The Trials of blood-Sand Rat

[Kaim_the_angel]

You fall upon a dust covered wooden floor. Looking around you see that you are within a large room, covered in dust, but hiding a definite feel of nobility.
A large four poster bed is in the corner of the room, with a writing desk next to it, where your envelope lies, with the small unopened box still resting upon it. Apart from the dust, the room is nice, you would guess it belonged to a noble of some description, and the long rope running into the room seems to show the makings of a bell system. A mansion perhaps?
The games begin.

[TheDivineWind]

Blue pushes himself up and reads the letter, front and back. Then he proceeds to manifest the powers Remote View Trap (39 hour duration) and Mind Blank, Personal (24 hour duration) on himself. He does it without producing the displays (checks below), and then Blue activates his ring of invisibility.


Not sure if you choose to have it fail on a 1, but I would make these checks even with a 1, even on my highest level power. As a rule of thumb I always dispense with the display unless I otherwise note.
Concentration vs. Display (DC=21) [roll0]
Concentration vs. Display (DC=23) [roll1]

OOC: Based on what the note says (if it says anything more than you mentioned in the other thread) I will decide what to do next. If I learn nothing new, I'll open the box.

[Kaim_the_angel]

The letter reads.
Dear Blue.
Congratulations on accepting my invitation and best of luck in the contest.
As a sporting chance to all contestants, I have made it impossible to locate one another via magical means, this will allow each of you to utilize your own cunning to find your foes when needed. If you are to become Lord Assassian, you will find reliance on your own abilities, rather than magic, is far more useful.
Incased in the box is a small device with which you may contact your Sponser, who will aid you in many ways. Please Open the box immedietly to recive your first assignment.
Best regards
The Spider
P.S remember that we are watching.

[TheDivineWind]

Blue finishes skimming the letter and pilfers the stone from the box. He looks again at his surroundings, manifests Touchsight (15min duration) and begins to explore the structure he is in.

Contingency: If Blue comes upon anyone visually or with his touchsight, he stops to investigate. If he finds no one, he looks for exits, and takes the option with the fewest witnesses and examines where in town he is, what sort of structures there are in the area, and how often people pass about. He uses his cloak of wings to fly above folks so he doesn't alert anyone to his presence, and at that time manifests True Seeing (duration 15min) and loops around the area to get a good idea of the area's layout and see if he notices anything out of the ordinary. Additionally, he is looking for a large warehouse if he can find it (empty, preferably).

[Kaim_the_angel]

Blue finishes skimming the letter and pilfers the stone from the box. He looks again at his surroundings, manifests Touchsight (15min duration) and begins to explore the structure he is in.

Contingency: If Blue comes upon anyone visually or with his touchsight, he stops to investigate. If he finds no one, he looks for exits, and takes the option with the fewest witnesses and examines where in town he is, what sort of structures there are in the area, and how often people pass about. He uses his cloak of wings to fly above folks so he doesn't alert anyone to his presence, and at that time manifests True Seeing (duration 15min) and loops around the area to get a good idea of the area's layout and see if he notices anything out of the ordinary. Additionally, he is looking for a large warehouse if he can find it (empty, preferably).

OOC: woah woah, calm down mate :L the aim here is to take things slow, think it all out bit by bit, also please try to remember that I am running 11 games here :L

When you reach for the box and open it, you don't find what you expected.
The Moment you open the box somthing springs out, a small worm like creature tears out and lands on your skin, beofre you can stop it the creature burrows into your skin, leaving a fine pool of blood behind it. A sharp pain runs through your arm, then your chest, in less than ten seconds the creature has reached your brain. A sharp pain in your head makes it seem like your life is over.
Then a voice speaks.
~Hello Blue~

[TheDivineWind]

OOC: haha, sorry. I have an idea I am interested in and wanted to get it in motion ASAP. I'll take it a bit slower then.

The pain was excruciating, beyond almost anything he had endured before. Finally, it began to reside and a voice rings out in his head. ~Hello Blue~

"Gaaahhh, what the hell was that? Get out of my head, worm. I'll talk with you face to face."

[Kaim_the_angel]

~Please be quiet, I tired hard to get you a nice B.O.O, and the first thing you do is bellow at me, I may have backed the wrong man...~
The voice sounds tired.
~Well I suppose I should tell you your mission?~

[TheDivineWind]

Blue pauses for a moment to let the headache pass and for the pain to wind down to a manageable level. He ties the wound closed with a rag and drinks some water, keeping his mind calm and clear.

After a few moments pass, he focuses and attempts to communicate mentally with the being.

