"Well, I'm... I'm... I'm..." Fergus stutters. "I'd be happy for the company. It's a few days' ride, though, and how will you get back?"
"Oh no, Master Fergus," Elaine expertly hooked one arm in his and began to lead him toward the stables. "I'm afraid I don't have the time or means to travel with you. I can merely offer to help you saddle your horse and prepare for your upcoming ride. Would that be amenable to you?"
"I like to think myself a storyteller," she smiled softly, as if revealing some big secret of her personality to him. "Do you have any stories to share?"
"Well," Fergus begins, "the most interesting thing I know is about the magic mace hidden in the Gilded Sun. I heard someone say once they'd need it if they ever went up to House Crain up there on the hill..."
He points toward the west hill.
"I was figuring you folks weren't intending to go there since you didn't want the mace before you set the place on fire."
He hop-steps with excitement as a thought occurs to him.
"Oh, and something about Haunted Hill, too... Did you know there's never been any children here? Never, ever. If a woman gets pregnant, she's sent away. It's too bad. I like children."
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PBP "Beregost Blues" - Dungeon Master of Gnome Slaying +5
"A mace you say?" Elaine asked. "That is quite the story. Do you have any idea where they hid it? I do love a good treasure hunt."
"I bet children adore you," she gave Fergus a wink. Playing him was almost as easy as playing her trusty viol. "Although I doubt Haunted Hill is any place for a child."
Orel finally finds Elaine and Fergus preparing a wagon for departure. The ostler didn't really seem to need the help, but he seemed to appreciate the company. Who wouldn't, Elaine, even bloodied as she was, was quite a sight to behold. "We've cleared the town and set them to torch in the inn. The building was just right to act as a furnace. You're free to say your farewells and depart, Fergus."
He then turns to Elaine, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Elaine. We're going to explore House Crain, so we won't be joining you two back to Thorngate. We may meet up again in a couple days... those of us still alive anyway."
Rey glared at Orel's back. She crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child and stuck her tongue out at him. "Orel here, promised to be my personal bodyguard, and protect me from all the evil things in the place up on the hill. I'm so excited! I've never gone on an adventure before!" She shuffled up and took him by the hand, instantly uncomfortable by the chill coming off the guy.
It's not very often that Orel feels the warm flesh of a living creature on his own. It's an odd sensation when it's not being drained of life by his own hands. He steps away from Rey and breaks her grasp. The half-orc easily towers over the elf with a single arm nearly the size of her body. She was quick, but small. He was certain he could have ended her life then and there if he wanted to. He takes a deep breath instead. "Yes... Rey has come to... grow on me," he says reluctantly. He never cared how people perceived him. He was a survivor. But at this time he knew the elf could cause more trouble than the situation needed. He'd play her game... for now.
Elaine laughed at Orel's comment. Honestly, men could be so dense sometimes. "Oh no, Orel the Hunter," she shook her head with a smile. "As beautiful as I hear Thorngate is this time of year, I intend to to travel to the House Crain with you."
"Besides," she gave Reycaryn a mishevious wink. "I'm dying to see what else Lady Reycaryn can smuggle into my breasts while I sleep."
She gave Fergus a quick kiss on the cheek as payment for his information before bidding him farewell and turning back to the Inn. "Orel the Hunter, when do you think the fire will have died down?" She asked softly. "My dear friend Fergus informed me that there is a mace inside that hallowed room that we would be fools not to take."
This really was an odd group of people. Nearly every one of them were as interested in the house as he was. He wondered what ulterior motives they might have had for going. Rey's was obvious... wealth. But what could Elaine gain out of exploring the place?
He walks with Elaine and Rey back towards the roaring fire that is the Inn and responds, "At least a few more hours, maybe even through the night." The whole group searched through that inn, it was a surprise none of them noticed there was a basement area. He shouldn't have relied on their investigation, it seems. "I'll be surprised if it's still standing once it's all burnt out," he adds.
