As for my other question?

@SoraTamashii With a bit of fiddling with the corset, you can get it to the point where the low cut of the dress is not too distasteful or uncomfortable, nor the corset a particular issue either.

"Tsk... it'll have to do."

How long do I have until the party?

@SoraTamashii enough time to get changed, find your way there, and get your bearings, at least

"Great, they couldn't have given more notice? ...whatever. I could probably blow this off, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least curious."

(does Caelynn add or subtract anything to/from the costume, besides the corset tweaks?)

(let me double check what I have.)

I'll wear the outfit as is, but I'll try to swing by a shop to pick up a sheer scarf of a complementary color if I have the gold for it.

I don't mind if I am a little late to the party as a result.

@SoraTamashii Caelynn does find a suitable silken scarf to wear at the shops, and it isn't too much gold either. (did Caelynn wish to bring any of her own weapons with her for that matter?)

I'd obviously bring my daggers, but I'll have to leave my rapier lest I draw suspicion. I'd like to strap the knives to my inner thighs so that I have them, but so they are hidden.

same for my bow... i'll have to leave it.

As you're walking away from the shop, a tall-ish, almost foppish looking man, dressed in fineries and carrying a cane, but wearing no visible weapons approaches you "Greetings, my fair lady! May I ask what brings you around these parts?"

what can i tell from looking at him?

does he seem suspicious in any way?

He looks quite wealthy, probably a minor noble of some sort at a minimum

But does he seem suspicious at all?

@SoraTamashii actually, Insight check

1d20

21

He actually does seem a bit off...perhaps even slightly creepy?

He nods and answers "Oh, are you headed to the ball milady? Because I was headed that way as well, and could use a fine young lass like yourself to grace my arm for the night"

still walking "My apologies, but I was invited individually, and I don't want to give the wrong impression to the host. I do hope you understand."

"Oh, they invited you individually? How unusual, the scribe must have made a mistake on your invitation. Anyway" he waves half-dismissively "I shall see ye there, milady!" and bows to you

"Surely a man such as yourself could find a much more beautiful woman than myself to accompany you even on such short notice." I smile and wave as I continue walking

Caelynn arrives at the Court Hall. There appears to be a sign-in desk and coat-check in front of the door, with a servant tending the cloakroom to the left and a scribe seated at the sign-in desk "Your name, milady?"

"Caelynn Siannodel"

I hand over my invitation

"Ah, a beautiful name madame Caelynn." He accepts the invite, then looks down at a scroll, marks it, and looks back up "If ye may wait here for your escort please; if it was not mentioned on the invite, then my apologies in advance, there was some confusion with the last-second nature of some of the invitations."

"My... escort?"

The squire smiles "As is required by formal custom in this land -- it would be quite uncouth to have a lady on the dance floor with no partner now, would it not?"

I flash a patient smile, "Surely if I was worthy of a partner, one would find me then, would he not?"

"And leave someone else bereft in the process? Of course not!"

"That is fair, I suppose."

(err s/squire/scribe above)

?

While Caelynn awaits the arrival of her partner, a rather spry elderly man dressed as a dandy along with his quite heavily built and quite well-dressed lady sign in...

@SoraTamashii (I mean, I said "squire" when I should have said "scribe" to denote who was talking to Caelynn above :)

(I figured who you meant from context. You're fine. If confused, i'll ask.)

smiles and nods to them

@KorvinStarmast @MikeQ @Shalvenay @trogdor @NautArch Saturday's good for me. I'm also good to do a bit of Orolunga sage-talk via voice or text in about half an hour and at about the same time tomorrow evening. And if neither of those work for someone maybe we can just do some side-channel twosies at the beginning of Sat night.

(Sorry for the incommunicado-ness of the last few days--it's been a bit crazy around here!)

followed by two other pairings: one a very broad-shouldered tall man, dressed with furs over a fine dress-hauberk, leggings, and boots with a not-often-used rapier on his belt, paired with a waifish lass in a matching dress who looks rather...uncomfortable in it, and also quite uncomfortable with the matching rapier at her hip, and the other what looks to be a magic-using couple, the man in a dark red mage's robe, the woman in a forest green dress with a horned headdress accenting her mask.

Mumbling to myself, "Maybe I should have brought mine..."

Caelynn's escort arrives...and it turns out it's the man with the cane from before. "I knew I would find you here, milady. May I ask your name? I am Lord Donovan Rangrave"

@nitsua60 coming up on discord in a few minutes

Caelynn's escort arrives...and it turns out it's the man with the cane from before. "I knew I would find you here, milady. May I ask your name? I am Lord Donovan Rangrave"

curtsy's slightly uncomfortably "Caelynn... Caelynn Siannodel."

he bows again "What a lovely name, madame Caelynn." and offers his arm "Let us enjoy this night of merriment together!"

