Gameplay 3 - Demonic Petitioner

"So you're expecting a repeat of what happened last time. Indeed, it would be imprudent to leave without getting to the bottom of this."

"No," states Jhishma flatly, giving his head a shake after pausing a moment to feel the air, "there's no diabolical or aberrant energy at work here that I can detect. I felt it last time, but I do not feel it now."

Lifting his voice a little louder, he says, "Be ready to ride for the wizard Helge in one hour!"

Owen smiles and nods, hurrying to gather his belongings.

Grok shakes his head again, as to get those weird thoughts out of his head. He gets to his feet and walks out of the prison to find his horse. You hear him muttering curses about "hornie people" under his breath.

Turning to Jhishma.

"Shouldn't we still warn Duke Harcourt, at least so he can get his people to investigate this? Better to be sure than sorry. Who knows, maybe the reason you don't feel aberrant energies is because they improved their process? I know I might be reaching at straws here, but it still does seem imprudent to not at the very least warn the Duke."

Turning to Cyrind'ae, the dragonborn answers, "You've got an hour. If it makes you feel better, go advise the Duke to put extra guards over the dungeon, if you wish. Other than that, he has no other advisors or special resources - that's what he's sending us to Helge for! We've already tarried in these distractions too long. You've got an hour."

Yes, although she wasn't there for the first cult's arrest, busting out, and ritual, so she'd encourage Nar to come with her and tell him of this.

Cyrind'ae finds herself in front of the Duke. He is reviewing a scroll with a scribe looking person. He nods at something and the scribe shuffles off.

"I understand your group destroyed a shape-shifting giant last night. Thank you. Did they ride off to Marian Town and leave you behind, Lady Torviel?"

"No, we're leaving in an hour. We went to inspect the patrons who were arrested closer as Grok insisted he saw those people with horns last night... It's all a bit vague, Grok is not exactly known for his eloquence... But what I understood is that the reason Grok had been invited to this tavern is because he was wearing a mask we found on the body of a dead Orcus priest we defeated. It would seem the staff and patrons of this establishment are most likely members of a cult of Orcus. There is also the fact that while observing them, something odd happened to Nar, which I believe he should retell you himself since second-hand accounts are always a little less reliable. But it did gave him some sense of déjà vu on how this whole demon mess started... It is my understanding you have been debriefed about those events already."

"M'lord. We don't get a sense that these people are fiends exactly, but I do believe them to be allies of Orcus -- As Cyrind'ae said, likely members of a cult of Orcus. As you recall, a similar group was able to open a portal to the Abyss and allow demons to harass townsfolk." He pauses and adds, "Until we killed them all, that is. Since we were leaving, we felt it was important that you and your constable know that they have nefarious motivations and may have allies outside the jail working with them."

He gives short bow to indicate that his report is complete and awaits dismissal.

He glowers as Cyrind'ae's story unfolds, and then Nar adds in his own contribution. "The prison break. Yes. It was too much to hope that cult had no designs on the capital." He beckons a guard and a scribe both over. He quickly scratches out a message on a scroll. The scribe deftly blows sand on the ink, rolls the parchment, and ties it with a ribbon and hands it to the guard. "Take that to Captain Portak, as quick as you can."

He turns back to the bard and paladin. "I've ordered increased security on the prison. Any demonic rituals they attempt will be met with a storm of crossbow bolts."

He considers the half-elf woman for a moment, before similarly appraising the half-orc, then rising and pacing. "My sages tell me that there was a demon invasion once before. It was generations ago. Only some elves may still be alive from such a time. It happened in many ways similar to recent events. The population was stirred up, a cult arose with promises of power and wealth, then a night of terror. In that night, one single night, a city was consumed by fire. While it seems that the demons were all banished by the heroes of the time, ever since, we have had repeated problems with the undead."

He stops his pacing and looks at Cyrind'ae and Nar again. "The rise of an undead dragon, however, is unprecedented. Orcus grows bolder. The archwizard Helge is the only hero I know of sufficient stature as to challenge such a monster. Ride swift. Ride swift for us all."

Cyrind'ae takes the scroll and bows to Duke Harcourt.

"It will be done my Lord."

She then promptly seek Captain Portak to hand him the scroll in person before joining the rest of the group and informing Jhishma that they are ready to leave now.

Walking with Cyrind'ae, Nar muses, "Well, back to being a messenger service. I can't imagine that the mage can devise a plan to deal with that dracolich. One blast of it's necrotic breath would take out half the party. You've read lots of books -- how do you fight something like that?"

"I'm more versed in history. I've heard of heroes banding together to take down similar threats in the past, but those historical figures were extremely powerful individuals..."