Chapter 31: On the Trail of The Ripper

[OGRE MAGE]

On a hunch, Bo casts another spell as covertly as possible, knowing the walls here surely have eyes. He looks in the possible direction the killers may have gone and concentrates intently.

Casting Locate Animals: Looking for any wolves or wolf-like animals that might be nearby.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser pauses at the end of the trail. "Why did it just stop here?" He will examine the walls in the area for any concealed doors and poke through the trash littered in the alley for the same.

[jemmus]

We have a witness, Faron says to Telkis, indicating Mary. If she's calm down enough to be coherent. And if they'll believe her. He searches around for signs of a trail, near Mouser.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur weaves an incantation to try to find the creatures that killed the poor girl. He looks up and down the alley for any sign of them or any other enemies.

Casts Detect Invisibility.

Most of the party is away from the dead body, right? Only Ingrid and Mary are by the scene of the crime?

[Inferno]

Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day One. Near midnight. Saturday, December 24th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







The doomed heroes lose the trail of blood in the twisting, labyrinthine streets of Blackchapel. Jerome rages at the shadows. His echo is their only reply.

Telkis says, "They're going to think we did this."

A lone candle burns within a nearby slum hovel, a doss-house where the homeless poor can pay a pittance to sleep the night laying across a rope.



All is quiet. The abject desolation and darkness of the street gives Bo and Urdur the courage to practice their witchcraft openly.

Still haunted by the unspeakable events concerning the Wolfpack of the Dark Mother, the grey druid prays for holy sight to see all wolves within some hundred feet of his being! Bo's eyes, which have already seen too much, search all around and mercifully find no wolves lurking here.

Urdur the arcanist casts an incantation to perceive that which should not be seen by mortal men. His supernatural perception pierces the fragile veil that Men call reality and peers into the secret world which exists alongside Man, unseen! His eyes widen as his sorcerous vision beholds the countless dead of a city!



Ever-present and invisible, the otherworldly spirits of the deceased are everywhere! Victims of starvation, old age, the plague, the noose, poison, violence and suicide; damned to walk the Oerth for their sins. Hopelessly seeking absolution, vengeance or their final fate, they linger among the living neither seeing them nor caring about them, including Urdur. The occultic sorcerer looks past the disconnected throng of the wretched departed and finds no sign of the "almost men" he hunts.

Not knowing what Urdur beholds, Mouser examines the end of the trail of blood. "Why did it just stop here?" he asks. He and Faron scour the vicinity and discover a bloody handprint on an ancient sewer grate!



The print is fresh. And either it is smudged, or the hand that made it has fingers longer than a man.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

PCs are white. NPCs are red. Streets are lighter. Buildings are darker.

Map:





PC Status:

Ajax, Half-Orc Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 36/36
Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 21/25, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 36/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 3/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self
Locate Wolves (Bo): Duration: 4 rounds
Detect Invisibility (Urdur): Duration: 19 rounds

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[ravenn4544]

Mouser points on the handprint. "There! it seems they, or it, were swallowed by the darkness... let's follow?" He looks around for agreement then asks, "Where's Ingrid? We can't go down there without her.."

[jemmus]

Faron
They went into the sewer maybe? This ought to be pleasant, walking around in Hookhill's sewage. Yes, we do need Ingrid, and Mary too.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome has collected himself a bit, but is still furious. He grabs the grating and heaves, trying to open it.
Bend bars/lift gates 7% percentile [1d100]=67

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks around nervously to be sure that nobody watches them in the dark alley.

"I would think that fingers longer than a man would qualify as almost human."

"I hate the idea of traveling bent over in another damn stinking sewer, but we need to get Ingrid back here and make our way down there before anyone sees us!"

He helps Jerome lift the grate in order to get the group moving again.

"Urdur, perhaps you would be the best choice to retrieve our priestess without being seen. Urdur? Urdur? Are you still here?"

If they can get the cover opened, Bo will make his way into the hole with anyone else willing.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will assist with the grate as well.

"Ten minutes in this town and we're crawling down a sewer, into the stinking dark, after more inhuman freaks! Seems about what I was expecting..." he complains.

