Dwaer Depths

[King Tius]

Dwaer Depths
OOC Thread (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=163223)

It is a cold, brisk morning in Breland. The mist clings heavily to the Dagger River. It is a lighter, more pleasant mist than the creeping death that overtook Cyre. It seems to climb and claw its way up the lofty spires of the City of Towers, trying its hardest to overtake their impossible heights, only to beaten back by the rising sun. Among these skyward stone fingers, one shines like a diamond. The glass walls and intricate patterns create a lattice of light that beckons you towards its learned halls and endless shelves of tomes. Across arching skybridges and on gently floating skycoaches you have made your approach to Morgrave University, propelled forward by the promise of adventure and glory. Through the cavernous great hall and its twisting corridors you have been led, ending up in front of an ancient door with the name "Professor Dantari, Emeritus" written upon it. You have been told to wait patiently until the professor was available and one by one you trickle into the small hallway near the door. The occasional student or scholar brushes by you, but other than that you are virtually alone as you stand and wait.

The Party
{table=head]Player | Character | Race | Class
whoiam|Nustrilaa Xiloscient d'Phiarlan (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=229519)|Elf|Wizard
Wiz|Soranda (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=135628")|Human|Artificer
Cardea|Malosh (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=229464)|Shifter|Ranger
Yuki Akuma|Enya (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=229502)|Gnome|Artificer
Hat-Trick|Aoide Zinger (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=229328)|Human|Bard
Dax Thura | Sharaccus (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=174073) | Human | Monk/Sorc
[/table]

****This First Post Shall Be Used For All Manners of Bookkeeping****

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

As would be expected of a wizard, Nustrilaa had taken her moment of waiting to settle down in a nice little spot in the hallway, extract a book from her backpack, and begin to read.

So far, so normal.

Where Nustrilaa differed from a standard mage was in the book she'd pulled out. Because it wasn't her spellbook. No, what she'd extracted from her bag was a cookbook - 'Pastry, the Aerenal Way'.

She appeared to consider it a riveting read...

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Despite her age, Enya has spent the journey with the wide eyes of a curious child, looking here there and everywhere as they pass into the towering heights of Sharn. She'd heard stories, but she'd never seen it for herself!

"How do the towers stay up? They shouldn't be able to if they're this tall... I guess it's probably magic..."

[Wiz]

The human woman (http://www.aintitcool.com/images2009/125639_LR1b.JPG) who walks in next says, "It is in a manifest zone of Syrania, The Azure Sky." She looks around, nodding to the gnome and the elf. Her eyes fixate for a moment on the elf's book and her hands twitch, but then she looks up and focuses on their eyes. "I'm Soranda Smyth."

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer follows the human woman in and sits. He takes his glasses off and proceeds to clean the lenses with the bottom of his rumpled shirt while looking around the room.
"Oh hey, what ya reading there?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

A young human man is next to arrive, his curly golden hair reflecting the morning light and complementing his kind, sky-blue eyes. His clothing is in the Thranish style, favoring gray with silver detailing. A short sword is strapped to his belt, but he otherwise appears unarmed. His body is athletically built, suggesting he is some kind of warrior. A necklace can be seen just over his collar, bearing a carved wooden design: an arrowhead with a stylized flame within.
He smiles warmly at everyone as he approaches, before leaning against a wall to wait. He seems too excited to sit, and it appears it is taking him a certain amount of self-control not to pace or bounce up and down on his heels.
"Good morrow, everyone. I trust this morning finds you well?"

[Wiz]

A human woman with long, braided brown hair lets her green eyes wander over to the newcomer, at which they widen slightly, "Um... Good morrow to you." She smiles, "I"m Soranda.

[EdroGrimshell]

Next to walk in is a tall half-elf with extremely pale skin, long black hair, and dichromatic eyes, one shoing blood red with a slit pupil, one deep sapphire blue. He's suited in typical traveller's garb and has a rapier hanging from his waste. His eyes flicker to each person in the group, resting longest on Soranda before he leans against a wal and closes his eyes, waiting.

[Cardea]

Malosh

And last to walk in is a man who is feral in appearance. His head is thick with braided hair that goes down his back. Lithe muscles move under thick hair under a traveler's garment, consisting of britches with drawstrings to hold it up and in place, a tunic that is grey in color, a vest that is green. Over the tunic and vest is a chain shirt, slightly worn from heavy use. Green eyes view the room, taking everything into account. His padded footsteps are accompanied by the slight thud from the great sword strapped to his back as it hits the longbow slung over his back.

He walks towards the door with "Professor Dantari, Emeritus" written on it, and sits as close to it as he can without being in range of it swinging open and hitting him in the face. It's happened before, and he doesn't want to have it happen again; it really hurt. He sets his backpack down on the ground, and when he thinks no one is paying him any attention, rips small bits of meat from inside of it, and puts it in his mouth.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

At the question about her book, the elf glances up from it's pages.

A moment later, she works out what was asked of her, and twists the book upright so the others can read the cover. "A little bit of home," she tells them, "every time I drop by a kitchen."

Since they'd jogged her attention anyway, Nustrilaa uses this as an opportunity to look around the others.

And she smiles.

"The professor keeps interesting company, I see." A little flick of the wrist and her hair pulls itself back from her face (yay unlimited cantrips! I'll never have to brush Nustrilaa's hair by hand again!) and comes to rest behind her back. "I think I was hired on as the expedition's cook... or wizard... or both. What do the rest of you think you were hired for?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

The young man smiles warmly at Soranda, and extends a hand.
"Well met, Soranda. The name's Silas. Pleased to meet you."
Silas looks at the gathered company, assuming that this must be relatively normal for an expedition such as this one. At the elf's question, he crosses his arms and shrugs, leaning back against the wall once more. The smile never leaves his face.
"I suppose I'm here to make sure nobody gets hurt. I hope you'll all make that easy on me."
He grins, flashing a set of white teeth. If it wasn't for the fact that he looked like he could give the shifter a run for his money in an arm wrestling competition, Silas could be described as boyish. He begins to drum his fingers on his arms absentmindedly.

[EdroGrimshell]

"What do the rest of you think you were hired for?"

"Negotiator, scout, and urban expert." His voice is almost cold, but is tinged with a degree of ... something you can't quite identify. "I'm Persona, by the way. NIce to meet you all."

[Wiz]

Soranda takes the proferred hand, "I'm an artificer by trade, so I imagine I'll be handling miscellaneous magic, light healing, the occasional buff... though I don't imagine you'll need much buffing, Silas."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas chuckles at Soranda's comment.
"Buffing? Is that like protective spells? If it helps me do my job, I won't stop you! I didn't think many artificers went on adventures; I always imagine them toiling away in shops or laboratories."
He was about to say 'I didn't recall seeing any in training during the War,' but thought better of bringing up something so unpleasant, having just met these people. Instead he arched an eyebrow.
"So are you with House Cannith, or...?"

[Wiz]

She drops her eyes, "No... not Cannith, but I do pretty well - and I focus on knowing more than just crafting... I just can't get enough of books and stories, and I'm pretty good at deciphering ancient script as well."

[EdroGrimshell]

She drops her eyes, "No... not Cannith, but I do pretty well - and I focus on knowing more than just crafting... I just can't get enough of books and stories, and I'm pretty good at deciphering ancient script as well."

At this comment, Persona looks up, "Ancient scripts eh. Never had much of a chance with books, i lived off the streets most of my life, everything i know i taught myself. Only thing that saved my hide half the time was my...unique talents."

[Wiz]

Soranda nods to Persona, "I know something about living on the streets, in the lower slums. I lost my whole family in the lower reaches of Sharn. I was saved by a priest of Onatar who ran an orphanage down there." She looks at him a little oddly, "What happened to your eye? Does that have something to do with how you survived?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Soranda nods to Persona, "I know something about living on the streets, in the lower slums. I lost my whole family in the lower reaches of Sharn. I was saved by a priest of Onatar who ran an orphanage down there." She looks at him a little oddly, "What happened to your eye? Does that have something to do with how you survived?"

"I know how it feels to lose your family, i lost mine when i was really young," he has a strange look in his eyes, at the comment about his eye he grins as it changes to match his other eye, "something like that."

[Wiz]

Soranda looks surprised for a moment, and then smiles, "You're a changeling, aren't you? My little brother Perky was a changeling too, and my dad, but I never was, my mom was human you see."

[King Tius]

As you converse the knob of Professor Dantari's door very quietly turns. The door opens with a creak and a goblin steps out. He wears simple robes and bows low as he motions towards the door.

Spot checks as you enter the room, please...

[Cardea]

Malosh gets up, pulling the bag a few inches off of the ground, and enters the room.

[roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Soranda looks surprised for a moment, and then smiles, "You're a changeling, aren't you? My little brother Perky was a changeling too, and my dad, but I never was, my mom was human you see."

His grin shifts slightly, he turns to his natural form, staying the same in build and height. "I used to call my sister Sora, she didn't like my old name to much, something to do with it being to short, so i changed it, adding an adaptation of my old nickname for her to get Persona." he looks more closely at you, trying to see something, it can't be her, but its been sixteen years, maybe, just maybe...

[Wiz]

Soranda enters, her mind whirling with thouhts. Perky... called me Sora... Persora... Persona, could he be... oh, great, why do I have to do this interview now! Well, at least he's not going anywhere! She glances from time to time at Persona, as if trying to see some trace... though changelings in their natural state have so little in the way of specific features to call recollection to.

Spot: [roll0]

[whoiam]

[roll0]

As the door opens, the book snaps shut. It takes but a moment to tuck it back out of sight, and then Nustrilaa follows Malosh, Persona and Soranda inside.

She might as well, after all. She didn't ascend this far up the tower just to turn down work...

[EdroGrimshell]

Forgot the spot check.
[roll0]

Persona resumes his half-elf guise as he enters the room, he seems more comfortable in it than his natural form.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas wasn't sure he was too terribly comfortable working with a changeling, but at least he was open about it. Better than having a nasty surprise later on... still, the knowledge was slightly concerning. Silas shrugged to nobody in particular as he entered the room.

Spot: [roll0]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya... has not been paying much attention. Even the mention of another artificer goes right over her head as she just continues to stare out the nearest window.

Of course, then they're called in, and she comes to her senses!

[roll0]

[King Tius]

The Goblin maintains his bow as you walk past. His voice, while gravely for a Goblin, is still somewhat higher in pitch.

"Please come in. The Professor is eager to meet you."

The room you enter is littered with tomes and scrolls. Several workbenches are built into the eastern wall (you entered from the south) and have heaps of books and alchemical supplies sitting on them. The large windows which take up most of the northern wall thankfully do not face the rising sun, allowing the room to be nice and bright but not quite blinding.

An old man paces about in the center of the room, seemingly aimless. He stares at the floor and appears to be lost in thought. As you enter his head quickly pops up and he turns his head to regard you. The movement is almost birdlike. He does not speak.

OOC: Instead of a flurry of PMs I will post spot info in spoilers here. You may all look, but you are on your hono(u)r not to metagame what you read.

Enya and Malosh:

You notice that there are feathers scattered about on the floor. One falls from under the old man's robes as you glance at them.

Malosh:

As you pass the Goblin you see a small bit of red cloth sticking out of his pocket. From the several professors you've passed so far, you recognize this as the scarf that indicates one's tenured position in Morgrave. You also realize that the old man in front of you is not wearing one.

[Cardea]

Malosh keeps his eye on the Goblin as he enters the room, and then move to look at all the books in the room. He didn't read much, and he couldn't read often, but it still amazed him at how much dedication others took to write. He couldn't have the patience for it, so it was almost something to applaud. He looks quizzical at the professor. He sets his bag down on the ground and approaches the professor slowly. He says under his breath, when he gets close to the Professor, "No scarf?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya looks around the room for several minutes, and then heads right on over to the workbenches to take a look at those books! She doesn't even pay any attention to the old man.

Her tenure as a librarian has ingrained a few quirks in her. One of those quirks is the urge to sort books whenever she sees them in a jumbled heap like that - and finding out if they have any volumes the Library doesn't have is always a plus.

