Vision of Suffering - IC Thread

[Stasgard]

Thandor, the City of the Faith. The founding site of the Church, once a place of quiet reflection and philosophy has become a place of physical power, being the largest city left standing in the wake of the invasion, and of judgement. A crowd gathers in the central square, civilians, soldiers, priests and even magicians amass around six figures on their knees, chained and gagged. Behind them stands a humanoid figure, seemingly made of smoke surrounded by guards at the ready and a small girl, chained like the others.

The Archbishop moves forward from his men and walks in front of the prisoners. He holds his hand into the air, and in an instant the murmur of the crowd dies to complete silence. The silence is almost painful in its intensity, as if not only the crowd had ceases to speak, but the world itself had frozen at the Bishops whim. The Bishop clears his throat, and begins to speak with an ease and comfort that betrays that he has said these words time and time again.

“Gathered before you stand the marked; those who have defied the will of our Lord and Saviour. They are betrayers to the Faith, cowards on the field of battle and foul servitors to the forces of darkness. These transgressions, as you all know, are punished by banishment to the plane beyond. Those who defy our Lord, our creator, are not fit to walk this plane. That, good people is the law he has passed unto us. Let the trial commence.”

The crowd shifts uncomfortably, clearly wishing to speak, to let out some noise, but no one dares to interrupt the Bishop, lest his judgement be passed upon them too.

“These six are some of the deadliest threats to our way of life, and our safety that have ever been brought before me. Each of them a force to be reckoned with in their own right. They come from all walks of life, and have never met before this moment, but they are here because of the common chain that binds them. They have each betrayed the faith, and pose a threat to us all. Look upon the figure of this woman Ezra, and take in the black magic that sustains her. And do not be fooled by this child’s appearance, it is but a disguise. This beast is nought but a foul guardian of the woman Ezra.”

“And look also upon one Lincusto, corrupted by the very demonic magic that we worked so hard to destroy! In this man lingers the presence of the Demon Lord Varyn, I can feel his corruption even now. Look upon this being of smoke, good people and SEE the last remnant of Varyn upon this plane! But the threat is not always obvious, my good people. The man here, Jonas, he is a foul servitor of the darkness. He willingly allows a demon to harbour itself within him, and uses the foul magic as he desires. How long until the demon takes complete control and this man becomes a mindless beast?”

“Ah, yes. Samus, the witch. A man who calls upon dark forces to destroy all whom oppose him. His dark magic melts the flesh and boils the blood, he is an affront to all that is good and holy! But not all of the marked are servitors of darkness. Some, were even once upstanding members of the church. Ethelina, once a mighty soldier and crusader for all that was good. But now, she is a traitor. The murderer of the good Colonel Fairman, may his soul find rest. And last, but certainly not least, Caius. A powerful man, and perhaps still a noble man. His failure to defend the city of Marrakesh lead to thousands of deaths. And it is for that, he stands trial.”

“What say you, Marked? Allow the good people to hear your defence, we shall not have you banished without the chance to clear your name. Remove the gags.” With that, soldiers move forward and remove the gags from your mouths, giving you the chance to speak.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius lowers his head, looking at the floor. He sighs and says Why bother defending myself, you have already deemed me guilty despite my attempts to make up for my failure. Nothing I could say would make you give me a chance at redemption.

He then looks up at the Archbishop, glaring at him. He then angrily yells This ritual was given to us to punish the worst of the world, yet you use it on us? This is absurd. I may be a failure, but I hardly qualify as one of the worst possible offenders. Elthelina may be resoponsible for the murder of a superior, however that hardly justifies what is happening, especially as you imply she has faithfully server Daeron for years.

He then shifts his head as far as he is able, in order to address the crowd. And Ezra is being condemmed solely for the magic she emmitts. In my studies of the arcane I have seen that sometimes those that are sustained by the black arts have no choice in the matter. Yet you don't tell of anything evil that she has done. You say nothing of a betrayal, and yet she is condemned.

With such flimsy justification for us, I doubt that the others here today are really as guilty as you tell us. You are abusing the ritual, and as such spit on Daeron's name. How dare you!

With that Caius quiets down and goes looks to see who will speak next.

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto stays silent as the Bishop goes on his rant. Surely the man loves his own voice than his so called 'faith.' Did he really believe that this would stop all evil? Surely it would not. The oppression would eventually anger the people, and in a few generation, a riot would occur. But that wasn't his problem now. They were about to banish them from this plane.

As these thoughts continued in his head, his anger built. 'Probably from the demon' he thought. But at this point the anger from it was enough. A sudden wind howls throughout the wind, scattering any litter laying around. The temperature suddenly seems to drop, and dark clouds form overhead as lightning strikes nearby. A black wind suddenly appears out of nowhere and wraps itself around Lincusto, as if trying to offer him protection from this ritual.


For the fun of it, creating my spellforge armor. Even if I am in an anti-magic field, it still works with a will save. He doesn't actually attack though. It's just a manifestation of his anger through the demonic energies within him.

[Hazuki]

Ezra's head stands lifted where she kneels in her chains, her arm exposed for the entire crowd to see as she is prepared to be banished. She sits almost motionless as the Archbishop announces their crimes, knowing she cannot turn her head to see Kulaas who she had gotten into this by association. She was resigned to her fate. Mostly.

She listens carefully to the words of the Archbishop; she knows why she is here. But with the tear brought by Caius' words comes the suspicion that the Archbishop may not be entirely forthright. Ezra clears her throat where she kneels, raising her head as she begins to sing softly but clearly, a melody meant to bring sorrow for the evening, to mist the eyes of those present and to serve as a memory of her being here.

Taking 10 on Perform Sing for 31, with the -3 from the removal of her Circlet included. No Bardic Music because she's likely in antimagic too.

Also going to use Trap of Words from Master Manipulator on the Archbishop. It'll only work if he's rolled Bluff, but I think he might have or will.

Sense Motive: [roll0]

If Ezra believes he has lied, Ezra will manipulate the lyrics of her song in order to get him to slip that he lied and why he lied. If her Diplomacy Check beats his Bluff check, she succeeds in doing so.

Diplomacy: [roll1] Still not including the Circlet.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda kneels quietly. When the bishop asks her if she has anything to say in her defense, simply looks back at him, locking eyes with him one last time and not breaking eye contact.

Intimidate: [roll0]

When Ezra begins singing, Ethelinda joins in on the mournful song

Aid antoher: [roll1]

[BelGareth]

Samus knelt on the dirty cobble stoned floor, his knees bleeding slightly from the rough guards who had shoved him down grazing his shins and cutting his skin.

He fell down like a rag doll and had to be forced back up to kneeling by two guards, they had beaten him into the posture, it had only taken one blow to force him. And now he knelt before the archbishop being rebuked from this plane for atrocities he did not do.

His mind was somewhere else, as the archbishop began to talk he looked up in a daze and his eyes widened.

His daughter was standing next to the archbishop.

But...Your...

She moved with the bishop, a pretty little smile on her face, he watched her with rapt attention, his mouth agape in a mixture of horror and bewilderment. And then his son appeared next to her, walking out from behind the archbishop.

His sweet smile warmed his heart, a tear formed at the edge of his eyes and slowly fell as his head turned to regard his lost family as they moved with the archbishop in his diatribe.

I thought you were...

And then his wife walked out from behind the man.

Not being able to take the visions of his family he started to weep, openly before everyone. Raising his bound hands up towards them.

