CH. 14: Darkest Hour

[JadedDM]

It is the morning of Autumn Dark 04th, Dream Dance, in the year 351 AC. It is First Watch.

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Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Room 15)
The last ten days had been rather hectic for Haahqae. During the day, he would work on finding a way to free Ismene if he wasn't having an emotional breakdown. At night, he'd spend time teaching Miracle about the world and how it works.

First, he had tried to find out where Ismene is being held. He had narrowed it down to three possible locations in the city: the temple, the prefect's mansion or the old fort. The latter two were guarded by dragons, while the first one was protected by powerful divine magic. Any of the three would make a good prison.

He had finally managed to find out where Yvette and Xyleena have been hiding this whole time--the Noble District. They live in a mansion there, although how that is possible is uncertain. Surely the coin they stole from him wouldn't have been enough to afford that. In any case, at least now he knows where they can be found. However, that part of the city is locked down and only those with special permission may enter it.

He had also spoken to several people, including Miriam, Jaymes and even Gobax. It turns out the goblin was not dead, after all, as Haahqae learned when he turned up at his room one day. Gobax seemed interested in the temple and the thieves' guild. Haahqae had been in the temple before, but couldn't provide much detail on the layout. As for the thieves' guild, he fancied himself an expert on the subject but for some reason Gobax didn't seem to find anything he had to say terribly useful.

He had also spent some time spying on Arulia and Elara, as well as scouting out a possible hideout. He learned Arulia is quite poor and Elara spends a lot of time at the church, even during off-hours. He also spotted Burzan entering it on off-hours. As for a possible hideout, he realized Kynaston's old place might do the trick. It was small, but abandoned. There was no lock, but if he's invisible while there, nobody should bother him.

When he wakes up today, he notices it is snowing lightly outside his window. It's not coming down hard enough to stick to the ground yet, though. Now that Autumn Dark is here, it will only get colder. Winter is coming fast.

(OOC: You can choose new spells for today, if you like. I've subtracted 1 platinum (50 silver) from his account to pay for his room each night for the past 10 days.)

Kendra Synclair (2527 Market Street, Greylock's Gorgeous Gems)
The last ten days had been fairly tense for Kendra. After a whirlwind night with Sadron, her old lover, things quickly fell apart afterward. Sadron had tried to convince her to run away with him, to find some tropical island somewhere they could retire at and let the rest of the world deal with the Dragonarmies. Kendra had turned him down, though. She had a responsibility to her family. Sadron grew angry, as her stubborn sense of duty to her family is what broke them up originally.

Since then, the elf had been fairly cool and aloof toward Kendra. He returned to sleeping on the floor, rather than sharing a bed with her. Things had not improved any since then.

When she wakes up today, she notices it is snowing lightly outside his window. It's not coming down hard enough to stick to the ground yet, though. Now that Autumn Dark is here, it will only get colder. Winter is coming fast.

On the bright side, today is the 4th, so her masterwork armor should be ready for her down at the armorer's shop.

(OOC: Kendra managed to earn enough to take care of herself, Sadron and her family for the entire month of Autumn Dark. However, she completely broke even, so her current funds remain the same. Now she needs to start working toward making sure everyone is okay for the next month, Winter Come.)

Tulbas Erogund (Tower of Wayreth, Unknown Floor on AT 15)
Tulbas was in the Tower of Wayreth and had just tied up Jinali after Selowen put her to sleep with a slumber spell. Now he needed to decide whether to try and help fight against the renegades that were invading the tower or assist Selowen in escaping to safety.

"Let's just hope she doesn't come after us when she does wake up," Selowen says with a nod while watching the sleeping Jinali warily.

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Room 16)
The last ten days had been busy for Grubnick, and nerve-wracking. He knew Delharn was held prisoner, and likely being tortured for information. He did know the dwarf was still alive, at least. Word on the street is that the church intends to have a public execution for him when they are done with him.

