Palathadric Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 "You raise an interesting idea there, ranger. Perhaps if we were to bring the power of light here, the shadows would be destroyed without a fight. "Baron, will you now leave your post and accompany us to the Mushroom, or will you remain here to see if the Shadows return?"
joeshmoe554 Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 "If everyone is in agreement, then let's head out. Perhaps the light source in the mushroom will give us some advantage while fighting these things." Jeaux heads out for the large mushroom
Palathadric Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 I go the Mushroom too, just in case it needs to be said.
Emjajoas Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Em follows, keeping a close eye on their surroundings.
Palathadric Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 I fall slightly behind the party with Soryx. "Soryx, how long have you been in the demon-slaying, business? Do you work solely on your own, or do you sort of have an organization. Where did you get your training from?"
JimBee Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 Hybros mutters to the Baron, "Do you think anyone has tried to eat this mushroom before? Eheh..."
CMP Posted May 7, 2014 Author Posted May 7, 2014 (edited) The party files out. The Baron drags Moke behind his desk to sleep off the possession. I fall slightly behind the party with Soryx. "Soryx, how long have you been in the demon-slaying, business? Do you work solely on your own, or do you sort of have an organization. Where did you get your training from?" "Nearly thirty years now. I hail from the Eversummer Isles. It is said long ago the islands were cursed into a state of eternal summer by Sem after a group of mages tried to manipulate the crop cycle. The boiling swamps are teeming with insect life and demons alike, and it is there I learned my craft. I serve the innocent and slay the unjust, as is Pseudos' way, and I generally work alone." Hybros mutters to the Baron, "Do you think anyone has tried to eat this mushroom before? Eheh..." "Hah, no. It's been here at least as long as our ancestors. Vinum cultivates an entirely different variety underneath it, actually. They make up the vast majority of our food." The party reaches the Sluice. Inside, the musky gray organic innards of the mushroom have been reinforced with stone. A cold furnace sits beside the empty bar. The place is deserted. Edited May 7, 2014 by CallMePie
JimBee Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 Hybros snatches a bottle and sniffs it, trying to determine the substance it once held. He then pokes his head into the furnace. "Hm, it does not appear that there is much of interest here. I imagine the gnomes here were taken just like the others..."
joeshmoe554 Posted May 7, 2014 Posted May 7, 2014 "If the gnomes here were taken as well, then shouldn't we see similar shadows to those in the shop?" Jeaux checks the floor for any out of place shadows
Palathadric Posted May 8, 2014 Posted May 8, 2014 "Well, there are certainly are some shadows," I chuckled, although it comes out sounding almost nervous. "Albeit not the most gnomish looking. I wonder about the Shadows though, maybe it was the imitation gnomes...or something." Internet may not be the best over the next week. Should be okay, but just in case...
CMP Posted May 8, 2014 Author Posted May 8, 2014 (edited) Hybros snatches a bottle and sniffs it, trying to determine the substance it once held. He then pokes his head into the furnace. The furnace's interior was lined with ash, but still stone cold. The bottle appeared to be some sort of immensely strong, musky-smelling alcohol. "That would be Vinum's personal brew. You have to get creative with mushrooms when you've got them coming out of your ears." "If the gnomes here were taken as well, then shouldn't we see similar shadows to those in the shop?" Jeaux checks the floor for any out of place shadows Sure enough, behind the counter was a mass of black shadow, as if several people had hidden behind it to no avail. Edited May 8, 2014 by CallMePie
Emjajoas Posted May 8, 2014 Posted May 8, 2014 Em frowns, tracing a hand along the wall, every so often tapping or gently applying pressure; perhaps there was some sort of hidden passage, though he doubted that was the case.
Palathadric Posted May 9, 2014 Posted May 9, 2014 I try to determine what the transparent orange stuff is lying hither, thither, and yon.
CMP Posted May 9, 2014 Author Posted May 9, 2014 Em frowns, tracing a hand along the wall, every so often tapping or gently applying pressure; perhaps there was some sort of hidden passage, though he doubted that was the case. There seemed to be no hidden passages on the walls. I try to determine what the transparent orange stuff is lying hither, thither, and yon. The orange formations, on close inspection, appear to be some sort of fungal growth from the mushroom, producing the glow that lit up most of the room.
