File: New Haven.jpg (228 KB, 917x688)

228 KB JPG

>>2392172
Archived Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Necromancer+Detective+Quest

Discord (Meet the Loremaster himself, and get live updates and all that jazz): https://discord.gg/5sZYkz9 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

Gab (until I resurrect my phone): https://gab.ai/Loremasters_Letterbox

Character List, includes main cast, supporting cast, and minor characters: https://pastebin.com/WaNDnpJQ

Chapter Summary: (I will be doing this after our first case is finished, I don’t have too much time to commit to it right now as it will be FAR more in depth than the brief recaps I’ve done at the start of these threads.)


Recap of previous thread:

Chapter 3:
After successfully managing to lie to the angel, our group successfully arrives in new haven. Not much more happens for this chapter, most of it happened in thread II

Chapter 4:
Following Duncan into town, Henry learns he was screwed over. Duncan apparently babbled about Henry to an Inquisitor, about how he was very good with solving certain problems and other mysteries. The inquisitor, Grom, manages to get him to help him solve a vexing issue the town has been facing. Werewolf attacks. A little bit later, Henry meets up with Cassius, who is certain the whole thing is a massive overreaction. Henry then goes across town, first to the mages guild and peddlers row to get supplies, then to the castle keep to speak with Hafford, and finally into the Holy grounds and the Holy Mausoleum to speak to a corpse. From the corpse, Henry learns a couple key details, the dead guy had been murdered by man named Ginny, and there is a meeting spot in an old lumber yard out in the woods. After this, Henry proceeds to watch a werewolf attack a bunch of cathars, before Grom finishes it off. From there, Henry heads home and has the utter tar beaten out of him, barely managing to survive the night. Eventually, Cassius comes and saves him. Henry has just woken up inside the healers abbey, being tended to by a healer named Rosa. After screaming awake, the two have been joined by Cathar Jonathon, who had come in to see what the problems had been.

Current Case: The Werewolves of New Haven

File: World War Fun Hospital.jpg (12 KB, 292x173)

12 KB JPG

> this was the final post of the previous thread, just putting it here for reference and ease of starting back up

The next piece of information he would need was what had happened to Johnny and Charles. Johnny must’ve made it into the city. Henry wouldn’t have been rescued otherwise. What he was truly worried about was Charles. The boy had been hurt badly during that brief exchange.

“I… I uh, had a kid with me. He got hurt pretty badly, is he alright?”

“I believe he’s in the other room right now.” Rosa replied. “and I believe he was just given lunch. Well behaved for someone his age. Very grateful too, a sad rarity these days.”

“I uh… there was a man in rags I was with, covered head to toe in em. Do you know what happened to him.”

“Not a clue sir.” Jonathon responded.

“He left as soon as I had started tending to the child, before anyone could ask him anything. Said that you would ask about him. He said to uh… “meet him at the old training grounds, I don’t know what that means exactly though.” Rosa stated.

Henry smiled, bastard was alright and his cover hadn’t been blown yet. Thank god. The words “training grounds” held significance for him. He had used to train with Johnny in an old abandoned quarry when he was much younger, a lifetime ago. He figured that a local one would be where Johnny was waiting for him. He’d have to figure out a way to ask that sorta thing around town, hopefully much more quietly this time. His ribs, while healed, still felt like they SHOULD hurt, this sensation of pain but not pain was alien to Henry.

“One last thing, what’s happening outside in the city right now?” Henry asked.

“Nothing good sir, City is on edge now that there have been two attacks in one night, Hafford is worried it will boil over. I don’t know much beyond that.”


“Look I uh, I wanted to thank you for saving me miss… and I wanted to apologize for scaring you so much earlier.” Henry said to Sister Rosa, finally remembering his manners. “I know that I must be a lotta trouble for you to deal with after all those Cathars got brought in.”

Henry leaned back against his pillow, the thing was comfortable. Henry figured it was full of feathers. His tranquility was shattered by a knocking at the door, then the familiar face of Cassius poking around the corner.

“Morning Sunshine.” He said to Henry, half mockingly half sincere. “You and I need to have some words.”

How long had he been standing there?

(next section)

>>2392188
next post will be later tonight. We're going to be interrogated by Cassius, better reread the previous chapter back over so dear Henry doesn't trip over his own lies.

>>2392188
“There ain’t no such thing as an old werewolf hunter.” – Trent, Bressa Province Trapper
================================Chapter 5 Continue=========================
After giving his introduction, Cassius strolled further into the room, holding a silver dagger in his right hand and a bowl full of something in his right.

“Could the two of you please give us a little privacy? We have some important things to discuss.” Cassius stated plainly.

“With all due respect inquisitor, I don’t want to leave my patient until I’m certain he has healed properly.” Rosa started.

“Y-yes sir, and I’m under orders from the capt’n to guard this room at all times, I can’t just leave!” Jonathon finished.

Cassius looked the two of them dead in the eyes. Giving off the sort of stare that only people who’d seen certain things, and survived them, could perform.

“Goodbye Healer.” He said to Rosa plainly, before looking at Jonathon. “Goodbye Cathar.”

Jonathon and Rosa shared a glance for a couple of seconds before hurriedly leaving the room. Cassius set the bowl down on Henrys lap, and took a seat in the chair the healer had vacated. His left arm was swung over the back of the thing, and his right still held the dagger in clear view.

“So like I mentioned earlier, I have some questions to ask you. Cause that fancy little scribe story stopped making sense once I saw that charred corpse, and when I found out that rag man knew ya. So now you’re gonna come clean with me, fair?”

Henry stared down at the bowl for a moment. It was full of porridge, with a bit of a metal spoon sticking out of. At least he wouldn’t have to answer questions on an empty stomach.

1. “I can explain, I promise”
2. “I wasn’t lying to you about anything”
3. “What rag man?”
4. “Why the heck should I answer any questions, you hired me!”
5. “I’d like those twenty five silver pieces you owe me” (you may choose to call him an asshole)
6. “Do we really have to do this here? Now? I’ve barely even had time to heal.”
7. *Try to run*
8. Write in (better be creative here)

>>2392623
alright boys, this is going to be the first interrogation, although our dear friend Henry is on the receiving end of it.

>>2392623
Quick question just how rare/illegal is lightning magic in this setting? Seems a potentially good cover is that we really do work as a scribe but learned some magic for self defence because our job often requires travel and the countryside can be friggin lethal.
Also what would be a good crime that would explain why we don't like our identity revealed but would likely fall outside of the church's purview, the guy buys black market arrows after all.

>>2393076
>>2393076

lightning magic is something the average person would be completely unable to pull off. It requires both innate skill and a lot of training, the average scribe of Henry's age wouldn't generally know spellcasting.