His family stood and looked at him with smiles on there faces, clean and well kept.

I thought you had died! Wha...what is going..

And they would burn right before him, there flesh would melt of their bones, hair would catch on fire, clothes would smolder until all that was left were three emotionless skeletons.

Nooo! Oh gods!

And then the skeletons would fall down, turning into dust taken by the strange wind that had whipped the area suddenly.

Anger, rage. Something deep inside Samus stirred and the fire of his soul burned with an unnatural luster. He wanted to unleash the pain he felt unto the people here. He no longer cared, take these people away from him!

Suddenly yelling out he screams "Damn you, damn your church, damn your world, and DAMN DAERON!"

[Stasgard]

Ezra:

Even with your suspicions and ability to read people, the Bishop appears to be truthful in his words, and sincere in his belief

Sir_Chivalry:

You can tell immediately that your attempts to assert authority are succesful. The Archbishop removes his gaze from yours and not once looks at you again directly.

The very air itself seems to weigh down heavier as the sorrowful song rings out throughout the air. Several people in the crowd begin to cry, almost instantly upon hearing it, and many more appear to be caught off-guard by it's power. The Archbishop takes two steps backwards, and seems somewhat pained by the sound. He motions to the guards behind you, and manages to choke out the word, "Put their gags back on those two."

As the guards approach, resilencing you, the Bishop turns away from you and wipes his eyes and continues to face away for a few moments before turning back towards you. "Your words sting deeply. I am afraid you two cannot be allowed to continue speaking. I should have known better than to allow you to speak with your ability to manipulate others Ezra..."

The man holds his head in his hands for a moment, seemingly trying to think of words. It is clear that he had practiced this moment, and it had gone heavily against his expected path. He turns towards Lincusto, seemingly noticing his armour for the first time. "I know not how you have conjured this... thing, but it shall do you no good... Shaman."

He turns towards Samus for a moment, and looks at him unsurely. After a moment, he decides not to bother attempting to deal with this man. "He is surely mad." He mutters under his breath. After several moments the Bishop seemingly draws up the courage to face Caius. "Know this, Brother, that this was not what I wanted for you. If I had the authority to overrule the decision of the rest of the men on the Council that was making these decisions, I assure you I would." The Bishops eyes appear to wet as he speaks, but he fights back the tears. "These are dark times, Caius, and the people are scared. Surely you understand the need for safety in regards to the rest of those that are gathered here today, but I promise you Caius, I will fight tooth and nail to ensure that no one such as you is subjected to this again."

The Bishop turns away and hangs his head.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius raises his head, and says quietly so that only th bishop will hear Hopefully next time you will have more success. Goodbye old friend.. He then turns and says to Ezra That was beautiful, and it seems to have moved the crowd. Maybe next time they will be more selective in who they banish.

He then quietly starts muttering prayers to Daeron, asking for protection and guidance on this new plane.



No spells being cast, just a general request for aid.

[Hazuki]

Ezra's singing grows quieter until she is gagged once again and her eyes rest on the ground. It worked...and that was enough. The Bishop would try to stop anything like this from happening again. It would not help her where she was going, but the memory would remain. She nods at Caius' words, and gives a gentle tug to her chains. She wondered if they would come with her in the banishment; their history would surely be interesting.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda accepts the gag at first, but bites the hand that puts it when given an opportunity. Assuming she gets knocked about after that, she tries her hardest to pray, something that never came easy to her. She just wants it to end.

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto stays still. He sees no way to stop the ritual or to convince them otherwise. He does, however, keep his armor of black wind upon him, as a small token of resistance against those banishing him.

His elemental, on the other hand, decides to taunt him
'I could help you, you know. All you have to do is give in, and I'll do the rest.'

'No!' He tells the demonic entity mentally. He, at this point, was ready for it to end.

[Savannah]

Jonas does not respond when the gag is removed, still kneeling, eyes on the ground, his ragged hair shielding his face from the crowd. He rocks back and forth slightly, hands clenched until his fingernails bite deep into his palms.

[Stasgard]

As Ethelinda bites at the guard another rushes forward and deals a blow to the back of her head, and finishes gagging her.

Mechanically, no damage taken.

The Archbishop continues to look away from you for several more moments, remaining silent the whole time. Without a word, he looks towards a group of Cleric’s, standing to the side and motions towards you. The guards behind you at this motion replace the gags as the clerics slowly advance towards the group and begin the preparation for the ritual of banishment. One by one the ritual is preformed, beginning with etching a circle of runes around the target, and then the Archbishop and two other clerics begin to chant a spell. After a minute of chanting you feel yourself begin to tingle all over, and then a second later everything instantly becomes black.

Caius:

Before the second, verbal, part of the ritual begins, the Archbishop leans in and whispers into your ear, so that only you can hear him. "Farewell, Brother. May Daeron preserve and keep you."

You feel yourself floating, free from your chains in an endless blackness for what feels like an eternity. Time, space and any means of quantifying this place are completely removed, there is simply nothing in this place. An unknowable amount of time passes and then you see a figure in the distance walking towards you. As he approaches, you get a better look at him: He is tall, and may have once been handsome, but now his skin has gone unnaturally pale, his pupils are red and his eyes are bloodshot. His straight black hair is long, coming halfway down his chest, and rests gently against his clothes. They are orange and red, and very luxurious, the kind you would expect Lords to be wearing. He walks right up next to you, looks you straight in the eyes and smiles. He turns and walks away.

You awaken with the all the others set to be banished lying around you. You are all freed from your chains and gags, and you find all your equipment lying in the centre of the circle which you form on the ground. As your eyes adjust again, you find yourselves atop a mesa of grey stone, only as big as a houses living room. A circle of stone pillars, etched in some foreign runes surround you. Looking out passed the mesa you see nothing but a black mist below it, a single path of stone leading into it and nothing but an empty black sky above. There is enough light to see, but where it comes from is unknown.

Having gotten your bearings in this new plane, you all start to notice a sharp pain on the palm of your left hands. When you check your palm you notice that someone, or something has carved into your flesh, seemingly a long time ago as the wounds has healed, but left a very visible scar. Someone has carved a single word into your palm.

“Tethal”

[hydroplatypus]

Caius looks at his hand, but decides that that issue can wait for later. He immediately goes and picks up his possessions from the pile. When he picks them up he looks around at his companions, and wonders what their real stories are, and what they actually did to get banished.Looking over the group he says:

Well that was certainly unpleasant. Now that that's over I think we should tell each other why we are really here. I doubt that pathetic excuse for a trial actually told us the truth, but there must be some reason why we are all here.

He attempts to be calm and not show his feelings, however he cannot keep a slight nervousness from creeping into his voice. He fears that these people, no longer bound will attack him for his connection to the church.

[Savannah]

Jonas lies on his back for a long moment before moving. He slowly unclenches his fists and raises his hand to look at the word, slightly distorted by the red semicircles his fingernails left on his palm, then lets his head and hand fall back to the ground.

Knowledge (the planes) please? [roll0] (And arcana [roll1] and religion [roll2], just in case :smallwink:)

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda stands up slowly, checking for wounds. If she finds none, she begins going through the pile of equipment for her stuff.

[Hazuki]

Ezra opens her eyes slowly as the feeling returns to her body, looking around herself and paying only a cursory glance to the scar carved into her hand. This place was far different from what she had expected...and that man was quite the strange one. But that wasn't important right now. The bard gets to her feet, and is immediately met by the small arms of Kulaas wrapping around her waist, head nestled into her hip. A smile come to her lips before Caius speaks. "Kulaas, let's get our things."

