In this world, there are six continents: Cathyria, Kaudos, Druhak, Bishapur, Shan-tai, and the Isles of Mercia. An entire lifetime could be spent exploring these realms.

Our current realm is the Isles of Mercia. This continent is not a single land mass but is made of hundreds of islands clustered together, at the south of the world. In fact, this region is so far south that it should by all rights be a frozen wasteland, if not for an ocean current of strangely hot water from the west. This current and its complex movement through the Isles of Mercia affect the climate in drastic and not-fully-understood ways. Some islands might be sandy deserts or vast jungle forests, especially those in the west where the seas are steadily warmed. Sailing a short distance east, the islands soon change to snow-peaked mountains and valleys of pine. But no matter where one travels, there is always adventure to be found. This is the realm we call home.

Of all the many isles, the largest of them is Kabariya. In the east where the seas are cold, Kabariya is covered with forests of all kinds and is one of the few isles to feel the change of seasons. With pleasant summers and snowy winters, the folk of numerous small kingdoms on the island carve out their lives. Along the length of the isle spans a towering mountain range which goes by a different name in each kingdom. But strangers to Kabariya simply call it 'The Spine,' for it is indeed like the spine of the isle, and eternally present in the eastern horizon.

And if the mountains are like a spine, then the Kingdom of Styrie could be called the neck, for it lies in the uppermost regions of Kabariya. Ruled by King Leopold, Styrie is a land of natural beauty. In the east and south, the snow-peaked mountains of the Spine shelter lush, green valleys and sleepy villages. In the west and north, rolling, fertile plains provide both the food for the nation and even parts of Mercia, by means of many coastal ports. This abundance has long sustained a strong royal army and protected them from invasion by neighboring kingdoms. And no neighbor is more grieved by this than that of Vaterland, the only kingdom farther north than Styrie. These two nations have considered each other enemies for so long that is it not unusual for commonfolk to forget they are at war. Connected on land solely by a narrow strip, the two kingdoms have never been able to progress against the other, and as a result, rarely does the commoner think on the war in his daily life - until recently. For the first time in decades, Vaterland has launched an invasion of Styrie and made progress on their shores, but this fighting has remained confined to the north and changes only by the slowest pace. Among the residents of the south, peaceful village life and more the mundane affairs still rule the thoughts of the simple inhabitants.

One such place is the village town of Varna, nestled in the Varna Pass for which it's named. With high mountains on both sides and dense forests of pine in between, the village town of Varna is built on the River Ebb, and here, the people live content and protected from the outside world. But Varna is not without its own secrets and dangers. There are mysteries which haunt the village town, both in the past and in the present. Although these are mostly ignored by its residents, in a willful effort to preserve their happiness and delusion, theses secrets are beginning to break free. In fact, they were broken free by the exploits of a few strangers that came to Varna not long ago. However, this is a tale best not told as an exposition but as a story, for there is simply too much to say. Where shall I begin? Well, like all great stories, it begins with a musical number. . .

***

quote:

O' Lyla, O' Lyla. Why'd ye leave me so?
Break my 'eart in so many pieces, I don't know what to do.
O' Lyla, O' Lyla. Please again be mine.
Have I ever wronged ye?.. 'Cept for that one time.

Cept for that lass named Sammy.
But I apologized for that.
Same with Tess and Mandy,
Arabel and Charlat.

Megan, Sara, Josi,
Caroline an' Mosey,
Dana, Tess an' Caitlin,
An' that blonde one from the inn.

Aside from these lil' mistakes,
I'm a true and honest soul
Soooo O' Lyla, O' Lyla,
Please don't leave me so!

Jehan let the last note of his voice and lute ring, giving an epic finale to the song. Zoltan and Eike briefly applauded as they walked. "That was funny one," commented Zoltan. These little bursts of song made the long travels much more bearable.

Although Jehan had performed for crowds in the past, only he and his companions heard this recent composition. Well, the donkey too. To their right was a dense forest of pine that soon disappeared at the feet of towering mountains. To their left was a river which swiftly flowed in the opposite direction they traveled, and beyond that, even more forest and mountains. They knew by now that they had entered the Varna Pass which meant that town could not be much farther. Thank goodness, for the old donkey that pulled the cart along was slowing down with each mile. The group of companions all walked, for the cart was too small to ride in; but it stored everything they would need to set up shop in the upcoming village.

Zoltan picked up a rather ugly carving from the cart that Jehan had been previously working on. "Sometime's I can't believe you guys sell these things." "Hey my friend," he responded enthusiastically, "It's all about showmanship! I make the product, Eike get's their attention, and -BAM- sales happen." Zoltan chuckled, "There's a sucker born every minute." "Ain't that the truth," Eike replied.

After a few more minutes, they finally crested a low rise and gained a view of Varna. A lonely dirt road winded up to the little town, which sat at the base of a steep mountainside. Houses of wood and stone crowded close to each other in a small haven of civilization in the midst of wilderness. Varna Pass was considered a safe passage west, so the community of Varna was no doubt accustomed to the wayside traveler. The group paused a moment to let the scenic view sink in. And then they were bored with that.

"Our fortunes await. Let's get going!" Jehan cried with an excessive grin on his face. "By the way," Eike asked. "Did you pay for this donkey in the last town?" Without hesitation and with the same cheerfulness, Jehan replied, "Not a cent!" Eike looked impassively at him before saying, ". . . Sweet!" Zoltan laughed and added, "Hah! Looks like it's west only for us!"

As they walked, they talked about themselves.

"Haha! I think that's one of your best ones yet! I can't wait to get into town to see how that one does." Eike says while trying to stifle his laughter. He puts his hand on their new donkey companion, admiring how Jehan managed to get away barrowing with a relatively nice animal. He looks over to Jehan, "Now you know we gotta name him. He'll be with us for a long time here and so we gotta come up with some creative, maybe noble. How about Greg?" Eike waits for a response from his companions. His long black hair shifting as he looks between his friends, "Got a nice ring to it I think." Eike puts his staff back into right hand and resumes walking it. The staff is clearly well cared for and looks as though Eike would be very reluctant to let into any one else's hands. It is a nice smooth piece of ebony wood and in shockingly nice condition compared to his worn blue robes.  Although, it has been so long he can't quite remember what color of blue they started out as. Eike's mind is filled with thoughts of the possibilities that are to come from this new town. He thinks to himself, "This is where we are finally gonna make it. This is the turning point. I can just feel it!"

Coming out of his day dream he looks back to Jehan. "I've been working on something new for our shows! A new trick for a new town." He grabs his staff with both hands. Pointing it towards Jehan's lute that is still in his hands. And with a thrust of his staff he shouts, "Doves!" {Casting Doves} Three doves suddenly appear inside of the lute! Eike looks at the birds, but a look of disappointment comes across his face with a frown. "Dang it! One of those was s'pose to be purple." After a few more seconds of thought, "And maybe inside the guitar wasn't the best idea. Oops!"


{09:43, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 21 using 1d100. Chance of a purple dove.}
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Thu 02 July 2015.

The burst of doves from within Jehans lute caused him to jump, throwing up is hands and quickly looking at his instrument on his back. "YOU CANT KEEP DOING THAT!" He shouted at the sorcerer, wild flail causing his once well kept long blond hair to become a bit of a mess. Regaining his composure he slid the Lute around from his back and up into both hands, he stood in his tracks, a small ways further than his friends, "It was cool the first time, but im sick of cleaning shit out of here... Gotta warn me first. Remember the first time you tried that? It was late at night and they spent hours nestled in Claire..." Jehan, who one could possibly take for a noble, wore fine clothes, with leather boots, and a red tunic, which he always somehow managed to keep clean. He gave 'Claire' a shake, and a few doves burst loose and fluttered away confused. He flipped the lute, older to be sure, but kept in amazingly well condition, with its custom black lacquer finish. Quite simple to see that this was his prized possession.

"Greg," He said with a chuckle turning around to look at the donkey, "oh please," he continued, walking his way to the animal petting and looking at him, "Hes one of us now, he needs a name that reflects his Noble air of mystery... Though now that I think about it, he is also Strong and Majestic... Perhaps we could name him 'Mystery,' or... 'Majesty." He then grabbed the calm creature by the face and gazed into its eyes. "Yeah no, definatly a Greg." He said, patting him on the head as he walked around the cart, polished rapier tip knicking it as he walked passed making a rather pleasant 'ding' sound. He froze in his tracks, gazing up for a moment. "C sharp... needs to be polished again."

Wedging his way between Zoltan and the cart to grab his small carving he held with thumb and index finger, quickly spinning around to look the large man in the eye with hint of playful fury, "And for your information, you uncultured swine," he shot at the warrior, "This is an unfinished Knight for my chess set ive been working on." Looking down at it again, he could see why he lost interest with this particular piece. "One I finish it, we could make quite a bit of gold on one of those noble types. Just let me do the talking eh?" he said as he flicked the small piece of wood over his shoulder and back into the cart with rather impressive accuracy.

He pulled his hair from its messy stated and tried to make it look like it did before... but it just wasnt the same... "See, if I hadent convinced that dumb bloke that my mirror was magical, i wouldnt have been able to trade it for ol Greg here. Now I cant fix lovely golden locks." With a huff he looked at the town in the distance. "Lets see if we can find a body of water before we make an appearance eh? Id like to look my Sundays best for a group of new faces." Mouth curling up into a smile, "And who knows how lovely the women here are..."

With a mysterious flick of his elbow, he suddenly held a dagger, "keep an eye out for me yeah? I wanna work on this pipe before we get there. Maybe get a pretty penny for it. Just remember to make a sound every now and then so i dont wander off again. You know I can get carried away with these projects sometimes..."

As the curious group walked along the road, the bard began to hum small simple tunes to himself as ideas for their next performance. Often in a world of his own in moments like this, he was often unaware of his own actions, and out of strange habbit, ran his silver studded tongue piercing along his teeth, making an ever so silent clatter as the stud ran along his pearly whites.

[Private to DM Ryan:
Jehan Roux rolled 8 using 1d20+1. Knowledge geography, nearby bodies of water.
Jehan Roux rolled 8 using 1d20+4. Craft check, craft pipe.

Items currently in chest:
Rope, Hemp (50 ft.)
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:24, Thu 02 July 2015.

"I'm a chest! ...that cannot talk!"

Zoltan gave a good laugh at the burst of doves. "Do you think that they are brand new doves or are they perhaps teleported from another location?" He stretched out his arms above his head and looked to the sky thinking about what adventure might be awaiting them this time. He stood tall with broad shoulders atop his stocky build. He pushed his black hair out of his face. It had been a while since it was cut and he was finally able to tie it back to keep it from his eyes, but he managed to lose his string.

He cast his eyes to the mule and gave it a pat. "I don't know about his name. He is sort of a lowly animal, a traveler. Perhaps something more fitting would be Jehan or Eike? Just add the title 'the ass' to distinguish." He scratched its ears. "Jehan the ass, oh wait, I can see where there would be confusion." He had to try hard not to laugh at his own dumb joke. "Maybe Gregory would be better. Greg for short. Grego for medium."

He fiddled a little with his belt so his sword wouldn't make a tinkling nose in the scabbard every time he took a step. His clothes were a bit worn, but look like they were probably expensive a while back. He had done his best to keep them nice, but after so much time there was only so little to do about it.

"And maybe if your carvings were were more than a 'pretty penny' you wouldn't have to lie about the properties of your items, hmm?" He looked at Jehan with a raised eyebrow.

Jehan hummed a slow tune as he whittled bits and shavings from a piece of wood. The pared trimmings floated to the ground, leaving a trail of crumbs behind him. His tune matched the pitch of the nearby river which hummed with the sound of rushing water. He interrupted his song and said, "Let's go by the river and relax. I'd like to finish this thing before we get to town." His companions bore no complaints, for they had all the time in the world.

Guiding the donkey, Greg, off the well-trodden road, they trudged a short distance through the tall, beige grasses and to the banks of the river Ebb. Eike was the first to lie down; comfortably inclined on the slope of the bank, he laid strewn on his back. The river steadily moved eastward, the direction back from whence they came. The waters frothed and spumed in many places, for the river was fairly shallow and filled with rocks and sunken branches. Although a very small boat could guide its way through, no true ship could ever come here. Where there water wasn't white with foam, the surface was a pure crystal blue, which was a sign it must descend from the mountains somewhere farther upstream. Across the river was a mile or two of dense pine forest that was abruptly contained by the wall of mountains beyond.

Zoltan crouched by the river's edge and filled his waterskin. Jehan approached next to him. He glanced down at his 'pipe' which was turning out a tad more phallic than he originally intended {Craft Check: Meh}. "Meh." He set it down on the ground for a moment. "I'll try and fix that in a second. But I have more pressing matters right now – like fixing my hair! I wonder if I can't get a good reflection off the water..." Crouching next to Zoltan, he peered into the blue where he saw a blurred and distorted vision of himself. "That one ugly guy," Zoltan commented on the reflection. "Well, at least... -huh? What's that?" Jehan, in a rare act, left his own retort unfinished and pointed toward the middle of the river. Zoltan followed his finger and squinted, "What? I don't see anything." "I thought I saw something sparkle over there, just under the water," he answered. "That's just foam." "...Maybe. Hmm..."

Eike watched the clouds drift overhead. "Sure is a nice day."



{These options are purely suggestions meant to inspire all the possibilities available to you. You may, and are encouraged, to undertake any course of action your creativity can think to do!}

[Private to Jehan Roux: Jehan Roux
Knowledge Geography ~ You don't know too much about this area. There's the river Ebb, which might spring from a waterfall upstream, past town, but you know little other than this.
]

Much like a rodent of some sort, Jehan had an affinity for shiny things and would not allow a possible treasure go by un-discovered. With a smile, he quickly began to frantically remove his shirt. Zoltan looked over with a raised eyebrow as he carefully set down his tunic and weapons on the ground with a gentle brush to get any residual dust off. "I dont know about you two-er... Three, sorry Greg; But I could fancy a dip." Finally removing his boots he began to wade into the water, spine suddenly darting upward making his stand awkwardly stiff with shoulders and arms curled in displeasure. "Its uh." He said begining to shiver. "Cold. Very cold. Much like the heart of my dear-" before he could finish, he had slipped on a rock, completly submerging himself for a few seconds.

An explosion of water and high pitched squeals echoed in the peaceful air. "Wooooo thats a nippy one. That'll get you going..." He huffed to himself as he regained his composure and the two men laughed at his clumsy mishap. "Well," He stated, clearing his throat after his violent, feminine outburst, "seeing as im in here, could one of you throw me my soap? Theres something over here i want to that caught my eye maybe..."

Jehan Waded out at first, but then began to swim to the sparkle that caught his attention a moment ago..

[Private to DM Ryan:
Jehan Roux rolled 13 using 1d20+4. Craft check, craft pipe (after swimming).
Jehan Roux rolled 9 using 1d20+2. Swim check, to item location (Edit to sheet typo)
Jehan Roux rolled 10 using 1d20+2. Search check, Item of interest in the water.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:56, Sat 04 July 2015.

Eike looks up when he hears the splash and starts boasting with laughter seeing Jehan in the water. "Well of course you're not going to see anything now! You fell in like a bafoon and stirred up all the water. You should'a sent Greg in." He says while shaking his head. Eike grabs his staff with both hands to help himself up and walks over to the chest to grab the rope. Handing the rope to Zoltan, "Well here ya go. Let's get Jehan out of there."

Zoltan sighed as he stood up. "Alright, alright," he huffed with a stretch. He took the rope and made a slip knot so Jehan could hang onto it better with his hand or wrist. "Catch, and not with that fat head of yours," he said not wanting to choke him out. Well maybe a small part of him did, but was was kind of fond of the strange fellow. He Gave the rope a good toss towards him.
22:22, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 15 using 1d20+1. Tie/throw rope.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Fri 03 July 2015.

Eddies formed near the banks of the river where fallen branches had caused the water to whorl. Through these, Jehan waded into the current with careful steps. The height of the shallow water slowly climbed up his legs and caused small shivers, for the mountains had thoroughly chilled it, though not to the point of being unbearable. It reached only to his waist as he neared the deepest point in the center. Eike and Zoltan watched from the banks, expecting something ridiculous to happen. And happen it did.

Slipping on a rock on the riverbed, Jehan fell backwards into the water with arms waving and was briefly submerged. His head immediately popped back above the surface and began to cry, "I'm drowning! Help me, I'm drowning!" He splashed with flailing limbs in a panic. Eike and Zoltan, not moving, exchanged smirks with each other. Finally Zoltan called out, "You do realize you can just stand up, right?" Jehan ceased his cries and flailing, and realized he was, in fact, not drowning. He stood back up. "Oh. Uh, I knew that." He shook his head like a dog, and his blonde hair sprayed droplets of water every which way. His hair was a hopeless mess now. He continued, "Say, throw me a rope anyway for coming back. The current's a little strong." Rolling his eyes, Zoltan retrieved their rope, made a loop at the end, and tossed it to him. "Thanks," he coughed as he grabbed it, clutching it in one hand.

As his eyes lowered back to the water, he once again saw that something beneath the surface – something shiny. "But I didn't get soaked for nothing! There's totally something here guys. I bet it's treasure!" "Maybe gold," said Eike with a slight hopefulness. "Or a gem," Zoltan added in the same tone. Jehan yelled, "Here I go." And he dunked his free hand and head beneath the water and groped for the shiny object. After a few moments, he swiftly stood up straight again, water pouring in rivulets from his soaked hair. He raised his hand in triumph, "I got it!"

Both Eike and Zoltan's jaw dropped, and, in unison, said something like the following: "Ahhhhhhh!" Jehan pushed aside the wet hair across his face, "What, what is it?" He looked at his find, still raised above his head. He was right - it was treasure! A ring! But there was something fairly unusual about it. Mainly the fact that it was still being worn by a severed, skeletal hand. Jehan joined in the group scream.

Three voices sounded in unison across the fields: a lovely sounding chorus, if not for the fact one of the members were not holding a severed skeletal hand... After emptying his lungs with his initial scream, Jehan took a deep breath and frantically shouted, "PULL ME IN! PULL ME IN!" With the aid of his two friends, who pulled him though the current, the disturbed bard moved as quickly as he could, knees leaping out of the water, as if he were a solider practicing a march, except for the constant muttering under his breath..

As soon as he reached the shore, he pulled off the ring quickly, trying to keep note and remember which finger it was actually on and dropped the hand on the bank. Keeping his long stride, he made his way up to the chest repeating to himself; "Ew. Ew. Ew." Etc. Opening the chest and grabbing his bar of soap, he took a break from his disgust and looked at the donkey, "Why Greg? Why did you let me do that?" Greg responded with his usual blank stare and a flick of the ear.

Another round of "Ew's" and Jehan was back at the waters edge, frantically scrubbing the hand that held the one he found beneath the water.

After a few moments, the disgust and horror had began to subside and the chills running up and down his spine finally stopped. He tried his best to make his hair presentable but alas... The multiple submersions soaked it. Only time would tell how it would look, much to the vain bards dismay.

Wringing out his long hair as he walked to the other two men, he tied his hair back up into a pony tail and looked down at the ring, now in HIS hand. "So uh. Ya know how people say they would forget their heads if they werent attached sometimes? If this guy is still around, im going to pick on him for weeks." He stood and studied the ring, trying to forget what it was originally attached to... Jehan took a closer look at it, taking notice of what it was made of, any distinguishing markings as well as trying to remember what finger it was on.


Jehan Roux rolled 12 using Knowledge religion ring.
Jehan Roux rolled 12 using Knowledge arcane ring.
Jehan Roux rolled 12 using Knowledge local ring (lost, reward maybe?).
Jehan Roux rolled 11 using Appraise check, ring, value, craftsmanship etc,
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:04, Sun 05 July 2015.

While Jehan is looking at the ring, Eike walks over to the hand and picks it up. With hand in... hand, he walks up to Greg. "Watch this. He's gonna flip out. Shh..." Eike slowly walks up behind Jehan. He holds the hand by the wrist and pulls up his sleeve so the hand acts as his normal hand. He puts the hand on Jehan's shoulder, "So what did you find?". Making sure to keep the severed hand on Jehan until he notices.

After Jehan's screams subside once again, Eike walks over to the chest and puts the hand inside {Eike deposits the hand into the chest.} He then picks the ring up off the ground after Jehan dropped and begins to look at it. He turns it over and over in his hand, looking for any kind of markings or writing on it and attempts to determine what type of material it is made of.

{ 15:02, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 12 using 1d20+3. Knowledge Arcana; Ring.
15:02, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 15 using 1d20+1. Appraise check; Ring.}
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:04, Sun 05 July 2015.

Zoltan got a good laugh out of Eike's joke and all of Jehan's screaming. "What? Never touched a dead body before?" he said although it had startled him at first. He stepped over to Eike and looked at the ring wondering if it was worth anything and how that person managed to lose their hand in a river.

"How do you think this fella got his hand chopped off? Or do you think the rest of them is still down there in the drink?"

18:06, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 8 using 1d20+2. Appraise check.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:04, Sun 05 July 2015.

"So, uh, can I have the ring back?" asked Jehan, his voice still hoarse from screaming, again. "Not till I've had a good look at it," Eike replied. He turned the small piece of jewelry over in his hand, ignoring a strange compulsion to say 'my precious' as he did. It was a reddish-brown color, although parts of the band had grayed from sitting in the water so long.

"I wonder how long it was in the river?" Zoltan asked. Eyes still focused on the ring, Eike responded, "Couple years maybe, based on how that hand looked." He brought his face close to it. "Not magical. Looks like it's made of copper, with an agate gem on it. See? You can tell by the streaks. Could be worth a few gold pieces, maybe more if we found someone gullible." "Yea, that sounds about right," Zoltan corroborated. Eike finally tossed the ring to Jehan. He brought it to the level of his eye. "Was on the index finger of the hand, so it isn't a wedding ring. But hey look! You missed something." Zoltan and Eike came over while he pointed at something on the inside. Inscripted on the inside of the band were two fine letters – initials!


"M. K." Eike repeated, "I wonder who that is?" "Maybe someone in town?" Zoltan proposed. Jehan gripped the ring in his hand and shoved it in one of his pockets. "Well, there's only one way to find out!"

After Jehan had wrung his clothes dry and the party packed their things, they guided Greg and the cart back up the bank of tall, beige grasses and to the road. The sound of the river faded behind them to a gentle hum that could only be heard when the wind stayed still. Before long, they merged back onto the dirt road and headed to Varna.

"What a lovely place," commented Zoltan as they neared the town. And indeed it was. Nestled beneath the tall cliffs of the mountain range and built on the banks of the river Ebb, the town buildings huddled close together in a pocket of civilization. And from the cliffs to the river, Varna had built a wooden wall, which was not very long, but this was simply due to the fact the town wasn't very large. In truth, anyone traveling through Varna Pass had to travel through Varna proper; the only alternative was going to the other side of the river where sat a dense pine forest. But to the lack of road there, not to mention wild beasts, most would consider that a stupid idea.

Finally they passed through the tall, wooden gatehouse, the doors of which they likely closed during the night hours, and into town. Most of the buildings and houses were made of wood with only several special buildings made of stone; but almost all of them had the same roofing, a red clay tile that they undoubtedly made right here in Varna. The main road continued straight on through town, but passed a number of shops catering to travelers, including a sizable innhouse near the town center. The party was excited, for the whole town was theirs to explore! Oh, and Jehan finished his pipe.

   The first steps into this new location werent as exciting to Jehan at first as it was to the others. He was still getting over the fact that he managed to fix his slightly 'Phallic' pipe and wondered how he got that to work... Looking up from the simple wooden pipe, his eyes widened and a smile crept along his face. He was like a child in a candy store, or a squirrel with attention deficit disorder. He looked around wildly, and with a sense of wonder, he loved new locations and found it hard at times to look at one thing at a time. "Isnt this place lovely? Its been so long sense we've been in civilization!" With arms outstreached, the strange bard walked up to the nearest stone wall and gave it an embrace, which looked more like he had just slapped his body against the wall, "I love you civilization. Yes I do."

After a moment of being picked on (again) the men decided that the tavern would be the best course of action for the time being, that way they could get some ale, and a nice warm meal for once. Eike tied Greg near the stables in a place designated for horses and other beasts of burden. Jehan gave the creature a quick ruffle of his fur and gave him a pat before he froze in his tracks again. Ideas had a bad idea of shutting down the rest of the bards basic motor functions... "Hey Eike, I have an idea." He said quickly flipping around, leaving his hair to follow. Eike still stood next to Greg with an expression that could best be taken as 'Oh no.' "Seeing as we're going this lovely establishment... Why not give them a test run eh? Put on a bit of a show for them, just to see what sort of people we're dealing with here. Maybe get enough to pay for dinner, eh?" After a few moments of discussion, the sorcerer agreed.

The door to the tavern swung open with a little too much gusto, causing the patrions to look quickly in alarm, much to their relief, it was only to (of not the strongest) men carrying a chest in a quick hobbled manner through the open door. Dropping it with a thud next to a table, Jehan stood up straight and placed his hands in the middle of his spine and arced his back, releasing a rather satisfying and maybe slightly alarming crack. "Upon reflection, why didnt Zoltan carry this? He could have done it himself..." He large man let out a swift exhale as he chuckled to himself sitting on the chair behind the chest, crossing his legs, waiting for the two men to complete their task he had grown so accustom to at this point. Jehan walked up to the bar to speak to the owner. "Remember my friend, just like we practiced" he said over his shoulder to Eike.

"Excuse me fine lass," He began. The woman looked up, and the man who attempted to be suave, "We are traveling actors, would it be quite alright with you if we took a moment of your fine establishments time to play a quick song for all of the wonderful people it holds?" The woman gave a short laugh as she cleaned out a mug, more than likely immune to Jehans charms, but it never hurts to pretend sometime. She gave a nod of agreement and the bard smiled and knocked on the counter and turned to face the tavern.