Only Unholy or dark magic is illegal, Holy and elemental magics are complete A-okay (there are a few other types but we haven't really seen or discussed them yet)

as for the black market question, taxes, while handled by the church, don't generally fall within the general preview of the inquisition. Its like an FBI agent looking the other way when he sees someone jaywalking, to give a comparison.


You could ask the arrow question to grom later if you want more info on it.

>>2393224
to get more to the point, its basically raising a whole lot of concerns that Cassius has but he doesn't have anything concrete. At least as far as Henry is aware. All Cassius knows is that Henry lied to him at least once

>>2392623
>"I have picked up some tricks from the people that I normally scribe for. I have learned more tricks from tomes and the like. Being a scribe, people will see you as a weak and easy target, so I needed to acquire skills to protect myself.

I WAS TYPING THIS THEN I WENT TO DO SOMETHING ELSE AND I FORGOT TO POST AAAAAAAAAAAAA

>>2393224
Cool I say we admit to >>2393259
And if really pressed we explain it as we used to work for a thief's guild type of thing (in the capacity of a scribe) and that part of the reason we're traveling is to get away from that life.
If pressed on 'the rag man' he's an old friend/hired guard and no we don't know why he hides his face it clearly bothered him and we saw no reason to press him on the matter.
The boy is an orphan we took in and our apprentice also the main reason we decided to leave we didn't want him to end up with that kind of life. Better an honest start elsewhere.

>>2393323
>>2393259

I think I can use these, I won't copy word since that'd be a bit awkward, I will start the conversation off with "I can explain" then lead into these, if that's alright with you two.

>>2393338
Sounds good.

File: Interrogation time.png (685 KB, 1920x1080)

685 KB PNG

>>2392623

“That’s fair enough I suppose.” Henry said, trying to think of another way to get himself out of this situation. It had been a long time since he hadn’t been able to talk himself out of a problem, but he’d never tried tricking an inquisitor before.

“Look, I will admit I wasn’t completely truthful to you, but I can answer any questions you give me.” Henry figured that putting his best foot forward would be the best way to handle it.

“Happy you are willing to make this easy on the both of us.” Cassius responded. The fact that his grip on his blade remained steady gave away his true feelings.

“How were you able to cast lightning? You sure as shit ain’t a mere scribe, and I want to know exactly who you are if I’m gonna continue having anything to do with ya.”

“I picked up a trick here or there over time, I needed a way to defend myself, alright? Being a traveling scribe ain’t easy, bandits take you for an easy mark.”

At that, Cassius’ smile stopped. His demeanor was a bit more serious now.

“L-look, it’s the only spell I really know how to pull off, I-I got a bit of training from an old mage friend of mine, who said I had some talent.” Henry stammered, he’d been made.

“So you’ve lied to me twice now.” He muttered, clearly aggravated. “Lightning that damaging couldn’t have been cast by a novice or a dabbler, and I’ve never seen a damned scribe keep a cool head in combat before, so you ain’t no stranger to fighting, or pain judging by the fact you were still conscious when I found you. And that thing was cooked clean through. Parts of it were ash bud, that meant that you had either had to have casted that spell a bunch of times or casted a really strong one. Not something all too many ‘simple scribes’ could pull off.”

Shit, the guy wasn’t an idiot when it came to magic, Henry wasn’t used to that. He’d never really dealt with people who knew such things.

“Looking past that…” Cassius said, taking a deep breath. “What relation do you have to that rag covered man. You had to have trusted him to allow him to take that child.”

“He was hired help, didn’t know too much about him, but friends of mine suggested him, said he was great at his job and better yet didn’t really ask questions.” Henry said. “I’m going to be meeting up with him later, that whole “training grounds” phrase was a code word we had in case something happened in New Haven.”

File: I CAST LIGHTNING.jpg (5 KB, 225x225)

5 KB JPG

>>2393463
“Fair enough, he seemed to care about you a bit more than a normal merc would, how do you go about accounting for that?” Cassius said.

“Payment was… is to be made on completion of his contract, when he gets us to Yorkshire. So if me or the boy die before hand he doesn’t get paid” Henry said. He’d managed to put that one to bed at least.

“And his hidden face?” Cassius asked. “Just comes off as odd.”

“Not a fucking clue, I paid him to guard me, I don’t really care what’s under there if he does his job.” Henry felt a little bit better, least he wouldn’t have to answer anything more about that.

“So about the child, what relation does he have to you, bit odd to be traveling with a kid like that.”

“He’s uh… my apprentice, I took him on recently. He was orphaned about two months back and didn’t have anyone. I’m pretty much all he has at this point.” That wasn’t a HUGE lie.

“Pfft, real good person you are.” Cassius said, “I can’t exactly prove otherwise but I’m not entirely convinced.”

It would have to do.

“So going back to the whole magic thing, I want the truth, all of it. You’ve sure as shit had a good deal of training and practice, and if you keep trying to lie to me I can go and ask the local mage’s guild for more info on this stuff, or maybe for a mind reading.”

After hearing that, Henry truly hoped he was bluffing about the mind reading bit, there was a hell of a lot more than just the necromancy he didn’t want being common knowledge. A trip to the tree of redemption would be the least of his worries then.


Time limited decision: Pick ONE option
1. I have involvement in the thief’s guild of celeste….
2. I was casted out from the Rensk mages guild for experimenting in things I shouldn’t have, I regret that now.
3. Tell him the whole truth (will destroy your cover, possibly other negative consequences)
4. Write in (feel free to get creative)

>>2393467
went easy on the magic question since I realize none else except me understands the system being worked with. I won't punish you for things you don't know arbitrarily.

>>2393467
>Look, if you don't belive my story, why would you beleive anything else I say?

>>2393467
>combine one and two
We were connected to to the thieves as a scribe/accountant we spent some time in the mages guild when we showed promise with magic and got cast out when our old connections were discovered and the guild didn't want to risk scandle/a thief.
We practiced the hell out of lightning for the reasons given before and because we honestly liked magic and it was one of the few spells we really had time to memorize.

>>2393550
I can let the fact you combine it slide since its basically one response.

File: Totally Normal Gem.jpg (15 KB, 375x375)

15 KB JPG

>>2393467
“Fine, I get it.” Henry muttered, trying to make it sound like he’d been defeated in this clash of words.

“So go on, out with it then.” Cassius demanded.

“I was part of the mages guild in Rensk at one point, but I was… relieved of my position… I don’t like talking about it.” Henry said, sighing. It was a fairly good lie, at least in the short term. Rensk was a fairly far away location, found on the western side of the coast.

“I’m going to have to know why you got kicked out.” Cassius said, rubbing his forehead. “I can’t just let you off without knowing.”

“I… uh.” Henry said, stammering. “I … I stole something valuable from one of the ranking mages, I was young… and stupid. I would’ve never have done it had I been there now. I only had time to learn the lightning spell. Although I’ve of course practiced since then.”

Cassius sighed. Henry hoped that was a good sign.

