Slice of Glaive

We approach the gates of Tietha. They are letting most people in, but stopping some of those with large wagons. They stop us. When Perrol flashes our letter of introduction, the guard calls in his supervisor.

As we walk to the Inn, we see several youngish people of both sexes in either ivory or gold robes. Martin tells us that the ivory robes are teachers at the mage academy and the gold are students. We noticed that everyone tends to show the ivory robes deference. We arrive at the Boar’s Head Inn and find that the cost is 2sp each for a night in afour bed room and a day’s worth of food. Perrol gets hired to be the night’s entertainment. Martin agrees that he will start working on getting us into see the head of ancient symbology to find out about the sigil on the brick. We eat and go to sleep with 1.5 hour watches included in the night.

Morning dawns. A breakfast of hard bread and cheese was included with our room. Martin takes a rubbing of the symbols so that he can interest a mage in meeting with Perrol and Jarlyn about the sigil on the brick. We decide to approach the castle gate to see about a meeting with the spymaster/Lord Marshall. There is a small line at the gate with a lower bureaucrat triaging the line. In about ten minutes we reach the front of the line. After introducing our business, he states that the person with whom we need to meet will not be back until later. We ask to put our names on the list to meet him an hour before dinner

We decide to go to the magic item/potion/weapon market and look for potions and whatever else we might need. Using our perception we notice an alchemist with a surplus of potions. He makes us a deal at 6.5sp each bottle if we purchase 12 bottles. We decide to take the deal and four of us including myself pay 13sp while Kross purchases four bottles for 26sp. He recommends us to his cousin a couple of stalls down for the purchasing/selling of fine spirits. He just about drools at the thought of this 100 year old bottle of Wickshine brandy. By an involved process of haggling and storytelling, we manage to get him up to 120gp. He tells us that not only does he have a cousin who sells weapons, which the other one told us, but next to that cousin is one cousin who sells armor. I manage to upgrade my stiletto from regular to a dwarven stiletto for only 36sp. The others are also able to either purchase new weapons or upgrade to finer weapons.

It is now midafternoon and we decide to get a light lunch before heading out to the castle gate to meet the Lord Marshall. We bypass the line and the new bureaucrat recognizes us from the description of the previous bureaucrat. As we walk by the palace guard informs/whispers to us where we are to go. Most palace guards are aware of the covert branch of the Guard and know that who we are meeting rules over that. We are basically told to go to the front door (we are now at the front gate in the outer wall) and someone else will direct us to the wing and set of chambers to which we must go. We are granted entry to the room we need. Perrol as our faceman speaks to the Lord Marshall Daniel and presents him with our letter of introduction. We are at his service, but he states that there are no problems except with the rise in Ren-Tari (Froggies) attacks. Perrol asks if we could perhaps find out why there are more attacks now. However, LM Daniel does not have a job that falls within our range of abilities as to go into Ren-Tari territory would really take a small army. There are no issues with the Regent-Mother other than some politicos who have problems with a woman in power. The Heir Apparent, while only ten, appears to be doing well. There are, of course, some threats/plots against his life, but nothing that is going anywhere. Due to the lowered taxes and tariffs, there is a decrease in smuggling, prostitution, and other illegal/detrimental industries. The Regent-Mother has made some small changes, including insinuating information gatherers into the gambling dens and brothels. Other than some small items, we really have no need for your skills at the moment. The only area of any real unrest is Calibrea but being outsiders to that area, we really won’t blend in with the people. We leave him our inn name to contact us should he need us. As soon as we are outside, Perrol tells the rest of us that he was uneasy about the Regent-Mother, untruthful about the fruitless plots against the Heir Apparent, and highly unhappy about the changes that she has made to his information gatherers.