He had finally managed to find out where Yvette and Xyleena have been hiding this whole time--the Noble District. They live in a mansion there, although how that is possible is uncertain. Surely the coin they stole from the party wouldn't have been enough to afford that. In any case, at least now he knows where they can be found. However, that part of the city is locked down and only those with special permission may enter it.

He had also discovered an abandoned residence, little more than a one-room shanty. The lock was broken, though, meaning anyone could waltz in whenever they wanted to. Still, it might be useful to him.

He had gone to see Haaqhae at the High Hand, revealing he was still alive. He questioned the gnome on the temple and whether the city had a thieves' guild. Haahqae had been in the temple before, a few times, but he described it as incredibly dark (magically so, as even his infravision could not pierce it). As for the thieves' guild, Haahqae spoke on it at length, but it became increasingly clear Haahqae didn't really know or understand what a thieves' guild was. Grubnick might have better luck speaking with a local, since Haahqae only arrived in Haven a short time before Grubnick himself did.

He also went to see Shima, asking him the same questions as Haahqae. The dwarf evaded the question about the thieves' guild, but spoke a bit on the temple. He explained that he went there for healing after getting injured while on a job to locate Yvette and Xyleena.

When he wakes up today, he notices it is snowing lightly outside his window. It's not coming down hard enough to stick to the ground yet, though. Now that Autumn Dark is here, it will only get colder. Winter is coming fast.

(OOC: You can pick new spells today if you like. Grubnick is back to full health. I've subtracted 8 steel (80 silver) from his account to pay for his room each night for the past 10 days. However, he doesn't have that much, so I sold his dry rations to make it up.)

Shima Longfoot (High Hand Inn, Room 7)
The last thing Shima remembered was fighting skeletons in the sewer. When he came to, a day later, he found himself patched up in his room with Ne-Chanz. The minotaur had explained he had carried the dwarf back himself. He also told him of the destruction of the Happee Ohgr by dragon breath. Shima thanked him and offered to get baths for them both.

He has spent the past 10 days mostly resting up or just spying on Arulia and her sister, Cassilda. He has felt the curse on him grow heavier each day, as well. He also listened for rumors of local events. He learned more about the destruction of the Happee Ohgr (apparently a rogue cleric of another god--someone besides Takhisis--had attacked the city twice and they finally caught him; his partner was incinerated in the Ohgr, along with a handful of goblins). Apparently, the church was going to hold a public execution for the heretic cleric once they were done 'interrogating' him.

Gobax also came to see him, asking about a thieves' guild in the city and the temple. Shima evaded the question about the thieves' guild, but spoke a bit on the temple. He explained that he went there for healing after getting injured while on a job to locate Yvette and Xyleena.

When he wakes up today, he notices it is snowing lightly outside his window. It's not coming down hard enough to stick to the ground yet, though. Now that Autumn Dark is here, it will only get colder. Winter is coming fast.

He also notices that Ne-Chanz is not present. He's not sure where the minotaur is, but he does sometimes wander off on his own for hours at a time and tends to be quite tight-lipped on where he was or what he was doing. Presumably this day is no different. He will probably return at some point.

(OOC: Shima is back to 21/31 HP. I've subtracted 1 silver from his account to pay for the baths and 4 steel (40 silver) for his room for the past 10 days. Spyguy hasn't logged in over a month, so I'm temporarily removing him from the game until he either comes back or I decide he's permanently gone.)

[BishGada]

Tulbas searches Jinali's belongings, both the sack they saw her stashing items in and her own robes and packs. Leaving her with her cloth alone he asks Selowen, "Hmm... I hope so too... We can put cloth in her mouth." Tulbas suggests, "Or do you have other suggestion?".

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(OOC: I've no access to the players handbook. As far as I remember waking person under Sleep requires slapping hard or attacking. I assume putting cloth in the mouth wouldn't wake her, right? Also, what is the duration of the sleep?)