"Pardon me lovely women and handsome gentlemen!" He belted out, with a strong bold voice. This wasnt his first performance and it wouldnt be his last. Besides, a little confidence goes a long way sometimes. "Lend me your ears, I have traveled from afar to share a tale of love lost... My heart has been weighed down for far too long and I must share my woes." He spun his Lute around from its safe place on his back and into his hands, making sure it was in proper tune before he began, of course it was, but it never hurts to double check. The room slowly began to draw their attention to the man as he walked toward his two companions, slowly, the rooms chatter got quieter and quieter

The bard took a seat on the chest he and his friends had brought in and looked down toward the ground as people grew silent. His previous joking demenor had melted away, he looked almost sad... He began in the quiet of the tavern, beginning by fingerpicking, a basic C-G-D-E Progression, with the occasional hammer-on and pull-off to add flair. He raised his head as he completed his first two measures, and began to sing after a brief pause;


Jehan stood from his seated position, classical finger-picking slowly morphed into a strum, building in intensity as he progressed, eyes closed, and upset face, to convey as much emotion as he could, bringing thoughts to mind that would actually create an upset feeling in his head. The bard slowly walked closer to the people of the bar as he continued:


On the last line of his song, the build began to deminish, turning from intense powerful strumming to soft, more spaced out strikes of the chord, on the last few words, only a single strum was loosed from the Lute, and after his last word, a resounding C chord slowly radiated from his instrument.

Jehan Roux rolled 19 using Perform Lute
Bardic skill Fascinate used (I can use this whenever I think? wasnt sure if I needed to specify)

[After I finish the performance, I have a private word with the tavern owner: Jehan Roux rolled 13 Gather information about town, rumors and SUBTLY, MK.]
This message was last edited by the player at 13:26, Tue 07 July 2015.

Zoltan kept his shoulders back and his head up as they made their way into the city. He couldn't help himself from laughing at Jehan hugging a building. He enjoyed the journey as much as the destination and was mostly content wherever he went. Although he was glad to see some new faces and hear different voices. Agreeing that the tavern would be a good place to settle down for a little while he followed them to the door.

He followed them inside. "Yeah you get some cash for my ale," he said taking a seat next to the trunk. "And You looked like you could use the exercise."

Once the bard had himself set up and began playing, Zoltan ordered himself a tankard of ale and sat back to listen. He wondered why Jehan was singing about his near drowning in waist deep water and smiled to himself thinking about it. While the man played Zolatn tuned his ear to the other patrons to listen for any information about the town and who MK might be.

22:42, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 21 using 1d20+1. Gather Info.

Eike stops and stares at Jehan while he gets a little too personal with the stone work. He laughs to himself quietly to see such a reaction. The staff was set firmly on the ground while Eike rested with both of his hands on the top of it. Waiting for Jehan to compose himself once again. He also loved new locations and settings as well. There were always new opportunities to be had and new faces to. He had been a stranger to so many new places he could hardly remember the last time he found himself in a place he could call home. Since he was a lad the roads have been his home.

Eike leans over to Zoltan, "After you been with 'em for near as long as I have, ya get use to his... quirks." He paused for a moment thinking back to the times him and Jehan had spent together. "Ooh! You should have been there the time we got lost on this road near the boarder of Kabariya. He said it was a "short cut". Well little did we know, this little short cut went clear through a desert! That would have been then last of us we hadn't come across another traveler with some food and water. We had to use the last 10 gold pieces we had just to buy ourselves a flask of water and a banana! A bloody banana!" Eike shrugs his shoulders and lets  out a sigh of relief. "But 'ey, we made it! Jehan's the story teller though. Maybe we'll get him to go on about that tale at the next performance."

After discussing the performance with Jehan, they empty the contents of the chest and leave them with Zoltan. Everything except for the hand. He puts it underneath his robe and catches Zoltan making a wrinkled face at the sight. Eike walks up the bar once more and orders a drink. Without even taking a seat, he washes it down almost as fast as it was poured, clearly he was not a stranger to drink, nor to Jehan's "ideas". He walks over and joins Jehan in front of the crowd.

Eike stands on top of the chest and after Jehan's introduction he proclaims, "We have traveled far and wide and across many lands. Some journeys have been favorable, and other hurtful. Tonight we will share with you a tale of one of those many journeys and some of the mysteries we have found along the way." Eike waits a moment and steps off the chest. He knocks it once with his staff. "For this very chest is just once of those mysteries. You see, this is no ordinary chest. This is a chest of TRANS-for-muli-gation! It will turn mere copper pieces into doves! But with a little help of course." Eike motions to the crowd and opens the chest and shows them. "See. No doves to be found. Who will put some copper into the chest to see some doves? The chest only needs 5." He wait as a few people put some money into the chest. {Assuming they do, otherwise he asks for it from Jehan and he just puts it in.} While the copper pieces are being put into the chest Eike takes the severed hand and positions it into my sleeve as if it were his hand. He steps next to Jehan and turns back to the crowd, "But of course you cannot make doves with simply a few pieces of copper. It needs one part of life, just one more ingredient. Jehan here, give me hand with this." Eike stretches out his arm with the severed hand, but keeps the sleeve over the hand. "Here... Just pull... and put it into the box." Ask Jehan pulls, Eike lets go of the hand and it looks at though Jehan has just pulled it right off. With a gasp from the crowd and a larger shriek from Jehan, he throws it into the chest.

Eike then closes the chest with his staff while Jehan begins his song. He stands as straight as the dark staff. It's held tightly at the top with both hands he remains motionless as if concentrating on the chest.

As Jehan starts nearing the end of his song, Eike starts motioning over the chest and waving his hands over it. Every so often giving it a light 'whack' with the end of his staff. After the song had settled Eike speaks up, "Now not everything that seems so dark and filled with sorrow is void of  glimmers of delight. I hope none of you had forgotten the promises I made of this extra ordinary looking extraordinary chest!" Eike gives the chest one more hard 'whack!'. {Casting doves} "Doves!" he shouts as the lid bursts open in a flutter of feathers and wings. As they fly off he takes his bow with Jehan.

02:04, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 15 using 1d20+5. Perform; magic act.
02:06, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 14 using 1d20+3. Gather information; initials MK, rumors, news about the town.

Patrons of the tavern gave their full attention to Jehan as he played his heartfelt ballad. Of the twenty or so listeners, a handful even began to rub away the tears in their eyes, moved by the emotional lyrics and melody. Finally the song ceased and the crowd broke into a melancholy applause. But their sorrow was reversed when Eike sealed the show with a shocking removal of his hand and finally the sudden release of doves from the chest, a majestic ending. They briefly fluttered through the air and around the ceiling before landing on several tables - to the awe of those sitting at them - and walking on the tabletops. The applause heightened into jubilant cheering at the wonderful performance. Mugs were raised and men stood from their seats. But best of all, the coins rained down.

Most of the coins were tossed into the chest while Jehan and Eike took a bow beside it, and more still landed on their table. After the rain settled, Eike ran his hands through the pile, and Jehan picked up the others (from patrons too drunk to aim well). In the end, they counted 19 silver pieces and 37 coppers.

The innhouse was left with an ecstatic and friendly mood as people returned to their drinks. Jehan and Eike sat back down on the opposite benches of their table. "I think that went pretty well," said Jehan while he strummed a random chord of his lute. "Good showmanship my friend," Eike complemented. "And to you," Jehan returned. "Now, let us celebrate with some ale! Hey Zolt-" Jehan turned his head one way, then another, but Zoltan wasn't seated with them. "Huh, where'd that big guy go?" "He's over there," Eike pointed out. Zoltan was sitting with a few locals at a nearby table. "Let's go see what he's up to." Both Eike and Jehan got up from their seats.

Outside, the innhouse had looked much like the other buildings in town, though perhaps a little bigger; tall, round posts held up the four corners of the structure with planked wood in between, plus the red-clay roofing that seemed ubiquitous in Varna. Inside, it looked even bigger, mostly due to the high ceiling. At the rear of the innhouse was an open stairs to the rooms above. Before it, near the center of the room, was the innkeep and bar, and behind the bar were shelves of dishes, ales, and other strong drinks. Also, the antlered skull of an elk above that. There were about four tables with chairs closest to the bar, and several longer tables with benches farther away. But Jehan and Eike's favorite part of the room was undoubtedly the stage; they would definitely make use of that in the days to come. They would probably make even more money in the late evenings, when the crowds would start to swell. Ideas for future performances raced in their minds.

They were still thinking of such ideas when they walked next to Zoltan. He was have an engaging conversation with three other men. Jehan leaned on his shoulder and said, "Hey bud, we're about to go get drinks. What ya want? Oh, and who are your pals?" Zoltan glanced back and replied, "Oh hey. Good show by the way. Guys, I'd like to meet Luca-" he gestured to a fellow with a bushy brown beard, likely approaching his fifties, "Thomas-" then to a younger man next to him with short blonde hair, "and, uh, sorry. I've forgotten already." "Christoph," a middle-aged man pleasantly corrected. All three wore common trousers and tattered brown shirts made from the wool of some animal. They were also working men, for dirt smeared the edges of their faces.

"Come, join our table," offered Luca, speaking in a deep grandfatherly voice. "There's nothing quite like a friendly chat with strangers."


This message was last edited by the GM at 01:06, Fri 10 July 2015.

Conversation with the three friendly strangers was at its end and with a raise of his mug, the three departed, leaving Jehan, Eike, and Zoltan sitting at the table, weighing their options...

"So that sounded sketchy... They way they described that bloke just up and leaving in the middle of the night. Also kinda sketchy we just so happened to find his dismembered hand in the river just a stones throw away eh?" Jehan leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs and put his elbow up on the back of his chair taking a sweeping look at the people of the bar, seeming to be in a bit of a more upbeat mood because of their show. This made him happy, though Jehan enjoyed making money above... most everything, he also enjoyed making people smile; It was in his top three favorite things.

"Personally," He said without turning his head to his companions, "I say we check out our handless friends brother a visit. Maybe we can get more info, or maybe even a monetary reward for its return - But keep quiet about the fact we have it" He added with a whisper. "Its pretty close too, and the 3 fellas we're kind enough to point it out to us. Shall we?" He purposed.

"-Oh also" he blurted out, almost choking on his ale as if the thought had escaped on its own, "I would like to check out the store in town, see what they have for sale and what sort of deals I could get on pipes or other miscellaneous carvings I could make in my spare time. Would a small detour be alright?"

"Oh, I cleaned up my pipe and it looks about 78% less... Manly. Either of you blokes fancy a free pipe? I'd be happy to hand it over to you instead of selling it to a stranger."

[Would like to check the shops stock, as well as see if I can cut a deal for crafting pipes or other small nick-knacks for trade or sale if it would interest the shopkeeper. Would also like to spend 9 CT for 11 Skill points]

[Private to DM Ryan:
Jehan Roux rolled 12 using 1d20+5. Appraise check, shopkeeper, price gouging or good deals.
Jehan Roux rolled 5 using 1d20+1. Knowledge local MK (Forgot his name...).
Jehan Roux rolled 8 using 1d20+1. Listen check, conversations that may help us/of interest.
Jehan Roux rolled 3 using 1d20+1. Spot check, People keeping an eye on us.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:31, Mon 13 July 2015.

Eike finishes the last of his drink and thinks on what the men said of Manuel. He holds his staff in his hand ready to leave.

He nods in agreement with Jehan. "That doesn't sound quite right to me. It's not normal for someone like that to just get up and leave in the middle the night. Doesn't sit right with me neither." Standing up from his seat, Eike looks down at the chest that has a few more coins in it. Clearly pleased with how the first performance in Varna went.

Looking back up to his companions, "Yes, I would like to have a chat with the brother, along with the Baron. He may know some more about it as well. And I'd be all up for a little money making adventure." He chuckles to himself, "Heh, maybe we can actually make a good name for ourselves here before people start to realize how much of their coins end up in our chest here."

Taking a look to Jehan's pipe. "I saw what that looked like earlier today... Not putting that anywhere near my mouth..."

Swirling the contents of his tankard, Zoltan listened intently. With a good swallow he leaned back in his seat. "I'm bettin' someone was after the fellow. Maybe he owned money to someone, maybe he even owed that here ring." He took another drink.

"There should be someone who knows about his sudden leave of absence, and perhaps needed... a hand in getting his affairs set in place that one night." A dumb smile at on his face and he tried to wipe it off with another gulp of ale.

"And that person would probably be family, like the brother. So yes, let's head on over there. We can stop at a store on our way." With one more swig, he finished his drink.

Several patrons waved goodbye as the party exited the tavern. Jehan and Eike both waved back, pleased at their early popularity. "We're going to be a hit," said Eike. Jehan buoyantly skipped onto the street, clearly in a good mood. "Fame and fortune here we come." The door closed behind them, and they were once again back on main street, at the Town Square.

A skein of geese flew distantly overhead making a ruckus; the honking and noise steadily faded as they flew farther away. Large, fluffy clouds now covered the narrow sky of the valley, but their color was a soft, light gray, bearing no risk of rain; a typical day in the mountainous ravines of the Spine. In truth, the Town Square of Varna really wasn't a square at all but rather a spacious dirt circle. Here were most of the town's essential buildings, including the General Store which stood just across from the tavern. Before leaving, Zoltan glanced back at the sign on their now favorite establishment: Varna Inn. "Well, that's easy to remember," he noted.

"Come on, let's stop at the General Store," Jehan spoke. Together they crossed the street and entered the General Store, which on the outside looked scarcely different than any other building in Varna – made of wood and roofed with red-clay tiles – the only difference being a large glass window in the front of the building. Sitting in the window was a rocking chair, as well as an assortment of other common goods. They entered inside, accompanied by the ring of a bell attached to the door.

"I'm going to talk with the shopkeep," said Jehan, "be right back." While Jehan went to speak with the shopkeeper, an old man with wispy white hair, Eike and Zoltan perused the isles of the store. Most of the items were common things but necessary ones to those who lived here: pickaxes, shovels, pots, plates, chairs, lanterns, and other mundane objects. Zoltan walked past a tall stack of ten chairs and down an isle of furniture, which had an assortment of tables packed closely together. Most of the tables were brown and plain and evidently made by the locals; only one was different, a desk that was such a dark shade of brown that it looked nearly black - imported. All the furniture browsing inspired Zoltan with ideas for decorating his own future house.

Jehan returned from the shopkeeper while Eike was closely examining a cup with a poorly painted animal on it, trying to decide what it was; he had narrowed it down thus far to either a bear or a cat. As Jehan approached, Eike glanced up from his important work and asked, "How'd it go?" "Good," Jehan replied. "Shopkeep over there says he could sell my crafts for me at a 25% commission. Not awful for no labor I suppose. Spent some Clay Tokens. Prices are pretty normal here. He also offered to buy my lute for four gold buy I said no way Jose!" "Good thing too. We need that to make bank!" Suddenly there was a loud crash as something landed on the ground. Jehan and Eike hastily looked around until their eyes landed on Zoltan, who stood over a fallen stack of stools with a guilty look on his face. "Oh, uh, my bad."



[Private to Jehan Roux: Imbellem

You gain -11- Skillpoints! {-9 Clay Tokens}

Spot & Listen ~ You DON'T roll these.
Appraise ~ You DON'T roll these. Common items can't be haggled; when asked for, their prices are automatically adjusted based on your charisma and current environment.
Knowledge Local ~ You've never heard of him.]

With a sheepish laugh, Zoltan picked himself up off the floor and carefully set the stools back up.

"That stool snuck up on me...." He cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt so it lay normally.

"So, shall we head on out?" he asked with a hand on his neck. "And you sold that pipe-thing right?" he asked Jehan and rubbed his elbow which was now slightly bruised from his trip to the floor.

"Those stools" Said Jehan, with a dry joking tone, "sneaky bastards. Be glad you made it out with your life. Oh no not yet, I simply talked to him about possible commission work, I would like to make a better one to show him, so he wouldnt turn me away." suddenly his mood became a bit more sassy and he raised an eyebrow, "Pipe-thingy? Ooh dont start this again..."

They all shared in a short chuckle before looking out the window, "but I do agree," He said, looking toward the direction of Henri's house, "We should get going, I'd like to find out whats going on around here. Its piqued my interest."

[Private to DM Ryan: appraisal check on pipe for worth]

"Like a bull in an elvish shop" Eike says while shaking his head, "This is why we can't go anywhere nice."

Gather himself, Eike grips his staff in his hand and looks outwards, "Yes, let's get going to Mr. Keirch's house. I'm feeling an adventure coming on."

The party departed the General Store, and from the Town Square, followed a small road leading to the riverfront. The walk reminded them of how narrow the town of Varna was, for they had scarcely passed a handful of houses before they heard the rushing water of the river Ebb. Jehan grew nostalgic with fond, wet memories.

Passing the docks, tied to which were a mere four small fishing boats, they approached a row of houses built along the riverside. They stopped at the very first one, which the miners at Varna Inn had marked on their map. They knocked.

"One minute," shouted a muffled voice from inside. After a few moments, the door opened. Before them stood a middle-aged man whose head was bald, save for tufts of gray-brown hair on the sides. He wasn't overweight but rather hefty in stature. He glared at the party with brown eyes. "Who are you? What do you want!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:47, Fri 24 July 2015.

Jehan leaned slightly forward and toward Zoltan, "Sheesh, kind of breaks the usual happy mood of the regular townsfolk eh?" he slipped in with a careful whisper and stepped more out into the open in front of the large man so he could be plainly seen and smiled with an almost childlike wave.

"Mister Henri I presume? So sorry to barge in unannounced like this, we just entered your small lovely town and we uh..." His voice trailed off slightly, not quite sure how to raise the point to the handless, and presumably lifeless status of the large mans brother. "We found something and we believe it belonged to your brother." He said as plainly as possibly, "We were engaged in small talk at the tavern and we got on the topic-" As he spoke he turned to notice the few boats and sparse people scattered along the road or engaged in conversation. Based on the manner of which the owner of the ring departed as well as finding his skeletal hand in the river just a stones throw away, (well, not for Jehan or Eike, Zoltan could probably make the throw. Point being: it was very nearby) Jehan couldnt rule out foul play from any of the townsfolk. Anybody could have dismembered the owner of the ring... Even the man he stood before

"Could we please come in and talk about our findings sir? Perhaps this will ease any stress on you and possibly help you with any questions you may have about your brother. We're not sure, but I personally believe it would be better if just the four of us talked in solitude." Jehan reached into his pocket and with his hand still clenched tightly, he held it in front of the large man, opening it just slightly enough so only Henri could see what it was. The ring with the initials of his late or missing brother. "We found this on accident in a strange place not far from here. Will you allow us private audience?"

[While he spoke, Jehan kept a watchful eye on Henri's reaction, weither it be genuine or hostile, as well as keeping the townsfolk within subtle eyesight to see if they were being spied on]

[Private to DM Ryan:

Should Henri become hostile and attempt to strike or grab Jehan, he subtly prepares to dodge or leap out of the way (not sure how to do this... Its never come up before lol)

Jehan Roux rolled 5 using Sense motive, Henri. Genuine response/guilty party perhaps?
Jehan Roux rolled 12 using Diplomacy check Henri, allow private conversation.]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Mon 03 Aug 2015.

Zoltan mostly stood feeling rather awkward. He was already uneasy about talking to the man, and with the slightly rough greeting the three were given, it looked like the conversation might be skating on thin ice. Zoltan did his best to stand tall and confident but not appear too threatening. Or maybe he did want to appear threatening? He wasn't sure.

With some concern for his companion, Zoltan gave his shoulders a roll and watched the man's movements carefully.
[If the man proceeds to attack Jehan with some kind of punch or grab, Zoltan will attempt to bring up his arms horizontally to bar the man from making contact using primarily his elbows to pin the man against the door frame]
This message was last edited by the player at 00:42, Tue 04 Aug 2015.

Eike took a step back after Henri's response. He nudges Jehan and says quietly, "Yeah, tell him who we are and why we're here."

He watched Henri closely after he opened the door. Henri seemed a bit hostile and Eike wasn't about to let someone take him off guard. While the door was open, Eike took a look at what he could of the inside of the house, trying to see what kind of status he was, if he was wealthy or poor. Anything he could infer about the large man in front of the party. He also watches the man for any kind of sudden movement. He thinks on the man's large size, "What if he just has a reaction to seeing the ring with his brother's initials on it. I don't want to attack the poor man unless he really means us harm." Eike takes a look at Jehan and thinks, "Jehan can probably take at least one hit from the guy, right?" Nonetheless, Eike keeps his staff in both hands while Henri is in front of them. Keeping a defensive position more than an offensive one.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:47, Tue 04 Aug 2015.

Henri Keirch gaped at the ring in Jehan's hand. His aggressive disposition melted away. "I know that ring. That's my brother's!" He took a step back and beckoned the party to come inside. Warily, the followed his gesture and entered his home.

They walked into decent sized room which was mostly occupied by a kitchen. In one corner there was wooden table and window overlooking the riverfront. The bottom floor was a single room, and there was a staircase leading to a second floor above. Henri Keirch placed a kettle on the stove. "It's been years since someone mentioned my brother. Please, tell me where you found that ring." The party exchanged glances with each other, wondering just how much they should say. At last Zoltan answered, "It was in the river. We found it just this morning." Hearing this, Henri Keirch's face grew stern and pensive.

After a moment he spoke a few words aloud, though it was clear he was thinking at length. "I knew it." "Knew what?" Jehan asked, his curiosity peaked. "Take a seat. I'll tell ye strangers," he replied.

As the party accepted his offer, he expounded, "Ye see, my brother Manual was smart man – smarter than I any way. He liked to read and do other things I couldn't understand. And his smarts made him real popular at the Iron Mines too; was a good foreman there and liked plenty by his workers. Then, one day, he just goes and vanishes." The kettle began to boil, and he took it off the stove-top.

"Now he told me everything, ye see? We'd get drinks most e'er night at the tavern. But the couple weeks before he disappears, he looks real worried and all. I asked him bout what, but he wouldn't say – which is odd for him, ye know? He just said he couldn't tell me cause he had to be really sure before he did, though I didn't know what he was talkin' about. Then one night – poof – he's gone. And on top of that, he's conveniently replaced pretty much the next day at the Iron Mines, new foreman and all. Now, I went up to the Baron's house – he owns the mines right – and ask where my brother be. He says he came to him, resigned, and took off, saying something about a sweetheart in Amstetten out west. I go to the nightman on the West Gate, and he says yea, my brother took off that night..."

"Now, none of this sat right with me. My brother wasn't one of those folk to do things like that. He was always cautious – thought everything through before he did it. I knew something bad happened to him. And if ye ask me, he was murdered!"

"Why would someone murder him?" asked Eike. Henri Keirch filled a number of cups with tea and placed them on the table. "I dunno. But what was I to do? If I went out to the magistrate and said he was murdered, that'd mean I'd be calling the Baron a liar. I'd be disgrace of the town if I go and say that with nothin' to prove it.'

'If you strangers are interested in this and bent on helping, figure this out for me. Find out what happened to my brother, and why. If it turns I'm wrong and he's in Amstetten with some wife – and never sent a letter for some reason – well, I'll be much happier knowin'. So this is what I ask of ye. Find out what happened to my brother."

quote:

Quest Received! Find out what happened to Manual Keirch

[Private to Jehan Roux: Sense Motive ~ You have no idea what this guy's thinking.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:54, Wed 05 Aug 2015.

Jehan took a deep inhale as he held the cup of tea in front of him. It was comical, seeing a man that large making a decent pot of tea. He had never had anything quite like it. White Henri spoke, Jehans sharp, darting eyes made quick observations of the mans home.

"Thank you for your hospitality sir - Zol, Watch out for them stools. Remember last time," He said with a quick backhanded, inside joke. Jehan cleared his throat. "Quite the home you have here. Live alone? Or are you with wife and children. I would hate to continue this conversation were there little ears around... so I suppose Ill give you the cliff-notes." Jehan, without taking a sip, set the teacup carefully on the plate and walked over toward Henri, a mere whispering distance so if anyone were in the home, they wouldnt hear his words.

"Truth is..." He said resting his hand on the large man's shoulder to show sympathy, "We dont actually know the details of your brothers current state of existence... We found the ring in the river just outside of town as we went to wash and um..." Jehan looked toward his friends who sat with cups of tea in their hands. Even Zoltan, a man who could easily kill both Eike and Jehan within seconds if he could held the cup with class, extended pinkey and everything. He was either trying hard to compensate for lack of class, or was a man who knew his way around a teacup.

Anyway, Jehan looked down, searching for the words, still whispering, "Thats not all we found." He could feel Henris shoulders tense up with the words, fear of the coming words almost being felt as well. "No no, its not that bad, no uh... bodies. But the ring was attached..."

"Attached to what?..." Henri asked, eyebrow raised, with a mixture of confusion and panic. "A hand." Jehan bluntly stated. "Nothing else was in the water. Simply that. I dont know about you, but I already have an eerie feeling about that Baron, would have any idea where we might meet the fellow? Or maybe even his home..." He said with a sly tone and devious expression, I have ways of... entering places to find important information."

[Private to DM Ryan:

Jehan Roux rolled 21 Knowledge local, type of tea, tampered with?
Jehan Roux rolled 8 Knowledge geography, Type of tea, tampered with?
Jehan Roux rolled 6 Listen check, anyone else in the house.]

Trying to help ease the tension Eike looks to Henri and says, "But we don't know his fate either. I'm not saying there's no hoping, but prepare for the worst and hope for the best ya' know." Eike takes his tea once more and finishes the cup. He looks back up and in a bit brighter tone, "How rude of us. We come into your home with this kind of news and you haven't the fondest idea who we are. I am Eike and these are my companions Jehan and Zoltan. We have been a sort of fellowship\ for  good while here. Although, we seem to do a lot of simple walking... We are entertainers and travelers seeking adventure." He looks to his companions, "And looks like we have found our adventure."

