Murder Mystery

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Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Murder Mystery
GM: Eamon
Season: Autumn 800 WK

Party
Time on adventure
1 Fruit 800 WK to 2 Vintage 800 WK
Employer
Bakrun Korfush
Mission
Eadicate underscum in Salamakar.
Original Scribe Notes
Media:Snsu0003.zip

Scribe Notes

Ed. The original was in ALL CAPS. Case irregularities remain.

Summary

Hired off the record by Bakrun Korfush to eradicate human underscum from his section of Salamakar. Go there and he gets irreparably killed, and we have to find out who did it before the Court finds out and we all get tortured for a confession. Find out his entire household is on the Make or deviant in some way, and that they all have motive. Then we find out that the underscum Problem is worse than what he described. My nearly dead body comes back from the future to tell us That the job is a set-up, that we're all going to die, and that the only way to stop it is to go back into the past ourselves and make sure the job doesn't go ahead in the most thorough way. So we Do that and set up the cook, who was the easiest, and then fuck off. 

Hint; never leave the safety of a Bakrun's establishment without water, food, and all your survival

Needs. Ever. Under any circumstances.

Salamakar

Has big wormholes in the middle of it now, and a big hole where a demon went berserk. Creatures coming through the wormholes are mostly aquatics and don't live long. The court namers can make a sentient sacrifice to create a city-wide surface null-magic zone, and will do so in the event of rampaging demons. The flies are mostly gone. City is experiencing economic boom, hence underscum proliferation. They have a talent for merchanting that skims a lot of profit from imports.

Underscum under enough population strain to form mass cannibalism mobs, under the guidance of Priests of Pain. Korfush had two wives and an illegitimate son: Carmidia, Shaleen, Dacien

1 fruit

Get to the guild meeting late. Told to go to room 13 with the other stragglers. Employer is Described as a big black orc with bat wings from salamakar. Device is a fanged cross. Has a human Manservant. Room 13 has two guild security standing outside. Nice to have an honour guard. Appears All the others are stragglers because they're bunnies and can't find their way around yet. Sigh.

Salamakar food and drink laid out. Have some kastell after watching the others eat for a bit. Do Introductions. Jasinth, shareena, johanus, nataniel and me. Tell them to call me jaquilo in Salamakar. Tell them a bit about salamakar, and that shareena will be regarded as highest rank, so give her party leader. I get scribe and mil sci. After a bit ask the guards where the employer is. He's chucked out of the guild premises because he's pacted to dark. Sigh.offer us a job in the Fulgiso hunting hydras instead, so we track down the orc in seagate. See his boat at dock: "Talons of Retribution". Ask sailors where he is, but i'm not good at the lingo. Give him 3sp to take us. He expresses surprise at rain on the way. Get to a nice hotel so leave a puddle on their cushions.

Martine Delacy comes in. Camp as a twelve month siege. Is the orc's adjutant. Meet Bakrun Korfush. Feast set out before him. Do introductions. Expresses some interest in my pedigree. Drop names of Daltosh and sacucok.

Job: he has an infestation under his warehouses causing stock damage, grainery losses and missing tools etc. Has tried poison, but needs experts as a deterrant. Vermin comes from the tunnels underneath. Human underscum. Wants us to get rid of them totally. Recognises the demon Cult symbol, down plays it. Is a personal employment without the knowledge of other Backruns.

Expects us to fight pirates, too. Payment is 2000 sp of trade goods at salamakar prices each plus medicinal spheres and we can have most of the loot. Might get collars, should introduce ourselves as "saltek" (=possession) of Bakrun Korfush if we get seperated in salamakar. Gives us an expense Account for equipping, and to 7 am 3 fruit to get ready. Has noticed al at the markets. She spent 600 sp on salamakar food. Fuck! Got his wings from the flesh shapers. Says the flies are mostly Gone, demons still there. We leave. They obviously expecting illicit company.

2 Fruit

Go shopping, get silver weapons. Buy a cart, get ripped off. Oh well. Silk rope x2, string, 4 waterskins, 50 lb preserved food etc, 2 nets, 9 grommet tarp, 2 lanterns + oil, cooking gear, 3 lb caltrops, crowbar, 5 wooden stakes, large nails and hammer, chalk, shovel, 2 grappling hooks, canvas Bucket, hatchet, bucket of tar. Look at poisons: ingested, tasteless, fast kill. Give up. Will use alcohol. Get lavender essence as trade good. Take korfush out on the town: fight and fuk, eidolon's Brothel. He speaks common after all. D.a = short lived sentient, orc, pacted to demon viscount.

Grease him up a bit. Tells us about the underscum merchanting, says they're better than orcs. About 1/3 is skimmed by devious means at customs. Vertical distribution network is good. Says their Richness makes them fanatical. Says their militant arm was hammered (us?). New plane they were Sending the humans to prospered rapidly in livestock and trading. Caused imperial surprise. Rumours of an imperial pact with the flesh shapers to set the human plane back a bit. Military action is right out: treats came from all planes except elusia. Makes sense. Says seagate is fascinating. Can Hire masters for chickenfeed.

3 Fruit

All turn up on time. Load up, cast off. 7 crew and someone in the captain's cabin. Do mil sci training, and teach shareena battleax for a favour. I hate boats.

13 Fruit

Wind stops. Search boat for eyes. Identify the bodyslave.

