The Crux of Worlds IC

[Fable Wright]

OOC Link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178059){table=head]Player|Character Sheet|Race + Class
Terumitsu|Jackal (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=254315)|Tiefling Psionic Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9776047&postcount=122)//Scout
M.Mayonnaise|Sirius Sephira (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=256218)|Human Sagittarius (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9837239&postcount=227)//Truespeaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90961)
Mootoall|Harin of the Eastlands (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=253648)|Human Dread Necromancer//Rogue
Crafty Cultist|Zenerith (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=253506)|Human Psion(Metacreativity)
Rathgar|Abtek (http://www.coyotecode.net/profiler/view.php?id=9649)|Human Druid
Ocel|Schrödinger (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=255842)|Raptorian Ozodrin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153536)//Teleporter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=168948)[/table]

The Time Has Come.

tick... tick...

The Great Wheel Turns.

tick... tick...

The Celestial planes rise in the horizon, approaching the zenith of it's arc.

tick... tick...
As the planes rise and fall around the past material plane, dawn rises from the east as the Celestial planes rise, and dusk falls in the west as the Abyssal planes approach the depths of the planes.

tick... tick...
The figure looks up from his work. Shrouded in darkness, covering his pale flesh in a dark robe, no light falls upon his skin, but the dull glow of the patchwork bronze beneath his feet casts a flickering light upon his cloak, giving the appearance of him being underwater in a copper ocean. Seeing the reflection light of the Celestial plane rapidly rising, he quickly goes back to work, muttering. Too soon. Too soon. But It is almost done.

Tick... tick...
As the celestial planes approach the top of the Great Wheel, a small click can be heard from within the depths of the great clockwork sphere. The jagged gears protruding from the orb begin to rotate slowly. The patchwork of the steel below his feet slowly begins to move. He gave a small, mirthless smile.

Tick... Tick...
As the planes moved into alignment, the clockwork abomination slowly opened. It was the first time in 3,000 years. Three thousand years he had waited. The spell had stripped him of all he had. He. He who had the power to destroy worlds. He who had the power to bring an entire plane to it's knees. He who was invincible. All was stripped from him.

TICK... TICK...
Denora's accursed spell had robbed him of all that he had. He had been a living god. He was left there, in the wreckage, as lowly as a common peasant. But now. Now he would have his revenge. As the planes drifted into alignment, from the heart of the swiftly turning gears and rapidly moving steel, three, small, retractable rods moved out into the exact center of the Great Wheel. The exact center of the old material plane. Right before complete alignment was achieved, from within the core of the rods, a small sphere was created. It had the appearance of a small, perfectly polished rock, with a clay-like coloring. The streaks of dark brown within the sphere started moving. First slowly, and then rapidly, the claw turned and mixed, churning itself into a a mixed appearance. From the top of the machine, from the depths of his cowl, the man smiled. Exactly as planned.


tock.
As the planes achieved alignment, a giant aetheric wave rocked throughout the planes from this small sphere, ricocheting across the multiverse, hitting all of the demiplanes in the cosmic miasma of the astral plane. Slowly, the demiplanes started moving toward this small sphere. Turning with his great clockwork abomination, he drifted away from the orb, to watch. The planes slowly moved into the orb, as if drawn by a magnetic field. They slowly grew faster and faster as they approached it's core, shooting at it and colliding with it. And each other. The planes piled up on each other, each of their collisions decimating the life and structures of each of the civilizations of the planes before it. Ruins sprung up where life was before, civilizations and creatures coming to an end. But, as the amalgamation of the planes grew bigger, each successive impact grew smaller, until no life was destroyed by the impacts. Planes now were absorbed at a leisurely rate, and when hitting the plane barely made a ripple. They merged seamlessly with the plane. A new material plane was being born. And he intended to conquer it. He and his clockwork horror slowly drifted towards the new plane, and began to drift into it.

As your plane hits the new plane, you feel no impact. The only thing you see it your world. Changing. Mountains spike up through your plane like jagged teeth, forests sprout and grow in seconds, barren wastelands popping up in fields and all around you. And, suddenly, the horizon looks... bigger. People are panicking. Priests and alarmists are running through the streets, declaring the end of the world, and telling people to repent. The population is either in shock, screaming, or both, as a monstrous tremor rocks the world, as if telling everyone, Look outside. We're done. As the panic begins to die, only one thing seems certain. Nothing is going to be the same.

OOC: Post where you are, and what you are doing. And welcome to the game.

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith's eyes open with a jolt. He has been meditating in his quarters, recuperating after his latest delving expidition to the lower levels. Through the mental broadcast of the high council, he instantly becomes aware of the general situation.

Quickly and surely, Zenerith gathers his equipment and heads to the high tower. If the ship had finally landed then they would need to explore the outside, and the delvers would be the ones to do it.

[mootoall]

Harin gasps as the world around him changes. He stood on one of the parapets of Iblis Oronis' citadel, as around him the desert he had known so well transformed into verdant green, and then was twisted into a horrid abomination, only to become green once again, the cycle repeating over and over, until it seemed the wild cycle would maintain some sort of equilibrium forever. The zombie he had been practicing his magics on, a human who Harin had captured from the outlands himself, seemed not to notice the cataclysm around them, and continued its struggle against its restraints, the chains on the walls keeping it immobile. Harin lets it writhe as he rushes to find his master, to see if he was unharmed, and ask him what the world was coming to, relying on his reputed great wisdom. His feet pound over the top of the wall of the structure, as the ground undulates from the horizon to his location, creating a great wave of ground. It passes under the castle, and Harin braces himself for the great crack of stone that surely must occur from such a terramorphic occurance. But he heard it not. Instead, after passing through the castle's foundation, the wave of land stopped, and the world seemed almost eerily still. Harin raises his head, looking around, and it seems the worst is over.

Then he hears something. A gentle rumbling sound, coming from all around. It gets louder, and the parapet begins to shake, stones beginning to fall from the topmost crenelations. He then hears the cracks he'd been expecting, but not from the castle. No, it was coming from the outside. He turns from the inner courtyard, and his mouth dropps open as he sees a great crack in the ground not three miles from the castle. More rumbling. Cracking. And then, finally, gradually, a great spike of stone rises from the ground, a mountain larger than he could comprehend normally. The flat, featureless desert he was so used to was different. The undead were mostly hidden in a massive, twisted jungle, and a great mountain, bare, raw stone, the likes of which Harin had never seen, was now the most prominant feature in sight. Harin stands, shocked, for a minute, then takes off on fleet feet, trying to find his master once more.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius stands, openmouthed, as the town around him goes mad. People scream and dash around in a panic, fleeing from the cataclysm but with nowhere to go. The ground swells underneath their feet, sending many sprawling to the ground, but Sirius, by some good fortune, can keep his balance. The houses of Regulus are quickly being shaken and warped apart, as their foundations are twisted out of shape by the rapidly-forming hill. Out of the corner of his eye, Sirius sees a handful of trees shoot up through what's left of his house, breaking the thatch roof apart with ease.
One final heave rocks the earth, and this one does send Sirius to the ground. Looking up from his prone position, he holds his breath without realizing it as he sees something both beautiful and frighteningly bizarre.
The sun was rising, in the middle of the night. The Maker revealed his Light, when it seemed only a scant few hours had passed since last it set.
Sirius pulls himself to his feet, and, saying a prayer for Vega and Andromeda's safety, dashes off to find his family.

[ocel]

Approximately 5 minutes Prior "The Time Has Come" for Oxi or planar integration of Oxi:



*Screech !* "Schrödinger ! Are you daydreaming again !"

Looks around to his classmates, all of them are still recovering from the latest abuse to the board, he apathetically responds: "...No."

"Than you can recall the definition of insita to the rest of your colleagues then?"

Schrödinger sighed, and waited for the saliva to return to the rest of his tongue before standing up and speaking: "insita is the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest. It is represented numerically by an object's mass. The principle of insita is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics which are used to describe the motion of matter and how it is affected by applied forces."


And do you know what the word is derived from?

Schrödinger, already knew this would result in his humiliation, "It is derived from an older dialect, Iners, meaning idle or lazy...sir."

The tutor appears somewhat pleased: "Perhaps there is some hope for you yet child, but let us have a bit more enthusiasm in your next report hmm?"

"Of course sir"

"Now," / wielding his chalk he draws a abstract replica of the rings of souls, "At a cursory glance souls appear incorporeal, yet they all share a common attribute that forces them to obey the laws of planarity physics, this element is essentia, now how does essentia obeys these laws?"

Schrödinger quickly searched through the index of his text, fortunately his associates were not as aware of the current situation at the moment, so he had a second or two to review the subject matter.

Everything was held together by a fragile series of planar gates, these gates resemble a three dimensional sphere, with the pull equivalent to a lesser black hole, there is a brief mention of migration during the era of silence, only three of these gates remain a constant, at the top, bottom and middle altitudes; it is not unusual for the axis of one island to tilt or make an impact with its neighbor but these events rarely cause significant damage, however....

Fortunately another was more willing to answer that line of inquiry "the Thermodynamic phase transition; it is a gas that can be changed through condensation, or deposition. It should be noted that incarnum in its visible condensed form has a less identifiable counterpart that resembles the state of plasma. In these forms they are susceptible to gravitational forces such as the planar gates that maintain the lands we inhabit. The strength of the pull is dependent on the mass and distance of the linked gate. Hence these gates influence the atmospheric and soul-er resonances or currents of this plane.

Recently we have learned to transmutate these items into components for arcane or utilitarian purposes by siphoning the various gates that slows or accelerates the process, due to the extremes of temperature on each side and the distance between the two. "

Sarcastically, "Good, good It seems at least, my conscious will be somewhat relived to know that only two of you are able to enunciate what you learn here..."

