To Kabren's first question, the man half-shrugs. "It's dark, wet, drafty, we have to climb to get out of it, and we're always near the city walls when the Guardians tell us to open our eyes, either inside or outside. I think there's a couple different ways we come and go, maybe a couple entrances inside and outside Vathirond's walls, but I don't really pay attention, the Guardians know best of course."
To the second question, the man's eyes light up a little. "My Mom's name is Marianne, Marianne Blacksmith on account of her dad and granddad being our town's smithy before her brother's took over the trade for him. We call our village Greenmount Homestead. It's a few hours ride south from here; you can tell you're getting close when you see two cornfields next to a creek about 10 feet wide just north of the old road towards Kalazart."
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil arched an eyebrow as the man talked about his mother and his town. It was curious that he would be able to give them all of this information. He wasn't sure of what the others were thinking but he made a motion to move away from the prisoner so that they may consult on their next move without having the prisoner overhear. The Tiefling leaned in closed and kept his words hushed as added security against potential eavesdropping.
"Well, this 'Greenmount Homestead' may bare further investigation. If it is where he came from, then there might be more answers there. That's assuming that this isn't a trap of some sort, of which I'm more inclined to believe."
"But what are we to do with this man here? I'm against bringing him along. It will pain his family to see him like this. I say we let him go, as there is nothing we can do for him. That is, if he promises to not hurt himself."
Kabren returns to the prisoner and asks "If we let you go, what will you do with yourself?"
With no hesitation, the man turns to Kabren and says, "Steal food and supplies for m'Lord, wait around for more Kingsmen to come find me, and kill anyone who gets in my way." He seems to consider this a moment, then gulps sheepishly. "I'm sorry, those were the words of my King, and I do as he commands."
[You did notice a fortified room on the ground level of this place, one with a nice big lock on it and no windows, probably for storing money and documents temporarily.]
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Well, we can't hand him over to the guard nor can we release him. There was a secure room on the first floor. We could put him there, with some food and water for now. Hopefully we can break whatever hold that's on him so we can release the poor soul."
Mike Danger"Diane..."a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered Userregular
edited November 2009
Valenar adjusts his hat and scratches his head. "That makes a little more sense to me," he says to Kabren. "He'll probably just find a way out of the thing anyhow, knowing our luck."
"And what if the curse compels him to kill someone. Do you want that blood on your hands?" Cruxil sighed and took a moment to recompose himself. "But I'll not go against the wishes of the majority. I just think that it would be foolhardy to do."
"There is no gurantee that he will not be broken out by the King though. If the King controls him, it means the King has a link to him, and he can probably track that link. Give me a moment here..."
Kabren sits and meditates for a few minutes, then begins mumbling under his breath. A blue, glowing hand appears.
Performing my free daily Hand of Fate ritual. Description is on p. 306 of the PHB. Basically we ask up to three questions (multiple choice or yes/no) and the Hand tells us which path will give us a bigger benefit. It will always push you towards a riskier path that has a higher reward over a safer path. (I like this ritual because it is a perfect way for the DM to screw with us.)
"Should we leave this man locked up, or free him?"
"Does anyone else have a question to ask the Hand?"
A shimmering hand appears before the group, hanging in anticipation of your questions. As Kabren finishes his initial ask, the hand balls up its five fingers for a moment, as if to consider. Ponderously, a single digit raises from it, indicating that the first choice is the one it prefers. After a moment, the fingers all return to be outstretched and the hand waits for more questions.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil let a small grin spread on his face as the Hand seemed to favour his choice in the matter. But he tried to hide, no need to be gloating over this. Things were done this day that were unpleasant and more might happen. The Tielfing thought for a moment before asking;
"Would it be better to approach Greenmount Homestead normally, or stealthily?" Although he was mostly sure that this was a trap, it would still be better if they had some edge.
The hand shimmers, considering a long moment as it ponders the proper response. After a long while, the hand dips to a parallel with the floor, waving side to side as if to indicate it prefers neither option over the other.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil chuckled as the hand remained neutral. He should have known to keep his mouth shut because now they wasted a possible answer. The Tiefling noticed that no one else seemed to be coming forward with any questions or ideas to use with the hand. Maybe they only needed some encouragement.
"Well, I think I'll avoid wasting another answer. Anyone else have anything they want to ask?"
[Moving on, let me know if you need to do anything or ask the last question.]