We stop by the Inn just as they are preparing for dinner so we eat. Then, after picking up the evil coins and artifacts we head out to the temple of the Skyfather. We all stop and the edge of the grounds and Perrol gets halfway to the entrance when a priest bursts out the door glaring in our direction. He consults with the temple guards and seems to relax. He disappears into the temple and reemerges a short while later with two more priests, one from a different order, and two temple guards from inside. Perrol has rejoined the group. Jarlyn acknowledges them in the manner of a paladin of the Skyfather and states that we have several artifacts to identify, learn about, and destroy. Ghoral unveils the brick and Jarlyn the two EVIL coins. They all react badly to the sight of the coins. They take the coins and lead us all in through a side door so that this can be discussed in a more private area. They haven’t seen anything like the coins in quite some time. Fortunately, none of us had accepted them for a job because that would be to sell the soul. We tell of the events in Wickshine and that we had met one who had accepted a coin and was then summoned into a demon who is now loose in the world. They take the coins away to be destroyed. They do not know the language, but they would like to take a rubbings so that they can research it. They detect to evil from the urn or the brick but the brick does have a slight emanation of ancient magic. It seems to be of a prophecy/divination type magic. They ask that we keep them informed of what we find during our search. The older priests retire and the younger identifies himself as Matthias and presents each of us with a pendant of the Skyfather’s symbol worth a favor from the church for our part in vanquishing the necromancer and bringing the evil objects to be destroyed. We head back to the inn.

Kross and I go back upstairs to report to the others what we saw. Those of my party who did not have time to get dressed in full armor take this opportunity to get fully dressed. Jarlyn and Kross decide to go downstairs and check out what’s going on. One of the brothers peeks his head out of their room and asks what was all of that. Kross and I explain to him about the necromancer and all of the various undead and possessed creatures which whom we just dealt. He decided to go with Kross and Jarlyn as they head down to see what’s happened to everyone. Not long after they leave Martin the Birdman opens his door and peaks out with a knife ineptly clasped in his hand. We reassure him that every thing is over now. Perrol and I go door to door and at least get a response that they are alright if not a head out the door. Martin eventually comes out of his room and is quite shocked at Ilie. The tinker emerges from his room with a club. We all head down.

The tinker grabs a bottle or two, some glasses, goes out into the main room and pours himself several drinks. The body of the innkeeper’s wife is in the kitchen. The innkeeper is in shock and starts to mumble about what happened before the fight. We mention that it was likely the necromancer, Ilie, was responsible for the possession of the children. The tinker remembers Josiah the Priest of the Traveler’s God and runs upstairs to do something. During this Jarlyn has been praying/mumbling over the one child who was wounded by us. Kross and I decide to stand outside the main door and keep watch for any unnatural doings. I see plenty of bones but none are clustered around any other buildings I can see. Also the eight or so buildings I see are waking up naturally, so the inn was likely the only target/epicenter of this attack. I decide to go back in to join Jarlyn and he meets me in the great room. He tells me that in return for healing the child the innkeeper offered him this bottle of 100 year old Wickshine brandy. Ghoral relates that this is worth 100 gold pieces. Jarlyn returns to the kitchen to the innkeeper to accept the bottle. We started to feel a static build-up; the hairs on our arms raise up on end.

Suddenly, a large bang and blinding flash of light strike pretty much right where we are. The rafters shake, several stones fall off the chimney, and the firebrands fall out of the fireplace. We put the embers back in the fireplace, but we notice a brick with a special symbol. Neither Perrol with his lore and legends or Jarlyn with his arcane and occult lore recognize the symbol. We ask the innkeeper; his family was one of the original families in this area. He says that the legend is that in the orchard there was a church for an ancient evil deity. He knows that the followers were destroyed and the deity banished but not before vowing revenge (millennia ago). Jarlyn does say that this is an ancient writing that could be from any of the old religions that have died out and more might be found out in Teitha. No other bricks appear to have writing. The innkeeper then asks us if something special should be done with Ilie’s body. Perrol remembers to say that the tinker warned him that Josiah the priest of the Traveler’s God could rummage through the room. We head up there. When we search the body we find a brand of a broken triangle within a circle, the same sigil as what is on the brick downstairsI find two gold coins and tell the others that I found coins. Perrol tells us that he recognizes the coin as similar to the one that Ilie gave to Eadon when we first walked into the Inn. We see a horned head on one side of the coin; Jarlyn and I recognize the writing on the back as similar to the writing on the brick. Jarlyn tells me that he does know of objects being used to turn willing or unwilling (usually willing) people into other creatures. The urn/goblet has the sigil on it. Jarlyn tells us that the coins are bad mojo (evil) and the incense in the air and on the ground evil. However, the urn is only slightly evil and the brick is not innately evil. Jarlyn find 50 gold pieces worth of loose change (split among us) and a pack full of food. We also find a quarterstaff (me), a dagger (Perrol), a silver mirror (me)We decide to cremate the body so that there is no chance of him coming back, we’re going to do this in the orchard (?).

