Kara's Daughters: In the Well of Bones

[DeepShadow of FoS]

The uneasy alliances between Kara's Daughters and the misshapen Dark Men has born fruit--some sweet, some bitter. After his encounter with a doppelganger ghost, Davyd of the Dark Men developed the ability to regain human form for short periods, which allowed him to revisit his old relationship with Marie Rezeln. Unfortunately, this caused tension among the Dark Men who said that Davyd no longer shared their pain, and the common interests that came with it. When Kara's Daughters failed to assassinate the Minister of Science in the days leading up to Census Day, many of the Dark Men rebelled against Davyd and made their own assault on the Ministry, only to be cut down by the 97th Irregulars, the force of Strassendat that serve Falkfuhrer Vjorn Horstmann.

After Census Day and Kara's return from Lamordia, one of her first visits was to the Ministry of Science, where she ordered the release of a Mordentish child named Zelena into her care. Zelena's incarceration within the Ministry was due to her (mostly uncontrolled) ability to manifest her nightmares in the waking world as summoned creatures. She was with Kara for a day, until Kara's true identity was brought into question after an episode of dreamwalking. At the same time, Marie Rezeln's loyalty to the cause was strained by her adoption of a newborn daughter. When Zelena revealed to her that Kara might not be who she claimed to be, and that the people caring for Marie's child were in on the deception, she took both children and went AWOL, taking refuge with Davyd and the surviving Dark Men in the sewers.

Once Zelena met the Dark Men, a strange connection awakened. They recognized her instantly as a fellow prisoner of the Ministry of Science--a kindred spirit, despite her form. She began getting psychic prompts from them as if from some of her summoned creatures. Through these psychic prompts, the Dark Men learn that many of their renegade brethren are still alive, having taken refuge in the Well of Bones underneath the old Radiant Tower. While the Tower itself was torn down and rebuilt elsewhere, the layers of catacombs underneath were left mostly untouched. Leaving the baby in the care of some of the other Dark Men, Marie joined Zelena, Davyd and a handful of his monstrous brethren to find the survivors and bring them to safety.

Making their way through the sewers and storm drains to the Well of Bones, the group was attacked by an allip--the spirit of some unfortunate person driven to madness and suicide by the place's seething necromantic energies. While the allip managed to hurt several of the group, it accidentally brought back Zelena's memories of how she gained her powers, strengthening her and ensuring its own destruction.

After the allip, they found that the Dark Men were not the only ones who had taken refuge in the Well of Bones. Vlad Drakov II, having recently returned from the grave as a ghoul lord, appears to have taken residence in the Well of Bones, along with some of his erstwhile comrades. While Kleinenkulk himself was nowhere in sight, the party came across a few of his undead cronies with a pair of prisoners--former Talons who were part of Vlad II's inner circle but have no wish to join him in undeath. While they wait for the orders to slay their former friends and let them rise as ghoul lords, the loathsome leaders of Kleinenkulk's band amuse themselves by feeding on fresh corpses looted from mass graves in the slums.

After contacting the two Talons for their assistance, Zelena was able to create enough of a distraction to let Marie pass through the room unnoticed. Once past, Marie found her way to the central spiraling path around the pit from which the area takes its name--the actual Well of Bones. Footprints in the dust around the path reveal that a child was led further down the spiral path to a lower floor. Could Vlad II's missing son Wolfgang be here as well? When the 8-year old was abducted from his mother's apartment--his nanny slain and partially eaten--his recently returned father was the prime suspect.

Making her way further down the well forced Marie to give herself a little light, even though that meant attracting the attention of Vlad II's undead servants. By the time she reached the burial niche where the boy's tracks stopped, she had been seen, but not by the undead: Zelena got a sudden psychic impression of the renegade Dark Men watching the moving light from far on the other side of the Well. Through this link she Zelena was able to talk to the Dark Men a little about the rescue effort and take a quick assessment of their wounded, but then the connection ended as mysteriously as it had started. Meanwhile, Marie found the secret catch to open the back of the burial niche, but in the dim light she did not see the poison needle trap attached to it. The trap was old and poorly maintained, but some kind of poison courses through her veins even as she forges ahead, hoping to find the missing boy...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This brings us current! Now what do we know? Through Zelena's message spell, Zelena can whisper and be heard by the rescue party (including Marie) and the two Talon prisoners. Likewise, all of these can whisper back, but only to Zelena, not to each other. Between that and the infrequent psychic connection to the group of wounded renegades, Zelena is basically a switchboard operator for all of you!

The "Dining Room"
* Twenty by thirty, with a large, ancient wooden table in the center--appears to be original furniture.
* The "meal" is a fresh corpse from the mass graves in the slums--male, early adult, split open down the middle. Sorry for the mental image, but the smell is probably the only thing that is keeping the ghoul lords from finding you by the scent of fresh meat.
* There are no doors, and the doorways are in opposite corners on facing walls.
* Next to the far door, a small fountain appears to be flowing with blood. The inhabitants of this room fill goblets from the fountain from time to time and drink it.

