Seige of Iron Fiends (IC)

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver takes quick note of the crystal. Glowing now, which means Miranda had approved of his return. Of course, she never said he had to return immediately. Reaver would just take care of a little errand, then return to his master.

Reaver goes up to the corroded plaque and pulls out some chalk and a piece of paper. He places the paper over the plaques and takes a rubbing of it with the chalk. He puts the paper and chalk back into his bag and strides into the structure. He heads to the second mound to the right and raps it three times.

Wake up, draug. Do not be alarmed; I have forgiven your feeble attempt to kill me earlier. It is just your nature, I know. But now I have a business proposition for you and your friends, one that I believe will be mutually beneficial for all of us. I just want to talk; I give my word that I will not destroy you again today unless you or your friends attack me first. Now emerge and hear my offer.

[DracoDei]

"Very much so!" (Ouch!)

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava chuckles at Kurt and his hammer's antics. "You make a storied pair," she says. Then, spotting the movement of the paladins, she falls silent, a grainy, husky quiet pierced by shallow breaths. "They've found something. Shall we follow them?" she murmurs. She makes no move to do as she suggests - her mind mainly on maintaining a safe distance between the paladins and herself - but it's a tough battle with her curiosity.

[LordotTrinkets]

Toft and Merome: (Since we're going back into narrative mode now, I'm assuming that Merome does some healing on Ukki)
As Merome draws nothing on Ukki with his finger, some of the captain's wounds start to seal up, and his eyes grow clearer and more focused. Ukki looks up at Toft and gives a smile, but that slides back into a frown as exhaustion overcomes him again. "It's so hard to say. Most of what they said from the plaza to here was chatter in their own tongue, but there was one who spoke to me in a way I could understand... in a way."

Ukki then rolled his head to look to the central pillar, "Through the chattering to its own kind and the cutting of my skin with daggers, I managed to get an idea of what they were trying to do. Something about sacrifice and 'the serpent' whatever that is."

Maria: First, Motya tries to carrying him over to you, but being barely able to stand up by himself, he too collapses. After him, the two swordsages bring the Wheel over. When brought to you, the Wheel lied on the floor almost immobile, only his fingers and face managing to twitch.

The friendship blast goes straight to the face, and after the light of it passes, the Wheel calms down. Though his face his blackened from bruises, a look of wistful awe comes over him as he stares up to the ceiling. Then his eyes close softly, and he goes to sleep.

Off from where you came into this chamber and in the distance, you see the flicker of torches.

Five seconds of no response slide by, then the tips of fingers creep through the edge of the stone. The stone slides away to reveal four draug crowded by the door, one noticeably swollen in size, most the size of a normal human, none as large as the one you struck down earlier. All are quiet, and they stare at you warily, cautious of the one who defeated one of their kin. The one at the front holds out an open hand and tilts its head in curiosity. "Go on."

There are two more within that radius after Haparand. Umlan being the closer, followed by Faluk.

Recovering from he blow, Kurt responds, "I see no reason not to, we've followed them this far."

You follow the paladin through the alley way and down into the gutter gears. To your left is signs of a rather large battle. Rats the size of cows are strewn across the floor and rolling along the gears and there are two gremlin corpses as well. However, the company goes the other way until they reach an area that has a little bit of light shining. They stop for a short moment, preparing for a possible fight.

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver nods and casually drops his scythe, its adamantine tip sinking a few inches into the floor. Some background is in order first. For my own reasons I would like a minimum paladin and clerical presence in Aleton for a long enough time to complete some business in the city. After I encountered your friend and he withdrew, I realized he might be returning to a safe haven where he has allies, hopefully allies of similar power and interests. If I am correct, you wish to bring pain, fear, and death to the mortals. I understand. The hunt is exhilarating, even if it is against inferior prey.

You may wonder how I intend to draw the paladin from Aleton. Quite simply, I would dangle their most hated enemy in front of their nose: the undead. Your friend tried to drain my soul when we met. He failed for the same reason one cannot draw something from a vacuum. My armor is enchanted to be a hungry void to souls, able to devour those it touches. I have found that when a mortal loses its soul, its body and mind still crave and try to obtain one, even if it means stealing one from another. These creatures, wights I believe they are called, are much like a plague, quickly multiplying and devouring all in their path. I would start such a plague in Faruk, and the paladins will come to attempt to quell it. It is their nature.

It will take me approximately 24 hours to go to Faruk and begin the plague. I approximate that 48 hours from now the paladins and clerics of the region will have received word and begun journeying or arrived at Faruk. This is where you come in. I assume that the only reason the mortals in the area have any hope for long term survival against you is because a few of them have enslaved themselves to beings of immense power they call 'gods' and draw on that power to combat you. In 48 hours you will know that the strongest religious mortals in the area will be doing their perceived duty in Faruk. This will give you a small window of time relatively free of their interference. You could attack Umlan, Haparand, or some other place. I do not particularly care where.

