Café de Nuit

This continues the "Sea of Sorrows" thread from the original Reckonings site.

A quick note to clarify things for Balin and Tessius:

Balin: there are six docks that will make serviceable rafts.

Tessius: you are standing on solid ground; your rescuers only brought you to the surface, and are flying no further unless you indicate that you want to do so. I know it seems natural that they'd continue flying to get you off the island, but all the while Tessius was reading minds and the ghosts were marching out of the castle, these two just stood there on the ground, watching you. The younger (Jacob) is getting quite worried, but there's no telling what's in Balfour's mind.

Let me know via post or IM (here on the FoS) if you have any questions.

If the wives have nothing to reply, I'll address the Jacob and the elder de Casteele. Just give the word.

The wives are contemplating your words and talking amongst themselves. Darcine will join in as her hearing returns, as they are anxious to hear from her. Go ahead and address Jacob and Balfour in the mean time.

Tessius talks to Jacob and Balfour

Tessius releases Darcine (and cuts her free if necessary). He leans close to her ear, hoping her hearing has returned enough to hear him.* “I have to deal with these men before I can help the baronet’s widows.”

Tessius turns to the hooded figures without waiting for her to acknowledge his remark. “Gentlemen,” he takes a step toward them, “Do you understand me?** Thank you for your assistance. Please pass my appreciation on to your benefactor if he isn’t listening in. It would have taken a while for us to get out of that hole on our own.” He smiles confidently and advances, “Did you need something else before you leave?”***



*It's been over a minute now so now she should just be taking a -5 to listen.

**Starting with Damaran. If that fails he’ll try Elven. If that fails he’ll use the helmet to communicate with Jacob. Also listening to Jacob’s thoughts with the helmet.

***Think slightly condescending. <I didn’t really need your help, but since you went out of your way…>

Tessius and Darcine talk to their Rescuers
Day 5, 8:15 PM

Tessius' tacit invitation to depart hangs in the air, neither of his rescuers taking him up on it or explaining why they don't. It's hard to read expression through the faceless hoods, but Jacob fidgets a little as the silence grows.

"The young lady has something of ours,"* Jacob says finally in Damaran (or Vaasi, as Darcine called it), his voice distorted by the fluttering shadows of his hood. "A ring with twined serpents."

Darcine's eyes narrow as the words register. "Friends of that snake Jacob?" she says with renewed revulsion. "I should have known."

Jacob looks pointedly at his father to back him up or take it from here, but the elder de Casteele remains mute. With a roll of her eyes and a shrug, Darcine pulls the ring out and tosses it to him. Jacob clears his throat and continues.

"I...we...you've passage off the island, then? We'll probably stay around a while--"

"Passage off?" Darcine says pointedly. "During the earthquake?"

The elder de Casteele speaks up so abruptly that his son gives a visible jump. "This is no mere earthquake, but the destruction of the entire island--an unparalleled event!"

Jacob's hood barely hides his expression as his father suggests their agenda. Without a hood, Darcine cannot hide her own horror as she realizes not only the magnitude of this disaster, but that these two fully intend to watch and take notes as everyone on the island perishes.

* Even without reading Jacob's mind, Tessius can see from the way he eyes his old belongings that Jacob would rather demand them all, but he fears to reveal his identity. Likewise, Jacob's thoughts confirm his alarm that his father isn't taking the lead, and with every word he fears to misspeak.

Jacob is especially concerned that Darcine has survived; Jacob's words and actions in front of her betrayed Fraternity secrets. He had counted on the baronet to kill her, or at least erase her memory, and now fears he must tell his father of his indiscretions in order to get the support he needs to kill her himself. For that matter, Jacob wonders how much Tessius has learned about their Fraternity, and whether his father is planning to destroy the spymaster once he's through with...whatever he's doing.

