D&D - VA (864TK; July 11th - 22nd): Birthright Restored (A003)
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Klein, Lily, Kwoth, Mouse, and Imani / [XP: 10]
Bevin wasn’t feeling well; Smike and Jaye had had a long day looking at apartments.
July 11th, 864TK (Continued)
To call Ostrheinsburg a ‘castle’ or even a ‘palace’ didn’t quite do it justice. ‘Fortified estate’ was the term which came to the PCs’ minds, as the island was covered with numerous buildings of various sizes; all surrounding a towering central keep.
While the exterior architecture of all of the buildings was pretty consistent; the interior layout, décor, and construction were rather jarringly different from one area to the next (though it all looked kinda creepy by that point). It appeared as though successive rulers had had very different tastes but didn’t want to undo what their forbearers had done, so instead they just kept expanding.
At its peak, Ostrheinsburg would have been considered upscale by the standards of modern Paladesia; meaning it had been exceedingly opulent by the standards of 8th century Westfaller. Nevertheless, its best looting days were long gone; with nothing remaining having a worthwhile value-to-encumbrance ratio, especially considering the crumbling and demon-infested bridge which anything would need to be carried across.
After searching numerous areas which were certainly interesting but not of consequence to their reason for being there, the PCs heard the sound of rushing water nearby; far too inland to be something from the lake. Kwoth and Mouse stealthed their way in to check it out while the others remained nearby.
The sound was coming from an amazing triple-tiered bathhouse where some serious business magic was clearly still at work. In addition to the magnificent chamber being lit; water was being circulated, cleansed, and heated to bath temperature.
While they almost missed it completely, Kwoth’s keen eye spotted something back in behind the cascade down into the bottom pool. It appeared to be a rather large frog with something (perhaps a large insect) on its back. Kwoth called Mouse’s attention to it, but he didn’t know what to make of it either; so they decided to go back and get the others.
Around a third of the way back, Kwoth heard another sound above the white noise of the cascades: a large splash followed briefly by an indiscernible female voice. Urging Mouse to continue on to get the others, Kwoth dashed back to the bathhouse.
The frog and whatever was on its back were gone, but drip-trails led from the edges of the pool to two of the three doors adjacent to the main entrance. Kwoth kept a close on both until the other PCs arrived.
Both of the doors led to changing rooms which were currently unoccupied, and both of the changing rooms had additional doors leading to the same hall. Though not as distinct, there was still enough of a drip trail to follow.
The PCs’ wet quarry eventually dried out to the point that they could no longer be followed, but not before leading them to a rather significant find. It was a large and ominous hall, the floor of which was littered with rather a lot of dead people.
All had long since been reduced to bone and dust, and all appeared to be warriors; or at the very least adventurers. It was apparently Nightmare’s preferred venue for battling those who came to challenge him.
A closer check revealed that they’d all been thoroughly ransacked very recently, particularly by someone checking fingers for rings (though to be fair, they’d each been laid back out in a dignified manner once they’d been rolled). The PCs also noticed that, while where were 20 people’s worth of bones, there was also an additional six people’s worth of weapons and armor.
The PCs were unable to pick up the trail of whomever had been in the bathhouse, but they did eventually find the keep’s throne room. Though neglected like everything else, it wasn’t nearly as creepy; and still had a very regal vibe. Disturbed dust on the actual throne indicated that someone had recently been sitting in it, and the size of the butt-print seemed about right for a tallfellow hobbit.
As that was sinking in, Kwoth heard a female voice from down a side-corridor. The PCs slowly approached, and the voice soon became discernable as Captain Whitecap’s. “How can you be such a graceful martial artist and be so horrible at this?”, she playfully chided. “Watch my feet… ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three…”
The corridor terminated at a balcony overlooking a once-magnificent ballroom. In the center of the floor, Cynie was apparently trying to teach Pang to waltz.
Before the PCs made their presence known, Brook and Janga came dashing into the ballroom from the opposite side; their hair and clothing still visible wet. “They’re here!”, Brook shouted. Janga patted her shoulder and pointed up at the balcony, and Brook then pointed and added “Right up there, in fact!”
There was a long and awkward silence as the two groups mostly just stared at each other; though Lily and Brook exchanged friendly waves. Cynie finally broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.
