As they walked along, Piper considered Lirian's question.



OOC: Rather then making something up that sounds logical, I figure I'll see if there's any official information Piper might know.

I figure any answers may be covered by either Occult or Spellcasting.

Piper rolled 7,7.  Occult.

Piper rolled 1,5.  Spellcasting

Liriam was right, it didn't add up. "I wonder if... " he said, pausing, then resumed his stride as a thought occured to him "I wonder if they already have a vaccine in large enough quantities. They could spread the plague, have another big wave, and do a ritual to Teknos to save the city and begin releasing the cure. Get the population onside and do another rite, this one with thousands of converts, praying for more cures but in reality the rite is to restore Teknos."

Olyx was listening quietly, following along until he got to the entrance where, hopefully, his weapons were. These people seemed to be in a heap of trouble- and if they were right, not just them.

"That plan sounds convoluted- as an ol' captain used to say, keep it simple, sailor. If I were this cult leader, and I had a vaccine, I'd only give it to the faithful. Or, even better, use the dying's life to power a ritual. Are you sure this plague kills? What if it just... debilitates? Puts'em on their asses ripe for the takin'?"

His erudition clashed with his rough speech- it's hard to tell if he was peppering a peasant's talk with fancy words, or if he was used to dumbing down the way he spoke so illiterates could understand him.

The mention to a vaccine by Hunter spurred on Lirian a question that has remained without answer to now. She directed to Lord Stonecraft. “Excuse me another question, Excellency: to now we’ve been taking about it as a plague, but is it a plague or an intoxication? And, if the latter, has there been any reported case of infection from person to person, or only through rats’ bites?”

Roland steps back listening to the conversation. "Let us move upstairs back to the waiting room. Most likely the best place to make more defined plans. The plague has not transmitted through people other than by rat. You will be able to read my notes about what I have discovered but my knowledge has been someone limited to what the guards bring me which is not much."

The advisors leads to the group back up from the dungeon to the waiting room they were in just a little while ago. All of the sudden a guard, the same young one burst through the door and puts a note in front of Roland. He unties the note and reads it quickly before signaling the guard to alert the king and guards.

"It seems our troubles are just beginning. This note comes from Elysia, which I am guessing by your letters are familiar. She has discovered going through some old books that Lord Varren Blackpaw before he disappeared was involved in the Arcane Covenant. Not only was he involved but his goal according to what was recorded was to bring back Teknos. It seems if this is true Lord Varren Blackpaw returned he is going to try to overthrow the king. There is bad blood between the king and Lord Varren. He blamed the king for his family being banned from the castle."

He hands the letter to you describing what he just told you.

"The cat as it seems is out of the bag. I am needed in the kings quarters. I recommend you spent sometime here doing what you need to do. The floor above is a research area that you can read my notes about what I have figured out so far. Originally I had thought of sending you to the sewers. Now I believe our best option is for you to stay posted her and await further details from me."

Roland leaves the group to themselves with the guard still standing watch over you while you plan.


[Private to Piper: Your occult roll tells you much of the same of what you have already heard. Varren was involved with the Arcane Covenant. Still his reasoning for bringing back a good of technology seems strange to you, what's his reasoning?]

[Private to Olyx Mintarios: You are very familiar with Orin Swiftwater that runs the Tempest Tavern. He was a former pirate turned into business owner of the tavern. He has an ear for tales.]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:52, Wed 17 Jan.

A mild curiosity seems to be evident in the young man's face, as the little surprise of the guard puts everything in disarray. As soon as Roland leaves, he turns to the guard with a smile. "Oi, top of the mornin' to ya. If it's still mornin- lost me track of time down there. So, where my blades be, and other personal effects? I do hope you kept them safe, haven't you, such a fine guard as yourself- so where you be guarding my loot?"

He will also turn to the others. "I think I need me a good long stint in the sun, soak up some rays. Or moon rays. Definitely fresh air. I got me a nice place for a drink, and you can come along- I'm buyin'. Once, of course, I get me things back from this fine guard here. Chop chop. And remember, if things are a'goin' here, who best to know them than the patron saint of loose-lipped drunkards, the tavern-keeper? I do be on good terms with this divine personage in particular."

[Private to GM: Okie dokie!]