As an afterthought he asks, "Did you learn anything else from our ostler?"
"There have never been any children in House Crain," Elaine said contemplatively. The bard glanced up at the house that stared back at her ominously and a shiver went down her spine. "In any case, I would feel most comfortable waiting until we can sift through the wreckage to look for the mace. I do not consider myself a fool, Orel the Hunter. Do you?"
"Normally, no. But recent company has me wondering if I'm wrong," Orel gives Rey a side-wards glance. "Why do you insist on calling me Orel the Hunter? It would be like me calling you Elaine the Minstrel. It's odd." He hopes to end the conversation on that note, but the idea that children were not permitted in the town has him thinking. "Perhaps the town is cursed, and newborns are exempt from the curse. I've heard of stranger things. If so, our friend Fergus's departure from the town could have triggered the curse..." He says this with hesitation. He's not normally the type to lay blame to someone else for such a mess unless he was positive of the evidence, but the coincidence of his departure and arrival is a little unnerving.
"Then," Rey spoke up, choosing to ignore the comment about being a fool. "Wouldn't our spending the night here mean we might be cursed? These people either opened their doors and walked out to be slaughtered, or were forced out of their homes to be killed in the streets. Why did the temple go unaffected?" She motioned to the blazing fire that was the temple. "That might have been the only safe spot for us to stay. We might not even be able to leave, if we are, indeed cursed."
"I come from a place where titles are important," Elaine grinned. "Also, I was wondering how long it would take for it to get under your skin, Orel the Hunter. Do you wish me to stop?"
"As for your theory, I doubt the curse would be so specific," she tapped a rhythm on her leg as they walked. "It was Fergus's job to take care of the stable's and horses. I sincerely doubt this was his first time out of the town, and I am sure other merchants and travelers have passed through. No matter what, I am sure the answers to all of our questions about curses and murders are in that delightfully haunted house."
"Yes I would," he replies to Elaine. "As for the curse... likely its been on the same residents that have lived here since it started. Fergus was probably a baby when it happened and may have decided to flee the city for his own selfish reasons. He did say he sold a bunch of stuff... greed would be a powerful reason. I don't think he's long for this world either way. We and guests of this town weren't present when the curse occurred, so we would all remain unaffected." It was all just a hunch. Curses were very real. So were monsters.
"The answer lies in that house, I think." He nods in the direction of the House on the Hill. When they finally make it back to the temple fire, he asks, "Are you sure you want to wait until it dies down?"
"An interesting conundrum," Elaine grinned. "Do we wait until dark, when whatever creepies and crawlies in that house are at their strongest? Or do we go in unarmed? We lose either way. I hope next time we think a little before setting everything on fire."
She sighed and removed a handkerchief from her pouch and began to wipe away some of the gore that still covered most of her person. "What I wouldn't give for a bath," she grumbled, picking a piece of brain matter out of her hair.
Stone had been (im)patiently waiting in meditation while everyone was trying to gather themselves before the impending trip to the haunted home in the forest. At the mention of hindisght in burning the temple, the monk awoke from his sojourn toward enlightenment, "Dwelling on the past fixes nothing. We perceived nothing, so we believed there was nothing."
The elf stood and gathered his things before joining the others, "As for curses, this was a deliberate act. Curses operate based on one's will at the time and affect only certain things. If the town couldn't grow grain or birth children, I would agree. However, these people were butchered. Look around at the patterns," Stone motioned for the others to follow as he walked down the street.
"We know some killing was done by bats; creatures of Darkness. The inn looks to be originally a temple of Light, in a way. Therefore, the attackers were turned by the power within. Also, we know the villagers ran here for shelter," Stone gestured to each feature near the inn as he elaborates. He then walks the path of carnage as though the bodies were still present, "Those closest to the inn were cut down by bats. Further out, it was heavy-handed blades which did them in. Furthest out I found some pale and bloodless with small punctures in the flesh. I would say the first victims were consumed, the bulk after hacked in a frenzy once the attack was discovered, then those that escaped attackers were overrun by the faster bats."
