[DnD4E] Snowbody's Keep on the Shadowfell (IC)

[Snowbody]

Zimelda and Alessa

Valthrun gasps as life returns to him, but the necrotic energies still coursing through him are about to take it away again.

OOC - Zimelda still has a standard action this "round"; Alessa has all her actions

[Dekkah]

Mertes
The Goliath put an hand on the priest shoulder and say,
"Fear not, the person resposible wont do this kind of torture again if we manage to find them. I'll wait for the good priestess here if you dont mind. Our friends should come see Douven soon anyway."

[Lycan 01]

"Damnation, you will not die you feeble old fool!" Zimelda snarls, tightly gripping Valthrun's shoulders and flooding his system with the healing energy of Lolth. Her hands glow with a purple aura, forcing back the dark necrotic energies ravaging the old man. "You are too important and too smart to die from such an ignoble end, am I not mistaken?" she snarls. "You should be crushed to death by a stack of books, or die of a heart attack while enthusiastically teaching a class to stupid young scholars! If you have the will to learn mounds of boring information, you have the will to overcome a curse! Now come on you stubborn idiot, fight it off!"

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Zimelda is basically pulling the whole "Doctor tries to motivate patient while zapping him with a defibrillator" cliche.

Healing Word: Bla bla bla heal the old man.

[Snowbody]

OOC: Two reasons that won't work. One, he's a Heroic tier NPC; he only has one healing surge. Two, you can only use Healing Word once per round. Perhaps you should try using a skill instead of a power.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alessa
The water elemental surges forward, bending over the distressed wizard. I remain unfamiliar with human biology, but I believe that mundane medicinal expertise may also be of use here. Inform me on how I can assist, Priestess, she says in a very watery voice.

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MW is down, but assuming her bonus is decent, Alessa with try to use a Heal Check to grant him a saving throw.

[Snowbody]

At the water elemental's touch, the old man's panic subsides, he takes a deep breath, and, finally able to take Zimelda's words to heart, expels the necrotic energy with a burst of willpower. Panting, drenched with sweat, he lies just outside the circle.

Good work, both of you, says Jarvis.

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Alessa's heal check:
(1d20+5)[21] vs DC 15

[Shadow_Elf]

Alessa
Alessa's soothing waters wash over Valthrun, wiping away the last of the necrotic grime. You must rest, Sage Valthrun. Where can we move you where you will be most suitably comfortable?

[Snowbody]

Mertes and Arjhan

Douven manages a weak wave at his rescuers, but he yawns and his eyes close. He hasn't slept much lately, and the morning's hike must have worn him out. A plate of food is by his bedside, mostly uneaten.

"Sister Linora may not be back for a few hours," says Ian. He indicates Crabbe and Goyle, carrying their packs. "New adventurers for your crew? Or are you bringing them here to learn about Avandra? Their religious education to this point has been sadly lacking."

Goyle indignantly starts to say, "Hey, my dad teaches...taught..." but he trails off and looks at his shoes.

Zimelda and Alessa

Valthrun opens his eyes, surprised that he's still alive. "Ffthenkh Ldeeeuw," he slurs, then spits out some blood, revealing that he'd bitten his tongue while fighting the necrosis. "Thank you, my bed is just downstairs, Lord Padraig must be told!"

"Is it okay to come out now? Magic show's over?" calls Rat's voice from behind the door where he had hidden himself.

[Dekkah]

Mertes
The goliath shrug.
"I'll wait for my friends if you dont mind. Then we will see if we leave or wait for Priestess Linora. As for these two young mens, they will comes with us to help us investigate and deal with the kobold menace. I doubt it will teach them much about Avandra herself, but it shall teach them about the world around them for sure."

Mertes say nothing until the priest let them be and he and Arhjan are alone with the young mens.
"I am curious here, what religion did your father taught you? You mentionned something about St-Cutherd or something sooner, I assume that is some religious beleif, but I am unfamiliar with that name."

[tedthehunter]

Arjhan nods and adds, "I too am curious as to what religious practices you may hold."

[Lycan 01]

"Alessa," Zimelda turns to the elemental, "Take Valthrun down to his bed. I shall contact Lord Padraig, and update him on the situation."

She then smiles in amusement at Rat. "Well you certainly made yourself useful..." she quips. "Come over here and watch my back. I don't want that crate exploding or something while I try to activate these things..." she muses as she begins to dig the Sending Stones out of her backpack.

[Shadow_Elf]

Alessa
The water elemental flows up under Valthrun and helps to push him to his feet. She then resumes her humanoid form, and helps him shuffle off to bed.

[Snowbody]

Mertes and Arjhan (and the boys)

Ian nods and heads for the door after whispering a final blessing on Douven. "I'll be in my cell, studying. Ring the bell if you need me for anything."

