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  #61  
Old Feb 13th, 2023, 11:20 AM
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Kerwin Powell Kerwin was about to grab the book and make a hasty exit out of the house when Mrs. Applewood mentioned the condition of her produce. It couldn't be coincidence that there were demonic possessions about town and the local staples were turning. "You say your crops are turning? Might we have a look...perhaps take a few samples for our research?" The rotund alchemist scooped up the tome off the table and moved to the garden, not really waiting for permission to move about the property. Once there, he observed the condition of the grounds and selected some potently awful pieces to study later.

"What do you make of this Adelaide? Do we pass this off as coincidence, natural pestilence of the insectoid or fungi nature or can we deduce that something far more nefarious is occurring here?"

 

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Old Feb 13th, 2023, 01:51 PM
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Adelaide Darkdraft ”I… Adelaide began, before pausing to compose herself, ”I find it hard to believe anyone could use something so rotten without noticing. Either she’s blind as well, or something decidedly unnatural is going on.”

Adelaide cast her gaze over the crops in Mrs. Applewood’s garden, having said their goodbyes to the apologetic old woman. ”Whatever it is, it is likely a symptom of what’s going on here, rather than the cause of it. We should check in with the others, perhaps they’ve made some progress on that matter.”




 


 
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Old Feb 17th, 2023, 12:07 PM
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At the churchFeeling at a loss, his words completely missing the mark, Oren tries again. "Left you to die? Isabella, that is the exact opposite of what happened. I rescued you, risking my life in the process."

He fought hard to keep his anger in check, but the girl had irked him. "You are an ungrateful little girl, but you're not evil. If you keep dabbling with Fierna, she will take over your life and soul." He gestures to Marcus and Daybreak, "We are offering you a way out. You will not get another chance before Fierna twists you."

He could only hope that she listens to reason at last.
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Old Feb 17th, 2023, 05:18 PM
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At the churchGallindan stands in the door, taken aback by the obvious escalation that appears to be invisible to Marcus and Oren. In his divine vision, the girl is pulsing with power. He takes two strides out of the doorway to give himself room to maneuver should things escalate further. "Oren, Isabella - both of you must tread carefully here. None of us want violence. Isabella - you know what he says is true. Oren has risked everything to protect you. I do not think you can mean what you say. As for the King of the Mountain, His strength is more subtle than that of the demon queen. His strength is the light itself. The lives we all carve out of the chaos of the world. The ties of society that bind us together. Art, music, love, even farming - everything that announces that we are here. He may not burn His enemies with hellfire, but He will outlast them all. Let yourself be part of that. Help us, let us help you, and together we build a force Fierna will never overcome. All He asks of you is to be part of something bigger than yourself."
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Old Feb 18th, 2023, 10:58 AM
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ApplewoodMrs. Applewood moved to her cupboard and pulled out a wooden bowl that had some freshly picked and harvested carrots, apples, an onion, and a few leaks. She handed what looked like a perfectly normal carrot to Kerwin. "Grandkids pulled these up this morning," she said, putting the bowl back in its place. The alchemist didn't miss that the old woman paused for a second to rub her wrists, which were causing her pain. Pain they were supposed to relieve with the potion they had brought, in exchange for the forgotten book on the table.

Adelaide sensed something that Kerwin could not. The harmless-looking carrot had a tint to it, not visible to the eyes. Rather, it had a feeling as if it had somehow been corrupted by some force from the Nine Hells. The carrot itself wasn't evil, rather, it had just been tainted by it, much like a shirt would smell of smoke after being near a campfire. Her training as a Paladin had honed her senses enough to recognize it, and the devils she had helped fight in Trebblefork had seared that sensation deep into her memory. Clearly, something had tainted Mrs. Applewood's garden


At the ChurchIsabella softened her tone a bit, when Oren reminded her who it was that had saved her on both occasions. "That is true, Oren. You did save me. ONLY you saved me. Everyone else in this backwater town was too busy trying to save themselves. Even my parents.... gladly sacrificed me for their own safety. How can you justify that? They deserve to be punished!"

