[4e] Adventures in the Planes - IC

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Previous IC thread can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231306)

A poet once said that the first sunrise on Arvandor seers the heart deeper than any dragon's fire. While this isn't the first sunrise you've experienced on the celestial plane, it is the first that you've seen. Since coming out of the portal nearly a week ago, your journey has taken you through the untamed wilds that make up the Hunting Lands on your journey to Nath Seldarie at the heart of Arvandor.

Though Arvandor is a peaceful plane ruled by benevolent gods, it is by no means a safe place. Abominations that escaped from the prison of Carceri wander the Hunting Lands, seeking to destroy any they come in contact with. Unwittingly, you find yourself part of the Great Hunt, slaying and tracking the abominations before they can escape into the Astral Sea and wreak havoc on the Planes and Mortal World.

Last night, you arrived in Nath Seldarie and were given beds for the first time in what felt like an eternity. When dawn broke the next morning, you were finally able to look out over the city, and experience the full glory of the celestial realm. Shimmering towers made entirely of moonstone that stretch impossibly high; Domed palaces on earthmotes connected to the ground below by spiraling glass staircases; waterfalls that twist and flow through the air against all the laws of nature, a thousand rainbows arcing in the mist... The view is awe-inspiring, and at once you realize that the colors and magic that gave beauty to the feywild were simply reflections of the glory of Arvandor. Even the walls of the city that protect the ruesti from the Abominations that roam the Hunting Grounds is a work of art, with bas reliefs etched in the marble and sapphire barricade.

At the foot of each bed (or meditation mat, for those who require reverie), you find that your clothes have been washed and mended, your weapons polished and sharpened, and the enchantments on your armor and magical possessions re-invigorated. Under the door, a small note has been slid, the symbol of the star and moon clearly visible.

"To Ark-erynsuoress Sharma, General Printempest, Grandmaster Roslow, Zyrr'delin Morvyndis the Enstarred, Highmaster Thoene, Magnus Durant, and The Shepherd.

The Seldarine wish to extend the warmest of welcomes to Nath Seldarie, and express most profound admiration at your endeavors thusfar in the protection of the feywild. It has been brought to our attention that you come bearing urgent news on fiendish activity in the Astral Sea. You are cordially invited to attend or send representatives to the council of Tel'Seldarine at the first trumpet past midday.

The letter is not signed, but is instead stamped with a banner of the moon and stars.

OOC: Feel free to elaborate or expand upon what may have happened to you during the Great Hunt while you journied to Nath Seldarie



This is the continuation of the "Adventures in Sigil" and "Adventures in Fallcrest" games.

The first part of the game can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141355), The second part of the game is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165206), and the third part is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176365), the fourth part can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=192889) the fifth part here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219678) and the sixth (Adventures in Sigil Part III) is here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=231306)

Out-of-character thread can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14211668)

The Characters:

Mando Knight - Eladrin Swordmage (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=177227) "Aramil Printempest"

DSCrankshaw Half-Elf Bard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=363129) "Lucan Thoene"

Haberdashery - Goliath Monk Shaman (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=429344) - "The Shepherd"

Nai_Calus -Half-Eladrin Paladin|Warlock (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=467654) - "Eltain Sharma"

dariathalon - Gnome Wizard (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=473617) "Pavick Roslow"

Toric - Drow Rogue (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=320429) - Zyrr'delin Morvyndis

Orsik Vandal - Tiefling Hexblade (http://plothook.net/RPG/profiler/view.php?id=10863) - Asheroth Durant

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan Thoene -- Half-elf Bard

The Wild Hunt awoke something in Lucan. He had grown up hunting in the wilds with his elven tribe, blending music and magic with archery and woodcraft. The Wild Hunt was so much more. Magic and nature were one in Arvandor, and all his skills seemed to expand to encompass the magic of the place. But what they hunted were creatures from legend, monsters who made the worst creatures of his home mere prey. It called up something fierce within him. Something primal. Something powerful. Something that would. Not. Shut. Up.

"Eeeaat," it whispered to him as he stared at the fallen carcass of some creature out of a nightmare, like a turtle with a spiked shell and tentacles instead of legs. It's blood steamed and sizzled.

"No thanks," Lucan said. "I'm not really hungry."

"Feeaassst," it replied. There was something familiar about the voice. He couldn't recall ever hearing it speak, but he was sure that its . . . presence was familiar. It seemed that he'd felt it when he'd been convincing the dragons to join the fight, that it had recognized the dragons as kin.

"Couldn't I eat something less acid?" Lucan asked.

"Fresh sheep with crunchy bones and chewy marrow, blood thick and warm. Cattle who tear and splinter beneath strong, sharp claws. Young, succulent maidens."

"That really doesn't sound that appet--wait, did you say maidens?"

"Comrade Lucan," Yuri said, "are you all right?" Both Yuri and Lena were looking at him oddly.

"What? Of course," Lucan said. "It's just that the whispering voice has strange ideas about what an appetizing meal is."

"Whispering . . . voice?" asked Lena.

"Yes, it's quite . . . You can't hear it, can you?"

"You did take a blow to you head," Lena said, fluttering around the sizable lump on his noggin. "Perhaps you should sit down."

"Yes, of course," Lucan said. "I think I will."

Unfortunately, the voice would not go away. It became a bit less obsessed with eating the flesh of Lucan's kills, though Lucan has found himself developing a taste for really spicy food. He's also found his magic becoming more powerful, more responsive to his will and more effective. But whatever the benefits, it now feels like there's something alive in him that's eager to break free. He's not sure what will happen when it does.

[Orsik Vondal]

The Great Hunt was a new experience for Ash. It was all so surreal. Not like dispatching demons of chaos. This was different. There was no malice involved. No rage. Just pure drive. Even when a mindflayer lich attempted to forcibly remove The Shepherd's brain, Ash only saw its demise as his duty to Arvandor. He did not hate these creatures. Ash pitied them for their inability to appreciate the beauty found here.

So he hunted. With his new friends. With strangers he encountered along the way. The most interesting of which was a a pixie warrior named Peanut. He had dragonfly wings and carried a "great sword", which was more like a dagger in Ash's hand. You wouldn't think it, but that little guy could fight like just as well as Aramil. Ash kept that thought to himself.

"Why 'Peanut'?"
"Oh, no reason really, well, maybe one--or two, hmmmmm. I guess peanuts are small, I'm small, a lot of people like peanuts, people like me, except for the ones that are allergic, y'know."
"People are allergic to pixies!?"
"No, silly! Peanuts, like me and these pesky monsters!"
"I guess I never thought of it that way."
"Most people don't, but that's okay, I just like beating these things back to where they came from, wherever they came from."

He hunted, and he thought. Would Zorella have changed? Possibly. From everything that Ash had heard, probably not. She was bad through and through. But that did not mean there was nothing left of the real Zorella. If the devils were cursed by the God Who Was, could the curse be lifted? Was there a way to redeem them? The Shepherd seemed to be of the same mind, and so Ash would find the time between hunts to talk with him.

The biggest weight on his mind, though, was his soul. How would he get it back. Mephistopheles still had it, and his power was waning if Baalzebul was to be believed. What would happen if the Lord of Cania was stripped of all his power? Would Ash get his soul back? Would ownership pass to the one that took his place? If that was the way things happened in the Hells, Ash would have to make sure his soul came back to him. One way or another...

[Nai_Calus]

As Slick returns to normal, Eltain breathes a sigh of relief and looks at those who'd opposed his actions.

"People can change. Things like her... Not so much. And not in time." He gently runs a finger along the tiny snake's back, smiling at Pavick. "She can't hurt him or anyone else ever again." He places a hand on the little gnome's shoulder comfortingly before turning to the others.

"We should get moving."

-----

But the confidence is only a front, a facade hastily thrown over the agony within. They had failed. He had failed. Zorella's death had helped, but ultimately the burden of his guilt and his failure was too much. They hadn't managed to rescue Lu or any of the other captives. Shep had seemingly gone mad. And despite his best efforts, the Spelljammer's crew had almost certainly been lost. Men and women he'd come to like and almost trust. Who'd listened to his plan to rescue the others and helped him, only to ultimately be left behind in a terrible situation with no hope of rescue. Death would be mercy for them at this point, and a lifetime of fiendish slavery seemed more likely, and possibly even longer than that. He'd failed them all. If only he'd been stronger, or more convincing, or able to do anything...

He wasn't even certain if Frank had made it out. There'd been no time to dismiss him. The mule had 'died' before, taken down by the the arrows and magic of enemy fire, and though each time he had ultimately come back, each time it happened Eltain's heart had felt as if it must surely break, and each time he feared it would be the last. Could even Frank come back from that horrid place? Could Corellon's power extend even to such an evil area? Or was his friend and companion lost forever as well?

The fighting on the way to Nath Seldarie had become almost mechanical. He spoke little, ate less, slept not at all, forcing himself to fight almost constantly, throwing himself in harm's way to make sure no one else was lost on his watch. He wouldn't admit it even to himself, but secretly he hoped that one of the abominations they faced would end him and he could pay for his failures with his blood. That perhaps his death could wipe away his sins and that then he would never again be able to fail anyone.

So he fought, as though there were nothing else in the worlds, as though stopping for even a moment would cause some terrible calamity. Countless abominations fell to his blade and his magic. Time and time again he threw himself in the way of those about to be torn apart by them, taking blows that would have ended their lives. He spent his nights tending to the injured, bandaging wounds and holding hands and feeling throughout it all as though his entire existence was a lie. How could anyone look at him and not see him for what he truly was? How could it not be obvious to all around him?

And thus it was that Eltain found himself arriving in Nath Seldarie, his heart broken and nearly as frozen as that of the Prince of Frost, his soul crying out in the agony of his own self-loathing and pain. Even the beauty of the place, of Arvandor itself, couldn't reach him. Even the knowledge of the nearness of his god failed to stir him and only filled him with shame. Shown to a room, he finally allowed himself to sleep, and let the comforting darkness of it claim him.

-----

Eltain rises the next morning, slowly pulling himself up from the bed and dressing in the haze that had become his normal state, strange dreams from the night before turning over in his head. He sits quietly as the others prepare for the morning and reads over the note, his shame only deepened by the mode of address employed for him on the letter. As if he deserved that title. As if he deserved the invitation therein. And yet... He sighs and pulls himself up as he finishes tightening the buckles on his bracers and straps on his weapons.

"Looks like we're suddenly objects of interest. I guess we should go. Even if we couldn't do anything, the information we gained is too important to let sit." It's more words at one time than he's spoken since the clearing where the group came through. "At least we can pass it on. What do you all think? Though maybe I should stay behind..."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick smiled at Eltain's kind words. "She certainly caused enough damage while she was alive, but you've ended her awful existence. Thank you." Pavick gently strokes the scales behind Slick's head. "It was the right thing to do, and I'm proud to know you had the strength to do it."

After spending the next day recovering Pavick's sleeve, Slick was soon looking back to his normal, healthy state. So Pavick spent much of the rest of the trip riding on the super-sized Slick. As he rode, he seemed very distracted. Every 10 minutes or so, he would pull a book out of his pack and scribble down a few notes in it. Whenever the group encountered one of Arvandor's more inspiring vistas, he would require everyone to hold where they are while he took extensive notes.

Of course, Pavick did participate in the hunt too. Most of the combats he spent making the aberrations attack each other and then giggling at the results. His most impressive achievement was forcing a gibbering mouther to completely digest itself.

Finally, after a very restful night in Nath Seldarie, Pavick spends a few minutes making sure he looks his best. "Come on Eltain. Don't talk crazy, we've got enough of that around here already. You're with us; we wouldn't have made it this far without you. The information we bring is important, why shouldn't you be here to deliver it?"

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain smiles at Pavick as the wizard thanks him for taking Zorella out.

"Revenge and killing people aren't necessarily always the right thing to do, Pavick. But in this case... Despite what Shep and Asheroth seem to think, I think the right thing was done. We never would have been able to trust her, and after what she tried to do to Slick and to all of us..." He shakes his head. "No, she had to be eliminated. Creatures like that are different from people. People can change. They can't."

-----

Eltain gives Pavick a sad smile. "I don't deserve to be there. After everything that happened back there..." He stares off into the distance, a haunted look on his face. "If I'd just been a little faster, or a little more convincing, or a little more insistent..." He sits back on the bed, drawing into himself in one of the most insecure gestures anyone's ever seen from him.

"It's all my fault. I couldn't help anyone. I couldn't protect anyone. The captives, the crew of the ship... I don't even know if Frank was able to make it. If they weren't able to get out in the chaos then the best we can hope for them is for their deaths. Their blood is on my hands because I was too weak to prevent this. Too weak to stop everyone from walking into a trap, too weak to save anyone..." He buries his face in his hands for a moment before looking back to the gnome, his tears freezing for the first time anyone can recall as a tormented snow falls about him. "I'm a failure, Pavick. I don't deserve to even be here at all. It would have been better if I'd died back there. At least then those people might have gotten some measure of justice."

[Orsik Vondal]

When Ash read the note, he was a little taken aback. Magus? Ash never would have considered himself a mage. But if a god tells you you're a...wait. Ash read the recipients again. Not magus, Magnus. Now he was sorely confused. The only thing he could be a "ruler" of was himself. But even then, just his physical body. To what could this title be referring?

[Toric]

Throughout the hunt. Zyrr splits his time between fighting down-and-dirty with the party and flitting amongst the trees as a shadowy scout. While scouting he's his old jesting self, tossing whatever berries and fruits he deems safe at his comrades and saving the rest for later experimentation.

In combat he's sometimes difficult to distinguish from the beasts he's fighting. The drow bares his teeth and rushes headlong at monsters' flanks, grunting as he plunges the Imposter's Talon into the backs of abberants, poor substitutes for the devils he's lost his crew to. By the time they reach Nath Seldari, Zyrr has gone from a proud pirate captain to a ragged explorer in tattered clothing the servants are hard-pressed to repair or replace before any courtly appearance. That said, his extreme hunting trip has been rather cathartic and he's more or less back to his old self by the time the note appears.

"The Enstarred. I like it, it sounds elegant."

[Haberdashery]

It had started to seem, to the Shepherd, that all he and his band of fellows ever did was fight. Perhaps there was a brief reverie here and there, but a fight was quick to follow. Even in a place of such pristine beauty as Arvandor, where the glades were fresh and smelled of new mist, and the waters so clear they put mirrors to shame, they were immediately sucked into more bloodshed. Countless steams of things fell before them, and with each day, the Shepherd's arm swung with less strength.

His muscles remained, they had not atrophied of gone soft, but rather, it was his resolve to keep fighting so passionately that was waning. His companions continued to fight with zeal or bitter determination (or both), but the fight, it seemed, was slowly by slowly leaving him. The Shepherd felt tired, above all things--slowly but surely feeling as though he could simply rest his head in the meadows and drift off into sleep--a sleep that, to him, felt it would last a hundred years.

By the end of these frenzied skirmishes against things that had crawled from the nether regions of the planes, the Shepherd had simply stopped wading into the fray altogether. He stood back, a calm figure of basalt, watching his companions carefully with tired, heavy eyes, while he allowed the spirit-folk that now flocked to him to fight in his stead. And when his companions faltered, and their wounds grew too great, he sealed them shut, almost by simply willing them closed--as if such a thing were as natural to him as walking or breathing.

The world had changed around the Shepherd, and was changing still, while he himself seemed as unchanging as the stone that he was; all around him sparked things he could hardly explain. The animals of Arvandor seemed to calm in his presence--the birds twittered comfortably from the safety of his high shoulders, and he could swear he had started to hear the trees of the forest actually speaking to each other in hushed whispers. Whenever the Shepherd strode across the grass and the fields, with his long, loping gait, budding plants started to grow in the trails of his footprints, and when he slept, he always awoke in a bed of wildflowers that had not existed the night before.

That morning in Nath Seldarie was perhaps the first morning in countless mornings before it that the Shepherd did not awake to the sounds of the Hunt beginning once again, and for the first time in a long time, the bags under his eyes seemed a little less heavy.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil, for the most part, kept himself busy by making sure his allies' recklessness did not overwhelm themselves... a timely teleport here, a blade in the gut of a would-be killer there, interspersed with lightning going almost everywhere.

In his meditations, he ran countless calculations, trying to determine how to bring peace back to the Feywild. Every one came back to the Court of Stars, with Tiandra frozen alive in primal ice. She seemed to call out to him still, even after all this time...

Receiving his invitation, Aramil said nothing at first, but then walked over to Eltain and slapped him on the back of the head. "Eltain. Stop this selfishness. Do you think you are the only one responsible? The only one who failed to protect them? If you want to do them justice, live. What good will your death do for those who have perished? But if you will not listen to me, listen to Corellon. He has granted us audience, it would be foolishness to spurn it."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain nods numbly, rubbing the back of his head as he helps Aramil chip off the ice that had formed on his hand when he'd slapped him, still snowing morosely.

"I guess so... I'll have to face up to him eventually. I might as well get it over with and take whatever punishment he deems fitting." He sighs. "Even if nobody else could do anything either, I've sworn to protect others. That I failed in that... I'm just so tired of people dying on my watch. It's bad enough when it's agents of the rebellion who know exactly the danger they're going into and volunteer for a mission. In this case..." He shakes his head. "It doesn't get any easier. It just gets worse."

[Toric]

"Your watch?" Zyrr turns to face the paladin, any amusement in his face gone. "Need I remind you that the crew you feel so horrible about betraying was my crew? They were my responsibility first and foremost. They trusted me to get them out reasonably safely, not leave them in a bloodbath. I'm going searching for them when we get some down time, but until then we both have to deal with it because every time you bring it up is a fresh reminder of my own failure. And yeah, you're gonna face Corellon now. I didn't get to put off what my god had planned for me, so neither do you, it's as simple as that."

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash had the servants clean up his armor and garments. All the fighting he had done in the Great Hunt had caked layers and layers of blood and otherworldly guts over him. As didn't think presenting yourself before a god in that kind of condition was conducive to remaining alive in its presence.

He decided to explore the city before his audience with Corellon. As he was walking around Nath Seldarie he happened upon a large room that was apparently used for the collection of magical items. The curator of the room, who happened to have a beard and rather plump for an eladrin, showed Ash around and pointed out the more interesting items noting their properties and powers. There was one, though, that caught Asheroth's eye. It appeared to be just a regular deck of cards.

"Why is this here? It doesn't seem to be magical at all."

"Ahhh. And that is the wonder of this particular item," said the Curator lifting it off its stand. "You are correct in saying that it does not seem to be magical. Yet here it is catalogued with so many other supremely, obviously magical items. Perhaps if we play a game you will understand."

"Wait. It's not going to imprison me somewhere, is it!? Or set me against some enemy unknown to me? I've heard stories of a deck that can do that!"

The Curator chuckled a deep rolling laugh, "Oh ho ho no! Not this deck. Though you are once again correct in assuming there is a deck of that description. No. this one is fairly harmless."

Ash took a seat opposite the Curator at a small round table. The Curator began to shuffle the cards, and Ash concentrated intently on the cards looking for any magical flashes or indications that the deck was anything but normal. The Curator dealt one card first to Ash than to himself. "Do not be shy, m'boy! Let's see it, then."

Ash flipped his card over on the table. The King of Suns. The Curator did the same. The Ten of Portals. "Oh ho ho! Looks like you won. Again?" Ash nodded.

The Curator dealt once more. Ash flipped the card over. The Queen of Dragons. The Curator flipped his card over. The Jack of Blades. "You win again. Would you like to make a small wager? I'll let you shuffle the cards, then we will each take three cards from the top of the deck. If you beat me on any of the three cards I will let you have this deck. What say you?"

Ash thought about it for a long moment. Deals and wagers had made him wary as of late. But this was Nath Seldarie. The home of Corellon. A god of good. And this was one of his servants. What could go wrong? "And if I fail to beat you?"

"Then you help me catalogue the rest of my items until your audience time. Do we have a deal?"

Ash nodded. He took the deck and shuffled it. Then he shuffled it again. And then a third time. He placed the deck in the center of the table and was about to remove his hand when he thought better of it and cut the deck for good measure.

"Are you satisfied?"

"I sure hope so," Ash said as he rubbed his hands together expectantly.

The Curator drew three cards from the deck and laid them face down on the table. Ash did likewise. then they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

"Show." And Ash authoritatively flipped his first card and slammed it on the table. "Ha! Jack of Portals!"

Without looking the Curator said, "Ace of Dragons," and flipped over his first card. The Ace of Dragons.

Ash's eyes narrowed. "Okay. Beat this!" When Ash saw the card, his face fell. The Five of Dragons.

"Oh ho ho! This should be easy. Ace of Blades.". He flipped over his card. The Ace of Blades.

"Alright, old man. You show first this time."

"Old!? Well, this old man is about to get a new helper. Ace of Portals!" Ash really wasn't surprised. The Ace of Portals. Ash placed two finger on his last card and rubbed it against the table as he closed his eyes. He flipped the card over without opening his eyes and said, "Ace of Suns!"

"Well, I'll show you how to record each item and where to put them after you have." The Curator got up from the table and turned his back. Ash opened his eyes one at a time and peered down at the cards.

The last two were still there. The Curator's Ace of Portals. And his...Ace of Suns!

"Y'know, technically, it was a tie," the Curator said looking over his shoulder.

Ash smiled and walked with the Curator through the archives. As they walked together they talked of Ash's adventures, and the Curator explained the secret of the deck. Then he surprised Ash even further by giving it to him. "Perhaps you can make use of this. I would hope you would use this for good only. Small jokes and jests not withstanding."

"Thank you, uh, I never really caught your name."

"Nic'zendithas Mistletoe. But you can call me Nic."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan isn't really sure how to dress to meet a god. Unfortunately, no one is giving him very useful advice.

"Just make sure my coat is brushed until it shines, and my horn is polished and sharpened," Yuri says.

"But what should I wear?" Lucan asks.

"Red," Yuri answers promptly. "Red for the revolution. Don't let the fascistic oppressors think you're weak."

Lucan wonders whether it's a good idea to let Yuri meet Corellon. He is, after all, an atheist.

"Don't listen to the Commie unicorn," Lena says. She's wearing a gown of shimmering gray. "You should dress as if for court. You'll want a long, flowing coat of teal and frothy lace, the color of foam, and silver buttons, and . . ."

Silver scales, burnished so bright they gleam like the sun . . .

Sighing, Lucan touches his armor and transforms it into his usual traveling clothes, comfortable and sturdy, a leather jacket over a deep green shirt, and dark gray breeches. The sort of clothes that blend into the deep forest. They're all clean and neat, of course, but not exactly fancy.

"You're not really thinking of meeting a god in that, are you?" Lena asks, fluttering around his head.

Lucan ignores her as he goes out to meet the others.

"You're still going to brush out my coat, right?"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Just before noon, there's a light knocking at the door, and a silver-haired head pokes into the room. "Oh good, you're ready. Court is starting soon, and I was asked to bring you with me." The creature steps into the room, and gives a polite bow, long pale robes of green, blue, white, and gray not making a sound as the figure moves. "I am Labelas Enoreth of the Seldarine."

Staring at Labelas, it's hard to determine whether this creature is male or female, but as it glances over you with piercing silver eyes, it seems to light up slightly at the sight of Pavick and Aramil, particularly at Pavick's wizard robes.

"Come, we shouldn't be late." Labelas intones in either a very low female voice or a very high male voice, and the creature turns and exits the room.

The city of Nath Seldarie is not large, but the path you take doesn't feel very direct. Labelas leads you up waterfalls that form stairs of pressurized water to stand on, over arching roads made of rainbows where sentient mushrooms and turtles race and chase each other, and up tall spiral staircases of stained glass. While the path winds north, south, east, and west, it always seems to be leading you up higher, until eventually you arrive at a shimmering white tower that sparkles as if cut from diamonds. A large doorway, flanked on either side by towering oak trees that dance and sway in the light breeze stands before you. The doorway, made of intertwining sapphire roses, part soundlessly as you approach, revealing only gray fog beyond.

Labelas doesn't slow down, and leads you into the fog. Stepping through, you find that while your sight is taken away your other senses seem to suddenly come alive.

Aramil can hear the clanging of steel, and the voice of his old master Elfire Greensword instructing him. "Good, good. Now block higher, and follow it up with the lightning..."

Pavick, rather than hearing any voice, suddenly finds his taste-buds come alive with the sweet sugar of a sticky-bun, exactly like the one his mother made for him in their bakery in Fallcrest after he had been accepted as a Wizard's apprentice.

For Zyrr, the faint sounds of crickets can be heard, immediately taking his mind back to a night well over a year ago; The first night in his life he was able to drift into reverie without worrying about whether or not his allies would try to slit his throat during his meditation.

For Asheroth, the faint smell of old leather and mulled cider fill his nostrils; the smell that he had come home to nearly every day of his childhood as his father sipped cider and re-arranged the books of his shop, telling young Asheroth stories of the great empire his people once held.

The Shepherd heard nothing, tasted nothing, but felt a cool mountain breeze blowing on his skin, clean and fresh. The breeze wasn't one he had ever felt while tending his sheep, but from a time long before that...

For Lucan, two senses seemed to battle with one another. One was the sound of clear singing, the voice of his mother when he was young and living in the forest, the songs that had taken hold in his mind and his soul. The other sense was on his stomach, where he could feel the piles of coins he had made for a bed.

As Eltain passed through the fog, he felt a slight tingling on his cheek, and in his eyes. From out of the fog a voice floated to him, a voice he had heard in his soul his entire life, but that he could now hear as clear as a trumpet. "You are my Chosen, the instrument that I will use to save the world."

Though the memories seem to last for ages, your feet barely take two steps before you find yourself stepping out of the fog into the room beyond. A large round table dominates the center of the room, surrounded by Fey and humanoid creatures of all shapes and sizes. Many you don't recognize, but for those who have studied the Seldarine names seem to jump out at you: Hanali Celanil, guardian of young lovers; Solonor Thelandira, the Great Archer; the feathered elf Aerdrie Faenya; the mischievous Erevan Ilesere... It's almost as if you had stepped into some sort of story book, seeing the faces and namesakes for so many elven parables and fairytales.

Around you, the room makes no logical sense as to how it could exist, yet somehow it does. Walls are made of intertwining tree-branches, flowing streams, glass and gems of every color. The chandeliers above look to be held up by waves of solid sound blasted from silver trumpets, played by angels flying around the ceiling in mesmerizing patterns.

Below you, the floor looks to be made of very thin fog, and through the fog you can see the whole of the feywild stretched out below you, parts still pristine, parts blackened and burned from the war that has ravaged the land over the last year.

However, in spite of all these amazing things to look at, your gazes are magnetically drawn to the dais at the far end of the room where three figures sit. In the center, a tall eladrin male with golden blond hair, golden glyph markings, and robes of deep blue and silver reclines on a thrown of raw magical energy. His face seems to radiate and brighten the entire room, and his eyes seem to sparkle with magic and power. Seated next to him is an elven woman whose age seems impossible to gage. Her features appear young, but her eyes look to be as old as any creature you've ever seen. Her dark hair cascades down behind her, and an ivory colored body is clearly visible under a diaphanous gown of moonbeams.

Even if you hadn't been in Arvandor, or seen the splendor of Nath Seldarie, or seen the angels that hover near the pair, you feel like you would have recognized them. The aura of awe and power and beauty could belong to none except Corellon Larethian and Sehanine Moonbow.

Seated next to the pair of dieties is a third figure, whose presence you would have immediately noticed had she been in any other company. At first glance, the figure looks to be a dryad, but the way her eyes sparkle and the waves crashing around her feet hint that there is something much more to this being who seems to radiate her own power, even in the wake of the gods of Arvandor. However, it is not until you see the seashell with a spiral glowing in bright blue on the head of the dryad that you recognize it as the Avatar of Melora.

From across the room, the god Corellon looks up, and motions you to step forward. "Welcome, my children."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth steps forward, places his right hand on his chest and bows to on knee. As he does his armor shifts to look like porcelain plate gilded in gold and silver, crimson flame designs playing on the gauntlets, greaves, chest and shoulders. A long crimson cape flows from his back. Asheroth lifts his eyes but does not stand.

"Corellon Larethian, Sehanine Moonbow, Meloran Avatar and the Seldarine present, we thank you for your most gracious invitation. Asheroth Durant, your humble servant. We are gladdened to have the honor and pleasure of being worthy to enter your presence. Whatever assistance we might be able to give in this crucial time, you shall have it."

Ash rises and returns to his original place in line by the Shepherd.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

Lucan bows deeply. "Thank you for inviting us, Your . . . um, Godliness," he says.

[Mando Knight]

When beckoned to step forward, Aramil obliges and then kneels. When he realizes that Eltain delayed long enough for Asheroth and Lucan to introduce themselves first, he gently pushes the paladin forward.

[Nai_Calus]

Even in the state he's in, Eltain cannot help but be moved by the sheer beauty of Nath Seldarie, or amazed at the presence of Labelas Enoreth as their guide. One of the Seldarine themselves, fetching them!

When the voice speaks in his head, Eltain is barely able to understand that there even are words to it as the pain of his failure is washed away utterly by the sheer, utter joy that spreads through every corner of his soul at the sound of his god's voice. When the veil parts and he stands before Corellon and the Seldarine, the broken, frightened Eltain of mere moments ago seems utterly erased as he walks forward boldly, stopping mere feet before his god and dropping to one knee, his head bowed in respect even as his eyes look up in utter joy. No beauty the multiverse offered could compare to the sight before him at this moment, to the unearthly beauty, grace and splendor of Corellon himself. He feels as if any moment his very soul must shatter from the feelings of joy and contentment that ripple through his being, and for the first time in a long while the air around him isn't even chilled by his presence. A tear born of happiness and awe spills down his cheek to splash on the floor as he speaks.

"My lord. I..." His voice breaks, his body shaking. "All my life I have longed to look upon you, to hear your voice. And now... Thank you." He closes his eyes and steels himself. "I beg your forgiveness for my failure to protect the members of Zyrr's crew and my failure to be able to save the captives we went in search of. I'm sorry I failed you." He takes a deep breath and collects himself.

"We had gone in search of a missing friend of Asheroth's. Pavick tracked the destination of a portal the ones who'd kidnapped her had used and we went there by spelljammer. What we found there was an illusion concealing an enormous armada formed by the devils in a remote area of the Astral Sea. We barely escaped from Baalzebul's clutches with our lives. From what we heard, Graz'zt has secretly been working for Asmodeus all along and they're planning to reignite the Blood War."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Stepping out of the fog, it took Pavick a moment to take it all in. The beauty of the room filled with so many characters of fable. He looked around accounting for each one mentally before going on to the next. When his eyes finally fell upon the gods, he was shocked it had taken him so long to look in their direction. The presence was so powerful, that he fell to his knee at first sight. All evidence of Pavick's false bravado was washed away here, for he knew even with all the magic he was now capable of, it was nothing in comparison to these gods. He wasn't sure if he could say anything worthy of their ears, but felt he had to say something. He opened his mouth, and a simple "Thank you," stumbled out at barely more than a whisper.

He glanced down at his wrist, and saw that Slick was still buried deep in his sleeve. He brings his arm up to his mouth and whispers in, "Come out Slick, show some respect." The tiny serpent wriggles down so that half of his body was sticking out of his hiding place, and his head bows reverently.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

At Eltain's words the three gods exchange looks with one another. "Well that would explain it..." Melora's avatar mutters, even as she eyes Slick curiously. Sehanine nods, and turns back to the group that had just entered, motioning you to stand before the dais.

As you step forward, one of the Seldarine steps forward and moves to intercept Zyrr, shaking her head as the Drow approaches Corellon. The woman, dressed in shimmering azure robes from head to toe with a long veil hiding her face places a hand on Zyrr's arm as if to lead him away. Before she can do so, Corellon clears his throat slightly, and the woman turns as if she had been shocked before quickly taking her seat and allowing the group to pass.

