At the barkeeper's refusal, Ulric nods and says, "Fair enough."
At Shautha's request, Ulric fishes around for ten gold pieces and slide them across the bar. He watches Shautha gulp down the alcohol and smiles at her reaction despite himself. As she quickly becomes hammered, he lets out a surprised, "Wow, that must be some good stuff," and chuckles a bit.
At hearing the whisper, Ulric perks up ever so slightly. He waits eagerly for the barkeeper's response, but tries to not to be noticeable about it.
The barkeeper isn't focused on Ulric, so despite his inability to hide his expression, it goes unnoticed as the man nods at Ghileeda, patting her on the head, which seems to draw some slight ire from the woman but she doesn't protest. Of course... Of course. You do your job well and you show up often. Go. he says, his hand outstretched for her apron -apparently property of the establishment- before she moves into what is likely the kitchen area, to head out the back door.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Deception: 19
Cyrin Perception if necessary: 11
Ulric cocks an eyebrow as the barkeeper pats the server woman on the head. And he accuses me of being strange, he muses to himself.
As she leaves the main room, Ulric rises to his feet and says to the barkeeper, "Well, wish me luck." He exits the establishment through the front door and jogs around back and tries to meet Ghileeda. As he rounds the corner, he thinks to himself, She was way too interested in our conversations to have a casual interest.
If she is out back, he shouts out, "Hey!" as he jogs up to her. When he arrives by her side, he says with his most charming smile, "Hi there. I'm Rordrin." He extends his hand out to shake hers. He continues, "Sorry about my friend in there earlier." He gestures with a slight toss of his head towards the inn. "My friend can come on a bit strongly." He hesitates for a moment before he says as he begins to blush slightly from a combination of nervousness and embarrassment, "Anyway, I just wanted to say that you're very pretty."
If she isn't out back, he summons Cyrin to his side. The air above in front of him fractures with a sound of breaking glass. The area in front of him looks like a shattered mirror as he reaches into the spinning shards of reality and pulls out his familiar. He lets her sit on his shoulder. He leans up against the side of the building and waits a few minutes before he begins to grow suspicious. (If she comes out, the previous paragraph happens). If she doesn't come out after ten minutes, he grows suspicious and telepathically conveys Ghileed's image to her while commanding her silently, "Find and follow her."
Ulric leaves the bar, the barkeep failing to say anything s he's not quite sure what to say, so instead he just sighs and closes his eyes as he finishes pocketing the coin. Going back to his own business. Kaylessa bows as Ulric starts to leave, saying I hope you'll patronize our establishment... again... her statement trailing off as Ulric brushes past her brusquely. Only to moments later jump in her skin as she hears what sounds to be glass shattering, though she breathes in relief when she see's that, of nothing else it wasn't on her own building. Outside, when the same noise is heard by those outside, Ulric becomes the center of attention as several of the cooks that were in the back (Cooking on spitroasts, grills and other rudimentary devices) hear the sudden, jarring noise as they look at the man with a puzzled expression, before realizing 'Oh it must be that thing he just summoned, and with slight frustration, getting back to cooking the various meals for the establishment. Take your loud magicks eslewhere caster! We're running a business here, and the last thing we need is your pranks making it seem as if our building is breaking. There's enough going on as it is. one of them says.
Neither situation happens, as when he had been moving to the back, she could be seen moving at a swift pace, so once summoned, he would impose her image on his familiar, to have it tail her as she goes. Initially, Ghileeda heads north around one of the larger buildings, the familiar following her, unnoticed as the woman seems dedicated to her flight. Once at the building, she hooks a right, and crosses the main road to the next large building, before hooking one final right, heading south, going into the Helm at Highsun from its rear entrance (a building, not a time.) All of this easily seen by the familiar.
I assumed some actions baseed on your intent, and how I assumed you would probably react in the situation.
Ulric scowls at the cook's comment. I've forgotten how normal folk react to magic, he thinks to himself. He had once been like them, but now magic was like breathing to him. He had gotten so used to it, he had lost most of his sense of wonder towards magic. He walks around the corner so the cook can't see him and pulls out a simple, black leather notebook. He opens it and begins reading aloud the nonsensical writings inside. He reads to himself for the next ten minutes, his words prying at reality in an attempt to glimpse the threads of magic. Once he completes his ritualistic spell, the air around him begins to ripple and warp ever so slightly thirty feet in every direction to disturb magical auras so that he may see them. He walks around the building once, searching for any magical traces. After that, he follows the path the server took looking for anything magical. Once he arrives at the building she entered, he walks around that one too and attempts to find magical energy. While he does this, he thinks, I probably look like a fool, but I need to check.
