[pnpgm] Game Update #73 - File #597 - Party evacs the city
Scott Adams
longshot at cybermax.net
Fri Feb 19 07:02:09 CET 2010
HT Alias/Player Character Name Type Status/Notes Sex
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R1.John Haight...........Arawn.............Druid .Normal/Alfar Ma
??.Chris Wells...........Ben'dar...........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
R4.Tom Corckett..........Caladan...........Wizard Normal/Human Ma
W2.Marcel Liberty........Chion.............Sailor..Normal/Human Ma
W3.Ryan Torres...........Farseeker.........Warrior.Normal/Human Ma
--.Tobie Bonahoom........Fremea............Sidh....Normal/Faerry Fe
R2.Mark Murtha...........Kell..............Trader..Normal/Human..Ma
Do.David Sanders.........Kiet.Sunan........Acrobat Normal/Human Ma
R4.J H Hooten............Raban.Usherwood...Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
W2.Robert Maxwell........Strie'bog.........Bard....Normal/Human..Ma
R1 NPC...................Shu.Yeoh..........Wizard..Normal/Human..Fe
W4.Wout Broere...........Unali.............Ninja...Normal/Human Fe
...Thomas.Magann.........Whitney...........Scholar.Normal/Human..Ma
R1 John.Stowman..........Will..............Hunter..Normal/Human..Ma
R4.Alex Koponen..........Z'leyra...........Healer..Normal/Human Fe
R1 NPC...................Zhou Kiwat........Noble...Normal/Human..Ma
Animals: Corona [Eagle] Z'leyra, Tef'wo (Horse) Ben'dar,
Cover Story Info: [HD- House member, F-Foreigner, N-native non house]
Arawn aka Arawn as Teacher to daughter [F]
Ben'dar aka Bu Da as Horse expert [F]
Caladan aka Ca Lu as Guard/Archer [N]
Chion aka Capt. Chu Mai as Sailor Trustee [HD]
Farseeker aka Fu Sa as Guard [F]
Fremea aka Lin Mong as Noble child [HD] [Disguised]
Kell aka Swan as Trader [F]
Kiet aka Kiet Sunan as Zhou's servant [F]
Raban aka Toban Nu as Entertainer/Guard [F]
Strie'bog aka Sun Zhu as Entertainer [N]
Shu aka Shu as Niece [HD]
Unali aka Tun Au as Zhou's wife [HD]
Whitney aka Whitney as Herbalist/Tailor [F]
Will aka Sun Tzu as hunt master [F]
Z'leyra aka Kakita Junami as Healer [F]
Zhou aka Zhou Wa as Baron Noble [HD]
Game Web Site - http://www.funport.com/longshot/pbem
Public posts/actions to pnpgm at abroere.xs4all.nl (mailing list)
Private emails (not public actions) to longshot at cybermax.net
Game Update #72 in sequence (file #597)
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Admin Notes: None.
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[Recap]
From Z'leyra: [Re: Actions]
Z'leyra "I pity these folk. Their leaders seem to be...
GM: Ack.
From Fremea: [Re: Clean up]
With all the magics already cast here, Fremea figures just one
more really doesn't matter. "Get all my gear and Shu's out now. I
will clean all this up." When everything is out that was not there
before, she will cast Transmutation. Causing all the blood that
was spilled on the floor, along the walls and on anything else,
to come together into a block of wood. She will then take the
wood and place it into a jar. "Ok, time to go now." Raban should
be in front and they move down the stairs to the wagons, making
sure no one is following.
GM: Ack.
From Kiet: [Re: Actions]
Kiet leaves immediately after seeing the illusion of the smoking
fiend that killed Shu. He first goes to put on his leather armor
and then gathers all of his other arms and armor to take to the
wagon. He gets his horse ready and loaded then starts helping the
other people load up. As soon as they are done loading, Kiet's
putting on ALL of his armor, keeping his shield and some javelins
handy on the wagon. Kiet will drive the wagon out of town as
quietly as he can while in the Inn compound, but once out of it
will hurry.
Damn, he wishes for the umpteenth time that he had a sword at
his side and knew how to use it. On the plus side, if we are
suspected or accused of using magic, then it possibly can be
used to escape as denials may be no longer useful.
GM: Ack. Gee paranoid? I do GM Paranoia but this is P&P. I must
be doing bad job. I'm supposed to run a fun and enjoyable
environment where players are relaxed.....Nah...too boring.
From Kell: [Re: Actions]
Ha'Kell is frowning, both sad and mad. He remarks to Zhou, "I
hope we get a full explanation on the road. I'd like to read...