Once his father finally speaks Jacob realizes that the elder de Casteel is irrational--he'd never speak so frankly of their studies, not even to someone he planned to kill. Although he has no access to the mind of Balfour, Tessius catches hints from Jacob's mind about the older man's plans: something about each realm having a dark master, and they hope to study what happens when the master--in this case the baronet--is slain. Being here at the destruction of a realm is the chance of a lifetime, and Balfour hopes the data they collect today will lead to understanding of how the realms form and how the Mists that form them can be controlled. This is the objective of their Fraternity.

Tessius

“I’m afraid I can’t leave just yet. I have a companion nearby who will be,” Tessius pauses to find an appropriate description, “extremely irritated if I don’t at least attempt to help the people of this land escape. If you would like to continue this conversation at a later time I would be more than happy to oblige.” He nods to them, “until we meet again sirs. Oh, please inform your benefactor that Antonia got her hands on your well water, so I won’t be able to return it.”

<<Their comments and they go*>>

Tessius waits a few moments after they’ve gone before letting the smile melt from his face. He turns to Darcine. “Don’t worry, at least, not until we’ve seen how bad it is. We need to stay calm if we’re going to be any good to anyone.”** Tessius looks toward the specters, “I think they want to talk to you.”

She begins to walk toward the wives but Tessius holds her hand tight. He squeezes it as she turns back to him, “I am sorry.” He looks into her eyes for a moment before letting go and taking a few steps away to give the women some privacy.***



*I didn’t think they really wanted to talk anymore.

**Trying to be reassuring. If you really want a diplomacy check on that 5-6+(d20)20=19…hmmm…that was much better than I was expecting…<<eyeing my dice suspiciously>>

***It’s a general sorry for putting her in danger, reading her mind, the cloaker, and inadvertently destroying her home. He isn’t explaining so she can interpret it any way she chooses.

[OOC: Sorry about the wait. I've been a little distracted. Out of my number crunching I found that between the boats and rafts filled to brimming they can only carry 1,722 people. We may have some problems here.]

Balin watches for a moment as the refugees begin flowing onto the ships. A swift flap of his wings brings him to the captain of the largest vessel, "Continue loading them, and prepare to take a raft in tow. I need to search for survivors, but do not feel like my absence means you can take advantage of these people. I will not be far."

Balin looks hard into the captain's eyes, then turns and takes wing. It is time to try and save some of those folks that could not get to the docks. He goes searching for the closest people in trouble, herding and/or carrying them to the docks. This sort of ferry service shall be maintained as long as he keeps finding people and the situation at the dock remains stable.

Tessius and Darcine talk to their Rescuers
Day 5, 8:15 PM

"Help people escape," Jacob parrots. "Well...it's not a bad idea...I mean...I'm sure they'd be grateful...but how would you ever decide--"

A withering glare from Darcine decides him in favor of leaving. He pulls at his father's arm, but Balfour insists on adding that "The Snowman" will keep in touch.

Darcine has already engaged the spectral brides in conversation, and released Lenor--till now held in check by her sister-wives--from the grip of the baronet. After some wrangling over who will go first, Lorel tells Darcine the story of how she came to marry the baronet. By the time Tessius has dismissed their rescuers, Lenor's story is concluding, and with the last word the baronet's first wife gives one final sigh and dissolves into mist. This assurance of final rest stirs through the group like pebbles in a still pool, but after the momentary confusion the baronet's second wife steps forward and begins her account.

