The Reflection of Heroes [Team 1] IC Thread [3.5 Gestalt]

[Neely]

Welcome to the land of Leviaca! A continent of great diversity, Leviaca (Lev-aye-ah-cah) is home to a great number of peoples who remain divided into individual countries, but have generally good trade relations. In this land is where you begin your journey, individually spread out over the vast surface.

http://i.imgur.com/ha3vJKr.png

Lord Tak has head out from his tribe, making his yearly travel down the mountains of the northern Ankkung. He takes in a breath of fresh air, clearing his mind temporarily of his responsibilities. The road to Stone Lizard Flophouse seems unusually barren as compared to usual. This region is usually more populated with kobalds and the dwarves that primarily inhabit Ankkung. Out on the road for six hours, Tak only crosses paths with two groups of dwarves, and one pack of kobalds. The two races get along, but are rarely seen together. He then spots a slightly odder sight up the road: a young dwarven woman pulling a large cart full of goods, a popular merchant device all over the continent, the type that can set up and pack away at a moment's notice. As she grows closer, you can see that she looks slightly taller than a normal dwarf, with fairer features. You also now notice a large, muscled and armoured human man walking behind the cart, and a kobald in a robe sitting on top of it. The dwarf-looking woman begins to wave at you enthusiastically in an over excited manor. The other two don't seem to take notice. They are about 200 ft away.

Agate sits in her home, in full disguise as usual, she's grown accustomed to it, and writes in a large book. She quits at a reference book and writes something new in her own. She waves her hands around and chants something softly. There is a pause, then a small puff of smoke. Agate frowns. This spell is taking too long to put together. Suddenly, a knocking sound fills the room, Agate becomes excited, looking up at the drifting puff of dark smoke, before realizing that the sound was simply her front door.

Temeraire sits atop the wall of the Fea Faroth martial arts dojo on the western shore of Ambarona. Resting there in the form of a hawk, he watches the harsh-but-fair master martial artist, Amras Elendil, teach a large class of students. They are strugging, but Amras is pushing them to do better. They are obviously beginners, but devoted to the craft. At a certain point, they all start to understand the method he is trying to teach, and he glances up at Temeraire and winks.

Wind-on-Desert-Sand, Durimar Whitefeather, the winged dog creature sits in the courtyard of Ayailla's temple. It is a bright day out, and the sun is high in the sky, a somewhat rare occurrence for the temple, nestled between two mountains in the east of Ankkung. He is reflecting on his training, on his life up to this point. From his time in his people's home in an isolated region of Deadland, to visiting Celestia. He meditates, in peace. He is also acutely aware that Roryr Copperheart, a dwarf who asked Aethion to spar with him, is nearly a half hour late for their meeting. It is at this moment that Aethion hears a thump and opens his eyes to see Roryr lying face down on the floor at the far side of the courtyard.

[Silver Night]

Agate

She stands and makes her way to the front door, avoiding a precarious stack of books and the obligatory stuffed alligator hanging from the ceiling. She opens the door and peers out, Who's there?"

[Tacitus]

Tak

Once out of the heart of his tribe's territory but before finding the main road the glorious God-King Lord Tak spends a few moments shedding his regal but constrained lifestyle as a filthy yapping kobold and takes up the mantle of a human wanderer. A few moments spent invisible in the brush relieve him of his royal garb and see his flesh bulge and stretch to the proportions of a human warrior in his prime. His skin loses scales and takes on a healthy tan hardened by the road but still appealing to human eyes with a mane of short brown hair. The weave of mithral chain is still close to his skin, well tended and adjusted to his new frame by the magic inherent within the links with his shield at his back. With his kobold attire in his pack and his greatsword adjusted to be a better size for picking his teeth in human form he dismisses the invisibility. Almost as an afterthought he reaches to the ground and digs his fingers into the ground to pull up a bit of dirt. He dusts his hands, runs his fingers through his hair and brushes his palms across his cheeks to spread just a bit of dirt.

When he first encounters another sentient being his mind races with potential lies he might need to spin. Hunter. Strider. Wanderer. Human. Survivor. War Trash. Ta'kesh. Silence. Murder. Steal. Ki-

Each group passes him by with little more than a nod. He's been contained in the body of a king for far too long, unable to stretch his mighty thews and feel blood splashing across his skin. He isn't the type to be bloodthirsty, but the urges of his upbringing have been suppressed for so long with nothing to do but govern yapping dogs. Their worship glorifies him, but by the same token the fetters of devotion keep him tied to only the holiest of places within his "citadel." These are the times for which he is grateful, the annual holiday devoted to his glories. His people celebrate and he ascends back to the heavens to rejuvenate his godly form, which mostly entails a quick vacation to see Kargin and maybe sample any women he's got around. He can't stand kobold women. He can't even tell the women from the men half the time. He sticks his sword between his lips and claps his teeth on the miniaturized blade. His tongue flicks over the blade and sates his taste for blood, and for pain.

His rambling thoughts are interrupted when he notes movement ahead and his eyes skim over a wagon and at least three people. Though he doesn't show it he has the urge to roll his eyes and possibly puke at the exuberance of the woman. His mind begins to race as he considers the best choice of words for dozens of situations. He takes the blade from his teeth and licks at his lips to ensure the small cuts along it are healed and no blood remains. A quick swipe of his fingers across the small sword cleans away any blood there and he looks to the path again. One hand keeps busy twirling the blade along his fingers as he raises the other for a brief wave, more of a salute really.

Minor: Motivate Charisma
Major: Motivate Care
Though he's not really projecting so much as motivating himself.

Thought I'd toss in some detail and include what form he'd be in while away from base.

[Rakaydos]

Though the distance across the courtyard was great, Temeraire bobbed his head back to the Master, wings spreading slightly.

Temeraire was young, but he had been instilled with the knowlege of many arts while still in the egg, and even his still immature true form was more than equal to many foes. But that was not a source of destructive pride, for he knew more than any other that there were those even more poowerful than he.

As the students dispersed, Temeraire took to the air, alighting in the courtyard before shifting to a human form, flowing hair like gold down his back, wearing a basic gi from his former master. "Greeting, Master Amras. I am a traveling student of the Way, seeking accomidations for a few days. Is there some way I can be of service while I am here?"

