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Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:24 pm

Once the last root man is down, Phinkis runs over to the where Thurton is. He looks to the ghostly version as he readies to strip the amulet of it's magic. "Do you know what's going on Thurton?"

Post by **GM-Brad** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:28 am

“I’ve died! That’s what’s happened! I’ve died and now I’m a ghost!” Thurton moans. “Cut down in the prime of my life! Those ghost horsemen kidnapped me on the way to the joust and brought me here and chained me up. Surrounded me with those red candles, did a bunch of chanting, and placed that amulet around my neck. I’ve never hurt anyone. Why couldn’t it have been one of those grubby Barls that got turned into a ghost?”

Harmon glares at him.

“As soon as that amulet was placed on me I felt this weird sensation. Couldn’t control my mouth. Then my legs after that. Like I was outside myself watching on. Now I am outside myself watching on!” He kicks his own body, and it rolls a little. “You've got to help me! Turn me back! Right now. And …oh, I suppose you’ve got to help those others too. There’s at least three more, um, people they’ve captured. They took ‘em downstairs before me. Said I wasn’t ready yet.”

There is something about his tone that makes you think he’s hiding something.

“What others?” Harmon scowls at the ghost.

“Oh, alright, Harmon. Now don’t blame me. The three others they took down. They were, um…Dresda’s children. Those ones that went missing all those years back, that your son was watching. Though they’re hardly children now. I –now don’t get mad- may have known what happened to them, and not told anyone. It was their mother! Even though she was a Badule, she was a dark witch through and through, and those kids had to get away from her. They were frightened, with good reason, and came to me. Showed me where to spy on her as she was raising skeletons in their back yard! She was cruel to them, and their father was little more than a thrall to her. Well, I had to get ‘em away. So, when they were out of their home, at yours, Harmon’s, I waited till Darius turned his back, and I snagged ‘em, and off we took. I smuggled them to the south of Haven, and there they’ve been ever since, living with my cousin. Till now. No one would believe my story, though, so I had to keep it hushed. Especially no Barl would believe sense; If I told your family, your stupid son probably would have gotten those children and given them right back to their mother out of some misplaced sense of duty.”

Harmon looks speechless.

“But the cat’s out of the bag now," Thurton continues. "These ghost horsemen are Barls, and they ain’t none too happy with Dresda Badule, nor her children, it seems. That statue was of her, at the stairs, I bet on it, and they defaced that. And now they’ve tracked down her kids, it seems, after all these years, and caught ‘em. To do what , I don’t know.”

“What of my son- have you seen him?” Harmon asks.

"Yeah,I’ve seen him. Not an hour before you got here he came by the barn. Took a look right at me, but left me chained up! Then he went down those stairs. I tell you he’s one of those ghost-men, I do, what with his pale skin and his freaky horse. It's just like those others in that barn, underneath its pretty coat.”

"You lie." Harmon balls his fists. “We should leave you like this for all your spite, Thurton. But, I don’t think anyone deserves to live like this. These folks with me are experienced adventurers, it seems. Maybe they can help.”

Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:47 am

Phinkis unleashes the power he had been building up into the amulet. (Disenchant)

"Harmon, be ready to bandage this mans wounds. If this works, I'm removing that amulet."

Phinkis reaches into his pouch and pulls out another vial.

"Sir Kaylan, please keep the area secure for us. I hope you didn't get too injured back there. I only have a couple of these potions and this man is about to need one of them."

Kaylan Chargeender · Post by **Kaylan Chargeender** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 10:35 pm

"Thurton, I do not think your a ghost in the usual meaning of that name. You have certainly been magiced and changed, but into what I don't fully know. If we can get you back to your body we will."

