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Old 01-07-2019, 03:02 AM   #31
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 6 (2019-01-05)

Thoughts on June 29th

As I had to leave the inn before Lady Karita got up in the morning, I left a note for her with the innkeeper, asking if she’d prefer it if I stayed away from her at the ball. Knowing nobles, I figured she might have an ulterior motive for going to the party, and if that was the case, I wouldn’t want to interfere. I didn’t explicitly mention it, but I assumed she’d let me know in the reply if she had any special instructions for me.

On our way to the first performance, Olivia and I organized for a carriage to stand ready for us after the second performance, so we could hurry to the party afterwards, as we would be arriving later than what would be considered fashionable.

Between the performances, we returned to the inn to have a meal and see if Lady Karita had replied. Her note simply said that she had invited me along as entertainment, and that I should treat her like any other patron. That meant that I was free to enjoy myself without having to bother with politics. I was really looking forward to the ball, now. I think it’s been three years since I last attended one.

The evening performance went well, and Olivia and I hurried to the awaiting carriage where Olivia helped me into my new gown. We didn’t have time to do much with my hair, so a little tidying had to suffice. Ordinarily I would have seen a professional hair-dresser, of course, but needs must…

I made my entrance, gliding sinuously through the crowd. Lady Karita introduced me to the hosts. I exchanged a few pleasantries with them, but it didn’t take long before I was swept away to the dance floor. It was nice treading the intricate steps of the ballroom dances again, it really has been too long. My old dance teacher might have noticed I was a little out of practice, but I don’t think my partners perceived it.

I spotted Lady Karita watching me a couple of times; I don’t know why. Maybe she just enjoyed the view. Dancing is my second-best skill after all. The noblemen who danced with me certainly enjoyed themselves. I enjoyed myself immensely too.

When it was time to leave, I sought out Olivia. Seeing the guilt on my face, she simply asked “how many?” “Two,” I confessed, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. Olivia’s bosom was wet when we descended from the carriage at the Red Mansion, but her forgiveness, through the medium of her dress, had dried my eyes. I ordered hot water brought up to our room so I could cleanse myself before beginning to repay her eternal kindness.


Thoughts on June 30th

Feeling better, I went shopping with Olivia after breakfast. She laughed that I truly had become an adventurer when she heard my shopping list.

Our first stop was at Alfrey’s shop, where I bought a backpack. I had discovered that I need more than a small pouch if I’m going to take anything along from the saddlebags into ruined crypts. Juggling a bow, a first aid kit, treasures and a mummy is more than I want to try again. Although the gift for Olivia’s birthday must be ready by now, I’m content to leave it at the shop for now, lest she discover it in our rooms.

Stop number two was at the guildhall. I showed the people there my special arrow, the one that was said to hit its target more easily, and asked if anyone knew where I might acquire more, and at what price. I had come to the right place, but no such arrow was in store right now; they tended to sell out quickly.

Then we went to the stables to see if someone could teach Lightfoot not to be afraid of the darkness of the underworld. I left him in capable hands and was told the training would take a month. I should probably have delivered him there earlier, but I’m such a scatterbrain. Thankfully, I have Olivia to help me remember the important stuff, but she can’t truly read my mind, even though it seems like it sometimes. For minor things like this, I’ll have to tell her the moment I think of them, otherwise I forget completely.

It was only one show today, after which Olivia and I had dinner with the rest of the guys in a private room. Maybe we should find a cool name for our adventuring party? Olivia’s fallen asleep, but I’ll mention it first thing in the morning so she can help me remember to ask the rest of them. Anyway…

The others told us what they’d been up to for the last few days. Lady Karita revealed that she had been tasked by her family to look up a distant relative here to see why he hadn’t done his job. Apparently, something’s wrong in the metal-exporting industry around here, and her cousin had been ordered to find out what’s going on. Lady Karita was suspicious about his evasiveness, and wanted to take the investigation into her own hands, preferably without alerting her cousin or anybody else, like the Tinderholms, who had increased their wealth substantially lately. Kine contributed with the fact that she wasn’t allowed to buy metal ores or goods for export.

During the discussion, the others also revealed that they had broken into the courthouse a few nights ago, looking through various records. Lady Karita had asked Kine to make a distraction for the guards while she gained entry to the building. Kine is in heat again, so it wasn’t difficult to guess her strategy. Magnar had trailed them for security, and had been forced to witness some of the proceedings. He wasn’t very forthcoming with the details.

But it was lucky for Kine he had come along, because she had followed Lady Karita into the building without letting her know, so when Lady Karita emerged again, erasing her tracks, Magnar was there to inform her that she had just locked Kine inside the building. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to unlock the door again and bring Kine out.

We discussed how we could investigate without raising suspicion. I don’t remember what Lady Karita and Magnar are going to do, but tomorrow, I’m going to join Kine when she tries to figure out what kinds of goods will be profitable for her to export. I got the impression that it’s somehow related to the investigation.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 01-07-2019, 03:06 AM   #32
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 6 (2019-01-05)

Thoughts on July 1st
Olivia and I wandered around town with Kine today, while she made her inquiries. I’m sure she found out a lot, but it’s all got to do with merchanting, so I didn’t quite follow what was going on. But I wasn’t there to think, just to be a pretty face to smooth things over in case we encountered someone who was prejudiced against cat people. Everything went well, however, so that wasn’t needed, and when the time came, Olivia and I went to the show.

Afterwards, everyone met up for a private dinner and discussion, and we told each other what we’d discovered, except for Magnar, who only admitted to having gathered information. I take that to mean that he failed miserably at what he attempted.

The others wanted to go back to the courthouse again, to look for laws about trade and exports. I would have liked to come with them, but I don’t see how I can be of any help. I didn’t say it out loud, but even if Olivia had had the necessary skills to contribute, I wouldn’t want her involved in a break-in. So, when the others left the inn, Olivia and I attended to our own night-time activities.


