One Gish, Two Gish, Red Gish, Blue Gish [IC]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"...but I am glad to report that our search has finally borne fruit!" a man states proudly to a roomful of others, who murmur in anticipation.

The speaker, a middle-aged male human by the name of Josiah d'Santo, is wearing a cloak over his day clothes and a weapon at his belt like most of those present. He is a member of your cell of the organization formally named the Alliance Against the Oppression of Unsanctioned Magic-Users, and informally known as "the Resistance" because "the AAOUMU" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. It is early evening, and you are in the midst of a meeting to discuss your recent activities with your colleagues.

This cell, though small, is notable among Resistance cells for never having lost a member to the witch-hunting Inquisition, for you only accept as permanent members those who are trained in both the mystic and martial arts and so are more able to defend yourselves than some of the more scholarly cells. You've had a very high success rate at seeking out and training fledgling arcanists (and psionicists, soulbinders, incanters, warlocks, and practitioners of other Arts, though as far as the general public is concerned you're all "mages" at best or "witches" at worst), recovering ancient magical knowledge and artifacts, striking back at Inquisition mage-hunting teams, and more...up until recently, at least.

Either the Inquisition has been quite thorough in their searches lately or there's been a drop in the number of talents emerging in the populations of Iatirroch and Enkavmolis, the two nearest city-states to the hidden and fortified retreat where you are currently located and from which you base your activities. In either case, you haven't had much luck finding new students of late, until today, when one of your number has returned with good news. "I've found a group of them at the Academy," Josiah continues, referring to the Iatirroch Academy of Higher Learning where priests of Oghma, Thoth, and other deities of knowledge educate the city-state's youth. "There are almost a dozen students practicing the Art in secret after hours, and they're actually doing a fair job for having no real teachers. Unfortunately, my contact said there's been some strange stirrings around the Academy lately and she believes that the Inquisition might be on to them. Maybe a traitor, maybe some careless spell-work, who knows.

"My point is, I think we should help these kids. Sure, it's a risk bringing so many unknowns here, or helping that many at once at all, but I think it's a risk worth taking." He gestures to three of your comrades, all in their late teens or early twenties but looking just as serious and dedicated as the rest of you. "Moriah, Tarnoc, and Galad are about their age and are plenty capable and trustworthy, so I think those kids would be a valuable addition to our group." Another of your number shakes his head. "No. Too dangerous. If there is a chance of a spy among them, we cannot risk it. We can help instruct them, perhaps, but not tell them about us."

"You're always too cautious, Sergei," Josiah retorts. "These are the first potential apprentices we've found in two months, we can't just pass this opportunity by." He turns to you and spreads his hands, inviting comments. "Well, everybody? What do you think?"

Let's dive right into things, shall we? The OOC thread is here.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

As always, Aat was tending to his bow seeming absent-minded, but he has a keen ear and a swift mind. "Into the lion's den, huh? Sounds dangerous. I like it." He grins, looks up and continues. "Two things. If there is a traitor, he needs to be identified and taken care of. We can not afford not to. Also, we might get in, but how do we get the students out? Can anyone swiftly transport a dozen students and their rescuers?" He looks around at his comrades as he straps his bow to his back, indicating he is both ready and willing to do this.

[Getsugaru]

Am I even in the story yet? :smallconfused:
Knowledge: Plot? [1d20+7][roll0]

[herrhauptmann]

Armand.
"The use of Arcane Sight will tell us if the entire group has access to the arcane. If the entire group is able to cast a spell, then I think we have little to worry about regarding a possible spy in their midst."

He clears his throat before continuing. "What would a spy say to the inquisition: 'I found a group of mages at school who let me join, here's where to find them, and these older witches said they'd help us learn more' " he laughs. "The inquisition would thank him for the information, kill him, then act on the information. The danger isn't a spy, but carelessness on their part."

"Now I'm not saying we leave the kids to their fate, they will need our help soon, if they don't already. But the fact that we've heard of them from rumors means the inquisitors probably have as well. Further, it means the kids are being less than discrete in their play."

"So if you want my vote, I say we help them without revealing the existence of the cell, our safehouses, or any more members than needed. The presence of a group of more powerful practitioners will say enough by itself. If we decide to bring them back, we should ensure none can cast teleportation magics, then blindfold and teleport them ourselves. However, if they're unable to be discrete, or playing at demon-summoning; well, you know my views on such irresponsible use of power."

[Getsugaru]

[For simplicity's sake, I'm simply going to refer to myself as "Gohla" when doing the who's talking thing.]

Gohla:

Placing his fork on the table, the young man wipes his face with a napkin, making sure no food is left on his mouth before speaking. "How often do these kids get to relax?" he asked, a smile on his lips. "As you're all well aware, my circus will be in town starting tomorrow. Since the students are scholars, they probably don't get out that much." Raising his hand to his chin, Aladterf ran his fingers across his chin. "I might be able to convince Fi'la to offer to put on a performance at the school for a discounted price. Just know that if we do this, you'll have to meet the students while they are one route either to or from the performance. I can't have there be any connection between the circus and the resistance; I refuse to put them at such a risk."
Knowledge: Local [1d20+9]: [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe had been moving around a lot. The news has made her rather excited. "Master could teleport the students out." Her projected thoughts are like dew on shoes on a Sunday morning...

Diael does not respond immediately. He has placed his brandy down, and his hands are touching ominously in front of his face.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods at Armands comments. "Where do we take them, then? We can't lift them out and leave them somewhere on their own? Though, I agree we need to be careful. That we think it is a good idea to free them does not necessarily mean they agree. They might have other ambitions. A hmmm, buffer location to keep them so we can judge them would be good."

He then turns to Diael: "Fine, that could work."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"I haven't said anything yet. I agree with a buffer location. I refuse to teleport them directly here, anyway. Not until we know more about them."

[herrhauptmann]

"How many brats are there?" He asks Josiah. "With any reasonable number, Diael and I could teleport them to a location in the wilderness. Nowhere too dangerous, but different enough from their surroundings we can get a good look at their character and personality."

"Also, depending on the timeframe, I can probably find a defiled circle or similar where the demonbinders of old Nar practiced their rites. Some of those sites had no real significance, but others were located at places where reality was a little thinner. We'll take them to the former, but hint that it's the latter." He gives a mirthless smile.
"Any who attempt demon summoning would be culled from the group now, those who allow it kept under suspicion. And those who oppose it, well they'll remain under watch, but they'll probably be the more trustworthy members of the group."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe lets out some feelings of exasperation.

Diael takes another swig of his brandy. He thinks for a second before answering. "Are you sure? A demon binder would be incredibly valuable against our enemies. We could use all of the help we can get. It's sympathizers we have to worry about, not people of our kind."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Tarnoc slams a fist on the table before Josiah can answer Armand. "Those 'brats' you keep referring to are my age and Galad's, you know," he says flatly, glaring at Armand. "And I don't like how you're talking about just 'porting them out into the middle of nowhere with blindfolds on, like we're Inquisitors interrogating captured mages. For Boccob's sake, people, Diael's right, treating these people like they're automatically a bunch of untrustworthy spies isn't going to convince them that we're on their side!"

"Indeed. Particularly if any of them are conjurers," Josiah adds, also giving Armand an unpleasant look. "Gods forbid one of them summons up an imp and gets an earful of one of your misguided lectures." Josiah has had several heated discussions with Armand in the past regarding Armand's disapproval of Josiah's necromancy, and the two don't see eye to eye on the issue at all. "To answer your question, there are ten of them. One of them has reached the second circle, and I assume he's the ringleader; most of the rest can just about manage light cantrips on a good day, but they're coming along. There won't be any need for any 'culling' or any prejudiced nonsense like that."

"Gentlemen, please," Moriah says with a sigh of frustration. The ornate rapiers at her hip clink against her chair as she stands, plants both hands on the table, and looks Armand and Josiah in the eye. "Your bickering won't help, I don't think talking about teleporting these kids around before we even know if they'll accept our help is a good idea, and anyway we can't put things to a vote until Kaulesh, Jheska, and Galad get here so there's no need to decide things right this instant."

She flashes Aladterf a smile and continues, "I like your idea, about scouting them out under the cover of the circus. I think that's a good idea in general, actually--if we're worried about traitors and finding out what the Inquisition knows, we should be finding out more information before we even start talking about safe houses and blindfolds. Diael, Aat, you two are relatively good at getting in and out of places fast and sneakily, right? You could probably get in there and find some more information, and of course Aladterf you'd have your cover if we use your plan. The rest of us must have enough divinations between us for more information-gathering."

"I'm also good at sneaking," says Tarnoc, sounding annoyed at being dismissed again, "but that would be too slow. Like Armand says, they probably don't have a spy if they're all arcanists, but a gaggle of untrained mages is bound to attract Inquisition attention, and if we don't act soon it may be too late."

[Failed Phantasm]

Varthok had been listening silently, but attentively, for the majority of the meeting, coming very close to speaking up on several occasions but deciding otherwise because someone else always replied before he could properly phrase his own comments. 'They remind me of my tribe,' he thought wistfully, 'always at each others' throats over the smallest of arguments, fangs bared and hackles raised. Only there's a lot less brawling.' For his part, he didn't mind. Varthok had a basket full of freshly-picked medicinal (and cooking) herbs that he had been sorting and bundling before the meeting began, so he had that to occupy his hands and his time while the others spoke.

Privately, he agreed with Josiah, at least in principle: the idea of leaving children and teenagers for the Inquisition to slaughter was unthinkable, and if they had some way to offer them safe harbor, whether here or elsewhere, they should do so without hesitation. 'On the other hand, neither can we discount the Inquisition's capacity for treachery. While there may be no Inquisition spies amongst the students themselves, that is not the only means by which they might be betrayed,' he mused, intending to bring his suspicions to Josiah and, more promisingly, Moriah once their meeting had adjourned.

He shared a glance with her after she had finished addressing Aladterf. 'We can't keep going like this,' was his unspoken message to her, but he knew there was only so much she could do on her own to ease tensions and smooth over differences of opinion. A two-part plan was a good start, and having the circus performers assist them in scouting the city more thoroughly was a sound idea: Varthok certainly couldn't fly overhead unless the sky was heavily overcast, and even then, only at night. There were certain things he'd need Aladterf to do or collect for him to assist in the information gathering. He began to make a mental list of things to ask for: 'We'll need something belonging to one of the students if we want to scry them, such as a piece of clothing, but preferably something like a strand of hair, and also...'

"Josiah," he slowly began to ask, "are there any trees growing in or near the Academy?" If they were lucky, they'd be the same kind as the trees that were growing nearby, just outside their hideout. A direct way to get there and back would be invaluable in helping the young mages in escaping from the city. 'Maybe I should find something to sketch on, so I can show Aladterf the shape of the leaves. He could identify what's growing inside the city for me.' The city guard would never let a gnoll through the gates, but there was always more than one way to get into a settlement.

[herrhauptmann]

"Yes, Tarnoc you were brats," he replies heatedly. "Until you grew up and proved yourselves, you were brats. It has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with attitude, responsibility, and accountability. If they're like the rest of my students at that school, then they are brats. Maybe the mathematics or comparative religion classes work harder, but mine don't. "



"Misguided lectures?" Armands voice rises in indignation. "If you don't want to listen to me, ask Sergei. Ask him about the old kingdom of Nar, how many countries allied to destroy the demon-binders. Or what actions they took to ensure the destruction of their enemies. I'd tell you to go look for yourself, but the Phage is still strong enough to kill an ogre in minutes."
"And even if the kids, or anyone, never makes the mistakes of Nar, tell me, do you want the public to associate with us the summoning of demons? We'll crush the Inquisition, just to have everyone live in fear of a demon-summoning Magocracy. We'll be as bad as the Inquisition, worse even."



"It's good to plan it out now Moriah." With effort, Armand forces calm into his voice. "Here's a hypothetical for you. We meet them at the circus, tell them to pack their bags and come with us. But the inquisition has been watching several of them, and seeing them packing their bags, makes a grab. Or worse, our new recruit is indiscreet and blabs that he's meeting wizards. Either way, we find ourselves fighting a pitched battle in the city, and we teleport out. But teleport to where? Here? With the Inquisition scrying on us or the recruits, perhaps using spilled blood or the kids possessions to build a stronger connection. If so, better they scry a glade in the woods, than our stronghold. No. We might as well slit our own throats. It'll be cleaner than burning."

He sighs. "As far as scouting them out, how long is the circus in town Aladterf? I don't teach my next lecture for a few days, so it might arouse suspicion if I arrive sooner without an alibi. But if we can wait until then, I can do a preliminary check. That at least, won't require a vote."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"The more you speak of demons, the more effective they sound. Are you sure it's not something we should be trying?The Demonbinders are the ideal weapon for this fight." He pours himself some more brandy, and stares absentmindedly into the glass before downing it. "I do not care for what the plebeians think. I only seek to rid us of our oppressors."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand.

"Let's try it from a different way then Diael. Have you ever seen a city that's ruled by gangs, when those gangs go to war? The gangs don't lose many members and so never drop in power, but the people living in the city suffer. Except in this case, the city is the entire world. While the gangs can't be killed or arrested, at best they're banished for a time. That's why we shouldn't be summoning up demons. The angels are almost as bad. If an angel can stop a demon and save forty innocent souls, they won't mind if that means four hundred others lose their lives in the ensuing fight. After all, those souls will be going to their deserved destination."

He shakes his head. "Getting rid of the Inquisition won't matter if we become as bad as they are. We'll just set the stage for the clerics to start their own resistance, or worse, start the events for another cataclysm."

[Getsugaru]

"Knowing Fi, she'll want to stick around for maybe three days. That gives everyone enough time to pick up supplies, draw in a big crowd, and take a break from traveling." Although, he thought to himself, if we have a big enough success over the first two days, she might want to stick around for more...
Reaching into his pack, Ghola pulled out a small jar containing a blue powder. Sprinkling some over his food, Ghola took another bite.
"Either way," he continued, "if we're going to try and lure them to the circus, then I better go talk to Fi. She'll be more inclined to accept if I make the suggestion tonight, rather than springing it on her tomorrow when we arrive in town."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael puts down his glass on the wooden side table next to the leather arm chair he sits in. "You seek to lead them? The incurring and inevitable rebellion will be your responsibility, then. I do not seek to supplant the Inquisition, only to annihilate it. As for as 'bad' as you believe we will become, I've already said I do not care what you think."

Zoe climbs up onto Ghola's table. She sniffs at the blue powder on her food. "Curious..."

"Ghola." Zoe jumps slightly at Diael's words. "Make the necessary preparations. If you require my assistance, I would be happy to help."

[herrhauptmann]

"Don't be a fool. You can't knock down the established order without setting something up in its place. Unless all you want is chaos."
"IF we manage to destroy the inquisition through demonic means, then we'll have lynch mobs murdering every wizard and potential wizard they can get their hands on. We in the room would probably survive, but all the minor talents out there will suffer for your arrogance..

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"You think I can not?" The wizard raises an eyebrow. "I can. If you fear for those lives, then I suggest you do something before I have completed my task. It seems to me that they would be better off without the inquisition."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"I have started." He replied. "I've destroyed every piece of knowledge I've ever found that related to the summoning of demons."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael shakes his head disapprovingly. "They will be truly be no better off..."

Zoe growls. "Burning knowledge?!"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Yeah, well, if you lecture your students like you do us, and call them kids and brats to their faces, I can see why they don't bother working hard in your classes," Tarnoc shoots back at Armand. "And as for Nar, Sergei--" "--as for Nar, nothing; I will not involve myself in your longstanding debate," Sergei interrupts. "You are likely correct to some extent, but I have yet to meet a student who respects all of his professors. As for your hypothetical, Armand, the suggested reconnaissance is exactly to allow us to determine whether these students are being watched. You are placing the floating disk before the wizard by discussing teleportation plans already: If they are indeed under observation, then taking them to a deserted glade is hardly better than bringing them here, since that will still reveal that there are mages nearby who have an interest in these students and will likely show our faces to the observers as well."

The conversation outruns the two of them as the rest of you begin to talk about circus schedules, mageocracies, and summoning morality. When Armand mentions what he has done, though, Moriah gasps, "I can't believe you would destroy arcane knowledge, Armand! Whatever your personal feelings are about demon summoning, that information is valuable, too valuable to just get rid of. Think of all the potential advances in magical theory you're throwing away!"

"Gentlemen...ladies. The students. Extraction. Recon. Circus. Focus. Please." growls Josiah. "Gods know I've had my differences with Armand--Hells, I disagree with him on a daily basis, on almost every topic we discuss--but this isn't the time to get sidetracked by philosophy. We've decided that Ghola will start making his plans, so it's time to determine what everyone else will be contributing to this plan. Armand, you can get our targets to the circus. I can send in a few of my rats and birds to scout around, try to see if they're being watched. We should have someone perform divinations, someone start preparing a receiving area, maybe someone thinking up contingency plans, I don't know, I'm not the tactical expert here."

[Getsugaru]

"Thank you, Josiah," Ghola replied. "If you hadn't stepped in, I might have done something I'd regret." Continuing in Draconic, Ghola looked at Zoe, "like striking Armand in the jugular."

Looking across the room to Varthok, an idea sprung into Ghola's mind.

"Hey Var," Ghola asked, "how good are you at aerial maneuvers?"

EDIT:Just in case it wasn't clear, I'm asking how good your fly score is. :smallwink:

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe flies over and lands on Moriah's head. She chirps appreciatively at Ghola.
"You guys are my favorite." <Moriah, Ghola>

"I'll second the need for a contingency plan. If we can not sell the tickets to the targets, perhaps some altruism will be a better option. I could pretend to have bought too many tickets..."

[Getsugaru]

"...Or that you aren't able to attend."

[Failed Phantasm]

Varthok checked his basket one more time. 'Just about halfway done,' he thought with a bit of satisfaction, only half-listening to the argument Armand seemed to be having with everyone. "...Inquisition won't matter if we become..." 'Maybe we should try things the Gnoll way,' Varthok thought bemusedly. 'We put everyone in a big cave and let them fight each other with just their claws and then whoever's left standing wins the argument! ...but humans don't have claws, do they?' he frowned, one of his ears turned to the side as he pondered that particular dilemma. He looked down at one of his paws, judging the sharpness of his claws. "...as 'bad' as you believe we will become..." 'Maybe I should give them all big, heavy clubs the way Chieftain Thurrgrak likes to do it.' "...destroyed every piece of knowledge..." 'Then again, humans like to call us "savages"... I suppose they would like the elven way better.' "...too valuable to just get rid of. Think of all..." Varthok turned his attention back to his basket and resumed his careful bundling of the herbs with bits of twine. 'I don't suppose they'd actually listen to me, though.' "...get sidetracked by philosophy. We've decided..." 'Not that I have any idea where to find two barrels of apples, a ten-foot-long pole, a live yak, and a functional catapult at this time of year. It's much too warm for apples to be growing.'

"Hey Var," Varthok's ears perked up immediately, and he looked up to see Aladterf talking to him. He opened his mouth in a small grin. "How good are you at aerial maneuvers?" Varthok tilted his head and pondered for a moment, trying to recall all the things he'd ever done while airborne. "I don't think I've ever tried doing many special tricks in the air before," he began thoughtfully, "because I've only ever needed to fly from one place to another." He paused for a moment. He had sometimes done barrel rolls in the air, remembering how he had to fold his wings to perform the maneuver. The biggest impediment was his own size: Varthok was rather burly and muscular, and even though his wings could support him, he could not honestly say he felt particularly nimble in the air. "If you're hoping I can perform in the circus, I would be happy to try but..." Varthok spread his wings wide, the pearlescent, silvery-white sheen of them evident even when they weren't catching the light of the sun. "the guards would try to kill me if they saw these. Assuming they don't try to kill me for being a gnoll." He folded his wings, careful to not to dishevel his feathers too much. He didn't mind preening them but, given their size, it was a time-consuming process. "Or did you have something else in mind?" he asked, tilting his head again in curiosity.

-----
OOC:

Varthok's maneuverability is technically good, not that he knows it. He generally flies as though his maneuverability were average or poor, though that will improve with practice. The only exception to this is that Varthok does know how to hover.

[Snowbluff]

Zoe

"You can borrow my Hat of Disguise!"

[Getsugaru]

"You're close; I was actually considering having you take part in the circus, yes..." Ghola pondered the best was to word his statement. "...but not to be spinning around like an air elemental. Fi'la's been going on and on recently about trying to find someone to really spice up the circus; in other words, a new act. And it just so happens that she's very interested in the idea of a flying act. You wouldn't have to do anything too fancy if you didn't want to. Maybe just fly through some rings of fire.

"And even if you can't do it more than once or twice right now, you won't have to. Fi has a tendency to introduce new members on closing night, so you'd only have to do it once...unless you're such a success that the crowd demands an encore.

"As for being a gnoll, don't worry. Our show has all sorts: elves, halflings, kobolds; heck, we've even got a tame rust monster! He's always a big hit." Stepping over to Varthok, Aladterf put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I promise nothing bad will happen." Sitting down next to him, Ghola began to help Varthok sort the remaining half of his medicinal (and cooking) herbs.
Don't know if this will be necessary, but I rolled some checks to try and help Var. :smallredface:
Knowledge (Nature) [To identify the herbs]: [roll0]
Autohypnosis [to memorize Varthok's organization method]: [roll1] (according to the XPH, memorize is a DC15 skill check. Still up do DM's discretion :smallwink:)

[herrhauptmann]

"I don't ask for respect Sergei, and it's unprofessional to insult them to their faces, no matter how much I wish. I expect them to do their work, and in exchange, they earn a good or passing grade." Armand replies. "I don't have any sympathy for them when they show up drunk on the day of a test, then whine to me about how their parents will take away their horse if they fail. As to teleportation, you are likely correct."



"Moriah," Armand sighs. "I gave the you the chance to join my dig at a possible early Nar fort last year. Instead you refused as there had been no indication that the fort was inhabited after the rise of the Nar magocracy." He tilted his head at her. "When and where do you think I found those codices?"


"Aladterf," he begins, pretending not to hear the threat. "What is the normal cost of a circus ticket? If they're cheap, we can just buy a large number of tickets for the school and distribute them to as many classes as we can, starting with those the brats are in. If they're expensive, we can buy a dozen or so, and I'll see that they find their way into the bags of these kids. Or, if you can persuade your ringmaster to discount tickets for the students. If she's resistant to the idea, we can offer to offset some or all of the discount ourselves."


edit:
Changed line directed to Moriah, so that it didn't include the PCs.

[Getsugaru]

"Well," Ghola began, "not knowing your average wage of your 'day job' is, but without any discounts, a single night ticket is about 3, 4 gold pieces. In fact," he added, "we usually get a not quite inconsiderate number of people who show up." Under his breath, he continued in Terran " though most of the money does go into supplies..."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"That will not be a problem for me, then. What do we do when we have lured the targets?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Wow. That's a lot of money," whistles Tarnoc, who after all is still a teenager (albeit almost an adult) with a teenager's low income. "Not that the Academy students will have trouble paying that, with the silver spoons in most of their mouths," he adds with a grumble. "And you say 'luring the targets', Diael, like we're hunting animals or something. These are fairly smart students, I assume, since you have to be to study magery--or, well, most of the time you do. Some slackers are just born to it," he says with a friendly smirk aimed at Varthok and Kuruk. "So we can just explain the situation once we've got them all and take them, I don't know, wherever. Anyplace outside the Iatirroch borders where any traitors they might have won't be able to talk to anyone and where the Inquisition won't just bump into them."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

While he was enthusiastic in the beginning, his fellow resistance members took over with their hobbies: Semanthics and discussing for the sake of discussing. So, Aat started to do what he prefers to do: Sitting back and observing. Now, however, he decided to place a comment.

"Hang on. How exactly is who going to teleport ten people that are not aware of being teleported? Under observation, even? What about the practical side of matters? The circus sounds like a good cover and possible distraction, but maybe it would be easier to ensure that the ten students we are looking for will be the few not attending the show?"

[herrhauptmann]

Armand:

"I don't know of any teleport spells that allow you to move someone without their consent. I suppose we could knock them out somehow, then teleport their unconscious bodies like sacks of grain, but that would be counterproductive. Likely we'll have to tell them who we are, and give them a single chance to come with us."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods. "So, it would be reasonable to seek them out and offer them an extraction and further education if they desire. For example, during one of their secret meetings." He turns to Josiah: "How and where do they meet? Would that be feasible?"

"I believe we have the resources and the manpower to set up and supervise a temporary camp for them for the first period. The circus would then be a perfect occasion to extract them without notice, at least for a short while."