[jemmus]

Faron unslings his wineskin, squeezes it to put a little stream off wine into his upturned mouth and passes it to Melkis. Yes, I suppose we're about to do this, and kind of in a hurry. You can't see what's in it, but it's good Merlot. Pass it around, us, before we have to go into the dirty work. The rogue thief hitches his belt and pants and prepares to descend the forgotten ladder into the darkness of the foul neglected sewer.

[SocraticLawyer]

I'll go get Ingrid, says Urdur. He decides not to mention the hundreds of lost souls he now sees, at least until Ingrid or Jerome can perform some sort of ritual.

Urdur runs back toward Ingrid. Ingrid, it's Urdur.
We've got to get back to the others. Bring the girl.

As they run back to their companions, Urdur asks, Say, do you know any incantations or anything for, like, purifying a location or making hallowed ground, or giving the dead peace, or ... anything like that?

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I'm very sorry for what happened to you my dear, and for asking you to go through this, but I hope what you have told me will allow us to bring your killers to justice. May peace be with you. Hearing the police whistles, she realizes she is going to be a suspect if she is found at the crime scene. She hurries after the others, hoping she hasn't lost them in the maze of alleys. Mary, come with me- we can't be found here! She'll take Mary's hand and try to urge her along, but if necessary, she will leave her behind- being arrested might be better for Mary than being free to walk the streets with a killer on the loose.

I don't know what happened- I know I had already made a post similar to this- but it doesn't seem to be here. Did I forget to hit submit? That's the only thing I can think of. Sorry.

[Inferno]

Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day One. Near midnight. Saturday, December 24th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast








Urdur scurries unseen through the invisible legion of the damned to find Ingrid in the forsaken maze of Blackchapel.




Before the priestess can be captured by the city guard, she flees the scene of the crime, leaving behind Mary and the piteous victim of the Hookhill Ripper who falls prey to the heinous appetites of the ghastly rat horde.

Urdur's eerily disembodied voice guides Ingrid to the others where Bo, Jerome and Telkis heave up an ancient sewer grate, unleashing a putrid stench of ammonia and human excrement.

Another constable whistle is heard in the distance!

The doomed heroes urgently get a torch alight and prepare to descend into the dark, fetid abyss when suddenly the torch's flame jumps! The noxious sewer air is flammable!


Actions?! (And non-flammable light source, please? And single-file marching order? Thanks!)


Map:

PCs are white. NPCs are red. Streets are lighter. Buildings are darker.





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 21/25, Spells: 4/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 36/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 3/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 1/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self
Locate Wolves (Bo): Duration: 2 rounds
Detect Invisibility (Urdur): Duration: 17 rounds

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[ravenn4544]

Mouser reels back from the dark hole as the torch alights! "Shit!" He looks at the group. "Any one have another light source? I have a type of light spell but it only last a few minutes. I"ll save that if we are in dire need"

[ChubbyPixie]

Does Cranach glow? Or is that just magic swords?

It was at moments like this that Telkis wished he were as tolerant of noxious gasses as his adoptive Dwarven clan, the Brassfangs. Those guys would've shrugged this off, he thought. Then again, perhaps nothing could steel a person against this inhuman stench.

Lying on the cobblestones, he will crane his head down into the opening to see if he spots any signs of life in the darkness using his infravision.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur speaks up. I have one of the glowing stones in my bag. I'll use it to light the way when we get down there. When the group is in the sewer, Urdur pulls out the stone. He keeps his dagger drawn as well, taking a spot near the rear of the group.

Is Urdur's Detect Invisibility spell still in effect? If so, does he see anything hidden?

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric drops into the sewer. I'll go first. I fear those things that killed the poor girl are unquiet dead.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo quickly covers his nose and mouth with a strip of cloth before heading below. He takes out his light stone for a look around at this new living hell.

“Move in so the other may follow. We should hide our lights from any grates above so the authorities don’t notice us down here.”

[jemmus]

Faron climbs down and unsheathes his glowing long sword. It's magical light illuminates to more than six paces ahead, behind, and all around. Good call, Bo. We should watch for overhead openings and conceal our lights when under them.