Session 20. - We Didn't Start The Fire
General Summary
2nd of Icegrip, 1440 A.P.
Deadeye's Tale
"Guys! Guys! You'll never guess what I found!"... The words tumbled out of Deadeye like a waterfall as he ran out of the smoky chaos of the burning town.
The others stood there in shock as a veritable stream of words tumbled out of the little Kenku's mouth. He breathlessly described the events of his day leading up to now. He'd gone into his room to drop his gear before lunch and while he was glancing out the window, he saw two cloaked figures standing next to a horse in an alcove or lane across from the inn trying very hard not to be noticed. The first figure, presumably a man, wore a deep blue cloak with the hood pulled up to cover his face. From his vantage point, all Deadeye could see was an occasional glimpse of what looked like a thick golden chain across his chest. The figure he was speaking to wore darker colours, either all blacks or dark browns. Deadeye couldn't get any sense of what the second one looked like but could tell that they were speaking emphatically, possibly arguing. Deadeye's first thought was "RIDER!" and he raced downstairs to follow them, all thoughts of lunch (or his companions) forgotten.
When he got to the street, he thought he'd lost them at first, but after reorienting himself he circled the inn and managed to find them in time to witness them shake hands and the one in black hand the other figure a large squarish pouch. After checking the main street (and failing to notice Deadeye watching them), the blue cloaked figure left first and headed down the street towards the western side of town. Shortly after, the other one led his horse into the street and headed in the opposite direction.
Deadeye faced a dilemma. He didn't know which of the two to follow, but after a brief hesitation, decided to follow the one with the horse, on the logic that it was one of the riders they'd been tracking and would likely lead him to the sword.
Deadeye kept his distance as the dark figure continued to head east through town for a ways before turning north and heading out of town, through the surrounding farmlands. Once in the farmlands, he mounted up and picked up his pace, though never deviating from his path and seemingly oblivious to being tailed. Deadeye kept back once they entered the farms because there were fewer people around and it was fairly obvious what he was doing. He thought about tracking him with his Hunter's Mark but worried that he might have a way to detect the magic so he relied on more mundane methods.
Tracking him through the farmlands was fairly difficult. The roads were dry and didn't take prints well and all the local animals confused things further. He almost lost the trail a number of times, and even wasted several hours accidentally following the trail of a donkey to a nearby farmstead.
Past the farm lands, the trail continued north but started to veer east as the forest got closer. Deadeye got to the edge of the woods late in the afternoon and realised how far from town (and his friends) he actually was. He considered going back to get them, but realised that he didn't have much to tell them yet, so with sundown approaching, he entered the woods and continued following the rider's trail.
He followed the tracks down a game trail for perhaps three quarters of an hour before he slowed suddenly after hearing voices ahead. Creeping forward slowly, he came to the edge of a clearing.
Dominating the center of the clearing, on a slight rise, was a massive stump of an ancient tree. The stump was at least 10 feet across and even in the growing dusk, was bone white in colour, a stark contrast to all the other trees. A small campsite was set up on the near side of the clearing with several horses tethered and a few tents that looked like they'd been there for a few days.
Deadeye could see the dark-garbed rider he'd followed standing by his own horse addressing several other similarly clad people sitting around the campfire. He wasn't close enough to hear everything that was being discussed, but he managed to hear something about "it would be done tonight" and "we'll use it as a distraction".
Deadeye briefly had daydreams of summoning his drake and taking them on by himself and riding victoriously back to town with the sword in hand but reality quickly reasserted itself and he decided it would be best to head back to the others sooner rather than later.
He quietly disengaged from the camp and retraced his steps back towards town as darkness fell, making sure to leave some trail signs so as he could find the path again in the morning. As he got close to town, he noticed that it was getting brighter rather than darker and wondered what was going on. It wasn't until he heard a bell clanging in the distance that he realised the town was on fire.
He raced through the nearby farms and soon joined a bucket brigade set up to douse some of the flames. As he stood near the well, he could hear screaming and distant combat and longed to join in the fray but he didn't want to let the people nearby down so he stayed and helped put out the flames.
