Olin figures a mix of dogs and people tracking around outside.
Meepo wanders around, his sticky fingers finding:
A cracked set of spectacles, a set of leather gloves, one of the fingers torn. A single pearl. A small knife that feels pretty cold. A small prayer book, the side of it stained with red smears. A small bracelet made of carved bone bits and some twine. A tin candle holder.
Ismark closes the door and puts a heavy bar across it.
Ireena is a striking young woman with auburn hair. She has the beauty of youth, but also something else to her, something vibrant. She looks determined and stalwart. She looks at Meepo, "Wolves and other terrible creatures have been attacking the house every evening for the past several weeks. Three nights ago it was too much for my father, and his heart gave out. I appreciate your offer of help to Ismark, and myself, but....no one in this town is brave enough to bring my father to the cemetery for a proper burial. Would you help Ismark take him there before we depart. He deserves better than to rot in this house, abandoned. Donavich is the local priest. He will do his best for my father."
"We can certainly do that for you, fair lady" Mordekai steps up, glad to meet someone finally in this town capable of an actual conversation. "Meepo here makes quite the magical pall bearer, in fact." He pauses respectfully, "Now, I don't mean to bring up painful thoughts, but why do the creatures attack this place? We've not seen these kind of scratches and markings on any other buildings. Are they targeting you or the house, do you think? It's certainly not natural for wolves to ally themselves with other 'terrible creatures' as you put it, but then nothing about these lands are natural. What kind of other creatures?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kane draws Ismark aside. “My friends and I are fully prepared to accompany you to the next town, no matter the danger. But if you know what we might encounter on the road, I suggest you inform us so that we can prepare for it.”
Insight (I believe Kane still has Guidance): 21 + 1
Meepo, hearing his name, moves over to where Mordekai is talking to the bigs. "Meepo make disk..." He says with a nod, and casts floating disk as a ritual. "Good carry dead big..." He says once done.
Ismark turns to Ireena, "Perhaps you should pack a bag for the road?" She narrows her eyes at him and then at Kane, then in a waspish voice says, "Don't manage me gentlemen." She turns, her face turning quite kindly to Mordekai and Meepo, "That is most kind of you. Thank you. Let me help." Ismark quickly jumps to it as well, his face turning red, as the group of you help lift the roughly made coffin onto the disc.
Ismark looks to the very quiet, but imposing Aga, then around the group. "The truth of the matter is that the devil Strahd has taken some insidious interest in Ireena. He has visited her multiple times. The wolves, and undead that assault this house nightly come at his bidding, as do most creatures of this land."
She pipes up, after struggling to help lift the coffin along with everyone else, "In the past two nights none have come. I fear his goal was to drive my father to the brink of insanity. It would seem he was more effective than he intended to be. At any rate, he wants me alone, isolated."
Ismark interrupts her, "This town is within direct site of the castle. If this damned fog lifted you'd be able to see it, the dark castle glaring down upon us. Everything here is within Strahd's control. We need to get to Villaki and out of his site. To answer your question friend, if Strahd intervenes, I can not say what horrors he will send against us. Wolves, undead, swarms of bats...perhaps even himself. If he does not, then those same creatures roam this world, the road is not a safe place."
Ireena, "But, first to the church. It is day. No guarantee of safety, but better than night."
The beam of the door is lifted and the group, along with the floating disk move down the street. The few folk on the streets avoid you like the plague. Through the town square then north at an angle leads you to the outskirts of the houses and to the church. The church sits atop a slight rise, against the roots of the pillar stone that supports Castle Ravenloft only a few short miles away. The church stands, a gray sagging edifice of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises towards the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load. A fence of wrought iron with a rusty gate encloses a rectangular plot of land behind the dilapidated church. Tightly packed gravestones shrouded by fog bear the names of souls long passed. The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire and you realize that perhaps the situation at the Burgomaster's house is not as unique as you first thought.
Ismark bangs his fist upon the door. Eventually it opens, revealing a ten-food-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers. You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris.
