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View Full Version : More fissures form in the crimson moon (2/7/13 Log)



GoingGone
02-08-2013, 10:58 AM
After Lectoria left, Drud, Nilandia, and Myke decided to go do some investigating and eventually wound up at the farm that Drud discovered.

Master Drud's group just went through a cluster of thick bushes.
[Meadow, Clearing]
A large wooden fence nearby gives access to a field of crops waiting to be harvested. In the distance, the farmhouse and livestock pens can also be seen.
Also here: Nilandia, Master Drud
Obvious paths: out
A mischievous forest spirit floats in, following Nilandia.

Master Drud's group just went through a large wooden fence.
[Farm, Crop Fields]
Crimson moonlight glistens upon a large field of crops and a small home. Livestock pens, wreathed in the shadows of night, are built nearby and a small storage shed takes up a corner of the field, which is encased in a large wooden fence. You also see a faint path.
Also here: Nilandia, Master Drud
Obvious paths: none
A mischievous forest spirit floats in, following Nilandia.

You glance warily around the area.

You peer closely at a small storage shed, but see nothing of interest. Maybe if you examined it closely, you would see more.
>peer door
You peer through a hastily barred door and see...
[Storage Shed, Interior]
Serving as the only source of illumination, pallid crimson moonlight streams in from the dust-covered, single window and disrupts the thick shadows. A large worktable occupies the back wall, with several wooden shelves built above for storing bottles and jars. Hooks line the walls, allowing for storage of gardening and farming tools. A large bucket rests near the door, and nearby, a small sign has a skull and crossbones painted on it in red.
Obvious exits: out

You belt out, "Hello? Is anyone home?"

>look home
Built to house a family of three or four people, the home is rather small and has seen better days of repair. The paint is faded in many places from the effects of the weather, and the roof is missing a few shingles. Lights flicker in the few windows adorning the back of the house.

Nilandia surveys the area.
You knock upon a small home.
Nilandia carefully surveys her surroundings.

Disturbance is heard inside as a light glows brightly from a previously unlit window.

You say, "Odd that lights only flicker in the rear of the house."

Drud turns an ear toward a small home.
You stride a few steps toward a small home.

Drud asks, "Did you hear that?"

You nod at Drud.
Nilandia nods in agreement.
Nilandia observes her surroundings with an almost excruciating slowness.

"Who goes there?" barks a disgruntled male voice from within the home. "Its late! Whya re you yelling outside mah home?!" Shortly afterwards, a curtain is pulled aside in a window in the home and the brief visage of a sleepy human male is seen.

Drud gives you a little prod between the shoulder blades.
Raising his hands before him, Drud quickly backpedals away from you.

You say, "Lord Myke Naii'Mos, of Voln's Order."
You ask, "We noticed your home in proximity to a nearby sacrificial altar, is all well?"

"Daddy?" comes the voice of a sleepy child from the back of the house. "Daddy, who is it?" comes another child's voice, joining the first. "Go back to bed." commands the man and the door cracks open slightly, a lantern light visible.

Drud removes a rag-wrapped ebonwood torch from in his battered cotton haversack.
Drud lights his ebonwood torch, causing the end to burst into a shower of flame.

You whisper, "That shed is hastily barred, something does seem amiss here." to your group.

Drud waves his ebonwood torch around, illuminating the area.

You ask, "We're terribly sorry to bother you at this hour, sir, but we wanted to be sure that with the altar so near that all was well. Have the cultists troubled your farm?"

You reach inside one of the molded black leather pockets hanging from the eonake-buckled harness and grab the invar and glass lamp.
You turn the knob on your invar and glass lamp, attempting to adjust the light.

"Yeah, the authorities told me months ago when they had me bar up mah shed when the poison was stolen to use in the blight." says the man, eyeing those who are gathered suspiciously. "Order of Voln, you say?"

You say, "Aye, a Master of the Order."

Clenching a fist and bringing it to your chest in a salute, the raised gauntlet of your black steel plate is momentarily enshrouded in an ethereal haze of flickering white flames.