Palathadric Posted May 9, 2014 Posted May 9, 2014 I grunt. "I really don't know how much we will find by inspecting these areas. There seems to be next to no clues," I mumble as I search the ground for behind the bar for any signs of a scuffle or blood or some such thing.
CMP Posted May 9, 2014 Author Posted May 9, 2014 "I really don't know how much we will find by inspecting these areas. There seems to be next to no clues," I mumble as I search the ground for behind the bar for any signs of a scuffle or blood or some such thing. There's a butterknife sitting on the floor, and the tiny teeth serrating the blade are bent or gone from recent, heavy use. On the back of the counter is a small, crude carving of a crescent moon.
Palathadric Posted May 9, 2014 Posted May 9, 2014 (edited) There's a butterknife sitting on the floor, and the tiny teeth serrating the blade are bent or gone from recent, heavy use. On the back of the counter is a small, crude carving of a crescent moon. "Baron, do you have any idea what this moon could have been carved into here for? I am guessing that it was done newly and perhaps with this knife? Perhaps Vinum was attempting to leave us a clue?" Edited May 9, 2014 by Palathadric
CMP Posted May 9, 2014 Author Posted May 9, 2014 "Baron, do you have any idea what this moon could have been carved into here for? I am guessing that it was done newly and perhaps with this knife? Perhaps Vinum was attempting to leave us a clue?" The Baron shrugs. "Not that I know of. Vinum was at Shelby's with her and Erveka, but it's possible someone else left it here. From what I can tell they seem to have hidden behind the bar." "I think we have as many pieces as we can get. Now it is simply a matter of putting them together. What do we know thus far?"
joeshmoe554 Posted May 9, 2014 Posted May 9, 2014 "We still do not know much. Given the mention of the elf from the baron and the dialect of the creature we defeated, it would is likely we are dealing with an elven magic user. Since the shade was an undead creature, the elf may be versed in necromancy though why he would want living forms or where the imitations came from are still unknowns. How the villagers were taken and to where is also still unknown. It is probable the villagers were manipulated the same way Moke and the Baron were before, and may have gone willingly though that would not explain the shadows left behind." Jeaux turned to the Baron to see if he could answer any more questions, "Did you see any locations or do remember any odd feelings from when you were possessed?"
Palathadric Posted May 10, 2014 Posted May 10, 2014 "Something about the battle though was that it seemed as if the baron and Moke, as well as the fly creature, were actually present, but in a possessed state, whereas the imitation gnomes were somehow not. As in, we saw no sign of them after the battle. Also, the shade appeared to also just be an imitation of itself or some such thing by the way it just disappeared at the end of the battle leaving not a trace."
CMP Posted May 11, 2014 Author Posted May 11, 2014 Jeaux turned to the Baron to see if he could answer any more questions, "Did you see any locations or do remember any odd feelings from when you were possessed?" "Structures. Towers. One of them above all the rest. It was...black. Black as night. It took me some time to realize I was looking at some kind of city."
Palathadric Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 "City, huh? Curiouser and curiouser. I suppose you have no idea of where this city is or if it was even an actual city or more of a hallucination?"
JimBee Posted May 11, 2014 Posted May 11, 2014 Hybros listens to the conversation and tries to recall all of the clues that they had gathered so far. "A... city? Hmm, I think this may have something to do with... yes..." he itched his head underneath his hat. "I was on a quest once, several years ago. There was an underground city, black and imposing as the Baron described it. It was the sunken city of Mercution, which was here before Eubric. There were demons, and an archdemon, Mephestopheles, that used dark magic similar to the kind we have seen here... not exactly the same, but dark magic." Hybros shuddered at the mention of Mephestopheles, remembering the spirit that resides in the Pheles Rod even after the mortal form of the archdemon was defeated. "And if I remember correctly... the elves of the island of Moone resided in the Kingdom of Mercution before it sunk. Perhaps this moon carving has something to do with that. I am not sure. But if I am correct in connecting this underground city with the one I encountered before... I think this all has to do with demons of Zoot, as the now-sunken city serves as a temple for the demon-god... and it is there we must go." Zoot's Reaper, as if on cue, began to shake and whisper softly into Hybros' ear, as it had done when he first visited the Temple of Zoot.
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