[Completed] Corvin/Mordred/Kasper Adventure 1: Battleaxe Gang

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Mordred lets out a sigh of relief as the old man's breathing steadies. His earlier sense of urgency gives way to cautious optimism. He nods at Sebastian's words, appreciating the compliment but knowing there's still much to be done.

"Thank you, Sebastian" - he says, his voice steady and composed. "We did what we had to. Let's get him inside and comfortable"

With Corvin's help, Mordred gently lifts the old man and carries him into the house, placing him carefully on a bed. He ensures the man is as comfortable as possible, propping him up with pillows and making sure the bandages are secure.

Turning to the old woman and the girl, he speaks softly - "He's stable for now, but he'll need rest and care"

Mordred steps back outside, his eyes scanning the scene. The thugs lie defeated, and Corvin is already tying up the unconscious one. He approaches him, his mind shifting to their next steps - "We'll want to interrogate him when he wakes up. Try to find out exactly why they attacked, and who they were working for"

Mordred looks around, taking in the state of the street and their surroundings. "We should also be on guard. There could be more of them"

Before they move to secure the area, Mordred places a hand on Sebastian's and Corvin's shoulders, offering a, genuine smile - "You fought bravely and skillfully as always my friends - I am proud to stand by your side"

(I hope my posts are not too long )

EDIT: I think we posted at the same time

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin makes sure the man is tied up nice and tight, tight enough to be uncomfortable but not tight enough to cut off the blood supply, just.

Mordred steps back outside, his eyes scanning the scene. The thugs lie defeated, and Corvin is already tying up the unconscious one. He approaches him, his mind shifting to their next steps - "We'll want to interrogate him when he wakes up. Try to find out exactly why they attacked, and who they were working for"

Mordred looks around, taking in the state of the street and their surroundings. "We should also be on guard. There could be more of them"

Before they move to secure the area, Mordred places a hand on Sebastian's and Corvin's shoulders, offering a, genuine smile - "You fought bravely and skillfully as always my friends - I am proud to stand by your side"

Corvin grins back "It's good to stand up for something." his smile falters slightly "I'm just sorry about the old man. From what their boss was ranting on about I get the feeling we've stumbled into something big. We need to search and then dump the bodies somewhere they won't be found for a while, and find somewhere to interrogate the other one. We're going to have to work quickly, I guess that at best we have until dawn before they notice they're gone. "

He looks up and down the street and listens for any sound of alarm.

[archolewa]

EDIT: I think we posted at the same time

Just gonna roll with it. Sebastian will stay inside for a bit to care for the old man while the old woman rambles to him, while you two clean up (so to speak) and determine your next move.

You catch a few glimpses of motion through second story windows, but things remain quiet, as if the whole street is holding its breath.

You take a moment to search the bodies of the two thugs. The unconscious thug is out. Sebastian conked him good. You don't find much of anything on the men. Their leather armor, shortswords, and a couple of sacks for carrying coins or other valuables, but that's really it. Clearly, this was meant to be a relatively quick errand. Head out, shake down some folk living near the tower, head back. As you search, you hear a soft voice pipe up from the doorway.

"Nobody will say nothin'." It's the the thirteen year old girl who'd fetched the flowers for Sebastian, her stringy red hair barely kept under control by a long braid. "We all hate those men. Death's too good for them. That's what my grandpa always says."

She peeks shyly at Corvin. "Lupines used to scare me you know, so fierce looking. But then, Papa would say, 'Ain't no better place to be, than back-to-back with a Lupine. He'd go to the Maw for ya, faster than grandma would go to market.'"

[shaidar]

Corvin

The Lupine smiles at the girl, trying to not show too many teeth.

"Then your grandpa is a very wise man. You should only fear a Lupine when they are on your enemies side. What do you know of this gang? Have they mentioned a leader? Do they take people often, and if so where do they end up?" he stops and softens his voice a little "Sorry for all the questions. It's just that I think they've taken some people very important to me."

[archolewa]

The girl's eyes widen, and she puts a hand to her mouth. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I think, sometimes they take people. But they haven't taken anybody from around here recently, not since Cathy vanished one day, after she stuck one of them with a spear, not long after they started robbing us. Don't know where she went. Things got real, I dunno, sad, after that and nobody tried to stand up to them. Least not until tonight. Grandpa was saying he thinks they're probably in the tower. Real hard to smuggle people out of the city, lots of soldiers, gates watched closely. Grandpa wanted to gather a militia and attack the tower when Cathy was taken, but he thought better of it. Got all sad, like everyone else.

