You are a young adult in the peaceful and prosperous town of Havenwood. For as long as you can...
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An Overcast Sky (Low level DnD 5e Quest)
- Thread starter Lexica
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- Fantasy
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Statistics (9 threadmarks, 9.4k words)
User Total Lexica 9
A beginning
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You are a young adult in the peaceful and prosperous town of Havenwood. For as long as you can remember, your life has been a happy, if slightly boring one. You're not complaining exactly, but you sometimes find yourself wishing that the lands around your town were not quite so peaceful. Whenever you asked your parents why Havenwood never had any problems with goblins or bandits like all the towns in Vincent's (The innkeeper's) stories, they just told you that this had been a place of goodness ever since Saint Olivia had slain the demon that terrorized this part of the country decades ago.
The most exciting thing that had happened in recent memory was a group of adventurers passing through about a week ago. You were kind of disappointed that they had left quickly, but you guess it made sense, there being nothing much in the way of adventure around here. Well, at least the festival celebrating the demon being slain was coming up in a few weeks. That was always at least a little bit exciting, and interesting people often ended up showing up for the few days that it lasted.
The sky today is overcast, just like your somewhat disappointed mood. You hope it doesn't grow into a nasty storm, but you doubt you'll have any luck. Storms always get nasty in spring around here.
Regardless, it was time to start your day. You head off to...
[] The chapel. You are, after all, Amelia Smith, daughter of the village blacksmith, and priestess of Pelor in training. Originally you had been against all this religious education, upset that it was your elder brother Henry who got to be trained to be the blacksmith and not you, but you've since come around. Father Johnathan, the current priest of Pelor was growing old, and he really did need someone else to take over care of the chapel. Still, you hope to one day have the opportunity to spread Pelor's light to the dark places like Clerics always do in the stories, rather than just being stuck here your whole life. (Level 1 Cleric)
[] Just downstairs, the herbalist's shop. You are, after all, Melech. Just Melech. See, you're a tiefling, someone with demon ancestry somewhere deep in their genealogical tree and it shows clearly in your red skin and long curling horns. You had been found at the front gates of the town as a baby with just that name pinned to a blanket wrapped around you. You had almost been thrown out of town and left to die, but Father Johnathan had stood up for you then, saying that all were equal in Pelor's light. Nowadays, you're mostly accepted around town, and you've found your own place with the old herbalist Damia, helping her with your innate magic. She's a bit of an outcast too, so you get along just fine. You do want to move on eventually though... (Level 1 Sorcerer)
[] Town. You are, after all, Sariel and your day started long before dawn. You had been in the Saint's Wood hunting a deer you could sell to the butcher in town. You live a small ways into the woods to the southwest of the town with just your mother and honestly you're grateful for it. Everyone in town was always kind of weird to you because you were a half-elf. Yes, you mother had had a thing with an elf that came through town about twenty years ago, no you were not like a hundred years old. You were nineteen thank you very much. You much prefer talking to the other hunters and farmers who lived on the outskirts of town. They weren't weird about you like everyone who lived inside Havenwood's walls. (Level 1 Ranger)
[] Town. You are, after all, Meriele, daughter of the owner of a small farm outside of town. Your family has been going through a bit of a rough time with crop failings lately, and were a bit too proud to ask for help from the other farmers. So, you have been sent on a mission to sell your Grandfather's old war gear. Nothing fancy, just some chain-mail and a sword, but they were well maintained and the militia had been having some equipment troubles lately. Of course, the instant you had been out of sight of your house you had tried it on and started swinging the sword around and posing with it. Honestly, there's a strong temptation to try and run off with them to be an adventurer like from Vincent's stories, but you couldn't just leave you family in the lurch like that. (Level 1 Fighter)
So, I'm very excited to be running this quest. A great deal of planning has gone into it and I have notes. A lot of notes. Another exciting thing about this quest, is that I have the plot and pacing nailed down very well- one way or another, this quest is going to be over within 24 hours in game time, though there may/will probably be some kind of sequel if things go well.
The most exciting thing that had happened in recent memory was a group of adventurers passing through about a week ago. You were kind of disappointed that they had left quickly, but you guess it made sense, there being nothing much in the way of adventure around here. Well, at least the festival celebrating the demon being slain was coming up in a few weeks. That was always at least a little bit exciting, and interesting people often ended up showing up for the few days that it lasted.
The sky today is overcast, just like your somewhat disappointed mood. You hope it doesn't grow into a nasty storm, but you doubt you'll have any luck. Storms always get nasty in spring around here.
Regardless, it was time to start your day. You head off to...
[] The chapel. You are, after all, Amelia Smith, daughter of the village blacksmith, and priestess of Pelor in training. Originally you had been against all this religious education, upset that it was your elder brother Henry who got to be trained to be the blacksmith and not you, but you've since come around. Father Johnathan, the current priest of Pelor was growing old, and he really did need someone else to take over care of the chapel. Still, you hope to one day have the opportunity to spread Pelor's light to the dark places like Clerics always do in the stories, rather than just being stuck here your whole life. (Level 1 Cleric)
[] Just downstairs, the herbalist's shop. You are, after all, Melech. Just Melech. See, you're a tiefling, someone with demon ancestry somewhere deep in their genealogical tree and it shows clearly in your red skin and long curling horns. You had been found at the front gates of the town as a baby with just that name pinned to a blanket wrapped around you. You had almost been thrown out of town and left to die, but Father Johnathan had stood up for you then, saying that all were equal in Pelor's light. Nowadays, you're mostly accepted around town, and you've found your own place with the old herbalist Damia, helping her with your innate magic. She's a bit of an outcast too, so you get along just fine. You do want to move on eventually though... (Level 1 Sorcerer)
[] Town. You are, after all, Sariel and your day started long before dawn. You had been in the Saint's Wood hunting a deer you could sell to the butcher in town. You live a small ways into the woods to the southwest of the town with just your mother and honestly you're grateful for it. Everyone in town was always kind of weird to you because you were a half-elf. Yes, you mother had had a thing with an elf that came through town about twenty years ago, no you were not like a hundred years old. You were nineteen thank you very much. You much prefer talking to the other hunters and farmers who lived on the outskirts of town. They weren't weird about you like everyone who lived inside Havenwood's walls. (Level 1 Ranger)
[] Town. You are, after all, Meriele, daughter of the owner of a small farm outside of town. Your family has been going through a bit of a rough time with crop failings lately, and were a bit too proud to ask for help from the other farmers. So, you have been sent on a mission to sell your Grandfather's old war gear. Nothing fancy, just some chain-mail and a sword, but they were well maintained and the militia had been having some equipment troubles lately. Of course, the instant you had been out of sight of your house you had tried it on and started swinging the sword around and posing with it. Honestly, there's a strong temptation to try and run off with them to be an adventurer like from Vincent's stories, but you couldn't just leave you family in the lurch like that. (Level 1 Fighter)
So, I'm very excited to be running this quest. A great deal of planning has gone into it and I have notes. A lot of notes. Another exciting thing about this quest, is that I have the plot and pacing nailed down very well- one way or another, this quest is going to be over within 24 hours in game time, though there may/will probably be some kind of sequel if things go well.
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Character Sheet
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Name: Sariel
Race: Half-Elf
Age: 19
Maximum Hitpoints: 12
Current Hitpoints: 12
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and magic can't put you to sleep.
Languages: Common, Elvish, Sylvan, and Infernal
Class: Ranger (Level 1)
Stats:
Str-8
Dex-16
Con-14
Int-10
Wis-12
Cha-16
Proficient in:
Investigation
Insight
Perception
Persuasion
Stealth
Favored Enemy: Fiends
Favored Terrain: Forest
Current Equipment:
Explorer's Pack
Leather Armor
Long Bow
Quiver with 35 Arrows
Two short swords
15 Gold
Short Description:
A young woman with light brown hair tied back in a ponytail and hazel eyes. Her elven looks attract what she considers to be an irritating amount of attention in the almost entirely human town of Havenwood. Though she would perhaps clean up nicely, she is almost never seen in any outfit besides rough leather armor covered in a thick coating of whatever terrain she happened to be stalking an animal through on a given day. The only possessions she takes particular care of are her bow and arrows, which she crafted herself from wood from a supposedly blessed tree in the forest near town, as well as her two shortswords, which she bought with her own money earned from hunting.
Race: Half-Elf
Age: 19
Maximum Hitpoints: 12
Current Hitpoints: 12
Size: Medium
Speed: 30 feet
Darkvision out to 60 feet.
Fey Ancestry: Advantage on saving throws against being charmed and magic can't put you to sleep.
Languages: Common, Elvish, Sylvan, and Infernal
Class: Ranger (Level 1)
Stats:
Str-8
Dex-16
Con-14
Int-10
Wis-12
Cha-16
Proficient in:
Investigation
Insight
Perception
Persuasion
Stealth
Favored Enemy: Fiends
Favored Terrain: Forest
Current Equipment:
Explorer's Pack
Leather Armor
Long Bow
Quiver with 35 Arrows
Two short swords
15 Gold
Short Description:
A young woman with light brown hair tied back in a ponytail and hazel eyes. Her elven looks attract what she considers to be an irritating amount of attention in the almost entirely human town of Havenwood. Though she would perhaps clean up nicely, she is almost never seen in any outfit besides rough leather armor covered in a thick coating of whatever terrain she happened to be stalking an animal through on a given day. The only possessions she takes particular care of are her bow and arrows, which she crafted herself from wood from a supposedly blessed tree in the forest near town, as well as her two shortswords, which she bought with her own money earned from hunting.