There is one final thing I would ask of you. I believe it is in all of our interests that, following the attacks, the religious people chase shadows, expending their resources to combat a non-existent entity rather than ourselves. A lich would work well for that. It would be powerful enough to be a serious threat and have the resources to do so, but not quite the power that they might wonder why it did not show itself. I have five sheets of paper for this use. On four of them just write generic evil wizard taunts and boasts. On the fifth write "I see how you forge weapons against me. They will avail you naught." Sign all of them the same, Dread Lich X, Lord of Death and Decay, where X is some name of your choosing. I suggest giving it a Raider name. There is already hostility against them, and it would give the masses a nice scapegoat they can reach. Perhaps you can even indicate in some of the notes that the "Lich" is motivated in part by the Raiders' treatment. The religious figures might join in persecuting the Raiders, or they may try to defend them. Either way, more work and distractions for the paladins. I will need the fifth note and one other. The other three are for you. I will leave one at Faruk, and you leave notes wherever you go. Perhaps even leave some at further attacks in your future, lay the blame at this fake lich. The reason I ask you to write it is because the handwriting of all the letters must be the same, and I do not want it to be mine. You should get more future use from the persona anyway as I doubt I will use it much after this. I suggest using blood to write the notes; it seems hackneyed evil enough. I am afraid I will not donate blood, but some small animal should provide ink, or you can draw it from yourselves if you are too impatient to catch one.

If all goes well, the paladins will come rushing to Faruk, leaving a weaker defense wherever you attack. The paladins will panic, rush there too late, and assume other outlying villages are threatened. This should draw attention away from Aleton, allowing me to conduct business there. For their part, the paladins will be on a futile hunt for a non-existent lich, so they will not be hunting for you or I.

That is my offer. What say you?

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava nods curtly to Kurt (ha, she thinks) and continues with measured steps and wary eyes. Holding her breath and with her face scrunched in disgust, she crouches to inspect the corpses.

Search: [roll0] (For if the gremlins had anything hidden on their persons)
Hide: [roll1] (In case the paladins can see us from where they've stopped)
Knowledge (any she has ranks in): [roll2]
Knowledge (any she doesn't): [roll3] (These are just-in-case rolls, for if she finds anything)

[DracoDei]

"Someone is coming! Could be friendlies for all I know, but best not to count on it!" says Toft, hoping to be loud enough to attract the attention of his allies without the people coming being able to make out his words.

He points with both arms towards the direction he saw the light coming from, and then telekinetically draws his best swords pointing them in the direction his arms were pointing, and floating them as far in that direction as he can without moving from his current location.

[5ColouredWalker]

Maria frowns in the direction Toft pointed, turning invisible with a motion as she quietly walks to a wall, seeking simply to move out of the way, leaving the Gremlin where he lays.

[Arch warrior]

While in the middle of healing he hears that their is another arcane target. He shouts out, "Oh boy, oh boy!" Lifts his right hand, and while it is glowing (bout not shooting) Luginn jumps in and shouts, "NO! Wait until they come out! Make sure they are an enemy! Then if they are against us, you shoot! This is why you were locked up in the first place." Merome now looks kind of disappointed.

Merome goes over to Toft and extends his left hand. He performs Cure Moderate Wounds [roll0]. He then cast Cure Light Wounds on himself [roll1].

[DracoDei]

"Thank you Merome. Thank you Luginn. I could use a little more, but does someone else need it more?" asks Toft, keeping his eyes fixed on the direction of the noises.

[LordotTrinkets]

Aava: (I kind of had to do this slightly differently than I'd have preferred, due to the fear of creating a time paradox effect) After the paladin get a relatively safe distance away from the ladder, you descend it as quietly as you can. Unfortunately, the grating beneath you was just a bit looser than was expected a makes a large rattling noise. On top of that, Kurt makes the same mistake... The major difference being that he does it with the added volume from easily twice as much muscle-mass as you have plus a solid gold hammer the size of his torso. Miraculously though, none of the paladin seemed to have noticed and they simply continue on their way.

With them still in sight, you pick over the bodies:
None of the rats have anything of value, obviously, and the gremlins only have slightly more loot. One has a magnifying glass, or the lens to one at least, while the other appears to have snagged a net from the harbor. All that's left after that is the morning stars and armor they possessed, although both can only barely be called either. The morning stars' spikes are really nothing more than shards of gear metal stuck onto a large pushpin, and the armor is entire cogs and coils slung over vital spots. Still though, the gnomes might find these of some value.

Other than the rust on the net, it appears like it might be of the most value. The twine mesh is tied together almost in a deliberate pattern and the twine itself is as smooth as water.

As for the battle that occurred here, one thing is for certain, it was more than just gremlins going about their daily routine. Bite marks in the gremlins indicate that the rats were attacking them, but the wounds present on the rats are odd. Some of them a scorch marks, but none of these gremlins obviously possessed anything that would allow them to burn their assailants.

Later, at the opening to the room, the leader of the paladin group points some more orders to his subordinates and they rush off into the lighted room. After that, he promptly turns to face you and Kurt, not surprised in the least by your being there. "All right, you two go ahead and do your own search. However, I want to make it clear that though I know one of you is able to defend himself and I presume the other is also able, you're both civilians. So please try to stay out of our way and not tamper with the scene."

He turns to look directly at you, Judging by how you're dressed, I presume that you have some talent with meter of chants? If so, would you mind if I were to call on your assistance if it comes up? As unlikely as it is that much magic would be needed to investigate the doings of a nest of pests, it's always good to be prepared."

Everyone else: The people in the distance approach, crossbows in the should slung position and armor glistening as silver. Each and every one of them bears the image of an elderbear resting under a tree on their breastplate, the coat of arms for the kingdom and the symbol of the paladin by extension.

They all stop and train their crossbows on the remaining gremlins, calling out "Weapons on the ground and hands behind your head!". All of the gremlins comply, although Motya is not able to support himself and quickly falls to the ground.