[Wiz]

Soranda looks truly torn. On the one hand, her eyes are drawn repeatedly to the stack of books, her hands twitching as though she longs to read every single one. On the other hand, her eyes are drawn to Persona, questions raging in her mind. On the third hand, there is the professor who is the person she came to see, a source of possible employment. With great effort, she keeps her attention focused mostly on him, since he is, so far, the least interesting thing in the room to her.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona looks over the room, he didn't care much for the untidy mess that littered the room. He looked at his fellows that seemed to be targeting the books rather than their employer, "I believe are reason for being here is not to sort the professor's books." he turns to the professor and asks "I'm more interested in what you wish of us in this job."

Note he does not actually ask any questions during his litle conversation.

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer shleps in behind the rest of the group, wondering why someone would need so much muscle and obvious bibliophiles. The sight of the library instantly drives such thoughts from his head however, as he hungrily eyes the scrolls and tome that lay about the room, eyes wide with awe.
"Wow. So many, and kept in much better order than mine too!"

[King Tius]

As you enter into the room the Goblin quickly shuts the door. You hear the lock on the door turn, though the Goblin leaves the key in the lock. Clearly it is meant to keep people out, not in.

As you spread out into the room, either to exam the books or to talk to the professor, you are all startled by the old man as he coughs loudly. Malosh draws closer to him and the hair on the back of his neck goes up.

Malosh:

All of your shifter/ranger senses tell you that this is not a man, but a bird. It smells like a bird, it acts like a bird, and that cough sounded more like a stifled squawk to you.

The old man turns to look at you and shakes his arms before tucking them by his side. "Hello" he says, simply. "I'm the professor."

He opens his mouth to speak again but is momentarily distracted by something on a nearby desk. He scurries over to examine it, bending at the waist so his face is just inches above it. The object of his attention is a letter opener on the desk that has just caught a small ray of light from the window. The Goblin clears his throat and the old man pops up, staring at you with wide, almost fearful eyes. "Hello" he says. "I'm the professor."

Then, most unexpectedly, he tilts his head very far to one side and lets out a very loud "SQUAWK!"

"Khyber take it, this will never work!" Shouts the Goblin. He marches over to the old man and waves his hand in front of him. The man's form twists, melts, and shrinks until a raven, not a man, stands on the ground in front of you. It glances around before taking wing, swooping around the room once and landing on the Goblin's shoulder. The little creature lets out a long sigh and he, too, begins to change. His face begins to alter (not unlike a changeling) and he grows taller, becoming a human man. As his face resets you see a dragonmark sprawling across most of his right cheek and creeping up onto his forehead and down onto his neck.

He is a younger man, seemingly in his mid 20s, with wavy black hair and sparkling blue eyes. Drawing a professor's scarf from his pocket, he quickly puts it around his neck and gives you all a slight nod.

"Jaspar Dantari, at your service. I suppose you have some questions about what you just saw. Please, let me explain. I'm the one who hired you, but I was pretending to be my father. Things here are.... rather complicated at the moment. My father was a Professor here at the University but was killed under uncertain circumstances a week ago."

He makes a quick motion with his hand and a piece of cloth falls off the wall, revealing a hitherto barely noticeable picture frame. The man in the picture looks just as the raven did, only his eyes show a deep intelligence.

"Only a handful of people know that my father is dead and I am here to keep it that way until my family gets to the bottom of his murder."

By 'his family' you know he means House Orien, judging by his dragonmark.

"While our inquisitors hunt his murderer, I've hired you to help me uncover what it was that got him killed. My father was doing some serious research and I think if we can figure out what he was working on, it might lead us to his killer. Now, what questions do you have?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Well, looks like i'm not the only shapeshifter here," Persona says, thinking must be a wizard, likely a transmuter. "So we are to be investigators in a murder?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome woman looks surprised as the professor transforms into a bird - and the goblin transforms into a human! She stares for a few moments. "Wow! How did you do that? Was it a spell?" At the news of the murder, though, she frowns a little bit. "Oh. That's sad..."

[King Tius]

"To tell you the truth, I'm not rightly sure. My father was doing research on Portal magic. I've managed to decode his most recent journal entries and have found a good place to start. It's a tower on the other side of Sharn."

EDIT: Jaspar winks at the gnome. "It was. I'll have to show you it sometime."

[EdroGrimshell]

"To tell you the truth, I'm not rightly sure. My father was doing research on Portal magic. I've managed to decode his most recent journal entries and have found a good place to start. It's a tower on the other side of Sharn."

EDIT: Jaspar winks at the gnome. "It was. I'll have to show you it sometime."

"Could he have succeeded? And if so could a little...surprise have come through? Information is essential for what you suggest."

[King Tius]

"Unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out anything else at this point. House Orien has several portals set up in the major cities across Khorvaire. There's even one here in Sharn. I'm not sure what my father was doing quite yet, but I know this tower is nowhere near the Orien tower."

He pauses for a second and glances towards the window.

"Your transportation should be here in a few minutes."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out anything else at this point. House Orien has several portals set up in the major cities across Khorvaire. There's even one here in Sharn. I'm not sure what my father was doing quite yet, but I know this tower is nowhere near the Orien tower."

He pauses for a second and glances towards the window.

"Your transportation should be here in a few minutes."

He sighs, "I'll have to dig up an old friend then, he's good with this kind of thing." at the mention of transportation he tenses, "please tell me it's not an airship."

[whoiam]

"Well, I know some of the theory behind transportational magic, but I've yet to master any... May I ask, do you know which are his most recent research journals? It may help if we take some of them with us as we travel, and attempt to decode his research as we go..."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas leans against the wall, his arms crossed, frowning. Clearly, much of this was going over his head, and the deception of their patron was rubbing him the wrong way.
"Portal magic? Sorry, I'm kind of lost here. What, some kind of doorway? Teleportation? Not all of us are wizards here."

[Wiz]

Soranda listens to the whole story and watches the various scenes of this little drama play out, then she nods. "I don't know about everyone else, and I mean no disparagement, for I'm sure you are all qualified in your respective areas - however, it is good fortune I'm here. I know several languages, am well versed in arcane lore, have some familiarity in planar magic, am exremely good at deciphering languages and codes, I'm a trained researcher, and I read faster than everyone I know." She begins looking though the stacks of books and starts a pile (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9104351&postcount=32) that includes anything on planes, manifest zones, portals, teleportation magic, or anything that seems a journal relating to the above.

[Cardea]

Malosh was blown away by all of this. Magic was a little beyond his grasp more often than not and, well, goblins to humans and humans to ravens? Way beyond his grasp. He tried to push it out of his mind, and focus in on what people were saying. He looks at the female Human, and speaks for the first time to them, his voice low and grating. "Not saying much, when I am in room." He turns to the... goblin... man... thing. "You say transportation?"

[Wiz]

Soranda looks up at Malosh when he addresses the her, "Sorry... I was talking to Silas when you came in, and then you sat in the corner and were eating... I didn't want to disturb you." While talking she is still sorting out material to help research what happened to the professor.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona puts a hand to his head and sighs, he had really been hoping for people he could actually relate too. Instead he was stuck with three bibliophiles, one of which could possibly be his sister. I just hope that my talents will be useful on this little adventure.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya looks quite delighted at the prospect of being shown a spell! She doesn't have much practical experience with magic as of yet... Which is odd, considering her choice of profession.

As Soranda's ego rattles off a list of why she's the best woman for the job, Enya stares at her for a moment... then giggles? "You're adorable." She means it, too.

[Vizzerdrix]

:smallsigh:

Gainer pulls his head out of the book he'd picked up (Hot and Humid: Regional Climate Studies of the Xen'Drik Coastal Areas) And tosses out a few questions.

"Was your father working with someone? Do you know of anyone else performing similar research? Did he gather his materials here or from a shop? Do you have an inventory sheet? Can I have this book and where was he killed?"

[King Tius]

"My father was killed on his way home to our house, on a skybridge several towers away from here. You're welcome to his journals, i've already made copies." He smiles. "I figured you'd want them when I hired you. There's a small division of my house dedicated to studying teleportation, but they're up in Passage. My father was a bit of a loner, so I don't believe he was working with them."

He winks at Persona when an airship is mentioned and walks towards the window. Jaspar jimmies the latch and opens one of the large panes. Almost on queue you see a ship appear from around a nearby tower and make its way towards you. It is a smaller airship, very similar to the skycoaches you took here. Standing at the bow of the ship is a large warforged, his arms crossed. Jaspar makes an "after you" motion with his hand towards the window.

"I have to stay here and figure out how to impersonate dad. Maybe I should turn into him this time? hmmmm. Phase will take you to the tower and to anywhere else you need to go. He'll also pay you. Best of luck!"

The airship turns and sidles up next to the University, coming just a foot away and a foot beneath the sill of the window.

[Wiz]

Soranda hurredly stuffs the books and journals she has set aside into available sacks or satchels, she looks at their employer. "There, I think that will give me a start... now when you're talking portals you mean teleportals right, not like the portals to other planes?" She lifts the satchels, and pauses to wink at Enya, "Hey, it pays to be adorable... and nobody ever got a job by claiming to be the second best at what they do!"

[Cardea]

Malosh approaches the Window tentatively, and grips hard on its frame. One thing he could not get used to this city was its heights, and not the fact that they were there; the fact that if you fell... well... you weren't coming back up easily. They would have him travel on such a fragile thing? If he was to make it through this... he'd have to find some way to grow wings... or something. Airships were just so... scary. He looks to the others in the room. "So... who steps first?"

[King Tius]

"The two types of teleportation are essentially the same. To teleport across this plane still requires you to step into another, you simply step back."

[Wiz]

Soranda nods, "All right - I think I have sufficient research materials to start and perhaps piece together what work he was relating in his journals." She glances at Malosh, "I'll go first." She takes the satchels of books and when it pulls up, steps across to the windjammer.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona actually turns completely white on seeing the airship, not just his skin, his eyes, hair, and even his tongue, which is currently wetting his lips, turns whiter than snow. Its debatable whether the change was reactional or a conscious change

"Why'd it have to be an airship." he says, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. His color returns quickly after a few moments.

He steps cautiously onto the airship then goes to an out-of-the-way spot and closes his eyes, breathing slowly, as if meditating.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"You know, I really should have prepared a feather fall today. Just in case."

But she had not. And this was no time to worry about it. This was a time to help herself to one of the copied journals before Soranda snatched the lot, and then step out the building into the unknown...

...airship.

"Woo... nothing to worry about." But despite her apparent insouciance, Nustrilaa also rapidly relocated to a position as far from the side as possible...

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya just grins at Soranda before following along towards the airship. She doesn't seem at all worried about the height, happily hopping aboard! Nustrilaa's complaint about not preparing Feather Fall this morning makes her tilt her head to one side. "Feather Fall? Uh, hold on..."

The gnome takes her backpack off, putting it on the ground and opening it up. She kneels down and begins rummaging around inside - tossing out several scrolls in the process - before producing what she was looking for. "Aha!" Unrolling the scroll, she offers it to Nustrilaa! Close inspection reveals that it is, indeed, a Feather Fall scroll.

There's something a little odd about it, though. While it's true that everyone writes magic in subtly different ways, this one doesn't even look like arcane magic at all.

[EdroGrimshell]

Enya just grins at Soranda before following along towards the airship. She doesn't seem at all worried about the height, happily hopping aboard! Nustrilaa's complaint about not preparing Feather Fall this morning makes her tilt her head to one side. "Feather Fall? Uh, hold on..."

The gnome takes her backpack off, putting it on the ground and opening it up. She kneels down and begins rummaging around inside - tossing out several scrolls in the process - before producing what she was looking for. "Aha!" Unrolling the scroll, she offers it to Nustrilaa! Close inspection reveals that it is, indeed, a Feather Fall scroll.

There's something a little odd about it, though. While it's true that everyone writes magic in subtly different ways, this one doesn't even look like arcane magic at all.

"Mind if i have one of those? I'm not great with heights, if you couldn't already tell."

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer shrugs, and puts the book he was reading in one of his pockets before stepping onto the ship, using his bow as a walking stick to help steady himself. He moves out of the way of the rest of the passengers and takes a seat.

