Xanesha the Lamia Noble & Scarecrow destroyed with aid of Sir Jereth Rogare. PCs are invited to a grand ball at the Lord Mayor's mansion. Hellknights destroy Cult of Norgorber,but Hellknight Signifer mind-blasted when he attempts to reverse scry via Xanesha's Sihedreon medallion.
1/11/4712: Contact with the Black Arrow Rangers at Fort Rannick has been lost. Magnimar suspects ogre activity - the Pathfinders have their own suspicions... Sheila suggests heading that way might help reveal the location of the next Sihedron Shard.
Quillax's Account
Journal
Jarrick expressed a great concern that the Tower will fall if we get into a fight inside it. Neril and Elwin volunteered to convince all the inhabitants within about 200 feet in all directions to be elsewhere for some hours while we investigate. They agreed to meet up with us after they had completed their task.
I carried Jarrick up the Tower in one of my forms while Sepheria cast Fly on herself and Rogare and they flew to the top.
As soon as we reached the landing, Rogare charged in and attacked, catching the Lamia off-guard and not wearing the Medusa mask. Sepheria cast Mirror Image so there seemed to suddenly be four of her and used the Guisarme to shock the Lamia with a lightning bolt.
Jarrick cast Vow of Indemnity whereas I was unable to catch the Lamia in a web. Rogare landed another series of strong blows, Sepheria followed that up with Scorching Ray, Jarrick attacked and landed most of his strikes.
The Lamia muttered a spell and vanished - none of us were able to spot her. Sepheria cast Web on a large chunk of the room but it remained undisturbed. Deciding to block her in, I spread my body out in the door way. I sensed her a moment before she bull rushed into my thorax, knocking me off the scaffolding. Luckily, I was able to land on the level below - only about 20 feet from where I fell.
By the time I righted myself and was able to look around, the Lamia was another level below me, 40 feet from where we started and Rogare was already giving chase.
Sepheria leaned over the broken railing, targeted the Lamia and struck her with another Scorching Ray. The Lamia slipped from the roof and fell to her death.
As I leaned over to see if she had survived, which seemed unlikely considering the height, the scaffolding gave way under my weight and I fell another 30 feet before I managed to catch myself again, now about a quarter of the way down the tower.
I did not want the Golem "Pumpkin Head" to get his hands on that Medusa Mask, so I quickly descended down the outside of the Tower and snatched up what I could from the Lamia, including the Mask, the Sehedron Medallion, a key chain, and her weapon "The Impaler of Thorns". Wrapping it up in a little web, I quickly scaled back to the top to lay out the bounty before the rest of the group.
The others had been busy in my absence: Jarrick cracking open some of the chests and Sepheria sorting through papers. The keys unlocked the chests Jarrick had not opened and we collected all the contents that we could make use of and threw the contents of a chest - a lot of copper coins - off the side of the Tower for the local residents to collect and make use of. The fact that no one appeared to collect them immediately showed that Neril and Elwin had successfully cleared the nearby area.
We had a short rest then I carried Rogare while the other two Misty Stepped across the dangerous and broken stairs to the Bell level where we knew at least 3 Faceless Stalkers might be residing. There turned out to be 4 of them and they appeared to be in conference atop one of the bells.
Rogare entered the room first and I followed, climbing up onto the rafters that supported the bells and arranged myself atop one where I would be safe enough but also draw attention away from the others.
One of the Stalkers moved to attack me. Sepheria cast Hypnotic Pattern which ensnared all but one of them. Jarrick moved down the stairs to get a better shot with his crossbow and was able to shoot the one not caught in Sepheria's spell. That Stalker shook awake another, breaking the spell, and the newly awoken one went after Jarrick, striking him.
Rogare moved in to help Jarrick, whilst I webbed the other non-bespelled one in hopes of keeping it from waking the others. Sepheria followed up my web with Tasha's Hideous Laughter, which I personally found vastly amusing to watch it fall prone with uncontrollable laughter. Jarrick killed the Stalker that attacked him with his knife and I tipped the one beside me off the beam, watching it fall the approximately 140 feet to the ground. Surprisingly, it did not die. Rogare and Sepheria both started down the stairs, unable to do much more as the stairs were unstable and they could not reach the remaining Stalkers.
Sepheria moved forwards while Jarrick reminded Rogare that he was wearing my Feather Fall ring and if he wanted to get to the bottom quickly, he could simply jump. Rogare did and as he approached the ground, drifted towards the Pumpkin Head as it appeared below us, landing a solid strike before his feet hit the ground.
I tipped another Stalker off the beam, watching it hit the ground. This one also did not die, unfortunately. Sepheria continued down the stairs and was soon followed by Jarrick. I could see Rogare engaged in a fight with the golem and one of the Stalkers. Sepheria attacks the Stalker as soon as she was within range, giving Rogare room to kill the Stalker and focus back on the Golem.
Earlier, Jarrick had mentioned that he had hoped to cut the trap bell free and arrange it to land on an enemy if possible. I had the opportunity as my party was at a safe enough distance and there was a Stalker directly below me. It squished the Stalker as it slammed into the ground with enough force to split in half.
The Stalker remaining, after failing to land a blow, turned and ran. I secured a web and descended as quickly as I could.
Sepheria attacks with a knife, while Jarrick casts Bane. Finally, Rogare kills the Golem. I swung and landed on the retreating Stalker, knocking it prone. It stabs me but Sepheria hurried over and struck it down. I ensured it was dead and as there were no more enemies, I resumed human form for our walk outside of the Tower to try to find the rest of our team.
Rogare revealed that the Hellknights had gotten Clerics in to talk to the Spirits at the Saw Mill and were able to find out some information which he was going to report to the Mayor.
[2825xp]
The Hellknights did report to the Mayor. Sheila later told us that they rounded up 26 Cultists to put on trial - perhaps not all of them but enough to break the Cult's hold on the City for the moment. We were invited to the Lord Mayor's home for a ball where we were awarded hero of Magnimar tokens, shaped like little angels. The Church of Abadar rewarded us for our success and the Hellknights wrote a nice letter to Sheila requesting further cooperation in the future.
While we were investigating where to go next, I took the time to arrange for Clank to be improved. Word came to us that the heads of the Scarnetti family in Magnimar were recruiting mercenaries - the Black Dogs - to clear out Sandpoint. These mercs are known to be frontier fighters and Shounti fighters.
The Scarnetti family in Magnimar contains Titus (cousin of Greydon in Sandpoint) and his mother Attilia (?), amongst others.
