The moment Vulgrom manages to get his hands on the strange magical item retrieved, he'll cast Identify over the course of several minutes*, while look at the item with narrows eyes and intense focus...
* Ritual Casting You can cast a cleric spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared.
(You learn that the silver disk is able to allow one use of a See Invisibility spell with this item. Once per day you can rub the small glass sphere in the center and gain the benefit of a See Invisibility spell as long as you look through said sphere)
Manfred stands up triumphantly at Dain's comments, no longer stewing in sullen silence. "I knew it! I knew I wasn't wrong. Good on you, too lass." He says, nodding at Aura, beaming ear to ear in triumph, and more than a bit of relief. "You say something none of us saw. If she's actively deploying spells against us, then I think we should take the fight directly to her. Or at least investigate further. I really don't like being played for a fool. "
He claps Albanus on the back. "One of us should keep an eye on our friend here, though.No offense, but I don't fancy being on the receiving end of one of your pieces of magic. Even if it is in service of a pretty face."
(OOC -- what time is it currently? I assume its late evening, but not quite midnight yet?)
"Ye all can decide who be wanting ta carry dat." dain says, nodding to the see-invisibility-stone thingy. "Me familiar can do dat fer me already ye see." Glancing to the bard as he gets up. "Da people of dis town won't be liking ye any fer going after da lass now." Dain reminds him. "Ye be forewarned now, so I be saying to let er be and be mayhaps a wee bit more careful next time around."
Manfred stares at the wizard hard. "She's dangerous and she played me -- us for a fool. If the rest of you don't want to go, I'll respect your decision and stand down for the moment. But trust me, Dain. Letting something like this fester will only cause us more problems. And if she is involved in the disappearances, then any other disappearances will be on all our heads. That sort of guilt is hard to bear." He drains the rest of his ale and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, suddenly feeling very weary.
"If ye all be wantin ta go, then I'll go with ye." Dain says with a shrug. "Just sayin dat we have no proof but our own word on da matter. Better be gettin more proof me thinks before going after her."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Aura seems to have gone quiet after the rest of the party took charge of the conversation. This time, it wasn't exactly shyness that made her do so, she was in deep thought, trying to recall from her various sources of knowledge to see if she can take a wild guess at what could possibly be this magical enchantment put over Albanus based on his behavior after being charmed and the way Janice has been acting in general.
Arcana18 (I feel like this is a tremendous stretch, so I'll assume the DC is high for this one, but I still want to try it anyway.)
Survivor will look up from his plate as the conversation winds down for a moment, "We're here to solve disappearances, right? Why don't we look into that, and keep in mind our suspicions? If we find evidence linking her besides our word that she charmed our friend, perhaps the local authorities will be more inclined to help us rather than arrest us. That being said, I'm willing to go kick in her door if you all think its a good idea."
"Oh aye, no surprising the wisdom cones from a fellow dwarf, eh?" Vulgrom raises his glass to his kin. "Leave it be, lad. We've got each others back if things start looking grim. And we've more each others eyes looking over us." The dwarf taps his symbol of the burning anvil on his shield.
Aura seems to have gone quiet after the rest of the party took charge of the conversation. This time, it wasn't exactly shyness that made her do so, she was in deep thought, trying to recall from her various sources of knowledge to see if she can take a wild guess at what could possibly be this magical enchantment put over Albanus based on his behavior after being charmed and the way Janice has been acting in general.
Arcana24 (I feel like this is a tremendous stretch, so I'll assume the DC is high for this one, but I still want to try it anyway.)
(You think back to the monastery, how you read many tomes from long ago about even some of the demons that occasionally manage to slip through into the material plane, and one of them in particular is known for possessing both a powerful enchanment magic as well as a pretty face. You believe theres a strong chance Janice could likely be a Succubus)
Aura continues thinking for a few more seconds until she seems to have a eureka moment. She raises her head and starts talking to the party. "I think I know what Janice is... There's this type of demon which is known for trying to seduce people... Janice must be a Succubus... Just the way she's acting, and the way she charmed Albanus, I feel like I can say that almost for sure."
(Did you link to the Succubus's sheet because Aura knows everything that's written there, or was it just so us, OOC, knew more about them?)
Survivor will listen carefully to the description, then gesture to Albanus, "Do we need to restrain him?"
"If what you say is true and Janice is this creature, then for a while I'm a bit dangerous. However, considering the item we found and the lack of Janice, maybe we could use one to find the other, and then ask her? I'm sure it's all a big misunderstanding..." Albanus looks around the room at the now-silent, disbelieving faces of his friends. "Right. Um, well - or I could get really drunk."