One of the paladin notes Toft and Merome helping Ukki, and comments "What happened to him?" he remarks, astonished by the condition of his captain.


The Draug all look at each other as you make your pitch. As you go on, one of the larger begins to smile, but says nothing until you're done talking. "It is indeed a good plan, however, we have had our own plans in motion for a very long time now. It is true that we desire the pain, fear, and death of the living, but we also crave all these as slowly as possible.

Perhaps you have heard of the sudden danger that has threatened the trade arteries. These are all the doings of us and... other contacts we have made to the end of causing famine and depression. The living are, you see, gluttons by necessity and excess of necessity, but they often confuse the two. Take away their beds and they believe they cannot sleep, cut their rations to the minimum after years of feast and they pretend to starve. By taking away their wants, what is taken in trade, along with many of their needs, they'll eat each other alive.

Your plan still, interests me though, as components of it might be of use to us. From our contacts, we know that a massive trade vessel from the Detchen Kingdom shall come to port in two months. If you were to bring about a plague of wights upon that ship, destroy all the cargo, and leave a false note from this lich, the impact would be far more catastrophic. It shall be perceived as an act of war, and all trade shall soon come to an end with them. What's more, the Detchen have been sympathetic to the raiders for a long time, magnifying the animosity nine-fold.

And as for your desire to have the pious class out of the picture for a brief time? Agree to create this ship of shells for us and it shall be done. What say YOU?"

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver stands silently for several moments.
"Two months," he muses aloud.
Reaver slowly nods his head. That timetable would actually work out better for me, as I will be able to take care of other pressing matters before the implementations. As for the change in target, truth be told, any diversion would suit my needs, though if this one creates a greater stir as you suggest it would then it would be the better option. I find it fortuitous that we could find an arrangement that is mutually beneficial and aligns with both of our stated interests. Very well, I accept your proposal, and I trust you speak for the others in making it."
Reaver lifts his scythe from the ground and casually rests it on his shoulder. "In two months our faux lich will strike, and I trust you will ensure the religious authorities will be suitably occupied. I believe this business agreement to be concluded. If you have nothing else to say on the topic, I will take my leave."
Reaver stands there for a second to give the draug a chance something. If it doesn't, he turns around and casually exits the way he came. He gives a brief nod to the mound where the draug he bested now rests. Reaver retraces his steps, listening to see if anyone or anything follows. If so, he will get five hundred feet from the archway before turning and confronting the follower. If not, he will continue to the beach and reenter the water. Once under the waves, he will activate his hat to alter his appearance. He appears to be a 6'2 tall grizzled fisherman in the proper attire. His hat becomes a fisherman's cap and his scythe becomes a fishing rod. He follows the shore for a mile before reemerging closer to the city and continuing in. He makes his way to Miranda's shop. Once there, he takes out the glowing crystal, knocks on the door, and waits.
Spot: [roll0]
Listen: [roll1]

[5ColouredWalker]

Maria remains perfectly still, her breathing quiet as she observes the Paladins. Thus far there's no reason for her to step out and fight, and running only runs the risk of attracting Attention.


Knowledge Local and Religion for more details on the paladins:
R: [roll0]
L: [roll1]

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava hisses through her teeth at all the noise and freezes in the nearest shadow for a second or two to make sure everything's safe. Then she tiptoes over to the corpses. She wrinkles her nose, both at the dead things themselves and the shoddy quality of their gear. She takes the net, hanging it securely at her belt so she doesn't have to touch it.

She jumps to find the paladin chief looking straight at her and Kurt. She listens to his words with a growing sly smile.

"All right, caught," she says, amused. "I promise to be careful."

Then she nods. "I'd be happy to assist," she says, a bit tartly but sincerely. Well, mostly. In an idiomatic sense. Willing, yes. Happy? Hah.

[DracoDei]

Toft relaxes mostly and withdraws his swords closer to himself, but does not sheathe them.

"Short version sir? He was kidnapped by deceptive means, by a certain group of gremlins, called the Wheels I think. We joined forces with a different group of gremlins to rescue him. Speaking of which... I don't suppose one of you could help me out with my lingering paranoia and these remaining injuries all at once?"

You are PROBABLY just what you looke like, but how about one of you demonstrate that you have Lay on Hands just to be sure?

Or are these not that sort of Paladin? As in:
"Holy Knight? Yes, Paladin charcter class? Not so much..."
Sorta like Miko was a Samurai by status but not by Class.

[Arch warrior]

Merome fells like asking a question for himself and asks the Paladins "what god do you pledge your allegiance to?"

[LordotTrinkets]

Aava: This is just extra details for you, Aava is also aware of the conversations going on. By the large pillar in the center are two tall shafts of wood lodged in the ground. Each with rope tied on at shoulder and ankle height. There is a maintenance platform raised up to the balance wheel in the ceiling, not low enough to make you need to crouch should you head that way though, there are a few more giant rat corpses scattered across the floor along with some gremlin bodies on the floor and maintenance platform. Some of the gremlins have a human skin tone, most have a feint tint of blue though.

Everyone: The guards listen intently to Toft's summary, and lower their weapons away from the gremlins. A guard, one of the older and more experienced judging from his greying hair walks up to Toft and pats him on the arm (this heals ten points of damage).

Before speaking to Toft, the paladin looks at Merome with a bewildered expression. "Why, Odr, of course." he turns back to Toft, Most interesting story sir, I look forward to hearing the full version later."

