Author Topic: What the Stars See (Session logs)  (Read 4705 times)

Offline Agita

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What the Stars See (Session logs)
« on: November 18, 2016, 02:36:25 PM »
Session 1: 18.11.2016 Love Lies Bleeding (Part 1) 125 XP
Session 2: 25.11.2016 Love Lies Bleeding (Part 2) 175 XP - Level 2
Session 3: 02.12.2016 Love Lies Bleeding (Part 3) 300 XP
Session 4: 16.12.2016 Love Lies Bleeding (Part 4) 300 XP - Level 3
Session 5: 23.12.2016 The Crane's Aid 100 XP
Session 6: 30.12.2016 The King of Serpents (Part 1) 225 XP
Session 7: 06.01.2017 The King of Serpents (Part 2) 275 XP
Session 8: 13.01.2017 The King of Serpents (Part 3) 175 XP
Session 9: 20.01.2017 The King of Serpents (Part 4) 400 XP
Session 10: 10.02.2017 Buried Secrets (Part 1) 150 XP
Session 11: 17.02.2017 Buried Secrets (Part 2) 100 XP
Session 12: 03.03.2017 Gloaming Star (Part 1) 75 XP
Session 13: 10.03.2017 Gloaming Star (Part 2) 300 XP - Level 4
Session 14: 17.03.2017 Gloaming Star (Part 3) 350 XP
Session 15: 31.03.2017 Gloaming Star (Part 4) 200 XP
Session 16: 31.03.2017 Gloaming Star (Part 5) 900 XP; Favor of the City; Micah: Sentinel feat; Miriana: Skulker feat
Session 17: 01.09.2017 Three Fallen Flowers 850 XP
« Last Edit: September 02, 2017, 02:30:40 PM by Agita »
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Offline Agita

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Love Lies Bleeding, Part 1
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2016, 02:38:40 PM »
(16:30:00) [GM]: ----------
(16:30:07) [GM]: The Sun is setting when the ferry arrives. From the ship, the towers of Livest can be seen backlit by the sunset, an aged king in proud defiance of the clouds encroaching from the east like a pack of wolves. The river Mahr churns and gurgles under the dock as a hungry primordial beast, and the long-awaited solid ground feels like salvation. But it is not yet.
(16:30:21) [GM]: In the face of nighttime and incoming rain, anyone with a lick of wit is hurrying indoors even in the busy waterfront. The newly arrived travellers, judged to be well-off as a half-elf and dwarf of scholarly and religious persuasions, are directed to one of the better inns near the market and elven quarters. The way there leads in a quarter-circle northwest, into the caravan quarter where landbound travellers arrive.
(16:30:43) [GM]: The inn in question is a beautiful, if aged house with a walled garden and stables behind it, perhaps a repurposed manor or townhouse, reclining at the end of a street like a pleasantly napping fellow. The profile of a plump, blond man painted on a wall and the words "The Fair Constable" beneath identify this as the recommended place. The inviting glow of a fireplace can be spied through cracks in the window shutters.
(16:33:08) MicahWhiterune: Giving the sky a rather warranted suspicious look, Micah drags his companion in rather too hastily to be reasonable, muttering under his breath about the "cussed unpredictable weather"
(16:33:59) Miriana: Miriana, who had been looking around the street somewhat distractedly, squawks in alarm as she's hauled inside.
(16:36:03) [GM]: The door opens into a candle-lit vestibule, elegantly but modestly furnished compared to the house's facade. A woman's voice sounds from around the corner at the noise of the door closing, followed by the unhurried tap of feet and a cane on wooden flooring. "Coming!"
(16:37:42) Miriana: Miriana adjusts her pack back onto one shoulder, wiping her mostly-clean boots on the mat out of habit.
(16:38:28) [GM]: Not the titular blond fellow, but a small-framed red-haired woman, perhaps of forty years, greets the duo, walking with a cane in her right hand. She smiles warmly at the newcomers. "Travelers? Miserable weather, isn't it?"
(16:40:42) MicahWhiterune: Micah gives her a faint smile, "Always miserable, madam. That's the sky for ya. We seek the hospitality of yer hearth."
(16:41:53) Miriana: "It didn't start pouring on the boat ride, at least! Small favors." Miriana also smiles.
(16:42:32) [GM]: The inkeep nods. " Beds are free. I charge five silver coins per head and night for the common rooms, eight for a private room. Have you eaten?"
(16:44:02) MicahWhiterune: "Hadn't had anything warmer than wet bread and dry cheese. Lemme at yer pot."
(16:44:32) MicahWhiterune: "And a private room."
(16:46:22) Miriana: Miriana nods. "That would be wonderful, thank you. It's been a long day."
(16:46:47) [GM]: The woman laughs softly. "Supper is cold, but I'll warm a soup for you. I am Mariya Blinsky, the innkeep. If you haven't local coin, I can exchange, as well. This way, please."
(16:47:57) [GM]: She leads the way around the corner through the hall into a common room, empty at this hour except for some foreign youths playing cards and drinking at one of several tables.
(16:48:07) [GM]: A fireplace provides light and warmth; a small shrine to Sight-Fire Ain, patron of archery and wisdom, stands on its mantle beneath a hunting bow hung up like a family heirloom.
(16:49:27) [GM]: The innkeep places a small tablecloth before Micah and Miriana, then excuses herself and returns with a smile and a simple supper for both: Two plates with wine and bread to soak in it, a tankard of unfiltered ale each, and two small bowls of warm soup.
(16:52:35) [GM]: "I'll get your rooms ready. Do you need anything special?"
(16:53:03) Miriana: Miriana gives Mariya a smile and a murmured "Thank you very much" as the food is set down. "I don't think there's anything in particular...?" She gives Micah a quizzical look.
(16:54:09) MicahWhiterune: Micah goes straight for the somewhat fresher bread, pausing long enough free his mouth so as not to insult the host, "A little bit in a corner if you can find the spot." He gestures in an vague manner, "Good for private conversation."
(17:02:37) MicahWhiterune: He then takes a moment to be sure that she's got nothing else to ask of them, and lays siege to the soup.
(17:02:43) [GM]: "I'll take it into account, sir." Noise from the door catches Mariya's attention as she leaves the two to their supper, followed by the loud crash of a heavy rock meeting a window getting the attention of the rest of the room, and likely the house. The inkeep rushes to the door as fast as her cane allows; there is the sound of the door opening, then a sudden burst of growling and barks, a yell of surprise from madam Blinsky, and the shouting of a male voice, possibly drunk.
(17:03:57) MicahWhiterune: Micah slides his seat back and gets up to see what's going on. Without knocking over the chair, table and/or food. That would be rude.
(17:04:45) [GM]: and the shouting of a male voice, possibly drunk.
(17:05:14) Miriana: Miriana's spoon is halfway to her mouth when the crash startles her into spilling. She looks across the table at Micah in confusion until the shouting starts, when she snaps back to attention and follows quickly after Micah.
(17:09:18) [GM]: The pair finds their innkeep recovering from a near-fall in the vestibule, the open door showing a burly, thuggish man a small distance outside, shouting insults, waving a club, and making a nuisance of himself in general, a snarling dog on a leash by his side.
(17:12:44) Miriana: Miriana helps the innkeep back up to her feet, shooting a glare at the...drunk? No matter. "What's all this about?" she snaps. "Some of us are trying to have a peaceful night."
(17:13:33) [GM]: "Rich whorechild pander-" When Micah and Miriana arrive at the door, however, the dog's head snaps to stare at Miriana, and it goes outright wild and tears free from its handler, who seems nearly as surprised as anyone else.
(17:13:43) MicahWhiterune: Micah tromps up to interpose himself between his host and the angry dog.
(17:13:52) MicahWhiterune: "What is-"
(17:13:56) MicahWhiterune: "!"
(17:19:40) [GM]: The thug briefly blinks at the dog and shouts a half-hearted "Hey!", but he doesn't seem too vested in getting his beast under control, and his eyes lock on to the dwarf. Clearly not too bright or not accustomed to targets in armor, he locks on to Micah and swings his club, taking the dwarf's head for an easy target at just the right height.
(17:21:09) [GM]: The blow connects with Micah's shoulder rather than straight on the head, and his still-worn armor dampens the blow to merely smarting.
(17:23:22) MicahWhiterune: Micah  assesses the situation quickly, the dog was the greater danger to their host, whereas this thug could keep going for a while before he needed to care. He slings his shield to present the flame embelm firmly at the dog,"Light in the dark, rebuke this impudent hound!"
(17:24:34) Miriana: Taken entirely aback by the situation going wildly out of control, Miriana barely has the sense of mind to start reaching for her pocket before blows are exchanged.
(17:26:34) [GM]: A small, bright flame flashes to life out of thin air before the dog, which startles backwards and comes away with mildly singed fur. It doesn't seem to connect the flame to its source and stays fixated on the half-elf, though, snarling before lunging and biting at her leg!
(17:29:10) MicahWhiterune: "Oi, you stupid hound, elfs aren't meaty enough."
(17:30:26) Miriana: Miriana, fairly slight of frame, slams onto her back as her leg is yanked out from under her. Biting back a cry of pain, she finally brandishes a thin wooden wand at the dog's face and fires a pulse of fast-moving light.
(17:33:49) Miriana: It streaks past the creature, but she manages to tear herself free and stand back up anyway.
(17:34:50) [GM]: Her aim thrown off by the trashing dog at her feet, Miriana's blast goes wide, but it does get the thug's attention, who utters a startled "Witches!" and takes a swing at Miriana as she's trying to get back up.
(17:37:07) [GM]: The club hits her head and leaves her seeing stars entirely unrelated to the night sky or her nightmares.
(17:38:03) MicahWhiterune: Micah grunts in annoyance as he limbers up the shield, reciting as he advances upon the thug and dog, "As the light blinds the unworthy, the fire brings life to the needy." Light and fire blazes up.
(17:42:16) Miriana: Miriana reels until the glow from Micah's magic banishes the pain and the stars from her vision, though not, unfortunately, the dog still at her feet.
(17:42:23) [GM]: This time, the dog's jump is faster, and it escapes the flame. This is no rabid beast, but a dog trained to attack and driven mad with cruelty. It persistently bites at Miriana's whole again legs, snarling and drooling all the way.
(17:44:32) Miriana: This time, Miriana too is faster, and she stumbles backwards out of the way of the hound. Still clutching her wand, she redirects it at her new attacker, murmuring something inaudible that echoes in his mind.
(17:47:44) [GM]: "Ha." The man's first reaction is reflexive, as if she'd just told him a mild witticism. Then, he stares, wide-eyed, his face distorts into a grimace between a smile and abject fear, and he releases a long, wheezing breath, doubling over and collapsing to the ground with small shakes of breathless laughter, or perhaps sobbing.
(17:48:42) MicahWhiterune: Micah looks at the reaction askance, "Miriana, what did ya tell him?"
(17:49:09) Miriana: "Not now not now!"
(17:52:58) MicahWhiterune: "We will talk later." Micah turns his attention back to the surprisingly reclaritant hound, "The Mother's light may bring pain, but it is the pain of discipline, of improvement, and birth."
(17:54:22) [GM]: The beast will not be disciplined so easily, and this time it jumps forward rather than backward, madly biting at its prey heedless of its collapsed erstwhile master.
(17:57:51) Miriana: And down goes Miriana again, screaming in pain as the hound sinks its fangs into her just-healed leg. Once more, she hurls a jet of crackling light at the dog, using the distraction to rise to her feet.
(18:00:43) [GM]: The thug's twitching ceases as Miriana goes down, and he looks up in confusion, at Micah, at the snarling dog, at the house, and then at Miriana. He scrambles to his feet, and turns tail, having clearly decided that discretion is the better part of being a nuisance.
(18:02:40) MicahWhiterune: "All hurts are soothed in Her embrace, through the pain of life. The raw materium shaped in her forge." The light continues attempting to lick at the dreadfully elusive dog.
(18:06:04) [GM]: This time, a bright flare appears directly in the hound's face, scorching its snout without smoke and causing it to yelp, whine, and jump. It retreats by reflex, momentarily blinded and hurting.
(18:10:30) Miriana: Miriana takes advantage of the breathing room this affords to line up a more careful blast, repeating the words a third time.
(18:12:52) [GM]: This time, without fands and blood on her heels, the bolt hits the dog's flank as it runs and it abruptly drops to the ground without so much as a sound.
(18:13:52) [GM]: The ruffian seems to take this as the final argument for cutting his losses and running... until he is tackled from the side of the road by several of the young men who were earlier playing cards in the common room.
(18:15:13) MicahWhiterune: Micah watches things get in order, as he gives the innkeeper a questioning look.
(18:17:54) Miriana: Miriana pants, still jittery from the commotion. She swiftly pockets her wand - not that she expects to hide the fact that she was throwing magic around, of course.
(18:19:51) [GM]: "Good Heaven. Are you alright? That dog..." The inkeep approaches again, casting a worried look at Micah and Miriana, and then outside the inn. "No more violence in front of my inn! Stop that!"
(18:21:53) [GM]: "There are plenty of ruffians anywhere, but to directly attack a house like that?"
(18:23:38) Miriana: Miriana chews at her lip, then stalks outside to the man who caused all the commotion. "What's your problem?" she demands of him, kneeling down.
(18:24:25) MicahWhiterune: Micah's face is impassive with anger at the idea, as he steps up beside Miriana.
(18:27:20) [GM]: Held by the foreign youths, the man tries to start away from Miriana reflexively, then blinks and starts ranting about stuck-up wealthy folks and elf-panderers like an angry drunk. But while the man's words may contain a kernel of truth, the inebriation is a clear act to Micah. The ruffian is clearly raising a stink for some purpose.
(18:31:54) MicahWhiterune: Short on patience, Micah makes a grin that doesn't touch his eyes, "There's a rather good tradition for curing drunkards. The best sobering medicine known to dwarfkind."   
(18:33:53) [GM]: The man's eyes twitch back and forth between Micah and Miriana. "Huh?"
(18:34:05) MicahWhiterune: He rummages out a foul smelling herb mix, "If ya still drunk, open up!"
(18:36:19) [GM]: The young men holding him laugh and hold open the man's mouth, encouraging Micah in accented voices, while the thug looks at the mix dubiously and shakes his head.
(18:39:03) MicahWhiterune: "Then talk. Properly. None of that bullshit about being drunk." Micah leans in, "Too clear eyed. If you were so down in your drink you would have taken the cure without hesitation."
(18:40:10) MicahWhiterune: He dangles the mix in front of the mouth, "What business do you have making trouble for my host? I have a sacred duty to her well being while residing upon her floor."
(18:43:05) Miriana: Miriana glowers in the background, one hand dangling ominously by her pocket. She doesn't actually need the wand to throw blasts around, but let the man think otherwise.
(18:44:21) [GM]: The assembled youths seem disappointed as the thug hesitates and cringes away from the foul-smelling stuff. "Sod- sodding witch paid me! Said, take this dog, take the coins, make noise, run away. Didn't say the sodding dog would go mad, didn't say there'd be-" He stops himself with a glance at Miriana.
(18:45:06) [GM]: Rain begins to fall as the night is once again interrupted by a frightened scream from the inn's upper, and the inkeep hurries down the hall with a startled, "Heaven, what now?"
(18:46:15) Miriana: "Witch? You like to throw that word around a lot, don't you." Miriana stares him down, then whips around to stare up at the upper floors.
(18:47:48) MicahWhiterune: Micah makes to head for the stairs, then takes a short detour to heft his hammer before catching up with the innkeeper.
(18:50:30) Miriana: Miriana stays behind. "Who was this woman? Her name?"
(18:50:39) [GM]: Catching up with Mariya isn't hard, as Micah takes the stairs faster than she does. The pair encounter a firhgtened lady, who claims to have seen a ghost moving in the shadows of the hallway outside her room, describing a gaunt, gnarled silhouette. The inkeep shakes her head at the allegation. "Not possible."
(18:52:10) Miriana: <Don't lie, now. I'd hate to have to pull it from your head,> comes a whispered echo of Miriana's voice audible to none but the man she's "speaking" to.
(18:55:11) [GM]: Downstairs, the would-be ruffian stares at Miriana, then startles at the voice in his head, and blurts out, "Not a woman. Didn't say his name. Said he doesn't like elves, doesn't like the inn woman, wants a thing, make noise, get money. One of them creepy land-worshippers."
(19:00:05) [GM]: Though madam Blinsky seems very opposed to the idea a ghost might be lurking in her inn, Micah does hear a periodic scratching, from here and then from there. The guest could be forgiven for thinking she was hearing and seeing an apparition.
(19:01:02) [GM]: Given the timing of the commotion below, though, he suspects the haunting has more profane than numinous causes.
(19:01:31) Miriana_: "So you were paid for a distraction. How very noble of you." Miriana looks up at the surrounding youths. "What do you think, should I..." She twirls the wand idly.
(19:02:41) MicahWhiterune: Micah, taking note of the noise, gives chase with a jingle of his chainmail.
(19:04:08) [GM]: The youths laugh, and one of them suggests, "Students, us. Good one at university, set pants on fire and make them run home!" Another one mutters, "Fire not real, but seems real." They look up as the rain intesifies, though, whatever the verdict, it should be executed soon.
(19:04:29) [GM]: "Sir?" Mariya looks after Micah, surprised, as he takes off.
(19:05:13) MicahWhiterune: "Heard a rat. Going to catch it."
(19:06:05) Miriana_: "Mmm, too wet for that. Listen, you." She gives the man's face a healthy slap. "Go find a hole to crawl into and don't show your face around here again."
(19:06:47) [GM]: The young men laugh and let him go, to run off through the rain, before hurrying inside themselves.
(19:08:36) Miriana_: Miriana, too, ducks back into the inn, heading upstairs in search of Micah.
(19:09:53) [GM]: Upstairs, Micah follows the vague scratching and scrabbling to an empty private room in the corner of the building, possibly one that might have been about to be prepared for him. Nothing moving is inside when he enters. The room is modestly but elegantly furnished like the rest of the inn, with a simple but spacious bed and table, and two oddly withered, gnarled, and decidedly undecorative potted shrubs for decoration.
(19:10:00) [GM]: Potted shrubs entirely devoid of any pots.
(19:11:16) [GM]: The window hangs open, admitting warm, humid air and the sound of rain.
(19:12:37) MicahWhiterune: Micah taps his hammer contemplatively, then peers more closely at the shrubs, picking one up.
(19:14:11) [GM]: There is a cracking sound as he touches one of the shrubs, and suddenly a branch whips towards his face!
(19:14:35) [GM]: It slaps harmlessly off his chest, but the shrub and its twin come to life, hissing with a voice like snapping twigs, and inch away from him.
(19:14:58) [GM]: Miriana rushes upstairs just in time to hear the crackling movement from the back of the hall.
(19:16:23) Miriana_: "Micah?" she calls out, advancing down the hall and drawing the wand again.
(19:16:26) [GM]: The dessicated plants unfurl into a pair of loathsome, skeletal runts, sharp dried wood forming limbs, a mockery of a face, and claws. Startled by being discovered, they certainly do not seem friendly.
(19:17:01) MicahWhiterune: "Always knew surface plants were suspect." Micah calls out, "Check the window, someone brought these things in and then left."
(19:20:11) [GM]: The creatures circle around the dwarf hesitantly, moving like cunning animals more than like the people they imitate. One of them approaches from the other side of the bed and claws at Micah's face with dirty splintered claws.
(19:22:01) MicahWhiterune: Micah raises his shield cautiously, then swings the hammer with a direct sidewise blow to the creature's center.
(19:23:40) [GM]: The beast leaves red lines on Micah's nose that will need to be cleaned, but it proves as fragile as it looks, and a single solid hit shatters it into so many dry twigs.
(19:25:40) [GM]: The other, which Micah grabbed and was surprised by, makes its odd cracking sound again and withdraws from the armored dwarf, going for the window - though he doubts it will do him the kindness of simply fleeing and leaving well enough alone.
(19:26:23) [GM]: It is to this scene that Miriana arrives, Micah with bloody lines on his cheeck, a heap of scattered twigs on the floor, and a foul plant-creature clambering out into the rain.
(19:27:28) Miriana_: Miriana barely hesitates before blasting another jet of light over Micah's head at the strange little thing.
(19:30:00) [GM]: The creature releases a series of snapping sounds as Miriana enters almost like a growl, but it is interrupted by the sound of its body cracking and falling apart into the rain by the force of the ray from Miriana's wand, hitting it like a punch.
(19:30:31) [GM]: The two are left in the bedroom now silent but for the sound of pouring rain.
(19:31:18) Miriana_: Miriana lowers the wand with a satisfied smile, ruined by her slightly shaking hand. "Is that the only one?"
(19:31:42) MicahWhiterune: Micah hurries over to the window, peering out.
(19:34:25) [GM]: Nothing is to be seen or heard through the sheets of rain, even after several tense moments of waiting. The silence is interrupted by the inkeeper Blinsky appearing in the doorway and asking, "What happened?"
(19:35:18) MicahWhiterune: "Two evil shrubs tried to kill us. Good thing ya weren't there to greet them instead of mah hammer."
(19:36:55) [GM]: "I'm... sorry?" She blinks in confusion and worry.
(19:37:32) Miriana_ left the room (quit: Quit: AndroIRC - Android IRC Client ( http://www.androirc.com )).
(19:38:15) MicahWhiterune: "Someone set the scoundrel below to distract you while they snuck monsters into the inn. Someone needs a good hammering."
(19:40:17) Miriana: "I don't know what they wanted, but probably to steal something rather than hurt anyone." Miriana sniffs. "Though that went out the window when that dog charged at me..."
(19:42:01) Miriana: Miriana prowls around the room and the hall outside, looking curiously for signs of what the creatures might actually have been after.
(19:46:04) [GM]: She enters the room and cautionsly moves the broken twigs around with her cane, looking at the half-shattered knot with a particular resemblance to a human face. "To steal something, then?" Miriana recalls now the violent man also said something about a healing plant, that his client alleged Mariya Blinsky was hiding, playing into the resentment he expressed, which was likely to some degree real.
(19:46:04) [GM]: Supposedly, the man would know it if he saw it, or the dog would smell it.
(19:48:45) Miriana: "Yes. Something about a healing plant, I believe...?"
(19:49:06) Miriana: She glances over her shoulder curiously at Mariya.
(19:50:36) [GM]: "A healing plant? Why, of course I have medicine here..."
(19:53:28) Miriana: "Paying a stranger off to cause a riot seems like rather a lot of trouble to go to for run-of-the-mill herbs. Perhaps that's not it?"
(19:54:09) [GM]: "There are plants in the garden, of course, and some indoors... I've gotten presents of that kind on some occasions, from an elven traveller as thanks, though I couldn't say if they had any special properties."
(19:56:30) Miriana: "He and his dog did seem rather...upset...at elves. Would you mind if I took a quick look at them?" Miriana glances around the bedroom. "And then we'll sweep this up, of course."
(19:57:19) MicahWhiterune: "Well, we could take a look, but I don't really know plants." Micah scrutinizes, "Actually, does it matter what plants? Do you know who it might be?"
(20:02:25) [GM]: "If you wish. I'll have it cleaned, no worries." Her brow furrows in thought. "I'd think I know nobody who would go to this kind of length to steal something from me, but..."
(20:03:08) Miriana: "The man outside said something about a nature-worshipper. Between that and the plant-creatures, two and two make...druids?"
(20:03:40) Miriana: She shrugs, kicking at one of the pieces of twig on the floor. Then she guiltily picks it up.
(20:04:57) [GM]: "I suppose so. There are some in the city, and around the river, with much of it being wilderness. I know some in the neighborhood certainly, though I wouldn't like to suspect any. And they are rarely open about it, of course. Often you can tell, though."
(20:05:43) MicahWhiterune: Micah simply clomps on, considers a bit, then turns to Blinsky, "Maybe I could take a look at your garden so I'd stop stepping on the clues by accident."
(20:06:28) Miriana: "Well, I wouldn't want to jump to any conclusions, but..." Miriana shakes her head. "If I may ask, is that sort of sentiment...common, here?"
(20:09:01) [GM]: "Resentment? It happens. Much of this district isn't as wealthy as you might think, for all the trade that comes through. When one has the inner city before one's eyes just across the river, all day long... I suppose it would be."
(20:13:10) Miriana: Miriana nods, leaning against the wall. "Not so different from other places, then. Maybe a little worse than usual." She straightens up. "Anyway, if you'll let me indulge my curiosity we'll be out of your hair. I imagine this has been quite a tiring evening!"
(20:17:35) [GM]: After an hour of calming down and searching, the private bedrooms are readied, and Micah returns with mostly soggy clothes to show for his efforts, while Miriana is convinced no such plants are in the house - but between them, Miriana jogs her memory based on the hint of an elven source.
(20:17:35) [GM]: Though Micah had a difficult time identifying much beyond some potential candidates simply as healing plants, Miriana can narrow it down, and now clothed in proper rain cloaks, the two find a vine growing on a corner of the building, dotted with splendidly red night-blooming flowers that seem to shed rainwater like wax.
(20:17:35) [GM]: The duo suspects that this plant's healing powers are only half the story - processed properly it may well be toxic; though only someone familiar with the plant would know how to use it either way.
(20:21:16) MicahWhiterune: "That looks more like an accident that it's growing there." Micah sniffs lightly at it, "One of the more complicated types of drugs."
(20:22:23) [GM]: It has a quite sweet, if very subtle smell. Just in that moment, Miriana and Micah hear, half-covered by the sound of rain, the sound of several persons or creatures climbing over the outer wall.
(20:24:03) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Love Lies Bleeding, Part 2
« Reply #2 on: November 25, 2016, 01:29:56 PM »
(16:06:26) [GM]: ----------
(16:06:33) [GM]: In search of a cure for a mysterious illness, Micah Whiterune and Miriana Nemetz traveled far to the capital city Livest, a majestic center of learning, trade, and faith. But their rest at a comfortable inn was interrupted by a rowdy thug hurling abuse and rocks at their host.
(16:06:46) [GM]: Intuiting that the man had been paid off to serve as a distraction, they caught two monstrous ambulant plants in the search for a rare flower. The innkeeper, Maria Blinsky, was accused of withholding it, but professed no knowledge of its healing and harming properties, saying it had been a gift from an elf.
(16:06:55) [GM]: Armed with hooded cloaks, a lantern, and a meal in their bellies, Miriana and Micah have finally found the contentious plant growing innocuously behind the inn, an unperturbed spot of color in the dark, oppressive summer rain. But the night will not yet end, as they can hear someone scale the wall, and soon after see him.
(16:07:06) [GM]: The man is older and larger than the thug that harrassed the entrance, and the hound that hops down after him is more wolf than dog. It growls when it spots Miriana, but its handler, though caught by surprise, keeps a grip on the short leash. He stares ahead, as if sizing them up, and retrieves a small crossbow, though he does not point it at the two yet.
(16:10:18) Miriana: Miriana glowers from underneath the hood of her cloak, but she hasn't reached for what passes for her own weapon yet. "Well?" she calls out through the rain. "Out taking the pooch for a walk over someone's wall, are we?"
(16:12:58) [GM]: "Sure. Lousy weather for a conversation, though, so if we've no business with each other..." He wiggles the crossbow arm. "Mutt's in a bad mood too, as you can see."
(16:13:48) MicahWhiterune: Micah, after the last  surprise, rests his hand on the hammer handle, "Ya know there's these doors things, do ya?"
(16:14:18) [GM]: "Not a fan."
(16:15:55) MicahWhiterune: "Too bad." Micah steps forward, hammer and shield at the ready, "We have obligations to the host."
(16:16:29) Miriana: "You're looking for the little monsters we found crawling around here earlier, then? They're in pretty bad shape, but I think we could sweep up some of the twigs that weren't completely pulverized."
(16:18:00) [GM]: "Look here. I don't know about monsters, but I need something from this place. In fact, I think I spy something behind you two there. You can let me have it and I can leave without disturbing you good folks any more, or I can let the dog loose and take it."
(16:19:56) Miriana: Miriana clicks her tongue. "...Well. That's how it is, hmm?"
(16:24:18) [GM]: "Suppose it is." The tough releases his grip on the dog's leash, which surges forward with a dangerous snarl, and in the same moment raises his crossbow. But Miriana is faster.
(16:26:27) Miriana: Her wand snaps out as she's already hissing a curse of decay and lassitude upon the intruder's pet, then firing a blast of energy to perhaps dissuade it from coming any closer.
(16:29:30) MicahWhiterune: Micah follows up Miriana's shot by charging along it's path, to engage the dog with a meaty clash.
(16:32:02) [GM]: The tough grunts as Miriana's sudden curse hits the dog in mid-run, and sprints for the nearby apple tree, where he takes cover behind the trunk and levels his crossbow at the half-elf.
(16:37:14) [GM]: Micah's hammer glances the wolfdog's head, and though it clearly is most interested in Miriana, the dwarf in its path proves unavoidable. Growling, it bites and tears at Micah's tighs, but his armor keeps the beast's teeth slipping off.
(16:38:08) Miriana: Miriana manages not to drop the lantern as she's shot, but it's a close thing. She keeps her hold on the curse, though, and while the hound is distracted with Micah lines up another shot with her wand.
(16:40:09) [GM]: Small crimson flames like petals shoot out of the wound as Miriana hits the dog squarely in the head, and it drops limply to the floor in the middle of its attempt to savage Micah.
(16:41:02) Miriana: Miriana doesn't look back to confirm what she just saw, instead moving hastily back to get out of the line of easy fire.
(16:41:44) MicahWhiterune: " Miriana, we're cleaning that mess up afterwards!"
(16:44:22) [GM]: The dog's handler hesitates, his crosssbow's aim following Miriana as she retreats. He looks over to Micah and the deag hound, then dashes out of the tree's cover toward the flower growing on the corner of the house, reloading as he goes. He shoots a bolt in the half-elf's direction as he stops near the weeping bride.
(16:46:55) Miriana: Miriana doesn't quite make it out of the way of the second bolt, toppling over and dropping her lantern.
(16:47:23) [GM]: When his shot downs Miriana, the man turns to call out to Micah, "Let me leave with the weed and I'll leave you to tend to the lady without a fight!"
(16:47:26) MicahWhiterune: "Why you TRESPASSER!" Micah kicks the dog's corpse out of the way and rushes the thug in a fury, releasing his grip on the shield to grasp the hammer twohanded.
(16:49:57) [GM]: The tough jumps out of the way with a surprised grunt, shifting the crossbow to his other hand and pulling out a club. "You stubborn little..." He strikes at Micah's head, but the blow glances off his helmet.
(16:51:19) MicahWhiterune: Micah headbutts the man's stomach to make some room, then swings the hammer two handed in a rising arc set to end somewhere inside his hips.
(16:53:39) [GM]: The thug again sidesteps Micah's unconsidered attack, and grabs hastily at the vines on the wall. "Are you really going to let the girl bleed out, short man?" Messily ripping a chunk of vine off, he tries to dance around Micah and make a break for the outer wall.
(16:59:23) MicahWhiterune: Micah glares  at the man, reciting from scripture as he stands over Miriana, shield braced once more to reveal the fire in the mountain,"As the steadfast return to the embrace of stone and fire, so does the flame that greets their return," A burst of divine flame erupts around the thug's hands.
(17:02:21) [GM]: The man's reflexes are surprisingly good, and by luck or instinct he tears his hand away before the bright flame flashes to life around it. Cursing, he climbs up onto the wall as the light of the lantern, dropped by Miriana, flickers.
(17:03:42) MicahWhiterune: "Everlasting the light. Eternal the stone. The truehearted never falters" Another blaze of divine fire erupts as his victim was occupied by his climb.
(17:08:50) [GM]: "Empty Heaven!" The tough shouts and curses as his hand is singed - and his prize goes up in flames in it. "You petty runt," he spits at Micah, but any further abuse is cut short by an impact on the wall, near his feet - an arrow shot from an upper floor window by the duo's host. Though her shooting couldn't be too accurate in this rain, between the option to run for the rest of the flower again and running, the robber curses again and flees.
(17:10:14) MicahWhiterune: Micah glances back an instant to be sure that the thug wasn't coming back, and turns to Miriana, muttering imprecations about not wearing good solid metal.
(17:11:59) [GM]: Upstairs, the madam Blinsky leans out of the window to look at Micah and find the downed Miriana. "I didn't dare shoot earlier for fear of hitting one of you. Is the young lady all right?"
(17:14:31) MicahWhiterune: "He didn't get anything vital. It's just that flimsy elf blood in her." Micah crumbles a pinch of herbs over the wound and then opts to wait for a reasonably clean rag instead of the somewhat travelworn stuff he has. "She'll be up as soon as I regain Mya's blessings."
(17:15:08) Miriana: The young lady in question groans faintly.
(17:15:29) [GM]: The two bolts hit Miriana in the tigh and gut - quite serious, and there is a lot of blood, but the heat of battle prevented her from pulling them out and nothing more essential seems to have been hit. Micah manages to slow the bleeding with his herbs and is confident she'll make it once a proper bandage is applied.
(17:16:02) [GM]: "Bring her in, then. I should have anything you might need. Lest she survive the battle and die of a cold."
(17:17:35) MicahWhiterune: "Right, madam. She can't die before she cleans up the mess on the lawn." Micah picks up Miriana and hauls her inside with modestly more difficulty than he expected, "Hmph. Heavy"
(17:20:39) [GM]: Mariya hurries downstairs herself, and clears out a table to serve as a makeshift cot until Miriana can be moved upstairs to a proper bed. A young man is standing at the hearth of the common room and overlooking a boiling pot. "I've woken Hans and told him to boil some cloth for bandaging."
(17:22:26) MicahWhiterune: "Thanks." Micah settles her on the table, and then inspects the pot.
(17:23:11) [GM]: "No, thank you very much. Had you not been here, who knows how many more guests could have been hurt, or myself. And now the young lady is near bleeding out."
(17:23:47) Miriana: Miriana stirs, blinking through a haze of pain. "...Micah?"
(17:24:10) [GM]: "Ah, she's conscious. That's a good sign, at least."
(17:24:52) MicahWhiterune: "Told ya. Eat more and ya don't bleed out so quickly next time"
(17:27:46) Miriana: "You'll just complain more the next time you have to carry me." Miriana chuckles a little bit at her own joke.
(17:28:06) MicahWhiterune: "Eh, ya heard that?!"
(17:29:11) Miriana: "It's those big elf ears," she grumbles, mimicking Micah's voice.
(17:29:25) [GM]: After Miriana is bandaged and well enough to make jokes, Mariya bows to both of them. "I owe you both a debt, especially since my own possessions and my ignorance of them are apparently partly to blame for this situation. How long do you plan to stay?"
(17:31:33) Miriana: Miriana glances at Micah. "I'm not very certain. Certainly a little while while I look into some of the libraries...a month at least, I should think?"
(17:32:25) [GM]: The inkeep smiles warmly. "Consider your stay paid for that month. It's the least I can do to repay you."
(17:32:35) [GM]: "Both of you, that is."
(17:33:20) MicahWhiterune: "Just doing mah duty  to mah god." Micah returns the smile modestly,
(17:35:22) Miriana: "That's extremely kind of you. Thank you very much, madam." Miriana smiles warmly. "Though...perhaps we should consider moving that plant somewhere else?"
(17:36:14) [GM]: "Perhaps we should, at that. I'll take it upon myself, and ask the constable about it tomorrow."
(17:36:34) [GM]: Micah, meanwhile, senses the approval of his goddess in the back of his head, and in his heart.
(17:36:44) MicahWhiterune: Then he blinks, feeling  something, smiling  more widely, as he sets a hand upon Miriana's injury "My Lady Below approves, it seems. Let Life and Warmth triumph over dead silence."
(17:39:27) [GM]: Miriana feels Micah's hand through the bandage cloth, through the blood, replacing the unpleasant heat of blood with the comfortable warmth of an embrace, and spreading through her body.
(17:40:42) Miriana: She shivers once as the feeling washes over her, then relaxes as the pain is wiped away. "Ahhh. That's much better."
(17:46:20) [GM]: A day of licking wounds and resting follows after the fear and darkness of the night are ended by Micah's miracle. Madam Blinsky and her help move the damaged weeping bride inside on potted earth and a wooden stick, and the inkeep goes out to speak to the flower's original donor. On her return, she reports the elven constable has expressed his regret and is considering the next step.
(17:46:39) [GM]: Miriana and Micah dream, that night.
