IC X

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"Although I am not making any formal oaths or pledges I will continue assisting Threshold if capable and if it is the right thing to do. With respect to the doppelganger and other enemies that might still be active within the city, would an exploration of the city's underground be subject to the same restrictions with respect to magic and weapon use? If not then pehaps we could seek other clues in that area, otherwise we can still try to seek any relevant information with the locals if you would approve that, sir."

[thirdkingdom]

Baron Sherlane Halaran

"My men have cleared all the subterranean passages, although they tell me there is a set of ancient steps, slick with slime and worn by the ages, that descends down into the depths, further than they had wished to explore. I am not convinced what lies below has anything to do with the Ring, mind you, but would be willing to allow you to arm yourselves to plumb those depths."

[thirdkingdom]

Baron Sherlane Halaran

The Baron ponders Aquar's question. "The spell you speak of is far from precise and does not discriminate between objects. It seeks the closest item named, so the two bowls you possess would have to be removed some distance in order to ensure success. And even then, only the direction is known."

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, priest of Procan
..."In pursuit of the good Father's killers, were their any clues that his spirit imparted to you during mystic commune?"

[thirdkingdom]

Aquar, priest of Procan
..."In pursuit of the good Father's killers, were their any clues that his spirit imparted to you during mystic commune?"

The Baron shrugs. "He was strangled by someone who looked strikingly like himself. That is all the shade knew."

[thirdkingdom]

The adventurers bid farewell to the Baron, and Ronrol offers to escort them back to Threshold. It is after midnight by the time they arrive, but a few words from the lanky ranger see the gates opened wide by yawning guards clutching spears.

Flaurmont 22, AC 1000

The morning comes cloudy and overcast, with a light drizzle falling on the ground.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

After departing from the Baron's keep, Lanny quietly discusses possible options with the other party members.

"It seems there are a few different things that can occupy our time while we are in Threshold awaiting word from the contingent sent to Penhaligon. Perhaps the first of these should be a visit to Myraal to drop off our newest magic items for identification. With the added workload we are giving him, it will probably take him another week just to get everything analyzed, so the sooner we start this process, the better. Then we can move on to other tasks."

Lanny turns to Ronrol as they arrive at the gates of Threshold.

"Well, it appears that you and I are now members of the same order. Perhaps we shall see each other again..."

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Drudsa maintains the same spells memorized the next morning. He will buy 10 levels worth of spell scribing material (if that many material is available), replenish his equipment (rations, rope, sack, torches, waterskin) and will check what Oleg Highstreet currently has in stock.

If his companions decide to go see Myraal early in Flaurmont 22 Drudsa will accomodate those other errands at a later time in the day.

After all that is done Drudsa will ask around in town for (i) any new (or old) rumours indicating adventure opportunities and (ii) any other adventurers new in town.

TK, please note that this is an intentional hook you may use, now or in the coming days, to introduce a new player.

Furthermore, Drudsa is also interested in identifying other adventuring groups that might be in the city. First reason is to assess the competition, second to try spotting any suspicious characters and at last, but not least, to find promising newbie groups. If Drudsa eventually identify any apparently good or neutrally aligned party of beginners he might consider sponsoring them somehow - if that comes to pass we can figure out the details.

Finally, he will spend the rest of the day studying and preparing to visit Zoltar early on Flaurmont 23.

"My friends, if you are not feeling a desperate urge to turn the cat's pelt into gold pieces I will take it with me to Zoltar the Blind. I intend to ask him about possible arcane uses of the skin, as well as of the cat's claw. If he can craft any enchanted artifact out of these rare objects that will likely have its price and require other arcane ingredients, which I am sure we will be able to obtain in due course, but what I find important at this stage is to explore the possibilities. Anyone willing to join me please feel free to do so. I will spend at least a couple of days with the old sage, so I can catch up on my studies."

If none of the group is interested in going to Zoltar Drudsa will try to hire a few men-at-arms to escort him.

[Alethan]

"My friends, if you are not feeling a desperate urge to turn the cat's pelt into gold pieces I will take it with me to Zoltar the Blind. I intend to ask him about possible arcane uses of the skin, as well as of the cat's claw. If he can craft any enchanted artifact out of these rare objects that will likely have its price and require other arcane ingredients, which I am sure we will be able to obtain in due course, but what I find important at this stage is to explore the possibilities. Anyone willing to join me please feel free to do so. I will spend at least a couple of days with the old sage, so I can catch up on my studies."

If none of the group is interested in going to Zoltar Drudsa will try to hire a few men-at-arms to escort him.

Rhys replies, "It might it be better to see what each of the sages can do with one of the claws before we give them all to the blind man to work with. Accompany us to Myraal's with the claws so we can ask him; then I will, at the least, go with you to Zoltar's."

