[3.5] Fairytale Adventures IC

[riccaru]

Once upon a time, in a magical land six great and powerful warriors were called by the majestic Queen Avery for an undisclosed task of heroic consequence. From all across the land they gathered; their weapons and talents ready for anything that may come their way as they stand at the staples of the town of Kingfield. The air is heavy with the scent of cured leather, sweaty stable hands and powerful horses as the coach arrives, ready to take you to the Marble Palace and to your fate.

The man on the carriage has seen his fair share of years, his face wrinkled but still hard. A cursory glance of his body will show the uniform of the White Guard closed tightly over his withered body and the sword by his side is notched on the crossguard, clearly used for more than show. With a quiet snort he motions you into the back with a nod of his head. Clearly he isn’t one for introductions or conversation. Beside him sits a much younger man with shaggy brown hair and a gapped tooth smile, similarly attired and with a heavy crossbow in hand and a spear at his side. He beams a smile at the fair lady Margaret and then again at Sahnin. To the others he looks on with quiet resentment mixed with a healthy amount of hero worship. To think, he’d meet these people asked for by Queen Avery herself!

"Hello there, adventurers! Are you prepared to meet her majesty!? Oh, how I wouldn't love to be you right now. I've always wanted to meet Queen Avery! What do you think she'll be like? Will I be able to meet her as well, grandfather?" The young boy asks the much older man beside him.

"Only if you behave yourself, Aaron." The old man replies. "I'm sorry about him. He tends to get ahead of himself. My name is Charles and I'll be taking you to the Queen today. Sit tight, and we should be there by morning. If you ask me the seats facing forward are much easier to sit in, so good luck fighting over those." He says, his eyes still forward. One may think he'd never even looked back at all.

[NotScaryBats]

Margaret the White

Margaret is a young human girl in her late teens. Her blond tresses are unbound and fall freely down to the small of her back. She has calm, blue eyes, with an inner serenity that is palpable. The girl radiates a feeling of peace and goodness. In fact, the most striking thing about her is that the girl literally does glow faintly, shedding about the same light as a torch in a soothing, muted aura. Those Good folk who look upon her recognize this not as strange arcane magic, but a blessing from the gods.

She is dressed in a simple white robe, tied about her waist with a hemp cord. An oak quarter staff seems to be her weapon, though the implement looks as though it has never seen combat.

"Thank you very much for taking us to the Queen; we are extremely grateful." Margaret says placidly. She smiles kindly at the boy in response, and takes a rear-facing seat.

[Vladislav]

Valleron

Valleron is in his early twenties, although his battle-hardened and windswept face makes him look older. The sword at his hip and his heavy armor sit snugly on his muscular frame as he climbs on board the carriage, hailing his new companions with a nod and a smile. He doesn't much care about his facing, and chooses his seating on a whim, placing his shield at his feet.

[roll0] 1=forward-facing 2=rear-facing

Must be a matter of importance, if the White Guard are used as mere drovers, he thinks. As curious as he may be about the purpose of the summons, for now, on the streets, smalltalk will serve better than business conversation. Thank you, Charles and Aaron. Busy streets today, eh? he asks, as the carriage pushes its way though the crowds.

[Toliudar]

Lucian

A slender teenager holds the carriage door for the others before climbing up himself. He hardly looks like a 'hero', with a mop of hair, a huge smile, and a loose, laconic manner. He seems to be armed only with a sling, although he wears a gauntlet on his left hand that would be more appropriate with a suit of armour. He nods and waves to the others as he gets on.

"Hi there, everybody. Charles, Aaron. Good of you to be picking us up. Oh, I'm Lucian, by the way. Nice to meet all of you."

He glances out a window of the carriage.

"Yeah, the streets are pretty busy today. Wow. The Marble Palace. Who'd have thought, eh?"

He looks over at Margaret and Valleron and realizes, from their bearing, that this might not be everyone's first trip to meet the Queen.

