[Game Thread] Act I: The Ills of Hengistbury

[LittleBlueNA]

Keloryn Roloval Once again placing his hand on his chest and resuming his stiff bow, Keloryn starts to ramble, “Ah, my apologies Lady Pemberton, I meant no harm. I know I can be a bit…”, the wizard pauses, searching for the right word, “...direct, but please do not mistake that for carelessness. I would never put another in harm’s way. I wish only to help.” Straightening himself once more, Keloryn turns to Altor with a smile on his face. “Hehe, no no, not at all. If I wanted to bring down the bar, I would have used fire instead of ice!” Looking back and forth between the unamused faces of Altor and Lady Sybill, the wizard deflates somewhat at his failed attempt to lighten the mood. Coughing into his hand, Keloryn decides he has caused enough trouble for one night. “Right. Again, my apologies. Lady Pemberton, thank you for your hospitality, and I will see you in the morning. I expect I’ll see you there as well Altor.” Giving one final, awkward bow, Keloryn turns and heads to his room for the night.

[GreatCthulhu]

When Lady Sybil announces that there is no threat, Kerrick relaxes, removing his hand from the haft of his axe. I should get to bed. Morning will be here all too soon. Waving goodnight to Meredith, he makes his way to his room. Once inside, he takes the small chair and jams it under the doorknob to secure the door. He stashes his gear and undresses before climbing into bed, placing one of his daggers, sheathed, under his pillow near his hand. Years of sleeping in the wild had made him cautious, but so far he was still alive, so maybe that was a good thing.

[Vodka Slushy]

Tracing a path back down to the river, it wasn't very long at all before Tabatha got lost. This wasn't the road she came in on and the darkness overcame the path before she would have anticipated. The slight wash of bullfrogs and crickets held a steady and faint cocophany in the background as she wound down the path close to the river. At a fork she heard some noises.

A faint cry seemed to be coming from an area ahead, near a bridge that she could make out in the light haze of the evening river fog. She cautioned up to it, but ducked down into the bushes when she heard a couple of voices and a lantern. As details became apparent in the closing of distance, she made out two men who had obviously had their fills of ale. They were bantering carelessly, one of which ceasing the opportunity of their arrival at the bridge to relieve himself into the river.

The night went silent, and but a moment later a hiss and snarl turned into a roar as a scaley creature burst from the bridge, terrifying the two pedestrians as they came to recognized a troll! A wet trail was left scurrying back towards town as the pair ran as coordinated as they could to safety. The troll didn't follow; he merely collected a few dropped coins and slunk back down under the bridge.

Tabatha hatched a plan, and she used the woodline to pass the bridge and go up the road 50 or so yards from the bridge. She unraveled a ration, unstowed a couple of coins, and threw them into the road. She then lit her torch to throw behind them and illuminate them. She hoped to lure the troll over so she could sneak around and inspect his under-bridge lair! However, the moment she struck the match to slight the torch, she saw a pair of yellow eyes from under the bridge peer out directly at her. She knew she was seen. Slowly, she gathered back up her food and gold, and disappeared back into the treeline.

Cautiously, she made her way back up the road and back to town. She didn't find the castle, but she gained a bit of mystery about the surounding area, and that was enough for her for the night. She had gained the company of the interesting halfling Cleric Ban, and Kerrick, the gent who seemed eager to help the lady of power, but not so much the lowly ordinary girl of poverty.

She wondered how many motives of her new friends were served by the want of attention and approval of power and money. In this she found little value. She chased the mystery and to know something that someone else didn't. After pondering for a while on the trip home she came to realize that her pursuit of the unknown in the ghostly castle may be best suited with some help. Whatever purpose the Pembertons would send them there for, she'd find a way to get her own satisfaction out of it.

Finding the tavern, she only retrieved the key for the room provided and went to sleep quickly. She twirled it on it's leather wrap as she neared the stairs to the rooms before stopping and looking back over the now nearly empty tavern. She furrowed an eyebrow and looked at the lonely worker and asked, "What do you know about trolls?"

The worker didn't hear her. She was too tired to press. To bed she went.