I would only ask that the other members of the party get a chance to provide input before anything is done with the claws en masse. I had the idea that making a magical item out of such a thing might be a very personal venture and that the item might have a specific power according to what that person wanted. What Drudsa wants for a magical item might not at all be what Bregalad or Rhys wants, for example.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"I will most definitely join you in visiting Myraal, Rhys. In any case, I was not suggesting to take all the claws to Zoltar, apologies if it sounded like that. I was assuming we would have already split these trophies, so I would take those that have been my share."

I guess my post above wasn't clear on that point, sorry for that.

What I meant is, Drudsa will do all the things I listed above and also join the team on the visit to Myraal. If the group decides to visit Myraal early in the morning, Drudsa will leave his other tasks for a later time in the day, otherwise he will start shopping, etcetera, early in the morning.

Also, TK mentioned that the pelt is too damaged to be enchanted. I don't think we'll be able to fetch a decent price for it as well. As it turns out it might be cooler if we keep it or just try to craft something out of it (clothing, tapestries, whatever) so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Frobozz, you mentioned the cat's skull in the OOC thread. Perhaps that could be enchanted, huh? We can ask that to Myraal and Zoltar. A magical giant cat skull, we could hang that in our cart while we travel. Eventually if the group takes Aquar's quest to the Isle of Dread we could hang it on the bow.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny nods his head in agreement as he sips his morning tea at the inn.

"Aye, Myraal has been our chief identifier of items thus far... He is not only a powerful mage but also a knowledgeable historian who can thoroughly research the history of the items. But the other sages may have specialties of their own, I don't see why we can't see them all during our week in town..."

Lanny takes another sip as he gazes out the window towards the main temple in town.

"At some point we should go to pay our respects to Father Varis and see if the main temple is in need of any assistance. They were, after all, just infiltrated by a doppleganger, and they have lost their chief priest. I do not normally contribute to the Church, not being a member, but I might do so in this instance, in memory of Father Varis. Also, we had left some magical items with him that we should probably recover... if they have not already been destroyed. Perhaps we can find someone else in the Church to identify them, or else we can bring them with us to Myraal."

Wondering if this should be our first task of the day, so that we can recover those items in case we want to bring them with us to Myraal.

[Alethan]

Frobozz, you mentioned the cat's skull in the OOC thread. Perhaps that could be enchanted, huh? We can ask that to Myraal and Zoltar. A magical giant cat skull, we could hang that in our cart while we travel. Eventually if the group takes Aquar's quest to the Isle of Dread we could hang it on the bow.

Or a helmet! Who wouldn't want to wear a giant cat skull helmet a la Rattlebones from GoT??? I think Drudsa would look mighty menacing in such attire, Zeb!

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, cleric

Lanny the Elf

"Perhaps a few of us should go this morning to pay our respects to Father Varis and see if the Church is in need of any assistance. They were, after all, just infiltrated by a doppleganger, and they have lost their chief priest. I do not normally contribute to the Church, not being a member, but I might do so in this instance, in memory of Father Varis. Also, we left some magical items with him that we should probably recover, if they have not already been destroyed. Perhaps we can find someone else in the Church to identify them, or else we can bring them with us to Myraal."

"Aye, I intended on visiting the Church to pay respects and meet the new chief priest of the Church. Perhaps we should have some spell ready to determine if that priest is a doppleganger,"comments Aquar. "I would like to contribute to the church, but I am low on coin and our travels north were not a windfall in that regard. But, as they say, vanquishing evil is it own reward. That Baron of yours didn't seem responsive to my request about a Baronial donation."

The cleric contemplates the party's new name. "The Free Fighting Fellowship... yes it has a ring to it." Aquar sips a morning ale, his second. "Yes, I can see a triple 'F' emblazoned on my shield." He finishes his ale, orders another, then slams his cup on the table. "Aye, and our new war cry will be: "F You!"

...I also agree that our front line could use another stout fighter. But I think that Aquar will take on that role, once he has advanced a couple levels and gain more hit points. Is my assumption correct, Aquar? If not, then we should look for someone to fight alongside Thordin and Innana. TK, is it possible to get a henchman who is at least 3rd level?

If you want to wait that long, yes Aqaur could take that role!

Aquar's agenda for the next week:
- stay at church rectory
- talk to new head of church about how they could help us root out Father Varis' killer.
- get heal potions donated to us to help in that cause.
- any spy missions previously suggested by others, given oher PCs are recognizeable

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Oops, sorry Grog, I guess I missed your post that Aquar was going to be doing all of that stuff during the week. Lanny has no problem if the group's clerics want to handle most if not all of that stuff.

