Olympus RPG Blog

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Blindness and Recovery

10 May 2014

Continued… The Heroes collected their light-coins and dragged the bodies of the slain guards, and the one dead Templar, to the shadows of the keep, as Brother Mendel finished healing his wounded comrades. They began to look for a way into the keep that did not involve the front door, which they knew to be guarded by another Templar wizard (wounded by Dane’s arrows). Gabriel, his leg restored, climbed up to the keep’s second-level balcony and tried the doors there, but found them barred from the inside. Just then, another guard rounded the keep’s corner nearly on top of them; Rainald threw his spear, striking the man in the shoulder, before drawing Gramjarn to charge; at the same time, Merasiël sprinted and rounded behind the guard, stabbing him in the kidneys, and he fell. Rainald dragged the guard’s body over to his fallen brethren, while Merasiël climbed up to the balcony to aid Gabriel. Meanwhile, the others examined the keep’s windows at ground-level and found them also barred from the inside. Gestlin cast Apportation to remove the bar on one of the windows, on the slim chance he might succeed, and was surprised to find it had worked; he then informed the others of the open window.

The Heroes crept through the now-open window into the compound’s refectory as quietly as could be managed. Merasiël went through before, and helped her less-stealthy fellows, but a misstep while aiding Gestlin resulted in him stumbling over one of the tables. The scant light in the room came from the night sky through the window and a crack of light under one of the doors to the interior of the building. In remedy, Gestlin passed around a few Night Vision potions to the others; Rainald drank one, knowing not what it was, and was surprised at the result. Gabriel and Merasiël listened at the “lit” door, and heard hushed voices beyond; dropping to the floor to peer through the crack under the door, they could also make out a swirling mist beyond, much like they encountered in the courtyard outside at the hands of the Templar—their enemy was clearly prepared for an attack. Quietly, the Heroes concocted a plan: Brother Mendel would cast Dispel to remove the magical mist, to be released once the door was flung open by Gabriel at Brother Mendel’s command; at the same time, Gestlin would cast and hold a Fireball, hoping to target the Templar wizard once the mist was cleared; the others took up positions around the door, ready to rush in and attack. With everyone in position, and spells prepared, Brother Mendel signaled Gabriel to open the door.

A familiar “thwack!” preceded a crossbow bolt struck deep in Gestlin’s chest; by will alone, he held onto his Fireball without dropping it. Nearly simultaneously, Brother Mendel loosed his spell, which instantly negated the swirling magical fog that concealed their enemy in the adjoining, well-lit room—three mercenaries, one at the far end bearing a crossbow, and a Templar amidst them, all hastily equipped, having obviously been roused from sleep. Rainald and Merasiël charged through the door, followed by Gabriel, but were met at the threshold by a shield-rush to prevent their advance; Merasiël managed to slip past and circled ’round to flank the crossbowman; Rainald met force with force at the threshold; Gabriel tumbled over Rainald and through the shield-wall, and bore down upon the Templar, who appeared to be casting a spell with his sword; Dane, seeing the blockage at the door, found the other, and through it, hasted toward the enemy’s other flank. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light centered on the Templar, unbalancing all save the two mercenaries that had their backs to him; Rainald, and Gestlin (still holding the Fireball), were effectively blinded for a few moments. Rainald held fast at the threshold, blindly swinging Gramjarn in front of him, while the mercenaries tried to find the gaps in his armor with their spears; some wounds were exchanged, in spite of the difficulty, to both sides. Brother Mendel healed Gestlin of the bolt-wound but could do nothing for his blindness, nor for Rainald. Meanwhile, the Templar’s second spell backfired before he abandoned his spellcasting altogether to defend himself, backpedaling before Gabriel’s continued press. Dane appeared through a side door to the flank and began to loose arrows at the enemy. Merasiël had bolted ’round behind the crossbowman as he reloaded his weapon, and slashed his throat, though not deeply enough to kill him outright; he turned to face her and produced a shortsword, but in that instant, Merasiël saw an opportunity as Gabriel backed the Templar toward her, and quickly plunged her blade deep into the back of his skull. At the same time Gabriel, Merasiël and Dane finished the crossbowman, while Brother Mendel had struck one of the mercenaries with a Sunbolt, wounding him deep and setting him aflame, Gestlin’s and Rainald’s sight was returned (though blurry as the others’); Rainald brought down his hammer upon Brother Mendel’s target, breaking his arm, while Gestlin finally loosed his fireball past Rainald at the other, throwing the mercenary mightily backward and killing him instantly.

