Castle Amber: A D&D Adventure

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:34 am

Lynda looks ahead. She's able to see a very large crowd forming around a stage. A few men, they look like royals, stand on the stage talking to each other. They all seem to be mad at one of the royals. This man stands out from the rest of them, his clothes are no where near as fancy. Instead, the man seems to have several trinkets, these remind Lynda of the trinkets an adventurer might wear.

Kalar, Voulton, and Hrulgin hang back as the rest ride ahead to further understand the situation. Tammytharn attempts to ask questions of the farm folk but just as she gets someone's attention, the man Lynda thought might be an adventure began to speak with a booming voice.

"People! Our scouts have just returned and it would seem the threats made by the skeleton are true," says the man. A roar of panic erupts from the crowd. Many people completely panic. They begin shoving and pushing to get inside the castle. "Hold! It is also true that we are in no danger at the moment. We still have weeks before this attack." The people calm down, but only slightly. This wave of over a hundred people begins to turn violent as some in the crowd seem to be taking advantage of the situation. Many people in the crowd, cry out that they have been pick pocketed. The party is unable to see who in the crowd may be doing this.
Another man on the stage steps forward. "This is no time for this!" The crowd settles down instantly. This man seems to be the elder of the royals. "Gaspard believes he has a way to thwart this attack. We believe this is a plot of Nathaire's. Gaspard knows all his secret. Nathaire won't be able to get away with this trickey." The crowd looks unsure. "No matter the size of this graveyard colossus, we will defeat it! We will win!"
The city guard all cheer at this. The people slowly join in.
Gaspard steps back up to speak. The party is just on the edge of the crowd at this point. They seem to have succeeded in not sticking out. Gaspard says, "I need a few brave souls to deliver one of these two pouches into the creatures mouth." The crowd all fall silent at this news.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:13 pm

Tammytharn shoots a sharp look at Lynda, and hisses "Do NOT volunteer to throw ANYTHING into any monster's MOUTH! We are not ready to take that step!"

"Do you think the skeleton that Gaspard mentioned could be Kalar's 'friend' with the sword?" she asks, speculatively

And after a moment's thought, "What is a 'Graveyard Colossus'?" she muses, more to herself than the others.

She looks curiously at the pouches that Gaspard is indicating, and wonders what they are, and why only one, but not both needs to go in the monster's mouth.

BMR · Post by **BMR** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:48 pm

Kalar sits around preparing camp. With no word from Hrulgin yet, he's not quite sure what to do at the moment. Then he has an idea.

"Voulton. I'm sure you noticed that mob up ahead. You look like a man who knows combat. I'm a military man myself, a medic specifically. Now, I'm sure that both you and I know that what's happening in that city can't be good. The people look to be on the verge of panic, and chances are, we'll need to get out of here in a hurry."

Kalar gestures to the trees.

"Would you be able to create a palisade of sorts? Or perhaps a bunch of pointy wooden stakes pointing in the direction of the city. That way, if we must flee, there will be at least some barrier between us."

Kalar thinks for a while longer, and then says:

"On that note... You said you were a woodsman. So I figure you've got some skill with woodwork. How able would you be to modify this wagon? If we're going to need to run, perhaps a few spikes here and there on the wagon might dissuade pursuers from getting it into their heads to jump onto the side of the wagon to try to get at us. Alternatively, do you think you'd be able to replace the canvas covering with a sturdier and more arrow-proof set of walls and a ceiling? The women might not be back for some time, we might as well get busy."

Gizmog · Post by **Gizmog** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:54 pm

Voulton scratches his head with his axe. These are good questions. "I don't know about a palisade, but I can at least put a big pile of lumber between us and them. Actually, loose logs can be pretty dangerous if you don't know how to handle 'em, would be a good front line." He'll go to work on that immediately, felling trees in such a way as to try to create a crude boundary between us and them, talking between axe-chops. "Little pointy sticks can be pretty dangerous too, my... dad used to snare goats that way. Takes more time to sharpen and bury 'em though and I bet it'd be hard to do with something this big" he waves the axe for emphasis. "The cart'd be the real trick. Like I said before, it's an older cart and a nice piece of work. Put too much weight on it though, you throw a wheel, you break an axle and then you'd better be arrow-proof 'cause you're not going to be getting away from anyone. A few spikes wouldn't hurt, though I wonder what the farmers'll think."

He'll do his best on the palisade/wall of fallen logs first, and then will switch over to gathering spike sized chunks and turning them into spikes, for burying and cart use.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:32 pm

The crowd begins to disperse. Rows and rows of tents are set up inside the walls. Guards are keeping order as people file into the tents. The royals leave the stage, but Gaspard stays behind. He looks around the crowd, eagerly searching for someone to step up to the task. "There will be a huge reward! The City Council has offered a 10,000gp reward." No one seems to react to the reward. "We also need brave souls to quest for the Sword of Sylaire. It's said to be able to destroy any undead thing in a single hit. It may be able to defeat this giant easily." A large uproar of laughter follows this.
"It's not real!" someone in the crowd says. Others go on to say, "Get serious!" "Grow up!" "Stop wasting our time with kid's tales."
Gaspard begins to object, but holds his tonugue. Gaspard looks to be growing hopeless.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:13 pm

"Maybe when the crowd clears out a little more, we should go talk to him" Tammytharn says

When he had been confidently exhorting the crowd, she was worried that his request sounded like a fools quest that would get someone killed.