There was a request for us to investigate Storval Rise where they had lost contact with Fort Rannick, which gave credence to the Lamia's letter. The area is known for human-eating ogres. We would need to go by way of Turtleback Ferry, which is a frontier town also referenced in the letter.
Rogare sent word that the Signifor of the Hellknights had tried to reverse engineer the Sehedron's scrying charm and it drove him mad. He was said to have been babbling about Eyes, the Eye of Oblivion, Leng (a known alternate universe) and gems. It was feared he had made contact with a RuneLord.
We started preparing our packs for travel to Storval Rise.
[Quest completion of 1000xp for everyone]
[3489gp for each]
Sunday 23 October 2016
ep 28 Seven's Sawmill
Quillax's Account
We were breakfasting with Sheila in the Lodge when she mentioned there were interesting lectures being given, particularly by a self-named expert on the Runelord of Lust. Despite strong interest in the Pathfinder lecture and a desire to set the record straight in terms of the expertise of Runelord of Lust, Sepheria resisted the lure in the face of our investigative responsibilities.
Over breakfast, Sepheria mentioned that she had dreamed she was flying over a plateau and saw a light in the distance. In response, Sheila mentioned she had not yet worked out the next ritual but was still working on it. We checked with Sheila as to whether or not a Xanesha was currently in the Magnimar society. She was unknown to any of Sepheria's sister, who knew all of the high society people. With that possible clue currently at a standstill, we went back over our plans for the evening and prepared ourselves.
Elwin was called away on an emergency requirement for a Cleric. We left Clank in the Lodge with a note for him in case he was able to return quickly.
Following a hearty supper, we headed towards the Sawmill, aiming to arrive for around 9pm, hopefully between shifts. Unfortunately, we could hear the sawmill still working. Neril cast Pass Without A Trace and we moved with the intent to remain unseen until we were able to determine whether or not the SawMill was of any true interest. Neril climbed onto the roof of the warehouse nearest to the sawmill and was able to teleport onto the roof of the sawmill. Unfortunately, from what Sepheria mentioned by way of Moncey's eyes, Neril slipped, possibly on a bad tile, but managed not to fall. On his second attempt, he made it into the Rookery/DoveCote.
Sepheria told us that the Trapdoor suddenly swung open when Neril stepped inside the Cote but Moncey could see no-one but there were strange, horrible stretched faces pinned to the wall in the room below. An Elf attacked Neril, discarding the invisibility to do so. He shimmered with pre-casted spells.
I was later informed that the Elf was Justice IronBriar, the longest serving Justice in Magnimar. He was wearing what we learned was the Reaper's Mask, which is a skin saw mask that allows him to take different faces to cause confusion. It was a far more powerful Skin Saw Mask then the ones we had encountered before.
Sepheria grabbed Jarrick's arm, as previously discussed and prepared to teleport. As they disappeared, I took owl form and winged up after them.
It was here that he tried to cast Hold Person on Sepheria and Jarrick but she blocks it. IronBriar retreated downstairs into his bedroom while Jarrick gave chase, catching him in the act of unlocking the double doors. Jarrick struck him with his shield and knocked him down, laying on a Smite.
As I winged in, I could hear IronBriar shouting in Elven. Amongst the various threats were those to sacrifice him to Negorba, an evil god whose followers kill for sacrament and for fun. Sepheria followed Jarrick down and attacked IronBriar with her green flame blade.
The Elf called out for reinforcements and tried to summon something but Sepheria cancelled it. He tried again with a confusion attack. Jarrick struggled to control himself but struck out at her before shaking off the confusion.
In that confusion, IronBriar made it out the door and ran around the corner. The door revealed some other cultists wielding war razors and skin saw masks.
Neril jumped down into the bedroom and teleported around the cultist minions, engaging IronBriar again. Other cultists appear from downstairs and surround Neril, hurting him. Before we could get to him, a cultist dropped his weapons and yanked the bedroom doors closed, holding them shut. I leapt down and cast Heat Metal on the door handles but it wasn't enough to get the cultist to release the doors. It took Jarrick to force the doors open while Neril dodged spells. Sepheria ran into the room, followed by Jarrick, who was tripped but managed to get to his feet quickly.
Neril was able to stun IronBriar before he teleported away and ducked into the bedroom to catch his breath. As he joined me in the room, he kicked the war razor away from the cultist with the singed hands, who tried to grab it but failed and then retreated across the room.
The cultists moved to attack, two aiming for Jarrick and one for Sepheria.
Hearing more cultists coming up from below, I cast a Flaming Sphere at the top of the stairs without thinking. There was a reason that Sepheria decided against any of her fire spells. My Flaming Sphere caught the saw dust floating in the air and exploded. It killed one cultist and damaged everyone nearby as well as setting the room on fire.
Sepheria attacked with her meteor spell and managed to strike down IronBriar and another cultist. This was a turning point for us. Jarrick took down a cultist and then Neril took one down. He grabbed IronBriar's body and carried him into the bedroom in case he had evidence on him.
The cultists below decided to run as did the ones previously fighting us. I gave chase with my Sphere. Sepheria followed shouting threats.
While I and Sepheria gave chase down the stairs, Neril took the direct route and jumped down a void, landing on a cultist and killing him.
While we were giving chase, Jarrick decided to look for proof especially as the top floor was rapidly being covered with fire. He ducked into the bedroom where IronBriar's body was, checking it for evidence as well as grabbing some of the faces off the walls for further evidence. He then checked the side rooms but those turned up empty. From there, he climbed back up to the Dove Cote/Rookery and grabbed one rook and released the other two. He then Misty Stepped out onto the room, then to the warehouse where Neril had started, managing to get down and maintain his grip on the rook. He then returned back to the saw mill to assist us.
Of the four cultists left, all four ran. Neril gave chase and blocked their escape path. Sepheria slipped around me and between she and Neril, they took out two cultists. I took out one they had nearly finished off before Neril killed the last just as he opened the door and revealed 3 more cultists coming up from below. Neril teleported back and warned us. Sepheria ran forward and released another meteor.
I changed into a Boar shape and charged after her, skidding around the corner to gut the front cultist. The other two decide to take their chances in the water, which turned out to be a very bad idea as they got caught up in the water wheels.
The building, now very much on fire, prompted us to pull back, concerned for Jarrick, who popped up as we were discussing how to get back up and find him.
The fire crew appeared shortly after and Sepheria took control of the conversation, informing him it was a cultist stronghold. She found out that IronBriar had been in charge of the cultist investigations, which explains why nothing was ever found. She told them to search the building thoroughly for clues once the fire had been contained. The Captain volunteered to get Clerics in to speak to the dead.
