Episode 17: Thief in the Dark
General Summary
We can't catch a break here, huh? The session started normally, everyone returning to their very nice rooms where they found all of their things were waiting for them, as they should be. Everyone got a bottle of Silent Specter Gin (get it? It was foreshadowing) and Valan got really hammered, Olette and Tyra looked out over the city, and Vanderlith took some time to check in on the other members of the party; Jules seemed to be doing some sort of calculation, and Callisto seemed to be having a nightmare during his meditation.
T̬̪̹̫͙̂ḩ̝̄͌ͥę̰̦̻͚̦̙̓̉͌ ͛ͩͧh̒ͭͣͫa̔ͮ́̚n̗̗ͬ̃̾ͮ̐ͧgͪ̌e̥̝̻͗̈́̓̎ͯ͐d͎͔̬͓̥͛ͥ͢ ̴͔̫̞͖͕̫̘̉l̩̩̫̯̦̔ͅà̗͖̐̑w̸͓̞̤͉̝ͦͭ͆̿͛ṁ̧͇̟̱̻̈ͣ̊ͨͦ͗a͍͂ň̨̟̫ͣ̓͋
Then we took it up a notch with a conversation between Olette Etienne and Olette Bouclier, discussing their various secrets they have encountered that ended up getting them put in hot water with their respective groups. This was a fairly secretive conversation, but did end with a tentative agreement between the two to communicate further together. They have been wronged by the ruling class, and each seek secrets behind the city.
Then we slammed it right into high gear, full throttle, no lube. Tyra was attacked in their room by an invisible creature that picked up Stormdancer. They worked with Vanderlith to determine the location of the assailant, but in the end, it wrapped a garrote around Tyra's neck and pulled them to the ceiling. They reached out to Jules, who brought the attention of both Olettes and the guards, who were able to together unlock the door.
They walked in to see Tyra held aloft in the air. After a brief exchange of blows, the creature knocked out Tyra, skittered out the door to the balcony in a spider-like motion, jumped down and landed in a cloud of foggy mist. After a scolding from Tyra, Lady Bouclier managed to come up with some deductions and the group picked up on the following clues:
The assailant was there already, so they must be someone who can walk unabated through the palace. They were invisible and on the cieling, so they either know magic or can do either of those things naturally, both of which are terrifying. It attacked once threatened. Didn't show up in Divine Sight, so it's either a construct or undead. It landed in a fog cloud, probably a vampire. If it was a vampire, it had to be invited in, which means it works or lives in the tower. It targeted Tyra's room, so it's someone who was able to take inventory of the items that were confiscated for the meal. All spooky things.
̙͔̮̹̦̫̒͘E̢̥ͭ̈́̓͛ͣ̍ͭn̫͈̠͎̺s̟ͩ͐ͥ̾͂̄̎n̨̥͈̰̥̥͒ͩͤa͙̥̘̯͙̬ͦͦr̵͎͆̋͗e͟d̷͚ͫ̀̂ ͙͇į̖̤̫̺͙̈́̾ṅ̴̩̟̝͋͊ ̙̙͓̙̪̖̇́e͙͚̠͕̼̾ͪ͐̏n͏̰̥t̺̻͎̐̎ͨ͗ͩ͞a̠̺͇̻̼̜̝͆ͭ̀ņ̫͔͙͎̭͇̾̀̏̂g̋ͬl͔̣̖̫̾͆͂̀e̺̮̬̟͔̓̏ͬ͑̇m͎̬͙̘͕̝̤ͥ̓̉̾e̷̜̟̼̟̥̙ͅn͇͚͔̭ͮ͒̓͛͆t̵̞̰̝̗̩͌ͥͣ̓͛ͅ
A city that protects those who seek refuge from the sun is home to many denizens of the world. Lady Bouclier recommended investigating the Undercity.
Collecting themselves the morning after, Tyra went through the five stages of grief when Valan told them that they had been lied to all those months ago, and it was the Darkness, not the Wanderer, who told them to retrieve Respite. Valan's book started ringing, and it was the Dread Powers he had collected telling him to shut up because he was ruining their big secret plan. The Deep reminded him of their deal, and the fact that "a good show" is subjective to what the viewer believes a good show to be, and the Deep believes it to be letting their plan go through.
Valan said that they needed to have a talk, and the Deep promptly obliged, bringing him into a wide open expanse. The Deep stood in front of him in the Void, with the Distortion creeping around and shadows lapping at his ankles. Valan pointed a gun at the Deep and it revoked his powers. Bad warlocks get put in the no warlock levels box.