All enemies lay dead or dying; those not dead, Gabriel hurried along. The Heroes made a quick check of their foes’ persons and found little of use or value, but Brother Mendel picked up the Templar’s hand-and-a-half sword and determined it to have some magical properties, and so kept it. Gestlin having scouted the building earlier in the week (through his Possession of a cat) knew the way, and pointed the group to the basement stairs; Gabriel and Merasiël went ahead, and found a padlocked-and-barred (from the outside) door, which Merasiël picked open. The two proceeded into the total-darkness cautiously, and discovered the prison there, reeking of filth and sickness; Merasiël retreated, reminded of her own past encounter with such a place. As the others filed in behind them, bringing light, Rainald stayed at the top of the stair to keep watch, joined at the bottom of the stair by Merasiël. There were a handful of pathetic folk in the cells there, maltreated and malnourished, one of which answered to the names “Etmund” and “Wallace” by retreating further into his cell, muttering; the man they barely recognized as Etmund Moree, Lord Wallace’s Master-of-Coin, was so traumatized by his torturers that his mind was utterly broken, such that he could hardly respond to the Heroes’ questions—Brother Mendel cast a Forgetfulness spell upon him, hoping to unburden his mind of any recent torturous moments, though it eased him only a little. Gabriel was adamant that all the prisoners should be released, and set about opening their cells and arming them with the mercenaries’ weapons, though naught was truly expected of them but more cowering should they meet their captors in battle—it was all the Heroes could do to coax them into leaving their cells at all, they believing their release a test of loyalty by their masters.

Too late to hide, Rainald spotted another man—a priest, perhaps—stepping into the hall before him; as the man cried out to his fellows, Rainald moved to throw his spear, but the butt of the spear struck the wall behind him, knocking it from his grasp—he toe-flipped it back to his hand, to try again, but the alarm had already been raised. To be continued…

Notes

• Magnifico’s player had to sit this session out on account of a case of houseguests; the character mostly just hung back for the duration
• Gestlin rolled a Critical Success on his Apportation of the window, not even really expecting it to work at all (-10 for not being able to see the bar)
• Merasiël rolled a Crit Fail to assist Gestlin through the window
• This session was mostly fighting; wrapping up last week’s tussle, and another. Having already figured out the Dispel trick to get rid of the “mist,” fighting the second Templar wasn’t as bad, though the “flash-bang” was a well-placed surprise (no defense against the -3 DX is pretty rough). At least this one wasn’t in the dark
• The Templar ended up rolling a Crit Failure on his second casting; result=took a point of damage
• Merasiël was in a position to ambish the Templar from behind, but was engaged with the crossbowman and did not want to turn her back to him; the GM coaxed her into it with free CPs. She actually didn’t do enough damage to knock him down at first—a point shy of a Major Wound—until a few rounds later, we remembered the knife she used was of Fine quality; the GM retconned the result
• Rainald ended up rolling two 18s; one on a Block defense that made his shield unready (which he just ignored), and the other on the spear-throw at the end

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Break-Outs and Break-Ins

9 May 2014

Continued… On the Bannock arena floor, beset on either side by armed men intent on seizing the Heroes, Dane loosed arrows at the remaining guard to the one side, while Gestlin directed his conjured wind-storm to envelop the guards to the other side, throwing them around like rag-dolls until there was no will to fight remaining in them. The thousands of patrons in the crowded stands had panicked at the storm, and were scrambling for the exits; in the dignitaries’ box, the stranger bearing the cross of the Order of Talos and the arena-master were nowhere to be seen, having already fled. In the tunnels beneath the stands, after having secured the portcullis on Aamir’s behalf, Rainald headed toward the main entrance prepared to fight his way out, encouraging those that would to follow him; Gabriel insured the fallen guards would never rise again, deducing that these were not “city” guards, but employed by the arena-master, undoubtedly ordered to capture the Heroes for the substantial bounty on their heads. But as far as the Heroes could tell, there were no guards remaining to oppose them, so they stood down, and gathered themselves up, and the wagon and horses, and left the arena in an orderly fashion, joining the crowd on the road heading the short walk back to town, after apologizing to their sponsor, Aamir, for the ruckus. The crowd on the road gave the Heroes a wide berth, unsure what to think of what they had witnessed; the guards at the city gates allowed the Heroes through without incident, confirming the Heroes’ suspicion that the attack was the work of the arena-master.