Sigh. This place has the most spectacular views. All these towers, I wonder if bird hunting is allowed?:smallsmile:

[Wiz]

Soranda shakes her head, "There is so much flying traffic in Sharn, it's just generally a bad idea to be firing off missiles. Don't forget too... hunting on the upper levels, if you missed, the arrow is going to fall down below. I had a friend who was killed when when a dagger thrown at someone else on a bridge on the high towers fell and hit him from above."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas climbs onto the skycoach carefully, looking to the warforged pilot Phase. He claps the construct on the shoulder in an attempt to be friendly. He then turns to his newfound companions.
"Well, where are we going from here? If we're off somewhere, and we're expecting any danger, we might want to swing by the inn where I'm staying, so I can collect the rest of my things."

[EdroGrimshell]

Silas climbs onto the skycoach carefully, looking to the warforged pilot Phase. He claps the construct on the shoulder in an attempt to be friendly. He then turns to his newfound companions.
"Well, where are we going from here? If we're off somewhere, and we're expecting any danger, we might want to swing by the inn where I'm staying, so I can collect the rest of my things."

"Same, although I'd need to stop by my house."

[Cardea]

Malosh steps out onto the window sill, then onto the Airship, sweating bullets all the way. He takes a seat closest to the exit, and begins to tap on the seat with his fingers. One two three four one to three four one two three four, over and over.

[King Tius]

One by one you all adventurously jump the short distance from the window to the airship. The warforged who stands at the bow makes no indication of your presence. The young half elf who stands at the back of the airship, however, smiles congenially and waves from behind the wheel of the ship. Since two of you need to gather your things, the helmsman deftly pilots the ship around the city, taking you to your respective places to collect your gear. Once everyone is ready to go, the ship begins to ascend, climbing higher and higher until it is cruising along the upper portions of the towers. While most of these towers are covered with rooftop buildings, the airship heads towards one with an interesting pinacle. The sides of the tower slope upwards as if they were going to reach a point. When the circumference of the tower is no more than 20 feet, the tower levels off and becomes flat. Three tapered columns extend upwards from the edges of this top, giving the roof a crownlike shape. Finally, a smaller column rises from the center of the tower, further completing the crown shape.

The ship pulls up gently to the edge of the roof, allowing you to disembark, if you'd like. For speed purposes, if you'd like to do any searching, or investigating please make (what you feel to be are) the appropriate rolls.

[EdroGrimshell]

After gathering his things Persona gets back on the airship, three people waiving him away, a human, an elf, and a half-elf that looks like a female version of his current form.

Upon arriving at their destination, he gets off the ship on the quickest safe route. He gathers his nerves and begins looking around.

Search: [roll0]
Gather Info: 16 (Racial Sub-Level to take 10)
Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[Cardea]

Malosh steps off the ship and carefully makes his way, following the thing that calls itself Persona. He makes observations of his surroundings.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The middle-aged gnome woman hops off the airship and onto the roof of the building, looking around with her wide eyes. "Soo... what're we up here for?"

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"If I had to guess... I think they carry out experiments on this pad. It's high enough up that there's relatively little danger to people passing by if things go horribly wrong."

To confirm this, Nustrilaa steps off the airship, steadies herself against one of the tapered columns, and stretches forth her mind and searches for traces of Magic...


[roll0]
Followed with a Detect Magic.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas emerges from the inn in Upper Dura he is staying at completely transformed. The same boyish face still smiles at you, but now he is clad in gleaming silvery armor with a sky-blue cloak around his shoulders. Poking from beneath his cloak is a large two-handed sword, even more impressive looking than his armor. Flamic designs decorate his possessions, from the flame-curled motif of his sword's pommel to the fiery silver etchings on his breastplate and pauldrons.

When the group arrives at their destination, Silas takes a moment to drink in the view. He doubted he had ever been so high up before in his life so far; not even the pinnacle of the Sanctuary of the Flame rose to such staggering heights. He understood that the border between dimensions was thin here; they called it a 'manifest zone' to the Azure Sky. For a moment his stomach twisted as he wondered what would happen to the city should that manifest zone disappear... All the talk of portals, experiments, and danger had him pondering dark thoughts...

He turns to Nustrilaa with a nervous grin. "If something did go wrong up here... how much danger do you think we'd be in? Uh... don't answer that."

[Wiz]

Soranda steps off the transport, carrying the satchels of books and looking around curiously. "So... Persona... was that your family?"

[King Tius]

As you all disembark the winds whip around you, threatening to push you over the edge and down, down, down into the city below. At first glance the top of this tower seems uneventful and deserted. As Nustrilaa steadies herself on one of the spires, she thinks she catches sight of movement behind the central spire. Reaching out with her magic, she detects a magical aura eminating from a small point on the central spire (first round result). She also detects 10 other magical auras that seem clustered in a group behind the central pillar. From the brief glimpse of movement she saw and these auras, Nustrilaa quickly puts two and two together and realizes that the group is not alone up here!

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"Don't approach the center of the platform."

It's hard to miss the urgency in Nustrilaa's voice as the warning comes out. "There's something around the center, and it's lousy with magic. Keep to the airship or the edges for now..."

Slowly, she drops to her knees and edges around the outside of the platform. Keeping the center in sight and her mind focused on the auras...


Trying to move a third of the way around to the next post she can rest against while still scanning the middle.

Additional spot check: [roll0]

[EdroGrimshell]

Soranda steps off the transport, carrying the satchels of books and looking around curiously. "So... Persona... was that your family?"

Persona turns to Soranda and says "As close as can be without being blood related. I was adopted when i was thirteen. They made most of the things i'm bringing along," he opens his pack and shows a wide array of alchemical items neatly ordered in the pack, "As you can probably tell my sister has a thing about neatness." he deadpans.

EDIT: At Nustrilaa's warning he swings his arm down a narrow blade now extending down from his sleeve.

[CockroachTeaParty]

At Nustrilaa's warning, Silas unsheathes the massive sword at his back. It glitters silver, reflecting the light, its keenness deadly without questioning.

Tapping into his connection with the Silver Flame, Silas' eyes flash platinum as he too scans the immediate vicinity for anything amiss...

(Detect Evil, baby!)

[Cardea]

Malosh, seeing the signals, takes out his Bow, and knocks an arrow, looking around to see what it could be that makes them alert.

[Wiz]

Soranda drops the satchels in a location where she feels the wind won't push them off the platform and draws a small vial from a pouch at her belt, holding it in her left hand while lifting her heavy mace in her right hand. "Is there someone looking for trouble here... because you just may have found it!"

[Yuki Akuma]

"Why does everyone always assume that everyone wants a fight? Seriously?" This doesn't stop her from reaching for her weapon, though.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Why does everyone always assume that everyone wants a fight? Seriously?" This doesn't stop her from reaching for her weapon, though.

"Assuming someone wants to fight has saved my life in several situations. On the streets it quickly becomes instinct to be ready for hostility, otherwise you don't live very long."

[King Tius]

Everyone draws their weapons as Nustrilaa moves around the edge of the rooftop. Soranda wisely drops his pack and shouts out a challenge. No response. From her new vantage point, Nustrilaa can see a cluster of goblins hiding in ambush. They catch sight of her as well and the battle begins!

Her Detect Magic spell informs her that their enchantments are all very faint ones The aura from the spot on the wall (blue dot) is very, very strong. Silas fires up his Detect Evil ability and, in addition to the 10 Goblins hiding behind the central spire, he detects two other evil presences lying in wait behind the two outer columns (H1 & H2).

OOC: Ok, combat! Those with initiatives before the monsters please post. You need not post in initiatve order. I will then resolve combat with the monsters being the last part of the post. The "new" initiatve will then commence with them at the bottom, allowing everyone to be able to react more appropriately to their actions. Everyone get that?

Initiative:
(22) Persona
(22) Gainer
(17) Enya
(17) Monsters
(14) Malosh
(13) Soranda
(11) Silas
(9) Nustrilaa

THE MAP
http://a.imageshack.us/img843/3456/spiretop1.png


So, just to reiterate, Persona, Gainer, and Enya need to post first. Everyone is welcome to talk/shout/take other free actions.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya spies the obviously-hostile goblins. Despite herself, she grins - ah, goblins. Yes, she knows how to fight goblins. She closes her eyes, holding her crossbow up, before she begins to trace intricate designs with her finger on the crossbow. Soranda may realise it's an infusion - especially when the designs flare and cover the crossbow.

"Bane weapon," she states, calmly, more to herself than anything.

Spending 1 action point to make the casting of Personal Weapon Augmentation take only one round. Applying Bane (Goblinoid) to the crossbow, of course.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona reaches into his pack and draws a bag then moves to the side to get a clear view of his opponents.

Draw tanglefoot bag is a move action
Moves towards Nustrilaa

[Wiz]

Soranda is unable to see their foes yet, since they haven't moved, and nobody has said anything. So, she waits, sizing up the terrain. If most of them are clustered behind the large spire... I'd place ambushers or bowmen behind the other two pillars.

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer, again pulls his head out of a book.

"Ah. we've arrived. Umm... What's up? why is everyone armed?"

Gainer then pockets the book and draws his bow, but seeing nothing, waits.

[King Tius]

(22) Persona
Persona pulls out her tanglefoot bag and moves “north” towards Nustrilaa.

(22) Gainer
Gainer draws his bow and gets ready.

(17) Enya
The little artificer fires off her Bane augmentation, prepping for the ensuing Goblin showdown!

(17) Monsters
Springing their, trap, the Goblin horde rushes out from either side of the central spire. Four of them (g1, g2, g5, and g6) dart sideways and hurl javelins. The remaining crowd rushes towards you. Fortunately, they are far away and they have to double move.

g1 attacks Soranda: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
g2 attacks Malosh: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
g5 attacks Persona: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]
g6 attacks Nustrilaa: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

The first Hobgoblin steps out from behind the northeastern pillar and knocks an arrow. He lets it fly with Gainer as its intended target.

H1 attacks Gainer: [roll8] Damage:[roll9]

H2 also steps out from his hiding place, though he does so with twitching fingers and a spell upon his lips. A white blob explodes from his hand, hurtling towards you and exploding into a sticky web (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/web.htm) spell. Everyone but Soranda is caught within the spell’s snare and must make a DC: 14 reflex save to not be immobilized.

OOC: Everyone is on their honor to keep track of their own HP and whether the attacks hit or miss, just like normal D&D. I would prefer it if you made a little header on your posts with your AC and HP, though it is not required. You are all also in charge of keeping track of beneficial effects like buff spells you cast on yourselves.

THE MAP
http://a.imageshack.us/img840/3456/spiretop1.png

[EdroGrimshell]

(AC: 16, HP: 11)

Reflex: [roll0]

Persona easily dodges the javelin but doesn't see the Web spell, walking right into its path, getting snared by the strands of silk.

[Yuki Akuma]

Reflex save versus Web: [roll0]

Enya is caught by the sticky strands, letting out an indignant yelp!

Stats
HP: 13/13
AC: 17, touch 13, flat-footed 15

Infusions
1st: 3/4

Webbed!

[Vizzerdrix]

AC:17 HP:7/10

Ref vs web
[roll0]

Oh gods :smalltongue:

[Cardea]

AC 17 // HP 20/20

Reflex: [roll0]

[CockroachTeaParty]

Perhaps he is blessed by the Silver Flame; perhaps he is just lucky, but Silas manages to avoid getting glued to the spot by the sticky web strands. Finding a hostile goblin in front of him, he swings his silvered greatsword at the foe before shoving his way through the web, determined to get free regardless of the risk to his personal safety...


AC currently 15, HP 23/23

Attack vs. Goblin 4: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Then moving diagonally to square Q18, likely provoking attacks of opportunity. If he's still standing by the end of the move, however, he should be free of the web. Hooray!

Also, where are the two diametrically opposed points that anchor this web spell? Huh? Huh? :smalltongue:

[Wiz]

Soranda, seeing that she is standing in an ambush, is not about to take the time to drink her potion, regaradless of the advantages of doing so. She swings her heavy mace at one of he goblins next to her.

To Hit G3: [roll0]

[Cardea]

OOC:
How do you take Attacks of Opportunity into play? The goblins had to double run to me.

