IC [3] Warriors of Blackvale

[Felhammer]

http://s15.postimg.org/fh1anq0a3/Svak.png

The party heads south west, back to the wondrous city of Vlastov. The journey is long and tiring, as the horses are not well suited to travel in the thick woodlands of the Fiac. It takes six hours to return to the bridge where the giantess still rests, then another few hours to arrive in Kvak, a small village that sits astride the mighty Westbow. The village is not too different than one you would find in Blackvale. It has a collection of buildings surrounded by a timer wall. The only oddity is that the village does not have a true motte and instead simply places the lord's manor-house on a tiny hill, with no fortifications unique to the keep itself. Elk goes to fetch a room or two at the inn when the lord strides out of her manor to greet the newcomers. She introduces herself as Reggot Pelikanova, Lady of Kvak. After the introductions, the good lady practically begs Halbrecht and his companions to stay at her manor house for the evening. Dinner had already been served by the time the group had arrived, so the cooks brewed some thick stew for the guests. The bedrooms were spartan but nice. Once more Halbrecht was allowed to sleep in the Lady's bed (she and her husband, chose to sleep in a guest room). Morning dawns and the cooks have prepared a wondrous breakfast full of quail eggs and roasted eagle. The party then gathers their kit and heads out to Vlastov.


http://s15.postimg.org/d0zh9vi7f/Vlastov.png

It only takes three hours to ride to Vlastov. As you approach the grand city, the first thing you can see is the massive crystalline monolith, shooting high up into the clouds. Elk informs the party that the horses must be re-stabled and that his fee is due. As you trot over to the stables, you spy a drow leaning against a fence, mindlessly thumbing through a small blue book. He smiles as the group approaches, his ivory white teeth standing in stark contrast to his purple-black skin. He waves his hand and calls the party over. "Hello friends. I, Zid, the great and powerful wizard, have been keeping my eye on you." He holds up a black button and chuckles as he looks at Aisha. As the woman looks at the button, she suddenly realizes it is from her backpack. She thought it had fallen off! "You dropped this when we were in underland, I apologize for not returning it but... I felt it best to hold onto it just in case I needed to scry you.

He nods to everyone, "Your friend and his... Wife decided to return to Scrollford for the time being. Apparently the King of Blackvale has sent a formal request for aid to the lords and ladies of Maghemia." The drow then looks at Raka, "I take it you have decided to continue your misadventures with these folks? What they face next will not be easily overcome. They venture into the belly of the beast. A smart person would forsake this fellowship and return to a simpler, easier, less death-filled life."

With an uneasy glint in his eye, he nods sadly at Raka when she confirms her desire to stay with the group. "Well... I suppose should be off. OH!" The drow slings his backpack to the ground and pulls out several potions, "These are for you guys. I bought them from the local Church of Kaerin. I do not enjoy going to the broth... Church but I decided to make a sacrifice for you lot. Each potion will heal your wounds, fill your belly and... Engorge your muscles. It's a proprietary blend, or so I was told by a very beautiful Madame... Priestess..." He looks awkwardly at the ground before bringing his gaze up to meet Silith's, "The Mistress of the Forge also crafted five cold iron and ten mithral arrows for me. My beloved likes using them, so I figured you would be the same.

At any rate we best be off...


http://s4.postimg.org/fpjwwpum5/Sanctum1.png

The drow holds out his hand and yells, "Ancient kings, ancient lords, who has the right to rule? Hellfire! Ancient kings, ancient lords, who has the right to rule? Hellfire! Ancient kings, ancient lords, who has the right to rule? Hellfire!" A fiery orb manifests itself. The group touches the flame and is instantly teleported to Hellfire.

Suddenly, you find yourselves in the dark. The rancid odor of dead bodies and filth permeates your nostrils. It is almost enough to make you puke. Zed uses his magic to cast a light spell on his staff... Only it doesn't work. He tries three more times, each time coming to no avail. he sighs as he reluctantly pulls a torch out his sack and lights it, thus illuminating the ten by ten dungeon you now find yourselves in. The walls are made from stone, thick stone by the looks of it. The wooden door is quite hefty and nearly fifteen feet tall! The floor has been flooded up to your calves with chocolate-colored water. Two dead bodies float over in the corner of the room. The liquid has bloated their flesh, chunks of their body drift all across the surface of the water...

[Felhammer]

After traveling through Hellfire, one is normally tired and weary. You, after this journey, are particularly drained. You do not know why but you seem to recall a beautiful woman wearing furs, sitting atop a throne. She had an snow-colored owl next to her... She asked you... She asked you... For help...? Something... You can't seem to recall.

You feel something hanging on your neck. When you look down you see a wooden pendant with a snow-colored owl on it...

http://cache.desktopnexus.com/thumbseg/1259/1259560-bigthumbnail.jpg

[Estralita]

Upon being dumped in the water filled dungeon, contacted by some mysterious lady who would probably claim to be a goddess, and getting her magic blocked, there was really only one option for Raka. She began swearing. Loudly and blasphemously.

[Felhammer]

The drow wizard looks over at Raka and laughs, "I take it you don't like tiny indoor swimming pools?"

[Estralita]

Raka glared at the wizard. "I don't like a lot of things." she said shortly, before attempting to cast Dancing Lights and glancing around the chamber, trying to get a sense of the area they were in.

Just double checking the magic blockers. Also, Perception Check:
[roll0]

[Rysc]

Fare

Hey, look. Exactly what I expected. Not that that makes it any better.


"I don't like a lot of things."

Fare raises an eyebrow at Raka's sudden outburst and comments, "You know you kind of did sign up for this. It's not like we expected to end up anywhere but a dungeon." She pauses to makes a face at the disgusting water. "But...yeah, I don't really blame you."

After sploshing hesitantly a few steps, the druid reaches for her spell pouch. With a coin in one hand, she begins experimentally casting a spell, hoping that a slightly different source of magic would still work.

Fare's just trying to see if all magic is blocked, or if divine magic might be able to sneak through. Attempting to cast Light on a coin.

[Lord Of Mantas]

*** The previous evening... ***

Halbrecht sat upon the Lady Pelikanova's bed, feeling more than a touch out of place in his current situation.

In the old days I would never have dreamed people would vacate their own beds for me. Now it seems to be turning into a regular trend.

Worry creasing his brow, the knight turned earl sat up in bed, placing his head in his hands as he massaged his temples.

The giantess... Meeting with the council of Vlastov... The gnoll problem... and we've already wasted a full day. On the upside, if we eliminate the giantess or convince her to stop the Hellfire block, we can use it to get to Clearwater instead if the situation her calls for our greater attention. But even so...

He collapsed backwards onto the bed, a soft prayer sneaking through his bearded lips.

"Almahara, guide my hand."

For a minute, he lay there. Then, grabbing a candle, Halbrecht once more pulled out pen and paper and began to write.


My dearest Arna,

A lot has happened since I previously wrote to you. Believe it or not, as I've journeyed to Bastion Isle to return the Raven's package, among other things... I have been made into a landed noble. A vast expanse of land in Northern Maghemia is now under my control, among other responsibilities, and I find myself overwhelmed by the combination of this and our original mission.

As before, in case the worst should happen to us, I would ask that you safeguard these missives - and make sure that everyone, one day, knows the story of...


Warriors of Blackvale


There is no way I could fit all that writing back into here. Go to the linkage! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19902798&postcount=818)
Second verse, same as the first! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19902798&postcount=818)
We're almost (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19902801&postcount=819) to the new content...
Here we are! Chapters 8, 9, and 10 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19902801&postcount=819) can be found here.


Chapter 11: A Nimrod in Sheep's Clothing1

As Ash left the company of the Heroes of the Maw for parts unknown, they found theselves in a bit of a condundrum. With her songs and supportive magic, Ash had given them the spirit and strength to fight, providing an edge in combat that had come to form a key part of their strategy - and without her, a rather large gaping tactical hole had filled the void. This was compounded further when, in the inn where they had stopped to rest, an elven boy named Eleber sought their help retrieving his friends from a marauding fire giantess.

At that point, however, fate saw to drop a few surprises in their lap. The first was a undine sorceror with blue hair, who confidently strode through the doors of the inn and toward the gaping Heroes of the Maw.

"Hail, good travelers! I have been sent at the behest of Duke Onyxlord to aid you in your-"

But the sorceress never finished, as to a body, with a great *sching!*, the Heroes of the Maw drew their weapons and pointed them at her neck.

http://www.celwalls.com/large/201305/4426.jpg

"I don't know what your game is, Baavesi, but you're not going to fool us THAT easily!"

"Who's Baavesi? My name is-"

"Oh, come on! It's so obviously you."

"Uh, guys? Are we sure it's her?"

"Aisha, do you know of any other undine sorceresses with blue hair running around Blackvale?"

"Look, seriously, I have no idea what you're talking-"

"Silence! I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish, but unlike last time, I'm not alone! You're going down, and the Lord of Nightmares will follow!"

And with a great bellow from the Heroes, and a squawk of fear from the hapless sorceress, they proceeded to chase her all around Vlastov, while a nearby bard followed behind playing a jaunty tune (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ).

...okay, I will confess that didn't actually happen, Arna, but what actually happened was a rather fortuitous coincidence. It got me to thinking of a funnier possibility. In any case, what actually happened was this.

With Ash gone, as we talked to Eleber, three people came in through the inn door. Two of them, a man and a woman, hurried off to the bar, while the third - a young, elven woman - approached us. She had the look of an experienced fighter about her, dressed in a mithril chain shirt over a long red tunic and brown breeches, and armed with a runed scimitar. Brown eyes matched up with short, bobbed brown hair, and she approached us with a sense of purpose and a very blunt introduction.

"Would you happen to be the ones looking into the actions of a murderous undine sorceress?"

And that, Arna, was how we met the newest member of our party, a magus named Raka Spelldaughter. After introducing herself, Raka revealed that the Duke of Blackrock had apparently sent her to help us out. Given our concerns about him and the nobility in general, I am reluctant to open confide our deepest secrets in her, but so far she has been a dependable teammate and has displayed no ulterior motives. I remain optimistic that, with time, we will be able to fully integrate her into the team and trust her with the biggest secret of all (namely, Kasmund's true allegiance).

Raka's arrival, however, was not the only surprise. The man and woman who had come in with her came over to us as well, bearing the Duke's Seal of Command by way of independent verification - and revealed himself to be none other than our long-missing teammate Luc! Apparently, the reason for his disappearance after the ball was because he had been extended an offer by an Ambassador from Maghemia to attend the College Arcane. The end result that he is now apparently the Sixth Wizard of Camroth, Mage to the Fourth Circle of Rhaegos, Ambassador to Blackvale, and heir to Rubyview.

Also, he is 40 years older due to magic messing with the flow of time, and is married to that Anrika woman who brought down the dire wolves on us. She is pregnant with their child.

Anyway, after procuring horses for us, and discussing general tactics and the terms and conditions of membership in the Heroes of the Maw with Raka, we set out at Eleber's direction to find the Fire Giantess and rescue his friends from their sanctum. (Apparently, they have mammoth mounts up in Eaglemane. I could not help but let my inner child squeal a little in joy when I heard that.) That was when things all went to hell.

We made for a lodge owned by a friend of Eleber's, who we thought could help us cross a river - only to find it burned to the ground, a bunch of gnolls gathered around it. Running forward, Eleber shouted at them, and they replied with mocking jeers at how they had eaten his friend while she was still alive.

Combat was joined, and with great effort we beat back the gnolls. Things were going well until Silith slew one of their number in particular, a goblin spellcaster named Pezmigs. Horrified, the leader of the gnolls - a half-giant, saw fit to summon one of the old gods - the Lady of Wind, Zephyne. The gnoll leader - Bulog, if I remember his name correctly - begged Zephyne to return Pezmigs to life, and the fifty foot colossus then ordered us to explain why we had killed him. When Silith replied that they had been trying to kill us, Bulog called her a liar - and then we got context.

According to Bulog, the owner of the inn had been harboring adherents of Kastori, who had attacked the Frostpaws and killed many, including cubs. He claimed that they had asked her where they went, then beat and killed her when she refused to answer before eating her. (Note that this contradicted their earlier taunt where they had claimed to have eaten her while she was still alive.) He then went on claim that we had struck first (technically true) and that they had no intention of fighting us.

Fare interjected at this point, going back a little further. She explained to Zephyne about how Bulog and the Frostpaws had killed the woman and burned her hut to the ground, and then gloated over it as we arrived in the clearing - making it clear that we had attacked because we were responding to that act, not because of some desire for wanton slaughter, and that while we detested the acts of Kastori's servants we could not condone their actions either. Zephyne considered these words, then shrunk down from colossus size to mere giant size, and asked a question.

"Do you seek vengeance? You have already murdered his warriors. Will your thirst for revenge not be slaked until you slay the half-giant chief?"

It was at this point that I myself spoke, giving a response to Zephyne to the effect that the matter was not one of revenge, but justice, and that I could not allow the killing and live cannibalism to go unpunished. She then replied.

"The strong shall thrive, and the weak shall die. Be warned, however, if you slay the Chief, then the other Gnoll tribes may rise up to challenge you. After all, death calls for more death. It is the way of the world."

She then told Bulog that if he wished to see Pezmig resurrected, he needed to defeat us in combat. Naturally, we were victorious, but when it came down to the final gnoll present - their standard bearer - rather than continue fighting, he opted to talk, and spat at us. His speech was long, but it boiled down to a few essential points. He began by calling us bloodthirsty barbarians, killing his friends and family for the sake of a woman we did not know. He then called us out for not thinking to talk before fighting, claiming that they would have compensated us for the woman's life, and accused us of killing them simply because they were gnolls.

Then, he related a very interesting fact.

He described Eleber - the elf-boy who had lead us there, you recall - as the son of their most hated enemy, who had butchered many of their kind, including the standard bearer's son. Eleber's mother - or, as they called her, the Green She-Devil - had, in point of fact, been the one they were pursuing.

Initially dumbstruck, I responded that the first thing they had done when we entered the clearing was brag about the killing, and that this had not established the good faith necessary for diplomacy to occur - but if he wished to find another way, then we could talk about the Green She-Devil. The standard-bearer replied that if we wished for peace, the only thing they would accept was her head - along with her gnome companion.

Who, upon further interrogation, fit Galathan Woodsprint, the Ratfolk Flayer's description exactly. And upon turning around, Eleber was nowhere to be seen.

Infuriated by the fact that we had been deceived, we immediately chased after the elf-boy, trapping him thanks to Fare's magic. After a swift round of interrogation, he confessed his true allegiance amid a storm of insults - a group known as the Romnid, lead by one Father Hulrick, whose mission was to kill every single member of any race that wasn't completely humanoid. He then, after mocking Aisha's appearance, ordered me to set him free, as I had no right to detain him.

That was when I revealed that I was actually the Baron of Lake Westbow (among other titles), and very, very much did.

Horrified, he spilled some more information - namely, that under Father Hulrik's guidance, they had killed the old Baron of Westbow and slaughtered the entire Axepaw tribe, and were likely to target the Fangpaw tribe next. The Fire Giantess was also real, and the mother of the leader of the Frostpaws, who we had killed in battle along with their strongest warriors. He ended by taunting us about how she was going to be pissed when she found out.

Raka took the first step to earning my respect at this point when, in a fit of inspiration and pure charisma, she delivered a blistering speech deconstructing Eleber's thoroughly disgusting beliefs. I wish I could remember it all, because it was the stuff of legends, but I run short on paper and memory space.

After gagging and tying up Eleber, then tossing him over the back of Adamant like a sack of potatoes, we then made for a nearby fort commanded by one of my new vassals, Fort Mastermore. We were greeted by one Baron Baylan Lenka, a mighty and well-built man. After informing him of the situation, he immediately jailed Eleber and took us to the tower, where we spent the evening planning out a strategy to bring peace to the region. He also spoke with me at length about obtaining the approval and obedience of my new vassals.

Other highlights of the evening included a rather decadent dinner, speaking with Raka concerning what we'd learned thus far about Baavesi, and with Starman about the particulars of the philosophies of Almahara versus those of Sonbahar.

The next day - today - we began our journey back to Vlastov, and it started with both one of the happiest and saddest moments of my life. As a gift to celebrate my ascension, Baylan granted me a wonderful boon - my very own gryphon mount, a young formel named Suntalon. It was joyous because, at long last, I have obtained a companion who truly will be able to withstand and fight on equal footing with anything Baavesi throws against us. On the other hand... It was a sad moment, switching my bond from Adamant to Suntalon. Ever since you left, Arna, Adamant has been one of my only friends, and the decade we spent together contained times that I will always cherish - and as such, once I established my bond with Suntalon, I took extra care to reassure him that he would never be forgotten before bonding him for the time being to Starman. Eventually, as part of his training, I will have him train and raise his own mount, but he is need of a fine warhorse in the here and now, and there is none finer than Adamant.

Once Starman finds his own mount, though, I am building an enormous paddock for Adamant so that he will never want for anything ever again and live in safety and comfort for the rest of his life.

Shortly before arriving here in Kvak, where we sleep tonight, we also met another person with gifts to give: A gnomling named Kasdal Lordson, who after briefly masquerading as a merchant (before I told him my true identity) extended me a rather vast sum of money and credit (to rebuild Clearwater) as a token of esteem. He also informed us that the Fire Giantess, to confirm what Eleber had said, was very real - and that she had apparently taken hold of a powerful artifact that was preventing Hellfire teleportation to Clearwater, redirecting it to her dungeons.

1. Nimrod, of course, is used here in the classical sense. Or possibly not. Your call.

And that is our story in its entirety, as it has progressed so far. Keep these papers secret and safe, in someplace only you can access. If we should fall, assemble a group of trustworthy heroes to carry on our investigation, if for nothing more than the good of Blackvale and the people of the Amethyst isles.

You are, and always will be, my dearest friend. Be safe.

I saw a troglodyte charging.



*** Meanwhile, back in the present... ***

Halbrecht

With a noise of disgust, Halbrecht shivered. He had expected to end up in a dungeon, true, but given Kasdal's description, he had hoped to end up in a relatively clean cell.

He must have ended up somewhere else. There's no way you could get a cart out of here.

Concerned at Zid and Raka's failed attempts to cast, Halbrecht turned to them. "Is magic not working here? Any ideas why?" It was also at this point that he decided he was glad to have left Adamant and Suntalon behind, as there was no way they would have done well in here. But on the other hand...

"Are you holding up alright, Starman?"

Please say it's an anti-magic field. I have a wonderful cutaway gag prepared for just such an occasion.

[Felhammer]

Both Fare and Raka try to cast spells but to no avail. Zid sighs, "Anti-Magic field by the looks of it. Whether it is blanketing the room or the building, I cannot say, milord."

Starman, who is easily waist-deep in the muck, retorts, "We don't need magic. Just brawn and brain! It is like Sonbaha..." He shoots Halbrect a worried gaze while flashing a guilty face, "It... Doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here... Milord."

[Estralita]

Raka sighed as her spell failed to manifest. But unfortunately, cursing the gods wasn't going to help in this situation. They needed to think. Raka began going over in her head what she knew about anti-magic fields, and sort of power they might be up against.

Knowledge (Arcana) Check:
[roll0]
On anti-magic fields, how difficult they are to cast and maintain, weaknesses, and so on. Because why think when you can roll a knowledge check?:smallwink:

Also, did Raka learn anything from her earlier Perception check?

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

At his pupil's worried mention of Sonbahar, Halbrecht chuckled and gently squeezed his shoulder. "I never said that you couldn't mention Sonbahar, Starman. You lived your whole life under his teachings, after all - and his ways are not devoid of virtues to live by. All I ask is that you keep the words of the goddesses in mind, as well."

At Zid's words, Halbrecht took another look around at his fellows - many of who specialized in whole or part in magic - and groaned, both from worry and exasperation. "Really? An anti-magic field?"


*** Elsewhere, on our own earth about six years ago... ***


"Oh, you just pulled that one out of your ass, didn't you!?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fhGS0tAcQg&t=2m51s) Spoony spat, exasperated at the latest plot development in Final Fantasy VIII. "So, why can't they just use magic to overpower the guards or to summon the goddess of ice to blow the door off the hinges?" He adopted the manner of a clueless writer. "Uh, there's a... There's a... Anti-magic field!" Full blown anger returned to his face. "Oh, of course! So someone just invented that, huh?! How the hell does that work!?"