I spoke to the Rook who revealed that the birds were sent to the Clock Tower in UnderBridge. There were 2 leggers, but not humans there. One apparently had a pumpkin head and one was a snake lady – the rook thought she was in charge. Some more discussion, in trade for seed and jerky revealed the Clock Tower to be due North and most likely to be the 'Shadow Clock Tower', an abandoned and decrepit set of ruins with the clock set permanently at 3. We released the Rook and it flew north.
We returned to the Lodge to wash off the smell of fire and regroup.
[xp 2887]
We met with Rogare the next day. Sepheria explained about IronBriar and in exchange the Hellknight offered the information that – as we already expected – all the murdered individuals were linked to Greed. He also informed us that a Gambler had gone missing but no body had been found.
We decided to invite the Hellknight to the ClockTower; he agreed to join us.
We traveled down to UnderBridge, settling into a pub that LeRizzle had spoken to me about; after speaking his name, the Landlord welcomed us.
While Sepheria settled in to try out a new spying spell with myself and Neril standing as her guard, Rogare tried to talk to the pub's occupants. He was making no headway until Jarrick stepped in. Then we were told of the sightings of a snake-like shape on top of the clock tower – snake-like being something large with a snakey tail. We were also told about the being twice the size of man having been seen around the bottom of the Tower. They thought it was probably "The ScareCrow" a pumpkin headed killer that wielded a scythe. This large creature had been known to haunt the area for some time, much longer than the couple of months of the snake-like sightings. But this ScareCrow was also considered a myth to some degree.
Hearing Sepheria muttering softly, I crouched down beside her and listened. She spoke of a boudoir, and something coiled up in the corner. From her description, I recognized it as a Lamia Noble. I was familiar with the legends of Lamia Nobles, creatures who served Karzoug, RuneLord of Greed. They were known to prey upon the human chattel and delighted in using seductive techniques to charm people, most likely to their doom.
Sepheria described a mask, golden and pointed, which she mentioned was the Legendary Medusa Mask, which can change people into stone. It's known to be able to do this once a day and the central gemstone emits a pale green light as part of the attack.
The Lamia Noble was reading a note, which Sepheria recites aloud. I have recorded it on another page, but she mentioned three most interesting points: Turtleback Ferry, Fort Rannick, and the lord-mayor as a prime target.
Below the Lamia's floor is a rookery, with three ravens. Two appear to be slightly singed and probably from the sawmill, the third seems new.
Below the Rookery is a bell chamber. She could see 3 faceless stalkers hiding the corners and the bells being held by ropes and rusted chains. The rope on the South East bell has been sawed through, probably rigged as a trap.
Each floor below the bell chamber is open with a weak and partially destroyed staircase winding around the outside against the stone walls.
There are six doors on the ground floor, excluding the exit. They seem to be empty. She sends her spells back around, looking for the pumpkin headed creature and other hidden beasts. Just as her spell is about to run out, she finally spots the ScareCrow returning.
His head is not a pumpkin but some idiot's head that drools. But it is swollen and engorged, looking much like a pumpkin from a distance. His body is partially made of animal parts – cow and horse – and he dresses in filth covered rags. There are more pumpkin like things upon his belt, which turn out to be heads. She murmurs that he moves like he has intelligence. He closes the door behind him with care and checks the area carefully, like he is searching. For all he is put together from pieces, he seems to display very unusual behaviour for a construct.
While Sepheria recovers herself we discuss our plan.
[extra xp ??]
--- Not for the Journal but to refresh our memories for the next game ---
We decide to tackle the Lamia first and leave the Construct for last as he will be strong. We also don't want to be struck by the falling bell trap. Sepheria will fly with Rogare up to the top. I will take Giant Spider form and climb the outside of the building, leaving a non-sticky web-ladder for the others to climb; I will disengage it when we get to the top to ensure the Construct cannot climb it. We will expect the faceless stalkers to come up and attack if we make too much noise in the Lamia room, but perhaps I can web the doors closed to slow them.
We were breakfasting with Sheila in the Lodge when she mentioned there were interesting lectures being given, particularly by a self-named expert on the Runelord of Lust. Despite strong interest in the Pathfinder lecture and a desire to set the record straight in terms of the expertise of Runelord of Lust, Sepheria resisted the lure in the face of our investigative responsibilities.
Over breakfast, Sepheria mentioned that she had dreamed she was flying over a plateau and saw a light in the distance. In response, Sheila mentioned she had not yet worked out the next ritual but was still working on it. We checked with Sheila as to whether or not a Xanesha was currently in the Magnimar society. She was unknown to any of Sepheria's sister, who knew all of the high society people. With that possible clue currently at a standstill, we went back over our plans for the evening and prepared ourselves.
Elwin was called away on an emergency requirement for a Cleric. We left Clank in the Lodge with a note for him in case he was able to return quickly.
Following a hearty supper, we headed towards the Sawmill, aiming to arrive for around 9pm, hopefully between shifts. Unfortunately, we could hear the sawmill still working. Neril cast Pass Without A Trace and we moved with the intent to remain unseen until we were able to determine whether or not the SawMill was of any true interest. Neril climbed onto the roof of the warehouse nearest to the sawmill and was able to teleport onto the roof of the sawmill. Unfortunately, from what Sepheria mentioned by way of Moncey's eyes, Neril slipped, possibly on a bad tile, but managed not to fall. On his second attempt, he made it into the Rookery/DoveCote.
Sepheria told us that the Trapdoor suddenly swung open when Neril stepped inside the Cote but Moncey could see no-one but there were strange, horrible stretched faces pinned to the wall in the room below. An Elf attacked Neril, discarding the invisibility to do so. He shimmered with pre-casted spells.
I was later informed that the Elf was Justice IronBriar, the longest serving Justice in Magnimar. He was wearing what we learned was the Reaper's Mask, which is a skin saw mask that allows him to take different faces to cause confusion. It was a far more powerful Skin Saw Mask then the ones we had encountered before.
Sepheria grabbed Jarrick's arm, as previously discussed and prepared to teleport. As they disappeared, I took owl form and winged up after them.
It was here that he tried to cast Hold Person on Sepheria and Jarrick but she blocks it. IronBriar retreated downstairs into his bedroom while Jarrick gave chase, catching him in the act of unlocking the double doors. Jarrick struck him with his shield and knocked him down, laying on a Smite.