(17:46:48) [GM]: In her dreams, Miriana signs a reverse lullaby to her sister, with the blood-red elven flower in her hair: a song not to lull another but to wake herself. She stares at the single red star in the dark sky and watches it bloom to fill the heavens with petals of flame, while remaining only a faint point of light. In the morning, Miriana finds the song's lyrics in her diary, though she cannot read them.
(17:46:54) [GM]: Micah dreams of a bright, warm fire. Tall figures warm themselves at it, but their long shadows fester and grow, and with their faces turned toward the light, the figures do not notice. He sees Miriana, then, sitting by the light of Camelia's fleeting life, and her shadow, too, grows larger and darker as the light fades.
(17:47:31) [GM]: A new morning comes and with it visitors asking for the two heroic guests.
(17:51:28) Miriana: Miriana runs a finger over the lines she didn't write, trying in vain to understand their meaning. She can almost hear the melody in her head, though it fades even as she thinks about it in the manner of dreams.
(17:55:13) [GM]: The visit consist of a stocky human man in official-looking garb who identifies himself as one of the constabulary in Ostend and a young woman with long flaxen hair secured in a braid. They sit down opposite Micah and Miriana for dinner, a roasted young pig shared among the guests with cabbage and baked fruits, and wish to speak about the incident of the other day.
(17:56:48) [GM]: A fat, ginger cat that has been seen occasionally over the past day, attracted by the smell of food, casually ambles up to joing the conversation and rub on Micah's feet, as well.
(17:57:20) MicahWhiterune: Micah spends the meal contemplative, shooting glances at  Miriana between absentmindedly  makingthe cat even fatter.
(17:58:09) Miriana: Miriana, for her part, does her best to put the dreams out of her mind and eat with renewed appetite, though not before asking, politely, what the visitors want to know.
(18:02:14) [GM]: The man seems unsure where to begin for some moments, before opening with, "The constable has asked me to send you his regards and personal thanks. About the incident you thwarted the other night, we've acquired a lead on the guilty party, courtesy of the young lady here, and the constable wishes to ask you if you would do one more service for the people of Ostend. You'd be recompensed, of course."
(18:02:28) [GM]: The girl seems mildly uncomfortable with the situation, but nods.
(18:03:41) MicahWhiterune: "Well then, lets hear it. What's going on officer?"
(18:08:38) [GM]: "Miss Emilia here is an apprentice of a druidic religion." "Initiate." "Yes, initiate. Pardon. And after news of the incident the other night spread, she came to the constable and told us her suspicion of the perpetrator's identity." The young woman nods. "His name is Viktor. He'd been... angry lately, impatient, agitated. I'm not supposed to say this, but he stole something from the elders and disappeared. He lives in this district."
(18:09:50) [GM]: The man nods and continues. "And as you proved your valor and skill by repelling the attack on this inn, I've been sent to ask you to find the man and apprehend him so he can be tried, if it is him. Miss Emilia said she could help to track his movements."
(18:12:31) MicahWhiterune: Micah gives the young woman an appraising look, "I see. What  did he steal?"
(18:13:46) Miriana: Miriana chews contemplatively on a piece of cabbage, projecting a thought into Micah's head. <This all seems a little behind-the-back, doesn't it?>
(18:14:40) MicahWhiterune: Micah nods to himself. It certainly does, if a constable is asking  two relative strangers to do this.
(18:15:08) [GM]: The girl squirms a little in her seat. "Something... very important, that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. A ward against evil."
(18:17:31) MicahWhiterune: "Clarify please, Miss Emilia. How does a ward be dangerous?"
(18:18:40) [GM]: "H-handled wrong, it could have the opposite effect. Like breaking a charm brings bad luck."
(18:35:31) Miriana: Miriana mulls the conversation over. <Well. I get the feeling that's not quite everything, but...>
(18:36:08) MicahWhiterune: <Try confronting her with what we know, see what the guy that stole it knows>
(18:36:42) Miriana: <Externally, or...?>
(18:37:10) MicahWhiterune: <You could just charm her pants off. >
(18:37:45) Miriana: To avoid an awkward pause, Miriana clears her throat. "And you can help us track him down, you said? He probably won't be sticking around his house for long."
(18:41:00) [GM]: Emilia shakes her head. "I asked his brother before going to the constable. He hasn't been home in several days." She raises a hand, and a small weasel crawls out of her sleeve along her arm to look at Miriana and Micah. "I know of a place in the river system Viktor also knows, and my companion knows his scent. He could guide you there and help track Viktor."
(18:42:21) Miriana: Miriana's eyes light up, and she has to restrain herself from reaching across the table to pet the creature.
(18:44:25) MicahWhiterune: "Good enough for me. " Micah nods, "We can talk as we go. What does the ward work with anyways? All evil? The dead?"
(18:45:55) [GM]: Emilia smiles a little. "His name is Motke." The inn's cat, who is called Mara and has since climbed up onto the bench next to Micah, peers suspiciously over the table at the weasel.
(18:46:40) MicahWhiterune: Micah drops a hand on the cat, stroking it.
(18:47:47) Miriana: She takes a large bite of her food, reaching out to touch Emilia's mind while she chews. <Is there something else we should know? I know you're worried about being tarred with the same brush as Viktor, but it really might help if we knew what to expect.>
(18:49:03) [GM]: In response, the cat puts a paw on Micah's shoulder, as if to encourage him, or perhaps as if to declare 'mine'.
(18:50:32) [GM]: Emilia flinches a bit in surprise, to the constable's curiosity, and hesitates before thinking back, <I- I'm not allowed to say too much, and I also don't know that much about the ward. But I know why he's doing what he's doing. It's why I'm sure it's him.>
(18:52:15) Miriana: <Does it have anything to do with the twig blights that we found crawling in the window?>
(18:56:39) [GM]: Emilia involuntarily emotes the mental equivalent of the squirming she did earlier. <No... I don't think so. They're just a means to an end.>
(18:57:49) Miriana: <And what is that end, exactly?>
(19:04:03) [GM]: <His older brother... is sick. Our medicines haven't worked, and he's been getting more impatient and angry, but I didn't think he'd go this far. He must've finally boiled over.>
(19:04:03) [GM]: In the meantime, the constable officer clears his throat. "Now, I understand this is a lot to ask. But since there's a secret sect involved, who will want to judge their own, and we on the other hand can't simply let this go, the constable judged it would be more diplomatic to ask the heroes who thwarted the first incident to find the culprit."
(19:06:00) Miriana: Miriana pauses mid-chew.
(19:06:22) [GM]: The officer raises his eyebrows. "Is something the matter?"
(19:06:33) MicahWhiterune: "Well, just how much damage did the culprit do so far?" Micah speaks up, considering the further information, "Ah think we can take em."
(19:08:54) Miriana: Miriana quickly swallows. "Nothing, just a bit of gristle," she lies. "We'd like to help out if we can."
(19:09:37) [GM]: "Thanks to you, relatively little in the caravan's district, though instigating the assault on a respected inn and guests there cannot be overlooked. In the elven district, several wild dogs roamed around, attacking and injuring people, and there were sightings of plant blights damaging buildings and greenery."
(19:10:02) [GM]: "At least one person is missing, there." Emilia shrinks at that.
(19:10:46) MicahWhiterune: "Missing?"
(19:11:38) [GM]: "Whereabouts unknown. Hopefully simply not gone home, rather than taken by the blights, but..."
(19:12:17) MicahWhiterune: "Who?
(19:14:05) [GM]: "A man named Vasili Nightbreeze. Him, we are already searching for."
(19:15:00) MicahWhiterune: "What did they do?"
(19:15:51) Miriana: <Do you know Vasili?> Miriana probes curiously at Emilia's reaction.
(19:16:21) [GM]: "Glassblowing, I believe." <No. I've never heard the name.>
(19:17:05) MicahWhiterune: "Curious. Ah'll keep an eye out for him then."
(19:17:30) [GM]: "Thank you. Hopefully, it will turn out to be unnecessary."
(19:19:14) Miriana: Miriana nods. "We'll do our best to find Viktor and see what's happening."
(19:19:49) [GM]: The officer nods deeply. "Thank you very much. The constabulary is in your debt."
(19:23:29) MicahWhiterune: "More time, more weeds,  officer. We'll head out immediately."
(19:24:36) Miriana: Miriana, lost in thought, gives an absent noise of assent.
(19:25:28) [GM]: And so, Miriana and Micah leave the safety of the Fair Constable to find Viktor the druid, who has seemingly gone mad with resentment and worry for his brother. The place Emilia directs them to lies well outside the city, on one of the myriad forested islands upon the river Mahr.
(19:25:28) [GM]: The Mahr beckons... but that would be the wrong turn of phrase. The Mahr is an old, angry beast that hates the city standing on its neck, and its water growls and snarls at the duo as if to scare them off as they set off for the wilderness just outside civilization.
(19:25:33) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Love Lies Bleeding, Part 3
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2016, 02:35:18 PM »
(16:14:35) [GM]: ----------
(16:14:48) [GM]: After the theft of the weeping bride flowers was thwarted, Micah and Miriana were asked by an officer of the constabulary to bring the rogue druid behind the attack on the Fair Constable to justice before the druidic society does so on its own.
(16:14:48) [GM]: Through the tipoff of a neophyte named Emilia, the duo learned of the perpetrator's name, Viktor, and of his other crime: the theft of a talisman which might be dangerous in the wrong hands. They learned also of Viktor's apparent motivation; a sick elder brother, Godfried, whose deteriorating condition had been turning Viktor increasingly resentful and irrational.
(16:14:48) [GM]: Through Emilia's direction and the nose of her companion weasel Motke, Miriana and Micah have a solid chance of finding Viktor's hideout in the otherwise impenetrable maze of the Mahr river's islands and offshoots - assuming they can brave its other perils.
(16:15:26) [GM]: An old, forgotten road branches off the main road leading northeast away from the city, now long abandoned and reclaimed by the wild. The trees stand denser here, as if huddling together to gossip and cast suspicious glances at outsiders. The early afternoon sun shines through the canopy, casting a veil of golden light and pale shadows over the scenery.
(16:15:33) [GM]: Every so often, something seems to move at the edge of perception, but always it's only a shadow, a moving branch, or imagination. Or not always - the group's guide, who so far seemed unperturbed by false sightings, suddenly stops and points out a tall, man-like figure lurking a distance away, and her weasel starts hissing until calmed by a finger on the head.
(16:15:45) [GM]: The creature stands a head or two taller than any normal man, or would were it not hunched over. It is gaunt and seemingly naked but for irregular patches of large conifer needles growing out of its wooden skin. It shuffles back and forth on the road, choked by vines around this spot, seemingly oblivious to the group, for now.
(16:15:50) [GM]: What to do?
(16:20:59) Miriana: Miriana frowns, chewing her lip and eyeing the creature. "Do you recognize this, Emilia?" she asks in a hushed voice.
(16:22:47) [GM]: Emilia nods, eyeing the creature insecurely. "Yes. You said you saw blight monsters at that inn, right? It's like them. Unusual for them to come alone, though..."
(16:24:45) Miriana: "I don't see any others. Maybe this one's a guard?"
(16:25:29) [GM]: Indeed, no others are around to be seen... but then, such monsters would have an easier time blending in in the middle of a forest than in an inn's bedroom. "Probably..."
(16:26:37) [GM]: "They're blind but don't need eyes to see, so it'll probably notice us if we come any closer."
(16:27:16) MicahWhiterune: "I don't see anything." Micah looks about, "So why not just cook it from here?"
(16:27:55) Miriana: "Even if we're quiet, hmm...well, are there ways around it? I don't fancy going off the road much, but just blasting it isn't subtle..."
(16:28:59) MicahWhiterune: Micah gestures eloquently at his chainmail, "Real subtle"
(16:29:28) [GM]: "I... think we'd have to wade through water if we make a wide enough berth, but it's possible, I suppose."
(16:30:12) Miriana: "Ha. Okay, good point." Miriana draws her wand. "I don't know if that's much safer, considering at least one of us would sink like a stone if it got any deeper or something pulled us under."
(16:30:14) MicahWhiterune: "Never trust any water ya can't see the bottom of."
(16:38:30) [GM]: As the group debates, there is a grunting murmur like a deep man's voice from nowhere. No, not nowhere - from the vines covering the road. A mass of them stirs, knotting together to form the mockery of a human head and face, with a mouth that moans a warning to the hunched blight and turns to the group. "Leave."
(16:39:26) [GM]: It's a gravelly, appallingly human voice coming from a thing that should not have a voice.
(16:41:20) Miriana: Miriana starts at the shifting, moaning vines. "Uh." Eloquent as ever. "N...no? We're here for Viktor."
(16:43:09) Miriana: "...Oh, what am I doing talking to a bush? We're rumbled anyway." She raises the wand to eye level.
(16:47:24) [GM]: "Viktor..." The vine-creature repeats the word emptily as if trying to place the sound. "Must not be found. Leave!" Though it speaks as if in a daze, the creature clearly understands Miriana and what she wants. It also understands the significance of her gesture, as vines separate from the ground and rip away from trees to form a squat, broad humanoid figure that lumbers forward with murder in its posture.
(16:49:11) [GM]: Though the vine-man is slow, the hunched figure moves far faster, following the sound of the smaller monster's voice. After a few steps, it suddenly shakes as if freezing, and then a shower of needles erupt from its skin and shoot for the interlopers!
(16:51:07) MicahWhiterune: Micah raises his shield, muttering about trees not behaving.
(16:53:15) [GM]: Emilia takes a frightened step back as the blight monsters approach, standing behind the two.
(16:54:15) Miriana: Miriana flinches reflexively - there were needles flying! She stands her ground, though, uttering a curse upon the hunched tree-man before flicking her wand and firing a bolt of energy at it.
(16:58:28) [GM]: The creature proves Emilia's claim - it needs no eyes to see, as its featureless face snaps back with a jarring motion and it hops to the side to barely evade the spell.
(16:59:35) MicahWhiterune: Micah stands his ground, keeping his shield and the emblem on it squarely presented, "Where the eternal flame of the mountain burns not, the forges breathe tinder." A brilliant flame bursts RIGHT where it leapt.
(17:03:17) [GM]: Luck or reflexes, the tree-man stumbles lower, its lanky frame crouching under the sudden burst of light before sprinting blindly forward. It contorts itself like an angry cat, and a new shower of needles shoots for Micah from up close.
(17:04:27) MicahWhiterune: Micah is experienced with angry cats. The answer has always been proper protective gear.
(17:05:55) [GM]: The vine monster supports itself on false arms as it continues to lumber forward, slowly and steadily like death by suffocation. It's still near fifteen feet away from Micah when its arms suddenly move, and so does the vegetation all around.
(17:06:43) [GM]: Stinky, damp vines burts from the ground, tear free from trees, and slither near to choke the ground surrounding the vine-man, grasping at anything that moves bar the two blights.
(17:14:43) MicahWhiterune: Micah pulls and wriggles, but the vines have a good grip. "Blasted plants. Aren't they supposed ta stay still?!"
(17:14:54) Miriana: Miriana casts her spell again at the slippery needle-blight while darting backwards, motioning for Emilia to get further back.
(17:18:05) [GM]: The line of light pierces straight into the needle monster's center of mass, rotting away its heartless chest with a blossoming starburst like petals of fire. Rocked by the force of the blast, it topples backwards, shedding needles like a dead fir.
(17:19:03) Miriana: Miriana grins before rolling the wand around to point it at the remaining monster, turning the grip of the curse onto it next.
(17:21:27) MicahWhiterune: Micah gives up struggling against the vines, waste of time, "Wood lies silent, cracking when split. Wood lies cold, warming when burned. Wood lies still, moving by the smith's hand!" Flames erupt once again around it.
(17:26:22) [GM]: Like ancient Gulthias himself, this wood refuses to lie still as the gods command. The squat man of vines lurches forward a single halting step, and reaches out for Micah, individual vines like strands of muscle making up its arm, far too long fingers reaching for hims to wrap around his torso and neck. "Blood. Breath. Life. Give." The plants contrict with the pressure of a boulder on his chest, but Micah's armor remains strong, for now.
(17:29:16) Miriana: "Get off him!" Miriana finishes her curse, calling another streak of light forth to blast into the lumbering thing.
(17:32:34) MicahWhiterune: Micah wrenches at the cursed vines, "Oh just lie still like the gods intended  ya!"
(17:34:19) [GM]: The vines snap under his struggles, leaving the dwarf angry and winded but free to visit holy judgement.
(17:34:59) MicahWhiterune: Freed of duress, he advances steadily on the plant, axe in hand.
(17:37:09) [GM]: Growling in a broken man's voice, the vine-beast's limbs whip at Micah, seeking the breath of his life, but with his movements no longer restrained, his shield and armor protect him.
(17:39:50) Miriana: "No more breath or life for you," Miriana mutters as the wand kicks with the force of the blast, streaking toward the thing's knotted head.
(17:44:07) MicahWhiterune: Micah raises up the axe, as the gleaming edge turns black, "As life is given by fire. To death it all returns. Dead wood rest eternal." Then he brings the deadly edge down.
(17:48:28) [GM]: Miriana's blast goes wide, but the speaking plant stares emptily at the axe's head, and its eyeless head is split by the edge as it drives down, burning what it comes in contact with. Even in death, the plant is foul, its vines burning with noxious black smoke as it moans its last, "All is void and vanity..."
(17:49:14) [GM]: The mass of vines slowly sinks, and finally lies still, oozing a stinking liquid that is hopefully not blood.
(17:49:48) MicahWhiterune: "To ash and earth all return." Micah wipes the ash off the axe, "Now, no sense hanging around for them. Where to?"
(17:50:02) Miriana: "Eugh, that's vile!" Miriana cringes at the horrid smell.
(17:50:59) MicahWhiterune: "Eh, you should take a whiff at what comes out when bad ore hits the furnace. "
(17:52:35) [GM]: Emilia, who has been staring like a frightened deer as the combat unfolded, is startled into moving, and perhaps breathing again by Micah's question. "Ah? Ah, yes. These are a sign we're on the right track, so we should keep following the road, I think. There are almost always more where there's one, so..."
(17:53:45) [GM]: "I... are you alright? That was... I don't know."
(17:54:12) Miriana: "So we should move fast before they get here," Miriana finishes, nodding. "...Is something the matter?"
(17:54:44) MicahWhiterune: "Oh nothing much. The dog  was worse!"
(17:54:52) [GM]: "No, I've just... never watched a real fight before."
(17:57:39) Miriana: "I hope that's the last one you'll have to watch." Miriana doesn't pocket her wand, remaining wary. "But I suppose that depends on how Viktor feels when we find him."
(17:57:53) MicahWhiterune: "You  should ask Miri there bout getting almost killed three times in one minute."
(17:59:45) Miriana: "It's not my fault!" she protests, moving forward but steering clear of the oozing blight. "That poor dog was wild..."
(18:01:02) MicahWhiterune: Micah simply tromps ahead and kicks the mess out of his way with forge-standard boots, "Jes stick ta cats next time."
(18:01:12) [GM]: "I see..." Emilia looks down with an uncertain expression and confirms with Mokte, after sufficient paces away from the stinking plants, that the weasel still has Viktor's scent. "This way onward, I suppose."
(18:03:16) [GM]: The road leads further through abandoned woods, and once again makes to cross the river... but the bridge, by disrepair or intention, has partially collapsed. The river is not very wide or deep here and could be waded through, but the current is swift and angry. The gap in the bridge could conceivably be jumped, but an unlucky drop might hurt.
(18:03:17) MicahWhiterune: "Lead the way."
(18:03:34) [GM]: What's more, Miriana and Micah detect the snapping of a branch behind the group, and catch a glimpse of something large shifting between trees and undergrowth. It does not seem to move like a blight, though, and remains in hiding.
(18:05:16) MicahWhiterune: Micah narrows his gaze, hefting  his hammer as he calls out, "Who goes there?"
(18:05:43) [GM]: The movements between trees stop, but there is no response. Silence.
(18:06:47) MicahWhiterune: He stomps closer towards it, "I know ya there"
(18:07:47) [GM]: Still silence. Perhaps a trick of the imagination?
(18:10:14) [GM]: No, not a trick - looking very closely, Micah sees their unknown watcher. Blending into the color of the tree trunks and undergrowth, a large, humanoid lizard is lying in hiding, staring his way while sitting perfectly still. Presumably, watching him and hoping he will decide it was just his imagination, though the lizard-man looks ready to jump backwards should he come closer.
(18:12:36) MicahWhiterune: "Must be a trick of the light. Lady of fire, reveal the hidden." Micah opts to spook the lizard-man by calling down a flash of divine fire right BEHIND him.
(18:14:23) [GM]: The response is immediate. Startled by the sudden flash of fire and light behind him(?), the lizard-man hisses and jumps to the side like a boulder fired from a catapult, head snapping back to look at the source of the surprise.
(18:14:40) MicahWhiterune: "Hi."
(18:17:19) [GM]: Clearly spooked, the lizardman doesn't stop hissing, looking at Micah and the spot where just a heartbeat ago was a flame with a flared, colorful frill portruding from its otherwise drab head in a defensive display.
(18:18:07) MicahWhiterune: "Miriana? Think you can communicate?" Micah repeats his earlier words in Celestial  to try for luck.
(18:18:17) Miriana: Miriana turns to see the newcomer jump out of hiding and puts a hand up reassuringly. <Easy now,> she projects into its colorful head. <We're not going to hurt you. Who are you?>
(18:22:57) [GM]: After a moment's silence passes, the lizardman seems to relax, the frill slowly, almost tentatively sinking. Inscrutable reptilian eyes regard the two of them, though it twitches when Miriana speaks in its head. The thoughts she gets in return are muted and alien, detatched and emotionless compared to communicaton with humans, but they come in words. <Am called Smart.>
(18:25:53) Miriana: <Why are you following us, Smart?> Miriana continues to talk with the creature, though she adds in a mental aside to Emilia and Micah, <He...? says he's named Smart.>
(18:26:04) Miriana: There's a quizzical tone to that last thought.
(18:26:18) MicahWhiterune: "Shoulda been called Sneaky"
(18:30:26) [GM]: Smart's thoughts remain silent in what is presumably hesitation, though there's no emotional tenor to it. Then, having apparently decided to be honest, he replies, <Watching. Small groups crossing river, make easy prey.> No shame, awkwarness, or aggression tinges the matter-of-fact statement.
(18:31:21) MicahWhiterune: "Does he know anything about Viktor and his plants?"
(18:32:38) Miriana_: <We are not easy prey.> Miriana's reply is firm. <But if you hunt here, you must have seen a man. A druid, the one who leads the blights?>
(18:36:54) [GM]: Smart thinks back the vague image of a man who more or less matches Viktor's description, though it seems humans look as alike to him as lizards look alike to Miriana. "A soft-skin who commands sick plants has passed the road sometimes. Also not easy prey. Sometimes he is with an older female. Weak-looking, but surrounded by the strong."
(18:39:34) Miriana_: "An older woman..." Miriana muses aloud after relaying the information to the others. "Does that ring a bell, Emilia?"
(18:40:33) [GM]: Emilia makes a clueless face and shakes her head. "Unless he's taking his grandmother out into the forest, I can't think of anyone that could be."
(18:41:31) MicahWhiterune: "When did scales last see him anyway?"
(18:41:53) Miriana_: "...his brother doesn't have long hair by chance, does he?"
(18:43:49) [GM]: "Not very..." It takes a few moments for Emilia to clue into what Miriana is getting at. "Oh. You think he might have mistaken Godfried for a woman? Both wear beards, though."
(18:44:33) Miriana_: "Oh. Guess that's probably not it, then. He seems iffy on faces that aren't covered in scales."
(18:46:45) MicahWhiterune: "Could be someone teaching him about all these stuff. Doesn't sound like he would have learned about controlling evil tree things on his own normally. A teacher?"
(18:47:17) MicahWhiterune: "Could get yer fuzzy friend to have a good sniff around for their smell."
(18:47:50) [GM]: Smart, meanwhile, watches the conversation he probably doesn't understand by turning to look at everyone as they speak.
(18:48:45) Miriana_: <You're not by yourself, then?> Miriana questions Smart further.
(18:50:11) [GM]: Smart stares back without answering. Perhaps, he doesn't wish to say one way or the other.
(18:54:23) [GM]: Meanwhile, Emilia lets Motke down to sniff around. The weasel flits around, seemingly without paying much heed to the lizardman, and goes so far as to climb the bridge before returning to his master with a hiss. "Seems he found a smell he didn't like."
(18:55:21) Miriana_: <We're not going to attack you, so long as you leave us be. I can't imagine there are lots of people here for you to pounce on, though.>
(18:55:56) Miriana_: <Especially not with Viktor keeping them away with his sick-plants.>
(18:56:25) [GM]: Smart makes a physical sound in his throat. <Perhaps true. Then I will leave.>
(18:57:41) Miriana_: <Consider: We want to take Viktor away. With the plants gone, this may be a better spot for you to hunt.>
(18:58:43) [GM]: <And?>
(19:00:08) Miriana_: <You might know this place, where the plants lurk and where the safe paths are. Help us get there and we'll take Viktor and his blights from here.>
(19:02:07) [GM]: Smart considers. <A good trade. I know the forest well.>
(19:04:23) Miriana_: Miriana nods. "Smart here will help guide us in exchange for taking Viktor away."
(19:04:51) [GM]: <I have a question.>
(19:05:12) MicahWhiterune: "That would be helpful."
(19:06:26) Miriana_: <What is it?>
(19:06:48) [GM]: <I understand you mean the sick-plant leader human. But what does 'Viktor' mean?> Smart seems to assume Viktor's name is a word he doesn't understand.
(19:08:28) Miriana_: Miriana pauses a moment to try and adjust her perspective. <Some of the softskins call themselves by words that don't directly mean things. Viktor is one of those words.>
(19:08:54) [GM]: Smart responds with pure confusion.
(19:11:20) Miriana_: Miriana chews her lip thoughtfully. <...it's complicated. Talking this way is easier than words sometimes.>
(19:11:12) [GM]: After a period of thinking, he seems to get used to the idea. <Then a 'Viktor' is this man. Unnecessary. But I think I see.>
(19:16:52) [GM]: After talking out what Emilia knows about where she suspects Viktor would be hiding out, Smart confirms that his tribe knows of such a place and has been avoiding it of late. Though Smart is fully willing to go straight through the woods, the easier way there follows the abandoned road for another stretch, then takes an even older road away from it. The issue of crossing the river remains, though.
(19:17:10) [GM]: Smart fairly easily leaps the broken bridge, but he mentally adds, <Beware the water here. The fish thirst for blood.>
(19:19:05) Miriana_: "Mmm." Miriana turns to Emilia. "The fish here are apparently, uh. Hungry. This might be a dangerous jump."
(19:19:37) Miriana_: She looks over at Micah, he of the short legs and the thick metal coating.
(19:23:21) MicahWhiterune: "I'll go get something for this." Micah surveys the nearby trees for reasonably solid branches. "Just stuff a few branches across the gap and then clamber over it.  Not as steady,  but with one of us holding them in place while the other climbs, it's fine."
(19:27:20) Miriana_: "That could work. Make sure you get extra to hold my weight up. You know, me being so heavy and all." She leans down to elbow Micah gently in the ribs.
(19:31:31) MicahWhiterune: "Very careful there. I made sure they were extra thick."
(19:38:17) [GM]: With everyone safely over the water, their newfound additional guide makes to lead the way.
(19:40:36) [GM]: Between Mokte's nose, Emilia's rough knowledge of Viktor's suspected hiding place, and Smart's knowledge of the terrain, the group is able to make good, if not overly comfortable, time, even with a stop to rest off the fast pace of the travel. Under the lizardman's guidance, they are able to evade some hazards of the terrain and travel off the road for better stealth without tripping and breaking any necks.
(19:44:36) [GM]: As the afternoon goes on and the air grows sweltry with the sun's heat, the group finally arrives at the remnants of a small village, abandoned or died out and reclaimed before even Micah was born. Plants have conquered what was once mankind's, and the entire former village lies in the trees' shade.
(19:44:36) [GM]: At the village's center can be seen a church. Half a tower, its bell missing, reminds of the days when it stood tall and proud, but now it has crumbled, its walls collapsed to more closely resemble a lamed beggar lying in the streets. Debris of the old church tower lies on the ground like a hand desperately reaching and begging for alms.
(19:45:04) [GM]: This is where the rogue druid Viktor has retreated to, a place where humanity has crumbled and the wild has returned.
(19:45:09) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Love Lies Bleeding, Part 4
« Reply #4 on: December 16, 2016, 01:45:27 PM »
(15:59:17) [GM]: ----------
(15:59:24) [GM]: After the theft of the weeping bride flowers was thwarted, Micah and Miriana were asked by an officer of the constabulary to bring the rogue druid behind the attack on the Fair Constable to justice before the druidic society does so on its own.
(15:59:33) [GM]: Viktor, the druid in question, had stolen a talisman from the elder druids and wished to secure the flower in a resentment-fueled attempt to cure his older brother Godfried from sickness. A lizardman, once dissuaded from ambushing the group outside the city, agreed to guide them to Viktor's hideout and spoke of an old woman in his company.
(15:59:45) [GM]: The old village is silent, even peaceful, in the manner of a graveyard. Overgrown buildings are the only trace of civilization, and the former streets and alleys are shaded by trees. His agreed duty done, Smart the lizardman leaves the group with no further comment, likely to lurk nearby and observe the outcome.
(15:59:59) [GM]: Emilia confirms the crumbled church in the village's center to be the hideout she was thinking of. Its tower once stood tall, but now lies sprawled on the square in front of its former entrance as if begging for alms, the fallen bell forever out of its reach. Its west-facing side has crumbled along with the tower, but other walls still stand defiant, if likely full of holes. The altar would have
(15:59:59) [GM]: been on the other side of the building, with the morning sun at its back.
(16:00:05) [GM]: How will they approach?
(16:04:31) Micah_Whiterune: "The tower don't look too good, I think  we should approach from the crumbled side, anything  that's going to fall should already have."
(16:06:41) Miriana: Miriana rubs at her face a little tiredly, frowning. "Maybe I could try and take a quick peek? See if there's anything out of the ordinary before you come jingling along."
(16:08:47) Micah_Whiterune: "Don't get taken out by a stubbed toe."
(16:10:28) Miriana: "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Miriana sticks her tongue out as she pads closer to the church, trying to stay out of sight of the windows.
(16:15:35) [GM]: Taking a slow circuit around the old church, Miriana sees that it once was build in a cross-like shape that is standard even for larger cathedrals, on a smaller scale. The main body of the church is a long rectangle west to east with a rounded facade covered in stained-glass windows facing east, two short wings spreading to either side north and south.
(16:15:35) [GM]: While the western front entrance has crumbled nearly in its entirety, there is also significant damage to the northern wing and a hole in the eastern front, where a side chapel used to be. She spies as well an overgrown trapdoor, likely to the basement, on the outside of the church.
(16:15:35) [GM]: Not only that, but she can also hear voices as she comes closer to the church, most clearly through the hole in the eastern wall.
(16:24:29) [GM]: Approaching the ruined chapel, Miriana glimpses through the hole and debris several pillars surrounding an altar overgrown with vines on a dais of half-rotten wood. Standing near that altar are a man with long, wild black hair and beard facing a hunchbacked woman that looks to be older than the hills, uglier than death, and bitterer than woodworm.
(16:27:52) [GM]: The man, presumably Viktor, and the woman are in conversation, and Miriana hears them talking about Viktor's failure to secure the weeping bride. The woman seems to hover between mocking and compassionate, assuring him that yes, she can heal his brother, while the druids are unable and the elves unwilling.
(16:29:27) [GM]: Near them, leaned on a pillar, she spies an old, gnarled branch of black wood that could only be described as sick. But just as she tries to get a better look, a shard of colorful glass snaps underfoot. Viktor does not seem to notice, but his companion looks up, and though not looking straight at Miriana, she begins a hacking, cruel laugh.
(16:29:27) [GM]: When Viktor asks what is so funny, she replies, "Oh, dear boy! It seems the elves have come to get you so soon. Do you think they'll accept your reasons?"
(16:31:40) Miriana: Miriana, listening with ears pricked, doesn't wait around for the crone to see exactly where she's crouched. She takes off back toward Micah as quick as she can.
(16:32:46) [GM]: As she leaves, Miriana faintly hears Viktor humming what sounds like a spell. It seems he's preparing for a violent encounter.
(16:36:51) [GM]: Emilia looks exceedingly worried when Miriana returns to her and Micah running.
(16:37:41) Miriana: Miriana comes jogging back up to Micah and Emilia, panting a little. "Two of them inside the chapel by the altar, Viktor and the old woman Smart mentioned."
(16:40:45) Micah_Whiterune: "Just them, not strange indoor trees?"
(16:42:38) Miriana: "I didn't see any blights, no. I don't think they saw me but they might know someone's here."
(16:43:20) [GM]: "Are you sure? It's hard to tell them apart from normal plants when they're not moving."
(16:44:28) Micah_Whiterune: "Fire solves everything."
(16:45:02) Miriana: "Well, then I'm not sure. We should get moving, though - I don't want to run the risk of Viktor fleeing."
(16:47:43) Micah_Whiterune: "Then, may the light of  the hearth shine on your efforts." Micah grabs Miriana by the hand, infusing a touch of warmth.
(16:51:27) Micah_Whiterune: "Now, let me get their attention. You get a good spot to aim."
(16:51:31) Miriana: Miriana nods, giving Micah a slap on the back. Then she shakes her stinging hand furiously while she slips around the side of the church again, pulling out her wand.
(17:00:15) [GM]: Rushing towards the destroyed church, Miriana on one side and Micah on the other, both arrive to find Viktor narvously scanning his surroundings while the crone stands back, near the withered branch, and snickers to herself.
(17:00:15) [GM]: Viktor's surprise is considerable when a dwarf approaches through the ruined northern wing, but that surprise soon turns to annoyance. "You dwarves are in league with the elves now too, eh? Let me be!"
(17:00:15) [GM]: The mass of vines choking the former altar detaches itself with gruesome slowness and falls from the dais to form itself into a foul humanoid figure that advances on Micah - far faster than the earlier vine blight.
(17:00:38) Micah_Whiterune: "Damned trees can't be trusted."
(17:04:42) Miriana: Miriana, watching through a hole in the eastern side of the church, grins faintly and whispers. "Down and down, to grey and naught with you." As soon as the curse grips the renegade druid, she flicks the wand, sending a jet of light streaking right at his lower back.
(17:10:12) [GM]: The vine-blight growls in its cruel, deep voice, "Behind." But it is too late, and Viktor too slow in realizing what it means, before the bolt from Miriana's wand hits his back and blows away the back of his coat and bruises his skin in a small shower of vremillion flower-sparks. He cries out in surprise, pain, and rage, and whirls around to face the half-elf.
(17:11:34) Micah_Whiterune: Micah advances, shield at the ready, "Light be my guide in this unhallowed place. Mya's Light cleanse the unclean." An eruption of  crimson flames  explodes RIGHT as the druid turns.
(17:15:03) [GM]: "You--!" Whatever Viktor was about to shout is stopped by Micah, as the cleansing hearth-flame covers the evil druid and sends him chiking and coughing to the floor. "Brother..." is his last word before he is still.
(17:17:07) [GM]: While Miriana's attention is fixed on the fallen druid, she fails to notice what Micah sees - the old woman, cackling with mad glee, grabs the blackened branch from its resting place and disappears from his view behind one of the pillars surrounding the altar, though it should be too thin to hide her. There's little time to contemplate her whereabouts, though, as the vine blight bears down on him with greater alacrity than he saw before.
(17:17:35) [GM]: Vegetation from the walls and church floor sprouts and winds upwards to cage and devour the son of light.
(17:18:55) Micah_Whiterune: "Alack, not again! What's these roots want with me nethers!"
(17:21:09) Miriana: Miriana, catching sight of this, quickly lifts her free hand to rip the curse from the fallen Viktor and channel it into the blight. "Just a little more rot for you," she mutters before firing another blast.
(17:23:56) [GM]: The blight, unlike Viktor, has seen her coming, and though its movements are still slow, her aim is off enough for it to avoid the blast.
(17:26:25) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes advantage of the distraction to struggle heroically against the roots invading his personal space.
(17:28:26) Micah_Whiterune: Bursting free from the restraints, Micah hurries over, placing himself between the Blight and Miriana's position as best as he could.
