3. PC Central - Homecoming: Kith and Kin

PC Central - Homecoming: Kith and Kin


  • George uses a scroll of Sending to contact H'resh ((Will burn it IG)).

    "Battle coming, exact time unknown. Days. Wisp. Five miles north, seven east from docks. Expecting Dopplegangers. Requesting overwatch from the north. No interference unless sunk."


  • All efforts here are being noted.

    Please list any further preparations here prior to the scheduled time.

    They will be accounted for during the event.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • "Sembians and a certain parade captain." The gray druid gives Reyhenna's lavender doings a familiar inquisitive arch of the eyebrow, but she makes no further comment. Aoth has been quiet since consenting to the plan, but she raised no further objections. Since returning to the surface, she has taken to perching in the rigging of the Wisp in the guises of various lake birds.

    Within her mind, should any passing doppel query, she plays out scenes of what they might do with the black steel in endless variety. Bury them under the Plains of Purple Dust, scatter them across the Trackless Sea, return the steel to the earth in a volcano in Unther, sell them to abused and ireful wizard's apprentices in Athkatla or Eltabarr, launch them into orbit... The wayfaring druid's memory easily recalls dozens more places where few mortals are likely to visit in a century or, conversely, where the steel will find covetous hands.


  • Isolde, meanwhile, flits about making attempts at preparations. First, she pays a visit to the Lighthouse temple and specifically the shrine to Valkur, enquiring about purchasing enough potions of Waterbreathing to cover the party's needs. Despite not typically being the type to rely on faith, she offers a prayer to Valkur while there, too. Thereafter, her path is due south, to the Witch and Seer, to seek out Jonni, Visum or both. She presents the dark-stained handkerchief with the Unreal's ichor on it, asking:

    "Is there a way to use this to create some sort of proximity alarm, or at least increase one's chances at seeing the bastard coming? Since I doubt scrying will work so long as it's still got Triloquist's cloak, I'm wondering if we can think outside the box and yet make use of this for something..."


  • George at first looks somewhat nervous at quite that many open flames on his ship, but hearing Rey's theory, he lets her continue because of reasons. He simply starts putting the candles in glass lanterns for safety. As the scent of lavender permeates the ship and starts wafting off the bow, he cannot help but grin at Rey.

    "Know who else really likes lavender?

    Sembians"

    1 Reply

  • Reyhenna, whether through superstition or otherwise, has cartloads of lavender incense and candles loaded aboard George's ship and ensures they are lighting on all decks at all times, until the place is veritably polluted with lavender. If asked, she shrugs and says it helps keep the mind clear, maybe?


  • Reyhenna nods agreeably.

    "If George is game for blowing up another ship, who are we to stop him?"


  • "The Wisp is just a ship. Wood, rope and sailcloth. If things go sideways, we might need a quick exit. There is a lifeboat, of course, and I am of a mind that we need to end the Unreal at any cost."


  • "Hm, might be worth it, albeit with the risk that we face the same hinderance from a speedy exit via magic. Thoughts, geese?"


  • Devlin, Autonomist Enchanter: "You can cast the anchor on the ship itself. The anchoring field will follow it as it moves."

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • "I'm in favour of George's ship then - while it might be risky to fight the Unreal there, we'll have no bystanders coming to harm and, no least important, it won't be able to get away as easily as the previous encounters. I also think it's a believable ploy for us to have concocted for real, as the ship is mobile and not a fixed target to strike at as the Witch and Seer. On that note, is it possible to cast a Planar Anchor on the container with our bait at all or can only immobile areas be anchored like that?"


  • Berlinne Toews: "We're moving up to the Witch and Seer, like you suggested. I'm sure Aelthasson will be pleased to see us."

    Devlin, Autonomist Enchanter: "Sorry. No layering. You'll have to pick one story for the memory tailoring. And then expect the dread doppelganger to come after you, so you better make it good bait."

    If the party intends to use George's ship as the "strong-point" to bait and fight the Unreal, it should confirm as much in this thread. The Autonomist enchanter will tailor the party's memories, and bring the real black steel to the Witch and Seer for hide-away.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • "I was going to suggest my ship as well. I can sail it out onto the lake and leave it anchored away from shore to help sell it, too.

    Can we layer a fake memory beneath the fake memory? If the Unreal suspects foul play, and doesn't believe the first, or if it does bite and we can't catch it, can we have a second fake if it tries to pry? Given its own skill, it might not fall for that, of course."


  • "And third, as an alternative we can use if the Unreal 'doesn't' bite - I still have a piece of cloth with its vile ichor on it, for scrying attempts."


  • "Two things - first, given Harlow's lead pointed us in this direction and knowing he's currently in doppler captivity, I don't recommend the Autonomists keep using this same hide-out, just in case it all goes topsy-turvy. It might also be best that we genuinely don't know where they'll contain it, if the Unreal's memory skills extend to recognizing others handiwork in tailoring.