Gallindan's words seemed to draw the irritated Isabella back out. She laughed at his description of their God. "Oh, Fierna showed me something about that ancient old god of yours. King of the Mountain you call him? He has almost no power here, his Avatar has been bound inside a mountain. How ironic! That is why your prayers are never answered, and why it is so easy for others to pretend to be him, and lead astray his 'loyal' followers."

Marus' interest suddenly peaked at the mention of the King of the Mountain's Avatar. "Bound in a mountain? What do you mean? Where? When?" Suddenly he was much less interested in purging Isabella as he was in getting information from her.

His frantic questions caused Isabella to laugh even more. "Who knows? Lost to history I would think."
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Old Feb 21st, 2023, 11:24 PM
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Adelaide Darkdraft ”The food is tainted,” she said, leaning in closer to Kerwin, ”but the source of the corruption is unclear. I will look around the property, but it’s likely a symptom of the darkness we are already hunting.”

With the taste of that corruption still sickeningly upon her tongue, and the carrot still in view, it was easy enough for Adelaide to Divine Senserefocus her worldly sight to search out that same corruption. Without delay the paladin turned and left the wizard and the old woman to begin looking around the house and the grounds. She held little hope of finding some fiend here, out in the open, but it cost her nothing to make certain.




 


 
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Old Feb 23rd, 2023, 06:24 PM
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Listening to Isabella's words, Oren is more intrigued than shocked. The warlock did not know the King of the Mountain like some clerics seemed to know their gods. Rather, Oren's patron was a distant presence, a foundation that was solid, but never personal. Could it be that this King was so because he was locked away? Oren entertained that as a possibility. And then again, this information was being offered via Fierna, so to say it was suspect was an understatement.

"He has power enough to enable me to defeat a chain demon. He has power enough for my friends and I to stop a demon invasion in another town, and seal the portal. See Isabella, not every entity in the universe needs to wear their power on their sleeve, or rub it constantly in people's faces. In times of need, I've never had a prayer go unanswered."
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Old Mar 3rd, 2023, 06:33 PM
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Gallindan is troubled, but says nothing. The young woman is clearly not going to be reached by his words. He waits, and watches. Out of curiosity, he reaches out with his divine sense to see if Lux is nearby and ready for action.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2023, 10:12 PM
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Kerwin Powell Observing the garden and the carrot, Kerwin declares that maybe this should be a problem for another day. "We've already one cursed situation to deal with but I think this may be worth coming back around to once we've taken care of your friend. Let's get digging into this book for any clues."


 

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Old Mar 7th, 2023, 02:11 PM
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Garden GnomesAdilade and Kerwin went out to the garden, as Adilade focused her divine sense to see if there was any source of corruption in the area. Tingles of the corruption emanated from various spots in the ground and around random places in the garden much in the same way that mold grows in random places on bread that has been left out too long. There was no one clear source of it, just the sense that it was slowly spreading, the effects of which were felt everywhere and were manifesting in some of the fruits and vegetables that Mrs. Applewood was growing here. The only directions where the senses seemed stronger were in the direction of Isabella's house, and towards the small chapel where the young girl had been taken by Oren and Gillindan.

Knowing that there was little else they could do, until he could find a way to help cleanse the young girl, Kerwin began digging into the old book Mrs. Applewood had given them. The book was old, written by a cult that worshiped the stars, and talked of walking the astral plane. Nothing it it seemed to be much help in knowing what to do with demonic forces from the Abyss or Nine Hells. They were focused on entirely different issues. Frantically, Kerwin kept flipping through the old dusty pages, looking for anything that might be helpful....

OODMLet's get an investigation check from Kerwin and Adilade, as you look through the book, trying to find anything that might be helpful here.



At the Church
Isabella shrugged at Oren's remarks about slaying a demon and stopping an invasion. "Only delaying the inevitable. Killing a demon here only sends them home. Eventually, they come back. Are you so sure your prayer will be answered next time? Do you want to test that?" Isabella's tone again changed, now challenging Oren.

Marcus had the initial urge to jump at the statement of a test, but his focus and goal of this encounter had changed. He walked behind Oren and whispered quietly in his ear. "If she knows anything about the Avatar, we might be able to unravel a mystery centuries old. That would be more valuable than well... anything anyone has done in a long time. Keep her talking, but she is getting close to melting down. If she breaks, that might cause another incursion, with the epicenter right here."