As I winged in, I could hear IronBriar shouting in Elven. Amongst the various threats were those to sacrifice him to Negorba, an evil god whose followers kill for sacrament and for fun. Sepheria followed Jarrick down and attacked IronBriar with her green flame blade.
The Elf called out for reinforcements and tried to summon something but Sepheria cancelled it. He tried again with a confusion attack. Jarrick struggled to control himself but struck out at her before shaking off the confusion.
In that confusion, IronBriar made it out the door and ran around the corner. The door revealed some other cultists wielding war razors and skin saw masks.
Neril jumped down into the bedroom and teleported around the cultist minions, engaging IronBriar again. Other cultists appear from downstairs and surround Neril, hurting him. Before we could get to him, a cultist dropped his weapons and yanked the bedroom doors closed, holding them shut. I leapt down and cast Heat Metal on the door handles but it wasn't enough to get the cultist to release the doors. It took Jarrick to force the doors open while Neril dodged spells. Sepheria ran into the room, followed by Jarrick, who was tripped but managed to get to his feet quickly.
Neril was able to stun IronBriar before he teleported away and ducked into the bedroom to catch his breath. As he joined me in the room, he kicked the war razor away from the cultist with the singed hands, who tried to grab it but failed and then retreated across the room.
The cultists moved to attack, two aiming for Jarrick and one for Sepheria.
Hearing more cultists coming up from below, I cast a Flaming Sphere at the top of the stairs without thinking. There was a reason that Sepheria decided against any of her fire spells. My Flaming Sphere caught the saw dust floating in the air and exploded. It killed one cultist and damaged everyone nearby as well as setting the room on fire.
Sepheria attacked with her meteor spell and managed to strike down IronBriar and another cultist. This was a turning point for us. Jarrick took down a cultist and then Neril took one down. He grabbed IronBriar's body and carried him into the bedroom in case he had evidence on him.
The cultists below decided to run as did the ones previously fighting us. I gave chase with my Sphere. Sepheria followed shouting threats.
While I and Sepheria gave chase down the stairs, Neril took the direct route and jumped down a void, landing on a cultist and killing him.
While we were giving chase, Jarrick decided to look for proof especially as the top floor was rapidly being covered with fire. He ducked into the bedroom where IronBriar's body was, checking it for evidence as well as grabbing some of the faces off the walls for further evidence. He then checked the side rooms but those turned up empty. From there, he climbed back up to the Dove Cote/Rookery and grabbed one rook and released the other two. He then Misty Stepped out onto the room, then to the warehouse where Neril had started, managing to get down and maintain his grip on the rook. He then returned back to the saw mill to assist us.
Of the four cultists left, all four ran. Neril gave chase and blocked their escape path. Sepheria slipped around me and between she and Neril, they took out two cultists. I took out one they had nearly finished off before Neril killed the last just as he opened the door and revealed 3 more cultists coming up from below. Neril teleported back and warned us. Sepheria ran forward and released another meteor.
I changed into a Boar shape and charged after her, skidding around the corner to gut the front cultist. The other two decide to take their chances in the water, which turned out to be a very bad idea as they got caught up in the water wheels.
The building, now very much on fire, prompted us to pull back, concerned for Jarrick, who popped up as we were discussing how to get back up and find him.
The fire crew appeared shortly after and Sepheria took control of the conversation, informing him it was a cultist stronghold. She found out that IronBriar had been in charge of the cultist investigations, which explains why nothing was ever found. She told them to search the building thoroughly for clues once the fire had been contained. The Captain volunteered to get Clerics in to speak to the dead.
I spoke to the Rook who revealed that the birds were sent to the Clock Tower in UnderBridge. There were 2 leggers, but not humans there. One apparently had a pumpkin head and one was a snake lady – the rook thought she was in charge. Some more discussion, in trade for seed and jerky revealed the Clock Tower to be due North and most likely to be the 'Shadow Clock Tower', an abandoned and decrepit set of ruins with the clock set permanently at 3. We released the Rook and it flew north.
We returned to the Lodge to wash off the smell of fire and regroup.
[xp 2887]
We met with Rogare the next day. Sepheria explained about IronBriar and in exchange the Hellknight offered the information that – as we already expected – all the murdered individuals were linked to Greed. He also informed us that a Gambler had gone missing but no body had been found.
We decided to invite the Hellknight to the ClockTower; he agreed to join us.
We traveled down to UnderBridge, settling into a pub that LeRizzle had spoken to me about; after speaking his name, the Landlord welcomed us.
While Sepheria settled in to try out a new spying spell with myself and Neril standing as her guard, Rogare tried to talk to the pub's occupants. He was making no headway until Jarrick stepped in. Then we were told of the sightings of a snake-like shape on top of the clock tower – snake-like being something large with a snakey tail. We were also told about the being twice the size of man having been seen around the bottom of the Tower. They thought it was probably "The ScareCrow" a pumpkin headed killer that wielded a scythe. This large creature had been known to haunt the area for some time, much longer than the couple of months of the snake-like sightings. But this ScareCrow was also considered a myth to some degree.
Hearing Sepheria muttering softly, I crouched down beside her and listened. She spoke of a boudoir, and something coiled up in the corner. From her description, I recognized it as a Lamia Noble. I was familiar with the legends of Lamia Nobles, creatures who served Karzoug, RuneLord of Greed. They were known to prey upon the human chattel and delighted in using seductive techniques to charm people, most likely to their doom.
Sepheria described a mask, golden and pointed, which she mentioned was the Legendary Medusa Mask, which can change people into stone. It's known to be able to do this once a day and the central gemstone emits a pale green light as part of the attack.
The Lamia Noble was reading a note, which Sepheria recites aloud. I have recorded it on another page, but she mentioned three most interesting points: Turtleback Ferry, Fort Rannick, and the lord-mayor as a prime target.
Below the Lamia's floor is a rookery, with three ravens. Two appear to be slightly singed and probably from the sawmill, the third seems new.
Below the Rookery is a bell chamber. She could see 3 faceless stalkers hiding the corners and the bells being held by ropes and rusted chains. The rope on the South East bell has been sawed through, probably rigged as a trap.
Each floor below the bell chamber is open with a weak and partially destroyed staircase winding around the outside against the stone walls.
There are six doors on the ground floor, excluding the exit. They seem to be empty. She sends her spells back around, looking for the pumpkin headed creature and other hidden beasts. Just as her spell is about to run out, she finally spots the ScareCrow returning.
