Heroica RPG - Quest #79: Fading Spark

[K-Nut]

Althior steps forward to the other group. "Excuse me, dear sirs and miss. My companions and I were just passing by, trying to get through this forest, and saw you. That gate seems to be in all of our ways," He puts on a fake smile. Lord, how he hated smiling. But he was putting on a decent charade, he thought. "Now, do you need any help with that , then, miss?"

[Kintobor]

Karie would have preferred to keep a distance and observe the trio, but it looked as if things wouldn't work out that way as Althoir jumps the gun and continues forward, chatting up a storm and attempting to pick the locked gates. Trying to hold in her frustration, she casual walks up to Althoir and the group.

"Since when did you learn to pick locks?" Karie grins as she watches Althoir attempt to be pleasant.

"Sorry, no need for intrusion. My name's Karie, and these are my compatriots. Might I inquire as to what's going on? We happen to be looking for a Mr. Keolo, you wouldn't know his location?"

[K-Nut]

"Whoever said I would pick it?" He grins.

"Please, are you implying you'll pull it apart like that girl is hopelessly attempting to? You don't have any muscles..."

"I do have arms, thought, unlike some people,"

[Endgame]

The three turn around, facing the trio of heroes. The young man nearly fumbles the food he had scavenged, scrambling to grab it before it falls.

"More visitors to the forest? They've been coming often lately..."

"Yeah, but who would've thought that our neighbors would've been the ones to toss our sorry rumps out of the settlement, huh?"

The woman turns away from the lock, looking agitated from her lack of success, as well as a lack of sleep.

"Oh, hush up, Jack. They aren't normally like this..."

"Yeah, but that alchemist is like "this" now, so that really doesn't change anything, Jill."

"Hrrrmmmmmm..." Jill grumbles, putting down her lockpicking tools as she focuses her attention on the party.

The elderly man chooses to address the heroes directly, seemingly weary from the trek needed to retrieve the bucket of water. Despite being the most tired out of the three, he somehow manages to be the most pleasant.

"Well, visitors or not, hello there, I suppose. I'm Geoffrey. We get evicted... well, forcibly. Over night. We''ve had to camp out for the last bit, trying to get back in and see what the meaning is behind all this nonsense."

"Evicted? Hah! That's an understatement, pops - the neighbors went hostile and threw us out her eover night. No key, no food, no water, no explanation. Nothing!"

"People don't just decide to snap over night, Jack. There must be some reason behind all of this..."

[Kintobor]

Karie was surprised to hear that people actually lived out here. Let alone people who seemed decent enough. She began to feel uneasy as the trio talked about other visitors who came here. She tried to stop paranoia from creeping into her head. It was probably something normal... right?

"Hmm. Odd. If you don't mind, could you tell me what happened last night? I'm more than a little curious."

[Endgame]

"Just as a little background, you three: Beyond these gates is Taurost. Quite literally off the maps: it's just a small settlement, with a population of no more then 7. We just live simply - sometimes people settle down for a few months to clear their head, while some of us have been around for over 6 years. Sometimes it's just nice to live simply, you know? We fish off of any nearby water, and then Jill here sells what we don't eat or need to Eubric to be sold in the fish markets."

"We get a decent margin of the sales. It's more than enough to live off of. Now, if you excuse me... I still have a lock to work on." Jill reutnrs to her work while Geoffrey and Jack continue to speak.

"Yeah, my father Geoffrey here is the best fisherman in the settlement. He's training me to follow in his footsteps."

"You're one of the best I've seen Jack, you just need the focu-"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard you say it before, dad. It's not the profession I find broing, it's the waters."

There is an awkward silence before Jack continues.

"...Aaaaaanyway. Back on topic. Basically, yesterday was pretty much routine stuff. A man in a purple cape was doing some exploring of the forest, and he stumbled upon our little settlement - he saw our water well was pretty much useless, so he offered to fix it up for us - in and out in an hour, and it was working better than new."