Eike takes his staff in hand and puts the end to the floor. The room seems to darken mysteriously. In a manner a bit more profound than he meant he exclaims, "We will find what happened to your brother, and if there is wrong doing here we will bring those responsible to justice!" Eike takes a breath for a moment and notices everyone staring at him. Although he doesn't remember standing, Eike sits back down. He says in response, "Heh... yeah... we'll figure out what's going on here. Sometimes I get a little too dramatic."

Zoltan enjoyed his cup of tea, having gone without a cup in a while he was glad for it. He gave a small eye roll with a hint of a smile to Jehan about the stool comment. Sipping quietly he listened to his companions and watched Henri carefully.

"It's been a while since we've had a god adventure, and helping you come to terms with what happened to your brother sounds like a good place for us to start up again." He took a final sip of tea, emptying his cup minus a few stray tea leaves stuck to the bottom. "We're just as interested in getting to the bottom of this issue as you. Now if there's any information that could help us, anything at all, even maybe a small detail, it might be able to help us out." He set his tea cup on the table with a soft clatter of porcelain.

"Like this town you mentioned. Any reason he might go there other than what he said? Maybe any shady businesses he might have gotten mixed up with?"

Jehan felt a shiver through Henri Keirch's shoulder as he told him about the hand. The large fellow sighed. "Then there fer certain was no happy end fer my brother. At least I know now. And if ye found such a thing in the river, then there certainly be foul play at work; for it'd take a fool to drown in such shallow waters, and my brother was no fool." Zoltan gave Jehan a casual glance.

Henri Keirch poured a second round of tea for his guests. "Ye need not worry about little ones here. I ne'er married. The woman I longed fer married another, but I won't talk about that now." Eike then spoke enthusiastically in regard to the quest at hand, to which Henri Keirch replied, "Truth be told, I appreciate such fervor. It's been nigh two years since my brother's slaying, and I've had to bear a terrible shunning of the topic fer too long. Sirs Eike, Zoltan, and Jehan – I count ye as friends now, fer ye willingness and daring. And if ye solve a crime such as this, I'll reward ye as best I can."

"Now if ye marched on up to the Iron Mines, ye would also pass the Baron's estate, and such a place couldn't be missed {Map Location Added}. But I pray ye don't risk too much, for if ye got on the wrong side of the Baron before ye had the evidence in hand, ye would be thrown outta town in an instant." Zoltan wondered if there was any more information to be had. Henri Keirch replied, "My brother was no person of ill character; if fact, I could hardly name a man with more moral dignity than he. He'd ne'er involve himself with shameful dealings. The only other thing I could think of, a place ye may wish to see fer evidence and the like, is his residence. He used to rent a house a couple down from mine, but after he left, his landlady, the kind ol' Rosie, decided to move in {Map Location Added}. That's about all I can think of."

The party finished their tea, and their hearts were overwhelmed with both excitement for adventure and sympathy for the plight onto which they've stumbled. There was certainly a mystery at work in the supposedly quiet abode of Varna. Henri Keirch wished them goodluck and farewell as they departed.

Once again they were back on the streets of Varna, and the world was at their fingertips.



[Private to Jehan Roux: Knowledge Local ~ The tea was made from Polly Flower, whose yellow petals when ground make a delightful tea. Commonly found in Styrie!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:25, Sat 08 Aug 2015.

The party once again stood outside, heads full of all sorts of new information to process...

"Oh hey by the way," Jehan blurted out of the silence of deep thought, "That tea was fantasic and made with local foliage. If anyone spots any Polly Flowers, its a little flower with yellow petals by the way, while we roll around in the fields or whatever, be sure to collect some. Maybe we can make ourselves a surplus of tea eh? Who knows, I thought it was lovely. Maybe we could make a bit of money out of it as well.."

The bard took a step forward, hands on his hips. "Personally, I think this Barron fellow seems like a real sack of suspicious shit. We may way to keep out of his eye for a while. Mayhaps we pay miss Rosie a visit? Maybe the recently handless man has some sort of clue as to what was going on before he left."

Jehan spun around quickly the heel of his boot pointing two fingers, both aimed at the faces of his companions, "Before we get a chance to see what she looks like, its safe to say that if shes above an eight, I call pre-dibs"

With a hearty nod, Zoltan agreed with Jehan. "Yes, that tea was excellent. It's been too long since I've had a good cup, and that really hit the spot. I'm ready to solve a murder mystery now!" he rubbed his hands together with a mischievous smile.

"And I think it'd be good to collect a few clues before talking with the Barron, you're right. Wouldn't want him stopping us before we got started." He stretched his arms out as he spoke, loosening up his shoulders.

At Jehan's comment, he began to laugh. "You 'member he did say 'ol' lady,' and if she's got her own land to be renting out, she's too old for you pal." He gave the boy a friendly slap on the back still smiling.

EIke looks at Jehan with a smirk, "She's all yours bud."

He takes a moment to gather himself and with his staff in hand he looks outwards down the road. Eike brightens up a bit and says, "And did you guys hear that? A reward! I knew this town was going to be good to us!" He takes a moment to look down at their map and look at where Henri marked for his brother's old place. Looking back up he says, "Yes, Let's make our way to Rosie's house."

Jehan's two extended fingers slowly curled down and his devious expression slowly melted in turn. He had forgotten about the fact that Henri had referred to Rosie as "Ol" The bard turned his head to avoid the laughing faces of his friends and tightly shut his eyes, gritting his teeth, a single word was muttered to himself:

Deciding to head to Rosie's house, and the ex-home of Manual Keirch, the party wandered along the river banks. Her house was only a couple buildings down from that of Henri Keirch, and both were built overlooking the river Ebb - the same river where the party found just this morning a skeletal hand, a ring, and the beginnings of a mystery.

They walked on a dirt footpath beside the river. White froth floated atop the nearby current, constantly churned by the shallow banks and rocks underneath. The steady hum of babbling waters was an omnipresent music for all who lived on the riverfront.

After a short walk, they reached their destination. Rosie's house was built in the same style as any other, built of timber and roofed with red-clay tiles, but it was made distinct by a lovely garden which faced the river. The party approached the front door and knocked. The door was soon opened by a middle-aged woman, perhaps in her early forties; she wore a burgundy dress and a shawl over her hair, a style common to many of the female residents in Varna. Her complexion was a kind one. "Hello," she said brightly.

Although she was immediately likable on first impression, she was indeed old and notably beginning to wrinkle with age. Eike smirked and whispered in Jehan's ear, "As I said, she's all yours." "Shut up," Jehan whispered in reply, his cheeks reddening.

The smell of something cooking wafted over the party from inside the house, bringing a pleasant odour. Rosie pleasantly continued, "What brings such a colorful group of strangers to my door?"

While Jehan is tying to recover from his recent... revelation, Eike answered, "Unfortunately miss, we are here because of unfortunate circumstances and helping our new friend Henri. Before I get too ahead of myself, I am Eike and these are my traveling companions." He looks to Jehan and Zoltan as they introduce themselves.

As Eike spoke and finished his self introduction, he stepped aside, showing his two companions behind him. As soon as he turned, for a brief moment, Jehan could be seen hands resting on his knees and hunched over, attempting to recover from the horrid mental imagery he accidentally gave himself. The transition from hidden, to within eyesight of the woman was quick enough that she did not notice. A swift inhale and hair whip was all she saw of the bard as he jetted to an upright position again.

"Hello miss," He said, self induced awkwardness aside, "My name is Jehan, we are traveling performers of sorts and it is as my friend Eike says, we met a man in town named Henri and simply wish to help him out." Jehan placed his hand behind his back and took a step forward with a heart-filled look to his face. "He is a very kind man opening his door so freely to weary strangers and... well when we heard the news of his brother who we were informed lived here before you, we were hoping to take a look around, perhaps you should shed some light on the situation? Not only for us, but for our new friend Henri and the family. We fear something dire may have happened to him."

The bard stood a respectful distance away from Miss Rosie, where as not to cause her to worry about ill intentions, "Everyone here has been so kind to us, with the first friend we had made, we hope to help in anyway we can in his stead. And-" he continued, "Perhaps make another friend in the process?" He said with a suave smile. "I dabble slightly in the art of the Lute, perhaps in exchange for any information you may have on the previous tenant, or even allowing us to check the place around, you would allow me to play a song  or two for you?" Jehan said slowly sliding the black instrument into his hands from behind his back. "An audience would be greatly appreciated. And perhaps, you would welcome some peaceful melodies as my friends search the area for any clues as to his sudden disappearance?"

With a pleasant smile Zoltan listened to Jehan. He stood with his hands folded in front of him calmly. "And I'm Zoltan. They're the performers, I'm the one who keeps them in line at times and from making fools of themselves," he said with a warm smile. "And if you don't want a song from my friend here, let me know and I'll take care of him for you. A fine lady as yourself might not be so entertained by these young ones." He glanced at the too with a playful look in his eye.

"But we would certainly love any information you might have on the disappearance of this man. Anything at all, maybe strange habits, odd hours for coming and going. Anything."

Rosie smiled at the odd assortment of travelers before her. "Why, you are an entertaining bunch! Come in dearies. I adore having company. You said you talked to Henri?" She chuckled to herself. "He's always had a bit of a crush on me you know. Thinks I don't know, but we women – we know everything! Come in, come in." She ushered the adventurers inside who were more than happy to oblige, for the scent of something delicious beckoned them, in addition to their host being so damn charming.

Rosie's abode reflected a well-kept, woman's home. The bottom floor was only one room, like most residences in Varna, and was occupied largely by the kitchen. Stairs led to a second floor. Herbs and vegetables draped the shelves, no doubt freshly picked from the garden outside. A half chopped turnip laid on the counter from when Rosie paused to open the door. She resumed her chopping as she spoke, "Manual, Henri's brother, lived here for many years. Ten I think. He's was an excellent man, good tenant – always paid his rent on time. But when he left for Amstetten, as they say, he didn't tell me at all. It was awfully discourteous of him, don't you think? Anyway, I lived in a small cottage at the time; and it's such a nice house, instead of renting it out again I decided to move in myself! Good decision, for it gets such a lovely view of the river. He left a lot of junk though I remember. I tried keeping it for a long time in case he ever came back for it, but he never did. So I ended up selling most of it over the years. In fact I just sold a dark, ugly desk of his last week – an imported thing that took me forever to get rid of. Oh my, he left town, what, two years ago? How time flies!"

She placed the turnips in a boiling pot of stew and ladled out three bowls of it. She set the bowls on the dining table. The adventurers were far too tempted and sat down. "Try this dearies," Rosie insisted. "It's a new recipe, so you folks shall be the test! You said you played music? My, I'd love to hear a song. I don't go to the tavern, so I rarely get much amusement here. I know Henri and Manual went to the tavern nightly, but I don't know what else he did with his time. He was very caught up in his work at the Iron Mines. All the men used to admire him and say he took a personal interest in everything, so everything always went smooth for them. He was a smart one, always careful. But where are my manners! Please, eat! The townsfolk of Varna are known for their hospitality you know."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:43, Sun 16 Aug 2015.

Eike takes a large breath in as the bowl of stew is placed in front of him, filling his nose with smell. He can't remember the last time he had a real home cooked meal like this. He thought to himself, there was a time... albeit a short time... where every meal was a home cooked meal. That was a long time ago and before the incident happened. Even with the difficult memories it brought back it put a smile on his face. The stew was delicious after all.

He looks up from his thoughts to Rosie, "This is delicious miss! Thank you for inviting us in." Eike then looks over to his companions, "I can hardly remember the last time we had a home cooked meal like this. Let alone one this tastey!"

After finishing his first bowl of stew he asks Rosie, "Who did you sell that old desk to and where do you think we might find it. It sounds interesting and I think we'd like to take a look at it. It seems like Manual was a liked guy and I'd like to find out what happened to him."

"Smells lovely, Miss Rosie. But im afraid i have a sensitive throat, so i need to wait a few moments until it cools off, i mean no offence of course, I just need to be careful with my vocal chords." he said with a chuckle as he spun his Lute around from his back and in his lap, subtly making sure all strings were in tune.

"As promised, for your time, information, and wonderful hospitality, I owe you a song I believe" Jehan, leaned toward the other two men, "You can sit and listen if you want, or I can catch up to you at the table should you choose to check it out, or the mine, either or. But for now," he said averting his gaze to the kind old woman across the table, "I have a lass to serenade."

Jehan began strumming in a soothing speed, with a general D-E-C-E progression, giving it a happier flair than that of his last sad song at the tavern, but no less meaningful. Hopefully, if Rosie was afraid of what she would say could cause her trouble, the words of the song could help loosen her lips,



The tone slowly built, and using his index finger between strums, he knocked the side of his lute to give the illusion of precision instruments behind him

"Hold on, you are still alive."

[Private to DM Ryan:
Jehan Roux rolled 10 using Performance, play for Rosie .]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Mon 31 Aug 2015.

Zoltan took a seat and relaxed. He smiled at the soup and spoke his thanks to her. Picking up his spoon he was about to ask a follow up question, but after eating a spoonful of soup he forgot his question as the warmth radiated throughout his body.

"My, this soup is better than my late wife's," he praised after a few more hearty spoonfuls. "Must be the turnips, she had trouble growing good ones." He hurriedly down the rest of the bowl. With a deep sigh, Zoltan leaned back and closed his eyes for a short minute, listening to his friend's song and enjoying the warm feeling from the soup.

After Eike's question, he remembered why they were in the nice woman's house and sat back up with open eyes. "Aye, perhaps there are still some secrets hidden within that desk."

Rosie enthusiastically applauded the song, "Oh that was lovely! Not often I get to hear such nice things out here. Just lovely!" "Thank you, thank you," said Jehan as he basked in the praise. His companions enjoyed the tune as well. It was always nice having some entertainment with a meal. [Private to Zoltan Zanderhawk: Both the soup and music warmed the heart. Zoltan was glad for that, for a split moment ago he felt that familiar cold spot arising, a feeling he tried to ignore as best he could. Perhaps it wasn't healthy to ignore it, but he didn't care. Some things were too hard for him. He didn't have to be perfect...][Private to Eike: Both the soup and music warmed the heart. Eike was glad for that, for a split moment ago he felt that familiar cold spot arising, a feeling he tried to ignore as best he could. Perhaps it wasn't healthy to ignore it, but he didn't care. Some things were too hard for him. He didn't have to be perfect...]

As Jehan thoughtlessly plucked some tunes and rifts on his lute, he would take brief pauses for a spoonful of his own soup. Before long the adventurers finished and felt full and content. They unanimously complemented it. "Thank you dearies," Rosie replied. "It's just nice having company around. My old husband has been a soldier all his life. I only see him for a couple months or so outta the year, so I'm in this house by myself most the time. It might be less this year with the invasion and all. They say Vaterland has the north provinces right now and they're inching their way down. Not that I'm worried mind you. This has all happened before. It's almost tradition that we invade each other now, taking turns every so many years. Things always go back to the way they were in the end."

After some more casual chat, Eike then asked about where she sold the desk. Rosie answered, "Oh you want to see that thing? My, I wish I held onto it for another couple weeks – I could have sold it to you! I sold it to the General Store. They quite got a bargain for it too since I just wanted to get rid of it. I think Manual paid a lot for it cause it's one of those imported furnitures; he had an interest in things like that, which is odd around here. I guess being curious about the world around him is what made him so smart." When Rosie mentioned the General Store, a realization struck the adventurers, for, if they weren't mistaken, they saw that same desk no more than a couple hours ago! Excited at their discovery, they graciously thanked Rosie for the meal and her kindness once more and parted from the house. The could smell the spice-filled scent of her home fade away with every step from the front door.

Retracing their steps, they went back to the General Store in the Town Square. It looked the same as before, filled with furniture on one side and a number of mundane objects on the other; the old shopkeeper, his eye glazed with age, kept a listless watch over the shop. The adventuers went over to the furniture section. Zoltan noticed the stack of stools he had knocked over not long ago. He stepped very carefully around them this time.

In the last aisle were the desks and tables, crowded together in a long, not-very-spacious row. They squeezed through this toward the rear where they found the dark-colored, wooden desk. It was still there. Being the only desk of this color in the entire shop, it was no doubt the one Rosie had sold – the one which was previously owned by Manual Keirch. "Let's search it," said Jehan. They opened the various drawers and patted their hands along the interior. It was empty. Clearly Rosie had emptied it out before selling it. "Oh drat," said Eike. "All that for nothing." "Yea," Zoltan agreed. "Well, we might as well head on to the Iron Mineeee-oooo wait a minute!" Staring at a drawer that was still open, Zoltan reach inside... and pulled out a false bottom!

Lying in a secret space beneath the false bottom of the drawer, covered in dust and untouched after many years, was a book. The Journal of Manual Keirch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:54, Wed 09 Sept 2015.

The three men grinned like children overlooking gifts under a christmas tree. This was their first big break, the first solid lead. "So uh... what are the chances of us just walking out of here with that book?" Jehan stated, breaking the happy mood.

"I mean," he continued, looking around, "there are books here, we could put it in a bundle of books to purchase, but surely she would noticed the his name on the cover... What do you think. You two distract the woman whilst I stow it away under my shirt and say something along the lines of, 'Greg needs more water, ill be back' or something of the sort and hide it in our cart? Or perhaps the more noble approach and ask if we could take it, trying to unwravel the web of that shrouds this not-as-it-seems town." Holding the book in his his hands, he look at his two friends.

"Personally, im up for the first, I havent stolen anything in a while. Could be good practice. But its a majority vote here, I wont want to exclude your opinions. I value them most highly."
This statement took the two men off guard, it wasnt often Jehan showed signs of being... Well a human with emotions or relationship ties, anything other than wooing a strange woman. He treated these men like brothers, it was rare for them to see this side of him. It slipped out occationally.

A large grin creeps across Eike's face at Jehan's idea. He makes eye contact with Jehan then Zoltan, "Let's save ourselves time and money here and just grab it. I've got some pretty quick hands too." After taking a moment to weigh their options he speaks up again, "It may be stealing but at least it's for a good cause this time."

EIke takes a moment to think of other ideas and converses with his companions. While examining the staff in his hand he suddenly has an idea. He looks over to Jehan with a grin on his face, "When the old man turns away, slip that journal to me and I can hide it under my robe." He then looks over to Zoltan, but not before Zoltan catches Eike glancing at the stools that were knocked over on their last visit. "Zoltan, just go walk over by those stools real quick and we can get out of here."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Sat 10 Oct 2015.

Zoltan could almost laugh at his pounding heart. The excitement from finding that false bottom really got his blood pumping.

"I mean, it's not like the old man knows it's here," he suggested with a shrug at his companions. "He won't be missing any stock, so therefore, he won't be losing out on any coin."

He caught Eike's glance and almost sighed but instead silently shook his head in shame knowing the burden he must take on to ensure the plan's success. With a deep inhale, he puffed out his chest and casually browsed over a few shelves before 'accidentally' hooking his foot on one of the stools again, causing him and the stool to fall down with a clatter. He groaned, "not again," as he started to push himself back up with a slightly pained face. The accident was staged. But that doesn't mean falling on the ground doesn't sting a little.

Furniture for sale occupied half the space of the General Store floor, creating a maze of narrow walkways between the tables, stools, shelves, and other household things. A child could have a lot of fun ducking in and out of these artificial valleys while their mothers browsed for what they needed, though always keeping an eye on their progeny in the hope they didn't hurt themselves (often in vain). And like any mountain pass with its precarious rock croppings on high ridges, where there persisted that ever present danger of an avalanche; so too did the General Store have its towering stacks of stools and chairs and others things primed to bury a clumsy passerby. Zoltan was that passerby.

At least this time it was deliberate. Zoltan bumped into a tower of stools – ironically the exact same one he collapsed an hour or two past – and they, along with himself, timbered onto the ground with a clamour.

The old man behind the counter, who had been lost in a listless reverie, seeing some memory of his youth only visible to his eyes, jolted out of his daze and out from behind the counter. He hustled in a kind of elderly shuffle to where Zoltan was slowly sitting up, still on the ground. "Huh?..Wuh?" the old man spoke in a dry sounding voice, shocked that the same stools would fall twice in one day - and by the same person no less! He seemed both concerned and confused, like a groggy person who was just woken from a nap. "Are you ok? These stools... I must really put them somewhere else!"

Meanwhile, Eike and Jehan stood only a couple aisles over at the rear of the room, hovering over the dark desk with Manual Keirch's journal inside. Jehan nudged Eike with his elbow, encouraging him with bad habits, of which a certain Paladin would frown. But perhaps that's what made it fun? Now was the opportunity!
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Fri 16 Oct 2015.

A light snort erupted from Johan. Zoltan was always the one to take one for the team, even at the expense of the way people would view him. Along with the elbow the bard delivered to Eike, the sorcerer felt something else deep in the sleeve of his robe. The journal.

[Jehan Roux rolled 20 Slight of hand, Slip book on Eike's person.]

With a wink, Jehan whispered, "Get that to the cart, ill help give you some cover." As soon as he finished, the bards face slowly changed to that of worry, and fear. Somehow forcing himself to sweat a little bit. Quite impressive really. As quickly as he could he ran around the corner, as if he had no idea what happened, only hearing a harsh crash and grunt from Zoltan. As he slid around the corner, he and the large fighter made eye contact as the old storekeeper tried to help him up. "What did you do to him?!" Shouted Johan at the storekeeper as if he attacked his friend. "Explain yourself! And dont give me the whole 'oh he simply tripped again'. Nobody does that. What are you trying to pull on us here? Just because we're new you think you can walk all over us? NOT TODAY!" While he shouted, he walked closer to the older man, raising his voice in intencity, bordering rage. Inside, he was laughing as well as feeling almost bad for acting this way with full knowledge of what was happening...


What could he say? He hadn't had a chance to act in quite some time. Zoltan on the floor, Johan advancing toward the 'hostile' store owner. This would be the time for Eike to get the book outside to the cart.

Though a Certian Paladin might frown on their shenanigans, he may be impressed with their 'on the fly' teamwork.

[Should the store keeper be confused at johans outburst and speak up for himself, saying he had nothing to do with what happened, the bards attitude slowly changes and eventually leads to an apology, claiming they have been taken advantage of before and is "sorry for his outburst", to reestablish positive relationship]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:41, Sat 17 Oct 2015.

Eike takes hold of the journal as he feels it in his possession. He starts swiftly walking towards the door, but at the sound of Jehan's shouting he stops for a moment and turns his attention to the old man. After taking a moment he lowers his head while shaking it in response to Jehan's out burst.

Once he's out the door Eike makes his way to Greg and their cart. Before putting the journal into the chest takes a quick look at it while he waits for his companions to make their... escape.

Zoltan groaned as he slowly pushed himself to stand up again. "I'm sorry, it was my mistake," he said the the shop owner. "And perhaps another location would help...."

He stood and rubbed his butt as Jehan came and started shouting. Zoltan looked terribly confused. "Easy now, it was my clumsiness that caused it," he put his hands out with a gesture for him to calm down. He glanced around to see if Eike was still in the building and to make sure no other customers were watching.

Stools cluttered the main aisle of the general store, with Zoltan sitting among them. Slowly he stood up from the ground. Although the accident was fake, the pain in his ass was very real; wood floors hurt to land on, staged or not. He rubbed his behind as the Old Man stood in utter confusion. Then, Jehan turned the corner. Taking one glance at the scene, he began yelling at the shopkeeper, accusing him of attacking his companion. Though it was all a trick of course, and a particularly mean one!

Frightened, the Old Man struggled with his words, "Huh?.. I.. no. I didn't. He did... you know!" Zoltan at least had a sense of pity and duly explained that preposterous accusation away. Jehan immediately changed to a tone of apology and understanding. And all this seemed to only fluster the Old Man even more.

But needless to say, they were just buying time – time for Eike to exit out the front door with Manual Keirch's journal in hand – which he promptly did. Seeing their heist successfully pulled off, they bade the Old Man a final apology for the mess and a farewell, and both hastened out the door, leaving the Old Man in his confusion. Although they didn't know it, the Old Man would end up standing there for 20 more minutes trying to figure things out, only to end up forgetting all about it when the elderly Ms. Yurich came in to pick up her medicine – who he had a huge crush on.

Outside, the adventurers met up with Eike by Greg and the cart. Eike took the book out of his sleeve in triumph – their first successful heist – and like all accomplished heists, they reveled; and pressured Jehan for a song!

While Jehan thought of one up, Eike opened the journal. It was time to reap the fruit of their labor. As they flipped through the pages, they noted that most of the book was actually rather boring; Manual Keirch wrote mostly about mundane affairs at the Iron Mines where we worked as foreman, his opinions on the state of politics, and whatever else entertained his fancy – he was very philosophical in many matters. It wasn't until the last few pages that things started to become unusual... A few excerpts from the entries stood out.


This message was last edited by the GM at 16:46, Sun 18 Oct 2015.

An overly zelous grin was slapped across Jehans face, being his first high-stakes heist was a success. The other two raised an eyebrow at the bard. "Okay okay I know, I didnt need to be that harsh, belligerent or for lack of a better word, ridiculous." he said raising his hands in his defense, "I just really really wanted his attention off of Eike as he make his escape. Spur of the moment. Sue me." He said lowering his hands with a shrug, "It worked didnt it?"

The group studied the pages, coming along the last few enteries, the party scratched their heads. The constant building riff Jehan was practicing on his Lute didnt help them think much... pacing behind Eike and Zoltan, Jehan peered a curious eye over between the shoulders of the men. "Something... something blah blah 'has secret box behind' blah... 'must get'." The two looked over with eyes of curiosity as well as slight anger that it came so quickly to the flighty musician. "What?" he said, stopping abruptly. "The little words are easy, so many combinations you can make with three letters... sheesh..." He gently wrapped his beloved instrument in a blanket and tucked it safely away in the chest like a child going down for their nap. "The bigger words are up to you guys. I only have enough creative juices to flow to one thing at a time. Now im trying to work up a song... to sing a bit further away from a store we just robbed maybe?" He added with a chuckle.

