[Game Thread] The Death of a Professor

[mightymconeshot]

It is a cold and dreary day when you arrive in the small city of Dugsturbo. You have come from your comfy jobs and lives to pay respects to a man who helped you on the road many many years ago. Having gotten a letter one morning, you opened it up. Smiling at the thought of another pleasant discussion with Professor Thintus Adelaum, your mentor and life long friend. Quickly into the start though, you smile turns towards a deep frown. For you see, the Professor has been killed, possibly murdered, and has called together all of those he trusts for some task. First is the funeral, and then a meeting with the man who sent the letters.

And so it is a cold dreary day as your feet crunch up the graveled path following along behind the casket. As the coffin is placed next to the hole in the ground, the rain starts to fall lightly. The priest reads aloud from the scriptures of the gods for half an hour while the dozen or so of you that have gathered stare on in quiet shock. The ceremony ends, and the coffin is lowered in. The priest withdraws with the 4 coffin bearers, leaving the rest of you to look on and pay your final respects. No one moves for a minute, then one by one a person comes up, throws in a handful of dirt and some old token, a coin here, a cup there, a necklace for one, and a silver ring for another. Finally there is five of you left. 4 complete and total strangers, and what appears to be the person who wrote you the letters. A gnome with an ancient look, and clasping a book. From his clothing and description you gather he is some kind of lawyer. He looks around in the dreary weather, the rain making his hat droop. Everything about him seems cast-fallen, and it looks like he simply wishes to collapse back into somewhere. Reaching into the brim of his hat, he pulls from it 2 things. One a feather which he drops onto the coffin. The other a fob pocket watch. Opening it with a sharp click, he pulls the silvered chain from his jacket. Winding the handles, he drops the whole thing into the grave. Looking at you I am his lawyer, and have sent you the letters. As it seems the others are not interested in helping the Professor out, it will probably be just the four of you. Please meet me in my office at 6 o'clock sharp tonight. You should have plenty of time. It is down on Blany Lane and it is number 226. Good day, and may you say your final words in peace.

Turning around, he crunches back down the gravely path weaving his between hills and marble markers for the dead. Now it is the four of you. Time for your respects, a journey back to whatever in your wound up in last night, and then apparently a talk with the lawyer and these 3 strangers.

[Ghostwheel]

Lyssa looks at the grave, her icy features hiding the mix of anger and hurt at the dead man. She hadn't known the Professor well, but he had come a number of times throughout her youth to the church where she had boarded, and the older man had left a good impression on her. He had been kind and gentle as few were amongst the nobility, and had engendered in her a sense of trust that she could ofttimes turn to him should she be in trouble, or simply need a friendly ear. And now he was gone. How could he leave her like this? He had said that he would be there for her for as long as she needed him, and now when she needed him most, to talk to and explain how painful it was for her that he wasn't there, he was gone. Forever.

Features still impassive, hiding the turbulent emotions that warred within her, Lyssa slowly allowed her gaze to travel from one person to another, still around the grave. Another woman and two men--a flash of anger sears through her as she wonders impulsively if any had known him well, if they were the cause of his death, before cold reason forms an icy grip on her mind, reminding herself that it was meaningless. What was important now was to hear what the gnome had said--filthy creature that it was, inhuman and impure--and see what the Professor had last wanted for her to speak of. And for the others, she supposed, though none of them appeared to share her status as one of the major Houses. She studies them more closely now that they are in mind, and wonders what connection they had to the late Professor.

All human, good. It would be a terrible shame for the Professor to have been involved too closely with those of the lesser races. Plainly clothed, all of them, she noted with disdain. A woman with strawberry-red hair, less than half a head shorter than herself; a man of a little more than average height, his face shrouded by the deep hood he wore--was there something wrong with him? And finally, almost a giant of a man who towers over the rest with a shock of black hair, his most prominent feature the two revolvers holstered at each hip. Her hand wandered to her side for a moment, and she felt the holy symbol of Kraen that rested at her side, reassuring herself with its weight. The others were of little-to-no consequence currently, though the others seemed to carry themselves as though used to the weight of a weapon in their hands, though there would be little of that here, and she would probably be able to hear from the gnome--disgusting creature--what the Professor wished, before returning to court to continue her House's rise to power.