“Fine… I’m sorry, ok? I know it was a rotten thing to do, but it’s just business; nothing personal. And I would point out that I did give you a free ride to close to where you wanted to go, and Brook stopped me from ripping the page out of the count’s journal saying where we were going next. And the half day’s head-start which we got clearly didn’t do us much good or we wouldn’t still be here; though that’s largely because of a certain individual who can’t tear herself out of the magic bathhouse.”
“Hey, it’s also because this place makes no sense!”, Brook protested. “You’d think a secret library would be attached to the regular library because books are so heavy, but…” Her sentence was cut off as Janga gently-but-firmly clamped her hand over the sun elf’s mouth.
“And here’s something else”, Cynie continued. “Don’t bother checking all the dead bodies in the Hall of the Chosen; he ain’t there. I guess he was one of the ‘worthy’ ones that nightmare turned into a demon instead of leaving to rot.”
That and the secret library made two things that the PCs hadn’t heard about, but they just nodded while making mental notes. Captain Whitecap was then asked if she was aware that the person who had hired her might not even exist. “Yea, that has been thoroughly discussed and pondered”, the hobbit answered. “But we were hired to do a job, so we’re going to do our best to do it.” When asked how William had seemed to them, Pang described him as ‘unhinged’.
Before parting company to continue their respective searches; Mouse suggested to Cynie that, if she found the ring but William turned out to not exist, maybe they could work something out. Cynie agreed; and while Klein said nothing at the time, he would have a talk with Mouse about it later.
The bibliophiles among the PCs were utterly appalled at what Whitecap & Co had done to the main library. Every single bookcase that was up against a wall had had the majority of its books unceremoniously dumped off onto the floor so that it could be moved; apparently to check for secret doors.
It took less than two minutes for Kwoth’s monodrone to find the hall which led down to the secret library. It wasn’t hidden by magic or a clever mechanism, just a very precise optical effect which made it look like part of the north wall.
The hidden library was actually a small suite of underground chambers; only a few of which the PCs wound up being able to explore. Though the place was dusty from disuse; it was lit by numerous candles, candelabras, and torches which were obviously under the influence of magic.
Scattered throughout the suite were numerous small desks; each piled with books, papers, and scrolls. It appeared as though a number of people had long ago been combing through and compiling information; each on a specific topic, most of which pertained to the Lower Planes and their denizens. The road which led to Sir Siegfried’s demonic pact had clearly begun here.
The first major chamber which the PCs found contained a powerful warding barrier, which Klein ascertained was still working. Nearby was a large, elaborate, and dusty armillary sphere; and while Mouse and Lily both extensively spun its parts, there was no effect which was evident.
The next major chamber had been a fancy study and/or lounge. The area was occupied by half a dozen malformed demons; most of which still more trappings of humanity… including jewelry.
Moments after the demons attacked, something smashed through the main door into the suite. Unable to engage any of the demons because her comrades were bottlenecked around the door to the study, Lili back-tracked to see what it was.
The hulking brute was covered in dark and heavy plate armor, and was striding at a slow and plodding pace. In its hand was an almost absurdly oversized greatsword, part metal and part flesh, with a huge living eyeball on the side of the blade near the hilt.
Caught at the front and center of the brawl, Kwoth got badly bitten up by the demons; but Imani had her back on her feet within moment. One by one, the demons were defeated; and then quickly robbed of their belongings.
Lily meanwhile ran for the warding circle; grateful to find that Nightmare had become so infused with demonic energy that it now worked against him. She attempted to engage him in a dialog, but he just grunted and repeatedly slashed at the invisible barrier.
The fourth demon which the PCs killed was the remnants of Count Harling, and was still wearing his signet ring. Nevertheless, the PCs took a few moment to kill and rob the remaining two before fleeing.
Lily managed to keep Nightmare occupied and annoyed until the retreat was sounded. A little bit of magic then allowed her to effortlessly slip past him and out the door.
Before departing Ostrheinsburg, the PCs agreed that they should probably let Whitecap & Co know that they had the ring so that they wouldn’t linger for nothing. Uncertain how to do so both quickly and decisively, the finally decided that the best solution would be to leave a note in the bathhouse.
July 12th through July 19th
Looking at options for getting back to Geraldtown, the consensus was that faster was preferable to cheaper. Over the next six days, they would make an overland hike to the city of Newcastle Cove; and then pay for a boat ride home.
The journey gave the PCs plenty of time to assess the other jewelry which they’d obtained from the demons in the secret library. One flashy broach turned out to be pyrite and glass, but another engagement ring had a diamond which would eventually fetch 600 gold.