Drud adds, "And the Guardians of Sunfist for myself."

Nilandia quietly says, "And I of the Guardians as well."

Drud raises his ebonwood torch overhead, allowing the flame to illuminate the surroundings better.
You raise your invar and glass lamp up over your head, trying to further illuminate the area.

A disgrunteld harumph is all that is given in response, and the man runs a hand through his disheveled hair. "Well, we're all fine here. Whatcha tramplin around in mah field fer? Jackals is bad in these parts."

Nilandia surveys the area.

The shadows intensify momentarily as clouds pass by the moon, disrupting the bloody moonlight cast by its gaze.

Nilandia quietly says, "Sorry. I'm not used to walking in fields."
Drud hangs his head.
(Nilandia moves to a gap between plants in the fields, minimizing her impact on the crops.)
Drud glances down.

You say, "There is a sacrificial altar not far from here, your farms proximity is what drew us here."

Drud's ebonwood torch flares up, causing the flame to provide a bright afterglow.
Nilandia quietly asks, "Have you noticed anything particularly suspicious, save for the missing poison and the jackals? Granted, the crimson moon is suspicious, but anything focused on this place in particular?"

(Myke holds his lamp up before him, shedding some light on the door of the home and the man standing just beyond it. He leans to one side, but his visor adequately conceals the direction of his gaze in the ambient shadows.)

Nilandia arranges the deep hood of her winter-weight mantle, which is pushed back from her head and pooled around her shoulders.

"No, and we aint tryin tah git involved neither! Ah wish you people would jist git on and leave mah field and mah home alone. We dun need anymore trouble." he grunts, and promptly closes the door.

You turn around.
Drud nods.

Nilandia quietly comments, "Reasonable enough."
Drud says, "Aye."
Drud adopts an agreeable expression.

(Nilandia steps up to the house and leaves a collection of silvers near the door.)
Drud snuffs the ebonwood torch, causing the flame to go out.
Nilandia drops some coins.

You say, "Well, I suppose that did and didn't shed light on things."

Nilandia quietly says, "Hopefully we didn't do too much damage."

The lantern is extinguished and only the flickering lights in the bedrooms at the back are left to indicate anyone is home.

Drud designates you as the new leader of the group.

You turn the knob on your invar and glass lamp, attempting to adjust the light.

You tuck the invar and glass lamp into white linen breast pocket inside your ermine fur mantle.

Drud says, "Welp.."
Nilandia quietly muses, "So they took the poison from here for the blight."

You say, "I had honestly hoped that might turn up some manner of lead."

Drud adds, "The bras.."
Drud says, "Ah never mind."
Drud says, "Well I hope the jackals spare this place. Its not as if you can see it from the path they should be safe."


You say, "I wonder if the altar shows any signs of recent use.."
Drud says, "We should go before we wake them again."

(And so we return to the Altar)

[Upper Trollfang]
The trail is flat and the going is easy through this part of the forest. The high branches of the hardwood trees creating a cooling canopy of leaves. The shadows prevent much of the smaller plant life from establishing themselves and you can see most of the surrounding hillsides quite clearly. You also see a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles and several small baskets of burning herbs.
Obvious paths: northeast, southwest, west
Nilandia and Drud followed.

Nilandia quietly says, "I do want to take a sample of the herbs."
A mischievous forest spirit floats in, following Nilandia.
Drud says, "I want to destroy it."
You say, "I would feel all the better were this altar not left standing."


You abruptly kick at a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles!
(Nilandia wanders amongst the baskets to collect a variety of samples of unburnt herbs.)


You abruptly kick at a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles!
You pound a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles with your fist, causing it to shake and tremble.

The altar shifts to the side,sending one of the candles to the ground where it catches fire to the nearby grass.

You say, "Damn it."

With a sudden look of surprise, Drud quickly backpedals away from a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles.

(Myke stomps at the candle, and the budding fire.)
You stamp your feet.
Nilandia frowns.

