Speaking to both Dar and Joran, Shalech asks, "Tell me what you know about him then. What can I do or bring that will make him more open to helping me? And of course, where can I find him?"
Joran speaks up; "Well, he's a quiet fellow. Lives in a cave that he crudely modified into a home. From what I've seen, it has poorly built walls, where he didn't leave the cave walls bare. I haven't seen much of the cave, but yeah... its a cave."
Joran pauses. "I mean, I could direct you or even show you the way if you'd like?"
Dar takes a moment and thanks Joran, letting him know; "We will likely need your aid soon; but for now go and enjoy the party." Joran smiles, takes the tray, and eagerly heads downstairs.
Dar turns to Shalech. "There are things that Joran doesn't know. Surrisk was one of the many apprentices of Kyristan; all of which opposed the removal of their master as Guild Leader, even knowing that their master killed and experimented on their fellow apprentices."
"Surrisk was one of the most animated in his protest, and is part of the reasons that I protected this tower; in expectation of retaliation. It has only been nine years since the disbanding; I do not plan to put my guard down yet, and I suggest you keep yours up as well. Maybe travel with these adventurers for assistance."
Theodore, as you enjoy the food, Jack and Victor walk up. "Um... Sorry about earlier." Victor says. "Yeah, sorry we ran into you and knocked ourselves out." Jack chimes in. Victor adds; "Yeah, that was a tad embarrassing."
Urselles, upon overhearing that you find the food delicious, you find yourself immediately ambushed by Isa; who forces another plate on you and Croak. "I'm glad you like my meat pies; they are the same ones I sell Boabby, though he prefers them drier so they last longer. I've told him time and again that they'd sell faster and taste miles better while fresh; but Boabby doesn't care about fresh. He actually orders the beer to be poor and watered down. I am a master brewer and chief and he demands I make him garbage! Its infuriating to say the least. Anyways; I was talking to Kendrick, who also loves my pies, and he said that Rosetta said that Navid saw Mara at his shop. He told Rosetta that Mara told him, that she saw a ghost near the mayor's house last night. Now normally I would not believe in ghost, but the haunted house in town has been active recently so there is always the possibility I guess." Somehow she stops talking.
Nathan, you see the young Joran walk down the stairs with drinks and can only assume that Dar will soon follow. There are also the two older men talking to Theodore, but you have yet to catch their names, though you are sure they are the ones Dar referred to as being old friends of your master.
Looking at Dar, Shalech feels a little exasperated by the challenge, "So, I need Surrisk the Hermit to decipher this tome. He may be dangerous enough that I should travel with others just in case, but if I really need the help of others to be safe, then there's no chance Surrisk would decipher this tome. If he's loyal to his old master, wouldn't he want the tome for himself? And if he clues in that the subject from the part of the tome I want deciphered is me, wouldn't that put me at risk?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Nathan walks up to the two older gentlemen and when there is a pause in the conversation, he introduces himself: "Good day, my dear sirs. My name is Nathan Fryer, I am an apprentice of the wizard Thasiramus. I presume you might have heard of him or maybe even met him before?" As Nathan mentions his old master's name, he pays attention to the emotions it evokes in the two men, and whether they seem to be telling the truth when they answer. If he hears their names, he will also try to recall whether he has heard anything about them in the stories of Thasiramus.
Insight: 13
(I don't know whether I have to make a history check when Nathan recalls the stories, but just in case: History 6
Croak, you notice that the plate you sat down is empty; make a History (Int) check or an Int Save. Either you prefer.
Upon hearing the name their old buddy, the two older men lighten up even more. "Why, I haven't heard that name in forever, eh Victor?" Says the shorter, more rotund of the two men. "Aye, not since the good old days Jack." Victor replies.
Upon hearing the names Jack and Victor, Nathan recalls tales of a pair of rogues that used to travel with Dar and Thasiramus for a time, before your master drifting away from them.
Jack and Victor seem genuinely pleased to hear about their old friend.
"Jack and Victor, nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about you! How have you been? Have you mostly been staying in Northbank? To tell you the truth, it is not at all how I imagined it to be. I know that the guild was disbanded and this has set the town back, but why did that happen?" Nathan hopes that maybe two non magic users (who also seem to be drunkards to some extent) might provide a perspectve on the fall of the guild.
