Eastern Tarthenol [IC]

[0nimaru]

No.. I don't know what his contract was, but if we were needin' his body to bring him back the wagonmaster would have mentioned it. It's possible he wanted his share to go to his family. I've seen men go on dangerous missions and just try to die so they could get the bonus..

The wagon travels out of the city and follows the roads west. For the entire trip, a full month of travel, you hear not a word from either the wagonmaster or Lothos. Augh himself says a few things occasionally, but is overall quieter than he was previously. He talks a bit about his lives, and tells you stories of travelling the portals throughout the planes.

After a long, but uneventful, trip you arrive back at The Pit. The wagonmaster hands out pay to Augh and Lothos and silently brings the wagon into a side-building of the Highgate Association.

Augh addresses you as the wagon is being hauled away.
Well.. there's your first trip. Shorter than most, but creepy as things go. You'll have some time off before they offer you a new job.. assumin' you will in the future. I can put your name down for more work if ya want, but I'll tell ya it'll probably be a month or two before they dig somethin' up for ya. Apparently doing jobs back to back does things to the mind.. never bothered me.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar shoulders his pack and looks up at Auugh.

"Well, I'd definitely enjoy going again, especially if it means more of your stories. You're excellent company. When is the next time a mission might come up? A month? Two?"

Gaspar pauses a moment and considers before continuing.

"Actually, Auugh. I'll likely be researching and delving tombs and ancient catacombs in about a week's time. The loot is good, and there's plenty of, ah, bodies to toss around. If you'd like, I'd be happy to have you along. Equal share of the loot and all that."

Spoiler

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HP: (1d10)[4]

[0nimaru]

Augh looks thoughtful for a moment and absently rubs his sleeve against his messy chin, which still has the faintest hint of a black smear.
Hmm.. I've kind of got a special position in the guild as the person with the lowest down-time.. but I think I'll have at least a month to go off with you. Just tell me how soon you want to set off and I'll be in front of your house on that morning, just like I did on this trip. I'm not one for navigating, so you're going to have to guide us there yer'self.

[Winged_Immortal]

"That certainly works. I'll pay for guides as needed, and I'll be sure to contact you as soon as I find a promising lead. Although, how would I go about that? Contacting you that is"

[0nimaru]

Hrmm... Augh ponders and absently scratches at the hair on his chest.
I guess just stop by the Highgate Association and leave a message for me. I am usually there, and would get it in a hurry.

With that, Augh reaches out to shake your hand and takes leave of you, wandering off into the city.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar winces slightly under Auugh's grip and waves goodbye as he lumbers back to the Highgates before shutting the door and sitting down, opening his pack and examining the Luck Draught and the Scroll, considering what he'd be able to do with them.

Sell the Draught. And... hm. I never identified you, did I?

Gaspar rummages through his pack until he finds the bag of powder and sprinkles it carefully onto the scroll, waiting for the information to spring into his mind like the past few times.

[0nimaru]

The powder functions as you remember it and knowledge of the scroll's function floods your mind. The scroll contains all but the last word of the Ghoul Glyph spell. The trigger word to complete the scroll is also imprinted into your mind.

A Necromantic spell of questionable morality, the Ghoul Glyph can be placed on any surface and triggers with either a command word, or when living beings pass near it. It paralyzes its subject and lets off a small alarming Ping noise audible to its placer, assuming the placer is within 1 mile and on the same plane of existence.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar sighs and considers the scroll for a moment before rolling it up and tucking it back away in his pack.

Absolutely no way anyone would buy this. But it might come in handy in the future.

He stands up after thinking things through and considers the time, putting the pack in his bedroom and locking the door before leaving, heading for the apothecary shop.

[0nimaru]

You travel down the streets and inquire here and there and eventually follow directions to the nearest apothecary. The shop seems usual in an undefinable way. There are numerous colored jars and vials sitting in racks on countless shelves. The store is set up in rows between tables overcrowded with scrolls, books, boxes, and other possibly magical items. At the back of the room there is a small counter tucked into a corner. A short man with a neatly cropped goatee and flat, short, brown hair stands behind the counter.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar approaches the man and places the golden potion on the table, explaining the properties the powder explained to him and inquiring to the price the man would offer for the potion, and agreeing upon the offered price, not willing or in the mood in any way to haggle, leaving the shop a few moments later.

