[IC]Kingdom of the Quor

[ThorgrimThunder]

Link to OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420514-OOC-Kingdom-of-the-Quor&p=19377776#post19377776)

List of Players
1. List of Characters


-----Name
-----Class/Race
-----CharaterSheet
-----Notes


-----MikelaC
-----Abjurant Champion/Human
-----Zarabeth (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=227697)
-----


-----Ridai
-----Cleric/Elf
-----Valynon's sheet (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=228486)
-----


-----Morcleon
-----Warlock/Human?
-----Aralia Mistbreaker (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=228325)
-----


-----DoctorGlock
-----Artificer/Human?
-----Verdun (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=234406)
-----WIP


-----OMG Ponies
-----Factotum/Illumian
-----Byron Swordfeather (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=229723)
-----WIP

[MikelaC1]

Present and subscribed.

[ThorgrimThunder]

Introductory post-
Kingdom of the Quor,
Year 1234 PD

Spoiler (specific info)
Zarabeth
After bouncing from group to group for the last year or so, you finally decided to found your own. In the nearby kingdom of Grayhame you began recruiting. At first it went poorly, you had no connections and were fairly new to the area. You started dancing at a local hall to keep your skills honed and make some money. Soon an elf became one of your most loyal fans, coming to nearly every performance. One night after you were finished, you saw the elf getting into trouble with a group of local thugs. You leapt to his defense without thinking, easily disarming and defeating them all, receiving only a single cut from a lucky strike in return. Then the elf healed you, that was when you officially met Valynon, and your group went from one to two. Not long after that you met up with Aralia, a strange type of magic user from across the sea, and the three of you got hired for your first job. During that first job you met Byron and Verdun. You had coinciding goals and ended up allying with them, and you actually worked very well together. You all decided to make the arrangement permanent, at least for the foreseeable future. While neither of them is what you would call "good" they are adept adventurers with many admirable qualities, and you sense there may be some goodness deep down inside them. After several months making a name for yourself in Grayhame, you heard about the duke of Oslo in neighboring Quor needing an item retrieved. Quor is the biggest and most powerful kingdom on the continent, boasting an army of stupendous size, and it's nobility is understandably proud and standoffish, that was a prime opportunity to get on the good side of one of the upper nobility of the most wealthy and powerful nation on the continent. Fortunately retrieving the duke's heirloom was child's play. Between the 5 of you, the minor demon enclave was no match, and you have earned a reputation in this kingdom. Why some demons would steal a worthless heirloom from a duke is beyond you, but it did work out in your favor.

Valynon
Years of wandering from one place to the next has been a long, arduous, and rewarding experience. Though you have wandered far longer than you ever thought needful when you first set out with your arrows, the journey has been one of pleasure and pain. Pain at losing friends, and leaving behind all that you knew when the arrows pointed you out over the great ocean. Pleasure at meeting new friends, learning new tales, and facing new challenges. When you first came to the shores of this continent, without a friend in the world (or so it seemed) you set out to find new experiences and to learn more about this land. After leaving Shamata, the port you arrived at, the arrows pointed the way to Greyhame, a medium sized city-state, where the arrows left you directionless. After you had been there for nearly a year, you heard of a dancer who had recently started performing, so you decided to visit a show. The first of many performances that you would eventually visit was phenomenal, you had met many elves who consider themselves master dancers who could take lessons from this woman, Zarabeth. You gladly paid the fee over and over, attending as many shows as you could, until eventually your attention brought trouble. A group of thugs, little more than gutter-trash grown up and wearing knives, who considered Zarabeth theirs. Not one to be overly concerned by violence in general, there were enough of the brutes to present a challenge, when the dancer herself appeared. Shortly thereafter only she remained. With a pile of beaten and bloody thugs, and her with but one cut, which you of course healed for her. At that point the two of you decided that for a while you would share the same path, boots walking side-by-side with dancers shoes. Not long after that you met up with Aralia, a strange type of magic user from across the sea, and the three of you got hired for your first job. During that first job you met Byron and Verdun. You had coinciding goals and ended up allying with them, and you actually worked very well together. You all decided to make the arrangement permanent, at least for the foreseeable future. While neither of them is what you would call "good" they are adept adventurers with many admirable qualities, and you sense there may be some goodness deep down inside them. After several months making a name for yourself in Grayhame, you heard about the duke of Oslo in neighboring Quor needing an item retrieved. Quor is the biggest and most powerful kingdom on the continent, boasting an army of stupendous size, and it's nobility is understandably proud and standoffish, that was a prime opportunity to get on the good side of one of the upper nobility of the most wealthy and powerful nation on the continent. Fortunately retrieving the duke's heirloom was child's play. Between the 5 of you, the minor demon enclave was no match, and you have earned a reputation in this kingdom. Why some demons would steal a worthless heirloom from a duke is beyond you, but it did work out in your favor.

Aralia
After learning to wield light in its purest form, you began to feel even more detached. Eventually you knew what must be done. You must leave, you were unsure where, but your home city-state of Shamata could no longer be the place you live. So you struck out on your own and, despite some protestations to the contrary, your father was proud of you for trying to make your own mark on the world. You wandered for a while, seeking what the light would have you do, until you arrived in Grayhame. There you met Zarabeth and Valynon, who were looking for people to join them for a job. When you first met them, you knew that they could help you fulfill your potential, and make a difference. During that first job you met Byron and Verdun. You had coinciding goals and ended up allying with them, and you actually worked very well together. They both decided to make the arrangement permanent, at least for the foreseeable future. While neither of them is what you would call "good" they are adept adventurers with many admirable qualities, and you sense there may be some goodness deep down inside them. After several months making a name for yourself in Grayhame, you heard about the duke of Oslo in neighboring Quor needing an item retrieved. Quor is the biggest and most powerful kingdom on the continent, boasting an army of stupendous size, and it's nobility is understandably proud and standoffish, that was a prime opportunity to get on the good side of one of the upper nobility of the most wealthy and powerful nation on the continent. Fortunately retrieving the duke's heirloom was child's play. Between the 5 of you, the minor demon enclave was no match, and you have earned a reputation in this kingdom. Why some demons would steal a worthless heirloom from a duke is beyond you, but it did work out in your favor.

Verdun
After spending 2 years on the dark continent selling your effigies to anyone able to buy them, you finally decided to leave... Well maybe you were forced. Even though you were only interested in profit, your war profiteering has brought a semblance of stability to the region, and that was the start of your problems. None of the previous purchasers of your little "war aids" want any more sold to the competition. On top of that, the people of your homeland are... Uncharitable about your chosen career path. So you decided to explore the lands across the great rift. You made it safely, although you barely had enough food & water in your dragon effigy, you managed to stretch it out until you arrived, the most harrowing moment is when your effigy stopped working in the middle of the rift, those 2 minutes were the longest of your life. This new land is similar to your homeland in many ways, and there are no active conflicts, so you decided to hire yourself and your machine out as a mercenary until you got a better feeling for things in this new land. One of the first people you met here was named Byron Swordfeather a delightfully, and skillfully deceptive individual. Instead of collecting the debt he owed your employer, you paid off the the debt yourself and you both struck out together. Shortly thereafter on a contract you met Zarabeth, Valynon, and Aralia. You had coinciding goals and ended up allying with them, and you actually worked very well together. You all decided to make the arrangement permanent, at least for the foreseeable future. While all of them are a little goody-two-shoes for your taste, they are capable adventurers, with a few admirable qualities. After several months making a name for yourself in Grayhame, you heard about the duke of Oslo in neighboring Quor needing an item retrieved. Quor is the biggest and most powerful kingdom on the continent, boasting an army of stupendous size, and it's nobility is understandably proud and standoffish. That was a prime opportunity to get on the good side of one of the upper nobility of the most wealthy and powerful nation on the continent. Fortunately retrieving the duke's heirloom was child's play. Between the 5 of you, the minor demon enclave was no match, and you have earned a reputation in this kingdom. Why some demons would steal a worthless heirloom from a duke is beyond you, but it did work out in your favor. You would love to explore the possibilities of *ahem* expanding your business *ahem* but prudence first, a lesson you've learned the hard way.