Now that she has seen the crowd laugh at him, as he pleads desperately, she STILL thinks his request sounds like a fools quest that would get someone killed, but also that he is desperate enough to give a lot if information to anyone who seems interested.

"We could *pretend* to be interested, but we shouldn't commit!"

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:26 pm

It doesn't take long for the crowd to begin to completely ignore Gaspard. The area around the stage is completely empty less like 5 minutes later. Gaspard hangs his head as he walks off the stage. He murmurs to himself. Rachelle catches him saying, "Then I go it alone."

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 9:54 pm

"Come'on, nows our chance to talk to him." Lynda whispers to the group. "Follow my lead."

Lynda walks over to Gaspard.

"Hello, good sir." She says. "We arrived late to this crowd, and didn't hear all of what you were saying. What is this...colossus you speak of? And these pouches? It all seems so strange."

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:21 pm

Gaspard looks over at the group. He slowly brightens up. "Hello to you too. Well, don't you look capable." Gaspard bows. "Arrived late you say, from where? Well, no matter. The colossus, yes." Gaspard gets a grim look on his faces. "Well, late yesterday, a skeleton came to the city." Gaspard paused, expecting a shocked reaction. He tilted his head a little at the lack of shock. "Our archer's arrows seemed to have no effect. When our knights went out to confront it, the skeleton told them he was there to deliver a message. The skeleton told of a huge colossus that was currently destroying La Frenaie. The colossus was sent by my old master, Nathaire. It was destroying La Frenaie as a message." Gaspard looked dismayed as he went on. "The skeleton told us that we could either all leave the town and graveyard to Nathaire, or the colossus would destroy the city and kill us all in the process. We have two weeks."
"Scouts were sent to La Frenaie immediately. They have just returned with tales that were grimmer then the skeleton's tale." Gaspard continues talking, without leaving a moment of the party to interrupt. "La Frenaie is destroyed. Refugees are still making their way here, to hopefully stay safe."
"As for the pouches. While studying under Nathaire, I learned to make a dark powder that can uncreate Nathaire's creations. I have only two pouches made now, I may be able to make as many as 10 in the two weeks till it attacks us here. Of course, I think traveling to Sylaire and getting the sword might be a better idea."
"So, what do you say, will you help me defeat this colossus?" Gaspard takes a moment after saying all this. He seems to finally be getting a good look at the three ladies. "Who are you?"

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:34 pm

"My name is Lynda." She says. "My female companions are Rachelle and Tammytharn. We are travellers, and we've just made our way here."

"What happened to La Frenaie sounds terrible, and a colossus destroying the city sounds like a terrible fate. I cannot speak for my companions, but it does pique my interest...this sword you mention, the sword of Sylaire...it has the power to kill these undead, supposedly? I think that sounds like something that should be acquired. Perhaps it's powers would aid greatly in defeating the colossus."

She turns to look at Rachelle and Tammytharn.

"So, what do you say?" Lynda says. "Should we help Gaspard in finding the Sword of Sylaire to save Yvones?"

Lynda winks at them.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:44 pm

Tammytharn is worried. She wanted to pretend to be interested in his story, not to pretend to accept the quest. She fears they might already be getting in too deep.

"Where is this Sword of Sylaire? What is involved in fetching it?" she asks cautiously.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 6:56 pm

"According to my information, the Sword of Sylaire is currently held by lady Sephora. A single scout reported that her home is a round tower that stands where the mighty castle of Sylaire once stood," says Gaspard. "Many others that go looking for the tower get lost in the woods, but I can have the scout that found the tower accompany you. If you take a boat, you should be able to get there and back in time to use the sword to defend the city. Of course, there's the matter of convincing Sephora to give you the sword. I'm sure once she hears of the situation she'll understand."
Gaspard looks excitedly at Rachelle, Lynda, and Tammytharn. "How fortunate that you're all women. The scout that made it back said that Sephora enthralls men. Which is likely the reason many scouting teams never return. There should be no problem with you three though. So, what do you think? Will you quest for the sword?"

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:05 pm

Tammytharn frowns. "You say she ENTHRALLS men, who are then NEVER seen again. And you still think she is the sort of person who will just HAND OVER this mighty sword just because some STRANGERS politely ask for it? Well, I hope there is more to your plan than just that."

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:34 pm

Gaspard looks disappointed. "I know it doesn't sound like the best idea. I understand why no one is willing to go. There's also the large amount of werewolf activity in that area. I can reward you. I know the location of a very valuable mirror. Whether you get the sword or simply help me defeat the colossus with these pouches, I will gladly give it to you. There's also the 10,000gp reward." Gaspard looks at the three women again, "Well, If you'd like to help, come find me. I need to get to work on more pouches. Maybe one of the city archers can attach a pouch to an arrow and somehow have the pouch burst in the colossus' mouth." Gaspard begins to talk more to himself with that last sentence than the party.

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:36 pm

"How interesting." Lynda says.

Lynda turns to Tammytharn and whispers.

"I know you don't sound convinced. However, look at it this way. The sword of Sylaire is one of the items we need, and this man here is offering us a scouted path and everything to get this thing. It might sound like a foolish prospect, but either way, we're gonna need that sword sooner or later. It just so happens that it might also save Yvones. If not, then we still have the sword. If we succeed, he also has the mirror which we need."

Lynda turns back to Gaspard and smiles.

"So." Lynda says. "Tell us more about this Sephora woman. Who is she exactly? And how did she come to acquire the sword in the first place?"