Meddling in the Affairs of Dragons (IC)

[Kobold-Bard]

You sit in the immense cavern deep within the Garadash Mountains. Here you and your new compatriots have been summoned because of the greatest secret ever kept.

The elderly gentleman who had greeted you had just finished briefing you on your first assignment: preventing a circle of Dragoons who intended to subdue and enslave Malicious Shroud, a powerful Green Dragon that resided in the great jungles of Meredish, 200 miles to the east.

"The Dragoons are powerful and zealous, of course your powers are also great but do not underestimate their cunning and guile. They will expect resistance of all kinds and will be prepared for them all. Brute force will not be enough.

As I said Malicious Shroud will not know of your mission, nor can he. To know of his protected status would make him unimaginably bolder in his wickedness and those who live within his jungles will be the ones who suffer.

Are we clear? Any questions?"

[Hyperion]

Troy the Barbarian is carrying a 12 feet greatsword in one hand with a large shiny long composite bow strapped across his back. A bunch of other items are all over him.

"Alright, So take care of the problem and make sure that the green dragon doesn't know we are here to help. It sounds simple enough."

[Ridai]

The tall, young human known to most as Vagrant (but goes by the name of Duran) sits silently, perfectly motionless as he listens. He strangely has grey, short, messy hair and golden, if subdued looking, eyes. His body is covered from head to toe with scars, telling more than enough stories to fill several lifetimes and ages of crisis, only partially concealed by torn rags on his muscular form that seems to be almost completely devoid of body fat. He seems to have nothing else on him whatsoever. "Can you tell us more about the dragoons and what should we call you." He has a very deep and gravelly voice, hinting at what else might lurk beneath the surface. With the information he has now and might receive in a moment, Duran searches his vast memories and knowledge for anything about the dragoons.

Duran makes a check with the appropiate Knowledge check, I'm assuming Local, adding +24 to the roll with his mastery pool. His modifier for all Knowledge checks is pretty much the same.
[roll0]

[Kobold-Bard]

((The man declined to give a name or any other info about himself when you met him.))

"Our reconnaissance has only identified one member of the group; Arden Spellslaughter. And we only ascertained this because of his infamy. However one would imagine he doesn't have the logistical skill to mount a threat to Malicious Shroud these days, there is someone else running the Dragoons. But just what they plan to do and their motives are a mystery I'm afraid."

-------------
Knowledge check not necessary, everyone from even a half-civilised land knows the story;

- Arden Spellslaughter was once known as Arden Spellsurge; a Mystic Theurge and headmaster of an airborne magical academy called the Floating Arcana. Arden's nemesis was a Balor Necromancer who managed to defeat the defences Arden had in place and his army stormed the school.

The Balor killed Arden's wife (deputy head of the school) in combat and obliterated her soul making resurection impossible, and it drove him mad. To win the battle he let the school fall from the sky; killing all 1600 students & staff within.

From then he has been a walking WMD, walking the world and Planes, using his prodigious magical power to wreak destruction for seemingly no reason other than being mad and angry about his wife.

[Hawkflight]

Zephyr stood by, listening to the others talk. The bird-like humanoid's exotically-colored feathery wings made a statement in the otherwise bleak cavern, and he appeared unarmed. He wore simple clothes, only just covering up the mithral chain shirt he wore underneath. He listened, and waited.

[Zaydos]

Do you know where they are? If you do, then it's simple we move in, we break them, we leave, Zaric says, in a guttural but hollow voice. He has three heads upon lengthened necks, each filled with teeth and jutting tusks and covered with eight eyes upon which he desires that none of his companions gaze. His hands end in ephemereal claws and beneath that energy the back of his hands is covered in rows of teeth as well, gnashing eternally against the world, and his right hand has black scales as well. Bright blue spines run across his lower arms and his chest gleams with a strange sigil in white, red, blue, black, and green. A series of masks surround his face, goat, dragon, and lion, but twisted and silver each distended into a snout with a swaying tongue. Continuing down his body a great silver tail sways back and forth, and from his knees down his legs are midnight blue with a series of midnight blue veins running up his legs.

He wears only simple clothing, little more than rags, and even it seems blown in a wind that only surrounds him, tossing clothes and wind, even as light itself seems to bend around him making his position like an optical illusion, hard to pinpoint and find. He stands about 22' tall at the moment.

[Obscurejones]

Rod looks around slowly, the movement of his neck accompanied by a nearly imperceptible whir. The medallion embedded high in his chest guides his eyes, jade green orbs sweeping the room carefully yet quickly. He tastes the air, pulling in scents through the grille embedded in his face.
I suspect that if they've only identified a single member of the hunters they are unaware of the location of the group.
He pauses, tilting his head as though hearing a voice from far away. A blue gleam passes across the red shine of his golden armor. The gleam does not extend to the his mighty right hand. The hand itself is a work of art, gems encrusted across the knuckles and single dusky crystal embedded in the palm.
Of course it's possible that I am mistaken. I should not make assumptions about our reconnaissance abilities.

