Episode 76 - The Real World
| The Assassins |
Azareth - Wizard 5th Level LE (PC) Craven - Fighter / Rogue 3rd / 3rd LE (PC) Creighton - Fighter 5th Level LE (PC) Keldirk - Rogue 6th level NE (PC) |
| Locale | In the outskirts of the city of Jennden, in Northern Almor. |
| Date | 28th Goodmonth 582 CY |
| Time | Late Afternoon |
The assassins walked into Jennden in silence.
The four men who entered that town may have looked the same as those who left Del Mord many days ago but at their core they were different. There was no doubt that the experience in Hades had changed them and the solemn mood that engulfed them was just the outward manifestation of the profoundly personal events that had occurred. Unfortunately the details concerning those events remained frustratingly out of reach. Try as they might, none of the four companions seemed able to clearly remember exactly what had happened or how they found themselves to be back on the road to Tusk.
They crossed the swollen Fessern River earlier that day and the few miles from there to the city were walked in silence beneath a grey, overcast sky. In truth the assassins were beginning to feel like they would never be able to experience colour again.
Jennden was a walled city, home to roughly four thousand people. Though technically still in Almor its proximity to both the Adri Forest and the Great Kingdom meant that it needed to retain a strong military presence and this was financed by the self styled Prince Jichrisen. He and his brother Horamy were responsible for paying the standing mercenary soldiers that maintain law and order and, as such, they effectively ran the town. Thus it was that when the four assassins tried to pass through the city gates they were stopped by a guardsman.
| Guardsman | (gruffly) State your business. |
In their depressed state, the group barely registered the man's presence. Creighton was the first to recover and he spoke after an awkward pause.
| Creighton | (somewhat absently) Passing through on the way to Tusk. |
| Guardsman | (looks them all up and down) Tusk? That figures. This is Jennden and we don't look kindly on trouble-makers. Keep you're noses clean, head north as soon as able and we won't have a problem. Tonight, I'd recommend you stay at the Royal Hearth. Continue down the main strip, it's on your left, you can't miss it. |
Too distracted to think otherwise the four of them did as they were instructed and entered the Royal Hearth. Despite the grandiose sounding name the inn was not opulent but it seemed a comfortable enough place with a number of vacant rooms. After a brief exchange of gold they took a room together and headed upstairs.
The four exhausted travellers glumly removed their backpacks and unbuckled their sword belts in preparation for a long overdue sleep in semi-comfortable conditions. Creighton - as usual - stripped down to nothing and made ready to climb beneath the inviting covers of his bed, when Keldirk stopped him.
| Keldirk | What's that? |
| Creighton | What's what? |
| Keldirk | That. (pointing to the space between Creighton's shoulder blades) There's a red symbol drawn on your skin. |
| Creighton | (tries in vain to turn his head to see what Keldirk was pointing at) Stop messing around, I am way too tired for any of your crap Keldirk. |
| Craven | He's not joking, Creighton. There really is a mark on your back. (steps closer) It looks like the symbol for infinity. |
| Creighton | (looks at Craven with a serious expression) Guys, this isn't funny. (turns to Azareth) Az? Should I be worried or are these two clowns just mucking around? |
Azareth, who up until now had been ignoring the conversation, sat up from his bed and absent-mindedly scratched the back of his neck. The action of raising his arm caused the loose sleeve of his under-shirt to slide up, revealing a similar mark on the inside of his bicep. Craven's eyes widened and he reached out to grab hold of Azareth's arm.
| Craven | You have one as well, an infinity symbol like Creighton, only yours is white! |
Azareth hesitated, his expression was momentarily thoughtful before changing into one of surprise.
| Azareth | What do you mean? I have one what? |
| Craven | An infinity symbol, on your arm. Look! |
| Azareth | (examines the marking on his arm) Hmm. |
| Keldirk | (thinks for a moment) Maybe we all have them. |
| Craven | (nods) We need to check each other. |
With that Craven began to remove his clothes.