He heads home and settles into bed, intent on enjoying his first night in a bed in weeks.

[0nimaru]

Gold Acquired:

Spoiler

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Domain Draught:Luck - 1,200 gp

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar awakes a full 9 hours later, fully rested and ready for his research to begin. After a decent breakfast, he heads out, on his way to find directions to the nearest church.

Gaspar approaches the most relaxed man on the main road and inquires.

"Excuse me sir! I'm new to the town and hoping perhaps you could direct me to the nearest church? I'm a religious man and need to attone for the long time on the road I've been away from the proper surroundings of a chapel."

He puts on his best act as a man of the cloth, laughing in the back of his mind at how stupid they all are.

[0nimaru]

The nearest person you find is a middle aged man with his hands unoccupied. He responds,
Uhh... that depends on what god you're under. You go into the wrong church to pray and you might have to atone twice as hard when you finally find the right one.

[Winged_Immortal]

"Oh! Of course how foolish of me. Sometimes I get ahead of myself in that manner. I'm a subject of Pelor"

[0nimaru]

Spoiler

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(1d20+1)[21]

The man looks at you suspiciously and rubs his chin.
Yeah.. sure you are. A servant of Pelor.
Well, either way, the church is over that way.
He points you towards a tower you can just make out over the buildings.

I'd be careful though. They don't take kindly to falsehoods in Pelor's temples I hear.

The man shakes his head and walks away.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar bows to the man and thanks him before leaving, heading quickly toward the building int he distance, and a distance from the church, as an afterthought, casts a veil of protection around him in case of wandering eyes.

Spoiler

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Cast: Undetectable Allignment

[0nimaru]

The building you head towards is most certainly a church, although it doesn't appear it was always so. An old two story house fit for a wealthy merchant or minor noble cousin, the building has been simply renovated. A steeple with a bell has been added with plain wooden materials and small carvings of Pelor's sun are apparent here and there, although none are overtly rich or lavish.

Nobody stops you as you enter, and the first room is moderate sized and square. Doors lead in each direction. Straight ahead is a large set of double doors that look ornate and sturdy. To the left and right are simple wooden doors. All three show scuffs and scratches, signs of constant traffic.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar takes in the temple's atmosphere and heads toward what would logically be the library, nodding to any passerby along the way, moving in a steady pace matching any other person within the temple.

Spoiler

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Knowledge (Religion) (1d20+10)[22]

Research any mentions of catacombs, necromancy, dark gods, tombs, necromantic cults, etc.

[0nimaru]

You push through the left door, as the front door looks like it heads to the chapel's alter. As the door closes behind you, a voice comes from an individual exiting the right door you chose to ignore,
Well.. I get the ingredients I can. I'm sure you'll make dinner as wonderful as ever. It's too hot in the kitchen, I'm returning to my post.

You quickly make your way through the halls, stumbling past living quarters, prayer rooms, and areas under renovation. You finally find the moderately stocked church library. As you begin to walk towards the shelves to examine books, you hear a light cough behind you. A tall thin man with a long hooked nose reminiscent of a tropical bird looks at you from behind spectacles.
How may I help you?

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar jumps in surprise and turns around, a smile on his face as he turns around.

"Hello! I'm sorry for intruding but, well. I'm a bit of a scholar and I know that temples are the place to go for knowledge, so I came here in the interest of knowledge. I'm new to the area, just moved here recently, and I suppose it WAS rather rude of me to just barge in."

Spoiler

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Diplomacy: (1d20+11)[28]

To not smite me.

[0nimaru]

The robed fellow smiles slightly, which has more of a predatory look than any affection to it, and says,
That doesn't really answer my question. You talk as though you have a guilty mind. I am the lorekeeper for this small sanctuary. Pelor's light illuminates the dark corners of the mind and fills us with wise learning.So I ask again, how can I help you?