Shalech heads back down the stairs, wondering how to solve this dilemma. He'll mingle with the others, check on Han, eat and drink (not to get drunk) and overall listen to the conversations between guests.
Victor speaks up; "Aye, we found our significant others, settled down, started families, lost our loves, and had the families move away. But this is Northbank, this is home, this is where we always come back to." Jack agrees; "Aye. And were too old to start again, you know."
"It used to be beautiful you see. A real majesty." Jack continues until Victor speaks up again. "Yes, the city glowed; the streets were filled with magic, gold, and smells of all kinds. It was like living an adventurer's life on your own front door."
"Dar never said what happened with the guild." Jack replied to Nathan's question. "Aye, he never said anything; but the wizards that left said it had to do with necromancy and a change of power." Victor adds.
"So, tell us about ol' Thasiramus. How's that prankster doing? Man he helped us with so many cons." Victor and Jack laugh together. "Not that he knew about them, of course." Victor adds.
Croak, you know for a fact that noone has been even near your plates. That food shouldn't be gone.
Shalech, Han has woken and has begun magically playing music. He seems to have gotten a few drinks in him.
Theodore, Jack and Victor turn away from you and begins speaking with the young apprentice Nathan, the person that is now your fellow apprentice. You think on that now, think on how this is now your home. As you stand there thinking Joran shoves a drink in your hand with a smile on his face.
Isa continues to spew gossip to Urselles. "Have you been to the zoo; oh, I haven't seen such a thing. With it's long neck, and yellow fur, with that orange hair and spots. Such a strange thing. You know, I saw Vel Marka at the zoo that day and he said that it doesn't normally look like that, that its supposed to be bigger. You know, he used to be a guild master, he would know about things like that. Him and Dar, Han, and Kitta; all master wizards you know. Wish I had that kind of power, but I only learned a few spells in my youth. But its good to have master wizards, it is a deterrent to those thieves in the north, keep them out of town proper. Now the people of Old Northbank think that the wizards are all really necromancers but that is of course nonsense. Next thing you know they'll call me and Joran necromancers. Oh, speaking of Joran, did you hear that he found..." She pauses and looks at Croak. "...well, anyways; so, that house has been lighting up and making weird noises at night again, but you probably know that already. But you likely don't know that it has only been happening for a few weeks; not like the ghostly form, which only happened last night. Not that I expect someone like Dar to care about it, honestly he is a grumpy rude recluse; well usually." She says looking around at the party. Isa then whispers; "But his attitude is bad enough usually that I'm not surprised the wizards fled town away from him."
Theodore gives a miss trusting look at the two who had previously tried to rob him, looks at the drink in his hand and shrugs (not drinking) then to Nathan and waits for lull in the conversation. "So Nathan, do you plan on staying on with Master Dar for long or are you just passing through?"
Nathan lights up has he talks about Thasiramus: "Oh yes, he is still the prankster that he has always been, but he has a good heart. Last winter a band of marauders, the Wild Dogs, rode into Oakenhill to plunder the town, and he polymorphed them into an actual pack of small dogs! The townspeople just chased them away, and nobody has heard them ever since. And yes, I can absolutely picture him conning pompous people who live off the poor, and helping you relieve them of their ill-gotten money... Not that he knew about it, of course." Nathan winks at Victor and Jack, and then continues on a more serious note: "Necromancy, you say? And was that really an issue? I mean it can be a legitimate branch of magic, if used properly (no pesticide compares to a blight spell), but were there many problems with undead creatures and the like in Northbank?"
Nathan tries to remember if Thasiramus has mentioned necromancy in relation to Northbank, or any necromancers that they encountered during their adventures:
Turning to Theodore, Nathan replies: "Actually, I think I will be staying for a while. First of all, a wizard should always seize opportunities to learn, and I am sure Thasiramus would be interested in what is going on with his old friends. Speaking of learning, if you don't mind, I would be more than interested in sharing spells from our spellbooks later." After the Victor and Jack reply, Nathan pulls Theodore aside to "discuss the spells": "To tell the truth, it is not just about my old master, but I am also intrigued about this town myself. I mean, don't you think that something strange is going on here?"