"I hope you can forgive my prior rudeness, Lord Rangrave."

"Oh, it is not an issue" he gives another dismissive wave "I am certain that our memories of such rudeness will be short indeed after tonight's festivities!"

"I do so hope you are correct, my lord."

I'll join him, of course.

You and him head into the main hall together. A small band is playing music and tables of food aplenty have been set out, in addition to a fashionable-looking elven lass behind the bar pouring drinks for people. Tables and chairs line either side, with the dance floor front and center

(do you mind if I kind of sketch out what happens during the party until plot-stuff happens again?)

(because I can RP it in more or less detail, depending on how much time you have)

Sure. I have no specific interests. I do want to know what I gather from the people around, much in the same respect as I did earlier with Lord Rangrave.

@nitsua60 ah I don't know if you saw it earlier but I have major internet issues at the moment, I'm on discord but I'm at work right now

The knightly figure is a solid and sincere sort of man, a Tyrran even, who had taken on a new squire recently after his old one left him to take up knighthood of his own back home. The mage-couple are actually the local Archdruidess and her husband, and the elderly man and his wife are retired aristocratic folk

(and food's ready here @SoraTamashii)

And when I get home I won't really be able to do very much,... I might be able to pull of text chat

I was more meaning, do any of them strike me a certain way? What kind of impression do they leave as I look at them?

@SoraTamashii Ah. The knightly figure definitely comes off as a good guy; the mage-couple seem rather neutral, while you can tell the elderly man and his wife both were not exactly dealing on the up and up back in the day, but seem to have settled now.

hmm... okay... so is there anything that catches my attention as far as thieve's cant writing or some other messages I'd see?

@SoraTamashii nothing of that nature, no, although there is a point that while you're dancing with the mage, you notice that your escort is no longer there

What reason could I gather from what I have seen?

@SoraTamashii Perhaps he had business to attend to? No obvious reason springs to mind, although make a Perception check...

1d20

I see nothing... I think I went momentarily blind even...

You find yourself admiring the knightly figure for a little while...

"It is a pretty nice suit of armor." I chuckle.

He smiles "Not really armor per se, just a dress outfit, but why thank you madame."

Caelynn continues the dancing

How well am I dancing?

The mage smiles "Is this your first masquerade madame?"

I was asking you not him. lol

@SoraTamashii I was going to have the mage give an IC answer :)

Oh, I was expecting a roll. XD Okay...

"I'm afraid it is, Sir."

He smiles some more "Milady, do not be afraid, for you dance like a veteran of the court"

(make both Perception and Insight rolls at this point)

2d20

15 and 14

@nitsua60 thanks, that was fun, I kept most of my notes on my char sheet; will add to journal after all have had their encounter.

You notice that the waifish lass is missing as well, and it seems rather odd that both Donovan and the waifish lass are gone...

"Hmm..."

The mage pipes up a bit "Milady, is something wrong?"

"Perhaps another goblet of wine is in order, even?"

"I'm fine, but perhaps I shouldn't drink too much."

"Oh, but these occasions are made for letting the drink flow freely, milady!"

"I find the more drinks flow, the more other things start to spill forth as well... and a lady has to keep her secrets." I give a playful wink as I finish speaking

He winks back to you and leads you further in the dance "Of course, what good lady does not have secrets to keep?"

the music dies down for a bit as the band has to rearrange their sheet music (roll Perception again)

1d20

11

You can hear some chatter in the background from the servants, one of them mentioning something about a draft and another asking "was the back door to the main hall left open?"

Ghost... it's a ghost... calling it now... it is a spooky ghost...

"Hmm... I wonder what the chatter is all about?"

(does Caelynn go check it out?)

For now I don't think she will.

(and roll Investigation, come to think of it)

1d20

6, I am too busy with dancing.

The back door seems like the work of some poltergeist, completely unconnected to the disappearance of Donovan and the waifish squire

How would a 6 garner me that information?

@SoraTamashii (think of it as a "red herring" clue as a result of the failed roll)

Ok.

I'll let you put in one more Insight roll though

1d20

17

While your brain dismissed the back door as a poltergeist's work, your gut seems to have other ideas -- the situation with your escort is getting more and more uncomfortable...

Is anybody else missing? Are there noticeably fewer people?