Ukki stirs off of Toft's shoulder to stand totteringly back onto his own two feet to address in men. Yes, but for now, a quick sweep of the area is in order. Men, look for anything out of the ordinary, then dispose of the bodies outside of the city limits." All of the guards comply immediately with their command and scour the area. One of the men makes a quick frisk of the gremlins lying on the floor, but stops at the one nearest Maria.

"Captain Ukki, this one here's still breathing!" He calls out while nudging it with his foot.


Religion: They're loyal to the clan of gods known as the Vanir. Since the Vanir are primarily concerned with day to day issues, so are the paladin. While the clergy of Odin and other Aesir are focused on military concerns and other major decisions, it is the paladin guard who make the cog trains run on time.

Odr is the official, but currently missing leader of the Vanir, and the most popular god for paladin to worship. The ceremony that would have been performed by Ukki is done in memory of Odr, in the hope that he will return.

Local: Essentially the police force of the city.

All the draug nod in agreement to the plan and bow courteously as you leave their barrow. No thing disturbs on your way back home, but you do notice that the seal you so quickly dispatched is now gone.

Noraran once again opens the door for you, "Oh joy, it's back now." he gripes, "First paladin are prowling the streets, then you have to be back here. If it weren't for the paladin not being concerned with suspicious behaviors of the legal residents... and objects... of the premise, they'd be busting down the door in minutes I'm sure of it." Having once again vented his feelings toward you, Noraran points back to the study. "Bargath went home, but the master is still in there. It sounds like they had a stressful time with whatever they were doing."

In the study, Miranda is sitting at the table with several piles of notes and books. Miranda is quietly scanning over the book titled "Elixirs of Life" while nibbling on a gingerbread dwarf (AKA gingerbread man).

[Arch warrior]

Merome decides to help out in the search and scans the area with "Detect Magic" to find any magic in the area. Concentration check of [roll0] to see how long it lasts.

[5ColouredWalker]

Maria considers for a moment whether she should step forward, but she doubted word of a singing 'ghost' had spread far just yet.
And she might have been a little cranky with how long a day and night it had been... And enjoying the thought of 'playing' with the rest.
Voice rising a bit, Maria's voice sings out.
"Mine, mine, mine minemine/A days work has it's rewards/Mine, mine, mine minemine."

With that, the unconcious Gremlin is shifted slightly, as it's clothing moves to reveal an invisible hand upon it.




[roll0]



Disguise Self from Hat, appearing to be a teenage girl of 4'4".

[DracoDei]

"That will do, and I thank you kindly!" Toft says and sheaths his swords.

"Oh, good, a source of information then?" is Toft's only comment regarding the gremlin as he keeps an eye on one of the exits to the room for lack of anything he feels more competent to do.

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver simply walks inside, not even bothering to acknowledge Noraran or dignify him with a response. As he walks, drops the disguise, resuming his natural appearance as he nears the study. He quietly stands at the doorway, waiting for Miranda to acknowledge him.

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava gives the woodwork an appraising sort of look, hoping she won't need to pass under the (maybe not likely to fall, but it's not impossible) platform, keeping an ear open to the discussions. Paladins of Odr. How sweet. She tucks away the urge to smile condescendingly. Such trust in their god paladins have.

They do, however, do beautiful work. Glorious deeds in shining armor - perfect for the pages of a tale. She resolves, as soon as she's safely sat down by a warm fire, to thoroughly fictionalize this entire business, complete with symbolism of shining silvery armor illuminating and cleansing the dark, filthy clangor of this... she kindly settles for area.

A teenage girl appearing out of nowhere only strengthens this resolution; enchantresses always spice up a story.

She turns to the leader of the paladin group. "Is there anything in particular you'd like me to do at the moment, sir, or am I free to stand around looking helpful? I can't wake this little fellow up, but I can get some talk out of him if you need me to..." A sly smile plays across her face. The slight emphasis on sir isn't enough to be insolent, but she draws it out in a way that's certainly mildly irreverent.

[LordotTrinkets]

As everyone's attention is drawn toward the still living Wheel, a playful, childish song begins to echo from somewhere above it. "Mine, mine, mine minemine/A days work has it's rewards/Mine, mine, mine minemine." is the words to the song sung by the voice of a young girl. Naturally, the paladin searching the bodies nearest there raises his crossbow in case the source of the song decides to 'strike' a sour note.

Other paladins also form a perimeter around the gremlin. Ukki meanwhile ignores Aava's slight and answers her question, but in a hushed voice. "Unless you can tell me whether that ghostly songstress over there is friend or foe, it might be best for you to keep a distance for now." He looks over to Toft and Merome through the corner of his eye and asks them a question. "Did either of you restrain that gremlin, or do you at least know who did?"

There are two magical presences currently at work in the chamber. One is the residual presence of what appears to have been an enchantment. It is coming from the floor beside the central pillar and between the poles that Ukki was tied to. The other aura is quite active, and coming from above one of the gremlin bodies, the one near the mysterious singer. This one is composed of a moderately powerful illusion.

You see a teenage girl of 4'4".
You see Maria, who looks like this:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6b/cf/96/6bcf96fb53781ca38369200cb21c0d80.jpg

Miranda looks up from the paper she's looking at and waves it slightly, as to beckon you to come in and sit. She scarcely looks away from the document, but speaks to you nonetheless. "Good to see you without dents." Miranda begins, I expect that there won't be any more worries for tonight, the paladin have been put on high alert in this area, so any riots will be dispersed before they start. Better yet, they are put under orders not to investigate the behaviors of the residents of this district, so you may wander the streets with no concern.