Schrödinger Turns his attention to one of the windows , there he sees the floating archipelago in the distance, with an island or two above it, each soul encircling the gravitational pull, be they in which ever form they be, gave off a small light, similar to the bio luminescent creatures he read in one of his text books of the aquatic planes, and the numerous irrigation techniques applied. Funny he mussed, from his point of view, it appeared as if one of the islands above the congregation of landmasses was slowly falling...wait...what the?



Times up for Oxi...:



Schrödinger's mind echoed a mantra of disbelief, "This could not be real ", but with each second passing, the excuses he made became gradually less credible and more fanciful; this was too different from his visions, and he knew not enough of optics to discern whether or not his eyes erred. The horizon bore a peculiar reddish tint; like a fresh wound in the ethereal atmosphere, the colors gradually merged into claret, The haze bore a sharp contrast, that allured him, as a moth to a flame. the heavenly bodies, only slightly deviated from alignment, however impact was probable in the worst case scenario, and to Schrödinger enough of a risk to warrant a temporarily leave. The addition of new bodies of mass, suns moons, day and night cycles were in flux as multiple axises were subject to both extremes.

To his relief, He was not the only one aware of this atmospheric spectacle, his small isolated corner, now became crowded by his colleagues, whom were both as equally as fascinated as they were horrified. They were becoming more and more restless, as the Instructor, struggled from preventing absolute anarchy. Taking advantage of the situation, Schrödinger slips out, and leaves the room, to exit the facility.

The clatter of soles and talons resonated through the closed hallways, it was likely reign in some noble's brats; The soft whispers, and chattered was becoming more and more erratic, it would not be long before panic ruled them,and He had little tolerance to participate in such a drama

As he reached the court yard, the area resembles a sundial, with each direction in a 45 degree angel leading to a different wing of the building. In the center of this circular intersection, was a spiraling stairway which lead to an observatory for both halves of the island's axis. What was once cobble stone, was being overwhelmed by varying species of moss and lichen, they appeared to have been growing at an accelerated rate, there are signs of tremors as well, they were breaking up the walkway, as more plant-life reclaimed the soil. He herd the mummers of the masonry wailing in alarm, he had to hurry, the stones were deteriorating at a rapid rate, they were fracturing as if under the effects of accelerated erosion.

He scratched the back of his neck , it was becoming more inflamed and sweated profusely every time his fingers made contact with the slight bulge. It was likely the humidity, no, an Allergy perhaps ?



Schrödinger








OCC: inista is basically inertia.
/ designates an action.
*: sounds
numbers are used to designate the number of participators or forces present.

OCC: Any way how was it?

OCC: With the exception of the Titles, my entries are in spoilers please tell me if it doesn't work for you.

[Terumitsu]

Jackal was out scavenging the site of a recent skirmish. Nothing here was of great value aside from perhaps a copper or two and maybe a bar of rations. The rest was just splintered wood and pig iron. Completely useless to her. It was almost depressing with what the typical militia was working with.

The site was at least a day old, if the rigor of the bodies meant anything. Regularly, she would consider it a lucky find but she had also found a similar site the day before and she had all she could carry for a while.

It was the rumbling she noticed first. This bit of land had been fought over so many times that it was now just a long stretch of ground where muddy footprints and blasted out craters were all one could see for half a mile. So, it wasn't unnatural for her to think that this was just another far-off battle... At least until she noticed a shoot of green out of the corner of her eye. This was followed by a second and third and more until she could have sworn she was watching grass grow before her eyes. It was... Well, if she had any experience with hallucinogens, then it would be described as 'aptly trippy.'

The shoots did not stay that way for long as they sprang into small bushes and then short trees till finally they churned the ground with the speed of their growth and shot up skyward, creating a small forest where a barren land had once been. To her misfortune, Jackal had not managed to dodge out of the explosive growth and was now stuck a good ways above ground, clinging to the trunk of a redwood. The rumbling continued but right now, she was more concerned with not falling than anything. It was certainly a shock..

[Rathgar]

It has been exceptionally hot in the great desert know as the Kha these last few months. A rather large caravan has begun to cross, traveling along one of the great trade routes. If not for the magical gifts of those of the Cult of the Asp, the caravan could very easily have run out of water by now.

Then, suddenly, there was a great upheaval. Solid mountains sprung up out of what once was but sand dunes. Great trees sprouted at every corner, creating the first forest in the land in over a millennium.

The caravan panicked, people running in every direction, some unfortunate folk being trampled underneath the hooves of beasts of burden. The cultists, however, remained steadfast amongst the turmoil, believing it to be a great event predicted in one of the prophesies of their prophet.

In the middle of the group can be found a man clad in a robe with a serpent headdress, and by his side, a giant asp. "Hold fast, the time has come, the great foretold Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan! Soon we shall have revealed unto us more of That-Which-Was! Behold, for what knowledge comes from this great event shall never come to us again!"

[Fable Wright]

@Crafty Cultist:
As you enter the chambers of the high council, the Kalhindarin shines brightly overhead. As you enter, the room is filled with a dull murmur as the council deliberates the new issue, but the chatter ceases as soon as you enter the room. The leader of the council stands to address you.

Zerenith. You know why you are here. You, as one of the most powerful psions we've had incorporated into the delvers in recent years, shall be charged with this task. Explore the Outside and report back to us within 1 week. Dismissed.

@Mootoall
As you race back into the now crumbling necropolis, you start seeing a bizarre color around you that you've never really seen before. You've only seen it several times, in rare ingredients for the creation of powerful undead. You seem to recall it's name being 'Green', but you haven't seen this particular shade of it. Ever. Surrounding the walls of the fortress, and running throughout it like veins, are strands of luminescent 'green', shining like a crystallized version of Sunlight, though without the burning effects. As you progress towards your master's study, your heart grows with dread. The closer you come to his office, the more green you see, until it covers the stone like the skin of a week-old corpse; it's still mostly there, but bits of it are hanging off the body, and at parts you can see what's underneath.

When you run around the corner into your master's office, a horrid sight assaults your eyes. It appears that some of the bizarre green stuff, mixed with a ropey, thick, knarled brown color running throughout the body's torso, ending at about where the upper tricep region of a man would be, and extending down to the bottom of the lattisimus dorsi's relative position. Where the arms would be, several tough whip-like appendices thrash about, around the length of a human armbone extended by the length of a femur. The legs are the color of dirt, with some small tentacle-like growths extruding from the pair of them. Several of these abominations are standing in from of your master, assaulting him. He, being the skilled necromancer that he is, takes down one of them with a few quick gestures, but more and more of them seem to pour into the room, seemingly coming from an elliptic sphere about the length of a child's eyeball that seems to be the core of the vein-like structure on the wall.

@M. Mayonnaise:
As you push through the panicked streets in pursuit of your loved ones, something catches your eye. Making a quick decision, you dash out to it, but before you can reach it, you are pushed out of the way by the mob. You get jostled throughout the crowd, and, unlike last time, you are unable to regain your footing. After being pushed around in the crowd helplessly, you eventually fall unconscious. The last words you hear are, Hey, wait a minute... None of this happened before He was born! Followed by an angry roar. When you come to, you are strapped to a chair inside of the Mayor's office. He looks at you, and says, Good. You're awake. Now, I'm sure you know why you're here. And you know what I want. He stares at you expectantly, waiting for an answer.

@Ocel:
Before your eyes, the moss and lichens grow before you. The moss seems to... grow somewhat. Near the center of the moss, from what you can see, is a glowing seed about the size of a large acorn. It pulses with light, and with each pulse, the moss grows more and more. Sprouting up from the moss, now, are ferns, with woody stems. Wrapping around it, in a 10-ft radius sphere, you notice plants forming some kind of... seal. Intricate designs of moss form over the cobblestones, wrapping and forming into mystical runes. In the middle, the ferns begin to intertwine. As you watch, the woody stems of the fern form themselves into some form of... torso, you guess, with vines reaching out from the side and whipping the air them. The roots begin to uproot themselves from the loam beneath the cobblestones, taking much of it with them. With deliberate motions, it walks out towards the building, and begins smashing apart the walls with terrible precision. Not knocking over the supports, but just breaking up the wall in between the corners with terrifying speed. As you watch on, entrances, another one forms in the seal, faster than the last. When it's ferns entangle, another one sprouts. And then another, and another. They seem to replicate faster and faster over time, until they are practically pouring out of the ground. They tear apart the school, as if looking for something. As if on cue, a scream splits the air, and each of the plant-monsters drops whatever they were doing and heads over to the noise. For a brief second, you see the headmaster in his brilliant essentia armor, before he is buried by the plant monsters.

@Terumitsu:
As you cling to the branch desperately, even more bizarre things happen before your eyes. The battlefield in front of you... changes. You don't know how to describe it, exactly. The muddy field with the soldier's corpses seems to dry up, and collect itself into one block, which turns grainy, and begins blowing in a stinging wind. The ground near the forest still contains it's original texture, and so does the land to the north, but to the south, the land fades into the stinging, grainy desert. And then... something happens. Like a veil is being lifted from over her vision, she begins to see outlines around her, which become more and more clear, going from a vague outline, to a somehow real silhouette, into a more defined world. To her left, on the branch next to her, a large mammal, about the size of her torso, hanging upside-down on a large branch by means of extraordinarily long claws; four to a hand, and one and a half times as long as a finger. It's face is strangely elongated, shooting out of it's face like a long finger. Suddenly, a tongue almost as large as Jackal shoots out of it, but as she braces herself for impact from the long weapon, she notices that it, instead of trying to attack her with it, merely inserted it into a bizarre, cup-like flower. It repeatedly sticks it's tongue out and back in, feeding on the nectar of the plant, before wandering off. As she begins to look after it, a spot of motion to the south almost makes her fall out of the tree. A bunch of men are fleeing from the forest, while in the middle of them, a core of people stand firm. The one that seems to be in charge, wearing a serpentine hood with a giant asp coiled near him, shouts out Hold fast, the time has come, the great foretold Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan! Soon we shall have revealed unto us more of That-Which-Was! Behold, for what knowledge comes from this great event shall never come to us again!

