When All Hell Breaks Loose IC

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The vaulted ceiling of the Basilica of the Golden Dawn no longer glows with daylight, now that its priests are unable to commune with the Lord of the Sun. Pelor's favor used to shine on the remote city of Triune Valley through His numerous clergy, but with His mysterious silence they have turned to outside help. The churches of Heironeous, Pelor, and Kord jointly founded an outpost here long ago for adventurers and mercenaries to use when undead hordes and monstrous attacks threatened the safety of nearby cities; the outpost has since grown into a thriving trade city thanks to the potent magics of its theocratic benefactors, and without those powers the city is vulnerable.

Loath to draw attention to their weakness and perhaps attract enemies who had forgotten them or the fiendish forces who have recently invaded the Prime, the rulers of Triune Valley have discreetly sent out offers of money, favors, and other incentives to those who would come to their aid. Most respondents have been clergy of neutral gods and good arcanists willing to maintain the city's magical defenses and keep its citizens healthy, but a handful have been willing to take the fight to their enemies and preempt any attacks. You are among the latter group, and so have come to the Basilica today to meet with like-minded individuals and the now-powerless clergy to coordinate your efforts.

The dozen or so creatures in the main hall are varied in appearance and temperament, but all are united in purpose, so even those who would in other times be the target of "smite first, ask questions never" tactics by the local paladin chapters are graciously welcomed. You have been encouraged to meet and greet your fellows until those who called you here return from a meeting.

Take some time to introduce your characters, and once everyone is sufficiently in-character we'll move things along. The OOC thread is here.

[Cogidubnus]

A dwarf wearing scarlet dragon scale armour, with a greataxe slung over his shoulder, enters the room, a red dragon by his side. His hair and beard are red, and he surveys the room in a broad sweep, before addressing all within earshot of his loud and commanding voice.

Okia I am Okia, called Ulengkegeth. I have come here to try and find some co-ordination in the defence of this world. Though I have worked hard to defend the innocent locals in this area, it is impossible to be everywhere at once, and hard to defeat every threat I encounter. I am hoping someone here will be able to help me

*he pats the red dragon next to him*

Okia And this is my daughter, Durgarnbarbabin

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick trots into the main hall a grin spread across his face.

Oi! Now this will be an adventure for the books and bards!

Patrick was a mere 3'2" but his personality made up for his lack of height. His flaming orange hair was tosseled with no general plan or purpose and his deep green eyes jumped from one occupant of the hall to another. He wears a a dark green pants and a black loose fitting shirt over which he wears a brown vest. His general appearance is disheveled and hastily donned. He swings a satchel under his right arm and a long case covers his left thigh from hip to knee. On his shoulder perched precariously is a small creature which looks like a striped mouse's bigger brother who seems to whisper into the gnomes ear and holds on to the jaunty gnome for dear life. Seeing the Large dragon in the room the Beguiler tries and hide behind the gnomes head while keeping an eye on the entire room all at once as if afraid another dragon might appear from nowhere


[roll0]
[roll1]
to see or hear anything of particular interest in the room

[roll2] for Pepe's spot to see anything I can't :smallwink:

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

An orb of light about a foot across floats into the room without a sound. It passes right through any obstacles in its path - including Patrick, if he doesn't move out of the way. It could be mistaken for a Will o' Wisp, or perhaps a dancing lights spell, were it not for the comforting warmth of the light it gives off. And the fact that it constantly changes colours, patterns swirling about it, changing by the moment.

The orb of light freezes in the air, not even bobbing or floating back and forth. It stays there for a few moments, and then fades away, revealing a very small woman hovering in the air. While she has the long wings of a pixie, her face seems far more human. Her eyes are blue, although her long hair is a shocking green colour. Her features are perfect - not the angular perfection of a model, but a healthy, rounded sort of perfection.

Across her back is a tiny little bow, and a quiver of arrows. Her clothing is quite spartan, consisting just of a blue dress of some indescribable material, which seems to shimmer in the light. The sleeves of the dress are short, showing off her arms - and the skirt is quite short as well, possibly to allow her to run, which isn't very easy in long dresses.

One wonders why she'd have to run when she can fly, though.

The little pixie-like creature looks around for a moment or two, then raises a hand. "Hi! My name's Lii!"

[Adunatar]

Patrick's fears were not completely unfounded - the door opened, and a large muscular draconic creature entered the Basilica. A well-crafted tabard of purple silk, with a silvery embroidering depicting the Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, was covering a glistening mithral breastplate. A mithral shield with Bahamut's emblem was hoisted at the back, along with a well-worn leather backpack. The creature's head was bearing the distinctive features of a silver dragon.

He glanced uneasily at the dragon mount of Okia, then bowed to the assembly, and introduced himself in a booming voice: "Elzedar Del Firebat, the disciple of the Platinum Dragon, at your service."

[crazedloon]

Patty

As the light approaches Patricks back Pepe yanks on the gnomes small frame attempting to allow the gnome ,and his passenger, to avoid the collision. Patrick tips forward splaying his hands out in an attempt to save himself only to land face first in the ground. Pepe however scurries across Patty's back and looks up as the light flies over his head with what can only be a grin of satisfaction on his face. Patrick spins himself attempting to dislodge the Beguiler but only manages to get himself tangled in his bag.

Oh I outa wollop ya....

He trails off when he see that others are watching and introducing themselves.

Oi I am Patrick Shankraft my friends call me Patty.

he stands up brushing the dust of himself and Pepe climbs back onto his shoulder.

[Cogidubnus]

Okia
Seeing a servant of the Platinum Dragon, Okia strides forward to greet Elzedar, proffering two open palms in a show of friendship

I am Okia, Knight of the Platinum Dragon. It is good to see a fellow among this crowd

[mucat]

Standing near the edge of the domed chamber, a thin, middle-aged human with greying hair and beard taps his foot impatiently. Or perhaps just almost human; thin tendrils of yellowish smoke curl from the small, curved horns that jut from his receding hairline, becoming more pronounced as his impatience grows.

Tyrian and Yeth should have been here two days ago, damn it. He had received a rather garbled sending last night, not from his two delinquent colleagues but from Aisha, an apprentice of Tyrian's whom he vaguely remembered, saying that she would try to reach "the dome." His every attempt to reach any of them by arcane means had failed, so for lack of other ideas, he had hoped that the apprentice might have been referring to this meeting.

But the small crowd holds no familiar faces, and Cambios quite literally fumes. It had been difficult enough finding others willing to challenge this disruptive invasion head-on, rather than simply bolster defenses and hope for the best. For this small band of like-minded colleagues to vanish without a trace is, frankly, intolerable.

Cambios spins toward the door, preparing to leave, then hesitates. It is possible that Tyrian and the others are merely delayed; from what he could gather from last night's fragmented message, the apprentice had been quite uncertain about their ability to reach their destination. In any case, he gathers that the purpose of this meeting is to coordinate the efforts of disparate individuals to strike back at the invaders. It may be worth hearing what they have learned thus far.

So the grey-haired mage turns back from the door and walks over to join the gathering cluster of beings in the center of the dome. A rather eclectic collection they seem, but then, who is he to judge?

He examines the others for a moment, though not for so long as to seem rude, then extends his right hand. "A pleasure to meet all of you," he says cordially. "Cambios of the Blackstone Monastery, resident now at Silvercliff."

[Adunatar]

Elzedar graciously bowed his head towards Okia, then towards the newcomer mage. "I am likewise pleased to make an acquaintance", - he replied, addressing both of them

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

Durgarn nudges Okia's arm, groaning When can we move this ALONG?!? Do I at least get to say hello?

Okia soothingly replies I'm sure we won't have to wait long. Besides, we ought to reassure our friend here *he indicates Elzedar that you are not a threat to him. If he's a devotee of Bahamut, he is likely to be concerned by your appearance. Okia turns to Elzedar again, before continuing Durgarn, here, is perfectly safe. I have raised her like my child from when she was a hatchling. There is no reason to fear.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Oi that must of bin awkward. You suckle the critter to?

Patrick stands outside the meeting of the two dragon worshipers leaning against a wall. A grin spread across his face.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The pixie-like woman crosses her arms over her chest, giving a little bit of a pout. "Awww. Why's everyone being so formal?" She grumbles a little bit, looking around, although her good mood returns quite quickly. "Okay then. I'm Lii, Coure Eladrin of Arborea, Emissary of Chaav" She nods her head once, before spying Cambios.

Her head tilts slowly to one side as she considers him for a moment or two. "You look annoyed," she notes.

[Adunatar]

Elzedar nodded approvingly.

- The sight of a red dragon turned to good fills my heart with joy. Impressive feat, master Okia! And hello to you, Durgarn! Not to worry, we'll have our chance to vanquish the evil spawn quite soon, I'm sure.

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

Durgarn grins at this, and Okia smiles along with her. He turns to Lii and says You must excuse the formality, dear lady. I would merely hate to offend anyone. If you want someone offending, you must get my daughter's help for that! and he chuckles deeply into his beard.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

A short woman surveys the gathered crowd from a corner, her eyes glinting forth with a red tinge underneath layers of dark clothing blocking most of her from view. Beneath a hat flows thick strands of black hair reaching all the way to her shoulders. She wears clean blue-black robes that have the appearance of a scholar's uniform, as that of a university. A distinctive silver symbol hang from a string around her slender neck, which upon further examination turns out to be the holy symbol of Saint Cuthbert.

She doesn't seem particularly impressed by the headstrong dwarf or the disheveled gnome with the pet, but she did pause when she saw the orb of light float into the room, raising her eyebrows in surprise upon seeing it transform into a pixie-like creature. Though she had focused her studies on other types of extraplanar creatures, she recognized this one when she saw it, and wondered why such a creature was still here despite most of its kind having, for all intents and purposes, vanished.

What gave her most pause, however, was seeing the 'human', this Cambios, walking forward and introducing himself. Her first instinct was alarm, but she does not react visibly, instead deciding to study him a bit before walking forward herself. Walking to the middle of the room, she says softly, "Hello, I am Tiranya. Pleased to make your acquaintances," and walks quietly back to a corner, though not without giving Cambios another studious glance.

[mucat]

Cambios inclines his head politely in return to Tiranya's greeting, then raises an eyebrow at the small flying creature, Lii. "You are perceptive," he answers her dryly; then his face relaxes a bit and a hint of a smile quirks for an instant at the corner of his mouth. "or I have a poor poker face, in which case I apologize. I am, as you say, annoyed, but not at anyone here. Two of my colleagues had asked me to meet them in Triune Valley to coordinate our response to this planar intrusion, but as of yet, there is no sign of them."

He glances back toward the door, checking the truth of his statement, and looks disappointed to see no one there. "All the more frustrating," he adds, half to the sprite and half to himself, "given that when we last communicated, they seemed rather excited about some progress they had made."

[Cogidubnus]

Okia, hearing this, saysdo you know why they might be delayed, or where they might be. It would be easy for me and Durgarn to survey the countryside around here

[mucat]

Cambios considers the dwarf's words carefully. "I thank you for the offer," he answers, "and I may well take you up on it; I have no doubt that you and your associate could cover significant ground quickly." He gives a respectful nod to the red dragon as he mentions her. "In all probability, though, they were traveling by teleportation or via the Shadow Plane, rather than overland, so until they reestablish contact, I am unsure where to even begin a search."

He pauses for a barely perceptible moment of indecision. Perhaps he has said more than he should...but an overly conservative approach might stretch this disruptive invasion out by months or years, so a certain amount of loose talk may qualify as a calculated risk.

"I did receive one more recent Sending, badly fragmented, indicating that they were en route to a dome," he admits, gesturing to indicate the curved ceiling overhead. "You can see why I had hopes they may put in an appearance this morning. If they meant somewhere else, though, then I wish they had been more specific. Perhaps they were, had the message not been garbled."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure's face falls at Cambios' explanation - but she brightens up almost immediately, reaching out to pat on his shoulder. It's a pretty ridiculous gesture, considering how small she is - not even two feet. "I'm sure they're okay. They'll turn up eventually!" The small sprite nods her head firmly.

But she doesn't stick around for long, quickly fluttering off to pay attention to the gnome and his... pet? Her head tilts to one side as she peers at the beguiler, not quite sure what to make of it!

[crazedloon]

Patty

When the Lii comes to inspect Pepe the beguiler crawls behind Patricks head.

Oh for Olidammara's sake Pepe, you don't need to be afraid of everything.

Patrick stands up straight as he addresses the coure.

Nice to meet such a pretty little lady in these parts.

He gives a bow far too deep and Pepe clings on for dear life.

Sorry for his rather lackluster reaction. He has a strange opinion that everything is trying to eat him.

He glances over to the large dragon and leans away from it cupping his hands as he does, giving Lii a wink as he says.

Though I don't really blame him with that critter over there.

[mucat]

After speaking cordially for a while with Okia, Durgarn, and Elzedar, Cambios excuses himself from the conversation and walks over to the edge of the room where Tiranya stands watching the proceedings. His simple academic robes mirror her own, and he greets her with the polite but casual nod of one scholar to another. "I must apologize that it took me so long to place your name," he tells her. "You are the same Tiranya Sordel who co-authored a series of papers with Lewanelle Mycene? If so, I owe you and Dr. Mycene a debt of gratitude. For a decade now, I've used your papers as lecture notes any time I'm called upon to teach Conjuration."

Not sure if she was in earshot when he introduced himself before, Cambios extends a hand to the other mage. "Cambios Blackstone, Silvercliff Spire."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"You've... heard of me?" Tiranya says, startled. That was certainly new to her, and it surprised her enough that it took her a few moments before she even understood the rest of what he said, much less see the hand being offered. Blushing a bit at her mistake, she quickly took his hand and shook, before speaking again, "I'm flattered, but you needn't thank me. They were mostly my mentor's work; I simply helped out with a bit of the experimentation. Regardless, I'm glad those old papers has helped someone, even if I only contributed minimally."

She smiles, then asks, "If you found use for those papers, are you perhaps a fellow Conjurer, by any chance? I certainly wouldn't mind another Conjurer at our side in the coming fights, and it would be nice to have someone of like mind to talk to; it's been so long since I'd been amongst scholars."

[mucat]

"I cannot call myself a Conjurer, though I do dabble in it. Along with every other aspect of the Art; I never could settle down to a proper specialty," admits Cambios. "So the Regents, may they be thoroughly damned, have decided that I am qualified to teach everything, when 'qualified to teach nothing' would be a more honest assessment. And would keep the students out of my hair."

As if to illustrate, he runs a hand through his thinning hair, smoothly skipping over the horns as if they didn't exist. "Which is why I was so grateful to discover your and Lady Lewanelle's papers," he says with a low chuckle. "I can structure an entire Conjuring course around them, and sound almost as if I know what I'm talking about."

He strokes his beard for a moment, eyes averted as if trying to remember something, then looks back at the younger mage. "Forgive me, but I have not kept up on your work since then. Are you still at Alayan?"

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya blinks a bit when she sees Cambios pass over his horns so casually, but doesn't mention it. "I have left Alayan years ago, leaving to see the world and help out where I could. I do miss my old colleagues and friends back there, but I find it fulfilling helping people out here in the real world." Her eyes grow distant for a moment, as if reminiscing, but she quickly pushes away the memories and turns back to the conversation at hand.

"But what about you? You teach at Silvercliff Spire, correct? I've never been there, but I've heard some favorable things about that school. Do you know of a Professor Isenbach there? I remember him from my student days, when he came over to Alayan to give a lecture on the Metaphysics of Astral Travel that I found quite fascinating. I believe he was a professor of Conjuration at your university."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The tiny woman's head tilts to one side. "Olidmmara? Chaav told me about him. He doesn't like him very much, although whenever I asked why he'd change the subject." The little fairy-thing giggles a little bit, peering at Pepe! "...Awww, don't worry cutie. I won't eat you. I'm a vegetarian."

Lii looks up at Patrick with wide eyes. "What is he, anyway? He's adorable! He looks like a mouse but I don't think he is one..."

[crazedloon]

Patty

He is a beguiler. Smart little buggers when they aren't being cowards.

He seems to say the last bit more at Pepe than Lii. In response the beguiler whispers into the gnomes ear followed by a short back and forth.

I am not a coward I had a legitimate reason to run from that and you know it...
No you would have been eaten as well....
You saw how big it was....
You know what I am not getting you food tonight...
Fine!

Patty looks away from Pepe and the beguiler does the same as they attempt to look mad at each other even with the one riding the other. Patty looks back at Lii.

Like I was sayin he is a beguiler and my sidekick.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The double doors at the end of the hall fly open, hitting the wall with a heavy thud. "Did I hear someone say 'Olidammara'?" A wire-thin man swaggers into the room, clad mostly in black with a bandolier of wands across his chest; an insignia of Olidammara hangs from a prominent position on his belt next to two short swords. "Don't worry about offending me, darling," he says, smiling at Lii, "I'm not a priest of His, just a fan who decided to stop by and help hereabouts with the magical heavy lifting." He gives an overly dramatic bow and motions back toward the entrance. "And now, introducing the folks who put the 'pal' in paladin...I present Sister Lavandra of the Blades of Heironeous and Brother Golin of the Sanctified Fists of Kord!"

An older man and a well-built young woman walk into the hall, wearing the garb of their respective faiths and looking not at all amused. "This is serious, Kell," opines Lavandra, a stern expression on her face; she motions him toward her and he takes up position behind the pair with a long-suffering sigh. "You may not be of the clergy, but that does not give you leave to continuously be so flippant with our authority." Meanwhile, Golin is sizing up those in the hall; his eyes pass over most of the people there, stopping on Lii. "I am pleased to see you here; it is a rare honor to meet one of your kind, particularly in light of...recent events," he says with a smile. His eyes continue on, stopping once again when they take in the red dragon and two tieflings in the room. His smile vanishes, and he nudges Lavandra, then quickly motions his fingers through a few mystical passes--stopping in a moment and clenching his fist in frustration. "Kell, would you be so kind as to...?"

Kell laughs and crosses his arms. "What, magically discern if some eeevil fiends are hiding in plain sight in our midst? Nah, I checked; they're clean." Both paladins relax and recover their smiles. "Apologies for the reaction; with these trying times, I'm sure you understand. Allow us to formally welcome you to Triune Valley; Father Limmith is still occupied, but he should be joining us soon. Now, if you would be so kind, could you gather around and inform us and your fellows as to your strengths and what you might contribute to the fight against the fiendish threat?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii looks nonplussed as the paladins and other enter the building. "A rare honour? But we breed like rabbits. There's millions of us!" Then again, she's used to the infinities of the Outer Planes. However, she suddenly remembers something said just previously, and her face lights up. "You serve Kord? Awesome! I love Kord! He's all rar," she punches the air, "fist bump," she thrusts her fist out in front of her, "and then challenges you to a drinking contest. Which is pretty unfair considering he's immune to poison, but... no one ever said the God of Competition had to play fair..."