[Getsugaru]

Ghola put down one of the bundles he'd completed and gave Aat a reproving glare. "What part of 'I can't have there be any connection between the circus and the resistance' and 'I refuse to put them at such a risk' was unclear?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"All of it was kind of unclear, seeing how it followed a suggestion by yourself to use a visit to the circus as a good moment to meet up with them." He shrugs. "If you feel that strong about avoiding the apparent involvement of your circus in this whole thing, which is understandable, it would make sense to either cancel your circus shows or postpone this mission for quite a while." He looks at Ghola with the most honest and earnest of intentions. "Don't get me wrong, but despite being misguided, inquisitors are smart enough to add one and one. A traveling group of people with extraordinary talents and mysterious beasts visits town right when a group of students disappear, who they may or may not suspect to have affinity with illegal magical practices. If you were one of them, wouldn't a few bells ring?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"They aren't members. They are our objective. Target is appropriate until we have more information."

"If you are worried about the circus, we could stage a bombing. Faking the deaths of the... 'recruits' should be no problem."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"A bombing? Surely we can manage to be more subtle than that? Also, I think we have to consider the possibility of this not working out as well as we plan. In that case the rumour that witch rebels attacked a circus and endangered the innocent spectators will not do much good to our cause, will it?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"You seems to be missing the finer details of what I said. The purpose of the statement was to present a plan that would not endanger the traveling circus. It would be quite simple. Contact the targets. If we can convince them to join us, cause an explosion in the academy to fake their deaths. The probable we would implement could vary from an alchemical explosion to the students destroying themselves while pursuing the arcane arts. The plan lacks a certain finesse, but makes up for it by giving a reason for the sudden disappearance of the students."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,
"There's a second risk we should plan for as well. What if one refuses to come with us?"
He looks around the room. "If that happens, we've got a non-member who can identify us. I'm planning to alter my appearance, wear a mask, and stay invisible, just in case. What other options do we have to protect ourselves? Suggestion or Geas might do the trick, perhaps with the command to 'Go about your day and speak of tonight to no one.'"

[Getsugaru]

"When I suggested we make use of the circus being in town, I was meaning more in a 'distracting the inquisitors while you meet up with the targets' kind of way. Specifically, I was thinking of you guys meeting up with them en route, talking to them, and setting up a meeting for later. Then, they'd go to the show, have a good time, and have some time to think it over. Then, you could instruct them to go to the circus again the next day, meet them en route again, and find out their answer. All without the circus ever being truly involved. Plus, it gives you a time that you can approach them unseen, since everyone will be heading that way anyways." Taking a deep breath, Ghola relaxed his face, carefully taking another bite so as to not spill on Varthok's freshly picked herbs. Is this plan agreeable, Aat?"
I just don't want them to get hurt, he thought to himself. They're like family to me. I can't let them get directly involved in this, if I can avoid it...

Looking over in Diael's direction, Ghola smiled. "After all of that's taken care of and we've confirmed whether or not they are on our side, then you can come up with a plan to fake their deaths. Heck, if we can make good enough dummies and disguises for them, I might be able to smuggle them out to another base as Val's assistants, learning about taming and training animals and magical beasts. What do you guys think?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Well Ghola," Aat replies, "while your circus is not involved this way it still might very well appear involved. Which can be just as bad. That risk is yours to take of course." Then Aat adresses the whole group again. "I still think the plan is, as is, a bit simple. We assume things. Will they travel in a small group of magic users, neatly separated from whoever else might go to visit the circus, or will they travel individually? Maybe they will come with a big group of thirty students. How do you single them out?" He pauses a small moment. "They meet in secret, which means at set times they will be together, without other students or teachers present. That is the kind of situation we need. They provide it, why do we not make use of it? We have the means to sneak up on them, observe them and convey a message. In person, through telepathy or otherwise. Give them an offer which they may then decide to refuse or not, with instructions on what to do if they wish to leave the academy and learn more about magic."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael nods at Ghola's suggestion.

Zoe pipes up again. "I could do it. I can use my telepathy to talk to the students individually."

[Getsugaru]

"If we make sure to have meetings take place during the show, far, far, away," he added, "then the circus has nothing to do with it. Both in appearance and reality. Especially if we make it look like we've been planning to meet for a long time, and were using the circus in town as an opportunity." Looking over to Zoe, Ghola smiled once again. "As for my absence, I think I have a solution..."
Reaching into his pocket, Ghola pulled out a small, Amethyst crystal the size of his palm. Tossing it into the air, the crystal suddenly transformed into a nondescript human-like construct. "He can take on my form, and I can communicate telepathically with him over a range of a mile. I can have him be my proxy, my 'Avatar,' if you will." Suddenly, the mechanical human turned into an exact replica of Ghola.
"I promise to meet your expectations, but can we get going? I'm not so sure of the security of this place..." The replica spoke with the same tone as Ghola, only with a twang of nervousness.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Tarnoc looks like he wants to respond to Armand's suggestion to assault the students with a long angry rant, but he takes a deep breath, restrains himself, and for the sake of not sidetracking the meeting settles for sending an I fundamentally disagree with you on every level and am not talking to you for the foreseeable future glare in his direction.

"My contact hasn't given me an exact location, probably in case I'm an Inquisitor looking to entrap them," Josiah responds to Aat, "but I do know they meet within the Academy, at different randomly-changing locations each time. If we wanted to set up a distraction or an 'accident' to help with the extraction, I'm sure something could be arranged."

Kuruk jumps in surprise at seeing Ghola's psicrystal transform into a replica of him. [That's amazing!] she chitters in her native Draconic. [I hope I can polymorph my mind-shard like that some day. But...aren't you worried about the priests seeing through the disguise? Whenever there are big events in the city, the Thothites and Aurifans are on extra-special alert for troublemakers, and I'm sure they'll have some clergy stationed around the circus and at the gates looking extra-hard for illegal magic.]

[Getsugaru]

"Master has a simple solution for that." Charging over to the opposite end of the room, the psicrystal quickly arrived at the opposite wall. As quickly as it had taken on Ghola's form, it changed back into a small crystal. Within an instant, Ghola teleported from one end of the room to the other. Picking up his psicrystal, he immediately teleported back to where he was before.
"I can do that over a range of over 1000 miles," he said with a grin, "and can teleport myself even further when my psicrystal, Thufir, is at my side." In the instant he picked up the small amethyst stone, his appearance had changed. Blue runic lines had sprung from his forehead, spreading down his body to his right hand, in which he still held his psicrystal. These same runes were also upon the stone, gleaming with a beautiful, light-blue light. "One of you can carry Thufir with you to the meeting. Then, when he gives me the signal, I'll teleport in and morph him into my doppelganger. Then, I teleport back to the show and direct Thufir through our telepathic link. Better yet, if a fight breaks out within twelve minutes of our 'chat,' I won't have to show up to the fight, as Thufir is as good at combat as myself, if not better. Especially since he likes to morph into a nimblewright."
Tossing the crystal once again, it once again transformed into a nondescript human-like construct. Rather than turn into his master again, however, he instead took on a different appearance.
Working on a description of this new form now, but he basically looks like this (http://elwiki.net/wiki/images/ISPortrait.png).
Explanation of what happened: Thufir ran over to the opposite side of the room[move action]. Ghola manifested Temporal Acceleration [Swift action]. Using Standard Action of Temporal Acceleration, Manifest Inconsistant Location [Standard action]. Temporal Acceleration Ends. Ghola uses Move action as a Swift to utilize Inconsistant Location. Teleported over to Thufir, then Teleports back with Thufir in hand [Psionic Teleport, Standard action]. Spent Psicrystal's Psionic Focus [already focused for self and psicrystal:smallwink:] to activate Psicarnum Infusion[target=Azure Talent]. Regain Power Points. Catches breath. :smalltongue:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"This contact of yours, Josiah, is that one of the students we are discussing?" He waves his hands at the locations Ghola just zipped and zapped around. "Forget the details for now, I am sure we can handle the situation well with all our resources, but what about the basic questions: Who are these people, how do we find out about that, and how will we establish first contact and offer them a deal?"

[herrhauptmann]

Armand

"Aat does have a good point Josiah." Armand states in agreement. "On the off chance that this is actually bait for us, perhaps a group of approved mages acting on the Inquisitions behalf; I think that I'll go in tomorrow to continue copying a book of Astronomy. While there, I'll check for any other arcane auras."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Moriah lets out an unladylike snort at the implication that the students would be Sanctioned Mages working for the Inquisition. "Oh, please. Those are so rare that until we ran into Jheska, Josiah and I thought they were only a myth. Actually, even after we met her he thought they were only a myth and that she was lying. Cousin dearest, remember how you bet her she couldn't prove it, and when she did you had to--?" "Yes, yes I do, thank you very much for reminding me," Josiah interrupts hastily, "but that's not what we're talking about now. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't try to spy on our potential allies, Armand, that's actually a good idea and the more we know about them the better.

"Yes, my contact is one of the students," he continues to Aat. "The rest are all students as well, but I've only met my contact in person because the others don't trust me. The only reason my contact does is that I discovered her practicing cantrips in what she thought was an obscure room that no one used. We can offer the group a deal or a plan through her, but I'm not privy to their meeting schedule so I don't know how long it would take for them to agree or disagree and get back to us."

[Snowbluff]

Zoe

Zoe drops from Moriah's head and onto her shoulder. "What did she do? What did she do? I've gotta know! You can not leaving me wanting!" She frowns as best her dragon-like face allows.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Moriah grins evilly while Josiah buries his face in his hands.
"Well, there he was," Moriah begins.
"Oh, no," Josiah sighs.
"--going on and one about how she just had to be lying--"
"No, no no."
"--when she said, fine, if you really think so--"
"Moriah, you promised."
"--put your money where your mouth is--"
"You are such an ungrateful sibling."
"--and make a bet on it."
"I should have known better than to take you in."
"He'd had a few drinks too many, as usual--"
"Seriously, sis, this isn't funny."
"--so of course he agreed to a bet...."
"Godsdammit, here we go."

Moriah goes on to describe a rather amusing incident involving seven high-ranking priestesses, manacles and silk rope, inopportune polymorphing, several magical rings, a large bribe, potion allergies, and a cursed sword.

"...but what he didn't know was that Jheska had cast a scrying spell through one of those pre-Cataclysm memory crystals, so she'd recorded the whole thing! She refuses to tell him where she has it stashed, and she's never let him live it down."

Josiah, who by this time is just sitting there with a resigned expression on his increasingly-red face, waits for the applause and laughter to die down before half-seriously growling, "That's it, I'm taking you out of my will."

[Getsugaru]

Ghola hadn't laughed. It wasn't that he hadn't heard them, but his social ineptitude and lack of experience made him not see it as being funny. Blushing, Ghola interjected a question. "So, wait. What did they do with the sword?"
"I mean it, sis. I will make you pay."
"You know what, never mind. I don't want to put Josiah through any more pain, and it's clear he wants us to change subject. So back to the main issue..." Placing his hand on Josiah's shoulder, Ghola continued. "Josiah, do you have any samples we can use to assist scrying?"

[Snowbluff]

Zoe

Zoe giggles. "I have to try that sometime. Life is so interesting!"

Diael sneezes, but otherwise manages to maintain his composure.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Josiah twitches at Ghola's touch, relaxing when he realizes that the topic has changed. "Yes I do," he replies, blush slowly fading. "They aren't advanced enough in their studies to start taking precautions against scryers, so grabbing a few stray hairs when she was distracted wasn't difficult. I'm no diviner, obviously, so whoever wants to handle that can have those."

[Failed Phantasm]

As Josiah revealed the hairs he'd obtained, Varthok looked up from his nearly-completed work, his wings extending outward to accommodate his shift in position. "Josiah," he began with a hint of amusement in his voice, "if you want us to start completing these meetings in a timely manner, you really need to tell us about the important things first. We'd have fewer arguments and you, Varthok stopped for a moment, unable to repress a slight chuckle in spite of himself. "...would have kept your dignity intact." To be honest, Varthok did not find the tale of Josiah's misadventure particularly funny. Except for the part about the cursed sword. When he finished speaking, Varthok rose from his seat and put the bundled herbs back in the basket.

He stretched out for a moment, feeling slightly stiff after sitting for so long. Then, he beckoned for the others to follow him. "There's a small pond that I maintain just outside the entrance. Very clear and clean. I can perform the scrying there, but it would be a great help if you told me everything you know about this person from whom you took the hair. Even second-hand knowledge will be very helpful." He turned and left the chamber where they had met and strode off at a brisk pace towards the pool, assuming that at least Josiah, and perhaps some of the others, would follow. The spell took an hour to cast, so he would need to start as quickly as possible. 'I hope the others use this time to cool their tempers. That was not the most productive meeting we have ever had,' he thought with a slight frown.

[Getsugaru]

"I'll join you guys," Ghola said with a smile. "The moon should be quite beautiful tonight;" leaning in towards Varthok, he whispered into his ear. "and this meeting was pretty counterproductive. Is every meeting I miss while traveling like this?"
Waving his hand while he walked, Thufir responded by returning to his normal form. At the same time, the runes on Ghola's head (which had disappeared after the display of power had finished) flashed into existence for an instant; beautiful, spider-like legs of ectoplasm formed on the sides of the psicrystal. Running across the floor, the small crystal stopped and jumped in place in front of Zoe. "Hey Zoe," said the crystal in a gleeful tone, "let's go play outside! It'll be fun!"

I may not have made it quite clear yet, so to clarify: Thufir the Psicrystal has the nimble personality, and, due to this, also represents the child in Ghola. As such, I'd call a description of the magnified personality of Thufir to be "childish: playful, but highly sensitive to what goes on around him." :smallredface:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"You have to gain her trust, Josiah," Aat had produced some tools and was now working on an arrow shaft, "can we perhaps give her something? A token, to gain her trust. Something that puts you in her eyes in as much danger as she thinks she is in by confiding in you. An arcane scroll, spell knowledge, perhaps something that might help them stay hidden from the inquisition while practicing." He looks up. "With the promise of more, of course."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Wincing slightly at the rebuke in Varthoks words. "When you said 'your contact,' I was under the impression you were operating under second-hand knowledge. Varthok, I'd like to join you at the pool shortly, there is the chance I know the student."
"As for gaining trust, Aat has the right of it." He nods his head. "Even if they don't trust us, they would still welcome our knowledge. I suggest practical knowledge like ensuring that hair clippings are burnt to avoid being used as a scrying focus. And of course, new spells. Something that well help them survive danger like Shield or Expeditious Retreat. Alter Self would also be useful, but you've said that only one has the skill for the second circle. If there are no objections, I can do that myself after I visit the academy tomorrow." Having said that, he stands to follow the Gnoll outside.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"There is a spell that creates an alarm upon trespassing, right?" Aat grins. "It caught me once. If it can catch me, it can catch inquisitive inquisitors."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand.

"Do you know that particular abjuration? It's not one I can teach them. If we're to gain their trust before taking them to safety, we'll need to decide how many people we'll expose. Josiah is known to them, barely. Some may know me, but that may not be a blessing, as they may not think of me fondly.

I don't know if it would be a good idea to arrive suddenly and in force either. We may spook them before we can get a word in. Aladterf can remain at a distance and arrive quickly if the Inquistion springs a trap, as can Diael. But the rest of us?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Well, I don't do that kind of, eh, traditional arcane magic, so I can not help out there. 'Twas just a suggestion. As for the meeting, depending on where we meet, I can be around, unnoticed. I can be your eyes and ears, if needed. Scout, guard. If you bring along my mind crystal, we have a solid line of communication."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"An exchange of knowledge and advice would probably be best," Josiah agrees. "That's something we all have in abundance, as opposed to particular spells or items which we may lack--such as, say, wards like Alarm, which I can't help with either. Well, actually, I can, kind of...but my version of that ward is too complex for any of them to learn right now and involves a shrieking skull, so...."

"That would be a bad idea anyways, since subtlety is the name of the game with new mages and, well, a shrieking skull is anything but subtle," Moriah replies, adding, "We might as well all go to the pool, since we're all planning this mission together. As long as everyone can keep quiet and not disturb the ritual." The cousins walk out together after Varthok, followed by Tarnoc. Josiah murmurs something indistinct to his sister, something about how it always seems to be his topic that causes arguments at the meeting, and she replies slightly more loudly with, "It's not just you, and things are getting better. We've come a long way since we first met and tried to kill each other for being Inquisition spies. Who knows, by this time next year this cell might work together like a well-oiled golem!"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe leaves Moriah and returns to her master. She seems to be communicating something to him. Diael merely nods his head.

[BelGareth]

Master Kaulesh -

He sprang with his feet wide apart and his legs muscles taught and ready like a cat, his body sailed into the air and he spun as he went, turning a pirouette as easily as hosting himself out of bed, harder for some, but easy for him.

He landed with both feet on the natural opposite position, legs crossed and knees bent, he could have formed the lotus sitting position, but he was not about to meditate, instead, he was fighting a demon of his own making. He twisted is arms around each other, palms splayed out so they faced his opponent.

The whirling mass of words and arcane sigils came at him with a frenzy, its syllables slicing and cutting the air with a keen edge.

It was his favorite thing to do, create monsters in the form of his current written obsession, and fight them, spar them, in the hopes he could glean a greater understanding from them. How could you not learn from the greater works of Isaaci Ismirnovky as it masterfully parried and feinted, batting your strikes aside as Isaaci himself would have done with his quil. How could he have seen the underlying meaning of the Great grey Goo and the combined works of the Aldevian Monks in the great Sonorro desert?

He had learned much, and his personal sparring sessions with the animated works of ancient and masterful writers, duelists of words and champions of brevity, had, made him better. Although he would have hoped, one thing was certain, it allowed him to combine his two passions, the study of the written word and the martial prowess of the many powerful martial forms.

He dodged left, letting his right foot take the brunt and his left foot fall and land naturally on the stone of his minds eye. He slapped the obvious opening feint aside with the outside of his hand and batted away the real strike, aimed directly at his heart. This latest animation was easy to read, on both senses, the writer, while a greater poet, had wonderful rhythm and cadence, but lacked the imagination most poets do, and so his animated works did too. The creatures attacks were obvious and lack luster, failing to generate any original works in its combinations.

Kaulesh was getting bored, he striked at the creature, sundering a word in two, bright light bursting from it created shadowy figures at the edges of his vision.

He suddenly stopped. The world around him paused, the rushing of the wind, the angry torrent of animated sigils swirling at him, the drops of light rain beginning to patter down onto the stone pavers below his feet.

Something was not right.

He jerked his head to the side and peered at something, something not there, something he could only think about.

Waving his hand, he wiped the his mental-dojo away, like a master painter would clean a pallet, the world around him become the oh-so familiar grainy white, the background to his mind.

Blinking, he awoke in the lotus position, something wasn't right, he looked around and noticed the light, or, lack thereof. It shouldn't be this bright out, he looked to his candle and frowned.

The wisp of smoke moved slowly in the placid air, its tendrils snaking its way up and through the window of his tiny hut.

"Who put you out?" he asked aloud, to no one in particular. His eyebrow raised as he pondered the reasoning behind why, or how, his candle had been extinguished. He used it to mark the passage of time, and when in his Mind-Dojo, it would send a mental trigger to him at a certain point in time, at a specific location of the candle, when it had burned down to that point. Somehow, a rogue breeze had blown it out and he must have lost track of time.

Shaking his head he rose, bending both feet and pushing up on the roof of them, and then snapping them both back to his soles as he stood, all in one fluid motion. The sigils on his head hung loosely, as they were wanton to do when Master Kaulesh was relaxed.

He would have to ponder on the reasoning of why his candle had been blown out, but it would have to be later. He noticed the parchment left at his bedroll, the one that indicated a meeting was taking place, and he was most likely late.

"how intriguing, that a soft breeze would have so much impact upon my person, as to make me late." he wondered out loud as he walked to where the meeting was.

Moving faster than it seemed, he covered the ground quickly and could hear a lively debate about the ethics of how to deal with possible new recruits.

Smiling he entered the room, "Apologies abound my companions, I humbly apologize for being so late, it would seem a rogue breeze saw it fit to impede my way." He looks to everyone, his hands meeting at his belly in a clasp.

"Tell me, what have I missed?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael poors the last of the brandy into his glass. "We are out of brandy."

Zoe is feeling a little more gracious, and decides to fill the Master in. "There are some students at an academy practicing magic. We were discussing how to talk to them."

[Getsugaru]

"We're thinking of using Master's circus being in town as a distraction to throw off any pursuers," Thufir added, climbing up the chair Diael was sitting in. "Then Mr. Diael and Mr. Armand had an argument, followed by a story by Ms. Moriah. Now everybody's heading out back to scry on the students." Through his telepathy with his master, Thufir informed Ghola of Kaulesh's arrival. "Master asks that you come out to the pond; he also says that he'll explain in detail there." Hopping off Diael's chair, Thufir stopped and hopped in sight of Zoe once more before running out to the pond, intending to lead the way in front of Kaulesh.
Feel free to respond as you wish; follow the spider-legged crystal, find your own path, be a jerk and use the crystal as target practice; your choice. Just a word of warning: Thufir constantly sees enemies lurking in the shadows, so he almost always has readied an action to Manifest Astral Construct around himself. :smalltongue:

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods at Master Kaulesh as he enters. "Hi. Lots of talk about unrelated topics, difficulties coming up with any form of concrete plans, familiars and minions that don't know their place and some magic." He puts away his fletching tools and stands up. "There's some scrying going on right now, outside. Perhaps something useful comes out of that." He walks to the pond.

[BelGareth]

Master Kaulesh-

Nodding at the remarks, he silently follows the others to the scyring attempt at the pool, he stands to the side and watches as the events unfold as his white sigils above his head slowly meander around his head, shining light upon the pool and the surrounding area.

[Failed Phantasm]

Varthok stepped out into the small grotto where his little pond had formed, and took a moment to simply stand still, close his eyes, and breathe in. Everything was peaceful and quiet, save for the gentle rustling of the trees and the quiet rippling of the pond when one of the leaves gently floated down above to land on the water's surface. He could feel the slightly ruffling of his feathers as the wind picked up for a brief moment and then died down again just as quickly. He sighed contently, happy to be in one of his private retreats once more. Knowing that the others would not be far behind, however, he began to make his mental preparations for the scrying. The pool itself needed no tampering: Varthok could already see his own reflection in the water quite clearly, and that was really all the spell required of him. He would need the other materials before he could begin properly. He needed the hair Josiah had acquired and the description of the student from both Josiah and Armand - the hair was sufficient, but a proper connection with the person to be scryed was crucially important.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Kuruk, already outside in the area near the pool, smiles as she sees the illumian join them. [Kaulesh!] she cheers, scampering up to him and hugging his leg, which is as high up as she can reach seeing as she's short even for a kobold. [It's so good to see you! We were worried about you, you shouldn't scare us like that!] she says, waggling her finger at him. The diminutive kobold had quickly become close friends with Kaulesh and Aat after they "rescued" her, and she was always happy to see them when she got the chance.

"Yes, thank Boccob you're here, I hate being the center of attention and trying to run a meeting with the, ah, strong personalities here," Josiah agrees. "Sounds like you've gotten bits and pieces of the story from the others, but Moriah, could you fill him in on everything while I help Varthok? We want to make sure we're all on the same page." Moriah nods and begins summarizing the meeting to Kaulesh while Josiah walks quietly over to the pond and kneels down beside Varthok.

Josiah awkwardly shifts into a cross-legged position after a moment, not quite sure if he's intruding on the gnoll's special private prayer time, or whatever it is he does. The rest of the cell tended to step lightly around the druid, since his divine methods and piety are just different enough from their own to be disconcerting and the yugoloth is in the details when dealing with other forms of magic, but Josiah was particularly skittish around him--even though he only kept two undead minions around and never brought them to meetings unless he expected trouble, the usually laid-back and confident necromancer always felt nervous and slightly guilty around Varthok for practicing his particular variety of magic and didn't quite believe that the gnoll didn't secretly hate him, and it was painfully obvious whenever the two of them had to interact closely during downtime.

The necromancer clears his throat. "So, uh, my contact," he says. "I'm not sure how the divine versions of the Law of Sympathy and the Principle of Uniqueness work, or even if that is how your scrying works, so I'll just tell you anything I think will be important and you ask me about whatever I leave out. Anyway, let's see...her name is Jasmine Verrano, she's from an upper-class family that lives on the eastern side of the central city. She's about this tall, medium-length brownish hair, gray eyes--maybe? Maybe light blue? Kinda hard to get a good look without giving away that I'm trying to memorize all the details. Sort of pale skin, usually wears lots of yellow and green clothes. I'm told her classmates think she looks quite beautiful, but I'm really not into goblinoid girls half my age, so what do I know? So, um...any other details you need, or is that good enough?"

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,
"Jasmine, hmm... I've got a few goblins in my geography class, but the name doesn't ring a bell. If she's not a showoff or screwup though, it's possible she just keeps her head down and avoids notice." Armand states quietly from behind and to the left of Josiah.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe chases after the little psicrystal to the scrying pool. She pounces on it to establish dominance. Diael eventually makes his way there as well.