It was now evening as they made their way to the Gleaming Endeavor at dock, where they were met by Captain Finn asking after the situation. They told the Captain that, lest they suffer an attack on the ship, they would cast off immediately as the wagon and such were loaded, and anchor some distance downriver, out of sight of town, where the Heroes would disembark to see to the rescue of Lord Wallace’s man, Etmund, still a prisoner of the Order of Talos. The dragons were to remain aboard under Radskyrta’s usual supervision, as was Gabriel’s horse, Cometes. The Captain was instructed that the ship should remain moored for two sunsets before leaving for Qazr as-Sawh to wait as long as they dared for the Heroes’ return.

And it was so, at a bell past midnight, that the Heroes came ashore and made their way back to town. They were allowed through the city gates without complaint, though they were armed for battle, and found the fortified compound of the Order of Talos, where Etmund was kept. The streets about the compound were empty and dark, with but a waning moon to light them. Gabriel, Merasiël and Dane climbed a nearby building as before and spied inside the compound, seeing but four guards, two of whom were Templars by their dress. Together, the Heroes planned that the more stealthy among them should scale the walls and open the gate for the others, while Dane should remain aloft where he was to overwatch and support them by bow-shot.

Silently, Gabriel and Merasiël climbed the compound wall near the stables, within sight of the single entry gate. After the patrolling guard had passed on his way, Gabriel crept up behind the guard at the gate, followed by Merasiël; an ill-timed scrape caught the guard’s attention, and Gabriel stabbed him through the throat as he turned to face the sound, lest he should cry out. Merasiël found the gate key while Gabriel stood the now-dead man up at his post, hiding behind him in the shadows, that he might fool the now-returning patrolman into thinking him unharmed at a distance. But by some miracle, the guard, one of the Templars, saw something amiss and retreated back toward the door of the keep, raising the alarm. Gabriel released the dead guard and bolted for the near-side of the keep to draw their attention, hoping he was the only one seen; just after, Merasiël set immediately to unlocking the gate and opening it for the others; while at the same time, Dane having seen the guard at the keep’s door—the other Templar—turn and appear to fumble for his keys, loosed an arrow out of the darkness, then another, wounding the guard through his mail. Rainald, under the influence of Gestlin’s Haste spell, followed by Brother Mendel, Magnifico, and Gestlin, piled through the now-open gate and rushed toward the backpedaling Templar in the yard; Brother Mendel flung his copper-piece, upon which he kept a Continual Light spell, ahead of them into the courtyard, to provide illumination. Just then, both Templars threw some small object to the ground and stamped it with their foot, and they were immediately surrounded in a swirling cloud of magical mist, such that they could not be seen at all. With nothing more to shoot at, Dane scrambled down from his perch and hasted to the compound’s gate to join the others; Gabriel and Merasiël also charged toward the Templar in the courtyard, now hidden in a shroud of mist, intending to catch him up before he could reach the keep. An unseen blade slashed Gabriel’s unarmored leg to the bone, nearly severing it, and he fell. Then Merasiël was also struck deep in the shoulder, though she managed to stay on her feet, turning instead to Gabriel. Then Rainald was struck hard in the legs, though his armor was strong enough to bear the attack, and he continued skirting around the mist-cloud, straining his vision to find even a shadow of his adversary to attack him. Then as Gestlin commanded Smil-Blam to conjure up a wind-storm to blow away the mist and reveal their enemy, he was also attacked by the invisible blade, and cut deep; as he barely held onto consciousness and his spell, he realized their enemy was using a Distant Blow spell, and called out to inform the other casters, who were now running to the aid of the fallen. The other non-Templar guard had rounded the keep, and now charged over to Merasiël as she helped Gabriel to his feet, and stabbed her with his spear, before Gabriel, balanced on his remaining leg, managed to return the “kindness” two-fold with his family blade, aided by Merasiël as she struggled to remain consciousness. As Brother Mendel passed by Rainald, also rushing to help retreat with the wounded, he quickly cast a Minor Heal spell on his leg wound, and then Dispel Magic on the nearest Templar’s mist, before turning his healing on Gabriel and Merasiël. No longer hidden by the magical mist-cloud, the Templar in the courtyard faced an angry Rainald, who threw his spear before charging in close with his hammer, Gramjarn; they exchanged blows on each others’ shields, though Rainald landed a heavy hit on the Templar’s sword-arm, before Dane finally reached the courtyard and put an arrow through the Templar’s ribs, dropping him to the ground, after which Rainald’s hammer finished him. Gestlin was also healed by Brother Mendel; all having been healed, and the tide having turned somewhat in their favor, the Heroes gathered themselves and determined to assault the keep’s door. To be continued…