“I don’t really trust you completely Henry, but I can’t really pin you down for anything, least not now. You’re either telling the truth or a damned good liar.” It was at this point that Henry saw Cassius’ gaze. Man had been paying attention to him the entire time, watching his motions and mannerisms, not just his words.

Luckily Henry had been a liar his entire life.

“I want to know exactly what you stole, out of curiosity.” Cassius said.

“A soul gem, thing wasn’t full of course, nor did I have any intent to fill it, I just wanted to study the thing, I was much more curious back then. The guild council thought I had intent to use it, but couldn’t prove it, so they cast me out instead of having me hung.” It sounded pretty good.

Henry did have a question of his own though.

“If you don’t trust me exactly, why do you believe anything I say?” He asked.

“Because I interviewed that kid a couple hours back and I wanted to see if your stories matched up, luckily for you they did. Poor thing was scared out of his mind when he saw me which made me suspicious. I think now that he was probably just shaken from last night.”

Henry smiled. The kid had stuck to the story.

“The other reason I don’t necessarily believe everything you say, is that in this line of business you find that everybody lies about something. The main thing I was trying to do was seeing if I could prove you a liar about anything… eh… bad.”

“I wish I could trust ya fully friend, but this line of work… you can’t really go about trusting anyone except maybe your partner if you’re lucky.”

Henry could relate to that.

=== IMPORTANT DECISION ===

1. “Can I see the kid”
2. “Can I leave?”
3. *Start filling Cassius in on what you’ve learned, or try to* (keep in mind you’ll have to explain the information you learned from the corpse if you decide to share it)

Optional: (ask one or none)
1. “Where is Grom?”
2. “Who’s in charge of this now?”
3. “Thanks for saving me earlier.”

>>2393767
>3. *Start filling Cassius in on what you’ve learned, or try to* (keep in mind you’ll have to explain the information you learned from the corpse if you decide to share it)
The were wolves seem to have eyes around town. I used the symbol you lent me to help with the investigation, and the werewolf mentioned it before he turned.
>>2393767
Oh
And
>3. “Thanks for saving me earlier.”

>>2393767
going to be heavily extending out the voting period here.

File: Info Dump.jpg (11 KB, 246x246)

11 KB JPG

>>2393767
“Alright, so let me tell you what I’ve learned so far.” Henry said.

“The main thing I’ve figured out is that any spies within town would have to be using an alternate entrance to get in and out. So that narrows things down quite a bit. I was made aware by Grom that the sewer exits are all at the base of the central tower, thus that’d probably be a good place to look.”

“I really hope you’re wrong, I don’t want to spend daylight crawling through other people’s shit.” Cassius replied. “Still a good idea, you seem to be full of em.”

“Secondly I know for a fact there is at least one spy inside town, since that man knew who I was and attacked me.”

“Wait he attacked you when he was still human?” Cassius asked. “I mean I guess it’s not that surprising. Probably the reason why you’re alive to be honest.”

“As I was saying… there has to be someone inside of town, who saw the emblem I was using…”

“I was under the impression you were only going to use it at the church gates. My fault for not specifying. Your fault for being an idiot.” Cassius said. “Just use that thing more carefully ey? Don’t do anything stupid with it, I’ll be held responsible.”

“You don’t want it back?” Henry asked.

“Hold onto it for now, heck things probably your lucky charm at this point.” Cassius said, chuckling to himself. “It’s been broken in and everything.”

“But like I was saying earlier, there has to be at least one person in town who is working with them.” Henry concluded. He wished he could tell him about that Ginny fellow or the lumberyard, but he figured Cassius would just ask more questions, man was at least trying to do his job properly now.

“Oh and I wanted to say thanks for earlier.” Henry said.

“You’d have done the same for me right?” Cassius said, winking.


Decisions
1. Where is Grom?
2. Go to Charles and speak with him (will keep you within the abbey)
3. I wanted to talk about the man who attacked me
4. Let’s head out (will take Cassius along for the ride)
5. I need to head out… (Will take Henry out alone, from there pick a destination, maybe meet up with Johnny?)
6. Write in

>>2394289
>"Hey, when I was fighting the werewolf, I noticed that he smelled pretty strongly of pine sap..." Try to point Cassius at the lumberyard, saying you picked up clues from the fight. Scholars are observant, you know?

>>2394344
Or maybe we say we saw sawdust on his clothes. Woodchips? I dunno what a fantasy lumberyard's detritus would be.

>>2394350
not a terrible idea at all, I'll roll with it. Do you want to pick another action?

>>2394356
Uh, sure.

>>2394289
>2. Go to Charles and speak with him (will keep you within the abbey)
If we go straight for Johnny, Cassius is definitely going to tail us. Our relationship with Johnny is the weakest part of our story, and the most likely thing to give us away. When we speak with him or Charles, but especially him, we should assume we're being eavesdropped on.

File: Never Forghetti.jpg (13 KB, 259x194)

13 KB JPG

>>2394289
“I did have one other thing to talk about.” Henry said. “The man himself, he had a couple defining features.”

“Might help us on some level.” Cassius responded.

“Right, guy was massive, six and a half feet easy. His clothing was nothing special, but he did use a word I’d never heard before… manfool I think it was.”

Henry watched the dagger slip out of Cassius’ hands before he managed to catch it.

“That’s… that’s a pagan expression.” He murmured to himself. “And that is probably the problem we’re going to be dealing with now.”

“There was one other thing. The man was covered in sawdust and bits of lumber, probably from a lumberyard or something similar. I’d imagine it would have to have been abandoned though, or someone would’ve noticed.”

“Right, although that isn’t too descriptive, if you haven’t noticed this is a lumber town. Regardless that little tip might’ve narrowed things down, and might allow us to beat the clock.” Cassius replied. “I figured that the recent deaths may make whoever is behind this ancy. They probably expected him to kill you easily. The fact he’s dead might make em panic.”

“Right, Can I go and visit the kid now?” Henry said, he didn’t really want to use first names unless he had to, and he wanted to figure out what the kid had told him. “I want some time alone with him, he’s probably scared out of his wits.”

(next section)

>>2394387
“Can’t hurt, sides I don’t have any real reason to keep you here.” Cassius stated.

Henry placed the bowl on the table. He’d eaten its contents during the course of the conversation. As the two began to head towards the door, Henry could hear a panicked voice and then a small crash.

“Wonder what that’s about.” Cassius muttered.

As Henry opened the door, he caught sight of Rosa, once again sprawled out on the floor. Jonathon was looking down at her.

“I told you snooping would be a bad idea.”

“I thought I told you to…forget it just forget anything you heard or you will answer to me. In this instance I actually DO have authority.” Cassius said. The interrogation had technically been a part of the investigation after all.

“I’m gonna stick around out here Henry, make sure these two give you all the privacy you could want.”

“I haven’t done anything though!” Jonathon remarked.

