The Order of The Silver Light IC

[Lord Loss]

At precisely noon, your daily routine of prayer, training and contemplation is interrupted by an apprentice priest, who informs you that Father Liritz awaits you in the Order's main hall. As you gather there the ghostly Father, your mentor for many long years, informs you of your novel and glorious duty.

I have a mission for you, he says in his soft, lyrical tone. From this day forth you are no longer simple servitors of your gods, nor of this church, nor of this town. You are the Order of the Silver Light! Your duties are of utmost importance. My children, he adds, for your sake and mine, you must not fail.

He looks at each of you, one by one, a stern look on his face, then continues speaking in a far more serious - desperate, even - tone.

As for the mission itself. I trust some of you have heard rumors that there is a ''cult'' in this town?, he queries, pausing for emphasis. Sighing, he continues. It is with great regret that I inform you these rumors are true. I suspect that they are planning something that will most likely take place on the Day of Masks - a week from now. They must be stopped before the festival, lest we be tormented by the whims of a mad god. Certain people have informed me that they base themselves in the slum district. I’m afraid that’s all the information I have for the moment. Do you have any questions? he asks, waving his incorporeal hands through the air dramatically.

(I'll let you describe your characters)

[Lix Lorn]

In her lilac dress, Emily curtseyed low, and then looked up, with sharp eyes.

"As you will, Father. If I may ask... what do we do to them? Bring them back... kill them..?"

[Drolyt]

Alexander sighs. "Perchance do we know what dark deity this cult serves? Any information on their beliefs or doctrine may make it easier to combat them."

[Lord Loss]

Turning to Emily, father Liritz sighs. When you find the cultists, he sais, whereupon his voice turns from his usual singsong voice to something far darker - exterminate them. A cruel grin spreads on the long dead preacher's lips, wherupon he turns to Alexander.

Alas, he mutters, we know very little about the heretics. They worship a being that they call ''The Hunger from Beneath'' and dress in black robes. Their symbol is a golden eye. They employ various abominations in their foul quest. That is the extent of my knowledge. What other traces of them we've found manifests in the form of mutilated corpses with arcane symbols -eyes, mostly - engraved in their flesh, or their eyes having been cut from their dead bodies.

Do you have any other queries, or are you ready to expunge the world of these dreadful menaces?

[Drolyt]

Alexander's face turns grave. He speaks coldly. "That is sufficient information. They shall be dealt with swiftly. This issue need trouble your thoughts no longer."

[Lix Lorn]

"For all that matters, they are dead." said Emily, curtseying again.

[Bulwer]

Thumm is not very smart, but he's smart enough to know it. When people start talking about cults (which are like churches, but for killing instead of attending) and abominations and expunging, the time is right for one of Thumm's very few talents: the battle cry.

"HRUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAUGHHHH!" he remarks sensibly, turning his head around one full revolution.

That responsibility dealt with, Thumm rotates his head again, this time looking at his companions. Two humans. One dwarf. One ghost-- that was Father Liritz. He liked to expunge. All their heads were attached with bits of meat, which Thumm still found odd.

Well, at any rate, usually people get moving after a good battle cry. Thumm heaves himself to his feet, clanking heavily. He raises his golden morningstar and rushes to the door, where he waits patiently for someone else to go first. Bad things happen when Thumm is allowed to lead.

[Lord Loss]

OCC:

Spoiler

Show

If my posts sound horrible and dumb/impatient in the next few days, or they become erratic, it's because I have a pretty high fever (101+). Also, just waiting for Sovjohn to post so we can continue the game.

[Sovjohn]

Damven chose to speak last, as he frequently did, reflecting on what was said before him:

"Father. We will do nothing short of upholding your honor, and this Order's honor, as if our lives depended on it. With your blessing, and Moradin's blessing, we will act with retribution and erase this threat from the realm of existence. Rest well assured, they will regret for their actions!"

He then glanced towards the rest, silently observing their reactions to this piece of information. He was sure they were all as committed as he was, after all.