A small group of women passed by, and Jehan made no attempt to hide his gawking. He leaned on the crate as suave as possible and gave one of the women a wink. "Okay, maybe I have enough creative juices to work on more than one thing at a time" he said slowly turning his head with a devious smile, "Im just selective that way."

With a sudden jolt, his 'Suave' elbow slipped off the cart, causing him to spin awkwardly around. Somehow, he managed to catch himself and make it look as if it were on purpose. With a cough, he approached the men again, "Perhaps we aught give those floorboards a visit, eh?"

With an equally zealous grin, Eike proceeds to go in for a high five with Jehan as he makes his way back to EIke. "It sure did work! I don't think the pruney old man even saw a hair of me. Good work guys!" Trying to stifle his laughter once again just remember Zoltan and the stools, "What I wouldn't give to see you fall over those stools again."

Returning to the journal that he has already been looking over for the last minute, "So it looks like there was some kind of embezzling   or stealing going on with the mines. It could go as high as the Baron himself, but I wonder what someone might be taking money from the mines for. Let alone would be worth killing someone over."

That last entry in the journal is what the real mystery is. Speaking to himself, "has secret box. must get." To the others, "So someone else has the box? Maybe someone else found it? I do agree, we should check out those floorboards."

In reflection to the kind of conspiracy they might be getting into, Eike has a few more thoughts on how prepared he really is, "It might do me good to try to grab a crossbow for us. I have a feeling that things might get a little messy." At the fear of not sounding over confident, "I mean I don't want to just end a fight too quickly using my incredible powers, and not let you guys have any fun."

"I'll let you two.." He catches Jehan's jaw open at the passing women. "Uh... I'll let Zoltan see if he can figure out that coded part while I head back in to see if the old man sells any crossbows"

Eike walks back into the store to the old man. Attempting to act flustered, "Woah! Those two fellows, they seemed quite odd rushing our of here. That one was a giant! Are you alright sir?" After trying to act as concerned and confused as the man himself he hopes the man did not recognize him. "It looks like you have a little bit of everything for sale here, do a have any crossbows? Actually a light crossbow by chance?"

Zoltan couldn't help but laugh as well at the two men. "Yeah you done good, boys!" he gave them each a hearty pat on the back as if they were his own children, praising them for good school grades. "While it was at the cost of my behind," he said rubbing his butt. "It was well worth it. But you're not getting my anywhere near those stools anytime soon," he added giving Eike a nudge with his elbow.

"And yes, a crossbow would be good. You might need something to protect yourself if you 'incredible powers' somehow don't don't come through for us," he said with a playful roll of his eyes.

He took hold of the journal and first flipped through a number of the entries before settling in on the last one. While waiting for Eike to return and Jehan to stop staring at the women, he worked through the code and put the last pieces together and ended up with "Learned Baron Anton (guessing) has secret box behind portrait. must get."

"Hm, for a guy trying to save his hide with a code, he should have picked a harder one... it took us a matter of minutes. Oh well I suppose that might be why he's dead... or at least why he's missing one of his hands."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:16, Mon 19 Oct 2015.

Three women were passing by the cart, whom Jehan gawked at brazenly. Two of them were a little old for him (and probably married) in their early thirties, but one, a youthful twenty year old wearing a blue shawl and brown dress – and not bad looking either - gave him a little wave with her fingers. They continued on their way. Jehan was smitten. And suddenly all that came to his mind were love songs.

While Jehan was in another world, Zoltan finished unraveling the encrypted journal entry. He thought it was easy. Easy huh? Well, let me tell you buster - the next one won't be! Err... Where was I?.. Ah-

But it was an earlier entry of the journal that seemed both more curious and more pressing. 'Hidden under the floorboards...' While they deliberated on this next course of action, Eike decided he needed a little more firepower, and so, re-entered the General Store where the Old Man stood in a confused daze. It wasn't until Eike gave him a little shake on the shoulder that he snapped out of it. Heck, he probably could've robbed him blind if he hadn't!

The Old Man came to. "Huh?..Oh.. You, you're back. Crossbow? Yes, I think I have one here." Moving in his elderly shuffle, he slowly moved back behind the counter and pulled out a light crossbow from the lower shelves. "This was Robert's ol hunting crossbow, yes. Sold it to me two weeks ago. Triggers a little stiff but it works alright I think. Huh?..How much?.."

Charisma Check {Eike} ~ "...Oh, 25 gold for you son. Good to see the young people hunting these days. Village tradition you know. I got some stories, yes, but you don't want to hear those I don't think..."

"Oh and you'll need bolts too, right son? 7 silver for 10 of em is fine. Remember not to drink while your out there. Don't want to shoot some traveler by mistake. Happened to Joncan way back – poor guy – took a bolt to his arse and could never quite sit right after that..." He pulled out a couple of bolt quivers. Eike relished the weapons in front of him. Sharp-pointy objects, that were about to be his.

While Zoltan sat next to the cart, Jehan rested his elbows on the mans burly left shoulder, hands cradling his chin as he saw the lovely young woman walk past and out of his sight. The bards weight wasnt enough to cause the much larger man any discomfort. With a slight sigh, he tapped the top of zoltans head with his hand. "Hey, what rhymes with 'bewitched'?" Zoltan rolled his shoulder, sending the bard down to the ground. While he found the sound of the mans impact in the dirt enchanting, he was too busy with the book to laugh. "Huh?" He asked, clearly not listening to the flirtatious fellow. Quickly popping up to his feet as if nothing had happened, he dusted himself off, broken of his trance. "Nevermind, thinking out loud." he said as he sat next to Zoltan, re-reading its pages.

"Seems kinda obvious what we should do then now right?" he posed, "Floorboards gotta go - With the owner of the buildings permission of course." he added with an eyeroll. "Maybe after we find out what that is, we can pull a serious heist on the barron... Behind his portrait." Jehan tightened his miscellaneous belts which held his weapons and small pouches in place. He looked around the small town. Lovely place. He then looked into the window of the store they had just caused a small scene in and saw the shopkeeper handing Eike a crossbow to inspect. "Ah shit..." He mumbled... good feeling melting away. "What do you think the odds are he would know how to use that? If he shoots me, im going to-... well be pretty upset, but then end up milking his emotions to get as much out of him as possible." he added, good feelings returning as a smile began to brighten up his face

"Did you see how she waved at me though? Thats definatly a good sign. I am so in." With his hands on his hips, it wasnt hard to see that the bard was rather proud  of himself.

With a silent turn of the head, Jehan began to walk down the city road. "Im going to go ahead of you two to Rosie's. I dont wanna be near that guy with a projectile weapon." He said in reference to Eike. The bard put his hands in his pockets and whistled a tune as he walked to the floorboards that seemed to be screaming his name, almost oozing with curiosity, he marched on. Before not too long, he spun on his heel to shout to Zoltan, "Oh and if he doesnt shoot you, dont let him point it at me!" A moment of silence passed, and he continued with a follow up thought "Well, if he does make sure he kills me, Or else I just might return the pointy favor!" He added with a chuckle, turning back as he walked down the road patting his rapier.

[At the moment, he looked rather playful and carefree - The bard kept an eye out for strangers that seemed to follow them, or show up often in case they were being spied on]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:13, Tue 20 Oct 2015.

Excited about the price of the crossbow he gladly accepts. "That sounds great! I'll take it!" He reaches into his robe and grabs the coin for the old man. "Here you are." He put 25gp 7sp in the mans hand and takes the crossbow and bolts with a large grin across is face.

After exiting the shop and seeing Jehan still in some sort of trance, Eike shows off his new crossbow to his two companions. "Well here she is! Look how pointy it is!"

To Jehan's last comment about the girl, "Well if we ever cross paths with her I'll be sure to tell her all about you. But let us get going. Unless there is something else either of you would like to take care of first, I think we should check on those floor boards at Rosie's."

Eike checks the cart making sure everything was where it should be and hung the crossbow over his shoulder on his back. If Zoltan doesn't object then they go to Rosie's.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Tue 20 Oct 2015.

"Trust me, pal, that wave was just her being polite," he chuckled as he closed the journal. He tucked it in his pocket for now and stretched his arms over his head as Eike approached.

"And right, those floorboards are simply going to have to go. Let's head back to her place." He followed Jehan down the road to the woman's house and calmly knocked on the door. When Rosie answered he simply asked if they could check out the study one more time. He didn't feel it'd be courteous to come right out with stating that they wanted to tear up the floor. He was hoping there would be a lose board that was easily removable, but he was ready to whip out a hammer and go to town on the floor.

It was a bright and sunny day. Clear blue skies stretched from one side of the valley to the other, disappearing beneath the high horizons of the cliffs. Traces of snow lined the towering edges on those rocky walls; and sometimes, when the hour of the day is right, the sun will shine through them and create dazzling displays of light in the valley below. Even in the town of Varna, built at the base of the northern cliff, despite being a mile beneath the topmost ledge, it sometimes happens that the streets are paved with rainbows. The adventurers hoped that they would catch sight of this optical majesty before the day was out. But for now, the sun lingered right above them, marking the time at midday.

Jehan walked ahead of the others in an especially cheerful mood; mainly, for the obvious reason that a girl just waved at him. It doesn't happen everyday you know. He whistled a little melody that, he hoped, would soon translate into a song that could woo his future bride. Perhaps he was getting a little carried away.

Ten paces behind him followed Eike and Zoltan, with Eike pridefully showing off his new device of destruction. His admired the glossy wooden body of the crossbow – which in truth wasn't anything special, but only seemed so by being his – and placed a bolt on the track, though only for a moment. He delighted in the sharp, pointyness of it all, a stark contrast to his usual approach to fighting, which normally involved either keeping a distance or hitting people with a stick.

Finally they approached Rosie's house once again, having left it not thirty minutes ago. They wondered if she would be at all surprised. They knocked. The door was opened almost right away by an exceedingly pretty young woman, no older than twenty, with gold colored hair tied in a pony tail. She wore a yellow dress to match. This was not someone they expected! She wasn't one of the girls they had earlier seen in the street, nor was it anyone they had seen before; nonetheless, the suddenness of it took the adventurers by surprise.

They immediately felt a surge of panic and wondered if they were at the right house! Eike, awkwardly, back away and observed where they were on the street – it was the right place. "Who are you?" the girl asked almost accusatively. As Jehan began to stutter an answer, the adventurers were then saved from their confusion by a familiar voice inside the house. "Who is it hun?" The girl turned over her shoulder and replied, "A few weird looking people." "Oh!" replied someome joyfully. "It must be those nice folk I was just telling you about." At that moment, the familiar Rosie came to the entrance, "Back so soon? Come in – don't want to stand out there all day!"

The girl retreated inside while Rosie beckoned her recent guests back in. They obliged. Once again the adventurers were inside Rosie's quaint house, their noses occupied by the scent of many herbs growing about the near window sills. The girl stood in the kitchen with her arms folded, giving the adventurers a skeptical eye, clearly more wary than Rosie regarding funny-looking strangers.

With the awkwardness passing, Zoltan proceeded to business and asked Rosie if they could have a look at the study. Rosie looked a little perplexed by the request. And the adventurers soon understood why. "Study? What study?"

Map of Rosie's House

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:31, Thu 22 Oct 2015.

The half-warm welcome was not without its troubles. Who is this new girl? Family perhaps? or maybe the group had finally began to draw the wrong sort of attention. Jehan stood for a moment, biting down on his lip.


Suddenly he snapped out of it, large smile emblazon across his face. "Miss Rosie," He began, slowly walking to the friendly woman, "We apologize to appear uninvited... again." he said, slowly making his way to her, subtly feeling the floorboards with his feet for creaks... weakness'... anything unusual. "Lovely as always," he said extending his hand to hers, kissing the back of her hand as chivalrous as he could appear to be. He turned his attention to the Herbs growing in the window. "Heh, my mother used to do this" He said, walking toward them, "I used to get picked on often for smelling strongly of Thyme and Mint." He turned to Rosie, "We were told by Henri that his brother had some sort of study. We thought it would be a nice gesture if we could find something of his to give to him. A keepsake for him if you will."

Jehan then turned his attention to the new woman in the room, though he smiled, he checked closely at her clothing, looking for a hidden weapon or anything that could deem her a threat. He walked slowly toward her, feeling the ground as he walked. "Hello miss, Im sorry we havent been introduced earlier, we came by here earlier today. Helping out another man in town in fact. Everyone is so kind to us, its quite warming to the heart." He said as he stoped a few feet away from her "Though 'weird looking' was quite cold," he said with a playful chuckle. "Also slightly hypocrtical," he said raising an eyebrow and grinning, to be obvious he was being playful, "Seeing as we have the same hairstyle. You did just half insult yourself you know." He chuckled, extending a hand toward her. "I joke of course, may I ask your name miss?"

Jehan Roux rolled 21 Slight of hand, should there be any flowers with the growing herbs, I get one unseen and hide it in my sleeve to hand to the girl with a flick of the wrist to impress her.
Jehan Roux rolled 7 Sense motive, blonde girl. Honesty/malicious intent?
Jehan Roux rolled 20 Knowledge local, who is the blonde girl?
Jehan Roux rolled 7 Search, signs of loose, or altered floorboards. The hiding place on the floor.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Fri 23 Oct 2015.

While Jehan is speaking with the new girl they have just met, Eike tries to get a sense from her if she is merely an innocent bystander or if she has a different motive for being here.

10:42, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 13 using 1d20.  Sense Motive (new girl); Varna.

Eike does a quick look around the room they are in before turning to Rosie,"Could you show me where Manual's room was?" {Assuming she brings me there} "Again, we're sorry for the intrusion once again, thank you for the hospitality. If you don't mind me asking, who is that girl?"

After Rosie leaves the room Eike does a thorough search to find anything out of the ordinary.

10:49, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 8 using 1d20+1.  Search check; Varna.

Zoltan was quite surprised at the sight of this woman and had to collect his thoughts for a moment before determining his next move.

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything?" he said politely giving the ladies a soft smile. "And yes, that's right, we were hoping we might bring Henri something. Are there any personal affects that the dearly beloved might have left behind? He seems to be still really worried about his brother and maybe having some kind of keepsake will help ease his mind."

He had stepped inside but was still mostly in the doorway, blocking the entrance nonchalantly so the lady couldn't dash on out without another moment for their companions to try and figure her out.

"Are you two friends?" he asked still smiling.


23:32, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 17 using 1d20+1.  Sense motive on girl.

"They're not so odd looking hun," Rosie explained to the girl. "They're – you folks were actors right? - they played a lovely song when they were here; too bad you missed it! Was after they had some of the soup you helped make. They quite liked it I should mention." "Oh," the girl replied, now eyeing them more as a curiosity. She leaned against the kitchen counter and patted off some bits of chopped vegetables clinging to her yellow dress. On the counter beside her was a squash well minced.

Sleight of Hand {Jehan Roux} ~ Jehan, being suave, approached her, while discreetly plucking a flower from the potted herbs nearby. He presented it to her as though drawn from midair.

"Oh, uh, thanks," she replied, accepting it. She seemed to be deciding what to think about them, mainly between whether they were entertaining or annoying. Jehan, still suave, then inquired as to her name. "Neska," she stated, starting to lean toward 'entertaining'. Rosie addressed the adventurers, "This miss is a lovely friend of mine dearies. She's visiting from Amsley and has been staying with ol' me the past few days. Very helpful around the house, the spry young thing. She was picking up some groceries for me while you were here last."

Knowledge Local {Jehan Roux} ~ She wasn't local, Jehan concluded. He felt like he would've heard about such a golden haired beauty if she was! He noted that Amsley was a small, rural village was a few days travel from here, on the other side of the northern ridge.

Sense Motive {Eike; Jehan Roux; Zoltan Zanderhawk} ~ And nothing about her struck the adventurers as malevolent nor evil; and the only attention she gave them was as an oddity. Nonetheless when she said her name, she seemed to pause a little before saying so. Perhaps she was just being hesitant, or, perhaps she was exercising a certain creativity. It was hard to be sure. In either case, she probably wasn't too relevant to the quest at hand. Maybe, just maybe, she was another one of Varna's little secrets...

Search {Eike; Jehan Roux} ~ But despite the distracting young woman, Eike and Jehan didn't forget what they were looking for. While they walked into Rosie's home, they paid more attention this time to the floorboards beneath. However, they discerned nothing about the floorboards as unusual or odd; in fact, they seemed as ordinary as floorboards came!

Eike asked Rosie if she could show him Manual's room old room, to which she replied, "Well, his old room is my room now hun, but there's nothing of his in there anymore. And not to mention it isn't appropriate to let strange men into the bedrooms of women, married or not!" That closed off that possibility very quickly. "If you're looking for something nice for Henri, I'm afraid I've sold all of Manual's old things. It's been two years you know. But I gave most of Manual's stuff to Henri in the beginning, so I wonder why he'd be so nostalgic all of a sudden? I'll have to ask him 'bout it later I suppose."

"Who's Henri?" asked Neska. "My neighbor hun, just down the riverside," Rosie replied. "So – ah, where was I? - oh, Henri said something about a study? Odd. I don't think Manual had a study. He had his desk sure, but he kept that at his bedside. It isn't such a big house you know. I hope Henri hasn't been drinking again! It would explain all this oddness of his..."

Suddenly the adventurers saw a sharp knife out of the corner of their eye! Chop. Hastily they turned toward it. It was Neska... who had begun chopping a zucchini. That's all. The adventurers resumed feeling at ease. Maybe they were just being paranoid...
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:50, Sat 24 Oct 2015.

Eike wipes the sweat from his brow as discretely as he can. He looks over to Jean and seen the same sense of uneasiness in his face, but Zoltan didn't seemed phased. Whether it was the sense of a dead end or his paranoia, Eike made his way towards the door of the house.  He looked to Rosie and with a nod, "Again sorry for the intrusion miss. We don't mean to over stay our welcome so it's best we be on our way. Thank you for allowing us in once again."

Once they were safely back outside Eike looked to his companions, "Well that got us no where. Why don't we check out the mine where Manual worked."

If there are no objections Eike starts walking down the road and says with confidence, The mine was this way, let's get going."

Being rather skilled at manipulating others, Jehan had gotten the hang of controlling his facial expressions, to keep him out of trouble if he were to get caught red handing doing something 'bad'. It was as if even his sweat glands were trained to keep up a charade, keeping oneself from perspiring makes one appear less suspect.


His body on the other hand... was cursed with high energy, giving him quick reflexes that he had not quite gotten to master hiding yet. After the knife hit the board cutting though the vegitable, the lovely girl looked up for some reason, as if something had caught her eye. She looked over the counter and saw Rosie, Zoltan, Eike... Where was the fourth? The odd bard?

A sudden flash of gold from the other side of the counter startled her slightly. Jehan had stood up so quickly that his hair whipped from his face, around to his back again in a rather lovely arch. "Whew, that was embarrassing." He said, raising his left hand and rubbing the back of his head. "It would appear I had slipped. Mopped recently miss Neska?" He added with a chuckle.

However, what she didnt notice was the slow metallic slide and click of a sword being placed back into its sheath. Jehan had saw the metal being raised before the others and instinctively ducked on the other side of the counter, weapon partially drawn, ready to catch the lovely attacker off guard. In the short moment it took for him to do this, he made sure no eyes were on him, so as far as they knew, he did slip. His right hand remained on the hilt of his sword however, resting in a non-threatening way; but looks are deceiving. Mother always said, "Trust your instincts." Little did she know she gave that advice to a paranoid womanizer with slight anxiety issues.

A few awkward statements of 'embarrassment' followed, he pointed his attention to Rosie. "Our aplogies for the unwarrented visitation miss. Next time, well ask a few hours in advance for the honor of your presance, hows that?" he said, sharing in laughter with the woman. "If you ever need anything, we'll be in town. Just ask someone to point out the 'weirdos'." He said, hanging on the word weirdos while shooting a playful expression to Neska. "It was lovely to meet you as well miss Neska, hopefully we can meet again under better, and less surprising circumstances. Hey maybe ill play you a song." He added, giving a wave and following Eike out the door.

"Waste of time." He grumbled. "Its gotta be in the mine," he agreed with the sorcerer. "Im going with the lil bugger. Join us wont you Zoltan?" Requested the bard as he trotted off to catch up with Eike toward the mine.

Zoltan watched Neska closely with curiosity. He couldn't help but think of a number of possible identities for her. Was she also investigating the disappearance? Was she a spy for the Baron? Was she just a nice old friend of Rosie? He couldn't help but play out a few scenarios in his mind, distracting him from the rest of the house. When Jehan somehow fell down, he broke form his reverie.

"Guess I'm not the only one with two left feet," he said with a smile. "And yes, thank you for your hospitality, we should really be on our way now."

He followed his two companions on out and down the road. "Right, to the mines it is."

Neska gave the adventurers a funny look, as though confirming in her mind they were definitely wierdos. "Nice to meet you too, I think," she answered to Imbellem's overly courteous farewell. Rosie, however, smiled brightly, radiating a warm disposition. "Oh do feel free to drop in anytime. I do like visitors you know! Take care!" Cheerfully she waved as the adventurers departed out the door. Once again, they were in the streets of Varna.

Yep – a waste of time. This, they agreed on.

But Rosie's house wasn't their only prospect, for they had still yet to explore the Iron Mine where Manual Keirch worked. Deciding this looked very promising, they headed to the Mine. The Iron Mine of Varna was located on the north side of town at the base of the cliffs. Since Rosie's house was located on the riverfront, the adventurers had to walk through the whole of town to get there. But thankfully, this wasn't actually that far. It was a small town.

The adventurers traveled through the familiar town square where they passed by the Varna Inn – it was there they had their first performance. Then, they passed by the General Store. Through the big glass window, they could see the old shopkeeper with another customer – an old woman – who he appeared to be flirting with! Go get her tiger.

Leaving the town square behind, the adventurers turned onto a northbound street, and the buildings of Varna faded out very quickly. The quarter-mile between town and the Iron Mine was mostly field with bit of green forest here and there. Nobody built houses or shops in this strip of land, mainly because the town didn't own it! This area was owned by the Baron, Anton von Auspitz, who also owned the Iron Mine.


The adventurers traveled along a dirt road surrounded by waist-high grass on both sides. A little ways off to the left was a patch of forest. It was there, peaking over the tips of the trees, they could see the top of the Baron's manor – which was no doubt the biggest building in Varna. They then passed by the road leading to his estate. Perhaps, in the future, they would go down it. But for now, they continued northward to the Iron Mine.

After passing through a thin veil of trees, the adventurers reached the Iron Mine. The rocky cliffs looked staggeringly high from this vantage, extending nearly a mile into the sky. In front of the adventurers, at its base, was the entrance to the Mine itself, which was a large round tunnel that probably led to a whole network of tunnels in the cliffside. It was wide enough that several tracks for big metal carts ran side-by-side into it. The place was fairly lively. Around them, about ten or so people were going about their business. This involved unloading iron ore onto a nearby wagon, fixing a pickaxes and tools, and another still was washing his face in a bucket of water. Two men, pushing a laden cart, came out of the tunnel at this time - their faces were blackened with dust and dirt.

Beside the entrance to the Mines themselves, to the right of it, also stood a perfectly square wooden building with a pyramid-shaped roof. It was windowless and very plain looking, but on the front door was nailed a simple white sign – "Foreman's Office." The door opened and out came one of the miners. This miner had a bushy beard, and the adventurers quickly recognized him as one of the men they met earlier at Varna Inn. He went off to the water bucket to wash his face and beard.

The adventurers had made it to the Iron Mine. Now, they had to use their wits to figure out where to go from here!

As they walked the short distance to the mine, they took a time of silence, which was rare with a bard... They simply took in the scenery and looked about, taking in the beauty of it, as well as making a mental map, where as not to get lost on the way back. The others could see Jehan with his head down, lips moving, but no words coming out. Assuming he was up to working on a song about Neska, they decided to leave him alone enjoying the quiet for once.

As they came to the mine, Eike and Zoltan stopped to survey the area, Jehan still had his head down and bumped into the back of Zoltan right before muttering, "IM not weird... You're the weird one, who cooks with zuccini? Grandmothers? Weirdo-"


He looked up to see a confused Zoltan, "Sorry about that, word of my own." Without moving his feet, he arched his body to the side simply popping his head out from the side of his large companion. "Dibs" "On what?" Eike asked inquisitively, looking around, expecting to see a woman about. "No like, dibs. meaning mine. Its a mine. Get it?" Zoltan and the sorcerer both just looked at eachother. "Nevermind." Said Jehan, unphaped used to his failed attempts at 'humor'. As he spoke, he walked to the side of the road where a bucket lie and picked it up. Turning on his heel, making sure to not let the bucket touch his clothes, he walked up to Zoltan, stuck it out toward him and simply stated. "stick your hands in the bucket."

Zoltan just looked for a moment. "Oh come on ya Lilly, that was one time and the snake wasnt even that poisonous. I checked. Well, technically it bit me first, but I didnt wanna die alone. Now Lather up, buttercup." The bucket he held was dirt, simple dirt. "If something goes wrong, which it always does, you're our cover. Youre the only one who could pass as a miner out of the three of us, so if you look the part they wont question it, yeah? So we gotta get you good and dirty before we check the office."

