Part 2b: The Northern Contingent: Something in the Water

[GreyWolfVT]

Abel will help Bürd but will take his staff and wrap it in front of Smokey and hold him with it helping to drag him away from the corpse. STR[1d20] = 3 oops forgot to tie to character the one I did on the character was a fail.....

here is the second roll tied to the character....
STR[1d20] = 17

[MonkeyWrench]

While Bürd and Abel restrain smokey Marcus quickly finds any type of restraints he can, maybe the vine rope thing that Bürd was making? and attempts to tie Smokey up for his own good.

Marcus Strength Check(STR:10): [1d20] = 5
Marcus Dexterity Check(DEX:14): [1d20] = 12

[Dizlexus]

Smokey is battered, bound and hungry.
But safe.

I wanna go home man.

[Pulpatoon]

Smokey and Bürd: You minds are clear from the compulsion to eat. Neither of you actually managed to swallow any of the tainted cheese, although your mouths feel terribly unclean.

Smokey is restrained by his fellows.

The corpse lies, still bound, underneath a fighting mass of birds and butterflies.

The sun is shining, the air is cool, the river burbles quietly, and the fish swim peacefully downriver towards Herebury. It's a lovely day.

[GreyWolfVT]

Abel "Sadly I think we have found part of the problem. Though I'd like to know what about the body is causing things to want to eat it. Namely those things that normally would not eat rotting human flesh."

[MonkeyWrench]

Marcus checks over Smokey and Bürd, "How are you two feeling? Can you tell us anything about why you were fighting over... trying to... eat the body? Did you did touch it? swallow some of it on accident?" While he waits for an answer Marcus nods at Abel to come over and listen to the others, "I would like to know that answer as well, give me a moment." Marcus then walks over to the body as it is engulfed in birds and butterflies, using his spear he will get the creatures away from it and then inspect the body himself.

I seem to have forgotten the warriors saving throws... Or i never knew them to begin with

[Dizlexus]

Smokey

It was a magical compulsion, man. Like I smoked too much and had to eat, man.

We better let someone know what we found.

[mb.]

Bürd stomps to the water's edge, and scoops handfuls of water into his mouth, spitting it out and trying to wash the disgusting taste out.

"Aye, it were the foulest of compulsions, a terrible magic. I knew it were foul and wrong, but could do no different." He shakes his head, and nods at the freshly torn hole in the corpse's shoulder, "I took a great bite of it, but 'twere my luck that Smokey wanted that piece too. In the end, I swallowed naught of it."

Having done his best with the water, Bürd sits on the ground beside the corpse and studies it. "If we could understand what magics are on it, p'raps we'd be nearer an understanding of our mystery… Give me a moment, will y'fellas?"

With Sense Magic and his knowledge of the spell Abjuration, Bürd will figure out what he can about the nature of the corpse's magic. Is there a foreign spirit in the body? Is the eating compulsion a spell cast on it? If relevant, here's a roll: Bürd rolls [1d20] = 11 vs INT 15

[mb.]

Related questions (for after the Sense Magic concentration period):

• There's no way one corpse like this could've produced the amount of blood we saw in the Crimson Flood, is there? Is it obvious that it came from something that's still further upstream?
• And did the dogs that attacked us seem to be under a similar eating compulsion to the fish and birds?
• And while I'm at it: checking the banks of the river closely, is there any evidence of blood from the Crimson Flood in comparison to closer to Herebury?

[Dizlexus]

Related questions (for after the Sense Magic concentration period):

• There's no way one corpse like this could've produced the amount of blood we saw in the Crimson Flood, is there? Is it obvious that it came from something that's still further upstream?
• And did the dogs that attacked us seem to be under a similar eating compulsion to the fish and birds?

agreed -- well put. but Smokey is jacked-up and wanting to go home. Dude feels like crap. BTW, I bet there are rules for grapple

[GreyWolfVT]

Also the river of blood happened before this man was talking to Abel and Marcus. Never mind it was the other way around.

Abel "Well it might all well be connected at the least. This man was in our town prior to the river turning red and flooding."

[MonkeyWrench]

Marcus ponders as him and Bürd investigate the body, "This all seems to be connected, either way... Bürd, I don't want you touching that thing again alright? No one is to touch it, if we need to move it we can create something of a stretcher."

Marcus continues his investigation of the corpse, it's eyes and mouth being sewn shut, what of the rest of him? any markings that could indicate magic or other things that could point to something being inserted into his body that is causing the magical effects?

[Pulpatoon]

With Sense Magic and his knowledge of the spell Abjuration, Bürd will figure out what he can about the nature of the corpse's magic. Is there a foreign spirit in the body? Is the eating compulsion a spell cast on it? If relevant, here's a roll: Bürd rolls [1d20] = 11 vs INT 15

Related questions (for after the Sense Magic concentration period):

• There's no way one corpse like this could've produced the amount of blood we saw in the Crimson Flood, is there? Is it obvious that it came from something that's still further upstream?
• And did the dogs that attacked us seem to be under a similar eating compulsion to the fish and birds?
• And while I'm at it: checking the banks of the river closely, is there any evidence of blood from the Crimson Flood in comparison to closer to Herebury?

Bürd:

As you open your senses to the world of magic, the corpse is ablaze with magical energy. It is hard to distinguish much, because of the quantity and intensity of the information pouring out of the thing. it takes a long time of glimpsing at it with the mystical equivalent of peripheral vision before you are able to catch enough discrete details that you can make even the slightest sense of what you're looking at.

The body appears to be a lure—primarily for disembodied spirits, but it is clearly powerful enough to draw the still-embodied to it as well. You cannot sense the spirits directly, but you have feel the effects of their presence on the magic of the body, and several were drawn in as you watched. The lure itself is something deep within the body, something broken and poisonous. The concentric incisions that cover the body channel the spirits. There is a form of processing going on here, like old metal scrap being melted down and cast into new forms, but still with the memory of what they had been.

The spirits do stay within the body. They leave in tiny bits through the birds, the butterflies, and, now that you are looking through mystical eyes, you see that there are also thousands of other insects feeding off the body and spreading through the field.

There is ample evidence that the flooding began at this point, now that you pause to look around. The banks of the river have been weed-choked and shown signs of overflow along the entire trip, and this continues right up to the old bridge. O the other side of the other side of the bridge, the banks show no sign of flooding.

Regarding the flood: there is no way one body could have produced a flood. Not even a thousand bodies could produce a flood.

You have not seen any evidence of the actually bloody composition of the flood since the rains washed the blood away the night of the flood.

Anyone can make an INT check (Animal Ken would help) to see if they picked up enough of the dogs behavior to compare it to the eating compulsion.

[Pulpatoon]

Marcus ponders as him and Bürd investigate the body, "This all seems to be connected, either way... Bürd, I don't want you touching that thing again alright? No one is to touch it, if we need to move it we can create something of a stretcher."

Marcus continues his investigation of the corpse, it's eyes and mouth being sewn shut, what of the rest of him? any markings that could indicate magic or other things that could point to something being inserted into his body that is causing the magical effects?

The birds protest your examination of their feast.

The body is extensively marked.

It is bound and tied into a compact bundle. It is soft and bloated from the water, and wrapped in water-weeds and black ropes woven from short animal hair. Every inch of the body's skin has been incised with complex markings, somewhat obscured by thousands of dimpled bites. Concentric circles, parallel lines, and sharp angles dominate the designs. The cuts have swollen and puffed in the water, their interiors turned blue.

The mouth, nose, eyes, and ears have all been sewn shut with black, hairy twine. The cheeks and eyelids have been eaten away enough that you can see that the cavities have been stuffed full of something black and crinkly.

Marcus: You feel a strange fascination with the bite marks that dot every inch of the old man. You are prepared for this however, andyou are still carrying the blessing of the very priest whose body you are examining. It is enough to keep you focused on what you are supposed to be doing.

[mb.]

Pulp: did you miss this message back there?

With Sense Magic and his knowledge of the spell Abjuration, Bürd will figure out what he can about the nature of the corpse's magic. Is there a foreign spirit in the body? Is the eating compulsion a spell cast on it? If relevant, here's a roll: Bürd rolls [1d20] = 11 vs INT 15

[Pulpatoon]

Pulp: did you miss this message back there?

With Sense Magic and his knowledge of the spell Abjuration, Bürd will figure out what he can about the nature of the corpse's magic. Is there a foreign spirit in the body? Is the eating compulsion a spell cast on it? If relevant, here's a roll: Bürd rolls [1d20] = 11 vs INT 15

Scroll up. There's a spoiler block for you!

[mb.]

Scroll up. There's a spoiler block for you!

Ooops!

Bürd jumps up with clenched fists, and turns to Marcus and Abel, "We have to burn it. Now. Gather wood quickly!" He clears an area around the body, to avoid setting the whole area on fire.

Pulp: is it reasonable to assume that if Bürd takes time to cast Abjuration that it'll have a stronger/broader effect?

[Pulpatoon]

Pulp: is it reasonable to assume that if Bürd takes time to cast Abjuration that it'll have a stronger/broader effect?

Extra time and attention help with the ability checks associated with Cantrips and Rituals, but there is nothing about spells. So...

Time for a cruel and pernicious house-rule!

Spell Variations
• Extending: Spell effect lasts twice as long. Costs 2 hp.
• Empowering: Spell does 50% more damage. Costs 4 hp.
• Widening: Area of effect is twice as big. Costs 6 hp.

[GreyWolfVT]

Abel sets out to gather wood for a pyre.

[mb.]

Ouch.

Okay, so since Abjuration dispels one spirit, for 6hp I'd get what? Two? Not really the desired effect…

In the hopes that a good RP explanation might make a difference, Bürd would like to create an Abjuration fire bomb. The idea being, he will focus all his power and take time to carve a runestone, which, when touched by fire, would explode with Abjuration power, driving away all spirits within 10'. Once the corpse starts to burn, he'd throw the stone into the fire.

If this seems completely unlikely to work, I guess we'll just burn it…