Darkest Dusk 1. Twilight.

[CasualViking]

Valen follows Whisper's lead. He crawls into a cart, pulling a smelly horse blanket over himself, and seems close to sleep.

[Denomar]

Spoiler: Nori

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You stand upon a cliff. Below you is a teeming mass of a great and terrible something. They are too far away to see but you can feel them. “Are you ready?” The voice is familiar, but you cannot place it. The speaker is a woman with sapphire blue eyes. She smiles then quirks her head to the left a look of confusion on her face and says “who are you?” The woman seems maddeningly familiar, like a name on the tip of your tongue. Before you can answer the world explodes into flames. In a moment of searing pain you awaken.

Spoiler: Valen

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You stand aboard the deck of a ship like none you have ever seen. It extends before you like a great grey cliff. The bow seems to give off its own light which is good, because you appear to be sailing into a great black nothingness. “Are you ready?” The voice is familiar, but you cannot place it. The speaker is a dwarf with a plaited beard the colour of pure snow. He grins fiercely and quirks a strong eyebrow, a look of confusion on his face and says “Who are you?” The Dwarf seems maddeningly familiar, like a name on the tip of your tongue. Before you can answer you feel the sensation of being watched, as if by eyes that stretch from horizon to horizon. As the darkness encroaches on the ship and the light begins to fade you awaken.

Spoiler: Whisper

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You sit in the fork of an enormous tree. Your crossbow at the ready. Yet you see no target. The tree is so high up that you cannot see the ground, only a thick black fog. “Are you ready?” Whispers a voice in your ear. The voice is familiar but you cannot place it. You resist the urge to turn towards the speaker, your iron training holding your aim steady. The voice whispers in your ear “who are you?” The tone of confusion obvious. Before you can answer the tree convulses beneath you and you find yourself falling away from a gigantic *something.*. As the fog envelops you you open your mouth to scream...you awaken.

Dawn In Falcons hollow is accompanied by the smog of the sawmill starting up. No rooster could ever match that noise and stench. Soon after the lumberjacks of the Hatchet and Saw come to claim the wagons. They are headed west to one of the lumber camps and have to head out early.

A communal breakfast is being served in the middle of town by the tent city. Everyone is free to grab some sugar flavoured dough porridge.

Nerif meets you as you chew on this repast. “Well, you all look significantly less drunk than last night. Good. You’re going to be busy. The walk to the North camp goes along the river bank and I don’t want you falling in. Their shipment is late and that’s bad for business.”

He stares at you all, his smile does not meet his eyes. “I don’t like what’s bad for business.”

[CasualViking]

Valen nods along. As Nerif finishes, he simply makes a gesture, universally understood as "pay me".

[3SecondCultist]

Whisper turns fitfully in her sleep, the girl disturbed by her dreams. A significant portion of the night is taken up with her crossbow pointed straight out at the darkness. Despite her inebriation, the only part of her that doesn’t tremble is her trigger finger. Under her breath, she counts the hours.

By the time the teenage hitman arrives at the tents for breakfast, she has dark circles under her eyes. She takes the offered food with a nod of thanks, hoisting her oversized weapon behind her. She looks pointedly between Valen and Nerif, as though to underline the former’s question.

[El'the Ellie]

Nori bolts upright out of her dream, her hands and face clammy and damp with sweat. Gods, how much had she drank last night?

She takes a drink from her waterskin and clears her head before climbing out of her personal space in the wagon. Her tone is more even an negotiable than her companions - she wanted to start off this new job on the right foot, after all - but their dealings with Rudyard were fresh in her mind.

"Sure, sure. We're just as eager to get this job done. But first we have to deal with the last guy who didn't pay us. Shouldn't take long. We don't like 'bad for business' either, which is why we like some guarantee before we get started. Half up front is usual: helps make sure we're nice and motivated to see things through. We don't want to hold things up for too long, so we'll let you figure out what form that takes."

She turns to the others. "Shall we remind Rudyard of his promise to pay us?"

[Denomar]

“Well, you’d better hurry up then.” Nerif indicates a small group of people walking out the west gate. Rudyard is one of them, although he almost isn’t recognizable behind the bruises on his face and arms. Gone too is the thick parka he had worn throughout most of the trip.

As you approach he almost whimpers.

[CasualViking]

"Rudyard! Old friend!" Valen shouts at the top of his lungs and throws his arms out wide as if going in for hug. "Have you.." - Valen snickers - "..reconsidered about my money?".

[Denomar]

Rudyard, stays silent. On closer inspection you realize that his jaw is broken.

Which is why Nerif answers for him.

“Oh he doesn’t have any money.” He grins widely. “I do. Our friend here.” He indicates Rudyard, “drove himself quite far into debt to pay for the contents of that caravan. Which is to say he spent my money to fill that caravan. Money which he so wisely protected, and money which was apparently eaten by f****** rats.”

Nerif’s smile doesn’t really budge, but Valen has talked to enough people with power to see where this going.

“Money protected of course by you.”

