The Sunless Citadel, Session 17

Participants

What follows derives from my (Chris Carter's) log. I've removed extraneous server messages and some instances of whisper, though others may be left in for context. Entries marked with "11" are from the OOC chatter channel.

Jason was unavailable for this session, so Karnak was left out of play.

<DM> I would like to note again that I'm impressed at how cooperative the dice were for diplomacy last session. :)
* Liatus dons his "A#1 Diplomatic Bad-Ass" t-shirt.
<DM> :)
* Meridius is ready, though he reserves the right to get up in the middle of the session to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
<DM> Righto.
<DM> So, last time we left off with the characters just having secured the blessing of Yusdrayl's vizier.
<Liatus> So we are dragging the wooden corpse back to room 4 then?
<DM> That was apparently the plan, Meridius' skepticism notwithstanding.
<DM> http://www.baugh.info/citadel1.jpg , by the way.
<Liatus> So we can leave the body in room 4 while we deal with the last of the undead.
<DM> Yup.
<DM> So there you are in room 4. You can see that the tremor a little while back has loosened more ceiling tiles in this part of the citadel - you wouldn't want to run barefoot through here.
* Liatus stores his excess baggage with the body and moves to the door, waiting for the others.
* Silana nods to Liatus. "I'm ready. I'm still not certain this is a good idea, but I'm not going to desert you."
* Meridius takes the lead in heading back to the dragon crypt.
<Liatus> "Clearly whatever is entombed her is evil. Beter we deal with it now than risk the chance of the kobolds or others coming along later and releasing it to prey on the unsuspecting town."
<DM> The debris at the south end of corridor 6 got knocked over a lot; you can reach the door into room 7, but there's no room to maneuver south of it.
* Silana nods. "I agree. I just hope that we are sufficient to deal with it."
<DM> Room 7, you may recall, holds that blue globe that plays the disturbing music.
<DM> And Search checks would be in order.
## Meridius rolled 1d20+2 = 14 (12).
## Liatus rolled 1d20+2 = 21 (19).
## Silana rolled 1d20+2 = 22 (20).
<DM> Okay, all three of you notice that the lighting down at the far end of room 7 is peculiar. After a moment you realize what it is.
<DM> Part of the roof of the hallway that includes area 8 caved in, and so there's sunlight coming in. And the sunlight is falling on rocks less than a foot from the roof, because the hallway's choked solid.
<Meridius> "It appears we won't be returning to the dragon crypt."
<Silana> "Apparently not." She looks a bit relieved.
<11: Liatus> Curse you, Bruce Baugh! Curse you for denying me the chance to show off my spiffy new level 4 turning powers!
* 11: DM laughs. You'll get another opportunity fairly soon.
<Liatus> "Well, it appears that it will be unlikely that anyone else will be coming along the release the creature."
<DM> Not unless there's some secret way in, no.
* Silana nods. "And if whatever is in there is loosed in the daytime, it will not get very far."
<11: Liatus> Oh, you bastard. There is one.
<11: Liatus> But its back in the dragon room with Meppo.
<11: Silana> And we have no IC idea.
<DM> So do you want to press on out at this point, or is there other unfinished business to attend to?
<11: Liatus> No more cookies for you!
<11: DM> Actually, there's nothing of the sort. Good theorizing, though.
<Meridius> "Since our way to the dragon crypt is barred, what say we pack our gear and loot, hitch up the litter and return to Roburcollis?"
<11: Liatus> Clearly we need heavy mining equipment. We'll come back, kill all of the kobolds, and then tunnel in from room 15!
<11: DM> And this is the spirit that built an empire, no doubt.
<Silana> "I'm certainly ready to get out of here."
* Liatus sighs. "We may as well. Unless we wish to go kobold hunting, there's nothing really left to do here."
<DM> There are rats in the debris field around the citadel, as always, but they're staying well out of your way.
* Liatus briefly considers throwing one of his javelins at a rat but thinks better of it.
<11: DM> Krister Michl (12:49:29PM): *laughs*
<11: DM> Bruce Baugh presents: "The Spirit of the Empire"
<11: DM> Tagline: With the help of mining equipment and mass slaughter, you'll rediscover the foundations of a lost empire.
* Liatus returns to room 4 and collects his things.
<Meridius> What time of day is it in game continuity?
<DM> It's late morning.