As he searches, he commands Cyrin to take another look around the building to see if she noticed anything peculiar. He tells her to pay close attention when she looks through the windows of the building.
After he finishes, he returns to the inn where his companions are and waits for them out front.
Cast detect magic as a ritual and tries to find anything magical.
I'll have to wait for other posts, since this is taking up a roughly 13 minute period. That and plum seems to still be having whatever emergency from before. But mostly to allow others to determine what they do/did during the time of your ritual.
Still heavily drunk, Shautha is vaguely aware of Ulric getting reprimanded for using magic and laughs. She blurts out a slurred "Weaklings..." before walking with difficulty towards the tavern's exit.
Leaning on the wall as to not fall to the ground, she starts to sing, but her voice is not melodic in the slightless, and that's not helped by her drunken tone. "So we'll roll the golden chariot along. An' we'll roll the golden chariot along. So we'll roll the golden chariot along. An' we'll all hang on behind!"
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Active Campaigns:
Raiketsu's Princes of the Apocalypse (DM: Raiketsu) - Shautha: Half-Orc, Level 3 Druid (Circle of Land: Mountain) ⟆ Monster Misfits Adventures (DM: ShadIn) - Vrakskan Onyxadyn: Dragonborn, Level 3 Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) ⟆ Rime of the Frostmaiden (DM: Sarvaeth) - Rildayne Uln'hyrr: Drow Elf, Level 1 Warlock of the Archfey
Yrnila bows her head in agreement with the Lathanderine's words. "I thank you for the offer of inquiring about the necromancer's presence. We have heard rumors of its presence around a mile south and west of Redlarch. That is as much as I know, aside from the strange tendencies it has to evade capture."
Yrnila isn't sure if she saw Ulric exit, but she definitely notices the drunken Shautha exit the bar. Having heard enough snippets of the conversations to have a decent idea of what the others have found out, she turns to the Priest with an apologetic look. "I am afraid I must cut our conversation short. I have business to attend to. Farewell, and good luck." With a bow, she excuses herself. Speaking of informants...
She rises, swiftly closing the distance between her and Shautha. (OOC - can Yrnila attempt to use Hands of Healing to remove the drunk condition from Shautha? I'm not sure if inebriation is removable that way.)
Regardless, she swiftly exits the bar and will take a look around, using her trained eye to sense any movements of others that could reveal that they were being watched. Besides the waitress, of course. She would need to be taken care of.
It's quite obvious when Ulric leaves due to his haste in pursuing the woman. The man wasn't able to share much more detail, as he had gone into the realm of speculation such as 'what if they were sent to the nine hells' and other similar things. As Ulf begins to leave, the mans hand shoots out, catching Ulf by the wrist with more strength than seemed possible, and suddenly Ulf feels something jabbed into his hand.... a piece of folded paper. Vallivoe locks eyes with Ulf and winks, whispering as quietly as possible We're counting on you, Ulfarion. And good luck with your own mission. within the span of a second, Vallivoe casually flashed a pin underneath his over-shirt before sitting back down to continue his act.
Whether Ulf reads the note, or proceeds outside first, as the man will ignore any attempts to speak with him about the pin, marking him as a Harper agent with lines like "Ah yes, the Harpers would be able to find the delegation!" if pushed.
Outside, Ulf would likely catch Ulric in the middle of casting his ritual spell just around the time it was about to complete. The note would read..
Dear Mr. Tisandriel,
Apologies for the deceptions, but my cover must remain so. I've waited for you to arrive, and had a feeling this would be the best way to get your attention, without bringing attention to myself as an agent. Someone matching your sisters description was seen somewhere within this town a little over a month ago if my source is correct. I have made some attempts to seek her myself, with no luck.
She was seen being taken away by people wearing stone masks, and dark robes. Periodically I have heard rumors of folk passing through seeing these people but the townsfolk here are either complicit with the group, Fearful of the group, or are simply ignorant of what is happening around them. I have seen no one matching her description myself, leading me to believe she is being held somewhere.. if she is not already dead.
Regardless, this is the most information we've had and have been unable to discover more. Let me reiterate: Men in stone masks. Roughly a month. Good luck.