*** Meanwhile, on a local access TV channel... ***


"How does it work, you may be asking? How? With SCIENCE, of course!" Standing proudly in front of the TV cameras in his usual lab coat and swirly goggles, Dr. Insano proudly held up the latest wares he was hawking up to the lens - an anti-magic field generator kit. "I'm Dr. Insano! It's what I do! And if you order today, I can have the Dr. Insano Anti-Magic Field Generator Kit overnighted to you! Never again be humiliated by such do-gooder arcane superheroes like Dr. Strange, or John Constantine, or Zatanna! Dr. Strange... What's he supposed to be a doctor of, anyway?! I don't see him doing any real SCIENCE! But now you can shut them down with the new Dr. Insano Anti-Magic Field Generator Kit, with its three settings: Starting from it's lowest economical green setting, David Blaine, all the way up to its highest industrial strength power, David Copperfield! No magic will touch you, and it's all thanks to the new Dr. Insano Anti-Magic Field Generator Kit!" The mad scientist cackled with glee.


*** Back with Spoony... ***

"I'm sorry, but if anti-magic fields have been invented, and they're common knowledge, why in the hell is the undine sorceress such a big problem!?" Briefly, Spoony blinked. "Wait... why did I say Undine? I don't think I even know that exists at this point in time..."


*** Meanwhile, back at the plot... ***


"But anyway, Starman's onto the right track. With no magic, we'll have to rely on our cunning to get us through this - and should it come to fighting, to strike hard and fast. Ideally, though, we would be able to find the source of the field..." He turned to Raka. "You look like you're hard at work remembering things, Raka. I don't suppose you have some good news?"

[Felhammer]

The door is unusually warm to the touch. There is also a one foot by one foot hole in the ceiling.

Anti-magic fields are usually small in size. You would guess only the size of a room or two, maybe an entire level of a tower at most. It would require an antimagic artifact of some kind or an incredibly powerful mage to blanket the entire building in the field.

Starman nods at Halbrecht, "I understand milord."

[Estralita]

Raka grimaced. "Maybe, maybe not. Anti-magic fields in general don't have very large range. Normally, it would be impossible cover an entire building in one , so we'd be able to escape it by just exiting the field. Unless you have an incredibly powerful artifact powering the field like the one we've already established the giantess has."

Raka sloshed her way to the door. "Now, the last part's only speculation. We can't know what the properties actually are at this point. This could be a lower powered field after all. But worst case scenario, we won't have magic until we confront the giantess and possibly destroy the artifact." She stared up at the door pensively. "Only way to find out now is to try and escape."

Is there a visible lock on the door?

[Felhammer]

The lock is on the other side of the door.

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger is momentarily disoriented when the group springs the trap. The water doesn't bother her much, yet it still takes her a while to get to her senses after the trip. Silith shakes her head. Focus. She looks around, noticing that the others are already attempting to escape through magical means. When that doesn't seem to be working, Silith shakes her head.

"No magic, then?" She says this mostly to herself, as the others all seem to have figured that part out already. "Great." Silith turns to Raka. "I'll have a look around. See if there's anything that could be of use in getting us out of here. Oh... and if the magic does turn out to be turned off everywhere... It's best to let Halbrecht and me take the lead in that case." The ranger nods reassuringly at the spellcasters in the party, especially Fare, who relies on her magical abilities very much during combat. The ranger turns to look...

Perception check to look for potential ways out of the rooms, such as hidden mechanisms etc: [roll0]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht and Starman also took a look around, attempting to see if there were any useful items or any viable way besides the door to exit the room.

Halbrecht: [roll0]

Starman ​(Aid Another): [roll1]

[Rysc]

Fare


"I'll have a look around. See if there's anything that could be of use in getting us out of here. Oh... and if the magic does turn out to be turned off everywhere... It's best to let Halbrecht and me take the lead in that case."

Fare grimaces. "That would probably be a good idea, though I'm really hoping that we're dealing with one of the normal anti-magic fields. Given our luck it's probably going to be the latter..." She then turns her attention to possible ways out of the room.

Whoopee, right now Fare is very perceptive, very stealthy, and otherwise very unable to do anything useful besides those two.

Perception: [roll0]

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The young woman had kept quiet. Her eyes observing as the light filled the room by the button thief. She glanced down at the rather unsavory water. She nodded a little hearing her companions mention not being able to use magic. "Perhaps magic won't be needed... so long as diplomacy might work..." She spoke out not quite certain of it herself despite her normally more optimistic notion of using it.

The half dragon ventured up to the door. She looked towards it knowing it was locked. She shrugged, attempting to see if she could brute force it open. She moved back a bit before pushing herself against the door, using her strength in an effort to try and make it budge.

Cause... why not! Strength check to see if it does anything. Might as well try with Aisha's herculean strength. :P

Strength check to push locked door: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

You notice the door is unusually warm to the touch. You see a one foot by one foot hole in the ceiling. You also notice the dead body has a bandoleer filled with vials on it.

You find an ear floating next to you.

While everyone looks around, Aisha rushes up to the door and tries to push it over. The door is warm to the touch... then hot. Then scalding. The door suddenly bursts on fire while your hands are on it!

Reflex: [roll0]

[roll1] Fire Damage, save for Half

A foul laughter slithers out of the hole on the ceiling. "You ssshouldn't touch the door. Vexx desssigned it persssonally for her own dungeonsss. Who are you and why were you traveling to the cassstle? Are you friendsss or foesss of the Earl? Vexx doesssn't like the Earl. Ssshe wantsss him dead. Ssshe paysss well, well enough for my lover to acquire the reagentsss ssshe needsss. All we need isss one more item and then... You don't need to know. Ssso are you the Earl or hisss friendsss?" The voice pauses then continues, "Or are you more wretchesss from the Romnid? We are fresssh out of runtsss but my lover isss pregnant... Perhapsss one of the liter could be sssacrifissced... For a prissce."

[Estralita]

Raka winced at the sudden fireball, glad that she and tried the door after all, but sorry Aisha had to trigger it. If Raka had her magic...

But now wasn't the time for that. Raka waited in readiness for her companions' response. Once again, she wasn't knowledgeable enough about the situation to comment. And if Halbrecht didn't want to be known as the Earl, revealing it before he had a chance to reply would be very bad.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith winces when the fireball goes off, and almost immediately rushes forward to see if Aisha's alright. The voice coming from the hole in the ceiling causes her to stop, though. More trouble. Cautiously she steps forward, and when she's certain that Aisha's only badly singed, she puts a hand on the girl's shoulder and whispers. "You okay?"

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She gasped out as flames scorched over her body. She cringed, looking on towards the door backing up a bit. She heard the voice, glaring up towards it. Her attention fixated over hearing Silith speak. She nodded, brushing off her clothing a bit from any singing. "Yes... I'm fine." She spoke looking up towards the voice.

"...and who are you to ask any of our business when we found ourselves stuck in this dungeon? It seems far from a valid position to be snide putting unwitting guests in such a place." Her voice was quite firm, not giving a response back less out of a need of playing safe as much as agitation by the words delivered down to her.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As Aisha made to try and break down the door, Halbrecht called out in alarm.

"Aisha, don't touch the..."

Then the door burst into flames, burning Aisha - though thankfully, her reflexes were swift enough that the half-silver dragon was not as harmed as much as she could have been.

"...door..."

Alarmed, Halbrecht stepped forward to see if she was alright, but was then distracted by the serpentine voice.

An alliance with Vexx and the Romnid confirmed? Well, that does not bode well for our chances of being able to negotiate peace with the giantess.

As Aisha snapped back at it, Hal briefly made to protest, but after some consideration decided that what she said actually opened up an avenue of conversation. He quickly sidled over to the body and began grabbing the vials, giving them a cursory inspection before also adding his own voice.

"We are travelers to Clearwater, and seek to go there for business. To whom do we speak, and what is this place?"

Try to get some info out of him, and it may very well be a way out of this room...

Perception: [roll0]
Diplomacy: [roll1]

[Felhammer]

The voice is furious at Aisha, WHAT RIGHT DO WE HAVE!? It isss you who trusssted the dark and vile beingsss who live in Hellfire. It wasss you who threw cation to the wind and usssed magic to ssskip over a few daysss journey. You were foolsss who fell in a trap. I do not pity you. We need the Earl. Are you the Earl!?"


He seems to calm down when Halbrecht speaks. Even becoming a bit melancholy, "I am the great and powerful Xo!" He pauses a moment obviously waiting for gasps or shrieks. He seems a bit perplexed at the lack of response, "You... Haven't heard of me!? Bah! You are only tradersss after all. One cannot expect them to be asss knowledgeable asss an Earl. You are tradersss? You do not look like tradersss. The last three were tradersss were nice. Their companion, sssadly, died. Hellfire did not agree with him...

Thisss plassce is the Sssanctum of Essssimer. Built by the godsss, manned by archmagi long forgotten. My lover found the sssanctum. Ssshe is harnessssing itsss magic to perform the ritual ssshe, her mother, her grandmother and her great-great-grandmother ssstrove to perform. That Vexx... Ssshe hasss the last piessce of the puzzle." He sighs, "We are not murderersss... Yet fate hasss ssseen fit to make us accomplisscesss to murder. Oh, it is very sssad, very sssad indeed."

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare had decided that the best way to avoid as much of the water as possible is to stand perfectly still, and so that's what she's currently doing. When Aisha touches the door, she instinctively begins to reach for her wand, before remembering why they were still stuck down here to begin with.

Sorry. It'll have to wait.

She stays quiet when their apparent captor begins speaking, instead concentrating on the sibilant voice's words and intonation.

Sense Motive: [roll0]

Fare is particularly interested in whether or not the voice is speaking the truth about not really wanting to be murderers.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Keep talking.

Halbrecht put a note of concern and curiosity into his voice.

"How has fate made you accomplices to murder, oh Xo? And what is this ritual and the last piece of the puzzle that you speak of?"

Diplomacy: [roll0]
Hal's Sense Motive: [roll1]
Starman's Sense Motive: [roll2]

[Estralita]

Raka headed over to Halbrecht, interested in the potions he found. "What are they?" she asked quietly, hoping the speaker didn't have extra acute hearing. Internally, she wondered how much more information they could get from him, and how much of what he said was true.

Two checks here
Sense Motive:
[roll0]
Knowledge (Arcana) What kind of potions are they?
[roll1]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"Not sure. Spellcraft is not my forte. Perhaps you would like a look?" Halbrecht handed over the potions to Raka.

[Felhammer]

Technically the process is more involved that looking at the vials from a distance.

Determine Properties of Magic Item

Attempting to ascertain the properties of a magic item takes 3 rounds per item to be identified and you must be able to thoroughly examine the object.

Retry? When using detect magic or identify to learn the properties of magic items, you can only attempt to ascertain the properties of an individual item once per day. Additional attempts reveal the same results.

However, since this is a merchant, he labels all of his potions. So I'll just leave the list here. :)


Ant Haul - Triples carrying capacity of a creature. PRG:APG

Touch of the Sea - Swim speed becomes 30 ft. PRG:APG

Mirror Polish - Polish a metal item until it's usable as a mirror. PRG:ACG

Crafter's Fortune - Subject gains +5 on next Craft check. PRG:APG

Snapdragon Fireworks - Create 1 dragon firework/level. PRG:UM

Liberating Command - Target makes an Escape Artist check as an immediate action and gains a bonus on it. PRG:UC

Emblazon Crest - Your coat of arms is magically displayed on any suitable item you carry. KoIS

Blood Money - Use your blood to create material components for spells. PAP:RoRLAE



He is telling the truth.

He is being lying about something, specifically about the murdering but, you get the feeling he isn't looking to murder the Earl or his band of merry (wo)men specifically.

"The great Xo doesss not share hisss plansss with interlopersss! Xo's businesss is hisss own but... You are not the Earl, nor do you work for him. You are merely fliesss unintentionally caught in our web, ssso Xo will sssay this - my lover ssseeksss to re-ignite the Ja'Muki Volcano. It wasss onssce the sscenterpiessce of the Fire Giant sscivilization of Rear'agal... Before the Frostsss and Ssstormsss came and closssed shut the volcano. My lover ssseeksss to re-kindle that Fire Giant sscivilization and found a new dynasty!

You have heard of a pixie ruin called Rhearrhagail. It stands to the east of Halbrecht's lands, just outside of the Barony of Tirnan, in the mountainous territory between Eaglemane, Deepoath and the Rowanoak. It is difficult to get to from the south (which is why Deepoath and St. Rowan have done little with it). Feral orcs, goblins and tribal giants call that rough terrain home, so few from Maghemia bother to risk life and limb to visit a simple pixie ruin (of which hundreds exist elsewhere (and most in far less hostile lands)).

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht furrowed his brow at Xo's mention of reigniting a volcano, not liking the sound of it but unable to put it in context - until Starman approached him and whispered into his ear.

"Milord, I've heard of the place he speaks of - a passing merchant selling history books mentioned it, once. It's a pixie ruin, deep in the mountains east of your territory, awash in orcs and tribal giants - and impossible to get to from the south, by all accounts."

Which would put it just above... Deepoath, I think? How bad would it be if that volcano was re-ignited, I truly wonder...

I am wondering the above both in and out of character. Volcanic soil is great for farming, but on the other hand, they're highly destructive - but then again, it's apparently in hostile territory anyway. On the other hand, there's the matter of founding more fire giants. Fel, would it be possible for either Hal or Starman to roll to see if Fire Giants have historically been at odds with civilization?

Hal History: [roll0]
Starman History: [roll1]

And alright, Halbrecht. By the careful use of omission, you've kept him from cottoning on to the fact that we're the people the Giantess is looking for - and who, by the sounds of it, is his lover.

"Is your lover a fire giantess, then, oh Xo? And if it's not too much to ask, would you kindly let us out of this room?"

Diplomacy: [roll2]

[Felhammer]

As a Knight of Valor you'd know the Fire Giants are more like an oppressed minority than anything else. The Storm Giants and Frost Giants are the kings of Giant kind here on Warblade Isle. Fire Giants often try to start settlements but every time one gets going, it is inevitably destroyed by adventurers, armies or other giants. They have sought refuge in many realms but fearful locals also drive them off (or worse, burn their crops and salt their fields, which leads to starvation). Their population is small and nomadic. Unlike the Hill Giants, the Fire Giants do not like their nomadic way and would dearly love to found a civilization of their own. The problem is that no one wants a Fire Giant civilization on their doorstep (fearful at the power such a realm would possess).

The only place where the Fire Giants have managed to set up a settlement of some size is in the mountains overlooking Grimgorge, specifically Highclaw. The Queens of Grimgorge have long fought an endless campaign against the fire giants, neither side really possessing the might to fully defeat the other (as Grimgorge must be ever vigilant against Micklewaifan incursions and slavers/raiders from Foulbone). Even this settlement is tiny, only managing to collect a handful of tribes.

The kind of civilization Xo is discussing would be like adding an entirely new kingdom to the map. The political repercussions would be vast. Blackvale's, Rowanoak's and Deepoath's northern borders have always been relatively peaceful (in terms of nations warring with one another)... Except for the time when Queen Rimeborga had her husbands' kinsfolk scurry down the Snowwall Mountains and decimate the cultural and agricultural heartland of Blackvale during the Scarlet War. Putting a Fire Giant civilization up there would alter the balance of power in the region. Whichever realm could woo the Fire Giants would have a significant advantage over their neighbors.

Furthermore, St. Rowan (the elder Green Dragon who claims the whole Rowanoak for his own) has absolutely zero love for Giant-kind. He could easily mobilize the full force of his woodland realm against the Fire Giants and anyone who sided with them. Considering how he was able to single-handedly end the threat of the Giants during the Scarlet War, his feelings should definitely be taken into consideration. He has never massed his forces before. Who knows what lurks in those dark woods...

Deepoath may have been grievously wounded in the Scarlet War but the Deeproys are still fantastically wealthy due to Deepoath's abundant mineral wealth. Those gems and gold could go a long way to wooing a newly constructed and impoverished Fire Giant realm.

Beyond that, you also have to consider the implications of such a nation being born here in the north. The Fire Giants would be literally on Kriegbrecht's doorstep. If there was a war, you would be called upon to defend Eaglemane from any and all aggressors. Furthermore, there is at least a tacit approval of the Fire Giant's nation being created from Vexx, Kriegbrecht's chief rival. However, does she actually support the new nation or is the Fire Giantess just a pawn in her chess match with Kriegbrecht?

At the same time, imagine being the man who helped found the Fire Giant nation and successfully brought the Fire Giants into an alliance with Eaglemane/Blackvale? You would be praised for all eternity as the man who secured peace in our time.

This is definitely a complicated issue.



"Well you are not the Earl, nor his friendsss, ssso you are free to go. Do not travel by way of Hellfire again if you ssseek to go to the cassstle. Inssstead, travel by foot, hoof or by ship." The door swings open, revealing a hallway that is brightly lit thanks to a line of stained glass windows lining the wall opposite the dungeon rooms. To your left is a door leading to the brisk outdoors, to your right a stairway leading up into the Sanctum... No guards in sight and magic has returned to normal functionality as Zid casts prestidigitation to turn his shirt from red to yellow.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As the implications of what a Fire Giant nation would mean for everyone hit Halbrecht, the Earl rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Rowan will never stand for an alliance with the giants, and his forest makes up almost all of our eastern border. On top of that, we know for a fact that she is in league with Vexx.

On the other hand... Who's to say that Vexx isn't simply manipulating the giant for her own ends? And Deepoath... If this giantess is successful in founding the civilization she desires, Deepoath could easily woo them with their mineral wealth. We can't let that happen, but if I were to get our foot in the door first, it might be less likely to occur. And if we truly can establish peace.... Peace. That is a word we hear precious little of these days. And do the giants not deserve a chance to establish a home for themselves? As far as I recall Blackvale's never had much in the way of problems with them.

Halbrecht shook his head.

First things first. I need to talk to this fire giantess. And that info about her trading away progeny to the Romnid - an opening, perhaps?

Turning to the rest of the party, he inclined his head toward the stairs.

"Keep your weapons stowed for the time being. Given all that Xo told us, I think it is in our best interest to try and negotiate with her as a first option - but just in case, try to maintain your distance. That goes double for you, Starman."

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare is extremely thankful at having having magic working again, and also extremely suspicious that the party would just be...left here. Keeping her eyes on the hall, she pulls at her wand and taps Aisha lightly with it.

Awfully trusting. I guess that's to our advantage. Unless this is some sort of ploy also.

As Halbrecht talks, she stretches her arms and slips back into air elemental form. "Elementals aren't immediately threatening, right? And don't worry, I have no problem keeping a distance."

CLW on Aisha:
[roll0]
Another charge if that turns out to be less than four: Nah, let's just heal all the damage. [roll1]

Back into Wildshape.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"I don't believe they are, no."

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She felt relief to be freed of the room. She turned her head over, looking as Fare used her wand to cure her wounds. She gave a light smile, nodding her head in appreciation. "Thank you." She spoke to her companion. Her hands instinctively began to brush at her clothing, as if attempting to remove more soot from herself. In some ways it was likely part of her dragon heritage that gave her a general distaste for flames anything relating to such.

Aisha's attention shifted back to Halbrecht. "Yes... we should attempt to speak with her diplomatically... and ideally Xo as well..." She spoke turning her head back with a glare to where they had been kept on arrival. Her form of 'diplomacy' with Xo would likely be much more directly with a verbal lashing over some sort of diplomatic dealing.

[Estralita]

Upon her magic being returned to her, Raka gave a sigh of relief, and cast Dancing Lights in front to double check. She played with them for a few seconds before recollecting herself, and dismissing them. "Well, let's go. No sense in lingering here." They had collected the potions, after all. Who knows, maybe they'd find a use for them later on

[Felhammer]

The party creeps up the staircase, which leads to a thick oaken door. The party tries to open said door but it seems to be locked from the inside.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Looking at the door, Halbrecht made a decision.

"I had hoped that Xo would be at the top of this staircase, perhaps on an open balcony or some such, and that we could talk with him face to face. As it stands, with the door locked, if we proceed any further, we'll be breaking and entering - and no-one likes to negotiate with burglars."

Leading the party back down the staircase, Halbrecht went back to the room where they had been and poked his head through the door - not so much as to leave himself trapped, but enough so that he could be heard.

"Are you still present, Xo?"

Here goes nothing.

"Now that you have released us, Xo, I am afraid there is something that I must confess. When we set out via Hellfire, it was here that we were headed. Your previous visitors, among others, informed us about the Hellfire diversion. I told you earlier that I had business in Clearwater - and that is because I am the person you and your lover seek. I apologize for not being forthright earlier, but with that anti-magic field you placed over the room, my companions and I feared that you would slay us outright if we confessed before we were on even ground, so to speak."

"I know that your lover wants my head, but I have not come here to start a fight. I wish to mend things between us diplomatically, if at all possible. Would the two of you be willing to parley?"

The first of what will be many necessary rolls for diplomacy. And all of it while we can't see the other party.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

...and I roll a 4. Fantastic.

[BramsesII]

Silith

While Halbrecht attempts to open up negotiations, Silith takes a look around to see if there's a way to open the door somehow.

Perception: [roll0]
Note: Even if Silith finds some way to get through the door, she doesn't act on it yet. Also, can we access the lock from outside?

