CAMPAIGN: The Unburning (D&D5e)

Cece

Cece is the first to reach the burning building.

It is a large old run-down building. It was clearly in bad shape even before it caught on fire. The whitewashed wooden walls are cracked and flaking, and none of the windows look as if they have ever had any glass in them. Makeshift screens and fluttering home-made scraps of curtains make the many-eyed beast of the building's face into a chaotic jumble. She can see people flooding in and out of the big front doors, trying to drag family and pets and valuables and hideous furniture out and down the short flight of sandstone steps.

At a glance, she sees;

* People are running around willy-nilly, and there is a lot of screaming and shouting

* Two people trying to carry a couch down the front steps with an old woman still stretched out on the couch

* Some activity around the left (west) side of the building. Perhaps there is another entrance there?

*a man clambering out of a second-story window while 3 other people wait to catch him with bare hands underneath.

* A face staring down from a third story window and doing nothing.

* No activity is visible on the 4th floor

* The fire is rising from the top of the 5th floor, mostly on the left (west) side. Smoke is pouring out of the 5th floor windows.

Cece's bucket contains no water (and not enough potato peels to smother a campfire)

Sharn and Arcadia

Definitely a commotion going on in the distance, and now somebody is shouting closer to Headquarters too.

You can make out the word "Firefighters"

Normin and Caldon

Normin and Caldon approach the Headquarters at about the same time from different directions.

A portly human man is pounding on a door two buildings over and on the wrong side of the street, shouting "Firefighters! Firefighters? Are there any firefighters here? Some lady said... Oh, I give up!"

Evangeline

Evangeline can see the smoke in the sky. Her immediate view is blocked by the building across the street, but the smoke in the sky is a little too concentrated to be anything that could have possibly been blown by the wind all the way from the distant Smokefields.

"Pay's great? That is wonderful, Evangeline." Contessa seems to have been barely listening to what Evangeline said. "So tell me, which of these would you prefer if you were a wealthy noble investing in oil mines?"

Contessa holds up two outfits, one feathery and one flimsy.

Petrol

Petrol makes his way back to Marketday.

With nothing specific to shop for, he just browses. With his Rogue's eye for detail he spots a shopkeeper dump some garbage in a can in an alley and then fail to completely close the side-door behind him when he goes in. The front of the store looks like maybe they sell leather goods or something. Probably not worth the risk, but who knows?

The smoke is visible in the sky between the shops and taverns, but nobody seems to be paying it much mind. It isn't close enough to be conspicuous unless someone is looking directly at it.

Ebald

An old acquaintance from the University janitorial staff sees him in the street and waves.

"Ebald! Is that you? You should come to the Liar's Club for breakfast tomorrow! George was asking after you."

"Yes, we're here. Don't tell me that somebody locked the door." Normin will get into the man's way and use his cane to attempt to open the door.

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<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

"'ey! What ees thees?!" Cece shouts at the ongoing anarchy. This can't be what the others told them to do before going inside. "Queet runneeng around over there! 'elp them weeth that old lady!" No teamwork, no cooperation, everybody panicking and out for themselves.. this is what gives the slums a bad name.. She takes her rope over to the would-be catchers. "See eef 'e can tie thees to sometheeng! Eet would be safer!" and then turns her attention to the guy on the third floor. "There ees a fire! Why are you waiteeng for?"

There's too much going on.. she empties her buckets (Thank Saint Buster for that second one) onto the cleanest section of dirt at hand and tries to rally the rabble. "I need someone to feel these and anytheeng else with water and breeng them to the door! Eet weel be more useful than shouteeng, yes? Also, ees anyone meeseeng? Where are the other Firefighters?"

She checks her waterskin. There oughta be some water in there and it'd be untowards to not start fighting the fire right away. She waits to hear from the rabble, but after that she's gonna have to go in there, water or not. The half-elf feels a strange sensation at her first time as an authority figure. She can't tell if it's fun or scary as hell.

Evangeline squints her eyes. That's far too much smoke to have blown from over the smoke fields. Though, what are the odds there's a fire already?

Unflinchingly, Evangeline turns to leave.

"Something's up and I need to go investigate." She says direly. "And definitely the flimsy one; It really compliments your figure." She adds without missing a beat. "Knock em' dead, hun!"

With that, she takes off again, intent on tracking down the suspicious smoke.

Ebald sees his old co-worker and waves with a smile on his face. He hadn't seen him in a while.

"Hello! It's good to see you again!" He walks up to his old co-worker and shakes his hand. "Breakfast would be great, it's always nice to catch up with everybody. I wonder what old George has been up to lately?"

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the quirky recurring villian of the ohr community

Cece

In response to Cece's commands, three young women like sisters drop the things they are carrying and go to help move the grandmother-couch. They quickly move clear of the stairs, the grandmother screeching spirited encouragement.