Rosa decided to remain quiet.

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

The room Charles had been in was identical to the one Henry had just left, with set of glass windows in the far back, and some candles held by shelfs that dotted the walls. A few various curios and holy symbols hung from the door way and along the walls as well. There were a series of cots but they were empty for the moment save one. The injured Cathars must’ve already been up and about. Without healers humanity wouldn’t have stood much of a chance.
As Henry walked over to the boy, he could hear gentle sobbing. The kid had been through a lot, more than any child should ever have to go through, and Cassius hadn’t helped, although better him than Grom. Henry imagined that Grom would’ve been far more … forceful.


1. Speak directly to Charles (write in)
2. Wait for him to calm down (write in)
3. Comfort the kid (write in)
4. Other? (Write in)

>>2394425
>3. Comfort the kid (write in)
>4. Other? (Write in)
>pat kids head
>There there?

>>2394425
>3. Comfort the kid (write in)
>4. Other? (Write in)
Awkward hug time.

File: Crying.jpg.jpg (33 KB, 800x450)

33 KB JPG

>>2394425
Henry decided that the kid wasn’t in any shape to be talking, and that he didn’t know how long he’d take to calm down. Besides he wanted to be there, kid needed someone.

As Henry sat down, he felt a weight on his chest. He glanced down quickly to find Charles sobbing into it.

“I-I-I-I… I thought y-you were dead, I saw s-so much blood.” He looked up at you teary eyed. “Please don’t die, I don’t w-want to be all a-alone out here.”

Shit, how do I deal with this? I never was good with kids.

“I uh…” Henry stammered, “There there” He said, rubbing the kids head. He had never been much of a parental figure. “It’s alright now.”

“I-I was just so u-useless, I couldn’t even keep a lousy p-promise.” Charles cried out.

“What?”

“I-I just wanted to be able to help you and J-johnny. You’ve b-been nice to me, nicer than almost anyone h-has been in my life. Y-you… you actually want me a-around.”

Fuck, what was he on about?

“I-I-I couldn’t do a damned thing when that man attacked, he just swatted me i-into the w-wall like a bug. I couldn’t save you and Johnny had to leave you a-alone out there, i-if you h-had died, I would’ve… I...”


Limited Time Decision: choose two (actions that will not reveal information will not count, decision will ultimately rest with the Lorekeeper)

1. It’s not your fault kid
2. What do you mean nobody wants you around?
3. You did help, that dagger of mine…
4. What do you mean. your promise?
5. I’m kinda the same as you kid
6. I’m not dead am I?
7. Write in

>>2394473
>You did help, that dagger of mine...
>What do you mean. your promise?

>>2394473
>1. It’s not your fault kid
>5. I’m kinda the same as you kid
No one wants me around either.

>>2394492
>>2394510

make sure you guys check rule 9 if you haven't seen how these work by the way. I've got the post done and in editing but I want to make sure everyone is clear on that.

>>2394522
Sometimes I like your update speed, and sometimes I don't.

>>2394473
>2. What do you mean nobody wants you around?
>3. You did help, that dagger of mine…
>5. I’m kinda the same as you kid

>>2394473
“You did help, you weren’t useless kid.” Henry said, smiling, more warmly than he thought he could. “If it hadn’t been for that dagger you shoved into him, I’d be taking a dirt nap. You gave me a fighting chance kid.”

“I-I did?” Charles asked. “W-when the man kept moving around and c-cursing I d-didn’t know what to do, I t-thought he’d just fall over.”

“People can be tough bastards.” Henry said. “I… uh… I took a lot to bring him down.” Henry decided to skimp over the grisly details. He’d be having nightmares about that night for a while, no need to give them to the kid.

“I just… don’t blame yourself kid.” Henry said, “You can’t be second guessing what you’ve done in life, you have to… have to keep moving forwards, always. You get bogged down well… you fall into a pit you can’t climb out of.”

Before Charles could respond, a knock from the door distracted the pair.

“We need to get moving, we’re burning daylight.” Cassius yelled out into the room.

“Right, Charles, we’ll speak later alright?” Henry said, getting up. His weird pain but not pain sensation had finally gone away, he wondered if that was normal, he’d have to ask the healer when he had some time. If he remembered to anyways.”

“We should head for the sewer entrance. I want to make sure that we’ve gotten this thing covered.” Cassius said.

“I-I’m under orders to follow you around when you came back C-cassius.” Jonathon muttered, the kid was far too nervous, he figured Inquisitors would do that to a guy.

“Fantastic, we’ll need another set of eyes on those sewer grates, we need to inspect them and get down to the bottom of this…”


(Next section)


> As I mentioned before, time limited decisions are time limited, I might need to rig a voting system up if we start getting a lot of people in these threads. Rule 9 will apply for now.

>>2394548
(Next section)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(A couple hours earlier)

Grom mulled over his breakfast, the man he had hired was likely dead by the enemy’s hands. Although by some miracle Henry had managed to take the bastard with him. He sighed, Henry was foolish to have kept his camp out in the middle of the woods, but he probably hadn’t had time to get back to warn his companions. Besides, it was bad luck to think I’ll of the dead.

Grom was currently sitting inside of the castle keep, in a large dining hall. He had called on a meeting of the town leaders. Bishop Marcus of course would be joining them, as well as Crusader Hafford. Matron Elda, the local high healer, would also be joining them. The leader of the Angels in the area, Brunessa, was still out on patrols, meaning she would not be here for the meeting. Likewise that damned Fargis of the local mages guild had straight up refused his offer. That only really left Talm, who was the head of the local rider’s guild, Grom didn’t know too much about the man.

He didn’t really want to do this huge meeting, he’d rather be out looking for these damned vermin, but he had to make sure that he was cooperating with the local officials, keeping bridges unburnt and all that

1. Head right in
2. Compose yourself first
3. Write in

Optional
1. Ask local cathars for info (write in)


>alright boyos, who's ready to learn a lot more about how the Church operates

>>2394541
too much of a good thing lmao

>>2394566
>2. Compose yourself first

>>2394566
gonna call it here boys

we're gonna be doing the actual town council meeting next session which will reveal a good deal of useful info. One of which is where are the angels and why haven't they shown up yet, how does the church leadership work and how do they tie into the guilds in town? Finally, what is going to be the plan moving forwards?

Tune in tommorrow, I'll be starting a bit late, probably closer to 11pm and running till around 2 am

Secondly, I have a little bit of a "side" quest in the works, a little 1-2 parter that will be taking a look at a different, more disposable character and revealing more information about the world. I figure it will be a good bit of fun for me and a good bit of world building for everyone.

Missed the thread but seems like we did good.

Is there any way we can learn new spells? Improve our manda pool or something?

>>2394623
Personally, I dislike shifting point of views.

>>2394813
For the spell of question, I’ planningg on having a little upgrade at the end of the case. Maybe a couple. Like a perk system or some such. Still doing research and making sure it doesn’t make Henry broken.