"There we have it, then," she finally says, looking down at the grave. "May Kraen receive and comfort his spirit as it journeys to His embrace," she intones the words, removing the symbol from the loop on the belt that circles her hips, making a vague motion of ritual as a sigh escapes her. A thin line appears on her forehead, but is quickly gone as the symbol remains in her hand, her movement causing the ceremonial armor beneath the clothes that mark her as high nobility to clink softly beneath the gown. "He visited the church often, and talked of many things of the outside world that few others would speak of," she murmurs half to herself as she returns the symbol to its loop on her belt and removes a small old book from one the gown's pockets. She carefully tears out a single page before dropping it into the grave before looking back up. "How is it that the rest of you came to know him?" she asks, her tone passive and without inflection, making small talk in an effort to get herself away from the emotions she felt, rather than in an actual request of information.

[Actana]

Grace stood at the rear of the group as the funeral proceeded, her head bowed down slightly as a show of respect. She never knew the professor well, but nevertheless, a loss of life was a loss of life. And even though she didn't have a special bond with the deceased, the sombre mood of the procession affected her anyway.

"May your soul find the rest it did not find in this life", Grace finally muttered after the others had paid their respects. She had nothing to throw into the grave, and even if she had, she did not believe in such things. The professor's soul had departed the body, and soul had no use for material possessions. With a sombre smile and a courteous nod to the grave, she remained when most others had left. She didn't know why exactly she was here, but she aimed to find out.

Once the funeral was over, she took a look at the others who remained. When the woman started talking, she took a look at her, eyeing the obviously noble born woman with interest.

"I... Did not know the Professor very well. He visited my home a few times and we talked on occasion. He seemed to take great interest in me though he never said why." she finally says. "Yet, I am honored to be invited here. My name is Grace, and it is my pleasure to meet you all." she says with a curt bow, a small and simple smile on her face.

[Nathanielx]

Providence stands in the back watching the funeral without any sign of emotion.

He spent only a short time with the professor, but did think he was a good man. He has met a few good people in this new land, much better than those from where he came from.

Providence raises an eyebrow at the others that have spoken as if he didn't expect any of them to have the ability to talk. The others can tell he feels out of place in such situations. He nods his head at the girl Grace and he speaks after her to answer the other womans question.

"Providence." he says in a deep grizzled voice, "That's my name" he seems to miss the irony of his moniker and keeps talking, "I knew him slightly. Good man from what I could tell."
Providence says to the rest, "I'll see you at the destination. If the dead man wanted it, I suppose I should honor it."

[Anon315]

The shorter of the two men did not speak. Perhaps he had nothing to say, but of course the actual reason for his silence was private. He looked from one to the other as they spoke, and when eyes fell on him, he simply shrugged. He might give the impression of being a mute, which would be a false impression, but he didn't feel comfortable speaking at the moment.

He gave proper reverence to the solemnity of the event, bowing his head when appropriate, and eventually even removed his hood presenting long hair which could do with some washing. His eyes, if they could be seen now, would be noticed as having a milky look, as if they were nothing more than giant cataracts. Blind and mute? If so, it would certainly explain a great deal. But he'd been looking at the others, though perhaps he'd only been noticing their speech. His robes were nicely kept, clean looking, and he himself seemed put together almost too nicely for his apparent disabilities. He seemed content to wait for the service to end, and follow the others back to the lawyer. He didn't know what the professor would want with him. In truth, they'd only met briefly but it was an important moment in Desmond's life. It was quite possibly the most important moment of his life to date.

[mightymconeshot]

The four of you stare at the coffin in the ground for several more minutes. One by one you slowly drift away back into the town. Looking around for some of the morning, you eventually end up back in whatever hotel or inn that you have crashed into. Dining and lunching in the inn, you spend your afternoon alone with your thoughts. Eventually the evening slowly creeps into existence for you. Checking the time, you head on over to the lawyer's office.

Climbing into the rich section of town, you pass well to do merchants, craftsmen, traders, and other middle class citizens. The streets are well paved here, and patrol with regularity. Many are created on first names by the people who are closing up, and heading home for the night. While some give you stares, most take a look at your appearance, gear, and manner before moving slightly to the side. They all know the life blood of many trades comes from adventures and wanderers, and antagonizing them usually ends up with a messy end. Finding his office, you knock on the wooden door. A man-servant opens it takes in your look, and once again silently shows you to the main office.

Walking into the room you are greeted by a cheery fire, several large stuffed leather chairs, and a table with liquor on it. Behind a large polished oaken desk sits the gnome. He looks up from a folder he is paging through, and smiles as you enter. Gesturing towards the seats and the liquor, he waits for all of you to arrive. Closing the folder finally, he looks up.

