Mask of Diamond Tears IC

[Faulty]

It's high noon when the lot of you make your way to Talantier's Mueseum of History. The streets of Talantier flow with cosmopolitan energy and though it's hot, the walk past outdoor cafés, tiny art boutiques and fashionable clothing stores is comfortable, due to the trees lining most streets, throwing cooling shade over the roads. You walk around a large fountain situated outside the mueseum, centered on a statue of a graceful and slender nude woman, her arms raised towards the sun, and up the stairs into the building. The receptionist at the mueseum points you towards Tulisa Gadly's office. Trixauna was told to contact Tulisa, curator of the mueseum, when she had inquired about the Mask of Diamond Tears, and the Illumian managed to set up an interview with enough time to spare to contact Lut and a number of other friends in the city.

When you finally reach the door, a knock is answered with the tapping of shoed feet across stone. Tulisa opens the door to her office and entreats you to come in. She is a bookish human woman, whose dark hair is kept in a conservative bun atop her head and professional and simple attire. She removes her reading glasses and slips them into a pocket of her blouse as she seatsts herself on a chair in a corner of the office. She gestures to a finely crafted curved sofa, showing you where to sit. She clears her throat before speaking and begins. "You must be Trixauna," she says to the Illumian, "I am Tulisa Gadfly, curator here at the mueseum. You inquired about the Mask of Diamond Tears and the reason I arranged this interview is because... wel... it's been stolen!" The very thought of it seems pain her and she rubs her temples rhythmicly. "This is the potential find of the century and its gone!" Catching herself before she begins to nearly wail, she says, "Well, I was told that you might be able to help me find it." Her train of thought visibly shifts and she quickly turns to the rest of the group, her trouble with social considerations now visible, "Sorry, I forgot my manners. Your names?"

For Keld, Saint and Zagan's eyes only (honour system!):
You can tell by looking at Tulisa that she hasn't slept in several days and is very perturbed beyond her worries about the mask.

[Swooper]

Trixauna nods curtly and forces a smile at Tulisa's greeting. "Yes, that's me. Glad to meet you, curator." At the mention of the theft, she lets go of the smile but maintains her calm. "It comes as no surprise that such artefacts would attract the attentions of many. I have come a long way to see the Mask myself, and will gladly aid you in retrieving it for that reason. Haroon may have mentioned to you that I have in the past recovered dozens of stolen illumian texts and tomes, so hopefully his recommendation is not misplaced. These," and she looks towards the rest of the group, "are all trustworthy people I have worked with in the past, which I assembled at short notice for the task at hand."

[Saintheart]

Barenn shifts slightly in his armour as Trixauna speaks, glad to be out of the noonday heat; fifty pounds of mithral, magical or no, has the capacity to make most people, including dwarves, sweat. The smells of the room register: parchment preservatives, old mouse droppings, and the signature scent of paper. The land of bookworms.

Barenn chooses to remain standing despite the offer of a couch, instead studying the human and her unfortunate worrying which seems to hang around her like a shroud. Dwarves know how to restrain their emotions, but humans never seem to learn the trick, he thinks to himself.

"Barenn Lavawalker," he says to Tulisa, acknowledging Trixauna's introduction with a measured nod. "I am sure whoever has taken this Mask of yours will not object to us recovering it. Or rather, they will not be in a position to object to it for very long," he amends with the slightest of smiles, barely visible beneath his beard.

[Dreamshifter]

Bluebell keeps her distance from the books and other dusty things. Her book learning (what little she had) was not among her fondest memories, though there were a few books that hadn't been considered important or valuable, that she had been allowed to read outdoors...

Bringing herself back to the present, she realized Trixy had set them all up for introductions, and that she might as well fill the moment's silence. She opened her mouth, but failed to get get anything out before Barenn spoke. Cursing her momentary distraction, she waited for the dwarf to stop, and chimed in the moment he did. "Hi, I'm Golden Bluebell, but please, call me Bluebell."

Feeling no need to say more, she returns to avoiding touching anything.

[kpenguin]

Heiron has been listening silently all this time, looking closely at the Tulisa's face and body language and listening intently at her voice, trying to ascertain anything about her.
[roll0]
As the others give their introductions, Heiron glances at Orni, who has been standing at his side. She's been idly playing with her hair, impatiently staring at the curator. Feeling Heiron's eyes, she gazes upward and gives him an anxious look. Heiron reaches down and pats her on the head. Orni often got bored at these things, but it was good for her to experience them.

After Bluebell gives her introduction, Heiron clears his throat. He bows graciously.

"Heiron Thurirl, wanderer, priest, and adventurer at your service. And this child is-"

"I am not a child! I'm Orni." The dragon is girl's clothing gives a little curtsy that has obviously not been practiced.

Heiron clears his throat once again. "I am quite certain that we shall find your stolen artifact and return it to your museum."

He looks at the rest fondly and smiles.

"After all, you have all of us on the job."

"And me!"

Heiron looks down and gives Orni another pat on the head.

"And you."

[zagan]

Lut

Lut observe the interrior of the office carrefully while listening to the other introducing themself. When is turn comes, Lut give a small bow.

"Despite the circumstance its a pleasure to meet you madam. My name is Psomer and I specialized in finding stolen object and returning them to the original owner."

After posing for a few second he had

"Dont worry, we will find the Mask."

I roll for my disguise check now and will use that number until I change it.

Disguise check: [roll0]

[Faulty]

"Thank you for your offers of help," Tulisa says, wringing her hands. "Captain Varina Talos, captain of the town guard, is investigating the case as well but hasn't made as much progress as I would like. She did discover that the wagon was not forcibly opened, interestingly enough." She stops for a second before continuing, "Oh, yes. There was also a statue in the wagon, which vanished as well. It was a statue of a muscular but lithe woman clad in leather armor with a ponytail. It was donated by one of the patrons of the mueseum." She gives herself a rap on the forehead as if remembering something, and says, "A pleasure to meet you Pfizer, Barenn, Orni, Herring and Bluebell," jumbling half your names.

For kpenguin
You can tell that whatever is bothering her is either a personal problem or some either mueseum business. The way it continues to vex her even when discussing the mask, the "potential find of the century", shows that it is somehow connected to the Mask.

For Zagan
Your disguise is working fine.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda crushes the woman's small and and pumps vigorously. I'm Clothilda Mottlegump! Its a pleasure to meet you! Your hair looks so cute. Do you think I can get mine to look like yours?


Clotty rolls Sense Motive [roll0] to figure out why she seems otherwise distracted/disturbed above and beyond the scope of the robery.


When was the last time you saw the mask? And where did the statue come from? Does anyone else have access to the area where either the mask or the statue were kept? Were they kept together?

[Swooper]

Formalities over, Trixauna gets to business. She nods slowly at Clothilda's questions. "Yes. We definitely need more information before we can get started. Who was guarding the Mask?"

[Faulty]

Clothilda's vigorous greeting nearly wrenches Tulisa's arm from her socket. She's waved around by the much larger Half-Giant and sits there stunned and slightly frazzled for a moment before sending a crooked smile Clothilda's way and answering both her and Trixauna's questions. "Well, I haven't had a chance to see it yet, it was taken before I could study it. It was in a wagon on its way here when it went missing. The only thing is, as I said, the wagon wasn't forced open, which makes it seem as though it wasn't broken into from the outside. Both the statue and the mask were together in the wagon, and both went missing. There were two men driving and guarding the wagon, both armed, and neither mentioned seeing anything strange. They got here without event, and left the wagon for a moment to inform a worker here that they had arrived. The mask was to be taken right from the wagon and placed on display immediately. Either some time on the road, or while they were gone, the mask and statue were stolen, because when they went back to retrieve the objects, they were gone. The problem is the lack of signs of a break in... and the fact that they were gone for so short a time. It seems impossible that someone could sneak in and so quickly and neatly open the wagon and escape." She saves the response to Clothilda's question about the origin of the statue for last, as she tensed up visibly when she heard the question and the prospect answering seems to have made her even more anxious than she had been already. "Well... well, as I said, it was donated by a patron of the arts and the mueseum."

For Keld
You can ascertain that it's a personal problem important enough to bother her even when dealing with the subject of the Mask, and which is causing her sleep troubles.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda puts both of her massive hands on Tulisa's shoulders. Don't be afraid. We can help you. You need to tell us everything though, or we won't be able to help you. You seem upset, very upset. Clotty doesn't like it when her new friends are upset. Let Clotty help you! Is someone trying to hurt you? Do you need Clotty to crush someone for you?

Clothilda is visibly excited by the idea of helping, and combat, so much so that she doesn't realize she's nearly picked the slight woman off the ground and is gently shaking the poor woman with every other syllable.

I feel like I should be rolling something to get her to tell me more. Like, Diplomacy, or Intimidate, or Grapple....something

[Faulty]

If you want to pry information from her, roll Diplomacy checks in conjunction with your questions. Roll one, and I'll respond appropriately.

[Saintheart]

Barenn clears his throat. "Ah, Clothilda ... you might want to let the lady answer your questions. I am sure she is more than willing. We do not want anyone to be hurt, now, surely?"


I don't think I need to roll Sense Motive to detect that Clothilda's trying to get answers to her questions, but just in case: [roll0].

If that roll succeeds, or if I don't need to make it, I'm performing an Aid Another attempt at Clothilda's Diplomacy. Roll: [roll1]

Even so, the dwarf is thinking hard about Tulisa's answers. No forced entry, and both a large statue and the Mask disappear. Still, there was that rather overconfident mage back in Selanthir Forest who jumped around using teleportation spells ... perhaps some magic was used to get the item out?

Barenn resolves to bring the issue up with Trixauna and Heiron as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

[Keld Denar]

[roll0]

Someone else might want to roll this for me...I'm not exactly great at it! I was hoping since I picked her up and shook here, I could use a grapple check to squeeze some info out of her! j/k...mostly

[kpenguin]

Heiron coughs.

"Clothilda, please put the nice curator down."

His voice is soft, but stern.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda gently sets Tulisa down, pats her on the head, and gingerly shuffles back with a sheepish look on her face.

Sorry Miss. I really do just want to help.

Clothilda then shuffles away slightly behind Heiron, her shoulders bowed and her cheeks tinged with crimson.

[kpenguin]

Heiron glances back at Clothilda and gives her a sympathetic look. It wasn't her fault she was so terribly socially inept.

Looking back at the curator, gives a nervous little smile.

"I apologize for the behavior of my colleague. Clothilda can be a bit... enthusiastic. Still, it would be nice if you would answer a few questions. Any information you can give us can help us with the case and bring us closer to recovering the Mask."

[roll0]

[Saintheart]

Barenn eyes Clothilda for a moment or two before turning to Trixauna and Heiron. He folds his arms, the movement of heavy plate sounding like an ironworks shutting down in the enclosed space. "I remember battling spellcasters who could whisk themselves from one point to another in the blink of an eye. I think I heard one of you call it 'teleporting' or some such. Is it possible that sort of magic might have been used? That might explain the lack of a forced entry."

Knowledge (Dungeoneering) check for the memory about fighting a teleporting spellcaster: [roll0]

[Faulty]

"Well... the statue was... donated by...," she chokes the words out slowly and unsteadily, finally getting out, "a reputable art aficionado by the name of Thaddius Tannenbaum III." Her lip quivers before she breaks down, "He said he cared for me and now wants nothing to do with me!" She hides her face in her hands and starts taking deep breaths, trying to regain her composure. "T-Thaddius has magical talent...," she says meekly, in response to Barenn's question.

Kpenguin, you beat the DC by 20. :smalltongue:

Saint, what details in particular are you trying to remember? Are you trying to remember the effects of casting spells like dimension door or teleport?