Byron
Ah, the life of luxury that can be bought with other people's money. The only problem is that, for some reason, most other people want to spend their own money, and will often go great lengths to retain it, or punish those who use it. That after all is the lesson you learned from bilking your cabal for as much money as could be reasonably be spent on writing "the evolution of the crafting of wagon wheels in antiquity" To be fair, you really had planned on writing the book... It's just that once that first check came in, it was far-easier to spend it on something, anything else. And so one postponed deadline became 9, that is when you were not only cut-off, but also disinherited. You thought that would be enough for the cabal, and set out to find a new source of income. Life was looking up, until you met Verdun. Verdun was the man who came to take back the money you had spent, hired by a cabal faction that had never liked your family, especially you. Fortunately your quick tongue, a healthy portion of luck, and Verdun's own sense of humor provided an alternate way out. You and Verdun joined forces to seek even greater profit, the man's sheer skill with gears and such is astounding, combined with your own, not-insignificant skill pool, the world was your oyster. On your first contract (at a much higher price, thanks to you) you met up with several other adventurers. Zarabeth, Valynon, and Aralia. You had coinciding goals and ended up allying with them, and you actually worked very well together. You all decided to make the arrangement permanent, at least for the foreseeable future. While all of them are a little goody-two-shoes for your taste, they are capable adventurers, with quite a few admirable qualities. After several months making a name for yourself in Grayhame, you heard about the duke of Oslo in the neighboring kingdom of Quor needing an item retrieved. Quor is the biggest and most powerful kingdom on the continent, boasting an army of stupendous size, and it's nobility is understandably proud and standoffish. That was a prime opportunity to get on the good side of one of the upper nobility of the most wealthy and powerful nation on the continent. Fortunately retrieving the duke's heirloom was child's play. Between the 5 of you, the minor demon enclave was no match, and you have earned a reputation in this kingdom. Why some demons would steal a worthless heirloom from a duke is beyond you, but it did work out in your favor. As the drinking hits its peak, you see something outside that seems, off, so you step out to investigate; meanwhile, you see the duke approaching and entering the inn.

All except Byron-
You have no idea why the duke would pay you so well to retrieve such a tiny trinket, but eccentricity is the province of nobles, and with few exceptions: the richer and more powerful the noble the more eccentric. Although all of you have but recently crossed the Quorian border, it seems that at least the duke follows this unwritten rule. In this case; however, it has lead to both good money and good drink, the staple of all adventurers. The party and drinking continues well into the night.
The duke himself joins your group around midnight for a few rounds.
After his third tankard, the duke smiles at you, "Friends, thank you for your help. This heirloom is priceless, and I don't know what I would have done if you had not recovered it for me." The duke looks like he's about to continue, but a page arrives and begins speaking quietly with him. Suddenly the duke slumps forward knocking the servant down and spilling drink and food everywhere. The sounds of merriment quickly cease as the duke does not rise from the floor, and several aides and bodyguards rush over to look at him.

[Ridai]

The mug is rarely empty, but seldomly is it filled with something eye-wateringly alcoholic. Adventuring is a nice change of pace, still new and exciting even after months, given elven sensibilities and perception of time, drinking the experience like fine wine that sometimes kicks you in the shins and is far too fond of fire. Laughs and shouts and stories are had, until the call for action takes the guise of a resounding thump. Quick steps rush over to the fallen duke, fingers feeling for pulse, sharp ears listening with breath, and magic priming itself to do what it takes to save the man.

If Valynon can reach the duke in one round and he seems even a little dead: cast revivify.

If the duke is not dead: cast detect magic.

[MikelaC1]

When the duke falls, both of Zarabeth's swords are out in a second as her shield snaps into place with only a moments thought. She takes a defensive position between the rest of the room and Valynon working on the fallen duke.

Do you know what it is, and do you have the cure for it.

[Morcleon]

"...oh no..." Aralia gasps, leaping up from her chair and hurrying over to the duke, her lantern archon companion floating along beside her. "Um, I'll scan the place!"

"Thanks, Alissa." The light mage glances around the room worriedly, examining each face closely.

Sense Motive (to check if there's anyone acting suspicious): [roll0]

Alissa the Lantern Archon will also scan the area with detect evil, regardless of the deadness of the duke.

[DoctorGlock]

Always impress the bastard. That was the first rule. Well, second rule. The first was 'make sure you have a foolproof plan to get paid.' Come to think, the second was 'never go to war with yourself.' And the third was 'be somewhere else by the time the molten spells start flying.'

Impress the bastard was somewhere on the list though.

And the duke was suitably impressed. And he could drink like a sailor. Generally a good time to make a sale. Honor bound types might regret it when the drink wore off but by then it was their treasurer's problem, not his.

Some sales were more difficult than others. Some days just didn't go right. When the duke keeled over, Verdun knew this would be one of those.

Palming a wand he gave a soft murmur of command and started scanning the crowd.

palming a wand of guidance of the avatar (swift, wand bracer) activating it (standard), reholstering in bandolier (part of move for having BAB over +1

[roll0] spot

[ThorgrimThunder]

The page the duke fell on is hyperventilating, completely unsure of what to do with his liege-lord senseless on top of him. The guard captain and his two lieutenants draw steel and eye everyone in the room.
After starting to reach towards Valynon, the captain seems to remember that you are some kind of cleric, and leans back letting you work your healing.
After that, the captain seems at a loss, but then his training comes to the fore as he shouts "Guards, don't let anyone leave! Lieutenants, each of you take 4 guardsmen and scout the perimeter, see if anyone outside is fleeing."
Then hauling the page to his feet he yells "Jonas! Go get Father Dominic and tell him to get here quick!" Looking to two of his guards he adds "You two, go with him, make sure he gets there."
Then turning to your group he says quietly, "If any of you had anything to do with this you will regret it."


The duke is still breathing although shallowly, there is some blood-flecked spittle streaming into his beard. You detect a lot of magic, most of it surrounding your party and the duke. Although there is some surrounding the guard captain and lieutenants as well.

You can concentrate to determine types of magic as per the spell. You're not in combat (yet) so you can state how long you will concentrate.

The Dukes guards are very angry, aggressive, distraught, and maybe even frantic. No one looks guilty that you can see, and no one is trying to leave surreptitiously or otherwise, until the captain tells them to. Alissa does detect evil around the duke and somewhere towards the back of the common room.
You can concentrate to determine sources and strength of evil auras as per the spell. You're not in combat (yet) so you can state how long you will concentrate.

You can see that the duke is still breathing, and there is some blood-flecked spittle in his beard, and he is shivering or shaking every once in a while, as if he is in pain. Zarabeth as well as the captain and two lieutenants of the Dukes' guard have drawn steel. The remaining guards are watching everything, you, each other, even their superiors; no one seems above suspicion at this point. No one is fleeing, and everyone seems at a loss as to what to do next.
As you are poking around the back of the inn, trying to figure out exactly what you saw, the music suddenly stops, and moments later guards burst out of the door, and four of them come your way, not looking happy.

[MikelaC1]

Why would we kill someone who just paid us, and rather handsomely too, I might add. Now think, who are the dukes most powerful enemies? She looks to Valynon. Any chance that this poisoning has something to do with those demons who stole his trinket?

[Ridai]

A zipping motion is made towards whoever is blathering at the group while focusing on the duke. Hands rub together before they are placed on the duke, followed by a burst of pure light, channeling massive amounts of positive energy.

"He thought we were hired as assassins. Now, he thinks we want to become the duke's personal heroes by poisoning and healing him," is said to Zarabeth, matter-of-factly.

(Heal is cast on the duke, CL 12)

[OMG PONIES]

A mystery! Now, Byron appreciated a lively round of drinks on a nobleman's dime as much as the next, but after a while it all grew terribly tedious. There was an ever-expanding ruleset of what to say, what to do, what not to say or do, and it was all made increasingly difficult by the everflowing, warm embrace of liquor. Layer on top the social conventions of small talk and having to "take an interest" in other people...even without the copious amounts of alcohol, it would have been enough to give the young man a headache. So who would blame him when, seeing a flurry of movement outside the window, he popped off to investigate? It didn't hurt that it provided him an opportunity to relieve himself as well. Two birds, one stone.

As the four duke's guards burst out the back door (and not a moment too soon), Byron recognizes one of them from their previous encounters. "McElroy!" he calls out to the man and makes himself decent in the nick of time, "Over here! It's Byron--Byron Swordfeather, from before? Why I thought I spied something through the window, so a few minutes ago I stepped outside to investigate...just before your retinue arrived, I'd say." As Byron speaks, he looks to the ground. Searching for...something--clues, tracks, his bearings--the illumian spins in a careless circle. He takes a moment to steady himself against the wall, but the power sigils around his head continue spinning listlessly. "Sorry to say I may have been suckling a bit too hard at the yeasty teat," he says with a hiccup. "I can't quite recall what it was I saw, but I swear to you with all the fealty of a knighted altar boy that I saw something. Right about...here?"

[roll0] to cover up our little bathroom break, shall we?
[roll1] to remind the guard that I am friendly and helpful. Certainly not a person of interest, a face to be punched, or a soused vagrant urinating against the side of a building, no sir.
[roll2] (boosted by Cunning Knowledge)...something is clearly afoot. What nefarious court intrigue flavor of the week might catch our friendly neighborhood duke in its wake?
[roll3] looking for clues, footprints, things left behind, or a really good hangover cure because I'll need one come morning.
[roll4] Had I actually seen anything? That would have been grand.

[Morcleon]

"Captain, don't worry. We'll figure out who did this..." Aralia gives him a confident smile, then turns to Valnyon, crouching down next to the fallen duke. "How is he?"