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare pauses to magically examine the door, but follows Halbrecht as he leads to party back down. Even though she knows she should have anticipated the knight attempting to talk, Fare can't help but wince when he decides to reveal the party's (or rather his) identity. She glances at the passageway outside, half-expecting it to magically seal as soon as Xo or anyone else hears the truth.

Detect Magic on the door, and through the door if applicable.

[Felhammer]

There is no reply from Xo. Either he is being silent, or he walked away from the hole.

The door is barricaded on the inside. There is no way to sneak past it, other than to hack through or bust down the door.

Your senses can't seem to penetrate beyond the door.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"...alright, then."

Walking back up the stairs, Halbrecht turned to the others. "Apparently he left while we were first checking the front door. Anyone object to me knocking?"

Unless stopped, Halbrecht then proceeded to knock, and called out. "Xo? Are you there? We actually had something we need to talk to you about."

If Xo reappears or replies, Halbrecht will give the speech I made him do in the conditional slot for the previous post.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

The ground shakes after Halbrecht knocks. A dim-witted, deep, baritone voice responds through the think door, "Who you? Why you knock? Knocking is... Uhhh..." A full minute passes before he continues. "Who you again?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"My name is Halbrecht. I wish to speak to Xo, and the Fire Giantess who lives here. I have heard that she seeks my death, and I want to resolve the situation peacefully."

Just gonna keep rolling these until I'm told to knock it off.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

"Uhhhhhhhhh, uhhhhhh, uhhhhhh, that not sound like mummy. She nice. You a bad man? You done bad things? Why mummy not like you?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

One of her children, then? This is interesting.

"That's what I'm here to find out. I wouldn't say I'm a bad man, but I may have done something that would make your mother angry. That's another reason why I'm here - I came to apologize. Would you mind running and getting her?"

Given Xo's mention of selling of children to the Romnid, Halbrecht is no longer entirely sure just how angry the giantess would be for him killing the chieftain.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

"Hmmm... Hmmm... Hmmm... You not bad but mummy mad...? Hmmm... Hmmmm... Hmm... Ok, you come in."

A massive blank of wood clatters to the ground, followed shortly by the door creaking open. Before you is a twelve foot tall fire giant. He is hunched over and drooling at the mouth. A (human) fist-sized gem has been bored into the middle of his forehead. The red ruby shimmers in the pale glow of the torches that illuminate this otherwise dark, dungeon-like room. In his hand is a literal tree trunk, freshly pulled from the earth, its roots still covered in moist dirt. A filthy man-sized sack lays at the other end of the fifteen foot long hallway, near another closed door. The floor is steeply inclined, indicating that the passageway leads upwards.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht inclined his head in gratitude. "Thank you. What is your name?" After receiving an answer, Halbrecht continued. "Lead on, then."

[Rysc]

Fare

That...must hurt.

Where did that tree come from.

Fare hovers near the back of the group and tries to assess the room and its occupant. She's pretty sure fire giants don't normally have gems in their foreheads, and she also doesn't think that fire giants would be the type for extreme bodily modifications in the name of decoration. The sack is also very suspicious, though (or perhaps because) it could be anything.

Unfortunately Fare knows nothing about arcane magic and thus possible rituals that involve implanting gems in people's foreheads, so instead she'll see if she knows anything about fire giants that might be helpful in this situation:

Know (nature): [roll0]

[Felhammer]

"Uhhhh... Me Gggggg.... Rrrrrr... Mmmmm.... You no leave. Me only let you in... Here... Wait... Why you in here again...? Me con-foo-zzz-d." He looks down at his hand and then at Fare, "Why you give me tree? Tree meant for ground, not... Uhhh... Stone. You silly pretty lady. Me plant nice tree outside." The giant barrels out of the room like an excited child, running down the hallway and into the forest outside. As you peak out of the doorway, you can see him using his meaty hands like shovels.

Suddenly, everything goes fuzzy, the way the world turns slightly hazy when you are running very fast. You then hear a sickening pop. You can't help but close your eyes as nausea overwhelms you. The feeling of being on the brink of puking slowly fades, as does your hazy vision. After you take a moment or two to get your barrings, you peer down the hallway to see what the giant is doing only... He isn't there. In fact, the forest is gone as well. Replaced by rocky, snow-covered terrain, as if you are in the mountains!

You hear the loud cackles of gnolls yelling off in the distance. As you listen to them for a heartbeat or three, they sound as if they are getting closer.

You need to physically manipulate a magic item to ponder if further.

Baby fire giants are not all that different from hill giant babies. It is only upon reaching puberty that fire giant teens undergo a ritual to bond their bodies with the purest elemental flame, thus turning their hair to fire (and giving the race its colloquial name). Fire Giants are, unsurprisingly, masters of manipulating fire-based magic and calling on fire-based outsiders for aid. They especially like fire elementals and hell hounds.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht stared in horror as he realized what had happened. By accident or not, the giantess' son had inadvertently been left outside when the castle shifted.

This is not good. This is definitely not good.

"Milord! That sound off in the distance... it's gnolls! And they're getting closer!"Starman's warning broke him out of his funk, if only briefly, and Halbrecht leapt into action.

"Inside, and seal the door."

Ushering the party in, Halbrecht tried to find a way to put the door back where it was. There was no telling whether or not the gnolls at this point would be hostile... and they had bigger problems.

"If we end up inadvertently responsible for getting one of her children killed again, we'll never be able to resolve this peacefully. We need to find Xo and the Fire Giantess quickly, and see whether or not they can control the teleportation aspect of the sanctuary."

Proceeding down the hallway further inside, Halbrecht tried to open the door carefully. If he found nothing, he then called out...

"Xo? Miss Fire Giantess? Are you there? We have a problem."

[Felhammer]

Halbrect opens the door and sees a second hallway, this one about thirty feet long, also slightly inclined upwards and bent (to accommodate the around the cylindrical nature of the tower). A teenage girl sits at the far end of the room. She is hunched over, crying into his knees. The girl has a look of horror on her face when the knight opens the door. "No! Go away! This room is dangerous! There are saw blades in the ceiling!

You see several slits in the ceiling which could easily house saw blade traps. The door on the far end is closed. There doesn't seem to be any mechanism to shut the trap off, at least not in this room.

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger keeps to the rear of the group as they move, since Halbrecht's bringing up the front and somebody has to guard the rear. She's quite disoriented from the whole teleporting thing that happens, and before she can warn the party about the approaching gnolls, Starman has already done so and Halbrecht has sealed the door. They move on. Silith keeps quietly to the back of the group, only to move up behind Halbrecht when they come to yet another room and someone yells something about saw blades.

The ranger peers into the room over the knight's shoulder. With a bit of luck she might spot the mechanism that allows deactivation of the trap, or the mechanism that is used to trigger it.

Perception check, checking for mechanisms and trap triggers: [roll0]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Was Eleber telling the truth, then? Or is this some other captive?

Whatever the situation, this is getting steadily more complicated, and fast. We're no longer invited guests, not without their child to vouch for us. But first, the matter at hand. If she is just a random captive, we need to take care of her. Not that there's a lot of options...

Halbrecht took a step back, so as not to set off any of the presumable traps in the cieling. "It's alright. Who are you, and how did you come to be in this place?"

Hal's Sense Motive: [roll0]
Starman's Sense Motive: [roll1]

[Felhammer]

The party barricades the door as Halbrecht asks some questions, "I... I am Zirina. I came here with my friend Eleber. We weren't looking for trouble, honest. We... Just stumbled into the treasure room. I'm poor... I... I just wanted some gold to pay off my father's debts. She... She has so much gold... I, I was a fool. We were caught by the giantess who lives here. She attacked us, captured us. Eleber escaped. He said he was going to find help. Did Eleber send you? Please be careful, the saw blades are so scary."

The trap seems to be triggered by floor tiles. Only, there are tens of tiles that look like they could trigger the trap. Perhaps different tiles activate different saw blades?

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger frowns when she notes the large number of triggers in the room. She tries to count them all, but the sheer number of them makes her lose count several times before she gives up in frustration. Silith taps Halbrecht on the shoulder and whispers. "It's filled with trap triggers, and I don't see a way to disable them. Not from here, at least. If we could somehow access them on the ceiling, maybe jam the blades themselves with something..."

[Estralita]

Raka follows the group to the room. Her eyes widen as she takes the whole situation in. "What the-" she starts to say, then shakes her head and begins checking for magical traps and trickery in addition to the sawblades.

Detect Magic, how I love thee(when you're a cantrip, at least). Any rolls I should make?

[Felhammer]

The traps are triggered by pressure plates on the floor. All of the plates have been disguised to look like the floor. Upon careful observation, the designers of the trap have even created false looking pressure plates to throw would be adventurers off. The openings in the ceiling are wide open and unprotected. You could easily jam something up in the holes to block the blades from coming down., or mess with the mechanism to break it.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As Zirina told her story, Halbrecht studied her face. Worn down by the repeated lies of those he had encountered throughout his journey and emboldened by experience, he came to a singular conclusion.

She was faking the crying.

He turned an ear to Silith's whisper.


"It's filled with trap triggers, and I don't see a way to disable them. Not from here, at least. If we could somehow access them on the ceiling, maybe jam the blades themselves with something..."
After considering what she had told him - along with another thought that had just occured to him - he whispered back a reply.

"Perhaps. But combined with what we know about Eleber, and her expression... she's lying, I'm sure of it. We may not want to release her. Take the others back to the barricade; I think those gnolls are the Frostpaws. Try to peek or eavesdrop through the door - if we can get a fix as to their motives, we may be able to negotiate. I'll deal with Zirina in the meantime."

Turning back to Zirina, Halbrecht gave a slow clap.

"Not a bad story, Zirina. Many would have been fooled. Unfortunately, you're not the first girl I've seen fake a cry. But more importantly..." The knight's eyes narrowed. "I know of you and Eleber's true motives. The Romnid. Those who would destabilize my lands and endanger everyone and everything within them."

"So you want me to find a way to release you? To anger a Fire Giantess who is already in league with those who would split the Eaglemane asunder? Then you're going to have to give up some information. Your real goal here, what they are planning - I'm not overtly picky. But I suggest that you be honest with me, because I'm having a bit of a bad day."

I think this should do it. If you have suggestions for improvements or what Hal should ask instead, you have until Fel replies for me to make corrections.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She had followed behind, now looking to the crying girl. She looked a bit surprised at Halbrecht hearing his response. She looked to the girl seeming a little uncertain. Is she then just faking it? I can see her lying about why she is there, but fake crying? She pondered a bit to herself. "Jamming them? Is there some way we could test if a pressure plate is active or not?" She spoke out in thought, not quite certain about the situation.

[Felhammer]

Zirina looks depressed as you call her bluff, "Fine," she says as she sighs, "You got me. I'm not crying. My dad owes Laveta Haug a lot of money. I need money to help pay those debts off before the old man dies and his debts are off loaded on me. Eleber said he could help me. He said it would be easy money. He lied. This was not easy money. The fact that that idiot escaped pisses me off more than anything else." She stands up, dusts herself off and says, "You and me, we can come to an arrangement. You help me escape, I tell you about the secret passage to that snake's office. Deal?"

[BramsesII]

Silith

"Jamming them? Is there some way we could test if a pressure plate is active or not?"

Silith eyes the silver haired woman, facepalms, and motions for her to be silent. She leans over and whispers: "Sure we can test that. By stepping on each and every one of them. Did you remember to bring enough bandages? Now hush. Let's not clue her in on the fact we have a plan."

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She blinked looking at Silith. She tapped her chin looking at her. She kept quieter not seeming to fully understand the mocking tone completely Silith was using at her. "Oh... I mean I guess that could work... though it was more questioning if we could use something heavy to try and attempt to put weight on it without getting ourselves in the way." She spoke quieter looking at her companion curiously.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht turned slightly toward Silith and Aisha, hissing out the side of his mouth. "Door, gnoll checkup ladies. Now, please."

He then turned back to Zirina, a matter of fact look on his face. It was, however, now devoid of suspicion, and his voice was simple and honest. "That may be a little while. I do not intend to leave until matters here have been resolved to my satisfaction - and it may be dangerous to leave here now, anyway. But if you swear that you were not involved in Eleber's work with the Romnid, then I promise to rescue you and take you with us when we leave."

[Estralita]

Raka grimaced slightly at Hal's request, but he was right. What she doubted was whether not not to trust this girl's word, and to give his own word to aid her. Look how well taking Eleber's word had gone. But the others might remind him, and she knew from experience she wasn't the best at reading people. She would be more use checking to see if the group coming was hostile. She reached the door, and listened for the gnolls.

Perception check:
[roll0]
Someone with better perception might want to come along

[BramsesII]

Silith


"Door, gnoll checkup ladies. Now, please."

Silith nods to Halbrecht. "Right." The ranger follows behind Raka, moving swiftly but staying behind the elf. Once they've arrived at the door the ranger is quiet, listening for a good long while for any sound that may indicate the presence of gnolls on the other side.

Perception check: [roll0]

Actually, does this count as an urban environment (or hills, or forests)? Because that's Silith's favored terrains.

Once she's sure about what she heard, the ranger leans over to Raka and whispers. "You hear anything?"

[Felhammer]

The woman shakes her head, "I don't know you and I don't know if I can trust you. My friend abandoned me here. You're just some stranger. No deal. Get me out now or I won't help you."


You can both here gnoll voices in the hallway behind the barricaded door. Some are hushed but one is particularly blunt and loud.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

OOC: Apologies in advance for godmodding slightly.

Looking back at Silith and Raka gesturing about the gnolls, Halbrecht turned back to Zirina. "As much as I'd like to say yes or no, I'm afraid we're going to have to table this discussion for a little while. There's a bunch of rather angry gnolls at the door to the sanctum and we need to deal with them." Making to close the door, Halbrecht stopped briefly. "I know you don't trust me, but I will come back for you. And rescue you, assuming of course that you swear you're not part of the Romnid, but hey, details."

Closing the door to Zirina's room, Halbrecht returned to where Silith and Raka stood. "Can you make out any of what they're saying?"

[Felhammer]

Zirina is incensed, "Bastard. Coward. Fool. Run and play with your gnolls. For your sake, I hope they kill you."

"The tower has returned! We must be fast, sisters, we must find the chalice."

"This room looks like a dungeon. No way out save for a door with a lock on the outside. There's a hole in the ceiling."

"Fly like the storm clouds, sister. Discover where it leads."




The cackles and whispers get closer and closer to your door. They try to open the door leading to your room but find it barred.

"This door is locked, from the inside."

"Blast. Our last Stormwalker has already left. Are there no other doors?"

"No, sister."

"Then hack it down."

More hushed whispers , followed by harshly barked orders, followed quickly by what sounds like axes heaving into the thick wooden door. They do not find much purchase at the moment but given enough time...

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith has no idea what the gnolls on the other side of the door are saying, but the sound of axes on wood makes their course of action abundantly clear. She frowns. Then, she puts a hand on Raka's shoulder and whispers into the elf's ear. "Stay here and keep watch. I'll talk to Halbrecht."

The ranger moves over to Halbrecht, and speaks to him in an almost-whisper. "They're trying to hack down the door, Halbrecht. What's the plan? Oh, and I suggest we don't talk too loudly in case they hear us."

[Rysc]

Fare

Despite the urgency of the situation, Fare can't help but roll her eyes at the trapped girl's words.

We'll definitely be in a rush to make sure you get out safely. And what exactly made the use of "coward" necessary?

She hovers down to where Silith and Hal are having a hushed conversation. "I'm assuming we want to talk with them?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht nodded at Rysc's statement. "That is the plan. But have your weapons ready. Just in case."


Nodding at the door and briefly pausing for the others (should they suddenly wish to stop him), Halbrecht spoke through the door.

"Hold, gnolls! What is your business here at the Sanctum?"

Diplomacy (to stun them into talking rather than redoubling their efforts to hack the door down): [roll0]

[Felhammer]

The axes stop at Halbrecht's call. Whispers can be heard, followed soon by a discussion. After a minute, a deep, guttural snarl responds, "We come seeking the Chalice of the Fireborn. You will give the chalice to us or we will burn your sanctum to the ground. I will not wait long for a reply..."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

...oh, f***.

Halbrecht had not been expecting the gnolls to come bearing sweets and spices, of course. But he had also not expected the gnolls to come with malice aforethought. In fact, he had figured that they were merely a patrol spooked at the sight of the suddenly-appearing castle. How could they have known the Sanctum would be here, if it teleported randomly throughout the fiac?

Although, if they knew it would be here, that must mean it teleports to fixed locations rather than being truly random... and that means it might truly be possible to rescue the giantess' son.

Anyway, focus. Can't return her son if this damn place burns down.

"What tribe do you hail from? What do you want with the chalice?"

And come to think of it, could it possibly be the artifact responsible for the teleportation?

If these are the Frostpaws, I think it may be worth having Starman bust out Intimidate - he actually has ranks in that skill, and we know we broke their backs (and so have some leverage in that regard). But we will wait for a response before any definitive action is taken. I suspect we will have to fight our way out of this one, as Estralita has said.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

There is some muffled discussion before the voice responds, "We are of the Axepaw Tribe. We come seeking the Chalice so that we may give it to the Harlequin Earl. The rest does not concern you. Give us the Chalice or my Stormwalker will find you and kill you."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht's mind was awash in a series of conflicts at the information revealed by the gnoll.

The Harlequin Earl.

It's the Jester. It's got to be. Who else could be described as such?

And the Axepaws! We'd thought them all dead, but if they're still alive... Well, that means this castle is much more mobile than we thought. But this Stormcaller business...

Halbrecht looked down at Starman, who was quivering at the new of the Stormcaller. Halbrecht squeezed his shoulder, looking fondly down at his pupil.

"If worst comes to worst, stay in the back near one of the others. You will be safest there."

Halbrecht then turned back to the door. Like Baylan said. If we can get the Axe, Frost, and Skypaws on our side, we've got this gnoll situation in the bag.

"You are the Axepaws?! We had heard last that the Romnid had killed your entire tribe! If what you say is true, then there is no need for us to be at each other's throats. I am the new Baron of Westbow, and I have been searching for any surviving members of your tribe to end the inter-tribal conflict in these lands, along with the location of the Romnid so that I may end the threat they pose. Come - let us speak with one another face to face."

And we will see if I can't figure out a way to give you what you want without you going around and pissing of fire giantesses and lying with no-good rotten memento stealing bandits.

70% chance please.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

Muffled whispers followed by an ecstatic voice that says, "You are the Baron...? Then you must be the Harlequin Earl! The birds spread the word of your arrival to all throughout the region last night! Open the door! Quickly! We have much to discuss."

[Rysc]

Fare

...unexpected, but not unwelcome.

I guess the druids were busy? Or maybe just elves and birds.

Fare allows herself to relax ever so slightly, but still tries to dissect the gnoll's words for any possible trickery.

Sense Motive: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

The room goes hazy and fuzzy once more. You all feel incredibly disoriented and dizzy. Starman, being the youngest and least experienced, is overcome by the sensation and falls on his bottom. There are no windows in the "lost son's room", so you have no idea where the Sanctum has teleported to.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

I'M the Harlequin Earl?!

...okay, I'm smacking whoever came up with that appellation.

"Silith, Fare! Help me open the..."

And then that same hazy feeling came over the party.

"Oh, for the love of... Starman!" Halbrecht's annoyed tone turned to concern as he saw his pupil fall to unconsciousness, and he turned to the others. "Zid, look to Starman for a second while the strongest of us unbar the door."

[Felhammer]

Hal checks on Starman, who was merely struck low by a spat of dizziness. "I am fine, milord. I just... Couldn't keep myself upright."

Meanwhile, Silith and Aisha remove the heavy wooden barricade from the door, which then swings open with great ferocity revealing a cadre of haggard looking gnolls. The metal bits of their armor is dinged and bloody, the leather bits torn and ripped. The gnolls look like they have been through hell and back. In stark contrast to her pack mates, the lead gnoll is wearing a silken red shirt and sturdy woolen britches, both of which look brand new. At each of her hips are two thin clubs bound together with a chain. Her eyes are steel blue, while her fur charcoal black. "I am Verikora, Chieftess of the Axepaws. I have come seeking the Chalice of the Fireborn so that I may give it to you, the Harlequin Earl, as an token of our friendship. We seek revenge against the Romnid for the savage butchery they unleashed upon us. The..."

The gnoll leader's gaze moves from Hal to the others. When she spots Fare, the gnoll drops to one knee, "I did not realize a Mistress of the Woods was traveling with the Harlequin Earl. Please accept my humble apologizes, Mistress, for not recognizing you earlier. The birds merely spoke of the Earl and his companions, not of a... Powerful Mistress, such as yourself. Our Tribe owes your kind a great debt. Without the other Mistresses and Masters of the Woods, all of our cubs and malefolk surly would have perished when the Romnid attacked."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht breathed a sigh of relief as Starman indicated he was alright. "Thank goodness. You worried me there for a second."