27 Fruit

Wind starts again, food slim. Snarl at anyone who comes near me. Storm coming. Fuck. Did i Mention i hate boats? Water spouts. Fuck. Tie things down, arrange floaty. Jaquilo thrown Downstairs. Ha. Storm hits. Shareena sick, me queasy, but refuse to give in. Johanus does the greasy food routine, so i sap him and gag him.

29 Fruit

Still storming. Sailors fucked. Hear a panicked cry and korfush laughing. Get on deck, see Sailors all at tiller and korfush at the prow, hanging onto ropes. Run into something. Fall. Big Hole made in boat. Fuck. Ran into big dirty iceberg. Fuck! Water coming in fast. Grab an empty Barrel. Everyone running around. Tie barrel to cart. Tell the others to open the fucking cargo door.

Do it myself. Jasinth finally helps. Johanus goes for the courtesan, and incidentally delacy. Korfush very calmly ropes the iceberg and climbs up. Shareena and nathaniel go for the end of the Rope, nathaniel "yanking on my goose". Throw the cargo door to the sailors as a raft. Jasinth jumps on the iceberg using his daggers. Manoeuvre the cart out, chest deep in water. Korfush perched on The iceberg having a good laugh. Courtesan missing. Johanus helping delacy with bags of coins.

Nathaniel and shareena climbing off. 1 sailor on raft, 2 on iceberg. Courtesan in the cabin, going Down... With the boat. Secure cart, get it to raft, lash them together. Johanus sees a white monster With a glaive on top of the iceberg. One sailor falls in, gets to raft. Lightning hits iceberg. Ice Boulders loosed. Fuck. Korfush stunned and falling. Fuck. Yeti thing gesturing. Fuck. All batten down except johanus, who reckons falling in is safer. Fuckwit. Big boulders. Fuck. More creatures.

Fuck. Korfush lands near me. Reckon he should be saved before his patron comes to collect. Paddle the cart/raft towards him. 4 monsters closing on the others. Johanus trying to save korfush, too. Melted ice water preceding boulders hits the others, loosens the grappling hook. All go in and under Except jasinth. Fuck. Johanus goes for delacy, shareena goes for nathaniel, i whip korfush and drag Him in. Nathaniel gets hit by a boulder of ice and comes to his senses. I manage to ride my bucking Barrel. Yay. Finally finish getting door and barrel connected, and get korfush out of the water.

Nathaniel surfaces. Tie a rope round and dive for johanus and delacy. They sink slower than i do so I catch them up. Yetis investigating jasinth. Nathaniel pulls us in. Shareena passes out and starts to sink. I go after her. Delacy breathing, korfush not. Get to shareena, grab her hair, tug on rope. A shark cruises in. Fuck. Grab shareena's buckler. A yeti sneaks up on jasinth and yells at him. Feel them hauling us in. Shark tests us. Fuck. Nathaniel yanks faster, johanus helps him yank off.

I try to pull in all our limbs but the shark manages to get a bite on shareena. Fuck. Jasinth Retreats. Get shareena mostly out of the water. Shark misses me. Climb out and the fuckwits watching Let shareena get chomped again. Fuck fuck fuck. She dies. Pull the rest of her in. Morons. D.a yeti = long lived sentient, gtn = primal person, time since last meal = 4 hours. It pulls jasinth in, talks at him. Empathy shows korfush is alive (yay) confused / afraid, half endurance, no fatigue.

Primal person still trying to talk to jasinth. Good luck. I can't do it. Seem friendlyish. Johanus Empathy heals korfush's endurance. E.s.p shows the primals not hostile - curious and wary. They recognise panjari. Attack ropes from berg to raft. Start hauling people up the berg. Primal's help.

Poison that damn shark. Collect the carcass for food and 30 teeth. Give the sailors some (no Tartare). They staying on raft. Go to primal's village up a goat track carrying korfush and shareena. Weather clearing. Climb to a 1 mile diametre crater containing earth that shrubs and intensive crops are growing in, and a polished ice dome in the centre. Ice caves around perimeter. Follow primals. Fucking cold. D.a primal, college of highest ranked spell = no answer. Nathaniel

Says i am a font of wisdom. Johanus tastes the water, against my advice. Storm forms spiral around Berg. Surprise, surprise. Paths in spirals, too. Nathaniel can see 15 - 20 primals in crops and some Watchers. Enough crops to feed a city. D.a percent of diet made by meat = omnivore. Go into an ice Cave and down to a temple area, 100' high. Project. Light comes through crystal dome above and Spirals around. 60' statue of a primordial toothy frog. 50 primals present, start howling and making Noise. One of our primals points at shareena. They "talk". They look at us. Try all my languages, possible reaction to panjari but no communication. A primal grabs shareena. Get it to put her down.

It points at statue. Johanus puts shareena at the statue. Fuckwit. Nathaniel helps johanus lift her Into its hand. Sigh. One comes forward, "talks" a bit. D.a highest ranked magical spell = storm Calling. Figures. Title of pactee = god. Fuck. Tell others. 2 primals drag in a third. It rants a Bit at everyone. (can't determine any physical differences, like trolls. Oh fuck) back and forth for A while. Johanus casts to dry his clothes, two primals jump on us. I threaten him with death if they Attack us. Snuggle up to nathaniel and his goose to keep warm. All primals have their say. They one Who was dragged in is dragged to the right hand of the statue. Thunderclap. Darkness. Statue Different: right hand closed around a mangled primal corpse, left hand lowered. Shareena alive, Still injured and cold. All but 1 primal leave. Johanus tries to cast again. Stopped again. Me, Shareena and goose snuggle up. Follow guard to cave with firepit and wood. Start fire. Give lecture about cantrips. Johanus casts anyway. Fuckwit. Char shark, get warm and dry. Johanus fixes up Shareena. Both sleep. Watch = me, jasinth, nathaniel.