Malosh shoots a goblin as it comes closer to Soranda, hoping to strike it down before it can do harm.

To Hit g4: [roll0]
If I hit, damage rolls on Longbow: [roll1]

OOC Edit:
Critical Hit!

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
[roll0]

A fine pinch of sand is extracted from a pouch at her waist and tossed in the direction of the central Goblins, (presumeably some) of which suddenly begin to feel very sleepy...


Casting 'Sleep'. Up to 4HD of victims, lowest HD victims first, Closest victims to Nustrilaa on a draw.
Save DC 15 (Will).
[roll1]

Shame it takes up the entire round.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona thrusts his blade towards his opponent (g0) in an attempt to impale the goblin, if that succeeds, he tries to escape from the webbing, using his blade if necessary.

Attack: [roll0]
Escape Artist: [roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya wrinkles her nose in disgust. "Ugh, I hate spiders..." The gnome glares towards the hobgoblin who cast the spell, clicking a bolt into place and then letting it fly at the large goblinoid!

Attack roll! [roll0] (+2 from Bane, +1 against goblinoids -2 from Entangled)
Damage! [roll1] (2d6+2 from Bane)

Stats!
HP: 13/13
AC: 17, touch 13, flat-footed 15

Infusions
1st: 3/4

Webbed!

[Vizzerdrix]

I'd like to delay my attack to interrupt any enemies that try to cast a spell if I may.

[King Tius]

(14) Malosh
The shifter manages to avoid being completely entangled by the web spell. With three goblins around him, he wisely drops his bow and draws his greatsword, putting it to critical use and hewing g7 clean in half!

OOC1: I took a little liberty with your post and tried to do what you wanted to do, which was protect Soranda.
OOC2: You have the Two Weapon Fighting style but use a Greatsword? Isn’t that a waste?

(13) Soranda
Soranda takes a swing but is unable to connect with g3.

(11) Silas
The young paladin brings his blade to bear, felling g4 without much effort. Unfortunately, even though he was able to avoid the worst of the spell, he cannot move this round.

OOC1: Based on my reading of the web spell, you have to take a full round and make a strength check to move through it. How far you move is based on how strong you are.
OOC2: CLEARLY IT IS ANCHORED TO THE TWO SPIRES OMGWTFBBQ J/K

(9) Nustrilaa
The wizard casts her sleep spell, though doing so provokes AoOs (see OOC thread). Fortunately, both miss and she is able to maintain concentration despite the web’s embrace. G9 resists the effect, but g0, h1, and g5 all fall asleep!

(22) Persona
Persona thrusts at the sleeping goblin in front of him and slays the beast outright!

(22) Gainer
Seeing that the Hobgoblin is going to sling another spell, Gainer fires his bow to try and interrupt it’s spell.

(I rolled for you with my real dice ‘cause I got sick of deleting posts in the OOC. You rolled a 4, sorry)

(17) Enya
The little gnome fires her Bane crossbow at the spellcaster, but critically misses!

(17) Monsters
g9 morningstars Nustrilla: A:[roll0], D:[roll1]
g8 morningstars Malosh: A:[roll2], D:[roll3]
g3 morningstars Soranda: A:[roll4], D:[roll5]
g6 javelins Persona: A:[roll6], D:[roll7]
g5 sleeps!
g2 javelins Enya: A:[roll8], D:[roll9]
g1 javelins Silas: A:[roll10], D:[roll11]
H1 sleeps!
H2 moves forwards and incants another spell. Putting his thumbs together and spreading his fingers, he unleashes a burning hands spell that hits Malosh, Soranda, Silas, and Enya. Fortunately, the spell burns away the web in that area, so you are all free to move, so long as you do not move back into webedness!
Damage: [roll12]
Reflex save for half damage!

THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img718/6764/spiretop2.png

[EdroGrimshell]

After slaying the goblin directly threatening him, he turns to the one in front of his companion and attempts to slip the blade between the goblins ribs, like he did the one before him.

Attack: [roll0]
Crit Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas begins to doubt the tactical ability of these goblinoids, having just inadvertently just been freed by a gout of flame. He doesn't question good fortune, however, and shrugs off the pain of the fire and the javelin that grazed his shoulder as he makes his way towards the hobgoblin mage. His eyes shine with determination as he brings his sword down hard. "For Shadukar!"


Move action: swagger up to the hobgoblin, to square Q19.
Standard action: Smite evil! (power attack 2)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Reflex Save: [roll2]

[CockroachTeaParty]

Glowing with silver energy, Silas' sword streaks towards the hobgoblin as if guided by a force greater than the paladin's hands alone...


Crit confirmation: [roll0]
Extra damage: [roll1]

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

With only one relevant spell left (and, coincidentally, only one HP left), Nustrilaa decides against standing in place and casting again.

What she does instead is step back a pace (swift action), draw her longbow (move action)and take a shot at the goblin that seemed to have left her with some rib problems (G9).


[roll0] - Includes the penalty for shooting into Melee
[roll1]

[Wiz]

Soranda misses the golbin, but brings her heavy mace back around for another swing at him.

Soranda Smyth (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=135628)
Female True Neutral Human Artificer, Level 2, Init +1, HP 7/11, Speed 30
AC 14, Touch 11, Flat-footed 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4, Base Attack Bonus 1
Dagger 2 (+3 if thrown) (1d4, x2)
Heavy Mace 2 (1d8, x2)
Studded Leather Armor (+3 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition None

Attack: [roll0]Damage: [roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome eeks and tries to duck nuder the flames - although as she's bound so tightly, it's not very easy! Glowering at the spellcaster, she loads and then fires yet another bolt, while strafing slightly to the side and away!

Reflex save! [roll0] (Success! 4 damage.)

Move action: Load crossbow.
Attack against H2: [roll1] (+2 from Bane, +1 against goblinoids, +1 from Point Blank Shot)
Damage: [roll2] (2d6+2 from Bane, +1 from Point Blank Shot)
Five-foot-step to P22.

Stats!
HP: 9/13
AC: 17, touch 13, flat-footed 15

Infusions
1st: 3/4

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer fires on H1 with his longbow

Hit:
[roll0] (it was -2 to hit for being webbed, correct? already added it)

Damage:
[roll1]

[King Tius]

(14) Malosh
The shifter swings his greatsword again, this time slaying g8.

(13) Soranda
Soranda once again fails to land her blow.

(11) Silas
With a devastating blow, Silas makes short, short work of the spellcasting Hobgoblin.

With the spellcaster dead, the web dissipates!

(9) Nustrilaa
OOC: Now that the web is gone, I’ll go with your original post.

Nustrilaa takes a step back, drawing her bow. Unfortunately, her shot misses.

(22) Persona
Persona delivers the lightest of stabs to g9. The goblin is hurt but still very much in the fight.

(22) Gainer
Gainer’s shot goes wide and he is unable to hit the hobgoblin. Fortunately this does not wake it up.

(17) Enya
The little gnome loads and fires her crossbow, delivering a solid hit to g2, sending the goblin flying (and dying!).

OOC: H2 was super dead by the time you shot. Hope this works.

(17) Monsters
H1 sleeps!
g5 sleeps!
g9 morningstars Persona: A:[roll0], D:[roll1]
g3 morningstars Silas: A:[roll2], D:[roll3]
g6 double moves
g1 javelins Silas: A:[roll4], D:[roll5]


THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img832/6537/spiretop3.png

[Wiz]

Frustrated by missing the goblin twice in a row, she's infuriated when it turns it's back on her to attack Silas. "You, little creep... I'll teach you not to ignore me!"

Attack: [roll0]Damage: [roll1]Edit: I'm sorry... this roller just doesn't like Soranda. That's 3 misses in a row... and I think they were all 4's... *sigh*

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona takes a 5ft step, interposing himself between the goblin and the wizard, If i learned anything on the streets its to keep the mage alive. He then draws his rapier and thrusts forward.

Persona
AC 16; HP 6/11

Attack: [roll0]
Crit Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

...Fail :smallannoyed:

[CockroachTeaParty]

As hot droplets of blood spray all over Silas' silver armor, sword, and face, the young paladin gets a feeling that the hobgoblin's fate was decided not just by his own actions, but as if some outside force also deemed his foe's time had come. Silas did not exult in slaughter; in truth, viewed the current situation as somewhat unfortunate. Yes, he would fight to defend himself and others if they were attacked without provocation, but he did not know what these goblins were guilty of, what crimes they had committed, or even if they had all just walked into a trap meant for somebody else. Things were out of his control now, however; that last sword strike had confirmed it, if nothing else. Making sure his allies are still standing, ignoring the javelins bouncing off his armor, Silas makes his way toward the next goblin, bringing his blade down with practiced precision and power.


Attacking G3, or else moving to attack G1 should he go down before my turn.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

Another round, another shot at G9 in front of her (or, if it's dropped before she releases, at G5 a little further away).



[roll1]
[rol="Damage"]1d8


"Strange place to find a Goblin Ambush, no?"

[Cardea]

Edit: AC 17//HP: 20/20

Malosh forces himself to calm down, breathing in and out and thinking calming thoughts, after drawing blood twice now. The smell is euphoric. He lifts up his sword, and runs to a goblin that just threw a javelin at Silas, swinging his sword as he gets close enough.

Four movement squares, 20ft., to get to g1.
To hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome woman reloads her crossbow yet again, and fires off a bolt towards the closest Goblin!

Actions!
Move action: load crossbow
Attack: [roll0] (+1 Point Blank shot, +1 against goblinoids, +2 from Bane)
Damage: [roll1] (+2d6+2 from Bane, +1 from Point Blank Shot)

"Why would this be a weird place? Lots of goblins live in Sharn!"

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"They do, but generally not on the top of a tower. Figure they must have been up here for a reason..?"

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer, determined to hit something with that damn bow, fires at G9, hoping to at least distract the things.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Yeah, but HERE. Waiting for us, is odd. Like they knew we was coming.

[Cardea]

"Is it bad to eat them when we kill them?"

[Wiz]

Soranda shrugs, "I never had any official etiquette on that subject, but I believe I've heard that it's bad form to eat another sentient creature's body... even if it is or was trying to kill you."

[King Tius]

(14) Malosh
Malosh rushes at g1, brandishing his greatsword. As he delivers a mighty swing, the goblin is just barely able to dodge the attack.

(13) Soranda
For the third time in a row Soranda rolls a 4 and misses… (hey, at least you are getting all these 4s out of the way now!)

(11) Silas
Silas (or as I like to call him, Dr. Smitey McGoblinbane) pivots and quickly fells the goblin that has been pestering/evading Soranda. Not wasting time, he advances towards g1, moving into a flanking position with Malosh (I’m assuming this is cool since you were going after g1 next. If not, I’ll fix it, just say so).

(9) Nustrilaa
The wizardess has similar luck to the artificer, missing her target.

(22) Persona
Sidesteping and drawing a blade, Persona continues to let the little goblin live. For now, at least.

(22) Gainer
The weird Archivist takes aim at g9 and threads an arrow through combat and into the poor creature’s neck, killing it. (Wooo, Precise Shot!)

(17) Enya
Opting for the easier shot and not wanting to undo Nustrilaa’s sleeping magic quite yet,(and so your attack roll hits!) the little gnome reloads and fires at g6, catching it in the stomach and sending it hustling off this mortal coil.


(17) Monsters
H1 sleeps!
g5 sleeps!
g1 suddenly realizes that it is all alone up here (since it can’t see H1 and g5). Deciding to take its chances with gravity, the little goblin makes a run for it! Silas attempts to hack the goblin as it darts away but he misses. Fortunately, Malosh has better reflexes and hews the little runt down as it flees.

H1 and g5 will still be asleep for another minute or so, so you should decide quickly what to do with them.

OOC1: Combat is ostensibly over unless you want to wait for the two goblinoids to wake up so you can fight them fair and square. Cue the intense debate about whether to tie them up, slit their throats, or let them jump!

OOC2: You each gain 686 XP!

OOC3: To expedite the looting/posting process, the goblins had the following loot on them (assuming you do actually loot them):
473 gp
10 feather fall tokens (single use)
4 scrolls (unidentified)

They also quickly stashed their mundane gear behind the spire when you approached. Judging by what you can see, they were camped out up here and were likely surviving by raiding the occasional skycoach.