[Jarian]

Sahnin

Sahnin is a young woman of average height, her strikingly slender body wrapped with several lengths of rough woolen cloth, some red, some green, others blue. What you can see of her face beyond the cloth wrapping around her mouth and nose to cover her head is eminently average, save for her green eyes. Something about them seems off somehow, a touch too much cunning for her age, her glances ever so slightly more piercing than would be expected.

She nods in thanks as Lucian holds the carriage door, marking her way inside with a light step before taking a seat facing forward. Her eyes settle on the youth as he enters, and the cloth around her mouth and nose twitches slightly, as if from a hidden smile.

"Sahnin," she says by way of introduction, her voice quick but slightly musical, as if with a practiced lilt not of her original tongue. "Or Mistress Cassaid, depending on who you ask. As to the palace..." she shrugs slightly, but the edges of her eyes crinkle in amusement. "I have been to stranger places, but never quite so prestigious. I suspect I know some bit of why we six were called, but I shall let our host reveal whether I am correct or not."

She shifts slightly, as if adjusting her loose, piecemeal skirt, and suddenly her previously empty hands hold a deck of cards a handspan tall and half that in width. The corners of each of the cards sparkle with gilding, though their faces are faded to near unreadability. She begins casually flipping through the deck, placing one or two of the top cards into her lap for several moments before shuffling them back in and starting anew. After a while, she raises her eyes from the cards to stare at Lucian, and this time there is no question about it: her gaze is definitely too knowing to be looking at someone she just met.

"You are a curious one, Lucian. Tell me, would you like to know what the cards say of you?"

Sahnin is in the Aspect of the Kitsune by default, should it become relevant.

[Toliudar]

Lucian shifts to focus more on Sahnin. He watches the flickering of the cards for a moment, biting his lip, but the smile quickly returns.

"Well, sure! You can tell the future? That's an amazing thing. Must take some of the fun out of it, though.

"I was talking with this palm-reader I know back home, works out of the Gilded Ball. Saw her at the midsummer celebrations last year, cleaning up because it was so nice out and everybody had come into town for the festival. 'You must be so happy', I says to her, and she comes back 'well sure, but it's not nearly as good as the weather two years from now.'"

He tilts his head back with a quick bark of laughter, and then quickly refocuses on Sahnin. He leans in, excited.

"So, what do I have to do? Handle the cards, cross your palm with silver? How does this work?"

[Jarian]

Sahnin's eyes crinkle in amusement again as she shakes her head. "No, nothing like that. Your consent is sufficient."

With a single quick motion, she flips four cards from the top of the deck and spreads them in a small fan, looking over each briefly before glancing back up at Lucian.

"The Magician and the Hierophant, but opposed by the Tower and the Hanged Man. You are a canny one for such a young age, and your talents cannot be made to lie within a single definition. Quick of wit and glib of tongue, but you walk a dangerous path, perhaps without knowing. You would be wise to temper your excitement with care, lest recklessness get the best of you when you least expect it."

She shuffles the cards back into the deck, then tilts her head slightly, as if considering. "But anyone who has known you more than a minute could have told you that, I suspect. That is simply what the cards say of you, not a fate sealed. If you truly wish to know your future..."

She waits for Lucian's assent, then takes his hand in one of hers and guides it above the top of the deck. She falls silent for a moment, eyes fixated on Lucian's hand in hers, then a card from the middle of the deck seems to leap free of its companions with a papery snap, hovering in midair between the deck and Lucian's hand. In a flash she snatches it out of the air and places it atop the deck, face up.

"The Chariot. Speed is your ally in the coming hours, Lucian. Perhaps quickness of thought, perhaps fleetness of foot; I cannot say for certain. Act with alacrity, but remember my previous warning: do not be reckless. Fate is not an immutable thing, despite what others may have told you, and your choice of actions shifts the entire pattern of your future with every breath. What I have told you is only a glimmer of that future, a single thread of that pattern; the rest is woven by you."