30 Fruit

Korfush up. Primal comes in, "talks". Follow him. Nice day. Get to ice harbour and dock, 10 primals. Form a ritual circle with one in the middle. D.a highest ranked magical spell = ice Creation, what is it casting? = ship strength. Makes a big ice barge with sails. They leave. Climb On. T.k rope through rope holes. Locate sailors. Manoeuvre boat out. D.a magical, remaining duration = 13 days. Like standing on mist. Fuck. Find sailors. Korfush flies a rope out to them, then hauls them back to us. They've turned my cart etc into a good raft.

2 Harvest

Afternoon. Delacy announces approach to gate. Tonight. Do all the precautions. 2 hours Later go in. Current, fronds, dark tunnel. Mast breaks, as predicted. Sails explode, too. Side tunnels still there. 1 hour through, get there. 10' drop this time. Hot. Ship strength still on.

Salamakar. Series of 12 portals around internal sea. See work uncovering a new one, and room for 7 more. Ships go back through when water level is raised, every two weeks or so. Midday. Do an Illusion. Look like jaquilo. Customs come in, female orc again. Makes korfush look dainty. Scruffy Elves go through our gear. Get delacy's money back off johanus. Towed to dock. Delacy takes us to Korfush residence. . Mansion. Nice. Walled and turrets. Breezy. Much richer than dal'tosh. His Confidants / advisors: young buff orc male, gorgeous female orc, young "waiflike" female orc, gaunt Male elf who looks at us all very closely, immaculate male dwarf servant, delacy, and a male human In leather harness with whip, gloves hat and arms. Our rooms on the messanine floor around the inner Courtyard, which contains fountains, pell, plants, training area, niches and alcoves. Perfect to Sculk in. Master bedroom down the other end. Ask mister quench (the dwarf) if we want to use the Bathing room. Door to our quarters = clattery bead curtain and a sliding metal partition with a latch, no lock. Vents in the quarters, look for inflow. Johanus and jasinth go for a bath and fresh clothes. Carefully consider mil sci possibilities. Change for dinner. Johanus has no clothes. Ha.

Gave them to quench. Dinner has korfush at the head, elf at left. Human servants. 2 new elves, ordered around by the thin one. Feast. Yum. Business continues. Take kastell to room. Nervous. Load Bellows. Sleep. Disturbed alien dreams.

3 Harvest

2 am. Wake up. Ground shaking. Stench. Shrieks. Flash of red light, bellow. Dive for Stuff. See demon through door. Fuck. D.a = long lived sentient, demonic viscount. Fuck. Counterspell Necessary to banish this entity? = greater summoning special. Conditions to be fulfilled before the Entity returns to it's own plane? Devour 10 souls. Can it be harmed by silver weapons? Yes. Start Casting. Backfire. Nothing obvious. N.b: d.a self. Cast again. Nope. It hears us. Fuck. Checks out Shareena's room. Cast compel. It fails to resist. Yay. Another demon who will resent me. Tell it to Get out of range of the dwarf guards, fly up. It does. They call the city demons. It says korfush is dead. I send it to kill the cult of pain demon, with instructions to return in five hours Regardless. It goes digging into the city, killing little demons as it goes. Go with jasinth to find Delacy. Have a fit. Fuck. E.s.p shows locally 6 scared, two relieved, 1 asleep. Johanus goes to the Sleepers room. "waiflike" female under the covers, having nice dreams. Johanus scarpers. Buff male orc, armed and armoured sees him. Shouts and starts waving flail. Shareena tries to flounce / Distract buff male, points johanus to her bedroom. Buff male grabs johanus by collar. Calls dwarfs Who take him off. Call delacy and quench. All but gaunt elf coming out. See big fat male human cook With two urchins.shareena catches delacy, asks where the dwarves are taking johanus. Mentions that i Have something to do with the demon. Sigh. Asks about korfush. Sigh. Delacy goes off to find Johanus. Go into courtyard. Find quench. Identify myself as jaquilo (illusion worn off), tell him Korfush is dead, and that i have the demon doing korfush's business. He tells us to wait in our Room. Put bunnies in room with my image. Keep watch outside. Johanus in cell. 10 minutes later they Drag him out. To my room. Weaponless. Buff male bashes down korfush's door. They find his body.

Wailing etc. Delacy sends message to dal'tosh. They go powwow in courtyard. Worry, dread, fear. Compel now 2 1/2 hours. Delacy gets sack from dal'tosh. Comes to us. Collars of intrusive Translation. Jasinth takes the flash one. Guard notices me slip in. Put them on, take them off, put Them on. Delacy upset. All are suspects, usually all suspects killed. Don't trust our magics enough To use them for determining killer. Emperor may shut down magic over city, sacrificing a namer to Extend the null magic zone. Need evidence. Two boats going to seagate in the next month. Advise - Try to find killer, catch boat if we don't. Check door out of sealed area to see if anyone left.