@Rathgar:
As the cultists stand firm around you, the land changes even more. To the north, the dry desert sands become damp and moist, sticking together like the ground near the oasis. Before you, in the recently risen jungle, you see a humanoid outline, looking like a child, which darkens and fills itself into the shape of a humanoid female, about 24 years old. There's nothing really exceptional about her, except for two things. One, she was in one of the trees, lying down on it. Two, she had a few... unique characteristics. One, her skin was a reddish-maroon color, and two, she had a pair of small horns protruding from her temples. She currently seems to be in some kind of shock, but from what, you don't know. After a few seconds, she regains her composure somewhat.

[M. Mayonnaise]

When Sirius comes to, it takes him a moment to remember what in the world had just happened. It all comes rushing back at him when he realizes that he's bound to the chair.
Sirius pulls experimentally at the ties holding him to the chair, then winces as his head starts to pound. He must've hit it during the chaos...
Sirius looks up into the angry face of the mayor. Something was obviously terribly wrong here, and Sirius feels the beginnings of a panic coming over him. Surely they didn't think...
"Sir, what's going on? Why are you doing this? I didn't have anything to do with that... whatever it was!"
Too late he realizes he'd jumped to being defensive. He braces himself, knowing the mayor's going to give him hell for that...

[mootoall]

Harin
Harin stops suddenly, hoping the green creatures hadn't detected him yet. Were they some sort of new kind of undead, from that accursed growth that seemed to surround the castle? They don't look animal in nature, but their slimy appearance gives him the vague impression of rotting flesh.

His master seemed to be handling himself well in this battle, but it was a rare opportunity indeed that would have allowed Harin to prove himself in battle before his master. He concentrates and, muttering a quick incantation under his breath, calls to the Plane of Negative Energy. Dust seems to swirl from the floor, and it condenses itself into bones upon bones. These bones then continue to spin, the dust slowly solidifying, until a monstrous skeleton seems to form from the veritable whirlwind of bones. The skeleton of an owlbear steps forth and, sensing its summoner's wishes, dashes forward and claws at the nearest green creature.

Harin keeps his mouth shut, determined to stay as unnoticed as possible in the presence of these strange beasts until he knew more about them.

This, I suppose, is my surprise round? Initiative: [roll0]. Pity I don't have knowledge (nature) ... Oh well, I suppose I'll make what knowledge checks I can. Religion: [roll1] Casting Summon Undead II for an owlbear skeleton, the stats of which are conveniently on the SRD, not counting the +4 STR from Corpsecrafter, or +2 HP/HD. Full attack if possible: Claw:[roll2] [roll3] Claw: [roll4] [roll5] Bite:[roll6][roll7]. If not, then whichever one of those attacks is possible. If I can, I'll summon it right beside one of the plant creatures.

[Rathgar]

As Abtek sees what he thinks of as the largest shrubs he's ever seen erupt to form a new lush area not bound to a proper oasis, he spies a strange girl laying in the foliage, one who appears to mature almost instantaneously.

Abtek shouted to the cultists, trying to be heard over the roaring of the upheaval of earth and the screams of the terrified crowd. "Look, there is a female of indeterminate lineage! Sarnill and I shall go forth and see if she's alright. She may be the source of our new knowledge brought to us by the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan! Zeru, come with me to help me attend to any wounds she may have, and brings some provisions, she may be hungry! Babél, Ragnar, Bistek, keep an eye out for further developments! Everyone else, try and calm down the caravan, they know not of what is going on! Tell them, that should comfort them!"

With that, Abtek, his snake, and the healer Zeru went to speak to tend to the horned girl. Abtek first addressed her in Yuan-Ti, as this is the liturgical language of the Cult of the Asp, and it is assumed that most supernatural phenomenon are to be referred to/addressed in that tongue first. "Greetings! I am Abtek, Servent of Vasskalor, leader of the Cult of the Asp." Abtek bowed. "What knowledge do you bring us, oh Vassal of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan?"

[Crafty Cultist]

Xenerith bows before the council. "Understood. Will there be any other delvers accompanying me? thi task seems to merit more than one agent."

[ocel]

ICC#3 Fight or Flight:

The new stimuli did little to ease Schrödinger's fragile psyche, regardless,the cluster of hostile plant life, would have made a retreat, foolhardy, than again, a fool also charges ahead; so...why not a compromise?

Schrödinger does not dare to hesitate while casting the incantation, by doing so his visage was as visible as the flicker of the dying ember of candle light, second course of action was to, "Argh, Not Now!" the skin of his neck brightened in pigmentation, as it grew more inflamed he could feel the pores pop. As the blood drips over his shoulders, he could sense the damage being repaired, rapidly.. too rapidly, felt it...all of it. The birth of something, as he looks up to the sky delirious from the pain, he felt something nip, him, he returned his gaze back to his shoulder, it resembled a wolf's jaws, eager to prey on anything in proximity. He turns his attention back to the seed and smiles malevolently.

"I am Reborn....."




OCC Actions:

Swift action: Manifest Form
Move action: Feature: Mouth , Augment: Hooked mouth, Large mouth twice,
Standard action: Cast Blink -1


OCC Rolls


Init:[roll0]




OCC Notes


I thought up these features before hand, but forgot to write them down on my character sheet, if you want me to gain them one at a time please inform me.

[Terumitsu]

If Jackal had the ability to speak Yuan-Ti, this would be smoothed over so much easier. That said, this was more than a bit odd. So much so that the word 'odd' felt rather inadequate when used to describe the situation. That said, she was quite wary on trusting this group. Strange words or no, scavengers were quickly slain by both sides when found. Usually due to being called a spy of some sort. Paranoid, yes, but for good reason... At least, back when things were normal.. For a given value of normal.

"I have no idea what you are saying but I have to ask who are you and where do you call from?" Jackal said. They didn't look like they were from either side and that was throwing her off just enough to ask questions first and shoot later... If need be. She had developed an interesting ability in recent months that could quickly set just about anything she looked at ablaze, a useful tool as it generally ensured that pursuers stopped rather quickly. It also cooked small game pretty well when she was tired of the dry, grainy ration bars.

At the very least, she looked down from her perch to inspect if there were any armaments to be found amongst the group, assessing the threat, so to speak


Ready Matter Agitation for if things go sour

Spot check for arms [roll0]

[Fable Wright]

@M.Mayonnaise:
The mayor leans forward towards you, grinning slightly. Oh? Don't you? Is it just a coincidence, Starborn, that this happened under the full influence of Sagittarius? Is it just a coincidence that it was You who was last seen at the temple of Sagittarius, which now rests at the top of the new acropolis? Is it just a coincidence that exactly one year ago, you were first accused of using magic? I think not. This was all your doing, wasn't it? And that's what we want now. He pulls out a knife, wielding it dexterously in his hand while staring at you intently. What I want is for you to fix this. Now. The city lies in shambles, and all evidence points to you. So, unless you want to see the dim glow of hells, you better tell me how to fix the problem.

@Mootoall:
As you weave the signs for the summoning under your breath, the odd beings begin to overwhelm your master. He manages to garble out one last spell, but he is silenced by the mob, and you can sense the dark energy around him dissipate. It seemed as if his life pulse simply... stopped. Pausing momentarily while casting the spell, concentrating, you manage to hear a faint bum... bum... coming from your master. You breath a small sigh of relief in your chant, while the bones rise from the floor. As they form into your new warrior, you see the plant things, rather than just killing off your master, walk towards you... and then the ones in front just... disappear. Just... gone, quicker than they came. After a few seconds, you realize that they all disappear at the same place. After another fraction of a second, you realize that where they disappear is just inside of the boundaries of the circle. With each pulse of light from it, another group of them disappear in a flash of light. As your warrior sinks his axe into the creature, with a blow that would cut a normal man open, disappears with the barely injured plant on the next pulse of light. As he does so, you can see your master. He is, indeed, unconscious, and is wrapped in binding ropes made of the same material as the arms of the creatures. His head lolls to the side, and then the two creatures carrying him step into the circle... and disappear with him.

@Crafty Cultist:
It is, indeed a dangerous mission, which is why we can't send other delvers. We need to know what we're dealing with before we can organize teams of delvers. You are one of our finest, and you are quite adept at surviving. We chose you, because although you are one of our finest, you are not irreplaceable. We need someone like that in order to succeed. We will maintain a mental bond with you while you are out there. You will relay us information directly, and then we will tell you how to respond. Dismissed. He says again, looking slightly annoyed.You will be prepped in the Elite Locker in exactly one hour. Do not be late.

@Ocel
The plant creatures completely ignore your transformation. You can glimpse, for a moment, the Headmaster, completely limp, and vines like the creature's arms wrap around him, constricting him. Then he disappears under the mob, and they turn around and start walking towards you... and then the ones in front just... disappear. Just... gone, quicker than they came. After a few seconds, you realize that they all disappear at the same place. After another fraction of a second, you realize that where they disappear is just inside of the boundaries of the circle. With each pulse of light from it, another group of them disappear in a flash of light. As they walk forward into the portal, you can see the headmaster in the distance, being passed up through the ranks of the beings, towards the portal. Barely 30ft away from it by the time you can muster yourself to act, the two creatures carrying him seem as though they can carry him into the circle within the next pulse...

@Terumitsu & Rathgar:
Nothing will be happening to you for a while; in the meantime, feel free to roleplay this interaction.

Translation: Roleplay so that I can move the plot along.

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith bows "Understood. By the will of the council, it shall be done."

Zenerith then leaves the chamber and heads into the city, seeking a high vantage point to look down upon the streets below. He would be heading into the unknown, and watching the bustle of his home would help keep keep his mind at peace.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius is starting to panic now. The mayor must have gone mad!
"It wasn't me! I don't know what happened!" He strains at the bindings for a moment, then looks up at the mayor, pleading, "Sir, I saw the sun rise in the middle of the night! It's a blessing from the Maker! Why are you doing this?"