@SoraTamashii It seems nobody else is missing, or has even noticed that folks are missing in the crowd

It's probably not a big deal, but I'll keep my eye out nonetheless.

The music starts playing again as the dancing continues

I continue to dance until something of value occurs... something that would catch my eye.

I'd like to reserve an action perpetually to draw my daggers if I feel threatened.

roll Perc and Insight

I say action because of how they'd be located.

ok.

2d20

15 both

You notice that the knight seems to be looking around as if he thinks something's amiss as well, but you can tell he's still not quite onto what's wrong.

"The Lord Rangrave and the waifish lass with [insert her escort's description here] seem to be absent."

The old man pipes up "Absent, milady? I am certain the Lord Rangrave simply had...business to attend to. He should return shortly, don't you worry your little head about it."

(roll Insight)

"What kind of business do you think?"

1d20

9

"Nothing that would worry your little head, I am sure. Maybe some minor contingency came up."

But can I use my passive since that was obviously bs? lol

"Do you maybe know what's going on?"

He shakes his head "Unfortunately, I am no more privy to such details than you are, madame."

"If that's the case, surely he wouldn't have been gone for quite so long?"

"Who knows?" The music dies down a bit into a quiet passage (roll Perc and Insight again)

2d20

7 and 19

You can't really hear anything over the bustle of the crowd, but something tells you that you better go investigate the situation with Lord Donovan at this point, because that man is up to no good

Rolling Wisdom to decide.

1d20

I'll finish this dance before I go investigate. While the man seemed creepy and sets off red flags, he didn't seem sinister. Perhaps I'm overthinking things, but better safe than sorry.

As the music slows again, folks start changing dance partners one more time...

I bow as I go investigate to help ease this uneasy feeling.

Folks seem to pay little mind to Caelynn bowing out of the dance. The knight has half an eye on you, but that's about it. (where does Caelynn's investigation start, or do you want to roll Investigation or Insight for that?)

I'd like to check the kitchen.

roll Perception

also roll Insight and Investigation

3d20

13 8 19

It dawns on Caelynn that the back door may not have been a poltergeist after all...

I was going to check there, but it seems too obvious, like an intentional trap...

I'll do that then, though, but action still held

roll Perc/Insight/Survival this time

Caelynn examines the area around the back door in question...

any or all 3?

all 3

3d20

7 11 20

Caelynn doesn't pick this up on her first sweep of the area, but she does eventually notice what looks to be footprints in the dirt leading away from the door, consistent with a fine pair of men's boots or shoes, as well as a few dainty prints near the back door consistent with a waifish lass in high heels...

The larger footprints lead directly to a nearby cellar entrance

"I know I am going to regret this..." I go in... action still held.

The cellar winds and twists... (roll Perception)

1d20

12

Caelynn can hear indistinct shouts from further into the cellar

She'll draw her blades and move as fast as she can, but try staying hidden.

roll Stealth with disadvantage

2d20

16

d20

You are able to approach closer without being noticed, close enough to make out some of the shouts now (this is on passive Perc now)

What are the shouts?

"What is wrong with you? Do you not know the truth?! That the Temple's destruction was the work of the Order? That there is no justice in this land, none but what I alone provide?"

You can hear an indistinct, rather muffled reply as well

What can I see though?

Caelynn can't really make out much in the darkness, though -- the nearest torch is diagonal to her opposing the main scene, and she'd get silhouetted badly if she even peeked out further to see things

Is there any way I can look without getting silhouetted?

@SoraTamashii you can try to peek through gaps between barrels and such, but at disadvantage on your Perc

Acceptable.

2d20

15

You can see him looming over her, pinning her to a pile of barrels. You can also see what looks to be a loose, naked rapier (no sheath) laying around among various other no-good instruments, or at least some sort of sword thanks to the torchlight glinting off of its edge for a good length

Does the girl seem scared and in trouble?

@SoraTamashii That is something you cannot perceive at this point, although the muffled nature of her replies sounds troubling at least

(is Caelynn going to try to make a move at this point, or is she going to observe more?)

I'd like to draw my weapons and wait. If I see something that makes me think she's in danger, I'd like to move close and attack him with my daggers.

roll Stealth

1d20

19

d20

Caelynn has to work a bit to draw her daggers, but is able to do it unnoticed still

"What do I have to do to show you that that knight you think will save you, that puny god you have certainly been praying in vain to all along, are worthless and weak? Or are you worthless and blind, just like they are?"

Is it only those 2?

I'd like to sneak up behind him I'll take the long way if it means being better hidden.