The Coure is grinning from ear to ear as she gushes over the awesomeness that is Kord. But then she hmms, and gets serious for a moment. "...Well. I don't... really like to brag, but I'm versed in the Talng'shrhuk'l!ah... the True Speech. Basically I can tell the universe to shut up and sit down." She nods her head sagely. "I can... let's see..." she begins to count off on her fingers. "Enhance the accuracy or deadliness of an attack, or perform the reverse... see invisible creatures or render a creature invisible... strike people silent or allow a mage to cast spells without needing to speak... speed up or slow down a target... heal or harm... render someone capable of flight or rob a flying creature of that ability..."

She chews on her lip, trying to think. "Oh! And I can analyse a magical item to figure out its abilities, open a door or container that isn't locked, or form a gateway to another plane with a word." Her little head bobs. "I think that's everything...?" A pause. "Oh, and my bow is enchanted against creatures of evil, especially fiends. That's helpful, right?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick eyes the man wielding the many wands. But gives the two paladins a sterns look, or the best attempt us one he could muster.

Oi, Kell I like your stripes, a man after me own heart. What fancy wands have you collected?

Than realizing he had ignored the other questions entirely he answers them quickly taking a few words from little outsider.

I make spell wielders and those who can emulate their abilities shut up and sit down, and I am quite capable of obtaining that which is not mine.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Brother Golin turns the slightest shade paler at having his patron described as being "unfair," but aside from a slight tightening around the eyes he shows no reaction.

Kell, on the other hand, warms to Patrick almost immediately. "Oh, I didn't just collect them. I specialize in making wands; I got one for every occasion. Sounds like you and I have a similar outlook on life."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick grins even broader.

Indeed sir a very similar look on life we may have to compare collections and maybe do a little trading.

He gives Kell a mischievous wink

[Adunatar]

Casting a suspicious look at the gnome, Elzedar stepped forward, greeting the clerics with a slight bow.

- Elzedar Del Firebat, the disciple of The Platinum Dragon. It is an honor to serve the noble cause, and all my abilities are at your disposal. My draconic patron has granted me the powers of his ilk - the ability to sense invisible and hidden foes, and to envelop them in cleansing fire (even more often than most dragons could), arctic cold, or roaring thunder - all while entangling them and slowing them down. I can also chill my foes with freezing clouds of fog, can analyze and identify magical effects, and strip them from any creature or place. I'm capable of flying as good as any dragon, and can shrug off magical attacks based on any of the four basic elements. I also have an aura that invigorates my allies and keeps them going. All of these feats I'm able to perform all day long, and two hours of sleep is all I require.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

"Silly mortals, with their 'sleep' and 'need to eat'," Lii comments, cheerfully.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty looks at Lii when she knocks the mortals one failing and gives her a wink as he whispers

Ai I would agree your kind do use their beds for a much preferable activity.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

"Beds, chairs, tables, grass, trees, other people... whatever's handy, really..." says Lii, managing to keep a straight face.

She's joking, right?

[Cogidubnus]

okia
I am Okia, Knight of the dragon. I am armed with an axe enchanted against all extraplanar evil, and I am highly resilient. My daughter Durgarnbarbabin grants me flight and magical support, as well as being a serious threat in combat. He indicates his dragon with a wave of his hand.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Smiling apologetically to Cambios at the interruption to their conversation, Tiranya turns to the new arrivals and walks forward to introduce herself to them. "I am Tiranya Sordel, once of the University of Alayan and a Conjurer by trade. I bring what small amounts of talent I have in Conjuration and other forms of arcane spellcasting to bear against the fiends. I can provide travel services to the group through Teleportation magic, provide a safe, if cramped, resting place at night, and might be of some small help in combat as well. I am also well versed in knowledge of the Outer Planes and of extraplanar beings should such a need occur."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Golin gives Tiranya a sidelong glance. "You wouldn't happen to...associate with fiends, would you? I mean, you are a conjurer and you are...what you are, so I can only assume...?"

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya gives the man a hard glance, her eyes glinting red in the light, "I slay fiends, Brother Golin, I don't befriend them. I am well versed in summoning magics, and the Celestial realms seem quite distant as of now." As if impulsively, she fingers her holy symbol at her throat. "If it becomes necessary, I will do what is needed, but believe me, what I do will be for the Greater Good." She stares at him defiantly, challenging him.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Golin's eyes widen, and he hastily extends his hands in a gesture of pacification. "No no, you misunderstand! I didn't mean to imply you were working with the fiends!" He lowers his arms shamefacedly. "You see, there are some conjurers who train to summon fiends to kill other fiends, and they have a foul reputation here. We have had several incidents of cultists attempting to infiltrate our sacred valley by pretending to be that sort, so any who summon fiends are under a measure of suspicion, good intentions or no. As well, ever since...recent happenings, there have been some who blame them on conjurers weakening the barriers between planes, and," the paladin motions toward her eyes, "given your...unusual features, it is only natural to assume you, well..."

Lavandra steps up next to Golin, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What the brother is trying to say, I'm sure, is whether you summon fiends and your purpose for doing so are important for us to know, because being what you are, the congregation will have questions and it would be best to be prepared for them." Golin nods emphatically. "Yes, indeed, that is what I meant to say. I'm terribly sorry to have upset you; please accept my humblest apologies." The paladin looks over Tiranya's shoulder at Cambios. "And, ah, for you, sir, same...same question."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii's eyes dance in delight at Tiranya's introduction. "Well versed in the Outer Planes and extraplanar beings? Oooo, what do you know about my kind?" She looks... genuinely interested.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Responding to the paladins, Tiranya says, "As I've said, if it becomes necessary, I will do what I must for the Greater Good, whatever that may be. I realize the dangers of fiendish summoning, and I would not do it lightly, but if it comes to that, a summoned fiend is a tool, as is any sword or spell. If guided and strictly controlled, it can be used for Good, just as any other tool.

"As for whether Conjurers could have been responsible, let me tell you: I have been studying Conjuration magics for years. I have done experiments, published papers, read literature, and spoke to many, many other experts in the field. And I have never seen, never heard of, never experienced any phenomenon even close to what is happening now.

"The College of Conjuration at Alayan where I studied has existed for centuries now. Its students and faculty has cast many of the same spells and done many of same tests as I have. And numerous other Universities and Colleges dedicated to Conjuration have existed for as long or even longer. Why is it that in all those years, we haven't seen anything even remotely close to what has happened currently? That despite all those hundreds of thousands of Summoning spells cast in those years, that the barriers between the planes have weakened only now and showed no signs of this even a decade ago?

"This can't possibly just be a Conjuration experiment gone wrong; no, this is far more than that. The Lower Planes do not erupt onto the Prime because some Conjuration student somewhere dropped his test tube. Whatever caused this must have done it deliberately, and has likely changed something in the fundamental fabric of the universe. Against anything of such magnitude, I, nay, we, can't afford to weaken ourselves by ignoring the perfectly viable tools we have at hand. When our plane of existence is at stake, we cannot be picky about our friends or our weapons.

"The Truth of the matter is, we all must do what is necessary in this time of need. I understand that Truth, and if I have to sacrifice my soul, much less my life, to save this plane, I would, but I expect it would take far more than that. I hope all of you understand this Truth as well, and you are ready to sacrifice much the same for the Greater Good. If you or anyone else would question me, I implore you, do so. I am not afraid of the Truth."

Giving them one last fiery glance, Tiranya turns to Lii with a smile. "I know much about your kind, Joyous One. My mentor was always fond of Eladrin of all kinds, and told me much about them. I know you come from Arborea, that you live to laugh and live to love, that you would wander endlessly in star-lit fields within the Upper Planes, enjoying the pure Freedom and Ecstasy of an unbound life. I do not know what brought you here, Joyous One, but I am saddened that one such as you are forced to take up arms alongside us mortals, for there is no Joy to be found in war."

[mucat]

At Tiranya's mention of Professor Isenbach, Cambios's eyes had dipped almost imperceptibly. When the prankster and the paladins called their meeting to order before Cambious could answer the question, his expression was one of faint relief.

Perhaps it is his gratitude for this reprieve that holds his annoyance at bay through the paladins' initial introductions and pontifications, though when Kell mentions finding the assembly "clean" of evil, the mage's eyes narrow almost as if the statement were a personal challenge.

He listens with calm respect as the varied creatures in attendance introduce themselves, and nods politely at the appropriate points in all their statements, though he also glances occasionally toward the door as if not certain this meeting pertains to him at all.

When the paladins begin to question Tiranya, though, Cambios forgets all thoughts of leaving. He steps from his position near the wall and moves closer to the main gathering, to stand alongside his fellow wizard. He holds his silence until she has finished speaking, then gives a cold but outwardly courteous nod to Golin and Lavandra.

"You raise a number of fascinating questions," he tells the paladins, "touching on matters that range from established research safety protocols to some rather thorny calculations of interplanar pseudotensor barriers. Naturally, anyone who wishes to contribute meaningfully to such a discussion is thoroughly welcome to join a recognized institution of learning, to spend the requisite years studying the Art, to prove their competence before a legitimate peer-review body, and to produce some innovations of their own in the field. At that point, their views on these matters would merit serious consideration."

His voice remains calm and level as he speaks, and his horns emit no more than the faintest trickle of smoke. "I myself am no great authority on Conjuration," he continues, "so to interject my ignorance into this conversation would be pointless. We are fortunate, then," he says with a nod to Tiranya, "that a legitimate expert has joined us today. In the absence of anyone else with pertinent knowledge, I would suggest we treat her views as definitive."

After a moment's pause, his gaze locking not quite impertinently with those of the paladins, he speaks more casually. "Ah, but forgive me," he says, "I have gotten ahead of myself. I am Cambios, late of the Blackstone Monastery, associated now with the Spire at Silvercliff. I am a lifelong student of the Art, and though my talents are meagre, I will gladly place them at the disposal of any more accomplished colleague who wishes to bring an end to the most irregular and disruptive events which plague our plane of late."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick leans in close to Lii as Cambios rants about his magical method and the required certificates to be acknowledged as having any say or opinion on such matters.

He has a rather high opinion of himself doesn't he? I bet you could turn him on his head with your knowledge of the universe and I bet you don't have single ruddy certificate.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure giggles a little bit Tiranya's description, and nods her head. "Spot on. Five stars!" She looks a little saddened at the mention of war, but, naturally brightens right up again. "I want to fight so I can see Chaav again," she says firmly, nodding her head once.

As Patrick whispers to her, she automatically leans in closer. She frowns a ltitle bit. "Well... I probably could, but that'd be rude. I've had hundreds of years to learn everything I know. The fact that he and Miss Sordel know so much at such young ages really speaks volumes about them!"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Oi it speaks volumes about the volume of their egos.

Patrick gives her a wink before listening once more to the ego grappling taking place with the wizards.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Golin's cheeks are a fiery red at this point. "As I said, sir and madam, I never meant to impugn your dedication or anything of the sort; I am merely concerned about the image you present to the public! While 'image' is, I admit, a petty trifle in such dire times as these, certain images might cause unrest, suspicion, hostility, and other impediments to the cause--and those we certainly cannot afford." He politely excuses himself and goes over to speak to some of the other adventurers in the room. "Please don't feel too offended by Golin's questions," Lavandra says softly. "He's getting set in his ways in his old age; both of our orders rely overmuch on our ability to pick out foul-hearted creatures at a glance, and with that no longer available to us Golin has been jumping at shadows." She too goes to speak to some of the others.

Kell sidles up to Cambios and Tiranya and whispers "Nice little speeches, there. I hope you're telling the truth, 'cause I don't actually carry a wand for detecting evil." With a smirk, he saunters over to talk shop with Patrick.

Once again, the double doors open, though this time without the clamor. In walks a distinguished gentleman in golden robes; this must be Father Limmith. He leans heavily on a cane of office as he strides through the door, but he is otherwise fit, and an aura of subtle golden light and the smell of roses surround him. He stamps the cane on the floor twice, and candelabras throughout the hall ignite, adding to what little sunlight filters through the windows as dusk approaches. "Miniature sparks of Pelor's kindness, those; powerless we may be, but once infused, His light is eternal. I am Father Limmith, as I am sure my brother and sister have informed you. I will let them handle the details of organizing you all; should you have any questions about your goals or our status here, please ask."

[mucat]

On hearing Kell's confession about the wand, Cambios smiles slightly for the first time since addressing the paladins. "Thank you for telling us that," he whispers in response. "I might have been tempted to think evil thoughts to see if I could trigger the wand. And at my age, that is simply too strenuous."

He gives Kell a slight bow as the black-clad man moves on to talk to Patrick, then turns back to Tiranya. "Is this the sort of thing you deal with all the time in the real world?" he asks her. "I think I remember why I prefer the ivory tower. Speaking of which, you were asking about Professor Isenbach..."

Before he can finish, Father Limmith arrives and begins addressing the assembled creatures, and Cambios falls silent to listen.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

As Tiranya is about to resume conversation with Cambios, she sees Father Limmith walking into the room and falls silent. After he asks for questions, she speaks up, "I have a few things I'd like to know, Father, if you would be so kind. First of all, I'd like to know more of what we're facing. The number and types of fiends, where they're gathered, what they're currently doing, how organized they appear to be, and where exactly they're coming from; all of these are important in determining where we should attack and how we must act. Second, I'd like to ask if you've had any news of the outside world and how other kingdoms and cities are faring. Any areas of heavy calm or heavy conflict?"

[Adunatar]

Elzedar stood calmly, with a respectful expression on his draconic face. These two magicians were undoubtedly some highly regarded experts in their field, and the dragonborn, possessing quite average intellect himself, liked to be in a smart company, as there were always some bits of useful advice to pick up, if one was up to listen, rather than talk (and listen he could, probably better than anyone here).

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Gladly." Limmith bows his head briefly, then begins ticking points off on his fingers. "Regarding the number of fiends: Dependent on the size of the anomaly. We have heard of cases where several dozen demons and devils each have come through, fighting each other; there have been cases where but a single fiend appears. I believe the average stands at between a dozen and a score at each breach. The first few anomalies involved demons and devils surprised in the act of fighting each other, so by the time differences were settled, only those of barbazu power or higher remained, but now we are seeing many more of the weaker sorts of fiend.

Regarding their current actions and whereabouts: Few fiends have thus far escaped death, as they were at quite a disadvantage when surrounded. Currently, they seem to be adapting, and more are surviving, even slaughtering those in the midst of whom they appear. I would estimate between two- and threescore fiends walk the Prime within several miles of this settlement, though my information may be slightly out of date." The priest lowers his hands and shrugs. "Before the...before, we relied mostly on magical means of communication, so we know very little about what has befallen our neighbor nations. What few reports we have received indicate that the larger cities remain untouched for the most part--yet."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Thank you, Father," Tiranya says, and bows her head indicating that she has no further questions. Or, at least, no further questions he can answer.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Limmith gives a brief bow once again. The two paladins come over to greet him, and they speak in hushed voices for a while. After a few minutes, Lavandra looks up from their conversation, her brow furrowed. "Is anyone else feeling a bit warm in here? Your candles are more like torches, Father." "They are meant for illumination, not heat, Sister, though of course Pelor's devoted cherish both," Limmith responds. Looking over at the sconces in the wall, his brow furrows as well. "Though the flames do seem larger than usual; perhaps their magic is finally being affected?"

Kell ambles up and, hearing what the paladin and priest said, looks over at the wall as well. He looks from the sconces, to the clergy, back to the sconces, back to the clergy. He pauses, listening, then sniffs hesitantly, and his eyes widen. "Ohhh, frak," he breathes, staring at all of you; without moving his eyes, he calls over his shoulder, "Limmith, you wouldn't happen to use brimstone in your candles, would you?"

[mucat]

Cambios raises an eyebrow at Kell's mention of brimstone. He lifts a hand to his head, runs a finger lightly along one of his horns, and sniffs the finger, then shrugs as if to say, It's not me.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Brimstone?" Tiranya whispers softly and frowns, her hand reaching for her holy symbol. She thinks for a moment, then whispers a few short words in Draconic, casting the simplest of spells. Her eyes start glowing dimly even as she looks around, studying her surroundings carefully.

Cast Detect Magic and look around. I'll start concentrating at the flames and where the priest/paladins are gathered, and then move on to the doors/windows and finally just sweeping around the room. I'll keep concentrating on the spell and looking around for as long as I can (11 min) or until I say otherwise.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Now that it has been mentioned, you all notice a slight scent of brimstone in the air and a not-insignificant warming of the air. Limmith waves an arm, but after flickering out for just a moment the candles reignite, brighter than ever.

Tiranya
You detect a strong aura of magic, but what kind of magic is not quite clear--over the course of a minute or two, it alternates among radiating no school, Conjuration, and Transmutation. The shape of the aura is a ragged hemisphere taking up most of the church hall; as far as you can tell, the magic isn't specifically affecting the candles or emanating from them.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty sniffs at the air. And looks at the priest, reflexively he summons his sight and scans the room. He whispers to his companion.

What do you see?


use 1 activation of arcane sight
I shall look about the room as well, focusing on finding any misplaced auras that do not correspond to people or obvious magic effects (like the candles). I.E. any floating auras. When found I shall work in tandem with Pepe who will look for the truth behind everything with his true seeing :smallwink:

I shall also spend standard action on the new priest and the entire group around me (determining their casting abilities) and Pepe will look at them to see through any disguising magic

[mucat]

Cambios begins the gestures that would trigger a detection spell of his own, then stops. Tiranya and Patrick seem to have things well covered, especially if half the things he's heard about the perceptual acumen of the gnome's small companion creature are true. May as well save some resources for later, rather than duplicating one another's efforts.

"Anything interesting?" he asks them, after they've had a moment to look around.

[Cogidubnus]

Warily, Okia climbs onto Durgarn's back, loosening his axe in its sheath and his animated shield where it lies strapped to his saddle. He then leans down and whispers in Durgarn's ear "Keep and eye out, Little One".