Nice job, folks!

[EdroGrimshell]

"I'll tie 'em up. Better to keep'em alive and able to talk, unless one of you can speak with the dead," Persona says, pulling a silk rope from his pack and binding the goblin and hobgoblin back to back.

He then roots around the goblins' equipment, seeing if he can find anything useful. He puts the equipment into piles then picks up the scrolls and looks to the mages and artificers.

(Taking Ten on Use Rope for a total of 13)

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas sheathes his sword after wiping the blood off on one of the fallen goblin's cloaks. He picks up one of the feather fall tokens.
"I've been meaning to grab one of these. Nice of our hosts to provide us with welcoming gifts. We'd all better take one of these, just in case."
He strolls over to the unconscious captives and folds his arms.
"Not to be a spoilsport, but I took a few vows back in Flamekeep... long story short, if any of you want to execute these poor bastards while they're at our mercy, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. We'll turn them into the Watch or whatever as soon as we're finished asking them a few questions."
Wincing, Silas reaches over and touches his wounds. His hands flash silver for a few moments, and suddenly his wounds close, and he appears no worse for the wear.

(Lay on hands 6 hp, back to full health.)

[EdroGrimshell]

"Fine by me, i may be a thief, but i'm not a murderer." He take one of the tokens as Silas suggests. "Before we turn them in, i'd like to question them. And just so you know, some of my methods can be a bit...extreme."

[Wiz]

Soranda grabs one of the feather fall tokens as well, "Never know when these'll come in handy." She appropriates the scrolls, and if anyone asks she says, "For identification purposes..."

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

The wizard also makes a grab for the scrolls
As though I'd let Soranda take all four! Maybe we should have King Tius roll for how many we each get?

With her hands on (presumeably at least one), Nustrilaa opens it up and gives the text a quick scan

Read Magic's an unlimited spell now, after all

before shoving it into a pocket and returning to detecting magic. Mainly she wants to know if the magic up on the rooftop has changed any since the fight...

[Wiz]

Soranda pauses, staring cooly at Nustrallia. She then drops the remaining scrolls at the elf's feet. "Please... do let us know what they are, which was my intention... once we were in a safe area." She turns and walks away from the wizard.

ooc: Since my character had picked up the scrolls first, the only way you could have one is if you basically grabbed it out of my hands. Hence, my reaction.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya secures her crossbow onto her belt again. She then looks up at Nustrilaa and Soranda, tilting her head slightly to one side. "Now now, children, no need to fight..."

[Wiz]

Soranda looks at Enya, "Nobody's fighting here... she wants the priviledge that much... she can have it."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Both of you could study them. I'm gonna take a look around, they may have some stuff hidden."

Search: taking twenty

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"Were I still a child, I would probably react by handing the scrolls back and insisting that I will read them second."

Slight pause.

"However, I have the sneaking suspicion that I am the only Wizard present, so I am the logical choice to decipher these scrolls."

Pause two. The pauses are less caused by Nustrilaa considering her words than by her using Detect Magic between sentences.

"Although I will conceed, not necessarily the logical choice to actually use them."

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

"Because, as everyone knows, Wizards are the only ones who can identify scrolls," the gnome says, more amused than anything.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"I said 'logical', not 'only'. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person present who can read a magical scroll without having to attempt a translation. But not necessarily the only one who can read a magical scroll."

I know Gainer has access to read magic, but Nustrilaa does not.

[Wiz]

Soranda snorts, "Yes... I'm very much in the habit of collecting scrolls for identifications that I am unqualified to perform. That's how I became an artificer... by ignoring lore that has to do with magic."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Even i study magic to some degree, comes in handy when going up against a mage," Persona comments while continuing his search.

[Cardea]

"Am I the only one not verse in powers of gods and the unexplainable?" Malosh chuckles out, settling down next to the tied goblins. He begins to clean and sharpen his greatsword,

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas shrugs, moving up to the captives. He prods the hobgoblin in the ribs with the tip of his boot.
"Hey, buddy, nap time's over. Hope you speak Common..."

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"...If you put the same level of rigor into listening to what the people around you say that you do into translations, I am amazed you have yet to try and heal yourself with a fireball scroll. You do understand the difference between 'I am MOST qualified' and 'noone else is qualified at all', yes?"

[Wiz]

Soranda chuckles, "And if it is a scroll of divine magic, you are still most qualified? Or an assassin's scroll, or a bard's? No, you are most qualified with arcane wizard scrolls. Not all scrolls. For that you would need more of a generalist... say... an artificer, perhaps? And if you put as much effort into thinking as you do grabbing things out of other people's hands, you might just consider that had I found one that was a wizard's scroll I would be most likely to turn it immediately over to the one who could best use it, since my concern is the party. Everyone saw me pick them up... it's not like I was trying to conceal them away or purloin them only to my own use." She shrugs, "But it is done now... you have them, and with your expertise you can tell us what they all do. So, what are they?"

[Vizzerdrix]

While the rest of the crew squabbles over the loot, Gainer keeps an eye out for other hostiles.

[King Tius]

OOC: I suppose it is only a matter of time until we have an all-out brawl over scrolls and wands and whatnot.

Silas nudges the goblinoids awake with his boot. They seems startled and immediately start to pull at their bonds. The hobgoblin starts yelling at the goblin and trying to headbutt him backwards. Soranda and Enya can make out their squabbling in Goblin, but it is mostly along the lines of "you idiot!" and not really worth transcribing. They do not seem to speak Common and are pretty much ignoring you.

Soranda and Enya

In between the tirade of insults, the Hobgoblin says quickly. "When they aren't looking, make a break for the edge."


A thorough search of the rooftop reveals nothing new of interest. The goblins were not keeping anything of note in their camp gear.

Nustrilaa's continued Detect Magic reveals an incredibly strong Transmutation Aura emanating from a small jewel located at the blue dot spot on the central spire. There are nonmagical glyphs/symbols carved around the jewel, but I won't be able to draw them right now because I am at work. I will post them soon (as they are a puzzle).

The Scrolls (for whoever looks at/identifies them)

Tenser's Floating Disk
Obscuring Mist
Scorching Ray
Levitate

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya peers towards the goblinoids with interest, head tilting to one side. She grins a little bit. "[Goblin]Hey, guess what! I speak Goblin. No running, now."

[EdroGrimshell]

On returning to the group he walks to the now awake goblinoids, letting both of his eyes go red.

"Now, how about a bit of information?" he asks the goblinoids, "It would be better if you talk now, we have ways of getting information from you, even if your dead."

Intimidate: [roll0]
Sense Motive: [roll1]

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
"Since I'm using magic to read them, it turns out they don't have to be Wizard's scrolls for me to understand them.

Admittedly, this load is. One Tenser's Floating Disc - I've already got that one in my spellbook, so whoever else wants this scroll is welcome to it - one Obscuring Mist, one Scorching Ray, and one Levitate. I don't have any of those last three, so unless you have a pressing need for them, I would appreciate holding on to these until I've got some scribing time."

Idly, Nustrilaa holds out the Tenser's Floating Disc scroll to the archivist.

"Now, shall we attend to the interrogation, or further study the residual magic about this spire? I notice a particularly interesting magical aura about the central spire..."

[King Tius]

OOC: I am assuming that someone is going to translate from now on

When Enya speaks, the two goblins stop their fighting and look at her, their eyes widening. As she (or Soranda) translates for Persona, the two quickly realize that they are not dealing with amateurs.

"Please! Please don't kill us! We're just a raiding gang! You dropped in on our roost. You can have it, just let us go!"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Hm," he shifts his right eye back to blue, "only a raider gang? I guess we won't kill you, but we will be turning you over to the watch, that is if you cooperate." He straightens then turns to the rest of the party, "Living on the streets has its advantages, doesn't it?"

[Wiz]

Soranda looks around, "Hey, didn't one of these hobgoblins cast a web spell? Where is his spellbook?" She looks at Nustrilla, "Of course you should keep the scrolls... anything that adds to your repertoire helps the group."

[EdroGrimshell]

Soranda looks around, "Hey, didn't one of these hobgoblins cast a web spell? Where is his spellbook?" She looks at Nustrilla, "Of course you should keep the scrolls... anything that adds to your repertoire helps the group."

"He may have been a sorcerer. That could explain not finding a spellbook."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas curses under his breath as the goblinoids babble unintelligibly. He strolls to the edge of the tower, looking down on the city below, wondering just what he's gotten himself into.

[Wiz]

Soranda nods, frowning, "Right... probably a sorcerer. Too bad."

[Cardea]

Malosh puts his Greatsword away, and takes out a healthy bit of cured meat. He slings his back on his shoulders, and walks up beside Silas, and looks down with him to the city. He offers a hand out to him to take the food. "You look like you could eat. Its wolf."

[King Tius]

As promised, here is a picture of what the glyphs around the glowing blue crystal looked like:

THE GLYPHS

http://a.imageshack.us/img825/1708/symbols1.png


THE NOTES

Door: Equilateral triangle. Mouth, Door, Entrance
Eclipse: Two overlaid circles. One black, one white. Reveal, Show, Illuminate
Giving Hands: Two semicircles under a whole circle. Offer, Give, Provide
Knot: Two overlaid triangles on a straight line. Bond, Friendship, Strength, Allegiance
Magic: A circle. Magic, Holiness (Often used around other symbols)
Sword Hilt: ”T” shape. Peace, Truce, Good Health
Trumpet: Horizontal line with a flared end. Shout, Declare, Tell

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya has by now wandered over to the crystal and the glyphs, and is currently trying to make sense of them! She's not really making much headway... "...I don't think this is a language, so what do these symbols mean?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Enya

Enya has by now wandered over to the crystal and the glyphs, and is currently trying to make sense of them! She's not really making much headway... "...I don't think this is a language, so what do these symbols mean?"

"I'm not the most knowledgeable with magic, but i do know more than the average person. Perhaps I could offer som insight into what it may be."

Spellcraft to Aid Another: [roll0]

[King Tius]

The glyphs themselves are not magical, only the glowing blue gem in their center. It has a strong Transmutation aura, but you can't really tell much else.

Oh, and since I forgot, there was no spellbook among the Goblins' things.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

[roll0]
They may not be magical symbols, but they may have cropped up either in other research sites or in the books Nustrilaa studied.

Hopefully not in the cooking ones.

"A six-faceted gem with six symbols around it, and bearing a strong magical aura... You know, I think this is a multi-function enchantment. And those six symbols represent either the items needed to activate it... or just the results if you do."

...Pause...

"Let's check the Journals we were given. It might mention what they were actually doing up here..."

[King Tius]

One of the books Soranda took from the late professor's son was a symbology book. After giving the book a quick perusal, you manage to identify the symbols, she thinks.

(The notes on these symbols have been added in a spoiler underneath the picture of the glyphs).

EDIT: Unfortunately Nustrilaa has never come across these symbols before in her readings, though they do reminder her of the primitive symbolic language of the Giants' slaves from long, long ago.

DOUBLE EDIT: Anyone who looks at the book and pages through it can make a Gather Info or Search check to maybe glean some more information out of it.

[EdroGrimshell]

"May i see that," Persona indicates the book, "i may be able to find something you mighta missed."

Gather Info: [roll0]
Search: [roll1]

If i don't succeed with either of them then i'll take ten

[King Tius]

For Persona:

In the margin of one of the symbol pages you find the words "read the spokes" written and underlined. A quick doodle of a bicycle wheel accompanies this little note.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona raises an eyebrow and says "Read the spokes?" He points the line out to anyone looking, "Any idea what that's about?"

(OOC: Essentially showing what's in the spoiler above)

[Wiz]

Soranda looks over the glyhs, the book, and ponders. "Give Truce... Declare Alliance... Reveal the Magic Door. We should each stand on next to a symbol, hold hands around the podium, and declare our alliance aloud. This should reveal or open a portal governed by the gem." She frowns, "Should we select symbols appropriate to each of us... or would that matter?" She picks up her satchels and walks over to stand on by the eclipse. She sets the satchels down and holds her hands out, "Anyone care to test my hypothesis?"

