AAR: [4H] The Truth Within Darkness (2021-01-16)

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ottdmk
Posts:462
Joined:Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:25 pm
Re: AAR: [4H] The Truth Within Darkness

Post by ottdmk » Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:08 pm

AAR: The Truth Within Darkness
GM: ottdmk
ECR: 4
Difficulty: Hard

Player Rewards:
Amhrán: 3,000 LP, 563 sp, 5 TIPs
Calina: 3,000 LP, 563 sp, 5 TIPs
Dale: 3,000 LP, 563 sp, 5 TIPs
Rendar: 3,000 LP, 563 sp, 5 TIPs
Taras: 3,000 LP, 563 sp, 5 TIPs

Journal Rewards: 150 LP, 140.8 sp

Alternate Rewards:
None

GM Reward: Darius (4,000 LP, 475 SP, 3 TIPs)

Downtime:
Amhrán: Item History Rank 4/Step 15
Calina: Item History Rank 4/Step 15, Research Rank 4/Step 15
Rendar: Animal Training Rank 3/Step 13
Taras: Item History Rank 1/Step 12, Research Rank 2/Step 9 (Step 12 with Library Access (20sp))


Summary:
After being sent on what might have been a hazing assignment by Throal's Nethermancers, Dale and companions discovered that a) yes, Voslooshold was harboring the undead and b) a Kreeslak had enslaved a sworn brotherhood of Adepts and inflicted grevious harm before the party killed it.

With the Nethermancers suitably impressed, Dale's petition for entry is accepted.

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Paranoid Preparations by the Properly Patrolling and a Possible Platonic Prospect

Post by predajey » Wed Jan 20, 2021 2:57 am

An extravagant white leather bound journal contains several chapters detailing Calina Ravanqnerosicor’s journeys. It is written in a rich blue ink and the pages have a gold trim. It is written in Sperethiel.

My pursuit in observing my Subject has drawn me into yet another job. I was tailing Taras once more, not necessarily in a stealthy manner, but by simply following a few dozen steps behind him. He led me into a meeting where the host was informing and employing Adepts to a task of investigation. I wasn't paying too much attention, but there was an undead human posing as a villager? What little I had heard led me to research methods of dealing with undead, but the research period was cut short as I sought out my Subject for further observation. When I found him, he had already adorned himself with a garlic necklace, lead soled shoes, and an amulet filled with fish oil and frog's blood. He had a set of strange goggles with one green lens and one purple lens and a black veil to cover his face. It was highly similar to a mourning veil, as it was attached to a wide brimmed hat. His daggers were freshly forged such that the cutting edge was lined with silver. He was purchasing a pint of salt and a few bundles of sage, which were later woven into his cloak and shirt. He even asked Amhran to weave some runes into his hair. He looked pretty funny with the braids, adding a few garlens of flowers rumored to ward off evil spirits. During our journey through the mountains, he found a wild hare and removed its feet to adorn his belt. I think the smell of the blood drew the attention of a few Dire Wolves. I ended up finding myself as the Subject's bodyguard. I tried to follow him around the battlefield, only to be followed by Dale. Somehow we spell slingers ended up keeping the wolves away from the Subject, but I got many great notes on his combat tactics.

Later that evening, we were arranging our watch schedule. Amhran, of all people, actually wanted to be on watch with the Subject. We got into a bit of an argument, but she came up with her own solution, thinking she would get the next watch with him. I never agreed to that, but in the short term, I got a solid two hours of observation on the subject. He paced quite often, displaying one of the most devoted and alert watch patrols I've ever seen. There were a few periods where he seemed to go invisible as he investigated an inaudible sound. I was sure he was hearing things, but I also wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on. As our watch came to a close, he awoke our replacement and I concluded my note taking for the night. Eventually we reached a town called Voslooshold.

Arriving at the town, the Subject and Dale went to scout the location. When they returned, we decided to approach from the east. While most of the party went down the main road to meet with a group of Adepts, the Subject was sneaking through the orchard to the south. At first, I attempted to keep up with him, but after a few minutes, I realized that he was trying to remain undetected. At this point, I kept my distance from him so I wouldn't give away his position. He showed a bit of appreciation for this with a thumbs up. It was all for nothing as the Adepts that the others were engaged with asked both the Subject and myself to step out from the orchard. We performed our respective greeting rituals and discussed the existence of an undead human named Sammy. Apparently he was a coherent cadaverman. The Adepts weren't willing to tell us where Sammy was or take us to him, but they did offer us lodging until morning. I wanted to take advantage of their offer, but the rest of the party elected to move to a location outside of the town.