Shautha stumbles her way towards the exit, though whether she stays inside or heads outside is unclear. Regardless of which she begins to warble a seemingly repetitive tune, anyone near her would begin to plug their ears or move away. Though since none of those near her look like warriors of any kind, they choose to simply stay as far away as possible rather than picking a fight. Perhaps if this lounge / inn were seedier she'd have a brawl going. Her tune continuing on around the entrance, much to Kaylessa's annoyance. For now, she maintains her composure as customers often get drunk, they're just usually not half-orcs......
As with Ulf, Ynirla can easily notice him due to his haste. Mmhh... I see. It is enough to go on. And I am equipped with the right sort of power to deal with such things. I hope next we see eachother we will have good news to share. he says with a smile as he touches Ynirla's shoulder May the blessings of the morning lord guide your path. as he does, a slight energy courses through her and Ynirla feels she will be ever so slightly more successful the next time she feels a need to 'check.' something. Now go, do what you must. I will head out once I have gathered some supplies.
He watches her leave the table, though if she looked back there was no malice, or suspicion there, just someone watching a new friend leave. Whenever Ynirla heads outside, she notices nothing else out of the ordinary.. the town seems to be just functioning as normal, outside of the few nearby trying to avoid Shautha's singing, or starting at Ulric with annoyance for his 'prank.' Aside from the waitress, no one else that was within view seemed 'out of place.'
Back with Ulric himself, he begins to circle the building just as everyone else seems to be heading outside in staggered waves, with Shautha being the most 'staggered.' As he completes his circuit of the first building, he notices a flare of light (as in faint) magic, thinking he may have some lead, only to notice the aura is surrounding Ynirla who only just exited the building. Proceeding then to follow the path the woman had taken... Heading north first.
Ulric first comes to the Chansyrl Fine Harness, the strong smell of leather, oils, and other such tanning supplies and objects can be sensed through the walls of the fine establishment, though no traces of magic can be detected, either along the way or around it. Ulric then channels his inner-chicken, and crosses the road, where three huge sheds stand here in a triangle, surrounded by sturdy wooden wagons at all stages of assembly. The first is a workshop full of busy woodworkers, the second is a storage area for parts such as wheels and axles, and the third houses a dozen finished wagons for sale. This is Thelorn's Safe Journeys. Workers are abuzz here, and no one is slacking off, barely even noting Ulrics passing as he wends his way around the building where the air if filled with the endless clatter of hammers on nails, sanders on wood, and other such things.
He doesn't however, detect any traces of magic either on the way, or there. Finally, heading to the last location, the Helm at Highsun, right across the Long Road from the Swinging Sword Inn stands a ramshackle two-story tavern. Rusty metal grills cover its small, dirty windows. The tavern’s name is very clearly printed in large, simple letters on both sides of a jutting wooden sign. Atop the sign is a rusting, oversized adornment: a warrior’s bucket helm with two eye slits (actually an upside-down washtub). As Ulric circles this building, he continues to detect no traces of magic, likely much to his surprise.
His Familiar had been scoping the place out, drawing occasional attention from passersby as it would appear to them to be some bird acting very strange. It watches through the windows whenever possible. One thing Ulric can confirm is that after entering the backdoor, Ghileeda hasn't left the building since entering it, and there aren't even residual traces of magic. Inside, several people can be seen drinking, some tending the bar, others tending the tables, though visibility inside is limited, as it's mostly dimly lit within. The familiar however does note that Ghileeda isn't among those in there. There are a few people who stand out, within but not many, and none of them seem to be acting out of the ordinary for a low-quality tavern.
As the familiar is looking in one window, an arrow slams hard against the wall near it as a man curses for missing. Ulric is close enough to hear the man, but not see him immediately as he's on another side of the building where the familiar was. The man has a rope of nearly a dozen fowl slung over his shoulder next to his quiver.
No magic was detected except for that on Ynirla. This 'guidance' will last for 10 minutes on her. Everyone else can choose if they follow him as they would be out by the time his ritual finished, and other than the knowledge he's gained by his familiar, everyone else can atleast see what he see's if they follow his path. Make a medicine check along with your attempt Ynir, if you get a 13 or higher you can reduce the inebriation by half if you get 18 or higher you can make her effectively sober, with a buzz and all that usually follows 'the morning after'
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Medicine: 20
(I regret making my character’s name so phonetically hard to spell. I can’t say I’ve been spelling it correctly myself all the time.)
Ylnira approaches Shautha with a firm look of discontent on her face. They were on a mission - was it too much to ask to stay sober? She decides to allocate her resources elsewhere. Half-Orcs were hardy beings.