As Silith and (the unusually silent) Aisha cleared the barricade, Halbrecht caught his first sight of the gnoll chieftess, and made to speak - until her attention then turned to Fare. Turning to his companion, the Earl inclined his head slightly toward the gnolls, inviting her to speak first - it seemed only appropriate, given the gnoll's seeming gratitude.

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger nods at Halbrecht's order, then turns to Aisha.
"Our turn."
Silith puts all her strength into opening the door as quickly as possible.

Once it's been opened she steps aside, eyeing the gnolls warily.

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare is not very prepared for the gnoll leader to drop to one knee, least of all in apparent reverence of the druid. She takes a few moments to compose her thoughts, then hovers a little closer to the ground. "I...thank you. Though...please, rise, and no need for apologies. We both had no way of knowing each other. And as I'm simply a traveler in these regions, I don't think I really deserve much credit for what my fellow druids are doing here. But thank you regardless."

She pauses to glance over the rest of the Axepaws. "I'm sorry--even if that's not really enough--that your tribe was attacked. When did this happen? We've...well, suffice it to say, we dislike the Romnids as much as you, for various reasons..." After a pause, she nods at Hal and resumes. "Our Harlequin Earl can tell you more about that, if he wishes.

[Estralita]

Raka steps out of the groups way, nodding to the gnolls once the door opened. She glanced outside wondering if this was the same place they had departed from, or a third place.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht stepped forward as Fare finished replying to the chieftess.

"Fare speaks the truth - we have a mutual enemy in the Romnid, Chieftess Verikora, and for many of the same reasons. It is with this in mind that I whole-heartedly accept your offer of friendship, though I would ask for two other favors. First, if it would not be too much trouble... would you mind spreading the word that I prefer 'Earl Halbrecht' rather than 'the Harlequin Earl'? This..."

Halbrecht ran a gauntleted hand over his red, yellow, and purple checkered full plate, a look of visible discomfort plain on his face to all who cared to see.

"This decoration is not something I am proud of, nor was it voluntary. Secondly, as a token of your friendship, rather than the chalice - at least for now - I would have information, if you are willing to give it."

Halbrecht will ask Verikora about the following.

1. "As I mentioned earlier, we feared that you were all dead when the Romnid attacked. If we are to defeat them and strike down their leaders, we need all the information you can give about them - how they were armed, tactics, anything you can think of. In particular, if your people had some idea of where to start looking for them, that would be marvelous."

2. "The fact that your people were here and waiting for the Sanctum suggests you knew it was coming. What do you know about this place - and even more importantly, what do you know about the giantess who lives here?"

[Felhammer]

The outside looks densely forested, with barely any snow on the ground. Clearly, this is a third location.

Verikora slowly stands. She looks Fare in the eye and says, "Regardless, we are indebted to your kind. The Romnid have been attacking us relentlessly for about a year now. We tried to mount a defense but their magic was too overwhelming. Their mages rained down fire and acid from the heavens, while their soldiers butchered us with poisoned blades. We were but ants compared to their mighty boot." The other gnolls grow disgruntled and kick the ground and/or grumble. Verikora holds up her hand to silence the lot.

"We seek the aid of the Harlequin Earl for the birds said he was an enemy of the Romnid. That he had already captured the Green She-Devil's pup. Our intention was to scour the Fiac for the rumored Sanctum. We have been searching for almost a month. We thought we would never find this place. The gods obviously sent you to us." She takes a few steps forward and gets uncomfortably close to Halbrecht. Verikora is a tall woman, nearly six and a half feet in all, with muscles brimming atop yet more muscles. Her breath reeks of carrion. "The Chalice was - is - going to be my gift to you, Sir Harlequin... Earl... Of Halbrecht... Just as the giants take on special companions, so do we gnolls." Verikora holds out her arms as if she wants to hug the cavalier while at the same time she smile-snarls, "I will be your lover, forevermore."

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith stands to the side of the group, arms crossed over her chest as she listens to the conversation. She doesn't feel the need to interrupt the conversation, as she has nothing interesting to add anyway. Instead, she focuses her attention on Raka. The elf may have joined the group what seemed like ages ago, she hasn't actually been with the group that long, and Silith's still not entirely sure what to think about the elf. That, and she's more interesting to look at than gnolls.

The last few words of the gnoll leader do draw Silith's attention. Her mouth nearly falls open in shock, but she manages to hide it reasonably well by turning her head to look in another direction, away from the gnolls. Lover? That's... poor Halbrecht. A frown forms on Silith's face as she realizes the potential repercussions of this. The ranger doesn't respond, though.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht somehow managed to keep his face straight as Verikora spoke.


"...The Chalice was - is - going to be my gift to you, Sir Harlequin... Earl... Of Halbrecht... Just as the giants take on special companions, so do we gnolls."

"I will be your lover, forevermore."
...she is serious.

If I knew this was coming, I would have taken the offer of that woman back in Verdna.

What do I do?! I can't accept her offer - I have-slash-am interested in Arna, and I'm not attracted to gnolls (though I do admit a small part of me is flattered) - but if I just turn her down she'll go berserk! I can't remember any ceremonies or challenges that would get me out of this, or any history of how the gnolls view marriage...

Nothing for it. I'm going to have to talk my way out. Almahara, guide my tongue - PLEASEOHPLEASE.

Opening his mouth, Halbrecht summoned as great a burst of charisma he could.

"You flatter me with your offer, Verikora, but unfortunately, I am afraid that I am unable to accept. The situation in these lands is tenuous as it is, and there are a high number of people who, while not allied explicitly with the Romnid, sympathize with many of their sentiments, particularly their hatred of gnolls. If anyone were to find out that I took you as my lover, I can guarantee you that I would be ousted before you can say 'horseshoe'. And the next person to replace me would almost certainly have no love for your people, and would likely be content to let them run about as they please. as such, I think it is best if we simply remain allies."

Oh dice gods, please bless me with just a bit of your luck.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

Halbrecht will re-ask his questions.

[Felhammer]

The Gnoll's face contorts, "You... Refuse...?" She looks over at her companions in a confused manner. "You would refuse me as a Lover?" She looks back at her companions and speaks in Gnoll, they respond in kind. "I am not as fluent with Common as I would like but my packmates assure me that the proper translation of the Giant word cheshmariti is lover. I would be your faithful friend, soldier, ally... You..." Verikora jumps back several feet and spits on the ground. She looks over to her friends with a horrified look. All of them suddenly spit on the ground in unison and look at Hal with a disgusted look. "I..." She coughs, "We would not..."

Quickly changing the topic, "As I said, the Romnid used wizards and soldiers with poisoned blades. Their men wear dirty, worn leather and dingy plate. After the attacks they fled to the north-east, perhaps they are hiding in the Tirnan, or maybe they went to a human town. We do not know. I do not know much about this Sanctum, only that the Chalice of the Fireborn is supposed to be in it. We have been wandering around the forest for many weeks. We were about to leave here and seek the aid of the elves from Norelm. I do not know anything about the giantess, I assumed she was just a legend used to ward off adventurers and that this place was really run by a wizard. We have nothing to barter with, so I was looking for something of value that humans would take as an... Offering.

[Estralita]

Raka,seeing they had not returned to where the child had run off to,sighed. How they would fix this, she didn't know. She was so preoccupied, it took her a moment to comprehend exactly what the Chieftess was offering. Fortunately, she managed to control her reaction to simply widening her eyes instead of exclaiming in surprise. A good thing, as Hal kept the situation mostly under control with a few carefully chosen words.

Reinarra doesn't like people who conceal their thoughts. Her mother's words came back to her forcefully. Raka tried to brush that thought aside. To help both herself and the gnolls focus on a new topic, Raka asked about something that had been puzzling her "What exactly is this Chalice of the Fireborn?"

Can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. Knowledge(Arcana) check to see if Raka knows anything about this chalice.(I assume it's an Arcana check. Sounds magical, at least)

[roll0]

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She had kept rather quiet, focusing on the tasks at hand. It had taken her back however when the Gnoll had mentioned 'lover'. She looked to Silith almost questioning the word. It seemed as if the saying had come with so many separate connotation it had left her almost puzzled by it. It seemed Halbrecht as a penchant for it... whatever the Gnolls words had originally meant.

She noticed the reaction looking even more confused. She tapped at her chin looking on quietly. She glanced to Silith curiously before leaning in to whisper. "What's with Halbrecht and the attraction women seem to have for him of all types, with all sorts of wants with it? Is it that typical for guys to garnish that kind of attention... whatever odd variation he might be receiving this time?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht breathed a sigh of relief as it became apparent that the chieftess had merely mistranslated a word. "Oh, my apologies, Chieftess Verikora! No, lover in Common generally implies, well... You-know-what. It was just a misunderstanding, then. I certainly will accept you as a friend, soldier, and ally. Let us move on."

If needed, a Diplomacy roll to smooth things over.

Diplomacy: [roll0]
Halbrecht listened attentively as Verikora answered his questions. "The northeast... Well, that is certainly as good a place to start looking as any. We may be able to save many lives with this information, Chieftess. Thank you. As for an offering, you need not offer anything. I merely wish to bring peace to Eaglemane, and everyone in it, including your people. Although... I am curious to hear what you know about the Chalice of the Fireborn. We were told that the Giantess who lives here is apparently using a powerful artifact to move her sanctum around, among other things."

[Rysc]

Fare

If Fare had been surprised by the gnolls' respect for druids, she's even more taken aback by the chieftess' offer.

Today's just full of surprises, isn't it.

Not like it's particularly worse than any other, though.

She's somewhat relieved when Halbrecht and the gnoll manage to smooth things out--correct translations are important, it turns out--though she does briefly wonder if the knight is keeping a list of his other...offers.

Given how the gnolls reacted to her before, she's less hesitant than usual to speak up. The druid is about to ask about the Chalice when Raka and then Halbrecht ask her question for her, and she contents herself with simply waiting.

[BramsesII]

Silith


"What's with Halbrecht and the attraction women seem to have for him of all types, with all sorts of wants with it? Is it that typical for guys to garnish that kind of attention... whatever odd variation he might be receiving this time?"

Silith shrugs. "I'm the wrong person to ask, Aisha," she replies in a low whisper, "I have no experience in that kind of attention. I don't recall many of my fellow rangers get any."

She pauses for a moment, then continues.

"Then again, there were not a lot of women where I was stationed."

[Felhammer]

"I do not know what the Chalice does but I do know the wizard who built this chalice also built the tower."

Zid, who had remained relatively quiet up until this point chimes in, "That sounds familiar... Almost like Delijun the Mad. He had dreams of creating castles that could teleport around Maghemia. His research never really went anywhere as other mages at the Blue College created the first floating castles. He was so dismayed at his inability to create a working prototype and the fact that the various Prince-Electors all funded his rivals' floating castle idea, that he actually fled Scrollford and was never seen or heard from again. If this Chalice is the device being used to teleport the tower, then it would be of great interest to those in Scrollford - and for Kriegbrecht.

"We knew the humans would like the chalice, it is why we few Axepaws are scattered throughout the forest trying to find this place."

Zid looks over at the Magus, "Raka, have you ever heard about a teleportation chalice before?"

You remember hearing about a merchant who came to Blackvale a few days before the Gloom started. This merchant was named Jun Maddeli. He came to Blacklake and offered to sell a powerful magical artifact he called a Stein of the Giants to King Kasmund. Supposedly, the item was powerful enough to teleport a small building and its contents up to twenty miles away. It was reportedly the size of a typical chair and filled with magical oil. The King was busy for the first few days after the merchant arrived and so Mr. Maddeli was forced to wait. By the time the King's schedule freed up, the Gloom had begun and His Majesty had no interest in spending a fortune on a trinket whose use would not necessarily aid them during the cataclysm. Blue Hunters soon came to Blackvale and, as expected, the merchant fled with the Stein.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht considered Zid and Verikora's words with a rather worried look on his face. "Hrnn. Recognition of legitimacy from those in Scrollford would be invaluable for our situation here, and it never hurts to please the person who gave you your station. But on the other hand, if we're intent on going the diplomatic route, I highly doubt the Giantess is just going to hand over the chalice."

He looked to the other members of the party. "Even so, I think we have nothing to lose by trying that first. All opposed to me sticking my head into the cell and calling for Xo again?"

[Estralita]

Raka thought hard for a few moments. "I don't know-unless it's the Stein of the Giants? it turned up a few days before the Glood, but the merchant selling it vanished in the chaos. Stories say that the atrifact whas the size of a chair, and capable of moving buildings, but that was never tested."

In response to Hal, Raka nodded. "Yes. At the very least, we need ot explain what happened to the child. While you do that, perhaps I could have a talk with the girl about that passage.In case that doesn't work."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"That definitely can't hurt. You'll have to be extra persuasive, however. She was looking rather pissed when we left."

Halbrecht gave another pause to let anyone present voice an objection to grabbing Xo (gnolls and Zid included), before going back to the cell where they'd left.

"For the record, Verikora, I believe you and your people will be safest remaining out here and out of sight and hearing for the time being. No need to let our hostess get stressed by a whole bunch of guests, if you catch my drift."

Halbrecht poked his head into the cell, making sure his body was outside so that he could jump back if the door slammed shut again.

"Xo? Are you there? We really need to speak with you!"

[Felhammer]

Halbrecht calls out but no one replies.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"Okay, this approach is clearly not working. I wanted to try and keep any anger at trespassing to a minimum, but if Xo isn't going to show his face, I think we have no choice but to talk to the girl again and get the passage location out of her."

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger nods. "I don't think we have a choice. Just tell me if you need me to try to remove the traps."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"That will probably be the case. Of course, we'll have to get her to calm down first. Telling her how we prevented the Sanctum from turning into a pyre will probably get her attention, as will reminding her how we're her only ticket out. But we need to hurry - it's already been several minutes since we left the child behind, and the longer we wait the more likely something bad is to happen to him."

Halbrecht then led the party back inside.

[Estralita]

Raka nodded, and headed back towards the place they last saw the girl. A part of her idly wondered if she would stil be there. The girl had been proved a liar once. Perhaps this was all just an act.

[Rysc]

Fare


"That will probably be the case. Of course, we'll have to get her to calm down first. Telling her how we prevented the Sanctum from turning into a pyre will probably get her attention, as will reminding her how we're her only ticket out. But we need to hurry - it's already been several minutes since we left the child behind, and the longer we wait the more likely something bad is to happen to him."

Fare shrugs as she follows Hal. [B]"This is assuming the Sanctum follows a set teleportation pattern, because otherwise...how were you planning on finding him? Not that I want to leave him there, but I don't think we need to feel too pressured to get the girl out quickly since we'd either have to wait for the Sanctum to teleport a few more times, or charge blindly out into the wilds."

[Felhammer]

Hal leads the party back to the room full of buzz saws. The girl inside laughs, "I thought you were abandoning me."

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She nodded in agreement to the plan as she ventured with the group back to the trapped room. She looked on hearing the girl speak. She seems not too satisfied by her response. She was far from the able type in being able to recognize deceit, being all the more skeptical of her. She decided to keep quiet, glancing around uncertain just how they might be able to slip past. Her head turned to Silith, curious to see what the ranger would do to try and get them through the hall unscathed.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht


"This is assuming the Sanctum follows a set teleportation pattern, because otherwise...how were you planning on finding him? Not that I want to leave him there, but I don't think we need to feel too pressured to get the girl out quickly since we'd either have to wait for the Sanctum to teleport a few more times, or charge blindly out into the wilds."
"It was my hope that either the Sanctum follows a set teleportation pattern, or they can control where it goes. It might transpire that neither is the case, and the child is helpess until further notice, but we have to try."


***

Halbrecht raised an eyebrow at her words. "Abandon you? Hardly. I said I was going to deal with the gnolls, and that I would return. And I meant it, and so I have. As it happens, I managed to convince them not to burn the Sanctum down with everyone in it, so we no longer have to worry about that."

"In any case, my offer is the same as before. Swear that you are not a member of the Romnid and tell us where the passage to the Wizard's office is, and I will release you. As a word of warning, the Sanctum does teleport around, if you weren't already aware - so while I can understand your desire to leave as soon as possible, I really do think you would be safest if you waited until we were done here so that you could leave under our protection and with us to guide you. That, and the gnolls are still outside. Not quite sure how they'll react to strangers."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

If releasing her now is the only way to gain her co-operation, Halbrecht will do so, but he'd much prefer not to.

[Felhammer]

"You're a real bastard, you know that? You can't just free a helpless girl? No, you want to run off and KILL THE GIANT. You should be ashamed of yourself." She paces back and forth, the whole while cursing under her breath and glaring at Hal.

"Fine. I am not part of this Rumdun group and the passage is on your left, concealed behind the door. The oaf-like child used it a few times. Just pull the unlit brazier above your head. It will open the passageway."

Everyone looks up but no one sees anything.

She notices your confusion, "Yasgaram! You are all stupid! It is invisible! Did none of you take a basic magic class? Gods!"

One of you reaches their arms up and, after some maneuvering, everyone hears a metal clink. The brazier is about the size of a person's head and... Kind of feels vaguely skull-shaped. It seems to be hung on a chain. With a little tug, it could be pulled down...

[Estralita]

Raka raised her eyes at the outburst only for them to narrow at the mention of Yasgaram. Whatever modicum of trust the girl had from Raka completely vanished. Still, Raka attempted to keep her tone even. "Is insulting your rescuers really something you want to be doing at this moment?" she asked mildly. Raka looks up towards the chain. "Do me a favor and don't pull that just yet."

Time for Raka to do what Raka does outside of combat: Examine magic stuff. I'd roll Sense Motive, but honestly, Raka's already made up her mind. Plus Raka has no investment so it likely wouldn't matter.:smallwink:

Anyway,Spellcraft!:
[roll0]
Checking for magic booby traps. Silith will have to check for the mundane ones.

[Felhammer]

Raka rolls the invisible skull over in her hand. It doesn't seem to be inherently magical, just that someone has permanently cast invisibility upon it. As she bounces it back and forth she notices the chain feels like it is heading deeper into the hallway (towards the girl), rather than to the left (which should expose the hidden door).

She hates you and she isn't telling the truth. She's very rude but otherwise fairly truthful.

[Rysc]

Fare

And you're an entitled idiot, you know that?

Needless to say, Fare is not feeling any friendlier towards the girl than before. She does remember her outburst earlier, and decides to refrain from forcefully vocalizing her thoughts to the girl. She does comment, "You know, it might be good to stop...inventing...words we never said and working yourself up over them." The druid nods at Raka. "Some wise advice from her. I'd try to listen to it if I were you."

Sense Motive: [roll0]

Fare is specifically looking to see if 1) she's lying about the "Rumdum group" and 2) she's lying about the doorway.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith eyes Raka questioningly. "See anything unusual, Raka?" she asks with a small smile.

Then, she turns to Halbrecht. "Just tell me when, Halbrecht." The ranger nods in the general direction of the trapped room.

[Felhammer]

She seems truthful about the Rumdum but the door... Far less so.

[Estralita]

Raka let go of the skull. "Nice try."Raka turned her gaze to the rest of the room, looking for more magical traps and secrets.

Using Detect Magic. Should I roll Perception as well?

[Felhammer]

Even with Raka's enhanced skill set, she does not see any other traps in the room, save for the buzz saws.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Lying again? Really?

"As it happens, neither my training as a Starless Knight, nor my appointment as the Baron of Westbow covered magic."

Halbrecht idly pulled out his sword, letting it reflect in the torchlight as he paused for a moment to look at it before returning it to his sheath, making sure to hold it up where Zirina could get a good look at it.

"In any case, a deal is a deal. As a gesture of good faith, we'll go ahead and disarm the traps."

Halbrecht nodded at Silith. As she went to work, however, he frowned back at Zirina.

"Or at the very least, we'll disarm half of them. The rest will have to wait until you reveal whatever else it is you're hiding from us. I don't appreciate liars, Zirina."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith nods. "Right. Let's start with one and see how that goes. You stay ready to dodge out of the way if necessary, Zirina."

Having said that, the ranger takes out her tools (including a 10 foot pole) and attempts to jam something into the nearest sawblade mechanism, all the while trying not to step on any of the pressure plates.

Let's roll disable device (and hope I don't mess up):
[roll0]

[Felhammer]

Zarina stops here feet and yells, "You people are insufferable! I demand that you pull the chain!"

She paces back and forth then yells, "Because it de-activates the trap! You... People are so evil... And stupid! There is no secret passage. I wanted you to pull the skull to de-activate the trap. Before you realized what was going on, I was going to run right past you and through the door to FREEDOM. Now you people have to go and stuff planks up in the rafters. You people... Gods! You people are the worst. Free me! I held up my end of the bargain!"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Hal's Sense Motive: [roll0]
Starman's Sense Motive: [roll1]

Halbrecht looked at Zirina levelly.