Lucian takes a -1 penalty to saving throws, but gains a +10 ft. luck bonus to all forms of movement speed for 24 hours.

[Toliudar]

Lucian listens, rapt, to Sahnin's telling - although it becomes a bit unclear if it's so necessary for him to look so carefully at every part of her that the multi-coloured wrappings allow to show. His eyes flick down to the cards as each is revealed.

"So, be ready to act quickly, but be cautious about it. Whew! Your fates don't ask much, do they?"

He glances around the carriage.

"Anyone else want to try this. Sahnin's really good at this!"

[THEChanger]

Arthur climbed into the coach and sat facing the rear, doing his best not to disturb his companions with his rather large form. Saying nothing, he gazed about his fellow companions. They certainly were a motely crew. Arthur briefly wondered what task the Queen would have needed one such as he for. He had his talents, to be sure, but even the Queen shouldn't know of his greatest strength.

Arthur watched the fortune-teller carefully, keeping track of the movements of her cards for any slight of hand. Seeing none, Arthur decided this woman must honestly believe in her abilities. Unfortunate for her, but ultimately harmless.

Arthur did not believe in fortune telling.

Then Lucian commented that the teller-Sahnin, what an odd name-was "really good at this". Arthur just barely managed to contain a chuckle of amusement. "Do not place too much faith in her cards, my friend. In the end, each man must decide his own fate."

[Vladislav]

The card-reading girl piqued Valleron's interest, and he was more than willing to try his fortunes. Well, I was always interested in that type of thing, he said, turning to Sahnin and Lucian. Not sure if I believe it, but fate is a fickle mistress, and we could use any help we can get. Mind to have my fortunes read, milady?

[NotScaryBats]

Margaret

The human girl, Margaret, speaks up in response to Arthur's statement. "While I agree with the spirit of your opinion, ser, there is undeniable wisdom in what Ms Cassaid says.

"'There are many paths to the same mountaintop;' just because it isn't your way, does not mean you should disparage it."

[Toliudar]

Lucian

The boy shrugs cheerfully in response to Arthur's advice.

"I guess that's the nice thing about it. If we decide it, it's not really fate, right? I heard this old guy once, crazy hair but nice enough once you got to know him. He said that the gods didn't play dice with the universe. But then this other real skinny guy laughed and said that not only did they play dice, but sometimes they threw them where you couldn't see. Which didn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to me, because I figured, 'who gets to see the dice when the gods throw them, anyway'. Who'd be a croupier for the gods, right? There's a job that ends in disaster nine times out of ten, right?"

He chuckles and then glances around the carriage.

"Um. No offense intended."

[Jarian]

Sahnin only smiles and shakes her head slightly at Arthur's comment. Too many people thought the same way as he did for her to bother trying to change minds anymore.

Nodding in response to Valleron's request, she shuffles the deck of cards once more, then spends several long moments flipping one or two cards off the top, examining them, then shuffling them back together. After perhaps a minute, she flips four cards from the deck and spreads them in a fan, her eyes darting back and forth from the cards to Valleron's face.

"You have not yet given these others your name, so I shall respect your choice of privacy. You are a strong one, selfless and brave. Fortitude, Temperance, Judgment, the World... all signs of strength, both of body and soul. And yet..." Sahnin trails off, shuffling the cards together before reaching across the rear seat of the carriage to take Valleron's hand in her own, guiding it above the deck. As with Lucian before, there is a momentary hesitation before a card from near the center of the deck snaps free of its companions to hover in midair below Valleron's hand.

Snatching the card out of the air, Sahnin lays it face down atop the deck and regards Valleron with a somber expression - or at least what you assume to be a somber expression, based on what little of her face you can see.

"The Tower looms over you, casting a shadow across the pattern of your fate. There is pain in your future, though whether pain of heart or pain of flesh I cannot say. Your strength will carry you through, fate willing, but you must be ready when the troubles come. Stay strong."