"Pretty reasonable fee, too." Jill adds, still not looking away from the lock as she tries to pry it.

"He was the only visitor here recently, besides you three folks. Speaking of which... may we have your names? I don't believe you ever told us..."

"Formalities aside, here is what happened last night: Our village alchemist, a woman who has been living here and has been good friends with us all for the past four years, seemed to just go insane over night. Came into our rooms, dazed us with some sort of chemical, took our key and locked us out."

"Oddest thing... Her eyes were glowing pink. I've never seen that before..."

"Yeah..." Jill says, sounding concerned. "Yeah, I noticed that too..."

Jill drops her tools with a unsatisfied grunt, turning to speak to her two companions.

"It's no use, i can't pick it for the life of me. We need the spare."

[Bricksandparts]

"I'm Johon, and this is Karie and Althior. Don't mind Althior's floating backpack" Johon says with a chuckle, but soon his face grows serious. He can't think of anything but what was going on. Weren't the regret's eyes as Jill had stated?

"What was the alchemist's name? What was the newcomer's name? We can go investigate what is going on and try to stop it. Hopefully it isn't already neck-deep in murky waters."

[Kintobor]

"I'm Johon, and this is Karie and Althior. Don't mind Althior's floating backpack" Johon says with a chuckle, but soon his face grows serious. He can't think of anything but what was going on. Weren't the regret's eyes as Jill had stated?

"What was the alchemist's name? What was the newcomer's name? We can go investigate what is going on and try to stop it. Hopefully it isn't already neck-deep in murky waters."

"Oh, don't worry about the newcomer's name. He's... he's probably just my boyfriend." Karie remarks, slightly amused. It seemed like something Masson would do. However, the pink eye's this alchemist had was worrying her. Just what was going on here?

"As the fellow over there said, my name's Karie. Can you tell us the names of the other four villagers? My crew and I are looking for a Mr. Keolo."

[K-Nut]

"Althior Emorith, Dragonslayer, at your service. Now tell me, how large is the settlement? And if it's not too large, couldn't you just call for someone to let you back in?"

[Endgame]

"The newcomer? Oh, you mean the man who fixed the well. I believe he said his name was...Mr. Cour, right, Jack?"

"Yep, Masson Cour. Left last afternoon, so I doubt he has anything to do with this mess."

QM Note: Masson is going to be referenced throughout my quests (never shown, but mentioned/implied) - he and Punii will be getting alternating cameos.

"The other four residents - Margaret, our Alchemist. Erick, he's a Nord who helps us out with building our buildings. Finally, the other two fisherman are Seymour and Silver."

"Trust me, we called and clanged on these bars for two hours straight. We tried to call to someone. if we want to investigate, we're going to need the spare key to the gate..."

[Bricksandparts]

"This may seem obvious, but did you try climbing over the fence?"

[Endgame]

Geoffrey point sup to the foliage lining the wall.

"The Poison ivy here has been flaring up - in quantity and potency. We have no clue why... According to the alchemist, the poison is now potentially fatal. There are some sinister things happening in this forest recently, and I don't like it at all..."

Jill cuts to the chase.

"If we're getting intoTaurost, we need the spare gate key. It's buried Southeast of here, right, Geoffrey?"

"Yes, in the soft patch of dirt... But, Dear Ennoc, I must've buried that thing more than half a decade ago. The only thing I remember about where I buried it was that is was in a mossy patch of dirt..."

Edited August 10, 2013 by Endgame

[Kintobor]

Despite feeling that the party was getting sidetracked, Karie couldn't shake the feeling that what was happening in this hamlet was connected to the documents.

"Well, I suppose we best get to the bottom of this. Let's head back and take the path heading east. I have a feeling that these events could be connected to what we've been sent here to do. I'd recommend you folks stay a little ways back, incase this Margaret individual shows up again. Johon, you should probably use some of your stuff, just in case we run into something."