When the fires were finally abated, he wearily headed back to the inn and on the way there, saw his friends and immediately raced over to them and blurted out "Guys! Guys! You'll never guess what I found!"...
3rd of Icegrip, 1440 A.P.
Once the initial shock of Deadeye's reappearance and subsequent attempt to tell his story in one breath wore off, the others suggested that they head back to the inn for the night. The fight with the spectral riders and subsequent firefighting activities had worn them out. They all agreed that they could make clearer decisions in the morning. Thankfully the inn had only suffered minimal damage from the attack, and despite the lingering smell of char, they were all soon fast asleep.
When they awoke the next morning, the sky was clear and the light breeze had cleared the smoky haze from around the town. The group all wearily shuffled into the stateroom while Merrick the innkeeper laid out the morning's breakfast spread. Urith was the first to perk up at the smell of bacon and he immediately dug in and slowly revived himself. The others were not far behind, each piling their plates with enough bacon to warrant the innkeeper commenting that he'd have to buy stock in pork belly futures, whatever that meant. Deadeye inquired about ordering an eel pie but was immediately shut down by the group who collectively shouted "NO!"
As they ate, Angrar recounted the group's adventures to Deadeye as he had brought them up to speed the night before. During one of the innkeeper's many trips to replenish the bacon, Deadeye inquired if he knew of anyone that wore a golden chain. The innkeep thought for a moment and eventually answered that the only people that he could recall every having a golden chain, were the town council and the Lord Mayor. The party made a note to check up on the mayor as he hadn't been at Lord Davram's dinner.
Suljurn was helping himself to a third (or was it fourth) helping of bacon when there was a sharp knock on the door. The group paused, mid-meal and all looked at each other quizzically, wondering why the innkeeper was knocking before bringing them more bacon. Oorr, impatient as always, shouted for them to come in.
The door opened and instead of the tray of bacon they were expecting, in strode Lord Davram Prestor himself. The party sat in stunned silence at the Lord's unexpected visit. Lord Davram tried to put them at ease by telling them that they didn't have to get up (none of them had moved). He apologised for interrupting their meal and thanked them again for their help with the riders the night before, acknowledging that their quick reactions and overall competence had help minimise the damage done to the town. He begrudgingly glanced at Oorr while he spoke who obliviously accepted the complement at face value. He then talked them about how the riders were a plague on his lands and a wrench in his plans. Lord Davram paused to gather himself and then apologised for asking a favour of the group, especially since he realised they were just passing through. He asked if they would be willing to rid his lands of these riders and was willing to pay them 3000 gold to do so. Oorr quickly rose from his seat and before Lord Davram had even finished speaking, he had knelt and started swearing an oath of allegiance to the Lord. Arbor quickly started talking over Oorr, lest the faun's overeager mouth get them all in trouble, and accepted the Lord's offer. Arbor then followed up and asked permission to search the old keep. He started to explain their reasoning but Lord Davram cut him off and just said, "Yes. Yes. Whatever you need". The young lord then let them know that should they need anything he'd most likely be either in the town hall or back at his manor house and that they could get word to him through his chamberlain, Marryk. Angrar enquired if the bard was still around and Lord Davram confirmed that she was staying at the manor house as his guest for the remainder of the month and while he hadn't seen her, he'd overheard his wife and her discussing what they could do around town to help. Davram then paused, waiting to see if there were any further questions and when none were forthcoming, he thanked them once again and bid them a good day as he left.
The door closed behind him and Urith and Suljurn both immediately dove back into the now cold plate of bacon while they all started to discuss these new turn of events. No sooner than they'd filled their plates, when there was another brief knocking on the door. They collectively sighed and wondered if they'd ever get to finish their breakfasts and called for their new guest to enter. This time around it was the young courtier, Danyel, who entered. He said he was there on behalf of the Lady Aldergrove who asked if they could stop by her house at some point so as she could discuss something with them. Danyel encouraged them to come after noon, saying that Lady Vera was older and needed her rest. The party agreed and Danyel thanked them and left.
