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The Streets of Neverwinter, Dusk ...
The Streets of Neverwinter, Dusk ...
ERIC and DIANA stretch their aching muscles after such a bumpy cart ride. PRESTO holds open his Sorcerer's Hat, and the wooly toad happily jumps inside.
The streets of Neverwinter bustle with activity, even as the sun has begun to set. The wider city looms in the nearby distance, as here, the alleys and makeshift tents and slums mark the edges of the metropolis.
DIANA
DIANA
Finally! Civilization!
ERIC
ERIC
If you can call it that.
An anguished scream erupts from a nearby alley. "Someone! Help! Anyone? Oh, no, no, no, no!"
PRESTO
PRESTO
Yikes! And I thought the *countryside* was dangerous.
DIANA
DIANA
Come on! Someone might need our help!
ERIC
ERIC
Already?! We just got here!
Diana arrives in the shadowed alley with Presto close behind and Eric sneaking in as nonchalant as he can.
Huddled on the ground, a slender human woman in light leather armor clutches a body of a man in a tattered gray robe. The man and woman bear a striking resemblance to each other.
With a dull thump, a desicated eyeball rolls out of the dead man's palm.
DIANA
(rushing forward to crouch behing the woman, one hand on her shoulder, the other holding her Staff at the ready)
DIANA
(rushing forward to crouch behing the woman, one hand on her shoulder, the other holding her Staff at the ready)
Are you alright? What happened here?
PRESTO
(also in a rush, but not quite so forward, his eyes darting around the scene)
PRESTO
(also in a rush, but not quite so forward, his eyes darting around the scene)
Okay, it's just an empty alley, though, right?
GM says:
GM says:
Roll Wisdom with Backgrounds if you want to perceive the scene, normal check.
DIANA
DIANA
I want to use Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster, knowing how he's gotten us into this kind of situation before. He seemed to set us up for this on the road previously.
I want to use Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster, knowing how he's gotten us into this kind of situation before. He seemed to set us up for this on the road previously.
⬙(1) + WIS (1) + Level (5) + Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster (3) = 10
PRESTO
PRESTO
I 'm a STEM kid, so I can pick up on any little details that seems out of place, being so observant and precise by nature.
I 'm a STEM kid, so I can pick up on any little details that seems out of place, being so observant and precise by nature.
⬙(10) + WIS (1) + Level (5) + Former bookworm and all-around STEM kid (5) = 21
A hushed breeze wafts through alleyway, but otherwise all is still. Nothing seems out of the ordinary.
PRESTO
PRESTO
Yup, just your normal, everyday, mysterious dark alley.
ERIC
(bending at the knee to look at the eyeball, tentatively poking it with a finger)
ERIC
(bending at the knee to look at the eyeball, tentatively poking it with a finger)
People always tell me to quit rolling my eyes, but this is ridiculous.
GM says:
GM says:
Roll Intelligence with Backgrounds, hard check.
ERIC
ERIC
Gotta use my Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster. This definitely seems like something we'd encounter before, or at least know to be wary of.
Gotta use my Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster. This definitely seems like something we'd encounter before, or at least know to be wary of.
⬙(13) + INT (0) + Level (5) + Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster (3) = 21
The eyeball rolls slightly forward, as if to stare accusingly at Eric.
ERIC
(Screams!)
ERIC
(Screams!)
Ahhh! Nope! What the heck _is_ that thing? It shot me a look. It actually shot me look.
MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
(to Diana, in a voice broken with sobs)
MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
(to Diana, in a voice broken with sobs)
Thank you. I'm sorry. He's my brother, Delvin. We were supposed to meet here. But I was too late! Oh, gods!
(she continues crying into Diana's embrace)
DIANA
DIANA
It's okay, it's okay. Maybe we can help. What's your name?
ERIC
ERIC
And why are you meeting your brother in a creepy back alley? Are Neverwinter's coffee shops really that bad?
Kevori
Kevori
I-- I am Kevori Fearnehart. My brother and I, we were, are, working for Lord Neverember, to patrol the city. There's been rumors of suspicious cult activity throughout the area. Delvin claimed to have found word of a likely hideout around here. They must have... gotten here before I, and ...
ERIC
ERIC
Cult activity? (Gulp!) But it's one of the good kinds, right? Like Duran Duran groupies?