"Umm, I dunno about leaders. I went snooping around their tower once, Grandmama just about twisted my ear off when she found out, but I saw a lady and a guy all dressed nice and fancy going into the tower. Real good furs, like you might get farther West, away from the Wall. They come out in bands of three sometimes to hassle us."

[shaidar]

Corvin

"That's very helpful, and you're very brave to go sneaking around like that. How many of them have you seen around?"

[archolewa]

The girl scratches her head, and starts counting on her fingers. "Well, there's these three. The two dressed in fancy outfits. A strange woman, your age, I guess? Who comes and goes sometimes, but she's never bothered us. I saw another band of three hassling folks a bit closer to the warehouses when I was over there helping Sandy with her mum after she gave birth one time. And, my friend Billy swears up and down he heard dogs barking over there, but he's always making stuff up to impress me, so I dunno that he ever got close enough to the tower to hear any dogs."

Reminder: The warehouses are to the north. You followed these three south a block or two.

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin gives the girl a big grin "Your doing great, now have you seen these three..." he goes on to discribe Hrek and his two associates.

[archolewa]

The girl pales a little bit. "Don't know about two of them, but the blonde guy, yeah. He was big and scary. Got a good sword, and Grandpa said he was probably better with it too. Someone who'd actually seen action maybe. After Cathy stuck one of the thugs with a spear, he showed up with six burlies and dragged her off. Then he went the rounds and basically told us that if anyone messed with them again, we'd, umm, what did he say? Something weird. Something about 'rotting and moving' forever. The adults all seemed to get real scared at that, but I don't know what he meant. I mean, I know about like Ghouls and stuff, but he couldn't make us into something like that right? I mean, that's like, a Kinslayer thing right?"

[shaidar]

Corvin puts his hand on her shoulder

"Exactly. He was just saying that to scare people, that's what bullies do."

Corvin does his best to hide his own concern, glancing sideways at Mordred, while wondering if some kind of enchanted item left over from the war had made it's way into the wrong hands.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Mordred's eyes softened as he listened to the old woman's story. He could see the weight of her sorrow, the burden of loss, and the pain of watching loved ones suffer. He offered a comforting nod and a gentle smile to the children, particularly the boy holding the knife. When the boy whispered "Magic-User" in an awed voice, Mordred crouched down to his level, his starburst insignia glinting in the dim light - "That's right" - he says softly - "I use my magic to help people and protect them from harm. You did well to be brave and protect your family"

He stood up and placed a reassuring hand on the old woman's shoulder - "We'll do what we can to get to the bottom of this" - he assured her - "Thank you for sharing your story with us"

---

Outside, he listens intently to the girl chatting with Corvin, and the details about the gang's movements and their mysterious leaders.

When Corvin glances at him with concern, Mordred gives a slight nod, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. He then steps forward, addressing the girl directly.

"Thank you for your bravery and for helping us" - he says kindly - "You've given us important information. Now go inside and stay safe with your family"

Turning to Corvin, Mordred's expression hardens slightly - "Time seems to be of the essence" - he says in a low voice - "The gang's base of operations at the tower needs to be investigated. If they have captured people, including those important to you, we must rescue them before it's too late"

Mordred then speaks to both Corvin and Sebastian - "But before, we should move the bodies as Corvin suggested, and prepare to interrogate the unconscious thug. Lest we stumble unprepared onto something we are unable to handle"

(Idea is to stuff the bodies somewhere out of sight, down a manhole for example, in an isolated place, so it does not trace back to these people here.
Second idea is to find an isolated spot to interrogate the man - perhaps an abandoned house?
And Mordred will want to take the lantern, and any extra oil the thug might have had )

[shaidar]

Corvin

If the thugs have any coins of their own then he'll suggest they give them to the family.

From the previous searching of the thugs I'm not sure there was any personal coin on them, but even a few silvers would help the family.

[Edeldhur]

Corvin

If the thugs have any coins of their own then he'll suggest they give them to the family.

From the previous searching of the thugs I'm not sure there was any personal coin on them, but even a few silvers would help the family.

(Great idea!)

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

With an added thought, Mordred turned to his companions - "Let's remove the armor and weapons from the dead thugs" - he suggested - "These are worth gold if we can sell them. I don't want the family we helped to be found holding onto this stuff. But if they can hide them for a while, we can turn them for a profit and use it to help some of these folk"

He paused, his pragmatic nature evident - "It's a small way to ensure that their suffering isn't entirely in vain and that we can offer some support to the community they've left behind"

Mordred looked to Sebastian and Corvin, seeking their agreement before proceeding.

[shaidar]

Corvin

Corvin looks at the thugs and nods "Agreed, it's something positive out of this, if small."