Again, I began a silent and seemingly one way argument with Amhran about who would be on watch with the Subject. It was during this debate where I realized she had a crush on the Subject, so I told her that if she was willing to take notes on his every move, I would cede my position for observation. Before my watch began, Rendar's horse Quechir was startled and woke us all up. Soon after, a Kreescra punched me through my tent, shouting "Attack!" as it did so. I jumped up and out the opening as my tent toppled over and threw up my own mage armor. I then attempted some weaving for a new spell, but it was no use. The same Adepts we spoke with in Voslooshold were among the allies that the Kreescra commanded. While Rendar attempted to keep the attention of the opposing Adepts, the Subject was able to dispatch the Kreescra. With the Kreescra out of the battle, the Adepts ceased all aggression with us. They were unaware of their actions until this point, and in the morning, they showed us to Sammy in a shack on the outskirts of the town. We burned the body of the Kreescra, then burned the no longer moving cadaver man. I did notice that Amhran never got me any notes about the Subject. That'll teach me to trust a windling. She seemed so sincere about our deal, too. Maybe she was distracted by her passionate lust for the Subject. I should really give her some tips on attraction, although I doubt conventional methods would be as effective on the Subject. He does seem to possess quite a unique persona.

A few days passed and I received a messenger. He was armed with a bag of silver as payment for the journey. He was also given a missive from the Great Library. Apparently they had noticed that I had gone on another journey without submitting a journal entry. Hopefully I can scour the entries for more details on the Subject's behavior, but the outlook doesn't seem hopeful. I was hesitant to allow Amhran to observe the Subject to begin with, particularly because I needed a subjective observation of the Subject. Her attraction to him may skew her observations. I am curious to see how the Subject would behave when a romantic prospect is concerned. I may have to interject my efforts to catalyze a relationship. Again, I doubt that conventional methods would be effective, but a good starting point would be to place the idea in the Subjects head. Maybe an anonymous love note? What languages was he able to read? I'm sure Throalic would be sufficient to pose as an authentic language from his platonic prospect. Ethics would normally dictate that I should not intervene, but I'm not sure that the Prospect would have the courage to address the possibility to the Subject on her own.

Dougansf
Posts:465
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 4:14 am

Re: AAR: [4H] The Truth Within Darkness

Post by Dougansf » Fri Jan 22, 2021 3:07 am

Rendar's Field Report

We head to the library to look into the town and horrorspawn that may masquerade as people.

Voslooshold - there’s a sworn brotherhood of adepts that defend the place.

Teras starts wearing all kinds of superstitious protections against horrorspawn.

Teras navigates a fast route through the mountains.

Day 3

We come across 5 dire wolves roaming the foothills. They move to circle us. Amhrann hits one, but is knocked down by another one. Rendar and Quechir attack one wolf, then attract the attention of 4 of them. Once Quechir moves out of the way, Dale launches a Phantom Fireball at all four of them, wounding them all, and killing the injured one. Calina tries to lock onto their Patterns.

The wolves close with the magicians (and Scout), and are blasted by another Fireball. When only 2 remain, they flee the area.

We walk a bit more to find a place for Dale to cast Shelter, Heat some Food, then bunk down for the night.

Day 4 - Voslooshold
We arrive at the town. Taras and Dale scout ahead to take a look. Everything looks normal for a prosperous town. They return unmolested. Astral Space is Tainted.

We all approach the town as if nothing is wrong. Amhran greets the farmers with big smiles. One of the kids runs off into the town.

Four adepts approach us:
Kere Stoah - Windling Swordmaster
Ekriudrah Vaisiw - Human Warrior
Thaat Utu - Dwarf Magician
Ceaful Voil - Obsidiman Archer

Amhran brings up the reports of undead. Kere sighs and says, “You’re here about Sammy.” Sammy became undead. He’s not hurting people. After we perform greeting rituals, we’re brought farther into the town.

They tell us that a few months ago they had some trouble. A hunter, Sammy, had gone missing. They found Sammy had become a Cadaverman. However, he approached and talked to us, using his white shirt as a flag. Now he has a high pain threshold. They keep him locked up in a cottage, just to be safe. They looked for whatever turned him, it seems to be gone, and no one else has gone missing since. After some discussion, we’re told we can see him tomorrow.

We decide it’s better to stay outside of town in our own camp.

In the middle of the night, Quechir notices something, freaks out, and moves into the woods. This wakes up the rest of the party. We spot a short, twisted form (Kreescra) sneaking into the camp. It sighs and says, “Fine, we’ll do it this way. Attack!”

As Taras gets up, he spots 3 of the Adepts surrounding the camp. Dale leaps up and casts Phantom Fireball on the campsite, catching Ekriudrah and the Kreescra in the blast. Ceaful shoots Amhran in the back, knocking her our of the air, then hides again.

Taras shoots the Kreescra in the back, wounding it. Thaat moves in and casts Mind Dagger at Dale. Rendar rides around and kills the Kreescra. Ceaful doesn’t fire.

Thaat shakes his head, coming out of it’s control. He recognizes the corpse as a Kreescra. In the morning, we all head back to town and burn the bodies of Sammy and the Kreescra.

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