You hear muffled attempts at a shout again, as well as some whimpering

roll Stealth with disadvantage again

2d20

d20

20

Caelynn is able to get all the way to behind the man without being noticed whatsoever....

Sneak Attack.

Then Bonus Action attack.

roll to hit

1d20

Crit on the Sneak Attack. XD

roll all the damage dice

That's awesome! One sec.

If i remember right it goes like this: 2d4+2d6+3?

Is that right?

yeah, you'll have to split the rolls up though since the chat.SE roller can't do maths

Been a few months since I did combat lol

fair.

2d4

2d6

6+7+3 = 16

Should I roll the second attack?

If so, that second attack does NOT have sneak attack from what I recall, and no modifier bonus.

Caelynn's first strike catches the man between his first and second vertebrae, severing his brainstem completely before damaging his carotid, the tip of the dagger erupting under his chin accompanied by a spurt of blood.

hello massive damage rules :)

XD

I would like to leave.

I'll go out the back and head back to my hotel where I will change out of the bloody clothes and take a bath.

Donovan falls, utterly ragdoll-limp as Caelynn pulls her blade free. A trinket on a chain spills from his hand slowly as this happens, and you see the young squire almost galvanize at this, as if a switch was flipped "FOR JUSTICE!" as she draws the rapier still hanging at her hip and thrusts it....straight downward at the man's heart, as if delivering a coup-de-grace to him

"I think he was already dead, Miss." I say as I turn around to exit.

"Oh?" She sighs softly as she pulls her blade free and starts cleaning it off carefully as her master taught her "Well struck then, madame....and thank you. I shudder to think what that man had in mind for me...." She starts to trot off after you, hiking up her own skirt the best she can

At the exit of the cellar, Caelynn and the squire encounter the knight from before flanked by guards either side of him

"He was just a lunatic who attacked someone who was lost and trying to find the bathhouse. I was doing what I can to protect you. Nothing more."

I then see the squire and guards.

"Please excuse us. We just got finished dealing with the vilest sort of beast."

One of the guards, a rather captain-y looking one, asks "What happened to Lord Donovan? I just arrived on a report that he had absconded with a young lass"

I turn to the young miss. "You were his victim, so you should answer."

The squire pipes up "Uh, the missus here took care of him...he was trying to charm me into following him with some sort of trinket. Said he needed to step outside and talk to me about something in private, so we went out back, then I uh...must have blacked out, because next thing I know, I'm in the cellar with him trying to charm me into spreading his legs for him, something about him being the only true justice and Tyr being a weak and worthless god..."

I'd like to be sure to stress the word victim enough that they get the point that what happened was the Lord's fault by the way.

"I'm still thanking Tyr for him giving me the ability to hold out against his charms until the missus here arrived..."

"Because that trinket..." she sighs "That was not exactly hedge magic he was trying to use...."

The knight nods "Thank Tyr indeed that justice was brought to such a terrible foe, even if his instruments were of a most unlikely sort. You both can go back to the inn, take a bath and change out of your bloodied clothes; I'll deal with the guards on your behalf."

"So, you see... The body's downstairs. I really want to get out of these bloody clothes."

"Thank you."

(and end of scene :)

that was pretty good I think, Donovan really wasn't counting on having someone track his footprints to the cellar :P

even if it wasn't what I had in mind :)

All in a day's work for a master assassin. :P

@SoraTamashii Caelynn really saved herself some trouble with those awesome stealth rolls (with disadvantage due to being in a ballgown and high heels, too!); had he'd noticed her, she'd have had to duel first the squire, then Donovan

(which we can play out as a side thing if you're curious as to how that branch of the story would have gone)

Nah. I'd rather appreciate the success over question what if I failed. :P

@SoraTamashii no worries :) what did you think of the setup overall? third time's the charm, or?

Mind if I be a little critical?

@SoraTamashii sure

I won't be too harsh promise. lol

I probably was a bit ham-fisted there with Donovan :P and it did bog down with the rolls some too, I reckon

I like the setup. It works as a concept, but it felt too heavy on the rolls for some of the most basic things and not enough rolls for player prompted things. For example, I should have been allowed to roll Instinct on the people in the hall, Charisma on the knight to get answers if he had any, and you pushed me into the path you wanted regardless of what I was trying to do. It was overall solid.

@SoraTamashii yeah, I do agree that it got somewhat railroady there -- that sort of intrigue is something that's not really in my element.

Could have been better, but wasn't bad. Haha I did like it overall and thank you.

@SoraTamashii would be cool to see about something else some other time perhaps?

I mean, another session sounds great. I work next week, but am free the week after.