Wheel of Time: The kingdom of Shadows

[fireinthedust]

Jak

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Good chance the cause of death is a big sword in his torso... in fact, exactly that. It's stopped his life functions.

Some of the crowd continues muttering and milling about. Others go off in various directions.

[bahamut920]

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Just wanted to make sure... It's possible that he was killed beforehand by something else, and then run through with the sword. Of course, that may just be the six-hour marathon of Detective Conan I just watched talking...

Jak stands up from the corpse, thinking, Okay, so it's just what it looks like... "Which means that we need to find out how the murderer managed to get out into the middle of town carrying that huge sword without being noticed," he mutters under his breath. "No mean feat for even the stealthiest sneak-thief..."

[Ruik]

Ishigari Narshima

Ishigari feel’s the tension go out of his shoulders as the crowd starts to disperse. He takes a deep breath of night air before turning back to the others and moving over to Jianna, lowering his voice as he speaks.

"Are you alright? I thought that was going to get out of hand for a moment."

[Yawielas]

Jianna nods a little, looking pale. "I'm allright. But something is out there..." She looks around for the young couple. "And that couple has shown up twice now whre there's been trouble..."

[bahamut920]

"Actually, yeah," Jak replies. Maybe I wasn't going mad, after all, he thinks, relieved. "We should check out that alley again; maybe there's something there that we missed the first time," he continues. "After all, we weren't exactly keen to investigate while they were around..."

[Ifni]

Kireyn nods. "Let's see what we can learn here first, though. Although - are we sure this town has no guards? I don't know the first thing about hunting down murderers." She shivers, although the night is warm, and looks over at Sarinen and Ishigari. "Ishigari... Sarinen, have either of you seen anything like this before? You said you trained with your town garrison, Sarinen?"

She hears the hesitation in her own voice as she addresses the Amadician woman, and is annoyed at herself for it. Light, you have more important things to worry about at the moment than whether some Whitecloak sympathizer likes you.

"Can any of you follow tracks, as Jak suggested? Although... with that crowd of people here, I doubt there's much left to find. Jianna's right about the couple -" she smiles briefly at the younger woman, "- maybe that's our best lead."

Kireyn circles the body cautiously, peering at the sword. "Daran, could you bring the light over here?"

[OOC: Does Kireyn recognize the markings on the sword as anything Shadow-related, apart from the obvious "skulls are bad"? She has +7 Knowledge (Shadow).]

[Kuma Da]

Daran Alema

Daran approaches the corpse, but his attention is now focused less on the body and more on the sword protruding from it. Something tugs at the corners of his mind, but he can't quite place what it is.

"This doesn't look familiar to you, does it?"

Daran gives the blade a cursory glance, checking for conspicuous markings.

Probably not even worth the bother, but who knows? Maybe it'll read: 'property of one Randal Darkfriend, number 13 Cobbler's Lane. Please return if lost.'

Knowledge: Shadow

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(1d20)[13]+4

[Unkabear]

Noal felt a release in his muscles that he didn't know he was holding. The tension began to flow away and he began to relax.

[Ruik]

EDIT

Ishigari Narshima

Not entirely sure that Jianna is okay, but taking comfort in the fact that she shown the strength to travel on her own before, Ishigari gives her a comforting smile and continues in a low voice.

"Whatever is going on, I am sure that we will be fine as long as we stick together."

He rests his hand briefly on her shoulder again before moving over to Kireyn, shaking his head briefly.

I am afraid I have never been trained as a tracker, and I am not sure it would be so easy in a town in any case. As for that blade, I do not believe I have seen one like it before.

He looks thoughtfully at it, straining his memory to what he had heard of darkfriends and the servants of the Dark One.

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Ishigari has Knowledge: Shadow, if you feel like rolling for him. Specifically trying to remember whether he remembers any tales of blades that look like that being used by darkfriends and the like.

[Yawielas]

Jianna nods a little, but studies the shadow extra closely, feeling the hairs on her neck rise.

[fireinthedust]

((Ishigari has no idea about Vera. He can't remember her unless she's there with him. It's a weird, unexplained thing))

[fireinthedust]

Those with Knowledge (Shadow)

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You recognize this blade as easily one of shadow-make. It is a particularly fine piece of craftsmanship, though, on par with the blades some warders and blademasters wield.

[Ifni]

Kireyn stares at the sword as if at a viper, as she recognizes the dark metal of the blade. Myrddraal bear such weapons. War-stories rise in her memory, from veterans who had fought Myrddraal and been fortunate or skilled enough to survive. Horror stories, as well, of the shadowed lands beyond the Blight, where the Dark One's forges lie. She flings up a hand. "Do not touch the sword, any of you. It is Shadow-forged. Such blades can be... tainted."