Kaylan looks over his shoulder and down at Phinkis, as he take a stance for widest field of view with his back to the group, and chuckles "You have known me long enough to just call me Kaylan, Phinkis. Here use this if you need to." Kaylan removes and tosses at Phinkis a small vial form the back of his shield(heal 2). "its not potent but it might help...use it if he needs it"

At the revelation that the horsemen are Barls, Kaylan questions Thurton" First ....South of Haven where...how far is your cousin from here and what is his or her name? Also, did they say WHAT you weren't yet ready for? Are you sure Dresda was raising skeletons in their back yard, because it would likely have drawn attention to have an undead army and no one has mentioned it. Lastly, how do you knows the riders are Barls?", before turning and glares at Harmon in a Did-You-Know-About-This manner. "Tell me everything you know about these horsemen and your sons involvement...right...now..."

Post by **GM-Brad** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 10:13 am

Thurton glares. “I knew those horsemen were Barls because of their damn livery. Three hawks on a field of yellow. No other person would wear something so ugly. As for Dresda and her children, I wouldn’t say that woman was raising the dead as an army, just a hobby. Wanted a new house servant, her little Christie said. That’s bad enough. My cousin Carl’s place is way south near the ocean. He’s got a small farm there. Weeks away. So whoever these ghosts are, they’ve gone to great lengths to find those kids. As for why I wasn’t ready yet, I have no idea. Maybe because I was still alive! I swear, If I’m not fixed my ghost will haunt every one of you Barls from here to eternity, starting with you Harmon! I was just about to win that joust, too.”

At Kaylan's accusation, Harmon turns. “I swear, I did not know any of this. I have never seen these horsemen before, nor do I have any idea how my son might be connected to them. Everything I’ve told you is true. Darrius has been gone for years, and only came back this spring, I think mostly because he felt bad for leaving Yannick so long. I’m scared he’s found out those kids he’s been questing for for so long are down here, and he’s come by himself to foolishly try and rescue them.”

Phinkis, you lean over Thurton’s body, unleashing your magic into the amulet, and the ruby suddenly loses its shine. In that instant, the ghost of Thurton disappears. Quickly, you cut away the amulet form the body’s chest with your sword. You discover there are black tendrils coming out from it, much like roots, that have dug in. You dig out the whole mass quickly –good flesh and bad (the tendrils shrink once removed), and pour a potion down Thurton’s throat as Harmon pounds on his chest. The body isn’t responsive for a few moments, but then it comes to life with a gasp, his back arching. Harmon starts to wrap a bandage around Thruton’s chest as he sits up, once more alive, but dazed.

“About time,” Thurton says, then falls back down with a thump to rest.

Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:15 pm

"Well, that's a relief." Phinkis let's out a long breath.

"There is some foul magic being done here." Bending over, Phinkis grabs the amulet carefully and places it in one of his pouches.

"Harmon, please keep an eye on Thurton and let me know if his condition changes. I must speak with Sir Kaylan." He walks over to Kaylan and speaks in a low tone.

"So what should our next move be, now that we have an injured man to watch over? There may still be another man down here somewhere but I'm starting to think bringing Thurton down there may be a bad idea. Also, I'm sorry if the use of your title made you uncomfortable. I prefer to use proper titles when around others who may not know you as well.

Kaylan Chargeender · Post by **Kaylan Chargeender** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 11:41 pm

Kaylan snorts at Thurton " Sneer all you like, hard questions getting answered is the only way out of this. If you cant find some gratitude and cooperation ion your own, let me remind you....helping you puts the rest of us at higher risk. That risk CAN be reduced by your demeanor changing our willingness, and us moving on without you. I think threatening to haunt a man that's trying to help you ...makes it less likely you will be helped. might want to keep that in mind."

Kaylan slowly turns and walks away a bit speaking to no one in particular, "If what they wear is the clue you used, there is a chance they are wearing with the intention anyone seeing them will THINK they are who they are not." the dwarf turns back sharply to Thurton. "I assume you didn't recognize any individuals as specifically Barl clan members?. Also your cousin is weeks you say...have you heard from him recently? "

When Harmon replies, Kaylan purses his lips and hums a gravely tune for a bit, his eyes seemingly looking into no where. "Any notion why Darrius is seen as so pale and odd?" Kaylan poses the question without look up.