Thoughts on July 2nd

Thinking we had nothing to do today before the show, I convinced Olivia to remain in bed. I tried to take things slow, to prolong the experience, but eventually Olivia was exhausted, and she reminded me that I had promised Kine to go to the Merchant Guild to do some sleuthing. I brought a mid-morning meal up to the room, and after we’d eaten, I said good bye and went to make good on my promise.

Everyone at the guild was very helpful, and I was admitted to the office of someone I could consult with, for a fee, of course. As instructed by Kine, I asked why the guild had raised the prices of all the goods they brought into the mines to sell at the inns there. The man refused to tell me, explaining that he couldn’t reveal guild secrets. I put on my sad face and asked who could, but he remained adamant, although he waived the consultancy fee. But in his attempts to console me, he inadvertently revealed why the prices had gone up, and I was looking forward to impress the others with my new knowledge, although the reason should have been obvious to us.

After the show, which was the final one, we all regrouped in our private dining room, and I learned that the break-in had been successful. Lady Karita and Kine had found the names of the five only people who are licensed to export natural resources from the Iron Mountains. The law requiring these licenses was written three years ago, and it is possible that it is unconstitutional. The new world colonies are granted much autonomy, but they can’t do just as they please.

This afternoon, Lady Karita had found the addresses, races and occupations of the five licensees. No need to send them letters and follow the messengers.

I thought I had done well, but they all laughed when I said the reason why the prices had gone up was so that the Merchant Guild could make more money. I stomped off with Olivia. She had laughed too, but I can never be angry with her. She’s simply too compassionate and forgiving, and I owe her my life and my sanity.


Thoughts on July 3rd, midday

I went to see the leatherworker, Alfrey Kansh, again. I told him about our investigation, and asked if he knew anything that could help us, but he didn’t. His job was only to forward information he received.

Lady Karita talked to an adventurer, a fungoid, who was knowledgeable about laws and legal matters, and she learned a lot from him, including the tidbit that a licensed lawyer could investigate certain matters on our behalf. We need one we can trust, someone with no ties to the nobility or the merchants. Unfortunately for us, the fungoid, who would have been ideal, isn’t licensed.

I then went to Hess Yggarson to get paid for the shows. I received 14 gold pieces, which is a lot, but not enough to cover the costs at the Red Mansion. I talked with Olivia about it, and she said that she had felt that we were living above our station, and that she was uncomfortable about it. I don’t really have any need for luxury; with clothes on my back, a roof above my head, food on my plate, and her in my life, I don’t really need anything else.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 01-20-2019, 01:24 PM   #33
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 7 (2019-01-19)

Thoughts on July 3rd (continued)

We searched for Lady Karita for a while, first at the Red Mansion, then at the guild hall. We didn’t find her, but Kine and Magnar were at the hall, so we stayed with them to chat – Lady Karita could be anywhere, and we’d probably meet at dinner a little later.

I asked the others what they thought about getting a cool name to call our adventuring party, and gave them a couple of silly examples like “Magnar’s Madams”. Magnar suggested “Magnificent Magnar and the Others”. While that name illustrates his experience as an adventurer, as well as everyone else’s lack thereof, Lady Karita would never accept it, and I’m not particularly keen on it myself.

At dinner I asked Lady Karita, too. So far, we’ve not been able to find a good name that everyone can agree on. I also asked the question that I originally had sought to ask her: Now that the show was over, Olivia and I are more available to help with her investigation, so if she has any tasks for us, we’d be happy to take them on.

Lady Karita found a lawyer, Ferdinand Gudbrandson, who can investigate the Law of Mineral Quotas, as it’s called, for her. That will take some time, so we decided to find a couple of quests, and hopefully be back in a fortnight or so.

After dinner, we went back to the guildhall to look at the quest board, and found three quests not too distant from each other. It’s hard to assess the exact difficulty of quests based solely on the description available, but hopefully these three aren’t too dangerous – we’re still novices, I feel. Except for Magnar, of course, but I think he’s a little too confident in his own abilities, or maybe he’s just trying to impress us girls.

We told the guild master, Malfinn Kandus, about the quests we’re taking. He reminded us that we are expected to finish quests we take in a month at most, since other adventurers may be dependent on the completion of them. As an added incentive to return soon, there will be a secret auction of “unique objects” on August 2nd.

I bought five potions of healing, since we’ll probably be gone for a while. I also sold my magic arrow to another adventurer, which prompted the others to comment that I seemed desperate for cash. I’m not really all that poor, but he offered a good price for it, and the only time I could have used it since I got it was against the cold dwarves, and at the time, due to the chaos of battle, I forgot that I had it.


Thoughts on July 4th

Everyone purchased enough food and lamp oil to last for three weeks, and Kine filled up her water barrels. I fetched Olivia’s present, since it’s less than a week to her birthday and I figured we’d still be down under then.

At the check point, the guards asked if we had seen a suspicious-looking dwarf sneaking about the mine entrance. We hadn’t, but someone started telling of the cold dwarves we had encountered earlier. I remembered that the guild master had said that they were to be kept secret, so I said “didn’t he tell us not to speak of them” or some such. Everyone’s eyes focused on me as the guards asked “he who?” Lady Karita pulled a fast one on the guards, though, and they told us to proceed.

As we left, Magnar handed one of the guards a bottle of exquisite liquor. The clergyman promptly seized it and handed it back to Magnar, saying pointedly that they didn’t take bribes. By the looks of their faces, the guards would have been more than pleased with the gift.

It seems Kine and Magnar have made themselves unpopular at the Mild Mole inn, so we pitched our tents a few minutes away.


