Age of Worms - The Hall of Harsh Reflections

[Gwynfrid]

It's a flustered Marzena who shuffles her pack of cards again and again, trying to get a second and third reading before she gives up. "There are times, cards simply won't talk. Just like fate in general, cards are fickle." Dejectedly, she puts the deck back in its place. "We'll just have to toughen it out."

[MuffinMan]

Lydia nods in agreement in Frederick's plan and gives him a Heironean salute with fist clasped against chest. "Go with the Archpaladin's blessings upon you, Ser Frederick. And hurry back with Miss Janstina - I don't like to wait!"

[JWallyR]

Jan frowns, brows furrowed in thought. "I... well, I just don't trust that invisible jerk to leave you three alone while me and Freddie stretch our legs."

The gnome pouts for a moment before scurrying off toward the remaining captives. "Look... I can tell that you've been yanked every which way by the nasty characters that run this place," she begins, addressing the young woman, "but you watched us fight these shapeshifting bastards, right? And then the stupid invisible things in the next room tried to kill us too. There's got to be something we can do to prove that we're not just another trick being played, right? Don't you want to get out of here and see your friends, your family again?!?"

Spoiler: Actions

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Diplomacy to improve attitude toward the party: (1d20+12)[22]

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Let me free, if you're not like them," says the elven woman simply, not turning to look at the party as she does. "We've been lied to and seen games before. The torture is too much to bear and they've played nice before. Let us go..."

[Farmerbink]

Frederick's sour attitude doesn't improve. Hoping to be so quiet the Elf woman doesn't hear, he grumbles, "I don't trust anything down here. It seems.... unlikely that we should be overtaken, even if she is another doppelgänger. But I would feel better if we saw to her physical state now and kept her there until... I guess I don't know until what, exactly. I pray we may soon understand the shadows, at least enough to dispel them, but I just don't know..."

[Albinobrow]

"Let me free, if you're not like them," says the elven woman simply, not turning to look at the party as she does. "We've been lied to and seen games before. The torture is too much to bear and they've played nice before. Let us go..."

With all due respect ma'am, no. Rather not yet. Olofire shakes his head and sighs heavily while looking into the room where the invisible stalker might still be watching them..

I understand you don't trust us and with good reason from what we've experienced the last couple days and what we've seen in this abysmal warehouse. That being said, we don't trust you yet either. You've already seen prisoners in these very cells come after us. I personally wish you no harm so long as you give us no reason to harm you. As I stated, we will see that you are fed and cared for as much as we are able in our current capacity. We can prepare any food in front of you for your observation. Whatever else we can do to prove that we are here to help, but not set you free just yet. In fact, he looks up to the rest of the party now.

while not ideal at all, what do you all think about resting in one of these cells together? I don't believe that creature can walk through bars or walls... can it Marzena? Either way, here we can watch each other, and the other prisoners, and they can watch us as well.

Spoiler: OoC

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I'm not trying to convince her or scare her or anything. Just calling the situation as Olofire sees it. But I can roll something in OoC if you feel I need it DarkOne.

[DarkOne-Rob]

"Hmmph, of course you all feel that way..." mutters the woman as she remains facing the wall, her back straight as she obviously concludes the party don't have her best interests in mind.

[MuffinMan]

"So are you leaving, or not?" Lydia harrumphs to Frederick, crossing her arms. "Marzena and the doctor will be fine here under my protection until you return, if you really wish to contact Tarquin tonight. But I see no great harm in letting the fellow wait until tomorrow morning to hear from us, either."

[Albinobrow]

"So are you leaving, or not?" Lydia harrumphs to Frederick, crossing her arms. "Marzena and the doctor will be fine here under my protection until you return, if you really wish to contact Tarquin tonight. But I see no great harm in letting the fellow wait until tomorrow morning to hear from us, either."

My intention in letting him know is so that another you or another one of us doesn't show up and try to kill him again while we are here. He can be ready should we walk in again. The corner of his mouth turns up to a slight hint of a grin with all of the the air quotes he used in that statement.