"You know, this would have gone much more quickly if you'd just told us the truth."

Reaching up, Halbrecht pulled the chain firmly.

"As you've said, you have upheld your end of the bargain. You are now free to go. Just be careful out there."

[Rysc]

Fare

Oh, great, and when she runs off to tell her friends how evil and stupid we are there's going to be another group of people who dislike us. More.

Fare hovers a little higher off the ground and glances back at the gnolls. "There's a girl that may come running through...she was trapped here and we've just...assisted her, but she may want to get outside as fast as possible. Regardless of where we are."

The druid sighs and reluctantly looks back at the girl. "The last bit also applies to you. Since, obviously, we are evil and stupid and incapable of mind-reading, I won't stop you from running out the door but...freedom might be geographically farther away than where you might imagine." She shrugs. "Though you could have this all planned, be my guest."

[Felhammer]

Zirina scoffs at Fare, "You are stupid. And ugly. Gods, you people are the worst kind of homeless hill folk, aren't you!?" As she confidently strides towards the door, she spits on Hal's boot and glares at him, "You are an oaf of a man. A fool. A contemptible, vile troglodyte. Next time you find a princess in your midst, you best remember your place, Baron." As she walks out the door, the poor girl screams bloody murder and looks back at Hal, "I assume these mutts are your friends. Disgusting. Completely unbecoming of a noble."

For her part, the lead Gnoll merely rolls her eyes and allows Zirina to pass in peace. Out she goes, down the hall and into the wilderness...

Before the party is another closed door. It too is locked.

There have been rumors of a Fire Giantess lurking in the woodlands known as the Fiac. Fire Giants in these parts are rare, their kind having long ago been butchered into obscurity by the wrath of the Storm and Cloud Giants. The tales spoken by travelers speak of the giantess as a great wizard leading a small army of giants and beastfolk. Vera Krakova and your father, Waldemar Berngard, have both grown quite uneasy with the regularity of these rumors, a few even being whispered by trusted friends and confidants.

These rumors also spoke of how the Fire Giantess took up residence within a long forgotten tower that dwelt deep within the Fiac and of how she used her sorcerous powers to move the building around the woodlands, so as to evade any attackers or interlopers. The only way to gain entry to this tower, rumor has it, was to travel by way of Hellfire (a mysterious plane where devils, mages and other beings strike bargains with travelers seeking to visit far away places).

A halfling Blue Wizard by the name of Abayus joined you on your sojourn to the Sanctum. He was a brash man, stubborn in his opinions and unerringly quick to anger. You do not remember much of your journey through Hellfire but Abayus served as your guide and protector. The only aspect you do remember is meeting a Xill (http://www.lomion.de/cmm/img/xill.gif)who demanded a pendant that your wizard friend wore.

Upon arriving within the Sanctum, you found yourselves in a locked dungeon room. Nausea overwhelmed your senses for several minutes, Abayus said your affliction was transitory and often afflicted those who were inexperienced in the ways of Hellfire travel. As you looked around the dungeon, you saw a handful of chains and some old bones but little else of note. Through a hole in the ceiling a slithery voice asked you many poignant questions, specifically if you were the Earl of Castle Clearwater or you knew where he was. Abayus grew increasingly angry at the questions and so cast a levitation spell upon himself and traveled up through the hole. The sound of battle were heard but you were helpless as you did not possess the ability to get to the hole in the ceiling, much less climb through it (even little Abayus struggled mightily to squeeze his way through). After a few minutes, the halfling's corpse plummeted through the hole, smacking down upon the floor mere feet from where you stood.

The slithering voice asked you several more questions before the room filled with a green smoke. The smoke was laced with some kind of magical sedative that knocked you out. When you awoke, you found yourself in a new room, this one shaped more like a hallway, with a door at either end. The door closest to you was sealed shut and locked. The door on the wall opposite appeared to be shut. When you tried to venture to that side of the room, a trap was triggered which released a torrent of magical flame from the ceiling. The flames cascaded down the hall, charring several rats who had come to call this area home.

Thus, you were trapped near the first door, sat beside your friend's corpse. You rifled through his belongings to find anything of use. You have been in the dungeon for a day now. You have heard yelling from beyond the door furthest from you. You have called out but the person on the other side never responded. You have not seen or heard of anyone else. Your weapons are gone. You fear that you may die here, unless Krakova or your father send help soon!

- Glove of Storing (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/glove-of-storing)
- Inside the glove, you find a battleaxe that has been secreted away. Its shaft is made from obsidian and its head shimmers like spilt oil in the sun
- Three Potions of Cure moderate Wounds
- One Potion of Enlarge Person
- One Potion of Reduce person
- Amulet of Fireballs (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/m-p/necklace-of-fireballs) (Type V)

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith tries not to pay too much attention to the girl's ranting. And when it has died down in the distance after she has disappeared, Silith shakes her head. "Was that wise, Halbrecht? She may not make it back alive. Though I doubt anyone will miss her, spoiled brat." The ranger sighs.

"Either way, this'll probably come back to bite us in the ass."

Then, she turns her attention to the closed and locked for before them. Silith takes a good long look at the door searching for trip wires or other trap-activating mechanisms. Once she's certain that the door is not trapped, she takes a moment to examine the lock if it is visible.

Perception roll: [roll0]

(Question: does our current terrain count as urban? Or is it something else?)

[Rysc]

Fare


"Was that wise, Halbrecht? She may not make it back alive. Though I doubt anyone will miss her, spoiled brat."

"Either way, this'll probably come back to bite us in the ass."

"Too late now to worry." Fare shrugs. "And if she insists on running away and geting her entitled self killed, I'm not going to argue with her."

Whatever we do, she's going to make us look bad so might as well stay out of it.

She flies over to the door leading outside while Silith inspects the traps, but more to try to determine where the Sanctum might have taken them this time than out of any concern for the spoiled girl.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht


"Was that wise, Halbrecht? She may not make it back alive. Though I doubt anyone will miss her, spoiled brat."

"Either way, this'll probably come back to bite us in the ass."

"Too late now to worry." Fare shrugs. "And if she insists on running away and geting her entitled self killed, I'm not going to argue with her."

Whatever we do, she's going to make us look bad so might as well stay out of it.
Halbrecht nodded at Silith. "It's like Fare said. We did do our best to warn her of the dangers. Heck, we offered to escort her back if she had the patience to wait. And it's not like we could just leave her behind. Granted, we could have waited until after we dealt with the giantess, but considering that woman's attitude, I almost think we're doing her a favor."
Halbrecht chuckled a little at his poor attempt at humor.

"And I agree, it probably will bite us in the ass, but we do need to progress forward. So... onwards."

Halbrecht stood back and let Silith work on the door.

I thought it was the best action at the time, though I agree with the critiques.

[Felhammer]

Fare heads out into the main hallway to see where the Sanctum has taken the party. It looks like an old section of the forest, perhaps even ancient. Gnarled trees have grown into one another forming a tree-wall around the tower. The whole area seems desolate of animal life, save for one little robin that stands motionless as it gazes at you.

Silith looks over the door and finds it to be locked with a fairly standard tumbler lock. No traps can be seen.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Lilyanna mourned beside the corpse of Abayus, saying a few prayers to Almaharra, and attempting to lay out the body respectfully. He deserved a decent burial if she could get out. She'd appropriated what useful items she could, figuring that the Wizard would want her to use every resource at her disposal. The necklace was secured around her neck, though the beads resting against her skin were an uncomfortable reminder of the destructive potential she now carried. The glove was interesting. Hiding a full-sized weapon away in a glove was a wonderful idea, though she kept the item secreted away. The potions, she shoved within pockets, having nowhere else to store them. Time passed, during which she thought she heard a voice, or perhaps several voices, on the other side of the door. There was no response to her cries for help, and she wondered whether she would die in the cell, or if help would come in time.

Sometime later, she thought she heard voices again, and stood up, banging on the door and calling loudly, "Is anyone there? I am trapped in here!"

[Felhammer]

The party hears a woman yelling. Some banging as well but it is muffled and faint, almost like she is yelling from the other side of a long hallway.

Zid, the drow wizard who had accompanied the party to the Sanctum, looks over at Silith and Raka, "Do your elf ears hear that? A woman is yelling..." He leans up and laces his ear on the door, "Is... Any... One... There? The rest is garbled. Perhaps we should open the door quickly?"

Starman looks up to Halbrecht, "It could be a trap." The boy draws his sword and takes up a defensive fighting posture that the Earl taught him during his week long crash course in the martial arts.

[Estralita]

Raka frowned. "Another? How many people are coming to see the Fire Giantess today?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"A lot, apparently."

Turning to his pupil, Halbrecht nodded. "Obviously, I'd like to believe that's not the case, but you know what they say - hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

The Starless Knight drew his own sword, then nodded at Silith. "Let's see what's behind door number one. Everyone else, be on your guard."

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger nods, looking at Zid. "I heard that. Could be a trap, wouldn't be the first time." Silith pauses for a moment, pondering. "Then again, it's a horrible trap, since I was going to open the door anyway."

She looks the door over again, then laughs a bit when she hears Raka's comment. "Maybe she's having friends over for dinner?" The ranger shakes her head at the silly idea.

"At least the door doesn't seem to be trapped. And it looks like a fairly standard lock." And with that comment, Silith bends onto one knee in front of the door to get a good look at the lock. Then, she takes out her tools and goes to work in an attempt to pick the lock and hopefully open the door.

Disable device: Taking 10 for [26]

[Felhammer]

Silith pops the lock and opens the door. Before you is a woman in her mid-twenties with a sturdy, muscular build. She has short auburn hair and hazel eyes. She stands next to the battered corpse of what looks like a halfling. Betwixt you and this new woman is a hallway, much like the one you find yourselves in currently, except the trap seems to be nozzles ready top spew something terrible (most likely) rather than buzz saws.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Upon seeing the woman in a situation similar to that of Zirina, Halbrecht relaxed slightly, but did not lower his sword completely.

"Are you alright, Miss? Who are you?"

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare considers asking the robin where the Sanctum is now, but thinks better of it. The thing's probably going to move again before they're finished, anyway. She returns to the now-opened doorway, where apparently the party has found...another prisoner. Or person, at any rate.

Chances are low that this will be another bratty noble. I hope.

Also, who builds multi-layer dungeons like this?

She stays hovering behind the party, trying to detect if there's another magical switch somewhere on this side.

Detect Magic in the general vicinity of the doorway, and why not on the traps as well.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Snapping off a weary, but no less enthusiastic bow, Lilyanna looked at the people arrayed before her. "I am Lilyanna Berngard, sir. Daughter of Lord Waldemar Berngard, Paladin of the Realm, and late of the Horsemaidens. Before I say more, might I have your name and your business in this place?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Well. At least this prisoner has some manners.

Giving a wry half-smirk as this thought passed through his head, Halbrecht looked over the woman, his expression turning more serious as he ran her words through his head.

Ordinarily, I'd be making a Sense Motive check, but since I know out-of-character that Lilyanna's telling the truth, I'm going to take it as a given that I get a positive result.

It doesn't seem like she's lying - and if she's a paladin, there's no way she could be one of the bad guys. Which means that, for once, I think we're safe introducing ourselves right off the bat.

Visibly relaxing, Halbrecht sheathed his sword and greeted Lilyanna by way of a short bow.

"A pleasure to meet you, Dame Berngard. My name is Halbrecht, a Starless Knight of Valor from Blackvale - and recently, by the will of Prince-Elector Kriegbrecht, Earl of Castle Clearwater, Baron of Lake Westbow, and Lord Protector of Vlastov." Halbrecht paused to take a breath. "Always a mouthful... As for the why of our presence, my companions and I came to this place to find the Fire Giantess who lives here. Our intelligence has informed us that she is using powerful magic to cut off Hellfire access to Castle Clearwater at the behest of one Alteris Vexx, and we have come to cease this activity, among other things. Hopefully via diplomacy, but... Well, I think you get the gist."

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, what brought you to this place?"

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The barbarian gave a scolding look as miss 'spoiled princess' parted ways from them. She had been half tempted to tug her back by the arm, but she had refrained from doing so. She wasn't very content with allowing someone like that to simply do such an act and venture off. Her glare lingered in the direction she had left off to.

Venturing with the party she stood quietly by as Lilyanna was let free of her prison. She looked to the women giving a light nod in response. "Aisha Silverlight." She spoke quite bluntly. She wasn't one to give any more details on herself. Outside the fact she was rather secretive of her actual origins, she always thought titles were over-all petty to really announce. She kept quiet letting Halbrecht question her.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith arches a brow at Halbrecht. "Introductions out of the way? I know you're a lord now, but that doesn't mean the rest of us don't need to be introduced, Halbrecht," she says jokingly, then turns to Lilyanna and bows slightly.

"Well met, miss Berngard. I'm Silith, that's Raka, Aisha already introduced herself, our companion Fare is floating around over there, this is..." Silith is in the process of pointing everyone out, then pauses. "You know what? Maybe everyone should introduce themselves... Later..."

The ranger rubs the back of her neck. Yes, very well done, Silith. Not awkward at all.

She smiles slightly. "One thing though: everyone should stay put. There's a bunch of traps in the way in case you didn't notice."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht rubbed the back of his neck, a slight look of embarrasment on his face. "My apologies, Silith. I would have normally introduced you girls, but I think our new friend here has bigger things on her mind at the moment. Perhaps once we've defused these..."

​Hal's Perception: [roll0]

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

"Just Lilyanna, please," the Paladin murmured as she sorted things out in her head. "Almaharra has anticipated my prayers then," she declared, and a smile lit up the woman's face. "It is no coincidence, this meeting of ours, my lord, for I have two tasks, and your presence here may facilitate the completion of both. First, and more urgently, I was sent by my father to accompany the Blue Wizard known as Abayus to see if certain rumors about the very same Fire Giantess you seek. Abayus and I traveled via Hellfire, and arrived in what I surmise was a dungeon cell. I believe it was a trap. Upon arrival, I was afflicted with nausea. A short time thereafter, a serpent-like voice spoke through a hole in the ceiling and asked many questions. I am afraid I do not remember much, save that the questions centered upon your name, my lord. The voice specifically asked if either of us were the Earl of Castle Clearwater or whether we knew where he was. Abayus grew angry and attempted to levitate up through the hole. Shortly thereafter, his corpse fell back through. Since then, I have spent more time refusing to answer more questions from the voice, exploring my confines, and attempting to put Abayus' remains in order. I have recovered several items from his body: A necklace of fireballs, several potions, and a magical glove that appears to summon a battleaxe."

Lilyanna took a moment to search in her backpack, producing a rolled and sealed scroll. She held it out to Halbrecht. "The second task is to find you, my lord. This is a letter from my father, Lord Waldemar Berngard of Hightower. I do not know exactly what he has written, but my instructions after completing my mission were to seek you out and swear allegiance. It is my family's duty and highest honor to be hereditary bodyguards to the Barons of Westbow. Once you read the letter, I must swear my family's oath, upon completion of which (and your gracious acceptance), I am bound to you."

From Lord Waldemar Berngard of Hightower,

To Halbrecht, Earl of Castle Clearwater, Baron of Lake Westbow, and Lord Protector of Vlastov:

Greetings,

I offer felicitations upon your promotion to Baron, and welcome you to these lands. The woman bearing this letter is my daughter, Lilyanna Natalya Valerya Berngard. Unfortunately, due to my age and an old battle wound, which prevents me from traveling except by wagon, I am unable to greet you in person, and am sending Lilyanna in my stead. As you may or may not know, the Berngard family has a long and storied history of serving the Barony of Lake Westbow. Many years ago, the Berngard family held a minor barony of its own, which was absorbed by the larger Barony of Lake Westbow. In return, my family was given the hereditary role of serving as honor- and body-guards to the reigning Baron.

Until notification reached us of your ascension to the Barony, Lilyanna was unofficially in the service of one Vera Krakova, leader of the Horsemaidens of Stormsnow. The Horsemaidens are an elite band of heavy cavalry devoted to the defense of Westbow, particularly against any of the beastfolk who may cause trouble. Vera Krakova was rumored to be the next in line for the Barony, and my daughter’s leaving her service for yours may raise some political issues, but I am confident that you will overcome any difficulties that may arise.

Lilyanna has instructions to swear our family’s traditional oath of fealty to you, noted at the bottom of this letter, from which point she will become the new Highguard. The position of Highguard is a prestigious one, though fraught with peril for the position entails guarding the life of the Baron of Lake Westbow. To the death, if necessary. There are, of course, some stipulations, including the requirement that the service to the Baron not violate any of the tenets of trust, loyalty, and honor, nor require the swearer to do commit any deed distasteful to the will of Almahara. Beyond that, the loyalty of the Highguard is yours to command in whatever role you see fit, and though most of Lilyanna’s talents lie within the realm of martial prowess, she is a capable diplomat, medic, and animal trainer.

There is one other matter that I would request your aid with, should you wish to indulge a crippled, old man. My wife, Katerina, and I are unlikely to have any more children. After the disappearance of Lilyanna’s older brother Woldemar – the previous Highguard to Baron Dar – she has become our last hope for keeping the family line intact. Should she die without issue, the position of Highguard will pass to one of the lesser branches of the Berngard family. Branches which may not have the best interests of the realm at heart, mind you. My wish would be for Lilyanna’s new liege-lord to find a man of fitting birth and stature, not to mention honor and faith, for her to be wed to. Such a family would, of course, be required to travel in your train, as Lilyanna must fulfill her obligations as Highguard, save for the time necessary to birth and wean a child. I ask this of you because she has resisted my entreaties for her to find a respectable man in the nobility to be her husband. I also do not wish to cast aspersions upon the character of my daughter. She is a stout-hearted woman of inestimable faith, but she can be very willful if not taken in hand.

Should you wish to discuss these matters further, please do not hesitate to visit me at Highguard tower, or send return correspondence, and I will endeavor to meet you in any place designated where I may also swear fealty.

Signed,
Lord Waldemar Berngard

P.S. Below is the text of the Oath of Fealty my daughter is to swear. Please make sure she does so correctly.

"I promise on my faith, that I will be faithful to my lord, never cause him harm, and will observe my homage to him completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit, under the guidance and tenents of Almahara, so long as I shall live."

[Rysc]

Fare

"Not to sound rude or anything," Fare says, "But do you people think we could save this for a little later? It'd be great if we didn't have to yell down a hall of traps to each other, and it'd also be great if we didn't ride the Sanctum around half the country before we figure out what exactly we're doing." She pauses. "That being said, nice to meet you, Lilyanna."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"And that's the other reason I'm not doing formal introductions at the moment. Silith, as the expert here, I leave it to you to figure out how to disarm these traps. Raka, Fare, if you wouldn't mind scanning the area for magic?"

[Felhammer]

Between Fare, Zid and Raka, the group is able to find another invisible skull chain, this time located at Lilyanna's end of the hallway, just above her head.

[BramsesII]

Silith


"And that's the other reason I'm not doing formal introductions at the moment. Silith, as the expert here, I leave it to you to figure out how to disarm these traps. Raka, Fare, if you wouldn't mind scanning the area for magic?"

Silith nods. "Right. Good point. I'll see if there's any obvious triggers before I get to work on that, though." The ranger begins looking around carefully, hoping to spot any trigger mechanisms, and hopefully a good way of disarming the trap. That is, if the magic-searching people don't find anything first.

Perception: [roll0]

(Uh, to repeat my question: what sort of terrain are we in at the moment? Because that's rather relevant for some of Silith's skill checks.)

[Felhammer]

The room grows hazy once more. Everyone feels woozy and dizzy. This time Raka slips and falls on her butt. As the party looks outside, they see the dense forest terrain has been replaced by a mountainous one.

You hear the sounds of Moosemen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PyKhohVcY)on the wind.

The Moosemen are beastfolk that look, unsurprisingly, like moose. Female Moosemen vary in size between that of a human and that of a giant, their men can grow up to twice the height of a giant. They are highly territorial. They are violent but can be reasoned with if you bribe them. They have been known to destroy whole villages and towns.

Zid helps Raka to her feet and says, "The teleportation magic that is being used to move this place is... Less than satisfying."

The jets of fire are triggered by a randomized assortment of pressure plates, like the last room. The hall is filled with lots of plates that look real but could be fake. Raka, Zid and Fare all saw an invisible chain (like the last room) hanging above Lillyana's head.

Mountainous terrain this time.

[Estralita]

Raka had stiffened visibly when Lilyanna mentioned the word Paladin. People leeching power from others so they could impose their own belief on others. And they chose the path.Not like an Oracle who had the power forced on them.That though brought the wooden pendant to mind, and she grasped it. That Goddess, whoever she was, put the thing on her. Had she done anything else? Her magic didn't seem to be any different but-

The sudden change of scenery knocked Raka's train of thought off. They clearly couldn't stand around pondering right now. And paladin or not, the woman was much more polite and had given no (other) reason to distrust her. And at least she wasn't a devotee of Yasgaram or Reinarra.

