Chapter 31: On the Trail of The Ripper

[OGRE MAGE]

Following the lead of Telkis, Bo tries to get the attention of one of the flying birds overhead, if any are close enough.

Casting a spell that allows him to speak with common animals, he puts his idea to the test.

"Hello there flying friend! Would you care for a bread crust or two? Why don't you come down and have a word with me for a moment. I am looking for information about this building you fly around."

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome scratches his stubbly chin and wishes he had a wineskin. Just one swallow would help a lot...

I do not like the idea of going in the front door. It is an obvious trap for the unwary. Can we choose a window to scramble in through? Or do we trust The Saint and forge ahead.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric looks in the general direction where she hopes either Faron or Urdur are standing. Since you two are invisible, would you be willing to sneak up, take a look in the windows? Try to see anything we can't without getting close and being obvious?

[ravenn4544]

Mouser shakes his head at the front door idea, "Going in through the window may give us a little bit of time before they know we are there."

[jemmus]

Invisible Faron's voice speaks. Yes, through a window or something other than the front door. I'll check the right side of the building. Anyone want to follow. Try not to run over me, he laughs. Not that the group is in a very jovial mood.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur joins Faron in an invisible scouting mission. I'm here too.

Sorry for the delay in posting!

[Inferno]

Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Morning. Sunday, December 25th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







The air and water of the city are like unto a poison.

Through the lingering plague of black smoke, the doomed heroes assess the forlorn and ominous mansion that towers over them.



Faron and Urdur bravely approach the overgrown grounds of the ruined estate, unseen by mortal eyes. The vegetation is dense and prolific but somehow sickly and unhealthy. Creepers and vines throw their strangling loops over dead saplings, and the earth beneath the withered grass lies uneven as if things have been buried here long ago.

The spectral scouts peer through a dirty window pane and see a half-glimpse of the lifeless, ruined splendour that lies within. Nothing stirs, but as they draw within inches of the abandoned manor they feel a strange vibration, like a scream just beyond the frequency of their hearing.

Meanwhile, the inhuman and supernatural creatures among the adventurers speak to the vermin of the sewer and sky.

A diseased rat replies to Telkis, "Come now, love. Don't be a bloody miser. Give us a sweet!" When the gnome complies, the rat says, "No news, governor. Nothing lives in that house except on certain nights. Come back later! Haw! Haw! Haw!" and scurries away.

A greasy black bird snatches a breadcrust from Bo's hand and screeches, "Something's happening inside this house! Can't you feel it?!"


Actions?





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/22, Invisible
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: 18/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/38, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 33/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Targets: Urdur and Faron
Speak With Animals (Bo): Duration: 8 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)

[jemmus]

Hello Urdur, good to see you here, Faron lamely jokes. I don't much like the way this place feels. But then again, I didn't much like the feel of that derelicts' shelter either. What I think is, I go in first, silently, if possible. Then you quietly gesture for the others to follow. He smiles at yet another lame joke, before realizing that the smile can't be seen. Well then, in we go, and maybe we catch the householders sleeping. The invisible thief looks for a way in. The best way in. From the side, and no breaking or noise. He wishes he'd had the opportunity to be an invisible cutpurse back in place where there were fat purses to be cut away. Just dangling from the belts of the rich and the corrupt.

[SocraticLawyer]

Let's not stray too far from the rest of the group, especially in our current condition, says an invisibile Urdur. If Faron agrees, he rejoins the rest of the group, reporting on what they observed.

Something's not right in there. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but it sure feels off. That almost certainly means we're on the right track. I say it's best to go in now, during the day, when nocturnal predators are more likely to be asleep.

If Faron does not agree, Urdur follows him inside.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo continues cooing to the bird while the others look around.

"I do feel it, friend. But I cant tell what's happening inside. It feels off to me whatever it is. Like some kind of unexplained vibration or something."

"Are you able to see anything through the higher windows? Is there anything on the roof or in the belfry that you can see which we cannot?"

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric waits for the various scouts- humanoid and beast- to report back.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser asks quietly, "you think they found anything?"

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome posts himself so he can watch the streets. He whispers prayers, asking for a blessing for the party.

[jemmus]

Urdur, I agree, Faron says. For now, I just want to find another way in other than the front door. I don't want to go in until we're all ready to go together.

[Inferno]

The Abandoned Manor, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Morning. Sunday, December 25th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







Invisible as the spirits of the dead, Faron and Urdur sense some long unending shriek just beyond the edge of their perception in the shadow of the dark, forlorn, abandoned mansion.

After finding an unlocked window, they retreat and the eerie sensation suddenly dies away. They return to their friends and their disembodied voices report their strange findings.

Then Long Bo and Telkis relay the testimony of the vermin:

"Nothing lives in that house except on certain nights."

"Something's happening inside this house! Can't you feel it?!"

The greasy black bird spies nothing amiss through the higher windows, atop the roof, or in the belfry.


Actions?






PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 19/22, Invisible
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: 18/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 35/38, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 33/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Invisibility (Urdur): Targets: Urdur and Faron
Speak With Animals (Bo): Duration: 5 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)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome thinks, By The Cudgel, I'm so thirsty. I'd do a lot for a few swallows of wine...

Aloud, he says, On certain nights? Is this one? We should get in there and cleanse this place- with fire, if possible.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur prepares himself to walk into a lair of unspeakable evil, again. He draws his dagger, and makes sure his spell components are within reach if needed.

Let's go.

[jemmus]

Faron's voice
Following the suggestion that the group not enter through the front door, Faron makes a decision. Through the window, then. I'll go first. The invisible rogue climbs through the unlocked window as noiselessly as he can.

Not meaning to decide for the whole group, but didn't want to ask for a discussion that could spend everyone's next round of PBP posts.
Move silently 43% - [1d100]=29

[ChubbyPixie]

"Rats," says Telkis to Urdur. "That was as close to a friendly one as I've encountered, and that's not saying much." He moves to the window.

"Er, alright, but I'll need a boost," he says, looking up at their chosen means of ingress.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo agrees that they should not go through the front doors, helping any of the vertically challenged members of the group up to the window before squeezing through himself.

"We should be wary inside. Animals can sense things that we may not, and I believe there is something happening that we might not understand in here. If anyone feels strange or sick at all, speak up so we all may know about it before it is too late. I am going to plug my ears with wax before entering, just in case."

The druid does as he says, sticking soft wax plugs in both ears before going inside.