IC II

[shaidar]

Newton

"There are bodies on the far side of the village. We think they died defending it from something a long time ago and for some reason their souls are trapped within the village boundaries. There are some kind of odd shadow creatures, almost spider like, in one of the buildings and I would imagine they are linked to this somehow"

[beniliusbob]

That's interesting about the bodies... I must've missed it in my re-read. I wonder if these things would even hurt us, or if they're just apparitions of some kind that we could quell by burying the corpses.

Though, I don't exactly want to find out by shedding a level or something...

[thirdkingdom]

TK...I think you missed this one...

Feargus
Feargus fishes an oil flask out of his pack and throws it at the ground at the shadow's feet. "Mardan! Do not throw at the shadows, throw the oil at their feet! Goshawk! Get a torch lit and toss it into the oil!"

Mardan Cy had the oil out and ready...Goshawk needs to fish the torch out of his pack and light it before throwing it.

Ha! I didn't miss it, I was trying to figure out how to adjudicate it, and was using Sumer's arrival to buy myself some time! My decision is that since the shadows are only damaged by magical weapons the non-magical oil would not affect it.

As the others talk, Goshawk lights a torch and throws it into the puddle of oil. It sputters, the ground wet from the recent rain, but catches alight, and sends flames licking up into the air. The creatures do not seem damaged by it.

In fact, the shadowy creatures begin to slowly disperse, almost melting back towards the houses from whence they emerged. Not all turn to go, but about half begin the retreat.

Sumer, meanwhile, thinks hard upon what she has learned. The village does not sound familiar, but that is not really a surprise. The world is littered with inconsequential settlements that have the misfortune to be swallowed by the tides of history. The gate -- nor the palisade -- itself does not appear to be magical -- at least not what she can tell from the outside of the village.

https://orokos.com/roll/802896: 2#1d20 4 1

[PresGas]

Sumer

"Well, I am now immensely curious about these creatures especially if the bodies yonder died defending this place. Have we even tried talking to them?" She considers a bit more and then fishes her rope out of the saddle. "I would be willing to approach them with the rope tied around me. If they attempt to take me, the other end of the rope will be at my horse. One of you can pull me back if I cannot make it on my own. What say you?"

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

Zellar nods sagely and clasps Sumer Seskin by the shoulder.

"I am glad to have you with us, Sumer - you have pointed out the obvious, to which the rest of us were oblivious! We have not tried to speak to the shadows, though we should attempt it now. If they cannot speak to us as mortals do, I have in my prayer book a method of meditation that, by channeling the Mnencir's wisdom in a certain way, would permit me to speak with the dead.

"That said, you should not risk yourself unduly - hempen lifeline or no. I have with me a trusty mule, Jepeto, who, though an able friend and only a simple beast surely not deserving of a harsh fate, would be a better test subject, should we wish to experiment with the effects the shadows might inflict upon us."

Zellar puts away her weapons and approaches the shadows remaining at the gate, though she holds her icon of the Mnencir yet close.

"Ho! You there! Shadow-men and shade-women! Can you yet the speak the tongue of your father and mother? Do you understand us? I am called Zellar, and these are my companions. We mean you no harm, but you cannot tarry to haunt this village. We must liberate it, in the name of civilization! The age of chaos is past, and you must be gone with it!"

Zellar waits to see if her speech has any effect.

[thirdkingdom]

Zellar

Zellar nods sagely and clasps Sumer Seskin by the shoulder.

"I am glad to have you with us, Sumer - you have pointed out the obvious, to which the rest of us were oblivious! We have not tried to speak to the shadows, though we should attempt it now. If they cannot speak to us as mortals do, I have in my prayer book a method of meditation that, by channeling the Mnencir's wisdom in a certain way, would permit me to speak with the dead.

"That said, you should not risk yourself unduly - hempen lifeline or no. I have with me a trusty mule, Jepeto, who, though an able friend and only a simple beast surely not deserving of a harsh fate, would be a better test subject, should we wish to experiment with the effects the shadows might inflict upon us."

Zellar puts away her weapons and approaches the shadows remaining at the gate, though she holds her icon of the Mnencir yet close.

"Ho! You there! Shadow-men and shade-women! Can you yet the speak the tongue of your father and mother? Do you understand us? I am called Zellar, and these are my companions. We mean you no harm, but you cannot tarry to haunt this village. We must liberate it, in the name of civilization! The age of chaos is past, and you must be gone with it!"

Zellar waits to see if her speech has any effect.