(then, noticing Presto...)
Ew! Presto! Don't pick that up!
GM says:
GM says:
Roll Intelligence with Backgrounds, hard check.
PRESTO
PRESTO
I'm also relying on my Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster.
I'm also relying on my Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster.
⬙(7) + INT (3) + Level (5) + Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster (5) = 20
PRESTO
PRESTO
Your brother Delvin's a magic-user, right? So this thing is probably a clue to what he saw. But, gosh, I can't figure it out.
DIANA
DIANA
Kevori, can you try to use it? Activate it somehow?
Kevori
Kevori
No, I'm sorry. It's much to arcane for me. I do know that he often relied on his books and scrolls.
ERIC
ERIC
Well, let's see 'em!
Kevori moves aside to open her brother's satchel. She brings forth a scroll, a collection of parchments attached to a ring, and a small figurine made of corn husks.
Kevori
Kevori
Perhaps the answer lies among these?
(to Presto)
Can you make sense of it?
GM says:
GM says:
Roll Intelligence with Backgrounds, hard check.
PRESTO
PRESTO
Again relying on the lore I know as Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster.
Again relying on the lore I know as Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster.
⬙(1) + INT (3) + Level (5) + Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster (5) = 14
PRESTO
PRESTO
Sorry, guys. I can't make heads or tails of any of this. I'm not even sure it's in English, or whatever passes for that around here.
DIANA
DIANA
There's gotta be something we can do!
PRESTO
PRESTO
Alright, alright.
(under his breath)
Man, I hate this part.
Presto takes off his hat, which emits a dull glow from deep inside. With his other hand, he cradles the eyeball and moves it in slow circles above the glow.
PRESTO
(chanting)
PRESTO
(chanting)
Abracadabra,
Violets are blue,
This eyeball's seen something,
Let us all see it, too!
GM says:
GM says:
Casting magic as a ritual, based on your Unearthly Glamour spell.
Roll Charisma with Backgrounds, hard check.
PRESTO
PRESTO
⬙(6) + CHA (4) + Level (5) + Chosen champion of the Dungeonmaster (5) = 20
GM says:
GM says:
You have a Blessing from the Icon relationships if you want to try to apply it here. This would be an automatic mixed blessing when you use it.
PRESTO
PRESTO
I'll use my blessing as a narrative benefit to say that the spell works and some glamour mimicks the eyeball's effects.
The eyeball glows brighter and brighter and starts vibrating erratically. Suddenly, three dots of light erupt forth and snake through the alley, each hitting a hero directly in the forehead.
ERIC
ERIC
Ow, ow, ow! Presto. What did you do? How did the world get so *bright* all of a sudden? I don't even know what colors I'm seeing!
Eric brings up his shield for shade and sees his reflection -- he now has a third eye in the middle of his forehead.
ERIC
ERIC
_PRESTO_!!
PRESTO
PRESTO
(blinking)
What?
(He has a third eye as well.)
DIANA
DIANA
Uh, guys?
(She lifts her diadem to reveal a third eye, too.)
ERIC
ERIC
A new eye?! A new eye, Presto? You're going to need a new _butt_ after all the kicking I'm going give yours.
PRESTO
PRESTO
Aw, Eric. I'm sure it'll wear off when the spell wanes. At least, I'm *pretty* sure.
DIANA
DIANA
Hey, wait! Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?!
The world looks hypersaturated, with ultraviolet glows and strange constrasts of shadow. Amid it all, vague figures appear as outlines of glittering dust. They slowly pulse in and out of view, each one a pose of some action-- the last of which delineates a man violently posed over Delvin's prone body.
DIANA
DIANA
Delvin *did* find the cultists! We can use the eyesight to trace their steps back to their hideout!
ERIC
ERIC
Great. Just what I wanted to do with a newly-opened chakra.
Kevori
Kevori
Oh, please, can you help? Thank you! You must find out who or what killed my brother, and return with information for Lord Neverember! I must take care of my brother and report back to the Hall of Justice. Let's meet there once you've uncovered the truth!
ERIC
ERIC
"Hall of Justice," huh? Where does she think we are, a Saturday morning cartoon or something?
continued in 1.3 The Catacombs . . .
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