Approaching the dais, you realize that the gods in front of you are larger than you expected. While Corellon had appeared to be a tall Eladrin, it seems now that he towers over 15 feet above you, yet somehow you're still speaking to him at eye-level. The sensation is odd, and the more you think about it the more your brain starts to hurt, yet before you become too distracted, Corellon speaks. "Six days ago, one of the angels in the service of Asmodeus came to us requesting our presence at a godsmeet."

"There has not been a call for a full godsmeet since the Raven Queen ascended..." the Avatar muttered again, as Sehanine begins strumming her fingers on the throne. "The defenders of the Feywild arrive in Arvandor after escaping the devil's armada, the holy steed of the Arkerynsuoress returns to his Astral home bearing marks of fiendish weapons, and suddenly Asmodeus wishes to speak with the gods..."

Corellon looks past the party, through the floor and to the Feywild far below, scarred and burning with the signs of war. A single tear rolls down the face of the god of beauty and magic as he sits deep in thought. "My children slaughter each other and the fey-lands, but I cannot allow the Blood War to start again." He looks back to the group in front of him, gazing intently at each of you. He tilts his head thoughtfully at the Shepherd and Lucan, but pauses as he looks at Zyrr. For a long moment, he looks into the eyes of the Dark Elf, before turning to glance at Sehanine. The pair exchange a slight nod, before Sehanine gives Zyrr a smile that seems to radiate moonlight over the drow.

Corellon continues looking over the group, considering Asheroth briefly before his gaze comes to a rest on Pavick, Aramil, and Eltain. He places a hand on Eltain's shoulder, but his eyes go to all three of you, his voice the sound of a thousand waterfalls. "This war must end. The drow and the Formorians will tear the feywild to pieces while the Fey battle each other. I need you to end it."

[Mando Knight]

Aramil nods his head once slowly. "Yes, milord. How do you wish us to end it?"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

"I wish you to end it with no fey lives lost, the drow renouncing their spider queen forever, the Formorians wiped out of existence, and the Court of Stars reunited in perfect harmony forever." Corellon pauses, and gives Aramil a wink. "But even gods can't get all that they wish." Corellon gives a small chuckle.

Behind him, Sehanine's face twists into a wry grin. "I think Melora and I are having an impact on you. 10,000 years ago you would have never made a joke like that."

Corellon turns back to Aramil. "To answer your question honestly, we three are of differing minds. Sehanine is of the opinion that the drow must be stopped at all cost, before they can take Senailesse and Shinaelestra. Melora seems to think that once the Winter Courts are free of the leadership of Prince of Frost and the Bramble Queen, the fey can unite to drive back the dark elves." At the mention of the Bramble Queen, the waves on Melora's avatar begin rising in intensity. "I agree that the Winter and Green fey are needed in the fight, but I am not convinced that the Prince of Frost is lost to us. His heart has frozen, but I think it may still be thawed.

Across the great hall, debates have broken out with different factions arguing the merits of each plan. Corellon lets the discussion continue a moment, before raising his hand for silence.

"As you can see, this is a discussion that is dear to the hearts of the Seldarine. If the drow are stopped, the last chance to unite the Fey courts may die along with the lost ones. If the fey delay battling the forces of evil, the Feywild may fall under dominion of the spider." From around the hall cries against the "great traitor" rise as Lolth is mentioned, and the woman in Azure turns her gaze again to Zyrr. Again, Corellon holds up his hand and the hall reverts back to silence. "And if you try to unite the fey, will it be by the sword, or by pleas for reconciliation?" As if to emphasize his point, Corellon draws his own weapon, a longsword of lighting and radiant light that glows brighter than the noonday sun.

Still seated on her throne, Sehanine looks down at the party. "You, great heroes, have seen the wickedness of the drow and winter alike. What say you in our great argument?"

[Nai_Calus]

Corellon's touch is almost too much for Eltain to bear, the touch of his god's hand nearly reducing him to tears. Here was something he had longed all his life for, but he did not deserve it. But he would. He swears in his mind to both himself and Corellon that he will make himself worthy of it. He remains quiet as the gods speak, mulling over the situation in his mind before offering his opinion.

"I too believe that it's not too late for the Prince of Frost, and I know we can get him on our side if we approach things right. He's fallen to evil, yes, but I don't believe he's truly gone; and it's said even still that he's a man of honor. Right now he wishes to rule the Feywild and its inhabitants. He will not let either be destroyed by an invasion if we make the situation clear to him. He'll work with us and order his forces to do so as well. And many in the Winter an Green Courts fight out of loyalty, not antagonism. I've seen the state of the people. They will join our side." He pauses, stroking his chin. "The Bramble Queen is less certain, but whether she follows the Prince's lead or needs to be taken out of play, we can work with either." He looks uncomfortable for a moment before continuing, uncertain if he should mention what he says next.

"I've asked some of the members of the Order of the Azure Star to look into the movements of the drow, so we may be able to find some information on their plans to try to stop them with as little bloodshed as possible on any side." He swallows, then makes up his mind, speaking quietly to keep the rest of the room from hearing, forcing himself to look Corellon in the eyes. "...I'm working on the 'renouncing the Spider Queen' thing. A lot of people are. We don't believe that they are beyond redemption either. It's just... Hard. The church is against us, and most believe even you are against us."

[Mando Knight]

"The Prince may be turned, but not yet. Not while he sits untouched in his impregnable fortress and Tiandra stands frozen in primal ice within her own palace in Senaliesse. Any attempt to reconcile before the threat to him by the Drow is clear would prove fruitless, I believe, and until they are battered by a two-front war the Winter and Green Courts will stand with him, almost without a doubt. Even if he was to agree, his ambition is such that I have no doubt that he would use his power and guile to turn it into a political victory for himself."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick rose, but still found himself having some difficulty looking directly at the gods standing before him. He found himself in the difficult position of not agreeing with the god he'd worshipped his whole life, and not sure how to tactfully bring up the matter.

"The Prince has chosen his path, and numerous atrocities have been committed at his command. Even if he is capable of being turned, do those foul deeds mean nothing? The entire feywild has been injured by his arrogance and destructive acts. In fact, I would argue he has done more to injure the feywild than any since the demon spider herself. I say cut out the cancer and reunite the feywild to fight off the drow threat."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain sighs.

"I did not say or even suggest that he could be redeemed this very instant. Or that he should not pay for his crimes. But the price of everything need not be instant death. People are different from devils, Pavick. He was very different than he is now once. Love gone wrong turned him to darkness, but he was not born of evil. Killing devils is one thing, but if we mindlessly slaughter everyone we disagree with we're as much a force of ugliness in the world as those we oppose." He ponders.

"No, we put him in a place he wants to be in, or at least that he'll think he does. He'll cooperate. He's not a fool. We talk to him. We make him realize the threat to the Feywild. He'll realize that if he continues his war against the rest of the Feywild there won't be anything left; and he will not abide the thought of the Fey being defeated by their enemies. A threat to the Feywild is a threat to him, Aramil. Its destruction would destroy his ambitions. Those who already oppose him in the Winter and Green Courts will turn easily to our side, those who side with him will cheerfully follow him. If he has any sense after the drow and formorian threats are stopped, he'll contain his allies and they'll ride the good will they've created politically rather than attempt to continue the war with their forces even more depleted than before. He wants a unified Feywild. So we unite it. On our own terms." He smirks.

"Use his power and his ego against him, and he'll find himself in a position where he's got more to gain by falling in line and behaving. Perhaps we can even convince him that Tiandra's leadership is needed in this." He taps his fingers lightly on his armor. "We could gain a powerful ally if we play our cards right. One who already knows the strengths and weaknesses of the Winter Court and much about the Green Court as well. Further, if you wish to eliminate anyone, the Bramble Queen seems a more sensible target. The Prince can be reasoned with. I've no reason to believe she can be. Her sins are as bad and even worse than his in some cases. She's the real wild card here, not the Prince. We should listen to Corellon's wisdom and take the opportunities to create beauty that we can."

"I know none of you have looked at all into the moods of the Winter Court and that none of you had any awareness of what I've been doing the last year. Many in the Winter and Green Courts oppose what their leadership does. Many fighting in the war do so out of duty to their lands, not to the Prince of Frost or the Bramble Queen. He knows that. I've been a thorn in his side long enough that he's well aware of what goes on and how many stand against him openly and how many support the rebellion's cause quietly. His court is divided. He'll talk to us because he'll want to know what could possibly be so important that I of all people would come to him directly." He sighs.

"We'll have to get close to him to talk. At least try a diplomatic solution first. If he won't be moved, we can try to eliminate him, though I doubt our success in that at the moment and argue with the choice of target." He snows lightly, knowing at heart that his words will, as ever, fail to register with his companions and be rejected and that he'll fail Corellon once again. He tries to resist the urge to fall to his knees and beg forgiveness immediately and only barely succeeds.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Corellon looks down at Eltain and gives a smile of support. But Sehanine taps her fingers on the throne in irritation, each finger sending out small bursts of light. "I'm not certain you all know what devastation the dark elves could unleash on the feywild, scars that may never heal." She pauses, and turns to look at Asheroth and Zyrr.

"You are Zyrr'dellin, yes? You are as familiar with the drow as any, what do you say to all this?" Her gaze shifts slightly to Asheroth. "I would also be interested in hearing the opinion of an outsider who has not yet been involved in this war."

[Toric]

Once the group enters the court of gods, Zyrr dearly wishes he had worn his mask for the occasion. Now there is nothing to conceal the jaw-dropping awe he has for the building itself and the two-point-something gods sitting at a triad of thrones. This completely ruins that "seen one divine realm, seen 'em all" joke he came up with when dressing for court.

When the seldarine in azure grabs his arm, the drow sighs and calmly waits to be put in shackles, but is just as surprised as his prospective captor when He-Who-Cursed-Us calls her off. Even so, he has enough presence of mind to disdainfully brush his arm off before continuing his approach.

Zyrr bows as he is presented to the divine three. It doesn't escape his notice that there are in fact three seats for the gods, and he briefly wonders about the odds that one was brought in specifically for Melora's avatar. He isn't sure what to make of the gods' seeming hesitation about his presence, so he decides to assume the most logical reason. "It shouldn't surprise you to learn I was taught at a very young age that if I should ever find myself in this situation I should stab you in the eye" he nods to Corellon "for casting us out of your sight, and cut out your tongue" he then nods to Sehanine "for the poisonous words that turned Corellon against Lolth and her children." He pauses, keeping an eye on the azure-clad woman, until any fears that he plans to do exactly that have passed. "And now that I'm here, you give me a warmer welcome than my dear mother. So it just so happens that I have no desire for your eyes or tongues. It is exactly this hospitality and kinship that keeps hope alive for the elven races to be reunited. ...Not to exclude you, Melora. You might be pleased to know that you are the one surface goddess my people consistently understand; people pray to you because of both what might happen if they do and what might happen if they don't."

He looks down at his clasped hands when it comes time for him to chip in on the current debate. "But as hopeful as this situation is, I entertain no illusions that the eladrin armies meeting the drow with picnic baskets and open arms will have any sort of peaceful resolution. The winter fey, at least, know that they are fighting on their homelands and thus will have to help clean up after the mess they make. And if the winter fey are fighting largely out of loyalty, well... like it or not, this civil war needs to end soon. I understand that you don't like killing your own kin, but the war will be just as over with the appointment of a new, sympathetic lord of winter as with a reformed Prince of Frost. Even so, whether we talk him down or strike him down, we'll need to reach him."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth crosses his arms and holds his chin with his right hand. His brow furrows, and he studies a spot on the ground as if images were playing across it. He takes a step forward. "If I might offer my opinion."

"Noble aims, and each have their merits. I guess the question is, which do you value higher? If we go to stop the drow first, we may be able to thwart their invasion without much death. Saving drow, elf and eladrin lives in the process. I fear this or any violence against them wil sour the dark elves against us and our attempts to have them renounce the Spider Queen. There may be some drow who would leave Lolth's fold in light of their defeat and pleas for reconciliation, but that number would pale in comparison to the whole population. My thought is that those who turned would mostly be males. Those in power like to stay in power. The priestesses would fear that their power would be stripped and their society made to look like the majority of the other races. Males in power. I cannot fathom whether we alone or a larger coalition of the elves and eladrin would sway the drow more to give up the Spider Queen. I mean to say, this has been their way of life for thousands of years. It may take more than a strong plea to change their minds." Asheroth takes a breath and sighs.

"If we go after the Prince of Frost and Bramble Queen, we will need to find a way past his defenses. Before we set out on our current adventure, I suggested using hellfire. It would obviate the Prince's defenses and turn the tables in our favor. As it so happens we happened upon some information that may help. Mephistopheles has been stripped of his rank and his troops. His standing in the Courts of Hell is tenuous at best. That may give us some leverage on the Lord of Cania. I know that assisting or dealing with an archdevil is abhorrent to most here, but Mephistopheles is in a weakened position with much to lose. I don't know whether my thinking is misguided, but I would like to believe that devils can repent of their evil ways and revert to their old natures if not their old forms. He Who Was cursed their forms, and I believe their minds evolved to fit their new forms. It follows that if this is true, they can find the former selves they used to be.

If he had a shot at redemption and regaining power by assisting in our assault on the Prince's fortress and the War in the Feywild, Mephistopheles might be willing to assist us. And the planes might be that much closer to reversing Asmodeus' betrayal." Asheroth looked around sure there were faces agape all around him. "Not that it would be an easy sell, but I think it's worth a try."

"Short of employing hellfire, I would say using the drow invasion to sway the Prince of Frost would be a good idea. And without the Prince and the Bramble Queen it will probably be extremely difficult to stop the dark elves. It could be done though. With the right plan and execution."

Asheroth turns to Eltain. "I find your lack of faith disturbing, Eltain. You speak of instant death not being the price for everything, yet you slaughtered Zorella like an animal just a week ago. You say devils are different, like they can't change. Maybe not, but I will not give up on them, as you will not give up on the Prince of Frost!" Asheroth steps back from Eltain eyes wide. "I'm sorry, my friend. I've been thinking long and hard about this since we arrived in Arvandor, and I feel like the devils have the ability to change their nature. To be redeemed, as well. I did not mean to take it out on you. Forgive me."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick taps his foot impatiently. "I realize there are differences between this situation and that of Zorella, and I do not argue for needless slaughter of everything. Heavens, you make me sound like some sort of bloodthirsty barbarian!" He says with an smirk and a friendly wink. "I have given this significant thought, and I believe that one way to bring good into the world is by eliminating sources of evil. No matter what the Prince of Frost once was or might be again someday, the fact of the matter is right now he IS evil and he is leading others to the same sorts of evil acts. He needs to be stopped now."

Pavick begins to pace as he talks. "The Prince of Frost is not a fool. Even if he were to join us to fight off the drow and fomorians, and remember he's already shown himself to ally with the fomorians so I'm not even convinced he'd join us, he would not put himself into a position where he could be overthrown once the threat was over. He's worked very hard and sacrificed a lot to get this far, and I don't think he'll give that all up."

He turns to Ash. "I respectfully disagree with you on almost every count. Bringing Mephistopholes into this would be nothing but a mistake. I don't think that devils can be reformed, but even if it were possible, do you really think a task of this importance is a proper place to test your theories? Seems far too risky to me. I do agree with you on the need for a weapon to fight the Prince's frost, be it hellfire or some other source of essential flame. We need something to even the score, just in case."

Pavick turns to the mountain standing behind him. "What do you think in all this Shep? Any good goat-proverbs that will provide some insight here? I'd love to know what you think."

[Haberdashery]

The mountain had politely been abstaining from conversation, just on the outside of the circle of fey and the gods and goddesses that addressed them. This was no place for a mountain, and the mountain knew it, and so he stood back, his hands folded in front of him through the long sleeves of a rain-colored robe. In his isolation his thoughts were empty--all through his head was cool, mountain mist, a lingering smell and feel that he had just now remembered, and had been enjoying.

But when Pavick looked up at him, with his cheery face, the Shepherd felt his reverie drift away, and the sounds of the hall filled his ears for the first time. He let the question gestate for a while--today, it seemed, he was in no hurry whatsoever. There was a time, a long time ago, when he never hurried--now it seemed all he ever did was hurry.

"What do I think." He repeated, slowly, his voice a soft rumble; velvet over stone.

"I think..." His thumb brushed against his lower lip. "I think that I do not have a proverb today." The hand fell back to where it had originally rested, and the Shepherd fell silent for a moment.

"I have only this to say. Down in the valley, there are enemies three. One of fire, one of ice, and one of shadow. Each seeks to do us harm, each for their own purposes. But these enemies are not friends--each seeks the other two's destruction as much as they seek ours."

The Shepherd shrugged his great shoulders.

"If they must fight, then let them fight amongst themselves. And perhaps once they have battered and bloodied each other, they may learn. Or be more easily taught."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain tries not to have a heart attack when Zyrr speaks, and barely manages it, merely choking instead. He raises an eyebrow.

"And whom would you appoint to be this new, sympathetic Archfey of Winter, Zyrr? Most of the Prince's underlings are even worse than he is. And who would replace the Bramble Queen? The Prince was fine until she started influencing him. And when the replacements turned out to be as bad or worse? Unfortunately, none of the existing Archfey of Winter can be relied on to be anything but worse than the Prince for us at the moment. And no, I don't have any suggestions from among the rebellion. Toveliss I trust, but he doesn't have that kind of power. Name one powerful winter fey we can trust. There aren't any." He shakes his head. "As much as I loathe to admit it, sometimes the lesser of several evils is best." He turns to Asheroth.

"Perhaps some of them may be turned, though they were never creatures of goodness to begin with, but now is not the time to try any more than it's the time for trying to redeem the Prince. I killed Zorella because I had to. Rule one. Succubi lie. In the brief time we interacted with her again she tried to enslave me, tried to murder all of us directly several times, and this all within the space of an hour. And you saw what she did to Slick... And what happened once she died. We could have spared her, yes. And spent the rest of our lives watching her. At the time, with the information we had, it was the best decision. Would you have wanted to babysit someone you could rely on only to destroy us while we fought the abominations on the way here?" He sighs. "And like Pavick, I completely oppose the idea of working with any of the Archfiends. As I've mentioned before, we know where the Prince of Frost's generator for the barrier that surrounds the Fortress of Frozen Tears is. We can take it out easily enough. For that matter, it's likely that in a case like this we don't even need to. He'll be willing to talk to us. His curiosity will get the best of him."

He turns to Pavick and sighs deeply.

"When did your heart become so hardened, Pavick? You continue to go on about your disbelief that the Prince can be helped in any way as if it were all I speak of. I have acknowledged his evil deeds. I know what he's done, and possibly better than even you; I've seen first-hand the toll the war has taken on the Winter Lands and its people. But we can use him. At least give diplomacy a chance before we turn to simply killing him so he can be replaced by someone worse. The enemy you know... And again, the Bramble Queen is more of a wild card and she's the one who's been getting him to act worse lately. If you want to target someone, target her. We could get Verenestra to do a takeover if we play our cards right and cut off half the Prince's allies." He nods at Shep.

"Would that we could, but the enemies of the Fey will not stop merely at attacking the Winter Court and Green Courts, nor will I allow my people to be slaughtered en masse without aid. They'll attack the other courts as well, and what you propose would most likely destroy the Winter and Green Fey entirely. They're already weakened. No, the Fey must unite to drive back these threats. We have to stand together."

He feels his god's eyes upon him and quakes inside, knowing that his attempts to convince his friends to try something different will fail and that he'll once again disappoint Corellon. He wishes he were someone who could be convincing, that his words could move others, but he knows better.

I should have stayed with the rebellion... At least there I could actually be of use... Father, forgive me. I can do nothing here. I've failed you yet again.

A fresh wave of despair washes over Eltain, erasing the joy of moments before and replacing it with numbness. He should have known better than to try. He should have stayed in the Winter Lands and simply sent a letter with the information the rebellion had found. There he had at least been able to do things, to help people. But time had broken the bonds between him and his companions, and he realizes the painful truth: He's the enemy now, the Winter Court nothing but a hated group of monsters to be destroyed in the name of 'peace'. No wonder they had never gotten in contact, no wonder they'd not even known that he was alive, much less what he was doing. He was just another Winter Fey to be eliminated when he too was no longer useful, wasn't he? They spoke so casually of letting the Winter fey be wiped out, of it being a good thing... The Prince was an inconvenience to be destroyed. How much longer before he was too? His shoulders sag and he's grateful at least that his tears merely freeze rather than spilling down his face.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth leans forward and looks at the Shepherd sideways. "What you say is most likely true, Shepherd. If we allow our enemies to destroy each other, then yes, they would be much easier to subdue and deal with. But I don't think the gods and those here assembled want to see that happen. They want to save lives and protect. I would think that's what you would want, as well."

Ash turns back to Corellon, "And I'm sorry. But did you say that an angel of Asmodeus came to you!?"

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan clears his throat. "We need lovage," he says. "Wait, that's not the right word . . ." Lena twitters something in his ear. "Lev-er-age. Yes, leverage. We need some of that."

Everyone's looking at him now, so he plows ahead. "I'm just saying that whatever terms the Prince of Frost is willing to accept for peace are not terms that we'd be willing to accept. Unless we can change the balance of power, we're not going to get far. If we were to free Tiandra, or melt the ice wall, or steal his magic ice wand thing, or better yet, all three, then we would be in a better position to negotiate."

[Haberdashery]

The Shepherd shrugged his shoulders again, remaining calm and stoic and removed.

"I have started to learn that some people do not want to be saved.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil may not have devoted his life to learning religious lore and ancient languages, but he knows enough to send a spectral hand to whack Asheroth on the back of the head. He turns and gives Asheroth a displeased look. "Forgive him, he's new."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Zyrr speaks, Corellon and Sehanine exchange looks. "We're the dark ones always this cheeky?" the goddess mutters, even as Corellon listens to Zyrr half bemused and half astonished. As the drow finishes his point, the god nods thoughtfully. However, at Asheroth's suggestion, the gods react similar to Pavick and Eltain. Of the three, the avatar of Melora manages to speak first

"Hellfire? I would not consider that until all other options were completely exhausted. I've no doubt it would breach the defenses around the Fortress of Frozen tears, but..." the avatar motions to the feywild, distant below the foggy floor. "If the Hellfire got out of control, even for a moment, it could burn everything in a hundred miles. Even the drow have not done yet done that much damage."

There's a bit of confusion over the next few minutes. As Eltain and Pavick debate what should be done with the Prince, Corellon and Sehanine seem to echo the same arguments. Like Eltain, Corellon seems to think that the Prince may be redeemed, but Sehanine seems to believe as Pavick does.

As the gods and the mortals debate back and forth, the Shepherd notices that Melora's avatar seems to be watching him closely, and a single tear falls from the avatar's face onto the ground, bursting into flowers as it splashes. "This...this is not how you once were." she mutters softly, looking at the stony body of the goliath.

Corellon, still standing behind Eltain pauses the debate momentarily as Asheroth speaks, his voice taking a sad tone. "The angels serve the gods, be they good or ill. Pelor uses his angels to spread light, Bane uses his for war. All those who rebelled with Asmodeus fell, but once Asmodeus' divinity was established, he can command angels just as any other god." Corellon's voice changes from sad to harsh. "He uses them as messengers when he wishes to communicate with other gods, just to remind us of our folly in letting him keep the divinity he stole." He glances briefly at Shep, but before he can continue, Lucan speaks up.

As the bard speaks of lovage, the three deities turn to watch him for a long moment before turning to each other. "With the right leverage, perhaps the Prince of Frost could be convinced of his folly. The god places a hand on Eltain's shoulder.

Sehanine pauses to consider this. "Or disposed, if he refused repentance."

Melora nods. "It would be faster than a direct assault on either the drow or the winter court, and possibly end the war sooner."

Corellon motions to one of the angels flying above, who swoops down next to the god of magic. "The old way into the Fortress we discussed earlier. Did you find out how many can safely use it?" The angel nods "We've enough for 8, perhaps 10 if desperate."

The golden haired god turns back to the party at the bottom of the dais. "Tiandra lies in frozen in Senaliesse, under seige by an army of drow. If you wish to free her, a small group may be able to sneak past the dark elf lines into the city. There is also an ancient way into the Winter lands that not even the Prince of Frost knows, but it is dangerous, and no more than 8 or 10 could make the path. If you free Tiandra, or steal the Prince's wand, you may gain the...lovage that you need to confront the Prince."

Corellon steps down from the Dais and takes a knee, looking at you at eye-level. "I can think of no one more suited to the task than you all who have been involved from the beginning. I would ask that you give the Prince a chance to redeem himself, away from the Bramble Queen if possible... he gives a smile to Eltain "But if he refuses, than he truly is lost to us, and only one option remains." he turns to look at Zyrr and Pavick. "Once this is over, for better or worse, the drow can be stopped."

Corellon rises back to his feet. "Regardless of what you choose, the mission is a dangerous one that I cannot command you to undertake. So I leave the decision up to you."

[Haberdashery]

"Is it?" His eyes were clear, his voice the same, as he answered Melora. "I am afraid that I cannot comment. There seems to be quite a few people that know more about me than I do."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Melora's avatar, not wishing to interrupt Corellon, speaks to the Shepherd in his head. "There is much you should know. We will discuss it once we are done here."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth had not considered the implications if hellfire were to be recklessly unleashed upon the Feywild. "Forgive me. I was not suggesting we allow Mephistopheles to use hellfire in the Feywild, but someone controlled. But if this is an unsettling proposition, then I will acquiesce to your judgement."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"We'd love to free Tiandra, but we haven't found a way to do so yet," Lucan says. "Do you know of a way?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

"I am not completely opposed to a diplomatic option, but the leverage Lucan suggests is wise. We can't go in on a wing and a prayer that we'll come out on top in negotiations with the Prince. It just will not happen unless we have something more. Freeing Tiandra and cutting off the Prince's connection to the cold that imprisoned her would definitely give us more to bargain with. With that in place, I'd be willing to try talking to him."

Pavick moves over closer to Eltain, "But you must agree that he must be removed. As you said, you've seen more than any of us the horrors that he's caused. There are many good and worthy people in the winter lands, I met some when I visited there with you. And I can think of only one son of the winter lands that I trust enough to take the Prince's place. It takes one of great compassion and great power to lead well. Tell me who embodies these things better than you."

[Toric]

The drow smiles at the gods' response to him. No, just the ones who have learned to take divine grace with a grain of salt. That they haven't killed me must mean they saw my sign of respect for what it was.

"I think Pavick has the right idea." Zyrr chips in, raising his eyebrows at Eltain. "You're already something of a folk hero in the Winter Lands. Rooting out corruption and helping the poor. More than one king has started out this way, I've heard."

"And if the Prince of Frost is anywhere as zealous as your average Matron Mother, stealing his wand will serve only to feed his defiance. If there's a way to free Tiandra without directly taking the wand and show his grand power to be impotent, that's the way to bring him to the negotiating table."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain isn't sure whether to laugh or to choke, and the sound he produces is a strange melding of the two.

"You... Greatly overestimate... Nearly everything in that." He sighs, shaking his head.

"Perhaps you do trust me. You'd be the only ones. I'm the enemy, remember? The Winter Court must be stopped? I'm a Winter fe- Hells, I'm not even truly a winter fey. I'm half-human. I'm the discarded, disgraced bastard son of a noble and not even a proper Eladrin. I hold no power, no position. I don't even currently actually have a rank in the church, I'm a member of a heretical sect disowned by the mainstream church. I lead a minor rebellion that has absolutely no support from anyone on your side and has worked entirely alone from the beginning. I am nobody, Pavick. I am not a great hero, or a well-known leader, or a famous anything. I'm a complete non-entity from a land half the Feywild thinks is composed entirely of evil monsters. No one knows who I am and nobody has any reason to care. I have neither the power nor the influence to ever even be considered for something like that. Nor would I even want to. Yes, the Prince has committed dark deeds, and they've been committed in his name, but neither side is free of stain in this war." He sighs wearily, exhausted and humiliated to be standing before his god. He was every bit as worthless as he claimed himself to be, surely Pavick and Zyrr both knew that. Certainly Corellon must. He fights the urge to flee.

"I appreciate the attempt to be cheerful and hopeful and demonstrate some sort of trust in me, but it's completely not something that would ever happen."

He turns to other matters. "I agree with Zyrr on one thing, stealing from the Prince is likely to merely make him angry. If we go in diplomatically we should go in diplomatically. I've no idea how we could free Tiandra, but I'm sure one of you does." He sighs wearily, overwhelmed by the presence of his god and his own heartache. He forces himself to meet Corellon's gaze, looking sadly at the god.

"I'll do what I can. It's... Not much at all, I guess, but I'll try."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick's face drops in disappointment. "No, you are not the enemy. The winter fey are not even all enemies. The evil that has infected them is. You may not be full-blooded eladrin, but are of the winter court whether they are willing to admit it or not. Despite that, you've worked for peace when few others were willing to try. True, you may be a member of a splinter religion, but here you stand before your god who has done nothing but agree with you. When this war is over, and new leadership must be found, your people will need you or at least someone very much like you. At least consider it. If you really don't want the role, then at least be thinking of others that could take leadership and help heal the wounds of both sides better than you." Pavick turns away from Eltain, hoping he'll at least consider his words before dismissing them out of hand.

He begins pacing back and forth. "Well we did have a few ideas before on how to rescue Tiandra. We had considered asking one of the primal spirits of the natural world for help or going to the elemental chaos to either cut off the source of the Prince's power or find a powerful enough being of flame to counteract whatever power the Prince has over cold. Though if there are other ideas, I'd be pleased to hear them."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"Well, you also have his confidence," Lucan says, gesturing at Corellon. "That's got to count for something." Lucan smiles. "And, well, you kind of are a great hero. I've been telling stories about you--about all of us, really--at the Lady's Favor, and well, word gets around. And you know, from Sigil, it gets around everywhere. We're really famous now. I've heard our names attached to things that I know we didn't do. At least I'm pretty sure we haven't climbed the Flame Spire in the City of Brass and stolen the ruby heart from the great fire primordial trapped there. I mean sure, we talked about doing that, but none of us have yet, right?"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan speaks of a ruby heart, one of the exalted sitting in the room tilts his head quizzically. "Wait...that wasn't you who did that?" Severally of the exalted immediately put their heads together and start comparing rumors they've heard of you.

On his throne, Corellon looks down at Eltain. "You may not be the typical leader of the fey, but given what their "typical" leaders have led them into, I'm not so sure it's such a disadvantage as you seem to think."

He steps down from the dais, and places a hand on Eltain and Aramil's shoulder "When all this is done, there will be need for new leadership in the Winter and Green courts. I can think of none better. However, we are getting ahead of ourselves. The first thing is to end the war."

Sehanine taps a finger thoughtfully as she considers what Pavick and Lucan have just said, but suddenly her eyes dart back to Zyrr. "Naturally, it would be a drow that brings an answer to our problems. I may have an idea how Tiandra can be unfrozen, should you be able to reach her." She raises a hand, and a curtain of muting darkness surrounds the three gods and the party, shutting out all of the angels, exalted, and ruesti in the grand chamber beyond.

"The force that holds Tiandra is primordial in nature, divine power cannot destroy it. However, the world does not know what weapons or secrets are hidden in the house of Corellon, and they do not know we cannot free her. If you were to rescue Tiandra and bring her here, we could (through the use of a particular inn in Sigil that you are known to frequent) spread word that Tiandra is being thawed and will be returning to the feywild in force."

"Now, the Prince knew that to take the Feywild he had to eliminate Tiandra and Oran. Oran is lost to us thanks to the Bramble Queen, but if he thinks Tiandra may soon be free, he may be willing to talk. It would show his power to be...what was the word you used?" she glances at Zyrr. "'Impotent'? At least that's what he would believe.

