"Some corruption, some evil still remains on that blade. Handle it with care." Burik will then move to where the summoning was happening, taking care to keep his distance from the blade. He'll look for, and study, any marks that remain. Any clues about the nature or source of the spell.
Burik, roll an arcana or religion check, your choice.
Sam looks at the blade, leaning in but cautiously remaining a distance away from it. "Hm, perhaps the High Priest would know something. This is a bit above my pay grade." He stands back up, surveying the scene, then looking back to the two newcomers. "You both seem capable enough. If you're already searching for clues about the happenings here, I'm sure the church wouldn't mind paying a few more folks to help out."
Yeah, 'paying', Brask says. You keep talking about money, Sam. Let's get back and see what your church buddies have to offer. Hey gnome! What's the matter. Cultist got your tongue? Who are you? Brask looks menacingly at the so far quiet gnome who has helped them in battle. You're not planning on causing any trouble, I hope.
(I am confuzzled. Burik rolled a 14 for the arcana check, but it's displaying as a 5? What's going on with the dice roller now?)
(Edit: I asked, and apparently, the die roll is correct, the displayed number is wrong. If @HunterOmega edits his post, the die roll number will be corrected to what it should be, a 14, but the post will be marked as having edited dice rolls. FYI, I guess it's a stupid bug...)
OOC: Hm, weird. So it was displaying correctly but the formula was messed up? That's a strange bug, haha.
Burik attempts to look around but there's a dark energy blocking his concentration. He can't seem to discern anything about the spell or how the cultists got the portal to function in the way it did.
"Aye, we should head back to the church. Rest up. Get you all your coin and then send you on your way in the morning." Sam starts making his way back through the old city.
OOC: I'm hoping your new gnome companion was just away for the holidays, but I guess at this point we need to move on regardless. Hopefully he'll chime in soon.
Effort grimaces, then carefully wraps the dagger in a bit of cloth she rips off of the cultist's robes and packs it away for study later. She looks up as Sam speaks, and rolls her eyes again.
"Well, how wonderful that you lot seem the tolerant type, but you'll trust if I don't care to take those chances with your human friends above-ground." She gestures, whispering a few words, and a ripple of magic runs over her entire body as she casts disguise self. Her horns and tail vanish, and her dark skin and hair waver and transform; her unnaturally bright golden eyes dull down. The spell is over almost as quickly as it begun, and gone is the angry tiefling that had battled the cultists; in her place, a blonde, freckled, harmless-looking human girl stands.
"I'd appreciate it if you call me Emilia for the time being," she says to the others, her voice light, lilting, and friendly -- a stark contrast to the angry tiefling you first met. "It's so much easier to get about the city when people know me as a curious student of Oghma, traveling far from my home city to learn all about the wonders of Lovila." She smiles, performs a little curtsy. "So nice to meet you all, isn't it?"
(OOC: Whenever Effort is above ground, she will be keeping an eye on the passing of hours to keep her disguise up. If some situation pops up during which she couldn't slip away within the hour to maintain her spell, please let me know.)
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Emilia," Sam smiles as he nods gently. "I'd caution you to be careful, though. Only thing that will rile up the commoners more than a tiefling, is a tiefling they find is being dishonest about her appearance. Now, let's get topside."
Your party makes it back through the sewers and into the church without anything else noteworthy happening. You catch a few folks glancing in your direction as you walk up the final hill toward the cathedral, but that's to be expected. Once inside, you're ushered into the back rooms where some priests bring you water along with some bread and butter. Both the bread and butter seem freshly made - the bread is still warm as you help yourselves.
At this point the paladins and other priests have gone to tend to other business, although Sam remains with you. Eventually the High Priest enters, smiling and nodding in an approving manner, pleased to see everyone still in one piece. He realizes there's a new face among them, smiling at Effort for a moment before moving on, but then suddenly glancing back. The priest confidently steps forward, reaching out and gently touching "Emilia's" cheek with his hand.
"Oh, child, I assure you we do not judge you here for your appearance or heritage," he steps back. "It is what one does with their own will and freedom that determines how they shall be judged. But if you are more comfortable like this, far be it from me to dictate how you appear."