The earthquake continues through all of this with only a moderate decline in energy, as if settling into a long groove. In the ebb, Tessius catches errant thoughts: Darcine's torn between hurrying to the other Mementos and staying to set all the wives to rest. Can she run and listen at the same time? Is there any way to speed up the stories, maybe by finding the most crucial point or by conducting the conversation telepathic--

Darcine rejects that last thought with revulsion, ashamed it even occured to her, until she realizes that Tessius may be reading her thoughts. Thus begins a rapid downward spiral of self-conscious second-guessing until she's forced to repeat every word she's hearing just to stay focused. Fleeting as they were, her thoughts are valid ones: should Tessius encourage the wives to tell their stories on the way to helping the islanders? Should Tessius take over the listening role using the helmet--or offer it to Darcine?*

The stories continue (to whoever is listening), the apprehension for closure and sublimation stifling any further distractions...except for one. The one named Ursula fidgets more and more as she watches her sisters vanish, her mounting indecision** coming to a peak when her turn comes. They skip to the next young woman after only a feeble argument, and as she watches the numbers dwindle there is a firming of her resolve.

Poor blind Lorel is still half-mad, unable to communicate her story, so she wanders away, singing a haunting dirge for the dying island, while Marcella and Darcine urge Ursula to seek rest like the others.

"My story's not finished yet!" Ursula retorts. Her face reddens to match her crimson locks, her eyes blazing fierce and free like a wild chestnut unbroken despite the worst the spurs and saddle could do. Darcine takes a step back even before Ursula rears back and screams the words again to the clouds above, the coiling Mists that swirl around like vultures. A sinuous trickle of Mist descends toward her, enveloping her in its coils while Marcella and Darcine look on in rapt horror. Lost to everyone else, Ursula continues to scream the words that echo from her stilled heart:

"It matters not how straight the gate,
how charged with punishment the scroll
I am the master of my fate!
I am the captain of my soul!"

In an instant, the coils become a vortex, spinning her like a top at the tug of a string. She tumbles to the ground in a heap as the Mists poke and prod at her before fading into the ground like common fog. Darcine lets out a final gasp and swoons on Tessius, while Marcella shakes her head in bewilderment. Ursula moves to stand, but topples as she realizes that the moving ground is shaking her--she's solid!

"'Not finished yet,'" Marcella repeats ruefully.*** "Well, m'dear, it appears someone out there agrees with you!"

[FWIW, I've got so much crammed into this post because I'm trying to give Tessius a lot more to work with in this rescue, and perhaps even put him in contact with Balin again.

* The wives can talk on the way down the hill, but they would then be seen by the villagers. Crisis is crisis, so the response will not be drastically different, but there will be a penalty to Diplomacy and other crisis-management checks against anyone who gets the wrong idea. As for using the helmet to speed things up, that's also an option that the wives wouldn't object to. FWIW it's been pointed out that I was incorrect to pose madness checks for mental contact with the undead (horror check, sure, but not necessarily madness), but I still can't guarantee it wouldn't be any other complications. In my games, almost everything's a tradeoff, so the question is, how badly do you want to speed things up?

** Sense Motive check by Tessius; if he's using the helmet he can get more details.

*** Marcella was in a similar state of indecision, but Ursula's fate has decided her on staying around for a while; she can't muster Ursula's level of conviction(?), but she'd still like to hang around a little while longer before going to her rest. Again, Tessius doesn't need the helmet to figure out that Marcella's become quite sweet on him. ]

Tessius and Lorel

Poor blind Lorel is still half-mad, unable to communicate her story, so she wanders away, singing a haunting dirge for the dying island

Tessius calls out to Lorel’s mind as she wanders away. <<Wait! I want to hear your story too.>> He goes to her side. <<You have such a lovely voice. Perhaps, if you can’t tell me your story, you could sing it to me instead.>>


[Before I move on to the rest I wanted to give this a try. If she responds then he might not be paying attention to Ursula when the rest happens, or everyone might shift their attention to her. If she doesn't respond, then I can just continue responding to the previous post.]

Lorel is intrigued by Tessius' attentions, but the spymaster can tell from her thoughts that Lorel's not like the others. They were put to rest by telling their true stories and thereby erasing the lies that the baronet blotted out with his manipulations. Lorel, on the other hand, won't be put to rest until she finds her brother. She's lost in the world of her own memories, where she waits every day for her brother to rescue her from the man who plucked out her eyes.