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Dramatis Personae
The Current Time
Gathering Storm
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] Town. You are, after all, Sariel and your day started long before dawn. You had been in the Saint's Wood hunting a deer you could sell to the butcher in town. You live a small ways into the woods to the southwest of the town with just your mother and honestly you're grateful for it. Everyone in town was always kind of weird to you because you were a half-elf. Yes, you mother had had a thing with an elf that came through town about twenty years ago, no you were not like a hundred years old. You were nineteen thank you very much. You much prefer talking to the other hunters and farmers who lived on the outskirts of town. They weren't weird about you like everyone who lived inside Havenwood's walls. (Level 1 Ranger)
You breathe deeply of the cool morning air as you trek towards Havenwood's main gates. The coolness of it was refreshing, and while others might complain about the humidity, you could never find yourself particularly bothered by such things. The coming storm would be nasty, yes, but any sensible creature takes cover during a storm, just as any sensible creature should know to enjoy what its passing did to the taste of the air, the scent of wet greenery, and the sound of water dripping pitter-patter from leaf to branch to forest floor.
So rather than in spite of the overcast day, you found yourself happy because of it. Of course, your mood soured just slightly as it always did when you approached Havenwood's walls, and you began to brace yourself for the not so subtle stares and irritating smells of too many fires and too many people crowded too close together. Objectively, you knew it wasn't so bad as all that, but you just weren't one to like any kind of crowd. You wonder if-
"Sariel!"
You hear a loud shout from far behind you and turn in interest. You think- yes. That's Meriele a couple hundred feet back, shouting at you. You were always mildly impressed by her ability to be the loudest thing withing a mile radius of herself; as you had learned to both of your chagrin when she had talked you into taking her along when you went hunting once. Exactly once. Despite her inability to do anything at a volume quieter than a stampede of elephants however, the two of you got along well. She was one of the few people your age who didn't make a big deal over you being a half elf. That being so, it was no particular hardship for you to spend a minute waiting for her to catch up.
As you do, you observe her. Of course her curly red hair stood out at any distance, but what's really surprising about her is the chain-mail and scabbard with a sword in it she's wearing. As she draws closer, you notice something else surprising. Where normally Meriele was clumsy and perhaps best described as 'a gangly mess' here she seemed almost... graceful. Something about seeing her with armor and a weapon seems to fit her. Make her more herself in a way you can't quite describe.
...And then she trips into a muddy puddle about twenty feet from you and the moment is gone. With a sigh you let go of the burlap sack you had been dragging the deer you killed to town in and walk over quickly and extend a hand as she begins to get up. Her trousers are now entirely coated in mud, but she doesn't really seem to care, and if you judged someone over muddy clothes you would first need to stop crawling through it when tracking game every other day. Meriele at least has the grace to seem slightly embarrassed as she brushes herself off. She really only succeeds in spreading the mud around a bit.
With a raised eyebrow, you nod your head at her scabbard, asking a question wordlessly and as you retrieve your deer.
"Huh? Oh! The sword, yeah! Isn't it so cool? I mean, of course it is, and oh wow I am so lucky I put it back in the scabbard before I fell. Man can you imagine? That would be like the most embarrassing way to injure yourself ever. And I should know- I've injured myself a lot over the years. Actually, speaking of that reminds me of..." You just smile to yourself and nod at the appropriate places as Meriele speaks. You had long had it as a personal experiment to see if it was actually physically possible for her to run out of things to talk about in a conversation without input from the other person involved. You had yet to see it happen.
The rest of the walk to Havenwood's gates is filled with the comfortable sound of Meriele's chatter. Along the way, you think you gather the gist of the reason she had the sword and armor. You mull it over. It was odd, but you kind of feel bad about Meriele having to give up the sword when she enjoyed it so much. Just before you reach the gate, you finally interrupt her.
"You know Meri, you could borrow one of my swords later if you want to practice how to use one." There's a sudden silence after your sentence, and as you turn to give her a raised eyebrow, you're interrupted by her practically tackling you with a hug and shouting "Thank you thank you thank you!" at the top of her lungs.
You are somewhat inured to Meriele's preferred methods of expressing her emotions, so you merely suffer stoically until she stops. You are very glad you had the wisdom to say that before you entered town and caused everyone in sight to stare at you even more than they already did.
The town gates are open as always, and the one bored guard on duty just gives the two of you a lazy wave as you enter, not even bothering to comment on how mud covered both of you are. Really, you think it's expected of you by this point. As you walk towards your destination of the butcher's shop, you comment again to Meriele.
"Weren't you going to sell those to the militia?"
"Ah, well, I wouldn't want to interrupt the guard on duty to talk about it you know, and he probably doesn't have the authority to buy them anyways, so I'll just go to the mayor's office later to talk to someone about it." You almost think she's going to continue, but for once she leaves a finished sentence well enough alone and the two of you walk for another minute until you reach the butcher's shop, close as it to the front gates of the town.
Surprisingly the butcher's shop is closed. You frown at the locked door and the sign confirming its purpose before stepping closer to the door and staring through the small window in it. No one inside that you can see, and no one that you can hear either.
"Huh. Weird. Thomas always has his shop open by now." Meriele says and you can't help but agree. Well, regardless, there was nothing much you could do about it.
"Well, we could drop the deer off with Harrison at the tannery across the way and go deal with your sword and armor." You suggest, not wanting to lug a whole deer around all day. It was already starting to tire you out a bit.
Meriele doesn't look particularly enthused about the idea, and suggests instead that the two of you just wait here until Thomas gets back. You think for a moment.
"Well, we could just ask Harrison where Thomas is. He probably knows, the two of them are practically best friends." You suggest. Meriele looks surprised at that.
"Really, those two always seem like they hate each other whenever I come over here with you?" She says.
"Nah, that's just how they express their friendship."
With that, the two of you take the short walk to the tannery to find Harrison looking to be in the process of just unlocking his own door.
"Opening up late today too?" You call as you approach. He startles slightly as you call out, dropping his keys, before picking them up again and giving a laugh.
"Oh, Sariel it's just you. I swear you move quietly enough to cover up Meriele's loudness." He shakes his head before continuing, the slightly rotund man still chuckling as he sorts through his keys again to find the right one. "Yeah, I conned Thomas into helping my sister-in-law fix her table after he lost a bet last night, so he'll probably be out of his store for a while yet." He notices your deer. "I could hold on to that for you until he gets back so you aren't stuck waiting around all morning if you like?"
Meriele groans and you just just give a gracious "Thank you" at his suggestion. Prodding Meriele along, the two of you head for the mayor's office off the town's main square.
Just as you're passing the chapel, mere feet from the turn into the town square however, you hear a high-pitched scream from inside it. You and Meriele both snap your gazes toward it, and before you can even blink, she's charged for the chapel's doors. You curse and follow after, only moments behind as she bursts through, slamming the doors open.
When you enter, you are greeted by the most horrifying sight you've ever seen in your short nineteen years. Father Johnathan has been cut open upon the altar, entrails splayed. His blood has been used to paint sigils that you recognize as infernal, but you're too far away to read it. Beyond the clear runes drawn in his blood, there are even more, along with the carcasses of chickens. It's grisly. At the small side door to the chapel stands Amelia Smith, the priestess of Pelor in training, with her hands covering her mouth in horror. In front of the altar holding a bloody knife and looking somewhat dazed stands Melech, that tiefling who worked at the herbalist's shop.
You surely only have a couple of seconds before more people arrive, drawn by Amelia's scream. What do you do?
[] Attack Melech. Clearly he killed Father Johnathan!
[] Move to protect Amelia. If Father Johnathan was killed, she might be next.
[] Read the sigils in infernal.
[] Write-in.
You breathe deeply of the cool morning air as you trek towards Havenwood's main gates. The coolness of it was refreshing, and while others might complain about the humidity, you could never find yourself particularly bothered by such things. The coming storm would be nasty, yes, but any sensible creature takes cover during a storm, just as any sensible creature should know to enjoy what its passing did to the taste of the air, the scent of wet greenery, and the sound of water dripping pitter-patter from leaf to branch to forest floor.
So rather than in spite of the overcast day, you found yourself happy because of it. Of course, your mood soured just slightly as it always did when you approached Havenwood's walls, and you began to brace yourself for the not so subtle stares and irritating smells of too many fires and too many people crowded too close together. Objectively, you knew it wasn't so bad as all that, but you just weren't one to like any kind of crowd. You wonder if-
"Sariel!"
You hear a loud shout from far behind you and turn in interest. You think- yes. That's Meriele a couple hundred feet back, shouting at you. You were always mildly impressed by her ability to be the loudest thing withing a mile radius of herself; as you had learned to both of your chagrin when she had talked you into taking her along when you went hunting once. Exactly once. Despite her inability to do anything at a volume quieter than a stampede of elephants however, the two of you got along well. She was one of the few people your age who didn't make a big deal over you being a half elf. That being so, it was no particular hardship for you to spend a minute waiting for her to catch up.
As you do, you observe her. Of course her curly red hair stood out at any distance, but what's really surprising about her is the chain-mail and scabbard with a sword in it she's wearing. As she draws closer, you notice something else surprising. Where normally Meriele was clumsy and perhaps best described as 'a gangly mess' here she seemed almost... graceful. Something about seeing her with armor and a weapon seems to fit her. Make her more herself in a way you can't quite describe.
...And then she trips into a muddy puddle about twenty feet from you and the moment is gone. With a sigh you let go of the burlap sack you had been dragging the deer you killed to town in and walk over quickly and extend a hand as she begins to get up. Her trousers are now entirely coated in mud, but she doesn't really seem to care, and if you judged someone over muddy clothes you would first need to stop crawling through it when tracking game every other day. Meriele at least has the grace to seem slightly embarrassed as she brushes herself off. She really only succeeds in spreading the mud around a bit.
With a raised eyebrow, you nod your head at her scabbard, asking a question wordlessly and as you retrieve your deer.