"We come from the south, you're a miner. Sorry about your luck, but I couldnt pass as a miner if I tried. I'm Sir Maximilian, and he;" nodding at Eike, "is Leif, Right and left hand of the foreman of the southern mines record keeping and making sure things run smoothly. Making a surprise inspection, coming to 'marvel' at how theyre doing so much better at breaking rocks out of the ground and asking for advice to bring back to further our exploits in the south. You are Durumina, Miner extraordinaire, a bit of a silent type, but you are sent to explore the inside, checking for 'health hazzards'...AKA buying us time" He stood still with a goofy grin, wondering if this scheme would float past the two, arms locked, still presenting the bucket of dirt to zoltan. "Friend, pick faster, my arms are getting tired." He said as his arms began to visibly shaking. "If I blow it, you could fake a miner for a day. Maybe even get some free iron you can slip in your pockets... Or paid. Either or. Unless you have a better idea"

"Also I may or may not, but defiantly may, slap you with dirt. You gotta look authentic. So. Brace for impact."

Jehan-Sir Maximilion zoned out for a moment and chuckled. "Behold," He proclaimed to the two men, "The wisdom of my mother, shitty woman, great advisor; 'When youre knee deep in shit, or about to get caught, just keep your head forward, mouth shut, and pretend that you know what you're doing.' You get dirty, we gotta head off to the office, hopefully we can head in without snags. We just gotta walk in like we belong 'Leif'." he added with a smirk
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Mon 02 Nov 2015.

EIke looked at Jehan with a skeptical look along with Zoltan . After taking a moment he thought that wasn't such a bad idea. On the up side he didn't have to be the one getting slapped with dirt across the face. Speaking up, "I think that's our best shot at getting in here and snooping around. Inspector Lief, I like it!"

He takes a moment to straighten his cloak and look as official as he could and looked to Zoltan, "So what do you say?"

Zoltan walked along with his friends and was surprised by Jehan. "My daughter-in-law would take offense at that, her name is Lilly. I'd just prefer not o dirty up my clothes, making a load of laundry for myself and need to take a bath."

He glanced at he bucket. "If I'm coming for an inspection, why do I have to get myself dirty before entering?" he asked with a curious raised eyebrow.

"So who am I supposed to be taking to anyways? Just leading the Baron and whomever around the mine while I 'inspect' the place?"

"Aw" Said Jehan, slightly tilting his head to the side "Lilly. Thats cute. But shes not here and ill wash your damn clothes." He stated, warm fuzzies melting away. He lowered the bucket, arms grown weary. "You need a bath anyway mate, we've been on the road for a while... You need a date with a soap-bar" he added.

"Me and Eike work for the mining company and you are a miner we took along. We know numbers, not rocks. You do 'Durumina' and you love to get arms deep in dirt to make sure things run smoothly in our southern mine. In my defence, your fake prosona is the best miner in the business down there, you just need to 'inspect' what makes this place tick better so we can increase our iron output." He too a step forward. "The dirt makes it look like youve already been investigating the outside of the mine, and are a real hands on kinda bloke, savvy?" Jehans eyes rolled up in thought. 'Though... in hindsight you wouldnt HAVE to get dirty... It would just add some authenticity... Unless you have a better idea of course. " he said, beginning his walk- more of a pompous strut to the mine and it's office where their clue was hopefully stashed safely
This message was last edited by the player at 03:22, Sat 21 Nov 2015.

"Alright, so not dirt. We'll just have to really sell it in there." Eike says as he looks to Jehan. He grabs his staff and begins walking with it and walks right into the office.

Zoltan sighed. "Fine, I'll put on some dirt just for you." He patted just a little on his face and coughed slightly.

"I don't really know what to look for in a mining inspection, but I suppose I can make him show me every support beam. That sounds like something that an inspector should check on. If you've got what you need just pretend to have a really bad coughing fit. It'll carry through the tunnels and I might be able to hear you from wherever I am." He followed the two inside and stood tall with a stern look on his face.

Pine needles fell to the ground as the trees swayed in the breeze. The miners probably worshiped this breeze when it traveled into the tunnels, bringing a refreshing and unexpected coolness to those who worked all day in there. Here the men had calloused hands and hardened faces. The life of iron miner was no soft way to live. Many of these miners had likely been working in the mines since they were old enough to swing a pickaxe. The town of Varna wasn't very large, and there were only so many jobs available; but no doubt the Iron Mine employed a healthy number of the town's men. It wouldn't be surprising to hear at least half the men of Varna had worked in their mines at some point in their lives. But to work in the mines for any long stretch of years was unfathomable. Few could imagine the killer backache.

Beneath a cluster of pine trees, the adventurers came up with their next, only somewhat crazy plan. They watched the miners moving around the small trodden field that expanded for fifty feet or so from the Mine entrance. In the middle of this field was a shed where two miners were storing a number of tools; with evening not too far away, the work day was likely near an end. Past this and closer to the Mine entrance was the Foreman's office, which stood as the only real building around. Feeling like they had their plan down, and that it would totally not fail, the adventurers set out across the field and headed to the office.

They approached and saw the white sign marking it for what it was, and the first thing they wondered was whether they should knock or not. But at that moment, someone came out of the Foreman's office, a miner with short scruffy beard, and held the door open for them on his way out. Not wanting to be rude (or look suspicious), they went inside.

Like the outside of the building, the inside was simple and straightforward in appearance. The building was one room and perfectly square, made of a light tan pinewood that filled the room with a delightful woody scent. There were scarcely any decorations – a cabinet, a desk – and most notably a round carpet directly in the center of the floor; this carpet had been long ruined and muddied by the boots of miners stomping over it.

To the left of the adventurers was the desk, and sitting behind this desk was a man. Not glancing at them at first, he was intently scribbling on some parchment in front of him. But this man was no bookworm. Perhaps in his late thirties, his hair had already become mostly bald save for a few surviving strands. He was husky, his size coming from both muscle and fat; so that by looking at his arms, anyone could see he was strong even if they couldn't see the muscles themselves. His face was not a pretty one having a round nose and plain features – definitely not a ladies man. In fact, he looked very unpleasant to talk to. The adventurers realized their guess was right pretty quick when he finally looked up at them and barked, "What do you want!?"


This message was last edited by the GM at 13:52, Sun 22 Nov 2015.

The less than comfortable conversation was over... They were in. Though Jehan almost got beat up, but hey; whats new. The large man walked to the door with 'Leif' and 'Durumina' while 'Maxamilion' paced in the room. The man looked back, Rolled his eyes and kept walking. Jehan had made it appear that he was very angry and trying to walk it off... They all figured to let him to just that, lest he do something stupid outside. Eike and Zoltan looked though the crack in the door as it was closed by the man in charge, just in time to see Jehan protruding a particular finger at the mans back, followed by a smile and a wave. With a click, the door shut, and Jehan was out out sight...

Inside-

[Private to DM Ryan: As soon as the door shut, jehan stood. 1, 2, 3. On 3, he grabbed the nearest chair and leaned it against the door handle. The excuse should someone try to get in, he had to stand on the chair because he saw a crack in the support beam, but turned out to be a spider web. False alarm. He chuckeled with the plan to himself as he braced the chair against the handle, and flopped to the floor, rolling back the rug, searching for a weakspot, or loose floorboards for the information the handless gentleman left behind.

Jehan Roux rolled 14 Search, Floorboards, hidden items.

(After that result)

Standing from the floor, he had one more idea, he quickly ran to the desk and shuffled though papers, looking for money output and input, sales, numbers... anything that would indicate money laundering. But along the way he remembered something about something hidden behind a painting... but couldnt remember in what order or location the painting clue was, so as he walked around the desk, he scanned the walls for a painting, and should one present itself, he makes a quick flip to check for a secret cabinet behind it.

Jehan Roux rolled 12 Appraise check, mines profit margin. Missing money?

Should nobody knock by this point, Jehan takes any proof he has, hides it on his person, and begins to 'inspect' the outside of the mine, asking the miners simple questions, about the types of axes that work the best, methods of finding iron veins, best method of removal, etc.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Mon 23 Nov 2015.

The door to the office closed behind Eike. He takes a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, being thankful Jehan didn't get them into another altercation. He looked at Zoltan, then at the door. Maybe Jehan shouldn't be alone after how that conversation went. Looking back to Zoltan he said, "Maybe I better stay with Maxamilion and make sure the office stays intact." Almost without waiting for a response or chance or protest, he is already opening the door once again to meet Jehan.

[Private to DM Ryan; Jehan Roux: "Hey! Thought you could use some help looking around and watching out for anyone coming in. And I couldn't stand being around that foreman much longer."

Eike starts looking around the room for anything useful.
16:25, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 12 using 1d20+1.  Search check; Varna.
]

Zoltan relaxed and waved the two boys away. He was relieved at the outcome. Puffing himself up with air sightly, he stood tall and followed the man through the door and immediately started scanning everything and had a deep pensive look on his face as if he knew very well what he was looking for while on the inside he was simply like:

 "Yep, this here's a mine alright. Lots o' dirt. Rock. And some tools. Definitely a mine." He walked a little slow to try and take as long of a time as possiple.

Inside the Foreman's office, Jehan shoved a chair behind the knob of the door as soon as the others made their way out and he was safely alone; naturally it wouldn't be a good thing to be disturbed. Hastily he scrambled to the desk and started sorting through the papers – numbers, lists, notes. "Ow!" He retracted his hand; he got a papercut. But looking through the stack he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. As far as he could tell, it was an ordinary iron mine.

Suddenly he was interrupted by a knocking on the door and felt a jolt of perilous fear course through him. "Hey, Jehan! Let me in!" said a hushed voice from the other side. It was only Eike. Jehan returned to the door and let him inside, feeling a lot better about everything.

Teaming up, they re-started searching around the room. There weren't any paintings or strange cabinets here; instead the place was rather plain, made of cut pine wood and nails – a building made for simple purpose of sheltering the foreman and the paperwork he had to do.  But they remembered where they needed to look and grouped at the center of the room, hovering over the round carpet in anticipation. They pulled aside the carpet, and on hands and knees they felt around the floor for something to grab onto.

And they found one of the floorboards had no nails holding it down!

Digging their nails into the edges, they pried up the board, located almost exactly in the center spot of the building. They set the board aside and peered through the lovely hole it left in the floor - there was dirt! - the ground beneath the building. But not only was there dirt. Half-buried in this dirt was a sack, its roughspun fabric protruding out of the ground, only loosely covered.

Like finding buried treasure, they excitedly plucked out the sack; and based on how worn and dirty it was, it had probably been down there for years, not having moved since Manual Keirch stuffed it there. They set it on the floor beside them where it clinked with the familiar clinking sound of money inside. Hurriedly they open it up, and indeed the sack was full of money! -perhaps 200 pieces of silver in all.

Eike took out one of the silver pieces and held it up; and then the realization struck him about what he was looking at. The coin was indeed real silver money, but it was no money that they could ever spend, nor would they even want to risk being caught with.

The coins were all stamped with the insignia of Vaterland.


<Royalred>Zoltan followed Nikolaus into the mine, watching his step around the cart rails. Most of the men were on their way out as the work day was coming to an end; the sun was shrinking low in the sky. Nikolaus succinctly pointed out a few things here and there about the mine while Zoltan nodded, totally pretending to know what he was talking about.

They didn't go very far into the tunnel before taking a right and heading toward a door. For the most part, this area of the tunnels was well-lit by lanterns strung up about the ceiling, a ceiling which was held up by regularly-spaced wooden frames. "Over here is our break room," said Nikolaus. "Should be empty now that the workers are leaving."

Zoltan followed him forward to the door, which Nikolaus held open for him, and he stepped inside. So this was a miner's breakroom. There was couple square tables, also made from the local pine, and a handful of chairs – 8 or so – that Zoltan recognized as being rather similar to the one's he knocked over earlier today. Other than that the room was sparse, the tools probably having been stored in the outside sheds. And being a dead end only 20 ft. across, the little cave didn't offer much more in the way of comforts.

Suddenly, the door closed behind Zoltan, followed by a clicking sound – it was being locked! And Zoltan swiftly realized that Nikolaus hadn't followed him inside! Zoltan lunged for the handle but it was too late; the outer latch had already fallen in place.

He could hear Nikolaus on the other side muttering, "Miners my ass. Sit tight there pal while I figure out what to do with you, and your little friends too." And then he could hear Nikolaus' footsteps as he walked away, leaving Zoltan imprisoned in the room, trapped!

"...Well shit."

Jehan held the piece of silver in his hand for a moment studying it and tossed it in the bag with the others. Tightening the coinpurse, he hid it in his pack standing, "Well well well, naughty foreman, sleeping with the enemy." Feeling rather proud of himself... Even though Eike made multiple expressions as if to say, 'Im right here too sir.' a smirk crawled along his face, and he swiped his thumb under his nose with a sniff. "Hey, reminds me of that one time You caught me at that tavern with that one gal who-" Eikes hands flew in the air "Dont need to hear that one again. Scarred me for life." Jehan simply chuckled, moving the stool from the door, "Right we got our proof, the foreman was working with the enemy, Henri didnt like it, they ran him out right? Lets get "Durumina" and get out of here." he said hand on the knob and motioning to Eike. "Luckily for us they have no idea we know. The whole town is still clueless about our good deeds... we better get a reward for this junk. Now lets 'Inspect' Things"

He creaked the door open, looking side to side before opening it all the way, and stepping out, feeling accomplished
This message was last edited by the player at 03:46, Tue 15 Dec 2015.

Rubbing his temples, Eike looks to Jehan, "Must you remind me that? I don't think I will ever get that out of my head." He takes one last look around the office before agreeing with Jehan. {Search check} "Yeah I think you're right. Let's get out of here. Oh yeah we better get something out of this... Too much trouble."

Eike watched Jehan step out the door and shook his head. "Must you always be so forgetful. It'll get us killed one of these days. Give me a moment while I put everything back the way it was." Eike proceeds to place the board back into the floor and move the rug back in place. He then follows Jehan out the door.


12:56, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 15 using 1d20+1.  Search check; Varna.

Swallowing hard, Zoltan ran his hands through his hair in worry. "Shit, shit, shit," he breathed, pacing back in forth. He looked around the room frantically for something to somehow help him escape. He glanced at his long sword wondering if he could somehow hack at the door, or perhaps jam it hard enough between the lock and door.

Taking a deep breath, he thought about what he had on his person. From his bag, he found his small case of caltrops. He pulled one out. Looking at its long point then at the keyhole he sighed. "Worth a shot." He knelt down and stuck an end of the caltrop into the keyhole, trying to push the tumblers. (If Zoltan fails picking the lock, he will try to force it open).


00:44, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 5 using 1d20+1.  Pick lock.
00:44, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 18 using 1d20+2.  Search check.
00:45, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 9 using 1d20+3.   Force lock.

Eike and Jehan felt accomplished as they walked and heard the light clink of forbidden coins in their pack. This mystery was starting to be less mysterious. But although they had acquired a hefty bit of evidence now, they knew they were only halfway there, for this evidence was worthless unless they could connect it to some wrongdoing. If they presented it to the magistrate now, how could they prove where it came from? Or the means by which it was gained? Something was definitely odd about this mine, and that oddness did away with the last foreman. They were determined to expose the weird for what it was.

They walked out into the field. The sun was beginning to set. Patiently they waited beneath the dim light of dusk for Zoltan and the more recently-appointed foreman Nikolaus to return. Workers finished stowing away tools in the sheds and washing their hands and faces in a basin of water; gradually their numbers diminished as they departed the mine and returned to their warm, welcoming homes in the village. Soon all were gone, and the mine became deserted. Eike and Jehan were the only ones left in the field, lingering by the entrance of the foreman's office; but as dusk deepened and the sky sank into a melancholy orange, Zoltan and his guide had still yet to return. Now they were getting worried.

Usually it's Jehan that get's into trouble. But perhaps it was contagious, for it seemed that Zoltan might have caught it.

Zoltan shoved his shoulder against the door attempting to bust it open, but this didn't work quite like he imagined it would. The stubborn and self-righteous door didn't budge, and instead haughtily ignored Zoltan, who bounced off and clutched the new bruise on his shoulder, making that familiar hissing sound as when a young man stubs his toe. He futilely tried the handle again, thinking he might have intimidated the door into unlocking itself – it was still locked. Concluding with a vengeful kick at the door's base, he walked away and slumped down in one of the chairs.

He wasn't particularly pleased about the situation.

Some minutes passed and eventually he stood back up to search around the room, moreso to keep boredom at bay than any actual hope of finding something. Near the back he noticed a couple dusty crates; loose dirt from the ceiling had effectively camouflaged them as rocks, large perfectly cubed shaped rocks. He opened the first one. There was jerky meat inside, a light meal for the miners here. Zoltan slyly glanced to the left and then right, and surreptitiously, in an act of needless stealth, shoplifted some in his pockets. He opened the second: flasks of water. Zoltan pleasantly noted that if he died soon, it wouldn't be due to starvation or thirst.

This gave him the idea that maybe he should barricade the door, just in case the wrong visitor came back. Definitely a good idea, he convinced himself. He gripped the distant edges of one of the boxes, and hoping he didn't pull a muscle in his back, pulled it away from the wall. But as he moved it a few feet, he paused, for he noticed that behind the crate was a hole in the wall near the ground. He got on his hands and knees to look down it. It wasn't a very comfortable size, perhaps only allowing him to squeeze through it if he sucked in his gut the whole time; and he couldn't see an end to it either. The crevice simply disappeared into a dark, uncomfortably narrow unknown.

Today was full of queer options.

{Zoltan#Error: Using the skill 'Open Lock' requires at least 1 skill point in it to use!}

Eike looked to Jehan with a concerned look. He could feel a deep pit start to swell in his stomach. Usually it was Jehan who was the one to go missing or get caught up in something, but never Zoltan. While nervously gripping his staff he spoke to Jehan, "I don't like this, I don't like this one bit. Zoltan is never late. We need to go find him, we are sitting ducks out here." He waits for Jehan's agreement before starting to quickly walk down the mine in the direction that Zoltan should have gone. As they started Eike took his staff in both hands, "Little dark down here for me." He said with a slight smirk. Eike cleared his head until his thoughts were nothing but darkness, almost an emptiness. He thought back to the moments when he was younger when he had to hide beneath the floors of his own house when the inspector would come looking for anyone who had an aura about them. To root out the magic the village was fearful of. In the darkness came a light. A bright light. It filled the whole of the darkness that was there before and his staff was lit! Like a flame-less torch. The two could now see their way down the tunnel as they searched for Zoltan.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:38, Thu 14 Jan 2016.

As if in unison with Eikes comment, Jehan stated, "Usually its me who gets lost. Zoltan is never late or caught up... Something might be wrong." The sternness of his words was in contrast to his usual devil-may-care attitude about things. But when it came to his friends, Jehan could have moments of selflessness.

"We should head inside, quietly mind you." Jehan said as Eike walked slightly ahead of him- He wanted this act of heroism to seem like his idea. "Be on guard, I have a feeling they may be on to us... Either that or Zoltan found a really shiny rock that hes been ogling for the past while." Following Eikes magical light, Jehan walked upright, as if to appear unphased or not worried, when in reality, he had his hand on the hilt of his sword. Ready to swing at anything that came across them, and hopefully pin a man to a wall to get some answers about this 'blood money' they found in the office.

Jehan repeatedly stuck his hand into the magical fire and quickly retreating, like an animal discovering something for the first time, he played with it with all manor of poking and prodding imaginable. This didnt last long as Eike sternly and 'politely asked him to stop.'

[Private to DM Ryan:
Jehan Roux rolled 18 Hide, should someone approach.
Jehan Roux rolled 16 Move Silently in the mines tunnels in search.]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:58, Thu 14 Jan 2016.

Eike simply looked at Jehan and shook his head. "Must you do that every time?" He asked already knowing the answer.

With a heavy sigh, Zoltan took a seat on one of the evil stools. He would give his companions about fifteen minutes before he would start hacking at the door with his blade. He crossed his arms and huffed.

Eike and Jehan entered into the mine. Using a bit of magic, Eike lit up the top end of his staff and muttered, "Now we must face the mines of Moria." Jehan gave him a queer glance, "Moria?" Eike felt a flash of embarrassment, "Oh sorry. Was feeling Gandalfy. Varna, I mean." Jehan's glance intensified, "Gand-? Oh nevermind." He returned his attention to his feet, where it was direly needed to traverse the cart rails and loose rocks that littered the ground.

They wandered a fair ways into tunnel. The light from Eike's staff chased away the dark and replaced with a simple white luminescence. Whereas most torches cast a reddish tint and flickered with impatience, Eike's spell radiated a pure and steady daylight, a far superior light to travel by. As they walked deeper into the labyrinth, they began to wonder how they would ever find Zoltan in here, if he was indeed still in here at all, or alive. Maybe he had left out another way they didn't know about? Maybe he had tripped and fallen into the bottom of a crevice? How could they possibly find him then?

The situation was looking grim. Eike and Jehan explored to the end of a tunnel which led to a wooden door, aside from which was a dead end. Jehan noted the latch was locked on the door, and quickly concluded Zoltan couldn't have come this way. He sighed. Jehan leaned with one hand against the door as the difficulty of their task set in. "How are we ever going to find those two – and more importantly Zoltan – in this maze?" Jehan pondered to Eike.

Suddenly a sword-blade hacked through the door which Jehan was leaning against and cut through wood, ending between two of Jehan's spread fingers. The wide-eyed bard screamed like a little girl and leapt several meters away.

Eike and Jehan then heard a muffled voice from the other side, "Oh shit! Was someone there?"

Recognizing the voice, Eike hurriedly undid the latch and opened the door to reveal Zoltan on the other side. Zoltan glanced at the cut in the door, then at the nearby shivering Jehan, who was scrupulously checking his hand to make sure it was still there (it was). Zoltan figured out what had happened. He smirked and said, "My bad."

Eike brushes the splinters from the door off of his robes while he laughs at Jehan and his screaming. He looks to his newly reunited companions and with his bright staff in hand he says, "I'm done with these mines. We got what we needed, what do you say we get out of here?"

After a shriek that would send chills down the spine of a lesser man, Jehan slowly regained his composure, waiting for the adrenaline to stop flowing to see if he could feel pain. After a few moments of silence, the fair voiced bard grabbed the staff from the sorcerer and tilted it his way to study his hand in the magical light for wounds or lost fingers.

With a sigh he loosened his grip, and the staff was quickly returned to its slightly angered owner. Jehan let out a deep sigh of relief and turned his attention to the large man who thought it a good idea to swing a massive sword at a door before checking for people behind it. He held up his hand, "Ya see this" he said in a slightly bossy tone. "This is the moneymaker. You be careful around these." he said, now holding both hands up, "Lest i remind you where most of our money comes from..." A few huffs and laughs from his comrades later, Eike spoke.

"Yeah, I agree" Jehan said cracking his knuckles for peace, as well as to remind himself they were all in fact still there. "We got what we needed. This place is doing sleeping with the enemy. Now we know what Henri was going after and his 'Proof'. Lets get out of here. If they locked him away-" Motioning to the large man though the hole in the door, "-Theyre on to us. This town may not be safe anymore. Lets get out of this bloody mine. Come Gandalf!" He exclaimed with a playful march, "To The Bridge of khazad Dum!" A dumfounded expression washed over Eike as he questioned what in the nine hells Jehan Kept talking about and who this Gandalf was...

"Sorry about that," Zoltan said to Jehan.

"I had no idea you were there. I've been stuck in here for a while, so I just decided to hack my way out." He sheathed his sword. "I'm not sure how much they know, but they know we're not real miners. Let's hurry up and get out of here."

Jehan, Eike, and Zoltan traveled back through the short series of tunnels that led to the exit. Their cover had been blown; and more worrisome, Nikolaus was nowhere to be seen. They certainly didn't passed him on their way here, and yet they had the eerie feeling he was no longer in the mine. Perhaps he had left through a different exit to avoid being seen? Either possibility didn't bode well for them.

What to do next weighed heavily on their minds. If Nikolaus was suspicious of them, would he go tell the Baron? And if that was the case, how much time did they have left to solve this mystery before all opportunity to was lost? They had to get the evidence they needed, and soon. It wouldn't do to let Manual Keirch's fate go without answer, but no doubt someone in this town was willing to go to great lengths to keep that from happening, and it was a good bet that person just so happened to be the most powerful man in town.

Eike led the way with his staff through the rocky tunnels. [Private to Eike: As he walked, he glanced at the light that emanated from his staff's end. Such a simple thing – light. And the spell to cast it was so simple too, at least for him. He glanced back at his companions and felt an uncommon wave of gratitude toward them. The fact that could create this little light with his sheer will was a miracle in its own right, but the fact he could share this truth of his magic with a few others – and for them to accept him for it – was a far greater miracle, in his opinion. In his home town, something like this, something that now seems so simple, would have had a much different connotation for him. Even his parents, they... well, he didn't want to think about that right now. Feelings a little blurred now between gratefulness and anxiety, Eike returned his attention to leading the others through the stone-littered tunnels]

After a few minutes, they exited the Iron Mine and stepped back out onto the grassy field. The sun had now disappeared beneath the trees in the western valley and left the sky with only a faint glow near the horizon; the stars were now visible throughout the eastern half, whose background smoothly changed from dark blue to black as it fled from the sunset. Pines swayed in the night breeze.

The scene was soothing. But that evening calm was only enjoyed for a few moments before being ruined by the sudden sound of heavy boots. From behind the toolshed, a stone's throw away from the adventurers, came three men. They seemed to have been hiding over there, which already wasn't a good sign. Now, the adventurers didn't recognize the three men, but they started to figure out the situation pretty quick, for all of them were carrying a club in one hand and a torch in the other. Dressed in plain tan shirts and trousers, they clearly weren't high on the social ladder in Varna, and their faces weren't much to look at either. In short, you might as well have tattooed the word 'thug' on their foreheads.

The thugs walked toward the adventurers with a mixture of smirks and scowls on their faces. The whole situation had become clear pretty damn quick. The adventurers didn't even feel a need to ask who sent them. One gestured at the adventurers with his club and said, "You fellas are in a whole mess o' trouble now, ain't ya?"