Thoughts on July 5th

Lady Karita, Magnar and Kine were in a sullen mood, having been denied the comforts of the inn. None of us were looking forward to weeks of sleeping on hard rock, but Olivia and I have our own comfortable way of becoming too tired to mind, so we were positively buoyant compared to the others this morning.

Taking a few sips from the bottle of attempted bribery, and seeing Lady Karita in a fouler mood than usual, cheered Magnar right up, however.

After a couple of hours of travel, we met another adventuring party coming the other way, and we stopped to have a chat and let Kine sell them some stuff.

At the quest site, we discovered that there had been a cave-in, and we had to climb across a rockslide to enter, only to find the way blocked by a huge portcullis with metal bars several inches thick. Three meters beyond the door, we could see a lever protruding from the wall, obviously in the “up” position, as well as a giant wheel that we guessed could be used to raise the portcullis.

We decided to try to switch the lever first. Since it was too far to reach by any solid object we possessed, I tied a rope to a rock and tossed it in an arc to knock the lever down. It wasn’t easy to hit the lever, and when I did hit, it wasn’t with enough force to move the lever noticeably, but I kept at it until the others came up with a better idea: Tying Magnar’s war hammer to one of the tent poles. It took him a few tries, but he finally managed to move the lever, thus removing the bolt that locked the portcullis into position.

Even using a potion of strength wasn’t enough to lift the portcullis, so we considered the wheel. A heavy chain stretched from it into a hole in the ceiling, and we could see that to open the gate, we had to rotate the wheel, either by pushing at the handles on top of the wheel, or by pulling at the handles on its bottom. The latter option would be difficult, as the wheel was so large it went into a depression in the floor, and anything attached to the wheel, such as a whip or rope, would be stuck.

A third possibility dawned on us: We could try to pull at the chain. We managed to get Magnar’s heavy rope around the chain, and while we girls pulled at the rope, Magnar tried to lift the portcullis. It moved a little, but not enough to pull the vertical bars out of their holes in the ground. Magnar felt that he didn’t get a good grip on the bars, so we tried something else. The rope was long enough to lay double, and two of us could then pull on it, Magnar in front, sitting on a large boulder that he had carried there, bracing his feet on the portcullis, and me behind him. Both Lady Karita and Kine are rather feeble, so they didn’t contribute much anyway.

Finally, we managed to pull the portcullis out of the ground, and Lady Karita and Kine put some rocks under it, to prevent it from lowering again. The farther we pulled the chain, the harder it was, and the rope snapped before we could get the portcullis any higher. At this point, we were all exhausted, so we rested for an hour. I used the time to splice Magnar’s rope.

I looked at the opening beneath the portcullis. It was a little larger than the distance between the vertical bars, which was a little too small for me to stick my head through. Confident in my ability to get myself unstuck if the opening showed itself to be too small (I’m a contortionist, for heaven’s sake!) I tried to squeeze through. My head went through easily enough. I’m not excessively endowed in the upper torso area, so that part of me got past once I exhaled. Apart from my muscular arms and shoulders, I’m really quite slender, so once my head and chest were through, the rest was a breeze.

I then discovered that the wheel had rusted stuck, but after scraping at it for a while and applying a generous amount of oil, I got rid of enough rust to rotate it. Unfortunately, I proved not strong enough to lift the portcullis by myself, but by jumping on the handles, I was just able to raise the portcullis a little. The others put gradually larger stones under the bars, and when the opening was large enough for Magnar to get through, we were able to work the wheel to let the others through; his strength potion was still in effect. We also found a way to lock the wheel so that the portcullis didn’t fall down when we released it.

We searched a couple of rooms, which we believe must have been guard rooms back when this place was inhabited. Then it was getting late, so we returned to where Olivia had set up camp outside the rockslide. We said good night to the others, trusting Kine to take the first watch, as usual.

Wanting to know what we had found inside, Olivia suggested a game of kiss and tell – she’d keep kissing as long as I’d keep telling – but there wasn’t really that much to say, so the game soon degenerated into something else. Olivia had wisely set up Lady Karita’s tent on the other side of our camp.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 01-20-2019, 02:14 PM   #34
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 7 (2019-01-19)

Thoughts on July 6th

This place is huge! We discovered row upon row of residences. It got boring after a while, so after the first couple of dwellings, we didn’t bother to search them, and we decided just to get an overview of the area today, and map it out more thoroughly later.

We also found a large vaulted chamber that we think has been a marketplace with adjoining shops. Another vault served as the base for mining operations. Magnar and Kine think that these are diamond mines, but I don’t know how they figured that out just by looking at the rocks. We certainly didn’t find any diamonds.


Thoughts on July 7th

Since the distances inside this town are so large, we decided to move everything inside, and set up camp near the area we’re going to explore the next day, so when the rest of us went to complete the exploration of the residential area, Olivia started moving some of the smaller rocks to make a path along which the animals can go. We figured that if we emptied the wagon, we would be able to carry it across.

After finishing with the residential area, we went in the other direction from the entrance, and found a series of large caverns with a thick layer of soil on the ground, where we think the inhabitants must have grown their food. There was some kind of moss on the walls giving off a dim light in those rooms. Maybe whatever was grown here didn’t need the sun’s light to thrive?

We also found an underground lake. We’ve heard that the water down in the mines can be dangerous to drink, but Lady Karita thinks this water is safe. Magnar made a note of it on his map, but we decided not to take the chance unless we have to.

In the afternoon, we went back to move the camp. Practically the first thing Kine did walking across the rocks, was breaking her foot, or at least spraining it badly enough that she can’t walk on it. Olivia splinted her leg and said she wouldn’t be able to use it for several days. Kine drank a healing potion, but it didn’t seem to have much effect.