Reaching the end of his walk, Stone spun on a heel to look at those in attendance, "Again, I say last night was not a curse, but a deliberate attack. While surveying the damage, I saw a pale green light from our destination through the woods. If we stay to dig through embers and ash, we best find a house here and fortify for attack. Otherwise, we should set out without delay."
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"It could very well be," Orel responds to Stone as he makes his argument. "I wasn't awake while the event took place and I didn't see any green lights, but I will not discredit your theory." He looks towards the house, "So do we wait for the embers to die and dig through the remains of the townspeople or should we leave now?"
He looks around a bit, "It looks like we might be missing a couple of us. Did you see where they went?"
Marius waves from the doorway of the inn. "Over here, chief. We've been standing right here literally the whole time you wandered around. We were getting curious, and with the lateness of the day... we almost set off without you. Find anything interesting?"
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Fergus wheels his cart past the inn as he leaves town for good.
"You might check under the wood floors, in the old cisterns. It might be okay still. I've heard magic things are hard to burn."
He tips his dirty, floppy hat and trundles out of town with a goofy grin. When he's at the very edge of ear shot, he turns excitedly in his seat and shouts back.
"Oh, and if you see a big bag of coin anywhere, I seem to have lost mine. Thank you, kind folk!"
Marius watches Fergus roll away. "Something's not right with that fellow. So -- what's next, gang?"
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Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid,Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions! I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
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"Well, I'm... I'm... I'm..." Fergus stutters. "I'd be happy for the company. It's a few days' ride, though, and how will you get back?"
"Oh no, Master Fergus," Elaine expertly hooked one arm in his and began to lead him toward the stables. "I'm afraid I don't have the time or means to travel with you. I can merely offer to help you saddle your horse and prepare for your upcoming ride. Would that be amenable to you?"
"I like to think myself a storyteller," she smiled softly, as if revealing some big secret of her personality to him. "Do you have any stories to share?"
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
"Well," Fergus begins, "the most interesting thing I know is about the magic mace hidden in the Gilded Sun. I heard someone say once they'd need it if they ever went up to House Crain up there on the hill..."
He points toward the west hill.
"I was figuring you folks weren't intending to go there since you didn't want the mace before you set the place on fire."
He hop-steps with excitement as a thought occurs to him.
"Oh, and something about Haunted Hill, too... Did you know there's never been any children here? Never, ever. If a woman gets pregnant, she's sent away. It's too bad. I like children."
"A mace you say?" Elaine asked. "That is quite the story. Do you have any idea where they hid it? I do love a good treasure hunt."
"I bet children adore you," she gave Fergus a wink. Playing him was almost as easy as playing her trusty viol. "Although I doubt Haunted Hill is any place for a child."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Orel finally finds Elaine and Fergus preparing a wagon for departure. The ostler didn't really seem to need the help, but he seemed to appreciate the company. Who wouldn't, Elaine, even bloodied as she was, was quite a sight to behold. "We've cleared the town and set them to torch in the inn. The building was just right to act as a furnace. You're free to say your farewells and depart, Fergus."
He then turns to Elaine, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Elaine. We're going to explore House Crain, so we won't be joining you two back to Thorngate. We may meet up again in a couple days... those of us still alive anyway."
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Rey glared at Orel's back. She crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child and stuck her tongue out at him. "Orel here, promised to be my personal bodyguard, and protect me from all the evil things in the place up on the hill. I'm so excited! I've never gone on an adventure before!" She shuffled up and took him by the hand, instantly uncomfortable by the chill coming off the guy.