The Talons
* Anyone have Knowledge (nobility/royalty)? Roll to learn more about these Talons--once for each of them.
* The Talons can't talk much without arousing attention, but they can give vague yes/no nods and head swings most of the time.
* Upon close inspection, it becomes clear that they are the only ones drinking from the fountain.

The Ghoul Lords
* Both of these are former Talons. Roll Kn(n/r) as above to learn more about them.
* Roll Kn(Religion) to know more about the powers of ghoul lords.
* Their hunger appears to be constant. They aren't constantly cramming their faces, but they never stop...nibbling.

The Entrance Way (where Zelena and the others are hiding)
* Back the way you all came from, the hallway has six statues in pairs ranged on opposite sides. As you approached, some kind of enchantment caused them to call out, but they are silent now.

Did I miss anything?

[Revka et al]

I'm anxious to see what happens when I try to find and retrieve the boy. Had I found him yet when we ended last time?

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I'm anxious to see what happens when I try to find and retrieve the boy. Had I found him yet when we ended last time?

No, you had not found him yet. You were lingering in the open secret door, having made the first save against the poison.

[Revka et al]

The Talons
* Anyone have Knowledge (nobility/royalty)? Roll to learn more about these Talons--once for each of them.

The Ghoul Lords
* Both of these are former Talons. Roll Kn(n/r) as above to learn more about them.

I am making these two rolls--

[dice]0[/dice] +11
[dice]1[/dice] +11

And here's my perception check to look for more traps
[dice]2[/dice] +13
and here's to just look around in general
[dice]3[/dice] +13

[Revka et al]

Sorry, the two kn n/r checks above are for the talons

here is for the Ghoul lords
[dice]0[/dice] +11
[dice]1[/dice] +11

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I am making these two rolls--

[dice]161400:0[/dice] +11
[dice]161400:1[/dice] +11

The two living Talons are:

DC20--Otto Olshammer
Otto is a veteran's veteran, and one of the oldest living Talons. He stands exactly six feet tall and wears his grey hair in a short ponytail. He was fortunate enough to remain behind during the Gold Claw Massacre, but has otherwise played a major role in every foreign conflict since he survived the 711 Dead Man's Campaign as child of 13. Perhaps due to his amazing track record so far, Otto only values that rarest of blessings among Falkovnians--a long life. Otto's experience and age have led others to seek his counsel, and while he is cautious with his advice, he carefully cultivates his relationships with younger Talons to make himself indispensable. Otto's greatest shame is his firstborn son Felix, a tusked caliban whose cloistered life has only served to make him a topic of gossip.

In addition, you know through the conversations at Mama Bertina's that Otto, like Vlad II, was using the mystical strength imparted by cannibalism to offset the rigors of old age. It's this willing cannibalism that will ensure that Otto becomes a ghoul lord upon death, just like Vlad II.

DC18--Harald Eisenkopf
Harald is a veteran Talon nearing his twentieth year of service. He is tall, with black hair just beginning to go grey and a handlebar mustache. He's respected among the Talons as an expert halbardier and infamous being willing and able to eat anything--live rats, daggers (given a day or so), glass bottles--without ill effects. He is relaxed and jocular with his peers, distant and respectful to his superiors, and a (un)holy terror to the men under his command. He knows every quartermaster and supplier in the Falkovnian army, and a word from him gets the best gear the military can offer. He's missing the last two joints of his left pinkie, and everyone who asks about it gets a different explanation for it.

You don't know of any connections between Harald and the cannibal club of Vlad II and Otto, but his presence here suggests that Vlad II expects him to become a ghoul lord like the rest.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Sorry, the two kn n/r checks above are for the talons

here is for the Ghoul lords
[dice]161401:0[/dice] +11
[dice]161401:1[/dice] +11

DC 18: Wilhelm Matzenkopf
Wilhelm was the elder son of the Matzenkopf family; his brother Seigfried became an strassendat while he became a Talon. His brother went missing on the Census Day, and Wilhelm offered a generous reward. Recently took a concubine in addition to his other two wives. He is a tall and narrow, with a thin beard that now sticks out of his leathery dead skin like bristles on boar. In life, he was famous for his cold intellect, a cunning and manipulative man and a renown interrogator. It is said that he did not even need to torture someone and he can make people confess.

DC 28: Argus Armsteig

Argus Armsteig was a Talon for 9 years, after serving as camp boss for the Imflieg Mining Camp. Although he kept in decent shape after his promotion, he considered his ambitions achieved and mostly used the position to indulge his vices. He has shrewd judgement, and his passion for gambling is only exceeded by his amazing skill at winning. As a camp boss, he was known to size up the dwarves and sometimes arrange pit fights to better gauge their skill, and in his first encounter with anyone he still sizes them up out of habit. Apart from his knowledge of gambling, he is well versed in the various mining techniques of dwarves, gnomes and men, and finds his way underground almost as well as one of them. Argus took to shaving his head after he lost most of his hair in a mine explosion eleven years ago--the puckered burn marks and hairless patches are still obvious on the right side of his head. Recalling the mine explosion, Marie recalls one more detail that Argus takes pains to hide: the explosion also cost him his hearing in his right ear!

