Tales from Talaveroth

"Ilmater's blessings on all," says Poinki, bowing slightly. "We friends of Oleg. He say you want people get in tower, talk to Father Ephesian. We try. Want to help."

The man smiles. "Friends of Oleg. Good, then he got the letter. Good. Good. Yes, we were hoping to send a couple of people inside. Sister Levante here tried but was unable. The hope was that Oleg could convince him to let people in." 

Oleg nods to the tent. "I was waiting for you to return. If you had an easy way in then I could avoid a potentially awkward conversation." 

"No, they have secured entry from the top. Trying that way would just lead to death. It sounds like those in the tent may be friendly. Poinki isn't fleeing for his life and I am not hearing anything other than voices. Can't make out what they are saying from here though. You go on in."

Whenever Oleg begins walking to the tent, Si'Juul will follow behind, but head to the side unseen to listen in.

Oleg wanders in. He raises a hand in greeting when he sees the priest and the paladin. "Bishop Aesar. Sister Lavante. Good to see you again. What seems to be the trouble." 

The Bishop turns his head. "Ah! Oleg. Good to see you my son. I was just meeting your new friend. Splendid that the church has now reached the goblinkin!" 

"Ah yes, the trouble. You see, a few weeks ago we began hearing reports of strange activities here at the Lighthouse. We reached out to Father Ephesian but got no response. We dispatched Sister Lavante and her team to investigate. When she arrived she found the tower much as you see it now."

"The light has been on and off for the entire time, causing shipwrecks and there are other concerns." He looks around and lowers his voice. "Yesterday an acolyte from inside was found dead beneath the tower. His throat was cut. On top of that poor Nett here's husband has been trapped inside for this madness. Apparently he went to see the Father right before this all started and never came back." He gestures to the woman in the worn down clothes.

“Hi, I’m Elhanna Grey, a cleric of Mishakal.” She greet the two. She had walked up with Ponki and made sure her holy symbol on her necklace was visible. She listened to the story before asking “Do you know for a fact that father Ephesians is responsible for this mess?”  

The Bishop nods. "Before this all happened we began receiving increasingly erratic letters from the Father. Something about how he had had a revelation that exposed the truth and now he must uncover it. All very strange and very unlike him." 

“Hmm..” she thought for a second “it almost sounds like he is being influenced by something, can he have been possessed maybe? Anyway, any thought on how to get by this wind barrier?” 

While the others are talking inside the tent, Twitch is standing outside pondering their approach to the tower. If the wind was stronger at the top, she wanted to check what it was like at the bottom. Then again, if a team was already sent to investigate, the tower was likely defended by other means, and going in at the only point that they were definitely expected might not be the smartest of decisions...

After making her observations, Twitch heads to the tent, with a couple of questions in mind.

Entering the tent, she feels a bit bashful at all the priests and paladins surrounding her: "Uhm hi, I'm Twitch, and I'm trying to help Oleg here... Can I ask what you've tried already to get inside?"

As Twitch circles the tower and approaches the door a shaft of light comes down from the sky. Looking up she can see that it's coming from the lighthouse beacon. When she steps into the light in front of the door the wind seems to part before her, leaving her access to the front door unimpeded.

The Bishop nods gravely. "That is our fear, yes. The Lighthouse contains many holy relics and remnants of ancient battles against dark forces. It may be that something escaped and has poisoned the Father's mind. As for attempts, I believe Sister Levante and her paladins have attempted to reason with the acolytes inside, force their way through the door, and climb the tower. All attempts have been met with failure." The Sister too nods her head gravely.

Twitch lets the others know about the effect the tower's light has on the wind. WIth that, she comes up with an idea.

"The light is erratic, so having to wait until it lights the path is unreliable at best. We might be able to get someone in position to shine a light of our own making at the beacon inside the lighthouse to create our own path. Sister, did you reach the door? What happened then? Because I might be able to get past the lock, but if something arcane is keeping the tower guarded, we might not be so lucky."

After getting her response, Twitch would go scour the surrounding area for materials to use in any construction she is likely to have to make. She will pay particularly close attention to the shipwreck in the distance.

Investiagtion: 19

After seeing Twitch discover a means of entering and walk away, Si'Juul steps up, waits for the light to let him past and steps up to the door, looking through the window if it has one.

Perception: 19

There are no windows on the bottom floor of the tower but as soon as Si'Juul steps up to the door the same thing happens and he is allowed entrance to the tower.

Inside he finds a small, square room. To the sides are alcoves containing beds and small footlockers. At the far end of the room a small fire burns and a table with long benches is set up. Three acolytes are sitting at the table, all attending to their food. None seem to have noticed Si'Juul or the fact that the doors have opened.

The room seems very cozy but Si'Juul's eyes cannot help but be drawn to the large writing scribbled on the wall in red. 

PRAY or PREY

Si'Juul looks over to Twitch and motions her to come join him at the door, pointing out each thing he saw. Most notably the writing.

Poinki follows Si'Juul into the tower.

It seems odd to him that the acolytes have not noticed their entrance, but he takes advantage of their inattention to examine the writing on the wall.  (Red--does it seem to be written in blood?) He will also check out the food. (Does it look and smell normal...and is there enough for guests?) Investigation 7

If nothing happens, he will approach the table, saying, "Hail Ilmater followers. Poinki is brother!"

Si'Juul is slightly surprised when Poinki decides to just barge into the tower, but shrugs and follows him in.

He just waits for the acolytes reactions.

The writing seems to be in paint, not blood. The food also seems normal, and much better than what Poinki is used to in his clan.

All three acolytes jump and turn at the sound of the Poinki's voice. A tall, thin elven man speaks first. "What. How are you here? How did you get through the door. And who are you, follower of Ilmater. Are you from the church?" 

"Poinki traveler," he says. "New to ilmater. New to doing good. Try to be help people, like heroes who save Poinki. We come talk to Father Ephesian. Friends of Oleg."

Twitch would groan a little at Poinki giving up their element of surprise so easily, but would make sure to appear as nonthreatening as possible in the background.

The acolyte nods a bit, making no threatening moves. "If you are new then you do not belong to the church yet. That is good, you might yet be saved." 

Poinki looked puzzled. "Saved? Church is trouble? Not understand. What wrong?"