Durgarn's Spot Check: [roll0]
Durgarn's Listen Check: [roll1]
Also, Blindsense out to 30ft, Darkvision out to 60ft and Low Light vision (not that I think they'll be applicable, just in case)

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure peers at the priest for a moment or two. "You only use divine magic for communication? Isn't that a bit... stupid?" Of course, now everyone's on edge, so she falls quiet and just looks around herself.

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn shuffles over to Lii, and murmurs in a soft growl:
"Wouldn't you agree that most priests are stupid?" and snorts to herself, letting loose a little puff of smoke.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Limmith looks down his nose at Lii, somewhat upset. "It is not stupid; it is much more efficient than physical messengers, it kept our location obscure, and we had no reason to believe it would fail."

Patty
You easily determine your companions' casting abilities. Among the five or six NPC adventurers in the room that we've been ignoring thus far, two have arcane casting with level 6 spells currently available and one has both arcane and divine casting with up to level 4 available. Looking at the priest and paladins, they all have divine casting with level -1 spells currently available.

When you look at the room as a whole, you see that most of the hall is engulfed in an aura of strong magic. The majority of it is of no school, but there is what resembles a vortex or whirlpool of Conjuration and Transmutation slightly off-center in the room. The beguiler doesn't detect any disguises, other than one of the NPCs is a tiefling currently appearing as an elf.

[mucat]

Overhearing the exchange between Lii and the priest, Cambios steps closer to be heard above the general murmurs of alarm. "So 'stupid' would only apply if, for example, you had not yet reestablished communication by arcane means? But such a lapse is too improbable to merit consideration...it is far more likely that the last Celestial emissary you may ever meet is criticizing you frivolously."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"There's something strange going on," Tiranya says as she glances about the room, "There's a strange magic covering this hall; I have not seen its like before. It seems to be alternating between Conjuration, Transmutation, and magic of no school at all." She looks puzzled for a moment, and comtemplates. Seeing nothing better to do, she flies towards the ceiling to see if there's anything interesting up there, and if not, she can at least get a better vantage point on the potential source of the problem.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty leans in close to Lii and Durgarn.

There seems to be a vortex of magical energy above us. My guess is we are about to experience one of these planer rifts first hand. And I will be back I have a hunch I would like to check out.

Patty tries to hide from view as he sneaks behind the Hidden NPC. When he has reached the tiefling he leaps at him and smacking him in the spine. not intending to do more than throw the man off balance and effect his overall demeanor.


Casting Invisibility
than if they are needed
[roll0]
[roll1]

attack him unarmed strike.
[roll2] presumably flatfooted?
[roll3] non-lethal
forgo 1d6 to steal his disguise
forgo 1d6 to attempt to steal his fire resistance
forgo 1d6 to to steal his highest level spell (6th is it?)

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

"No I would not!" Lii snaps at Durgarn, looking genuinely annoyed for once. Her expression soon softens as she looks back to the priest, however. "I don't mean to criticise you. It's great that you give most of your lives to serve causes greater than yourself. Really! It's just... you shouldn't rely on the Gods. They're not eternal. And they can't always reach you." She looks frankly upset at saying this. Obviously homesick.

[mucat]

Hearing Patrick's and Tiranya's reports, Cambios decides to forego, for the moment, any further needling of Father Limmith.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, this is not a drill," he says, stepping toward the center of the dome and speaking loudly enough to be heard by the entire chamber. "Those who consider themselves noncombatants may wish to leave this hall post haste."

As he speaks, the mage has been sorting through the contents of a pouch on his belt; now he flings a small handful of glittering powder in a small circle about himself. The powder ignites in a silvery blaze which expands rapidly, forming a ring of intricate runes about twenty feet in diameter before fading.

"Protective Circle against Infernals now in effect, ten-foot radius around my position," he reports. "Anyone who wishes to use the Circle as a base of operations, please be my guest."

Cambious casta Magic Circle Against Evil, centered on himself.

[Cogidubnus]

Okia spurs Durgarn into the circle, drawing his axe and loosing his shield, eyeing the room around him warily.

Any idea what's coming?

He prepares himself to charge the first attacker he sees, his hands tight on his weapon, Durgarn circling so as to keep her field of view open.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Father Limmith manages not to lose his temper at Cambios's words and tone, but before he can respond, you hear a yell of anger from the group of other adventurers. One of them, a fairly bland-looking elf, glows a faint red for a moment, then his outline shudders and is replaced with that of a tiefling. He turns to Patty, who now wears the elf disguise the tiefling formerly wore, and gives him a rude gesture. Turning back to the main group, he spits "You were right to be concerned, lackey of Kord!" at Golin, then disappears in a wave of his hand and a puff of smoke.

The rest of the adventurers rush into Cambios's circle of protection as a change comes over the hall. With several loud cracks, the floor turns from smooth marble and carpeting to spurs of hard rock; stalagmites jut up from various points in the hall. Tapestries fall from the walls as they begin to crumble; stained glass windows melt and fuse into ugly lumps of obsidian. You can all feel a sulfurous wind pulling you towards the back of the church, but you manage to hold your ground. Suddenly, the air splits and you feel yourselves being pulled in a million directions at once; a bright flash of orange light overwhelms your sight. The next instant, your sight returns to show you that the parts of the hall more than a yard or so from the doors have entirely crumbled away, and you are in the middle of a raging inferno.

Surrounding you are several trios of fiends; in each group, one armor-encrusted devil wields a sword, one winged devil wields a glaive, and one tiny devil wields teeth and claws. With roars of pleasure and glee, they rush toward you.

Everyone roll initiative. To make things easier for PbP, we'll be using group initiative, so we'll average the results from each side and everyone will go at once.

[Adunatar]

EDIT: ninjas

[Adunatar]

Elzedar's words froze in his mouth, and whatever he was going to say or do, will probably be never known. Init [roll0]

OOC: map would be appreciated, for better positioning

[PairO'Dice Lost]

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/Map--Encounter1.png


Black S = greatsword-wielding devils
Brown B = glaive-wielding devils
Green I = tiny flying devils

PCs are by color in the magic circle
Bluish N = NPC adventurers
Named NPCs are by color below the magic circle
Pinkish background = flames, grayish = normal floor
Gray circles = stalagmites

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

As the fiends appear, Tiranya immediately leaps into action. Moving so that she hovers at the edge of the Circle above Cambios, she begins chanting a spell, speaking the Draconic words faster and faster until time itself seems to speed up to match her chant.

"These are devils, Steel, Bearded, and Imp. Silver or Good weapons will be most effective here. Be careful of the sword-wielding Steel devils especially; those get more effective when they fight together."

Move 10 ft above Cambios's location, then cast Haste on every person inside the Magic Circle. Haste will last 11 rounds.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure has her bow out and ready almost immediately as the devils pour into the room. Her eyes narrow. "Devils! Your kind does not belong here!" Quick as a flash, the little Joyous One draws an arrow, nocks it, and draws it back. "I name myself Lier'ghtrulk!et'brugbhzlat!" Her voice gains a strange authoratitive quality, very unlike her usual speaking tone. "With Sha'ren'lahn, I shall strike you down!"

The arrow flies, becoming a streak of silver in the air as it heads towards one of the Bearded Devils.

Move action: draw bow.

Swift action: Quickened Strike of Might, on self: DC 15 + 4 (level) + 12 (CR) + 2 (personal truename) + 10 (quickened) = 43. Check gains a +4 bonus for using my own personal truename: [roll0] (Success!)

Standard action: shoot the Bearded Devil four up, two left of Lii: attack [roll1] (+1 for Haste = 31, damage [roll2] + [roll3] + 15 = 38 piercing (good-aligned)

Current stats
AC: 29 (touch 22)
HP: 50/50
Land speed: 50 ft.
Fly speed: 90 ft. (perfect)

Utterances used: Strike of Might (1)

[mucat]

Cambios turns in a slow circle as he watches the basilica warps and transforms itself, his expression more one of professional interest than of anger or alarm. "Needlessly flashy," he mutters as if begrudgingly giving a student a passing grade, "but not unimpressive in scope."

Even as he observes the transformation, the mage is sorting once more through his component pouch. In the air just above, Tiranya is beginning the exact incantation he'd had in mind, so instead he draws forth a pinch of clear, glinting dust.

Chanting in Draconic, he tosses the powder toward one trio of devils. It never reaches them, though. Instead, the stream of powder parts in two, flowing left and right until the shimmering motes form a plane twenty feet in height, stretching from one stalagmite to another and just skimming the north edge of the protective circle. With a brief thrumming sound, the motes coalesce into a shimmering wall, then fade into invisibility.

"Those not inclined to close combat," he calls out, "we've now got a defensible wall to the north." He himself does not move to the wall just yet, though, not wanting to move the protective circle out from under anyone.

Wall of Force, 20 feet high, connecting the stalagmite just northeast of our circle to the one about 60 feet west/northwest of that point. The wall should just skim the north edge of the circle at its current position.

This cuts off three trios of devils from a direct approach, though of course they can just walk around it. But at least we won't have to defend as many flanks at once.

[Adunatar]

- Time to chill out, spawn of Hell! - boomed Elzedar's voice, as the dragonborn left the protection of magic circle, and sent a handful of foul-smelling powder flying towards the northeastern groups of devils. The powder slid unerringly through the air, instantly spreading into a cloud of bluish fog, with a very distinctive cold wave emanating from it. Elzedar, having secured the northeastern direction, turned southeast, readying shield against the inevitable attack from the devils there, and silently hoping to pull at least some of them off the clerics.

Move three right, one down. Chilling Fog into the center of the group of devils directly northeast from my new position. Vigor aura active, though it doesn't have effect on anyone yet.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty holds his hand palm forward at the group of devils to the north west.

Well I would say this is unfair. Yall Should have brought more friends to make this at least a challenge.

With that a burst of flame leaps from his wand impacting the vitals of two of the steel devils and the bearded devil that Lii had struck.


[roll0] to activate the wand

expend 1 level 3 spell to channel a charge to scorching ray
they should all be flat footed (first round of combat with no action)
forgoing 2d6 sneak attack to steal their summon Spell like and 10 cold resistance

first attack (steel)
[roll1]
[roll2] fire so ignored?
[roll3]

second attack (steel)
[roll4]
[roll5] fire so ignored?
[roll6]

third attack (bearded)
[roll7]
[roll8] fire so ignored?
[roll9]

[Cogidubnus]

With a roar, Durgarn charges the north-eastern group of devils, Okia's axe swinging close behind her snapping jaws.


Charging Devil with I symbol in north-eastern group

Okia: Attack [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] X 2

Durganr: Bite Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

As you all spring into action, the devils slow their approach, becoming more wary. One even stops approaching altogether, as Lii's arrow streaks into its chest and stops it cold; a gout of foul greenish ichor erupts from its chest as it roars in pain. An instant later it is struck again, this time with a searing beam of heat from Patty. Along with the two steel devils nearest it, it laughs, shrugging off the heat like it was nothing...but their laugh has an undertone of confusion, as if they can feel that they were hurt somehow....

Patty: Note that sneak attack damage with spells is the same type as the spell, so all the damage you dealt was fire damage and thus shrugged off.
The devils to the northeast aren't faring much better than those to the northwest, but then an enraged dwarf riding an enraged dragon in one's midst will do that. The surprised imp dies with a squawk of panic as Durgarn chews it up and swallows it. Okia's axe digs deep into the scales of the bearded devil behind it, and more green ichor splatters to the ground. With that, Cambios's wall solidifies behind the pair; the devils grin, seeing in them a tempting target cut off from their allies. To the east, three unlucky devils find thick vapors billowing around themselves and are lost to sight.

Devils take [roll0] cold damage.
With the suddenness of the assault and the impossibility of their usual response of divine wrath, the three clergy stand frozen with shock and indecision. Kell is not so helpless: he whips out a wand and shouts "I'll take care of anyone who wants to get out! Good luck to the rest!"; perhaps believing they have no chance to win this battle, the other adventurers rush over to Kell and the clergy, and all of them vanish in a puff of air.

By this point, the devils have recovered their momentum. The steel devils plant their feet, raise their arms, and open their mouths. Out of those mouths issues a sound with all the melody and beauty of rusty swords being scraped against chalkboards then tossed into cooking pots and shoved down several flights of stairs also composed of chalkboards. Even a few of the other devils flinch in disgust when they hear it. Slowly stomping across the floor, the steel devils group together, still chanting. The other devils charge toward the people nearest them, bearded devils swinging glaives menacingly and imps chittering with malicious glee. The bearded devils to the west converge on Okia and Durgarn, but the imps streak up and over the barrier of force (several thudding into it painfully before figuring out exactly where the top is) to strike at those within the circle. One of the bearded devils moves towards the circle, but when it sees the others escape the battle, it hefts it glaive with a grin and disappears as well.

Okia:
Attack: [roll1]; Damage: [roll2]
Attack: [roll3]; Damage: [roll4]
Attack: [roll5]; Damage: [roll6]
Attack: [roll7]; Damage: [roll8]

Firebat:
Attack: [roll9]; Damage: [roll10]
Attack: [roll11]; Damage: [roll12]

Lii:
Attack: [roll13]; Damage: [roll14]
Attack: [roll15]; Damage: [roll16]
Attack: [roll17]; Damage: [roll18]
Make 3 Fort saves.

Cambios:
Attack: [roll19]; Damage: [roll20]
Attack: [roll21]; Damage: [roll22]
Attack: [roll23]; Damage: [roll24]
Make 2 Fort saves (ignore the last one, miscounted the imps)

Patty:
Attack: [roll25]; Damage: [roll26]
Make 1 Fort save.

Tiranya:
Attack: [roll27]; Damage: [roll28]
Attack: [roll29]; Damage: [roll30]
Attack: [roll31]; Damage: [roll32]
Make 1 Fort save.

Everyone takes [roll33] fire damage from the raging flames around you, and you need to make a DC 23+spell level Concentration check to cast a spell.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty lets the disguise of the elf disappear around him and he grins as the imps flail helplessly as he steps out of their attack range. A swift step back and a dramatic roll to the right puts him out of the devils reach. Patty under his new disguise gets ready for the real combat to begin in truth and Pepe helps by grabbing the eggshell his master has drawn out and readies to throw it at any would be attacker.


5 foot step back
cast mislead [roll0] vs 29 (the image will jump to the right with a acrobatic roll :smallwink:)
move action to draw out an eggshell grenade
pepe will grab the egg (move action?)
ready action to throw at anyone who can attack me (before the attack)

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Round 2
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/Map--Encounter1-1.png

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn roars, throwing herself forwards at the already wounded devil, while Okia concentrates for a moment on preparing his resilience, before swaying with Durgarn's movements and lashing out at a bearded devil with his axe.


Durgarn full attacks beardy. Bite: Attack [roll0] - damage [roll1]
Hasted Bite: Attack [roll2] - damage [roll3]
Claw 1: Attack [roll4] - damage [roll5]
Claw 2: Attack [roll6] - damage [roll7]
Wing 1: Attack [roll8] - damage [roll9]
Wing 2: Attack [roll10] - damage [roll11]
Tail Slap: Attack [roll12] - damage [roll13]

Okia full attacks. Axe: [roll14] - damage [roll15] + [roll16]
Hasted Axe: [roll17] - damage [roll18] + [roll19]
Axe: [roll20] - damage [roll21] + [roll22]
Axe: [roll23] - damage [roll24] + [roll25]
NB - all attacks of Okia's are good-aligned, and activated resist sonic 16 as swift action.

[mucat]

Cambios swats ineffectively at one of the imps as if it were a particularly large and annoying mosquito, then steps back toward the force wall to put a little distance between himself and the bothersome creatures.

Spotting the closely grouped cluster of armoured devils, he reaches into his pouch and comes up with three pistachio shells, which he places on the knuckles of his left hand. Chanting a particularly rapid series of Draconic syllables, with a rhythm almost like the patter of a street huckster, he spins the shells from one knuckle to another. Faster and faster the shells move, until all three blur and dissolve into a scintillating ball of light, which he hurls toward the closely knit pack of fiends.

Cambios takes a 5' step northeast, which should bring Okia and Durgarn back into the Protection from Evil circle (assuming its emination is not affected by force walls; not sure on that point), without moving the circle off of anyone who's currently inside it.

He then casts Confusion (save DC 23) on the northeasternmost Steel Devil. From that point, the 15-foot radius should hit the whole cluster of Steel Devils, plus three imps and two bearded devils, but no party members.

A few rolls:
Concentration (DC 19) to cast defensively, avoiding attack of opportunity from the adjacent imp:
[roll0]

Concentration, if necessary, to cast in the infernal environment (he didn't take any fire damage due to energy resistance) to cast despite Steel Devils' chant:
[roll1]

Knowledge (the Planes) for anything he ought to know about Steel Devils before casting. In particular, if they are immune to mind-affecting spells, then he will cast Slow instead.
[roll2]

Spell Level check vs. SR: He will take 10 on this (possible due to Arcane Mastery feat), with together with Spell Penetration, gives a check result of 24.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Steel devils are indeed immune to mind-affecting effects, so slow it is.

The magic circle won't extend through the wall, as it blocks line of effect and emanations require LoE.

[Adunatar]

Elzedar smiled, seeing as the enemies had conveniently clumped together, and opened his mouth...
- R-r-r-a-a-r-r-g-h!!! - even the stalagmites shook from the sheer power of a shockwave.

5' step north, Entangling Thunder breath in southwest direction. [roll0] sonic damage halved + 1d6 damage (and entanglement) for [roll1] rounds. 30' cone should cover two barbazu and four steel devils

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Annoyed by the flailing imps surrounding her and the obnoxious drone of the Steel Devils nearby, Tiranya makes a quick swirl of her arms, calling forth innate arcane energies from within her that require less focus than even the simplest of spells. From her gesture, a swirl of wind as tall as a human appears, quickly taking shape into something living.

Tiranya gives a quick, sharp order in Auran, commanding the elemental to do her bidding. Immediately, the creature starts expanding, swirling faster and taller until it appears to be a full on whirlwind. The whirlwind quickly sweeps in a tight arc around its master, hoping to pull all of the pesky imps into its deadly fold.

Use Summon Elemental reserve feat to summon a Medium Air Elemental for 6 rounds, placing it directly right of the imp to the north of Lii. The elemental will go into Whirlwind form, and then move in a way so as to catch each and every imp within its path all the way to space of the imp southeast of Cambios's new location (45 ft of movement). This does not provoke any AoOs.