"Regardless..." She motions to the globe of darkness around her."This barrier will no doubt start tongues wagging, and I do not doubt the Prince will hear of it and begin to wonder what we discussed. And at the very least it would keep the drow armies from capturing the Queen of Summer, frozen or no."

Corellon looks back at her, half-incredulous, half-amused. "So you're suggesting we bluff?"

Sehanine shrugs "You've expressed the desire to bring the drow back into the fold, and this is the sort of thing my sister would have done before her fall. None would suspect you would condone such an action."

Corellon looks to the avatar of Melora who gives a slight nod, before turning to the party. "And what say you to this...drowish plan of the goddess?"

[Orsik Vondal]

"So you are suggesting we make the Prince of Frost believe that a drow has the power to free Tiandra? Then the Prince will turn his attentions toward the drow invasion and not necessarily our drow friend here? Which would help us on that front and thwart the drow attempt to seize the Queen of Summer. Furthermore, if we succeed in freeing Tiandra, we can claim that it was a drow who was the savior. Which would help bring the drow back into the fold of the Fey races. And all of this is a bluff to fool all of our enemies?"

Asheroth taps his chin then shrugs his shoulders. "Sounds like a plan to me. I agree with Sehanine. This ruse will work to our advantage."

[Mando Knight]

Aramil groans. "No, Asheroth. The plan is to bring Tiandra here, and lead the Prince to believe that Nath Seldarie holds the means to subvert his primordial ice, and is indeed moving towards direct intervention against him. The plan is "drow-like" in that it relies on misdirection and political power plays more common in the Underdark, not that Lolth's followers will gain any credit."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

Lucan looks back and forth, trying to figure out what exactly the plan is. "So . . . we get Tiandra, bring her here, and tell everyone we're thawing her out. I like the plan. Only . . . how do we bring her here? Last I heard, she was a big frozen statue, and kind of hard to carry around."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

At Lucan's question, Corellon speaks up. "The drow priestesses are preventing anyone from teleporting into the city while they lay siege to it, but you should be able to teleport out of it. Pavick, do you think you could create a teleportation circle around Tiandra?" He glances at the small gnome, before looking back to Eltain. "I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this plan Sehanine has proposed."

He pauses, and looks to the Shepherd, who he had barely acknowledged up to this point. "Your thoughts as well."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick pulls his flute from his belt and fingers a series of scales on it (no sound, just covering and uncovering the holes) as he often does as he thinks. He makes a quick series of mental calculations as he carefully considers the rituals he knows.

Finally, he nods. "I believe I can do that. I can't use my quick portal spell though, so we'll need some time to make it work. I'll need at least 10 minutes to perform the proper ritual, but I should be able to whip up a planar portal and hold it open for several seconds. Though it would help if you could give me the sequence for a little more direct teleportation circle. The closest circle I know of is the one we came in through, and I think we'd like to get Tiandra somewhere a little safer than that."

[Toric]

"Or at the least one that is more secure. Both for our own safety since I have a hunch we'll leave in a ragged full retreat, and as more fuel for the rumors that we are thawing Tiandra here."

Zyrr pauses a moment to examine the sequestering gloom upon them. The magical energy enveloping them feels very familiar to him, a perfectly-formed shadow in the middle of the light of the room. Perhaps the drow take more after the Moon Maiden than they would like to think.

"Let's see. We show the Feywild the drow are not the unstoppable wave of death they seem, we give the Prince of Frost reason to think he's running out of time, and the Shepherd gets to meet again with the only woman thus far who's shown him attention that does not involve eating him. It's a win-win-win situation if we can pull it off. This is the best kind of plan, the kind that's too against the norm to anticipate."

Zyrr wisely bites his tongue between the ending sentence and the one that desparately wants to follow: The drow do not call Lady Sehanine the queen of lies for nothing.

[Hzurr]

******** POST-HIATUS RECAP POST*********

*Begin News Reel, & cue 1940s radio voice*

"When we last left our band of brave adventurers, they were in the palace of Corellon, discussing plans for ending the civil war in the feywild, and battling the drow invasion. After much deliberation, Zyrr provided an idea that sparked a plan in Sehanine. The goddess of shadows has proposed the party sneak through the drow siege around Senaliesse, and attempt to rescue the frozen Tiandra from the clutches of the Drow and bring her back to Arvandor. After leaking rumors that the elven gods have the means to free the Archfey, the party will approach the Prince of Frost with a new offer of peace, and attempt to end the civil war and unite the fey in battle against the drow and Formorian armies! But will our heroes accept this quest, or has a new brilliant plan begun to form in the minds of the feyish/rocky/fiery minds of the intrepid adventurers?

******** END-HIATUS RECAP POST*********

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan nods. "It sounds like a reasonable plan. Although I wish we had some way to actually free Tiandra."

"Dragon fire." The words echo in his head, causing him to wince.

"Well, sure, dragon fire can burn most anything, but we're talking primordial ice here. You'd have to have, like, a primordial dragon or something. And besides, we want to free her, not incinerate her," He looks around to see Yuri and Lena staring at him. "Seriously, none of you heard that?"

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain winces at Pavick's look of disappointment and nods as he listens to the gnome's words. "Perhaps... Sorry, Pavick. Thank you. I guess I'm just so used to everyone being against me by now that I don't know how to realize that everyone isn't. Maybe you're right." He lays a hand on the gnome's shoulder before he turns and manages a slight smile. He raises an eyebrow at Lucan.

"Heh, hopefully not stories about that party at the Printempest estate with that priestess... But thank you. And yeah, I'm pretty sure you guys haven't done that either, or knowing you lot you would have already tried to free Tiandra with it." He manages another smile, a bit wider this time, as the words of his friends finally begin to penetrate the chill that had pervaded his spirit. Even if he couldn't believe in himself, there were still people who believed in him.

And then once again his god is before him, once again touching him, and once more his very soul aches with a joy that seems to pervade every bit of his being. He cries once more, but the tears flow freely rather than freezing, as his god speaks to him. He stares into Corellon's eyes, feeling his shame begin to ebb as he suddenly understands the reason his pleas for forgiveness have gone unanswered. In his god's eyes there was nothing to forgive.

He nods, looking to Pavick and back to Corellon.

"If I am needed after this, I will do what I can. So many times You've come to my aid and given me strength and power to fight on, even when I was separated from You by my actions. You were the one who sent this to me, weren't You?" He touches the star-shaped hilt of the longsword of ice he had found in the temple garden the year before. "You were the one who gave me the arcane power I've wielded since then. You've done so much for me, and I will do what I can for You. If that's what You want of me when the time comes, I'll do it." He smiles, fully this time, and the color returns to his face as the snow about him slows and stops, returning to merely a light chill to the air. He listens to the plan Sehanine proposes, nodding and breaking into a grin as it's discussed as he thinks over both it and what his friends have said. When Corellon addresses him once again, he snaps from his reverie and looks to his god, nodding.

"I think it's actually quite a good plan. We don't risk an attack against someone we may not be able to match yet, nor do we risk humiliating and angering him by theft of his possessions. We get Tiandra somewhere we can keep her safe, and make him nervous and perhaps more prone to negotiating by showing that his power can be countered without a direct humiliation. If he thinks his power is not absolute and can be convinced that the drow and formorians will be able to take over the Feywild, he will act to protect it. He wants to rule it, not destroy it. Seized by evil or no, he's still one of the fey, and he'll still act to save them if need be." He rubs his chin and grins.

"I like it. It's dirty and underhanded and exactly the sort of thing he won't expect from us. And definitely a ragged retreat is called for; we don't want him thinking the drow are so weak that we can easily defeat them, that would go completely counter to our purposes." He purses his lips.

"One issue, though. How in all nine hells are the lot of us going to manage to sneak in? We're not exactly masters of stealth, as we've discovered to our chagrin several times..." He thinks back to the cave in the Winter Lands when he'd had to go in openly and improvise upon Lucan's slip-up to enable Pavick at least to sneak in.

"Perhaps we should go in openly, but in disguise. Lowly male soldiers, led by a priestess, sent as reinforcements. Though some of us," he looks at Pavick, Asheroth, and Shep, "are going to be harder to disguise than others..." He smiles cheerfully, warming to the idea.

He frowns in concern as Lucan once more turns to talking to both himself and animals. Lena he can understand, but the unicorn and the self-conversation...

"It would be quite difficult to find a dragon willing to help; and even more difficult trying to find one both willing and powerful enough, and you've already raised my other objections. But I wouldn't rule it out entirely this early." He looks again at the unicorn and the seemingly mad Lucan. Well, maybe the unicorn he could understand. Most of the time he was convinced that Frank was as intelligent as he was and only didn't talk because he didn't feel like it.

Frank.

He turns to Corellon and Sehanine, worry filling his voice.

"Wait, you said earlier that Frank had come back wounded. Is he alright? Was anyone with him? Did he know anything about what happened to the crew of the Spelljammer?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick smiles as Eltain finally seems to get it. Eltain's realization was quite awhile in the coming, and hopefully this would bring him some more peace.

"We heard you Lucan. Are you feeling okay? This is getting a little odd even for you. What's all this about dragon fire? I'd love to free Tiandra too, but I think you're right. It would be tough to find a primordial dragon and even if we did, I don't know that it would work. I think we'd best stick with the plan we've got."

"Speaking of which, Eltain brings up a good point. While I may be a master of stealth, I know not all of us are. We should consider all routes to our goal. I do have a few rituals that I think might help." He reaches into his bag of holding and pulls out several spell books that he begins to page through. "Ghost Walk and Seeming spring immediately to mind... but there are probably others in my personal library here somewhere..." he trails off as he examines the first book. Slick makes his way up Pavick's arm and pokes his head out of Pavick's collar and begins reading over his shoulder.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

At Lucan's outburst, the avatar of Melora turns her attention from the Shepherd to Lucan. "There is a wildness in you...though you may not yet understand it, young one." Her voice echos around Lucan, crackling like a wind through autumn leaves. The waves at her feet begin crashing and splashing with a new intensity, but the dryad-like figure does not speak again.

Sehanine smiles, and the globe of magical darkness vanishes from around you. "You search your spellbook with the entire library of Nath Seldarie available to you?" she says to Pavick. Her eyes, however, dart back to Zyrr, and there's a slight sparkle of amusement as if she knew what the Drow wisely kept his tongue from speaking.

At Eltain's worry, Corellon motions to a centaur seated near the edge of the vast dining hall. "Cyraallin looks after the sacred stables. I'm sure he can take you there if you wish to see for yourself." The fey god turns, and takes his seat again on the crackling throne of arcane energy. "Now I must give thought to the godsmeet. We shall speak again before you set off on your quest."

[Orsik Vondal]

At the mention of the library Asheroth's ears perk up.

"Ummm...excuse me? Might there be any information on the betrayal of Asmodeus and the fall of the angels in that library? It would help me a lot to be able put all of these things that have been happening with the devils in perspective. I know much of the Dawn War, but my knowledge of The Betrayal and Fall is very limited."

[Nai_Calus]

Sensing the dismissal in Corellon's words, Eltain bows before him.

"I'll do that, then." He tries to fight down the worry that renewed itself at the lack of confirmation. Was Frank... He shuddered and refused to think of it. No. Corellon would surely tell him if Frank had passed from his wounds. He must be fine. He forces it from his mind and looks up at his god once more, fixing Corellon's face in his mind.

"Thank you, again, for seeing us. I never in my wildest dreams allowed myself to even think that I might one day meet you. I'm just a Paladin who belongs to a splinter sect most believe to be heretical, though now I know I was right all along. It means more to me that I was able to be here before you than I can ever express. Thank you."

[Mando Knight]

"The mission first, Asheroth. If you require access to reliable documents of that subject, I'm sure that could be given as payment for your help. Right now, we have a world to save."

[Toric]

Zyrr meets Sehanine's gaze and grins in response, interpreting the shared joke. Let Pavick call himself a master of stealth. There is stealth and there is total nondetection, and he's the stealthiest wizard I've seen.

Zyrr bows deeply to the deities and avatar as his companions talk. Asheroth's request is no business of his. Besides, he himself is curious about what pheasant recipes the elven ancestors have recorded over the centuries. "Eltain's words are nearly my own. This is only the second divine realm I've been in, and the two receptions have been as different as black and white. I thank you for the hospitality you've shown me in spite of my background, and I'll make certain you never regret it."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The two gods and the avatar give respectful nods and warm smiles as you back away, before Corellon and Sehanine begin speaking privately to each other. The druid avatar of Melora makes a small gesture to The Shepherd, and the pair slowly walk out of the room, the Shepherd stroking his newly grown beard with every step. As Melora passes by Lucan, the avatar lays a bark-covered hand on the bard's shoulder. "The wild inside of you is calling strong. It can be useful, but you must never give yourself over to it entirely."

------------ Eltain ------------

As Eltain makes his way over to Cyraallin, the Centaur gives a bow, and touches his forehead. "Ark-erynsuoress, if you will follow me, I will show you to the stables."

The Centaur turns, and exits the magnificent chamber at a brisk trot, and Eltain has to hurry to keep up with him. Once again, Eltain passes through that strange fog, but on emerging he does not find himself back in the city, but instead in the middle of an open field, as far as the eye can see, a blinding emerald green expanse of grass, broken only by patches of wildflowers so bright they hurt his eyes to look at. Across the field, the celestial mounts of Arvandor wandered. Some seemed to be eating contently, some were running across the grass, others were flying in lazy circles in the sky. Many were horses, unicorn, and pegasi; but a few silver dragons, dire badgers, and even an elephant can be seen lumbering around the open field.

Eltain barely has time to take it all in, before a familiar mule trots up to him. The celestial pega-mule appears to be in perfect health, but rather than approach the paladin, Frank looks Eltain up and down slowly before trotting over and stepping on Eltain's foot. With a snort, Frank nods as if he's satisfied and immediately begins trying to dig his nose into Eltain's pocket looking for the sugar-cubes he knows Eltain tended to keep there.

--------- Asheroth & Pavick -----------------

As the gods dismiss you, a raven-haired eladrin walks up, and bows politely. "I am Malhotra, I often work in the library, if you require someone to show you the way." The two ravens that make up the eladrin's hair caw loudly. "Yes, yes, be quiet you two!" He shoos off the birds, revealing that he is in fact completely bald.

"It would be an honor for me to guide two arcane masters of such renown. It's just out this doorway." He turns, and leads you into the archway you used to enter the room, back into the thick fog. However, when you emerge, you find yourself at the base of a cylindrical room nearly a thousand feet in diameter, and so tall that you strain your neck trying to see the ceiling. The center of the building is hollow, but ringing it all the way up are floor after floor of bookshelves packed to the brim. For one such as Pavick, who was used to rooms filled with books, it was like waking up in a dream that would have caused most arcane masters to die in sheer ecstasy. For Asheroth, the idea that there could possibly be so much knowledge in the universe made his head ache trying to imagine it.

Malhotra claps softly, and a pair of large round disks zip out from somewhere in the expanse above, and come to a rest in front of you. Malhotra motions to the disk. "If you take a seat on these, they will take you anywhere you need to go in the Library. Just ask it for a specific subject or book, and it will take you there. If you find yourself uncomfortable, just command the type of terrain you require."

Looking at the disk, he says in a firm voice "Softer." and the disk is immediately covered with a layer of thick, comfortable looking grass. "Support!" A small mountain bursts out of the center of the disk, forming a rocky angle that looks perfect for lounging against. "Light." A small sun appears over the grass and mountain, beaming down bright light over the disk. "Hmm... a little less light." Two small clouds form in the air, partially obscuring the light of the miniature sun.

With a smile, he turns back to Pavick and Asheroth. "Well, you get the idea. If you run into any problems, just ask the disk to take you to the Librarian. He'll sort you out, but I recommend against wasting his time. He can get a bit...irritable with foolish questions."

------------ Lucan, Zyrr, and Aramil ------------------

As the rest of the party goes their separate ways, a satyr trots up to Aramil, Zyrr, and Lucan. "It is an honor to have you in the palace of the Seldarine. Is there anything you require? If you are simply looking to relax, I can take you down to the city of paradise. The grass there is green and the women are very, very pretty." He gives the three a knowing wink. "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Axelrosse.

-------------------------------------------------------

OOC: Ok, basically this is the chance for the party to take care of any last minute details or pick up anything before we head back to the feywild.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain's surprise at Frank's actions is overwhelmed by his joy and relief at seeing his friend unharmed. He throws his arms around the mule's neck, hugging him tightly before pulling away.

"What was that for? I didn't want to leave you there, you know that. Or the others..." He sighs as he pulls out a couple of lumps of sugar and lets Frank eat them. "Did you see if anyone else was able make it out, Frank? Maybe Kosalram at least had the sense to try to hitch a ride on you? I hope at least in the chaos of that storm I created they were able to take advantage of the confusion and get out..." He sighs. "As mad as Lucan acts, I wish you'd start talking to me. I know you're at least almost as smart as I am, and half the time I think you're smarter..."

[DSCrankshaw]

"Nice to meet you, Axelrosse," Lucan says. "Is there anywhere around here that I can find some music? Perhaps someplace where I can play myself?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick thanks the eladrin librarian and climbs aboard the disk. "Take me to a tome about Senaliesse. Anything you have. Maps, histories, you'll never know where a good bit of information will come up."

As the disk goes zooming off, Pavick experiments with the disk's commands. First creating a comfortable place to sit, a large mound of soft earth. Then a slightly larger hill in front of him to serve as a table. His feet dangle pleasantly in the canyon between. "Isn't this nice, Slick? A lovely little disk that obeys your every command. I will have to figure this out. Too many good ideas to fit into one plane all at once. Maybe something as mutable as this disk would be good." He continues to experiment for a few minutes, even after the disk slowed to a stop before a section of bookcase.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth steps onto the magical disk and takes a seat crossing is legs. "I need to know everything there is to know about the Betrayal of Asmodeus, the Curse of Baator and the Fall of the Angels."

The disk slowly rises and wavers in the air for a moment as if it did not know which subject to find first. "Okay. Let's start easy. Betrayal of Asmodeus. Also, let there be fire." A low crackle and hiss emerges from the disk as small flames emerge from the surface. The disk begins to move in a determined line toward the top tier of shelves. The tomes here seem to be much older than any where else. Ash reads the titles of some as they glide by: The Artificer's Handbook v. 3.5 by Mordenkainen, Cold Snaps: A Collection of Related Poems and Insults by Bigby, Goats by The Shepherd. Huh!?

The disk finally stops in front of a shelf with books gilded in spawling gold and silver.

Alright. Let's get to the bottom of this...

[Toric]

Zyrr blinks at Axelrosse's comment about women. He looks to Lucan, quite occupied with his pixie and unicorn. Then to Aramil, the stoic general. Then he fixes his gaze on their guide with a smirk and a shrug. "You're welcome to the women. Lucan's taken care of, Aramil might enjoy a chat with one of his warlord ancestors, and as for myself, if you could point out a bakery and specify that yes, I really do just want to learn how to make an elven baguette, I'd be much obliged."

[Mando Knight]

"Yes, I think I might... though I feel that I have already been too long delayed from my duties..."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

-------------Eltain-------------

At Eltain's words, Frank walks over to a small clump of dirt, and begins making marks in it with his hoof. The marks a bit awkward to make out, as even a mule as clever as Frank has difficulty using a hoof in such a manor, but after a few minutes of guessing, erasing, and re-drawing, Eltain is able to recognize that Frank has drawn a set of manacles in the dirt. The mule looks at him with a sad look when Eltain finally realizes what it is, then looks up above, into the vastness of the Astral Sea that floats around the divine realm.

------------- Pavick & Asheroth --------------

The wizard and the warlock soon find themselves zooming around the Library on their own personal islands. The small disks resonate with Pavick, and the magical weaves used to construct them seem very closely based on many of the spells he used when doing his own research on the planes. Eventually, both the wizard and the warlock find books on the subjects close to their heart.

For Pavick, there is no shortage of books on Senaliesse.

OOC: Quick "travelers guide" overview on Senaliesee, for those who don't want to go back through the old threads:
In the center of the Feywild’s primeval forest grows a massive stand of ancient silver trees. The forest at the base of these trees seems completely undisturbed. A glance upward reveals nothing but the shining columns of the trunks rising into mist. No sound can be heard but the rustle of leaves and the chitter of wildlife. This silver grove is Senaliesse, the home of Queen Tiandra.

Guests of the Summer Queen wait patiently here until eladrin rangers appear from the green shadows. Once the all-clear is given, a rope elevator descends from the mists above. Visitors then endure a breathtaking—and terrifying—ride on the open elevator platform up to high into the treetops. Long after they’ve completely lost sight of the ground, guests breach the canopy and arrive in the rambling palace of Tiandra, the Summer Queen. The palace sprawls out through the tops of countless gigantic oaks and yews. Tree limbs wide enough for several humans to walk comfortably abreast span the space between the silver trees. Visitors use these main avenues, although a web of thin rope walkways also connects branches high and low. The thought of a fatal fall from such treacherous footholds is too daunting for most.

Senaliesse lacks the signature crystal stone of most other eladrin cities. It is composed completely of living wood coaxed by Lord Oran to form walls, archways, and roadways high in the fey tree branches. The centerpiece of the palace is Tiandra’s Chamber, a soaring proscenium of twisting green leaves overhanging a throne made of green summer branches and bounteous cascades of flowering scented vines. If Queen Tiandra is inclined to receive audience, hundreds of creatures can mingle comfortably in the room within. The sheer size of this proscenium is why Senaliesse has become the prime location for the irregular meetings of the Court of Stars.

In reading, it seems to Pavick that the greatest challenge (for both the party and the Drow) will be getting to the top of the city. The Summer Court rests at the very peak of the trees, and without the elven elevators to ascend to the top, climbing will be extremely difficult, and one wrong slip could send you plummeting to the bottom. Many of the trees that make up the city are hollow, and are carved with intricate staircases on the inside, but they are notoriously well defended by magical wards and traps. Should the drow hold one of them from higher ground, ascending one of these trees could very well be a deathtrap. It's also unclear of how much of the cities magic was tied to Tiandra, and how her imprisonment will affect the magical wards and defenses of the city in the trees.

Far from the leaf and bark bound books on Senaliesee, Asheroth's disk takes him to a remote corner of the library, where the very books have been chained to the bookshelves to keep the quivering pages from flying open or "falling out" onto the heads of unwary patrons. The books Asheroth finds are bound in what looks to be human skin blacked by charcoal, clasped with white-hot golden and silver latches.

The Rise of Asmodeus
"Asmodeus, once the angelic paragon of chastity and virtue, chief general of **********" The name here is burned away, even though Asheroth doesn't seem to be able to even slightly scorch the page with his most potent spells. "was set to guard for eternity that-which-is-chained-below. The evil of the abyss poisoned the angel's soul, and the demon Pazuzu filled Asmodeus' ears with the seeds of pride and arrogance. Soon, the once just angel became angry at the eternal task he had volunteered for, and took the evil of the Abyss into himself, and sought out the others of the angelic host he had commanded throughout the dawn war.

"One-by-one, the evil spread from Asmodeus to his generals, and they rose up against *********** and struck down the god of creation and protection. Asmodeus seized the divine power for himself, even as ********** cursed all the angels who had rebelled against him, twisting and turning them into the devils they are now. Asmodeus was forever bound to the cursed and twisted divine realm of his former master, unable to leave unless to meet the other gods, or to battle in the blood war against the demons that spawned him."

The names of the fallen generals who became the Lords of Hell do not seem to be immediately available. With time, you may be able to find them, but even here the writings on the devils seems to be fairly scarce. Even the Tomes you do find seem to have been written in a hurry, as if the author could not wait to move on to other topics. There are brief overviews to some of the layers of hell (all but the ninth), and Asheroth even finds the sigil sequences for the first, fifth, sixth, and eighth layers.

---------------- Lucan, Aramil, Zyrr --------------

Axelrosse's eyes dart between the three with a smile. Putting two fingers to his lips, he whistles, and a dryad steps out of a tree nearby. "Oh, sweet child of mine!" The satyr trots over and kisses the Dryad on the forehead. "Could you go and inform master Dekhanti that he may have an extra hand in his kitchen tonight?" He gives a nod to Zyrr. "We'll walk down the long way to give him time to get ready."

Leading you down into the "city of paradise" the three of you draw no shortage of strange looks. The presence of a drow is enough to draw most heads, but many quickly point to the sword on Aramil's hip, or to Lena on Lucan's shoulder, and whispers begin to abound. As you pass over a bridge that looks to be made of silken threads (yet doesn't even quiver as you walk across it), you hear snippets of conversation, including words like "Kolianda", "Winter Court", "Succubus", "Printempest" and even "Fallcrest." Before too long there's a trail of the exalted fey following and watching, even as you enter into the heart of the city.

Arriving at a small bakery called a Lembasserie, Axelrosse motions inside with a flourish to Zyrr. "Master Dekhanti awaits you." he says. Inside the bakery is completely empty, except for a massive, shirtless ogre wearing a puffy white hat.

"Is zis ze one who weeshes to learn from ze great Dekhanti?" the ogre growls, jabbing Zyrr in the chest with a rolling pin. "Come, leettle drow. Before we make ze baguette, we must grind grain." Placing a long stalk of grain on the ornate marble countertop, the ogre smashes his head onto the plant with a *BANG*, leaving only finely ground powder where the grain kernel once was. "Now you..."

Leaving Zyrr behind, Axelrosse continues leading Aramil and Lucan. "He may not look it, but Master Dekhanti is one of the finest chefs in the city. If Master Zyrr'dellin survives learning from him, you'd be advised to let him do all the cooking in the future. He'll come out of that bakery bruised, but a gourmet. Ah, here we are." Axelrosse leads the pair into a tower built into the side of a massive silver baobab tree.

The tree seemed large from the outside, but it is easily bigger on the inside than you could have ever imagined. A group of naiads play instruments made of living water on a small pool in the middle of the room, while food and drinks float through the air to the groups of reusti lounging about the room. All around, the denizens of Arvandor sat around tables laughing and drinking, but many were taking part in various games and other types of entertainment. Some played cards, some played a game tossing magical lightning between rings (similar to those Aramil played when first arriving at the academy), and others played strange games with dice and sheets of parchment. With a wide smile, Axelrosse cried out "Welcome to 'The Jungle' tavern. Here, we have fun, games, anything you could want." Pointing to the stage of water, Axelrosse leaned towards Lucan "Technically, they're the band for the evening, but I think with a wink and a smile, they'd gladly let you join in."

To Aramil, he simply gave a pat on the shoulder. "I'm afraid your name proceeds you. Should you wish to discuss battle strategy, magical theory, or are simply looking for someone to share your bed, I don't think you'll have much trouble." Turning, Aramil can see that much of the crowd that took note of him on the way here have crowded into The Jungle, and are watching him expectantly.


---------------------------------

Late that evening, you all find yourself back in the room you were given when you first arrived in Nath Seldarie, with only the Shepherd still absent (still speaking, no doubt, with the avatar of Melora).

OOC: This is the chance to discuss any last strategy or ideas before you set off to the feywild.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

Lucan has a talk with the naiads, and quickly convinces them to let him play a set. He starts with some old favorites, like "There's a Drow in the Kitchen" and "Ballad of the Disappearing Sheep Dog," followed by something new, dark and complex, a mournful tune for secrets lost and lives forgotten. He doesn't have a name for it yet, but it fits his mood, and even the whispering voice is quiet for that one. Then he finishes with the latest song he's completed, "The Lament of the 'Jammer,'" a song for the fallen crew of Zyrr's vessel. It tells of their bravery in combat, and recounts their final desperate flight, as well as Lucan can reconstruct it in his imagination.

[Toric]

The other two adventurers leave to the sight of Zyrr silently pointing between the intact wheat kernel in front of him and the apron-clad ogre beaming down at him expectantly. As they leave, they hear a loud *BAM!* followed by a muffled groan of pain. Inside the kitchen, biting down on a cloth and holding a palm to his head, Zyrr looks down to his horror to see a slightly crumpled grain of wheat. He whines and rears his head back again.

----

That evening, Zyrr sits almost unmoving at the table, holding an icepack to his head and bitterly eyeing a labeled bottle of sleeping draught set at arm's length from him. Some of his white hair ends in black singe marks, his ebony body is covered in blue and purple bruises, and one eye is surrounded by a puffy reddish pillow of flesh.

He listens to Pavick's lore patiently, wincing every so often as he shifts in his chair to trade one sore spot for another. "So one of us could commandeer a rope elevator for the others, but that would leave us open to attack during the ascent. Climbing the trees from the inside would be devastating as a group, unless we can somehow turn the magic of the wards to our side. Were it just me, I'd try climbing the outside of a particularly gnarled tree for the sake of handholds and cover. But you're not all climbers so I've got nothing at mind now but a headache."

[Mando Knight]

Aramil looks over the tavern and then takes a seat at a then-empty table. He sits silently for a moment, observing the crowd of curious beings forming around him. "So, you wish to match wits with General Printempest, hm? Well, I think I have a scenario in mind that should interest most of you... one that is not entirely dissimilar to what adventurers call a dungeon crawl."

He begins to weave together a impossible task: a squad valiant warriors to enter a mighty fortress teaming with Orcs and retrieve an orb of mystic might undetected... a fortress with traps and magic defenses dedicated to flushing out those who would try to sneak about, and with too strong and too many Orcs to defeat in direct combat.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick looks sympathetically at Zyrr. "The things some people will do for a little bread..." he mutters.

"I think you're right. I know climbing isn't my greatest strength. I can think of several rituals that are normally able to bypass such challenges, but in this instance, I highly doubt they'll prove very useful. I'm sure that Senaliesse probably has some sort of magical security to make such rituals less useful. There's got to be a teleportation circle up there somewhere. Maybe if I continue to research, I could find a sigil sequence that would take us to the top. Hard to say. Then again, maybe flight would be better? A tree stride, entering the roots of one tree only to step out of the branches of another? But again I would assume there are countermeasures already in place for any of these."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth rubs his forehead for a moment in thought. "If there is no safe, practical, magical way to ascend Senaliesse, then a non-magical way would most likely be our best shot, though the ascent may be physically dangerous. I would rather deal with the prospect of falling to my death than being driven mad or incapacitated by some magical ward that I cannot see. Also from what Pavick has relayed to us about the trunks' wards and traps, it may be easier to find an undefended tree and slowly ascend the trunk from the inside. If we are careful and methodical, we can reach the canopy unmolested by the drow. I doubt they will have every staircase well-defended. Perhaps there may also be a way to re-arm the traps and wards if we have to disable them, so that a drow security detail will have a hard time following us. If it appears no one has slipped past them, they may be inclined to look past any small anomalies.

In my opinion, if we are able to get past some of the magical traps and wards without alerting the drow, we will at least have a buffer between us and them. This might be the best way. Though, all ways in seem to be wrought with peril."

Ash resumes rubbing his forehead in pensive thought.

[Mando Knight]

"Pavick, if it comes down to it, I could carry you up the trees."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

"Thanks for the offer, we'll see if it comes to that. Perhaps I could fashion a set of straps, like a backpack or something that you could sling me over your back to leave your hands free for climbing." As he speaks, a small illusion of Aramil with a tiny gnome in a papoose climbs up the wall next to him. "Though, I do know a flight spell. I'm just worried that it will cut out on me half-way up when I hit an anti-magic field or something." The tiny gnome takes off, from the child carrying rigging flying toward the ceiling, but before he gets more than a few feet higher, he suddenly plummets to the ground, leaving a small messy patch on the ground, before Pavick dismisses the illusion.

"Another thought occurs to me. What about other help we might find still there? My people are very able to hide themselves away from trouble. I know the same is true about many other fey races. Maybe there are still some fey hiding about Senaliesse waiting for help. If we could find them, they might be able to help us get to Tiandra. There must be a gnome or a pixie or a dryad or something still about."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain's eyes sting with tears as he realizes what Frank has drawn in the soil and walks over to the pegamule, burying his forehead against the side of Frank's head. He clenches a fist in sorrow and anger and looks Frank in the eyes.