Listening to Nathan, Shalech interjects into the conversation, "I've made a little headway into understanding what happened to the wizard's guild here. Seems the leader was a fellow named Kyristan who was into Necromancy and had no qualms about experimenting on people, his apprentices included. Even then, his apprentices were loyal. Dar confiscated Kyristan's research notes, disbanded the guild and banished Kyristan. His apprentices left when he did. So did many of the other wizards.
Look I have personal experience with Kyristan. He's not a good person. He kidnapped me years ago and experimented on me, against my will. " Shalech pulls down his collar to show a few surgical scars, then pulls up his shirt to show a few more on his back. "His kind of Necromancy wasn't legitimate."
"No, there weren't any undead in town, but the Wizards Guild isn't in town. Infact, noone knows where it is actually." Victor says. "Well, except Dar of course." Jack chimes in. Victor replies; "Yeah, except for Dar. So, we never saw undead... other than the haunted house that is."
Nathan, you remember that there had been undead from time to time on your master's adventures; but it wasn't a main occurrence. You do remember hearing how Dar strongly opposed necromancy and illusions, never learning any of those spells.
Isa replies to Urselles; "I don't know, Dar dealt with them. I never saw any undead."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Joran stretches his arm and thanks you for the relief. "I don't think he would freak out, but he might not be pleased to have guest."
Speaking to both Dar and Joran, Shalech asks, "Tell me what you know about him then. What can I do or bring that will make him more open to helping me? And of course, where can I find him?"
Joran speaks up; "Well, he's a quiet fellow. Lives in a cave that he crudely modified into a home. From what I've seen, it has poorly built walls, where he didn't leave the cave walls bare. I haven't seen much of the cave, but yeah... its a cave."
Joran pauses. "I mean, I could direct you or even show you the way if you'd like?"
Dar takes a moment and thanks Joran, letting him know; "We will likely need your aid soon; but for now go and enjoy the party." Joran smiles, takes the tray, and eagerly heads downstairs.
Dar turns to Shalech. "There are things that Joran doesn't know. Surrisk was one of the many apprentices of Kyristan; all of which opposed the removal of their master as Guild Leader, even knowing that their master killed and experimented on their fellow apprentices."
"Surrisk was one of the most animated in his protest, and is part of the reasons that I protected this tower; in expectation of retaliation. It has only been nine years since the disbanding; I do not plan to put my guard down yet, and I suggest you keep yours up as well. Maybe travel with these adventurers for assistance."
Theodore, as you enjoy the food, Jack and Victor walk up. "Um... Sorry about earlier." Victor says. "Yeah, sorry we ran into you and knocked ourselves out." Jack chimes in. Victor adds; "Yeah, that was a tad embarrassing."
Urselles, upon overhearing that you find the food delicious, you find yourself immediately ambushed by Isa; who forces another plate on you and Croak. "I'm glad you like my meat pies; they are the same ones I sell Boabby, though he prefers them drier so they last longer. I've told him time and again that they'd sell faster and taste miles better while fresh; but Boabby doesn't care about fresh. He actually orders the beer to be poor and watered down. I am a master brewer and chief and he demands I make him garbage! Its infuriating to say the least. Anyways; I was talking to Kendrick, who also loves my pies, and he said that Rosetta said that Navid saw Mara at his shop. He told Rosetta that Mara told him, that she saw a ghost near the mayor's house last night. Now normally I would not believe in ghost, but the haunted house in town has been active recently so there is always the possibility I guess." Somehow she stops talking.
Nathan, you see the young Joran walk down the stairs with drinks and can only assume that Dar will soon follow. There are also the two older men talking to Theodore, but you have yet to catch their names, though you are sure they are the ones Dar referred to as being old friends of your master.
Looking at Dar, Shalech feels a little exasperated by the challenge, "So, I need Surrisk the Hermit to decipher this tome. He may be dangerous enough that I should travel with others just in case, but if I really need the help of others to be safe, then there's no chance Surrisk would decipher this tome. If he's loyal to his old master, wouldn't he want the tome for himself? And if he clues in that the subject from the part of the tome I want deciphered is me, wouldn't that put me at risk?"
"Quite possibly." Is all Dar replies.
