Death's End IC

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn turned to corner, and found Sey standing in the main hall. Before he could tell her about his evening plans, she engaged in conversation with Aveline. Now is not a good time, Soryn thought. But she had no way of knowing about the conversation that had just transpired - he simply hoped that Aveline wouldn't take out whatever it was that she was feeling on Sey. Tense, he waited for something to happen.

[gallagher]

hey, not everyone gets to make their money the clean way, but i'll heed your advice.

And I am waiting for my friend to meet me here, he us going ti help me find different plants to use in different concoctions. do you mind if I observe while I await him?

[3SecondCultist]

Ben: The gnome nods, a slight smile stealing across his features. It's too early to tell, but you get the distinct feeling that not many ask to watch him craft and experiment. The boiling flask that he already poured the viscous liquid into is now steaming, strands of green mixing in with the silver to form some sort of metallic vermillion blend. After putting his gloves and goggles back on, Firehollow walks over to the receptacle and produces what looks like a small steel flask. Once he is certain that all of the material in the boiling flask has reached homogenous dispersion, he pours some of it into the flask and screws on a cap.
"There we are, if my calculations are correct that should work quite well! One draught of Elixir of Giant's Strength." Firehollow pauses, peering over in your general direction.
"Say... how would you mind getting a little bit of bonus pay? I find myself woefully without a test subject for this potion, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to try out my concoction."

Soryn, Seychelles: Aveline looks at Seychelles somewhat blankly, as if she had quite forgotten where she was. However, the spark of clarity soon lights her eyes and the guild leader promptly answers your question.
"I don't know all that much about dissecting corpses, but Jaromir was our foremost arcanist and a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately, he died a couple of weeks ago during a contract he was fulfilling. You don't need to know the details, but since then the Fiorne branch has had to contend with his replacement - one Lacitus Firehollow, whose real expertise is conjuration and transmutation. He also considers himself a novice alchemist, and has wasted no time setting making himself 'indispensable' to the guild by brewing potions. If you value your life, don't drink anything he makes." Chuckling softly, the woman walks by you. She nods at the two of you before heading up the stairs, armor clanking on every step.

[Lucretia]

Seychelles watched Aveline leave and made a mental note. Then she looked over at Soryn. "Do you have need of me?" she asked, moving towards the staircase and motioning him to come along with her. "I was just on my way upstairs to get Basil put to bed."

[gallagher]

Ben: The gnome nods, a slight smile stealing across his features. It's too early to tell, but you get the distinct feeling that not many ask to watch him craft and experiment. The boiling flask that he already poured the viscous liquid into is now steaming, strands of green mixing in with the silver to form some sort of metallic vermillion blend. After putting his gloves and goggles back on, Firehollow walks over to the receptacle and produces what looks like a small steel flask. Once he is certain that all of the material in the boiling flask has reached homogenous dispersion, he pours some of it into the flask and screws on a cap.
"There we are, if my calculations are correct that should work quite well! One draught of Elixir of Giant's Strength." Firehollow pauses, peering over in your general direction.
"Say... how would you mind getting a little bit of bonus pay? I find myself woefully without a test subject for this potion, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to try out my concoction."

Giant's Strength, eh? I am familiar with Bull's Strength, what extra benefit does Giant's Strength confer? I havent heard of Giants Strength on a potion.

Ben studies Firehollow's face as he awaits his answer. He goes over in his head everything that he saw during the potion-making process. After a moment's pause, Ben adds

Also, how much bonus pay are we talking?

[3SecondCultist]

Ben: At your question you note that Firehollow's smile grows, and the gnome seems to be bursting with anticipation. You don't get the sense that there is any malice or mischief behind his obvious motives - he seems to really want you to try the potion for your own benefit.
"My potion is much more powerful than a simple Bull's Strength potion! This brew will increase your size in combat and give you heightened sense perception. You'll crush all your enemies in the field! I'll be willing to pay you thirty full gold marks for a full combat demonstration. If you or one of your friends take the potion during a fight, get them to describe every sensation and effect. This will mark a new age in potionmaking!" Gleefully, the gnome hops back to examine the large flask of the liquid.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn chuckled. Basil's been like her baby since the day she found him, he thought, a small smile stealing across his face. As he followed her upstairs, he quietly said, "We're tracking Marius and the goblins tonight. It'll be me, Arran, and Ben. Arran is telling Calia and Lirian, and I came to tell you. If anyone asks, the cover story is that we're out collecting herbs with Ben. At this hour, the likelihood is low of that happening, but just in case, we need to get our stories straight." He looked at her, making sure she understood.

[Sen isSaqqara]

In her bed, Lirian's eyes flash open. A thought has occurred to her as she lay there waiting to fall asleep. Heh heh heh, that'll teachim for waking me up...
Nearly jumping out of bed, she quickly pulls some clothes on. Loading a rather irked Frost into her pack, she quietly opens the door and slinks off towards the stairs. At the second-story landing, she finds a place to hide while waiting for Arran or one of the others. Preferably a place where she can see what's going on in the main foyer, but she will prefer a good hiding spot to a good view.