Every imp must make a DC 13 Reflex save or take 1d6 damage, and another DC 13 Reflex save or be trapped in the whirlwind (regardless of taking damage). If there are any imps still not trapped in the whirlwind, the elemental will come all the way back in the same way, ending its motion where it started (NE of Lii, 10 ft above ground) and forcing each uncaught imp to make the saves again.

Elemental names random imp inside of it as Dodge target. It also gets Air Mastery against the imps, so they get -1 attack/damage against it. They would also take -4 Dex and -2 attack if they're trapped in the whirlwind.

Elemental Stats:
Air Elemental, Medium
Side/Type: Medium Elemental (Air, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 4d8+16 (34 hp)
Speed: Fly 100 ft (perfect) (20 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+5 Dex, +3 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+4
Attack: Slam +8 melee (1d6+4)
Full Attack: Slam +8 melee (1d6+4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Air Mastery, Whirlwind
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, elemental traits
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +1
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 21, Con 18, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11
Skills: Listen +3, Spot +4
Feats: Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Alignment: Neutral

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii dodges around the attacks of the imps expertly, laughing with a woop as she does so. She might be enjoying this a little too much. She flits up out of range of the imps' attacks, hovering above Cambios, before shooting an arrow towards each of the three imps nearby.

5-foot step into Cambios' square.

Full attack: One at each of the three imps closest to her.
Imp the first: attack (1d20+23)[40] damage [roll0] + [roll1]
Imp the second: attack [roll=1d20+23(1d20+23)[27] damage + [roll3]
Imp the third: attack [roll=1d20+18(1d20+18)[23] damage [roll4] + [roll5]

Current stats
AC: 29 (touch 22)
HP: 47/50
Land speed: 50 ft.
Fly speed: 90 ft. (perfect)

Utterances used: Strike of Might (1)

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The three barbazu hoping to have Okia and Durgarn at their mercy are sadly disappointed. They have just a moment to realize that their prey isn't so helpless before the powerful dragon shreds them to pieces in a flurry of wings, fangs, and claws. On the other side of the wall, two of the steel devils' movements become more sluggish thanks to Cambios, though their chanting remains steady. The chant becomes garbled for a moment under the interference of Elzedar's cacophonous roar, and for a moment the sound of steel popping and buckling and barbazu limbs cracking drowns it out entirely.

Will saves vs. Slow
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Ref saves vs. breath
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
To the north, the imps are having a very bad day. Three of them narrowly escape being caught up in Tiranya's elemental by virtue of being impaled by Lii's arrows, but the rest are heavily buffeted by the angry winds, tossed out a few seconds later much worse for wear.

Reflex saves vs. damage and being caught
[roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13]
[roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll17]

Saves for the second pass, if some escape the first time
[roll18] [roll19]
[roll20] [roll21]
[roll22] [roll23]
[roll24] [roll25]

Saves to escape, for those who are caught
[roll26]
[roll27]
[roll28]
[roll29]
Two barbazu blink out, most likely to help the other outside. Enraged by his attack, the remaining barbazu charge Elzedar; the steel devils join in, their plodding gait providing a counterpoint to their chant. Back on the north side of the wall, the steel devils do the same to Durgarn, trudging under her and slashing her underbelly. Meanwhile, Tiranya feels some pressure on her mind, as four giggly impish voices suggest over the roaring winds that she dismiss the elemental and stop attacking them so they can discuss things civilly.

Elzedar
Attack: [roll30]; Damage: [roll31]
Attack: [roll32]; Damage: [roll33]
Attack: [roll34]; Damage: [roll35]
Attack: [roll36]; Damage: [roll37]
Attack: [roll38]; Damage: [roll39]
Attack: [roll40]; Damage: [roll41]

Durgarn
Attack: [roll42]; Damage: [roll43]
Attack: [roll44]; Damage: [roll45]
Attack: [roll46]; Damage: [roll47]
Attack: [roll48]; Damage: [roll49]

Tiranya
Make 4 Will saves

Everyone takes [roll50] fire damage, and anyone hit by a bearded devil last round takes 2 damage per hit. The Concentration check to cast is still in effect.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Round 3
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/Map--Encounter1-2.png

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"You shall not subvert my mind, fiends!" Tiranya says to the imps, then gives another command to her summoned ally. Immediately, the whirlwind spins around again, this time whirling around the three imps surrounding it, trying to draw them back into its clutches.

It's actually DC 15; I forgot that Whirlwind is Str based so Augment Summoning increases the save DC.

Moving in a triangle through all three imps and ending up back in its current spot requires 25 ft of movement. The elemental can do this four times in one move action. It will do this up to 8 times, or until all three imps are trapped in the whirlwind, whichever comes first. The rest of my action will be based on how much movement this requires, so please roll saves now.

[mucat]

Cambios arches an eyebrow as two of the four armoured Infernals shrug off his spell. "Not inconsiderable strength of mind," he concedes. "It may be instructive to test their agility as well."

By now a tiny crystal sphere is in his hand, and another string of Draconic syllables on his tongue, spoken this time in an almost tentative tone as if waiting for the perfect moment to catch the enemy off-guard. Apparently he finds the opening he was looking for, because he finishes the incantation in a single emphatic syllable, and the crystal sphere winks out of existence. As if to mirror its disappearance, a much larger bubble shimmers into being around one of the Steel Devils, giving the creature only the barest moment to react before the sphere of force closes around it.

Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, attempting to trap one of the unslowed Steel Devils. (The less injured of the two unslowed ones, if applicable.)

Concentration Check to ignore chanting (DC 23): [roll0]

Caster level check: 24 as before.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Pass 1 (damage, caught, escape)
[roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7] [roll8]

Pass 2
[roll9] [roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13] [roll14]
[roll15] [roll16] [roll17]

EDIT: Deleted passes 3+; one imp died on the first pass, the second on the third pass, so there's currently 1 imp in the whirlwind, barely alive, who'll escape on its next turn.

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn roars in rage and pain as the blades strike her soft underbelly. Okia's eyes narrow in anger, and he turns to one of the devils and hisses You're mine. Durgarn leaps at one of the devils, and Okia follows her attacks up, leaving the one he'd threatened to see the fate that awaited it.


Durgarn
Bite: [roll0] - damage [roll1]
Hasted Bite: [roll2] - damage [roll3]
CLaw 1: [roll4] - damage [roll5]
Claw 2: [roll6] - damage [roll7]
Wing 1: [roll8] - damage [roll9]
Wing 2: [roll10] - damage [roll11]
Tail Slap: [roll12] - damage [roll13]

Okia with two points of power attack on 1st 2 attacks
Axe: [roll14] - damage [roll15] + [roll16]
Hasted Axe:[roll17] - damage [roll18] + [roll19]
Axe: [roll20] - damage [roll21] + [roll22]
Axe: [roll23] - damage [roll24] + [roll25]
Swift action to use Knight's Challenge on devil only attacked if other 2 die.
Axe counts as +5 against evil outsiders - forgot on my last attacks, although it didn't matter.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure is grinning. It's probably not exactly how one would expect a Bringer of Joy to act in battle, although admittedly Joy can come in many forms... As Tiranya seems to be handling the imps okay, Lii focuses her sights on one of the Barbazu. Without even uttering a word, three arrows streak through the air towards the devil's chest.

She's still hovering right above Cambios, her feet almost touching the top of his head.

Full attack:
First: attack [roll0], damage [roll1] [roll2]
Second: attack [roll3], damage [roll4] [roll5]
Third: attack [roll6], damage [roll7] [roll8]

If the Barbazu drops before the third attack (likely), I'll switch to shooting the steel devil inside the circle.

Current stats

AC: 29 (touch 22)
HP: 45/50
Land speed: 50 ft.
Fly speed: 90 ft. (perfect)

Utterances used: Strike of Might (1)

[crazedloon]

Patty

Under his veil of invisibility trots away from the fray. Pepe hangs on for dear life egg still in hand searching for any attackers or other invisible foes. Patty flicks his wrist and a wand comes to his hand immediately. A quick flick of the wand and a mumbled word and the wand causes a cloud of blades to surround him and Pepe. He smiles and the two of the blades fly towards the steel devil closes to the group.
His clone takes up a defensive position between the wizards and the steel devil drawing its short sword and seems to use a wand to cast something on the sword as he waits for the devil to approach.


move 3 down and 3 to the left
use wand of cloud of knives (using a 3rd level spell slot)

1 knife from me
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

1 knife from pepe
[roll3]
[roll4]

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Smiling at the imps' plight, Tiranya points her arm at the cloud of frost hovering near them. "Go," she directed, and the elemental obeyed her immediately, rushing with its captive deep into the cold mists.

Seeing that settled, Tiranya turns now to the Steel Devils standing close by and still filling the air with that infernal clamor. She makes a sign with her hand, invoking an Earth Elemental to come to her aid. From the fiery ground rises a pile of stone that takes on humanoid shape. She gives a command in rumbling Terran words, and the elemental obeys, charging into battle against the Steel Devil encroaching upon them.

Air Elemental still has 50 ft of movement left, so it'll fly above the Chilling Fog and drop down into it, ending up 5 ft into the Fog. It then spends its second move action to go 5 ft deeper into it.

Afterward, use Summon Elemental to create a Medium Earth Elemental, which dismisses the Air Elemental. The Earth Elemental will start out in the square directly south of my space. It will then charge and bull rush the Steel Devil inside the circle, ending up inside its space. This provokes an AoO from the Steel Devil beneath the one it's attacking, which has 25% chance to hit its ally instead of my elemental.

[roll0]
If the elemental wins by 5 or more, it'll move with the Steel Devil to push the devil into the Chilling Fog. This would provoke another AoO from the Steel Devil beneath them, if it has Combat Reflexes.

Elemental Stats:
Earth Elemental, Medium
Side/Type: Medium Elemental (Earth, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 4d8+20 (38 hp)
Speed: 20 ft (4 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (-1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+8
Attack: Slam +10 melee (1d8+10)
Full Attack: Slam +10 melee (1d8+10)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Earth Mastery, Push
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, earth glide, elemental traits
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +0, Will +1
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 8, Con 21, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 11
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +3
Feats: Cleave, Power Attack
Alignment: Neutral
The elemental has -2 AC due to the charge.

[Adunatar]

Elzedar laughed. These silly devils have clumped together, just the way he wanted! Their weapons were still hurtful, but his constitution could handle more... much more.

- R-r-r-a-a-r-r-g-h-h-h! - and yet another sonic wave covered the group of devils, barely missing the dragonborn's comrades.

5' step diagonally, one right, one down. Let loose another thundering breath, for [roll0] sonic damage - should affect everyone but the barbazu in the southeast corner. BTW, do you remember roll 1d6 sonic each round for the bottom group of devils? I believe they still have two rounds more to go.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Above the wall, Okia and Durgarn quickly repay the steel devils in kind for their attacks: two of them are shredded by Durgarn, and Okia expertly beheads a third, leaving only one to respond to the knight's strident challenge. Still chanting its disconcerting melody, it slowly tilts its helmed head to stare at him and grips it sword more tightly.

Below the barrier, the devils are losing badly. Three arrows streak from Lii just past Elzedar to inscribe a neat triangle in the chest of the barbazu nearest him, who slumps to the ground with ichor gushing from its wounds. Two knives flicker into visibility slightly to the left of where Patrick appears to be, ending one steel devil's chant with a final rasp of steel on steel, and Elzedar's mighty roar nearly vaporizes the rest of the devils, blasting their remains to the ground. Tiranya's elemental whirls overhead, depositing its captured imp into the chilling fog before disappearing, where you can see the imp freeze solid and hear a muffled shatter as it hits the ground.

It is at this point that the devils formerly trapped in the chillng fog emerge, snarling and looking around to gauge the situation. Unfortunately, they don't take in the situation fast enough--the barbazu emerges into Cambios's circle to meet the earth elemental rushing headlong in its direction, and is promptly shoved back into the fog bank. The steel devil emerging next to it turns ponderously and starts to move away, but is suddenly suspended a few inches above the floor in a barely visible sphere of force.

Barbazu strength check
[roll0]

Steel devil Ref save
[roll1]
The imp of the trio never emerges, presumably frozen along with his fellow imp.

Another 3 fire damage to anyone who isn't immune, and the Concentration check to cast drops to 17+level.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Round 4
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/Map--Encounter1-3.png

[Adunatar]

- The fire starts to bother me, - said Elzedar, slightly annoyed, - it's time I stop feeling it. Yes, and should I keep this up? The devil didn't seem to be affected by it... - he gestured towards the bank of fog.

Energy Resistance (fire) on myself

[Cogidubnus]

Faced with only one remaining opponent, Okia grins happily and launches himself at it confident that it wouldn't survive, before directing Durgarn to rejoin their companions, cursing loudly at their remaining foe.


Durgarn and Okia both make one attack against the steel devil. If it dies, they move using Durgarn's Hasted 70ft movement to get around the wall of force. If not, they full attack.

Okia with 6 points power attack [roll0] - damage [roll1] + [roll2]
Durgarn [roll3] - damage [roll4]

After moving, Okia uses Knight's Challenge on the remaining devil (just in case)

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii looks around for a few moments, frowning at the heat. "Why couldn't I be immune to fire... It's too hot in here..." But that doesn't stop her from firing off three more arrows, towards the sword devil to the south.

Full attack: One! attack (1d20+24)[25] (natural 1...) damage [roll0] + [roll1]
Two! attack (1d20+24)[42] damage [roll2] + [roll3]
Three! attack (1d20+19)[20] (natural 1...) damage [roll4] + [roll5]

Current stats
AC: 29 (touch 22)
HP: 42/50
Land speed: 50 ft.
Fly speed: 90 ft. (perfect)

Utterances used: Strike of Might (1)

[Cogidubnus]

"Lii" Durgarn calls, "are you going to need healing if this heat keeps up?"

[Yuki Akuma]

"I can heal myself, thank you!" she calls in reply.

[crazedloon]

Patty

He slides his wand into his quiver and draws forth another one and casts a spell on his blade as he waits for another foe to show itself.


move action sheath my wand
standard cast wracking touch into my blade

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"I see, we're just about finished here," Tiranya says, glancing at the bodies of the devils around them, "We should probably get moving somewhere. There might be more of them, and we don't want to be just sitting here waiting for them if there are."

She takes a closer look at her companions now. "Are any of you injured much?" she asks, holding out a wand from her belt, "If anyone needs healing, I can provide some."

How does the room look? What exits are there?

I've Wands of Lesser Vigor if anyone needs.

[mucat]

"Fine here, but thank you," answers Cambios. The threat from the infernal attack abated, he tkes a moment to smooth his robes, which are slightly disheveled from the close passage of Tiranya's air elemental. Small puffs of hot air buffet his head, in time with Lii's wingbeats close overhead. Though he doesn't find the heat oppressive, it does serve as a continuing reminder of the alien intrusion on his home plane.

The mage turns in a slow circle, examining the blasted landscape. The infernal cavern extends into the distance, far larger than what had been the domed chamber of the basilica, and leading him to speculate about how the building must appear from the outside right now. Assuming, of course, that there is still a city outside from which to view it.

With a word and a gesture, the force wall to the north shimmers and pops like a soap film, though the sphere enclosing the last surviving Steel Devil remains. "Well handled, all," Cambios says with a nod of professional respect to each of the others, glancing up to include the tiny airborne archer as well. "Durgarn, Okla, I apologize for the clumsy placement of that wall. It wasn't my intention to isolate you two, though of course I had no doubt that you could handle the situation once it occurred."

Turning toward the trapped Steel Devil, he asks, "Shall I release this creature so we may destroy it, or does anyone wish to preserve it as a research subject?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty reappears as his double disappears.

Oi, I think you are thinking to linearly. These buggers knew they were coming here and were ready for the attack. I would think he would serve as an informant rather than a simple tool for an experiment or another dead body.

Pepe crawls down Patrick's arm and places the egg carefully back into his pocket ready to be retrieved at a later time.

[Cogidubnus]

Okia "Cambios, do not feel like you need to apologise. It's more fun when there's no interference." says Okia, half-grinning while wiping the head of his axe with a cloth. "As for healing, save your resources. Durgarn is capable of healing her own wounds, so long as they're not too serious. But I agree with Patty. We ought to at least attempt to interrogate this intruder, rather than simply returning him to his home plane."

CLW x2 on Durgarn. [roll0] [roll1]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The fog bank dissipates to reveal the body of the last barbazu splayed on the ground, Tiranya's earth elemental standing over it. Without the immediate infernal threat to worry about, you can see that the cavern extends at least one and a half basilica-lengths in each direction, seeming to be mostly circular, and the ceiling is about 80 feet above your heads. No light appears to be entering the cavern from outside (though the flames might be drowning out small amounts of light), so it is unlikely that other entrances exist.

The steel devil in Cambios's sphere is standing motionless in the center, sword sheathed and arms crossed. Its armored visage is still, and gives no hint of its thoughts. Outside the door, you hear some indistinct conversation, then Father Limmith's voice: "...hello? Is anyone alive in there?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty trots to the door through the flames. He attempts to heave the door open.

Oi we are just fine!

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The door is a bit warm from the fire, but it opens easily enough. Sister Lavandra and Brother Golin are at the door, weapons readied, with Father Limmith behind them; when they see that only allies survive within, they sheathe their weapons and move aside. Through the door, you can see three barbazu corpses close together, near two fallen adventurers. Several citizens have emerged from their homes and businesses and are gawking at the devils, gossiping and worrying.

Kell stands up from examining one of the bodies and returns two wands to their slots in his bandolier. He walks into the remains of the hall, taking a good look around and ending up near the trapped steel devil. "I don't suppose any of you can bring back the dead? Limmith could do it before, but not now, obviously; I'm a wands guy, and you can't do that with a wand without some finagling."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Seeing Kell and the others arrive, Tiranya breathes a sigh of relief and lowers herself down towards then. "It is good to see all-, well, most of your alive and in one piece. Unfortunately, my arcane powers are quite lacking when it comes to handling the dead. I'm afraid I cannot help you there." She shakes her head sadly.

Walking over to the bodies of the adventurers, Tiranya holds out her holy symbol and whispers a few prayers to Saint Cuthbert, beckoning their souls to rest. Inside, she wonders if that was even possible with things currently as they are, but she shunts that thought away. That finished, she turns to Kell, Father Limmith, and the paladins again. "What happened back there? I presume that we're still in the city, so we obviously didn't get transported elsewhere. How could these fiends just appear in the center of the city like they did? Did something help them through?"