{Combat Rounds Enabled}


[Private to Goliad: Goliad watched this play out from the treeline. Three emerged from the mine, and three were waiting to ambush them. After having seen the three thuggish looking humans sneak behind the toolshed and hide, he knew something was up. Hard to believe something like this was happening in a small town like Varna, where news could travel fast; clearly they had gone through a lot of trouble to be discrete though.

Well, enough watching from the sidelines! What was Goliad waiting for? To let three (probably) innocent strangers get beaten up? This situation called for someone whose body was a perfect specimen to light the way! So go you handesome orc! Go save their asses!

Each turn (or 1 post) you can move once and attack once. You can move up to 6 squares on the map (you can start from wherever on the side line). To attack or grapple, go to the diceroller link on the top bar and roll a 1d20 (just make sure you say whether you're attacking with a weapon or grappling since there's a difference between the two). I can help you out in real life. Good luck! I'm putting you in a life or death situation on day 1. Muhaha!]

The three men outside of the mine about the lynch them wasnt much of a surprise to Jehan... In fact he was half expecting it, and it wasnt the first time this had happened to him. So he wasnt entirely phased by it. "Apparently so." He responded to the men in a melancholy tone. "So seeing as half of us will be dead in the next few minutes, might you grace me with the knowledge of who hired you to do this? and why? Take it as... A possibly dying mans last request." He added with a smirk, slowly drawing his finely polished rapier.

-NAT 20 DIPLOMACY-

It wasnt often used. In fact, it was mostly there for show, The bard had a habit of talking his was out of situations. "I must warn you however," he said, pointing his thin blade at the man in the middle, "We have in our corner a man of vast knowledge in the workings of magics. Do you really wish to bring out the worst in him? You can run if you wish, I however will come at you until one of us lie dead. My money would be on you though, cuz you know... Magic. You know I once saw him boil a man from the inside out? Gruesome really. Still cant eat soup with tomato in it. Take a look for yourself and notice the fact that his common staff is glowing. As if preparing for you three, eh?"

Jehan Roux rolled 21 Bluff, Talk up Eike's magical ability, to frighten the men.

Looking over his shoulder to his friends, "If I die, make sure lots of people cry when you bury me. Zoltan, Cleave the man directly ahead of you. Eike-" he said with a grin, "do that boiling thing again."" with a chuckle, he turned to carefully lie down his lute, dusting off any dust found within the mine. Standing upright, he cracked his neck, and darted toward the man ahead of him, blade gleaming in the setting sunlight.

(Attack: man 2)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:39, Thu 28 Jan 2016.

"They'll cry with joy," Zoltan assured Jehan with a chuckle. He calmly drew his long sword and stretched his shoulders briefly.

After waiting for a response from the thugs, he planted his back foot and dashed forward towards one of the men, ready to give him a good slash.

16:59, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  Attack man 1.
17:00, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 5 using 1d8+3. Damage

While Jehan kept the thugs occupied for the moment, Eike took took a step back to put a little distance between him and the attackers. To Eike, Jehan did sound surprisingly convincing so he followed along. He raised his staff while it is still alight, "You all best listen to my friend here. This is no mere torch like you carry. Lay down your weapons and we will let you live." In the this short moment he concentrated on his earlier thoughts. It brought him much comfort to be in the company his friends. People who accepted him for who he was and what he could do. Even now, Jehan was boasting about these powers Eike found within him, such a contrast to years of his childhood.

No matter the thugs response to their threat, Eike concentrates on the top of his staff. Ready to unleash pain. Holding the staff with both hands he keeps a piercing gaze into center thug (#2). A burst of energy flies out from the end of the staff. In a stream of blue energy, the bolt arcs over Jehan and Zoltan and hits the man in the center of his body.

23:15, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 3 using 1d4+1.  Damage for Magic Missle.

Goliad Brawnlimb had been making his way through the sparsely-packed treeline that surrounded the entrance to the Iron Mine when, to his left, a peculiar sighting caught his eye. Halting in place, and investigating from a distance, the remarkably large, seven-foot tall, shirtless orc hid amongst the glorified shrubbery. If such a scenario were to take place during the day, naturally it would go unnoticed only by those most gifted in absent-mindedness, however, as the true sky gently revealed itself over Varna, the orc felt quite at ease in the approaching dusk.

He had been travelling to the mine in search of three men, only half-expecting to actually find them.
...These three, however, were not those men.

Goliad was fairly certain that "a trio of indistinguishably seedy, torch-wielding, club-toting, ruffians" was not quite the description Henri had given him earlier that day. Yet here he was, watching as such a suspicious group huddled together, muttering quietly amongst themselves next the toolshed. While he couldn't quite distinguish the details of their discussion, it was all too easy to determine their identities as his 'fellow co-workers' here at the mine. No men of industry or ambition these, nor nowhere near acquaintances of Goliad, rather a group of grumblebumming malingerers who wouldn't take a day's work without a heaping serving of trivial sniveling! From his occasional observations of them while at the mine, Goliad could recall that the relatively least pleasant of the three was, more or less, the leader of their little layabout gang and was simply called 'Big', with the right-hand man being 'Guss'. The name of the last one eluded Goliad, but he was certain it started with a 'D'.

Positive that they were unaware of his presence, Goliad continued to scrutinize their overall questionable behaviour, primarily convinced that he was witnessing the unfolding of a shady situation. But then again, who was he to make such a judement? Maybe he had it all wrong! Perhaps they were merely exchanging ghost stories or something similarly benign.

Goliad was rendered rather entangled in his own silent ponderings on the possible reasons for the get-together, until an unnaturally steady glow began to calmly announce its prensence from the mine's maw. Piquing the interests of all four people within proximity, the light continued to grow bolder in its defiance against the creeping darkness as a second group of three marched forward from the entrance. Walking alonside eachother, bathed in a bewildering brightness, Goliad was able to unmistakably make out their features, verifying that these were indeed the three strangers he needed to see.

The source of the synthetic sunlight was nestled in the tip of a staff, which in turn was nestled in the hand of a dark-haired man in blue, humble robes who was postitioned on the left. Now Goliad might have been one of the blunter butterknives in the bakery, but he was quick to follow a recipe and recognized magic when he saw it. All of his scepticism for the supernatural had dissipated away long ago.

A composed and sturdy-looking swordsman paced along the right side, long, dark hair doing well to accentuate his rather rugged appearance. A man of might! Anyone who could clearly comprehend the purity that is bodily endeavor was someone Goliad felt he could readily understand.

And strolling forward in the center of the party was a slender individual, a lute holstered on his back while a rapier shined, oh so deceptively coy, at his waist. Most likely a bard, and surely of noble birth, his clean, classy, crimson clothing and discerning demeanor demanded attention. Noting the man's fair, flowing hair, Goliad began to instinctively twirl his own thick, gloriously golden, handlebar mustache, as if to console his most prized possession out of any insecurity it may have been feeling.


No sooner had Goliad finished his examination did the troublesome toolshed trio commence to tread from their hiding place to approach and face the others, ending up about twenty feet in front of him. With the thugs making their obvious intentions even more so once Big stated a blatant threat, Goliad immediately resolved to join in if a melee were to break out.

The first man to speak launched a momentous retort at the assailants with a flurry of words and bravado (confirming to Goliad he was absolutely a bard) in an attempt to dissuade his opponents of violence, then laid down his lute and promptly ran forward to initiate the battle alongside his imposing comrade! Although his mind was taken aback by this tactic, Goliad's body had already begun bounding forth in full force, exposed to the many lights in the dark. Rarely wearing a top, Goliad's exceptionally-sculpted and well-defined, forest green musculature ripped through the night air as he sprinted. His shaven bald head, save for a single lock of curly blond hair that was now waving furiously just above his brow, contrasted magnificently with the Brilliant Brawnlimb Bristles, seemingly constrained behind two pearly white tusks protuding from his bottom lip, that gave prominence to his strong, cleft chin.

Making a beeline for the two cronies directly in front of him, Goliad readied his two impeccable weapons and prepared to throw his first punch in far too long. With the gap rapidly cowering away, Goliad bellowed a boisterous battlecry, the baritone note filling the scene:

"HOOOOOOOOO!!!"



{Full Round Action}
Goliad charges directly upward from bottom sideline to square 1-left and 1-down of Man 1.
Goliad attacks Man 1.

Goliad Brawnlimb rolled 23 using 1d20+5.  Unarmed Strike, Attack @ Man 1
Goliad Brawnlimb rolled 8 using 1d6+5.  Unarmed Strike, Damage @ Man 1.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Sun 31 Jan 2016.

The leader of the three ruffians could be recognized from the others by being the biggest and ugliest of them all. Oddly enough, this method of deciding social status seemed to be common practice among thugs and thug-like people. Why? Perhaps the world will never know for certain, but some experts believe the cause stems from outdated genetics, echoing from a time where being the most violent meant you were the most successful in getting food, women, and supplies (but naturally had the side-effect of getting your nose broken a lot). Others disagree, and simply think thugs in modern times don't get enough proper nutrition growing up, which in turn stunts their brain growth. Evidently, this area needs additional research.

But back to the fight. The leader stepped forward and replied to Jehan's rather devilishly charming request, though while lazily swinging the club in a cocky display. Snidely he said, "Nikolaus says give ye a beating, so that's what you're gonna get! Why, ye say? Well, cause he say so, that's why! That's a good enough answer for ye, heh." However, at this point, his cockiness started to wane. Already the three ruffians had begun to notice an unusual fact – namely, that Eike's staff was freaking glowing. That's not exactly a common occurrence.

Their discomfort only increased when Jehan began to talk about them getting boiled from the inside out; and the rear man seemed especially uncomfortable at the mention of tomato soup (he was allergic).

The middle thug (also known as man number 2) poked their leader (man number 1) in the ribs with an apprehensive look on his face. "Hey Big. No one say nuthin' bout fightin no witches. I ain't wanna get no boiled. An' that there woman with the staff looks mighty witch-like to me!"

"I'm a man!" an affronted Eike burst out. "Huh?" said the thug. "Oh, sorry. That long hair an' dress. An' it's dark out ya know." While Eike steamed with more than a few thoughts on his mind, the lead thug replied to his mate, "Witch or no witch! He look scrawny ta me. You gonna run from a twig now? You craven!" "Well, if them twigs is usin' witchcraft I just might!" At this point, Jehan interjected, "Perhaps a sword might be more comfortable for you? I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable." Around this time they realized Jehan was right next to them. Swiftly the bard lunged out with his rapier and the newly-panicked middle man scarcely had time to duck {Jehan missed Man #2}.

"There ye see!" shouted the thug leader, "Twigs all of 'em!" "Who you calling a twig?" called out Zoltan as he rushed to the field. The not-so-twig-like man pulled out his sword and swung it overhead with a sense of style, and concluded in an equally stylish slash across the thug's chest. The deep wound tore a line of red across his shirt {Zoltan deals 5 Dmg to Man #1}. The thug leader grunted and took a moment to recover; he hawked and spat a bit of blood onto the grass. "Well, twig you ain't. I be wrong there. Still. I'm gonna bash you're head in, an show you what hurt means. I ain't never lost a fight. One hit from me is like bein' hit by a horse, and 'll send even a man like you sprawlin'!"

"HOOOOOOOO!"

Suddenly a large green fist struck the thug leader in the head from behind, like a horse, and sent him sprawling. He plummeted face-first into a muddy patch on the ground. He was either unconscious or dead. He wasn't moving, that's for damn sure {Goliad deals 8 Dmg to Man #1}.

Out from the forest had charged an especially muscular orc (whose shirt had mysteriously vanished somewhere along the way). Wielding naught but two clenched fists, he sent one into the thug leader's head, and was now promptly turning to face the other thugs as well. Whoever this perfect specimen of orci-tude (we'll pretend that's a word) was, he was seemingly decided on who he was helping.

The other thugs saw this and were starting to get real depressed. Amidst regretting certain life-choices, their reflections were neatly topped off when Eike pointed his staff at them and a violet-colored bolt burst from the end and into the middle man (now front, if you discount the face-down one) {Eike deals 3 Dmg to Man #2}. So Eike was a witch – er, sorcerer – afterall. The thug had a lot to think about now, but mainly he was thinking about his body in a rather terrified way, expecting it to start boiling any second.

"I'm boiling! I'm boiling!" He wasn't boiled. But clearly his imagination had gone rampant. He started to flail around his club in desperate swings (as if that would help), trying either to fan himself or his enemies away – it was little hard to tell. Yet somewhere in this panic, his club made contact with Jehan and rapped him rather hard on the forearm {Man #2 deals 3 Dmg to Jehan}. Now that smart something fierce.

His other companion had a clearly different strategy. The third thug (whom we delightfully know as Man #3) courageously ran into the toolshed and shut the door behind him. Yep, real brave.

_{{Note: No need to update the map.}}
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:06, Sun 31 Jan 2016.

Jehan stood for a moment as blood began to trickle down his arm, toward the hilt of his rapier. As if out of instinct for cleanliness, he lifted the tip of the blade, causing no tarnishment to be had on its polished surface. The pain seemed to melt away as confusion took over when the amazingly masculine orc stood... Was he flexing or was he just that ripped?

The dumbfounded look on his face eventually became apparent to him as he realized what he was doing and shook his head quickly. "Judging by the instant knockout of their leader, ill assume youre not with them?" He asked, and hoped... "If that be the case fair- Large sir, I am Jehan, we have done no wrong and simply wish to uncover information. We were attacked and act in self defense. Now seeing as youre still here, and awesome. How about you grab the coward who ran and hold him while we eliminate his renaming comrade, im sure we all have questions." Looking at his arm, he could tell the wound was quite bad, but not bad enough to piss him off at the nearest target... the man who hit him. "Eike! Zoltan! Make sure this man does not escape or breathe any longer!" his fierce look faded again as he looked at the orc. "and you Mr... Muscles. Could you be a doll and grab the coward for us? Im afraid youre more fit for such a job as opposed to myself."

On that note, without a warning, the bard flicked the tip of his blade toward the chest of the man next to him..

(Attack man 2)

Though Big's placid body was a testament to the orc's pugilistic prowess still being intact, Goliad dared not allow his pride too much provision. Had the blade of the branch-man not struck true, the now flattened lout may have proved to be a troublesome opponent! Regardless the orc turned his attention to the other combatants, only to witness a dizzying display of stunning wizardy, abrupt lunacy, collateral injury, and tactical truancy!

Apparently enduring simmering innards, the surviving thug's shit persisted in its state of flipping and the bard took this moment to make quick introductions. Retaining an impressive poise despite the blow he had taken, the bard stated his name as Jehan and made sound judements as to the orc's intended support. Suggesting that Goliad detain the cur currently cowering in the shed, Jehan and his allies then set upon the remaining assailant. In complete agreement, Goliad simply nodded before rushing toward the shed door; an orcish battering ram preparing its siege upon one man's last wooden hope.



{Move Action}
Goliad moves to square 2-left of Man 3's previous location.
{Standard Action}
Strength Check against Scared Door.

Goliad Brawnlimb rolled 16 using 1d20+5.  Strength Check against Scared Door.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:11, Tue 02 Feb 2016.

Zoltan jumped back with a jolt at the sudden whirl of green that appeared in front of him. With a shocked look on his face, he stared at the massive, green man for a moment. He shook himself from this shocked state and lowered his sword briefly. "Alright... wow... thanks?" he said unsure of what exactly was going on with this new man. He glanced at the unconscious man impressed; he couldn't help but respect Goliad's immense strength.

"Pleasure to have a man of great strength and tenacity on our side, Goliad," Zoltan said taking command of his blade again, readying it for another attack.

He set his sights on the not-quite boiled man, gripped his sword and lunged for the man, moving to flank him on the man's left.

00:16, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 11 using 1d20+3.  Attack man 2.
00:17, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 5 using 1d8+5. Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Wed 03 Feb 2016.

Eike is watching his missile closely to watch it connect with the thug. All though it never misses its, mark he still concentrates and tries to figure out what it will take to send 2 missiles out of the end of his staff, but he hasn't gotten much practice like this before. He remembered the bolt leaving his staff and hearing the target screaming from "boiling". The only thing he could recall between that was hearing "HOOOO" and a large brute bounding towards them from the bushes. Eike couldn't image why anyone would be out here without a shirt on. This was an odd character. He seemed to always find himself among the odd ones and the outcasts. Perhaps he shouldn't have been as surprised as he was to see the orc joining their side in this scrap.

Letting out a sigh of relief to see someone come to there aid he again turned his gaze back to the thug he so recently sent "boiling". He chuckled to himself, "Heh, I can't believe they actually fell for that." Eike concentrated, he channeled the energy inside of his body. He could feel it flow through his. As if this power inside of him coursed through his veins and was pumped through his heart itself. With what looked like simply pointed with his staff, he expelled that energy through his staff as if it were apart of him, feeling every grain of the wood it was carved from so many years ago. Again he watched as the bolt shot out and connected with fearful thug, its target.


21:56, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 4 using 1d4+1.  Damage for Magic Missle.

The boiling man was having a fit, patting down his body in a frenzied kind of way as though he were engulfed in a blaze. But being mostly a mental issue to begin with, it didn't seem to being doing much for him. That is, except make him an easy target. Zoltan dashed behind the maniacal thug and struck him with a sword, taking advantage of Jehan being on the other side {Zoltan deals 5 damage to Thug 2}. Jehan also made an attack in there somewhere, but it was so bad that we won't mention it out of politeness. The sword in him sobered up the thug a bit. Or at least changed the direction of his outburst anyway. He decide to stop flailing around and switched to the new tactic of yelling. It was a little louder, sure, but at least he didn't look so ridiculous as before. I mean, nobody could blame someone for yelling. Who wouldn't with a sword in them? It was a perfectly natural thing to do.

Eike capped off the attack by sending another bolt of magic his way. With an elegant twirl of the staff and a fast incantation, he sent a magenta streak through the air, looking like a shooting star that had gotten way, way off course. It hit the thug square in the forehead, and had the surprising effect of making it explode {Eike deals 4 damage to Thug 2}. Jehan and Zoltan both ducked to avoid little pieces of head that scattered onto the grass in a neat circle. They then stood very slowly, eyeing the remains of the headless thug with a traumatized, awed look. Perfectly maintaining these expressions, they peered back at Eike. The sorcerer's jaw was hanging slightly, face stunned, still unconvinced of whether or not he was the cause of that.

"Dude," lowly murmured Jehan, the word being both a compliment and a 'What the hell?' all wrapped into one convenient utterance.

Eike collected himself. It looked like there was no way around it; he was definitely the cause of that. Guiltily he gave an apologetic admission. "Oh, uh, oops." Zoltan paused for a moment, steadily nodding his head, ". . . Damn that was awesome."

Meanwhile. . .

The last thug had boldly run into the toolshed and stored himself inside. Goliad was hot on his tail. As the door slammed shut, the orc briefly paused before it, studied it from top to bottom, and grunted with ambitious confidence. No door was going to stand in his way. Flexing his muscles he gripped both sides of the door, using his full armspan, and heaved. Giving off a manly, constant grunt, his back rippled and popped with veins, bursting with fighting spirit. Hinges creaked and groaned, followed by small chips of wood flaking off and fluttering to the ground. There was a final tearing sound like that of a piece of wood being split by axe, accompanied by the manliest grunt of them all, and the door was torn straight off the tool shed front {Strength Check Success}. Lifting it up in both arms, the orc took a step back and threw to the side. And there sitting on the dirt floor of the toolshed was the thug, understandably looking scared shitless.

The thug dropped his club and raised trembling hands. "I give up!"

The adventurers safely concluded this fight as a win.

{Combat Rounds Disabled}



This message was last edited by the GM at 05:22, Fri 05 Feb 2016.

Jehan was in less than a pleasant mood as he walked up to the thug, hands up with the orc standing next to him, ready to pummel him at a moments notice. "Damn thing." He spoke to the metal in his hand, "EIKE!" He shouted over his shoulder, natural melancholy tone and demeanor changning to that of a touch more animalistic in nature, "If you cursed my sword, fix it. Cant hit a damn thing." With a huff the bard slid his perfectly clean weapon back into its scabbard, eyes locked with the thug. "This however," he said with a... nearly demonic grumble as he reached behind his back, pulling a dagger and twirling it in the air, catching it blade down. "Remains safe from the wizards magic, but not from me being very, very angry with you." He marched with heavy steps toward the already frightened thug. Mere feet away, Jehan began to look up and down the blade, and then at the man ahead of him. "I never passed anatomy," he began on the curious topic, "but if I recall correctly, a slice to the jugular vein would result in death within second... and it is right... around..."

"Here."

With a fierce and quick jab with his elbow next to the mans head into the wall, the blade of the knife sped and rested ever so gingerly on the mans throat, a sharp swallow would likely draw blood.

Jehan Roux rolled 17 Intimidate man.

"Now tell me," He said, hair now wild and unkept due to the fight, looking like a mad man and covering most of his face... Quite frightening with a knife to your throat im sure. "Who hired you, why, What happend to your past foreman, and why," he said reaching behind him, knife still resting ever so comfortably on the mans neck, "would I have found this in your foreman office?" The mans shaking eyes laid upon one of the coins Jehan found in the floorboards, instantiating trade with the enemy.

Goliad had thought to reduce the tool shed door to splinters as it slammed behind the fleeing man, but quickly reconsidered as he came to a halt before it. Creating an orc-sized hole would mean that the fine workers at the the mine would have to build a new one. That would just be rude. He proceeded to tear it off of its very hinges instead. Goliad heard anguished screaming coming from the ongoing battle as he undertook his effort, but it was barely registered over the heroic hymnals humming from his muscles. With a mighty crescendo, Goliad relieved his wooden adversary of its duty and momentarily held up his trophy in victory before tossing it aside.

As Goliad witnessed the final thug's surrender, a strange...popping noise punctuated the fight behind him. Followed by an even stranger silence, the orc turned to view the magically illuminated field but wasn't quite sure just what he was seeing at first. In the middle of the battle's aftermath lay a corpse collapsed in a curiously crumpled position, as if it was trying to stick its head in the ground. But a head was simply not present, nor any evidence of one ever existing save the leaking stump protruding from the dead man's shoulders and a fine mist finishing its descent around the vicinity. Time washed over Goliad as he stared blankly at the corpse; his attention held hostage by the impostor of a neck haloed by red, pulpy fragments of imagination. Amongst the cluster of activity behind his eyes, he could only conclude that the man had indeed been boiled alive, for what else could have caused such a demise?

The approach of the surviving party reminded Goliad of the task at hand and he turned to face their captive once again in silence. With his mind preoccupied, and at a total loss for words, he felt it best to let the others handle this situation. Upon everyone entering the shed, Jehan made it abundantly clear to the thug that there was no quarter to be had as he set upon him. Hair a mess, arm bloodied and presence fierce, the bard looked like an animal toying with his meal as he flipped out his dagger. Observing with rapt attention, Goliad's eyes widened in surprise as Jehan swiftly jerked his arm forward and stabbed the man through the neck...or so he thought. With an equally astonished gaze, he soon noticed that the blade was a mere hair's breadth aways from adding upon the death toll; a display of skill that invoked both awe and alertness alike in the orc.

"Just who are these men?", Goliad thought while taking a quick glance at the other two individuals. A few feet away stood the unassuming wizard, possessing the power to erupt someone's head off, and the battle-hardened swordsman, blade and armor slathered in blood. Thoughts of caution sought to soften Goliad's confidence in his preceding decision to give assistance, but were instantly dismissed upon recalling the cause of its offer. "They are seekers of Manual's justice!", he reminded himself, "Their formidability is all the more reason for a Brawnlimb to lend a fist!" Goliad's revitalized resolve snapped him back to the present, only to soon find himself lost in thought again upon seeing Jehan present an odd coin piece to his quarry's face. "Ah, so holding a person at knife-point must make them more susceptible to bribery! Cunning...There is indeed much knowledge to be gained from this company..."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Sun 14 Feb 2016.

Being more than pleased with himself at the sight of the mans head, or lack there of, Eike couldn't help but let out a deep laughter. " Hah hah, now THAT is how it's done." He put his staff back down to take the moment to feel a bit accomplished of himself. He had never managed something of the sort before. Victory was in sight and they were getting some results.

Eike's attention was rushed back to the last man that had run off screaming at the sound of a door being torn off its hinges. "Who on earth is this guy?" He quietly said among his long time friends. Only being a rhetorical question, he followed quickly behind Jehan shouting back, "No cursing this time buddy! Just your own skills with that blade."

Seeing the knife at the man's throat, Eike placed himself a few feet beside Jehan. He was eager for the answers. But Eike was feeling... impatient. After all, someone just tried to trap them and then these men were here to do them harm. It was too much of a coincidence. "I need answers!" He thought to himself. Staring at the blade, mere seconds felt like minutes with all the adrenaline coursing through his veins. That feeling was only enhanced by the mystical powers he found within.

Finally, Eike couldn't wait any longer. Where anyone else might feel this kind of emotion start to heat their body up, Eike felt it to be cooling him instead. It was as if ice was beginning to form slowly through his veins. Frost was starting to form on his staff near where his hands were gripped. "This is taking too long." He said to himself, but loud enough for Jehan to hear. When it came to Eike's emotions there was never time to spare. He always had to act quickly to calm himself or something magical might happen. Usually that meant severe consequences when he was around others. But he found himself among friends. "And enemies." he quickly remembered. He didn't wait for a reply from Jehan. Eike tightened his grip on the staff in both hands and pointed it at the thug. "He asked you a question!" He shouted and as he did a beam shot out of the staff at the thug. It seemed to cool the air of the whole shed around them. {Eike casts Ray of Frost}



Obviously, he meant to expertly just miss the thug to add to the intimidation.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Sun 14 Feb 2016.

Zoltan glanced at the headless corpse only for a moment. "That uh... might have been a bit much," he said slowly. He was usually fine with dead bodies and the like, but having just saw someone's brain explode would make most anyone at least a little queasy. Zoltan was also pretty sure that a little bit of the poor man's brain was on his back from his attempt to duck, but he didn't want to check quite yet. If only they could just extract information from the splattered brain, then their mission would be a lot easier.