<Meridius> Then we're in good shape for setting off to Roburcollis...
<DM> So assuming no particular setbacks, you can be at town by mid-afternoon, yes.
<DM> By the way, I'm figuring that you can take your time on the climbing and take 10 on it, which guarantees you success unless you really _want_ to roll it out.
<Silana> No, I was about to suggest the same thing.
* Liatus is happy to take 10
<Meridius> Fine with me.
<Meridius> Except that when I take 10 my result is a 4. :/
<DM> Which is sufficient, actually.
<Meridius> Wait, it's a 9.
<DM> It's mostly a "don't roll a 1" kind of deal.
<Meridius> I'm misreading my character sheet.
<DM> Up on top, you see that the tremor roiled the ashen plain - little ripples cycle back and forth where the ash is thick.
<Liatus> "How incredibly eerie."
<DM> The road leads off toward town just like the last time you went along it.
<DM> There are a bunch of small fissures in the earth for the first hour or so, and then it settles down - just as it felt down in the Citadel, the center of the shaking was presumably the Gulthias Tree, or whatever it was rooted in.
<DM> After that, it's an uneventful trip through pleasant countryside on a sunny day. It must have showered earlier in the morning, as the air is very fresh. And there are no smoky torches or anything.
* Meridius takes a deep breath or several.
* Silana walks along, happy to be out of the sunken citadel and leaving it behind at last, but at the same time not looking forward to delivering the unhappy news to the town.
<DM> Any plans to make before getting to town?
* Liatus thinks about how wonderful it will be to get a hot bath and a hot meal he didn't have to cook himself.
<Liatus> Do we want to hide the body?
* Chris pretends that BA didn't type that question. [Meridius]
<Silana> It's wrapped up, that's good enough.
<Liatus> "I supose we need to agree on what to tell Madam Hucrele."
* DM nods.
<11: DM> Feel free to take a moment to consider general approach, but also note that you can make asides and stuff to each other during the actual scene.
<11: DM> I figure we've had the US RDA per-dungeon allotment of very long planning; I won't penalize you for proceeding.
<Silana> "The truth. Her son was killed by the Outcast's goblin allies, and her daughter and her guardian were transformed by the tree. We arrived too late to prevent that, and truly, we do not know if it was already too late before se set out."
<11: Liatus> Can I make an Arcana roll based on my earlier study of the notes to figure out how long she's been transformed before we found her?
<11: DM> Sure.
## 11: Liatus rolled 1d20+7 = 8 (1).
<11: Liatus> Or not.
<11: DM> Well, to be fair, you haven't had much experience in people being transformed into animated plants.
<11: Narrator> Once out of the danger of the dungeon, Liatus reverts to his previous identity of mild mannored fop." [Liatus]
<11: DM> ;)
<DM> If Silana's proposal is broadly acceptable, shall we continue?
<Meridius> Yes.
<Liatus> Yes.
<DM> It's halfway from noon to sunset when you reach the farms around Hucrele. A couple of the farmers wave at you from a distance as you go by, and Constable Felosial is waiting for you at the end of the road.
<DM> She looks you over and says, "I'd hoped you'd have more with you like the gnome fellow."
* Liatus sighs. "As did we. One does not always get what one hopes for."
<DM> She nods at that. "True enough." She looks again. "That's an awfully big bundle. Is it something we should store in the constabulary? Anything dangerous in it?"
<11: Liatus> "Alas, it is our brave comrade, Pinocchio, who gave his life protecting us."
* 11: DM dies.
<11: Liatus> Sorry, I couldn't resist.
<11: DM> It's fine. :)
<DM> She takes a step forward, but refrains from actually poking at it.
* Liatus looks to Silana for his cue.
* Silana looks at the Constable sadly. "Perhaps it would be best to take this to the constabulary for now, yes. We bear the remains of Madame Hucrele's daughter, but she has been cruelly changed."
<DM> Felosial nods. "Right. I will let _you_ tell her that, too." She leads the way to the constabulary, shooing away a few of the local children.
<11: Liatus> It would be wrong of me to suggest telling the Madame that we know of a blue fairy who wil change her daughter back if she agrees to finance our expedition to find her, wouldn't it.
<DM> The constabulary is a low two-story building, with cells on the upper story. None of them are occupied at the moment. Felosial says, "You can put your bundle in here, if you want. Only the constables have the keys."
<11: DM> Juuust a bit.