~I suspect you are somewhere else, and communicating through this worm then? Perhaps you could even command this worm to kill me if I broke your rules. Fine. Lets get this game in motion then. Tell me what I must do.~

[Kaim_the_angel]

The voice sighs..
~Must i explain everything? ahhhh oh well. Your first objective is to make this location defensable...that mission you have untill midnight to fullfuil, the next objective I will give you at that time. Not a moment before......and yes the worm can kill you..

[TheDivineWind]

Blue nods, manifests True Seeing just in case of something unexpected (and so he doesn't need lights), and begins to explore the structure in order to best figure out how to defend it. Specifically he notes the layout, what the biggest couple rooms are, what the structure is constructed of, and any other significant details that stick out.

[Kaim_the_angel]

You are within an old Mansion, the largest rooms being the the kitchen, main hall and dining room. The building is made of wood and stone, the entire place is decrepit.
OOC: If you have the Heroes of horror sourcebook, use the feind blooded mansion layout. Just minus the basment.

[TheDivineWind]

After walking the building a few times, Blue begins to formulate a plan of action.

Using the stonework inherent in the building's structure, Blue casts Wall of Stone and begins to wall off a number of passages within the house, running thin sheets of stone along walls whenever there isn't something handy to base the spell out of. Specifically I wall off the foyer's entrances (windows included, though I leave the way into the kitchen open so there is almost no light) and the hallway leading to the master's den, as thick as I can make the walls, and embedded into the surroundings as much I can. I also wall off the right staircase up, and create three cubbies in the foyer that all are shallow (about 1 1/2 to 2 feet deep (one on each wall of the foyer, not the staircase). From there, I cast Alarm (extended w/ rod; mental alarm) in the center of the foyer (should cover pretty much the entire room), and then go to the cupboard in the foyer and cast Rope Trick (extended w/ rod) on the inside of it, that way I can close the doors and hide it. Next I get a loose plank from upstairs and slide it into my Rope Trick window so it is sticking out just enough to let the door close. Then I climb into the window, closing the cupboard doors behind me, and can lay down on the board with my head sticking out of the window (so the alarm can reach me). I also use Telekenesis to rip out the ceiling over the foyer, and then continue the stone walls upstairs, blocking out all sources of light (and keeping the structure supported.

From there, I wait till the evening, eat, and communicate with my handler mentally.

(Spells cast: Wall of Stone x4; Telekenesis; Alarm (60hr duration); Rope Trick (30hr duration))

-edit-
If at least 8 hours pass, I can rest fully and regain all of my spells and powerpoints (and do so, as the alarm will wake me up anyway). If there is enough time, I'll update my sheet to account for it.

[Kaim_the_angel]

After 8 hours night falls, and you hear the voice again.
~Well I cant fault your defenses.....I have your next objective.....if your ready

[TheDivineWind]

~Yes, let us begin the game. There are many things to do, and little time, I feel.~

[Kaim_the_angel]

The voice quietly chuckles at that.
~Yes, little time indeed. But all that aside your next mission is simple.....you must find and kill another member of the competiton before another assassian does, easy to accomplish I suppose?~

[TheDivineWind]

~I suppose. Must I target a specific individual, or any I encounter?

Also, you say I may not divine the location of any of the other individuals in this competition. Is that the only limitation on what I may divine?~

[Kaim_the_angel]

~Any you encounter boy, as I said. And I suppose you may divine other things, but you will not know untilll you try...~

[TheDivineWind]

Blue pauses for a moment, then communicates with his handler for one last question.

~How untouched do I have to leave the population? What if I were to implant a rumor in the minds of a bunch of people? Make it easier for someone to... find... me.~

[Kaim_the_angel]

~Depends, if the manipulating of their minds influcences them to do anything they may not normally do, or may put them at risk, then you would have broken the rules.....and you can imagine how that would end. I belive merely spreding a rumor may work better.~

[TheDivineWind]

~Okay, lets begin, then.~

(OOC: Hokay, once I figure out what's around the mansion, I'm gunna post what is probably an hour and 20 minutes worth of actions here, hope that's okay)

Blue activates his ring of invisibility and exits the side door, looking at his surroundings. He utilizes his cape and flys upwards to see what the layout of the area is, and where the largest nearby concentration of people are.

[Kaim_the_angel]

~Okay, lets begin, then.~

(OOC: Hokay, once I figure out what's around the mansion, I'm gunna post what is probably an hour and 20 minutes worth of actions here, hope that's okay)

Blue activates his ring of invisibility and exits the side door, looking at his surroundings. He utilizes his cape and flys upwards to see what the layout of the area is, and where the largest nearby concentration of people are.