Notes

• Depending how the rescue goes, we’ll be having some words with the arena-master as well—give him the “hard goodbye” before we leave town; either way, though, we won’t be hanging around for long. We expect Proximo’s going to be a bit put-out when he hears of what happened, though it was truly not our fault
• As usual in these matters, a lot of time was spent planning the assault; ideas included a lot of spells to get everyone over the walls at the same time, but we ended up deciding to keep it simple, and save the spells for when it mattered most. It was reluctantly decided to leave the dragons on the ship, as they aren’t conducive to a proper stealth operation. The assassins got some spotlight time, and would have been more if not for the oddly-prescient guard
• Fighting in darkness sucks. ’Nuff said
• The Distant Blow thing was a bit of a shock to the players, especially combined with the mist—normally you get a defense against the “distant” attack, but if you can’t see the attacker, it’s just free damage for them. Technically, Gabriel’s leg suffered injury enough to sever it, but the GM allowed the usual HT roll for Lasting Crippling, which was succeeded. (Gabe’s considering his armor choices differently for the future as a predictable result.) We were pretty much in full retreat—three PCs making consciousness rolls or Crippled—until Gestlin’s player figured out what was going on, and Mendel’s player had the Dispel epiphany—good thing we have a mega-healer in the party 😛

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Cats and Mousetraps

5 May 2014

Back at their host’s manor, the Heroes deliberated how they might best get a look inside the Order of Talos’ compound. Brother Mendel tried a Seeker spell, but could see nothing; Gabriel remembered from his encounters with the Order in the past that their “prisons” tended to have magical symbols etched here and there, and supposed that it might be a ward against scrying—or possibly more. After a great many ideas were presented and evaluated, they opted for safety, that Gestlin would use a spell to “possess” a small animal—a cat, in this case—that could wander the compound unbothered, and see through its eyes. It would take a great deal of energy to operate so for even a short amount of time, so the casters would have to work together to support Gestlin’s efforts. A suitable animal was found easily enough, and a discreet location found near the compound to do the spell. Gestlin’s casting, with Smil-Blam, went without a hitch. He (as the cat) moved as quickly as he could, darting through windows and those doors that were open, but he had not enough time to make his way to the lower levels to find the prisoner they sought, and the spell expired. They tried again the next day, and though more progress was made, he was still unable to reach the prisoner. Gestlin was, however, able to describe the interior of the compound such that a map could be drawn, which would certainly aid any future attempts to infiltrate.

9 May 2014

Now seven days after arriving in Bannock, the time finally came for the Heroes to put on their dragon show. There were several gladiatorial bouts that would precede them, but theirs was the main attraction, and those that had ventured outside the estate during the week prior heard much buzzing about it from the locals. As evening drew close, they made their way to the smallish arena just outside the city proper, keeping the dragons under cover to preserve the surprise; they saw a long line of townsfolk down the road approaching the arena, indicating a promising payout for the night’s work. Excitedly, they waited in the tunnels under the arena floor for their turn at the stage, though they remained wary of a potential attack.