He waves the troop with Rudyard off and gestures back towards the tents.

“So back to business. You are right, Rudyard, and by extension myself owes you money. Let’s see, five silver per day for thirty six days...yes that’s the going rate for hirelings I believe. Very well.”

He snaps a finger and the tall rabbit man produces three small cloth pouches. In each is 9 golden marks.

“That is half of what is owed to you. My men are here and mostly safe. But, my cargo is still your responsibility. So I am going to give you the opportunity to pay it off. You do what I tell you for one month, until the harvest is ready to send down to Augustana and I will pay you the additional 9 gold you are owed for your trip and an additional 50 for services rendered. You see I am a man with a great need of services that need doing that may just be worth more to me than the gold and food that was in those carts. In exchange I will give you coin, and I will give you security. Something you will find precious little of in this god forsaken woods.”

He smiles widely. “I hope we understand each other.”

[CasualViking]

"I think you've made the facts very clear, Nerif. The only outstanding issue I see is shelter. I literally don't know where I am going to sleep tonight."

[Denomar]

Nerif glances around the tent city. “You’re resourceful, I’m sure that you’ll think of something.”

The temporary shelters may be the only place you’ll find in Falcon’s Hollow.

Nerif then excuses himself, he has work to be done, and walks off trailed by the serious man-bit.

Falcon’s Hollow by light isn’t any more impressive than it was in the dark. But it is busy with people working at the mill or trying to reinforce the tent city. Their grim determination is almost heart warming. However at least a couple of you are beginning to order whether you should have taken your chances back in Augustana.

Options for what you can do here may include:
Research for hooks (perception, sense motive, social skills and rp).
Try and find this North camp.
Seek alternative employment (though you appear to be in debt)
Basically whatever you would like.

The day is young.

[CasualViking]

"Well. Whadda ya know. I no longer want to murder Rudy". Valen pouts.

"Lets go check out that North camp. If anyone is alive, we can get the skinny on this Nerif fellow, and how to get out of here".

[El'the Ellie]

Nori pockets the nine marks with a frown but says nothing. Over a month and only nine gold... Sheesh, I deserve more than that. We all do. Still, the lure of an additional fifty is enough to keep her interested, even if this whole scheme stank.

Nori shrugs at Valen's suggestion. It's as good a plan as any. "Sounds good to me. I don't exactly like they way he said 'you do what I tell you', but... hang on." As if having a second thought, she runs back to Rudyard before he leaves.

"Sh*t Rudyard. We may not love each other, but something tells me you don't exactly deserve that." She gestures to his broken jaw. "Let me." If he does, she cups the side of his face with a fiery hand, setting some of the broken bone and soothing the muscles.

Spoiler

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If Rudyard isn't too proud, cure light wounds: (1d8+1)[4]

[Denomar]

Rudyard accepts the healing without comment he's a bit too emotionally drained at the moment.

[CasualViking]

Valen looks around to find someone nice and grizzled to ask. Then he barges in. "North camp. Nerif wants me and my friends to go check it out. How do we get there".

[3SecondCultist]

Whisper listens in on the meeting, hanging back and letting the others do the talking. She nods without elaboration at Valen's suggestion in order to indicate her agreement to the idea of heading towards the northern camp. However, the girl's face hardens when Nori offers Rudyard healing. For the briefest of moments, something vanishes from her eyes, leaving them flat and empty. It's the kind of effect that could easily be mistaken for a trick of the light, and it's gone before anyone seems to notice.

Whether the traveler is ecstatic or weary at the prospect of getting paid in gold is hard to tell. Certainly, someone who has been working for weeks might be upset at the wage. However, the cast of the archer's shoulders also seems to indicate a sort of understanding of the suffering necessary for real reward. Thus, she continues to follow the other hirelings.

[Denomar]

An intelligence check with a dc of 5 would be enough to remember that you were basically being paid a footman's wage while on the road. Nerif has with-held half of your payment.

Valen stomps up to the most grizzled man he can find and makes his demand.

Voctor, drains the last of his drinking horn and says. "Alright."

Then he leads the three of you out of Falcon's Hollow to the north.

[Denomar]

The air is chill and crisp. The snow isn't that deep, and the sun shines starkly against a pristine sky. It is not late enough in winter for the river to have completely frozen yet so the sound of ice floes crunching against lumber detritus is the soundtrack to your watch.

It couldn't be a more pleasant day. Present circumstances aside of course.


Voctor for his part is silent. He's cleaned up significantly since last night and only Valen, with his knowledge of chemicals and their effects on the body, can see how hung over he is. Yet there is a sureness to his step and a quiet strength to his body language He is tall enough that the bastard sword is comfortably sheathed at his waist and the wolfskin cloak around his shoulders looks warm. He seems good at his job until he nearly trips over a tree root, blinks, and swears under his breath. He grasps at something around his neck slowly breathes out and once he has mastered his temper continues forward again. There are no other near falls. He picks a slightly meandering path through the woods not far from the riverbank that Whisper can see takes everyone far from annoying tree roots.