"Don't worry, Frank. Right now, we have other duties we have to attend to, but don't think I'll leave this be. Someday this war will end, and then you and I and the others are going to find where they are and rescue them, if it means we have to kill every devil in the hells." His voice is firm and filled with grim conviction. He gives Frank's ears a comforting pet and nods towards the direction he came from. "Come on, we should find the others. And I want to look around before we have to go. I guess you get to be in Arvandor all the time, but this is my first time." He chuckles. "I wonder what the Rex family thinks. Someday when I get a chance I should go apologize for inadvertently stealing their mule." He has the centaur who brought him here show him the way to the city where the others went, Frank walking beside him.

Eltain enters with some trepidation, recalling all too well that he's a winter fey and widely considered a heretic, but to his surprise the disdainful looks and dark mutterings he expected are utterly absent. Instead he finds himself drawing looks of admiration and excited whispers. Here and there he spots occasionally those he was too late to save, or a fallen comrade, and stops to apologize or give a warm greeting and words of friendship. More than a few curious stares are leveled at the mule that walks unridden and unloaded beside him, though Frank usually simply returns the stare and trots on proudly at Eltain's side.

As the afternoon wears on and the young Paladin begins to relax, he finds himself sitting by a fountain in a beautiful spring garden that puts to shame anything he's seen even in the Feywild. He spends most of the rest of the day here, enjoying the scenery and the rest and talking to people. Quite a few women give him inviting glances, and a few men as well, and he flirts with a few of them, but always in his mind is someone he knows he can never have. And even that person isn't nearly as beautiful as Corellon. Now there would b- He shakes his head, forcing the blasphemous thoughts from his mind, and chuckles at his bad taste. He turns his attention to the passerby, finds one he finds attractive, and puts on his best come-hither look.

-----

Eltain listens later that evening as plans are discussed, sitting back in a chair, his armor changed to a loose, comfortable robe. He pats Zyrr comfortingly and tends to his wounds.

"Unless they've constructed wards of their own since last time, there aren't any at least that impede non-magical flight... Toveliss and I were able to ride Frank just fine." Frank snorts in a manner that can only be described as disdainful and Eltain glares at him. "Oh, come on, you've carried more weight than that since." He folds his hands together and rests his chin on them.

"Granted, even if we did find sufficient flying mounts for all of us, that leaves us potentially open to sniping attacks from below. It's also not very stealthy, although to be honest, we're not exactly stealthy ourselves." He ponders. "Looking for a teleport circle is a good idea, but it's almost certain that it will be extremely well-guarded. The drow will expect such a thing."

"Also, we run into the problem with climbing trees that some of us are, well." He gestures at himself. While he's gotten taller and filled out a bit more since the year before, he's still hardly a specimen of physical fitness. "No matter what way we try to go, there's going to be some kind of drawback. Is there a map of Senalisse somewhere?" He considers.

"I doubt anyone there would last for long. Though, that does bring something up. We're fey... For the most part, anyway," he looks at Asheroth, "perhaps the wards that already existed there may not trigger on those who are not enemies of the fey. That would help matters, though undoubtedly the drow have laid their own traps." He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"Zyrr's too well known, but someone like Kerazt might well be able to infiltrate their ranks for a bit to get some information and possibly identify or even open a path for us. Or perhaps disguise ourselves as drow. Won't help Asheroth much, and it would be best if it were non-magical to avoid any nastiness with illusion-dispelling wards, but..."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The debate over how to approach Senalisse goes on well into the night and continues until the dancing constellations above gradually dim under the shimmering pink and orange lights of dawn on Arvandor. New ideas are proposed and rejected throughout the night, most most are rejected or tossed aside for one reason or another. ("No Lucan, we can't become were-squirrels"; "What if we burn down the trees with Hellfi-" "I will cut you if you finish that sentence, Asheroth."; "As much as I hate to admit it, posing as cooks *might* not get us into the Drow army")

Eventually, a decision is made to "Make things up as we go and try not to die" and before long you find yourself standing atop a large stone platform in the middle of a crystalline lake in the heart of Nath Seldarie. The arcane runes that mark this teleportation circle do not appear as if they've been etched there by magic, but rather as if the water itself wore away sections of the stone over the years, leaving natural groves that somehow form the requisite sigil sequence needed. As you stand in the circle, preparing to leave, three figures form out of the mist of the lake and approach you.

The first misty figure steps forward, the symbol of the eight-pointed star and crescent moon clearly visible upon its chest. In a voice that crackles with energy, it speaks clearly "Your quest could very well determine the fate of the feywild and the Seldarine. Should the drow take Tiandra and the feywild, there is no limit to what horrors the spider-queen might unleash." The misty figure places a hand on the chest of Eltain and Aramil. "General, my Ark-erynsuoress, go forth with my blessing.

OOC: Aramil & Eltain receive the Blessing of Corellon:
Consumable - Free Action
Trigger: You miss with an attack
Effect: Reroll the attack. This attack may score a critical hit on a roll of 15-20

The second figure steps forward, and the light shining through the figure is obscured so that only twinkling spots of sunlight gleam off the surface of the deep blue mist. "Be cautious. Those devoted to my sister will consider no tactic to low and no deception too great in their attempt to destroy us." A dark cloud falls over Zyrr'dellin and Pavick "May you be hidden and protected from the poison of the drow."

OOC: Pavick & Zyrr receive the Blessing of Sehanine:
Consumable - Immediate Interrupt
Trigger: You are hit by an attack.
Effect: You become invisible until the end of your next turn. The attacker must re-roll the attack.

The final figure, mist dotted with small growths of seaweed and budding water lilies approaches you, and in a voice like crashing waves intones softly "I have asked your friend The Shepherd to accompany me to the godsmeet, but he implored me to remind you that the naughty goats must not escape the crook." The misty figure's face twists in a wry smile as she bends down to speak with Lucan and Asheroth. "As you go into battle, do not ignore the battle raging inside of you. There is conflict within you, but you must guard how it manifests itself. Receive my blessing, and go forth."

OOC: Lucan & Asheroth receive the Blessing of Melora:
Consumable - Immediate reaction
Trigger: You fall to 0 hitpoints or fewer.
Effect: Regain hitpoints as if you had spent a healing surge.

With that, the three figures disappear back into the mist, and the sigils around the stone platform begin to glow. With one last look over your shoulder at the beauty of Arvandor, you step through the whirling portal.

-----------------------------

As you are swept across the planes, the first sense to re-allign itself after you teleport is your sense of smell. Even as your eyes adjust to the new light, the stench of burning fills your nose and mouth, choking you even as you take your first breath. As your eyes adjust to the light of the feywild, you find yourself on a small knoll only a few miles from Senalisse. The air is filled with ash and smoke, and huge swaths of blackened stumps scar the once glorious golden woods below you. Far ahead, you can see the towering silver trees that make up Senalisse, their tops hidden by the haze of smoke that hangs over the woods. The forest around the silver trees has been burnt to nothingness, but no flame has managed to touch the silver boughs of the city.

Around the city, legion upon legion of Drow soldiers and their hordes of slaves are encamped. Temples to Lolth have been set up around the base of the trees, and even from this distance you can see the magical energies of the priestesses illuminating the tree trunks. To the east, several massive siege towers roll towards the city in the trees, each pulled by dozens of cyclopes under the grotesque eyes and whips of their Formorian masters. Gnomes in manacles scurry around the siege towers, scampering to avoid the cracking whips of the Fomorians. Putrid black smoke filled with crackling green sparks of arcane magic rises out from the tops of the towers, and every plant in the wake of the monstrous machines has withered and turned a shade of sickly gray.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick smiles and thanks Sehanine for her blessing. "Your support at this critical time will help carry us through the trials to come. Thank you."

Once through the portal, Pavick coughs and sputters at the smoke. Even being so low to the ground, the sudden smell of smoke was a shock after the clear, pleasant air of Nath Seldarie. He holds the large floppy sleeve of his robe over his mouth and nose as he takes a moment to adjust.

He surveys the area, whispering to himself, "I knew it would be bad, but..."

Finally his eyes land on the siege towers. He snaps his fingers. "See, there's a possibility right there. What do you say we try to catch a ride up into the tree tops on one one those towers?"

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash bows slightly, and breathes, "Don't I know it. Thank you. He shall not master me."

As the world stops spinning in front of Ash's eyes, his nostrils flare with the crisp scent of...burning wood and leaves? He turns immediately to Aramil and Eltain. "It wasn't me! I swear!"

While the smell of charcoal and ashes was not entirely unexpected, so was the accompanying thought. This is what awaits you in the end... He shakes away the doubt and remembers the Avatar of Melora's words, '...you must guard how it manifests itself.' Manifests? What did she mean by that?

He peers through the smoke looking for a sparsely guarded tree trunk.

[Hzurr]

OOC: Could I get a perception check from Asheroth?

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan examined the army below, which was much bigger than he had expected. Maybe he shouldn't have let his friends talk him out of the were-squirrel idea. Still, there must be a way through. Perhaps there was some way to make use of the remaining trees.


[roll0]
Preternatural senses re-roll: [roll1]
[roll2]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Peering through the soot and ash in the air, Lucan and Asheroth look down at the army below encircling the defiant silver tree trunks. At first, little is visible aside from the general chaos of the legion of drow troops laying siege to the city, but as your eyes continue adjusting to the light, you realize that in the middle of the trees, two massive forms have begun moving. Next to the giant trees, you could almost mistake them for the large spiders that one might find in the underdark, but once you mentally put them in scale with the silver boughs you realize that each is easily the size of a large manor house. An unnatural light shines from within the creatures that have slowly begun climbing the trees, and even from this distance you can see the light glint off of adamantine gears that slowly turn eight mechanical legs. Drow troops swarm across the mechanical colossi, darting in and out of trap doors as they work the magical and mechanical energies that drive the two constructs.

Step by step, the massive mechanical spiders begin working their way up the side of the sacred trees, even as the Fomorian siege engines roll forward.

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash makes up his mind fairly quickly, seeing as how time is of the essence. "I say we hitch a ride on one of those spiders. I think it would be better than getting anywhere near the life-killing smoke those siege engines are churning out."

[Mando Knight]

"They may also be more difficult to use ourselves... but either way, I plan on us setting the thing on its masters afterward. The distraction should help us get through as well as cause additional damage to the Drow war effort."

Aramil shakes his head at the wanton destruction. "Even should we fail Sehanine's plan, the sight of what the Drow have wrought should bring the Prince to the table for even a temporary alliance... he would want to rule the Feywild, not ruin it as these fools are..."

[DSCrankshaw]

"Giant mechanical spider sounds good to me," Lucan says. "I've always wanted to ride one of those."

[Toric]

Zyrr waves Eltain away once he realize the poking on his arm is the half-eladrin dabbing ointment on him. "Please don't; I'm learning. Every bruise, cut, or burn is a memory of a different cooking technique. After it sinks in tonight, I'll be a walking cookbook." He points to the sleeping potion in front of him. "That has a regenerative effect that will heal me overnight. But for now I need the pain."


-------

Those devoted to my sister will consider no tactic to low and no deception too great in their attempt to destroy us.

Sehanine's words ring a familiar chord in Zyrr. That statement would have applied to him a decade ago. It might still apply, actually, but to what extent the surfacer drow isn't sure.

But that's food for thought the next time he can afford to ponder something. For now he bows formally to the goddess. "This blessing is an unexpected and unasked-for honor. I'll do my best to earn it."

------

Zyrr finds himself so choked up by the smoke that he has to rip part of his shirt to cover his mouth. "I never imagined there could be so much burning in one place!" he gasps once he can stop coughing. "I've seen wars before, but they're much cleaner underground."

Following the gazes of Ash and Lucan, Zyrr sees the giant enemy crab spiders approaching the base of the trees. He scans his compatriots and counts one, two, three, four arcane practitioners. "I think we can manage it well enough, with my knowledge of drow construction and your arcane experience. Those things shouldn't be run by any priestesses; they'd just summon actual spiders if they were involved. I wouldn't count on it being smart enough to just sic it on the drow afterward... but it'd make a pretty nice crater if we made it hang onto the top of one of those trees and told it to let go. I'd like to see that. Let's make it happen."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick pulls his flute out of his belt and begins fingering a well-practiced melody on it absentmindedly as he contemplates the situation. He takes a moment to examine the giant spiders that have been brought to the group's attention as well as he can from this distance. Then he turns his attention back to the siege engines and does the same.

"My vote still goes for the siege engines, but I have to admit that is for the slightly selfish reason that I'd like to see if I can do something for the gnomes I see around them. Our mission to rescue Tiandra is more important for the moment though, so I'll agree to go to the constructs if that is what you think is more likely to succeed. I still don't see why they'd use spiders though; I know that for drow spiders are en vogue, but it seems to me like a snake would be a much simpler and more elegant design. Do you think, Slick?"

Pavick takes a moment to mull over the design of the giant spiders, considering how might be the best way to go about gaining control over them.


I suppose that would involve an Arcana check. [roll0]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Zyrr's theory about spider summoning and priestesses appears to be correct. While even from this distance he can see the elaborate dresses and holy garbs of priestesses in and around the giant constructs, none of the spiders (either summoned or natural) that make up the drow army have even touched the massive trees or stepped underneath them. Many of the nearby trees that have survived the burning are covered in thick strands of webs, but the silver boughs remain clear of any sign of spiders.

From where Pavick is, it's impossible to see exactly how the Spiders function or are controlled. The thick steel and adamantine plating covering the outside of the creatures looks to be as solid as any golem or construct he's ever seen. However, there do appear to be certain hatches that the Drow are slipping in and out of that occationally allow the wizard to catch brief glimpses of arcane light pouring out from inside. However the creatures are controlled, it's safe to assume that you'd need to be inside of one to do it.

[Mando Knight]

"If the gnomes are freed now, I'm afraid that what will most likely happen is that they will die at the hands of the Fomorians, perhaps more horridly than if they labored until our armies could free them for certain. Zyrr, the crater is more or less what I had pictured. I'd like it to be guided away from the ground level portions of the city and towards the army as much as possible, though."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick sighs and tucks his flute away again. "I know. There isn't a good way to go about it. I could save some now, but you're right many would die. If we wait until later, more will get killed before your army reaches them. Damned if we do, damned if we don't. Just damn, damn, damn. Let's at least try not to drop any giant spiders on the slaves, can we? We should get going before they really get up. I'd say make our way in quick and quiet as we can. I know we aren't all sneaky, but at least trying will get us farther than just rushing the spider."

[Orsik Vondal]

"Right. Let's do this. Low and silent." Ash changes his armor to the color of the darkness and smoke filling the air. "If we can get on the spider's belly, we may have a chance to go unnoticed as it ascends the tree."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Before y'all start sneaking, is anyone using any spells, rituals, utility powers, etc?

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan starts to sing, just loud enough for everyone to hear, and soon they're moving much quicker.


Traveler's chant

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

As Lucan begins his song, Pavick grabs a book out of his bag. He sits cross legged on the ground as he runs his finger down a long index listing the rituals he knows. "Overland flight? Good but takes too long and will liketly get us noticed. Telepathic Bond? Useful, but probably unlikely to help too directly with the task at hand. Glib Limerick? An old favorite, but hopefully unneeded. Ghost Walk? Now we're getting closer. But too easily broken by our own actions. Portal Jump? We're still too far away for that to work well. Aha! Seeming. Seems perfect! Only a few minutes to complete and likely to draw fewer eyes to us, even if we are spotted."

Pavick few components out of his bag and begins moving around the group making grand gestures with his arms and speaking words of power as he walks the groups perimeter. On the first cycle around the group he smears a large dallop of a black greasy substance on the back of each person's hand, probably best not to ask what, wizards will use anything. On the second pass, he pauses next to each person and waves his hand over the substance. It seems to slowly seep away from the hand and spread across the entire body leaving the flesh black as night. Finally on the third pass, he tosses a large handful of powder from a pouch labelled "MIMIC" over each person's head. The dust hangs heavily in the air for a few moments as a tingling sensation crawls across each person's features altering them anywhere from very slightly (in Zyrr's case) to almost completely (for Ash and himself). When the cloud finally clears, the illusion is complete. Instead of a mixed group clearly recognizable as enemies of the drow, now the party appeared as a small band of drow soldiers.

"There we go. That should help some, I would think," he says. "Now even if we're seen WE won't be seen. Might keep suspicions off us for a little extra time. Just don't get too far from me. Any farther than... about that tree there, and the illusion will be broken from you. I know a few other things that might also help, but we'd better get moving before we get left behind."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Ok, the stealth check was originally a hard DC, but thanks to Pavick's ridiculous spell, it's getting bumped down to an easy DC (any increases that would have come from taking the time to cast the ritual are negated by Lucan's ritual.

I'll need everyone to roll me a stealth check, target DC is 19.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan ghosts along silently, his menagerie close behind, his clothes blending into the leafy background. His companions are also doing exceptionally well at moving quietly. Even if they aren't quite as invisible as Lucan, no one who does see them will think anything of a party of drow joining the war.

[Toric]

((My Thuranni Silence paragon path feature grants a +3 bonus to any of our allies that are not trained in Stealth. As for my own Stealth check, [roll0].)

It's an interesting change for Zyrr, having his form altered by somebody other than him. "I have to hand it to you, Pavick." he says once the gnome is done with the group. "You have an eye for detail. You even shaped their hands properly."

Once the group moves out, Zyrr practically disappears, the only sign of his presence being an unusually thick shadow projecting from a scorched tree, a boulder, or even Yuri.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick bows at Zyrr's recognition of his work. "It was nothing really. I have come to realize that all reality is merely illusion, albeit a very persistent one. It is merely a matter of twisting that illusion to one's whims and anything can happen."

Pavick takes a moment to examine his handywork once the smoke clears, and then joins the others flitting in and out of cover on their way to the constructs.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Pavick's illusion settles onto the party, Lucan's chat takes hold and you find your feet moving faster. The journey to the edge of the drow camp doesn't take long, but you find it hard to breath as each step kicks up a small cloud of ash and soot. The only repreave from the dust is where the land is covered in thick layers of spiderwebs, where the monstrosities of the underdark scuttle around to feast on humanoid sized creatures wrapped in webbing. The thick strands prevent you from being able to see the identities of the creatures being eaten, but perhaps that is for the best.

Stepping into the drow encampment is akin to stepping into hell for Aramil and Eltain. The monstrosity and blasphemy of Lolth is fully exposed as priestesses of the spider-queen parade about ordering the land salted and desecrated, fey prisoners flayed and tortured, art and sacred objects from temples to Corellon, Melora and Sehanine burned on eight-sided alters made of bloodstone. The priestesses look to be reveling in it even as the soldiers prepare for the assault upon the city.

Still, the chaos of the camp and the illusions of Pavick react well together, and before long you have made it to the silver trees of Senalisse. Despite the destruction and chaos around you, there is still a small peace that falls over you as you step beneath the shimmering boughs. Here the ground hasn't burned, and no spiderwebs tug at your feet. However, you barely have a moment to enjoy the brief respite before your attention is drawn to the two massive constructs climbing the trees around you. From here, you can see a number of thick adamantine doors and hatches leading into the heart of the metal beasts. Several long exhaust tubes jut out the back, issuing an acrid black smoke. Across the backs of the creatures, enchanted adamantine plates protect the construct from the bolts of energy and arrows that occasionally rain down from the treetops above.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil points to one of the spider machines, his face even more utterly grim than it had been at the start of the mission. "Take that one. Do not hesitate to kill these defilers."

[Orsik Vondal]

A smirk plays at the corner of Ash's mouth. "I like the way you think, General."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Just as the spider begins moving, you're able to climb into a small door at the base of the creature and step inside.

Inside, the noise immediately overwhelms you as Grinding gears and crackling magical energy drown out all the sounds of the outside world. The floor underneath you spins as gravity seems to re-orient itself underneath you as the mechanical beast continues it's journey high into the treetops above. The wall and floor seem to be made of solid adamantine, but all of you can feel the magical energy pulsating throughout the entire creature.

From where you are, there are no drow immediately apparent, but around a few corners you can make out shadows that indicate that there are several very nearby.

MAP:
http://i.imgur.com/BR0yp3f.jpg


OOC: Ok, we're not in combat yet, but I assume it will start soon. I'm going to go ahead and show y'all the full map, but more details (and creatures) will appear as you come within line-of-sight.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 128/128

Lucan readies his bow and his armor, and prepares to shoot, ready to riddle the first drow he sees with arrows.


Minor
Draw bow

Minor
Change Impostor's armor to armor

Standard
Use Twin strike on first drow who enters my line of sight
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth Durant
AC 38 FORT 34 REF 30 WILL 37
HP 134 Surges 12

Ash concentrates for a moment and his flaming blade materializes in his hand. At the same moment his dark clothes phase out and his ember-red armor appears. He sets his feet ready to charge the unfortunate drow that comes into range first.

Minor action: Conjure Blade of Annihilation

Minor action: Change Imposter's Armor to normal

Ready Standard: Charge and use
Soul Eater - vs. AC [roll0]
On hit deal [roll1] fire damage, and Ash has a +2 to hit the same target next turn.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain's breath catches in his throat as he once again feels the touch of his god and once again a surge of near-delirious joy wells up in him and fills every inch of his being. He longs to say something worthy, something eloquent and poetic, but all he can manage to get out through the emotions whirling through his soul is a barely audible whisper.

"Thank you."

He gives a last longing look at Arvandor as the teleportation circle activates, vowing to himself that he'll be back here again someday.

-----

When the group arrives, the destruction and horror that have taken over the woods around Senalisse nearly bring Eltain to his knees. Even as the others plan he finds himself standing paralyzed by a mixture of anguish and rage, and only Pavick's poking him to help with the ritual casting shakes him from his silence. He vows to himself that this will not stand; that the blight will be cleansed from this land and it will be made new again.

He makes an initially odd sight disguised as a drow with his armor so obviously marking him a Paladin of Corellon, but a quick change of his armor to more suitable drow clothing leaves him suddenly oddly inconspicuous, and as the party travels he even manages to out-sneak Zyrr, moving through the ruined landscape and drow encampments as little more than the shadow of a shadow; all anyone who does see him notices is yet another anonymous, nameless drow male, as common as cobwebs and about as interesting.

Once the party gets inside the spider, he looks about cautiously, seeing if he can sense any hidden defenders or feel out perhaps the locations of any magical traps or the magic operating the construct.


Eltain is looking to see if he spots anyone(Unlikely) or can sense anything that feels like a magical trap or the powersource/control center of the spider.
Perception: [roll0]
Arcana: [roll1]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan and Asheroth immediately prepare themselves for battle, Eltain cautiously peers ahead.

From his current vantage point, it's difficult to see exactly what lies ahead, but the power source that seems to be fueling the construct is one of the most massive ones that Eltain has ever witnessed. The sparks of blue energy seem reminiscent of some of the studying he did on the elemental chaos and the Abyss. It's impossible to know for certain without examining it, but Eltain suspects that whatever is powering this creature is fueling energy directly from the Abyss, most likely the demonweb pits themselves.


As you peer ahead you can feel the spider gaining speed as it moves up the trees.

[Toric]

Zyrr note's Eltain's silence, and keeps it in mind when they enter the spider itself.

"Okay." he whispers to the others. "If this thing is compartmentalized the way I think it is, with these workers climbing around making sure it operates properly, a few stealthy scouts could do a lot of damage before anybody notices. Or rather, one with some backup." He looks to the paladin. "My idea is that you come with me, but stay hidden and stay out of my way as I work my craft. Once I kill a worker, help me shove him out the nearest opening. Best case scenario, it all goes smoothly and we meet back here with five or so fewer drow to fight. Moderate case: one guy doesn't go down easy, I need you to step in and gut him before he can sound an alarm. Worst case: Full alert, and the two of us make for a distraction while the others rush the head of the spider." His eyes scan the group. "Thoughts? Questions? Comments on my sanity?"

[roll0] for if/when it is required.

[Nai_Calus]

"I don't know how stealthy I'll manage to be; but I can certainly get your back. And we can try to lie our way out of things if worst comes to worse." He ponders. "Be careful, though, everyone. The power source for this thing is immense. I think it might actually be drawing power straight from the Abyss. This is bad business all around." He waits until Zyrr is ready to move out and then keeps back a fair distance, ready to rush in at the first sign of danger, and also ready to spin a covering lie if need be.


Stealth: [roll0]
Bluff: [roll1]

[Mando Knight]

Aramil nods and points towards the room to his right.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Moving softly, Zyrr ducks into the nearby room without making a sound. In the far corner, Three drow sit fixated on a sparking contraction that appears to be connected to one of the constructs' legs. The trio of drow appear to be fixated on their task, and do not notice as Zyrr slips in, but as Zyrr turns to shut the metal door behind him closed, Eltain steps through the door at the perfectly wrong time, sending a loud *clang* through the room as the door connects with the Paladin's armor. The three drow whirl around, and immediately begin sounding a battle cry as they raise their weapons defensively.

Across the hallway, another drow worker steps out to see what the commotion was, only to have two arrows from Lucan fired at him. The first arrow goes wide and bounces down the hallway, drawing the attention of the other drow guard in the center room who had seemed oblivious to the earlier shout of warning. The second arrow rips through the Drow's throat, even as one of his allies steps through the doorway behind him.

In a burst of flame, Asheroth charges forward and drops the drow where he stands, but in the room he can see still another drow working the mechanical leg on this side of the spider.

Down in the Hallway, the drow guard from the center room steps out cautiously to examine the stray arrow Lucan had sent bouncing down the hallway, and when his eyes spot the invaders he turns and gives another cry of warning to the middle section, even as he readies his blade.

Init:
Zyrr
Asheroth
Lucan
Eltain
Aramil
Pavick

Drow

MAP:
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/8223/encounter712.png

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash gives a wink to the drow working the mechanism in the small room and closes the door. Then he turns his attention to the drow that just appeared from the hallway.

"Defilers," Ash breathes. "You shall pay for your trespass."

He removes the drow from his blade then charges the unfortunate dark elf in front of him.

Minor action: Shut the door.

Standard action: Charge to L7 and use Soul Eater on the drow in K8.
[roll0] vs. AC; on a hit deal [roll1] fire/necrotic damage. Ash gets a +2 to hit the same target until EONT. Though I suspect he's a minion.

If he dies, Move action: Shift into K8 and peek around the corner.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Asheroth charges down into the hallway to strike down the Drow soldier, he spies another drow on each end of the hallway, maintaining the mechanical legs who turn and stare at him in shock. Peaking around the corner, Asheroth can see at least 5 drow wizards in archmage robes maintaining and channeling the torrents of power that spark across the room. Several of them had been eying the doorway suspiciously as Asheroth peaks his head around, and a shout rises as the Tiefling's head pokes around.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 128/128


Lucan steps forward, Yuri at his side, and begins to channel his unicorn's revolutionary propaganda, his voice resonating with his magic, "Good news, brothers! The revolution has begun! Even now our generals are staging a coup to overthrow the oppressive matriarchy. No longer shall we be slaves to the priestesses. Join us! Males of the drow, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains! But if you wish to remain slaves, I warn you: do not impede the revolution. Else your blood shall water the tree of liberty!" He raises his bow, ready to shoot the first drow to attack.

"Long live the revolution!" Yuri chimes in.


Move
Move to M6
Yuri moves to N7

Minor
Speech
Use Words of Friendship
[roll0] Envoy re-roll 39

Standard
Use Twin strike on first drow who shows aggression
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4] Critical 56 damage
+2 for CA if he's adjacent to Yuri
5 damage to anyone providing cover to a target I hit

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain raises an eyebrow at Lucan's sudden conversion to his cause, astonished that the bard actually got to it before he did, but he's not one to delay.

"Death to the priestesses! Down with the Spider Bitch! Join us, my brothers! Let us cast off the chains of the matriarchy that would have us crawling to do their bidding! Our martial prowess and magical skill are more than a match for them! Lolth wants us to be a bunch of squabbling factions, waging war against each other as much as our enemies, but no more! We males must stand up and fight for our freedom! We must work together to reclaim our pride and the ultimate prize: The surface lands that are our birthright! With us in power, not the females! Who's with me?!"

[spoiler]
Diplomacy:
Ready an action to attack whoever attacks me first, using Eldritch Strike to push them away.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Could I get a religion or history check from Zyrr, Eltain, & Lucan?

[Hzurr]

As Lucan, echoed by Eltain, request the drow soldiers to join them as "brothers in arms" one of the drow stares at them wide eyed, but the other two briefly make eye-contact with each other before returning their gaze to the invaders who just entered.

However, even as they grip their swords, Eltain notices that one of the pair very subtly makes a fist with his thumb poking out between his pinky and ring fingers. At first Eltain dismisses it as a nervous tick of the drow, until he recalls that that gesture is used as the sign of the del-kaine'toh, a secret society of drow anarchists.

[Toric]

Zyrr 106/106, 55 Bloodied. 8/8 Surges Remaining.
AC 34; Fort 27; Ref 37; Will 32

Blade drawn, Zyrr casually looks over the three drow in the room, then back to Eltain. "Well, it looks like three against one. I think you can handle those odds." He claps Eltain on the shoulder and calmly walks out the door. He then sees Asheroth peering around the opening of one door, hears the murmur drow elders around the corner, and makes a decision to dash the other direction and slap the wall to fill the T-intersection with obscuring shadowsmoke. Thus concealed, he whispers to the guard around the corner: "Today's victory belongs to the del-kaine'toh, brother. You deal with the kneeler operating the leg. My friends and I will see to the mages. Now is the time to show the females what unshackled males are capable of!"

He watches elf for a moment, waiting to see his response as a loyalist or mutineer before making the choice of whether or not to stab him.

First, using a move action to move to R8.
Second, using a minor action to use Cloud of Darkness, which creates a burst 1 of darkness around R8. Third, [roll0] or Diplomacy (subtract 5 from the previous number if Diplomacy is more appropriate) to recruit the drow at S9. If he doesn't join our glorious revolution, and the recruitment attempt does not take an action to perform, I'm stabbing him with a melee basic attack.

[roll1] versus Reflex.
[roll2] + 24 Sneak Attack

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard
HP 104/104, AC 41, Fort 31, Reflex 36, Will 34

Pavick shrugs. "In for a copper, in for an astral diamond," he mutters to himself before moving further into the spider.

"Now is the time, brothers! The circumstances are right and our cause is just. Here we sit in one of the greatest marvels of drow arcane technology. After centuries of being crushed under the boots of the matriarchs, we find ourselves in a position to show them what it really is to be a man! Now we fight back! Now we show that we can do more than operate this monster we can and should CONTROL it!"



Might as well join the crowd. [roll0]

Move: to O7
Ready: If anyone attacks him, Pavick will catch them in a beguiling strands (trying to avoid anyone who hasn't shown hostile intent toward him). I'll let you roll the attack roll(s) should this come up since I don't know the exact circumstances under which it might trigger. (close blast 5 targeting enemies, +26 vs Will, does 11 psychic damage, pushes 3 squares, -2 to attack rolls for targets hit)

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The drow manning the leg in the room that you were in looks confused for a moment, until his companion that made the sign shoots him through the eye with a hand crossbow. The other drow steps over, and takes up working the leg to keep it moving.

The drow who fired narrows his eyes. "Already? I thought the revolution wasn't supposed to happen until after the great sacrifice? Why are we moving ahead of schedule?"

Further down the hallway, the other drow takes a brief moment to absorb what Zyrr says, before nodding slowly, and returning the sign.

OOC: For the moment, we'll consider ourselves out of combat until either this breaks down or someone else attacks.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan says, "We had to move the timetable up, brothers. We've only just discovered the true reason for this invasion. The priestesses aren't after the city, or victory over our enemies. They've come for a powerful artifact: Tiandra's Throne. It can only be used by a woman, and it has the power to control men's minds. That was the reason the Prince of Frost rebelled, and why he waited until his mother had left her throne to do so. If the priestesses get hold of it, the revolution will be over before it begins. We must not let the priestesses take the throne room. We should keep them out of the city entirely, if we can."