* Liatus nods and helps Meridius move the litter into the room.
<DM> Felosial closes the door once it's in, but doesn't lock it on her own initiative. She looks a little quizzical.
<Silana> "Perhaps it would be best, if for nothing else to keep away the curious."
<DM> Felosial nods at that and locks up. "Do you want one of us to bring Madame Hucrele here, or meet her over at Garon's, or at her place..." She trickles off. "Sorry. I don't have a lot of experience with this kind of thing."
* 11: Liatus makes a Diplomacy roll to recall the best thing to do in these situations.
## 11: Liatus rolled 1d20+10 = 30 (20).
<11: Liatus> Holy fucking crap.
<11: DM> The Empire _really_ likes you.
<Liatus> "I suggest bringing Madame Hucrele here."
<DM> Felosial thinks for a moment. "Certainly. I can get her right now, I guess."
* Liatus takes out a cloth and attempts to clean his armor a little and make himself look a little more official.
* Meridius sits down and relaxes his tired self.
<DM> Felosial heads out. You've got a moment to gather your thoughts. :)
* Silana looks at Liatus. "Hold still." She casts Prestidigitation, and uses it to clean his armor, and his clothing, then moves on to Meridius and herself.
<DM> Hey, that's good. :)
<11: Liatus> I feel so shiny now.
<Liatus> "Clever girl."
<DM> A moment later, there's a knock at the door to the street. Felosial calls, "Ready for some company?"
<Liatus> "Enter."
* Liatus tries to look as professional as possible.
* Silana shakes her head, quietly saying to Liatus before the newcomers arrive, "I have trouble feeling clever with how our efforts turned out." She glances toward the body.
* Meridius looks like a tired soldier (but clean!) soldier, and doesn't try to hide it.
<DM> Felosial opens the door and holds it for Madame Hucrele. She's wearing a dark blue smock over her dress. For a very brief moment she looks hopeful as she scans the room. "You...don't have them."
<Hucrele> "Do you at least have news of what happened to my children? And their companions." [DM]
<Liatus> "I fear, Madame Hucrele, that we bear only ill news."
* Silana remains quiet, and lets Liatus do the talking. He's most qualified to say, at least, what might be possible now.
<Liatus> "Your son was killed by goblins, while your daughter and her guardian were transformed and killed by black magics. By the time we found them it was far too late. I am sorry."
<DM> Hucrele nods solemnly. "After a month, I feared the worst. But one likes to hope."
<DM> She lifts her hand and shows the family signet. "Were you able to retrieve their rings, as I asked?"
* Liatus nods to her. "I am truly sorry that we could not bring you better news."
<11: Liatus> Did we get their rings?
<11: DM> Yup.
* Liatus nods again and offers the rings to Madame Hucrele.
<DM> She takes each one, and examines it closely. "Thank you."
<DM> She takes a purse from her bag. "I promised you each a reward of 125 gold coins for each of these rings. You'll find the 250 for each of you here." She sets it on the table. "Tell me. Did those responsible pay for killing my children?"
<Liatus> "Yes, Madame. Those who did this have all been sent to the underworld."
<DM> She doesn't smile, but there's a brief constriction in her face that's partway to it. "Good."
<Liatus> "We three are very sorry for you and your family's loss, and only hope that the news we have brought offers you some small measure of comfort."
<DM> She bows to each of you in turn. "Thank you for at least letting me know. Now I can get on with life, I supposed. If you need any equipment before you leave town, please, come to me and I will deal most fairly with you. Now, unless there's anything more I should know, I'll be on my way."
* Liatus bows in return.
* Silana cannot keep her silence any longer, she finds, and says quietly, "I am truly sorry, Madame. I would give all that I have for this to have turned out differently. We truly do not know if it was already too late when we set out, and that doubt will be with me always. If we could have succeeded, and we failed you and your kin, I am sorry beyond any words I can say."
<DM> Hucrele nods. "Thank you, milady."
* Silana bows sadly, doing her best not to let tears come.
<DM> Hucrele then goes. Felosial closes the door behind her, and says with some admiration, "That is one tough woman. I don't know that I would have held up anything like that well."
<Silana> . o O ( Lady Minerva, let me someday be as brave as her. )
<Felosial> "So, what now? Karakas' cousins are off on a caravan, so you don't have them to notify as well. And what is that that you've got stored upstairs?" [DM]
* Gnaea leans forward from her perch on Silana's pack, and gently preens at her mistress' hair. [Silana]
<11: Liatus> Stored upstairs?
