Castle Amber: A D&D Adventure

BMR · Post by **BMR** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 4:13 am

Kalar is focusing his mind on the sword, keeping it at bay, while using it to identify the two items. He does manage to say:

"I doubt it. I can hear him as well, though I didn't want to say anything at first."

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:30 pm

The wraiths Kalar had rebuked flee from the now sunlit path. The crowd dies down with the celebration moving mainly to taverns. A good sized crowd still remains. They mostly stand in awe of the heroes and converse with each other while looking at them.

Having mostly misheard the slightly hushed conversation between Rob and Gaspard, Lynda heads for a completely different man in white. He seems to take Lynda's sudden approach as a very forward attempt at courtship, as do many snickering onlookers. The man gives a bow and produces a flower for Lynda. "I'm enjoying them more now," he says with a smooth grin. Then he holds out his arm and silently suggests that they head for the local tavern together.

Kalar noticed several guards staring at him while he waved the sword around. He thought about the ban on magic and how fortunate it was that the sword no longer spoke out loud.
Spoke out loud like the horse just did. None of the on lookers seemed to have noticed though. The horse seemed used to hiding the fact that it could speak, as odd as that notion seemed.
Kalar was instantly made aware of the talisman as being something akin to a phylactery. The large amount of onyx in it made Kalar think of how he used onyx's to create undead and thought about the process required to create an undead as big as that colossus. Perhaps Kalar could learn something from further study of this very large talisman.
The bracers reveal themselves to be ghost touch bracers, giving any melee attack the wearer performs the ghost touch ability.

Rob finds his horse next to Voulton and Kalar, who seem to be doing some sort of magic with a sword out in the open.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 7:50 pm

Rob thanks Voulton for finding his horse, and introduces himself to Kalar, something he has not had a chance to do formally yet.

"Gaspard seems to think that someone from the Inquisition is nosing around and getting ready to ask us questions." he says. "I love my country, but this foolish ban on magic has been chafing me my whole life. I would love to see it ended."

(Local knowledge check for Rob to recall everything he knows about Archbishop Azedarc of Ximes, and the Anti-magic Inquisition)

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:19 pm

Lynda laughs to herself on the inside.

"Just an admirer, nothing suspicious about that." Lynda thinks. "Although now I have to answer to looking like a flirt..."

Lynda smiles.

"A charming gesture, kind sir, but I must apologize for giving you the wrong idea. I mistook you for a fellow of mine. I must be off once more."

And with that Lynda walks off, trying to cover her embarrassment. She goes and seeks out Rob.

"I heard that a man in white was staring at me. Turns out he was just an admirer, heh. So, what was Gaspard saying about the bishop?"

Gizmog · Post by **Gizmog** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:50 pm

Having returned the pony to its owner, and finding out what this stuff is ("Thanks for the help, hope you don't get into any trouble for it") Voulton will retire to a tavern and buy drinks for the townspeople, talking when necessary but mostly trying to listen to their stories. Been a long time since he's been around honest, hardworking people and he wants to get a better understanding of the basic living conditions here in Averoigne. If queried about magic he'll try to stick out of it ("Though back home it was heavily regulated, but what isn't? It's a powerful tool that's dangerous to the stability and well-being of any realm. If it weren't for uncontrolled, dangerous magics, I would still be safely at home! The city has ballistas, right? Nobody needs ballistas to protect their barn.")

EDIT: He's also going to try to conceal his wealth somewhat. The platinum coins are definitely staying hidden and he'll pull out just enough gold at a given time to pay what they need. Try to spread it out through the night.

Post by **Bob the Hamster** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:11 pm

Rob explains to Lynda.

"The Inquisition has banned magic since before I was born. The Clergy consider it to be an Evil Sin, no matter who you use it or why. It is punishable by death, allthough, in my own experience I know pleanty of people will turn a blind eye if you use just a little magic for obviously beneficial purposes."

"I have trained as an Arcane Bard for most of my life, but I have always pretended to be a Mundane Bard. I disguise my magic as sleight of hand and parlour tricks... and ventrilloquism" at this point Rob shoots a sharp glance at Stumpy, wondering why Voulton took off so quickly.

"Anyway, I had high hopes for Gaspard. He used to be a student of Nathaire, and he's not ignorant about magic. I had hoped that as he rose to power, he might oppose the Inquisition, but he seems to be afraid of them, even now. He thinks that Archbishop Azedarc is too powerful to question, or something like that."

"I have heard of a Pagan woman named Moriamis, who leads a band of Outlaws who practice magic freely in defiance of the Inquisition, but I don't know a great deal about them except what little I have learned from black-market Enchanted Weapons dealers..."

Rob draws his Rapier of Light Infliction, and shows it to Kalar.

"You seem to be the Magic expert of the party, can you tell me if I was scammed when I bought this thing? It is supposed to invoke a spell called 'Inflict Light Wounds' every time I stab a foe with it, but it hardly seemed to scratch the the Colosus. Perhaps the Light wounds are just too light?"