After he left, they all collectively held their breath as they expected another knock on the door at any moment. Suljurn stared long and hard at the door as he chewed on his bacon, almost daring someone to knock, but thankfully no one did. The group finished their food (which was now ice cold) and discussed what they wanted to do during the day. They talked briefly about investigating Deadeye's camp, but with the meeting with Lady Vera looming, several hours away, they just didn't feel they had enough time. They then thought about going to investigate the keep itself, but again felt that they'd likely not have enough time, with the meeting that afternoon. In fact, it didn't really matter what their plans were, with the ambiguous timeframe of "sometime this afternoon", they felt like they were trapped and made minimal plans.
Ultimately they decided to stay in town. They wanted to check up on the mayor to see if he was feeling any better, Angrar wanted to catch up to the bard, Terazmisci, and hopefully finish the conversation that had been postponed the night previous. With roughly twelve percent of a plan in place, they set off in search of the chamberlain to see what help they could provide to the townsfolk.
They headed towards the center of town. As they travelled further east, they saw fewer and fewer instances of smoke and fire damage. Even as they left the inn, they noticed that there was far less fire damage than they'd been expecting. When they arrived in the town square, they found a makeshift hospital set up with several tents housing the injured and dispossessed. They were instantly drawn to the parallels between the destruction they'd witnessed in Riverrun and that from the night previous. The biggest difference they saw, was that the organisation and reaction to events had been faster and much more efficient. Money could buy everything it seemed...
As they came close, they saw a portly, dark skinned man with a bald pate and a thin crown of silver white hair circling his head sitting at a desk set up in front of a largish, official looking building they assumed was the town hall. There was a small line in front of him and he was writing extensively while listening to the petitioners in front of him. He'd occasionally glance up over his half moon spectacles and ask a question or two and then record the response. This must be Lord Davram's chamberlain.
They waited for the line to dwindle a little before approaching him and while they waited, they saw the Lady Aliana, along with the Mayor's wife and Terazmisci assisting in the first aid tents. Again, the organisation and direction from Lady Aliana was in stark contrast to the chaotic response in Riverrun.
The line finally dwindled enough for them to approach the chamberlain, who introduced himself as Marryk Graesin. After the party had introduced themselves, they noticed a thick silver chain across his chest and casually enquired as to the chamberlain's whereabouts the previous evening as they said they hadn't seen him. The chamberlain proudly responded that it was his job to remain unseen and he had indeed been there the night before, he'd spent most of the evening coordinating the wait staff and ensuring things were successful. The group verbally applauded his efforts, saying it had been an extremely enjoyable evening (Oorr muttered sotto voce "Until the fire started at least"). The chamberlain graciously accepted their compliments and asked if there was anything particular that he could do for them as he pointedly looked at the line of townsfolk that had started reform behind them. Taking the hint, they apologised for taking up any more of his time and just had one more question. They asked after the mayor and were informed that he had apparently been ill. The chamberlain said he hadn't seen him all morning (and grumbled a little that he was having to do the mayor's job as well) and pointed to his wife who was assisting in the first aid tents. "I was told he'd eaten bad eels but you could ask his wife for more information".
They thanked him and walked towards the first aid tent, waiting for the mayor's wife to finish tending to her patient before Suljurn introduced the rest of them. Arbor enquired how things were going and she said tiredly that they were going as best they could under the circumstances. She seemed tired and distracted so they did their best to keep the conversation brief. They let her know that Lord Davram had asked them to investigate the riders and they were wondering if they could speak to her husband. Before she jumped to the assumption that they believed he was involved, they quickly said it was because he had been in town and they were hoping he might have seen or heard anything. Janna said that it was unlikely that he had. She said that he'd gone out for a early lunch meeting with some of the locals to discuss some business concerns they had and had come back saying that he was feeling poorly. He had apparently spent most of the day going between his bed and the privy. She said that she thought he'd be fine and would likely be back at work tomorrow (and in an aside she muttered under her breath, of course its once all the hard work is done). The party wanted to check up on him anyways, even going so far as to offer Suljurn's "special touch" as a cure, but Janna declined and deflected saying he'd be fine and that they didn't have to go out of their way.
The party were politely insistent and after several attempts, managed to convince Janna to let them speak to her husband. Suljurn, Urith and Deadeye volunteered to help with the wounded. Oorr initially wanted to speak with the mayor too, but the others felt that he would be more effective (read: easier kept out of trouble) if he used his divine connection to Rayah to assist the injured.