"Huh? Oh! The sword, yeah! Isn't it so cool? I mean, of course it is, and oh wow I am so lucky I put it back in the scabbard before I fell. Man can you imagine? That would be like the most embarrassing way to injure yourself ever. And I should know- I've injured myself a lot over the years. Actually, speaking of that reminds me of..." You just smile to yourself and nod at the appropriate places as Meriele speaks. You had long had it as a personal experiment to see if it was actually physically possible for her to run out of things to talk about in a conversation without input from the other person involved. You had yet to see it happen.
The rest of the walk to Havenwood's gates is filled with the comfortable sound of Meriele's chatter. Along the way, you think you gather the gist of the reason she had the sword and armor. You mull it over. It was odd, but you kind of feel bad about Meriele having to give up the sword when she enjoyed it so much. Just before you reach the gate, you finally interrupt her.
"You know Meri, you could borrow one of my swords later if you want to practice how to use one." There's a sudden silence after your sentence, and as you turn to give her a raised eyebrow, you're interrupted by her practically tackling you with a hug and shouting "Thank you thank you thank you!" at the top of her lungs.
You are somewhat inured to Meriele's preferred methods of expressing her emotions, so you merely suffer stoically until she stops. You are very glad you had the wisdom to say that before you entered town and caused everyone in sight to stare at you even more than they already did.
The town gates are open as always, and the one bored guard on duty just gives the two of you a lazy wave as you enter, not even bothering to comment on how mud covered both of you are. Really, you think it's expected of you by this point. As you walk towards your destination of the butcher's shop, you comment again to Meriele.
"Weren't you going to sell those to the militia?"
"Ah, well, I wouldn't want to interrupt the guard on duty to talk about it you know, and he probably doesn't have the authority to buy them anyways, so I'll just go to the mayor's office later to talk to someone about it." You almost think she's going to continue, but for once she leaves a finished sentence well enough alone and the two of you walk for another minute until you reach the butcher's shop, close as it to the front gates of the town.
Surprisingly the butcher's shop is closed. You frown at the locked door and the sign confirming its purpose before stepping closer to the door and staring through the small window in it. No one inside that you can see, and no one that you can hear either.
"Huh. Weird. Thomas always has his shop open by now." Meriele says and you can't help but agree. Well, regardless, there was nothing much you could do about it.
"Well, we could drop the deer off with Harrison at the tannery across the way and go deal with your sword and armor." You suggest, not wanting to lug a whole deer around all day. It was already starting to tire you out a bit.
Meriele doesn't look particularly enthused about the idea, and suggests instead that the two of you just wait here until Thomas gets back. You think for a moment.
"Well, we could just ask Harrison where Thomas is. He probably knows, the two of them are practically best friends." You suggest. Meriele looks surprised at that.
"Really, those two always seem like they hate each other whenever I come over here with you?" She says.
"Nah, that's just how they express their friendship."
With that, the two of you take the short walk to the tannery to find Harrison looking to be in the process of just unlocking his own door.
"Opening up late today too?" You call as you approach. He startles slightly as you call out, dropping his keys, before picking them up again and giving a laugh.
"Oh, Sariel it's just you. I swear you move quietly enough to cover up Meriele's loudness." He shakes his head before continuing, the slightly rotund man still chuckling as he sorts through his keys again to find the right one. "Yeah, I conned Thomas into helping my sister-in-law fix her table after he lost a bet last night, so he'll probably be out of his store for a while yet." He notices your deer. "I could hold on to that for you until he gets back so you aren't stuck waiting around all morning if you like?"
Meriele groans and you just just give a gracious "Thank you" at his suggestion. Prodding Meriele along, the two of you head for the mayor's office off the town's main square.
Just as you're passing the chapel, mere feet from the turn into the town square however, you hear a high-pitched scream from inside it. You and Meriele both snap your gazes toward it, and before you can even blink, she's charged for the chapel's doors. You curse and follow after, only moments behind as she bursts through, slamming the doors open.
When you enter, you are greeted by the most horrifying sight you've ever seen in your short nineteen years. Father Johnathan has been cut open upon the altar, entrails splayed. His blood has been used to paint sigils that you recognize as infernal, but you're too far away to read it. Beyond the clear runes drawn in his blood, there are even more, along with the carcasses of chickens. It's grisly. At the small side door to the chapel stands Amelia Smith, the priestess of Pelor in training, with her hands covering her mouth in horror. In front of the altar holding a bloody knife and looking somewhat dazed stands Melech, that tiefling who worked at the herbalist's shop.
You surely only have a couple of seconds before more people arrive, drawn by Amelia's scream. What do you do?
[] Attack Melech. Clearly he killed Father Johnathan!
[] Move to protect Amelia. If Father Johnathan was killed, she might be next.
[] Read the sigils in infernal.
[] Write-in.
Portents of a Storm
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
A tie, but I'll err on the side of the vote to restrain Melech winning given the Attack Melech vote is close enough to that. Also, I don't want to wait around on a tiebreaker.
[x] Restrain Melech, or at least make them drop the knife. You can sort this out later, once no one is holding sharp and possibly lethal objects.
You act on snap judgement. Reading the sigils in infernal can wait. Much as you hate to think about it, the blood isn't going anywhere fast. Right now, the important thing is getting that dagger out of Melechs' hands and making sure he can't hurt anyone. You look at Meriele and the two of you exchange a nod, then charge him.
You expect him to fight back, but when Meriele tackles him to the ground with a yell, the dagger just clatters out of his hands and he lets out a startled yelp as you kick it out of his reach and pull a length of rope out of the pack you carry to tie him up with. Just as his hands are restrained, he finally begins to struggle and yell, his previous dazed look vanishing from his face.
"I didn't do it! I just- I had to pick up the knife! The voice told me to!" He says, yelling as he struggles, voice slightly muffled by the way his face is pressed against the ground due to Meriele holding him down. You think you're a fair judge of character and he doesn't seem to be lying but you aren't really confident enough to be sure. Regardless, before you can come to a decision one way or another as to whether or not you believe him, Amelia walks up to you and then kneels down in front of Melech, whispering what sounds like a prayer under her breath and holding her fist tightly against her chest.
"Answer me yes or no Melech. Did you kill Father Johnathan?" She asks, almost a perfect picture of serene grace, a far cry from what you saw moments ago. After a moment you can tell it's just a facade though- her knuckles are white as she clenches her fists, and though her voice is free of any tremor, you can see the hand not pressed to her chest shaking slightly. Melech though suddenly stills his struggles as he meets her gaze.
"No." He says with a whisper. After a moment Amelia nods, before catching herself and tilting her head then with a suddenness that startles all three of the rest of you speaks a single word with such forcefulness that even for you, not the focus of her attention, it feels like a divine command.
"Lie." She says.
"I mean yes! Yes I killed him!" Melech blurts out with no pause at all, before looking horrified and sick. An expression somewhere between intense sorrow and thankfulness then crosses Amelia face as she leans back on her hands, tension for the moment gone from her body.
"Thank Pelor," she says, "He didn't do it."
"Uh. What? He just confessed!" Meriele shouts back, incredulous. Amelia shakes her head quickly in response.
"I commanded him to lie about it. He had to. If he had said 'No' again that would have meant he really had done it, but since he said 'Yes' that means he didn't." Amelia says. Meriele just looks doubtfully at Amelia before glancing at you. You just shrug and gesture at Amelia, as if to say 'She would know.'
Just then, two guards burst through the front doors and all four of you have a lot of explaining to do.
[x] Restrain Melech, or at least make them drop the knife. You can sort this out later, once no one is holding sharp and possibly lethal objects.
You act on snap judgement. Reading the sigils in infernal can wait. Much as you hate to think about it, the blood isn't going anywhere fast. Right now, the important thing is getting that dagger out of Melechs' hands and making sure he can't hurt anyone. You look at Meriele and the two of you exchange a nod, then charge him.
You expect him to fight back, but when Meriele tackles him to the ground with a yell, the dagger just clatters out of his hands and he lets out a startled yelp as you kick it out of his reach and pull a length of rope out of the pack you carry to tie him up with. Just as his hands are restrained, he finally begins to struggle and yell, his previous dazed look vanishing from his face.
"I didn't do it! I just- I had to pick up the knife! The voice told me to!" He says, yelling as he struggles, voice slightly muffled by the way his face is pressed against the ground due to Meriele holding him down. You think you're a fair judge of character and he doesn't seem to be lying but you aren't really confident enough to be sure. Regardless, before you can come to a decision one way or another as to whether or not you believe him, Amelia walks up to you and then kneels down in front of Melech, whispering what sounds like a prayer under her breath and holding her fist tightly against her chest.
"Answer me yes or no Melech. Did you kill Father Johnathan?" She asks, almost a perfect picture of serene grace, a far cry from what you saw moments ago. After a moment you can tell it's just a facade though- her knuckles are white as she clenches her fists, and though her voice is free of any tremor, you can see the hand not pressed to her chest shaking slightly. Melech though suddenly stills his struggles as he meets her gaze.
"No." He says with a whisper. After a moment Amelia nods, before catching herself and tilting her head then with a suddenness that startles all three of the rest of you speaks a single word with such forcefulness that even for you, not the focus of her attention, it feels like a divine command.
"Lie." She says.
"I mean yes! Yes I killed him!" Melech blurts out with no pause at all, before looking horrified and sick. An expression somewhere between intense sorrow and thankfulness then crosses Amelia face as she leans back on her hands, tension for the moment gone from her body.
"Thank Pelor," she says, "He didn't do it."
"Uh. What? He just confessed!" Meriele shouts back, incredulous. Amelia shakes her head quickly in response.
"I commanded him to lie about it. He had to. If he had said 'No' again that would have meant he really had done it, but since he said 'Yes' that means he didn't." Amelia says. Meriele just looks doubtfully at Amelia before glancing at you. You just shrug and gesture at Amelia, as if to say 'She would know.'