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:54 pm

"Interesting." Lynda says.

"On our travels, before we met you, we encountered Moriamis. Her band of pagans attacked us, but they're magic is pretty pitiful and small time. So, we drove them off and took some hostage. Moriamis came to us to try and reclaim them. We got to talking, she simultaneously killed and resurrected Kalar, and now we have access to her hideaway. Her hideaway slows the passage of time while you're in there. She's a bizarre sort, y'know. Thankfully, she was friendly. She can brew time, as can Azedarc and Jehan, apparently. However, she said that Azedarc was evil, as well as his 'lackey', Jehan."

"Before we got here as well, we met a seductress named Sephora, whom we got the sword from. We had to fulfill a task for her to get it though, which meant travelling back in to the past. When we arrived back, we found her desiccated, lifeless corpse on the throne she once sat on, along with the sword. I really, really don't understand how that happened, nor who she quite was, or why she was still alive after she was supposedly dead."

She then turns to Kalar.

"Kalar, could you identify my stuff please? Seeing as how you got the sword and I can remove my amulet."

She then removes her amulet.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:04 am

Lynda is surprised to see that she doesn't flux into an incorporeal state right away. Moments later, she does though. In her infinite curiosity, she attempted to flux herself and found she was able to control it.
The small crowd gasped. They pointed and murmured as Lynda became ghostly. Rob saw the man in white peering from a distance away and hinted at the others to look towards him. The man had called over another man with a similar uniform. This man's uniform was slightly different, with gold trim on his clothing and a symbol on his chest that Rob knew to be the Archbishop's symbol.
Lynda and Kalar saw the two men and studied them carefully. Kalar and Lynda were almost floored. Around the man in the gold trimmed uniform's neck was an amulet that looked exactly like Lynda's.

BMR · Post by **BMR** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:31 am

"Ah. I see. Well, undead are fueled by negative energy, so while that sword would do wonders against the living, each time you hit the colossus with that, you were in fact repairing damage done to it as that sword will also send negative energy into its target."

Kalar is about to stop Lynda, but fails to do so as she removes the amulet. He groans inwardly, wondering how they are possibly going to be able to get out of this.

Kalar readies his Enthrall spell in his mind, in case he isn't able to talk his way out of things.

"Quick! One of those items must have been cursed by the evil Nathaire! Put your amulet back on to shield yourself from his evil magics!"

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:01 am

Lynda curses to herself. In all the festivities and flirting, she had forgotten that people would act out if they saw her ghostly. Quick, play something up! Kalar gave a line...er...uh...

Lynda looks at herself and gasps dramatically.

"How could this have ever happened!" Lynda says. "What horror!"
Lynda puts on her amulet quickly.

"Oh Kalar!" Lynda says, distraught. "I should've known better! He warned me of this, but I didn't possibly think it would be like this! How foolish I was..."

Lynda has no idea who she is referring to, but she's trying to play up the distressed image. She grabs Rob by the shoulder, and dramatically puts her hand to her chest, if not to act, but to protect her amulet from the men in white...

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:17 am

The two men in white notice they have been discovered and leave.
Meanwhile, the festivities continue. Voulton begins drinking everyone under the table all the while buying everyone drinks.

Also, Kalar feels Bill absent from control.

BMR · Post by **BMR** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:27 am

Blast it...

"Go on ahead Lynda, I'm going to regroup with Hrulgin. Something about those men in white puts me on edge and I'd rather we be ready for escape. As soon as you can, get the wagon ready to depart."

Kalar heads off for the woods to meet up with Hrulgin and to find out what happened to Bill. He keeps a spell ready to go, just in case.

Should he be attacked by an out of control Bill, Kalar has Summon Undead III ready to go.

Gizmog · Post by **Gizmog** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:29 am

"Why do they even make the damn short handled ones? Even for cuttin off the awkward parts or splitting logs, the long handled gives you more control, more power. I tried one of them hatchets once... couldn't steer it at all! Almost cut off my knees!" Voulton chimes in to the assembled masses. He shakes his head at the few passed-out patrons. "They must be fishermen, bored from all this wood talk. What is the fishing like around here anyway?"

EDIT: And the beer, it keeps a-comin'.

Spoonweaver · Post by **Spoonweaver** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:41 am

Kalar found Hrulgin who told him Bill suddenly left. He thought Kalar had called him. Bill was no where to be found.

Master K · Post by **Master K** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:52 am

"I think we need to get out of here. Fast." Lynda says.

"You saw the mans amulet? It matched mine. That is a whole new concern for us...or an opportunity. Perhaps with this amulet, I could disguise as one of them...I wonder, would it be believable? ...Would there be any foreigners among the inquisitors? The only foreign races around here came from the castle. I remember that Tammy, Rachelle and I had troubles with our appearance when we first got here..."