The dwarven mining town of Mern Lodir managed, centuries ago, to come to a truce with the xorn and other Earth elementals that keep inexplicably appearing nearby. The dwarves and elementals of Mern Lodir now live in peace and harmony.
It is late Autumn. There hasn't been a major threat to the world in three weeks, and you are extremely bored.
Trovoyorn, one of the more powerful wizards from the Cataclysm-of-the-Week Club, appeared to Zane in a dream last night, saying that he sensed a dark power arising near the town of Mern Lodir. He seemed quite excited about it, probably because he was as bored as you are.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
You approach the dwarven mining town of Mern Lodir. There seems to be a bit of turmoil, and there are no elementals visible. A dwarf dressed in what passes among dwarves for fancy clothing, with a long, elaborately braided black beard, sees you and rushes to greet you. "Adventurers! Good timing; we seem to have a bit of a problem." He starts, grimaces, and quickly says, "where are my manners? Kromrum, dwarf in charge of tourism, at your service. Welcome to Mern Lodir, where dwarves and elementals live in . . . harmony . . ." he trails off. "Damn that speech to the Nine Hells," he mutters. "At any rate, will you be staying the night?"
A tall tabaxi steps forward, dressed in what appears to be regular, yet well-kept and clean traveling clothes, a lute-like instrument over his shoulder.
Zane bows deeply: "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, master Kromrum. What seems to be the trouble? Would it be safe to stay the night in these circumstances?"
"Yes, quite a pleasure to meet you my good dwarf." a thickly built half-orc chimes in. He's just a bit over 6 feet, but fairly wide, and is dressed head to toe in somwhat out of place looking fancy clothing with puffed sleeves and ruffles here and there. He adjusts a monocle over his right eye before extending a callused hand. "Gregor Devaux, of house Devaux, at your service." he states, leaning on the walking stick in his left hand as he stoops over to get low enough to offer his hand to Kromrum.
"Nice to meet you master Kromrum," the young, human woman next to the half-orc says and smiles. She pushes her long, blonde hair out of her face. "We're here to help fight a great dark power!" she says in way too happy a tone and giggles.
He sighs quietly and admits, "there've been several . . . suspicious deaths. Head Miner Muirrum and his squad were killed, torn limb from limb, and no one knows what did it. As if that wasn't bad enough, the elementals are gone and some of us suspect them of having killed Muirrum's squad." He seems less than optimistic that you'll be able to do anything of value.
If you want any more information, make a Persuasion check.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
"Hmm, that is quite odd.. and a bit disconcerting." Gregor replies, taking a moment to remove his monocle and polish it a bit with a cloth. "I think it would be best for us to go investigate, yes... but if there's any chance of danger, it would behoove me to change out of my travelling clothes, and into my er... 'work' ones." he explains, turning to nod at a middle aged looking human man with greying hair behind Gregor, who appears to be holding a fine-looking (but curiously dull-colored and unshiny) breastplate which rests on top of a drab set of folded garments.
If no one needs him for anything or stops him for whatever reason, Gregor excuses himself for a few moments, and will return dressed in his adventuring gear.
"Yes, yes, almost ready!" Gregor calls out, hopping on one leg as he struggles to put one last buckle into place on his other. It looks as if he's changed into something that's almost the polar opposite of what he was wearing before. Drab colors head to toe, subdued looking weapons (and quite a few of them!) and armor that don't really shine in the light. A large backpack with gear on every side, and a simple metal helm that leaves his ears uncovered. What is visible of his face seems to be dusted with some dark powder (makeup?) that makes his face stand out a lot less rather than a lot more.
Once everything's in place, he jogs lightly over to join the rest of the group. Despite his size and the speed of his movement, his footfalls sound a bit quieter than some might normally expect, and his boots (despite being armored) are surprisingly flexible.
You follow Kromrum through the town and to the entrance to the mine. He and another dwarf, in chain mail and bearing a warhammer and shield, start talking rapidly in Dwarvish.
Open if you understand Dwarvish:
"Hold, Kronrum. Who are these people and what are they doing here?"
"They're adventurers--"
"How do you know?"
"What else would they be?"
"Spies in league with whoever's responsible for Muirrum's squad's death and the elementals' disappearance."
"Don't be paranoid, Dalram."
"It's my job to be paranoid, as you well know."
"Just because you're a guard--"
"No, just because I'm guarding a murder investigation."
Kronrum turns to you and growls, "Dalram's gotten paranoid. He won't let you in."
Look, I'm not even supposed to be here right now. Im sure it would be easier for me to have stayed at home pretending like nothing is wrong. Just like you are doing now. But you have an opportunity in this very moment. You can change the momentum of the tragedy that has befallen this great city. You could choose to be the one to let us in, and let us help. Think about the promotion you will get when your boss learns that you allowed us to solve the mystery. Think again of the dire disappointment that would follow you when they learn that you could have let us through, but didn't. And besides, it sounds as though you could use all the help you can get.