[zagan]

Lut

Thinking that he heard that name before, Lut try to remember any detail about him. Turning toward Tulisa Lut try addresing her gently.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm sure that if he choose to abandon you at the first occasion, you can find much better."

Lut let her a few moment to calm down before talking again.

"You said that he possess some magical talent, do you have any detail ? Before i forget could you give us all the detail you have on the mask and the statue, apparence, weight, height, etc... ?"

I roll a knowledge(local) check to find information about Thaddius Tannenbaum III

[roll0]

[Faulty]

Tulisa sits there, shoulders slumped for a moment and lets out a love sick sigh. "But... he..." She stops herself before going on and shakes her head, as if clearing away cluttered thoughts. "Well, the Mask is oddly shaped and covered in jewels, which is all I know about it. As I said, the statue, was of a muscular woman in leather armor with a ponytail. It was about a foot high, I'm not sure how heavy. As for Thaddius, I know he's a Wizard, he once teleported us into a restaurant. I'm not sure about his specific capabilities."

For Zagan
You recall that he's quite the ladies' man.

[kpenguin]

"What a big meanie!"

"Yes. Quite. Do you know where we can find Mr. Tannenbaum? A workplace or a residence?"

[Faulty]

"N-no! He's not a meanie, really!" says Tulisa, fervently coming to Thaddius' defense. "Well... anyway, if you need to find Thaddius, he dines at the same restaurant at eight o'clock. It's the Sylvan Standard, a beautiful elven cuisine spot on the Souther outskirts of Talantier. We used to watch the sunsets there."

[Swooper]

"A mage would have many ways of lifting an item from a closed wagon without opening the door. I can think of at least half a dozen myself, even more if the mage in question had the chance to examine the item beforehand," Trixauna says matter-of-factly. "What we really need to know is whether you actually suspect Thaddius Tannenbaum III to be behind this."

Unlike Bluebell, Trixauna uses people's full names :smalltongue:

[Faulty]

"There is no way he could do this, that's not him," she says with stone-faced certainty. "If you must, go to the Sylvan Standard at eight, you will find him there."

[Saintheart]

Amesouers: yeah, that's exactly what the check was for. nvm now. :smallcool:

Eight. That was some hours away. Barenn smiles thinly. "We shall try not to give your erstwhile friend indigestion. Meanwhile, I wonder if it might be worth looking over the wagon the Mask was stolen from. You mentioned the Captain of Guards was investigating the matter; is that where the wagon is right now?"

[Faulty]

Tulisa shrugs. "The wagon was thoroughly examined by investigators from the guard when the mask and statue were reported stolen. It was used again earlier today to transport a painting from a donor's house to here, and nothing happened. It's still in the dock, I could show you there if you'd like, but I'm not sure what you'd find. Regardless of what you do though, please hurry. I cannot impress on you enough the need for haste. At any moment the Mask could be slipping through our fingers." Tulisa's voice began to rise again with that sentence, worry about the Mask creeping back in.

[Swooper]

Trixauna shrugs at Tulisa's reply. "If you are so certain. It wouldn't harm to have a chat with him tonight. There is plenty of time for other investigations until then."

She nods at Barenn's question. "We should also visit the archeological dig site where the Mask was found and speak with the people who discovered it," she adds.

[Faulty]

"The dig site is a multiple day ride away, somewhere in the Felador mountains. I'd strongly advise against it, there isn't nearly enough time to find clues from that without the help of an archeology team. I can put you in contact with the head archeologist, however, Dr. Marling."

It's around 12:45 to 1:00 at the moment, for a general time, just so you know.

[zagan]

Lut
"Yes, in that case going to the site would only slow us, as a last ressort perhaps but I doubt we will come to that. And you're right talking to this Dr. Marling could probably help us a lot"

[Faulty]

Tulisa gives you instructions to Dr. Marling's house, explaining the way and writing down notes on a sheet of paper. She explains that from here, the walk is about 20 minutes.

[Saintheart]

Barenn takes the proffered sheet of paper and passes it to Trixauna. "Much appreciated. Now, then: if you would be so kind as to show us down to where the cart is currently being stored?"

[Faulty]

"Yes, of course." Tulisa guides you out of her office, locking the door behind her, and leads the way through the mueseum. You pass into a side corridor and enter a locked section of the building. Past storage rooms, you finally step outside into the loading dock. It's actually a small alcove in the side of the building, around back. Tulisa carefully locks the door behind her after the last of you steps out. "There," she says, pointing to a nearby wagon. It's a horse drawn wagon made of sturdy wood with wheels of the same material. The storage area is completely enclosed, and the only door is covered with metal plating and the hinges themselves are as well. What looks like a large metal handle is inset into the center of the door with a lock in the center, and a pair of handles sit along the left side, obviously to assist in opening the door once unlocked. The place where the riders would sit is a bench a top the front. Small, three rung ladders hang down from the side and allow for climbing up. A black awning hangs over the bench, obviously to protect the riders from the wet of rain or heat of the sun as they drive one or two horses, the number it seems would properly attatch.

[Saintheart]

Barenn puts his hands on his hips, staring at the wagon. He clicks his tongue in annoyance. "If it was made from stone or steel I could probably tell more about it. We dwarves do not really care for wood." The dwarf glances over at Trixauna. "I have always known you to have a sharp eye, Illumian. I could try and help you look over this thing..."

Search roll, with the intent of using Aid Another if Trixauna or anyone else decides to go over the wagon looking for hidden catches, traps, anything out of the ordinary... [roll0]

[Dreamshifter]

Bluebell lets out a sigh of relief to be out of the office. She had been suspiciously quiet the whole time, though she hadn't been standing still exactly.

Arriving at the cart, she gives it a glance, but can only shrug. "Looks normal to me. Which means nothing, I guess."

[zagan]

Lut

Lut turn around the wagon trying to find any detail that could help them.

I also make a search check to Aid another for probably Trixauna because she had the best bonus.

[roll0]

[Swooper]

"You check the outside of the wagon, I will search the inside. Make sure to take a look under it," Trixauna says to those helping with the search. Before starting the search, she chants a simple incantation and then walks around the wagon, concentrating intently on it.

Cast Detect Magic from a Beguiler slot. Walk around to see if there's anything magical around (apart from us, heh). If she finds anything, she will concentrate further on the effect to find out more about it (roll spellcraft for me) and focus her search around it if applicable.

Search check with +4 from the aid another rolls by Barenn and Lut: [roll0]

[Faulty]

Your spell picks up no signs magic anywhere in, on or around the wagon. As you search the outside of the wagon, you find that the allegations that there were no signs of break in are true. Nothing is found on or around the bench, either. Tulisa Gadfly opens the the door of the back of the wagon for you, giving the large handle a 180 degree turn. She pulls the door open with the side handles, allowing dimly illuminating the inside. She pulls a copper coin from her pocket and casts a spell on it, causing it to eminate light. She tosses it into the back of the wagon, so that it's clearly illuminated. There are no signs of suspiciousness there either. You find that inside the cart is a handle identical to the one locking the door from the outside. Fiddling with the handle, you find that it causes metal rods to pop out of both the top and bottom of the door. Identically shaped holes are present where the door is when closed. Obviously, turning the handle locks the door in place by securing the rods in the grooves. Turning the handle from both the outside and the inside has the same effect. While inside with the door closed, examining the locking mechanism in action, you hear a click when you turn the handle back into locked position. You can hear Tulisa exclaim a muffled and colourful word, and a quick apology. You hear the clatter of keys, and in the few seconds you spend locked in the room alone, you find that there is an identical lock on the inside handle. So the lock could be opened with a key--or a lockpick--from either side.

[Swooper]

After completing the search, a thought appears to occur to Trixauna. "Tulisa Gadfly, tell me," she says, raising an eyebrow. "You say there were no signs of the door being forced open, and after examining it I agree. You neglected to tell us one thing though. Was the door unlocked when the guards returned?"

[Faulty]

"No, it was locked. But all you have to do is turn it all the way to lock it, it doesn't require a key. That's why you got locked in, I'm sorry for that."

[kpenguin]

"I'm BORED! Aren't you guys going to beat somebody up?"

"Orni, a criminal investigation isn't about busting heads and fisticuffs. It requires long periods of meticulous observation and deep analysis."

"But that's BORING. Why are we doing this anyway"

"Beacuse the nice lady needed help.

"Oh... right. I forgot"

[Faulty]

"Have you found all you need, then?"

If you guys want to head out, you can.

[Swooper]

Trixauna nods. "Not much to find here anyway, but I believe we are done here. Before we leave, though, I would like to meet the two guards who transported the Mask, if they are available."

[Faulty]

Meeting with the two guards provides no new useful information. Tulisa imparts on you the urgency of the situation once more, before saying good bye at the door of the mueseum.

[zagan]

On the way to see the archeologist Lut listen to any stray gossip and look around just in case he ran into any of his contact.

I make a gather info check regarding any info on the mask.
I take 10 for 28 total and it take me only [roll0]*10minute

[Faulty]

For Zagan
What you find out about Thaddius: he's a bachelor and ladies man, who pursues dalliances with several of Talantier's ladies. Though he may seem at first glance to be nothing but a spoiled playboy, he is actually a talented Illusionist. He is also very fond of obscure art objects and keeps a sizable collection at his chateau on the north-eastern outskirts of town. Over the past decade, he has been accused of involvement in the theft of many rare abd valuable art pieces, but not proof has ever been found and searches of his chateau have found no stolen objects or goods. The description of his personal retainer, a tall, homely woman named Desdemona, matches the description of the statue Tulisa told you about.

[zagan]

Unless someone else as something to do I assume we arrived before the house of the archeologist

Lut rejoin the rest of the group after talking to his contact.
"Yes, it's confirmed Thaddius is a talent illusionnist and one of his servant bore a strong ressemblance to our statue." he said with a smile.
"What's more he as been accused of theft in the past but never convinced."

[Keld Denar]

Yea, lets get going with the Archeologist interogation! go go go!

[Faulty]

You make it to the house of the archeologist, a rather unassuming house in a set of row houses. He's a portly middle aged Dwarf, dressed plainly and with glasses, and he leads you through a house decorated with maps, art objects, animals heads, and various other paraphenalia gathered through years of archeology. He takes you to a sitting room where you all sit, and inquires, "How may I help you?"

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda rushes forward excitedly lifting the dwarf off the ground and shaking his whole body instead of just his hand.

We are looking for the Mask of Diamond Tears! It was stolen and the nice lady wanted us to look for it. What can you tell us about it?

Realizing that she is holding the poor dwarf several inches above the ground, Clotty gingerly sets him down and shuffles backwards, looking down at her feet.

Very sorry mister dwarf, very sorry indeed.

[Swooper]

Trixauna goes wide eyed with shock and horror at the gross breach of etiquette by Clothilda, then rolls her eyes and restores her composure.

"Pardon my companion, doctor Marling, she tends to get... overexited sometimes," she says apologetically to the flustered and probably quite surprised dwarf when he is back on the ground. "She speaks the truth though; we have come to inquire about the Mask." While dr. Marling is leading them into the sitting room she shoots a glare at the giant-blooded woman.