She looks about the room again, glancing at the fire, the stone, and the stalagmites jutting out of the ground. "It's almost as if a piece of one of the Hells just superimposed itself upon our world. The devils we saw didn't seem particularly surprised to see us either. Maybe if we..." She looks back now, startled, and appears as if only now noticing the crowd building up outside. She goes over to Kell and the others again, and speaks in a lower tone of voice, "You should send the civilians away so we can talk more privately. Who knows if anything is hiding amidst the citizenry. We've already seen one spy. Besides, we should avoid starting a panic in the city."

[Adunatar]

- First thing first, I could appreciate some healing here. I'm quite resilient, but even my constitution gives way when faced with such an onslaught from the Hells. Then, we can discuss what just happened here.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Overhearing Tiranya's comment, Lavandra goes over to the onlookers and ushers them away, uttering reassuring platitudes and promising that they will know all about what happened as soon as the clergy find out themselves.

Meanwhile, Limmith calls the rest of the party outside and points out the church's surroundings. "I believe that 'a Hell superimposing itself on the Prime' is as apt a description as any, daughter," he says, motioning to the shrines to either side of the church. From the outside, the basilica appears to be pierced with a geometrically-perfect cylinder of stone, which also pierces the shrines of Heironeous and Kord flanking it; it appears to have replaced parts of them, appearing out of thin air, rather than exploding into being or something similarly violent. "The appearance of a large chunk of stone is a new development, however; from what we have heard, the other incursions only involved flaming plains and sheets of ice and such. I have studied metaphysics extensively, but not interplanar geometry, so while I can say with some confidence that this appears to be a portion of Avernus, from one of the caverns where it connects to Dis, I have not the slightest idea how it could have been transported here. I understand that two of your numbers are professors of such, so you would know better than I."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The little hyperactive fairy-angel zips out of the room as fast as she can, gasping in the much-cooler air outside. "Hot..." she complains, giving a little whimper, and then fluttering back in.

She glances towards Elzedar. "...Baby. Zhel'reth'gyrhkn'shrel. !Xrkek."

Extended Lesser Word of Nurturing. DC 15 + 4 (utterance level) + 12 (CR) + 4 (Extended) = 35. [roll0]

If it succeeds (which it... will), Elzedar gains Fast healing 3 for 10 rounds - healing 30 HP.

Utterances used: Strike of Might (1), Lesser Word of Nurturing (1).

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty steps up to the rest.

I would say it was an assisted entrance. Right as the piece appeared I managed to reveal a tiefling...

Patty looks at the other compatriots a little lost for words.

Not related to our dear friends I am sure. He shouted something as he disappeared before the combat started in truth.

[mucat]

At Patrick's words, Cambois glances up from the leather-bound notebook he was scribbling in and nods. "Standard-issue villainous rant, if I heard it correctly. 'Cower, mortals, for I an endlessly enamoured with the sound of my own voice!' sort of thing." The mage gives a brief snort of derision.

"Speaking of that horrid little collaborator -- Mr. Shankraft, you scrambled his brains somewhat before his graceless departure, did you not? Were you able to ascertain what sort of magic he practices? It might help us deduce how this happened, though it is entirely possible that he triggered this transposition of planes via an artifact of some sort, rather than through his own questionable abilities."

Glancing back and forth between the newly modified cityscape and his notebook, he refines a sketch of the scene a bit, and alters one term in an equation scribbled in the margin. "I wonder if in some cavern of Avernus, the denizens are puzzling over their brand new basilica dome," he muses. Then his lips tighten in a slight frown. "Incidentally," he adds, "were those other two buildings empty when the transposition took place?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty think back to the Tiefling and scrunches his face in frustration.

Unfortunately I missed exactly what kind of magic he used. However based on the power I took from him he was more the kind to dabble with illusion and disguise, however he was no slouch and his power was at least on par with yourself.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Golin shakes his head sadly at Cambios's question. "Most of those inside were able to avoid harm, but several of them received severe burns, and two of them were...replaced, rather gruesomely, one with a stalagmite and one with part of the wall. While the rest of you were fighting the devils, I was able to collect the Cuthbertites in the area to heal the burn victims before they started to scar, but I'm afraid all that we have left of the other two are a few scattered limbs...and half of a head." He looks a bit paler than usual as he explains, and Limmith covers his mouth with his sleeve when he hears this, but straightens up with a gasp.

"These people"--he indicates the party and other adventurers--"were not transposed with the rest of the church; is it possible that some people were trapped between the walls of the shrine and the cavern?" "While that would be quite possible, given the size of the enclosed area, we counted all of the inhabitants and it seems all are accounted for. I'm sure none of them will be comfortable in small spaces any time soon."

[Adunatar]

Elzedar nodded thankfully to Lii, not quite paying attention to what others were saying.

- No idea what you just said, but it felt... good. Tingly all over. So... that's the True Speech you were talking about? Sounds... interesting, if quite hard to pronounce. By the way, are you able to just keep going with these words, or is it limited the same way as for the magicians?

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Besides narrowing her eyes a bit at hearing Elzedar call them 'magicians', Tiranya, absorbed in her own theories, doesn't seem to be paying much attention to the conversations around her. "...Perhaps that could be a possible... ...No, that can't possibly be... ...Being only the first layer, maybe..." She mutters her thoughts out loud, but seems a bit annoyed at the puzzle she facing, unable to see what she's missing.

After a few moments of contemplation, she stops thinking, frowns, and flies up closer to the trapped devil in the sphere, staring at it in consideration. "Can it hear us from out here?" she asks, turning to look questioningly at Cambios, "Forgive me, but I never paid much attention to my Evocation classes. How long does the spell last and can we speak to it through the barrier?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

"Magicians are entertainers. They perform tricks. You're thinking of mages." Lii says, while considering the question. "...Theoretically, someone with a strong enough will and good enough pronunciation can perform utterances as many times as she likes. However, in practical terms, the universe tends to resist constant changes... It gets harder and harder to exert your will the more you use a specific utterance. It's why we learn more than one."

[mucat]

Cambios looks only half convinced by Golin's assurance that everyone in the complex is accounted for. "I commend you for taking an immediate headcount before the survivors dispersed," he tells the paladin, "but people do wander about unpredictably. It's what separates us from statues. With the exception of animated statues."

He glances between Lavandra and Timmith, then back to Golin. "You three know the layout of the Temple complex. If you think of a space where a person could be trapped but still alive, please let us know immediately. Spell-exchange conduits to the Spire are still open as of this morning," he says levelly, giving no outward indication of resuming his earlier criticism of their sundered divine communication lines, "so I will gladly draw from the Spellpool any locator spell that might aid the search."

Leaving the priest and paladins to confer, Cambios wanders over to compare observations and theories with Tiranya. At her question about the force sphere, he answers, "The sphere is soundproof from both sides, which I count as a net advantage in this case, since we no longer have to listen to that thrice-damned droning chant. It should hold for roughly a fifth of an hour from the initial casting -- so several more minutes, at this point -- though I can dismiss it whenever we are ready to deal with the Infernal."

He shakes his head then in mild self-disgust. "Incidentally, doubtless you have already realized that I made an imbecile's mistake here. Had I thought to trap a Barbazu, even an imp, we could probe its mind with spells. But if my understanding of Beuroza is correct, then no spell can touch this thing's mind. And I doubt any mundane pressure we can bring to bear will loosen the tongue of a resident of the Hells."

I'm guessing that the sphere is soundproof, since it blocks sonic damage. If it's not, I'll edit the post...

[crazedloon]

Patty

Ah but it may be willing to listen to reason

Patty grins at that thought.

Do tell me can the creature teleport from here if you released it?

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya shakes her head. "Bueroza cannot Teleport, or it would have escaped already. If it were a Barbazu instead, that would be a far different matter. Lucky for us that it was not. An imp would have been ideal, but that was my fault; I should have had the forethought to save that imp my elemental had trapped. Regardless, this isn't the time to mull over what we could have done. We may not be able to convince it through force, but perhaps we may be able to do it through bargaining or trickery. I am familiar with what fiends typically want, but unfortunately Bueroza tend to be quite disciplined. They may be prone to trickery, however..."

Suddenly, she comes up with an idea. "Would all of you mind stepping outside the room briefly so I can interrogate it alone? I plan on convincing it that I am on its side, so it would more likely talk freely if we were alone. Due to my... heritage, and the spy we've seen among us previously, I should have a good chance of convincing it that I am working for another devil. Perhaps all of you can discuss what to do next with Father Limmith while I interrogate it?"

[mucat]

For a moment, a flicker of uncertainty is visible in Cambios's expression, but just as quickly it is gone. Either the emotion was a transient one, or he is unwilling to insult a fellow wizard by questioning her ability to handle whatever circumstance might arise.

"Of course," he answers, his back to the sphere on the remote chance the Infernal can read lips. "Two questions. First, should the rest of us feign an argument and storm out in anger, or would that be laying it on too thick for what you have in mind? And secondly" -- he lets his eyes glow a dull red for a moment before returning to their usual brown -- "would your ruse benefit from the presence of another of similar heritage? In no way will I be insulted if you would rather work alone, of course; your expertise on called and summoned entities is unmatched here."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty nods his head

Oi seems reasonable

and steps outside. Once there a quick mumble and he disappears. Patty returns to the room under the disguise of his spell and moves to the side of the room out of the way hidden by the shadows and his veil.


move out
cast invisibility once out of sight of the others
move back in with
[roll0]
[roll1] without invis bonus :smallwink:

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"No storming out is necessary; I'll simply tell it that I convinced the others to leave while I interrogate it, which is, in fact, true," Tiranya says, then considers Cambios's suggestion for a moment, "I would not mind some company during the act; fiends are unpredictable at the best of times, so some backup would be comforting. No offense to your talents, but I do ask that you let me do most of the talking. I have experience in dealing with them, and can likely make myself more convincing to one such as it."

Without looking over or even changing her expression, Tiranya adds in a louder voice, "I extend the same invitation to you, Mr. Shankraft, with the proviso that you stay hidden as well as quiet." Her eyes are still looking at Cambios, and to all appearances she's still talking to him.

Blindsense buddy; I don't see Darkstalker anywhere on your sheet. :smallwink:

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty does not speak when the wizard assumes it is him in the room.

[mucat]

"By all means," Cambios tells Tiranya. "I agree that you should handle the bulk of the conversation. I shall stand back and glower as if I think the entire deal is an unsound risk, and am on the verge of turning our guest into something small, verminous, and humiliating. A threat upon which, should you give the word, I have no qualms about making good."

Though he does not directly acknowledge Tiranya's words to Patrick, his gaze flicks about the cavern briefly before he realizes he has no hope of spotting the elusive gnome. Instead he settles for the next-best option, and acts as if he had never tried to.

[Cogidubnus]

Okia nods at this and says "You know your business. I've got good at talking fast, but never had much opportunity to practise on fiends. If no one has any immediate need of us, me and Durgarn will go stretch our wings and reconnoitre the surrounding terrain" before having Durgarn pace out of the door.

Is there anything I would see on this flight that I ought to know about? Spot checks: Okia=1d20. Durgarn=1d20+21.

[Adunatar]

Elzedar nodded, and headed for the exit, but stopped halfway, and addressed Tiranya, apparently not realizing whom did she addressed as "Mr. Shankraft" just a moment ago:

- Not sure whether you're aware of this, but my senses detect two hidden small creatures who just entered the room. Hopefully, it's our sneaky friend - I'd rather not, however, discover that it's some sneaky imp spy or something like that. Creature, if you're Patrick, circle around your companion... if you're not, you better leave soon.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure sighs a little bit. "...This is boring, and I can't do anything to help." She pouts, as she flutters out of the room.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Yall are a suspicious lot aint ya.

Patty grins under his veil but does not reveal himself.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

(Assuming the clergy group leaves)
"I am ready," Tiranya says to Cambios, "Please dismiss your spell." Turning around, she takes on an impassive expression, and faces the fiend, her eyes again blazing bright red in anticipation.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty waits on the side ready to react should the devil get any dumb ideas.


ready a charge :smallwink:

[mucat]

Cambios nods and steps away from the force sphere, moving to stand behind Tiranya, where he folds his arms and glares sullenly at the devil. With a single word and a slight pop of equalising air pressures, he releases the bubble from exiistence and frees its captive.


As promised, readying a Baleful Polymorph should the devil attack.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The devil drops several inches, landing on the ground with an echoing clang. Its head swivels slowly with the irritating screech of metal on metal, taking in the two tieflings standing before it. Its arms remain crossed, and it does not otherwise react.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"You wouldn't believe the risk I took to get you alone here like this," Tiranya states flatly, her voice showing a tinge of rising anger, "I would have destroyed you like the others, but I needed answers, so you'd better start talking." As she speaks, her voice begins to rise steadily, yet the tone is held down, as if she were trying to suppress her anger but slowly failing.

"Who told you to act so soon?! That other fool managed to get himself caught, and then this incompetent attack by your rabble! Do you even know how hard it was to infiltrate those human scum and convince them we were on their side? Your stupid attack threatened to ruin everything! Once my master finds out about this, someone will pay for this. So unless you want to be demoted back to Lemure, tell me who ordered this and what foolish scheme they had in mind when they did!" By this point, she was almost seething with anger, and if she wasn't screaming, it was close enough.

[roll0]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The devil stares at Tiranya for a moment, then slowly uncrosses its arms and speaks. Its voice is not so irritating as when it was deliberately chanting to disrupt concentration, but it still sounds rather unpleasant. Its words thud heavily into the silence, like lead onto stone.

"This. Step. Went. As. Planned; If. You. Could. Not. Make. The. Priests. Trust. You, That. Is. Your. Own. Fault."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"As planned? AS PLANNED?!!" Tiranya screams the words, barely containing her rage. Her hands are clenched into fists at her side. "My master has planned this infiltration for weeks! What could you POSSIBLY have accomplished here besides kill a few useless peons and disrupt our carefully lain plans?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The devil's tone does not change, but it gives of an impression of smugness.

"Inform. Your. Master. That. The. Lord. Of. The. Second. Cares. Nothing. For. Your. Plans."

[mucat]

Cambios Blackstone

Throughout the wizard's interrogation of the Steel Devil, the older male tiefling has stood behind her, glaring balefully past her at the creature. Smouldering anger dominates his expression, underscored by the banked reddish glow of his eyes and the sulphurous smoke curling from his horns. But underlying the anger is an evident stratum of poorly concealed fear, though naturally not of the powerless Infernal itself.

At first, he seems to chiefly fear discovery, and gives more than one uncertain glance toward the basilica door. As the woman's anger with the devil grows, though, the old tiefling's facial muscles tense, and he begins to look more afraid of his own co-conspirator than of the priests outside. Clearly he has been the target of her wrath in the past, and expects to face it again for his own part in this current fiasco.

As if feeling the devil's judging gaze on his face, the man reddens, and glares down the Beuroza with fresh anger.


Attempting to Aid Another (assisting Tiranya's Bluff check):
[roll0] vs. DC 10
The red-eyes-and-smoking-horns schtick is really supposed to happen only when he is genuinely annoyed, not when he wants to look mean...but I figure all he's got to do is reflect on past committee meetings and he can pull it off. :smallwink:

Other than that, just waiting with Baleful Polymorph still readied in case it's needed.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Hearing the devil's words, Tiranya seems to cool down quite a bit, the fury dissipating from her visage and the fire vanishing from her eyes. She studies the fiend now, her face unemotional and inscrutable. "I see you are of no further use to us. Go inform your master then," she says calmly, "to not mess in our business again."

Immediately, she calls out in Infernal, her hands weaving together the intricacies of a spell. A rift suddenly opens up on opposite sides of the fiends, and two great feline creatures jump out, spikes jutting fearsomely from their backs and blood staining their maws and claws as if coming from some carnal feast on the Lower Planes.

Smiling at the appearance of her minions, she commands with a dark smile, "Destroy it!" Leaping into battle at her order, the two fierce tigers pounce forward with bellowing roars, striking at the Bueroza with the fury of Hell itself.

Cast Summon Monster V to summon two Fiendish Tigers, each 10 ft away and at opposite sides of the Steel Devil. Deceptive Summons Bluff check automatically succeeds. The two tigers will charge at it, the second one gaining flanking bonus.

Tiger 1:
[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7]
[roll8] [roll9]
If a claw or bite attack hits: [roll10]

Tiger 2:
[roll11] [roll12]
[roll13] [roll14]
[roll15] [roll16]
[roll17] [roll18]
[roll19] [roll20]
If a claw or bite attack hits: [roll21]

Fiendish Tiger Stats:
Fiendish Tiger
Size/Type: Large Magical Beast (Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 6d8+42 (69 hp)
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+16
Attack: Claw +11 melee (1d8+10)
Full Attack: 2 claws +11 melee (1d8+10) and bite +6 melee (2d6+6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, pounce, rake 1d8+6 (+11), Smite Good 1/day, natural weapons count as magic
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, darkvision 60, resist cold and fire 5, DR 5/magic, SR 11, +2 vs Dispel
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities: Str 27, Dex 15, Con 21, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 6
Skills: Balance +6, Hide +3*, Listen +3, Move Silently +9, Spot +3, Swim +11
Feats: Alertness, Improved Natural Attack (bite), and Improved Natural Attack (claw).
Alignment: Always Evil (any)
Tigers have -2 AC due to charge.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

As Tiranya casts her spell, the devil bows its head and utters "So. Be. It." It does not resist or attempt to defend itself as the tigers rend it limb from limb, and does not take its eyes (well, helmet eye-slit) off Tiranya until its severed head rolls across the floor.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Well, that was... not a complete waste of time," says Tiranya, even as she dismisses her summoned tigers. Whispering another spell, she points towards the double doors and they spring open as if by an invisible force. "It's over, you can come in now," she projects to the people waiting outside.

As she waits for everyone to come in again, she shares their discoveries, "The Bueroza claims to serve Dispater, the Lord of Dis, second layer of the Nine Hells. This likely has something to do with the fact that this chamber came from the caverns between Avernus and Dis. I highly doubt Dispater was working alone in this, but we know now that these events has the backing of at least one of the Lords of the Nine."

Pacing back and forth, she continues theorizing out loud, "What's more interesting though, is the fact that the devil claims their attack went according to plan. Besides killing a few people and renovating the architecture around here, I fail to see what their aim could possibly have been. We had defeated the attackers rather soundly. Perhaps this attack was simply a scouting mission to test our defenses?"