An aging priest, balding with thick robes and deep sagging bags under his eyes looks tired at the group. His eyes move from member to member, taking in the scene, eventually settling on the coffin containing Kolyan. He seems to absorb it all rather numbly, and seems hesitant to admit the group for some reason. Suddenly an inhuman scream rises up from beneath the wooden floor. The priest closes his eyes, as if the scream causes him physical pain, and then waves to admit the group, "Come within...." his voice is hoarse.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
"You must be Donavich. You do well to still be here, friend. Few would demonstrate your hardiness and commitment to your calling. Ireena here tells us you will do right by her father in providing the proper burial rites? If you would forgive my impertinence, what was the source of that scream?"
Father Donavich ushers you all in, closing the front doors and placing a heavy beam across them. He leads you down the wide hall to the main chapel area. The chapel is in shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred alter, behind which hangs a rope that stretches up into the bell tower.
Donavich, with slightly wild eyes looks around, and he mumbles a bit. His eyes are slightly crazed now that you've had a few more moments to interact with him. Scream? Scream...Doru, my son is below. He needs help, I'm helping him." Another scream echoes sharply from below. "I will find a way to help him. Ahhh, yes...Kolyan..." he seems to really notice him for the first time, and walks over to gaze upon the bodies face. "It is a shame. He was a good one. Very good. And a good father..." he nods to Ireena, "...not that it matters anymore though, it's what he did in life that mattered, but, he's not your actual father girl. We hid that. But...it doesn't matter anymore. He found you, at the edge of the Svalich woods near the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. You didn't know who you were or how you'd gotten there...so he adopted you. He loved you dearly."
Ireena seems genuinely shocked by this news and stands in silence staring at the priest.
Donavich continues, "Yes, he needs a burial. At dawn so that we may offer prayers to the Morninglord, and pray for Kolyan's soul to escape this wretched place."
Another scream lances up from below, a male human scream, but feral and full of hate and pain.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Donavich, his voice hoarse and weak shakes his head, "He went with that mad wizard to confront Strahd over a month ago....he...he found his way back to me. He did. There must be a reason for it. But, he's not well....he is in some sort of trance from the devil, he...he wants to feed on blood...but there must be a way to help him without killing him."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Meepo starts to pick up and organize the mess, setting pews back up again, putting candles back in their holders, and just putting the room back to rights. "No tell lost when mess..." He complains as he works. At the screams from below he pauses and glances fromg the old priest to the floor, then gets back to cleaning again. While doing so he will rescue anything that appears to be lost.
sleight of hand: 23
"No sound good." Meepo says at the latest scream, after having put the rooms to rights again. "Meepo think go check..." He makes it more a question to the priest than a statement though.
Meepo picks up three nails, an old thin glove, and a small compact holy book about the Morninglord, whilst cleaning up the pews as much as possible. Given how smashed they are, he's left with a pile in the corner of broken junk.
Donavich waves his hands in his own defense, "Nothing, I've fed him nothing...he's....he's...just...not fed." A pitiful and angry scream echoes up through the floor.
Aga stands, stalwart, witnessing the situation but saying nothing. Ireena's face is hard, but her eyes reveal concern. Ismark looks horrified and confused.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
"That must be hard for you, to hear your son in such torment, and to have to deprive him of food. Your inner strength continues to surprise and impress me. I do not know much about such things, but if it is true that he's not fed, perhaps his curse has not fully taken hold. Otherwise, I fear there may be nothing to be done for him other than to end his torment and put him out of his misery"
Mordekai isn't quite convinced of the old man's truthfulness about his son not having fed. (Insight: 16)
"How have you managed to restrain him? Is he chained up down there, or just locked in?"
(OOC: Is there any way we'd know about vampirism? Whether there's a way to stop it before it's fully taken hold?)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Kane wanders into one of the side-rooms, deciding upon one at random. If he has learned anything in the past few days, it is to trust nothing, and even in a church evil might be lurking.