Gaunt elf = tarradon, around somewhere. Dacien = buff orc, illegitimate, not bakrun yet. Most likely To survive. First wife = carmidia, curvy one, gets everything as dowry. Second wife = shaleen gets nothing until carmidia dies. Tarradon: depends on who's employ he's in. Delacy doesn't know if he Trusts us completely. Better we find the real killer, with real evidence. Set-up is last ditch. Delacy thinks all the orcs have obvious motive, and tarradon could be sacata for someone else. Human Beastmaster = aneton. Delacy considers him unemotive, but i've seen him twice with intense Bitterness / rage on his face when he thought he was unobserved. Could be upset at a dog that Korfush forced him to put down for the sake of one of his guests. Fat cook = kilell. Breakfast at Courtyard. Most present knew a bit about korfush being pacted, just not the extent. Wonder if the Motive was to force the antimagic zone or to protect the underscum. Noise of the demonic battle Downtown has abated - don't know what's happened. Column of light springs up from the imperial palace, and spreads like an umbrella, bursting demons as it goes. Bugger. No mana. House members declare truce with us so we can work. Request a healer to cure the epilepsy. Go to korfush's room. Nice expensive tastes. No windows. Airflow. Some sign of fight. Bits of him everywhere, most Missing. Wrist has been worried with teeth. Hand still holding sword. Normal blood on sword. Check Water and body for poison. No obvious signs. Door was mechanician locked from inside. Search for key And bits of body. No luck. Death was followed by dismemberment by demonic revenge. How could someone Have slowed the death down enough so that they could get out, lock the door and get away before the demon turned up? No seal / ring to be found. Did they put demons in there, lock the door and retire To a safe distance? Discover tarradon in the room spying on us - a shaped item hid him from us.

Tells us he saw kilell up and about with a large bloody butchery knife. Has seen kilell before up in The wee hours, sometimes with a dirty face. Tarradon can pick locks. Doesn't know if anyone else in The house can. Reckons korfush was left bleeding, blames viscount for missing bits. Reckons dacien, Carmidia, shaleen, quench, kilell, aneton, delacy and himself could all take korfush if he's stunned And surprised. Doesn't reckon we could. Dacien works out twice a day "when frustrated". Tarradon Wears a garotte, four rings, 3 knives, a bandolier of little vials, slippers with mechanical bits, 25' of silk rope around his waist, climbing claws, gloves with metal inserts (claws and knuckles), Metal forearm guards, and has a small package up his butt. Mostly concealed under light clothes and Heavy sarcasm. Delacy, quench, aneton and kilell all have small collars. Not tarradon. Jasinth finds a fucking big magical dildo that vibrates. Examine blood splatters. Footprints everywhere. Johanus And quench go off to retrieve his weapons. Been thrown in a box of "junk" = neat items. Have to have A look, sometime. Go to kitchen. Nataniel checks pots for bits of korfush. Food production line, Kilell in charge. Armed with cleaver. Nataniel checks firepits. Finds coal, not employer, and comes Out with a dirty face. Send him to meatlocker. Rabbit, strange things with extra heads, limbs etc, Lots of unidentifiable, and rat. Pantries good. Kilell has nothing strange under his clothes. Get Him alone, tell him he was seen with a bloody cleaver. Live fowl in conservatory, and fresh goose in locker. He rises about 3.30 - 4 am to start cooking. Very suspicious of us. Lowest ranked servant, equal with aneton. Reckons we should look at delacy. Says he's close, crafty and out for number one. Says he's hiding something from his past. Kilell sometimes took food to korfush's room. He would knock, and someone would let him in. Seen the key. Korfush, carmidia and shaleen all seemed to have one. Johanus checks out the conservatory. Finds fowl, tacky blood, stump, axe etc. Who has a grudge?

Korfush had enemies. In household? All act friendly. Had heard rumours he was pacted. Didn't supply Animals to sacrifice. Any others pacted / connected? Maybe tarradon. Not socially acceptable to be Pacted. Shaleen is exotic, possibly hybrid, not usually treated well. Korfush trusted food from his Own kitchen. Bakruns tend to bash each other if intent on damage. Females might poison, but not usual. Lots of competition against korfush. Has a large fortune. Doesn't need to trade with seagate.

Fact that he does puts the younger males out a bit. Dacien? Had the grace of korfush. Could go Either way for him now. Go looking for aneton. Wander around for a bit. Find stables. 2 horses, 6 dogs and aneton. Mean looking dobermanish things, horny skins, big jaws etc. Aneton grooming and Pampering horse. Beautiful. I have a look when he comes out. Both stallion chargers. Nice. He exercises them and dogs, in and out of city, along the walls. Go hunting beasts every few months.

Korfush usually mentally occupied. Was an innovative problem solver. Seagate suited his plans. Check Aneton out. Suede pants, leather strapping, metal whip, two big knives. What are the knives for? Cutting trophies off game, helping animals in emergencies. Lost some occasionally. Hunting is Dangerous. "things" can be tough. Has herbalist skill. Korfush gambled. Never saw him killing things For demon. What was he doing in the courtyard last night? Deciding whether he should commit the dogs And himself to the fray. Cares about the dwarves. Learnt his skills from a beastmaster, is himself a Slave, wasn't always. Been here 15 years, originally from dagordae = forested plane. Who did it?