His head is not a pumpkin but some idiot's head that drools. But it is swollen and engorged, looking much like a pumpkin from a distance. His body is partially made of animal parts – cow and horse – and he dresses in filth covered rags. There are more pumpkin like things upon his belt, which turn out to be heads. She murmurs that he moves like he has intelligence. He closes the door behind him with care and checks the area carefully, like he is searching. For all he is put together from pieces, he seems to display very unusual behaviour for a construct.
While Sepheria recovers herself we discuss our plan.
[extra xp ??]
--- Not for the Journal but to refresh our memories for the next game ---
We decide to tackle the Lamia first and leave the Construct for last as he will be strong. We also don't want to be struck by the falling bell trap. Sepheria will fly with Rogare up to the top. I will take Giant Spider form and climb the outside of the building, leaving a non-sticky web-ladder for the others to climb; I will disengage it when we get to the top to ensure the Construct cannot climb it. We will expect the faceless stalkers to come up and attack if we make too much noise in the Lamia room, but perhaps I can web the doors closed to slow them.
Monday 10 October 2016
ep 27 To 10/8/4712 Return to Magnimar
Quillax keeps Lucia Scarnetti alive and delivers a healthy baby boy. Group returns to Magnimar, shopping, investigate two recent murders of wealthy & greedy persons, meet the Hell Knight Sir Jereth Rogare, defeat two Faceless Stalkers in Foxglove manor and learn of the 'Brotherhood of the Seven' and the Seven's Saw Mill.
Quillax's Account
Journal
After a troublesome labour, Lady Scarnetti gave birth to a healthy baby boy; both mother and child were doing very well when I left.
Upon our return to Magnimar, we heard of the death of Tolfas, a man who ran a gambling den frequented by the Mayor. It was rumoured that he was killed in a ritualistic manner.
While we were waiting for Clank to be repaired, we began to investigate the rumours. Speaking to the guard at Arvensaw Tower, the place I'm told crimes are reported, we were told that Commander Odenberg was very concerned as Tolfas was found on his dining room table with a zehedron carved into his chest. We were also told of the Merchant Caier 'the Miserly', who traded in silk and ivory. She was also found dead with the run carved into her chest.
The Mayor was so upset by the crimes and the lack of progress by the guard that he involved the local branch of Hellknights to investigate; we were told Sir Jareth Rogare was in charge of investigating.
We rounded up most of the party to go speak to that Hellknight at their Bastion while Jarrick decided to sit out the meeting. We left Sepheria in charge of verbally sparring with the Hellknight, given her training in the Courts she was best placed to get the most with giving away the least.
From him we found out that the servants were unaware of the murders happening until the bodies were found. There was no sign of forced entry but that doesn't rule out the locks being picked. The injuries appeared to be made by a war razor.
Whilst Sepheria was dancing through courtly speak with the Hellknight, Jarrick donned his scarf of disguise to keep an eye on Foxglove Manor. It appears to not have been lived in for some months, especially as the bottom windows were boarded up. He spoke to some neighbors who said that no one had been there for at least a year.
Having left the Hellknight Bastion, we bumped into Jarrick and planned to investigate the Foxglove TownHouse the following day after Clank had been repaired and Sepheria's sword had been completed. We planned to enter when the street quiets enough for us to slip inside unseen. As we have the keys, it is technically not breaking and entering and Aisha's spirit had told us there was something of importance within the house.
A touch of Major Illusion allowed us to spend the time figuring out which key we needed to enter (it turned out to be the Opal key), without drawing attention to ourselves. We stepped inside and much to our surprise, we came face to face with Aisha Foxglove. She called out for Aldan. Something seemed wrong with her face, like it had been painted on, and when Sepheria challenged her identity, the Foxgloves' faces seemed to melt off and we were faced with two aberrations: Faceless Stalkers.
Clank closed the door and held it shut while we fought. Each of the stalkers had a curved scythe-like blade covered with a green ichor that they dripped from their skin. It looked and smelled like something dangerous.
The fight, while in close quarters, quickly turned in our favour with minimal injuries on our side and death on the part of the Stalkers, one at Sepheria's blade and one at Jarrick's.
Notes on Faceless Stalkers for those who are not familiar:
- Aberrations able to mimic human faces in a Polymorph type of ability.
- They usually haunt desolate areas, like around Sandpoint.
- The hunt by luring travellers off the road or ambushing them.
- They are not normally found in cities - they don't like the crowds and while they can mimic human bodies, they don't understand the social niceties
::Supposition:: That someone set the Faceless Stalkers up in the house with Aldan's and Aisha's faces for a purpose. The aberrations had been in the house for about the same length of time that as Aldan (the real one) has been dead by our hands.
Once we were sure they were dead, we searched the house, looking for whatever Aisha knew was here. We found it in the fireplace - some coin and a container of important papers, including legal papers for the townhouse and manor, and a ledger that indicated that up until 3 months ago, when we believe Aldan had been transformed, he was paying for "Aisha's trip to Absolom" which considering it was 200gp weekly, delivered on Oathday to the sawmill on Kaiver's Islet, it was fairly obviously a payoff or bribe and was written in Aldan's hand.
Additionally, there is a note from a "Xenesha" who belongs to the Brotherhood of the Seven, to Aldan. She indicates that Aldan was harvesting Vorral's phage for them and that somewhere in the House was the answer to the ritual done to Aldan. She also states that they had compiled a list of victims for the Zehedron ritual and that the rune must be carved into the victim before death.
Just as we were going to investigate the backyard, Rogare approaches us. Over the course of the conversation, he mentioned that the Guards had found little over the course of their investigation but he and our group had already found so much more despite just starting. He infers that there may be someone within the Guard working against the investigation. The Lord Mayor had involved the Brotherhood due to the lack of progress by the Guard.
::Supposition:: The Brotherhood of the 7 have someone placed highly in the Guard to suppress the investigation by the Guard.
Further conversation reveals that the most powerful Lemashtu force he has heard of was 2 years ago. An elven priestess was involved with the cult, who were abducting people near Brewanwall. She killed 3 Hellknights for certain and the rest were hoped to be dead as alive would be a far worse fate. From what Rogare knew, the cult was no longer in that area but had moved South, towards the general direction of Magnimar but not near the city yet.
Rogare promises to share any more information with us and heads back towards his Bastion.
After some discussion, it is decided to quickly check out the sawmill. Moncey and I sweep around the building on silent wings, looking for clues, entrances, as well as a general layout. Neril follows behind to act as backup in case anything goes wrong while the others head back to Hidemarch Manor to await our return.