Perception: 15 (passive 16) Note: Note really sure what a 'ritual' involves, so my narration below may be inaccurate!
Ulf exits the tavern and sits or waits under the awning to read then note, then pockets it. Stone masks? What in the names of the gods is going on here? He contemplates what it might mean and resolves to ask their benefactors when he next sees them.
He looks up in time to see the very drunk orc emerge. He listens to he song for a time, a slight smile on his lips, and is relieved to see the Ynirla emerge, apparently shepherding her. Nodding to himself, he makes his way slowly towards Ulric, trying to avoid drawing unwanted attention, and unaware of any need for urgency. What is the nine hells is he doing? He watches Ulric from across the street as he draws sigils in the air, scratches marks upon the road and reads aloud from a book. Clearly, a ritual of some kind. Nice way to attract attention. Ulf hangs back, watching, hoping that noone tries to take advantage of Ulrics focus on his magic, and ready to intervene if they do.
((Unless the DM rules otherwise, Ulric isn't being obvious about what he is doing. He cast the ritual around the corner of a building and then essentially walked along the street. He shouldn't be doing arcane stuff while walking unless the DM wants it that way. A few people might notice the ripples, but they aren't obvious.))
As the arrow thumps into the roof beside her, Cyrin screeches and launches herself into the air. She zooms towards Ulric and settled down on his shoulder. Ulric reaches up and strokes her feathers to calm her nerves a bit. Dying was annoying, but it wasn't too big of a setback for her. Ulric levels his hard stare in the direction of the hunter who shot at his familiar. Why you miserable piece of-
He calms will himself and drops concentration on his spell with a sigh. The spell ends with a faint whoosh sound as the air pressure returns to normal. He makes his way to Ulf and says to him, "I followed the waitress from before into an inn called the Helm at Highsun. I had a spell going that let me see magic, and I searched for a bit to see if I could find any magical communication devices." He looks across the way towards where Ghileed would be. "I think she is a plant of some kind."
Ulf frowns, and tilts his head to one side, considering. "She did seem...nervous...and very interested in the stories about the book. What makes you say she's part of it, rather than just bored?"
"She asked if she could leave early and go home, but she scurried off to a different inn as soon as she could." Ulric shrugs. "Other than that, it's just a feeling." He absent mindedly pets the snowy owl on is shoulder.
The hunter gives Ulric an apologetic stare, with an uncomfortable laugh. Haha.. Sorry there mate... I didn't know she was a pet.... I figured with her unique looks.. I'd be able to get a high price at the poultry on the corner just before heading in. Won't happen again! he says as he pulls out his coinpouch, and tosses two GP Ulrics way before moving about his business since Ulric didn't push the issue farther.
In regards to rituals... think of them like a 'charge up time' before an attack or skill. The ritual casting is the only time 'odd arcane stuff' would happen. It's like in a show or anime, when they actually have 'spell incantations' the incantation is the ritual, that leads up to the spell. So once he cast it, it was more like an invisible aura around him.
And also to clarify, just in case, Ghileeda was seen entering the building by the familiar, that info was shared with Ulric, however he wishes. So to the best of his knowledge, she is still inside the building somewhere, unless she managed to escape when the familiar wasn't on a certain side of the building, which I can't say yes or no to.
Ulric pockets the coin with a nod to the hunter. Can't really blame him...
He says to Ulf, "Let's go find the others." With that, he moves back to the inn where the women of the group are at. When he finds them, he relays all the information he learned and adds, "Are we going to do anything about Ghileed, or do we want to move on?"
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Will wait for more posts, but Shautha will be drunk for 4 hours.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Deception: 9
At the barkeeper's refusal, Ulric nods and says, "Fair enough."
At Shautha's request, Ulric fishes around for ten gold pieces and slide them across the bar. He watches Shautha gulp down the alcohol and smiles at her reaction despite himself. As she quickly becomes hammered, he lets out a surprised, "Wow, that must be some good stuff," and chuckles a bit.
At hearing the whisper, Ulric perks up ever so slightly. He waits eagerly for the barkeeper's response, but tries to not to be noticeable about it.
Deception to keep a straight face if needed.