Doesn't like to point the finger. Says his family told him a reliable rumour that shaleen is the Illegitimate daughter of bakrun hamar, who was at least once an enemy of korfush. Doesn't know Hamar's device. Quench and delacy know of him, but not her connection. He knows nothing of her Mother. He didn't like mentioning his family to us. Ask him straight up who required his dog be Killed. Bakrun sheridon. Dog was too friendly / excited. Stole bone at feast. Sheridon demanded it Killed. Dogs not used in dogfights. Korfush was good with animals. Dacien is non-empathic, the Others are neutral. Chewed bits of korfush did not look like dogbites. He thinks it's an outside Job, if anyone inside was connected it would be to help. Maybe someone had a hold over them, asked Them to open doors etc. Look for blackmail, emotional tie. If dacien, carmidia or shaleen is owed a Favour then they could get out of this alive, maybe even gain respect. Dacien's mother? Doesn't Know. All korfush's staff are exceptional, and could have patrons in the wings. Work out he has a Thing for narcotic herbs. Won't let me look in his room. Lots of little poisonous nasties in the Desert. Thinking a scorpion or snake could go up the vents to korfush's room... Lunch. Delacy Getting drunk. Healer for me not here yet. Fuck. Check out delacy. Has a dagger, some money, front Door key, gloves in belt, quill pen, gold coin in boot. Join him in a drink. Discuss kastell. 1-2 Weeks before coming to seagate korfush and quench had an almost falling out. Quench done something questionable. Was contrite and embarassed. Korfush was upset that quench may have to leave. Tense for days. Delacy comes from gutterscum family. Went to work for low slavers, learnt organisation / management. Went up food chain fast. Started managing work details after 4-5 years. Then came here. Johanus gets impatient and summons quench. Fuck. Go to conservatory. Quench believes all the staff Are loyal. Johanus jumps straight in with the falling out. Fuck. Subtle as a brick. Sometimes have Differences. Last one? Korfush more friend than master to quench. Invested too much in seagate.

Intended to send an emissary, even though he wanted to go. Quench advised he go personally. Take a Holiday from the pressures here. Obviously enjoyed himself. Korfush pacted six months. Gave him new Opportunities to bring down enemies, gain repect. Had long term plans to reveal and subjugate his enemies, to gain peace. Authority is demanded of bakruns, must be earned and proven beyond question. Assassination is the wrong way to do it. A gesture of weakness. Humiliation is the goal. Destroy obstacles, not enemies. Korfush was not an obstacle, as far as quench knew. Pact would stop them, anyway. Quench sees a personal motive and lesser beings than bakrun. Not a trivial motive, though.

Was cultivated and planned hatred. Someone prepared to be a martyr. Dacien is too impatient, doesn't Plan, though is capable of it. Carmidia was absent a lot when korfush was away, and was sad when he returned. Jasinth notices some coal dust in the gravel. Quench is sitting strangely. See no weapons. Wonder if he's wearing the swimming wedgy wear. Hear some clanging and yelling below. Dacien and two Guards run past. We go to look, leave shareena to watch the house for new break-ins. Can't hear Anyone upstairs, lots of noise below. Get to basement, storehouse area. Go through a big iron door, Rusted open. More corridors, and side corridors to more stores, well stocked. Enough food for a year At best. Get to less well kept area. Battle noise clearer, but quieter. Get to clean oiled open Door. Sigh. Going to have to leave the nice safe household. Luminous moss stuff on the walls of the Underdark. Forgot about that. Continue down corridor, past side corridors. Jasinth goes ahead as Monster bait. Johanus hears some noise, can't place it. Jasinth sees a tulwar like dacien's down a Corridor. Investigates. It's on a manhole cover. See an underscum down another corridor. Fuck. Then Two more. Then five down another. Fuck. Tell the bunnies to back up as jasinth has a nosy. Sigh. One Of them's doing a dance. Can draw mana here. Fuck. Five close in behind us. One comes out of Manhole. Sigh. Johanus backfires. Safe. Another out the manhole. Another two south. Archers. Fuck.

Try to negotiate with the group between us and home with my image. They look at me hungrily. Nathaniel disappears. Give jasinth the go-ahead to shoot. He misses and gets mugged by two. Fuck.

See another caster. Fuck. Take three out with the pepper bellows. Ha. Johanus backfires again.

Headache. Get him onto saving jasinth. Sap one, nathaniel sleeps one. One between us and safety. Fucking hurry up you bunnies. Sigh. Tell nathaniel to run. One of the ones i peppered stands up.

Underscum start turning on themselves. Me deciding whether to use the flies. I could go down the Drain... Sigh. Sap another underscum. Jasinth hurt. Johanus holding on. Both up. Finish off the Others. D.a sword = no aura. Two underscum run in, scared. Folllowed by five berserkers with weapons.

Sigh. They scared, too. Then more and more, eating bodies on the way. Deathly quiet except For chanting of priests of pain, and sounds of eating. Rolling mass of cannibalism. Run like fuck. Then get a horrible thought that the sound johanus heard earlier was a lot like a clean oiled door Closing. Oh fuck. Dead end down there. Instant choice. Take a detour. Run back to last alleyway.