As you fly up you see that yours is only one mansion amoung 5, and thats only counting neigbours. You are within the up-scale part of Jerenoa, the city streches out before you. The closest landmark is a clocktower due north, the largest concentration of people is a small market roughly 5 minutes flight away.

[TheDivineWind]

OOC: Ahh, different location that I expected. New plan!

IC: Blue flies high into the sky and moves towards the market, once he reaches the area, he descends and lands in a nearby allyway, making sure no one is around. He removes his mask, pulls the simple grey cloak he wears around him, and deactivates his invisibility and heads into the market, shopping for fruits he hasn't had a chance to have in awhile. As he does he keeps an eye out for people whom seem to be well connected, asking around if he needs to, for a person who knows how to get information.

If he can find one, he talks to them about a job offer.

"I am a merchant from [insert appropriate neighboring large city here*] but I own a house in Jerenoa. It seems that one of my neighbors has let their house go, and as of yesterday, all manner of odd noises are coming from the house! I was wondering if you could do me the favor of asking around town about who owns the house, or why such strange things may be happening there. I don't want to bother the residences who live there, but I would sleep better if I knew why such oddities are occurring.

(Blue reaches into his pocket and produces 100gp)

I would appreciate a thorough job. If you find an answer, keep asking around town and spread the word for a source if you need to. I do not appreciate poorly researched information. Would a week be more than enough time to accomplish this? I will have triple the amount I gave you ready if you are successful in finding answers."

*I assume Blue knows about surrounding towns and can easily name one that has a large number of merchants who travel between the two cities. If for some reason he wouldn't know, he asks around about where most of the goods come from.

[Kaim_the_angel]

You find a merchant running a fairly high end stall, who frankly ingnores most of what you say....up untill you produce the money, when he immedietly begins to talk.
"Well freind, I most certanly can get that information for you!" he eyes the gold greedily "Ut I may need a little more as a....downpayment."
*Roll a spot check.

[TheDivineWind]

Spot check: [roll0]



-OOC edit-
Lemme know what I see (I sure hope I see it with that roll) so I can alter my planned actions and move this along as much as I can.

[Kaim_the_angel]

As you glance around, you see something....or more precisly someone.
Across from you in the market place roughly 80ft away a man is stood, dressed completly in black, with a large tome swinging at his side, a hood covers his face, but there is no mistaking the blue glow eminating from the hood, staring right at you.
Westwood has found you.

[TheDivineWind]

Well then... :smallamused:

As a swift action, Blue manifests Temporal Acceleration (with no display) using 15PP for 2 rounds of time to act. He spends those two rounds to manifest True Seeing while looking at Westwood to determine if he is an illusion. The second round depends on if the Westwood I see is the real deal or not.

[Kaim_the_angel]

You smile to yourself and call upon the psychic power within your mind, expecting to feel the familar rush of power....that doesn't come, you tap an empty source of power. You simply cannot manifest your psionics.
Westwood begins to calmly walk through the crowd towards you.
Meanwhile the stall owner behind you.
"Sir? Are you ok?"

[TheDivineWind]

Blue keeps his eyes on Westwood, puts the 100gp on the table and says, "One week. I'll double how much I said I would give to you once the job is done."

Blue smiles at Westwood and gives him a slight bow and nod, then activates his ring of invisibility and casts greater teleportation (silenced with the metamagic rod), with the destination being the roof of the clock-tower I saw on the way to the market.

Once he gets there, and before the round is over, he attempts to manifest Temporal Acceleration, Shadow Body (so I blend in perfectly in the dark), and Empowered Power Resistance (for a SR of 34). The following round he manifests Temporal Acceleration again (for only 1 round) and then True Sight (All without displays, for a total time spent of 1 round to teleport and do the first temporal acceleration, and a swift action in the next round.) leaving me a holding a full round action to act with for when Westwood appears.

(total of 63 PP spent at the end of the round I cast greater teleport, and at the start of the next round, all added together. That should give me the jump on Westwood if he teleports after me.)

OOC:

GM Fiat? If it's okay, I would appreciate a heads up if you're going to do something like that in a kill or be killed situation. It's very frustrating to have the rules changed on you like that! I assume it was a Fiat because nothing could have done what you said happened, and only a major artifact could have even had a similar effect on me (Annulus's catapsi effect has that sort of range, but it wouldn't have stopped my manifest, just caused static, which I would have detected. Quintessence could have done something similar, but I figure I'd of noticed a fist sized glob of it hovering around me/silvery sheen on everything around me. Nor a mind effect, due to having mind blank up and running.

That's almost all OOC metaknowledge though, hence Blue running a bit away to an area he knows his powers worked at.