Alissa will continue concentrating for another two round to determine the power and location of the evil aura.

[ThorgrimThunder]

Inside -
The duke's breathing eases with the casting of Heal, and he seems to be in much better shape, but he does not regain consciousness.
The captain looks somewhat embarrassed as he replies, "Didn't say it was likely, but I have known everyone else that was here for years... As far as the duke's enemies, he doesn't really have any per se. I mean most of the nations bordering us don't particularly like us, but they would have to be suicidal to attempt anything like this sort of direct action against a member of the Quorian nobility."
Suddenly Alissa drops to the floor stunned.
And the door opens to admit the page with a large man in priest's robes, and Byron with four guards.
There is are two auras of evil present, one coming from outside of the back wall of the inn, near the window, and an overwhelming aura coming from the duke's right hip, when Alissa attempts to focus on that it stuns her.

Outside -
As you start talking to McElroy, you notice his eyes drift to your recent addition to the side of the inn, he looks mildly amused, until his lieutenant turns to see what exactly is going on. As you continue talking a look of disbelief crosses the lieutenants face, and he starts towards you.
"You need to come inside with me, I think our captain will want to have a conversation with you."
The guards will bring you inside unless you want to resist/run away.

You did indeed see something, a shadow of something standing very still outside the window around the corner from the wall on which you relieved yourself, just before the duke arrived. Searching the area you find nothing in fact there is less evidence of someone standing outside this window than you would expect even if you hadn't seen someone standing there mere moments ago.
Knowledge check results: you know from your cabal training, and individual research that without exception the nations bordering the Quor resent them. This has to do mostly with the tribute payments which are received by border nobles; in spite of this the Quor, and their army are feared, and you doubt any nearby kingdom would risk assaulting a member of the upper nobility. Although there have been rumors about troubles with some of the outer planes, though the details are sketchy.

As you approach the front door of the inn a young man runs up with a portly priest in tow, they enter just ahead of you.

Inside -
The priest approaches the duke and asks, "what has happened here?" not waiting for a reply he bends over the duke and begins casting several spells in quick succession; none of which have any more effect than Valynon's Heal spell.

[DoctorGlock]

Now that? That was new. First the duke, then Alissa. Had that been poison they'd all be feeling it, and with a priest here they'd be able to do something. Bad juju then. He'd seen a hell of a lot of that over the years. Hell, he's whipped a fair amount of it up himself, at pretty good prices. But what was it this time? Cursing his lack of countermeasures-- damn, had to leave Zwahai is more of a hurry than usual-- he popped his monocle into place and began trying to make out the strains of magic that he suspected were flickering through the room.

He hopped to he feet and started towards the duke. 'See that? That ain't normal. Get a priest in here tossing his spells around with all of jack effect? Bad juju. Let me see if I can't figure out what's going on. Seen a hell of a lot of bad juju in my day. Relax, boss,' he says to the captain baring his way. 'Making sure the duke is alright is probably more important to me than you right now.'

Can't collect if the man's dead, after all. The captain was a bright man, he knew how the world worked.

Seeing Byron escorted in, Verdun snapped 'Byron, you have a competent head on your neck,' for the time being, those guards didn't look happy. "You seen anything like this before?'

Detect magic through Artificer's monocle, produces an Identify effect as well as detecting magic. Takes a minute. Same effect when using Artificer's knowledge class feature.

Spellcraft: [roll0]. Should get me something more specific if it's magic. If that isn't enough I'm popping the avatar wand again and making another check at [roll1]

[Ridai]

A misunderstanding that needs to be cleared. "Suspicion is part of the job, captain. A certain amount is healthy to have in your position."

A turn towards Alissa. "Better. At worst, we have more time." Shifting forward, gloved hands catch the small glowing ball rapidly falling from the air. "And to find out if it is contagious."

The priest receives a scant few words as Valynon's attention stays on the groggy lantern archon. "Suddenly fell over. Administered a heal," the italics audible to someone in the know.

@DM: Is the stun shortlived or ongoing?

Also, was there a mix up in speech colors or names in your last post, Morcleon?

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth continues in her defensive stance, without defined enemies, her options are limited.
Okay, which enemy is the most suicidal? Just because many think it would be suicide to attempt something, doesnt mean there isnt someone loony enough to try anyway.

[OMG PONIES]

"Loony?" a voice calls from the back entrance as Byron stumbles through the door. "You rang? McElroy, my boy," the illumian says to the closest guard as his sigils bob & weave around his head, "when I agreed to come inside nobody informed me that 'inside' would be doing this horrible spinning nonsense. Can someone issue this room a cease & desist on its dizzying gyrations?" With that, he collapses into a chair and raises a hand to the barmaid. "A fifth of whiskey should help shake the cobwebs, aye?" He looks at the shocked reactions of more "civilized" folks who wonder how he can order a drink at such a time as this. "What?" he asks innocuously, "you think mead would work better?"

Byron assesses the situation, but relies one the input of others to fill in the blank. "I saw...something...out the back, by the window. Of course, by the time I sauntered over to, er, 'scan the perimeter,' if you will, he or she had vacated. Left nary a trace as well, which is a bit of an anomaly in and of itself. So what do we have here--some border lord tax the neighbors a bit too much and they revolted? Doubtful, given the bicep of the Quor's sword arm, am I right? There have been those whispers about trouble with the outer planes, but when are there not? Given our recent forays, though, there's probably a properly pissed prince of darkness or two with a mind for revenge."

Byron stops his soliloquy for a moment, flattered by Verdun's statement. "Really?" he asks, flush at the compliment, "and Mother is always saying precisely the opposite! I must say, I've seen plenty of passed out patrons in taverns. What have we already been able to determine? Any additives in his drink? Any wounds on his person?" Byron furrows his brow, unsure if he had actually seen something like this...but damned if he was going to seem surprised.

[roll0]
[roll1] to play detective (funny hat optional)
[roll2] to see if any magical hogwash is afoot
[roll3] Magical hogwash 2: Electric Boogaloo
[roll4] actually 27 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19438510&postcount=22) for traces of non-magical hogwash...hallucinogenic toads? Plant extract? Disgusting vegetables?

[ThorgrimThunder]

The captain looks at Zarabeth, "well if you are looking for madness, one need look no farther than Irabek. They are a nation obsessed with discovering the secrets of the great rift. Their lands don't even border us though, and it seems unlikely that they would go after a duke. He's powerful enough to cause them hell or have hell caused over him, but not powerful enough to have major impact on foreign policy with a nation that far away."
He seems to think for a moment more until Byron mentions seeing something behind the inn. Letting him continue, he gestures his lieutenant over and whispers a couple things to him, then the lieutenant, who looks rather unhappy leaving Byron with the duke, runs back outside grabbing the rest of his squad on the way.
When Byron mentions trouble with the outer planes, several looks flit across the captains face, fear and anger most prevalent among them, but also something subtler, almost as if he wants to tell you something else, then they are gone concealed behind his genuine concern over the duke.
The captain thinks for a moment. "Our people have had... Clashes with many denizens of other planes in the past, but we have been successful staving off extra-planar incursions. We are a powerful people, and have proven ourselves able to deal with anything they can throw at us. It's been almost a century since we have had real trouble; however, what you say may be right, I had assumed the demons which stole the duke's trinket were working alone... But maybe not. Perhaps it's worth another look. I cannot leave the duke. Will you go back and see if there is anything you missed?
As the captain finishes making his request, the priest stands up looking exhausted and worried.
"Heal you say? Well that's your heal, my break enchantment, and restoration. The duke is breathing, and doesn't seem to be in much pain, I'm sure your heal helped, but he is still unconscious... I'm at a loss. What happened to the archon?"
Aralia seems to have suffered from some kind of psychic backlash from whatever happened to her archon, as she sits unmoving.


The effect was only one round and Alissa is already regaining movement.
Knowledge Religion - 31
Alissa was using detect evil, and if powerful enough evil is present it can stun the caster. From what you know, it would have to be very powerful evil to have that effect on Alissa.
Artificer's Knowledge 31
There is are many magical auras in the inn right now, aside from what is around your party the captain and priest have some magic, both abjuration and transmutation, and the duke has many protective effects, and a strong aura of necromancy, enchantment, and a weak one of transmutation coming from his right hip. As you move closer to examine whatever it is you begin to understand that this magic may be beyond you, but then it begins to fade, leaving you with a sense of discomfort, and nothing tangible. At the same time Byron notices a dart protruding from the duke, which you both examine.
This effect could be produced by many different poisons or spells; however, anything natural would have been almost certainly defeated by the clerics' spells, so it is probably magical. Some kind of dual effect that was partially nullified by whatever Valynon or the priest is doing. This effect seems similar to curse, and maybe a finger of death, and something else you aren't entirely sure about. While you are mulling everything over, attempting to get the duke more comfortable, obviously whatever is affecting him is beyond your mundane methods, but as you examine the duke you notice something in his right hip, (the funny hat must have done the trick) at the same time Verdun comes over and bends down to look with you.
The object is a small metal dart, the type that would be fired from a small blowgun. It is unmarked, and appears to be mundane (now), although of very fine workmanship. The metal it is made from is also quite odd, not a type known to either of you.

