Cataclysm (AD&D Ravenloft -> PF1 Conversion) INC Thread

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The group makes its way to the far side of town to find the bakery, with grey entering first you find a sweet smiling lady. Her bright eyes look to Grey.

"Hello there stranger! My name is Louise d'Cann, I run the bakery. I can make cakes, I think I still have some strawberry cake. I have some bread and fresh sweet rolls from this morning. Or if you have a craving for something sweet the house Specialty is Red Licorice."

Her eyes do look to the rest of you, but she diverts back to grey without too much change.

"Ah a group of strangers... youve come at a dark time, care to brighten it up with something for your stomachs?"

[DigoDragon]

Rose hangs to the back of the group with Luc, just keeping him safe for now.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne nods at Grey's words, though she also mumbles, "When the law is unjust, it may be time to knock it down." Her grievances aired, though, she doesn't knock anything down and instead stays with the others as they visit the bakery. When she notes Rose staying with Luc she purses her lips in thought for a moment. "He still worries me, but I'll try to stick with you and him. Might help keep me out of trouble..."

[samduke]

Millie hangs back with rose, looking around keeping an eye out for trouble

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

Since the others have elected to stay back, Grey smiles at the lady and talks to her in a friendly manner "We are strangers indeed and we do need a bit of sweetness, given our current predicament." he shrugs, looks at the pastries and then asks "Red Licorice is your specialty, you said? I am going to try it, then." he smiles again before throwing a question at the baker "Do you have many customers? I mean, heard some gruesome news when we arrived..."

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The lady pulls out a sample piece of red licorice, handing it to Grey to taste.

"9 deaths in three weeks is indeed, well.... sudden deaths at least.... not counting other deaths."

She opens an acounting book, looking down lists of numbers and sales.

"Most of my licorice has been sold to.... Mordu, Jean Tarascon, and the Carpenters kids... he has half a dozen or more."

She looks among the group, then back to grey.

"Will they be wanting anything? or should I just give you all my attention?"

[kinem]

Ted says "Hello, I'm Ted. I'd like to try the licorice, please.

As we are new in town, I'm still learning the names. Who's Mordu?"

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The woman smiles and gives a sample to Ted as well.

"Oh Mordu? He's what you'd call.... an eccentric. Not quite right in the head, has crazy ideas about the world, and who runs it, he'd talk your ear off if you'd let him about some nonsense."

She waves her hand dismissively as if to quell the nonsense in the air.

"But he's mostly harmless, and he pays good money."

[Ancient]

"And Jean...Tarascon is it? Are they...equally eccentric?"

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

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"Well, I would not complain if I had your attention." Grey flirts a bit (being friendly to people is rather cheap after all and they are going to need, might save their lives if some fellow starts yelling "Caliban" at them) before trying the Red Licorice, wondering why it was found on murder scenes. He then makes a mental note of the names the woman drops and asks for more information, trying to sound casual "Eccentric how? I mean, we do look a bit eccentric ourselves, don't we?" he smiles a bit, then shrugs "We come from quite the distant land, so we're still trying to understand your customs."

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Millie steps up, asking for a sample as well, and is given one.

"Jean? oh, no? Hes one of the three Tarascon brothers who run the Tarascon Plantation just up the road. Hes a proper gentleman with good clothes and a walking cane. Hes always been an upright member of the community."

The older woman blushes a little at Grey's words.

"Oh he gets all sorts of ideas from these books hes gathered about strange gods, cults, and what not, but hes been like that for years, he is always asking Duncan the merchant to bring him all sorts of books."

She points down the road.

"He lives just there, on the other side of the General store."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Looking around at the shop Cheyanne struggles to identify anything she'd really like to eat. "Do you have anything savory, or perhaps more tart than sweet?" she asks hesitantly, not wanting to be rude by either not asking or asking for something the woman doesn't have. "Is the red licorice your most popular candy?"

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The older woman waggles her finger at Cheyannes question.

"Not normally, but I think I have..."

She moves around her shop to find something.

"Yes, I have some strawberry tarts, would that interest you?"

She nods, moving back to the book, looking up her sales numbers.

"Yes, I think I sell Red Licorice almost every day"

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne nods and answers, "I'll try one, yes. How much?" She hands the woman coins as appropriate and carefully tries the pastry, hoping it's not too sugary for her stoic tastes. "Does the Sheriff like it? He asked us if we had some a bit earlier - I'd have thought he would come to you for some. It seemed weird..."

[Darius Vibrtrar]

The woman takes 2 copper crocs from Cheyanne for the strawberry tart. It has a pleasant mixture of sweet and tart with a flaky crust and fluffy texture within, a fine pastry.

"The sheriff? Oh the constable, well he's tried it on occasion, he used to buy it for his son before.... well his son passed recently, so he hasn't been buying sweets much."

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne nods, realizing a reason why the Sheriff might have been so hostile...

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

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How could the Constable accuse anyone of these murders with Red Licorice being the only evidence is beyond Grey, given how popular the sweet is. Still it's the only lead they have at the moment so Grey politely hands some coins to the baker "Well, I would like some of your red Licorice, please." he says while trying to hide the concern that the Constable might use this to pin these murders on him. He then waits for the others to buy sweets or ask questions before taking his leave with a friendly goodbye to the lady in charge of the shop.

