Willa dared not make a move or a sound, desperate to remain unnoticed.  Even the darken markings she had glimpsed on the way here were not enough to ignite her curiosity in this precarious position.

    The captain lips quirked in a smile.  “Then I will not keep you long.” she rested her elbows upon simple desk “As you might be aware, I am the one who assembled Kyssea’s militia following the invasion.  I have been trying to keep the peace around the village since then.”
  She sighed and sat back in her chair.
  “That has not been easy.”
  “The people are becoming restless and the disappearances have only made it worse.  One of the things I would like to know from you, are the roads safe to travel?  If so I had been thinking of having the village evacuated.”

Having been silent for a while now Drex observing the people. It seems that at the mention of the disappearing townsfolk Drex's interest was drawn. He decides to speak up.

Darkly Drex replied to the captains question "No they are not. It seems that undead are patrolling the outskirts of the town." Evacuating the town was a smart decision and they could help the captain with this. But Drex could not let the betrayers escape with the evacuees, they must pay for what they have done.

 "What do you know about these disappearances?" He asked the captain, trying to make it sound like as casual as possible.


09:05, Today: Drex rolled 14 using 1d20. Bluff, so as not to make his interests apparent.

09:06, Today: Drex rolled 17 using 1d20+5. Insight to detect any lies via subtle facial expressions and body language.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:49, Mon 26 May 2014.

Now that a little time had passed and she had not been found, Willa was beginning to feel a little better.  She still remained hidden, but was not so tense.  It gave her mind time to wander and she began to think about the Darken markings.  Tunnels beneath the watchtower?  Could they be the entrance to the Necropolis she had read about before?  Would it even be possible to get down there with so many guards about?  Perhaps a distraction was needed?

Of course, there was more than that. The voice in the darkness had been mentioned again.  The apparent cause for the former colony of umbreans to pack up and leave. Was that what was beneath them?  If so, all these guards here would surely have been exposed to it.  Unless, may be it was just umbreans that it targeted?

Willa thought it best to try and learn a little more about this possibility.  She has heard the Captain ask if it would be okay to evacuate the village and Willa could not understand where that idea had come from.  Had not the spirit caravan owner said something like: “He said that as long as we remained in the village we would not be harmed?” The implications were clear - even to Willa - that it meant that they would be in trouble if they did leave.  If the guards had been exposed to the thing in the night, then they could be desperate, or worse, under its influence.

She quietly closed her eyes and tried to focus, searching for any mystical effects in the area.

[[10:21, Today: Willa rolled 26 using 1d20+6. Arcana - detect magic.
A Natural 20! (Perhaps the only chance Willa has of doing anything useful with her Arcana!)]]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:30, Mon 26 May 2014.

Jubei seemed to think for a few moments on the question and was preempted by Drex on it's answer. To that he gave a nod then. "Indeed. The roads are far from save. We might have managed to get through, but we didn't had a civilians to protect either. You would have to send a considerable number of militiamen with them, which would most likely leave you open to retribution here in the city. As it stands, it seems inadvisable.", he then tapped his chin as he wondered how to formulate his own question and shuffled a little in the incredibly comfortable position he was in.
"Hmm... and what do you happen to know about the Augur? Did he showcase any... strange behaviour prior to the... undead showed up?"
He asked and moved to sit down his large rear, not really caring anymore who's way he might block in the corridor behind. Only to notice that there was 'something' beneath him in the last moment and quickly standing back up with furrowed brows and slightly puzzled expression. Though the rather cramped room didn't really allow him to move and see what it was. So he turned his attention back to the captain and potential signs as to a untruthful answer to their questions.

12:25, Today: Iron Jubei rolled 29 using 1d20+9. Insight Check: Reveal thine lies to me!

It seems that the conversation with the spirit, from the caravan, has slips Drex's mind.

Drex nods agreement with Jubei's question. Any strange behavior noted by the captain might be clues to some unknown avenue of investigation.

    “I do not know as much about these disappearances as I would like.” the captain sighed.  “Though what we have learned is that whoever is responsible likes to work under the cover of darkness and at the outskirts of the village, and that they target anyone who is alone outside.”
  “Some of the men wanted to try and track down whoever or whatever is responsible but I would not have it.  I will not have anyone under my command disappear like the miller’s men.” the captain snapped, however it seemed rather that she had not snapped at the adventures but rather to be heard by everyone else inside the building.
  She coughed lightly as she brought her voice back down.  “Excuse my outburst, I have to keep reminding these men about that.”

  “I do however suspect that whoever or whatever is responsible for this it is probably undead in nature.  What better way to replace the losses they suffered in their ranks when they attacked the necropolis then to steal a few people from the village in the night.” she held up a hand.  “Despite what you might have heard I have no reason to trust a word uttered by that thing that was leading the army.”