[ocel]

@Ocel
The plant creatures completely ignore your transformation. You can glimpse, for a moment, the Headmaster, completely limp, and vines like the creature's arms wrap around him, constricting him. Then he disappears under the mob, and they turn around and start walking towards you... and then the ones in front just... disappear. Just... gone, quicker than they came. After a few seconds, you realize that they all disappear at the same place. After another fraction of a second, you realize that where they disappear is just inside of the boundaries of the circle. With each pulse of light from it, another group of them disappear in a flash of light. As they walk forward into the portal, you can see the headmaster in the distance, being passed up through the ranks of the beings, towards the portal. Barely 30ft away from it by the time you can muster yourself to act, the two creatures carrying him seem as though they can carry him into the circle within the next pulse...

Translation: Roleplay so that I can move the plot along.[/SPOILER]

#4 ICC:


In a milisecond Schrödinger was standing on top of the seed, reason or self preservation of himself or others was not his priority, simply a ravenous hunger, urged him forward, to grow, to adapt, to conquer, to devour, the seed appeared ripe as any vegetation, to satiate him. The threat of pain, did not register when he reached down, grasping thorns that prickled the surface of his fingers, and pulling it out like anyone else would harvest an entrenched potato.

While this occurs he shouts to the headmaster, "Sir! " He struggled to maintain his attention to his mentor for long, as his gaze shifted back he felt the slight tug, of a contradictory force, evidently he would have to earn respite.He grinned as his jaws slid down his to the back of his hand, briefly letting go to ensnare the thing.


OCC Actions

Immediate action, Abrupt Juant to seed, -1=3 Total
If enemy attack is succesful, on both defenses use the displacer field.
Standard Action: Grapple Seed with augmented large hooked Mouth.

Move action: Look below.

In case of failure Make a five ft step, then a secondary Abrupt Juant away, from target and into path of my captive headmaster.

If make a successful spot check for any nearby active torches or lanterns of a 10 or 15 ft range, then use the mage-hand item to drop the alighted flames on top of the seal and seed. then use the above to take on the plant men.

In case everything works out Use Free action to


OCC Rolls

Spot check:
Listen check: [roll1]
1st Attack AOO: [roll2]
2nd Attack Touch: [roll3]
3rd Grapple Seed: +6+8+4 [roll]1d20+18

If seed is not visible then use the above for one of the plant-men
This roll is presuming their medium:

1d20+6+4+4



OCC Notes

If I'm not close enough to the seed with a move action, then I'll just have to interrupt the headmaster's capture, and teleportation.
Abrupt juant does not make an attack of opportunity so I should be fine, if I play my dice right.

Question, I'm guessing there are no take-backs eh?

I suppose it serves me right for taking such a gambit

[mootoall]

Harin blinks hard as he watches his master taken away, right before his eyes. It isn't often that one simply saw a great mage simply taken away like that. With the similar disappearance of his summon, Harin realizes there's only one thing to do: and that's go after them. It was stupid, foolhardy, and went against every fibre of his being. But if Harin is nothing else, he's loyal. He takes a deep breath and runs into the circle, ready to channel dark energy to smite the first of the green creatures he sees.

[Rathgar]

Abtek is taken aback that this strange creature speaks Common of all languages. He clears his throat, then responds in Common himself. "Excuse me. I figured that a supernatural being such as yourself would wish to be addressed in The Tongue. I am Abtek, member of the Cult of the Asp. What does the messenger of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan bring for us?"

[Terumitsu]

Messenger? What? This was making no sense. First an earthquake and now she was being asked questions as if she was some prophet. And the grimy clothes, dirty hair, and generally dirty look that came from being unable to bathe for weeks at a time did not say otherwise? Then again, she did have that 'wise dirty hermit' thing down at least... Except for the wise and the hermit bit.

"...Are.. You sure that you don't have me confused for someone else?" Jackal asked, still unbelieving of whatever roll was being ascribed to her. "I'm not a messenger of anything. Just a wanderer going nowhere." she said. She decided not to add in the bit about being a scavenger as most places seemed to look down heavily upon that sort of thing. It was why she didn't go for any valuables other than coin as it was rather hard to sell those on the brief trips into a small town. It was just useless weight as invariably someone would recognize it.

Hopefully, the 'holy man' or whatever he was wouldn't feel terribly angry about the denial.

[Rathgar]

Abtek gains a puzzled look over his face. "Well, if you aren't the messenger, then..." Stops speaking as he begins to think. "Well, we'll figure that part out later. Right now, you could very well need assistance of some sort. What do you need, bandages, provisions, a snake? You appear to be lacking in all of these. There may be some way that we may provide for such an exotic being from The Beyond."

[Terumitsu]

The lure of not burning through her own supplies was alluring. Besides, it was at least a days travel before one left the more or less neutral area between territories and Jackal would be able to tell if they were venturing too far in one way or another, just in case they were a well disguised spy-catching outfit though they would be rather unique if they were.

"Medical supplies would be most appreciated." Jackal said, thinking it best to not mention that she didn't really want a snake. It wasn't that they were particularly frightening or anything, it would just be one more thing to take care of. Though, she guessed it would be off-putting if she refused. "And call me Jackal. Fitting name for someone who runs around in the.. Well, what used to be a barren waste." she said, pushing herself up to a sitting position in the tree. Getting down would be a small task...


Climb Check to climb down: [roll0]

((Aww fail. Nat 1'd!))

[Rathgar]

Abtek allows the stranger to fall, for he assumes that she intended to show off her acrobatic skills. Heeding the request of the traveler, he turns to the other cultist with him. "Zeru, get this traveler some bandages."

He then began to try and gain more information from the stranger, for who knows what knowledge she might bring. "I agree, the sudden appearance of all these rather large shrubs has really thrown us off a bit as well. But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Why might your name be?"

[Fable Wright]

@Crafty Cultist
As you watch over the city, you are aware that it's time to suit up for your mission. You go over to the Elite Locker, and you begin to suit up for your mission. Your heart pounds slightly with anticipation. The Elite Locker, and the equipment within, was the most potent in the ship, reserved for only the most dangerous missions. Access to most of it requires a key and permission from the council. You, unfortunately, seem to have neither. However, as you enter, you see a huge amount of equipment that is hanging on the wall, including normally restricted substances, like Tanglefoot bags and Alchemist's fire, in neat, ovaloid containers. You receive a mental missive from the High Council. You are welcome to any equipment in front of you. You may not take any equipment from the lockers, however. Basic instructions for the mission: You will search the area around us, and report by through the link we establish. All objects you find are not to be used or lost, unless there is an adequate need. Under no condition will you lose equipment we give to you. You will report back here for any additional equipment you may need. That is all. The voice cuts off.

OOC: Help yourself to any of the items in here (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/equipment.htm). But remember, there will always be a price. And you may want some food, just saying.

@M. Mayonnaise
The mayor glares at you. The evidence proves otherwise. And your statements only prove your guilt. This false sun is no Gift of the Maker to the Masses! Perhaps, it is the reward for a servant of the Forces of Evil. This sun is unlike our own. It does not gently warm us. It scalds us. It does not give our crops life; it withers them. It does not bless us. It is damning. We are running out of water now; we have needed more and more of it ever since the damned sun came up. And it still hasn't fallen, Sirius. How is this a "Blessing", for anyone who is a servant of the Maker?!?

@Mootoall
As you enter the seal, you can feel the power contained within it. Pulsing in it is a raw flow of power, much stronger than any you have ever even dreamed of. With each pulse, it feels as though the combined energy of thousands of necromancers is flowing through it. The energy, though, is nothing like your own. It... stings. It is vibrant and full of life, much unlike yourself. It is almost your very anathema, but just a little bit... off. It seems to work in concert with your energy, not against it, even though the forces are opposed. And, as all of this information rushes through you, the moss around you once again begins to glow. The energy pulses, and you feel as though you were broken into thousands of diminutive bits, each flowing in random directions, but you can... sense your surroundings from all around. Broad, flat things, like spade-shaped skin, made out of the same material of those beings that assaulted your master are all around. Smaller versions, shaped like tiny knifes, dot all of the ground. You feel yourselves being drawn to the broad, flat things; straight into the thick of them. You see glimpses of beings made of that, and the odd knarled materials of the torsos of the beings that attacked, and you hear whispers, as those of the wind. He is not the one... the one we seek.
He is bad; his energy corrupts.
He is not all bad.
He is bad. He uses bad energy.
But not completely bad.
Not completely rotten wood.
Still young.
Healthy roots.
He uses bad energy for good?
Maybe use bad energy for good.
I do not know.
Maybe, he is like...
You hear a name. It's really indistinct, as if the word itself carries power. You hear bits and pieces of it, and suddenly all of the whispers and muttering the same thing. Rooftrellen. And then, also circling through the ring of beings, comes another name, whispered in fear. Banehallow. A cold chill comes out of the glade at the mention, and the water in the air seems to freeze.
You feel the energy around you beginning to fade...
He cannot stay.
No, he cannot.
He must learn.
Yes, he must.
We will bring him to others.
As far as he can go.
Yes.
I see others.
Let us bring him.
Yes. It is time.
Go.
And with a Whoosh! you are once again scattered throughout this bizarre, vibrant, powerful land, and you fail to make any sense of your surroundings. Until once again your pieces begin to reform. As they do, you see, in front of you a red-skinned demoness, in human form, save for the horns, and a human dressed in loose-fitting, long white robes. Perhaps a cultist, maybe? As you reform, you hear a voice whispering in your head, fading as you reform. Little one. Be not as the Banehallow. Be as Rooftrellen. Learn not evil, but good... Shortly after you appear, you see a slew of the... 'green flesh' follow you in a loose cloud, with more and more coming out of the concentrated version of it behind you, until it whirls into the form of a man-sized whirlwind, out of which steps a feathery bird-person wearing a dull gray uniform of some kind under a bone-colored bedsheet wrapped around him.