[archolewa]

The old woman nods as the trio brought in the weapons and armor and explained their request. "Well, of course. Of course. Right over here."

She leads them to a small trap door tucked into the corner.

"One part cellar for holding preserved food, one part hiding place in case the city was going to fall. Of course, Howard, Elise, Charles, and I would stay and fight if it came to it." She nods to the old man, the girl who'd spoken with Corvin, and the boy with the knife respectively. "But the really young 'uns, well they're too young to fight, and it may be that the Kinslayer's monsters wouldn't notice a little
door tucked away in the house."

She pauses a moment, then puts a hand to her chest. "Hard to believe that isn't a real worry anymore. We used to hear them snarling out there and howling and roaring out there, the Kinslayer's army. Now, the silence is almost eerie. I have a hard time sleeping, thinking they're about to attack, forgetting sometimes that it's over. But I ramble! Here, put their weapons and what not down here."

[ybn1197]

Kasper Burbridge was using his free time from the service to check into reports of the less fortunate being bullied into paying protect scheme money. Some of the locals had chanced getting this information out to the Seer's followers but so few were able to give it credence; there was far too much else to look after, far too much to take care of; far too much to do. So Kasper had taken it upon himself to look into these allegations. They all revolved around some suspicious people taking up residence in the old wizard's tower. He knew of the tower, and he knew of the spells that kept it hidden from most others; including himself. It had taken some time to find his way to where the tower was reputed to be and the area of town supposed to be where the bandits plied their trade.
Turning a corner, Kasper heard the sounds of a fight. It wasn't the sound of a scuffle nor one of a brawl. There was the distinct sound of metal on metal and metal on body armor. This was a combat and someone was in trouble. Following the sounds, Kasper quickly made his way through the ramshackle streets past houses which looked like they could fall over from a stiff wind. He spots the aftermath of the battle too late to be of any good. Two bodies lie dead in the road in front of a small shack, the front door wide open. Fearing the worst for those who live(d) in the hut, he slowly approached. His flail was still stowed on his back, the weapon far too large for such a small enclosure, he was sure to do more damage to the hut or even himself; he trusted the cestus built into his gauntlets and his own acumen with the hand to hand weapons in this case.
Entering the hut slowly, his eyes adjusting to the different light, he quickly recognized Mordred, Corvin, and Sebastian. Though he had never directly served with any of them being a part of the Seer's contingent, he was well aware of who they were having initially trained with them before being identified as a potential for the battle priests. Clearing his throat so as not to completely surprise them, he broke into a smile and identified his presence. "I should have known when there's public disorder, the three of you are in the thick of it all."

[archolewa]

"I should have known when there's public disorder, the three of you are in the thick of it all."

"Kasper! What a surprise!" cried Sebastian happily. His eyes lit on the Holy Symbol of the Seer I'm assuming Kasper is displaying his holy symbol prominently in some manner. "Ah, so you managed to become a cleric? Did the Seer grant you the ability to channel His power before he led the assault on the Maw? It doesn't matter, come here. This old man's in a bad way. I think he's stable, but I'd love you to take a quick look. You always were deft with the bandages."

Reminder that the Seer would indeed have imbued Kasper with some amount of His power before he led the assault on the Maw, and returned comatose. But the power hasn't fully "awakened" yet, which is why Kasper can't cast spells yet, just turn undead.

[ybn1197]

Kasper spares a quick smile and a nod to Sebastian. "Yes, the Seer saw fit to imbue me some of his divine power. I only hope I can prove myself worthy once I am strong enough to wield it." He steps quickly to the old man and quickly looks over the bandages and bindings the others have placed upon him.

First Aid: [1d20+1]=8+1=9

[archolewa]

First Aid: [1d20+1]=8+1=9

This would actually 1d20+ 1(First Aid Skill) + 16 (your wisdom) = 8 + 1 + 16 = 25 > 20. Dark Dungeons X adds your *score* for ability checks, as opposed to your *modifier* like many other DnD style systems.

Also, I'm going to assume that Mordred and Corvin have I assume already come upstairs from storing the weapons and armor.

The old man is doing well.He should be fine barring an unexpected turn of events, though he will likely suffer from stiffness and lingering pain the rest of his life. A tied up thug is stirring near the doorway.

Kasper also recognizes the redheaded girl, whom Corvin spoke with and boy the one with the knife, who'd been awed by Mordred's status as a Magic-User. Their names are Elise and Charles, and it was they who had first come to the Church to pray to the Seer for help against the gang.

The girl claps her hands happily. "A cleric of the Seer! So you've come! You've come to save us! Did you send these men ahead, then?"