  Drex did not notice anything unusual about captain Acano’s manner nor did it appear that she was lying.

  “I was afraid of that.” the captain sighed in an almost resigned fashion “Then out best hope lies with you, I doubly implore you to enter the necropolis and deal with whatever foul, undead thing remains there that is tormenting us.”
  To Jubei it seemed curious that there was a very slight pause just whenever the captain spoke, as if she was reviewing what she was going to say before letting it pass her lips.  What was more interesting is that her eyes, her eyes were slightly unfocused just enough to suggest she was not all there at the moment.  What was also interesting was how insistent she was that the adventures enter the necropolis.

  To her mind’s eye the space about Willa was saturated with magical energy.  A shifting brilliance that the warlock knew formed the very foundations of all realities.  In that glow she cast about insubstantial eyes, looking for anything that disturbed the aether about her.
  There was the glows from the magical items she and her companions had found, she could count each one and feel the pulse of their power like music in the air.
  Then there was something about the captain.  It was not a spell, at least not any Willa could recognize, not did it have the impression of a spirit it was something else and it was influencing the captain.  The warlock realized that the captain was probably not even aware of it.  This entity clung to the back of her head and neck in a way unlike anything the little umbrean had ever seen before.
  Once she recognized it, her magical senses found something else.  About, herself and her companions, each of them was host to another of these unseen creatures.  When she saw the thing about herself the little umbrean could only scream as a terrible and unnatural terror seized her and she ran from the room.

[Whistles nonchalantly as he rolls dice.]

As Willa's terror retreated she stayed frozen for a few moments, quite unsure what to do or how.  She had experienced worry and concern before.  Worry about being treated badly by others, concern for the safety of friends.  But she had never before experienced fear.  At least not on this scale.  As her mind started to calm down, she thought how good it was to have felt something so new and so vivid and how terrible it would be to do so again.

The paralysis faded and her arms suddenly started to flail wildly at the back of her head and neck, without her willing them too.  They scrabbled to remove whatever unseen entity rested there.  Much like someone frantically trying to brush away cobwebs that they had unexpectedly walked into.

A few moments later, after her arms had worn themselves out, Willa tried to piece together the strange things that she had seen and could only surmise that the Big Bad Mind Voice in Darkness Soul-Eater Demon, was to blame.  But just how much so?  Was it connected purely to the vision, or to the undead as well?  She had had little success in locating it so far.  Perhaps it awaited them in the necropolis? Or...she wondered just how much control had Vito over that arm of his?  Even if it wasn't to blame, it somehow predicted the coming darkness.  Maybe it knew things?  Could be conversed with?

For better or worse, Willa was now known by the guards.  She should go talk to her friends.  Even if she got blamed for all this, may be they could go on without her?  As she tried to stand up, she felt her 'stomach' churn and stumbled.  Righting herself, the oozling felt strangely smaller than ever before, even compared to 'tiny-ing' herself.

"Wonder what happen if Willa stay in dream?  Blue light save Willa?  What was?"  She looked up at the underside of the stairs, but imagined looking past them, the floors above, the watchtower's roof and through the ominous cloud above.  Willa was not religious.  Gods and such were altogether too big for one so small but, in this instance, she found herself thankful to have made a pact with one.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Tue 27 May 2014.

Jubei flinched a bit at the sudden scream of Willa beneah him and for a moment wondered if that was because of his sitting attempt. Some shuffling followed on his side as he moved around to figure out what was up with the Umbrean, but didn't manage to spot her there anymore. He gave a bit of a shrug then and turned back to the Captain. "Ignore that, our Willa is a little... weird sometimes.", he said and gave a faint nod. "Now, we will go to the Necropolis in due time. I'd much rather like to know if you were about to answer my question before that little interruption, or if you willfully ignored it? I will give you the benefit of the doubt and rephrase my question. Did you know that the Augur was doing experiments on awfully fresh corpses in his basement? Experiments that looked quite a lot like necromancy in fact.", he then paused for a moment to let her think over what he just said.
"I will give you a fair warning. Say the truth now. If we later find out that you have lied and had a part in this, then I will have harsh repercussions."



11:39, Today: Iron Jubei rolled 17 using 1d20+12. Intimidation check. Well, fucked that one up.

Drex thought it wise to not interrupted Jubei. Instead he will see if the captains answer to this question is truthful. It would seem that Jubei thought there is something amiss.

