The Marquess returns Aracynth's bow and relaxes his shoulders slightly, "Thank you. Though I'm not sure why you think her sick... but I suppose she is acting strange. She fawns over me more than normal... which I thought was nice, but sudden. I thought things were... getting more serious?" He blushes slightly, "But I've noticed when I'm not around she's off wandering around the flowers aimlessly, or drifting in the fields. She's short tempered with the other townsfolk as well, which is unlike her."
He shifts his foot idly in the garden mud, "We can speak with her if you'll help. I'm not sure what's going on..."
Leading you into the longhouse through a back door you enter a smaller room with a wash bowl, a wooden desk, a large bed with a straw mattress, and several large armchairs. "We've been staying here," Maverick adds sheepishly. As you all enter, Maverick first, a young woman with pale skin, auburn hair, and fine black robes slightly dusty from horseback gets up from one of the chairs and rushes to his side. She grasps his arm and stares longingly up into his face, "Oh! You've returned! I missed you!"
"Hello, Sunray," Maverick chimes, "These men have come to speak with you. They were sent by your father."
"My father..." the Lady Rhea says flatly.
Please roll investigation or insight checks on the woman and Maverick. Whichever (or both) you see fit.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!" DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Does subtlety mean nothing to these people?" mutters Tharin to himself. Too many people spouting his secrets. He had been too trusting, too keen on sharing his story with the others. He would have to be more careful in the future. For the time being, he watched the lady he was looking for closely.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"It is an honor to meet you my lady. My Lord would it be possible to have some tea? I think it is time for tea." Kynortas says the key phrase to let the Lady know they come from her mother as well as her father. He watches to see the Lady's reaction to not only these words but their interaction in general.
The Lady Rhea is absolutely enamored with Marquess Maverick. She stares up at him, only him, and completely ignores there are even other people in the room. She squeezes herself as close as possible to his body and clutches his arm with both her hands. "I love when you call me Sunray," she fawns.
The Marquess smiles awkwardly and again nudges her. "Darling, they would like to speak to you."
At Kynortas' mention of tea her gaze flicks his way, but only for a split second. Watching her movements you see nothing but rigidity, and yet when her eyes flash toward Kynortas you notice they are sightly grey. Glazed, possibly, as if she had just woken up, or like a rheumy-eyed old dog.
Aracynth:
The only real aura you can 'see' is that of Duke Reznik Armitage. He appears as a shining beacon, almost blinding, but far more pleasant to look on than a painful brightness. None of the others appear to have much of anything. It is as if the celestials themselves have blessed this man... (Fizzbang's you noticed earlier, it is there, but weaker than the Duke's.)
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DM "Journey Unto Chaos!" DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Fizzbang didn't like it.Granted, he didn't like royals. Too much money and too little sense. This was more than that however. Something didn't add up. You couldn't live the life he had without pulling a few cons, and this one was staring at him with all the subtlety of a drunk hobgoblin.
Fizzbang might not be able to read people, but he sure knew magic. It's like he always said, a magic trick is the greatest trick of all. Arcana check 18
The lady is most definitely cursed. It's an enchantment of some sort, either a control spell or some cursed item. The glaze over her eyes reminds you of 'the grey' that Ma'al mentioned and it's the color of prison walls. It kind of reminds you of a really powerful Geas spell...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!" DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
That’s it! Fizzbang had it! It all made sense now! He stealthily pulls his compatriots out of earshot and away from prying eyes.
”it’s a curse!” Fizzbang whispers, excited. “A honest to goodness bog-witch thinking curse! The lady is enchanted, or mesmerized, utterly out of her mind!”
"Curses certainly make several things make more sense. Like how half the country now knows that I'm looking for Samael! The one who tried to kill me! And who has a very widespread influence of informants! That would certinaly be the only rational reason for my confidants telling my story to any person who they pass on the street!" Tharin hisses, staring pointedly at Kynortas and Aracynth. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Can you dispel it, Fizzbang? Or know who cast it so we can politely talk to them about a thing or two?"