Marcus then turned back to Gillindan, content to ignore Isabella for now, and let Oren do the talking. "I don't know if the alchemist is going to find anything useful, but if he does, we may want to wait to try whatever it is he is going to do. If his method of cleansing this girl separates her from any demonic influence, that might also wipe her memory of things she saw and learned while in their plane. It seems she has some valuable information that would be lost, if that were to happen. I hate to say this, but I would rather fight off an incursion here, to keep the hope of learning those secrets alive."
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Old Mar 8th, 2023, 10:19 PM
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Adelaide Darkdraft While Adelaide had warmed up to the wizard, a little, she did not enjoy having to lean in so close just to read the book they had acquired from the old lady. Walking this close together was already tricky, but also trying to read over the wizard’s shoulder was almost impossible given the angles. The man was shorter than most elves, which didn’t help Adelaide’s position at all since he still towered over her.

”Hey, wait, Help to give Kerwin advantage on the Investigation checkI thought I saw something back a page or two,” she said as she glimpsed some of what was written down.


OOCHelping Kerwin with Investigation


 


 
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Old Mar 8th, 2023, 11:47 PM
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At the churchAgitated at how far Isabelle had gone, Oren nods quickly when Marcus revealed the new plan: Keep her talking. The simple truth was that he didn't really know what Marcus was saying about the Avatar and the ancient mystery, but he knew enough to play along.

He scoffs, shedding his friendly tone and now adopting one much more brusque. "Why should we believe anything coming from the mouth of one such as you? What could a country girl not twenty years old know of the King on the Mountain? Nothing! All you can spew are vague words about our patron. Nothing real, nothing tangible, nothing..." he pauses, "provable. You can make up what you want. It's all the same unsubstantiated rubbish from Fierna."
OOCRolls
Dice Deception:
1d20+4 (8)+4 Total = 12

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Old Mar 9th, 2023, 10:16 AM
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Kerwin Powell With Adelaide annoyingly peering around his shoulder, Kerwin began thumbing through the book they had acquired from Mrs. Applewood and almost immediately began feeling his throat constrict and his chest tighten. While in a different context, the book would have been a wonderful read. Stories of experiments to open the mind to the astral plane, allowing the spirit to separate from the flesh to venture to that far away realm, how the stars were conduits to the multiverse and could provide signs and protections on how to make the transition. However, if purging a demonic entity from a person was one's reason for reading the book, this was not the volume for them. He was getting highly agitated and sweat began dripping into his eyes from his clammy brow. Kerwin was about to slam the book shut and throw it into the dusty street, when Adelaide must have caught a glimpse of something as he had frantically been flipping through pages. "Hey, wait, I thought I saw something back a page or two," she had said.

He stifled an irritated look and reminded himself that she was trying to help him, that he was trying to help someone else. His foul attitude wasn't going to benefit anyone in either task. He took a calming breath and began backtracking through the text
Dice investigation:
2d20+4kh1 (8, 9 (keeping 9) )+4 Total = 13
hoping to locate what had caught the paladin's eyes.


 

