(D&D 5e) The Plague of Nightmares IC

[Sariel Vailo]

i left after 60 years of service to the bartlesby family of nobility i was a,teacher in song and courtly ways. The eldest daughter Sophitia 22 in age and ophelia her mother 60 years old.I left knowing this those who can use magic can be affected.these were my new family i didnt want to hurt them should i contract the plague.before i left i saw the two divided on the topic. Ophelia thought if its a magic problem a magic solution would be best.Sophitia thought that if its a magic problem a martial solution would be best. Peasants drafted for war many to scared to leave.wizards with no deed greater than their terror,Fled in the night.few would willingly come and few even as an escape from a death sentence, would come.so i came seeking a story and as a preventative measure to the Bartlesby noble line.

[Awful]

Yvonne hmmphed again, further unimpressed.
"A poor reflection upon house Bartlesby and their people, it seems, to be so craven when even a child would come here."

She pushed off the wall and spoke more generally.

"Are all of you rested? We should push on."

[Zergrinch]

"I'm not a child," Zuzu grumbles as he rises to leave after replenishing a small portion of his mana, "I'm fourteen."

[bc56]

"I am ready." Yaotl doesn't need to say anything more, and he's not going to argue with the child over maturity.

[Sariel Vailo]

its still not safe to bicker so please do be careful.hostile land hostile cult lets finish up our rests and continue.
She will smile a real (big smile while saying it (nana powers go))

[Requilac]

You all get up from your resting positions and alert the guards that you wish to continue moving. They seem to be quite nervous and are relived that they can now leave this place. The second one who was knocked prone by Hemra's thunderwave has now appeared to have gotten up, but has been injured and their movements are looking more than a little groggy. Your first instinct is to call the second guard a man, but now that you come to think of it you cannot tell all that easily. Androgynous appearances are rumored to be another part of The Senckried Look", and this particular one appears to be true. The leading guard who you spoke to before is willing to co-operate and speak with you

"There is a town not too far away called Krangar that should offer you some sort of refuge. It is only about 15 minutes away or so, but It may take longer since we have wounded. I can lead you there, it is my home town after all. And if you are ever in need of me in the future, my name is Adrek Balderk. My friend here" (he says gesturing to the other surviving guard. "Is Diesa Dankil". Their name ends in an a, so you assume the second guard is a women.

It turns out that the rumor that people from Senckried tend to be aloof and cold is not particularly accurate though, for Adrek seems quite friendly. Diesa not so much.

After a short exchange of words you agree to go with them to Kranger. Your ally's estimate of time is about accurate and you manage to come to the town in slightly less than half an hour. Krangar is more or less what you expected it to be considering the surroundings, a series of cookie-cutter cottages made entirely out of cobblestone with minimal windows. There is minimal variation between the buildings, and were it not for the signs you probably couldn't tell the difference a shop and someone's house. All of the houses seem to be layed out in an unnecessarily well organized manner, which seems to indicate that this town hasn't grown much over the years. Adrek informs you that there are about 500 people living here, and if she didn't tell you that you would be willing to believe the town is abandoned because so few people are out wandering. You could probably buy the most basic of adventuring goods here, but nothing more complex than a simple weapon really.

Adrek turns to you to before speaking. "I had best go report this back to the corporal, so if you need anything from us please say so now."

What would you like to do now that you are in town?

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu, having never actually spent any amount of time in a town, makes a bee-line towards the marketplace, or anything that may look like it is a place of trade where coin serves as the medium of exchange. All the better if said place of trade seems to be dealing in magic artifacts or the magical arts.

Spoiler

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Go to the Magic Shop, in non-Zuzu speak.

[bc56]

Yaotl is not comfortable in civilized lands. He follows Zuzu, lurks in the shadows, and keeps an eye out for the woman in his visions.

[Sariel Vailo]

Anastasia will walk with purpose humming a song.

[Requilac]

Zuzu, having never actually spent any amount of time in a town, makes a bee-line towards the marketplace, or anything that may look like it is a place of trade where coin serves as the medium of exchange. All the better if said place of trade seems to be dealing in magic artifacts or the magical arts.

Spoiler

Show

Go to the Magic Shop, in non-Zuzu speak.

Adrek tries to yell after you. "You shouldn't go wandering out alone, these are dangerous times" but Zuzu doesn't care.

You wander around town for a while looking for any sort of sign which has something related to magic. Its more difficult than it should be because all of the buildings look almost identical, but luckily all the shops are labelled. No one seems to be out right now, so asking for directions isn't an option either. Eventually you manage to come across a wider building labelled "The hall of the Octopraecantatio", which you recognize as the name of the main religion in Senckried. The religion is based around the eight schools of magic so it ought to have something for you.