[King Tius]

OOC: I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on this, but these are small symbols, only about the size of a half dollar each and the whole arrangement is actually ON the middle spire, located about 4 feet off the ground.

[Vizzerdrix]

((OOC-Moving this over to the new page to cut down on serching))

As promised, here is a picture of what the glyphs around the glowing blue crystal looked like:

THE GLYPHS

http://a.imageshack.us/img825/1708/symbols1.png


THE NOTES

Door: Equilateral triangle. Mouth, Door, Entrance
Eclipse: Two overlaid circles. One black, one white. Reveal, Show, Illuminate
Giving Hands: Two semicircles under a whole circle. Offer, Give, Provide
Knot: Two overlaid triangles on a straight line. Bond, Friendship, Strength, Allegiance
Magic: A circle. Magic, Holiness (Often used around other symbols)
Sword Hilt: ”T” shape. Peace, Truce, Good Health
Trumpet: Horizontal line with a flared end. Shout, Declare, Tell





And now Gainer is going to take a look at the other structures to see if any more symbols are on them.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
"I think... more likely... it's declare our alliance to the enchanter of the gem? If you were sealing a magic door so that only allies could enter, you'd seal it so only your allies could enter, right?

But, yes, testing. That sounds like a good idea. Let's Experiment!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome frowns a little bit. "I'd probably key it to something else just to make sure enemies won't guess... But that's just me!"

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"To be honest with you, if I had enchanted it you would probably have to recite a sugar-cookie recipe to get it to open. But the symbols don't even so much as mention flour..."

[Wiz]

Soranda nods, "The one set along a spoke, give - truce, followed by declare - alliance make me think whoever set this, wanted it only opened by a group dedicated to working together and not fractious among themselves... so my guess is it's a job offer with certain requirements. Anyone else notice that we have six symbols and six of us?"

[King Tius]

Gainer takes his time searching the rest of the pillars but does not find any other glyphs.

OOC: By my count there are 7 PCs....

[Cardea]

OOC: I am not magically delicious in the slightest, and I am not near the Glyphs. Talkin' with CTP.

[Vizzerdrix]

Nothing on the others? Well, then Gainer is gonna walk on over to the little gem and give it a poke.

[King Tius]

Gainer approaches and touches the gem. As he makes contact, he gets the impression that the gem is "hungry." His knowledge of arcana leads him to believe that the gem requires some type of magical input (aka a spell) to activate it.

[CockroachTeaParty]

As the decidedly more learned and magically-curious members of this strange cadre examine... things, Silas notices the shifter, Malosh, approach. Seemingly in a similar position of general disinterest/ignorance, the paladin flashes him a brief smile and a nod. Knowing his church's history with lycanthropes and their descendants, Silas takes note of the rather awkward situation. Never mind that his sword was silvered, and especially deadly to lycanthropes... Silas had picked it largely for aesthetic reasons, not because he thought he'd be fighting werewolves.
"So... uh... Malosh, was it? How about... those goblins, eh? Pretty crazy..."

[Vizzerdrix]

"Hmm... It hungers. I have an idea. we feed the gem spells that correspond with the symbols. That should open the way for us."

Gainer tests this with a cure light wounds spell...

[King Tius]

OOC: Gainer wins!

As the Archivist channels the healing magic into the gem, it begins to glow brighter and brighter. The stone around it begins to shimmer and starts to swirl around the gem. The swirling area grows bigger and bigger, slowly changing space until it resembles a small doorway. The moving stone peels back, revealing a dark, steep, narrow staircase descending down into the darkness of the tower.

You all gain 100 xp for solving the first gem-glyph puzzle!

Staring into the dark depths of the tower, you barely notice as Phase appears near your group. He drops a backpack onto the ground next to the group and silently begins walking back towards the airship. He gets to near the edge of the tower and suddenly phases out of existence, reappearing a brief moment later on the deck of the airship.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya peers down into the deep staircase! She then looks up at Gainer. "I hope you realise that could have made the crystal explode."

[EdroGrimshell]

Enya

Enya peers down into the deep staircase! She then looks up at Gainer. "I hope you realise that could have made the crystal explode."

"If he used a more offensive spell i wouldn't be surprised if it did." Persona then picks up the pack that Phase left behind and takes a look inside.

[King Tius]

The bag is, in fact, a Handy Haversack! It contains:
10 Potions of Cure Light Wounds
1 Rope of Climbing
2 Sustaining Spoons
1 Robe of Useful Items (whoever decides to wear it can roll and manage the mundane items

and a note from Jaspar:

"Thought these might help!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya crosses her arms! "Even healing magic can explode under the right circumstances. It's still magic. Did you know that positive energy can actually hurt you as well as heal you? It can give nasty burns if used right..."

She hmmms, then stands on tiptoes to get a look in the haversack! "...Are those healing potions?" She tilts her head. "That strikes me as a bad sign."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Yes, yes it does. Persona says at Enya's comment, "Hm, mind if i take the robe? I have a knack for finding uses for everything, and this could be very useful in that regard."

[Vizzerdrix]

Enya

Enya peers down into the deep staircase! She then looks up at Gainer. "I hope you realise that could have made the crystal explode."

Gainer just grins and takes a few steps down the stairs.

Lets see how long our luck holds out:smallwink:

[Wiz]

"Hm, mind if i take the robe? I have a knack for finding uses for everything, and this could be very useful in that regard."Soranda nods, "I have no problem with that... mind if I wear the haversack? It would be easier than lugging these books around in these satchels."

[EdroGrimshell]

"No problem here." He then dons the cloak "Let's see..."

(Rolling results in the OOC Thread)

"we have two daggers, two bullseye lanterns, two mirrors, two 10ft poles, two coils of rope, two sacks, a few bags of gold, an iron door, a ladder, two pits, a healing potion and a strong one at that, a rowboat, and ... two windows"

[Cardea]

Malosh motions for Silas to take the morsel from his hand, and shrugs. "The Goblins aren't what is crazy. What is, however, is that we are supposed to be on same job, and the others will bicker about small trinkets and papers, and not on eating or even the fact that they're so pre-occupied with some writings instead of the dead father or who we're working for."

He glances at him, and laughs. "Sorry friend. I have been very quiet as of late, and is not like me." He glances over at the majority of the group, and shakes his head at their little squabble over pointless markings. It looks like they're surprised by... something. Whatever it was, it didn't reach with his mind.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas stares at the chunk of... meat? in his gauntleted hand. He manages a weak smile. "Hey, academics will be academics. That's why we're on this mission; to take the hard knocks for those guys."
The paladin looks over, seeing the developments with the glyphs and the magic item delivery.
"Seems like we're making progress though. That's good. Looks like we got some support in the form of more magic trinkets. Mayhaps we should claim something useful?"
Silas walks over the the 'care package,' picking up a healing potion. "We should all take one of these, as a precaution."

[EdroGrimshell]

Silas walks over the the 'care package,' picking up a healing potion. "We should all take one of these, as a precaution."

"Good idea," Persona says, taking one of the potions, "Let's continue," he says indicating the portal

[Wiz]

Soranda nods, transferring the books to the haversack, leaving the other items out so that people can take what they want. She puts one of the potions in the haversack. "We should al have a potion, and a feather fall token. You never know." She puts a spoon in the bag as well and step up to the gate, "So... shall we see where this goes?"

[Vizzerdrix]

Gainer pockets a token, the spoons and a potion, then heads on down the stairs.


"Oh hey! No point leaving those lying about"

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya passes on the token and potion - she has stuff of her own that can do the same! But she does head down the stairs.

[CockroachTeaParty]

As everyone begins to go down the stairs, Silas shouts after them.
"HEY! What are we going to do with the prisoners? I don't speak Goblin!"
The paladin looks at the bound goblins, his brow furrowed, wondering if they would be safe should they just leave them on the roof, defenseless. Something about it didn't sit right with him.

[EdroGrimshell]

As everyone begins to go down the stairs, Silas shouts after them.
"HEY! What are we going to do with the prisoners? I don't speak Goblin!"
The paladin looks at the bound goblins, his brow furrowed, wondering if they would be safe should they just leave them on the roof, defenseless. Something about it didn't sit right with him.

"Niether do I, I really need to pick it up though. As for these guys, i see to choices that don't involve killing them, we can leave them here and alert the watch, or we can take them with us and hope we come across the watch to give them over. Although..." He gives a brief pause, "hm, i just got an idea. How about we hire them to come with, i got three extra bags of gold in this cloak we could give them, and thievery is often a last resort, trust me i've been there."

[Wiz]

Soranda smiles, "I speak Goblin... you want me to make them a job offer?"

[EdroGrimshell]

Soranda smiles, "I speak Goblin... you want me to make them a job offer?"

"It's useful to have someone that owes you a favor," he smiles in a way that reminds you of a predator, "and having allies ensures you have someone to turn to. Offer them the job for 50 gold each, and not being turned in for a favor in the future." he keeps that predatory smile throughout the statment, keeping the goblinoids from seeing it. "If they decline, just turn them in."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas scratches the back of his head, an incredulous sneer on his face.
"Tell me I'm not the only one who hasn't forgot that these guys just tried to fill us with sharp objects, and burn us alive. We shouldn't reward such behavior with cash money. Can't we just ask that Phase fellow to turn these punks in? I'd feel more comfortable descending those steps without having to worry about being stabbed in the back."
...anymore than I already do, he added silently to himself as an afterthought.

[EdroGrimshell]

Silas scratches the back of his head, an incredulous sneer on his face.
"Tell me I'm not the only one who hasn't forgot that these guys just tried to fill us with sharp objects, and burn us alive. We shouldn't reward such behavior with cash money. Can't we just ask that Phase fellow to turn these punks in? I'd feel more comfortable descending those steps without having to worry about being stabbed in the back."
...anymore than I already do, he added silently to himself as an afterthought.

"I didn't forget. I've been in their position, having to steal and even kill in order to survive. I've had to do things i'll regret for the rest of my life, Silas, because i was in their position. I was able to turn away from it, give them the chance to do the same."

[Wiz]

Soranda turns to the goblins and says something in their language."Look, the paladin is very upset and wants either your death or imprisonment. But some of us have been in dire circumstances before and have done worse things than what you tried to do to us. If you cooperate and do what you're told, you will be paid fifty gold each. If you do not, well... the paladin keeps his sword very sharp and loves to practice on live targets... as long as he believes they are evil; as he believes you to be."

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas' face darkens, and he tightens his grip on his sword.
"...For every criminal that sees the light, Persona, two more regret nothing, and walk free. We have the power, now, to do the right thing, and give them over to the proper authorities. We lack the authority to do anything less, and anything more."
He lets out a sigh, and seems to regain a bit of his composure.
"...Besides, it would be safer. We can't trust them. We don't know if this ambush was an accident, as they claim, or whether this was a premeditated trap. There's too many unknown factors, and as much as I'd like to believe we live in a better world... I don't believe a temporary mercenary contract is going to help these poor bastards. I pity them, yes... but let them reap what they've sown."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Reap what they've sown?" He says quietly then sighs, "fine, you do have a point. Not everyone turns away from the life of thievery. I certainly haven't, i'm still a thief, just not one of the bad guys." He looks to the goblinoids, "I still believe trying to turn them away from their current path is the better option, it's something i'd expect a paladin to think of, not a thief." he turns and walks down the hall, not waiting for anyone else to follow.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas could feel a throbbing, burning sensation move up his neck, pulsating behind his eyes. What was Persona trying to prove? This wasn't a charity mission. They weren't out to win hearts and minds. Could the changeling not smell the blood in the air? Did he not realize the danger?

The paladin looked out over the city below. Things had seemed so much simpler in Flamekeep. Here in this melting pot of a city (nation, really), there were so many histories, ideologies, opinions... Perhaps the Silver Flame's greatest gift to Thrane was unity. Was unity already at risk of dissolving in this group? They couldn't even distribute magic scrolls without breaking out into arguments... Silas felt a sinking sensation in his gut. The nagging doubt that setting out on his own was a mistake reared its ugly head again...