[Morcleon]

"Alissa!" Gasping, Aralia breaks from her stupor turns around to take her companion from Valynon and cradle her gently. "Oh, thank you. She'll be fine. And no, it's not contagious. There's something radiating an incredibly powerful aura of evil on the duke's right hip though, and that stunned my friend..."

Bending down near the duke, she brushes his cloak to the side and starts looking for anything that seemed evil. In a short time, Alissa rises up again, groaning softly. "Ugh... there's another evil aura coming from outside the inn, by the window..."

[DoctorGlock]

Verdun rolled his eyes at the 'evil' part and chimed in. 'It's primarily necromancy, with some enchantment and a mite of transmutation, but hell if I can figure out the specifics. I know my way around metals too, and never saw anything like whatever the heck this is either. Either way the magic's gone now.' he said, gesturing to the dart. He points a line from he wound and the direction of the dark in the duke's flesh to the window. 'And looks like it came from our mystery figure. Byron, you got a look at him, if we get airborne immediately we might catch him.'

[Ridai]

"Strong cocktail of magic with a lot of evil on top would explain it. Our new shadowy lead will surely know more." Whoever wants it receives the benefits of a shared overland flight to help with the chase. "Get the duke away from windows and the crowd," the captain and the priest are advised before Valynon heads to the door.

[DoctorGlock]

Verdun reached into a vest pocket and pulls out what looks like nothing more than a lightly sequined piece of black cloth and gives it a shake, Snapping open it unfolds into what appears to be a starry void as he throws it on the ground. A loud mechanical roar gurgles from the pit as a gleaming construct of brushed aluminum and polished brass rolls out and angles itself towards the large double doors. It looks vaguely like a dragon, gaping maw etched into the sleek and predatory lines of the aerodynamic machine.

'I should really have done this outside, but if we're taking fire I'd rather not be exposed for the duration.' he says as he puts a foot on a rung slightly behind and below the folded wings. He pulls a long and heavy wand from from its place slung across his shoulders and locks it into a what resembles an oar-lock more than anything else and squints down the sights before racking the bolt. Satisfied that the machine was armed he strapped in and put out a hand to Byron. 'We can cover more ground than the others, you coming?'

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth is more than willing to take the overland flight spell, shes not about to be left out of this fight just because she cant keep up with flyers. Once she has it, she joins the chase, her blades never having been resheathed.

[OMG PONIES]

Byron is unsettled by the fact that he felt like the Captain wasn't telling him everything. Not that the man was lying--such lawful types were usually rubbish at that--but instead that the man was withholding. Or perhaps the illumian was so used to folks sharing the overflow of their heart over too many rounds of top-shelf liquor that he was unaccustomed to the proper amount of information to share with others in actual conversation. Nevertheless, it doesn't sit well with Byron, who had never been a fan of things not sitting well with him.

[roll0] Boosted by Cunning Knowledge. It's okay...tell the drunk man. He won't remember anyway.

The healing magic applied is strong enough to have irradiated any natural effects right out of the Duke's system. My own personal thoughts aside on what being the subject of so much magic can do to a man's motility, we're probably dealing with a magical effect." As Verdun rattles off the schools of magic involved, Byron nods. It was always nice to have one's sophisticated, wild-ass guesses validated by the actual analysis of experts. "I'm no magician," Byron says, "but this is reminiscent of a curse of some sort. Perhaps a shot of finger of death with a chaser I can't quite put my finger on...if you'll pardon the pun at such a time."

Kneeling to examine the Duke, Byron and Verdun find a dart stuck in the Duke's right hip of some exotic metal. Byron wasn't quite sure what it was made of, but hell if he was going to let the others know that. "Ah, yes," he says as he sees the furrowed brows on the rest of the group. "Most likely some byshek derivative. I'll keep this safe and have one of my local experts conduct a proper analysis later." As Verdun traces the trajectory between the two auras of evil, Byron adds in, "Precisely, this dart seems to have been fired from a blowgun of some sort. Perhaps a spell-storing dart fired from the window so the assailant could deliver a wicked magical punch without so much as setting foot in the tavern? Bloody clever, you've got to give him that. But I'm usually looking for excuses to duck up to the bar, not excuses to stay outside. Poor chap could probably just use a few rounds. All work and no play, you know..."

Finally, Byron realizes what the captain had said to him. "You want me to go outside and see what I missed? What I missed? Your premise is flawed, Captain. I am Byron Swordfeather, and in case you were unaware Byron Swordfeather doesn't miss things. Plus, there was nothing out there to be missed. The most telling evidence was the utter lack of evidence. No footprints, no peanut shells from idle snacking, no nothing. Which yes, grammatically would mean 'something,' but I'm sure you get the gist. Knowing the abilities of some devils and demons, my working theory is that the would-be assassin teleported to that vantage point, took his shot, and teleported away." As he starts in on his rant, the illumian separates the syllables of his own name the second time through, giving them the haughty air of royalty (though the man carries no nobility in any bone of his body). "You say the last real trouble with the demons was about a hundred years back? Surely you're referring to the Overflowing?"

[roll1] more like a 31 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19454293&postcount=23) Boosted by Cunning Knowledge to remember the huge battle I totally made up the name of but can replace with anything the DM may have actually prepared. Also, do I know of any similar "incursions" more recently? Because I'm guessing that either I do or there's a cover-up going on. What can I say, Byron doesn't trust government types. A healthy dose of paranoia and whatnot.

Byron is less than thrilled when his compadres suggest taking to the skies. He had never developed an innate talent for flying when he was sober, so the wibbly wobbly world of drunkenness was bound to make the complicated calculations of pitch & yaw that much more retch & awful. He hesitantly accepts the casting of shared overland flight, but when Verdun pulls out his construct Byron is secretly glad to be able to sit down even while taking to the skies. It didn't hurt that the dragonlike device was right stylish, too. Additionally, Byron doesn't bother to share with the group that he thinks taking to the skies is more likely to make the group a target than it is to find their perpetrator from a bird's eye perspective. Still, if it brought them together, tomato tomahto.

"Oh, and Captain?" Byron calls over his shoulder before leaving. "I'd bet solid gold that whenever the Duke awakes, he won't be himself. I'd strongly advise putting him under observation at worst and quarantine at best. Granted, I understand your reticence given your place in the social strata vis a vis his own, but perhaps you could bring up the idea to someone richer than the Duke?"

[Morcleon]

Aralia nods to the others, lifting off from the ground with a soft golden glow surrounding her, Alissa following close behind. Pulling out a long metal scepter, she hefts it up and grins. "Alright, let's go!"

[DoctorGlock]

The construct rolled out of the building before its unseen engines engaged with a deafening roar and the wings locked into position. Verdun let it strain against the brakes for a moment before fiddling with the trim wheel and executing a steep and short takeoff, leveling off around 500 feet.

'Ok, real talk,' he said to Byron, folding up the cloth pit from before. 'If it's more fiends there isn't a chance in hell we find them. They could have vanished in the blink of an eye back to hell if I know, and I have no intention of following if they did. What exactly did you see? Because if the chances of wrapping this up neatly are too low to make bank on, we are the fall guys instead, and I want to put a lot of daylight between us and that.'

Assuming we are making sweeps at well below full speed, only about 500/round, assuming we can use the run action below full speed

[ThorgrimThunder]

The captain and his guards seem surprised (to put it mildly) by the sudden eruption of a dragon from seemingly nowhere. A few even draw steel, although the captain stops them from attacking.

"...Byron was it? I meant for you to go to where you recovered the duke's heirloom from the demons, not look around outside again; however, if you believe you can find whoever did this by all means be about it." With that the captain tosses Byron a pouch filled with some kind of goop. "In the past we developed a salve that can pierce the darkness these beings like to hide in. Merely rub this on your eyelids." He tosses another pouch to each of you. "Godspeed."

Each pouch contains a salve that will grant you: see invisibility, low-light vision, dark vision out to 30', the ability to see in magical darkness (only 15') and +5 to will saves vs illusions cast by outsiders. These effects last for 15 minutes. There is enough for 3 applications in each pouch.

As you exit the building the night stretches before you. It's clear and bright with a full moon and a plethora of stars, hardly the night one would expect such skullduggery on. The inn is on a hilltop outside the city walls, it's location chosen for its beautiful views, and access to the stream for cooling some drinks in the summer. The rear window, from which the dart came faces north towards the heart of the kingdom. You see no one and you hear nothing. You take to the sky, Verdun and Byron with a great mechanical bellow shattering the otherwise still night and Aralia's soft glow dimming to prevent night blindness, and so as not to make herself a great target. Zarabeth and Valynon make a much more subtle ascent, as Verdun and Byron sweep outward in broad circles looking for anyone or anything that looks out of place.

