Hardcore Heroes: Episode 26

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== Synopsis ==
In Shirebrook, Van and his party consult Mother Ellyse about resurrecting the late Baroness, but she doubts her ability to help due to the Calamity's effects. However, she shows interest in a Resurrection scroll they found near Copperhill, though she stops questioning once they mention it’s with Joris. Despite her skepticism, she blesses their endeavor. The next day, Kain voices concerns about necromancy, but Van dismisses them as they proceed to the crypts, where Van discovers the Baroness was poisoned and attempts to speak with her spirit, learning little. Malakai explores the crypt further, discovering a magical necklace. The group realizes they can't revive the Baroness and decides to focus on solving the Shadow Mountains curse. After several encounters, including a dangerous journey and an assassination attempt on a Baron, they gather information and head to various locations seeking help. They deal with local suspicions, find evidence of foul play, and ultimately decide to travel to Copperhill for further assistance with their mission.
==Recap==
=== Monday, 1509-08-29* ===
Shirebrook. Van and the party go to speak with Mother Ellyse, she tells him that her grasp on the divine isn't strong enough to cast Uplift and she expresses her doubts about rising the late Baroness since no one has been able to resurrect people since the Calamity. Van tells her of the Resurrection scroll they found near Copperhill which perks her interest, but once they mention the scroll was left in hands of Joris she doesn't question them further. 
She doesn't quite seem to believe they could raise the late Baroness, but despite that gives them her blessing. 
=== Tuesday, 1509-08-30* ===
Next day proves to be a hot and blazing one, Kain expresses his concerns about raising undead and how power corrupts, but Van politely shoos his concerns off. They meet up with Rohana and head to the crypts. 
Kain asks about time before the calamity and both the cleric and the diviner tell of the general common ideas what happened and why. That the clergy had grown corrupt and too powerful and so the gods saw fit to essentially end the world in fire as punishment. 
Soon enough everyone arrives at the gates and after a short questioning by Vernon Corwell the party, with an escort of 2 guardsmen and a retainer knight, are led down into the crypts. A joke about raising wraiths and skeletons earns the two wizards a scornful look from the knight. 
Malakai expresses his suspicion in both the count of Newfort and Baroness of Shirebrook dying so close to each other, but no one seems to be sold on the conspiracy theory. 
Van detects that the late Baroness was in fact poisoned and then casts Speak with the dead on her. First question is whether she knows who poisoned, second question is whether she knows how she was poisoned, but both answers are a no. During this questioning her voice emanates audibly to everyone and the footman get spooked, but rest of the people pay no heed. 
Malakai sneaks off to explore the crypt with a detect magic spell and finds that there's 1 aura further down the crypt. Going deeper into the crypt he finds an extremely old decrepit body that has a necklace around its neck which radiates a moderate aura. Knowing that a guard has been following him he makes a feint that he is going back out of the crypt, but despite having lost the guard at the exit due to the uncertainty of the situation he decides it might not be worth getting caught and stays outside. 
Everyone meets up outside and ponder what they will do now. Knowing they don't really have access to the Baronesses corpse and that their spells are still limited it seems that the party has turned its back on the idea of reviving her. Instead it might be prudent to begin working on solving the curse of the shadow mountains which means finding Georg. Van goes to pick up their dragon parts and then goes to a local blacksmith who tells him that some sort of armor might be made from the amount of scales he has, just that he probably isn't skilled enough for job. 
Later that day they leave for Thornwood. Kain asks Jeeves how he met the party and he seems to describe Malakai as a fairly decent man to Kain's surprise. 
=== Wednesday, 1509-08-31* ===
Night passes uneventfully and party arrives in Thornwood by midday. They are met by closed gates and a pack of guards that inform them the Countess Nina Castillion has been murdered in her quarters. The guards keep refusing to let the party in no matter what Van says to the point they threaten to open fire if the party doesn't move out of the way of the gates. 
Without any other options the carriage makes it way around the walls of Thornwood towards Misty Rapids. 
Kain spends some more time talking with Jeeves as they ride. 
While on the road they suddenly get a flurry of arrows fired upon the carriage and the two men at the front of it. A swordswoman and two spearmen come out onto the road and demand their valuables or their lives. Kain stays seated while Van and Malakai cast some preparatory spells. Next round Malakai steps out and casts Suggestion to let them pass which seems to work and they quickly manage to get them out of the danger. 
Late that same day they arrive in Misty Rapids, they see a corpse with a sign on it hanging from a lamppost. The sign says “Assassins beware”, and corpse looks to that of a woman. 