He begrudgingly agreed, but rather than help the injured directly, he gathered the wayward children and started telling them a story, picking a tale from The Baraquellan Cycle. This garnered him several dirty looks from the bard as she went from station to station and several times she paused, almost wanting to correct his blatant inconsistencies, but she carried on with her work and left him with his tale. Oorr graphically described a battle where the heroes won over evil at the end of the story, thinking it a rousing success, unfortunately, the children were all still too traumatised from the previous night's events and all burst in to tears and had to be herded away from the cruel man in the hat who told mean stories. The others just shook their heads and kept helping the injured, thankful that this was a mild reaction to Oorr's antics.
While the others helped with the injured, Angrar and Arbor headed to the mayor's house. There they were greeted by a maidservant who led them into a side room and promptly disappeared. They waited around some time and started to feel like they had been forgotten. Arbor suggested that they find the servant and tell her to tell the mayor...
"Tell me what?" the thought was interrupted by a portly gentleman in a robe with dishevelled hair and a somewhat greenish tinge to his face that entered the room behind them. The two men turned to greet the mayor and introduce themselves. The mayor seemed somewhat worse for wear so while Arbor asked questions, Angrar kept a close eye on him, checking to see if he was lying or faking illness. Without actually physically examining him though, Angrar's best guess was that he had in fact been genuinely ill or had come down with something. Arbor enquired about the mayor's business meeting yesterday, to which Arn told them he had been meeting with a group of farmers who'd been approached by someone who said they worked for a Hartram & Wolfe and the farmers were wondering how to handle it. He didn't go into further detail though as he said it really was none of their concern. Arbor then asked about the old keep, and the mayor advised them to be careful as it had been falling down for years. The masons and architects that Lord Davram had requested from Merritt's Rest hadn't arrived yet and were expected any time now. The mayor didn't seem worried and blamed any delay on the recent Samhain celebrations rather than anything more nefarious.
With no further questions that they could think of, they thanked the mayor and wished him a speedy recovery before heading back to the center of town to meet the others. Shortly after they arrived and brought the others up to speed, they heard a bell toll in the distance, likely from one of the churches, signifying mid-day. Taking that as their cue, they headed to Lady Aldergrove's house for their appointment.
The house that they arrived at was moderately larger than anything nearby and immaculately maintained. They were once again ushered into a sitting room to wait for the Lady. While they waited, Arbor and Angrar couldn't help but notice the differences between this room and the mayor's. While ostensibly the same - a small room with seating off the main entrance to house guests when they arrive, this room's decor, presentation and design were muted, but everything quietly spoke of wealth. In comparison, the mayor's sitting room was loud, and a pale imitation of this one. This room spoke volumes to the wealth of it's owner without saying much at all. The others were oblivious to the subtleties and sat themselves comfortably while waiting on their host.
It was only a short while later (far less time than Arbor and Angrar waited for the mayor) when they heard talking in the hall coming towards them. They looked up to see Lady Vera chatting quietly and genially with Lord Davram's chamberlain as they walked to the door. She was dressed in an immaculate flowing gown and held on to his arm as they walked. He was bent over slightly as she was much smaller than he was so the party couldn't hear anything they discussed as they passed. They saw him chuckle and pat her hand as they shared a familiar moment before politely bowing and saying their goodbyes.
After the chamberlain departed, Lady Vera quickly reappeared at the entrance to the sitting room and welcomed them into her home, she asked them to follow her. She took them out into her back garden and directed servants to bring some refreshments. She thanked them profusely for saving her town and chatted idly while she waited for the refreshments to arrive. Once the servants had departed, she asked if they'd enjoyed the party and when they said they had, she then went on to ask if any of them had seen the gardens. Oorr had said he'd caught a glimpse of it but not much. Angrar and the others said that they'd seen some from the carriage but sadly not a lot. Vera lamented that was a shame as they were extremely pretty and well maintained. She lauded praise on Lady Aliana for her horticultural prowess and then asked if they could do her a small favour. Lady Vera said she was so grateful that Davram and Aliana had revitalised the community and were rebuilding her ancestral home that she wanted to thank them. Angrar, ever the people watcher, caught a very slight sense of resentment in her voice when she spoke about Lord and Lady Prestor's achievements, though he couldn't tell if it was just in passing or something more serious.