13:58, Today: Drex rolled 13 using 1d20+5. Insight. don't know if I may make another check, if not ignore this one XP

    Acano’s manner went from surprise at Willa’s sudden departure to concern then annoyance as Jubei spoke.  Folding her arms she said “I had not been avoiding your question I simply did not see what that had to do with anything really.”
“The augur was a recluse and a noble one at that whom you are levelling very serious accusations against.  Candidly I am far more concerned about this darkness and the undead fiends desecrating our dead then I am about a few missing peasants!” she growled, clearly angry but trying carefully not to let her voice be heard by anyone outside the room.
  From what Drex could tell the captain was acting much as one would expect a former soldier of the royal army to behave.

  In the gloom Willa found a spark of solace leaping from her rod and forming a small twinkling ball of light.  Casting a pale light upon her and her surroundings which seemed to melt away in the week light leaving the umbrean standing upon…
  A rough stone, batted by waves, she overlooked the sea ringed by clouds all around her.  Lightening crackled in those clouds and a storm ragged beneath them.
  It was storm without end.

  From the waters that lay in the tranquil gap in the vast storm stood, scattered about, glittering spires of crystals.  They looked small from where Willa stood by she knew they towered as tall as mountains.  Inside those crystals shone a familiar blue radiance…

  The area grew dark and the dungeons around Willa returned.  The spark growing faint again as it hopped back onto her rod and stayed there are the little umbrean drew out a proper light source.  Then it faded completely.

[Again, sorry for the late post.  :o  I should be getting back on track now with things.]

Willa let out an exaggerated sigh and blankly walked away, as if everything 'till now had been completely normal and not the least bit strange.  Her mind somewhat blown, it seemed the most reasonable response at this point.

She now had two options.  One, return to her friends, or two, try and make use of the comparative freedom she had in this place.  Although she sorely wanted to seek guidance, somehow the second choice seemed the better one as there might not be another chance to wander around the watchtower unguarded.

With her ever-burning torch in hand, she hunted around the dungeon's nooks and crannies.  Hopefully she might locate more Darken markings, or even a way leading further down.

23:26, Today: Willa rolled 8 using 1d20-1. Willa hunting for secrets!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:28, Thu 29 May 2014.

Phelan looked in surprise to where Willa once was. He was wondering what was bothering her, but couldn't think of a good way to find her with the Umbrean having already taken off. Dismissing it as a bad job, e focused on the conversation between his party members and the captain. The reaction the captain had towards the mentions of the augur caused suspicion to flare in him.

"Then it is possible someone has been using or impersonating the Augur." Phelan replied, realising quickly that accusations probably wouldn't go so well. "And, unfortunately, it could very well be linked to the undead threat. Captain, how much do you know about-" He shuddered slightly at even mentioning it. "Necrothaumaturgy? And I'm not throwing accusation sat you, I am asking for the sake of my explanation."

Jubei grimaced at the snapping back of the captain before he gave a faint nod. "Accusiations that have a very solid base, as whoever burned the augur's manor forgot to get rid of the evidence in the basement as well.", he then let Phelan finish his talking. Taking a back seat in the talk for a moment, possibly to formulate his own train of throught a little better.

    “Enough to be able to recognize it.” the captain said.  “So that explains what you were doing there earlier this morning.”
  “Should your accusations turn out to be true it could have serious repercussions for the kingdom.” she finished, no longer so much on the defensive as she had been.
  “What exactly had you found to convince you of this?” she asked.

  The cells in the dungeon were closed but not locked; Willa found various bits of detritus within but nothing interesting or valuable and no darkin marks.  Though she had only taken a look at a part of the dungeon around the entrance she had come down.

Finding nothing, Willa decides to tries to widen her search and heads deeper into the dungeon.

22:13, Today: Willa rolled 11 using 1d20-1. Perception - deeper dungeons.

[While we wait for Phelan, I’ll continue with Willa’s bit.]
    Moving on from the cells she had found when she entered, Willa makes her way in further into the dark dungeons.  The stale air was almost rancid here and the warlock waved her hands just to get the air moving a little when she spotted a darkin mark.
  It led her to a nearby cell which had another mark indicating the position of some loose bricks in the wall.  Prying the brick out with one of her implements, and moving it aside, she squeezed through and found a large, dark passage beyond.  It was rather trapezoidal, tapering off to the top and widening at the floor.
  It slanted softly downwards and the unusual architecture was familiar to Willa.  She wasn’t sure why…

Experience Awards:  Escape from the Augur’s Laboratory (125 Experience Points, each), Discover that the Heroes and Villagers are being Influenced by Demonic Forces (125 Experience Points, each) and Surviving Chapter 1 (25 Experience Points, each).
[Yes I get so caught up in telling the story I often forget to dish out XP for no combat encounters until much later.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:33, Sun 01 June 2014.

