The Evil of Ravenholm - Chapter 1: The Dark City

[joe-dude667]

As the man runs off over the building, Cain decides not to chase after him. Seeing his Changeling ally bellow, he jumps to the floor just in front of him.

"There was an elf," the Kenku tells Hars in his high croaky voice. "His name was Daelos, he told us to seek him out, what do you think?" At first it appeared he was talking to the Changeling, but it then became clear he was actually speaking to the crudely cut symbol hung around his neck. Holding it up to his ear he nodded slowly.

"Yes good idea, I'll tell them..." He told the symbol before repeating the exact same words to Hars.  

[NayrVentess]

@Pelloth - When you rub the DM stupid-ness out of your eyes you can see that the hallway is fine but not extravagant. A red carpet adorns the floor and a few paintings dot the sides. A couple of doors feature along the corridor and a set of stairs are to the left.  

[Vorastrix]

always wanting to be thorough, he checked inside all the rooms, and even appraising the artwork just to be sure, he even asked Dindle to hop off and do the same, but not before he ordered him to become invisible just to be sure.

[[18 if appraise=history]]  

[iDragow]

Whistling a slight tune to himself, Grashuk used the tip of his magnificent sword to slice a thick ribbon of meat clear from the bone he had cleaved in two, creating a nice handle. Once that was done, he maneuvered the arm so that gravity forced the elbow to lock in the extended position.

Before he could get everything together, a scream pierced the night. He stopped instantly, tilting his large ears in the direction it had come from for only a moment, before a grin spread across his face. One of his allies must have found himself a live one...

The Warlord balanced the limb on the mantle, so that the majority of flesh was directly in the flames. With that part finished, he just had to waste some time until the meat was cooked to his liking. Say what you will about humans; with the right seasonings, they taste fantastic.

Standing up to his maximum height, Grashuk arched his back so as to pop his spin. Since he had some time to kill, he decided to search the small cottage. It shouldn't take too long.  

[Arc Vembris]

"I thought I heard someone run off. What did he want?" He asked Cain, wondering if the answer involved blades going into people. He hoped it did. Somewhere dry preferably.  

[NayrVentess]

@Pelloth - You explore the large house thoroughly, going through every room and every draw. Most of the house is as you would expect, clothes in chests of drawers and wardrobes, slippers under the bed, chamber pot in a small room to the side of the house. The kitchen you notice is particularly fine, and many raw meats are out on chopping boards, cleavers abandoned next to them. Obviously the kitchen staff managed to get away.

During your exploration though, you find something peculiar. In what you would assume is the master bedroom, on top of a writing desk, is a piece of parchment. The writing on it is in a language you have never seen before, but you assume by the layout that it is a letter of some sorts. At the bottom, where a seal, stamp or marque would be, is a dark red circle, with a leering skull face in the middle of it.

@Grashuk - As you assumed, the small unassuming cottage doesn't contain untold treasures, just the normal possessions you would expect a village residence to contain. But after your wonder, you come back to find your meal ready to eat.  

[Vorastrix]

"Dindle?" Pelloth asked, for he just heard the imp flapping into the room, "What is your take on this."

The imp fluttered onto his shoulder and examined it for a moment before proclaiming "That. . . is a red skull." after a glare from Pelloth's azure eyes he replied, "What? It's a skull. Probably just the insignia the elder of this backwater town. And this language is likely just some unimportant code."

Pelloth sighed for he had already expected as much, but regardless he pocketed the letter to examine it when he had access to some research material. He could ask Gerash for assistance, but he didn't know the necromancer all that well to trust him with his food let alone this. "Well, lets go down to the kitchen and see if there is anything edible. Are you a good cook?"

Dindle let loose a wheezy laugh, "I lived in a plane of constant fire. When i can, I prefer my food raw." Pelloth let out a guffaw of his own and headed down to feed.  

[iDragow]

Drawn by the scent of freshly roasted meat, Grashuk returned to find his meal ready for him. He began to tear into the arm with abandon, holding it by the protruding length of bone like a makeshift handle.

When he was finished with the meal, he stared into the fire, using the index finger to pick the shreds of flesh from between his teeth. Now that the thought of food had been driven from his mind, he was growing bored. He wasn't quite tired enough to sleep, but he didn't want to go out in the rain.

Without much to do, the Warlord continued to stare into the flames, remembering the siege that had won them this town. Everyone had worked well together, complimenting each other's talents. "Vae Victus...," he whispered to himself, and then decided to turn in for the night.  

[joe-dude667]

"He wanted us to help him, or rather he was trying to help us. He wanted us to seek him out. He said he was a Bloodstone Stalker. I remember someone at the Bloodstone Tavern mention that the priest of the Temple of Darkness was believed to be a descendant of a Bloodstone Stalker. We should talk to him!" The Kenku told Hars quickly.

"We must inform the others mustn't we!" He said aloud as an after thought, once again talking to the symbol, not the changeling.  

[NayrVentess]

With Grashuk asleep, the bed still warm from its previous occupant. Cain and Hars discussing plans in an alleyway. Pelloth searching through a kitchen, and finding a selection of salted meats, root vegetables and apples. And Gerash also looking for some well deserved rest, the rain begins to stop and the sun is starting to shine brightly.

For those of you outside, the ground is still muddy from the blood and rain and bodies still litter it, two in an odd position. Now that visibiltiy is better, you can see the Forest of Tangled Webs on the horizon to the north. That seemed to be the direction that the villagers were fleeing. What madness drove them into there?....Oh wait, you all did.

You can't see it, but you know that Ravenholm lies to the south. Last night it took you about 7 hours to travel to Paolun, so you can safely assume the return journey would be of similar time.  

[SporkMaster5000]

As the sun shines into the bedroom Gerash occupies, his eyes open. He hadn't slept, the straw mattress left much to be desired. He rises and leaves the building, paying as much attention to the remains of his last victim as he had her plea for mercy. He looks around the muddy town square, not much different than it had been in the rainy dark. The two fornicating carcasses gave him pause, but only for a moment, "If anyone else is done wallowing in the remains of this wasted town, I'm going back to Ravenholm. You're free to join me," he shouts rhetorically, a ghost sound echoing his words to the opposite side of town.  

[Arc Vembris]

Hars meets up with the others as they gather for the return trip and tells them what he knows.

"Cain ran into some elf last night, he says he might be able to help us out, or maybe he has a job for us, not sure. Said we should look for the Bloodstone Stalkers. I say anyone who'll pay me for wanton murder is an employer I can get behind. It's the perfect job, doing what I would gladly do for free."

Hars dries his hair by removing it entirely and regrowing it. For amusement he assumes the visage of one of the fallen townsfolk, complete with wounds and mud, and attempts to flirt with his companions, referencing the promiscuity of Paolunian dead.  

[Vorastrix]

Pelloth enjoyed filling his stomach after an enjoyable slaughter. Not wanting to be wasteful, he shoved any of the food that would keep into his bag of holding. When the sun had finally cleared the horizon, he figured that his time in this town was through and headed to find his companions, and found them just as Hars had started enlightening them of Cain's encounter.

In hearing the news of that stalkers Pelloth shrugs unconcerned. "As long as the pay is good." he pretended as if he didn't care but truthfully, being a bloodstone stalker was something that appealed to him greatly. What better way to be in service to Zehir then to join band of assassins originally commissioned by the great Serrin Bloodstone.