She said she had commissioned a statue for the manor's gardens. There was a pond in the middle of the garden but it currently lacked a centerpiece. Vera said she had had one commissioned in secret and had planned on giving it to the Prestors as a surprise gift. Unfortunately, she said, that the servants she'd sent to collect the piece had not returned and she was wondering if the party could go and see what happened to her people and perhaps also return with the statue. While curious, they were initially hesitant because they assumed that the statue was coming from Merritt's Rest, which was several days away. Vera saw the concern on their faces and said, that it wouldn't take too long. It was just a quick trip up to Morwen's Tower. She said that the tower was home to a dear family friend, her family's old court astronomer - a man named Mawrdrynn, who had retired there after the old keep burned down and took up residence in the tower to practice his sculpting hobby. The party voiced their concerns, saying that the villagers they'd spoken to about the tower said it was haunted and the residence of a witch. Vera laughed and lightly scoffed at those claims, saying that there hadn't been a witch in these parts for almost a century. In fact, her grandfather had killed the hag that haunted the eastern woods on the very night she was born. She continued to assure them the tower was completely safe.
Arbor and the others agreed in principle to assist her, saying that they hadn't planned on heading that direction, but if they were in the area, they'd gladly check it out for her. She was very grateful and asked them what their plans were. They shared that they were planning on investigating the old keep and wondered if there was anything she could tell them about it or the fire that ravaged it. Unfortunately she said she remembered very little of the place, having been there only a few times when she was very young. She remembered a grand ballroom (bigger than the one at the Manor) with a giant chandelier that glittered like the stars above. As a child it was like magic, and who knows, it may have been.
Vera's eyes grew distant as she briefly got lost in memories and it took her a second to focus on the question that had been asked. Oh, no, she didn't know what started the fire. She and her parents had been in the capital at the time. Rumour had it that a fire had accidentally broke out in the library one night and had spread throughout the keep before anyone could stop it. Likely her grandfather had fallen asleep reading some sort of treatise and had knocked over a candle or lamp. Vera paused briefly, trying to wipe away a bad memory and apologised that she couldn't tell them more. They asked if she'd been back recently, and she said that she hadn't been back since the fire. Too many bad memories. With no other questions, the party thanked Lady Vera for her time and again promised to look in on the whereabouts of her statue if they had the opportunity. She thanked them and they departed.
As it was still mid afternoon, they set off to the old keep to investigate it, despite Suljurn and Deadeye's odd desire to wait until nightfall to do so. The ridge that the keep sat on loomed over the town and as they got closer, they could see that the top of the tower facing the town had fallen away, exposing a room of sorts. They followed the paved road up through a crumbling archway into what they assumed would have been a large courtyard. Most, if not all, of the buildings were rubble and the cobblestone yard itself was broken and overgrown with weeds and grass. Urith and Deadeye both started examining the area for tracks but the ground didn't give up much information. They could tell someone had been there recently. There were tracks that led from the courtyard to both the tower and the only other remaining building of the keep (Urith surmised it to be the servants wing, or possibly a stable) They saw tracks leaving the tower as well that headed back towards the road where they lost them.
The party decided to ignore the outbuilding for now and made their way into the tower. At first they positioned themselves tactically to look inside without going inside, but quickly realised that the room was empty and the entryway was wide and in ruin and they could easily see inside. The room itself was barren and strewn with rubble, a stone staircase spiralled upwards and there were several large sections of the outer wall that had partially collapsed, taking sections of the stairs with them. They climbed up the first part of the stairs with ease and when they came to the first gap, Oorr jumped across safely and was about to proceed up further when the others called him back. Urith tossed him a rope and between the two of them, managed to rig a makeshift rope to assist the others across. Once the rope was in place, the others climbed or jumped across the moderate gap and once everyone was across, continued up the stairs.