Manfred stands up triumphantly at Dain's comments, no longer stewing in sullen silence. "I knew it! I knew I wasn't wrong. Good on you, too lass." He says, nodding at Aura, beaming ear to ear in triumph, and more than a bit of relief. "You say something none of us saw. If she's actively deploying spells against us, then I think we should take the fight directly to her. Or at least investigate further. I really don't like being played for a fool. "
He claps Albanus on the back. "One of us should keep an eye on our friend here, though.No offense, but I don't fancy being on the receiving end of one of your pieces of magic. Even if it is in service of a pretty face."
(OOC -- what time is it currently? I assume its late evening, but not quite midnight yet?)
"Point taken, good bard. Though I would really like to hear Janice's side of the story. Maybe the spell's wrong?" he questions, asking Dain if it could be a false reading...
Aura gives a concerned look at Albanus after Dain points it out, and slowly nods. "Although I didn't want to, if she commands him to do something now that he's charmed, he will. She can also give commands telepathically. So, maybe it's a good idea to keep him restrained. I don't know how getting him drunk will solve anything... What I do know is if Albanus gets hurt, the spell gets weaker, so he might be able to break out of it."
"Well, this is rapidly turning into a strange mess. But we still haven't any tangible proof of potential deamonhood-- so any actions taken are still look like "we walk into town, we kill a young barmaid, while waving the Guild's name around" Not exactly the best plan there. There was that one guard as well that came up, so if she disappears now that's gonna look at us."
Turning to Aura, who seems to know creature concepts more, "Do succubus hurt people? or is it just the stereotype 'you wake up tired' and go about your business? Because We still don't know the time table for disappearences, if they started when she arrived, or if that means there are multiple potentials in the area."
Pointing at Albanus, "Well, if we need someone to stay behind, I could stay behind with him. I don't know much ab out succubus but the stereotype stories was it drives men wild right? So probably won't charm me? Or at least, she didn't before As for the drunk... Well if he can't move very well he can't follow commands very well.." Pausing to think to herself, 'Also I'm really not comfortable with just hauling off on someone like they're discussing..maybe I should mention that....'
"Just... to ask before everyone makes a decision. What are the chances that there was a succubi there the whole time, invisible, and had charmed Albanus or coercered Janice as a puppet to get people--and that Janice herself procured the stone? Because the stone being there is very odd. That isn't what one usually keeps with alcohol. Could she have chosen the one who seems the most magical by appearence-- to help her? " Ashtear slinks down in her seat a little... she's clearly disagreeing with the group sentiment but feels like she has to-choices can't be taken back. "I just want to be sure before something occurs. That stone came from somewhere, and conventially Janice, the Innkeep, or his brother would be the ones who have normal acces. Maybe it could've belonged to the Guild Member we're looking for--though if he was disappeared puting his gear there is the worst choice. If she was a succubus herself, choosing a random person-from a large group-the second they arrive from town is not a good target compared to the targets we know of. Further, we as a group dont' exactly look... uh.. Nice. Frankly, we're probably more armed than this town is used to right?"
Wigglying her seat a bit after talking a lot, and wishing she hadnt' finished her food off before so she could fiddle with it.
"Huh..." Aura seems to be overwhelmed at first by the number of questions made to her, but then she pauses and tries to answer one-by-one based on what she knew. "I'm not saying we need to out her just yet... Although, if we can prove she's a Fiend, then maybe... About succubi, their objective is generally to steal people's souls, so I'm pretty sure she's more dangerous than just making someone tired..."
She continues, going over to Ashtear's questions about succubi abilities to charm. "Well, a succubus is generally interested in men, and incubi are the ones who search for women, but I'm pretty sure this magical effect she put on Albanus isn't restricted by gender. If she didn't get you, it's because she can only charm one person at a time..."
"Succubi don't actually have the power to go invisible... What they do is travel to the Ethereal Plane. I think it's hard to believe Janice wasn't the one to charm him, though, I mean, look at him, he's trying so hard to defend her... I don't know anything about that magical item, so I don't think I have the answers you want to that." As Aura finishes, one look at her tells everyone that the Genasi is exhausted. Sharing her knowledge was surprisingly interesting, but she still wasn't one to want to talk too much.
Manfred makes a small sound akin to a sound a frustrated child makes when they don't get their way -- its clear that the bard isn't quite used to people not doing as he says. He sits in silence as the conversation goes between the others, and after Aura is finished speaking, he looks at her sympathetically.