[Failed Phantasm]

There was a strange smell in the air. It lacked the heady-earthy-acrid scent of gusts streaming down from the mountains, and there was none of the saltiness that came with a breeze from the seas. No, the wind was blowing from the northwest today, carrying with it a not-unwelcome coolness that left the air smelling clean and fresh. In a township full of dwarves, that was always a welcome relief. Was it that time of year already, though? Was there rain on its way? Aethion remembered seeing it for the first time – water, falling from the sky, on and on for hours and days without end! How they must have stared at him as he gaped, open-mouthed, at the sight of it all, running around with his waterskin to catch as much of the precious fluid as he could, running and cowering at the sight and spectacle of thunder and lightning. That had always been the greatest shock to him of his life, the thing that made it painfully clear that he’d stumbled into a world that was so utterly different from the one he’d left behind: the marruspawn had killed each other for want of water, but the dwarves couldn’t fathom a life where it was so scarce that dying for it was expected.

'I wonder if everyone in my crèche is all right.' Aethion opened his eyes and looked up at the heavens, sunny and bright and magnificently, richly blue. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. He breathed a quiet sigh and lowered his gaze sadly towards the ground. It had been over ten years since he'd run away from home, and in spite of everything that had happened since then — every wonderful, triumphant, hopeful, enlightening thing — were so important to him that he wouldn't trade a single moment of it for anything, he had never forgotten the people he had left behind. Who knew what state his crèche was in now? How was he to know whether or not Scents-the-River's-Edge had learned how to properly throw a dagger, whether or not Talons-in-the-Night was still singing herself to sleep because of her loneliness, whether or not Bloody-Dune had managed to mend his relationship with Auspex? Aethion shut his eyes tight and whispered fervently, if briefly, in Celestial: «Radiant Ayailla, please hear my prayer: watch over my crèche and keep them safe.» It was a prayer he whispered to her every day, and all he could do was hope that she heard him.

But if anything had convinced him that the gods listened, it was setting foot on Mount Celestia. Vala had described it to him as best she could, but words — mere mortal words! — could not begin to do justice to the Seven Heavens, and she had admitted it. Even knowing that had not prepared him to actually stand there, in person, on the warm ivory sands of Lunia, at the shore of a sea so deep and clear and bright that it was like staring at the night sky turned to water and made to flow at the base of the mountain. It shimmered like starlight and it, like the rest of the plane itself, radiated holiness with all its being: serenity, valor, justice, mercy, love. It had brought Aethion to his knees and moved him to tears. How could the gods dwell in such a place and not be moved by the pleas of their mortal followers?

Now was not the time to dwell on that, though, however much it comforted him and however much the mere memory of the place nearly moved him to tears again. Roryr was late for their sparring match by nearly half an hour now, and that was most unlike him: he was usually such a punctual dwarf, and eager to test himself against the little marrulurk who had been to Solania, the Crystal Heaven, and sparred with archons. Not, Aethion quietly admitted, that he had done very well against the embodiments of cosmic righteousness who had millenia of experience in their war against injustice and evil. But that he had practiced with them in the first place seemed to impress Roryr. Where could he be...? There was a sudden *THUMP* that made Aethion open his eyes again, and the sight that greeted his eyes immediately evoked a sense of horror. There was Roryr, at the far side of the courtyard, lying face-down and not moving. Aethion quickly sprang to his feet and raced toward the dwarf, shouting out as he ran — who was on duty right now? — «Vala! Faldir! ANYONE! Come quickly!» As he reached Roryr's side, Aethion immediately began to check for injuries and as he did so, he unhesitatingly laid hands on the dwarf, channeling just enough healing energies to stabilize him should it be necessary. «Roryr, you'd better not be trying to play a trick on me,» he growled, genuine distress and worry more evident in his voice than irritation or anger.



Aethion spent one point of healing from his Lay on Hands pool to heal Roryr.

[Neely]

Outside of the door, a gnome is standing. He is dressed in dull blue robes with a satchel hanging over his shoulder, and is holding a staff in one hand. "Hello! I am looking for... uh... Agate? It doesn't say here if this is a first or last name. Uh, Professor Forbach would like to speak to them. Am I at the correct address?" He looks up at Agate expectantly.
Professor Elizabeth Forbach is a human wizard that Agate met soon after settling in the city. A teacher at the wizard college within the city, Forbach is a very academic wizard, and while quite powerful, has had very little of what she calls "field experience." Having met Agate, Forbach was able to appreciate Agate's different experience, even though she is aware there are things she does not know about Agate's past. But they were able to bond somewhat over their mutual focus on transmutation, and Forbach occasionally brings in Agate to assist with research.

As the small group is nearly next to Tak, the dwarf-looking woman plops down her cart, causing a mechanism in it to pop a small table and a canopy out from the side, revealing some of her merchandise. From what you can see, there are several makeup kits, hats, and mundane-looking jewelry. The kobold on top of the cart turns around, leans forward and squints at you. The woman walks forward putting her hands in her pockets and smiling widely.
"Why hello hello my travelling friend! My name is Ramilna Khord, but you can call me Rami if you'd like. Now, I saw you from way back there and I thought, jeez, I'm gonna miss another sale, this guy looks fine! But then I got closer, and WOOO-EE! I mean, I'm not gonna say you're ugly as an owlbear, but yeh ain't winnin' any beauty contests, know what I'm saying?" She laughs, not letting Tak get a word in, "But," she grabs a silver case out of the cart, opening it up to reveal a wide selection of makeups, "I can help you with that! Now I know what you're thinking, you're a bit tough adventurer who doesn't need makeup. But aren't you tired of paying at the taverns every time you need some tender loving care? With a little help from me, I swear, you'll be getting any lady- or gentleman, no judgments here- that you want, no strings attached. What do yeh say?" She smiles widely, finally letting silence fill the air.
The human at the back of the cart looks bored, like he's heard this before, but has his hand on his weapon. The kobold is still wordlessly squinting at you, he's pretty ugly, even by kobold standards.