They circled around the stairs, noting rotting joists sticking out of the walls in a few places and surmised that there had likely been several floors that had long since rotted or fallen away. They came to a second gap in the stairs, this one somewhat larger than the last but with a much larger drop beneath them. Again, Oorr jumped across fearlessly, this time with a rope from Deadeye but wasn't as agile this time. His hat fell off in his struggle to climb onto the stairs and fell into the gap below. He idly asked if someone would go back down and get it for him. When the others ignored him, he sighed resignedly then secured the rope for the others. Angrar used his strength and height to his advantage and leapt across with minimal effort. The others being far more cautious, used the rope and slowly crossed, with only Urith having a near miss that almost sent him to the floor sixty feet below. Thankfully Angrar managed to grab him in time and pull him to safety.
Once everyone was across they climbed up to the top of the tower and into the room they'd spotted below. It looked like there was likely another floor above them but it had long since crumbled away. The whole eastern wall had collapsed, leaving an opening thirty feet wide from which you could see the whole town and farmlands. There were several statues both in the room itself and on the parapets as well. Outside of the statues, the room had minimal furniture, with only a large brass telescope on a tripod in front of the gap in the wall and a table near the center of the room. Angrar and Urith approached the edge cautiously and looked down noting the jagged rocks roughly a hundred feet below. They then examined the the telescope and noted that it was bolted to the floor, but that the lack of exposure and corrosion on the metal likely meant it was a recent addtion to the tower. Looking through the scope, town leapt clearly in to view and even the Lord's Manor could be seen clearly through it.
While they looked through the scope, the others examined the table. On it they found a rough map of the town with several cryptic marks noted beside several of the buildings. Oorr instantly recognised them as shorthand written in Thieves' Cant. He examined the map and as best as he could, deciphered several symbols. There was a safe camp spot noted in the woods north of town near a stump, The lord's manor had symbols for treasure as well as one for well-guarded. There were a couple of other symbols as well but before he got a chance to identify them, Angrar swore that he'd just seen one of the statues move. Urith had been in the process of detaching the telescope from its mount and strapping it to his pack and he paused as Angrar approached it cautiously with his sword drawn. The others looked up from the map, wondering what Angrar had seen. There was a sudden flurry of movement and the statue nearest Angrar leapt forward and attacked, catching him off-guard but thankfully the creature's claws just scraped across his armour and did no real damage.
Taking the first creature's attack as a signal, the other statues leapt to life and started attacking the group. Oorr prophetically shouted "Gargoyles!" as he slipped between them, dodging their sharp stone claws. Urith quickly finished strapping the telescope to his pack and attempted to get a better angle on the creatures. Six of the creatures flew around the room and paired off to attack the group with Angrar and Suljurn fighting two each at various points in the fight. The gargoyle's solid stone forms absorbed a lot of the party's damage and the party worried that they might be outmatched. The creatures themselves didn't seem to be doing a lot of damage individually, but they were slowly whittling down Angrar and Suljurn with their multiple clawed hits and pinning down the others. Angrar took a bad turn early in his fight when his ancient sword, picked from the ruins of the flying city of Aeor, finally gave out on him and bent, hampering his damage output. Deadeye summoned his drake to help with the fight and they did their best to concentrate attacks on one target at a time. Finally they managed to bring one of the creatures down and it crumbled to dust at Angrar's feet. Another flew out the window, attempting to escape but Urith took it as a personal affront and rushed to the gap. He took quick aim and launched one of his arrows at it. He took it squarely in the back and the creature tumbled out of the sky into the rocks below.
With two enemies down, the party felt that the fight was finally turning in their favour. That feeling was short lived however, when two more gargoyles flew into the gap and attacked Urith in retribution for killing their companion. Thankfully Urith was able to slip away from the attack and Deadeye's drake managed to delay them from following. Arbor sadly fell victim to another creature's claws and his armour was unable to prevent some serious slices in his flesh. In retaliation, he started casting a spell but stumbled briefly over the incantation and instead of the expected bolt of flame, a deafening explosion rocked the whole tower. Urith, Deadeye and Suljurn were all caught in the blast and couldn't hear anything for the remainder of the fight.