I need to know which direction you are headed and at what speed. None of you see anything that looks out of place at this point. Additionally if you are using anything other than mundane sight to look for... Whatever it was Byron saw, I need you to let me know.

Sense Motive - (Already rolled sense motive for you that's how you noticed him hiding something in the first place)
Knowledge History - You are unaware of any additional major incursions, but this region has never been totally free of all such events. There isn't a cover up that anyone has ever even hinted about regarding the cessation of large scale conflict; however, the fact that all sorts of negative energy beings and what-not keep emerging in this region regularly, as opposed to the extremely rare occurrences in other parts of the continent; or anywhere else you know of. That isn't to say that it is common here, but there are 1 or 2 incursions a year, as opposed to the average of 1 or 2 per decade anywhere else. (Incursion meaning the demon/devil/whatever is the initiator of the magic that brought it here, not a denizen of the material plane.)
Knowledge Arcana - Just as teleport spells don't function as normal, planar travel spells also don't function normally. Instead of not functioning, certain places are keyed to certain planes. So you can only plane-shift to certain places from corresponding locales in the material plane. (This is true of all travel to non-adjacent planes, travel to adjacent planes (ethereal plane, plane of shadows, etc.) functions normally.
Knowledge Arcana - in addition to what you know above those who know what they are looking for can discern likely locations of planar travel, and even where that is likely to lead. The trick is reading magical auras and their confluence correctly. OOC - basically being able to see/detect magic, and a Spellcraft check.

[OMG PONIES]

"Something odd is afoot," Byron says to Verdun as they travel on the--creature? Machine? "The rate of extraplanar incursions from denizens of the Lower Planes is greater in Quor than in surrounding countries by an order of magnitude. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't I read somewhere that planar travel functions off of key vertices? For instance, one could only access particular locations in the Abyss from particular corresponding locations on the Material?" Byron pauses and waits for Verdun to respond, a clear indication that for once he had reached the limit of his knowledge. He'd never say it aloud, but he was deferring to Verdun as someone who knew more than him.

[DoctorGlock]

'You have to understand my readings on the planes was less categorical and more work oriented, but as far as I know, yeah. Of course, that's not always accurate since your coordinates aren't static. Operates off of a hermetic principle, as above, so below and vice versa. The points have to have some similarity, to somehow reflect one another in the not always sensible laws of the planes. Means shifts on one plane can break a Way... either sealing it or opening on elsewhere.' He mulls over Byron's other observation a moment. 'Now the fact that we've got an order of magnitude more breaches here -- didn't know that one, but I was more concerned with reading about who hear has money after all-- than elsewhere means that there are either too many Ways to count or that we are looking at a near planar overlay.'

'I reckon the first thing we should have done was check where our mystery assailant vanished from then. I know the Ways well enough that I might be able to get something off of it,' Verdun adds pensively as he rolls a hand over the controls, sending the machine into a swooping dive as they looped back to where they were, accelerating all the while.

Yeah, I will blatantly rip Dresden and assume it works

[ThorgrimThunder]

There are these things called planes... Maybe people live there, but you think you're kind of riding on one now... Man that ale wasn't bad, but the whiskey was sure potent.

Knowledge Arcana - Just as teleport spells don't function as normal, planar travel spells also don't function normally. Instead of not functioning, certain places are keyed to certain planes. So you can only plane-shift to certain places from corresponding locales in the material plane. (This is true of all travel to non-adjacent planes, travel to adjacent planes (ethereal plane, plane of shadows, etc.) functions normally.
Knowledge the Planes - As above, but you also know there are ways to tell where likely spots of transport are, and where (to which plane) they will lead. You need to be able to see magical auras, or know the history of different areas, and where you want to travel.

Basically what you said is what your knowledge check got you, with the addition that most cities have warding in place to prevent direct intersection in town. So extraplanar travel cannot occur within set distances of most large cities. Out to about an average of a mile from the walls. It does vary from city to city, as it is harder (read more expensive) to ward larger cities, but some nobles think it worth the cost to put the extra distance on any possible attacks/raids/etc. You are unfamiliar with this area, so you don't know of any locations nearby, and you aren't sure exactly what you are chasing. If you were looking for a way into the Abyss, you would look for the sight of a battle/fire/slaughter/murder, or best, all four close together.

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth doesnt want to waste her ointment and she has a lousy spot check to boot and so she will follow where Valynon leads.

[Morcleon]

Flying along with the rest of the group, Aralia swoops over to Verdun, grinning. "Alissa and I can scan the area where our target might have vanished from. There might be some lingering magical effects, so we'll try to pick that up."

She accelerates in front of the mechanical flier and, with a muttered word and a flash of blue from her eyes, begins the scan the area. "Alissa, tell me when something pops up. I can give you the information, but I can't process it like you can." "Will do. You just fly along and scan."

Aralia has detect magic at-will as a warlock, and will be scanning the areas that Alissa has determined to be most likely to be escape vectors.

[ThorgrimThunder]

As the party turns around and heads to the back of the inn you notice the duke attended by father Dominic and carried by his guards headed out the front door towards the town.


There are several faint auras in the place (you assume) the dart was fired from, that you detect. Most of them you can't quite put your mental finger on, but one you recognize, conjuration, although even as you are picking through the individual auras most of them begin to fray apart and disappear.
As you think about it you realize conjuration means - summoning, or short-range transport.
Even from effigy-back you can tell there is no way anyone left the plane here, especially not to a lower plane. The place is to... Jolly? Happy? People come here to see beautiful things, and taste beautiful things, not buy drugs and prostitutes. (Not that there is anything wrong with some drugs or a prostitute, but those are definitely more closely aligned with the lower planes).
After thinking through everything Verdun said, and as the alcohol haze continues to fade, you remember reading about some dark doings in the woods to the east. A few decades back a cult, an offshoot of the church of Nerull dedicated to the darkest necromancy, began operating. They created an order of assassins that were nigh unstoppable, rumors held that they had to be killed three times for it to stick. They terrorized the region until the current duke's father managed to root them out.
From what Verdun just told you, that may be the best possible place to find a "way" back to the lower planes.

As you are examining the area/watching someone else examine the area, a scream from the forest splits the night, then suddenly cuts off with a gurgle. The duke's retinue is nearly to the city gates, and double times it the rest of the way, as the gates close behind them.

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth executes an elegant banking curve to change direction to the sound of the scream and heads there at top speed.

[Ridai]

The scream is now Valynon's destination as well.

[DoctorGlock]

'The city is supposed to be warded. If those fell I suspect we'd have bigger issues than an assassination.' Verdun grunts. 'Besides, this place doesn't have the right tone for a hellgate. I've been to quite a few hell holes that would be ripe for it, but this ain't one of them. You know the area better than I. Any places of slaughter, child sacrifice or general sheepshaggery nearby?'

A loud scream pierces the air. Verdun rolls his eyes as the others spin on their heels to check it out. 'City this size, it's probably just someone getting shived in an alley. I ain't gonna lose our trail over that. You guys go check it out if you must, I'll take Byron after the Gate.'

Throwing a lever, lightning crackles between the machine's wing-spurs as they flare wide and it shoots skyward with another mechanical roar.

[OMG PONIES]

'The city is supposed to be warded. If those fell I suspect we'd have bigger issues than an assassination.' Verdun grunts. 'Besides, this place doesn't have the right tone for a hellgate. I've been to quite a few hell holes that would be ripe for it, but this ain't one of them. You know the area better than I. Any places of slaughter, child sacrifice or general sheepshaggery nearby?'

"Within a mile? Only about 12," Byron says. His tone is so nonchalant that Verdun couldn't tell if he was serious or joking--which was precisely as Byron intended. The ability to plead sarcasm whenever he offended someone or got something wrong was a marvelous thing. As his buzz fades, obscure bits of esoterica return to his mind. The illumian finds himself recalling minor local history he had stored away for a rainy day. Clouds or not, it seemed like that was today. "The Thriceslain!" Byron exclaims, recalling a name that was 50% used by the bards of the day and 50% made up by Byron (after all, those bards had to get such a snazzy name from somewhere, but that's neither here nor there...).

"About 60 or 70 years back, some Nerullian necromancers cooked up some undead assassins so vicious they had to be killed three times over to stop them from coming back. Made a right mess of the place, too, until Duke Ferdinand--father of the unconscious chap formerly known as Our Duke--passed legislation authorizing an interfaith order of clerics to clear them out. Sparked the Pelorian-Vecnan Synod which caused a whole separate fuss about whether it was just to destroy, turn, or rebuke undead creatures (or abominations, depending on your denomination) or to fraternize with those of another persuasion on the issue (again, a larger deal to those on opposite extremes of the issue's spectrum), but every solution creates its own problem in some way, does it not? Not like the Sun God and the Maimed One were going to start holding hands. Besides, if they did, Vecna'd only be about half as good at it." Byron chuckles a bit at his own joke, unfazed by the fact that nobody else did.