Kell helps as best he can, doing whatever needs to be done to get
moving. When there is nothing more to do here, the half-elf heads
out to the other inn, inviting all those who are staying there to
go at the same time as it is safer in a group this fateful evening.
Once ready to leave, he'll wait for everyone so they can go
together to the wagon.
GM: Ack.
From Raban: [Re: Actions]
Raban asks softly, his rage barely controlled, "I just need...
GM: Ack.
From Whitney: [Re: Actions]
Whitney say, "Well, energy loss is the first method that...
GM: Ack.
From Will: [Re: Actions]
Will After staring with a steele glaze at the scene before him
for a long moment: "We may need to fight the beast that killed...
GM: Ack.
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[New Stuff]
[Julis 25th, 1634TH]
[Location: Middle Katai Plains, Shantou Province, Shantou city]
[Time: 2:53am - Night 2 in Shantou]
Moments after the illusion fades the party seems to stare and
wonder for an eternity trying to make sense of it. Did Z'leyra's
interpretation of the Akashic Record reflect the right thing? Did
her illusion interpret it back to something meaningful? It is
almost like some in the party were lost adrift on an island
after seeing the smoke monster and not knowing what to do.
Z'leyra "I pity these folk. Their leaders seem to be either
allied with or controlled by demons. We had better stick together
in pairs or more in a group...Those off by themselves are too
likely to end up as Shu did. Lets clean the room and go."
Kiet is obviously very nervous about all of this and, if it
weren't for the information being so important, he would have
been packing while they were casting their Akasha and other
spells. Unease fills the servant and suspicion of what could
be lurking around the corner. Kiet leaves the room immediately
and heads to help Zhou pack. First he enters his room and gets
his armor on but only after asking Ben'dar to watch over as it
is now safer to be in pairs. After donning his armor and some
weapons he quickly moves to help Zhou pack up.
Kell leaves Shu's room and heads to find Zhou. Ha'Kell is
frowning, both sad and mad. He remarks to Zhou, "I hope we get a
full explanation on the road. I'd like to read her journal. Shu
didn't deserve that... But I will go to the other inn to pack
and leave, and meet back at the wagon."
Zhou simply shrugs as he stuffs tunics into his leather bag.
Farseeker still upset grabs the noble and twirls him around.
He grabs the noble's collar and yanks him up and then shoves
his back into the wall with a loud thud. Next door Kiet
and Ben'dar hear the thug. Ben'dar looks to see Kell in
the doorway and nods back to Kiet it must be all right or
Kell would be acting.
A foot off the ground, Farseeker snarls at the noble. He
doesn't speak above a whisper. "You should show more respect.
He is right she didn't deserve to die. You stand there
packing shirts more worried about losing your own hide than
losing one of us! A leader leads by example." He releases
the man who slumps down a bit. Farseeker steps back. "You
are no leader. I follow Unali now not you. For the sake of
the mission you will show more respect for us than the mission."
With that he storms out of the room almost shoving Kell out
of the way a bit but not by force.
Zhou places hands on his night shirt and smoothes it out. He
glances at Kell. "Please do not leave until we do. We need to
stay as a group. ..I will explain things later. I don't want ot
be here any longer than we have to." With that he resumes packing.
Kell decides to watch the room and not leave the noble alone.
At least not until Kiet can come and help.
Back in Shu's room Raban continues to stare at the air where
the illusion was. The illusion itself wasn't a shock as he has
seen many. in the flying castle there was that nice illusion
of the map. But this was shock from her loss.
Raban asks softly, his rage barely controlled, "I just need to
know one thing... How do you kill something made of smoke, fog or
whatever that was! Honor demands this thing's death, and all like
it that can so cowardly assault such innocence. Someday I will
get the chance to face this fiend and I had better be prepared
to do so."
Whitney says, "Well, energy loss is the first method that comes
to mind. Poison or disease is probably a bit difficult to manage,
but there are spells for everything, especially killing in new and
painful ways. A soul annihilator would work, I would think."
Some look to Whitney to wonder if he has such spells. To destroy
a soul sounds almost like the ways of the Chaos mages.
Will after staring with a steele glaze at the scene before him
for a long moment: "We may need to fight the beast that killed Shu
but I'm saving my revenge for whoever sent it"
Arawn was still looking over the room when Z'leyra began her
spell. He had decided to trust Zhou for now, having thought that
the group would not wish to risk further exposure from
spellcasting. When it became apparent that others were casting
magic Arawn attempted to mask their spells with a quick Mana
Shield. Sadly though the spells were cast far too quickly for
Arawn to prepare, ask permission and then cast the shields. So
they were sadly not done to cover the Akasha spell. Likely though
most detectors would not be looking for this particular spell.