How do you pronounce a ; anyway? :smallconfused:

[Faulty]

Dr. Marling rubs his hands along his shirt, trying to get out the wrinkles Clothilda covered his clothing with. "Yes, yes. I know Tulisa was saying that she was looking for help. A good thing she found some. Well, I'll tell you everything I know about the mask." He stops suddenly, with one hand in the air, mid gesture. "Uh... where was I? Oh yes! The mask." He pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and coughs into it before replacing it in his pocket, "Ahem. Well, we found the mask in the remains of a pyramid in the mountain. It was the only thing we found that wasn't unrecognizably corroded or shattered. We're certain it was used as part of funeral ceremonies," he says, nodding, his tone proud of his scholarly deduction, "though we only found one; it could possibly have been worn by some form of priest leading the ceremony. It was carried in our caraven and switched from the caraven directly to the wagon, which was carrying other donated art objects, a statue or some pottery or some such thing, which went immediately to the mueseum. It was guarded by two gentlemen who work for the mueseum, both were armed and we were sure it was safe enough. You see what happened, however. That's all I can tell you, I'm afraid. I'm sorry to rush you out on such short notice but I'm having guests over very soon and I must prepare some tea and cucumber sandwiches. I imagine Tulisa sent you, what a bad time. Oh well, none of you knew," he says with a chorttle. "Can't blame anyone. Well, he claps his hands together," he stops and his face gains a look of deep concentration, as if trying to remember something, "well... well... what was I saying? Oh yes, let me show you to the door," he says cheerily as he adjusts his glasses.

If you have nothing to say other than a thank you or something, feel free to add in a bit about him closing the door so we can continue on. Also, bonus points to whomever catches the theatre reference in there.

[Swooper]

Trixauna knits her brow slightly. "Wait. One more thing. The statue that was being shipped with the mask. What can you tell us about it? Where did it come from?"

[Keld Denar]

Aside to her allies, Clotty whispers: Clotty may not be very smart, but I think the dwarf knows more than he lets on.

[roll0]

[Faulty]

"It was donated by some well known member of the art society I think. I'm not sure who, Tulisa should know."

For Keld
You get nothing.

[zagan]

"Well that was a bust, if you want we can regroup and discuss what to do next at my apartment ?"
He said to the rest of the group.

[kpenguin]

"Are you quite sure about that? Perhaps there was a name you missed?"

Heiron reads his body language and face for clues.


[roll0]
[roll1]

[Saintheart]

Barenn Lavawalker, after holding his silence for some minutes, finally could bear it no longer. Bad enough that this dwarf was acting like some effete groundling, bringing shame to half the dwarven race -- in fact Barenn was fairly sure he might be some z'gb'tr -- but now he was, it appeared, being somewhat evasive with the group.

The dwarf marches up alongside Heiron and the half-giant, flexing his gauntlets and generating a sound approximating gnomish gears grinding themselves to pieces. "Any help you could provide would be most appreciated," he says. And if you don't, there's a decent chance of me putting my fist in your face, he thought, hoping the message was getting across.

Aid Another on Heiron's Sense Motive check: [roll0].
Intimidate check: [roll1]
Diplomacy check for Aid Another on Heiron's check, if Intimidate is inappropriate: [roll2]

[Faulty]

The eccentric Dwarf blinks a few times. "That's really all I know, I'm sorry."

For anyone who rolled sense motive checks
He seems to be telling the straight truth, though more than a bit eccentric.

[Keld Denar]

Well, I guess that's that. Now what we should be inves...invest...in...lookin into?

[kpenguin]

"Well, sir, thank you for your time."

Heiron turns to walk away, leading little Orni along with him.

Speaking to Lut,

"Your apartment would be splendid, as would time to figure out this mess."

[Faulty]

The eccentric archeologist waves good bye as you leave. He then goes back inside and opens the trap door to his basement, shooing away the fiendish dire rats he's bred, he walks over to his doomsday device and begins stroking the blackened metal. "Soon... soon Lord Azoth... soon you will be released and we shall fill the rivers and seas with blood."

[zagan]

"Well follow me I will guide you to my humble home" Lut guide his friend toward his home. After a few minute they found themselves in a far less prestigious part of town. Finnaly Lut oppened the door of an unremarkable small building ang begin climbing the stairs.
"I live in the second appartment, it's a little small but it should be enough for our need."
Arriving at the door, Lut opened it and signaled them to enter.
"Make yourself confortable, I will go search something to eat, probably only water, bread and sausage. I rarely eat at home"

I hope I didn't anticipated thing to much but it seem like a logical thing to do, if need I can erase or change the post.

[Saintheart]

Barenn sniffed the air experimentally. The dwarf had been in some seedy parts of various towns before, but there was something about this place that didn't seem quite right. For some reason he couldn't put his digit on, he was reminded of a goblin named Golfan whose head he'd knocked off into a hole once. It had caught on as a pastime back in the Three Mountains clan -- although the dwarves there had called the sport 'golf'.

Barenn wanders inside and makes himself comfortable. Just fillin' in time...

[Faulty]

Do whatever you guys need to do. Tell me when you're done.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Shall we continue on to the Sylvian Standard?

[Swooper]

"By all means. I'm not even sure why we stopped by here in the first place."

Let's try to get this moving, shall we?

[zagan]

"We are here so we can discuss how to confront Thaddius on how to procedd to gather proof of the theft. After all he was never convicted, it will be hard."

We are here because Thaddius visit the Sylvan standard only in the evening and it's barely mid day (if I understand thing correctly) Our character need to do something in the interval.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

[Haley Starshine]Later that day...[/Haley Starshine]

Clotty wanders into the Sylvan Standard, looking around the place for a place for her and her companions to sit that offers a commanding view of the common room.

[Faulty]

The Sylvan Standard is truly a sight to behold. It's built atop an old and enormous willow tree, lights illuminating the treetop paradise in the early evening. The murmur of talk and clinking of glasses and silverware drifts from above through the warm evening air. You arrive just before eight o'clock, the time at which Thaddius should be appearing. Wooden stairs meant for patrons climb up to the top of the willow, the dining area. Before them, by a floating magically lit lamp, stands the maître d', a well dressed elven gentleman in his middle ages. As you try to ascend the stairs, he stops you, tut tuting and saying that the restaurant is very exclusive.

[Swooper]

'We don't have time for this...' Trixauna thinks to herself and does her best at casting a spell subtly, weaving it in such a way as to attract no unwanted attention. "I suggest you let us in, nevertheless. I'm sure you can find us a nice table with a view, right?"

I'm using my Conceal Spellcasting skill trick (CScou p85) to cast Suggestion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/suggestion.htm) (from the beguiler side) on the maître d'. Save DC22, but he gets his elven +2 on the save because it's an enchantment spell.
Sleight of Hand: 1d20+11=22 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2129907/), opposed by the Spot checks of onlookers to notice I am casting a spell at all.

[Faulty]

You weave your spell successfully, and the enchantment takes hold of the maître d'. "Ah, yes. Of course, I'm sure we can find something," he says graciously, "Allow me to check." He continues off hand, "We usually don't allow people in without reservation." He disappears up the steps, and comes back down a few moments later. "We don't have a single table large enough for a group your size free, but I've had a waiter push two tables together for you." He leads you up to the top of the tree, where a gazebo-like dining area has been crafted. Candle light from small tea candles on each table and faerie fire lined lamps hanging from the ceiling provide illumination, and you're taken to a pair of tables pushed together near the railing. Once you're seated, menus and wine lists are passed out to each of you, and the maître d' leaves. A young and attractive half-elven woman with silky brown hair, braided intricately, comes to take your orders, but before you can finish, a burst of white light draws the entire restaurants attention. Suddenly, Thaddius, dressed in red robes, and a beautiful raven haired woman in a long black silk gown slit to the thigh stand in the middle of the restaurant, their arrival bringing with it a phantom choir of angelic voices. They take a seat at a table for two, and a waiter hurries over.

[kpenguin]

(OOC: If its alright, Orni's just hanging out at Lut's apartment. Heiron knows better than to bring a three-year old to a fancy restaurant))

As Heiron sits down, he raises an eyebrow at Trixauna.

[Faulty]

Yeah, that's fine. You guys can all act. I don't have anything to post until you interact with someone other than each other. Assume that the waitress has finished with your orders and has left.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty leans in over the table and whispers. So, what are we gonna do now?

[kpenguin]

"Enjoy the meal, I suppose. Act like regular patrons and wait for an opportunity. I doubt Thaddius will allow us to interrogate him here."

[Dreamshifter]

Bluebell

Finally breaking her long silence, Bluebell speaks up. "Interrogate? No. But perhaps he could be talked into making a misstep? I'd try, but all I have is my natural charm, and while I can outdo that silly creature he's with, I get tongue tied when I try to mess with people's heads. I guess mine is too messy to begin with..."

[zagan]

"Yes, but we can't risk him leaving by teleporting again, I will try something" Lut get up from the table and march slowly toward Thaddius. Once next to the table he adresse him calmly.
"I'm sorry to bother you, sir Tannenbaum but I got a few question to ask you and this is the only place where I was sure to find you" Without leaving him time to respond Lut continue. "The museum recruit me to find the Mask of Diamond tear and I understand that a statue that you donate was also stolen, could you give me any détail on it ? I'm particulary interest in the history of the piece, It could give me a clue on where to find it and lead me to the mask"


Not sure which is appropriate
Diplomacy check [roll0]
or
Bluff check [roll1]

[Faulty]

Thaddius looks up at you with a level of haughty indignance. He dabs at his mouth with his napkin and replies, "I'm afraid I really cannot speak to you right now. As you can see, I'm entertaining a lovely woman at the moment," with that his eyes glide towards his date and a slight smile curls his lips, "and would like to be able to eat in peace." His date is cross at your interuption, with less class than Thaddius. "Yes, please leave us be," she says in a stern voice that has the tone of a threat,

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

We can make an apointment for later?

[zagan]

I believe Clothilda is still waiting at the table, no ?

Lut doesn't move and adresse him again this time a little more forcefully. "Yes, I realise that but I can't delay my research just because it's inconvenient to you. I really need these detail and if you can't talk to me now, I want a mean to contact you or an appointment to see you later."

[Faulty]

His date speaks before Thaddius can, after reaching into her black silk bag and removing a small metal object. She shows it to you, a badge of the guard. "I'm Captain Talos. Care to tell me why you're harrasing my date?"

[zagan]

Lut was surprise by that, but barely hesitate befoe responding.
"First, because this is the only place, I was sure to find him and at the same time be able to talk to him. Second, because he posses information that could be invaluable to my investigation. And on a different note, I think it's very questionnable that a Captain of the guard would associate herself with a suspect in a number of previous theft."
Witout waiting for a response Lut turn toward the table where is friend are waiting and signal for them to come.

[kpenguin]

Heiron sits back and watches the fireworks show.

He hopes Lut could handle himself. This was going to be very... interesting.

[Faulty]

"He's been cleared in every case!" she snaps at you, "And I won't tolerate such low mud-slinging."

[zagan]

"That only prove that he is good enough to not leave any concret proof behind him. Because if he was such an upstanding citizen he wouldn't have been accused multiple time. But I won't try to change your opinion of him, it would be a waste of my time." With that Lut turn toward Thadius and adresse him a little more forcefully this time. "Will you respond to my question ?"

A little help guys ?

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty walks up behind Lut, gives Thaddius a HUGE wink, then crosses her arms across her breast and stares at Capt Talos with contempt. Anyone who can read minds hears "Silly human woman is so puny and small. Clothilda is big and strong!". Anyone who can't read minds can generally pick up on it as well.

[Saintheart]

Barenn

The dwarf had stood up and followed in Clothilda's (considerable) wake, and he rolled his eyes as he listened to the woman make some sort of impassioned defence of the mage, Thaddius. Really, the way that these people focused so much on whose convexities were being inserted into whose concavities...

He moved out alongside Clothilda, peering at the woman and man. "I would strongly recommend you assist us with our inquiries, captain. We are on the same side. But my friend here is right. You have not recovered the Mask as yet, so I doubt you are in any position to 'clear' your ... acquaintance ... here of any involvement. My people do not like corruption one bit. And we do not like its appearance, even where there is none to be found. If you are indeed a captain of the guard, it stinks of dishonour for you to be here at this moment." He felt his voice become a snarl. "Now. Are you going to help us with our questions or not?"

Gi' us an ans'r, ye magey b'st'rd!