(17:30:37) [GM]: The blight considers Micah as he struggles to move around it, then lunges forward with surprising speed to wrap its arm-vines around his chest and neck, and begins constricting.
(17:31:05) Micah_Whiterune: "Oi!"
(17:33:07) [GM]: The vine-face's features stare impassively at the dwarf as it chokes him. "Die and feed me."
(17:36:45) Miriana: Catching herself as she recovers from jumping off the dais, Miriana hurls her blasting curse at the back of the monster while it's holding still to throttle Micah.
(17:41:42) Micah_Whiterune: Micah chokes out the words as he grips at the choking vine, "Mya's might feeds the world's trembling heart. To Her your stolen life is returned to feed the world." There is a sudden suction as darkness lines his hand.
(17:43:26) Micah_Whiterune: "Die and feed the world's fires."
(17:45:52) [GM]: The vine-blight rocks with the force of the blast as part of its backside rots away, only to rock forward farther when Micah's hand is wreathed in shadow. Dark fire spreads from it to the monster's constricting arms and up them to engulf its body, which burns with noxious smoke and a prolonged, inhuman howl.
(17:46:11) [GM]: After heartbeats, it has become a smoking puddle of tar at Micah's feet.
(17:46:47) Micah_Whiterune: Micah brushes his hands off the ashes, "Now where did the crone go? She just slipped behind a pillar."
(17:46:49) [GM]: The old woman is nowhere to be seen, though Micah and Miriana could swear they hear malicious cackling in the distance.
(17:48:14) Miriana: "She was here, but..." Miriana scowls. "Gone." She walks over to examine Viktor's body and see if he's still breathing.
(17:51:41) [GM]: Silence has fallen on the forest once more, and Viktor seems to be no longer for this world. For better or worse, it's over.
(17:53:19) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes a moment to inspect his neck for any problematic injuries, opting to save his divine powers for now, before turning to call out for their guide, "Ah think they're gone now!"
(17:57:30) [GM]: Viktor had been carrying sickle, staff, and several implements of druidic magic, as well as a sealed scroll and a few strange knicknacks of uncertain providence. In absence of anything that looks the part, perhaps the sick branch the crone absconded with was the talisman Emilia spoke of?
(17:59:15) [GM]: Said initiate hesitantly enters the church, her weasel hissing at the smell given off by the burned blight. She ascends the dais to approach the duo and gasps when she sees Viktor's body, clasping her hands in front of her mouth.
(18:00:15) Micah_Whiterune: "It was a quick one. He  never saw it coming."
(18:02:31) Miriana: Miriana nods somberly, shutting Viktor's eyes.
(18:06:33) [GM]: Emilia averts her eyes sadly and covers her face with her hands. "You fool... Godfried would've preffered his illness over this."
(18:07:16) Micah_Whiterune: "Have your order preferred  funeral rites or..." Micah leaves the offer of cremation open by implication.
(18:08:42) Miriana: Miriana's brow wrinkles in a frown at that. She gets up and heads to the basement stairs - though before descending them, she first passes a hand over her eyes, which momentarily glimmer with a red starlight.
(18:09:02) [GM]: "Yes, but... I don't know. They might consider him explulsed. I don't know."
(18:11:44) Micah_Whiterune: "I could go with my rites, but it takes a fair amount of time to cremate him properly. "
(18:12:49) [GM]: The basement is pitch-black and cool, appearing empty and ruined as the church above except for a stinking compost heap where several uprooted plants and some animals have been piled up. Perhaps a pile of retrieved things that turned out to be the wrong plant.
(18:16:03) Miriana: She's not entirely sure what she was expecting to find down here, but this seems dormant enough. She heads back up the stairs into the chapel, shaking her head at Micah. "No sign of the old woman or anything else."
(18:19:00) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes a peek himself, "No suspicious plants either, unless she  turned herself into compost."
(18:20:53) Miriana: "Good riddance if she has." Miriana sighs. "We can bring Viktor back to the order and see what they'll do for him. If they turn him away - well, I don't think they will." She chews her lip. "Godfried will probably want last rites for his brother."
(18:21:57) Micah_Whiterune: The work done, he inspects the corpse of the druid again, divesting it of weapons and spellcasting props in case it decided to wake up and try to murder him, "No problem by me, though..." He proceeds to dump the loot onto Miriana, "I got a dead body to carry then."
(18:24:03) Miriana: Miriana puts her hand on Emilia's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry about Viktor."
(18:27:33) [GM]: "Yes... I suppose so," Emilia says in a small voice. When Miriana squeeze's her shoulder, she leans on the half-elf's shoulder and weeps quietly. "Mister... Mister Alter lives on the outskirts. He'd know what to do. If we take Viktor to him, maybe..."
(18:29:20) Miriana: Miriana drops the things Micah's just handed her to give Emilia a hug. "We'll do just that, don't worry."
(18:30:02) [GM]: The girl sniffs. "Thank you."
(18:39:51) [GM]: "Mister Alter" lives, apparently, to the north of the outer city wall. The route there takes the group back to the main road heading north, then to a smaller but not outright abandoned road going west, following which they cross the Mahr again to the town's agrarian outskirts. Alter's place turns out to be a private house attached to a garden and orchard, which are fenced in by tall hedges.
(18:39:51) [GM]: The house's door is answered by a thin man of somewhat advanced age, greying hair and beard both worn long, the hair tied to one side and carried over his left shoulder. His bushy eyebrows go up with a "Hmm?" as he sees Emilia in company of two strangers, then furrow when his eyes fall on the covered body carried by Micah. "Hmm."
(18:41:22) Miriana: Miriana gives an awkward wave. "Good day. I'm sorry to intrude like this, but we're in need of some, uh, assistance."
(18:43:47) [GM]: "I see. I have a guess as to what, or who, might be under the cover. Would you like to come in?"
(18:44:21) Micah_Whiterune: "It would be nice."
(18:44:36) Miriana: Miriana nods. "Thank you very much."
(18:48:18) [GM]: The group is invited inside, and the guests offered a cup of wine each by a servant dressed in linen robes. Confirming Viktor's identity, Alter shakes his head grimly. "I shall communicate with the others. You were right to come to me. I'm sorry, Emilia." Emilia stares sadly into her wine and nods.
(18:50:20) [GM]: "As for you two, may I ask your names and your involvement?"
(18:51:47) Micah_Whiterune: "Micah Whiterune. Assisting the constables with the matter. Killed Viktor and a few of his nastier blights."
(18:52:22) Miriana: Miriana idly twists her cup back and forth in her hand. "Miriana Nemetz. I'm here with Micah."
(18:56:11) [GM]: "Ah. Hmm. I suppose the city couldn't let this go uncontested either, Hmm." Alter nods and strokes his beard. "My name is Alter Blumstein. We druids judge our own, but you've done a service to the community, certainly. I'm at something of a disadvantage... Hmm. Here, consider this a token of appreciation. In the name of the order."
(18:56:11) [GM]: Mister Alter leaves the room briefly and returns carrying something small in his hand, and places before Micah and Miriana a large, bright green leaf carefully folded and sewn into the shape of a pitcher the size of a chicken egg, a second, smaller leaf serving as a lid.
(18:59:41) Micah_Whiterune: Micah considers the offerings, "Very nice, but do you know anything of the crone who was working with him? She made off with his staff without a trace."
(19:00:57) [GM]: "A crone, you say, off with his staff? I don't suppose you mean the simple oak staff."
(19:02:17) Micah_Whiterune: "The focus for commanding the blights. You are, I believe, going to see more of those things."
(19:05:10) [GM]: Alter's next "Hmmm" betrays an order more of consternation. "I see. I have an inkling of who you speak of. Thank you for informing me, mister dwarf. We shall have to take action on that count."
(19:08:52) Miriana_: Miriana nods. "If I may ask, what will become of Viktor's body?"
(19:11:27) [GM]: "Hmm. Normally, our bodies are returned to the earth outside a city's confines. With Viktor's deeds, it is likely he will be posthumously excluded from the order and interred among the city's dead instead. It will be decided in council."
(19:13:15) Miriana_: "Perhaps it's not my place to say, but if you have any sway among them, I think his brother might be happier knowing he received the usual rites."
(19:15:13) [GM]: "Perhaps. I will see what I can do."
(19:17:19) Miriana_: "It's much appreciated." Miriana smiles slightly before taking a long, slow sip of the wine to avoid further scrutiny.
(19:20:13) Miriana_: "May I ask what this is, exactly?" She indicates the tiny pitcher.
(19:21:15) [GM]: "A favorite recipe of mine. It will grant the drinker energy and vigor. Alas, too shortlived to be of significant help to poor Godfried."
(19:25:21) Miriana_: "Very useful all the same, though. Thank you kindly."
(19:25:45) Micah_Whiterune: "Well, it probably would be helpful." Micah comments  without much feeling.
(19:26:04) [GM]: "I must thank you. May the old gods favor you."
(19:28:33) [GM]: That night, Miriana dreams of the brothers. She sees Viktor and Godfried as one, their hearts twisting with grief and bursting in a torrent of blood that streams across their chest like a grotesque flower, punctuated by the mad laughter of the crone.
(19:28:33) [GM]: In the morning, she finds a bookmark lain into her diary that was not there before. When she opens the little book, the sheet of paper drops out, and with it a dried flower. The flower is not of a species she knows to be native to the continent; it consists of small blossoms like a lilac, but finer and wine-red, and appears on the page not unlike rivulets of blood that have seeped into the paper.
(19:28:33) [GM]: The pages following the bookmark are scribbled with diagrams and instructions in a hand not her own.
(19:29:49) [GM]: Micah has the same dream as the day before, of figures huddled by a fire and lengthening shadows.
(19:42:08) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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The Crane's Aid
« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2016, 03:09:25 PM »
(16:05:55) [GM]: ----------
(16:06:03) [GM]: After bringing to justice the rogue druid Viktor, Miriana and Micah have resolved to learn more about the weeping bride flower he desired to heal his brother. Perhaps this secret elven medicine also holds the key to curing Camelia.
(16:06:27) [GM]: After preventing the theft of the delicate flower, though it was torn and damaged, they followed Viktor's trail to confront him in the ruins of a long-abandoned village. There they also saw an old woman that had seemingly manipulated Viktor into his madness, though she absconded with the stolen Gulthias staff while the battle raged, leaving no trace.
(16:06:36) [GM]: Some days have passed. Micah has dreamed of shadows cast by the city's light, while Miriana dreamed of blood and pain and woke up to find a foreign red flower and accounts of magic in her diary. A second summer rain has brought mild chill with it, and clouds still cover the sky, blocking the sun's light from the wanting earth.
(16:06:45) [GM]: During lunch, a strong, creamy pork stew accompanied by small, roasted cakes of sieved peas mixed with eggs, Mariya Blinsky approaches Micah and Miriana's table to consult with them. With a smile, she asks, "May I borrow some moments of your time?"
(16:08:13) MicahWhiterune: "Ya have it, madam."
(16:08:30) Miriana: "Of course. Please, sit." Miriana jumps up to fetch an unused chair from one of the other tables.
(16:14:40) [GM]: She sits down gratefully and watches Miriana and Micah eat another bite with no small pleasure before saying, "In truth, I've been wondering what to do about that flower. As it was a gift, it falls to me to use or not use it, yet I was ignorant of what it's apparently capable of. Thinking back, I believe the constable did hint at its nature when he offered it to me, but at the time I didn't understand."
(16:14:40) [GM]: She contemplates the handle of her cane. "If it truly has great healing powers, I wouldn't wish to withhold it, as I was accused of doing. Yet I'm entirely unqualified to do anything with it, or to decide who should benefit and who shouldn't. Since you are the ones who defended the flower, what do you think?"
(16:15:23) MicahWhiterune: "It's a plant. Could grow some more so that more people could use it?"
(16:18:22) [GM]: "I suppose so. It has been very slow to grow, from what I remember."
(16:19:31) Miriana: "It's also possible for it to be used as a poison, so in the hands of someone with ill intent, it would do more harm than good."
(16:20:51) [GM]: "There is also that." She nods gravely.
(16:22:27) Miriana: "Which I suppose doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be destroyed or something like that, but...well. I'm sure there's someone with the skill to use it and the sense to use it well, though."
(16:23:00) MicahWhiterune: "I'd say find some gardeners good with plants and trusted, and offer to trade it to them for cultivation for benefits. There was those druids."
(16:23:33) MicahWhiterune: "That way you could keep the use of it, while they grow it and protect  it."
(16:23:46) MicahWhiterune: "Just like renting someone yer forge space."
(16:26:49) [GM]: "Hm, indeed... elves, perhaps, would be most likely to know how to handle it?"
(16:27:11) MicahWhiterune: "They do know their way around handling wood."
(16:28:04) Miriana: Miriana nods, chasing one of the cakes around her plate with a fork. "If anyone does, they do."
(16:29:15) [GM]: "I suppose so, yes. Is something on your mind?"
(16:30:57) Miriana: Miriana starts. "Hmm? No, just...thinking about how rare this plant must be for someone to have gone to such lengths to steal it."
(16:32:49) [GM]: "Indeed. If you don't mind my asking, what do you two plan to do today?"
(16:36:07) Miriana: Miriana considers the scroll waiting back upstairs in her room, and the cryptic but tantalizing notes that recently appeared in her diary. "A little reading, maybe some shopping errands later in the afternoon," she offers, not untruthfully.
(16:36:40) MicahWhiterune: Micah frowns, "I'll be checking her homework."
(16:37:23) [GM]: Mariya chuckles, ignorant of Miriana's true meaning. "Then I shouldn't keep you. I hope the food and accomodations are fine."
(16:38:54) Miriana: "More than. They're most excellent, thank you." Miriana pops a cake into her mouth with some relish.
(16:39:15) MicahWhiterune: "Best I've seen aroun this town for sure"
(16:40:38) [GM]: Mariya's smile broadens as she stands and bows slightly. "Thank you very much. May your way be lit. ...Weather not withstanding."
(16:46:24) [GM]: Miriana and Micah's considerations for the day being reading and research, they have some options open. The scroll and her diary sit patiently in her room. As information on the flower is concerned, there is the constable who gifted Mariya with the flower in the first place. He conceivably has some responsibility in the case, but carries a reputation for being aloof and taking a long view.
(16:46:24) [GM]: They have learned of at least one apothecary working in the elven district, who is almost sure to know but owes them nothing.  The foreign students from the other day mentioned to Miriana the rarity that is a dawn elf student enrolled in the university, who might know something. There is Godfried's house, if they can bear to visit the dying man whose brother they brought to justice.
(17:04:26) Miriana: Miriana suggests to Micah visiting the elf constable before she gets some of her own work done, delicately avoiding giving the 'work' its proper name.
(17:05:17) MicahWhiterune: "Reasonable enough. Ah'll be watchin then." Micah gives Miriana a familiar stern look.
(17:06:29) Miriana: "You know that scroll's just for talking to animals, right? There's not a lot of harm to be done there." Miriana rolls her eyes.
(17:08:11) MicahWhiterune: "I'm sure they'll have somethin to say"
(17:09:40) Miriana: Miriana shakes her head and heads upstairs to gather her things before heading out.
(17:15:22) MicahWhiterune: Micah elects to wait at the door, having already gotten everything he was likely to need already.
(17:17:05) Miriana: Miriana pulls Micah along as they proceed toward the elven district, although she does insist they stop at the market on the way for her to buy some of the things she'll need.
(17:18:12) [GM]: The elven quarter occupies the northernmost tip of the island of Ostend, following the market street all the way west and then heading north. It is a marked contrast to the rest of the district, easy to confuse with a sparse forest at first glance. Most houses are of wood, not stone, and it is widely spaced, sparsely populated, and full of greenery in comparison.
(17:18:12) [GM]: Even more modest homes boast flowering window-boxes.
(17:23:11) [GM]: The current constable's office is a spacious single-story lodge sitting near the district's border. Though not all the district's inhabitants are elves, likely the greatest number of humans and dwarves in the district works here. Compared to the Fair Constable, which would have looked stately and respectable in its time as the constable's manor, the lodge gives off an air of tranquility and quiet, unassuming efficiency. Where the former townhouse is nestled between other houses, the lodge sits apart.
(17:23:36) [GM]: the former townhouse is nestled between other houses, the lodge sits apart.
(17:26:43) Miriana_: Miriana heads up and knocks on the door without delay.
(17:35:00) [GM]: The door is opened by a studious-looking human clerk still wearing eye-glasses, who dutifully takes Miriana and Micah's business and, recognizing who they are, lets them in. "The constable is taking a visit right now, but go ahead, please. Down this way."
(17:35:07) [GM]: Following the indicated hallways, tastefully decorated with flowers and paintings, mainly of natural landscapes but including a cityscape and map of Livest, brings them to the constable's office, which a tall woman is currently leaving in a none-too-great mood.
(17:35:07) [GM]: She politely closes the door and then raises hands with extended index and middle fingers to her own, pointed, ears, as if to mimic the long ears of an elf - or a donkey. "Stubborn ass," she hisses at the closed door. It is at this point that she notices the pair approaching in the hallway.
(17:35:51) Miriana_: Miriana politely pretends to be inspecting one of the paintings.
(17:51:01) MicahWhiterune: Micah gives the woman a considering look, but doesn't give the remark any mind.  The constable is an elf, ergo, he's a stubborn ass.
(17:51:09) [GM]: After a moment of awkward silence, the lady regains her bearing and stands straight. "Ah, excuse me. That was unbecoming." Indeed it was, for she carries a sheathed sword and bears on her chest, below a an apparently live red poppy, a brooch depicting a crane in flight: a symbol showing her allegiance to the Crane Knights, an unorthodox order of paladins known for promoting art and beauty.
(17:51:09) [GM]: Recovering the presumed knight smiles. "Here to meet the constable, then?"
(17:52:49) MicahWhiterune: "Indeed. He is in?" Micah  presents his best face, not one to  insult their would-be host openly.
(17:53:30) Miriana_: "We were hoping to have a few questions answered, but it sounds like he might not be in the best of moods...?" Miriana trails off curiously.
(17:56:29) [GM]: "Oh, he is. His mood... well, it's more that he is far more patient than most people he speaks to. Including me. I prefer due haste, myself."
(17:58:01) [GM]: "What's the business, anyway? Pure curiosity."
(18:00:00) Miriana_: "Break-in at our lodgings. The thing they were after was apparently a gift from the constable, so we were hoping he could shed some light on the matter."
(18:02:15) [GM]: "Oh! The story at the old constable's manor? A dwarf and a half-elf, are you the two who thwarted that issue, then? Gossip spreads."
(18:04:32) MicahWhiterune: "A little bit. That dog was mean."
(18:04:44) Miriana_: "Ah, so it does! I suppose that was us, yes." Miriana smiles sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I haven't asked your name yet!"
(18:06:41) [GM]: She laughs at Micah's remark, then steps forward with a smile and offers her hand. "Margaretha, Knight-Lieutenant of the Crane's Oath. Margaretha is fine."
(18:09:12) Miriana_: "Miriana," she offers, shaking the lieutenant's hand. "A pleasure! If I may ask, what brings you here?"
(18:14:57) [GM]: The smile disappears from Margaretha's face. "Serious business, unfortunately. There are two matters I've been trying to pressure the city to take immediate action on. Unfortunately, this sort of thing takes time. We Crane Knights could act immediately, but strictly speaking, we're a foreign armed force. We can't just enter the city as we wish."
(18:14:57) [GM]: The lieutenant considers, then a touch of her smile returns and she gestures at the door to the constable's office. "Perhaps we can help each other."
(18:16:34) MicahWhiterune: "That depends on what kind of help is needed, right?"
(18:19:36) Miriana_: "After all, we don't exactly have jurisdiction here."
(18:23:40) [GM]: "I'm sure the constable appreciates what you did at that inn, and I know him already. He often dislikes sharing information freely, but I believe I could help you ask him whatever it is you need. On the other side of the coin, I've just had the idea of hiring brave individuals to work in a timeframe we can't. Whether you, specifically, are interested is up to you."
(18:29:48) MicahWhiterune: "Can't agree without knowing the job."
(18:33:01) [GM]: "Ah, of course. First: We believe a monster's nesting in the inner city's sewers. Specifically, there's been reports of infernal stench, far worse than what's normal. Snakes are crawling out. And dead rats and similar have started turning up which seem to be sculpted from stone."
(18:34:55) Miriana_: Miriana frowns deeply. "Not many artists out there who sculpt carrion."
(18:37:02) Miriana_: "It rather sounds like the inner city has a basilisk problem. There haven't been any disappearances around there, by chance?"
(18:39:09) [GM]: "Yes. None yet, that I've learned of, which is a big reason I'm desperate for haste. It will only get worse the longer it's left. I'Ve even heard tales that a basilisk powerful enough might turn into a dragon."
(18:39:57) [GM]: "This is a recent problem, so I doubt that will be a consideration for some time, but still."
(18:40:36) MicahWhiterune: "Tunnels are fine, but sewers..."
(18:41:12) Miriana_: "You've stepped in worse, probably. Those boots have seen better days."
(18:42:29) MicahWhiterune: "Stepped in is fine. That's what boots are for. Splashed in, or worse, if there is sudden rain surges."
(18:43:34) [GM]: "I have to stress that even if you refuse, this isn't information that should be shared freely. No good comes of letting it sit, but no good comes of causing panic among the populace either."
(18:44:05) MicahWhiterune: "And compensation?"
(18:44:30) [GM]: "That goes double for my second and more delicate problem: We suspect there's a diabolic cult operating in the city. Worshipping the fallen stars."
(18:50:38) [GM]: "As compensation goes: Name your prize. We are generous. I'll be honest, this is dangerous work. If I could, I'd march down there myself with a platoon. But a troop of knights entering Livest without permission are invaders. Concerned citizens or visitors who rise to the occasion are heroes."
(18:57:22) MicahWhiterune: Micah looks to Miriana for her opinion for a moment.
(19:00:15) Miriana_: Miriana looks pensive. "I certainly wouldn't want to let that go unchecked...and I'll admit, anything that could help us get a little more information out of the constable is very tempting."
(19:00:41) Miriana_: "...to hell with it, I'm game if you are."
(19:01:35) MicahWhiterune: "Then its agreed then. Proper compensation after we deal with the plague upon the city. May Mya give fair measure."
(19:09:26) [GM]: Margaretha of the Crane Knights grins. "And the light shine on your efforts. You are doing good." She insists on shaking both their hands again. "Now, shall we press what it is you need out of the good constable?"
(19:10:23) MicahWhiterune: "Gladly."
(19:11:04) Miriana_: Miriana beams.
(19:15:35) [GM]: Margaretha knocks on the door and then opens it as soon as the response comes. "Dear constable, more visits for you." "Hmm?" The man that looks up from a sheet of parchment at that, as elves are wont to, looks ageless, yet is likely older than the three of them put together. His hair, unusually, is kept short, and his dress carries elegance in simplicity, with no jewelry but a signet ring to show his rank.
(19:15:35) [GM]: "How may I help you, then?" He asks, arching an eyebrow at Margaretha with an inscrutable expression.
(19:19:14) Miriana_: Miriana inclines her head politely. "Miriana Nemetz. I'd hoped you could help clear up some questions about the break-in at the old constable's manor."
(19:22:29) [GM]: "Ah, that business. Yes, I owe you thanks for your service back then. Miss Nemetz and mister... Whiterune, I believe. I am Thamior Nowak, Constable of Ostend. What would you like to know?"
(19:26:54) Miriana_: "The culprit was after something you gifted the owner. A flower called the weeping bride?"
(19:29:04) [GM]: "Indeed. I stayed at the inn for some time when I became constable, before this building was finished, and gave the flower as a guest's present for her outstanding hospitality. Tragic that it ended up bringing hostile attention."
(19:30:43) Miriana_: "Not, perhaps, entirely unexpected given how rare it is. Prized for both its healing and poisonous qualities, I believe?"
(19:31:52) [GM]: "Hm. Yes." Margaretha interjects here. "As I recall, you happen to be acquainted with a herbalist in the district, yes?" "Hmm. Yes."
(19:34:12) Miriana_: "Anything you might know, or anyone to whom you could point us would be a great help. She'd quite like to prevent such a thing happening again, without disposing of it irresponsibly."
(19:38:04) [GM]: "Ah. I suppose I carry responsibility, as well." Constable Nowak deliberates for some time. "Well, certainly, if the good madam Blinsky wishes to make use of the flower, the safest person to contact would be an elven apothecary. As Dame Margaretha mentions, I am acquainted with one. I would be happy to refer you to her."
(19:40:41) Miriana_: "That would be much appreciated, but...do you happen to know more of its curative properties? The culprit allegedly wanted it to help his brother, whose illness resisted more conventional methods." Miriana locks her fingers together, mimicking the constable's patient demeanor.
(19:43:10) [GM]: The elf speaks slowly, conservatively. "Certain things are part of the profession's lore, and I am no expert myself..." "Don't sell yourself short, dear constable. You might not be in the profession, but I know you're at the minimum a knowledgeable layman." "Hmm."
(19:44:06) [GM]: "Besides, these two have certainly proven themselves worthy of trust, no?"
(19:46:09) Miriana_: "Someone as sensible as yourself wouldn't have made an irresponsible gift, I have no doubt. Anything you know would be quite helpful." Miriana speaks earnestly.
(19:48:44) [GM]: The constable steeples and flexes his fingers in silence, standing still like a statue as he regards Miriana, and then Micah. "The medicine in question is called Keoghtom's ointment, and is a theriac made from dozens of ingredients, in truth. May I ask why you seek this knowledge? Do you wish to help the brother in question?"
(19:53:06) Miriana_: Miriana looks away. "If his suffering is great enough to justify theft and assault, it must be serious indeed. I know something about having an ill sibling, at least."
(19:55:12) [GM]: The constable nods. "I see. The ointment is, as I said, a theriac. A beast that hunts beasts, metaphorically, or a poison to kill poison. Hence why the poisonous petals are included, and many other normally dangerous substances in minute amounts. The flower's nectar is the key to reversing the menagerie of poison and illness into a panacea."
(19:55:12) [GM]: Miriana's hope sinks as she realizes this means the ointment likely cannot cure Camelia by itself, as no illness or poison could be conjectured to cause her suffering. Perhaps the principle can be applied, and the recipe modified. But how would one add the ravages of time itself to a tonic?
(19:58:42) Miriana_: "I see," she repeats, fingernails digging into her palm briefly. "I certainly understand why it would be dangerous to attempt mixing it."
(20:00:36) [GM]: "Indeed. It is expensive, time-consuming, and not a trivial matter, besides requiring a very rare plant. Hence, why it is preferred to keep it secret altogether than disseminate it uselessly and irresponsibly."
(20:03:21) MicahWhiterune is now known as veekie
(20:04:31) Miriana_: "Well, at least for now the issue is settled, although I'm not certain what madam Blinsky will want done with the plant. You mentioned an apothecary of your acquaintance who might be of help there?"
(20:05:12) [GM]: "Yes, indeed. I can have the address and a letter written up for you."
(20:05:55) Miriana_: "That would be very kind, sir."
(20:06:52) [GM]: The constable simply nods.
(20:07:15) [GM]: And so, Miriana and Micah begin preparations to encounter the king of serpents.
(20:08:02) [GM]: ----------
« Last Edit: December 30, 2016, 07:04:49 AM by Agita »
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The King of Serpents, Part 1
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2016, 03:32:46 PM »
(16:12:02) [GM]: ----------
(16:12:09) [GM]: A festering evil lurks in the sewers of Livest, and Micah and Miriana have agreed to slay it.
(16:12:16) [GM]: In seeking out Thamior Nowak the constable to learn more about the weeping bride's properties, they learned of the nature of Keohtom's ointment, the theriac which can be made from it; though it likely cannot help Camelia by itself, perhaps the working principle could be adapted. They met also Margaretha of the Crane Knights, who confided in them two crises and asked for their help.
(16:12:40) [GM]: The mythical basilisk is a monster that rarely appears, but it must have hatched somewhere. As king of serpents, it will gather snakes and reptilians about it, many species of which are to be found around Livest, several of them poisonous. A mirror may turn its petrifying gaze back on the monster, and its remains are said to have great value.
(16:12:48) [GM]: The weather is cold for the season, and clouds cover the sky as if the city were hiding its shame from the gods. Going to meet the basilisk unprepared is dangerous, but so is tarrying, for the kingdom of serpents grows in ignorance. What will Miriana and Micah do?
(16:18:25) MicahWhiterune: Micah, on his part, goes to acquire a portable forging set. He had spent far too long without the tools of his trade, having  left in somewhat of a hurry. This, along with some rivets,a few small steel ingots and a tiny lump of silver, would do to help deal with the basilisk.
(16:20:12) Miriana: Miriana uses this as an excuse to break off from her companion and go through the market street, picking up the inks she was looking for along with a small brazier and some particular herbs to burn.
(16:30:22) Miriana: While Micah is off forging, Miriana carries her new purchases back to her room, where she spends a few hours meticulously transcribing Viktor's scroll into the odd notation used by her book. Afterwards, she puts her pack together and lugs the brazier out to somewhere secluded in the woods, the better to perform her next ritual alone.
(16:30:51) MicahWhiterune: Micah then sets to work, pounding the bright orange ingot of steel flat , shifting and cursing slightly(followed by apologies to Mya for the swearing), to deal with the smaller than accustomed forge, as he converted  the metal to a  thin sheet, with simple hooks as clips for his shield.
(16:32:57) MicahWhiterune: Then he set to it with a scouring stone, grinding away the imperfections of the hammer blows, reducing the rough steel to a dull gleam, before much  more carefully, heating the shield to a dull red and then rolling the silver over it, letting the brighter  metal bond to the steel without wastage, and then a final sanding, to take it to a gleam.
(16:50:03) [GM]: The entrance from which the basilisk's stench was first reported and is still strongest, overlaying the smell of refuse, is a grated exit where filth water flows out into the river Mahr, east of the inner city on the southern shore, near where a tributary enters the Mahr.
(16:50:03) [GM]: Micah arrives carrying his quickly mirrored shield, while Miriana has a pitch-black cat with vivid red tufts of fur at its ears' tips in tow. Her new companion expresses immediate displeasure at the destination, hanging on to the half-elf and refusing to go near the water.
(16:51:10) [GM]: With some trying, it turns out that the masonry holding the grate has been damaged in places so that the grate almost swings outwards like a door on hinges. This is unlikely to be an intended feature of construction. As the duo ponder this, many irregular shapes drift by in the water coming out. Among them, a large, soft clump of drab grey and white bumps against Micah's leg.
(16:57:25) veekie: Micah prods it  with his hammer, preoccupied with the odd masonry.
(16:58:36) Miriana: "What's this now?" Miriana shifts the cat a little higher up in her arms, peering closely.
(16:59:05) [GM]: The odd lump separates with little resistance, drifting lightly on the water. It is a clump of many of the same white shapes drifting out of the sewer that got caught on each other - eggs, on closer inspection. Hatched snake eggs. Dozens of them.
(16:59:57) MicahWhiterune: "Mya, your fire cleanse this bane upon the land!" Divine flame lances into the cluster.
(17:00:34) Miriana: Miriana leans back very quickly before her nose gets singed off. "Hey! A little warning, please!"
(17:01:01) [GM]: The discarded eggs burn easily int he water, giving off a sickly light.
(17:03:10) MicahWhiterune: "Not chancing  those getting out. There must be more. Urgh."
(17:03:43) MicahWhiterune: "Someone's been coming down here often enough to hack some holes into the walls."
(17:04:08) Miriana: "They tend to gather reptiles around them, so...pretty likely, yes." Miriana squints at the grating. "This was intentional?"
(17:04:48) MicahWhiterune: "Stone doesn't  rot into ugly hinges like that on it's own."
(17:05:42) Miriana: "Someone really wanted secrecy, then."
(17:07:16) MicahWhiterune: "Keep going and keep your eyes peeled."
(17:08:11) Miriana: "Well...ah, fine." Miriana hesitates, then squeezes through the opening and into the sewer.
(17:09:18) MicahWhiterune: Micah trudges onwards glumly.
(17:12:55) Miriana: Miriana sets the cat down on a dry patch of stone and gives it a little mental nudge. <Go walk a little ways ahead of us, dear, and keep an eye out. I'll clean you up after.>
(17:14:23) [GM]: The sewer canal is narrow and low - Micah can walk upright, but Miriana must crouch. The already poor daylight from outside fades to near nothing as go deeper, leaving them in a world of black and white. Mercifully, the canal eventually leads into a larger tunnel where Miriana can walk upright an. The cat mentally emotes pure glumness and fastidiously avoids the filthy water while traipsing ahead.
(17:22:57) [GM]: Some time passes in silence but for the flow of water, slowly and carefuly moving forward while looking and listening for danger. The basilisk's smell wafts down the tunnel allk the while, a difficult to place reek that overlays the smell of excretion with death and blood.
(17:22:57) [GM]: Spent egg shells still drift by in great numbers, but the creatures that left them are nowhere to be seen - until the group finds themselves near an intersection of this tunnel into another, and Micah feels resistance against his legs.
(17:23:33) [GM]: There writhe masses of snakes, unseen until now in the colorless darkness, their thin bodies hidden by the water.
(17:25:28) [GM]: The swarm of snakes hisses angrily as one beast with a hundred voices, writhin around Micah's legs.
(17:25:49) MicahWhiterune: "Oh for Mya's sake..."
(17:33:32) [GM]: Many small mouths find their way past his armor and through the clothing beneath, stinging him with a thousand pinpricks. Poison enters his blood, but is barely felt.
(17:34:58) Miriana: Miriana draws her wand at about the same time that the cat bolts away from the snakes, even before her mental prompting. She hesitates briefly before blasting at the thick mass of serpents between his feet.
(17:37:33) [GM]: A spear of pale light shoots from Miriana's wand and hits the water with a loud splash, but between aiming to avoid hitting Micah and the difficulty of distinguishing the snakes from the water they writhe in, her shot hits only refuse.
(17:39:26) [GM]: The snakes begin creeping up Micah's body to cover his waist, biting where they find purchase, but purchase is scarce on his armor.
(17:40:34) MicahWhiterune: Micah swats and kicks off the serpents as he raises his hammer high, causing divine  radiance  to pierce all around him, "Mya burn these impurities away from the earth!"
(17:41:53) [GM]: The evil-minded beasts seem to almost feel the holy light coming, and swiftly drop off his body or slither away from the flames only to resume their attack immediately after they fade.
(17:43:14) MicahWhiterune: Micah stares at the unholy beasts, appalled.
(17:43:54) Miriana: Miriana hesitates, then sketches a symbol in midair with the tip of her wand to curse the creatures before jabbing her wand through its center and hurling another jet of light at the thickest mass.
(17:47:22) [GM]: Her shot this time is on point, illuminating the darkness with a spray of gore and scarlet fire as Micah's side is temporarily freed from the beasts. Even still, the others swarm to fill the opening and crawl towards his neck and face.
(17:50:37) MicahWhiterune: Micah just keeps tossing them off before they so much as strike a spark. "As the flames of the forge cleanse the metal of impurities, so too do they cleanse this serpents from thy servant!" Another flare blazes out.
(17:53:32) [GM]: Again, the snakes drop off Micah and crawl away from the light, though this time they hesitate to attack him again, writhing uncertainly at his feet.
(17:54:32) Miriana: Miriana squints down the length of the wand, bringing it down in a slashing arc this time to blast a thick knot of snakes away from where they're regrouping at Micah's feet.
(17:58:28) [GM]: The renewed blast cuts into the mass of snakes and water, killing many and spreading their remains over the walls. The remainder of the swarm hesitates for a moment - then drops away from the near unassailable Micah and flows like a stream towards Miriana, following the afterimage of her wand's light..
(18:01:41) MicahWhiterune: Micah swats at them as they pass.
(18:02:21) [GM]: The snakes avoid his swing like splashing water, and are on Miriana in an eyeblink, crawling and biting at her legs.
(18:03:10) Miriana: Miriana hops in place, doing an ungainly dance that incorporates a lot of stomping.
(18:04:11) MicahWhiterune: "Begone, foul creatures, and in Mya's name stop dodging!"
(18:06:02) [GM]: This time, the snakes are less swift to react, and several crawling up Miriana's clothes and trying to find skin are incinerated.
(18:07:15) Miriana: "Again! Warning!" Miriana grits her teeth as she send a streak of white light haphazardly into the water at her own feet.