You open up the door to find yourself in what looks like a sort of ritual chamber (about the size of one of the cottages) similar to the one that your old master used to have. There are a series of desks around with papers and books on them organized meticulously. Shelves also line the walls filled with arcane components and even more books and paper, with slightly less organization. In any other place this sort of public access to magical supplies would be heresy, but in Recnam it appears that everyone is accustomed to it.

Standing in the corner of the room is a younger looking human in some sort of robes. The flowing robes sort of seem like a dress so you assume they are a woman, but now that you come to think of it that is how holy people usually dress so it is unhelpful. When the person turns around to greet you they also seem to have that same "Senckried Look", with the gaunt, lanky form, tired eyes, long ears and even longer nose, but once again nothing that indicates any sort of feminity or masculinity. This particular citizen's attire is that of some sort of mix between librarian, arcanist and priest.

He or she comes to meet your glance and looks a little startled but greets you nontheless. "Oh hello there,... umm ... uh... is there something you needed?". The voice sounds feminine, so you assume she must be a woman.

Yaotl is not comfortable in civilized lands. He follows Zuzu, lurks in the shadows, and keeps an eye out for the woman in his visions.

You do not really see much of anybody wandering out, definetely not the women from your visions. Sneaking around is incredibly difficult because all the roads are made of stone and the rocky houses conduct quite the echo, but you manage to remain nondescript enough, though not exactly as much as you would like. Nothing troubles you or Zuzu as you walk along.

Anastasia will walk with purpose humming a song.

Yaotl's trouble appears to be your aid, because the stone buildings have surprisingly good acoustic effect. Your humming echoes quite well of the sombre walls of rock around you.

[Zergrinch]

Good evening, ma'am. We just arrived here and I thought I would get in a bit of browsing before we turn in for the night as I have an interest in the arcane arts. Is that okay with you, ma'am?

[Requilac]

Good evening, ma'am. We just arrived here and I thought I would get in a bit of browsing before we turn in for the night as I have an interest in the arcane arts. Is that okay with you, ma'am?

The priestess looks at you slightly confused at your request and blinks at you. "I would be glad to sell you whatever goods you require, but before I do so, I am going to need your parent's approval. You claimed that they arrived, where are they now?" Her voice sounds oddly nasally and gruff for a woman of her age, which you estimate to be somewhere around early 30's, but the age of people from Senckried can be misleading.

[Zergrinch]

My, um, parents?

They being dead and his master afflicted with the plague, Zuzu tries to fabricate a believable lie.

Deception: (d20-1)[2]

They are, uh, dead tired but I promise they gave me permission to come here and buy things.

[Requilac]

My, um, parents?

They being dead and his master afflicted with the plague, Zuzu tries to fabricate a believable lie.

Deception: [roll0]

They are, uh, dead tired but I promise they gave me permission to come here and buy things.

The priestess's facial tone changes, but as to what this precisely means you have no idea. You assume sympathy, but for all you know it could be constipation. "Child, you don't need to lie to me here now. These are hard times indeed and many of us have seen people close to us die. Do you have any sort of guardian with you, or do you travel here alone?"

[Zergrinch]

"Umm, I'm kind of traveling with him?" Zuzu motions to Yaotl who was trying (and failing) valiantly to blend into the shadows.

[Awful]

"Is there an inn of good repute in this town, Adrek?" Yvonne asked as the remainder vanished into the shadowed streets. Well, it was no matter what they did, but it was late.

[Requilac]

"Is there an inn of good repute in this town, Adrek?" Yvonne asked as the remainder vanished into the shadowed streets. Well, it was no matter what they did, but it was late.

Adrek gives a small thoughtful frown before continuing. "I suppose that depends on what you mean by good repute. We have an inn for traveler's technically, but it hasn't been used in years and its not all that well maintained. It should suffice though. That place doesn't really have a reputation at all because almost nobody has stayed there since it was built, but I suppose no reputation is better than a bad one, no? It is called the black sheep, and is aptly labelled. You can find it in the northern most part of town."

An inn positioned in the farthest position away from the entrance of the town. That already says something about the place you are going to stay at.

[Requilac]

"Umm, I'm kind of traveling with him?" Zuzu motions to Yaotl who was trying (and failing) valiantly to blend into the shadows.

The shopkeeper glances over at yaotl, and nods silently. Usually yuan-ti elicit more of a response, but apparently to her you are just another traveler who happens to have scales. Her gaze eventually heads back to Zuzu.

"We don't exactly have much here sadly. I would be willing to sell you most of the spell ingredients you would happen to need though. And if you are in need of an arcane focus we have a couple of wands, rods and staffs... no orbs or crystal though really. Some of the people here have also dabbled in a little alchemy, so we have some basic potions here if you need any. Sorry that I can't give you much else."