A loud scream pierces the air. Verdun rolls his eyes as the others spin on their heels to check it out. 'City this size, it's probably just someone getting shived in an alley. I ain't gonna lose our trail over that. You guys go check it out if you must, I'll take Byron after the Gate.'

"I hate to tell you, chum, but I think they're one and the same. Unless I'm mistaken, the shout came from the very glade where the Thriceslain were created. From what you just told me, that may be our best bet to find a nexus to the Lower Planes. In fact, speaking of bets, I'd put fifty gold on it. What do you say?"

[Morcleon]

"I have to agree with Byron on this one." Aralia frowned as the scream pierced the air. "The auras I'm seeing are for short range teleportation, and with the incident with the duke so close to this once, it's very likely that both are the same. After all, one's an anomaly, and two's a trend."

The pair of glowing fliers loop and flying even faster now, head directly toward the glade, two contrails of light trailing from their forms.

[DoctorGlock]

Gods that nonchalance was irritating. Either take a position or don't profess to have one. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, after all...

'Huh. Convenient,' Verdun grunted. 'More likely a Gate than barnyard buggery too. No bet then, I only bet on certainties when I'm holding the right position.'

Verdun threw the skimmer into a sharp spiraling climb before accelerating in the direction of the glade, checking its armament as they picked up speed.

it will take about 5 rounds to travel a mile in this thing. 1025'/round

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth continues to fly towards the target, the evidence is mounting that this could be fiend inspired, and she's all for giving the fiends even more of what she gave them the last time they tangled.

[ThorgrimThunder]

As everyone heads towards the scream, they grab hold of Verdun's contraption as it easily outpaces everyone else, the drag slows the beast down a bit, but you make good time. As you fly away from town you find that although the area near town has been logged and thinned, the farther you go, the taller and thicker the forest becomes.
Slightly less than a mile from the inn you come across a forest giant that recently fell tearing a hole in the canopy of trees.
Near the base of the tree you see a body nearly torn in half, entrails strewn for a good 20 feet.
Beyond that the vale of the "Thriceslain" is clear. So much foul magic was used there that even 70 years later the trees near it are twisted into nightmare shapes, and barely anything grows.
You see trees swaying as something makes its way from the clearing with the dead body towards the vale. It is nearly to the clearing.
You can't make out what is beneath you through the trees, but looking ahead to the vale, you notice several glints coming off what looks like armor. Looking closer, you can tell that there is a small squad of soldiers, between 3&6, on the far side of the vale attempting to hide.
Your flying machine is too clunky to swoop into the clearing and back out with its maneuverability (at least that's what your gut tells you, you could always try), so you can land, or circle and cast, or come up with some other plan.
As part of your next post
You have time before combat to apply the salve if you wish, if not it is the same rules as a potion to apply it.
Roll initiative
Spot & listen
(If you have it) Knowledge (nobility & royalty)
Anything else you think may be pertinent (looking at you Byron)

[Ridai]

Better safe than sorry, the salve is applied, bow drawn and the soldiers quietly pointed out to the others.

Initiative [roll0]
Spot [roll1]
Listen [roll2]

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth applies the salve to her eyes, and then because she is incredibly reckless, she leaps from the beast and uses her flight to glide into the clearing, pulling both her blades as she does so. The moment her feet touch the ground, her shield is activated as she looks for enemies.

[roll0] initiative
[roll1] spot (the downside of a low WIS)

[DoctorGlock]

Verdun scowled at the clearing. The trees were too tall to make a strafing run, and he didn't dare try a bombing course given how dry everything looked. Maneuverability. That would be a necessary future project. Squinting he applied some of the dukes magic glop to his eyes and ordered the skimmer to make a landing course as he unhooked a wand from its stirrup and checked the sights.


Going to land and fight on foot then. The effigy is useless in combat because they are stupid fragile, but in the future i'd like to apply some templates to that so it doesn't get one shot

Initiative: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[OMG PONIES]

Byron smears the salve on his face, wearing it mostly like eyeshadow but also somewhat like warpaint. He surveys the scene and breathes deep the heady scent of ozone rushing by their face and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He whispers to the others (or gets as close as he can to a whisper over the wind beating them in the face as they travel 120 miles per hour), "On tonight's dance card, a gaggle of 3-6 soldiers with the cunning to prepare an ambush but the density to miss that breastplates reflect light. Shall we dance?" As the glider makes a beeline for the clearing, the illumian braces for impact. "Presto-change-o," he mutters, and wings sprout from his back as the form of Byron Swordfeather yields to that of a raptoran archer. He pulls the magical bow from his back and knocks an arrow, ready to fire.

[roll0] What killed the giant?
[roll1]
[roll2] except I got greedy and made it a 19 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19511938&postcount=69) with a side dish of my "Listen to This" skill trick to describe any sounds to those that don't make the check themselves.
[roll3] plus my "Point it Out" skill trick to provide a Spot reroll with a +2 bonus to whomever has the worst roll.
[roll4] any advantageous cover positions or routes by which to pull the old "higher ground pincer attack" against these soldiers?
[roll5] boosted by Cunning Knowledge & Collector of Stories to identify the soldier's creature type (presumably human, but swap in any more appropriate knowledge check) and activate Knowledge Devotion (a.k.a. "I Know Kung Fu")...which'll net me a cool +5 to attacks and damage rolls vs. these fools.
[roll6]
[roll7] fast dismount from the flyer when the time comes

OOC: on top of the above skills, Byron also uses Arcane Dilletante to Alter Self into a raptoran, draw his bow, and ready an action to attack if the soldiers attack the party...assuming he's got time for all of this.

[ThorgrimThunder]

As you descend into the clearing, some all the way to the ground, some just low enough to see what's happening and be able to shoot something if necessary.
The clearing is illuminated by a full moon, and stars, and as you descend something huge bursts from the trees.
This creature, more than twice as tall as any of you, with four arms, and burning eyes, is clearly not expecting you. Upon seeing you it bellows in rage, it's eyes flashing bright with fire. Almost unnoticed behind it is a beautiful winged woman, who is following its path. As they appear in the clearing 3 men in full armor stand up and draw steel.

Post in any order, but actions will resolve in this order. Once people have posted that go before NPC's I will post.
Surprise round:
Byron
Soldiers
Verdun
Aralia
Zarabeth
Valynon

Regular round:
Byron
Demon
Soldiers
Verdun
Aralia
Zarabeth
Valynon


http://s22.postimg.org/edysqzdbl/Map_1.png
In case it's not obvious, you are the dot colored for your text. The big dot with Verdun's color is his effigy.
The number is how high you are.


Heal (so when I said "forest giant" I meant "really big tree" not an actual giant. It probably was killed by wind or some kind of root rot if you still care.
Knowledge (local) they are indeed humans, and you may take said bonus.
Knowledge (geography) the ground close by is all relatively flat, any high ground is probably too far away to matter
Knowledge (nobility&royalty) the device on the shields of the soldiers is that of the kingdom of Irabek. The shields were concealed until the soldiers stood, but there is no mistaking it.

[Morcleon]

Applying the salve to her eyes, Aralia brushes the excess off of her fingers before summoning her staff and shield, the light surrounding her flashing out around her. She flies down, stopping her descent a dozen feet above Zarabeth's location. 'Wonder why the soldiers are hiding over here...'

Initiative: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]
Spot: [roll2]

[MikelaC1]

As the opponents begin to appear, Zarabeth casts upon herself, and her actions immediately begin to speed up, her spell granting her incredible movement abilities

Standard action: cast Haste, plus any ally with 55 feet who wants it can have it as well

[DoctorGlock]

Damn and blast. Verdun hated devils. He hated things that didn't have the good graces to burn properly when you dropped napalm on them. To the side he heard Zarabeth chanting a speed spell. All and good, but it was time to show a couple of immortal interlopers what new men with new ideas were capable of. He hoped. He had never actually tried his flyer in combat before...

'...why not just a winged horse? A griffon is cheap enough, you know?' It was a good question. It would be cheaper than anything Verdun could smith and loyal enough in it's own way, possessed with a brute animal cunning. What made his creations worth the exorbitant price tag? Who had it been that asked him that one? Susabei? Well, if if wasn't that genocidal warlord it was one of his contemporaries. What made Verdun's machines worth the gold?

Verdun rattled off a series of rapid instructions and beneath him the machine whirled to life, seemingly with a will of its own. It didn't have one of course, but it had a disturbing propensity towards an impossible intelligence. Commands were simple. Any golem could follow them. But golems could also learn. Associate orders with complex protocols, and somehow those mindless things could exercise judgement. And after spending painstaking hours wiring the cores of dead modrons into its primary interface, it could gauge the battlefield...