<11: DM> The litter and its wrapped contents.
<11: Liatus> I thought we'd already told her it was the girl's body?
<11: DM> Whoops, my bad.
* DM strikes that last sentence.
<Felosial> "What are you planning to do with that body, anyway?" [DM]
<Silana> "Liatus, perhaps you should speak with whatever priest ministers to Madame Hucrele and her family?"
<Liatus> "We hope to be able to return it to her original form. She won't be alive, but at least Madame Hucrele will have a body to give a proper burial."
* Liatus nods to Silana and then looks to the constable for information.
<DM> Felosial thinks for a moment. "You want Dern Nacele, then. She's the local priestess of the temple of all gods. She might know something about that."
* Liatus nods. "Thank you for your help."
<DM> Felosial shrugs. "Glad there's something I can do." She points to the north. "The temple's on that little point overlooking the river."
* Liatus looks to the others. "I think it may be best for us to return to the inn. We can inquire as to Karnak's condition, refresh ourselves, and send word to the priestess to meet with us."
<Meridius> "Aye."
* Meridius heads for the inn.
* Liatus follows in the legionaire's wake.
<DM> The inn is just starting to fill up with evening traffic. Garon gives you a wave as you enter, and calls out over the crowd, "Welcome back!"
* Liatus waves to Garon and seeks out a suitable table.
<DM> There's one open fairly close to the bar, so you can speak to him with less shouting.
* Meridius sees to stowing gear in a room before settling down at a table.
* Silana nods to the innkeeper as she's hanging up her cloak, not feeling in a particularly celebratory mood. She then follows Liatus as he finds a place to sit.
<DM> Garon bustles over. "Welcome back, adventurers. How did it all go?"
<Silana> "Not well. Those we sought to save were lost. Quite possibly before we began."
<DM> Garon frowns. "Damn."
<Garon> "I liked the Hucreles. They were good company. Their mother must be devastated." [DM]
* Silana rests her elbows on the table, and her chin on her clasped hands. "She is braver than I would be. Likely braver than I ever /will/ be."
<Garon> "Did you get their killers, at least?" [DM]
<Liatus> "Aye, that at least we did."
<Liatus> "A bottle of one of your better vintages, Garon, and a serving of whatever tonight's special is."
<DM> Garon says fiercely, "That's something, then." He calms down. "Certainly. I'll have one of the ladies bring up something good for you. We've got a very fine venison tonight. That little earthquake shook up the deer, and we had great hunting this morning."
<Liatus> (Are we going to eat here in the main room or retire to our own rooms to eat?)
* Silana turns her head to look back at Gnaea, and strokes the bird's feathers with a finger. "I would like a plate of chopped raw meat for this one. She earned it -- she saved us all."
<DM> Garon smiles. "I'm sure we've got something she'll like."
<11: Meridius> Guys, just to let you know I'm feeling ooky and I think I'm going to lay down for a bit. Assume that Meridius is doing the same in his room at the inn and continue gaming. I'll be back on in a little while.
<11: DM> Righto.
<11: Silana> Feel better, okay?
<DM> Meridius goes off for his rest. You can see that the locals would really like to hear stories, but are just a bit too polite to pester you.
<11: Liatus> best wishes
* Liatus also requests a perch for the owl.
<DM> Garon brings over a coat rack. "Doesn't look like there'll be any rain tonight. This should do."
<Liatus> "Thank you, Garon. And if you have anything fresh to snack on as we wait for our venison, that would be most excellent."
<Garon> "I'll see what I can do." [DM]
<Liatus> "Perhaps some fruit, or nuts of some kind."
* Silana does manage to smile up at the man. "Thank you." Gnaea leaps up, flaps once, and alights on one branch of the coat tree, from there to keep watch over her mistress -- at least until it is time to stoop on her dinner.
<DM> One of the barmaids comes out with a wooden bowl half full of giblets. She manages to hang it from an arm of the coat rack, where Gnaea can peck at it and others don't ahve to see all the details.
* The owl begins to eat happily, glad to be getting something tastier than jerky and rat. [Silana]
* Silana looks across the table. "Liatus?"
<Liatus> "Yes, Silana?"
<Silana> "I believe I may need your help."