Willa slowly moved further into the passage, entranced by this feeling of familiarity that she was experiencing.  She swallowed in anticipation and placed her free hand against the wall, leaving a trail of slime behind in case it became difficult to retrace her steps.

She kept a close eye on her footing and the immediate area in front of her.  This place was likely old and could therefore be in disrepair, or even trapped!  Of course, there could be more markings too.

18:30, Today: Willa rolled 22 using 1d20+4. Perception check - a careful eye on her surroundings.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Mon 02 June 2014.

Phelan grimaced. "We had been requested to investigate the Augur's home.  When we got there, it was already severely damaged; but we found an odd passageway that led underground. From the looks of it, it had been transmuted." He paused slightly, looking somewhat pale as he remembered what they had seen below. "We found a door... Behind it... We found a laboratory for necrothaumatology." He continued explaining what they had discovered; including the animated skeletons and the odd shadow that had chased them.

Having finished, he sagged in place, looking somewhat sick at his recall about what they had discovered.

Jubei gave a grim expression as he looked to Phelan and listened to his elaborations, adding his own impressions whereever necessary.
"Something... of note. Before we investigated the basement itself, I found a half-charred corpse that was rather peculiar. It seemed to have been hollowed out by black tendrils. Of course I can't say how the... thing had looked like before it was charred, but given the rest of what we found it would seem likely that the Augur... and whoever might have helped him, had tried to make servitors that would wear a human guise. And yes, I believe that the Augur hasn't been working alone, for that the workshop was far too big for just a single madman."
He then took a little pause and began to fumble with his pack, eventually pulling the little obsidian shard out that he had almost forgotten about and held it towards the captain so she could take a look at it.
"And do you happen know what this is? I found that on the corpse I had mentioned."
Of course he also kept an eye on the captain and looked for a suspicious reaction.

12:01, Today: Iron Jubei rolled 25 using 1d20+9. Insight Check: Captain's Reaction.

While Jubei hand's the amulet to the captain, Drex opens up one of the side pockets on his backpack and retrieved the two signet rings. Placing them on to the table while saying: "When you are finished looking at that what can you tell us about these." Watching the captain's reactions.

13:27, Today: Drex rolled 13 using 1d20+5. Insight to see if captain reacts.

    “Then great care must be taken to prevent others from stumbling down there.  Though I shall have it investigated after the darkness has passed.” she looked up at the adventurers.
  “Which makes the removal of the undead from within the necropolis even more important! she almost shouted at them.
  The captain’s eyes appeared to glaze again as she looked at the shard Jubei presented.  “What do you think this is?” she asked, not sure herself it seemed.
  When she saw the items Drex layed on the table she seemed quiet shocked “It would seem you were right in that we had been dealing with an imposter of some sort.  Who knows how far this might go…”

  Willa found no further markings as she moved down the corridor, which was surprisingly straight, if slightly slanted.  It leveled out and opened into a large chamber, lit by the glow of a massive green crystal poking through the ceiling of the circular chamber.
  It was cavernous and rough forming a large bowl in the center with two other doorways, both sealed by large stone doors, leading out from the chamber, spread out almost equidistantly about the room.
  Something about this place was incredibly familiar to Willa but she could not put her finger on why…
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:46, Sat 19 July 2014.

Willa walked forward into the bowl.  She nostalgically rubbed her hand against the bottom, wondering what the significance of this place was.  Why did it seem to mean so much to her?  It seemed time had slowed as she forgot the troubles outside and become lost in her own thoughts.

There was one possibility.  Perhaps this place was not familiar to her at all.  Perhaps it was some long buried memory from a life long past?  Going with that idea, she stared into the glowing crystal above her.

16:47, Today: Willa rolled 6 using 1d20+4. History Check - Willa tries to recall long forgotten memories from her predecessors.

Jubei squinted his eyes at the brief shouting of the captain, then took the shard back and let it slide into his pack again. "You keep saying that, and we will get to it too. As for the shard, I don't know. It has some small writing on it. We will investigate that when there's time for that. Now however since you're so insistent on sending us to the Necropolis... we apparently require a Spirit Lantern to enter. Would you be so kind and provide us with one?"
The kaetyma was of course aware that he had one already in his possession, he was however also a little suspicious still about the motivations of the captain, in particular the seeming absent mindedness she had during all of this.

"In that case we must be really causes..." Drex said as a reply to the captains statement. Leaving the rings on the table.

Drex again think it wise to let the scene play out in front of him. He trusts Jubei's judgment. These last couple of weeks Jubei has proven himself worthy of Drex's trust. He is an excellent warrior and well mannered, not thing like the barbarian raiders that rape and pillage villages he heard of in stories. He gives a smurk as he thinks this.