He's rather long-winded and you take this time to look about the room. There is a circular table of carved dark-brown wood with a small table-cloth spread over it, but you can't make out the knitted pattern repeated across it. On the table is a musty stack of books, one in particular of immense volume has the spine pointed away from you. The lorekeeper himself has a writing desk with a few volumes on it. There is a handmade leather-bound folder wrapped about tightly with aged yellow parchment and a single red pen stands vertically in an ink-basin. Around the walls are orderly rows of books free of dust or cobwebs, although most have no names on the spines. In the corner farthest from the man's desk there is a three level shelf where the top shelf has collapsed and leans onto the second. The bottom-most layer of this shelf is the only one with books still on it.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar straightens up and answers plainly.

"I'm only looking to read on things for a time. Preferably the lands surrounding the city and the countryside."

[0nimaru]

The lorekeeper directs you to the table and rather forcibly makes you sit. He then glides over towards his desk and comes back with a curled up map.
If you want to know about the surrounding lands, this is the best way. We copy the maps ourselves, and so have spares.. but do try to not damage this one. It is a slow and tedius process.

He carefully moves some books aside and hands the map to you to unfurl.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar looks over the map and turns back to the librarian.

"Most of the areas around here appear to be ruined or destroyed. Have they all been explored?"

[0nimaru]

The lorekeeper watches over your shoulder as your gaze goes to each location.
Well... both yes and no? I thought you were a scholar, but questions like that come from the adventuring sort.

He drifts towards one of the shelves and places a finger across the tops of certain books as he talks
Most of the towns that were abandoned or destroyed during the empire's mysterious collapse have seen some sort of reclamation from time to time. Unfortunately, most of them have received bad names for themselves since so many accidents happen... the forest you'll note there to the northwest, with the lumber camp? The woodcutters won't venture further than the treeline, claiming it's haunted with the remnants of the Empire's last army whom supposedly were slain beneath the trees.

The various ruins have known a number of successful and unsuccessful ventures, and it's a near certainty that rather unpleasant things have infested them. The Empire was known for extensive plumbing and sewer systems which created countless caves and tunnels for the horrors of the dark to flourish in...

and of course, there are the orcs to the north, by that red symbol up there... they generally keep things chaotic and dangerous up north..

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar takes in all that information and sighs, realizing that getting to the bottom of anything in this library will be extremely time consuming.

"I am a scholar. And an adventurer. I work with the Highgate Traders and intended to do a little research or delving between assignments. Are there details about any of the caverns in the nearby vicinity of here? Perhaps in reports you've received?"

[0nimaru]

The lorekeeper quirks an eyebrow at you as he says,
The most famous caverns in the vicinity are the chaotic portals of The Pit, and the Highgates themselves have done the most extensive mapping of those.

Since you wouldn't ask things you already knew, I assume you mean the more outlying systems? Sadly, I have no recent documents written by spelunkers. If you pick a specific feature of the local terrain I could tell you it's origin, any lore about it, and if there are any reports about it that don't date back to antiquity.. but you must narrow your request further than "Anything about all the holes in the ground".

The lorekeeper's smile shows lightly more tooth than required, and you get the impression that one of his greatest joys is chiding unspecific adepts.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar grimaces as he's berated by this man and then focuses on the task at hand, pointing to a small cairn drawn on the map.

"How about this? What's here"

[0nimaru]

The lorekeeper peers over to where you are pointing
Ah. That would be the Creshian Seal. The original history is rather obfuscated. We know that it was there before even the fallen Empire was formed, and that it was a protected or holy site for humans who worshipped some unknown power. The emperor was also interred there.

You see, while his army was being slaughtered in the Grieving Forest, he sustained a fatal wound. His honor guard attempted to bring him back to the capital with all speed, but it's said that the moment they passed by the Seal, he breathed his last. This was taken as a sign, and he was buried in an unearthed complex there, and it is said that "sleepless guardians protect the Emperor, until the kingdom is ready again." There is no mention of what they'd be ready for.

[Winged_Immortal]

Gaspar nods, understanding as he points to two other places on the map. One a tree just to the east of the Cairn, and the other what appears to be a burrow to the west of the red star.

"What about these?"