"Josiah, the spell should work as our scrying," Diael mumbles.

Diael looks around for somewhere to sit before deciding to simply stand. So much exposure to the natural world seems to put him a little on edge. The presence of so many trees was enough to make him feel nauseated. Ideally he would have the base in a well developed city, preferably one with a well-stocked library. Unfortunately, such a base would likely attract a large amount of attention.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Moving quietly past Josiah, Armand stands opposite from Varthok with the pool between them. With the index finger of his left hand, he draws a circle in the air which briefly flashes golden. This circle is quickly followed by an inscribed square, its first corner drawn at the top of the circle and a second square inscribed within that rotated 45 degrees. The basic circle finished, he pauses and looks at Varthok.
"I'm ready when you are." He whispers quietly.

[Failed Phantasm]

When Josiah began to speak, Varthok could not help but tilt his head curiously at the mention of "the Law of Sympathy and the Principle of Uniqueness," having never heard of such things before. Of course, wizards had the strange propensity to give absurdly formal or complicated names to simple phenomena or concepts, and there was a fundamental disconnect in what "formal magical training" meant to a mage and what it meant to a druid. Setting such thoughts aside, Varthok listened to Josiah's description of the girl, this "Jasmine Verrano", ('They have such funny names,' came the unbidden thought, even though he had lived outside gnoll society for some time now) and tried to visualize her as best he could. He thought he had a fairly good mental image of her until Josiah mentioned rather off-handedly that she was a goblinoid and Varthok had to hastily revise. His experience with goblins and their ilk was limited mainly to the bugbears who harassed and fought with his tribe for territory and resources, and surely the girl could not be a bugbear and have hair like what Josiah had procured.

"So, um...any other details you need, or is that good enough?" Varthok nodded affirmatively, and quietly remarked, "Yes, I think that should be enough." Josiah's unease had not gone unnoticed, but gnolls could not reproduce the same facial expressions that humans used and Varthok doubted that Josiah would find a fanged grin reassuring. He settled for giving the man a gentle, and hopefully encouraging, pat on the shoulder, since a hug would likely be too much of a shock for the poor human. With a slight flick of his wingtips, Varthok turned his attention back to the pool and to Armand who had been standing opposite him. Though Varthok was uncertain how the two different kinds of magic would interact, he nodded his readiness when Armand whispered, "I'm ready when you are."

Varthok held the strands of hair in one paw and knelt down to the edge of the pond, placing two fingers on the water's surface. He began to whisper quietly in Sylvan, a prayer in the form of a request, as he was accustomed to whenever he cast his spells. He lifted his fingers and let the droplets fall back to the water, creating little ripples that raced outward, quickly at first but slowing as they expanded until they created the rough shape of a perfectly circular mirror that was suspended in the surface of the pond. Varthok concentrated on the image of the girl that he had created in his mind, but it would take some time before the spell produced any effect.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Varthok's prayer and meditation continue for quite a while as the water's surface slowly flattens out. Armand's floating rune slowly and silently grows and reorients itself until its outer circle is roughly aligned with the edges of the pool, then it sinks below the surface and disappears, leaving only a very slight glow around the perimeter. Josiah takes several steps backwards when the gnoll begins his prayer so as not to disturb him. The others either remain respectfully quiet as well or hold hushed side conversations several paces away, according to their wonts.

The perfectly flat and glassy surface of the pool slowly begins to change again fifty-something minutes into Varthok's ritual. The reflection of your surroundings gradually gives way to an interior view of a hallway full of humanoids of various ages from children to older teenagers, talking and scurrying around and otherwise keeping busy. A few minutes later at the exact one-hour mark, the image has completely taken form and the sounds of the Academy fade in, and everyone crowds around to get a good look. The image is centered on Ms. Verrano, but there are four other children around her age in the image as well, three boys and one other girl, and they are talking about homework.

Or they are on the surface, at least, no pun intended. As you listen in to the conversation, filtering out the inane chatter in the background, it quickly becomes apparent that they are talking about the arcane arts. Not in a manner that an outsider would recognize--other observers would just think these students are particularly dedicated to their academics--but when they say things like "Do you think you'll be able to meet to, ah, study tomorrow in the lounge?" and "I finished my research for that that, er, math paper we were talking about before" people like you who are in on the secret can easily figure things out, just like parents who know perfectly well that their teenager isn't actually "going downtown to, um, study? At the library?" on the weekend.

"Well. That's Jasmine, all right," says Josiah as he peers into the pool. "Good job, Varthok. And obviously those are some of her co-conspirators. See anyone you recognize, Armand?"

ArmandFeel free to make up names, classes, and reactions for the others--is the other girl at the top of one of your classes? Is one of the boys normally bad enough at math and logic that you wouldn't have suspected him at all? Etc.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Verrano is not in my classes. I've seen her around a bit though, usually with that skinny red headed boy.
"Peter, Peter Parquah," Armand identifies the boy. "No parents, lives with his grandmother I think. Sketches a bit, paints too I think. Ran into them at the market last month, he was carrying all their groceries and still opening doors for her."
"If any student will make a teacher tear his hair out in frustration, it's him." He continued. "He sleeps through half my classes, only waking up to take notes on the topics that interest him. But he aces every exam I've given him, even the portions I know he slept through."

"Let's see who else we've got. The girl is Ginny LaFonde. Average grades, but very keen on my classes. She almost convinced the school to let her join my expedition to Nar last year. Even though I wasn't bringing students on that dig."

"The other two boys however, I know I've seen them picking on Peter. Eamonn Bracegirdle is the bigger one with the black hair. He's also in my one of my classes, and one of my worst students." His lip curled back in distaste.
"He's failed two exams for not showing up, and a third because he was still drunk. Had to be more lenient with his neighbors when I graded because of him, twenty feet away and the reek made me nauseous."
"Anyway, his father is a nobleman; lost a lot of his fortune to the Inquisition because he's distantly related to the Rastors. So while no love for the Inquisition, he's not going to have any love for us either. Eamonn attends school with his sister due to a donation from their maternal grandfather, a silk and spice merchant. Every time he fails a test, the old man sends a servant to complain and try to change my mind. I should go along with it next time; maybe I won't have to pay for most of the dig out of my own pocket."
"The last one, I don't recognize him really. Just a face that hung around with Bracegirdle. Still, you can judge a man by his friends."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat also steps forward and pays special attention to the faces that belong to Armands descriptions, remembering them so he can spot them in a crowd more easily in the future.

DM:
Can I use the Autohypnosis function of memorizing texts to the letter to memorize their faces? If so: Autohypnosis [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"Peter? Sounds like me when I was much younger." He strokes his chin. "So now that we know who they are, will we have to make different plans?"

Zoe gets bored and decides to nibble on Ghola's psycrystal a bit.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"I don't know. I should be able to sneak a dozen circus tickets Verrano or Peters bags, with instructions to take a certain route. And bring their friends of course. That should insulate the circus from any repercussions. But, I'm loathe to identify myself at the outset, especially to Bracegirdle. Lord Bracegirdle has enough reasons to hate us, and his grandfather of course probably hates me for failing Eamonn."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Varthok," Armand turns back to the Gnoll. "Can you alter the orientation of your spell? Maybe we can see who else is in the immediate vicinity."

spot check. Mainly for eavesdroppers. [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael decides to take an interest in the operation. He looks through the sensor, hoping to catch any minor details that could help.

Sense Motive for a Hunch: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Tarnoc smirks at Diael's reaction to Armand's description of the students. "Yeah, me too. My Comparative Religion teacher sword I was the reason he went bald early." Regarding the distribution of tickets, he continues, "If there are a few people you don't want to show your face to, I could do that, or Galad once he gets back and we fill him in on the plan. We can pass for Academy students, easy; get in, slip them the tickets, get out, no one would notice."

Moriah, meanwhile, joins Aat, Diael, and Armand in examining the image in the pool. While Aat easily memorizes their faces, the other three look around carefully as the view slowly rotates to show the scene from different angles. No obvious eavesdroppers or spies can be seen, and of the several professors wandering nearby none seem to pay any special attention to the group. Two priestesses walk by, holy symbols prominently on display as usual, but they don't seem to detect the scrying sensor either.

The sounds grow muted and the image begins to fade a few minutes later, just as the group breaks up to head to their next classes. "That's that, I guess," Moriah says as the pool returns to its normal appearance. "Looks like they're not under suspicion right now, so we should probably move on to the next part of our plan. Ghola is getting the circus ready, Josiah is filling what's-her-name in on the plan, Armand and maybe Tarnoc and Galad are rounding the students up, what's everyone else planning?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat shrugs. "I am not sure how I fit into these plans, but if someone wants to make use of my services, please let me know." He looks around at the gathered mages. "Otherwise I will just make my standard route scouting the perimeter of our camp. Despite the exciting news, normal life goes on as well. We want to stay safe." He taps is bow. "Even without signs of intruders, I might shoot something nice for dinner."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael nods appreciatively at Tarnoc. "I got so much trouble from the other students for showing up on the test days and upsetting the grading curve." He smiles a little, reminiscing.

"Yeah, you can handle that..." He frowns slightly at Aat. He avoids spending time outside doing patrols if possible. "I don't know if anyone there would recognize me. It might be better if Armand, Tarnoc, and Galad handle the students. Ghola, will you be needing assistance with anything at the circus?"


Knowledge Religion for the priestesses and symbols: [roll0]

[Getsugaru]

Over the hour that it had taken to cast the scrying spell, Ghola had spent the majority of the time reminiscing about what he'd seen travelling from hold to hold with the circus. For a time, he had watched Zoe and his psicrystal play in the area around the pool; he found it amusing that Zoe would play with Thufir like a cat plays with a ball of yarn or a mouse. Then his mind would slip back into reminiscing, sometimes to earlier performances, sometimes to...before...but always, his mind would pull itself back out upon remembering that Zoe had telepathy and may well have been hearing the memories that might slip through the cracks and pop up in Thufir through their link. This occurred the most when Zoe would pounce on and catch the small psicrystal, as he would hear the thoughts of Thufir, thinking about what he could have done to avoid being caught next time.
As the scrying spell was completed, Ghola's focus slipped again, this time to wondering how he was going to explain "finding" Varthok to Fi'la, the ringmistress of the show. Bringing in some new talent is one thing, he thought to himself, but explaining where and how I met Varthok will be another thing entirely...

"Ghola, will you be needing assistance with anything at the circus?" Ghola was pulled from his thoughts upon hearing Diael's remark. His reaction was sleight, but Diael had startled him.
"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought. What did you ask?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael groans. He hates having to repeat himself. Be patient. Not everyone will work at your pace. These are your allies, remember? Zoe takes a moment from nibbling on Thufir to give Diael a stern look. What she was thinking was evident, even to those who were not included in her telepathic message. Diael looks back at her a moment before continuing again.

"I said 'Do you need assistance with anything at the circus?' I don't have a plan to do anything right now, and I was wondering if I could offer aid."

[Getsugaru]

"Ah, sorry," Ghola replied. "I've been wondering how I am going to explain how I met Varthok to Fi'la..." Staring in the general direction of Diael, Ghola suddenly smirked. "Diael, how good are you at weaving a story?"

I'm guessing that we all know (roughly) what each of us is skilled at (By which I mean Skill Point investment)

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"I dabble." The swftblade examines his nails nonchalantly. An intentionally overt attempt at faking modesty. "You need something about Varthok? How much do the circus employees know about your other activities?"

Zoe hops off of Thufir, and climbs onto Diael's shoulder. Her curiosity seems to have gotten the better of her. She tilts her little head and blinks her big, beautiful blue eyes and stares at Ghola.

[Getsugaru]

"I don't manifest my powers openly while at the circus or when in any of their company," Ghola replied.
"He even refuses to give me legs, and always has me sit in his pocket and do nothing," Thufir added while climbing on Ghola's shoulder, imitating Zoe to the best of his ability.
"I don't think any have realized that I have magic. I usually stick with the circus, but I sometimes go exploring on my own. None of them have any problems with it, but when I go exploring, I usually don't bring a winged gnoll back with me." Ghola reaches into his pouch and pulled out a small spice jar.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael raises a solitary eyebrow. "So, what will our objective be? Do you wish to have a believable reason for Varthok's presence? You may say you found him in the woods, if that is all. Or do you wish for my to expound an epic tale of love and loss?"

Zoe snaps at Thufir. "Copycat!"

[Getsugaru]

Thufir jumped, startled by Zoe's outburst, and hit the ground, landing upside-down. Surprised that his attempted flattery causing such a scary response from Zoe, he quickly climbed back up Ghola's leg and hid in his pocket.

"If you think that's the best way to go, then we can do that. I was also thinking that you might be able to pull off a performance role, if you so desired. Your skill at deceiving, tumbling and talent with the sword might enable you to pull off a weapon's performance." Ghola turned away from Dial and chuckled. "That is, if you think you can last a few rounds against him.

"And as for explaining how I met Varthok," he continued, "if you get in on the fun as well, then we might be able to pass the two of you off as a pair of travelling performers, looking for a job. It's yours and Var's call, of course, on what you want the story to be..."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"I'll be sure to speak to Varthok." Diael wears his typical placid expression, but he looks a little green. The prospect did not appeal to him. "Being a traveling performer works for me. It's not far from the truth, anyway. I could do a performance, but I will like to know who you are talking about."

Zoe hops down and starts poke at Ghola's pocket.

[Getsugaru]

Ghola chuckled to himself once again. "Don't worry, you'll find out." Looking around, he noticed the rising moon. he stared longingly at it for a moment as a light breeze blew his long, red hair. Turning to face everyone, he ignored Zoe as she began to dig her way into his pocket. "So, are we done, and if so, should I go first and let Fi'la know that I'm bringing in some new actors, or shall we travel as a group to the circus?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Everyone going together would probably be a bad idea if we want to be subtle, and besides, we have our own tasks to carry out," Josiah opines. "And not just for this mission; I have other contacts to meet with, and I don't envy Armand all of the grading I'm sure he has to do."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael frowns when Ghola doesn't tell him who he would be fighting.

Nodding, he says "I agree wholeheartedly. Subtly is key when engaging a much larger force."

"Come on out. I won't bite..."

Should I roll bluff? XD

[Getsugaru]

Depends...Is she telling the truth? XD
EDIT: Rolls made in OOC
Thufir starts to slowly climb out of Ghola's pocket.
"Thufir." Ghola spoke to Thufir through their empathetic link. Thufir stopped.
"I'm sorry, Zoe, but Thufir and I need to be heading back." Reaching into his pocket, Ghola pulled Zoe from his pocket and handed her to Diael. "And with that, I'll be off." Magic runic lines sprung from his forehead, spreading down his body to his pocket to his psicrystal; gleaming with a mixture of blues, purples, pinks and greens. In an instant, these runes grew brighter, then disappeared, taking Ghola and Thufir along with them...
Manifested Psionic Teleport:
Destination=The circus.
Familiarity=Either Very Familiar or Studied Carefully (@Dice: Your call)
Roll: 1d100 Results posted in OOC due to inability to edit in dice rolls...

[Failed Phantasm]

With the scrying complete, Varthok stood up, loosed an idle yawn, and stretched languidly — wings and all — since sitting through a meeting that lasted who-knows-how-long and then kneeling in place for another hour after that had the tendency to make one feel quite stiff indeed. Looking up at the sky as he yawned, Varthok could feel a pang of wistful longing, the urge to simply leap up and leave the ground far, far behind — a feeling that had been familiar to him ever since he was a little cub. 'I haven't gone flying in a few days,' he thought, sparing a glance over his shoulder to see what the others were doing, 'and it doesn't look like they need me right now.' He looked back up at the sky, feeling the anticipation mount as he crouched and his leg muscles tensed in preparation, 'Just for a few minutes. They can always call me back down.' Folding his wings close against his body, Varthok launched himself upwards in a sudden burst of motion, wings folded until the apex of his jump and then spreading them wide to catch the air and flapping them hard to gain altitude.

The sensation was wonderful: the feel of the wind howling past his face, through his fur, and beneath his wings; the sight of the ground falling away, Josiah and Armand and Diael becoming smaller and smaller; even the feel of his shoulder and wing muscles working to keep him aloft, since it had been a while since he had exercised them properly. As he crested the treetops of the old growth forest that his resistance cell took shelter within, whose trees reached hundreds of feet into the air, Varthok started to hover just above the forest canopy, taking a moment to glance back down through the gap to see the little pond far below. A gentle breeze was blowing, ruffling his feathers and shaking the leaves around him, and Varthok breathed a contented sigh.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael grabsZoe as Ghola leaves. "Aw, I was having fun..."

Diael looks around at the shrinking party. He thought about heading after Valthok, but he'd rather not talk to him right away. "Great... does anyone else need any help?"

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh smiles as he sees the small Kobold, hearing her familiar voice he lofted her up after she had hugged his leg and placed her on his shoulder. [It is good to see you also Kuruk, I have missed your up lifting presence.] he said to her. And always enjoyed seeing her jubilant spirit, she was a lighthouse among a dark sea, especially as of late.

He walked with her on his shoulder outside and watched, eventually letting her down as she grew tired of the hour long of 'nothing', chuckling, silently to himself he helped her down and gave her a wink as she took off, finding something else to entertain herself with.

He looked to Aat and smiled, a knowing smile of 'that was a good save'.

Waiting as the others, he quickly found it prudent to turn inwards and meditate while he had the time, this time, he didn't go so deep, lest a wind disrupt his whole being. He raised one leg, bending at the knee and resting his foot upon the side of his other leg, his palms came together at his belly and his eyes rolled back into his head. And he found a good parchment to read while he waited, allowing the script to gain a semblance of life and rove his mind at will.

Upon sensing the culmination of power at the apex of the spell, he came back, releasing the animated script before he did.

Seeing the others move forward, he did the same and watched as the scene unfurled before him, he watched and tried his best to memorize the names and faces.

He stood at the side and watched as the others talked and wondered, eventually disappearing, he watched as Aat walked away. He watched, bemused by the antics of his cohorts and friends, he would not dispense his wisdom upon the situation, he was late, and it would only prove to lengthen the preparation, when what was needed was action.

He looked to those still present splaying his muscled arms wide as his sigils languidly floated around his head "I am afraid I do not have a role in this endeavor, I will accompany Aat on patrol, feel free to message me if my services are needed." he bows and then springs from his spot, jumping like a cat onto the roof of the building next to the pool and runs off like a thief in the night.


Stance changed to Leaping Dragon Stance
[roll0] *Edit - He jumps a total of 22.5 feet
[roll1] to stay on the roof as he runs

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat appreciates the company of Master Kaulesh. The company was often silent, but that suited the scout in Aat, and when the Master did speak it tended to be wisdom and to-the-point, something the diciplined warrior in him valued. "Hi Kaulesh. There's a bush bearing ripe forest berries a bit further on. They are sweet for just one week per year. We should collect some before the bears beat us to it." Constantly peering into the forest and inspecting the forest floor for tracks, the woodsman stalks through the camp perimeter.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The meeting having concluded rather dramatically with Varthok's and Kauleth's departures, the others say their respective goodbyes and leaves the camouflaged fortification that serves as your Resistance cell headquarters. Everyone leaves alone or in pairs with plenty of time between them to avoid provoking suspicion from any watchers who may be between here and the city, Tarnoc heading for the concealed cabin that he and Galad share, the d'Santos heading for a townhouse they own under assumed names, and Kuruk heading for her own home in the city.

Jheska and Sergei stay at headquarters, as Sergei lives there full time having decided he doesn't fit into modern society well enough to pass unnoticed and Jheska is the headquarters' security detail this week while the others are out. She doesn't particularly enjoy standing watch--given her traumatic upbringing, spending many hours alone with her thoughts is the last thing she wants to do--but you have all agreed on the "one guard, multiple patrollers" model for extra safety after a large Resistance cell was surprised and captured a few months back, and she isn't one to shirk her duties.

The fading sunlight casts many shadows through the dense forest as Aat and Kaulesh make their rounds, Armand walks the few miles back to the city to make it home in time for supper, and Ghola, Varthok, and Diael make their way to the circus company's makeshift camp to sell the performers on their crazy story. It's another hour or so until the full darkness after dusk sets in, but neither the circus crew nor Armand are likely to have any trouble with curfew: unlike most other city-states, Iatirroch doesn't have one--what's the point, when the City of Lights hasn't seen true darkness in decades?--and "night" and "day" are formalities as far as the city guard are concerned.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand

"No grading Josiah," Armand sighs, "just a lot of scribing, I've fallen behind on my History of Iatirroch. I've only got two weeks to get it in for the illuminations. If I'm late, I lose half my earnings on the project. Diael, if you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate if you could get Gholas circus tickets to me, I'll do the rest when I see the students. Perhaps at the Wet Whistle tomorrow a little after noon?"

As he leaves, he bids a grudgingly polite goodbye to Tarnoc and Galad before returning on foot to his cell in the basement of the House of Deneir. Like many deities of religion, the House of Deneir allows its rooms to be rented as living quarters by students and staff of the universities. While students must pay for the privilege, staff are gifted with a free room. Unfortunately, as a junior member of the staff, Armands room is nowhere near as nice or large as those rented by even the poorest student. Its greatest advantages being privacy afforded by a lack of windows and door with a lock; allowing a more discrete use of magic than might be possible with a rented room in a tavern.

Once 'home,' he locked the door of his room, and pulled out his everburning torch; hiding in the familiar motions a spell of See Invisibility. Once confident that he was unobserved, Armand dragged a trunk over to block the door before adding a little water to each color of ink he possessed and set both copies of The History of Iatirroch with a quill and ink between them.
Again hiding the act in the motions of setting books out for scribing, he cast the spell Amaneunsis to start copying out the next part of the book. A quick circle drawn in the air faded into nothingness and doubled the length of See Invisibility out to four hours.


Rolls.
Sleight of hand check for See Invisible. [roll0] DC=Spot of observers
Spot check for anybody hiding/peeping in his room, magically or via mundane means. [roll1]
Sleight of hand check for Amaneunsis. [roll2] DC=Spot of observers
Spellcraft check to extend See Invisible. [roll3] DC=27

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael nods before heading out. "Wet Whistle? The pub by Carpenter Street? Alright, I'll be there, hopefully with some good news."

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh moved to pick the berries and he was told, any good fruit, root or berry was a welcome addition to their fare, so he gathered all he could. Following Aat in their rounds, feeling a little less fierce as he held one edge of his tunic up keeping the berries in the fold.

Having completed the circuit, he deposited them in a basket and cleaned himself off, changing his mind as he rubbed his tunic, he changed to another cleaner one, this one had no sleeves, and showed off his remarkably defined arm muscles.

Finding Aat again "I am heading to town, I assume some friendly eyes in and about the crowd of the fair would do some good, if only to provide distractions, or if things go terribly wrong...it would be prudent. Would you care to join me?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods in agreement. "Yes, that sounds like a good plan. They might need someone that can do something else than waving a sword or casting a spell." As always, Aat is ready to leave. "Let's go."

[BelGareth]

Master Kaulesh smiles and nods at Aat.

Taking their time they head toward the city, and manage to get there within due time of the circus setting up, Kaulesh changes into a human image before entering the city, his tattoos disappearing and he concentrates for a moment as his sigils flash and disappear.


Uses Alter self
Duration 120 Minutes

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael decides he is done one the ground. He whistles and Zoe hops on his shoulder. The swiftblade twists his body and takes the form of Couatl. The pair flies towards Varthok as Zoe attempts to communicate telepathically. "Hey, it's time to go!"

[Failed Phantasm]

Its highest buildings cresting the forest canopy where they stood, Iatirroch shone in the distance with its even and unwavering light, an unusually persistent globe of luminescence that blotted out the spectacular array of the oranges and reds and violets of the evening sky like a cataract in the heavens. Varthok had never been particularly eager to visit the citites and freeholds, but Iatirroch felt more unnerving - more disconcerting - than dangerous, even though he knew very well that no settlement in the world would ever be really safe for him. No, Iatirroch was a denial of the natural world, a denial of the beauty of the dawn and dusk, a denial of the stars and the moon as they shone with their own light in the night sky, a denial of one's own body and its natural rhythm of sleeping and waking. 'How can its people live in such a way? How many of its children have looked up at the night sky and never seen the stars?' he asked himself as he contemplated the city from his vantage point above the trees, wings beating powerfully and rhythmically to keep him aloft. 'I hope we do not stay long,' Varthok thought anxiously, his ears folded flat against his head.