He pulls out a handful of small pouches from his robe. They're distributed among you, with each party member receiving a pouch. "Each of these contains sixty gold pieces. I hope it serves you well, but let it be only a small motivator in the fight against whatever evil is lurking within this land. Eventually we must all band together to strike back." The High Priest nods to Sam, who brings a large map over to the table. He spreads it out - it reveals the entire continent of Oshait. Lovilra is painted beautifully in the center, with metallic golds and silvers denoting different districts within the city. The rest of the map is mostly black and brown, but all of the major cities and landmarks are there: the White Wind Mountains, the Carrion Coast, Gorta, Redguard, and so on.
"We need you to head east, to the Carrion Coast. We're not entirely sure what we're looking for yet, but the things that have been happening elsewhere have been happening there ten fold. Missing folks. Reports of monsters. It's all quite grim," Sam points out the location on the map. "The quickest way is through one of the mountain passes. They should be navigable this time of year, although don't mistake me - it's a dangerous trip through that place no matter when you go. You can also move south and avoid most of the mountainous regions. It will take a bit longer - maybe a few days - but you'll be warmer."
"Feel free to rest here as long as you like," the High Priest heads toward the door. "Sam will help you with anything else you need. I wish you safe travels."
OOC: If you ever want to orient yourself, there's always this map on the campaign page. It doesn't include every little town and stream, but all the big cities are on here.
Brask slips the gold into a pocket in his armour and nods to Sam. The problem with fighting evil for a noble cause he says, is that sooner or later, someone expects you to do it for free. So long as you keep the coin flowing Sam, I'm happy to stick with you and your mission. I'm guessing Burik is too, 'cause he's a priest and cares about good and evil and all that crap. Ain't that right? and he gives Burik a mostly-friendly shove on the shoulder.
And how about you, Emilia - you joining up? Ready to kill for gold? It's really the best way to live. Fancy a trip to the Carrion Coast?
Effort flinches back as the high priest touches her face, but manages to maintain her surprised expression - and her disguise - with no other tells. After accepting her pouch, she studies the map - much larger and more detailed than the one she'd studied back in Gorta.
"I'm not really the sort of girl who's suited for killing," she replies to Brask innocently. "You can think of me as something of a well-traveled librarian, if you must. But, well, I need to get back to Gorta and report my findings to my superior one way or the other. Finding out more about this plague along the way surely wouldn't hurt either. Thank you for the invitation -- I'll gladly join your company, Mister Brask."
Drawing out the wrapped dagger from her pack, Effort addresses the others. "I'd like to find out what exactly this dagger does, and unless someone has access to an identification spell, that's going to require attuning to it. Given where it came from, I might be needing your help afterwards depending on what attuning to the dagger does to me. If worse comes to worse, Brask here could knock me on the head solidly and remove the thing from my hands. Would any of you be willing to lend a hand in this... experiment?"
To Brask, "I am a wanderer, I end up where I'm needed. But yes I likely care more about the removal of evil than you."
To Effort "Should the dagger be cursed, simply removing it from you will not break the curse. I would advise against a test of this nature, but I will help if needs must."
Burik will step towards the map, studying it. (Are there any Dwarf tunnels/holds/mines/etc. that could make the journey through the mountains safer?)
Me too,says Brask helpfully, patting his maul. Always ready to help, that's me. I reckon I could knock you out with one good smash. But let's take a rest first, eh?
(As we are about to start off on a journey, can we have a day or so in town to rest up and do a bit of shopping, and conduct Emilia's experiment?)
"Well, I think we need to find out more about this dagger before we take it on a journey with us anywhere, and the high priest didn't seem able to help identify it any more than anyone else currently here." Effort turns to Sam. "Do you perhaps know of anyone with the skill to determine what, exactly, is wrong with this dagger? Knowing what its purpose was might lend us a clue as to why they're kidnapping so many people. I'm willing to put myself at risk in the name of science, but obviously, it would be better if it didn't need to come to that."
(OOC: switching dialogue colours so I don't clone with Burik ;-) )
Burik, roll a history check to see what you can recall about dwarven passages through the mountain range.
Brask - yes, you guys can do a long rest here at the church and then visit the market in the morning (or wherever else you'd like) before setting out.
"Aye, I wouldn't test a cursed dagger on myself, Emilia." Sam looks down, studying the rune. "Despite it's appearance, this is a very old dagger. I'd say your best bet would be asking one of the high elven mages at Redguard, but that's a long way from where you're headed. We'd be happy to lock it away here if you don't want to risk losing it - up to you."