They make their way to an inn called Fogview inn. They wake up the innkeeper and talk with her for a bit, she informs them that Baron Song indeed lived through an assassination attempt. When they ask about Arc Carl she immediately gets cautious and quiet, describing him as a shadowy man who might appear in your room and disappear without a trace.
=== Thursday, 1509-09-01 ===
Not having been murdered by the Wraith of the Misty Rapids during their sleep everyone wakes up. They discuss how to approach the wizard while eating breakfast and finally make their way to the keep. 
The keep seems fairly unimpressive and is guarded by a single person who tells them to completely disarm themselves before they are let inside. Notably Malakai also is required to leave his spell components, but he attempts to smuggle some in which promptly get found by a manual pat-down examination by 3 other guards. 
On the way to the keep they notice a smooth wall of iron just sitting out in the yard. 
They are met by an extremely large man sitting on the throne while 3 more guards (in addition to the 3 that escorted them) shuffle into the room. He tells them that Baron Song won't be seeing anyone today and they can speak with him on whatever matter they wish. Van asks to see Arc Carl and he is told that he vanished a week or two ago and that the man doesn't know where one could find him. They share some information regarding the death of nobles and the man introduces himself as Kel Hanes Valmont. Party explains they seek advice on the magic and the disappearing villages around Shadow mountains. Hanes seems to grow more friendly to them having the same hometown and almost invites them for diner, but reconsiders having the authority to do that. 
They get some information about the assassin that attempted to kill Baron Song, apparently she was a cook here and her whole family had been held hostage and she was ordered to poison the Baron. They only found blood in her house thought once she had been killed and the investigation ended with that. 
They also get told that the previous captain of the guard, Kel Greller, had been eaten by the Witch of the Wilds. 
With some well wishes they depart and make way towards the village where the would-be assassins family lived. 
Later that day they arrive in the village and find the hovel decorated by flowers like a memorial. There seems to be no magical residue so Malakai goes to find a villager to talk to. He finds himself a random man who comments on him not appearing like a typical scary wizard The man tells Malakai that the people in the hovel were named Roberts and that they were killed quite horribly. He also mentions a kid in town that went missing, son of Willy. Not finding anything in particular in the hovel Malakai seeks out Willy in the local tavern. 
Willy tells him that he sent his son, little Jimmy, to fetch some water from well on edge of the woods and he simply never came back. Party decides to go check out this clue first, Cain manages to spot the fact that there were some horse riders a few days ago, but nothing particularly new.  
They walk around the village, talk to a random man go back to the well where they chat with some girls until Kain again finds tracks that seem to look like animal dragging something. Following the drag marks they finds remains of a young human and they take a boot back as some sort of a proof. They track the animal for a while longer until it appears they are wolf tracks and party decides it's not worth going any further. 
Later that day the party inform Willy of what they found and then talk to the barkeep about retrieving the remains and warning people of the wolves. 
=== Friday, 1509-09-02* ===
They spend the night in some of the homes of the villagers and in the morning Van goes back to the hovel and reads the emotions of the place getting back a blinking imagine of someone holding the person's hand-less arm, someone of average build and with a Malkis symbol hanging from their wrist. He casts Speak with Dead on one of the long hairs and inquires to the name and appearance of whoever killed the girl, but gets nothing useful back. Next he attempts the same spell on a short hair and it fails so they decide to keep that one for Rohana. 
Malakai casts fly and examines the local area, but finds nothing of interest. 
Party decides they will head to Stromheim and then perhaps Copperhill to find help identifying the hair they picked up and information on the Shadow mountains. 
=== Saturday, 1509-09-03 ===
Party arrives in Cauldron. 
They find an inn where they ask of the local news, random peasant doesn't mention anything of particular interest besides the fact that their Baron went to siege Misty Rapids and died. He also mentions that there have been sighing of Malkis followers, but once Malakai begins to ask for a magic shop he is immediately told to get out. Van interferes, but ends up backhanding the man after her calls Chis a “Mighty useless bitch”.
=== Sunday, 1509-09-04* ===
Party arrives in Stromheim only to find out that the gates are shut with the same old tale of attempted assassination. They pick up their stuff and head up to Copperhill. Malakai tries to convince the main guard on the gate, but gets denied and when he tries to cast a spell arrows come flying towards him. Party leaves immediately while the guards aim their crossbows at them. 
== Experience and changes ==
* Van-Healsing gains 7th level and rolls 6HP for a total of 41HP
* Malakai gains 7th level and rolls 1HP for a total of 14HP
* Malakai fails to learn Polymorph self and learns Shadow monster, Stone skin. 
*Dates are extrapolated from a previous mention of an exact date.
Category:Hardcore Heroes Episodes