[OOC: Okay, I know I described Lorel as "mad" but IMHO she's not so crazy as to require a Madness check. Her madness is in many ways the obsessive madness of all undead, only a little more so.

It might be possible for Tessius to use a suggestion from the helmet to convince Lorel he's her brother. Has he already used the suggestion ability for today? I don't recall. At any rate, I'm not sure if Tessius really wants to get that deep into the undead psyche.]

Tessius and the wives

(OOC: He used the suggestion already. He made the snake go away so he wouldn’t have to kill it. Killing sick twisted psychopaths is fun! Killing familiars is just mean.)

Tessius considers Lorel’s problem for a moment and offers the only solution he can. <<If you’ll come with me, I will help you look for your brother.>> The argument behind him draws his attention away before Lorel can reply. As the whirlwind descends on Ursula, Tessius dashes back to Darcine’s side, and delves into Marcella’s mind again to try to make sense of the situation.

Darcine lets out a final gasp and swoons on Tessius, while Marcella shakes her head in bewilderment. Ursula moves to stand, but topples as she realizes that the moving ground is shaking her--she's solid!

"'Not finished yet,'" Marcella repeats ruefully.*** "Well, m'dear, it appears someone out there agrees with you!"

Tessius keeps Darcine vertical while watching the spectacle. Dozens of questions fly through his mind but he pushes them away, keeping himself focused on present concerns. He contemplates, for a moment, diving into Ursula’s mind, but decides she’s probably too stunned to be useful.* He slowly lays Darcine on the ground, before making his way to Ursula.

<<Will you translate for me please?>> he asks Marcella.

“You are not alone.”** He holds a hand out to help Ursula stand, “I want to help you.” He maintains eye contact and waits for her to take his hand before turning to the remaining wives.*** “Ladies, this island is going to be gone soon. We need to get moving or those of us who still need to breathe are going to die here. Ursula, if you will help me with Darcine, we can head into town on foot.**** I still want to hear your stories. If the rest of you will join us I will listen as we go. Who’s next?”*****

Tessius waits for the next wife in the chain to come forward. He thanks Marcella again before refocusing the helm. With a nod, he indicates that they are ready to move.


*I’d made this decision before asking any questions on The Overlook. Just for fun: 9-6+(d20)8=11. That is definitely not enough! Additional hours of blissful insanity missed. Oh well. <<Sigh>>

**He’ll be speaking to Marcella through the helm and letting her translate. Quotes are just easier.

***Not trying to talk her into anything. It’s more of a friendly offer. Being a strong willed woman, she may not want help (or even be insulted by the offer). If she doesn’t accept the offer she’ll probably stand on her own without taking his hand, in which case he’ll wait for her to get to her feet before continuing.

****Tessius under one arm, Ursula under the other. If Ursula won’t help (I don’t know why she wouldn’t, but if she won’t) Tessius will carry Darcine. It will be slow going, but at least they’ll be getting somewhere.

*****If it’s Marcella, Tessius will suggest that he still needs her help and someone else should go next.

Tessius and Balin on Blaustein
Day 5, 8:20 PM

Coming back to herself, Darcine waves off assistance with a flush of embarassment, which is just as well, because Ursula's own legs aren't quite steady yet. The last wives are set to rest on the way down the hillside, leaving Tessius with Darcine, Ursula and Marcella, with the latter guiding blind Lorel by the hand and sinking into the ground to avoid being seen.

++++

Flying over the crowds, Balin sees a pair of figures in long cowls flying down the hillside from the castle. Despite the best intentions of his companion to pull him away, one waves at Balin and calls out, "The changeling said something about an associate who wanted to rescue the island--that wouldn't be you, would it?"

[Tessius and Balin are now both in a position now to help with various episodes of disaster that have broken out across the town. Here's a list of example episodes; add whatever details you like, remembering that no one in these encounters is above 3rd level, and most are commoners. Let's have Tessius start at the top of the list (uphill) and Balin start at the bottom (downhill).