Using the Learn Name aspect of Cartomancy first, then reading Valleron's fate and activating Tarot reader.

Net result: Valleron gains a +1 luck bonus to AC and saves, but takes an additional point of damage from all non-periodic sources of damage he receives for 24 hours.

[Vladislav]

Valleron ruffles his hair as he contemplates the cards and their interpretation. His scalp itches and burns where the old scar burned itself into his head, invisible to all but his mind. A promise of pain. And strength. He'll need a lot of it, before the day is done, so he feels.

Thank you, Milady, that was most enlightening. He bows. Shadow of the tower. He tries the word on his tongue, to find courage. Have fought in the shadow of worse things before, and by the grace of the Shining One, prevailed, for his is the light that cleanses the shadows. And you are right, of course, I should have introduced myself. I am Valleron, sworn knight to Pelor.

To stop himself from scratching the scar constantly, he decides to put on his open-visored helmet for the rest of the trip.

[SecondRevan]

As the others sat discussing their fortunes, the last member entered the caravan. The man was dressed in a mish mash of clothing, a courtier's shirt long abused by the road beneath a farmer's jacket, with a large, wide brim hat nestled on top of his head like a decoration. His entire body was covered with a layer of dirt and mud, and he made no effort in fixing that, refusing even to remove the pieces of twig that had been caught in his hair. He moved with paradoxical mix of the theatrics of a jester and the dignity of a prince, as he entered the coach and took the last remaining seat.

"Telling futures, are we? As a man with many pasts, I have always believed that the future is undecided, personally. Except in the pasts where I didn't, of course" he said, ending with an overly theatrical laugh.

[riccaru]

Almost the instant The Dealer steps into the carriage it lurches forward, knocking him into one of the last empty seats facing front. The road is quite painfully bumpy beneath the wheels but the long metal springs attached to the carriage help somewhat. You know for certain you wouldn't want to be riding on a normal carriage.

The windows set int he side of the carriage show you moving at an even pace past rolling hills and countryside towns, and as you pass through the children of the towns march behind, emulating the royal guards who drive your carriage.

Soon after that you come to the entrance to a wooded path where the horses throw their heads and snort heavily before stepping forward cautiously. Within seconds you hear the telltale click of a heavy crossbow being loaded, readied for things that may be stalking the carriage. As you come deeper into the woods a heavy fog sets upon you, restricting vision past the fringes of the trees. Everyone but Arthur, The Dealer, and Valleron hear the crunching of sticks beyond their vision but can't make out the origin.

[Toliudar]

Concerned about the increasingly mysterious environment, Lucian briefly loses his broad grin. He peers out one of the small windows of the carriage - long enough, anyway, to confirm that there was nothing to be seen there in the fog. He turns to murmur to the others.

"I think there's somebody out there."

Carefully, moving with a certain grace, the young man shifts to the door of the carriage and opens it silently, then swings out and up onto the roof of the carriage.

...or, rather, that's what he's going to try to do. Burning an inspiration point on his climb check if he thinks he has any chance of failing otherwise. Taking ten on these if he can, which would make for a move silently check of 19 and a climb check of either 17 or 22. If he needs to roll, Move Silently: [roll0], Climb: [roll1].

Of course, if the carriage has a soft fabric top, he won't do this, but will instead try to step onto the running board and from there onto the rear exterior seat.

[NotScaryBats]

Margaret

"I'm certain it is nothing to worry about," Margaret says blithely. The young woman looks unconcerned by the bouncing of the carriage, and though the young man's antics seem to surprise her a bit, she takes no action to stop him.

[riccaru]

Lucian easily moves on top of the carriage but the position affords him little advantage over being inside the vehicle. As the noise draws nearer Margaret can hear that it's on the left side of the carriage and that there seems to be four creatures moving about but staying in a tight knit group while keeping pace with the carriage itself.