This fact can be exploited by your group: even in death, Argus suffers a -4 to perception checks, or possibly more in situations where he must rely on his hearing alone.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

And here's my perception check to look for more traps
[dice]161400:2[/dice] +13
and here's to just look around in general
[dice]161400:3[/dice] +13

Marie finds no more traps, but the situation is nevertheless logistically challenging. If you close the secret door at the back of the burial niche, you'll lose your whispering-contact with your group. If you leave it open, any light you use will be visible from the central well. You can take steps to minimize the visibility of the light, but you can't totally eliminate it.

Scanning the area beyond the niche, Marie sees that it slopes down to a t-junction up ahead. The wall at the far end is lined with large wooden boxes--coffins?

In the distance she suddenly hears a soft voice in the dark:

"...far to go..."

There are too many echoes to pinpoint the direction, and it falls silent just as suddenly. Seconds later, it returns:

"...loving and giving..."

Listening closely, Marie realizes that the words are in Mordentish, but retain a slight Falkvonian accent.

"...hard forest living..."

The meaning behind these disjointed phrases is maddeningly unclear. There are no complete sentences, and no apparent reason for the large gaps between phrases. The voice is relatively calm; this does not sound like the rambling speech of the mad, which--between Kara and the vampyre feeding houses--Marie has heard enough times to know.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Whoever it is has not seen your light, but they will if you go much further, and may yet if you remain here. There is enough stone and space between you and the ghoul lords on the floor above that you can speak without much risk of being overheard. You can remain here and listen longer or announce yourself; turn the light down to hide your presence or raise it to see better. Remember that your Unseen ability hides the lantern you carry, but it can't hide the light it sheds. If you use it, this passageway will still be bathed in an inexplicable glow from your location.

[Revka et al]

Moving quietly, stealth check [dice]0[/dice] +23

Marie closes but does not latch the lantern and sets it in the center of the niche. She leaves the door open slightly, gently placing a tanglefoot bag in the opening. She then moves down to the t junction and listens.
stealth check [dice]1[/dice] +23
perception check [dice]2[/dice] +15

If the voice continues, she will listen for 30 to 60 seconds more then get the lamp and call out as described below.

If, after 12 seconds of listening, the voice does not continue, Marie will go back and get the lamp and as she gets to the t-junction will call out slightly above a whisper "My name is Marie. I am a friend of Kara. If you would like to escape this dungeon, I'm here to help."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Moving quietly, stealth check [dice]0[/dice] +23

Marie closes but does not latch the lantern and sets it in the center of the niche. She leaves the door open slightly, gently placing a tanglefoot bag in the opening. She then moves down to the t junction and listens.
stealth check [dice]1[/dice] +23
perception check [dice]2[/dice] +15

After your eyes adjust to the flickering light peeking through the edges of your shuttered lantern, you place your trap and feel your way down the incline to the junction.

"...that's the one with four of them, isn't it?" the voice suddenly lapses into Falkovnian. "Very well, I'll do my best."
The voice resumes in Mordentish: "Bonny and blithe, and good and gay."

Then again in Falkovnian, "I remember when I first learnt that one, I thought the second word was 'blind,' and mama said that 'bonny' meant pretty. I asked if Mordentishmen didn't care if their kids were born blind, as long as they were pretty! She thought that was so funny!"

There is a long pause as if someone else is speaking but no matter how hard you try, you can't hear the other voice.

"Yes, I think so, too. She was a Tuesday, like me! It's a pity you can't remember what day were you born on."

It's definitely a boy, and he's definitely talking to someone.

Marie will go back and get the lamp and as she gets to the t-junction will call out slightly above a whisper "My name is Marie. I am a friend of Kara. If you would like to escape this dungeon, I'm here to help."

As the light of your lamp fills the area, there is a gasp of alarm, and then silence. After your introduction, the voice resumes:

"Kara--My mama works for her! How did you find us?"

You round the corner to the right to find a smallish square room with manacles on the walls, a pallet of straw in one corner and a bucket in another. Behind the pallet, you see a well-dressed but disheveled boy pulling himself to his feet, shading his eyes against the relative brightness of your meager lamp.

"I'm Wulfgang, and this is my nanny, Lyra."

The space the boy gestures to as "Lyra" is completely empty. As you momentarily question the boy's sanity, the wall behind the boy suddenly oozes a red fluid that rapidly forms words:

DoN'T
. . . . .. . . . .. . . . .TElL HiM!