"It looks like there's another shortcut here." Raka said, looking across the room. "There's an invisible skull above you. One just like it in another room disarmed all the traps."

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Lilyanna reached above her head, fumbling around for something she could not see.

If she finds it, she yanks on it with all her might, and waits to see what happens...

[Felhammer]

After some groping the paladin finds the skull and yanks it down. The nozzles which line the hallway retract back into the ceiling.

[BramsesII]

Silith

As Silith is about to begin disarming the trap, the castle is yet again transported somewhere else. It takes her a while to get her bearings, but she does notice unusual sounds in the distance. She holds up a hand for everyone to be silent for a short moment, then speaks. "Did you hear that? Sounds like... moose. Maybe moosemen. We've changed locations again, and we're not alone."

She's about to return to the traps when Raka tells Lilyanna how to disable the traps. The ranger shrugs. "Well, that makes my job a lot easier." She turns to look at Halbrecht. "Which way?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht frowned as he strained his ears, just barely able to hear the braying of the moosemen.

"Aaargh. We are losing far too much time with getting sidetracked like this, but we should at least give the gnolls a heads up about this. That braying doesn't sound very friendly."

Halbrecht made to turn back down the hall, motioning Lilyanna to follow them. "I apologize, Lilyanna, but formalities and a proper attending to your friend will have to wait until we have a moment to rest. For now, I believe at least one of us should have a spare weapon you can use if it is so required..."

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

"You are right," the paladin agreed, "We should not linger when tasks await us. You all have my thanks for the rescue, by the way. As for weapons..." Lilyanna snapped her gauntleted fingers, and a battleaxe appeared in her hand, "I am armed. Which way, my lord? Through the door behind me, or another way?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

"In a perfect world, we'd go through the door behind you, but as you can hear, there are moosemen approaching. Earlier, we had the Axepaws show up on our doorstep, and we managed to talk our way out of that situation well enough - but I'm concerned what will happen if the two come to blows. We need to get back to the entrance and, at the very least, give them instructions. If the moosemen are close enough, we might stay and try to convince them to leave."

Halbrecht looked around at the rest of the party.

"Is everyone agreed? Or does anyone think that we need to focus on finding the giantess first? There is the matter of her son to consider..."

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith nods. "Best to deal with the most pressing threat first. I don't relish getting ourselves in grand three-way melee." She looks at Halbrecht. "So yes, we fix this, then we head to see the giant."

Then, the ranger turns to Lilyanna. "Miss Lilyanna, I'm going to assume you're well-trained enough to take care of yourself in case this ends in a fight. If not, I trust you'll be wise enough to stay out of the fray."

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

The paladin swung the axe a few times, testing its weight, "Indeed, I can defend myself, should the situation come to blows. Then Lilyanna smiled. "However, I would prefer a diplomatic resolution, unless these moosemen are fell creatures that prey upon the innocent."

[Felhammer]

The party rushes down Lilyanna's hallway, through Zirina's hallway and out into the main hallway that is lined with beautiful stained glass windows. The gnolls stand at the edge of the Sanctum watching what sounds like a tremendous battle. As you walk up behind the beastfolk, you are confronted with a truly terrible sight - a thirty foot tall mooseman is battling a small squad of men baring the orange-and-brown-crossed-wands-banners of Ft. Mastermore. Many of the men are dead on the ground, or near to it. Several look to have been trampled by the rampaging bull. Only six soldiers remain, three are feverishly reloading crossbows, while two others try their hand at fighting the beastfolk in melee. The sixth man has been picked up by the bull and is being swung around like a cudgel. The force of the mooseman's sweeping actions has clearly killed the poor soldier, his body looking more like a child's rag doll than a proper person.

Two of the gnolls look ready to rush out to the defense of the men-at-arms but Chieftess Verikora holds up her hand. "No, we cannot help them. If we do, the Sanctum will surly teleport away."

Zid casually, if a tad over-confidently states, "I have the power to transport us through Hellfire. Getting back here will be easy."

"Sonbahar teaches that surprise is an important element in achieving victory." Starman gulps and then continues, "Right now, the Giantess thinks we left in peace. What would Xo think if we returned to his dungeon by Hellfire?"

Zid throws up his arms, "We will deal with that later! Right now,"
he thrusts his pointer finger at the battle, "Good men are dying! We cannot allow them to be murdered while we sit here and debate the matter!"

"I agree with the pup, one of my kin is still inside the sanctum, we cannot abandon her. We cannot leave until she leaves with us."

"We can come back!"

"The Giantess already lost one of her children. We do not know what she will do once she realizes we had a hand in letting him go... If we leave, then our mission in the Sanctum becomes much more difficult!"


http://s28.postimg.org/4tndb0gvx/mooseman.png

[BramsesII]

Silith

Coming up behind the gnolls, Silith notices the battle and immediately rushes to the edge of the sanctum. She whips out her bow and nocks an arrow to the string. She keeps her bow trained on the mooseman, but doesn't shoot just yet.

"Halbrecht! Your call!" She yells out. "My advice: stay here. Starman has an excellent point."

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The silver haired women stepped forward as the battle was revealed. She looked on hearing Zid's words. She nodded in response looking towards Halbrecht. "We can't simply allow them to be left to be slaughtered. Such a thing should be stopped." Her voice was filled with conviction looking at Hal. She didn't like the idea of abandoning someone in need, particularly when it seemed the battle would only end in complete defeat.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As the various members of his team, as well as Verikora and Zid, spoke to him, Halbrecht's mind once more began whirling at a lightning-fast pace, assessing and reassessing strategy.

Both Starman and Verikora are right. We cannot leave without rescuing the other Axepaws, and we need the element of surprise if Xo and the Giantess get the drop on us.

But Zid is right. These are men under my command. I cannot simply abandon them to die.

Both objectives are too important. I cannot simply choose one.

...but there are enough of us that I don't have to. Starman and Silith have bows, and Raka has spells. Fare, Zid, Aisha and I are strong enough to take down the giant in close quarters, and they can concentrate on him from afar. If we're lucky, we could take down the mooseman quickly enough to get back inside before it teleports away - it's only been her for a minute. And if it does teleport away, with the addition of Verikora and Lilyanna, they would have the manpower and trap-finding abilities to continue exploring the Sanctum. Plus... We've not been able to find Xo. If we teleported back in, that would alert him for sure, as Starman said, but we can turn that to our advantage - use that opportunity to tell him about the child, and hopefully that will put him in a mood to negotiate.

...hopefully I can convince him to negotiate rather than do whatever he did to Lilyanna's friend, but even if not, Silith and the rest could simply shatter the door if it all went to heck.

I just hope she manages to be able to think along those lines.

"Not all of us have to leave."

"Starman, Silith, Raka, and Verikora, stay back and pummel the mooseman with arrows and spells! Zid, Aisha, and Fare, you are with me on the ground! Lilyanna, the choice is yours who you go with, but decide now! If we don't finish him off in time, stick by the door to the cell and prepare to get us out! The keyword is Presto, Pots and Pans!"

His Strategy administered, Halbrecht charged forward into the snow...

Starman

...leaving Starman looking a touch fearfully after his teacher and lord. What was he doing, running off like that?! It was bad that the men would have had to die, true, but their mission was vitally important! How could they expect to succeed at placating Xo if he showed up in the same cell again, after they'd already been told to leave? And after the Giantess' child had already run off, that would just add yet another offense to her list of reasons to be angry!

On top of that, the young Starless Knight of Eaglemane in training had this strange tickling sensation at the back of his head - almost as if he were a marionette who had been handed over to a different puppeteer.

Even as these doubts flew through his head, however, he had already unslung his bow through pure reflex, and, nocking an arrow, let it fly. As Halbrecht had instructed him to do, he then singularly concentrated on the subject of his oath - the Kingly Lion - and let out a great bellow.

"FOUL MOOSEMAN! IN THE NAME OF THE LION, I CHALLENGE YOU FROM AFAR!"

Halbrecht will first use a Standard Action to use Strategy, granting everyone a free bonus that may be used once during this combat:

A +2 Morale Bonus to Attack for 1 Round
A +2 Dodge Bonus to AC for 1 Round,
Or the ability to move up to Your Speed as an Immediate Action once.
He will then perform a Move Action to move to S10.

Starman will Draw his Composite Shortbow as a Move Action.
He then issues a Far Challenge against the mooseman as a Swift Action. Starman gains a +7 bonus to Damage on all his attacks versus the mooseman, but the mooseman gains a +4 bonus on attacks made to hit Starman. If Starman is hit while the challenge is issued, the benefits he receives are administered as per the standard Lion's Challenge.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
The week-long crash course in archery paid off, as Starman's arrow flew toward the mooseman and sank deep into its flesh in a gap between pieces of leather.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

The paladin quickly called upon Almaharra to bless (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/bless) the courage of her new compatriots and stepped forward to follow behind Halbrecht. "Though my oath is not yet sworn, I hold you as my liege-lord. I will stand with you." Lilyanna gripped the handaxe she had recovered from Abayus' body with one hand, and her shield in the other, staring ahead at the mooseman.

[Rysc]

Fare

...okay, we're doing this.


"Not all of us have to leave."

"Starman, Silith, Raka, and Verikora, stay back and pummel the mooseman with arrows and spells! Zid, Aisha, and Fare, you are with me on the ground! Lilyanna, the choice is yours who you go with, but decide now! If we don't finish him off in time, stick by the door to the cell and prepare to get us out! The keyword is Presto, Pots and Pans!"


Fare mutters, "Be there in a second," and begins a summoning ritual.

We'll need backup with something that size.

5-foot-step (well, flight) to U14. Fare auto-passes Fly DC for moving less than half-speed/ hovering.

Swapping out Explosion of Rot for SNAIV, full-round-action to summon an aerial (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/simple-template-aerial-creature-cr-0-or-1) tiger (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/animals/cat-great/tiger).

[Estralita]

While Raka had reservations about getting involved, she could not turn her back on her new allies or people in trouble. She had to hope Zid could make good on his boast. Raka muttered a few words, and tossed a Fireball

Standard Action casting Fireball Sentered around the Moosemen. i think I can get all twelve of them in the Blast...

[roll0]

[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]

[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]
[roll]d20+7[roll]

[BramsesII]

Silith

Dammit Halbrecht. We're splitting up again?

Silith, though disappointed at Halbrecht's plan of action, unleashes a barrage of arrows at the mooseman before yelling out.

Full Attack! (w/ manyshot, rapid shot, bless, firing into melee: -5 atk)


Attack 1 (manyshot): [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1] [roll2]

Attack 2: [roll3]
Damage 2: [roll4]

Attack 3 (rapid shot): [roll5]
Damage 3: [roll6]


"Raka, get back in here! I need you in case the sanctum teleports away!"

Unfortunately, 3 of her arrows strike the mooseman's armour with no effect, and the fourth flies wide completely, striking the ground a good distance behind the monster. "Dammit!"

[Felhammer]

Aisha walks outside with Zid. The wizard casts two spells, making both Aisha and Halbrecht stronger and more virile.

As the party walks out, they can hear the deep voiced yelling of a giant standing atop the tower. She is dressed in a regal robe and in her hand is a mighty golden scepter. She calls out, "FOUL MOOSEMAN! YOU SHALL NOT TOUCH MY HOME!" She holds out her hand and a violet stream of fire bursts forth. The magic surrounds the Mooseman and the soldiers near him. They all scream as the fire chars their flesh. Sadly, the two soldiers are burned to a crisp. The Mooseman, however, appears undaunted.

You see a snake-man standing next to a the Fire Giantess. Beside him is a large golden barrel of some kind.

The Wall deals 2d6+8 Damage to anyone passing through it.

It deals 2d4 points of damage when you are inside of it.

The men are immolated by the fire because it appeared in next to them. #Level2NPC #Doomed

The Mooseman takes [roll0] fire damage

Zid cast Bull's Strength on both Aisha and Halbrecht.

[Rysc]

Fare

A short distance away from the mooseman, a creature appears that could possibly be a tiger if it didn't seem to be partially composed of storm clouds. It hovers in the air for a second before soaring over the fiery wall and sinking its (surprisingly solid) claws into the mooseman.

Fare then flies outside the Sanctum and begins chanting another spell, in case the mooseman is enraged enough to try charging through the wall of fire.


Aerial tiger appearing at L13/M13/L14/M14. Charging (flying at an angle of roughly 45 degrees to get over the wall of fire) and pouncing on the mooseman.

Attack/ Damage:
Claw 1: [roll0]/ [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Claw 2: [roll3]/ [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Bite: [roll6]/ [roll7] + [roll8] electric
Rake 1: [roll9]/ [roll10] + [roll11] electric
Rake 2: [roll12]/ [roll13] + [roll14] electric

Grab, if either claw or bite hits: [roll15]

Fare is flying to Q13. Casting Spike Growth (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/spike-growth) in the area surrounded by the wall of fire.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht took a step back as the wall of fire surrounded the Mooseman.

There's no way any of us are getting through that without getting roasted.

Turning his head up, he noted with simultaneous excitement dread that the Giantess and Xo had finally made their appearance.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his head skyward and called to them.

"Fire Giantess, Xo! Once we have all taken care of the Mooseman, please come down here! There's something important I need to tell you!"

Having done this, he then fell back to the sanctum, noting with slight alarm that there were more people out on the field than there needed to be.

Starman

Well, so much for the element of surprise.

The strangely alien thoughts continued to go through one part of Starman's head, while another part of him remained more focused on taking down the Mooseman. As he nocked another arrow, he suddenly felt a sudden burst of inspiration. During the week-long instruction, both he and Halbrecht had noted that the boy had an almost preternatural affinity with boys, far more so than the knight would ever have. And taking a chance, the would-be knight decided to focus his aim on a couple more vulnerable-looking parts of the Mooseman...

Halbrecht

Diplomacy (to make the Giantess befuddled rather than hostile at our sudden appearance): [roll0]

Halbrecht will then use Total Defense​.

Starman

Starman is taking a Full-Round Action to make a Full Attack, to which he will be applying his Rapid Shot and Deadly Aim feats. He is also burning his use of Strategy to add +2 to Attack.

Attack 1: [roll1]
Damage 1: [roll2]
Rapid Shot: [roll3]
Rapid Shot Damage: [roll4]
Attack 2: [roll5]
Damage 2: [roll6]
Unfortunately, the boy's arrows all stuck ineffectually into the giant's armor, not finding flesh.

[Felhammer]

The slithery snake-man slinks to the edge of the tower, looking down at the party through an opening in the castellation. "Lover, I believe the puny ape-man wishes to parlay with you? Should I kill him or simply teleport away...?

The giantess heaves her scepter on this her shoulder as she considers the point. "Let us see if he can kill the Mooseman. If he can best the beast, then I will talk with him, if he dies then... It is no flame off my hair."

"Good, good, my lover. Excellent plan!"

Meanwhile Zid casts a protective ward upon Aisha and Halbrecht.

Protection From Evil

Any PC who has not acted thus far this turn may do so now.

[Estralita]

Raka considered her options when Hal and the two at the top of the tower made her choice clear. It was time for more fire. Raka muttered a few words and shot two rays of intense heat at the Mooseman.

Casting Scorching at the Mooseman. It's a ranged touch spell, so any armor doesn't matter. Two rays each.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith grits her teeth and focuses on the mooseman before letting loose another barrage of arrows. This time, she'll have more luck. She lets fly...

Swift action to use ranger's focus on mooseman (+4 atk & dmg)
Full attack (w/ manyshot, rapid shot, deadly aim, bless, ranger's focus, firing into melee: -4 atk, +10 dmg):


Attack 1 (Manyshot): [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1] [roll2]

Attack 2: [roll3]
Damage 2: [roll4]

Attack 3 (Rapid Shot): [roll5]
Damage 3: [roll6]



...and all her arrows go wide this time. Not one manages to strike its target. "Bloody..." She curses through gritted teeth.

The ranger then yells out, as Raka isn't moving back inside the sanctum. "Raka! Get back in here before the sanctum disappears!"

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Lilyanna sighed in frustration. She missed Jasper at a time like this, but she'd had to leave him behind in Vlastov to reach the sanctum stealthily. "Probably for the best," she muttered, wondering what would have come of the griffon had he been captured along with Lilyanna and Abayus. The paladin followed Halbrecht back inside, taking up a guarded stance and keeping an eye out for trouble, lest the mooseman come closer or any other foes appear.

I don't really have much in combat to contribute right now, unless the mooseman comes closer, so I'll stand around and look Paladiny. :smallbiggrin:

[Felhammer]

Zid calls out for the men to retreat into the Sanctum and they hurriedly try to get in but non can quite make it. He calls upon his mastery over transmutation magic to cast a spell to help bolster Aisha's fortitude.

The Mooseman is screaming in agony as it is burned, bitten and clawed. It lashes out against the tiger with a furious series of antler attacks.

Bear's Endurance on Aisha


Mooseman v Tiger #1
a [roll0]
d [roll1]

Mooseman v Tiger #2
a [roll2]
d [roll3]

Mooseman v Tiger #3
a [roll4]
d [roll5]

Mooseman v Tiger #4
a [roll6]
d [roll7]


The Giantess looks surprised as the people flee into the Sanctum. The serpentine man snarkily comments, "The ants are coming inside, my lover. It is time we move the Sanctum."

"Agreed."

With that said, the tower teleports away.

Those inside feel a rush of nausea as the building once more trans-locates itself. This time, the Sanctum is once more inside a dense forest, this time in an area that looks charred and burned fairly recently. As if someone cast a powerful fire spell to annihilate all life in the area.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Shaking off the nausea, Halbrecht blinked.

So they do control the teleportation. Oh, I hope Fare, Zid, Aisha, and Raka will be alright. Thankfully, that mooseman looked pretty close to death...

Poking his head back outside, Halbrecht called up to Xo and the Giantess again.

Firey field -> Mooseman -> Forest -> Mountains -> Fiac

"Xo, Giantess! We are now away from the mooseman, so hear my words and warning! Your son was stranded outside four teleports ago, in the forest! If you do not believe me, look through the seeing gem in his forehead! If there is any way you can control the destination of your teleportation, now would be the time to use such a technique!"

At last we are able to warn them. Hopefully we can keep the anger to a minimum.

Diplomacy (to make them thankful, rather than hostile, at the news - as much as can be done within reason, leastways): [roll0]

[Felhammer]

Xo scoffs at Halbrecht, "You entered my lover'sss Sssanctum again. You allowed her youngessst child to get lossst in the woodsss. You did not kill the Moossseman. You are ussselesss."

The Giantess holds up her hand, "I am Khli sak Khli - Queen of Queens. You are a petty soldier and a merchant. What business does an ant have speaking to the boot? Beg forgiveness or be crushed under my heel."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

...no trace of concern at all outside of an insult directed toward me? And didn't kill the Mooseman, my foot - that was your fault. Six more seconds and a timely spell-slash-volley of arrows and it would have fallen.

Halbrecht wisely kept these thoughts to himself, however, and did a bow and scrape.

"I beg your forgiveness, Khli sak Khli. To answer your question, I sought you out specifically because I heard you were seeking me - or, more precisely, my death. I am the new Baron of Westbow, Halbrecht, and I came to see if there was a way to convince you to drop the spell you have against Hellfire to Castle Clearwater, and to drop your vendetta against me." Halbrecht swiveled himself so he was facing Xo. "To you, Xo, I apologize for not being forthcoming with the entirety of the truth earlier, but I was concerned that if I revealed the entire truth while beneath the influence of the anti-magic field, you would kill us all before we had a chance to parley."

If ever I needed a +30 roll on the dice, it would be now.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

And I got a 19. Thank you Almahara.

[Felhammer]

The Giantess casts a spell. Out of her hands emerges a stream of fire which surrounds Halbrecht. The heat is intense, singing his skin. "You are Halbrecht, the Earl of Castle Clearwater!? Why should I not crush you under my heel right here and now? Vexx has promised me the final piece of an artifact that I need to re-found my people's homeland. Your life is meaningless next to that. Yet, I find you oddly... Curious. Tell me, why should I do as you ask? Why should I abandon my plans and designs for your sake? What do you offer in exchange?"

Hal takes [roll0] fire damage from the ring of Fire.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith is about to launch another barrage of arrows at the mooseman when suddenly everything outdoors shifts, taking Aisha, Fare, Raka and Zid with it. The ranger yells out in shock. "No! Not now!" It doesn't do much, obviously. She just stands there unsure what to do when Halbrecht takes the initiative to talk to the giantess and Xo and is wreathed in flame for his troubles.