[JWallyR]

Jan's face brightens, and she opens her mouth to speak... but Olofire's response puts a distinct damper on her hopeful enthusiasm. "Well, what's the worst that could happen?" she mutters, kicking at a loose bit of debris on the tiny dungeon's floor.

"So are you leaving, or not?" Lydia harrumphs to Frederick, crossing her arms. "Marzena and the doctor will be fine here under my protection until you return, if you really wish to contact Tarquin tonight. But I see no great harm in letting the fellow wait until tomorrow morning to hear from us, either."

Jan's expression remains glum. "I don't like it." she grumps, "With nobody around that can see that awful thing, it's that much more likely to catch you all unawares."

Sighing heavily, she looks up at Frederick. "I suppose we better hurry, then."

[Gwynfrid]

Marzena winks at Jan. "As it happens, there is a nifty little trick I can use... So I'll be able to see this damn thing, should that prove necessary. If it comes back, it will find us ready." She closes her eyes, and her friends notice that the ever-present deck of cards is in her hands again. She opens her eyes and splits the deck to reveal a card... A thin smile appears on her lips as a sign that this card was the one she expected to see. "Good as new", she mutters without further elaboration.

Spoiler

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Standard action: Marzena uses her Brilliant Spell Preparation to immediately prepare See Invisibility in her open slot.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Jan and Frederick leave, content-enough to leave the rest of the party settling in the cell block area near the insane mumblings of one prisoner and the silent-treatment applied by the other. The two unconscious doppelgangers do not wake in the hour-and-a-half it takes for the pair of adventurers to return and the invisible stalker makes no appearance. /rimshot

You spend a night sleeping and preparing specific spells, right? I need watch assignments and any other details you want to share.

[Farmerbink]

As the afternoon wanes, Frederick speaks up. "I'll take first watch. Can we set torches in here? I won't need them, but it could help for later shifts. Can't well start an entire campfire in here."

[Gwynfrid]

"Take this, Sir Frederick", Marzena says, taking a small object from her pocket. It's a simple, well-polished round stone, but it emits a brilliant light. "Just throw it in the air like this..." As the paladin does as instructed, the stone flies in the air, and slowly revolves around him, providing light to the room. "It won't go out, and besides, it's less smelly", she explains with a wink.

Spoiler

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She lends her ioun torch to Frederick.

[Farmerbink]

Fredrick blinks in surprise. "I- should have remembered, I suppose. Thank you, Marzena."

[JWallyR]

Jan smiles, the expression oddly self-satisfied, up at Frederick. "Oh, and I'm also not particularly tired. I'll take second watch, and hopefully the rest of you can get some deeper sleep."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Several days earlier...

Ixiaxian watched as the party navigated the twisting streets of Greyhawk, always keeping them in sight as the doppelganger - now disguised as a merchant - tailed them carefully. It had avoided the most private of their interviews, but otherwise followed Telakin's orders carefully. "Tail them, find the best one to replace, arrange it, swap..." it quietly said to itself as it thought through the quintet of adventurers. "The big half-orc is the obvious choice...can't have him throwing his weight around in the Sodden Hold..."

It had been a slow, steady process, but Ixiaxian's opportunity came when the party returned from the Red Serpent. Sprinting ahead of them the doppelganger took on a feminine form and "helped" the paladin up the crooked stairs into his room - right into the waiting arms of several other doppelgangers. Pouncing on the big man had gotten several of them injured, but the raucous common room had muffled the worst of their cries and the sound of crashing furniture. In the end the half-orc paladin, Frederick, was trussed up and carried out late that night with Ixiaxian staying behind to take its new role.

---

Things got a bit dicey when Elaxan tried to frame the party's cleric the following night. The doppelgangers had always been able to recognize each other - no one really knew how or why - so Ixiaxian had helped out, carefully. Couldn't give away its deception, but in the end it didn't need to worry. When the accusatory merchant slipped into another face, Ixiaxian conveniently lost sight of the party's accuser and everything calmed down.