Since Magnar and I were doing most of the heavy lifting anyway, it didn’t matter much that Kine couldn’t help with the carrying, but she probably won’t be able to come with us when we go exploring tomorrow. We finished moving early in the evening, so we had some time to kill before going to sleep. I didn’t mind that.


Thoughts on July 8th
Kine stayed in camp today, keeping Olivia company. The rest of us found several statues of elves, as well as what looked to be a fortress, complete with portcullises, arrow slits and a courtyard. The fortress area was large and complex, so it took Magnar some time to make his maps. Lady Karita spent the time poking around, and I practiced my acrobatics, since I felt I wouldn’t be able to contribute much in either of their activities. I know I should try to learn how to be clever and observant while searching, but I need to practice acrobatics too, if I’m going to be the best in the world at it. Therefore, backflips and cartwheels.

When we finished at the fortress, we found another area of the town where there are actual buildings. Up until now, everything has just been carved out of the rock. Even though many of the buildings have collapsed, Magnar was able to tell that this must have been the finer part of the town, as the structures displayed great craftsmanship, and we found more statues there. We didn’t have the time to explore inside any of the buildings before returning to camp.


Thoughts on July 9th

We moved the camp to the area we found yesterday, and Lady Karita, Magnar and I searched the still-standing buildings. There were demon statues in some of them, but we found no treasures. Magnar said that he has come to conclude that there were elves ruling this place, but most of the population were of other races.


Thoughts on July 10th

Olivia and I had the last watch as usual, and when the others started waking up, I slipped into our tent and changed into the leather outfit I had bought earlier. I told Olivia I wanted her to come inside to see something. I congratulated her on her birthday and said I had a matching set for her to try on. When we emerged from the tent some time later, Magnar and Lady Karita had grown tired of waiting, and had gone to explore the ruins. Olivia and I were once again dressed in our regular travel clothes, as the leathers had come off at a certain point during the birthday celebration. They weren’t suited for public display anyway.

After breakfast, I went to see if I could find the explorers. Olivia stayed with Kine, whose leg was still in bad shape.

I found Lady Karita and Magnar looking at a hole in the ground, a five-meter-wide shaft going farther down than I was able to see in the light from our two lanterns. I asked if they had figured out the depth of the hole, and they told me they had dropped a rock down and counted six heart beats before it struck bottom. Neither of them wanted to attempt a free climb down, so they asked what I thought. I looked at the shaft wall and saw plenty of tiny handholds, so I figured I’d be able to descend safely, at least until I started getting tired. Then I’d either get stuck or fall the rest of the way, and neither alternative was particularly appealing. We decided to mark the location on Magnar’s map, and report it as a future quest to be explored.

We explored the rest of the ruins, and Lady Karita found a gold statuette and three gold coins. Magnar suddenly looked pensive, then declared that he wanted to have a second look at one of the buildings we searched yesterday. When we got there, he said that one of the walls was conspicuously thick. I couldn’t see it, but Lady Karita soon found a false stone in the wall and revealed a wide hole containing a four-meter length of chain with a small weight on either end.

Magnar stuck his hand inside the hole and pulled out the chain, and suddenly had a creepy feeling that he had triggered a magic trap. He shrugged off the feeling easily, and I gingerly touched the chain. I didn’t feel anything, so the trap was probably at the hole. Magnar said it was probably safe now, though, so I stuck my hand in to feel around in there. Nothing happened.

There is also a graveyard-like area near the ruins, and we went there next. We searched all the crypts, finding nothing but a diadem which Magnar put on. I’m not convinced it suits him, and anyway, it’s probably better if he keeps his helmet on.

In the evening, we returned to the camp, and I dug out a parcel of fine food I had brought for Olivia’s birthday. Magnar shared some of his exquisite liquor.


Thoughts on July 11th

We moved the camp to the mines after breakfast. Kine’s foot has healed now, so today she joined us in exploring the last location here. There were lots of vertical shafts and tiny passages, and Kine and I took care of those while Magnar made maps and Lady Karita looked around for anything interesting in the larger corridors. Lady Karita found an uncut diamond, but other than that, the mines were practically empty. Apart from the rocks that lay strewn all over the place, of course.

Searching the mines took all day, and Magnar said that he wants to take some time tomorrow to look over all his notes and complete the map before we leave.


Thoughts on July 12th

Magnar completed the map. Lady Karita, Kine and I went to search through the ruins again, just in case we had missed something, but we found nothing.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 01-20-2019, 02:36 PM   #35
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 7 (2019-01-19)

Thoughts on July 13th

We filled the small water barrel with water from the lake before going to the next quest site. Kine managed not to break her leg again.

There’s a portcullis here as well, but it’s raised into the ceiling, so we had no problem gaining entry. However, we found footprints in the dust, and Kine says they are both entering and leaving, so we can’t be sure if there is someone here waiting to ambush us.

There are statues of elves and arrow slits in two levels along the walls, and Kine noticed a taut piece of string stretched between one of the arrow slits and a small peg stuck somehow into the portcullis. Standing on my shoulders, Lady Karita studied the contraption, and discovered that if we were to dislodge the peg by pulling on the string, the portcullis would slam shut. She disarmed the trap by carefully cutting the string.

As the string is made from organic material, we found it likely that it was placed there by the same people that had left their footprints. We figured that it can’t have been that many days since they were here, and that they trapped the place, either to delay us until they find what they are looking for, or to prevent us from finding (or leaving with) some treasure they want to be left alone.

Because they may be behind us, I don’t want to leave Olivia alone here, so we stayed together while the other three went inside to find a safer place to make camp. They came back a short while later, and we moved everything to this courtyard, in what seems to be another fortress. The others told us they had found the other end of the string, a tripwire that now lay slack on the floor.