You would probably know that Redguard is the stronghold of the High Elves. It's on the southwestern shore of Oshait, and basically the entire peninsula is a giant elven city. The soil there is an incredible red thanks to clays in the soil - hence the name Redguard.
The dwarven village you grew up in is actually in the hillsides between Lovilra and the White Wind Mountains. You know it extremely well - at least the western portions that you mined for the guild. You know that there are passages through the mountain that would shield you from the elements and potentially predators (both human and otherwise) - but they also pass very near to where the group of miners disappeared, and where you and the others encountered the gem that caused the mine to collapse. It might be nice to see your parents...it's been a long time...
Tavern,says Brask in a loud voice. Tavern, bed, breakfast, shopping, leave, in that order. You coming, Sam? Brask will head out, hopefully with at least some of the others, and find a pleasant spot for drinking.
"Oh, I suppose I've earned myself an ale," Sam smiles and leads the group out of the church (if everyone wants to go) and down the main avenue to a small pub called The Albatross.
A large outline of the seabird adorns the facade above the door. Inside, you find a cozy table along one of the walls and Sam brings over a round of tall steins full of beer. He raises one up in toast. "I fear there are more battles to come in this dark war, but you are some of the most capable folks I've come across," he drinks deeply after clinking the steins together. "I wish you good fortune on your journey, and hope to see you back here again soon."
After eying the dagger a few more moments, Effort frowns. "I think I'll keep it for now, but perhaps we'll simply have to live with the mystery of not knowing what it does."
At Sam's invitation, Effort nods agreeably. "I'd especially appreciate it if you're doing the buying," she says coyly. "But don't worry, I'm not planning on getting soused tonight. I'd appreciate a meal, though."
As they arrive at the tavern, Effort demurely shakes her head and toasts with her procured glass of honey water instead. "Here's to adventures unknown. May we pack with us our best equipment, and our sharpest wits. And most of all, may we be fortunate enough to return."
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"Some corruption, some evil still remains on that blade. Handle it with care." Burik will then move to where the summoning was happening, taking care to keep his distance from the blade. He'll look for, and study, any marks that remain. Any clues about the nature or source of the spell.
Burik, roll an arcana or religion check, your choice.
Sam looks at the blade, leaning in but cautiously remaining a distance away from it. "Hm, perhaps the High Priest would know something. This is a bit above my pay grade." He stands back up, surveying the scene, then looking back to the two newcomers. "You both seem capable enough. If you're already searching for clues about the happenings here, I'm sure the church wouldn't mind paying a few more folks to help out."
DM - Above & Below
22 (bonuses are same, but I'll go with Arcana)
(edit test)
Yeah, 'paying', Brask says. You keep talking about money, Sam. Let's get back and see what your church buddies have to offer. Hey gnome! What's the matter. Cultist got your tongue? Who are you? Brask looks menacingly at the so far quiet gnome who has helped them in battle. You're not planning on causing any trouble, I hope.
(I am confuzzled. Burik rolled a 14 for the arcana check, but it's displaying as a 5? What's going on with the dice roller now?)
(Edit: I asked, and apparently, the die roll is correct, the displayed number is wrong. If @HunterOmega edits his post, the die roll number will be corrected to what it should be, a 14, but the post will be marked as having edited dice rolls. FYI, I guess it's a stupid bug...)
(It should be 5 (1+4), the 14 shows as (11+3) so can't be correct because it has the wrong modifier, I think.)
(Yeah did the edit and it fixed it)
OOC: Hm, weird. So it was displaying correctly but the formula was messed up? That's a strange bug, haha.
Burik attempts to look around but there's a dark energy blocking his concentration. He can't seem to discern anything about the spell or how the cultists got the portal to function in the way it did.
"Aye, we should head back to the church. Rest up. Get you all your coin and then send you on your way in the morning." Sam starts making his way back through the old city.
OOC: I'm hoping your new gnome companion was just away for the holidays, but I guess at this point we need to move on regardless. Hopefully he'll chime in soon.
DM - Above & Below
Effort grimaces, then carefully wraps the dagger in a bit of cloth she rips off of the cultist's robes and packs it away for study later. She looks up as Sam speaks, and rolls her eyes again.
