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[adwarf]

Faran, doubting that the High Inquisitor would leave his investigations at that, walking out into town to follow up on some ideas and begin heading back to where the supposed disappearances were, and where he had met the hunter. Of course this time he decided to approach it at a different angle since the events would likely be related to the strange sounds that were heard in the area he decided it was time for a night time excursion.

Ask around the town to see if anyone knows about a Hunter named Henrik who stays in the wilderness during the hunting season.
Head back to the general area where I met the hunter at night, investigate the reported strange soundss in the wilderness.

[Azthor]

"High Inquisitor, Mr. Arkran, may I have a moment of your time? In private, of course, I have urgent news concerning the castle, ones we probably don't want to spread. That strange sensation you felt earlier while devising the pumps? This castle seems to be sitting on a nexus of arcane power, a node in a series of leylines; luckily, said node is currently sealed".

"Mr. Aurion has begun work on researching the map we found, lost in the priest's library, though how or why, we know not. There are four major nodes in the region, among which the one the castle sits atop, and I suspect those might be in some way related to the recent disappearances. If any magic is at work in those events, then whoever is behind it shall surely find one of these nodes; hence the need for secrecy, that and the fact of which Castle Altburg spots a critical flaw for the headquarters of an organization dedicated to eradicating those very individuals who might exploit one such a node".

"That may or not affect the current work on the castle's flooded areas, that I leave for you to figure out, Mr. Arkran".

Head out to investigate the node by the lake.
Tell the priest to hold unto any recruits, as I will be away for a while.

[Ardas]

Davian pondered the findings - they were meager. Save for the fact that magic was used, they had little to go on.

"Oscia, there is one last thing we can do before we depart; lets check out the edge of the ritual space, maybe it holds some signs. I propose we head to the second village for inspection, just to be thorough and find matching evidence. With Patriarch's blessing we might find something."

Inspect the edge of the ritual area, make sure that the entire length inspected for both physical and immaterial evidence.
In any event, head with troops for the second village - make sure soldiers are observing the area with vigilance.

[Ghazkull]

Until anybody has orders for me continue to pump out the damn dungeon and make it dry and useable

[GiglameshDespair]

P
T
W

[Taricus]

"Agreed, I'll try assisting, however I can." Oscia said, a little unsure about the situation from the extremely sparce amount of information that had been garnered from the village.

Assist Davian in his investigation of the outer bounds of the ritual circle.
Head with DAvian to the next village.

[Terenos]

"Hmm. This is a grave concern, however, the castle should remain our headquarters simply because in this way we can safeguard one of these nodes with ease. I shall however need some assistance investigating the other locations these nodes are supposedly at. And someone should oversee the continued pumping, just to ensure there are no nasty surprises lurking down there.

Friedrich, you oversee the pumping. Geldryn, you come with me and we'll check the node at the lake. I'll want to have Oscia for the one in the forest, because she's better in forests. Everyone else should carry on with their tasks. Fixing the tower, so forth.

Additionally, Faran brought me some interesting news. This hermit is somewhat suspicious, but Faran will be checking him out more thoroughly. Worth noting for the future."


Ride out with Geldryn to inspect the lake node location.
Retainers continue as usual

[TCM]

Help out the pumping process.

((Sorry, I'm having a bit of difficulty in figuring out what to do at the moment. Perhaps when something comes up, or we get more stuff, I'll be able to be more productive.))

[Shootandrun]

Act I, Part Four: A Taste of the Arcane

Gustav & Geldryn

The journey towards the lake is uneventful. Alone, you are able to travel quickly on horseback, and although farms and hamlets get rarer and rarer as you leave the town's surroundings, there is always a road to hasten your travel.

When you reach the location, you can immediately guess where the node is. The lake is not very large - you can see more land far on the horizon - and at there is a small island, mostly covered in trees. On that island lies a large ruin of a tower, which has obviously been abandoned for a very long time.