A sudden "Hey, it's time to go!" tore his attention away from the city and turned around slowly to scan the ground for Zoe, wondering if Diael had perhaps wanted to approach the circus on foot. Turning his gaze upward, he then saw Diael in Couatl form, sinuous and with feathers far more colorful than his own humble silvery-white, flying up towards him. "[[Is the circus very far?]]" he queried in Draconic as Diael drew closer. "[[I don't think Aladterf ever told me where it was.]]" With a glance back down towards the earth, Varthok caught a glimpse of Moriah through the foliage and made a mental note to speak with her after their next meeting. 'I wanted to speak with her before leaving,' he thought, wordlessly chastising himself for losing track of time, 'but I didn't have anything to say that can't wait.' Wondering aloud, and addressing no one in particular, he added, "[[I'd feel better knowing what he's planning. I'm not sure there's anything he can say or I could do that would get me into Iatirroch.]]"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael addresses his appearance. "It's a bit ostentatious, I know. If you have a faster serpent to propose, I would gladly become it," He responds in draconic. "I know of the location and it should not be hard to spot. Subtlety is not typically the specialty of circus folk." He circles around Varthok idly, his colorful plumage catching the moonlight.

Zoe notes Varthok's gaze. "She'll still be here when we get back, friends." She give a giggle. It's barely audible amongst the flapping of wings and wind. Her tiny size is much e noticeable as she is nestled between Diael's shoulders.

[Getsugaru]

Though the sun was setting, the lights of Iatirroch caused the sky to continue glowing. A calm pond surrounded by trees was babling slightly as water poured into it from the nearby stream. Squirrels snacking on nuts and deer getting a cool, refreshing drink were all nearby, enjoying the evening serenity.

A bright flash of light scared off the squirrels and deer that surrounded the pool. As the lights dimmed, Ghola and Thufir emerged from the pond; their teleport hand landed them at the edge, but still in knee-deep water. "Ugh. Not my most graceful entrance, but nobody saw it."
"I did." Thufir thought with a gleeful tone.
"Thufir, you don't have eyes."
Stepping out of the pond, Ghola could hear the sounds of hammers on stakes, people shouting, and a single roar. "That can't be good..."
"Better go find Fi and find out what's going on..." Ghola gave his pants a quick pat down to partially dry them off. With his pants...slightly less wet, he began the trek down the hill through the trees to the camp...

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael groans audibly at Zoe's remark. "You misunderstand me," he says.

"Do I?" She makes no attempt to hide her smugness in her broadcast.

"It doesn't matter. There is work to be done. Plans to be laid. Tasks to be performs. Come, Varthok, I will lead the way." The serpent makes his ways across the sky. He travels for sometime before suddenly diving into the woods. His form twists back into his humanoid one, with Zoe once again perched on his shoulders.

"The circus is just up ahead. Diael says it would be best for him not to shape shift in front of them. You might want to walk in with us," Zoe tells Vathok.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Armand

As you well know, the free quarters provided to university staff do not come without a catch. Churches of knowledge deities are well aware that knowledge has power and that blasphemous knowledge is all the more tempting for being forbidden. That, combined with the fact that priests of knowledge deities are often attracted to those churches due to an obsessive need to know as much as possible, means that one of their unofficial duties is to keep tabs on potential "subversives" such as academics, surgeons, judges, and others who might find the practice of illegal magics to be more helpful in their duties than asking assistance of a church.

This fact isn't common knowledge, as the churches are subtle about it and of course know well how knowledge propagates (and how to keep it from doing so), but those who do use illegal magics have ways to discover the practice. Thus, when an invisible sensor pops silently into existence in your room and begins looking around for any signs of subversive activities as it has a tendency to do once a fortnight or so, all it finds is a normal, unexceptional scholar scribing away at his desk with his normal, unexceptional quill copying normal, unexceptional material that is perfectly safe for public consumption.

Ghola

The squick, squick, squick of wet shoes slapping on stone and the uncomfortable itchiness of wet socks accompanies you to the camp, where no one gives you any grief for being partly soaked because they have bigger problems to deal with. An out-of-breath porter explains that the flock of fire bats Valignat uses in his Flame Tamer act managed to get loose somehow and agitate the tame tendriculos Catherine uses in her Rescue The Captive Damsel act, which then managed to release the recently-acquired young chimera that you plan to use in your new Three Heads Are Better Than One act, which then started roaring and knocking over tents and generally causing plenty of chaos.

By the time you arrive the chimera is mostly under control; only its goat head has yet to be muzzled and tied down and no one is close enough to be in any real danger. You're ignored for a few more minutes as the ineffectually-wriggling chimera is returned to its cage, the tendriculos and fire bats already having been recaptured, and then Steve comes up to welcome you back, right hand extended for a handshake and left hand holding a large loaf of crunchy bread. "Well it's about time you got back!" he says, motioning with the bread to the scene behind him.

"It took Val an hour or so just to find the last of those damn bats." He takes a loud bite of his bread and continues with his mouth full, "And since no one else here can fly, Fi'la had to be the one to shepherd them back to the tents." He takes another bite. "But, y'know, they're fire bats, so when a few of them smacked into Larten's tent they set it alight." Crunch. "So th' port'rs hadda take c're of th't wh'le Getsu went af'r Cath'r'n's plant." Crunch. "Th'n th' g'd'm ch'm'ra st'r'd br'th'n f'r 'l ov'r th' pl'c 'n' 'lm'st b'rn'd d'n th' m'n t'nt." Crunch. "Fnly, thomstr mmsotrn nnth connrrng nthRngmostrs hddochstdn." Chew, swallow. "So, obviously, Fi'la is pissed."

Steve continues to update you on recent happenings with varying degrees of understandability while munching on his bread as the two of you meander to the main tent to see the Ringmistress. After a bit of a rant from her about not being there to help when all the Abyss broke loose you sit down with her and attempt to sell her on including two last-minute additions to your act, two traveling performers whom you know quite well and are confident can join the show with a minimum of fuss. It takes some arguing and plenty of talespinning about how you met them, but she finally relents on the condition that she can see their acts tonight before the performance.

Displaying a showman's sense of timing, Diael and Varthok take that moment to arrive at the camp and introduce themselves and are quickly ushered to the Ringmistress's tent.

Ghola, Diael, Varthok

The next hour or so is spent showing off to the Ringmistress. Dial joins Ghola in an impressive acrobatic routine and then tries out a mock duel with Getsugaru (holding back a bit to avoid revealing his true skill with a blade), and while Fi'la scoffs that Diael doesn't have the flash and flamboyance of a true performer, she admits that he's a good acrobat and swordsman, definitely better than anyone the Iatirrochen have seen, so he's in. Fi'la isn't much impressed at a first glance with Varthok, who has been introduced as an impersonator and quick-change artist--she claims that his gnoll mask is a good attempt but the fur looks a bit fake, and no one would believe a humanoid could fly with wings that small--but after his excellent routine as one "Radagast the Crazy Druid" (complete with realistic flame effects and very convincing "shapeshifting") she pronounces herself persuaded and allows him to join the show as well.


Next Day, Shortly Before Noon

Aat, Kaulesh

The two of you wander over to the circus in your completely-normal-innocent-civilian guise shortly after the circus arrives and begins to set up a short distance outside the city walls. You aren't the only ones here so early: most of the city's younger children have never seen a circus before and so many of them are there with their parents eagerly watching all of the preparations from outside the fences erected around the circus perimeter. After watching for a while, you stroll leisurely around the area, all the time watching out for any traps, clergy observers, or other potential problems, but aside from the priestesses of Maat who set up some wards against gatecrashers and the priest of Pluto who is selling tickets you don't see a heavy church presence.

You do see a few people around who also appear to be more concerned with the security and audience than with watching the circus and note them as being potential undercover Inquisitors or plainclothes priests of Helm and Cuthbert, but they don't interfere with you or appear suspicious of you so you merely decide to keep an eye on them during the performance. Your reconnaissance done, you sit back to wait and watch.

Ghola, Diael, Varthok

The circus is in chaos once again as everyone and everything moves from the camp to the performance site nearer the city, though today it is the somewhat-organized chaos of tent assembly, last-minute wardrobe changes, frenzied practice, and the like. The three of you are caught up in it since you can't avoid it without acting out of character for dedicated performers, so you'll have to trust to Aat and Kaulesh to keep an eye on things for you. Diael does get a chance to slip away from the crowd and meet with the two of them at one point; he checks in with them to make sure that no one suspects you, then takes the tickets and goes to meet Armand to give them to him.

Armand, Diael

A well-rested Armand is met by an energetic Diael in the Wet Whistle shortly after noon as planned. The circus is just about ready to start admitting the audience and many students are in the pub catching a quick bite to eat before they attend. Jasmine and Ginny are two of the many students present, chatting over sandwiches as they wait for the circus to start, one of the reasons Armand chose this pub as a meeting place. They mention at one point that not all of their friends can afford to attend, including several of the other co-conspirators, so they'll have to tell them about the, uh, new homework they were assigned at their next, uh, study group session.

[Getsugaru]

[Just a thing I planned to put in originally, but has little effect on the story other than possibly helping establish Ghola's relation with a few of the members...]

Ghola

I apologize for being away for so long. Ghola gave a bowing nod to Steve after hearing about the situation. I promise to make up for it later. For now, I'd best speak to Fi about an idea I had while looking for some fresh blood.

After listening to more of the situation from Steve, Ghola arrived in the main tent, only to hear Fi'la's booming director voice instructing people on how to fix the situations that had preceded Ghola's arrival. After being told off for being away so long, Ghola pitched his ideas to her. Through a combination of tale-spinning, arguing, and a bit of "suggesting how funny it'd be to watch Getsugaru show off his skills", Fi'la eventually decided to take a look at the new recruits...

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh notices the 'under cover' clerics with an unassuming glance, and mentally stores the information for later use.

Not seeing anything else out of the ordinary he buys some food, and sits down waiting for the crowds to swell and the shows to start.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat walks around, spots and observes. Following Kaulesh, he orders a spiced chicken roll and sits next to the martial master. He nods at the suspected clerics and mumbles: "See that?" Of course Kaulesh also saw that. He cleans his lips- The garlic sauce is nice, but not very becoming. "They watch as we do." Stowing his napkin, he continues: "Do we await, or do we anticipate?" The disturbing grin of a fervent hunter forms on his face. Aat is a hunter, a predator, Kaulesh knows...

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Finishing his work after midnight, Armand filled a ewer of water and used half to wash his hands of spilled ink. Even though Amaneunsis ensured he remained clean, it was necessary to spill ink on occasion to help fool casual observers.

Waking up early in a lightless cell is always difficult. On the other hand, when you need to catch up on sleep, it's better than trying to sleep through the sounds of a busy town going about its day.
Hmm, he mused as he ran a hand over his face and neck. Should be able to get away with not shaving for one more day. After scrubbing his face with water, and gargling what remained, he sits down for an hour or so with his books to refresh his spells.
That accomplished, he quickly wrote a set of letters to each of the students in the 'special study group' that he recognized. At which point he stuck them in the bottom of his haversack with his grading, combat gear, and books before leaving for the rendezvous with Diael.


At the Wet Whistle
At the entrance to pub, Armand pauses to survey the crowd; quickly picking out Jasmine due to her race with Ginny at her table, as well as Diael off to the side.
Making the rounds of the pub, he stops by the tables of each student in his archaeology and history classes, a list that happens to include Ginny, Peter, and Eamonn.
At each table, the message is the same:
"There's been a small problem with the grading for the exam. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong, but I need you to stop by the lecture hall in an hour. I'll be there until dinner time, so tell as many of your classmates as you can."


Letters to Ginny/Jasmine/Peter/Eamonn.
No names are given in the letters.

Act normal. You and your friend are very special, and you are all in danger. I can help you though. Take this and attend tonight, take the route I tell you. Tell no one but your special friend. Act normal. Burn this.

[Snowbluff]

Zoey

As Diael sips his drink, the hidden Zoe gives a message to Armand via telepathy. "Diael would like to remind you the notes were not entirely necessary..."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Surprised at the sudden and unexpected mental communication, Armand pauses before replying. We need them to take us seriously. And I felt having them take a particular route would be better than trying to tail them through the city.
After a moments thought, he asks. How did you know about the notes anyway?

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Despite his reassurances and casual demeanor, all four students Armand speaks to stammer out a bit of small talk as they process the fact that a professor has contacted them outside of class--a professor, going to a pub? Who knew!--before developing the petrified look of sheer gut-wrenching terror that any academically-minded student gets when told about grading irregularities. Did I fail? Did someone cheat? Do we have to retake the test? I bet we have to retake the test. Maybe we just have to retake it because we failed. Oh, gods, I hope I didn't fail, my parents will kill me, I'll lose my scholarship...I knew I shouldn't have crammed, now I don't remember a thing...oh Almighty Lord Oghma, Recorder of All Knowledge, please please please help me recall all of chapter seven....

Ah, the naïvete of youth, to believe that the most world-shaking event in your life is failing a test.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

As he continues circling through the room, he addresses Zoey telepathically. "Does he have the tickets for today or tomorrow? I'll get them as soon as I set up this smokescreen. If my entire class is coming through my room, then the inquisition will have to watch all of them. Particularly if they suspect something."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"He does indeed. He swiped quite a few, in fact. We are waiting to give them to you." Zoe's smugness is evident in her tone.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Rounds done, he sits next to Diael and pulls out several books from his haversack.

"You're the man who wanted to have several books copied?" He asked.

"Here are three samples of my works. This is the flora and fauna found between Iatirroch and Corraladris. This is a post-Cataclysm history, concerned with the first hundred years, including an analysis of the political pressures that created the Theocratic Alliance and abolished the use of profane magics like sorcery and witchcraft. And this last a book of Oghmanite prayers suitable for nobility and wealthy merchants."

"The price will depend on the quality of the paper, as well as how detailed you wish the illuminations and illustrations; but ranges from less than five silver per page to more than forty." He continued. "I can do everything for the simpler works, but true art is beyond my ability and so I must enlist a more skilled calligrapher, which will also greatly increase both price and required time."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael examines the books carefully. Flipping through the pages, he says "The work is... passable. Though, I say the prices are frankly outrageous. It was not long ago I could have had this done for half of the cost." He gives a mournful sigh. "Alas, talented scribes are few and far apart, and I am running out of time." He pulls a sack from his bag. "The texts and the advance payment we agreed upon. Make sure to have it done within the week."

"Diael is a just giving you a hard time. Your handwriting is fine. The tickets are in the bag. Good luck!" Zoe says, telepathically.

The bag has a couple of dusty history tomes from Diael's collection, 10 GP, and the collection of tickets.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"The prices reflect the necessity hiring outside talent, and the current scarcity of inks that don't fade within a year. The ingredients for dark golds and any shade of purple have been hard to find at any price for months. I thank you for custom sir, and if you're pleased with my work, I'd be glad to contact you in the future once prices have stabilized."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"Agreed. Indeed, I would feel more free to make dealings when the prices are not akin to highway robbery."

"Um... should we just leave now, or is there anything else for us to do?"

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Then fare well good sir. I will see you in a weeks time." Armand replies as he stuffs everything into his haversack before signalling for a glass of cider from the tender.

I need to get ready to meet an influx of students. Zoe, can you ask Diael which streets we should have the students take? I think we should have them take less traveled routes.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"Hmm... okay... Pelor... Pagan... and Jelios. Those are the streets that Master had noticed on the way here. As long as you believe that is the correct action, of course. Diael thinks blending into a crowd can be handy."

"Very well... Thank you. I will depart." Diael stands and places his payment on the table. "Don't fail."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Errands accomplished, Armand heads back to the academy to prepare for the arrival of his students. A quick stop in his room gives the time and privacy necessary to finish the notes for the students.

No names are given in the letters.

Act normal. You and your friend are very special, and you are all in danger. I can help you though. Take this and attend tonight, take the route I tell you. Tell no one but your special friend. Act normal. Burn this.
Stay with crowds, on the way home, take Pelor St, Pagan St, and Jelios Ave.

After pushing the benches away from the wall and into their normal positions, he writes a message on the chalkboard.

The last set of tests have gotten damaged through my own negligence. You have a three choices:
1) Retake the exam right now. You have one hour to complete it.
2) I can just not count the exam, your final grades will be calculated as if there had been only 2 midterms and a final rather than 3 and a final.
3) Do nothing and hope that I'm able to read your answers through water damage. In this case, grading will be lenient and you will not be penalized for answers that are illegible.

Some exams had already been graded before the accident. The following please speak to me at the podium to determine how you wish to proceed.
Parquah, Peter
Rogers, Steven
Kent, Connor
Rayner, Kyle
LaFonde, Ginny
Lance, Dinah
Bracegirdle, Eamonn
Gardner, Guy
Campbell, Bruce

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Midafternoon

Armand

The room is packed when you arrive; gossip travels fast and no one wanted to wait until dinner to hear what's going on. Many variations on "Like Hells I'm taking that exam again!" arise from the assembled students when you finish writing down option 1, and they hang on your every word as you write out the other two options. A discussion quickly breaks out as everyone strategizes with their neighbors about which option would likely result in the highest score, with most favoring option 3 but several students who thought they bombed the final favoring 2.

It doesn't escape the notice of the students whose exams had supposedly been graded that all of the students mentioned are in the "special study group," and by the sixth name they're starting to look very nervous about potentially having been discovered. They approach the podium with trepidation to receive the "exams" you're "handing back to them" and several almost drop their letters and the enclosed tickets when they realize the full import of the message. Eamonn and Bruce stare at you in shock; Steven, Connor, and Ginny look at you with newfound respect; Dinah just looks happy the letter doesn't say she failed. After composing themselves and nodding to you that they'll all follow those instructions, they return to their seats.

One quick poll later, the class is split roughly half-and-half between options 2 and 3, and you dismiss them well before dinnertime after noting which students chose which options. That leaves those students who'd planned to go to the circus just half an hour or or so to scramble across town to the circus. Now you just need to decide whether you're going to join everyone in keeping an eye on the circus or make some clandestine preparations elsewhere.

Aat, Kaulesh

While you amuse yourselves with people-watching, you notice a pair of new arrivals wandering through the crowd: two flashily-dressed elves chatting up the locals and scribbling notes, one slim and pale, the other tanned and muscled. When they get close enough for you to listen in, you hear that one of them is "Recorder Quinn Alderbranch, writer for the Society pages of the Guiding Light Times-Gazette, pleased to meetcha, how're you doing today? Excellent, excellent! Mind if I ask you a few questions?" and the other is "My faithful companion Reqeb, you don't mind if he jots down your answers and does a quick sketch of you, do you? Excellent, excellent!"

The loquacious duo seems to be doing quick interview for an opinion piece on the circus, asking questions about whether people had seen the circus last time it was in town, whether they like it or would prefer other entertainment, their favorite monsters to see in the acts, and similar. The reporters don't appear to be direct agents of the churches or even looking for anything in particular, at least as far as you can tell, but they're heading in your direction and your names and faces ending up in the papers as having been at the circus could turn out badly.

Ghola, Diael, Varthok

Diael rejoins the circus after meeting with Armand and you all help the circus complete its preparations. The fairgrounds are getting packed, and a cheer arises as the Ringmistress makes an announcement that the performance will begin in twenty minutes. She gathers everyone together in one of the tents for a last-minute pep talk, and you might be tempted to relax; your plan seems to be going off without a hitch, what could possibly go wrong?

You know better, though, and alarm spells start ringing in your minds as an official-looking woman in official-looking robes strides into the tent with some papers in one hand and a holy symbol of Eunomia--minor goddess of legal procedure, legislation, thoroughness and propriety, the bane of every small business owner's existence--prominently displayed on her chest. One of the jugglers enters right after her, shooting the Ringmistress his best apologetic "I tried to stop her!" look.

"I must protest, Ringmistress!" the official demands in a strident tone. "I've been informed that the number of your performers present here today exceeds the figure you gave us last week by two! This is highly irregular!"
"If this is about the fees, Miss...?"
"Arbiter Eirine."
"Yes, of course. If this is about the fees, Arbiter Eirine, I can assure you--"
"We'll get to the additional fees soon enough, Ringmistress, but those can be handled after the performance. No, I'm here because we simply cannot allow you to bring undocumented and unapproved performers into the city!"
"Terribly sorry, Arbiter, but we really don't have time for this. My performers go on in fifteen minutes, and--"
"Well, those two won't, not if you don't convince me in the next fifteen minutes that they have the proper documentation to perform and that we shouldn't shut down your circus for ignoring regulations!"

Ringmistress Fi'la gives Ghola an exceedingly sour look for bringing this upon her; there will be words about this later, make no mistake. She quickly decides she doesn't have time to deal with a bureaucrat like Eiline. "They're freelancers, Arbiter," she says, motioning to Diael and Varthok. "If there's any problem here, it's on their heads, not mine. You know the laws." Yes, the Arbiter knows them well indeed, and Eiline turns to Diael and Varthok with a very officious look on her face while the Ringmistress and other performers discreetly make their escape. "Start talking, you two. I want papers and explanations."

[Getsugaru]

Ghola returns her glare with an I'm sorry and promise to make up for this later glance.

Just out of habit, Ghola's going to manifest Detect Hostile Intent and use it to check out this "bane of all that is smaller businesses". This also nets me a free (action) use of Sense Motive. Also, a Knowledge: Local check to see if I can figure out if the problem presented is a real legal issue. If it isn't, I'd hope that would retroactively add a bonus to my sense Motive check...

Knowledge: Local: (1d20+9) [roll0]
Sense Motive: (1d20+4) [roll1]

Finally, if there's anyone within 30ft of me that "possesses hostile intent", I automatically know this and in which direction they are from my current position.

While staring at the "Arbiter" Eirine, Ghola scratched his nose...

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat gives Kaulesh a telling look and says, softly so the elves won't hear: "I think it is time for us to go and grab a drink somewhere." He stands up and nods at a stand. "It is crowded there."

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh nods with assent "Indeed it is brother, I was thinking the very same thing.", he stands and walks over to the drinking stand purchasing two, one for him and Aat.

If the elven interviewers push the situation, he will clumsily 'trip' as they approach and spill his drink over their notes


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Getsugaru]

As far as Ghola could tell, this was a simple, but real, legal issue. As he "smelled" no aggression around him, Ghola looked over to Diael and reached down into the same pocket Thufir had originally climbed into when Zoe startled him the previous evening. Reaching out with his mind, Ghola tried to see if he could reach Zoe through her telepathy...

"Zoe, can you hear my thoughts? Do the three of you have papers?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe and Diael have been conversing this whole time. Zoe decides to grace Ghola's mind with her presence.

"Hello! Diael doesn't have papers. He's thinking about having some forged."

[Getsugaru]

"I was afraid of that, but can you tell him that if he can buy me 1 minute out of her sight, I can forge him some based off of mine?"

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"I don't think we have been introduced. I am William Tell." He extends his hand to shake the arbiter's. "Now it seems I have forgotten my bag in my tent..."

"...Diael says yes."

[Getsugaru]

"Understood."

"Allow me to go get it for you." Ghola walked out of the tent and headed for the tent set up for Diael and Varthok. Upon arriving, Ghola found Diael's bag and took out paper, ink, and his copy of the documents for reference. Over the course of a minute, Ghola recreated an exact replica of his papers, with his specific information replaced with the info Zoe passed on from Diael.

After the forgery was complete, Ghola placed it within Diael's bag before picking up the bag and bringing it back. "Here you are."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"... and that's why you should never eat tiramisu while on an analgesic." He laughs to himself.

"Ah, thank you." He extracts the papers. and hands them to the arbiter. "Here you go. I trust everything is in order."

[Failed Phantasm]

Had he visited it at any other time in his young life, Varthok would have utterly awestruck by the circus. There had never been anything of its like in Dawnbreeze — the elves there were a bit too traditional and much too isolated for that sort of thing — to say nothing of the gnolls, who were as likely to cheer on the more violent acts as to eat the performers (and animals) if they got too bored. The beasts themselves were unfamiliar to him to the point of seeming downright exotic, as his entire experience as a druid-in-training had involved handling the typically-more-mundane forest-dwelling creatures. Instead, most of his memories of the past day had blurred together into a dream-like jumble of sights, sounds, smells, and other sensations. He wasn't even sure he could remember exactly what happened at his "audition" for the Ringmistress, never mind how he was supposed to duplicate that particular feat. Helping prepare the circus for its imminent performance in Iatirroch was actually a welcome respite, since the physical labor required so little of Varthok's attention and effort (sometimes he forgot how strong he was in comparison to most other humanoids) that he could figuratively stop and catch his breath. Things had been going well, and Varthok himself was starting to feel the almost-palpable and exceedingly infectious atmosphere of excitement as everything was finished and people began to fill the fairgrounds like an incoming tide.