((Sorry, crazy day at work yesterday. I should be back to normal posting now.))
Olin quietly assists Meepo in setting the room to rights, piecing together broken items with mending whenever possible. Focusing on repairing the alter and any symbols of the Morninglord. "Good man Donavich, you say we must bury him in the morning. I see signs about your church that it has been attacked similarly to Irena and Kolyan's home. Are we safe here, for the night?"
Donavich seems to be truthful about his son's lack of feeding. He says, "I managed to trap him below, but he's not restrained no...just...locked in."
(OOC: You've not heard of any "needing to feed to complete a transition" or anything like that before. As far as you know, if you're killed by a vampire, you can become a vampire spawn, a mindless creature controlled by the vampire.)
With Olin's mending, the chapel is brought back to a workable situation.
Donavich, "Who can say? Sometimes they come, sometimes they do not. Our town is under siege but the mind of the devil is a mystery."
Another wicked screams echos up into the Chapel.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Kane wanders into one of the rooms, Donavich doesn't seem to care. This dirty, lightless room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. Mounted above the bed's head-board is a wooden holy symbol. This room doesn't appear to have been used in over a year, is full of dust and seems empty of anything valuable or even interesting.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Meepo's question brings Olin back to Madam Eva's tent, "Oh, yes. The wise woman also suggested we seek out the brother of the devil's bride, whatever that means. One called 'the lesser.' Do either of you know who that might be?" he says, looking to Ismark and Donavich.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Olin figures a mix of dogs and people tracking around outside.
Meepo wanders around, his sticky fingers finding:
A cracked set of spectacles, a set of leather gloves, one of the fingers torn. A single pearl. A small knife that feels pretty cold. A small prayer book, the side of it stained with red smears. A small bracelet made of carved bone bits and some twine. A tin candle holder.
Ismark closes the door and puts a heavy bar across it.
Ireena is a striking young woman with auburn hair. She has the beauty of youth, but also something else to her, something vibrant. She looks determined and stalwart. She looks at Meepo, "Wolves and other terrible creatures have been attacking the house every evening for the past several weeks. Three nights ago it was too much for my father, and his heart gave out. I appreciate your offer of help to Ismark, and myself, but....no one in this town is brave enough to bring my father to the cemetery for a proper burial. Would you help Ismark take him there before we depart. He deserves better than to rot in this house, abandoned. Donavich is the local priest. He will do his best for my father."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
"We can certainly do that for you, fair lady" Mordekai steps up, glad to meet someone finally in this town capable of an actual conversation. "Meepo here makes quite the magical pall bearer, in fact." He pauses respectfully, "Now, I don't mean to bring up painful thoughts, but why do the creatures attack this place? We've not seen these kind of scratches and markings on any other buildings. Are they targeting you or the house, do you think? It's certainly not natural for wolves to ally themselves with other 'terrible creatures' as you put it, but then nothing about these lands are natural. What kind of other creatures?"
Mordekai | Tiefling Warlock/Bard (Lv.12) | Pizazz's Beyond
RavenloftAnnihilationKane draws Ismark aside. “My friends and I are fully prepared to accompany you to the next town, no matter the danger. But if you know what we might encounter on the road, I suggest you inform us so that we can prepare for it.”
Insight (I believe Kane still has Guidance): 21 + 1
Meepo, hearing his name, moves over to where Mordekai is talking to the bigs. "Meepo make disk..." He says with a nod, and casts floating disk as a ritual. "Good carry dead big..." He says once done.
Ismark turns to Ireena, "Perhaps you should pack a bag for the road?" She narrows her eyes at him and then at Kane, then in a waspish voice says, "Don't manage me gentlemen." She turns, her face turning quite kindly to Mordekai and Meepo, "That is most kind of you. Thank you. Let me help." Ismark quickly jumps to it as well, his face turning red, as the group of you help lift the roughly made coffin onto the disc.
