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We ended at a weird point, but oh well...

Whoever is doing the prologue, have at it!

The Prologue

We should have called this session the comedy of errors, as we failed more skill tests than we passed.

It started off ok with Thag getting water from the well. We then went to the cellblock and Berry successfully turned the skeletons, after I had Scouted using Grim-visaged but failed.

We then checked the dark chapel where Allric was attacked by a Dark Mantle and is injured by it. Aoife tries to help but her nerve breaks and she runs from the chapel. I go in an drag Allric's body out into the light where we are able to get it off his head. Then Rabon and I decide to go in and attack the Dark Mantles. I managed to kill one but the other one takes my down. Rabon then kills it but is also knocked out at the same time. The rest of the party use the rope as a life-line and Berry crawls in, finds our bodies, and drags us out. Both Rabon and I recover but lose a Trait.

Allric tries to examine the Dark Mantle that was wrapped around my face, but only manages to pop some foul-smelled bladder inside it. Irregardless of the stench, we all became hungry and thirsty.

Allric then tries to cast a floating disk, but the spell misfires and blows a hole in the front wall of the chapel. Berry and I are buried by the falling rubble, but then Aoife uses Laborer skill successfully and is able to dig us out.

We then decide to camp in the room where we found the kobold. Berry tries to use Survivalist to improve the camp, but finds another kobold hiding. He is able to chase it was with his verbal skills.

During camp Allric tries to brew a courage elixir for Aoife, but fails. It did grow some hair on Aoife's palms though. Aoife recovered from being afraid naturally and then repairs Rabon's helmet that was damaged in the Dark Mantle fight. Rabon tries to cook and makes something completely inedible. Berry makes a soothing poultice to help recover from exhaustion and gives it to Allric, who passes his test and improves his health too. To wind up the camp phase Allric scribes a Mystic Porter scroll and then casts Fireflies.

The light doesn't work in the chapel though, but I map it out methodically by anchoring myself via the rope to the front door. I find the anvil-shaped alter at the front of the chapel. We then decide that Allric would stay in the hallway while the rest of us go in. Aoife tries to use Scholar to read the inscription on the alter, but fails. Allric and I swap places, and he suggests to Rabon to use the ruby ring we had found with the alter. It releases a burst of energy that invigorated everyone in the chapel. But the unnatural darkness persists.

Rabon then decides to "liberate" some fancy stained glass panels. He was successful in getting some valuable glass.

Finally, I convinced the party that we should destroy the skeletons as they are tools of whatever evil is in this place, and if we don't destroy them then the evil will use them again against innocents. We go back to the cell block and Rabon and I enter to fight the skeletons. Rabon proved a better fighter than I was and managed to kill all three skeletons.

We then went back to the kobold room and set up camp. Allric uses an instinct and a check and successfully brews two elixirs. Berry then tries up update the map, eventually getting it right, but working up a powerful thirst by the time he was done. Allric finishes the camp phase by scribing a Fireflies scroll.

We are now ready to break camp, to decide whether to explore the underground below the wolf den, or return to Falco and get our reward. My goal is to destroy the evil tainting this place. I don't think we've done it, as the chapel is still dark, and we haven't killed anything that would have created the skeletons. So far we've fought a spider, some dire wolves, a kobold, some Dark Mantles, and the skeletons. I feel that none of those could have created the skeletons, so there must still be something here. Although returning to town has it's advantage in that most of us can level up and come back stronger and fresher.

Allric raises his bushy eyebrows at Thag, the group now packed up. "Well, Ranger... Which way shall you lead us? To Falco or to the koboldean depths?"

Rabon looks up from packing his pack. About being a skilled procurer of items with questionable ownership, or about being dirty? Because if'n it's the latter, you'd better get yerself a mirror. Your vestments need a right-good scrubbing, friend. And I know just the person t'do it. There's this old biddy in Falco goes by "Gramma Knotkins." She's bent over double and her hands are all gnarled from a lifetime of scrubbing folks britches, but she whistles through her toothless mouth the entire time, and yer whites'll never be whiter. Rabon goes on to tell how he meet her and how good she is about getting bloodstains out of clothes. And how it comes that he's needed such help, though it weren't my fault, mind you. Allric could tell you - he was there, but really drunk at the time. Actually, so was I...