̙͕̟͉͊̈́̓͋́R̷͎̦̝ͫ̇͑ē̵̥͓̳͔̫̱̻̿̽̈͂͋͊ǧ̛ͬ̿ͦͮ̍r̜̭̻͉͇͗͐̂ͥ̈ͅe͂ͫ͆ͭẗͩͪ͢s̠̘͑̓ͬ̓͡ͅ
Flashing back to reality, everyone except Callisto had taken moves to either protect themselves (Dahlia, looking at you) or protect Valan (everyone else, good teamwork). Tyra lost a finger putting it in Valan's mouth when it was full of Void. Then the Silverbird came with a letter and the newspaper, which announced that the Tower had fallen, the "Heroes" were seen coming out of it, and Valan's brother was on the prowl yet again, this time searching for Respite, and a reunion with his brother.
The party's focus shifted, looking now towards getting back Stormdancer and finding Vanderlith a body. Dahlia offered a helping hand here, offering to introduce them to Arkadeus Finch, one of the most skilled artificers in the Apocrypha. She lead them through the city to the top of the artificers tower, and opened the doors to Arkadeus' office. It was a beautiful, open office entirely made out of a pearled gold stone that was shaped to house each aspect of the room, tables, bookshelves and the like. Each cardinal direction, other than south, housed a huge window overlooking the city and surrounding forest.̧͇̳
Aligned with the ordinal directions were lines of a silvery metal that occasionally sparked with blue arcane energy. They flowed together and ran up the central table, across which many gadgets, gizmos, and open manuals are already spread. The domed ceiling shifts with a gyroscope of different telescopic layers designed to assist the eye in gazing at the night sky, as if the entire dome is a telescope.
̱̮͑̃ͨͥͅŘ̗̭͓͉͈̰̰ͬ̈̑e̫͈͔͒́̆s̴͚̮̩͔̦̟̮̆͂p̖̪̟̅̔ö̸̲͓͔̠̗́̅ň͈̯͇̾s͕͎͈͇͙͈ȋ̷͚͈̞̹͚̹̲b̬̪̙̜͂͊̿̂̌̀i͓̼̲̲̝ͤ̓̓ͅļ͖̮͉̝͍͍̑͛̌͌ͯͪ́i͖̙͔ͣ̽t͇̞̙̙̝̰̃ͤ̔ͦ̾̇̕y̛͗̊̽
Arkadeus himself sits on the table tinkering with an ancillary, and he gets up and walks across the table to greet the party. He's a tall dark elf with pointed features, should length black hair that is swept back as if he stands in front of a fan applying hair spray every morning. While he was dressed in nice clothing with a matching shirt, vest, and tie on, with a suit jacket on the table, his sleeves are rolled up and oily and his pants have several holes worn or burned in them.
He introduced himself to the party and replaced Tyra's missing finger with one of many he had just lying around, each made of a shimmery shifting metal. It matches his mechanical left arm.
He explained to the party that while he is able to do it, it will cost a great deal since many of the materials he needs are illegal in the city. He has the connections, he just needs the bribe money, material cost, and labor cost. Not to mention, warforged creation and ownership is a high crime in Arcanus, and no one outside the Red Mountains has any idea what the formula is. Except for him, maybe. He hasn't tried yet.
But, if they want to forgo the payment, there is something they could do instead. They could steal the part he needs, as it is the extremely rare piece of illicit machinery that he would need to create the body. The party agreed.
̪̤̘͈͚͊͋̈́̍A̛͍̤̯͂̾ͦ̓ͭ̀͆n̶͉̠̯ͣͥ̍c̤̼̦̮͕͉ͯͬ̿ͪͣi͍̼l̦̟̐͝l̴̮͚̝̺̟͚͔ͨ̄̏͋ȁ̸̠̼̥͓̾̆͑ͯͩ̾r͈̲͖͔͔͌͗͋̄͛̓̃y̩̫̗͑̂ͭ
They need to infiltrate the mansion of Baron Octavian Spencer of the Undercity Outer looking for the Acrypt Harness, a very unstable piece of gnomish tech that Spencer has the only part outside of a warforged. He has created a construct, Y.U.R.I. (Your Unethical Retrieval Intelligence) to stabilize the tech while they move it. Spencer has a gala in two days, and that will be their window to steal it.