The elven man smirks and gives a small, courteous bow. "I definitely thought there was something odd about how intently that eagle was watching my lesson." He signals for Temeraire to follow him with a movement of his head and begins to walk away towards the north side of the temple. A couple people in white gis come rushing forward when they see the unfamiliar face, but Amras shoos them away with a wave of his hand. "I believe we could offer some accommodation. Though I would like to know a little more about you first. You obviously know of me, but who are you? We don't often get humans around here."

As Aethion channels energy into the dwarf to stop any bleeding, he realizes that he does not see any injuries. Several dwarves who were simply nearby also run up, afraid for Roryr's safety, two run past to see if he was pursued by anyone. Then, after a moment one of the the dwarves, a voice Aethion recognizes as Thiforn Zekhul, starts laughing. Thiforn is a harsh man, but not usually harsh enough to laugh at another's misfortune. Aethion glances over his shoulder briefly to address the dwarf, who's laughter is just getting louder, when he smells what is making Thiforn laugh. Whiskey. Roryr reeks of booze. He's pretty obviously drunk, passed out from an excess of drinking, which for any dwarf is quite a lot. This seems odd though. Roryr is not the type to overdrink, especially considering that he knew he had this meeting with Aethion. Him being this drunk seems very out of character. Faldir is suddenly at Aethion's side, panting slightly. "Wuh's happened? That Roryr?"

[Rakaydos]

Temeaire shook his head, following the master. "Not human nor eagle- I thought it a bad idea to arrive in my true form before introducing myself. I am called Temeaire, and I was a student at the Du-Charin temple until it's destruction." His gold eyes flickered as he watched te reaction- his presence at the temple had hardly been a secret, butwhether hs name had made it to this dojo, he didnt know.

[Silver Night]

Agate

"You are. At the right address I mean. Did the professor mention what it was regarding?" While speaking, Agate idly activates Detect Thoughts (SLA) on the gnome (a bad habit she has, and should probably break), "I need to know if there are any special materials I'll need. What an interesting blue color. Your robe."

[Tacitus]

He gives the kobold a single glance when the reptillian starts squinting at him, but after flashing him (god he hopes its a him) a quick smile he turns his attention to the dwarf woman as she begins her verbal deluge. He weathers it with a smile and a few well placed nods, but when she is done he doesn't seem convinced, "Well you've got yourself a damn fine sales pitch there young lady, but I'm sorry to say I'll have to pass. For you see, I rarely have a problem in that area, my dear." His skin ripples and his dimensions shift drastically from rugged wanderer to a stunning beauty with golden hair, though unfortunately the dirt remains on his cheeks and in his hair. "I'm a bit of a changeling, dearie. The hardened warrior wandering the roads with a blade in his teeth attracts different attention than the fairest maiden. Oh, this is a greatsword, by the way. It'll stay this size so long as we haven't got trouble. Not to mention, I'm a little short of coin. Headed to the flophouse down the way to ply my trade." The blade twirling about his fingers stops and he put it back in his teeth like a toothpick as he grins.

Spellcraft: [roll0]
Do that there kobold be detect magic-ing me?

Bluff: [roll1] Because he's not a changeling.
Disguise: [roll2]
See here for the disguise: http://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/601
Sadly, the clothes remain adventurers clothing and a chain shirt. :smallsigh:

[Silver Night]

Agate

While waiting for the gnome to answer, Agate grabs her various standard accouterments and adjust the scarf she customarily wears to keep her tentacles from brushing someone and ruining her disguise.

[Neely]

As Tak finishes speaking, Ramilna smiles, seeming to fully believe the lie. "Well," she says, putting the silver case back on the cart and picking up a thinner silver case and a this white one. As she does this, she glances up at the kobold, and he shakes his head, "regardless of what you say you are, any disguise you put up can always be improved by mundane means. A disguise kit will be very useful to anyone using such a thing, as well as easy access to a mirror for making sure you haven't botched it. My prices are cheap and flexible, much like your current appearance!" She smiles back and holds up the cases.

I have questions for you in the OOC.

[Tacitus]

Tak nods as his flesh ripples and he returns to a male form, "I grant that you have fine wares, miss, but as I mentioned I am quite short on coin. Unless there is some service I can perform for you, even your greatest discount will be beyond my means."

[Neely]

Ramilna sighs, then smiles. "Okay, okay. Well, at least take this." She throws the thin silver case and the thick white case back in her cart and pulls a small blue case out of her pocket, handing it to Tak. "This one's free, think of it as a business card." When Tak looks at it, he sees that the case in inscribed with green words reading: "Ramilna Khord: Disguises and beauty for the wandering sword!" She walks over to the front of her cart and pulls up on the handles, closing up the display stand in one swift motion.

As Agate begins to detect thoughts and gather her things, the gnome responds, raising and eyebrow at the comment on his robes. "No, she didn't really say. She just sent me to fetch you, said she found something interesting and that she wanted to know if you'd seen something like it before."

Agate can tell that the gnome failed his will save, but can read his thoughts yet. His intelligence score is 19.

As he hears Temeaire's, response Amras frowns. "Ah yes, I heard about that. Absolute pity. Don't know too many details about it, but I do know a few of the people who would have been your teachers. Haven't spoken to any in ages though, so unfortunately I've not heard about you Temeaire. So what are you then? A shapechanger of some kind, or perhaps a magical non-humanoid?"

[Silver Night]

Agate

"I think I've got everything I might need. Let's go." Agate steps outside and goes along. (Probably still detecting thoughts, if she can maintain concentration.)

[Rakaydos]

Temeaire tried to keep his voice casual. "Dragon, actually. Even a place in the stable would be fine."

[Tacitus]

Tak takes the case with a nod, "Thank you much, miss Khord. I'm sorry we couldn't do business today. Perhaps the next time we meet." He pulls the blade from between his teeth and it grows slightly to be more the size of a large dagger than a toothpick and he salutes by tapping the flat of the blade to his head before replacing a once again toothpick sized blade between his teeth. He smiles as he moves to continue on, "Good day and good travels, the lot of you."

[Neely]

As they walk towards the school, the gnome is completely silent, but his thoughts are movie a mile a minute. He's helping several people with various projects and seems quite stressed about all he has to accomplish today. When you arrive at the university, he does not follow you to the professor's office.