Fuck fuck fuck. Shove everyone down and poison the body behind us. Fucking close. Barely make it. Take careful notes of where we are. Find a quiet spot. Tally. Jasinth has a skin of water. Nathaniel nothing. Johanus has seven days food and water. Discuss options while examining alley. Hear a whip In front. Head for it. Give jasinth a healing potion. He better make it worth it. Get to crossroads, try to cast illusion. Fit. Fuck. Spin a knife. Downstairs. Hear whip again. Going the right way. All But me get invisible. Get to deep grotto. Roots hanging down from above. One barred wooden door with a bondage session going on inside. Open it quietly. Foyer with bead curtain. Opulent dungeon beyond. Dwarf mistress and human slave. Have a closer look. Human a stranger, dwarf = quench, cross dressed.

Knock politely. Tell him we're locked out. He says his situation doesn't make him a murderer. Said korfush knew, that it was like a breach of trust, and that it formed a barrier. He'll get us back And get me, jasinth and johanus a healer in exchange for a bad memory. We wait in parlor. Nice.

Classier than the whores at home. Quench finishes, leads us back. Side door into storehouse, obviously only used by quench. One other door besides the main one, he shows us. Door we went through closed and locked. Try to cast. Fit. Fuck. Healer coming. Go to get our stuff. Carmidia bandaging dacien in courtyard. Tell him we saw his sword, and that i tried to poison the cannibals.

He irritated but approving. Take a stash of gear down to the door. I help nathaniel slip his spyball Into the courtyard. Delacy comes in to complain with dacien and carmidia. No guards left. All Message boys run off. Dacien suspicious of everyone. Carmidia gives evil looks at dacien. Shaleen Freezes at sight of someone in courtyard. Tarradon is missing. Aneton sequestered away. Delacy Stirring shit about aneton in particular. Kilell in kitchen. No mana upstairs. Low at door. Quench Leads in a human in white robes. D.a = human, rank healer = five. Good. Jasinth first. Massage of Pain. Acupressure. My turn. He breaks my fucking neck. Get to see my ass directly. Fuck. Then he Puts it back. Sigh. Fucking salamakar healers. Feel better now. Object read the door. Johanus gets Something horrible to eat. Then acupuncture. Steel needles. Ha! Lots of pain. Ha! Johanus thinks of Hurting him. I suggest otherwise. Psychic impression on door bar = panic, relief, panic, recently. Quench and healer leaves. E.s.p shows no-one else within 90'. Good. Suggest an idea i had of "haunting" suspects. I can mimic korfush's voice. Decide to interrogate orcs. Dusk. Go see shaleen. She's wearing silky hankies, but i wouldn't call it dressed. Knows its carmidia, who will get all The wealth, and she will be cast out. Been wife three years. Some rivalry. Carmidia very powerful And strong. Shaleen couldn't stand up to her. Suggests we search carmidia's room in secret. Her room seems normal, but no weapons. Where would shae go / who would she turn to. Doesn't know. Started "at Court" to get company, assisted by bakrun martine. Can wives have boyfriends? Not supposed to. Body Slaves? Usually. Not her. Carmidia? Possible for her. Carmidia's absences? Illicit affair would Explain timing of murder (to protect lover). Dacien simple. Inexperienced. She knew of demon. Reckon She's full of shit. Evasive. Affected. Courtier. Liar. Jasinth catches a flick of light. Looks in Master bedroom. Something different. Nathaniel looks. Something different. I look. Pedestal knocked Over, see someting of leather underneath. Jasinth goes over. Sees me lying on floor, rent, hacked. "me" summons him over, now, says "shut up he's not drow" to self. Jasinth wanders over. Fuckwit.

"me" very fucked up. So jasinth tells him where i am. Sigh. "me" says korfush has set us up. We Can't do mission, won't survive. Jasinth calls me over. All pile in. "me" says it's me from a Different place and time. Looks like me. Fuck. Some tiny differences. Haven't shaved for 1-2 days, Wrinkles not the same, same armour. Fuck. Says he's a possible me. I could have been him, or could Be him yet. Further along in time than us, done more. Now everyone's dead. Nathaniel tries to ask Him if korfush is dead in his world. Fuckwit. Shut up. His story: first time down in underdark Underscum were too close. Second time they went more prepared, but got torn up. Cornered in room at Household with nathaniel, they got nathaniel, the others all dead. Underscum eat everyone. Ran back To korfush, protected domain got over-run. Underscum at plague proportions, and migrate at every Full tide. Eat each other because all the fishes are gone. Vicious bunch at the bottom spiralled up, Pushing all before it. We had no chance. Some ally gave us a precursor artifact to jump in time. Takes a ritual. It's in "my" backpack. "me" back here temporarily to tell us to stop the mission. Korfush knew. Use the artifact to change things. Stop nathaniel going for backpack, put the others Where they can't see, tell "me" to show bellybutton. It's me. Sigh. Grab the thingy and scribe notes. Has instructions on notes. Jasinth gives "me" a healing potion. Doesn't fix spec grevs.

Artifact can take everyone back. Korfush is tough. So is the demon. "me" says dacien is cowardly. Had my suspicions. Spiral of underscum should hit korfush's house by 16 harvest. Wipes out everyone. Me and dacien primary targets. Korfush bolted. Who should we set up? Reckon shaleen. Raid the rest of my backpack: antivenom x3, ink, quill paper and my hourglass, time run out. Sigh. Jar of Ickyness. Yay. Mug, plate, spoon, manacles, flint and steel, court clothes, gallon waterskin, half Full, mosquito net and 30sp of misc junk. Suddenly remember tarradon. Fuck. Where is he? Can't do e.s.p. Fuck. Bicker for a bit about killing korfush: how / when / who? Nathaniel big on our going to The emperor with the info on the underscum, getting a reward and reference, and going fast.