The sawmill appeared to be silent for the night as the wheels were stilled. There were some doubledoors leading into the side of the building (within a fenced courtyard) where wagons could deliver or pick up wood. There was a dovecote on top of the building with some messenger ravens and some papers on a spike as well as a trapdoor. A door on the other side of the building led down to the waterwheel level. There are no windows in the main body of the building.
Flying under the sawmill into the waterwheel level, we can see the mechanisms for the waterwheel to connect to the pistons along the southern wall that drive the sawblades. The levers which would stop the wheels in an emergency are rusted in place.
While I'm looking around, some people come in and start hooking up the wheels to the mechanisms to start them again. This is particularly bizarre as it's around 11 at night. No sawmills ever willingly run night shifts, its too dangerous as even with nightvision, it's easy to lose a hand or a life. And this is a sawmill that runs only periodically anyway, so why would they be sawing in the middle of the night.
I lead Moncey back to Neril and we all return to the Lodge to discuss our findings and plan how to continue.
Some other information that the others found in our absence is that the Mill has been called the 7 sawmill coloquilly as it is owned by 7 aristocrats and that in all the years since it was built (a little over 100), it has never changed hands.
At some point, We need to find out who the 7 aristocratic families are, and if there is a "Xenesha" amongst them.
[xp = 1000]
Non-Journal Extra Notes:
- Karzoug, Rune Lord of Greed
- Graydon Scarnetti's house (cousin to the Scarnetti we met), in the Alabaster district, not far from Hidemarch Manor and the Pathfinders' Lodge.
- Hellknights primarily fight against Chaos - they are rumoured to be in league with devils but they kill devils. They only ally with devils to fight against a bigger cause of Chaos. In order to join the Hellknights, you must have killed a devil in single combat. The "Bastion" or chapterhouse of the Hellknights is in the Naos district.
- Jareth Rogare, part of the Order of the Nail. Rumoured to have briefly wandered off with a lawful neutral paladin of Adabar by the name of Sayeen.
- Foxglove Townhouse is just outside the Alabaster district in the Naos district near the StarSilver Plaza. It is nearer to the Pathfinders' Lodge then the Hellknight's Bastion.
Thursday 6 October 2016
Magnimar Major NPCs & the Sihedron Council
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| Paralictor Jereth Rogare, Order of the Nail |
Governance & Military
Lord Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras
Arvensoar Commander/military commander Ismeir Odinson
City Watch Captain Acacia Uriana
Fort Indros Commander Vannos Wynmerd (dwarf)
Paralictor Sir Jereth Rogare, Hellknight of the Nail Commander, Magnimar
Arcane (casting level 5+ spells)
Master Thoth Bhreacher of Golemworks Wiz-15
Leis Nivlandis, Master of the Stone of the Seers Divination School Wiz-11
Zimandi Kaddren of House Kaddren Wiz-9
Clerical (casting level 5+ spells)
Yukiko of Irori, Masked Abbess of Windsong Abbey Clr-16
Proctor Jyronn Imikar of Abadar Clr-13
Bevaluu Zimantiu of Desna Clr-10
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| Sheila Heidmarch |
1. Lord Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras
2. Arvensoar Commander/military commander Ismeir Odinson
3. Pathfinder Venture Captain Sheila Heidmarch
4. Proctor Jyronn Imikar, High Priest of Abadar
5. Golemworks Master Thoth Bhreacher
6. Paralictor Sir Jereth Rogare, Hellknight of the Nail Commander
7. Lady Warden Quillax of Jorgenfist
PATHFINDERS
Venture Captain Sheila Heidmarch lvl 9 Ftr-3 (Battlemaster) /Mnk-6 (Kensai)
Sir Canayven Heidmarch Rgr-9
Brodert Quink, a Sage, and expert on Ancient Thassilon
Lady Warden Quillax of Jorgenfist (PC) Drd-20
Koriah Azmeren Rgr-12
Sheila introduces the newbs: "Jilla Kallent, Cleric of Saranrae, and Shukura, War Priestess of Osirion. The Fighter Kaern, Ranger Elmo, Fulnok the Rogue, Afrafa the Monk, and Narcissa the Warlock."
Shukura - War Priest, VGM pg. 218
Narcissa - Warlock of the Fiend, VGM pg. 219
Elmo - Monster Hunter (below)
Ranger Elmo, Monster Hunter, Level 8
- Armor Class 16/20 (+1 studded armor, +2 shield)
- Hit Points 68 hp 12+56
- HD 8 (d10+2)
- Speed 30 ft.
- Skills Investigation +5, Nature +5, Perception +6, Survival +6
- Senses passive Perception 16
- Languages Common, Giant
- PB +3
Actions
Reactions
Lost in Belkzen-Gastash
The Pathfinders Ezren the Mage & Harsk the Dwarf were believed lost in battle with Runelord Zutha of Gastash & his forces, M8 4719 AR.
The Pathfinders Kyra & Merisiel were lost at the Battle of the Black Pylon, M1 4720 AR.
Lost at the Pinnacle of Avarice
The Pathfinders Lord Warden Claw, Seoni the Sorceress, Valeros the Fighter, the Paladin Seelah, and the Barbarian Amiri, were lost fighting the forces of Runelord Karzoug at the Pinnacle of Avarice, M3 4720 AR.
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| Thoth Bhreacher |
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| Jyronn Imikar |
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| Sir Canayven Heidmarch |
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| Koriah Azmeren |
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| Sheila Heidmarch, PathfinderVenture Captain |
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| Pathfinders! |
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Sunday 2 October 2016
ep 26 26/7/4712 Iesha Foxglove freed, Nualia destroyed
Finish exploring the Misgivings; Iesha Foxglove's soul is freed to pass on to the Boneyard of Pharasma in the Great Beyond. Returning that evening the group encounter a Varisian family who warn them Bob Teshki's farm has been attacked, Vanessa taken - by Nualia. Group catches the miscreants at the bridge over Cougar Creek. A burly cultist escapes with Vanessa, but the group wipes out Nualia (who briefly kills Neril) and 11 of her Lamashtu cult fanatics, killing 3 yeth hounds while 1 fades away on Nualia's demise. They take her head.
Quillax's Account
Journal
We chose to the take the less travelled looking stairs, through upon reaching to top of the winding staircase, we could see the other staircase met the floor beside this one. Neril announced he could hear a woman crying somewhere above us, but he could not tell if it was a haunt or a real being.
We opened the first door to the right. It was a bedroom, one that obviously belonged to someone of wealth but also of small stature by the size of the furniture – most probably a child. Neril murmured about hearing faint sobbing, high pitched, but he couldn't tell if it was the same crying as before.
