk into the nearby forest she asks inquisitively, "Where are you both going?"

[Mordecai Rand]

Mordecai grins at Miriel. I have no idea! I suppose I will find out when we get there.

[Gharkka]

Gharrka returns from her patrol, and sees the others ready to leave.

"Here I am. I've found a good clearing in the forest where we could camp. It's not far from here. Yet, I noticed something wrong, the forest seems unusually quiet. We should keep our eyes open."

[Mordecai Rand]

Gharkka, Elendyr and I heard something very large moving around out there and we are going to investigate and hoping others will join us.

[ulgulanoth]

So shall we assume that you all head into the forest to find the cause of this noise?

[Gharkka]

Should we go to that clearing? We could defend better in open space than among the trees.

[ulgulanoth]

For all those who go into the forest to see what was making the noise

Spoiler:

after walking a bit into the forest, next to a small pond, you see a strange pair of humanoids. The first is a really old woman, she is ugly enough to put a green hag to shame, next to her is what looks to be an dumb male, easily twice her size (his size rating is large), dressed in clothes similar to what a child would wear, the child is breaking tree branches to make a fire, the woman is fishing with an piece of string

[Gharkka]

Gharkka gets closer to these pair (60 feet at least) and uses her divine power to detect evil emanating from those two human, first the old woman, then the large one.

[ulgulanoth]

Gharkka

Spoiler:

the woman does register as evil, the large one doesn’t