Of course, none of that could entirely dispel Varthok's anxiety about being inside the city or his worry that they — or any of the other members of their resistance cell — would be discovered, and his lack of a proper disguise coupled with a poor understanding of human customs and culture made him very uneasy indeed, to the point that he had to fight to suppress a very loud, very started yowl when Arbiter Eirine interrupted the Ringmistress' last-minute speech. It had been a very long time since he had felt quite as conspicuous as he did when the Arbiter approached both him and Diael, not since he had first been allowed into Dawnbreeze and found that he fairly towered over the much shorter elves. 'I'm a druid, that's not a lie,' he thought to himself as the strange woman rounded on him, taking a few uneasy steps backwards as she did, 'but I'm not sure I can convince her that I'm an elf. I have a name the elves gave me, but I don't actually have any shapeshifting magic to appear as one. I can speak their language well enough, but I can't hide the growl in my voice. And what about my wings?' Without thinking or noticing, he folded his wings a little more tightly underneath his cloak. Fortunately, he did not actually have to speak to the arbiter as Diael and Aladterf apparently had a plan.

Varthok decided it would be decidedly best to not say anything unless spoken to and instead directed his attention to assessing the arbiter's actions and behavior. While Diael distracted her with a story he seemed to be inventing on the spot, Varthok was hoping that she was too busy paying attention to every word like a good investigator to notice how he was surreptitiously studying her body language and responses, doing his best to act natural and not appear as though he were staring closely and intently at her — which he was, in fact, actually doing.

-----
Actions taken:

Sense Motive check to assess Arbiter Eirine's behavior and actions: [roll0]
Spot check to see if Varthok notices any unusual or out-of-place items, etc. on the arbiter's person, and to determine if the arbiter is someone in disguise: See OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15660781&postcount=565).

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat and Kaulesh

No one around you pays you any attention since you're just another member of the public as far as you're concerned, and you keep an eye and an ear on the reporters as you walk over to the drink stand. The drinks you purchase are insultingly overpriced, but that's to be expected from public entertainment.

The reporters make it to your empty seats, look around a bit, then ask the people sitting next to you where you went. The gesture vaguely in your direction and mention that you went to get drinks, at which point "Excellent, excellent! They won't mind if I borrow their seat for a minute, then. Recorder Quinn Alderbranch, writer for the Society pages of the Guiding Light Times-Gazette, pleased to meetcha, how're you doing today? Mind if I ask you a few questions?" sits down, asks his usual battery of questions, has them pose for a sketch, shakes their hands effusively, and moves along. Crisis averted.

Ghola, Diael, Varthok

The Arbiter is not amused by talk of tiramisu-related hijinks. Diael would probably be hard pressed to amuse her with anything; you get the impression her sense of humor was exorcised on her first day on the job along with her small talk abilities and her patience. She glares accusingly at Diael while she waits, her expression saying that she doesn't know anything about him but she's positive he's guilty of something. Probably tax evasion--or worse, tying up his mount at a public hitching post without a license!

She doesn't appear to notice Varthok observing her, or if she does she doesn't appear to care. As far as Varthok can tell, she's exactly what she appears to be: an irritating, self-important bureaucrat who thinks (as so many priests unfortunately do) that membership in the clergy makes her time and priorities more important than any layperson's.

When Ghola returns and passes Diael's and Varthok's totally authentic papers to Diael, Arbiter Eirene snatches them out of his hands to examine them with a jeweler's loupe she pulls out of one pocket. She inspects them very carefully with the loupe, feels the texture of the paper, holds the ink up to the light to check its reflection...and grudgingly hands them back to him. "These do seem to be in order," she allows, her tone implying that the only thing worse than performing without a license is performing with a license and wasting her time verifying it. "But next time, please do remember to inform either my church, the Church of Tiamat, or the Conclave of Mask about your intent to perform so that no one's time is wasted again."

The Arbiter leaves the tent in a huff, and shortly thereafter the Ringmistress returns. "Good riddance," she grumbles. "Now are there any other last-minute problems you want to spring on me before the show?"

[Getsugaru]

[This post is long. Sorry about that, but it's length increased when Dice said I have influence over my act. For suspense purposes, please don't open the spoiler in the middle of the post, as it contains information on my act that is for Dice's eyes only...for now...]

"I apologize for the unexpected delay, Ringmistress. I think I'll take my leave now to get into costume." With a respectful bow, Ghola walked out of the tent and into his own. Inside his tent was a backpack filled with his personal belongings. Ghola, however, did not go over to his bag; instead, he knelled down and closed his eyes. Focusing his mind, he reached out with his soul. Suddenly, a radiant mist, deep blue in color, emerged from his body. Suddenly the mist seemed to merge with his clothes. Within an instant his appearance had changed, his outfit taking a more bestial form. As the mist coalesced around his upper torso, his shirt became covered with blue-white fur, which extended down the sleeves to the wrists, with it longest on the forearms. The bandage-like ribbons tied around his hands became furred gloves and were tipped with short claws. The sash around his waist formed a long tail tipped with short spines, while the rest was coated it spotted fur. Along the outside of his thighs were a pair of draconic wings, which themselves had sprouted from his belt, held so tightly against his legs that they appeared to be part of his pants. At the same time, the tail wrapped loosely around his waist following the pattern set by the sash. His tabi reshaped themselves into the form of boots, encasing his legs up to his knees in what appeared to be leathery skin. Just as it reached his knees, enormous claws emerged from the front of each boot. On his back formed a silvery-gray cloak with mottled blue markings, which seemed to flow like a gentle stream even when stationary. Finally, the mist merged with his scarf, which then proceeded to transform into a snow-white mask resembling the head of a wolf, covering his whole face. A snarling muzzle filled with sharp teeth protruded from the front of the mask, and eyes like blue ice crystals stare out in defiance. As he stood up, he opened his eyes; no longer were they their normal shade of purple, but instead were deep blue like the mist he'd produced.

Standing back up, Ghola walked over to his backpack and pulled out a small container of spice. "Do you really need to have more now?"
"You know I have a quick bite before each show. Besides, spice is life, especially since it helps to keep my focus as sharp as the teeth of a Displacer Beast."
Ghola quickly put some spice on a sandwich he made earlier. He ate the sandwich in silence while reviewing his act in his head.First, as always, I take a bow when the spotlight falls on me. That will serve as Val's cue and he will release the lion out into the arena. With the training Val gave it, his command word will tell it to run towards me. When he gets close, I perform a backflip on to his back and balance myself on one hand as always while he runs around the arena... Ghola stopped eating for a moment. That will give me a great opening to focus on the crowd to see if I detect any malice. Ghola resumed eating while going over the rest of his act.
Upon finishing, the show was only three minutes away from the curtain call, so Ghola packed up his gear and walked over to the main tent to get ready for the show...

What I did in this post:

Returned to my tent.
Regained both my and my Psicrystal's Psionic Foci (Concentration Check DC 20 Rolls: [roll0] [roll1]).
Rearranged my Essentia (Swift Action), and made my Soulmelds visible again. Soulmelds I prepared in the morning:
Rage Claws (Hands), Essentia Invested: 2
Manticore Belt (Bound Totem: Waist), Essentia Invested: 3
Girallon Arms (Bound Totem: Arms), Essentia Invested: 3
Phase Cloak (Bound Shoulders), Essentia Invested: 1
Landshark Boots (Feet), Essentia Invested: 2
Winter Mask (Throat), Essentia Invested: None

Made a sandwich (Craft/Profession((Gourmet) Chef) check DC=5?, which I automatically hit thanks to my INT modifier/WIS modifier + masterwork tool (Spice Cabinet)).
Reviewed my act and ate sandwich.
Walked over to the main tent for the show.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

While grabbing the drink and seeing the reporters harass our neighbours, Aat starts thinking and starts whispering to Kaulesh, making sure he is not being overheard. "Would it make sense for us to go and find aternative places? Not those obvious seats, but somewhere where are not noticed and can intervene more subtly should it be necessary?" Aat knew both he and Kaulesh were perfectly abe to blend in and disappear in a crowd.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh grabs his overly priced drink, nods to the merchant and walks away thinking how it was possible anyone could charge this much for something so simple.

Looking to Aat after watching the interrogators he nods in agreement, "That is a good idea my friend, perhaps we should move around, you never know what will happen, and we cannot watch the whole area...And I do believe it is about to start, I haven't enjoyed a good carnival in a while."

He takes off, walking at a leisurely pace.

Autopsibiofeeder, what were you thinking, just a nonchalant roaming patrol, or somewhere in particular?

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Hmmm, and something to take our minds of these drinks. Would be a waste to drink it too fast." He wanders along with Kaulesh. "I've never really been to one of these things. Think they will have an archery demonstration?"

A nonchalant patrol before the show starts, but when the show starts I am suggesting to not take our seats, but stand somewhere in the back, hidden to all but the most vigilant observer (you also have a good hide modifier, no?). If something goes wrong during the show (though...what could possibly go wrong with this lot? :smalltongue:) we can act/intervene from a position that is not front row and in plain sight.

Does that make sense to you?

[Failed Phantasm]

As the Arbiter was leaving, Varthok's ears quickly returned to their normal, alert position, having been flattened quite vigorously against his head while the cleric was glowering at both him and Diael. 'I hope Armand, Aat, Master Kaulesh, and the students haven't run into anyone like her,' he thought, 'If any of them are caught...' Pushing the uncomfortable idea from his mind, Varthok instead directed his thoughts towards his upcoming act, which was not honestly a more comforting prospect. He walked out of the tent and looked around for a secluded place to prepare, as he had no tent of his own to use and he didn't feel like intruding on Ghola to ask if he felt like sharing. When he spotted a promising area nearer to the forest, he sprinted off on foot in that direction, preferring not to fly, even if only a few feet from the ground, just in case Arbiter Eirene had come back or had never left and was still skulking around. He certainly wouldn't know how to explain that to her.

When he arrived, Varthok hid behind a tree so that no one from the circus would be likely to see him, and then started mentally reviewing his appearance and his act. He tugged at his shirt and tunic to straighten the wrinkles out, and patted them a few times to shake the dust loose, though he couldn't do anything for the wear. New clothes were not easy to acquire, as, obvious difficulty of doing business with other humanoids aside, his clothes had to be specially tailored with slits on the backs of his shirts and tunics to allow for his wings and with extra room in the pants to allow for the shape of his legs. His cloak was a bit tattered from the long days on the road, but he was removing it at the start of his act to add to the, as the Ringmistress put it, "dramatic effect" of revealing his wings. 'Whatever that's supposed to mean.' Revealing his wings had nearly gotten him killed several times in the past, and yet had only saved his life once. The thought did not inspire much confidence.

The act itself was supposed to be rather straightforward and not very long. Immediately before starting, Varthok had to cast a call lightning spell that would be used later in the act, after which Varthok had to enter abruptly and without being announced, sprinting into the ring as if he were "interrupting" the act before his. He then had to throw off his cloak and spread his wings for a brief moment, before launching himself into the air and flying around over the heads of the audience, doing a few rolls and sharp turns to get the crowd gasping, though he didn't know how that would impress them. He'd done it exactly once before, when he was younger and even less familiar with what was considered "appropriate" behavior, and the people in the merchant caravan below him then were screaming in horror, diving out the way, and shouting odd phrases, like "The gods are angry!", "Save me, Heironous!", and "There, the gnolls are flying! Now will you marry me?!"

After the aerial acrobatics, he had to fly towards the top of the tent and call down a few lightning bolts towards the empty ring, close enough to some of the front rows to startle people, but not close enough to actually harm any of them, all while cackling madly and shouting at them. He was "Radagast, the Crazy Druid", after all, although he had to "curse" the audience in Sylvan instead of Druidic, as the latter was meant to be reserved for speaking with other druids only — though the fey certainly had their share of colorful epithets. Then, some of the other performers would come out with weighted nets and act as though they were getting ready to throw them at Varthok, to which he was to cast a flame strike near them, but not so close as to risk injury. As the performers were "diving out of the way," Varthok was to fly out again while swearing "revenge" or somesuch thing against the circusfolk while giggling madly the way hyenas did, a feat which Varthok could replicate, but one which was not as easy as it might seem. Gnolls were definitely not hyenas, no matter how much they might associate with and resemble each other, and it hurt Varthok's throat when he tried to reproduce some of the calls they made.

With a brief huff, Varthok leaned out from behind the tree and scanned for anyone who might be nearby. When he was sure that he spotted no one, he sprinted back towards the main tent where he could only wait anxiously for his act to begin.

[Getsugaru]

Ghola had arrived at the tent before Varthok, and saw him come in, clearly anxious. Silently walking over, Ghola used the Celestial tongue as he whispered into Varthok's large ear. "Relax. You will do fine. As your people say, 'The cruelty of our past has made us strong.' With the strength of your ancestors, you can easily overcome any task. We all know you are just, and a good person, but I know you can do this." Reaching into a pouch on his belt, Ghola pulled out a small vial and placed it in Varthok's hand. "Honey. It's for your throat.". With a smile and a nod, Ghola walked away...

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh smiles and nods to Aat "I would be sure of it, Archery is a fine show for those uninitiated in its art" he pauses and takes a sip of his drink "Yes, lets wander and then we can watch things from the back, my legs are aching from all this sitting."


Sounds good!

[PairO'Dice Lost]

The Ringmistress leaves her tent with a harrumph of frustration at the same time Aat and Kaulesh begin their innocent meander around the circus grounds, leaving everyone to prepare at roughly the same time. The happy chatter of the crowds, the overly-cheerful patter of the gamesmen and trinket merchants, the flashing colors of bright silks and patterned flags, and other chaotic sensations of the circus fade into the background as everyone concentrates on their assigned tasks.

Over the course of a few minutes, the crowd slowly grows quieter as the sky grows a bit overcast; there are scattered murmurs wondering if they'll have to cancel the circus due to weather. Then, as the sky grows a lot overcast and magical lights begin to dance through the air towards the underside of the darkening clouds, everyone starts to realize that it's part of the show and hurriedly rush to their seats. Soon enough there's hardly any natural daylight to be seen and only the constant golden light of the city and the raucous red, green, and blue lights of the circus remain. Silence prevails for a few expectant seconds as the entire crowd seems to hold their breath, then...


Ladies and Gentlemen!

Clergy and Laity!

Children and Acolytes of All Ages!

Prepare to be Amazed and Amused, Tickled and Transported!

Ringmistress Fi'la's thundering voice echoes from nowhere, catching everyone's rapt attention, before she suddenly appears in the very center of the circus in a burst of purple smoke. It takes a very talented speaker to audibly Capitalize Words in a Dramatic Announcement, but she's definitely had plenty of practice with that.


By the Voice of Kichijōten!

By the Brush of Ptah!

By the Harp of Apollo!

And in the Name of the Magnificent Patron of Iatirroch, Horus-Ra!

I give you...the Seventh Annual Circus of Infinite Wonders!

Colors! Sounds! Explosions! A parade of fantastically-dressed performers tumble around and through the crowd as fantastical creatures dive and whirl through the sky above. Multiple choirs raise their voices in song to usher in the performers:


Here come chimeras, one two three,
Racing faster than the eye can see!
Dashing with the music, calling out loud!
Running through the aisles among the crowd....!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHemB0t31Tw)

Each choir is its own private musical group hired for the occasion, every one accompanied by a church-approved chorister who keeps around-the-hourglass tabs on all the singers to make sure they don't develop any arcane musical talents and have their bardic careers cut tragically and unexpectedly short. To the average citizen the choristers are indistinguishable from normal singers, and indeed most don't even know about the tight hold the churches keep on the musical performance industry, but you all know better, and their presence is a small reminder of the danger you're in while you are here.


The performance is a complex and multi-faceted one, taking place in one central ring and four peripheral ones. The start of the show is mostly a showcase of the exotic animals on display; as sheltered and defended as Iatirroch is, most of its inhabitants haven't seen any animals larger or more exotic than a mid-size pony even though strange and dangerous beasts roam the wilderness only a few miles outside the walls. The lion- and displacer beast-taming act is a particular hit as the displacer beasts appear to jump through the lions and can respond to the trainer's intimidating whip-cracks with tentacle-cracks of their own.

In the midst of this display, the music comes to a screeching halt as Radagast the Mad Druid makes his appearance, ranting and raving about the captivity of animals being unnatural and how he will take vengeance on you all, muahahaha! Strategically-placed metal poles and thin wooden panels allow him to deal plenty of environmental damage with his lightning strikes without actually hurting anyone. The crowd is frightened at first, but when the mad druid's "victims" die in a particularly slapstick and acrobatic fashion they catch on to the joke and begin laughing and clapping for the crazy terrorist to be brought down. They ooh and ahh over the pyrotechnics and cheer the valiant circus performers who "drive off" the evil hyena-druid.

From their vantage point in the back, Aat and Kaulesh are able to note several innocent circusgoers who aren't quite so innocent as they appear. Several figures in the crowd made as if to move forward and reveal hidden weapons upon Varthok's unexpected "interruption" of the animal acts, and though they don't disturb the crowd before they realize that it's an act and stand down, Aat and Kaulesh are able to note at least three dozen likely Inquisitors, and those are just the ones who were too twitchy to keep their cover.


The animal acts continue in two of the rings once the threat of the Mad Druid is past, the other rings having moved on to more flashy displays like knife-throwing and pyromancy. The beast tamer's flaming whip cracks out a particular staccato rhythm and suddenly Ghola, in the guise of a beast out of nightmares, joins the show. Maneuver after impossible maneuver he performs: riding two lions at the same time, balancing on the back of a griffon using only two fingers, standing on the tip of an elephant's trunk, and more. The other rings get into the act as well--Catherine the knife thrower counterfeits fear at Ghola's appearance, screaming quite convincingly and throwing several knives at him...which miss Ghola and are swallowed by Steve in the opposite ring.

Ghola gets a good look at the audience throughout his act, and while he doesn't detect any hostile intentions directed at any of the performers in particular, he does detect a general hostility coming from several front-row customers, all of whom have their hands inside their shirt most likely clasped on a convenient holy symbol. Any event with large amounts of magic involved is overseen by contingents of church agents who tirelessly check each and every dweomer to ensure it is a pure, holy gift from the gods and not a profane act of arcane magic, and this circus is no exception. They probably haven't noticed any major violations yet or they'd have shut down the circus in an instant...but that doesn't rule out a friendly visit from the authorities afterwards.


Catherine, Ghola, Steve, and Val continue playing off each other until the knife-thrower cries out for a hero to rescue her. Diael, planted in the front row, bravely responds to her call. He chases after Ghola for only a few minutes before Ghola "transforms" in a puff of smoke to his "true form" of Getsugaru, Diabolically Evil and Dark Servant of Evil Darkness, complete with cackling and mustache-twirling. Diael and Getsugaru fight their way between the rings for a good ten very tense and exciting minutes before Diael is "defeated." All the children in the audience gasp and cry out at the cool hero man being killed as the wicked villain monologues over Diael's body, but Diael calls out for anyone pure of heart (and under the age of twelve years or the demihuman equivalent) to come down to the ring, take up a cloth-padded wooden weapon, and help him vanquish his sworn enemy.

All the adults enjoy the pantomime as Getsugaru valiantly attempts to hold off the assaults of all the heroic children before vanishing in a burst of light with a promise of later vengeance and letting Diael send the children back to their seats. Soon after that the circus reaches the three-hour mark, and after a grand finale involving disappearing elephants, magical explosions, a flight of illusory dragons, and several other spectacles, the circus ends with a standing ovation and ten solid minutes of applause. The citizenry file out of what will easily be the most talked-about event in the city for months to come as the magical lights wink out one by one and the cloud cover above clears up.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh leans over to Aat as they wait for everyone to leave "Well that was illuminating, there appears to be several more than we thought present, I wonder if they are going to have talks with our friends?"

He stands as if with creaky joints and stretches his arms, popping and cracking his joints, taking his time and looking out over the closing circus, "Should we stay for a bit, run some interference?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat notices the inquisitors and when he wants to share this with Kaulesh, his ever vigilant friend speaks up. "Hrm...." Aat keeps his stare focused on the event. Looking for more inquisitors on one hand, but surely enjoying the show as well. When the show is over, he applauds enthousiastically along with the crowd. "Wow, nice, huh?"

"Let's hang around a bit. I am not sure what's happening next..."

[Snowbluff]

Zoe

"Diael is saying he wants to spend as little time in 'this ridiculous outfit' as possible," Zoe transmits from her hiding place. Diael is, indeed, wearing a particularly garish circus outfit with plenty of feather and bright colors. He's done a fair job in hiding his grumpiness and discomfort, but it's obvious his patience is wearing thin.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Do you see any of the kids, Kaulesh?" Aat looks around for them. "If anything is about to happen...."

Spot: [roll0]

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh nods at Aat's suggestion, "perhaps we should look a little harder....or" he turns to his companion, "we should make a distraction?" he says with a smile.

"Perhaps we could rough some up and then port out when needed?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Rough up some of the children?" Aat grins. "I'd rather wait with making a distraction till the point something is actually happening. If we're to early we risk alerting folks and making the extraction harder."

[BelGareth]

Kaulsehs sighs "I know I know, I wasn't talking about the children either," he pointedly looked at several 'undercover' agents "but you are right, I just hate waiting so long, sometimes, one just needs to act and let the places fit as they will."

[Getsugaru]

Ghola

With the first night's show over, Ghola invited Diael and Varthok to borrow his tent so as to change out of their "costumes" and discuss the next phase of the plan. Also, he wanted to discuss the general hostility he detected coming from several front-row customers.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael enters he room, and throws his hat a nearby chair. "Never again."

[Getsugaru]

"I take it you're not a fan of children?" Once again reaching out with his soul, Ghola's outfit suddenly turned back into the blue mist before being absorbed into his body. Now back in his regular outfit, Ghola placed Diael's hat on top of a chest and sat down on the chair. "More importantly, I wanted to talk to you about the crowd. While riding around the outer ring, I sensed some hostility coming from many people in the front row. It didn't feel like it was directed at the performers directly, however..."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe slinks in. "Now that I think of it, no. I do not. This atrocious outfit isn't helping." He begins to unbutton the multicolored jacket. "Besides, it was Soph-" He stops suddenly as Ghola mentions the crowd. "...irrelevant. Where you able to determine why they felt this way? Please elaborate."

Zoe jumps onto the chest and nibbles at the hat. "Maybe it's because you smell bad," she says sullenly.

[Getsugaru]

"I'm afraid not," Ghola said in a displeased tone. "You see, my power gives me the ability to 'smell' malicious intent. While I did smell malicious intent, it wasn't a specific odor, but was rather pervasive, not pointing at a specific target. All I can say is that, from what I could see as I was riding around, the people who's odor was hostile all seemed to be clasping something in their coats..." Ghola continued to ponder before turning to face Varthok. "Var, did you notice anything while you were flying about?"

[Failed Phantasm]

After successfully "evading" his pursuers, Varthok circled around towards the forest before gliding back down to the ground and alighting with a heavy *thump*. He wasn't far from the circus grounds — in fact, he could still the tents that were lining the edge of the wood — but he wanted to ensure that he hadn't been spotted or followed, and given that everyone's attention was fixed on the performance, it was likely that there were a few Inquisitors poking around where they shouldn't be. Without knowing whether there were any druids patrolling Iatirroch, if there were even any at all, Varthok felt reasonably assured that he'd have the advantage in the forest should he need to flee, or even fight should the need arise. However, he appeared to be alone, at least for the moment, and there was some time yet before the last act, so Varthok fished some rations, a berry or two, and the waterskin from his pack. His people had a well-deserved reputation for being ravenous eaters, and Varthok was even more so on account of his wings: all of the flying he'd been doing lately had made him quite hungry, indeed.

From time to time, Varthok would move, carefully and cautiously, to a new vantage point amongst the trees, watching the sky above the main pavilion for the "grand finale" that the other performers had been chatting about earlier. The wait gave him time to review what he'd seen as he flew over the crowd during the act: mainly, Inquisitors hiding amongst the rest of the audience. There were no fewer than three dozen who appeared as though they would draw their weapons when Varthok's act started, but he spotted others in the sea of faces that were perhaps too... serious for regular circusgoers, too lacking in awe and wonderment. A flying gnoll was an exotic sight, so rare that even other gnolls had never seen one before in their lives, and yet Varthok could see and even feel their stony gazes watching him closely, peering at him intently, perhaps trying to discern whether or not he was actually performing divine magic or whether the Ringmistress had been lying to them about his abilities. Varthok had been sure to make a show of his casting of flame strike at the conclusion of his act, adding a flourish of his paws as he made the appropriate gestures and intoning his every syllable clearly and precisely. Even the most dimwitted apprentice had an opportunity to identify Varthok's spell, if only from the hand motions alone, and it was most certainly not arcane in origin. While he succeeded in revealing a number of Inquisitors in the audience — information that could not be undervalued — he had also revealed himself at the same time, and they now had a reason to make things quite uncomfortable (at best) for Varthok and his friends. The entire act was a calculated, if risky, gambit on his part, one for which he had no way of knowing how well or poorly it would pay off.