Lirian turned to the Guard. Quite young to be a Royal guard, so probably a bold boy… “You’re young, and I guess local from the city” she told to him in friendly tone so that the comment would not upset him. “Please, tell me, where would you dare a friend to spend a night to prove his valor? Any place that has fame to be enchanted or evil roamed? Or any such a place your grandmother told you to avoid, mostly at nights?” she asked him.

“Most places usable as shrines for such an invocation use to have this kind of fame among locals” she thought, hoping he could know it, even without realizing the importance of this knowledge…

Then she heard Olix comments. “I’d advise you not to go alone through the city” she told him. “As much a good warrior or mage you can be, numbers may overcome you, and they seem not to lack them. If you are somewhat seen as related to us, you may be in danger, and we were advised to keep safety in nubmers...

This aside, you’re also a local, as I understood, so the same question than to the Guard goes to you too…”

"Well, I'm a local to the port, per se- not so much the city itself. And I wasn't planning to go alone- or at least, was hopin' I ain't goin' alone. Being locked up in a cage makes you appreciate company, that be the truth."

He cracked his spine audibly. "But pray tell, is this cultist threat so dire? Or is it just you they're gunnin' for? I don't be rememberin' the city so dangerous, and I be frequentin' the worst parts of it!"

The guard looks at the Olyx questionably and then says, "Please wait here."

He heads off in the direction back downstairs towards the dungeon to retrieve your items and returns minutes later to give them to you.

The man looks at Lirian, "Normally we were told stories but they were simply things of the corruption of the Blackpaw's. Many in town knew them. They were in line to obtain the throne before Alistair Stormrider took control. But in terms of shrines no. I can tell you that many people after Lord Varren disappeared heard many noises coming from the north sewers. We didn't think too much of it but the noises soon stopped. But if you want a central place that most people meet at, I would say the market which is near the Tempest Tavern."

The guard stands back closer to the door but he does mention to the group, "I'll have to stop you from leaving" says the young guard to Olyx. "Advisor will be back shortly best to wait for him to return."

The more Quentin remains in contact with Olyx, the less he likes the man. It would be no surprise if the man finds himself caged again sooner rather than later or simply gets lost, even if gurds do prevent that at the moment. "Hey, Olyx, you are now a free man, at least inasmuch as we are free at the moment, so you no longer have reasons to withhold the information. How about you go upstairs, fetch some map and some blank paper to write down what you have overheard and where and how you would have planned to lead us. I'd rather still be ready for that plan even if we turn up pursuing another."

Meanwhile Quentin goes upstairs to look at the assorted documents. He now begins to question his assumptions. That is, if everyone says it's a plague does not necessarily mean that any f***ing one dealing with it had checked if it's not mass poisoning. Or maybe someone did, but that got ignored... whatever the case, Quentin attempts to familiarize himself with state of the art of this plague research.

23:31, Today: Secret Roll: Quentin Fox rolled 5,15 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+6+3)15.  Healing reroll.
23:31, Today: Secret Roll: Quentin Fox rolled 5,11 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,(6+5)11.  Alchemy.
23:30, Today: Secret Roll: Quentin Fox rolled 2,2 using 1d8,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,2.  Healing.

Once Olyx's weapons and backpack are returned, he seems to lighten up. He sticks a hand in his purse, counts the coins by sight, then feels simultaneously relieved there's none missing, and oddly, disappointed more didn't magically appear while they were sitting alone.

"Ah, that's a fine establishment! And as I said, I am on quite good terms with its proprietor, master Swiftwater himself."

He shrugged at the young guard who was now blocking his way out. "Well, me boy, I've heard of aggressive hospitality before, but you be takin' dar' cake back home. I'll be stickin' with my new friends, anyway, so don't you be worryin' none", he exclaimed with a smile at the poor young lad.

And as he turned to Quentin, the smile turned to another sheepish grin. "Weeell, rumors of my knowledge o'er the whereabouts of said cultists were greatly exaggerated. I do be knowin' somethin' ugly's brewing down the sewers, and I would've been in the front leading you down- I mean they are sewers, how hard are they to find? We'll just follow our noses!", he added with a harsh, short laughter. "Of course, if we were to avail ourselves of Master Swiftwater's establishment, perhaps we could find ourselves a feller who knows more about them sewers. I mean, they're great places to hide for all kinds of shadowy gentlemen..."