On the right side she hears another creature stalking about, moving with much care. She only hears it every few yards, but the intentional noise is proving the creature to the right is at least keeping pace with them, if not overly hostile. She can tell it's the work of someone well versed in the arts of subtlety.

[Toliudar]

The young man clutches the top of the jostling wagon and looks nervously off to the left and right. Carefully, carefully, he works his way over to the left side of the carriage and positions his left hand at the edge. Ready to do what he can to discourage the pursuit - if pursuit it was, and not some kind of royal escort - should they ever come into view.

Basically, he's getting ready to Grease the ground underneath the whatevers are out there off to the left, if they both show themselves and seem hostile in intent.

[NotScaryBats]

Margaret

"Perhaps I spoke too soon." Margaret says, after listening to the sounds of the forest, her right index finger to her lips.

"It is not my intention to be alarmist, but there appear to be five creatures out there. Four pack animals to this side, and one stealthy creature to that side. Obviously, I cannot divine their intentions, but perhaps it would be prudent to ready yourselves for an encounter -- I fear it may well fall upon us to defend young Aaron and his grandfather."

Her voice is soft, as though she is describing a suggested strategy to a chess game; it does not seem like the girl considers the stalking creatures a trye threat.

[Vladislav]

Valleron draws his sword, straps his shield to his left arm, and positions himself by the carriage door, getting ready to either repel all boarders or jump and take the fight to the enemy, as the circumstances may be. Have no fear. We are the Queen's chosen, we can take care of ourselves. His voice is calm and confident.

In fact, his voice is bolstering (http://therafimrpg.wikidot.com/bolstering-voice)

[Jarian]

Sahnin says nothing, merely slides her deck of cards into some hidden fold of her clothing, then looks out the window, concentrating. A moment later, a transparent patina seems to slide over her features, obscuring some, changing the shape of others. Color follows, turning suddenly shaggy hair brown, tanning skin on a rough - if young - male face, and revealing a gap-toothed grin of stained teeth. Sahnin's clothing changes likewise, flashing from barely-concealing bolts of cloth to the uniform of the White Guard in an eyeblink. A crossbow appears across her back, and a longsword appears at her side, twisted across her lap to accommodate the carriage's seat.

"They may have trouble deciding which is which, if that is the case," she says, voice suddenly deep and serious.

Use The One of Many Faces to disguise (as disguise self) as Aaron. Take 10 for a Disguise result of 20.

Disguising voice too. Bluff, I assume? If so, take 10 on that for 18, should it become important.

[THEChanger]

A low growl broke loose from Arthur's lips. A low rumble, almost inhuman. His muscles unconsciously flexed and unflexed, and he readied himself, looking nothing so much like a hunter ready to pounce. "Let them come."

Intiating Island of Blades Stance. If myself and an ally are adjacent to a prey item-sorry, enemy, we are considered flanking.

[SecondRevan]

"I wouldn't get to worried. I'm sure whatever is out there is willing to talk. Even the most hated are given a chance to converse. I should know, considering that's probably me." Unlike the others, he put his hands behind his head and looked to relax, though he was just as prepared to spring to action as the rest of them

[riccaru]

As the sounds Margaret and the others hear shifts, no longer can they hear 4 creatures' footsteps on the left and even the other footsteps to their right stop completely.

Lucian has barely a second to see a massive spiderweb spring into being between two trees ahead of the wagon as the horses pick up speed from the sudden jolt and smash headlong into the web before them, jolting the carriage to a stop and lurching forward the people inside the wagon.

From the top, Lucian is flung from the wagon and thrown onto the webbing prone! While inside Valleron manages to catch himself on the door frame and Aaron and his grandfather easily hold themselves in place with their legs as they cast their glances from side to side.