As for the perspective shift, I get where you are coming from, this should be the last one of the case. Its mainly being used to introduce characters and flesh out the situation. Wouldn’t make sense for Henry to be there

>>2394813
if you mean the side quest it'll be a COMPLETELY different thread, I won't waste people's time who aren't interested in that

File: Dining Hall.jpg (69 KB, 1195x800)

69 KB JPG

>>2394566
Grom spent a few minutes composing himself. Then taking the time to look at the dining hall itself. It was a fairly large castle with quite a bit of history to it, and now it belonged to the church. Funny thing that. The meeting was taking place where not more than a month back there was a noble family living. He sighed, wasn’t his place to ask questions about it. Regardless it hadn’t exactly been sudden. From what he’d understood, the royal family and various nobles had been on the downslope for a couple hundred years, this was mainly the cap off to that as the church ‘gently’ eased itself into control. Regardless, the sheer speed at which it had happened worried him. Lashing out like that wasn’t done from a position of strength, no matter what Solarch Gamora publicly claimed.

His food had gone cold a while ago. He hadn’t much of an appetite. Resigning himself to the upcoming debacle he rose from his chair and headed up the stairs. As he entered the meeting room, he saw a small group of people waiting there for him. All sitting at a large circular table.

On the far left, wearing a fairly fancy set of white robes and a gold inlayed white hood, was who Grom assumed to be Elda. The Matron Healer for the local districts. Grom didn’t know too much about her, but he knew she was well respected for her years of service, hopefully a cooler head.

Then there was Bishop Marcus, the man who’d originally written to the capital after the first attacks on the outlying hamlets had occurred. The man had given support at every stage of the investigation. This was something Grom was truly grateful for. Such kindness could sometimes prove rare.

Next up was a very nervous looking man. Wearing a brown scarf with horseshoe patterns at either end and a brown leather jacket. He assumed this was Talm, who looked to be on the point of a nervous breakdown. Grom wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with him.

Lastly, on the far right, was Crusader Hafford, Grom had… mixed feelings about the man. Grom wouldn’t argue the man was bad at his job, but he lacked … grace that should come with his rank. However he was as brave as they come and inspired absolute loyalty from his men, something Grom could appreciate.

It was time to start up. Everyone was looking at him now.


1. “Gentlemen, as you’re all aware there have now been three attacks in two days…”
2. “Bishop Marcus, is there really no way to contact the angels?”
3. “I’d like to say that the absence of the Mage’s guild has been noted.”
4. Write in (feel free to offer additions to these)

>>2397910
>1. “Gentlemen, as you’re all aware there have now been three attacks in two days…”

File: EXCITING.jpg (8 KB, 275x183)

8 KB JPG

>>2397910
“Gentlemen, as you’re all aware there have now been three attacks in two days, one of which occurred inside the city gates. I think you’re also aware of the fact that this situation has been spiraling out of control since the initial attacks on the outer hamlets, and we need to pull a response together.”

“It’s about damned time. I keep hearing about all these dreadful things.” Elda muttered.

“W-why haven’t we called in the angels, why did they all just up and leave? You couldn’t have done anything?” Talm asks, looking from Grom to the Bishop.

“I don’t think I need to tell the rest of you this, but that would simply be improper, Humans have no place asking things of angels or god forbid ordering them around. And I’ll let that comment slide Talm.” Marcus replied.

Talm looked pale, Grom wondered if the man was going to faint.

“Crusader, how many Cathars do you command at present?” Grom asked, changing the topic.

“Within the city I have thirty seven total… thirty six now.” He explained. “I have quite a few others outside of the city itself, but it would take time for them to arrive, I could probably bolster our numbers by another twenty if we get word out now.” The man seemed uncomfortable. His hand must have finally been forced with these latest incidents. Grom would gloat but one man was dead and Henry might make two.

“I-I can have the letters sent out right away.” Talm spoke up. “The riders guild w-would be delighted to bring this matter to a s-swift end. W-we can’t be having anything like that happening in this city again.”

“I’ve been considering something else that is a bit worrying.” Grom said. All eyes were on him again.

“Have any of you considered that the initial attacks on the outlying colonies were mere distractions?”

“DISTRACTONS?” Hafford spoke up. “We’ve had QUITE a few deaths in those areas and they’re mere DISTRACTIONS?”

“In my line of work it takes a lot more than some people dying for something to be considered serious. No disrespect intended to any of them of course.” Grom said.

“That would indeed be dire, our stalwart defenders distracted by going valiantly to defend the populace.” Marcus said, rubbing his chin. “Regardless we need a plan to combat this. They aren’t going through with all the theatrics unless they’re planning something besides wanton violence.”

“This location is a stopping ground for those going to the capital, and a key source of lumber to the coast. It would be a prime target for those looking to do damage to the country.” Elda said.

“That is true, but considering we’re not dealing with cultists, at least from what I understand, this may be just sending a message. At least if what Cassius has explained to me proves true.”

>>2398571

“All this work just to send a message?” Hafford asked. “I don’t see the point of that.”

“You’d be surprised how far some people will go to hurt those they truly despise. Even to the point of dying themselves.” Grom stated plainly.

“Regardless, we need to come up with a plan, something to guide us going forwards, the full moon is upon us in less than two days.” Marcus said.

“Right, I assume they will be attacking then, when the curse is forced out even in the unwilling.” Elda said. “Do we have any ideas who are afflicted within the populace?”

“None so far, although we have a few leads to follow.” Grom said, it wasn’t a complete lie but he had an embarrassingly small amount of info. He silently prayed Henry would recover. Man had to know something to provoke an attack like that.

“C-can’t we ask the capital for help? T-they’re a stone’s throw away!” Talm asked.

“I don’t think you’ve ever had to work with the Capital’s bureaucracy before, my child.” Marcus said. “Regardless, we can’t go to them for help. The two inquisitors they sent are our help. The high cathedral is dealing with a lot right now.”

“So then, we still need to work out a plan to deal with these cretins.” The Bishop said. “Out of all of us I believe you have the most experience dealing with these abominations.”

Grom smiled weakly, he was all these people had right now.


===IMPORTANT DECISION===

1. Gather Cathars together into town to prepare for a raid (will occur day 3)
2. Bide your time (will do nothing)
3. Do not gather Cathars into town, prepare the raid regardless
4. Try to force the Mage’s guild into get involved (may or may not be successful)
5. Rally the townsfolk?
6. Write in?

>>2398589
Can we do 1 and 4 at the same time?
We just need one person to go to the mage's guild while the rest gathers the cathars and prepares them. We could try to convince the mages by telling them that if the werewolves attack their tower and their shit would be in danger.

If we can't do both, lets just do 1.

>>2398589
How many can we do?
1 and 5 can probably be delegated while we do 4.