The dragons flying overhead was apparently Varthok's cue to launch himself back into the sky and fly towards the main ring to rejoin Ghola and Diael, making the same entrance he did before sans the mad cackling and lightning bolts. He followed the pair of them back to Ghola's tent once the performance concluded and the Ringmistress let them go; no sooner had they entered than Diael was irritatedly removing his costume. Varthok's costume was simpler, so he needed less time to change, which he did while listening to the other two speak. He was just slinging his cloak over his shoulders when Ghola asked, "Var, did you notice anything while you were flying about?"

«Several dozen excitable spectators scattered here and there,» he replied casually in Celestial, with all the manner of one commenting on the weather, «and those were just the ones who were too twitchy to stay still at the sight of me.» Varthok paused for a moment to make sure his wings were tucked securely away before adding, «They all leaned forward at my entrance; did you see it?»

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat and Kaulesh

You two do, indeed, see some of the kids...and then more of the kids...and then all of the kids. They're part of a larger group of students heading back to classes, most of whom are walking in a loose group and talking loudly about the circus as you'd expect from a group of kids who'd never seen such a spectacle before but several of whom are acting quiet and nervous enough to attract attention from suspicious observers. While they may have some arcane training, they definitely don't have any military or operations training, or they'd have all made their way to the extraction point separately instead of all ganging up before they've even left the circus.

Two of the undercover Inquisitors you'd noticed before nonchalantly meander in the kids' general direction. It's certainly bad that they've been noticed, but they're not the only group: several other clusters of people of various sizes and temperaments have seemingly attracted Inquisitorial notice, and all of the agents appear to be content to hang back, watch, and wait for now. Hopefully this means that they've only latched onto the group as potentially suspicious based on their behavior and they don't have any other incriminating evidence.

The large group of kids splits up after leaving the circus grounds, the budding arcanists moving purposefully in the direction of the extraction point while the others return to campus, and their tails stay with the former group. In fact, when it becomes apparent that the kids aren't heading towards a particular academic building, the tails close the distance between them and the group to keep a closer eye on everyone.

Everyone Else

The Ringmistress ducks her head into the tent, momentarily interrupting your conversation. "Well done, everyone, very well done!" she says cheerfully, still riding the emotional high from a successful performance. "I wasn't sure if you could pull it off, but I was very impressed. If you're looking for a permanent position with us, you have it!" She gives you a jaunty wave and ducks back out before you can respond. Several other performers come by to congratulate you, heedless of the continual interruptions (Privacy? In a circus? Surely you jest!).

The interruptions eventually end and you're all able to compare notes on the potential Inquisitors you saw, what they might be carrying under their cloaks, whether you recognize any of them, and so forth. The general consensus you come to is that they didn't detect anything to make them stop the show but that there was an unusually high Inquisitorial presence even for a heavily-magical circus performance, so who knows whether they might have seen or heard something suspicious.

Ghola
As the conversation continues, you abruptly notice a foul smell in the air. It seems to be coming from several sources outside the tent, milling around in a less-than-purposeful pattern, as if the sources are search for something while trying not to appear like they're searching for something.

[Getsugaru]

"I did, though it might have--" Ghola stopped mid-sentence. Turning his head, he sniffed the air, his nose noticeably twitching as he did so. "I'm sorry; I just remembered I need to check the cages for any rats. Fi'la would kill me if any of the animals were to get a disease or pick something up between performances. I'll just be a moment." As he walked out, Thufir's small crystaline body formed legs of ectoplasm and climbed out from Ghola's suitcase and silently walked over to Diael and Varthok...

Stepping out of the tent, the cool night air was pleasant and calm; his nose being the only thing to think something wrong after such a successful performance. Walking around the fairgrounds, Ghola took a slightly scenic route over to the animal cages, trying to pick out where the foul scent was coming from...

Standard action: Self Propulsion
Spot Check: (1d20+10) (1d20)[roll0]+10=[29]
Listen Check: (1d20+10) (1d20)[roll1]+10=[16]

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh speeds up his steps as he tries to keep up, looking to Aat he has worry in his eyes, this was not turning out how they had planned, or even remotely good, the tales were going to need to go...or be distracted by something....

In a low hush voice "We need to distract those inquisitors, this is going south, we should have never put any stock in their understanding of the situation."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods as he adapts his stride to match Kaulesh's.
"Hmm...yes. But how?

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh grins at Aat as he asks that question.

With that he winks at his companion and suddenly disappears into an alley way, he casts some spells..and then a white skinned man in flowing grey rough hewn clothes comes walking out, he has violet eyes and platinum blonde hair that flows to his shoulders, and looks every part of an albino man.

He nods to Aat and grins, walking directly past him towards the inquisitors following the group of students, he runs around them and veers back towards them, effectively cutting them off from their quarry.

Holding on hand palm stretched and facing the floor as if to signal 'shhh' he whispers to the men "come with me, there is an emergency, I am from Poradnis, I work for a special unit that hunts aberrations, we are known as the 'White ones', you probably haven't heard of us, its above your pay grade, I need your help, a froghemoth has been tracked to this city, come with me." he grabs both by the shoulders and gestures that they follow him, the opposite direction of the students.


Alter self one more time to an albino man.
Prestidigitation for the change of clothes

[roll1]
fingers crossed

Ready an action to use Mighty Throw on one if they see through disguise
[roll2]
[roll=Trip check(dex)]1d20+11
10 ft thrown away from students.

[BelGareth]

Failed trip roll
one more time
[roll0]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Whu?" Aat eyes his friend as he darts away, sighs and keeps on following. When he stops them, he tries to find a hiding position and follows the situation with bow drawn.

Hide:[roll0]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola

A scenic trip through the camp isn't necessary, as to your keen performer's eyes the sources of the hostile scents stick out like a sore thumb before you get more than a few paces from the tent. The whole circus crew is engaged in taking down the tents and preparing to depart, except for a handful of performers that are walking from tent to cage to walkway and back without actually lending a hand to anyone.

Each of the three suspicious people has a pleasant but very focused expression on their face and a hand in a pocket as they nonchalantly look around and take in the sights. You probably wouldn't pay them a second thought in normal circumstances--but these aren't normal circumstances, and you have a special danger sense on your side. Their path is slowly taking them towards you, and it looks like they'll reach your tent in a few minutes.

Armand

From your vantage point in the back alleys of the city, you could see a few of the magical lights and hear the dim roar of the crowds, but mostly you've been able to see beggars lying on the streets (out of sight, of course, for even during the day's festivities the Tormite and Cuthbertite civic patrols make their regular rounds) and hear carts and wagons trundling back and forth.

Shortly after the circus finally winds down, you hear a small group of people up ahead, right on schedule. Peeking out, you see your students following the indicated route--without taking any particular precautions, the naive fools...and they seem to have picked up a tail. Until, that is, a strange figure suddenly appears out of another alley and confronts the two tails, with the kids still none the wiser.

The figure, a tall albino that you don't recognize, talks quietly with the tails. They look confused for a moment, then angry and worried, and the three of them quickly and quietly rush off, leaving the students to reach the designated rendezvous point without any further trouble and stand there uncertainly, waiting for someone to contact them.

Aat and Kaulesh

Aat settles in undetected to watch the show as Kaulesh works his non-arcane magic on the tails. One of them, a half-elf, narrows his eyes and whispers a curse. "Baal's beard! We were so focused on the citizens at the circus, we didn't even consider that the threat might be coming from outside the walls!" The other, a part-human of some variety with a very slight bluish tint to his skin, looks between his partner, Kaulesh, and the students. "But what about these? The Vicar said--" "Doesn't matter, we have them marked, we'll pick their trail up again later. Come on, let's go!" The part-human shoots one look back at the kids, then both of the agents begin hustling after Kaulesh.

Sense Motive: [roll0] [roll1] (including a +10 for "The bluff is hard to believe or puts the target at significant risk.")
EDIT: Why, you lucky son of a wand. :smallwink: Tymora must be smiling on Kaulesh today.
Spot for Kaulesh's Disguise: [roll2] [roll3]
Spot for Aat's Hide: [roll4] [roll5]

Trip checks, if needed: [roll6] [roll7]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat witnesses the situation with keen interest. When Kaulesh and the Inquisitors start moving, he waits for a sign of his friend that he should follow. If that does not come, Aat trusts Kaulesh to be able to manage his own safety. Whatever he said had obviously gained their trust. In that case, he will resume following the kids.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh moves forward without skipping a beat, motioning to Aat to follow

[roll0] DC 15

he guides the 2 inquisitors down a dark alley "Come quickly we have little time!" he turns, once they were far down the alleyway and no one else was near and then punches the humanoid with bluish skin in the chest.


casting wraithstrike
Initiating Greater Insightful Strike for non-lethal against FF touch AC
[roll1] MISS (nat 1)
[roll2]


Kauleshs fist suddenly whips out his two pointer fingers extended stabbing into the mans chest several times hitting vital nerve clusters, attempting to knock the man out by disrupting his hearts flow of blood.


casting Nerveskitter
[roll3]
Currently in Shifting defense (http://dndtools.eu/spells/tome-of-battle-the-book-of-nine-swords--88/shifting-defense--3676/) stance

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat follows, trying to stay hidden and having his bow at the ready. When Kaulesh punches the Inquisitor, or tries to, he jumps to action.


Hide: [roll0]
Move silently: [roll1]

Initiative: [roll2]

[Getsugaru]

"Guys, we have a problem! Stop talking magicly, we got rats! Oh, I knew something bad would happen as soon as he told me to wait with you guys." Thufir was pacing around the room frantically. "Anyway, we need to be ready to move. Ghola has a plan, but he's not sure if we should capture or kill them..."

Ghola arrived at the animal cages and began to "search" for any signs of "rats". He systematically pseudo-checked each cage for anything wrong; he was one of the three people who most regularly took care of the animals, so his presence there was seen as normal by the real members of the circus. The final cage he checked contained a young chimera; it had not been in the show and was sleeping peacefully until Ghola arrived. "It's all right, little one," Ghola whispered. He faked his searching for a moment, before "stumbling" onto something that "surprised" him. He opened the cage and reached inside. "Little one, in a moment I am going to leave, and when I do, I want you to walk into the woods and hide at the pond up the hill. Can you do that for me?"

Handle Animal check to give the Chimera a command DC 10: 1d20+10 [roll0]+10=[17]

[Snowbluff]

Diael

"Wait, what's going on? Capture? Kill? Both of those options would only attract attention," he says through Zoe. through He gives Thufir a stern stare.

[Getsugaru]

"Ugh," the small psicrystal thinks out loud. "Listen, Ghola thinks that our cover's blown; he's found some actors he doesn't recognize who not only are not doing any work, but are also acting suspiciously. They are acting like they've never been to the circus before, and boss Fi hasn't taken on any new performers other than you guys in over three months!!!" The crystal was bouncing all over the place, mumbling as his erratic movements brought him closer and closer before slamming into the nearby chest. "ouch...and as for the plan, Ghola's trying to get one of the animals to go sneak into the woods. After that, he plans to lead the suspicious group into a trap where we'll catch them or kill them." The small crystal righted itself before orbiting Diael and Zoe's chair.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola

A chimera is a magical beast with 4 Int, not an animal, so you don't actually need a Handle Animal check to get it to listen to you.
You narrowly avoid the attention of the false performers as you slip out of your tent and go to the animal cages; they pay you no mind, since no one reacts oddly to your presence and they haven't gotten to you yet in their methodical search. The young chimera blinks three pairs of eyes sleepily when you wake it up and ask it to leave the camp.

Its lion head and goat head smile (as best they can with non-humanoid anatomy) and nod happily at the thought of being allowed to leave the circus and stretch their legs and wings for a bit. The dragon head yawns in your face, giving you a lovely whiff of rotten egg stench since this chimera is an acid-breather, and settles back down to go back to sleep; this head was always the laziest one. A few headbutts from the goat head and an annoyed growl from the lion head convince it to wake up and nod as well, though he's definitely not happy about having his beauty sleep interrupted. The chimera crouches down after you pretend to re-lock its cage and you move on to the next cage, ready to leave as soon as you do.

Armand

You can't hear anything from the alley and there's no noticeable property damage, so whatever the strange figure is doing to distract the tails, it must be working so far.

The students, having nothing better to do at the moment, start quietly chatting amongst themselves.

Aat and Kaulesh

Something must have warned the bluish part-human Inquisitor--maybe Kaulesh's bearing, maybe the dark alley, maybe some lingering doubts over the situation--because when Kaulesh spins around to punch him he jerks back just far enough for the illumian's fist to graze him without doing any serious harm. "Wha--? But--?" he splutters, stumbling back. His companion is similarly caught off-guard, and is far too slow in reaching for his holy symbol to do anything about the seeming betrayal just yet.

The half-elf notices Kaulesh's subtle signal and looks back frantically for possible reinforcements, but the bluish one is totally focused on Kaulesh and is none the wiser.

Sense Motive: [roll0] [roll1]

Neither of their initiative modifiers is higher than 27, so both of you act before them.

[Getsugaru]

Ghola smiles as he sees the young chimera understand his instructions, though he wishes the dragon head were a bit more willing to listen. At least the majority payed attention and was willing to follow his instructions. Now it was time for the repeat performance.
Bluff Check: 1d20+4 [roll0]+4=[23] Wow, did I get lucky. NOTE TO SELF: Invest in social skills next level. :smalltongue:Suddenly acting surprised, Ghola turned to the cages near the chimera's and acted out a search. Releasing an exasperated sigh of relief, Ghola quickly ran off to his tent, "forgetting" to lock the chimera's cage as he ran off.
Arriving at the tent, Ghola continued his act by running over to the chest and immediately rummaging through it. "Quickly! I think the chimera was bitten by a rat! I found some droppings over in its cage." Ghola pulled out a rag and an empty bottle of spice. Holding the two items tightly in his hand, he picked up Thufir and shoved him in his pocket. "Be ready to head for the forest. I'm luring them to a pond there." Ghola's thought these words as loud in his mind as he could, hoping that Diael's pseudodragon familiar was listening in. He ran back out at high speed, hoping his ruse was working.
As he arrived back at the cages, he was "shocked" to find the chimera was gone. He began looking for the group, intending to "ask" them for help "finding" the chimera.
[OOC: Spot Check rolled in OOC due to no editing in rolls...]

[Snowbluff]

Diael sighs.

"Alright, let us hope no one notices..." He looks around, and stows Zoe in his Familiar Pocket. If no one else is present, he transforms into an innocuous, tiny viper, and slips out of the tent. He moves to keep an eye on Ghola.

"Pond it is."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat sees how Kaulesh' plan, whatever it was, is not working fully. He makes a snap decision and acts. His deep hatred for the inquisition has won it over his willingness to give his friend some time to solve this peacefully. He suddenly appears within point blank range of the inquisitors and fires a full volley of arrows at the one that was not paying attention to his possible presence.


Okay:
Swift action: Temporal acceleration, pp:11

Swift: Burst linked to Offensive precognition, augmented to 10 pp. pp:11
Standard: Offensive prescience, augmented to 10pp. pp:10
Move: move into point blank range
Aat is now in point blank range, Shaken, and has a +4 to attack and a +8 to damage. PP spent: 32

Full attack action: Rapid shot Seeking sneak attacks
Attack 1 [roll0], damage [roll1] + [roll2] sneak attack. Crit confirm: [roll3], bonus damage [roll4]
Attack 2 [roll5], damage [roll6] + [roll7] sneak attack. Crit confirm: [roll8], bonus damage [roll9]
Attack 3 [roll10], damage [roll11] + [roll12] sneak attack. Crit confirm: [roll13], bonus damage [roll14]
Attack 4 [roll15], damage [roll16] + [roll17] sneak attack. Crit confirm: [roll18], bonus damage [roll19]

[BelGareth]

shaking off his previous failure Kaulesh moved forward sending out his fists as lightning crackles off his forearms, following into the bluish man before him.


Free action: Sacrifice 3rd level spell slot with arcane strike
swift action: activate bracers of lightning.

Full attacks with snap kick
[roll0]
[roll1] + [roll2] + [roll3]

[roll4]
[roll5] + [roll6] + [roll7]

[roll8]
[roll9] + [roll10] + [roll11]

[BelGareth]

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Failed Phantasm]

Following Ghola's hasty departure, Varthok had started pacing nervously within the tent, his sense of unease intensifying as he listened to Thufir frantically relay Ghola's discovery and apparent plan. However, the source of his feelings was not that Inquisitors had been discovered inspecting the circus grounds — and what else would they be doing? Surely no one expected them to have left quietly after the performance was over — but that the first course of action they were attempting was a confrontation. 'Ghola's overreacting to the Inquisitors' presence. Even if they're coming straight for the tent that we're in, we can't afford to act rashly in a situation like this!' he thought to himself, 'We have to think through the consequences of everything we do while we're here.' Varthok found a sturdy chest to sit on and took a breath to steady himself. 'During the performance, I wasn't aware of any one of us using arcane magic, openly or not. Also, Diael and I are new faces... but not only are we new faces, we're last-minute additions. Even with the Arbiter having been fooled by our forged documents, we were bound to have raised someone's suspicions just by being here. However, suspicions might be the only thing they have.'

Varthok's shoulders slumped and his wings drooped slightly. The Ringmistress may have rationalized his appearance as being part of his act, but the only magic the Inquisitors would find on his person came from the items he wore. Neither would it take much inspection to realize that he wasn't wearing a costume or other disguse. Maybe it would have been better if he stayed behind with Sergei or if he'd taken Jheska's turn at watch this week... Shaking his head, he set such thoughts aside. There would be time to think of a solution to that problem later. He returned his attention to the matter at hand. 'If they did have any reasonable evidence that could be acted upon, I don't think they'd be bothering with a small, covert search party: they'd have come right for our tent and arrested us or attacked in force. They certainly have the numbers here to do it.' At that moment, Ghola reentered the tent, snatched a few things from one of his chests, took Thufir, and practically flew back outside. He had come and gone so quickly that Varthok didn't even have the chance to talk to him; he was moving so quickly. Diael turned himself in a small serpent and followed him through the tent flap. With a bit of a snort, and wishing that the elves had taught him how to change shape, he tried contacting Zoe. He wasn't very familiar with telepathy, though.

'Zoe?' he tried tentatively, wondering if thinking more "loudly" was how to do it. 'Zoe, can you hear me? If you can, I need to please relay something to Thufir or Ghola for me. Diael should probably hear this, too. Tell Ghola that I don't think this is such a good idea. I know that Ghola wants to protect the circus and the Inquisitors are making him feel worried, but I want him to think his plan over one more time. Even if we don't kill them — even if we just knock them unconscious — someone is bound to notice their disappearance, and someone, somewhere in the Inquisitors' chain of command, is going to know that the last place they were was here, inspecting the circus. The last thing any of us want is for your friends to be implicated in any way in what we're doing in the city right now, and I think the best way for us to do that is to get out of here as quickly as we can and regroup with the others. If the Inquisitors really thought that we'd performed illegal magic or broken the law in some other way, why would they bother sneaking around when there are dozens and dozens of them out there? If you really want to safeguard the circus, we can't give them any reason to believe that their suspicions are correct. Attacking some of them would give them the opposite impression, don't you think? Besides, our part in this plan was to distract the Inquisitors, and given their numbers here, I think we were successful. The entire reason for us being here is to get Armand's students out of Iatirroch; the sooner we do that, the sooner we'll all be out of immediate danger.'

After a pause, Varthok suddenly recalled something Zoe had said during the meeting the previous day, and tried contacting her again. 'Oh, and Zoe? Could you please tell Diael to come back to the tent? I think I need to take you up on your offer to borrow your magical disguising hat. It wouldn't be a good idea for me to leave this tent without it, since I'd draw too much unwanted attention our way.'

[Snowbluff]

"Diael would like to remind you that small serpents don't move very fast, and that all of this slithering is making him tired. He does agree with you, by the way. He agrees that keeping the inquisitor's from returning would be a mistake."

Diael wiggles back into the tent. He returns to his normal form and hands the hat of Disguise to Varthok. He nods, avoiding words to make sure no one can overhear him. He makes his way out as a snake once more after making sure no one can see him. While he makes his way to Ghola, Zoe contacts Ghola again. "Diael says to be patient."

[Getsugaru]

"Tell Diael I don't know what the hell that means!" Ghola continued to "look around for the chimera", in reality searching for the group of unknown performers.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola and Diael

The false circus performers don't look all that pleased to be interrupted in their totally innocent not-at-all-strange inspection of the circus by a mere animal trainer. They're about to make some excuses to avoid work when one of them looks harder at Ghola--the abundance of magic items on his person, specifically, and fortunately he doesn't notice a polymorphed Daiel--and his eyes widen; he motions the others over as discreetly as he can.

When they hear Ghola's story about the chimera, they trade significant glances. "It looks like someone's trying to cause a distraction," one of them, a male human, murmurs. "We should follow up on this." "Yes," one of the others, a female elf, replies suspiciously, "someone certainly is. Tell me, animal trainer," she addresses Ghola accusingly, "how did you manage to purchase all of those enchanted items on a performer's wage...and do you really need all of them for your act?"

Sense Motive: [roll0] [roll1] [roll2]

Varthok

You can't really hear or see Ghola and Diael that well from your vantage point within the tent, but from what you can see and hear, it doesn't look like the false performers are buying it.

Aat and Kaulesh

The blue-skinned Inquisitor drops like a rock, two exceedingly well-placed arrows and an electrified fist catching him completely unawares and slaying him before he knew what was going on. The half-elf lets out a strangled "Jharit! No!" as his companion falls. He crouches down, placing one hand on the fallen Inquisitor and the other on a small silver holy symbol hanging around his neck.

The half-elf shoves the holy symbol toward both of you and shouts "Filthy heathen bastards!" Two brilliant white rays of light leap from the holy symbol, one streaking towards each of you. You both manage to twist out of the way enough to avoid the worst of whatever spell that was, but you do feel a nasty chill as the rays graze you. Without even looking to see if the rays strike home, the Inquisitor chants "Mielikki, Forest Queen, save us!" The Inquisitor and the corpse-formerly-known-as-Inquisitor disappear with a flash of blue-green light and a pop of displaced air.

Ranged touch vs. Aat: [roll3]
On a hit, Aat takes [roll4] cold damage and must make a Ref save ([roll5] vs. DC 23) or be frozen.

Ranged touch vs. Kaulesh: [roll6]
On a hit, Kaulesh takes [roll7] cold damage and must make a Ref save ([roll8] vs. DC 23) or be frozen.

SpellcraftDC 19The Inquisitor teleported away with dimension door.
DC 21The Inquisitor attacked with a metamagicked freezeSpC.

Armand

The students turn around curiously as some indistinct shouting and flashes of light arise from the alleyway that their tails entered earlier, but they wisely stay put--well, most of them do, and the two students who want to go investigate are yanked back by their more cautious classmates. If some sort of authority figure doesn't show up soon, though, they might just give into their curiosity.

[Getsugaru]

"...someone certainly is. Tell me, animal trainer," she addresses Ghola accusingly, "how did you manage to purchase all of those enchanted items on a performer's wage...and do you really need all of them for your act?"
Bluff for years as member: [roll0]+4=[23]
Bluff for receiving from deity: [roll1]+4=[21]
Bluff for rat droppings in chimera cage: [roll2]+4=[12]
Ghola's face scowled. "For starters, I've been a member of this circus for nearly 10 years, and was a child performer with another circus before that. Besides that, I payed for these to be crafted by a friendly cleric of Corellon Larethian." Ghola got in closer before turning away in disgust. "We don't have time for this! I found rat droppings in the chimera's cage, which mean she's likely been bitten. She's probably wounded and frightened, and in that fragile state she could very well attack anyone who gets too close! Now you can help me or get out of the way, but we need to find her." Ghola shifted his weight, preparing to run off, while still remaining in place long enough to here their response. "I've got to tell Fi'la."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

Quietly Armand exits the alley where he's been lurking for hours, stretching his legs with a jerk; approaching the knot of students. In the form of a halforc man, his voice is deep and guttural. "You were told to come, and you did. You were told what road to take, and you did. Weren't you also told to be careful, because you failed."

He sneers and spits at the ground between him and the students. "Two men just died for you lot. Worse still, some of you wanted to go watch. Did you think you could do anything save add to the body count?"

Silently, he watches the students for a moment and draws a flail. "You've been seen, your lives are in danger. You can only help your families by leaving. One chance. Will you come?"


Spot: [roll0]
Sense Motive: [roll1]

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh grunts as the magic freezes his skin, burning him badly, he manages to avoid the worst of the blast however, dodging the blast with a duck and a weave.

He instantly recognized the magic deployed, the man hadn't gone far, but far enough.