Instructions: one hour ritual, get to be back in time for 25 minutes. Some side effects expected. Have to sacrifice a sentient entity as part of the ritual. Innocence ensures success. Runes have to Be written in the blood. Has to be kept alive for the time of the casting. Start to laugh: didn't i Say nathaniel made it to the room i cast from? "he didn't make it". Ha. My eyes start to bleed. Fuck. Remember the navigator i got them off wept black blood. Hourglass okay. D.a self: why the fuck Am i weeping black blood? Infection. Close up korfush's room. Go down to basement. Empathy = don't Know where it's coming from. Bleeding stops. Go up. Get gear. Go down. Go up. Wash. Eat at food Board. Notice kilell stealthing into conservatory. Jasinth and i blunder after him, tripping over discarded weapons. Fuck. Kilell doing something in conservatory. Jasinth sticks his head in. Hot Moist air. Flickering light from the chook yard. Too noisy to walk over gravel. Kilell doing a black magic thing. Hears me coming in. Use korfush's voice "what are you doing, kilell? Haven't i Mentioned this before?". Kilell kills a chicken in response. "do you think you can run? You can't Hide from me. You know what i want. What are you going to do, my possession?" says he's my Messenger, what is my message, and who does he represent? "why do you think you have a right to Question me?" kilell says he didn't ask for me, or my presence, so what do i want? Others wondering Where we are. Come upstairs to rescue jasinth from the ritual. Ha. Interrogation reveals kilell is a demon worshipper, maybe attached to the underscum. Doesn't know what i am, but doesn't think i'm the Presence of korfush. Can't come up with a nice innocent sacrifice for me. Fuck. Doesn't imply self in murder. Sigh. Memorise his ritual sigil. Tell him he may go. Scuffs out circle, leaves in a sweat. Others find jasinth. He strings them along for a bit. Tell them what happened, clean up, go Downstairs. Watch = shareena x2, nathaniel, me.

4 Harvest

purify well. Haze in the air. Null zone gone. Go to korfush's room. D.a body: formally Living. Cause of death = sudden violent blood loss. Artifact will take us back to the same room.

Sand storm nearing. Send jasinth and johanus for food and water. Nathaniel hears a droning. Run for The door. Jasinth and johanus get back. Haul them in. Slam the door. They've bought apples and Water. Kilell missing. Better than nothing. Stick a chair under the door. Droning gets loud, Immediate, then passes. Jasinth starts stirring, johanus starts biting. Sigh. Storm hits. Tell them About how storms drive people crazy. Read instructions again. Ritual. Sacrifice a sentient, the more Innocent the better. Shows the patterns to be done in blood. Throws us back in time to a specific time as written in the ritual. Get to be there 23 minutes, then get back here. Can move from the Room in the past. Storm whispers to us. All getting paranoid. Johanus backfires. Manages e.s.p: five in range, less us, not in our room. All settled in for storm. Johanus notices more blood on the walls. I don't. D.a a bit = orkan, same, same. He must be spooked. Divinate. What are the drawbacks?

Subtle changes in person sent back and returned, but it has to do with reality. Number of charges in the ting changes from moment to moment - from lots to none. Multidimensional. Sigh. How many can go At once? Up to 13. More is nasty. What kind of innocent? Harmonic aura. Guild contract a problem. Compulsion is an option. Jasinth notices the brazier is knocked over, and the coals stamped out.

Reckon reality is twisting to allow for our actions. Nathaniel looks for a hypothetical wooden Spoon. It's going to be a long storm. Discuss. Nathaniel's knee is injured. Now we're getting affected. Plan: we go back, subdue korfush, and say we saw kilell kill him. They're all getting affected by the storm , now. Jasinth is the worst. Shareena reckons we should sacrifice the goose.

Start casting. So does nathaniel and shareena in fright. Jasinth actively resists, weapons drawn. Johanus actively resists. Nathaniel goes invisible. I change into kilell. Move away from image. Bump Into nathaniel. He screams. All jump. Shareena casts. Jasinth totally paranoid. Sigh. He's the only One with a soft helm. K.o him. Nathanieal casts. Fails. Start doing ritual. Tell others to stand in The circle. Suggest we give jasinth a bonus. Others starting to relax now. Doing all the drawing in Jasinth's blood. He comes to and kicks nathaniel. K.o him again. Sleep him. Finish the ritual.

Jasinth dies. Sorry about that. Psychodelic nastiness. He wasn't very innocent. D.a the artifact: Time remaining until affect ends? Hmm. Gullet affect looks like jasinth's. Hmm. Start falling. Others see circle of brown below. Becomes desert with nothing beyond. See moving spec on desert. Becomes giant centipede. See cracks and fissures in the desert, emitting fire and roars, and lots of flies. Make a bad landing. Appear on centipede, transformed into giant ticks, feeding on it. Others See what appears to be a nice safe spire behind us, and hell in front. Sigh. Suggest steering. Chains from inside the bug pin us through. Sigh. Push myself off. Go up to head. Looks like jasinth. Not steered by antenna. Or eyes, or eye socket. And it doesn't seem to have a brain. Sigh. What to do? Trouble moving artifact in tick form, in case we abandon ship. Cast. Fail. And again. And again. I jump ship at the gate to hell. Flames attack me. Nathaniel, shareena and johanus follow suit. Losing substance away from jasinth. Try to follow nathaniel to spire. Fading. Two legs break off.

