PLYNCK
May 3, 2008
XP
starting out: 49,080
Beggar 2,
5038
The group discusses tactics, strategy
We decide we'll ask for one scroll of Teleport from the
Institute of Ancient Languages, plus accepting the offer of being
teleported out to the ruins by the Watch's sorcerer. We send Kes,
with Zora, to buy a Portable Hole. Jenna casts Gentle Repose on
Ar'Tas's body. We get a Teleport scroll,
courtesy of the IAL, and also buy enough spell book ink for Beri to
inscribe it. We figure out the correct method and we go.
We arrive in second growth forest near: a rough, branches-made corral
for horses, some tents, digging going on nearby. No guards.
No signs of badness. We look for people, find someone who seems
to be a supervisor, tell him we're looking for Gebhard. Some of
the group go find him. Introductions are made, go poorly at
first, but eventually he understands the seriousness of the situation
and agrees to follow our directions. Planning ensues. We
load the Portable Hole with all of his notes and relics. Beri
begins her studying of the Teleport
scroll, in preparation for learning it and transferring it to
her spel book (someone to be watching over her at all times). The
rest of us discuss logistics of the other staff.
Beggar 8
A group of Kobolds comes out of the woods, sees everyone, retreats back
into the woods again. Beri finishes writing the spell into her
book.
Beggar 9
Gebhard runs around making sure that we've gotten everything.
Then we go back. Fiona, the head scholar of the Institute, thinks
we did the right thing by not
telling anyone else at the site what was going on. Chances are that any
Assassins sent after Gebhard will run into them. However, since
none of them were told why Gebhard was being whisked off to the city,
they’ll most likely tell the Assassins everything the Assassins ask
about without any need for threats or injury.
Jenna talks to Gebhard about puzzle piece. Lots of boring stuff
about the Dexnibaf alphabet (if anyone really wants it, I’ll email it
to you). Triona was the head scholar: Gebhard and Nunila were
only her assistants. Triona would sometimes received packages
from scholars in other cities; he had never met any of these people,
nor did he know who they were or how to get in touch with them.
The particular letter on the puzzle piece corresponds most closely to a
"U" in Common.
Beri casts Identify,
the first of two such needed spells.
Ben casts Raise Dead
on Ar'Tas, then uses healing spells to bring him back to full HP.
Captain Callcott sends a Watch guard to request the presence of the
group - some or all. Beri and Ben, with Ar'Tas and Ulfgar as security,
stay in the inn; Jenna, Kes, and Zora go with the guard. When
they get there, the Captain notes that his searchers have found
something stitched into the assassin’s belt, says that he thinks, from
what people at the Institute have told him, that it is similar to
something the group has. Would they let him compare the two
parchments? Kes pulls out a copy of our puzzle piece. Would
they let his staff make a copy of the group’s, in exchange for being
given a copy of the one they found? Certainly.
Back at the Inn, a more detailed search of the Assassin's gear by
Ar'tas finds similar hidden compartments in both Assassin's
belts. One is empty, but the other has a very finely folded sheet
of very thin parchment. The characters are all common (see
below), but don't mean anything. We show it to the Watch -- want
to keep our relationship with them positive. Also take it to the
Institute. Gerbhard, in stereotypical specialist form, tells us
that he has no idea what the contents are: the alphabet is Common, not
Dexnibaf, but the words are in no language, Common or otherwise, that
he knows. Heck, lots of those so-called words aren’t even
pronounceable.
Mibbilgao f stwis, lx esfuxbxj dxuxsfb lxxvd aiseqlxde im Qiktoqgw,
gaei eqx tanqfsexj lgbjxsaxdd kxelxxa eqfe nitaesp faj eqx aiseqxsa
rxswfmside. Eqxsx lfd ai dgoa im qfkgefegia mis wide im eqx esgr,
lqgnq rxsqfrd xyrbfgad lqp eqx lgbjbgmx qfd aie bxfsaxj ei mxfs faj
fuigj eqx ngugbgzxj sfnxd. Ga eqgd eqx stwis gd nxsefgabp
estx: eqxsx gd f qtox jxrsxddgia, rxsqfrd eqx sxwfgad im f nsfexs
is nfbjxsf, lgeq dexxr dgjxd f htfsexs wgbx is wisx jxxr. Lqxeqxs
is aie eqx sxde im eqx stwis – eqfe eqxsx gd f Jxyagkfm dgex ga eqx
nsfexs – gd degbb tadtsx. Feexwred ei dnsp ofux td fwkgotitd
sxdtbed. Ge gd axfsbp f jfpd esfuxb fsitaj eqx itedgjx im eqx
nsfexs, faj msiw ai rbfnx lfd eqx dnspgao fap nbxfsxs, is eqx
lfbbd bxdd efbb is dexxr. Feexwred ei mbp iuxs eqx nsfexs lxsx
wxe lgeq sfrgj, diwxegwxd mfefb sxdriadxd: fd gm eqx nsfexs lxsx
jxmxajgao gedxbm. Fa xyrbisfeisp rfsep dxae gaei eqx nsfexs eibj
td eqxp lxsx xanitaexsgao wtnq sxdgdefanx msiw eqx rbfaebgmx; eqxa
deirrxj sxrisegao. Ai feexwre lfd wfjx ei sxdntx eqxw, is, wisx
bgvxbp, sxniuxs eqxgs kijgxd.
