Elaine's Return and Various Other Scenes

[Townopolis]

The Docks
The Sveagort docks comprise a little over a quarter of the city, it being built into a cove and all. Ships of all sizes, from simple fishing boats, to the veritable floating fortresses that ply the open seas, move in and out of the harbor as the sun nears the end of its ascent into the heavens.

As those present prepare to seek out Elaine's father, Esahre turns to Masuke and asks "Do we have a plan?"

The Iounite Mission
The Iounite mission bustles with dwarves, gnomes, and a smattering of other races - all come together in the pursuit of knowledge. It is a fairly large temple, as far as temples go, nestled somewhere within the city's warrens. Behind it's heavy front gate, a large antechamber is sparsely decorated, with but a few tapestries depicting great scholars of Ioun and a donations basin near the inner door. Behind this door, the temple proper resides, and there one can find a few penitents as well as two temple guardians - sturdy dwarves in full plate - and a single priest.

Behind the temple proper, can be found the residents' quarters, where Aeric has his own cell and the mess hall behind those. To the side of the temple can be found the Iounite Library.

The library is slightly more populated than the temple. It is, in fact, the largest library in Sveagort, sporting over 1,000 books on its shelves. Here the monks and priests collect any tome of knowledge they can get their hands on, and scholars from all over the city come here to do research. It is also the best place to look for the head priest. As any lover of knowledge would, he spends most of his time poring over the tomes here.

Elsewhere on the Docks
The Golden Helm is technically situated in the cliffside district, but it is at docks level, and so it essentially opens into that district. Outside the inn, stevedores and other laborers are hitting their stride as they attack the day's work. However, there are also a few merchants, mercenaries, and what looks like an adventuring party plying the docks.

One such fellow, a tall blond man with what looks like a bowstaff hung behind his back, is passing among the dockworkers, asking questions with a sheet of parchment in his hand. As he comes closer, one can barely make out the picture drawn upon it of a pale-haired woman.

[Mando Knight]

The Docks

Masuke, currently in his/her "normal" form (not in Elaine's form so as not to attract attention), turns to Esahre, and begins speaking in a low whisper so as to not be easily overheard. "No, I don't really have a full plan yet. What I was thinking was that I feint weakness, like I had been exhausted or beat up or something, and two of you carry me. That way I don't need to talk as much, and will probably be helped to "my" quarters. Then I sneak out tonight, make sure I'm seen transforming into the were-rat form, and escape. After escaping the sight of any pursuers, I change my form again and sneak back to a pre-arranged location. Someone else will have to hold most of my stuff... I don't want to be seen as Elaine with my gear on."

[Crucival]

At the docks

"Good idea. The less talking I have to do, the better. I can fool a tired old port guard, but I can hardly fool a man about his own daughter." Talyn checks his pack, then nods.

"I've got room for your equipment in my pack, if you need it. If you think you can shake any pursuers, we can meet up outside the Golden Helm. If there's a strong chance you'll be followed, we might be better off meeting somewhere crowded, where it's easier to get lost among people. The Market Square might be a worth considering."

[Kaolins]

The Iounite Mission

Emil travels alongside Aeric, carefully observing his companion, and the surrounding area. The Iounite Mission's large front gate standing before them.

Turning to the Dwarf beside him...

"Aeric... I feel responsible for what happened down in those sewers. You'd never be in this situation if I hadn't asked you to come along with me in the first place. Sure, we knew we'd all get hurt eventually, but none of us expected the possibility of lycanthropy. I.. Is there anything I can do? I'm not that bad with treating wounds if it helps..."

The expression on Emil's face is filled with both consideration and grief.

[Kinneus]

Aeric winces a smile at the temple guards as he limps through the temple, heading for his tiny bedroom. "Please, Emil. Don't blame yourself. I knew the risks, and my colleagues here tried to warn me. True... I didn't expect this, but I made the decision to go down there. You can't be blamed, Emil." Aeric chuckles and wheezes a bit. "Besides, you couldn't of talked me out of joining even if you wanted to."