I bet you are all wondering why you have been called. The professor is dead as you obviously saw. He did not die of natural causes as was believed by almost everyone. He was murdered. He had two sets of instructions set out upon his death. One was the sealing of what he was investigating. The other was for a series of letters sent out to every correspondent that he kept over the years. You are them. What he was investigating was a series of disappearances across the region. All targeting roughly the same area, and same age group. Every year a handful of children would suddenly go missing. Most between the ages of 8-12. He was working in a small village about 4 days of travel away. The village is called Haywright. There is another close friend that was working with him. The friend's name is Jimmy. He is staying at the local inn. You are asked to head there to discuss continuing the investigation. That is all the instructions I was given, and I recommend that you leave soon. If you will not go, please tell me so I can send a letter.

[Nathanielx]

Providence eyes the lawyer, a glint of distrust in his eyes. Without sitting he looks over the alcohol, sorts through the bottles and selects the best and most expensive of the bunch. Opens the bottle, sniffs it, shrugs as if slightly disappointed and then pours himself a shot of it. He then drinks it down quickly. He then sets the glass down roughly on the table, pauses, exhales and then speaks "why me? us..." He glances at the other three. "Isn't there some local law enforcement that can handle this sort of thing?" Providence waits for an answer, it becomes obvious to you all that he distrusts authority as he sees this lawyer as a representative of authority.

[Actana]

Grace politely declines the liquor and sits down onto the chair, her eyes alternating between wandering around the room and fixating on the small gnome. "I will have to echo the question presented. Why us? Though I do not doubt there is more than meets the eye to this meeting, but this feels... Strange, to say the least. I would not have expected to be called away from my home merely to investigate the disappearance of children, tragic as it may be." She pauses for a moment, closing her eyes for a brief moment. When she opens them again, her eyes shine with determination. "Hence I will accept this request. There is a reason we were all called here, and it would be an ill course of action to ignore it." She nods and looks to the others present.

"However, I do have a question. This Jimmy, how are we to recognize him?"

[Ghostwheel]

Back at the inn where she had rented an extravagant suite, Lyssa looked around a faint sense of unease filled her, as though she were not coming back to this place, or even back to her family's ancestral home in a while. But that was silly, wasn't it? While she didn't have any pressing obligations there right at this moment, something was sure to come up that would need the expertise of a woman's touch, and her mother could not leave half of what needed to be done for the extended family. But still, there was something in the air that was... different. Call it women's intuition.

She made her way towards the dwelling where they had been directed, still in her pristine noble's outfit, though this time she had her pack beside her filled with the various things she needed just in case anything happened; "Always be prepared," her mother had told her, and she had taken the words to heart. A small tent, a bedroll, various items for starting fires and more filled her pack, and she wondered again why she'd gone through the trouble of packing it herself and carrying it around like some peasant before reminding herself that any other might be too simple to remember everything she needed.

She arrives at the abode of the filthy gnome in due time, probably a little later than everyone else, and eyes the other arrivals before turning her attention to the filthy creature, fixing it with a pointed gaze as it spoke--though her disdain slowly cracked and trickled into curiosity, and then horror as it spoke. Children missing? Regardless of how she felt about the dirty peasants that littered the world, there was the matter of noblesse oblige--that is, the duty of the noble to protect their people. She couldn't have children of the Kingdom up and disappearing. And all the more important if the Professor had been investigating the matter--and perhaps killed for poking his nose where it didn't belong.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," she tells the tall man, pulling herself up to her own height, even if she stands a head beneath him. "Why, I'm sure I would be enough for this myself, and would leave right now and on my own were it not the late-Professor's apparent wish that you enjoy the company of my presence," she says, striking ice-blue eyes glittering disparagingly. She looks at the other woman besides herself who spoke, looking her up and down as though re-evaluating her before giving a slow nod. "I know not whence you come from, but at least one of you," she addresses the three once more as a group, "have the drive to honor a dead man's last wish--one whom we all respected, if your situation was similar to mine--but also to prevent the disappearance of any more peasant-children from bosoms of their mothers."

[Anon315]

The smaller man who was previously silent spoke after the others had expressed their opinions regarding the assignment, mission, or whatever they'd choose to call it. When he does speak it calls into question why he had chosen not to prior, as the words ring with a sonorous quality, accented slightly. "I do not see..." he paused, perhaps accenting a pun, "what all the commotion is. We will go investigate, those of us with spines, and see what is the matter. I know not of others, but I owe the Professor this much." The latter R in professor trilled, and when he heard it echo in the room, he clammed up again, as if embarrassed by his manner of speaking. You will be given away. Silence is golden, speaking is iron. Manacles are not made of gold.