Intimidate check: [roll0]

[Faulty]

"Charges haven't been filed against anyone for the theft of the Mask, it's an on-going investigation," she hisses at you. "Anyway, what proof could you possibly have?" she follows, confidently.

If you bring up proof against Thaddius, make Diplomacy checks.

[zagan]

Lut respond with a smile."I never accuse mister Tannenbaum of stealling the Mask, I only ask question about the statue he donnate to the museum and point out that he was suspect in a number of past case. If he would be so kind as to give me the information I want instead of evading the question, I wouldn't have bothered you furter"

Just in case, I make a diplomacy check mostly to plant doubt in her mind about Thaddius.
[roll0]
If the other member could make a few aid another check it would be nice.

[Faulty]

"I believe I did donate some art," he says dismissively, "but I wasn't aware of its theft either. It's a shame though, such a rare artifact would have been a delight to see. Anyway, if there's any reason you could possibly have for questioning me, why not give us a taste or leave us alone?"

[zagan]

"Very well, If you don't want to talk we must give all our information to the proper autority to help in their investigation" Lut turn toward the captain.
"Here's what we know:Thaddius is a talent illusionist and he is a collectioneur of art object, the statue he donate bear a striking ressemblance to his personal retainer, the carriage transporting both can be open from the inside and can be closed without any key adding to that he was in relationship with Tulisa Gadfly the curator of the museum the relationship end just after the theft and finally we found him with you now while you are reponsible for the investigation the theft. That's a lot of coincidence don't you think ?" Lut turn toward his friend. "I didn't forget anything I hope ?"

Diplomacy check [roll0]
Amesoeurs please wait until the other can do an aid another check before responding.

Edit: Freaking dice, I really need that aid another check.
Edit2:Wait !!! I forget about my class feature social intuition, I can take 10 on diplomacy check even if rushed could I used that instead ? for a total of 27

[kpenguin]

Heiron looks around at the rest of the restaurant, assessing how the other patrons were reacting to the scene.

[Faulty]

Captain Talos anger and determination faulter as you bring to bear the evidence against Thaddius. She stares at him incredulously for a second. "You...", she says weakly. Suddenly though, the fire enters her eyes again, but this time it's directed at Thaddius, "...are coming in for questioning," she says, rising. Thaddius pushes out his chair and stands. "Well... you say ladies and gentlemen...", the sentence finishes with an arcane word he speaks as he flourishes his hands and vanishes.

For Trix only:
Trixauna recognizes the spell as greater invisibility.

For everyone:


Initiatives:
Heiron: [roll0]
Lut: [roll1]
Barenn: [roll2]
Clotty: [roll3]
Bluebell: [roll4]
Trix: [roll5]

I'll try and get a map up today or tomorrow. Lut and Clotty are right next to where Thaddius was. Everyone else is 15 feet away and if you move diagonally there, you can make it there with 20 feet of movement.

You can tell me what you'd like to do in the meantime.

[kpenguin]

Heiron gets up from the table quickly, but quietly, making sure push in his chair. A pointless gesture, since the fight would likely cause more problems for the restaurant than a unpushed chair.

"Does anyone know what he just cast?!"

If the wizard had teleported away, then they would need to find out where he would have likely went. If the wizard had turned invisible, than divinations or dispelling spells were needed.

The priest of Bahamut looks around at the rest of the restaurant. If a fight was about to break loose, the first priority would have to be getting the rest of the patrons to safety. Hopefully, they were scared enough to start moving away and hopefully calm enough as not to cause a stampede.

Last thing they needed was a crowd panicking and trampling each other.

[Swooper]

Trixauna, who had been sitting quietly and watching while the more competent talkers handled Thaddius, stands up quickly, pushing back her chair (which gives a horrible creak when hitting the floor) while muttering arcane words. She points at the place where Thaddius was standing a moment ago, glowing orange sigils coiling like snakes around her outstretched arm and then shooting forward. "Thought you could get away with a simple invisibility spell, did you!?" she gloats while the spell is taking effect, then grabs a folded scroll from an inside pocket.

On my round:
No action: 5' step towards Thaddius's table.
No action: Use a 1st level Beguiler spell slot to apply Sculpt Spell to Antimagic Field, via the Ultimate Magus's Augmented Casting ability.
Standard action: Cast Antimagic Field (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/antimagicField.htm) as four 10-foot cubes around the area where Thaddius was when I saw him last, towards the door if possible. The edge of the closest cube must be 10' away from me, but I can probably catch him in it easily.
Move action: Draw a scroll of Dimensional Anchor, just in case.

I reserve the right to add descriptive text/speech/gloating depending on the effects of the spell.

[Faulty]

So is the area where he was last standing in the field as well?

[Swooper]

Yes, it is.

[Faulty]

Waiting on everyone else.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Since Clotty was standing so close, she will reach out and grab the impetuous mage. If he's reveiled by the AMF, and not in grabbing range, she will manifest Psionic Lion's Charge linked to an Augemented Expansion. The charge goes off this round, the Expansion goes off at the start of her next turn. Silly man thing get hugged by CLOTHILDA!


Full attack flurry! All damage is to subdue. All successful hits result in grapple checks due to Scorpion's Grasp.
[roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7] [roll8]
[roll9] [roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13] [roll14]

[zagan]

Lut take is dagger in hand and move cautiously behind thaddius chair and prepare himself for when Trixauna will render him visible again.

I move in the square behind where thaddius was ans readied and action to attack if become visible in a square next to me.
I'm assuming that I'am in the AMF for calculating my attack roll and I take a -4 for nonlethal damage.
Attack roll [roll0]
Damage roll [roll1]

[Saintheart]

Barenn

"Son of a mangy dog!" Barenn whipped his longaxe, Reason, to readiness, gritting his teeth. So the mage wasn't going to make it easy, then. But the dwarf wasn't about to try and charge blindly at wherever the spellthrower had just been; invisibility spells tended to foil that kind of direct method.

Instead, he fell into the familiar rhythm he'd had with Trixauna somewhere nearby, instead shifting one foot back, one foot forward and left, feeling parts of him lock into place as he took the first position of Iron Guard, glaring around him and waiting to see where the damned mage would show up. His hand felt strong, right, on Reason's haft. And he felt like giving a weedy spellcaster a good bruising.

Sorry about the delay, folks. I can only log in x1 per day.
Free Action - command Animated Heavy Steel Shield into readiness.
Free Action - go to Iron Guard's Glare stance.
Delaying my action until Trixauna reveals where the little bugger's gone. If the spell reveals him:
- Power Attack to all attacks this round with a -6 to my attack roll.
--> Longaxe thereby becomes a reach weapon, 10'.
- Move action: to ten feet away from the mage if possible, combining with a draw weapon action (if the weapon's not already in hand.)
- Then standard attack, nonlethal damage only.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

If the spell doesn't reveal him, just move ten feet towards the table, combining with a draw weapon action.

[Faulty]

Captain Talos leaps up and calls out to the diners, telling them to remain calm. She throws her chair aside and drops into a fighting stance, fists bared. Captain Talos, Clotty and Barenn, ready to act, tensely wait for some sign of Thaddius. Trixauna's finishes her spell, and the magic energy flowing through her body and she can feel her mental power shape it carefully, before it manifests itself, wiping the magical energies from a portion of the room. The spell reveals Thaddius, standing where he was amount ago, preparing to cast another spell. Captain Talos, Clotty and Barenn all snap to action now that their target is visible, but the Captain gets to Thaddius first. She lets out a 'hra!' as she punches at Thaddius, hitting him hard and in precisely the right spot to stun him. He freezes in place, leaving him an open target for Clotty's blows. Unfortunately her first two brush by him in her haste, but the third blow connects with his firmly. She goes to turn the punch into a grab, but Thaddius' eyes roll back and he slumps over into Clotty's arms. This leaves Barenn, who had aproached the table and was about to swing his axe at Thaddius without a target, and he freezes, with the axe at its apex.

The entire room is transfixed by the lightning fast battle. People around the room hold forks with meat or eggplant dripping sauce, half way to their mouths. A waitress overfills a human woman's teacup at a far table, while the woman merely gawks. Somewhere in the background you hear a man exclaim an explitive, and the shout is followed by a gasp and a splash as his wife throws her water in his face.

You all relax, the combat now over. As you gather yourselves together Captain Talos pulls out her badge and shows it to the room, assuring the diners and staff that everything is OK. She places it on the table and goes over to inspect Thaddius, when you see her narrow her eyes and lean in close. She brushes some hair away from her face.

"****!", she says and looks in your general direction. "This isn't Thaddius."

While you won't be leveling up before this is done, just so you know, you all get 1658 exp for convincing Varina of Thaddius guilt and defeating him in combat.

[Saintheart]

Barenn

So the Captain's a monk of some kind, thought the dwarf to himself as he slipped his hands back down Reason's long handle, bringing the head back in. There were few other explanations for how she'd managed to bring "Thaddius" to a halt with her bare hands. Impressive...

Acid disappointment filled him, though he still glanced around the diner to see if he'd missed anything or anything stood out amongst the general kafuffle they'd caused. He moved in a little closer to the Captain, peering at the person they'd knocked out. "Somewhat surprising," he said dryly, "given you were here on a ... liaison ... with him. Well, who is this, then? Do you recognise him?"

Spot check, to see if there's anything funny going on around the diner, and also if there's anything notable about "Thaddius": [roll0]

....aaaand yeah, I probably don't see nuthin'.

[Faulty]

Captain Talos furrows her brow and taps her foot on the ground thoughtfully. "I let him in too easily. It was foolish of me to trust a man like this. In my romantic excess," she says, pronouncing the word acidicly, "my vision was obscured. Now that I look at him more closely, I see 'he' is a very convincing clone. You," she says, addressing to Trixauna, "are obviously a talented arcanist. Do you know of any spells that could duplicate a person?"

Swooper, make Spellcraft and/or Knowledge (Arcan) checks.

[Faulty]

For Trixauna only:
I decided to roll your checks for you to speed things up. Seeing as you got a freaking 43 on your Spellcraft check, you recognize the "Thaddius" before you as a copy made by a simulacrum spell.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty hops about excitedly from one foot to the other, clearly VERY eager to be on the trail and involved. So captain lady, what do you think we should do next? Should we go to cute man's home? Find out where he is hiding? CRUSH HIM? At that, Clotty pounds one of his oversized fists into the palm of her hands hard enough that the sound echos outward.

[Faulty]

"Calm down," Captain Talos says icily. "Anyway," she says, turning to address the group, "if it turns out that this is not in fact Thaddius, I'm neither I nor the rest of the watch can do anything. Thaddius' chateau is outside my juristiction. If you truly want to recover the Mask, you'll have to go to the chateau yourselves. If things escalate to violence, feel free to defend yourselves, but I'd rather you bring him back alive so that he may be tried. Do these, and I'll forgive you for interrupting my dinner," she finishes, with a tinge of humor in her voice.

In the mean time, the maître d' walks up to Captain Talos and asks if it would be possible for you to leave.

[kpenguin]

Heiron looks longing down at his empty dish. He would have hoped he could have gotten a meal in before getting into a fight and subsequently getting kicked out.

At least there was bread and cheese awaiting back in Lut's apartment. The mission, of course, came first. The food would have to wait until they caught up with Thaddius.

Heiron bows deeply to the Captain.

"I thank you, Captain. My apologies for our intrusion."

He then bows to the maître d'

"Likewise, my apologies for potentially harm a good portion of your restaurant."

He picks up his staff.

"Farewell."

The priest of Bahamut heads for the door.

[zagan]

"Yes, our depest appologies captain. We will do our utmost to neutralize him"

That said Lut follow Heiron outside.

It's me or are we alone suddendly ?