>>2398589
Didn't Grom order like gajillion silver arrows and from what we know silver is extremely effective against werewolves.

We should distribute them among cathars. I assume they have at least some proficiency work them.

>>2398805
What can the town folk even do? They would be just fodder. Though we can appeal to everyone to give up any silver they have so that we can smelt them into arrowheads and spearheads. That might work. If they know their lives are at stake they might apply.
The recently deposed nobles house should have done silverware.

>>2398603
technically yes, however trying to force the mages guild to do things may backfire on Grom, and strain relations with the town, If you choose to do it, it will be treated as an encounter later in day 2

>>2398805
since its not time limited, you can do a couple.


>>2398915
he indeed did ;)

>>2398925
well bolster your numbers in daylight, but yeah they'd be fodder. Also people have the tendency to form into lynch mobs which could go out of control. The Cathars are less numerous but FAR better disciplined. Forming a mob will also completely remove stealth from the equation.
>I'm going to be doing 1 if nobody changes their vote. Don't worry I'll make sure Grom mentions the arrows. Whole point he got that many was to share.

>>2399937
>trying to force the mages guild to do things may backfire on Grom, and strain relations with the town,
I don't mean to obligate them to help us, but more like "if you have anything you could help us with, it will be appreciated" sort of thing.

>>2399982
Grom already tried that earlier in Chapter 4, didn't go well, he even got called a thug.

>>2398589
1. Gather Cathars together into town to prepare for a raid (will occur day 3)

6. Write in?
Ask Talm is her riders have seen/heard anything suspicious. Assuming we've talked with Cassius, ask about strangely-acting woodmen, pagan activities, etc

Ask the Bishop about any parishioners that his priests have concerns about.

Ask the healer about and strange cases recently.

Ask Hafford to organize his cathars into squads of 5, two hand to hand combat men and two archers if he can. Archers should be equipped with silver arrows.

>>2400019


*ask Talm if his

*any strange

*fuck me, meant three hand-to-hand combat fighters:2 archer ratio.

>>2400019


fantastic idea with the squads. As for the question to the Bishop and the Healer we can assume Grom already did that, although I can have him bring it up a second time. As for Talm, sure, I have something funny planned.

>>2400045
>>2399937

If it's redundant information and we already have it, just tell it to us, no need to ask.

Also, go the mages' guild and ask if they have anything they'd be willing to contribute in light of recent events (instead of demanding services of them).

Don't threaten, but mention that their contribution to fending off what is now obviously a severe werewolf threat might help them if relations with the church begin to sour.

>>2400019
>>2400100
>Don't threaten, but mention that their contribution to fending off what is now obviously a severe werewolf threat might help them if relations with the church begin to sour.

This

>>2401775
>>2400100


alright then, its gonna happen later day 2, and it will be possible to fuck up.

File: Castle Meeting Hall.jpg (124 KB, 1020x599)

124 KB JPG

>>2398589
“We need a larger force than what we have here. At least if we plan on keeping the town defended AND attacking whatever sort of force they have.” Grom said.

“I can get on t-that right away.” Talm said. “A-all I need are the messages and the l-l-locations from Hafford.”

“Shouldn’t be an issue.” Hafford said. “The city gates can be defended with ten Cathars and local volunteers. Won’t be hard to find a few to round up tomorrow.”

“Can’t we have this done today?” Grom asked.

“I won’t be able to get most of them in until near dusk, and I don’t think anyone here wants to send a good chunk of our force out on a wolf hunt, specially if there are a good number of wolves.” Hafford responded. “You’re welcome to try on your own of course.”

Grom decided to ignore that last bit.

“I assume gathering the townsfolk is out of the question then.” The Bishop muttered.

“It’s for the best, I’d rather keep things quiet AND under control.” Grom replied. Mobs, while powerful, had the tendency to go wildly out of control. There was also the fact that a surprise attack would be impossible with so many undisciplined people.

“I assume you two haven’t noted any suspicious behavior since our last chat?” Grom said, motioning to Elda and Marcus.

After looking to Elda, Marcus responded. “Not a peep I’m afraid. Although it should be noted attendance at this morning’s sermon was far higher than usual… speaking of which Inquisitor, seeing as how this attack will not happen until tomorrow. Perhaps you could give a sermon tonight? I’m sure you could assure the townsfolk that all will be well, although I understand if you’re busy or aren’t good with crowds.”

“I’ll have to think about it.” Grom replied.

“Hafford, onto the Cathars, we should organize them in squads of 5-“ Grom started.

“I already have that covered, 4 squads of 10 however, easier to manage I’ve found.” Hafford said, bastard was fighting against him even now.

“Right… I can provide arrows to the archers, I’ve… acquired a shipment of holy silver arrows from the city, things will prove invaluable I’m sure.” Grom said.

“Well that’s the best news I’ve heard all week.” Hafford responded, sounding impressed, and for the first time since meeting him. Grom thought.

With that issue out of the way, there were a few things Grom still wanted to get to.

“C-couldn’t we g-gather more silver together from the noble house and p-perhaps the townsfolk?” Talm interjected.

“Would be as useful as iron, lad.” Hafford responded. “If you’d ever paid attention to anything you’d know normal silver does jack all, it has to be blessed… and that takes…”

>>2402329
“Approximately five days to perform the ritual, potentially more if the amount is large.” Marcus responded. “I wish we’d known there was a large group of them before hand, thankfully our Inquisitor here has foreseen this outcome and prepared.”

Grom smiled, he wished he hadn’t needed the arrows but it had been a wise investment, even if they had hurt his coinpurse.

“The next matter is the mage’s guild, I’m going to have to try and get their help. If they would be willing to lend any aid at all it would be a huge boon.” Grom said.

“Our relations with the local guild are strained as of late. Head Mage Fargis was close friends with the late Baron Helmswood.” Marcus replied. “I wish we hadn’t had to do things as publically as we did, but the orders from the High Cathedral were final and clear. Right now we need his guild more than vice versa, nobody else around knows how to craft runes nearly as well. Although our Church is their main customer, hence why they still do business with us. Regardless, I’d appreciate it highly if you don’t cause issues on that front.”

“Fantastic.” Grom responded sarcastically.

“As for you Talm,” Grom started, watching the man jump in his seat. “I would like to request any cavalry you might have available for the raid.”

“I-I-I’m a-afraid to disappoint you s-sir, but our horses and men are for courier services and transportation only, n-none of them are t-trained for combat.”

Great


Decisions (choose any number)
1. Ask Talm for the horses (speech of 50 or higher required)
2. Head to the mages guild, or alternatively get Cassius to do it (will give the option to allow Henry to do it)
3. Agree to lead tonight’s sermon
4. After the meeting, head back to the inn (can’t pick 5)
5. After the meeting head elsewhere (can’t pick 4)
6. Ask Elda to have her healers ready after the raid (can’t pick 8)
7. Ask Elda for healers to accompany the raid (speech of 70 or higher required) (can’t pick 7)
8. Write In (get creative if you want)

Roll once for each roll you are required to do.