(18:09:29) [GM]: The snakes' assault throws her aim off into a splash of water. At last, several snakes find her sleeves as she gesticulates to cast and throw them off, and she feels teeth like needles sinking into her wrists.
(18:15:36) MicahWhiterune: "Oh no you don't! From the darkness you come, to the darkness you return. All life is Mya's gift, and this I revoke!" Micah raises the now black shield and sweeps it through the cluster of serpents.
(18:20:10) Miriana: Miriana waits until the snakes scatter from the shield before snapping her wand down vigorously, tearing a stray snake loose from its grasp on her wrist as she hurls more witchlight into the stinging mass.
(18:23:02) [GM]: Once again her aim is off and the snakes move around the blast like water. Distant concern and a suggestion to cut losses and leave echo in Miriana's mind from the cat she summoned just earlier today.
(18:23:37) [GM]: The snakes, meanwhile, show no intention of letting up, and continue their advance towards Miriana's throat even as she continues shaking them off.
(18:25:17) [GM]: And amid her struggles, several finally reach it. What feels like a thousand fangs sink into her throat, and poison burns in her veins.
(18:28:02) MicahWhiterune: "The light of life blazes eternal!" Micah lashes forth with twinned scarlet and crimson light at Miriana's position.
(18:29:46) [GM]: The snakes momentarily flee the light once again, leaving Miriana some room to get back up as Micah's healing word closes the wounds on her neck.
(18:32:21) Miriana: Miriana lashes out with the wand to buy herself a little breathing room as she clambers to her feet, light whip-cracking out at the snakes.
(18:35:39) [GM]: Snakes drop off Miriana as she rises again unexpectedly. The beasts, uncomprehending, attempt to retake their prey in a frenzy.
(18:38:13) MicahWhiterune: "Light of Life, Hope of Salvation. Deliver us from these foul serpents!"
(18:40:51) [GM]: Once more, Miriana feels poisonous bites, followed by Micah's magic keeping her on her feet, somehow.
(18:40:59) Miriana: Miriana, through a haze of poison and pain, wills the cat to come back and distract the snakes for Micah. Somehow having managed to hang on to her wand, she casts another spell at the hateful things.
(18:44:47) Miriana: With the curse she placed renewed and the arrival of something furry to grab their attention, she fires one more, last-ditch spear of light.
(18:46:12) [GM]: With an emotion of resignation at the back of Miriana's mind, a black shape darts out of the darkness to land on her and pull enough snakes off her arm and shoulders to let her aim properly for just a second.
(18:48:32) [GM]: The otherworldly cat drops off Miriana with several snakes in tow, and confused by the sudden interruption, what little remains of the swarm falls upon the intruder.
(18:51:40) MicahWhiterune: "Mya light this noble beast's sacrifice!"
(18:56:09) [GM]: Mya's fire lights the cat's body as the remaining snakes coil around it, and they go up in smokeless light, no more to poison this world. Darkness and silence returns to the sewer.
(18:58:37) Miriana: Miriana pants, rubbing at her throat where the fang wounds are only partially closed up from Micah's healing. "Oh....poor thing. I'll bring you right back once we get out of here," she frets.
(19:01:16) MicahWhiterune: Micah looks tiredly at  the mess, laying hands on Miriana, "Mya scour this poison from her wounds."
(19:07:41) [GM]: Nowhere to go but forward or back up in defeat, the tunnel ahead leads into another larger one yet, this one allowing for both to stand straight and walk on either side of the water, rather than wade through the city's waste.
(19:10:56) Miriana: Miriana sighs in relief before glancing back up the tunnel. "That was a mess."
(19:11:21) MicahWhiterune: Micah peers further into the darkness, "Think we should back up a bit and get everything in order. Too big a gamble to press on in this state? That poor cat."
(19:12:23) Miriana: "I wouldn't say no. I don't think Margaretha would begrudge us an extra day to lick our wounds, considering all this."
(19:16:31) MicahWhiterune: "Only reasonable enough. And I'm going to buy some oil."
(19:18:40) Miriana: "...oh dear."
(19:20:08) MicahWhiterune: "Lets go. Next time they won't be able to dodge."
(19:22:17) [GM]: Weakened and beaten, the two heroes of Ostend retreat from the sewers to return with new resolve and new preparation. The serpent king's court may be growing, but at least they killed many snakes. Their beds at the inn sound more inviting than they have since arriving in Livest.
(19:23:18) [GM]: It is afternoon, but still the sky is overcast.
(19:25:26) Miriana: Miriana goes, once again, back to market to buy fresh herbs and charcoal for her ritual - though not before she magically wipes away all the grime and blood from the sewer excursion and seals up the punctures and tears in her outfit with a touch.
(19:27:06) MicahWhiterune: Micah, before splitting up, prods her to do the same for him. Witchcraft can be surprisingly convenient.
(19:29:55) MicahWhiterune: He then heads for the fuel parts of  the market, aiming to buy several large skins of oil, lime, and charcoal, as he simultaneously attempts to stick the bill on their employer.
(19:33:21) Miriana: Upon reflection, Miriana stops by the fishmonger on her way out to the secluded spot she found earlier and buys a fish to offer to the creature by way of apology.
(19:37:04) [GM]: As Miriana and Micah return to Ostend to make their purchases, Micah finds merchants willing to sell on credit so long as they know they can send the bill to the Fair Constable should the Crane Knights reject it. Miriana's as yet nameless familiar fills the back of her head with glum, wordless thoughts as it tears into the offering.
(19:37:52) [GM]: When they return to the inn to regroup and consider their steps tomorrow, the innkeep Mariya is present to greet them with a warm smile and warm supper.
(19:39:28) MicahWhiterune: Micah, after some consideration, leaves his purchases secured outside. Bringing that much oil and coal chunks inside is asking for trouble when the surroundings aren't damp rock.
(19:47:31) [GM]: With a victory by the breadth of a hair, Micah and Miriana retreat to lick their wounds and rest. Night falls as if pressing into the opening of their retreat, and the basilisk yet lurks beneath.
(19:47:36) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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The King of Serpents, Part 2
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2017, 05:50:43 PM »
(16:19:01) [GM]: A festering evil lurks in the sewers of Livest, and Micah and Miriana have agreed to slay it.
(16:19:07) [GM]: In seeking out Thamior Nowak the constable to learn more about the weeping bride's properties, they met also Margaretha of the Crane Knights, who told them of the basilisk lurking beneath the city. On their first expedition, they were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by a massive nest of poisonous snakes. Though they did manage to eradicate the beasts, they were forced to retreat, recover, and resupply.
(16:19:30) [GM]: The weather has, if anything, gotten worse overnight, and the morning clouds threaten rain, the sun unseen somewhere beyond them. The day begins with a small commotion in the district of Ostend. It seems that in the early morning, the day's first fishers caught and killed a snake in the river.
(16:19:39) [GM]: River snakes are rare enough, but what made this beast the immediate talk of the town was its unusual size, as long as one of the fishers, and its possession of two strange, vestigial legs.
(16:19:49) [GM]: Surely, the basilisk does not sleep, but the past day still sits sore in Miriana and Micah's bones. What will they do?
(16:22:05) MicahWhiterune: Micah knows very well what he does, for the  bulging sack of fuel is soon divided into smaller bulging sacks of fuel, for when some serpents need to be reforged into more useful ashes.
(16:23:47) Miriana: Miriana's preparations aren't so volatile, but she does make a point of acquiring a sturdy yew walking stick, the memory of what felt like scores of missed curses still fresh in her head.
(16:30:03) MicahWhiterune: Finally, Micah acquires a torch, the better to light fires with, and  to draw attacks onto  himself than Miriana.
(16:37:10) [GM]: Later in the day, the clouds have made good on their promise of rain. As if to wash away the filth of mortal souls, water pours on the streets and roofs of Livest. When Micah and Miriana once again arrive at their entrance to the sewers in the late afternoon, they find the flow of water has intensified , and so has the stench. Both the smell of waste and the basilisk's foreign reeks seem stronger under the rain.
(16:38:21) MicahWhiterune: "I look forward to burning all of this shit."
(16:38:47) Miriana: Miriana trudges glumly along, hood pulled up over her head. "Not much will burn in this weather."
(16:39:37) [GM]: Discarded eggs still float downstream, but they seem fewer in number than yesterday. Several among them, however, are of worrying size once identified as single eggs and not clusters thereof.
(16:39:56) MicahWhiterune: "Oh Mya. More of those."
(16:40:58) Miriana: "I was hoping a day or so wouldn't be such a long time to wait...ugh."
(16:41:58) [GM]: Retracing their steps from yesterday proves easy enough, as the canal they followed only branched near where they found the nest of snakes. After exploring the vicinity of their run-in, thankfully bereft of snakes this time, they find a large gathering of shapes in the darkness, near a T-intersection.
(16:42:38) [GM]: The shapes turn out to be objects of art, lining the tunnel in no small number on both sides, going either way perpendicular to the canal they came from. Without exception, they appear beautiful and valuable, art that lifts the spirit, but they lie discarded in the damp sewer. Statues are covered in mold and refuse, paintings rotten, metal objects tarnished. Some appear to have been deliberately defaced.
(16:43:00) [GM]: Among the collection, however, are a select few pristine pieces. They appear new, and beautiful even in this dismal resting place. Writing on the wall catches Micah and Miriana's attention, just before the grotesque gallery. It is a poem carved into the masonry as if by a knife on wood, irregular letters spelling out,
(16:43:00) [GM]: "Odious beauty, odious hope/Hope and beauty are the toll/Be it yours or be it theirs"
(16:43:00) [GM]: Beneath it, in the same hand, is carved, "The Turtlebacks' toll."
(16:45:12) MicahWhiterune: "Who are these Turtlebacks and why didn''t they get eaten by snakes?"
(16:45:58) Miriana: "What's all this? 'Hope and beauty'...? It sounds like someone wants us to bring art in order to pass."
(16:50:47) MicahWhiterune: Micah pokes at the metalwork, "Depends on their standards then."
(16:53:57) [GM]: On a quick look around, the statues appear to be just statues; they pose in ways that are to be expected of fine art, where poses are still recognizable. All of the pieces gathered down here must have once been fine indeed; a small fortune is rotting in oblivion. Those pieces that have been defaced seem to have been treated in the most deliberately cruel manner; beautiful
(16:53:57) [GM]: faces and forms slashed, smiles crudely redrawn into snarls, filigree brutally smashed.
(16:54:36) [GM]: Among all them, those few pristine ones stand out like beacons, two one way and one the other.
(16:55:46) Miriana: "Someone's been down here recently. Leaving new offerings for these people to wreck, it seems..."
(16:56:41) MicahWhiterune: "Criminal waste of good craftsmanship." Micah nudges the ones in better condition to consider how portable they might be.
(16:57:58) Miriana: Miriana glances up and down the tunnel, a little nervously. "Someone thought it was wiser than risking the alternative, at least."
(16:59:32) [GM]: One of them is a beautiful marble statue of a man in motion, poised to turn around and face some unseen entity, likely to be too unwieldy to take home. The others are a painting of a happy wedding scene and an intricate armillary sphere of metal and colored glass, as much art as instrument. As he inspects the closest one, the painting, however, Micah suddenly hears a wild, malicious hiss very nearby.
(17:00:20) MicahWhiterune: Micah swivels his mirror shield to face it as he grabs for one of the firebags.
(17:03:19) [GM]: The hiss came from right in front of him, and his reflexive raising of the shield stops a sudden stream of acid from hitting his face, much of it splashing off his shield. Some stray liquid splashes past, hitting the skin of his brow and arms to produce smoke and a sensation like burning coals on his skin.
(17:03:48) [GM]: Was it just his imagination, or did the happy wedding scene on the painting seem to twist into rage and snarls for a split second?
(17:07:03) MicahWhiterune: "What shot THAT? Stung a bit." Micah juggles the bag of incendiary as he exchanges a glance with Miriana.
(17:07:36) Miriana: Miriana looks around warily. "Did you touch anything? Maybe they're rigged up to traps..."
(17:08:13) MicahWhiterune: "Painting went ugly for a moment."
(17:09:46) Miriana: "Probably not a trap, then. I wonder if that happens if we try to pass without leaving any art..."
(17:11:13) MicahWhiterune: "Well, it's either set it on fire or..." He walks over and tips the painting over with his shield facing downwards.
(17:12:56) Miriana: "Well, mm. I don't know where we'd get anything this fancy on short notice."
(17:14:31) [GM]: The painting tips and falls over face first, its wooden frame banging against the stone floor inches from the water canal flowing in the middle of the tunnel. Nothing seems to happen.
(17:14:48) [GM]: As Miriana and Micah ponder the eerie collection, the stench in the background intensifies gradually, and rapid splashes, scratching and rasping come down the left-hand path, the one with the intact painting and statue.
(17:17:37) MicahWhiterune: Micah interposes himself between the noise and Miriana, then approaches, having left the sack of oil on the floor near the painting earlier and drawn his hammer.
(17:17:47) Miriana: Miriana glances down at Micah. "Um. We could run...?"
(17:19:12) [GM]: And then, loud, raspy breathing, far down the same direction. Red points like glowing embers appear in the distance, moving erratically, as Micah approaches, past the painting, when he hears another sudden hiss right in his vicinity!
(17:19:38) MicahWhiterune: Micah pivots his shield towards the noise again, "Next time we come down the walls would be snakes"
(17:21:28) [GM]: Acid again splashes against his shield. This time, the hiss and stream seemed to come from the other wall, and he finds his shield facing the intact statue, looking into the space above his head with an expression of steady determination.
(17:24:24) [GM]: Miriana, having been looking down the tunnel, caught a glimpse of the youth's expression twisted into craven brutality for a fraction of a heartbeat as a stream of acid materialized out of thin air and shot towards Micah's face from the statue.
(17:24:33) [GM]: The distant embers seem to approach in the darkness as the breathing continues, and a soft, unpleasantly warm and wet cloud of overwhelming stench hits Micah and soon after Miriana.
(17:25:37) Miriana: "This seems like the time to r-!" is all she manages to get out before the stench hits and she gags horribly.
(17:27:25) [GM]: As the distant embers approach, they resolve in the duo's vision as strange hybrids of snake, lizard, and glowing coal, elongated beasts the thickness and length of Miriana's arms, crawling on four oddly-placed and malformed freet, patches of their hides glowing red. Still the breathing and scratching continues, and it does not seem to come from them.
(17:29:04) [GM]: Their strange appendages and misplaced forms remind of the story Micah and Miriana heard that morning about the strangely mutated snake caught by fishers.
(17:30:03) MicahWhiterune: Micah faces the creatures, "Miri, if ya can't aim, just set the packet on fire and throw it in their general direction"
(17:30:27) Miriana: "With what?" she chokes, but she reluctantly stands her ground well behind Micah.
(17:32:12) MicahWhiterune: "Just yank the tinderbox, it's sticking out of my pack."
(17:36:00) [GM]: For several eternal heartbeats, Micah and Miriana feel a baleful stare upon them, and imagine they can see the beast's eye down the canal where the sound of breathing comes from. But after those moments, the sound of breathing, scratching, and splashing steps resume and draw farther away.
(17:36:00) [GM]: The two glowing serpents, however, hiss and crawl along the floor of the tunnel on either side of the filth water. Steam rises with a hiss where their legs touch water, and they stop several paces from Micah and belch gobs of fire at the dwarf in unison, briefly lighting the tunnel and giving the duo a glimpse of mismatched feathers and scales in the distance.
(17:38:44) [GM]: <MicahWhiterune> "Or, ya know, them bastards are already on fire..."
(17:41:00) [GM]: One of the globs splashes harmlessly against his shield, but the other flies above and scorches him where the acid already caused damage, multiplying the burning sensation to the point of agony.
(17:42:45) MicahWhiterune: Micah grunts as he takes the hit, but evinces no other reaction to the burns
(17:43:55) Miriana: Miriana, of the belief that if it's already on fire more fire won't make its life that much more miserable, instead draws her wand and points a wavering hand in the direction of a serpent, light gathering at the wandtip before spearing out.
(17:46:46) [GM]: The magic blast strikes the ember-serpent's belly as it rears up, rocking its head backwards with a start. It hisses angrily in Miriana's direction.
(17:55:17) MicahWhiterune: "Mya, I beseech thy forge-hammer. Pound the  cinders to ash!"
(17:56:03) MicahWhiterune: Micah advances and swings his hammer at the wounded serpent even as a massive spectral hammer descends.
(17:59:18) [GM]: Another stream of acid grazes Micah as he moves past the statue, but it is insignificant compared to the burns he already has. Mya's hammer, a mirror of Micah's own, appears shining in mid-air and pummels the serpent Miriana shot, though the physical hammer's swing goes wide.
(18:00:02) [GM]: With the dwarf advancing on them, the ember-snakes hiss and turn on Micah, lunging and biting at his arms and face.
(18:02:13) [GM]: One catches only the chains around his forearm, but the other manages to bite through the gauntlet of his hammer-arm, inflicting searing pain that leaves smoke rising from the gauntlet's leather.
(18:04:57) Miriana: Miriana squints through the chaos - steam and smoke alongside the bile rising in her throat - and shoots another blast at the same creature while it is assaulted by Mya's hammer.
(18:09:20) Miriana: She moves backwards quickly, remembering the last time she was attacked by snakes in these tunnels, but she gives the intact art as wide a berth as she can manage.
(18:15:35) [GM]: Sure enough, a thick squirt of acid springs out of thin air in the vicinity of the sphere, which appears for a moment to be tarnished and broken, showing foreign constellations opposing the true ones, aimed straight for Miriana's face. For her distance and caution, only a droplet falls on her skin, stinging like a hot needle. Skin-melting acid, the kind one might torture people with.
(18:15:53) MicahWhiterune: Micah meanwhile, pauses in his swinging to refocus upon his accumulating wounds, "Mya, lend me the light of life, to burn this wounds from my flesh."
(18:19:54) [GM]: The snakes weave warily around the spectral hammer that moves of its own volition, buying Micah time to heal his own wounds with a touch. Soon after, however, they are again on him, and bite with their red-hot fangs.
(18:20:54) MicahWhiterune: Micah wedges shield and hammer into open maws, halting their  assault.
(18:24:15) Miriana: Scrubbing the acid off her face with her sleeve, Miriana sends another burst of light somewhat haphazardly over Micah's shoulder.
(18:30:28) MicahWhiterune: Micah, wounds dealt with, keeps on swinging and swinging, mortal and divine hammer alike.
(18:35:41) [GM]: The blow of Mya's hammer rocks the serpent, putting its head right in the path of Micah's own blow. The mortal hammer connects with a spray of blood, and the snake falls limp into the water with a hiss of steam. Even as its twin falls, the other bites again and again at the threatening dwarf.
(18:38:12) Miriana: Encouraged by the sight, Miriana jabs her wand forward at the remaining serpent, another flash lighting the tunnel ever so briefly.
(18:41:00) MicahWhiterune: Micah, enlivened by the previous success, hammers it hard from opposite directions.
(18:42:22) [GM]: A blast of light hits the burning serpent, followed by Mya's and Micah's hammers pummeling it every which way. Hissing, the beast turns to flee.
(18:44:08) Miriana: Miriana spits to clear her mouth out and fires a parting shot in the fleeing monster's direction.
(18:46:16) [GM]: Although her stomach has stopped pushing for revolution against its owner, A trace of sickness and the beast's movement work to make her shot miss anyway.
(18:47:23) MicahWhiterune: Micah rushes forward, pressing the attack.
(18:48:55) MicahWhiterune: It takes some brutal pounding, but the serpent had no chance in the end, of getting away.
(18:50:19) MicahWhiterune: "What was those things?" Micah rubs the sore spots the lingering acid and fire burns itched at.
(18:51:38) Miriana: "Dead, now, but I hate the thought of those things popping out into the river."
(18:58:07) Miriana: Experimentally, Miriana hefts her staff and brings it down onto the armillary sphere a few times. Once the delicate orbits are bent and ruined, she experimentally walks by, one arm in front of her face.
(18:59:36) [GM]: The metal bends and glass shatters, spilling shards onto the floor and in the water. The armillary sphere, undoubtedly once beautiful in the light of the sun, lies miserably ruined and broken, but when Miriana walks past it once again, no acid assaults her.
(18:59:50) MicahWhiterune is now known as veekie
(19:01:50) Miriana: Miriana peeks over her sleeve, smiling at having solved the puzzle. "There we are. Looks like your kind of problem solving is what we need here!"
(19:02:07) Miriana: "Though I dearly wish I'd thought of that earlier." She rubs at the small acid burn on her face.
(19:05:33) veekie: "Pity. That was some fine metalwork." Micah rights the painting. "This is just paint, on the other hand."
(19:06:37) Miriana: "Well, let's worry about the basilisk first. ...Was that it before, watching us?"
(19:06:40) [GM]: The painting's face is smeared in dirt from contact with the floor, some of the paint scratched. Perhaps it could be restored?
(19:07:21) Miriana: Idly, Miriana reaches into the armillary sphere and breaks one of the smaller, shinier pieces off to tuck away into a pocket.
(19:08:56) veekie: "It retreated before I saw anything. Must have been two of its bigger snakes there."
(19:09:29) veekie is now known as MicahWhiterune
(19:09:57) Miriana: "Let's hope there's not much more of those." Miriana inspects Micah's face. "Alright to keep going, or do we need to double back?"
(19:11:40) MicahWhiterune: "No more than a scratch, though my stronger miracles are exhausted. It would have found even uglier snakes next time."
(19:19:45) [GM]: And so Micah says, but as he moves again, the statue releaces another stream of acid, that this time hits him full on, without the chance to raise his shield, almost as if the enchantment itself had a sense of humor.
(19:21:03) MicahWhiterune: "Aaghbll"
(19:22:37) MicahWhiterune: Micah, no longer giving  a damn about the quality of the stonework, grabs his hammer in a two handed swing straight into it's hip area.
(19:22:42) Miriana: Miriana jumps back in alarm. "Oh!"
(19:24:33) [GM]: Stone cracks under Micah's hammer and shatters under a second blow, leaving the sculpted youth in motion with a sad broken hip to jar his dynamic.
(19:26:48) MicahWhiterune: "Maybe just a bit of time to catch my breath before we go after that again." Micah kicks at  some of the rubble.
(19:27:40) Miriana: Miriana nods. "That sounds wise."
(19:28:25) Miriana: "I'm not gonna try to fix the painting until we're in a little better shape, though."
(19:30:55) MicahWhiterune: Micah more or less dumps it on her, "Take it then."
(19:31:46) Miriana: "Not with me! You want me to carry this thing through the sewers?"
(19:32:51) MicahWhiterune: "Could just roll it up."
(19:33:58) Miriana: "I guess," Miriana grouses, turning the painting around and pulling out a dagger. "Stupid sensible suggestions..."
(19:39:09) [GM]: With a damaged painting rolled up and stowed, Micah and Miriana stop to catch their breaths before moving further on. They already glimpsed the basilisk, presumably, in the distant darkness of the canal ahead, but the sewers are a maze that riddles the ground beneath the inner city, and once in the maze the path is no longer so straight and without branches.
(19:40:32) [GM]: After wandering through seemingly identical passages, guided mostly by Micah's sense for the stone construction, they find a crossed intersection unlike the others. If the dwarf's stone-cunning does not mislead him, they must be somewhere beneath the eastern inner city. Ahead, the two see a pair of unmoving humanoid figures standing in the darkness. The basilisk's stench seems strongest down this canal.
(19:40:32) [GM]: The passage to the left, however, has a warm glow, as of fire, breaking through the floor a good distance down, and Miriana spies what appear to be red flowers growing near that light, in a sewer of all places. To the right, meanwhile, they hear scratching claws and raspy murmurs.
(19:46:54) Miriana: Miriana frowns deeply, tapping Micah's shoulder and pointing toward the left passage.
(19:49:57) MicahWhiterune: Micah nods, leading  the way.
(19:50:59) [GM]: The flowers are bright orange-red like the morning sun, in five individual petals surrounding the stem, surrounded by vibrant green, round leaves. Why such flowers would be growing in a lightless sewer is anyone's guess. They surround a crack in the ground, where wall meets stone floor, through which the light of chandeliers spills upwards.
(19:52:44) [GM]: The crack seems partly natural, but intentionally widened. Peering through, Miriana and Micah see a large, dimly lit room, lined with, as far as they can tell, bookshelves. Was not the university situated in the east of the inner city?
(19:53:11) [GM]: ----------
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The King of Serpents, Part 3
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2017, 11:50:26 AM »
(16:15:12) [GM]: ----------
(16:15:17) [GM]: A festering evil lurks in the sewers of Livest, and Micah and Miriana have agreed to slay it.
(16:15:22) [GM]: Margaretha of the Crane Knights, who helped them learn more of the beeping bride's properties, also told them of the basilisk's presence and asked them to help slay it. After being nearly overwhelmed by a nest of snakes on their first expedition, they caught just a glimpse of the beast on the next day. But the sewers of Livest seem to hold more secrets still, besides the basilisk.
(16:15:40) [GM]: There was the enigmatic Turtlebacks' toll station, where rotting art attempted to mutilate them until it was defaced. And now, Miriana and Micah stand before a crack in the sewer floor, surrounded by dawn-red flowers that have no business growing in this otherwise lightless place. The warm light of chandeliers spills out of the crack, and it is wide enough to see shelves of books from above.
(16:28:41) [GM]: Micah has never seen this sort of flower before... and neither has Miriana. She does not believe them to be native to the region. The flowers and leaves are of fair size, about as large as the palm of her hand, making their presence here even more of a mystery.
(16:30:05) MicahWhiterune: "Any idea if they're poisonous?" Micah reaches down to pull out a couple, roots and all.
(16:32:14) Miriana: "I don't know, don't eat them," is Miriana's automatic response. "...huh. They're not native to the area, though."
(16:32:47) MicahWhiterune: "I don't put strange plants into my mouth, Miri. What if they grow blades and cut their way out?"
(16:33:23) MicahWhiterune: He stuffs a handful into a pocket on his pack, with a bit of the dirt, the flower itself cheerfully peering out.
(16:33:42) [GM]: The crack, meanwhile, appears to have been present for a while. It may have occured naturally or accidentally at first, but has certainly been widened intentionally from this side since. It is perhaps not quite large enough for a person to fit through, but that may be the goal.
(16:33:47) Miriana: "I'd say that's just the dwarf in you talking, but after our last forest outing I'm not discounting the idea."
(16:36:13) Miriana: "Here, scoot over." Miriana crouches down, pressing close to the crack in the floor to see if she can make out the titles of some of the books.
(16:36:52) MicahWhiterune: Micah makes way, keeping ears peeled for sounds resembling flowers or reptiles trying to kill him.
(16:41:25) [GM]: If Micah's sense of orientation serves him, they ought to be near the part of the inner city the university buildings are situated in. Miriana has heard of an extensive library attached to the university, but nothing of a deep basement level to it. The sewer is filled with the sounds of flowing filthy water and occasional scratching or crawling sounds in the distance. Down one of the other canals, louder murmurs and the sound of something heavy being dragged along the ground can be heard.
(16:42:58) [GM]: Though she cannot make out any specific titles - many books seem to be written in foreign languages from what she can see of them, and some re missing inscriptions altogether - the books appear universally old and quite valuable, bound in fine materials and well-preserved.
(16:45:13) Miriana: "This looks like an incredible library. No wonder someone would want to break in."
(16:54:49) MicahWhiterune: "Not a good way to. Water's a good way to ruin  them all"
(16:55:41) Miriana: "The rubble would also be a bit of a giveaway if someone came down here."
(16:56:02) MicahWhiterune: "But I hear something. Come on.  Books don't walk off on their own." Micah sets off after the dragging noise. Torch in his shield hand and oil in the other.
(16:57:35) Miriana: "Ahhh....fine." Miriana takes one last longing glance at the shelves before following.
(17:01:09) [GM]: As the pair race closer, past the intersection they came from with the two humanoid shapes that still haven't moved now to their left, the murmurs resolve into small barking voices and then stop, as does the dragging sound, when another intersection appears in the light of Micah's torch. There is the silence of tense listening, broken by a single voice, barking in an authoritative and questioning tone.
(17:08:15) Miriana: Miriana clears her throat. "What?" she asks loudly to the empty intersection, hoping to sound just as authoritative.
(17:12:05) [GM]: A hiss echoes around the intersection, answered by a chorus of hisses in return, and then a multitude of splashing and scrabbling sounds as the sources of the noise presumably scramble for cover.
(17:13:00) MicahWhiterune: Micah clomps forward, raising his torch, "Kobolds. Any of ya speak <Dwarf>?"
(17:13:04) Miriana: <Well, that didn't work,> Miriana remarks mentally to Micah.
(17:20:02) [GM]: There is silence for a while, then a series of barks from a small creature Miriana and Micah hadn't noticed peering around the corner just ahead of them. It is shorter than a halfling and reptilian, though its face shows almost canine expressiveness. In the light of the torch, several of the creatures, covered in mottled orange scales, pop out to peer suspiciously around the corner.
(17:20:02) [GM]: They are followed by one who may be their leader, if only for being dressed in more than a loincloth, its eyes covered by a blindfold with crude approximations of struck-through eyes stitched in it.
(17:20:39) [GM]: The blindfolded one speaks up in broken dwarven language, saying, "You, engineers?"
(17:22:24) MicahWhiterune: "<Basilisk slayer. Worker of steel.>" Micah gives the kobold a curious look. Refreshing to meet them without having an entire hold worth of loot to  watch over.
(17:25:53) [GM]: "Basilisk, cannot be killed. Scales like stone. Cannot get close. Sent to rule."
(17:26:16) Miriana: Miriana is curious as well, but doesn't contribute to the conversation just yet. She leans on her staff, listening intently.
(17:27:03) MicahWhiterune: "<Burns fine>"
(17:29:13) [GM]: "Fire, bad! Smoke. We offer, sacrifice. Submit to basilisk. You leave, better."
(17:30:56) MicahWhiterune: "<You tell me where to find it. We kill basilisk, or basilisk kill us. Either way works for you.>"
(17:34:39) [GM]: A murmur goes through the kobolds. They seem conflicted. Micah vaguely recalls that kobolds he's heard of worship an imprisoned dark god. The blindfolded kobold said the basilisk was 'sent' to rule - perhaps they believe it is sent by that god?
(17:35:35) MicahWhiterune: "<If it truly  is sent to rule, then it will triumph if that is the will of the gods>"
(17:44:33) [GM]: The kobolds look uneasy, but their presumably leader speaks once again after a pause. "...Moves around. Always patrol. Its resting place, this way. Many servants. No help." The kobold gestures down the intersection rather unhelpfully.
(17:45:05) MicahWhiterune: "It's not in it's lair at the moment? But the serpents are?"
(17:47:21) [GM]: "Often. Always returns. Gathers things."
(17:47:53) MicahWhiterune: "Things?"
(17:50:05) [GM]: "Coins. Objects. Magic light, from killed intruders. Hoards them."
(17:50:39) MicahWhiterune: "Other intruders? We aren't the only ones poking around, are we?"
(17:52:24) Miriana: <Ask them what they know about the Turtlebacks,> Miriana prompts Micah telepathically. <I need to keep looking aloof and mysterious.>
(17:52:34) [GM]: "No. Two humans, earlier. Fell to basilisk."
(17:54:51) MicahWhiterune: <I need some way to describe those idiots in halfway mangled dwarf>
(17:57:52) Miriana: <I guess I could just ask them myself. And *ruin* the mystique.> Miriana straightens up somewhat, reaching out to the blindfolded kobold's mind. <Who set the traps out, further back in the sewers? Who left that art there to be torn apart?>
(18:03:00) [GM]: The blindfolded kobold startles and flinches, and the reply comes more in concepts than in words. First, the slightly fearful question of who or what the voice in the kobold's head is.
(18:03:52) Miriana: Miriana sends the mental impression of a mysterious (and ever so slightly sinister) smile, replying that there are stranger things than dwarves and serpents in these tunnels.
(18:07:25) [GM]: And right she is, for the imagery she sees in reply is such a thing. She gets a mental picture of two skeletally gaunt figures, with skin like a drowning victim's, naked forms covered by wet hair, underwater plants, or both, covered in sores and scars, with faces barely recognizable as female. The Turtleback sisters.
(18:11:07) Miriana: Miriana grimaces, passing the gruesome imagery onto Micah with a quick explanation.
(18:11:34) MicahWhiterune: <Check if the victims match?>
(18:12:20) Miriana: <Could, if we go back down that way. Right number, at least.>
(18:14:30) MicahWhiterune: "And what of the basilisk's servants. Do they also spare you for offerings?"
(18:15:42) [GM]: "Mostly. Extra offerings for them. Then hide and run."
(18:16:45) MicahWhiterune: "Then they do not truly spare you. Only starve you before you run out of offerings, then you will be next."
(18:19:22) [GM]: "That time, we leave."
(18:21:33) MicahWhiterune: "Then you will lose little if you lead us to it's lair while it hunts, then gain a little headstart should it be victorious. We know some who will be able to support you in finding less hungry lands."
(18:22:04) MicahWhiterune: "Spend your treasures to seek safety, rather than to just slow down death by a day"
(18:22:47) [GM]: "Know who?"
(18:35:00) MicahWhiterune: "Crane Knights. Humans with steel. They keep their word if given, and they will want help knowing  what lies under the city. Help they can use to set you up with a better living, if you stay, or with food and guides if you leave."
(18:38:14) [GM]: "What of city?"
(18:39:55) MicahWhiterune: "City prefers not to have snakes in their underwear. You help city keep snakes out, they pay you for living under"
(18:42:55) [GM]: "Now, tolerated. Do not like attention." The kobold seems to consider. "Help with basilisk, for help with Turtlebacks."
(18:44:46) MicahWhiterune: "If you would show us the way to them. And I can still introduce you  to the knights. They are decent people for humans. Works better than if someone mistakes you lot for monsters."
(18:46:10) [GM]: The blindfolded kobold makes a deliberating noise. "fine."
(18:46:57) MicahWhiterune: Micah offers a hand, after stuffing the bag of fuel he had been holding back onto his belt, "Deal."
(18:47:29) Miriana: <They can't see your hand,> Miri points out helpfully.
(18:47:59) MicahWhiterune: <Shush>
(18:50:20) [GM]: A clicking remark from another kobold prompts the blindfolded one to warily peer out of the blindfold by raising it with a finger. The kobold approaches Micah suspiciously and, after some hesitation, takes the offered hand.
(18:54:18) [GM]: ----------
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The King of Serpents, Part 4
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2017, 07:18:48 AM »
(16:16:34) [GM]: ----------
(16:16:39) [GM]: A festering evil lurks in the sewers of Livest, and Micah and Miriana have agreed to slay it.
(16:16:50) [GM]: After stumbling into a nest of snakes and being forced to retreat, the two caught a glimpse of the basilisk on their second expedition when they were forced to fight off its mutated minions in the middle of a tollstation-trap laid by the mysterious Turtleback sisters.
(16:16:54) [GM]: After escaping wounded, but with their lives, they found a crack opening into an unknown subterranean library, and a band of small, reptilian kobolds preparing to make a sacrifice to the basilisk.
(16:17:04) [GM]: Apparently, the kobolds' presence is quietly tolerated by the city's government so long as they stay out of sight and help in the sewer canals' maintenance. But after the basilisk appeared, they gave in to fatalism, believing it to be sent by their dark bound god, and thought to placate it rather than ask for help in the belief it would eventually devour the city and rule over them whatever they did.
(16:18:20) [GM]: However, the kobolds have been persuaded to show Miriana and Micah to what they believe to be the basilisk's lair. Somewhere the beast lurks, but perhaps they can gain the advantage on it. The two statues they saw, likely victims of the beast, also remain where they are, frozen in their last moments. What will Micah and Miriana do?
(16:21:18) Miriana: Miriana clicks her tongue thoughtfully. "Well. How many ways in and out of the lair are there?"
(16:22:38) [GM]: "Just one. Hollowed out end of branch tunnel."
(16:24:48) MicahWhiterune: "Secure, but also difficult to escape if you are in there." Micah grins, "Especially if it gets nice and hot while you're trapped inside."
(16:30:24) Miriana: "This is why you're clanking even more than usual, huh?"
(16:31:16) MicahWhiterune: "It's a time honored cure for vermin."