Leaving this kind of vague, if you'd like to talk to him on the trip, you can, or you can just head to the office, or do whatever you'd like at the university.

"Well that makes sense. That of course makes you a bit of a dangerous risk, so we may want to put you through a bit of a magical screening prcess, but I'm sure we can find some room. Would you prefer a spot in the stable, or a cot for your human form?"
As he speaks, he leads Temeaire into a side room off of the main hall and stops at someone meditating, cross legged on a round orange table. "Would you get Jhonn and Alatariel to join me to run a few spells on a new guest please?"

Ramilna nods, "then I hope we do!" And she moves in the opposite direction as the cart and Tak part ways. Just as Tak is past the cart, the kobold on top finally says something.
"Male kobold, by the way. Can't believe you don't have that down by now."

[Tacitus]

Tak pauses and then laughs boisterously. He half turns and glances to the kobold, "Smart one, you. You keep that to yourself, sir. Maybe even have work for you if you know how to keep secrets. Maybe if we meet again. You no doubt know the name I use." He gives the kobold a bow worthy of the royal courts and then continues on his way.

[Neely]

As he leaves, Tak sees the kobold's skin ripple the same way Tak's did earlier, this time making the kobold look like a halfling. He lays on his back on top of the cart, and Tak can hear is response as they part ways. "I look forward to it m'Lord." He lets out a loud, harsh laugh.
"Strange people always have strange secrets," says Ramilna.

[Silver Night]

Agate

Agate decides not to burden the preoccupied gnome with further conversation. As they arrive at the university, she looks around, as is her habit, on the way to the professor's office.

Any kind of description of the university?

[Rakaydos]

"Well that makes sense. That of course makes you a bit of a dangerous risk, so we may want to put you through a bit of a magical screening prcess, but I'm sure we can find some room. Would you prefer a spot in the stable, or a cot for your human form?"
As he speaks, he leads Temeaire into a side room off of the main hall and stops at someone meditating, cross legged on a round orange table. "Would you get Jhonn and Alatariel to join me to run a few spells on a new guest please?"

"The stable will be fine, Master. it will be nice to stretch again." Temeraire followed the other.

[Tacitus]

Tak continues on his way, and once out of sight of the mini-caravan will look over the small kit as he walks before placing it in his pack unless something unique catches his eye.

[Neely]

As Agate walks through the university, she looks around at the large towers and castle-like structure of the buildings, housing large classrooms. It is the biggest school on the continent, housing many wizards, but also authors, scientists, archivists, knowledge-based clerics, artificers, and even sorcerers and bards. Agate makes her way to the Transmutation Department, in a far tower, and finds herself knocking on Professor Forbach's office door.
The door swings open, and Forbach is smiles at Agate. She is wearing mustard-coloured robes and her short hair is currently a shade of teal, though her appearance is overal much messier than normal.
"Agate! Good to see you! Come in, come in. Would you like some tea? I need some tea."
She leads you into her office, there are papers all over her desk, and the door to her small, attached lab is slightly ajar. She opens a drawer on the desk to grab a tea cup or two.

Temeaire meets Jhonn and Alatariel, who perform a variety of alignment and motive sensing spells to make sure he is worth trusting. After he is proven to be who he says he is, and good of heart. After the testing, Amras invites Temeaire to the meal hall for a light dinner (though they are accommodating to his larger appetite). Amras asks Temeaire about details of his former dojo's destruction, as well as some more personal ones, accepting any questions of himself in return as they talk until sunset.
Just leaving this open as an opportunity to ask any questions you haven't yet, or do any monologuing you'd like.


Just need to let the other character's stories catch up. Will continue in a bit.

[Silver Night]

Agate

"Certainly. Tea, I mean." Agate tries out a smile, "Is that a new hair color? And what did you want to talk to me about?"

[Failed Phantasm]

Aethion ignored Thiforn for the moment and, while Faldir was catching his breath, continued to inspect Roryr for any signs of how he had come to be in his present condition. Attending to him ought to have been of the highest priority, and mocking Roryr’s misfortune or Aethion’s naïveté, even in jest, was unbecoming of one of Ayailla’s faithful. ‘He reeks of… what was it called? Ale? No, that’s not it. Whiskey?’ Though he was familiar with the scent of alcohol, he had never found himself wanting to partake, even for the purpose of being social with, or polite to, his dwarven friends. Aethion wondered why that might be so — if it might have something to do with being either marruspawn or half-celestial — but having seen the deleterious effects of alcohol on others when taken to excess, he was nevertheless quietly thankful that he did not like the smell and taste of the stuff. As for Roryr, whatever it was he had been drinking, the fact that he had been doing so in the first place was quite unusual: he had always taken his sparring matches seriously. ‘For him to smell this strongly of it, I doubt someone could have slipped him the drink. It’s almost like he was doused in it.’

He slipped himself underneath one of Roryr’s arms and lifted it over his shoulder, trying to bring the dwarf to his feet. He gestured to Faldir to do the same. “Help me bring him inside. I don’t know how he ended up in this state, but it’s not like him to show up drunk to a practice match.” While Faldir was doing so, he returned his attention to Thiforn and cast a searching glance at him: if it was unusual for Roryr to be drunk for an event he took so seriously, it was equally uncharacteristic of Thiforn to laugh at the suffering of others, no matter how harsh or dour he usually acted. Was it just the absurdity of the situation that amused him so, or was there some deeper, less obvious reason for his reaction?



Aethion makes a Sense Motive check to assess Thiforn’s emotional state and get a sense for why he’s acting the way he is. (i.e., getting a hunch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/senseMotive.htm) at printed DC of 20. DC may, of course, be higher or lower at DM's discretion.)
[roll0]

[Rakaydos]

Temeraire is rather quiet, though he expresses thanks for the meal- his last temple found it easier over the long run to give him a Ring of Sustinance- he hadnt had a proper meal in years. While he saw little of the attack, being instead charged with escorting the Master away from the ambush, it had been led by an angry White dragon, who seemed to know a few maneuvers himself, while a Blue dragon watched overhead.