Nori get's the feeling that he won't talk to you unless you talk to him first.

None of you are sure how far the north camp is, but it can't possibly be too far or else it would be very inefficient for the workers to get there.

Within half an hour outside of Falcon's Hollow everyone needs perception checks.

[CasualViking]

"So, Voctor. They say you spend a lot of time at the dump, like you're looking for something."

Valen doesn't push the statement into an outright question. Just letting it hang there in the silence.

[Denomar]

"No."

Voctor's face is blank.

"It's just the best place to avoid conversations like these."

[3SecondCultist]

Whisper seems on edge the further away from the camp the group walks. The girl appears to have been more comfortable in a 'civilized' setting; she clutches her crossbow just a little bit tighter as the team walks through the snowy wood. If anything, the bright sunny day only puts her less at ease, as she tries her best to dart from shadow to shadow under the trees.

When the trio arrives at a place that is secluded enough for Voctor's purposes, she waits for the others to negotiate while she scans the surroundings for threats.

[Denomar]

Whisper your scans of the area yield some fruit. Thought not the one's you were expecting. A southerly wind picks up for a moment and your nose is filled with the scent of roasted pork and kindled wood. The smell is faint, but its definitely coming from the north.

Come to think of it. That cloud up north is looking awfully dark....

[3SecondCultist]

Her eyes narrowing at the distant shadows, the girl who would be a killer takes a few furtive steps away from the meeting place, the more to get a better sense of what might be out there.

Spoiler: OOC

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Let's go for another Perception!

Perception: (1d20+7)[19]

[Denomar]

Smells like fire. A lot of wood has burnt nearby. Wood and...

Whisper is taken for a moment by a particularly visceral memory.

---

You'd always assumed that the priests of Abadar were all grossly fat. After all, who wouldn't be fat if you were rich? But Mordival Jastinar; an initiate of the first vault was toned toned like a blacksmith and as healthy as a horse. When Elizar had dragged the semi conscious man into the basement of the abandoned house you were using as a hideout you had almost blushed. As it turns out the priesthood of Abadar had a very firm stance on embezzlement and the high priest of the local sect had an equally firm (and equally hypocritical) stance on what to do about it.

Which was why Mordival Jastinar was screaming like a banshee as his left arm slowly cooked to a crisp.

"Where did you hide the money? Speak and this shall end, you shall join the annointed of all endings." Elizar had crooned.

That wasn't a smell you forgot easily.

The following morning at breakfast Elizar had brought bacon and buns for breakfast. You had painted the floor with your bile. "What?" said your master. A dark humor flickering behind his typically unreadable eyes.

[Denomar]

The smell is starting to get worse, Whisper knows what it is. Nori and Valen do not. Voctor stops suddenly and blurts out "Smoke!" and picks up the pace. A few minutes later the trees break into a clearing revealing what can only be described as devastation.

This place was clearly a logging camp, you can see the beaten paths and what was once a small staging area but much of it is burned. Central to this is the smouldering remains of what was once a small cabin. The roof has caved in and only part of one wall could be said to be standing. Smoke rises from the roof and what is left of its chimney.

It is eerily quiet.

[CasualViking]

"Well ****. I guess that explains a lot". Valen looks around. "Doesn't look much like an accident to me. Let's try to find the corpses and some tracks".

Perception - (1d20+4)[10].

[Denomar]

You can't see any tracks leading away from the site. The sifted ashes would make it easy to follow footprints away from the site of the disaster. Though you suspect that any trail leading away would have been destroyed by the fire but Voctor shakes his head at the idea. "There is no trail leading away." He speaks with confidence. The light inside the cabin flickers.

From inside you hear "More tea?"

[CasualViking]

Valen turns to the others and puts his finger across his lips in a gesture of silence. He waves Whisper towards the ruin; he watches her intently, as he silently takes out a few flasks.

[El'the Ellie]

Nori makes her way with the others to the burned out cabin and is about to say something when she is silenced by Valen. She says nothing and watches the charred remains cautiously, but the confusion is evident on her face. Whoever was concerned with tea when their house burned down was either so out of their mind from the recent catastrophe or... actually, Nori couldn't think of another reason that would be the case. She's about to call out to help, but all things considered it might be best to see what was going on first. After all, it didn't really help with the wererat yesterday.

[CasualViking]

Valen rolls his eyes at Whisper. Then he sneaks forward to check out the burned out building for himself.

stealth - (1d20+5)[24]

[Denomar]

Ash swirls around Valen's feet as he picks his way towards the husk of a cabin. The interior would have been cozy once. A small iron stove crackles with a warm fire. So does most of the furniture. Sitting at the remains of a table are the burnt remains of two people. As well as a man.

The man is surprisingly not dead. He has painstakingly set out three wooden mugs over a lacy doily onto the table. Unfortunately the table doesn't stand straight anymore in its damaged condition and he is forced to constantly reallign the mugs to prevent them from falling off. A kettle sits in the stove.

"Don't worry" the man says "More tea will be ready soon."

He doesn't notice Valen.