[JadedDM]

Tulbas Erogund (Tower of Wayreth, Unknown Floor on AT 15)
The sack Jinali was carrying has a number of knickknacks and miscellaneous items in it, but without a proper identification spell, Tulbas has no idea what value they might have. They include an hourglass, a bowl, a couple of scrollcases, an empty bottle, and a hairbrush. Jinali herself isn't carrying anything more than the spell components in her pouches.

(OOC: Putting cloth in Jinali's mouth will not break the spell. As for its duration, it's 5 minutes per caster level. So it would depend on what level Selowen is, since she was the one who cast it. If you assume she's around the same level as Tulbas, then about 20 minutes.)

[Chris1234]

Shima Longfoot (High Hand Inn, Room 7)
Surprised that Ne-Chanz has disappeared, Shima's plans to complete the job that the pair of them had is somewhat stalled.
After a quick wash (with some water brought from the bath house) he goes down to see who's about, particularly hoping to find Gobax (assuming that's the name he knows the fellow by).

[TristenC]

[Grubnick will keep the same spell lineup.]

The goblin calling himself Gobax awakens, eyes opening to the ceiling in his room and staring bleakly at the bare surface. He had made some grave errors of late, and others had paid the price. His mentor had been captured and he had failed to free him, and in the attempt dozens of innocents had been killed... He tried to tell himself that many of those were the Dragon Queen's own soldiers, but the specious argument only threw into contrast the gravity of his situation... There was one tiny hope left... that Delharn still lived and that his public execution was drawing nigh... but dared he attempt such a risky endeavor again? Who else might pay the ultimate price for his failure... or even his success... Dared he not try? That was perhaps the more weighty of the two...

Silently the goblin turned his face to the wall. His mind was slow to address the day itself, but he forced his body upright. Sitting cross-legged facing the blank wall he closed his eyes and prayed. It began as almost a rote recitation, but soon he began to thank Sirrion for little things... sunlight, warmth, the artistry in a fire's dance... and a small fire began to burn in his spirit. He would find a way to fight back against the dragon queen. He must.

Finishing his prayers, "Gobax" heads downstairs to see who is about and maybe get some breakfast.

[Haahque]

Another stupid day of this wretched existence. For once Haahqae wasn’t in one of his more violent moods that often overcame him when he thought about the army and how they’re likely mistreating Ismene. Still, the weight of his impossible task loomed over him like the shadow of a boulder teetering on the edge of a canyon he was in, a stiff breeze enough to dislodge it and send it tumbling down to squash him.

His only options, short of turning himself in, were to break Ismene out and hide, or to earn the favor of the army somehow and organize a trade of something they want in exchange for her life. Both options seem impossible.

To break her out, he would have to scout out the prefect’s mansion and the barracks until he found her, which is a dangerous proposition given that invisibility apparently doesn’t help him against dragons. Blasted creatures always getting in the way. Regardless, he would have to scout her out, find a way to bust her out then find a way to reliably flee the city. But with winter coming, their survival chances outside the city without a reliable source of… well anything except enemies really, was slim. So he would have to find a place IN the city to hide her from the army. This being the army that had checkpoints on every street corner and apparently has some sort of divination to find out everything about them once they escape. Pretty much the only way he could hope to hide is if he found another one of those no-divination-here statues to hide under, or if he found and eliminated the army’s diviners.

The army’s diviners, probably meaning the church. If he could drive a wedge between the army and the church that might do it, but how could he do that?
Or what if he learned a spell to create a new statue? It seemed like fairly powerful magics, which he’s sure he can cast if he had to but Tulbas has been missing for weeks now and he doesn’t really have another source of magical knowledge that he can learn from. The mageware shop’s been locked and there isn’t much in terms of libraries in this village.