Staying out of sight, the ranger moves up beside Lilyanna, puts a hand on her shoulder and whispers into the paladin's ear. "Miss Lilyanna. We need a plan in case Halbrecht can't convince them." Silith pauses a moment, then looks the paladin straight in the eye. "If it looks like he's failing to convince them, we pull him out of the fire and retreat to the dungeon where we came in to regroup. Understood?"

"With a bit of luck, the others'll be there." The ranger tries to sound as determined as possible, but the worry can be seen in her eyes and heard in her voice.

If they survive the encounter... she adds mentally.

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare is beginning to think that the mooseman will go down quickly when the Sanctum suddenly teleports--with half the party inside.

...great. You could've at least finished the mooseman first before teleporting.

The druid starts another spell, and dark clouds begin appearing over the mooseman's head. Within seconds they've turned into a full-blown storm, and large hailstones begin pounding the creature. The entire scene is soon obscured by thick snow and sleet, though the storm is curiously localized.

Note: so as not to mess up anybody's turn by blocking line of sight, Fare will hold off on casting until everyone else (Raka and/or Aisha) has gone. Posting now for convenience.

Casting Ice Storm (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/i/ice-storm) centered K3/K4/L3/L4 aka the mooseman.

Damage: [roll0] + [roll1]

[Othniel]

Silith

Silith is about to launch another barrage of arrows at the mooseman when suddenly everything outdoors shifts, taking Aisha, Fare, Raka and Zid with it. The ranger yells out in shock. "No! Not now!" It doesn't do much, obviously. She just stands there unsure what to do when Halbrecht takes the initiative to talk to the giantess and Xo and is wreathed in flame for his troubles.

Staying out of sight, the ranger moves up beside Lilyanna, puts a hand on her shoulder and whispers into the paladin's ear. "Miss Lilyanna. We need a plan in case Halbrecht can't convince them." Silith pauses a moment, then looks the paladin straight in the eye. "If it looks like he's failing to convince them, we pull him out of the fire and retreat to the dungeon where we came in to regroup. Understood?"

"With a bit of luck, the others'll be there." The ranger tries to sound as determined as possible, but the worry can be seen in her eyes and heard in her voice.

If they survive the encounter... she adds mentally.

Lilyanna

The paladin tensed as Halbrecht was surrounded by flames, and it took all Lilyanna's self-control not to lift her axe and demand the giantess cease her torment of Lilyanna's new companion. She grit her teeth, but was momentarily distracted by Sillith's hand upon her shoulder. Lilyanna nodded once, "Understood. If that giantess persists in her actions, I will have no choice anyway. I cannot allow the Baron to come to serious harm, if my actions may prevent it."

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger nods. "Good."

She begins to rearrange the arrows in her quiver to allow for easier access when she realizes something. From her quiver, she produces a shortbow and a smaller quiver holding 10 arrows, then holds them out for Lilyanna. "I assume you know how to shoot a bow? It's better if you have one, just in case."

A small smile plays on her lips as she hands over the weapon.

Then, since Halbrecht is busy with negotiations, Silith takes the time to cast a few spells on herself in case it comes to blows. When she's done, her skin looks more like the bark of a tree, but otherwise there's not much to be seen at first glance.

Casting Barkskin (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/barkskin), Longstrider (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/l/longstrider) and Bloodhound (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/bloodhound).

This gives her +3 AC for 60 minutes, +10 move speed for 6 hours and scent for 6 hours (+ some other things from the bloodhound spell).

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht


"You are Halbrecht, the Earl of Castle Clearwater!? Why should I not crush you under my heel right here and now? Vexx has promised me the final piece of an artifact that I need to re-found my people's homeland. Your life is meaningless next to that. Yet, I find you oddly... Curious. Tell me, why should I do as you ask? Why should I abandon my plans and designs for your sake? What do you offer in exchange?"
Halbrecht gritted his teeth against the singing, burning pain of the fire, as he replied. "Friendship."

"Khli sak Khli, believe me when I say that nothing good can come of associating with Alteris Vexx. The woman has, as of late, been seen consorting with an undine sorceress, the scion of a horror from beneath the waves known as the Lord Of Nightmares, who, if she gets her way, will destroy civilization itself - your dream of a Fire Giant nation included. I, on the other hand, have no reason to want to see your dream die. If I remember my history correctly, actually, Fire Giants have never initiated an argument or fracas with mankind. I think that is worth preserving via compact - an agreement of peace, perhaps even an alliance between Eaglemane and the Fire Giants. That is my offer."

"Also, since it is this fragment of the artifact you desire... Vexx seeks to make war against me and those I have sworn to protect. When I march against her, I will find it and bring it to you. So, in reality, granting my request does not mean abandoning your designs - merely postponing them for a little while."

Round Three. Fight!

Diplomacy (to either convince her to accept the offer or, if not that, at least want to negotiate further): [roll0]

[Felhammer]

The Mooseman is beaten and battered by Fare's might storm. He hunkers down and tries to protect himself from the hail. He yells, "WHY DO YOU PROTECT HER!? SHE KILLED MY MATE! SHE SAID IF I GOT THE EGGS, SHE WOULDN'T KILL HER... WHY DID SHE KILL HER?! WHY!?" He grabs a blanket from his pack and wraps himself in it, "Now I will never find her. I will never know why she killed my mate, my son... I want to kill you but... Why... It is of no use. With tears streaming down his face he yells, " Kill me. PLEASE! KILL ME!"


"Promises are worth nothing, especially to a Fire Giant. You say you oppose Vexx, yet you have not moved against her yet. You say you will get this artifact for me but I doubt it. You say we can be friends but history disagrees with you. Small folk have small minds, they are easily scared of change. I have no reason to trust you. Offer me something of value, then we can talk."

Xo slithers up and says, "My lover, we could have him sign a binding contract..."

The Giantess considers the point, "Yes... Yes. I agree, that would do perfectly."

The snake man pulls out a piece of parchment and scrawls across it. The Giantess then brands the paper with her mark. The two roll it up and tie it off with a red ribbon.

"I want you to read and sign this document which proclaims our eternal friendship, your official endorsement for the creation of the new Fire Giant Kingdom and your solemn promise to retrieve the Heart of Katsi which currently resides in Castle Doomsnake. In return, I will aid you in your battle against Vexx when you decide to go to war. The parchment is magical in origin. If you break your promise, the magic of the scroll will permanently brand your forehead with the word "LIAR". The same will happen to me if I break the promise."

The Giantess looks down at Halbrecht and asks, "I will release the hold I have on Hellfire Travel once you announce our treaty in front of all your nobles and subjects in Vlastov. Do we have an accord?"

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

The paladin accepted the bow and quiver with a word of thanks, and then slung them both over her back. As Lilyanna heard the offered terms of agreement, she shook her head vehemently and cleared her throat. "My liege, I do not think signing the agreement is wise. At least one of these two is responsible for my imprisonment, and the death of the Blue Wizard Abayus. Remember that you found me in a locked, trapped room where you, one of your followers, or I might have been killed. This Khli sak Khli wishes to breath life into a giant kingdom. What do you suppose will happen once such a kingdom is revived? What enemies will you make by endorsing the creation of such? And this Heart of Katsi...do we even know what it is? There are far too many unknowns here, and I do not trust the slithery words of her companion."

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The half dragon holds her blade up, watching as the mighty moose cowers away, seeming to surrender in response. She looks over at him, the woman seeming to hesitate a bit. She turned her head back looking to her companions. "Wait." She spoke out in a firm tone holding her hand up in gesture. She put away her blade, walking up towards the creature.

Her eyes focused on him sternly. "Death does nothing to fix a problem, it only allows it to persist for good. I have no desire of killing you if you seek to end your rampage. I employ you to surrender and talk. There is no reason for you to throw your life away in such a state. I am sure we can find some sort of mutual grounds to speak upon." She spoke out loud, attempting to ensure he could clearly hear her over the storm, looking at him just outside the storm.

Attempting to calm the moose-man down, perhaps attempt to convince him to surrender and hopefully be willing to talk with them.

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Felhammer]

The Mooseman huddles on the ground, shielding himself from the storm, "You don't understand. I risked life and limb to steal these gryphon eggs. Its why those soldiers were chasing me."

The group looks back at the soldiers that missed their chance to escape with the Sanctum. They nod in agreement with the beastfolk.

"The Giantess, she found my mate's cave and had her goblinoid minions loot it. The minions then threatened my mate that if she did not obtain three Gryphon eggs, then the Giantess would kill both her and her son."

"My mate, Mala, she came running down the hillside to find me. She told me what had happened. I knew I would be risking death but... What choice did I have? I couldn't let Mala and my boy be... Killed."

"I know I should have gone to the Druids for help but... I was afraid that the Giantess would kill Mala... So, I did the deed. I had to hurt a lot of people. I tried to not kill anyone but... You small people are so fragile..."

"When I was coming back from Sklen, I visited the cave... Mala and my son were butchered..." He screams, "LIKE ANIMALS!"

"They were dismembered, their body parts nailed into the wall of the cave. It was horrifying. I... I don't understand why the Giantess would betray us. I got her eggs! SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL MALA!"

You don't understand, I am not a violent man... I don;t like killing. I mean I will defend my land like any other Mooseman but that doesn't mean I relish the act of murder. I... She... Oh gods, what have I done...

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She looked to the Mooseman keeping a stern look at her face. She seemed a little uncertain in response, glancing at her companions. Her eyes ventured back to the large creature. "Are you certain it was the Giantess who did such?" She questioned looking at him. Her eyes focused on him.

"I am sorry for the loss of your family, but acting in such a brash way won't fix the problem. Please.. just settle down. I understand you are in pain... but you must try and keep calm. I want to help you out if I can to figure this out." She spoke doing her best to try and help keep the moose calm. Her eyes fixated at the great creature hoping he might relax a bit. She hadn't the slightest clue just what sort of pain he must be feeling.

[Estralita]

Raka looked on the Mooseman's plight with sorrow and regret, although she didn't know what they could have done differently, given the circumstances. But there were more pressing concerns at the moment. Raka turned and walked to Zid."Would you still be able to transport us the Sanctum?"she asked quietly.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith looks at the flaming cavalier and frowns. "Sure, let's sign a contract with the giant trying to set you on fire."

She shakes her head. "It sounds like a horrible idea, Halbrecht. You're making a ton of enemies if you sign something like that."

She looks at Lilyanna and whispers. "Get ready to act, miss Lilyanna."

[Felhammer]

"How can you help me little one? My world is gone..." says the Mooseman mournfully.

Zid nods at Raka, "The spell takes about a minute to cast. If you aid me, I can call forth orb in about half that time."

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare slowly hovers closer to the ground, staring at the mooseman. Finally she makes a small gesture with her hand, and the storm fades away. After a quick glance at Raka and Zid to confirm the drow's answer, she turns back to the mooseman. Her voice is calm and deliberate. "I am sorry for what I did earlier. I suppose that makes two of us. And you're right, I--we can't help. But I can promise you, that if those who butchered your family are who I think they are, I will make sure your world will be avenged." She lapses into silence, still staring ahead of her.

[Estralita]

Raka thought for a moment. "Could you do so if we had another passenger? A very large one? Also, would you happen to have the spells Reduce and Enlarge Person ready to cast?" She looked towards the Mooseman. Raka clearly had something more to say, but she held back. She could torture the Mooseman more with suggestions and promises they couldn't deliver

[Felhammer]

"I... I am not an evil man. I never wanted any of this..." says the Mooseman as he looks into Fare's ghostly elemental eyes.

Zid laughs, "I am a Transmutation specialist, so of course I can make people larger and smaller!" He turns his attention to the Mooseman, "Mister... Mooseman, my dear friend Raka here would like to invite you to get a spot of revenge. Are you up for it?"

The Mooseman looks at Fare and then at the wizard, "Yes."

With that said, the drow casts a spell and shrinks the Mooseman to merely giant-sized, then summons forth the Hellfire Ember, "Who has the right to rule? Hellfire! Who has the right to rule? Hellfire! Who has the right to rule? Hellfire!" The red-orange ball of fire manifests in the wizard's hand. "Time to go..."

The party is sent through Hellfire. None remember their time in the hellish place but when they arrive in the familiar looking dungeon, everyone feels exhausted and ill, as if they had marched all day long and never given a break.

The door leading out is closed and feels to be locked.

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She looks over to Fare hearing her response. She nods a bit in compliance as they set off once again to get back into the building with a now slightly smaller Bullwinkle the Moose. The teleportation once again irks her rather unpleasantly as she found herself standing back in the dungeon.

"...this place again." She spoke looking to the close door. She moved up close as if she was going to try forcing through it again, though stopping just short. She wasn't about to repeat what had happened earlier. She looked up towards the hole, wondering just what they might be able to do, seeming to be in some thought as if thinking of a plan.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht had not had a good feeling about Khli sak Khli ever since she and Xo had first started talking to him directly.

He had held out hope, however, hoping that she might truly be a mostly neutral woman who could be negotiated with, or even eventually made peace with, with some work. As she had spoken more and more, however, he had gotten a worse and worse feeling. Then, she produced the treaty, and his hopes had arrived at the edge of a precipice.

And Lilyanna and Silith pushed it off.

They're right. They're completely right.

This giantess has given me no reason to trust her, or to indicate that she would be a good neighbour. I had not wanted to jump to a false conclusion, and had hoped otherwise, but to persist now would be a fool's hope. And I know for a fact that she's going to crush us once we refuse.

Our only hope now is to stall for time until Aisha, Raka, Fare, and Zid get back. Hopefully they remember to yell "Presto! Pots and Pans!" to let us know they're there.

Here goes nothing.

Poking his head back out, Halbrecht called to the Giantess.

"I will need a minute to discuss this with my companions, Khli sak Khli. If you would be so generous?"

It is just one clutch roll after another. It never ends...

Diplomacy: [roll0]


*** If he succeeds... ***


Halbrecht turned to the rest of the party. "You're right. You're all absolutely right. I had hoped she would be reasonable, but the more and more she talks the more I am convinced that she would make a horrible neighbour. That, and three kidnappings is far too many to be mere coincidence." Halbrecht looked meaningfully at Verikora. "Given how Vexx has hired her to kill me, once she figures out I'm not going to take the treaty I'm almost certain she will come down here to squash us. So the instant you all see any signs that Aisha, Raka, Fare, and Zid have returned, get ready to smash down the door."

[Felhammer]

Veroka nods and sends her guards back to watch the door. After a minute, they start hacking the door down.

You hear Gnolls outside hitting the door with axes.

[Rysc]

Fare

...what in the world was it again that Hal told us to say...

Luckily, she doesn't need to remember. As soon as she hears the axes, Fare (back in human form) tries to wade through the water while causing as little of it to splash on her as possible. It's somewhat impossible given that she also has to edge around the mooseman, but she manages to get to one side of the door--near enough so whoever's on the other side can hear her, and hopefully clear of any debris that might come flying with the door's demolition.

The druid is not too sure she'll be heard over the axes, but says anyway,"Hello? Silith? Lilyanna? Veikora? Halbrecht? Just so you won't be too surprised, we brought the mooseman with us. We'll...explain when we're out."

She then turns to the mooseman. "Do you think you could quickly look and see what's up there?" She gestures at the hole in the ceiling. "Just...a look, since you're the tallest. Until we can get you healing don't...try to stick your head through or anything."

[BramsesII]

Silith



Halbrecht turned to the rest of the party. "You're right. You're all absolutely right. I had hoped she would be reasonable, but the more and more she talks the more I am convinced that she would make a horrible neighbour. That, and three kidnappings is far too many to be mere coincidence." Halbrecht looked meaningfully at Verikora. "Given how Vexx has hired her to kill me, once she figures out I'm not going to take the treaty I'm almost certain she will come down here to squash us. So the instant you all see any signs that Aisha, Raka, Fare, and Zid have returned, get ready to smash down the door."

The ranger nods. "Let's get to that door, then. With a bit of luck the gnolls haven't ventured further into the sanctum." She arches a brow at Halbrecht. "Also, I could try to force the lock rather than everyone attempting to smash down the door."

[Felhammer]

The Mooseman pokes his head up into the hole in the ceiling. "There are dead people up here. Humans, elves, gnolls and small giants. They are strapped to metal slabs and have wires attached to their heads. The wires are connected to a big glowing blue orb that is affixed to the ceiling. The floor is slick with blood, by the smell of it, Gnoll and Halfling blood. There is a wooden door that is closed. I can hear boots stomping on the stone floor coming from the other side."

The Giantess leans over the side of the Sanctum and calls out, "What is your reply, my lord?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As the gnolls went to work, Halbrecht stopped to consider his next course of action.

Talking to the Giantess would be the good and honorable thing to do, and when she inevitably rages at us and tries to kill us again, we'd be more than justified in defending ourselves. But then again, that would put us at a severe tactical advantage...

I think I'd prefer being able to sleep well at night - and there should be enough to break down the door.

Turning to Silith, Halbrecht spoke. "I don't think there was a lock there, but if there is, feel free. Hurry, though. I'm giving the Giantess one last chance to surrender. And if the ones inside haven't already, tell them to start hammering if you fail."

Halbrecht then made to walk out of the sanctum.


***szzzz-blorp!***

Halbrecht blinked as reality itself glitched again.

That's funny. I could have sworn that I was about to give a self-righteous speech that revolved around me misunderstanding what was currently happening in the sanctum to the Giantess, and that I was going to give it in a place where she could teleport away and leave me stranded. Luckily, I'm giving a much more reasonable one, and I'm going to see if she can hear me from inside first.

Poking his head out of the Sanctum once more - but remaining under the balcony - Halbrecht called out to the Giantess.

"Khli sak Khli?"

As it turned out, Fel saw my original rather stupid action and threw me a bone. I am thus altering my original post to be more coherent with the alternate reality that ensued.

[Felhammer]

Halbrect moved out of the wall of fire to enter the Sanctum. He takes [roll0] Damage as a consequence

Once inside the Sanctum, Halbrecht confers with his fellows. He pokes his head outside and yells to the Giantess. The woman looks down but cannot see the knight as a balcony obscures the entrance to the Sanctum. "I cannot hear you. Come outside."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

As Halbrecht made to obey the Giantess' orders, he suddenly had a very bad feeling.

If I step outside, I'm going to be all alone. And if she gets mad... There's nothing stopping her from just teleporting away.

Maybe I'll stick around and make sure that the others get out safely first. At the very least, I'll need Zid in case I get stranded.

Halbrecht turned around. "Silith, does it look like you can unlock the door?"

If the answer was no, Halbrecht began aiding the gnolls in slicing it to pieces.

[HanaRei]

Aisha

A rather uneasy expression filled Aisha's face hearing the moosemen's details of the room above. She glanced to the door, hearing the sounds as the door was being struck. "I don't like this place at all..." She spoke shaking her head not at all pleased. It felt as if things could quickly unravel at any moment... and in a very unpleasant way.

She blinked looking back to the mooseman. "Wait... small giants... in the room Xo was?" She spoke seemingly a bit surprised. She looked a bit uncertain towards Fare and Raka. "What kind of Giants are they?" She spoke seemingly to be pondering the situation a bit more.

[Rysc]

Fare

Definitely not good.

The druid mutters, "Don't worry, I don't think any of us does," to Aisha, then turns to the mooseman. "Are the sounds...the boots...coming towards us, or just staying behind the door?"

[Felhammer]

There is no lock, it is simply sealed with magic. The Gnolls are hacking away at it. They will carve a man-sized hold through the wooden door within two minutes.

The mooseman shakes his head, "I cannot say what kind of giants they are. They look full grown but small... No, it sounds like the boots are simply walking in a hallway."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

In the end, Halbrecht opted to stay his sword, trusting the gnolls to complete the task of hacking the door to pieces. After a minute, when they had finished, he poked his head through the door, a look of worry on his face.

"Raka? Aisha? Fare? Zid? Are you four oka-"

Then, he blinked. The look on his face changed to one of utter confusion.

"The mooseman is with you. And a lot smaller. Why is the mooseman with you?"

[Felhammer]

The Mooseman bends himself down, out of the hole in the ceiling to look at Halbrecht, "I am here to avenge my mate and my child."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

...and he's doing more than simply bellowing in a blind, raging fury, as well. This is a complete 180 from the creature that was slaughtering my men without a care. There is something funny going on here.

"Perhaps you had better start at the beginning, Mister?.."

[Felhammer]

"Perhaps you should back off, before I rip you in twain, little man. Your allies will vouch for me. I am here for blood. Giant's blood. Nothing else. I will rip her arms off and nail them to the walls of this tower!"

[roll0]

The drow wizard scooches next to Halbrecht and whispers, "The mother of his son was harassed by the followers of the Giantess. They stole all her earthly possessions and then ordered her to steal gryphon eggs or else they would come back to kill both her and her son. She told this Mooseman about what had happened. He went up to Sklen and took some eggs. By the time he had returned to his mate's cave, he found both she and her son had been, quite horrendously, butchered. Thrown into a fit of rage, the Mooseman stormed his way through the forest in an attempt to find the Giantess."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Did Fare ever roll Sense Motive for this guy? Not that I doubt it, but...
Never mind, I see it now!