This clears the door, making it easier for people to get out.

The people waiting under the second story jumper seem confused by the proffered rope, leaving two of them distracted when the jumper jumps-- the remaining catcher breaks their fall without serious injuries, but there are likely to be headaches tomorrow

Two halflings pick up each of Cece's buckets and sprint away with them towards another building. Hopefully they are going to fetch water and not just absconding with them.

No single person provides any coherent reply to Cece's questions.

The person in the third floor window continues to stare, eyes wide.

Normin

"You're the Firefighter? Asks the portly human, seeming both confused and relieved." The door the Normin is prodding with his cane does not open. Someone inside says "Who's there!?" In a frightened voice.

Evangeline

"You knock em dead too!" Calls Contessa.

As Evangeline moves through the streets she can see clearly that the smoke is coming from close to Headquarters. If she hurries, she can be there soon.

Ebald

The old co-worker waves and hurries away.

The Liar's Club is a small all-night restaurant on the edge of Marketday where Ebald and some friends used to often meet around dawn before heading to work.

"Yes, I am one," he answers simply, expecting more insight from the man.

---

<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

"I don't believe it..." Evangeline thinks. "A fire fighting squad forms, and almost immediately a fire crops up. Could this be another test of our mettle? There's no way this is a perfect coincidence..."

Evangeline starts to hurry towards the location of the potential fire.

Kailyn notices Piter and subtly shifts his position to the opposite side of the balcony to better catch the sunlight and accentuate his (self-professed) good looks.

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Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

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"Open up! It's the fire squad." Caldon then asks the bystanders for more information regarding the fire.

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Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks

Thinking about breakfast tomorrow, Ebald decides to head back towards headquarters.

---

the quirky recurring villian of the ohr community

"Mondieu! I 'ad meant throw 'eem the rope! Good theeng you caught 'eem!" Cece says encouragingly, but getting out of there before the finger-pointing starts. She points a finger to third floor guy. "'ang on! I am comeeng for you!"

Making a mental note of his position, she enters the building. She might not be able to help him if he's trapped by fire... but there's no way he's trapped by fire. Totally just scared.

Inside Headquarters

The Magic Bucket sits motionless on the floor in the back room by the equally Motionless Stationstone and Alarmstones.

What are Sharn and Arcadia up to?

Team Wrong-Door

The portly human looks at Normin "You?" he asks. "Some elfy lass ran by wearing a red helmet and carrying two buckets, and she said to fetch the Firefighters. She sounded like she knew what she was talking about... what's a 'Firefighter'?"

Caldon shouts at the door, and the unseen person inside says "Fire squad? What? What is going on out there?"

Team Actually-At-The-Burning-Building

One of the two that Cece gave her rope to gives her a thumbs-up of comprehension, wads up the entire rope and tosses the whole bundle up through the now empty second story window.

The person on the third floor does not acknowledge Cece's call at all.

As Cece enters the building up the front steps, she sees a small square entry-lobby. A stairwell twists up in the corner, with a handful of people rushing down it. To her left and right are hallways that extend to the first floor apartments. The people on the first floor are in the least danger, and many of them seem to be taking advantage of this fact by dragging possessions out into the halls, where other people ferry the objects towards the door.

Directly opposite the entrance is a door that seems to open out into a central courtyard, suggesting that the whole building must be shaped like a square donut. There is no activity in the central courtyard-- not visible from here anyway.

Team Following-The-Smoke

Evangeline and Ebald both hurry towards the direction of the smoke, which is also the direction towards headquarters. They both reach Bad Noodle Lane at close to the same time, and they can see Caldon and Normin in the distance in the street outside Headquarters. They are standing next to a big human.

The top of the burning building is visible now, another block north past Headquarters, but from where Evangeline and Ebald are standing they cannot see the crowds at its base yet.

Petrol



Petrol makes his way back to Marketday.

With nothing specific to shop for, he just browses. With his Rogue's eye for detail he spots a shopkeeper dump some garbage in a can in an alley and then fail to completely close the side-door behind him when he goes in. The front of the store looks like maybe they sell leather goods or something. Probably not worth the risk, but who knows?

The smoke is visible in the sky between the shops and taverns, but nobody seems to be paying it much mind. It isn't close enough to be conspicuous unless someone is looking directly at it.

Team Sexy-On-The-Balcony

Piter gasps slightly. "Don't move" he mumbles. He discards the sketchbook, takes the partially-finished painting of the room off the easel, and repositions the easel with a new blank canvas. This portrait needs painting immediately!

"If that is all, then we have no business at this house. The headquarters are over there, for future reference, sir." Normin will hurry his way over to the actual headquarters and hope it isn't locked so that he can collect a bucket.

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<TheGiz> oh hai doggy, oh no that's the straw that broke tjhe came baclsb

The door to headquarters is unlocked