[Bricksandparts]

"I'll save some of these potions, just in case it's not worth it or there are some more problems we'll be facing."

[Endgame]

The group seems to perk up when the heroes announce their intentions.

"You're going to go get the spare key for us?"

"Thanks a bunch, guys!"

Retreating back to the previous junction and instead going East, the party finds themselves in another clearing. Before them is the soft patch of soil geoffrey had described:

They were going to have to excavate that key if they wanted to proceed through and reach Mr. Keolo.

QM Note: Digging time! However, don't consider it simple trial and error: get as creative as you want! Shovels only remove one square, so simply announce what you're going to try to do and I will inform you how many spaces you'll be able to dig up using that method.

[Bricksandparts]

Johon heads towards the center and tries tell approximately which direction the key is with his compass.

[Endgame]

The compass spins wildly in all directions.

[Bricksandparts]

"If it's nowhere out there, must be under me..." Johon says digging in the 2X2 area below him.

[Endgame]

The compass spins wildly in all directions.

[Bricksandparts]

OoC: So I'm assuming it's not under those 4 tiles?

[Endgame]

QM Note: Clarification: The compass knows that the key is in this patch of dirt, but it doesn't know what space. (If you tried to use the compass to get the key before you were told to go Southeast, it would've led you here.)

[Bricksandparts]

OoC: Ok, but I'm wondering what happened after Johon dug at the center: (C4, C5, D4, D5)

[Endgame]

QM Note: Oh, sorry, my bad! My browser was acting up, and showing that I never posted the compass result; I guess by the time I re posted it, you had already said you were digging those tiles.

Johon busts out his shovel, instinctively going for the center. he digs up the center 4 tiles: C4, C5, D4, D5

C4, D4, D5 all yielded large traces of moss in the soil: if the key was buried in a mossy patch, they were getting close. However, when shoveling up D4, Johon dredges up a writhing vine, black streaks running in patterns along its sides: it hits the turf with a thud, puffing out a small cloud of spores at Johon. Johon finds that he will have to start the next battle he gets in Infected.

Infected: The victim loses HP equal to a third of their level (rounded down) each round.

Althior Emorith (And Finnegan)

Level 33 2/4 Necromancer *Earns triple XP*

Power: 45 (50 for spells)

Power Bonus: +5 Spells

Defense: 6 (4+2)

Health: 43/43 (5+5+Chicken Drumstick (1)+32)

Ether: 46/46 (5+5+32+4)

Gold: 25

Equipment: Scepter of Divine Affinity (WP:12, Has ⅙ chance to deal Cursed effect on attacks and ⅙ chance to deal Blessed effect on successful healing, Staff), Spellbound Gloves (+5 power when casting Spells, doubled if target is weak to Element, Handwear), Ethereal Cloak (SP:2, Max Ether +4, Backwear), Medal of Glory (Wearer earns triple experience, Accessory), Robe of the Elven Necromancer (SP: 4, Body Wear)

Inventory: Dragoro (WP:8, Wand), Skeleton Decoy, Potion x6, Tonic x10, Grand Potion x4, Grand Tonic, Ether Core x3, Bedroll, Remedy x7, Mead, Smelling Salts, Diamond (Light), Topaz (Lightning), Amethyst (Darkness), Ruby (Fire), Sapphire (Wind), Garnet (Earth), Opal (Ice), Aquamarine (Water), Emerald (Wood), Skull Shield (SP: 6, immune to darkness elemental damage), Bone x3, Elixirs x3, Phoenix Incense x2, Dragon Scales x2, Garnet Lamp of Summoning,

Johon [AKA Alf Gregory] (Bricksandparts) 25 years old male human Barbarian > Raider *Infected!*

Level: 24,2/3

Power: 32 (23+8+4)

Health: 8/41 (23+8+1+7+0)

Shield Power: (5+1)

Ether: ~/0

Positive effects: *Immune to:* (*Fragile*, *Cursed* *Stunned* ), *Natural Respite*

Negative effects: (none)

Gold: 2377 (1726(1), 0GB(50), 0CB(50), 0GO(80), 0CC(70), 0GC(100), 0M)

Equipment:

Weapon - Sword of Decay (WP:8) - (once the target is inflicted with damage they lose a quarter of the power of the strike each following turn for three turns. the effect cannot be compounded with more strikes. Suitable to Mages, Knights and Barbarians.)