| Keldirk | What are you doing? |
| Craven | These symbols could be anywhere, so the only way to be sure is to check over the whole body. |
Craven stood naked in the middle of the room, raised his arms and turned around. The others looked him over but nobody could see a similar symbol on him. As he got dressed Keldirk removed his clothes and did the same.
| Creighton | (to Keldirk) Yes! There! You have one too. Yours is yellow, inside of your arm, near your arm-pit. |
| Keldirk | (alarmed, he moves to a mirror and examines the marking) |
| Creighton | (scratches his head) Well that's odd. Why would we three have markings and not Craven? |
| Craven | No idea. |
Keldirk licked his fingers and tried to rub the symbol away, but despite every effort the symbol remained. In fact, it became apparent that the symbol had been tattooed into his skin. Of them all, only Azareth seemed not to be surprised by the discovery of these symbols.
| Keldirk | I don't like this. I don't like this one little bit. |
| Creighton | Me either. (tries to rub it off with a rag) The stupid thing won't come off. |
| Keldirk | Now I'm pissed. I don't like people messing with my stuff, let alone my body! When I find out- |
| Azareth | The symbols are a gift. |
| Keldirk | What!? |
| Azareth | A gift. |
| Craven | A gift from who? |
| Azareth | From Aldareyeth, the trapped wizard we rescued from the quasi-dimension. |
| Keldirk | If it's a gift why didn't we all get them. |
| Azareth | Because Craven refused to accept it. |
| Craven | I did? (confused) |
| Azareth | Yes, you did. |
| Craven | (tries to understand what Azareth is saying, searching his memory) Ok then, if that is true, why is it that you are the only one of us who knows what is going on? I can't remember much about what happened in Hades nor how we got back to Almor. |
| Keldirk | (begins to get dressed) Nor do I. Out with it mage, what is going on here? |
| Azareth | (sighs) There is no conspiracy here, what has happened was merely a circumstance of the place we were in. |
Azareth thought for a moment as the others looked on expectantly. He knew that this moment would come and he hoped that his mental preparations would be enough to satisfy the curiosity of his companions. Since their return to the real world, Azareth had been unsure of exactly how much he was able to tell the others. On the one hand they were all members of The Family and he had sworn an oath to be loyal to The Family and its members. But, on the other hand, his experience within the Palace of the First Protector in the City of the Dead had meant he had to take a new oath, one that was quite clear in its need for secrecy. Azareth knew that from now on he would need to walk a fine line to ensure that his thoughts and deeds did not violate either oath.
In the end Azareth decided that keeping what happened a secret did not constitute a betrayal of his oath to The Family and he resolved to concoct a story that, while not wholly a lie, would not be wholly the truth either.
| Azareth | Recall the long corridor in the Palace of the First Protector? Creighton was the first to succumb to the mind numbing fear pervading the place, then Keldirk and finally Craven. None of you were able to reach the room at the end of the corridor save me. |
| Craven | (nods) Go on. |
| Keldirk | What does that have to do with why I can't remember? |
| Azareth | I am getting to that, Keldirk. Please, be patient. |
| Creighton | Yeah Keldirk, let him finish. |
| Azareth | Well within that final room was indeed what we were looking for. I was able to retrieve the soul and return to the corridor to collect the three of you. You were dazed and obviously confused, but you were each able to walk. Thankfully, with the soul in our possession, there was no need for us to traverse the Grey Wastes to return to the portal. The moment we stepped outside the domain of the palace, we were transported to Alderayeth's quasi-dimension. Try and recall the huge archway at the mouth of the corridor, with a massive symbol of Nerull at its zenith. |
| Creighton | Yes! I remember it. |
| Keldirk | (nods) |
| Azareth | Well, I figure that archway must have been some type of one-way portal that transports those who do not belong back from whence they came. Normally this portal would have transported us back to Almor but, since we entered the plane of Hades via the quasi-dimension, the portal sent us back there. |
| Creighton | I think I understand. |
| Azareth |
Once we arrived you three began to recover your faculties somewhat, but were
still far from able to take care of yourselves. I gave Aldareyeth the soul I had collected
and this freed him from the bonds of his captor, thereby restoring him to his full power.