Then their turn to perform came, as the sun dropped below the hills, and the Heroes emerged from below to the arena floor. Even as they were being announced, Magnifico interrupted and took over, beginning with a rousing speech to whet the crowd’s appetites. As Brother Mendel began his illusory display, backed by Gestlin’s pyrotechnics, Magnifico began, once again, to tell the story of the Heroes’ exploits in the War in the Otherworld, in grand fashion. Merasiël joined the players this time, dressed in Proximo’s gifted Wazifi garb. Magnifico and Merasiël rode on the backs of Primus and Secundus as the dragons performed a flyover of the grandstands, after which the dragons were secreted back to their cages while their illusory counterparts took over for them, feasting on the illusory flesh of men and Vasa alike as they battled back and forth across stage-center. As usual, the role of Lord Wallace was emphasized, adding the sad revelation at the end that he had gone mysteriously missing after the war.

As the show continued, Dane spotted a stranger enter the dignitaries’ box at the top of the stands; the stranger wore the cross-symbol of the Order of Talos, and spoke quietly to the arena’s master. Just then, Gestlin’s attention was caught by someone rattling the portcullis behind him—their sponsor, Aamir Rahmani, wearing a troubled visage. Gestlin ceased his pyrotechnics to see what was the trouble; Rainald noticed this, and knocked on Gestlin’s wagon to alert Gabriel inside that something was amiss. Aamir informed him that guards were swarming the tunnels, come to take the Heroes by force as they left the stage—they could see guards gathering at the side gates to the arena floor, and Aamir had seen a number approaching from behind him. Gestlin bade Aamir raise the portcullis enough for him to get through, borrowed his turban and cloak to disguise himself, then charged down the tunnels toward the steps leading up to the audience seats, intending to get an overview; he slipped aside of the oncoming guards, pretending to relieve himself in the corner, before continuing on. Meanwhile, Brother Mendel was quietly informed of the closing trap, and he used his illusions to discreetly inform those performing. After a brief conference with Brother Mendel, Magnifico excitedly announced to the crowd that they would share the wealth they recovered during the war with the good people of Bannock, as Brother Mendel created the illusion of coins raining down on the stands around and before the dignitaries’ box, hoping to start a mad scramble as a distraction—the limits of Brother Mendel’s abilities, much spent already on the show, meant the scramble wasn’t quite as mad as he would have liked—as they all backed toward the exit portcullis. At the same time, while Aamir continued to struggle with the portcullis by himself, Gabriel slipped beneath and down the steps to the access tunnel, to meet the approaching guards. Rainald moved the wagon to provide cover for the exit, and moved to join him; Dane scrambled atop the wagon and raised his bow to engage any targets within the arena or in the stands. Gestlin emerged up in the stands and approached the edge, and with Smil-Blam, conjured up a small windstorm. The guards in the tunnel were clearly unimpressed with Gabriel’s dragon-mark tattoos, and attacked; Rainald arrived barely in time to kill one of the guards, as Gabriel slew four others in a matter of seconds. Above, as the guards stormed into the arena from the side gates, Gestlin assaulted one group with his windstorm, while Dane loosed arrows at the other group, felling one instantly. To be continued…

Notes

• There was quite a lot of deliberation over the handling of the reconnaissance of the compound, and the particulars of the show’s illusions, as normal
• Gestlin was limited to about 11 minutes of possession, so he could only get so far before the spell ended
• The arena wasn’t filled quite to capacity, but was well attended; our guess was around 3000-4000
• Gabriel killed four guards in five seconds—and probably would have killed the fifth if Rainald had been a little slower

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Secrets and Spies

28 Apr 2014

The Gleaming Endeavor cast off from Raphael in the early morning, under sail to Bannock; four days more passed without incident or remark. The Heroes gazed upon the great city of Bannock in the distance as they approached, a strange mixture of Megalan and Wazifi architecture, as it was a religiously-cosmopolitan place owing to its fluctuating ownership by Megalos and Al-Wazif. A number of the Company had never spent any significant time amongst a Moslem community. As the ship was being moored at the docks, and the fees paid by Captain Finn, Dane noticed that their activities were being discreetly observed by a man further down the port quarter. The Heroes decided to split up to take care of some business and return to the ship.