Spoiler: items and their costs

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Wand (arcane focus): 25 SP
Rod (arcane focus): 30 SP
Staff (arcane focus): 40 SP

Spoiler: acid (low potency): 25 SP

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As an action, you can throw one vial of acid up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack roll against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 acid damage.

This acid is enough to melt through wood or softer substances.

Spoiler: poison (low potency): 50 SP

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You can use an action to coat one piercing or slashing weapon or up to ten pieces of ammunition with the poison in this vial. A creature hit by a poisoned weapon or piece of ammunition takes an extra 1 poison damage. You can only deal this extra damage once per turn. Once applied, the poison retains potency for 1 minute before losing its effects.

This poison is enough to kill a small or smaller plant.

Spoiler: alchemists fire (low potency): 50 SP

Show

As an action, you can throw one vial of acid up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack roll against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1 fire damage. The target must then make DC a 10 constitution saving throw at the end of each of its turns for 1 minute. If the target fails than it takes another 1 fire damage but on a success all of the effects end.

Spoiler: holy water (low potency): 10 SP

Show

As an action, you can throw one vial of acid up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. Make a ranged attack roll against the target. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 radiant damage if it is a fiend or undead.

Instead, you may cover a five foot square with the contents of this vial. This area is considered difficult terrain for fiends or undead.

Spoiler: healing potion (low potency): 50 SP

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A character who drinks the magical red fluid in this vial regains 1d6 hit points. Drinking or administering a potion takes an action. Undead or constructs gain no benefit from drinking this potion.

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu whistles at the prices. There was no way he can afford any of the alchemical substances, although admittedly he wasn't very interested in them to needing with.

"Thank you for showing me your wares, ma'am. I was hoping there would be spell scrolls available. I saw this Order of Umbra bird thing earlier with a really wicked spell that threw everyone off her. I am hoping to specialize in the school of Evocation, and I could tell it was a really effective spell from that school."

[Requilac]

"Thank you for showing me your wares, ma'am. I was hoping there would be spell scrolls available. I saw this Order of Umbra bird thing earlier with a really wicked spell that threw everyone off her. I am hoping to specialize in the school of Evocation, and I could tell it was a really effective spell from that school."

The shopkeeper suddenly looks very shocked at what you said. “The order of Umbra, here? What are they doing so close to the entrance to Senckried. And they sent in a spellcaster too. Have you told anyone about this? If your story rings true, then we should probably alert the town guard. You look awful okay for having a run in with them though. Are you hurt at all? You certainly don’t look like it.”

[Zergrinch]

"Oh I was okay because even though his ghost ranger guy summoned his blood snake and it tried to eat me, this lady knight I'm now traveling with pulled them off me in time. Are the Order of the Umbra really something to worry about, Ma'am? I've never heard of them, and the agents we encountered were not very good. The ghost ranger only had this kenku wizard as his backup, and she didn't even get a damaging spell off although I guess she murdered this cleric and two of the people guarding the town. In fact, she wasn't a good wizard and didn't even have a spellbook. Who are they anyway and what do they want?"

[Sariel Vailo]

oh zuzu where are you.

Spoiler: internal thought

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that damn snake had better be with him.

She hopes the echo will carry.

[Requilac]

"Oh I was okay because even though his ghost ranger guy summoned his blood snake and it tried to eat me, this lady knight I'm now traveling with pulled them off me in time. Are the Order of the Umbra really something to worry about, Ma'am? I've never heard of them, and the agents we encountered were not very good. The ghost ranger only had this kenku wizard as his backup, and she didn't even get a damaging spell off although I guess she murdered this cleric and two of the people guarding the town. In fact, she wasn't a good wizard and didn't even have a spellbook. Who are they anyway and what do they want?"

The shopkeeper eyes suddenly widen as you recall your tale to her. After glancing you over and finding herself confident that you are not wounded, she strides over to Yaotl. She apparently sees yaotl as the responsible adult here, so she mainly addresses the answer's to your questions to him, but will ocassioanly glance back at Zuzu. "Is the story this boy tells true? If it is, then I fear for what happens next. The Order of Umbra are a sort of criminal cult, but we have no idea what they worship. They appeared just a few months before the plague began, at first as a sort of political faction that wanted the Senckreid fief to become more agressive and start conquering land outside its borders. Needless, to lord Senckried was unhappy with that to say the least and ignored them. Eventually though they started growing in fanaticism and violence in their attempts to win the fiefdom over. Eventually they sent assassins to kill lord Senckried, and were successful. Now they have mostly gone into silence, and have begun doing strange investigations on the recent plague instead of fulfilling their previous agendas. For some reason all their talk about domination has been quelled, which considering their activities only weeks before, makes absolutely no sense. They are not someone you want to have to run across. "

She doesn't seem to be frightened of Yaotl at all, or even surprised. Perhaps yuan-ti are common up here, but that is unlikely due to the cold weather.

oh zuzu where are you.