"I don't quite understand how the curse and your man are related Tharin. Both myself and Aracynth were purposefully vague about exactly who we were chasing and his crimes. It could have been any major bandit or even your man's underling. Although you have certainly broadcast who we were looking for yourself, just now by speaking it aloud. Saying vague dealings to a duke and convincing him of something based on partial truths is not near enough for any informant to go on. Give your teammates a little more credit." Kynortas calmly and quietly said to the obviously perturbed elf.
He knew the value of information during an investigation. He knew that half truths and vague dealings would be helpful. He also knew that it was sheer luck and happenstance that he completely forgot the name of Tharin's quarry, until now. Although, he would never tell the elf that.
Gee, thought Fizzbang, Tharin seems as prickly as a Spined Devil today, I wonder why...ah, oh well.
"Here's the thing friends, as much as I, Fizzbang, master illusionist, am both confident and sure of my abilities, I fear this curse might be beyond me. It's some form of enchantment magic, which I've never had much interest in. Now some might call enchantments the illusions of the mind, but that's a debate for another day." Fizzbang looked around. "Besides, we don't know who worked this curse or why. Clearly there's some powerful magic at foot here and I'd rather not start slinging spells in the middle of all this finery.
Perhaps see if we can parse out who might have had motive for this? Or if there's a spellcaster in the area powerful enough to work this type of magic?"
At the mention of 'curse' the Marquess perks up, "What? She's been cursed?! Gah! I knew this couldn't be the same woman I've known!" he cries and begins hugging her and looking her over.
The Duke leans against a nearby desk and begins rubbing his beard and staring at Lady Rhea's eyes as she giggles that Maverick is now inspecting her.
Aracynth watched as Tharin began to gripe about the proprieties of sensitive information, and Kynortas interjected that the Elf shouldn't be so remiss. Aracynth wouldn't be bothered by such things though. If Fizzbang was right, and the Dragonborn had little doubt, their focus would be best spent on removing the curse.
He took a moment to review the various blessings and divine magics he had recently obtained, but nothing there would be of immediate use to the Lady Rhea's condition. He turned to Fizzbang, "Fizzbang, you have the right of it. My Lord Armitage, you mentioned that the Duke Oglethorn was a skilled mage in his own right, should we have any reason to suspect him? It is a heavy charge, but I would not want to overlook any detail..."
"We'll talk later," mutters Tharin. He turns to the Duke.
"Are there any more magic users in the area? Duke Oglethorn may be powerful, but I'm sure there are others that could curse someone of noble birth for nefarious purposes. Holding a noble hostage from an influential and prosperous man is certainly a fast way to funds."
The Duke turns slowly toward Tharin, still frowning and stroking his beard. "Hm. There are many powerful magics in these lands, Duke Bartimus Oglethorn is among them... And to think that Bart would curse is own child... I wouldn't see the gain. Nor the ability... gods..." Reznik shakes his head and sighs heavily. "I agree that a ransom would be beneficial to some nefarious person or people, but she's been here... with no word from her father... Now that I have had audience with her and see, though, I may be able to help. You all are quite capable, but I have years of experience with me," He strides over to Lady Rhea and bends down, looking into her eyes. She seems not to notice.
"Yes," Reznik breathes, "I can help. But I must stay with her and ask you to do something for us." He stands and scans all four of you, "Within the Huntsman's Wood there is a root. I haven't seen one in some time, but the old horse-lords used to use it. Mane's braid is what it's called; it looks like a braided clump of horse hair, in case you hadn't heard of it. With a potion made from that and a bit of divine magic I'm sure we can save the poor girl. Could I ask you to seek the root? Head toward Ysmir's Rest, that'll be your best bet." He stands before you, brow still furrowed and folds his massive arms over his chest.