Flourishing his sword a few times, stretching his arms, he approached the whimpering man. He simply pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood from his blade, his eyes fixed on the man's. Slowly he sheathed his blade once it was clean, but kept his hand on the hilt. He kept a close eye on their new "friend" unsure, still, of his exact intentions. He hoped the man wouldn't react negatively to a little bit of harmless intimidation. Well, mostly harmless.

The thug whimpered on the floor of the shed. He could barely speak through his blubbering. Jehan held the tip of his of dagger at his neck. His hairs were on end after Eike shot a ray of pure ice past him, frosted at the tips. Notably the rear wall of the shed and several tools were now coated in ice, as though they had suffered through a cold winter day. The thug was definitely ready to talk. In fact, the thug looked so pathetic at this point, Zoltan was started to feel bad for him. But then the admissions started flow out like a waterfall.

"I'm sorryI'm sorrySo sorry," he began. He spoke so fast he was difficult to understand; the sniffling didn't help either. "Ididn'tmeanithonest,It wasn't my fault,I'm justa smallguy,Nikolaus sent us,We work fortheBaron. Idon't know where that's from honest.We don't see where it goes.We just load the wagons at night and leadthem out the west gate.Thenightman is paid by theBaron and he lets us out and doesn'ttell anyone.But we onlytake them far as Gannenville before we givethem to the otherguys who takethem north.We don't see where they go afterthat Iswear.Then we come straightback here and we're done bymorning.Honest all I do is loadthecarts.We get overtimefor doin' it at night and not telling anyone and I need the momeny cause I'm not good atmuch else and my sister really needs ittoo and I'm not reallysmartsoI can't go into business on my own, and mymom alwaystold me I wouldn'tamount to muchso I come and they said you wanttomake money and I said yea, and sometimes we haveto make peoplenot talk causeno one issupposed to know.But all the guysknow thatthe carts go north.They'refullofiron, they go to the occupied areas,butit's illegalso weren't not supposedto tellanyone, and pleaseohplease don't boilme. I don'twantmy headtoexplode!"

The thug talked himself into oblivion and fell side over onto the dirt ground hyperventilating. Then he blacked out.

Night had completely fallen, and the stars were visible overhead. The adventurers glanced behind them at the two dead bodies. The miners coming to work tomorrow were in for a serious surprise if they didn't do something about that. All in all, it's been an interesting evening.

Eike was almost surprised at how easily the man admitted to everything and told about all of their operations. He made sure to scribble a note in a blank page of the journal they had on the matter.

Seeing the man pass out, Eike gingerly walked over to him and took anything of value. Searched him for coins, weapons, and anything else of interest. {Search check?}

"Okay so this guy is a mess.' He scratched his head for a moment to decide what to do with the man. Almost feeling bad... almost. Eike looked to Jehan next to him and said, "I don't think he's going to be a problem. He's too scared of being boiled to identify us. I say we just leave him."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:56, Tue 16 Feb 2016.

Jehan giggled slightly as he fixed his hair and tied it neatly once again behind his back as the man collapsed on to the ground. "Well that was easy. Seeing as its night time, id say we spend the nightman a visit... Looks like the Barron is kind of an asshole." The bard looked down at the puddle of a man who wrent himself into unconsciousness. "Eike," he said, waving in the general direction of the sorcerer, not looking away from the 'thug'. "You have that notebook right? Pin a note on his shirt. Tell him something like, 'Tell your boss we ran for it and he bearly escaped with his life.' He was just some big guy hired to do a sucky job. Its not his fault." The bard walked out of the small room which was now a winter wonderland and looked up, it was nighttime now.

Jehan looked at the bodies of the two men on the ground. "Okay!" He said with a clap. "Lets check these bodies for any coin, gear or items of value, and I say we spend the night man a visit. He seems to be the middle man between the arms and the Barron"

-Search bodies for money, weapons, notes, etc [search check?]-

He then turned his attention the the orc who stood arms crossed... flexing for some reason...
"You there, Goliad." He had the orcs attention, "I'll give you the skinny, we came to town, found a hand in the lake, belonged to the ex-foreman of this mine, found money from the north where there is a war going on between them and this side of the nation. Therefore, one can conclude that the current foreman is sleeping with the enemy and making weapons or mining ore for them." He ripped off cloth from a dead mans shirt and began to wrap his arm up. "There, now youre on board, care to join us and stop some major asshole-eries?"

The bard began to walk but his steps were hesitant... He slowed to a stop and began to writhe with inner termoil. "DAMNIT!" He shouted as he turned around. Marching past his confused comrades, he walked up to the unconcious man in the shed with the note pined to him and laid two gold coins next to his head. They would be the first thing he would see when he awoke. "I hate poor people..." He said with a gruff tone, to hide the fact that he felt the mans pain and took pity on him, he had been there himself once. "Eike, on the note, add 'ps. Use this to save up for an instrument. Learn it and make money honestly."

"when you're done come on, we gotta slide these bodies into the brush. Goliad, Zoltan, lets make it quick, I wanna see the Interaction with the night man and the miner cart."

Course of action~

After agreeing with Jehan, Eike writes out a note to put on the man for when he wakes up.



Eike also turned to the orc to explain the situation and who they were. He seemed to be on there side, which is a bit strange. He chimed in with Jehan, "We met with Henri and found the journal of his brother. It looks like there's a lot going on around here that people don't realize. We could always use another man of combat at our side, so what do you say? Would you grab a shirt while your at it."


This message was last edited by the player at 17:00, Tue 16 Feb 2016.

Goliad didn't understand anything the captive was trying to say before passing out. He tried, he really did, but it was simply too incomprehensible of a frightened mess to penetrate his bald head. Folding his arms and flexing to calm himself while he once again attempted logical thought, Goliad's buttocks gave a sharp and powerful clench when Jehan referred to him by name and began to explain their situation.

"This must be the doing of the wizard!", he thought to himself, "If boiling heads off is possible, reading them must be mear child's play! Ah, but to be expected of this impressive group. Mmmm so they indeed found Manny's hand. Vaterland coin as well? And— Ah-hah! Nikolaus was a male prostitute all along! It all makes sense, the scandalous scoundrel..." He continued on inside his head until his continued support was inquired about, to which a simple nod and a hearty "Of course!" was Goliad's response. When asked to get a shirt, a cheerful "No!" was all that was said.

Agreeing that the display of corpses was definitely troublesome, Goliad moved Big's body into the underbrush. While he dragged, the orc could only dwell on how quickly these recent events escalated. One day he worked the mine, the very next he helped clean up a murder scene that took place in front of it! Though, there was absolutely no chance of Goliad touching the other dilapidated body...it just freaked him out too much.

The adventurers headed back toward town, departing with one more friend than they arrived with. Pine trees gave way to the fields of tall, beige grass that laid between the mine and the town; they rippled beneath a nighttime breeze. As they neared buildings once again, they wondered if they had forgotten something.

"Hey, did we hide that headless body?" Jehan asked aloud.

They pondered a few moments. Eike hesitatingly replied, "Of course, I think. I mean, how could we forget something like that?" An uncomfortable silence of uncertainty followed.

Jehan then laughed. "You're right! That would crazy to forget, wouldn't it."

That was enough for them, and they put it out of their minds. At the very least, they willfully suppressed it. They had suppressed a lot of possibly traumatizing things that evening. Feeling a lot more blissfully ignorant and perhaps laying the seeds for a few nervous ticks in the future, they continued into town to pay a visit to the nightman.

They took a moment to review the loot they had plucked off those thugs:



Finally they were back on mainstreet, and the tavern of Varna Inn looked lively as they passed by. A few patrons hung about the outside talking in a drunken air. The adventurers then recognized the old shopkeeper from the General Store walking inside, and on his arm was that old woman who he was laying the moves to earlier that day. Now that was an old man who had skills with the ladies. Resisting the temptation to get a drink, they continued down the street until they approached the west wall, which separated the western side of town from the forest. Looking back they could still see Varna Inn, but the noise it made was now only a low mumble, save for the occasional drunken shout. Mainstreet was the only street that continued outside of Varna itself, and ran almost perfectly straight from the eastern gate to the western gate. They had followed it straight to the west gate.

Naturally the gate was closed, for it was the habit of Varna to close its gates at night. And stationed at each gate would be a nightman, who performed the simultaneous function of watching the gate, in case of a late night traveler, and watching the town itself down mainstreet, as the closest thing Varna had to a guard. On the inside of the west gate, just beside its tall wooden doors, was an open-faced shack attached to the wall. The clear purpose of this shack was to protect the nightman from rain on stormy nights, as well as give a kind of officialness to his post. In terms of privacy, it gave very little, for you could see directly into it from the road.

Inside the shack was a small table with a lantern on it, accompanied by a simple stool, and sitting on this stool was a person wearing a dingy, black cloak. They were hooded and looking away from the adventurers, lost in some midnight reverie. The nightman looked almost inhuman as lantern light flickered off the shadowy cloak, a creature of the night. Warily, the adventurers approached.

As they did, they conjured plans in their minds as to what they would do, as to how they could get the information they needed. Intimidation? Torture? Bribery? Their moral sense had really taken a downturn lately. As they neared the nightman, the figure noticed their presence and turned to them.

"Oh, hello!"

It was a girl! The hood fell back to reveal a twenty year old girl with brown hair and blue eyes. In fact, it was the same girl the adventurers noticed earlier today while they were standing outside the General Store, and who made Jehan think of love songs for hours. With a big bright smile on her face, she said, "Lovely night, don't chya think?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:11, Sun 21 Feb 2016.

Shortly after leaving the scene, Eike thumbed through the small book they found to see what it was.

[Private to Eike: You find that it's a book on the Styrien and Common alphabets. It looks like the owner of this book was trying to learn how to read.]

He sees it's just a book on the Styrien and Common languages. Maybe he was trying to learn to read? Loud enough for those with him to hear, "HAH, this guy was trying read. What a loser!" Putting the book into a pocket he didn't put much more thought to it while they made there way to the gate.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:10, Sun 21 Feb 2016.

While they made their way down the street, he couldn't help but stare the tavern, feeling rather thirsty, but he was afraid that if they stopped for a drink they might lose their night watch rat. He sighed and glanced over to see what book Eike had picked up.

"Hey now, not everyone is as smart as us," he said with a small smile.

Zoltan kept an eye on Goliad still as they walked and couldn't help but finally ask: "so what's your hand in all of this exactly?" He watched him closely. "Money? A friend of yours? Bored?" [Sense motive on Goliad]


Approaching the small shack, he couldn't help but smile a little. "Good evening, and it certainly is lovely." He gave a polite bow of the head and looked directly at Jehan, wondering what he would do upon seeing her, as well as hoping he wouldn't screw up their chance at gaining their next clue in this whole ordeal.



22:08, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 9 using 1d20+1.  Sense motive on Goliad.

"And it grows ever lovelier by the moment" Jehan said with a grin- though the others didnt need to look... they could hear it in his voice...

A few awkward twists later, Jehan made his way closest to the woman who had stopped his mind from working earlier in the day. "We met earlier today miss," the bard said with a slight bow, hiding his bloodied arm behind his back. "I must say, you've stolen my mind for the bulk of the day, shame on you," he said in a playful tone, "What does a loves lass like yourself find yourself doing out so late? This is a rather dangerous job..." He said looking in the small area where she sat, "You are safe I hope? If you need any company, dont hesitate to let me kn-" Jehans words were cut short by the blunt end of a staff behind the ribs. He let out a cough to hide the fact that he had been struck, "So, this is what you do for work eh? Not as glamorous as I pictured for you. Is there a chance per say you could open the gate for us? We lost track of time and meant to take off earlier, but... this lovely town- as well as its people drew us in." he concluded with a not so subtle wink. He was sure it took every fiber in Eike and Zoltans being to not knock him out. That thought alone made his smile more genuine.

Looking through the bars for a moment, he turned his attention again to the woman, "Say, we came from the east, what is out north? We didnt mean to stay so long, we have traveling to do, money to be made, people to meet."

Jehan took the time while speaking to look within the small area for any sort of weapon, matching coins from the north. any sort of incriminating items while he spoke.

Jehan Roux rolled 17 Sense motive, woman. Honest work, or shady dame?
Jehan Roux rolled 13 Gather information from woman.

It had been just another night in the place Goliad had called home for several years, but he found the pleasantly ordinary atmosphere that filled the center of Varna subtly unsettling. Still digesting the unforeseen array of violent events that just transpired, he hadn't bothered to ask where they were going or why as he tagged alongside the adventuring party. Nor had any input been required of him, until the swordsman—whose apparent experience had likely inspired a heightened suspicion towards the random appearance of strange, shameless orcs—eventually asked just why Goliad was even there among them in the first place.

There was a long pause as Goliad took some time to gather his thoughts. He finally replied, "Friend...friend indeed. Manual was an exceptional man...Gentle, but possessed an integrity that was only equaled by his intellect." Goliad's brow furrowed slightly. "And his...abrupt abandonment abraded the hearts of Henry and I. No hints of the truth were found during the two years that our uncertainty over his fate festered...Though from the river, my good man, your group has resurrected our redemption and manifested regret in the wretches who dealt his demise...whether or not they have yet to realize..." His voice trailed off and he left it at that as they neared the nightman's station.

When it was revealed that a charming young woman had occupied the shack, Goliad felt like there was no escape from the insufferably innocent air that even filled the village to its edges. Curiously, he couldn't quite say he recognized this woman, but neither had he ever any reason to leave Varna during the night. Jehan was obviously all too immune to such nonsense and instantly jumped upon the flirtatious opportunity as everyone else endured his indulgence. Although a natural number of individuals in Varna assumed themselves suave, Goliad had yet to meet a wordsmith among them until that day. He even attempted to take mental notes on the coquette etiquette, but—while stifling a snort—his attention wavered half-way through when the annoyed wizard's frustration found its way into Jehan's side.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:17, Fri 26 Feb 2016.

The young girl was, by all standards, cute. He round face and pink cheeks, all encompassed by the right length of richly brown hair, brought out the best of her cuteness. As the smitten Jehan leaned in, his head seemingly drawn to this remarkably new source of gravity, she giggled and toyed with the loose ends of her hair.

"You're funny," she squeaked, directed at Jehan, a compliment which – though simple – seemed to fill him with ten times more vigor. She then considered his request to go through the gates and placed a gentle finger upon her cheek, as though she had to think very hard on the matter or recall some distant memory. "Mmmmm. Nope!" she said the same unwavering degree of cheerfulness.

"Oh," replied Jehan, "Uh, why not?"

She contemplated once again, giving all her replies it would seem the same measure of thinking. "Because, mmmmm." It looked like she was struggling to remember, then her face lit up of with a smile of success. "Because the woods are dangerous at night. You get eaten by bears and stuff. So no one can go out for their own safety. Town rule." She looked mightily pleased with herself at having remembered all that.

"That's exactly right," said another from behind the group.  The adventurers felt a sudden startle and creep of the skin as they spun on the heels, all to see a creepy old man eyeing them intensly. He frowned, bringing out the wrinkles in his seventy-something year old face, and walked around them into the shack. The girl stood excitedly with as bright a smile as ever and gave the old man an enthusiastic hug.

"Grandpa!" she joyfully exclaimed. "Here's your cloak!" She tossed off her shoulders the dingy black cloak and cast over her grandfather's instead. He mumbled a thank you as she helped him put it on, though at the same time grudgingly trying to do it on his own. His cloak donned, his demeanor even dingier, he went and sat in the stool his granddaughter held out for him.

"That's a good girl," he said, "Thanks for sitting in a minute for me. Go on home to your mother now Mina."

"Sure!" she answered. She leaned and gave the old man a loud kiss on his cheek and gave the strangers an exuberant wave. "Bye now!" And just like that, she hurried off back into town. Jehan watched the love of life (or at least of that day) scamper away from him a second time, leaving him broken hearted.

The old man shuffled in his stool, as though he couldn't quite position his buttocks the right way, but then settled on a posture for the time being. He turned to the adventurers and said, "Well, you heard her right. No traveling after dark. There's the inn." He pointed back at them down the road to the tavern. "Goodnight." At that he grouchily shuffled his position once more, settled again, and sat still for a bit. But the adventurers hadn't left yet, waiting for the right thing to say. The old man shot them another grouchy glance, "Why are you still here? What are ya, deaf? Dumb? Go to bed!"

Chatroom Opened

Sense Motive {Jehan Roux} ~ You go ahead and peg her for an honest dame, if not an intellectual one.

[Private to Zoltan Zanderhawk: Sense Motive ~ This Goliad was a strange character, weird in more ways than you felt the need to count. He seemed to sport a sense of integrity, but at the same time, you get the sense his vibrant vocabulary is actually a clever (and perhaps unintentional) disguise for being an idiot.]

Editing in progress...

Jehan: Bless you sir. Say I've met your daughter earlier today, lovely girl. You're quite the lucky grandfather. Hate to inconvenience you, but we REALLY need to get out this gate, missed eh... The cart you see. Lost track of the sun in the tavern. -Holds one of the coins sideways in-between his index fingers, hiding its face, but its shape, color and size would be recognizable to those aware of what the coin looks like and taps it on the mans window-
I'm sorry we haven't met yet, your name being?

Old Man: {Doesn't see coin at all} Well too bad. No going out after dark means no going out after dark! You'll have to catch your damn cart tomorrow. And if they know what's good for them, they're camped for the night. So says me, Ol Phil.

Jehan: {Looks behind him to his friends and puts the coin away with a look of confusion} Well thats a pity... Boss will be none too pleased, but if no means no, we get it. But tell me; we come from the east to oversee some of the mining operations, and this part of the land is new to the few of us -lightly motioning to his friends- why the strict rules on nobody out after dark? Is it dangerous or something?

Old Man: I already said it was dangerous, didn't I!?

Jehan: Woah  now, no need for that sir, I was just curious as to why, for the future. Whether it be beast or bandits, that's all

Old Man: Both. Now go away.

{Jehan looks about for a moment to see if anyone is nearby}
{Patrons linger outside of Varna Inn down the road}
{with a grimace, jehan turns his attention to phil again}

Jehan: So, how about that Barron? Kind of a big wig around  here right?

Ol Phil: Oh, you're still here?? Yea, the Baron's a big guy alright.

{Lowering his head, Jehan lets out a huff and turns his head to his comrades. He'll blame his wound on his failure to crack this one}

Goliad: Enough of this lollygaggery! I say, does this racket not revolt you?Do you also strive for the same type of life lead by those degenerate men? To prowl upon the night and partake in such profane industry? You, sir, have decency do you not?!

Jehan: whispers to Eike- [I like this guy. Short, sweet. and to the point]

Ol Phil: {He's taken aback a moment by the colorful vocabulary} Are you speaking common big guy? I didn't understand a thing this feller said. What in the devil is lollygaggery??

Zoltan: It's what's you're doing. -arms crossed, trying to look big and slightly intimidating-

Jehan: I tried beating around the bush with you. And lolligagery. To lolligag. Do YOU speak common?... let's not mince words here. Hes asking if your head is so far up your own ass to see that you're responsible for giving weapons and materials to the enemy by order of the barron. What will you do when the war spills south to this village? What will your granddaughter do. We're going to put an end to it. With your help, or through you. Literally if it comes to it... (nods to the orc to prepare for an attack, or to hold the man down)

Zoltan {puts hand on his sword hilt}

Jehan: -grin- we on the same page now grandpa?

Goliad-flexes magnificently-

Jehan: or maybe we could go pay Mina a visit if youd rather?..

Ol Phil: {Yelling} TROUBLE AT THE GATE. TROUBLE AT THE GATE!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:54, Sat 27 Feb 2016.

The moment the man opened his mouth, the bard looked down, reached behind his back and drew a dagger yet again

-NAT 20 INTIMIDATE-

Leaping into the area with the man on his stool, the surprisingly nimble Jehan kicked out a leg of the stool, causing the man to fall toward the wall, while the man braced for impact, he was met with a surprise, a hand to cushion the blow of his head on the wall. As his eyes opened, he saw nothing but the sheen of metal "Recall your alarm, or ill slice straight across your pupils." He leaned in, knife almost touching the eyes of the frightened man, "That'd be the little black spots. You know, that let you see. And who knows, you got quite the tongue on you... did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in accordance to its size on the human body? almost impossible to rip out. But they cut out nice..."

The blade inched closer as he held the mans head still, holding it steady in case he didnt recall  his alarm... Jehan wasnt above cutting a cornea or two, or gouging out a tongue of a loudmouth guard.

(Also deposit the 301 silver, or 30 gold and one silver to the chest)

This message was last edited by the player at 00:09, Sat 27 Feb 2016.

Zoltan cursed under his breath and quickly stepped forward and grabbed the man's left and with one hand and left shoulder with the other hand.

"I'd listen to him if I were you." He dug his fingers into his shoulder.


19:10, Today: Secret Roll: Zoltan Zanderhawk rolled 17 using 1d20+3.  Strength check to hold the jerk.

The old man's sudden shrieking stunned Goliad for a moment, a man of such age had no business to exert such stress on his lungs. And the surprising acts of spontaneity continued when Jehan leaped into booth with sharp intentions for the old man while the swordsman went to grab hold of him. Goliad was at quite a loss, and felt rather sheepish amongst the flurry of events, so he did only thing that felt natural: Flex with all his might until the glorious feeling once again filled his being with equanimity.

"Ahhh yes, if any onlookers were to gaze this way, beset upon their eyes would be my phenomenal physique! Surely such a display would alleviate any assumptions of adversity!"

And with this calming thought, the orc did flex...
Flex like his life depended on it...
Flex like never before...
This message was last edited by the player at 00:34, Sat 27 Feb 2016.

Eike takes a step back and lets the bard do the talking. He's usually better at that. Still feeling good about getting better control over his magic lately, Eike remained a few paces away from the hut and kept an eye out for anyone who wandered a bit too close. He also took this chance to look around and see if there was anything of note near the hut.

There was a shout. Eike turned to face them and said to himself. You'd think I would have learned by now to leave Jehan alone when it came to these matters. Always getting carried away with himself. He stopped pacing and gripped his staff in both hands.

"TROUBLE AT THE GATES!" Ol' Phil had shouted twice. Swift as he could, Jehan leapt into the shack and seized the nightman at knife point. Zoltan assisted and held his arms. Earlier this evening they had killed a man, maybe two; now they were beating up an old man – those morals were plummeting ever faster.

Once Jehan put his dagger to the old man's throat, he ceased shouting and alarmingly stared at the knife – stared at it with the expression 'I can't believe these people are threatening to kill an old man.' But his cries still caught attention. Apparently the phrase 'Trouble at the gates' was known to the residents of Varna, for after he'd said it, the lanterns flickered on in a couple nearby houses. On top of this, a group of patrons, who were lingering outside the tavern, had begun to run toward the west gate. They were not far, fifty feet at the most, and one was carrying a lantern borrowed from the tavern doorway.

The patrons saw the group of adventurers ahead. One cried, "Hey, someone's trying to hurt Ol' Phil!" "Hurry!" said another. And they continued running closer. Jehan ordered Ol' Phil to call them off, but it seemed a little late for that; nonetheless Ol' Phil gritted his teeth and gave a meager call of, "Everything's fine." However, this didn't cause the patrons to slow down any and they kept coming. Things were getting wild, and fast. Meanwhile, Goliad stood in the street and flexed his rippling pectorals. While this seemed to do nothing at all, it was inexplicably inspiring for morale.


This message was last edited by the GM at 15:24, Sat 27 Feb 2016.

Eike marches into the room when he sees a knife at the mans throat. Looking for a way to get out of this situation he knocks Jehan on the back of the head with his staff to get him to lower the blade. "What are you doing?!" He almost yells at Jehan, meanwhile trying to give him a wink to go along with him. "You said you were going to talk to him. Not put a knife to his throat." He then looked to Zoltan, "Let the old man go, it's not worth the trouble."

{If they listen to me step back from the old man}
Eike digs in his pocket and then looks to the old man. "Look I'm sorry about my friends here." Pulling his hand out of his pocket, "Here, what do you say you take this for the trouble and let us be on our way." He opens his hand to show 5 gold pieces for the man.

If the man opens the gate, Eike runs out down the road.
If he doesn't open the gate, Eike opens it and runs out down the road.


17:04, Today: Eike rolled 14 using 1d20+3.  Diplomacy; old man bribe. .
This message was last edited by the player at 22:05, Sat 27 Feb 2016.

The shouts of the townspeople not slowing down was... less than what he had hoped for. things were going so well. Suddenly with a -thwack-, Jehan snapped out of his bloodlust, but still deciding to cut his eyes or not...

Jehan took the point of his dagger, and rested it on Phils forehead lightly. "All we wanted," he said as he tapped the point on the mans sweaty brow, "Was passage or information to help the people of your city, you fuckin, crook." The bard let go giving the man time to lean his neck down and give it a solid crack. "You can keep your eyes... this time." he said with a huff, seething the blade. "We're not the bad guys. Your barron is."

Jehan stepped out and stood behind Eike. "You better be right about this."

The bard turned his attenion to the gateman, "Oi Phil," he said with his regularly melancholy tone. "You have your eyes, tongue and some extra gold. How say you open this gate and let us go. We'd rather not paint the town red if you catch my drift." Nodding toward the group of people coming toward them.


Suddenly and without warning, he jabbed Eike with the but end of his Rapier, not fully taking out the bade. "And stop hitting me in front of people. It makes me look bad."

Zoltan sighed and let go of the old man, realizing Eike was right. They would gain nothing by threatening or hurting him.

"We should run," he said. He glanced to Phil, hoping that he would listen to Jehan and open the gate. He prepared to run.