Ismark looks to the very quiet, but imposing Aga, then around the group. "The truth of the matter is that the devil Strahd has taken some insidious interest in Ireena. He has visited her multiple times. The wolves, and undead that assault this house nightly come at his bidding, as do most creatures of this land."
She pipes up, after struggling to help lift the coffin along with everyone else, "In the past two nights none have come. I fear his goal was to drive my father to the brink of insanity. It would seem he was more effective than he intended to be. At any rate, he wants me alone, isolated."
Ismark interrupts her, "This town is within direct site of the castle. If this damned fog lifted you'd be able to see it, the dark castle glaring down upon us. Everything here is within Strahd's control. We need to get to Villaki and out of his site. To answer your question friend, if Strahd intervenes, I can not say what horrors he will send against us. Wolves, undead, swarms of bats...perhaps even himself. If he does not, then those same creatures roam this world, the road is not a safe place."
Ireena, "But, first to the church. It is day. No guarantee of safety, but better than night."
The beam of the door is lifted and the group, along with the floating disk move down the street. The few folk on the streets avoid you like the plague. Through the town square then north at an angle leads you to the outskirts of the houses and to the church. The church sits atop a slight rise, against the roots of the pillar stone that supports Castle Ravenloft only a few short miles away. The church stands, a gray sagging edifice of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises towards the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load. A fence of wrought iron with a rusty gate encloses a rectangular plot of land behind the dilapidated church. Tightly packed gravestones shrouded by fog bear the names of souls long passed. The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire and you realize that perhaps the situation at the Burgomaster's house is not as unique as you first thought.
Ismark bangs his fist upon the door. Eventually it opens, revealing a ten-food-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers. You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris.
An aging priest, balding with thick robes and deep sagging bags under his eyes looks tired at the group. His eyes move from member to member, taking in the scene, eventually settling on the coffin containing Kolyan. He seems to absorb it all rather numbly, and seems hesitant to admit the group for some reason. Suddenly an inhuman scream rises up from beneath the wooden floor. The priest closes his eyes, as if the scream causes him physical pain, and then waves to admit the group, "Come within...." his voice is hoarse.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
"Keep beasty below?" Meepo says as he tows the floating disk through the door.
"You must be Donavich. You do well to still be here, friend. Few would demonstrate your hardiness and commitment to your calling. Ireena here tells us you will do right by her father in providing the proper burial rites? If you would forgive my impertinence, what was the source of that scream?"
Mordekai | Tiefling Warlock/Bard (Lv.12) | Pizazz's Beyond
RavenloftAnnihilationFather Donavich ushers you all in, closing the front doors and placing a heavy beam across them. He leads you down the wide hall to the main chapel area. The chapel is in shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred alter, behind which hangs a rope that stretches up into the bell tower.
Donavich, with slightly wild eyes looks around, and he mumbles a bit. His eyes are slightly crazed now that you've had a few more moments to interact with him. Scream? Scream...Doru, my son is below. He needs help, I'm helping him." Another scream echoes sharply from below. "I will find a way to help him. Ahhh, yes...Kolyan..." he seems to really notice him for the first time, and walks over to gaze upon the bodies face. "It is a shame. He was a good one. Very good. And a good father..." he nods to Ireena, "...not that it matters anymore though, it's what he did in life that mattered, but, he's not your actual father girl. We hid that. But...it doesn't matter anymore. He found you, at the edge of the Svalich woods near the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. You didn't know who you were or how you'd gotten there...so he adopted you. He loved you dearly."
Ireena seems genuinely shocked by this news and stands in silence staring at the priest.
Donavich continues, "Yes, he needs a burial. At dawn so that we may offer prayers to the Morninglord, and pray for Kolyan's soul to escape this wretched place."
Another scream lances up from below, a male human scream, but feral and full of hate and pain.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Kane scratches his chin. “If you do not mind me asking, father, what is it that afflicts your son? Perhaps we could be of assistance.”