You borrow a fisherman's boat after asking the man a few questions - illiterate and uneducated, he claims people believe the island brings bad luck to all those who step on it. Keeping that in mind, you cross the lake all the way to it and land on its shores.

[?] As soon as Geldryn steps on the ground, he feels a magical presence on the island - and he feels it almost looking at him, pressing on his mind in a mental siege. After a few seconds of struggling, he pushes it away and keeps it at bay. [5] The presence did not seem outright harmful - it seems it was trying to subconsciously urge him to leave.

[?] Gustav has a similar feeling, with something pressing at his mind and being eventually pushed back, [1] although he does not manage to gather any information from this strange, invasive energy apart from the fact that it could not have been natural at all.

-----

Friedrich

[2] [3] You get a few working hands to help you out, since the machinery needs to be operated in teams, and you begin working the pumps again. Little progress gets done; you perform poorly once again, and the men you've picked out don't seem to be at the top of their shape after a day of work on the castle's repairs. Eventually, Renacido joins you, and he puts a lot more strength into the effort. You manage to pump some water out of the dungeons in large part thanks to him. Perhaps this isn't the most valuable investment of your time, but then again, is it wise to leave the working teams without supervision?

-----

Davian & Oscia

You go to the edge of what you think is the spell circle around the village and examine it, with both your mundane senses and your supernatural ones. [1,2] Neither of you find anything telling, perhaps due to lack of experience with such matters, perhaps because of bad luck, or simply because there is nothing to find. There is magical energy around the town, and it covers a circle - that's all you know so far.

The second hamlet you visit, after a rather long march passing the town by, is similar to the first. Some of the buildings are starting to fall down from lack of maintenance, and the surrounding land does not look like it has been tended to in a long time. [4] Once again, a circle of magical energy surrounds the village completely, and there are no signs of a struggle inside. There appears to be exactly the same quantity of energy, which is rather odd, considering magical residues tend to fade after a few weeks or months.

[5] You both know the month is slowly coming to an end. The fact that there was the same amount of energy in both villages indicates the magic is not fading away. Perhaps the circle is meant to keep a spell of some sort activated? Or perhaps it is meant to activate one at a specific date, which might make sense, considering the events have been happening on a yearly basis thus far...

-----

Faran

[5] You go around town, visiting tanners, butchers, and hunters who may have known Heinrik, and you're not left disappointed. Everyone knows who Heinrik is, or, according to them, was: he used to be the best hunter in town, bringing back the biggest game after the season, but he disappeared along with a trapper and another hunter during the last few months. The people who bought his meat and sold him supplies say they haven't seen him since last winter, which is extremely unusual for him. They assume he's dead.

[2] [Chance roll:1/100 => Epic failure, random event!][Some random tables later...]
You return in the woods, but as you did not really do a good job of making a mental map the last time you went into the area, you quickly lose your sense of orientation and get lost. You wander around for hours, trying to either find something that could indicate the presence of wolves, or a troll, or whatever else could have caused the disappearances.

Time passes, and eventually the sun fades from the sky. You keep stumbling through the woods despite the darkness, no longer seeking to find anything but instead trying to return to the town. After a long time spent wandering aimless, something most unusual happens. You hear a strange crackling sound coming from behind you - unlike anything you have ever heard before. [3] You barely manage to turn around in time to see a man hidden under a large cloak send a red, glowing projectile in your direction.

[17] The magic, a crimson bolt of arcane energy, hits you square in the right shoulder, sending you flying back and overwhelming you with pain. You hit the ground several meters behind the spot where you stood, where you remain for a moment, stunned and bleeding heavily - a chunk of your shoulder appears to be outright missing, with the flesh left behind heavily burned. [5+1] Apparently thinking he's finished you off, the man starts walking slowly towards you.

[4 vs 5+1-1] That blow might have been enough to kill a mere man, but you are a Paladin, wielder of the Warrior's strength, and it will take more to send you to the other world. You wait for him to get close enough, and you get up, rushing towards your adversary despite your wounds and slashing away at him. [2] You leave a gaping wound in your sword's wake after striking at his chest.