Cast Unseen Servant. It will last 11 hours.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

As Kell ambles into the room, he chuckles softly. "From what I could hear, it didn't really give you any good information, and he shut your bluff down hard with the Lord of the Second business. Sounds like you got...Dissed." The sound of Lavandra smacking him upside the head echoes through the newly-remodeled basilica.

Ignoring Kell's antics, Golin folds his hands and thanks Tiranya for the explanation. "The question, then, concerns our next step. As you six have slain over a score of devils without casualties and those who retreated managed only three with two casualties, may their souls find rest in the heavens"--his voice catches slightly on the ritual words of sympathy--"we believe that you six are best suited to pursue this further. Father Limmith is taking the survivors to be reassigned to aid in other aspects of our defense. Thus, the manner in which you proceed is purely your decision, though of course we would be happy to advise you should you feel it prudent."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure flutters her way back into the church, looking around. She's obviously been thinking hard. "...Hey. Has anyone tried contacting the Upper Planes from one of the other Outer Planes, rather than the Material?"

[mucat]

"Felix Crowther of the Gosbridge Consortium has compiled a review article on such attempts," answers Cambios. "I think I have a copy somewhere; remind me later and I'll dig through my papers and find it for you. I wouldn't call it definitive by any stretch of the imagination -- he tries to reconcile data from an eclectic array of ecclesiastical and secular sources, some of which do not mesh convincingly at all -- but I'm afraid the overall trend is clear. People have tried every pathway they can think of to the Celestial planes, and found them all blocked."

His voice softens a bit from its usual academically detached tone. "I am confident we will find a way home for you, Lii -- the best minds on every plane are working on the puzzle -- but for the moment you are stuck with our company."


I'm assuming that the answer to Lii's question is "yes", since it seems like something that would have been tried. If not, Dice, let me know and I'll change the post.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"You're hilarious, Kell," Tiranya says as she rolls her eyes at his pun. "In fact, if you were in here earlier, I probably wouldn't have needed to cast that spell. You'd assuredly have made our friend there," she gestures to the bloody helmet sitting on the ground, "laugh its head off."

Waxing serious, she listens to Golin's words and responds, "I can't speak for my companions here, but I for one would be glad if you would impart your advice on next tasks. This is your city, after all, you likely know the area around here much better than we do."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"I am not sure this city will be too helpful; our knowledge of the Lower Planes is limited, as we usually rely on divinations where the neutral and evil planes and creatures are concerned. If you want to investigate the devil's claims or find that tiefling or do anything else proactive regarding this incident, I believe you would have to look elsewhere."

Golin appears thoughtful for a moment, then ticks off three points on his fingers. "The church of Boccob maintains a library in one of the closer cities--I don't recall which one at the moment, I'd have to get the name for you, but I do remember that it is near an arcane university of some sort, so one of you professors may know some people there. Father Limmith mentioned having several friends in the Platinum Peak monastery with whom he corresponds; it is a mountaintop temple to Bahamut, and as Tiamat resides in and has allies in the Hells, they would most likely have more information about the Lower Planes on hand than we would. My sister is a knight in service of the main temple of Kord, so I could provide a reference should you wish to seek out another temple of the same order."

"I think those would be the best avenues to pursue," Lavandra interjects, "though of course the main temple to Heironeous would most likely be just as helpful." She and Golin exchange competitive grins, then grow solemn once more. "Whatever you decide to do, we will give as much help as we can."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure's head snaps up at the mention of a library. "A library? Do you know if they might happen to have any tomes on True Speech? If I'm going to be an adventurer now I should make an effort to learn my new companions' True Names."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Golin shrugs at Lii's question. "Mmm, possibly? I'm really not familiar with the contents of the library...but Boccob is the god if magic, after all, so tomes on magic words wouldn't be out of the question." Kell holds up a finger and coughs: "Lavandra, could you cover your ears now?" When she does so, he whispers "I've, shall we say, given a few of their books a new home, and if True Names look like ten-syllable gobbledegook with a bunch of hyphens and apostrophes, they've got books on that. You can put your paladin ears back on, Lavandra."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"I would not mind heading for this library, especially if it's near an arcane university," Tiranya says, "They may provide helpful information, and their facilities would be a useful resource if available. However, if the rest of you prefer we head towards a different location first, I've no objections. I hope at least that wherever we go, we'd have enough time to do some preparations. I have a few... contacts I'd like to call on, if possible." Her face is impassive, though her eyes seem a bit distant.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick speaks up from under his veil.

I have no opinion on the matter of our destination, at least not yet. So I must ask, what was in this dome and the other parts of the church which are now presumably swapped with this little piece of hell we can call home. If their intention was not to kill anyone or cause more of their kind to come to this plane we can only assume their goal was simply to take whatever is missing. So what are we missing with this change of scenery?

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"It was as you saw," Lavandra replies. "Pews, tapestries, an altar. Mosaics in the floor. There were no enchanted items or relics in here, as the only magic was that maintained by Pelor's priests at dawn and noon every day, which disappeared with the rest of their power. Unless the Hells are in dire need of a large volume of glass and marble, I cannot see why they would have come here."

"They may not have intended to come here," Golin notes. "Most of these incursions have involved demons and devils caught in the midst of fighting one another, some with fiends bisected at the edges, and those times where the fiends had enough time to prepare and ambush those on the Prime whom they surrounded have been few. We cannot rule out the possibility that the devil was bluffing."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty rubs his chin.

Hmm, well perhaps we should look at what this incursion looks like from above. Perhaps it was intended as a large scale circle for magic or the like.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Both Lavandra's and Golin's eyes widen.

"No! They couldn't--"

"That's not even--"

"How would they--"

"Oh, dear."

[mucat]

Although Cambios has had a somewhat hungry look in his eye since the first mention of visiting a library and university, he has managed to keep his own counsel, refraining from pressing the others to choose that destination. Instead, he listens with one ear to the conversation while continuing to pen a string of equations in his journal. At one point, he approaches the side of the cylindrical stone pillar, chips off a small fragment, and slips it into a belt pouch for later analysis.

Lavandra's and Golin's exchange, though, draws his full attention. "If you are trying to alarm us," he tells them, "then I congratulate you on your success. What did Mr. Shankraft set you to thinking of?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty reappears his chin in his hands.

Well that is distressing. Okia was it? Would you mind giving one of our more scholarly companions a nice view of the damage?

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya seems quite intrigued by Patrick's suggestion, and even more so by Lavandra and Golin's reactions. "That's a very interesting theory you have, Patrick, and one easy enough to test. I believe I shall go see for myself if any meaning can be found from an aerial view." Without waiting for a reply, she leaps into the air and begins flying out. Her unseen companion follows, opening the way for her. Even if there's nothing to this theory, she'd at least get some much-needed fresh air after breathing in so much brimstone.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Or that works....

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

Landing in the courtyard, Okia shouts into the dome "Good Cambios, would you like a lift? I think your scholarly curiosity might require you to have a proper look at this. Seeing the beheaded devil, he stops Tiranya as she heads out the door and says, "Barzhul. How good a look did that thing get at your face? 'cos you just sent it back to its masters, didn't you? I'd hate for us to draw too much attention too quickly."

[Adunatar]

The arcane talk bored Elzedar almost to death, and he was already yawning - with a very fair chance of dislodging his jaws - when the latest alarm has woken him up from his boredom. Flying... he liked flying.

- I'm with you... anyone needs a lift? Can't promise much accommodation, but will be able to lift someone small.

[mucat]

Cambios is about to decline Okla's offer of a ride -- that's what spells are for, after all -- then pauses. A dragon ride is always invigorating, and will let him save the spell until it is more urgently needed. And more to the point, the people he has met this morning show every sign of becoming puissant allies; why pass up the chance to learn more about two of them?

"I would be glad for a lift," he tells the dwarf, "if your daughter does not object to the trouble. Doctor Sordel has a head start on us, but let us see if we can spot something she has missed."

The mage steps to Durgarn's side and waits there for the dragon to acknowledge him; it would be rude to climb on board a sapient being without her direct invitation. The delay also gives him a chance to try to reason out the best way to stay aboard a red dragon without falling. The two prior times he had ridden dragons, they were a green and a bronze respectively, and each subspecies has a different configuration of crests and scales. To fall from Durgarn's back would not be fatal, as long as he was conscious and able to cast spells, but it would certainly be undignified.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii tilts her head to one side, then gives her wings a little flutter. "I'm fine. I'm pretty fast, you know." Especially when she alters the universe to cheat.

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn Climb on up smiles Durgarn. The more the merrier. Here, she says, proffering her hind leg as a step.

Just sit yourself here, in the gap in the saddle. There're handgrips to either side, but if you need steadying, feel free to use me as a prop. I'm rather sturdy Okia says to the mage, proffering him a hand in addition to Durgarn's offer.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

When Cambios asks the paladins what worried them about Patty's theory, they give him a look implying he is being purposely obtuse. "You specialize in Conjuration magic, a branch of magic using magic circles for some its most powerful workings, and you aren't immediately worried about the devils possibly creating a magic circle several miles wide? Think, man! They could be planning one large incursion to replace entire nations with Hellish landscape, they could be planning to summon or free some terrifyingly powerful fiend, they could be doing something to disable arcane magic...." Golin continues to suggest apocalyptic schemes for a bit, Lavandra interjecting some occasionally, several of which are quite hare-brained and at least one of which should be thaumaturgically impossible. Rolling his eyes, Kell motions for you all to get on with the observation while he smiles and nods at the paladins' theories.

Taking to the air, you are all able to get an aerial view of the city; you see nothing particularly interesting or unusual, aside from the throngs of people in the streets who stop what they are doing to look up at you, calling and waving. Rising higher, you are able to see the surrounding forests and rivers, then the whole of the small valley, then a few of the closer cities, and finally all of the land and cities within a dozen or so miles of Triune Valley. You see smoking patches below you in various places, as well as sheets of ice, small bogs in the middle of open plains, and other signs of infernal incursion. Within those few dozen miles are many affected areas, though the cities and forests make it hard to figure out exactly how many there are, and most of them appear to be much smaller than the one you experienced.

Spot checks for everyone
Okia [roll0]
Elzedar [roll1]
Lii [roll2]
Cambios [roll3]
Patty [roll4]
Tiranya [roll5]

Elzedar, Lii, and Patty
You are able to see the most areas of incursion, and are thus able to note a vague pattern with them: the area they cover is somewhat circular in area--not that they're in a ring or anything so clear, but that the boundaries are almost circular. (To go OOC for a moment, the areas resemble a pepperoni pizza more than a chain encircling the area.)

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn grunts. Well, that doesn't look very promising. Although...the area effected does seem to be limited. Not sure why that'd be significant though.

[mucat]

At the paladins' tirade, Cambios breaks into an uncharacteristic grin. "You're confusing me with Doctor Sordel," he tells them. "She's the Conjuration specialist; I'm the doddering old man who overlooks obvious impending cataclysms." Oddly, he seems to warm to the pair far more when they are directly challenging his competence and tossing wild ideas around than when they were mincing carefully around the topic of his and Tiranya's fiendish ancestry. Now this is how academics argue.

"Not that half those scenarios of yours make sense, mind you," he adds over his shoulder as he climbs on board the dragon, "but we can grab a blackboard and hash through the possibilities when we're all back on solid ground. I'm curious to hear Lii's perspective as well. Truenamers like to speak of 'rewriting the universe'...taken literally, that could be a strikingly apt description of these incursions."

Once on the dragon's back, he inspects the saddle and its handholds for a moment, then settles into place for the ride. "Ready whenever you are," he tells Durgarn and Okla.

EDIT:
Once aloft, Cambios cranes his neck to look down at the areas of incursion, scattered like tumors over the landscape below. There is something tantalizingly regular about them, but not until Durgarn points out the pattern does it gel in Cambios's mind. Damn good thing I agreed to that ride, instead of blundering around up here on my own, he notes. Perhaps I really am going senile.

After a brief conference with Durgarn and Okla, the mage retrieves his journal from a pocket of his robes. Pressing the book against the dragon's scales to keep the pages from tearing free in the rushing winds, he sketches the best representation he can manage, under the circumstances, of the geometric layout below.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

When Okia stopped her and asked about the devil, Tiranya just smiles and shakes her head. "Thank you for your concern, Sir Okia, but I doubt it would be much of a danger. Even assuming it hasn't lied and been demoted for its failure, it's simply a low rank minion with little means of coming after me. I highly doubt its superiors would care for its petty grudges, especially not now of all times, and it's going to need much more than my face to find me again. It's not like I gave it my True Name, after all. Perhaps in a few hundred years, it may have risen in rank enough to try for revenge; but that's not something to worry about now. We still have to make sure the Prime survives that long." With that said, she makes good on her head start and lifts into the sky.

In the open heavens, Tiranya soars along the winds, letting her long black hair flow freely with the wind. Besides a occasional whiffs of smoke at lower altitudes, the air outside was as fresh as she had hoped, and she breathed in deeply as she flew. She gazes down at the majestic view as she rises, frowning at the occasional signs of fiendish incursion below.

At first she couldn't see any sort of pattern to the corruption. It was only when her companions catch up and mention what they see does she realize the vague limits of the incursions. She has few ideas what it could mean yet, but she commits it to memory to write down later in a place with less wind. Afterward, finding it too difficult for casual conversation with the winds at such an altitude, she points her companions downward and descends, making her way back to the Basilica.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii does take note of the odd circular pattern, but she doesn't think much of it. She reaches out to pat Tiranya lightly. "You don't really need to be worried about giving out your True Name. I doubt you could even pronounce it."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty tilts his head at Elzedar's offer and than sidles up close.

How do you fly my friend? You don't seem to have any obvious means of flight.

He scratches his chin as he inspects the dragon born.


I realize this is a step back but I think a little relevant :smalltongue:

[Adunatar]

Elzedar smiled.

- The powers granted by The Great Dragon aren't always obvious to an untrained eye. Even though I lack wings, I can call out to the Borne Aloft! power as often as I want. Now hold on to my back - while it should be easy enough to catch you in midair, I'd rather not try my - and your - luck without need... something tells me we might need it elsewhere. Let's survey the landscape...

With these words, dragonborn - with gnome holding onto his back - took off. After some time, not noticing anything of particular interest, they joined the rest of the group on the ground.

Yeah, you got ninja-ed badly :smallbiggrin: BTW, it's Draconic Flight invocation that I'm using.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty steps back as the dragon born attempts to grab him.

Wo wo wo! Its not so much that I don't trust you but I rather not find out what happens should you drop me. However

He smiles devilishly

I think we can work together on this one. If you would no mind opening your mind to sharing your gifts from the great dragon I can borrow them for the time being without much effect to you.

Once the dragonborn is willing Patty lays a hand on the him and with a snap of his fingers and his eyes closed and his tongue out wings appear upon his back.

See isn't this much easier!

He takes to the skies reviling in his borrowed powers freedom. He scans the ground and joins the others when they reconvene to see what the others think of the landscape.

oh I knew how you were going to do it but Patty did not :smallwink:

provided you are open minded (willing) I shall borrow draconic flight and use it to give myself wings for the next 24 hours. Once I have done so you will have access to it back :smallbiggrin:

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

Assuming Cambios has no further reason to remain in the sky, and has packed away his notes, Durgarn starts to descend.

"Sorry about this! shouts Okia, "but she does love diving!"

Even as Okia finishes speaking, Durgarn alters their angle of descent, her wings held tight to her body, the wind rushing past her face, setting Okia's hair and beard flying and making Cambios' robes flap madly. Just before they get to close to the ground to have any time to manoeuvre, Durgarn spreads her wings wide, tilting her body sharply, rapidly decelerating before coming to a (slightly heavy) landing on the ground.

Well that was fun! she beams at her companions.

Y'alright? Okia asks Cambios, slight concern in his voice.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

I'm going to assume things are retcon'd to the point that there isn't a total war going on, and move on from there.
Stepping foot again on solid ground, Tiranya takes out a piece of parchment and quickly juts down some notes on what she observed above, writing down as many details as she can think of as well as making a sketch of what she'd seen. Afterward, she walks back into the Basilica and quickly fills the clergy in on what they had seen above and showing them the sketch.

With that done, she waits for all her companions to come down again, then says, "Well, we can probably discount the giant magic summoning circle theory; the pattern is far too irregular and random for any magical symbolism I can imagine. More likely it shows limitations on where the fiends can enter this Plane, which is something to note. As interesting as that was, we should probably get a move on though. Again, I would prefer we head towards the library and the arcane university first. Have you all any objections?"

[Cogidubnus]

Okia
I am far from magically knowledgeable, so I leave it up to those more informed than myself to pick our destination, but I have had one thought. If these effects have a certain radius, would there be any benefit from converting that entire area of the prime?

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick lands a smile across his face. He walks to the dragonborn.

Thank you my friend that was truelly invigorating and if you do not mind in the future I would be pleased if you would give me the pleasure of borrowing your abilities.

He than walks to the others as they talk about the landscape.

It seems wherever the the land has changed it has done so resembling different terrain. However it seems each of the encroachments were circular. Perhaps they are being forced to this plane through some means of summoning on the other side to further the devils goals.

[mucat]

It takes Cambios a moment to answer Okla's question on landing, and the dwarf can't help but notice a slight greenish cast to the mage's features. When he speaks, though, he manages to sound more-or-less collected. "Thank you both for the ride, and for the perceptive eye on the landscape," he tells dragon and rider. "Dargarn, that descent was...invigorating." Still, when he clambers down from the saddle, the mage seems almost to want to hug the ground, though of course that would lack dignity.

Soon he is standing among the other as they all compare notes and speculations. "If Dr. Sordel is correct that we have spotted the maximum radius within which Infernal intrusion can take place," he says, checking the approximate map he sketched while aloft, "then I would be quite curious to learn what lies at the center of the circle."

OOC -- Dice, did we notice any unusual features in the landscape, either around the circumference of the circle or in its center? Also, how precisely can we locate the center, given the roughly-defined boundary of the circle? And is today's intrusion near the edge of the circle, or in its interior?
"It might also be enlightening to learn when each intrusion took place, and attack a time sequence to the geometry we've seen. Find out whether the events began at the center of the circle and spread outward, or in an unpredictable order within its boundaries." He glances over to where the paladins and clerics are standing. "I imagine that our hosts would have such records on hand."