* Liatus raises an eyebrow and waits for Silana to continue.
* 11: Liatus looks warily at you both, suspecting a set up.
<11: DM> Not me, man. :)
* Silana says, "I have little experience with strong drink, beyond the wine I often had when dining at my father's table. And I believe I have need of getting very, very drunk."
* 11: Liatus tisks. Who do I look like here, Dan? Richard?
<11: Silana> Well... ;)
* Liatus closes his eyes briefly and tries to recall what he can of Garon's stock.
<DM> Mostly local beers and wines, but he mentioned having small stocks of quite strong distilled products, some from sources back east and some from downstream distilleries.
<Liatus> "I suggest asking Garon for a bottle of the regional plum brandy. It's more agreeable to the feminine palate and should accomplish what you require."
* Silana nods, looking for a moment at least a little less glum. "Thank you." When next a barmaid comes by, she asks for a bottle, and a glass.
<DM> At this juncture, one of the barmaids sets down two bottles on the table. One's a malt, laid down 18 years ago, and the other is a four-year-old plum brandy. She looks at each of you. "These all right?"
<Liatus> "Most excellent, thank you."
<DM> She nods and heads off again.
<Liatus> (is this after we've enjoyed our venison or before?)
<DM> The crowd continues to look on curiously. You hear little snatches of conversation, with people trying to guess what's up with the missing adventurers, what was haunting the area of the Citadel, and so on. (Before.)
* Silana pours herself a glass, and takes an experimental sip.
<11: DM> Since I can't drink, I'll not narrate the impact. :)
* Liatus sips some of the wine he ordered when he first say down. A more experienced casual drinker, I'm pacing myself until the food arives.
<DM> Garon brings in a big platter in a few minutes, with long cuts of venison in the middle and garnishes of various of the local vegetables.
<Liatus> "Ah, thank you, Garon. This looks most agreeable."
* 11: Silana is assuming it's somewhat similar to plum wine, but a bit more concentrated and with a higher alcohol content. Sweet and smooth and goes down easily.
<11: DM> Makes sense.
<DM> Garon smiles again. "It should be. And I'll take a plate up to your friend the centurion."
<Liatus> "That would be excellent, thank you."
* Liatus digs in, but in a cultured and refined way.
* Silana looks up from swallowing a larger sip, her eyes moving from the platter to Garon. "Thank you," she says to him, and then she joins Liatus in refinedly pigging out.
<DM> :)
<DM> You notice one of the barmaids occasionally shooing back someone who looks like they were about to start plying you with questions.
* Liatus requests some bread from the waitress the next time he sees her, and a pitcher of water.
<DM> Those requests only take a moment to fill. The bread's quite fresh, too.
* Liatus continues enjoying the meal, and polishes off about half the bottle of wine in the process.
* As she's eating, and drinking both water and more of the brandy, Silana can't help noticing the curious eyes on the duo (Gnaea: You mean trio!), and the shooing-back of the bolder ones. [Silana]
<DM> Beats rations eaten underground, by a wide margin.
<Liatus> As I near the end of the meal, I ask Garon if he has any deserts tonight?
<DM> Garon says, "Not right now. We'll have some apple pies out of the oven in half an hour."
* Liatus nods. "That sounds most appetizing. Please send one to my room in .. let's say an hour's time."
<Garon> "Certainly." He pauses for a moment. [DM]
* Silana mutters to herself, and to Gnaea, "We'll never get any peace until they've heard the tale, will we? And it /does/ involve their town, so I suppose they have a right to know..."
<Garon> "Look, the crowd is piling in. If you're not going to tell them tales, would you mind very much taking the rest of your meal in your room? It's getting hard for the girls to do their job." [DM]
* Liatus nods to Garon. "As I fear I'm not much of a storyteller, and as I've had my fill of the excellent venison, I think it best we retire for the time being. If you would please, Garon, see to it that someone draws me a hot bath. I think I shall enjoy the rest of the bottle as I soak."
<Garon> "Certainly." [DM]
* Silana shoves her chair back and stands up. She's nervous, though partly fortified by the brandy, and by the memory of Madame Hucrele's courage when she was told the news. She tries to remember her lessons, when her tutors had her recite the old stories, and from the plays... and she uses her chair to climb up onto the table.
<DM> Garon has started to raise his hands overhead to signal for the crowd's attention, but freezes as Silana climbs up.