The only reason Lanny would want to retrieve the magic items (from the gnoll shaman) that were left with Father Varis would be if those items were somehow valuable for XP purposes. He would not want to publicly sell them (given their evil nature), but if someone in the Church (or someone else that the party trusts) would want to have them for research purposes, then perhaps we could still get some XP value from them.

[thirdkingdom]

The main of the party stops by the temple before heading out to visit Myraal the Guildmage. The party is directed to Varis' old office by a ruddy-faced novice, and introduced to the new administrator, a middle-aged woman with greying hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Lady Usyl, may I present the heroes who found Aleena's body? They have some questions regarding items they left with Father Varis several weeks ago."

The companions are welcomed into the office. Lady Usyl proves to be charming and effusive, so it tempers the edge somewhat to learn that the items they described were not found among Varis' possessions. "We have come to believe that Varis was killed on or around the 2nd of Flaurmont. It is entirely possible that the Varis you gave those items to was not the Varis you thought he was. I will let you know if we uncover anything further."

Afterwards, the party mounts up and rides north to visit Myraal in his Tower. The mage is, as always, slightly tipsy and disheveled, but he ushers the companions inside with much gusto. "I have been researching the items you have brought me, my friends, and have discovered many things! Alas, the magics required to create these bowls of far-seeing are beyond my abilities, and I feared to attempt to use it lest I bring the attention of the dark mage upon this Tower. I can tell you the following, however: this bowl is keyed to a specific foci. Bargle is most likely not using a bowl to respond, as he would be required to keep the keyed bowl with him at a times. Most likely it is keyed to an item the mage carries on him, or to the mage himself. I do not believe it would be possible to contact others not in possession of this key." Myraal wrings his hands a bit nervously. "I would also like you to take this bowl with you today, as I fear he who possesses the key may be able to either scry through the bowl or divine its location without it being activated."

"The shield is non-magical, but made it Rockhome. This rune here," he points to a small marking on the back of the mirror, "denotes the Stonefist clan, while the mark next to it tells me it was forged by one Raggas Stonefist. Other than that, there is little I can tell you."

He turns to the last item. "Now this little beauty right here . . . honestly, there's not much I can tell you about it. I'm guessing it is Alphatian in origin, but that's about it. It's outside my area of expertise. Perhaps in a larger city -- Specularum or Darokin -- you might find out more information, but that's as much as I can tell you."

As of now I am not going to award XP for the shaman's club or the holy symbol, as they were essentially reclaimed by the enemy. However I will award XP if items of an evil inclination are destroyed or somehow put beyond use. Does anyone remember if I awarded XP for the amber that you gave to Varis? 'Cause you should have gotten XP for that.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

The mage nods as Myraal hands the bowl back to the party "Thank you for this Myraal. My friends, I agree with master Myraal's understanding that these bowls are too dangerous for us to use from now on. It does not mean they might not be useful in the future, if we ever manage to defeat Bargle or to recover the communication focus we may be able to master these poweful tools. Thus I propose that we leave these two bowls deposited somewhere safe where we can reclaim it at a later date, if we are ever sucessful on our enterprise against Bargle the Infamous."

Drudsa presents the great cat's claws and skull to the guildmage "Myraal, we have obtained these at great cost, fighting the mighty beast that has been causing so much ill to the loggers north of Threshold. Are these objects fair ingredients for the crafting of magical artifacts? If so, what sort of treasure do you think you or someone else of sufficient knowledge could devise out of these trophies?"


After visiting Myraal Drudsa will do the following (as previously stated + adjustments):

- Shopping around in the city - buying 10 levels worth of spell scribing material (if that many material is available), replenish his equipment (rations, rope, sack, torches, waterskin, already adjusted in his char sheet) and will check what Oleg Highstreet currently has in stock.

- Asking around in town for (i) any new (or old) rumours indicating adventure opportunities and (ii) any other adventurers new in town.

- Checking the market value of the giant cat's pelt, if there are any artisans that could use it for any pieces of clothing, tapestry or other uses and what would be the respective costs.

- Spell study.

[thirdkingdom]

Aquar

Aquar spends the day acquainting himself with the Immortals worshipped in Threshold. He is saddened, but perhaps not surprised, that few if any have heard of Procan, his Immortal patron. He determines that there are two main faiths in Karameikos, and Threshold by extension. The first, and most visible, is the Church of Karameikos, of which the Baron is the spiritual leader in these parts. It is very much a polyglot faith, a mixture of the Immortals favored by the Thyatian settlers and those worshipped by the native Traladarans.

The second most visible temple is the Church of Traladara. The three Immortal patrons worshipped by this church are Halav, Petra and Zirchev; once mortal men and women, they ascended to Immortality after freeing the Traladaran people from a vague, unspecified bondage by some form of beast-men. Confusingly, the three Immortals are also worshipped in the Church of Karameikos, although most Traladarans insist that such worship borders on the blasphemous, and in any case is not "their Halav, Petra and Zirchev." The senior priest in Karameikos is one Brother Ilya Olanov.