The barkeeper isn't focused on Ulric, so despite his inability to hide his expression, it goes unnoticed as the man nods at Ghileeda, patting her on the head, which seems to draw some slight ire from the woman but she doesn't protest. Of course... Of course. You do your job well and you show up often. Go. he says, his hand outstretched for her apron -apparently property of the establishment- before she moves into what is likely the kitchen area, to head out the back door.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Deception: 19
Cyrin Perception if necessary: 11
Ulric cocks an eyebrow as the barkeeper pats the server woman on the head. And he accuses me of being strange, he muses to himself.
As she leaves the main room, Ulric rises to his feet and says to the barkeeper, "Well, wish me luck." He exits the establishment through the front door and jogs around back and tries to meet Ghileeda. As he rounds the corner, he thinks to himself, She was way too interested in our conversations to have a casual interest.
If she is out back, he shouts out, "Hey!" as he jogs up to her. When he arrives by her side, he says with his most charming smile, "Hi there. I'm Rordrin." He extends his hand out to shake hers. He continues, "Sorry about my friend in there earlier." He gestures with a slight toss of his head towards the inn. "My friend can come on a bit strongly." He hesitates for a moment before he says as he begins to blush slightly from a combination of nervousness and embarrassment, "Anyway, I just wanted to say that you're very pretty."
If she isn't out back, he summons Cyrin to his side. The air above in front of him fractures with a sound of breaking glass. The area in front of him looks like a shattered mirror as he reaches into the spinning shards of reality and pulls out his familiar. He lets her sit on his shoulder. He leans up against the side of the building and waits a few minutes before he begins to grow suspicious. (If she comes out, the previous paragraph happens). If she doesn't come out after ten minutes, he grows suspicious and telepathically conveys Ghileed's image to her while commanding her silently, "Find and follow her."
Deception to appear "normal" in his conversation.
Perception, if necessary, to find Ghileed.
Ulric leaves the bar, the barkeep failing to say anything s he's not quite sure what to say, so instead he just sighs and closes his eyes as he finishes pocketing the coin. Going back to his own business. Kaylessa bows as Ulric starts to leave, saying I hope you'll patronize our establishment... again... her statement trailing off as Ulric brushes past her brusquely. Only to moments later jump in her skin as she hears what sounds to be glass shattering, though she breathes in relief when she see's that, of nothing else it wasn't on her own building. Outside, when the same noise is heard by those outside, Ulric becomes the center of attention as several of the cooks that were in the back (Cooking on spitroasts, grills and other rudimentary devices) hear the sudden, jarring noise as they look at the man with a puzzled expression, before realizing 'Oh it must be that thing he just summoned, and with slight frustration, getting back to cooking the various meals for the establishment. Take your loud magicks eslewhere caster! We're running a business here, and the last thing we need is your pranks making it seem as if our building is breaking. There's enough going on as it is. one of them says.
Neither situation happens, as when he had been moving to the back, she could be seen moving at a swift pace, so once summoned, he would impose her image on his familiar, to have it tail her as she goes. Initially, Ghileeda heads north around one of the larger buildings, the familiar following her, unnoticed as the woman seems dedicated to her flight. Once at the building, she hooks a right, and crosses the main road to the next large building, before hooking one final right, heading south, going into the Helm at Highsun from its rear entrance (a building, not a time.) All of this easily seen by the familiar.
I assumed some actions baseed on your intent, and how I assumed you would probably react in the situation.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Cyrin Perception: 17
Ulric scowls at the cook's comment. I've forgotten how normal folk react to magic, he thinks to himself. He had once been like them, but now magic was like breathing to him. He had gotten so used to it, he had lost most of his sense of wonder towards magic. He walks around the corner so the cook can't see him and pulls out a simple, black leather notebook. He opens it and begins reading aloud the nonsensical writings inside. He reads to himself for the next ten minutes, his words prying at reality in an attempt to glimpse the threads of magic. Once he completes his ritualistic spell, the air around him begins to ripple and warp ever so slightly thirty feet in every direction to disturb magical auras so that he may see them. He walks around the building once, searching for any magical traces. After that, he follows the path the server took looking for anything magical. Once he arrives at the building she entered, he walks around that one too and attempts to find magical energy. While he does this, he thinks, I probably look like a fool, but I need to check.
As he searches, he commands Cyrin to take another look around the building to see if she noticed anything peculiar. He tells her to pay close attention when she looks through the windows of the building.
After he finishes, he returns to the inn where his companions are and waits for them out front.
Cast detect magic as a ritual and tries to find anything magical.
I'll have to wait for other posts, since this is taking up a roughly 13 minute period. That and plum seems to still be having whatever emergency from before. But mostly to allow others to determine what they do/did during the time of your ritual.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Is there any chance Ult saw Ulric leave? Perception: 15
If so, was the man's story still repeating yet?