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
It's not very often that Orel feels the warm flesh of a living creature on his own. It's an odd sensation when it's not being drained of life by his own hands. He steps away from Rey and breaks her grasp. The half-orc easily towers over the elf with a single arm nearly the size of her body. She was quick, but small. He was certain he could have ended her life then and there if he wanted to. He takes a deep breath instead. "Yes... Rey has come to... grow on me," he says reluctantly. He never cared how people perceived him. He was a survivor. But at this time he knew the elf could cause more trouble than the situation needed. He'd play her game... for now.
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Elaine laughed at Orel's comment. Honestly, men could be so dense sometimes. "Oh no, Orel the Hunter," she shook her head with a smile. "As beautiful as I hear Thorngate is this time of year, I intend to to travel to the House Crain with you."
"Besides," she gave Reycaryn a mishevious wink. "I'm dying to see what else Lady Reycaryn can smuggle into my breasts while I sleep."
She gave Fergus a quick kiss on the cheek as payment for his information before bidding him farewell and turning back to the Inn. "Orel the Hunter, when do you think the fire will have died down?" She asked softly. "My dear friend Fergus informed me that there is a mace inside that hallowed room that we would be fools not to take."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
This really was an odd group of people. Nearly every one of them were as interested in the house as he was. He wondered what ulterior motives they might have had for going. Rey's was obvious... wealth. But what could Elaine gain out of exploring the place?
He walks with Elaine and Rey back towards the roaring fire that is the Inn and responds, "At least a few more hours, maybe even through the night." The whole group searched through that inn, it was a surprise none of them noticed there was a basement area. He shouldn't have relied on their investigation, it seems. "I'll be surprised if it's still standing once it's all burnt out," he adds.
As an afterthought he asks, "Did you learn anything else from our ostler?"
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"There have never been any children in House Crain," Elaine said contemplatively. The bard glanced up at the house that stared back at her ominously and a shiver went down her spine. "In any case, I would feel most comfortable waiting until we can sift through the wreckage to look for the mace. I do not consider myself a fool, Orel the Hunter. Do you?"
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
"Normally, no. But recent company has me wondering if I'm wrong," Orel gives Rey a side-wards glance. "Why do you insist on calling me Orel the Hunter? It would be like me calling you Elaine the Minstrel. It's odd." He hopes to end the conversation on that note, but the idea that children were not permitted in the town has him thinking. "Perhaps the town is cursed, and newborns are exempt from the curse. I've heard of stranger things. If so, our friend Fergus's departure from the town could have triggered the curse..." He says this with hesitation. He's not normally the type to lay blame to someone else for such a mess unless he was positive of the evidence, but the coincidence of his departure and arrival is a little unnerving.
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"Then," Rey spoke up, choosing to ignore the comment about being a fool. "Wouldn't our spending the night here mean we might be cursed? These people either opened their doors and walked out to be slaughtered, or were forced out of their homes to be killed in the streets. Why did the temple go unaffected?" She motioned to the blazing fire that was the temple. "That might have been the only safe spot for us to stay. We might not even be able to leave, if we are, indeed cursed."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"I come from a place where titles are important," Elaine grinned. "Also, I was wondering how long it would take for it to get under your skin, Orel the Hunter. Do you wish me to stop?"
"As for your theory, I doubt the curse would be so specific," she tapped a rhythm on her leg as they walked. "It was Fergus's job to take care of the stable's and horses. I sincerely doubt this was his first time out of the town, and I am sure other merchants and travelers have passed through. No matter what, I am sure the answers to all of our questions about curses and murders are in that delightfully haunted house."
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
"Yes I would," he replies to Elaine. "As for the curse... likely its been on the same residents that have lived here since it started. Fergus was probably a baby when it happened and may have decided to flee the city for his own selfish reasons. He did say he sold a bunch of stuff... greed would be a powerful reason. I don't think he's long for this world either way. We and guests of this town weren't present when the curse occurred, so we would all remain unaffected." It was all just a hunch. Curses were very real. So were monsters.
"The answer lies in that house, I think." He nods in the direction of the House on the Hill. When they finally make it back to the temple fire, he asks, "Are you sure you want to wait until it dies down?"