Aeric opens the door to his private cell. Calling it 'Spartan' would be a compliment. It contains a small desk with a candle and a few devotional books, and a small cot. All is covered with a fine film of dust. Groaning, Aeric begins to shed his armor, placing it on a wooden armor stand near the door. His pack and weapons are promptly dropped to the floor."Though you can certainly help me with my wounds. One of those little biters got me in the side with its sword. Don't think I can reach it."

Aeric sits on the edge of his cot, his broad dwarven back facing Emil. "There are bandages in the desks, and there should be some strong liquor for cleaning, too."

Spoiler

Show

Now seems as good a time as any to make my Endurance check. Here goes nothing! (d20)[19]+4.
Now Kaolins makes his Heal check. We use the higher of the two checks, according to the PHB.

[Kaolins]

"Rather bare livings, friend."

Emil says this while grabbing aforementioned 'medical' supplies. Walking back to Aeric, he does his best to deal with the wounds, passing time with random small-talk, mostly about religion.

Spoiler

Show

Heal, here's hoping I don't roll like usual and kill ya, mate.

(1d20+5)[23]

[Townopolis]

The Docks

Esahre nods, and looks around, making sure the group has some privacy.

"I think we might as well meet inside the Helm. Simeol didn't seem that angry with you," he nods at Masuke, "and I recall he was fine with you. I'm sure he'd let us rent a room for you to meet us in if I do the talking. Now, you get changed."

Esahre reaches into his pack and withdraws a scroll, unfurling it to check the details inside. A glance tells you it is the missing persons poster for Elaine, it even has a rough sketch of her face.

"Yes, here we go. Mr. Ursolee, merchant, has a house here on the docks. I can take us there, once we're all ready."

The Iounite Mission

The bite is not deep, but already the area around it is red. Luckily, Emil has some experience tending the sick from days spent haunting his father's shadow. What's more, he recalls a rash of filth fever that once swept through the poorer districts of the warrens. The temple of Avandra saw its share of sick and dying that month. They saved some, they lost some, and such was the way of life. He recalls the treatments they used, and begins cleaning the wound.

Luckily, his work is easy. It is clear that Aeric has already begun to heal and purge the disease. Cleaning the wound will keep it from festering, and keeping warm will help his body fight the disease. With this help, he should develop a fever by tomorrow, and it should break the next day. All in all, a very good recovery.

The matter of lycanthropy, however, you are still unsure about. It may be that it too was contracted through the wererat's bite, but so far no symptoms have arisen.

[Crucival]

The Docks

"Alright, give me your gear and go get changed." He nods to Masuke.

"Esahre, you are by far the better tale-teller, between the two of us." He reaches into his pack, and pulls out the hacked-up remains of one of the dire rats they faced in the sewers. "When we get to the house, tell Ursolee that we found her surrounded by dire rats. I can even bring out a few of these corpses to show him that we rescued her. It'll be good fodder for rumors, later, when she's seen turning into wererat form."

[Mando Knight]

Docks

Masuke nods. "Thanks." With that, s/he hands most of the gear off to Talyn after removing the dress from the pack, then finds a place to change. She returns shortly, in Elaine's form and dress, carrying most of the leather armor bundled in her arm, and slides it into her bag. "Well, I'm ready."

[Kinneus]

Aeric winces a little under Emil's care. He still feels exhausted and is even beginning to feel a little feverish, but he can tell Emil is cleaning and dressing the wound very well. "Thank you, Emil. I feel better already." Aeric lies down on his cot, drawing his thin blanket up to his nose. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get some sleep before I make myself sicker. If you want some rest, too, I'm sure there are other rooms that aren't in use. I don't think anybody would mind. Otherwise, I'll meet up with you tomorrow." Before he drifts off to sleep, Aeric silently prays to Ioun, praying for his health and for the success of his teammates at the docks. Despite stress and pain, he's soon snoring.

(Extended Rest)

When he wakes up, Aeric slowly gets out of his bed and puts his clothes and armor back on. He feels like crap, and he's aware that he probably he has a bit of a fever going, but he feels well enough to operate.

He heads out of his room, and goes to the Library. The sight of all these books and serious thinkers makes him feel a little more confident; if there's anybody that can help him, it's Ioun and Her followers.