[Neely]

Picking up the two cups from her drawer, the professor smiles. "Yeah, it's new." She leads Agate into the lab, grabbing a kettle off of the stove from beside a pot of boiling bright red liquid. She sits down on a stool at a work desk, inviting Agate to sit on the other, putting the cups down, some tea bags in them, and pouring the boiling water into the cups.
"So, I came across some strange artifacts," she says, nodding to a small wooden box on the work desk, the rest of the desk is covered in papers, wands, scrolls, and magic ingredients. "The reason they're strange is that I can't identify what they do, even though it seems like pretty low-level magics. It's got a conjuration aura, but it seems like a super specific enchantment. They seem to be activated by something, but I don't think it's a command word, perhaps some visual stimulation? I'm not sure. What I should be doing is going to Gartan, the head of the conjuration department, but I really want o figure it out on my own. It seems like it could be something very strange and exciting. I think it might summon something! And... I figure getting an extra eye from someone outside of the school still counts as figuring it out myself." She smiles sheepishly, "Besides, you've travelled a lot more than I have, so, I guess I'm just hoping you've seen something similar that might point me in the right direction? Willing to give it a look?"

As Aethion and Faldir bring Roryr inside, Thiforn noticed Aethion's look and let out a sigh at the end of a laugh. He follow them in, and began to explain himself. "Agh, sorry Durimar. Mighta overdone it, but it tickled me a bit. Roryr was at the pub down in the village las' night, and got into a bit of a drinkin' match. I left a bit early, bu' I guess it went on all night. Funny bit is, it was with one a' them korobokuru fellas from the Moonheart Valley. You know, tha wee little forest dwarves. And this one was small even fer one a' them, an' it looks like he drank Roryr under the table! Ha! What an embarrassment, the little guy out-drank him!" He starts to chuckle again, but regains his composure quickly as Roryr is set down in a good spot in the temple. Thiforn, nods and frowns a bit. "Though I'll admit, it's a bit odd that he'd push himself that far if he had a match with yah today." He leans forward and jabs a thick finger into Roryr's ribcage. Roryr coughs and sputters, he opens his eyes, looks like he is going to vomit, then closes his eyes.

Amras listens intently to Temeraire's story, and shares some of his own, making small talk. After the meal, he shows Temeraire to a room within the temple, explaining that it was a room built for larger creatures, such as a troll who had stayed with them recently. "I decided not to tell you we had appropriate accommodations until I knew you a bit better. I'm not sure what your own sleep schedule is, but I wake up bright and early. When you wake, come find me, I would love to have a sparring match with you. Test your training." He smiles, and gives a slight bow of respect before leaving.
The room is very spacious, and gives Temeraire enough room to spread his wings. From the doorway he can see a large, neatly folded pile of sheets in the far right corner, obviously meant to be the spot for sleeping, along the right hand wall is a long dresser with a mirror atop it, the mirror is at at an angle so Temeraire does not see his own reflection in it, just an angle of the room, and along the same wall is a large cabinet, likely for storing weapons and equipment. On the left hand side of the room there is a long table/workbench with a few chairs, and a door on the far left side of the room that is closed.

[Rakaydos]

Temeraire hardly had the hoard for a proper nest, but the bed would be wolcome- he carefully avoided tearing the fabric with his claws. it was getting late, and the spar woud be early, so he had best turn in.

He was up as the sun brightened the eastern horizon, poking his head out of the quarters he had been assigned, to be sure he wasnt going to charge through a morning procession or somehing.

[Silver Night]

Agate

"Oooh, a mystery! I'd be happy to take a look." Agate takes a seat, and after a moment of getting herself settled, picks up her tea, "Conjuration isn't my specialty, of course, but can't hurt to look and see."

[Failed Phantasm]

As he and Faldir moved Roryr inside the temple, Aethion considered Thiforn's words carefully. While participating in a drinking contest knowing that he had duties to attend to the following day was somewhat irresponsible on Roryr's part, the contest itself was not an unusual occurrence. Even so, there was something about the story that wasn't quite adding up, and even Thiforn seemed to concur as he prodded Roryr in the ribs. It was unusual for Roryr to have acted this way. Without taking his gaze off of the unconscious dwarf, Aethion tilted his head curiously to one side and said, “Thiforn, you said that you left the tavern before the contest was over. What was happening as you were leaving? How were Roryr and the forest dwarves acting?” Aethion had briefly entertained the notion that some manner of foul play had been involved — perhaps someone had slipped something into Roryr's drink? — but he quickly dismissed such a notion as baseless. It was certainly possible, to be sure, but he really had no reason to believe that that was true.

Nevertheless, if Roryr had not been conducting himself properly in the village last night, someone would have to go and apologize on behalf of the temple to the tavern keeper. Certainly the matter bore some investigation, if only to confirm that what Thiforn had said was true: that there had been a drinking contest, Roryr lost, and had come back to the temple in a drunken stupor. A lapse in judgment on his part, but nothing more. Aethion had allotted about an hour and a half for the practice match and the warm-up period that preceded it, but with his sparring partner incapacitated, he had the remainder of the time to fly down to Torrak's Hearth before having other duties to attend to. 'I hope this can be cleared up quickly,' he thought with a soft, barely-audible sigh. 'Would that I could more for Roryr. I don't want to leave him in this condition, but what spells do I know that can do anything about alcohol poisoning?' Aethion blinked. 'Poisoning? The dwarves have called it that in the past, even if only very rarely, but I'd never thought of it that way before. I suppose if you drink as much as Roryr looks like he has, then it becomes like a poison and the body can't handle it.' He quickly laid a hand on Roryr's forehead, a subtle tingling sensation in his fingertips. “I've never thought to use my magic this way,” he began softly, addressing both Faldir and Thiforn without turning his gaze away from Roryr, “so I don't know if or how this will work, but maybe it will cleanse the liquor and help him become sober again.” Aethion spent a few moments concentrating, his brow furrowed and ears pressed flat against his head, feeling a warm power well up from deep within. He directed the magic into Roryr, willing it to neutralize the alcohol and aid Roryr's besieged liver.



Standard action: cast neutralize poison (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/neutralizePoison.htm) as a spell-like ability at Roryr to neutralize the alcohol in his system.

