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[KittenMaster]

<@Tiberius: If you want you can save your post for when you actually do enter a home (if at all).>

preferably the mayor's house or something? do they have any kind of city guard? ...whatever.

As you head closer into town to examine any points of interests, you quickly see that it could hardly qualify as a town in a rigid sense; only personal homes of people, places which to make a living (farming, woodcutting), and a small school in another distance.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((Yeah, I think I'll do that. It's easy enough to change out inn for building. Of course, things could also play out different if Leo and Draco stick together the whole time.))

"Well, looks like it's just you and me, Draco! I haven't gone into a town to extract information from people as part of a team before. So, do you want to stick together or split up and take different buildings?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco shrugs, "Lets go together and get this over with."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"That works for me, let's pick a building then!" Leo closes his eyes, spins around three times, and starts pointing in random directions. "Eeny, meeny, miny... YOU!" When he opens his eyes, he's pointing in the general direction of the school. "That looks like a little bit of a walk, but it's what I landed on. Shall we?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"The last building I expect to find anyone at this time of night is a school, lets just go to this one." Draco says as he walks towards the nearest building.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I'll let you split up for town segments (since you're already split up anyway), but I'll have to group you up once I plan on putting you in danger.>

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

((So, me and Draco can split up then? If that's the case, I'll go ahead and take you up on the offer of by and large recycling the post for the nonexistent inn, but for one of the other houses))

 

[KittenMaster]

Draco finds himself approaching a nearby home, stepping over a stone path dividing the yard and making a path to the door. Lights are on in the home, but just coming to the door does not seem to provoke activity in the slightest.

<Prompt for further action.>

---

Leo heads his way over to the school. Though the lights are not on, the door seems to be unlocked. Inside is a collection of small desks and chairs neatly arranged in a rectangular grid, the middle rows spaced to allow passage between. Along the walls are windows aligned with the desks allowing the gray outside to somehow glow brilliantly within the darkness. At the end of the room is a larger desk, atop of which is a lamp that illuminates the surrounding surface, and behind it is a man in a white collared and sleeved shirt with suspenders, glasses, and once smoothed hair lazily set free for the night writing something in a book. Behind this desk area is what can barely be made out as a black board with writing.

Whoever this person is, he looks up to notice somebody coming in. Standing, he grasps the lamp and holds it up to better illuminate his view. Smiling he beckons, "Come in! I have been expecting one of you. Leo, was it?"

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco knocks and says, "Sorry for the intrusion as so late a night, but I seek information on the recent kidnappings I've heard oh so much about."

 

[KittenMaster]

A movement in the nearest window blots the light momentarily as someone moves the curtain to peer at the stranger knocking at the door.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is thrown off a bit by the man knowing his name right from the get-go. "Ah, yes, that would be me. I'd usually go by Tiberious in a situation like this, but I just wanted to ask you some questions, so that's no big deal. How'd you know my name, anyway? I guess you overheard us outside or something."

Straightening himself up, he says "I'm guessing you know why we're here if you know my name already. Do you know anything about the recent kidnappings? Anything you know could help us put a stop to them."

 

[KittenMaster]

"I am a teacher, guided by the visions of Muunfae. The stories I told made it very clear that you wouldn't grasp subtle concepts well, so I was given your name to impress you. My name is Elan, I have been thinking about the nature of The Fall as of late and have come up with some of my own speculation separate of the god's visions given to me."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo stands there with a blank look on his face, blinking slowly. "Umm, hmm, yeah. This sounds way outside what Deadstone wanted me to look into. If you want to talk smart stuff, I can take you to the others, or bring them over here if you don't want to leave."

 

[KittenMaster]

"I'm afraid I prefer to remain holed up here continuing my writings."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

"Oh. Alright then, I'll go and tell the others. I'll be back in a few minutes." Leo goes off to gather the others. He has no idea what that man was talking about, but it sounded important.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco is interpreted by Leo's return, but figures the school was the apparently the better place to go so he just lets these people g to back to sleep or w/e.

 

[KittenMaster]

<I had actually planned on Draco interacting with the people of the home before Tiberius got back.>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((well okay then))

Draco does do that stuff I posted above and repeats himself instead "Sorry for the intrusion as so late a night, but I seek information on the recent kidnappings I've heard oh so much about."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Can you give a diplomacy roll?>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Diplomancy: (1d20+14=24)

 

[KittenMaster]

After retreating from the window, soon the door is unlocked and opened, and a motherly sort is at the door, "Please, come in."

The half-elf is allowed into the home with little welcome. The husband sits in a chair nearby with a club in his lap, watching Draco carefully. Remaining standing, the woman asks, "You are here to help with our missing daughter?"

---

Tiberius will eventually catch up to Dreadstone and Thaddeus.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Why yes, yes I am."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

After finding Dreadstone and Thaddeus, Leo tries to get them to come with him. "I found some old psychic guy in the school over there. It was weird, he knew my name before I said it, and said that he was expecting us. Then he said a bunch of stuff about moon faes and the Fall that went over my head. I think he wants to talk to us. Maybe he'll tell us stuff about the temple too."

 

[KittenMaster]

Hearing the confirmation she begins speaking while reaching for a box on a nearby table against the wall, "Every night somebody's daughter is.." her sentence is cut off by her emotion, her face tensing up tightly and her voice quickly waning into a pitch, "My daughter just turned seventeen!" Despite the woman's husband getting up to help comfort her, she persists on handing the box to Draco, her whiny voice giving one last statement, "They left this in the bed. We had to kill it."

When Draco opens it up, there is a battered, crushed, large snake corpse inside.