[quintangible]

The morning comes slowly for Lady Pemberton. She spends most of the night wrestling with tough decisions, situations that seem to not have clear solutions, and the pressure of being expected to find them. She envies her husband, who is able to devote his attention to the mundane, though not simple, day-to-day tasks to which a governor must attend such as resolving disputes, accounting for taxes and their disbursement, and meeting with leaders from other counties to discuss politics. These leave him more detached than she is from the people they lead. He doesn't see their fear, tend to their wounds, or hear their concerns. They discuss these things in private, but she feels the brunt of the impact first-hand.

So it is no surprise that Sybill is eager to busy herself at first light. She has breakfast prepared and the guard on watch for the adventurers. She gathers maps from the library and finds one that best portrays the castle's location. The table in the dining hall is fully prepared with fruits, bacon, a pitcher of milk, and even a loaf of fresh bread fetched from Steffen's Bakery. She places the map on the table, held in place by some surprisingly heavy candle holders. One of the guardsmen soon alerts her to the adventurers' arrival, and she sends an attendant to summon Lord Pemberton. Sybill's face glows with a warm smile as she greets each visitor.

"Tabatha, welcome. I worried when I saw you leave the tavern so late. I'm very happy that you returned." Then quickly adds with a smile, "Safely, that is."

"Keloryn, I see you managed to keep from causing too much more trouble. Welcome, please help yourself to some breakfast."

"Kerrick, Altor, it is nice to see some familiar faces in the group. It's only right that some of our own folk help take back our castle."

"And Ban Innot, last but certainly not least. I hope you were able to get some rest. Let me know if there's anything you need."

As everyone fills a plate and sits, Lord Pemberton arrives. He is tall, yet stocky. You see that he is noticeably older than his Lady, but not too old. His hair is still dark enough, and his mustache is neatly trimmed. He sits at the head of the table as his attendant prepares his plate. "Ah, welcome all." Sybill goes to his side and places a hand on the back of his chair. "Lovely table, my dear," he continues. "You've outdone yourself." She leans down and he kisses her lightly on the cheek.

"My Lady has told me you are all willing to help us with some of our... concerns. I suppose the least I can do is tell you what I know." He takes a bite of bread and washes it down before he starts.

"The castle has been abandoned for a few generations. My grandfather left before even my father was born. I knew him, but he would never speak of what happened. My grandmother was always talking of it, but never in much detail. You see, one of the servants was found to be a witch and hung. She swore that the witch placed a curse on her castle. We would ask over and over for stories in our morbid curiosity, but she would only scold us and tell us that those types of questions were inappropriate for children. How could we argue with that?" The Lord smiles, although you catch a hint of regret in his eyes.

"Of course we would sneak out at night and dare each other to go into the fabled cursed castle. And, of course we always found excuses to save our pride and came home before we gave away how scared we were. Even now, I'm not sure I could go in there. But, don't let my nostalgia scare you off." He looks up at the wall. Amidst the food, new people, and the overall size of the room it isn't surprising that the sword mounted there could be missed. It stands out now that you see it. It gleams in the direct morning sunlight, several gems reflecting colors up to the ceiling. "This is our family's sword, so beautiful. Even more so was the scabbard, or at least that's what I've been told. My grandmother would often shame my grandfather for leaving it in the castle. I don't know if it might be there still, or if it ever was, but it would mean so much to us to have it back if only for their sake."

The Lady speaks up. "Anything else you find you can keep, and I'm sure we can find some coin to compensate you." Then, gesturing to the end of the table, "I've found a map for you to reference. I'm afraid it can't leave the keep, but perhaps someone could note the location. It's only 3 or 4 miles away, depending on how many hills you wind around, so I don't expect you to have much trouble making the hike. An hour, maybe two? There really isn't much between here and there." She finally picks over what's left of the food and takes her seat at Pemberton's side.

[LittleBlueNA]

Keloryn Roloval As dawn broke, Keloryn woke to prepare for the coming day. Taking his breakfast in his room, the wizard took some time to study his spellbook, as well as review his notes from the previous days. Satisfied that he was as prepared as he was likely to be, Keloryn gathered his things and headed for the keep. Upon arrival, he was greeted by Lady Pemberton. "My lady, thank you for your hospitality." Already starting to feel more comfortable in her presence, he made another attempt at a joke, "Ah, yes, well the day is still young!" Entering the dining hall, Keloryn ignored the food in favor of studying the map laid out on the table. Pulling out his journal, he started taking down notes, noting locations as well as rough directions and distances. As Lord Pemberton's speech turned toward the family sword, Keloryn approached it to get a closer look. Reaching out, the wizard was about to cast a spell before he caught himself. Pulling back his hand, he turned to Lord Pemberton and asked, "Beside the obvious craftsmanship and sentimental value, is there anything... special about this sword or its scabbard?"