[Ridai]

"We'll find a way. Meredish is about an hour away." Duran stands up and waits for his companions to finish what they are doing so they can get going, standing motionlessly in the meantime.

I assume Duran knows where the jungles of Meredish are, as he can easily get a result of 65+ with Knowledge and Survival checks.

[Hyperion]

"I'm always ready. Let's do this!" He spins his right arm and holds his sword in both hands now. Troy grins and is actually excited in fighting those strong individuals but like their guide say, brute force might not be the best solution. He'll keep it in mind.

[Kobold-Bard]

"Best I can offer you is that Shroud is their target and he lives in the jungles. After we got that Spellslaughter redoubled his abjurations and we've had nothing since. And remember; they will be expecting brute force, but if you think you can make it work then I wish you well.

If you're satisfied then I shall bid you farewell and good fortune."

As you leave he bows to each of you before vanishing with a <pop>.

---------------
Duran can drag everyone if he likes.

Zaric can avoid pounding Rod & Stave (call it a ritual they did on you when you took the job), but is under Gaia for all other purposes.

[Zaydos]

So what non-brute force can we bring to bear? Zaric asks. I'm a warrior, not a mage so put me where you need me.

In that case Gaia is bound granting immunity to fire

[Ridai]

"I excel at all mundane abilities I focus on at the moment, in addition to being able to magically alter my appearance via illusions. This would make deception, negotiation, reconnaisance and infiltration possible, although the latter has proven problematic against more unusual senses. A social approach could likewise be problematic without knowledge about who we are dealing with." Duran calmly outlines his abilities and thoughts. "Once you are ready, I will take us to our destination to start gathering further information."

[Obscurejones]

Excellent. I am ready whenever you would like.

[Kobold-Bard]

((There's no one left in the cave. You're all just talking to yourselves now, feel free to go where you please :smalltongue:))

[Ridai]

Since everyone seems to have said their piece, Duran leads the others outside and advises them to hold onto Zaric while he himself grabs the large, otherwordly looking creature. "Hold on tight." A few moments later, tenses his legs and launches himself into the air, dragging Zaric after him with ease. He quickly accelerates in the air as he sets course towards the jungles of Meredish, reaching speeds beyond what most creatures are even remotely capable of.

Once they reach the jungles, he looks out for any kind of camp or base, slowing down to less dizzying speeds so that they can communicate and look around better.

I wasn't sure whether anyone still wanted to say anything, hence the lack of "I'm going now".

Duran uses his Mastery of Self pool to boost his speed by 240 feet and runs every round. His flight speed is 540 feet/round, as it is double his land speed, which means at roughly 245 miles/hour while he is running (he doesn't get tired and is immune to nonlethal damage, so running the whole time isn't a problem). I'm assuming that Duran knows where to fly to reach the region.

To find the base/camp/whatever:
Spot check (+10 from mastery) [roll0]
Search check (+10 from mastery) [roll1]

[Kobold-Bard]

The bizarre caravan zoom through the air for a while (later that night a kid was sent to bed without supper because he was adamant that he saw a group of monsters flying through the air and his parents thought he was lying).

As you reach the borders of the Meredish jungles; dense and expansive jungles that squeak, chirp and growl every second. They are incredibly warm, the winter this far east is usually only 1 month out of the 12.

You glimpse the enormous tree that marks the centre of Malicious Shroud's domain; twice as high as the rest of the plant life. Around it Duran knows the Dragon's serf population stretches in small villages for a mile in every direction; the tops of his watchtowers visible over the tree canopy.

((I'm setting you down 2 miles south of the tree)). As you land, you are on the cloying atmosphere of the jungle. Bugs swarm etc. a few living vines seem to "look at you" before reeling back, apparently decided you weren't ideal prey.

[Ridai]

"I could head into the lair's surroundings, disguised, and see if the population knows anything about the dragoon." Duran waits quietly for the others' input into the matter, whether they come in the form of alternate plans, thoughts or silence.

[Zaydos]

Is your disguise primarily magical in nature? Zaric asks, worried over what magical defenses might lie in place.

[Ridai]

Duran nods. "Yes, as I lack the ressources to disguise myself normally due to my vows. I am unsure how many would recognize me, so entering via deception might prove difficult."

[Obscurejones]

I... Lack stealth, I am afraid. Or the ability to procure it without aid.

[Hyperion]

"Well, we can always circle around the place and see if we can spot a wanderer or two and then ask them about the situation inside." Troy rubs his chin trying to find a way to not attract too much attention to the group.