Clearly, the Last War hadn't had quite the effect on Sharn as it had to those whom shared Silas' memories of home. He waited to see what the others had to say; he wasn't going to forbid them to take the goblinoids with them if that was the group's decision. That was out of his control. However, he took note of Persona... something about a changeling openly admitting not only his heritage, but his criminal past as well, unnerved Silas more than if he had just kept his secrets...

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

As was her wont in such times of moral and physical peril, Nustrilaa's hand dipped into a pouch at her waist and emerged with a couple of small cookies.

She offered one of them to Silas.

"I'm not much of an expert when it comes to moral matters, " Nustrilaa notes, "But I have heard of the practice of pennance. Perhaps you could offer it to them? They serve until you consider their debt paid, and in return, we put in a good word for them when they part from us?

I do not think we need to fear a stab in the back too badly. Call it a hunch, but I think there are just too many of us for the two of them to think they would survive the attempt. Assuming they'd even want to. The promise of a civilised future somewhere is an alluring one, no? Brigandry doesn't offer much of a retirement plan unless you're right up the top of the hierarchy...

Oh, and enjoy the cookie. It's one of mine. Baking is one of the easier ways to pay for passage these days..."

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome sighs. "Host give me strength..." she mutters under her breath. "We should bring them with us. Leaving them here would be wrong, and... we subdued more than four times their number in less than eighteen seconds. What threat do they pose to us?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

My mistake. I guess the Last War was just an elaborate personal hallucination.
Silas grimaces, and makes his way towards the stairwell.
"Fine. Bring them with us. Congratulate them. Shower them with well-deserved praise. I wash my hands of it. They're your problem now. I'll be up front, blocking things."
Where do they get all this random food? Am I back in grade school?
When nobody is looking, Silas throws the cookie off the tower.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
Silas:

[roll0]
If Nustrilaa sees that cookie disappear, she'll never forgive you. She baked that herself, damnit!:p


"...I thought Paladins were supposed to be fans of stuff like redemption and pennance?" A comment delivered mostly to herself as Silas walked off in a huff.

"Shows how much attention I pay to religions, really."

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

Enya pats Silas on the shoulder. "No no, Paladins are all about killing evildoers and shapeshifters. Didn't you know? They think 'penance' is what happens to people they cut into pieces."

[Cardea]

More and more and more talking about 'wrong' and 'right' and Religion and Magic. Worthless. And cookies? Of all things. And as for the Goblins? He could eat them, they could let them go, or they could turn them in. He was all for the first one. He wondered what Goblin tasted like. But authorities in Sharn didn't really... approve... of that kind of thing. So... two options, and they still argue back and forth. Malosh chews on another piece of meat, and takes out his Greatsword. Stepping to the doorway, he shoves his way past the 'group', and begins to walk down the staircase slowly. He calls out behind him, "Do what you want with could-be food. I will do job."

[King Tius]

OOG: It's been a busy few days. Glad to see the RPing hasn't stopped. Nice job, guys!

The two Goblins are eager to take Soranda's offer and promise that they will behave. They talk of how the end of the war had left their small warband jobless and unwanted. They are more than happy to fall back into Mercenary services.

Heading into the dark stairwell, you descend down and down for what feels like an eternity. The stairwell winds in a steadily increasing corkscrew down into the tower. Finally the stairs end, leading into a small chamber. While three of the walls are uninteresting, the one that faces towards the interior of the tower is curved outwards as if it were part of a larger sphere. A door, or really more of a hatch, is set into the wall. The door is shaped exactly like the entrance you just came through and it too has a blue gem inlaid in its center. The wall is also made of adifferent material; an incredibly dark and marbled heavy stone that almost looks like metal. You quickly notice that some form of magical lock has been put over the hatch. Four large Dragonshards have been fixed to the wall around the hatch. They are mounted on gold disks and are positioned equally around the door. Magical energy arcs out of them, connecting to one another and forming a large magic X across the door. The gems are four different colors (blue, red, green, and white) and the magic arcs between blue and red and between green and white.

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona raises an eyebrow at the room. "Interesting." he then begins to walk the room, just looking around for anything of interest.

Search: [roll0]

[Wiz]

Soranda glances around, "I wonder if this is an equally silly lock. Surrounded by strange portentious glyphs or powers, and it simply opens at the first spell that is cast on it."

[Vizzerdrix]

"I could find out for you." Gainer says with a grin and a wink.

[Wiz]

Soranda gestures, "Try away if you like..." She smiles.

[EdroGrimshell]

"I doubt it would be that easy." Persona says. "more than likely there's something to do with the colored stones."

[Wiz]

Soranda chuckles, "Yeah... just like the symbols around the other stone had anything to do with the puzzle..."

[EdroGrimshell]

"It sorta did, The door opened after giving it a spell. which matched at least two of the symbols."

[Wiz]

Soranda shrugs, "Give trust is a healing spell? Reveal the magic portal? Declare alliance? No... there are symbols for healing, if give healing was what it was supposed to be, why didn't it have a symbol for healing along that spoke? Also why the other symbols, and what extremely generic type of spells would have worked for those?" She shakes her head, "I found the resolution inconsistent with the apparent complexity of the puzzle."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Point taken."

[Vizzerdrix]

"Unless a spell that has something to do with each symbol would open the door to someplace else. Who knows, maybe a mending spell would have opened the door to a broom closet, or a harmful spell to an armory. This man was studying portals so it wouldn't surprise me in the least, and when we leave I intend to do a quick experiment."

Gainer is going to take a closer look at the discs. spot or search roll?

Oh, and Miss. A symbol of health was present. The sword hilt. But I can understand how that could go unnoticed what with the ever important scrolls and all.

[Wiz]

Soranda sighs, "Look... Gainer, is it? We all are working together, so there's no need to be mean. If you have a point to make to me where you think my logic is wrong, just tell me. Believe it or not, I didn't think about it possibly opening more than one gate, so your idea actually sounds quite valid to me. As far as the scrolls go, why are you digging that up again? My upset with that whole matter was, if you recall, someone taking something out of my hands without asking! Do we really need to waste more time revisiting that whole incident?"

[King Tius]

OOG: I am happy none of my NPCs really speak common or care about the drama so I can just let it run on!

A more thorough search of the room reveals nothing else of interest. After giving the magic stones a look over, the two artificers quickly realize that there are elementals bound to each of them. The lock has clearly been put over this door after the fact and, unlike the last puzzle, this one is easy to solve. You know that smashing the stones will break the lock. Clearly this was meant to prevent the door from opening out from the other side, rather than expressly keeping you out.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome artificer is ignoring everyone right now, looking over the crystals with a little frown. "Bound elementals...? Hm. Well, this'll be easy to unlock, anyway..." She promptly withdraws a hammer from her backpack, and attempts to smash one of the stones!

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"Wait!"

A quick call to try and get Enya to stay her hand. It may not have worked.

"Before you smash the entire thing, a question: Is there any way of opening this lock other than smashing it? I for one feel that if a door is equipped with a lock, it is usually for a good reason. And it may be a good idea to be able to close this lock behind us when we come back..."

[EdroGrimshell]

"I believe that she has more knowledge of bound elementals than anyone else here at the moment, they have a virtual monopoly on the process, let's trust she knows what she's doing."

[King Tius]

Nustrilaa (wisely) tries to stop Enya but once you set a gnome to something not even the Dragon Below can stop them. The hammer easily smashes the dragonshard, releasing a powerful burst of magical energy. All four of the shards explode. The blast knocks Enya 20 feet backwards and sends Nustrilaa sprawling back half that distance. From out of the crystals come four arcs of magical energy that fly around the room before materializing in the four corners of the area. Each is a medium sized elemental. Did I mention they're a little angry after being cooped up for so long?

(23) Malosh
(17) Enya (Prone), [roll0] Damage
(14) Persona
(13) Silas
(12) Gainer
(11) Elementals
(9) Goblins
(7) Nustrilaa (Prone), [roll1] Damage
(6) Soranda

OOC: You all know the drill! Let's do this!

THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img827/6870/elemental1.png

[EdroGrimshell]

"Guess i was wrong," Persona states unsheathing his rapier. He aims his othe hand towards the water elemental before twisting his hand and sending a crossbow bolt towards the creature.

HP: 11; AC: 16

If my hp is off because of prior damage please tell me, my sheet won't save properly ATM

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas already has his silver greatsword at the ready. He glances quickly around the room: he decides the earth elemental is the largest threat; heavy hitting, durable, and as inevitable as an avalanche, it needed to go, and quickly. He charges towards the rocky being, putting all his strength behind the blow.
"SHADUKAR!"


Charging the earth elemental! Power Attack 2! LEEEROOY...

AC 15 following the charge.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Action Point on the attack roll: [roll2]
Guess that wasn't necessary...
Can I not have spent that action point? You can spend them after seeing the result of the d20 to be modified, but before you know the results... 'at the table,' I wouldn't have used an action point with a roll of 18...

[King Tius]

OOC: Yeah, you can keep the action point.

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
The Elf briefly considered casting something, and settles with a simple old favourite: Ghost Sound! Create the noise of eight illusiary reinforcements in the corridor outside.

Why?

She was 10 feet from the fire elemental, and desperately wanted it to do something other than ignite her.


[roll0]

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome yelps as she's thrown back. She looks up in surprise at the elementals. "...Oh come on! We let you go! We're not even the ones that bound you in the first place!"

She scrabbles to her feet, refusing to draw her weapon. "Guys! Elementals are intelligent you know! Can't we try, like, diplomacy?"

[Vizzerdrix]

"I think it's too late for that now, Enya. Maybe next time"

Shooting the fire elemental.
hit
[roll0]
Dmg
[roll1]
(-1 to each of those if I'm not within 30 ft of it)

[Wiz]

Soranda says something in a strange whispery windy tongue.

Auran (air elemental):"Well, after you attack them it becomes a little late to be diplomatic to the elementals you just freed from imprisonment!"

She pulls out a potion and chugs it down.

[King Tius]

OOC: Away from my mac for most of the night so I can't update the battle map. Most of you haven't moved so this shouldn't be too terrible. I will fix it and post it when I can.

(23) Malosh
The shifter draws his bow and fires an arrow at the earth elemental
attack: [roll0]
Crit: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

(17) Enya
The little artificer gets to her feet and chastises the elementals. Unfortunately (she knows) they cannot understand her.

(14) Persona
The Changeling fires a shot at the water elemental but it artfully dodges the bolt.

(13) Silas
Sounding the battle cry, Silas charges the earth elemental and delivers a nasty blow.

(12) Gainer
Gainer fires an arrow at the fire elemental and lands a solid hit, though he is more than 30 ft away from it.

(11) Elementals
In their rage the Elementals attack the closest things they can.
The Earth Elemental attacks Silas: A:[roll3] D:[roll4]
The Fire Elemental moves and attacks Nustrilaa: A:[roll5] D:[roll6] + [roll7] fire
The Air Elemental attacks Persona: A:[roll8] D:[roll9]
The Water Elemental attacks the Goblin: A:[roll10] D:[roll11]

(9) Goblins
The goblin attacks the water elemental and scores a minor hit
The Hobgoblin draws his bow and fires at the water elemental, also hitting.

(7) Nustrilaa
The Fire Elemental's assault proves to be too much and Nustrilaa goes down!

(6) Soranda
Though Soranda speaks in the Air Elemental's native tongue, it does not respond.

THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img830/715/elemental2.png

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa
[roll0]Now on -7HP

The blast had knocked the elf to the ground, and the closest (fire) elemental ensured she would not be getting up again.

[Wiz]

Soranda will charge forward shouting, "Onatarrrr!" trying to distract the fire elemental from Nustralia, who is lying helpless on the ground, and will end her charge by swinging her mace in a deadly arc.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Critical Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Critical Damage: [roll3]

Soranda Smyth (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=135628)
Female True Neutral Human Artificer, Level 2, Init +1, HP 11/11, Speed 30
AC 12, Touch 9, Flat-footed 11, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4, Base Attack Bonus 1
Dagger 2 (+3 if thrown) (1d4, x2)
Heavy Mace 7 (1d8+4, x2)
Studded Leather Armor (+3 Armor, +1 Dex, -2 Misc)
Abilities Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition Fist of Stone (+6 Strength); Charge (+2 attack roll, -2 AC)

[EdroGrimshell]

His hidden weapon failing, Persona simply thrusts his rapier into the elemental before moving back out of the air elemental's immediate threat range.