Something else happened, but the connection was hazy and I don't know what happened. Planning? Tomfoolery? Hard to say
T̬̪̹̫͙̂ḩ̝̄͌ͥę̰̦̻͚̦̙̓̉͌ ͛ͩͧh̒ͭͣͫa̔ͮ́̚n̗̗ͬ̃̾ͮ̐ͧgͪ̌e̥̝̻͗̈́̓̎ͯ͐d͎͔̬͓̥͛ͥ͢ ̴͔̫̞͖͕̫̘̉l̩̩̫̯̦̔ͅà̗͖̐̑w̸͓̞̤͉̝ͦͭ͆̿͛ṁ̧͇̟̱̻̈ͣ̊ͨͦ͗a͍͂ň̨̟̫ͣ̓͋
Then we took it up a notch with a conversation between Olette Etienne and Olette Bouclier, discussing their various secrets they have encountered that ended up getting them put in hot water with their respective groups. This was a fairly secretive conversation, but did end with a tentative agreement between the two to communicate further together. They have been wronged by the ruling class, and each seek secrets behind the city.
Then we slammed it right into high gear, full throttle, no lube. Tyra was attacked in their room by an invisible creature that picked up Stormdancer. They worked with Vanderlith to determine the location of the assailant, but in the end, it wrapped a garrote around Tyra's neck and pulled them to the ceiling. They reached out to Jules, who brought the attention of both Olettes and the guards, who were able to together unlock the door.
They walked in to see Tyra held aloft in the air. After a brief exchange of blows, the creature knocked out Tyra, skittered out the door to the balcony in a spider-like motion, jumped down and landed in a cloud of foggy mist. After a scolding from Tyra, Lady Bouclier managed to come up with some deductions and the group picked up on the following clues:
The assailant was there already, so they must be someone who can walk unabated through the palace. They were invisible and on the cieling, so they either know magic or can do either of those things naturally, both of which are terrifying. It attacked once threatened. Didn't show up in Divine Sight, so it's either a construct or undead. It landed in a fog cloud, probably a vampire. If it was a vampire, it had to be invited in, which means it works or lives in the tower. It targeted Tyra's room, so it's someone who was able to take inventory of the items that were confiscated for the meal. All spooky things.
̙͔̮̹̦̫̒͘E̢̥ͭ̈́̓͛ͣ̍ͭn̫͈̠͎̺s̟ͩ͐ͥ̾͂̄̎n̨̥͈̰̥̥͒ͩͤa͙̥̘̯͙̬ͦͦr̵͎͆̋͗e͟d̷͚ͫ̀̂ ͙͇į̖̤̫̺͙̈́̾ṅ̴̩̟̝͋͊ ̙̙͓̙̪̖̇́e͙͚̠͕̼̾ͪ͐̏n͏̰̥t̺̻͎̐̎ͨ͗ͩ͞a̠̺͇̻̼̜̝͆ͭ̀ņ̫͔͙͎̭͇̾̀̏̂g̋ͬl͔̣̖̫̾͆͂̀e̺̮̬̟͔̓̏ͬ͑̇m͎̬͙̘͕̝̤ͥ̓̉̾e̷̜̟̼̟̥̙ͅn͇͚͔̭ͮ͒̓͛͆t̵̞̰̝̗̩͌ͥͣ̓͛ͅ
A city that protects those who seek refuge from the sun is home to many denizens of the world. Lady Bouclier recommended investigating the Undercity.
Collecting themselves the morning after, Tyra went through the five stages of grief when Valan told them that they had been lied to all those months ago, and it was the Darkness, not the Wanderer, who told them to retrieve Respite. Valan's book started ringing, and it was the Dread Powers he had collected telling him to shut up because he was ruining their big secret plan. The Deep reminded him of their deal, and the fact that "a good show" is subjective to what the viewer believes a good show to be, and the Deep believes it to be letting their plan go through.
Valan said that they needed to have a talk, and the Deep promptly obliged, bringing him into a wide open expanse. The Deep stood in front of him in the Void, with the Distortion creeping around and shadows lapping at his ankles. Valan pointed a gun at the Deep and it revoked his powers. Bad warlocks get put in the no warlock levels box.