Turning to his companion, "We must hurry, they are onto us, and now they know something is about!" he grabs his companion and casts a spell, teleporting them to the meeting spot.

Not even sure where that is, but I'm assuming Kaulesh does

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Damn..." Aat obviously is not amused by having one of his hated foes disappearing while he had a good next shot lined up. He looks around frantically, seeing if he can spot the inquisitor, but then lets Kaulesh take him elsewhere. "Right."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola, Diael, and Varthok

The false performers trade some more glances and subtly shift around to give themselves more room to move. "A 'friendly cleric of Corellon Larethian' took time out of his busy day to craft equipment, not for a priest or a warrior, but for a circus performer? And a non-elf at that?" the female elf asks skeptically while the third of their number, a male elf, rolls his eyes at the very idea. The male human chimes in, "And you expect us to believe that a rat was a threat to a chimera, even a baby one?" "I'm afraid," their apparent leader continues, "that we are going to have to ask you to come with us to the Hall of Justice to answer a few questions."

The human fetches a pair of small silver chains about a foot long from one of his pockets while the male elf reaches a hand inside his shirt, most likely to rest on a concealed holy symbol. "Please remove your magic items and place your hands across your chest. If you do not comply," the female elf says in the harsh but slightly bored voice of one long used to talking to suspected criminals as she pulls out a small pendant identifying her as an Inquisitor of Corellon Larethian, "we are authorized to use lethal force."

Armand

The nearest students jump a bit in surprise as the burly half-orc appears out of nowhere. A few of them instinctive raises their hands into a casting position before realizing that informing a random stranger that you can use illegal magic is probably not the brightest idea, and one of the students sighs and steps forward. He's not the oldest one there, only about sixteen years old when there are a few who look to be in their early twenties (or the nonhuman equivalent), but he seems to be the most serious and collected one present. "Sorry about them, sir, they're fairly new to our group and I haven't pounded caution into their heads yet. Now, I'm--"

He is interrupted by one of the others, the detestable Eamonn Bracegirdle. "Whaddya mean, leave our families? I never agreed to--!" "Yes you did, you swore when you first joined us that you'd do it if you had to protect the group and your family, and keep your voice down!" "But--!" "Shut the frak up, for once in your life." Eamonn sulks a bit, but a nervous look at the very large, armed and dangerous half-orc convinces him not to argue. The friend of Eamonn who you couldn't identify in the scrying pool earlier also looks like he's having second thoughts, but Ginny LaFonde, Peter Parquah, Jasmine Verrano, and the other four students look at least resigned to the idea of leaving, if not downright enthusiastic in Ginny's case.

"As I was saying, sir, I'm going to have to ask for some proof you are who you say you are before we go anywhere or do anything. It wouldn't do for our study group to have run into an, ah...substitute teacher," their leader says.

Speaking of proving one's identity, as far as you can tell these students are legitimate, with no suspicious bulges in their clothes that could be a weapon or a holy symbol and no erratic behavior that can't be put down to nerves. You'll want to look them over with arcane sight later to be sure, of course.

Aat and Kaulesh

You feel the usual twisting sensation of Astral transit as you disappear from the back alley and reappear in the secluded clearing in the forest that you all previously decided upon as a meeting spot. A minute or so after you appear, during which your comrades are presuably checking you for enchantments or hidden spies, Moriah and Tarnoc come out of hiding and usher you out of the clearing. "What took you so long?" Tarnoc asks impatiently. "It's been forever! Are the students coming? What's going on?" Moriah raises a calming hand, but she also looks concerned. "You two are the first to arrive," she notes quietly, "and we haven't heard anything from the others. Did you run into any trouble?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat grunts as he is being questioned. "We were following the students when we noticed they had a tail." He nods at Kaulesh as he continues: "We created a diversion and managed to, ehm, occupy the two inquisitors that were following the students. Then, Kaulesh transported us here." That last bit comes out in a manner that conveys that Aat was not quite aware where the transport would be headed to. "As far as I know, the students are on their way...without tail." He shrugs. "I haven't seen the others since the circus show, which was quite enjoyable, by the way."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"Yeah, I'm sure the show was great," Tarnoc says, "but this whole circus thing was a big waste of time, if you ask me. We committed way too many of us to such a risky plan, and look where it got us." The tone of voice he uses is roughly the same that one would use to say Oh, you all got chocolate bars? Whatever, that's fine. I hate chocolate, anyways, and they probably tasted terrible, so I'm glad you didn't get me one.

"They had Inquisitors following them?" Moriah echoes. "That's not good, not good at all. We knew they might have been compromised going into this, of course, but...still, this could cause a lot of problems. We might have to abandon our Iatirroch efforts entirely if we can't figure out a good way to cover this all up."

[BelGareth]

Master Kaulesh nods, his bare head shines in the sunlight as he has transformed back to his prior shape, his eyes glisten with mischief as Aat relays the information of the happenings.

"Indeed, the Inquisitors were tailing them, I did what I could, and needless to say, they do not expect our intervention on the students behalf, more so in other ways." he smiles wanly "Alas, we failed to prevent their escape, and they fled, they will have notified their masters and all will be on high alert."

Kaulesh stretches and runs through some practice maneuvers while they stand, recovering his lost maneuvers.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Your old teachers are dead to you; if you contact them, you put them and us in danger. Who I am? I'm Grok until you're safe, the first of your new masters. First lesson, don't tip your hand by grabbing at ox hairs, glowbugs, and bat ****. Grab for steel when scared, like a normal person Second lesson." His eyes narrow as he twines the fingers of his left hand in a cantrip. "Be careful when dealing with unknowns."


Action: Casting detect magic without using the conceal spellcasting skill trick.
Spellcraft checks as necessary.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Zoe? Are you and Diael close by? I've made contact and can't teleport this many people."

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Armand

The students react like a class being reprimanded by their teacher for failing a test--which is rather appropriate, given your real identity. The students who instinctively tried to cast spells blush and put their hands in their pockets, then jerk their hands out of their pockets in case you take that as "reaching for spell components" again. The others just look away, mentally kicking themselves.

Giving the students a quick scan for magical auras, you detect no auras on any of them except for the apparent ringleader. Very faint blue sparks are visible out of the corners of your eyes when you look at him; focusing briefly, you are able to will the sparks into something more substantial and get a good look at the bluish traces of magic around him. It's purely protective magic, fortunately for him, with no magical tracers or anything suspicious.

"A cantrip? That's it? Come on, even I can--" one of the twenty-somethings sneers, but the ringleader cuts him off with a chopping motion. "First of all, he's right, we're all unknowns, and I wouldn't show a stranger what I could do either at our first meeting. Unlike some of us. Second, that could have been a divine spell from an Inquisitor and we could all be dead or worse right now." The rest of the students pale at that last remark, and unconsciously shuffle closer together for protection while looking around warily for Inquisitors to step out of every shadow. "So what now? Are you going to take us to your secret headquarters or something?"

The ringleader has a misdirection effect up, hiding a prestidigitation and a mage armor.

Students' Spellcraft checks to ID Armand's spell:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]

Aat and Kaulesh

"What?" Tarnoc yelps, "They got away!? By Sune's b--uh, hair," he swears, quickly editing his curse for Moriah's benefit, "we've got to do something! The others are probably in huge trouble, and if Armand isn't back yet something must have gone wrong with the students too!"

"Calm down," Moriah advises, "a rescue is the last thing we want to try, whether they're in trouble or not. Ghola is a professional actor, I'm sure he can talk his way out of any trouble he and the others run into. Let's wait until we hear something from them before we decide on a course of action."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods stoically. "Aye, they got away. The few seconds I saw them in action indicated they were well-trained Inquisitors... he spits out the last word as if it was a rotten grape. "Good thing we intercepted them, though, and managed to distract them. Otherwise, for sure they would have found Armand and the students." Aat manages to sucessfully fight the urge to remind people that he thought this was an unwise idea to begin with. "As it stands, they still have a chance. As for our friends in the circus, I am sure they can fend for themselves."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Some of you are unknowns, some I know quite a bit about. Ginny, Peter." He indicates each with a nod of his head before dropping almost to a whisper. "And yes, something minor is all you get; so it wears off before we hit the walls. We take the gate that leads to the circus, then veer north three quarters of the way. After a mile, we cross a stream and go uphill. There's a large oak standing sentinel on a bare hill. If there are no problems, just follow me. If there are problems, I'll stay behind and meet you there, or one of my fellows will find you. He's big, hairy, and overly friendly."

Armand pauses, looking down the street where he last saw the inquisitors with his divination. "If there are no questions, split into groups. I want one torch or dark adapted person in each group. Don't use the torches unless you absolutely have to, they give away your position. And son? Those're hidden, but I'd rather you ditched them before we hit the walls, secrecy will help us more than anything else."

Spot check where inquisitors went: [roll0]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Armand

The group of students turns as one to glare accusingly at Ginny and Peter when their names are mentioned, since everyone in the group was supposed to avoid drawing attention to themselves yet this strange man obviously knows too much about them. They shrug helplessly; he's a mage, who knows how he gets his information?

The ringleader looks embarrassed when you call him out, and the fact that you can effortlessly see through the ringleader's misdirection seems to convince the doubters to trust you. They don't argue when the ringleader sorts them into two groups, a half-orc and a dwarf serving as their respective darkness-adapted guides. "All right, we're ready...sir," the ringleader says. "And, uh, what should we call you?"

When you look down the street, you can't see the Inquisitors very clearly, but you can catch some signs of movement on the far rooftops. It seems that either the Inquisitors from the alley teleported towards the circus and are waiting for backup, or they teleported elsewhere and you're seeing the backup, but in either case there are Inquisitors between you and the circus.

Aat and Kaulesh

"Fine," Tarnoc sighs, giving in more to stop arguing than because he actually agrees. "But they'd better check in soon. Can someone at least scry on them and see what's keeping them so long?"

[Failed Phantasm]

After Diael had slithered back out of the tent, Varthok was left alone again to eavesdrop as best he could on the coversation. His hearing was excellent, of that there was little question, but from his vantage point sitting on one of the Ghola's chests, it was still difficult to make out exactly what was being said and by whom. Hoping to get a better idea of the current situation, he stood up and began to pace back and forth in front of the tent's entrance flap, the borrowed hat of disguise clutched tightly in one paw. It really did not sound as if Ghola was having any success with whatever it was that he had attempted to do — if anything, it seemed as if things had become even worse for him — and Varthok's heart starting sinking. 'Oh, no. No, no, no. He's in trouble now, isn't he? Ghola, what are you doing out there? Why did you have to make a scene?' Varthok resumed his nervous pacing, wringing the hat in both paws as he walked. Why did Ghola have to volunteer the circus' involvement? It might have been a noble thing if they knew what they were getting themselves into, but instead their lives were hanging in the balance because of Diael, Ghola, and Varthok simply being there in the first place. 'I've got to do something to help Ghola, but what? Think, Varthok! There's got to be some way out of this mess we're in!'

He started assessing everything available to him inside the tent, hoping to find something that would prompt his mind to start forming a plan. There was Varthok's greatsword propped against the chest he'd been sitting on, and although violence was the last thing on his mind at the moment, he nevertheless strode over to it and gently, tenderly, picked it up. As he hefted the weapon, he marveled once more at how perfectly it fit in his paw, as if it had been forged just for him. There were only various and sundry mundane things lying about in Ghola's tent, and he didn't have time to get the exact details from Zoe; all Varthok had was himself, his sword, and the magic that Negiarkos itself granted him, and the only solid information he had to work with was that which his own intuition and insight granted him. It would have to be enough. Too many lives hung in the balance. Even the Inquisitors'. Knowing Ghola, he'd likely been caught in a lie and, given his current state of mind, it was probably outrageous and poorly thought-out. He was panicking. Diael probably couldn't be asked to salvage the story he'd concocted, but his condition did present an opportunity by itself.

'Thufir said Ghola wanted to set some of the animals free as part of a trap. And Ghola mentioned something about a chimera, didn't he?' Varthok articulated a soft “hrm.” What to do with that? 'I'm not any good at lying, and those Inquisitors are going to be in a suspicious mood, so I can't just invent something on my own and hope that it'll fool them. I have to work within the framework of Ghola's existing story, or else they'll know that I'm trying to deceive them. But I also have to make them unwilling to believe anything Ghola's already told them, or else he might still be arrested when we're done. But how do I do that? How can I make him credible and not credible at the same time? How can I fool them into thinking he wasn't trying to fool them at all?' Varthok lowered the sword to his side and rubbed his forehead with his mostly-free paw, uttering a soft growl of frustration. 'I'd have to make it seem as if—' His eyes snapped open. 'As if someone had fooled Ghola first!' He quickly jammed the hat of disguise on his head and reached out for Zoe again. 'Zoe! Zoe, tell Diael I've got an idea! And tell him to wait for my next message so I can explain. But first, I'm going to summon something!' He was too excited, anxious, and nervous to wait for a response or even consider how Diael might find that incredibly, incredibly worrying instead of comforting. But he didn't care: this had to work!

It didn't seem likely that he could leave the tent unnoticed, so he took several steps backwards, towards the part of the tent that was diametrically opposite where Ghola and the Inquisitors were standing, and he didn't stop until he could feel his fur brush the fabric; he'd have to speak clearly for the spell to work, but he also had to be as quiet as he possible could so as not to alert them or anyone else in the vicinity. He reached inward, drawing up the magic from within his mind and soul, teasing apart the spell's structure and form that it had been given by meditative prayer and the power of nature, releasing it into a burst of pure divine energy that suffused him and tingled with anticipation, a longing to be unleashed. With his free hand, he began making gestures; with his voice he began to utter the words of power, as quietly as he could manage; with his mind, he began to form raw magic into a summoning, just as he'd been taught not all that long ago.


Actions taken:
Make a Listen check to determine if there's anyone or anything within earshot of Ghola's tent: [roll0] Result: 28.

Convert one (1) prepared casting of extended stoneskin into a spontaneous summon nature's ally IV to conjure a pixie. (12 rounds remaining)

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh turns to Aat, "I do not have such an ability, are you capable of scrying them?"

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat ponders a moment. "No...well, I can scout on the ethereal by proxy. But, my proxy would have to travel to the site. That may take too long."

How far away are we? I can summon an Ethereal Agent at any point I can see which can then travel 400 feet per minute to the city. I am thinking it is hopelessly far way.

[Snowbluff]

Diael's head...

"Diael?"
"Mhm..."
"Diael, Varthok is up to something."
"Can it wait? I'm appraising the situation."
"No, I think is might be import-"
"Zoe, I am trying to concentrate. It's vital I do not give my position away, but Ghola may be in need of aid."
"Diael!"
"WHAT?! I'm trying not to be discovered here! Do you know what will happen if I can't calculate my next move perfectly?"
"Oh, there you go again! Only thinking about yourself! Well, Varthok is going to summon some critter or something. I though that might be handy!"
"Oh, confounding my machinations, is he? Tell him he's making a huge mistake."
"Harrumph!"

Varthok

A grumpy Zoe can be heard in Varthok's mind. "Diael says it's cool," she says, ending with a purr that almost sounds too smug.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat and Kaulesh

"Yeah, it'd never get there in time," Tarnoc sighs. "I know Jheska can scry, but all of the spells she knows take forever to cast, and I don't think Galad or Sergei know any scrying spells. Cuthbert damn it, I knew I should have convinced Galad to study more divinations!"

As mentioned waaaaay back in the OOC thread, the edge of the forest is more than a mile from the city walls, and even if you guys were standing right on the edge it would take the ethereal agent at least a minute to get from where Aat has line of sight to where Ghola and the others are.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Grok, like I said. And don't bother accusing them. They've done so well hiding their talent, I'd never have guessed." Turning away from the rooftop inquisitors, he begins to walk at right angles to his intended destination.

"Change of plan; I see magic items and active abjurations on the rooftops. No casting, no active spells, hide any magic items, even a lucky coin. Ditch them in a canal if you can't hide them, everything can be replaced except your lives. I'll probably have to split off at some point, I can't lose myself in a crowd if they can sense my presence."
"We'll head north for a bit, meander our way through the streets until we hit a different gate. Then we'll go around the city until we're near the circus, after that it's the same as before. They'll be easier to avoid out of the city where it's harder to box us in; even if they're more likely to attack where there's no bystanders."

He pauses. "I want to avoid bridges, canals, and narrow streets or alleys, but I don't know the entire city. Can you help me with that?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Armand

The ringleader shoots you a sour look when you give him the same name again, obviously hoping you would reveal more about yourself now that you all tentatively trust one another, but he reluctantly nods and dismisses his spells when you order it. "No one brought any magic items, like I told you, right?" The students all shake their heads in the negative. "Good."

"No bridges, canals, or back streets?" Ginny clarifies. "That just leaves main streets. Or...I guess we could cut through the university; there are still a few streets between the sociology buildings and University Gate, but it's a lot less conspicuous than just walking up Orphean Avenue." "But everyone there knows us!" Peter objects. "Sure, we'd be kind of obvious walking up the main streets in a big group, but if we run into a professor or some friends they might slow us down, and anyway they'll remember that we were there if the Inquisition asks around about us."

The two of them argue a bit more about the better route before the ringleader cuts them off and gives you a shrug. "Well, Grok, you're the expert at evading the Inquisition, which way do you think we should go?"

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"I've always avoided notice; running once they've noticed you? Much harder. Once their attention is on you, you've got to take drastic measures like move into a war zone and hope they don't notice you again. Skilled and careful allies helps too. We'll go through the university, act natural and think up an excuse if you meet a friend." He pauses a moment. "There aren't many halforcs at the university right? What about if I looked like that teacher from the Wet Whistle?"

[PairO'Dice Lost]

"I dunno..." Peter says. "You might look like him, but can you act like him? What if someone wants to talk to him while we're going through?" "That's easy," Ginny says, "professors are always annoyed when they have to re-grade stuff, so he can just act all grumpy and they'll probably go away."

Peter doesn't seem convinced, but the ringleader does, and he gives your plan a firm nod. "It's worth the risk, I think. We're less noticeable, and everyone but Grok is on familiar ground which will help if things go to Hades in a handbasket. Let's do it.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand,

"Grumpy? That's not hard. If a professor approaches, I'll need someone to intercept and say his name. If you know he uses a nickname; use that." Armand states as they move.

As he passes each small alley, Armand glances inside looking for any lurkers or other denizens. Finding one empty, he turns back towards the meeting point for another view of the inquisitors. With a brief "Wait here" command to the students, he darts inside and quickly dismisses his spell; regaining his natural form, albeit now dressed in the overlarge clothes of a halforc. "Your lessons," he says "will include self defense, eschewing the use of components, and hiding both the telltale motions and overall effects."


Spot checks. Use as appropriate
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh looks to Aat.

"Well, we can't scry on them, but we could provide one hell of a distraction, care to travel to the other side of the city and blow some stuff up?" he asks, with a half grin.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat grins back at Kaulesh. Blowing stuff up is Aat's specialty, the monk knows that. "Sure thing, though we may want to make sure we don't hurt innocents. What about a few sonic blasts here and there in the air?"

[BelGareth]

He smiles as his companion replies "But of course, no innocents, we will have to be careful. Can you fly? I can port us over the city, it may give us an insight as to what is happening."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat nods. "Uhm, can you make us invisible or something then? One tends to stand out, flying over a city like that."

[Failed Phantasm]

As the pixie materialized with a barely-perceptible shimmer in the air before him, Varthok launched into a hasty explanation of what he needed her to do. «Please forgive my breach of etiquette,» he began in Sylvan, his voice low so as to prevent the conversation from being overheard, «but there are lives at stake and time is of the essence.» He had given her the courtesy of a small bow, but summoning created only a brief, tenuous connection to the Prime and he knew that he had little more than a minute to explain his plan and have her execute it. «As soon as I have finished speaking, I need you to turn yourself invisible and fly out of this tent. When you exit, you should see a gathering of four people who are having an argument. There should be a space between the tents behind them where you can duck into and use your fey magic. You're going to play a trick on all of them by making the illusion of a chimera that broke out of its cage. A chimera...» Varthok bent down to the ground and used a claw to scratch a crude chimera in the dirt as he began to explain its appearance to the pixie. It was not the best depiction — he'd never seen a chimera before yesterday — but it didn't have to be perfect. “Close enough” would do. «...has three heads: a dragon's, a lion's, and a goat's. It has the body of a lion and the wings of a dragon.» He finished with a slight flourish as he completed the mane on the lion's head.

«After you've created the illusion,» he continued, «make it walk towards the four people I mentioned. You need to scare them a little bit, but not too much. It's just a prank, after all.» A malicious pixie was rare in the extreme, and the entire purpose of Varthok's plan was to avoid a hostile confrontation in which someone could be killed. «You might make it growl or rear up on its legs, but please try to pay attention to the reactions of your audience. If they see through the illusion, make yourself visible again and let them know it was all a big joke. If they don't see through it, or if they panic and try to attack it, do the same thing anyway. We don't want them to see you vanish back to your home, so whichever of these two things happens, you can turn invisible again and fly away into the forest until the magic expires. Your task will then be complete.» Nodding to indicate that he was finished speaking, he let the pixie attend to her task with a final «Good luck. And please, hurry.» before turning his attention to preparing the next step of his plan.

Varthok slung his haversack over his shoulder and down to the ground, taking his greatsword — still in hand — and sheathing it before gently and carefully lowering it into his pack. He then adjusted the hat on his head, straightening it from the jaunty angle it had been at after he'd quickly jammed it on his head earlier. At his size, there was no way he could pass for any of the common races except for human, and a very large human at that. Unfortunately, he had extremely limited contact with, and knowledge of, humans in general. He knew roughly how tall and how heavy they were, along with the numerous eye and hair colors they could possess, and the many ways in which human males styled their facial hair, if they had any. That rudimentary knowledge would have to be enough; hopefully the hat's magic would make a coherent and believable disguise for him without requiring too much information. Now all that remained was making the hat work. As he picked up his haversack and put it back on, he reached out for Zoe one more time and asked, 'Zoe, is there a command word for this hat?'

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Varthok

The pixie lets out a high-pitched giggle, which fortunately does not carry very far. "Don't be silly," she says in a stage whisper, "I've been pulling pranks on mortals for centuries, I don't need your advice on how to do that!" While her words are dismissive, it's apparent from her tone that she doesn't intend them to be insulting and is only correcting a foolish mortal who can't be expected to know any better.

She flits behind you to look over your shoulder at your rough sketch of the chimera. She tilts her head one way, then the other, then back the first way, and then she swoops over your head to hang upside-down in the air in front of you. "Your drawing is kinda terrible, you know," she says brightly, "I have no idea what that's supposed to be. But that's okay! I don't need a drawing, I can just look in your head!" She leans in uncomfortably close until her eyes are less than an inch from your own and opens them as wide as possible. You feel a tickling sensation in your mind, and about ten awkward seconds later she floats back to a comfortable distance. "Yeah, that looks nothing like your drawing. You should've let me draw it, I'm a much better artist than you," she says matter-of-factly, seemingly not noticing that that would have defeated the purpose of the exercise. "But now I know what I'm making, so it's okay. Ooh, does the dragon head breathe fire? I don't care, I'm making it breathe fire. Rainbow fire! And the goat will have bows in his hair! Lots of bows, cute little pink bows, no, pink and purple bows. No, I'll put them in the lion's mane! Aww, but then the goat will be jealous. Okay, you're right, no bows."

All of this is said in one breath and twice as fast as a human could normally speak without getting completely tongue-tied. Before you can respond to her last statement, she zooms out of the tent, fading from view as she does so.

The pixie uses detect thoughts to see your mental image of the chimera, and I'm assuming you'd waive the saving throw for expediency's sake.

Diael and Ghola

The human Inquisitor takes a step forward to bind Ghola's hands with the silver chains he's holding, but that's all he can do before your chimera bursts out of the nearby forest and swoops down towards the Inquisitors. They duck as it buzzes over their heads, and as it does so you notice that it doesn't quite look like your chimera, more like a secondhand description of your chimera, the proportions are a bit off and it looks a few years older.

As soon as it's out of reach the Inquisitors leap into a triangular back-to-back-to-back formation and pull out their holy symbols. The chimera makes an unsteady landing, then rears up and roars with all three heads. The male elf is the nearest Inquisitor to the chimera, so he raises his holy symbol of Ra and sends a blinding ray of light at it. It dodges the ray, faster than any chimera you've ever seen...by moonwalking out of the way. This understandably gives the Inquisitors pause, as does the cone of rainbow-colored light that its dragon head breathes into the air and the elephant-trumpet noise its lion head makes instead of a roar. When the other Inquisitors move to attack it again, the chimera turns bright pink, blows them a C major chord of raspberries with all three heads, and disappears in a puff of bright yellow smoke.