[Neely]

As Tak looks over the case, he sees that it is mad of some sort of cheap metal, likely mass produced on a small scale. The green words are inscribed, and the case is held together by a clasp. As Tak opens the clasp he sees that the case has a eye liner pencil and a spot to store other makeup of your own, on the top half there is a small mirror to check your makeup in, or of course anything else you might use makeup for. As he glances at his reflection, he sees his human disguise, and makes eye contact with himself, noticing that the eyes un the reflection are undisguised and unmistakably his.
Everything goes black.
Suddenly, the air changes, and he is in a dimly lit storeroom. The roof is low, there are boxes and shelves all around him. He is in the middle of the room, inside of a circle on the floor, painted in sky blue paint. But Tak is not the only one in the circle, there is also a robed woman with an access of scarves, a winged humanoid dog, and a young looking gold dragon, who's back half is sticking out of the circle. They all look just as confused as he is. He is still holding the case.

As Temeraire pokes his head out the door, a large group of students bustles by, causing him to retreat back into his room. Many of the students stare at him as they go past, obviously having never seen a dragon before. Temeraire takes a look around the room, having gone straight to bed the night before, and since everyone else is looking at him, glances at his reflection in the dresser mirror.
Everything goes black.
Suddenly, the air changes, and he is in a dimly lit storeroom. The roof is low, there are boxes and shelves all around him. He is in the middle of the room, half inside of a circle on the floor with his back legs and tail poking out, painted in sky blue paint. But Temeraire is not the only one in the circle, there is also a robed woman with an access of scarves, a winged humanoid dog, and an armoured human man. They all look just as confused as he is. Opposite him, outside of the circle, the large dresser mirror sits leaning against the shelves.

The professor, smiles, excited. "Excellent! Thank you Agate! Now, I haven't been able to get them to do anything, so I'm sure they're harmless- at least until they're activated." She pushes the box towards Agate, and opens it up. Inside, there are three hand mirrors, obviously quite old and ornately designed. They are made of what looks like gold, some iron, and a bit of very dark wood, they'd likely sell for a high price even without magical qualities. The professor signals for Agate to pick one up, and she does, examining it closer. As Agate flips it over, she sees, her own reflection, exactly how she designed it, except for here eyes. Her eyes in the reflection were her Illithid eyes, no pupils, and unmistakably hers, no illusions.
Everything goes black.
Suddenly, the air changes, and she is in a dimly lit storeroom. The roof is low, there are boxes and shelves all around her. She is in the middle of the room, inside of a circle on the floor, painted in sky blue paint. But Agate is not the only one in the circle, there is also an armoured human man, a winged humanoid dog, and a young looking gold dragon, who's back half is sticking out of the circle. They all look just as confused as she is. She is still holding the hand mirror.

"Egh, they were jus' doin' some friendly drinking. Nothing much to it," Thiforn pauses for a moment, thinking, "Yeh, didn't think much anything of it."
As Aethion decides how to proceed, Roryr begins to open his eyes and he coughs, getting everyone's attention.
"I... think they 'chanted me. I- they- they- told me to keep drinkin' an' I did. Wanted to know more about Durimar. Said tah give this to dog wing, um, guy." Roryr, pulls a small metal mirror out of his pocket, and then winces in pain as headache begins, hangover settling in. As he does, he drops the mirror and it falls to the floor and rolls to Aethion's feet. As Aethion looks down at it, he sees that it's the standard metal device used by adventurers for looking around corners and things like that, and in looking at it, he meets eyes with his reflection.
Everything goes black.
Suddenly, the air changes, and he is in a dimly lit storeroom. The roof is low, there are boxes and shelves all around him. He is in the middle of the room, inside of a circle on the floor, painted in sky blue paint. But Aethion is not the only one in the circle, there is also a robed woman with an access of scarves, an armoured human man, and a young looking gold dragon, who's back half is sticking out of the circle. They all look just as confused as he is. The metal mirror is still on the floor at his feet.

Yay! You're all in the same place now!

[Tacitus]

Upon the moment of his arrival Tak stumbles as the ground underfoot becomes something else entirely and his next step lands unexpectedly. In a single moment he tosses out an expletive as his stumble causes his skull to jar and the bladed toothpick he holds between his teeth slices open his lips. He takes the blade from his lips and spits blood to one side as he takes a step back and gets his footing. The blade shifts as he twirls it across his fingers until it swing up to be held at the ready in his right hand, a full sized greatsword, "What is the meaning of this?"

The man standing before you is rugged and has signs of dirt in his hair and on his face but is otherwise a vision of conventional human beauty for the male form. His skin is a healthy tan hardened by the road but still appealing to human eyes with a mane of short brown hair. A weave of mithral chain is close to his skin, well tended and adjusted to his frame by the magic inherent within the links with his shield at his back. In his left hand is a slim metal case of some sort, and despite the blood covering his lower face and speckled across the toothpick-turned-blade he no longer seems to have any wound.

[Silver Night]

Agate

"Were you brought here by the mirror also?" She carefully steps a bit further from the others, if she can, though she will avoid crossing the circle for the moment. "I was just asked by a colleague to examine this mirror, and then I found myself here."

Agate offers a smile, "Oh, how rude, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Agate, most recently of Utdann. I'm a scholar."

She appears to be a tallish, willowy young woman, with ash blond hair and unremarkable - even unusually unremarkable - features. She has a scarf wrapped around her neck almost to her chin, and her voice has a rasping, almost gravelly quality a bit at odds with her young, feminine appearance. She is wearing a forest green robe of fine cut and decent quality. She studies those present, their surroundings, and the mirror in her hand with equal sharp curiosity.



Cast detect magic, then study the mirror, the ring, and the general surroundings in that order.

Spellcraft checks for anything found with detect magic:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Spot, in case there is anything to see: [roll4]

Knowledge (Arcana) for any more general or scholarly knowledge about...

The Mirror: [roll5]
What the deal is with the circle: [roll6]





Once she is done checking out the circle, if there is nothing immediately threatening about it, she will venture out to poke about the room a bit (carefully!)

[Rakaydos]

Looking aaround, the golden dragon sees the blue circle he is straddling and carefully backs off, leaving the circle. "Well, that as unexpected." Turning his attention to his companions, he nodded to the mirror. "I asssume that thing doesnt work in reverse?"