Spoiler: internal thought

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that damn snake had better be with him.

She hopes the echo will carry.

Not many people appear to be out, but now that you have spent a long enough time outside you have noticed a couple of people. Almost all of them appear to be wearing thick dark cloaks and have that same sort of androgynous body type, and they don't even seem to acknowledge your existence. They are never outside their homes for long and only go out to gather some essential goods.

What you also can't help but notice is the abundance of scavengers in the area, despite their not seeming to be much of anything for them to eat about. The ghastly vultures perch on the rooftops like gargoyles and the crows seem to cover the trees like black leaves. This doesn't quite seem like how birds are supposed to act.

[Sariel Vailo]

Spoiler: internal thought

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these anaimals are perched waiti g for a kill... Or worse?!

She will hurredly look for an inn to stay in.

Spoiler: internal thought

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maybe i may perform and gather information while waiting for zuzu and yaotol

[Zergrinch]

Zuzu is somewhat irked of being ignored and passed over for some adult, but he tries his best to conceal it. After all, the woman was quite concerned of his own welfare, and likely it was just her motherly instincts kicking in.

"Ma'am, thank you very much for humoring me considering the lateness of the hour. I guess we have to rest now. Do you know a good inn for us to stay in?"

[bc56]

"What the boy says is true. My wounds were the result." Yaotl shows his recently healed injuries as evidence.

[Requilac]

Spoiler: internal thought

Show

these anaimals are perched waiti g for a kill... Or worse?!

She will hurredly look for an inn to stay in.

Spoiler: internal thought

Show

maybe i may perform and gather information while waiting for zuzu and yaotol

(no check required) after reading a couple of the signs and going down some of the passage ways you manage to find what you believe to be an inn called the Black Sheep. The name is actually quite ironic, considering the fact that it looks like a slightly taller version of all the other bleak stone buildings. They must not have much of a value for aesthetics in this town. By looking through the single small window you can see a tidy but sparse room with only the bare minimum furniture required for a tavern. There are what must be a total of around five people inside.

Zuzu is somewhat irked of being ignored and passed over for some adult, but he tries his best to conceal it. After all, the woman was quite concerned of his own welfare, and likely it was just her motherly instincts kicking in.

"Ma'am, thank you very much for humoring me considering the lateness of the hour. I guess we have to rest now. Do you know a good inn for us to stay in?"

"What the boy says is true. My wounds were the result." Yaotl shows his recently healed injuries as evidence.

She nods silently once again, clearly put at nerve by the events that have taken place. She is still clearly addressing Yaotl. "There is an inn called the Black Sheep in the northern part of the city that should take care of everything you need. Its rather austere but it will provide a roof over your head for the night. Be careful though. I mean... in the nearby future. The Order of Umbra aren't likely to let you kill one of their own and get away with it so easily. Be very careful, please. We have already seen enough of Death because of the plague, we don't need to make it worst with strife and violence. Oh and if you ever needed me, my name is Torbera. If you are adventurers like you look like, then you can expect to see me in the nearby future."

[Zergrinch]

Thank you Ma'am Torbera. Mr Yaotl sir, let's go to this Black Sheep!

Zuzu departs and heads for the inn.

[Awful]

"The Black Sheep... I see."
It was as the gods themselves had conspired to make this land seem as miserable and cursed as possible. She glanced at the guard.
"How is it that it has had no visitors in years? This is the main way into this fief, is it not?"



----
After the reply

With little other option, it seemed, regardless of the guard's answer, she would head there. She stalked through the streets, eyes scanning. She did not trust this place. When she found the inn, she would stride without hesitation.

[Requilac]

"The Black Sheep... I see."
It was as the gods themselves had conspired to make this land seem as miserable and cursed as possible. She glanced at the guard.
"How is it that it has had no visitors in years? This is the main way into this fief, is it not?"



----
After the reply

With little other option, it seemed, regardless of the guard's answer, she would head there. She stalked through the streets, eyes scanning. She did not trust this place. When she found the inn, she would stride without hesitation.

This time instead of Adrek replying Diesa actually says something as you are walking away. "The inn has had few visitors because Senckried has had few visitors... my lady". She says the last word in a tone which you think is sarcasm, but the inflection is nothing you have ever heard before, so you can't necessarily say that for certain.