Kulaas nods, walkling serenely over to her small pile of valuable equipment and beginning to put on the shiny rings, gems, and cloaks with a smile on her stark white face.

Ezra picks up her gloves, looking around for any loose objects on the mesa that are loose. "What the Archbishop said was true. But it is the perception of me that they fear; rather than what really is." She stretches out her arm of bone, wiggling the fingers in Caius' direction before pulling the glove over it. "I never asked for this."

She slips on a sterling silver circlet, embedded with jewels, over her mane of white hair, followed by an amulet emblazoned with a griffon that rests atop her prisoners' outfit. "As for Kulaas...she is a little girl. And she is no beast. She's just not human." She wraps a white belt made of tightly woven cloth around her waist, pulling on a ring with a song engraved across the inside and out with her free hand.

"What matters is she protects me, and has sworn to do so." Ezra finishes, as she attaches a simple silver anklet with gems hanging off to her ankle, followed by a smooth movement to put a black beret atop her head. She picks up a heavy black cape, swinging it around her form. It shifts in the air for just a moment before disappearing onto the bard's body; becoming an elegant black dress made of silk and a light black cloak hanging from her shoulders, reaching down to the leather boots adorning her feet.

She throws the outfit she was wearing for the banishment to the side. She held no fear of judgement from the other banished people; this was the worse fate that could be given by the church. They could deal no worse without acting the fool.

Taking 10 on Sense Motive for the guy that appeared, for 27. Assuming in this game, Sense Motive can be used for sensing somebody's motive and reading them. Rather than only being a built-in lie detector. :smallwink:

Taking 10 on Spot for 12 for any loose items on the mesa.

[Stasgard]

Jonas:

Your first thought, with the planes emptiness and blackness is that this is a Negative Material Plane. However, that thought is squashed from the realization that you cannot feel the effects of Negative Energy here, leaving you at square one and zero idea what this plane is.

Ethelinda:

The back of your head is a little sore, but other than the scars on your palm, you are uninjured.

Ezra:

The man is something of an enigma, even with your normally good read on people. He appeared to be be simply curious as to who you were, and simply wanted to get a look at you. The smile however... that is tricky. The mans appearance betrayed a malevolent entity, but his mannerism appeared friendly. You cannot narrow down his feelings towards you.

Glancing around the mesa, all you can see is the rest of the Marked's equipment. No sign of plant life, no loose rocks. Simply... nothing.

[hydroplatypus]

Still a bit nervous Caius starts to pull objects out of a bag he picked up. As he pulls objects out he listens to Ezra's speech. While putting on a cloak he replies

How did your arm come to be so? I have heard of those touched by negative energy before, but your case is peculiar. I have studied both the arcane and divine magics, so maybe I will be able to help.

As he is saying this Caius tries to remember if he has seen anything similar in his studies of magic.


knowledge arcana: [roll0]
knowledge religion: [roll1]

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda removes the clothing she has on and begins to dress in her usual clothing of dark leather and wool. Once she is dressed, she begins collecting her hair into a bun.

Once she is prepared, she snaps her fingers and mutters. Her armour rises up as she puts her arms out, attaching itself to her and securing its straps.

[Stasgard]

Caius:

Never in your study of the Divine have you heard of anything quite like this, raising the dead, sure, but never melting the flesh of the bone. In your study of the Arcane however, you have heard of a few cases of especially sadistic Necromancers marking their targets by stripping flesh and muscle from a persons bones.

You have yet to have heard of a way to reverse the effects of it, nor have you heard any specifics of how it is done. From the best of your speculation on the subject, Divine magic may be able to reverse it, but the caster would need to match, or surpass the power of the Necromancer who cast the original spell.

[Hazuki]

Kulaas walks to Ezra's side with a smile, now that she's in a colorful dress and a strange mechanism is attached to her torso. She smiles around the area, looking over everyone present while Ezra talks to Caius.

"My brother;" Ezra begins, not bothering to hide the disdain in her voice. "Is a Cleric. He was called to assist a town that were having necromancer problems. We got there too late and I ended up captured after they incapacitated dear Bael with ease." She turns to face Caius as she finds nothing to pick up.

"The necromancers took me as their prize and began to melt the flesh from my arm." She resists the urge to twitch at recollection; the day was stressful enough already. Perhaps time to rest would be available soon. "Luckily a friend was called by the charm I wore around my neck. A Fey creature by the name of Lyrinilel. She destroyed the necromancers and saved me from...everything. But that's irrelevant."

"The damage was done."

[hydroplatypus]

That is a terrible story. All this time you have been persecuted based on something entirely not your fault. If I could help I would, but I don't know of any magic that would counteract this. It should be theoretically possible, however it is beyond me for the moment.

At this Caius looks sad, hoping to have been able to help. He then looks at Kullas, and says You don't seem nearly as bad as the other priest made you sound. You seem much nicer than they were certainly.

He then addresses them both, saying You seem to have been the target of great misfortune. I hope that you will accept my apologies for the acts of my fellow priests. You seem better people than me. I am here for my failure to defend Marrakesh as the bishop said. The blood of ten thousand are on my hands for my failure. At this his eyes tear up, which he takes a second to wipe away. He continues in an uneven voice.Those people trusted me and I let them down. 10 000 innocent lives condemned to whatever punishments the demons dealt out, because I wasn't good enough. At this tears start to run down his face, and he turns away from Ezra, in order to hide this from her.

[BelGareth]

Samus awakens to the dark and dreary sky, his hand throbbed and the image of a strangely beautiful man haunted his mind. Faint, but dark recollections assaulted him, but he could not recall much.

Turning his vision to the scene laid out before him, Much has changed he thought to himself.

Leaning up on his elbows he looks around, seeing several of the people who were bound and gagged with him up and about he sighs, realizing the ceremony was complete and his banishment was unfolding.

Slowly standing, he stretches his joints, they felt as if he had been asleep for a while and were stiff with the coldness of the void. Seeing his equipment he reaches down and begins to garb himself.

An image runs through his mind, was it his daughter? Was he being visited by the dreams of his family? or were these images bought to his minds eye by the power of the vestiges he bound to his soul? No, they were under his command and would not affect him, although he sometime wandered about that, he always felt the stirring deep in his soul, but he had always managed to shunt it aside and command the strange powers to be.

And then he recalls his actions before being banished, Oh gods, did I do that?

Picking up his spear he twirls in it a flourish, Ah, that is better The cold steel shaft secured him somehow, it grounded him that this was all real, but he was still who he was and he could change things, as least here.

Looking to the others he speaks for the first time since he awoke "Eugh..." The word comes out garbled and his tongue was almost completely dry, he had always had a penchant to sleep with his mouth open. His mother had said it would be the death of him, exactly how many spiders had he stomached he did no know.

Coughing away the dryness of his throat he grimaced, "It would seem the banishment was successful." he says simply.

Looking down he see's the image of his daughter, Rai'lee, and smiles I will not lose my composure again, my sweet child.

Walking to the edge of the Dais he looks down the path leading to them, his eyes scrutinizing anything that would seem odd. His daughter moved before him and motioned towards the others with her hand silently, shaking his head he smiles again, a warm beautiful smile in contrast to his dark image. of course, I will, but it will take time.

Holy cow you guys blew up this thread, give a guy a chance to post!