@Ocel
As you engulf the tiny seed, the seal around you shines brightly, distracting you. As it does, you feel pulled by unfamiliar teleportation magic. With the kind of energy thrown in that you have heard about, but never felt. It was a kind of essentia, but that which was channeled through living things. You think it was called "Nature Magic." You can feel your body separated into tiny leaves, born on the wind, and passing through a forest. Leaves rustle distainfully as you pass. You seem to enter a glen in your passage, but you remain in a teleported state. Around you, you hear voices, like the wind rustling through trees.
It is evil.
Kill it.
Kill it.
Anathema.
Bane.
Defiler.
Kill.
Kill.
Wait.
Kill.
It is not all bane.
Kill..
In the core....
Kill?
It is not bane...
It is one...
It is defiled.
It was nature.
Perhaps a curse?
We must test.
Yes.
With the other one.
Yes.
I see.
He shall now go.
Go.
And you feel the spell end, your body ripped out of the teleportation magic, and in front of you are a confused looking... red-skinned human with horns growing out of her head, an odd-looking man with loose-fitting, and a man in a black robe, all right out by the tree line, all giving you weird looks.

@Terumitsu and Rathgar
Out of the woods, you see a slew of leaves diffuse out of the forest in a loose cloud, with more and more coming into a concentrated version of it, until it whirls into the form of a man-sized whirlwind, out of which steps a man in black robes appear, followed by a similar cloud, out of which a feathery bird-person wearing a dull gray uniform under some kind of white bedsheet wrapped around him.

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith takes an everburning torch, flint and steel, a bedroll, artisans tools, 50ft of silk rope and 2 vials of antitoxin from the Elite locker. Stowing the gear in his handy haversack, he heads toward the designated exit.

OOC: I have a ring of sustenance to take care of all my food related needs

[mootoall]

Harin spins out of the whirlwind-like cloud, his robes whipping around him, his chain mail clinking gently against itself, until he falls flat on his face. He stands up and whips his head around, back and forth, looking for the voices he heard. Seeing only a red skinned humanoid, some sort of bird-man and a whole cult of strangely clad humans. This was not going to be his day ...

He pulls himself up and, in his most threatening manner, says "Right, who in the Abyss are all of you, and who are 'Rooftrellen' and 'Banehollow?'"

Observing the verdant green around him with a slight distaste, he awaits an answer from the crowd, certain that if anyone knew anything they would reveal it to him immediately.

Why am I so knowledge defficient??? Okay, gonna see if he's ... I dunno ... some sort of religious figure? Know(religion) on Banehollow and Rooftrellen: [roll0]

Gonna roll Intimidate, no Imperious Command. [roll1]

[ocel]

@Ocel
As you engulf the tiny seed, the seal around you shines brightly, distracting you. As it does, you feel pulled by unfamiliar teleportation magic. With the kind of energy thrown in that you have heard about, but never felt. It was a kind of essentia, but that which was channeled through living things. You think it was called "Nature Magic." You can feel your body separated into tiny leaves, born on the wind, and passing through a forest. Leaves rustle distainfully as you pass. You seem to enter a glen in your passage, but you remain in a teleported state. Around you, you hear voices, like the wind rustling through trees.
It is evil.
Kill it.
Kill it.
Anathema.
Bane.
Defiler.
Kill.
Kill.
Wait.
Kill.
It is not all bane.
Kill..
In the core....
Kill?
It is not bane...
It is one...
It is defiled.
It was nature.
Perhaps a curse?
We must test.
Yes.
With the other one.
Yes.
I see.
He shall now go.
Go.
And you feel the spell end, your body ripped out of the teleportation magic, and in front of you are a confused looking... red-skinned human with horns growing out of her head, an odd-looking man with loose-fitting, and a man in a black robe, all right out by the tree line, all giving you weird looks.

5# ICC:

Fortunately the laws of momentum, included friction, although he knew, that such laws, could be... exempted through elderitch means, he underestimated the ricochet that would occur from entering through an uncharted gate, yet considering the alternative fate would be, but not limited to, severe injury and or death, this was the better of the two scenarios. Already he felt the potential force, elastically straining his muscles, the slight tilt in his axis, each pull reminding him to extend his talons, than came the emergence.

Like a crossbow shot, he emerged like a projectile.

Still in a state of constant motion, Schrödinger slides down the surface, and remained so until he regained friction by dragging talons down on the soil beneath his soles; although, the numerous tree branches did aid him in this endeavor. At the end of his momentum he nearly trips, while flinging his arms back and forth, and desperately grasping at nearby branches all in order to regain his balance. As he recovers from arriving, he notices being scrutinized by the two in front of him.

Fortunately for him the visages appeared relatively less surreal then his previous sights to say the least.

[Terumitsu]

It wasn't so much showing off as it was making a lucky grab for a lower branch to halt her fall. By that time, Jackal was close enough to drop to the ground without harm and so she was soon on terra firma.

Of course, this was inconsequential as a pair of suspicious individuals had just made their presence known. That is to say, more suspicious than the cultists that had arrived only a minute or so ago. It was also very straining for her to think of it as a coincidence. At the very least, she fell into a defensive stance, holding her spiked shield at ready. While it may be true that this was a rather rash action if seen by an outside observer, suddenly appearing humanoids usually did not bode well. As best as she could guess, they had some strong magic backing them if they could appear out of thin air at least. Well, at least one of them happened to seem purposeful about their appearance. The other just seemed to bumble around a little bit before coming to a stop.

And being threatening was not the best way to get on her good side either. Just for that, she continued to hold a certain conflagrative power at the ready.

" Perhaps you could tell us your name first. Might help in us not suddenly beating each other's faces in." Jackal said to the black cloaked man.


Ready Matter Agitation... Again... Freaking Pyro of a character

Knowledge (Nature) check for any information can be gleaned about the names: [roll0]

[mootoall]

"I'm not the one who brought me here, demoness. And names have been known to hold unforeseeable power. So how about we hold off on introductions until we know if we can trust each other, eh? For now you may call me ... 'Lovecraft'." Harin carefully readjusts his posture, attempting to give himself a less imposing air. Direct conflict wasn't his style, after all.

[Rathgar]

"Behold, two more people from nowhere and yet somewhere are here!", Abtek shouted to the other cultists. "Maybe they are the messengers we seek?"

He walked over to the newcomers and spoke to both of them, his eyes trained keenly on the avian fellow. His unusual appearance surely heralded something unusual about himself. He spoke to them in Yuan-Ti much as he did the earlier stranger. "Greetings! Maybe one of you two might be the messenger of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan? If so, please tell what it is you came to tell!" Abtek then repeated what he said in Common, just in case they were also incapable of speaking Yuan-Ti.

[ocel]

#6 ICC:

Schrödinger replies in common,
"It depends, does this Atsukar Nakkan's prefer Revelations that come in fits of Schizophrenia? " *Coughs*, "I'm not sure, the words sounded like notes, fragmented, meant to define something, it gradually grew into phrases, like it was contemplating on a relevant matter, no possibly a dialog, no...I'm not sure, the pitch was too alike he looked back, all I can recall..was something like:

"It is evil.
Kill it.
Kill it.
Anathema.
Bane.
Defiler.
Kill.
Kill.
Wait.
Kill.
It is not all bane.
Kill..
In the core....
Kill?
It is not bane...
It is one...
It is defiled.
It was nature.
Perhaps a curse?
We must test.
Yes.
With the other one.
Yes.
I see.
He shall now go.
Go."

After a brief pause, to let the words sink in, he eventually turned his attention on the slightly armored figure, and resumed, "i might be mistaken, but if I'm not the only arrival than it is possible that another individual, had a similar experience... whether willfully or not...Think of the experience as an irresistible grace, if you will... "

"Oh, On two unrelated notes, does anyone have a torch, oil, or anything else flammable, perhaps a place to bathe perchance, and some supplies?"

[mootoall]

"You're loose with your tongue, birdman. But yes, I heard something like that. It was almost like many voices, all contemplating my fate ... that's where I heard them talking about those two names, whatever they mean."

[Rathgar]

"Could the mentioned Rooftrellen and Banehallow? Perhaps they relate to the Deadwood. This is most troubling, as the Deadwood were able to transcend life, having a special bond with the powers of nature and death. Thus it is written in the tome of Shamgar. It would appear that Atsukar Nakkan was correct when she predicted these events heralding great things, though I didn't doubt her predictions at all."

[ocel]

"Regardless-," he returns his attention back to the priest, "it is best if we cooperate till we can leave under less compromising circumstances, by then we will have plenty of opportunities to sate our curiosity..."

[mootoall]

"I am amenable to this suggestion. If you three do not plan to be hostile, I will travel with you until we reach a more hospitable and ... familiar area."

[Terumitsu]

"I'd say that'd be acceptable" Jackal said, moving back a step but putting away her shield as well as sliding out of a fighting stance. At least it would be better to acquiesce to the suggestion rather than wind up with several angered parties that she knew nothing of. That and avoiding a violent confrontation would be much more preferable as well.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius backs away from the mayor as much as he is able in the chair he's bound to - but there is something different in his posture. He's no longer sinking into his chair. The mayor's gone mad, he decides - and if the Maker had blessed them with sunlight, he sure wasn't going to spend this holy time tied up.
He was sick of baseless accusations of witchcraft. Then and there, he decides that those accusations are going to stop. The baseless ones are, at least.
"Please, sir, let me go. Now," he tells the mayor. He hopes Sagittarius is still listening, he may need its help in a bit...