(16:37:36) [GM]: Begrudgingly and with their share of second thoughts about the fire, the kobolds guide Micah and Miriana in the wake of their sacrifice, a pig carcass they must have stolen somewhere and dragged all the way down here.
(16:39:49) [GM]: Their route takes them down a main tunnel, then up another and takes a sharp turn back down a third where the basilisk's stench is especially bad. All the while slithering sounds accompany them, coming down every other tunnel along with splashes and scratching.
(16:40:41) [GM]: A sound like a sharp intake of breath sounds through the tunnel, then a splash, and the basilisk's smell abruptly recedes in intensity.
(16:41:31) MicahWhiterune: Micah gives the kobolds a questioning look.
(16:43:03) Miriana: <Keep an eye on the water, I suppose?> Miri shifts uneasily.
(16:43:46) MicahWhiterune: <Keep an eye away from the water more like. Basilisk.>
(16:46:07) [GM]: "God's beast knows we are here." The blind kobold's statement carries less a tone of understanding and more of pessimism.
(16:46:49) MicahWhiterune: "Lead on." Micah toys with the sack of fuel. "Doesn't change a thing."
(16:48:26) Miriana: Miriana nods, drawing her wand to keep it ready in the hand that isn't holding her staff.
(16:50:29) [GM]: Splashing and scratching follows the group as they make their way down the corridors for minutes, the basilisk's smell fading and growing periodically. Snakes become more common the farther they go, and the kobolds placate them with bits of meat or fish thrown at them.
(16:50:29) [GM]: At last, Micah and Miriana are guided in the wake of the pig, past turns and branches, to a corridor where discarded snake eggs outnumber grains of dust, and the blindfolded one points down at a particular passage. "There."
(16:52:37) MicahWhiterune: Micah meanwhile, takes a moment to shove a bag of fuel up the pig, glances at Miriana, then advances, shield raised, ears perked. <Get the poison cure ready. You'll need it>
(16:54:40) Miriana: <No need to tell me twice. We're close enough now to make use of it.> Miriana digs out the little leaf flask Blumstein gave her and tips the contents back.
(16:55:27) [GM]: The water here is properly infested, and the snakes stir, as if reacting to something, but they do not seem intent on attacking the group. Yet?
(16:57:16) MicahWhiterune: Micah meanwhile, drops a packet of fuel as he walks from here, spaced evenly to where the burning oil  would reach the next sack if it burst.
(17:04:17) [GM]: As Micah begins his own preparations, the kobolds leave the pig carcass where it is at the entrance to the lair and then strike a retreat. The blinded one hesitates, perhaps considering whether to stick around or not.
(17:05:17) MicahWhiterune: "Go, no need for you to die here."
(17:06:38) [GM]: The blinded one does not need to be told twice, and immediately follows behind the other kobolds without taking off the blindfold. It seems he can literally navigate the tunnels blindly.
(17:08:58) [GM]: The tunnel leading to the basilisk's lair branches off the main canal at an angle, then bends at a right angle towards itself, only to bend again before reaching a crudely hollowed-out basin at the end of some thirty more feet of tunnel. water dribbles from holes all along the tunnel, carrying waste into the sewer.
(17:11:36) [GM]: The lair at the end of the tunnel is a dismal, half-submerged room littered with filth, discarded snake eggs of strange sizes and shapes, and limestone statues of animals and several kobolds. The way it's been hollowed out is clearly not good for the stone's structural integrity, but it ought to hold for a good while. In the middle of the filthy water, a small glittering pile sticks out above the liquid's surface.
(17:15:26) Miriana: Miriana squints at the pile of treasures. <That looks suspicious, no?>
(17:15:39) [GM]: It's a sight Micah's dwarven eyes would recognize anywhere: Gold. Though filthy, several coins and miscellaneous objects, presumably scrounged together far and wide, lie crudely hoarded together in one spot, tipped by a lost gem and what looks like a golden lantern.
(17:16:03) MicahWhiterune: <Definitely real gold.>
(17:19:18) Miriana: <And maybe part of a real trap, if this thing is smart enough to mess with us like it has.>
(17:19:50) MicahWhiterune: <But. Gold>
(17:20:56) Miriana: <If you freeze into a statue with your hand outstretched toward the treasure pile, I'm not dragging you back through a mile of sewer tunnels.>
(17:22:45) [GM]: As if on cue, the snakes outside the tunnel - the lair itself, and the last feet of tunnel, were notably free of them - stir and hiss in unison again, and a heavy breathing sound can be heard briefly.
(17:23:20) MicahWhiterune: <Very well> Micah glances at the water, then starts scattering oil bags to float on the water, keeping a space free near themselves and the gold.
(17:24:19) MicahWhiterune: "Mya, Earthmother. Let your voice be heard." Micah prays softly under his breath as divine power sinks into the ground and begins churning the water.
(17:26:34) [GM]: Tremors fill the cavern, echoing loudly within and outside, and shaking the water's surface, which splashes against their shins.
(17:27:05) Miriana: Miriana drifts behind Micah and his mirrored shield, eyes flickering back toward the tunnel.
(17:28:24) [GM]: The coins rattle and slide deeper into the filthy water as the pile loses cohesion, but nothing else stirs within the beast's lair. Outside, there is a splashing sound, followed by another and scratching and dragging. Soon after, the stench coming down the tunnel intensifies to barely tolerable levels, but the basilisk does not appear.
(17:28:53) [GM]: When the tremors stop, heavy breathing can be heard down the tunnel. It lurks.
(17:30:05) Miriana: Miri breathes shallowly. <It feels like it's toying with us.>
(17:31:20) MicahWhiterune: Micah raises his shield, and stands ready, listening intently with torch in his other hand  and a bag of fuel hidden behind the shield.
(17:33:17) Miriana: Miriana considers, then taps her lips with her wand and flicks it toward the tunnel bend. Her mouth opens but no words come out; instead, the sound of sloshing footsteps comes from nearby.
(17:33:24) [GM]: The duo wait, but even still the king of serpents fails to appear. In the king's place, however, the sound of dozens of bodies scraping along the ground echoes down the tunnel, and a mass of smaller snakes comes into view turning around the bend, slithering towards Miriana and Micah.
(17:38:14) MicahWhiterune: "More of the same old." Micah simply maintains his orientation, and then "Lady Mya, please sear this filth from the world."
(17:51:10) [GM]: Several snakes burn under Mya's sacred flame, and many of the smaller ones scatter. The reptiles here are all misshappen in some way, some oddly fat, some flat entirely, many having vestigial legs or wings. The largest, however, has pitch-black scales and two heads, one broad and flaring and the other long and thin like an arrow, and rears up, hissing with twin voices as it splashes into the water of the lair. Directly behind it follows a wave of foul air.
(17:51:21) [GM]: The basilisk itself lurks at the edge of vision, around the corner.
(17:58:09) [GM]: The lesser snakes hiss in a chorus as if singing praises while the twin-headed snake swims and slithers around the duo, rearing its heads up and hissing as a threat, before lunging without warning at Micah!
(18:01:52) MicahWhiterune: Micah, shield focused on keeping the reflection of the basilisk in place, takes a nasty bite.
(18:03:33) Miriana: Miriana waves her wand to seemingly no visible effect, unless one were looking at the two-headed snake's reflection in the mirrored shield tie itself into knots briefly. Her next spell, however, is quite visible: A blast of white energy aimed at the head that just bit Micah.
(18:08:46) [GM]: The blast goes wide and impacts the broken wall just above the entrance to the lair, but the twin-headed snake takes notice. As the narrow head's fangs sink into Micah's gauntlet, his shield arm distracted by attempting to keep the shield aimed at the tunnel while also defending himself, the creature's body continues to wind and slither, and its broad head twists to bite at Miriana.
(18:24:57) MicahWhiterune: "Mother of Life, restore thy vitality to this weak flesh." Micah  keeps his shield steadfastly directed forward, the torch kept ready to light the firebomb as he awaits the king of serpents, <Miriana, get back, you're too difficult to heal>
(18:31:20) [GM]: Mya's gentle care heals the stinging wound in Micah's hand just in time for both to see the king itself appear past the corner. A foul wind precedes it, filling the lair with yet unprecedented stench as its head appears in the flickering light of the torch, a beaked face with skin pulled taut against the skull, crowned with horns around a white spot on its top.
(18:31:20) [GM]: A long neck trails behind the basilisk's head, and it crawls forward around the corner like a snake as broad as a man and twice as long, six legs dragging it further forward. The beast beholds the scene in its lair and hisses.
(18:32:08) [GM]: Though within range of the fire-trap now, its eyes are not yet close enough to see their whites. But even from here, the weight of its gaze can be felt.
(18:33:25) MicahWhiterune: Micah lights the fuel blob and then slings it at the beast. Whatever happens it's going to BURN.
(18:33:33) MicahWhiterune: "MYA BLESS THIS FURNACE!"
(18:37:53) [GM]: The ball of fire falls short of the basilisk, but it is no matter. It splashes onto the floor of the tunnel and ignites a bag of fuel lying there, causing it to burst and ignite the next, and so on, and soon the entire stretch of tunnel from the lair to the bend is in flames, with the basilisk in it and the two heroes on the far end.
(18:38:13) MicahWhiterune: Micah waves cheerily at the snake.
(18:39:48) [GM]: The twin-headed snake takes advantage of Micah's throw to lunge and bite at him again before it has realized what just happened.
(18:41:13) [GM]: The fire's blazing light, however, soon catches up to it, and it rears and slithers around Micah as the dwarf swats its attack away, placing him between itself and the burning corridor.
(18:41:27) Miriana: Miriana winces at the bright flash of light, sloshing back deeper into the lair while the snake is getting itself tangled in Micah's armor and isn't focusing on her.
(18:43:06) [GM]: Miriana's retreat goes almost unnoticed by the snake, which redoubles its focus on the dwarf and turns its second head on him as well, biting in a mad frenzy.
(18:47:50) MicahWhiterune: Micah pulls out his hammer, grimaces and sets to work clobbering the double headed snake while the fire distracts the basilisk.
(18:52:10) [GM]: The basilisk hisses and screams, drowning out the clamor of battle and echoing through the lair, as it splashes water and retreats. The water only succeeds in spreading more of the burning oil, some of it flowing into the lair, and the beast retreats again awaqy from the corner.
(18:55:10) Miriana: Safely away from the fray, Miriana stabs forward with the wand and sends another spear of light streaking at the thinner of the serpent heads.
(18:55:15) [GM]: The twin-headed snake is still on Micah, but the chaos and fire distract it from biting him meaningfully. The chorus of lesser snakes hiss in pain and confusion as the fire leaks into the lair, scattering like a panicked crowd.
(18:58:29) [GM]: The broader head, however, finds purchase on a chink in Micah's armor even as Miriana's renewed blast sails past it, biting deep.
(19:03:03) MicahWhiterune: Micah doggedly holds to his defense as a warm red glow surrounds him, the seeming heat of a forgefire even as the fire spreads through the lair.
(19:08:56) [GM]: The twin-snake is undeterred in its attempts to kill Micah faster than he can heal, its efforts spurred by the frenzy of a beast that sees fire, as the lesser snakes are cooked alive around it.
(19:10:43) Miriana: Swearing, Miriana tries her shot a third time as she splashes through the water away from the approaching flames. Damn dwarves and their fire.
(19:13:06) [GM]: The blast strikes the narrow head squarely just as the other head lunges and bites at Micah!
(19:15:33) MicahWhiterune: Micah, figuring  the flames were getting too hot for him, retreated to the space he left in the fuel, where the gold is, "Fire is life!"
(19:18:31) [GM]: The twin-headed snake is burned by the floating flames as Micah and Miriana retreat and succumbs to reptilian panic, fleeing away from the fire towards the deepest end of the lair, where there is nowhere else to run.
(19:25:00) Miriana: Miriana covers her mouth with her sleeve, blasting at the burning creature again as it slithers away.
(19:26:51) MicahWhiterune: Close to his gold and surrounded by flame, Micah is particularly motivated, "BURN SERPENTS! BURN IN MYA'S NAME!"
(19:27:57) [GM]: With more room and time to aim, Miriana's blast strikes the serpent where its narrow head meets the neck and blasts it apart with a bloom of crimson flame, leaving the narrow head hanging from its neck by a flap of skin and muscle.
(19:28:40) Miriana: A little giddy from inhaling smoke and adrenaline, Miriana giggles at the sight.
(19:30:26) [GM]: Mya's fire burns the other head as the earthly flames blaze around the lair. Their fuel should be spent soon enough, but for now they burn.
(19:33:20) Miriana: Still laughing, Miriana turns her wand on the remaining head and conjures another lance of light, flames lapping at her feet.
(19:35:32) MicahWhiterune: "Blaze  bright, burn hot, in the forge be remade!" The flames simply flare up as Micah channels more divine light through them.
(19:36:26) [GM]: Her aim is thrown off by the swimming of the air above the flames and the swimming of her head in the heat and smoke, but the now one-headed snake whips around with a mad hiss like a demonpossessed beast, or like one that wishes only to not die alone, and charges again at the duo.
(19:40:37) Miriana: Miriana waits until it bounces off Micah's armor again, draws her arm back, and lunges forward like a fencer, casting her spell as she does so.
(19:43:08) [GM]: Even still, the flames have blurred her thoughts and vision, and her blast once again goes wide.
(19:44:24) MicahWhiterune: Micah grimaces, as he raises the shield, burning black as he chants. "Lady of life, revoke thy gift to this beast. Give it the mercy of an ending."
(19:44:26) MicahWhiterune: Then he strikes.
(19:48:13) [GM]: His hand strikes the serpent's snout just as it is throws open its maw to bite at him again, with the world in flames around them, and ignites the foul beast's scales. The black fire peels back the snake's same-colored flesh and burns its head to a skull in moments, before continuing its work with the rest of its body.
(19:48:13) [GM]: A moment of silence permeates the lair once the flames finally spend their fuel and gutter out at the same time as Mya's fire finishes its work.
(19:48:40) [GM]: Then, the basilisk's hissing breath can be heard again from the darkness of the tunnel.
(19:49:30) Miriana: Miriana watches the snake burn to death, panting, before hearing the basilisk approaching. She wearily turns to Micah. <Not too late to run. I can keep it from seeing you, at least.>
(19:50:47) MicahWhiterune: <It's on the way out. We have more room to blast it in this chamber before it reaches us.>
(19:51:36) Miriana: Miriana nods, stepping behind Micah to give him a quick hug. "It's been nice knowing you."
(19:51:44) Miriana: She levels her wand at the mouth of the tunnel.
(19:52:07) MicahWhiterune: Micah orients his shield at the entrance "At least  we'll be rich"
(19:55:56) [GM]: The sound of the basilisk dragging itself along the ground and through the water comes closer, as do its breath and stench. The sounds stop for a tense moment, stretching on for a second heartbeat, and in the last second Miriana realizes - the beast is just around the corner, poised to startle them, draw their eyes, and cover the distance quickly.
(19:56:38) Miriana: A thought of alarm and warning wings its way toward Micah.
(19:58:05) MicahWhiterune: Micah reflexively raises the shield, giving it a perfect image of itself.
(19:59:08) Miriana: Miriana flinches away but has the presence of mind to point the wand in its general direction, cursing it.
(20:00:20) [GM]: In the time it takes the thought to reach Micah and the dwarf to raise his shield, the basilisk lunges, appearing on the tunnel wall opposite the lair's entrance and leaping forward like a coiled spring, while hissing with the volume of a death scream, its maw open wide and misshappen feathers flaring.
(20:03:11) [GM]: In a single leap, it stands at the lair's mouth, a threat impossible to ignore. And then, it catches its reflection in Micah's shield. It stops where it is, as if mesmerized, staring at the shield with intensity enough to make one fear it might burn a hole in it.
(20:04:28) MicahWhiterune: "Mya burn my foe!" Micah locks his eyes on the back of his shield. The gods need no not see to strike.
(20:07:15) [GM]: The king of serpents bristles, feathers and spines standing up as the holy flame burns them. It rears up to a man's height, half its body still on the ground, and raises two of its stubby legs as if to shield its face from a terrible view, but they do not reach.
(20:08:05) Miriana: Miriana, eyes screwed shut, fires her killing spell indiscriminately in the direction of the hissing, praying inwardly that the hex and the mirrored shield will do their jobs.
(20:12:41) [GM]: The spell, this time, hits home. A flower of pale flame blossoms on the white spot between its horns, and the basilisk's head rocks back from its mirror image, screaming. It rears up further, and then its scream dies as it goes rigid, mismatched patches of feather and scale becoming brittle and petrified.
(20:12:46) [GM]: After an agonizingly long yet short time, what remains is a tall statue of an unnatural monster, its six legs clawing motionlessly at air as if clutching for purchase or release.
(20:13:57) [GM]: The rest is silence. Even the distant hissing of snakes dies.
(20:14:36) Miriana: Miriana holds stock-still, still pointing the wand at the basilisk. Ever so slowly, she opens her eyes and peeks at the thing.
(20:14:54) MicahWhiterune: Micah very slowly lifts the shield, paying close attention to the gold
(20:16:33) Miriana: Upon seeing the statue of the basilisk, Miriana laughs in relief. Her legs abruptly give out from under her and she collapses onto the pile of treasures, wiping smoke and sweat off her face.
(20:17:05) MicahWhiterune: "Guess it worked."
(20:17:25) [GM]: The basilisk's true form, now seen for the first time up close in peace rather than the chaos of battle at a distance, is of a misshappen serpent covered in irregular patches of scales, feathers, and spines, its crown of horns shattered around what is now a hole in its head. Six short, irregular legs hang in the air, frozen in agonized spasms, most of its bulk reared up.
(20:18:49) MicahWhiterune: "Man, no wonder it turned to stone. Who could see that ugly mug and  live with itself?"
(20:18:54) Miriana: "Wasn't so tough, huh? That knight probably just couldn't be bothered to lug the mirror down here." Miri's hands are nevertheless shaking as she calls Soot out, cradling the cat in her lap and stroking its head.
(20:20:53) [GM]: The otherworldly cat offers no comment and allows the petting with nary a response, openly displaying its supreme lack of concern for the petrified monster.
(20:20:53) MicahWhiterune: "The fire helped."
(20:21:08) [GM]: ----------
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Buried Secrets, Part 1
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2017, 07:06:08 AM »
(16:06:33) [GM]: ----------
(16:06:43) [GM]: Having slain the basilisk of Livest, Miriana and Micah are looking to collect their due reward and investigate some of the mysteries they found in the sewers.
(16:06:43) [GM]: Having discovered a population of kobolds living in the sewers, Micah and Miriana promised to plead their case to the Crane Knights in exchange for their help.
(16:06:43) [GM]: They slew the basilisk after a pitched and chaotic battle and found it had horded riches and trinkets, all of which must have once belonged to someone.
(16:06:43) [GM]: And they found a crack leading to an underground library beneath the university of Livest, which is not known to have any underground libraries.
(16:07:04) [GM]: After they've rested and licked their wounds, the two budding heroes of Livest are personally visited by Margaretha at the Fair Constable, who pays a round for the common room and a second for them. Mariya Blinsky treats the knight with great respect, mingled with her usual casually maternal manner.
(16:07:04) [GM]: With broken-off horns of the petrified basilisk serving as proof of their kill, Margaretha cheers exuberantly. She congratulates and commends their valor and moves immediately to asking about their rewards. "You've done all of Livest a service. I can't expect any amount of gratitude to compensate you for the danger, so name your prize. Altair is generous."
(16:16:58) Miriana: Miriana hums thoughtfully. "Ah, hmm..." Her dearest wish is one the Crane Knights likely can't just grant, after all.
(16:17:54) Micah_Whiterune: "Well...I don't suppose you got a good substitute for this?" Micah hefts the rather sorely abused hammer, having been subject to unspeakable things in the sewer and then the crust baked on.
(16:19:43) [GM]: "A weapon?" Margaretha's eyebrows raise, perhaps in surprise at the apparent modesty of the request. "You'll have the finest I can get from out armory or commission from a smith."
(16:20:49) Micah_Whiterune: "We're travelers, see. Weapon's more practical than gold, land or titles, and this poor lad just isn't going to last long."
(16:22:09) Miriana: "It's a lot harder to come by food honestly with a weapon, though," Miriana points out.
(16:22:41) Micah_Whiterune: "Bah, find a boar. Use it on the head. Got a roast."
(16:23:02) [GM]: "Ah, makes sense. I'll find one and have it delivered as soon as possible." Margaretha nods and laughs. "Travelers, then. Where to, if I may ask?"
(16:26:48) Miriana: "Well, ah, I didn't really set out with much of a destination in mind," she admits. "I mentioned before that I have a younger sister who's ill. Camelia. Nothing conventional has worked so far, so I left home looking for an unconventional answer."
(16:27:23) Micah_Whiterune: "And I'm babysitting, while I get to a fire-mountain. Got an aunt to drop into it."
(16:28:29) [GM]: "Ah." Margaretha's face shows compassion, and she is about to add something when she blinks at Micah's remark. "I'm sorry?"
(16:28:41) Miriana: Miriana can't help but snicker at that.
(16:28:51) Micah_Whiterune: "Traditional funeral rites. Got to go the distance."
(16:28:56) [GM]: "Oh."
(16:30:10) Micah_Whiterune: He pats the sealed urn, "Much as I love her, I think everyone would be happier if she didn't come back to wander around, see."
(16:34:31) [GM]: "Certainly." She considers for a moment. "It may be presumptuous of me to ask this when you have your own business to attend to, but..." She leans over her drink, and lowers her voice. "I told you of the second problem we face, when we met. Could you keep an eye out, while you're still in the city? It might get worse before it gets better."
(16:36:31) Micah_Whiterune: "Certainly. Not my area of expertise though. Unless there's something to hammer."
(16:37:38) Micah_Whiterune: "And of the Kobold people we encountered in the sewers who aided in finding the Basilisk?"
(16:39:20) [GM]: "Someone was poisoned yesterday, you see." Changing tracks to the kobolds, she nods. "I vaguely know of them. What of them?"
(16:40:50) Micah_Whiterune: "Perhaps, if you had them formally working for you as patrols and under your protection...they could  head off another sewer wildlife problem before it gets out of control. They can see in the dark and fit where most people can't down there."
(16:41:24) Micah_Whiterune: "They knew about the basilisk long before people did, but just suffered  it's predations unnoticed."
(16:43:28) [GM]: "Hm. Perhaps, but that's out of my hands, for the same reason I couldn't just go down there personally. As far as I know, they're quietly tolerated and maintain the sewers in return."
(16:45:52) Micah_Whiterune: "Well, see if you can pass word up. A little payment, a little food and you would probably see a lot less vermin and thefts going around. Did you know smugglers and other riffraff were hanging around below too? Easily dealt with, if people knew."
(16:48:56) [GM]: "Difficult. Many know kobolds to worship some dark god, so it's always been found easier to leave it an open secret." Margaretha is clearly ambivalent.
(16:49:54) Miriana: "Riffraff, yes...do you know anything about the Turtleback sisters? The kobolds mentioned them and seemed fairly terrified, although I will admit that's not a high bar to step over."
(16:51:12) Micah_Whiterune: "It may be more accurate to say that the kobolds try to avert the attentions of said deities more than anything else. "
(16:51:46) [GM]: "Ah!..." She leans back and slaps her forehead. "Yes, I completely forgot to warn you... I'm sorry. They're an urban legend of sorts. People say they live in the sewers, or maybe in the river, and attribute them any number of things between vandalism and terroism."
(16:53:59) Miriana: "No harm done, thankfully." Miriana touches her cheek where a bit of acid had splattered during the skirmish with the salamandra. "We found a very odd junction in the tunnel full of pieces of art that would spit acid at anyone who passed without defacing them. Too elaborate a setup for the kobolds, certainly."
(16:55:11) [GM]: "That sounds pointless and horrendous."
(16:55:26) Micah_Whiterune: "Eh, acid doesn't work too good on dwarf."
(16:56:21) Miriana: "Very much so," Miriana agrees. "I don't think anyone especially sane would go to the trouble, urban legend or no."
(16:58:12) [GM]: "Indeed. Hm." Conflicted, she bites a nail in consideration.
(17:06:26) Micah_Whiterune: "As for dark gods, I don't think the kobolds should actually be resistant to conversion efforts. They give offerings for fear of punishment, and gain no blessings. They have witnessed the power of Lady Mya's protection first hand, and the serpents vanquished."
(17:11:40) Miriana: Miriana considers. "They've certainly seen us pull off a minor miracle. Well, maybe not seen, with the blindfolds and all, but the point still stands. A compassionate deity would be a breath of fresh, offal-free air to them."
(17:16:18) [GM]: "...I'll have to bicker some more with the city in any case, so I'll bring it up for consideration. I can't make promises about the city's decision nor the kobolds' faith, but you speak sense."
(17:20:32) Miriana: "It's appreciated. We'll keep an eye out for your other problem as well, of course - are there symbols or signs they commonly use?"
(17:20:51) Micah_Whiterune: "Well, I pray you have fortune finding open  minds there, then."
(17:25:34) [GM]: "Not to advertise themselves, openly, of course, but here's one we're fairly sure about." Margaretha casts a look over both shoulders before dipping a finger in her wine and drawing a circle on the table, the half facing her filled in. After a few seconds, she quickly wipes it away.
(17:25:34) [GM]: "It's meant to represent the setting sun and beginning night, I assume. Should you want to look deeper, talk to Ulf Starkheim. He lives in the dwarven quarter."
(17:26:21) Micah_Whiterune: "We'll see about it."
(17:26:44) Miriana: Miriana nods somberly.
(17:28:47) [GM]: "Thank you. A messenger will reach you as soon as I've found something fitting for your request." Margaretha nods with a broad smile, and excuses herself, tipping the hostess generously, who rewards the still seated duo for the generous guest with a third round of drink.
(17:32:19) Miriana: Miriana considers the latest cup with interest. "So, are you as curious about that library as I am?"
(17:34:44) Micah_Whiterune: "More with how the crack works at all." Micah slurps up a mouthful. "Doesn't seem natural, all that damp not getting in. And all those flowers."
(17:35:56) Miriana: "All the more reason to investigate, right?"
(17:36:08) Micah_Whiterune: "Naturally."
(17:37:33) Miriana: "We'll need...a rope, I think. And maybe some smelt for a bribe."
(17:38:06) Micah_Whiterune: "Shouldn't cost  too much for some rope."
(17:43:28) [GM]: Anew, Micah and Miriana descend into the sewers. With some help from the kobolds, they manage to find a different way and evade another so-called toll station to find the crack, with its candle-light spilling out and flowers blooming still around it counter to reason. It doesn't seem quite large enough for an adult person to fit through. Not easily, in any case.
(17:44:57) Miriana: "I wonder if I could find some sort of spell to get down there more easily?" Miriana shrugs, producing Soot from thin air. "Oh well. We've got the next best thing for it, at least."
(17:45:29) [GM]: The pitch-black and red cat meows with indifference.
(17:46:00) Micah_Whiterune: "Good luck kitty"
(17:48:09) [GM]: Soot answers with another meow, which somehow sounds more indifferent than the first, as he regards the crack skeptically before slinking inside and dropping silently onto a bookshelf. Sniffing around, he quickly stalks out of view.
(17:48:43) Miriana: Miriana blocks out her own senses to look through her familiar's instead.
(17:54:36) [GM]: Through the otherworldly cat's eyes, ears, and nose, the library is peaceful, deafeningly silent, and reeks of dust and magic. It is not large except by Soot's standards, but from the disinterested glances the cat casts at several books, it makes up for quantity in quality. Suits of armor, apparently decorative, line the walls as if standing guard.
(17:54:36) [GM]: The library appears otherwise deserted, until Soot finds the librarian.
(17:58:05) [GM]: There, clambering between two bookshelves, is a stunted figure that couldn't properly be called man or monster. Its silhouette appears basically human, but its arms are too long, its legs too short, its posture too stooped. It is covered in a ruddy hide, and its hands and feet are talons, but what makes the hairs of both familiar and master stand on end is the single, oversized eye it bears.
(18:00:47) [GM]: Balefully yellow-green all through, it glints with intelligence and madness, and its engorged pupil feels like a swallowing hole, even without eye contact.
(18:04:52) [GM]: Miriana guesses this creature to have once been human, tormented and transformed by obsession and insight - its eye is the symbol of that, and can lay bare secrets and rot flesh off bone, but never find what it craves.
(18:12:10) Miriana: Miriana considers, then pulls Soot back into the safety of the cat's extradimensional pocket and sits back to let her own senses return.
(18:14:24) Micah_Whiterune: "Well?"
(18:15:21) Miriana: "It's occupied," she reports to Micah. "A nothic - they used to be human before their obsession with magical secrets got them cursed. Twisted into something with one giant eye, can make things rot with a glare, can see right through your secrets...not a very good thing to find."
(18:16:49) Micah_Whiterune: "Hmm, so someone gone missing from the university topside then."
(18:18:07) Miriana: "Maybe they shut them in? I don't think we're going to get lucky sneaking in again, anyway. Not when its face is one big eyeball."
(18:18:40) Miriana: "We'd have to find a way to bargain with it or see what we can find upstairs."
(18:18:41) Micah_Whiterune: "Pass a message down? Can you contact it mentally?"
(18:19:19) Miriana: "I have to see it, which means luring it over somehow."
(18:19:54) Miriana: "I guess I could make a distraction and see if that works..."
(18:20:58) Micah_Whiterune: "Well, it's very perceptive, so...drop one of the flowers in? It'd see that soon enough."
(18:21:41) Miriana: Miriana experimentally picks one of the blossoms and lets it fall gently through the hole in the tunnel.
(18:26:57) [GM]: Though it takes a while for anything to happen, there is eventually a series of clacking sounds, like someone hitting their teeth together, and the creature clambers onto a bookshelf in view of the crack as it spots the dropped flower. It regards the flower with apparent puzzlement and looks around, then up, fixing its gaze on the crack in the ceiling.
(18:26:57) [GM]: Has it seen her? It does not seem to be reacting to her presence.
(18:28:01) Miriana: Miriana decides not to bank on the chance that she's remaining stealthy. <Hello there,> comes a wary but friendly thought. <Are you the librarian of this collection?>
(18:30:18) [GM]: Though clearly alive, the nothic has no lips, so that its visage is frozen in a skeleton's grin, causing it to appear quite amused at the communication. It blinks once, slowly, and grinds its teeth in what appears to be thought, looking around. <Where?> comes the answer in a cracked mental voice.
(18:31:19) Miriana: <Up,> she prompts, hoping this isn't a mistake. <What is this place?>
(18:34:12) [GM]: The nothic looks up, and seems to spot Miriana now. It reacts by clacking its teeth together in a rythm reminiscent of a cackling laugh. <Place of knowledge. Magic. Ancient power. Dreams."
(18:35:28) Miriana: <And you are its keeper, then.> Miriana tilts her head fractionally to the side. <How came you here?>
(18:36:58) [GM]: The creature mirrors her movement. <I am the most fit. And you found a crack.>
(18:40:44) Miriana: <I did,> she agrees. <And if you are the most fit, then you are the one from whom I should seek permission to visit and search this place.>
(18:42:43) [GM]: Again, it repeatedly clicks its teeth. Then, it raises one oversized talon-hand and makes a grabbing motion with the palm facing upward. <Knowledge for power. You give magic, I give secrets.>
(18:44:30) Miriana: Miriana makes the thought-equivalent of a hmm. She shoots Micah a thought in the meantime. <It wants magic in return for the knowledge.>
(18:45:42) Micah_Whiterune: <That seems reasonable enough,, if the knowledge is good.>
(18:47:02) Micah_Whiterune: <Ask how you may visit? This hole doesn't exactly fit, even if you dieted>
(18:47:30) Miriana: <It looks pretty solid from what I saw of the books.> To the nothic, she responds, <And if I do? This crack is enough to speak through, but not for me to enter.>
(18:49:33) [GM]: The nothic answers with mental indifference. <Your issue. Lose weight. Use front door.>
(18:50:45) Miriana: Miriana enjoys a vivid mental image of the nothic's eye exploding in tongues of flame.
(18:52:19) Miriana: <And where is the front door?> she asks with forced politeness.
(18:55:35) [GM]: She is answered by the intrusive mental image of a tall building, its facade decorated with a large astronomical clock above the tall gate - the building where the faculties of the university of Livest meet. Then thoughts of descending to a basement, past a hidden door down a flight of stairs and then into this library.
(19:00:12) Miriana: <Perfect. I'll figure out what we'll bring you in trade, then. See you soon.> Lacing a little too much sweetness into the parting thought, she pulls back from the crack, glowering.
(19:01:28) [GM]: The last Miriana gets over the mental link is an expression of darkly excited interest before she breaks contact.
(19:03:45) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Buried Secrets, Part 2
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2017, 12:34:26 PM »
(16:13:28) [GM]: ----------
(16:13:38) [GM]: Having claimed their reward for slaying the basilisk, Miriana and Micah now seek to gain access to the mysterious underground library, and perhaps to find the original owners of some of the treasures it possessed.
(16:13:38) [GM]: After talking to Margaretha, she agreed to supply Micah with a new weapon, and announced that the best she could find or commission would be delivered to the Fair Constable.
(16:13:38) [GM]: Investigating the crack found in the city sewers, Miriana found a small but promising library of arcane lore, and its mad, mutated librarian. The nothic has demanded power in return for access to the library's secrets, and does not seem to care how she gains physical access.
(16:13:38) [GM]: As far as the found treasures, avenues of research present themselves:
(16:13:38) [GM]: The two magical items, a revealing lantern and a red fire-gem, were doubtlessly taken into the sewers with intent to use them, so the two unfortunate statues they saw from afar might have formerly been their owners.
(16:13:38) [GM]: Assorted jewelry likely ended up in the sewers from rich inhabitants of the inner city, as the system does not extend below the wealthy outskirts. Students that frequent inner Livest might have seen them, or perhaps the former constable, who Mariya Blinsky is familiar with.
(16:13:38) [GM]: The straw puppet is clearly connected to druids in some fashion, but who might make such a crude doll with real human hair? The rumored Turtleback sisters, perhaps?
(16:13:38) [GM]: The strange bone dice might belong to an eccentric gambler, or perhaps a mystic or fortune-teller. Such a character is likely to be known in the less savory outer districts.
(16:13:38) [GM]: Finally, the set of earrings presumably belongs to an elf, and exotic as they are, not just any.
(16:13:38) [GM]: Left to their own devices, Micah and Miriana are faced with the question: where next?
(16:17:23) Miriana: Miriana looks over the strange little treasure hoard, having cleaned and mended the bits and pieces as best she could. "Well, I suppose we could always take it all to a pawn shop, but..."
(16:19:33) Micah_Whiterune: "The puppet and the druids should be an easy contact point I think, though they would just mutter some crap and be all mysterious."
(16:21:44) Miriana: "They do love their mystique. I guess you don't get to be a secret society without it." Miriana bounces the wedding ring in her hand. "This wouldn't be too hard to track down, I think? There can't have been too many weddings on the day we arrived."
(16:22:50) Micah_Whiterune: "Should be common knowledge. Let's start with that then. "
(16:23:15) Miriana: "It'll be a nice break from creepy witches and whatnot," Miri agrees.
(16:25:21) Micah_Whiterune: "Not that we're ever going to be free of either..." Micah looks about, "So, ask a priest, constable or a gosip?"
(16:25:25) Micah_Whiterune: *gossip
(16:36:13) Miriana: "Mmm. The priests would be the ones to ask, certainly. They're more likely to have a record than not if the couple could afford a good ring."
(16:36:21) Miriana: "Should we pay the church a visit?"
(16:37:18) Micah_Whiterune: "As long as they are sensible people."
(16:39:06) Miriana: "No way to know that in advance, but let's give it a shot anyway." Miriana bundles the rest of the goods away.
(16:40:14) [GM]: Though splendid from a distance, up close the inner city feels like a world of its own compared to the outer districts. Its wealth is evident in every inch of pavement and building, well-maintained roads leading between lavishly decorated stone towers, many even connected by bridges and high passages.
(16:40:14) [GM]: It seems almost larger on the inside than on the outside, as every turn and side street reveals more tall buildings and the mind boggles at how so much stone can fit in a constrained space. The architecture is dominated by verticality; tall narrow windows, steep roofs, looming grotesques. Every building stretches upwards to touch the sky: A testament to piety, or hubris?