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"An interesting conundrum," Elaine grinned. "Do we wait until dark, when whatever creepies and crawlies in that house are at their strongest? Or do we go in unarmed? We lose either way. I hope next time we think a little before setting everything on fire."
She sighed and removed a handkerchief from her pouch and began to wipe away some of the gore that still covered most of her person. "What I wouldn't give for a bath," she grumbled, picking a piece of brain matter out of her hair.
PBP: DM of Titans of Tomorrow
PBP: Lera Zahuv in Whispers of Dissent
PBP: Evaine Brae in Innistrad: Dark Ascension
PBP: Cor'avin in Tomb of Annihilation
Stone had been (im)patiently waiting in meditation while everyone was trying to gather themselves before the impending trip to the haunted home in the forest. At the mention of hindisght in burning the temple, the monk awoke from his sojourn toward enlightenment, "Dwelling on the past fixes nothing. We perceived nothing, so we believed there was nothing."
The elf stood and gathered his things before joining the others, "As for curses, this was a deliberate act. Curses operate based on one's will at the time and affect only certain things. If the town couldn't grow grain or birth children, I would agree. However, these people were butchered. Look around at the patterns," Stone motioned for the others to follow as he walked down the street.
"We know some killing was done by bats; creatures of Darkness. The inn looks to be originally a temple of Light, in a way. Therefore, the attackers were turned by the power within. Also, we know the villagers ran here for shelter," Stone gestured to each feature near the inn as he elaborates. He then walks the path of carnage as though the bodies were still present, "Those closest to the inn were cut down by bats. Further out, it was heavy-handed blades which did them in. Furthest out I found some pale and bloodless with small punctures in the flesh. I would say the first victims were consumed, the bulk after hacked in a frenzy once the attack was discovered, then those that escaped attackers were overrun by the faster bats."
Reaching the end of his walk, Stone spun on a heel to look at those in attendance, "Again, I say last night was not a curse, but a deliberate attack. While surveying the damage, I saw a pale green light from our destination through the woods. If we stay to dig through embers and ash, we best find a house here and fortify for attack. Otherwise, we should set out without delay."
Characters:
Grishkar Darkmoor, Necromancer of Nerull the Despiser
Kelvin Rabbitfoot, Diviner, con artist, always hunting for a good sale
Bründir Halfshield, Valor Bard, three-time Sheercleft Drinking Competition Champion, Hometown hero
"Finally," Rey mumbled. "Someone talking sense. Let's go! There's a house that's waiting to be looted... I mean explored."
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
"It could very well be," Orel responds to Stone as he makes his argument. "I wasn't awake while the event took place and I didn't see any green lights, but I will not discredit your theory." He looks towards the house, "So do we wait for the embers to die and dig through the remains of the townspeople or should we leave now?"
He looks around a bit, "It looks like we might be missing a couple of us. Did you see where they went?"
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Marius waves from the doorway of the inn. "Over here, chief. We've been standing right here literally the whole time you wandered around. We were getting curious, and with the lateness of the day... we almost set off without you. Find anything interesting?"
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...
Fergus wheels his cart past the inn as he leaves town for good.
"You might check under the wood floors, in the old cisterns. It might be okay still. I've heard magic things are hard to burn."
He tips his dirty, floppy hat and trundles out of town with a goofy grin. When he's at the very edge of ear shot, he turns excitedly in his seat and shouts back.
"Oh, and if you see a big bag of coin anywhere, I seem to have lost mine. Thank you, kind folk!"
Marius watches Fergus roll away. "Something's not right with that fellow. So -- what's next, gang?"
Eshuvenniel Kazander Ravid, Valor Bard and Acolyte of the Goddess of Luck
Caradoc Langham, Halfling Rogue - Lost Magics - Epic of Pre-made Proportions!
I'm not looking for heaven or hell... just someone to listen to stories I tell...