Nathan walks up to the two older gentlemen and when there is a pause in the conversation, he introduces himself: "Good day, my dear sirs. My name is Nathan Fryer, I am an apprentice of the wizard Thasiramus. I presume you might have heard of him or maybe even met him before?" As Nathan mentions his old master's name, he pays attention to the emotions it evokes in the two men, and whether they seem to be telling the truth when they answer. If he hears their names, he will also try to recall whether he has heard anything about them in the stories of Thasiramus.
Insight: 13
(I don't know whether I have to make a history check when Nathan recalls the stories, but just in case: History 6
"Delicious Madam" Croak says in reply to Isa's offering as he again sets it aside and drinks from his waterskin.
Dril-lvl 4 Wizard-Forest Gnome-The Bounders https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3314145
Croak- lvl 3 Fighter- Half-Orc- The Wizard's Challenge https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3773609
Barbara: lvl 3 Ancestral Barbarian- Red Skies Mourning https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/4593374
Urselles sighs “you’re missing out on something real good Croak”
Marvarax and Sora (Dragonborn) The retired fighter and WIP scholar - Glory
Brythel(Dwarf), The dwarf with a gun - survival at sea
Jaylin(Human), Paladin of Lathander's Ancient ways - The Seven Saints (Azura Claw)
Urselles(Goblin), Cleric of Eldath- The Wizard's challenge
Viclas Tyrin(Half Elf), Student of the Elven arts- Indrafatmoko's Defiance in Phlan
Croak, you notice that the plate you sat down is empty; make a History (Int) check or an Int Save. Either you prefer.
Upon hearing the name their old buddy, the two older men lighten up even more. "Why, I haven't heard that name in forever, eh Victor?" Says the shorter, more rotund of the two men. "Aye, not since the good old days Jack." Victor replies.
Upon hearing the names Jack and Victor, Nathan recalls tales of a pair of rogues that used to travel with Dar and Thasiramus for a time, before your master drifting away from them.
Jack and Victor seem genuinely pleased to hear about their old friend.
"Jack and Victor, nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about you! How have you been? Have you mostly been staying in Northbank? To tell you the truth, it is not at all how I imagined it to be. I know that the guild was disbanded and this has set the town back, but why did that happen?" Nathan hopes that maybe two non magic users (who also seem to be drunkards to some extent) might provide a perspectve on the fall of the guild.
Croak Intelligence: 20
(History check)
Dril-lvl 4 Wizard-Forest Gnome-The Bounders https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3314145
Croak- lvl 3 Fighter- Half-Orc- The Wizard's Challenge https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/3773609
Barbara: lvl 3 Ancestral Barbarian- Red Skies Mourning https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/HumbleHubris86/characters/4593374
Shalech heads back down the stairs, wondering how to solve this dilemma. He'll mingle with the others, check on Han, eat and drink (not to get drunk) and overall listen to the conversations between guests.
Victor speaks up; "Aye, we found our significant others, settled down, started families, lost our loves, and had the families move away. But this is Northbank, this is home, this is where we always come back to." Jack agrees; "Aye. And were too old to start again, you know."
"It used to be beautiful you see. A real majesty." Jack continues until Victor speaks up again. "Yes, the city glowed; the streets were filled with magic, gold, and smells of all kinds. It was like living an adventurer's life on your own front door."
"Dar never said what happened with the guild." Jack replied to Nathan's question. "Aye, he never said anything; but the wizards that left said it had to do with necromancy and a change of power." Victor adds.
"So, tell us about ol' Thasiramus. How's that prankster doing? Man he helped us with so many cons." Victor and Jack laugh together. "Not that he knew about them, of course." Victor adds.
Croak, you know for a fact that noone has been even near your plates. That food shouldn't be gone.
Shalech, Han has woken and has begun magically playing music. He seems to have gotten a few drinks in him.
Theodore, Jack and Victor turn away from you and begins speaking with the young apprentice Nathan, the person that is now your fellow apprentice. You think on that now, think on how this is now your home. As you stand there thinking Joran shoves a drink in your hand with a smile on his face.