Zane turns to the one that won't let us pass: "Dalram, is it? I didn't understand the exchange there with master Kromrum, but we are not here for just our curiosity, but to help you figure out what has happened and aid you in your investigation. We are what would be called the experts in mysterious matters. The events we investigate, on a scale from a child losing their toy," as he places his left hand in the air to mark one end and draws an imaginary scale with his right hand, "to the end of the universe, are more towards the cataclysmic side of things."
"There was this one time when we were called to investigate the disappearance of children from a town. It wasn't of course before the townmasters' own daughter went missing, but still. The children had started doing weird, ugly, evil things before they went missing, some hurting their families or other children." And he continues the description of the events for a while. "... and we ended up saving the two children that were still alive from the hags' nest. Looking through their.. lets say research, we found that this was just the first step of some larger plan."
Zane grows thoughtful, "Yeah, I hope something about those hags surfaces again soon, I'm afraid of what they are up to next."
Then he snaps back to the current moment, "Right, so, yes, we are here to help. Would you let us pass please?"
Dalram grunts and moves aside. Kromrum goes into the mine, beckoning for you to follow.
The mine is poorly lit (dim light) and fairly short (5'6" tall ceilings). A dwarf looking very similar to Dalram stops Kronrum and has a very similar conversation with him in Dwarvish. Kronrum sighs and says, "this is Thogran. The crime scene is just behind him."
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Zane can see fairly well in the darkness (darkvision, 60ft), stoops down quite a bit and steps forward very carefully, as both not to disturb the scene and not to step into anything surprising or harmful.
If there's bodies, I'd like to calmly observe everything but the bodies - entrances and exits, markings on the floor, walls and ceiling, presence of weird smells, stuff like that.
Ketrey has very little trouble seeing details in the poorly lit mine shaft and alcoves. Raising her hand to the ceiling, she just barely managed to graze a low-protruding rock from the ceiling. She smiles, having not seen a ceiling she could reach in a great many years.
"Thank you for having us Thogran. just so you know what it is that we are doing, please don't be alarmed. I'm going to spend the next 10 minutes casting a ritual spell in order to detect if there is any magic in this area. After that, it is my intention to examine the bodies of the victims. These travelers began there journey far too soon and I intend to help you to discover why. Please let me know if my methods are acceptable to you."
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The dwarven mining town of Mern Lodir managed, centuries ago, to come to a truce with the xorn and other Earth elementals that keep inexplicably appearing nearby. The dwarves and elementals of Mern Lodir now live in peace and harmony.
It is late Autumn. There hasn't been a major threat to the world in three weeks, and you are extremely bored.
Trovoyorn, one of the more powerful wizards from the Cataclysm-of-the-Week Club, appeared to Zane in a dream last night, saying that he sensed a dark power arising near the town of Mern Lodir. He seemed quite excited about it, probably because he was as bored as you are.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
You approach the dwarven mining town of Mern Lodir. There seems to be a bit of turmoil, and there are no elementals visible. A dwarf dressed in what passes among dwarves for fancy clothing, with a long, elaborately braided black beard, sees you and rushes to greet you. "Adventurers! Good timing; we seem to have a bit of a problem." He starts, grimaces, and quickly says, "where are my manners? Kromrum, dwarf in charge of tourism, at your service. Welcome to Mern Lodir, where dwarves and elementals live in . . . harmony . . ." he trails off. "Damn that speech to the Nine Hells," he mutters. "At any rate, will you be staying the night?"
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
A tall tabaxi steps forward, dressed in what appears to be regular, yet well-kept and clean traveling clothes, a lute-like instrument over his shoulder.
Zane bows deeply: "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, master Kromrum. What seems to be the trouble? Would it be safe to stay the night in these circumstances?"
"Yes, quite a pleasure to meet you my good dwarf." a thickly built half-orc chimes in. He's just a bit over 6 feet, but fairly wide, and is dressed head to toe in somwhat out of place looking fancy clothing with puffed sleeves and ruffles here and there. He adjusts a monocle over his right eye before extending a callused hand. "Gregor Devaux, of house Devaux, at your service." he states, leaning on the walking stick in his left hand as he stoops over to get low enough to offer his hand to Kromrum.
"Nice to meet you master Kromrum," the young, human woman next to the half-orc says and smiles. She pushes her long, blonde hair out of her face. "We're here to help fight a great dark power!" she says in way too happy a tone and giggles.
He sighs quietly and admits, "there've been several . . . suspicious deaths. Head Miner Muirrum and his squad were killed, torn limb from limb, and no one knows what did it. As if that wasn't bad enough, the elementals are gone and some of us suspect them of having killed Muirrum's squad." He seems less than optimistic that you'll be able to do anything of value.
If you want any more information, make a Persuasion check.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
"Oh no, that's horrible!" Aurora clasps her mouth with both of her hands. "Where were they found? Is someone investigating already?"
Persuasion: 26
He grunts. "They were found in the mine. Thogran's investigating, not sure why. I'll take you there, if you like."