Soon, Aeric finds the head priest. He approaches him respectfully, waiting for him to look up from his reading before speaking. "Aeric Olaf, holy one. Former temple guard. I come seeking knowledge, and I was hoping you could help me."

Assuming the high priest doesn't rebuke him, Aeric continues. "As you know, I signed on with Emil Arthright's company. We were exploring the sewers beneath Sveagort yesterday, and come across some lycanthropes. Wererats, to be specific. I, uh... felt sorry for them. I was wondering if you knew of any way of curing or treating the disease? Know of anywhere I can get more information on the subject?"

Spoiler

Show

Bluff Check, to see if I can get information from the high priest without telling him that Aeric suspects him himself is infected. He's embarassed about, and not sure how the temple would you react to having a wererat in their midst. If he fails, or the high priest asks him why he's so concerned, he'll probably come clean. (d20+4)[23]

If the high priest asks Aeric why he's so concerned, Aeric will come clean about his condition; he was bitten in the sewers beneath Sveagort, and wants to know if there's any hope of a cure.

[Townopolis]

The Docks

Esahre nods at Masuke as the doppelganger returns changed and strikes off towards Mr. Ursolee's house.

The House, when you arrive, is a formidable structure of stone with a wooden shingle roof, three stories, and a courtyard. It is part of a row of houses, but stretches all the way across the row's width.

Esahre's knock is met with a servant, who upon seeing "Elaine," exclaims in surprise. Soon, the whole household comes running.

Esahre feeds them the story as a thin man parts the servants with a cough and comes forward. Judging by his dress, this must be Mr. Ursolee.

Ursolee looks at "Elaine," hard eyes beneath a furrowed brow, as Esahre wraps up his piece.

(bluff check from Masuke, if you please).

The Iounite Mission

The head priest nods in sympathy at Aeric's tale and sets his book down. Looking about in the library, he picks out another dwarf.

"Grobar" he calls, and the other priest comes when beckoned.

The head priest relays Aeric's message to Grobar, who frowns and pulls at his beard.

"No, no, I'm afraid once Murohysteris reaches its final state there is no way to cure the affliction. Even the cult of Selune has not found a way to reverse the effects. I'm afraid your friends are cursed forever."

[Mando Knight]

Masuke looks up weakly, her face is slightly bruised, and the clothing is a bit dirtied and torn...

Power Bluff Check GO!
(1d20+30)[35] (+5 trained +2 race +2 Cha +1 level +20 Change Shape)

EDIT: a 5, but that should do... she's a pretty optimized bluffer, and the +20 from Change Shape doesn't hurt. (The only thing she does better skill-wise than imitate others is sneak... closely followed by acrobatics, theft, and general bluffing)

[Crucival]

Docks

Talyn stays almost perfectly silent, but during the story he pulls out the dire rat corpses and displays them to all present, hoping to aid Masuke in her deception. He nonetheless keeps his communication to a minimum, doing his best to provide aid and capitalize on his honest Elven looks without saying anything stupid that could endanger their cover.

Bluff Roll to assist Masuke:
(1d20+1)[15]

[Kinneus]

Aeric nods grimly in response to the information, but tries to keep his composure. "What if the Murohysteris hasn't set in yet? Is there some chance for inoculation? How exactly can the sufferer expect the disease to progress?"

Regardless of Grobar's response, Aeric will take the news with grace and excuse himself politely. He hasn't given up hope; as a worshipper of Ioun, Aeric assumes that any obstacle can be overcome with the correct knowledge. If the priests can't help him it's not because there isn't a solution, it's just because they don't know enough. He'll have to keep adventuring and exploring, and hopefully find his answer.

After he's finished his business in the temple, Aeric leaves to join Emil and, later, the others.

(End of Scene, I guess)

[Townopolis]

Docks

Ursolee lets out a breath at the sight of his daughter, weary from her trials. He brusquely thanks Talyn and Esahre and begins barking orders to the servants, who descend upon Elaine en masse and bustle her up to her quarters to bathe and dress her and put her to bed.