* A sinkhole threatens to swallow a middle-aged woman who fell fifteen feet into it.

* In the garden beside a burning house, a woman with minor burns cares for a badly burned teenage girl, while screaming for someone inside the house to get out.

* Four of the baronet's men lay bleeding in the street, victims of a cart horse that went berserk while they were lading it. Passersby have strewn their belongings all over seeking anything of value, but no one offers any help.

* A mass of rats is boiling up from the sewers beneath a bathhouse, fleeing the rising water table. They only attack in self defense, but many of the people are attacking them in the confusion, and six are already dead or dying in their wake.

* Dripping blood from a head wound, a woman calls out for 'Gerald' as she wanders aimlessly through the streets.

* A small cluster has formed in one of the main thoroughfares of the town, where a few would-be leaders are calming people down and spurring them uphill "to where they'll be safe from the flooding." ]

[OOC: I was given a lot of freedom here so my post was too long. I’ll split it into three and post them slowly. I’m not ignoring Ursula. I just don’t have the first idea what she’d be doing. Insert her as you feel is appropriate. I guess Lorel and Marcella are just staying out of the way.]

Tessius tries to push everything from his mind except the thoughts of the wives as they tell their stories. Through the soreness in his muscles and the concern over what to do for the natives he smiles, knowing he doesn’t have to analyze what the wives saying to find the truth. Something in their honesty is liberating, and he finds his mind wandering, wishing to be as free. He snaps back to attention as another tremor ripples beneath his feet, and he steadies Darcine as they continue downward. *

Outside of the chaos of the town Tessius pauses, and watches the last wife disappear with a little sadness. He rubs one of his temples as Darcine leads them into the chaos of the town. The strain of concentrating is replaced by the clamor of panic. Tessius spots a sinkhole in the road and attempts to steer the party clear of it, but the cries of help from its depth pull Darcine in.

She rushes to the edge shouting something to nearby people who pay her no heed. The sinkhole grows, and Darcine slips. Tessius clasps her wrist tightly and lunges backward, pulling her out and falling to the ground. “Rope,” Darcine pants, “with rope pull out Ellissa we can.” **

The wording is a bit strange to Tessius, but he knows what Darcine wants without them. He stands, pulls her to her feet, and moves her away from the hole a bit. “Stay back.” Tessius slides toward Ellissa carefully and reaches out for her hand. *** The fires from the nearby buildings cast long shadows across the ground and Tessius slips into one, drawing the woman in with him.

Alarm grips Darcine as the two vanish. Once again she heads for the edge and collides with Tessius as he slips out of the shadows in front of her. Ellissa’s knees buckle under her and Tessius ducks beneath her, letting the woman fall over his shoulder as she passes out. **** He rises with some effort and looks at Darcine. “Why didn’t you stay?” He holds up a hand before she can answer, “who are they?”

*****Tessius points to a group of three children standing a few feet away staring at him. Darcine’s eyes follow his gesture and she turns. She motions for them to come closer and begins to ramble in a language Tessius doesn’t recognize again. The oldest, a twelve year old boy, answers her timidly. Tessius can see the boy holding in the tears, trying to be strong for his younger sisters. After a moment Darcine turns back to him, “these are her children. Father, Sean…” She looks at something behind Tessius, and points with a bit of a shrug, “rope.”

He turns to see a man running up the street with a coil of rope. Sean stops in front of Tessius and begins speaking. Tessius looks to Darcine who breaks in to calm the man down. After a bit more babbling she turns back to Tessius. “They come with us.”

Tessius nods, “I’ve got her. Tell him to watch the children.” He catches the rope as Sean begins to let it drop and places it back on his shoulder. “You went through the trouble of fetching it. Might as well keep it just in case.” Darcine translates takes the lead deeper into town.