"Yeah, St. Cuthbert, not many people know about him. We read about him in Tales of the Vulgar Fool, it's full of great stories, always cracks us up. St Cuthbert pretends to be stupid, but he's really got smarts, see, but he so when he gets into trouble, he can always figure a way out. He always gets the girl, always gets what he wants, nobody stands in his way. All those other religions, full of rules, trying to make you a good little servant to the lord, even Avandra, just look at this town full of stooges! But I never thought that he'd...you know...just up and leave...even if the stories said that you don't let anyone get in the way of what you want..."

OOC Arjhan:

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Arjhan, having religious training, remembers that some things that Goyle has said about St Cuthbert aren't quite right. Roll religion (+7) to see what.

---

1

Zimelda and Alessa (and Rat)

"Well ya gotta admit, that box was more trouble than it was worth...just glad nobody got killed..." Rat shuffles over obediently and keeps an eye on the box, now inert within the magic circle.

Zimelda finds the Sending Stone that Lord Padraig gave her. Her magical training tells her that she can send a message up to 25 words before waiting for a reply.

Alessa leads Valthrun downstairs; this time the door is accessible from the stairway. Valthrun lies down in his bed; he waves Alessa to the door.

[tedthehunter]

Arjhan says nothing in response to the boys' description of St. Cuthbert, but he muses quietly over what they have said, trying to find the discrepancy that made the monologue sound so, wrong.

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roll for religion (1d20+7)[21]

[Snowbody]

Arjhan knows:

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that belief in St Cuthbert is virtually extinct, mainly because St Cuthbert no longer answers any prayers, nor communicates with his followers in any way. Some think that the deity is dead. But when it flourished, Cuthbertism was a very Lawful religion -- its central tenets were to obey the legitimate authority, do good works, help others, and use common sense. The book Goyle is describing sounds like a heretical/blasphemous parody of the actual religion. At best it was a joke, not intended to be taken seriously, although Goyle Sr. apparently took it seriously.

[Lycan 01]

Purple energy flickers in her hands as Zimelda activates the sending stone. She then factually states: "Zimelda reporting: mirror activated, enemy contact established, dark plots in motion, they need the mirror but offered a deal, Valthrun was wounded by curse."

[Dekkah]

Mertes
The goliath nod to the kids,
"Ok, so he is more a conceptual entity, like the druid who follow the land, not an actual God then. It explain why I never heard of him. Still it is good that you have your own set of beleifs."
The barbarian smile to the kids.
"I do follow kord teachings, and while there is actually some rules, I dont find them hard to follow as they fit my own beleif and way of life. I am glad you've found something to refer to yourself."

Changing subject, the goliath say,
"Now that we are alone and have some time there is something I'd like to know. Sooner you told me you knew someone who was going regulary to the keep ruins. Now might be a good time to fill us in about it, as I feel there might be a connection between that place and what is happening around here. Also, I would like to learn what you two know about Keegan legend."

[Snowbody]

Zimelda
A few moments pass, and the reply forms in Zimelda's mind.

If mirror is dangerous and desired by enemies, bring to inner gate, can keep safe in vault. Kobold threat escalating. Any progress locating their lair?

---

1

Mertes, Arjhan, and boys

"He tells us how to get what we want, that's more than any god ever did."

"Sure! There's this airhead elf that sells flowers in the market, we saw her when we went out to look at the Keep. Some of her flowers don't grow in many places; I bet she gets some of them near the Keep."

"Keegan? Some old soldier, in charge of the keep, one day he went nuts and killed everybody, starting with his wife and kids. They sent a whole army from Fallcrest to take him down, big black eye for the empire. They say his ghost still roams the hills, but that's just a spook story to keep kids in bed at night."

[Dekkah]

Mertes
The barbarian smile a the two young men.
"I would not dismiss the ghost story that easyly. We face some sort of undead sooner, might be that ghost you are speaking of. Lord Padraig is right in saying that we adventurer see conspirarcies and danger where there might now necessary be, but that is what keep us alive. So dont dismiss trivial possibilities like this and you should share this kind of knowledge when you have some."

[Lycan 01]

Zimelda states in response: "Will bring mirror soon. How is the threat escalating? No new information on lair location. May be able to trick enemy into revealing more information."

[tedthehunter]

Arjhan nods and adds, "Mertes is right, men. If you notice anything, even if it seems of little import, you should voice it to the rest of the party. You never know when it could save you."

[Dekkah]

Mertes
Mertes nod to the paladin,
"Speaking of which, I know I did mention you sooner that I had some weird dream last night. In the dream, I was fighting the black dragon with the soldiers and we defeated it. During the fight, the soldier leader told me some stuff about Keegan, that he was a traitor and that he was dangerous."
Mertes pause for a second to take a sip of water then resume his story,
"While some would argue that it is only a dream, I dont beleive it is as simple. I had no knowledge of that war and know nothing of a man named Keegan. Also, I did check the dragon bones and they bear the same damage as I saw in the dream. I did not inspect them before and did not notice the damage to the spine. When you spoke of crazy Keegan," Mertes look at the two young mens, "I realised that he might be implicated in all this. Considering the kind of power that weild the stupid god our enemies follows, I would not be surprised if Keegan was still 'alive', probably as some disgusting undead, and could be behind all this."