The candle is crushed easily and the fire dissipates into a blackened spot of soot.

Nilandia quietly asks, "How about blowing the rest of the candles out first?"
Drud agrees with Nilandia.
Drud takes a deep breath.
You say, "You would have to go and use logic when I'm trying to smash things."

Speaking quietly to you, Nilandia says, "I just point you in a direction to do the smashing."

You hold your breath.
You glance at a makeshift crimson altar set with flickering viridian candles and slowly exhale.
(Drud blows on the candles.)
(Nilandia returns to collecting samples of the herbs.)


Shadows darken as the candles go out.

Reaching over your shoulder, you draw your white ora maul from a series of eonake-buckled black leather straps on the back of your eonake-buckled harness.
(Myke hoists his maul overhead.)

Nilandia quietly says, "Now, you may commence with the smashing."

(Myke brinsg his maul down on the altar with tremendous force.)
Drud removes a clear glass vial of light yellow acid from in his myklian-scaled toolkit.
(Drud pours his vial on the altar.)

Splinters of wood and steel fly outwards as the altar begins to collapse.

>look
[Upper Trollfang]
The trail is flat and the going is easy through this part of the forest. The high branches of the hardwood trees creating a cooling canopy of leaves. The shadows prevent much of the smaller plant life from establishing themselves and you can see most of the surrounding hillsides quite clearly. You also see a mischievous forest spirit that is flying around, a splintered crimson altar and several small baskets of burning herbs.
Also here: Nilandia, Master Drud
Obvious paths: northeast, southwest, west

Holes burn easily through the wood as the acid eats its way through.

(Nilandia finishes her collections, tucking the gathered plants into a pocket in her mantle.)
(Myke hoists his maul back up onto his shoulder and then back up over his head, staggering his footing he brings it down harshly once again.)

Nilandia utters a light chant and raises her hands, beckoning the lesser spirits to her aid...
(Nilandia channels a gout of flame at the wooden elements of the altar.)

You abruptly kick at a broken acid-ridden altar!

Reaching over your shoulder, you secure your white ora maul into a series of eonake-buckled black leather straps on the back of your eonake-buckled harness.

Several areas begin to burn steadily as the altar collapses further.

Nilandia nods slowly.

Nilandia quietly asks, "Myke, would you care to consecrate the area?"

You remove a white glaes vial set with an onyx shield from in your eonake tome case.
You sprinkle some oil from your vial all around you, annointing the ground in the name of Voln.

[Upper Trollfang]
The trail is flat and the going is easy through this part of the forest. The high branches of the hardwood trees creating a cooling canopy of leaves. The shadows prevent much of the smaller plant life from establishing themselves and you can see most of the surrounding hillsides quite clearly. You also see a mischievous forest spirit that is flying around, a pile of burned acid-rid wood and several small baskets of burning herbs.
Also here: Nilandia, Master Drud
Obvious paths: northeast, southwest, west

You say, "By the power of Voln's wrath, and the purity of Lorminstra's grace..."
You sprinkle some oil from your vial all around you, annointing the ground in the name of Voln.

Nilandia clasps her hands in a reverent gesture.
Nilandia tilts her head down.
Nilandia closes her eyes and chants quietly under her breath.

Drud says, "Charl would just have sent a huge wave in to cleanse it all best I don't consecrate anything."
Drud says, "We'd be drowned."

(Myke treads carefully about, tracing a gate and shield into the dirt with the toe of his boot. Sectioning off the area with several other simplistic symbols, he moves to the center.)

You remove a gold-framed ebonwood ritual coffer from in your eonake tome case.

You reverently lay your hand upon the ebonwood ritual coffer and feel the hair on your arm bristle with energy. The sound of keys rises around you and before you is the image of a black gate, which fades when you remove your hand.

You gingerly lift your onyx shield idol out of a small depression in the quilted golden velvet that occupies the left side of your ebonwood ritual coffer.

