PREAMBLE: ALL ROADS LEAD TO WOODHOLD

[JohnnyWeird]

The force of his vehemence robs him of the last of his counterfeit strength. He collapses to the ground, shaking. But loyalty is a quality that survives withdrawal, and he half-crawls to the ash of the body, rubbing a sample between his fingers to see if he can discern some of its nature.

Action

The penalties will be sick, but perhaps Chemist can help here.

[Wayloss]

"Gentleman, most unfortunate....I would not have expected him to die again. As grisly as it appears this man appears to have died before. He had a "Y" shaped incision on his chest, most probably from a post-mortem exam. I found some seeds in the cuffs of his pants that indicate he is most probably from the Hamburg region, and that he has been lurking around this area for some time. probably spying.....

[JohnnyWeird]

"An intriguist," Von Zorn comments from his spot on the floor. "A dead man must make for a fine surveyor; still and silent."

[Eanwulf]

A cold chill runs down the four heroes' spines at they ponder the thought of someone (or something) using the dead as its pawns in such a sinister pastime such as murder and espionage. The very air around the heroes seems to grow silent and grim as they contemplate their next move. Ever vigilant, the greatly tired and weakened Count Von Zorn slowly begins to examine the assassin's remains further.

Action

[Count Von Zorn's Eager & Aspiring Chemist Cliche Check, TN ??, 3d6 '€" 3 = 10]

The remains are indeed those of a human being, though their taste and texture are somewhat disturbing. The powdered remains have a mysterious '˜oily' quality to them when touched and their taste is harsh and acrid, rather than what should normally be dry and chalky. Undeniably, something foul and sinister is afoot!

After a moment or two, the good Count sighs heavily in a grunting fashion as he begins to share his findings with the others. The powdered remains are indeed some odd combination of decayed bone and flesh; intermixed with another, unidentifiable element. Curious as to what this unknown ingredient might be, Sir Jonathan quickly begins to weave an intricate spell about the assassin's remains.

Action

Having been forewarned by his pixie companion, Jack, Sir Jonathan casts a simple '˜detection' spell upon the remains.

[Sir Jonathan's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Cliche Check, TN ??, 3d12 +3 = 31]

Damned Good Roll! You managed to discover something alright, though I don't think that you will like what it is that you found!

The effects of Sir Jonathan's spell soon finds itself filling the narrow corridor within a soft nimbus of arcane light. As the wispy radiance of magical energies settles itself upon the ashen remains of the assassin's body, a distinct hissing and popping sound can be heard by all as the darkened ash suddenly begins to stir and move about as if being guided on the currents of some form of unseen wind. Without warning, Sir Jonathan gasps aloud and begins to stare pensively with fright at his newfound discovery!

The assassin and his remains have definitely been tainted by the Shadowlands!

OOC

For those of you unfamiliar to the Shadowlands - think of it as the dark and nethery regions that surround the faerie realm known as the Dreaming. The Dreaming itself, is a magical place where the immortal fey live their endless days living carefree and without worry. The Nether Gods or 'œShadow Lords' are those malevolent creatures (demons) that founded the Shadowlands countless millennia ago and seemingly eternally, cheat death by sustaining themselves off of the suffering of others. Think of the Shadowlands and its masters much like our own version of Hell and of its demonic minions that torture the souls of the damned, etc. Much like a moth is attracted to flame; the Shadow Lords find themselves drawn greatly to the Dreaming and find it to be a most appropriate source of gaining their own individual states of immortality.

This being said; the Shadowlands is basically an entropic field of malignant entities that constantly tries to tear down the magical walls surrounding the lands of the Dreaming. If ever able to gain entry into the magical realm; the Shadow Lords will most assuredly conquer all those within the faerie realm and gain the secrets of Immortality for themselves. Also note, that it is the Shadowlands that prevents most fae from entering into the realm of mortal man '€" and vice versa.

As Sir Jonathan gazes on, lost within his findings, the assassin's remains starts to gather itself together; quickly assembling itself into what appears to be the murky semblance of a single long, spindly arm. At one end of the ghostly arm, a large, taloned hand slowly begins to form and, upon its completion, the phantom limb then launches itself forth violently towards the young mage; clawing desperately for his throat!

'œJohnny-boy, look out!' Jack screams wildly. The tiny pixie then quickly shouts several words of protective magic in his native tongue and the ashy limb bursts back into nothingness; the dusty residue falling to the ground just inches away from his master's neck.

OOC

It's not nice to fool with Shadow Nature.

Take it from here guys.

[Trogdor]

Sir Jon is lost in thought as he digests the results of his spell. And when Jack screams out his warning, the young mage lifts his head up and is astonished by the clawing hand. Lost at the moment for any useful action to do, he simply topples over backwards, crabwalking backwards from the terrible thing. He can feel the cold from its icy fingers grabbing for him and is very relieved when his faerie servant saves the day.

"Well done, Jack," he cries out, letting himself settle to the ground. "I was so surprised by what I found that I got careless and didn't set up the proper protections."

He stands and brushes the dirt from his trousers. "What I found," he tells the others, "and what Jack just saved me from, was Shadowlands magic." He gives a particularly knowing look to Lord Twyl. "The traces were hidden, but unmistakable. And they came with a secondary curse, as you saw, no doubt intended to silence anyone who managed to discover the truth. Thankfully I had Jack Shadow to watch my back." He silently observes that this is precisely why loyal faerie servants are so much desired among mages, and gives silent thanks to the faerie sorcerer who introduced him to Jack.

"This is a far more dangerous - and complicated - situation than it first appeared."

[JohnnyWeird]

"Little doubt." coughs the swordsman. "But who was pulling the strings? Most of our old friend's enemies have since been mounted on his wall."

[Illeveun]

Lord Twyl acknowledges Sir Jon's gaze, but only shakes his head and states, "Such a thing like this would never have happened if Lord Oberon was still around."
To Count von Zorn, the fae noble only says, "If the Shadowlands are involved, it may not even have anything to do with Theo personally, but because of who he is. We may be in something deeper than any of us realise, and Theo, unfortunately, was caught in the middle of it. Only time, and some investigation on our part, will tell."

[Wayloss]

"Well knowing Theo, It is quite likely he called us each here to make use of our talents, I'm sure Herr Gruenhaegen was using a cover of the party to gather our 'talents' without gathering as much attention." Alfonse puts away his supplies, and with a CLICK closes and locks his briefcase.
"Gentlemen, perhaps we should find what the man was after... the more information we have the better..."

[JohnnyWeird]

"Indeed."

Von Zorn struggles to his feet and, his hand steadying him against the wall, begins to move back.

"I assume we are done here? This place cannot help us any longer, surely?"

[Trogdor]

Sir Jon folds the piece of paper he retrieved from the assassin and puts it in his pocket for later analysis. "I think at the least we should see what's in that chest that the assassin was so keen about getting into." He points down the corridor at the lone chest sitting at the end. "Are any of you particularly skilled in by passing locks?"