[Ridai]

"As we have to solve this in a timely fashion, I will take the risk and head into the villages. Even if they have a way to ignore illusions and still recognize me, I think I am still known to be a wanderer. At worst, Shroud's minions will attack me, I will retreat and they might think I'm trying to bring down their master, which would still help us prevent that the dragon realizes we are aiding him. You could come with me or search the surroundings for other people or even the camp itself, as you please, but thorough strategic discussions should be saved for the dragoons and not for finding a way to get directions." Thus he concludes his statement, letting the others know about his thought process to not leave them in the dark about what he is planning.

Unless there is significant protest, Duran creates an illusion that mostly make him appear more regular and less imposing, a face in the crowd. With this, he heads towards the villages to learn if the servants/slaves have heard anything about the dragoons or strange sightings around the villages, like notable strangers or visitors.

Just trying to get the game going. Some preemptive checks following to avoid more slowdowns.

Disguise check [roll0] (includes +10 bonus from Disguise Self and +24 from Mastery of Self upon establishing the disguise)

Gather Information check [roll1] (includes +24 from mastery)

[Kobold-Bard]

You enter the village nearest to you (3/4 of a mile from Pohon; the big tree) under the guise of a merchant interested in the pterodactyls that inhabit the jungles.

You make the wise choice of not mentioning the dragoons by name, the people in these villages may fear and hate their tyrannical Dragon overlord, but they will run to him with even the slightest help they can offer to curry his favour.

You do learn that Shroud made an unexpected attack a week ago; he obliterated an entire village at the northern border of his territory and the only explanation his "priests" would offer was that there were traitors there who needed to be dealt with.

As the light begins to fail you prepare to leave, but notice you have peaked the interest of some men with spears wearing a green claw tattoo who find it unusual that a merchant is planning to leave without making any purchases. They're not being openly hostile, but they are eyeing you suspiciously.

-------------------
FYI: These are villages, not slave camps. There's technically 6 independent villages around the tree, all ruled by Shroud's tree city state as a sovereign.

And sorry if this seems like I'm screwing you over because of your vows, it's not designed to single you out but I am a bit of a bastard like that :smallcool: :smalltongue:

[Obscurejones]

While Duran is away Rod goes to the work of creating a temporary shelter for the allies. Knocking down a few trees he constructs a low cabin for himself. Includes a few bunks.

[Ridai]

While learning what he can, Duran uses the opportunity to at least have a little positive effect on this place since he can't help the people due to his task. He tries to take the minds of those he converses with off their routine, to brighten their day a little with the friendly merchant persona he has taken on. His chat with a single mother comes to an end as he thanks her for her help (and having told her how to easily make a cure for her children's illness), leaving her with a smile on her face (also partly because of entertaining her with a short story or two from his "travels as a merchant").

Still, he has to deal with the guards to leave without a hitch. After looking around a bit more, he seems to accidentally notice the looks of the guards and walks over to them. "Please excuse my forwardness, good sirs, but is there a problem?" He bows a little to show he means no offense, playing what seems to be an ultimately harmless, polite man.

[Kobold-Bard]

Rod's shelter takes shape quickly, it is an impressive display of woodsman chic.

------------
"Haven't seen you before, we're usually told about new merchants coming our way. Who do you work for?

[Ridai]

Disguised Duran flashes a smile, making it obvious that a small speech will follow by someone who clearly enjoys his job. "Ah yes, there is the problem. I am not a merchant in the traditional way, so it can happen that no notice is sent beforehand. Let me tell you a little about what exactly I am doing here. You see, I have specialized in sighting, evaluating and analyzing markets for my employers, who are in the process of setting up a business aiming to provide high-class and exotic goods. I and my associates thus travel, quite far at times like this one, and get reliable information about the various regions and their markets so my employers can position their wares and services in a profitable way, once they fully start their business, that ideally also helps the overall market grow, among other things. I believe you can easily see the advantages of a better economy." Duran makes a small presenting gesture to underline his point, but still not letting the guards get a word in.

"Of course, this investigation works best if factors that could distort the results are eliminated to the best of our ability, hence the missing notice to avoid local merchants learning of my work beforehand and possibly adjusting their prices and offers, which, in the end, would sacrifice long-term growth and wealth for a minimal short-term advantage. And I must commend these villages' pterodactyl specimens, so things look favorable in terms of future investments. Ah, look at me talking so much, I'm sorry. Time's a wasting. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Since the tone of the game seems a little whimsical, I might as well go that route while disguised.

Bluff [roll0] (includes +24 mastery)

[Kobold-Bard]

"Oh, I see. Well excuse me then sir, you just can't be too careful these days. There are people who would want to harm our Dragon-King for whatever malevolent reasons they may hold. The borders will close for night soon, please leave quickly."

They all bow when he says "Dragon-King", but you can tell everything he said was laced with abject terror, like he was being watched by the powers that be.

