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Post by pastels on Mar 5, 2019 9:03:42 GMT
As their four-person team reconvened near the shattered palisade, Astra watched the skies and called for Mitja. The familiar glided down, quick as always, with yet another trinket clutched in its beak: a shard of what looked to be like a ceramic plate, before it had been dashed against the stones. “Someone's on the hill? Interesting.” She was no Stephen, but she had picked up a curious tidbit or two while searching through the graveyard, and she was eager to share them. “The guard I met mentioned that the undead headed for that place, en masse. I can rationalize three or five in smaller packs, but all of them? That’s odd, isn’t it? You think of undead as chaotic puppets driven by hunger… At least it gives credence to the theory...” The elf lowered her voice until she was mumbling to herself, eyes darting across the lines she had written across her notepad. She seemed to be lost in thought for a bit.
“In any case. My own investigation has revealed that there is a tomb that has been broken open in the graveyard. If that is relevant, I am not sure, but it would not hurt to leave every stone unturned. As far as I can tell from the mud patterns surrounding the open graves, I would guess that the dead rose and clawed their way out at the same time.”
Now, there was the question of which place to go from here…
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Post by 3personal5me on Mar 5, 2019 17:58:37 GMT
"We should check the Tomb over, while we are here. I'll go, and if anyone here has any religious knowledge, please come with." He didn't know the group too well, but it wouldn't be the first time somebody surprised him with what they knew. "Somebody else should try to find out what we can about the inhabitants of it. I'm sure somebody here can fill us in." As far as Stephen was concerned, this had turned into a missing persons case. He didn't care if the person was a king or a noble or even a pauper in the wrong grave. He was a stiff now, and corpses shouldn't be wandering off.
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Post by enchilada on Mar 10, 2019 19:30:29 GMT
The temple
The Temple is completely empty of anything of value. Inside there are twelve wooden pews, a stone altar and a slightly worn out red carpet down the middle. There is a room through a door on the right side that is identical, except in that room there is a ladder.
The light flows through the windows at the back of each room, catching dustmites in the air.
Up the ladder is something of a storage cupboard turned private prayer cubicles, with curtains segmenting the spaces, each with its own bench.
(you are invited to perform an investigation check)
The tomb
The tomb is fairly nondescript, inside is a plain, light coloured sarcophagus which has been broken open.
(you are invited to perform an investigation check)
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Post by 3personal5me on Mar 11, 2019 1:02:16 GMT
Stephen inspected the Tomb, his footsteps almost inaudible as he paced the room. Sear hung couldn't be rushed. Slow, thorough searching always revealed more than a hasty scan. He opened his senses, his eyes tracing every crack, his ears straining to pick up anything. He felt the temperature of the room, judging it against the outside air. Was the tomb uncharacteristically warm or cold? Was the air moving, or still? Did it smell dank and musty, as if it had been closed for a long time, or did it feel like it had been aired out recently? He considered all of these options, and more, as he worked.
Investigation hIMa5hK|1d20+6 1d20+6
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Post by enchilada on Mar 11, 2019 11:26:59 GMT
The tomb’s air had by now mixed fully with the outside, the temperature being the same in or out, slightly colder in the shade, as was to be expected. It had evidently been opened the same time as the other graves, and opened from the inside, rather than the outside. It didn’t look entirely impossible. The stone was old, thin and likely to crumble anyway.
Inside the sarcophagus you find only a red liquid.
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Post by Malakbel on Mar 12, 2019 10:41:48 GMT
"Someone snooping around? Well that's something... Care to keep a bird eye on our fellow? Just in case he's got something to do with the whole mess and he gets away while we're all trying to figure out just what happened instead of who."
He proposed, he couldn't care less for the mayor's house. Or the mayor's life choices or how had she come to occupy office. To be honest he figured it had something to do with varyind degrees of corruption and varying degrees of how passive townsfolk around could be, or how easily they could be manipulated. He didn't really have any proof, but neither did he care. Now what he did care about was checking out the temple to see what kind of things he could find in there, and, also, if no one was checking, what kind of stuff he could nick. Who knew, it might just prove useful during an experiment. He had always wondered if divine magic could be replicated by a Wizard... Or if some random god would get upset and try to smite him ipso facto, right then and there. It wouldn't be unheard of, little guys were jealous of their position, and rightfully fearful of anyone digging up the secrets of how they got where they are.
On the other hand the elf provided some new information, and he agreed with her internally. The undead, at least those risen by the school of necromancy rarely if ever possessed cohesiveness or smarts about then. They were like puppets with loose strings at best, able to follow direct commands but with no subtelty at all.
"I'll check the temple meanwhile"
He said and headed for the abeforementioned. Naturally, everything not nailed down had been stolen, but perhaps he could find some patterns in the chaos or additional information.
Investigation
fCSG9rph1d20+31d20+3
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Post by enchilada on Mar 12, 2019 12:07:17 GMT
It appears that the place had always been rather plain, rather than anything stolen or taken away for safekeeping. There are some areas for books in the backs of benches that are empty, but it is hard to tell if they were once full or they were always barren - perhaps for people to temporarily stow texts rather than leave forever. Alternatively, the benches could have been purchased or donated with this function that is simply not utilised by the temple. While it was run by priests of one god, there was no particular imagery of him, as it was hallowed ground for any who required a place in order to pray, as long as it was done with good intent.
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Citrine
Approved
6 Wild Blooded Sorcerer+ 1 Celestial Warlock
Posts: 328
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Post by Citrine on Mar 12, 2019 17:12:59 GMT
To Stephen she shook her head, "Dane't really knae shit about teh deities 'ere. Aye'm afraid Aye won't be much 'elp. Unless et's someone with their hand on teh sea? Aye won't knae anything."