His crime now atoned for Aldarayeth lived up to his part of the bargain. He returned us to the Material Plane and to Almor but in addition to this, he gave each of us a gift. Each of us, that is, except Craven. |
| Craven | (confused) Why was I left out? |
| Azareth | Because you refused to accept his offer. He described that the gift would take the form of a permanent marking which would bestow some boon upon the bearer. You felt that the risk of being so marked outweighed whatever benefits might be gained and declined. It made no difference to Alderayeth. The rest of us chose to accept them, we were given the choice of four colours and told to nominate where the mark would be placed. |
| Craven | I declined? (trying to remember) I can't ... I can't remember any of this. But I agree with the decision, I think you were fools to accept a gift of unknown power or effect. |
| Azareth | Perhaps, or perhaps not. Only time will tell. Unlike you, I believed Alderayeth's intentions were good, and the symbols will eventually prove themselves a boon. |
| Keldirk | None of what you've said explains why we can't remember any of this. |
| Azareth |
Aldareyeth explained to me that because I was the only one of us who did not
succumb to the oppressive fear within the corridor I would return to the material plane
with my memories and experiences intact. The rest of you would have only partial
recollection of the events. Such is the terrible power that permeates the lower planes.
He also told me that I should be careful in revealing too much detail to you too quickly - in case this leads to some permanent mental damage. What we went through was both mentally and physically draining and I can assure you that I personally envy your imperfect memories of what happened. In many ways I would like to forget my time in that realm but, sadly, I have not been afforded that luxury. |
| Creighton | Ok. But what do these marks do? |
| Azareth | I have no idea, none of us do. |
| Keldirk | What?! I'm beginning to see why Craven decided not to get one. I can't believe that I agreed to it. There must be more to this. |
| Azareth | (shrugs) |
| Craven | If what you have told us is true, and right now I have no reason to believe that it is not, then we owe you our lives. Were it not for you being able to find the soul and return to collect us we would have been stuck in that awful place forever. |
| Azareth | Thank you Craven. But I am sure that any one of you would have done the same had the circumstances been different. |
| Craven | (looks briefly at Keldirk) Perhaps. But the circumstances were as they were and it is because of you that were able to have this discussion. Well done. |
| Creighton | Yeah, well done Az'. But, let's get back to the gifts. So, how do we figure out what these things do? (twists his face in concentration) Nothing happened. |
| Azareth | (laughs) |
| Craven | I suggest you don't simply randomly concentrate on anything Creighton, only the gods know what you are liable to do. Hell, you may accidently burn this place to the ground and then where would we be? |
| Creighton | Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. |
| Keldirk | Still, the oaf is right. How do we figure out what these so-called rewards do for us? |
| Azareth | I suspect we will uncover those in time. Right now I am bone weary and want nothing more than to get some sleep. |
| Craven | Quite right. We are all tired, let's sleep now and then let less weary heads tackle the problem while we make our way to Tusk. |
| Keldirk | Fair enough. By the way, did anyone happen to get the date? I'd be interested to know just how long we have been away. |
| Craven | Another question we can get the answer to in the morning. |
The group prepared to leave Jennden the following morning. They bought equipment, clothing and supplies to replenish the stocks they had ruined in Hades, or lost when their horses were stolen in Donnington Hollow. Even though it seemed like several weeks had gone by, the group learned that only two days had passed since they were transported to Hades. Once they had completed their purchases they made their way towards Tusk.
The journey along the well-travelled road took five uneventful days and the sky remained overcast for much of that time. It was only when they had nearly reached the outpost town that the summer sun made its first appearance from behind the thick cloud cover.
In the intervening days Keldirk alone had discovered what his gift from Aldareyeth was. Their first night on the road Keldirk was surprised to discover that he was able to see clearly in the dark. Craven, who had possessed a similar ability in the latter stages of his vampirism, was able to appreciate just how useful such a thing was and any trepidation Keldirk might have had over accepting the mysterious gift evaporated. Azareth and Creighton however had no such luck. On the afternoon that the group walked into Tusk, the pair were no closer to knowing what their gifts might be.