[Hazuki]

Kulaas approaches the edge of the mesa as Samus does, peering over the edge and looking down into the mist below. She shoots a look back at Ezra before jumping off of the edge of the mesa. Ezra keeps an eye over the edge as she steps closer to Caius and places her left hand on his shoulder, squeezing it softly. "There will be time for despair when we can secure a haven." She tells the man softly.

Mulaas will use Cloudwalk to walk on the mist.

[Sir_Chivalry]

After securing her magic items, Ethelinda will pick up her weapon and walk slowly down the path, intent on checking what is there.

[Stasgard]

Kulaas:

Your blindsense reaches out, when standing atop the mist, but you feel nothing but empty space beneath you. Either you are very high up, or the plane ends below the mist.

Ethelinda:

As you walk down the path, you are soon engulfed by the mist. When inside it, it strangely seems to part, giving you vision for a few meters in each direction, but the mist is impenetrably thick beyond that. If you continue, you wander for a few minutes heading further and further down, but still not finding anything but more mist and the path.

[BelGareth]

Samus follows the woman into the mist, spear held casually with one hand at his side.

As he walks into the mist behind the woman, the area around him instantly burst into flame, a dark flame tinged with a brakish green hint on it's edges. It seems to dance irregularly, but in the midst of it all a solid deep red flame stands out and dances it's own fiery dance.


Activating Aym's Halo of fire and Holocaust Cloak stance.

Halo of fire -
Attackers receive 1d6 fire damage (half vile)

Holocaust Cloak -
Attackers receive 5 fire damage (half vile)

[Hazuki]

Kulaas walks across the floor, treading hard on some parts of the mist to see its effect before her form shifts into that of a hummingbird, flying back to the Mesa before turning back into the form of a little girl. "Nothing there..." She whispers loudly to Ezra, who is watching the other banishees leave silently.

"Not a very friendly bunch, are they?" The bard mutters to Caius.

[Hazuki]

Kulaas walks across the floor, treading hard on some parts of the mist to see its effect before her form shifts into that of a hummingbird, flying back to the Mesa before turning back into the form of a little girl. "Nothing there..." She whispers loudly to Ezra, who is watching the other banishees leave silently.

"Not a very friendly bunch, are they?" The bard mutters to Caius.

[Hazuki]

Kulaas walks across the floor, treading hard on some parts of the mist to see its effect before her form shifts into that of a hummingbird, flying back to the Mesa before turning back into the form of a little girl. "Nothing there..." She whispers loudly to Ezra, who is watching the other banishees leave silently.

"Not a very friendly bunch, are they?" The bard mutters to Caius.

[Stasgard]

Samus:

As you walk down the path, you are soon engulfed by the mist. When inside it, it strangely seems to part, giving you vision for a few meters in each direction, but the mist is impenetrably thick beyond that. If you continue, you wander for a few minutes heading further and further down, but still not finding anything but more mist and the path.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Kulaas walks across the floor, treading hard on some parts of the mist to see its effect before her form shifts into that of a hummingbird, flying back to the Mesa before turning back into the form of a little girl. "Nothing there..." She whispers loudly to Ezra, who is watching the other banishees leave silently.

"Not a very friendly bunch, are they?" The bard mutters to Caius.

Walking back to the mesa, Ethelinda removes her helm.

"There's nothing down there for some ways. We shall have to either consider an alternative, or accept that once we go down there we may never find our way back."

She walks over to the "little girl"

"Why in the world are you here little one? And how were you able to do that trick earlier?"

[hydroplatypus]

As Ezra puts her had on his shoulder he remembers their situation, and pulls himself together. She is right, their current situation needs more attention than his past. He wipes away his tears and takes a few seconds to calm himself. He then replies to Ezra

We were just banished to another plane, I'm not surprised if they are hesitant to talk.

He then hears Ethelinda's words and replies Indeed we should be cautious before going down. He then looks at Kullas, having completely missed her jump off the edge and says What did you that has Ethelinda surprised?

[Hazuki]

Kulaas looks up at Ethelinda and Caius, smiling still as she taps the ioun stone floating around her head. "I jumped off of the edge. With magic. I'm here because I'm friends with Ezra and the church didn't like it."

[BelGareth]

Samus will walk back the way he came lest he finds himself lost and alone, ignoring the others he will kneel down on the stone, pulling out a piece of chalk he will mark a symbol into the ground and then speak softly to himself.

"Oh mighty powerful Astaroth, your knowledge will help me in this moment and I beseech you, nay I demand you to answer my question."
The ceremony took almost 10 minutes and at the end he asked but one simple question:
"Where should we go now?"


Using Astaroth's Divination (usable at will)
Successful answer is 82% (I'll let you roll as if I do it disallows me to believe what I receive and is better RP)

[Stasgard]

Samus:

The voice, after a moments silence replies to you, simply and quickly. Astaroth only replies with: "Down"

[hydroplatypus]

Caius looks down at Kullas, trying to display kindness as he does so, saying well, I can't see why they would think so of you. I certainly appreciate having you around. You seem nice, and your loyalty to Ezra is very impressive.

He then puts on his final magic item - a ring of protection - and and attaches his bag to his belt. He then looks down at his hand and sees if he knows what the word means.


for the word: Caius knows common, abysmal, infernal and celestial. If it is in any of those he knows it.

Caius has finished putting on his gear by now. If he is wearing it on character sheet he is wearing it now.

[Stasgard]

Caius:

Despite your broad set of languages, this is a word that means absoloutely nothing in any of them.

[BelGareth]

Hearing the response Samus grunts, of course.

Looking to the others, We need to go down.

And with that he heads back into the mist, intent on going down through it on the path.

[Hazuki]

"Thank you, Sir." Kulaas tilts her head and smiles as Ezra lifts up her hand, looking at the scar inscribed into her palm. Ezra focuses briefly on her knowledge of tales and rumors she has heard in her days, before the beret atop her head shifts into a large white flower with a red centre, and she pulls up the hood of her cloak, casting a shadow over her face.

"These words on our hands; I believe they are a name. A marking, branding, or something of the sort." She speaks, the theory based on little more than the man she had seen between the blackness. "If they're a word from another language, I don't believe I know it; I can cast a spell later that could remove any doubts."

[Hazuki]

"Thank you, Sir." Kulaas tilts her head and smiles as Ezra lifts up her hand, looking at the scar inscribed into her palm. Ezra focuses briefly on her knowledge of tales and rumors she has heard in her days, before the beret atop her head shifts into a large white flower with a red centre, and she pulls up the hood of her cloak, casting a shadow over her face.

"These words on our hands; I believe they are a name. A marking, branding, or something of the sort." She speaks, the theory based on little more than the man she had seen between the blackness. "If they're a word from another language, I don't believe I know it; I can cast a spell later that could remove any doubts."

Bardic Knowledge: [roll0] +5 if Restless Troubadour levels stack with Bard levels for the purpose of Bardic Knowledge.

[Stasgard]

Samus:

The path wraps back, eventually forming a sort of spiral around the side of the mesa. The walk is... long, to say the least. It will take at least an hour to reach the bottom. Do you wish to walk the entire way or turn back and wait for the others, or something else entirely?

Ezra:

Tethal. A name, if the person you recall is the same as the one referenced by the scar. He is an incredibly little known figure, and the amount of information on him is slim... at best. Several centuries ago, in a time before magic was accepted, and possibly before the formation of the church there lived an incredibly powerful mage named Tethal. No information, that you have heard, exists in regards to his appearance or his family.