"Works fer me, Aye'm shit at snooping around fer details." She just didn't quite have the patience for it, investigating. It required a level of slow steady work that she just wasn't cut out for. "Aye'll be able tae see ef anythin' undead 'appens tae start makin' their way o'er towards teh town again. Aye'd hate fer us tae be surprised by ah wave o' corpses."
She gave Mala a look of agreement and rose back into the air, going high enough so she could perch on the tallest point of the temple, taking a position of watch on the land around the town. She kept a steady focus on the figure on the hill, fighting the urge to just take off and go see what was going on from a closer angle. But it'd do her no good to separate herself from the party.
With Astra talking to the guard, Stephen checking the tomb, Mala looking into the temple, and her up here? They had eyes and ears everywhere.
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Post by pastels on Mar 14, 2019 2:34:55 GMT
While Malakbel checked the ground floor, Astra peeked into the doorway at the right side of the abandoned room. She climbed the ladder and, taking care not to disturb the items too much, began to rifle through the contents. Who knew if she could find a hidden compartment? Such plain locations always hid a ton of interesting information… But she could be getting ahead of herself.
Investigation: o6daEfZN1d20+4 1d20+4
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Post by enchilada on Mar 17, 2019 12:44:40 GMT
Despite her expert sweep of the room, Astra found nothing but dust, a little untreated damp and a spider. The items left there appear to be all religious in nature, various leather bound books and several scrolls, all of some kind of passage, story or quote relating to a god. The majority pertain to the god Kelemvor, with one or two other gods here or there - all of these seem to be for general preaching about being kind and considerate, or perhaps for a holiday sermon. Either the wealth of the items was never here, or it has been moved since.
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Post by pastels on Mar 18, 2019 3:26:27 GMT
Astra sighed and clamped a hand down on Mitja’s head afore it could lunge for the miserable insect. The raven squawked in disapproval. “Nothing here!” The elf called out as she carefully descended from the ladder and walked out into the room. She peered over at Malakbel, who seemed to be engrossed in his own sweep. “I’ll go out now.”
Astra left the temple and waited for the group to reconvene. Once they were complete, she uncrossed her arms over her chest and gestured to the wrecked palisade, out into the hole-ridden hills. “I fear we have unearthed all we can from this place. Shall we move on to the hill, then?” She adjusted her backpack and shifted from one foot to another. “Caution may be warranted. If earlier assumptions prove correct, the risen dead will be there with their master. Shall we?”
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Post by 3personal5me on Mar 18, 2019 6:58:18 GMT
Stephen stooped down, examining the crimson fluid. He reached within his coat, drew a dagger, and gently dipped it in. He watched, noting the viscosity. He sniffed the air, searching for the copper tones of blood as he disturbed the contents.
He cursed himself for not bringing his usual suite of tools. Worst come to worst, he could transport some in a waterskin.
Investigation scC2s0Ch1d20+6 1d20+6
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Post by enchilada on Mar 18, 2019 9:03:51 GMT
It was gloopy, although seeming to be a mixture of a much more watery brown liquid and the red, almost slimelike liquid. Within the sarcophagus there are a few smaller bones, tips of toes and fingers, perhaps chips off of a larger bone or the skull, too, from injuries suffered in life. The bones were completely clean, other than the liquid on them, no remaining tissue or skin at all. The mixture smelled absolutely awful, almost to the point of vomiting, although dry heaving was perhaps the worst anyone would suffer. As the dagger moved around, the browns and reds easily mixed together, although the remaining dregs of the more watery substance was almost definitely very soiled water.
Perhaps the body, if it were there, had been lying in the tomb undisturbed, and then a crack somewhere had allowed water to soak into it, eventually dissolving the body with its slight acidity and the sudden presence of moisture. Stephen could see damp patches on the inside, so while the tomb had been open long enough for the air to mix and the general damp smell to be gone, he could tell it was possible and plausible, however, the liquid itself still smelled really bad, kind of like time-to-leave-the-tomb bad.
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Citrine
Approved
6 Wild Blooded Sorcerer+ 1 Celestial Warlock
Posts: 328
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Post by Citrine on Mar 19, 2019 13:59:45 GMT
((XD 'time-to-leave-the-tomb-bad - I love it Dreemie))
Bored out of her mind Citrine twirled and spun like a dancer around the pole at the highest point of the building she was on. Really, what was taking them so long? She looked down, spun her copper wire twist in her hair, and sent out a mental message one after another, so each of the three companions could hear the inquiry.
"Ef ye 'aven't found anything by nae, there's nothin' there. Let's head tae teh hill now, aye? Before the Lad or Lass o'er there goes away." She was itching to fly and see what else was over there.
"Aye'll meet ye all over there, 'ows tha' sound?" The grin in her voice was clear. And with that? Citrine ran the length of the roof then jumped herself out to the air, wings expanding to catch the air and hoist her into the air to make her way over to the hill she'd seen from her vantage point. She didn't land and stayed high enough up still to not be a close range target to anything. She'd either spook the figure into running somewhere, hail with a wave and find the figure to be friendly, or trigger something into a story that she'd regal over a pint and a laugh another day. Either way, something was bound to happen, and she couldn't wait to find out what. Regardless, she kept a careful eye on the figure so she could watch what happens.
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Post by enchilada on Mar 20, 2019 9:26:12 GMT
The figure stands on turned over earth, digging tirelessly and unaware of Citrine’s presence. They wear a large, wide brimmed hat presumably to keep the sun off of them when it’s out, and what seem to be fairly standard clothes, fitting of a person who spends their time turning over the earth. Other areas seem well-dug, almost to the bottom of the mound, but here the figure is barely scraping the surface of the ground.
edit: if you land, feel free to make an insight throw. If anything else feels appropriate let me know
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