[Faulty]

Trixauna smiles as she identifies the magic that created the fake Thaddius. "This is the product of a simulacrum spell. This fake is in fact made of snow." "The real Thaddius is most assuredly at his chateau, then," says Captain Talos, "I can give you directions, but as I said, I can't interfere. Be careful, for his chateau is probably trapped and laced with arcane trickery. Do your best to find some incriminating evidence, and try not to kill him." When you all make it outside, she explains where you can find the chateau and bids you good luck, also dropping the name of a nearby drop in restaurant you might be able to grab a quick meal at.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty is not so hungry. I want to find squishy man-toy and squeeze him until he is sorry for being mean to pretty captain lady. After the squishing, we can eat. Nothing like a good squishing to make Clotty hungry! And with that stark revelation, Clothilda heads toward the door, cracking all the joints in her neck loudly as she goes.

[zagan]

"Yes, Clothilda is right we mustn't wast any time and must hurry to his chateau"
Lut began walking with the other toward the border of the town.

I assume we know where the chateau is and go directly. How long will that take ?

[kpenguin]

"Of course" Heiron says as his stomach grumbles. He'd much rather fight a dangerous wizard on a full stomach, but the mission comes first.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clothilda looks at the street signs, remembers the directions she was given, and then sets of resolutely with the intent to lay down some serious huggling on a certain wizard...

[Faulty]

You follow Captain Talos' directions and easily find Thaddius chateau outside of town. It's a building of amazing grandeur. The stately chateau is carved with stunning reliefs of breathtaking landscapes. Statues of willowy elven maidens frame the front stairs. The roof of the chateau is shaped like a billowing bank of clouds, and is home to myriad magical creatures. Griffons prance, manticores menace, and rocs soar through the clouds. Each is carved in exquisite detail.

From outside, the chateau is well lit, and music and laughter echo from within. The large arched windows on the east wing glow with light and the prancing silhouettes of carousers flit back and forth inside. The glazed windows obscure vision, but it is obvious that some grand celebration is in full swing.

A 10 foot wide stone path extends before you for about 90 feet before becoming marble stairs, flanked by the 8 statues of elven maidens as the path and stairs rise to meet the elegant dark wood double-doors which obviously lead into the foyer of the mansion.

[kpenguin]

"Well, it appears we'll have to crash another engagement. Perhaps we can try a bit more tact this time?"

[zagan]

"I will follow your lead this time, so the front or the back ?"

[Faulty]

If you'd like, you can give me marching order here, and I'll assume you're in it unless you say otherwise.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda will go 1st, 2nd, or last, as desired. Probably first.

[kpenguin]

"It would be wise to try both approaches, perhaps. The sneakier among us wil take the back while the rest will come with me through the front door.

Hopefully, Mr. Thaddius will see reason and not resist, but if not, I want the element of surprise for some of us."

Heiron looks around at everyone.

"Does anyone have a means of communicating telepathically? It would better for coordination"

[zagan]

"An excellent plan, I will of course take the back route any feel able to accompany me ?" Waiting for a respons Lut take a look inside his bag to be sure he has everything necessery.
"As for communication, I still have the ring you help made"

[kpenguin]

"Ah, of course. Though, we'll still need to be whispering and if I attune my ring to yours, it will be unattuned to Orni's..."

Heiron hears Orni's bright voice chime.

"Don't worry about me Heiron! Just get that poopyhead!"

"Well, alright Orni. Just be very careful. You won't be able to call me for help if-"

"If what? I can handle anything that comes my way! You forget, I'm a dragon!"

"Just be careful and stay out of danger, Orni."

"Fiiiine."

"I love you, little one, as if you were my own daughter"

"Heiron!"

"And I know you love me too."

Heiron suddenly realizes that everyone can hear him speaking and clears his throat.

"Well then... let's get on with it"

Heiron curls up his hand and curls it up into fist, pointing the ring toward Lutt.

OOC: I assume Lutt knows how to attune the ring, but in case you don't, the rings just need to touch together and a command word needs to be spoken in unison. All of Heiron's communication rings have the command word "kltpzyxm"

[zagan]

Lut presse is ring to Heiron's one and say "Kipt.., Kitpsi..., Kitpzyxt, damnit never manage to pronouce it right, Kltpzyxm" That done he decide to comment. "You could have choose a simpler word"

Faulty: If you end up going alone do you want to continue my side of thing by PM ? I know some DM like to do that."

[kpenguin]

"But what would be fun in that, Mr. Lutt?"

Heiron makes a slight smile.

"Don't forget that I can hear everthing you say through the ring, but nothing else. I can hear your whispers perfectly well, mind, so you don't need to endanger your position by shouting.

On my part, do not be surprised if you hear silence from me. If I strike up a conversation with Thaddius, it would be unwise to tip him off that I am in communication with someone else."

He looks to the rest of the party.

"Now who would like to go with which group?

Clothilda, I want you to come with me, if you are able to restrain yourself from embracing our suspect at first sight. Only make any direct interaction at my say-so, although try to look as threatening as you can.

Heiron allows himself a small smirk.

"Or perhaps as amorous as you can. There's really no difference."

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty...*ahem* I am...not so subtle. Fireballs are often more subtle than me. I'd rather go in the front door, or through the front door, whichever you think is better. Clothilda's words get quicker and her pitch gets higher as her excitement builds. Clotty want to find little wizard man and squish him for being mean to the pretty hair lady. CLOTTY SMASH! and she pounds one fist into her cupped hand with a loud smack.

[Faulty]

My grandma died, I had a funeral to deal with, had to take on a load of responsibility for running a play with the director now gone, and had a bunch of school work to catch up on, all of which conflicted with the rest. Sorry for not having the energy to post. Expect an update soon. Also, zagan, just make your posts in spoilers.

[Faulty]

Trixauna stands by, listening to the exchange. She appears to be deep in thought, and waits until they finish before speaking. "If Lut goes, I should go too. We shouldn't split up to such an extent." She turns to Lut, "If you deem it necessary, I have greater invisibility prepared for today."

I can't access Barenn's sheet. I guess Saintheart deleted it. We have two choices: continue without him and have Clotty be the main meatshield type or I could remake the guy. I'd prefer the former. The adventure was written with the standard Arcanist (Trix)/Priest (Heiron)/Warrior (Clotty)/Rogue (Lut) in mind, so everything should be alright.

Also, I'm in Boston for a few days starting late tomorrow. I'm so sorry about this. The game will surely be over before the end of the month though. The chateau is the last major bit.

[Keld Denar]

I'm cool with 3! Good to seem the game going again!

[Faulty]

Awesome. Just waiting for Lut's opinion on an invisibility spell, then we'll see how far we can get. Do you want me to stop before you guys get to combat, so you don't spend five days mid-fight?

[zagan]

Lut think about it for minute before responding to Trixauna.
"Unless you can make it last more than an hour, I think it's better to keep it for later, but it's good to know."Afterward he turn toward the other, "I'll contact you with the ring once we are on the other side and ready to enter"
Lut motionned for trixauna to follow him and began marching.

Glad to see you back ! Yes we can forget about Barren easier that way.
Me and Trixauna are currently contourning the castle far enough that any eventual guard can't see us. Once we are in the back we approch the wall as discretly as possible. Please describe it when we arrived.

As for combat, I'll say we go as far as we can combat or not and if you must interupt well it's not a tragedy.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

I'm afraid I'm not very dressed for the occassion. Think the wizard will have a problem with the way I look?

(Who's going in the front w/ me?)

[Faulty]

I'm assuming you and Heiron in front, Trix and Lut in back.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clothilda waits around for a bit for Lut to get into position, hopping lightly back and forth while brimming with excitement. Finally, when she believes Lut is in position can't take the excitement any more, she manifests Inertial Armor (13 hours) and runs up to the door to knock.

[zagan]

I think we should wait for Kpenguin to post before going further, we will need him. I know is reliable even if he occasionaly post erraticely. Should I pm him ? or will you npc him until then ?

[Faulty]

Give him a bit.

[kpenguin]

You guys just started a few hours ago and already you're thinking of skipping me? :smalltongue:

Heiron coughs.

"You... look... lovely, Clothilda."

As Heiron walks toward the door, his clothing shifts into an elegant dress shirt with well-tailored pants to match. When he arrives before the door, his eyes glow as his hand clasps the platinum star of Bahamut draped around his neck.

OOC: Casting Shield of Faith, +4 deflection Bonus to AC.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clothilda frowns at Heiron with a confused look and then immediately starts pulling on her hair to try to straighten it, several times licking her palm before running it through her hair. After several moments of grunting and struggling, she turns to him with her BEST smile. Much better?

[zagan]

For Kpenguin:
You only made on action during the fight in our Eberon campaign so I assumed you couldn't post and I didn't know until when it would be the case.
It's good to see you back.
Lut action:
After contourning the castle Lut and Trixauna could now see the his back.
"Alright we will begin our approch. Perhaps a little spell for me first." Lut take a small vial from his spell pounch, he trempe one finger into it and concentrate before drawing invisible symbol on his chest with the liquide from the vial. "Alright we can begin our approch". He began walking slowly betwen shadow.
Ooc: Can any of you deduce what that spell was without looking into the spoiler ?:smallamused:

Casting False life: [roll0]
Hide check:[roll1]
Move silently check:[roll2]
Spot check:[roll3]
Listen check:[roll4]

[Faulty]

For kpenguin and Keld:
The two of you walk up to the door, and Clotty enthusiastically knocks on it. A voice calls from inside, bidding you welcome. You find the door unlocked and upon it, the regal doors swinging smoothly open into the foyer. The large marble-tiled room is decorated with beautiful tapestries. A spiraling staircase twists up towards a balcony at the northern end of the hall.

A red tapestry depicting an enormous wounded lion surrounded by mounted hunters hangs on the east wall above the open large oaken double doors, where the sounds of revelry pour out. One of the hunters is driving a spear into the lion's flank as it snarls back at him. The hunter's face, visible inside the helm, bears a strong resemblance to Thaddius.

On the West wall above a curtained entryway is another tapestry that shows a man in rugged leather and furs scaling an icy mountain. He winces as the wind tears his wolfskin cloak from his shoulders and threatens to buffet himj from the cliff. The climber also looks remarkably like Thaddius.

Finally, an immense tapestry that dwarfs the other two hangs from the balcony. A peaceful scene of clouds and blue sky are the backdrop for a lone white-robed Thaddius surrounded by angels and archons.

As the two of you enter the room a portly and well-dressed chamberlain walks towards you, "Welcome, welcome. My name is Mathias. You must be here for the ball. Please, accompany me to the ballroom if you would." He gestures towards the room in the east.

For Lut:
As you circle around the building you pass near a grand window, from where the ball is progressing. You duck under it as you pass, without being fear of being heard over the music and partiers. You continue along and find yourself along a wall studded with many windows, each about three feet wide, with two feet of stone between each window. The windows have a height of about seven feet, and rest about five and one half feet from the ground. This part of the building extends for twenty-five feet before becoming a corner. The inside is silent, and there is no sign of movement. Lut pauses to cast his spell, and you and Trixauna continue on. Around the corner, you find yourself in the shade of trees that grow alongside the house. The wall is identical in design to the one you just passed, and is about twenty-three feet long. You turn around it and find yourself in front of a dark wood door of normal size.

If you try the handle, you find it locked.

For everyone:
From now on, please state your hp, AC (touch and flat footed), saves and active abilities under your name in this format, or similar:

HP: current/full; AC: __ (touch __, flatfooted __); Fort: __ Ref: __ Will: __
Active Effects: Spell/Aura/Power/etc.

Sorry that there's no map at the moment. I'm doing trip prep.

[zagan]

Lut turn toward Trixauna "What do you think the door or one of the window ? You can probably fly with one of your spell and i have my boot and that way we can see what's inside before entering."


HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
"Must I use a fly spell for so simple a task?" Trixauna inquires. She stops and thinks, and after a few seconds pass, she suggests, "Could you boost me up, maybe let me stand on your shoulders?"

[zagan]

Lut shrug his shoulder. "Yes, I suppose and if that doesn't work I just go myself and toss you my boot once inside"
After his half serious jock, Lut crounch in a gesture for Trixauna to climb on him.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
Trixauna boosts up into your shoulders, wobbling a bit as she gains purchase. She peers into the room and hops back down. "It's a black marble pool with statues of gargoles surrounding it. It seems simple enough, but you never know if it could be trapped. Can you pick the lock on that door? We could keep looking, or head back and catch up to Heiron and Clothilda."

For everyone:
My last post 'til Sunday. See you all.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clotty turns to Heiron, stoops down, and extends her arm to him. Shall we? she says with an incredibly over done outlandish wink.

[zagan]

Lut nod and after letting Trixauna return to the ground he take out his tool and began crocheting the door.

Open lock check: [roll0]

OOC: Well see you sunday !:smallsmile:

[kpenguin]

Heiron gives Clotty a polite smile and carefully takes the half-giant's arm. Hopefully he would get away this evening without her breaking it.


"We're entering the ballroom," Heiron whispers.

OOC: Don't forget, Heiron can hear everything Lut says and vice versa.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
Trixauna stands behind you as you attempt to pick the lock. As you fiddle with it, you hear Heiron's voice tell you that he and Clotty are entering the ballroom. You almost get the lock but you fail to get the satisfying click of success. You pull your tools out, ready to try again if necessary.

Open Lock check fails. You can try again as another full round action, no problem.

For Keld and kpenguin:
Many guests crowd the dance floor at the center of this spacious chamber. Torchlight mingles with the warm glow provided by several ornate crystal chandeliers above. On the north side of the chamber, several long tables are filled with a grand repast of cooked meats, quail, vegetables, rare exotic fruits, and pastries.

Besides dancing couples, a number of trained elven dancing girls wearing flowing silk gowns with long sleeves and sashes undulate and twirl their way through the throng. At the east end a raised stage is home to a large band of strings and wind instruments that fill the hall with elegant music. Mirrors line the walls, making the room appear larger than it is.

As you enter the ballroom, Mathias introduces you both with a booming voice. "Ladies and gentleman, welcome Miss Clothilda Mottlegump and Mister Heiron Thurirl!" The dancers pause for a moment and listen to the announcement, before applauding and welcoming you. After a few moments of clapping, Mathias walks off back into the entrance hall and the crowd continues dancing. Two of the elven women dance their way up to the pair of you and beckon you to come dance with them.

For everyone (OOC):
Lut began picking the lock as Heiron and Clotty were brought into the hall. Heiron and Clotty's introduction took longer than Lut has had time to act, so he gets a number seconds before you're all acting at the same time. Just so you know.

[zagan]

Action:
Lut was surprise with the resilience of the lock, I had been a long time since he found one that could resist him. None the less he try again.

[roll0]

Stat:
HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

While Zagen is doin his thing, Clothilda grabs Heiron's arm and drags him to the middle of the floor. Oh goody! I love dancing! Dance with me?

[roll0]

Stats

HP: 186/174; AC: 21 (touch 21, flatfooted 20); Fort: 21 Ref: 12 Will: 15
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP. Force Screen (+4 AC)

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
6 seconds pass from the moment you slide your tools into the lock until you hear the satisfying click, proving your skills still up to snuff. "Good work," Trixauna says from behind you. You turn the handle and pull the door open. It opens smoothly and without a creak.

You find yourself at the entrance to a pool room. Around the beautiful black marble pool, stone gargoyles pose in various positions. Some are snarling, while others are reclining, as if resting by the water's edge. The space between floor and ceiling is a good 15 feet and a chandilier hangs from the ceiling above the exact center of the pool. Torches line the walls; spaced evenly between windows on the windowed walls and spaced every 5 feet on the others. They are all lit, and are about seven feet up the wall. The torches on the walls and the moonlight from the window give the room a quiet ambience, accentuated by the reflections of light on the walls and ceiling that bounce off the water. The otherwise calm aura of the room is broken by noises of revelry from beyond a door in the south east wall. Based on your travel around the outside of the chateau, you easily ascertain that the room you are in is directly connected to the ballroom.

Map:
Look, a nice map this time!

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1668/poolcopy.jpg

Green represents the canopy of a tree outside. Black is walls. Light blue is windows. Light grey is doors. Blue is pool. Grey is edge of the pool. Brown dots are gargoyles. Lut is the orange dot, and Trixauna is the purple dot.

When refering to squares just say (#,#), with the first # being the y-axis and the second # being the x-axis. For example, if Lut took a 5 foot step to the east, he would be going to (7,2). Sorry if that's confusing, future maps will have letters on the y-axis.

Note:
If you enter the room, roll initiative. :smallwink:

[zagan]

Initiative:[roll0]
Okay, I got two choice here, if you think it's not metagaming, Lut will attack the gargoyle statue as soon as he enter the room. (Surprise round ?)
Why , Because as a 13th level adventure he as enough experience to recognize a trap and second because he know Thaddius can disguise living creature as statue. I let you judge if it's reasonable or not. I describe the two action bellow:
First option:
Lut murmur at the ring: "We found a door and manage to open it, we're entering now" He turn toward Trixauna "Prepare youself !".
Quikly he enter the room and attack repetidely with his dagger the first "statue".

Five foot step in (7,2) and full attack on the gargoyle.
Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll1] Damage roll[roll2]
Acid damage:[roll3] and just in case Sneak attack: [roll4]
Second Attack roll:[roll5] Damage roll[roll6]
Acid damage:[roll7] again Sneak attack: [roll8]

Attack with the second dagger, hopefully I calculate right:
First Attack roll:[roll9] Damage roll[roll10]
Electricity damage:[roll11] and just in case Sneak attack: [roll12]
Second Attack roll:[roll13] Damage roll[roll14]
Electricity damage:[roll15] again Sneak attack: [roll16]

Second option:
Lut murmur at the ring: "We found a door and manage to open it, we're entering now" He turn toward Trixauna "Prepare youself !".
Lut enter the room(7,2) carefully wary of trap.


Stat:
HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

Edit: Sorry, sorry, my second attack with both dagger are with a +9 not a +14 I copy past and forget to change that, sorry again. So it's 28 and 29, critical hit in both case I will roll that in the ooc thread.

[Faulty]

For zagan:
You hop into the room quickly. As you get within 5 feet of the pool, the gargoyles snap to life and growl at you, ready to pounce, and the water in the pool begins to undulate. Before any of the gargoyles can react, you plunge your daggers into the nearest one. Acid and electricity drip and crackle across your blades as you strike home, hitting the gargoyle in vital areas. Oddly however, the creature seems untouched and resilient despite your blow. It growls and begins to strike. Behind you, you hear Trixauna begin to move.

Map and OOC:
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/1668/poolcopy.jpg

Trixauna's Intiative: [roll0]

Make a will save with a +10 bonus.

[zagan]

They're immune to sneak attack !! Houston we got a problem !:smallsigh:
Or they're only illusion, I prefer that option.
Will save: [roll0]
Could you make a list with the initiative of the various participant in the encounter and the number of the round ? Thanks.

HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.
Edit: Ignore the roll, the correct one is in ooc thread, I'm sorry again, I need to learn to type less fast.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
After the first round is done and everyone has had a chance to move, I'll post the order, so you'll know. You are first in initiative, however.

Akward request, but please make six more Will saves, again at +10. Also, post your action(s) for the next round. Nothing has changed.

[zagan]

6 will save ! Okay. Cross finger :smalltongue:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

Lut shout at Trixauna. "Back up a little, I'm going to use the doorframe as a choc point". Before backing up himself Lut once again attack with his dagger.

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll6] Damage roll[roll7]
Acid damage:[roll8]
Second Attack roll:[roll9] Damage roll[roll10]
Acid damage:[roll11]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll12] Damage roll[roll13]
Electricity damage:[roll14]
Second Attack roll:[roll15] Damage roll[roll16]
Electricity damage:[roll17]

After that if possible he make a five-foot step in (7,1), if not he wait until Trixauna moved out of the way next turn.

HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

Edit: I again threatened a critical hit with my first attack but I will wait to see if they are illusion or immune before rolling in the ooc thread. I hope i'm not wasting my good roll, because I'm sure I will roll multiple 1 shortly.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
As your blades bury themselves in the stony flesh of the gargoyle, you realize something is amiss. Realization floods your mind as you realize that the gargoyles are merely illusions. Faint outlines of the gargoyles remain, effetly flying about and slashing at you, but to no effect.

OOC:
Would you like to take a free action to tell Trix that the gargoyles are illusions before I finish the round?

[zagan]

Yes, I do that.
Lut shout again "They're just illusion we can ignore them"

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
"Thank you for the warning, I wouldn't want to waste spells of figments," Trixauna calls back to you. She stands still, waiting for something to occur, unsure as to whether the room is safe. The gargoyle outlines flap around and claw at Lut uselessly. A second passes with nothing happening but the water rippling and the "gargoyles" moving pathetically, before the water explodes violently into the air. The water in the pool lifts itself up and takes on an undulating, semi-solid shape. Nothing remains in the pool but the water elemental and about 1 foot of water at the bottom. Parts of the water moves from the rest, forming two "arms" that reach down and try to grab Lut.

OOC:
The elemental is trying to grapple you. You may make an AoO if you'd like.

For Keld and kpenguin:
Clotty easily lifts Heiron off his feet and drags him onto the dance floor at the edge of the crowd, where she begins "dancing with him", swinging him back and forth, his feet skidding on the floor. Four of the six elven maidens dance their way over to the pair of you, and begin dancing at your sides.

[zagan]

OK, Aoo time I suppose that with your house rule I get one attack per dagger ? Well i roll both just in case.
First dagger:
Attack roll:[roll0]
Damage roll:[roll1]
Acid:[roll2]

Second dagger:
Attack roll:[roll3]
Damage roll:[roll4]
Electricity:[roll5]


Stat:
HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
As the elemental reaches out for you you slash out with your daggers, trying to deflect the blow. Your first dagger slices through the water elementals body, the acid of the blade sizzling in the elemental's watery "flesh". It doesn't do much damage, and the second strike misses, but it's enough to interrupt the elemental's attempt to grab you.

Behind Lut, Trixauna taps into the power of her heart of earth spell, shielding her body in magical stone. Then, with a precise gestures and words and a crackle of arcane energy, fires a green ray of energy at the elemental. The creature gurgles loudly, as if it were screaming, and sloshes around in the pool before regaining its composure.

OOC:
Initative is:

Lut
Water Elemental
Trixauna

This ends Round 2.

For Keld and kpenguin:
As you dance, you hear a muffled crackle and then a watery gurgling sound, as if a large amount of water was being boiled. It sounds as if it's coming from another room connected to the ballroom. The only other door in the room is around a corner on the northern wall, which you can see reflected in the mirrors. No one near you seems to notice but the elven maidens, who start suddenly before beginning to dance again.

OOC:
Neither of you move 'til I get a map up plz.

[zagan]

Lut shout at Trixauna again : "Could you invoque a creature to help ? On his other side if you can, to distract him"
That said Lut move a little to his left (7,3) and attack again.

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll0] Damage roll[roll1]
Acid damage:[roll2]
Second Attack roll:[roll3] Damage roll[roll4]
Acid damage:[roll5]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll6] Damage roll[roll7]
Electricity damage:[roll8]
Second Attack roll:[roll9] Damage roll[roll10]
Electricity damage:[roll11]


HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP.