̙͕̟͉͊̈́̓͋́R̷͎̦̝ͫ̇͑ē̵̥͓̳͔̫̱̻̿̽̈͂͋͊ǧ̛ͬ̿ͦͮ̍r̜̭̻͉͇͗͐̂ͥ̈ͅe͂ͫ͆ͭẗͩͪ͢s̠̘͑̓ͬ̓͡ͅ
Flashing back to reality, everyone except Callisto had taken moves to either protect themselves (Dahlia, looking at you) or protect Valan (everyone else, good teamwork). Tyra lost a finger putting it in Valan's mouth when it was full of Void. Then the Silverbird came with a letter and the newspaper, which announced that the Tower had fallen, the "Heroes" were seen coming out of it, and Valan's brother was on the prowl yet again, this time searching for Respite, and a reunion with his brother.
The party's focus shifted, looking now towards getting back Stormdancer and finding Vanderlith a body. Dahlia offered a helping hand here, offering to introduce them to Arkadeus Finch, one of the most skilled artificers in the Apocrypha. She lead them through the city to the top of the artificers tower, and opened the doors to Arkadeus' office. It was a beautiful, open office entirely made out of a pearled gold stone that was shaped to house each aspect of the room, tables, bookshelves and the like. Each cardinal direction, other than south, housed a huge window overlooking the city and surrounding forest.̧͇̳
Aligned with the ordinal directions were lines of a silvery metal that occasionally sparked with blue arcane energy. They flowed together and ran up the central table, across which many gadgets, gizmos, and open manuals are already spread. The domed ceiling shifts with a gyroscope of different telescopic layers designed to assist the eye in gazing at the night sky, as if the entire dome is a telescope.
̱̮͑̃ͨͥͅŘ̗̭͓͉͈̰̰ͬ̈̑e̫͈͔͒́̆s̴͚̮̩͔̦̟̮̆͂p̖̪̟̅̔ö̸̲͓͔̠̗́̅ň͈̯͇̾s͕͎͈͇͙͈ȋ̷͚͈̞̹͚̹̲b̬̪̙̜͂͊̿̂̌̀i͓̼̲̲̝ͤ̓̓ͅļ͖̮͉̝͍͍̑͛̌͌ͯͪ́i͖̙͔ͣ̽t͇̞̙̙̝̰̃ͤ̔ͦ̾̇̕y̛͗̊̽
Arkadeus himself sits on the table tinkering with an ancillary, and he gets up and walks across the table to greet the party. He's a tall dark elf with pointed features, should length black hair that is swept back as if he stands in front of a fan applying hair spray every morning. While he was dressed in nice clothing with a matching shirt, vest, and tie on, with a suit jacket on the table, his sleeves are rolled up and oily and his pants have several holes worn or burned in them.
He introduced himself to the party and replaced Tyra's missing finger with one of many he had just lying around, each made of a shimmery shifting metal. It matches his mechanical left arm.
He explained to the party that while he is able to do it, it will cost a great deal since many of the materials he needs are illegal in the city. He has the connections, he just needs the bribe money, material cost, and labor cost. Not to mention, warforged creation and ownership is a high crime in Arcanus, and no one outside the Red Mountains has any idea what the formula is. Except for him, maybe. He hasn't tried yet.
But, if they want to forgo the payment, there is something they could do instead. They could steal the part he needs, as it is the extremely rare piece of illicit machinery that he would need to create the body. The party agreed.
̪̤̘͈͚͊͋̈́̍A̛͍̤̯͂̾ͦ̓ͭ̀͆n̶͉̠̯ͣͥ̍c̤̼̦̮͕͉ͯͬ̿ͪͣi͍̼l̦̟̐͝l̴̮͚̝̺̟͚͔ͨ̄̏͋ȁ̸̠̼̥͓̾̆͑ͯͩ̾r͈̲͖͔͔͌͗͋̄͛̓̃y̩̫̗͑̂ͭ
They need to infiltrate the mansion of Baron Octavian Spencer of the Undercity Outer looking for the Acrypt Harness, a very unstable piece of gnomish tech that Spencer has the only part outside of a warforged. He has created a construct, Y.U.R.I. (Your Unethical Retrieval Intelligence) to stabilize the tech while they move it. Spencer has a gala in two days, and that will be their window to steal it.
Something else happened, but the connection was hazy and I don't know what happened. Planning? Tomfoolery? Hard to say
Character(s) interacted with
The Silverbird
Arkadeus Finch
Notes
Tell me your plan and I'll give you inspiration. JK, just tell me something that makes your character happy.
Report Date
04 Dec 2021
Related Characters
Comments