Ulf will stay listening until he thinks he's heard all the man has to say. If the story is getting repetitive, and he noticed Ulric leave, he follows.
Still heavily drunk, Shautha is vaguely aware of Ulric getting reprimanded for using magic and laughs. She blurts out a slurred "Weaklings..." before walking with difficulty towards the tavern's exit.
Leaning on the wall as to not fall to the ground, she starts to sing, but her voice is not melodic in the slightless, and that's not helped by her drunken tone. "So we'll roll the golden chariot along. An' we'll roll the golden chariot along. So we'll roll the golden chariot along. An' we'll all hang on behind!"
Active Campaigns:
Raiketsu's Princes of the Apocalypse (DM: Raiketsu) - Shautha: Half-Orc, Level 3 Druid (Circle of Land: Mountain) ⟆ Monster Misfits Adventures (DM: ShadIn) - Vrakskan Onyxadyn: Dragonborn, Level 3 Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) ⟆ Rime of the Frostmaiden (DM: Sarvaeth) - Rildayne Uln'hyrr: Drow Elf, Level 1 Warlock of the Archfey
RachelEvening's Tyranny of the Dragon Queen - DM
RachelEvening's Tomb of Annihilation - DM
Perception, to notice Ulric exit: 13
Yrnila bows her head in agreement with the Lathanderine's words. "I thank you for the offer of inquiring about the necromancer's presence. We have heard rumors of its presence around a mile south and west of Redlarch. That is as much as I know, aside from the strange tendencies it has to evade capture."
Yrnila isn't sure if she saw Ulric exit, but she definitely notices the drunken Shautha exit the bar. Having heard enough snippets of the conversations to have a decent idea of what the others have found out, she turns to the Priest with an apologetic look. "I am afraid I must cut our conversation short. I have business to attend to. Farewell, and good luck." With a bow, she excuses herself. Speaking of informants...
She rises, swiftly closing the distance between her and Shautha. (OOC - can Yrnila attempt to use Hands of Healing to remove the drunk condition from Shautha? I'm not sure if inebriation is removable that way.)
Regardless, she swiftly exits the bar and will take a look around, using her trained eye to sense any movements of others that could reveal that they were being watched. Besides the waitress, of course. She would need to be taken care of.
Attack: 6 Damage: 12
It's quite obvious when Ulric leaves due to his haste in pursuing the woman. The man wasn't able to share much more detail, as he had gone into the realm of speculation such as 'what if they were sent to the nine hells' and other similar things. As Ulf begins to leave, the mans hand shoots out, catching Ulf by the wrist with more strength than seemed possible, and suddenly Ulf feels something jabbed into his hand.... a piece of folded paper. Vallivoe locks eyes with Ulf and winks, whispering as quietly as possible We're counting on you, Ulfarion. And good luck with your own mission. within the span of a second, Vallivoe casually flashed a pin underneath his over-shirt before sitting back down to continue his act.
Whether Ulf reads the note, or proceeds outside first, as the man will ignore any attempts to speak with him about the pin, marking him as a Harper agent with lines like "Ah yes, the Harpers would be able to find the delegation!" if pushed.
Outside, Ulf would likely catch Ulric in the middle of casting his ritual spell just around the time it was about to complete. The note would read..
Dear Mr. Tisandriel,
Apologies for the deceptions, but my cover must remain so. I've waited for you to arrive, and had a feeling this would be the best way to get your attention, without bringing attention to myself as an agent. Someone matching your sisters description was seen somewhere within this town a little over a month ago if my source is correct. I have made some attempts to seek her myself, with no luck.
She was seen being taken away by people wearing stone masks, and dark robes. Periodically I have heard rumors of folk passing through seeing these people but the townsfolk here are either complicit with the group, Fearful of the group, or are simply ignorant of what is happening around them. I have seen no one matching her description myself, leading me to believe she is being held somewhere.. if she is not already dead.
Regardless, this is the most information we've had and have been unable to discover more. Let me reiterate: Men in stone masks. Roughly a month. Good luck.
Shautha stumbles her way towards the exit, though whether she stays inside or heads outside is unclear. Regardless of which she begins to warble a seemingly repetitive tune, anyone near her would begin to plug their ears or move away. Though since none of those near her look like warriors of any kind, they choose to simply stay as far away as possible rather than picking a fight. Perhaps if this lounge / inn were seedier she'd have a brawl going. Her tune continuing on around the entrance, much to Kaylessa's annoyance. For now, she maintains her composure as customers often get drunk, they're just usually not half-orcs......