• Gestlin and Magnifico followed Brother Mendel as he made his way to the cathedral, where he checked in with the bishop to see if there were any duties he might be needed to perform, and to deliver letters from upriver. He told the bishop of their mission to find Lord Wallace, and the bishop confirmed much of what they already knew on the matter, and promised to aid them as he could. As they made their way back to the ship, Gestlin found himself attracting a large crowd of stray cats and dogs, for no reason he could discern.
• Merasiël sought out the criminal elements of the city to learn if someone here might have been contracted to take Lord Wallace; Rainald went along to guard her person (leaving most of his money at the ship). After a bell or two, they found themselves at a disreputable tavern talking to an appropriately-disreputable character who knew nothing of the comings and goings of Lord Wallace a year ago, though he recognized the large Northlander bearing the white-on-black tabard, confiding that there was a 50 gold mark (equivalent) bounty for his head, as for each of his four companions—a two-fold increase from the amount heard of in Craine. As the two left the tavern, satisfied they had heard all they were likely to, Rainald called back to whomever it might concern there, “Any man who doesn’t fear death who can strike this head from its place deserves to be well paid, for it won’t come easily!”
• Dane and Gabriel waited patiently after the others had left to see what the spy at the docks might do. As the man left his post, they discreetly followed behind him through the crowd, unnoticed, and observed an interaction and exchange of coin between him and the dockmaster.

The Heroes met back at the ship and discussed what they had learned. News of the bounty on their heads was unwelcome (though not unexpected); they were lucky to have survived the assassins back in Craine the week before. Bearing in mind the need for security, they considered whether or not it was wise to go on with their dragon show, as it wasn’t necessary to the completion of their mission; but neglecting the show would reflect badly upon their newfound partnership with Proximo and Aamir. They decided to speak to Proximo’s contact in town and see what could be made of it. Proximo’s letter to his friend must have been quite convincing, for upon reading it, his contact was ready to spare no expense; it would take one week to make the necessary preparations to host the show at the local arena, but the contact offered to lodge the Heroes at his fortified estate, in secret, until time for the show. The Heroes accepted his offer.

They were well cared for at the estate, and spent the days behind its walls, relaxing in luxury and preparing for the show. On the third day, a guard announced that a visitor wished to speak to them—it was Shaun (crewman on the Gleaming Endeavor). He was staggered at the lavish accommodations, and between cups of excellent wine hastily consumed, he told that the bishop had come to the ship to find Brother Mendel to give him some news. After a few more cups of wine, Gabriel escorted Shaun to the cathedral, to bring the bishop back to the estate as discreetly as they could. Later, they returned with the bishop, who spoke to Brother Mendel of a nun in his service who, while attending the needs of those imprisoned at the local compound of the Order of Talos, heard the name of Lord Wallace spoken by one of the prisoners, one Etmund Moree, a Caithnesser, whom the Heroes recognized as Lord Wallace’s Master-of-Coin and traveling companion—he was in ill health, and babbling mad.

The bishop offered to show them to the Order’s compound, and Dane left with him to spy it out; he returned later, saying that it was well fortified and guarded by soldiers. The Heroes agreed that Etmund’s presence in Bannock meant that Lord Wallace was likely taken here as well; Etmund must be rescued, for he would certainly know how and by whom it was done. They discussed many possible methods of extracting the prisoner, but knew it would be for naught without a peek inside the compound.

Later, Brother Mendel, Gestlin (dressed as a monk), and Merasiël (who mostly kept to the nearby shadows) went to the front gate of the compound of the Order of Talos and tried to gain admittance to see the prisoner, saying to the guard there that Brother Mendel, a Caithnesser priest, had been requested to take the Caithnesser prisoner’s confession; the guard denied the existence of such a prisoner—they sensed the man was intentionally hiding the truth, though they knew it to be false already—and would not allow them inside. Brother Mendel tried everything he could think of: the guard refused his money, saying he have to come back tomorrow; he balked at being threatened with eternal damnation for refusing to allow the man’s confession, and poked a spear at Brother Mendel through the gate; he stood aside for one of the priests in the compound’s courtyard, when Gestlin made a commotion, drawing a crowd of onlookers on the street, demanding the priests’ aid. The priest went into the keep for a moment and returned, saying the two would be allowed to enter providing they relinquished their “weapons” (wizard staffs); they refused, and left in a huff.