"Well, how wonderful that you lot seem the tolerant type, but you'll trust if I don't care to take those chances with your human friends above-ground." She gestures, whispering a few words, and a ripple of magic runs over her entire body as she casts disguise self. Her horns and tail vanish, and her dark skin and hair waver and transform; her unnaturally bright golden eyes dull down. The spell is over almost as quickly as it begun, and gone is the angry tiefling that had battled the cultists; in her place, a blonde, freckled, harmless-looking human girl stands.
"I'd appreciate it if you call me Emilia for the time being," she says to the others, her voice light, lilting, and friendly -- a stark contrast to the angry tiefling you first met. "It's so much easier to get about the city when people know me as a curious student of Oghma, traveling far from my home city to learn all about the wonders of Lovila." She smiles, performs a little curtsy. "So nice to meet you all, isn't it?"
(OOC: Whenever Effort is above ground, she will be keeping an eye on the passing of hours to keep her disguise up. If some situation pops up during which she couldn't slip away within the hour to maintain her spell, please let me know.)
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Emilia," Sam smiles as he nods gently. "I'd caution you to be careful, though. Only thing that will rile up the commoners more than a tiefling, is a tiefling they find is being dishonest about her appearance. Now, let's get topside."
Your party makes it back through the sewers and into the church without anything else noteworthy happening. You catch a few folks glancing in your direction as you walk up the final hill toward the cathedral, but that's to be expected. Once inside, you're ushered into the back rooms where some priests bring you water along with some bread and butter. Both the bread and butter seem freshly made - the bread is still warm as you help yourselves.
At this point the paladins and other priests have gone to tend to other business, although Sam remains with you. Eventually the High Priest enters, smiling and nodding in an approving manner, pleased to see everyone still in one piece. He realizes there's a new face among them, smiling at Effort for a moment before moving on, but then suddenly glancing back. The priest confidently steps forward, reaching out and gently touching "Emilia's" cheek with his hand.
"Oh, child, I assure you we do not judge you here for your appearance or heritage," he steps back. "It is what one does with their own will and freedom that determines how they shall be judged. But if you are more comfortable like this, far be it from me to dictate how you appear."
He pulls out a handful of small pouches from his robe. They're distributed among you, with each party member receiving a pouch. "Each of these contains sixty gold pieces. I hope it serves you well, but let it be only a small motivator in the fight against whatever evil is lurking within this land. Eventually we must all band together to strike back." The High Priest nods to Sam, who brings a large map over to the table. He spreads it out - it reveals the entire continent of Oshait. Lovilra is painted beautifully in the center, with metallic golds and silvers denoting different districts within the city. The rest of the map is mostly black and brown, but all of the major cities and landmarks are there: the White Wind Mountains, the Carrion Coast, Gorta, Redguard, and so on.
"We need you to head east, to the Carrion Coast. We're not entirely sure what we're looking for yet, but the things that have been happening elsewhere have been happening there ten fold. Missing folks. Reports of monsters. It's all quite grim," Sam points out the location on the map. "The quickest way is through one of the mountain passes. They should be navigable this time of year, although don't mistake me - it's a dangerous trip through that place no matter when you go. You can also move south and avoid most of the mountainous regions. It will take a bit longer - maybe a few days - but you'll be warmer."
"Feel free to rest here as long as you like," the High Priest heads toward the door. "Sam will help you with anything else you need. I wish you safe travels."
OOC: If you ever want to orient yourself, there's always this map on the campaign page. It doesn't include every little town and stream, but all the big cities are on here.
DM - Above & Below
Brask slips the gold into a pocket in his armour and nods to Sam. The problem with fighting evil for a noble cause he says, is that sooner or later, someone expects you to do it for free. So long as you keep the coin flowing Sam, I'm happy to stick with you and your mission. I'm guessing Burik is too, 'cause he's a priest and cares about good and evil and all that crap. Ain't that right? and he gives Burik a mostly-friendly shove on the shoulder.
And how about you, Emilia - you joining up? Ready to kill for gold? It's really the best way to live. Fancy a trip to the Carrion Coast?
Effort flinches back as the high priest touches her face, but manages to maintain her surprised expression - and her disguise - with no other tells. After accepting her pouch, she studies the map - much larger and more detailed than the one she'd studied back in Gorta.