    That said, I'm in agreement of the plan as a whole. 'Normally' we'd stash anything of this sensitive nature at the Witch and Seer, but we could have our memories tailored to a double-bluff on that count, given Berlinne may wish to utilize that if she so chooses. So! We'll pick what we think we decided was an 'unexpected' location, yet still relatively secure. We'll have to remember having thoroughly ascertained the nature of our illicit goods, as well, to avoid the risk that some nosy nelly goes to double-check.

    So we'll want a secure location, and one where there's little to no bystanders risking hurt. George's ship, in a chest lined with lead for non-detection? Cormac's place, for our canny reasoning that he's the least likely suspect to have it? I'd like it to be somewhat remote, but it does have to make sense to our own reasoning too..."


  • The Crazy PDCDS Switcheroo Gambit

    Deep below the ruins of an underground Unseelie garden, the Golden Geese have finally located the missing Permanent Death Causing Danger Steel aka the PDCDS aka the Black Steel. They have found it in the hands of the Autonomists, under the leadership of Berlinne Toews, who have been hiding out in the depths. Now they must decide what to do about it, for their enemy, the memorybending doppelganger known as the Unreal will surely read their minds upon their return and discern the location of the missing shipment.

    Upon being informed the Autonomists have an enchanter capable of tailoring memories, Reyhenna, after a healthy screaming match with Berlinne, puts forward one idea.

    "We know the Unreal doesn't know about Berlinne and the Autonomists, so we should leave the PDCDS in their custody. However, we can't leave here knowing that they have it. Since the Unreal is probably expecting us to find and retrieve the steel, I propose we fool it into thinking we did just that.

    However, in order to fool the Unreal, we must fool ourselves. Everything we know, it knows.

    We've come down here, found the black steel daggers, verified it's the real deal. So I propose we take some decoy daggers back up with us. Berlinne's mindbender there can ensorcel us to think we're leaving with the real daggers - the Unreal will read our minds, think WE have the steel and be forced to try and attack us directly to try and relieve us of them. It is so used to working with perfect information, this will be a prime opportunity to bait it into a mistake and take it out.

    Obviously, this plan doesn't work if we realize at any point before the Unreal that our daggers are fakes - it'll just read our minds and rumble the plan that way. To avoid this, we need to plan out exactly what we will do with the daggers now, so that we'll carry that plan out immediately after leaving here with our memories altered.

    I am thinking we pick a strongpoint to contain them, the Unreal will expect us to put them somewhere we think is relatively secure from its reach, we should do just that. Then it is only a matter of waiting for the inevitable attack from the Unreal on that strongpoint. We'll also need Berlinne's enchanted to be ready to restore our memories once the Unreal has attacked, if possible.

    Thoughts? Alternatives?"


  • Isolde, in the days after a certain interrupted performance at the Commons, slips out towards the Docks district instead, red hair covered and dressed casually (for her) to blend in. Should she find the black-haired bard playing, she'd listen well, making sure to give the performer a tip and a subtle wink before leaving to analyze the song with care.


  • OOC Note: I have mistakenly used the name Whitedune, in reference to that noble family involved in the plot, when I should have used the name Kildarn.

    That is my error.

    I will be updating this thread, including your posts, to read "Kildarn" throughout.

    In character, please act as though the family involved was always Kildarn, and not Whitedune. That includes the last name of the murdered Cedric, as well as Antony, whom Aoth visited.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Isolde, in reviewing her notes after a talk to the usual suspects at the new and improved table outside the Mermaid, jots the following down:

    "Priorites:

    -Kildarn estate, basement: are those blasted doors in use or not?

    -Find Rowe

    -Learn whether Snydders golems were stolen or remain at the house's estate"

    With that written down, Isolde then slips out after hours, hooded and masked, to reach out to a few of her more elusive contacts.


  • Back at the Ladies Detective Agency after a long and arduous investigation into (and under) the home of Kingsguard Richard Gale, Isolde writes up the following details, available to any trusted ally collaborating with the investigation:

    "42 Birch Street

    I had worried we'd taken too long in following up on the search of the dopplerized Kingsguard, but the clear indication of magic added to a sturdy lock on the front door soon saw my interest piqued. Detect magic revealed generalist and transmutation magic present, presumably some manner of Alarm spell which unfortunately, repeated attempts at dispelling saw going off. Aoth and I both concluded the original caster is someone quite powerful - I'd wager the same caster responsible for the Lessor Spellfire that saw the flagship go down in blue, unquenchable fire.

    Within, a normal and unremarkable home awaited, but hidden by an illusiory wall was a small square space, in which a rope was suspended. Pulling this, we shifted a large cabinet which had been shunted into the false wall and found a recently dug tunnel leading down to a hidden basement. Whoever had been operating there was long gone, but we soon saw the following:

    • A hole, going deeper, in the center, with a pulley/rope system set up near it.

    • A large orb, next to a desk, with some stray papers and notes strewn about.

    • A forge and alchemical tables and notes near it.