[Cogidubnus]

Okia
Let us hope so, or we'll be standing around making them ourselves for weeks mutters Okia.
And nobody likes paperwork grumbles Durgarn.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

By this point, Limmith has returned from escorting the incompetent cowards other adventurers to their new duties, and has been silently following the conversation. "We have indeed kept records of the incursions, though without divinations of our own we cannot verify their accuracy or completeness. Though I am sure," he quickly adds at Kell's exasperated expression, "that our brothers and sisters in other churches, as well as our lay assistants, are quite competent as far as divinations go."

He excuses himself from the hall, and returns a few minutes later with some pieces of parchment and a quill. Kell pulls out a wand with a flourish and creates a floating platform in the center of the group, and Limmith places his documents there, beckoning everyone closer. "As best we can tell, the first incursion was slightly northeast of the center of the cluster. The second was toward the edge, off to the north. The third was on the southeastern boundary." He points out the incidents on one of his maps, after which he draws in today's incursion and one or two that the keener-eyed among you had noticed that weren't on the map. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the progression for the first 3/4 of the incursions, or at least no pattern is apparent, but the last 7 or so are in clumped together slightly off-center due west, today's incursion being the 8th in that clump.

"I had not examined this map in much detail after the first few, as it seemed nothing useful would be gained from it. It appears that there may be some significance to the placements after all, however we are but one part of the world; there are other areas of incursion, of course, and they may or may not exhibit the same pattern. It seems that that is another argument in favor of the voyage to the library, as Boccob's clergy have many diviners at their disposal and thus would quite probably possess better records."

There's nothing special about the landscape inside the circle in general, or around any incursions in particular. You can estimate the center of the circle, though only within unacceptably large error bars, and the area that would contain the center is all empty land between cities.

[Adunatar]

Elzedar studied the map, and said, sounding quite uncertain:

- Looks like they - whoever the originators of these incursions could be - are trying to hit some spot - important for them by an unknown reason - by trial and error, and are making some progress in that... the last incursions tend to converge to a specific map point. Is there anything special about this place, where the last few of the incursion were observed?

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The little Coure is just fluttering around, listening. She seems to have this strange detachment, as if she doesn't really care about what's happening... that can't be entirely true, though. Perhaps it's just how Outsiders act.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Limmith shakes his head with a laugh. "The only 'important' area within the mile or so radius of that clump is this city. I would be quite flattered to learn that the devils wish to bend time and space and escape the Hells of their own volition for the first time since Creation just to destroy our little town...but somehow I doubt that is the case."

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

"I think that settles it. We need to visit somebody with more information, no offence to yourself, Limmith, and several of us have shown an interest in getting access to this library for personal uses. As it stands, everything we say is just supposition. If the servants of Boccob can help us, we should head to them with all speed. And they may be able to present alternate theories" Okia says, then, addressing Limmith, "might we keep this map, sir? It may come in useful."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"No offense taken. I would prefer to keep a copy of the map for myself, but if you can copy it, feel free to take it."

amanuensis the map for him, otherwise one of the NPC casters in the area can cover it. Moving on.]

"Can any of you teleport? I assume the two wizards can, but I just wanted to check. If you can, I'll set you up with a description of the library, 'cause you can't scry it; otherwise, I can get you near there."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya thinks for a moment, doing a few calculations in her head. "Unfortunately, I have not planned on a journey so soon, so if we were to teleport there today, I can bring along three other persons with me, no more. If Professor Blackstone has prepared a Teleport spell as well, then we should be able to transport everyone today. If not, however, we may have to wait until tomorrow so we can better prepare for the journey."

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

"How far is it? Durgarn can comfortably cover 20 miles an hour, or 40 if she pushes herself. She is also more than strong enough to manage passengers. And Elzedar has already proven he can fly."

Durgarn can manage another 1400 lbs before she can't fly. She's also 14 feet long, so if Dice has no objections, I can passengers.

[mucat]

"If we choose to fly, I too have the requisite spell prepared," Cambios says a bit too hastily, still slightly queasy from the young dragon's "thrilling" descent. "Though by no stretch of the imagination can I match the speeds that Mr. Ulengkegeth has reported."

"If the consensus is that we put a premium on speed, though, then I'll gladly provide a second teleport spell." Examining the group judiciously, and pausing for special consideration of Durgarn's size, he states, "Between Doctor Sordel and myself, I believe we can handle the seven of us, and one more person should any of our hosts here wish to visit the library as well. Two more, should Durgarnbarbabin consent to adopt a smaller form during transit."

[Cogidubnus]

"You can do that?" asks Durgarn excitedly. "I've been experimenting, but my magic isn't powerful enough.

[mucat]

"Certainly," replies Cambios, "though I am afraid that compared to the alterations you will eventually learn to accomplish on your own, my abilities are a bit limited. Primarily in terms in duration, in this case. I can offer you any form you are inclined to take, barring a few more extreme choices...but the transmutation will only hold for a fifth of an hour or so. Or perhaps twice that long, if I draw upon some specialized tools to compensate for my own amateurish capabilities."

...assuming that Dice hasn't banned the Polymorph subschool for this game, of course. I don't remember one way or the other. If polymorph spells are in play, we'll be reasonable about what we use them for. Turning Durgarn into a medium-sized creature for easier teleporting doesn't seem like a world-breaking use, though. :smallsmile:

[Cogidubnus]

"Wow. We have to try that at some point!" Durgarn seems ecstatic at the idea.

"She's never had any real magical training," explains Okia, "and of course, I don't know enough to be able to tell her much. Her powers develop by themselves, so they don't need tutoring, but it's led to a few unexpected accidents. If you wouldn't mind helping her a little with her arcane knowledge, I'd be most appreciative. As you can imagine, she can't really study at a school, and it's rare to be able to travel with a practised tutor."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"The library is a bit over 200 miles away, so I don't think dragonback travel is going to work out too well, sorry," Kell says. "If you both can carry the group, I'll grab you the notes and stuff you'll need to get a good focus on the place." He exits the hall. While he's gone, Lavandra asks if they wouldn't mind taking her along: "I'd been meaning to visit the library sometime soon anyway, and with current events as they are, no one has been free to take me."

Kell returns soon enough, with paintings of the library from several angles and sketches of the grounds and interior. On top of that, he creates a tiny floating image of the library with another of his many wands. "That should be good enough to get you there in one piece, I think; take all the time you need to study it, I can refresh the image a few times if I have to."

Nothing is explicitly banned, but my stance on brokenness and cheese is that anything over-the-top you do becomes available to the NPCs, and there are many more of them than there are of you, so don't pull anything you wouldn't want used against you. :smallamused: Otherwise, go wild.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Responding to Lavandra, Tiranya says, "I shall be happy to take you, Lavandra. Assuming mighty Durgarn here doesn't mind shrinking to a more compact size, I believe Professor Blackstone and I can carry all nine of us exactly to our destination. Communication is certainly important between the bastions of Good in the world if we wish to defeat the fiends, so we should do all we can to facilitate it."

Once Kell comes back with the diagrams and image, Tiranya begins studying them alongside Cambios, imprinting as many details of the location as she could into memory. "Very detailed, Kell, I'm impressed. These diagrams should make the teleportation a very simple affair," she complemented, then turns to Cambios, "We should probably set our appearance outside the building rather than inside it, both to avoid startling anyone and to prevent mishaps. I can teleport my group here," she points to a spot on the image and diagrams, "and you can appear here," she points to a different spot close by. "Is that acceptable?"

I'm guessing this would count as "studied carefully" for teleport mishap purposes?

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn looks positively ecstatic at the prospect of changing forms, and more than a little flustered by the compliments that people keep heaping on her. 'Can I be any race I want? Can I look however I choose?'

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Within a few limits, but yes, you can change into nearly anything you like," Tiranya responds with a smile. "Is there any particular race and appearance you would like to change into?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Kell's materials do indeed put you at Studied Carefully level for teleportation.

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patrick moves up to Kell and smiles politely.

You wouldn't happen to have any extra wands which I might find useful on our trip. I would return the favor in kind when I returned.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Kell smiles in turn, motioning to the 10 or so wands on his bandolier and several more on his belt. "I think I've got 'useful wands' covered in spades. What in particular were you looking for?"

[crazedloon]

Patty

Well really I do not know I enjoy experimenting with different wands and the like as well as have a wide array of options. Currently however I am only equipped with wands to increase my combat ability so if you have some more utilitarian wands which a would be hero might find useful I would be much obliged.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Kell ponders for a moment, then reaches into his vest, pulling out a bluish-white wand tipped with an uncut diamond. He hands it over with an elaborate bow and a mischievous grin. "This will certainly be useful, I think, and only two charges used so far. Don't worry about getting a particular wand for me, just grab any from things you kill and we'll talk about it when you've sorted out this mess."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty bows as he retrieves the wand.

Thank you kind sir. And pray tell what does this find specimen of a wand do?

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Telling you would spoil all the fun! Let's just say it can come in handy if you forget some important gear...."

[crazedloon]

Patty

Patty chuckles

Well indeed that will be fun.

[mucat]

Cambios too stands studying Kell's maps, sketches, and images of the Library grounds. "Kell, this is superb," he statesa. "I see nothing that we could gain by scrying, even were it possible."

Turning to Tiranya, he continues, "Those two destination points sound fine. Enough distance that we won't all be tripping over one another on arrival, while close enough to coordinate efforts if..." He shrugs apologetically to the priests and paladins. "Well, I hate to bring up dire contingencies, but one never knows when one will teleport into a war zone."

"Durgar," he says with an apologetic bow to the dragon, "we are near the limits of what Dr. Sordel and I can accomplish. I am afraid we will have to ask you to take on a smaller form." From all indications, the dragon will not find this an inconvenience at all, but he maintains his apologetic tone. "Any shape you would find convenient is fine for our purposes. My only request is that you think in the range of human size or smaller Within those limits, simply say the word and we shall do the rest."

"We should set up communication lines in advance, in case some thaumic fluctuation separates us," he mentions to Tiranya, with only the slightest instructive toward Father Timmel, maven of sundered communication links. "If you've got something appropriate prepared, we'll use that; otherwise I'll draw something along those lines from the Spellpool at the Spire."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Do you mean communications via telepathic transmissions?" Tiranya asks. "It shames me to say that despite the fact that the great Rary of Ket once taught at Alayan, as they so often tell visitors to the school, I never did take the time to learn his signature spell. I'm afraid I shall have to leave that task to you and your colleagues at the Spire."

[Cogidubnus]

Durgarn has, surprisingly, remained quiet while the wizards talked, looking contemplative. "Can you make me into a dwarf? So that I REALLY look like Okia's daughter?" she suddenly asks, beaming. It doesn't occur to her that the sight of a dragon beaming is off-putting at the best of times, doubly so when not long before she was fighting with her teeth.

[mucat]

"Of course," Cambios answers the dragon with a slight bow. "I am certain that you will make a lovely dwarf, and I thank you again for agreeing to help make the teleportation easier to arrange. We'll carry out the transformation just before we depart."

"Oh, and Dr. Sordel, I did bring a copy of Rary's telepathy spell that you mentioned. A fascinating piece of work; I envy you for having had the chance to work with the man directly. You are welcome to study the spell any time you wish, of course."

Turning to the group as a whole, he asks, "Would you all like some time to gather your belongings or speak with people here in town? I believe we can depart as soon as everyone is ready."

[Adunatar]

- I'm ready when you are, - boomed the dragonborn, who was all this time making himself busy polishing his armor.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure is just buzzing around, being all quiet, taking everyone's features in so she can come up with truenames on the fly before she can research their personal ones...

[Cogidubnus]

Okia

"We're ready. Transform Durgarn any time you like. Might it be wise for us to go in the smaller group? We're the most capable melee fighters, so if anything happens we can best protect the caster transporting us."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

"Oh no, I never actually studied with the great Rary!" Tiranya responds to Cambios, "I hope I didn't give you that impression; it would be a grievous insult to the late mage if I studied with him yet didn't bother learning his spells. He had taught at Alayan, yes, but that was long before I went there. I only know of it because of the large statue of him in the courtyard of the College of Divination, as well as the way they constantly boast of him having taught there every time visitors come to the school."

Smiling a bit at the fond memories, Tiranya quickly brings herself back to their present task. "Thank you for the suggestion, Sir Okia, I would be honored to travel at your side. I see no reason to wait here now. We don't know what knowledge we can find at the library, so it's best that we hurry and find out soon. I can bring along Sir Okia, Durgarn, and Sister Lavandra, if nobody has any objections. I am ready to go when you are, Dr. Blackstone."

I'll cast Teleport whenever Cambios says we're ready. I'll let Dice get the honor of determining whether we end up at the other sacred library of Boccob.

[mucat]

"Then we shall get underway," says Cambios. He raises his left hand to his eyes, clenched in a loose fist, and gazes into a blue crystal set into a simple silver ring. The crystal glows faintly for a few heartbeats, then fades, and he lowers his hand. "That's Rary's spell borrowed. And also a confirmation that the conduits to the Spellpool are still open; always reassuring in these times."

A small leather satchel or book bag is slung under his left arm; opening its flap, he draws out a rune-carved metal rod a little longer than his forearm. Strictly speaking, the rod should not have fit in the satchel, but then, extradimensional storage space is not a new concept to anyone present.

As he chants the Draconic syllables of the spell, the rod hums in resonance, augmenting the mage's energies with its own. The spell complete, a soft silver light shines from Cambios's forehead, and a matching glow on his right index finger. "The telepathic link will last four hours, and I can extend it to, at most, five minds, including my own. I suggest we link Dr. Sordel, so we can confer in case some glitch in the teleportation needs to be corrected...Father Limmith, so that we may keep Triune Valley informed of anything we learn, and vice versa...and Mr. Del Firebat and Mr. Ulengkegeth, in case they would like to do some aerial scouting once we reach our destination."

Waiting first for each person's agreement, he touches their foreheads one by one, spreading the silver glow to each of them. Once all five are linked, the light on their brows flares brighter for a moment, then fades to invisibility.

Cambios's voice sounds in each person's mind: "Hello, friends. Is the Link functioning?"

The Telepathic Bond established, Cambios turns now to the dragon. "Durgarnbarbabin, are you ready to see the world from a Dwarven perspective?" At her agreement, he begins a second spell, once again drawing on the runed rod to extend the magic's duration. Durgarn's form shrinks rapidly, drawing the air around her into a strong breeze that fills the space that recently held dragon, and where a young red-haired dwarven woman now stands instead.

Cambios uses a Metamagic Rod of Extend on both spells, so the Telepathic Bond should last four hours, and the Polymorph 24 minutes. (We shouldn't need the extra duration on the Polymorph, really, but Durgarn will enjoy it, and it's always good to keep Red Dragons happy, even when they swear they never eat people.)

[crazedloon]

Patty

As the mage begins to cast upon the dragon Patrick averts his gaze and puts his hand over Pepe's eyes as he whispers to his companion.

Nothing we should be seeing dear friend

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

The telepathic link was a new experience for Tiranya, having rarely shown much interest in Divinations like this, so once in place it took a couple of moments before she became accustomed to the link. Once she heard the communications in her mind, she projected back: It's working on my end. Shall we?

She tells Okia, Durgarn, and Lavandra to link hands with her, then takes a moment to draw memory of the spell from her reserves. That done, she begins chanting the words of the spell even as she calls up memories of the detailed sketches that Kell brought. Let's hope all goes well, she sends through the telepathic bond, right before the four of them vanish.

[Cogidubnus]

As durgarn's form shrinks, Okia steps forward and calmly wraps a cloak around her, before leading her briefly inside the cavern and leaving her with a spare adventuring outfit to put on.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

As both groups disappear in a flash of light, you can all feel a sense of unfamiliar motion as you streak through the Astral Plane en route to your destination. It seems to take no time at all...and yet, you can feel a strange hiccup toward the end of your journey, as if you stop without stopping at all, and then continue apace.

You appear (all together, fortunately) just outside a large gate inscribed with runes, Boccob's eye-in-pentagram symbol at the very top. You aren't alone, however; surrounding you are eleven figures in gold-embroidered purple, all aiming staffs in your direction. As you finish materializing, a greenish dome rises around you, closing into place with an audible hum. One of the figures steps forward, still holding his staff at the ready, and snaps "Identify yourselves and your purpose for being here!"

[mucat]

Cambios's circle of travelers takes a bit longer to assemble, given the varied sizes of the five beings involved. By the time everyone has linked hands or forepaws, hovering or perching on one another's shoulders as necessary, Tiranya is already mentally reporting the success of her spell.

On our way, then, thinks Cambios in return, and with a nod of farewell to their hosts, he speaks a few words of power and the five of them vanish from the courtyard.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Dice, but just in case it wasn't clear, this takes place just before the above post!

[crazedloon]

Patrick

Patrick looks around the dome.

Now this aint something you see everyday. Now gents is this how you welcome a band of hardy adventurers? We come in peace and all that.

He grins at the staff wielding mages.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The staff wielding mages do not grin back. "That doesn't answer my question, and I can't know if you're friendly, not with two part-fiends among you," the leader replies, his grip tightening until his knuckles whiten. "You have one more chance: Who are you, and what is your purpose here?"

[crazedloon]

Patrick

They are a might grumpy but what can you expect from a mage of their age.

He winks again.

However, for a proper introduction I am Patrick Shankraft an adventurer by trade and this is Pepe. We come to seek some information for our quest to defeat the devils which plague this world.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

The teleportation was jarring, but Tiranya was well used to its effects. The end of the journey, however, felt alarmingly different to her, and her fears are confirmed right as they exited the Astral Plane and appeared surrounded by mages. A quick look at the gate with Boccob's symbol inscribed confirmed her theory of what happened. I should have expected Boccob's sacred library to be guarded against casual teleportation, she thought to Cambios, I suspect they used some kind of Astral Shard to achieve this.

Stepping forward with her hands open to show no hostility, Tiranya casually steps in front of Patrick and speaks up, "My name is Tiranya Sordel, a conjurer by trade, once of the University of Alayan. These are my associates, Lii, an exalted Emissary of Chaav, Sir Okia Ulengkegeth and Elzedar Del Firebat, knight and disciple of the Platinum Dragon, respectively, Patrick Shankraft, who has already introduced himself and his friend, Professor Cambios Blackstone of the Silvercliff Spire, Sister Lavandra of the Blades of Heironeous, and Durgarn, nominally a dwarf but usually a red dragon and Sir Okia's daughter and companion in his service to Bahamut.