Spoiler

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Move Silently: (1d20+11)[16]
Hide: (1d20+4)[10]

[Lucretia]

"Sure, sure. If you do find the goblin camp, be sure to bring back any suspicious items. And please, for the love of Vecna, don't try the things out before you give them to me. Don't let the others try the things out before you give them to me. We don't need a bunch of deaths because someone didn't realize the difference between aboleth mucus and a potion of flight."

At her room, Seychelles unlocked the door and entered. She didn't have a roommate yet. Whenever the Guild decided to give her one, Seychelles would make the unfortunate individual wish they hadn't. She liked her privacy.

She patted the bed and watched Basil slink out from beneath it. Once she'd settled him in, she set down the backpack and checked that everything was still inside. Grabbing the contract, Seychelles offered it to Soryn. "The contract for the archaeological dig. I figured you might be interested in knowing what you'd signed us up for. Spoiler -- the employer's crazy and he's likely to get us killed in the name of foolishness and curiosity."

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn took the offered contract from Sey, looking over the details. He thought about how much of a liability the archaeologist might be if things got ugly in the ruins, but the prospect of possibly finding answers overruled any misgivings he might have had about the mission. Memorizing the important details, he handed the papers back to Sey. "I have all my things ready for the night," he said, "no need for me to carry more than I have to, especially the details of our next mission. I'll take the papers off you tomorrow if you don't want to hold on to them."

[Lucretia]

Seychelles nodded. "Sure. I figured you'd run into Arran or one of the others interested in seeing the contract before I would, but I'll keep hold of it for now. Just be safe, alright? If there're a great many goblins, there's no need to try and massacre them all without support. All it takes is one lucky goblin, and with your belt on, what, one stone left?" She took the contract and placed it between the pages of her spellbook, so that it would be hidden.

"Just don't take unnecessary risks, alright?"

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

"It's late - the moonlight will refill the other two soon," he said, smiling. He opened the door, and moved to walk out. Before he left he added, reassuringly, "I survived in those woods by myself for years - you can be sure I'll be back for breakfast tomorrow."

He wasn't sure where Arran was, and he wasn't about to go door to door looking for him. Instead, he remembered Ben talking about needing jars, and alchemy equipment. Orienting himself, he headed for the labs.

[Lucretia]

Thereafter, Seychelles took a bath, used prestidigitation to clean her clothing, and then got ready for bed. If there weren't any other visitors, she'd lock her room and snuggle in next to Basil. The next morning would require careful consideration of the spellbook.

Alter Self would be useful in the event of a flood or cave in. Web would be nice, given the propensity of ruins to have narrow corridors. Ray of Clumsiness, Mage Armor, Grease, Protection from Chaos... silent image, too. Perhaps expeditious retreat?

[Ajadea]

Arran opens his mouth to apologize but decides against doing so to a door. "Maybe he does. I'm not sure I do." Although the literal utterance is vague, with Calia's specific understanding of the situation he expects it to be easy for her to deduce what he means. He opens the door to his empty room and leaves it open for her to follow. If she does so, he will close the door and say, "Even if I was, I'd still want to be there to make sure my friends survive."

Calia follows Arran into his room. "I know," she says. "I hate leaving things behind too." The words barely register as a lie in her mind - it really depends, she supposes, on what has been abandoned. "But sometimes, I think, people try to fix things that don't need or can't be fixed, you know? We can't bring him back." And she is really thinking of blood and screaming and goblins and orcs and festivals she's attended, paint on her skin. One fresh, one old, and the memories seem irreconcilable. "It'll be fine." Marius will be fine. She'll be fine. Maybe not now, but it'll all work out in the end.

[esorscher]

Him? Arran thinks. Puzzled, he voices his confusion. "Him? Are you talking about Marius? He isn't dead, and I'm not looking for him. I'm looking for answers. Who attacked us? Why? These are but a few of my questions."

[Ajadea]

Subtlety seemed to have failed her in this case. "Words can have multiple meanings. We were confronted - me and Lirian and Sey - outside the mess hall. Tinus - the driver - had friends, and we failed to bring him back to them. Tinus is dead and he's run off to Vecna only knows where and we can't fix any of it." Calia invokes the name of a traditionally malicious goddess without hesitation, seemingly without awareness that it could be wrong. Her gaze seems to be locked on somewhere a good foot away from Arran's head. "Goblins attacked us, and I don't know who they were or why they did it. And I don't know what answers you think you're going to find by missing out on a night of sleep to go back and look at the bodies. We searched them already. Anything else that might have been there is probably gone by now, one way or another. Wind or scavengers or something along those lines." Or Marius.

[gallagher]

When Ben sees Soryn, he gives his farewells and exits the alchemy lab, saying something about picking ingredients at the best time.