    • Lastly, a small ash pit. The ashes were fine and thin, bringing Wilkes' assassination instantly to mind. Were these the remains of the real Richard Gale?

    A closer study of the forge and alchemical tables supported that grim assumption. Necromantic symbols and glyphs littered the papers, though it looked like the user's attempts at combining certain necromancy spells or effects with weaponry had, so far, failed. Though it should be noted that some papers were missing, others scattered as though someone took off in a haste. The forge, the chimney of which had been connected to the residence's normal chimney, dug through, contained old twisted bits and pieces of metal, and the residue of spent arcane ingredients from necromantic spells, specifically black onyx.

    Near the big orb ahead stood a pair of cabinets and a book, on the ground, alongside some scattered, seemingly blank papers. The book's spine was damaged from someone having torn certain pages out. Aoth, skimming slowly and with care though, found a few relevant pages the tearer missed in their haste. A faint sheen revealed the use of a near invisible ink. We collected everything we could for later examination.

    The cabinet's top three drawers were empty, the bottom two full, but of blank papers, while the large drawer contained clothes - specifically fanciful noble clothes, fit for a man of medium build. The orb, now inactive, resembles Jonni's scrying ones. A later examination of the notes showed the use thereof in chilling detail, as Aoth held the pages up against the light:

    The pages with hidden content appears to be a log of actions and dialogue, taken in note form, and also sketches of Kasimir Fisher and King Thalaman - the latter from the papers strewn near the scrying orb. The sketches are extremely detailed and from different angles. Profile, face-first, above, to the side. . . as well as certain sketches being up close - eyes, nose, mouth, etc. Enough, perhaps, for a Doppelganger to assume a believable guise without stealing it directly, up close and personal.

    A direct transcript from the original notes, written in shorthand, is added below:

    Page 1.
    "KASIMIR FISHER (KF): I simply don't think we should be complacent. Urgent situations require urgent action.
    THALAMAN FISHER (TF): I've heard enough.
    KF: You know she's dangerous. Even the clergy say so.
    TF: I said that that's enough.
    KF: You expect us to do nothing. While she returns? Without punishment or decree? The clergy say so. Even my own Kingsguard says so. They all say so. They're all worried. And what do you? Ignore it? Go off hunting? Stick your head in the sand?
    TF: Not another word from you. Or anyone, on this.

    The shorthand notes read: (The King shouts. The room is silent. Other councellors are also silent, for a time. Eventually the King continues)

    TF: The next person who suggests exiling Reyhenna Jorino or anyone from her group is no longer a member of this Council. I don't want to hear about it, anymore. We have other matters to attend. Let us attend to them."

    The back of the first page contains the following note: "King Thalaman Fisher, taken during a caravan ride, on the King's hunting trip, in the company of Kasimir Fisher and certain members of royal council."

    The other pages are apparently for different contexts/conversations, each one taking shorthand notes of not only actions, but detailed notes of words used, dialogue, and inflection.

    Page 2.
    "Enenan Snydders (ES): I don't know the King's brother to be so generous. (Nasal, suspicious, dry, slow.)

    Richard Gale (RG): A token of appreciation for all that you've done for the monarchy. And your loyalty, despite the trying times. From what I was told to say.

    ES: How thoughtful. Thank you. I expect I shall drink it tonight. (Addendum: RG has, after return, indicated that Snydders was lying, based on his immediate thoughts in the moment at the time.)

    RG: "Of course. Until next, Councillor."

    The backside of page 2 indicates: "Conversation took place outside of Snydders estate, following delivery requested by Kasimir Fisher."

    Page 3.
    "Thalaman Fisher (TF): Have you felt it?
    Kasimir Fisher (KF): Felt what?
    TF: Something feels different.
    KF: And what's that?
    TF: I don't know. Wrong, somehow. Not quite how I remember it.
    KF: You're getting older. We both are. Memory is unreliable.
    TF: I don't like getting older. I miss when we were younger. Actually.
    KF: Do you? What, you want to be a child, again? Better to be in the now. Now you can actually do as you please.
    TF: Everyone was around, when we were younger. That was nice, wasn't it? Everyone all together.
    KF: You're not thinking straight. I think you need some time off to clear your head. Why don't we organize another fine evening? I can have a mage contact those Suzail noblewomen you liked so much last time.
    TF: "... You ever wish you could do something differently, from before? Make a different decision- (Thalaman Fisher is cut off by Kasimir Fisher, who spoke the foregoing)"

    On the back of page 3, it reads: "Spoken at the royal estate, on the balcony, overlooking the courtyard dining area."

    Final note: Aldous Pliskin confirmed the ashes found in the hidden basement are indeed human remains. Whether the dead person or persons can be resurrected remains to be seen, as does definitive proof of the metal remains in the forge being a match to the stolen shipment. But everything points that way so far. And while our persuit of the perpetrator down the hole leading into the Underdark proper was a bust, we 'did' run into a nasty clutch of Drow - leaving one alive to ponder our Doppelganger warning.

    ~Isolde~"