Chapter 5: Reunions and Rebuttals

[mb.]

Between all the goings-on, Bürd explains his plan to everyone, "I kin get them spirits outta the figures, but I kin only do one a day, an' it's rough work. An' if'n it goes wrong, well, could be a might messy. Might be best if'n you lot aren't around an' it kin't harm none of you." He shrugs, "might also be th'tree'd be willing t'help, so I reckon I'll be tryin' it down by the heart an' we'll wish fer th'best, aye?"

Pulp, shall we just take care of it as a roll or two, or should it be RP'ed through?

[Pulpatoon]

.mb: Yeah, we'll save this for post-adventure clean-up. Bürd can get a bonus for taking his time, and if, say, Simon wanted to help with his Religious Lore skill, you'd get an additional bonus.

Could each player post in the bookkeeping thread what loot they have taken out of the chambers? Specifically, do you go back and grab anything more from the paralysis chamber (viewtopic.php?f=130&t=3124&start=20#p119224)? Then I'll write a big wrap-up post. I'll probably ask for a few different rolls to see how things play out. Then I'll distribute XP, and you guys can level up.

[mb.]

Having the time to properly abjure the spirits, Bürd'll take it, and welcome Simon's help.

Bürd took the coins, the pretty stone and the magnet from the slime chamber. He'll wrap up well and go back for a closer look, using a stick to poke through what's there.

Other than that, the only goodies he gathered were the figurines and the sparklies from the well.

[mb.]

Actually, looking back I think Bürd is convinced the slime chamber isn't worth a second look, so scratch that.

[KingOfCowards]

I believe Simon collected the bag of teeth from the swordsman and the mandolin from the paralysis cave. He also took the swordsman's sword and commandeered a hunting bow from one of the cultists, but I don't know where the sword ended up.
Simon would willingly offer his knowledge of religious lore to assist Bürd with the sculptures.

[Pulpatoon]

Okay. Thanks for the tally. The sword is now in Gizzy's hands.

Big post to come. I expect everyone but Gizzy to level up (sorry, Gizzy), so you might want to start thinking about what options you might take. If I recall, .mb and KoC both have copies of the rules, right? So you can take charge of your own leveling. I'll present available options for MW.

(BTW, if you bought a copy of the rules, you can download the updated version that was recently released. I haven't combed through it to see if it goes much past fixing errata, but at the very least the illustrations are better.)

[Pulpatoon]

After giving Eighter, Maya, Ebba, and Hake a tour of the underground complex, everyone returns to the surface. You notice that the narrow passage and the rough steps leading down to the chambers is much tighter than it was previously—it seems the oak is sealing off the entrance.

The Grove is noticeably brighter and livelier than before. The plants look healthy, and the human and animal corpses are abuzz with insects, breaking down the bodies and returning them to earth. Simon and Bürd take particular note of the standing stones in the Grove. They are now clear of the slathering of black oil, and also of several centuries of lichen. There is writing there, and it is clearly of a magical nature. Given time to study, spells could be derived from them.

Maya and Ebba head back to the Village to get a cart to make hauling things back easier while Eighter prepares a fine lunch for everyone over a campfire.

Returning to the Village, you learn that Larea, a young girl about your age whose father had disappeared in the swamps to the South, and whom Marcus apprehended at the campsite, died in the night. People are a little cagey about exactly how she died.

Bris Miller has been appointed the new Reeve of Herebury, after Hag Sal killed the previous one during her escape from captivity.

Hake makes a big stink about how the buckets of trinkets should be divided, insisting that he should receive a full share. In the end, Bris has to step in between the blacksmith and the dwarf, and announce that, by the Lord's authority, the proceeds of the buckets will be divided among those who lost family during the recent events. This loss is ameliorated by the announcement that the Lord has bestowed land upon all those involved.

The Old Reeve's estate was rather large, and has been broken up. Most of it was returned to the Lord's holding, and another large chunk is apportioned to the new Reeve, Bris Miller.

Hag Sal, Bürd, Marcus, Simon, and Gizzy each receive five acres of land downriver. Most of the land is broken into fields that rotate barley, wheat, oats, turnips, and clover for grazing. You each receive a small herd of sheep, and there's a scattering of goats and chickens about.