The Village of Shadows

One of the shades glides forward, as close as it can without breaching the barrier between village and outside world. Its mouth opens, and Zellar hears a soft susuruss of speech. "This is our place, mortal, and we are bound here by magics greater than your paltry god! Over the years we have defended our home from all incursions, and will continue to do so." The figure is a woman, dressed in simple robes, with a drawn and pinched face made even more so by the angles of shadows.

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus

Feargus shivers involuntarily. He then says, "...but think of how much you yearn for the freedom of death. If you can give us any information to free you, we will do what we can to deliver you liberation. No mortal should suffer through the torment of timeless undeath."

[PresGas]

Sumer

Zellar

Zellar nods sagely and clasps Sumer Seskin by the shoulder.

"I am glad to have you with us, Sumer - you have pointed out the obvious, to which the rest of us were oblivious! We have not tried to speak to the shadows, though we should attempt it now. If they cannot speak to us as mortals do, I have in my prayer book a method of meditation that, by channeling the Mnencir's wisdom in a certain way, would permit me to speak with the dead.

"That said, you should not risk yourself unduly - hempen lifeline or no. I have with me a trusty mule, Jepeto, who, though an able friend and only a simple beast surely not deserving of a harsh fate, would be a better test subject, should we wish to experiment with the effects the shadows might inflict upon us."

...

Zellar waits to see if her speech has any effect.

Sumer smiles at the gesture and says "Are they aware of the spiders then? Are they aware of any connection? I wonder about asking them that." ...and allows the conversation to flow among the dead and the rest of the party members.

Additionally, she tries to observe the village and how it may have worked as a market while alive. She thinks to herself "How did these people 'live' while alive? I wonder if we can talk to them as if they were living and allow passage..."

Does she see any signs of a market or way to pass goods through? Also, should I color my speaking parts?

[thirdkingdom]

Sumer

Zellar

Zellar nods sagely and clasps Sumer Seskin by the shoulder.

"I am glad to have you with us, Sumer - you have pointed out the obvious, to which the rest of us were oblivious! We have not tried to speak to the shadows, though we should attempt it now. If they cannot speak to us as mortals do, I have in my prayer book a method of meditation that, by channeling the Mnencir's wisdom in a certain way, would permit me to speak with the dead.

"That said, you should not risk yourself unduly - hempen lifeline or no. I have with me a trusty mule, Jepeto, who, though an able friend and only a simple beast surely not deserving of a harsh fate, would be a better test subject, should we wish to experiment with the effects the shadows might inflict upon us."

...

Zellar waits to see if her speech has any effect.

Sumer smiles at the gesture and says "Are they aware of the spiders then? Are they aware of any connection? I wonder about asking them that." ...and allows the conversation to flow among the dead and the rest of the party members.

Additionally, she tries to observe the village and how it may have worked as a market while alive. She thinks to herself "How did these people 'live' while alive? I wonder if we can talk to them as if they were living and allow passage..."

Does she see any signs of a market or way to pass goods through? Also, should I color my speaking parts?

I actually prefer not having colored text. It throws me off, and I'm fine just with quotation marks.

The village looks like the hundreds of small villages that Sumer has passed through in her time. They litter the Principalities; one comes across something similar every five or six miles. Here, in the wilderness, the village is surrounded by a palisade. There were perhaps a score of families living here at one point, making their living farming inside the walls, or hunting and gathering outside. It is in surprising good shape, and she thinks that were the adventurers able to clear it of threats it would be easy to reclaim. She figures that, were her companions not interested in doing so, the inexorable wheel of progress that is the Scarlet Principality will surely do so.

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

Zellar waits with expectant curiosity to see how the spirit responds to Feargus.

[thirdkingdom]

Feargus

Feargus shivers involuntarily. He then says, "...but think of how much you yearn for the freedom of death. If you can give us any information to free you, we will do what we can to deliver you liberation. No mortal should suffer through the torment of timeless undeath."

The figure speaks, "I do not know," it says, with a voice as soft as the wind, "but we hunger for the warmth of the blood of Man. It is the price we paid with the ritual that protects our home. I would welcome the end, as it seems we we have been made the fool, but I cannot prevent our bloodlust." He swears that he sees her eyes flicker to a building near the center of the village.

https://orokos.com/roll/803134: 2d6+1 10

[beniliusbob]

Building 7, perhaps?

Zellar

"These poor souls... in their bid to defend against chaos, they submitted to it instead.