[esorscher]

Arran doesn't blink throughout her words, and nods when she's finished. "Alright. You're not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours. But you're right--the longer I wait here, the more likely the trail will go cold. Good night."

Arran exits the room just in time to meet up with Ben (and Soryn?) as he leaves. He doesn't say anything, just nods and follows them, not planning to say anything until they are on the road out of town and back to the site of the attack.

[Sen isSaqqara]

As they pass her hiding spot, Lirian slowly, subtly, and quietly gets up. Once they've exited the main door, she sets out, shadowing them as best as she can, watching for a good spot to jump out and scare the living daylights out of Arran.

Spoiler

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Move Silently: (1d20+11)[22]
Hide: (1d20+4)[22]

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Soryn let out a sigh of relief as the cool night air swept through his hair. With the moonlight caressing his face, and the silence of the sleeping town, it really was like being back in the wild by himself again. Filled with anticipation, Soryn looked around, checking for any sounds or movement that heralded another living being aside from their current band of three. The fewer people who saw them leave, the better.

Spoiler

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Listen: (1d20+10)[14]
Spot: (1d20+10)[20]

[3SecondCultist]

Arran, Ben, Soryn: The three of you pass through the main entrance of the guild and into the brisk Valerian night. The four guild guards who opened the doors for you nod in your general direction as you leave, saying nothing unless specifically questioned. The town streets are all but monastic now, the only visible lights being the odd street lantern, the residual light from the guild behind you and the aura of light emanating from the temple on the other side of Fiorne. The three of you pass all the way to the Thorn Gate without incident, unaware of any figures following you or tracking your movements. However, once you arrive the night watchman calls out to your band.
"The gates are closed for the night! What are you doing out here?"

Spoiler

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Lirian, you'll have to make another Hide/Move Silently check here, to oppose the other players and the night watchman.
Watchman Spot: (1d20+3)[19]
Watchman Listen: (1d20+3)[21]

[Ajadea]

Calia sighs and leaves Arran's room to return to her own. She was going to get some sleep, even if certain people were too boneheaded or prideful or whatever it was to do the same.

[Sen isSaqqara]

Sneaking stealthily up to the gate, Lirian pauses to watch the others. Suddenly, a slight noise from her backpack makes itself heard. Mreow?
It would appear that someone is almost as angry about being woken up as Lirian was.
"No, shush, bad kitty!"

[3SecondCultist]

Arran, Ben, Lirian, Soryn: The guard at the gate frowns upon hearing a faint meow, and looking over into a nearby bush suddenly spots Lirian. He promptly calls out to the hidden sorceress.
"What... what are you doing back there? Yes, you in the shrub. Get up and identify yourself please."

[Sen isSaqqara]

Dammit dammit dammit
Lirian looks up at the guard, and puts her finger to her mouth in a shushing motion. She then mimes out sneaking up on the party, jumping out, and everyone laughing it off. She follows this up with a double thumbs-up, and scoots off into an alleyway.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Hearing the meow and the guard calling out, Soryn whirred around, bow unslung and drawn in a flash. Shoot it! Don't let it get away! Suddenly on alert, he listened intently, looking at the bush where the sound came from. I should have known someone would be up at this time, he thought to himself, I should have paid more attention.

Spoiler

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Listen and Spot checks to see or hear Lirian (and where she's going)

Listen: (1d20+10)[29]
Spot: (1d20+10)[13]

[3SecondCultist]

Arran, Ben, Soryn: The watchman finally makes it down from his perch on the wall, slightly out of breath.
"Hello there. Sorry, just saw what I think was a catfolk in those bushes over there. She gave me a strange sign from her hiding place, but I didn't quite make it out. I think she moved over to there." The man points to where he saw Lirian, and his finger moves towards the alleyway. The guard seems concerned that there is anyone out here at all - clearly, the evenings in Fiorne are usually more quiet than this.
"What are you all doing outside at this time of night?"

[esorscher]

Arran says nothing--he is a bad liar, and will leave diplomacy to either Soryn or Ben.

[OhMyGodImOnFire]

Quiet, Soryn tracked the guard's finger toward where the supposed catfolk had escaped to. There was no doubt there was someone there - he had heard the patter of feet against the ground himself. Arran didn't seem the type to be able to bluff his way out of a situation like this, and Soryn himself wasn't even inclined to talk, much less fool someone. He remained silent.

[gallagher]

Oh, I was just in the alchemy lab with Firehollow. We were going over this and that about potions, and the subject came up that it was best to pick potion components at this hour, so we are out to do that now. See? Here I have some jars to keep it in, and some tools to make little tests while we are out there.

Ben pulls out the gloves, tongs, and jars to show as proof, hoping that the evidence adds credence to his story. They are going out for components, but he doesnt wish to make the guard suspicious of any of their other motives.

Spoiler

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(1d20+5)[17]