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Too bad only Arhjan is there for that discussion, but the time is kinda good to talk about it lol.

[Snowbody]

Zimelda
More outlying farms raided this morning, children kidnapped. I want to increase readiness but avoid spreading panic. Best to eliminate the problem at its source.

"You're having some kind of telepathic conversation, based on what I can see," notes Jarvis. "but I can't pick it up. The Lord?" he asks.

OOC: If you want to share any or all of the info with Jarvis, no need to write anything in detail, just say that you're doing so.

Arjhan and Mertes

The boys look at each other and shrug. "There's always talk of ghosts, skeletons, and zombies in the graveyard but that's probably just scare tactics too." says Goyle, the taller and faster of the boys. "Though I still wouldn't go there at night unless I had to. Have you asked any of the hunters or trackers?"

"I saw a goblin once, crossing the North Road, but they keep clear of the town," says Crabb, the wider and better perceptive of the boys, and the son of a Regular guard who seems to not have parental rights. "And there's caves in the area, but all of them were checked out by the Regulars -- no kobolds. I betcha Eric couldn't'a' told ya that."

[Dekkah]

Mertes
"We did check out with one of this town rangers, but she had some attitude. I actually beleive she is like that with everyone, as none were too surprise about the rejection we've got from her. Do you know one who would help us?"

[Snowbody]

"Keegan was supposed to be some kind of big hero -- there were even songs about him. I heard one once in Wrafton's -- it went 'Something something hmm hmm hmm, traitorous Sir Keegan'. He fought some, uhh, bad guys in a cave? And got noble-ized. That's why he was in charge of the Keep."

"We did check out with one of this town rangers, but she had some attitude. I actually beleive she is like that with everyone, as none were too surprise about the rejection we've got from her. Do you know one who would help us?"

Both boys burst out laughing. "Ninaran? She's not even fun to tease. Don't follow her, she'll make you regret it. Others? Well there's Hefrey Kaleroot. He's cool for a halfling, gave us puffs of his pipeweed after he caught us at his cabin. He can find anything in the woods."

[Lycan 01]

Zimelda looks over to Jarvis and nods. "Things have become much more serious. The kobolds raided more farms this morning. Children have been kidnapped." A smirk crosses her face. "On the positive side, I think our new elemental friend has ample reason to join us. Saving children and fighting Eternal Darkness seems to be right up her alley."

Zimelda then pauses, and raises an eyebrow. "Did I say that right? Up her alley? Or is that a euphemism for something else? Oh Lolth, did I just imply I wished to procreate with her?"

Poor Zimelda turns her attention back to the sending stones, and tries to send another message: "We will bring the mirror and regroup. The kobold threat will soon be handle. Pity we have no time for that tour now, it seems."

[Snowbody]

"That is unfortunate, and the optimal course of action is to seek them out before harm comes to them, rather than to try to effect my release. I am glad that the elemental can join you in my stead.
"I believe that your colloquial phrase is acceptable, and even if not, the context should make it clear. Though I am not sure if her human shape even has any potential to procreate."

The reply comes back from the Sending Stone: Understood. The tour can wait until a time of joy and celebration. Keep me informed of any progress.

[Lycan 01]

Zimelda opens her mouth a few times, trying to formulate a response to Jarvis. She then smirks wickedly. "I shall ask her for you," she winks. She then places the sending stone back in her backpack. "For now, though, we have more pressing issues to deal with. I need to figure out where Arjhan, Mertes, and those boys have gone... But first, Alessa and the half-dead scholar."

Zimelda then heads off to the scholar's bedroom. She raps her gauntleted knuckles on the door, then enters. "Alessa, how is our scholarly associate faring? Is he stable?" the Drow asks. "I am afraid we must make haste. Things have gotten quite complicated. The Kobolds have made more attacks, and children have been kidnapped."

Zimelda then smirks playfully. "I trust you will be joining us? I would assume that rescuing the innocent and fighting the forces of evil incarnate are activities you find interesting."

[Shadow_Elf]

Alessa
I need no motivation but the eradication of undead, Priestess. That children are also missing only adds to the crimes I shall have these lunatics answer for, replies the elemental neutrally. Sage Valthrun will live, his wounds heal in due time. There is little more I can do to help him; rest is what he needs. Let us finish any more errands you have quickly, so we can set out at once.

[Snowbody]

Given the need for haste, and that Valthrun is stable, the Drow and elemental leave the tower and again walk the streets of the town, past Bairwin's Grande Shoppe, and the (closed) militia training building, through the alley where Zimelda was accosted by Goyle and the boys, to the temple. As they enter they notice Ninaran kneeling in prayer in the main sanctuary at the (small) altar to Corellon, the elvish god who had banished and cursed the Drow. Perhaps Zimelda was wise to avoid her earlier. (Most popular gods have a small niche in the temple's sanctuary, reflecting Avandra's tolerance.)

Zimelda knows the way to the Chamber of Healing where her friends are waiting for her.