The remaining two items both turned out to be magical. One was a translucent blue ring with a continuous line of silver fish around it, which would allow the wearer to swim quickly and breathe while under water. The other was a pearl necklace with granted the wearer a modicum of protection.
Newcastle Cove was Westfaller’s principal naval, sea trade, and fishing city. It was around the size of Coalfell; and just as crowded, dirty, and overall kind of a drag. While it lacked Coalfell’s choking industrial smoke, it made up for it with the stench of dead fish.
It cost a fair bit of gold; but it only took another three days to get across the Heartsea, up the Bloodspill river, and around the Lake to Geraldtown. They reached the docks around mid-day on the 20th.
July 20th through July 22nd
Lily made a quick stop by Sunrise Surprise to order a ‘congratulations’ cake for Willard before accompanying Mouse to check on the Mischief. Later in the day, the PCs reconvened to discuss what to do next.
The lengthy discussion went in circles for some time. Was Willard crazy? Was he cursed? Was William some kind of demonic presence? Ultimately they decided that they had at least some obligation to come through on their agreement, though they agreed to try to get some assurances before handing over the ring.
When they turned up at Willard’s room at the Copper Dragon, he nearly went through the roof in hopeful anticipation. Obviously he immediately asked if they got the ring, but they were evasive and started asking about his brother. When they finally indicated that they had indeed been successful, he was elated and asked to see it; but they continued to press him about his brother, and he rapidly began to get agitated.
Told of William’s omission from the count’s journal (which they did immediately hand over to him) and the single child-sized bed at the castle, Willard was dismissive; reiterating that his grandfather was a jerk and insisting that the second bed had probably been chopped up for firewood. Thankfully, the PCs never mentioned that Kwoth had seen his father’s very dead corpse.
Nevertheless, Willard was eventually fuming; and accused the PCs of having either made a deal with his brother or trying to extort more money out of him. When they finally relented and handed the ring over, he immediately snapped back to his meek and friendly self. He reiterated his promise to pay them 2000 gold within 30 days, and invited them to share the cake which Lily had bought for him.
The next couple of days, the PCs relaxed and took care of ‘back in town’ things. On the afternoon of the 23rd, Lily was back at the fairgrounds with her sign.
Klein, Lily, Kwoth, Mouse, and Imani / [XP: 10]
Bevin wasn’t feeling well; Smike and Jaye had had a long day looking at apartments.
July 11th, 864TK (Continued)
To call Ostrheinsburg a ‘castle’ or even a ‘palace’ didn’t quite do it justice. ‘Fortified estate’ was the term which came to the PCs’ minds, as the island was covered with numerous buildings of various sizes; all surrounding a towering central keep.
While the exterior architecture of all of the buildings was pretty consistent; the interior layout, décor, and construction were rather jarringly different from one area to the next (though it all looked kinda creepy by that point). It appeared as though successive rulers had had very different tastes but didn’t want to undo what their forbearers had done, so instead they just kept expanding.
At its peak, Ostrheinsburg would have been considered upscale by the standards of modern Paladesia; meaning it had been exceedingly opulent by the standards of 8th century Westfaller. Nevertheless, its best looting days were long gone; with nothing remaining having a worthwhile value-to-encumbrance ratio, especially considering the crumbling and demon-infested bridge which anything would need to be carried across.
After searching numerous areas which were certainly interesting but not of consequence to their reason for being there, the PCs heard the sound of rushing water nearby; far too inland to be something from the lake. Kwoth and Mouse stealthed their way in to check it out while the others remained nearby.
The sound was coming from an amazing triple-tiered bathhouse where some serious business magic was clearly still at work. In addition to the magnificent chamber being lit; water was being circulated, cleansed, and heated to bath temperature.
While they almost missed it completely, Kwoth’s keen eye spotted something back in behind the cascade down into the bottom pool. It appeared to be a rather large frog with something (perhaps a large insect) on its back. Kwoth called Mouse’s attention to it, but he didn’t know what to make of it either; so they decided to go back and get the others.
Around a third of the way back, Kwoth heard another sound above the white noise of the cascades: a large splash followed briefly by an indiscernible female voice. Urging Mouse to continue on to get the others, Kwoth dashed back to the bathhouse.
The frog and whatever was on its back were gone, but drip-trails led from the edges of the pool to two of the three doors adjacent to the main entrance. Kwoth kept a close on both until the other PCs arrived.