"Listen, there seems to be no clear way forward tonight. Why don't we all get some sleep? Gods, its only been a few hours since we all made common cause."He pauses and says the next part through gritted teeth. "I am willing to put off confronting this...creature until we can find some proof, if that's what you all require. If she wants to to maintain her cover, then she has to show up to work, yes? I have some ways to bypass locked doors. We can search her place while she is out. There are some other avenues that we can investigate until she shows up at the tavern as well."
He studies Albanus for a moment then sighs. "I suppose we could take shifts keeping an eye on him in the shared room. It will mean some of us might not get a full night's rest, but its the only way to be sure. I have a spell that would certainly alert all of you if there was trouble. Do any of the rest of you have means for calling for help?"He realizes he was talking about the tiefling as though he wasn't there."Err... no offense, Albanus."
"Probably a good idea ta get some rest." Dain agrees, through a big yawn. "Meet ye all back down ere in the mornin then." With that he gets up and heads off to bed, setting up what time they all want him to keep an eye on the charmed one before doing so.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"As I said, I know nothing about how to do magic, I just learned a lot about it through reading, so I don't have any ways to call for help except running away and asking for help." Aura responds to Manfred's question, before taking a quick look at Albanus again. "Hm... Sorry... I'll just try this once, and if it works, good... If not... Well, we'll see..." And she goes, and without any other warnings punches him in the stomach.
(You learn that the silver disk is able to allow one use of a See Invisibility spell with this item. Once per day you can rub the small glass sphere in the center and gain the benefit of a See Invisibility spell as long as you look through said sphere)
Vulgrom repeats the information to the group then plants it on the bar, "And that's what it does!"
Manfred stands up triumphantly at Dain's comments, no longer stewing in sullen silence. "I knew it! I knew I wasn't wrong. Good on you, too lass." He says, nodding at Aura, beaming ear to ear in triumph, and more than a bit of relief. "You say something none of us saw. If she's actively deploying spells against us, then I think we should take the fight directly to her. Or at least investigate further. I really don't like being played for a fool. "
He claps Albanus on the back. "One of us should keep an eye on our friend here, though. No offense, but I don't fancy being on the receiving end of one of your pieces of magic. Even if it is in service of a pretty face."
(OOC -- what time is it currently? I assume its late evening, but not quite midnight yet?)
"Ye all can decide who be wanting ta carry dat." dain says, nodding to the see-invisibility-stone thingy. "Me familiar can do dat fer me already ye see." Glancing to the bard as he gets up. "Da people of dis town won't be liking ye any fer going after da lass now." Dain reminds him. "Ye be forewarned now, so I be saying to let er be and be mayhaps a wee bit more careful next time around."
Manfred stares at the wizard hard. "She's dangerous and she played me -- us for a fool. If the rest of you don't want to go, I'll respect your decision and stand down for the moment. But trust me, Dain. Letting something like this fester will only cause us more problems. And if she is involved in the disappearances, then any other disappearances will be on all our heads. That sort of guilt is hard to bear." He drains the rest of his ale and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, suddenly feeling very weary.
"If ye all be wantin ta go, then I'll go with ye." Dain says with a shrug. "Just sayin dat we have no proof but our own word on da matter. Better be gettin more proof me thinks before going after her."
Aura seems to have gone quiet after the rest of the party took charge of the conversation. This time, it wasn't exactly shyness that made her do so, she was in deep thought, trying to recall from her various sources of knowledge to see if she can take a wild guess at what could possibly be this magical enchantment put over Albanus based on his behavior after being charmed and the way Janice has been acting in general.
Arcana 18 (I feel like this is a tremendous stretch, so I'll assume the DC is high for this one, but I still want to try it anyway.)
(She/Her)
Velmine - Tiefling, Rogue (9), Swashbuckler - Dead in Thay
Riris Swiftwhistle - Halfling, Bard (4), College of Swords - Lost Mines of Phandelver
Rellahne Vanderboren - Half-Elf, Wizard (4), School of Abjuration - The Shackled City
Ann Hidrizo - Human, Fighter (2) - Amphail Adventures
Sha - Firbolg, Cleric (3), Twilight Domain - Hunt for the Wish Dragon
Survivor will look up from his plate as the conversation winds down for a moment, "We're here to solve disappearances, right? Why don't we look into that, and keep in mind our suspicions? If we find evidence linking her besides our word that she charmed our friend, perhaps the local authorities will be more inclined to help us rather than arrest us. That being said, I'm willing to go kick in her door if you all think its a good idea."