* If anyone out there really cares, I rolled balance checks (mostly for fun). Ursula natural 20 and Darcine 8 (which is fairly low). Tessius is still fine taking a 10 (Hooray for Skill Mastery!)

** I picked some names. Those pronouns were too much.

*** Ummm…Climb 22-6+(d20)19=35…or Tumble 30-6+(taking)10=34…I think he’s good

**** I don’t know about a horror check for that or anything, but I rolled a d20 and got a 2…so I went with nighty night pretty lady…or not pretty lady. Anyway, that’s another 20ft for shadowjump.

***** I googled middle aged to find out just exactly how old that was supposed to be. The site it gave me said somewhere between 25 and 75. Not a child, but not old yet, so I picked what I felt. If you don’t like where I went with this one, then don’t give me so much free rein anymore. If you’re okay, then…well…don’t worry about it.

Episode 2

*Darcine picks up the pace as they approach a burning house, and Tessius rolls his eyes when he sees a woman in the front yard. Tessius reaches out to the strangers mind. He lays Ellissa down in the garden and stands next to Darcine as she speaks with the woman. Darcine looks toward the house and starts toward it but Tessius grabs her hand and holds it tightly. He continues to focus on the woman for another moment getting a picture of the situation.

“Stay!” Tessius glares at Darcine, then dashes into the burning house. He burries his mouth and nose in his elbow as he focuses the helm to search for survivors. The smoke causes tears to swell in his eyes. He coughs as he stumbles through the rubble and dodges crumbling ceiling. Tessius can’t see through the tears, smoke, and flame but reaches down, seizes a piece of skin, and grasps for a shadow to fall into.

A cloud of smoke and sparks billows out of every window and door as the house collapses in on itself. As it clears Darcine sees two bodies lying on the ground near the remains. She pauses, only for a second, then runs to them. She looks at Tessius, and then bends down over the boy next to him. After a brief check she places her mouth over his and breathes into him. Tessius watches with a raised eyebrow. Several seconds that seem like minutes pass before the child gasps for air on his own. **

Tessius sits up with a groan and a cough. Darcine appears tense, but aiding others seems to be helping her avoid her own fears. Tessius smirks mischievously at her.

She looks confused, “what?”

“If I’d known you were going to do that, I would have stopped breathing too.” The corners of her mouth turn up slightly before she sets her jaw and smacks Tessius lightly. “Well,” he rubs his cheek, “at least it was almost a smile.” ***

Darcine looks toward the smoldering embers, “you didn’t find husband?”

He glances around as he stands. “I guess not. Couldn’t see in there. I just grabbed two legs and skipped out.” His body scream as he scoops the boy up in his arms. “We should get going.” When Darcine turns her back to him, Tessius mimics a painful shout.

He straightens and smiles as she swings around.**** “Yes. We go.” Ellissa has regained consciousness and leads her children slowly, Sean picks up the teenage girl, and Darcine helps the other woman as they continue on.



* Tremor every d20 (9) rounds. I’ll subtract a d6 (1) since the last tremor. That gives 8 rounds… Round 1 get to house. Round 2 set down Ellissa and helm. Round 3 helm. Round 4 stop Darcine and helm. Round 5 get the point and run into burning house. Round 6 helm and search. Round 7 find and shadowjump. Round 8 building falls down.

** …fire damage? 1d6/round? * 3 rounds = 13. Heal check (untrained?) for Darcine on the boy natural 20 plus whatever, is enough to stop someone from losing any more hit points. (My dice really like her!) Oh, and another 20ft of shadowjump will bring remaining down to 20ft.

***Nothing important. I know it’s terrible and obvious, but I like that joke. Hee hee hee! Trying to lighten her mood a bit without making a diplomacy check. It’s hopeless of course, but I can still try.

****Bluff 25-6+(d20)5=24 “I’m fine. Carrying around a bunch of dead weight and running into burning buildings is fun!”