We walk to the orchard and notice the ground is torn up as if by hundreds of skeletons. Also, the trees are budded, as pointed out unnecessarily by Perrol. Deciding that we don’t want to burn him in the orchard and risk contaminating it, we head out to an open grassy area where we burn the body. Perrol rushes back to tell everyone about the trees. The rest of us look around the orchard for a while and then head back to the inn as well. Kross heads up to the attic. Perrol now recognizes the marks on the children’s shoulders now as being slave marks. He implies that the children were runaways who needed a home and he and his wife were unable to have children so they welcomed them in. Perrol shows those in the inn already the coins/urn/brick and no one recognizes the sigil.

As the morning progresses people start to wander in. Perrol is acting as happy greeter and gossip. The men start to clean and get large things straightened up. The women cook/bring food and organize everyone. Perrol also shows the brick and the sigil to everyone who comes in. He has no luck until one girl in a group of eight year olds pipes up and says that she’s seen this before on a cornerstone of a low wall in the orchard. Perrol, Jarlyn, Kross, the children who want to come, several mothers, and I troop out to the orchard to see. We then travel back to the inn. Martin approaches us as asks that we take him with us. After heated debate, he is coming with us.

Segment 10
Eadon had held his action, but when he was changed he lost his action and so did not attack me. I’m back at Stun=25 and Body=11.
Segment 12
Attack=Orushidaila for DCV 11 hit legs for 6 killing, armor-piercing damage and 12 stun
Half move to get me out of the room just into the hallway
Eadon now uses his action and causes darkness (1/2 OCV and -1 to DCV) to fall. He then rakes his claws across Perrol’s stomach.
Perrol attacks but misses. Kross attacks the necromancer and hits including breaking bones. Ghoral comes up the stairs and attempts to throw a dagger.
Segment 3
Shadow smiles, the darkness goes away, he gets a bit more shadowy and seems to wave a bit.
Attack=Thasori (defensive)
Segment 4
Perrol attacked and missed. Jarlyn tells us all that from his memory he knows that when a creature like this goes more shadowy/insubstantial like that it means he has become impervious to all attacks except those based in light or magic. Jarlyn missed when attacking Shadow. Kross once again attacks the necromancer on the bed and hits. Ghoral misses on the Shadow.
Segment 6
Attack=Thasori (defensive)
Skeletons start to come up the stairs. Perrol aborts to dodge (now for segment 8). Shadow appears to stop wavering but otherwise does nothing despite this being his turn.
Segment 8
Kross hits once again the necromancer and this time breaks his arm. Jarlyn hits it for a fair amount of damage and Shadow hisses. Ghoral attacks one of the skeletons that have come up from below; he cuts it in half and it crumbles. Perrol reports that he hears two doors slam below. Shadow becomes solid and claws at Jarlyn, who gets hit in the head.
Segment 9
Shadow claws out at Jarlyn again but Jarlyn miraculously survived (spent 2 HERO points).
Half move to get closer to skeleton.
Attack=Orushidaila with DCV 11 to hit, roll 1 for damage so he takes none.
Segment 12
Shadow went insubstantial to walk through people to use a half movement and get out in the hallway where he dropped the insubstantiality and tried a presence attack. We are awed which means we are at half DCV, we lose the ability to act for one full phase i.e. this segment, and may possibly do what he says. Kross executes a coup de grace on the necromancer. No one else can do anything.
Segment 3
Half move to get into position to attack Shadow. He attempts to abort before I attack but fails a dex roll.
Attack=Orushidaila with DCV 6, I miss Shadow.
He goes insubstantial but is unable to take another action because of the abort.
Segment 4
Kross dumps out the necromancer’s urn and in the hallway the skeleton collapses. We hear the sound of clattering/falling bones from downstairs. Perrol goes defensive. Jarlyn chooses to heal himself.
Segment 6
Attack=Thasori (defensive)
Segment 8
Perrol executes a presence attack on Shadow impresses him. Jarlyn moves and misses.
Segment 9
Shadowman runs full out into the night. Kross and I run after him and see bones everywhere. There is also one body located where the mother had fallen. There is no sign of the other bodies or people. I stop at the door. Shadow runs off into the night.
Combat is over