Moving your prisoner downstairs to a secure room, you bind and secure him in place, making sure he won't break free as you are gone. As you leave him there, he yells after you, "Good luck, hope you come to your senses and submit yourselves to the will of the King! And tell my Mother I'm OK!"
Securing horses, you ride south for the Greenmount Homestead. Around mid-afternoon, you turn a bend on a dirt road between two hills and you come across the scene your prisoner described, a creek and two fields of corn leading to a small settlement a half mile away. You can instantly see that something's wrong, however: The cornfields you see on either side of you have grown wild and unkempt, like no human hands have touched them in over a month. The road, still muddy from a recent rain, shows no signs of wagons or hooves or travel at all. The whole place just looks... Abandoned.
Not completely abandoned, you realize with a start. At the very edge of the road you travel, you can see a single set of light horseshoe tracks, very recent, leading one way: into the town. And sure enough, as you get closer to the town, you can see a single horse lashed to a hitching post near an oversized barn. The horse is pure white with an expensive-looking saddle and bridle and is obviously well-bred, while the town in its entirety consists of two Barns, a Stable, a Silo, and a half-dozen houses of varying size and age scattered around a central clearing.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"This horse is spectacular. It is surely of a fine lineage...in fact..."
History=27 to determine if the horse is of a famous historical breed, and if I know who it may be connected to, or if the saddle or bridle contain any marks that may link them to a noble family or dragonmarked house
Cruxil quickly loosens his khopesh. He doesn't pull it but he wanted to make sure that the blade would be ready on a moment's notice. His eyes narrow as he surveys the buildings around him. He was weary about a potential ambush. The current state of the town raised a few questions. The prisoner did say it might have been a while since he was taken and forced with the curse but he didn't say anything about the whole town missing. Not that he would, but then again, still more questions. Cruxil tries to position himself in the best place to cover his allies, while continuing to survey the area.
You see no one in the immediate area, or inside the barn the horse is lashed to. The horse itself is... magnificent. Magical. Magebred. It's a Magebred Destrier, a House Vadalis specialty worth hundreds if not thousands of gold crowns. And the barding is just as spectacular. And very Cyrian. Old Cyrian, before the Day of Mourning. You haven't seen these etchings and patterns in years, and there is no way you are mistaking it.
The ground near the horse is relatively dry, but in a muddy former puddle 10 feet away you can see the fresh outline of a pair of shoes, leather riding boots by the look of them, leading in towards the town. And as you stand and listen, you hear a noise from the Silo a hundred yards away as something shifts and crashes and a man curses noiselessly.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil had one hand on his hilt and the other on his scabbard the moment he heard the crash. His eyes darted about looking for the source. It took a few moments but he eventually calmed down and realized that the noise was coming from the silo and wasn't some attack on the party, yet. The business lately has seemed to frazzle Cruxil's nerves. He shook his head, trying to bring back his less weary more adventurous side.
Cruxil looking at the others, motions towards the silo. He figured he may as well try to scope things out before barging into the place.
Approaching the Silo quietly, the noise becomes more prominent the closer Cruxil gets. You can certainly hear more sounds of shifting and movement, of what you're not entirely sure, and can also hear the sounds of at least one individual within who sounds as though they are pacing about and whistling under their breath. The silo is good hard wood, treated and enforced and hard as rock to break through, including a single oversized door which you can see is shut, but unlocked...
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Cyrian barding?" Kabren mutters under his breath, as his eyes gleam. Could have something escaped alive out of the Mournland? There's always a chance that this belongs to a refugee, of course, but would a refugee have such an expensive horse and barding?
Kabren turns and begins to walk towards the silo, not bothering to walk stealthily.
Kabren moves towards the Silo, making a bit of noise as he does so. Once close, the person or persons inside must hear something without as the whistling is cut off with a start and all sound of movement from within ceases. After a long moment, you hear a voice from inside speaking with a slight Cyrian accent, "Hello...? ...Tor, is that you?"
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Kabren freezes, and snaps out of his trance like state. He motions to Cruxil to continue to move towards the door, and that he will watch his back. Kabren then moves to get a better angle on the door when it is opened.
The Tiefling catches Kabren's motions and keeps on moving towards the door. From the way that the man was speaking, it looked like he was might be expecting someone else. Or, maybe just aware that someone might be coming to meet him. If Cruxil continued on his present course, and snuck up on the man what exactly would happen? There's a good chance that this situation is going to become a lot more akwardly complicated.