 

[ThLunarian]

"Our coming was foretold?" Thaddeus blinks in surprise. "I should like to hear more of this. Lead the way, Leo."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone feels the prickle of rational caution spider-crawl up his spine, leaving a trail of hairs standing on end in its wake as Leo briefly relates his story of prophecy and mysticism as retold by a turnip. “Nothin’ unusual ‘bout that, now,” he says with sarcasm dry enough to desiccate a small pond. Keeping a firm grip on his bow, he accompanies Leo and Thaddeus back toward this house in question.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

Draco looks over the corpse to see is there is anything unusual about it.

Knowledge Nature: (1d20+9+1d6=21)

 

[KittenMaster]

Draco looks over the corpse to see is there is anything unusual about it.

Draco should know that the problem here is that it isn't unusual for a snake to be symbolically related to kidnapping of teenage girls.

---

After fetching his companions to lead them inside the school house, something has changed going inside. It is completely dark save for the light of the outside peering through the windows. Those with enhanced vision in the dark will come to realize quickly that there is no man inside the school building...

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Leo is alarmed to not see Elan waiting for them in the school. "Wait, what? There was an old man here being psychic and confusing right before I left! He said he wanted to stay here and keep working on... oh damnit, I think I just got tricked. But why would a magical geriatric want to trick me into bringing you guys here?"

After stewing for a little longer, Leo angrily says "I fucking hate old people."

 

[Mike M]

Dreadstone let's out an involuntary hiss as he drops to a knee and nocks an arrow on his bow. He pivots his head to scan all corners for assailants.

"It's a setup!" he whispers harshly.

 

[KittenMaster]

Eventually Dreadstone through his dark vision will come to notice a particular bit of writing on the black board, scrawled over a foggy wipe of the original contents.

What if the one that won it all
was the one that planned The Fall?​

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"...Is there anything else you can tell me? Any other strange happenings? Or even just people in town you've never seen before? ...other then me."

 

[KittenMaster]

"N-no... they were able to take them without anyone knowing."

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"I've heard rumors about ghosts in town, do you know anything about that?"

 

[KittenMaster]

She doesn't answer, seeming both confused and weighed by her saddened emotion.

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Anything you can tell me, no matter how minor it may seem could be helpful."

 

[KittenMaster]

She struggles to come up with an answer, "Well... strange things happen? But I don't know if it's ghosts or... I don't know!" The husband intervenes, "Some think it's thieves.. some think it might be ghosts taking our daughters, others think a killer is on the loose, but something needs to be done!"

 

[Mike M]

Once he's sure there's no one else in the room but but Thaddeus, Leo, and Gnaw, Dreadstone turns his attention to the blackboard.

"We need to find Draco," he says. "Now."

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Now that he's had a minute to calm down, Leo is back to being inappropriately cheery. "All right! Last I saw of Draco was when we split up. He went off to ask people questions, so he should still be around the houses."

 

[KittenMaster]

<ThLunarian hasn't erally posted today so I'll just continue things on. He can post his reaction and thoughts to what was on the blackboard separate of what's going on now. I'm also gonna conclude Draco's questioning unless there's something he really wants to ask>

Outside, the larger group rendezvous with Draco and the two halves catch each other up on what they have found, Draco in particular having information more relevant to the quest at hand.

 

[Mike M]

((Lunarian's traveling today, I think.))

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Upon seeing Draco, Leo is eager to relay what he's seen. "How'd talking to people in the houses go? I ran into an old psychic guy in the school; he knew my name before I said it, it was weird. He had stuff to say about the fall and... what was it... a moon fae? Unfortunately, he vanished by the time the others got there, but I think Deadstone mentioned a riddle on the chalkboard or something."

After catching up with Draco, Leo is left wondering why Elan only revealed himself to him. Why didn't he want the others to see him? It wasn't an ambush, so it couldn't have been a trap. Why me? I can't think of any reasons except... that's it! I'm the chosen one!

This is a huge revelation for Leo. He always knew he was special, and now an old man has cemented it for him. He opts to keep this major discovery under wraps for now, so as to not alarm the others. Besides, nobody likes a chosen one that rubs their status in people's faces. Now he just has to figure out what he was chosen for.

 

[KittenMaster]

Tiberius hears a voice in his head You are not the chosen one.

 

[Axelhortsemchi]

Tiberious frowns for no reason the others can perceive, but keeps his tears away from the others. You win today, destiny. You win today.

 

[KittenMaster]

<this muunfae stuff is clearly for the players rather than characters at this point; i had to do somthing with the town school that was unimportant but you'd visit anyway>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

"Okay, that's weird, but it appears to have nothing to do with why we came here, as I kinda of expected... sort of. We need to get focused back onto the kidnappings. With the whole snake thing I'm beginning to suspect ghost probably aren't so much involved anymore though."

 

[ThLunarian]

((Mike M is right, I was traveling all day yesterday and actually I probably won't be able to post at all today or this weekend, especially since I don't have a smartphone right now. I'm about to head out to see downtown Seattle or else I'd post about what's happening. I probably should have mentioned this sooner, sorry))

 

[Mike M]

"Well a ghost may not be involved in the kidnappin'," Dreadstone says, peering out into the darkness draped over the village as he keeps his bow in a ready position, "but there's somethin' out there aimin' to mess with us, leavin' riddles 'bout the Fall in chalkboards 'n such.

"Truthfully, I'd rather be dealin' with livin' kidnappers at the temple than smart aleck spooks in town. Can't trust somethin' that doesn't have the common decency to stay dead."

 

[KittenMaster]

<Someone want to play ThLunarian's character for if you get in a battle?>

 

[DeadPhoenix]

((If no one else would like to play around as a paladin, I can do it.))