[Lord Loss]

Father Liritz nodded. Go forth,oh grat and novel order, and may your lights shine long after those who challenge the words of Divinity have faded!

Unless you have any other questions or want to prepare something...

Spoiler

Show

The Slums

After a short walk you arrive in the shabby slums. A perpetual odor of filth and decay hangs in the air, with no particular source in sight. From what you remember from your last visit, there are roughly ten taverns, gambling houses and inns (ten total, not ten of each), although some searching or asking around will be required to uncover them all. Other buidlings/ installations are also vague in your mind.

[Bulwer]

For the next several hours, Thumm sat in disreputable bars. This isn't new. He practically lives in taverns. It helps him cope with this dark world full of people who have meat between their heads and shoulders. People are generally a little disconcerted by watching him drink a pint of ale that vanishes mysteriously somewhere between his mouth and the space where his neck would be.

This, time, though, he's tactful and responsible, drinking only a glass of milk at each tavern he visits. Each visit is the same. Thumm enters, sits, and orders a half-pint of milk. He turns his head 90 degrees to the left and asks whomever he finds, "Do you know about the cult that that worships the hunger and has lots of eyes?" He then turns his head to the right, and repeats.

In this way, Thumm gathers information.

[Lord Loss]

Bulwer

After a few hours of discussion, you uncover the following information:

Spoiler

Show

You discover that shadowy figures have been seen walking through the nearby cemetary (which is right beside the town morgue and the embalmery). Also, a drunkard who recently lost employment as a messenger rembers that a noble had a painting similar to the creature you described... he just can't remember who it was

Alexander, Emily and Damven discover nothing, despite their countless efforts.

[Drolyt]

"Well guys, I haven't discovered a damn thing. Did any of you fare better? Damven, do you have any divinations you could prepare if we rested for the night?"

[Lix Lorn]

"I found nothing." said Emily, with a slight scowl.

[Bulwer]

Thumm reports with accuracy and clarity-- some of the Lumi schooling stuck, even though the tendency to brutally kill those who told lies had not.

"Dark figures have been seen in the cemetery by the mortuary and the embalmers. Additionally, I heard one report of a painting of the hunger (that the cult that we are expunging worships) that hangs in the house of a noble."

Thumm looks proud, and glows a little brighter than usual.

[Lord Loss]

After a few minutes of trudging through the streets, you manage to locate the Cemetary. It's rather larger, graves sprawl a head for an enormous distance. Off in the distance, you can see a multitude of mausoleums as well as a group of stairs leading to a crypt.

Roll Spot Checks.

[Drolyt]

Spoiler

Show

Spot (1d20)[1] I sense an ambush.

[Lix Lorn]

Spoiler

Show

Spot - (1d20+1)[3]
Bad luck on your roll.

[Sovjohn]

Spoiler

Show

The absent dwarf saves the day! Now, I only have to review my sheet after posting IC...

Spot: (1d20+4)[8]

EDIT: REALLY? One natural 1, one 2, and one 4? When did we kill the forum roller's family and it punishes us like that?

[Bulwer]

Spoiler

Show

Spot: (1d20+2)[10]

[Lord Loss]

The graveyard is empty and barren. Four mausoleoms lie to the north (right in front of you, that is), whilst another, larger one lies to the notheast, further away. In all directions lie patches of graves, some recent, others new. A wooden shack lies to the left directly beside a stone staircase. At your right, between yourselves and the lone mausoleum sits a small church-like building.

What do you do?

[Bulwer]

Thumm walks up to the wooden shack and raps lightly on the door with his morningstar. One of the pointed tips sticks in the wood and he has to wrench it free, stumbling back when he succeeds.

[Lix Lorn]

Emily peered around cautiously, following him.

[Lord Loss]

The shack is far colder than the chilly cemetary. Inside lies a poorly made wooden table with a skeleton lain upon it, arcane symbols litter the table, drawn in blood. The walls are covered in drawings of eyes. A staircase lies in the corner of the room and a chandelier swings eerily overhead. A few books lie on a neraly-empty shelf in the corner and an overturned chair can be found beside it.