Just then, two guards burst through the front doors and all four of you have a lot of explaining to do.
---
The next hour and a half is a whirlwind of dealing with the guards and shocked townspeople as word of Father Johnathan's murder spreads. Luckily for Melech, Amelia's staunch defense of his honesty (probably helped by the fact that the guards didn't see him holding the bloody dagger) carried a lot of weight, her being a cleric and well known around town for helping Father Johnathan heal broken bones and others wounds when the need arose. In the end, though rumors have spread like wildfire about his involvement, he is ultimately not in any danger of being blamed for the murder.
Which, of course, left the question as to who really did it. Melech's only descriptors for the voice he had heard were 'male' and 'impossible to disobey' which wasn't much help. All the guards really had to go on was that someone capable of using magic was the culprit. Unfortunately, there weren't exactly many people in Havenwood who fit those criteria. Old Damia the herbalist might have been able to cast a spell like that, but she was both female and cared about Melech enough that her trying to frame him seemed unlikely. A couple other people around town capable of casting minor cantrips were questioned, but ultimately nothing came of it and they were all found to have solid alibis. At the moment, it just seemed like an awful mystery.
Even the sigils written in infernal with blood hadn't turned out to be much help, frightening as they were. They were all mostly saying something about 'seals being lifted' and 'the return of our dread master' and things in that vein. Scary stuff, and you had told the milita, but not particularly helpful for determining the psychopath's next move. The militia had sent a pair of riders on horseback off to Dawngate, the nearest city, but that was a day away. The murderer could easily kill again before proper help capable of dealing with a rogue mage arrived.
The four of you are finally finished answering questions for the guard and are currently in the downstairs tavern portion of the town's singular but fair sized in, the Stalwart Ally. Kind of a weird name, but Vincent always made the joke that a tavern with good ale was the one thing anyone could really count on. You weren't really one for drinking so you weren't sure you agreed, but most people seemed to think it was a great idea. Regardless of his naming choices, Vincent had proved a good friend by letting the group of you into the tavern a bit before it's normal lunchtime opening and offering you all a meal 'on the house'. After he brings it out, he pauses a moment to offer his condolences.
"Father Jonathan was a good man," he says, looking between Amelia as she nods quietly and Melech as he stares down at the table and plays with something small and sparkling between his fingers. "We're all poorer for his loss," he continues, the rest of you giving murmurs of agreement before he goes back to his work of readying the tavern to open up properly for lunch.
You all each lunch somewhat quietly, even Meriele subdued enough to only make a few halting attempts at starting conversation, Amelia looking to be contemplating something quietly as she rubs her holy symbol with one hand absently, and Melech still looked like he was trying to avoid being sick as he ate. You, for your part just try to be respectfully quiet, shushing Meriele when she tries too hard to start conversation. You may not have known Father Johnathan as well as Amelia or Melech, but the few times you had met him, he had never so much as commented on you being a half-elf or your mother's affair, and that meant a great deal in your books.
Finally, after all four of you have finished lunch Melech suddenly slams his fist down on the wooden table and says with a voice like the crackle of embers, "We have to find whoever did this and stop them!"
You, Meriele, and Amelia all react differently to his exclamation. Meriele seems immediately eager, already agreeing. Amelia voices caution a moment later, suggesting that they consider the danger, looking to you for support as she speaks. You... you think for a moment, before saying in a quiet and deadly serious tone of voice, "Yes. We should." You raise a hand to forestall both Meriele's eager affirmation and Amelia's vehement dissent.
"Listen. Whoever did this isn't going to stop. You didn't read the writing in infernal like I did. It was something about some 'dark master' being released or revived, and from what it said about the 'first seal' being undone, I can't imagine that there won't be more murders. Yes, it will be dangerous, but so will be letting them finish whatever plan they have, and we can't assume that the authorities from Dawngate will get here fast enough. We need to do something."
Amelia and Meriele are silenced for the moment, and Melech looks to you gratefully. You're about to continue before you are interrupted by a loud clanking and then a male voice from the stairs behind you.
"I couldn't agree more," he says, and as you turn you can see a man in polished plate mail with a shield on his back and a sword and crossbow at either hip. He had his helmet tucked under one arm as he spoke and his face looked rugged and worn, with a scar down one cheek. His black hair looked like it could do with a thorough washing, and he gave off a weary but ready air. All of you look at him in surprise. He definitely wasn't anyone you knew, and glancing at Amelia and Melech you're pretty sure he wasn't someone from around here at all if those two looked just as mystified as you did about who he was.
Vincent finishes setting up chairs around a table on the other side of the room before hurrying over to interject himself into the conversation.
"Ah, this is Sir Hartland," he introduces the man. "He's a knight from Dawngate and an old friend of mine that came to visit a few days ago."
"Indeed, and a good thing too," Sir Hartland says before continuing. "I'm going to find whoever murdered that poor priest and put an end to them. You can put your faith in that. You kids should just stay safe until then." With that, the man swiftly exits the tavern, putting on his helmet as he goes.
"Sorry, he can be a little brusque," Vincent apologizes.
What is your plan for finding the Murderer?
[] Go see Damia, the Herbalist. She might have some magic way to help.
[] Ask around town if anyone has seen anything unusual. It's a longshot, but at least Amelia's reputation should make most people talkative.
[] Visit the library in the Mayor's office. It's small, but had a lot on the demon Saint Olivia killed here decades ago. Maybe you could find some connection to the writing in infernal you found?
[] Follow after Sir Hartland. He might not want you along, but he was probably going to be doing something useful.
[] Go back to the scene of the crime and see if you can find any more clues.
[] Write-in.
Which, of course, left the question as to who really did it. Melech's only descriptors for the voice he had heard were 'male' and 'impossible to disobey' which wasn't much help. All the guards really had to go on was that someone capable of using magic was the culprit. Unfortunately, there weren't exactly many people in Havenwood who fit those criteria. Old Damia the herbalist might have been able to cast a spell like that, but she was both female and cared about Melech enough that her trying to frame him seemed unlikely. A couple other people around town capable of casting minor cantrips were questioned, but ultimately nothing came of it and they were all found to have solid alibis. At the moment, it just seemed like an awful mystery.
Even the sigils written in infernal with blood hadn't turned out to be much help, frightening as they were. They were all mostly saying something about 'seals being lifted' and 'the return of our dread master' and things in that vein. Scary stuff, and you had told the milita, but not particularly helpful for determining the psychopath's next move. The militia had sent a pair of riders on horseback off to Dawngate, the nearest city, but that was a day away. The murderer could easily kill again before proper help capable of dealing with a rogue mage arrived.
The four of you are finally finished answering questions for the guard and are currently in the downstairs tavern portion of the town's singular but fair sized in, the Stalwart Ally. Kind of a weird name, but Vincent always made the joke that a tavern with good ale was the one thing anyone could really count on. You weren't really one for drinking so you weren't sure you agreed, but most people seemed to think it was a great idea. Regardless of his naming choices, Vincent had proved a good friend by letting the group of you into the tavern a bit before it's normal lunchtime opening and offering you all a meal 'on the house'. After he brings it out, he pauses a moment to offer his condolences.
"Father Jonathan was a good man," he says, looking between Amelia as she nods quietly and Melech as he stares down at the table and plays with something small and sparkling between his fingers. "We're all poorer for his loss," he continues, the rest of you giving murmurs of agreement before he goes back to his work of readying the tavern to open up properly for lunch.
You all each lunch somewhat quietly, even Meriele subdued enough to only make a few halting attempts at starting conversation, Amelia looking to be contemplating something quietly as she rubs her holy symbol with one hand absently, and Melech still looked like he was trying to avoid being sick as he ate. You, for your part just try to be respectfully quiet, shushing Meriele when she tries too hard to start conversation. You may not have known Father Johnathan as well as Amelia or Melech, but the few times you had met him, he had never so much as commented on you being a half-elf or your mother's affair, and that meant a great deal in your books.
Finally, after all four of you have finished lunch Melech suddenly slams his fist down on the wooden table and says with a voice like the crackle of embers, "We have to find whoever did this and stop them!"
You, Meriele, and Amelia all react differently to his exclamation. Meriele seems immediately eager, already agreeing. Amelia voices caution a moment later, suggesting that they consider the danger, looking to you for support as she speaks. You... you think for a moment, before saying in a quiet and deadly serious tone of voice, "Yes. We should." You raise a hand to forestall both Meriele's eager affirmation and Amelia's vehement dissent.
"Listen. Whoever did this isn't going to stop. You didn't read the writing in infernal like I did. It was something about some 'dark master' being released or revived, and from what it said about the 'first seal' being undone, I can't imagine that there won't be more murders. Yes, it will be dangerous, but so will be letting them finish whatever plan they have, and we can't assume that the authorities from Dawngate will get here fast enough. We need to do something."
Amelia and Meriele are silenced for the moment, and Melech looks to you gratefully. You're about to continue before you are interrupted by a loud clanking and then a male voice from the stairs behind you.
"I couldn't agree more," he says, and as you turn you can see a man in polished plate mail with a shield on his back and a sword and crossbow at either hip. He had his helmet tucked under one arm as he spoke and his face looked rugged and worn, with a scar down one cheek. His black hair looked like it could do with a thorough washing, and he gave off a weary but ready air. All of you look at him in surprise. He definitely wasn't anyone you knew, and glancing at Amelia and Melech you're pretty sure he wasn't someone from around here at all if those two looked just as mystified as you did about who he was.
Vincent finishes setting up chairs around a table on the other side of the room before hurrying over to interject himself into the conversation.
"Ah, this is Sir Hartland," he introduces the man. "He's a knight from Dawngate and an old friend of mine that came to visit a few days ago."