With everyone assembled again at the mansion, the Heroes discussed the situation: clearly, they would have to take Etmund from the Order by force. To do so right away would be trouble for the show, and more time to reconnoiter the compound would not go amiss, so they decided to keep a covert eye on the place until after the show, and make their move then.

Notes

• Gabriel’s player was out sick for this session; the character was put to use in the background, doing a lot of escorting
• Rainald is certainly not afraid of a fight, but as our Craine experience demonstrated, someone sneaking into one’s room with a dagger can potentially ruin your day (unless you’re playing something like D&D); the intention is not so much to prevent an attack, but to make it difficult to kill us in our beds. There was talk of sleeping on the ship and mooring it on the other side of the river. We had been of a mind to get to Tredroy as fast as possible, and were perfectly willing to just move on and get to it, but in the end, “the show must go on” won out (and maybe the need for a bit more cash)
• The Order of Talos relates to Gabriel’s background, as the church order that Zabka belonged to; his official Enemy (as in the Disadvantage)
• There was much talk of teleporting Etmund out of the compound, but the Heroes’ magical abilities would require close proximity; at this point, we’re still leaning toward Gestlin using Smil-Blam to do a proper Teleportation spell that will take the lot of them back to safety. With the botched reconnaissance, though, it may come down to force anyway—maybe we prefer it so 😉

Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gabriel Auditore (Rigil Kent)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Devils and Priests

25 Apr 2014

In the morning, as the crew prepared the Gleaming Endeavor to cast off from Craine’s river docks, Brother Mendel took some time to cast Detect Foes over the the ship; he detected a fluctuating, mild sense of hostility within the spell’s coverage area, and informed the others, including Captain Finn, of his findings. It was decided to wait until after the ship was under way, and then perform a thorough search of the ship, top to bottom, stem to stern, opening every crate or container in the hold, to make sure they hadn’t picked up a stowaway assassin or somesuch. Everyone helped in the search, but they discovered nothing but rats in then hold. Later, Brother Mendel attempted the spell again, and sensed that the “hostility” was still present. With no better ideas what to do about it, they decided to simply remain alert, and make sure nobody stood their watch alone.

Three days passed, and the ship arrived at Raphael without incident; the Heroes would have pressed on for Bannock, but Brother Mendel had some letters he was tasked to deliver to the Archbishop’s offices there, so they put to port for the day to stretch their legs while the church business was seen to. Brother Mendel went straight for the massive cathedral, and was seen by the Archbishop’s clerk, to hand over the letters. When he asked what further duties the church would require of him, it turned out there was a matter he might be able to help with, and he was given audience to speak to the Archbishop of Raphael himself. The Archbishop explained that he had need of Brother Mendel’s companions, fighting men, as there had been a rash of murders under the last two full moons, the third of which would be this night. None had lain eyes on the murderer save for shadows, though rumors persisted that the cathedral’s gargoyles had come to life. Brother Mendel assured the Archbishop that his friends would come to his aid once told of the matter. And so it was.

As there was plenty of time before sunset, the Heroes came ashore into the walled town about the cathedral to search the grounds for clues; the Archbishop saw to it they had access to whatever they might need to discover the truth. It was reported to them that there were a total of five souls murdered, two on the first full moon, and three on the second; the Heroes were taken to the places where the poor unfortunates were found, horribly savaged, all high on the roofs surrounding the cathedral—the victims’ identities and stations revealed no clues as to why they had been so targeted. One of the priests, Father Julian, while examining the gargoyles for signs they had left their perches after the last incident, found one to be chipped as if by the strike of a sword; Gabriel climbed out at Magnifico’s request to see it for himself, and thought the damage to be as the priest had said. Meanwhile, Gestlin dug through the mountain of written records in the church’s archive, but found no similar events such as had been described. As the evening drew close, the Heroes had no better plan than to patrol the grounds that night and dare whatever-it-was to come at them; Rainald requested and was granted some horses, to speed their reaction time should someone cry out at a distance.

As night fell, Rainald, Gestlin and Brother Mendel patrolled the street around the cathedral on horseback, while Magnifico (Primus and Secundus at his side), Merasiël, Dane and Gabriel moved around atop the cathedral’s lower-tier roof (the level nearest to the gargoyles). They kept watch for many long hours under the light of the moon (bright enough that even night-blind Brother Mendel wasn’t terribly inconvenienced by the darkness). Some time into the patrol, a commotion was heard at the West end of the grounds that turned out to be a drunk couple leaving the local tavern; they were shooed on their way, for their safety, and the patrol was resumed.