My investigation into that tome with Bargath, however, proved to be most ineffective. Barring a few very tasty recipes, there were no useful tidbits to gain from it. That aside, we also did a further look into the elements I used in your production. Bargath found it odd that you lack any mercury or sulfur, since that contradicts many of his theories about producing life. However, there is a distinct amount of copper in your body, which is associated with some of the more... intimate parts of making natural life, so there is at least that." As Miranda mentioned copper, she started to become a little more engaged in the conversation, but redirects the conversation. "By any chance, did anything happen to you while you were outside the city walls?"

In case you're wondering where the copper might be, it was primarily used for its magical essence, so there isn't any actual copper in your body (except for a few of the more replaceable parts of your body, which are all pretty small).

[DracoDei]

Toft communication his answer to the questions accurately and adopts a more battle-ready posture (not me among just how he holds his body).

((This post is poor, but I wanted to make sure to post something before my surgery).

[Arch warrior]

Merome ignores Ukki, and instead says "Luginn do you see anything over by the song?" He says pointing towards to song:elan:

Merome's [roll0]
Luginn [roll1]
Do I get another bonus for knowing that I am looking for a magic source.

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava bobs her head towards Ukki in acknowledgement. "I can try."

She turns to look at the singer, narrows her eyes, and reaches up to outline the lower edge of each of her eyes with a finger. She chants a few words in counterpoint, sing-song fashion: "Missä olet? Tulla pelaamaan..." She repeats the incantation until it blurs together into a drone and studies the girl intently as long seconds drip by.

Casting detect magic, unfortunately rather redundant but the best she has, and taking the 3 rounds to get the most out of it. Have some Spellcraft checks.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver bows his head in respect and places the crystal on a table. He pulls out the rubbing of the plaque he took in the draugr's lair and hands it to her.Incidentally, yes, and it may bear interest in your desire to determine my consciousness. While I was out a foolish draugr tried to end me. After defeating it and following its broken form to its lair, which contained a plaque that I made a rubbing of if you wish to examine it. I discovered more of its kind and found that they had schemes and intentions of causing long-term suffering for the living. Not a terribly surprising goal for such creatures I admit. They were impressed by me and we made a deal: I would help spark a civil war among the humans in two months, and they would draw the paladins away from the city for a time. I hoped to use the latter opportunity to recover the two other...automatons that attacked and the man with the unusual hammer stopped. Then you could study both the remains of one and a sentient specimen that you could dissect and examine as you wished. I hope this will help you make great progress in your research. My only concern is that the automatons might be moved until then, and another method of recovering them would be necessary.

On a related note, if I, your servant and one unskilled in research and magical study, might make a humble suggestion that may assist your quest. As of now you have only myself, a single subject on which to base your hypothesis, though I hope to change that in two months. Would it help if you had...transitional research subjects as well? A bridge between a living creature and and a crafted conscious? I told you before I was sent away that I had discovered that I dubbed artiganics, creatures I believe to be artificial living creations. Perhaps if I could bring some back to you it may give insight on the creation of sentience in an organic, which is more generally understand than inorganic creatures such as myself. Perhaps they are even infused with copper, which may lend credence to your idea. If I might ask, what exactly is the significance of copper in my body?"

[5ColouredWalker]

The spot that had sung lets out what sounds like a cross between a snort and a childish laugh, before speaking again. There's also the clear sound of footsteps towards Aava, then away from her.

"Motya asked for me to help. Made a bargain for it too. I like bargains..." The words sound as if said by an absent minded kid, with quiet footsteps then indicating someone unseen. Suddenly the steps stop.
"This one is Motya. I hope his friends among those still awake can agree. If you are panicked, perhaps one of you could wake him... I think he's still breathing." The arm of Motya rises up from where his body lay, as if being held up.



There's a magical at the edges of Aava's spell's range that doesn't correspond to anyone being there. Almost as if on a person nose to nose... They then walk out of the zone, if you follow them it stops at a downed gremlin. Following rounds reveal that the source is radiating lots of little illusions, a fair bit of abjuration, and other sundry auras.

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava turns her head, spotting something a little to the left of where she'd pegged the singer as presumably standing. She tracks the movements of the voice's source with her eyes, trying to keep it in view and study it. For a moment it apparently passes out of sight - she looks around for a moment, mildly confused - and she moves to follow it, approaching the surviving gremlin. "His friends? More gremlins?" she asks the voice, and turns to walk around the gremlin's unconscious body and face what she can see of the speaker. "What were the terms of this bargain? Who are you?" Hsst, too many questions at once, she immediately scolds herself, but she's already said it, so oh well.

[5ColouredWalker]

There's a steady clucking from the invisible thing holding the Gremlin's arm.
"So rude. But I was once. Yes, and the other answers if you can convince one of your paladins to heal him... If nothing else, it means you won't need to carry him."

Suddenly the Gremlin's hand drops and the aura moves back accompanied by the sound of more footsteps... It's moved maybe a few feet back.

[DontEvenAsk]

"Oh, of course, my apologies. I meant no offense; I have a curious nature." Aava backpedals verbally with the speed of a deer. Internally she seethes at the many injustices of the world, but then, since when is that anything new?