She frowns in dismay as she takes in the workmanship of the blade. "And forged by a master..." She looks over at Jak, open fear now showing on her face. "If you indeed saw one of the Eyeless before - one of them could leap through shadow, and slay this poor man, and then vanish. No need to smuggle a greatsword through town. But I've never heard of a Myrddraal bearing such a blade: they are skilled swordsmen, but not blademasters. And why would such a weapon be abandoned?" She stares at the body, and steps closer to Daran and the light he carries.

[fireinthedust]

As if on cue, the town warning bell rings. The messengers must have gotten tot he mayor, or to whatever guard monitors the town. However the bell begins to ring and ring... and no one arrives on the seen.

((could everyone roll a notice check for me?))

[Kuma Da]

Daran Alema

Daran jerks his hand away from the blade, then glares at it as if it just tried to bite him. "You, ah...you don't say." His whole body shudders slightly. "Has anyone thought about why the fade--or the whatever-it-was--singled out this man? Or why it left its blade behind?" Without waiting for a response, he clambers onto the back of the old man's wagon and has a quick look around the interior.

Notice check:

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Okay, so notice is a combo of spot and listen? I'd totally forgotten they were seperate. I'm gonna do some on-the-fly point re-allocation. Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, here's my roll: (1d20)[13]+7

[Ifni]

Spot/Listen/Notice check:

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(1d20+2)[4]

EDIT: Whatever it is, I think it's a safe bet that Kireyn was totally distracted by the bell ringing

[bahamut920]

"They can step through shadows?" Jak repeats, somewhat incredulously. "But, then, why leave the sword behind... If the make is as good as you say, it's too valuable to be a message," he continues, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps the creature intends to collect it later."

Just then, a bell starts ringing. Must be some sort of alarm bell, rung in emergencies, he thinks, not attempting to speak over the loud clanging. After a minute or two without any change in the situation, he begins to worry. What if the Shadowspawn have already attacked the local garrison? On the alert, he peers around for anything out of the ordinary.

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I guess I'll make one check for both Spot and Listen, then. Not that it really matters; his bonuses for both are exactly the same...
"Notice" Check - (1d20+2)[8]

[Yawielas]

(Spot 9, listen 13 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1765246/ )

Jianna frowns worriedly when Kireyn explains about the sword. She casts a glance around, drawing closer to the others. "Why aren't the guards arriving?"

[fireinthedust]

Just as Kireyn asks where the guards are, the bell ringing speeds up and then clangs awkwardly to a stop.

Those of you noting the silence beyond the bell-ringing (and more now that it's abruptly stopped) hear yelling carried on the wind. You also feel the wind on your faces, carrying heat from across town, and the faint smell of smoke.

((I'll say anyone who got higher than 10 counts. Notice is a wisdom check + ranks, and is less finicky than listen AND spot AND sense texture AND smelloscope-type skills.))

[Ruik]

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Sorry for the double post, but I want to see what the roll is before I start writing... Seeing as I have no ranks in Listen, and Spot is based on Wisdom, I have used what is currently my Spot modifier (just think of it as spot=notice).

"Notice" check:

(1d20+5)[18]

[Ruik]

Ishigari Narshima

Feeling more and more uneasy as he suddenly understands the tainted origin of the blade in front of him, Ishigari does not immediately answer Kireyn. He steps closer to it and crouches to get a better look, careful not to touch it, as Daran climbs into the wagon.

Noting the craftsmanship in the blade once Kireyn points it out he studies it intently, trying to fit the evil weapon into what he knew of the shadow and those that served it, only turning back as Jak finishes speaking.

"If it was one of the eyeless, then it is possible it meant it to strike fear into the townsfolk before the main assault. Or it could simply intend to return later and claim it as you say. There is no way to know for sure…"

His voice tailors off as Jianna asks the whereabouts of the guard, and then twists to face the sound of the bell ringing. He stands slowly as the bell abruptly cuts off and rocks forward onto the balls of his feet, eyes closed and head tilted to the side, listening to the voices, feeling the heat and smelling the smoke carried on the night breeze.

Abruptly his eyes snap open and he falls back onto his heels and looks at the others.

"A fire rages, and I do not doubt that whatever silenced that bell had something to do with it. I fear we may yet have to fight to survive."

[fireinthedust]

Ruik: yeah, that's exactly it: use your spot/listen ranks as your Notice check. I thought we'd House Ruled it at the start (but I don't want to sift through to verify, sorry, working), but here it is.

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Indeed, Ishigari's observation makes it clear to everyone: there is a fire of some sort, across town.

Now:
Kireyn and Daran feel something jerk inside their minds. Those looking at them see them stiffen suddenly:

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You get a sudden and urgent message from Vera in your minds. You've never had a sent-message like this before. Two words: "danger" and "shadowspawn". There's no sense of location.

As Kireyn and Daran stiffen, then relax back to normal, EVERYONE hears a cry on the wind: a horn is blowing, like a military command. it's a raw-sounding blast, obviously a large horn.