-------------
did no one else want to do anything while I was away? I was expecting more posts tbh.

[Ridai]

"Oh my, I'll be on my way then, right quick at that! Good evening to you, good sirs!" With a slight bow and a flourish of his hand, Duran strolls away, careful to look like someone heading off to make a few quick preparations before slipping back into the forest. He makes sure he isn't followed, changing course rapidly and abruptly (and flying, once deep enough inside the forest) before he heads back to the group, changing back into his normal form as he arrive.

Unfazed by encountering a hut that wasn't there before, he merely brushes a hand across the exterior as he enters. "Very good craftmanship." He turns to the group as he closes the door inside. "Shroud's troops are waiting for an attack. A week ago, Shroud destroyed a village towards the northern bounds of his territory, allegedly because of traitors in their midst. We should swing around the territory through the jungle and look for clues there."

Duran pauses and looks towards the bunks. "I do not sleep, but I appreciate the gesture."

[Obscurejones]

Rod's gears whir, building to a tumult of words that pour out in rapid succession. It defies normal rhythms, speech as a collection of artificially generated sounds rather than natural communication.
I suspect sleep is a luxury anyone who has attained our status has done away with. It is largely an aesthetic choice. I would be glad to accompany you on a reconnaissance of the northern territories. We should leave at once. I will wish to arrive before weather patterns have had a chance to dissipate olfactory evidence.

[Hawkflight]

"Not for me," said Zephyr. Personally, he enjoyed getting a good night's rest. "I gotta get some rest."

[Ridai]

"Understood." Duran answers with a slight bow. "We will gather information from the site in the meantime and hopefully continue to the dragoon's location once you have rested."

Duran turns to Rod. "I am not certain if there are relevant smells left a week after the incident, but I agree that no time must be wasted." He steps outside, ready to take those who are willing to go to the site as quickly as possible and relatively unseen from the watchtowers of Shroud's troops.

[Zaydos]

I am fine without sleep, Zaric says shrinking down to large size, But would it not be best to move together as a whole, it may prove dangerous if we are lacking even one member

Remove 5 essentia from Eligor, put it in Threefold Mask of the Chimera.

[Hawkflight]

"Oh, I'm good to go for now," said Zephyr. "I was simply clarifying the facts."

[Ridai]

Since the issue doesn't exist anymore, Duran simply skips to the current one. "Shall we leave, then?"

Duran brings the group to the site as previously described.

[Kobold-Bard]

((How are you getting their? If flight: above or below the tree canopy? etc. etc.))

[Kobold-Bard]

You swoop through the trees, however apparently Malicious Shroud isn't your typical ignorant tyrant. No one saw it (though Troy caught something out the corner of his eye), a pterodactyl with green dragon scales watches your party fly past, before swooping off itself.

You lad uninterrupted by the demolished village. The ground is littered with melted and blasted debris, the entire village's buildings & fences from the looks of it. The stench of rotting & death is overwhelming, as is the sheer quantity of carrion creatures and flies who are enjoying this unimaginable feast.

----------------
DC30 Fort Save or Sickened until you leave the area.

[Zaydos]

Fort save
[roll0]

Zaric's nose twitches in disgust. I guess we were a little too late the warrior says.

[Ridai]

"I told you it happened about a week ago. Look for clues about the Dragoons." There's nothing Duran can do for the villagers and their corpses are already defiled, so he starts to comb the ruins for anything that might be related to the Dragoons, starting with footsteps leading into the forest and also looking for signs in the form of items, documents or personal belongings that don't seem to fit into what these villagers should have from what he has seen.

Duran is immune to being sickened.

Search [roll0]

[Kobold-Bard]

You find nothing except an arrow made of mithril. It's scorched, but seems to have resisted being melted by the great Dragon's breath.

Zephyr:
You see a parrot-like bird that very much doesn't fit the local fauna. Especially since it seems to be watching you as much as you're watching it.

[Ridai]

Duran takes the arrow and brings it to the others. "This is the only thing I could find." He is unsure how an arrow could help them, but examines it nonetheless.

[Hawkflight]

Zephyr glanced back at the others casually, considering weather or not to tell them and risk revealing their hand. Finally, he decided it was worth the risk.

"We are being watched," he said, attempting to subtly point out the bird.

[Ridai]

"Then we have a lead if we follow it. Regardless of it being a trap or not."

[Kobold-Bard]

And with those words the parrot squawks and flies off through the trees, its plumage changing to match it's background.

---------
Spot Check DC 35 to follow it.

[Ridai]

Duran immediately follows, making sure to take the others with him.

Duran's modifier is higher than the DC, so auto-success.

Is everyone still here? This game seems to slow down more and more.

[Zaydos]

Zaric is unable to follow with his eyes as its chameleon-like plumage mixes with the background.

+0 to Spot; auto-failure.

I'm still here