Of course, it all would have been easier that night had the Watch been convinced the party had intended to murder Tarquin. The pack would have collected anyone sent to prison overnight, probably scuttling their investigation entirely. When Tarquin instead remember Elaxan 's pendant Ixiaxian had to stifle a groan of disappointment. Instead, "Frederick" was brought into the party's confidence even further, when they decided to use the Harrow Deck.

"It really would have been an effective counter...if I wasn't already among them," thought the doppelganger from behind his Frederick-mask.

---

Entering its home and being forced to fight the pack's guards was very frustrating for Elaxan. They'd worked hard to collect those mimics, and then to have to mock-battle the two doppelganger guards - infuriating! When the party decided not to kill Martal and Regim it breathed a silent sigh of relief. There weren't enough in the pack to just lose two so casually. The party's refusal to release their prisoners was fortuitous too, especially as they'd both been replaced in the city some time ago.

However, Ixiaxian was all but ready to kill the last of the invisible stalkers itself after the elemental deliberately warned them of Ixiaxian's presence! Luckily none of them recognized the meaning behind the extra-planar creature's words, or cared to act on it.

---

The final two strokes of luck for the doppelganger was when the gnome, Jan, decided to go with her "friend" to warn Tarquin of the doppelgangers. It wasn't five minutes after the pair left the Sodden Hold that Ixiaxian saw two of its pack out in the streets. Moments later the little gnome was trapped - bound first with several tanglefoot bags and then ropes and a gag. Elaxan would have its chance to redeem itself as it replaced Jan and returned with Ixiaxian to the party.

When Ixiaxian took the first watch it was all over...

[DarkOne-Rob]

It's with a series of groans and splitting headaches that the party wakens, all behind bars in the cell block, and all missing their equipment - save some basic clothing for modesty. Olofire and Jan find themselves between the two prisoners from earlier. Frederick is alone - and looking pretty upset - in the cell across from the elven maiden. Both Marzena and Lydia share the cell south of him.

None of your captors appear to be around. The door into the northern room with the invisible stalker is closed, and the lights are dim. It's hard to tell what time it might be, as there are no windows, but everyone has water, a chamber pot, a blanket, and some straw...

What do you do now? Note, that while you as players have the previous post to see, your PCs do not. They don't know exactly what happened. However, I can confirm that now all of you are actually your PCs, and not doppelgangers.

For the record, FarmerBink has been working with me to RP Ixiaxian since May. JWallyR didn't get long as an imposter, but was briefly a doppelganger too.

This is NOT game over. There is a good opportunity for some RP as you figure out what to do now, though...

[Gwynfrid]

Spoiler

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I can confirm that now all of you are actually your PCs, and not doppelgangers.

Really? How could we possibly know that?

Marzena wakes, a painful bump on her forehead, and... she immediately feels for her scarf, and finds it gone, and with it, the vital Harrow deck. What? She sits, and tries to find her bearings. She feels too weak to stand. Lydia, next to her... A cell. Further out, the prisoners. Her usually quick mind feels slow and foggy, but she begins to put the pieces together.

"Okaaay... So, they got us, that much is clear. How did they do that? One of us had to be one of them from the beginning. Well, at least, from the time we entered this bloody place. Damn to all the nine hells." She turns to the elf woman in the next cell. "Ma'am, I would like to apologize: You were absolutely correct not to trust us. Whatever I tried to do to make sure we could trust ourselves was obviously a miserable failure."

She goes silent for a minute, trying to think while she waits for others to wake up. She feels desperately naked and powerless without her deck of cards. So few spells left to cast, none of them any use... She's never been physically strong, not did she ever develop any skills worth anything, beyond her magic. Getting out of this means using your head, girl.

"Mind if I ask a question, Ma'am?" she asks the elf. "Do you have any idea why we're still alive?"

[Albinobrow]

Olofire groans as he slowly open his eyes, barely being able to see anything for the straw half covering his face. As he rises and spits a few strands from his mouth, he looks about at his current situation. Stuck in a cell with Jan and two of the other prisoners..