The big demon. That was the main threat. And Verdun cursed as he realized he had no way to actually hurt the thing. He hadn't come prepared for that. Feuding warlords with rusty falchions were his specialty. Humans died normally. As the haste spell rushed over him he felt his hands brush over the interfaces of various warding amulets before one came to rest on the hilt of a wand and an idea struck him. One that might just work...

The flyer's manipulater appendages scuttled across the ground, devouring the distance between him and the massive demonic form even as he brought the stok of his other wand to his shoulder, squinting down the sights along the burnt and darkened shaft. He breather out as his fingers tightened on the spell trigger and the wand snapped off a staccato burst of automagic wand fire, streaks of blue lightning burning from the wand's muzzle even as his other triggered the second wand with a sharp jerking gesture.

Savior's balls, I hope this works...

Actions:

Construct-- Use full move to get in range. Constructs are smart enough to make tactical decisions of their own volition, even lacking mental attributes. I dunno how it works, D&D is weird.
Verdun:
Swift: Activate Amulet of Tears, all 3 charges, +24 temp HP
Free, quickdraw wands: Dimensional Door, Shocking Ray
Feat, dual wand wielder, activate two wands, the second takes an extra charge. Primary, twinned shocking ray (5 charges), secondary dimensional door, up, range 600, construct flight kicks in from there on the next turn after a 150 foot drop.
Wand in buckler (always on hand): wings of cover, immediate action in case I am still in range of shenanigans.
Contingency: Wall of Force, interposed between self and any spell or attack that would incapacitate or kill in the absence of the contingency firing.

To Hit: Vs touch AC

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

Vs SR, per ray

[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]

Damage
[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]
[roll16]
[roll17]

[OMG PONIES]

"Both evil, but of conflicting philosophies..." Byron mutters to himself, "Law and chaos, devils & demons, dogs & cats living together! The big one's a glabrezu; hit hard but avoid elements, specifically electricity. The lady's an erinyes; fire won't do a thing against such denizens of Hell. If you lot could deal with them, I'll welcome our visitors from the great state of Ibarek." As Byron speaks, he darts a look in the direction of the soldiers. The illumian does not need the gyrations or invocations of most arcanists; simply the cogitations of his advanced mind are enough to conjure forth greasy liquid at the feet of all three soldiers, leaving them on precarious footing.

Surprise Round
Free action: 5 ft step to end adjacent to Verdun (to the North).
Standard action: use 1 inspiration point & Arcane Dilettante to cast grease in the middle of the soldiers (Reflex save DC 18 or fall prone, save repeats every round they stay in the area and they can only move at half speed without Balance checks).

[ThorgrimThunder]

Byron reacts quickly, spinning to the soldiers Byron utters something that most would consider gibberish, but something splats down where the soldiers are. They fall prone and then struggle to stand up and move towards the edge of the greased area.



Reflex 1[roll0]
Reflex 2[roll1]
Reflex 3[roll2]

[Ridai]

As the arrows guide the way, now one of them is guided against the threats present, this one flying straight towards the winged woman, returning to Valynon straight away after its attempt.

Standard Attack the winged woman with a Raptor Arrow (auto-bane)
[roll0], [roll1] + [roll2] damage

[Morcleon]

Watching as Verdun and Valynon launched beams of magic and arrows of death, Aralia closed her eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath. It had a been a while since she had last unleashed her inner light. Probably too long. Her eyes opened, and with it came a bright flash of golden orange radiance, her fiery wings bursting out from behind her and a glow suffusing her entire form. "Dealing with these two won't be hard at all!"

She pointed her staff at the other winged lady and fired out a coiled sphere of light. Stopping in front of her face, it shimmered briefly for a split second before erupting into a warped field of lucent chains, lashing and wrapping around the devil's form.


Standard: Cast chilling tentacles centered on the Erinyes. All within 10' take 2d6 cold damage. If it fails an opposed grapple check, it takes 1d6+4 bludgeoning damage.
Grapple check: [roll0]
Ambient Damage: [roll1] cold
Grapple Damage: [roll2] bludgeoning

Alissa:
Standard: Fire a light ray at the erinyes.
Ranged touch attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4] untyped (ignores DR)

[OMG PONIES]

In raptoran form, Byron takes to the sky and draws his bow. The illumian takes aim at the soldier in the center of the ranks. Demons and devils weren't quite his wheelhouse, but dealing with the rank & file of a large human bureaucracy? That was his cup of tea, with just a spot of cream and perhaps a drop of honey. He exhales and, in the still pause between breaths, lets fly an arrow.

Move action: take to the skies
Standard action: attack!
[roll0]
[roll1]

[ThorgrimThunder]

As the party confronts enemies on both sides the soldiers barely struggle towards the edge of the grease, as Verdun waves his hands and stone encircles the trio and begins entombing them. One manages to roll out of the way just in time, the other two are trapped. As the soldier struggles to regain his feet he pulls something from his armor and breaks it open. Meanwhile Aralia and her lantern archon turn to the demon and devil. Rays of light streak out, and tentacles of darkness grow up from the ground grasping at all within reach. Zarabeth chants a spell, and Valynon fires an arrow. The Erinyes struggles, but succumbs to the strength of the dark tentacles. The Glabrezu instantly breaks free and charges Valynon, striking him in the air.
Results
Two soldiers trapped beneath a rock dome, the third struggling to his feet and breaking open a locket. Alissa fires a bolt of light hitting the Erinyes for 8 damage. Aralia's chilling tentacles grab hold of the Erinyes, but she resists their damage. Zarabeth hastes herself and the rest of the party. Valynon fires an arrow into the grappled Erinyes for 13 damage. Byron turns to the last soldier free and fires an arrow into the Human for 17 damage. The Erinyes is grappled by the chilling tentacles, but the Glabrezu escapes and charges Valynon dealing 17 damage
Erinyes grapple[roll0]
Moves up and forward
Charm Monster on Aralia (roll will save)
Glabrezu grapple [roll1]
Charge Valynon and attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[Ridai]

With a demon right in his grill, Valynon is not equipped to fight like this. With a few quick gestures, the elf blinks out of existance and appears higher in the air, outside of the demon's range.

Defensive casting for dimension door [roll0]

HP 71/88, AC 19, buffs persistent divine power, magic vestment, greater magic weapon, haste (11 rounds?)

[MikelaC1]

Zarabeth, on the other hand, is more than equipped to fight a demon, and furthermore, she's willing to do so. With barely a moment's thought, her swords acquire a wraithstrike nature (melee attacks go against touch AC) and both of them are flashing in strikes against the demon. Not only is she looking forward to the battle, she's pulling the fiend's attention from Valynon.

Sword #1
[roll0] & [roll1]
[roll2] & [roll3]
[roll4] & [roll5]
[roll6] & [roll7]

Sword #2
[roll8] & [roll9]
[roll10] & [roll11]
[roll12] & [roll13]
[roll14] & [roll15]

HP: 122 AC: 46, Touch: 24, Flatfoot: 41 buffs: haste, wraithstrike

[MikelaC1]

Sword #1
[roll0] & [roll1]
[roll2] & [roll3]

Sword #2
[roll4] & [roll5]
[roll6] & [roll7]
[roll8] & [roll9]

[DoctorGlock]

Stone was trustworthy. A constant. You knew where you were standing with it. Not as versatile or progressive as steel and brass, but oftentimes tradition was a good metric. Two out of three ain't bad, Verdun thought as he brought up a dome of stone and encased the hapless soldiers in an oubliette. Sometimes those doddering old fools have something...

He couldn't really hurt the demons. That would have to change, but time wasn't a luxury he had to work out a solution. Oh well, we have the 'armory of the righteous' to deal with them. Let my little tools deal with the mere mortals...

Jerking another wand out of his bandoleer he placed it next to its near twin in the stirrup and squinted down its sight, fingers tightening on the spell trigger as his machine lumbered towards the last active soldier outside the dome. Really, he'd be better off if he had the good sense to hide where it's safe...

It was a moot point. He gauged the range and his fingers tightened, bolts of automagic wand fire streaking towards the man with the implacable staccato grind of death itself.

Well, different actions since the battle has changed. Swift for amulet of second chances, 3 charges for +24 THP. Full for Dual Wand Wielder: Scorch ray/shock spark. 2 charges ray, 1 charge spark.

Current buffs: Magic vestment (on buckler, armor), factored onto sheet because 12 hour duration
wands in hand: ray, spark. IN wand chamber and ready for immediate action: Wings of Cover

Scorching ray
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

Shocking Spark, +3 to hit vs foes in metal armor
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]

EDIT: Whoops, add 2 to each ray's damage for devotion (essentially my minimum roll since i didn't bother to roll

[OMG PONIES]

As Byron surveys the scene from the sky, for once there are no words. There is only the hushed flapping of his wings against the air like the heartbeat of a baby within its mothers womb, the whisper of arrows drawn from the quiver like a chef's knives drawn from the block, and the thwip of the arrow leaving the bow like a tiny, deadly sprinter. There were no words because there was no need for them; there was only death.