"We have come here from Triune Valley with the blessing of the churches of Heironeous, Pelor, and Kord there to investigate the recent incursions of fiendish origins onto the Prime Material Plane. We were told that your library is unmatched in the world in matters of arcane knowledge, and that we would likely find useful information on these events if we come here. We also seek to establish lines of communication between here, Triune Valley, and other bastions of civilization so we can better stand up to the fiendish threat. We come seeking knowledge and unity, with no intent of harm upon your temple."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure looks somewhat amused. "You'd think being accompanied by a Celestial would balance out the fact that one of your ancestors did the nasty with a fiend, really..."

[mucat]

Cambios smirks slightly at Lii's words, then schools his features back to a dignified expression for the benefit of the worried mages outside the dome. An unavoidable precaution on their part, he thinks in reply to Tiranya's analysis. Under the circumstances, had we arrived unchallenged, I would have been forced to question their competence.

He stands calmly while Patrick and Tiranya address the mages, giving a cordial nod as his own name is mentioned. For the benefit of Limmith back in Triune Valley, he sends a brief narrative over the thought link: Father Limmith, both circles have arrived safely outside the Library of Boccob. We are currently explaining our presence to an understandably cautious welcoming committee.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Hearing Tiranya's explanation, several of the mages nod to the speaker, who lowers his staff and motions the others to do the same. It seems you are who you say you are, and I recognize your name and Blackstone's; you're cleared to enter. His face softens from a challenging frown to a professional smile. "My apologies for the rude welcome, but we've already suffered two attempted attacks and can't be too careful about these things. We've had plenty of tieflings visit in the past few days, and neither of the attacks involved tieflings, but that doesn't mean we can lower our guard. One of the attacks, in fact," he adds darkly, "involved a captive and controlled celestial, so you'll pardon me...Lii? You'll pardon me, Lii, if a celestial in the group isn't the free pass you'd expect."

The speaker waves a hand, and the glowing green globe fades away; the other mages vanish. The speaker motions you all to follow him into the library proper. "I'm Fourth Theurge Ormenos, by the way. As you've probably guessed, I'm in charge of abjuration here at the library."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

As Tiranya follows Ormenos into the library, she commends him, "Impressive display of security and foresight, I must say. The response was fast indeed, and the size of the response team is top-notch. I see Boccob's clergy lives up to their reputation for power and resourcefulness."

Her expression darkens though, as she begins speaking of darker matters, "We came here seeking knowledge on the recent events that led to the fiendish threat. Do you have any information on this? Any leads at all, of threats, specific targets, leaders, or whatever else. I'm not going to hope we're so lucky that you'd know the exact cause of these events, but anything related to them would be good to know."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"I can't say we have anything solid, unfortunately," Ormenos replies, "but our First Theurge has had our diviners on it since the Severing. I haven't kept up on it, but our librarians can fill you in on some of the details." He leads you through several hallways, eventually stopping at an archway labeled Prophecies and Divinations. He raps perfunctorily on the door and opens it, calling "Rivam, we've got people in from Triune Valley, here to take a look at the data on the Incursion."

Just inside the door sits an elderly man at a small desk; behind him are shelf upon shelf of books. He squints at the group, particularly at Cambios, and says "From Triune Valley? Ah, that would be Mr. Clavicus again, then?" He pulls a pair of half-moon spectacles from a pocket and puts them on, blinking at Cambios. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, sir; I mistook you for the other tiefling from there, I'm sure you get that a lot, heh heh. Now, how may I help you, ladies and gentlemen?"

[Cogidubnus]

Okia is quick to pick up on the old man's words. OTHER tiefling? The only other tiefling we saw at triune valley helped instigate the attack. Who was it who saw this man? Can you compare descriptions? he asks, forgetting the old man's poor sight.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Rivam's face droops into an almost comical expression of surprise and chagrin. "Oh. Oh dear. I had no idea. He was such a nice gentleman too, said he came from Triune Valley because he needed to see some documents to determine the best defenses to erect for his unfortunate brothers and sisters of the cloth." Lavandra winces at that. "He was here, oh, about an hour ago; he read a few documents at one of the tables in the back, examined two of the prophecies, and left but a few minutes before you arrived."

[mucat]

Cambios glances at Lavandra. "Sister Lavandra, I do not suppose that Triune Valley employs any individual named Clavicus, perhaps with horns and an abysmal sense of timing?"

Her expression makes a verbal response unnecessary. "No? I suspected that was the answer." He sighs and addresses the librarian. "Mr. Rivam, might we impose on you to show us which documents this gentleman examined? I fear there has been a bit of a fiasco here."

Turning back to their host, he says, "Theurge Ormenos, I fear your trust has been betrayed by the same gentleman, or should I say the same individual, who betrayed Triune Valley. Several of us are currently linked, via Rary's Principles, with Father Limmith of Triune. The link will last several hours, during which time we would be more than glad to relay messages between the two sites as we sort out the implications of this breach."

"After that, may I be so bold as to offer my assistance in planning some regular lines of communication among the settlements on the forefront of this Infernal incursion? A timely Sending either from Triune Valley to this Library, informing you of the recent attack, or from here to Triune to verify the status of Mr. Clavicus, might have resulted in his capture."

"Indeed, I should not at all be offended, given the circumstances, if Sendings were already underway to the Spire and to Alayan. If so, and if the messages are not already at critical length, then please extend our regards to our colleagues there."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Rivam nods eagerly and rises from his seat. "Yes, yes of course. All visitors must write down their selections, so I'll retrieve his list and bring those books to the desk here. Just one moment, please."

Ormenos looks thoughtful. "We have already arranged for daily messages to be sent to and from arcanists and priests in the settlements at risk; they're meant for information-gathering and after-the-fact aid, though, moreso than detection and prevention of incursions. Setting up a more proactive network might be a good idea, and the only reason we haven't done so yet is that most of our diviners are a bit overwhelmed with collating all the data and catching up with new sightings and my abjurers are focused on home defense. Not many of our arcanists or theurges are advanced enough in their studies to master Rary's portfolio, and his simplest workings require frequent renewal, so that might not be the best solution for us, but I'll look into it."

After a minute or two of idle chatter regarding who's who in the arcane world and other such fascinating topics, the desk clerk returns from behind the shelves, a furious look on his face. He slams three books down on the desk and pounds his fist on them: "It's gone! That...that bastard tiefling stole the Second Epistle of the Eladrin! We'd just gotten to translating the parts we had, and we'd just found the last half of the fragments, and...and...and--how could he!?" He collapses into his chair and slaps two irregular pieces of parchment down on the table, practically sobbing. "All of the original fragments are gone, and he didn't even leave us all the fragments of the translation!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

"How could he? Well, if he's working for or with fiends, that points to him being kinda Evil. And Evil people tend to be jerks. So..." The wise words of a Celestial!

[Cogidubnus]

Okia places a restraining hand on Lii's shoulder, saying
"Lii. Be kind. This man has lost something very valuable to him through the simple crime of generosity and trust." and Okia steps forward, picking up the man's scraps of paper, handing them back to him and promising him "I swear, sir, that as long as I remain a true knight I will strive to find this Tiefling, both to end his schemes and recover your property."

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya narrows her eyes in anger at the hearing of the Tiefling's theft, and, even worse, managing to outsmart them all, but she forces down her anger and focuses on distilling the information they were given. First she examines the books that Rivam brought, as well as the two pieces of parchment he threw down. "You mentioned him, this Mr. Clavicus, looking at two prophecies? Are these it?" She indicates to the two pieces of parchment there. "And what is this Second Epistle of the Eladrin? It sounds familiar, as if I've heard of it before, but I can't seem to recall what it is exactly."

Turning now to Ormenos, she asks, "Theurge Ormenos, do you recall how this Clavicus arrived and left from this locale? He almost certainly Teleported to here, seeing as how he traveled 200 miles in mere minutes, but how exactly did he leave? Since it's only been an hour, and it's theoretically possible that he didn't have any prepared Teleports left, if he left on foot or by air we may be able to find and catch him. It's a long shot, but possible."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The three books on the desk are Planar Geometry: An Introduction, On the Calling and Binding of Fiends, and Teleportation through Nonuniform Thaumaturgic Fields, all fairly basic texts most likely just used as cover. Rivam manages to compose himself, and he thanks Okia profusely for his offer of aid. The clerk's voice takes on a lecturing tone: "The Epistles of the Celestials are a collection of prophecies made by a gifted tulani eladrin seer approximately three millennia ago concerning major events in the Outer Planes. Each one consists of eight to fifteen quatrains in poetic Celestial, very tricky for non-native speakers to translate; our church isn't the only one concerned with finding and translating them, but we have the majority share. The First, Fifth, and Ninth concern past events, and the Third, Fourth, Seventh, and Twelfth have been proven to concern dates at least a century or more in the future, so when the Severing occurred, we hypothesized that one of the as-yet-incomplete Epistles might relate to the present events, and moved those up in priority for collection and translation."

He takes a deep breath, his gaze straying to the two scraps of parchment on the table. "We believe we were successful in finding a relevant Epistle. The parts of the Second Epistle we possessed indicated that it concerned current events, but we only had two quatrains, so we sent some of our number out to find the rest and hired adventurers to do the same. Just yesterday the last fragment was found, and we were to start translation of the remaining fragments this evening. And now we cannot," he concludes with a sigh, "because of the original fragments and two sets of copies, only the two originally-translated fragments are left!"

He passes the two fragments across the desk and leans back dejectedly:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/ProphecyFragment.png
Ormenos shakes his head sympathetically through Rivam's explanation, then quietly turns away and tells you all "If I have the timing down right, he left while I was leading you here, so I'm not sure offhand how he left; I'll check with the acolytes out front and find out. It will probably be difficult to find him, though; there are magical wards aplenty in this library, so either this Clavicus used antimagic to get those parchments out, in which case they might not have been able to track him when he left, or he's just good enough to not trip the wards, in which case your guess is as good as mine as to how he left here."

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

The Coure looks perplexed! "If it was so hard for a non-native speaker to translate, why didn't you summon a native speaker to translate it for you? I mean, you'd been working on this for ages before this whole mess started, right? And it's not like it takes much to summon a Coure... much to our endless shame..."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"We did, we did...one of our diviners worked with a priestess of Wee Jas to struggle through the First Epistle, and once we determined it was full of idioms and poetic devices we called upon the eladrin to aid us with the Third through the Seventh. We even," Rivam states with awe in his voice, "were able to obtain an audience with an honest-to-gods tulani eladrin to have the Ninth interpreted in person, though unfortunately not with the seer herself." His voice becomes toneless once again. "We didn't have any pieces of the other Epistles, and we had plenty of other farseeings and prophecies to interpret, so we decided to wait for them to come to us or allied churches--after all, the other Epistles always concerned the past or far future, so how were we to know we would need them now?"

Rivam gestures at Lii. "And now it's too late! Just when we could use a native Celestial speaker, you're the first eladrin I've seen or heard of being on the Prime, and even with you here we don't have what we need translated!" In a less depressed voice, he smiles slightly and says "And don't be ashamed that coure are easy to call; while our church tends not to deal with many outsiders, as the Uncaring Mage does not wish to play favorites, I do know that in theory it is as easy to call outsiders of any planes, and eladrin are indubitably the friendliest and most helpful among them."

[mucat]

[This fits a little earlier in the conversation, after Lii's "evil people tend to be jerks" statement...but it was fun to write, so I'll post it even though the conversation has moved on. :smallwink:]

"I concur, Lii, that we could be fairly certain this man was evil, after his treachery at Triune Valley," agrees Cambios. "But that in itself does not explain or excuse his behavior here. One does not have to be a good person, to be a good scholar. The great Rary himself was, in every measurable respect, an evil man. I have often heard the word attached to me as well," he confesses, "though by some odd quirk of statistics, usually by students who had recently performed failing work."

"In fact, I have shared laboratory space with Haber von Belvox, an evil wizard if there ever was one, and found his thoughts on lattice bundles in pseudo-irreal geometries quite enlightening." His eyes grow distant, clearly lost in memories of the distant past. "Naturally, the Spire insisted that any virgin's blood needed in Haber's research be drawn under hygenic conditions from consenting donors. Rather brave donors, actually, given the smirks they endured from more frivolously-minded students."

Cambios frowns, having momentarily lost the thread of his story, then raises a finger emphatically as he remembers his point. "When Haber and his consort could no longer be trusted to channel their malicious natures in acceptable directions, I was on the team that had to hunt them down. A terrible loss; first-rate minds, both of them. Evil beyond redemption? Without a doubt."

The old tiefling fumes as he delivers his verdict, looking far angrier now than he did at the betrayal in the Basilica: "But at their worst, they never defiled a library!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii reaches over and pats Cambios on the head. "I wish I had teachers like you." She pauses. "I wish I had teachers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to teach yourself Truenaming?"

[mucat]

Cambios turns his head toward Lii, his surprised eyes level with those of the hovering Coure. "You taught yourself Truenaming?" he asks, his anger at the lost book momentarily forgotten. "Granted, on this plane the study of True Speech is in an incoherent and fragmented state, and for every competent scholar, there are twenty frauds and charlatans. But given your mastery of the field, I had simply assumed that in your home, teachers must be easier to find."

"If you have deduced everything you know ex nihilo..." The mage pauses, shaking his head in frank astonishment. "Well, that is nothing short of astounding, Lii. More than ever, I hope once the immediate crises are behind us, you might consent to share some fraction of your understanding."

[crazedloon]

Patrick

Patrick looks at the fragments and rubs his chin as he thinks.

It looks like these fragments tell us the tail and reason for the severing. It seems the gods will loose their powers once cut off from their worshipers. And we are intended to die without their help. However Heroes are to save the day.

He smiles as he mentions the heroes.

Could we not use these fragments to track the other fragments? If they were part of the same scroll or book shouldn't they be connected some how the same way a persons hair can be used to track someone. Presumably this man has the fragments with him so we could track him by the paper he carries.

[Yuki Akuma]

Lii

Lii tilts her head to one side at Cambios' astonishment. "Well, I didn't just... come up with the True Names or anything like that. I had a couple of dictionaries to work with..." Either she's bad at taking compliments or doesn't want Cambios to think she's greater than she really is.

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya takes the pieces offered and reads them, occasionally whispering the words to herself as if trying to make sense of something. "Relics of life... interesting..." she whispers softly at the end, her brows furled in thought. Looking back up at Rivam, she says, "It's unfortunate we don't have the original Celestial. The meter's a bit off here and there, and the rhyme scheme is obviously not translated over, if there ever was one. While my experience with prophecies is limited, I do know that subtle meanings can be hidden in such things, so the loss of the original is a telling blow. Do you know of any other churches with copies of the Second Epistle? Also, I'd suggest Sending to anyone else with pieces of the Epistles to tighten their security in case this Clavicus is looking for more of the same."

She considers again, "Hmm, while the loss of the Second Epistle is problematic, I'd like to see if you have other information on the fiendish attacks that could be helpful. We can still use facts on the matter, after all. I'll also need to study these three books Mr. Clavicus asked for." Her eyes casually glances over the books again as she says this, unconsciously hovering a few moments longer over the cover of On the Calling and Binding of Fiends. "While he most likely just asked for them to get through your security, they're still worth checking up in case there is something worthy of note in them. Finally, I was told there was an arcane university nearby which may have other information or resources we can use. Is this true?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"No, we were the only church with a copy; other churches found some of the fragments, but they were all sent to us to be translated." Rivam looks up as Ormenos returns from speaking with his acolytes. "No luck tracking him; he 'ported away. You could try locating him another way, of course, but without having seen him, I don't know if our diviners can help you with that--not that they wouldn't love to try just to prove me wrong. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to return to my post; anyone around here can direct you to me if you need anything else." He exits once more.

As Ormenos talks, Rivam finishes writing something down; when he leaves, Rivam hands Tiranya the books and a copy of the prophecy fragments. "These are checked out to you, just bring them back when you leave, please. There isn't a university 'nearby' in three dimensions, but we maintain a permanent portal to the Ortholan Bay College of Wizardry. As to our data on the Incursions, you can find all of the relevant information in reading room 3F, two shelves back and five left, right next to the gargoyles. "

[mucat]

"Dictionaries, we have," mutters Cambios in response to Lii's words. "What we do not have, when it comes to the True Speech, is the foggiest damned idea of what we're doing."

He turns his attention to the translated fragments being handed around. "Theurge Ormenos, Mister Rivam, do you object if we share these translations with Father Limmith via the mind link?" With the permission of the Library's people, he begins mentally reciting the words over the Bond as he reads them.

"'When all seems most desperate, Heroes emerge'," the tiefling grumbles. "They usually do, in these prophetic tracts. I have never trusted heroes: posturing, unreliable twits, the lot of them. I would far prefer we handle this ourselves."

He squints at the half-legible words on the paper's torn edge. "'Rent from the Prime, we shall languish in Heaven and Field and Glade.' Lii, it sounds as if the seer foresaw that your compatriots in the Celestial Planes will remain safe, if unable to act decisively. I hope that is some comfort, until you can reestablish contact." He passes the fragment to the Coure while accepting another one from Tiranya.

"'The Glade is last to recall its aid'...is that the way it actually happened? I confess that I and my colleagues among the Arcane were slow to recognize the crisis, and I do not have a clear picture of its early chronology." Further considering this fragment, he suddenly frowns. "'Coerced'...that is an intriguing choice of words. Other Celestial planes are unable to make contact, it implies, but the Glade is coerced or threatened not to do so. That could be a crucial point to follow up upon...or a meaningless quirk of translation. Damn that Clavicus!"

[Adunatar]

- Patrick, - said the dragonborn, as if suddenly remembering something, - haven't you been given a certain present just an hour ago, the one that could supposedly help to find something that's lost? I figure this might be just the right occasion to try it out, while our magici, erm, mages are unraveling the word mystery?

[PId6]

Tiranya Sordel

Tiranya thanks Ormenos and Rivam for their help, then concentrates for a moment, calling forth another spell from her memories. With a quick gesture, the books begin levitating and start following her, even as she follows the clerk's directions to the reading room. Along the way, she gives a wry glance at the gargoyles, always having found other mages' tastes in them inexplicable. "Let's see what they have," she says as she arrives, and walks inside, the three books still floating silently behind.

Unfortunately, there wasn't room for my last Jeeves in the Teleport, so I'm casting Unseen Servant again from a reserved slot.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The gargoyles nod politely as Tiranya enters the room, then return to discreetly surveying the library.