Tusk was made up of a sizable collection of buildings, most of them made of wood and their numbers placed it somewhere between a large village and a small city. There was no wall surrounding it on the southern side though they could see evidence of a wooden palisade being constructed which would one day encircle the buildings. The road they were on led to the centre of the town and as they neared the outer-most buildings the traffic increased markedly.
It was immediately apparent that this was no place for anyone looking for a quiet, inactive existence. Tusk was a rough town. Many of the pretentious nobles living safely behind the walls of the High Quarter in Del Mord would not last ten minutes in a place like Tusk. Here people had to work to survive, and people who refused to contribute would simply not be tolerated.
The streets were filled with rugged and tough looking individuals, most of which carried an array weapons. Even the women looked as though they could look after themselves. There was mixture of humans and demi-humans, including a sizable number of half-orcs. Clearly this place valued ability and industry more than it cared about breeding - as long as you had something useful to give you were welcome in Tusk.
Craven's own style of dress did make him stand out somewhat in this rough looking crowd, but the young swordsman was used to being the centre of uninformed attention.
| Keldirk | Anyone care which tavern we stay at? |
| Creighton | (shakes his head) As long as the beers flowing I don't much care. |
| Craven | We may be here for a few days before we find a guide willing to take us into the Adri - so let's not just pick the first place we see. Creighton, go and ask that group of workers for a recommendation. |
Creighton turned and approached the small group of men. The remaining assassins watched as the burly warrior spoke with them for a few minutes, shared a laugh and then clapped one of the men on the arm before leaving. Creighton did have a way with the common folk that none of the others possessed.
| Creighton | They say the Water Wheel is the place to stay. It runs an honest game and a clean bar. We just continue along this road and we should find it no problem. |
| Azareth | That is the same tavern which was recommended to me back in Del Mord. |
| Craven | The Water Wheel it is then. |
The group walked along the road toward the Water Wheel when the sun once more peeked out from behind the clouds. It was then that Craven, who had been looking down to avoid stepping in any of the various types of manure that littered the street, noticed something odd. Azareth did not appear to be casting a shadow. Craven blinked a few times - convinced that his eyes were playing tricks on him - yet sure enough, Azareth's shadow was nowhere to be seen. He then checked himself and the others, worried that perhaps they were all affected, but their shadows were visible just as expected.
With a gesture he called Keldirk over and quietly pointed this curious fact out to him.
| Craven | (quietly) Is it just me or are you seeing that too? |
| Keldirk | I see it. What do you think it means? |
| Craven | Not sure, but out in the street is probably not the place to discuss it. Do you think Azareth even knows? |
| Keldirk | Doubt it. The mage would struggle to notice he was on fire; he's not exactly the most observant person. |
| Craven | You're probably right. We'll arrange our room and then ask him about it. |
The group entered the tavern, paid the barman for a week's accommodation and went upstairs. Creighton dropped his pack and immediately headed towards the door, itching to return downstairs and join the dice game he noticed when they walked in.