Arawn figures it is such a rare spell the common wizard would
not care to use it much less look for it. So that in itself
might be a good thing. Since the spell ended and the illusion
was also cast fast no shield was cast upon there. But Arawn
does fear illusions were likely to be common. From simple
personal illusion to disguise wizards to disguise their wands
and other items. Arawn prays the illusion was not detected.
As Z'leyra cast her illusion, Arawn stood near the window and
looked out the window through the tiny cracks at the side of
the window shade. But all he could see was darkness, the lake
and the shed in the distance. The balcony blocks most of the ground
view from this angle to see much of the ground. But if the threat
came from the air he would know about it first.
Arawn had studied the illusion showcasing Shu's death with keen
interest, wondering what the Akasha would reveal. Things seemed to
progress without much surprise, though he paid detailed attention
to Shu's use of the spell, but when the dark mist appeared his
demeanor changed. An odd, pensive look appeared on his face and
when it finally formed into a humanoid figure his eyes widened
suddenly. Immediately he moved toward the window from which it had
appeared, opening it and looking outside.
As the people behind him discuss revenge, Arawn scans the dark
outside but sees little. Irritated he closed the window and
opens the balcony door. Knowing that friends can back him up
in case some sudden arrow of death comes his way he enters the
dark balcony. He first looks to the left and right. Finally
he sees light from the left which are Kiet's and Zhou's room
which makes sense. But it is faint shadows. To the right
he sees other balconies but with dark windows showing sleeping
guests. Briefly he glances up to see the roof about 10 feet up
but sees darkness in the side directions. Glancing down the
scene as it is during the day calm and serene. A duck or two
can be seen in the pond and the torches around the small lake
have burnt out this time of night. The ground is some 30 feet
below the balcony. The shed and emergency latrine can be
seen on in the distance but that is about it. Trees in the
far distance are dark and shows no sign of life. To get up
here would not be difficult but hard. One would only need
rope or a good acrobat. At 2nd floor the balcony is only 10
feet up. Raban could stand and simply jump to get to the second
floor balcony area though he'd likely break the stone railing.
Arawn scans for signs of ropes but finds none. This could
indicate little though as a good acrobat could scale the tavern
without ropes. Once on the second floor one could simply
go from balcony to balcony to find the room. But it does
concern him that this particular room was targeted. How did
the killer know the exact room? Arawn sighs and returns inside
the room and locks the door.
Arawn locks the door and hears Raban and Will discuss the beast.
He turns to them and speaks. "We can discuss that later. I know
what it is. For now, don't travel alone. It's strength lies in
stealth and shadow and we are vulnerable right now."
Arawn then walks past the group in the room and heads to his
own room. Once there he begins to pack up his own items.
Fremea stares at the Alfar as he exits. He knows what this
beast might be? Now he is sounding like Zhou not wanting
to say much. This blasted party and their secrets. Fremea
figures with the amount of magic cast thus far another couple
spells aren't going to hinder things. The Faerry states, "Get all
my gear and Shu's out now. I will clean all this up."
Fremea walks the scene and discovers the blood isn't on the wall
or the bed. The clothing chest does have some brain matter as
well as the floor. But the bulk of the blood is directly below
or on Shu herself. Fremea approaches and raises both hands. She
begins to speak quick magical words and concentrates while waving
her hands over the dried blood. A brownish hue begins to form
around the area below Shu's left side. Then almost instantly
the blood disappears off the floor, chair and Shu herself. Once
the magical brown hue fades a simple block of brown-red wood
is on the floor. Amazingly there is no sign of blood on the
carpet, chair, desk, dagger or even Shu herself. She smiles
at the clever trick of magic and realizes something. She
glances down and notices the blood on her dress is also gone
having transmuted into the piece of wood. She almost giggles
at the thought of a easy clean but knows it would not be very
proper. She then turns and asks Raban to drag the clothing chest
over closer within 10 feet. Once that is done she casts another
quick spell and transmuted the brain matter on the chest,
carpet and chair into another piece of wood. This time the
wood is a dull brown gray color.
Fremea glances around and finds no sign of trouble and there
should not be as she'll take the evidence away. She grabs the
two pieces of wood. She plans to visit the kitchen to obtain
or buy a jar from the cook if they are still up. "Ok, time to go
now."
Raban then grabs the blanket off the bed and lifts Shu's
limp body gently onto it. Once wrapped he brings her out
into the hallway and leads downstairs. Raban in front and
they move down the stairs to the wagons, making sure no one is
following.