"Indeed, and a good thing too," Sir Hartland says before continuing. "I'm going to find whoever murdered that poor priest and put an end to them. You can put your faith in that. You kids should just stay safe until then." With that, the man swiftly exits the tavern, putting on his helmet as he goes.
"Sorry, he can be a little brusque," Vincent apologizes.
What is your plan for finding the Murderer?
[] Go see Damia, the Herbalist. She might have some magic way to help.
[] Ask around town if anyone has seen anything unusual. It's a longshot, but at least Amelia's reputation should make most people talkative.
[] Visit the library in the Mayor's office. It's small, but had a lot on the demon Saint Olivia killed here decades ago. Maybe you could find some connection to the writing in infernal you found?
[] Follow after Sir Hartland. He might not want you along, but he was probably going to be doing something useful.
[] Go back to the scene of the crime and see if you can find any more clues.
[] Write-in.
Restraining Melech was a good call. If you had gone to investigate the sigils first, he would have run off and cast disguise self, which would have caused a lot of problems. Also, you might want to check the "Current time" on the front page. It's been... Updated.
Bolt from the Blue
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Visit the library in the Mayor's office. It's small, but had a lot on the demon Saint Olivia killed here decades ago. Maybe you could find some connection to the writing in infernal you found?
After much argument among yourselves and the occasional worried interruption from Vincent warning you against putting yourselves in danger, the four of you decide that your best move is to head to the library and see if anything useful turned up- your fundamental problem was that you just didn't have enough to go off of at the moment. With that decided, you bid the Stalwart Ally and Vincent farewell for the moment and head for the mayor's office.
Stepping outside, you see that during your lunch the sky had let forth a brief torrent of water, leaving the streets muddy and filled with puddles. You and Meriele didn't mind that much, already being somewhat mud covered and thoroughly used to dealing with it, but Melech complained about getting it on his robes and Amelia spent a lot of time stepping carefully between drier areas and around wet spots, trailing slightly behind the rest of you as she did so. Meriele makes a few jokes at her expense about it, but they're halfhearted at best, and even Melech's complaining soon withers under the force of the stares he in particular receives from the few townsfolk still outside after the downpour. Nature, it seems, has decided to reflect the mood of the town today.
You think a brief prayer for Father Johnathan's soul as you once again pass the chapel on your way to the mayor's office and the library.
The mayor's office is perhaps an overlarge and overdecorated building for a town of the size of Havenwood. It is made of wood and stone, well built and meant to last the test of time. It resides off of the town square, which, in the same vein as the building would be considered extremely ostentatious for any other town of this size. Indeed, the fountain in the center of it, with its beautifully carved statue of Saint Olivia slaying the demon would not be out of place in a major city. Such decorations speak to Havenwood's roots as a town started in commemoration of a land made prosperous and free of the blight of the demon that once inhabited it. Today, the town square and the fountain are just as beautiful and well made as ever, but for once you find your eyes drawn not to the figure of Saint Olivia, but to the figure of the demon pinned beneath her spear. You doubt that the statue is anything more than an artist's imagination, but even so the stone figure with its jagged horns and screeching mouth filled with hideous and misshapen fangs fills you with trepidation to look at. As you walk past, you do your best not to imagine sightless eyes of stone following behind you as you go.
With no great ceremony, you enter the mayor's office and, somewhat to your surprise, find the mayor himself sitting at a small table in the entry room. The mayor, Eliot, is a somewhat young bookish man. He wears fine clothes, but always in somewhat subdued colors, and is never one for any kind of jewelry or ornamentation beyond the thin rimmed glasses he always has perched precariously on the edge of his nose. What's surprising about seeing him in the entry room to the building like this is that he has a much better appointed office in the building with a proper desk and rather nice chairs; not to mention much better lighting from the large glass window in that room. He looks up and closes his book, placing a bookmark, as the four of you enter.
"What are you doing out here?" You ask, somewhat bemused as to why he's not in his actual office. You didn't much understand the point of having an office to begin with, and if he wasn't even going to use it, you could only feel slightly validated in your point of view.
"Ah. I thought that it would perhaps... Send more of an image of... Togetherness. In these trying times that is. If I am right here for the town to engage with, that is much better than the formal setting of... my official place of office as it were." He... eventually gets around to saying. You can feel Meriele's eyes glazing over as he speaks. You hadn't really interacted with the man before, but if this is the way he always speaks you're kind of glad for it.
"Well thank you for the gesture," Amelia chimes in politely from behind you, "We just wanted to take a look at some of the books in the library if you don't mind?"
"Oh, certainly, certainly. Just remember to, ah, check in with me before you take them anywhere. I'm missing a few lately, and while I'm sure their... absence... is unintentional, I would rather avoid any more, ah, losses. To my- that is, the town's, collection."
Amelia steps up besides you at that and the two of you share a glance.
"And what books are missing?" You ask, hoping they were innocuous, but knowing that there was no way they were.
"Oh, the missing books? Hmmmm, well quite a few honestly, but the one that really has me, ah, upset, is a rare volume in celestial I had borrowed from the Dawngate library. It was written by Saint Olivia, and I was, ah, hoping that I might provide some key quotes translated for the upcoming festival. What really has me, er, confused is that I'm not sure who in town besides myself and the late Father Johnathan can actually read celestial..."
"I can," Amelia speaks up, "Father Johnathan made me learn." Eliot looks like he's going to say something to that as he shifts slightly in his chair, but you quickly interrupt.
"What was in the book?" You ask.
"Ah, well, I had not finished translating it by the time it was... misplaced... but from what I read and the description I was given, it was a bit of a, hmm, memoir from the saint herself. Telling her story from her own perspective as it were."
You and Amelia exchange another glance. Depending on what things the saint had chosen to include in that 'memoir' it being missing could be bad.
"Well, thank you for your time," You say as you continue into the next room and then to the small library, the others following after you.
"Oh yes. Good day to you. Er well..." He says.
The library itself is a medium sized room with a table and a single chair in the middle. You don't exactly have much experience with libraries yourself, but Melech and Amelia seem to know what they're doing as they quickly start looking at the spines of books and directing you and Meriele on how to best help. The smell of so much ink and parchment in one place is not something you enjoy, but you put your mild distaste aside for the moment as you quickly pull out and skim likely books.
After about 45 minutes, you've learned a few things. The first of them was that Havenwood was not in fact, built on the exact spot where Saint Olivia killed the demon, that spot was about a mile away on the edge of the forest. It was a hill you and Meriele had been to before. The second was that the demon was not dead. If Saint Olivia had killed it on the Prime Material Plane where she fought it, it would have simply eventually reformed in the Nine Hells and come back. Instead, the saint had cast an incredibly powerful spell, sealing the demon away where it could do no harm. The third thing you learn is that the day the festival is held on is not the exact date the demon was killed. Doing the math on what the actual day is relative to the current calendar is a bit beyond any of you, but you would bet a great deal of money that it was today.
That's as far as your research gets before you hear the front door slam open and Eliot lets out a loud yelp before running past the door to the library at high speed. Pursuing him is a figure in black robes. A moment later before any of you can react, another black robed figure appears at the door to the library, and you think you can hear more behind them. Your suspicions are confirmed a moment later as a voice screeches "Kill them!"
This is bad. How do you react?
[] Eliot is in trouble, send Meriele after the figure chasing him while the rest of you hold the others off.
[] Eliot is in trouble, but you can't afford to risk someone getting surrounded if they run off to help them. Amelia and Melech can try to take out the figure chasing him with magic before he's hurt.
[] You can't worry about Eliot right now, you need to focus on the figures coming after you.
[] Write-in.
For those of you who want to write in using more mechanics, I'll let you know that Melech is a sorcerer with a draconic bloodline (gold). He has disguise self and burning hands. His cantrips are Fire bolt, prestidigitation, dancing lights, and minor illusion. Amelia is a Tempest domain cleric with her domain spells (obviously) and Command, Healing Word, Guiding Bolt, and Shield of Faith prepared. Her cantrips are Sacred Flame, Thaumaturgy, and Guidance. She's a variant human with the War Caster feat. Meriele is also a variant human- she has the Lucky feat. Also, don't be afraid to write in non mechanical tactics as well!
After much argument among yourselves and the occasional worried interruption from Vincent warning you against putting yourselves in danger, the four of you decide that your best move is to head to the library and see if anything useful turned up- your fundamental problem was that you just didn't have enough to go off of at the moment. With that decided, you bid the Stalwart Ally and Vincent farewell for the moment and head for the mayor's office.
Stepping outside, you see that during your lunch the sky had let forth a brief torrent of water, leaving the streets muddy and filled with puddles. You and Meriele didn't mind that much, already being somewhat mud covered and thoroughly used to dealing with it, but Melech complained about getting it on his robes and Amelia spent a lot of time stepping carefully between drier areas and around wet spots, trailing slightly behind the rest of you as she did so. Meriele makes a few jokes at her expense about it, but they're halfhearted at best, and even Melech's complaining soon withers under the force of the stares he in particular receives from the few townsfolk still outside after the downpour. Nature, it seems, has decided to reflect the mood of the town today.
You think a brief prayer for Father Johnathan's soul as you once again pass the chapel on your way to the mayor's office and the library.
The mayor's office is perhaps an overlarge and overdecorated building for a town of the size of Havenwood. It is made of wood and stone, well built and meant to last the test of time. It resides off of the town square, which, in the same vein as the building would be considered extremely ostentatious for any other town of this size. Indeed, the fountain in the center of it, with its beautifully carved statue of Saint Olivia slaying the demon would not be out of place in a major city. Such decorations speak to Havenwood's roots as a town started in commemoration of a land made prosperous and free of the blight of the demon that once inhabited it. Today, the town square and the fountain are just as beautiful and well made as ever, but for once you find your eyes drawn not to the figure of Saint Olivia, but to the figure of the demon pinned beneath her spear. You doubt that the statue is anything more than an artist's imagination, but even so the stone figure with its jagged horns and screeching mouth filled with hideous and misshapen fangs fills you with trepidation to look at. As you walk past, you do your best not to imagine sightless eyes of stone following behind you as you go.