After watching Elaine taken up to her room, Ursolee gives Esahre a piercing, accusatory glower, then nods to the servant who had opened the door - the only servant still there, and then turns on his heel and walks back to wherever he came from.

The last servant bows to his master, then turns to Esahre.

"A moment, please."

The servant closes the door, then opens it a moment later to present Esahre with a small velvet bag. It clinks as the bard takes it. The servant then offers both men a short nod and closes the door again.

Elaine's Room

The room is small, space is at a premium in Sveagort, but it is well appointed. The bedding is down, and it comes with no less than three blankets in addition to sheets. There is a chest at the foot of the bed, as well as a dresser, chest of drawers, and armoir lined up against one wall. Above the drawers, a glass and steel wall mirror hangs. Tucked in one corner is a chamberpot, a simple, copper affair. On the opposite wall is a small shelf of books, eleven in total, and an oil lamp. Next to this shelf. A single glass-pane window lets light in.

After bathing Elaine in her own room, the servants dress her in an evening gown from the armoire, taking the clothes she wore away with them as they bustle the large, copper washtub out. One last maid makes sure Elaine is tucked in bed before closing the door behind her and leaving Masuke all alone in the room.

Iounite Mission

Grobar strokes his beard, considering the quandary, then shakes his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know. All the books we've been able to find on Lycanthropy and it's variations state that it is uncurable in its final stage. Now... this suggests that it is curable in preliminary stages, but the books have not gone into any possible cures."

Grobar chews on his lip a bit before continuing.

"Of course, everything I've read suggests that there's no way to tell if a subject is infected until the final stage of metamorphosis. This could be why so little has been done to find treatment. Of course, it's also a rather uncommon disease... How unfortunate, that is a rather large dead spot in our knowledge... perhaps an experiment, you don't have anyone you know who might be in preliminary stages, do you? I could try working on them, test some possible cures. Of course, it's hard to know what will work, have to wait and see if they turn into a rat or not... and I'd really want to have as many subjects as possible, because you can't test more than one treatment on a subject and get workable results. No, no, we'd need a confirmed wererat, and a number of subjects for it to bite. Then we can..."

Grobar continues in this vein for some time.

[Crucival]

Docks

Talyn nods silently to Ursolee, and heads back to the Golden Helm with Esahre to rest in one of the tavern's comfortable rooms for the night. (extended rest)

On the way, he suggests to Esahre that the man share some of Ursolee's reward with Simeol, to smooth things out between the Helm's owner and the rest of the party.

[Mando Knight]

Elaine's Room

Masuke counts silently to herself after the maidservants leave, waiting until they're sufficiently out of hearing range, then slips out from the covers and lights the lamp to provide just enough light to see (if the other sources of light are insufficient). Beginning with the chest at the foot of the bed, she begins systematically looking through the storage quietly, and browses the titles of the books on the shelf.

(Will you want Stealth and Thievery rolls for this?)

[Townopolis]

(one of each, yes)

[Mando Knight]

Stealth: (1d20+11)[31]
Thievery: (1d20+10)[15]

Well... I think it's pretty safe to say that no one heard my failure at thievery...

[Townopolis]

Elaine's Room

The chest is locked.

The dresser, drawers, and armoir are all full of, surprise surpise, clothing. Very nice clothing, as befitting the daughter of a rich merchant, but nothing special.

The books include a lady's primer in four volumes, a history of the world in three volumes, The Tome of Erathis (in two volumes), a picture book, and an unmarked volume, which turns out to be a handwritten reference of Sveagort notables and accompanying notes.

[Mando Knight]

Masuke looks through the unmarked volume a bit, then replaces it to work on the chest again. Thievery (1d20+10)[14]. Do you want me to make another Stealth check?

EDIT: the board proves once again that computerized d20s hate me. Can I just take 10 on that instead?

[Kaolins]

Inside Melid's Wagon

Spoiler

Show

A giant wall of text is below, it contains nothing important for the party, nor the DM. It's an experiment in role-play, and in honesty, a rough draft for a piece of work I will submit to school soon for a project. Do not feel compelled to read.