He shifted uneasily and tried to appear even smaller, perhaps hiding against a wall of the room or something. He wasn't actually small, but gave the appearance. What they couldn't see was that underneath his robes he was a specimen of muscle, training in near constancy to keep himself at the peak of physical fitness. It took quite the deal of work to keep the appearance of being homely and crippled, disabled in form and function while being in fact rather the opposite.

[Nathanielx]

Providence rolls his eyes at the other two, but waits for an answer to his question thinking it is a reasonable enough one to ask.

[mightymconeshot]

The gnome shrugs at your questions. I do not know why he called you or the others together. I am merely his lawyer. he give me this folder, which contains a list of names, his will, and some various things to do if I was to hear that he died. He would send me a new one every couple of months as he wandered from place to place, along with money for my services. The last time I saw him would probably have to be 15 years ago. We meet up for drinks in a tavern at the old capital. Then I moved up hear.

As for Jimmy, I once again do not know. The Professor never described him to me, and I have never meet the man myself. I assume he is well known to the town itself, and a local could probably point you in the right direction.

Smiling as the three of you accept the professor's wish, Well that is all the information I have. The town from what I gather is to the north. Simply leave on the trade road, and follow it. In about 2 days time you should meet a small offshoot with a sign pointing toward the village. Follow that for another few days should lead you there. The weather has been nice, and robbery attempts are low due to the high security and proximity of the city.

OOC Okay, well you have your mission. Feel free to do a post with any preparations that you will do before you set out. Casters, I need spells chosen. I am double checking character sheets today, and I will make a game post tomorrow moving us to the next area.

[Ghostwheel]

Lyssa gave one last look around the room before giving it a slow nod of farewell. She was fairly certain she would see the girl with the leather armor again as well as the man in the strange hood. The girl, only a few years past childhood, carried no weapon; was she some sort of unarmed fighter, like the monks she would sometimes see at the church, carrying out their daily prayers and training themselves in order to be able to take on the enemies of Kraen? Or a spellcaster, like herself? No, that didn't seem right either, what with the armor. And the other one, almost certainly a spellcaster such as herself. Was he too a priest? And yet he carried no visible insignia or mark of priesthood. Perhaps one of the sorcerers she'd heard of, unsanctioned and unbound by the Church and its laws, ready to wreak havoc wherever he went? She would need to keep a close eye on that one.

The last one though, he carried his armor and regalia in full view on his body, and it was quite clear to the naked eye how he defeated his foes. Yet he was the one she doubted most that she would see again. Perhaps the Professor had never meant as much to him as he did to herself and the others. Perhaps he didn't care about the peasant children who went missing. Perhaps he didn't understand the gravity of the situation, what with the Professor having been potentially murdered. She put him out of her mind as she left the room to return to her own suite where she began to ready herself for the journey to come, packing her courtier's clothes and making ready with her travelling outfit. Once finishing packing her things and readying herself, she picks up the backpack within which were her travelling gear and makes her way downstairs to 3 cp per mile, let me know how much it comes out to.requisition a coach cab in the direction that they were advised to go.

[Actana]

Grace leaves the room once the 'briefing' was over, politely thanking the gnome for his hospitality. She bows slightly to the other people in the room, then heads outside. She had already brought everything she needed for the journey ahead, but was only lacking transportation. The gnome had said '2 days', but had not specified the means of transport. Smiling a faint smile, Grace heads towards the nearby stables, to see if they had a horse to sell, as well as any equipment a horse may need on the journey ahead.

OOC Buying a light horse (75gp), riding saddle (10gp), saddlebags (4gp) and bit and bridle (2gp). 91gp total.

[mightymconeshot]

Having prepared to leave during the night, your band meets in front of the city gate. One pulls up on a horse, one waits impatiently for a minute tapping her toe. When a carriage pulls up in front of her she glares at the driver before getting in side. Closing the door, you take a look at each other. With out a formal talk, you all start heading north as one.

After several days of travel, you arrive in the small town. Pulling up in midday, you look around. A few farms are nearby, but mostly it is a clear plain around you. The village holds a few hundred people at most. It has a few small stores, a tavern, a blacksmith, and a stable. Mostly people are going about village life, and do not stop for your arrival. Desmond is starting to starve and dehydrate from the travel.

OOC Everyone mark off 4 days of travel rations. Desmond you have started to starve. Your first starvation check passed. It is 2 gold pieces ghostwheel.