(16:43:38) [GM]: Livest's central cathedral is dedicated to the Skymother herself, its massive doors facing east on a plaza sporting a central sundial and astronomical clock. After the cold spell of the past week, the afternoon is sunny and sweltry. There is currently no mass, so a curate named PArsifal is quickly found who may be able to give insight.
(16:44:27) Micah_Whiterune: "Hmph, certainly well built, if impractical amount of effort for the use of it."
(16:46:50) Miriana: Miriana waves hello to the curate. "Good afternoon! I hope we aren't distracting you from your duties; I had a question I was wondering if you could help me with."
(16:48:24) [GM]: "That is what the church is for, miss. My name is Parsifal. How can I aid you?" The curate smiles warmly, and expression that his crow's feet betray comes easily to him. A wispy beard frames his face, and his square-cut hair is on the verge of graying.
(16:51:35) Miriana: "It's a strange question, but I'm trying to find out who married on a particular day. We found a wedding band, you see, and the date was engraved into it without any names to look for."
(16:54:57) [GM]: "Ah, returning lost property? A worthy goal. May I see?" Reading the date on the ring, Parsifal the curate nods without even having to look up the date. "Ahh, I believe I remember this. A wedding was conducted in this very cathedral, late in the afternoon. The weds were Lady Aur and Lord Baehr."
(16:57:12) Micah_Whiterune: "Anything happen to them lately?"
(16:58:28) [GM]: "Nothing that I know of. The Lady Aur, Lady Baehr now, isn't in the best of health and resides outside the city walls, but Lord Baehr has a residence not too far away."
(17:02:19) Miriana: Miriana frowns thoughtfully. "Well, easy enough to find him, I imagine. Thank you very kindly for the help, sir."
(17:04:31) [GM]: "You do the stars' work" Parsifal winks. "I'm sure Lord Baehr would be happier to visit his wife with the ring than without. No mortal is perfect."
(17:06:40) Micah_Whiterune: "Well...the lady tends to get rather upset for being careless with something like that. Many an urgent commission results."
(17:09:55) Miriana: Miriana blinks rapidly before realizing what the curate actually meant.
(17:11:51) [GM]: Lord Baehr's residence is a stately apartement occupying the second and third floors of a six-story building somewhat nearby, yet tricky to find through the maze of streets even with Parsifal's directions.
(17:11:51) [GM]: A crest depicting a stylized bear stands proudly above the door, which is answered by what at first appears to be a child but on a second glance is a halfling maidservant, looking up at the visitors with some apprehension. "Good afternoon, sir and madam. Are you expected?"
(17:14:56) Micah_Whiterune: "Not expected, but tell him we found a ring please."
(17:18:04) [GM]: "Ah! Please, come in." The maidservant lets Micah and Miriana into a lavishly furnished vestibule and has a whispered conversation with a manservant, another halfling, who nods eagerly and goes to fetch the lord while the maid asks if the guests would like anything to drink.
(17:21:07) Micah_Whiterune: "Beer please." Micah stomps his way in, giving the halflings a curious look.
(17:21:27) Miriana: Miriana isn't quite sure what would be a gauche request. "Nothing for me, thank you."
(17:23:39) [GM]: "I'm afraid the closest we have to a beer would be elven wine. It's locally made and effervescent."
(17:24:18) Micah_Whiterune: Micah raises an eyebrow, "Sure, lets try that."
(17:26:37) [GM]: The elven wine, made from honey, is stronger than an ale or beer, but lacks any hint of bitterness. Instead it is sweet, sparkling, and scented with flowers. Not long after, a tall, gaunt man in fine home clothing comes into the room with quick, striding steps, followed by the manservant, who practially has to run to keep up.
(17:26:37) [GM]: Lord Baehr looks excited. "Is it true? Have you found my ring?"
(17:27:36) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes a long slow sip, considering the novelty of the flavor while leaving the excited lord to Miriana.
(17:29:08) Miriana: Miriana nods, producing the wedding ring from her pocket. "At least, I believe we have."
(17:33:02) [GM]: "Ha! Indeed!" Lord Baehr crosses the room in two strides and stops himself short of all but snatching it out of Miriana's hands, accepting it carefully to inspec thte gem and inscription. "Certainly! This is it! Ah, I'd feared I might never see it again."
(17:33:54) [GM]: While Miriana is distracted by the exuberant Lord Baehr, Micah happens to catch a glance of the halfling maidservant slipping a small square of paper or similar into her pocket.
(17:34:59) Micah_Whiterune: Micah gives Miriana a strange look, but doesn't mention anything.
(17:35:19) Miriana: "With a basilisk sitting on it, you might well not have for some time," Miriana remarks cheerfully. "It must have fallen down a grate somewhere."
(17:37:24) [GM]: Lord Baehr laughs. "You jest! But I was quite on the verge of despair. Such a token of love isn't simply replacable. My carelessness will be the death of me, someday. I must reward you, of course!"
(17:37:27) Miriana: At Micah's look, Miri sends a thought his way. <What? Is something on my face?>
(17:38:18) Micah_Whiterune: <Just the maid stuffing paper into your pocket.>
(17:40:22) Miriana: Miriana's not quite sure what to make of that. <Huh. Why wouldn't she just...never mind.>
(17:42:26) Miriana: Out loud, she says, "We're quite glad to see the ring back with its rightful owner." Neutral enough that it doesn't risk offending but also, hopefully, doesn't turn down the proffered reward.
(17:49:00) [GM]: "Heaven is deep in debt, with all the eternal reward promised after death. I might as well lighten the burden. Orazio!" He thinks briefly, then flashes the manservant a hand with five fingers outstretched, who nods and hurries off, only to return with a small box containing five large platinum coins minted with the emperor's counterfeit.
(17:50:39) Micah_Whiterune: Micah absentmindedly combs his beard as he looks at the rather substantial sum of money.
(17:52:44) Miriana: Miriana inclines her head respectfully. "It's very kind of you, milord. Thank you."
(17:56:04) [GM]: "It may have a value in craftsmanship, but to me it is priceless. This is but a crude approximation of my gratitude."
(17:56:56) Micah_Whiterune: "I'm certain the missus would be much relieved. Is she well?"
(17:59:05) [GM]: "Oh, as well as can be. A little frail, she is, but the gossipmongers underestimate her health. To tell you the truth, she also simply dislikes the city. Too cramped. Alas, I have work to do here."
(18:00:29) Micah_Whiterune: "Unfortunate, but such is life." Micah, considering that her health is well enough, declines to comment further about newlyweds living apart, especially after the man had handed them a fairly large sum of money.
(18:02:02) Miriana: "There's something to be said for more pastoral surroundings," Miriana agrees. "But I suppose we can't help our duties."
(18:04:19) [GM]: "And speaking of, I must be away soon. I cannot thank you enough."
(18:05:50) Micah_Whiterune: Micah nods, "Oh rest assured, it's well enough for us."
(18:06:31) Miriana: "Hopefully we've brought you a pleasant distraction from them, at least."
(18:09:15) [GM]: "Oh, indeed. Please, feel free to finish your drink. I must away. Thank you, and farewell!"
(18:09:51) Micah_Whiterune: Micah has every intention of finishing his drink, so this was already assumed as he goes through the somewhat  too flowery, but otherwise pleasant beverage.
(18:11:38) Miriana: While Micah does so, Miri waits for an opportune moment without their host before slipping a hand into her pocket and surreptitiously reading the...note?...by faking a yawn and raising her hand to her mouth.
(18:13:14) [GM]: The note... is written in the halfling language, which uses the common script but is not mutually intelligible, save that it seems to concern the Lady Baehr.
(18:16:28) Miriana: Miriana rolls her eyes as she pockets the note again. Well, one way around that, at least. <Was writing the note in Halfling to make sure Lord Baehr didn't read it?> she asks the maid curiously, lips unmoving.
(18:19:09) [GM]: The maid, who Miriana recalls Lord Baehr called Maja at some point, jumps, nearly dropping the short broom she was carrying. She looks around to see Miriana and puts a finger on her lips with an expression of mild panic.
(18:20:18) Miriana: Miriana meets her gaze with an expression of bland confusion and continues, reassuringly. <Don't worry, no one can hear us. It's more like thinking than talking.>
(18:21:45) [GM]: She stares back with a little confusion before figuring it out and replying, <Oh... Yes, I suppose it was.>
(18:23:47) Miriana: <Go ahead and take your time with that drink,> Miri prompts Micah before returning to Maja. <I'm afraid I don't speak it, but it must be important if you wanted to get a message to me that badly.>
(18:27:26) [GM]: The maidservant stands there silently for a moment before returning to work, or the pretension thereof, and replying as she does. <I don't speak any other languages. I thought someone who couldn't read it might be motivated to find out what it says, if they suddenly found a note in their pocket.>
(18:28:31) Miriana: <Well, you were certainly right. What does it say, then?>
(18:28:33) [GM]: <The Lady Aur has bewitched Lord Baehr. She drinks his blood and breath, most the servants suspect it.>
(18:30:06) Miriana: <She...drinks his blood and breath?> Miriana is suddenly intensely curious. <He seemed vital enough when he was here.>
(18:33:00) [GM]: <You know how someone who hasn't slept in too long might become energetic, start laughing at all things?>
(18:33:42) Miriana: <...Yes,> Miriana admits. She happens to be quite familiar with the sensation.
(18:42:28) Miriana_: <It's...certainly a bold claim. Are you absolutely sure it isn't just marital problems bubbling up?>
(18:45:50) [GM]: <Positive! He's not the only one. But no one in the Lord's circles would believe a word, if we went to them, and neither would the priests. Hence, pleading with strangers.>
(18:48:40) Miriana_: Miriana drums her fingers on her leg while she thinks at Micah instead. <She claims the Lady has been drinking the breath and blood of the Lord, and more besides.>
(18:59:05) Micah_Whiterune: <Check if the Lady's been anywhere like sacred ground.>
(19:00:41) Miriana_: <Besides the church?> Miriana turns back to Maja. <She lives out of the city, right? But she was in the church for their wedding. Does she have other odd habits?>
(19:05:43) [GM]: <She leaves the mansion as little as possible, citing poor health, but she's just fine at home. Every so often a servant disappears or has to leave, but the Lord doesn't take note.>
(19:07:11) Miriana_: <Mhm. I suppose if he were bewitched, he wouldn't. Has she always seemed like this, or did something about her change?>
(19:09:32) [GM]: <She seemed lovely enough when the Lord was courting her, but he took to her strangely. I barely saw her before they were wed, but I'd imagine she was already like that.>
(19:15:08) Miriana_: Miriana relays this to Micah. <It's certainly concerning...and she seems convinced.>
(19:16:35) Micah_Whiterune: <Not a vampire or even one of the living dead I believe. More likely some spellcaster if what she said is right. Her actions match someone relying upon magical guises and who is wary of extended scrutiny from the public.>
(19:17:57) Miriana_: To Maja, she replies <Where would you recommend we begin? Just walking into her estate sounds unwise.>
(19:20:30) Miriana_: <Come to think of it, what sort of family does she come from?>
(19:21:54) [GM]: <If only I knew. My only idea was to turn to strangers, who might set an investigation in motion. If her deeds could be proven, by finding traces of her witchery, or of her victims... I believe the Aurs are minor nobility, from elsewhere. Marrying into Lord Baehr's family for prestige.>
(19:22:58) Miriana_: <Do they have city holdings? Or is the Lady the only one of her family around?>
(19:25:19) [GM]: <I believe it's just her, and a supposed aunt and several servants she brought with her. The Aurs are from Sorenwald, I'm told.>
(19:31:32) Miriana_: Miriana nods thoughtfully. <I don't know that we'll be able to put a stop to it ourselves, but we'll look for evidence, at least.>
(19:32:28) [GM]: <That is all I ask. Thank you so much.>
(19:33:25) Miriana_: <In the meantime, be careful. I'd say slip away if you can, but it might not be safe.>
(19:33:46) [GM]: <I wouldn't dare leave the Lord or Orazio alone.>
(19:35:34) Miriana_: <You're a brave woman.> Miriana offers her a smile before turning to Micah. "Almost done?"
(19:38:14) Micah_Whiterune: Micah polishes off the last of it, "It's, pleasantly not as elven as it's name."
(19:39:36) Miriana: "Is that what you say when people ask why you put up with me?"
(19:40:20) Miriana: "In any case, we should be leaving, I think. Thank Lord Baehr for his hospitality, if you would be so kind, and take care."
(19:40:54) [GM]: "I will. Heaven shine your way."
(19:41:02) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Gloaming Star, Part 1
« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2017, 06:05:56 AM »
(16:18:56) [GM]: ----------
(16:19:02) [GM]: Miriana and Micah have decided to look into the cult Margaretha of the Crane has been trying to investigate. The Crane knight informed them that corruption is suspected to fester in the church's ranks, and showed them a setting-sun symbol supposedly used by the cultists.
(16:19:02) [GM]: They were also asked by Maja, a halfling maidservant of an inner city noble, to expose the supposed dealings of Lady Baehr (née Aur), who the maid believes has bewitched her new husband.
(16:19:02) [GM]: Ulf Starkheim, their contact, is a converted dwarven priest living int he dwarven quarter. On a visit, he decided to arrange a meeting the following night. Thus, with some time to spare, Micah and Miriana are investigating the history of House Aur.
(16:21:19) [GM]: The sun's light is weakened by clouds as the two ask around the inner city. The gossip shares a tenor - speculation on the lady's health, and remarks on her pale skin and quite beautiful figure.A quick glance at records of the church shows that the Aurs are an established lineage native to Sorenwald, going back as far as the records - though these begin only two or three centuries ago.
(16:24:18) [GM]: Additional research reveals patterns: The Aurs are quite happy to intermarry with other families, but don't seem to follow the trend of other houses. Normally, one would marry up as much as possible, or accept large benefits in return for allowing one of lower station to marry into the house.
(16:24:18) [GM]: But House Aur's practices seem haphazard, yet clearly patterned. Miriana and Micah just can't quite put their fingers on the pattern. Many of the family members and relations are quite obscure, in addition.
(16:34:08) [GM]: However much she turns the books, Miriana can't figure out what's wrong. A bit of divine guidance (so claims Micah), however, guides them to someone who reluctantly parts with a bit of gossip they feel many have been withholding.
(16:34:08) [GM]: It is clear why, too - a wild rumor goes that the Aur family descends from the infamous immortal vampire Gulthias, or something similarly sinister. Such an accusation is certainly difficult to utter in polite society.
(16:37:35) MicahWhiterune: "This smells kind of rotten." Micah frowns, "And trees should stay in the ground, not wander around."
(16:37:49) Miriana: Miriana squints. "Was that a pun?"
(16:38:45) MicahWhiterune: "Dead people, dead trees. We should just burn them all."
(16:39:09) Miriana: "It's definitely suspect, agreed, but I think if you burn down the Baehr estate we'll be lucky to just be arrested."
(16:39:48) Miriana: "Although I wouldn't mind taking a look at the lady's home outside the city when we get a chance."
(16:43:07) MicahWhiterune: "Still, what's her agenda. Aside from sucking the good lord dry?"
(16:44:08) Miriana: "I can't figure it out and please never talk about sucking someone dry ever again thank you." Miriana claps her hands over her pointy ears for emphasis.
(16:46:42) MicahWhiterune: "If she doesn't spend much time with him personally, it's most likely  some of his assets. Maybe we could look into what the country home is good for?"
(16:48:18) Miriana: "We could, once things have calmed down with this cult. If that ever happens."
(16:49:38) MicahWhiterune: "Bet you a silver that a cult that has the sun setting is consorting with vampires"
(16:51:27) Miriana: "Done."
(16:54:14) [GM]: At night, the duo finds Ulf Starkheim's church as agreed. The clouds have cleared, revealing the starry sky dominated by an almost-full moon. The church makes a concession to the usual style of architecture in its tall belfry, but is otherwise constructed in a squat dwarven style for the dwarven quarter.
(16:54:14) [GM]: Ulf Starkheim is a dwarf about a decade Micah's junior, his beard kept relatively short and immaculately groomed. He ushers the two heroes into his personal quarters at the back of the church, a simple living space with a bed, table, hearth and little more.
(16:54:25) [GM]: As he is sharing ale with the visitors, two more arrive - those who had already been looking into the case on Margaretha's request. They are Ivan, an unassuming man wearing peasant's clothing and a wry smile, and Rosa, a tall woman with a greatsword at her hip, who lets Ivan introduce her.
(17:00:34) Miriana: Miriana waves hello to the two newcomers.
(17:00:51) [GM]: Ulf serves ale for the two new arrivals, as well, and sits down with a grunt. "So what has Dame Margaretha told you, then? I don't imagine much."
(17:01:23) MicahWhiterune: "Little more than a cult being a problem"
(17:03:06) Miriana: "We heard there had been a poisoning, but not much else."
(17:05:30) [GM]: Ulf nods, as do the two visitors. "Makes sense. Can't be too careful. The walls are thin above ground, after all." Ivan gives an 'if you say so' kind of shrug and continues, "Father Ulf came to the Crane originally based on suspicions, and we tried to confirm those suspicions. He named three individuals, we've started investigating two of them so far. One of those was the poison victim."
(17:08:10) Miriana: "Admittedly I don't know the exact circumstances of the poisoning, but is it possible they might have taken it themselves?"
(17:10:35) [GM]: Ulf nods. "The first one I became suspicious of was Father Konrad. That's the one who died. He was a human priest, leading a church nearby. His sermons were odd. Talking about certain things, shadows, digging up old stories. He started asking people to talk to him in private after mass."
(17:10:35) [GM]: "I happened to notice him messing with an old symbol I didn't recognize and found out it was associated with the Gloaming Star. Not officially forbidden, but deprecated because of that."
(17:11:33) [GM]: "It's the kind of pattern they warn us about in stories." Ulf looks at Micah.
(17:12:32) Miriana: Miriana thinks. "So nothing...overt, but questionable things happening too often to be a coincidence. And then he turns up dead."
(17:13:22) [GM]: Ivan nods. "Yes. However... he only deceased after Rosa and I began investigating him."
(17:13:48) MicahWhiterune: "If they're gone far enough to start sharing it  with their congregation, then have anyone asked their followers?" Micah nods to himself, "Pattern says they're up to something, and he's been cut out."
(17:19:22) [GM]: "I have to admit we've mostly focused on their persons. My friend isn't much of a speaker, and I try to avoid speaking on matters of faith in public. We did shadow Father Konrad and another and searched their homes."
(17:21:03) MicahWhiterune: "Found anything?"
(17:25:39) [GM]: "The other man we looked into, Father Balduin, came into suspicion because he was friends with Father Konrad and has had a number of personal rivals fall sick lately. However, I haven't found anything on him, even after looking twice. I don't believe he's a heretic, only lucky. And an unpleasant person, if you ask me."
(17:26:58) MicahWhiterune: "Hmm, and before recent  events? Did the deceased behave like he  did shortly before death? Something must have happened to change his beliefs or to persuade him to go public with them"
(17:27:06) [GM]: "As for Konrad, I found these." Ivan produces some crumpled papers from his clothes, evidently torn out of a book. "A book forbidden by the church. I can't read it all, but as far as I can tell, it talks about the Gloaming Star Hesperus as well."
(17:27:30) Miriana: "Well, unpleasantness isn't punishable by law, mostly." Miriana perks up as Ivan brings the papers out. "May I take a look?"
(17:29:17) [GM]: "Certainly." The papers contain meticulously neat handwriting, from a time before the printing press. The words on them are written in a language even older than the paper and ink, an archaic form of the common language that would require translation to be fully legible.
(17:30:49) [GM]: Looking at Micah, Ulf grunts. "I'm not sure when I began noticing Konrad's sermons. Certainly, it hasn't been too long. A few months, maybe, less than a year."
(17:32:45) MicahWhiterune: "Did he go anywhere before that?"
(17:34:08) [GM]: "Somewhat over a year ago is when we got a new vicar general in the city, and he'd been in contact with her more often than anyone else I know, as far as I could tell. That's why she was the third on my list of suspects."
(17:35:24) [GM]: Ivan adds, "You might wonder why I tore out a few pages at random. The answer is I didn't want to remove potentially damning from his possession. Or be found with damning evidence on my body. A few pages, I can swallow in a pinch."
(17:35:25) MicahWhiterune: "But you've not investigated her yet, right?
(17:36:03) Miriana: Miriana peers at the pages with great curiosity. "That's...hmm. A very old language indeed."
(17:36:03) [GM]: Ivan shakes his head at that. "We haven't. She's a less public figure and lives in the inner city, so she's harder to gather information on casually or get to privately."
(17:37:06) MicahWhiterune: "Servants?"
(17:38:22) [GM]: "Surprisingly difficult to find."
(17:38:49) MicahWhiterune: "That is unusual."
(17:39:04) [GM]: "I'm sure they're out there, but we concentrated on the low-hanging fruit first. It's been around a week, after all."
(17:39:06) MicahWhiterune: "She'd have a cook, or she'd buy food  at least."
(17:39:35) Miriana: "I can take a look at these and see if I can come up with anything more than your translation has. It might take a little while, though."
(17:40:58) [GM]: "By all means. I know a little something about scripture, but I'm no scholar of language."
(17:41:27) [GM]: "Maybe don't get cuaght with them."
(17:41:37) Miriana: "So you have three main suspects, of whom one's likely just an ass, one's dead, and one's lofty enough to make investigating them difficult," Miri muses while smoothing the papers out.
(17:41:54) Miriana: "Oh, never fear."
(17:46:40) [GM]: "Indeed. Of course, Father Konrad's death is probably being investigated, but it would be by secular authorities. If we assume for a moment that this is conclusive evidence of his guilt and he was involved in a conspiracy, that might be the idea. If he was outed as a heretic, his property would be seized and an inquisition probably called, probably including one of the paladin orders."
(17:46:40) [GM]: "If he is murdered, he dies with his name clean and what happens in Livest stays there. Plus someone can be framed for it, and he can be replaced."
(17:49:24) MicahWhiterune: Micah frowns at this rather questionable way of sorting things out. "Then if anyone bought into his message?"
(17:51:49) Miriana: "That's actually a good point. Do you have the names of anyone he spoke with after services?"
(17:55:14) [GM]: "Good question. I hadn't thought of that." Ivan and Rosa look at Ulf, who grunts in thought. "Let me think. A fair number of them, but if he was trying to recruit, he wouldn't have just talked about heresy the moment they were private. His flock isn't mine, either, so I'd have to ask around."
(17:58:05) MicahWhiterune: "Too  much to hope that none listened to heresy."
(17:59:03) [GM]: Ulf nods. "Likely. The ideal is bright, but the heart is soft."
(17:59:12) Miriana: "Some of them might be able to give us an idea of what he wanted, even if they don't know the exact nature of the teachings."
(18:00:01) [GM]: "True. I will find out starting tomorrow."
(18:05:34) [GM]: "You know," Ivan says with a pensive expression, "I wonder if they've found that book in Father Konrad's dwelling. I'd bet silver they haven't." Rosa rolls her eyes and mimes throwing dice, as if implying he'd bet silver on anything.
(18:08:37) Miriana: "Probably not. I'd offer to look around his dwelling, but I doubt I'd be allowed in."
(18:10:39) [GM]: "Allowed is a strong word. I've been in his living quarters before. I've avoided them the past few days just in case, but I could try again."
(18:11:16) Miriana: "Well, anything incriminating is probably long gone by now, but if you want to take another look tomorrow I'm game."
(18:12:57) [GM]: "I don't relish the opportunity as such, but if you think it might help, certainly."
(18:14:40) Miriana: "It's somewhere to start while the Father here asks around about the flock." Miriana glances at Micah. "We'll meet you tomorrow, then, after I've had a chance to try my hand at translating these?"
(18:15:43) [GM]: "It's a deal."
(18:24:50) [GM]: At night, Micah and Miriana burn the midnight oil at the inn poring over the text. Micah provesperhaps surprisingly helpful, recalling bits and pieces of old dialect from dwarven records.
(18:31:05) [GM]: The text is only two pages out of a book, but it can be inferred that the book as a whole talks about fallen stars. The most complete passage on their fragment is about an obscure divinity known as Spent Cinder Teide, detailing its smoldering soul... and the beginning of rituals to call it, though the full text is cut off.
(18:31:05) [GM]: Certainly, the full text would be damning to possess, but it's doubtful it remains in Father Konrad's place, unless it was hidden well. If he possessed a copy, though, then perhaps other members of the cult do too. And it cannot just have vanished into air.
(18:37:38) MicahWhiterune: "Fallen stars and fires snuffed out. I don't trust this one bit."
(18:39:42) Miriana_: "It does sound pretty bad," Miri agrees.
(18:41:53) MicahWhiterune: "Still, not much we could use to find the culprits. Nothing too hard to get in there."
(18:44:04) Miriana_: "I don't suppose the good Father had a lot of missing blood?"
(18:45:42) MicahWhiterune: "It wasn't said, but if  the ritual was completed, you'd expect a great deal  more fuss to be going on."
(18:47:39) Miriana_: "No sense wasting the blood."
(18:50:41) Miriana_: "It's definitely the kind of thing that no devout man would have, though."
(18:55:22) MicahWhiterune: "Certainly. Can't catch it until they start bleeding someone over a brazier though. Best to start checking  around  for disapperances."
(18:55:48) Miriana_: "And looking into the murder, as best we can."
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Offline Agita

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Gloaming Star, Part 2
« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2017, 06:07:04 AM »
(16:12:35) [GM]: ----------
(16:12:42) [GM]: Miriana and Micah are investigating a suspected cult of the fallen stars at the Crane Knights' request.
(16:12:52) [GM]: The day previous, they met with Ulf Starkheim, a dwarven priest, and Rosa and Ivan, two other adventurers hired by the Crane. They discussed Ulf's suspicions and evidence, and agreed to meet the next day to investigate the home of the murdered Father Konrad, who was among the suspects.
(16:13:02) [GM]: That night, Micah and Miriana burned the midnight oil translating two pages from a book Ivan had liberated when Konrad was still alive. They found they referenced a devil known as Spent Cinder Teide. Potentially damning evidence, but how can it be proven the book belonged to Father Konrad?
(16:13:12) [GM]: Near the next noon, the two meet up with Ivan and Rosa as promised. Father Conrad's house is a simple domicile attached to his church, much like Ulf's, a stocky building with a tall belfry near the edge of the dwarven district. The windows have been provisorily boarded up, and the church looks unattended at first glance save for flowers and candles deposited in mourning at the doors.
(16:13:12) [GM]: A more careful look, however, reveals that a certain man has been pacing around the building for some time, looking casual but staying in sight of the entrances. Likely, in Ivan's opinion, someone watching for perpetrators returning to the scene of the crime, or for vagabonds trying to get a roof over their heads.
(16:13:12) [GM]: The sky is clear and temperatures are rising. The church's interior might hold clues, but the guard is liable to get wrong ideas about anyone trying to investigate. Of course, he himself might know something about the murder.
(16:13:17) [GM]: What to do?
(16:30:22) Miriana: Miriana lets Soot out to stretch his legs for a bit, then gives him a few scratches and requests, politely, that he slip into the Father's house unnoticed and take a quick peek around.
(16:31:01) Miriana: While Soot prowls off, she finds a quiet place out of the way to sit and cast her awareness out of her own body, watching through the cat's eyes.
(16:34:25) [GM]: The otherworldly cat yawns with complete disinterest and fastidiously cleans himself before skulking off. Ivan and Rosa wait patiently as Miriana mentally follows her familiar up to the church's relatively low roof - a blessing in this city - and down the narrow chimney. Luckily, dead men light no fires.
(16:37:30) [GM]: The priest's humble dwelling is little different from Ulf's, save that the furniture is scaled to a human's stature. Through Soot's eyes, Miriana finds the air stale, but his feline nose picks up an almost faded acrid undercurrent, perhaps a last trace of the poison that killed Father Konrad.
(16:37:57) [GM]: There is a bookshelf, and several volumes seem to be missing, likely including the one Ivan stole some pages from.
(16:45:00) [GM]: Soot scours the inside of the room at Miriana's behest, but that is the extent of what he can find. Perhaps that is all there is to find, or perhaps direct investigation is needed. A scratch at the door draws the cat's attention, but the group outside can see that the source of the noise is a stray dog that's scratching at the door.
(16:45:00) Miriana: Miriana nudges Soot to relax for a moment and opens her eyes. "Nothing out of the ordinary, as far as I can see," she reports. "There's a bookshelf with a few empty spots, so someone's almost certainly been through and taken the worst of the lot."
(16:46:48) [GM]: "Hmm."  Ivan massages his chin. "I didn't exactly sample the late Father's entire library, but the only suspicious book I remember was the one I showed you pages from."
(16:47:04) MicahWhiterune: "Kitty smells anything?"
(16:47:54) Miriana: "Do you remember any books missing? I guess it's possible the Father was visited by a thief with a literary bent."
(16:48:34) Miriana: Miri scratches her cheek thoughtfully. "There's something acrid. It's really weak, but it's there. That could have been the poison."
(16:49:49) MicahWhiterune: "Follow it then? Whatever it is I doubt anyone would have noticed it well enough to find where it came from"
(16:50:16) [GM]: "I do not. Strange coincidence for the Father to be robbed between me investigating and his death; and after, a thief would have to have heard of it soon and snuck in. And in either case, why steal a priest's books?"
(16:52:14) Miriana: "I could try seeing where the scent leads. One moment." Miri shuts her eyes again and asks Soot to follow the strange smell, as best he can.
(16:54:54) [GM]: The origin of the scent within the room is a difficult-to-notice stain in the carpet. If one assumes the scent comes from the poison, then the father may have spilled his food or drink on it.
(16:56:50) Miriana: "No, it's just from a stain on the carpet. Possibly where he dropped his poisoned meal."
(16:57:06) MicahWhiterune: "Nothing  else smelling of that?"
(16:57:28) Miriana: "Nothing I could find." Miri turns to Ivan. "Do you think it's worth trying to ask our watchful friend over there a few questions?"
(16:57:46) MicahWhiterune: "Well, he'd need some good persuading."
(16:59:09) [GM]: "He would. I suppose the worst that could happen is arousing his suspicion, but it may be worth trying." Speaking of the watcher, he has been watching the stray dog scratch at the door with disinterest for a while and is now moving to shoo the animal away."
(17:01:27) Miriana: "Hmmm. I'd need a good excuse."
(17:03:25) MicahWhiterune: "Raw unbridled curiosity?"
(17:03:30) MicahWhiterune: "What, it's fact."
(17:10:45) [GM]: [11:07:07] <Miriana> "I mean, I guess that works. I could also just give him a real scare but that wouldn't end well." Miriana gets up and doubles back a street or two, slowly trudging up the road to the church. She does her best to look forlorn and walk slowly, stopping to look down every alleyway and into every nook along the way.
(17:11:14) Miriana: As she wanders closer and pretends to spot the watcher, her face lights up with cautious hope. "Sir? Sir? Have you seen my cat?" she calls out, hurrying over to him.
(17:14:27) [GM]: "Shoo, you damn mutt! The man's dead and buried." The guard stops in his attempts to chase off the stray when Miriana approaches him and regards her with a mix of surprise and mild annoyance before he finishes processing her question. "A cat? Plenty of strays around here, but I haven't taken note of any specific ones. What's it look like?"
(17:17:19) Miriana: "He's black and has little red tufts, and he's very sweet. Not like most cats - a bird once flew up to him and sat down right next to him, and he just sat there and purred." Miriana warms to her role of the obsessed cat owner. "I'm worried sick, he's been gone for a whole day and it's just not like him at all."
(17:19:06) [GM]: "Haven't seen no cat like that. Neither the color nor the pacifism."
(17:19:59) Miriana: "Can you help me look, please, sir? I know he's around here somewhere, I just know it."
(17:22:04) [GM]: "Busy keeping an eye on the church here. Can't get too far away. If a cat like that had been around, I'd have seen it."
(17:25:24) Miriana: "Why do you have to keep an eye on the church? Are you waiting for services?" Miriana eyes the guard suspiciously.
(17:28:53) [GM]: "If only. Priest here's died, have to make sure nobody walks off with anything until the place is sanctified and a new guy comes in. And that no critters shit on the floor until then." The last he says with a meaningful look at the stray dog which, of course, does not understand.
(17:29:34) [GM]: "Old man loved the strays, and they're coming like flies to a heap."
(17:31:19) Miriana: Miriana covers her mouth with her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! I hadn't heard the news." Her eyes brighten. "I wonder if my poor dear ever wandered over this way to see him. How very kind of him, to show compassion to stray animals."
(17:31:52) Miriana: Face starting to hurt from all the feigned emotions, she nudges Soot to start making some noise.
(17:32:56) [GM]: "Meh. You give 'em a finger and they want the hand." He raises an eyebrow at the sudden noise as Soot begins meowing like a lovesick tom shouting his love from the rooftops.
(17:34:01) Miriana: Miriana whips around, astonished. "Soot! Soot, is that you, love?"
(17:38:42) [GM]: After looking around for a few moments, the guard's gaze settles on the one place the mewling clearly comes from, the residence's door. "Not possible."
(17:39:35) Miriana: Miriana runs over to the door, pressing her ear to it. She gives the guard an expectant look.
(17:41:46) [GM]: "I'll be..." The guard shoos Miriana back from the door as he looks for a key on his belt to open it up. The door opens to reveal Soot, during a pause in the literal caterwauling, calmly cleaning his intimate areas, a few paces away from the door. "I'll be somethin', all right."
(17:42:52) Miriana: Miriana lets out a cry of glee, scooping up the cat from his undignified pose and hugging him to her. "There you are! You terrible beast, you gave me such a fright."
(17:45:36) Miriana: "Thank you, sir. I'm so sorry for all the trouble, I don't know how he possibly got in there."
(17:45:47) [GM]: He heaves a mixture of a sigh and an annoyed grunt. "I'll ge-" But Miriana in her feigned exuberance gets ahead of him. "All right, just get the bleeder out. Happy you've found him. However he got in there."
(17:48:50) Miriana: "Thank you so, so much. Here, one moment--" Miriana fumbles Soot one-handed as she pulls a few silvers out of her pocket.
(17:49:33) [GM]: "Well, I didn't-" The guard begins to say, but he seems not about to refuse a few silver pieces.
(17:49:53) Miriana: "Oh, you've more than earned them. I'm very sorry to hear about the poor man." She hesitates. "Was he very old?"
(17:51:03) [GM]: He shrugs. "Old enough to be your father, I'd guess."
(17:51:33) Miriana: "Oh, well...hrm. Sickness, then?"
(17:56:28) [GM]: He closes and locks the door again, which seems to convince the stray dog for good that the Father isn't here to be seen, and it trots off dejectedly. "Suppose there's not that much much harm. Poisoned, he was. They're trying to find who it was, but if y'ask me, it was anarchists. Underminin' the church where the people need it."
(18:00:27) Miriana: "Murdered? But why would someone poison an innocent priest?" Miriana cradles Soot like a small child, probably doing no favors to the cat's demeanor. "When someone preaches nothing but good words to the people...who'd want to deprive them of that?"
(18:02:34) [GM]: "You're tellin' me. Some men just want to watch the world burn. And some'll take money to help them."
(18:06:10) Miriana: "I'll have to drag the furniture in front of the door tonight, I just won't be able to sleep otherwise. But you do know where to look to stop them, yes? No doubt in some sewer lair?"
(18:07:01) [GM]: "Oh, we know some haunts. Easier said than done, but we'll find 'em. No worries."
(18:12:55) Miriana: "Oh, wonderful. Do you...well, I suppose it's silly to ask, but I am quite curious now - will it be safe for you? To capture them, I mean. They're not somewhere dangerous, are they?"
(18:14:04) [GM]: Seemingly somewhat confused by the question, the guard scratches his head. "I suppose they're more dangerous than their whereabouts... and I'm stuck on rear duty, anyway."
(18:16:30) Miriana: "Well, I suppose that's a relief, then." Miriana, floundering a bit, casts wildly around for a better approach.
(18:21:06) Miriana: None immediately springing to mind, she bites her tongue until blood wells up, dissolving into something intangible. When she speaks again, it wafts out toward the hapless guard. "I'm sorry to pry, but...would you mind telling me more about these people, where they are, what's the city doing about them? I'd feel much better knowing what streets I should avoid on the way home..."