The marquess looks up at his father and then to you all,"I would join you but Rhea won't leave my side and I can't bring her with me and be useful at the same time..." "Of course I won't leave you, Maverick!"She cries. "We must get married!" She smiles. "We will, Love. In time," Maverick smiles back painfully. "Please help," he pleads to you.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!" DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
Aracynth turned to follow Tharin, but paused for a moment. "Duke Armitage, you had previously made mention of Elves who reside in the woods that you have befriended; Should we encounter them, is there any specific means that we might assure them that we too are your friends, that they might aid us in our search?" He gestured to the party adding, "As armed and armored as we are, miscommunication could go very ill, which would be both unfortunate and regretable at this juncture. Furthermore, are there any exceptional dangers we should know of before we commence our search?"
"Ah, no," the Duke smiles. "The elves are very deep within the wood and don't venture close enough to Ysmir's Rest to really care about you. Scouts, maybe, but they'd just watch anyway. As for threats? Most of the beasts in the woods are quite wild and will regard you as prey or a rival predator. They aren't much different than any other forest-dwelling beast, though. Haven't seen anything particularly nasty in a while. I think I cleared out the owlbear nest years ago... Heard about your Giant Badger encounter! Thank you for the meat! That's likely the type of thing you'll see."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!" DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen" Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
"Very well. By your leave, we will return with the root as soon as we are able!" Aracynth bows to the assembled Lords Armitage and the Lady Rhea and steps outside. He quickly checks over his gear as he waits for the others to follow.
The Marquess returns Aracynth's bow and relaxes his shoulders slightly, "Thank you. Though I'm not sure why you think her sick... but I suppose she is acting strange. She fawns over me more than normal... which I thought was nice, but sudden. I thought things were... getting more serious?" He blushes slightly, "But I've noticed when I'm not around she's off wandering around the flowers aimlessly, or drifting in the fields. She's short tempered with the other townsfolk as well, which is unlike her."
He shifts his foot idly in the garden mud, "We can speak with her if you'll help. I'm not sure what's going on..."
Leading you into the longhouse through a back door you enter a smaller room with a wash bowl, a wooden desk, a large bed with a straw mattress, and several large armchairs. "We've been staying here," Maverick adds sheepishly. As you all enter, Maverick first, a young woman with pale skin, auburn hair, and fine black robes slightly dusty from horseback gets up from one of the chairs and rushes to his side. She grasps his arm and stares longingly up into his face, "Oh! You've returned! I missed you!"
"Hello, Sunray," Maverick chimes, "These men have come to speak with you. They were sent by your father."
"My father..." the Lady Rhea says flatly.
Please roll investigation or insight checks on the woman and Maverick. Whichever (or both) you see fit.
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
Aracynth looked at the young nobles, seeking some hint or understanding of Lady Rhea's present condition, and this mysterious strangeness.
"Lady Rhea," he bowed deeply, tapping into his Divine Sense as he did, "it is an honor to meet you. I am Aracynth, and we are glad to see you safe."
Insight : 7
My Characters:
Aracynth - Level 2 Dragonborn Paladin - Wins : 4 - Journey Unto Chaos
Kyros - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter - Wins : 9 - Unconscious : 1 - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
"Does subtlety mean nothing to these people?" mutters Tharin to himself. Too many people spouting his secrets. He had been too trusting, too keen on sharing his story with the others. He would have to be more careful in the future. For the time being, he watched the lady he was looking for closely.
Insight: 7
"It is an honor to meet you my lady. My Lord would it be possible to have some tea? I think it is time for tea." Kynortas says the key phrase to let the Lady know they come from her mother as well as her father. He watches to see the Lady's reaction to not only these words but their interaction in general.
Insight: 5
The Lady Rhea is absolutely enamored with Marquess Maverick. She stares up at him, only him, and completely ignores there are even other people in the room. She squeezes herself as close as possible to his body and clutches his arm with both her hands. "I love when you call me Sunray," she fawns.
The Marquess smiles awkwardly and again nudges her. "Darling, they would like to speak to you."
At Kynortas' mention of tea her gaze flicks his way, but only for a split second. Watching her movements you see nothing but rigidity, and yet when her eyes flash toward Kynortas you notice they are sightly grey. Glazed, possibly, as if she had just woken up, or like a rheumy-eyed old dog.