He stepped inside and froze, before he turned to Sepheria and spoke in a childish-lilt, “Mummy, Daddy, stop fighting”. Moments later he shook his head and spoke in his normal voice of the haunt that had briefly possessed him. It was a child-form of Aldan Foxglove, who saw grutesque forms of his parents (Cyralie and Travor) trying to kill each other.
Looking around the child's room, the name “Sendeli” was written on the toybox.
Side Note: From what we know, we can assume that Travor caught Vorral's phage. We also are aware of two other daughters, who may yet still be alive, although of this we have no proof.
We moved on to the next room, which had an alcove containing five stained-glass windows. It was determined that these windows represented classic necromantic spell components.
From the left to the right: Scorpion (poison), a gaunt man with bats hanging from his arms (vampire breath), a moth will a skull like pattern on its wings (), plants with bell like flowers (belladonna), and a woman sitting astride a well while a spider descends from above her (heart of maiden slain by poison).
Protected against Evil by Sepheria, Neril breaks the window of the man, then the woman, then the scorpion. Neril stiffens for a moment as he and the protection spells battle the house's attack then he breathes out calmly and continues to break the moth and the plant windows. The house seemed to sigh and settle – as if it was upset.
We moved on to the next room which was covered by thick molds of black and green and blue. Neril and I were in the front and refused to step into it and quickly closed the doors, but from behind us Sepheria starts to make soft, distressed noises – when we turned to her it was in time to see her pour the water from her waterskin all over her face and head. She shook off the water and informed us relatively calmly that she had just been possessed again by Cassandra.
To her, it felt like the return of the phage that Jarrick had wiped from her and Neril earlier (contracted briefly from the diseased rats). She heard a child ask her “What's on your face?”
From the possession, she knew that Cassandra had caught Vorral's phage when she broke the phylactery. She had grabbed her daughter (Laurie) to run but accidentally spread the phage to the child and to the servants who had come to her aid. They all died quickly, consumed by the disease.
The next room was only a washroom with a dangerously unstable floor, which we chose to avoid. Moncey was sent in to investigate but found nothing.
We started to move on to the next room when Neril heard the sobbing once more. It seemed to be coming from above us – possibly the North-East corner of the building.
The next room was some sort of odd square chamber, which it was explained to me was designed to channel necromantic energy and store it. It was what allowed Vorral, who was not strong enough, to actually try to complete a spell several levels above his talents. The contents of the room was completely destroyed with the exception of a single painting which was turned so the face was against the wall. Sepheria used mage hand to turn it around and it revealed Aisha Foxglove (Aldan's wife). It gave me a strong sense of sadness.
Elwin uncharacteristically started to huff and growl under his breath. When we turned to him, he was already calming and he indicated he was fine. He explained he had briefly been touched by a haunt of Vorral before he had been able to push it aside. He had felt angry, enraged at his wife and had the strongest urge to strangle Cassandra.
We decided to bypass the stairs to check out the last room on this floor. It was a huge room – with 8 portraits covered in spiderwebs hanging from the walls. Three on the wall to our right and five on the wall to the left as we entered. There was another set of doors at the end of the room. All of us wait outside the room except Neril.
Neril sweeps the nameplates free of cobwebs and can see that the portraits are:
On the right, closest to the door we entered through to furthest away: Laurie, Cassandra, Vorral
On the left, closest to the door we entered through to furthest away: Ziva, Sendeli, Aldan, Cyralie, Travor.
Neril wrecks Vorral's painting, ripping it with daggers in an attempt to disable any trap. Then he pulls back the cobwebs from the portraits, calling out their names to us as he does so: Laurie, Ziva (young girl), Aldan (as a small boy of about 6), Cassandra, Sendeli (who appears about 8), Cyralie (painted before she was a mother), Travor.
Here, Neril suddenly feels a temperature drop and as he sees the portraits suddenly change to reflect the people's method of dying, such as Travor's throat being slit, he teleports out of the room into the hall. A moment later, a massive explosion of rot and fungal decay explodes out of Vorral's portrait, covering the room and leaving us to dodge it as best we could in the hall.
Some lands on Elwin, but Jarrick quickly lays on hands and cures him. As Jarrick is immune, he steps into the room and cuts the unchanged portraits of Ziva and Sendeli from their frames as we may need to know their faces in the future if we need to find them. Then he goes and opens the doors at the far end of the room for Neril to teleport into the room to investigate.
The room is apparently a bedroom. We see Neril rip a bit of wood and stand in an odd position for a moment, but then he shakes his head and discards the wood. When he returns, Neril informs us that it contained a haunt of Travor, who had killed himself in that room with a silver handled dagger. Neril was able to ignore the suicidal tendencies of the haunt, and so we continued back to the stairs.
This floor was obviously an attic and was mostly comprised of empty rooms or stacks of linen. We were investigating a bedroom we assumed belonged to a servant when we all heard a shriek from behind us. It was followed by sobbing. We tried to move stealthily down the hall but the floorboards were too old to quietly support Elwin's armour. The sobbing stopped at the noise, then a woman began to beg for help, to be freed, released.
We followed the sound to a locked door and after trying the multitude of keys in our possession, we found the correct one to open the door. We recognized the woman as Aisha Foxglove, and she told us that the mirror was binding her here and she couldn't go to her rest until it was destroyed. We spoke to her – she was pleased we had destroyed the scarf that had killed her - and then Neril broke the mirror.
As her ghostly form rotted away in front of us, she spoke of the Brotherhood of the Seven. She also told us that they owned a house in Magnimar and that Aldan had left something there – something important. She dissolved to bone then disappeared before she could tell us more. I admit to being contented that we were able to put her to rest.
The room opposite was a study of some sort. Sepheria spotted the books and raced in before we could stop her. She stilled suddenly and we knew she had been possessed but within a few heartbeats, she turned to us and announced she was fine now – Travor's haunt had been lamenting how his travels had stopped after his marriage. She picked up a book and proceeded to forget about us for a while. There was an important painting of a bullfight, which we left Jarrick to collect.
Neril insisted we check out the final room and we found it contained two stained-glass windows. On the left was a dark-haired woman with a jagged iron staff. We identified her as Arazni, an undead enthrallment. On the right, a half-broken window of a man wearing a crown of ivory and jade; we knew him as Socorro, the butcher of carrion hill. The broken half of his window was covered by canvas. There was a trap door in the roof obviously for the telescope knocked over on the floor.