(18:27:24) [GM]: The man rubs his beard and answers gruffly, "If you live in a fine part of town, you needn't worry. The poor bits of the foreigners' island and the orchards out of town are what you need to avoid. The first is where they really fester, but the second's where they make their money. You wouldn't think it, but half of them pretend they're perfectly respectable citizens, skim silver and apples off the top, until they decide they don't like you and get violent.
(18:27:24) [GM]: "And when they run into the druids that own some of those orchards, it's best to be inside the wall. Some say they make pacts with weird spirits to help. Heathens, both sides to the last man."
(18:31:13) Miriana: Miriana feigns a shudder. "They sound so sinister and...cult-like, really."
(18:33:44) [GM]: The man nods. "We can be sure it was them, too, because the poison the poor old fool swallowed, that wasn't nothing common. Apparently there's only so many people who could make that. We're looking into those to see who could've sold it out, so no worries, miss."
(18:35:19) Miriana: "That's just dreadful." Miriana bites her lip. "At least it's not common knowledge...I'd hate for people to say that oh, it's an elf poison, must have been those slit-ears who did it." Her bitterness isn't entirely fake this time.
(18:39:22) [GM]: "It isn't, far as I know."
(18:48:53) Miriana_: "Some small favor, then. I'm sorry, that's rude to say when a man's just died, but after a while you start wondering whether people will use it as an excuse to turn on you."
(18:50:11) Miriana_: "I'll leave you be, then. Again, thank you for all your help with poor Soot here. Say goodbye, Soot." She holds the cat up.
(18:51:34) [GM]: Soot meows in a manner disconcertingly imitative of the actual word, and the guard gives him a skeptical look but simply nods to Miriana as she takes her leave.
(18:52:32) Miriana_: Miriana wanders back the way she came, circling around to find Micah, Ivan, and Rosa.
(18:53:50) [GM]: Ivan has sat down cross-legged by a house wall, playing with a little leather ball, while Rosa leans against the same wall next to him. Both look up when Miriana comes back. "A fruitful discussion?"
(18:55:44) Miriana_: "Somewhat. Our friend was kind enough to tell me where the authorities are looking for the culprits, and a few tidbits about the poison." Miriana fills them in on what the guard let slip while he was enspelled, though not that she used magic to squeeze the information out.
(18:57:46) [GM]: Ivan nods. "How open of him. They suspect it was a hired killer, then? I suppose if someone were given instructions to remove a book but didn't know exactly what it looked like, they might take every book that fits the description to be safe. It seems risky to entrust this kind of killing to a third party, though."
(18:59:09) MicahWhiterune: "Maybe they can't visit in person?"
(18:59:29) MicahWhiterune: "Or maybe they  are not good at being quiet". Micah jingles a bit.
(18:59:44) Miriana_: "Desperation, perhaps. Or that, but I'd imagine someone in an organization like this could find proxies."
(19:00:11) [GM]: "Or they don't have the skills to get away with murder. A professional killer is so because he doesn't get caught, I suppose. Still, the pieces seem to fit."
(19:02:07) Miriana_: "The poison seems rare enough that they were confident it would be traced."
(19:03:31) [GM]: "Easier said than done, probably, but worth looking into. We do have more context than they do."
(19:04:10) MicahWhiterune: "If its a rare poison then, a setup?"
(19:04:36) Miriana_: "Maybe. There was some spilled, which could have been deliberate. Hard to tell."
(19:06:08) MicahWhiterune: "If you use a distinctive weapon, then you want it to be recognized, or nothing else works. This is an old human, right? No dwarfly constitution, no magics for warding off poison?"
(19:07:14) Miriana_: "But one in league with a cult and in possession of a text on summoning rituals. He might have had some magic at his fingertips."
(19:08:08) MicahWhiterune: "Anything we know about that poison other than who made it then?"
(19:08:52) Miriana_: "Just the smell, its rarity, and that it apparently isn't made by elves."
(19:09:43) MicahWhiterune: "As if an elf would have one of any real potency"
(19:18:44) Miriana_: "The poison seems like the angle to hunt down. They may be misguided in their suspicion, so if we can confirm or deny that..."
(19:23:01) MicahWhiterune: "Then we have the culprit."
(19:26:20) [GM]: Ivan nods. "Shall we try looking into the vicar general once more in the meantime?"
(19:27:19) [GM]: "Or would you prefer backup?"
(19:27:31) MicahWhiterune: "What's the worst that could happen?"
(19:28:05) [GM]: "A small army of thugs in a dark alley, if you ask the wrong people about the wrong things?"
(19:29:58) MicahWhiterune: "We've asked about worse."
(19:31:02) Miriana_: "I think covering more ground is good in case this is a dead end. We'll manage on our own, probably."
(19:31:56) [GM]: "Very well. Light's speed."
(19:33:12) MicahWhiterune: "Fire's light."
(19:42:30) [GM]: The search is fruitful. Though Miriana and Micah draw suspicious glares at times, with the right tack (for one, careful avoidance of any discussion of the murder that already happened) they find themselves with the name and address of one Tivadar Mehltal, apothecary and hobby alchemist.
(19:42:30) [GM]: Who also, clandestine sources say, makes a tidy side profit selling questionable substances to equally questionable buyers. His pharmacy is located in the large market street of Ostend, not too far away from the Fair Constable.
(19:42:53) [GM]: Will he have answers for the duo, or nothing but more questions?
(19:42:57) [GM]: ----------
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Gloaming Star, Part 3
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2017, 04:43:23 PM »
(16:05:06) [GM]: ----------
(16:05:16) [GM]: Miriana and Micah are investigating a suspected cult of the fallen stars at the Crane Knights' request.
(16:05:27) [GM]: After meeting with Ulf Starkheim, Ivan, and Rosa to duscuss the situation, four of them went to investigate the murder of Father Konrad while Ulf agreed to interview Konrad's former congregation.
(16:05:34) [GM]: They found several more books missing than expected, indicating that the thief had not known exactly what book to steal - evidence for a third party. A guard assigned to keep watch of the crime scene told Miriana the authorities, too, suspected a hired killer.
(16:05:44) [GM]: Carefully asking around, Micah and Miriana have found the name and ddress of one Tivadar Mehltal, who supposedly sells poisons to the right people for the right money.
(16:05:53) [GM]: Mehltal's pharmacy is an unassuming shop in Ostend, not too far from the Fair Constable. It is located on the great market street leading west from the main road to the inner city, towards the elven quarter and the bridge to the dwarven district.
(16:05:53) [GM]: Inside is the picture of a respectable business. The owner busies himself talking to a small number of customers while occasionally calling for his apprentice to fetch something.
(16:05:57) [GM]: The trickle of customers is modest but steady, and it seems unlikely Miriana and Micah will be alone with Tivadar Mehltal soon. How will they approach?
(16:12:54) Miriana: Miriana pretends to be examining something nearby, speaking to Micah mentally. <So, how are we going to drag a lead out of Mehltal?>
(16:13:48) Micah_Whiterune: <Go up to him and ask about the poison?>
(16:14:22) Miriana: <What, and pretend I just have an academic interest?>
(16:15:14) Micah_Whiterune: <Why not>
(16:16:18) Miriana: <I don't really know too much about it, but I suppose I could try...>
(16:17:06) Miriana: Miriana shrugs slightly before going to stand in line.
(16:20:36) [GM]: The line, such as it is, is rather informal, as Mehltal chats with several, clearly repeat, customers as he and his apprentice go about various orders, and some remain behind even after their medicine is done. He is a portly, older man, with black hair and beard neatly trimmed, and when he looks at Miriana, he wears an easy smile. "Oh, a new face. Welcome, miss. What can I do for you?"
(16:25:29) Miriana: Miriana lets some of her usual background anxiety creep into her voice. "Oh, um, hello. I'm from the college? I'm doing research for a task one of my instructors set me, researching toxins, and I'm a little stuck, so I was wondering if you could advise me? I'll pay you for your time, of course," she adds quickly.
(16:29:58) [GM]: Mehltal raises an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Well, anything for science, no? I can try. What is it you need to know?"
(16:34:42) Miriana: "Well, they've set me a difficult substance to identify and all I know is it's got a kind of acrid scent and it's fairly lethal if ingested. My father - he's the longer-lived side of the family - works in an apothecary, so I know a little bit about some of the more esoteric ones that elves typically use, and I don't think it's any of them."
(16:34:52) Miriana: "I'm sorry, I realize it's not much to go on," she admits.
(16:39:40) [GM]: "Oh dear. That reminds me of some families of beasts in the Mahr with rather nasty properties. Many poisons tend to be bitter more than acrid. It makes sense elven lore wouldn't have as much on the animals I'm thinking of, since they tend to concentrate on herbs. Has someone at the university eaten the wrong thing?"
(16:44:14) Miriana: "Yes," she lies. "One of the less careful boys didn't wash up after their work, and someone mentioned he'd fished a fly out of his drink with a finger after that, and, well...it's not a line of work for incautious people."
(16:47:16) [GM]: "Oh, no." Two of the other customers mutter about the unfortunate. "I have antidotes ready for several things, but I would have to know the right one. Shall I send my apprentice with you?"
(16:48:20) Miriana: "Ah, no, um," Miriana falters. "It's, ah, not necessary. He passed not too long after collapsing during the meal."
(16:54:05) [GM]: "Alas. Stars receive his soul. In that case, the ones who would know best are those that worked with the poor lad. It must've been a very strong poison, from what you said, so I can't imagine he would have been working alone."
(16:57:02) Miriana: "He didn't seem to taste anything, so it seems as though it must have been quite potent to work in such a small dose. That's what our working theory is, anyway - the other option is that one of the poor fellow's companions slipped it into his food."
(17:00:53) [GM]: "Perish the thought. For it to be so strong, it was most certainly processed in some way. Perhaps with the help of magic means - it might have passed through the hands of a wizard, then? Certainly, someone higher up would know about the substance, if it was being handled legitimately."
(17:03:48) Miriana: "Oh, hm, that does make some sense. I wasn't considering the possibility that magic had been introduced to the process...you mentioned that these were likely to be bestial poisons?"
(17:04:54) [GM]: "That's my estimate, based on what little I know."
(17:11:08) Miriana: "Interesting...would you mind telling me what sort of creatures would produce that venom? I'll take this back and see if any of my instructors might know about the refinement process."
(17:11:43) Miriana: <Lying,> Miriana reports to Micah. <I mean, we knew that, but he doesn't seem at all concerned about the person he might have killed.>
(17:13:00) Micah_Whiterune: <Send the kitty to check  his stock out?>
(17:14:39) Miriana: <I don't doubt he's got the stuff, but...what does that get us? We want to know who paid him, right?>
(17:15:09) Micah_Whiterune: <That'd  implicate him in a murder. He'd not do that unless he was a fool>
(17:15:47) [GM]: "I am thinking mainly of certain snakes. I will write you a list of names, the university certainly has literature on them. Some kinds of fish have a similar poison, these are the sort of poisoning that I was first thinking of, but their poison is much weaker and less fast-acting. They're easily distinguishable from edible fish, but some fishers are careless. It always pays to have seen the animal you eat whole."
(17:16:12) [GM]: "With hares as well, for example."
(17:16:49) Miriana: <Then what, we find it in his backroom and accuse him?>
(17:19:17) Micah_Whiterune: <Then we take a sample and figure out who improved it>
(17:20:48) Micah_Whiterune: <Unless someone could steal his  ledgers or something>
(17:22:24) Miriana: Miriana nods, fumbling in her pockets for a scrap of paper.
(17:27:32) Miriana: <Hmmm...how distracting can you be? Preferably well enough so that I can get back there and search without the apprentice.>
(17:28:08) [GM]: Dutifully, Mehltal writes down a list of common and formal names for several species of water snake.
(17:28:18) Micah_Whiterune: <Well, I could go up to them and start preaching...>
(17:28:45) Miriana: "Thank you, sir," Miriana interjects, offering a few silver so as not to seem insulting.
(17:31:43) Miriana: Once she leaves the shop, she ducks out of sight of the passersby, draws up a faint shimmer in the air with a handwave, and steps through it, disappearing as she does. Time to see what's in the stockroom.
(17:34:24) Micah_Whiterune: Micah give Miriana a moment to give him the signal, takes a swig  of some beer from a waterskin and then heads inside, a faintly alcoholic smelling dwarf priest in full missionary mode.
(17:41:11) [GM]: Micah's presence is only tolerated for so long once he starts proselytizing. Claiming his pharmacy as a faithful establishment, and having no place for beer-smelling loud dwarves, Mehltal and his apprentice attempt to remove him, giving Miriana at least some commotion to slip in the back unnoticed.
(17:42:24) Micah_Whiterune: Micah puts up a fairly noisy, if harmless struggle as the two discover just how hard it is to move a dwarf who's loudly preaching at them.
(17:45:18) [GM]: Miriana, meanwhile, has taken to the alleys and circled around to the backsides of the stores. It takes some time to find the right one, but once there, she finds a locked door just begging for application of some new tools she's acquired... only to find that their use still takes some getting used to.
(17:50:47) [GM]: Through combined effort of master and apprentice, Micah finds himself out on the street, with a threat to call law enforcement on him if he continues to disrupt business. He did buy some time, though, so perhaps Miriana has had luck?
(17:51:05) Miriana: Miriana bites her tongue to keep from swearing, wiping sweat off her hand onto her trouser leg before giving it another go.
(17:51:10) [GM]: She has not. The frustratingly simple lock continues to defy her attempts. What now?
(17:54:51) Miriana: Miriana presses her ear close to the keyhole while she works, picturing the soothing image of simply pointing her wand at the door and blasting the lock off.
(17:57:14) [GM]: Though it is best not to dwell on what it says about her psyche, the brief meditation on exploding locks calms Miriana's hands and emotions enough to figure it out quickly and silently. A relatively simple lock, really.
(17:58:56) [GM]: On the other side of the thankfully quietly swinging door is something like a small waiting room, dark for the lack of a window. In the light coming in through the door, she can make out a lamp and chairs around a table.
(17:59:37) Miriana: Miriana opens the door enough to let Soot in. "Find that poison," she whispers to the cat, giving him a brief scratch behind the ear.
(18:06:14) [GM]: Soot struts into the store with tail held high and begins looking around for the laboratory. He almost finds it, too, according to his mental reports, when he is spotted at the door of a suspicious-smelling room by a fellow of unkind emotional description who is presumably Mehltal's apprentice. "How'd you get in?" The apprentice moves to pick up the cat. "That's no place for animals. Out with you, fellow."
(18:07:16) Miriana: <...give him a bit of a chase,> Miri advises the animal, slipping in herself. This has gone phenomenally wrong.
(18:13:19) [GM]: Soot immediately complies, bolting between the apprentice's legs. The apprentice wheels about, calling, "Oh no, not there," which the cat immediately takes as an indication to go exactly there. Alas, Soot does not get far, as the apprentice proves quicker than expected, and manages to grab him by the scruff of his neck.
(18:13:19) [GM]: This does, however, at least give Miriana enough of an opportunity to slip into the room Soot identified as suspicious without the creak of the door being heard.
(18:14:06) Miriana: Miriana takes a moment to let out a silent sigh before setting about the process of investigation.
(18:16:26) [GM]: She finds herself in the apothecary's lab, where all manner of equipment is arrayed for mixing, boiling, distillation, and even some implements she's sure are for alchemical use. Shelves on two walls of the room are lined with bottles and jars in many shapes and sizes, containing various ingredients and medicines, all neatly labeled. Several cupboards and cabinets hold more sensitive materials.
(18:22:36) Miriana: Miriana moves toward where Soot was looking, scanning around for anything out of the ordinary for an apothecary's use. Most likely, the man does not keep records of his illicit dealings, but something else might suggest suspicion even if she can't find the poison.
(18:26:57) [GM]: A quick glance suggests the open shelves contain only legitimate medicines, and some ingredients that could be toxic if used the wrong way but are unsuspicious as components for medicine. The closed cupboards seem more likely to contain interesting things, and indeed, Miriana finds small, unlabeled clay jars in one of them, several of which smell bitter when opened - and one of which exudes a familiar acrid smell, much more strongly than the traces Soot smelled at the scene of the crime.
(18:28:48) [GM]: much more strongly than the traces Soot smelled at the scene of the crime.
(18:31:05) Miriana: Miriana considers that something to go on. She takes the jar, quietly closes the cupboard, and glances around to see if the way is clear before making her escape.
(18:32:17) [GM]: Soot reports that he's been thrown out the front door, and so the coast is indeed clear for Miriana to make a speedy escape through the back.
(18:35:21) Miriana: Miriana does so, carefully putting the jar in a bag and circling back around to the front. She finds Micah, invisibly giving him a little prod. <Got it! Let's go find somewhere else so they don't see us talking and get suspicious.>
(18:35:49) Micah_Whiterune: Micah ambles off, apparently towards the nearest source of beer
(18:37:00) Miriana: Miriana waits a few streets before finding somewhere to drop her veil and joining the dwarf.
(18:38:31) Micah_Whiterune: Micah quite rapidly becomes a lot less amiably drunk as he looks at the jar, "Think the others might have found something or do we take this to the university to ask what magic can magic this magic?"
(18:39:59) Miriana: "Might want to run it by Ivan and see if he and Rosa have found anything."
(18:40:55) Miriana: "The university would be a good place to check, but it's also possible he refined it himself if he had the complete stuff just sitting around."
(18:45:56) Micah_Whiterune: "Run it by them first then. Not much we can do without raising flags otherwise."
(18:55:11) Micah_Whiterune: "This thing here can't be heated much, is risky to handle, and I think I'll hit the herbalist along the way for something of an antitoxin in case it shows up in another way."
(18:55:21) Micah_Whiterune: "We got enough to start. Lets go."
(18:55:32) Miriana: Miriana nods, gingerly patting the lump in her bag as they head off to find the others. <Really hope we aren't stopped on the way...>
(19:02:03) [GM]: It is evening by the time Micah and Miriana meet the rest of their group again, all five once more congregating in Ulf Starkheim's abode. Rosa and Ivan, who had tried to investigate the vicar general Helena, return with mixed success, while Ulf believes his investigation into the late Father Konrad's congregation has been successful.
(19:02:03) [GM]: "What of your efforts?" Ivan asks.
(19:03:12) Miriana: Miriana produces a jar and sets it on the table. Very, very carefully. "We investigated one Tivadar Mehltal and found this - the same poison the late Father took - in a cabinet in his lab."
(19:03:22) Miriana: "I'd advise against breathing it in."
(19:04:23) Micah_Whiterune: "Unless you're a dwarf or something." Micah grins.
(19:04:37) [GM]: "Very nice. How will it help us find the assassin, or whoever hired them, though? It would certainly help kill them, I suppose."
(19:05:51) Miriana: "It requires a certain level of magical refinement. I'm not certain whether the good alchemist is capable of refining it himself - he certainly would have done so, if he could - but if he isn't, we may have something to go on there."
(19:06:20) Micah_Whiterune: "If you had someone you could ask about this specific poison, then we could arrange a more formal interrogation under compelled truth. Mehltal does not seem innocent, but I imagine you'd have wanted to be consulted before we did something extreme."
(19:07:45) Miriana: "Certainly, he's at least guilty of possessing this poison. So am I, technically, but citizen's aid and all that."
(19:12:00) [GM]: "Hm." Ivan scratches his beard stubble. "Far be it from me to suggest violence, but we could certainly be harsh with the good man. If you know he possesses other poisons, you have a good reason for him not to call the authorities on you."
(19:12:11) [GM]: "And he likely deserves it."
(19:13:17) Micah_Whiterune: "Would need some backup to question him properly."
(19:14:44) [GM]: "That we could certainly provide." Rosa nods gravely.
(19:15:01) Miriana: "Between us, we'd probably be able to manage."
(19:15:03) Micah_Whiterune: "Confront him at home then? I think at his place of business too many would get involved."
(19:17:06) [GM]: Ivan nods. "A good call." Ulf grunts. "I don't condone violence, but do what you must."
(19:17:26) Miriana: "If we're lucky it won't come to that. Just a good scare."
(19:21:12) Micah_Whiterune: "And a bit of divinely enforced honesty."
(19:25:32) [GM]: A decision found, Micah and Miriana now backed up by the other duo go to seek out the apothecary Mehltal in his private home, after sundown. Mehltal answers the insistent knocking on his door dressed in a plain nightgown and holding a small lamp and a book, having clearly been set to turn in for the day.
(19:25:32) [GM]: He regards Miriana and Micah with confusion. "You two are..." Before he can finish his sentence, however, Ivan and Rosa press in, forcing the man to retreat into his house and away from prying eyes with an, "EXcellent evening, mister Mehltal!" from Ivan.
(19:26:47) Miriana: Miriana grins, following them in and closing the door with a snap. "How wonderful to see you again!"
(19:28:18) [GM]: Mehltal's face slowly begins turning red. "What is the meaning of this?"
(19:30:19) Micah_Whiterune: Micah holds up the jar of poison. "That depends on whether you want to tell us who you made this for?"
(19:31:52) [GM]: His eyes narrow with understanding. "I did think it a strange coincidence... I will tell you no such thing. And if you think you can threaten me, you'll regret it should anything happen to me."
(19:34:16) Micah_Whiterune: "Mya, witness the words that pass here, every line set in stone."
(19:35:38) Micah_Whiterune: "Mya, bind the truth, that it may shine through."
(19:39:05) Micah_Whiterune: Micah motions for the others to wait, while he stares down the man, "Now let us wait and see if he has more than empty threats."
(19:41:23) Micah_Whiterune: Once he feels the truth slide into place, binding his speech, Micah motions to continue, "Then I will tell you that we most certainly can threaten you. We can swear under magically binding truth that you were in possession of strong poison, used to slay a priest. Speak, or have your words spoken for  you."
(19:41:45) [GM]: Mehltal's visage darkens, and then keeps darkening when he understands the nature of the spell laid on him. In the same moment, Micah knows Mya's truth is on the room.
(19:42:27) Miriana: Miriana smiles cheerfully.
(19:43:10) [GM]: "There are wiser ways to get me to sell you the material, if that is what you're after. And if you wish revenge, I am only a drop in the bucket."
(19:44:59) Micah_Whiterune_: "The only needs for this poison for me is to learn who is involved in it's creation, transport and it's usage. The dead priest is no acquaintance of mine."
(19:45:01) Miriana: "Much though I'm sure you'll protest, we'd like to know who bought the material from you
(19:47:38) [GM]: "I buy the raw materials from a trusted acquaintance, and from then to its sale I am the only one who lays hands on it. As it ought to be. As for the client, both my own security and my client's depends on me not telling you that."
(19:50:20) Miriana: "I'd imagine your security also depends on the law not knowing you possess a significant quantity of the poison that killed the Father, no? Especially since your client will no doubt notice if you are taken into custody. At best, you could expect imprisonment for many, many years. At worst, well...perhaps you'll recognize the poison that they slip into your gruel?" Miriana shrugs, as though to...
(19:50:24) Miriana: ...say it matters little to her.
(19:56:08) [GM]: The apothecary removes his nightcap to wipe sweat from his brow. "I and my skills are valuable. I am paid very well to keep my silence, and any problems for me are problems for many others. You'll find it difficult and dangerous."
(20:01:37) Miriana: "Then you should have many, many reasons to imagine that your other clients would want you out of prison. Besides, we're not asking you to sell out everyone you've ever sold to, are we? Is this client so dangerous you'd die rather than betray their confidence?"
(20:08:18) [GM]: "You do not understand. You do not understand..." He wipes his brow again, then his face. "I take as much of a risk telling you anything as I take keeping my silence. To my personal safety, and to my reputation. Assure me that this will be the end of the matter, that you'll not just come back with demands when it strikes your fancy, and compensate me for my risk. Then I'll talk."
(20:10:27) Micah_Whiterune_: "You have my word that the source of the information will not come  out without your prior permission, and that the matter of this poison will not be used against you so long as you cooperate."
(20:14:43) [GM]: "And compensation? I was paid fifty golden queens to keep silent as the shadow of a tombstone."
(20:17:21) Miriana_: Miriana gives Rosa an amused look.
(20:22:27) [GM]: Rosa answers Miri's look with a raised eyebrow, then steps forward, places one hand on the apothecary's head, and forces him to turn to look at Miriana directly. It is clear she is not gripping the man's skull lightly. Mehltal makes eye contact, then breaks it. "...The latest purchase, I assume?"
(20:25:07) Miriana_: Miri winks at Rosa. "That sounds correct to me."
(20:26:34) [GM]: "If you go outside the city, to Frederic Menheim's orchard, the client works there as caretaker. Her name is Hristina Balan. She is a repeat customer and well connected."
(20:28:02) Miriana_: "The orchards," Miriana muses. <That does match what the guard suggested.>
(20:28:38) [GM]: "Yes. It produces mostly apples."
(20:34:12) Miriana_: "How charming. Does Miss Balan request the same material each time, or is she discerning?"
(20:34:51) [GM]: "It varies."
(20:40:23) [GM]: ----------
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Gloaming Star, Part 4
« Reply #15 on: April 28, 2017, 04:32:20 PM »
(16:13:43) [GM]: ----------
(16:13:43) [GM]: Miriana and Micah are investigating a suspected cult of the fallen stars at the Crane Knights' request.
(16:13:43) [GM]: After investigating the house of the murdered Father Konrad, they managed to track the poison to its maker, the apothecary Tivadar Mehltal.
(16:13:43) [GM]: With some friendly encouragement, Mehltal pointed them to one Hristina Balan, caretaker at the apple orchard of Frederic Menheim outside the city walls. He described her as a well connected repeat customer, who ordered the poison for purposes unknown to him.
(16:13:43) [GM]: Come the new day, overcast but oppressively hot and windless, Micah and Miriana have a testimony. But what will they do with it?
(16:19:30) Micah_Whiterune: All else  exhausted, Micah opts to look up this Hristina, starting with checking out the rumors on her.
(16:23:17) Miriana: Miriana follows along to make sure Micah's direct approach doesn't get the pair of them into hot water. Asking the wrong people for rumors on a poisoner is bound to end poorly.
(16:31:57) [GM]: Outside the city walls, the orchard in question is part of its own little outskirt, a picture of beauty more like the elven district than the busy streets of most of Ostend. There, Hristina Balan is known as a respectable and hardworking person who does her job well.
(16:31:57) [GM]: A small handful of peasants, though, intimate between furtive glances over the shoulder, that her acquaintances, if not she herself, are to be feared. She performs her trade entirely legitimately, but also earns money on the side through nebulous means, and is part of an entire network of people who have been systematically hiring on at the orchards.
(16:31:57) [GM]: Perhaps predictably, druids of the surroundings regard them less than fondly, when aware of them.
(16:36:03) Micah_Whiterune: "Hmm, no mysterious disappearances. Think we should hit up the druids next to see where she might have been using this poison?"
(16:37:47) Miriana: "They'd probably have some information," Miriana agrees.
(16:44:28) [GM]: The house and orchard of Alter Blumstein is a bit removed, but not unreasonably far away. The door is answered by the same thin man, long hair tied to one side and beard as before, dressed in a simple, fine robe. He immediately recognizes his two guests, bushy eyebrows shooting up questioningly. "Hmm?"
(16:45:59) Micah_Whiterune: "Good day, Alter." Micah gives the man a polite nod, "We're doing some investigating this time around, are you free to help?"
(16:46:35) Miriana: "It's very good to see you again, Alter," Miriana says. "One of these days, I promise, we'll just be paying a social call."
(16:48:36) [GM]: "Hmm. To the extent I can. Please, come in." Alter lets the two inside and a servant in similar robes, hair worn long also but too young for the same sort of beard, offers wine to the visitors.
(16:48:48) [GM]: "What is the issue, then?"
(16:50:02) Micah_Whiterune: Micah shuffles in amiably,  opting for the direct approach as always, "What do you know about a Hristina Balan?"
(16:52:07) Miriana: Miriana accepts the proffered wine, sipping at it slowly.
(16:52:46) Micah_Whiterune: He then doesn't wait before taking a large sip of the wine, checking out the druid's taste in alcohol.
(16:53:38) [GM]: "Hmm." Alter strokes his beard, eyebrows furrowed. "Caretaker for... what was his name, Frederic. Silk hiding steel. Rusty, dirt-smeared steel. I've tried and failed to convince the man to kick her out, but she and her friends are like a burr."
(16:54:30) Micah_Whiterune: "Friends?"
(16:57:30) [GM]: "There's a surprising number of new hires around this area who all just so happen to know each other. One of them even managed to fool my staff into letting him in. He had a disagreement with the plants and quit." The old man smiles conspirationally.
(16:58:22) Miriana: Miriana rolls the name Frederic over in her thoughts. "And she's caring for an older man? Who is this Frederic?"
(17:05:39) [GM]: "Hmm. Her employer. The same age as I and twice as wide. Somehow, he manages to be both a trusting fellow and a worrywart. I don't have the heart to be any more insistent with him." Alter deeply contemplates the wine in his cup. "May I ask what has your interest? Not that she doesn't deserve it."
(17:07:56) Miriana: Miriana ponders that question for a moment. "We've discovered that she's been purchasing poisons regularly from an apothecary who deals in the stuff on the side. And we suspect strongly that it's connected with a death that we're looking into."
(17:10:19) [GM]: Alter nods and strokes his beard, frowning. "Hmm. I am unsurprised," he says conservatively.
(17:15:02) Miriana: Miriana raises her eyebrows fractionally, filling the lull in the conversation with another sip of her drink.
(17:28:41) [GM]: Alter remains silent, allowing the silence to extend. It is broken first by a dog, a fairly large wolfdog presumably belonging to Alter sticking its head into the guest room and sniffing the newcomers with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
(17:32:06) Micah_Whiterune: "Unsurprised? Have there been mysterious deaths?"
(17:32:45) Miriana: Miriana smiles and extends her hand to the dog.
(17:38:27) [GM]: The dog sniffs Miriana's outstretched hand carefully, and then licks. Alter, meanwhile, strokes his beard again. "Not as such, that I know of. But it fits what I know of her little group."
(17:42:01) Miriana: "Clearly, they have their fingers in a great many people's businesses, yourself included." Miriana gently scratches the dog. "This might be a good opportunity to take a little revenge by sharing some of that knowledge so that we can proceed to be a thorn in her side." The corners of her mouth quirk upward.
(17:52:28) [GM]: "Hmm."
(17:52:28) [GM]: Alter frowns, but speaks. "They came out of the poorer quarters and want a piece of the fruit prosuction, among other things. I am not privy to their operations, but I assume they embezzle money where they're employed, and cover for each other and their associates in other parts of the city, and vice versa. I have heard of people being savagely beaten in alleys, but nothing can be proven beyond the work of ruffians."
(17:54:49) Micah_Whiterune: "Suspicious, but  I suppose poison users would be hard to identify. No rivals mysteriously vanishing?"
(17:57:38) [GM]: "I imagine tactics like that would be used sparingly. I wouldn't be surprised if I just hadn't heard of someone complaining about their number because they quietly expired, though."
(18:00:06) Micah_Whiterune: "Makes sense. And if they have a guild of some sort, anyone asking questions would go away, one way or another"
(18:01:46) Miriana: Miriana drums her fingers lightly on the dog's head and sends a thought to Micah. <Like us, if we go blowing up the door and demanding to know who hired them.>
(18:05:02) Micah_Whiterune: "Which leaves us out of safe places to stick our nose into." Micah toys with his beard as he considers, "We'd need to find the next step up covertly, or a different angle."
(18:12:49) Miriana: Miriana mulls it over. <Let's speak with Father Ulf again. He's had some time to inquire among the congregation, he might be able to hint at why Konrad needed to die.>
(18:14:10) Micah_Whiterune: <Fair enough. > Micah finishes off the wine , "Thanks for the assistance, Alter. I think we're going to be looking out for how to get the bottom of this without singing our bottoms."
(18:14:53) [GM]: Alter nods. "Hmm. Wise. I wish you luck."
(18:16:13) Micah_Whiterune: "Thanks, and Mya's blessings to your endeavors."
(18:20:25) [GM]: It is afternoon by the time Miriana and Micah return to speak with Ulf Starkheim. They find him at the altar of his squat church, preparing for the mass at sundown. He nods gruffly at the duo as they approach him. "Light with you. How go things?"
(18:22:55) Micah_Whiterune: "Found the likely poisoners, but they sound more like organized crime doing it for pay and lack any motive of their own." Micah outlines their discoveries to date, though also mentioning the promise not to go after the alchemist directly.
(18:29:09) [GM]: "Colluding to murder a priest, just for money? Unbelievable. Not that he was innocent." Ulf shakes his head. "I've managed to get some of Konrad's old congregation to visit me for the time being. Among them, there's a man called Uther Stonehead who apparently talked very much with the late Father. He's been meek and quiet in masses, but..."
(18:30:15) Miriana: "But something's still troubling about him?"
(18:31:39) [GM]: "Yes."
(18:35:56) [GM]: "I talked to him after mass the other day. It's the same feeling as with Konrad."
(18:36:46) Micah_Whiterune: "So they might be deviant in the same way?"
(18:37:52) [GM]: "Yes. Didn't seem as shocked as most of the congregation, either."
(18:39:46) Micah_Whiterune: "So there is more than just the one heretic, and  from the sound of it, likely a full blown hidden cult. With only one man as a lead."
(18:40:20) [GM]: "You think so?"
(18:42:29) Micah_Whiterune: "Unless he is exceptionally wealthy, he wouldn't have been able to pay for such a poisoning, the poison itself is fairly costly even before the markup and middlemen for engaging a criminal guild to do it for them. And if the Father died in a way that he knew of, then he may have had second thoughts about his deviation or failed in some way."
(18:45:05) [GM]: "Rosa's, Ivan's and my assumption has been they might have caught wind of him being investigated and decided to amputate. Perhaps they feared he might break?"
(18:47:00) Miriana: "It certainly seems more likely than a pious member of the congregation suspecting heresy and paying a hired killer to murder a priest."
(18:48:29) Micah_Whiterune: "Then investigating this man would require stealth and discretion." Micah looks at his armor in dismay. "This sounds like a job for a cat, not a man."
(18:50:19) Miriana: "A cat who knows where to start looking." Miriana considers. "Your intuition has been good so far, Father. Perhaps we should make inquiries into our friend Uther."
(18:51:00) [GM]: "Hmph. A dwarf's intuition is always good."
(18:51:28) Micah_Whiterune: "Indeed."
(18:51:43) Miriana: "What can you tell us about the man?"
(18:55:43) [GM]: "Not very much. A stoneworker, with an interest in strange things and too much curiosity. Might be how Konrad hooked him. He lives near Konrad's church, and I hear he'd fallen on hard times. a while ago."
(18:58:07) Micah_Whiterune: "So he definitely couldn't have paid for the poison. Nor the delivery."
(18:58:34) Miriana: "Not unless he had backing."
(18:58:50) [GM]: "Yes. But he could have been a middleman."
(19:00:59) Micah_Whiterune: "But has he been seen dealing with suspicious persons or places?"
(19:01:11) Miriana: "Father Konrad, for one."
(19:08:53) Miriana_ [~androirc@Rizon-B1FEA6B1.sub-174-193-154.myvzw.com] entered the room.
(19:11:07) Miriana_: "We'll follow him around and see what he gets up to. If it's something suspicious, we'll be close by to investigate."
(19:14:24) [GM]: "Take care, then."
(19:17:31) Micah_Whiterune: "With the utmost care."
(19:21:21) [GM]: Fortune favors Micah and Miriana this evening, as they arrive where Ulf told them Uther lives right in time to see the dwarf leave his domicile after looking left and right. At Miriana's behest, Soot follows.
(19:27:09) [GM]: The black cat stalks the black sheep through the streets as the sun sinks slowly, until he stops at a lively square dominated by a decorative fountain, at the border between the dwarven quarter and the neighboring. There, he waits.
(19:28:22) [GM]: After some waiting time, he is approached by a tall human man, dressed to befit someone living in the inner city, or a servant thereof. They talk, but Soot can't make out the words from where he is.
(19:30:18) Miriana_: Miriana frowns in her trance and urges Soot to sneak a little closer if he can.
(19:34:19) [GM]: Soot approaches into earshot in the middle of a sentence. The two seem to be speaking generally about Father Konrad's death and how safe Uther feels, given anonymity by the multitude of people milling about and the burble of the fountain. The well-dressed gentleman seems mildly exasperated and less worried than Uther is, while Uther urges him for extra resources, or means of self-defense, for peace of mind.
(19:38:00) [GM]: Begrudgingly, the better-dressed man hands Uther four painted clay tokens, for which the dwarf thanks him profusely.
