Expedition: Markd/On a Mission from Baudh II - 02 June 2021

[Rusty Tincanne]

Oh. I forgot this:

When Markd mentions leaving, Bremen pauses. Look. This place is mine now. My responsibility. I hate to leave it unprotected if them centions or kobolds come back. And the wilds are dangerous, and we'd be moving really slowly with all this gold. Prime targets for, well... anything. Bremen proposes staying in the tower with the relic and treasure, keeping the hireling and/or Irving with him. The rest of you get back as fast as possible and arrange for a retinue of knights or soldiers from the Duke. And wagons. Come back quick and we'll bring it back with guards. And leave some guards and workers here to start the restorations.

I'd hate to get bushwhacked and lose our relic, is all. I don't care who might want to stay, as Bremen would be happy to start hiring folks in Gaul.

[onlyme]

Oh. I forgot this:

When Markd mentions leaving, Bremen pauses. Look. This place is mine now. My responsibility. I hate to leave it unprotected if them centions or kobolds come back. And the wilds are dangerous, and we'd be moving really slowly with all this gold. Prime targets for, well... anything. Bremen proposes staying in the tower with the relic and treasure, keeping the hireling and/or Irving with him. The rest of you get back as fast as possible and arrange for a retinue of knights or soldiers from the Duke. And wagons. Come back quick and we'll bring it back with guards. And leave some guards and workers here to start the restorations.

I'd hate to get bushwhacked and lose our relic, is all. I don't care who might want to stay, as Bremen would be happy to start hiring folks in Gaul.

Markd frowns,
You know that wont work. First, the relic is the whole reason we were sent here. And two, nobody will believe me and Bandy if we just show up claiming to have found treasure. We need everyone to go back, and lock this room up somehow afterward with whatever is left over.

[Alethan]

Bandy agrees with Markd. The item must be presented in Gaul in order to complete the quest. But maybe then people will pilgrimage to the tower and you'd end up with people to help restore the tower that way.

"Yeah, maybe we can lock it up from inside and I can drop down from the opening I made in the second story of the tower? That would at least keep out the casual passerby I suppose. Unless kobolds opened it from the inside. Should we do a quick walk through the downstairs and make sure it's empty now? Wouldn't do us any good to secure it with kobolds inside who can just unlock it and leave it open."

Bandy is fine with not stripping the tower of valuables... as long as he gets a fair share of treasure for all the hard work he's done (he killed more centions by himself than the rest of the group together). But no, it doesn't seem right to take everything from the tower that belongs in the tower.

The scrolls would be highly valuable excepting that we don't have a PC cleric to use them!

[onlyme]

That is why Markd is checking upstairs, to make sure it isnt a simple unlocked attic that any creature could just waltz down from...

[Rusty Tincanne]

Lord Commander Bremen smiles at his companions in a rare moment of true gratitude.Thanks fellas. Bandy and me will start looking into sealing these upper levels while you check the top floor and the Cardinal, Markd. You seem the understand their language, anyhow. I don't know about checking downstairs again. Seems like the undead can watch that area as well as anything can. Let's just try and close it off from the tower for now.

So will spend another day, maybe, securing the trap to the second floor of the tower, removing the ladder to the hatch. Bremen would like to use the cention swords and rope to set a trap.
The door to the tower is lockable again. It will need to suffice.
What can we do to block that ramp? Was there a wagon around somewhere? How were the centions planning to move their crated goods?

[Alethan]

Bandy follows Markd up the stairs to the next level in case he needs any assistance.

"We can do a sweep through the lower levels after we check on the Cardinal's room. Best to not split up as much as possible."

OOC: I would suspect they were planning on hauling it on their own centaur-like (in a scorpionish sort of way) backs. But if there was a wagon about, that might be useful for hauling stuff back to Gaul. I would seriously doubt there is any way to permanently (or even semi-permanently) block the ramp down to the lower levels that couldn't be dismantled in a few hours by crafty kobolds.

[Marullus]

Markd proceeds up the stair to the level above. Within he finds a private bedroom and study, decorated with Baudhic tapestries but otherwise intentionally austere for someone that is called "Cardinal." It is clearly a personal dwelling for a high-ranking clergy with chests, knicknacks, and tokens of a lifetime lived here. There is no sign of another spectre and nothing appears to challenge his arrival. The bed is cobwebbed and unoccupied, the sheets long since dry rotted. The desk is flanked by shelves and contains several more ledgers, one of which is open upon it, layered with dust. A simple, utilitarian ladder goes up the back wall to a reinforced and barred hatch above, presumably to the roof. It looks still sturdy and if the outside of the tower was any indication it has a hippogriff nest on top of it.

There is no wagon or other large impediment - though pews from below or emptied or filled crates could provide a makeshift barricade on the ramp. Bandy's wisdom seems sound, though, if kobolds do remain below.

If they take a day, Bremen thinks he can suitably secure the trapdoor up to the second floor and rig a trap upon it. (It would be a Traps check under time constraint, but is a Say Yes here.) As the group finds no other spectre above, Florian sighs with relief. He lays hands on Bandy, offering his final prayers to Baudh for the day and restoring him fully (+7).

Do you secure the tower, pack, and depart? Or are you going back below to "sweep" the remaining unknowns of your map?