Noticing the inefficiency in his actions, Goliad lowered his arms. That there existed people who lacked the capacity to truly grasp the blessing that was his body was a fact he had come to accept over time.

What had become increasingly harder for him to accept, however, was just how consistently chaotic the events became as the night progressed. The possibility of a melee among his fellow townsmen disturbed him deeply. But even though Varna had become his home, Manual had been like his brother; to leave an honorary Brawnlimb's deviously devised death without rectification was an option that simply did not exist to him.

Due to his position, Goliad chose to stand his ground, ready to run towards the gate for escape if necessary...or protect his new acquaintances if even more necessary...

Ol' Phil snatched the gold from Eike but didn't leave his shack. The townsfolk were getting closer and closer.

"Madmen, the lot of yuh," Ol' Phil grumbled. "I hope yuh get the noose."

He wasn't going to do it. Quickly realizing their position as the townsfolk closed in on them, Eike dashed to the gate and lifted the latch. He beckoned his partymates to follow. Together, they bolted through the doors and out into the darkness. The forest swiftly enveloped them as they ran, its overhanging branches blocking out the night sky; and looking back, they saw the shrinking light of Varna disappear as the gates were shoved closed behind them. Putting more distance between them and the town, they jogged a little farther along the road and stopped once they felt they were safe – at least from the townsfolk. The forest, however, was another matter.

Everything was silent now, save for their own panting and a lone hooting owl somewhere far away. The dark woods walled in both sides, utterly still. The adventurers felt tired, for they'd had a long, long day.

"What do we do know?" asked Zoltan.

"Set up a camp," said Eike, trying to sound confident. That was, after all, the next logical step.

But they weren't entirely confident. Something about the woods at night gave them an eerie feeling, as though they'd entered someplace they knew they shouldn't be - much like they'd broken into a house while the owner was still sleeping. They felt like every sound they made was an intrusion on some hushed meeting, an agreement of stillness that every creature in the forest knew about – except them. Nonetheless it was still a forest: there were fallen branches for firewood, clearings for a campsite, maybe even some food. It would be just like camping in the backyard when they were kids – or at least, that's the lie they told themselves.


This message was last edited by the GM at 14:24, Wed 02 Mar 2016.

As his friends took off beside him, Jehan locked eyes with the Phil, holding out an index finger; trying his best to come up with something truly devastating to him after being told he hoped they all got hung, nothing came out. He stood perfectly still for a moment, finger outstretched until a grin began to form. "Oh yeah? Well I hope y-" His long awaited insult was cut off my a rather large arm.

In the hustle and bustle of everyone running, Jehan was the only one left still. Goliad noticed this and without a second tough picked him up like a piece of wood under his arm and charged off after Eike and Zoltan. The bard was in shock for a moment, body still underneath the completely unreasonably sized arm of the orc. He had nothing. He just stared blankly at the trees as they flew by as Goliad easily caught up to the two, free arm swinging in tandem with his run. The two looked at Jehan and held back laughter as he was carried like a two by four with an expression to match.



"Well this is creepy" the bard said plainly in the darkness, as if to calm himself and the others. "We should get a fire started. Most nighttime critters are scared of fire."

Should a fire be made, Jehan picks a specifically long branch, one end still in the flames for him to grab as a makeshift torch, or flaming bludgeoning weapon should the need arise

Goliad was still hesitant when the townsfolk began to close in on the party, but the wizard's quick thinking provided a course of action. As he ran toward the gate, he saw that Ol' Phil was about to get verbally ripped into by Jehan, who had clearly wanted to puncture his pride as painfully possible. The orc picked the bard up in one quick swoop as he flew by, for he knew damn well whatever Jehan had in store would not be quick.

The party made their escape into the forest west of Varna, and once they were engulfed in the dark, uneasy silence, he gently placed Jehan on his feet and said, "Apologies for suppressing your rhetorical digression, good sir, but time was of the essence." Goliad then glanced around warily, trying to notice anything perilous in the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Never knew this forest was so...unsettling."

Notions of camp and a fire were soon suggested, and Goliad agreed with both. "A night's rest might just be the best respite from these contrite events", he said as he began setting up the campfire. "Although...it is difficult to disregard this apprehensive ambience. Perhaps we should take turns standing guard?"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:00, Fri 18 Mar 2016.

As night deepened a mist rose between the trees, like a dim cloud swirling and hovering above the forest floor. The hooting of an owl echoed from far away. Goliad, feeling on edge in his thoughts, gathered some dead branches together and piled them in a grassy clearing, where he made a campfire. His flint and steel ushered a spark onto some hollow, dry twigs, and soon a small fire grew into a large blaze that was radiant and comforting. The sheltering warmth made the group feel much more at ease and spared them from a bitter cold night.

Huddling around the fire, they sat on a couple fallen trees and watched the crackling logs as it steadily rained a bed of ashes beneath it. Goliad threw on another log and watched it flare brightly for a moment, then fell into a contemplative silence. Jehan poked the fire with a stick trying to get the end to burn, but he couldn't seem to make it burn longer than a few seconds. Eike and Zoltan sat on the opposite tree, gazing into the lurid light.

The forest here had cast a very different mood on them, as though they had entered another world, another quest. Although the campfire was very comforting, it couldn't seem to completely dispel the sense of eeriness that enclosed threateningly around them, as though waiting for them to lower their guard and takeover. Zoltan was the first to speak after a few minutes.

"Perhaps we should get some sleep," he said. "We'll need our strength for the morning, if we want to get to the Baron and, finally, to the bottom of this mystery."

The others agreed and laid their sleeping bags around the fire, trying to get as close as they could to the protective glow without being afraid of rolling into it. Despite the haunting darkness of the woods, the group actually felt their eyes grow heavy and tired; the fire sang its persuasive, crackling lullaby, with crescendos of pops and crumbling logs, gently lulling them into a sound sleep.

The next morning, Eike was the first to awaken. It was early, for the sun still gleamed through foggy trees and the air was chill. He pulled himself out of his sleeping bag and remembered they had much to do today, and there wasn't an hour to spare. He glanced over at Jehan to wake him but was to surprised to see him missing from his sleeping bag – which was odd, for Jehan rarely ever woke before Eike. Eike turned to wake his other companions but found that Zoltan and Goliad were also missing from their bags.

He felt bewildered twice over, once at the fact that they were all missing at the same time, and another that they would leave without telling him where they had gone.

"Jehan? Zoltan?" called out Eike to the forest, thinking that maybe they were just using the bathroom, or finding breakfast. But then he noticed that all their belongings, even their weapons, were still here too – how could they hunt without their weapons?

Clutching his staff tightly, Eike began to wander out into the woods, seeing if he could see any signs of where they had gone. He felt a deep pang of loneliness, for he had not found himself this alone in a long, long time; there had always been somebody there. He called out their names again but heard no response, not even the sound of a critter or the rustling of a leaf. Suddenly he heard a whisper.

"Over here."

Eike turned sharply to where the voice had come from but saw nothing. Warily he walked in that direction, trying to find the source. He waded through the trees, and did so for about a minute before he saw something strange up ahead; he walked a little farther and found, in the middle of the woods, a stone pillar about fifteen feet high, crumbling at the top.

His eyes widened in horror, for at the base of the pillar were Jehan, Zoltan, and Goliad; all three had daggers in their chests and laid pale, dead, before the pillar, like some cruel sacrifice to it. Jehan's pleading frozen face gazed at him in perfect stillness, and then it spoke, "Come. . ."--

Eike woke up, jerking upright in his sleeping bag in a cold sweat. Panicking he looked around, and was stunned to see it was still nighttime; he looked anxiously at his companions but was relieved to see all three were still in their sleeping bags, fast asleep. It had only been a dream.

The fire had calmed to glowing embers, so after taking a minute to breathe, Eike threw another log on the fire and collapsed back onto his sleeping bag, looking up at the night sky. He felt himself cooling down, yet still reasonably warmed by the dim blaze. Goliad jostled in his bag and leaned upward, peering at Eike.

"Are you feeling fare my frightened-looking friend?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"Yea. . ." said Eike, still gazing at the sky.

He felt a powerful surge of gratitude. It had only been a dream. . .

Still trying to make sense of the dream.. no, nightmare, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It took Eike a few seconds to process that Goliad even asked him a question. He with an almost far off tone, "Yea. . ." Finally processing the question, "Just a dream, that's all." Eike didn't take kindly to his dreams ever since he was a child. Especially the nightmares. "It just felt so real. It must just be the cold. Not use to spending the night in the woods. Does things to the mind." He attempted to brush it off in an attempt to convince himself more than the others. Although he wanted to simply forget the images he saw just moments ago, he committed them to memory in case it was more than just a simple dream. He spoke back to those that were awake, "Keep your eyes out for a stone pillar while we're making our way through the woods. These dreams are usually nothing, but it was calling to me."

A harsh snort erupted from the bard whos sleep was cut off in a rather unsettling manner. He needs his beauty sleep. As he sat up, hair wild and frizzy, half covering his face, the rest reaching for the sky or nearby trees as if reaching for something to hold on to.

"Why..." He posed, in a high, near whining tone, "Dreams are just that- dreams. You dont need to check on us every time you freak out" Jehan began rubbing his eyes and flattening his hair with his hand, "The fact could be that you're just a bitch." He chuckled as he arched his back, letting out a satisfying crack. This body was meant for large soft and squishy beds, not bent in unusual shapes due to the rocks, sticks and strange lumps of the earth... which upon later inspection turned out to be a field mouse. This time, he restrained his normal feminine scream however. He had been practicing.

"A stone pillar though, eh?" He said returning to the dream of the sorcerer, although he knew dreams to be nothing more than the minds subconscious working on mental problems or simply keeping itself occupied while the body slept- these facts however are overshadowed by the presence of magic in the blood... strange forces indeed. "Any idea what it could be, and is it more important that following the trail of the sketchy miners? I would be willing to do either personally. Nothing more exciting than an evil, murderous structure of stone." He grinned, hair now looking like normal. He felt rather proud of himself, as made apparent with the fact that he ran his silver stud on his tongue along his teeth which produced a light click as the metal made contact with each tooth. A tell, if you will, the bard did when felt proud of mischievous. Eike and Zoltan knew this and 'somehow' always tended to beat him in poker.

Goliad didn't always dream, but when he did they never made any damn sense.

This dream was no different.

At one point, there was what seemed like a...goat baking him a pie...that might have contained snails. At another, he was in some kind of financial altercation with a bunch of spiders. There might have even been a battle-armored fish in there somewhere. This stream of fantastical events continued until he was attacked by a grotesque, flower-shaped creature that could best be described as a hybrid of plant tissue, human organs, and metal. It made some loud, unsettled moans until it finally lunged at Goliad and jostled him out of his sleep.

Thouroghly confused and rattled, the orc leaned up in his bag, peered around the campsite, and quickly noticed a rigidly upright Eike looking far more disturbed than himself. Fright was heavy in the air and Goliad asked if Eike was feeling well, if only to break the tension. Once calm, the wizard explained that he merely had a troubling dream, but also advised to be on the lookout for a stone pillar that appeared in it.

Not wanting to withold anything that might also potentially manifest, Goliad just said, "We should also be wary of any talking flowers we come across," before laying back down and attempting to recollect as much as he could from the fleeting tale he had just awoke from.

"Hm?" Zoltan looked up and yawned. "A pillar? Huh, okay, whatever you say." He stretched his arms up to the sky and relaxed, dropping them to his sides. "I don't believe flowers talk, but I suppose we can keep an eye out for that two," he said with a shrug.

Standing up with another stretch, he rubbed his scratchy face. He hadn't had a good shave in a few days. "I feel we should focus on the miners and their schemes. But we'll poke around for some pillars."

After their brief awakening by Eike, the adventurers laid back down in their sleeping bags. Being the middle of the night, the atmosphere was dark and oppressive, the stars blocked from view by the looming trees; the only audible sound came from the fire, crackling low. And not long after they laid down came the first snores of Goliad, who dreamily murmured something about battle-fish. The rest fell asleep soon after.

They awoke the next morning with the dawn. Eike, still remembering his last false awakening, pinched himself to make sure he was really awake. Aside from a little tinge of pain and the tiny mark on his arm, nothing happened.

Jehan stood and stretched, doing some calisthenics to get the blood going; he felt a little stiff from the less-than-five-star conditions. "Next time, we keep going til we find a hotel. . . Have anymore weird dreams, Eike?" he asked.

"No," said Eike, not feeling very cheerful this morning for some reason. "Just the usual."

"Wait. . . my friends. . ." said Goliad ominously as stood, wide-eyed and fearful. They gave him their fullest attention. "I had a dream, one I think is very serious, a portent of our future."

"What, what is it?" said Eike with a flash of concern.

"You were there, Eike, and I, and all of us. . . We were riding the giant war snails of Kalafar into battle against tiny men; but we resolved the battle through dance! I think we should heed these omens my friends."

Eike breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yea, well, when I see a giant snail, I'll start getting worried," said Zoltan dismissively.

"You didn't have any wierd dreams, Zoltan?" asked Jehan.

"Hardly," he replied. "Just a short one about a big cave. It was weird, I guess, cause I wasn't even in it. Oh, there was some guy made of metal, I think, and a big metal spider. And maybe something about goblins after that; but that's all I remember."

"Don't worry, that's not a weird dream," said Jehan comfortingly. "It's just a sign you're going bonkers."

Zoltan threw a sock at him.

They made breakfast, cooking some of the dried meat from their rations for bonus flavor. When they were done they cleaned the campsite, packed their bags, and were then ready to depart. It was a new day, and odds were something really exciting was going to happen in it.

"So we got a few choices," said Eike to the group. "The first is go back to town, and if we do that, pick where we're going to go next; and maybe have a plan for once. Or, we could go look around the woods. Or, we could leave; get out of hickville and go to the next town. I suppose there's always that option, though we'd be breaking our promise to Henri. . . So, what'll it be?"

Eike simply leans on his staff while they attempt to make a decision. "Well we can be on the look out for some giant metal spiders, but I think we'll be okay." he says chuckling to himself. Since the others are not speaking up Eike just can't get that dream out of his head, it just seemed so real. "Well while you guys are deciding about what you want to do I'm going to take a stroll around the woods here. Feel free to join me if you'd like."

He turned to his left and started walking without a response from the others to see if he could find anything of interest.

Goliad stood stock still, paralyzed for what seemed like days...no...months. What was this terrible, creeping sensation permeating his entire being? It began with a tight, invasive feeling in his chest before it descended into the pits of his stomach, twisting and gnarling his innards into knots. He heard Eike say something or another, but this feeling of mortal dread made words incomprehensible upon Goliad's ears. Suddenly, the wizard turned around and started to walk away, frightening the orc even more. He had to warn him; something just wasn't right! He reached his arm forward as he took his first step towards Eike's salvation and opened his mouth to speak words of reason and prophecy.

But those words never came.

For as soon as Goliad took that first fated step...the largest, most raunchy fart to ever escape the depths of his bowels assaulted the senses of everyone around on all fronts. Now experiencing levels of embarrassment that had never even entered the realm of his imagination, Goliad hurried to follow Eike wherever the hell it was he was headed. At the very least, Goliad was relieved of that ominous trepidation...for now...

It had changed their lives forever. Jehan was in awe, thinking that for the rest of his life, even when he was an old man, he would never forget this day.

"That's was the most epic fart I had ever been witness to," he said admiringly.

Goliad was embarrassed, to put it mildly, and rather than explaining or apologizing or any of that other sissy stuff, he did the manly thing, and bolted as fast as possible from the campsite, running to catch up with Eike who was (hastily) leaving for a walk.

At first Jehan and Zoltan thought he was leaving simply because he felt embarrassed, but they soon realized he had chosen the smart option; for when the smell came, it caused the hair on their heads to curl and knocked both of them unconscious.


[Private to Eike; Goliad Brawnlimb:

Goliad slowed to a walk beside Eike as the campsite disappeared behind them through the evergreen trunks. "Nice day, no?" said Goliad casually, preemptively diverting any comment about the recent sound of thunder.

"Yes, very," coughed Eike awkwardly, hoping that there wouldn't be any more future storms.

But despite that brief bit of thunder, it did look like they would have some good weather today. The sky was largely blue and home to puffy waves of clouds. The morning air was still crisply cool from the night, and dew droplets coated the needles on the trees.

"Wait!" said Goliad suddenly in a hushed voice.

Eike stopped abruptly, thinking that Goliad might have seen a person or some dangerous animal, but instead Goliad crouched by a tree stump and touched a lonely small blue flower. "It looks like the flower from my dream. I knew it were a sign! How are you my flowery friend? Do you speak?"

He's gone mad, thought Eike.

"Uh, Goliad. I don't think it actually talks. Odds were that it probably really was just a dream. Just like how there's probably no riding snails, and no pillar either. They're just dreams, you know?"

Goliad picked the blue flower from its stem and held it to his ear. "Mhmm. . . I see. . . Yes, that's true. . ." he muttered, as though the flower were whispering to him.

Eike wondered if he should call for help.

"Mhmm. . ." continued Goliad. "Ah, this way!" Goliad suddenly walked at a brisk pace in a northerly direction, almost leaving Eike behind.

"Wait up!" called Eike, going after him.

Goliad kept up his rigorous pace with his long orc stride; Eike had to jog just to keep up. After about a minute Goliad stopped as abruptly as he had started. Eike hustled next to him, panting. He was a man of magic and knowledge – not an athlete. Goliad stared ahead in dumbfounded surprise; Eike glanced up and was soon doing the same.

Before them in the middle of a clearing was a stone pillar. It was about fifteen feet tall, but it had apparently been taller in the past; the topmost part had since crumbled away and become boulders littered near the base. The clearing was small, only a twenty foot circle around the stone, but it was enough to shelter its location from anyone who didn't already know where it was {New Location Added to Map}. No grass or weeds grew onto the pillar itself, as though the plants were afraid to touch it. Goliad put the blue flower to his ear again.

"Mhmm. . . Spooky. . . Ouch!" He dropped the flower and sucked on his finger.

"What happened?" asked Eike.

"The flower grew thorns! It did not have thorns before," said Goliad spitefully, as though resentful of the flower's rudeness. "Oh, and it also said the stone thing wanted blood. . . a lot of it."

Eike looked down at the flower, which looked just like any normal wildflower; then he looked at the stone pillar – which was just like any normal stone pillar. . . right?

The pillar stood there patiently, waiting, as though it had been expecting them for a long, long time.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Thu 30 June 2016.

Eike turns around and looks back the way he came to see if his friends had followed. When seeing they didn't he shouts, "Hey wake up and get over here! We found something!" No response.

[Private to DM Ryan; Eike; Goliad Brawnlimb:  He looked back to Goliad with a little disbelief. "I'm still not sure about your dreams." He said suspiciously.

Eike took a moment to look around the pillar, to see if there was anything of note or any signs of someone else being here. {Search check} "Let me see that flower" He grabbed the flower from him and used one of the thrones to prick his hand. As he let the drops of blood drip onto the ground and the pillar itself he watched it closely to look for anything happening.

11:07, Today: Eike rolled 16 using 1d20+1. Search check.
]

[Private to Eike: A few drops of blood fell from your finger onto the pillar. As they dotted the old gray stone, you felt a light tingling beneath your skin, as though some magic were trying to happen - but it was no more than a faint tickle. You got the feeling that you'd need to use a whole body's worth of blood to get a reaction from it. The tingling sensation disappeared.

You searched around the old boulders, remnants from the pillar. Although the pillar was free of vegetation, the boulders were not, and most were completely overgrown with moss and weeds. However, among a clump of clovers, you saw something sticking out and touched it. It felt metallic. You grabbed and pulled it from the ground, dirt pouring off it. It was a dagger.

The dagger was so rusted that the blade and hilt were no longer visible. It, too, sent a slight tickle through your hand. It was unidentified.]

[Private to DM Ryan: Eike thought for a moment to try to remember anything he might have come across or learned about previously. Anything to give him any kind of insight. "Maybe it requires some kind of sacrifice?" Remembering that dream made him feel a little uneasy. He also looked at the dagger, trying to get any sense of the strange piece of rust. "Is this even a blade"

09:28, Today: Secret Roll: Eike rolled 11 using 1d20+3. Knowledge Arcana; Pillar.]

[Private to Eike:

Friendships can change so quickly, even among flowers and orcs. As soon as Goliad brought the flower to his ear, he heard a hazily familiar and cheerful voice dance around in his head. "Ah Goliad!", he heard it exclaim, "it is so wonderful to see you again! And to be honored with such a greeting after what had happened. I can not apologize enough! There was vile trickery at work and had I no control! I hope you understand. Though...it is quite troubling to meet you here. This forest is not the safest of places, dear orc. And if you and your friend there find yourselves here, I would assume you two are rather lost, no?"

When Goliad confirmed this to be true, the flower continued, "I would find no greater happiness than to be of assistance and redeem myself! There is a place not too far from here that I am sure will be of great help to you, just as I am sure it was by no mere luck that we were reunited! Turn to your left slightly and head in that direction, past that huge tree over there. Quickly my friend! The calm and quiet betrays the deviousness of where we are."

Totally confident in the validity in his floral friend's advice, the orc obediently walked briskly for a short period until the sight of an astonishingly ominous stone pillar stopped him dead in his tracks. Consulting the flower had seemed to be the only logical option to Goliad at that point, and when he raised it to his ear, the voice he heard had lost its liveliness.

"Goliad.
To stay truly protected while making your way through this forest, tribute must be paid to the Obelisk.
It will not be cheap.
In fact it will be a very hefty sum, and the only acceptable payment is blood.
Allow me to...help you get started with that." Sharp thorns suddenly grew from the flower's stem and pricked one of Goliad's fingers, causing him to drop the flower before he explained the situation to Eike.

Still rather peeved about what just happened, Goliad was busy fussing over his finger when he noticed Eike dripping some of his own blood onto the ground, staring intently at the pillar. The orc soon followed suit while he pondered on the possibilities for weaponized flora.]

[Private to Eike; Goliad Brawnlimb: Goliad approached the obelisk beside Eike where both of them pricked their fingers with the thorny flower and let a few drops of blood fall on the stone. They watched in shock as the blood disappeared into the stone instantly, soaked up as though the pillar were a sponge. Both of them felt a tingle in their bodies, but it hardly equaled the buzz from a shot a whisky; it vanished a few moments later. It was clear to both of them that, if they wanted to gain what this pillar offered them, they would have to offer more blood, a lot more – a body's worth. . .  and that it didn't have to be their own. . . But what was it exactly that the pillar offered? Even this much they didn't know.

Something caught Eike's eye in the moss-covered rocks that littered the base of the pillar, and he picked up a dagger from the dirt, one whose blade and hilt had been rusted beyond all recognition. This, too, tingled in his hand, bearing some kind of unknown power.

They glanced at each other, then at the pillar. They did not wish to kill each other – this much was obvious – to discover what this pillar did; and so, knew they did not have what the pillar wanted, at least at this time. With nothing more to be done, they decided to leave and return to their companions. But just as they were about to exit the clearing, Goliad remembered the blue flower, which he had unconsciously dropped a second time; he turned and looked for it and found it near the base of the pillar, except that it now looked nothing like it once did – it had died, its petals dry, brown, and withered.

So he left it there, wondering what kind of magic was at work here. Catching up with Eike, they left the obelisk together, wondering who built it, what purpose it served, why it was built – and in asking every question, they always knew in the back of their minds that there was only one way to find out.]


As Imbellem and Zoltan regained consciousness, their worst fears had been confirmed – Goliad had returned. Eike and Goliad, approaching from the woods, re-entered the campsite. Imbellem immediately dived for something to plug his nose.

"Do not worry, friends," said Goliad assuringly. "I have no more gases for this morning."

Imbellem ceased rifling through his sleeping bag and, hesitantly, decided to trust him on this.

"Enjoy your walk?" asked Zoltan.

Eike and Goliad exchanged glances.

"Yea," said Eike. "It was fine." He left it at that.

They spent the morning packing their things, dismantling the campsite, and getting reading to start the day once more.

"Well, all that remains now is to wrap up this mystery once and for all," said Zoltan. "Manual Keirch is counting on us to find justice for his brother Henri's death. And though it's a good bet the Baron's responsible (not to mention he's got ties to Vaterland invading the north), we don't have any proof. It's up to us to get that proof."

"And that proof," continued Eike, "is waiting for for us in Baron von Auspitz's manor."

"Yes, that is right my friends. Then what are we waiting for? Amazing adventure awaits!" cried Goliad.

Gathering their wits and their things, they headed back to the town of Varna. To their relief, the town gates were open and unguarded, like they typically were during the day. No mob waited to lynch them. No assassins waited to snuff them. No doubt the excitement of last night was passed of as some of the usual ruccus. And since the town of Varna, being a quiet place, didn't have any official townguard at all, there was no one to watchout for – except perhaps Ol' Phil, the gatekeeper they had seriously pissed off last night, and of course, cronies of the Baron.

They walked through town, seeing the townsfolk bustling along the street with their usual business. Passing by the General Store, they glanced inside and saw the shopkeeper was in an exceptionally good mood, sweeping with gusto (his date last night must have gone well). They continued through the main part of town and turned onto the road leading to the mine. There, half way to the mines, they saw the side road which led to the Baron's manor, its spires and high windows peaking out of a large copse of trees.

They went down it, continuing through the fields, then through the copse. Only after they had passed through a thick veil of pine did they see the manor. It was big, easily the largest building in town, and definitely the most stylish: Four stories high, antique architecture, freshly painted, gargoyles on the corners, a large set of doors in front, surrounded by garden, all encased by a wall of forest for privacy, yet able to see the whole town from its upper towers. The Baron knew how to live.

Out front a couple gardeners toiled, one in the flower bed, another in the hedges. Smoke rose from a chimney in the back, probably from the kitchens. Somehow, the adventurers knew they had to get inside. But how exactly? That was left up to them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:10, Sat 06 Aug 2016.