Bluff roll = 33

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash cranes his head back over his shoulder to see what the hold up is. When he sees everyone just standing around, his brow furrows, and he turns back to the wizards in the central room.

He begins to make gestures with his hands, "{Hold on one second. I need to check on my comrades. Stay right there. I'll be back shortly.}"

He casually turns around and strides toward the gathering of his allies and supposed enemies. Ash is wearing an expression of confusion, and slight frustration. He spies the cloud of Zyrr's darkness as he walks toward the back of the construct. Ash shrugs his shoulders arms out in an gesture asking "What are we doing here, guys?".

As he overhears Lucan's ploy, he starts putting together bits and pieces of things Zyrr and Eltain have talked about before. If he has to speak, he will, but Ash thinks it more prudent not to interfere with what is probably a delicate conversation.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain nods as Lucan speaks.

"Yes, if they get hold of it, it will be terrible for all of us and we'll never get our chance. It's now or never, my friends. We can't afford to delay any further, and why should we? Let them know the true worth of males and see our real strength and our cunning. The time to act is now." He glares at Asheroth.

"You. We hired you to be backup, not to run in like a fool. You'll alert the priestesses at this rate. Be quiet! We need all the surprise we can muster."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The two drow facing Lucan trade glances for a moment, and share a curse."Those bitches." The drow mutters. "I should have known that they couldn't actually have found that damned dagger. 'Great Sacrifice,' phaw..." he stops to spit on the ground. "Knew it was too good to be true."

He bends down, and sketches out a quick drawing of the construct on the floor using the blood of the drow he just shot.

"Here's the basic layout. The controls are in the head of the construct, but we have to have someone at each of the legs at all time to keep them functioning. If we lose more than half of the legs, we'll fall a very long ways."

He points to the center area. "Those damn treehuggers have too many wards and defenses around the city, so the spider is powered by portals directly to the 66th layer of the Abyss." He glances at Asheroth. "The magic in there is deadly to any non-drow, so make sure your mercenary there doesn't dally too long."

"The portals are kept open by the high priestess and her...pets. They've got a whole slew of the daywalkers in there poisoned to keep them docile, and they have to sacrifice one every minute or so to keep the portals open. The wizards were hand-selected by the priestess herself to channel the energy, so I'm not sure if we can count on any of them to side with us. We might get lucky, though."

He glances up at them. "We can keep the legs moving, and now that the portals are open the sacrifices won't be hard to maintain. Any of you boys know enough magic to keep that power flowing in?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome err... Drow Wizard

Pavick raises his hand. "I know quite a bit of the arcane arts. I would even say that portals are a specialty of mine. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to look at the full schematics, but I should be able to pick it up as we get in there, I think."

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash nods when the drow cautions him to stay clear of the magic in the central room. He gestures with his hands, "{How many priestesses are in this construct? We could use them to power the portal instead. Probably could supercharge this thing.}"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The drow frowns. "I've only seen one, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were a couple others in the head or hiding somewhere. There's always more than we expect."

There's a brief lurch as the construct picks up even more speed.

"There's not much time now if you plan on stopping this thing before it gets to the top. What's the plan?" His eyes drift towards Eltain.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil walks past the door as he begins talking, softly. "The plan is we take over the climber, quickly and discreetly. As we near the top, we will attempt to disorient the other climbers momentarily. Our strike team will attempt to convince the defenders that we're defecting. Then we'll use the climber to secure the throne room against any other forces that try to take it. From there, we proclaim the revolution while our arcanist performs a ritual to stop the priestesses' plans."

[Nai_Calus]

"Oh, I've got something better as an idea than pretending to defect. The defenders will assume drow are drow and shoot us all on sight regardless. I know how those stupid fey work. But not if we disguise ourselves as surface dwellers. Better yet, war heroes. We took this thing over to get to them and deliver them from their troubles. They'll celebrate our arrival and hand us what we want on a silver platter thinking they're saved." Eltain grins.

[Orsik Vondal]

"{That actually might work. I love drow deception!}" Ash signs.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Drow Gnome Wizard

Pavick smiles. "I like it, and I think I have just the ritual scroll that will do it. This should only take a moment. I can't cover everyone, but if I get enough of us, we should be able to convince the defenders above that we're on their side. And doing it now will keep up a disguise from the priestesses. Wouldn't want them to know who was really trying to take over the spider anyway. This way if they get word out, they'll only send that they are being attacked by their enemies, and word of the great revolution will stay under wraps just a little longer."

Pavick pulls a sheet of paper out of his bag and begins to "cast" from it. First he approaches Aramil. "You will be their General Printempest, commander of their troops." He moves around the group, dismissing the spell on each person individually then introducing them in their new persona. "Highmaster Thoene, who lead the flights of dragons against the forces of winter. Now an easy shift, a little blending of features and we have the pirate captain Zyrr'delin Morvyndis the Enstarred." He leans close to Eltain's cheek, working carefully at the tatoo there as he says, "You will be Eltain Sharma, who has lead a rebellious force behind the Winter lines since their war began. And I will be... Damn... What's his name, that runt of a wizard that always tags along with their group? Pavrick Roslow, that's it."

After dispelling the last of the illusions, Pavick says "Okay, that's what the scroll will cover." He tucks the used paper back into his back and turns to their new ally. "You and anyone else we have onboard will keep the construct climbing. Those of us who are disguised, as well as the merc. over there will see about taking control of this thing before we get up there. Think you can handle that?"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The drow grins. "Well, if you were trying to piss the priestesses off, I doubt you could have chosen a better group to do it." He kneels down, and points to some areas in the blood-drawing on the floor.

"You'll most likely find the wizards here, the priestess back here, and from what I heard it sounds like they've got Draegloth doing the actual sacrificing back in here. There are also a handful of mechanics up there that are not loyal to the cause."

One of the other drow walks in the room and mutters quietly "The wizards saw the tiefling, I think they've reported it, but I'm not certain what they're preparing." The first drow grimaces. "Well, so much for surprise. We'll keep things running back here."

He stands, and salutes. "For the glory of the del-kaine'toh, we will overthrow the females, and take our proper place in the world above. We will crush the fey, and the del-kaine'toh will stand supreme!"

Init:
Zyrr
Asheroth
Lucan
Eltain
Aramil
Pavick

Draegloth
Priestess
Archmagi

OOC: Really, the PCs can go in whatever order y'all want. I'll assume posting order is your initiative. Removing the drow that are on your side from the map...

MAP:
http://imageshack.us/a/img10/6872/encounter713.png

Key:http://imageshack.us/a/img836/2142/pctokens12.png

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth Durant
AC 38 FORT 34 REF 30 WILL 37
HP 134 Surges 12

Ash rests the tip of his blade on the floor of the construct as he begins to concentrate intently, focusing his will at the ends of his fists. His eyes close, and a furrow appears on his brow. He holds the image of a devilish brute in his mind. Pain flashes through his horns, and they begin to smolder.

As you go into battle, do not ignore the battle raging inside of you. There is conflict within you, but you must guard how it manifests itself.

Ash's will falters for a moment. He remembers the Avatar of Melora's words and the warning implied. Refocusing his will with a different image in his mind, it then solidifies like an anvil at a point in the center of his torso just beneath his ribs. The pain recedes slightly, but only slightly before it flares anew.

His horns begin to grow longer. No longer smoldering, but glowing. Veritably thrumming with power. This power feels strangely different from what Ash is used to coursing through him.

He raises his sword and swiftly moves into the main engine room crackling with abyssal energies. His body is wracked with pain as the Abyss threatens his lifeforce. Then he disappears in a puff of smoke only to reappear face to face with a monstrous draegloth.

Ash looks to the sacrifices then back at the draegloth. He shakes his head, eyes filled with sadness and fury. Ash braces himself against the wall of the construct and steels his body for the draegloth's attack.

Minor action: Infernal Transformation - Ash gains immunity to fire, a +4 damage bonus to melee attacks and can minor action gore (19 fire +4 damage) an adjacent enemy and push them up to 3 squares once per round for the rest of the encounter.

Move action: Run to I11

Minor action: Diabolic Escape - teleport to D21

free action: wait for beat down...

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 128/128

"So, kill the wizards?" Lucan asks as he darts back into the hallway, Yuri by his side. As soon as he has a clear shot, he fires at the closest wizard, encouraging karma to hit back a little harder than usual.


Move
Lucan moves to Q7
Yuri moves to P7

Standard
Use Karmic Wound on drow wizard at Q12
[roll0]
[roll1]
On a hit, the next time before the end of my next turn that he attacks an ally he takes [roll2].

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Mid-round note after Asheroth runs into the room: Non-drow creatures entering or starting their turn in the room or between the altars take 25 damage

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard
HP 104/104, AC 41, Fort 31, Reflex 36, Will 34

Pavick cracks his knuckles before grabbing the Skull of Baftis from where he had it tucked into his belt by one horn. He moves up to the doorway. "I know how fragile a wizard can be. Let's see if these guys are as wimpy as I'm hoping," he says quietly to Slick who has abandoned his normal place in Pavick's sleeve and crawled up Pavick's shoulder to stick out the collar of Pavick's robe.

He waves his hand in an arc that releases a wave of shimmering transformational energy across the room catching two of the drow wizards in its wake.


Move: to S8.

Standard: Cast Mass Transformation centered on N16. Area burst 2 will catch two of the wizards.
[roll0], [roll1].
Hit: The target turns into a tiny beast of your choice (save with -2 penalty ends). Pavick will choose chihuahuas.
Aftereffect: The target takes [roll2] and [roll3] damage from the transformation.
Miss: The target turns into a tiny beast of your choice until the end of its next turn.
Effect: As a tiny beast, the target is dazed, and the only actions it can take are to move its speed or shift. All of the target's equipment transforms with it. If it takes damage from any source, this effect ends.

[Toric]

After Pavick drops the illusion, Zyrr looks at his reflection on the blade of his knife with a scowl of disapproval. "This looks nothing like him. Really 'Pavrick', you know the looks of three surfacekin and a gnome and it's the drow you can't get right? You should have made me the goatherd."

([roll0] to use the Hat of Disguise)

He waves a hand over himself, taking the appearance of the spider-garbed priestess he poisoned years ago in Sigil. The priestess coughs until her voice reaches the proper pitch, then points to Eltain and Aramil. "They want to bow to the females? Then let's give them a female to bow to. You. Worms. You're our warriors, but those whose skins you wear are feared for their arcane knowledge as well. One or both of you enter the main chamber, and meddle with the apparatus maintaining the energy conduit. I'll run in behind you, chase you away, and 'fix' the flow of energy." She smiles as she continues. "Fix it so that it flows directly to the mages. Best case scenario: we outnumber them and win the fight handily. Worst case scenario: you get the drop on them while they're all staring at me. Oh, and worms, remember our intel. The energy's horribly painful to non-drow, so try to act like it does more than tickle."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain snorts and gives Zyrr a sneering grin, curling his right hand with his palm facing upwards in a hand sign that represents a dead spider.

"Hah. The spider-kissers won't know what hit them by the time we're through. May Vhaera-I mean, Corellon, watch over us." Eltain smirks as he gets ready, starting to name off a minor exarch known for formenting rebellion in male drow and 'correcting' himself to suit his 'character'.

With a nod he teleports to the door of the main room.

"Greetings, brothers! I'm here to bring you a message of great importance and joy. Corellon loves you and respects your great skills of magic! He wants you to come back into his fold and leave behind the shackles of Lolth. Won't you welcome him into your heart?"

With that he teleports again, vanishing and then reappearing by one of the portals. He flinches and bites down a cry of pain as the abyssal energy saps his lifeforce.

"Oh, but this we simply can't have as it is. We've got to fix this! Corellon, guide me in this endeavor and help me to stop this foul evil." As he speaks he examines the portal and engines and the flow of energy between them, trying to see if there's anything he can figure from them to give him a hint as to what might disrupt the portals or energy flow.


Since Mando doesn't seem to be going:

Move: Ethereal Sidestep to J8
Minor: Fey Step to F19
Whatever: Jazz HandsArcana check: [roll0] to see what I can figure out about the portals and how they're feeding the engines and what sort of thing might disrupt them outside of killing the Draegloths/Pavickhax. While doing this I am of course acting like I'm actively messing with the portals.

[Mando Knight]

(Well, who wants to live forever (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jtpf8N5IDE), right?)
Aramil
HP 166/166 Surge 41, 11/11
AC 40 Fort 33 Ref 36 Will 33

Aramil sighs as the team breaks up to attack, then clenches his fist momentarily. As he releases, his body shines like steel for a moment, and he rushes into the dangerous engine room. Knowing that time is critical, he quickly charged his blade with lightning, slashing at the mage before him before teleporting far across the room to attack one of the Draegloth at the altars.
Minor: Ironskin. Resist 5 all until the end of the encounter.
Double Move: to Q11.

Action Point: Dual Lightning Strike on the Q12 archmage.
[roll0]
Hit: [roll1], and marked until the end of Aramil's next turn.
Effect: Teleport to W20 (up to 10 squares with Aegis of Assault and Mithrendain Blade), secondary attack on the near Draegloth.
[roll2]
Hit: [roll3], and marked until the end of Aramil's next turn.

Veteran's Armor: +1 item bonus to all attack rolls and defenses until the end of Aramil's next turn.
Cloak of Translocation: +2 bonus to AC and Reflex until the end of Aramil's next turn.
Educated Action: can reroll the first missed attack before the end of Aramil's next turn
HP 146/166 Surge 41, 11/11
AC 43 Fort 34 Ref 38 Will 34

[Hzurr]

While Zyrr takes a moment to relay some last-minute battle plans, Asheroth charges in, transforming even as the arcane energies crackle and bite him, flying across the room in a blaze of fire, ending face-to-face with the draegloth.

Lucan takes his place by the entrance, just outside of the sparks flying throughout the control room. Knocking an arrow, he sends a cursed bolt through the nearest mage.

Eltain dashes through the main area to stand on one of the altars. Temporarily ignoring the draegloth and the eladrin hostages, the paladin studies the portals. Fortunately for Eltain, these portals to the Abyss are shockingly similar to some of those used by the snowflake order to sneak the wounded out of battle. He had never dreamed of using one to funnel power this way, but the foundations are surprisingly familiar. While those portals had been held open by magical reagents, it seems that these are held open by divine magic, fueled by sacrifices to the spider-queen.
OOC: Eltain's "messing" will lower the DC for Zyrr to control the energy this round, and give Eltain a +5 bonus to religion/arcana checks to re-direct the portals in subsequent rounds

Aramil's body glistens like steel as the general moves forward, slashing and crackling, first at the mage already peppered by Lucan's arrow, then at the Draegloth preparing to throw in one of the eladrin slaves.

Cracking his knuckles, Pavick strides forward with the skull of Baftis in his hand. With a smirk, the wizard channels energy through what was once one of the finest mages of the Nine-Hells, and uses the awesome arcane power to create...tiny yappy dogs. The two great drow archmages look at each other, and bark in terror as they run to take cover from Pavick.

Zyrr the pretend priestess strides in to the machine. "You pitiful males, you dare let one of those daywalkers touch the sacred machines?" Kneeling by the machine, Zyrr makes an educated guess, and attempts to re-focus one of the arching beams of energy. The un-injured, non-chihuahua'd mage's eyes widen in horror as he sees the energy twisting and writhing towards him. He barely has time to scream before the portal's power flows directly though him, caking the room in a layer of gore and ichor as the wizard's body explodes.

The Draegloth give howls of fury as you move in, and throw themselves into battle. The Draegloth next to Asheroth and Aramil both create globes of darkness around them before launching their attacks. The Draegloth on the altar across from Aramil starts to dash across, but tilts its head as if listening, before remaining at its post and casually ripping the throat of one of the Eladrin slaves, sending the blood flowing down into the portal. The Draegloth across from Eltain also pauses as if listening, but its eyes fall on the holy symbol of Corellon and it ignores whatever was telling it to stay in place, leaping across the portal and attacking the half-eladrin. (Elatin: 33 damage, Orsik: 42 damage)

The room seems to darken as the High-Priestess walks into the central chamber. Stepping near to the pile of flesh that was once an archmage, her eyes fall on Zyrr. "You. You are no true priestess. Here, in the glory of Lolth's victory, only the faithful have real power." A dark shadow falls across her face, hiding her features except for red, glowing eyes. "You will submit to the will of the great mistress..." she murmers, forcing her will upon Zyrr. With a grunt, Zyrr turns and begins walking towards the portal, his eyes glazed over.

Even as she focuses on bending Zyrr's mind, her eyes take in the two chihuahua mages, and she soon spies Pavick peering around the corner, orb in hand. "You will make a good sacrifice to the spider queen, slave." The priestess smiles at Pavick, and launches two bolts of energy at the wizard.

The remaining Archmage groans, and pulls Lucan's arrow out of his side. Limping over to one of his chihuahua companions, the mage murmers an incantation and pulls lifeforce out of the transformed creature. This is enough to break the spell on the chihuahua'd drow, and the mage re-directs that stolen energy towards Lucan. The attempt is laughable, especially as Lucan's cursed arrow re-appears in the mage's side, injuring him again

The newly untransformed mage gives one last yip, before rising and striding towards Eltain, failing to surround the paladin with darkfire before attempting to teleport the Eladrin into the unholy portal. Luckily, Eltain is able to resist the pull, and keep himself in place.

The remaining mage manages to shake off Pavick's curse.

MAP:
http://i.imgur.com/PdP71YF.jpg

Init:
Asheroth (25 damage +42, blinded while adjacent to the Draegloth)
Lucan
Eltain (25 +33 damage)
Aramil (20 damage. blinded while adjacent to the Draegloth)
Pavick (28+31 damage, ongoing 10 poison)
Zyrr (Under Lolth's Influence (save ends) & restrained)

Draegloth
Priestess (enemies within 5 of her take -2 to defenses)
Archmagi Q12:(29+15+19) L17: (29) N14 (29+20)


Draegloth
E21 - Claw vs Ash's AC: [roll0]+2(CA) Damage: [roll1]
- Claw vs Eltain's AC: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
E17 - Claw vs Eltain's AC: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]
V21 - Claw vs Aramil's AC: [roll6]+2(CA) Damage: [roll7]

Priestess
Lolth's Favor vs Zyrr's Will: [roll8] Hit: Zyrr is under Lolth's Influence (save ends) & restrained unless commanded by the Priestess
Action Point
unholy bolt vs Pavick's Ref [roll9]-2(cover) Damage: [roll10] & ongoing 10 poison
unholy bolt vs Pavick's Ref [roll11]-2(cover) Damage: [roll12] & ongoing 10 poison

ArchMage:
O15
Unwholesome Sacrifice: (ally takes 20 damage, archmage recharges a power or gains +10 to damage). Recharge: [roll13]
Demonic Grasp vs Lucan's Fort: [roll14]-2(mark)-2(cover) Damage: [roll15] - Lucan is immobilized & suspended 1 square up (save ends both). While this effect lasts, whenever Lucan or any of Lucan's allies damages a demon or drow, Lucan takes 10 damage)

H13:
Darkfire vs Eltain's Ref: [roll16] - target grants CA
Cruel Banishing: [roll17] vs Fort - Eltain is teleported to the portal & dazed

L17
Save vs. Chihuahua [roll18]

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard
HP 104/104, AC 41+4*, Fort 31, Reflex 36+4*, Will 34 (* Until end of Pavick's next turn)

As the priestess's bolts fly toward Pavick, he quickly throws up a barrier of arcane force between them. He breathes a sigh of relief as both bolts that had been heading straight toward him are instead deflected by his shield spell.


I'll take care of the rest of my turn later. For now, Pavick will use Shield as an immediate interrupt. That should make both of the bolts miss.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth Durant
HP 65/134 (bloodied) Surges 12/12
AC 38 FORT 34 REF 30 WILL 37

A faint circular glow appears above Ash's horns. He feels it more than sees it, because of the cloying darkness that has engulfed him. The sensation only lasts a moment before he is ripped back to the reality of awaiting death.

With the faint memory of where the beast and the altar were before darkness fell and knowing that he must protect the helpless sacrifices, Ash prowls around to his left to set up his assault on the draegloth. His blade flashes upward into the darkness, seeking flesh. It connects with something vaguely monstrous, and he presses forward again bringing the edge across in an arc meant to cut at the beast's midsection. He hears the sickening *schilck* as his blade finds draegloth meat.

A surge of energy flows from the creature up through Ash's arm and finds a home somewhere behind his rib cage. He sucks in a satisfied breath and refocuses his efforts.

Being blind has its drawbacks, but he cannot afford to sit and wait for the draegloth's next attack. He lowers his head and thrusts his elongated horns in the general direction of the draegloth menace hoping to drive it back away from the cowering "top-dwellers".

With his knowledge of the drow garnered from long chats with Zyrr, Ash knows the darkness summoned by the draegloth will most likely end soon, and so he waits in anticipation of the next onslaught of the hideous abomination with bated breath.

Action Point
Move action: Shift to E20

Standard action: Soul Eater vs. draegloth in E21-F22
[roll0] (+1 Rod of the Bloodthorn bonus and -5 for blinded included) vs. AC; [roll1] fire/necrotic damage (hit or miss: draegloth takes an extra 11 fire damage from action point)
Ash gains a +2 to attacks against the draegloth UEONT

Standard action: Soul Eater vs. draegloth in E21-F22
[roll2] (+2 Soul Eater bonus, +1 Rod of the Bloodthorn bonus and -5 for blinded included) vs. AC; [roll3] fire/necrotic damage
Ash gains a +2 to attacks against the draegloth UEONT

Minor action: "Infernal" Transformation Attack vs. draegloth in E21-F22
[roll4] (+2 Soul Eater bonus, +1 Rod of the Bloodthorn bonus and -5 for blinded included) vs. FORT; on a hit - 19 fire damage and Ash pushes the draegloth to F24-G25

If the draegloth attacks Ash next turn, he will take 10 force damage from the halo, and Ash will use Reflexive Hellstrike to deal 23 fire/necrotic damage and push it 5 squares to the south.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain - 45/128 - 39/31/35/38

As soon as the Draegloth's attack connects with him, Eltain vanishes in a swirl of snow and reappears across the room by the other altar.

He winces in pain as the evil energy of the abyss flows through the room, sucking his energy. Time to pray and see if his skill is enough. He mutters a quick prayer of protection, a nimbus of sky blue magic surrounding and protecting him and those near him. He takes a deep breath to center himself and recover before laying a curse upon the Draegloth nearest him. He then faces the portal, stretching out his hands to feel out the mechanisms and try to bend them to his will, praying to Corellon to protect him and his friends.


Immediate Reaction to being damaged: Winter's Shroud, teleport to G10.
Minor: Activate Divine Aegis, +2 to all defenses until the stance ends for me and all allies in 2 squares.
Standard: Second Wind. I regain 34 HP and get +2 to all defenses until the start of my next turn.
Move: Curse the Draegloth because why not.
Action point, I assume this will be a standard: Gain another 34 HP from Restorative Action, Arcana: [roll0]


End of round: 113/128 43/35/39/42

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 128/128

Lucan heaves a sigh. There's no way for him to help Zyrr without getting closer. This was going to hurt. He darts into the room with all the dark energy, spinning to fire off two arrows at his favorite drow archmage, then leaps into the side room, where he ducks behind the wall. His eyes widen as he gets a look at the way too close Draegloth. "I hope you can do something about him," he mutters to Zyrr. Then he begins to sing, a reassuring song that cuts through the chaos with a note of hope.


Move
Move to S11

Standard
Use attacks on the run
Move to T13
On the way, make two attacks against the drow mage at O15 (is this the one who's taken the most damage?)
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
Half-damage on each miss


Minor
Savior's Song
Any ally within 5 squares of Lucan can re-roll a failed saving throw

[dariathalon]

Pavick – Gnome Wizard
HP 104/104, AC 41, Fort 31, Reflex 36, Will 34 (these numbers are as of the end of Pavick’s turn, until then, shield is still in effect)

In the blink of an eye, Pavick disappears from the rear of the spider, and is suddenly over halfway across the large central chamber. He waves his hand over his orb, and weaves one of his favorite spells together around the priestess. A small portal flies toward her, attempting to carry her off to a tiny pocket dimension where she couldn’t cause any serious trouble for at least a few seconds.

Pavick then darts around the corner into the room with Aramil, Lucan, and Zyrr to try his hand at a little jiggery pokery with this portal to redirect the plane it drew its power from to somewhere more friendly. With his unique knowledge of the connections between the planes, he hoped it would not prove to difficult.


Spend an Action Point
-Planeshifter’s Action: Teleport to R15
-Curse Eye Tattoo: the priestess has a -2 to saves (save ends)
-Sequester: on the priestess [roll0]. Hit: The target is banished to a demiplane (save ends with an additional -2 penalty from spell focus).

Move Action: to T18

Standard Action: Attempt to redirect the portal. [roll1] (+4 more if Pavick’s Study of the Planes Paragon Path feature applies to this).

[Mando Knight]

Aramil (Blind)
HP 146/166 Surge 41, 11/11
AC 40 Fort 33 Ref 36 Will 33
Resist All 5, Cold 15

Aramil couldn't see, but he could see that until Pavick could reroute the portals, fighting the Draegloth wouldn't give him much choice in the matter. Shifting to one side, he channels the magic of his circlet, then strikes with his thundering blade, pouring the craft of his sword magic into the swing.
Move: Shift to U21

Minor: Activate the Circlet of Mental Onslaught to gain +1 power bonus to attack and damage rolls for the rest of the encounter.

Standard: Master's Surge Learned Boost Booming Blade on the Draegloth. -5 for total concealment. Learned Boost is not expended.
[roll0]
Hit: [roll1], and if the Draegloth starts its turn next to Aramil and moves away, it takes 2d6+13 Thunder damage (save ends) (If Master's Surge and Learned Boost apply to this damage as well, it's 6d6 instead).
Miss: Reliable (Master's Surge is not expended)

Damage from moving through pain-area last turn applied, I don't know if Aramil started or moved through it this turn.

[Hzurr]

Zyrr - Drow Rogue
HP: 106/106 AC:34, Fort:27, Ref:37, Will:32

Unable to tear himself away from his march towards the portal, Zyrr closes his eyes and bends the nearby shadows around him, appearing in a swarm of growing shadows around one of the mages. With a quick feint, Zyrr forces the archmage to take a defensive posture against Zyrr, opening him up to a deadly attack from one of Zyrr's allies, even as the assassin's dagger strikes the drow wizard.

Even as the attack draws blood, Zyrr is able to shake off that strange urging that seemed to pound in his head.


Move: Shadowstep to L16 (darkvision negates the globe'o'darkness)
Minor: Sneak in the Attack - allies attacking the mage have combat advantage and can deal Zyrr's Sneak attack (+5d8 damage)
Standard: Basic attack - [roll0](includes penalty). Damage: [roll1]

[Hzurr]

Saving throw for Zyrr vs. Lolth: [roll0]
If fail - reroll from Lucan: [roll1]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

From the darkness surrounding Asheroth, the sickening sound of a blade meeting flesh sounds again and again. As the globe of darkness fades away, Asheroth stands alone, and the Draegloth dead at his feet.

Dashing into the room, Lucan can feel the energies biting into him (25 damage), but he ignores it to move closer to Zyrr, humming a quick song to help the drow overcome the curse of Lolth. As he runs, he fires two quick arrows at one of the mages, but the crackling energies are too distracting, and the shots don't strike as true as Lucan had hoped.

Pavick follows Lucan into the deadly room (25 damage), and with a curse on his lips sends a small portal hurtling through the air towards the surprised priestess, sealing her off in a demiplane of his own creation (one most likely filled with sunshine and butterflies).

Kneeling by the portal, Pavick attempts to re-direct it's energies, but even for one of Pavick's skill with the planes, this is extraordinarily advanced planar magic, and the gnome is unable to wrestle control of the portal away from the engine of the construct. Pavick suspects that had a lesser mage attempted this, they may have been ripped asunder from the energies of the portal. (OOC: Failed, but by less than 5, so you don't take damage from the failure)

Aramil takes a swing in the dark, but the two smaller hands of the Draegloth deflect the blade, and that slight growl warns Aramil of an onslaught of claws that will soon follow.

As Eltain says a quick prayer, he feels a divine wisdom settle upon him, guiding him towards the correct threads of magic flowing out of the portal. With small motions and incantations, the portal flickers and wavers, before blinking out and reforming with the sunlight of Arvandor flowing into the construct.

Teleporting across the room as he frees himself from Lolth's influence, Zyrr sends a dagger into the side of one of the archmages, opening him up for Zyrr's allies.

As the power of Arvandor flows into the engines, the spider construct begins to shake violently, as sparks and smoke begin flying from the engines. The machines begin glowing under the battling energies from both heaven and the Abyss, filling the room with popping sounds.

From the door to the North, one of the male drow from the del-kaine'toh runs in, yelling "What the hells have you don---AHHHHHHH" His words are cut off as an arc of power from the portal to Corellon flickers out and sends radiant energy pouring through the drow, reducing him to a pile of ash.

OOC: the ongoing damage in the room now applies to both drow and non-drow


The archmagi's eyes widen as the energy bites into them as well. ""Protect the portals!" one of them yells, both the the other mages and to the Draegloth.

The pair of oversized arms on the Draegloth reach for Aramil,trying to grab the swordmage and pull him in close. "I'll see to your wizard friend after I rip out your throat, little eladrin, how does that sound?" Yet the general of the Spring armies is two quick for such a clumsy attack, even in the dark, and casually ducks under the grasping claws.

The other two Draegloth carefully move around the portals to attack the creatures around the portals. One focus entirely on Eltain (not wanting to come too near the Tiefling that singlehandedly slaughtered on of his brothers, while the other splits his attention between Lucan and Pavick, uncertain which is responsible for trying to manipulate the portal. Lucan easily jumps back out of the way, but Pavick's sheild drops just a hair too soon and the creature's claws find him (35 damage). The Draegloth attacking Eltain can't seem to find a gap in the holy armor that surround the paladin, and Eltain remains unscathed.

The priestess tries to re-open the demiplane, yet fails as Pavick's curse holds on her.

One of the archmagi scrambles over to the new portal opened by Eltain, frantically trying to re-direct it back to the abyss, but without the aid of the priestess or his fellow mages, his efforts fall short.

The mage stabbed by Zyrr takes a step back, before summoning a spectral demonic claw that grabs Zyrr suspends him in the air, while the other mage (whose eyes widen as he recognizes Pavick) bends reality and teleport sPavick behind the other Draegloth (Pavick is dazed).

MAP:
http://i.imgur.com/4GvYY57.jpg

Init:

Asheroth
Lucan (25 damage)
Eltain ()
Aramil ()
Pavick (25 +35 damage, dazed (save ends))
Zyrr (25 damage, grabbed, suspended in air)

Draegloth (
Priestess (enemies within 5 of her take -2 to defenses) Sequestered
Archmagi Q12:(63+25,bloodied) L17: (29+25+33, bloodied, enemies gain CA & sneak attack) S15 (29+25+28, bloodied)

Rolls
Draegloth
Grab vs. Aramil's Fort: [roll0]+2CA
(if grab succeeds) Minor - Bite vs Aramil's Ref: [roll1]+2 CA - Damage: [roll2] & Aramil gains vulnerable 15 all (save ends)

Claw vs. Pavick's AC: [roll3] Damage: [roll4]
Claw vs. Lucan's AC: [roll5] Damage: [roll6]
Claw vs. Eltain's AC: [roll7] Damage: [roll8]

Priestess: Save vs: Sequester [roll9]

Archmage:
G14: Attempt to re-direct the portal: [roll10]

M18: Demonic Grasp vs Zyrr's Fort - [roll11] Hit: Zyrr is immobilized & suspended 1 square up (save ends both). While affected by this, whenever the target or one of its allies deals damage to a demon or drow, the target takes 10 poison damage

S15: Cruel Banishing vs Pavick's Fort: [roll12] Hit: Pavick is teleported 7 squares & dazed (save ends)

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan -- Half-elf bard

Seeing that Pavick is under attack, Lucan bends fate to protect him.