The Journal of Emil Arthright


I have decided to keep a record of my days traveling, and I do so for several reasons. It's hard to say which one of them prompted me to finally uncork my bottle of ink and to drag this pen of fair quality across this parchment. Were it the death of a wealthy mans daughter, leaving Sveagort for the first time, or my recent engagement with the Raven Queen's light I'll never know.

Whatever the reason and however many pages are filled, I; Emil Arthright, Clergyman of the Avandric Temple in the Cliffside district of Svaegort do wish that upon my death these pages return to the temple I call home. That said...

It's been less then a fortnight since the group I travel with fell a young lady by the name of Elaine. I do not feel we are murderers, she was cursed with Lycanthropy. Without this knowledge we slew her in were-rat form, only to see her transformation reverse before our eyes. I regret only having not been able to do more for the lady then offer the solace of death. In the short time since then however, plenty has happened.

While waiting on news from friends, who had opted to fake the escape of the young girl so that her father could understand how he had come to lose his child without having to bear the sudden depression of her death, I returned to my quarters in the temple. Since the passing of Aster Longwin, my father, mentor, and former head-clergyman, I had taken residence in his room. The room was modest, considering the size of our temple. Several days had passed where the only item in the room I could bear to touch was the bed, and even then usually only because of exhaustion. It was at this time that I finally pulled myself together enough to sit at Aster's desk, and read the notes he'd left.

I learned things I'd never known about my father; truths about his wife's death, and a son who'd left several years ago for the port of Witternos. I learned of a small cache of savings he'd left for the temple in case of a dire emergency, and several other tidbits of his life.

Exploring the drawers of his desk, I came across a small necklace. A mithril link chain hangs down and supports three circles of what appears to be thin platinum with a crescent moon of diamond in the center. Despite it's possible value (I am no jeweler; it could be worthless for all I know) I have taken this necklace and wear it underneath the chain-mail shirt that protects me from day to day.

It was not but a few days before I learned that the father of the young woman was now searching for his daughter, or the people who might have knowledge of such. A discussion in a local pub lead our small group to one decision; we had to leave Svaegort for the time being. Returning to the temple, I left Joshua Emmins with everything he'd need to keep things in the temple running... Including the small cache of gold Aster had saved, which turned out to be various gems left by more wealthy patrons of the temple, worth a fair bit. I trust Joshua will be fine, he is a man of good faith.

The man who hired us out of town, Melid seems fairly nice. A gnome with a particularly happy attitude; I regret possibly lying to him about one of my companions, and desperately hope our wizard can keep uphold my word. We currently travel in his Caravan towards Dunam Ogwell. Our first days in the boundaries of Svaegort passed quickly. The Feywild brushed my consciousness for the first time in... Several Suns time. In fact it looked as though we were going to make some easy money skipping town... Until....

A fake roadblock, an obviously fake roadblock. Bandits guarded the way. Within' seconds of the confrontation, one of the men we'd been traveling with was struck down by a Dwarvin arrow. We were surrounded seconds later. Be it foolishness, revenge, anger, or pride, I stood face to face with one of the more important looking bandits. Knowing it wasn't the best decision, I engaged him head on; I honestly believe if Avandra was watching she would have smiled. My bravery quickly rewarded with the sound of a crossbow bolt slipping into my flesh, and the feel of a cold steel weapon throwing me to the ground. The taste of blood filled my mouth and my vision blurred. I don't know how long it was I laid there, dancing visions of the Feywild and the regular plane, but Esahre's voice called to me. Whether it was magic, will, or some other means of which I'm unaware... I pulled myself off the ground, inches from the same bandit who had struck me down moments ago. Bracing myself for only a moment, I threw myself at the fiend, my longsword returning his previous favor and then some... The ranger who travels with us quickly finishing him off.

I don't remember much after wards. I passed out from my wounds, and awoke in the back of this wagon... Hopefully we reach town soon... And hopefully everyone is okay; I've grown quite fond of them in such a short while.


Aeric, Masuke, Marc, Talyn, Esahre, and even Valiana... I hope to get to know these people better soon; What little I know is strained and fragmented, yet I'd trust them with my life... Perhaps another burden of my heritage.