"Oh aye, no surprising the wisdom cones from a fellow dwarf, eh?" Vulgrom raises his glass to his kin. "Leave it be, lad. We've got each others back if things start looking grim. And we've more each others eyes looking over us." The dwarf taps his symbol of the burning anvil on his shield.
(You think back to the monastery, how you read many tomes from long ago about even some of the demons that occasionally manage to slip through into the material plane, and one of them in particular is known for possessing both a powerful enchanment magic as well as a pretty face. You believe theres a strong chance Janice could likely be a Succubus)
Aura continues thinking for a few more seconds until she seems to have a eureka moment. She raises her head and starts talking to the party. "I think I know what Janice is... There's this type of demon which is known for trying to seduce people... Janice must be a Succubus... Just the way she's acting, and the way she charmed Albanus, I feel like I can say that almost for sure."
(Did you link to the Succubus's sheet because Aura knows everything that's written there, or was it just so us, OOC, knew more about them?)
(She/Her)
Velmine - Tiefling, Rogue (9), Swashbuckler - Dead in Thay
Riris Swiftwhistle - Halfling, Bard (4), College of Swords - Lost Mines of Phandelver
Rellahne Vanderboren - Half-Elf, Wizard (4), School of Abjuration - The Shackled City
Ann Hidrizo - Human, Fighter (2) - Amphail Adventures
Sha - Firbolg, Cleric (3), Twilight Domain - Hunt for the Wish Dragon
Survivor will listen carefully to the description, then gesture to Albanus, "Do we need to restrain him?"
"If what you say is true and Janice is this creature, then for a while I'm a bit dangerous. However, considering the item we found and the lack of Janice, maybe we could use one to find the other, and then ask her? I'm sure it's all a big misunderstanding..." Albanus looks around the room at the now-silent, disbelieving faces of his friends. "Right. Um, well - or I could get really drunk."
"Point taken, good bard. Though I would really like to hear Janice's side of the story. Maybe the spell's wrong?" he questions, asking Dain if it could be a false reading...
DM - And In The Darkness, Rot: The Sunless Citadel
DM - Our Little Lives Kept In Equipoise: Curse of Strahd
DM - Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: The Lost Mines of Phandelver
PC - Azzure - Tyranny of Dragons
"Spell no be wrong me friend." Dain says with a sad shake of his head. "Get yerself nice and drunk tonight, be my suggestion."
Aura gives a concerned look at Albanus after Dain points it out, and slowly nods. "Although I didn't want to, if she commands him to do something now that he's charmed, he will. She can also give commands telepathically. So, maybe it's a good idea to keep him restrained. I don't know how getting him drunk will solve anything... What I do know is if Albanus gets hurt, the spell gets weaker, so he might be able to break out of it."
(She/Her)
Velmine - Tiefling, Rogue (9), Swashbuckler - Dead in Thay
Riris Swiftwhistle - Halfling, Bard (4), College of Swords - Lost Mines of Phandelver
Rellahne Vanderboren - Half-Elf, Wizard (4), School of Abjuration - The Shackled City
Ann Hidrizo - Human, Fighter (2) - Amphail Adventures
Sha - Firbolg, Cleric (3), Twilight Domain - Hunt for the Wish Dragon
"Well, this is rapidly turning into a strange mess. But we still haven't any tangible proof of potential deamonhood-- so any actions taken are still look like "we walk into town, we kill a young barmaid, while waving the Guild's name around" Not exactly the best plan there. There was that one guard as well that came up, so if she disappears now that's gonna look at us."
Turning to Aura, who seems to know creature concepts more, "Do succubus hurt people? or is it just the stereotype 'you wake up tired' and go about your business? Because We still don't know the time table for disappearences, if they started when she arrived, or if that means there are multiple potentials in the area."
Pointing at Albanus, "Well, if we need someone to stay behind, I could stay behind with him. I don't know much ab out succubus but the stereotype stories was it drives men wild right? So probably won't charm me? Or at least, she didn't before As for the drunk... Well if he can't move very well he can't follow commands very well.." Pausing to think to herself, 'Also I'm really not comfortable with just hauling off on someone like they're discussing..maybe I should mention that....'