<Liatus> "Will you be retiring also Silana or (noticing her climbing onto the table) perhaps not."
* Liatus takes his half full wine bottle and his glass and stand to the side of the table, waiting for Silana to get the crowd's full attention before slipping away to his bath.
* Silana glances down at Liatus. Quietly, she pleads, "Stay? Please?" Then looking at the crowd, she plunges ahead before she can lose her nerve, and calls out, "Do you all want to hear what happened?"
* Liatus will wait a little bit.
<DM> Various folks call out. "Yes!" "Absolutely!"
* Silana holds out her arm, and Gnaea leaps from her perch to settle on the sorceress' shoulder. "Then I will tell it, as best as I am able..."
<11: Silana> And now I believe a Perform roll is called for.
<11: DM> I think so. :)
## Silana rolled 1d20+5 = 11 (6).
<11: DM> That's adequate. Sort of.
*** Maya has joined channel 10 [Sat. D&D].
*** Maya has joined channel 11 [Sat. D&D Chatter].
* Silana begins to tell the tale. It's a little slow at first, but then, the early parts are not that colorful...
<11: Silana> It's going to take a while to tell. Can I try another roll as I continue?
<11: DM> Certainly.
## Silana rolled 1d20+5 = 10 (5).
<DM> Someone in the audience calls out, "Was it ALL just rats?"
<11: Silana> Yech.
* 11: DM suggests taking 10 next time around.
<11: Liatus> What do you roll for Perform?
<11: Liatus> 1d20+Perform+Cha mod?
<11: DM> Yes.
* Silana takes another sip from her glass, her mouth going a bit dry. "No, let me move along, to where we met our first real foes..."
* 11: Liatus will, insanely enough, make a roll to try and help. Watch me crash and burn.
## Liatus rolled 1d20+1 = 12 (11).
<11: Silana> If taking 10 is allowed here, I certainly will. Could have from the start, but too late now.
<11: DM> You can do so at the next juncture, yes.
<11: Liatus> I don't think I'm going to be much help, so lets say that was my reply to a heckler and just move along.
<DM> Gradually the crowd starts paying more attention even though the storytelling is none too swell so far. The events themselves have some interest, and there are a lot of questions about the Citadel - who made it, what it was like.
* Apparently a bit more brandy was what Silana needed to make her words flow smoothly, as her telling of the tale becomes a bit more engaging... (Takes 10 for a Perform of 15) [Silana]
<DM> The kobolds also interest them a lot. People keep interrupting to ask if you killed them all or what.
<11: Kirk> "But! Why! Would! We! Kill! Them?! They! Are! A! Peace! Ful! People!" [Liatus]
* Silana tells the tale as honestly as she can, though trying to keep it interesting, and for a bit of the dramatic flair she remembers from some of her recitations.
<DM> She warms up to the task as she goes. By the time you get to the confrontation with the goblin king, they're pretty hooked.
* Liatus decides to stay and watch.
* Liatus asks Garon for some pistachio nuts.
<Garon> "The pistachios got worms this harvest. Can I interest you in almonds?" [DM]
* Liatus is clearly a little disappointed but agrees.
* Silana continues, telling of the dangers the little band faced, both from the magical devices scattered through the citadel, and from its various inhabitants.
<DM> The crowd's fascinated at this point. The sun is setting outside by the time she's done recounting the whole thing. How much does she say about the big showdown with Belak and its aftermath?
* Silana tells of the battle, trying to clearly depict how near a thing it was, though omitting the identities of the servants fighting on the Outcast's side, and being certain to play up Gnaea's bravery and heroism.
<DM> :)
<DM> The crowd's in no mood to ask inconvenient questions at this point. The events themselves carry the listeners away. They obviously never dreamed that such exotic adventures lurked so close to home.
<DM> And how do you wrap it up?
* Silana concludes, nearly exhausted now, and with a good few sips more of the brandy in her, "...and so the battle was won, thanks to this little one." She strokes Gnaea's feathers affectionately, "But I wish I could say the tale had a happy ending, but it does not. For those we had gone to save were no more. We can only take our counsel in that he that killed them will kill no more." And she closes her eyes, hanging her head a bit -- and the bird on her shoulder does much the same.
<DM> Some of the villagers applaud. Many look solemn.
* Silana looks much like she could use some help getting down from that table.
* Liatus says a quiet prayer for the lost, asking the Imperial Presence to watch over and protect their souls.