Eighter, Maya, Ebba, and Hake, and a few men involved in the guarding of the town receive smaller portions of land. Eighter and Ebba immediately rent out their land to tenant farmers so that they can return to their own businesses, and just collect the occasional income from the land. Maya's parcel is close enough to the land she already tends with her husband, Victor, that she decided to keep it and work the land, herself. Hake insists that his portion should include the land awarded to Simon, or, at the very least, he should manage the land until Simon is older. Everyone who is not Hake objected strongly, which set the man into a blind rage, and he disgraced himself in front of the Villages most prominent citizens. He officially disowned Simon, following this, and offers his parcel up for sale.

Assuming you also take on tenants on your farm land, you would expect an annual income of 75 to 250 silver a year, which is enough to live on comfortably if not lavishly. There is also room to build, should you care to.



Although the buckets of trinkets were lost (to a good cause), the party had collected a small fortune that no one knew about:
Bürd had pulled 33 silvers and 305 coppers out of the paralytic cave.
Simon has the scarred warriors purse, which contains 20 silver, and an astounding five gold, along with the mysterious variegated coin.

Assuming you split it evenly (and not counting the variegated coin), that's 32 sp and 6 cp each, with one cp left over.

Other loot:
Bürd:
Large chalcedony (gem)
Small magnet

Simon:
Masterwork Mandolin
Bag of burned teeth (magic)
Hunting bow
Variegated coin (magic)

Marcus:
Brand, the burning sword

Gizzy:
Long sword

You can attempt to sell any of these things, if you'd like.

Also, you are all heroes, and find it impossible to buy a drink for weeks.

It takes awhile for the Village to find it's feet again, and there is a lot of work to do, setting things back to right. Marcus and Gizzy spend a busy period helping out one family after another, while Bürd and Simon research in Ravengard's library and prepare the most secure way of banishing the remaining dire spirits. In the end, it proves fairly easy, if time-consuming, to banish them.

The birds are the first to return to the forest, and the entire Village celebrates their reappearance with an impromptu festival. Musicians stream in from all the nearby villages to perform.

One of these performers catches sight of Simon's mandolin and tries to steal it, but is quickly apprehended by Gizzy. Apparently, it is worth a fortune. You also hear from people coming down from the North about a similar devastation of the wildlife in forests farther afield. It doesn't last too long, however, before whatever malady migrates further North.

Soon, autumn is upon you, and harvest time. This is always a busy time around the Village, and all the moreso now that you are landowners. Nevertheless, you remember your purpose, and the four of you make several forays into the North, looking for signs of whatever it was that stalked away from the poisoned oak that terrible night. You have no luck, and realize that it is going to take a mighty undertaking to pursue this mysterious beast, which appears to have covered great distance.

When the harvest is in and you collect your rents (again, assuming you rent out your land), you each receive 150 sp. Let me know if you want to make other arrangements with your land.

And then it's winter. Winter is harsh and a poor time for travel, but a great time to hone your skills and make plans for Spring.

XP!
Bürd, Simon, and Marcus get 2500 XP! Gizzy gets 500!

Marcus: You are now a second level warrior. You get another hit die (1d10), and your Base Attack Bonus is now +2. Next level, you'll get a new knack, too.

[KingOfCowards]

As long as we're on the subject of loot, I think it was Bürd who carried the variegated coin. At least it looks like he was the one identifying it.
As much as Simon has grown fond of the mandolin, when he finds out how valuable it is, he would feel guilty keeping it. If he can fetch a fair price bargaining with a musician, he'd do that and share the money with his companions. Otherwise he will seek out a notable place to donate it to, possibly a temple of Dagda, god of art and music in the Old Religion.

[Pulpatoon]

Simon has three options to divest himself of the mandolin:

1. Sell it to a musician during the impromptu Festival of Birds.
2. Sell it to a merchant the next time one is in town.
3. Make a pilgrimage to the nearest Temple of Dagda and offer it to the god.