Neril smashed the window of Arazni and suddenly darted towards the window much like Jarrick had but he pulled up short. When questioned, he says he thought he was on fire and had the strongest urge to jump into the sea below but had managed to shake it off.
We returned to Sepheria, who had found some scrolls. Jarrick pointed out the brick he had spotted earlier and pulling it free he revealed some money, a copper key, and glass vials of black gloop, which we identified as pesh (an addictive drug, but this one had gone off). I kept the vials to study as practice with poisons.
We decide to head back to Scarnetti manor where it would be safe to sleep and make our next plans.
We were nearly run over by a Varisian Gypsy wagon but we managed to stop them. The first thing the driver stuttered was “Nualia is on the loose!”
Note: Nualia, as you may remember, is a high priestess to Lemashtu, known to have a demonic arm, and is called the “baby-eater from Sandpoint”. The Lemashtu were the group that had kidnapped and ransomed Lady Scarnetti and her daughter, both of whom we cured from a curse.
The driver, Karvellen, was panicked. He had been delivering supplies to the Sanitorium, saw flames from Tetchkey farm and then Nualia with cultist minions and Yeth Hounds. He had seen her about 10 minutes back then fled with his family in the wagon. He also mentioned that Nualia had Vanessa Tetchkey (wife of Orrick, and woman who was going to sacrifice her own child to the swamp hag for him).
We headed immediately in the direction indicated and caught up with the cultists at the bridge over the Cougar Creek. There were about a dozen cultists, four yeth hounds, and Nualia. Having come against Yeth Hounds before, we knew to make use of the special wax that can block auditory-based attacks.
In order to reach, Nualia quickly, we had to move fast, that meant carrying poor Clank.
Neril and Sepheria were able to keep to the darker shadows as we approached, but Elwin in bright, shiny armour stood out and Jarrick does prefer to meet enemies head on, so he simply charged towards them. As a bear carrying a metal Clank on my back, I was equally as visible, but the cultists preferred to go after Jarrick and Elwin to start.
The minion carrying Vanessa turned and ran, dragging her along with him.
Jarrick tucked himself behind his shield and avoided most of the blows, while Elwin, who was further back, managed to avoid the ranged attacks aimed at him. Neril didn't bother to dodge, but simply plucked the arrows from the air in an impressive fashion.
Tucked further back, Sepheria dropped a fireball on Nualia and the cultists and Yeth hounds still around her. Neril moved into combat, but his opponent, despite being badly bloodied still stood raving with religious fury. Elwin summoned Spirit Guardians and the ghostly angels moved around him defensively. I moved to put down the enemy Neril had engaged so he could go take on another and that put my Clank in range of another cultist, who grabbed hold of the cultist's ear. Nualia took advantage of our distraction and healed herself and order her minions to aim for the spell casters.
I could see the Yeth Hounds had moved towards Sepheria and Neril, who had stayed near her, but the hounds were able to do very little damage, so I left them to that. With Jarrick defending so well, the cultists surrounding him turned their attentions to Elwin, but his angels stuck out at them. A few other cultists turned towards Sepheria and Neril but also did little damage.
The cultist that Clank had pinched turned and struck my companion, severing some wires that caused him to go limp and slide from my back. He sparked and remained unmoving. I was not best pleased to say the least.
Sepheria threw caution to the wind while dodging Yeth Hounds and dropped a fireball on the largest group of Cultists; unfortunately the fire also engulfed many of our group as well as knocking out many of the enemy. Elwin fell to the ground and lay still. I moved to stand over him and protect him from a final blow. Neril took down 2 cultists and I another 2, thinning the numbers further. A Hound caught me off guard and landed a solid bite before Jarrick struck it down.
Nualia and one of her cultists turned and ran. Neril ran after her. Seeing as we were splitting the group, I took my human form and gave chase as I summoned two fey beasts, who took the form of Hippogryphs. I sent them after Nualia and her cultist minion.
Nualia struck Neril down and he did not move. Jarrick healed Elwin and then came to assist, leaving Sepheria to dodge the last Yeth Hound as she had been. The last cultist turned towards Jarrick but was quickly struck down by a Hippogryph and Jarrick himself. In response to seeing Neril collapse, Sepheria used her guisarm and struck out with lightning. The Hippogryphs circled around Nualia as they attacked and I used a flaming sphere to try to prevent her from running as Jarrick struck out at her. Sepheria sent a scorching ray and then the Hippogryphs finished our enemy. The last Yeth Hound was also struck down somewhere in the chaos.
Elwin quickly revivified Neril and we spent some time looking around and healing them. Unfortunately, we lost the trail of the cultist with Vanessa, and due to the injuries we had sustained and our exhaustion, we decided to regroup and reconsider. We paused to take Nualia's head and tie to the fallen Clank beside the thief's head.
We returned to Scarnetti Manor, where Scarnetti expressed a desire to hire hands and go take back Sandpoint. We volunteered to take the message back to the city as we needed to return to request the works of Golem Works for clank as I did not trust myself to try to fix the vital component. He reluctantly agreed to allow us to take the message.
:: Addendum, not to be published in the journals as it contains nothing of interest to the pathfinders but does contain descriptions of things personal and private to the Lady Scarnetti ::
It was in the middle of the night when a maid shook me awake, murmuring that the Lady Scarnetti was in labour. I shook off sleep and went to assist. Taking a look inside the room, I ordered the maids to boil water, prepare clean cloths, and to keep the husband out until I said otherwise. He would be of no use. The daughter, if she could keep her calm, could be allowed in if she came. I motioned one maid to hold the Lady's hand, offer her water, and be of comfort as I stripped the bed of unnecessary blankets and built up the fire for light and warmth. I called out into the hall for more candles as I stripped off my own leathers, which I had forgotten to remove before I had slept, and donned a clean shift one of the maids offered.
I considered who else to wake. Sepheria would probably not be of much use, nor Neril, especially as he was recovering from his brush with death. Elwin would be handy in case of emergencies though I would not wake him until necessary as he also had been close to death and needed rest. I considered waking Jarrick as he shared the same religion as her - if something was to go very wrong, such as a breach or a badly placed umbilical cord, she would need that comfort. But for now, neither of the men were needed and they would be left to stand in the hall should I wake them - men, especially those who are not the husband, are not allowed in a birthing room, not unless it has become an emergency.
For now, as I write to pass the time until I am needed, everything seemed to be working as it should. The baby felt correctly positioned, the Lady was as calm as possible, and the maids were preparing the necessary items.
(2710xp for session)
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