We started exploring some of the rooms adjacent to the courtyard before saying good night. Of course, we looked into all the rooms to ascertain that nobody was waiting in ambush.

Since I want to be on high alert during our watch, I’m going to get any distracting urges out of my system before sleeping. What’s taking you so long, Olivia? Ah, there you are…


Thoughts on July 14th

Miraculously, I managed to stay focused during the watch, but as soon as the others woke up, I had to take Olivia aside for a quick snack before breakfast. We spent the rest of the morning exploring the rooms near the courtyard, without finding much.

As we got a little deeper into the area, we found a passage with a large pile of rocks and scrap metal protruding from between them. Some of the metal looked rather sharp and pointy, so Lady Karita and Magnar climbed carefully over the pile. Kine followed, slipped, and skewered herself on one of the metal shards.

Several inches of metal stuck out of the back of her limp figure as she gushed blood onto the rocks below. I yelled for Olivia, who came running with her first aid kit at the ready while I looked to see how I could lift Kine off the spike as gently as possible. Magnar is considerably stronger than me, but I don’t trust him to remain as sure-footed as me on the unsteady, and by now slippery, rocks. Anyway, Kine is scrawny enough that even Lady Karita could have lifted her.

I took careful hold of the still body and lifted, carrying her down to Olivia, who stood ready with a healing salve. While Olivia applied bandages to Kine’s wounds, I got out another healing salve which I smeared on the poor kitten. Magnar tossed me a healing potion, and I told Olivia to administer it to Kine if she thought it was necessary.

To make matters worse, someone had stained some of the spikes with belladonna, probably Kine’s one as well, although it was impossible for Lady Karita to see under all the blood. She told us we needed to keep a close watch on Kine for the next few hours. Under Olivia’s care, Kine woke up after nearly an hour had passed. I told her what had happened, and she drank a healing potion, and after a short while, Kine declared that she felt well enough to proceed.

Our marching order while exploring is with Lady Karita and Magnar in the front and Kine and me in the back. The hallways down here are more than wide enough even to drive Kine’s wagon through, so walking side by side is no problem. Lady Karita searches for traps and Magnar is armed and armored, ready for whatever we might run into. Usually, Lady Karita finds the traps, but not this time. Suddenly a pile of scrap metal fell down upon the two in front. Lady Karita was completely taken by surprise, and didn’t manage to dodge out of the way, but Magnar held his shield above her and blocked all the sharp and possibly poisoned metal pieces from striking her. The weight of all the fallen metal pinned both of them to the ground, and Lady Karita’s lantern went out.

I asked if they were all right, and they both answered that they were, so I told them not to move while I dug them out. As Kine moved to help, I sharply told her to stay back and hold the lantern while I worked. I did not want her to risk cutting herself again. I had gloves, and was uninjured and so far, not poisoned.

It took me quite a while to remove all the metal, but at last Lady Karita and Magnar could stand up again. There were several shards stuck in Magnar’s armor, but he claimed none of them had penetrated completely. As they are rivals for status, Magnar quite enjoyed having Lady Karita wash the poison off the back of his armor in thanks for saving her. I don’t think he knows about her hidden cloth armor, but if she’d been struck by the same force that hit him, she might very well have died.

We got a little further, and while we’re almost certain we’ve seen all the rooms and hallways of this place, we didn’t find anything noteworthy before returning to camp.


Thoughts on July 15th

Since Lady Karita slept late this morning and Kine didn’t want to go anywhere without her, I did some practice while she and Magnar played around with the chain weapon we found earlier. Their noise woke Lady Karita who complained about it, of course. For once, it wasn’t Olivia and me who disturbed her sleep.

By the time Lady Karita was ready to go on exploring, Kine and Magnar had gotten so engaged with the chain weapon that they stayed in the camp when Lady Karita, Olivia and I went to search. There was no immediate danger of combat, so it was all right for Olivia to come along. We found a few gold coins, but nothing truly valuable. That indicates that those who were here recently had found most of the valuables before leaving. I had favored the theory that they had trapped this place to prevent us from finding the treasures here, but I was clearly wrong.

Back at the camp, we considered the possibility of the chain being chaotic, and therefore something that would be confiscated at the check point. We discussed whether we should try to smuggle it through, and how we might be able to do it, since it seems like a powerful weapon that can be useful later. If it truly is chaotic, I wonder if it’s safe to keep it.

As we had explored this site as thoroughly as can be expected, I suggested we go to the last quest location before making camp for the night, but Lady Karita opined that it would be better if we have the time to make safe an area before camping, so we should wait until morning to leave. We’re not really pressed for time, so I didn’t mind relaxing in camp for a while, even though I foresaw that some of the “relaxation” would be a little exhausting.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 01-20-2019, 02:42 PM   #36
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Re: Campaign Log: Chaotic Pioneering

This was a session of extreme rolls. I rolled three critical successes in a row in one of the encounters, and I lost count of all of Kine's critical failures. She even managed to roll max damage when she skewered herself (and the GM rolled 5 on the d6 poison damage for the belladonna). She succeeded on her death save, though. With minimal margin.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 02-02-2019, 09:32 AM   #37
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Re: Campaign Log: Chaotic Pioneering

Magnar just had an epic solo battle under water. It won't be included in the log, because none of the combatants lived to tell the tale.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 02-04-2019, 07:37 AM   #38
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 8 (2019-02-02)

Thoughts on July 16th

On the way to the next quest site, I asked the others when they have birthdays. Magnar’s isn’t too far off, August 14th, but Kine admitted she didn’t know when she was born. Lady Karita didn’t deign to tell me; she just said her birthday was in the middle of April.

We’ve seen very few animals down here in the mines so far. I can’t actually remember the last time, and suspect something unnatural is going on, probably something Chaotic. But today Lady Karita pointed out a rat scurrying away from us.