However, it is known that he was an outspoken social activist. Heavily oppossed to violence, discrimination and an active fighter for magic to be understood and accepted. Whether or not he was to be thanked for advancements in society is unknown.

[BelGareth]

Samus will run back to the others "The trail wraps around this thing we are on, I think we should all go down together, strength in numbers."

His daughter stood before him and ushered him towards them,

Not now, I'm not in the mood! he thought.

He stood at the edge of the mist and waited on everyone.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius replies to Ezra saying Yes checking later would be a good idea, but for the moment I think we should get off this platform, like Samus says. I don't like the idea of being confined to such a small area for too long.

With this he walks towards Samus, saying Well, as we have nowhere else to go down the path seems as good an idea as any.

Not knowing what is likely to come he casts mage armor on himself, hoping that the extra protection isn't needed.


lasts 9 hours, temporary AC: 21

[Savannah]

Jonas slowly gets up and gathers up the remaining items and makes several gestures towards himself.

See the unseen and fell flight are up.

"I agree, this is an uncomfortable place to be."

[Hazuki]

Ezra pulls a thin wooden wand made out of a gnarled black wood from the haversack hanging beneath her cloak, holding it tightly in one hand and taking Kulaas' hand with the other. "I agree. I hope we can find somewhere safe soon." She mutters under her breath. She would talk about what she knew later.

With a tightening of her cape, Ezra and Kulaas wait to descend the stairs with the others present.
Ezra's pulling out her Wand of Barkskin.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda walks to the edge of the path.

"I shall protect you, as long as someone can be my eyes."

[Stasgard]

Your group begins the walk down the path. As you enter the mist it seems to part around you, giving you a bubble of vision, however the mist at the end of it is still an impenetrable. The path wraps back around shortly into the walk and begins to spiral down the side of the Mesa, at times being shooting down steeply, and at others being almost monotonously slow a decline. After close to forty minutes of walking, you find the edge of the mist, as it clears you see the surrounding landscape of this plane for the first time.

The plane has many sweeping hills, although most of them are fairly small mounts. There is very little sign of life, the plane seems to stretch onwards as nothing but endless dirt and stone, with many areas covered with the uplifted dust, causing blankets of dust. There are many hideous tangles of barbed plants, some becoming as large as a house. The occasional dead tree is the only other sign of life on this plane. The sky above, as could be expected is covered completely with the black mist. Once again, there seems to be enough light (though dim) and heat (however uncomfortably cold) to sustain life here, though no indication of its source.

However, one strange sight breaks up the barrenness of this landscape. A large town lies a small walk from the bottom of the mesa, however it does not appear friendly. The entire town is walled of by a large, tall, brick wall. The only gate in or out of the place you can see is a steel security gate. The inside of the town itself is also unusual, instead of the usual placement of buildings and shops, there are quite a few large singular buildings, with a few smaller buildings dotted around it. Looking at the site, it begins to sink in what this “town” is. It is a prison.

As you reach the bottom of the Mesa, you see that the winding path finishes back on the ground with you facing directly towards the gate of the prison. From here you can see that there is a group of four guards, armed in metal armour and with halberds guarding the gate to the place. One of them motions for you all to approach, calling out: “As hard as it probably is to do, don’t worry, we’re friends here. Come closer so we can actually hold a conversation.”

What do you do?

[hydroplatypus]

Caius yells out at the guards We'll come closer so that we don't have to yell so loudly, and we mean you no harm at the moment. Hopefully you can explain to us what is going on here.

He then walks towards them and motions for the group to follow, whispering Be careful, they seem friendly but they might be faking. Keep yourself ready for trouble. He now regrets not preparing any spells in order to detect truth or alignment, and plans to prepare some tomorrow. He is also surprised that they speak common, given how long ago the last instance of the ritual was preformed. He would have thought that they would speak an older language. Thinking this he immediately becomes more suspicious.

[BelGareth]

Samus is immediatley suspicious,

Come closer? Why on earth would they do that when they could hear from here?

And then the one called Caius moved closer signalling for everyone to do so.

Oh gods!

He follows but his muscles are tensed for action, he did not trust these supposed friends, the happenstance appearance of them and the proximity of the jail to the plinth reeked of foul play to him.

Deciding to take the initiative and hopefully unbind them from any thing that Caius had done he whispers to the others.

"Follow along as best you can, let's test their motives." he says quietly and with that he then yells out to the guards while moving slowly to join caius "We are travelers and our resident mage botched a planar transport spell" looking around he gestures to the area "we appear to not know of our location, could you help us?"

[roll0]

He could feel the silver tongued devil;s power course through him as he spoke, while he disdained liars, he knew it was needed from time to time.

[Hazuki]

Ezra shoots a raised eyebrow in Caius' direction as he takes immediate charge of the group. He seemed like a nice enough man, certainly, but he had no particular charisma to speak of. If they were to avoid dangers from potential allies in this barren realm, they would need to tread - and talk - carefully. "They mean no harm, Caius. If anything, they seem scared." She tells the man just loud enough for the group of banished peoples to hear.

The bard approaches the armed men at a steady and graceful pace; not quick enough to seem eager, but not slow enough to offend with caution. "Hello." She greets them, her voice loud as it stretches between the gap. "Y-" The bard stops as the man in armor walks past her, shooting an incredulous stare as he speaks. Was he a madman?!

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto, follows in the footsteps of the others. He had been silent for most of the trip after the ritual, deciding it better to listen than to speak in order to learn about the others. In fact, all he had done was say his name to the others!

However, when they come to the guards, Lincusto was immediately suspicious. He doesn't believe in a word the guards say. However, he follows in the footsteps of the tall armored man without making a sound, his long monk robes kicking up a small cloud of dust as he does so.

He does no say anything, however he is ready to react if they try to attack him. He doesn't summon his elemental armor just yet, not wanting to raise their guard.


Ready an action to use the Arc Trail spellshape if they make any aggressive move against him.

[hydroplatypus]

Quietly, trying not to let the guards overhear Caius whispers to Ezra True, now that you point it out they do look more scared than anything. He visibly relaxes when he says this, thinking that he is not about to be attacked. In retrospect we should really have planned out what we were going to do if we met people. This is a bit of a mess.

Although a little nervous about the lie, as he doesn't have the necessary focus for plane shift he is confident that the guards are not educated enough in magic to challenge their story. He is worried though that next time they lie it might involve a spell he cannot cast.

To Ezra he says When we have some time we should sort out issues like this, and appoint someone to handle first meetings. As well as plans for things like this. Think about it we would have had no plan if we encountered hostiles. We really need more planning.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda steps forward

"What are your names?" she asks the guards.

She keeps her weapon sheathed for now.

[Hazuki]

The bard sighs audibly to herself, the little girl looking up at her curiously with pale eyes as she does so. There was no reason to lie to these people; even if she had somehow failed in her attempt to read their movements and inflections of words, lying about how they ended up in this place would do them no good. That they were there was enough.

Ezra simply stands and watches the armed people; she would have to put up with yet more madmen. Such was her lot in her semi-unlife. Though it seemed far more lucrative and less stressful in the long run to go off with herself and Kulaas. She shakes her head, placing her covered fingers on the bridge of her nose. She was letting stress get to her.

Kulaas kicks Ezra's shin. "Stop fidgeting!"

"I completely agree." Ezra tells Caius, offering Kulaas a smile as she speaks. "I would suggest myself, as I have spent half of my life in cities making sure people did not find out about my condition. As the Archbishop said."