He hears Marzena's statement, One of us had to be one of them from the beginning.

AHHHHHHHH!!!! He screams and fiercely but awkwardly punches the wall behind them, bloodying his tiny fist. Backing into the corner furthest away from everyone, Who was it!? Who betrayed us!! His eyes dart from person to person full of a rage akin to Frederick's during battle.

Spoiler: OoC

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Yeeeah the little trust he had for the others in these cells has now included everyone in the party as well... Sorry not sorry.

[Gwynfrid]

"Oh c'mon, Doctor!" Marzena replies sharply. "Get your not inconsiderable wits together, please. No one of us betrayed us, of course! One or more of us was captured and substituted with a doppelganger at some point, most likely when they were alone. So, it was a doppelganger that tricked us. It doesn't even matter which one of us it was, really! It's done, curse the rotten spineless things."

"Now, let's think of something that really, really matters here and now. How can we make sure that every last one of us is the real deal, and not some faceless shapechanger? My trick with the cards failed, obviously. That means the doppelganger was already among us when I suggested it in the first place. So we need to think of something else."

[Farmerbink]

The Frederick you see upon waking strikes a sharp contrast to the man you traveled with before. He sits listless in his cell. If not for eyes that never stopped moving, he might pass for asleep, back to the wall, head low as if subconsciously trying to protect his neck. Bruises darken his already dark gray skin, all over most of his upper body and arms. He glares silently as Marzena and Olofire make their comments, having heard similar things from similar-shaped figures before.

"Just leave," he finally snarls. "They're too smart for you." He lapses back into a sullen silence, peering intently at the floor about a pace within the doorway.

[MuffinMan]

"Aaaaghh!!! That's it, I've heard enough!" With a roar, Lydia casts a Create Water cantrip and douses the despondent Frederick with several gallons of clean, clear water. "You might not be a doppleganger but you're not acting like a yourself, either. You're a chosen warrior of the Archpaladin, man - pull yourself together! Or the Council will hear of this after I drub your hide myself!"

Scowling, she turns her glare on the rest of the party members. "Now I ask you, could an impostor draw on such divine magicks? Of course not, and I'll soak anyone who disagrees!!!" She exhales heavily, nostrils flaring. "As for how we tell who else is genuine, that's easy, too - they'll have memories from the beginning of our travels together than an impostor wouldn't. But don't discuss them now - they could still be listening." She turns her full glare upon Marzena in the cell next to her as if eyeing her up as a potential threat.

"Now we're going to get out of here, retrieve our equipment, and then we will address the egregious lack of safety protocols that led us into this mess. I want three ideas from each of you within the next five minutes about how we're going to escape. Let's move, people!"

[Gwynfrid]

"Glad to have you back from the realm of dreams, Reverend!" Marzena returns Lydia's glare with equal force, and for a few seconds it looks like the two emprisoned women are in a staring contest. Soon enough, though, a glint of humor appears in her dark blue eyes, and she snaps out of it with a knowing wink. "All right, I can say if you're a doppelganger, you're not only a priest but also gifted with pretty solid acting chops. This imitation of her personality is quite convincing!" She makes a face. "OK, seriously now. We can't decisively prove who we are until we talk about our past experiences, and you're absolutely right, it would be stupid to do that while we're within earshot of enemies. In fact, I'm thinking of a recognition protocol that doesn't require talking, but it requires something else that we don't have. So we can keep that for a later time. Now, to your other question..."

She falls silent, rubbing the bump on her head. "Can't do much, I have to say. Most spells require components, and none of them can open doors. Also..." With a pained look on her face, she stops. Better not discuss the deck openly.

"But I can give some helpful luck to anyone. That's got to count for something. Not to discuss details here and now, but you surely remember this little talent of mine was helpful on a few occasions, right?"

