Realms of Dread Chapter Two

[ewancummins]

Blackpillars, a dimly lit hall


Blaise hears the telltale thumps he'd half expected- there must be a fairly large hollow space within this wall! It might be large enough for a smallish person to use as a hiding place.

The scratching noise increases when Blaise taps the wall, then ceases abruptly.

***

The Old Shell

''Well, you must not have been in town for long, if you haven't heard of the demons. They looked like dead children, but they had demons inside them, moving them around like puppets. That's ..ummm...necromancy? ''

The young fellow shudders at the thought. He looks around, making certain that he and Alain are the only two waking souls in the room.
His voice drops to a hoarse whisper,

''The monsters attacked the city and set it on fire! Mother says that it's the judgement of Lathander. She says that the Dawnbringer is angry because the lords and rich merchants made a bargain with Delthrin Deadmaster. ''

[Ken of Ghastria]

"Rardi! Ironheart!" Blaise calls. "Help me get this part of the wall open! I think there's someone in there!" He plunges his dagger into walls and tries to cut out a piece.

[ewancummins]

"Rardi! Ironheart!" Blaise calls. "Help me get this part of the wall open! I think there's someone in there!" He plunges his dagger into walls and tries to cut out a piece.

Ironheart walks over with three long strides. Seeing that Blaise has begun digging into the wallpaper and plaster, the barbarian helps him- by tearing free fistfuls of wall material with his own bare hands! There is a quarter inch of wood further down, but Ironheart rips through that, too.

Soon, an opening is made, big enough for a man to pass through, head and shoulders. Someone brings light closer, and Blaise [and anyone joining him beside the wall] can see within the hollow. The wall contains a crawlspace or hidden closet about four feet high, two and half feet wide, and two feet deep. The interior is lined with dark paneled wood. The space smells of mold and dust. Tiny scratch marks deface the inner surfaces.

[ewancummins]

Blackpillars


Tapping, close visual inspection, etc. don't offer any clues about the strange hidden cabinet.

Ironheart grunts in disgust.

''Must have been only some rats that you heard, Fire-head. I will hunt for the gnome elsewhere, now.''

The house is dark, so you must provide your own light or use one of Delthrin's lamps.

The contents of the downstairs portion of Blackpillars are, for the most part, quite ordinary: a fully stocked larder, a kitchen, a bath, servant's quarters, storerooms, etc. You don't meet a soul in the course of your explorations. In the servants' rooms you find unmade beds, open drawers, loose clothing strewn about the floors, etc.

Moving up a switchback staircase to the second floor, you find a long hall with doors to either side. Most of the rooms prove to be empty, but three adjoining chambers on the right are fitted as bedrooms.

The largest bedroom is spartan in its style. A weighty tome [full of anatomical sketches] rests on the nightstand, beside a burned-out lamp. Some few personal effects and sundries are to be found in the big chest-of-drawers: plain but well made men's clothing, writing implements, an ivory comb, a candle, scissors, ribbon, etc.

The second bedroom is quite different from the first bedroom. Dresses hang in the closet, with slippers and other feminine costume- sized for a slim woman of middling height. The room is half-empty, and the furnishings all appear to be quite new. Even the light cream colored wallpaper is a contrast to the rest of Delthrin's gloomy old house.

The third room is smaller, indeed, even the bed is small. The decorations here are simple: row after row of crudely-made paintings, just like the ones in Delthrin's study. The closets hold a young girl's dresses, stuffed animals, etc. The only books here are simple illustrated tablets and primers of the sort a teacher might use to help a pupil learn her letters. Several of these are manuscripts written in Delthrin's own hand [you may recognize his writing from his journal, which you found in the study]


At the far end of the hall near a flight of stairs leading to the back of the house, you find a trap door in the ceiling. The overhead hatch is fitted with an easy-to-reach [for everyone but Rardi] rope handle.

[Ken of Ghastria]

Blaise looks dubiously at the trapdoor above. "Tempting ... give me a moment, please," he says to his companions. He concentrates on the area above for about a minute, trying to sense any arcane auras.

[ewancummins]

Ironheart looks on as Blaise stares at the trap door. After a minute or two has passed, he asks,


''Did you see something, witch-man?''

[kintire]

Shana stands well back, eying the trapdoor suspiciously but also glancing around

"look its getting late... to the point that its getting early! we should be getting out of here"

[steveflam]

"I be agreeing on that. I said we kin come back, an can too. We be dead tired as it is. Better ta look aroun' with a clear head."