There are a half dozen other shrines and small congregations scattered throughout the city. A stout oaken door leads to a dusty cellar where the dwarves of the city worship their Immortal, Kagyar. A pleasant tea-shoppe serves as the meeting place for the few Hin* that dwell in Threshold, where they can eat in drink in praise to their Immortal Brindorhin. The priests mention that Asterious, the Darokin patron of wealth and merchants, has a shrine on the outskirts of the East Gate, so those traders traveling south can worship before heading onwards to Specularum and beyond.

There are several more shrines dedicated to Immortals that Aquar has never heard of, and the Karameikan priests know not much more about: Vannthic the Many-Armed, Du the Blind and Sonfrid of the Icy North.


*Halflings.

[thirdkingdom]

Myraal

Myraal whistles upon seeing the claws and skull. "So that's the great Beast, eh?" He examines the claws. "Aye, there's magic in these talons, no doubt. If you keep them about yourself a little of it will rub off -- like a charm, you know. Nothing too potent, just a little bit of luck when you might need it. But like with all charms, they wear off after a while. Shouldn't push your luck too far. You could also fashion one into a more puissant item -- a dagger, or amulet -- but such is beyond me. You may wish to visit the witch Talee, in the moors outside of Kelvin. She has a fair hand for such craftings."

He admires the skull. "Don't think you'd coax any magic out of this monster, but I'll give you two hundred gold for it. Not too late to preserve it, don't think, and mount it on the wall over my dining table."

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Myraal
He admires the skull. "Don't think you'd coax any magic out of this monster, but I'll give you two hundred gold for it. Not too late to preserve it, don't think, and mount it on the wall over my dining table."

"What do you say my friends?" he asks the group "Should we part with our friend the cat? Personally I would like to keep this thing, it is a nice trophy after all."

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

The main of the party stops by the temple before heading out to visit Myraal the Guildmage. The party is directed to Varis' old office by a ruddy-faced novice, and introduced to the new administrator, a middle-aged woman with greying hair and sparkling blue eyes. "Lady Usyl, may I present the heroes who found Aleena's body? They have some questions regarding items they left with Father Varis several weeks ago."

The companions are welcomed into the office. Lady Usyl proves to be charming and effusive, so it tempers the edge somewhat to learn that the items they described were not found among Varis' possessions. "We have come to believe that Varis was killed on or around the 2nd of Flaurmont. It is entirely possible that the Varis you gave those items to was not the Varis you thought he was. I will let you know if we uncover anything further."

Afterwards, the party mounts up and rides north to visit Myraal in his Tower. The mage is, as always, slightly tipsy and disheveled, but he ushers the companions inside with much gusto. "I have been researching the items you have brought me, my friends, and have discovered many things! Alas, the magics required to create these bowls of far-seeing are beyond my abilities, and I feared to attempt to use it lest I bring the attention of the dark mage upon this Tower. I can tell you the following, however: this bowl is keyed to a specific foci. Bargle is most likely not using a bowl to respond, as he would be required to keep the keyed bowl with him at a times. Most likely it is keyed to an item the mage carries on him, or to the mage himself. I do not believe it would be possible to contact others not in possession of this key." Myraal wrings his hands a bit nervously. "I would also like you to take this bowl with you today, as I fear he who possesses the key may be able to either scry through the bowl or divine its location without it being activated."

"The shield is non-magical, but made it Rockhome. This rune here," he points to a small marking on the back of the mirror, "denotes the Stonefist clan, while the mark next to it tells me it was forged by one Raggas Stonefist. Other than that, there is little I can tell you."

He turns to the last item. "Now this little beauty right here . . . honestly, there's not much I can tell you about it. I'm guessing it is Alphatian in origin, but that's about it. It's outside my area of expertise. Perhaps in a larger city -- Specularum or Darokin -- you might find out more information, but that's as much as I can tell you."

Innana stays quiet and remains her distance from Lady Usyl. She is finding it hard to be around people. She is not sure if it is because there is a chance anyone could be the doppelgänger, or if the long journey has made her sensitive to human company.

When they are finally able to visit with Mage Myral, she pulls out Swift Fang for evaluation. "There is a wire here that hinders my grip. I was wondering if it was removed it would effect the magical effects of the sword." Innana lays the sword on the table near the Mage. "I have been wondering what secrets this sword holds."

Before they leave Innana pulls out the broken Faye stone from her satchel. "This stone saved my life, yet I have not been the same since." For the first time Innana looks the old Mage in the eyes, so that he can see the elongated cat-like pupils, "if you could shed some light on what is happening with me, I would appreciate it."