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Old Mar 22nd, 2023, 12:13 AM
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At the ChurchEach time that Marcus speaks, Gallindan grows less convinced that this man follows the same faith as he does. Is this the way of humans? In the Feywild, the way of the ancients is a way of wonder at the existence of life, at the forces holding off entropy and decay. The eladrin's training on this plane has been more practical, no doubt influenced by the dwarven nature of his mentor. But even Hakkouth had focused on the tenets that had drawn Gallindan to this creed: being the flame that drives away the darkness. Marcus is no flame. Or if he is, he is a wildfire, sweeping aside all that gets in his way, consequences and civilian lives be damned. Gallindan cannot reconcile this with the teachings of the King of the Mountain. Perhaps this is how the Path manifests for humans, whose light must burn so brightly for such a short time? But no. It can't be as simple as race. Oren may have learned of the Path through strange ways, but he shines brightly in the night. Adelaide, for all her temper, has joined the cause to defend the innocent, not sacrifice them for some greater mysteries. Marcus speaks, and Summer calls. A righteous fire burns, ready to erupt. But still the time is not now. Now would endanger Isabella and Oren both. Oh, how the eladrin longs to release this long Winter! But patience and planning remain of the essence. Stoic and still, he ignores Marcus as much as he can.
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Old Mar 25th, 2023, 02:02 PM
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Principles of Alchmey
Kerwin flipped back a few pages as Adelaide pointed to something she had spotted. The title of the page seemed oddly specific to a scenario that the two hoped they would never encounter. 'A Process to Detach Astral Leeches after Traveling the Astral Planes'. What could astral leeches have in common with demonic influence over someone? What the heck even was an astral leech? But, reading further into the description, Kerwin saw something he recognized. A process was described that was commonly used in his alchemy, or even in brewing. It was in essence a process of water distilling. But, in this case, it used a combination of holy water and a simple containment spell. An 'astral traveler' should stand on a grate over a boiling pot of holy water. Anything that was 'an astral leech', or more generally, not of the material plane, would be caught in the 'holy steam', and be lifted up off the traveler. The containment spell was then cast directly above the traveler to permanently separate the contaminants and the traveler. It wasn't quite clear what happened to those trapped contaminants after the separation. They would probably need to be dealt with in one way or another, not described in the book's pages. Kerwin realized that the method could really be used on just about anything not from the material plane, with a small alteration. Fey, Feind, Undead, Celestial, Elementals. These star worshipers had a specialized use for the process, but it could certainly be generalized. They would just need some holy water, somewhere to boil it, and a grate to have someone stand on above it. After that, it was a simple matter of Kerwin learning the spell on the pages, with a slight alteration for the type of 'creature' he wished to remove.

OODMThis is basically a specialized version of the 'Magic Circle spell. Kerwin can learn it, as you would from any other book, as a 3rd level spell. In this case, I won't worry about the gold cost normally associated with doing so.


Just as it seemed there was going to be a breakthrough, Adelaide felt something in the pit of her stomach that immediately drew her attention. While she was normally attuned to the senses and could detect the presence of evil, such as the tainted vegetables, what hit her now was more like an eclipse, a vacuum that sucked everything in around it, leaving a void. The draw of that darkness was coming from the Church.


At the ChurchOren lectured Isabella, in an attempt to keep her talking. "Proof? Made up? Are you pretending you don't know what happened, what I've been through? You were there Oren! How could you say something like that?" It was disjointed, rage at things Oren hadn't even claimed. But, logic had little place in emotional outbursts, and that was clearly what Isabella was going through. She started to look more frantic and worked up, angry at Oren as she kept talking. "You think that just because I am young, that I should keep my mouth shut, and not speak my mind? That I should just ignore every abuse that comes my ..." suddenly Isabella jerked, stopped cold, and her expression changed to one of being terrified as if someone had just slapped her across the face. She stared off into the distance as if looking through Oren. At almost a whisper, as if too afraid to speak, she whimpered out, "were in trouble..."

Marcus and Gillindan suddenly felt the presence of something, or rather the lack thereof, that must have caught Isabella's attention. It was a bit peculiar that Isabella felt and reacted to it before the Palladin's did. Suddenly, the evil aura that had been building around Isabella was suddenly snuffed out, and overshadowed. It was like a candle trying to add to the light of the Sun, except for the exact opposite effect. Marcus and Gillindan turned to peer out the church windows. Even Oren could hear the sound now of hooves galloping towards the chapel. "She is right," Marcus said, confirming what the others instinctively knew. "We are in trouble."


Riders in the Night
right-aligned image

A dozen knights rode towards Oakcrest, their mission was simple. Follow the orders of their demon lords. This Cult existed as a mockery of the Hooded Lantern. Opposition in all things. Even most of the Hooded Lantern Agents themselves were not aware of the existence of the 'Cloak of Aramok', but now they were here, thundering down the streets towards a chapel, where a few members of the Hooded Lantern were now taking cover, and trying to steal one of their lord's assets.

As the macabre scene of knights, armor decorated in horrific tokens of their evil deeds, the leader pulled out a staff and started banging it on a red lantern that hung at the end of a hook. Eerie red light shone from the lantern, and each strike of it with a rod echoed like a church bell. Then, the Knight in the lead called out, in a high-pitched voice, "Marcus.... come out and playayayay!"


 
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