[KingOfCowards]

A pilgrimage sounds like fun!

[mb.]

Given some time, Bürd would definitely hike out to the stones (accompanied by Simon?) and try to decipher and understand the inscriptions. Goals in priority order would be the understand what's written there, record the possible spells, and perhaps to select one of them as Bürd's new 2nd level spell.

[Pulpatoon]

Let's have an INT roll, with any modifiers for figuring out ancient magicky stuff, and a +2 if Simon is there, helping you out.

[mb.]

Simon?

I don't know what other bonuses Bürd might have, but he's a dwarf with magic based on stone carving, so that might be worth something? Anyway, with this roll it might not matter much:

INT 15, [1d20] = 18

I'd be willing to spend a FP on it if need be.

[KingOfCowards]

Simon is up for looking at the stones with Bürd. He would be interested in knowing what spells could be learned from studying these stones.

[Pulpatoon]

.mb: I'd suggest spending that Fortune Point.

KoC: re: Pilgrimage: Let's have a CHA check.

[KingOfCowards]

A successful pilgrimage?
CHA Check (14): [1d20] = 3

[Pulpatoon]

Simon's Pilgrimage
Throughout the Fall and early Winter, the party makes several expeditions North to try to track or gain information on the Beast. One of these took the party within a few days' journey of the nearest temple dedicated to Dagda. Simon packed the mandolin carefully in cotton and oilcloth, and split off from his companions to make the pilgrimage.

The temple was located in a pine wood within walking distance of a town renowned for its three competing breweries. The temple itself is attached to a small monastery, currently home to only three aging monks and four ancient nuns.

Every late spring the temple receives an influx of the more romantically-inclined itinerant musician (that is to say, nearly all of them) who consider it colorful and poetic to seek out the blessings of the old gods, but with no particular devotion. The monks live off the scant donations of these musicians, and an age-old tax placed on the beer sold from the breweries (the musicians finance the monastery far more through their drinking than their donations).

The monks are delighted to have a young visitor, dedicated to the old ways, and during their off season, too. The offer you all the meager comforts they have: a little extra yak butter in your tea, a second helping of barely porridge, a scratchy wool sweater that "you're sure to grow into," and recitals of some of the most incredible music you have ever heard.

And that's before they see the mandolin.

Everyone is excited by the gift, recognizing it as a masterwork, but one nun is absolutely floored. "It's in the style of... no, it's from the workshop of... Sweet Harmonies, this is the work of Vesario, himself!" Vesario, you learn, was a legendary crafter of the finest musical instruments, several centuries ago and hundreds of miles to the south. It is said that Dagda taught him his craft, and that the other gods had commissioned instruments by him.

The monks spend a solid week lovingly restoring and tuning the instrument. When they are done, its wood glows with a supernatural luster. It is breath-takingly beautiful. They invite Simon into the central sanctum of the temple for a service/performance. At the first tone, the entire room thrums with life. The music that follows is, literally, a religious experience, something felt with every particle of your being, filling your mind with light and your lungs with song. You are barely aware as you stand up and begin to sing—divine music is coursing through you, you are little more than a vessel, a small boat swept along on gorgeous, rushing cataract of enlightenment.

When the song ends, everyone is in tears. It is the most potent connection to their god they had experienced in decades.

The monks are sad to see you go, and heap praises and blessings upon you, as well as a nice pair of socks to go with the sweater. They make you promise to return within the year.

Simon has gained the skill: Singing.

[MonkeyWrench]

Since we are doing side stuff until the next adventure...

While hunting the beast through the different areas Marcus will go to every town/village that is nearby and warn them of the dangers, hoping to get a coalition of all the different places to unite with his village to help combat the threats that they had faced and the future things that are undoubtedly going to happen.

Marcus has the skill Politics, should help him out in gathering the different places to follow his lead. By doing so Herebury village will probably get better trade/information/help to further progress it.

[Pulpatoon]

MW, let's have a CHA + politics check!

[MonkeyWrench]

Marcus Charisma Check(CHA:11): [1d20] = 20

Wow! Don't even need to add my politics to that roll.... that's a failure for sure.