(19:38:27) Miriana_: Intriguing. Miriana studies the inner city gentleman through her familiar's eyes. What might these tokens be?
(19:50:01) Miriana_: <Follow that gentleman when he leaves.>
(19:52:19) [GM]: Soot offers no mental answer, but when the two part, begins following after the human.
(19:53:31) [GM]: As perhaps expected, he heads towards the inner city after stopping to buy bread and produce.
(20:00:33) Miriana_ left the room (quit: Quit: AndroIRC - Android IRC Client ( http://www.androirc.com )).
(20:04:02) Miriana: Miriana lets the cat wander to the end of her contact range before breaking off contact. She takes a moment to reorient herself.
(20:04:59) [GM]: Miriana and Micah stop outside the moat as Soot stalks off into the inner city, to find whatever may be found, leaving them alone to face the approaching dusk.
(20:05:18) [GM]: ----------
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Gloaming Star, Part 5
« Reply #16 on: April 28, 2017, 04:32:39 PM »
(16:06:14) [GM]: ----------
(16:06:14) [GM]: Miriana and Micah are investigating a suspected cult of the fallen stars at the Crane Knights' request.
(16:06:14) [GM]: They managed to track the poison used to kill Father Konrad to its maker and then its user, but decided then to change tacks and instead pursued a suspicious member of Father Ulf's congregation. After spying on a meeting between the dwarf and another man, Soot was sent to trail the man into the inner city while Micah and Miriana waited.
(16:06:14) [GM]: The cat reappears at the edge of Miriana's thoughts just as the sun touches the horizon, threatening the inevitable night. He reports having followed the servant without problem - first to a sequestered and out of the way domicile where he spoke to a woman, likely the vicar general, about meeting his master elsewhere later, then to said master's apartment, who left soon before Soot returned to Miriana to report.
(16:06:14) [GM]: Miriana and Micah now have the domiciles of two conspirators, who both seem to be out of house for the time being. Perhaps the time for decisive action is now, or perhaps it would pay to move carefully. How will they move next?
(16:11:22) Micah_Whiterune: "Well, seems clear enough.The cat's away, so let us pry into his home."
(16:12:13) Miriana: "Should I be worried by how readily you've taken to crime?"
(16:12:45) Micah_Whiterune: "I, am welcome in every hearth!"
(16:13:36) Miriana: "We'll soon find out, I suppose."
(16:17:48) [GM]: Both addresses are relatively close together, in absolute terms. In the inner city's labyrinthine streets, that distance is multiplied by elevation, winding streets, and deads ends. Nevertheless, with Soot's guidance the two quickly find the apartment belonging to that servant's master. It is a nice, peaceful house in the centralsection of the city, two stories off the ground, befitting a moderately wealthy church official.
(16:18:33) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes up a nice vantage point  to keep an eye out for premature return of owners, leaving the actual criminal activity to Miriana.
(16:22:49) [GM]: The official's name is apparently Jeronim, an adopted name as Soot reported that he was a dwarf. The door is locked, naturally, and of sturdy wood, tall windows facing east now away from the setting sun. The neighborhood is quiet and peaceful, belying the nameless pressure that seems to lie over the city as a whole, as if the sinking sun were weighing down on it.
(16:23:24) Miriana: Miriana finds somewhere quiet to step through a shimmer in the air and vanish from sight, coming back to give Micah's armored shoulder a light pat. <Alright, let's see about this official, then.>
(16:24:14) Miriana: She treads quietly up to the door, privately glad that there's a little less pressure on her to put her newfound skills to use now that there's less of a time concern.
(16:28:32) [GM]: Free of worry about being seen, Miriana completes her aim quickly and quietly. The second skeleton key she tries is almost right, and a third one does the trick after she files it off a bit. The door opens to admit her into a well-furnished, wealthy home, and she hears soft footsteps. It seems the servant has not left along with his master, but he is unaware of her and going about his business.
(16:31:55) Miriana: Miriana offers Micah a wave before remembering he can't see her. She slips inside, quietly shutting the door behind her, and goes in search of her quarry.
(16:35:03) [GM]: Miriana follows the sound of footsteps to a small reading room and office, the fireplace lit in spite of the dusk's heat. She finds the tall human servant that spoke with Uther in the afternoon there, sorting through papers and books on the desk.
(16:35:03) [GM]: With a solemn, calm expression, he seems to be methodically separating documents into two piles. There is an air of finality in his actions, more like someone handling a man's last will than rote administration.
(16:41:08) Miriana: Miriana watches him curiously. What might he be doing with these? She backs out of the room quietly and goes to find something she can break as a distraction - something fragile that might have plausibly slipped off a shelf, perhaps.
(16:45:00) [GM]: Unfortunately, it seems that at least some of Micah's gruff boasts are right. Dwarves, even converted dwarves, and even possibly evil converted dwarves, apparently do not deal in frailties. Fortunately, she does find a decorative object of brass which makes a rather clarion sound on being dropped.
(16:45:00) [GM]: A curious vocalization issues from the office, followed shortly by the manservant coming out to investigate, leaving the reading room unoccupied for now.
(16:45:49) Miriana: Miriana slips around him and swiftly moves to investigate the documents, and how he might be separating them.
(16:51:10) [GM]: A quick glance at the documents is both enlightening and disconcerting. The top few sheets include graphs of the inner city, tracing some quantity or force or another across its area, what appears to be a manifesto of faith, and partially coded correspondence. The eventide symbol Margaretha showed them features in places, as do other questionable old glyphs, but most prominent is one that seems to suggest a tower upside-down.
(16:51:10) [GM]: The names Hespherus and Teide appear, as do several others, and Miriana's skim of the letters and writings suggests an entire ideology built around them. This seems damning evidence for sure, and the fire in the fireplace suggests at least one of the piles will be going in there - it certainly isn't for warmth, in this weather.
(16:51:52) [GM]: Outside the room, the servant hums pensively as he seems to pace up and down the hallway for a while, then return towards the office.
(16:53:34) Miriana: Miriana fishes a few of the more damning documents out of the pile meant for destruction - from the bottom of the stack, so as not to arouse undue suspicion - and then tucks herself into a corner with her prize to wait for a good chance to leave the office.
(16:56:17) [GM]: When the servant returns to the office, he is carrying a large knife, which he sets down on the desk when he returns to his work, shrugging. He produces another sheet, a checklist perhaps, and continues sorting. Perhaps best to be away before he takes final stock of his work.
(16:57:24) Miriana: Miriana considers the knife before backing out, very, very carefully.
(16:59:56) [GM]: She manages to make it out without further incident, closing the door behind her as quietly as she can and returning to Micah to conference.
(17:00:40) Miriana: Miriana passes Micah the papers, wandering along beside him as she explains the contents of the pile the servant was assembling to burn.
(17:01:09) Micah_Whiterune: Micah considering  the circumstances, decides to move to a more private location before looking over their loot.
(17:10:30) [GM]: Convening in a quiet corner, Micah and Mirianah look over their spoils. They seem to be an uncoded but vaguely written draft of a letter with a meticulously hand-drawn diagram attached and fragments of a manuscript. The letter is addressed to Helena the vicar-general and outlines the site and time of a "ceremony".
(17:10:30) [GM]: The site is designated as a building at the westernmost edge of the inner city with several accompanying calculations in shorthand, the time described as "the very heartbeat the sun dies" - but no date is mentioned.
(17:14:36) [GM]: The manuscript talks in a flow-of-consciousness but frighteningly coherent manner of an inverted tower or ziggurat, symbol for a parallel movement, an aberrant morality even, reaching towards an anti-heaven as the city's towers reach for the true heaven.
(17:14:36) [GM]: It speaks of hope, memory, and despair, attacks traditions and universities that hoard dangerous knowledge, and advocates for burning this information while erasing the movement's own traces. The memory of evil is taken as a ward against evil, and therefore memory must be eliminated so hope may die with it, and the fallen stars may overtake their shining cousins.
(17:17:33) Miriana: Miriana stares at the page in something resembling disgust. "This is...a vile ideology."
(17:17:45) [GM]: All of this is certainly damning heresy, and ought to justify an inquisition and to spare. But the sun must be halfway down the horizon by now - if the ceremony is today, then running to alert the Crane will certainly allow it to happen, whatever its aim. But if they were to attempt to interfere with it, they would be on their own, and if it is not today, the paladins could surely seal the deal.
(17:17:57) [GM]: What will Micah and Miriana do?
(17:20:03) Micah_Whiterune: "Hey kitty." Micah hefts the paper, "Think you can deliver this to some friends? You're a smart kitty."
(17:21:04) [GM]: Soot meows nonchalantly.
(17:26:07) Miriana: Miriana folds the papers as small as she can get them and ties them into a pouch, strapping it around Soot's neck. "You remember Margaretha, right? Take this to the Crane, and don't let anyone stop you on the way." She gives the cat a quick scratch under the chin.
(17:26:51) [GM]: Soot accepts the bundle quietly, and the scratch for good measure, and bolts off into the shadows without another vocalization.
(17:27:50) Miriana: Miriana stands up and dusts her hands off. "Well." She pauses awkwardly. "We should run."
(17:28:40) Micah_Whiterune: "I hate runnng." Micah sets off at a clanking jog,
(17:33:15) [GM]: Though the two draw stares along the way, the streets seem relatively empty, as if a premonition were hanging heavy over the city. They race against time itself, uncertainty rising every time they hit a dead end or wrong turn. At last, they come to the westernmost tower of the inner city, a solemn structure much like the others. The place is up near its top.
(17:33:15) [GM]: They arrive to an unmarked, sequestered door flanked by two stained glass windows, far above and away from the others, as if actively hiding itself. It faces due east, and as they arrive in front of it, the sun sinks below the horizon with a faint green flash like a final death scream.
(17:35:03) [GM]: The double doors are unlocked and open at a touch, showing the grim scene inside like a cruel theater.
(17:41:53) [GM]: Behind the doors is a massive, nearly empty room like a mockery of a church, two stories tall and dominated by a massive statue near its end. It depicts a seated figure in a cross-legged position, its legs ending in talons rather han feet and cradling a smoking brazier in the shape of a broken egg.
(17:41:53) [GM]: One pair of arms is raised above the egg, as if presenting it to the world, and a second (third?) pair above that, its hands stretched unnaturally into an upside-down praying position. Its face is obscured by a veil, but the dusk-symbol brands its forehead prominently.
(17:41:53) [GM]: Smaller statues depicting gaunt robed individuals in the same anti-praying position line the walls like a corridor leading to the mad idol, and draw attention to the figures draped over it -
(17:44:39) [GM]: In front of the idol's leg, a dwarf - Jeronim the church official - lies motionlessly with a golden axe buries in his forehead, smiling through his beard. An unknown figure, a knight in bright chain mail, hangs dead from chains around the idol's neck, armor stained with blood.
(17:44:39) [GM]: And inside the egg-brazier, there is cowering the vicar-general's form, mercifully obscured by shadows, as a dark-skinned gremlin covered in glowing spines seemingly climbs out of the body, cackling with a voice like burning wood.
(17:46:43) Micah_Whiterune: "Just how the  heck did they get this done unnoticed?"
(17:49:58) [GM]: Micah's voice echoes through the hall, and the devil turns its head to face the two newcomers, with the dying light at their backs. "Hear and fear," it announces with that cracking voice. "I am Spent Cinder Teide. Such is my name." It spreads its wings, spines glowing like coals against its dark skin. "Are you Helena's servants, then?"
(17:50:53) Micah_Whiterune: Micah hefts his shield, "Servant of the Flame Below. You won't get away with this!"
(17:53:27) Miriana: Miriana brandishes her wand at eye level. "Enjoy your stay while you can, Spent Cinder Teide. I've a feeling it won't last long."
(17:55:44) [GM]: Teide answers with a laugh that echoes through the hall and hops up to the mad idol's shoulders with a beat of its wings. "Alas. My flames have died, and scorched earth burns not. I fear no flames, and fire fears me. Behold!" The devil hisses, and sparks erupt from the extinguished brazier. As if fleeing Teide, they fly through the air and erupt into smokeless phantom flames, blanketing walls and statues.
(18:08:09) Miriana: Miriana sprints forward to hide behind one of the praying, burning statues - why is it always fire - before stabbing out at the devil with her wand, a lance of her own magic streaking at the creature.
(18:14:13) [GM]: The devil hisses as the bolt hits its hide and takes flight, darting forward like a hunting falcon until Miriana can almost see its eyes - dark lumps of ash without a speck of light in them. It convulses, and its long tail whips backward and forward, loosing a volley of faintly glowing spines in her direction.
(18:16:19) [GM]: Long bone-needles puncture her clothes and stab into her flesh, accompanied by a searing sensation like red-hot swords stabbing her body.
(18:22:37) Micah_Whiterune: Micah clomps forward, to smack Miriana with a handful of healing power "Lifebringer. Preserver. Lend me the flame of  life"
(18:26:51) Miriana: Miriana sags in relief, tugging one of the needles out with a yelp.
(18:28:16) [GM]: Cackling loudly, Spent Cinder Teide looses another volley of spines just as Micah is preoccupied with tending to Miriana, and uses the momentum to turn in midair and dart backwards behind the mad idol's head.
(18:32:16) Miriana: The dancing firelight quivers oddly as Miriana emerges from around the statue, free hand lifted in the invocation of her curse. "There are stars that still burn brighter than you, little imp," she promises, before letting loose another blast of magic from behind Micah.
(18:36:26) [GM]: The devil laughs as it ducks behind the mad idol's head and Miriana's blast goes wide, hitting the ceiling behind. "Alas, light is slower than it thinks!" Like a shadow over water, Teide once again springs out from behind the statue and arrests its movement in midair, the jolt sending a shower of spines down on Miriana and Micah.
(18:39:19) Micah_Whiterune: Micah swats the spines aside, then thrusts his hammer forward, "But the hammer of the forge strikes surely, faster than the metal upon it can feel!"
(18:39:54) Micah_Whiterune: Then he rushes forward towards the statue.
(18:45:17) [GM]: Teide tracks the running dwarf with its ash-black eyes - and is taken by surprise by the forge's hammer manifesting squarely on its head. An enraged hiss issues, then Micah finds burning spines raining on him, moments before the black shadow flies past and takes refuge behind the statue once more. "And yet, darkness is always there first!" The mockery in its tone, however, has given way to anger.
(18:48:47) Miriana: Miriana tracks Teide through the flames, squinting down the length of her wand and aiming just ahead of the devil as it soars away from Mya's hammer.
(18:54:02) [GM]: A flower of crimson flame blossoms on Spent Cinder Teide's face, and it screeches unearthily to echo through the hall. Leaping away from the mad idol, away from Micah, away from the hammer, it dives into the flames blanketing the walls. As it lands on one of the statues on the room's side, its tail whips around the praying man's neck and looses a shower of spines onto Miriana!
(18:58:00) Micah_Whiterune: Micah gives the fiend a smirk as he raises his hammer high, the spiritual copy of the weapon flying towards the fiend... "As the primordial flame beats against the darkness. LIGHT COMES FORTH!"...and a burst of warm red light erupts from his shield to lash at the creature.
(19:01:18) [GM]: The unearthly screech repeats and echoes from all directions as Teide is momentarily blinded. Miriana sees her chance!
(19:01:45) Miriana: "Light comes forth indeed," murmurs Miriana, deep in concentration as she aims her own invocation of destructive energy right at the heart of that warm red light.
(19:05:14) [GM]: The peony star's own aggressive red flame sprouts over Teide's heart with one last scream, then light is replaced by darkness. The devil's body scatters to ashes, crumbling around the hole in its chest, and with the death of their taskmaster, the flames are free to gutter and die as well.
(19:05:54) [GM]: Silence, cold, and darkness embrace the room, the only hint of light coming from the moon, risen as if to take up the sun's burden.
(19:06:32) Micah_Whiterune: "You know, the most humilitating thing, Teide. A dog once gave us a better fight."
(19:06:58) Miriana: Miriana stays still with her wand outstretched, panting a little bit, before lowering it when no further flames erupt.
(19:09:51) Miriana: "I suppose the paladins weren't needed after all..." She walks forward curiously to peer into the brazier at what might remain of the vicar-general.
(19:10:35) Micah_Whiterune: Micah meanwhile  grins as he studies the statues and bodies in detail.
(19:16:26) [GM]: None of the bodies are a pleasant sight - Jeronim, going out with a smile, has a pickaxe buried halfway in his brow which Micah recognizes to be of exquisite dwarven make. The vicar-general seemingly went out of this world willingly as well, but spent her last moments cowered in a smoldering brazier, with the devil Teide rising out of her back. The less said of the corpse, the better.
(19:18:21) [GM]: The knight chained to the mad idol's neck seems to have been an unwilling sacrifice - he hangs upside down, exsanguinated from the neck. His armor and a rosary about his neck are still on, and a crest above the chest identifies him as a Knight of the Crane.
(19:18:52) Micah_Whiterune: "I hope the Knights brought a funeral detail. This is a few too many humans for me to handle on my own."
(19:19:15) Miriana: "They'll be armored for war, most like."
(19:21:15) [GM]: Indeed, company soon appears. Heralded by the glow of torches and the sound of racing armored footsteps, a contingent of guards arrive along with a small troop of Crane Knights headed by Margaretha, after a wait that felt both interminable and short, alone in the dark with the cult's grisly work.
(19:24:36) [GM]: ----------
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Offline Agita

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Three Fallen Flowers
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2017, 02:29:33 PM »
(16:16:58) [GM]: ----------
(16:17:11) [GM]: At the unofficial request of Margaretha of the Crane Knights, Micah and Miriana investigated a seed of corruption in the church. What they found was a conspiracy to slowly extinguish the knowledge of evil, and they managed to destroy a demon summoned to hasten this plot.
(16:17:11) [GM]: After the events had been revealed, Miriana and Micah received official recognition for their deeds from the Emperor on behalf of the whole city, and a personal gift from Margaretha. News travels quickly to the Fair Constable, too, where regular patrons will not stop calling them heroes.
(16:17:32) [GM]: A week later, once the greatest commotion has died down, the two head into the inner city once more to speak to one Deacon Jeronim about the university's hidden library. The day is sunny, but Livest's towers give the impression of holding their breath. An inquisition is investigating, and everyone knows it.
(16:17:55) [GM]: The university quarter announces itself with an archway bearing its motto: "A fire in the dark". After asking around and getting the lay of the land, the duo locate lecture halls, businesses catering to students and faculty, offices, collections and museums, accomodations. Roses seem to be popular, decorating the walls of many towers above the ground level.
(16:18:16) [GM]: The building where the faculties meet stands centrally, its facade proudly decorated with a large astronomical clock known as the Saros Clock, famous beyond the city's borders. Small flocks of students move through streets, loiter, or in one case are playing a ball game. Negotiating with the Deacon should be easy, considering their services, but how will they approach him?
(16:23:30) Miriana: Miriana shuffles her feet, a little nervously. "I'm half-reconsidering the idea and just trying to sneak in," she admits to Micah. "But I suppose we're already here...I wonder if you need an appointment to see the Deacon?"
(16:24:44) Micah_Whiterune: "Ask and find out." Micah starts clomping his way towards the nearest person should Miriana not initiate anything.
(16:25:44) Miriana: "...Fair." Miriana goes to inquire a little more politely where the Deacon might be found.
(16:27:13) [GM]: The two get directions to the Deacon's office from a nearby student, who also says they do not need an appointment as such, assuming the man's in.
(16:28:20) Miriana: Miriana thanks the student and presses on a little more optimistically, rehearsing the conversation in her head just in case.
(16:30:25) [GM]: The faculty's offices are within the large main building - despite its height, most rooms in use are on the ground floor, as the mechanisms of the Saros Clock take up much space. Each of thirteen faculties has an office arranged around a circular main hall, and the Deacon's office is down a short hallway from there. He appears to be in, calling for the visitors to enter when they knock.
(16:33:17) Miriana: Miriana pushes the door open. "Deacon Jeronim? I apologize if I'm interrupting. Would you happen to have a few minutes to speak?"
(16:37:46) [GM]: "Is there anyone who has as much time as they need?" Jeronim is a skinny, middle-aged man wearing round spectacles, looking up from a stack of papers at the newcomers. His blond hair is cropped short like a monk who's lapsed in shaving their head. A scribe on a small desk facing him looks up from her own work. "But yes, please step in. You're a student?"
(16:41:31) Miriana: Miriana smiles at that before the thought that Camelia certainly doesn't runs through her mind, unbidden. "Ah, not as such. My name is Miriana Nemetz; this is Micah Whiterune. Neither of us are students, we're just visitors hoping to learn a few things."
(16:42:32) [GM]: "Well, that is what we're here for. How can I help you, Miss Nemetz and Master Whiterune?"
(16:50:32) Miriana: Miriana clasps her hands behind her back. "I understand that the university has some excellent archives, including ones less available to the general public. With your permission, Micah and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to...well, browse sounds too casual, but to search those libraries for information."
(16:55:21) [GM]: "Hm. Very careful wording, but I think I catch your drift. The main library is open to anyone, though books can only be loaned to members of the University. Its special archives aren't top secret as such, but they do require a very good reason to consult. May I ask what you are looking for?"
(17:01:32) Miriana: "A member of my family - my sister - has an illness that has so far defeated every attempt to cure it. Since coming to Livest, I've made some progress in searching for a cure, but what I have right now is incomplete. It may be very possible that the special archives have, if not a record of the illness itself, clues that might help."
(17:08:43) [GM]: "...Ah. Hm. I certnainly sympathize. In general, the special archives are accessed when there is a pressing need for the greater good. For instance, in the past days, a knight of the Shrike came to consult them for the purpose of the inquisition. A personal request is... not without precedent, but there have been some poor experiences."
(17:15:16) Miriana: "Understandably so." Miriana nods. "If it's a question of recommendation, the Crane Knights can certainly vouch for our character. We gave them some help recently rooting out a cult operating within the city."
(17:17:32) Micah_Whiterune: "Plus dealing  with the ugly poisonous lizard."
(17:24:29) [GM]: "Ah." Jeronim's eyebrows go upwards as if repulsed by his spectacles. "I see, now I recall the news. Hmm. In that case, if... no, a favor is certainly deserved. I shall record the visit and have you shown to the special archives. I should tell you that loaning books is not allowed, for security purposes, even for univesity members, but you may take writing utensils to copy down information as you like. The librarian and guard are quite peculiar, but no threat to any legitimate visitor."
(17:25:05) [GM]: are quite peculiar, but no threat to any legitimate visitor."
(17:27:12) Micah_Whiterune: "Oh we've seen our share of weird shit before. What's the worst that could happen?"
(17:27:46) Miriana: Miriana makes a point of looking vaguely concerned. "I'll take your word for it. And thank you, Deacon. I truly appreciate this."
(17:32:38) [GM]: "In spite of everything, we do try to live up to the motto. I wish you not luck, but success." An assistant with the necessary permission is called to show Micah and Miriana to the special archive, though they were already shown the way before.
(17:39:36) [GM]: They descend an easy-to-miss spiral stair to a deep basement level. On the way, the assistant explains that the special archive is not kept deliberately secret so much as simply not much spoken of, in the name of having it accessible without excessive fuss when needed but not having just anyone ask for access.
(17:39:36) [GM]: They are also cautioned to treat any book with care, as seveveral contain magic and of these, some may be dangerous on their own. These are marked and need a special request to open, but it pays to be cautious always.
(17:41:15) Micah_Whiterune: Micah comments amiably along the way about the foolishness of young students.
(17:43:03) Miriana: Miriana briefly considers tripping Micah, but decides against it on the grounds that she might be required to help the dwarf up.
(17:45:00) [GM]: The stairway finally connects to another brief hallway opening into a chamber with desks and chairs lined along the near wall. The facing wall has a tall double door to the library proper, and standing next to it a giant figure towering taller than the door frame, with dark gray skin and ashen white fur, shackled to its place.
(17:45:00) [GM]: Its face is covered by a bone mask suggesting the skull of some beast, but with a single round gem as an eye. The guardian Jeronim spoke of. It barely stirs as the visitors enter, turning its head to stare at them.
(17:47:50) Miriana: Miriana considers the creature with some trepidation as she passes.
(17:49:25) [GM]: It's some manner of giant, their guide explains, a creature that shares its life with the hills and forests, tamed and perhaps altered by a saint of the church. Another such creature supposedly guards some inner sanctum of the clergy's.
(17:51:20) [GM]: After being told that they have permission to enter, the guardian giant does not challenge them or even acknowledge them as they pass the doors.
(17:51:33) [GM]: From below, the hidden library has a different air than sneaking a look inside from above - claustrophobic, with a low ceiling and only a bare corridor between the wall and maybe a half-dozen bookshelves. Each book is chained to its shelf, and between the shelves are banks and pulpits for reading.
(17:51:33) [GM]: The crack Micah and Miriana found is indeed difficult to see from below, unless one knows to look, up in a corner and obscured by bookshelves from most angles. Perhaps it's a trick of the mind, but it seems to have grown slightly since.
(17:53:30) Micah_Whiterune: Micah naturally takes a moment to inspect it  for mold or moisture seeping in. This  is stone.
(17:58:26) [GM]: Interestingly, the sewer can't be smelled at all from inside the library, nor does the air feel excessively stale or dusty despite the complete lack of ventilations.
(17:59:19) Micah_Whiterune: Ominous, he deems it, deliberately digging through stone with claws is never a good sign, as he seeks out the librarian.
(18:01:53) [GM]: The librarian is a face, such as it is, that at least Miriana has seen before: A stunted, hunched figure with a lipless face dominated by a single massive eye that clambers out between two bookshelves to stare at the newcomers. Its face shows no expression, but its teeth clack together audibly when it sees Miriana.
(18:03:08) Micah_Whiterune: "Hi, we got permission but...", Micah motions at the crack, "Someone decided to make their own way in. With claws. Figure you'd want to know before they steal something."
(18:04:30) Miriana: Miriana inclines her head toward the librarian, sending a pulse of greeting thoughts to accompany it. <We return.>
(18:07:38) [GM]: The librarian clacks its teeth together in a peculiar rythm, and nods its head very thoughtfully. "I see," it answers in common speech with what little gravity its broken voice can muster. In its almost-human body language, Micah remembers that the creature offered to take a bribe from Miriana already, and has to have known of the crack for at least a week and a half.
(18:12:59) Micah_Whiterune: Seeing his lawful duty fulfilled for now, Micah heads to the shelves, to see if any books catch his eye.
(18:15:06) [GM]: "You have something for me, and I for you?" The nothic inclines its head and stares, perhaps hoping that they will try to bribe it even though they are now here legitimately and on record.
(18:16:33) Miriana: Miriana decides that the nothic can stew a little longer waiting for its bribe, if indeed she decides to give the creature anything. "Have you something for me?" she replies, idly rolling the fire gem between her fingers as she half-turns to inspect a volume.
(18:18:06) [GM]: In one shelf near the very end of the corridor, Micah finds a study on dwarven faith and history, and especially the retreat of Moradin and various crises in the long siege of the darkness beneath their homes, written by an author whose works were forbidden back home.
(18:19:26) [GM]: The nothic stares silently at Miriana, long and hard and unblinking. Then, it clacks its teeth together and motions for her to follow. The top of the shelf it seeks out has already been claimed as a seat by Soot, who stares down at his master as the nothic clambers up and takes out a slim volume from the top row directly below Soot. She does not remember the cat materializing.
(18:19:43) Micah_Whiterune: Micah takes it down and begins paging through it, , perhaps  it  might be heretical, but he knows better than most how sometimes the elders are just following their personal beliefs rather than the truth.
(18:21:40) Miriana: Miriana gives Soot a long, curious look, but ultimately decides that perhaps it's not worth raising a fuss over. She takes the book from the nothic, inspecting the spine.
(18:26:35) [GM]: The book Micah inspects seems to give excruciatingly detailed accounts, reading portents and omens with the benefit of hindisght in every event, and speaks of lessons from such omens. It focuses especially on the foes faced by various dwarven lands, current and long fallen, and gives very detailed accounts of many of them.
(18:26:35) [GM]: This is, most likely, what earned the author the dwarves's wrath, for many of them find such knowledge subversive rather than helpful, but the University of Livest is certainly a more welcoming place for it.
(18:28:04) [GM]: The volume Miriana has taken is also bound to the shelf by a chain, though the chain is thin and hangs on a wooden spine that was clearly attached after the fact. The book itself is thin and paper-bound, its cover decorated with a sketch of wilting flower bushels in red ink. She recognizes a rose, a hibiscus, and the love-lies-bleeding flower she found dried in her diary.
(18:28:04) [GM]: The book's title, penned in careful handwriting, reads "Three Fallen Flowers", with no author.
(18:29:04) Micah_Whiterune: Micah, naturally flips to the section on his own homeland.
(18:30:16) Miriana: Miriana chews on her lip, an intense need to know more warring with the desire to spite the nothic. Eventually, she hands the creature the fire gem, wordlessly, and begins to read without a moment's pause.
(18:34:22) [GM]: Inside, the book seems to contain a short anthology of poems, all concerning personified flowers. The opening poem describes a camellia, on the brink of wilting, and in the sections following, it meets each of the flowers on the cover in turn, learning how they died and drawing a conclusion on how to avoid its own death.
(18:34:22) [GM]: The poems are full of cross-references and hidden meaning, and make little sense by themselves except as a somewhat morbid story, but many passages seem to her like references to certain events, stories or places, and the pace of the writing, the illustrations, even the ink dots seem to form patterns.
(18:34:44) [GM]: The nothic retreats a bit with its prize, looking at it carefully and handling it like a raw egg.
(18:39:41) Miriana: Miriana pages through again, frowning at what seems to have been written exclusively for her. <Librarian,> she asks the nothic wordlessly as she goes. <How did this book come to be in the collection?>
(18:42:28) [GM]: The librarian makes a humming sound with its throat, perhaps a lipless version of a 'hmm'. "Part of someone's possessions, perhaps. Four decades ago. Author unknown."
(18:44:24) [GM]: Micah, meanwhile, has just found the section on his own home and is reading in exhaustive detail about a mirror-winged dragon that terrorized the dwarves there in the time near his own birth.
(18:45:16) Miriana: "That isn't much to go on," she murmurs, lost in thought. Perhaps, if she recognizes associations and patterns, she can interpret the book and draw conclusions from it. The section concerning the love-lies-bleeding flower seems like a good place to start. She fetches paper and ink to make her notes, then sits with the book and begins to scrutinize it in great detail.
(18:52:04) [GM]: The love-lies-bleeding is the final poem in the book, which related an amaranth's withering, and the camellia drying itself out like a flower preserved between a book's pages. Its name and character remain, only its life is gone. Its symbolism repeatedly indicates the west, retaining what should be lost, and clockwork mechanisms.
(18:52:04) [GM]: As Miriana pages back and forth between the poems, a pattern emerges in the illustrations and ink-dots, like a constellation of stars. The more she understands, the more obvious they become, until actual motes of light rise from the pages and assemble in empty air.
(18:52:36) Micah_Whiterune: Micah looks up from his reading blinking.
(18:54:52) Miriana: Miriana gazes up at them, fascinated. She reaches a hand out gingerly toward the pattern of light.
(18:58:14) [GM]: Pinpricks of deep red light circle in formation, bathing the library in a baleful glow. As they assemble, Miriana and Micah can feel a heat on their skins as if standing close to a hearth, and when she stretches out her hand she finds them too hot to approach closely.
(18:59:46) [GM]: The book Miriana took out was not marked in any way, suggesting the University is unaware of any magic in it. Perhaps the act of Miriana reading its pages and recognizing the patterns opened a way for these stars, for they're certainly not from the sky anyone knows, nor from the sky she sees in her dreams.
(19:00:14) [GM]: Perception bends around them, suggesting a bubble like the constellation's own celestial sphere, or perhaps a gap in this one. The tiny stars are close, and their heat can be felt on the skin even as their harsh light can be felt on the soul. The library itself seems to melt and revolve about the foreign constellation.
(19:00:14) [GM]: Wherever it came from, its faceless attention is on Miriana and Micah, and it cannot possibly have good designs.
(19:02:43) Miriana: <I didn't do anything!> Miriana reflexively protests in Micah's direction, all evidence pointing to the contrary.
(19:05:40) Micah_Whiterune: "You totally did!" Micah reacts quickly, considering he had been fiddling with his holy symbol already, and raises it to face the malign sign.
(19:14:39) [GM]: Miriana can feel the stars' light on her soul, and for a moment nothing enters her mind but the thought of running away. But the warped library fights her efforts to move, and though she feels herself standing up, she covers no ground. The stars burn, though, simply by silently approaching her.
(19:23:13) Micah_Whiterune: "The hammer of cleansing light. Descend upon the unclean!" Micah motions with his hammer as a phantom hammer drops onto the star.
(19:26:57) Micah_Whiterune: Then with his shield  arm, a somewhat forgotten throwing axe flicks into his grip before spinning at the baleful manifestation.
(19:29:13) [GM]: Though one wouldn't think a constellation of stars can be cut, the spectral hammer and then the thrown axe strike the deformation around the stars where it is strongest with an audible ringing, as if they had hit a crystal sphere like the celestial spheres themselves.
(19:31:39) [GM]: The sound wakes Miriana from her single-minded daze, and though the ground and bank still won't do as her feet say, her mind is once again clear.
(19:33:08) Miriana: Still backpedaling to no avail, Miriana fractures and refracts, the ruddy starlight around her bending and splitting into three more identical Mirianas. Each darts past each other confusingly in defiance of the warping of space.
(19:37:30) [GM]: The ruddy constellation flashes brightly in unison, approaching one of the darting Mirianas as one star streaks from the bubble and towards Micah, exploding in a bright flash in front of his face.
(19:42:33) [GM]: Miriana is seen to be scorched by the starfire and burn up to a wisp, but the other Mirianas mercifully remain, marking the lost one as a fake. Micah can't tell either way, though, because he only sees light.
(19:43:59) Micah_Whiterune: Micah is undaunted by the glare, offering up another prayer even as his divine hammer keeps pounding, "Hearth Mother. Warm us by your light. Protect us."
(20:07:30) Miriana: Miriana's duplicates raise phantom wands in unison, though the chant comes from the real Miriana's lips alone. "I've put out older stars than you," she promises, firing a jet of light at the sphere of warped space.
(20:08:18) Micah_Whiterune: "The star there is like a minute old  Miri."
(20:12:53) [GM]: The magic blast strikes the distortion around the stars with a noise like shattering glass, and a crack can be seen in apparently empty air, where a tiny petal of crimson flame grows into the foreign celestial sphere. The constellation turns and floats ponderously towards Miriana and Micah, approaching this time the dwarf who cannot see it coming but feels its heat.
(20:16:58) Micah_Whiterune: "Malign flame, be extinguished In the heart of every fire is the ash of it's grave!" Micah abruptly switches tactics as the star is diverted by the incessantly pounding hammer of the divine, hand shrouded in darkness.
(20:18:20) Micah_Whiterune: "BE QUENCHED!"
(20:22:07) [GM]: His hand reaches towards the heart of the warping star and feels solidity beneath his fingers, but Mya's flames burn all the same, engulfing the foreign sphere and burning inside and out.
(20:23:13) Miriana: Miriana sights the remnants of the flame from her last attack, backing out of the region of space where distance has no meaning to line up another spell with that as her guiding star.
(20:26:47) [GM]: Space splinters and cracks, flames crimson and black licking the interior of the distortion. It flares with heat perhaps one last time before withdrawing from Micah, floating away as if swimming through mud.
(20:28:19) Micah_Whiterune: Micah swats the heat away with his shield and reaches out, seizing the star, "So mote  it  be." Dark flames pour out around it.
(20:30:44) [GM]: The celestial sphere breaks and flakes away, melting back into the library as it was before. Any strange perception now is likely just vertigo.
(20:31:14) Micah_Whiterune: "So...what have  we learned today?"
(20:31:37) [GM]: The paper book lies still where Miriana left it, harmlessly open on the desk under its shelf. Soot, who was sitting above previously, is nowhere to be seen.
(20:32:12) Miriana: "I didn't do anything except read the book," Miriana protests, wiping ash off her clothes.
(20:35:53) [GM]: With the foreign constellation banished, the paper book seems harmless - the patterns themselves opened the way for the stars to pass through, and their constellation matched it perfectly. Reading it with care now ought to be safe.
(20:37:03) [GM]: ----------
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