![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Previously...
Dramatis Personae:
At some point they’re momentarily distracted by a paddy wagon coming into town, driven by the patrol they met the day before in the woods. While most of the group shrugs and goes back to business, Nicu manages to catch enough of a glimpse inside to realize that the prisoners are Vistani. Since they’re in Invidia, this most likely means that they will be put to death. He’s not very pleased and follows the wagon discreetly to find out its destination. Along the way he decides to pick a pocket because why not. Once he gets there, he is relieved to determine that only political prisoners go to the huge and menacing black tower of the Citadel. Vistani go to the smaller and less intimidating prison next door to await trial and summary execution. Nicu scouts some more and looks for ways to get in. While the windows are fairly large, they’re also heavily barred.
While this is going on, the others are mostly unaware that Nicu is even gone in the first place. Lucien uses his ice-maker potion and some fruit-flavored syrups to make sno-cones for sale (too bad it’s March) and the group develops plans to travel to exotic domains to get exotic flavors in order to corner the market in the Land of Mists on deliciously anachronistic frozen treats. They all then pack up and head back to the inn. Along the way they pass by the Golden Leaf inn—the one they found the day before where people were putting bags of food in front of it. They see a street urchin grab a bag and flee while someone shouts, “Stop thief!” behind him.
What’s going on? It turns out (according to the shouting man) that the inn, which has been boarded up since the last Harvest Festival, has become infested with “hungry ghosts.” If people don’t leave offerings of food out front, then the ghosts leave the inn and ransack nearby businesses and homes. Some people went in on a lark a few days ago, but only Elias came out again, and he was torn to shreds. Hmmm...
Eventually, they all meet up at the Platter and Candle again and discuss the “hungry ghosts;” more specifically, should they do anything about it. Henrik is pro-being a hero. Nicu and the brothers are pro-survival. Nicu also asks Lucien if he is capable of making magical acid. “What for,” Lucien asks, suspiciously. “Oh, just for some iron. That may or may not be bar-shaped.” “*sigh* What did you do?” Unfortunately, he’s not much good at making acid. Also, Roffe and Berendt reveal their faces to Henrik for the first time. Henrik makes his fright check.
More discussions are had. Henrik says that maybe they should ingratiate themselves to the town by taking care of their hungry ghost problem before they do some jail-breaking. After deciding that this is probably the best way to go about things, they visit Elias. His worried wife is reluctant to let them talk to him, considering how badly hurt he is but relents, although Elias’ meaty brother only allows Henrik to enter but threatens him with bodily harm should he cause Elias any more pain.
Elias is badly hurt, with huge wounds made most likely by claws, but horribly inflamed and oozing with pus. Henrik heals him, but the prayer he uses for healing transforms the injury to himself. Henrik manages to get some more details out of Elias before stumbling outside to the rest of the party. Elias and his friends were drunk when they went in on a dare. They were attacked by a group of small, horrible creatures that walked through the walls. They were bone white, with huge white eyes, and their long arms ended in sharp claws that dripped with blood.
Fortunately, Lucien has a healing potion of his own that he gives to Henrik to help him recover the wounds he took aiding Elias. The party is starting to doubt that the hungry ghosts are actually ghosts. The party now decides to go to see Karina’s mayor to offer their services on the grounds that at least that way they can get clearance before they go ahead and commit mayhem, plus they might actually get paid that way. They find the mayor’s mansion (easily, as it’s one of the largest and most ostentatious house in the east). They give up their weapons to the guards and are escorted in by the butler to see the mayor, Beauchamps. He’s willing to pay them if they can provide proof that they managed to exorcise the ghosts, but he doesn’t truly believe that there are ghosts at all. Still, he’s so willing to give them money that the players are sure that he’s lying. Perhaps he is. Perhaps he isn’t. Nevertheless, they decide not to go into the inn at night and to wait until the next morning.
Day 4 (March 8th, 765)
Inside, the inn is a terrible mess. Everything has been overturned and there is a stench of rot and blood and filth. They poke around a bit. When they get to the area behind the bar, a long arm, white with a bloody hand, reaches out of the wall and claws Henrik. Berendt shoots the arm with his bow and hits it, but the arm just pulls itself back through the wall, leaving the arrow to clatter onto the floor. The blood hisses when it hits the ground.
The kitchen turns out to be empty so the party returns to the common room and decides to start breaking up furniture to make into torches. They’re well underway when suddenly a group of the creatures begin walking out of the walls and even ceiling to attack. Both Henrik and Trenelli are injured in the ensuing combat, which ends abruptly when Roffe hacks the arm off one of the things. The injured creature says something in a strange and disturbing language, and as one all of the creatures sink into the floor.
Highly disturbed, the group finishes their torches and decides to head upstairs.
***
Next time: Next Fridays game has been postponed due to Hobbit, so we’ll find out what happens in the second floor in two weeks. Also, I’ll come up with more wilderness adventures in the likely event that the players decide to go their typical route and kill everything with fire, thus causing them to have to flee town in a hurry. Wouldn't be the first time.
Dramatis Personae:
- Lucien Vederaux, traveling potion and charm merchant, originally from Souragne;
- Roffe and Berendt Schvarzkopf, two brothers from Lamordia who had fled after being tattooed with Gray’s Anatomy-style charts all over their bodies and who now work as Lucien’s bodyguards;
- Nicholæ “Nicu” Corvara, a seemingly happy-go-lucky Vistani without a tribe who suffers (or causes others to suffer) from logorrhea;
- Henrik Leko Tomislav, a Mist-led priest of the Ancestral Choir; and,
- “Trinelli,” a beautiful young woman with amnesia.