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
Your first strike misses the elemental completely, and your second and third fail to break into the elemental's body. The second strike with your offhand dagger manages to puncture the element though. The blade itself fails to do damage, but the electricity dancing across it manages to spark into the elemental's body.

The elemental gurgles in rage as it attacks in the form of what could be considered a punch. You dodge to the side and only part of the punch manages to graze you. Suddenly, a whip of water extends itself from the elemental's body. You duck, but it smacks into you with a loud splash. You hold against the blow and right yourself soon after. You notice that the elemental seems to be straining to hit you from its little puddle as you stand on dry land.

Trixauna yells out to you, "Stay out of the water, it's weaker if you're on land!" She then pulls a staff out of her bag and infuses it with magical energy. Suddenly, what seems to be a short, stocky elf with broad shoulders, but quick and nimble, appears. He has bright silver-white hair and eyes that are an ever changing rainbow of hues. In his hand, he holds a golden scimitar. He extends a hand towards the elemental, and lightning shoots from his finger tips, striking through the elementals body. The elemental begins to turn towards the summoned creature as you get ready to act again.

OOC:
Map:
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1668/poolcopy.jpg

The mustard colored dot is the summoned creature.
You take 24 damage from the elementals attacks.

End of round 3.


For Keld and kpenguin:
The both of you hear two loud splashes of water, as if there was a wave crashing forceully against a wall. Then there is a crackle like lightning. Mere seconds afterwards, the elven maidens who were dancing with you strike. Their faces are contorted with rage and their hands are curled into claws. Two of them strike at Clotty but miss. Two more who were dancing beside Heiron strike; one misses and the other scrapes her nails along Heiron's armor. Two more dart towards you. No one else seems to notice except the lute player on the stage. He hops off the stage, dropping his lute on the way down, and moves through the crowd as if they were intangible, finally hiding behind one of the dancers right near Clotty.

OOC:
Map:
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/1063/ballroomcopy.jpg

Black is walls, grey is doors, light blue is windows. The brown thing by the front door is my bad attempt at the road up to the door, and the grey things flanking it are the statues of elves out front. The brown three-quarters circle in the upper left of the foyer is the stairs. The two light brown rectangles along the north wall of the ballroom are tables covered in food and drink. The brown area in the bottom right is the stage and the stairs leading up to it are obvious. It is five feet high. Black dots are guests and band members (the band members are the ones on the stage). Red dots are the elven maidens. Yellow dot is the lute player. The slate blue dot is Heiron and the green dot is Clotty. All walls in the ballroom are mirror covered.

Elf at (5,7) attacks Clotty and misses. Elf at (4,8) attacks Clotty and also misses. Elf at (6,7) attacks Heiron and misses. Elf at (7,8) attacks Heiron and misses. Two elves from throughout the crowd move to (6,9) and (5,9) respectively. The lute player hops off the stage and moves through the crowd behind one of the dancers and has concealment (20% miss chance).

Initiative:
Clotty (20)
Lute player (12)
Elven maidens (10)
Heiron (8)

[zagan]

Lut comment sarcasticly "Yes, summon the creature next to me that's exactly what I ask, Arcanist I swear." Not seing any other option Lut decide to risk running on the other side of the room himself. Once there he once again frappe the elemental.

Move action in (3,4) probably provoquing Aoo.
Now that I have a flanking budy I can use penetrating strike to deal half sneak attack damage. (3d6)

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll0] (+2 flanking) Damage roll [roll1]
Acid damage:[roll2] Sneak attack [roll3]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll4] Damage roll [roll5]
Electricity damage:[roll6] Sneak attack [roll7]

Stat:
HP: 73/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
I'm sorry! I forgot about penetrating strike, so I just summoned it there. DM failure there, and I don't want to punish you for my mess up. I'm gonna back things up one round and have her summon the creature at (3,6) so you can flank without moving.

New map:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1668/poolcopy.jpg

You can redo your turn. So that it didn't hit you with the lightning bolt, the creature shot upwards.

[zagan]

Alright Thanks, Round 3(4?)Take 2
Lut smiled "Thank's that's perfect." He Immediatly attack again.

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll0] (+2 flanking) Damage roll [roll1]
Acid damage:[roll2] Sneak attack [roll3]
Second Attack roll:[roll4] Damage roll [roll5]
Acid damage:[roll6] Sneak attack [roll7]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll8] Damage roll [roll9]
Electricity damage:[roll10] Sneak attack [roll11]
Second Attack roll:[roll12] Damage roll [roll13]
Electricity damage:[roll14] Sneak attack [roll15]


Stat:
HP: 73/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
Both strikes with your first dagger miss but the first with your second hits hard. You pierce deep into the creature's bulk and when you pull the dagger out, water spurts out of its body before the film keeping the being together recoagulates. Unfortunately, the second dagger barely fails to pierce the elemental's body.

While your attack stings it harder than it has before, the elemental seems more concerned with the new comer whose lightning had crackled through its body. A wave crests from the top of the elemental and slams down at the creature, while a "fist" of water bursts out of the main body. Both hit the summoned celestial hard, and it seems incapable of taking a blow as expertly as you can. It staggers, but drops into a crouch and fires off another lightning bolt, which the elemental manages to partially dodge away from the bolt, avoiding the brunt of the bolt.

Trixauna edges past you into the room, and defensively weaves a spell. A small orb of frost appears in her hand and shoots at the elemental, striking it in the center of its body. The elemental makes a gurgle of pain and the water where the orb impacts freezes and cracks when the elemental moves.

OOC:
Map:
http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1668/poolcopy.jpg

The summoned creature casts another lightning bolt. Trixauna moves to (7,3) and uses lesser orb of cold.

End round 4.

[zagan]

Round 5

"We're doing good ! Keep going !" With those word Lut attack again.

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll0] Damage roll [roll1]
Acid damage:[roll2] Sneak attack [roll3]
Second Attack roll:[roll4] Damage roll [roll5]
Acid damage:[roll6] Sneak attack [roll7]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll8] Damage roll [roll9]
Electricity damage:[roll10] Sneak attack [roll11]
Second Attack roll:[roll12] Damage roll [roll13]
Electricity damage:[roll14] Sneak attack [roll15]


Stat:

HP: 73/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
The first attack with each of your blades strike true. Acid and electricity sizzle through the elementals body as the pin-point strikes dig into the creature.

The elemental attempts to neutralize the summoned creature in a final, forceful strike. Water rises high and slams down with a brutal slap that the creature barely manages to dodge, part of the blow glancing off its skin harmlessly. The elemental strikes again with violence, and the blow hits the summoned being hard, slamming its body straight into the ground with a sickening slap and crunch, its corpse dissipating in a burst of magical energy as it dies.

Trixauna casts a spell and all the color in her body is suddenly whisked into a lance which is flung at the elemental. She becomes invisible and the lance strikes the elemental. The elemental wobbles a bit and suddenly seems slightly disoriented.

OOC:
I made another mistake. Elementals can't be flanked. :\ I'm not gonna change the penetrating strike damage you did though. My bad. Sorry, I feel like such a moron. Oh well, end of round 5.

Trix casted blinding color surge and is invisible and the elemental is blinded until the end of next round.

Map:
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/1668/poolcopy.jpg

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Clothilda manifests Expansion defensively (Augemented 11 PPs total) linked with Vampiric Blade (7 PPs). Clothilda is now HUGE!!!!!!!

WEEEE DANCING!!!!


HP: 186/174; AC: 17 (touch 17, flatfooted 17); Fort: 21 Ref: 10 Will: 15
Active Effects: 12 temporary HP. Force Screen (+4 AC), Expansion (Huge)

[zagan]

Lut grin when seeing the creature blinded and attack once again.

Attack with the first dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll0] Damage roll: [roll1]
Acid damage:[roll2]
Second Attack roll:[roll3] Damage roll: [roll4]
Acid damage:[roll5]

Attack with the second dagger:
First Attack roll:[roll6] Damage roll: [roll7]
Electricity damage:[roll8]
Second Attack roll:[roll9] Damage roll: [roll10]
Electricity damage:[roll11]

OOC: I admit I didn't know either that elemental could't be flanked, well now we know for next time.

HP: 73/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
All of your blows hit, but nothing but the acid and electricity enchanted upon their blades affect the elemental, whose tough body once again absorbs your blows.

The elemental tries to hit you, smacking at where it thinks you are. It misses, and then tries to shoot an arm out next to you, and the water splashes harmlessly against a wall.

You hear Trixauna cast a spell next to you and her invisibility disappears as another orb of cold energy shoots from her hand and hits the elemental in the side. The elemental stumbles when it hits and a large part of its body begins freezing. It tries weakly to move towards Trixauna's general direction, but the ice cracks and water begins to flood out of the wound. The rest of its body begins to falls apart, water sloshing out from under it, shrinking it, and spraying in gouts and splashes on the two of you before it sinks, its dead body half filling the pool again, half soaking the two of you, the room, and the ground just outside the door.

[zagan]

"Well that was a nice workout don't you think" Lut comment to Trixauna, afterward he turn his attention to the ring. "We encounter a few problem here but we manage to handle them how are thing on your side ?" While wating for a responde Lut activate his belt to heal his few wound.
Healing belt 1 charge: [roll0]


Edit: HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None (healed 12 hp)

[kpenguin]

"Errr... madams... if you're upset about us crashing the party... we simply wish to speak with Mister Tannebaum..."

Harshly, under his breath.

We're under attack here, Lut. Where are you? Were you making those splashing sounds?"

Heiron turns his attention to the dancers that the lute player was seemingly wading through.

Illusions

With but a thought, Heiron lifts 20 feet into the air. As he floats, the priest chants and drums his fingers on his staff. His eyes light with a platinum sheen and an area nearby alights with the same color glow for an instant.

OOC: Using Boots of Levitate to rise 20 ft. up and casting Greater Dispel Magic's area dispel effect centered on the intersection between squares (12,6) (12,5) (13,6) (13,5)


HP: 132/132;
AC: 28 (touch 23, incorporeal touch 28, flatfooted 28);
Fort: 21 Ref: 8 Will: 29
Active Effects:
Persisted Voice of the Dragon (+10 Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate; 1 Suggestion)
Persisted Divine Favor (+4 BAB, +4 Damage)
Persisted Holy Transformation (+4 Strength, +4 Constitution, Darkvision 50 ft., +4 on all Saves, DR 5/evil. Evil creatures within 10 ft take -2 penalty on attack rolls and saving throws.Speak and understand Celestial)
Superior Resistance (+6 on all Saves)

[zagan]

"We were fighting against a water elemental. Can you handle your fight or do you need help ? If not we can continue searching for the mask and for Thaddius on our side."

While waiting for a response Lut approche the door on the other side on the pool to see if it's closed.

Edit: HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Keld and kpenguin:
Clotty expands suddenly, knocking over some of your opponents and forcing others to jump away. Heiron is knocked onto his back as well, the elven maiden he falls into collapses as well.

The lute player draws a rapier from under his coat with lightning speed; it appears to be made of glass. He jabs at Clotty twice, piercing into her skin at sensitive positions and causing bleeding wounds.

The prone girls get up. All but the one by Heiron attack Clotty. One manages to strike four blows and rake at Clotty's body. The others miss, some attacking too quickly, while Clotty dodges out of the way of others. The one near Heiron attempts to shred him, but her nails scrape harmlessly at his armor.

Heiron activates his boots and floats up from the ground. The elf claws at him again, grabbing at his ankle but failing to injure him again. Upon reaching a height of 20 feet, he casts a dispelling spell, and suddenly the room is wiped of illusions. The guests and band disappear, as does the food. The room is suddenly much quieter. Two of the maidens suddenly become hideous red beasts (http://thecrux.cc/Submitted_Images/xill.bmp) and the lute player turns out to be a lithe man (http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/sfery/images/thumb/e/e3/Nerra.jpg/250px-Nerra.jpg) made entirely of what appears to be glass. The realization of the true nature of the elves ends the other illusions for Clotty and Heiron, and they find themselves surrounded by nothing but multi-armed red monsters and the glass man.