With no great ceremony, you enter the mayor's office and, somewhat to your surprise, find the mayor himself sitting at a small table in the entry room. The mayor, Eliot, is a somewhat young bookish man. He wears fine clothes, but always in somewhat subdued colors, and is never one for any kind of jewelry or ornamentation beyond the thin rimmed glasses he always has perched precariously on the edge of his nose. What's surprising about seeing him in the entry room to the building like this is that he has a much better appointed office in the building with a proper desk and rather nice chairs; not to mention much better lighting from the large glass window in that room. He looks up and closes his book, placing a bookmark, as the four of you enter.
"What are you doing out here?" You ask, somewhat bemused as to why he's not in his actual office. You didn't much understand the point of having an office to begin with, and if he wasn't even going to use it, you could only feel slightly validated in your point of view.
"Ah. I thought that it would perhaps... Send more of an image of... Togetherness. In these trying times that is. If I am right here for the town to engage with, that is much better than the formal setting of... my official place of office as it were." He... eventually gets around to saying. You can feel Meriele's eyes glazing over as he speaks. You hadn't really interacted with the man before, but if this is the way he always speaks you're kind of glad for it.
"Well thank you for the gesture," Amelia chimes in politely from behind you, "We just wanted to take a look at some of the books in the library if you don't mind?"
"Oh, certainly, certainly. Just remember to, ah, check in with me before you take them anywhere. I'm missing a few lately, and while I'm sure their... absence... is unintentional, I would rather avoid any more, ah, losses. To my- that is, the town's, collection."
Amelia steps up besides you at that and the two of you share a glance.
"And what books are missing?" You ask, hoping they were innocuous, but knowing that there was no way they were.
"Oh, the missing books? Hmmmm, well quite a few honestly, but the one that really has me, ah, upset, is a rare volume in celestial I had borrowed from the Dawngate library. It was written by Saint Olivia, and I was, ah, hoping that I might provide some key quotes translated for the upcoming festival. What really has me, er, confused is that I'm not sure who in town besides myself and the late Father Johnathan can actually read celestial..."
"I can," Amelia speaks up, "Father Johnathan made me learn." Eliot looks like he's going to say something to that as he shifts slightly in his chair, but you quickly interrupt.
"What was in the book?" You ask.
"Ah, well, I had not finished translating it by the time it was... misplaced... but from what I read and the description I was given, it was a bit of a, hmm, memoir from the saint herself. Telling her story from her own perspective as it were."
You and Amelia exchange another glance. Depending on what things the saint had chosen to include in that 'memoir' it being missing could be bad.
"Well, thank you for your time," You say as you continue into the next room and then to the small library, the others following after you.
"Oh yes. Good day to you. Er well..." He says.
The library itself is a medium sized room with a table and a single chair in the middle. You don't exactly have much experience with libraries yourself, but Melech and Amelia seem to know what they're doing as they quickly start looking at the spines of books and directing you and Meriele on how to best help. The smell of so much ink and parchment in one place is not something you enjoy, but you put your mild distaste aside for the moment as you quickly pull out and skim likely books.
After about 45 minutes, you've learned a few things. The first of them was that Havenwood was not in fact, built on the exact spot where Saint Olivia killed the demon, that spot was about a mile away on the edge of the forest. It was a hill you and Meriele had been to before. The second was that the demon was not dead. If Saint Olivia had killed it on the Prime Material Plane where she fought it, it would have simply eventually reformed in the Nine Hells and come back. Instead, the saint had cast an incredibly powerful spell, sealing the demon away where it could do no harm. The third thing you learn is that the day the festival is held on is not the exact date the demon was killed. Doing the math on what the actual day is relative to the current calendar is a bit beyond any of you, but you would bet a great deal of money that it was today.
That's as far as your research gets before you hear the front door slam open and Eliot lets out a loud yelp before running past the door to the library at high speed. Pursuing him is a figure in black robes. A moment later before any of you can react, another black robed figure appears at the door to the library, and you think you can hear more behind them. Your suspicions are confirmed a moment later as a voice screeches "Kill them!"
This is bad. How do you react?
[] Eliot is in trouble, send Meriele after the figure chasing him while the rest of you hold the others off.
[] Eliot is in trouble, but you can't afford to risk someone getting surrounded if they run off to help them. Amelia and Melech can try to take out the figure chasing him with magic before he's hurt.
[] You can't worry about Eliot right now, you need to focus on the figures coming after you.
[] Write-in.
For those of you who want to write in using more mechanics, I'll let you know that Melech is a sorcerer with a draconic bloodline (gold). He has disguise self and burning hands. His cantrips are Fire bolt, prestidigitation, dancing lights, and minor illusion. Amelia is a Tempest domain cleric with her domain spells (obviously) and Command, Healing Word, Guiding Bolt, and Shield of Faith prepared. Her cantrips are Sacred Flame, Thaumaturgy, and Guidance. She's a variant human with the War Caster feat. Meriele is also a variant human- she has the Lucky feat. Also, don't be afraid to write in non mechanical tactics as well!
Last edited:
Lightning Rods
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Eliot is in trouble, but you can't afford to risk someone getting surrounded if they run off to help them. Amelia and Melech can try to take out the figure chasing him with magic before he's hurt.
Surprisingly it's Melech who acts first, dropping the book he had in his hands without a second thought and running to get an angle on both the cultist standing in the doorway and the one chasing after Eliot as you move to pull your bow off your back, Meriele begins drawing her sword, and Amelia raises a hand. Melech's own hands come up, thumbs touching and fingers spread as he speaks a harsh, guttural word in a language you don't recognize. An instant later, a brilliant cone of flame shoots forth from his spread hands, washing down the corridor over both the cultist in the doorway and the one chasing Eliot, the column of fire just barely stopping before it would consume the fleeing mayor.
The cultists hesitate for a moment at this and Meriele, with casual disregard for the gout of flame that had occupied the space only a moment before, steps into the doorway and swings at the cultist in front of her with her blade, using their cringe back from the heat of the passing fire as an opening to bring it down on the figure in front of her, wielding it with both hands and giving a grunt of effort as she brings the blade down. The figure crumples immediately and Meriele stands ready at the doorway, ready to stop any any cultists from either passing her to get into the room or slipping past to get Eliot.
The fire of Melech's spell has left some of the wood along the walls and some loose paper and furniture ablaze, but none of you yet have the chance to do anything about it as the remaining cultists hesitate for a moment at three of their number being so swiftly dispatched, before the same figure from before screeches again, this time saying "The Mayor! Kill him! The others are of no consequence!"
In response, the remaining two cultists dash after Eliot, heedless of Meriele's position guarding the door. She strikes one of them down with another powerful two handed swing of her large sword, but the other rushes on, and as she pulls her blade back to prepare to swing again, the apparent leader of the group slips by as well in her moment of distraction, blade in each hand. To your horror, as you finally knock an arrow on your bow and maneuver beside Melech to get a clear shot on the black cloaked figures you see the first grab his shoulder and pull him back onto their waiting blade and the second follow up by stabbing him when he was down, trying to finish him off beyond the help of any normal healing magic. You draw back your arrow and let loose, hitting the apparent leader of the figures squarely in the back, but he doesn't even acknowledge what must be a painful wound as he brings his daggers up to strike Eliot again and finish him off once and for all.
Luckily, Amelia has finally maneuvered herself into a position where she can see the cultists, and with a beseeching hand raised and a plea for aid, a brilliant radiance descends from the ceiling and the leader is forced to dive backwards or be enveloped by it. Even as the two figures ready to attack again however, she speaks a word that you can feel call to every moment of warmth and comfort you've ever experienced, and between one moment and the next you see Eliot's wounds seal shut with a soft glow. The man gasps, and with a surge of desperate speed dives past the cultists and down along the hallway towards the four of you.
Melech curses, changing his hand gesture from the one that had previously created the cone of flame to a jabbing motion with a red finger and a different word, and this time only a small bolt of flame appears and spears towards the leader, the bolt of flame gleaming like molten gold as it spears straight through the leader's back.
The final cultist seems to waver, but before they have a chance to make a move one way or another, Meriele sprints forward past the staggering figure of Eliot, once more swinging her great sword in a deadly arc, just dodged by the cultist as he leaps back, but luckily his dodge places him in just the right position that a swift change in direction brings the pommel of Meriele's blade into perfect alignment with his head, knocking him out cold.
The four of you still for a moment as Eliot pants and clutches his chest before all of you look at the small flames starting to spread along the corridor. Melech curses again and begins making rapid gestures with his hands, pointing at small sections of flames and muttering words under his breath that cause them to extinguish themselves, and the rest of you help by quickly stamping down on and patting out any other stray bits of fire let over from Melech's magic.
After about half a minute of this, the flames are extinguished and Eliot seems to have finally caught his breath, though he's still clutching his chest where just less than a minute before he had had a couple of grievous stab wounds.
"Hah, hah," Eliot breathes in and out heavily. "Thank you- all of you, for, ah, saving me. You, uh, especially, Amelia." He spends another few moments breathing, and you glance about, then grab a nearby chair and offer it to him. He sits down gratefully before speaking again. "Ah, one of you, uh, fetch the guards will you. To deal with all of uh, this." He waves his hand vaguely at the hallways littered with the corpses of figures in black robes and the one unconscious one. Meriele runs to the front door and immediately starts yelling for help before anyone can react.