Just as Kaylan is about to further question Thurton, Phinkis' actions make the specter vanish, and Kaylan looks sharply to the body. The surly dwarf, sighs heave and nods a bit before quipping, " well he wont be answering any more questions, but that quiet is worth at LEAST a gold."

Watching Phinkus pocket the amulet, Kaylan stands straight and looks back the way they came, his expression showing some sudden thoughts arrival.

He looks back as Phinkis moves close and turns to the wizard. He listens a bit and chuckles lightly," No...not uncomfortable, I just was assuring you it wasn't a needed formality for you...or at the moment; although I do understand and appreciate your intention. I would just hate for someone to get hurt or killed due to you taking the time to add a sir or lord in a yelled warning because you felt the need for thoughtful formality..." Kaylan smiles and claps the wizard on the shoulder.

" ...as for the what now, I would agree these two MAY be at great risk going forward. With no way to know how that compares to the risk to them if we leave them here or send them back, I am reluctant to not take them with us. what I would not give for a Cirus, to see if there are any clues or tools in the cabinet, or a Nell for further fact and clue finding at the moment. I may have to find a way to clone shrinkable copies to carry with me..." Kaylans voice trails off in a humorous tone as he spends a moment looking around and thinking.

With a deep sigh and roll of his head to stretch his combat weary neck and shoulders, Kaylan turns grimly to Phinkis with a face draped in uncertainty. " I have to say they go with, unless you can think of a way to make them safe here. Not only are they safer with us, but they may have information we cannot prevail without. Especially if Harmons sin Is involved, we need then as much as they need us I'm thinking."

Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:47 am

"I suppose that is the best course. Something still doesn't feel right though but there isn't anything we can do about that I suppose."

He turns back towards the other men and speaks up. "Harmon, you'll have to help Thurton along as we continue. We can't leave him here and we still need to find your son. Thurton, you're injury may still be very dangerous, I'm no healer so I can't be sure there aren't complications. Please try and stay calm and let us know if you need anything or feel ill in any way." After finishing, Phinkis seems to have a thought. He walks over to the injured Thurton and examines his wound.(Sense Magic)

Post by **GM-Brad** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:13 pm

You rest for a bit (leaving time if characters need to run back to grab things or even other people). Harmon pulls out some needle and thread from a pocket and stitches the wounds on Thurton’s chest. To your surprise, after he is finished, he comes to you (first Kaylan’s foot, then Phinkis’s injuries). “I’m not great with this. If you hadn’t had that potion, I don’t think Thurton would have lived. But I think I can fix you two up a little. I get the uneasy feeling wherever we’re headed we’ll need to be in top shape.”

You are no longer 'Wounded.'

Read only if you have Healing or if you are a Wizard.

When Thurton awakes again, you help him up, and he answers Kaylan’s questions from before. “I didn’t recognize any specific ghost, just their livery. And I haven’t heard from my cousin in a while. Communication is tough so far away…”
Harmon interjects. “You should have told me this long ago, Thurton. The reason everyone mistrusted my son was because those children went missing, and no one knew where they were at…”

Thurton is unusually quiet.

All of you continue on. Harmon suggests Thruton turn back, but for some reason, he doesn’t’ want to leave. The tunnel winds for a ways, then splits. Uncertain which path to take, you pick one and follow it, but it quickly dead ends, and you have to double back. As you go, there are more and more branching paths. The ground becomes hard and the tracks from the cart and horses disappear. At one point you are almost certainly lost, unless one of you has Scout:

Read only if you have Scout.

If not, after hours you finally stumble upon some muddy ground again, where the tracks are once again visible, and you follow them, relieved.
Then around a corner you spot a light up ahead. You see a young man, perhaps in his twenties, shinning a lantern towards something else far away, and before you can say anything, Harmon dashes forward and embraces him, tightly.