Spoiler

Show

Grey would buy Red Licorice for a few silver coins.

[DigoDragon]

"Eccentric how? I mean, we do look a bit eccentric ourselves, don't we?"

Rose usually considers the ones with money to be eccentric. Modest folk like herself were just crazy.

While her companions buy sweets, Rose glances around the shop a bit, looking to see if there's anything that might fancy her as unusual to be in a candy store.

Perception (1d20+2)[22]

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Grey leads the group down the road to the house the baker had indicated. Grey raises his hand to knock when a young man in his early 20s opens the door, pulling it away from greys hand.

"Oh good! you all finally made it, Ive been waiting for you, come come come, inside, away from eyes."

The man ushers everyone in to sit in a series of chairs and couches in the front room.

"My name is Mordu, and I am the keeper of truth's within Marais d'Tarascon, welcome welcome. Please tell me what your group has learned, uncorrupted by what I might tell you. With eyes unclouded what have you learned?"

Mordu looks to all of you equally with welcome eyes and a smile on his eager face.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Cheyanne is very resistant to being ushered into the man's home without warning, but finally allows herself to be...welcomed(?) inside after it is clear the others all plan to enter. She looks around outside before she goes inside, however, to try and see if anyone else is watching.

Once inside, she stays standing, looking around the room intently as she lets the others do the talking.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Show

Outside a quick Perception check, inside taking 20: (1d20+6)[10] and 26.

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

Grey is definitely taken aback by the sudden appearance of this Mordu and certainly doesn't like that he expected the party to come to his door - who knows what lies Mordu might've cooked in the meantime? So Grey tries to counter the rhetorical strike "Name's Grey. And before sharing anything we might've learned, we have to be sure we can trust you." and so the greyish man sits on a couch in an exaggeratedly relaxed position to show he's in control of...something, since Grey doesn't actually feel like that since we was forcefully transported in this place forsaken by the gods "So you should tell us what you know. To prove you are our ally and not an enemy." he says with a sly smile, throwing the Red Licorice he have just bought on the table right in front of Mordu.

[samduke]

Millie standing back watching and waiting to see the response to Grey's comment

[DigoDragon]

Rose sits near Luc, trying to balance being a gracious guest and a paranoid adventurer.

She looks around to see if there's that red candy here too?
Perception (1d20+2)[21]

[Darius Vibrtrar]

There is an excited, driven look in this mans eyes as he listens to Grey's counter offer.

"Oh, yes, thats a fair question in these dangerous times. You already know that these undead are being locked into sealed coffins now after some escaped from an unlocked tomb, you were there at the funeral, you must have seen that. But.... but.... do you know..... yes 9 have died that we know of.... but.... there are several more villagers missing.... 7 in fact, no bodies, so no deaths."

He holds up a fingers and pulls forward a clay pot with red licorice in it, he pulls one and eats.

"Here here, have some of my favorite"

He whirls around and goes to the back room, and returns with a book. Its title plain as day on the front The Cult of the Swamp God

[DigoDragon]

Rose will politely decline the offer of candy. The manic-ness of this man is peculiar, however. Nine deaths and now seven missing?

"When did you say this all started?" she asks.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

He sets the book down on the table and pulls out a scrap of parchment, there is a list of names. Next to them in a sequential order is some sort of date that is unfamiliar to you, and either last seen or found dead is written next to their name. A total of 16 names are on the list. He points to the first name.

"Three weeks ago."

He turns back to Grey.

"As you can see, I have my own conclusions. But I want your outside perspective, untainted by my findings, I will of course share my own afterward."

[Bunny Commando]

Grey - HP: 17\17 - Conditions: None - Active Effects: None

---------------

The fellow is quite persistent and Grey doesn't have much to share - they have been in this town for less than a day, not much time to really draw any meaningful conclusion. So he play another card when Mordu offers Red Licorice, Grey shows a smirk and nods at the candy "Well. Constable says that your 'favourite' has been found on all murder scenes. And the sweet lady at the bakery said you are one loyal customer." and that said he shrugs, waiting for a reaction to the offhand accusation.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Mordu's eyes go wide with the information about the licorice.

Spoiler: ooc:

Show

Everyone can roll sense motive in ooc if you like.

"They know that I know about them.... thats important to know.... I have been planning around their plans.... now I see that they have been planning around my plans.... I must now plan around the plans that are being planned around my plans that were initially planned to outplay their first plans.... a monumental task."

He sits with a thud into his chair. He opens the book he laid down.

"You see, its definitely a cult to an ancient swamp God, it has to be. All the books in my library point back to this."

[samduke]

Millie
So do you have any solid clues to this cult

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Mordu turns to milli and opens his mouth before shutting it. He raises a finger, about to talk again, but then makes a face, putting his finger down.

"No. But if you come back tomorrow I know I will have proof by then, my theories have only to be proven correct. This book!"

He lifts the book up in emphasis.

"Is guiding me to find the cult responsible for these murders"