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>2402331
>1. Ask Talm for the horses (speech of 50 or higher required)
>2. Head to the mages guild, or alternatively get Cassius to do it (will give the option to allow Henry to do it)
>3. Agree to lead tonight’s sermon
>4. After the meeting, head back to the inn (can’t pick 5)
>6. Ask Elda to have her healers ready after the raid (can’t pick 8)

>>2402331
going to mention now that the voting period is being heavily extended out because of how important this decision is

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>2402331
>6. Ask Elda to have her healers ready after the raid (can’t pick 8)
>1. Ask Talm for the horses (speech of 50 or higher required)
>2. Head to the mages guild, or alternatively get Cassius to do it (will give the option to allow Henry to do it)
>4. After the meeting, head back to the inn (can’t pick 5)

>>2402338
>>2402481
right now we have a successful vote for the horsies, we will be leaving the healers at the ready for the battle, we will be choosing who goes to the mages guild later on (but we WILL be going), and we have a tie on whether or not we want to lead the sermon tonight

After the meeting Grom will be heading back to the inn to look over his notes.

>>2402498
Eh, don't do the sermon.

File: HORSIES.jpg (9 KB, 268x188)

9 KB JPG

>>2402331
“We can still make use of them Talm, how many do you have that would be available for use by tomorrow?” Grom calmly asked.

“I-I… well we have seven horses in the stable that aren’t too energetic, they should be suitable, but I must ask the Church to compensate us if any die during the fighting, they are fairly expensive after all.”

“We can discuss arrangements on that end later Talm. It’s for the good of the city after all.” Marcus said, slightly annoyed.

“Elda, I don’t think I need to ask but can you have a group of your healers ready after our little raid tomorrow?”

“I can volunteer and Rosa and a few others should be able to as well, the rest are either dealing with things around town or are exhausted from last night’s festivities.” Elda said. “Maybe that monk will be of some use.” She murmured.

“I’m going to prepare for my meeting with the mage’s guild, I doubt they’ll lend anyone to combat but maybe they’d at least be willing to aid us in my investigation.” Grom said. He was not looking forward to another meeting with Fargis, he thought at one point the man was about to sic the gargoyles on him.

“As for the Sermon, I’m sorry to say but I cannot attend, Bishop Marcus. I have to see to my investigation and to plan out the raid for tomorrow. Their camp will not find itself.”

“About that, I’m going to be sending a few small patrols into the forest to try and look for them. No actual combat. Mainly intel gathering.” Hafford explained. “I’m going to be heading out myself to oversee this, I don’t want to leave this completely up to you, wouldn’t be fair.” Hafford said, smirking.

Grom decided once more to make no comment. He silently hoped the man would get an arrow to the head for his troubles.


“For now, I’m going to head back to the inn I’m staying at, and try and hash something together, hopefully we will not need to meet until after the attack tomorrow.” Grom said.

After that, the members of the meeting silently filed out of the room, with the exception of Bishop Marcus and Talm who were embroiled in a conversation over the horses. Grom hoped that having some cavalry would be worth it, as long as it was before night time it would probably be overkill.

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

>>2402850
Henry put the last of his pouches into place beneath his red cloak. A man could never have too many of them, that’s what any mage worth his salt would say. He had been impressed by how well cleaned the things were, the sewer muck had been completely cleaned off, not to mention the mud and blood. He wished that he wouldn’t have to be entering into yet another sewer, but such things were out of his control now. He couldn’t just leave… he had to see this through, sides these bastards had hurt Charles… he felt protective of the kid now. Henry sighed, he wouldn’t fuck things up this time, he couldn’t, never again.

“We heading out or what?” Cassius yelled into the room, “I know you need to look all pretty but we need to stop burning daylight.”

“I-uh… I don’t mind sir.” Jonathon said, smiling weakly as he got a glare from Cassius.

“Let’s just head out already, fucks sake.”


=== Only Pick One ===
1. Head down to Sewers
2. Head down to the Main Tower
3. Head down to Quarry to meet with Johnny (will still have Cassius AND Jonathon with you)
4. Head down to the Mill
5. Head into the Renior Plaza Market (will require an idea of something to buy)
6. Head to Shanty Town
7. Head to Dockyards
8. Head to the Jail
9. Write in

>>2402864
this is back to present time incase anyone was confused

>>2402864
>2. Head down to the Main Tower
Followed by a trip to the underswamp.

>>2402900
Supporting

>>2402864
“Shuddap.” Henry replied. He was ready, he hoped that Jonathon wouldn’t be useless, but he knew Cassius had already saved his life so that wasn’t an issue.

“We’re going to be heading to the main tower to figure out how they haven’t noticed anything weird about the sewer exit, I have a hunch but it’s a bit too obvious.” Henry muttered.

“What do you figure?” Cassius said. The three of them were now walking outside of the abbey and into the courtyard.

“I think there might be an equipment malfunction but I’d have to actually see the tower or get info from the guards.”

The trio rounded the corner and began heading outside.

“Whatever you do Henry, under no circumstances do you acknowledge the door guards.” Cassius said… was that fear on his face? From those two idiots? What had happened?

“HAPPY TO SEE you well…” One of them said, yelling for a moment

“Just keep fucking walking Henry…” Cassius said. His face was… well it was of a man in pain.

“They’re not that bad. You just have to get used to them” Jonathon said, running to keep up. They had reached the main church plaza and were heading towards the tower.

“Let me just say I understand why Hafford keeps those two on door duty.” Cassius said.

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

The main tower was a massive structure made of stone and topped with a wood shingled roof, thing had been there for a long time. It had a couple of additions, and a bunch of ballistae on the interior. As the trio approached the gate, Cassius spoke up.

“So I don’t actually know who runs the place. I think it’d be a Templar or something, we’d probably need to get Haffords permission or some shit.”

“You’re an inquisitor can’t you enter?” Henry asked.

“Guys being real obstructive for some reason.” Cassius replied. “Either that or he just likes being an ass.”

The door was closed and barred, Henry thought that there might be someone on the inside, but he couldn’t be sure.

1. Try to get inside by talking your way through (roll 40 or higher)
2. Try to break inside by busting the lock (roll 60 or higher)
3. Try to use Jonathon to get inside (write in if you want)
4. Write in

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>2403042
>1. Try to get inside by talking your way through (roll 40 or higher)

File: Guard-Tower.jpg (291 KB, 590x872)

291 KB JPG

Instead of beating around the bush, Henry decided to just demand their way inside. After a couple heavy knocks, he hears an annoyed voice coming from inside.

“QUIT IT WITH ALL THAT GOD DAMNED RACKET.” The voice shouts.