“Darius!” He leans back to look him over. “I was so worried. Where have you been? What happened to you? Are you alright?”

The young man returns the embrace. “Father, I’m fine. What are you doing here?” Who are…?” He suddenly notices the rest of you.

“I’m here for you. And I brought these people to help,” Harmon says.

“It’s not safe here,” Darius remarks quickly. “This is an evil place, with an evil history. I’ve tracked down Dresda’s children. They’ve been taken prisoner here. But you should go back.”

When you collectively disagree and prompt him to explain, he pauses. "Four years ago, when I originally went looking for Christie, Samuel, and Gam, I stumbled upon this place, and made my way down here, through luck or stupidity. I did not find them, but I found their mother instead. This pace was hers. Whether she built it or found it I do not know. She was not as innocent as everyone thinks; she was a dark sorceress. I stumbled upon a ritual in a room just up ahead.” He points down the tunnel. “She had gone mad when her children went missing, I think, or maybe she was already mad, but she intended to murder seven of the Barl family’s most treasured horses. Or so I thought. They were all tethered to stakes in a pit, her chanting above them, horses screaming with fear, each one adorned with strange jewelry. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was livid when I interrupted her. She blamed me for failing to keep her children safe…and rightfully so. But, not just me. She blamed all Barls, including you, father. And, she was not just murdering our horses… She was cursing us. On that day, I witnessed those horses fall dead, before I could react, and rise from their graves. But her hateful spell brought something else with them. I don’t think she intended it, for she was as surprised as I at what form her curse took. Each horse suddenly had a rider to go along with it. I knew from the way they sat those mounts, and from their clothes, they were Barl horselords of old. The Barls have always been protective of their horses. Well, these spirits were none too happy that they had been called back from their restful slumber, it seems, for they started attacking Dresda Badule straight away. I got knocked unconscious in the fray, and awoke outside, in the hillsides. I don’t know how I got there. Perhaps one of the horselords brought me there for some reason. They only seemed spiteful of Dresda, and showed no malice towards me. Well, their spirits still linger, even today. I ran across one yesterday, in the Westwoods, by chance, and for some reason it saw fit to talk to me. It told me much. They live in agony. They’ve managed to find Dresda’s children. They mean to turn those kids undead, much like themselves, as revenge upon their mother, and they’re using her tools to do it! The rider would not listen to me, however, despite my pleas, and it disappeared as soon as I challenged it.”

He leads you ahead to a door made of stone. It is closed, with no door handle, and seemingly no means of opening. On it is a drawing of a dragon and a strange poem. Beneath it is a blank line, as if someone were meant to write something there. “I’ve been here three times over the past four years hoping to find more answers. There is something about this place that just draws a person to it, does it not? The last time I was here, this poem was not here, and the door was open. This is new. I think it needs to be solved in order to open the door now- and seems simple on the surface- but I cannot figure it out. Will you help me?”

He turns to you, and pulls a wand out from his clothing. “Also, I have this, which may help as well. I’ve already used it on myself. Its enchantment is protective.” And indeed, his clothing shimmers faintly. “If you intend to come with me, I could enchant you too, if you like. I think we’ll have a fight ahead.”

Thurton runs forward and yells, “No, don’t trust him! He’s one of them, I tell you. He’s one of those undead horsemen!”

Will you believe Thurton or Darius? Open the door or not?

Read only if you have Spot.

Read only if you have Sense Magic.

Read only if you have Greater Sense Magic.

Read only if you have Recall.

Read only if you accept the enchantment from Darius.

Here’s the Door inscription

Deep, deep, seven sleep, kings under the hill.
Twenty yards and ten again,
Two hundred men were riding then,
A fathom more, but four less when,
They fell into a dragon's den.
How many feet are we?
______

(note, ignore the text/numbers on the image. I’ve just included it here because I like it).

Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 2:52 pm

"Thurton, please don't over excite yourself. Your wound will tear open." Phinkis glances over the door, then the wand and finally stops on Darius. "I will take your enchantment, and I thank you for the information." Phinkis seems extra alert as Darius bestows the enchantment but relaxes once it's compete. He nods at Darius, "Thank you, where ever did you find that?" He doesn't wait for an answer and turns to study the riddle.

"A very strange riddle. There are distances and people both referenced. Both of these can be measured in feet. People have 2 feet each, I'm not sure if their mounts feet would count though seeing as horse feet are called hooves. A yard contains 3 feet and a fathom is six feet. So, seven kings is 14 feet. Twenty yards and ten again is 30 yards so 90 feet. Two hundred men would be 400 feet unless their mounts also count and then it would be another 800 feet for a total of 1200 feet. A fathom more is 6 feet but four less would be 24 feet backward, for a total of 18 feet backward. So 14, plus 90, plus 400 or 1200, minus 18. So that means the answer is either 486 or 1286? Well, that is if I'm even on the right track, anyone else have any thoughts on this?"

Kaylan Chargeender · Post by **Kaylan Chargeender** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:00 am

((OOG...lets pause a bit, I am trying to get in touch with Robin, who i THOUGHT was going to catch up this weekend. I want to see if Kaylan get find Nell.))

Phinkis · Post by **Phinkis** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 12:06 am

"That is fine by me, you may look for the bird too, I think I saw her around not long ago."
(OOG: I'll ask Amanda if she wants to join us.)

Post by **GM-Brad** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 9:18 am

Sounds good. We can continue whenever you're ready (no rush). I should mention, too , that you can go back to the festival grounds via the doors and wilderness route the cart came through, or if you want to investigate the barn again, you can take the stairs back up, and leave/enter that way.

Kaylan Chargeender · Post by **Kaylan Chargeender** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:48 pm

Kaylan nods to Phinkis. " I agree there is something less than kind at work too. Unfortunately, forward seems to be the only way to go to give such things the attention they should have."

My thanks for the offer Harmon, but I have a small supply of potions and used one for my foot earlier. I also agree we will need to be ready for what's ahead." Kaylan turns to Phinkis with a grim expression. " I think we left something behind we need, and I also think we need someone with talents we do not have. Can you hold them here and keep everyone safe for a time, I want to see if I can find Nell at the festival."

After roughly an hour has passed, Phinkis, Thruton, and Harmon can hear the approach of heavy boots followed by lighter steps. Into the light walks Kaylan, with Nell in tow. Kaylan nods to Phinkis and looks to Thurton and Harmon, " Gentlemen, this is the Lady Nellie Duncan. She is the King of Havens Minister of the Interior, hand picked by Korrigan himself. If anyone can help us with these curious puzzles, its her." Kaylan Looks to Nell and nods to Harmon " Nell that is Harmon, the Barl I spoke of...the one asleep with the chest wound is, of course, Thruton Badule."

"... by the way Phinkis, I saw you poking Thurton's wound with your magic detector....getting anything?"

When Thurton wakes, Kaylan asks again his previous questions and listens to the answers carefully. Once Thurton finishes, and after Harmon's comments, Kaylan turns to Nell. "...quite the interesting tale so far eh? I told you there was ripe meat on the bone here for a true sage to feast on."

Nellie Duncan · Post by **Nellie Duncan** » Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:15 am

Nellie waves at everyone in the room, and snaps a book she had bought on local history from one of the fair vendors shut that she had been reading while Kaylan had led the way. "No need to be so formal, Kaylan. Things like that only cause people to get false expectations."

She blinks and takes in the situation. "So there is. Now then. There's multiple things I can assist you all with, one being the obvious door issue. The others are picking that locked cabinet you talked about finding earlier, and possibly getting some guaranteed truthful answers as to the opposing viewpoints you've described so far, should the recipients of my questioning be willing. As for the fighting I assume is ahead of us, I regret to say I'm currently weaponless but I can back you up with armor repair and healing if you give me time to revise the more intricate part of that skill before we push forward. Which would you like first or at all?"

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