The other option, to get the army to give her to him peacefully, would mean he would have to win their favor in a big way and/or he would have to convince them that she’s not dangerous. And he’s done enough harm to the opposite effect already, undoing it would take some work. As for winning their favor? Well the army seems keen on making sure there’s no rebellion, and while they’re pretty terrible at doing that, for some reason there hasn’t been much rebellious activity he’s heard about in the past week, so tracking down some bandits was going to be a difficult task in and of itself. How could he make himself be vitally useful to an organization which appears to have everything it wants already?

What could he even do that could possibly help in this situation?

Perhaps if he could make them want something, he could have some leverage in earning their favor. It’s times like these when he really wishes he could just kill something. Well, perhaps a little lashing out at the dragon army is in order, but the question is how, and how can he then use that to his advantage?

There are no easy questions and no easy answers. That bastard who lied that all his questions would be answered should probably be whipped and then drawn and quartered for his misdirection. All there is, is pain and misery, and perhaps a chance to inflict his misery on others.

While he’s thinking about this, he heads downstairs to eat breakfast.

(For spells, switch out scare with summon swarm)

[JadedDM]

Haahqae (Steel Tankard Inn, Common Room)
Haahqae descends into the common room and takes a look around. Cassandra is tending the bar, like normal these days. He spots a few regulars--Bear, Jaymes, that pregnant woman and the woman with the eye-patch. It is early still, so no soldiers have arrived just yet.

Grubnick (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
Grubnick descends into the common room and takes a look around. Green Tears is tending the bar, like normal. He spots a few regulars--an old dwarf, a bookish looking man, and Harrin with his broken lute. He also spots Shima, who is sporting a few bandaged injuries. He is alone, for once, instead of being flanked by the minotaur, Ne-Chanz. It is early still, so no soldiers have arrived just yet.

Shima Longfoot (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
Shima descends into the common room and takes a look around. The elderly plainswoman is tending the bar, like normal. He spots a few regulars--an old dwarf, a bookish looking man, and a man with a broken lute. He also spots Gobax looking rather world weary, but also determined in spite of that. No sign of Ne-Chanz, however. It is early still, so no soldiers have arrived just yet.

[Chris1234]

Shima nods to either of the men that happens to be looking his way and smiles at Gobax. If the latter comes over, he says, "Just going to have something to eat. Have you eaten?"

[TristenC]

Grubnick joins the dwarf... Eat? I haven't, no... just woke up... I suppose i should... The goblin takes a seat and looks about. So, Ne-Chanz isn't about? Lowering his voice he changes subject, I'd be interested in continuing our talk after we eat...

[HorizonsDream]

Kendra runs her hand through her hair, and then puts it up in her typical ribbon. She gets dressed, and heads downstairs to eat breakfast. Was this how things were going to be now?

[Chris1234]

"No, he's disappeared. Don't know where," replies SHima. "Sure, we can walk and talk. Breakfast is one me, by the way. A thank you for giving me some money when I told you I hadn't much."

Shima pays for their breakfasts.

[JadedDM]

Kendra Synclair (2527 Market Street, Greylock's Gorgeous Gems)
After cleaning herself up, Kendra heads downstairs. She finds that Sadron is on the couch, still fast asleep. It is where he has slept every night since their argument.

Gobax and Shima (High Hand Inn, Common Room)
The two have a seat at a table and after ordering, a server brings them plates of breakfast. Shima spends 2 silver pieces.

[Chris1234]

During the meal, Shima goes fishing with, "So, how're you doing? Been up to anything interesting lately?"

[BishGada]

Tulbas puts cloth in Jinali mouth to prevent her from raising the alam once she wakes up. He wonders why she is not holding her own book with her, but takes all the items he finds on her, put them in her sack and takes it with them.
"OK, Let' move on quickly." Tulbas says and continues at the circular corridor, holding the wand of magic missiles in his hand and asking Slownen to look back.

[TristenC]

Oh, thanks... i wasn't the one to lend you money, though... I haven't been up to much the last few days, just... surviving. Which is getting harder to do. He says the last quietly. What of you? Look like you've been through a rough patch. he says, nodding to the injuries.