“Open up, Inquisitorial business!” Henry shouted back. Trying to sound as slightly annoyed and very inquisitorial as possible.

After a few more minutes, a latch slid open near the upper part of the door, followed by a curse, followed by what sounded like something heavy being removed. Progress, finally.

“I-inqusitior.” The voice inside stammers, “I-I didn’t think we’d be expecting you, Hafford never said…”

“Hafford isn’t my momma and he doesn’t need to know where I’m coming and going.” Cassius replied, before pushing past the stunned Cathar and heading upstairs.

“Thanks Henry, I don’t know why but I just hate dealing with these people sometimes.”

Jonathon tagged behind sheepishly, not really wanting to make a fuss.

As the trio headed higher into the structure, Henry took the time to get his bearings, the tower was massive. There were several floors, one used as storage, then a living quarters, then beds. Seemed the people here spent a good deal of time inside the tower.

When they reached the top, someone important looking rushed over. Henry noticed there were two other people up here, holding binoculars of some sort. Lenses always fascinated him, how a piece of glass could make something far away appear up close. Beyond that there were some bows and arrows on racks, a few other pieces of equipment, and what appeared to be a control panel of some sort, probably for the light rune at the top of the tower. There was a ladder in the center of the structure, probably leading up to the control room for the light room. At night the thing SHOULD be sweeping over the clear cut section of forest, making sure the guards had full visibility.

“You can’t be in here, I’m sorry but Hafford was clear.” He said.

“Templar Rodger?” Cassius said. “You’re in command here on the tower right?”

“Y-yes but.”

“Well then if you don’t tell Hafford we strolled right in, then I won’t, gotcha?”

“F-fine.” Rodger replied, annoyed. “Just don’t keep me from my shift. I have a whole lotta nothing to get back to staring at.” Henry wasn’t sure if the man was being sarcastic or not.

Henry sighed before walking forward


1. I’d like to ask you about the sewer entrance
2. I’d like to ask you about the light rune
3. Have you seen anything odd lately around town?
4. What’s it like up here? Does it get lonely?
5. Write in.

>>2403361
calling it a night here, will start up tomorrow

>>2403361
>2. I’d like to ask you about the light rune

>>2403361
Ask about the light rune then sewer

>>2403361
“I’d like to ask you about the light rune this tower has.” Henry said. He had figured Cassius didn’t even want to be here based on how he was acting. He remained himself to ask for more pay later on, he was doing most of this after all.

“Oh good, finally, we’ve been unable to do our damned jobs without it.”

“What?” Henry asked.

“You’re not here to help fix it?” Rodger said, now becoming confused. “Let me guess, you’re just here to investigate. Of all the…” He trailed off.

“What do you mean fix it?” Henry asked.

“Thing’s been broken for the past week and a half now, apparently someone or something broke it earlier in the week, and we’ve been unable to secure a replacement. I’d love to strangle whoever did this, probably someone drunk on his shift.”

“You can’t just pop another light rune in?” Henry asked. Things weren’t hard to make or hard to come by.

“Thing is special order, one of a kind made for the tower. Apparently its super powerful compared to most light runes. We’ve been waiting on the mages guild here, nothing any of us can do, unless you know a good deal of rune crafting.” Rodger replied

“Well crap.” Henry muttered. He knew only the basics of rune crafting. It wasn’t something he didn’t do too much, especially with how annoying he found chiseling stone. Give him a dead body to work with any day.

“We’re going to be heading down to the sewer to inspect it.” Henry said. “Try not to shoot us full of arrows, we’d appreciate it.”

“Fine fine, but the hell are you looking down there for, I don’t think you’ll find a bunch of werewolves in the sewer.” Rodger added.

“Just let us do our jobs.” Henry shot back.

“C-can’t we get along?” Jonathon asked, ending the conversation.

This was troubling news, but shifted things back onto the mages guild, the stone may need some work but it shouldn’t have taken a week and a half, it should’ve already been replaced. That much Henry DID know. Meaning he’d have to pay them a visit later. This whole case was a mess.

“Let’s head to the sewer, my clothes were too clean anyway.” Henry said, before marching back down the stairwell. Cassius and Jonathon followed silently.


1. Head to the sewer entrance
2. Head elsewhere
3. Pick Johnny up at Quarry (still have Jonathon and Cassius with you)
4. Write in

Optional Smalltalk:
1. Ask Jonathon Questions (write in)
2. Ask Cassius Questions (write in)
3. Write in

>>2404533
>2. Head elsewhere
Go to the mage's guild and inquire about the light rune.

>>2404533
I will be starting up properly later tonight, so get yer votes in now.

>>2404533
>2. Head elsewhere
>Go to the mage's guild and inquire about the light rune.

File: Bravil_Mages_Guild.png (3.27 MB, 1634x1048)

3.27 MB PNG

>>2404533
“We should skip the sewer for now. I want to get this whole thing with the light rune settled first.”

“You’re acting lazier than I am Henry.” Cassius said. “Don’t like getting yer hands dirty?”

“I don’t want to get my boots dirty after the church did such a good job cleaning them.” Henry shot back.

“Well we should check in with Grom first, make sure we won’t be poking a beehive here. We can just sweep by the inn and I’ll be in and out in a few minutes alright?” Cassius said.

The trip over to the inn was uneventful, although a few people stopped and said hello to Jonathon. He knew quite a few people apparently. Cassius went into the inn without a word. A few minutes later he returned scratching the back of his head.

“So here’s the deal, Grom screwed things up for us a bit by pissing off the head of the local guild. He says he didn’t say anything that would cause the guy to lash out but I dunno. We can’t just wave our badges around and expect things to go well, so there’s that. Guy’s name is Fargis, and apparently he was close with the local nobility before … y’know” He finished.

“Regardless it’s by far the best lead we have. This whole thing stinks to the heavens.” Henry said. He didn’t like this one bit. But since he had only a passing connection to the church he’d probably be the best negotiator that they had right now. He certainly did not trust Jonathon to handle an operation requiring such tact.

“I’d rather not get violent, since y’know, they are mages and what not.” Cassius replied. “You’re gonna be doing the talking, since I’d probably just botch it. They have their own god damned language in there when it comes to the magical stuff, but you probably know all about that. Call me the second fists start flying though, got no problems with that.”

Henry decided he would DEMAND higher pay, even though he’d never really settled on it in the first place, a mistake he made due to panic more than anything else. He was REALLY pulling his weight now.

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

As the group reached the Mage’s compound, Henry took note of something. There was now a guard in the gate house, and a few more people inside the actual courtyard inside. He figured that his best chance would be to find the man in charge or to talk to that Theo person he’d met earlier.


1. Try to find Theo
2. Try to find Fargus
3. Talk to the gate guard (write in)
4. Write in
Optional:
1. Ask Cassius a question (write in)
2. Ask Jonathon a Question (write in)

new thread is LIVE

>>2407466