[Savannah]

Jonas follows behind the group, although he is sure to hang back as they approach. Any thoughts of speaking to the guards himself are driven out of his head by Samus' words.

[Stasgard]

Samus:

Success, the guards buy your story completely.

The guard shifts uncomfortably as he takes in your words, the most so when Samus speaks. After a moments wait, he turns and addresses Ethelinda. “I am Mason, ma’am. And the others are James, Dean and Marcus.” The other guards nod in turn as he lists their names. After a moments contemplation he turns and faces Samus. “I… I am sorry to hear that you have ended up here. As you can see, it is not the best place to be. It is lucky that you found your way to the top of the mountain,” he says, motioning towards the mesa, “there is no other city for miles around, and there might not even be another.”

The man looks around for a moment, and then turns and faces you again. “On behalf of the city of Dalruan, I welcome you. I don’t know much about magic, but if what I’ve been told is true, I don’t think you’ll be leaving this plane any time soon. There’s magic across the whole place stopping teleporting or something.” Mason rubs his foot across the ground, trying to think what else he needs to say, and how to deal with these… unusual arrivals. “Oh, you’ll want to speak to Calan. He’s our leader, and a Priest to boot. He’ll be able to help you, and he’ll want to see you anyways. Go on in, he’s in the building in the very central square.” Mason smiles at you as he finishes talking.

[BelGareth]

Samus smiles inwardly,

Ah yes, the truth comes out.

[roll0]

Waving his hand in the air he speaks to the guards "I apologize, I have given you false information to test your motives in this bleak and inhospitable circumstance. My misdirection was solely for our well being and was meant with no ill will, I assure you. You seem to speak the truth and that is good enough for me. I am known as Samus,"

[roll1]

Turning to regard the others he sees their expressions and he realizes that many of them may of had an issue with the false pretense.

Ah well, take the initiative and maybe you won't find me acting as leader.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius looks shocked when Samus reveals their lie so quickly, but doesn't want to make a bigger issue of it than it currently is, and so just stays silent shaking his head for a few seconds. The mention of a priest is good news though. It might be good to speak to another member of the priesthood and figure out what is going on.

Thinking this he says I say we should go see this Calan fellow. If he rules the area then we should really explain our presence, and that we intend him no harm.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda holds out her hand and steps forward, motioning for one of the guards to take the hand

"Lead the way good sir."

[Savannah]

Jonas frowns slightly, "What is this city? A prison?"

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto simply follows without saying a word.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius says to the guards How would we find Calan? We are new here, and don't know where in the city to go.

[Stasgard]

Mason seems incredibly uneasy as he listens to Samus reveal his falsehood, but seems a little calmer, if confused when he notices Caius’ shock. He looks to Jonas and shrugs. “I dunno, the place was like this when I got here. Calan might know; he’s been here longer than anyone else has.” He looks back towards the other guards and thinks for a moment. “I suppose I can show you to Calan. Don’t think anything’ll happen when I’m gone, and he probably wants to see you, being a group and all. Follow me.” He looks at Ethelinda’s hand for a second and then turns and begins to walk into the city.

He leads you through the town, and you get a good look at the inside of the city for the first time. It’s design, layout and general feel all reinforce the notion that this was originally designed as a prison, and has been repurposed. The notion raises quite a few questions. After a few minutes you arrive at a small building in the centre of the town. As you enter into it, you see that the building is quite clearly an office. Several tables are set up, and are covered with scrolls, ledgers and other paper detritus. A middle aged man, sorting through paper on one of the tables is the only person in the room. He wears a shoddy, brown, hooded robe tied at the waste with a rope belt, to which a couple of scrolls are attached.

“Ehrm, Sir Calan? This group just arrived from the mountain, and they wanted to see you, so I thought I’d bring them to you. They said they messed up a ‘planar transport’ spell, but then said it was just to ‘test my motives’.” The robed man, clearly Calan turns towards you all. “Thank you Mason, I appreciate the gesture, to both them and myself. You may return to your post.” Mason nods and leaves the building. Calan pauses a moment before speaking again, “Well, it isn’t every day that an entire group is banished to this cesspool of a plane. As I’m sure you have surmised, I am Calan, leader of Dalruan.”

He gives a slight sigh. “I suppose your hesitance to accept the notion that we aren’t hostile isn’t unfounded, but not many are so mistrustful. Not many are banished in groups. And even fewer appear to be so armed, and suspicious. I'm sure you have questions for me, but may I first enquire as to the circumstances of your unusual arrival?"

[hydroplatypus]

Given the prior confusion resulting from Samus' lies at the gate, and Calan's apparent knowledge of the banishment Caius decides to just tell him why they are here.

As you seem to have guessed already we were recently banished here from the city of Thandor. I appologize for our lying at the gate, however the city seemed to be a prison and we were afraid that it was to hold those who were banished. This seems to no longer be the case and as such I feel that there is no use lying anymore.

Recently our world was attacked by many many demons, that destroyed a great portion of our empire. We won the resulting war, however the populace demanded that someone pay for what had happened. So they rounded up some of the most powerful people in the world that hadn't been killed in the war - Us - and had them banished to appease those the populace. While I don't know the entire group too well at the moment, myself, Ezra and Kullas With this he motions to the pair. were certainly banished unjustly, and given that the entire banishment was largely to comfort the populace I doubt the rest of our group are any more guilty than we are.

As to our distrust this banishment is supposed to be the highest punishment that can be administered. We were not expecting as pleasant a reception as this. I mean I can imagine many punishments worse than being sent here.

Caius then adds as an afterthought I thought the ritual hadn'r been used in centuries, but you imply that people come here fairly regularly. Where do they come from?

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda scowls for a moment when she is rejected. She follows and keeps up.

When the mayor asks her a question, she locks eyes with him.

"I killed people."

Intimidate check: [roll0]

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto simply follows the group wordlessly. He does, however, take note of his surroundings. 'I wonder if perhaps this was originally a prison to keep the convicts here but ended up getting overrun?' he thinks to himself.

When they arrive and meet with Calamity, however, Lincusto decides to stay quite, finding that Cause had already given a satisfactory answer.

[Hazuki]

Ezra turns her head to Ethelinda as she begins to intimidate the affable man, looking at her with wide eyes, her voice a barely-hidden whisper. "Will you please stop making angry eyes at the man?"

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ezra turns her head to Ethelinda as she begins to intimidate the affable man, looking at her with wide eyes, her voice a barely-hidden whisper. "Will you please stop making angry eyes at the man?"

"Possibly."

Ethelinda breaks eye contact with the man.

[Stasgard]

Ethelinda:

Success. Calan is treated as friendly for the purposes of aid and information for the rest of the conversation.

Calan stands cross armed for a few moments after everyone finishes speaking, and his previously welcoming, if curious demeanour slowly fades away. His legs move to shoulder length and he is clearly standing on the defensive, as if waiting for trouble to begin. He looks straight into Ethelinda's eyes once again, as his own eyes harden. "You killed people? Fine. No grudges will be held here as long as you do not continue to do so here."

"But let me give you a few words, Miss. Do not try to threaten me. If I wished it, I could end your life in an instant. The only reason that I do not, after the disrespect you have shown me, is that I am unsure about my capacity to defeat the entire party you travel with, should they defend you, and I do not wish to risk them bringing any harm to the others here." Calan unfolds his arms, and curls his hands into fists at his side. "But let me give you this guarantee, if you ever do anything that gives me the impression you mean ANY harm to anyone within this city again..."