As we approached the entrance to the quest site, a foul, rotten stench assaulted our nostrils. Earlier, we’d talked about setting up camp inside, but if the smell was even worse inside, we’d have to reconsider.

We noticed arrow slits in the walls before the door, which fortunately was open. Lady Karita, now an experienced trap finder, discovered a trap door just inside, and asked Magnar if he would be so kind as to take his war hammer and hit the trap door. He said no. Then Kine asked him if he’d take a tent pole and prod the trap door. He took out his war hammer with a demonstrative glare at Lady Karita, and struck the trap door, revealing a five-yard-deep and five-yard-long hole, with a forest of rusted metal spikes protruding from the bottom.

Magnar held a rope for me to climb down, so I could investigate. It didn’t look like someone had smeared anything wet onto the spikes, but they didn’t look like they needed poison to kill either. Walking among them, I took care not to get cut. I can’t believe cutting myself on rusty metal can be very healthy.

I studied the mechanism of the trap door, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so I climbed back up. As the distance across was only five yards, I leapt across easily, eager to take a look on the other side. Magnar, who didn’t want to be upstaged by a mere novice adventurer, followed suit, but with considerable caution. Lady Karita followed as well, but Kine didn’t dare, so she stayed behind with Olivia while the rest of us went to take a look inside the doorway on the side of the corridor.

It opened up into a long chamber parallel to the corridor. We could see the arrow slits, and two levers, one large and one small. There were no traps, according to Lady Karita. We guessed the large lever would close the trap door, while the small one would lock it. We were right. Testing with increasingly heavier loads, we eventually got everything across the trap door. Wanting to prevent anyone from following us, we unlocked the trap door again. The wagon was nearly as wide as the corridor, and we placed it so that there wouldn’t be any ledge to land on if someone tried jumping over the trap. We should be safe, said Lady Karita, since I was the only one in the world who’d be able to jump across and slide under the wagon. The comment made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Leaving Olivia to set up camp, the rest of us proceeded along the corridor in the usual marching order, with Lady Karita in front searching for traps, Magnar at her side in case of an ambush, and Kine and me in the back, sauntering along.

At the end of the corridor, we found a staircase leading several stories down. At the first landing, there were two corridors heading off. Lady Karita said we should take the one to the right. Knowing her order would rile Magnar, and that he wouldn’t like to follow my order either, I said we should go left, hoping he’d choose the way an experienced adventurer would consider the wisest, rather than taking the option Lady Karita didn’t choose. He’s so jealous of Lady Karita’s social standing and of my fame, he only follows suggestions from Kine. Or in this case, a coin toss.

We found a series of rooms that were probably dwellings, and decided to search them more thoroughly later. The floor below may have been communal rooms, including a kitchen, and again we decided to proceed down before picking through the scrapheaps for hidden treasure.

The next floor was covered with three feet of water. Kine took Magnar’s lantern, because he wanted to use one hand to hold his expensive shield above water, and the other to protect the beard. There was a disagreement about what kind of rooms there were on this floor; Lady Karita said they were a bazaar, while Kine thought they were the homes of rich people. I didn’t care one way or the other, I just figured this would be a likely place to find something interesting.

Before we started diving for treasures, we left all inessential items behind in the stairwell. Kine and I stripped off our clothes as well, and laid them out to dry. Lady Karita sniffed and kept her clothes on. Magnar remained in his armor.

We found a few valuables before returning to camp. We used water from the small barrel, which we are fairly certain it’s safe to drink, to wash away the worst of the stench. Neither Olivia nor I was keen on any kind of kissing, but we still managed to have a good time tonight.


Thoughts on July 17th

It was a quiet watch. At breakfast, I asked the others whether they knew how to swim, and Magnar said that he could.

Not knowing that he’d find pockets of air, Magnar bravely dove into the foul water. Lady Karita went to search some of the areas we had passed through quickly, yesterday. After a minute and a half, Kine and I started getting seriously worried, so she went after him. She came back telling me she couldn’t find him; he had likely drowned.

Kine and I went up the stairs to tell Lady Karita, and to help her search. Magnar returned shortly after, to our collective relief. For some reason, Kine doubted his identity, and tried asking questions only Magnar would know the answers to. The result of the interrogation was inconclusive, but Lady Karita ordered him to stay there, on guard, while she went down to search where he had failed, and the way the dwarf balked against the command convinced Kine that it truly was Magnar who had returned.

I suggested that we let someone else, preferably somebody who can breathe under water as well as see where lanterns can’t be brought, search the drowned areas. Refusing to comply with Lady Karita’s order to stay on dry land, Magnar decided to go under again. He found a few tools down there, that for some reason hadn’t rusted. When we all gathered at lunch, Magnar told us that he wanted to continue searching in the water.

The rest of us searched for a while on dry land, before Magnar came back and reported that the sub-aquatic area was large; there even was another level below. He also said that he’d seen a large fish, and that he wanted to prepare for combat. We asked if it wasn’t too dangerous to fight fish in its own element, but he exclaimed a three-word curse, having to do with procreating with the fish. I said no thanks, and Lady Karita murmured that apparently there was a limit to my proclivities. Kine and I used the rest of the water from the small barrel to wash, before Magnar converted the barrel to a diving bell. Someone jokingly called it a suicide box.

Magnar went under, and didn’t return. Fearing the worst, but hoping that he’d come up on the other side and was trying to find the way back, we split the night watch in two. Nobody wanted to deprive Lady Karita of her sleep, and like always, I refused to be alone on guard.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 02-04-2019, 07:42 AM   #39
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 8 (2019-02-02)

Thoughts on July 18th

Magnar still hadn’t returned by the time we had finished breakfast, so Kine decided she wanted to search for him in the water. As this was the second time she dove, I reasoned that she could swim after all, and that she just was repulsed by the stench. She brought a faintly glowing rock she had found in the large city we explored last week, and having good night vision, she hoped she’d be able to find him.