From the other room you hear more splashes and the crackle of lightning.

Clotty takes 41 piercing damage + 2 con damage from the lute player and 17 damage from the creature. If you'd like, you can make an attack of opportunity retroactively against the creature at (3,8) or (7,8), both of whom just stood up. The one at (3,8) is the one who damaged you, but you wouldn't know that at the time you'd take the AoO.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/1063/ballroomcopy.jpg

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Owweeeee!!!! NO TOUCHEE!!!!!!

Clothilda lashes out in all directions, picking up people and smashing them against the floor.


Grabbing the man with the rapier first, then the other guys 1 at a time.

How this works. Clothilda attacks till she hits. Hits trigger a grapple check from Scorpion's Grasp. Winning that grapple check deals grapple damage. Then her following attacks are grapple checks till she kills the target, at which point she starts attacking till she grabs again. At the very end of her turn, she releases her foe so as to not be considered "grappled". So, if the damage from the first attack doesn't kill the foe, skip the attack and damage rolls on the 2nd attack and go straight to the grapple and grapple damage rolls, and same on the 3rd if the 2nd doesn't kill, and again on the 4th if the 3rd doesn't kill, etc. I'll just include all rolls for simplicity. This is with full furry + Snap Kick.

BAM! BAM BAM BAM!

[roll0] [roll=Dmg1]8d8+12[roll] [roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll=Dmg2]8d8+12[roll] [roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll=Dmg3]8d8+12[roll] [roll7] [roll8]
[roll9] [roll=Dmg4]8d8+12[roll] [roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll=Dmg5]8d8+12[roll] [roll13] [roll14]

[Keld Denar]

Cause I failed at damage.....


[roll0] fail again, this one should say 1, but I can't edit it.
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

Also, the AoO I forgot...
[roll5] [roll6] [roll7] [roll8] after which she releases the creature from the grapple.


AoO is against the one at (7,8) because hes the one closes to Heiron.

[Keld Denar]

CRAP AGAIN! Forgot my Haste attack from Boots of Speed. Add 1 to all of the above attack rolls and this attack should be right between 4 and 5.

Clottilda just wants to smash people into the ground till they stop squirming so much. <3


[roll0] [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]


STATS:

HP: 161/161; AC: 18 (touch 18, flatfooted 18); Fort: 20 Ref: 11 Will: 15
Active Effects: Force Screen (+4 AC), Expansion (Huge), Vampiric Weapon, Haste (Boots)

Vampiric Weapon plus all the hits I made healed me for over 100 HP, so Clotty is back at full HP minus the HP lost to Con damage.

[Faulty]

Which one are you AoOing? Also, don't forget to post your stats.

[Keld Denar]

Ok, fixed everything. The AoO was against the one near Heiron. Attacks will go against the glass man with the wounding rapier first, then against he damage Xill, then against everyone else in a circle.

[Faulty]

For Keld and kpenguin:
As the creature near Heiron stands and tries to claw at him, Clotty nails the creature with a sudden blow. It flies back into the table behind it, the forcing splintering the edge and causing the body of the creature to bend at a fatal angle with a vicious crack of bone.

Clotty then responds quickly to her enemies' attacks. Her hand shoots out rapidly and her palm cracks the glass man in the face hard. As he begins to regain balance, her palm closes on him and pulls him into the air. He writhes as she squeezes, crushing his head. She slams his body to the ground and shards of glass and blots of ichor spray along the ballroom floor. She then spins her way around in a circle, attacking each "maiden" in turn. The corpse of the first skids across the floor, swiftly followed by the second, which is punched right off its feet. The third tries to block the blow with the two short swords it is holding, but finds them lodged in own flesh as the force of the blow snaps it arms towards its body. A fourth manages to dodge Clotty's first blow expertly, but is surprised by a swift kick to the face, which snaps its neck and sends it sprawling.

As the remaining creature goes to attack, four more appear out of the aether and attack in concert. The one remaining from the initial group claws at Clotty but can't land a blow. One of the new comers strikes with its sword, the first clinking off Clotty's force shield, and the second puncturing her calf. It removes the blade and tries to strike with two of its claws, but fails. The second manages to strike a blow with one sword, and claw at Clotty with one hand. The fiendish creature grips Clotty's flesh, attempting to draw her in, but Clotty pulls away easily. The third attacks, again with two swords and then two claws. One claw misses and another can't break through Clotty's force shield, both both blades strike particularly well, drawing blood, despite Clotty's attempt to avoid the blows. The last also hits with a sword and a claw, gripping onto Clotty, but again being shaken off.

Xill at (7,6) attacks Clotty and misses. Xill at (6,6) hits and deals 7 damage, Xill at (6,10) hits and deals 5, Xill at (5,6) hits and deals 16 (two crits with the short swords! :O), and Xill at (5,10) hits for 8.

Heiron's turn, then I post results, then next round.

Map:
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/1063/ballroomcopy.jpg

[kpenguin]

"I'm sure our end is secure. Continue your search. If you meet up with Thaddius, consider retreat. From what we've seen, Thaddius is extremely dangerous and may require all of us be present for a successful assault."

Heiron sighs as the elven maidens transforms into horrible beasts, laughs as the beasts attempt to attack him and fail horribly, then smiles as he watches Clotty dispatch them.

What the half-giant lacked in charm, tact, and hygiene she more than made up with brawn and the skill to use it.

Heiron levitates up to the ceiling and uses the surface to move laterally into a an area above a clear area of the battle, all the while trying to spot what is summoning the new beasts.

OOC: Move action to lift up to the ceiling, move action to move 15 feet to the right.

[zagan]

"Very well we will continue then, come on Trixauna no time to wast"

My action:
As i said in my last post Lut approch the door, if it's closed he once again take is tool and got to work.

Open lock check: [roll0]


HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

For Zagan:
You find the door unlocked anyway and your tools are not needed.

For kpenguin and Keld:
You drift along the room, finding nothing or no one who could have summoned any creatures. It is likely that they appeared through their own power.

As this all transpired, you hear two loud slaps of water and the brutal sound of a creature's body being broken with great force. You hear more muffled sounds.

OOC:
End of round. You can state your actions for the next round now. Also, Lut wouldn actually have gotten that during his fight, so you'll get no response for a few seconds.

Map:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1063/ballroomcopy.jpg

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Why you not dancing with Clotty? Clotty want to DANCE!!!!! DANCE LITTLE BUG THINGS!!!!!


Same routine, Haste, Flurry, Snapkick, Start attacking the one at (10,5) then (10,6) then (6,5) then (6,6), then (6,7) or till I'm out of little dancer things to crush!

[roll0] [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5] [roll6] [roll7]
[roll8] [roll9] [roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13] [roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll17] [roll18] [roll19]
[roll20] [roll21] [roll22] [roll23]


STATS

HP: 161/161; AC: 18 (touch 18, flatfooted 18); Fort: 20 Ref: 11 Will: 15
Active Effects: Force Screen (+4 AC), Expansion (Huge), Vampiric Weapon, Haste (Boots)

Vampiric Weapon plus all the hits I made healed me for over 100 HP, so Clotty is back at full HP minus the HP lost to Con damage.

[Faulty]

For Keld and kpenguin:
An uppercut sends one of the creatures flying into the air, passing surprisingly close to Heiron. Another's corpse rolls along the floor, as the next has its body painfully slammed into one of the doors of the room. Another is slammed out into the foyer and is left is a twisted, bleeding, twitching mess. The last creature's limited facial expressions seem to express fear as Clotty punches the creature so hard blood shoots out of its mouth, before she lifts it into the air and squeezes it, before dropping the mangled creature on the ground.

As Heiron floats over the blood spattered floor, he hears a message from Lut, "We encounter a few problem here but we manage to handle them how are thing on your side?" He informs you that they were fighting a water elemental.

For Zagan:
Trixauna nods at Lut's pithy comment about a workout. "Well done," she says. She watches him fiddle with the door before realizing it is open. "Hrmph. Let's go then," she says tersely, before opening the door and walking out in the ballroom. What seemed to be a teeming party from the outside now happens to be a bloody massacre. Crushed red creatures and what looks like the remains of glass litter the floor around Clotty, expanded to giant size. High above near the ceiling floats Heiron, surveying the room.

For everyone (read your relevant above part first):
"Xills and a nerra I see," Trixauna comments as she walks into the ballroom, followed by Lut. "What happened to the guests? An illusion?"

[kpenguin]

Heiron floats back down to the ground, flitting his eyes around for threats.

"Indeed."

[Faulty]

Trixauna notices his caution and comments, "Xills can teleport in from the ethereal plane, but if there are any more, I doubt they'll strike. Clotilda seems to be doing well."

[Keld Denar]

Clothilde

Clothilda looks around disappointedly, hoping someone else would want to dance with her. Seeing Lut enter the room, she instantly bounds towards him intent to slam him into the ground as well. Noticing that its Lut and not another Xill, she scoops him up and twirls him around before setting him back on the ground. Nobody wants to dance with me... Clothilda's face distents in a massive pout and her shoulders fall slightly. After thinking a moment, her face lightens back up. Maybe cute wizard man wants to dance?

[zagan]

After regaining is equilibrium from Clothilda greeting he smile at her and comment. "I'm sure we can arrange for him to dance with you for a little while" Lut look around and search around for where to go.
"So, where are we going now ?"

OOC:Could we have a Map please ?


HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Faulty]

Map:
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1063/ballroomcopy.jpg

Pretty intuitive what everything is. You are your colors. Clotty is enlarged which is why she's so big. The thing in the bottom right is the stage. The room Lut and Trix came out of is a pool room, and you can see a bit of the pool there. I forgot a small window there, on the side, but whatever. Long brown rectangles are tables. The area through the ballroom doors is the foyer and that weird shape at the top left is a spiral staircase. The grey circles out front are those statues of elves.

[zagan]

Thanks just want to be sure.

After thinking about is own question, and seeing that nobody answered. Lut decid to approch the door leading to the room next to the pool. (moving into 8,11)

OOC: Lut try to open the door if need he use is tool. I roll just in case.
[roll0]

HP: 87/87; AC: 26 (touch 18, flatfooted 21); Fort: 7 Ref: 16 Will: 6
Active Effects: None

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

If Lut fails to pick the lock, Clotty will gently push him out of the way and proceed to "open" the door. Knob side, hinge side, it doesn't really matter to her.

[Faulty]

Sorry for the absence. I'm getting ready to go back to college and will be rather busy for a while.

[Faulty]

The door opens with ease, no force or lock picking necessary. You enter a large room, obviously the chateau's kitchen. A large stove is on the west wall, and a sink is in the counter on the south. Aprons hang on a rack by the door. Cutlery, fine crockery, pitchers, platters, and trenchers are stacked neatly on the counter against the east wall. Metal pots hang from hooks above. Two wooden doors are located on the opposite side of the room. The room is quiet.

Map:
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4748/kitchencopy.jpg

[zagan]

Seeing nothing in the room, Lut enter and advance toward the door next to the counter and open it.

I go in (4.2) an open the door, I doubt it's closed but just in case here a roll:
Open lock check: [roll0]

[Faulty]

You pull the knob and open the door, revealing a stairwell that leads down to the chateau's dark basement.

Map:
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/4748/kitchencopy.jpg

The stairs continue downwards, but past what's on this map is dark.

[zagan]

"Hum, that look promising" Turning toward the other Lut ask:"Do you think we should explore that ?"

[Keld Denar]

Clothilda

Hmmm, I don't think I'll fit down there. Maybe we should look elsewhere first?