Full attack against human outside of wall of stone.
[roll0] boosted by Aid & Knowledge Devotion
[roll1]
[roll2] boosted by Knowledge Devotion
[roll3] boosted by Aid & Knowledge Devotion
[roll4]
[roll5] boosted by Knowledge Devotion
Full attack against erinyes.
[roll6] boosted by Aid & Knowledge Devotion
[roll7]
[roll8] boosted by Knowledge Devotion & Cunning Insight
[roll9] boosted by Aid & Knowledge Devotion
[roll10]
[roll11] boosted by Knowledge Devotion
AC: 20 (16 Flatfooted, 15 Touch, 14 Flatfooted & Touch)
HP: 81/81 (with 17 temporary HP)
Buffs:

-Alter Self (3/800 rounds)
-Aid (3/80 rounds)
-Knowledge Devotion: humans +5 (all encounter)
-Knowledge Devotion: demons +2 (all encounter)
-Knowledge Devotion: devils +3 (all encounter)
-Cloak of Displacement: 20% miss chance (constant)

[ThorgrimThunder]

Aralia & Alissa
Since the Glabrezu seems to be the biggest threat, Aralia & Alissa swing behind and fire rays into it's back.
Alissa
Ray vs. touch [roll0]
Ray damage [roll1]
Aralia
Ray vs. touch[roll2]
Ray damage[roll3]
Grapple vs. Erinyes[roll4]
Grapple damage[roll5]
Ambient cold damage[roll6]

The last remaining soldier lets out a scream as rays of fire burn him, and electricity arcs through him. Despite that he remains standing. Aralia and her familiar swoop around the fight and fire their magical rays into the back of the Glabrezu, ignoring the incapacitated Erinyes for now. Zarabeth bravely attacks the Glabrezu in melee, distracting him enough to allow Valynon to escape with dimension door. Byron fires twin arrows into the soldier struggling to recover from Verdun's rays, dropping him to the ground where he lies bleeding. The Erinyes roars in frustration as she continues to struggle with the tentacles surrounding her. The Glabrezu roars in pain, and spins to face the new threat presented by Zarabeth, and unleashes everything he has at her, swinging with all his powerful limbs, attempting to disable her before she can strike him again.

Results
Two soldiers remain trapped Verdun fires his 3 scorching rays, and 3 Shocking Sparks which all hit the third soldier for 91 damage. Byron also targets the unfortunate fellow hitting the soldier for 18 damage dropping him to the ground. Zarabeth strikes the Glabrezu for 33 damage Aralia and Alissa both strike the at the Glabrezu for 31 damage as well. Valynon makes good on his escape, dimension door-ing away. The Erinyes remains trapped in the tentacles, but resists all damage, the Glabrezu attempts to strike Zarabeth, but is foiled by her armor. The soldier drops dead to the ground.
Erinyes grapple[roll7]
Glabrezu Pincer 1 [roll8]
Glabrezu Pincer 2 [roll9]
Glabrezu Claw 1 [roll10]
Glabrezu Claw 2 [roll11]
Glabrezu Bite [roll12]

[Ridai]

Staying in place, Valynon's arrows fly, both those that guide him and more mundane brethren.

Full attack at the glabrezu. First two arrows are Raptor Arrows, last two are normal ones.
[roll0], [roll1] + [roll2] damage
[roll3], [roll4] + [roll5] damage
[roll6], [roll7] damage
[roll8], [roll9] damage

HP 71/88, AC 19, buffs persistent divine power, magic vestment, greater magic weapon, haste (10 rounds?)

[MikelaC1]

Seeing that her weapons are connecting but her damage is limited, Zarabeth takes a moment to charge both of her weapons with the power of her spells'
Burning a third level spell for another +6 to all strikes
Her blades flash once again, as her battle style seems almost to be a dance rather than a display of swordsmanship, and she continues to slice the glabrezu

[roll0] & [roll1]
[roll2] & [roll3]
[roll4] & [roll5]
[roll6] & [roll7]

[roll8] & [roll9]
[roll10] & [roll11]
[roll12] & [roll13]
[roll14] & [roll15]

[MikelaC1]

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

[OMG PONIES]

With the human soldiers either dead or imprisoned in stone, Byron turns his attention to the lesser of the two Infernal creatures facing them: the erinyes. "I haven't prepared any witty one-liners for fighting devils," he laments, "...but I suppose I can wing it." He shrugs, unimpressed at the joke and feeling uninspired, and lets two arrows fly. "Stay close to me," he admonishes his friends, "I'll keep you safe even if I can't do much against these two."

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2] boosted by my last point of Inspiration for this encounter
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[Morcleon]

Tapping her wrists together, Aralia launches a swirling bolt of energy at the Glabrezu, the light lashing out to capture it.

Grapple vs. Erinyes: [roll0]
Grapple damage: [roll1]
Ambient cold damage: [roll2]

Standard: Fire eldritch blast at the Glabrezu, using Bracers of the Entangling Blast (2/3 uses left) to entangle her target. Deals 6 points of damage each round for [roll3] rounds.
Ranged touch attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

Alissa Standard: Fire light rays.
Ranged touch attack: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]
Ranged touch attack: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]

[DoctorGlock]

Well, the mortal threat was down, Verdun mused. Of course the demons were still in the fight, and notoriously hard to kill. Fire? Right out. Lightning? Not a chance. Some sort of high velocity gun? Verdun looked down at what he had. Nope. Light mortar wouldn't even scratch it. Thermobarics ran into the same fire problem. Nothing lying around he could even grav-sling into the suckers. Grumbling he reached into a deep pocket and fumbled for a large brass spell casing and rammed it into the construct's launcher.

What had that grizzled old paladin told him about demons? 'Shoot her in the cooter.' No, that was succubi. 'When in doubt, ground them out.' Yeah, it was probably that. Aralia had the right idea. Verdun yanked the lanyard and launcher recoiled with a dull roar as the smoking spell streaked across the distance before detonating between the demons. Inky blackness rose up from the alchemical hell contained within, wrapping around the the fiends.

Black tentacles, DC 19 grapple unless i am very much mistaken. CL 11+4 str+4 size?

[ThorgrimThunder]

Verdun joggles around with some different wands, selecting one that looks promising he fires off a nearly identical spell to the one that Aralia had used earlier, this time encompassing both demon and devil. Valynon and Byron fire arrows whilst Aralia along with her Lantern Archon fire magical light rays into the huge demon, as Zarabeth strikes with her swords once more. The Erinyes struggles, but can barely move, although she seems to be nearly immune to the damage being dealt she screeches something to the GlabrezuYou fool, she's protected, use magic, or attack someone else. The Glabrezu roars in fury as more arrows and sword-slashes hit home. He shrugs off the grappling tentacles that try to restrain him as he makes an oddly accelerated gesture, before attacking the warrior in front of him once more.

Results: Verdun casts Evards Black Tentacles on both demon and devil. The Erinyes is grappled, the Glabrezu remains unaffected. The Erinyes takes 0 damage from all sources. Aralia and Alissa fire at the Glabrezu for a total of 21 damage, 3 rounds for entangling blast. Zarabeth swings her swords connecting once with each against the Glabrezu for a total of 26 damage. Valynon fires his bow, connecting with 3 arrows against the Glabrezu for a total of 24 damage. Byron fires off two arrows, but only connects with 1 against the Glabrezu for 4 damage. The Glabrezu effectively dispels Zarabeth's greater mage armor, and shield. Haste remains unaffected, and deals 54 damage with 4 attacks.



Erinyes grapple 1 (1d20+14) [27]
Erinyes grapple 2 (1d20+14) [29]
Glabrezu Quickened Dispel Magic on Zarabeth:
Concentration [roll0]
Greater Mage Armor [roll1]
Shield [roll2]
Haste [roll3]
Glabrezu Pincer 1[roll4]
Glabrezu Pincer 2 [roll5] damage [25]
Glabrezu Claw 1 [roll6] damage [8]
Glabrezu Claw 2 [roll7] damage [7]
Glabrezu Bite [roll8] damage [14]

[MikelaC1]

Being an Abjurant Champion has its advantages, as with only the merest of thought and gesture, Zarabeth's greater mage armor snaps back into place around her.

[roll0] concentration, swift action to cast an abjuration spell

Never missing a beat, her swords continue to weave their pattern of pain around the glabrezu, intent on sending him back to the Abyss that he belongs in.

[roll1] attack & [roll2] damage
[roll3] attack & [roll4] damage
[roll5] attack & [roll6] damage
[roll7] attack & [roll8] damage

[roll9] attack & [roll10] damage
[roll11] attack & [roll12] damage
[roll13] attack & [roll14] damage
[roll15] attack & [roll16] damage

[MikelaC1]

[roll0] attack & [roll1] damage
[roll2] attack & [roll3] damage