<<private to Quentin>>

[Private to Quentin Fox: You go over the notes of Roland and find something interesting that shocks you. It seems even though Roland has given you access he forgot about some of this information or did he? Some of his test subjects are the prisoners who are locked up in the cells. It seems Roland was testing something similar to what you found but instead of with the potion itself, he was using live rats with the infection. His notes details how people seem to go through a change and some mutate and other die. Poison, this is not you think but it works like poison. Why do only rats transmit this disease. Then upon researching further you find details of the sewers and mentioning of the infection coming from the location from the guard that has caught most of the infected rats.

One such entry mentions that this man made plague created by magic or skill seems other-worldly. Impossible to reproduce without knowing the path but curing it seems possible through normal means. Then you find something that scares you not previously noted before, in Rolands documents he details a man who committed minor offenses against the king and was experimented on. Once infected by one of the rats the man mutated. He however did not mutate into a brute but another giant rat. Upon biting another prisoner he was able to infect that man with the same plague. So it would appear that the disease is not carried by the rats themselves but by the mutated rats that were once human.

Your thoughts lead you to dark places but still make you wonder more about this.]

Aeress was taken aback by all of this, especially the novel solution of simply leaving notes so you didn't have to speak to anybody.

"How many notes are we talking about?"  She asked with raised eyebrow.  But Quentin had it under control, so there wasn't much to worry about.

She also seemed to think Olyx's proposal somewhat dubious.  "Really, we just find gentlemen who spent their youths in the waste tunnels laying about in such establishments?"

Hunter explores around the quarters, and finally cleared a table, pulled out an assortment of tools and began taking one of his pistols to pieces.

Jenkins tugged on the new funny-talking man's legs. "Can has alcohol?" She asked hopefully.

OOC: Hunter is doing what I proposed by PM.
 14:12, Today: Hunter Gallagher rolled 5,5 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,5.  Hunter Repair.
14:12, Today: Hunter Gallagher rolled 5,2 using d6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,2.  Hunter Weapons Skill: explosives.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:15, Thu 18 Jan.

"If Teknos is the God of Technology," Kai pipes in, "wouldn't it make sense his shrines and such would be places where there is a lot of machinery?  And if the north sewers are where the path leads, maybe there's a pumphouse or something?  I don't know how the damn thing works, but there must be something to keep the sh*t and all moving down to the river.  Or wherever it goes."

"Good question" Hunter calls out. "Also, where is the Iron Anvil? Anyone been there yet? What part of town is it?"

Piper climbed up onto one of the chairs in the room and sprawled out atop the cushion with a sigh followed by a yawn.

"So we know just about as much with regards to where these cultists might be as we did when we got here as what was offered up as a bounty of information to feast upon is no more than a few dried bits of root and acorns gone to mold.  Which will likely mean needing to search the sewers anyway."  She reckoned out loud before yawning again.

"On top of that, this whole plague just sounds like some sort of weird plan to help some old former high muckity muck of this waterlogged rock of a city get his petty revenge against a current high muckity muck, and he has somehow managed to make himself the pawn in some larger struggle, that we mere mortals should steer well clear of, in the belief that will help him.  Or he's at least perpetuating the rumor of such."

Piper closed her eyes and sleepily continued.  "Assuming this whole Teknos thing is true, then I wonder if this plague upon the city is just a plot of his own devising.  Fill the people with fear and strife, get them begging for a miracle, then along comes said miracle, and the people reward his benevolence with worship and adulation.  Worship begets power, power means more ability to gather worshipers, apply other such schemes as needed to gather more of the same.  Assuming that sort of thing is what Teknos needs to overcome whatever the gods did to him.  If he needs something else, then this might all just be a distraction, or part of the next step to lay groundwork for after his return."

Yawning again, Piper gave a final request.  "If Stonecroft figured the truth of all that out and put it in his notes, someone wake me up when they find that bit."  She then began to softly doze.