Immediate Interrupt
Use Virtue of Prescience
Pavick gains +6 to all defenses until the start of his next turn
Karmic Strike
Zyrr gets a free basic attack against the Draegloth

[dariathalon]

Pavick – Gnome Wizard
HP 79/104, AC 38, Fort 31, Reflex 36, Will 34
Remember: Pavick should still be in T18

Pavick feels the flow of familiar arcane energy wash around him, and he glances up from his work on the portal just in time to see two attacks that by all rights should have hit him be deflected by Lucan's magic. "Thanks," he calls out cheerily to the bard.

He looks up at the draegloth in front of him and releases a quick blast of brightly colored lights toward the beast, before bending down again to return to his work. The mass of sigils around this portal was quite complicated, but he had confidence if he could just alter the right ones he could rewire it.


Standard: Color orb on Draegloth in V/W-15/16. [roll0] Hit does [roll1] and dazes him until the end of my next turn.

Move: Attempt to redirect the portal again. [roll2] (Again +4 more if Study of the Planes helps)

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth Durant
HP 98/134 (11 Temp) Surges 12/12
AC 38 FORT 34 REF 30 WILL 37

When the globe of darkness falls, Ash beholds the carnage is blade has wrought with sober eyes. This battle was far from over.

He can feel the shift in the atmosphere as Eltain redirects the energy portal to Arvandor. That would prove useful as the fight wore on. But that drow wizard was trying to undo the change Eltain had worked in the portal. Ash could not let that happen. Also in his vision is another draegloth menacing his friend. He could not strike at both in the next few moments, but he could make the wizard think twice about staying near the portal and give Eltain a little support.

Ash raises his left hand in a slow and purposeful motion. It appears as if he is trying to lift a cannonball, but it is not metal in his palm. It's fire. Suddenly between the wizard and the draegloth a swirling vortex of intense flames explodes into being. Flames crash against their bodies as the maelstrom quickens. For a moment Ash locks eyes with the wizard and slowly shakes his head, face stoic.

"Stay back and stay down. Enough lives have been lost this day. We may be able to get you out through the portal my companion has erected." Ash whispers to the "day-walkers". He directs the cowering would-be sacrifices to get against the wall of the construct and stay low as he steps beside the altar ready to bring the fight to the meddling mage.


Standard action: Vortex of Fire Area burst 1 centered on F13 (E12-G14)
wizard in G14 [roll0] vs. REF
draegloth in E11-F12 [roll1] vs. REF
on a hit each takes [roll2] fire damage.
Area is a zone of fire UEONT. Creatures that end their turn in the zone take 10 fire damage and are slowed UEONT. (minor action sustains the zone UEONT; move action moves the zone 3 squares)

Minor action: Direct sacrifices to huddle along the wall

Move action: Move to G20

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain - 113/128 41/33/37/40

Eltain feels a brief rush of exultation as Corellon's divine guidance fills him and he successfully redirects the portal, but he knows the work isn't even close to over. He eyes the mage trying to undo his work and the Draegloth that's far too close to the prisoners. Well, he knew a trick or two for that. He suddenly vanishes again, only to reappear across the room.

"It's not too late to convert! Corellon loves all His children." He looks at the Draegloth. "Well, perhaps not you." He shakes his head and summons the arcane abilities granted to him by his god, drawing upon the power of both Corellon and the Feywild Winter that flows through his blood. He thrusts out his hands and a sudden blast of snow and ice fills the room, stopping just short of the prisoners and sending the mage and draegloth sliding towards the portal.


Free: Activate property of Frost Longsword because why not.
Move: Ethereal Stride to G17
Minor: Curse the Archmage
Standard: Roaring Storm of Cania, Close Blast 5, creatures in blast. Will affect Archmage and Draegloth:
[roll0] vs Archmage's Reflex
[roll1] vs Draegloth's Reflex
On hit: [roll2] cold damage, and the target falls prone.
Miss: Half damage.
Effect: I slide each target up to 3 squares. Archmage to E16, Draegloth to E/F 14/15 (Based on what you said on Twitter about the four dangerous squares being the four around the center of the symbol; E/F 15/16 are the closest to that. If different, I'll adjust accordingly)
Warlock's Curse damage: [roll3] If I miss one I'll apply to the one I hit, if I hit both I'll apply it to the Archmage.


End of turn: 88/128 41/33/37/40

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 103/128

Seeing that Zyrr's in trouble, Lucan sends an arrow winging his way. Then, with a quick song, he sends healing to both Zyrr and Pavick. Belatedly realizing how dangerous his location is, Lucan gets out of the way.


Standard
Use Graceful Opening on drow at L17
[roll0] (includes combat advantage)
[roll1] (includes damage from sneak in the attack)
On hit, Zyrr can make a save. Also, if the mage at S15 provides cover to the archmage at L17, he takes 5 damage from howling songbow's property.

Minor
Use Majestic Word on Zyrr and Pavick
They each regain surge+22 hp and 8 temp hp

Move
North until he's not taking damage anymore. Jump over hostage if necessary.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil
HP 146/166 Surge 41, 11/11
AC 42 Fort 33 Ref 38 Will 33
Resist All 5, Cold 15

The demon had failed to properly take advantage of its darkness. Good. That would be its undoing. Teleporting back to where he had previously stepped, he slashed at the draegloth with one hand while reached out towards its counterpart with the other. Bolts of lightning lashed out of his fingertips, and using them like electric whips, he pulled at the demon and the archmage near it. Then, he summoned the power of his Aegis, to forbid Lolth's minions from slowing their demise.
Move: Fey Step to V20. Feywild Flanker: the south Draegloth grants CA until the end of Aramil's next turn. Cloak of Translocation: Defense bonus active. Fey Tactics: if there's an ally within 5 of Aramil's starting location, they can teleport 6 (first come first served, else possibly one of the slaves?). Eladrin Swordmage Advance: MBA vs the south Draegloth.
[roll0] (CA and Circlet of Mental Onslaught included)
[roll1]

Standard: Ensnaring Bolts north, in a manner that both the Draegloth and the Archmage are covered in the attack. Cover not included. Attacks vs Ref.
[roll2]
[roll3]
Hit: [roll4], and pulled 3 squares.

Minor: Aegis of Assault on all enemies within 2 squares (Total Aegis).

[Hzurr]

Zyrr - Drow Rogue
AC:34, Fort:27, Ref:37, Will:32

As Lucan bends fate for Pavick, Zyrr tosses a quick dagger at the Draegloth as fortune bends

ranged vs AC (includes range penalty) Damage: [roll1] Crit:8+28+10=46 damage

Another quick shot by Lucan, and Zyrr can feel the demonic claw around him dissipate. Landing, he spins the dagger in his hand with a flourish. Feinting to the left, Zyrr whirls around to the right and plants the dagger firmly in his back.

Minor: Perfect Feint.
Standard: Backstab - [roll2]
Damage: [roll]2d4+3d6+5d8+28 1+3+12+51=67 damage


End-of-Round:
HP: 106-25-40(one attack by Pavick, 2 by Asheroth, one by Eltain) from claw + 26(HS)+22 = 89+8 THP

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Pavick surprisingly stays un-moved thanks to Lucan's enchantments, he quickly unleashes a dazzling burst of light at the Draegloth in front of him, before returning his attention to the portal. Again, what should be a relatively simple task for a mage of Pavick's skill proves to be too difficult somehow. It's unlike Pavick to have performance issues, and if word of this got out to the other wizards...

Asheroth, meanwhile, unleashes a storm of fire on the two causing the Draegloth to wince and the mage to scream in pain. The burning sensation is shortlived, however, as Eltain follows it up with a blast of ice. The archmage's pain is quickly brought to an end as his body shatters under the onslaught of fire and ice. The Draegloth finds himself on his back, straining at the portal that threatens to pull him through

Lucan sends an arrow through the drow summoning the Spectral claw on Zyrr, and the claw falters, giving Zyrr an opportunity to throw a dagger at the Draegloth. Moments later, a burst of healing surges through both Zyrr and Pavick, cleansing their wounds even as the energy from the portal saps their strength.

Zyrr, free of the demonic claw, whirls around behind the mage and plants a dagger in his back. The mage's eyes roll back, before crumpling to the floor

The construct engine, still straining under the stress of the two warring portals calms slightly as the blood of the fallen drow mage soaks the portal to Arvandor, fueling the mystical energies that power the construct.

The two Draegloth on either side of Aramil fly into a rage, and claw at the swordmage, blood and spittle flying from their gaping maws. One attempts to grab the sword mage, while the other (remembering how futile that was) simply flies into a flurry of claws, trying to find a gap in Aramil's defenses, but none come close to touching the swordmage.

With a gasp, the priestess claws her way back into reality. Taking a quick moment to survey the dead bodies and portal to Arvandor, she gives a curse. "I'll kill us all before I'll let you disrupt the conquest of the Spider-Queen." Glancing at the surviving mage, her eyes glisten. "Kill the leg-workers"

The mage's eyes widen, but he quickly rushes to do as he's told, and darts into the far hallway, and fires a magic missile, killing one of the drow manning the construct legs.

As the mage moves to obey, the priestess turns to yell over her shoulder towards the head. "Turn off the Gravity!"

With a lurch, you feel the floor start to shift, and lose bits of gravel and blood begin rolling down towards the base of the spider

OOC: At the start of the next round, Gravity will re-assert itself towards the bottom of the spider. If you aren't braced against a wall, you'll take falling damage as normal (so, for example, if Asheroth stays where he is he'll drop 55 feet)

MAP:
http://i.imgur.com/rv7qfpy.jpg


Init:

Asheroth
Lucan
Eltain (25 damage)
Aramil ()
Pavick (25 damage)
Zyrr (25 damage)

Draegloth E11: (32+25+14 & dazed while he's in the portal squares & prone) W30 (25+30 (dazed)+46+21, bloodied) V21: 28
Priestess I23:(enemies within 5 of her take -2 to defenses)
Archmagi S15 (29+25+28, bloodied)

Draegloth:
Grabbing Aramil: [roll0]-2 dazed
Draegloth: Claw Attacks vs AC:
[roll1] Damage: [roll2]
[roll3] Damage: [roll4]

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain - 63/128 41/33/37/40

Eltain nods to Asheroth before suddenly vanishing and reappearing most of the way across the room, calling to the prisoners on the other side.

"Get against something before you fall!"

Catching sight of his prey, he regretfully leaves the priestess unmolested for now and vanishes to reappear behind the mage.

"I don't think so."

He gestures quickly, a beam of frigid ice striking out towards the mage. Unfortunately, the mage's reflexes are too good and he easily dodges Eltain's attack.


Minor: Use Incisive Dagger's daily power to teleport to P14
Move: Ethereal Sidestep to R7
Standard: Lash of the Long Night:
[roll0] vs Fort
On hit: [roll1] cold damage and he's slowed(save ends) and pushed 7 squares to T15. He also gets vulnerable 5 cold and I have CA on him if it hits.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth Durant
HP 98/134 (11 Temp) Surges 12/12
AC 38 FORT 34 REF 30 WILL 37

Ash gives a toothy grin and a thumbs up to Eltain. "Excellent work, my friend! Now go stop that pesky wizard from dooming us all! I'll handle the ugly one."

For a moment all sound is suppressed in Ash's ears. His vision tunnels. He begins to see tongues of flame lick the edges of his sight, but again remembers the Avatar's words. The flames recede and are replaced by dazzling rays of luminance. When his vision clears and sound returns, Ash can feel the wings he has worn before move and flex with anticipation. Yet, without even turning his head to see, he knows they are different than before somehow. The infernal energy that had fueled his transformation felt less powerful. Something else had replaced it. A warmth. A radiance. He did not know from where it came, but he did not scorn it.

"You may have noticed that your brother no longer lives. You will soon join him in the Abyss!" Ash's Blade flashes down toward the draegloth, but Ash does not stay to marvel at his handiwork. He knows if he remains here, he will fall a good way. His wings beat against the air, and he retreats around the corner as the weight shifts toward the far side of the construct.

"Brace yourselves!" he calls to the day-walkers as he awaits the inevitable gravity shift.

Minor action: "Spined Devil's" Boon Ash gains a fly speed of 6 for the rest of the encounter.

Standard action: Curse of the Fiery Soul on draegloth [roll0] vs. FORT
on a hit [roll1] fire damage; any enemy that ends its turn within two squares of the target takes 5 fire damage

Move action: Fly to H23 and get ready to stand upright on the side of the wall.

[dariathalon]

Pavick – Gnome Wizard
HP 87/104, Surges 9/10 (I think this is right...)
AC 38, Fort 31, Reflex 36, Will 34

Pavick continues to work on the portal in front of him, paying little heed to the priestess' commands about the gravity. If worst came to worst, he knew his ring would protect him.


I'll try this first, then take the rest of my action in a moment based on the results.
[roll0] (Possibly +4 more from Study of the Planes)

But he continues to struggle uselessly against the magic. There must be some trick to it that had him stumped. It was like a knot that just refused to untie.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick looked up at the two draegloths, frustration creasing his brow. "Hey you two, tall dark and uglies. Go stand over there and tear each other to shreads, okay? Thanks." Along with his words, he weaved a simple enchantment to befuddle their minds and turn them against each other.

He turns his attention to the fey prisoners, "And you all, up against the wall there. Things are about to get all topsy turvy and you don't want to be without a wall to lean against." Pavick points to the wall at the rear of the spider.


Move action: Already wasted, see last post. :smallannoyed:

Standard action: Mass charm centered on Aramil. Effect: Both draegloths slide up to 5 squares. Send the one closest to Pavick to T/U-21/22 and the other to Q/R-23/24. They then make MBAs against each other.

Pavick has a Ring of Lesser Feather Fall so will not take damage from the fall.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard
AC 35 Fort 30 Ref 30 Will 37 HP 78/128

"Get against the wall!" Lucan shouts to the eladrin. "Down's about to become that way!" He waves in the proper direction. He checks over his shoulder to see how Pavick is doing with the portal. Not good. With a sigh, he makes a decision, and hopes he doesn't regret it.

"Get him, Yuri!" Lucan shouts as he moves into the next room.

"For the revolution!" Yuri calls as he threatens the drow.

He sings a quick refrain of healing for both himself and Eltain. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you," he says to the priestess, and his music becomes powerful and commanding. And finally, with a burst of speed, he turns his arrows on the drow mage attempting to kill his own allies.

All his attacks spent, he readies himself for the fall.


Move
Lucan moves to Q11
Yuri moves to Q7

Minor
Use Majestic Word on Lucan and Eltain
Regain surge + [roll0] hp + 8 temp hp

Action Point
Standard
Use Song of Discord on Priestess
[roll1]
On hit, she's dominated
Hit or miss, she makes a basic attack against herself

Standard
Use Twin Strike on archmage
[roll2] + 2 CA (since Yuri's adjacent)
[roll3]
[roll4] + 2 CA (Yuri adjacent)
[roll5]

[roll6]
I'll apply this to my first missed attack, if it's higher.

I decided it would be better to fall out of the room, and take 2d10 damage, than remain in the room and take another 25 damage.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil
HP 146+10t/166 Surge 41, 11/11
AC 42 Fort 33 Ref 38 Will 33
Resist All 5, Cold 15

Upon hearing the Priestess's order, Aramil decides to do something that he knows he'll probably regret. Teleporting behind the Draegloth that he figures would fall on top of him, he makes a calculated attack against the demon, hoping to use its body as a cushion as they fall.
Move: Armathor's Step to V23. +2 power bonus to Aramil's next attack roll against the Draegloth. Feywild Flanker: the Draegloth grants CA until the end of Aramil's next turn. Cloak of Translocation: Defense bonus active.

Standard: Master's Surge Learned Boost Booming Blade on the Draegloth. Learned Boost is not expended.
[roll0]
Hit: [roll1], and if the Draegloth starts its turn next to Aramil and moves away, it takes 2d6+13 Thunder damage (save ends) (If Master's Surge and Learned Boost apply to this damage as well, it's 6d6 instead). Rose King's Shield: Aramil gains 10 temp HP. White Lotus Defense: Aramil gains +1 to defenses against the Draegloth until the start of his next turn. Arcane Underpinning: Aramil gains +1 to arcane attack rolls until the end of his next turn.
Miss: Reliable (Master's Surge is not expended)

Immediate Reaction: Surf the demon [roll2]

[Hzurr]

Seeing the archmage, priestess, and Draegloth's firmly in hand, Zyrr moves over to finish off the Draegloth struggling against the portal that Eltain re-directed.


Move: To F13
Attack - Backstab: 1d20+34=50 (see OOC thread) vs AC
Damage: [roll0]+[roll1]+[roll2]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Eltain teleports the room, the shifting gravity proves just disorienting enough to throw the Paladin's aim off, and the mage ducks the blast.

Even as the wings sprout from Asheroth's back, he can tell without looking that they aren't the rough leather of fiend's wings that he is used to, but something different. Unfortunately, this new change is not enough to give him the ability to strike the half-demon on the ground as Asheroth moves for cover.

It's unclear whether it's simply the power of the engine, the stress of the situation, or simply the lingering horror of what has happened to the feywild, but Pavick's focus slips again. This time, something goes horribly, horribly wrong, and the portal slips not only out of Pavick's control, but out of the confines of the mechanical construct it was powering. As the portal starts expanding, Pavick is able to throw himself to the side at the last moment, and avoid falling into the demonweb pits below. Even as Pavick directs the Draegloth to attack each other, the gnome has a sinking feeling of what's to come from this undulating portal.

Even as Pavick's luck fails, Lucan's is still strong as he not only manages to bend the mind of the Priestess and send her stumbling towards the portal to the Abyss, but sends two quick arrows into archmage.

Aramil quickly teleports into a position next to the Draegloth, and with a flash of his blade slices the demon's head clean from it's shoulders.

Likewise, across the room, Zyrr dashes out of the center room and plunges his blade into the prone Draegloth's back, killing the creature struggling against the energies of Arvandor before bracing against the pillar.

The portal continues to pulse and vibrate, and even as the priestess dominated by Lucan dives into it, the portal explodes outwards, ripping apart the construct in every direction, sending every creature on that half of the construct flying out into the boughs of Senailesse.

------ Zyrr and Asheroth ---

You're knocked flat on your back as the construct twists and shakes, and before your very eyes a third of the construct is gone, opening up into the blackened skies of the feywild. The spider-construct is no longer moving, the six legs remaining having locked in place as the engines were blown apart. As far as you can tell, the only creatures left in the construct are the few drow working the legs and head who were fortunate enough to be outside the blast radius, and a handful of the eladrin who were to be sacrificed.

Peering out through the hole, you can see the drow encampment thousands of feet below you. The construct groans and starts to shift slightly, you doubt it will remain stationary for long.


------------ Aramil, Eltain, Pavick, and Lucan (and Yuri) ------

The portal explodes around you, showering you with flying debris and making the world turn white. ([roll0] damage)

It takes a moment for you to come to your sense, but when you do, you realize that you are falling.

Falling very fast.

The ground is still a few thousand feet below you, but it is quickly growing larger as you fall along side the massive tree trunks of Senailesse.

(OOC: 8 rounds til you hit the ground)

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC - For the people falling:

Ok, for those PCs falling, we'll be running this as a modified skill challenge. Basically, each individual PC needs to make anywhere from 1-3 successes before acquiring 2 failures. I say 1-3 because depending on if what you're doing is easy or difficult, it may require more than one check. So, for example, Eltain trying to Summon and Mount Frank while falling is fairly easy, so it will probably require a check to mount him, and a check to steer out of the freefall since neither of those are difficult checks as Frank is a trained, flying mount. For something more difficult (like Pavick shattering his ring of featherfall to harness all the levitation magic stored in it for one sustained burst of flight), that's significantly more difficult, but would only require one check.

If you wish to help other people, you can spend an action trying to help another person, and if you succeed it counts towards one of their successes, but if you fail it counts towards one of your failures (because you wasted time trying to save someone and now you've fallen significantly further)

Using standard DCs for this level: Easy - 19, Moderate - 26, Difficult - 35.


For the people in the construct:

You aren't in a skill challenge, but you are still racing against the clock because that spider construct isn't going to stay there long. If you want to jump out and try to help the people falling, you'll join the skill challenge above. If you want to do anything else (rescuing hostages, exploring other parts of the construct you didn't get to before, etc), you've got 2 rounds of stability, and after that I'll roll a saving throw for the construct every round to see if it falls.

Let me know in the OOC thread if you have questions.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan remembers flying. Wings folded behind his back as he dove, suddenly unfurling as his claw wrapped around his prey and he lifted off, plucking the succulent lamb from the supposed safety of his pasture.

He opens his eyes to look at the rapidly approaching ground. It's much harder to fly without wings, but . . . he notices that as he spreads his arms, he seems to slow, while if he brings them close to his body he goes faster. If only he had a little more control. The first step was to get rid of the bulky armor, transforming it into . . . what sort of clothes would make it easier to fly? Perhaps clothes with wings. Trying to picture it in his mind, to remember the shape of his wings, the feel of them, he tries to transform his armor into clothes with tough, leathery material stretching out underneath his arms.



Use Imposter's Armor, to turn the armor into clothes with wings, sort of like a wingsuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying). Not looking to actually fly here, so much as to gain a bit more control over the falling.

[roll0]

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash had to move quickly. His friends were falling, and soon he would be too. Not only that, but there were innocents, as well, to save. He peered down at the huddled sacrifices. There was nothing for it. His comrades would have to wait. They were powerful enough to save themselves, but these were not battle-hardened warriors. These were innocent lives that needed a protector. A savior.

"Don't worry! I will get you out of here!" Ash yells. He looks around for Zyrr who dashed into his vision just before the explosion. "Captain! Can you see that branch down there? Just to the left." Ash points to thick limb jutting out from the trunk of the great tree. "That is our target! Help me save these innocents! Then we can worry about our friends!"

He hops down to the altar as gently as he can and scoops up the most frightened person he sees, a crying eladrin woman that has gone visibly pale with shock. "Come with me. I will take you to safety. Hold tight and do not let go until I say." She nods weakly and pulls Ash close. He wraps her in the strongest one-armed owlbear hug he can and slowly breathes out. This was a risky plan, but the only one he had right now.

Looking out of the gaping hole of the teetering construct is a bit surreal, and a little voice in the back of Ash's head reminds him that he should never, but probably will, do something this foolish ever again. And he jumps out into vacant space. Aiming for the branch that is their safety. Once he clears the mangled edges of the spider, he unfurls his wings, and they begin to beat ferociously against the air.

Knowing if he misses the branch that it's all downwind from there, Ash tries to steer himself toward the trunk of the tree. If he can get close enough, he can score the trunk with his blade to slow their descent and gain more control over their direction.

"Hold on!" Ash screams as the tree closes in. The next few moments were critical.

Insight - [roll0]

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick was momentarily stunned by the shock of the explosion. When he came to his senses, he was falling. Falling! What?!?! His heart skipped a few beats before he remembered his ring. It would save him from sudden impact with the ground.

He looked down below him. Oh, drow army, right. Well, the ring would protect him from the ground, but not from the army of angry drow that would surround him if he landed there. Damn.

He continued to watch the ground below him, when he saw a fey pidgeon that had apparently survived the assault by staying high in the branches. It was flying directly under him at a leisurely pace. "Look out below, little birdie!" Pavick called down.

The sudden sound attracted the bird's attention and it looked up at the falling mage with a startled squak. Pavick sensed the feybird's next action. Most animals in the feywild had innate abilities to punch small holes through the fabric of space. He quickly cast an arcane tether at the bird, hoping to be pulled with it through its teleportation to the safety of the nearest branch.


Let's see if this works. [roll0]

I have a few ideas for helping others to safety as well, but I figured I'd give them a chance to post for themselves first.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan's armor transforms, the gliding seems...oddly familiar to the bard, as if something he had once done in a dream. It's a bit awkward, yet somehow Lucan seems to take to it naturally, and finds himself no longer falling wildly, but in a more controlled decent.

OOC: That's one success for Lucan, he'll need at least one more

------

As Asheroth pulls the Eladrin woman close and jumps, the thick magical trees of the feywild seem more difficult to puncture with his sword than he initially intended, and the decent takes a bit longer than he intended. However, he is able to get the Eladrin woman to safety, but finds himself further down from the construct than he would like.

OOC: It'll take Asheroth a full round to get back up into the construct

--------

With a quick weave of power and dexterity that surprises even Pavick (why couldn't the flows have come this naturally when dealing with the portal), Pavick lassos a nearby flame-red hawk soaring through the air, following it even as it folds space.

Pavick suddenly finds himself in a nest, looking up at a very confused feybird, surrounded by half a dozen eggs.

OOC: Pavick is safe, and doesn't need to make any more checks to save himself.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan attempts to use his wings to reach Yuri. "Lean left," the voice in his ear suggests, and Lucan rolls to his left. More suggestions came, and even as he followed them, he could remember flying like this, the wind rushing beneath his wings as he twisted and turned through the sky. Soon he was diving like a dragon, swooping to a landing on the panicking Yuri's back.



[roll0]

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Yuri has finally stopped screaming--a wild sound, somewhere between a neigh and a human scream. He's still kicking wildly, trying unsuccessfully to find traction on the air. Lucan's thankful, as now he can hear himself think, and not just the dark voice inside his head suggesting that Yuri would stop screaming if he were eaten.

Now, though, Yuri appears to be muttering to himself. Lucan leans in close to listen above the sound of the rushing wind.

"Is that . . . Are you praying?"

"Nyet! Of course not!" Yuri shouts. "I am a good communist, comrade!" He mutters something to himself that Lucan doesn't catch.

"What was that?" Lucan asked.

"I said, 'Move your imperialist, capitalist-fascist porcine, Corellon-worshipping butt and save us!'" Yuri shouts.

"Oh, right!" Lucan says. "Lena, rope!"

Lena, whose been hiding in Lucan's pack, emerges with a length of rope. She shelters from the wind behind Lucan and Yuri as Lucan wraps it around Yuri, tying a length around his own waist. He makes a loop with the other end.

"Now all I have to do is get this loop over a branch," Lucan says.

"At this speed, if you're pulled to a sudden stop, you'll break every bone in your and Yuri's bodies," Lena points out.

"Really?" Lucan asks. "I mean, I knew that. We just need to find a branch flexible enough to bend and break our fall slowly, but sturdy enough to hold." He peers down, trying to spot a good branch, one that's close enough to the course of their fall for Lena to reach, and far enough to give her time to get in position.

"There!" he says, pointing. "Put it around that one!"

"If you're sure," Lena says as she flies off to snag the branch.


[roll0]
[roll1]
(re-roll and use the highest from Preternatural Senses)

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash sets the eladrin female down gently on the wide branch near the trunk, and looks into her eyes. "Stay here. I will be back for you. I promise." Ash vaguely notices how beautiful she is, but immediately pushes that thought from his mind. There were more important things to think about.

As he turns his face toward the mangled construct, his chest constricts. The legs were beginning to lose their hold on the trunk. Help me! I need it now!, Ash mentally screams to someone, anyone. And then a thought occurs to him.

He jumps into the sky and streaks for the construct. As he enters the gaping hole blasted in the hull, he reaches out to the Nine Hells and calls a hideous creature forth to aid him.

"What do you want n--"

"Shut up, Keezul, and listen to me! You are going to assist me, or so help me gods, I will make it my mission to destroy you forever! Got it!?"

Keezul flinches in the radiance of Ash's horns and nods meekly. "I'm going to take him down to that branch!" Ash yells as he points to the eladrin and the branch out the hole. "You get over there and help the Captain get those two prisoners out! Whatever he needs you to do, you do it! Understand!?"

Keezul nods again. "Now go!" Ash moves toward the second prisoner, an "aging" eladrin man, if you can say that, and the whole construct lurches slightly toward the bottom of the tree. He was running out of time...If this construct fell, he would have precious little time to escape before gravity imprisoned him in this adamantine tomb!

"Oh, gods help me...", and he reaches for the eladrin man.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain makes a quick mental inventory of positions. Pavick was safe, Lucan... Well, that wasn't going to go well, but up was a better direction than down. Asheroth and Zyrr had been on the other side of the construct. That left him and Aramil, and him too far from Aramil to do anything. He swears loudly, though the sound is carried away by the rushing wind around him. There was nothing to try except to summon Frank and try to get on mid-air, and Frank couldn't bear both him and Aramil in this sort of situation. For that matter, even summoning Frank was going to be problematic. He'd have to modify the summon and do it just right, or he'd fall right past Frank before either of them could even react, or worse, slam into him at... However fast he was falling. That wouldn't go well for either of them. Then he'd have to fight the rushing air to get on. He doubted teleporting would help under these circumstances. By the time he could pick out a place to go he'd be falling past it and out of range. All he could do was concentrate and pray.

Corellon... Help me. I don't want anyone to die here, and I don't want to die either, although if it helps me save them I will...

He focuses himself and draws on his knowledge of the divine powers he's channeled all his life to try to summon Frank below him and falling at the same speed. It works, but just barely. He swallows and tries to pull himself into a better position to try to make it the couple of feet remaining, but his nervousness throws him off.


Religion to try to modify the summoning of Frank to match Eltain's velocity: [roll0]

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick rushes over to the edge of the nest, being careful to avoid the eggs, to watch as his allies fell. It was horrible, feeling helpless as they dropped, but his mind raced trying to come up with ways to help.

He shouted out to Eltain. "Eltain, Frank is falling with you now. Forget trying to clambor on top of him, just teleport there. Should be easy enough now, just account for the natural flow of arcane energy along the tree." He goes on in detail about exactly how to go about twisting the energy to suit the paladin's needs. "I know you can do it!"

Trying to give Eltain advice on his situation to help him teleport on to Frank. I guess this would probably count as another [roll0]

[Mando Knight]

Aramil wished, for a moment, that this were one of the worlds in which one as practiced in magic as he would be able to simply cast a spell and make this falling nonsense a mere minor nuisance.

He couldn't help that now, anyway. All he had was his sword, and his magic. And an idea. A brilliantly stupid idea: his lightning could pull things toward him... but what about the opposite? Could he say, reverse the charge, and fire blasts of magical lightning to force the air (and the ground) beneath him away? It was worth a try...
[roll0]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

---Zyrr---

It takes Zyrr a moment to come to his senses as his ears ring from the explosion. When he finally shakes it off, he sees a gaping hole about him that Asheroth is jumping out of, carrying one of the Eladrin with him.

"Well...this didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped" the drow mutters, before grabbing one of the Eladrin. "Hang on, this might be a huge mistake." Zyrr jumps out, bouncing from branch to branch til he finds one stable enough to support them both.

Acrobatics: [roll0]

------------------------------------

Gliding through the air, Lucan manages to land on the tumbling unicorn's back, and quickly ties the two of them together. Sending Lena out for a rope, Lucan finds himself lashed to a very strong, but very supple branch that bends down, quickly slowing Lucan's decent, before springing back into place, sending Lucan soaring up through the trees (past a very confused Aramil and Eltain). A few moments later, Lucan is once again falling.

This process continues for a while, giving Lucan a new insight into the fabled yo-yos of the jungle halflings.

Eltain, meanwhile, manages to adjust his summoning so that Frank appears just below him, following at the same speed. The celestial pegamule quickly assesses the situation, turns and looks over his shoulder at the paladin with a very flat look plastered across his face. Eltain struggles to mount the pegamule, but a quick shout of advice and magical jiggering from Pavick sets him right, and Eltain finds himself still falling, but in control and on the back of a creature with giant angel wings. All in all, a fairly winnable situation.