The fighting continued and they slowly whittled the remaining gargoyles down. Unfortunately, Arbor's failed spell had destabilised the tower and suddenly the ground started shaking violently under their feet. Oorr decided that discretion was the better part of valour and started towards the stairs. He shouted to the others that it was time to go but due to the ringing in their ears, not everyone heard him. The shaking continued and Deadeye and Urith both got knocked to the ground as they tried to escape. Deadeye tried to jump over the ledge onto the stairs below but with the shaking, failed and landed poorly on his ankle. Angrar dispatched his foe and made his way to the stairs, thankfully keeping his feet. Suljurn, as always, was the last to retreat continuing to fight the last gargoyle while the others escaped the collapsing tower. He finally brought the last gargoyle down but was unable to keep his feet due to the shaking. When he got back up he realized that he was the only one at the top and quickly followed Deadeye over the rail but managed to stick the landing.
With everyone on the staircase, they made their way to the first gap. Oorr channeled his inner goat and leapt across easily, despite the shaking. Angrar attempted to follow but gravity had other plans. He mistimed the jump and plummeted to the floor below, landing lifeless in a heap below. The others panicked when they saw his unmoving form and it became a race to save their friend. Oorr ran down the staircase as fast as his cloven feet could carry him.
Deadeye attempted the leap next, but unfortunately his bad ankle gave out on him and he too fell to the bottom of the tower. He briefly enjoyed the sensation of flight before landing solidly on top of Angrar's unmoving form. Whether it was due to his lighter bones or luck or the fact that he landed on Angrar, Deadeye managed to survive the fall and was still conscious. He quickly administered a healing draught to Angrar and brought him back from the brink of death.
Arbor attempted the jump next, confident that even if he fell, he had a spell that could save him. Sadly, he couldn't make the leap and fell. He had a confident look on his face that was quickly replaced with shock. When he was halfway down, he began casting his spell only to realise that he couldn't remember the exact words. The words were just out of his reach as he hit the ground next to Deadeye. When he landed a small puff of mist escaped from under his body. Somehow, he too had survived.
Suljurn was next to leap across but sadly he too fell into darkness. He plummeted to the ground below and managed to avoid landing on the crowd that had gathered beneath him. Unfortunately he didn't not stick the landing and the others heard the sickening crunch of broken bones as he landed. Once he regained his senses, he Touched himself and recovered enough of his health to sit up and help the others.
Urith was last and the tower continued to shake. He grabbed the rope and untied the part on this side of the gap and hastily retied it around himself. Rather than attempt the jump, he leapt towards the far wall and attempted to rappel down gracefully. Unfortunately the rope wasn't long enough and he was left dangling above the others. With even more bad luck, the knot he'd tied came undone and he fell the last twenty feet landing poorly on the rocks below.
Oorr raced down the remainder of the steps, easily clearing the final gap and to meet them at the bottom. Rather than check on his friends, his first instinct was to search for his hat. He managed to pull the crushed hat out from underneath Angrar and tried unsuccessfully to shape it back into a wearable form.
The tower continued to shake and everyone hastily retreated lest it collapse on their heads. Outside in the courtyard they grabbed their horses and as dusk came on, they wearily headed back to town. Looking back, they expected to see the tower collapse behind them but only a few dust clouds drifted away on the breeze as the tower settled and remained standing. They shook their heads at the bitter irony and headed off to the inn. As they were unsaddling their horses and dreaming of tomorrow's breakfast of life-giving bacon, Deadeye piped up and said, "Do you guys think we should have grabbed the body of one of the gargoyles as evidence?"
Rewards Granted
- 701 XP
Character(s) interacted with
- Lord Davram Prestor
- Marryk Graesin, Lord Davram's Chamberlain
- Lady Elvira Alder
- Janna Fletcher, The Lord Mayor's Wife
- Arn Fletcher, The Lord Mayor
- Danyel, The Courtier
Notes
Contact the GM privately via messenger prior to next game for your xp reward.
This offer has now expired
[/FNORD!]
Deadeye Cliffhanger
Oorr Rosetta del Hilltopple
Rogue 4
Sorcerer 1
10
18
12
8
12
16
Urith Thane
Suljurn sah-Ghad
Arbor Nox