"Well, the notes are detailed enough, and our Lord Stonecroft has done quite a bit of research into the plague. There is some discrepancy though, which I am unsure how to resolve. This says" Quentin waves around a piece of paper "that some of the infected do not die, but instead are transformed into giant rats, and only those ex-human rats are transmitting this supernatural disease, the ordinary rats do not. I have no idea why this transformation hasn't been mentioned by Elysia."

Having said that, Quentin tries to find more about the spread, the origin, or any other Teknos- or location-related stuff that might be in the notes. He is not quite sure the origin of the spread will correspond with any headquarters or labs, but anyway tries to maybe find some candidates for either of those locations.

10:28, Today: Secret Roll: Quentin Fox rolled 1,14 using 1d4,1d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+6+2)14.  Research.

[Private to GM: "Then upon researching further you find details of the sewers and mentioning of the infection coming from the location from the guard that has caught most of the infected rats."

Not quite sure I understand this passage. Can you rephrase and elaborate on this given the above roll?]

"You can find all sorts of gentlemen who spent their youth in dubious pursuits- and they do be willing to part with their hard-won expertise, fer a price. Smugglers, sewer rats -no pun intended!-, the dreaded p-word people. Those with a legitimate need to hide their illegitimate activities, per se."

Following along to the library, slightly exasperated but not wishing to pull his luck, Olyx listens quietly until he feels something tugging at his trousers. He looks down to see Hunter's goblin, and he can't help but smile, both at the sight and at the question. "Blimey, of course! Here's this, if we go to the tavern, I'll be buyin' you a drink meself, how's that? If you can convince them to go."

In the meantime, however, while Hunter is perusing the notes, he also shifts around the stacks of papers or books or whatever's available.

[Private to GM: OOC: Looking for any occult or arcane knowledge. I have no investigation or research or anything similar, sadly, so basic roll at -2 for me it is :'(
10:34, Today: Olyx Mintarios rolled 4,-1 using 1d4-2,1d6-2, rerolling max (((4+2)6,1)).]

"No one at tavern, they scared of rats. An' Firey Stabby Man does 'sperimints on them an' cuts 'em wiv lill sharp knifes. Stabs 'em in eyes."

"Wot kinda pirate are you?" She - it - asked scornfully. "Not got no rum? Wot kinda pirate not got no rum? You not very good pirate."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:12, Thu 18 Jan.

Good-naturedly, Olyx kept chuckling and chortling at the little critter's exclamations as he was perusing the shelves and their contents.

"Well, I'm no pirate! Been sayin' that for a while. Just a sailor. And sailors buy 'er grog at the tavern, they don't be runnin' around with rum!"

He couldn't help shaking off the goblin's words, though. "What'd you mean, 'speriments? What kind of? And stabs the rats, or the people?"

"Ratses. Gives 'em potion, makes 'em big, and stabs 'em in eye an' cuts 'em here, an' 'ere 'an 'en does this..." Jenkins' face and body became animated with unholy delight as she remembers and re-enacts the macabre scene "... an' stabs 'im inna eye!"

Alarmed, he turns to Quentin. "What's the littl'un saying? What exactly do you do to them rats? Why in the bloody hells would you be doin' that?"

The sailor shudders a bit, stopping what he was doing to face Quentin. "Now, I know you be wantin' to help, and do something 'bout dem rats and the plague, but what's the point in cuttin' em up and guttin' em?"

Quentin, not being much distracted from the reading, simply responds: "Ah, found some substance in an injector and checked what it would do. The rat was just a very convenient subject. Better than one of you guys." Quentin then smirks to indicate he is at least halfway joking. Then shrugs. "Well, got to know how this plague stuff works, and, indeed, it does wonders! Nothing like what evolves naturally or what a man of any caliber could do. Should still have one subject in captivity, with eyes poked out to minimize handling dangers involved."

Olyx's lower lip trembles for a second but he controls it. "Wha- why's the eyes a problem? What's the point of stabbin' 'em out? I would understand if you'd pluck out 'em teeth, but eyes?"

He takes a deep breath, and asks again, "So did you at least find anything from these 'speriments?". He then turns to Piper. "And how does Teknos fit into all this? Ain't he the god in the brig? He ain't got nothing to do with plagues, does 'e?"

The more he heard about this, the more he started worrying. He fidgeted, then sat down, then go up again and paced the room, and then sat down again and fidgeted.