The cloaked man steps back, both surprised and stunned by pain, and lifts his hand up towards you. [5] Whatever he wished to do fails as a small wave of magic leaves his palm without any other effect. [4-1 vs 3+1-1] [1] As you prepare to strike again at him, he seems to panic and turns around to run. [6] He shouts something as he begins sprinting, and for a few moments you feel as though you are unable to move your legs. The effect passes quickly, but by the time you can begin running in turn he is long gone.

Being heavily wounded and lacking the skills to track him, you start stumbling downhill towards the town, stopping along the way to bandage yourself. When you return to Hadvard, you have lost a lot of blood and are extremely tired. You pass out before reaching the castle.

You are heavily wounded. You cannot act on your own for the next turn, although you managed to return to the Headquarters.

-----

Renacido

You join the pumping effort once again, arriving to see Friedrich and a few workers straining against the machinery. [5] You work the pumps better this time, and you do most of the work of the team by yourself. Without you, you doubt any progress would have been done.

-----

Turn's events: In the earliest hours of the morning, Faran arrives in town, bearing a wound at the shoulder, and promptly passes out after saying a wild story about a mage in the mountains. Peasants bring him to the Castle.
[?] Ramsay drills the men for a long time, but he brings the castle on full alert when the wounded inquisitor is brought in.
[3+1] The workforce is still rebuilding the ruined parts of the castle under the engineer's supervision.
Castle repairs are at 10%. The draining of the dungeons is under way.

[Ghazkull]

caked in grime and sweat Friedrich steps out of the dungeons following the screams of the Guards and Peasants.

Seeing the wounded Paladin, the Inquisitor cleans his hands at his already grimy clothes.


Bring him inside lay him on a bed i will treat him. Tell Renacido to set out with a search party, i want that mage apprehended. Send a messenger to the Lord tell him that a mage is on the loose.

Heal Faran as best as i can. Ask for help from the Local Temple or the Lord if i am not able to heal the wounds.
Send somebody to Renacido to tell him to go out with a search party.
Send somebody else to the Lord to tell him that a mage is on the loose...a dangerous one at that, it would propably be in his best interest to help with the search.

[Ardas]

The results and findings were meagre, but in combination with other information, these places could provide important. It was time to return and report the findings.

"We better turn back and tell Gustav about what we found. No doubt another mission awaits for us."

Return to the castle and make a report of findings. Find out of any happenings, events and information while Oscia and I were gone.

[TCM]

((Didn't realize everyone else was already doing something, sorry guys.))

More pumping. Afterwards, head down into the town, find out if anything noteworthy is going on.

[Taricus]

Oscia just nodded, not hacving anything further to say. Head back to the headquaters with Davian.

[Shootandrun]

Act I, Part Five: Focus

Gustav & Geldryn (Done live for practical reasons)

After landing on the shores of the isle, you wander into the vegetation and come close to the tower. Along the way, Geldryn senses a chaotic field of magical energy, but he finds a better defined aura around the ruins. Concluding that this might be a defense mechanism, he calls out in the air, announcing his identity and his mission. As a reply, a knight in a runic armor carrying an oversized sword comes walking out of the tower.

You get him talking with relative ease. He claims to be a long dead knight, bound by magic to guard these ruins until his liege, a female archmage of another era, returns to him. According to him, this Lady is most likely long dead, and he has mostly lost track of time.

Questioning him further, you promise to him that you fill find a way to end his watch if he will tell you his tale. Agreeing, he begins to explain to you that, long ago, his lady converted to the Holy Trinity and was given the quest to kill a wizard who dabbled in dark magic in order to be forgiven for her sins. Along with her servants, she besieged the wizard's tower and eventually drew him out to kill him. She could not, however, break his spirit, which he had separated from his body using dark magic. Instead, she sealed it away beneath the ruins, and left one of her followers to stand guard until she returned with more strength.