As with Ulf, Ynirla can easily notice him due to his haste. Mmhh... I see. It is enough to go on. And I am equipped with the right sort of power to deal with such things. I hope next we see eachother we will have good news to share. he says with a smile as he touches Ynirla's shoulder May the blessings of the morning lord guide your path. as he does, a slight energy courses through her and Ynirla feels she will be ever so slightly more successful the next time she feels a need to 'check.' something. Now go, do what you must. I will head out once I have gathered some supplies.
He watches her leave the table, though if she looked back there was no malice, or suspicion there, just someone watching a new friend leave. Whenever Ynirla heads outside, she notices nothing else out of the ordinary.. the town seems to be just functioning as normal, outside of the few nearby trying to avoid Shautha's singing, or starting at Ulric with annoyance for his 'prank.' Aside from the waitress, no one else that was within view seemed 'out of place.'
Back with Ulric himself, he begins to circle the building just as everyone else seems to be heading outside in staggered waves, with Shautha being the most 'staggered.' As he completes his circuit of the first building, he notices a flare of light (as in faint) magic, thinking he may have some lead, only to notice the aura is surrounding Ynirla who only just exited the building. Proceeding then to follow the path the woman had taken... Heading north first.
Ulric first comes to the Chansyrl Fine Harness, the strong smell of leather, oils, and other such tanning supplies and objects can be sensed through the walls of the fine establishment, though no traces of magic can be detected, either along the way or around it. Ulric then channels his inner-chicken, and crosses the road, where three huge sheds stand here in a triangle, surrounded by sturdy wooden wagons at all stages of assembly. The first is a workshop full of busy woodworkers, the second is a storage area for parts such as wheels and axles, and the third houses a dozen finished wagons for sale. This is Thelorn's Safe Journeys. Workers are abuzz here, and no one is slacking off, barely even noting Ulrics passing as he wends his way around the building where the air if filled with the endless clatter of hammers on nails, sanders on wood, and other such things.
He doesn't however, detect any traces of magic either on the way, or there. Finally, heading to the last location, the Helm at Highsun, right across the Long Road from the Swinging Sword Inn stands a ramshackle two-story tavern. Rusty metal grills cover its small, dirty windows. The tavern’s name is very clearly printed in large, simple letters on both sides of a jutting wooden sign. Atop the sign is a rusting, oversized adornment: a warrior’s bucket helm with two eye slits (actually an upside-down washtub). As Ulric circles this building, he continues to detect no traces of magic, likely much to his surprise.
His Familiar had been scoping the place out, drawing occasional attention from passersby as it would appear to them to be some bird acting very strange. It watches through the windows whenever possible. One thing Ulric can confirm is that after entering the backdoor, Ghileeda hasn't left the building since entering it, and there aren't even residual traces of magic. Inside, several people can be seen drinking, some tending the bar, others tending the tables, though visibility inside is limited, as it's mostly dimly lit within. The familiar however does note that Ghileeda isn't among those in there. There are a few people who stand out, within but not many, and none of them seem to be acting out of the ordinary for a low-quality tavern.
As the familiar is looking in one window, an arrow slams hard against the wall near it as a man curses for missing. Ulric is close enough to hear the man, but not see him immediately as he's on another side of the building where the familiar was. The man has a rope of nearly a dozen fowl slung over his shoulder next to his quiver.
No magic was detected except for that on Ynirla. This 'guidance' will last for 10 minutes on her. Everyone else can choose if they follow him as they would be out by the time his ritual finished, and other than the knowledge he's gained by his familiar, everyone else can atleast see what he see's if they follow his path. Make a medicine check along with your attempt Ynir, if you get a 13 or higher you can reduce the inebriation by half if you get 18 or higher you can make her effectively sober, with a buzz and all that usually follows 'the morning after'
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Medicine: 20
(I regret making my character’s name so phonetically hard to spell. I can’t say I’ve been spelling it correctly myself all the time.)
Ylnira approaches Shautha with a firm look of discontent on her face. They were on a mission - was it too much to ask to stay sober? She decides to allocate her resources elsewhere. Half-Orcs were hardy beings.
Perception: 15 (passive 16)
Note: Note really sure what a 'ritual' involves, so my narration below may be inaccurate!