Suddenly, those on the ground heard a heavy, wet thump behind them, and turned to find the mangled body of an unknown fellow in the middle of the street some distance away from them. They quickly looked up into the dark sky from whence the victim appeared to have fallen, and Brother Mendel barely saw a moving, shadowy shape pass overhead, and called out a warning to the others. As the Heroes dismounted and ran over to see who it was that had fallen, the shadow-creature flew down like a bolt of lightning, landing on the street some paces ahead of them; now in full view, they could see the creature’s wings and horns, and believed it some manner of demon, and were afraid. It beckoned without words, daring them to attack, and Rainald strode boldly forward, unafraid, and cast his spear at the demon, striking it in the shoulder; though wounded, it pulled the spear out of its body to wield it. As Rainald continued to advance, Brother Mendel followed behind him, and began casting a Banishment spell. Meanwhile, those on the roof of the cathedral raced over to the edge to see the creature, and were also afraid, though Gabriel and Dane found themselves on the wrong side of the building, and had to climb over, and so were delayed. Magnifico, flanked by his dragons, called out to taunt the demon, to draw it to him—he succeeded, and the demon flew up to the roof, and attacked, striking Primus with Rainald’s spear. Merasiël threw a knife and struck the demon in the ribs, but the knife could not penetrate his thick hide. Magnifico threw himself atop Secundus and urged the dragon to leap off the roof, flying down straightaway to the street, as the wounded Primus followed; the demon, even faster, pursued them downward. The demon was met there by Rainald, Brother Mendel, and the now-recovered Gestlin, and the creature suffered blows from Rainald, nips from the dragons, and lightning from Gestlin, while Brother Mendel continued his casting to banish it. Injured, it disengaged from the melée to fly up to the nearby roofs and attack a lone man there, surely vulnerable—it was Gabriel, who plunged his family blade (now named Misericordia) between the creature’s fourth and fifth ribs. At the same time, Dane, now with a clear shot, decorated the demon’s back with arrows, while another bolt of lightning from Gestlin struck him, and the creature fell to its knees, all but finished. Gabriel could just hear a man’s trembling voice come from the demon crying for mercy; though his bloodlust was checked, Gabriel did not trust that this was no trick, and so struck the demon again, and the creature fell from the roof, to the street below, even as the dragons caught up to the roof, as did Rainald, under Gestlin’s Air Walking spell. As the Heroes gathered round in wonder, they saw the demon transform back into a man, at once suffering all the wounds the demon had taken, and the man died.

The Heroes told the thing to the Archbishop, and he recognized the man, one of his priests. He was thankful for the Heroes’ aid, and offered them beds at the inn. He would have them stay for a day or two as they researched what the priest had done, but they declined with regrets, that they might make haste for Bannock.

Notes

• Gabriel took some time on the ship to “ritually name” his sword (the Named Possession Perk, PU2:19); the casters had been cross-training each other on various spells, but Gabriel and Merasiël started doing some martial cross-training as well. Also, the GM allowed Mendel to retroactively cast a regeneration spell on Magnifico to get rid of his hunchback, which usually takes a month or so to complete; the required time will have elapsed when Magnifico’s player has the points to buy off the Disadvantage, at which point it will “officially” be gone, though he has been slowly straightening over the course of the journey thus far
• Brother Mendel’s Duty to the Church hadn’t been specifically featured before in this or the previous campaign, but as the ship approached Raphael and we were deciding whether or not to stop, the GM went ahead and rolled it; success was determined to mean he had some letters to deliver
• The stop was un-planned, but the GM decided to make the best use of it by pulling out GURPS Locations: St. George’s Cathedral
• Magnifico riding the dragon was a bit of a surprise—hadn’t been tried before—which led to a long period of deliberation about whether or not it was possible, at what Encumbrance level, etc., and required some post-game research; now that it’s been settled, we can likely expect to see it occur more in the future
• The demon certainly had the potential to do harm to the Party, but we got pretty lucky; in the end, Primus’ was the only injury suffered