| Craven | Wait, before you go Creighton, there's something we all need to discuss. |
| Creighton | (sighs) Fine. Will it take long? |
| Keldirk | It depends on what the mage will tell us. |
| Azareth | (momentarily concerned) Tell you? What do you mean? |
| Craven | I noticed today, just before we entered the inn that you appear to cast no shadow. |
| Creighton | What? No shadow? (looks down to check his own, finding it present in the dim lantern light, sighs thankfully) |
| Craven | The rest of us are fine but your shadow is missing. Any idea why that is? |
| Azareth | (finding his shadow gone, he thinks briefly, his eyebrows furrowed) How very odd. I had not noticed. My shadow is not something I pay too much attention to, on a day-to-day basis. I suppose that I have always taken it for granted that it has always... well ... you know, just been there. |
| Craven | Do you feel ok? |
| Azareth | Yes, I feel fine. Weary and tired, but that is to be expected after such a long walk. I certainly do not feel anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps this is in some way related to my tattoo? Perhaps it was just a temporary thing, or had you noticed this phenomenon previously? |
| Craven | No, just before. Though that is the first time any of us have been in direct sunlight for a long while. |
| Azareth | Hmmm. I must think on this, I can assure you that this was not something I have been trying to hide from you. I was not even aware of it until you pointed it out to me. |
| Craven | (nods) Fine. See what you come up with. |
| Keldirk | That's it? His shadow disappears and you say fine. |
| Craven | What do you want me to say? You can suddenly see in the dark and I don't see anyone accusing you of anything sinister. Azareth is probably right; it might have something to do with the tattoo. If that's the case I'm sure we'll eventually figure out what that means but there's no point in calling The Inquisition over it. |
| Keldirk | (raises his hands) Okay. Whatever. |
| Creighton | (happy that things seem to be resolved) Alright, I'm off. |
| Craven | Have fun, but don't win too much. We can't afford a repeat of what happened last time. |
| Creighton | (grins) That's in the lap of the gods I'm afraid. |
| Keldirk | (calling after Creighton) And don't tell anybody anything about why where here. |
| Creighton | Sure boss. |
| Azareth | And no fighting. |
| Creighton | (rolls his eyes) Trust me. |
Creighton left the room and returned downstairs. He loved being in a bar, he loved the atmosphere; the drinks, the noise, the smell and most of all he loved the simple pleasure of gambling. He didn't care if we won or lost he just loved playing and even though just a few days had passed since his last game, he had lived an eternity. It had certainly been far too long since had last done so.
He entered the common room and spied the game going on by the fireplace to the rear of the tavern. Feeling parched he took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink; he usually liked to watch how a game played out for a while before he joined in. It gave him a chance to size up his opponents, see who was winning or losing and gain some familiarity of any local variations in the game. It was never a good idea to join a game blind.
That was when he saw him.
One of the players was the same man who Creighton humiliated back in Donnington Hollow. One of the same men who had stolen their horses, leaving the assassins stranded. He was one of the so-called Colours, Mr Green.
Creighton downed his drink in one gulp, and returned to his companions upstairs.
| Craven | Back already. |
| Creighton | Green's downstairs. |
| Keldirk | (instantly alert) Right now? |
| Azareth | Who is Green? |
| Creighton | (nods) He's playing dice, downstairs, in this tavern. |
| Craven | (to Azareth) Green is one of the guys who stole our horses. (to Creighton) Did he see you? |
| Creighton | I don't think so. |
| Keldirk | Was he alone? |
| Creighton | There were other people playing but nobody I recognised. Blue wasn't there, but that's not to say that some of the other Colours weren't with them. |
| Keldirk | We should go down and see where they go. |
| Craven | Agreed, but it can't be any of us, Green knows what we look like. Azareth has to do it. |
| Azareth | Is this really necessary? What difference does it make that these guys stole our horses. We are in Tusk now and we wouldn't have been able to take them any further, can we not just let this go? |
| Keldirk | I can't believe you just said that. We have already had this conversation, mage. Nobody steals from me and gets away clean. Nobody. |
| Azareth | So is your petty revenge worth all of us getting killed over? |
| Keldirk | My What? |
| Craven | (raises his hand) Keldirk, calm down. There's more to this than just revenge, Azareth. This Green fellow is a member of a gang called the Colours. Their leader, a man called Furious Brown has some unfinished business with The Family. |
| Azareth | I recall the name. (nods) Fair enough. Creighton, tell me where this Green fellow is sitting and what he is wearing and I will go downstairs. I suggest the three of you remain up here, when he leaves I will attempt to follow him and see where he leads me. |
| Creighton | And can you arrange for food to be brought up here? My gut thinks my throat's been cut and I am well sick of trail rations. |
| Keldirk | (to Azareth) Don't screw this up. |
Azareth ignored the comment and went downstairs. He ordered drinks and meals for both himself and his companions upstairs, and then took up a seat by the window which gave him an excellent vantage of both the table where Green was playing and the street outside the Water Wheel. The afternoon flowed into dusk, and then night, with the game still in progress. Other players came and went but Green stayed on, it was clear he was having a good night.