Donavich, his voice hoarse and weak shakes his head, "He went with that mad wizard to confront Strahd over a month ago....he...he found his way back to me. He did. There must be a reason for it. But, he's not well....he is in some sort of trance from the devil, he...he wants to feed on blood...but there must be a way to help him without killing him."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Meepo starts to pick up and organize the mess, setting pews back up again, putting candles back in their holders, and just putting the room back to rights. "No tell lost when mess..." He complains as he works. At the screams from below he pauses and glances fromg the old priest to the floor, then gets back to cleaning again. While doing so he will rescue anything that appears to be lost.
sleight of hand: 23
"No sound good." Meepo says at the latest scream, after having put the rooms to rights again. "Meepo think go check..." He makes it more a question to the priest than a statement though.
"He wants to feed on blood? And this has been over a month now?" Mordekai is almost afraid to ask the next question, "What has he been feeding on?"
Mordekai | Tiefling Warlock/Bard (Lv.12) | Pizazz's Beyond
RavenloftAnnihilationMeepo picks up three nails, an old thin glove, and a small compact holy book about the Morninglord, whilst cleaning up the pews as much as possible. Given how smashed they are, he's left with a pile in the corner of broken junk.
Donavich waves his hands in his own defense, "Nothing, I've fed him nothing...he's....he's...just...not fed." A pitiful and angry scream echoes up through the floor.
Aga stands, stalwart, witnessing the situation but saying nothing. Ireena's face is hard, but her eyes reveal concern. Ismark looks horrified and confused.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
"That must be hard for you, to hear your son in such torment, and to have to deprive him of food. Your inner strength continues to surprise and impress me. I do not know much about such things, but if it is true that he's not fed, perhaps his curse has not fully taken hold. Otherwise, I fear there may be nothing to be done for him other than to end his torment and put him out of his misery"
Mordekai isn't quite convinced of the old man's truthfulness about his son not having fed. (Insight: 16)
"How have you managed to restrain him? Is he chained up down there, or just locked in?"
(OOC: Is there any way we'd know about vampirism? Whether there's a way to stop it before it's fully taken hold?)
Mordekai | Tiefling Warlock/Bard (Lv.12) | Pizazz's Beyond
RavenloftAnnihilationKane wanders into one of the side-rooms, deciding upon one at random. If he has learned anything in the past few days, it is to trust nothing, and even in a church evil might be lurking.
Investigation: 11
((Sorry, crazy day at work yesterday. I should be back to normal posting now.))
Olin quietly assists Meepo in setting the room to rights, piecing together broken items with mending whenever possible. Focusing on repairing the alter and any symbols of the Morninglord. "Good man Donavich, you say we must bury him in the morning. I see signs about your church that it has been attacked similarly to Irena and Kolyan's home. Are we safe here, for the night?"
Donavich seems to be truthful about his son's lack of feeding. He says, "I managed to trap him below, but he's not restrained no...just...locked in."
(OOC: You've not heard of any "needing to feed to complete a transition" or anything like that before. As far as you know, if you're killed by a vampire, you can become a vampire spawn, a mindless creature controlled by the vampire.)
With Olin's mending, the chapel is brought back to a workable situation.
Donavich, "Who can say? Sometimes they come, sometimes they do not. Our town is under siege but the mind of the devil is a mystery."
Another wicked screams echos up into the Chapel.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Know anything bout ravens?" Meepo asks the priest. "Or old tree where ancients rest? ravens be our guide to find tree..."
The man looks at Meepo confused, "No..."
Kane wanders into one of the rooms, Donavich doesn't seem to care. This dirty, lightless room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. Mounted above the bed's head-board is a wooden holy symbol. This room doesn't appear to have been used in over a year, is full of dust and seems empty of anything valuable or even interesting.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Meepo's question brings Olin back to Madam Eva's tent, "Oh, yes. The wise woman also suggested we seek out the brother of the devil's bride, whatever that means. One called 'the lesser.' Do either of you know who that might be?" he says, looking to Ismark and Donavich.