"I think we have little choice but to retire for the evening, prepare our spells carefully, and cleanse this village in the morning. We should focus on finding and defeating the source of the curse, and, if possible, burying and consecrating the bodies. But we will need as much magic as we can muster to fend off the shadow-people, who, in thrall as they are, will not let us achieve these goals unmolested."

This seems like it's going to be hard, but I don't think we have any other option, at least as far as Zellar is concerned. Striking, shillelagh, PFE, chant, bless, burning hands... Not sure it's worth burning the wick with a haste against these guys, although it would get us more mileage out of shillelagh and striking. I also see Sumer has invisibility. I'd say we send an invisible striker to hit building 7 while we fend off the shadows, but for all we know, the thing at the heart of this curse is even worse.

At the end of the day I think we just need to sleep, load up, and roll hard in the morning.

[PresGas]

Building 7, perhaps?

Zellar

"These poor souls... in their bid to defend against chaos, they submitted to it instead.

"I think we have little choice but to retire for the evening, prepare our spells carefully, and cleanse this village in the morning. We should focus on finding and defeating the source of the curse, and, if possible, burying and consecrating the bodies. But we will need as much magic as we can muster to fend off the shadow-people, who, in thrall as they are, will not let us achieve these goals unmolested."

This seems like it's going to be hard, but I don't think we have any other option, at least as far as Zellar is concerned. Striking, shillelagh, PFE, chant, bless, burning hands... Not sure it's worth burning the wick with a haste against these guys, although it would get us more mileage out of shillelagh and striking. I also see Sumer has invisibility. I'd say we send an invisible striker to hit building 7 while we fend off the shadows, but for all we know, the thing at the heart of this curse is even worse.

At the end of the day I think we just need to sleep, load up, and roll hard in the morning.

Sumer

I agree on all these points pretty much. There is another experiment we could do before nightfall...

Sumer nods at all the points. "It fills me with joy that I have caught up with you all!" She considers the building and then the speaker on the other side of the line. "It may be we won't know tomorrow what they can do to us, but what is more needed how they are tied to this place...and how strongly. It may take awhile, but I may have some magic that could allow me to send one away. We then see what happens in the morn."

She looks at Zellar as the resident authority on religion. "If you approve of this, I would like someone with me in case with weapons able to impact them."

Pending party approval, Sumer will use her attack cantrip to attempt to destroy the speaker. The party knows her face. If she is seen again, there may be bigger problems at issue.

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus

"Give me something magical on my trusty mace. Until then I can't help. Gardo - can you go with Sumer? For tomorrow though, I agree that we have to do something here."

"Goshawk, Mardan - We have been lax in getting enchanted weaponry. Please remember to pick up a silver weapon from the Siderenos. I'll lend the money as needed. I fear tomorrow though you will not be able to join us unless we have enough magic in our midst to enchant all of our weapons."

[shaidar]

Newton

"I'll go with Sumer as well, just in case, two weapon wielding arms are better than one. If we can find a stout club or staff this evening, then I can use a spell to enchant it tomorrow and lend my axe to another, perhaps Ribar or Goshawk, although the enchantment is not particularly long lasting."

[VonAlric]

Gardo

He shakes his head. "Sorry Newton, but you are not the person for this job. Notai is much swifter than you and has that nice spear. She's got a nice advantage over you in this little battle. She and I will go with.... our latest mage."

"Still, I think we could have saved ourselves some time and just burned the whole place to the ground. But, someone would probably object to wasting good resting spots along this path to Kimred and such. Also don't know if that would solve all the problems but it would have been a start."

[thirdkingdom]

Just to clarify, is the plan to send Sumer and Notai in and try to destroy the speaker? You could also try this from the perimeter of the village, I suppose.

[PresGas]

Just to clarify, is the plan to send Sumer and Notai in and try to destroy the speaker? You could also try this from the perimeter of the village, I suppose.

Yes the intention was to be at the perimeter of the villiage, with Notai able to protect should the speaker or others be able to breach the barrier.

[thirdkingdom]

Just to clarify, is the plan to send Sumer and Notai in and try to destroy the speaker? You could also try this from the perimeter of the village, I suppose.

Yes the intention was to be at the perimeter of the villiage, with Notai able to protect should the speaker or others be able to breach the barrier.

Gotcha. What form does her attack cantrip take?

[VonAlric]

Just to clarify, is the plan to send Sumer and Notai in and try to destroy the speaker? You could also try this from the perimeter of the village, I suppose.

Sorry for the delay in responding. If you go back and look, Gardo suggested that both he and Notai were to accompany Sumer.