You meanwhile take the opportunity to look at the faces on the cultists, flipping them over and pulling back their hoods as need be. You only vaguely recognize them from around town, but Amelia and Eliot give little gasps of shock as you expose each new face. Finally, you reach the apparent leader of the cultists, flip him over and are shocked to find that he turns out to be Thomas, the butcher. You had never had more than a business relationship with the man, but he had always seemed friendly enough. Who else in town could secretly be part of this cult if he was?
In the aftermath of this attack, what do the four of you do?
[] Investigate Harrison, Thomas's friend. Surely he had to know something about this?
[] Investigate the homes of the other cultists.
[] Investigate the Chapel, see if there are any more clues you can find.
[] Go see Damia, the Herbalist. She might have some magic way to help.
[] Ask around town if anyone has seen anything unusual. It's a longshot, but at least Amelia's reputation should make most people talkative.
[] Continue investigating the Library, maybe there's more to find?
[] Wait for the unconscious cultist to wake up in order to question him.
[] Write-in
Do you do anything to further ensure Eliot's safety besides the presence of guards around him?
[] Find Sir Hartland and convince him to help guard Eliot.
[] Convince him to find somewhere to hide until things are dealt with.
[] Write-in
I actually rolled the vast majority of this out- mainly at first to determine whether or not Eliot died, but then because I realized it simplified my task of writing the fight scene a lot. Luckily for you guys, Melech won initiative and his pretty average damage roll on burning hands is enough to oneshot the cultists if they fail their dex save (which they did), Meriele rolled like a boss on her to hit and damage (though she did use one of her luck points to get the last hit in), and Amelia was able to cast Healing Word to bring Eliot back up before the cultists could make him fail more than two death saves.
Surprisingly it's Melech who acts first, dropping the book he had in his hands without a second thought and running to get an angle on both the cultist standing in the doorway and the one chasing after Eliot as you move to pull your bow off your back, Meriele begins drawing her sword, and Amelia raises a hand. Melech's own hands come up, thumbs touching and fingers spread as he speaks a harsh, guttural word in a language you don't recognize. An instant later, a brilliant cone of flame shoots forth from his spread hands, washing down the corridor over both the cultist in the doorway and the one chasing Eliot, the column of fire just barely stopping before it would consume the fleeing mayor.
The cultists hesitate for a moment at this and Meriele, with casual disregard for the gout of flame that had occupied the space only a moment before, steps into the doorway and swings at the cultist in front of her with her blade, using their cringe back from the heat of the passing fire as an opening to bring it down on the figure in front of her, wielding it with both hands and giving a grunt of effort as she brings the blade down. The figure crumples immediately and Meriele stands ready at the doorway, ready to stop any any cultists from either passing her to get into the room or slipping past to get Eliot.
The fire of Melech's spell has left some of the wood along the walls and some loose paper and furniture ablaze, but none of you yet have the chance to do anything about it as the remaining cultists hesitate for a moment at three of their number being so swiftly dispatched, before the same figure from before screeches again, this time saying "The Mayor! Kill him! The others are of no consequence!"
In response, the remaining two cultists dash after Eliot, heedless of Meriele's position guarding the door. She strikes one of them down with another powerful two handed swing of her large sword, but the other rushes on, and as she pulls her blade back to prepare to swing again, the apparent leader of the group slips by as well in her moment of distraction, blade in each hand. To your horror, as you finally knock an arrow on your bow and maneuver beside Melech to get a clear shot on the black cloaked figures you see the first grab his shoulder and pull him back onto their waiting blade and the second follow up by stabbing him when he was down, trying to finish him off beyond the help of any normal healing magic. You draw back your arrow and let loose, hitting the apparent leader of the figures squarely in the back, but he doesn't even acknowledge what must be a painful wound as he brings his daggers up to strike Eliot again and finish him off once and for all.
Luckily, Amelia has finally maneuvered herself into a position where she can see the cultists, and with a beseeching hand raised and a plea for aid, a brilliant radiance descends from the ceiling and the leader is forced to dive backwards or be enveloped by it. Even as the two figures ready to attack again however, she speaks a word that you can feel call to every moment of warmth and comfort you've ever experienced, and between one moment and the next you see Eliot's wounds seal shut with a soft glow. The man gasps, and with a surge of desperate speed dives past the cultists and down along the hallway towards the four of you.
Melech curses, changing his hand gesture from the one that had previously created the cone of flame to a jabbing motion with a red finger and a different word, and this time only a small bolt of flame appears and spears towards the leader, the bolt of flame gleaming like molten gold as it spears straight through the leader's back.
The final cultist seems to waver, but before they have a chance to make a move one way or another, Meriele sprints forward past the staggering figure of Eliot, once more swinging her great sword in a deadly arc, just dodged by the cultist as he leaps back, but luckily his dodge places him in just the right position that a swift change in direction brings the pommel of Meriele's blade into perfect alignment with his head, knocking him out cold.
The four of you still for a moment as Eliot pants and clutches his chest before all of you look at the small flames starting to spread along the corridor. Melech curses again and begins making rapid gestures with his hands, pointing at small sections of flames and muttering words under his breath that cause them to extinguish themselves, and the rest of you help by quickly stamping down on and patting out any other stray bits of fire let over from Melech's magic.
After about half a minute of this, the flames are extinguished and Eliot seems to have finally caught his breath, though he's still clutching his chest where just less than a minute before he had had a couple of grievous stab wounds.
"Hah, hah," Eliot breathes in and out heavily. "Thank you- all of you, for, ah, saving me. You, uh, especially, Amelia." He spends another few moments breathing, and you glance about, then grab a nearby chair and offer it to him. He sits down gratefully before speaking again. "Ah, one of you, uh, fetch the guards will you. To deal with all of uh, this." He waves his hand vaguely at the hallways littered with the corpses of figures in black robes and the one unconscious one. Meriele runs to the front door and immediately starts yelling for help before anyone can react.
You meanwhile take the opportunity to look at the faces on the cultists, flipping them over and pulling back their hoods as need be. You only vaguely recognize them from around town, but Amelia and Eliot give little gasps of shock as you expose each new face. Finally, you reach the apparent leader of the cultists, flip him over and are shocked to find that he turns out to be Thomas, the butcher. You had never had more than a business relationship with the man, but he had always seemed friendly enough. Who else in town could secretly be part of this cult if he was?
In the aftermath of this attack, what do the four of you do?
[] Investigate Harrison, Thomas's friend. Surely he had to know something about this?
[] Investigate the homes of the other cultists.
[] Investigate the Chapel, see if there are any more clues you can find.
[] Go see Damia, the Herbalist. She might have some magic way to help.
[] Ask around town if anyone has seen anything unusual. It's a longshot, but at least Amelia's reputation should make most people talkative.
[] Continue investigating the Library, maybe there's more to find?
[] Wait for the unconscious cultist to wake up in order to question him.
[] Write-in
Do you do anything to further ensure Eliot's safety besides the presence of guards around him?
[] Find Sir Hartland and convince him to help guard Eliot.
[] Convince him to find somewhere to hide until things are dealt with.
[] Write-in
I actually rolled the vast majority of this out- mainly at first to determine whether or not Eliot died, but then because I realized it simplified my task of writing the fight scene a lot. Luckily for you guys, Melech won initiative and his pretty average damage roll on burning hands is enough to oneshot the cultists if they fail their dex save (which they did), Meriele rolled like a boss on her to hit and damage (though she did use one of her luck points to get the last hit in), and Amelia was able to cast Healing Word to bring Eliot back up before the cultists could make him fail more than two death saves.
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Storm-Wracked
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Investigate the homes of the other cultists.
[X] Convince him to find somewhere to hide until things are dealt with.
Your eyes unfocus for a moment as you fall deep into thought. The revelation of Thomas's involvement in the cult was a shock. He had always been a friend to you- you would not have thought him capable of anything like this. Truthfully, for all that you've had bad experiences in town for most of your life due to your clearly visible elven blood, you never would have thought anyone in this town capable of such cold blooded murder. It's-
You are jarred out of your train of thought by Melech slamming his fist into a wall.
"I can't believe it." He says. You know what he means, and a quick glance between Amelia and Eliot shows that they do too. After a moment, Amelia speaks up.
"Shadows can hide from even the brightest of lights." It has the air of something quoted to you. Some bit of the scripture of Pelor. You suppose there's some wisdom in that but...
"But why?" You ask. "I just don't get it. Maybe we don't live like queens and kings here, but Havenwood is a nice town. There's no... There's nothing here that should make people turn to such evil, so why?!" You can't help it, raising your voice as you speak, pleading with one of the others to have an answer for you. It's just... So far beyond your understanding. You can't comprehend why anyone, let alone someone like Thomas would do this. And as you think that, there's another niggling doubt that crawls into your consciousness.
You turn to Eliot.
"You need to hide. They were after you specifically, and I very much doubt that this will be the end of it." You hesitate, before continuing. "I would say you should leave now, before Meriele even gets back with the guards but... We do need you to explain all of this." Eliot looks thoughtful for a moment, and opens his mouth as if to speak, but he is interrupted by the sound of the front door once more slamming open and the stamping of many feet as Meriele leads a small contingent of the town's guards into the building.
[X] Convince him to find somewhere to hide until things are dealt with.
Your eyes unfocus for a moment as you fall deep into thought. The revelation of Thomas's involvement in the cult was a shock. He had always been a friend to you- you would not have thought him capable of anything like this. Truthfully, for all that you've had bad experiences in town for most of your life due to your clearly visible elven blood, you never would have thought anyone in this town capable of such cold blooded murder. It's-
You are jarred out of your train of thought by Melech slamming his fist into a wall.
"I can't believe it." He says. You know what he means, and a quick glance between Amelia and Eliot shows that they do too. After a moment, Amelia speaks up.