A pixie blinks into visibility next to a nearby tent, giggling uncontrollably. "HeeheeheeheeohmyOberonthatwashilarious! You should've seen your faces! Heeheeheehee! I gotcha good, didn't I! I got you, and you, and you, and you!" As it giggles the last part, it whizzes around and pops into and out of visibility so each "and you!" is said from over one Inquisitor's shoulder, causing them to flinch and then look embarrassed about flinching. "You mortals are so fun to mess with, we should do this again sometime and even if you don't want to I want to so it's going to happen whether you want it to or not okay wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...." The pixie's ridiculously fast speech trails off into inaudibility as it flies off into the forest, blinking in and out of visibility all the while.

The whole, ah, incident takes less than twenty seconds and leaves the Inquisitors standing awkwardly in their defensive formation and the one or two other performers nearby looking over in utter confusion. The human puts his holy symbol away and picks up the chains he dropped while the elves move to flank you once again. "Welll," the female elf says, "I certainly hope you have a good explanation for...whatever that was."

The Inquisitor cast a searing light spell.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh grins, this time his different colored eyes sparkle as he casts a spell and touches Aat and then himself, they both feel lighter and he continues to cast spells, turning them both invisible and then teleporting them both above the city.

Staying put so his companion can here him, he speaks outloud: "So, where shall we reap our chaos and confusion?"


Spells cast are Fly on both of us, Greater invisibility and then Teleport.

[Snowbluff]

Diael/Varthok/Ghola

You can hear Zoe's telepathic laughter.
"Heheheh!"
This conversation happens mentally:
"What just happened?!
"I don't know. Varthok, what just happened?"

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh looks down and looks for a warehouse like building, something that won't cause too much damage, and if at all possible zero lives.

Once he found one, he launches a fireball so that it lands barely above the roof and in clear view of the streets and people.


Casting a fireball so that it does not touch the building, but is in view of people.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat looks around for a place with lots of people: He wants as many persons as possible to hear his sonic balls. He aims a ball of sonic energy close over the roof of a building or, better, some 30 feet above a square.

Manifest Energy ball [Sonic] for 7PP, dealing [roll0] damage, full damage against objects and reflex safe DC21 for half...but it really should not be affecting something (but you never know). The range is max. 880 feet.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Daiel, Ghola, and Varthok

It turns out that Ghola does not have a good explanation for "whatever that was," but fortunately for him, Varthok emerges from his tent and explains the situation, spinning a tale of truth and technicalities. Ghola's mind, Varthok explains, works...differently than normal people's (since he is a spellcaster), and he requires a healer to take care of him (since he tends to get in fights with the Inquisition and need his wounds healed). Diael has a tendency to see things that aren't there (since several of his teammates favor illusion spells) and react badly to certain stimuli (such as trying out crazy plans to fool Inquisitors)--for instance, he saw the pixie's illusory chimera (true) and came up with a crazy story about his chimera getting loose (also true, though not related to the first point), and he completely made up the idea of a cleric of Corellon giving him his items (very true), possibly drawing on his relationship with Varthok to come up with it (likely true). Sadly, his condition is not magically curable (as one cannot "cure" meldshaping capabilities), but as a druid Varthok knows how to create magical items to suppress maladies for a time (not that he can actually do it himself) and the items Ghola wears assist him with his "condition" (in the form of extra essentia capacity).

When asked if this story is true Ghola takes the story and runs with it, going on to helpfully describe crazy tales of the troubles his paranoid delusions have led him into. The Inquisitors see right through it, of course...as does Varthok, who shakes his head, sighs, and tells Ghola that if he had just taken a potion earlier this whole incident could have been avoided (as indeed a potion of glibness would certainly have helped with all the lying). He invites the Inquisitors to examine him magically, and the lack of any suspicious items on his part and a few druidic spells cast for them prove that he is who he says he is. The Inquisitors are still wary of Ghola, but now more so due to having a crazy person working in the circus than due to suspicion of illegal activity on his part. Varthok apologizes profusely for the misunderstanding and assures them that he will give Ghola a stern talking-to about this (very very true).

After conferring for a moment, the Inquisitors declare that they will not be arresting or fining either of them, but they will be putting a notation about both of them in the Inquisition's record of the circus and its performance, and they will be increasing their screening standards for all subsequent public entertainment. Both of them assure the Inquisitors that that will be fine, and finally the Inquisitors go their own way.

Armand

The students gasp at how accurately "Grok" is able to "impersonate" their professor. "By Tiamat's heads, man," whistles one of them, "you're good. I hope I can do that someday." "He probably spent a lot of time watching everyone to get all the details right," murmurs another, and as all of you walk towards the university that student and two others start a whispered conversation about which half-orc they know who "Grok" could be...until Ginny sarcastically points out that he can polymorph himself so obviously he wouldn't walk around the university in his true form, dumbasses.

The ringleader takes up a position in front once you reach the university grounds to help guide you through it. You manage to guide the group through buildings where you're unlikely to run into your colleagues, under the pretext that you're simply picking the buildings that look less inhabited. This way you manage to see all of your colleagues before they can see you and outmaneuver them, and the one time a pair of students comes up to you and attempts to casually ask about their new grades, your look of utter soul-crushing disdain sends them scurrying off whimpering about how they've failed and lost their scholarships for sure and their parents are going to kill them.

About an hour later you've managed to wend your way through the university and approach the point on campus nearest to University Gate. It's another block to the gate itself, in full view of the gate guards. The students start bickering about the best approach to take to get to the gate unobserved, but the decision is made for you: a massive thundering BOOM echoes from somewhere south of you, followed by a series of echoes a few moments later. You can't see or hear what might have caused all the commotion from here, unfortunately. One of the gate guards starts shouting something at another guard and pointing at things; it looks like he's telling the other guard how far away the explosion, or thunder or whatever it was, was and to do something about it. The other guard casts a quick spell and speaks to the air while the rest of the guards turn their attention outside of the city in case the big boom was a distraction in preparation for a larger attack.

That fortuitously leaves the path to the gate sufficiently un-watched for you to shepherd the students from building to building until you're right at the gate and hidden from sight by an overhang. All that remains now is to get the students through the twenty-foot-tall, iron-bound thick oaken gate and across a mile of well-observed open ground with no cover to the safety of the forest.

Aat and Kaulesh

The two of you pop invisibly into existence above the Old City. Several large mansions decorated in an understated baroque style lie to your left, and from your vantage point you can see into the upper-story windows where the staff are doing their daily cleaning while their masters are out. To your right is a small garden party ("small" meaning that the host or hostess has not invited everyone they know, merely sixty- or seventy-something of the hoity-toity-est of nobles) where the guests are sipping wine and laughing delicately at either a lovely joke or the plight of the unwashed masses, it's hard to tell from here. In the streets, servants are just arriving back from their daily shopping and several merchants look like they're off to a meeting somewhere.

Kaulesh quickly determines that the mansion with the tall spires and large (and somewhat tacky) sculptures of Poseidon all around the lawn is an excellent target for his fireball. The paint on the roof begins to peel as the blast of heat washes over it, and servants begin screaming and running in the streets at the sudden burst of fire in the sky. Aat's sonicball catches the garden-party nobles just as they are rising and walking over to the fence to see what all the fuss is about; every wine glass, porcelain dish, and ice sculpture in the garden is blasted to fine powder from the pressure wave, and two large casks of what looks to be expensive '17 Muskateller wine burst to cover the grass and two of the party-goers in fragrant reddish-violet liquid. The rebounding echoes of the blast shake windows up and down the streets for at least a mile or two around and are almost drowned out by the shriek of the woman whose dress was ruined.

Total pandemonium reigns everywhere you look for a good ten seconds or so. Then, a group of five Inquisitors (priests of Hextor, Osiris, Helm, Baldr, and Ganesha, by their holy symbols) pops into existence fifty feet above the garden party and no more than a hundred feet away from you, all facing outwards and ready for combat. "Looks like we're on target, but there's no sign of them, sir," the Ganeshan Inquisitor snaps. "Battle plan sigma four, then," says the Helmite Inquisitor, "we'll find them." They slowly begin fanning out in a spiral pattern, all casting spells--divinations, by their hand gestures.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

Aat pokes Kaulesh (if he can) and whispers: "Job's done...let's split"

DM, if I am 'out of touch' with Kaulesh, let me know. I/we have to get the hell away, me thinks.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh nods at his companions astute observation, he was glad not too much damage was incurred and more so no one was hurt, it was a reckless act, but he hoped it would serve.

He quickly cast his teleportation spell, tagging Aat as he did, taking them to a spot North of the city(2 miles north), once there he'll cast it again, taking them back to their original spot.


Casts teleport x2

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat and Kaulesh

As Kaulesh begins casting his spell, the Osiran and Helmite Inquisitors spin to face the two of you. "Spellcasters, that way, eighty feet!" the Helmite barks, and the others turn to face the same general direction. The Osiran quickly lifts his holy symbol and shouts "In the name of the Reborn Judge, HALT!", and Kaulesh can feel a burst of divine power unraveling his spell before he can teleport you both away.

Inquisitor uses Counterspell! It's super effective! :smallwink:

Initiative time:
Kaulesh: [roll0]
Aat: [roll1]
Helmite and Osiran: [roll2]
Other Inquisitors: [roll3]

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat and Kaulesh

No sooner has the Osiran countered Kaulesh's spell then he begins chanting and flying towards you. "In the name of the Reborn Judge, let the wicked be revealed!" he calls, and you feel an oily sensation crawling up and down your skin as some force suppresses your invisibility. The Helmite raises his own holy symbol as soon as you become visible and proclaims "Helm, hold fast the evildoer!" Aat feels his muscles spasm and lock up, but a moment's concentration allows him to effortlessly shrug off the hostile magic.

There aren't many people left in the area below you, as they've either fled through the streets or gone inside to fix their clothes, and the few left there stare up in fear at the two terrorists revealed by their beloved protectors. The other three Inquisitors need to take a moment to orient themselves to the sudden development, giving you a few seconds to respond.

The Osiran cast invisibility purge and the Helmite cast hold person.

Aat's Will save: [roll0] vs. DC 19

[Getsugaru]

Ghola waited until the inquisitors were out of earshot before turning to face Diael and Varthok. "Thank you both for getting me out of that situation. I promise to think my plans through more clearly in the future, as well as discuss them with others before implementing them." Ghola gave a small bow to the two of them, realizing the folly his plan had been. "Now that this is taken care of, should I go and report in? It would take but a moment." Ghola was choosing his words much more carefully now, realizing that he needed to show more caution.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael grumbles something inaudible and walks back towards the circus. Zoe, ever the helpful assistant, bounds up. She beams up at Ghola with her big, blue eyes. "Diael says you should be quick about it. He doesn't seem very happy, so he probably wants you to be careful, too." She gives an encouraging chirp. "By the way, thanks for your assistance, Varthok."

[Getsugaru]

Ghola gives a nod before walking calmly back to his tent. There, he stores the empty vial and rag before slipping out, headed for the cages. He walks past as nonchalant as possible before entering the woods.

Up at the pond, the young chimera had fallen back to sleep next to the cool water. Ghola did his best not to wake the sleeping beast, but knowing it not to be his specialty, he was prepared to calm the chimera and praise it for a job well done, not wanting another fiasco.

Move Silently check: 1d20+5=[roll0]

NOTE: Just to save time, if I fail, I was planning to praise the chimera and instruct it to wait there while I'd be right back. Afterwords, or if I don't wake it, I was planning to teleport back to base from the secluded pond, check in, then teleport back with whatever news (<_< >_> *cough**inquisitor troubles**cough*) was told to me, so that I could share said info with Diael, Zoe and Varthok.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh frowns as his spell is interrupted and dispelled by the stalwart inquisitor, who apparently was able to detect his spellcasting. Raising an eyebrow he regarded the interlopers with disdain, they had ruined a perfectly good spell.

And one of his best, to boot.

Annoyed at the disturbance, he quickly utters an incantation of smoke, and brings forth a wall of smoke intercepting the inquisitors and putting them out of sight and mind for a second or two. He then turns to Aat and then attempts to recast his previous spell.

"They will most likely have a way to track us, so I'm taking us somewhere from anyone else, be prepared to port us if you can once we get there, and for them to follow..."


Casts Wall of smoke (http://dndtools.eu/spells/spell-compendium--86/wall-of-smoke--4745/) using 1 charge from his circlet of rapid casting to do so as a swift action.
Summons a 80 x 80 square foot wall between himself and the oncoming inquisitors. DC 18 Fort if they pass through it. (else nauseated for 1 round)

He then casts Teleport on himself and Aat to the alleyway he had intercepted the two inquisitors before.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola

The chimera awakens with three sleepy yawns, and a puff of bad breath from the dragon head. Its dragon head smiles toothily and its lion head purrs as you tell it what a good job it did, and it's more than happy to keep napping while you go off and do more of your silly humanoid things. Right before you teleport out you catch a glimpse of the goat head leaning over the edge of the pond and snapping up a fish to give to the lion head.

As soon as you pop into existence back at base, Tarnoc jumps up from where he was sitting and bombards you with questions and information: "Thank Helm you're back! What took you so long? Where are Varthok and Diael? Are they okay? Have you heard anything from Armand? He and the students aren't back yet. Aat and Kaulesh just went to make a distraction for them but they're not back yet, did you see anything from where you were? It shouldn't have taken them more than half a minute. What's going on out there?"

Aat and Kaulesh

As Kaulesh begins casting his smoke barrier, he sees the Helmite raise a hand to his holy symbol, but the Osiran waves his hand in a quick Wait, don't bother gesture and the Helmite subsides. When he starts his second spell, though, the Osiran snaps "They're trying to leave again!" and, though neither of you hears any grandiose pronouncements this time, another surge of divine energy unravels Kaulesh's spell in a burst of golden sparks; you can't see through the smoke which of those two Inquisitors countered it.


Map--Round 1
http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb176/psychictheurge10/Map--Inquisitors1_zps941e8402.png

The big brown blocks are buildings, the gray stripes are the streets, the green area is the garden party with tables and chairs, and the Inquisitors are named for their gods.

[Getsugaru]

"My apologies. There was...a complication back at the circus. Some Inquisitors were pretending to be part of my troupe. Luckily, Varthok and Diael were able to get them to leave (which is good, since the mess I caused almost got me arrested). They are all okay. As far as I know, we haven't heard back from Armand or the others yet. Why did Aat and Kaulesh go out to make a distraction? Weren't they supposed to shadow Armand and the mages as they traveled back to the base?"
"Oh, this is not good, this is not good, this is not good..." As they were conversing, the same psionic runes from the other night began to form upon Ghola's brow.
Spent Psionic Focus to activate Azure Talent. Regained Power Points. Afterwards, attempt to regain psionic foci.
Two Concentration Checks: Ghola 1d20+17=[roll0] Thufir 1d20+17=[roll1]

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Grmbl...this is getting annoying." Aat grasps Kaulesh and attempts to get them both out of here, using Dimension door.


Move action: Dimension door (augmented with 6 pp to manifest as move action), overchannel for [roll0] damage.
Standard action: Dimension door once more.

20 pp spent.

I can't describe in detail where I want to go (way beyond the map limit for sure). I've got 920 feet for the first casting and 880 feet for the second casting. Goal is to get as far away as possible, out of (line of) sight of these guys and give us enough breathing space to get out for real this time.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Ghola

"Well I definitely don't know what they were thinking," Tarnoc complains. "Not like they asked us or anything. Kaulesh just said they'd make one Hades of a distraction and 'ported off with Aat. They'd better not run into any more Inquisitors; the last thing we need is even more attention." Moriah gives you a smile and a quick pat on the back, glad that you've returned safe. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be fine. If you can gather Diael and Varthok here, we can focus on the other three and give them whatever help they may need."

Aat and Kaulesh

In what has become an annoyingly recurring pattern, Aat feels a burst of divine force overwhelm his manifestation when he tries to teleport away--though unlike Kaulesh, the sensation of being counterspelled manifests in a sharp headache rather than golden sparkles, and is an entirely new experience given that counter-powering is not a normal concern for psionicists. Right after his power is interrupted, you hear the Helmite's voice quietly but indistinctly through the smoke wall: "They cast again, but it felt...different. Wait! That was....They must be witches! Send for backup, and tell them that we're--!"

His warning cry is cut off mid-sentence as Aat's second teleport goes off without a hitch. You land in a small alleyway out of sight of the street out of shouting range of the Inquisitors, at which point one of you can get you back to headquarters.

Aat, Ghola, and Kaulesh

"See, I told you they'd be fine," Moriah says warmly as Aat and Kaulesh appear in the room. "It's about damn time," Tarnoc grumbles. "Have you heard anything from Armand? It's been hours since we heard anything, and we're all getting worried."

[Getsugaru]

"Wait. More inquisitors? As in they've alerted the inquisitors to our presence?" Ghola scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Calm. I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I must-"
With a loud <pop>, Aat and Kaulesh reappeared in the base.
"Well, that's one problem solved." Ghola approached his allies. "That was an entrance," Ghola said with a smirk. "Are you two alright? What has happened? I've received little tactical information from our comrades here, as they seem as much in the dark as I am."

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Aat

"Interesting," Aat mutters at Kaulesh as they appear. The archer smiles at Moriah as they enter and then turns towards Ghola. "Armand was being shadowed by two inquisitors, so Kaulesh and myself had to distract them." He shrugs casually as he continues: "That did not go fully according to plan, so I had to shoot one through the head. They teleported out before I could do the other." He scratches his head as he tries to recall more. "Since we figured Armand was being observed, we decided to go in and cause a massive distraction elsewhere. That attracted some attention. Now, after that mission was accomplished, we are here."

[Getsugaru]

"Do you know their current position or their route? I have a feeling now is the time for a quick escape. Even if your plan has succeeded, there is likely a chance that an equal and opposite reaction to the one we would want has occurred. I believe it is time this party regroups." Ghola pulled out his psicrystal, manifesting spidery limbs upon it once more. Then more psionic runes flashed along his brow, and with a loud <pop>, the psicrystal disappeared. Once again, the psionic runes flashed as Ghola spent his focus again to restore his manifesting prowess, before quickly attempting to regain his spent focus once more.

Manifest Psionic Teleport on Thufir alone via Share Powers. Then expend Psionic Focus to Psicarnum Infusion on Azuree Talent. Finally, attempts to regain Psionic Focus: Concentration 1d20+17=[roll0]

Thufir lands inside Ghola's tent with a <pop>. Before even landing, he reaches out to Zoe's mind, hoping the little dragon heard "his" thoughts. "Ms. Zoe! If you can hear this, please bring Mr. Diael and Mr. Varthok to Ghola's tent immediately!"

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh sighs inwardly and smiles warmly towards Aat, he was glad that they managed to escape, those inquisitors were starting to get get annoying, and he had no intent to kill or hurt any.

He stands quietly as his companion tells of what happened, nodding at intervals of their actions.

"He speaks the truth, we do indeed need to regroup, I am worried the inquisitors will follow us here, they are well versed in divination's and we caused...quiet the havoc with them, we should regroup and move fast, I am in no mood for more surprises today."

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Diael walks into the tent and sits on one of the chairs. He lets out a heavy sigh. Without looking up, he addresses Thufir. "Hello, crystal. Do you have news from your master?"

Before Thufir can respond, Zoe arrives and makes her assault! She pounces and attempts to nibble on the poor construct!

[Getsugaru]

The small crystal desperately attempted to get Zoe off, pushing with all eight of its psionic spindle-legs. "Ms. Zoe, please stop that. That tickles." Despite the small crystal's claims, it was seemingly impossible for it to experience the sensation of "tickle." Doing its best to ignore the small dragon's assault, Thufir explained to Diael that there had been another situation (that Ghola hadn't caused) and that it was time for everyone to regroup.

[Snowbluff]

Diael

Zoe continues her attack until her master calls her off. "Zoe, could you do me a favor?" She immediately looks up at Diael. "Could you fetch Varthok for me? This place may not be safe for our little coven much longer. If the inquisitors make a connection between the Circus, the students, and our allies' activities in the city, we could have an old-fashioned witch hunt. If it comes to that, we should be ready to move our base to another area. Thufir, I will consult with Varthok, and we will probably return shortly."

"Yes, master!" After listening to Diael's orders, Zoe slinks off to fetch Varthok.

[Getsugaru]

"Great. One thing, though: my master is currently out of telepathic range, and I can't teleport myself back, so I am supposed to stick with you until we get back to the hideout." Thufir walked closer to Diael, hoping to climb into a pocket or hide in his sleeve while waiting for the return trip home.

[herrhauptmann]

Armand (as Grok masquerading as Professor Armand)

Damn, I was hoping this gate would be open too. He thinks to himself, aloud though his tone is quite different. "I'm going to clear any traps, then we go. If there's no commotion when it opens, hug the wall to the right for fifty paces, then across the clearing. Hug the treeline until you're near the circus, and follow my previous instructions. Stay within a stones throw of everyone else and I'll help you as best I can." He pauses and looks around sourly.

"If there is a commotion, go straight to the woods. As if all the devils of hell are on your heels. Do your best to follow my rendezvous instructions, we won't give up on you no matter what. Again, I'll help you run, but I'm staying behind for a minute. My aid will continue until you split into your groups."

He looks around at the children, no the apprentices. They deserve that title at the least. "Ready... Steady... Go." And begins his abjuration.

Swift action: Extended/quickened Greater Dispel Magic. Targeting the Gates.
Another free action. Conceal spellcasting for GDM. Sleight of hand. [roll0] Opposed by spot rolls.

Dispel Checks. Roll more as necessary.
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

[Snowbluff]

"Great. One thing, though: my master is currently out of telepathic range, and I can't teleport myself back, so I am supposed to stick with you until we get back to the hideout." Thufir walked closer to Diael, hoping to climb into a pocket or hide in his sleeve while waiting for the return trip home.

Diael take Thufir and places him in the inside pocket of his coat. He checks to make sure that no one is looking, and then teleports himself to his study.

[roll]1d20+13[/quote] Spot
[roll0] Mishap for Teleport.

[PairO'Dice Lost]

Aat, Ghola, and Kaulesh

"Okay, wait, so..." Tarnoc begins, looking both worried and impressed, "some Inquisitors already knew about the students, so you killed them--no, sorry, so you ambushed an Inquisitor, then brought Inquisition attention right on yourselves and managed to escape? Wow. I knew you old fogies were skilled," he jokes, "but that's frigging amazing."

Moriah has the same worried look on her face. "I definitely agree that resolving this mission as quickly as possible is our best option. The speed with which the Inquisitors responded to your distraction is quite concerning, even given the normal response time of law enforcement in the Old City. I think I'll go tell Jheska to start scrying on our secondary bases and make sure neither of them have been compromised, and if they have begin looking for a new location." She suits actions to words and steps out of the room to send Jheska a message to that effect.

Diael and Varthok

Zoe doesn't have to go far to fetch Varthok, who has been quietly meditating since he finished giving Ghola a dressing-down for his insane and risky plan. One quick explanation later, he's able to join Diael on his trip back to his study.

Grok Armand

The students all look very nervous as their escape suddenly becomes more real and everything hinges on what happens in the next few seconds. Your well-practiced abjuration sends out a burst of disruptive energy that washes over the gates, and you can feel a bit of a crawling sensation on your skin from random discharges of magical energy that signify several spells on the gate being negated.

Whether any remain and what they might be would require a closer inspection, but you've definitely removed a good chunk of the wards. No one seems to have noticed as of yet, so if you triggered any magical alarms with your actions they obviously don't alert the guards nearby.

[Getsugaru]

"Such a quick response does seem odd; almost as if they knew where to look. Did they happen to make physical contact with you, or hit you with any spells?" Ghola sensed as Thufir entered telepathic range once again, alerting him to the arrival of their allies. "We'll have to look into this later; for now, our allies have returned."

[herrhauptmann]

Armand

Damn. Armand thinks to himself as the dispel takes effect. "Wait," he holds up a hand for the apprentices to abort their run before muttering a quick divination.


Casting detect magic for my standard action.
My move action will be to draw my nonmagical flail.

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh frowns "No, I don't think so, they were only able to dispel our actions even Aat's, they were able to locate us even through my invisibility spell. And yes, I agree, they were exceptionally fast..."

[Getsugaru]

"No, Sir Kaulesh, you misunderstand..." Ghola put his hand to his chin as he stared back at Kaulesh, a disconcerting bestiality in his eyes. "I did not mean in your encounter above the town; I am asking if it happened while following the students."

[BelGareth]

Kaulesh frowns ever more, he thinks for a moment, "I...well, yes. I hadn't thought about it, I changed shape and distracted them...and come to think on it, they said the students were marked! How could I let that slip! This is not good!"

[Snowbluff]

"What's not good?"

Diael

Diael walks in from the study, brandishing a glass of brandy. Zoe is sitting on his shoulder.