Shaken by the Mooseman's intimidation, Halbrecht then faulted as he realized what had been said by Zid, whispering back in turn.

"And you're certain he's telling the truth? Not that I doubt him, with that much vehemence, but we've been lied to a lot lately. If he indeed speaks the truth, then it's a damn good thing I waited for you and the girls to return safely."

"After we left you behind... I only spoke to her for a minute, but she seems highly arrogant and quick to resort to violence. I spoke to her about her son, and she showed no reaction or concern about him. I spoke of being on friendly terms, an alliance if that worked out, and she proposed what is... a rather off-putting treaty. She said she would release her hold on the Hellfire, but I would have to publicly announce our friendship in front of the entirety of Vlastov, commoners and nobles, and retrieve the artifact Xo was talking about - the Heart of Katsi - from Castle Doomsnake. If either of us broke our end of the bargain, we'd have 'LIAR' imprinted on our foreheads."

"Bottom line, Zid, between all that, and what you've just told me about the mooseman? I'm getting the very distinct impression that the Giantess is not someone who would make a good ally. And given another comment she made, about people being afraid of change, and promises being worthless, I don't think she'll be amenable to much in the way of further negotiation. I don't suppose you have an opinion on all this?"

[Felhammer]

"We defeated the Mooseman and, on the brink of death, he surrendered. Better he fights with us than against us... Fare seemed to indicate his enemies might not be the Giantess but I am not sure what she meant by that (or if I am reading too much into her words). To be honest, milord, I do not know if attacking the Giantess is the best option at this point in time. She may in fact be evil or she may in fact be only acting in accordance with how queens are supposed to act - for rare is the monarch who rules with glad tidings and rainbows. We know she is bound to the Fiac, for now, and we also know how to find her. Perhaps retreat would be the best course of action?

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Sighing quietly, Lilyanna shook her head in frustration. "But...I should like to recover Abayus' remains if at all possible. It feels cold to leave him lying in that dreadful hallway. And the Giantess and Xo should be made to face justice if they are responsible for his death."

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht thought hard. Their next move was not something to be taken lightly.

He nodded at Lilyanna. "No, I agree. At the very least, regardless of what action we take, we should bring Abayus' remains with us when we leave for a proper burial - and Xo and the Giantess will answer for that, one way or another. Before we take any action, however, I believe one of Verikora's Mistwalkers is still within this castle." He turned to the gnoll leader. "Do you have any way to get in contact, or have any idea of a time of return?"

[Felhammer]

The gnoll matron rubs her chin, "She is probably on the roof by now..."

Suddenly, you hear a crack and a burst of flame.

The Giantess screams, "ASSASSINS! THIEVES! NEVER TRUST THE SMALL FOLK! SEND IN THE ELEMENTALS! BRING ME HALBRECHT'S HEAD!"

Suddenly, four fire elementals, each roughly ten feet tall and colored like a brilliant sunset, jump off the roof and float to the ground below. The elementals rear their arms back and are about to shoot flaming hot jets of flame at the party...

Giantess and Xo win initiative. You guys go next. Then the Elementals. The Giantess and Xo have already performed their actions.

Zid needs a minute to cast Hellfire, or thirty seconds if another arcanist spends their turns helping him channel.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith looks at her companions and frowns. "Well, I suppose it was going to come to this either way. I hope everyone's ready for a fight." She looks at Halbrecht. "Halbrecht, tactics?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

At the crack of fire and the screaming of the giantess, Halbrecht turned to Verikora.

"Ordinarily, I'd be a lot more annoyed about this, but honestly, I was running out of ideas on how to resolve this peacefully."

As the elementals descended, Halbrecht turned to Silith.


"Well, I suppose it was going to come to this either way. I hope everyone's ready for a fight. Halbrecht, tactics?"
Drawing up his shield and sword, Halbrecht nodded. "Those of us with the most armor and fortitude up in the front! That means, Lilyanna, me, and Aisha! The others, draw back and fire from them at ranged! Whatever you do, do NOT set foot outside the sanctum unless you want to be left behind! Zid, if you have any low-level ice spells, now would be a good time to use them - but if you have any high level ones, save them until later!"

Moving forward, Halbrecht raised his shield, ready to dodge out of the way of any jets of flame...

Starman

Meanwhile, Starman shuddered again as the 'puppeteering feeling' came over him again. Drawing his bow, he let loose a flurry of arrows at one of the fire elementals....

Halbrecht will move to J11 (pending the gnoll in question getting out of the way), and then use Total Defense to add a +4 Dodge bonus to his AC.

Starman will make a full attack with his bow on Fire Elemental 6.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Attack 2: [roll1]
Rapid Shot: [roll2]

Damage 1: [roll3]
Damage 2: [roll4]
Rapid Shot Damage: [roll5]

...and amazingly, all three of his shots managed to hit the fire elemental.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

"I am with you!" cried the paladin, moving to block the elementals and raising her shield.

Moving to K11 (or K10 if V will move safely behind).
Total Defense action as well.

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger needs only half a word. Before Halbrecht has finished she has already whipped out her bow and unleashes a barrage of arrows at the nearest fire elemental.

Full attack on fire elemental 6 (w/ rapid shot, manyshot, deadly aim: -5 atk, +6 dmg):


Attack 1: +1 = 16
Damage 1 (manyshot): [roll2]

Attack 2: [roll3] +1 = 19
Damage 2: [roll4]

Attack 3 (rapid shot):[roll5] +1= 14
Damage 3: 1d8+9

Edit: I realize that I forgot to include Lilyanna's bless, which gives Silith a +1 to attack and which turns the second attack from miss to hit.

She curses loudly as most of her arrows miss their target.

[Lord Of Mantas]

***szzzz-blorp!***


Aisha

The constants of reality hiccuped again, and Aisha found herself under a strange puppeteering feeling, much like what Starman was going through.

If we're going to fight... I'll need to save my breath weapon for the Giantess. In the meantime, I think that looks like Raka barreling toward the front lines. Halbrecht did say to get in front, but... Raka seems to blend spellcasting and fighting very well, and my own magic... Well, it's not so great for this. But there is one thing I can do.

Backing up a little, Aisha let Raka take the lead, and fired off a small ray of frost at the nearest fire elemental.

Botting Aisha, as per Hana's request. After talking things over with Estra, I'm changing up the plan a little

Ranged Touch Attack (Ray of Frost) vs E6: [roll0]

Cold Damage: [roll1]

Via vulnerability rules, this should result in 2 extra damage, for a total of 5.

[Estralita]

Raka felt the heat from the new elementals from where she was standing. And she was experienced enough to know that fighting fire with fire was a bad idea. She called forth deep cold from her heart, and empowered her scimitar with the deep frost. in her other hand a hard packed ball of slush appeared which she launched at the injured elemental. "You think those things will scare us? Standing in fear in at a distance?!"
She stepped to the front of the door, being careful to stay inside while getting as close to the monsters as possible.

Swift Action turning Raka's scimitar to a +2 Keen Frost Scimitar
Move action to move to L11

Now the important part! Spell touch attack Snowball go!

[roll0]
[roll1]

Fortutide Sae vs staggered for the elemental:[roll2]

[Rysc]

Fare

After the giantess' screams and the crackling flames of a fire elemental, Fare tells the mooseman, "Get into the hallway, but stay back until we get you patched up." She hurriedly sloshes out of the dungeon, and once in the relative safety of the hall flicks her wrist, causing the wand of healing magic to clatter onto the floor. "Zid, could you hold onto that?" Her magic in full force again, she concentrates for a few moments, then morphs into a being of flame herself.

It's not like I'd want to fly up the outside of the tower...

Move action to get to N12. Swift action to drop the wand of CLW from spring-loaded wrist sheath. Standard action to wildshape into a Medium Fire Elemental.

[Felhammer]

Zid smiles as he picks up the wand, "Sounds good." He then rushes out into the hall, takes a look around, then slams his hand on Silith's quiver and floods it with magical energy. The Gnolls take up defensive positions. The mooseman tries to crawl out but the door is too small for him to squeeze through. Two of the elementals get close to Hal and Lily, the other takes cover behind the wall.

Zid casts Flame Arrow on Silith's Ammunition (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/f/flame-arrow) - The elementals are immune to the fire but some of the people upstairs are not. He didn't have much to cast this turn. :smallfrown:


Elemental 5 attacks Lily:
[roll0] // [roll1]
If hit, burn: [roll2] v Ref // [roll3] Fire Damage each round for [roll]1d4[/roll Rounds

Elemental 5 attacks Lily:
[roll4] // [roll5]
If hit, burn: [roll6] v Ref // [roll7] Fire Damage each round for [roll]1d4[/roll Rounds

Elemental 7 attacks Hal:
[roll8] // [roll9]
If hit, burn: [roll10] v Ref // [roll11] Fire Damage each round for [roll]1d4[/roll Rounds

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Crying out in pain as the elemental hit him, Halbrecht's brain quickly reassessed the situation.

****, they've got reach! We'll never hit them without going outside the temple bounds. Unless...

"Everyone withdraw into the corridor! Make them come to us!"

And so Halbrecht withdrew, urging the gnolls to keep behind him, as Starman fired off another volley of arrows.

You might be able to get away without using the Withdraw action, which is good, as your spells are needed. Halbrecht, for his part, will use that action in order to back up without provoking an AOO. Starman, in the meantime, will fire off another volley at the next Fire Elemental, Number 7.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Rapid Shot: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2]

Damage 1: [roll3]
Damage 2: [roll4]
Damage 3: [roll5]
Starman's first two shots proved to be solid hits, but the second went completely wide.

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The half dragon looked to Halbrecht questioningly. She nodded in response, shifting away. She stood infront of Hal, lifting her finger. She fired another Ray of Frost trying to hit the element a bit from a distance, standing in front of Halbrecht to offer him some protection.

Ray of Frost again. :P
Ray of Frost on #7: [roll0] Ranged Touch for [roll1] damage.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

The paladin withdrew to stand next to Halbrecht, eyeing the elementals as she did so.

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith yells out to Zid, "Zid! Get behind us! Don't let them separate us!" before rushing backwards and firing off an arrow at the same elemental as before.

Move action to Q12

Standard action to attack FE7 (w/ deadly aim & bless: -2 atk, +6 dmg)


Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]
Fire damage 1 (which these things are probably immune to): [roll2]

Her arrow goes whizzing past the elemental again, and Silith curses loudly. "Bloody!"

[Rysc]

Fare

We're going to need to retreat all the way up, aren't we.

As the gnolls move past her, the druid glances through the dungeon door at the still-stuck mooseman, then begins speaking another summoning incantation.

Swapping Flaming Sphere for SNAII, full-round action to summon a small earth elemental (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/elemental/elemental-earth/small-earth-elemental).

[Estralita]

And one Elemental fell only for the others to strike back. And still out of her reach. Hal was right, retreat was the best option. She backed up as far as she could, before summoning a second Snowball and shooting it at the closest Elemental.

Backing up!Backing up to N11

And Snowball against Fire Elemental 5! If allowed.

[roll0]
[roll1]
Save vs Staggered: [roll2]

[Felhammer]

The injured elemental moves in to attack, while the others are forced to wait outside on account of the narrow corridor. The Lead elemental rears his arms band and slams it down upon Raka with great ferocity!

Elemental attacks Raka
[roll0]//[roll1] plus burn [roll2]//[roll3]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Still suffering from the burn the Elemental had given him, and already being heavily wounded, Halbrecht elected to lead from the back.

"Raka, Aisha! Move forward and hit it with everything you've got! Starman, remember your form!"

Starman

In response, Starman nocked his bow and exhaled gently, loosing another volley of arrows at the elemental.

Hal uses Strategy. You know the drill - +2 AC, +2 Attack, or move your speed as an immediate action once for one round.

Starman's gonna expend that and try to put some holes in the elemental.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Rapid Shot: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2]

Damage 1: [roll3]
Damage R: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]

[Estralita]

Raka needed no more encouragement. She swing her scimitar hard, hoping to make the think feel it's cold bit. But that wasn't the only thing Raka needed to do, as she swung with her right hand, her left was moving as well. When Raka finished her movements, she was surrounded by copies of herself.

Alright, Time for spell combat. Since Raka doesn't have any defensive spells up, casting Mirror Image in addition to the attack. Taking the +2 to Attack to counter the -2 from spell combat. And then just full attack. Not gonna do a whole lot of damag compared to Frostbite,, but just can't go without defenses any more.

Mirror Image Duplicates:[roll0]

Attack:[roll1]
Damage:[roll2]
Cold:[roll3]

Attack:[roll4]
Damage:[roll5]
Cold:[roll6]

[HanaRei]

Aisha

The woman heard Halbrecht speak. She nodded as she grabbed her blade. She pulled out Rain-talon the weapon glowing briefly as she held the special Falchion up. She charged forward, not hesitating at all as she went in lashing at the elemental with her blade.

Charging in (likely provoking AoO from 7... think its safe from 8 given the wall)
Charge attack 7: [roll0] for [roll1] damage.

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

"My liege, you are wounded." Lilyanna's voice was tight with concern. Though she did not know this man, he was by custom - if not yet by law - her liege lord, and she would be damned if she would let him be slain by a few fire elementals. Reaching out with her shield arm, she momentarily releases the grip to rest her hand upon Halbrecht's forearm, channeling the power of her goddess, Almaharra, into Halbrecht.

Standard Action to lay hands on Halbrecht, healing for [roll0]

[BramsesII]

Silith

Stuck behind a whole bunch of gnolls, Silith has little choice but to release another barrage of arrows at the elemental.

Full attack on FE 7 (w/ rapid shot, manyshot, bless, firing into melee: -5 atk)


Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1 (Manyshot): [roll1][roll2]
Fire Damage 1: [roll3]

Attack 2: [roll4]
Damage 2: [roll5]
Fire Damage 2: [roll6]

Attack 3 (Rapid shot): [roll7]
Damage 3: [roll8]
Fire Damage 3: [roll9]


Three arrows strike their target, and Silith yells out. "Take that!"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht sighed in relief as the light of Almahara flowed through him, mending his burns and wounds. "Thank you, Lilyanna." As Silith finally found a target for her arrows, he laughed and turned to his second. "Good shot! I was starting to wonder if we needed to send you back to the archery range!"

[Rysc]

Fare

A much smaller earth elemental appears by one of the remaining fire elementals and begins pounding away. Fare eyes the results of this latest attack, then with a deft motion brings down a bolt of lightning to strike the elementals.

Small Earth Elemental appearing at J11. Power-attacking FE7.

Attack:
Damage: [roll]1d6+11[

Fare is using Lightning Lord on FE7 and FE8. (FE7 is down already.)

Damage:
FE7: [roll1]
FE8: [roll2]

Reflex:
FE7: [roll3]
FE8: [roll4]

[Felhammer]

With his allies struck low, the last elemental slides out of hiding and double punches Aisha!

Elemental attacks Aisha
[roll0] // [roll1] plus burn [roll2] // [roll3]
[roll4] // [roll5] plus burn [roll6] // [roll7]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Not seeing a viable way to hit the Elemental without going outside the Sanctum or getting hit first, Halbrecht opted to bide his time and stayed back.

Starman

His sight of the Elemental blocked by the wall, Starman nocked another arrow to his string as he pushed through the front lines and maneuvered around, letting another arrow fly in the Elemental's direction.

Halbrecht forgoes his turn.

Starman moves to J12, then lets fly an arrow.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[BramsesII]

Silith

Silith hisses at Halbrecht through her teeth. "Shut up! You try shooting a moving target in a crowded hallway!"

Then, when the fire elemental strikes Aisha, she rushes forward to get a clean shot, nocks an arrow to her bow and fires at the elemental.

Move action to K12

Standard action to attack FE8 (w/ deadly aim, bless: -2 atk, +6 dmg):


Attack 1: [roll0]
Damage 1: [roll1]
Fire damage 1: [roll2]

The arrow strikes the elemental in the chest, but the thing doesn't seem to notice it that much.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Noticing a sudden lull in his allies actions (with the exception of Silith, who had sent out her earth elemental to unsuccessfully attack the fire elemental), Halbrecht called out more orders.

"Lilyanna, hold back for now. Raka, if you have the capability, fire another snowball at it! Aisha, withdraw slightly and hit it with a ray of frost!"

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Lilyanna reached out with her hand a second time, healing some of Halbrecht's burns. As he gave orders, she nodded once. "Very well; holding back."

2nd use of Lay On Hands: [roll0]

[Estralita]

Raka nodded, and hurried to get in range. This time she had to focus more deeply inside herself to find the pure cold of the spell, but at last she grasped it, and hurled it at the last elemental.

Should have prepared more Snowballs. Using a swift action to us Spell Recall to Re-prepare Snowball.

Now, attack!
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Seeing the Elemental groan at Raka's successful attack, Hal gave a cry of victory. "Aisha! Hit it with a ray of frost! It's on its last legs!"

Three hit points, if the other elementals are any indication. 3 hit points, and that thing goes down.

[Lord Of Mantas]

***szzzzzt-blorp!***

Aisha

Overcome by the puppeteering feeling once more, Aisha fired another ray of frost at the elemental.

Attack (Touch): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Already madly flickering as it tried to stay together, the elemental vanished with a bright flare before fizzling out. A wisp of frost flew off of Aisha's hands as she looked over her shoulder, turning back to the group.

"What happens now?"

[Felhammer]

With the Elementals down, the party can take a moment to plan their next move.

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Halbrecht turned to Aisha. "First things first, we heal everyone up. Then, it's up to the roof to end this once and for all. The way I see it, we have two options." He poked his head into the cell. "Option 1, that hole looks like most of us could fit through it. We have your friend boost us up, we go upstairs, we kick butt. Option 2, we keep going down the hallway we found."

Halbrecht then listened as they called out their votes.

At this point, we're jsut waiting for Rysc and Fare to log on so they can post their votes. If it's an even split, I will ask you, Fel, to have Starman act as a tiebreaker.

[Rysc]

Fare

Fare gives a small sigh and looks back at the dungeon. "If following the hallway...s down means as much traps as before, I'd like to avoid as much as possible. The hole might be faster, and maybe those dead bodies and the orb have something to do with how the Sanctum teleports."

[Othniel]

Lilyanna

Lilyanna shook her head, "In another circumstance, I would favor the direct approach, but there may be others trapped in rooms here, and it is incumbent upon us to free them if we can."

[Estralita]

Raka, seeing the Elemental all, turned to the discussion. "Perhaps, but if they are still alive, they likely have not triggered a trap. And as you experienced, the traps here appear to wait for the intruders to take action. So the captured travelers can at least stay alive as long as they stay still. And if they are working on staying still, we can save them after defeating the greater threat, who may be preparing for us at this very moment. Besides," Raka suddenly frowned, guild running through her. The mooseman has looked into the room above. He found many dead bodies. If we investigate through that path, we may find those who need saving after all."

[BramsesII]

Silith

The ranger looks at the others. "What's up that hole anyway? If they catch us while we're clambering up they can pick us off one by one. I'm with miss Lilyanna on this one; if we can make our way up via some stairs we'll not be completely defenseless."

She looks at Fare, then Raka. "Through the traps may be slower, but at least if we run into enemies we can defend ourselves."

[Felhammer]

Zid turn Halbrect and Lily into gnome-sized people, then the mooseman helps lift them up to the second floor. Following them, he helps everyone else. Xo's office is a strange menagerie of corpses strapped to tables. There are orcs, gnomes, humans, elves, dwarves and more up here. All of them have electrodes attached to their temples. Wires from these electrodes are connected, via wires, to a pulsating blue orb that floats near the ceiling. It cackles and glows with electricity.

[HanaRei]

Aisha

She found herself in the office, glancing around. Her eyes darted around, looking rather displeased by what she saw. "... that fiend..." She spoke out in a lot tone, clutching her hand into a fist at the sight of what was going on. She wasn't certain exactly what he had been doing, but it looked far from a humane way of doing so.

[Rysc]

Fare

As she watches the mooseman lift the others up through the hole, Fare turns to the earth elemental and says, <Try to make this doorway bigger, so the mooseman inside can walk out. Be careful, there's an anti-magic field inside. Try to stay only in the walls.>

Once on the second floor, Fare grimaces at finally seeing the place for herself. "Well, this doesn't make Xo look any better. Would anyone have any idea what that blue orb does?"

[Lord Of Mantas]

Halbrecht

Dismissing the spell that made him gnome-sized, Halbrecht gritted his teeth at the grisly sight before him. "Well, this does nothing but convince me that an alliance with these folk would have been a horrible idea." He turned to Rysc. "Arcana is not my field of expertise. Raka, I believe this would fall closest to your domain."

Halbrecht then scanned the office for anything else of note or potential relevance.

Perception: [roll0]