[Farmerbink]

Frederick blinks, a little surprised by the watery assault. When he sputters the last of the water out of his mouth, there is a hint of doubt on his face. He breathes steadily- obviously forced- for several moments before mustering words. "I must admit, that's a new ploy. Not the magic, but the... surprisingly painless use of it." He watches the two women exchange odd glances, eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

"The bars are well-affixed and well-maintained, if you don't already know. There are no apparent weaknesses there, and they're always watching. They also somehow hide the very nature of their souls. I refuse to believe none of them have ill intentions, and yet I don't see it on their auras."

After a few pensive moments, the beaten paladin snarls wickedly. Flexing his hands as anger courses through him, he growls more than speaks, "If you can find a way out of these cells, I'll go with you. At worst, I'd be free to die fighting."

[Gwynfrid]

Marzena stands up. "All right, good to hear you make sense, I got worried for a second here," she says, all the while inspecting the cell from floor to ceiling. "You look in a rough shape though. Reverend Constance, are you able to provide any healing?"

She pauses her examination of the bars to cast a little spell.

"Y aurait-il ici
Cachée, quelque magie?
Si oui, je le saurai
Sinon, je me tairai."

Even as she focuses to find any magical auras, something Frederick said belatedly strikes her as important. "You said they're always watching. Do you mean you tried to escape and they immediately reacted?

Also... This implies you were in their hands longer than us. How long ago?"

Spoiler

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Detect Magic doesn't require material components, so she does that and inspects the whole place thoroughly (the range is 60ft).
Taking 20 on Perception since we have all the time in the world: 31.

[Farmerbink]

Frederick continues to respond only after heavy pauses. Still unsure whether he trusts his newly-reconnected companions, he spends several long moments considering what he might be revealing to the enemy by the discussion.

Ultimately, the question seems... both strange for a doppelgänger to be asking, and unhelpful, if an individual didn't already know.

"I think three days," he finally answers. "It's impossible to be sure- I haven't seen sunrise or set in some time. They took me from the inn after we... ate together. They knew where I was sleeping. There were four of them waiting in ambush. I think I may have killed two." He watches Marzena carefully to see how she responds to the "news."

[Gwynfrid]

"You mean after the dinner at the Red Serpent? That's more like two days." Marzena falls silent. Thinking hard, she recaps the events of the past few days in her mind. She replies to the paladin: "Say, if I told you we met someone named Pollard, while you were still with us? Would that be enough to convince you that I am who I seem to be? And if yes... Then, can you tell me where we met that someone?".

Spoiler

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At least, I think it was 2 days. Not completely sure.

[JWallyR]

Jan turns her dark glower from the apparent Olofire's outburst to each of the others in turn. It lingers on Frederick, but before too long, the bruises that pepper the half-orc's skin evoke a softening expression. She sighs, deeply, before breaking her silence. "I guess there's only one way to find out who's on the up-and-up. If they're watching, they're watching, and if you're them, you're them," she huffs irritably.

The gnome looks around, hoping to find something useful around them..

Spoiler: Actions

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Looking for something that could conceivably be used as a tool that might be an applicable target for Mage Hand. She'll direct it into the cage with Olofire in hopes that he can start picking locks, etc.

[Gwynfrid]

Marzena responds "That's the spirit, my dear Jan. But..." The light of an idea brightens her sharp eyes. "Oooh... I think... Yes!"

She stands up, and talks to her smaller friend animatedly, in a very gnomish way in fact...

"Listen Jan, you remember when we had this little vacation at your place, we trained together? We showed each other what we can do. And I remember one of your tricks, very well!

So. IF, and only IF, you really are Jan, then you have a way to get Frederick, Lydia and myself out, just like that, with a snap of your fingers more or less. You just need to center your little conjuration precisely... Here!" She bends down to put her finger on the floor, right next to the bar that separates her cell from Frederick's, just by the corridor. "And.. Bonus! IF, and only IF, I really am Marzena, then you know for a fact that I won't get hurt in any way! Sir Frederick and the Reverend might want to remain in the back for now, however. See what I mean?" She looks eagerly at Jan, certain that the little gnome will catch the clue.