Both of the doors led to changing rooms which were currently unoccupied, and both of the changing rooms had additional doors leading to the same hall. Though not as distinct, there was still enough of a drip trail to follow.
The PCs’ wet quarry eventually dried out to the point that they could no longer be followed, but not before leading them to a rather significant find. It was a large and ominous hall, the floor of which was littered with rather a lot of dead people.
All had long since been reduced to bone and dust, and all appeared to be warriors; or at the very least adventurers. It was apparently Nightmare’s preferred venue for battling those who came to challenge him.
A closer check revealed that they’d all been thoroughly ransacked very recently, particularly by someone checking fingers for rings (though to be fair, they’d each been laid back out in a dignified manner once they’d been rolled). The PCs also noticed that, while where were 20 people’s worth of bones, there was also an additional six people’s worth of weapons and armor.
The PCs were unable to pick up the trail of whomever had been in the bathhouse, but they did eventually find the keep’s throne room. Though neglected like everything else, it wasn’t nearly as creepy; and still had a very regal vibe. Disturbed dust on the actual throne indicated that someone had recently been sitting in it, and the size of the butt-print seemed about right for a tallfellow hobbit.
As that was sinking in, Kwoth heard a female voice from down a side-corridor. The PCs slowly approached, and the voice soon became discernable as Captain Whitecap’s. “How can you be such a graceful martial artist and be so horrible at this?”, she playfully chided. “Watch my feet… ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three…”
The corridor terminated at a balcony overlooking a once-magnificent ballroom. In the center of the floor, Cynie was apparently trying to teach Pang to waltz.
Before the PCs made their presence known, Brook and Janga came dashing into the ballroom from the opposite side; their hair and clothing still visible wet. “They’re here!”, Brook shouted. Janga patted her shoulder and pointed up at the balcony, and Brook then pointed and added “Right up there, in fact!”
There was a long and awkward silence as the two groups mostly just stared at each other; though Lily and Brook exchanged friendly waves. Cynie finally broke the silence with an exasperated sigh.
“Fine… I’m sorry, ok? I know it was a rotten thing to do, but it’s just business; nothing personal. And I would point out that I did give you a free ride to close to where you wanted to go, and Brook stopped me from ripping the page out of the count’s journal saying where we were going next. And the half day’s head-start which we got clearly didn’t do us much good or we wouldn’t still be here; though that’s largely because of a certain individual who can’t tear herself out of the magic bathhouse.”
“Hey, it’s also because this place makes no sense!”, Brook protested. “You’d think a secret library would be attached to the regular library because books are so heavy, but…” Her sentence was cut off as Janga gently-but-firmly clamped her hand over the sun elf’s mouth.
“And here’s something else”, Cynie continued. “Don’t bother checking all the dead bodies in the Hall of the Chosen; he ain’t there. I guess he was one of the ‘worthy’ ones that nightmare turned into a demon instead of leaving to rot.”
That and the secret library made two things that the PCs hadn’t heard about, but they just nodded while making mental notes. Captain Whitecap was then asked if she was aware that the person who had hired her might not even exist. “Yea, that has been thoroughly discussed and pondered”, the hobbit answered. “But we were hired to do a job, so we’re going to do our best to do it.” When asked how William had seemed to them, Pang described him as ‘unhinged’.
Before parting company to continue their respective searches; Mouse suggested to Cynie that, if she found the ring but William turned out to not exist, maybe they could work something out. Cynie agreed; and while Klein said nothing at the time, he would have a talk with Mouse about it later.
The bibliophiles among the PCs were utterly appalled at what Whitecap & Co had done to the main library. Every single bookcase that was up against a wall had had the majority of its books unceremoniously dumped off onto the floor so that it could be moved; apparently to check for secret doors.
It took less than two minutes for Kwoth’s monodrone to find the hall which led down to the secret library. It wasn’t hidden by magic or a clever mechanism, just a very precise optical effect which made it look like part of the north wall.
The hidden library was actually a small suite of underground chambers; only a few of which the PCs wound up being able to explore. Though the place was dusty from disuse; it was lit by numerous candles, candelabras, and torches which were obviously under the influence of magic.
Scattered throughout the suite were numerous small desks; each piled with books, papers, and scrolls. It appeared as though a number of people had long ago been combing through and compiling information; each on a specific topic, most of which pertained to the Lower Planes and their denizens. The road which led to Sir Siegfried’s demonic pact had clearly begun here.