OOC: Eltain has one success, you'll need at least one more to fly to safety.

Aramil, in a flash of inspiration that would do his professors proud, comes up with a brilliant idea on how to reverse the effects of one of his spells to propel him. It's such a brilliant idea, that Aramil doesn't pause to consider the actual force of the propellant. In a flash of light, Aramil flies towards one of the trees, smacks into it with a wet *thud*, and bounces off, falling again. It takes Aramil a moment to shake off the great success/abysmal failure of the event, and when his head clears he's still plummeting towards the ground.

OOC: Aramil has one failure. Another one like that, and he'll hit the ground. Hard.

Asheroth sets the old woman down, and immediately begins soaring back up towards the construct, Keezle at his side. There are two Eladrin remaining, and while they visibly recoil at the sight of Keezle, they've seen Asheroth fight and save their allies, so they tentatively move closer to the Tiefling. Even as Asheroth sets foot in the construct, the entire structure groans, and shifts from it's position in the trees.

Saving throw for the construct: [roll1]

OOC: The construct is stable, for now, but it could go at any minute. Asheroth can either try and carry both, or he'll need to convince one of the remaining Eladrin to go with Keezle.

[Orsik Vondal]

Seeing the looks on their faces as Keezul enters, Ash knows he must rely on the devil to not be his normal self. He turns to the eladrin furthest from him with a determined look on his face.

"Right now you are going to have to trust me. This is Keezul. He will take you to safety. I have no other solution right, so I beg you to trust in me." Ash glares at Keezul. "And if he lets any harm come to you, he will answer to me. Permanently."

Keezul's eyes widen with understanding. "Yes, Master. What do you need me to do?"

"Use your spikes to create a stairway around the trunk of the tree that he can use to escape. Shadow him until he gets to a safe branch to make sure he does not fall. After that, come find me."

With that Ash picks up the eladrin man and jumps out of the construct once more. Now that he knows the toughness of the tree he can better account for the descent. On his way down the eladrin in his grip grumbles, "Good riddance. Those filthy drow are getting exactly what they deserve!"

A pang of hurt shoots through Ash's soul. I can't leave them to die...

Diplomacy to get the eladrin to trust Keezul [roll0]
Intimidate to scare Keezul into doing EXACTLY what Ash wants [roll1]
Insight to judge the descent better [roll2]

[Mando Knight]

Aramil decides quickly that he should save that kind of experimentation for when he isn't already falling to his death. The branch did give him another idea, though... the tree that Senaliesse was built on was practically brimming with magic by necessity, and he was far more skilled at using his lightning to pull things closer to him than to fly. By using magic as a chain, he should be able to anchor himself to the tree, to slow his fall even if not to stop or reverse it by itself.
[roll0]

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

"Yaw!" Lucan shouts as he whips into the air. "Hoo!" He shouts as he reaches the height of the branch and is pulled back down. His stomach is still in the air as he reaches the lower extent of the branch again. "Hoo!" And is thrown back up. "Hoo!" And he feels his stomach lurch again. "Eyeww!" By the time the branch stops wobbling, he's feeling rather sick to his stomach, but it looks like both he and Yuri have stopped bouncing. Or at least slowed.

For a moment, they just hang there, panting, wondering if they're going to throw up.

"Now what, comrade?" Yuri asks.

Lucan looks up, at the branch, and Lena hovering by where the rope is tied.

"Well, can you climb a tree?" Lucan asks.

[Orsik Vondal]

Curse my distraction The momentary shock of the eladrin's words resulted in Ash missing his mark. And now they were falling.

Ash tries again to score the tree, but his increased speed made it impossible to get a good grip. This was bad. A small voice somewhere in the darker part of his mind whispered to him, "You could just let the old man go. Then you would be able to save yourself."

"What!?"

"I said: GOOD RIDDANCE!"

"Not you, old man!"

"He has already hindered you by distracting your attention. All you have to do is let go."

"Never!"

"Are you crazy? We are falling to our deaths and you are talking to yourself!" Ash did not realize he had been talking out loud.

"Quiet! Let me think!" The eladrin gives Ash a quizzical look, but remains silent.

"You don't need to save him. He was going to die anyway. If you don't, you will die. And your soul will be mine...forever!"

"You will never claim my soul!"

"That is where you are wrong, little tiefling. No matter what happens, I WIN!"

"Mephistopheles, your power is dwindling. Soon you will have no more power over me than does a flea! Now LEAVE!"

Ash releases his grip on his blade, and it dissolves in the open air. The sword would do him no good now. Ash wraps his arm around the eladrin for extra support, and he begins to beat his wings furiously against the air and gravity. He had never used them to this extent before. He mainly relied on them for bursts of speed in battle, but now he reached into the depths of power where his wings came from. And like recently, it was a warm and radiant place.

The strain shows on Ash's face as he digs deep for the strength to fight gravity. "Come on!" Ash yells through clenched teeth. "Come on! He's not getting my soul! Not today! Come on!"

Religion to tap into the power of his wings and gain mastery over his flight - [roll0]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Asheroth bullies his devil lackey into obedience, the Tiefling hops down to a branch below, wings spreading out to slow his fall with the Eladrin in his arms. Unfortunately, as Eladrin goes, this one is a bit on the chubby side, and the branch snaps, sending both of the pair plummeting towards the ground below.

Meanwhile, Aramil (recovered from his earlier up-close-and-personal meeting with the tree), manages to re-align his magic and create a crackling lasso of lightening that lashes around a near-by-branch. With a flick of his wrist, Aramil whips around the massive trees to find firm footing on a massive branch.

Zyrr, glancing down and seeing Asheroth, but not overly concerned since the Tiefling had managed to grow wings, reaches into his bag and pulls out a wide, intricately woven rug. "Let's hope this works as well as that gnome said it would..." Zyrr mutters, before yelling the command word and jumping on the carpet. Fortunately, the carpet floats in the air, as Zyrr realizes that maybe he should have testing this thing before being a few thousand feet in the air. Whirling down, the drow pauses and floats by the dangling bard on a unicorn. "Need a lift?"

As Zyrr speaks, there's a grinding *creak* from above, as the massive construct shudders before the legs give way, and the giant adamantine spider tumbles from it's perch. There's a moment of scrambling as Zyrr flies Lucan and Yuri out of the path, as Eltain guides Frank out of the way, and as Pavick and Aramil hug the treetrunks tight as the spider falls. Asheroth, who had drifted into a slow glide with the Eladrin man in his arms glances up just in time to toss the Eladrin onto a near-by tree as the massive construct strikes him, pinning him underneath as it hurtles towards the ground below.

For Asheroth, the next few minutes seem to last an eternity. He sees his entire life flash before his eyes, particularly the moment where he first made the agreement years ago. As his memories dwell on that moment, he knows what will happen when his body hits the ground. His life will end, and his soul will meet the fate that he signed it to. There's a stab of regret, even as that faint light in the back of his mind continues to glow. It was an odd, ever-present thread that he had been drawing power from lately, but even that glowing strand wouldn't be enough to save him.

He was close enough now that he could see the panicked faces of the drow below as the construct hurtled towards them. Drow, Drider, and demon alike scrambled out of the way, but Ash knew he was moving far too quickly for most to escape unscathed. Even as the ground approaches, a voice echoes in his head, and the smell of saltwater fills his nostrils. "Receive my blessing, and go forth."

High in the trees above, the shockwave from the construct hitting the ground rattles the branches, followed shortly by a blast of dust and rushing wind. It takes a few long minutes to settle, but when the dust finally clears you can see the shapes of hundreds of dead drow below. However, your eyes are drawn to a small shimmering sphere of water enclosing one figure, that looks to have shielded him from the impact of the fall. As the water drops away, two large wings of feathers and light extend from the figure, as it begins the long journey flying up towards you.

----Asheroth--

The world seemed to have exploded even as the blessing of Melora protected your body from harm. Yet even in what you thought were your final moments, there was one instant where that golden thread seemed to glow brighter, and with your (assumed) last breath, you reached for it and finally grasped it.

In what felt like an eternity later, when the walls of water fell and you found yourself in the middle of a wreck, surrounded by the bodies of drow and demon, when you reached out to the fiendish powers granted to you so long ago, you realized they had been replaced by that strange glow. Your sword no longer was made of fire and destruction, but of the brilliant light of creation. Instead of sulfur, you smell clean, green grass when you manifest your powers. On your back, the wings that were once a temporary blessing from your pact with Keezul seem to have been replaced with brilliant wings of radiance.

As the remaining drow begin to move towards you, a few flaps of these new wings carry you up, and a few minutes later you find yourself again with your allies in the trees high above.

-----------------------

It takes Asheroth a few minutes to rise up to the rest of the party, but when he does everyone else notices an immediate change. There's a soft glow around him, and that continual smell of sulfur and brimstone has been replaced with the smell of fresh breezes and open fields. It seems to remind you of the Shepherd, oddly enough.

There's little time for marveling at this transformation, however, as another creak from high above draw your attention to the other construct still ascending the trees, and the Fomorian siege tower approaching Selienesse. Near-by, you spy an opening in one of the tree-trunks, and the long staircase inside. The drow are still approaching the Court of Stars to complete their twisted plans, and time is quickly running out.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

It takes a bit of jumping around from branch to branch, but eventually you're able to find one with the strange moss runes that indicate an opening. Bypassing the door is easy enough (it required thinking of the taste of a strawberry eaten before it was ripe), and you step inside.

Unsurprisingly, the insides of the massive trees of Senaliesse are not entirely bound by rules of logic or physics, and you find yourself stepping into a massive meadow, far larger than should be able to fit inside of a tree. Even though you at least a thousand feet in the air, the ground feels like earth, covered with a soft layer of grass. Scattered throughout the meadow are trees made of shimmering violet glass that twinkle from a light source you can't quite place. Roughly 15 feet above you, the ceiling looks to be made of a similar layer of earth and grass, almost a perfect mirror of the floor. But instead of purple trees, you find there are small round pools perhaps two paces across. Each pool is ringed by brightly colored rocks of either yellow, blue, or pink. The water in each pool ripples slightly as if by a slight breeze, and seems unperturbed that it's upside-down on a ceiling of grass.

From out of one of the glass trees, a dryad shimmers into focus, just as a Naiad pops out of one of the ponds on the ceiling, treading water as she looks down at you (or up at you, depending on which side you choose to be "down").

The dryad and naiad smile at you, and begin speaking in unison.


"Rest now, petitioner, your quest is near done,
your journey complete, and your audience won.
Now there is just one final choice you must make
Each leads to your prize but your life is at stake.

Chose now a pool to continue ascent,
the decision before you you can't circumvent.
Through blue rings you'll challenge the strength of your mind
though wonder and chaos won't be far behind

Through yellow you must test the strength of your blade
But alone you will face it, without allies aid.
Through purple is a land of both nightmares and dreams
where even your friend may not be what he seems"

The pair smile, then disappear back into the trees and pond, leaving you in silence.

History DC 25
There is a legend of a series of trials that mortals seeking audience with the court of stars must endure; created by Queen Mab before she joined the Unseelie Court. "The field of glass trees and pools above" was the entrance to the final trials, but the songs are unclear about what those trials are. To the best of your knowledge, no mortal has attempted to undergo the trials in well over twelve centuries, most simply send a petition directly to the Summer Court requesting an audience or find a fey sponsor, given how few mortals survived the trials. There are also stories that creation of the trials was actually Queen Mab's "audition" to be admitted into the Unseelie Court, proving her capacity to torment mortals.

Zyrr pauses a moment, mouthing the words, before looking up at the pond, then back at the trees, before leaning over to look at the room as if the ceiling were the ground. He turns to the rest of the party. "You know, sometimes I really hate the feywild."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Based on Mando Knight's History check in the OOC thread...

As the party stands there slightly stunned by the strange events before them, Aramil's mind jumps back to some of the dinners he had as a child, where the bards told stories to entertain fey nobles. One such story, the Balad of Veldurthi, told of a human woman who approached the Summer Queen to ask for a curse on her betrothed to be lifted.

"After braving the wrath of the clockwork dragon, Veldurthi dove into blue the blue pool above. There she was tested and her quick wit prevailed, but in the end she too risked the waves of chance."

The details of the story are still vague, but Aramil does know that whatever Veldurthi did, it was a balance of both her intelect and luck. Her wits alone couldn't save her, but it help her guide her down the more wild currents of chaos.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick sits down in the lush field, and plucks a single long blade of grass which he proceeds to tie into a knot and then untie repeatedly as he buries himself deep in thought. He considers what Aramil has remembered about Queen Mab's role in the creation of this test. He tries to use anything he knows about her to consider any loopholes that she might have left.

I may as well try a [roll0] to see if Pavick can remember anything useful about Queen Mab that might help. Any puzzle (or trap) is in many ways a reflection of its maker.

After sitting for a few minutes deep in thought, Pavick stands back up, brushing himself off. He pulls out the flute that he always keeps tucked in his belt and begins playing a jaunty tune. The tune is so energetic and playful that he can't help but dance to his own playing.

At the conclusion to his song, he speaks in a loud voice. "Guardians of this place, fair naiad and dryad, consider that song a gift to you. I hope that you enjoyed it. However, I must also ask you a favor of great importance. I don't know how much you know of the feywild outside of this tiny pocket, but it is in danger. Perhaps the gravest danger since the dawn of the plane. The last Court of Stars ended in tragedy; the mighty houses are at war. And while they battle amongst themselves, the drow have taken advantage of the situation to launch an attack. A giant spider construct climbs into the branches of this tree as we speak. We must reach the top before they do to have any chance to fight off the threat they bring. So I beg you, please help us. If there is anything you can do or even advice you might have to help us overcome this challenge, we would greatly appreciate it. The fate of the feywild could rest on you."

And I guess we'll throw in a [roll1] to see if we can get any help.

[Orsik Vondal]

Ash folds his crimson wings behind him and holds his chin in one hand. When Aramil recounts the tale of Veldirthi, his ears perk up at the mention of the clockwork dragon. That is useful to know

He strides forward through the meadow and breathes in the scent. It vaguely reminds him of something from a life not entirely his own. "If only The Shepherd were here, he would know what to do. But since he is not it is up to us. Queen Mab is a tricky one, for sure, but we cannot fail in this. Queen Tiandra is counting on us to rescue her. Nay, the entire Feywild is counting on us! Please, good nymphs, was there no advice you gave to Veldurthi? Nothing that might aid us as well in saving Senaliesse and the Court of Stars? Even now the drow are ascending to the canopy to desecrate the great city above. Help us, please."

Ash reaches out a hand toward the dryad and naiad both. He takes their hands and touches them each to his lips then forehead one after the other. Meeting their eyes in turn, searching their faces, pleading with them silently, Ash drops their hands and waits. Hoping his words and those of Pavick would convey the urgency of the situation.

Diplomacy [roll0]
Insight to notice any facial tells as to whether they actually did give any advice before [roll1]

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

Once the party is gathered, Lucan shares his healing with anyone who needs it, then plays his music while the party catches their breath. The music helps everyone to feel better rested.

He then follows the others into the odd meadow, and listens as they debate which one to take. "I suspect that the blue one is best suited to us. We have some very clever people among us."


Lucan spends a healing surge, which should bring him up to full, and directs healing to any two PCs who want it.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Dryad and Naiad, who had briefly re-appeared when Pavick began speaking, exchange looks with one another. "Drow?" The Naiad bubbles. "War?" the Dryad whispers.

At which point, they both nearly double over laughing. "A valliant effort, trickster, but we shall not be swayed." She reaches over and pinches Pavick on the cheek, and the Naiad looks at Asheroth bemused. "The Court of Stars a tragedy? It was barely a month ago that Sarula Iliene ascended to the court, and while the party was fairly dull I'd hardly call it a tragedy."

The pair giggle again, before returning to their respective pond and tree.

Lucan, Eltain, and Aramil all know that the ascention of Sarula Iliene (most commonly known as the Nixie Queen) was nearly 5,000 years ago.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil motions the others to come closer. "Perhaps we should hurry... if they say what they think is true, then this is one of the places in the Feywild where time does not necessarily behave to our advantage."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain frowns and thinks.

"Guardians, I would speak to you." He waits for the pair to reappear. "A month ago? No, that was over five thousand years ago. You know well that time runs strangely in the Feywild, and not always the same. Here, perhaps, it was so, but outside in the greater world it's been millennia." He makes eye contact with each of them, making sure they both note the tattoo on his face, the holy mule that follows him about the garden.

"What my companions say is true. Even as we speak, Formorian siege engines assail Sennaliese and foul Drow constructs climb its trees as an army of drow and formorians await the coming slaughter. Tiandra is defenseless, frozen by the Prince of Frost at the close of the last Court of Stars. She cannot protect Sennaliese and if the Drow get hold of her it will be disastrous. We must protect her from this and get her away so we can free her." He sighs.

"You doubt the words of a gnome and a non-fey, but they do not lie, and neither do I and Aramil here. Nor do we have reason to. I am a Paladin of Corellon, one of His Champions and a high priest of the faith. Aramil here is a Shiradi Champion, sworn to the defense of the Fey and to Tiandra. We will undertake these trials if we must, but our time is short and our need great. If you cannot help us bypass them, please, at least give us advice that we may increase our chance of success." He looks at them both sternly and imploringly.


For the lulz:
Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The pair again emerge out of their respective tree and pond, and exchange worried glances. The Naiad breaks the silence first. "Tiandra frozen? No, this is clearly trickery. Queen Mab warned us of mortals who would attempt to deceive us, and had something happened to the Head of her own Court, Queen Mab would have told us." She scowls at you, and dives back into the pool.

The Dryad, however, lingers a moment, studying both Eltain's face, and something that she seems to see above Aramil's head. She starts to turn back, but hesitates. "We...we are sworn not to aid mortals in their journey. Can you prove what you say is true?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick's shoulders slump slightly at Eltain's comment about how the nymphs might not accept the word of a gnome. He'd thought that they were long beginning to get past those racial prejudices. A small part of him knew that Eltain would never have meant it to be a bash against his people, but it was still a reminder of the attitudes some fey carried. An even smaller part of himself was hurt because he knew for himself, it was a little too often true.

Pavick straightened his shoulders at the dryad's question. "Are you not capable of looking beyond this pocket for yourself. If you can just take a look outside, our words will be quickly verified. If you cannot do that then I have a ritual or two that might prove our veracity. Would a scrying done to show you the drow at the base of the tree be enough or Queen Tiandra encased in the Prince of Frost's ice? Or would you prefer an oracle be summoned to answer a few questions on the state of the feywild and Queen Tiandra. Perhaps I could play a chorus of truth as one of my friends recounts the story to you again. The magic of the song would make any lies ring dissonant and be easily identified. What proof will you accept?"

I wish I would have thought to look over my too-long ritual list. My last post would have been a perfect opportunity to use Tune of Merriment.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The Dryad gives Pavick a slightly sad look. "I cannot leave this place until my bargain has been met." She pauses for a moment, as if reflecting on something, before nodding. "Yes, a scrying would suffice." She comes over to Pavick, and drops to one knee. "Show me."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick sets down his pack and digs around inside pulling out several supplies for the casting as he says, "Hopefully Queen Mab hasn't blocked outward divinations somehow. I don't see why she would, but she is a tricky one. I think I'll show you the drow below since that scene would be less likely to be protected from scrying."

Once he has several bottles and pouches of components laid out before him, Pavick quickly runs through the steps of the ritual one more time in his head. "Oh, wait, problem. I wasn't thinking about the time required. Usually I have all the time in the world, but we're on a bit of a time crunch here. This ritual will take an hour. What do you think?" He addresses the question to the entire group. "If time truly flows differently here we might, or just as easily might not be dooming ourselves to failure. Should I try it?"

[Orsik Vondal]

"Show them. They need to see the truth. Then they might be able to warn the other nymphs in the Feywild."

Divination is Religion, right? I'll aid Package if he needs it. Religion [roll0]

[Mando Knight]

"I think it's definitely risky, but we also don't know how long it will take us to proceed through the trials, either. We could spend an hour here, then end up finding the Prince of Frost crucified next to an altar to Lolth made from his mother's frozen form, or spend a month and find ourselves walking into the Court of Stars in time to see ourselves battle the Winter Witch."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain snorts. "I wouldn't mind that last one much. I wasn't able to be there... Petty though it may be, I regret to this day that I couldn't be part of bringing her down. If it hadn't been for her, then maybe my mother wouldn't have-" He cuts off, shaking his head. There was no sense in regrets, and thinking of it only filled him with anger that would be of no help here. He sighs.

"We don't have much choice, and Aramil is right. An hour might be too late, but the trials may well take much longer without aid..." He shakes his head. "There are no options here that aren't bad."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick sighs heavily, still feeling completely unsure if he's doing the right thing, but knowing he had the support of his companions made it a little easier. He set to work slowly and precisely working through the divination, checking his spell book after every few steps to make sure he got the ritual precisely right.

At the conclusion of the ritual, Pavick created an image that he had seen very recently. The sensor was placed just over the edge of the feyhawk's nest surveying the fields of drow warriors below. He quickly swivelled the view around to show the second spider construct climbing up the tree above the next.



Pavick uses the View Location ritual. It is actually an Arcana check if Ash or anyone else wishes to assist. Here is a [roll0] (this does not include any bonus for assistance).

Edit: Actually Pavick rolled high enough to get the maximum possible duration on his own so it will last 5 rounds.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The dryad watches closely as Pavick casts the spell, occasionally peering over his shoulder at the spellbook to verify that what was being cast was indeed correct.

As Pavick spreads the components for the ritual on the ground, it's clear that the dryad is getting nervous. The small flowers and plants that appeared every-time she steps fail to bloom fully, and those that do don't have the same radiance that they did when you first arrived.

When the spell finishes, the dryad leans over, and peers through the scrying sensor. Her eyes widen, and her bark-like skin takes on a dully, ashy tone. "Oh no...no no no..." she mutters under her breath as she sees the fires and destruction across the feywild, and the pillaging drow armies below.

The dryad shudders, and drops to the ground, clutching her knees and rocking slightly, openly sobbing. It's several minutes before you can get her to respond with anything other than open wailing that seems to make this strange magical field feel disturbingly empty.

After a while, the Naiad pokes her head out from one of the pools, and comes down to put an arm over her weeping sister. She glances at the pools above, then looks to Pavick.

"All lead somewhere different. I do not know what lays beyond each, but I can tell you some."

She glances up at one of the blue pools. "Through that is the watcher of the woods. You'll be presented with a number of choices. Sometimes doors, sometimes maidens, once I heard of goblets of ere-changing drinks. One will lead you to your goal, the rest are...unpredictable. Some are harmless and amusing, some are deadly. The watcher will answer three questions, yes or no, then you must make your choice. Most waste their questions just trying to understand the challenge."

Glancing at one of the yellow portal, she winces as if in pain, and shakes her head. "No, not that one. No one returns from there. Let me think...ah, that one." She points to a yellow pool on the far end. "Some have had luck there. Each of you must face a test alone. It may be battling a monster, protecting a valuable treasure, finding you way through a maze. But whatever you do in one affects your allies in another, for good or for ill. Only one of you will be free of the test, and he is the only one who can communicate with the others."

She looks to the purple pools. There are far fewer of these than there are yellow or blue, and eventually, her eyes settle on one. "Through that door you must face the might-have-beens. Versions of yourself and your friends as they may have turned out, had something gone differently. Some are unable to face the horror of the depths of depravity they were capable of, some are unable to face the glorious potential they never achieved." She stops, as if talking to herself. "For some it's simple to pass by, for others there is nothing more terrifying than the version of you that might have been. Some never bring themselves to leave that place, unable to face the consequences of their choices."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Once the image has disappeared, Pavick places his hands on the dryad's, in his best attempt to comfort her. "I'm sorry," he says. "I wish it weren't so. We are doing our best to stop this conflict. Once the land has been cleansed, healing will begin. The feywild is a resilient plane, it will grow back."

He then looks up to address the naiad. "Thank you for this information. You've done a great service to the people of this plane."

Pavick begins tucking away his components, carefully sealing bottles and tying off tiny pouches with bits of string. As he does so, he speaks to his companions. "Well, I think we've got our best chances with either the blue pool or the purple pool. If we can convince this watcher of the woods of the threat to the feywild, we might be able to get him to point us in the right direction. Even if not, our wits will probably serve us well. And I think we've proven a number of times that we are willing to face any difficulties to do the right thing. It may be difficult for some of us, but I have faith that we can overcome it." As he finishes packing up he brushes off his hands and slings his pack back over his shoulder. "The yellow pool just seems too risky to me. We know the least about the challenges we'll be facing there, and I think our best hope is to stick together so we can support each other through whatever we have to endure. So what do the rest of you think?"

[Orsik Vondal]

"Though I would not mind traversing the strands of Fate, that seems like the easy way out of my entire situation. And taking the easy way is what brought me here in the first place--to this specific predicament. Becoming a warlock because I wanted a quick and easy way to power. That is where my journey started. I honestly cannot tell you what I am now, so much has changed in me since...well...since I died." He rubs his forehead, and his crimson wings twitch involuntarily.

"I don't even know how this happened", Ash says thrusting a thumb at his feathery additions, "but knowing what could have happened had I not turned away from the dark path I was on or had I not even made that pact so long ago would be good for me to see. The former to keep me from reverting to my former ways, and the latter to give me a goal I might strive for."

He turns to the others. "Though it may seem like we won't have the support of each other in there", indicating the purple pool, "that will only matter if we do not trust in each other. No illusion, no matter how strong, can easily break the bond of trust and faith."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain comforts the weeping Dryad.

"I won't let them destroy our home. I'll do my best to stop this. Thank you." He turns to the others.

"I agree with Pavick that the blue or purple sound best. I must admit, I'm rather curious about the purple one. I don't fear what might have been for me, but it would be interesting to see..."

[Hzurr]

ooc: posting an update here that the forums are back up in case some people don't have notifications up on the ooc thread

[Orsik Vondal]

Sensing the group's apprehension and hesitation, Ash strides over to the blue pool and peers up at it. He begins to reach a hand out toward the water, but recalls it as his eyes glance over to the purple pool. In a last second decision, he rushes over to the other pool and thrusts his hand deep into its waters. "Forgive me, friends, but I must see this." Then everything goes black.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick hadn't been nervous about going through the purple pool when it was initally described. He knew who he was, and was happy with the decisions he'd made in his life. It shouldn't be difficult to face that fact.

But once the decision had been made, and Ash was sinking below the surface of the water, he had a sudden pang of worry. Pavick took a sidestep to Eltain, and tugged on the paladin's arm, drawing him down to ear level.

He speaks in hushed tones. "You know, a few short months ago, I'd be very worried about you going through there. Now you're so sure of yourself and your role in Corellon's plan that there can't be anything through there that will shake that. I find that I'm the one needs comfort. When we stood in Arvandor before the three gods, it was not my own god Corellon who blessed me, but Sehanine. I have nothing against her, but it leaves me wondering have I really strayed too far from Corellon's path? Please, if you have any comforting words for a follower, I could certainly use them before I face what is to come."

[Mando Knight]

"That damned fool of a Tiefling..." Aramil shakes his head. "Come on, he's probably going to need our help, whether or not any of us will be able to recognize it in there.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

Lucan follows after Ash with a bit of trepidation. He didn't really want to face the possibility of what Ash might become. And he wasn't entirely certain that he wanted to face himself. "I'm not afraid of dragons," he tells himself. He's not entirely convinced, but he reaches for the pool anyway.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Stepping through the purple pool, everything goes white as time seems to stretch and extend. It feels almost like your trip back through the pheasant gate so long ago, where every fiber of your body is slowly pulled like taffy.

As you suddenly snap back to your normal time, it takes a moment for your vision to clear. Blinking, you look around and find yourselves back in the city of Fallcrest. It's early evening in the middle of winter, and a light snow seems to be falling around you. The lights from shop windows illuminate the street in a soft, orange glow, and the residents of Fallcrest seem to be moving up and down the street, carrying on business as normal.

As you gather yourselves, you notice that Pavick has gone almost transparent. He looks like an afterimage from when you stare at the sun for too long, yet doesn't fade away.

Pavick, you feel...faint, yet completely yourself. As far as you can tell, everyone else looks solid and normal, but looking down at your own hands you realize you can see through them with ease. There's a slight tugging, almost as if a wire was attached to the inside of your chest, pulling you gently towards a nearby shop.

From that shop, a wonderful smell fills everyone's nostrils. The scent of freshly baked muffins draw your attention to the doorway, where a dark-skinned halfling woman with curly hair waits. "Well? Are you coming in, or do you plan on sniffing all day?" she says with a laugh, and motions you in.

The halfling is attractive enough, but for Pavick (who'd never really considered himself a halfling type of guy), she is one of the single most stunningly beautiful creatures he's ever seen.

Following the halfling inside the shop, you're surprised to see Pavick standing on the other side of the counter, wearing a baker's hat and apron. "Good evening to you! Welcome to the new branch of the Roslow bakery. I'm the head cook, what can I get for you this beautiful evening?" he asks with a smile. He doesn't seem to recognize the faded after-image Pavick standing there, but looks to the rest of you with a blank look of no recognition.

The halfling woman steps behind the counter, gives the baking Pavick a kiss on the cheek, and seeing her in profile you now recognize that she is several months pregnant. The baker Pavick gives her a warm and familiar smile back, and on his hand you notice a knotted bracelet, worn by married gnomes.

As you pause to assess the situation, the baker Pavick starts talking as he adjusts a tray of rolls. "You're not from around here, right? It's been a while since we've had many visitors in Fallcrest, not since that nasty business with the Rex's and the poisoned wells." He tsks softly. "Nasty Business indeed. Lost almost a tenth of the town to that one. I hear that the old Lord Rex hired some heroes to try and put a stop to it, but they all died in the catacombs beneath the city."

He waves a hand dismissively. "Sorry, I tend to babble on sometimes when I'm not thinking. So, what can I get you fine folks?" He gives a wide smile.

Pavick (the transparent one), can still feel that slight tugging, pulling him towards his duplicate.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain kneels down by Pavick and smiles warmly at him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"A few months? Heh, more like a few days..." He chuckles slightly, then sighs. "To be honest, even now I still have doubts about myself. I suppose I always will. Everyone does. I guess what it really comes down to is just... Not giving in to those doubts. Giving yourself a chance." He pauses to collect his thoughts.

"You say that you think Sehanine's blessing on you means you've strayed too far from Corellon's path. But think of it this way instead: Not that Corellon found you unworthy, but that he thought there was nothing you needed from him. Not that you've been relegated to Sehanine, but that your ability with illusions and trickery have drawn her interest to one who doesn't even adhere to her ways." He smiles warmly.

"I know you can believe sometimes that people are too far gone to be saved or to change, and I think maybe you're taking a little of that onto yourself. But I know that it wasn't that you've fallen from Corellon's grace. Surely after meeting him you can see why I believe that no one ever truly does." He shakes his head, smiling at Pavick.

"No, my friend. It's not that you've strayed from his path and certainly not that he's given up on you. Your devotion to the magic that Corellon inspired the worlds with is doubtless a constant source of joy to him, and your efforts to save and protect your people an inspiration. It's that you're so firmly on his path that there's nothing anyone can give you to keep you any more firmly on it than you already keep yourself." He gives the gnome a tight, reassuring hug.

"Now come on, we've got a Tiefling to catch up with." He nods to the guardians and dives after Asheroth.

-----

Eltain's eyes widen at the alternate Pavick's words.

"A tenth...? That's awful..." He sighs, shaking his head, remembering back to when they'd been able to stop that particular plot, though it had kept them from being able to save their employer. Still, he had been an honorable man, and Eltain doubted that that Tacitus Rex would have minded much knowing that the delay that cost his life had saved the town from what they had stopped. He shakes off the thoughts of old times and smiles at the baker.