Aracynth:
The only real aura you can 'see' is that of Duke Reznik Armitage. He appears as a shining beacon, almost blinding, but far more pleasant to look on than a painful brightness. None of the others appear to have much of anything. It is as if the celestials themselves have blessed this man... (Fizzbang's you noticed earlier, it is there, but weaker than the Duke's.)
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
Fizzbang didn't like it.Granted, he didn't like royals. Too much money and too little sense. This was more than that however. Something didn't add up. You couldn't live the life he had without pulling a few cons, and this one was staring at him with all the subtlety of a drunk hobgoblin.
Fizzbang might not be able to read people, but he sure knew magic. It's like he always said, a magic trick is the greatest trick of all. Arcana check 18
Fizzbang:
The lady is most definitely cursed. It's an enchantment of some sort, either a control spell or some cursed item. The glaze over her eyes reminds you of 'the grey' that Ma'al mentioned and it's the color of prison walls. It kind of reminds you of a really powerful Geas spell...
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
That’s it! Fizzbang had it! It all made sense now! He stealthily pulls his compatriots out of earshot and away from prying eyes.
”it’s a curse!” Fizzbang whispers, excited. “A honest to goodness bog-witch thinking curse! The lady is enchanted, or mesmerized, utterly out of her mind!”
"Curses certainly make several things make more sense. Like how half the country now knows that I'm looking for Samael! The one who tried to kill me! And who has a very widespread influence of informants! That would certinaly be the only rational reason for my confidants telling my story to any person who they pass on the street!" Tharin hisses, staring pointedly at Kynortas and Aracynth. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Can you dispel it, Fizzbang? Or know who cast it so we can politely talk to them about a thing or two?"
"I don't quite understand how the curse and your man are related Tharin. Both myself and Aracynth were purposefully vague about exactly who we were chasing and his crimes. It could have been any major bandit or even your man's underling. Although you have certainly broadcast who we were looking for yourself, just now by speaking it aloud. Saying vague dealings to a duke and convincing him of something based on partial truths is not near enough for any informant to go on. Give your teammates a little more credit." Kynortas calmly and quietly said to the obviously perturbed elf.
He knew the value of information during an investigation. He knew that half truths and vague dealings would be helpful. He also knew that it was sheer luck and happenstance that he completely forgot the name of Tharin's quarry, until now. Although, he would never tell the elf that.
Gee, thought Fizzbang, Tharin seems as prickly as a Spined Devil today, I wonder why...ah, oh well.
"Here's the thing friends, as much as I, Fizzbang, master illusionist, am both confident and sure of my abilities, I fear this curse might be beyond me. It's some form of enchantment magic, which I've never had much interest in. Now some might call enchantments the illusions of the mind, but that's a debate for another day." Fizzbang looked around. "Besides, we don't know who worked this curse or why. Clearly there's some powerful magic at foot here and I'd rather not start slinging spells in the middle of all this finery.
Perhaps see if we can parse out who might have had motive for this? Or if there's a spellcaster in the area powerful enough to work this type of magic?"
At the mention of 'curse' the Marquess perks up, "What? She's been cursed?! Gah! I knew this couldn't be the same woman I've known!" he cries and begins hugging her and looking her over.
The Duke leans against a nearby desk and begins rubbing his beard and staring at Lady Rhea's eyes as she giggles that Maverick is now inspecting her.
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
Aracynth watched as Tharin began to gripe about the proprieties of sensitive information, and Kynortas interjected that the Elf shouldn't be so remiss. Aracynth wouldn't be bothered by such things though. If Fizzbang was right, and the Dragonborn had little doubt, their focus would be best spent on removing the curse.
He took a moment to review the various blessings and divine magics he had recently obtained, but nothing there would be of immediate use to the Lady Rhea's condition. He turned to Fizzbang, "Fizzbang, you have the right of it. My Lord Armitage, you mentioned that the Duke Oglethorn was a skilled mage in his own right, should we have any reason to suspect him? It is a heavy charge, but I would not want to overlook any detail..."