Eventually he agrees that heading to town is the best plan. All this treasure ain't worth a copper if it don't get back t'town t'get spent. We've gotta get it all there and cash in.

How is that last line as a Belief? Is it challengeable?

Sounds like town, then?

Allric nods firmly, the group agreeing on a course. "I will be glad for a bed. A REAL bed, with feathers," he adds. Then with a flourish, he lifts all the sacks of packed goods off the ground with a mystical hand.

8 slots for four turns, Ob 2. 5D Arcanist +1D Fresh
[1d6] = 1 [1d6] = 2 [1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 3 [1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 6

"Lead on, Thag."

Rabon asks if anyone would mind if he tried to retrieve his picks before seeing it. Then he looks around and gasps.Where'd Aoife get off to? We got all this loot. We can't risk our lives looking for her...

since it's a new session, I'd like to try for the picks. Anyone with an objection?

Acting a bit over enthusiastic, due to his perceived offense towards Rabon: I'm in favor of you trying to get your tools back, you are a very useful and important member of our team, a team that seems to ever shrink by the day...maybe there is some evil still pervading this place... Berry begins to look concerned.

Allric nods to Rabon. "Good idea, since this is the door that stole them," he smiles. He crouches down next to Rabon to help inspect the lock.

+1D help from Criminal

Rabon heads back to the door and kneels by it, using his lantern for light (if needed). He rubs his chin for a minute or two before setting to work. I think I see where it went wrong. I'll be needin' yer help here, Allric. Not that it matters much now, but the springs're all rusted-stuck and my picks got caught up in that. He hands a small amount of lard (from his cooking supplies) to the wizard, asking him to use his potion making kit to melt it. Rabon drizzles the grease into the keyhole, lubricating the ward, springs and his picks. He moves one pick forward and the other backward to to work the grease deeper and allow the picks to free themselves from the rusted inner workings. At the same time, he has Allric to use his dagger to pry the cover up to decrease the tension in the lock.

4D (Criminal) +1D (help). I might use rough hands either for or against myself on this, depending. Any chance of using the picks as tools to help this test here? They are technically being used.

Ha! Nice one! I need one pass and one fail in that skill, anyhow. I'll try for it without having Allric involved.

As Allric starts heating up the lard, Rabon realizes he can just use the lantern and waves Allric off, griping as only a peasant can. No use in the both of us losing fingers if this goes tits-up. Asides, that bushy beard of yours is always getting in the light. He spills some hot grease on his Rough Hands, but shrugs it off with a few foul words. 'Scuse my orc, there. Without Aoife here, I'm li'ble t'do that a bit more. He wiggles the picks with progressiely more and more force as he gets more frustrated. Eventually he starts carving away at the ancient wood of the door before finally sitting back. Well, shit. Not at all what I expected.

2D (peasant) +1D (Persona) +1D (Rough Hands) = 4D vs Ob2 [1d6] = 1, [1d6] = 2, [1d6] = 4, [1d6] = 3

Then, a pick falls out. Excited for a moment, Rabon picks it up to see that the thing has snapped in half. The rest come free now without trouble, but broken or bent, every pick is ruined.

Rabon sighs. Well, that was a waste. Brand new, them were... He rises to his feet and shoulders his pack. Let's get goin' then. Lead on, Thag. He douses his lantern and places it in his pack when they reach daylight.

Should have 2 turns of oil left in it.

I'm on a de-icing break on my 1100 drive home. When I find a place for the night I'll add something to the thread

I'm sure with the rewards we have liberated from the ancient church we can purchase you some new ones...from wherever one gets things like that. Berry says soothingly, trying his best to be supportive of his teammates, as it takes all kinds to enact the Lords' Plans.

So how long do you guys think it will take to get back to town? I'm not the best with time, I must admit.

I'm happy to go however, so long as I get every bit of this treasure back to Falko. We never did map the way here, so that'll be one issue to deal with, but let's try and go back the way we came here, and map it this time.

Someone could use mapping as an instinct.