She turns to Ukki. "Whoever she is, she's wrapped in magic. I recommend healing and waking that gremlin, just as she says. That way we can get answers out of both of them. I wouldn't treat the little fellow too harshly, though - her deal with him might involve anything, and if I'm not mistaken she just told us there's more gremlins in here somewhere."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

Wow, she really doesn't have any ranks in Diplomacy? Bad DEA. Build better.

[DracoDei]

"Yes, someone stabilize him and then let us get out of here as quickly as possible." says Toft continuing to look/listen carefully for approaching enemies.

[LordotTrinkets]

Ukki nods to Aava and Toft, and motions to one of the paladin nearest the gremlin of interest to apply some healing. The underling holds his palm to the creature's chest and the gremlin begins to cough and become more responsive. The Wheel becomes more conscious, but as it became quickly aware of how outnumbered it is, it offers no signs of hostility. It instead just wrinkles its lip into a sneer and keeps its head down.

"All right spirit, we have honored your wishes. Is there more that you would like us to do, or may we hear your story?" Ukki asks.

Miranda takes the impression of the plaque and scans over it. "I'll have to do some research into this. It's hard to tell what the word is, but something about the few legible letters makes me feel like it's the name to a high standing house of the past or present, but I just can't put my finger on which. Regardless, I would also like to speak with these draugr if you could manage to persuade them. The dead have been known to hold many and powerful secrets. Perhaps they will know something that relates to the nature of life and spirits.

I also see no consequence in acquiring one of these artiganics you've mentioned before. Just be cautious about how you go about it. They might very well have enough to match you on their own, and they have the strength of numbers at the very least.

Breaking into the paladin stronghold is still a most dangerous of exploits though, even with their numbers reduced. What's more, they would go into a frenzy hunting for the stolen automatons once they returned... Of course, the idea of studying those two is all too tempting. I will allow you to do this, but you must keep the violence to an absolute minimum and do your level best to ensure that this can't be traced back to us. Create false trails if necessary, I don't care who they might lead to instead. Assuming that I have the time to do such, I will also give you decoys to at least delay their suspicions of them being stolen.

The copper was used to fine tune the empathic connection between you and your wearer. I hoped it would make it so that it would grant you ability to sympathize and respond to the wearer's instinctive feelings. Something that appears to have failed entirely." She shrugs, "Might as well make a learning experience from it though."

[DracoDei]

Toft continues to be watchful.

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver considers for a moment, then says, It occurs to me that the artiganics are not very subtle, even by my standards. When I first encountered them, they asked an unknown person on the street to acquire a very specific and rarely used body part for them. Would it be possible to find out about purchases or removal of unusual body parts in the area? Merchants would most likely remember and would probably not have much incentive to hide the information. This could be used to track down where they are located.

Perhaps we could solve the artiganic problem and the paladin problem in one fell swoop. I doubt these creatures meet the paladin's standard of escaping smiting; if the paladins found out, say through anonymous tips and convenient evidence, those crusaders would likely try to exterminate this evil in the midst of the city, distracting enough to perform a smash and grab on constructs. The paladins would likely blame whoever is behind the artiganics for arranging the whole thing, desiring to steel these other artificial intelligences for their own study. I doubt they would expect a third party. As for obtaining an artiganic body, perhaps hire a thief with magical talent beforehand to sneak into the chaos and make off with a fallen artiganic, using magic as necessary.

As for the draugr, they strike me as the type who would strongly desire something in exchange for speaking to them. If not offering something new before the raid, perhaps accompanying me to see them shortly afterward with a new bargain to offer."

[5ColouredWalker]

"Hear that Motya? They think I'm the spirit you bargain with... Ha. No, I am but an intermediary requested to conduct a bargain." At the end of each section, Maria's voice rises as if someone greatly amused. Quiet steps take her away from both the Gremlin and the Paladin's, though not too far. When Maria speaks again, it's with the voice of a 'teen' who's well and truly lost interest however.

"As for the bargain, ask him, it's not my purpose to share the details of deals. I consider them confidential even if such isn't requested unless one would offer something worthy in return. And the hour grows late, with my mood is waning as the night continues."
Indeed, if one could see past all Maria's illusions they'd see her eyes beginning to show the fact she's been without sleep.

[DracoDei]

"Then we are done here everyone? Shall we depart?" says Toft.

[DontEvenAsk]

To Toft Aava says, "If Motya can walk. I, for one, want to hear everyone's side of this story." She peers disgustedly in the general direction of the recovering Wheel gremlin. "Someone can carry that one," she says with a sneer.

Then she turns back to the magical aura(s) she was addressing before. "You. Spirit. I admire your reticence, but please understand, I'm a singer of stories. I could even make a bargain... later, of course, at a less inconvenient hour." She frantically tries to think of something - preferably information - that she values enough to make a palatable trade but not enough for it to be too personal to share. A myth or folktale has no functional value, making such a trade a comparison of fish to fowl; information about Aava herself is of course strictly off-limits. Perhaps, however, some knowledge of Aava's homeland, passed off as something she picked up in her travels... that could be useful to some, in the right circumstances, and few have that knowledge, what with its being such a closely guarded secret as to turn her out over it. As an exile she's no longer sworn to secrecy, after all. The queen would be foolish to think that Aava won't break the same rule twice.

And if this "spirit" turns out to mean the huldra queendom ill? All the better. As far as Aava's concerned, those who still live there instead of choosing exile over complacency deserve whatever they get.