Day 2 Continued (March 3rd, 765)
At some point they’re momentarily distracted by a paddy wagon coming into town, driven by the patrol they met the day before in the woods. While most of the group shrugs and goes back to business, Nicu manages to catch enough of a glimpse inside to realize that the prisoners are Vistani. Since they’re in Invidia, this most likely means that they will be put to death. He’s not very pleased and follows the wagon discreetly to find out its destination. Along the way he decides to pick a pocket because why not. Once he gets there, he is relieved to determine that only political prisoners go to the huge and menacing black tower of the Citadel. Vistani go to the smaller and less intimidating prison next door to await trial and summary execution. Nicu scouts some more and looks for ways to get in. While the windows are fairly large, they’re also heavily barred.
While this is going on, the others are mostly unaware that Nicu is even gone in the first place. Lucien uses his ice-maker potion and some fruit-flavored syrups to make sno-cones for sale (too bad it’s March) and the group develops plans to travel to exotic domains to get exotic flavors in order to corner the market in the Land of Mists on deliciously anachronistic frozen treats. They all then pack up and head back to the inn. Along the way they pass by the Golden Leaf inn—the one they found the day before where people were putting bags of food in front of it. They see a street urchin grab a bag and flee while someone shouts, “Stop thief!” behind him.
What’s going on? It turns out (according to the shouting man) that the inn, which has been boarded up since the last Harvest Festival, has become infested with “hungry ghosts.” If people don’t leave offerings of food out front, then the ghosts leave the inn and ransack nearby businesses and homes. Some people went in on a lark a few days ago, but only Elias came out again, and he was torn to shreds. Hmmm...
Eventually, they all meet up at the Platter and Candle again and discuss the “hungry ghosts;” more specifically, should they do anything about it. Henrik is pro-being a hero. Nicu and the brothers are pro-survival. Nicu also asks Lucien if he is capable of making magical acid. “What for,” Lucien asks, suspiciously. “Oh, just for some iron. That may or may not be bar-shaped.” “*sigh* What did you do?” Unfortunately, he’s not much good at making acid. Also, Roffe and Berendt reveal their faces to Henrik for the first time. Henrik makes his fright check.
More discussions are had. Henrik says that maybe they should ingratiate themselves to the town by taking care of their hungry ghost problem before they do some jail-breaking. After deciding that this is probably the best way to go about things, they visit Elias. His worried wife is reluctant to let them talk to him, considering how badly hurt he is but relents, although Elias’ meaty brother only allows Henrik to enter but threatens him with bodily harm should he cause Elias any more pain.
Elias is badly hurt, with huge wounds made most likely by claws, but horribly inflamed and oozing with pus. Henrik heals him, but the prayer he uses for healing transforms the injury to himself. Henrik manages to get some more details out of Elias before stumbling outside to the rest of the party. Elias and his friends were drunk when they went in on a dare. They were attacked by a group of small, horrible creatures that walked through the walls. They were bone white, with huge white eyes, and their long arms ended in sharp claws that dripped with blood.
Fortunately, Lucien has a healing potion of his own that he gives to Henrik to help him recover the wounds he took aiding Elias. The party is starting to doubt that the hungry ghosts are actually ghosts. The party now decides to go to see Karina’s mayor to offer their services on the grounds that at least that way they can get clearance before they go ahead and commit mayhem, plus they might actually get paid that way. They find the mayor’s mansion (easily, as it’s one of the largest and most ostentatious house in the east). They give up their weapons to the guards and are escorted in by the butler to see the mayor, Beauchamps. He’s willing to pay them if they can provide proof that they managed to exorcise the ghosts, but he doesn’t truly believe that there are ghosts at all. Still, he’s so willing to give them money that the players are sure that he’s lying. Perhaps he is. Perhaps he isn’t. Nevertheless, they decide not to go into the inn at night and to wait until the next morning.
Day 4 (March 8th, 765)
Inside, the inn is a terrible mess. Everything has been overturned and there is a stench of rot and blood and filth. They poke around a bit. When they get to the area behind the bar, a long arm, white with a bloody hand, reaches out of the wall and claws Henrik. Berendt shoots the arm with his bow and hits it, but the arm just pulls itself back through the wall, leaving the arrow to clatter onto the floor. The blood hisses when it hits the ground.
The kitchen turns out to be empty so the party returns to the common room and decides to start breaking up furniture to make into torches. They’re well underway when suddenly a group of the creatures begin walking out of the walls and even ceiling to attack. Both Henrik and Trenelli are injured in the ensuing combat, which ends abruptly when Roffe hacks the arm off one of the things. The injured creature says something in a strange and disturbing language, and as one all of the creatures sink into the floor.
Highly disturbed, the group finishes their torches and decides to head upstairs.
***
Next time: Next Fridays game has been postponed due to Hobbit, so we’ll find out what happens in the second floor in two weeks. Also, I’ll come up with more wilderness adventures in the likely event that the players decide to go their typical route and kill everything with fire, thus causing them to have to flee town in a hurry. Wouldn't be the first time.