Silently gritting his teeth, Cruxil continued to move a little closer to the door. Now would have been a good time for someone with a little more tact and diplomacy than himself.
"Oh," says the voice inside with some audible relief. Some more shuffling and shifting, and then the door opens half way and you see a young man emerge. He is strikingly handsome, with dark black hair, fair features, and deep blue eyes. His clothes are high-quality leathers, has a warm all-weather cloak around his shoulders and has a very fine pair of short sword and dagger at his belt. He blinks at your group, his eyes adjusting to the light from the dankness of the inside of the silo, then he gestures to you while holding what looks like... a ruler, or some kind of measuring stick. "You shouldn't be here, this area is wildly dangerous and there's all sorts of beasts and villains about." He looks at you again, and the sight of your equipment and weapons seems to give him pause. Tilting his head to one side, he asks, "You... are travelers? From where, pray tell?"
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
0
Mike Danger"Diane..."a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered Userregular
edited December 2009
"Well, this is interesting," Valenar says, looking towards the barn. He leans toward the horse, which snorts. Valenar glances at it questioningly.
Cruxil watched as the man started talking to them. This was an odd situation to say the least. Cruxil continued to remain silent, and only worked on keeping on an eye on things so that nothing blind sided them.
Looking back and forth at everyone assembled, the man raises an eyebrow, saying, "...Okay... Well, move along then, Vathirond's only a few hours ride North."
He moves to close the door and go back into the silo. As he does, those of you close to him catch a quick glimpse of what else is inside the place: A massive pile of bleached white bones.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil spied something he though might have been dreadful but he couldn't be sure. Hastily he moved forward towards the man.
"I'm sorry but we've had busy in Vathirond, but we're also here on a mission--of sorts," Cruxil interjected hurriedly, "You see we're a band of adventurers that have been through some trying times, and who hasn't these days. Anyways, we have business in Vathirond, like I said, but we had to visit his place. Actually it was promise. One of our companions from before, bless his memory, came from these parts. We made a promise that anything should befall him, then we would be sure to come here and inform his family of what happened. The unfortunate happened and he perished some seasons ago. Only now did we find ourselves close by so we had to stop in.
"Unfortunately, I'm at a loss as to what happened here. From stories that our companion told us, this place should have been more...populated. You wouldn't happen to know what has happened here, would you?"
The man eyes Cruxil suspiciously, but seems to buy the explanation. Adopting a more reconciliatiory tone, he says, "If your friend was from these parts, it might be a kindness that he's not around to see this." With a push, the door to the silo squeakily swings wide and a flood of light illuminates the interior. There is no food nor grain in sight, just a large pile of drying bones in the middle of the room, all tumbling over eachother. They're definitely Human, at least some of them, and if they're all Humanoid you'd say there's maybe... a hundred, a hundred twenty worth of bodies here.
Shaking his head, the man says, "Found them like this this morning. Don't know how this happened, it's what I'm trying to figure out. I figure they've been dead... Oh, a month? More? Hard to say with naught left but bones and the studs from their clothing." Turning back to you and waving a ruler. "And that's why I say you shouldn't be here, what with monstrous things like this happening."
[If your Passive Insight is over 15]:
He's telling the truth... but he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what did this. And he's a little embarrassed about it.
susan on
2010 PAX DM Challenge Grand Champion 2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Posts
"Can you tell us who your mother is and where you used to live?"
To the second question, the man's eyes light up a little. "My Mom's name is Marianne, Marianne Blacksmith on account of her dad and granddad being our town's smithy before her brother's took over the trade for him. We call our village Greenmount Homestead. It's a few hours ride south from here; you can tell you're getting close when you see two cornfields next to a creek about 10 feet wide just north of the old road towards Kalazart."
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Have y'all decided on a new course of action for the prisoner and yourselves?
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Well, this 'Greenmount Homestead' may bare further investigation. If it is where he came from, then there might be more answers there. That's assuming that this isn't a trap of some sort, of which I'm more inclined to believe."
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Kabren returns to the prisoner and asks "If we let you go, what will you do with yourself?"
[You did notice a fortified room on the ground level of this place, one with a nice big lock on it and no windows, probably for storing money and documents temporarily.]