At no point in all of this does Aava consider that maybe she's not as good at this whole "moving on" thing as she thinks she is. :smallbiggrin:

Then, without giving the "spirit" any more acknowledgement, she turns towards Motya and crouches - careful not to touch the no doubt filthy floor with anything other than her boots - so as to look less threatening. "Motya?" she inquires, softening her voice a touch. Sucking up to the vermin, what a life. "I hear that's your name. Would it be prying if I asked about this deal your ally over there speaks of?"

[Arch warrior]

Merome stands back. Thinking about what the voice said, and the fact that he now that this is an illusion not a spirit. He decides to think, and let the rest speak.

[DracoDei]

Toft continues to remain alert, looking more frequently towards the source of the voice than anywhere else, but trying to not get too distracted.

[LordotTrinkets]

Motya looks off toward the spirit, then turns to face Aava with a confused look on his face. "Maria?" it asks, "Che brought to pillar make pact. Great vheel and pillar vorship Vheels. Power chrom chem Vheels get. Maria break ties."

Maria? She was brought to make a pact with the pillar. The Wheels worship the Great Wheel and pillar. They get power from them. Maria was to break their ties with it.

At the mention of a name, Ukki brightens up a little bit, "Maria then!" he thens looks off toward the disembodied voice, "If what this 'Motya' creature says is true, Maria, I can only assume that you also helped in my rescue. For that you have my thanks. Ukki walks forward and stops right beside the blue gremlin, "Men, tend to Motya's wounds and escort him and this poor one to HQ."

The troops do as they are told, recovering Motya enough that he can stand on his own, and take them through the corridor. With the men gone, Ukki then turns to Toft and Merome. After giving Toft a close look, he speaks. "I remember you two now. You're Toft, the servant of Freyr, who was keeping a watch over the temple plaza. And you're Merome. You were... also being watched by Toft.

I would like to thank you two for coming to my aid. In honor of you're courage, I'd like to make you honorary members of the paladin guard. Would you be willing to accept this offer?"

"That sounds like a plan. Of course, we'll also need a place to hide them. The safe that I store magical items in should be sufficient. Especially since it is resistant to magical searching. Modifications will be needed in order to prevent escape from inside, though.

And yes, perhaps it would be best to talk to the drag after all of this has been finished."

[DracoDei]

"I would greatfully accept despite my failure to prevent your abduction in the first place. I would suggest you talk to the raven regarding Merome... just to be on the safe side." says Toft.

[BilltheCynic]

"As you request. If I might ask, did anything of note happen in the city while I was away? The dangers that you worried about, did they manifest?"

[DontEvenAsk]

"Maria," Aava says as the paladins patch up the gremlin, mostly to fix the name in her mind. "Thank you, Motya. You have illuminated much." She bows to him rather than curtsying, her hands clasped behind her back. Insufferable roaches, she thinks. Only gremlins would worship machinery, to her mind. Or gnomes, but she's only seen the one of those so far, so it seems more likely that they don't have much to do with this matter, as a group.

Aava's stance relaxes very slightly as most of the paladins and the surviving gremlins depart. Still with her hands behind her back, she stands out of the way, in some patch of slightly greater darkness, as Ukki speaks. She can't talk herself out of a soft chuckle, heh, as he concludes his offer.

After hearing Toft's reply, she adds softly, "I must commend your achievement, initial failures notwithstanding. Would you be willing to describe the events to me in greater detail at some later time - maybe if we end up headed in the same direction getting out of here, say? I'm a poet, you see, and deeds like this don't happen every day." She holds herself coyly as she speaks - one leg behind the other, shoulders angled away from Toft, chin down, but making strong eye contact. Flattery needn't be verbal, after all.

I see no reason to force you to write a full description of what's happened, since on a meta level I can always just read previous pages of the thread to get the rundown. Since Aava doesn't have that luxury, I thought asking IC-ly would be prudent; I don't expect you to produce a novel, maybe just a line as Toft starts the story and then a general statement that he continues it, or whatever else would be in character - including not telling her, if it so happens. Aava just likes to fictionalize things, and I like having excuses to write poetry. :smallbiggrin:

[DracoDei]

"Does anyone object to this? I wouldn't think this matter would be privy, but I am checking just in case." asks Toft, looking at the remaining paladins and Ukki.

(If nobody objects:)

"Well, I think the place to start would be when Merome, Luggin, and myself were standing guard. Merome was a bit bored, what with his... unusual head. I did a few tricks to entertain him and then..." begins Toft. His account focuses on the facts with anything else clearly denoted as such, like a soldier giving an after-action report. He often finds himself having to go back to an earlier point to add more that would interest a story-teller, but not a commanding officer.

[5ColouredWalker]

For a moment, Maria considers departing from the group but she decides against it, instead following along quietly with tired steps as she listens to Toft's retelling of events. During the retelling she comes to the conclusion that she'd seperate from them once topside to return to her camp... She new of enough alchemical substances that she'd be able to light her way instead of stumbling in the dark, but it'd be a cold passage.

As Toft concludes his recount, Maria speaks up.
"You have a truly boring method of storytelling, but it's rather factual from what I saw."

[DracoDei]

"She's the story-teller I think... I was just providing her with material in the best way I knew how. Hardly my fault I have more experience with giving reports to tacticians rather than entertainment-seekers." says Toft, his tone making it obvious he took no offense at Maria's critique.