Azareth maintained his vigil, and ordered a few drinks to pass the time. After sunset the common room began to fill and he was forced to allow others to share his table lest he draw unwanted attention.
Eventually Green finished his drink, collected his dice, pocketed his winnings and stood up. He wobbled slightly, steadying himself with one-hand on the table. It was evident that the long afternoon's drinking had left him feeling more than a little inebriated. Azareth was thankful for this as it would make Green less wary on his way to wherever he might be going. One thing Azareth was sure of - after observing him these past few hours - was that Green was alone.
Azareth waited a few heartbeats after Green left the tavern before following him outside.
It was a warm evening, and not that late, and the streets of Tusk were still busy with people going to and fro. Azareth had no trouble picking out the slowly moving figure of Green ahead of him and the crowd provided additional cover. Green did not appear to be taking any care to disguise his route and did not appear to be aware that he was being followed. Azareth was able to shadow the man all the way across town to another tavern, called The Forester's Arms.
Azareth sighed. He did not want to spend his entire night watching this man stumble from one tavern to the next in some pathetic bar crawl but he had little choice. Stepping into a side alley Azareth removed his cloak and tucked it beneath a small pile of chopped wood then stepped back into the street and entered the bar. It would not do to be dressed identically in this place just in case Green had noted him on some subconscious level.
A two storey wooden building, The Forester's Arms was very similar in layout to the Water Wheel save that where the Water Wheel's common room held only tables, this tavern had a raised platform. Upon the platform sat a man dressed in woodsman's clothes doing a poor impression of a man playing a lute. Like the Water Wheel, to the left of the entrance was a staircase that led to a second level, presumably to the accommodation.
Azareth entered the tavern and saw Green at the bar in conversation with another man, a burly chap with a thick black beard. Azareth moved in to try and overhear what was being said, being careful to remain inconspicuous.
| Green | Can't complain, slim pickings of course but in all not bad for an afternoon's play. |
| Bearded-Man | I don't see what you get out of fleecing those guys, one day someone will catch you out and then where will you be? |
| Green | Some other tavern, I guess. (laughs and points toward the musician) You know, we could always get rid of that crappy stage and put some extra tables in this place. |
| Bearded-Man | (shakes his head) Nah, Brown wouldn't go for it. Anyway it'd bad for business if it became known that one of the owner's boys ran a fixed game. Better to conduct your gamin' elsewhere. |
| Green | (winces as the man on the stage plays a sharp-note) |
| Bearded-Man | (nods to the stage) And besides, Red would be seriously pissed off to lose his personal show case just to make way for a few gamin' tables. |
| Green | True. (winces again as another off-note is played) You know what, Blue, I think he's actually getting worse instead of better. |
| Blue | They say practise makes perfect, but not in his case! (laughs) Talk about being bad for business. |
| Green | (winces as yet more bad notes are played) Still, if you can't do what you want in your own place where can you do it. |
They both laughed at that and then ordered a couple of drinks - which Azareth noticed they did not have to pay for - and retired upstairs. After they had gone Azareth called the barman over.
| Azareth | I'd like to rent a room for the night? |
| Barman | Sorry bub, we don't rent rooms here. |
| Azareth | What then is upstairs? |
| Barman | Owners private residence. Try the Foundry, the Lionsgate or the Water Wheel if you want somewhere to stay. Now, do you want another drink? |
| Azareth | No thank you. I will try my luck at finding accommodation at one of the places you suggested. |
Azareth finished his drink and then left the tavern. He collected his cloak from beneath the woodpile and then made his way back to the Water Wheel. He had found where the gang called the Colours made its base but, with it being a tavern, he knew that it would be difficult for the assassins to carry out an effective, quiet strike.
But he was sure that the others would appreciate the challenge.
| Normal Text | Character's words or descriptive text if part of a paragraph |
| Italic Text | Character's thoughts or actions if surrounded by parenthesis |
| Bold Text | Character is shouting. |