Z'leyra and Will help to gather up the personal items of Shu
and Fremea and then head downstairs. By now most of the rooms
have been cleared of personal gear. It takes a few more quick
trips to ensure all things are taken. By now the stable boy
who is clearly grumpy at this hour but doesn't argue with the
noble in charge, Zhou, has the stable lit and horses saddled.
Kiet and Kell team up the wagon after the guards and Whitney
bring the wagon. Farseeker questions the guards if they saw
any trouble tonight not eluding to anything obvious. But it
soon becomes clear the men are clueless and only report one guest
was a bit too drunk and touched a waitress on the rump but that
is it.
Upon seeing the body Raban carries, which is hard to miss, the
clerk becomes concerned. The clerk approaches but Raban simply
growls and glares. This is sufficient to cause the clerk not to
approach closer than about 10 feet. Zhou simply talks the man
down that Shu's accident forces them to have her rest in the wagon.
She is not feeling good and they will be going to a Healer friend
outside the city. The clerk seems satisfied with this and
leaves the group alone.
Zhou finally completes the sign out procedure and tips the
clerk. Zhou takes a few moments to explain the situation isn't
his fault and that he hopes the other guests aren't disturbed.
If Zhou had more money he eould offer to pay for drinks and
food in the morning but funds are running low. Soon the wagon
driven by Kiet drives onward to the other Inn where the non
nobles stayed.
Once there pairs or threes enter to get their gear and check
out. Here the sleepy clerk cares less when they check in as the
fee was paid already. He grumbles that sunrise is only a few
hours away or he'd rent the room out to a few "night people".
But it is likely too late for that. The clerk simply shooos
the people away when they exit the rooms.
[Time: 3:28am - Night 2 in Shantou]
With sunrise in only about 3 hours the party is now all together.
Gear is checked to ensure nothing has been stolen or tampered
with. From the dried dung covered Gnarish staff Chion has to
some private items many have nothing seems to be missing or messed
with.
By now Arawn has urged Zhou to lit up lanterns for each corner
of the wagon. While the front two are standard he doesn't argue
with the last two though Whitney finds them a bit distracting
in the rear section. Arawn simply tells Whitney that it might
be beneficial to have the light shine.
Though alert and watching Arawn patrols on horse as the others
pack up in the non-noble inn. He remains quiet for some time as
he considers how to explain things to the group.
Inside the wagon Shu is placed on one seat covered up.
Fremea, Unali and Zhou sit on the other seat and all quiet and
stare wondering why she had to die. Shu's bag sits beside her
and Zhou ensures no one at this time touches her things out
of respect though some feel it is too late for that for him to
act that way.
Kiet and Z'leyra sit in the wagon seat and wait. Once all
packed up the wagon heads through the city toward the gate
the fence told them about. This time of night the streets
are deserted making travel far faster than normal. Guards
occasionally come out of the shadows and watch the wagon but
once they notice the wagon group must be of noble station they
cower back into the shadows. Even the scum of the streets from
the thieves, beggars and hookers seem to go into the shadows.
Inside the wagon Zhou turns to Fremea. "I'm glad you were
not part of this. How you cleaned the room was very clever."
He glances at the small fist size wood inside the jar from
the kitchen. As soon as it is possible Fremea plans to burn
the wood to ensure no evidence remains or especially no way
to track Shu is left behind.
Unali sits but remains quiet inside.
[Time: 3:49am - Night 2 in Shantou]
Soon the wagon after some directions from guards finds the
south east gate and approaches it. Arawn out front scans for
magic detectors but finds no auras. The fence must have been
true to his word that this is a weak point in the city. At the
gate three guards stand bored as the wagon approaches.
Actions? Comments?
Next Update...Monday...
GM: Sorry couldn't resist the Lost reference. :) Lost fans
will get the reference.
GM: Quick update for now. Monday I will move the party outside
the city. I assume any last minute actions will be done
by then but I doubt you want to linger? If I'm wrong
let me know. I will need to calculate how long it will
take to get to Pamau as I assume that will be the destination
after the nearby Vong-possible point is investigated. On
the trip to Pamau you can do skills and such so might want
to think on that but wait till I figure out how many days
this weekend. Likely next update will end near the "un-mana"
point Shu detected just south of the city. I'm not sure
how long it will take the wagon so it COULD be day by then.
I figure its likely 5 miles roughly but will know for sure
this weekend. No time to figure it out now. Since the
Draft horses are slow it will likely take 3-4 hours till they
get to the point. So it looks like it will be sunrise by
then. So stay tuned for that update. If there are actions
to be done BEFORE the next point on the map the "un mana"
or Vong-possible point is investigated let me know. Just
hope I've not bored some to death like Ben'dar who have
been quiet lately. :<
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