"Just... to ask before everyone makes a decision. What are the chances that there was a succubi there the whole time, invisible, and had charmed Albanus or coercered Janice as a puppet to get people--and that Janice herself procured the stone? Because the stone being there is very odd. That isn't what one usually keeps with alcohol. Could she have chosen the one who seems the most magical by appearence-- to help her? " Ashtear slinks down in her seat a little... she's clearly disagreeing with the group sentiment but feels like she has to-choices can't be taken back. "I just want to be sure before something occurs. That stone came from somewhere, and conventially Janice, the Innkeep, or his brother would be the ones who have normal acces. Maybe it could've belonged to the Guild Member we're looking for--though if he was disappeared puting his gear there is the worst choice. If she was a succubus herself, choosing a random person-from a large group-the second they arrive from town is not a good target compared to the targets we know of. Further, we as a group dont' exactly look... uh.. Nice. Frankly, we're probably more armed than this town is used to right?"
Wigglying her seat a bit after talking a lot, and wishing she hadnt' finished her food off before so she could fiddle with it.
"Huh..." Aura seems to be overwhelmed at first by the number of questions made to her, but then she pauses and tries to answer one-by-one based on what she knew. "I'm not saying we need to out her just yet... Although, if we can prove she's a Fiend, then maybe... About succubi, their objective is generally to steal people's souls, so I'm pretty sure she's more dangerous than just making someone tired..."
She continues, going over to Ashtear's questions about succubi abilities to charm. "Well, a succubus is generally interested in men, and incubi are the ones who search for women, but I'm pretty sure this magical effect she put on Albanus isn't restricted by gender. If she didn't get you, it's because she can only charm one person at a time..."
"Succubi don't actually have the power to go invisible... What they do is travel to the Ethereal Plane. I think it's hard to believe Janice wasn't the one to charm him, though, I mean, look at him, he's trying so hard to defend her... I don't know anything about that magical item, so I don't think I have the answers you want to that." As Aura finishes, one look at her tells everyone that the Genasi is exhausted. Sharing her knowledge was surprisingly interesting, but she still wasn't one to want to talk too much.
(She/Her)
Velmine - Tiefling, Rogue (9), Swashbuckler - Dead in Thay
Riris Swiftwhistle - Halfling, Bard (4), College of Swords - Lost Mines of Phandelver
Rellahne Vanderboren - Half-Elf, Wizard (4), School of Abjuration - The Shackled City
Ann Hidrizo - Human, Fighter (2) - Amphail Adventures
Sha - Firbolg, Cleric (3), Twilight Domain - Hunt for the Wish Dragon
Manfred makes a small sound akin to a sound a frustrated child makes when they don't get their way -- its clear that the bard isn't quite used to people not doing as he says. He sits in silence as the conversation goes between the others, and after Aura is finished speaking, he looks at her sympathetically.
"Listen, there seems to be no clear way forward tonight. Why don't we all get some sleep? Gods, its only been a few hours since we all made common cause." He pauses and says the next part through gritted teeth. "I am willing to put off confronting this...creature until we can find some proof, if that's what you all require. If she wants to to maintain her cover, then she has to show up to work, yes? I have some ways to bypass locked doors. We can search her place while she is out. There are some other avenues that we can investigate until she shows up at the tavern as well."
He studies Albanus for a moment then sighs. "I suppose we could take shifts keeping an eye on him in the shared room. It will mean some of us might not get a full night's rest, but its the only way to be sure. I have a spell that would certainly alert all of you if there was trouble. Do any of the rest of you have means for calling for help?" He realizes he was talking about the tiefling as though he wasn't there. "Err... no offense, Albanus."
"Probably a good idea ta get some rest." Dain agrees, through a big yawn. "Meet ye all back down ere in the mornin then." With that he gets up and heads off to bed, setting up what time they all want him to keep an eye on the charmed one before doing so.
"As I said, I know nothing about how to do magic, I just learned a lot about it through reading, so I don't have any ways to call for help except running away and asking for help." Aura responds to Manfred's question, before taking a quick look at Albanus again. "Hm... Sorry... I'll just try this once, and if it works, good... If not... Well, we'll see..." And she goes, and without any other warnings punches him in the stomach.
Attack: 26 Damage: 8 Bludgeoning
(She/Her)
Velmine - Tiefling, Rogue (9), Swashbuckler - Dead in Thay
Riris Swiftwhistle - Halfling, Bard (4), College of Swords - Lost Mines of Phandelver
Rellahne Vanderboren - Half-Elf, Wizard (4), School of Abjuration - The Shackled City
Ann Hidrizo - Human, Fighter (2) - Amphail Adventures
Sha - Firbolg, Cleric (3), Twilight Domain - Hunt for the Wish Dragon