Date: Time 11:40am, 09 June 2021
Light: sunlight, fireplace
Spell Effects: None
Injuries: Bandy (moderately wounded)

Florin CLW [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7

[Alethan]

Presuming Markd will examine the writings, since he can't read them, Bandy begins poking through chests and knickknacks, looking for anything of interest... or value.

[onlyme]

Markd will attempt to check the open ledger, to see if anything is written on the pages that he can understand.

[Marullus]

Markd finds he is able to read the writings as he understood the Spectre. With a cursory examination he sees that they are judicial records, witness testimonials, and the like. The open page talks of a noble woman named Agheth.

Bandy's results pending.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Bremen attempts to do as Marullus wrote. He advises to stay another night so Florian will have a full complement of spells for the day. He is saddened that the Cardinal does not exist and he wonders aloud about the veracity of the spectre-knight's words, pointing out the twisted form it took when attacking Markd earlier. He would be happy to make a sweep of the lower levels to finish off any remaining kobolds before they can dig in and make the place impossible to get back into with their traps.

I'll let the others decide on what loot we pack up, but Bremen will retrieve and bring the stuff he found with the ghast (that he stashed in the chimney).

One thing i have been wondering about is how many centions there were. The group that went below the first time was chased by 3or 4 centions. Were these the same ones that we killed coming up the ramp and with the pack animals?or are there more around?

[Marullus]

Bandy finds that the man was fond of knickknacks and curios, many of negligable value or ruined by the passing of centuries. Among several shelves of small collectables, however, he finds:

• A platinum statue of hounds on the hunt, each with emerald eyes
• A small bronze statuette of an imperious griffin
• A figurine of an onyx horse with ruby eyes
• A platinum figurine of a six-wiged angel holding the golden scales of justice
• An onyx carving of a wolf sniffing the ground.

There is no armor or weapons in the room except for an iron-banded quarterstaff, worn from heavy use, which leans in the corner near the desk.

An iron-banded lockbox against the wall proved a piece of intrigue - Bremen was able to open the lock with one of the keys he found. It contains only a short obsidian wand with an adamantine handle affixed to the end and a long bronze chime with a leather cord to suspend it.

Nothing in the room is adorned with precious metals and there are no other coins or valuables. The shelves near the desk are completely stocked with books and ledgers with one particular book of abnormal thickness resting on top.

[Alethan]

Bandy lines the figurines up in a row.

"Now these is much fancier than the wooden toy figures I played with as a kid. This Cardinal ain't around no more to take care of them, so we should. Now, that there..." Bandy points at the box Bremen opened with his keys,"looks like more than a trinket. And such a well-loved staff may be more than meets the eye, as well."

[onlyme]

Markd will take a look at the book.

[Marullus]

The book is legible to Markd and titled "A Lifetime of Service: Reflections of the Chief Justice of the Yoldessi Plains and the Wisdom of Baudhon."

Guaire has spent two days in the base of the tower, inventorying the crates and sacks piles around the room. He let's you know that the Centions had collected:
3,500lbs copper
200lbs silver
400lbs electrum
600lbs gold

So you can plan what you are transporting, in addition to all you picked up in your exploration below.

About Centions: you know you encountered and fled from at least six Centions, who likely remain alive in the tunnels below. You also saw torches passing by the bottom of the ramp while camping.

[Rusty Tincanne]

The thought of at least 6 more centions lurking in the tower worries Bremen, knowing the group of adventurers has uncovered many secrets they had missed, and destroyed many of the tower defences. He contemplates the wisdom of storing some of the valuables with the hippogriffs on the roof and decides it isn't worth it at this time.

Let's pack up and head out early in the morning, locking as much as we can on the second level. Unless you all think it's worth chasing centions and kobolds through the lower levels, which I'm game to do.

Festival was all rain so we came home. Still won't catch up on everything until tomorrow.

[Alethan]

If there are likely six or more Centions still around, then we have to kill them if you want the place to be secured when we leave. Alternately, we leave with what we can carry, knowing that we do have a way of ingress through the widened arrow slot on the second story of the tower. So we could leave and come back with fighter pilgrims for reinforcements to help clear the rest of the tower.

Likely we could take the remaining centions since we are at full strength now. Bandy wouldn't say no to securing the gold and electrum and silver treasure on the second story and then methodically root out the rest of these scorpion bastards.

Bandy officially puts his vote at clearing out the rest of the Centions.

If nobody else grabs it, Bandy takes the Cardinal's bat... er...staff... (go Cards! Three home runs today!)and puts it with the rest of the loot.

[onlyme]

Markd prefers leaving asap and getting the relic to the church.

[Marullus]

Are you negotiating, or is Markd making an executive decision to return?

If you are returning, I need you to figure what you're packing and how fast you plan to move. You have one pony and one mule. Encumbrance rules are here: viewtopic.php?f=353&t=5467&start=20#p245719. I want an explicit list of what you take; the rest is left.

If you're heading below, I need Markd to concur and to know your direction.

Updated map of all you explored below:

IMG_20170903_210645.jpg (1.39 MiB) Viewed 242 times

[onlyme]

Markd calls out.

I agree with Bremen. Lets secure these tower floors best we can and head out early in the morning. I vote we carry the relic, a few gold and other light items each for the expenses and such, and figure out what we need to come back for the rest.


What mounts do we have, again?
we have 3 pcs, and 3 npcs.
I also need to re-read how long it took to get here, whether that was distance or stopping for healing.