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Well, we can't hand him over to the guard nor can we release him. There was a secure room on the first floor. We could put him there, with some food and water for now. Hopefully we can break whatever hold that's on him so we can release the poor soul."
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Kabren sits and meditates for a few minutes, then begins mumbling under his breath. A blue, glowing hand appears.
Performing my free daily Hand of Fate ritual. Description is on p. 306 of the PHB. Basically we ask up to three questions (multiple choice or yes/no) and the Hand tells us which path will give us a bigger benefit. It will always push you towards a riskier path that has a higher reward over a safer path. (I like this ritual because it is a perfect way for the DM to screw with us.)
"Should we leave this man locked up, or free him?"
"Does anyone else have a question to ask the Hand?"
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Would it be better to approach Greenmount Homestead normally, or stealthily?" Although he was mostly sure that this was a trap, it would still be better if they had some edge.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"Well, I think I'll avoid wasting another answer. Anyone else have anything they want to ask?"
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Moving your prisoner downstairs to a secure room, you bind and secure him in place, making sure he won't break free as you are gone. As you leave him there, he yells after you, "Good luck, hope you come to your senses and submit yourselves to the will of the King! And tell my Mother I'm OK!"
Securing horses, you ride south for the Greenmount Homestead. Around mid-afternoon, you turn a bend on a dirt road between two hills and you come across the scene your prisoner described, a creek and two fields of corn leading to a small settlement a half mile away. You can instantly see that something's wrong, however: The cornfields you see on either side of you have grown wild and unkempt, like no human hands have touched them in over a month. The road, still muddy from a recent rain, shows no signs of wagons or hooves or travel at all. The whole place just looks... Abandoned.
Not completely abandoned, you realize with a start. At the very edge of the road you travel, you can see a single set of light horseshoe tracks, very recent, leading one way: into the town. And sure enough, as you get closer to the town, you can see a single horse lashed to a hitching post near an oversized barn. The horse is pure white with an expensive-looking saddle and bridle and is obviously well-bred, while the town in its entirety consists of two Barns, a Stable, a Silo, and a half-dozen houses of varying size and age scattered around a central clearing.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"This horse is spectacular. It is surely of a fine lineage...in fact..."
History=27 to determine if the horse is of a famous historical breed, and if I know who it may be connected to, or if the saddle or bridle contain any marks that may link them to a noble family or dragonmarked house
and apparently sees nothing
The ground near the horse is relatively dry, but in a muddy former puddle 10 feet away you can see the fresh outline of a pair of shoes, leather riding boots by the look of them, leading in towards the town. And as you stand and listen, you hear a noise from the Silo a hundred yards away as something shifts and crashes and a man curses noiselessly.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Cruxil looking at the others, motions towards the silo. He figured he may as well try to scope things out before barging into the place.
Perception: 1d20+2 16
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Kabren turns and begins to walk towards the silo, not bothering to walk stealthily.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
But not very quietly...Stealth roll of 2
Silently gritting his teeth, Cruxil continued to move a little closer to the door. Now would have been a good time for someone with a little more tact and diplomacy than himself.
He speaks loudly and clearly, "No, it is not Tor, we are a band of travelers passing through the area."
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
He moves to close the door and go back into the silo. As he does, those of you close to him catch a quick glimpse of what else is inside the place: A massive pile of bleached white bones.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
"I'm sorry but we've had busy in Vathirond, but we're also here on a mission--of sorts," Cruxil interjected hurriedly, "You see we're a band of adventurers that have been through some trying times, and who hasn't these days. Anyways, we have business in Vathirond, like I said, but we had to visit his place. Actually it was promise. One of our companions from before, bless his memory, came from these parts. We made a promise that anything should befall him, then we would be sure to come here and inform his family of what happened. The unfortunate happened and he perished some seasons ago. Only now did we find ourselves close by so we had to stop in.
"Unfortunately, I'm at a loss as to what happened here. From stories that our companion told us, this place should have been more...populated. You wouldn't happen to know what has happened here, would you?"
Shaking his head, the man says, "Found them like this this morning. Don't know how this happened, it's what I'm trying to figure out. I figure they've been dead... Oh, a month? More? Hard to say with naught left but bones and the studs from their clothing." Turning back to you and waving a ruler. "And that's why I say you shouldn't be here, what with monstrous things like this happening."
[If your Passive Insight is over 15]:
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion