([Completed] Corvin/Mordred Adventure 2): Mordred and Astrid Armor/Tower

[archolewa]

It doesn't take long for Mordred and Astrid to find a bustling marketplace just a few blocks south of the docks. It is in fact, the same market they picked up their gear initially.

A man stands behind an stall with several suits of armor and blades laid out. Several guardsmen stand nearby, keeping a wary eye on the armorer. But that is to be expected. The merchant does have more than a few lethal weapons laid out in front of him.

"Ah ha! Look at those two fine warriors," calls the merchant, gesturing to Mordred and Astrid. "Some fine, fine armor you're wearing there sir. Perhaps you would like something just as fine for the Missus? Diamonds and Emeralds are nice and all, but you know what your girl really wants in these uncertain times don't you? Yes you do it's why you're here! A nice sturdy suit of plate to keep her safe!"

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"Good day sir" - Mordred nodded - "You are correct. Me and my friend are looking for a suit of platemail. It will be a utility piece, and not a decorative one, so we are not so concerned with diamonds and emeralds" - he added - "Can you show us what you have?"

[archolewa]

Astrid elbows Mordred and murmurs in a teasing tone. "Shoulda gone along with him, Mordred. Might have gotten a 'but she'd love it so much pweaaaase?' discount."

"Yes, of course. For your friend, my apologies good sir," says the merchant in a 'knowing' tone. He pulls out a breastplate. "Here is the breastplate to a fine, fine suit of plate. Greeves, gauntlets boots, underlying mail and the like are of similar, sterling quality. And see here, the standard straps that allow you to loosen or tighten it to fit your frame. This won't fit a halfling of course, but it will any dwarf or human regardless of height or build. I think 7 gold would be a fine, fine price for this. A steal really, but you two look like good, noble warriors seeking to protect us all from the Kinslayer's hordes, so I'm willing to take a loss here."

Reminder: Standard price for a suit of plate mail is 6gp.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

@archolewa: Can we assume we have already pooled our resources for this one, or should I just try to 'reserve' the armor, and come pick it up later?

"You're right - never even thought of that" - he whispered back to Astrid.

"Ahem, thank you my good man, let me take a look" - Mordred looked over the armor as best as he could.

Trying to garner the quality of the armour, and if it is missing any parts, if it has corrosion, damage to the leather parts, etc. Not very big on roleplaying shopping trips

[archolewa]

Sorry about that. We'll go ahead and gloss over the rest of the shopping. And yes, you can assume Mordred made sure he had the money to actually pay for the armor.

Mordred and the shopkeep go back and forth a bit longer. The plate is pretty standard quality. Not exactly dwarven make, and perhaps a bit scuffed, but it seems competently made, and a bit of polishing will get it shining again. Charisma (Diplomacy) check: 1d20+9 = 13+9 = 22 > 20 . Mordred manages to negotiate the price down to 5gp and 5 silver, mostly by taking umbrage at the gouging price the merchant proposed initially, pointing out that this armor was clearly 2nd hand and so the merchant got it for way below market value, and threatening very firmly to walk if that wasn't reflected in the price.

But, before long he and Astrid have bits of the armor tied up and thrown over their shoulders. They also manage to trade in Astrid's banded mail for 1d20+9 = 9+7 = 16 < 20 for 2 gold and 5 silver. Mordred tries to push for a bit more, arguing the armor has been hardly used, but it does bear a few scratches from the claws of the Trogs, and the merchant stands firm, insisting that he will need to spend precious time verifying that "lightly used" was not enough to render it "useless." Mordred eventually has to settle for half its value.

No need to subtract the amount right away. I've made a post on your treasure list thread (viewtopic.php?p=741547#p741547) tracking what people have spent so far. We can figure out whose paying how much once you all come back together again.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"This will do just fine for now" - Mordred nodded with satisfaction at Astrid - "Now lets go check the tower"

No need to subtract the amount right away. I've made a post on your treasure list thread (viewtopic.php?p=741547#p741547) tracking what people have spent so far. We can figure out whose paying how much once you all come back together again.

Thanks for that!

[archolewa]

They pause long enough to get Astrid into her armor, if nothing else to make it easier to carry. Just as the vendor promised, the armor proved fairly simple to adjust and fit to her, though it did involve more than a fair bit of cursing, and a yelp at one point when Mordred tightened a strap just a bit too much ("You're strapping on a harness, not a corset!").

The pair then make their way through the winding streets of Thorncity, and eventually to the Tower, looming above the close-packed, rundown homes. The tower is busy as a beehive, with workers moving in and out with various supplies, and more than a few men and women wearing the holy symbol of the Weeping Eye, the order of the Seer that is headquartered in Thorncity. Several children are lurking amongst the buildings at the edge of the courtyard, watching the business. One of them, Elise, the granddaughter of the old man whom Mordred and his companions saved from several Battleaxe thugs, runs up to Mordred.

"Mordred, look! What's going on?" asks the girl. "I've never seen so many holy people!"

Astrid hangs back nervously behind Mordred, anxiously rubbing her (gloved!) left hand with her right.

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"Hello child" - Mordred greets Elise - "I have no idea what might be happening" - he looks around, and nods at Astrid also - "I will find out"

Then he approaches until he can talk to someone to inquire what might be happening.

[archolewa]

Mordred approaches a cleric who seems to be in charge. He turns from several workers he was conferring with as Mordred approaches. He glances the man over, pulls out a piece of parchment and studies it for a moment.

"Ahh, you must be Mordred. One of the fellows who cleared out the tower," says the man with a jovial smile. "As you can see, we're well on our way clearing out your tower of the...infection...I guess you could say. The upper floors aren't too bad, but the basement's requiring a lot of work."

"Should just burn it all," mutters Astrid.

The cleric smiles at Astrid. "Indeed, and we scoured most of the basement clean over the last few days with quite a lot of fire, I assure you. Except the alchemical lab of course. We know better than to mess with a laboratory that may be of use to the resident Magic-User! We did take down the skeleton, and put the remains to rest though, I hope you don't mind sir. We also, of course, confiscated those highly illegal and dangerous books that were held by the previous residents. If you wish, I can give you a tour, and show you what we've done so far."

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"Thank you for this undertaking Sir. And for keeping the alchemical lab undamaged" - Mordred nods in thanks at the man - "Yes please, I would like to see the current state of the tower" - then turns to Astrid casually - "You want to wait out here? You said you wanted to check with the locals? Or you can come with me and check on them later?"

[archolewa]

Astrid eyes the tower warily, massaging her hand. She sighs. "I'll come with you. I gotta go in there at some point, if we're gonna be sleeping in there."

The cleric gives the young woman a gentle smile. "Do not fear lass. I know it looks kind of creepy, but I assure you the evil has been thoroughly purged. Primarily by your friend here. We're just been mopping up, so to speak."

He waves and leads the group into the tower. They do a brisk tour of the upper floors. Little has changed, save that things look much cleaner and are a good deal less smelly. The bodies have all been removed as well, of course.

The basement however, is another story. Astrid hesitates a moment at the door, but then plows on, her right hand gripping the inside of her shield until her knuckles turn white.

The cleric walks casually over the spot where the trap door had been. He gives the pair a mischievous smile. "We filled in the pit, sealed it up after destroying the creatures down there.Felt that it was more likely to give one of you a broken leg than anything else."

The basement is lit up as bright as noon by dozens of glowing white balls.

"Just a few Light spells while we work," says the cleric. "If you'd like, we may be able to enchant a couple of things with Continual Light, but that'll cost 2 gold per spell."

The central room shows no trace of the Kinslayer's statue. It has been removed and destroyed. The center of the room has had its stone blocks ripped up. A small, wooden carving of the Seer, only about waist high, sits where the Kinslayer's statue once was.

"We find it best to replace a purified Kinslayer Shrine with one dedicated to the Seer," says the cleric. "Better safe than sorry."

The curtains have been ripped down. Several men and women (Mordred recognizes a few as being some of the folk who live near the tower. Looks like the Crown has hired locally) are scrubbing vigorously at the walls.

Most of the tension eased out of Astrid's face. "It looks, feels and smells...so different."

The cleric nods happily. "I'm glad to hear it. It'll be another few weeks before we're done of course. But I'm glad to see our efforts are paying off. We've kept the secret door. Felt it best to make sure your laboratory wouldn't be stumbled into by any visitors. Any questions about the main room, or shall we head into the back rooms?"

Astrid leans into Mordred. "If you don't mind, I'll stay here. Coming down into the main room of the basement is one thing. But going in the back..."

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"Thank you again for the work you are doing here. It is impressive to see how the taint of the Kinslayer has been lifted from this place." - Mordred nodded, impressed.

"Stay here" - he agreed with Astrid - "We take this one step at a time - I will continue the tour for now" - the man added, placing a hand on her shoulder for reassurance, but removing it quickly after.

"Please, lead the way" - he turned back to the cleric.

[archolewa]

Astrid pats Mordred's hand when it rests briefly on his shoulder and gives him a grateful look.

The cleric leads Mordred through the secret door and into the back rooms.

"This area is especially ugly," says the cleric with a sigh. "I know, hard to believe it could be any uglier than the room where the Kinslayer's foul visage stood. But then, I suppose you'd know even better than I."

First, the cleric shows Mordred the room that had once held Astrid. The space has been cleaned as best it could be, though bloodstains still cover much of the walls. The chains yet dangle from the wall. A cold, soulless place that feels like it would weep, would it had tears left to do so.

"Something I would like to discuss with you sir. As a cleric of the Weeping Eye, I think it would be best if we bricked up and warded this room," says the cleric. "Perhaps someday even fill it in, though that is beyond our means at the moment. A lot of innocent people languished in this dark room, drowning in their own terror and despair. If ever there was a place that could draw restless spirits and undead terrors, it is here. But of course, it may also be used for storing any prisoners you may capture. Naturally, the Princess would want them transferred to the Castle dungeons ASAP, but sometimes some discretion is valuable. So, it is up to you."

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Mordred's gaze lingered on the bloodstains, a chill settling in his bones despite the warmth of the torches.

"Brick it up and ward it," he said, his voice firm, leaving no room for doubt. "No one should ever have to endure what happened here again." He understood the cleric's concerns about restless spirits and undead terrors, but for him, it was more than just a matter of practicality. It was a symbolic act, a way to seal away the darkness and prevent it from resurfacing.

[archolewa]

The cleric sighs in relief. "Very good sir. We'll get to work on that right away. Just give me a moment."

The cleric calls out to a someone, a young woman in an acolytes robe. The two confer for a moment, and then the acolyte runs off. He gestures for Mordred to follow. "Now, come along."

He leads Mordred through the small, simple room where the head priestess had slept. The bed is still there, though the bedding has been stripped away, and the room thoroughly cleaned. "Nothing of note to mention here. It seems the priestess didn't do anything especially untoward in here that we can tell. Could make for a nice room for a dwarf, I suppose."

He leads Mordred through the door at the far end of the room and into the small lab. The bookshelves are missing about a third of the books from before, though the rest look to have been dusted. The skeleton that had been hanging on the wall has been removed. "And here is the lab. We didn't much more than a light dusting, and removal of that poor soul's remains in here. We are neither elves or Magic-Users, and none were available to help us. We feared to disturb anything that may render the room less than useful."

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

Mordred inclines his head as he steps into the modest chamber. His gaze sweeps across the room, noting its tidiness - "My thanks"

He paused, his dark eyes flickering to the corridor that leads toward the laboratory. "And my gratitude as well for the maintenance of the laboratory. It will be well tended in my care." There is a faint curve to his lips - a hint of satisfaction.

@archolewa - is there a way to fully close off the sections downstairs? I seem to remember a locked door? Mordred wants to make sure Astrid has no access at all to it, until they have sealed the worst areas.

"The areas upstairs" - Mordred added - "Are they in working condition? Could we rest there for the time being, or would you recommend a place in the city while the works are being finished?"

[archolewa]

@archolewa - is there a way to fully close off the sections downstairs? I seem to remember a locked door? Mordred wants to make sure Astrid has no access at all to it, until they have sealed the worst areas.

Yes, there is a lockable door, and you guys have the keys. It would be easy enough to lock the door, though you probably won't want to do so while there are still people working there! But you could certainly lock it at night, and ask the cleric to ensure that Astrid doesn't come downstairs while he and his folks are there working.

"The areas upstairs" - Mordred added - "Are they in working condition? Could we rest there for the time being, or would you recommend a place in the city while the works are being finished?"

"Perfectly habitable. The most recent inhabitants were not the cleanest of sorts," says the cleric with a wry smile. "But it was a far more mundane filth that has already been cleaned up."

[Edeldhur]

Mordred

"Ok then, I think we might spend the night" - he nodded at the cleric - "And your name Sir?"

[archolewa]

"Oh, yes I should have introduced myself. My name is Marsh." The cleric nods to Mordred. "It's been an honor sir."

The cleric leads Mordred back into the main room. Astrid smiles in relief and waves as they enter, and the three of them return upstairs. They walk back upstairs.

Astrid peeks out the door. "Hey, Mordred. Corvin's coming. And he's got umm, I think that might be your cleric friend."

Astrid backs nervously. from the door.

Shaidar's wrapped up his errands, so I'm bringing everyone back together outside the tower. We'll resume in the main adventure thread.