"Perhaps he should have hired people like you, Pavick," he says, looking at both the false and the true Pavick. "I've found that your sort always seem to rise effortlessly to challenges to the things they love."

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick feels a little reassured by Eltain's words. It was hard for him to swallow his doubts, but it was a little easier with Eltain's encouragement. "Thanks. I hope you're right," he says before chasing after the eladrin into the pool.

-------------------------

After arriving in the bakery, Pavick breathes a heavy sigh of relief. He'd been afraid of turning into someone truly dispicable. Like everyone, Pavick had dark spaces in the corners of his mind, places that he tried to avoid, but sometimes found him in moments of weakness. This he could handle.

In fact, this life might not have been so bad. A good woman, a good business, even a child on the way. "Me a father, isn't that a trip!" He nudges Lucan and points with a transparent finger toward the halfling woman. "Hey Lucan, find out her name for me. If I ever decide to settle down, I might try to look her up in the real world," his voice appearing through a ghost-sound-whisper next to Lucan's ear.

This was exactly the life his parents had always wanted for him. The kind of life he'd turned to wizarding to escape. It didn't seem as bad as he'd always thought it would be, now that he was faced with it. Overall, he still had to be happy with the path he'd chosen. There were just too many things that would have to be given up to live this life, his friends, his neighbors, all the gnomes he'd saved, his fame, and who knows what else.

Feeling the tug grow a little, Pavick steps a little closer to his duplicate. He does not want to get close enough to touch him, but he can't resist reaching out and snagging one of the fresh-baked rolls. He waves it under his nose, inhaling deeply in the warm comforting smell.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan's still a little confused about there being two Pavicks, but it must be better than dragons and devils. At the transparent Pavick's request, he nods to the halfling woman. "Hello," he says. "I'm Lucan."

[Mando Knight]

"Eltain, perhaps we shouldn't confuse our friend with what-ifs, maybes, and could-have-beens, and instead work on the task at hand."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

The baker-Pavick looks between Eltain and Aramil bemusedly, though pauses to double take as the stack of rolls grows shorter by one. Turning to Aramil, he waves a hand dismissively. "If I could be confused by questions as easily as that, I'd be a very poor shopkeeper. You know, I almost considered applying to be a wizard's apprentice for a while. Thank goodness I turned that down, I would have most likely ended up with a goblin spear through my gut." He bugs his eyes out in fake drama with a laugh, before glancing at the swords that Aramil and Eltain carry. "You lot look as if you're comfortable with that kind of life, I doubt I ever would be."

----

As baker-Pavick speaks to Aramil and Eltain, Lucan approaches the darkskinned halfling who has moved to stare out the window at the snow. As Lucan speaks, she turns, half startled. "Oh, hello. I'm Avira." She gives a slight curtsy, and raises a hand. "Oh, hold on one moment." She steps over, and adjusts a book underneath a wobbly end table.

"Sorry about that, I keep meaning to fix that table." She pauses to glance into the glass tank on top of the table, filled with rocks, leaves and a rock. "For some reason my husband insists on keeping a pet snake. One of the many quirks that make me love him and drives me up the wall at the same time."

Straightening, she looks back at Lucan. "I'm sorry, sometimes I'm almost as bad as he is. So tell me, what brings strangers such as yourselves to our town on this fine summer evening?"

----

As the translucent Pavick steps closer to the duplicate, that tug grows slightly stronger, and somehow Pavick knows that if he wishes, he can merge with this other Pavick, and live out his life here. However, as Pavick mentally re-affirms his life choice and steps away, in the far corner of the shop he (and all of the party, though apparently not baker-Pavick or Avira), notice a portal open up on the far side of the shop. The portal has a purple hue similar to the pool you dove through to get here.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick feels good in his decision, though at the same time a pang of ... something he didn't know how to describe ... tugged at him. Was it regret? Longing? Envy? Probably just one big jumble of emotion, that was probably what this experience was designed to do, confuse and overwhelm him into giving up the life he had for one that is probably best left unlived.

He took one final walk around the shop, examining every detail. While his mind was made up, he still wasn't eager to leave this all completely behind. As he wandered, he tucked the roll in his bag. It would make a fine souvenir of this life; he'd take a minute later on to cast a simple spell to keep its warm freshness for years to come.

Finally he made his way over to the portal, "Well come on, we should really get going. This life is nice, but its not for me. I couldn't live happily knowing that I'd let all those bad things happen to you and Fallcrest. And without us, who knows what would be happening in this world's feywild. This just isn't for me... right now."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"We're adventurers," Lucan says, just then the portal opens up. "Just passing through, I'm afraid."

[Orsik Vondal]

Not knowing anything pertinent to voice, Ash decides to remain silent. As the portal opens up, Ash remembers the nymphs words: "For some it's simple to pass by, for others there is nothing more terrifying than the version of you that might have been. Some never bring themselves to leave that place, unable to face the consequences of their choices." Ash realizes the portals significance and nods as Lucan makes his suggestion to depart. Knowing his departure would mean nothing, Ash waits for the real Pavick walk through.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

After one final glance over his shoulder, Pavick steps through the portal.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Pavick steps through the portal, the world once again goes white. This time, as you prepare for it, you realize that there are...shades to the whiteness. It's as if you can see yourself traveling down a tree branch, and to your left and right you can see new branches spiral off as choices were made. Some end swiftly, some spiral off to become new trees in and of themselves.

For this particular tree, you follow it down to the very roots, to some of the earliest choices that affected it, before the world slowly begins to reveal itself.

Like before, a chill air greets you as you appear in this reality, and you find yourself walking through a massive palace of icicles. You would guess it to be twilight out, but it's hard to tell as every direction you look you can see light glittering through frozen walls as everburning torches of greens and blues twinkle and reflect of the layer of frost that coats everything.

To your left and right, huge frost giants walk alongside you, eyes straight ahead looking at a massive door of amber that towers nearly 40 feet high. At this point you've seen enough ceremonies to recognize an honor guard when you see one, yet the presence of another pair of frost giants at your back indicate that these guards are not only here to honor you, but also to watch you and keep you on the path.

Unsurprisingly, it is Eltain who's appearance has taken on a transparent hue. Despite never having seen this palace before, Eltain is quick to recognize the magic of the winter fey that went into constructing this elaborate structure.

Ahead of you, the large amber doors swing open, leading into a throne room. Unlike most throne rooms, this is open to the world, and you can now see that you are on the top of a mountain, looking down over what is surely the feywild below you, covered with a peaceful blanket of snow. Sitting on a raised dais in the middle of the room, Eltain waits with a frozen diadem on his head, looking down at you.

As you enter, he gives a polite nod, before speaking in a firm tone. "For someone whose annual tribute is as late as yours is, Printempest, you certainly took your time getting here. I expect my summons to be answered promptly. Punctuality is a virtue." He chuckles, but there is a harshness, and a threat buried in the laugh.

Without waiting for an answer, Eltain on the dais looks over the group that entered. "This is an odd group you've brought with you Printempest. The song-writer of sigil, a demon hunter, one of our wizards from the material Eltain pauses a moment to nod politely to Pavick. "And...a drow? I'm not certain what your strategy is here, Printempest."

As Eltain speaks on the dais, a small side door opens and a tall, thin winter fey enters with a bundle of parchments. Pausing to bow, he quickly walks to the dais and hands Eltain several sheets of parchments. "The tributes due from the Printempests, my Lord." He mutters, before bowing again and stepping away. As he speaks, you recognize the voice as Toveliss'.

[Mando Knight]

"Hm. So are patience, kindness, persistence, and many others. My strategy...? Perhaps you should look towards my goals."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

From the dais, Eltain looks down, frowning. "I sometimes forget that not everyone had the opportunity to grow up in the Winter Courts as I did, so let me explain this to you." Eltain leans forward, and rests his hand on the hilt of a frozen sword at his side. "The King of Frost is not always kind or patient, but he is fair. If you pay the tribute you agreed to in the terms of your surrender, you can go about your lives mostly uninhibited. And I should take this moment to remind you how fortunate you were that I was set up as archduke over this section of the feywild."

He pauses to motion to the mountains and valley behind him, and you suddenly recognize why it had tugged at your memory. The area below is the region of the feywild that once belonged to the Printempests. Under the rule of the spring lords, it had never seen a blanket of snow until now. Eltain takes a moment to stare at the landscape. "You may not be used to it, but you cannot deny its beauty and peace. Tell me Aramil, do you think you would have received the same treatment had your lands been given to the Bramble Queen as she requested? As long as you continue to meet your end of the treaty, I'll be able to keep you and your family in the good graces of the King of Frost, and you'll have nothing to fear." He places a hand on Aramil's shoulder it what Aramil assumes is supposed to be a comforting gesture. "The snows are better than seeing everything choked by thistle and thorn." He gives an encouraging smile, before looking at the rest of the group.

"Grandmaster...Roslow, isn't it? The mages of the Separch's tower are always welcome, but I am curious as to what brings you here, and in this company. The alliance stands strong, does it not?"

The diademed Eltain turns and extends a hand to Lucan. "And Lucan Thoene! It has been well over a year since I've had the pleasure of your company. What brings you from Sigil into the Empire of Winter?"

Eltain says nothing to Asheroth or Zyrr, but eyes both of them curiously.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Slick pokes his head from Pavick's sleeve. The tiny serpent lets out a loud hiss of displeasure as he sees the false-Eltain. Pavick reaches over to his sleeve, rubbing the back of Slick's head in a calming gesture before tucking him back up his sleeve.

"Yes. I am Grandmaster Roslow. I have very important business that requires me to pass through here, and with such an important moment at hand, I guess I was drawn to these proceedings. I am little but an observer here."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain hangs back from the others, quietly observing, a gentle sadness written on his features. Were his people truly that far beyond redemption that even he had become a monster raised by his own family? Was there really no hope for his mother, then, if this was what a life lived with her had lead to?

Although for that matter he couldn't figure out what possible chain of circumstances could have lead to him acquiring any sort of power in the first place. He wasn't even a proper fey, still. He walks over to the alternate Toveliss and observes him sadly. Was he still the kind, unaffected warrior Eltain knew here? Or had that spark been extinguished here as well?

He knows none of this is real; doubts even that it would have happened. It was an illusion, after all, designed to challenge him. But gods, did even illusions have to paint the entirety of the winter fey as complete monsters? They might as well be drow, the way the worlds saw them. He had fought so desperately the last year to counter that thinking, to show that there were winter fey who hated the plots and the war, but...

Well, he hadn't gotten anywhere there, either, had he? The majority of the Feywild still saw the Winter Fey as monsters, and despite all their efforts the Snowflower Order still had no allies, no recognition or help among the rest of the Feywild. Even his own friends hadn't checked on him in that year.

And really, could he blame them? Everyone knew the Winter Fey were monsters who couldn't be trusted. And even if he was half human, he was still a Winter Fey to most people. A traitor. A monster. Something to be hated and despised. He tries to stay strong, tries to remind himself that this wasn't real, never could be real, but it isn't even seeing himself as a cruel tyrant that breaks him, just the reminder of his own failures and the continued hatred of his people.

He slides numbly to the floor, silent tears freezing on the floor. It was hopeless. Even his own friends didn't think the winter fey could be redeemed, after all. And this didn't help. He clutches a hand to the tattoo on his face, reminding himself that it didn't matter. This wasn't who he was. Even if the world didn't trust him, even if his own friends didn't trust him after this, Corellon did. His god believed in him. Pavick believed in him too, at the very least. And so did Toveliss. The real one. The one who also proved that there was more in their shared blood than hate and cruelty. The summer and green and spring fey who had chosen to join him in fighting for the soul of the winter lands did too.

No, he could believe in himself. He did believe in himself. And if his failures were truly that great, what was he still fighting for? No. Corellon had said he could think of none better than him to lead the Winter Court after the Prince of Frost had been thwarted. And for the first time, Eltain could see himself as a leader too. Not the tyrant of this illusion, but the one who fought to bring beauty and peace to the worlds. The one whose life had apparently already prevented this, and would continue to keep it from happening. Someday, he supposed, his friends would come to visit him and find him sitting on a throne, but it would be merely a happy reunion, and they would talk and laugh and remember old times, and he would show them the Winter Lands as they should be, a place of joy and peace and sipping hot tea around a roaring fire after a day spent making snow sculptures and sledding.

He smiles and pulls himself together.

"Just once I wish the multiverse wasn't determined to throw all its resources at reminding me how horrible the Winter Fey are and that we're all villains. Especially when it's not even remotely true." His tears stop and a flash of anger moves through him, quickly replaced by determination.

"Hilarious, Mab. Well I refuse to believe it. This isn't me. This never could be me. You want to break me with this? You'll have to try a lot better than that. I know who I am, and it's not this."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Eltain speaks out against Mab, for a brief moment his vision is filled with a pair of glowing violent eyes that stare down at him, sparking with anger. But just as suddenly as they appear, they vanish, and the alternate reality is visible again.

Like Pavick, once Eltain rejects this tyrannical version of himself where he grew up in the Winter Court he was born into, a swirling purple portal opens up just behind the dais.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Lucan looks at the portal and smiles. That was easy. Eltain didn't even need to do anything besides mutter to himself. He grins at the Eltain on the throne. "You want to know why I'm here? Let's just say that I'm an old friend of Aramil's. I'm visiting, but not for long."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain raises an eyebrow at the vision.

"No personal disrespect, just not something that makes me doubt myself anymore."

"Let's go, guys. As interesting as this is, we have far more pressing matters. We can discuss this later." He walks towards the false Eltain and stands before him, shaking his head.

"Well. Maybe it's not a good thing to break me with, but oddly enough, Queen Mab's illusion here gives me hope, even if there's pain behind it. Thank you for that, dear lady." He smiles towards where he saw the vision of her angry eyes.

"People can change, be different. I don't believe I'd ever come to this, but certainly I might have been different. The rest of my people can too. Even my mother. Even the Prince of Frost. Someone just needs to show them the way." He reaches out and traces an eight-pointed star on the cheek of the false Eltain with a stick of chalk pulled from a bag at his waist.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil paces casually towards the portal. "Out of respect for the man you could have been, here is my tribute: a kingless country is a country still; but a king without subjects rules naught but hills. Think on that when you look upon what you have done to my family's estate while waiting for the last of our coin."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As you stride into the portal, the diademed Eltain stands tall and stares after you. "Printempest, you know the terms! You know what will happen if you don't pay! Don't let your foolish cause-"

The voice cuts off as the real Eltain steps through the portal, and the world again goes white.

As everything seems to stretch, you once again find yourself traveling down the tree branches. This time, you do not seem to travel very far back.

Once the light dims, you again find yourself accompanied as you walk down a hallway. Rather than the frost giant guards and icy palace from before, now you find yourself led by an older half-orc in unremarkable brown robes through a dimly lit corridor made of rough stone. On either side of the hallway are thick wooden doors are spaced every 10 feet or so, and from behind the doors you hear a mixture of screaming, sobbing, muttering, and occasionally a dull thumping sound as if someone were throwing herself against the doors or walls. In most of the doors, there's a narrow viewing slot, and from a few you can see wild eyes staring out, while from others you see dirty fingers reaching through beckoning to you or trying to claw at you.

It takes a moment to notice that the half-orc is speaking, his tone is so monotone and lifeless it was barely perceivable amongst the wordless shouts and sobs that seem to permeate this place.

"-little to no improvement since you first brought him, but I have noticed that your visits tend to bring him to moments of clarity. Though sometimes, once that clarity fades the outbursts are even more dramatic. Three of our other guests were severely injured during his last outburst, so we've had to move him to an isolated wing. One of them was found burnt to a crisp."

Even as the half-orc speaks of outbursts and creatures being burned alive, his tone still never rises above that dull monotone. As he turns a corner, he pulls out a black key engraved with the logo of the Bleak Cabal, and you quickly realize that you are deep inside the Gatehouse, the insane asylum of Sigil. Taking a look around, you realize that Lucan has taken on the transparent visage that affected first Pavick then Eltain.

As the key turns in the lock, there's another long hallway, completely empty except for one thick adamantine door on the far end. From beyond the adamantine door there is a soul-piercing wail, followed by a roaring so loud that it seems to shake the entire building. The far end of the hallway is scortched and burned, the very stone melted in some places.

The half-orc gives you a blank look, before turning. "I'll be just outside if you need me." He drones, before closing the door where he entered with a dull click.

As the half-orc leaves, a small plate on the front of the adamantine door slides open, and a pair of eyes that seem to flicker and burn stare out at you. "Pavick, Eltain is that you? Ah, and Aramil and Zyrr and Asheroth! You've all come for me! Are you finally going to break me out of here?" It's Lucan's voice coming from the other side of the door, but there's an intensity to it you've never heard before.

"Thank goodness, I was starting to worry tha-...yes comrade, yes, I'm going to ask that. Well, if you'll just give me a moment, I'll try and find out if-...ok, wait, I can't listen to you both at once, so just hold on one moment dear until I'm done speaking with comrade-" Lucan's voice buzzes off in conversation, yet in the silences none you can hear anything coming from the cell.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick brow creases with concern. He'd always known Lucan could be a little off from center at times, but insane enough to be locked away? Who wasn't a little nutty at times? Lucan was no more so than anyone else... well at least not much more than anyone else.

"Yes, Lucan it's us, friend. It has been too long; tell me how you've been. And what is it you want to ask? You know anything it is within my power to do I will. It's not just anyone who would go to the ends of the astral sea to help you rescue your father. Er... we did do that, didn't we?"

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

"This is bad, comrade Lucan," Yuri says. "This could still happen."

"I hate to admit it, but Yuri's right," Lena says, fluttering around Lucan's head. "You have been acting a bit . . . off, lately."

"Is that . . . is that what I sound like when I talk to you?" Lucan asks Lena and Yuri.

"Sort of. But we're really here," Lena says.

"But you're not there with him, are you?" Lucan says. "You're not transparent, so there aren't two of you two. I think. So he just thinks you're there. And if he's imagining you, how do I know that I'm not imagining you?" He turns to Pavick. "You can see them, right?" He gestures to Lena and Yuri. "But, how do I know that you're real?"

[Mando Knight]

Aramil reaches for real-Lucan's shoulder, and points at the melted stone, with a look that says "I'm concerned. You should probably explain this."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Lucan gives a slightly too-loud laugh. "How have I been? You lock me up in this place, and have the nerve TO ASK ME HOW I'VE BEEN?!??" His voice rises sharply at the end, back to almost a roar, and you see a dim glow coming from within the room, as if someone had lit a torch. A moment later, the glow vanishes, and you can again see Lucan's eyes. "I...I'm sorry Pavick, I didn't mean to shout. I haven't been sleeping well lately. The dreams are getting worse, and I can't get comfortable at night."

Lucan's voice suddenly drops to a whisper. "Wait...do you have any gold with you? Or gems? I would sleep so much better if I could just get some gold on my mattress." His eyes dart to the ruby sheath at Aramil's side, and he licks his lips hungrily.

As the imprisoned Lucan focuses on Pavick and Aramil, the transparent Lucan begins feeling that same small tug, as if there was a hook on the inside of his stomach, pulling him towards the door. As real-Lucan pauses to question Pavick and Lena about whether or not they're real, That small tug becomes a jerk that sends transparent Lucan stumbling a few feet down the hall towards the door. You're able to get your feet under you quickly, but there's now a strong pull, trying to drag you towards the door where the crazed Lucan sits locked away.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick looks up at the crazed Lucan. "Are you sure that encouraging these dragon ideas is really the best thing you can do? You know your father. You know your mother. I never met your mother, but you've always spoken so highly of her. And your father, he's an okay chap in his own way, but neither of them is a dragon. So how would you be? Its probably best if avoid adding more fuel to this."

Pavick turns to the transparent Lucan and says in a whisper. "Come now, of course I'm real. And so are your Yuri and Lena. I'm an illusionist. Master of the real and imagined. Who would know better than me what is and isn't real. Even the other you admits I'm real. Who could you trust more than yourself?"

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"Right. Yes. You're right," Lucan says as his feet bring him closer and closer to his alternate, responding to the magnetic pull almost of their own accord. "I'm real. You're real. Yuri and Lena are real." He straightens and looks himself in his eyes. "But you're wrong too, Pavick. The dragon is real. I hear it." He taps himself on his temple. "Here."

"Yesss . . ." the voice in his head hisses.

He searches his double's wild eyes. "What do you hear, I wonder?" he says, but this time he's speaking Draconic, though he doesn't seem to realize it. Lucan reaches out, his hand drawn by that invisible force, and touches his two fingers to the side of his double's head.

[Mando Knight]

"Lucan... I need to know that you can control this. Or at least, that you want to learn to control it. I can't let it control you."

[Orsik Vondal]

Pavick and now Lucan had been visibly drawn--violently, in Lucan's case--toward their alternates. He wondered what it felt like and how hard the pull would be when it was his turn. "Sometimes the only way to combat the beast within is to know the beast. I should know this better than anyone. Though we must protect our friend, this knowledge can help Lucan avert this fate." Ash spreads his arms to bar those behind him from stopping Lucan. "Stand back, and be ready to bring him back to the truth. He will need us now more than ever." He calls out to both Lucans, "Do you hear me, Lucan? You must not let the beast control you! Remember the Avatar of Melora's words! We are here for you; to help you through this! Do not allow this life to imprison you! Control the beast and free yourself!"

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan reaches out and makes contact with this alternate version of himself, his fingers suddenly become solid, and a torrent of pain flows through both the real Lucan and the imprisoned Lucan.

Attack vs. Lucan's Will [roll0]

For a brief, painful moment, Lucan can feel himself getting sucked into his counterpart in this reality, and can feel the chaos of this other Lucan's mind begin flowing into his own. Lucan's reality begins to cloud, and it feels as if unknown rivers that once flowed so smoothly begin flooding over their banks and mixing with one another.

Both Lucan's open their mouths, and a deep rumble issues forth, that same voice that had been in the back of Lucan's thoughts as of late. "Yesss...the time has come..."

Pulling his hand back is one of the hardest things Lucan has ever done, as if he were breaking apart two pieces of steel that had been welded together by a master blacksmith.

Both Lucan's fall back with a gasp, breathing heavily. In the prison, the other Lucan also sucks in air, but immediately jumps on his feet and reaches his hand as far as he can through the thin slot in the door, screaming. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?" he roars in a deep, ancient voice. A moment later he calms down, slightly, and his eyes dart back and forth staring at the five of you that he can see.

"Is this your doing, Eltain? You've always been jealous, admit it! Now you've found some new way to torture me! Or you..." he gaze narrows on Asheroth. "Everything was fine until you showed up! What are you even doing here? You don't know me! Everything was fine until you showed up, and just decided you were one of us! You weren't there, you didn't go into the jungle with us, or fight the beholder. You don't even know the Shepherd or his dog!" This last one strikes you all as odd, because you definitely don't remember the Shepherd ever having a dog. Actually, even your memories of Shep seem to be a bit...fuzzy.

There's little time to think on it, as the alternate Lucan is again starting to fly into a rage, and you've noticed that the air seems to be growing significantly warmer in this hallway.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth makes a mental note that touching his alternate self would probably be a bad thing. He steps forward and speaks toward the "dragon" Lucan, but addressing the real Lucan, "You are correct, I was not there from the beginning, but I do know you. You and I are similar. We both struggle with a force inside that will consume us if we are not vigilant. This raging, greedy and ferocious thing is not you! Just as the devil inside me is not me. Look at me. I somehow grew wings after I fell from Senaliesse. I take that as a sign that our intrinsic natures can change, and that we can alter the course of our destinies if we so wish."

He glances at ghost Lucan and gives a faint smile.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain remains silent at the accusations, his own worries consuming him. Jealous? He had been a little, at one point, but mostly now he didn't care. He had Toveliss, and his friends, and that was his family, such as it was, but... He frowns. Both Pavick and Lucan seemed to have felt some sort of pull towards their alternates, one he hadn't experienced. Even going right up to his and sketching Corellon's symbol on his face had produced no reaction in either himself or the illusion. Was it because he was so different from that version as to be completely someone else? Or was it because he was so much the same that he was already... He tries to shake off the doubts, but they remain, eating at him.

"Lucan. You... Need to come to terms with this, and rather quickly."

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"What am I doing to you?" Lucan demands as he staggers back. "You're the one who's invading my life, trying to take what isn't yours. Well you can't have it! I'm me, and you're nothing but a memory." He glares at the raging alternate Lucan. "Maybe you're a part of me. Maybe I was a dragon in a past life. Maybe I can no more forget or ignore you than I can forget the Feywild songs that had power for me growing up. You are still no more than a piece of me, not the whole. Even if yours is the greatest song that I will ever sing, it is still the bard who sings the song, not the other way around."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Lucan rejects this version of himself, everything fades for a brief moment as he too is briefly aware of a pair of eyes that are staring down at him, angry and malevolent. For a fraction of a second, he is almost aware of a face that those eyes belong too. A woman's face, but that's all he can make out.

As his vision returns to him, the familiar purple portal opens up at the end of the hall where the party entered.

From behind the doorway, the eyes narrow at Eltain, unaware of whom the Paladin was speaking to. "'Come to terms with it'? That's your advice? I will show you how I've 'come to terms with it', my little elf-kin..." Around you, the air begins to stir, as if the Lucan behind the door were taking a deep breath.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth runs to Eltain and envelopes him with his wings turning his back to the "dragon" Lucan. Ash lunges for the portal hoping the fire breath misses and he makes it through with Eltain in tow.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf Bard

"Time to go!" Lucan shouts, running at full tilt toward the portal. Yuri's a step ahead of him, since when all is said and done, unicorns are fast.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil, having noticed a trend in the timings, instead steps up to the cell door, and blocks the window with his blade.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick is momentarily pleased that Lucan finally seemed to be putting his alternative to rest behind him, then suddenly panicked when he realizes what's coming. As the rest of the party rushes past him toward the portal, Pavick squeezes his eyes closed tightly and wills himself closer to Yuri. When he re-opens them he is on the unicorn's back. He throws his arms around the unicorn's neck, holding on for dear life. "Sorry friend, this may not be the most dignified for either of us, but you run much faster than my stubby little gnomish legs will carry me. I really don't want to end up as a toasted wizard. I'll get off as soon as I can!"

[Hzurr]

DM Post



As you race towards the portal, the blast of flame you were expecting comes back with a roar. The heat envelops Aramil's blade, and even as the world goes white, the magical blade of Mithrendain begins to twist and pop under the fires.

In the white-space between worlds, everyone becomes aware of those eyes watching, the same ones that had briefly appeared to Lucan and Eltain. As your bodies are stretched out, the eyes narrow, and you can feel a malevolent intent behind them.

Appearing back in a new dream world, it take you a moment to adjust to the dim light around you, but you are immediately caught off guard by the searing heat and overwhelming noise. The stench of sulfur and the metallic tang of blood fills your nostrils, but eventually your vision adjusts to make out the scene below you.

You're reminded of the battle arena in the Astral Sea, for there is little doubt that the space below you was its inspiration. A vast arena of sand and blood floats in the middle of a burning lake of pitch, charred corpses littering the arena. High above the arena, large viewing boxes filled to the brim with fiends from across the nine hells look down, whooping and holloring, occasionally flinging down weapons or fireballs on the combatants below. Scattered throughout the occupants you can see the various banners of Hell's legions and generals. The Blighted Inquisitors, the Crucifiers, the Undying Swarm, Mammon's Bastards... every fiendish armies that has terrorized the planes above and below are represented here, all watching the battle below.

From your viewing box, you have a clear view into the arena. Illuminated by trios of burning skulls chained to iron spikes in the ground, you can see that there are only two creatures still fighting below. It's difficult to make out the two creatures. One seems to be cloaked in flames, the other is moving so quickly its form is almost a blur. The battle appears to have been going on a some point, and even from here you can tell that both creatures are throwing everything they've got at the other. A blade of hellfire comes crashing down, only to be stopped by a vine that springs up from the ground. A whirling staff darts forward, only to be blocked by a clawed hand. The dance continues back and forth, with neither creature gaining the advantage, and the cheering from the devils above grows ever louder. With one last push, both creatures launch themselves at one another, and with a thundering explosion, the blade of hellfire cuts through the staff and strikes at the blurring creature, who lets out a cry of anguish.

The roar of the crowd becomes deafening, but the dust and fire down below have finally cleared enough to give you a good view. Standing tall, but breathing heavily with the blade of fire in hand is Asheroth, fully given over to his fiendish form that had previously only started revealing itself. At his feet, you can see that it was not a staff that was broken, but a long Shepherd's Crook, and the creature struck down is none other than Shep himself.

As the crowd cheers, the Asheroth in the arena, steps forward, grabs the fallen Shepherd by the beard, and brings his blade down to Shep's throat. Before plunging it in, he looks up in askance at a barge shrouded in darkness that you had not noticed before.

The entire arena goes silent, and turns to look at the darkened barge. There is a creature sitting there, although you cannot see it's face. At the edge of the darkness, you can see a red hand with black fingernails, it's grip tightening around a long rod with a ruby tip.

Every fiend's eyes watch the darkened barge, waiting for the execution command.

[Orsik Vondal]

The fighting style the flaming sword, everything, was familiar. Ash looks down at his own hands, and sure enough, they were transparent. "I guess this one is mine."

He returns his gaze to the arena floor where "he" was battling The Shepherd. That seemed slightly odd. He and The Shepherd had always gotten along pretty well with each other. What choice had led to this outcome? Ash wondered. He knew, of course, that had he not controlled his fiendish aspects in Baalzebul's gladiator pit or the drow spider construct, the Asheroth down in the arena would be a reality.

But why was he fighting The Shepherd? He knew that something was different about Shep. Baalzebul had spoken to him in a strange way after his appearance in the arena. Melora's Avatar had asked him to stay behind in Arvandor to tell him some "secret things". And the dragon Lucan had mentioned something about The Shepherd and his dog. That last one was odd, because as much as Shep had talked about his previous life, he had never mentioned a dog. Had he?

When "he" breaks through Shep's defenses, and looks up to the darkened barge, Ash's eyes grow large with fear as he recognizes the hand that protrudes from the darkness. "Asmodeus!" His eyes track back to the arena floor, as he realizes what is most likely about to happen. "No. Shep!"

Then his mind snaps back to those malevolent eyes he saw as he was transported to this "reality". "Mab. Oh, Mab. I see what you're trying to do. But you can't fool me. These are only nightmares sent to torment us. I never put much stock in 'what ifs?' 'What if I had never made that deal? What if I had given myself over to the devil within? What if I had let go of that eladrin to save myself? What if I kill The Shepherd now?' Like the rest, this so-called reality is a mere shadow of what might have been. It has no more bearing on my life than does a feather on the back of a tarrasque. Whatever else you show me will only confirm my life path and my resolve to break away from this life."

Ash crosses his arms and awaits the sign for "him" to execute The Shepherd. But as he looks on, his right arm tenses and pulls away from his torso. His hand clamps around something invisible as if he were holding a rod...or sword hilt. He tries to move it but cannot. Ash looks from his arm to the Ash in the arena, who's arm was in the exact same position. The only difference was a defenseless Shep on the deadly end of "his" blazing sword.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil felt his sword begin to melt in the heat of dragon-Lucan's fire... but besides trying to buy time for the real Lucan to reach the portal before he or the others got hurt, it was also to try to satisfy his own curiosity as to the nature of the test... he looks at his blade.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick slides off Yuri's back. "Thanks for the lift," he says.

After briefly surveying the surroundings, Pavick becomes interested in the fight going on below. He stares down at the arena in shock, watching as Ash defeats the Shepherd. He sinks down to the floor of the box, holding his knees tightly to his chest. "This is not real. This is not real," he mutters quietly to himself.

Had the real Shepherd been down there, he would not have been able to stop himself from throwing himself into the battle to save him, even if that brought the whole of the fiendish legions down on him. It took a lot to keep himself from helping his friend even knowing that this was only an alternative timeline. All he could do was hope that this particular nightmare would end quickly.