Ulf exits the tavern and sits or waits under the awning to read then note, then pockets it. Stone masks? What in the names of the gods is going on here? He contemplates what it might mean and resolves to ask their benefactors when he next sees them.
He looks up in time to see the very drunk orc emerge. He listens to he song for a time, a slight smile on his lips, and is relieved to see the Ynirla emerge, apparently shepherding her. Nodding to himself, he makes his way slowly towards Ulric, trying to avoid drawing unwanted attention, and unaware of any need for urgency. What is the nine hells is he doing? He watches Ulric from across the street as he draws sigils in the air, scratches marks upon the road and reads aloud from a book. Clearly, a ritual of some kind. Nice way to attract attention. Ulf hangs back, watching, hoping that noone tries to take advantage of Ulrics focus on his magic, and ready to intervene if they do.
The drunken half-orc finally stops her singing when she notices she made her way out of the tavern. She had been too dizzy to notice.
"That bar was boring." Shautha says to Ynirla when she gets close to her. "No brawl, no fight. Good wine, tho."
As Ynirla tries to cure her of her drunkeness, she manages to ask a question with some coherency. "Where ar' the other two?"
Active Campaigns:
Raiketsu's Princes of the Apocalypse (DM: Raiketsu) - Shautha: Half-Orc, Level 3 Druid (Circle of Land: Mountain) ⟆ Monster Misfits Adventures (DM: ShadIn) - Vrakskan Onyxadyn: Dragonborn, Level 3 Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) ⟆ Rime of the Frostmaiden (DM: Sarvaeth) - Rildayne Uln'hyrr: Drow Elf, Level 1 Warlock of the Archfey
RachelEvening's Tyranny of the Dragon Queen - DM
RachelEvening's Tomb of Annihilation - DM
((Unless the DM rules otherwise, Ulric isn't being obvious about what he is doing. He cast the ritual around the corner of a building and then essentially walked along the street. He shouldn't be doing arcane stuff while walking unless the DM wants it that way. A few people might notice the ripples, but they aren't obvious.))
As the arrow thumps into the roof beside her, Cyrin screeches and launches herself into the air. She zooms towards Ulric and settled down on his shoulder. Ulric reaches up and strokes her feathers to calm her nerves a bit. Dying was annoying, but it wasn't too big of a setback for her. Ulric levels his hard stare in the direction of the hunter who shot at his familiar. Why you miserable piece of-
He calms will himself and drops concentration on his spell with a sigh. The spell ends with a faint whoosh sound as the air pressure returns to normal. He makes his way to Ulf and says to him, "I followed the waitress from before into an inn called the Helm at Highsun. I had a spell going that let me see magic, and I searched for a bit to see if I could find any magical communication devices." He looks across the way towards where Ghileed would be. "I think she is a plant of some kind."
((By plant, I mean the spy kind.))
Ulf frowns, and tilts his head to one side, considering. "She did seem...nervous...and very interested in the stories about the book. What makes you say she's part of it, rather than just bored?"
"She asked if she could leave early and go home, but she scurried off to a different inn as soon as she could." Ulric shrugs. "Other than that, it's just a feeling." He absent mindedly pets the snowy owl on is shoulder.
The hunter gives Ulric an apologetic stare, with an uncomfortable laugh. Haha.. Sorry there mate... I didn't know she was a pet.... I figured with her unique looks.. I'd be able to get a high price at the poultry on the corner just before heading in. Won't happen again! he says as he pulls out his coinpouch, and tosses two GP Ulrics way before moving about his business since Ulric didn't push the issue farther.
In regards to rituals... think of them like a 'charge up time' before an attack or skill. The ritual casting is the only time 'odd arcane stuff' would happen. It's like in a show or anime, when they actually have 'spell incantations' the incantation is the ritual, that leads up to the spell. So once he cast it, it was more like an invisible aura around him.
And also to clarify, just in case, Ghileeda was seen entering the building by the familiar, that info was shared with Ulric, however he wishes. So to the best of his knowledge, she is still inside the building somewhere, unless she managed to escape when the familiar wasn't on a certain side of the building, which I can't say yes or no to.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Waiting for action(s) to be taken.
Occassional Dungeon Master.
Ulric pockets the coin with a nod to the hunter. Can't really blame him...
He says to Ulf, "Let's go find the others." With that, he moves back to the inn where the women of the group are at. When he finds them, he relays all the information he learned and adds, "Are we going to do anything about Ghileed, or do we want to move on?"