Shield - None

Artefact 1 (L1-9) - Heavy Armour - SP:5, protects from fragile-effect, suitable for barbarians and knights

Artefact 2 (L10-19) - Bravado Boots - 1/6 chance of being Lucky at the beginning of every battle

Artefact 3 (L20-29) - Sticky Gloves - Increases the amount of gold stolen by 50% (rounded up), suitable for rogues and beast warriors.[

Artefact 4 (L30-39) -

Artefact 5 (L40-49) -

Artefact 6 (L50+) -

Extra Artefacts: Helmet (+1 max health), Blessed Amulet – Protects from cursed-effect. Dog Statuette - (suitable for anyone, SP: 1, once named (Rover), speaking the name summons a dog almost certainly to tag along on madcap adventures and make snippy comments.), Hide of The Bleeding - restores 10 HP and 5 ether for every enemy the wearer kills, suitable for anyone, Scarlet Hood - +4 to power, immunity to stunned

Extra Weapons: Greatsword (WP:3), Focal Staff (WP:5, Focus Fire-Roll a 3 for 5 ether Suitable for clerics and mages),Gladius (WP: 15, Darkness elemental, 1/3 chance of Fragile on succesful hits), Stalker’s Mallet (WP: 8, usable by Knights, Barbarians, and Harlots. Has a 1/2 chance to seal the enemy) Tools: Shovel (1), Pick-axe (2), Magnifying Glass (1), Magic Compass (1)

Consumables: Potion (2), Venom (2), Remedy (1), Mead (5), Smelling Salts (14), Nostrum (14), Trial Brew (1),

Elements: Aquamarine (1), Emerald (1), Topaz (1)

Scrolls: Scroll of Sleep (1), Scroll of Blindness (1), Scroll of Sealing (1), Scroll of Confusion (1)

Quest items: Blue Rose

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Party Leader!*

22 year old Human Rogue Witch, lvl 15.5

Power: 21 (lvl 15 + WP: 6)

Health: 21/21

Ether: 19/19

Gold: 4

Defence: 2

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear)

Inventory: Grand Tonic (2), Mead (1), Remedy (2), Venom (7), Nostrum (2), Mulled Wine (1), Smoke bomb (1), Pixie Dust (1), Phoenix Essence (1), Grand Potion (3) Telescope (1), Bedroll (1)

Quest Items: Entry 11, Grating Stone, Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp)

Aretefacts/Weapons:Heirloom Dagger (WP: 3), Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Paper Doll (Accessory, Protects from the Hexed effect), Lover's Locket (Accessory, Protects from enamoured effect), Trickster's Mask of the Elf (Accessory, changes user's appearance into an Elf) The Rat Queen's Cape (Backwear, all Vermin type are Enamored with the wearer for the first three rounds of combat, Suitable for Alchemists, Beast Warriors, Chi Monks, and Witches)

Gemstones: Topaz

C4: Nothing; High traces of moss

C5: Toxin Tendril

D4: Nothing; High traces of moss

D5: Nothing; High traces of moss

Johon could already feel the poisons going through his system, but he remained a bit triumphant: he had already found the mossy patch of the soil. Now, to find the key...

[Bricksandparts]

E3

[Endgame]

E3 yields nothing.

C4: Nothing; High traces of moss

C5: Toxin Tendril

D4: Nothing; High traces of moss

D5: Nothing; High traces of moss

E3: Nothing