[Vodka Slushy]

Crumbs unceremoniously fell from the corner of Tabatha's mouth as she munched haphazardly on a biscuit. She was walking up and down the hall with her free hand on her hip. She half listened as her interest was pulled by tapestries and busts and family items on the walls. She let out a sigh; she was becoming bored. Plans and history and such, sure. Talk, talk, talk. Go here, get this. This wasn't anything out of the norm of what she'd known growing up, and the excellent but common wares of the house did little to capture her imagination.

She reached the end of the hall and walked back, and slumped in her chair. More magnificent food lay in front of her, and she picked at it while the others talked. That was, until she heard mention of, "Anything else you find you can keep." This made her perk up, and she saw the magical gentlemen from the night before pouring over the map and talking with the Pembletons. She scurried over to hear the tail end of the conversation. "Beside the obvious craftsmanship and sentimental value, is there anything... special about this sword or its scabbard?"

She intruded on the conversation with enthusiasm as she leaned on the table almost directly in front of the Wizard and spoke to the Lady, "Yeah so it, like, holds a sword. Sure. But what other stuff is in there that we can keep? Is it big; is there a lot? Should I bring another backpack?"

[Rainbow007]

Altor was up with the sun, as usual for her. But there was something different about this waking. She had spent the night at the inn, to polite to turn down the Lady's kindness, and the room seemed almost serene. No yelling siblings, no large dogs taking up her bed, no Mother trying to wrangle the whole circus to listen to her....A girl could get used to this.

The swordswoman arrives at the keep around the same time as the others, and keeps an honest ear open to the story of the castle. A curse from a long dead witch, now that would be a hard task to go against, but by the sounds of things they were going to retrieve the scabbard. Altor bit off a bit of an apple as her eyes lingered on the family blade. It reminded her a little bit of Ozmodiar, her father's favorite that they buried with him, and the whirlwind of tearing apart the home to find it's scabbard before the funeral...

Taking a drink of milk to clear her thoughts, Altor took a deep breath and moved her attention back to the map, back to the matter at hand. "Do you have any ideas on where to look first for the scabbard? There must be a hundred rooms in this castle."

[quintangible]

Between bites of bread, Pemberton fields the various questions asked of him.

"Beside the obvious craftsmanship and sentimental value, is there anything... special about this sword or its scabbard?"

"Special? As you say, it is well made, a good sword. It is not magic, though, as I'm sure you can tell. It does have a greater meaning to us than mere sentiment, I believe. There are doubtlessly several items, worthless to most, that would hold sentimental value in the castle. However, this one is important to us and our village, an item of honor and respect that has been left incomplete for far too long."

"...what other stuff is in there that we can keep? Is it big; is there a lot? Should I bring another backpack?"

"Big, yes. I expect most items of worth were removed, but also that many were left behind. It was before our time, so I can't say exactly. I suppose it depends on how much time you have to search for such things?"

"Do you have any ideas on where to look first for the scabbard? There must be a hundred rooms in this castle."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that there are hundreds. There are records of a dungeon, library, the usual large gathering halls. I'd say there weren't more than a handful of living quarters. That's probably where I would begin to search, but after all this time it could be anywhere."

Sybill studies Ban's face, attempting to get a read from him. "You've been quiet, and Kerrick as well. Do you have any concerns? Hopefully we haven't scared you away from the task. Believe me when I say that I do not take such requests lightly. I would not ask you to go if I did not believe you would return."

[Vodka Slushy]

Satisfied with her answer, Tabatha turned to look at the map now that she was leaned over, completely and obliviously in Keloryn's way. Chewing with her mouth full, she uttered out and pointed at the bridge, "Oooh, there's a troll under there. Hey, wait... you're magic right? How'd ya do that?"

[Svalin]

Ban looks to the others for a moment, the back to Sybill and replies "No, No of-course not. What you ask of us seems simple enough, but I must ask has there been any other expedtitions to retrieve the sword before us?" Ban leans back and studies both their faces as he asks the question.