[Fable Wright]

@Crafty Cultist:
As you exit the area, you see an old acquaintance come up; Derrik Hachit, one of the people you trained with back in the training centers. He also went on several missions with you. The two of you were never particularly close, but you had a kind of kinship between you. Hey. He says, I've been assigned to accompany you. Last minute decision, and all that.He checks his watch. It's about time to head out. Let's go. Scurrying behind the two of you, a short man comes over. Wait! You forgot your mental hookup!After a brief incursion into your mind, he steps back. Now you can relay findings. Move along, Derrik. he says, and then exits the room.
@M.Mayonnaise:
The mayor looks at you. And why should I let you go? Right now, we have enough evidence to burn you at the stake for witchcraft. So why on earth would we let you go? The only purpose of this conversation was so that you be informed of the charges. He motions to one side of you. You can take him down to the jail, now. You can feel the chair beneath you being lifted up with a herculean effort of strength, and then the guards begin to carry you out of the room.

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith smiles "Derrik? I never knew you were a delver! or is this a recent change? Either way, It's good to see you doing well. Lets make the council proud."

[Rathgar]

Seeming unusually calm considering all the chaos that surrounds him, Abtek points towards the mass of cultists. "Perhaps we can help the two of you as well. Please, come and join us. I offer you two the same thing I offered Jackal. Provisions, medical supplies, and snakes."

[mootoall]

Snakes? How odd ... "Well, I'm loath to refuse any kind of hospitality. Fine then. And I suppose I might as well say my name is Harin, loyal servant of Iblis Oromis. My teacher was taken by some sort of green ... things, and I am seeking him. Following this great cataclysm, I'm going to need his guidance more than ever."

[ocel]

Hold on, he said while raising his hand, to infer silence to those nearby, and signals them to back away. With a moments pause, *Shirk*, his talons entrenched themselves again into the ground.Shortly after being assured of his security, he changed his stance, with one leg inching away, giving the other the most mass. The reason for his peculiar stance, soon became apparent, as he turned clockwise, engraving an almost perfect circle, like a thumbscrew drafting compass.

*tch* he muttered. Returning his gaze, to those overlooking him "There might be others, how close in proximity to this spot I can not say for certain, but if what you stated is true, then it is too coincidental for my liking. Granted, it is not a permanent marker, but it shall suffice till a better alternative is offered."

[mootoall]

Harin looks quizzically at the birdman's actions. "Ah ... what do you mean? Coincidence? And the circle is for ..."

[ocel]

Detracting one of the talons , setting that heel down, while leaving the other still at the center of the circle, he turned his gaze back to whence he emerged, taking a large step in that direction, with while dragging the other, to draw a straight line in the dirt. He repeated the same process for "Lovecraft's " point as well.Now there lay a circle with indention at its center, with two straight lines drifting out to the distance, of which was connected to the indent.. As he proceeded he slowly counted the distances between the two. "It is as I thought, they were too close in proximity...

[Rathgar]

Abtek looks at the birdman, puzzled. "I am sorry. I understand you being unwary within our presence, what you being avian and us having ophidian propensities. I assure you, though, we do not wish to eat you."

[ocel]

Quite the contrary, it is not the company I am concerned with, but rather the circumstances that unites us, particularly the how. Besides I'm almost done

[mootoall]

"Well then, finish soon. I tire of your machinations, and unless you explain yourself I plan to depart. Surely whatever paranoia that strikes you now can be discussed in a more ... civilized place. And at a more opportune time." Harin's cloak swirls as he turns, preparing to follow the cultists to wherever they were going.

[ocel]

"Very well." drawing a feather from his wings, and an arrow from his bundle, he carefully used the later as an improvised Gardening shovel, with enough room to deposit the former in, taking one last glance at his feather, he planted it, and finally, he hastily covered it up. the feather now lay one foot south of the circle and equally beneath the soil. With that accomplished, he said, "Now we can leave."

[Rathgar]

Confused by the actions of the birdman, Abtek just brushed it off as a foreign custom that he will inquire about at a later date. After all, these ARE obviously the messengers of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan, even if they aren't aware of it. "Come, you surely must be thirsting for That Which Moistens. We have a large quantity of it, so worry not about exhausting our supplies. Food we also have, though I hope you don't mind the dried flesh of the alrabém worm, as that is the best we have to offer. Also, you may worship before the Great Shrine if you wish." Trying to be as hospitable as possible, he directed the newcomers towards a large black cube shaped chest meant to be carried by a half dozen people.

Once Zeru returned from the caravan with some bandages, Abtek spoke to him. "Help me in assisting these newcomers with their things. We shall take them before the Great Shrine of Ajurill."

[Terumitsu]

Jackal took note of the birdman's actions. Seemed to be making a mark at least. She'd like to ask him about that later as it seemed useful.

"Worm meat?" Jackal asked, hearing the menu. It wasn't that she was disgusted as survival often asked one to eat the strangest things, including insects or worms. It wasn't until recently that she had found some rich trouper with an interesting item that supplied rations without end. He was dead when she found him, of course. However, she had never heard of 'worm meat' spoken of like it was beef or pork. Either it was a nickname or a very large worm.

She was good for food so she wasn't going to be taking any of their supplies but she was curious. "I don't think I've heard of that..What's it taste like?"

[mootoall]

"Well, worms feed on humans when they're dead, it can't hurt for us to feed on them. Come, let us go. I don't believe any of us are seriously injured, no? No, so let us depart." Harin falls into step with the snake cult, his black robes in stark contrast with the clothing of the cultists.

[Rathgar]

Abtek hands some dry green strips to the travelers. "What does it taste like?" He holds back a chuckle. "The better question is what else tastes of it? Or rather, what else does NOT taste of it? Why, i hear that even the mythical Chee-koon tastes of this, though they were purportedly much more difficult to raise."

After any takers took a bit of the worm jerky, Abtek walked towards the Great Shrine of Ajurill, motioning the others to follow him. "Come, here is the center of worship for this caravan." Some of the crowd that was panicking has by now begun to pray furiously before the shrine, not knowing what is going on but hoping that perhaps some supernatural force, any supernatural force, may make things stable again.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius tries in vain to twist around enough to see the men lifting him, but the bonds hold him fast. Changing tactics, he looks down at the floor, and commands it Slip them!, though to the others in the room he seems to speak gibberish. He looks back up at the Mayor and shouts, Stop! - but again, it seems to the others in the room as though he speaks only some nonsense syllable.

Use a double move to use Slick the Surface on the 10' by 10' area directly beneath me and Syllable of Pain on the Mayor. Syllable of Pain is augmented with a +4 DC to increase the nonlethal damage to 3d6.
Slick the Surface Truespeak check: [roll0] against DC 15.
Syllable of Pain Truespeak check: [roll1] against DC 17.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Syllable of pain damage: [roll0]

[ocel]

No longer engrossed in his Graphomania, he then diverted his attention towards the crowd gathering around the cubic alter. Straining his leg muscles, to propel himself to stand, and walk towards his newfound traveling companions. He kept himself at a distance of 15 ft, behind the one whom called himself "Lovecraft". His ears were momentarily deaf to the offers of foreign delicacies as his eyes remained fixated onto the commotion, his gaze appeared detached, but his eyes betrayed an impression of childlike like curiosity. When he noticed the offer he delayed his consumption of it, till he grew accustomed to the sight before him.

[Fable Wright]

@Zerenith
Derrik grins at you. I've been a delver for a while, usually on second-wave recon. Not much happens. He opens the door outside, and gestures for you to step through it. As you begin to step through the door, you feel the mental link in your mind tingle a bit. Zerenith! Watch out for--, and then the voice cuts off. You feel a kind of ringing in your mind, and Derrik follows you out the hatch.You appear to be on a beach of some kind. The first thing that strikes you when you walk out into the world is how HUGE it is. Stretching several times the length of the main deck to your left, there seems to be a... forest, you think, of some kind, with some humanoid-looking creatures that you can't really make out on the outskirts. In front of you, a huge wasteland opens up, with high dunes between you and the beings. To your right, there seems to be a small chain of mountains.

@M.Mayonnaise:
The guards picking up your chain slip and fall down, causing the chair to break in half down the back. At your second utterance, the mayor clutches his head for a few moments, in pain, before shouting, Damn you and your witchcraft! Damn you who cursed us with this wretched mockery of the Maker's work! If there is any justice in this world, You Will PAY!!! before falling down, apparently unconcious.

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith takes a second to fix the scenery in his mind. A sight like this should be preserved. He then glances over to Derrik "I can see some creatures over there. Maybe they would be a good source of information. We should be catious, though. How about I approach them, and you follow a distance behind me in case there's trouble?"

[Rathgar]

Abtek walked over to the large black box and spoke the command word. "Ssssanssssausssssoon." With that, two opposite sides of the box slowly slid down, revealing an alabaster serpent within in the middle. "Here, the Alabaster Asp of Ajurill! Take comfort, for it is here!"

Seeing the blank looks on the newcomers' faces as they have no idea what is going on, he realized that whatever land they come from, they apparently do not have alabaster asps. "This is a communications device. I will relay the events from my corner to those directly under Vasskalor, Lord of the Asps."

He then walked up to the alabaster asp and gave it a turn clockwise, a turn counterclockwise, then another turn clockwise. With that, they eyes of the asp began to glow, and a mild hissing noise could be heard coming from it.

Abtek began speaking in Yuan-Ti with his face mere inches from the asp. "Asp Headquarters. Come in, Asp Headquarters. This is the trade caravan bound for the town of Alhoujoum. We have encountered what appears to be the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan! I repeat, the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan appears to have been generated in this place! Only now are things stable enough to give a good report. We have had new mountains crop up, and a great many shrubs of enormous magnitude have spontaneously sprouted from the ground. Most importantly, we have three people that may be messengers of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan. One appears to be a horned girl, a second a gaunt man, and a third a talking bird. What be your instructions? Do you wish to speak with the messengers now, or do you wish for us to try to return to either Asp Headquarters or an Asp's Den?"

Waiting on the delay these things are known for carrying, Abtek turned to the newcomers and began to speak to them in common. "Stay with us, I may need you to deliver your message to headquarters. Or at least what you know about these events, the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan."