[Arch warrior]

At the mention of a reward, Merome's mind goes back to something said way back at the begging of the adventure. He perks up and says "CAN I HAVE AN APPLE?" :elan:

Luginn Looks at Ukki and says "Sorry about his mental state. To be a member of the paladin guard would be a truly great honor. While Merome will only be able to provide little more then heavy artillery, and healing, I will try to speak wisely on his behalf." :nale:

Merome then interjects and again says, "I REALLY WANT AN APPLE!" In addition Merome realizes that this spirit was surrounded by an illusion, not conjuration spell, figures that Maria is really a mortal. And given the amount of time that she has been unseen, that this must be an Invisibility spell. Because he does not want an invisible person following he casts "Detect Magic" again so that he can find her and walk next to her so he can poke her with a need. Thereby destroying this illusion. Incase I need to make a touch attack roll [roll0].

Just because he is crazy dons't mean that he is stupid. He can still figure things out.

[DontEvenAsk]

"Indeed," Aava says, in response to Toft's speech at large. "An interesting tale, however told. Thank you. I believe I can spruce it up a little." At this she smiles reassuringly and tilts her head towards a rough estimate of Maria's location to indicate that she's responding to the both of them.

Merome's outburst startles her, and she rocks on her feet briefly before reassuming her standard relaxed posture. Luginn's words earn a grin from her, however; she has lost count of how many tales from huldrefolk literary tradition feature a reckless, hot-headed youth and her (usually her, a peculiarity among humans but normal among the matriarchal huldrefolk) more rational animal assistant.

[DracoDei]

"Incidentally, you might want to get some additional information from Luggin before deciding about that apple." says Toft to Ukki, trying to keep a straight face and level tone of voice.

((Bluff [roll0] ))

[LordotTrinkets]

"There were a few times when they almost did, but no. The paladin were able to stop all the budding riots before anything serious happened. Ironic, I suppose, we're making plans to rob them after they did such a good job keeping our home safe."

Ukki gives both Luginn and Toft a confused look. "Both of those would be very useful. How well, exactly, can you keep him in check? I wouldn't want him to be handling a guard job just to see him destroy what he's intended to protect, after all."

While the grown-ups are talking, Merome is busy yelling at the air and swinging a needle around

[5ColouredWalker]

The first poke misses Maria without her even noticing, the immediate follow up and over-extension however creates an odd vibrating sound where Merome's attempting to needle, and one can see his hand suddenly go wide... To Merome, it feels like her hand's being slapped away by a mostly ethereal shield.

"Knave and Cur! Desist now or it will be your blood drawn!"
With that, the soft steps of the 'spirit' become a fair bit louder as she quickly moves away from Merome, unseen to him with a motion Maria draws magic into herself, feeling invigorated.


Move: 30ft away from Merome, standing next to/behind a paladin if possible.
Standard: Transformation Sequence, gain 9 temporary hitpoints. I don't see that needle drawing blood anytime soon.

[DracoDei]

"If you were talking to me as well as or instead of Luginn I can only say that we managed well enough today. Have to take it as it comes to for me personally to give you a better answer than that." says Toft to Ukki.

[Arch warrior]

Luginn looks at Ukki and says, "I thing that I can hole him back pretty well. He has;t blown up any of the gremlins that have surrendered or have helped us yet after all." :nale:

Merome is still in the swinging his arms around. Convinced that he will hit something eventually. :elan:

[BilltheCynic]

Reaver nods. "Indeed. I hope they are not as successful at defending themselves as they are defending the streets. Regardless, such tasks are a time away. These past few days, by your permission, I have been indulging in my own curiosities, but I am first and foremost your creation and your wishes are my commands. Are there any tasks you desire accomplished?"

[DontEvenAsk]

Aava startles slightly at Merome's... well, it's too protracted to be called an outburst, she supposes. Outpouring is more of a term for memetic deluges than for periods of frantic activity. Madness is too general, since it's an expression of his... eccentricity that's the operative thing, not the root trait itself. She ponders.

...okay, that's assault.

"Wiseling, stop," Aava says, her voice low, reverberant, and commanding. "You will not find out more if you cause your subject to abhor you."

As per the racial traits (http://pastebin.com/D5DqE1q4). Her tail, which is tucked into her pants leg, gives a noticeable twitch along with the rest of her when Merome goes off. Hypothetically y'all could make this check at any time, but I felt now was especially plausible for an opportunity to notice. I hope this isn't overstepping my bounds as a player; this was primarily meant as a reminder that y'all (my fellow players) can totes roll to call Aava's human bluff at any time.

The promised poetry to arrive within the week, probably.

[DracoDei]

Toft looks oddly at Aava, but elects to leave the matter for a more private moment, although he is always glad to meet a new race... or perhaps a unique condition?

[LordotTrinkets]

Ukki nods at Aava's demand, "Agreed, however, I believe that we have pestered this spirit for long enough. I need to get things sorted out with these gremlins." He walks away with a bow, and he looks at Luginn as he leaves. "Raven, please try to bring your gnome under control"

"With all of that out of the way, the only thing I need your help with is a bit of forging. If you could give me a hand."

And this concludes the long night: Here's the shiny new IC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508090-SOIF-Things-are-about-to-get-surreal&p=21460566#post21460566)

[Arch warrior]

Luginn looks at Merome and says, "Merome, if you don't calm down you won't have even chance of getting an apple" :nale:

Merome calms down in a way that shows he is annoyed, and then follows :elan:

[DracoDei]

I believe we have moved on to a new thread?