Calan breaths in deeply, never breaking his gaze at Ethelinda. "...I will not show you the same courtesy I have here. You are welcome to stay within this town, as long as you respect those that live here, and I will provide you with whatever answers you need. But you have not given a particularly good first impression."

Calan breaths in, once again. He uncurls his fists and rubs his eyes, appearing to calm down. "I apologize if I have caused and discomfort to the rest of you." He turns to Caius, and pauses for a second before speaking. "If you think you are the only ones to have been banished since the war, then I have some news that will be unpleasant. I was only banished as of late as well, one of the first I believe. There was only a handful of people here when I arrived, but I was able to organize the city fairly quickly."

He sighs heavily. "Everyone here, Sir, has been banished since the war began. Soldiers, women, shopkeeps... if you think that the church" he spits the word out with some considerable venom, "has not banished anyone since yourself in centuries, well... here is the evidence to the contrary.". He walks back a few steps, and sits down into a large wooden chair. "This city, prison, whatever it is. It was here when I arrived. Those few that were here when I did were unsure of it's origin as well, but apparently it was empty when they arrived. The place was furnished, but there were no logs, no research. Nothing of any kind to indicate why this place is here, or what it was for."

He looks towards the group. "I don't know why the rest of you were banished, or if you were guilty of the crimes, but I am willing the accept the premise that you are innocent, as I have met several here who are without a doubt, innocent." He looks towards Kulaas specifically here, and his eyes wet when he looks at her. He stand and walks over to her, and kneels before her. "I am sorry to you most of all child. There is nothing a child could have done to deserve any harsh punishment, let alone one of this magnitude." He leans forward to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

[hydroplatypus]

In a voice clearly betraying anger Caius says If you speak the truth then the church has fallen far indeed. I am a servant of Daeron, formerly of the priesthood. I have been in prison for a while, and the likely didn't see reason to inform me of the banishments, but using it on shopkeepers! Common soldiers?!

As Caius realizes what has done his anger towards the church builds. He realizes that in his years of inprisonment how much the church had changed. Despite his own banishment he had thought that the church had remained a largely benevolent organization, that had simply made a mistake. This however could not be excused.

Caius' voice rises as he continues to rant about what the church has become, while he pays increasingly less attention to Calan and those around him. Daeron gave us this ritual for the worst offenders, how dare they use it like this. What happened to the teachings of compassion? the sermons about justice? Was all that held so loosely that it could be thrown away for convenience?! We preached that holding to our beliefs in the face of adversity was the highest virtue, but as soon as we were put to the test we failed?

By this point it is cleear to everyone around that Caius stopped speaking to them a while ago, and is merely ranting to get out his anger at the newfound revelations about the abuse of the ritual. Oblivious to this Caius continues Were we so weak in faith that mere public opinion could sway us? that we let fear dictate our judgements on such a large scale? No this is not what Daeron taught us, it cannot be what he intended. What could have posessed the priesthood to allow this?

Finally having vented his anger (to some extent) Caius calms down, and sits down in a chair, with an expression of anger clearly on his face, but clearly not directed at anyone present.

[Hazuki]

Kulaas seems unaffected by most of the tension building in the room, from the silent banished peoples and the angered mage, to the despairing man before her. She watches, like her spirit is detached and looking around the new environment she had been placed in. It should have been devastating, and she knew she should feel despair for the situation, but Ezra was staying calm, so she would too.

As the man places his hand on her shoulder, Kulaas smiles at him, pale lips curving upwards. She leans forward and kisses the man on the cheek to cheer him up. It always worked before. "It's okay, mister. I have Ezra and she has me." Her voice is clear and soft, but she speaks it like a secret to Calan.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda crosses her arms and smirks a tad.

At the mention of the population's nature, she frowns though.

"All banished? Then I have misjudged you. I thought you mere dimensional oddities, now I know you are more than that. You're as bad as me or worse. Tell me though, all insults and posturing aside, what of crops in this place? Water and irrigation? And most importantly, do you brew beer?"

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto is calm and relaxed, despite the tension in the air. To most, it seems as if he was an observer; simply watching everything unfold before him. However, a question does appear in his head during this talk.

"What is known about the plane we are on?" He asks, directed toward Calan.

[Savannah]

Jonas has kept quiet, hanging in the back with his eyes on the ground. Regardless of whether the others are innocent or not, he knows he deserved this banishment...

[Stasgard]

Calan smiles faintly at Kulaas, but his face hardens and he stands and faces Caius, and listens to his rantings closely. His face hardens as Caius speaks, his face eventually moving into a frown. He continues to listen to Caius until he finishes, and seems to start to say something, but stops, and decides adressing the others first would be simpler for all involved.

He looks down to Kulaas, and smiles once again. "Make sure you take care of Ezra for me then." He looks across to Ethelinda, his smile fading as he does. "I am not sure what to make you ma'am, but the same could be said for many of your companions" he says, tilting his head slightly to cast a glance back at Caius. "There is no sunlight here naturally. I do not understand it fully, but whatever supernatural power lights this place doesn't allow crops to grow. I suppose it is fortunate for those here that I was banished, my magic has allowed me to create an artificial greenhouse. It requires constant maintenance, but it is far better than starving to death... I do not know about beer. I don't grow or care for the crops. There is a tavern, but I am unsure if they actually serve alchohol." He thinks for a moment. "Considering the circumstances I am certain if it possible to brew beer, it has been."

Calan turns towards Lincusto, and seems to relax a little as he does, the man's cool airs seeming to make it easier for Calan to deal with him. "Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Planes is not as full as it perhaps should be. None-the-less, this is no plane I have heard of, and doesn't seem much like any I've read about. There is arificial light constantly, and the landscape is inhospitable all around Dalruan. No one has ever explored far enough to see if there is anything else out there, but... I don't think the odds are good."

Ezra:

Calan's claim that he doesn't think there is much else in the Plane strikes you as somewhat insencere.

Calan looks to Jonas and Samus, but decides not to speak with them if they would rather remain silent. As he turns and look to Caius once again, he seems unsure of how to proceed for the first time. After what feels like a long time, he finally decides to speak. "Your church is merely doing what their god allows them to. Your Lord Daeron is all powerful, and yet he does not step in to prevent the abuse of the powers HE gave to the people." Calan's voice begins to betray clear anger as he continues. "He is supposed to be a god of goodness and virtue, and yet his followers banish the innocent, and he does nothing. He is supposed to be all powerful and yet he allows our world to burn."

Calan continues his tirade, the anger in his voice now unmistakable. "The Church has fallen far? No, your god has simply shown his true colours! Daeron exists, this we know. And he has Divine powers beyond mortal comprehension. This we also know. And yet, evil has caused our world to suffer. And yet, his followers are acting out their petty vengeance and sending innocents to their death! He claims to be a god of goodness and compassion, and yet a CHILD stands before me in this nightmare of a plane!

His hands curl into fists again, and he speaks through clenched teeth as he finishes speaking. "Your god is either one of two things. Apathetic, or evil. Regardless of which, he is not WORTHY of worship. The very thing that has caused me to be banished, the Clerical power I steal from your precious Lord Daeron is the only thing that will ensure the survival of all the innocents he ALLOWS to suffer here. I ask you Cleric. Who is the real villian here?" He continues to glare at Caius, still clearly angry.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius looks up at Calan, a look of fury briefly flashing in his eyes before quickly dying. He opens him mouth, apparently trying to rebuke Calan, but shortly closes it, unsure of what to say. He looks downwards, and his brows furrow in thought. Try as he might Caius cannot think of an adequate response to what Calan has said.