[mootoall]

"Tell him," he says, contemplating his next words, "I need access to a library. Your largest one. As soon as possible."

[Rathgar]

Abtek looked puzzled. Why would this person need a library if they are the messenger?

"Why don't you ask them yourself? After all, you know that which is needed more than I do. However, I don't know if you are...literate enough for our library. It's almost entirely in the language of They Who Speak With Forked Tongues. However, those with whom you may wish to speak CAN speak in common, and may not mind doing so when speaking to such important people."

[mootoall]

Harin smirks. "Well, if I am your messenger then surely you will translate for me? I have, after all, an important mission to accomplish." His voice drips with honey as he says this, certain that the man would not refuse who he believed some messenger of his god.

[Rathgar]

Abtek was troubled by the lack of a response. Perhaps their alabaster asp was damaged during the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan? "It is puzzling that they have yet to respond yet. Perhaps their communications got cut off or something. In a few weeks' time, this caravan will have returned to their city. By then, whatever the problem that cut them off could very well have vanished."

[mootoall]

Harin's eyes seem to burn with fury. "Well then, take us to your nearest outpost yourself! I need access to more information if I plan to find my master, and by the gods you will help me!"

[Rathgar]

Abtek is puzzled by the strangers sudden rage. "Why do you make such demands? I said we'll be there in a few weeks. Have you no patience? It is dangerous to go alone. That is the very reason people even travel in caravans. We'll get there soon enough. One thing that must be learned is that nothing important happens immediately. And besides, who is your master? Is he ophidian in nature? Is that why you want to read books about snakes?"

[mootoall]

Abtek is puzzled by the strangers sudden rage. "Why do you make such demands? I said we'll be there in a few weeks. Have you no patience? It is dangerous to go alone. That is the very reason people even travel in caravans. We'll get there soon enough. One thing that must be learned is that nothing important happens immediately. And besides, who is your master? Is he ophidian in nature? Is that why you want to read books about snakes?"

Harin's eyes widen at this utterance. "Weeks?" His voice drops, and he says "Well then, we must get going immediately. I know not if your books pertain only to snakes, but the world has ... changed. We may find something new as we go, and if a center of learning is nearby, we will find it. Let us go then."

[Fable Wright]

@Crafty Cultist:
As you speak, Derrik nods. After you have finished, he ponders for a few second, and then shakes his head. Zenerith, there is something you fail to understand, here... out here, we're free. We no longer need to follow the council's will. Inside the Andemium, we're their slaves. And of our own free wills, no less. We're their puppets. If they want us, the Chosen, to jump, they say so, and we do it. Why? Because we trust them. But why do we trust them? Think of one thing that they did to deserve your trust, Zerenith. Can you? Can you think of anything the council did for you that wouldn't also help them in return? No. I don't think so. But what happens if we disobey the command, or don't complete our tasks? Unthinkable, right? But suppose we did. What then? Most of us don't know the answer. We're programmed to do what they say. Because the penalty for going against the council is worse than death. It's being turned into one of the Servants. Complete assimilation into the council. Your mind becomes connected to theirs. All of theirs. At once. You mind becomes so battered with foreign thoughts from so many different sources that, eventually, it just ceases to struggle. Your own thoughts belong to the council. You become a mindless Servant who embodies the will of the council. You cease to exist, but you're still there. It's terrible. No one wants to suffer their fate, or to have their children suffer it. Soon enough, there's no more resistance. But out here, we're free. Zerenith, you seem like a smart person. Keep my words in mind. And sorry about this; but if they get into your mind, I can't risk them knowing where I went. Before you have a chance to answer, you feel a sudden pressure surging though your mind, and then fading. As it fades, so do your thoughts. And then you black out.

As Harin speaks, something strange happens. A light pressure seems to squeeze your minds for a second, before fading away. As the pulse seems to travel over the asp, something... highly unusual happens. The eyes of the Asp flare purple for a second, before fading to a dull glow. The serpent begins to slowly shake itself, with small pieces of alabaster falling off of it like crumbling plaster. It begins to coil back around itself, forming a loose spiral, that gets tighter and tighter as the snake keeps on coiling. After it seems like the coils couldn't become tighter, the snake keeps moving, coiling slowly into the air. And then it's mouth opens, and it begins to speak in a rasping tone.

Za'arume, Zature. Harum de elacosta.
Moua tomo delacumba, cala'unbaator.
Zoshirotendora, Masoko entore.

With this seemingly nonsensical proclamation, the snake's head turns towards the beach in the distance, and it seems to stare at something. As you look along with it, you see, along it's shores, a person lies unconscious in the distance, with another person fleeing him, out into the wasteland, before disappearing. As the snake's head turns away from the scene, it seems to flow back into the coil, and the head gets lost in the body. From the center of the coil, dust begins falling, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, until it collapses into a huge pile of dust. Sitting at the top of the pile is an intact piece of one of the serpent's scales, and written on it, a strange script. As you dust it off, you notice a black corner sticking out of the dust. Looking at it carefully, it seems as if there's a book in the pile. As you take it out, it's revealed to be called "Torem de Ominuran". It's black leather bindings are unadorned in any way, save for the title, which is written in gilded letters.

(DC 25 Decipher script check to understand the glyphs on the scale, DC 20 check to decipher the common name of the book.)

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith goes through several emotions while listen to Derrik's ravings

First came confusion. Slaves? The council gives us choice in our vocations and often takes opinion polls before a major decision. How can that be considered slavery.

Then came Disbelief. Brainwashing? The council would never do anything of the sort! our legacy was one of slaves that had broken free and sworn to remain so. Such acts would be an affront to everything our society stood for.

Then came concern. Derrik was Clearly not in his right mind. Something must have happened to him on a delve that lead this paranoia. Telepathy was not his feild of expertise, but there must be something he can do to help.

And finally, as unconsiousness claimed him, came dread. What if Derrik was right? What if the high council had become corrupt and was misusing their power? What if the free will which was considered as precious as life itself was just a shallow immitation they had been forced into.

He would find out for certain, of that much he knew. It was his duty as one of the chosen elite to do so.

[ocel]

"curiouser & curiouser things are afoot..."

-=-=-=-
OCC rolls/actions


Presuming phenomina is related to Abject's spell, of which it is some form of communication related conjuration, with the snake as the material component.
Spellcraft check to determined what happened: [roll0]

[mootoall]

"Curious indeed," says Harin. He walks over to the book and, having no idea what it might contain, deigns to open it and see what's inside.

Hell, this isn't ADOM, I doubt it's gonna curse me if I read it.

[Rathgar]

Seeing the possible trouble brewing off towards the oasis, Abtek began to give orders to the other cultists. "Zeru, Babél, Sarnill, help me tend to that hurt man in the distance! Bistek, go get the snake riders and have them try to track he who fled on foot!"

Abtek pocketed the scale sticking up out of the remains of the alabaster asp, thinking if may provide a clue for the most unusual of malfunctionings, then ran strait to the man in need with the other two cultists and his snake. "Are you alright, sir?" Pulled out his water flask and offered it to the man. "Are you hurt in any way?" He immediately casts Cloak of Shade on the man to help his recovery, then provides any other medical aid the stranger might need.

Abtek will use the tools at his disposal to help the stranger. Spells prepared are Cure Minor Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Freedom of Breath (if having trouble breathing), Lesser Restoration, Cure Moderate Wounds.

Heal to assess the stranger's condition: [roll0] + any aid another bonus from the other cultists
Heal to treat any minor wounds for which Magic is unneeded: [roll1] + any aid another bonus from the other cultists

[Crafty Cultist]

Hearing the stranger's voice, Zenerith rises wearily to his feet. "I didn't know Derrik could perform such a powerful mental spike. that was quite worrying"

As the cultist inquired about his condition, Zenirith's attention turned to the situation at hand. The man's clothing seemed to feature snakes predominantly, and seemed to be designed for arid climates. Zenirith decided a civil aproach was most likely the best course of action.

"Don't worry, its nothing serious, just some mental fatigue, though I thank you for your concern stranger"

[Rathgar]

Abtek was relieved that the man at least thought he was alright. "If you're alright, then why did that man run off? Who is he, and what business has he in the Kha? And what know you of the coming of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan?"

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith makes sure his face mask is on straight before answering. "He was a collegue. I'm not sure what happened to him but it concerns me greatly. I'm sorry, but the names you speak of are unknown to me. I was sent to explore, and most of this world is new to me"

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius scrambles to his feet - with the chair broken, the bindings around his wrists no longer effectively restrict his mobility.
Whirling around to look at the fallen guards, his hand automatically reaches to the holy symbol around his neck as he shouts, Freeze!, though they cannot understand him.

Double-move to use a Word of Hoarfrost on both guards. Each one is augmented with a +4 DC to increase the damage to 3d4, for a total DC of 19.
The affected guard(s) take 3d4 cold damage now and 3d4 more cold damage at the start of my next turn. Their movement speeds are halved until they take the second damage.
Word of Hoarfrost 1 check:[roll0]
Word of Hoarfrost 2 check:[roll1]

[M. Mayonnaise]

Looks like both worked. Damage is as follows:
First guard:
Round 1: [roll0]
Round 2: [roll1]

Second guard:
Round 1: [roll2]
Round 2: [roll3]

[Rathgar]

All of these things seemed so strange to Abtek. Who would want to explore the Kha? There's quite literally nothing there but sand and a couple of watering holes. He offered the man a hand to help him up.

"Why would you explore here of all places? This place is just nothingness as far as the eye can see, a place notable only because it's between actual important places. When we go to where we're going, you could just buy a map of Ha-Treen from the great Cartographer Bistur. However, where would you be coming from that needs to explore here? All of the world knows this continent fairly well. That's mostly why they don't come much."

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith is slightly taken aback by the cultists lack of awareness. How could the shifting of reality gone unnoticed? Maybe an explination is in order.