"Shadows can hide from even the brightest of lights." It has the air of something quoted to you. Some bit of the scripture of Pelor. You suppose there's some wisdom in that but...
"But why?" You ask. "I just don't get it. Maybe we don't live like queens and kings here, but Havenwood is a nice town. There's no... There's nothing here that should make people turn to such evil, so why?!" You can't help it, raising your voice as you speak, pleading with one of the others to have an answer for you. It's just... So far beyond your understanding. You can't comprehend why anyone, let alone someone like Thomas would do this. And as you think that, there's another niggling doubt that crawls into your consciousness.
You turn to Eliot.
"You need to hide. They were after you specifically, and I very much doubt that this will be the end of it." You hesitate, before continuing. "I would say you should leave now, before Meriele even gets back with the guards but... We do need you to explain all of this." Eliot looks thoughtful for a moment, and opens his mouth as if to speak, but he is interrupted by the sound of the front door once more slamming open and the stamping of many feet as Meriele leads a small contingent of the town's guards into the building.
---
Over the course of a few minutes and some more questioning from the guards (along with suspicious glances at Melech and now you as well), things are eventually sorted out. Though the guards are initially somewhat hostile towards the two of you as the most clearly 'different' people in town, Eliot and Amelia being quick to sing your praises swiftly calms things down. Though not before Meriele shoved back a guard who got into your personal space a bit with his questioning. You were careful to not react too much and let Eliot talk things down, but you do shoot her a grateful smile when no one else is looking. She returns it warmly.
After the questioning has happened, and your recommendation that they figure out if Thomas's friend Harrison was involved, the four of you are ushered out of town hall. Eliot gives you a bit of a look and a nod as you go, which you hope means that he'll take your advice. It's not that you don't trust the guards... Well, its exactly that. If someone like Thomas could be involved, then you didn't really trust anyone that you weren't a hundred percent sure about.
The rain has returned, and the four of you immediately give up staying dry as a lost cause once you get outside. After a brief discussion, the four of you gather in front of the town square's fountain to talk. The rain might be uncomfortable, but it at least meant that being outside ensured a kind of privacy.
You're the first to speak.
"Amelia, you know where most of those people lived, right?" You ask, looking at her. She's already nodding thoughtfully, understanding what you're saying. After a second of tilting her head back and looking at the clouds and rain, she meets your eyes again.
"Yes. And only one of them lived alone. Abigail Silversmith. She lives close to here, just a few houses across and down from the chapel. If any of them has something incriminating in their homes, it's most likely to be her, because she wouldn't have needed to hide it from anyone."
You nod, before looking to Melech and Meriele for any objection. Seeing none, you simply say "Let's get moving then," and head off to the home of the dead cultist.
After the questioning has happened, and your recommendation that they figure out if Thomas's friend Harrison was involved, the four of you are ushered out of town hall. Eliot gives you a bit of a look and a nod as you go, which you hope means that he'll take your advice. It's not that you don't trust the guards... Well, its exactly that. If someone like Thomas could be involved, then you didn't really trust anyone that you weren't a hundred percent sure about.
The rain has returned, and the four of you immediately give up staying dry as a lost cause once you get outside. After a brief discussion, the four of you gather in front of the town square's fountain to talk. The rain might be uncomfortable, but it at least meant that being outside ensured a kind of privacy.
You're the first to speak.
"Amelia, you know where most of those people lived, right?" You ask, looking at her. She's already nodding thoughtfully, understanding what you're saying. After a second of tilting her head back and looking at the clouds and rain, she meets your eyes again.
"Yes. And only one of them lived alone. Abigail Silversmith. She lives close to here, just a few houses across and down from the chapel. If any of them has something incriminating in their homes, it's most likely to be her, because she wouldn't have needed to hide it from anyone."
You nod, before looking to Melech and Meriele for any objection. Seeing none, you simply say "Let's get moving then," and head off to the home of the dead cultist.
---
From the outside, the home of Abigail Silversmith is unremarkable. Not indistinguishable from its neighbors, but different in the way most strangers' homes seem to be from the outside. The window sills are painted blue, and brightly- not enough time has yet passed or the color to fade away or bits of the wood beneath to start to show. The glass of the windows is clear and uncracked, and there are small flowerpots placed by the doorway. It's a nice home when you look at it, but on any other day you wouldn't have bother to give it a second glance. Today, it's cheery and well maintained facade seems to conceal something dark and foreboding. You try the door. Locked. Without a word, Meriele steps up beside you and slams a booted foot into it. The cheap lock breaks with a splinter, and the door swings wide open, thumping into the wall and knocking over a coat rack that falls to the wooden floor with a clang.
The interior of the house is dark. No candles are lit, and little light is let in by the windows with the day as cloudy and overcast as it is. Of course, the gloom is of little hindrance to you. Your elven blood makes your eyes sharper than those of humans and you can still see easily in the dim light. You suspect the same is true of Melech. You step forward to take the lead, but Meriele preempts you, striding confidently forward. You hold back a slight sigh, shaking your head. Well, that probably meant the light wasn't that bad then. You did tend to underestimate- Meriele trips over a chair.
This time you really do sigh, before walking over to help her up. She sheepishly accepts your offered hand. Of course Meriele would charge forward even if it was pitch darkness. Behind you, Melech has followed confidently and is already looking examining the room, and Amelia has followed slowly behind you, stepping carefully and taking her time to make sure she won't repeat Meriele's mistake. After a moment, she calls to you.
"Sariel, come here a moment will you? Your eyes are better than mine, so Pelor's blessing will be of more use to you here." Interested, you step closer. She places a hand on your shoulder and speaks a quick prayer. She then looks at you expectantly. You don't really feel any differently, so you just shrug and turn back around to examine the room. Immediately however, your eyes catch on something you hadn't noticed before- The rug by the fireplace is slightly out of place, the line of more and less faded wood visible.
"Look, there," you say, "I think there might be something under that rug."
The four of you quickly gather around it, Amelia with a contented look on her face. Just as she reaches downward to pull it up however, there's a shimmering in the air beneath her, and a small misshapen creature with red scales and small leathery wings sinks jagged teeth into her throat. Even as she begins to topple to the floor in shock however, there's a sparking in the air. Divine retribution made manifest, a tiny bolt of lightning coalesces from nothing above the tiny vicious creature to strike it down. Just barely, it scrabbles back from the direct path of the bolt, only being grazed by it. Still, it lets loose a horrid screech of pain as its leathery skin is blackened by contact with the flash of power.
Amelia hits the floor, gurgling as blood begins to leak from her throat wound. For an instant, there is no motion, just tension balanced on the razor's edge and stunned shock.
What do you do?
[] Leap to help Amelia. The wound looks bad, but she's barely even lost blood at this point. If you can stem the bleeding, she'll probably be fine.
[] Kill the creature. Amelia's in trouble, but there's no way she'll make it if the creatures decides to take the chance to hit her while she's down.
[] Writein
Meriele and Melech will act according to their own instincts on this. There's no time to make a plan for everyone to follow.
The interior of the house is dark. No candles are lit, and little light is let in by the windows with the day as cloudy and overcast as it is. Of course, the gloom is of little hindrance to you. Your elven blood makes your eyes sharper than those of humans and you can still see easily in the dim light. You suspect the same is true of Melech. You step forward to take the lead, but Meriele preempts you, striding confidently forward. You hold back a slight sigh, shaking your head. Well, that probably meant the light wasn't that bad then. You did tend to underestimate- Meriele trips over a chair.
This time you really do sigh, before walking over to help her up. She sheepishly accepts your offered hand. Of course Meriele would charge forward even if it was pitch darkness. Behind you, Melech has followed confidently and is already looking examining the room, and Amelia has followed slowly behind you, stepping carefully and taking her time to make sure she won't repeat Meriele's mistake. After a moment, she calls to you.
"Sariel, come here a moment will you? Your eyes are better than mine, so Pelor's blessing will be of more use to you here." Interested, you step closer. She places a hand on your shoulder and speaks a quick prayer. She then looks at you expectantly. You don't really feel any differently, so you just shrug and turn back around to examine the room. Immediately however, your eyes catch on something you hadn't noticed before- The rug by the fireplace is slightly out of place, the line of more and less faded wood visible.
"Look, there," you say, "I think there might be something under that rug."
The four of you quickly gather around it, Amelia with a contented look on her face. Just as she reaches downward to pull it up however, there's a shimmering in the air beneath her, and a small misshapen creature with red scales and small leathery wings sinks jagged teeth into her throat. Even as she begins to topple to the floor in shock however, there's a sparking in the air. Divine retribution made manifest, a tiny bolt of lightning coalesces from nothing above the tiny vicious creature to strike it down. Just barely, it scrabbles back from the direct path of the bolt, only being grazed by it. Still, it lets loose a horrid screech of pain as its leathery skin is blackened by contact with the flash of power.
Amelia hits the floor, gurgling as blood begins to leak from her throat wound. For an instant, there is no motion, just tension balanced on the razor's edge and stunned shock.
What do you do?
[] Leap to help Amelia. The wound looks bad, but she's barely even lost blood at this point. If you can stem the bleeding, she'll probably be fine.
[] Kill the creature. Amelia's in trouble, but there's no way she'll make it if the creatures decides to take the chance to hit her while she's down.
[] Writein
Meriele and Melech will act according to their own instincts on this. There's no time to make a plan for everyone to follow.
So! This is finally back. It wasn't actually that hard to get back into it. As I've mentioned, my notes for this quest are very extensive, so a quick read through was really all it took. Although I will say I was worried when I rolled a crit for the attack on Amelia. Luckily I realized that she wouldn't insta-die even if she failed her save on the poison (which she didn't) because that damage is technically separate from the attack's damage. On the other hand, the creature made its save against her Wrath of the Storm too, so watcha gonna do.
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