[BigBadQDaddy]

The Old Shell

"I'd heard horrible creatures had attacked the city. But that they were in the bodies of children...that I did not know"

Alain feels the pit of his stomach ice over. It had been quite a while since he had felt such an unmistakable dread. Part of him felt angry. Mostly though, he just felt lost. Surely this Delthrin was a villain, but to pose the possibility that he was behind or involved in the attack of the city itself was hard for him to grasp. Surely the people governing the city had there reasons for allowing him to continue his ghastly practices. After all what would they have to gain by allowing a man to destroy the city?

[ewancummins]

The Old Shell
The youthful barman stifles a yawn.

''Well, my shift is up soon...I hope I'll be able to sleep, after this conversation!''

[ewancummins]

Fishgut Rock-
Ironheart expresses his own opinion:

''Yes, we go now. ''

The party being in agreement, an evacuation of the premises follows. Blaise has a chance to turn through the garden on the way out, but reports no clues found in that place.

Leaving Blackpillars behind, your party makes its way across the island, towards the east where your boat awaits. The settlement is quiet, and you see no one on the streets save a few streetsweepers who pay you no mind.

Once past the town, you make the descent of the cliffs. You can see the fishing boat anchored just a short distance from the beach, floating in the misty waters of the bay. The fisherman waves at you. He has hung two big bright lanterns, one at either end of his boat, so that it's easy for you to see him, despite the morning mist hovering over the waters and the pre-dawn darkness.

Shana notices a light from behind and above your position on the beach. Behind you, someone clears his throat rather loudly.

Anyone looking up sees them right away, standing in a line atop the low cliff: about a dozen armed men, most bearing loaded crossbows or shortbows with knocked arrows, several with spears. Three boys with lanterns are interspersed with the body of armed men.


''Good morning. I am the Bailiff of the Rock. Rardi Silverhelm and Inovidil- I arrest you both, in the name of the King and our lord the Baron, for burglary and on suspicion of the murder of Delthrin the Magus! Lay down your arms. You others are not under arrest, but I warn you- do not interfere. Oh, and my men will confiscate any and all objects that you have taken from Delthrin's house or person. ''

[steveflam]

Rardi sighs. Looking at Inovidil, she shrugs. She whispers to the others "Git outta here an tell tha others whut happened, ok? I have faith this will all work out for good. Somethin smells rotten an it aint the undead we jess met, if ye git me drift. One a me followers, a feller named Balzar should be here in tha mornin looking fer me. Ye kinna miss him. He's a character. Now git."

Turning to Inovidil, she says "Let's have faith, awright. If we git interrogated it was all me idea, unnerstood? Ye done be followin me lead."

Rardi has talen no items from Delthrins. She places her mace on the ground in front of her and raises her hands. "I come free of will. Thass me mace there. I gots no other weapons on me."

[ewancummins]

the beach


Ironheart looks surprised by Rardi's apparent decision to surrender without a fight. The big man shrugs and moves away, sitting down on a rock at the waters' edge. He sits and observes in silence, watching for any reaction on the part of his fellows to this unexpected turn of events.

Four militiamen descend the bluff by a low sloping path, and move to place Rardi in custody. Two carry crossbows and one has a spear. The fourth man carries a coil of rope and a sack [he also has a dagger at his belt].

The man with the sack retrieves Rardi's mace and deposits it in the sack. He then says to the dwarf, in a calm and even tone-

''I am going to bind your hands. I won't tie so tightly that you lose the pulse, but don't fight us- or the Bailiff will have us truss you up like a pig. Same goes for the other woman.''

[steveflam]

Rardi looks at the man. "Jess do yer job, I come feely. Hey," she turns to Ironheart "Git with the others, I'm fine." She holds her hands out to the man and lets him tie her hands up.

[VAN]

Inovidil looks at Rardi a bit surprised, she was ready to fight for her freedom or at least cast a spell and fly away. But seeing the dwarf surrender like that changes her mind and decides to follow her lead. She drops her dagger and crossbow to her feet and says:

"I come on free will as well. But please pay attention on how you tie and treat us, we did nothing wrong. We are members of the militia too."

She speaks with great calm without revealing any fear and without threatening or intimidating the guards.

Always with hands in plain sight she shows to the guard her ring.