Isa continues to spew gossip to Urselles. "Have you been to the zoo; oh, I haven't seen such a thing. With it's long neck, and yellow fur, with that orange hair and spots. Such a strange thing. You know, I saw Vel Marka at the zoo that day and he said that it doesn't normally look like that, that its supposed to be bigger. You know, he used to be a guild master, he would know about things like that. Him and Dar, Han, and Kitta; all master wizards you know. Wish I had that kind of power, but I only learned a few spells in my youth. But its good to have master wizards, it is a deterrent to those thieves in the north, keep them out of town proper. Now the people of Old Northbank think that the wizards are all really necromancers but that is of course nonsense. Next thing you know they'll call me and Joran necromancers. Oh, speaking of Joran, did you hear that he found..." She pauses and looks at Croak. "...well, anyways; so, that house has been lighting up and making weird noises at night again, but you probably know that already. But you likely don't know that it has only been happening for a few weeks; not like the ghostly form, which only happened last night. Not that I expect someone like Dar to care about it, honestly he is a grumpy rude recluse; well usually." She says looking around at the party. Isa then whispers; "But his attitude is bad enough usually that I'm not surprised the wizards fled town away from him."
Theodore gives a miss trusting look at the two who had previously tried to rob him, looks at the drink in his hand and shrugs (not drinking) then to Nathan and waits for lull in the conversation. "So Nathan, do you plan on staying on with Master Dar for long or are you just passing through?"
Nathan lights up has he talks about Thasiramus: "Oh yes, he is still the prankster that he has always been, but he has a good heart. Last winter a band of marauders, the Wild Dogs, rode into Oakenhill to plunder the town, and he polymorphed them into an actual pack of small dogs! The townspeople just chased them away, and nobody has heard them ever since. And yes, I can absolutely picture him conning pompous people who live off the poor, and helping you relieve them of their ill-gotten money... Not that he knew about it, of course." Nathan winks at Victor and Jack, and then continues on a more serious note: "Necromancy, you say? And was that really an issue? I mean it can be a legitimate branch of magic, if used properly (no pesticide compares to a blight spell), but were there many problems with undead creatures and the like in Northbank?"
Nathan tries to remember if Thasiramus has mentioned necromancy in relation to Northbank, or any necromancers that they encountered during their adventures:
History: 18
Turning to Theodore, Nathan replies: "Actually, I think I will be staying for a while. First of all, a wizard should always seize opportunities to learn, and I am sure Thasiramus would be interested in what is going on with his old friends. Speaking of learning, if you don't mind, I would be more than interested in sharing spells from our spellbooks later." After the Victor and Jack reply, Nathan pulls Theodore aside to "discuss the spells": "To tell the truth, it is not just about my old master, but I am also intrigued about this town myself. I mean, don't you think that something strange is going on here?"
"interesting, where you dealing with bad necromancers, the kind that turn the dead into zombies"
Marvarax and Sora (Dragonborn) The retired fighter and WIP scholar - Glory
Brythel(Dwarf), The dwarf with a gun - survival at sea
Jaylin(Human), Paladin of Lathander's Ancient ways - The Seven Saints (Azura Claw)
Urselles(Goblin), Cleric of Eldath- The Wizard's challenge
Viclas Tyrin(Half Elf), Student of the Elven arts- Indrafatmoko's Defiance in Phlan
Listening to Nathan, Shalech interjects into the conversation, "I've made a little headway into understanding what happened to the wizard's guild here. Seems the leader was a fellow named Kyristan who was into Necromancy and had no qualms about experimenting on people, his apprentices included. Even then, his apprentices were loyal. Dar confiscated Kyristan's research notes, disbanded the guild and banished Kyristan. His apprentices left when he did. So did many of the other wizards.
Look I have personal experience with Kyristan. He's not a good person. He kidnapped me years ago and experimented on me, against my will. " Shalech pulls down his collar to show a few surgical scars, then pulls up his shirt to show a few more on his back. "His kind of Necromancy wasn't legitimate."
"No, there weren't any undead in town, but the Wizards Guild isn't in town. Infact, noone knows where it is actually." Victor says. "Well, except Dar of course." Jack chimes in. Victor replies; "Yeah, except for Dar. So, we never saw undead... other than the haunted house that is."
Nathan, you remember that there had been undead from time to time on your master's adventures; but it wasn't a main occurrence. You do remember hearing how Dar strongly opposed necromancy and illusions, never learning any of those spells.
Isa replies to Urselles; "I don't know, Dar dealt with them. I never saw any undead."