My Characters:
Aracynth - Level 2 Dragonborn Paladin - Wins : 4 - Journey Unto Chaos
Kyros - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter - Wins : 9 - Unconscious : 1 - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
"We'll talk later," mutters Tharin. He turns to the Duke.
"Are there any more magic users in the area? Duke Oglethorn may be powerful, but I'm sure there are others that could curse someone of noble birth for nefarious purposes. Holding a noble hostage from an influential and prosperous man is certainly a fast way to funds."
The Duke turns slowly toward Tharin, still frowning and stroking his beard. "Hm. There are many powerful magics in these lands, Duke Bartimus Oglethorn is among them... And to think that Bart would curse is own child... I wouldn't see the gain. Nor the ability... gods..." Reznik shakes his head and sighs heavily. "I agree that a ransom would be beneficial to some nefarious person or people, but she's been here... with no word from her father... Now that I have had audience with her and see, though, I may be able to help. You all are quite capable, but I have years of experience with me," He strides over to Lady Rhea and bends down, looking into her eyes. She seems not to notice.
"Yes," Reznik breathes, "I can help. But I must stay with her and ask you to do something for us." He stands and scans all four of you, "Within the Huntsman's Wood there is a root. I haven't seen one in some time, but the old horse-lords used to use it. Mane's braid is what it's called; it looks like a braided clump of horse hair, in case you hadn't heard of it. With a potion made from that and a bit of divine magic I'm sure we can save the poor girl. Could I ask you to seek the root? Head toward Ysmir's Rest, that'll be your best bet." He stands before you, brow still furrowed and folds his massive arms over his chest.
The marquess looks up at his father and then to you all, "I would join you but Rhea won't leave my side and I can't bring her with me and be useful at the same time..."
"Of course I won't leave you, Maverick!" She cries. "We must get married!" She smiles.
"We will, Love. In time," Maverick smiles back painfully. "Please help," he pleads to you.
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
"We should be able to make good time. We've already explored some of the woods, but not for that root. We should be back by sundown."
Tharin walks toward the entrance, then pauses for the others.
Aracynth turned to follow Tharin, but paused for a moment. "Duke Armitage, you had previously made mention of Elves who reside in the woods that you have befriended; Should we encounter them, is there any specific means that we might assure them that we too are your friends, that they might aid us in our search?" He gestured to the party adding, "As armed and armored as we are, miscommunication could go very ill, which would be both unfortunate and regretable at this juncture. Furthermore, are there any exceptional dangers we should know of before we commence our search?"
My Characters:
Aracynth - Level 2 Dragonborn Paladin - Wins : 4 - Journey Unto Chaos
Kyros - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter - Wins : 9 - Unconscious : 1 - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
"Ah, no," the Duke smiles. "The elves are very deep within the wood and don't venture close enough to Ysmir's Rest to really care about you. Scouts, maybe, but they'd just watch anyway. As for threats? Most of the beasts in the woods are quite wild and will regard you as prey or a rival predator. They aren't much different than any other forest-dwelling beast, though. Haven't seen anything particularly nasty in a while. I think I cleared out the owlbear nest years ago... Heard about your Giant Badger encounter! Thank you for the meat! That's likely the type of thing you'll see."
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"
"Very well. By your leave, we will return with the root as soon as we are able!" Aracynth bows to the assembled Lords Armitage and the Lady Rhea and steps outside. He quickly checks over his gear as he waits for the others to follow.
My Characters:
Aracynth - Level 2 Dragonborn Paladin - Wins : 4 - Journey Unto Chaos
Kyros - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter - Wins : 9 - Unconscious : 1 - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
Here is a simple map of Cloverdown Valley for reference, the woods "The Huntsman's Dream", are to the East off this map:
DM "Journey Unto Chaos!"
DM "Hoard of the Dragon Queen"
Roondar Stumbleduck Ningel - Gnome Bard lv 1 "Scourge of the North"