"There was an... upheaval of sorts recently" zenerith speaks hesitantly, trying to use as few technical terms as possible. "The world changed, and I was sent to find out what lies in the new world before us"

[Rathgar]

Abtek began to laugh at the obvious statements. "You think I didn't notice the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan? I mean, didn't I just mention it? Besides, if you came to find something new and exciting, you picked the absolute worst spot in Ha-Treen. You are lucky that there was a caravan here, or else you would've likely perished out here alone."

[Crafty Cultist]

"True, this area seems rather barren. You seem like a trustworthy person, so is there anywhere you would suggest as a good place to begin learning about your world?"

[Rathgar]

"Yes, the Cult of the Asp is a great place to learn That Which Is True."

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith bows respectfully "Very well, since this land is part of your world, I believe it would be best for me to follow your lead here" He holds out a gloved hand "My name is Zenerith. Pleased to meet you."

[mootoall]

Harin continues to leaf through the book, trying to see if he can understand any of the writing, and if he can, what the book might pertain to.

[Rathgar]

Abtek stared at the masked man's hand. Thinking that he might be hungry and trying to ask for some food in the polite way of some strange foreign land, he stuck a strip worm jerky in the stranger's hand. "Here, now you no longer must beg for food. And yes, you may travel with us. You seem honest enough, and if you cross us, well, that'd be quite foolish."

Seeing that the stranger was not in danger, Abtek walked over to the remains of the alabaster asp. He could clearly see a large scale sitting in the pile of debris. It had some strange archaic writing to it. Abtek picked it up, dusted it off, and began to try in vain to figure out what it said.

[Crafty Cultist]

As Abtek walks away, Zenerith looks at the jerky in his hand and sighs, then puts it in his haversack and follows Abtek back to the others. at the camp, he looks around to see if there is anything familiar about the varius objects therein.

knowledge(psionics)[roll0]
knowledge(architecture and engineering)[roll1]
knowledge(the planes)[roll2]
knowledge(dungeoneering)[roll3]

[mootoall]

Harin barely looks up from the book as the masked man walks towards the others. "Who's the new guy?" he asks, head still buried in the old looking pages.

[Rathgar]

Abtek could barely contain the chuckle building up in him. "New guy? I'm sorry to tell you this, but you arrived only a little while ago yourself."

[mootoall]

"Well, it's all relative, isn't it?"

[Fable Wright]

As Harin opens the book, he cannot help but suppress a small gasp. Seemingly lunging out of the page is the incredibly detailed image of a snake currently shedding it's outer skin, and it takes him a second to realize that it's not actually real, nor attacking him. As he looks onto the page, he sees strange runes around the page, not unlike the text in some of the textbooks that Harin was used to seeing. However, these runes are completely illegible to Harin... yet, he can still get a vague idea of what they describe. On later pages, the image of the snake is displayed in cutaway views, detailing different parts of it at a time. One thing that he notices in some of the pages are the diagrams of energy flowing through the snake as it sheds it's skin. It seems that as the old skin, charged with entropic energy, falls off, the energy that it was suppressing charges throughout the new form, and reinvigorates it with life. In fact, it seems that within all living beings, when they die, they have a brief moment when their body surges with monumental amounts of energy, before it completely fades. As you turn the pages, one of the diagrams seems strangely familiar. It's one similar to the diagrams you often saw in some of the textbooks in the academy. It's the skeleton of a snake, and surrounding it, is a network of energy, almost identical to the ones commonly used to detail the process of reanimation. As you understand it, the process is relatively simple; you create a new circulatory system for the energy sustaining the undead you want to make, but it takes a large amount of energy to power it. This is most commonly done with onyx, using the energies latent within it to forge a small portal to the negative energy plane, but in theory, almost any source of powerful energy could be used to power an undead...

[mootoall]

Knowledge (religion) check to see what this could imply regarding new methods of creating undead [roll0]

Harin's eyes widen. "This is incredible! And .... and all the more reason to find my master. He will know better than me how to make use of this information ... I do not have time to wait around here any longer. We must continue on. We shall travel to the Cult of the Asp, with no more delay." He starts along the road, heading the direction the cultist's wagons are pointed.

[ocel]

Rather than remain idle, he walks towards the caravans as well,

[Rathgar]

"Stop! Don't go alone, it's too dangerous! What with the forboding desert, monsters, bandits, bandit monsters. But just wait a little while, and we'll soon get this caravan moving again."

He turned to the other cultists and spoke in Yuan-Ti. "How is the effort to return order to this place? And have any of you discovered anything important? If you have discovered something important, tell me in Yuan-Ti, I don't necessarily know if these are truly all messengers of the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan."

[mootoall]

Harin yells back over his shoulder "I have no more time to waste! Come, move the caravan. I will wait for ten more minutes."

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith thought for a second on how to introduce himself to the others. From the history seminars he took, he knew that the greetings used on the Andenium came from the original world. Maybe some of them had been lost over the years. Maybe a different one would work.

Zenerith waved "Uh... hello. My name is Zenerith, pleased to meet you."

[ocel]

He turned his attention back to "Lovecraft" and replied " Time might be "wasted" regardless of how we reach our destination... besides if you are not inclined to wait for others, than how will others wait for you? I shall wait, here at the edge of the encampment till our associates have prepared themselves for the journey to come..."

[M. Mayonnaise]

After taking a brief moment to make sure the guards are unconscious, Sirius makes a break for it. He dashes out the door and through the building until he emerges into sunlight.
I've got to find my family. If they're hurt...

[Rathgar]

The cultists returned and spoke to Abtek, revealing what little they gleaned of the recent events and saying that the caravan was once again able to begin to move down the road to their intended destination. Pleased with this, he turned to the others. "It appears that it is time to go now. We head may once again begin to head out. We were just leaving anyhow, so we've got plenty of time to move before it gets too dark."

[mootoall]

"Finally," says Harin. "I hope you all aren't as slow as snakes basking on a desert rock. Those are the ones that get eaten."

[Rathgar]

The caravan continued on it's way more or less without event. Well, no events that would measure up to the major upheaval that had taken place. With the way the terrain had changed, it was difficult to find their way. The path was no longer familiar to them. Eventually, after a day of journeying, the stopped for the night and set up camp.

[mootoall]

Before we settle down for the night, DMoD, did we see anything majorly interesting on our trip?

[Fable Wright]

@M. Mayonnaise:
You rush out of the room into the sunlight and... you're gone. You're nowhere near the town. The daylight that had filtered into the room while in the Mayors office was gone. The office itself is gone. And you see nothing around anywhere. It's as if you're in the middle of a desert. Actually... no, it can't be. You turn around and see- nothing. The Mayor's office you just escaped disappeared. As you look around, all you can see is land. As you stare at the land, you see a strange beauty. Unlike at home, where there was little to see on the earth, here, it was a sight of beauty. Pale streams of moonlight trickle down from the heavens and ripple across the ground, giving the appearance of being underwater. As you stare at the heavens, defeated by the loss of your wife and kids, you notice something... odd, about this sky. The starts are more bountiful here, and you can see them actually... add, to the constellations, if such a thing were possible. One of the brightest constellations in the sky right now was, in fact, Sagittarius, his bow an arc of silvery light, the arrow made of a brilliant ball of light. As you watch, it streams across the sky, revealing it to be a shooting star. As it comes down across the horizon, you see a bunch of rags strewn about the ground and tents set up. In the distance, you hear almost imperceptible sounds of laughter and music, and you see vague outlines moving around in the circle of tents, moving around and... possibly dancing. A thin arc of light briefly illuminates the campsight for you, before fading away.

[M. Mayonnaise]

Sirius looks around, in shock. "Maker's breath..."
Was the Mayor right? Had their town been witched? Was it erased entirely, or was he just somehow transported somewhere else?
Sirius's instincts as a hunter take over, snapping him out of his dazed state of confusion. Realizing he has no food, no water, and no bow or arrows to hunt, he does all he can think of doing: he walks slowly towards the camp in the distance.

[mootoall]

Harin sits before the fire, watching the revelries around him. The Cult of the Asp sure was a cheery lot. And as much as he'd hate to admit it, he was happy to take a break from walking- as much of a hurry as he was in, he wasn't the most physical of people. He glances down at the pocket in the robe where he'd stowed the book, and tried to resist pulling it out. It wouldn't do him any good to look at it any further until he could get material to decipher it, but its implications were ... exciting. He speaks to the masked figure who had showed up after him, saying "So, where do you hail from? This gods forsaken place?"

[Crafty Cultist]

Zenerith is a little nervous about causing some sort of faux pas, but tries to be freindly all the same. "Ah... no, my home is hidden nearby, but these wastes are new to me. I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Zenerith, pleased to meet you"

[mootoall]

"Harin of the Eastlands, loyal servant of Iblis Oromis. What brings you to cross these wastes?" under his breath, he mumbles "not a corpse for miles, how can I continue to study?"

[Crafty Cultist]

"My home is rather isolated, and has been for some time. Sending scouts to explore will be the first step in interacting with the world"

[mootoall]

"Scouts? Scouting for what? Wouldn't diplomats be more ... elegant?"

[Crafty Cultist]

"Well, scout is just the word i used. I'm really more of a general troubleshooter, who knows how to take care of himself."

[mootoall]

Harin perks up at that. "Well now, that sounds like a much more interesting job than a simple scout."

[Crafty Cultist]

"Well where I come from, those born with talents such as mine generally take on a variety of jobs before we decide on a long term career. I've been an engineer, a caretaker, a peacekeeper, and an explorer. I'm serving as an envoy now, but what I'm really interested in is the creation of woundrous devices. Automated defenses, flying machines, devices that can build fortifications rapidly, and other such creations. But for now I am an envoy."

[Rathgar]

After spending a good bit of the evening feeding the snakes of burden, Abtek returned to the camp. Then he saw the new guy. "Woah, who is this new person? Stranger, who are you? And were you also brought by the Trembling of Atsukar Nakkan?"

[mootoall]

I'm here ...