Kine returned, telling us she’d found him on the bottom, with a barely perceivable reddening of the water around him. She wanted to bring him back, so I joined some ropes together. At one end, I made two loops, one that she could tighten around Magnar, and one of fixed size for her to have around her chest so she didn’t have to hold the rope. It had been difficult enough swimming with the glowing rock.

We agreed on a set of signals Kine would send to us by yanking on the rope. Since she had found a few pockets of air on the way to Magnar, one yank meant that she had surfaced to take a breath, two yanks meant that she was going under again, and three yanks meant that she had attached the rope to Magnar, and wanted us to pull them back. We also agreed that if we counted more than thirty heart beats after a two-yank signal, it meant she was in trouble, and we should pull her back.

Kine started swimming, and forgot to signal us, so we pulled her back. This time, the trip had gone much worse, and she had almost drowned. I guess it was lucky that she forgot the signals. We gave up on trying to get Magnar back, and started the journey home. None of us were sure what to do with Magnar’s gear. We didn’t know if he had any relatives to whom we could send his things, but our local guild master might have an idea.

Remembering that Kine wasn’t welcome at the Mild Mole, we camped a few minutes away from the inn, again dividing the night watch in two.


Thoughts on July 19th
We got up early in the morning to be able to reach Garuk before nightfall. At the check point, the guards remembered that there had been five of us going down, and they asked where the last one was. Kine said that he’d drowned, and they replied with a shrug that these things happen. They didn’t confiscate anything, not even the magical chain weapon.

We agreed to check in at the Red Mansion, and report at the guild tomorrow. There was one good suite of rooms left at the inn, and Lady Karita took it, allowing Kine to sleep in the room meant for servants. I asked the innkeeper if Olivia and I could have the small storage room in the attic again; it was available, and he was happy to get paid for it.

Olivia and I had deliciously warm baths (with soap, finally). In remembrance of Magnar, we celebrated that we still were alive. Oh, who am I kidding? I just wanted a good tumble. I still feel sad for Magnar, though.


Thoughts on July 20th

Kine, on the other hand, had spent last night mourning Magnar’s death, drowning herself in alcohol. When Olivia and I came down after prolonged morning ablutions, we learned that she had had way too much, and had fallen into a coma. Lady Karita had been roused in the middle of the night, and a doctor had been called, but there wasn’t much he could do. We just had to hope she’d pull through.

Lady Karita and I went to the adventurers’ guild. Outside, we overheard an argument about who had the mandate to regulate income from adventuring, and what laws applied. Lady Karita recognized one of the men as a member of the governor’s House.

The guild master, hearing one of us had died, said he wanted the rest of us to report individually. Lady Karita sent me back to the inn to wake Kine while she talked to him. I couldn’t wake her, and Lady Karita came back to tell me that I should go to the interview.

After making my report, as well as I could, I was asked if I had told anyone outside the guild about what we’ve been doing. I said no, since in my mind, Olivia doesn’t count as an outsider, and the people I report to have told me to keep it secret. Anyway, they just want what’s best for Virendia, so there’s no harm in giving
them information.

Kine had just woken up when I returned to the inn. I asked her and Lady Karita if they knew of a wise woman, an herb dispenser or the like, somewhere in the city. Lady Karita told me about the shop where she bought her sleep medicine, and gave me directions. I sent Olivia there while the rest of us went back to the guild.

The guild master told us that he had received a letter from Gnomus. The hamlet where we’d found the witches and the Chaotic scrolls had been burned to the ground, and all the villagers had been killed. As the scrolls had been nailed to heads on spikes, everyone suspected the church to be responsible for the massacre. The Sidel family were convinced someone in our group was guilty of leaking secrets and had had us banned from adventuring in their domain, in and around Urdon.

I felt so betrayed. Wracked with guilt, I told Olivia the first chance I got that we had to stop reporting, since we were getting people killed. Hopefully, it’ll be believed that we just don’t have anything worthwhile to report, but I fear there may be repercussions when they realize they won’t have any more information from us.

The guild took responsibility for sending Magnar’s shield with the family coat-of-arms to his relatives, along with his gold beard wax. Everything else will be kept for a while at the guild, and if they find it too expensive to send everything, Lady Karita, Kine and I will inherit.

We got paid for the three quests we’d completed, and we sold and split the loot. I’m now filthy rich and ready to go to the auction. We checked the notice board to see if the sales item list for the auction had been posted, but we couldn’t find it. The guild master had told us it would be ready when we returned, so we asked him about it, and he said now that Magnar was dead, none of our party had the required guild rank to attend the auction.

Eager to see the list and join the bidding, I started looking around the guild hall for someone of rank. I soon found somebody, and started flirting outrageously.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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Old 02-04-2019, 07:48 AM   #40
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 8 (2019-02-02)

Thoughts on July 21st

I woke up in a strange bed at the Red Mansion. Although I’d had an amazing night, it didn’t pay off, because my companion would be leaving the city soon, and wouldn’t be back in time for the auction.

I climbed the stairs to the attic on leaden feet and confessed my sin to Olivia. Torn between guilt and desire, I admitted that I still wanted to get someone to take me to the auction. Olivia asked if there was any other way to get in, but I couldn’t envision Lady Karita trying to seduce anyone, and having heard about Kine’s clumsy distraction during Lady Karita’s break-in to the courthouse, I thought she was too much of a blunt instrument to achieve the subtle manipulation required.

Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself, now that the idea had taken root in my mind, Olivia reluctantly gave me her permission to proceed. We both knew that I’d still be miserable with guilt, but at least it wouldn’t destroy me, and that would break her heart, causing a vicious cycle which I fear would only end in death. Vowing to myself to do something romantic as well, I got down to business and unleashed wave upon wave of ecstasy on my darling Olivia.

When I’d given her as much as she could take, we cuddled for a while, and she told me the that she’d followed my suggestion and found someone at the herb store who could teach her more about how to treat illness and injury, and that she’d like to go there for a few hours each day for a while. As neither of us wanted her to fight or to brave more hazards than what would be necessary to follow safely behind the rest of us, this would be a good way for her to contribute to the survival of the adventuring party.

We got dressed, and Olivia went to her teacher. I found Lady Karita and Kine, who told me that they’d shared a few drinks with the other adventurers at the inn last night, in remembrance of Magnar. Lady Karita had told the innkeeper to make sure Kine didn’t have too much again.

Lady Karita went to see her lawyer, and learned that the judge who was supposed to have peer reviewed the Law of Mineral Quotas had been murdered before he could do so. Four dwarves, who all during the trial claimed to be innocent, had been accused and found guilty. Bloody clothes and weapons had turned up when their homes were searched. Two of the witnesses attesting to the dwarves’ guilt had been found killed some time later. Since the judge’s murder was ruled a random robbery gone wrong, the authorities claimed to have no reason to believe his work had gotten him killed, and as peer review wasn’t strictly necessary, the law had been implemented without further ado.

Kine went to the market to ply her trade for a while, and was confronted by someone from the merchant guild who wanted her to pay the membership fee. She refused, wanting the representative to bring her documentation that she was on their membership rolls. She didn’t want to risk going into the guildhall.

Back at our guild, I tried my luck with another high-ranking adventurer. I could see that he was attracted to me, but I soon found out that he didn’t want to risk his girlfriend finding out that he was unfaithful. I found yet another guy, and while I learned that he also was spoken for, I proved too alluring for him to resist. He told me that there would be serious repercussions if he was discovered revealing guild secrets, but after I had shown him the limits of what his bed could handle, he was putty in my hands, and promised to take me to the guild to see the list tomorrow. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be in town for the auction, but there’s still more than a week for me to find someone who’s going to go. A thought struck me, that Olivia would be pleased with: I’m going to try to find out if my mark will be in Garuk at the time of the auction,
before I start flirting with them.


Thoughts on July 22nd
Before going to see the list, I had to talk to Olivia, of course. She was going back to the herb store as planned, and while I could see that she wasn’t very keen on the idea of me having to seduce even more adventurers, she was glad that I’d decided to get whatever information I could before I started sleeping around again.

I didn’t dare to take notes while perusing the list of sales objects, but I tried to remember the items that would be of interest to us, and that I thought would be affordable. There is a ring and a necklace with protective properties, but I think the initial bid prices are a little steep. If we all pool our gold together, and Lady Karita and Kine have a little more than I think they do, we might be able to get one of them, but there were other items that were a lot cheaper, and possibly more useful. There is a blackjack that appears in your hand when you need it, a whip that makes it easy to hit, as well as exotic leather armor that is supposed to be both light-weight and sturdy. Of those things, the armor and the blackjack are what I’m interested in procuring for myself, but I don’t think I’ll be able to afford both, and I’m not sure if my style of unarmed fighting allows for the use of a blackjack, so I’m just going to bid on the armor. I suspect Kine would like the whip.

I told Olivia and Lady Karita what I could remember as soon as we met for dinner at the inn. Lady Karita told us she had confronted her relative, Karl Morgenstern, today, and asked him whether he was afraid, disloyal or just incompetent. He finally admitted why he hadn’t been very successful in investigating the mineral export monopoly: His wife and son had been kidnapped, and were held captive to ensure his cooperation. Unless they were returned to him, he wouldn’t do his job.

While we were eating, a couple of finely dressed gentlemen approached our table and served Lady Karita with a subpoena for the day after tomorrow. Kine had tried to break free a group of slaves last night, but had failed and was arrested. As she was a slave, her owner was held responsible for Kine’s actions. It turned out her owner was Lady Karita. I was stunned.

Lady Karita ordered the innkeeper to move our meal to a private chamber. On our way there, Olivia whispered to me that there was an elf woman whom she thought had been watching us for a while. We finished our meal discussing what to do.

There are four exits from the common room of the Red Mansion, two doors leading outside, a staircase up to the second floor where we were sitting, and a door leading to the kitchen. Lady Karita ordered Olivia and me to climb out the window and block the two entrances from the street while she went down the stairs to confront the elf. I took Olivia’s hands and lowered her as far as I could reach. The rest of the distance wasn’t large enough for her to hurt herself. I jumped after her and went to the door closest to the elf’s table, figuring that if she tried to escape from Lady Karita, it would be better if she tried to go through me than through Olivia.

The elf made no attempts to flee, and everyone eventually sat down at her table. While Lady Karita interrogated her, I seized the opportunity to discretely place my hand on Olivia’s lap, tickling her gently. Olivia promptly crossed her legs, trapping my hand and preventing me from going beyond her ability to keep a straight face.

The elf revealed that she knew Kine from before, but wouldn’t say anything about how they knew each other, or why she’s been watching us, except that it has something to do with whether the cat considers herself a member of the merchant guild. She didn’t want to tell us her name either. After we let her go, the staff at the inn told Lady Karita that she had been there several times in the last weeks; we suspect she was looking for us.

The men who had subpoenaed Lady Karita had insinuated that things could be handled out of court if she went to see them tomorrow, so I told her that I’d stay in the common room tomorrow morning, in case she wanted or needed anything before going to see them. Then Olivia and I said good-night to her and went upstairs.
__________________
You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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