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
"Hmm, that is quite odd.. and a bit disconcerting." Gregor replies, taking a moment to remove his monocle and polish it a bit with a cloth. "I think it would be best for us to go investigate, yes... but if there's any chance of danger, it would behoove me to change out of my travelling clothes, and into my er... 'work' ones." he explains, turning to nod at a middle aged looking human man with greying hair behind Gregor, who appears to be holding a fine-looking (but curiously dull-colored and unshiny) breastplate which rests on top of a drab set of folded garments.
If no one needs him for anything or stops him for whatever reason, Gregor excuses himself for a few moments, and will return dressed in his adventuring gear.
A gnome in heavy armor steps forward, having seen all this transpire.
"Please, we must hurry. There's no telling how many more will fall before their time."
"Right this way, please." He scurries off, beckoning for you to follow.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
"Well, come on... The scales of good and evil won't balance themselves you know."
The gnome gives chase, racing headlong after Kromrum.
Aurora follows them. Her longer legs allowing her to walk more leisurely, while still keeping pace with the dwarf and the gnome.
"Yes, yes, almost ready!" Gregor calls out, hopping on one leg as he struggles to put one last buckle into place on his other. It looks as if he's changed into something that's almost the polar opposite of what he was wearing before. Drab colors head to toe, subdued looking weapons (and quite a few of them!) and armor that don't really shine in the light. A large backpack with gear on every side, and a simple metal helm that leaves his ears uncovered. What is visible of his face seems to be dusted with some dark powder (makeup?) that makes his face stand out a lot less rather than a lot more.
Once everything's in place, he jogs lightly over to join the rest of the group. Despite his size and the speed of his movement, his footfalls sound a bit quieter than some might normally expect, and his boots (despite being armored) are surprisingly flexible.
You follow Kromrum through the town and to the entrance to the mine. He and another dwarf, in chain mail and bearing a warhammer and shield, start talking rapidly in Dwarvish.
Open if you understand Dwarvish:
"Hold, Kronrum. Who are these people and what are they doing here?"
"They're adventurers--"
"How do you know?"
"What else would they be?"
"Spies in league with whoever's responsible for Muirrum's squad's death and the elementals' disappearance."
"Don't be paranoid, Dalram."
"It's my job to be paranoid, as you well know."
"Just because you're a guard--"
"No, just because I'm guarding a murder investigation."
Kronrum turns to you and growls, "Dalram's gotten paranoid. He won't let you in."
You can attempt a Persuasion or Intimidation check to get him to let you pass.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Look, I'm not even supposed to be here right now. Im sure it would be easier for me to have stayed at home pretending like nothing is wrong. Just like you are doing now. But you have an opportunity in this very moment. You can change the momentum of the tragedy that has befallen this great city. You could choose to be the one to let us in, and let us help. Think about the promotion you will get when your boss learns that you allowed us to solve the mystery. Think again of the dire disappointment that would follow you when they learn that you could have let us through, but didn't. And besides, it sounds as though you could use all the help you can get.
Zane turns to the one that won't let us pass: "Dalram, is it? I didn't understand the exchange there with master Kromrum, but we are not here for just our curiosity, but to help you figure out what has happened and aid you in your investigation. We are what would be called the experts in mysterious matters. The events we investigate, on a scale from a child losing their toy," as he places his left hand in the air to mark one end and draws an imaginary scale with his right hand, "to the end of the universe, are more towards the cataclysmic side of things."
"There was this one time when we were called to investigate the disappearance of children from a town. It wasn't of course before the townmasters' own daughter went missing, but still. The children had started doing weird, ugly, evil things before they went missing, some hurting their families or other children." And he continues the description of the events for a while. "... and we ended up saving the two children that were still alive from the hags' nest. Looking through their.. lets say research, we found that this was just the first step of some larger plan."
Zane grows thoughtful, "Yeah, I hope something about those hags surfaces again soon, I'm afraid of what they are up to next."
Then he snaps back to the current moment, "Right, so, yes, we are here to help. Would you let us pass please?"
Persuasion 16
Dalram grunts and moves aside. Kromrum goes into the mine, beckoning for you to follow.
The mine is poorly lit (dim light) and fairly short (5'6" tall ceilings). A dwarf looking very similar to Dalram stops Kronrum and has a very similar conversation with him in Dwarvish. Kronrum sighs and says, "this is Thogran. The crime scene is just behind him."
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Zane can see fairly well in the darkness (darkvision, 60ft), stoops down quite a bit and steps forward very carefully, as both not to disturb the scene and not to step into anything surprising or harmful.
If there's bodies, I'd like to calmly observe everything but the bodies - entrances and exits, markings on the floor, walls and ceiling, presence of weird smells, stuff like that.
Ketrey has very little trouble seeing details in the poorly lit mine shaft and alcoves. Raising her hand to the ceiling, she just barely managed to graze a low-protruding rock from the ceiling. She smiles, having not seen a ceiling she could reach in a great many years.
"Thank you for having us Thogran. just so you know what it is that we are doing, please don't be alarmed. I'm going to spend the next 10 minutes casting a ritual spell in order to detect if there is any magic in this area. After that, it is my intention to examine the bodies of the victims. These travelers began there journey far too soon and I intend to help you to discover why. Please let me know if my methods are acceptable to you."