* Liatus then offers Silana his hand.
<DM> A bunch of the villagers chant the basic responses to Liatus' prayer. The ceremony seems to help them find their footing again.
## Silana rolled 1d20-2 = 9 (11).
* Silana isn't her usual graceful self getting down from the table, but with Liatus' help, she doesn't fall down, either.
<DM> The crowd's very quiet now.
* Liatus helps Silana to her room, bringing the plum brandy and bottle of wine with him.
## Silana rolled 1d20+2 = 10 (8).
* Silana seems to be needing that help, especially in getting up the stairs. The brandy seems to be getting to her.
<DM> :)
<DM> The next thing I have in mind really calls for Meridius to be involved. But there are no doubt things I'm not thinking of, too. So this is a good time to bring up any loose ends while Chris is away.
<Liatus> Once I get Silana to her room, I'll leave her with her bottle of brandy. After that, I'll check back the Garon about my bath and having my fresh apple pie ready once I'm out of said bath.
* DM nods. The bath and pie are both ready; the pies finished up sometime during Silana's story.
<Liatus> I'll also draft a note to the local priestess asking her to meet with us tomorrow morning concerning the body we brought back (and asking her not to speak to anyone else about it).
<DM> One of the maids will be glad to deliver it as soon as her shift finishes. She says that with the solstice just passed, Dern often holds late-night vigils.
* Liatus will do that while he enjoys pie. But before pie, a half hour soak in the hot bath, while relaxing with the rest of my wine.
<Liatus> And some flirting with the more attractive maids.
<DM> :)
* Silana tries to finish the bottle, but no doubt falls asleep well before that.
<DM> They are quite willing to flirt back.
<Liatus> Are any of the interested enough to stay the night?
<DM> Maybe.
<Liatus> Would an Innuendo roll help?
<DM> How good's your Diplomacy mojo tonight? (Taking 10 is an option.) And yes, it would. Success at that would give you a +2 to the Diplomacy.
* Liatus makes an Innuendo roll first.
## Liatus rolled 1d20+6 = 11 (5).
<Liatus> Clearly my Innuendo is a little rusty.
<DM> At least that doesn't get you a penalty. :)
## Liatus rolled 1d20+10 = 29 (19).
<Liatus> Woo!
<DM> Man.
<Maid> . o O ( Why is he talking about doorknobs? ) [Silana]
<DM> Liatus scores big time with whichever of the maids he finds most attractive.
<11: Liatus> Just one?
* 11: Liatus ducks.
* 11: DM laughs. Now now.
<11: Liatus> Do we want to end here for the week?
<11: DM> I think so, since our usual time is about up and Chris seems to still be sick.
<11: DM> Unless there's anything else in the way of single-character agendas.
<11: Liatus> Well, I figured it would be kind of crude to start making Dex and Con rolls.
<11: DM> You are correct.
<11: Silana> Nothing from me. Silana sleeps through to morning, and may need help with how her head feels.
<11: Liatus> Not to mention potentially embarrassing.
<11: Silana> Critical fumble.
<11: Silana> Take d3 damage.
<11: Liatus> "I don't care if it happens to every man, it doesn't happen to This man!"
* 11: Silana shuts up now.
* 11: DM laughs.
<11: DM> Initial and secondary ability damage...
<DM> Okay, folks, color me deeply impressed by this session.
<Liatus> yay
* Liatus had fun
* Silana grins.
<DM> In keeping with some recent practice, I'll give you XP for two story points (dealing with Madame Hucrele, dealing with the town). Which is figured as 300 x average level total each. So that's 300 x 4 or 1200 total, 400 apiece, x2...800 xp for each of you. (Only 400 for Meridius, but he'll catch up.)
<Liatus> Have we decided what to do about Karnak?
<DM> Karnak is still very sick and not up to travel yet.
<DM> YOu might even speak to him in the evening, but he spends a lot of time drifting in and out of sleep.
<DM> (This is, in mechanical terms, at the worst end of minor illness results.)
<Silana> Now that we're not in the middle of the dungeon (where adding a PC could be, ahem, awkward), maybe it's time to recruit another player?
<DM> Yeah, that'd be a reasonable thing to do.
<Liatus> Help Wanted: Must be able to hit something.
* DM laughs.


Chris Carter <*> <carter@q7.com>
Created: 1 June 2003