Shareena goes unco. Johanus is unworking. Nathaniel notices he's getting no closer to spire. Johanus Drags shareena back to the arch the bug went through, see comes to. I pass out. Dying. Nathaniel Goes for gate, pushing me along. Come to near the gate. Push shareena and nathaniel to gate. Shove Them through. They disappear. Stick my hand in. It doesn't get destroyed. Try to d.a. Causes pain, But get the effect on creatures like me = transportation. Go in, come out in korfush's bedroom. Jasinth's body is there with us. Why? It wasn't there last time. Korfush wakes instantly. Sleeps With short sword. Grabs big tulwar and kite shield. No obvious investeds. Nasty looking dragony pet, Though. Glowing green drool. Nathaniel fails spell. Fuck. Move to intercept pet. Jasinth's Disembodied voice follows us around. Most aggrivating dead guy i ever met. Johanus and shareena try to close on korfush with a rug. He keeps them out. Pet doesn't see me. Good. Fast though. Armoured.

Sigh. Nathaniel casts, korfush resists. Fuck. I hit the thing, it ignores me. Bites nathaniel. Fuck.

Korfush hurting johanus. Me ineffectual on pet. Go to korfush. Johanus goes down. Nathaniel being Clawed on. Shareena being smashed. K.o korfush. Nobble him. Beastie notices this and runs to help His master. Sigh. It's not bleeding. Demonic. Sigh. Shareena rescues nathaniel then johanus with my Potions. Sigh. Fight. Stun. Come out. Kill the fucker. Tell jasinth's ghost to find the sacata. 15 minutes remaining on the artifact. D.a korfush: total combined present fatigue and endurance = 30.

Get the girlie looking for the elf as well. Pretend to poison her blade, to keep her happy. Make Sure korfush is on the bed and unmoving. Use the coal in jasinth's pack to draw kilell's demonic Circle, with a few small differences for safety's sake. Five minutes to go. Get shareena to clean up any prints. Go round after her. Time running out. Hallucinagenic effects starting again. At three Pulses to go i cut korfush's throat. Time runs out. Feel very tired. Get back to the future.

Everything as we remember it, including the demonic circle. Interesting that my notes don't mention the coal marks. They were always there. Jasinth dead. Johanus and nathaniel unco. Sandstorm. At Least we've got lots of food. Try to convince shareena that she should distract me for a week. Find Some seagate dwarf whiskey. Sigh. Shareena doesn't want any. She going through backpacks, looking nervous. Flakes over. Sick. Me too. Travel sickness. Take water of healing. Dry out jasinth. Cover him in whiskey. Flake out.

7 Harvest

Feel grotty. Johanus trying to get my last water of healing off me. Won't do a favour. Oh Well.

8 Harvest

Johanus manages to fix Nathaniel. Food = 2 sacks of apples (20 kg), one fatted goose, 6 pounds cheese, 6 pound salted fish, 7 pounds iron rations, 10 days standard rations, 5 pound rye bread, 2 pints cider, 1 pound lard, 20 gal water. Okay.

Sick to 10 harvest.

17 Harvest

Spent a week practising appearing attractive to other culture standards. Sandstorm finally stops. Johanus runs to baths. We try to find the lady. Find quench and aneton in the Cellars. Says orcs go to their relatives for sandstorms. Won't come back. He'll get healer for jasinth. Delacy in and out. Tell quench we have an answer: how do we do it? If it's an orc, do it through delacy with delicacy. If delacy, escape house, get watch. If one of the serfs, it's easier. Contact delacy. Go to conservatory, see evidence still there. Set watch. Delacy comes in. Catch johanus in a loincloth, again. Shareena cruises through to kitchens. Delacy sees us and comes over. We do show and tell. What does he want us to do to kilell? Apprehend him, watch out for familiars.

Bind and chain with iron. He goes for watch. We have 15 minutes to get kilell down. Try casting, Fail, never mind. Get invisible, weapons, manacles etc. Johanus finds assassin procurement papers in Seagate common in aneton's room. Traps, poisons, serious x-bows. Grabs manacles and runs back. Check Kitchen - he's there, industrious, armed. Plan: i go in, try to sap him. Nathaniel follows with sleep. He hears me, panics, runs for door to cellars. Fuck. Nathaniel gets him. D.a = not pacted.

Sigh. Hypnosis? Backfire. Fail. Fail. Fail. Finally. He sees blood, korfush, stabs, circle etc he Will remember. Counterspell sleep. Dwarves and elves come in. Lock down crimescene including Jasinth's body. Sigh. Arrests. Delacy gets us free. Including jasinth. He gets resurrected by one of The salamakar healers. Ha. We get a bonus, jasinth gets extra. Try to sell info of underscum rising - offered 4000 sp in cash or tradegoods, a medicinal sphere, and a salamakar magic trinket. I Accept. Jasinth asks for an update. Tell him the news. He checks it out with cops. They bring in Merc guardsmen to batten down the hatches. Orcs come home with bodyguards. Delacy comes home 2 hours Later. Pays us. Sends us to the docks to catch the "star of oberon", leaving in morning. Expects to see us, or seagate, in 6-9 months. Disguise self. Pass demon battleground on way. Send collars back to dal'tosh.

Get back 2 Vintage.

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