Unsure of what Calan has said he casts a small detect magic spell (divine) to see if Daeron still supplies him with power in this plane. He reasons that he should detect his and the party's equipment if he is still receiving power.

[Hazuki]

As Caius goes silent, Ezra decides it is time for her to speak again. What Calan was saying had no deep effect on her, but sympathy for Caius. She clears her throat, trying to bring Calan's attention to her again, and chase up his insincerity. "How do you know none have ever explored there, if you have not explored yourself? Were there any before you that had recorded such things?"

Taking 10 on Bluff for 34. I'm using my "get guy to reveal bluff and why he bluffed" trick from Master Manipulator. If this beats his original Bluff check, he does what I just put in speech marks. :smalltongue:

[bindin garoth]

"I am truely sorry for all who have suffered from being unjustly banished. Perhaps there are a few things around here we could do?" 'Like destruction and chaos?' Varyn's elemental adds mentally.

'Shut it!' Lincusto snaps back, and using a small portion of his energy forces the elemental back away from everyone else. He could tell it was getting restless.

[Stasgard]

Caius:

As you call upon the power of Daeron to feel the presence of magic at first there is nothing, but then a moment later you feel the presence of magic quite heavy in the air around you. All of your companions are heavily drenched in magic, and Calan himself is even giving off a fairly strong reading.

Calan stops in surprise as he listens to Ezra. He turns and faces her, clealry put off his guard. "None have explored there because I have been divining the plane, and I have never seen anyone. Besides, the safest place on this plane is here. The things that are out there are dangerous, and it is best for people to stay here in safety then to die out there."


He nods towards Lincusto and smiles faintly. "Your offer, and the good nature behind it is much appreciated, however there is not much that needs to be done here anymore. The town is fairly self sufficient and safe at this point. The only thing that we truly need is a means of escape, but I doubt you can offer that."

[hydroplatypus]

Seeing that he is still receiving power from Daeron, Caius appears more calm.
He waits until Calan stops speaking, and says in a friendly voice You say that Daeron doesn't care, but I still receive power from him. He still gives me the power necessary to do good. I may not understand his will, but I will continue to serve him. That being said while we are here we will likely serve the same goals. We both care about the people here, and will do what we can to help them. In service to the people here we should be able to put our differences aside for the moment.

Then responding to Calan's comment on what needs to be done he says You say that there is nothing that needs doing, so the town must be doing fairly well. However you have said that your magic is the only way the town gets its food. Surely our arrival is a good thing then, as I can to some extent help with food production. Furthermore the guards told us that teleportation doesn't work here. If this is in fact true then how can we be sure other magic isn't effected? How do you know that the divination are accurate? If there is truly nothing that we can do to help here we could explore the immediate area.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda waits, patiently as she can, while the others discuss the hows and whys of being there. All she knew is someone would have to answer for all this, and they were as good as a full fathom of the heavenly spheres away.

[Stasgard]

Calan nods towards Caius, his expression softening considerably. "You at least, Cleric, appear to be honest in your wish to do true good. You are rare amongst those of your faith that I have met.". Calan pulls back the hoods of his robe, revealing the infernal marks on his forehead and the side of his head for the first time. "Understand that both my lineage and my, occupation leave little love lost between myself and your church. But, your company, your words and your current circumstances gives me the immpression that we can work as one.".

He stops and thinks for a moment. "All that is required is for me to keep the Divine Sunlight functioning in our greenhouse and the town has food, and as I am sure you would know, creating plentiful amounts of water is a trivial task when you can call upon Daeron's power.". Calan scratches the back of his neck as he processes thoughts. "Teleportation works, but is erratic. It is incredibly difficult to accuratly control your destination. Perhaps it is my methods, but even moving from one edge of Dalruan to another can have you thrown considerable distances off. It is simpler to just tell those without magical knowledge that it doesn't work than to go into details. It is Plane Shifting that is sadly impossible.".

Calan frowns and looks away from Caius. "Something is blocking any attempt to use magic to escape from this Plane. It is possible to bring beings into the Plane, but any attempt to escape from it is met with failure." He looks back to Caius once again. "And you worry me, I hadn't considered that my divinations may very well have been misleading." He stands and walks to a table and begins to shuffle through papers.

[hydroplatypus]

As Calan listens to Calan's description of his reasons for hating the church Caius begins to understand why he has such a hatred. Although he didn't care who Calan's parents were he knew that many in the priesthood would not be as understanding. He thinks to himself I wonder how many in the priesthood would want to kill him on sight. How quickly we tend to forget the parts of the doctrine relating to fairness, and judgment.

After Calan finishes talking about the magic in this plane Caius says It might be the way you aquired your teleoprtation that is causing problems. Presumably you use divine magic, while I am schooled in both arcane and divine magic. I wonder if it would have the same effect on arcane teleportation. As to the divination being false, well I learned that they can be fooled the hard way. I used to be a general in the way with the demons, and lost a crucial battle because I made bad decisions based on my divination. When I later lost because they had been fooled I realized the folly in over-reliance on magic. Sometimes the mundane way really is better.

[bindin garoth]

Lincusto is not surprised at the new information. Surely they wouldn't be banished to a plane where they could simply plane shift out of. However, he was surprised by the news of teleportation working erratically. Perhaps it was the same magic stopping plane shift from working, or a natural trait of the plane? He wasn't sure.

"Is even short-range teleportations affected? Also, are their any traits of this plane that seem potentially dangerous?"

[Sir_Chivalry]

"So, is this the part where the brave heroes help out the beleagured citizens of the town?"

Ethelinda shifts from side to side.

[Stasgard]

Calan smirks slightly as he adresses Lincusto, "You mean other than the near constant dust storms and completely inhospitable environment? Not that I've been able to discern, no. But as it has been brought to my attention that my divinations might be less than reliable," he nods towards Caius, "I would say I am unsure. If I was working from a position of conjecture, I would say that it is likely that a large part of the plane, if not all of it is similiar to our surroundings here.".

The smirk drops immediatly from Calan's face, and his arms cross as he faces Ethelinda. "No one has requested you do anything Ma'am. If your companions wish to help, or to explore the lands as the Cleric has suggested you are free to do so. If you don't wish to, then you are free to stay here or go your own way.".

Calan pulls his hood back over his head, and pauses for a few moments. He seems to be deliberating something, but finally speaks up. "I was not going to draw attention to this, as none of you seemed like you were going to bring it up. But... each of you has what looks like a very deliberate scar on your hand, almost a branding. And considering your unusual arrival as a group, I must enquire as to what it is."

[hydroplatypus]

Cauis responds I have no idea where the scar came from. It appears to be a word of some sort, but none of us can read it. It simply appeared after our banishment.

[Hazuki]

Ezra clears her throat from where she stands. "That's not strictly true, Caius. I may have an idea; but I think Calan would understand if I don't wish to reveal it in front of people not within our group. Would you, Sir?" She asks, looking to the marked man.

[hydroplatypus]

Caius appears slightly amused at Ezra's statement and says to her You do realize that this is his office. If anyone should leave to discuss things it would be us.

[Hazuki]

"I never asked him to leave." Ezra smiles at Caius in return. "But it is polite to be excused before leaving, is it not?"

[Sir_Chivalry]

Ethelinda breathes a sigh of relief that the man is no longer around.