[GreatCthulhu]

Kerrick wakes up before the sunrise. Rolling out of bed, he does a few sets of bodyweight exercises focused on both strength and flexibility. Once done he cleans up, shaves, and checks his equipment before dressing. Since he wasn't sure when they would be leaving, he dons his armor, as well as all of his weapons. Better to have and not need than need and not have, he thinks.

A last sweep around the room to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything, then he slides the chair out from under the doorknob and heads downstairs. A quick wave to Meredith, and he's off to the keep, arriving in the midst of the others.

The Lord and Lady set out a more than gracious meal, and he tucks gratefully in, listening intently as questions are asked and answered. Ban, the cleric, asks the question he's most interested in, and he waits to hear the answer.

[LittleBlueNA]

Keloryn Roloval At Tabatha's remarks, Keloryn stepped to her side and studied her face. "A troll, are you sure?" His brow wrinkled, and he looked up to the Pembertons. "So close to town? I heard mention of a troll at the tavern last night, but wrote it off as just a tale. Has anybody been hurt?" Without waiting for an answer, Keloryn opened his journal and began looking through its pages. When he reached the most recent entries, he jotted down a few notes before shutting it in frustration. Looking back up at the Pembertons, he asked, "Would you happen to have a library here, or might there be one at the castle?"

[quintangible]

"...has there been any other expedtitions to retrieve the sword before us?"

Pemberton fields the first question. "Not one as capable as your group seems to be. The guards fled the castle, too, you understand? Asking them to go back in wasn't really an option. Our village has never received this kind of attention before, and never this much trouble. We've been happy with our farms and our families. That all changed with the rumors of a nearby dragon. This is our first real attempt to fight back against the evils that seem to be converging on our lands."

"So close to town? I heard mention of a troll at the tavern last night, but wrote it off as just a tale. Has anybody been hurt?"

The Lady looks at Tabatha, trying to discern if she's serious or not. It is difficult for her to discern. "I've not had a reliable report of a troll. Surely someone would have reported an attack? I know Brand has been dealing with some serious threats coming from every direction, but nothing as dire as this would be. I'll see if he can check out the bridge, look for any signs of danger."

"Would you happen to have a library here, or might there be one at the castle?"

Sybill still obviously distressed by the troll, Lord Pemberton responds to the elf. "Eh? Books? We have a few here, but yes many were left at the castle. There was never a large collection. We have few villagers learned enough to take to reading. You're welcome to peruse what we have. Hopefully we can recover some from Brockendale."

"Anything else?" Lady Pemberton asks.

[LittleBlueNA]

Keloryn Roloval When Lady Pemberton mentioned rumors of a dragon, Keloryn's gaze snapped to her and he opened his mouth as if to speak. Ultimately deciding not to interrupt, he reopened his journal and scribbled a reminder to ask her about that at a later time. After she finished speaking, the wizard thanked the lady for her offer. "I would love to see what you have, but that can wait until after we deal with this haunting, or whatever it is. And worry not, books are among the greatest treasures in the world, we will bring back whatever we can." Walking to the end of the table, Keloryn started making gestures with his hands and muttering in Elven. When he finished, he turned to face the group, eyes faintly flashing with arcane energy. "I for one am ready to set out, but I think it would be expedient to discuss a plan should any troubles arise. I'd prefer that we know each other's strengths and weaknesses rather than having to figure them out in a dangerous situation. For myself, I have a few different arcane attacks, I can bestow magical armor on one or two individuals, and in a pinch I have options for hindering small groups." Looking down at himself, he continued, "As is clear, I am somewhat lacking in physical and martial prowess. Unfortunately, I am also unfamiliar with the undead. Perhaps someone here might be able to enlighten us in that area?"

[Svalin]

As the Wizard explains his abilities Ban listens raises an eyebrow at the mention of arcane magic before stepping forwards now fully awake and with a perhaps overly extravagant flourish he presents himself to the group, "I, as is plain to see am a devout cleric of The Great Dreamer, The Starsong, Desna." Holding his holy symbol above his head which was roughly at eye level for the others given his halfling stature he continues "My name is Ban Innot, and with the divine abilities granted me I can heal and aid others, as well as prove quite effective against creatures who oppose the values of my deity, I believe any undead we encounter will prove vulnerable to such methods."

Finishing with another flourish returning his holy symbol to its place, and setting himself into the most confident posture he could muster, hoping that the others did not see how unnerved he was at the idea of actually confronting any undead horde that populated the castle in his imagination.