Those of you who've fought Trollocs before know exactly what type of horn it is...


((

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And yes, I'm using Trollocs to get the PCs together. It was the plan all along, a prelude to the rest of the adventure. I just wanted to have fun with you guys, and you lot do such a good job interacting I didn't need to move it up that fast!

))

[Ifni]

As Kireyn and Daran stiffen, then relax back to normal, EVERYONE hears a cry on the wind: a horn is blowing, like a military command. it's a raw-sounding blast, obviously a large horn.

Those of you who've fought Trollocs before know exactly what type of horn it is...

Kireyn doesn't seem to immediately react to the smoke on the breeze: her eyes go distant, and her whole body tenses.

As the horn blast rings out, her eyes focus again, and she takes a deep breath. It's obvious she's trying to appear calm, and equally obvious she's not quite succeeding.

"That's a Trolloc warhorn," she says, her voice colorless. She glances over at Daran. And Vera confirms our fears. Her gaze flits over the rest of the group, but she does not speak further, waiting to see what the warriors will say and do.

Her gaze catches again on the dark sword. I can at least ensure that no one - human or Shadowspawn - picks up that accursed blade. She gathers strands of the Power and wraps them around the sword, trapping it in a bubble of hardened Air. "We should be able to leave the sword here safely. I've shielded it to prevent people from touching it - or the murderer from coming back to retrieve his weapon."

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Casting Harden Air from a L0 slot - my Air affinity gives the effect of a L1 weave, which is a 3ft radius sphere. Since that's 6ft diameter and the sword can't be THAT big, I think that should be enough to contain it. Kireyn will tie off the weave.

[Kuma Da]

Daran Alema

Muscles bunch and knot in succession all the way down Daran's back, passing an icy chill as it shoots up his spine. He stands, half-dazed, on the back of the dead man's wagon. His knuckles clench white.

"That's a Trolloc warhorn,"

He doesn't need to hear that. It's all he can do to stop his eyes from rolling wildly, like a horse that knows it's about to be put down.

Run. Break your hands off and run. You can taste the panic in the front of your mouth and you know what's out there raging bestial and vague and you can see the snarling gallery of faces that will leer over you as they tear out your stomach so run. Get out of here. Run.

Daran stays frozen to the spot.

Blood and ashes. Can you hear me at all? Run.

In the back of his fever-whirling mind, something glimmers cold and rational.

What about Vera? Or Kireyn?

What about them? You know what's out there.

I do.

Then why won't you--

I'm not listening any more.

Slowly, deliberately, Daran lets go of the edge of the wagon and steps off, back onto the cobblestones.

"We need to get moving. Get as many people out of town as possible."

And then you can run.

Shut up.

He turns to Kireyn. "And then we need to look for Vera."

Action plan:

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Daran's going to start banging on nearby doors, yelling at the top of his lungs on the off chance that there are still people inside who weren't woken up by the horn.

[fireinthedust]

Kireyn:

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Does that include the corpse? How long will the weave last?

[Ifni]

Fireinthedust:

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The weave will last 20-24 hours (would be 24 if it's a L0 weave, 20 if it's L1 - I cast it from a L0 slot, but due to Kireyn's Air affinity I'm getting the L1 effect, so I'm not sure which level applies). I can choose to end it earlier if I want. It's a 3ft radius sphere and I want to make sure I completely contain the sword, so it will probably get part but not all of the corpse.

[bahamut920]

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Ifni - Casting a weave whose Affinities match yours exactly reduces the level of the weave slot consumed, not the caster level or weave level. It can even allow you to cast weaves of higher level than you would normally be allowed. It's how Jak has been casting Level 2 delves.

Jak immediately seizes saidin when he hears the horn. Weaving threads of Spirit together, he creates a diaphanous field around himself. The field reaches about fifty feet in all directions, creating a zone covered in saidin. I originally tried this to detect people moving, but it seems that their souls don't break the web, he thinks. Maybe Shadowspawn will, however. And I suppose I could just pass it of as heightened alertness to the others.

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Jak casts sense Shadowspawn, a level 0 weave, which allows him to sense the presence of Shadowspawn within 50 feet per channeler level (50 feet right now). It only confirms presence, not location, number, or direction, but it ignores cover or concealment. I figure it will work as a kind of early warning system.

[fireinthedust]

Kireyn and Jak: ok.

[Unkabear]

Noal begins to bellow to all comers to gather. His deep voice carries in the night, but if anyone would listen would be anyone's guess. But gathering in a building would be a poor choice right now as any building would be susceptible to fire.

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Sorry internet was out for the duration of the week. I am back

[Yawielas]

Jianna stands frozen to the spot. Trolloc horn? Fire and fighting? Blood and bloody ashes... When Noal bellows and Daran starts banging on doors, she comes to her senses again, and grips her quarterstaff so tight her knuckles are whitening. Pale and with a none too steady voice, she looks to the others. "Where can we run?"