HP: 7/11; AC 16

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Crit: [roll2]

Taking a 5ft Step away from the elemental.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas spits blood from his mouth, reeling from the crushing blow of solid rock. With a surge of adrenaline, he swings his sword in a horizontal cut, putting as much strength as he can behind the blow in an attempt to destroy the creature quickly; he knows he won't survive many more hits from the elemental.


HP: 13/23, AC 17

Power attack 2:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Cardea]

Malosh, upon seeing Nustrilaa fall, drops his bow. He roars as his teeth grow into a razor fine point, and charges to the Fire Elemental, biting it as his hands reach for his Greatsword.

To Hit: [roll0]
To Crit: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[Vizzerdrix]

moving so I'm 25 feet away from it, then shooting the fire elemental again.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[King Tius]

(23) Malosh
Malosh rushes forward as he channels The Beast. He sinks his teeth into the Fire Elemental, though he is scorched by the creature's flames.
Fire Damage: [roll0] DC 14 Reflex save vs being caught on fire: [roll1]

The fire elemental is looking pretty beat up

(17) Enya
Enya rushes to Nustrilaa's side and draws her scroll along the way. She casts Lessor Vigor on the wizard, giving her fast healing 1 (unless I am mistaken).

OOC: Upon review I think as an artificer it is assumed that you have your scrolls and potions at the ready. Having to burn an extra move action to dig around for them really hinders the class as a whole, so let's all pretend you have a bandoleer or scroll case strapped conveniently somewhere.

(14) Persona
Persona futilely thrusts at the air elemental before taking a defensive step backwards.

(13) Silas
Continuing his landscaping project, Silas delivers a colossal blow to the earth elemental.

The earth elemental is starting to crumble.

(12) Gainer
Gainer takes a few steps forward (to H9 but I forgot to put it on the map) and fires at the fire elemental. Though he manages to avoid hitting his comrades, he does not hit the flaming creature, either.

(11) Elementals
The Earth Elemental attacks Silas again : A:[roll2] D:[roll3]
The Fire Elemental attacks Malosh: A:[roll4] D:[roll5] + [roll6] fire
The Air Elemental moves to L9 and attacks Persona again: A:[roll7] D:[roll8]
The Water Elemental attacks the Goblin again: A:[roll9] D:[roll10]
It kills the little goblin with its big watery fists.

(9) Goblins
With his little friend gone, the Hobgoblin fires another arrow at the water elemental. As the shot goes wide, he drops his bow and draws his sword.

(7) Nustrilaa
Thanks to Enya's spell, Nustrilaa is stabilized and slowly on her way to recovery! (HP: -6)

(6) Soranda
Soranda moves in and manages to snuff out the fire elemental with a killing blow!

THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img820/9408/elemental3a.png


EDIT: Map Fixed

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The littlest artificer manages to get the spell off, much to her relief! She then attempts to hook her hands in under Nustrilaa's shoulder to drag her the hell away from the fire elemental.

[King Tius]

OOC: The Fire Elemental is dead

[Yuki Akuma]

OOC: Oh hey so it is! Well, she'll, uh, drag her into a more defensible position (a corner), then!

[Wiz]

Soranda shouts, "Snuffed!" Seeing that Nustrilaa is on the mend, she spins and spots the air elemental after Persona. She charges again, shouting, "ONATARRRR!" Soranda brings her mace around in a deadly swing just as she reaches the elemental.

Attack Roll (heavy mace): [roll0]
Critical Confirm: [roll1]
Damage (heavy mace): [roll2]
Critical Damage: [roll3]

Soranda Smyth (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=135628)
Female True Neutral Human Artificer, Level 2, Init +1, HP 11/11, Speed 30
AC 12, Touch 9, Flat-footed 11, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4, Base Attack Bonus 1
Dagger +7 (+3 if thrown) (1d4, x2)
Heavy Mace +7 (1d8, x2)
Studded Leather Armor (+3 Armor, +1 Dex, -2 Misc)
Abilities Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition Fist of Stone (8 rounds remaining); Charge (+2 attack roll, -2 AC)

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas gasps for breath as his breastplate is dented by another solid blow from the earth elemental. It's starting to look like it might be destroyed soon... he has one last chance to bring it down before he too is defeated. Ignoring the pain from a fractured rib, he puts as much strength into the next swing of his chipped sword as he can muster...


PA 2 again, trying to finish off the elemental.
Attack: [roll0]
Action Point: [roll1] (not on a roll of 2...)
Damage: [roll2]
Knew my luck was going to run out soon...

HP: 5 remaining, AC 17

[EdroGrimshell]

Moving quickly to take advantage of the opening Soranda provided persona thrusts with his rapier once more.

HP: 7/11; AC 16
Attack: [roll0]
Crit: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Sneak Attack: [roll3]

Moving to flank the elemental with Soranda for the +2 to attack rolls and sneak attack

[Cardea]

Malosh coughs up blood and growls in pain. Being hit is one thing. Being hit with fire? Another thing entirely. Much more... eye opening. He turns and runs and stands where Gainer was, and looks at the Air Elemental in anger, gnashing his teeth.


AC 17. Touch 13. FF 13. 4/20 HP.
Move to J10. Feels like chess.

[King Tius]

(23) Malosh
Malosh focuses his attention on the air elemental, moving to a new position and snarling at it.

(17) Enya
With considerable effort the little gnome manages to drag the unconscious wizard safely into the corner, leaving the elf out of harm's way so the spell can do its work.

(14) Persona
Persona repositions himself for a better angle on the air elemental. Unfortunately Soranda hasn't joined this little skirmish yet, so he doesn't get the flanking bonus. The air elemental proves too nimble for him, this time.

(13) Silas
Unfortunately as his wounds grow more dire his aim wains and the young paladin is unable to finish off his rocky opponent.

(12) Gainer
Gainer turns his attention to Silas and the Earth Elemental. He puts his expert archery to good use, firing the perfect arrow that just makes it through the fracas and takes the Earth Elemental down!

(11) Elementals
The Air Elemental attacks Persona again: A:[roll0] D:[roll1]
The Water Elemental attacks the hobgoblin: A:[roll2] D:[roll3]

(9) Goblins
The hobgoblin brings his sword (a bastard sword, wielded with two hands) to bear on the water elemental, scoring another hit.

(7) Nustrilaa
Hey, at least you aren't dead! (HP: -5)

(6) Soranda
Soranda charges towards the air elemental, delivering s HUGE hit with her mace.

THE MAP

http://a.imageshack.us/img715/8589/elemental4.png

[CockroachTeaParty]

Silas winces as the earth elemental rears up... only to have an arrow pierce the creature, and it crumples to the ground. The paladin lets out a sigh of relief, before turning to witness the rest of the battle. Figuring he'd better at least replenish a modicum of his strength, he removes his healing potion from a pouch on his belt and downs it in a single gulp. The restorative elixir knits his fractured ribs together, and causes some of his bruises to cease their throbbing...


Move action: draw potion.
Standard action: drink potion, healing [roll0] damage.
5 foot step 1 square south.

HP: 12, AC 17

[King Tius]

OOC: These healing potions are 1d8+5, so give yourself 4 more hit points, CTP!

[EdroGrimshell]

Persona, ignoring his injuries for the moment, again makes a strike with his rapier, aiming for a vital spot as its attention is split between himself and Soranda.

HP: 2/11; AC 16
Attack: [roll0]
Crit: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Sneak Attack: [roll3]

[Wiz]

Soranda makes a modulated whispering, whistling noise - obviously communicating to the air elemental again. Which does not stop her from then swinging the mace and taking full advantage of the tactical bonus Persona being there grants her.

Auron:Too bad, you should have maybe considered talking over fighting... windy!
Combat:Attack Roll (heavy mace): [roll0]
Critical Confirm: [roll1]
Damage (heavy mace): [roll2]
Critical Damage: [roll3]

Soranda Smyth (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=135628)
Female True Neutral Human Artificer, Level 2, Init +1, HP 11/11, Speed 30
AC 14, Touch 11, Flat-footed 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +4, Base Attack Bonus 1
Dagger 7 (+3 if thrown) (1d4 + 4, x2)
Heavy Mace 7 (1d8 + 4, x2)
Studded Leather Armor (+3 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 18, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition Potion of Fist of Stone (7 more rounds); Flanking

[King Tius]

(23) Malosh
Malosh steps to L10 and attempts to bite the Air Elemental. He feels his jaws tear through airy flesh, much like biting through silk.

(17) Enya
Enya double moves to J11, getting ready to wail on the Water Elemental.

(14) Persona
Again Persona is unable to pierce the agile Air Elemental.

(13) Silas
The bruised Paladin replenishes his hit points by 7 and steps one square south.

(12) Gainer
This time Gainer fires at the Air Elemental, missing his allies and scoring a hit.

From the rasping sound emanating from the Elemental, you all can tell that it is on the verge of dissipating.

(11) Elementals
The Air Elemental attacks Persona again: A:[roll0] D:[roll1]
The Water Elemental attacks the hobgoblin: A: [roll2] D:[roll3]

(9) Goblins
Dodging the watery fists of the elemental, the Hobgoblin manages to get a solid slash in with his Bastard Sword.

The Water Elemental is now spilling water everywhere, almost as if it were bleeding profusely.

(7) Nustrilaa
Slowly healing...(HP: -4)

(6) Soranda
With the sound like the popping of a balloon Soranda knocks the Air Elemental back to its native plane! (aka you killed it)

THE MAP

NEEDS UPDATING WHEN I GET HOME FROM WORK. THE WATER ELEMENTAL IS THE ONLY ENEMY LEFT

[Wiz]

Soranda reaches into her backpack and pulls out a scroll. She reads it aloud, "Thos osaes pololi tylesarol jhaeraes bondrys!" Then she reaches out and touches Persona and a flow of healing energy rushes through him.

Use Scroll of Lesser Vigor (DC:2): [roll0] - this will succeed unless I roll a natural 1. Persona will gain fast healing for 11 rounds, thus regaining 11 hit points.

[CockroachTeaParty]

His wounds recovered somewhat, Silas moves up to the last remaining elemental and sends his blade toward the swirling, watery creature. Not sure he'll need extra strength to cleave through water, he concentrates more on accuracy than pure destruction.

Moving south to the water elemental, hugging the eastern wall.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[King Tius]

Malosh rushes towards the water elemental and delivers a bite. Persona bleeds, Enya pouts, and Silas delivers a slice with his sword. Gainer fires another arrow, sending the water elemental splashing to the floor. Soranda delivers her healing spell and both Nustrilaa and Persona's eyes flutter open after a few moments.

514 xp from the fight plus another 100 for opening the lock, bringing the party's current xp to 2400 by my count.

The hobgoblin moves to his fallen comrade and loots the poor goblin of its coin purse. He stands and looks at the party, sheathing his bastard sword and collecting his bow.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Ugh," Persona moans as he wakes, "What hit me?"

After orienting himself he collects his rapier, sees if he can retrieve the bolt he fired earlier, and reloaded his wrist mounted crossbow.

[Yuki Akuma]

Enya

The gnome woman sighs a little, looking down, then back up. "Okay. For future reference, attacking scared, confused and angry elementals who have just been released from confinement is a bad idea. They are intelligent. They can be reasoned with." After that, she walks over to the wizard to check on her, pulling out another Scroll of Lesser Vigor...

[Wiz]

Soranda blinks, "For future reference, opening the lock by breaking it and releasing angry elementals, before discussing it with us might just work well too." She looks at Persona, "Let the spell heal you... we'll see if you need more when it ends."

[whoiam]

Nustrilaa

"I knew that was going to happen, and it did."

Well, I suspected, anyway. Smash first think second never works out well.

"Sometimes I think that making me intelligent and not omnipotent is the Gods' idea of a joke... Anyway, I'm guessing the door's open now, huh?"

[Cardea]

Malosh calms down, his mind slowly gaining its senses, and doubles over in pain. His mind is screaming at him. He bit fire. Fire. Of all the stupid things he could do today? This is way up there. "Anyone?... I... I bit the fire."