Naturally, she never came back. The knight, broken-hearted, stood watch for what he described to be centuries, killing defilers over the years. He gives you some cryptic information about what he think might be responsible for the attacks on the hamlets when asked about it, and claims an old man came here not long ago seeking power but left after talking to him.

Satisfied, the two of you return to your ship and leave for the tower.

When you return, you find the entire Order in the castle's courtyard, along with the Earl of Hadvard, a few of his men, and nearly all of your workforce and troops. Silence falls over the castle as all those present see the High Inquisitor and look at him for guidance.

-----

Friedrich

When you come out of the dungeon, you find a bunch of peasants at the gates and Ramsay yelling at the troops to keep them out, while a few individuals are struggling into the courtyard, carrying a body - Faran's unconscious form, to be precise. [4] You know what to do from the moment you see his wounds. You have him laid down on a bed, remove his armor, and set your magic to work.

Rather than closing the wounds straight away as most amateurs would, you first use the Smith's strength to remove the dirty flesh, and the parts of the wound that risk infecting; after which you make sure his bone is set. When both of those things are done, then you set off the biggest part of the magic to work, mending his flesh and pulling it together, slowly but surely closing it. The process is very slow and very painful - useful details, in your profession - but thankfully, Faran is unconscious throughout most of it. When you're done, you bandage his wounds, and are left feeling certain he will make it.

You send a man to seek Renacido, but get no news from him back. [4] You also send someone to relay the news to the Earl, who does the wise thing and chooses not to lead a hunt by himself. Instead, he comes to Castle Altburg himself, demanding to speak with the Order so as to make a plan of action.

-----

Davian & Oscia

You return to the Castle, the travel being mostly uneventful. When you get there, you arrive to see a crowd in front of the gates - the peasantry tells you the big lines of the what just happened and Ramsay proceeds to give you a more complete report. You are fully filled in with the information the Order has gained just as Gustav and Geldryn return to the castle.

-----

Renacido

[6] Down in the dungeons, you do some heavy work at the pumps, making a lot of progress with some of the workers. By the time you're done, enough water has been removed that soon enough you should be able to access the lower level. There's a bit of commotion outside - you get the feeling you're missing something important, but then again after so much productivity, it can't be too big a deal.

[5] You go into town and talk with a few villagers, looking for interesting news. Most of them look back at you, puzzled, and ask if you were there when one of the Inquisitors came back from the forest bleeding, talking about mages. How odd. You seem  to have missed that part.

You return to the castle to find that, indeed, Faran has taken a grave wound in the woods. Thankfully, Friedrich has done enough of a good job that your help is not needed - but if he had messed up, you shudder to think about what could have happened while you were walking around in town...

-----

Turn's events: [6] Despite being heavily disturbed by the recent happenings in the castle, Arkran manages to keep the workers going at a prodigious speed on the reconstruction. Castle repairs are at 20%.
The second level of the dungeons is also emptied of water.

Faran wakes up a short time after Gustav and Geldryn arrive at the tower, feeling very weak. [Recovering from a major injury: -1 to all physically intensive rolls, -2 to combat]
[5] By his side, Faran sees Aurion, the Loremaster, who has been studying his shoulder intently and silently ever since the Earl arrived in the courtyard, according to him - the elf appears not to have raised his voice yet. [1+1] It is with a disappointment that he declares that had the wound been left untouched, it would already have been difficult to determine what kind of magic was responsible - treated as it now was, it was impossible.

The end of the month is coming soon. The earl and the townsfolk expect a heavy response against the presence of magic within the region. All members of the Inquisition are currently at the Castle.

((Players may talk with present NPCs before making their actions for this turn only, since things will move a bit quicker for a while))

[3man75]

{{treating this currently as OOC but wow good job GM. I'm not trying to be sarcastic but i do like this story so far. Good luck to the High Inquisitor  }}