You place your idol upong the ground, and as you do, the sky briefly darkens and the stars glimmer brightly. The air takes on a chill, and flickering white flames dance along your fingertips as you draw your hand away from the idol... disappearing one by one in a whisper of light.

You kneel down.

You begin to chant a solemn prayer, which fills the area like the cadence of a battle hymn. As the chant finishes, you feel a crisp wintry chill sweep through the area.

Eyes closed, you reach out and reverently touch your fingertips to the symbol of Voln. A great swell of power builds within your chest, your thoughts focused upon a great bonfire surrounded by soldiers. As the crackling orange flames turn a ghostly white, you feel the power and determination of Voln swelling within your chest. His will must be done. A cleansing fire must sweep through the ranks of undeath that oppose you! As quickly as the feeling has built, it departs.

You murmur some prayers under your breath.

A chill wind filters through the forest, scattering the remnants of the altar until there is nothing but a darkened mark on the soil as testament to its previous existence.

Throwing her head back slightly, Nilandia raises her arms to the sky in prayer, her lips silently moving in recitation, and her haon talisman briefly glows with a bright light.
Drud nods.

You recite:
"Lady Lorminstra, grant peace to the souls claimed by this altar so they may be free of the taint of the foul acts that were enacted upon them.
Lord Voln, grant us the strength to avenge the sad fate that has befallen our brothers and sisters, and right these wrongs."

Drud says, "I feel safer for the farmers children now that this works been done."

The sky begins to fill with huge clouds, dark and grey on the bottom, pale and white atop, their puffy crowns ascending towards the heavens.

(Nilandia lowers her arms, opens her eyes, and nods her agreement to Drud.)
Drud gazes up into the heavens.

You recite:
"Lady Lorminstra, please grant your aid. Call upon your brethren, the Lords and Ladies of Liabo, to aid your collective faithful in this hour of need. The Sheruvian Avatar has returned, and the Seer has been taken. As we continue to act in the interests of all souls upon Elanthia, watch over us and guide us. Help us to see the path to balance, so that the safety of innocent souls may be preserved."

Nilandia quietly murmurs, "The rain comes to purge this place of the impurity."


Oddly, only this small area receives the rain as the rest of the forest remains in its normal state.

(Myke reverently kisses his idol, his eyes remaining closed in devoted prayer.)

Nilandia reverently intones, "Praise to the Patrons, who send the rain to heal a broken land."

Drud says, "Aye praise .."
Nilandia glances at several small baskets of burning herbs.

You say, "May the sanctity of all souls be preserved in her name, by his strength."
A light mist drifts down from the grey skies.

(Myke slowly opens his eyes and rises to his feet, peering about the area calmly.)

Nilandia quietly says, "May the Mother return the forest to its natural state once more."

The rain continues and the baskets of herbs slowly stop smoking, having been smothered by the liquid.

You nod in agreement.

Waves of fine mist scurry around you in a somber dance.

(Drud pulls back as his Parrot squaks, "Water water everywhere!" *SQUAWK*.)

You say, "Praise the Lords and Ladies of Liabo."

Drud reaches over and pets a black-beaked red parrot with multicolored wings perched on his shoulder.
Nilandia nods in agreement.

As you places a hand reverently over your chest, a wisp of pale ivory fire at the rear of either pauldron resolves into the form of rapidly spreading wings. The wings of pure white flame flicker with pale light before folding behind your back and fading away.
Drud pulls the hood of his cloak down over his face, concealing his features.

(Nilandia gathers up the herbs from the baskets, burned and unburned, and scatters them to the wind.)
Nilandia quietly says, "May no one be harmed by these again."

Drud gazes up into the heavens.
You gaze up into the heavens.
Drud prays, "Thank you."


A few tiny fissures suddenly appear in the surface of the crimson moon, emitting flickers of silvery light as they spread outward.


Nilandia smiles briefly.
Waves of fine mist scurry around you in a somber dance.
Nilandia softly says, "By our hand, by our efforts, the Patrons' will may be done. We are Their tool, Their servants in the world."
Myke smiles despite his usual grim demeanor in such matters.