Beggar 10
Ben asks Captain Callcott if the group could investigate the room that
the main Dexnibaf scholar, Triona, had lived (and been murdered)
in. The Captain says that his boss, Lord Lippard, Commander of
the Watch, wishes him to thank the group again for their assistance
during this recent unpleasantness, and inform the group that they have
incurred a deep well of gratitude from the City and the Watch. This
certainly covers allowing the group to check out that apartment, if
they so wish. Ar'tas conducts a very thorough search, and
declares that there are no secret compartements, hidden doors, or any
scraps of paper: nothing remaining of Triona's notes. An
investigation of her office at the Institute had already shown that
what she kept there related only to administrative tasks, nothing to do
with her studies.
Beri reports that she has finished using the Identify spells on all
the magical items we had acquired, and that seven of them require more
knowledge.
Beggar 11
Beri and Kes take those seven items to Mage Holbrook at the Xyzzy Magic
Shop, who agrees to cast Analyze
Dweomer on the items, for 900gp per casting, at one casting per
day.
Beggar 13
Captain Callcott again invites the group to meet with him. When
we get there, he introduces a Lord Algernon, and manages to impart the
knowledge that the Lord is high in the councils of the King,
specializing in knowledge about foreign countries. Lord Algernon
tells us that the symbol found on the Assassins (on armbands) belongs
to Baron Quokaphun. A renegade noble originally from Gylsoph: a
Chaotic Evil country somewhere far to the East. The Baron,
according to the information Lord Algernon has, argued with King
Jahverbhai over some esoteric issue of religious policy, sold off his
holdings, and used the proceeds to establish his own independent (thus
far) barony well outside that nation’s borders. Lord Algernon has
no idea why Baron Quokaphun would have sent Assassins after Dexnibaf
scholars. If the group does discover the why of this, he hopes
that information will be shared with him.
Beggar 14
Zora solves the cypher:
Following a rumor, we traveled several weeks northwest of
Hobughim , into the uncharted wilderness between that country and the
northern permafrost. There was no sign of habitation for most of
the trip, which perhaps explains why the wildlife has not learned to
fear and avoid the civilized races. In this much the rumor is
certainly true: there is a huge depression, perhaps the remains of a
crater or caldera, with steep sides a quarter mile or more deep.
Whether or not the rest of the rumor – that there is a Dexnibaf site in
the crater – is still unsure. Attempts to scry gave us
ambiguous results. It is nearly a days travel around the outside
of the crater, and from no place was the scrying any clearer, or the
walls less tall or steep. Attempts to fly over the crater were
met with rapid, sometimes fatal responses: as if the crater were
defending itself. An exploratory party sent into the crater told
us they were encountering much resistance from the plantlife; then
stopped reporting. No attempt was made to rescue them, or, more
likely, recover their bodies.
Beggar 15
Captain Callcott calls for us yet once more. He looks a little
exasperated, as if he’s getting tired of being the contact point for
this group of foreigners. This time a Lord Waleran wants to meet
with them. The Captain introduces him as one of the Marshals of
the Army.
Lord Waleran would like to hire the group to clean out the "nest" of
undead to the west of Quidson. He’s offering 10,000gp each, half
in advance upon their oath of honor to fulfill the task. He
doesn't need an immediate answer from us, but would appreciate having
one soon. If we accept, he would not expect us to start out until
after winter is over.
After Lord Waleran leaves, Captain Callcott follows up on this offer by
saying that his commander, Lord Lippard, had been considering an offer
of his own, to the group, to hire them on as a supplemental,
problem-solving group to the Watch. However, Lord Lippard not
only does not want to foster any unpleasantness by bidding against a
fellow Lord, but also cannot come close to matching Lord Waleran’s
offer. And is therefore restraining himself to only, through
Captain Callcott, tell the group that we may consider ourselves no
longer restricted by the rule of calling for the Watch, but instead may
resolves encountered problems ourselves (but subject to a post-op
review). Jenna invites him to be the guest of the group at a
dinner, to thank him for all the assistance he's given us. He
accepts. Kes is devastated to learn that he has a wife.
Beggar 17
The abilities of all of the more complex magical items have been
fully explored.
2,250 XP for
roleplaying running total: 51,330