[Tacitus]

Tak remains in a wary stance, his greatsword still held in one hand. He slips the case in his left hand into a pocket and flexes his fingers before placing the left hand on the hilt of his weapon, "I'd wait to see if it works in reverse until the results of magic detection come in." His stance shifts slightly, but he does not release his grip on his blade, "Ya'll can call me Ta`kesh. So, a mirror for each of us. What were ya'll doing?"

[Failed Phantasm]

As his eyes met those of his reflection in the small mirror, Aethion felt a subtle vertigo, a strange tugging sensation in his gut, that was not at all unlike what he felt when crossing from one plane to another, as if he were moving a great distance while remaining entirely still. In the span of a heartbeat, he found himself having suddenly left behind the quiet alcove where Roryr had been laid, replaced by the low shelves and cramped aisles of what appeared to be a warehouse or storeroom. The air was thick and heavy with dust, and the musty odor sharply assaulted his nose and, for a brief moment, nearly made him gag. Boxes and crates of every size and shape were scattered around, some stacked from the floor to the low ceiling, some lying alone and forlorn in dusty corners: it appeared to Aethion that the place had been unused for quite some time.

At the periphery of his vision, however, it appeared as if the room was still whirling into clarity; only by looking directly at something did it appear to become solid and coherent and tangible. Was this some manner of vision or magical sending? Perhaps it was his half-celestial nature asserting itself, making him uncannily sensitive to the sudden changes brought about by teleportation and planar travel, or perhaps his senses were affected in unusual ways because of that same heritage. Aethion could not say, but his instincts told him that he had left the Prime behind, if only for just an instant. As his perception settled, however, he was made suddenly and keenly aware that — wherever he was — he was not alone.

At first, his attention was drawn to the substantial bulk of the gold dragon in the room, looking somewhat comical in a space that appeared to be much too small for it (him? her?) to be comfortable, but he was quickly directed to a large male who was growling and snarling so much that Aethion very nearly mistook him for a runty marrusault. A second glance proved that impression wrong, however. It was just a very tanned and muscular human. Said human appeared to have gone directly and unhesitatingly for his weapon: he wielded a wicked looking greatsword in a ready position, aimed in the general direction of the others in the room. Not an unreasonable reaction, though perhaps a bit hasty. Aethion had no weapon to draw, but no one else appeared to be paying him much attention for the moment. He bent down and picked up the mirror at his feet, and turned it over in his hands, inspecting it very closely. ‘I wonder who wanted me to have this so badly?’ It seemed to be perfectly mundane, but that only invited him to take a closer look. ‘I don’t think it could be coincidence that these other three were brought here, too. Someone did this for a reason. But who?’ His left ear twitched to the side as he pondered the mirror. ‘And why?’

The human and the slender woman, draped in a voluminous scarf, introduced themselves by name – “Ta’kesh” and “Agate” – and it would certainly have been improper to not extend them same courtesy, but he hesitated, at least for the moment. Instead, he beat his wings until he was hovering about two feet off the ground, roughly at the same height as the man's head, and fluttered over to the edge of the sky-blue circle on the floor. He inspected it as closely as he did the mirror that was still clutched in his left hand, assessing everything from its shape to the color of the material used to make it. Were there symbols or runes hidden within? Could it have been used as part of a spell, perhaps a binding or summoning? It would certainly explain how the four of them came to be there. Aside from the rhythmic flapping of his wings, Aethion remained utterly silent and lost in thought as he investigated. There would be time to make friends after he had learned more about the situation in which he found himself.



Make a Knowledge (the planes) check to determine if there are any signs that the storeroom is an extraplanar location of any kind, such as a demiplane, etc.: [roll0]

Make a Spellcraft check to inspect the steel mirror that Roryr dropped for any traces of magic, and the purpose of said magic if any is found: [roll1]

Make a Spellcraft check to inspect the sky-blue circle on the floor for any traces of magic, and the purpose of said magic if any is found: [roll2]

If any arcane symbols, runes, etc., are found on either the mirror or the circle, or both, make a Knowledge (arcana) check to determine their purpose, origin, meaning, etc.:
● For the mirror, if applicable: [roll3]
● For the circle, if applicable: [roll4]

[Silver Night]

Agate

Agate notices her fellow abductee studying his own mirror and the ring, "Are you perhaps a fellow scholar of the arcane? Ooh, that sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it? Do you study magic, though?"

[Neely]

The mirror has a strong conjuration aura (just as the professor said). The ring has a moderate one. As Agate scans around the room, she finds that there are a multitude of faint to strong auras of all kinds, the boxes in the store room obviously hold magical items. You don't know much of anything about the mirror or the circle, but you assume the former summoned you to the latter. There are no runes or anything of particular interest to the circle, it seems to just be normal paint used as a material component to a summoning spell of some kind. Nothing around you indicates that you are in an extraplanar location.

As for the spot check, there's nothing in particular to see, it's a dusty old storage room. There are a few candles around, giving the place light, and there's a hallway going in either direction away from your spot between the shelves of boxes. Though there is something large and rectangular hanging on the wall, though it has a black sheet over it. The air is still fairly still, continue to talk or whatever you may do. A few people have asked questions that no one else has responded to.

[Silver Night]

Agate

Agate finishes a preliminary examination, "This looks like a store room for magical items. I'm seeing auras in many of these boxes. A bit on on the ring as well - hopefully just..." Agate steps out of the ring, and assuming she is able to and doesn't get incinerated or anything, "...residual.I'm afraid I'm not at all certain where we actually are - and unfortunately conjuration isn't my particular specialty, though I dabble here and there. Now, has anyone spotted a door?"

[Rakaydos]

The large dragon shrugs in reply to Agate's question. "I find it unlikely that a door will be nessisary, if I wish to go outside." He looks around for a window, possibly on the upper level. "I assume none of you know where this is, either?"

[Tacitus]

The sword wielder chuckles and then shakes his head, "If I knew were we were, would I be brandishing steel at you all and demanding to know whats going on? Then again, there is always the chance none of you can hear me because I have yet to receive a reply to anything I've said."