The first major chamber which the PCs found contained a powerful warding barrier, which Klein ascertained was still working. Nearby was a large, elaborate, and dusty armillary sphere; and while Mouse and Lily both extensively spun its parts, there was no effect which was evident.
The next major chamber had been a fancy study and/or lounge. The area was occupied by half a dozen malformed demons; most of which still more trappings of humanity… including jewelry.
Moments after the demons attacked, something smashed through the main door into the suite. Unable to engage any of the demons because her comrades were bottlenecked around the door to the study, Lili back-tracked to see what it was.
The hulking brute was covered in dark and heavy plate armor, and was striding at a slow and plodding pace. In its hand was an almost absurdly oversized greatsword, part metal and part flesh, with a huge living eyeball on the side of the blade near the hilt.
Caught at the front and center of the brawl, Kwoth got badly bitten up by the demons; but Imani had her back on her feet within moment. One by one, the demons were defeated; and then quickly robbed of their belongings.
Lily meanwhile ran for the warding circle; grateful to find that Nightmare had become so infused with demonic energy that it now worked against him. She attempted to engage him in a dialog, but he just grunted and repeatedly slashed at the invisible barrier.
The fourth demon which the PCs killed was the remnants of Count Harling, and was still wearing his signet ring. Nevertheless, the PCs took a few moment to kill and rob the remaining two before fleeing.
Lily managed to keep Nightmare occupied and annoyed until the retreat was sounded. A little bit of magic then allowed her to effortlessly slip past him and out the door.
Before departing Ostrheinsburg, the PCs agreed that they should probably let Whitecap & Co know that they had the ring so that they wouldn’t linger for nothing. Uncertain how to do so both quickly and decisively, the finally decided that the best solution would be to leave a note in the bathhouse.
July 12th through July 19th
Looking at options for getting back to Geraldtown, the consensus was that faster was preferable to cheaper. Over the next six days, they would make an overland hike to the city of Newcastle Cove; and then pay for a boat ride home.
The journey gave the PCs plenty of time to assess the other jewelry which they’d obtained from the demons in the secret library. One flashy broach turned out to be pyrite and glass, but another engagement ring had a diamond which would eventually fetch 600 gold.
The remaining two items both turned out to be magical. One was a translucent blue ring with a continuous line of silver fish around it, which would allow the wearer to swim quickly and breathe while under water. The other was a pearl necklace with granted the wearer a modicum of protection.
Newcastle Cove was Westfaller’s principal naval, sea trade, and fishing city. It was around the size of Coalfell; and just as crowded, dirty, and overall kind of a drag. While it lacked Coalfell’s choking industrial smoke, it made up for it with the stench of dead fish.
It cost a fair bit of gold; but it only took another three days to get across the Heartsea, up the Bloodspill river, and around the Lake to Geraldtown. They reached the docks around mid-day on the 20th.
July 20th through July 22nd
Lily made a quick stop by Sunrise Surprise to order a ‘congratulations’ cake for Willard before accompanying Mouse to check on the Mischief. Later in the day, the PCs reconvened to discuss what to do next.
The lengthy discussion went in circles for some time. Was Willard crazy? Was he cursed? Was William some kind of demonic presence? Ultimately they decided that they had at least some obligation to come through on their agreement, though they agreed to try to get some assurances before handing over the ring.
When they turned up at Willard’s room at the Copper Dragon, he nearly went through the roof in hopeful anticipation. Obviously he immediately asked if they got the ring, but they were evasive and started asking about his brother. When they finally indicated that they had indeed been successful, he was elated and asked to see it; but they continued to press him about his brother, and he rapidly began to get agitated.
Told of William’s omission from the count’s journal (which they did immediately hand over to him) and the single child-sized bed at the castle, Willard was dismissive; reiterating that his grandfather was a jerk and insisting that the second bed had probably been chopped up for firewood. Thankfully, the PCs never mentioned that Kwoth had seen his father’s very dead corpse.
Nevertheless, Willard was eventually fuming; and accused the PCs of having either made a deal with his brother or trying to extort more money out of him. When they finally relented and handed the ring over, he immediately snapped back to his meek and friendly self. He reiterated his promise to pay them 2000 gold within 30 days, and invited them to share the cake which Lily had bought for him.
The next couple of days, the PCs relaxed and took care of ‘back in town’ things. On the afternoon of the 23rd, Lily was back at the fairgrounds with her sign.