But as luck may have it, from Lucians' new perspective (the ground facing up) he sees something which the drivers don't. The boughs of the trees shifting subtly as if under a very heavy and unnatural weight. Soon after he sees the swaying it ends, and a loud crash is heard just beyond the web.

Initiative rolls!

[Toliudar]

Lucian had been so focused on the dangers to the side that the webbing looming up ahead catches him off-guard. He watches the trees bend and bow under a massive weight.

"Oh, dear."

Initiative: [roll0]

[NotScaryBats]

Obviously, this is out of order, but since it shouldn't affect what he does, I just posted anyway. After all, its him, me, then monsters. If this is an issue, I can of course retcon / delete my post.

Margaret springs into action, rushing out of the carriage and channeling some divine light into a protective shield, which she wraps around both her webbed ally and the one who looks most likely to get in the fray and need some divine shielding.

Move to line of sight with both Lucian and Valleron.
Standard Action to PowerWord Shield on Lucian. He gains a shield which absorbs 24 damage and lasts 3 rounds (or until its used up, whichever comes first)
She uses her Soul Warding class feature to put another shield on Valleron. This second shield lasts only 1 round.

[Toliudar]

Lucian

Seeing the boughs bend for no apparent reason, Lucian gulped. It would seem that he was by no means the only one in the kingdom with such tricks. He called back to those still in the carriage.

"Um, what's huge and invisible and spins a web? I don't know but it's out here in front of the carriage!"

His elevated and upside-down position put Lucian in an ideal position to make eye contact with the carriage's driver.

"Come on, dear man! Start cutting those horses free. I'll see what I can do to help."

He glanced up at his legs, seeing how the thick strands of the web had wrapped around them to hold him. He thought that he could see a way to kick there, twist and get free. Tucking and kicking, he fought his way free of the webs and tumbled down to the ground. Continuing the roll, he followed the edge of the webbing off to the right, hoping to find a way to distract whatever-it-was away from the travellers in the wagon.

I'm assuming that Lucian is at the edge of the web, since he initially hit and stuck, and so am assuming that a move action gets him out. He'll then take a second move action to skirt around the perimeter of the webs.

[riccaru]

Out of the fog comes the image of a gigantic spider twisted in visage with the upper body of a young dark elf in place of its' usual features. Blood drips slowly from the spider legs and is splashed over the creatures chest as if it had just slaughtered someone. A wicked gleam is in its eyes as it quickly assesses the situation before it.

[Vladislav]

No point in being sitting ducks. Let's take the fight to the enemy.

Valleron jumps off the carriage and circles the web on the right, getting in position to charge the foe. He tries to stay close to Lucian or any other ally to protect them with his shield. His sword is readied to strike, should the beast be foolish enough to advance.

Ok, seems like the drider is too far to get to in a single move, so I'll just move around the web as far as I can with my move.
Standard: ready a melee attack (+10, 1d8+6) if it comes in range.
If an adjacent ally is attacked, use Shield Block to give them +7 AC against the attack as an immediate action

[SecondRevan]

The Dealer left the carriage with an almost casual grace, as he saw the spider-creature approach out of the fog. Instead, he confidently said the necessary words of power, and conjured golden particles that fell on top of the drider, outlining its shape and hopefully blinding it.

Cast Glitterdust DC17 Will save to resist blindness to the drider. COnsidering the range, I should be able to cast it without letting anyone else get blinded as well

[Jarian]

Sahnin exits out the right side of the carriage with a light step, moving up to stand next to Aaron, appearing to most eyes as a twin of the young driver. The effect is spoiled almost instantly as she reaches one hand back then thrusts it forward in a throwing motion, and a pure white sphere bursts forth, streaking toward the drider.

Move up to the front right of the carriage, then use Orb of Deception. 60' line attack in the drider's direction, [roll0] damage (half electric, half untyped), Reflex DC 18 halves. Next round, the orb returns and deals [roll1] additional damage if the drider is still in a line between the ending location of the sphere and Sahnin.