"I'm not really the sort of girl who's suited for killing," she replies to Brask innocently. "You can think of me as something of a well-traveled librarian, if you must. But, well, I need to get back to Gorta and report my findings to my superior one way or the other. Finding out more about this plague along the way surely wouldn't hurt either. Thank you for the invitation -- I'll gladly join your company, Mister Brask."
Drawing out the wrapped dagger from her pack, Effort addresses the others. "I'd like to find out what exactly this dagger does, and unless someone has access to an identification spell, that's going to require attuning to it. Given where it came from, I might be needing your help afterwards depending on what attuning to the dagger does to me. If worse comes to worse, Brask here could knock me on the head solidly and remove the thing from my hands. Would any of you be willing to lend a hand in this... experiment?"
To Brask, "I am a wanderer, I end up where I'm needed. But yes I likely care more about the removal of evil than you."
To Effort "Should the dagger be cursed, simply removing it from you will not break the curse. I would advise against a test of this nature, but I will help if needs must."
Burik will step towards the map, studying it. (Are there any Dwarf tunnels/holds/mines/etc. that could make the journey through the mountains safer?)
Me too, says Brask helpfully, patting his maul. Always ready to help, that's me. I reckon I could knock you out with one good smash. But let's take a rest first, eh?
(As we are about to start off on a journey, can we have a day or so in town to rest up and do a bit of shopping, and conduct Emilia's experiment?)
"Well, I think we need to find out more about this dagger before we take it on a journey with us anywhere, and the high priest didn't seem able to help identify it any more than anyone else currently here." Effort turns to Sam. "Do you perhaps know of anyone with the skill to determine what, exactly, is wrong with this dagger? Knowing what its purpose was might lend us a clue as to why they're kidnapping so many people. I'm willing to put myself at risk in the name of science, but obviously, it would be better if it didn't need to come to that."
(OOC: switching dialogue colours so I don't clone with Burik ;-) )
Burik, roll a history check to see what you can recall about dwarven passages through the mountain range.
Brask - yes, you guys can do a long rest here at the church and then visit the market in the morning (or wherever else you'd like) before setting out.
"Aye, I wouldn't test a cursed dagger on myself, Emilia." Sam looks down, studying the rune. "Despite it's appearance, this is a very old dagger. I'd say your best bet would be asking one of the high elven mages at Redguard, but that's a long way from where you're headed. We'd be happy to lock it away here if you don't want to risk losing it - up to you."
You would probably know that Redguard is the stronghold of the High Elves. It's on the southwestern shore of Oshait, and basically the entire peninsula is a giant elven city. The soil there is an incredible red thanks to clays in the soil - hence the name Redguard.
DM - Above & Below
History 13
Burik:
The dwarven village you grew up in is actually in the hillsides between Lovilra and the White Wind Mountains. You know it extremely well - at least the western portions that you mined for the guild. You know that there are passages through the mountain that would shield you from the elements and potentially predators (both human and otherwise) - but they also pass very near to where the group of miners disappeared, and where you and the others encountered the gem that caused the mine to collapse. It might be nice to see your parents...it's been a long time...
DM - Above & Below
Tavern, says Brask in a loud voice. Tavern, bed, breakfast, shopping, leave, in that order. You coming, Sam? Brask will head out, hopefully with at least some of the others, and find a pleasant spot for drinking.
"Oh, I suppose I've earned myself an ale," Sam smiles and leads the group out of the church (if everyone wants to go) and down the main avenue to a small pub called The Albatross.
A large outline of the seabird adorns the facade above the door. Inside, you find a cozy table along one of the walls and Sam brings over a round of tall steins full of beer. He raises one up in toast. "I fear there are more battles to come in this dark war, but you are some of the most capable folks I've come across," he drinks deeply after clinking the steins together. "I wish you good fortune on your journey, and hope to see you back here again soon."
DM - Above & Below
After eying the dagger a few more moments, Effort frowns. "I think I'll keep it for now, but perhaps we'll simply have to live with the mystery of not knowing what it does."
At Sam's invitation, Effort nods agreeably. "I'd especially appreciate it if you're doing the buying," she says coyly. "But don't worry, I'm not planning on getting soused tonight. I'd appreciate a meal, though."
As they arrive at the tavern, Effort demurely shakes her head and toasts with her procured glass of honey water instead. "Here's to adventures unknown. May we pack with us our best equipment, and our sharpest wits. And most of all, may we be fortunate enough to return."