[Silver Night]

Agate

"Well, given a day or so, I could prepare a spell to tell us about where we are. However, I expect that we might just be able to find someone to ask more quickly than that." She addresses Tak, "And I expect if any of us knew what was going on any more than you do, we would have informed you. Unfortunately, it seems we are all in the same, clueless boat."

She looks around for any sort of door, and takes a moment to peek in a few of the boxes for anything interesting.

[Failed Phantasm]

After completing his brief investigation, Aethion pondered the mirror in his hand one more time. ‘I wonder why Roryr didn’t trigger whatever magic was on this? Was it because he didn’t look into it, like I did?’ He held it up and looked at his reflection again, but after a moment of waiting, nothing seemed to have happened; it was very likely the spell was only meant to be discharged once, in which case, the four of them were indeed stranded in the warehouse for the time being. ‘He did say those forest dwarves were asking about me. But...’ He quickly glanced towards Agate. ‘Didn’t she say she was from Utdann? I don’t think I know that name. If it’s very far from Ankkung, I don’t think they could be responsible for her being here, too, never mind the dragon.’ He tried to slip the mirror into one of his pockets, but it was too large to fit in something tailored for a creature of Aethion’s size, so he ignored it for the moment and turned his attention back to the group.

With a few quick beats of his wings, Aethion sailed towards “Ta’kesh”, as he called himself, and stopped just out of the immediate reach of his greatsword. Righting himself to look the human in the eye, Aethion began to speak in the most pleasant and dignified tone of voice that he could manage, which, for a half-celestial, ought to have been considerable. “You will, I hope, forgive my lack of manners, good sir. My name is Aethion.” He inclined his head to the man politely, then continued, “I hail from the village of Torrak’s Hearth in eastern Ankkung, which I suspect is a very long way from wherever it is the three of you have come.” He turned to Agate. “And you guess correctly: I am a mage, if only one of modest skill. I do not think I’ve learned much more than you about these mirrors; only that we appear to still be on the Prime Material.” With another flap of his wings, he propelled himself backwards so that he was better able to address the other two.

“While I do not see a door, that over there,” he pointed towards the large rectangular shape covered by a black sheet, “would appear to be another, larger mirror. Since it was a mirror that brought each of us here, perhaps another one is the way out?”

[Silver Night]

Agate

Agate smiles broadly, "Oh, good, a colleague! I'm more of a researcher myself, not much for fieldwork. However, I expect I will rise to the challenge, and I'm sure I have at least a trick or two. Now, another mirror, perhaps, eh? Let's take a look."


So saying, she bustles over to examine the covered mirror.



Bluff: [roll0]

You get the strong impression when Agate mentions just being a researcher and having an additional trick of two, she is trying to hide something.

[Neely]

Hey there! Sorry I've been a little absent, life and yeah. I like seeing you guys interact (keep doing that), but I sense that you'd like me to move it along, so I'll do that soon. I realized that I don't think I explained the space very well, so I did a quick, not-necessarily-to-scale drawing of the space (the character markers in the space correspond with your text colours and are placed where you appeared.):


http://i.imgur.com/2M01KmR.png


As you all peek out into the hallway, you can see that it's about 100 feet long, dimly lit by candles. To the left, there is fifty feet of hallway followed by a left turn, and to the right is fifty feet of hallway ending in a door. The store room is large, but not tall, it's ceiling is not much higher than your average house. A large creature could stand in here without having to duck, but a huge one definately couldn't. There are no windows. As any of you peek in the boxes you find a multitude of magic items, from rings, to belts, small weapons, and hats, all with varying degrees of magic auras.

Lord Tak would have likely heard of Torrak’s Hearth that Aethion refers to, but only by name. His kobalds would not have had much, if any, interaction with the dwarves that live there. Nothing of consequence happens as Agate walks to the mirror.

[Silver Night]

Agate

"Well, nothing for it but to get this uncovered. PErhaps you might stand aside, so it won't have your reflection, in case it is prone to doing anything... untoward."

Once everyone who wishes to be is out of the 'line of fire' of the covered mirror, Agate will (standing to the side herself) pull the cloth from it.

[Rakaydos]

Backing carefully down the hallway, Temeraire looked down the other alcoves to get a feel for their location.

[Failed Phantasm]

At Agate’s suggestion, Aethion flapped his wings vigorously and rose higher until he had just enough overhead clearance to hover comfortably beneath the ceiling. The shrouded object — which could very well be utterly innocuous, whatever it really was — appeared to be both flat, instead of concave or convex, and lying flat against the wall, rather than being angled up or down, so he was fairly confident that he would be out of view if the thing in question did indeed prove to be a mirror. He glanced down once more at the one in his hand and caught the reflection of part of his face. One brief look had been all it took to transport him to wherever it is he was now, without even allowing himself a chance to resist in any manner, and as much as he wanted to return to the temple and never speak of this bizarre incident ever again, he really had no idea what was going to happen next. Perhaps simply being out of its field of vision wasn’t enough?

‘Just to be safe,’ he thought, glancing off to one side, ‘I think I’ll hide behind one of the larger boxes on the other side of this shelf.’ For no other reason than “because I felt like it”, Aethion performed a partial wingover, leaning towards his right and free-falling for a brief moment before leveling out and launching himself forward, skimming just over the top of the highest shelf in front of him. He almost (almost!) laughed from the sheer exhilaration of it — aerobatics never ceased to be thrilling, heart-pounding fun — but he couldn’t forget the dignity of his station while in the company of strangers. With a quick, powerful beat of his wings, Aethion halted himself just behind a suitably large box and lowered himself behind it, dropping the last three feet once he was close enough to the ground.

“Now,” he murmured to himself as he lay his free hand on the crate beside him, ‘what could be inside all of these?” The easiest and most practical method of discovering that would be to cast a spell, but that would no doubt alarm the others: he was now out of their sight and they’d have no idea just what the strange winged jackal-thing was doing. Deciding on a slightly different approach, he closed his eyes and whispered a few brief words of praise and supplication to his goddess.



Swift action: activate Detect Evil (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm) as a spell-like ability (see Paladin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?221312-A-hero-is-a-man-too-stubborn-to-die-a-3-5-Paladin-fix-%28PEACH%29&p=12150015#post12150015) class feature) and assess the nearby boxes for the presence or absence of evil auras.